| This girl is ALSO dangerous! |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|08:26 pm] |
Realized I left out a show from the previous post, so let's hit that first:
Inuyasha - The Final Act: Yes, theoretically this series will actually, y'know, FINISH THE BLOODY PLOT of the conclusion-averse Takahashi Rumiko's Inuyasha. I'll confess to being one of the "believe it when I see it" skeptics, but thus far the first five episodes have advanced the plot more than the last 3 story arcs combined, so here's hoping. Also more fluffy, which is always a plus.
Right then! Moving on to TOTALLY NEW STUFF. Summaries proceed thoughts, to establish a baseline.
Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra:
Summary:The first part of this show's name means "Fightin' Librarians." Really, that's all you need to know.
. . . seriously, this show is about fighting librarians; they hunt down the "books" left behind when people die and put them in their library, which is guarded by giant monsters. The villains screw with living people's books to turn them into mindless drones and then put bombs in them. "Villains" in the loose sense since the head librarian is a terrible enough person that it's sometimes hard to tell the difference.
Thoughts: While my summary may have been a bit glib, this show is actually a pretty serious one, and it's damn good at it. Highly enjoyable so far, definitely a recommend if gonzo setting isn't too much of a turnoff.
Tegami Bachi:
Summary: A steampunk-esque world in which cities are separated by dangerous wastelands wherein dwell giant armored insects immune to conventional weaponry. The only means of communication between towns are the titular "Letter Bees," who travel along with partners called "dingos" (who may, as the name suggests, be dogs, but can actually be anything capable of helping) who help them by distracting the insects while they destroy them using weapons that essentially uses bits of their souls as ammunition. The story begins when a letter bee named Gauche arrives to pick up a letter . . . which turns out to be a boy named Lag.
Thoughts: A fun little shounen series; it reminds me a lot of D.Gray-man, both artistically and tonally. Lag's idealism in the face of his crapsack world is endearing, and Niche is adorable and also awesome. Intriguing so far; worth checking out if this kind of thing is to your tastes.
Sora no Otoshimono:
Summary: Supernatural Surprise Girlfriend show. Kid dreams of angel girl. Different angel-robot-vaguely-cowish-girl ("angelroid") falls from the sky and informs him he's her master and she'll use her powers to make him happy. Unusually, he immediately abuse this power.
Thoughts: This show is . . . kinda awful. It's like the anime equivalent of that kid who tries really hard to make everyone like him and just comes off looking like a tool. The fact the main character is not quite the usual "I can't ask you to use your magic powers for my benefit" type is an interesting idea, but unfortunately this show is not the one that will explore it in an interesting way, choosing instead to have it result in flocks of migratory panties (which was actually kinda funny, but given that this represents the HEIGHT of humor in the show . . . ). It's not actually very good. At all. Which is a shame because the previews were cute and funny.
Miracle Train:
Summary: A mysterious "Miracle Train" exists along the Oedo line filled with bishounen embodiments of the major stations that, when it takes on a passenger (always a woman), solve her worries for her.
Thoughts: This is, like, the shoujo version of cheesecake. Voice talent is solid (including OMFD), to help push the station boys into "squealing teenage fangirls" territory. An interesting little bit of wish fulfillment; I imagine it's probably nice to imagine that someday you'll get on the subway and the surprise you get is having all of life's cares worked away by a bunch of pretty boys instead of molestation or attempted rape. But glibness aside, it's not actually that bad if you're into that sort of thing; as mentioned the voices are very good, and the abuse of trivia is occasionally amusing (I imagine this show is like a dream come true to for that every-lucrative "girls aged 10-16 who like prettyboys and also trains and train related trivia" market).
Sasameki Koto:
Summary: Ah. Lesbians. Shoujo-ai comedy about Fumi, a girl with a crush on her oblivious best friend Kazama, who makes no secret of her love of girls, but specifically limits it to "cute" girls, a category she repeatedly excludes Fumi from. Tsundere love-polygon comedy ensues.
Thoughts: This show is adorable and also hilarious. Also it's full of yuri. What else do you need to know?
11 Eyes:
Summary: Five high school students are individually drawn into a dark realm they call "the red night," where horrible monsters controlled by black-armored "knights" attack them, seeking to destroy them as "fragments." They must survive each "night" using their unique powers long enough for it to end, while seeking the reason they were drawn there.
Thoughts: It's a competent action shounen show, to be sure, with a gamey vibe (kinda reminiscent of some parts of the Persona series). It does a good job of throwing mysteries without dwelling overlong on them by giving the characters more pressing problems to deal with whenever it does. The character designs are good, too; Yukiko is like some me-targetting moe-bomb (she even has a little bell in the opening!). The only thing that's a little jarring to me is the sort of casual fanservice the show engages in; it sneaks in a lot of upskirt shots without in general going out of its way for them (although there's a couple exceptions where it was clearly the only reason for the choice of camera angle). It's weird mostly because it's a lot of "by-the-way" cheesecake; it's just sorta [i]there[/i], without any of the typical surrounding attention drawn to it. Overall the show is pretty good; just a bit . . . odd.
Yume-iro Patissiere:
Summary: Ichigo is a girl who's jealous of her little sister's talents and plans for the future, until she meets Henri, a pastry chef who informs her that she's got a talented tongue and recommends she attend the St. Marie school for confectioners, like her grandmother. Once there, she meets the "sweets spirit" Vanilla, who helps her catch up with her peers by assisting her in her practices, and the Three Sweets Princes, honor students who've got sweets spirits of their own.
Thoughts: Sooooo . . . this is a show about high-class schools, pretty boys, sweets and pastries, and fairies. Its target audience is clearly 8 year old girls. Yet I still get a kick out of it, because I am a sucker for cute things (and it has been well established that I am, in fact, an 8 year old girl). It's cute and fun, so it's worth a look if it may be relevant to your interests.
Aoi Bungaku:
Summary: A series of short arcs based on well-known japanese novels.
Thoughts: It's cultural! Also trippy as fuck because, well, japanese literature is trippy as fuck. Still, production qualities are good, so if you have an interest in japanese literature and are either familiar enough with the tropes to make sense of them or looking to watch something that will make little sense, it's worth a look.
Kampfer:
Summary: Natsuru receives a gift from Sakura, the girl he secretly has a crush on: an "entrails animal," the slightly morbid stuffed animal Harakiri Tiger. This toy, however, turns out to be a messenger from the "Moderators," who select persons to fight as "Kampfer," for unexplained motives. But because Kampfer must be women, gender-bending hijinks ensue (including Sakura developing a crush on Natsuru . . . GIRL Natsuru, that is).
Thoughts: This show is fairly dumb, but it has its moments of hilarity, and they've been coming more often as the show's gone on. The cast doesn't quite have Ranma levels of eternal conflict, but it's got more than enough to fill the show even when there's no actual Kampfer fights going on. It also has a cast consisting of pretty much all of my favorite voice actresses, so I'm obligated to enjoy it ^_^
Kimi Ni Todoke:
Summary: Sawako projects a somewhat creepy aura, to the point where her classmates are all afraid of her and convinced she'll curse them if they cross her; they've even given her the nickname Sadako after the infamous ghost from The Ring. In reality, she's an incredibly shy and awkward girl who just wants to be of help to others. Playing the ghost in the class' test of courage ends up leading her to a chance at real friends and to shed her insecurities, if she can surpass her awkwardness.
Thoughts: Been a while since I've seen a good shoujo romance show, and this is definitely one. Sawako is a great heroine; she's yet more proof that Noto Mamiko is a comedic genius, and you totally want to cheer her on. Her potential suitor is also pretty interesting; he's sorta her opposite although not really less awkward as just in a different way. All in all it's pretty cute and very funny. Worth a look!
Kobato:
Summary: The latest from CLAMP. Kobato is a girl who descends from the sky into the human world, accompanied by her stuffed dog Ioryogi, whose job it is to judge her progress in her task: healing people's hearts and collecting the scars she removes in a magic jar. When the jar is full, her wish will be granted. Unfortunately, Kobato's a bit of an airhead, so most of her progress comes by accident.
Thoughts: It's a CLAMP show; you know it's good. The art is, as always, beautiful, and Kobato is adorable. As with most shows from this studio, I wholeheartily recommend it to everyone.
Nyan Koi!:
Summary: Not actually about catgirls. I know, I'm as surprised as you.
It's actually about cat-allergic Kosaka, who, due to an unfortunately lapse in the laws of kinetics, accidentally damages the statute in a shrine to a cat-god, causing him to be cursed with the ability to understand cat-speech. The curse portion comes in if he doesn't listen to them; if he fails to fulfill a hundred requests from cats, the curse will turn HIM into a cat (causing his allergy to kill him). Mix in a bunch of girls with an interest in him and you've got yourself a show.
Thoughts: Surprisingly good. It's basically a harem show with cats, so I wasn't expecting much, but it's pretty enjoyable; the kouhai twins (one of whom is his obsessive creepy stalker who likes him because she has a thing for "unfortunate men" and the other of whom tsundere-hates him for that crush) were in particular a fun addition to the mix, mostly because they're crazy witches. Premise hasn't worn thin yet; worth a look.
Seitokai no Ichizon:
Summary: The student council at Hekiyou academy is made up of four seats that are popularly elected and a fifth that goes to the highest-graded student. The four popularity seats are filled with the school's beauties; the fifth is Sugisaki Ken, who's declared his intention to seek the "Harem Ending," much to the chagrin of the other members. The show follows them doing various things that are actually nothing.
Thoughts: Pretty much what this guy says about it. The show is crammed to the GILLS with references to other anime, manga, and games, and most of the humor revolves around the fact the characters are all insane anime cliches. It's one of those shows where the payoff for watching it only really comes if you've watched lots of other stuff. Thus I find it pretty funny, but if you're not a shameless otaku you might not ^_^
The Sacred Blacksmith
Summary: Grossly incompetent knight Cecily Campbell wants to protect the free city she lives in in place of her dead father. Unfortunately, she's grossly incompetent, so all she manages to do is break her ancestral sword. This leads her to Luke, a blacksmith who for some reason uses a katana in a westernish fantasy setting. Although his assistant, adorable elf Lisa (voiced by the same actress as Yui from K-On!) takes a liking to Cecily, Luke is a dick and won't make her a sword. Add in a demon sword named Aria and you've filled out the cast. There's a generic dude in black who turns people into demons to try to steal the demon sword, some kind of encroaching empire, and an evil god on a mountain to be killed.
Thoughts: So pretty standard stuff here; sorta sounds like some D&D games I've been in ^_^ It's nothing special, but it's pretty, at least, and Lisa's pretty lovable. My main complaint is that Cecily is just AWFUL as a "protagonist;" she's terrible at her job and has to be saved by Luke pretty much constantly. If she were even modestly competent, she'd be a decent main character, but as it is she's mostly kinda insulting.
Think that pretty much covers it! Whee, finally :P Sure the season's halfway over already, but we'll put that in a box and put it to the side >.> |
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| It's Just A Little Skinship! |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|11:17 pm] |
Fall season, start! Going to begin with stuff that's new seasons of previously airing shows. There's a lot of those this time around.
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun: Let's start off with my most anticipated entry for the season. It does not disappoint! Basically it's a prequel focused around the best characters from To Aru Majutsu no Index: Misaka and Kuroko. Having read the manga for this already I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they've mixed things up quite a bit in the adaptation, and thus far entirely for the best. I'm not going to say it has enough railgun since that would imply that there is an amount which is actually sufficient, but it certainly has an acceptable amount.
Asura Cryin' 2: So after the incredibly depressing ending to the first season we begin with . . . shounen silliness? Sigh. But, still, it's a continuation, which is good. One of those shows that's a little better when it's being serious most of the time (except, perhaps, Misao, who is always awesome). So far it's a good follow-up, though, so worth watching if the first season was interesting at all.
Natsu no Arashi 2: Although I deeply miss the "Yayoi attempts to describe anime" segments (the "Yayoi attempts to describe food items" inserts just aren't as good), in general season 2's been funnier than season 1 thus far, both because of the addition of her and Kanako to the normal cast (and they're pretty frickin' great) and because of Jun's neurosis being the focus of most of the first few episodes. I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going with its story, as well, as that's been hinted at quite a bit and should be interesting. But I'm in no great hurry since the show is funny and knows it.
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu ~ Purezza: The first season was adorable. I'm not sure why in the second Yuuto and Haruka still seem unsure of whether they're dating, but that's a small complaint given that the focus seems to have been squarely put where it belongs: Haruka's crazy-ass family and maids. And they've apparently been playing with the Maid RPG character generator again, as they're multiplying. Also I love the fact that the anime of Haruka's obsession for this season is basically filled with the regular cast (voiced by the same actresses). Cute and funny if a bit repetitive of the first season; worth checking out if the first one was relevant to your interest but skippable if it filled your appetite for such things.
Shin Koihime Musou: Romance of the Three Girldoms is still an amusing concept, and the new season jettisons its terrible porn-game roots entirely by replacing Liu Bei with a doujikko (with a bit of handwaving as to the previous season's version being an imposter). Although it is basically just a giant fanservice generator, I still get a kick out of it; there's something inherently funny about Zhang Hei as a tiny girl riding a pig that just never gets old.
White Album 2: As I predicted at the end of the last season, my dislike of the main character has made this less interesting than it would otherwise have been. And his douchery hasn't actually gone down at all, unfortunately; I still spend most of the show hoping he gets hit by a bus. Still, the plots not involving him are much more compelling this time around, which keeps my interest for the time being (also it has Mizuki Nana in it, so . . . )
Queen's Blade: Successors to the Throne: No video here because, uh, it's QUEEN'S BLADE. It's basically BOOBIES! all the time, so I'm not sure I wanna actually link to any of it from here >.> Why am I watching it? Because a) I have no shame and b) the plot is still surprisingly intriguing. Also the ending song is retardedly catchy and won't GET OUT OF MY BRAIN.
Darker Than Black - Gemini of the Meteor: On the night of the events of the last episode of the previous series, a meteor strike in Russia changes the lives of a pair of fraternal twins forever; the brother, Shion, becomes a contractor and the sister, Suou is forced to deal with the consequences. Five years later, events conspire to place Suou with Hei, who in the interim has taken up heavy drinking, working for the CIA, and being a hobo. Five episodes in, the show's already thrown several huge curveballs at the audience, and there's a lot of unanswered questions about what's happened during that time skip; basically the show's managed to capture the feel of the original extremely well, although Suou is a somewhat more animated protagonist. Definitely worth checking out! (The original series is available from Funimation on YouTube and is worth watching first; it's good stuff).
Kiddy Girl-and: Less of a direct sequel, although it does take place some years after Kiddy Grade; however, as the story focuses primarily upon a pair of young ES candidates, it's quite separate from the original. It's more a sequel (thus far at least) in the sense that Tenshi Muyo! GXP is a "sequel" to other Tenshi series; takes place in the same universe, sure, but different characters doing different things with the comedy and fanservice turned up to 11. In fact, that's about the best comparison I can make! But, really, this show had me at "villain from Laputa security system." Silly fun-times for all. In space. With super powers. At a coffee shop.
Think that's all of those. Next time around is new-new stuff rather than new-old stuff! |
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| It's Moe That Drives You?!? |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|10:20 pm] |
Hey, so, like, I should probably finish last season so I can get started on this one, huh?
Basquash!: Ending was kind of . . . abrupt, somehow, even though it spent about 8 episodes building up to it. But overall, good stuff, even if poor "Alan" never actually got to be useful. I am willing to forgive that though since it gave us more Rouge! Good show, somehow. I'm not actually sure why I liked it as much as I did, but there it is.
G.A.: So, most of these types of shows end fairly loosely. I think this one sets a new standard, though, as the last scene of the last episode is just the girls at the bus stop talking; it doesn't even pretend like it's somehow an "ending" other than in the "we're not making any more now" sense. Which is actually pretty appropriate to the show, so it worked. Overall a cute and funny little show; I love that for once Horie Yui is the tsukkomi rather than the boke as well.
Princess Lover: Well, that went pretty much as expected, given that the name of the show is "Princess Lover" and only one of the harem is actually a princess. Pretty dumb, but not without its occasional charm.
Sora no Manimani: Oh man. The other astronomy club became instantly my favorite part of the club, especially the constellation-moe fujoshi. Also the romance subplot with the club presidents was adorable! Makes up for the lack of resolution or progress in the primary love triangle (square) through the series. But yeah; cute and funny little show.
Valkyria Chronicles: I liked the second half less than the first; when the show started to be srs bsns it stopped being as enjoyable. Didn't really carry over the momentum it had when it was more focused on the intra-unit conflicts to the macro ones. Not to say it was bad, just that I liked it less. Also the efforts to make the villain villainous again at the end felt incredibly forced and arbitrary; very shoot-the-dog. Coulda been better, but not bad.
Aaaand that's it for ending stuff! I think I'll skip continuing this time 'round and go straight to new series; there's a bunch of 'em, some good, some bad, some embarrassing to talk about in public. |
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| Damn you, Johnny! |
[Oct. 5th, 2009|10:07 pm] |
Churning along . . .
Bakemonogatari: Ok, let me start off by saying that I loved the hell out of this show, and that the last episode was incredibly great on its own merits. Buuuut . . . that was just mean, teasing us with the Tsubasa Cat arc and then not finishing it before ending the show. Supposedly there's some web-distributed finishers coming, though, so looking forward to that. Also hoping for the sequels to get their own series ^_^
Canaan: Yup, it's a Naru ending alright. Actually that's not fair; by the author's standards the ending was comparatively uplifting. Still, great animation and production values throughout, and less noticeable adaptation decay, so it's all good. Also apparently having a second appendix DID give her super powers!
07-Ghost: Called it. Series ends right at the point where the main character finally leaves the place where the entire series had taken place, without resolving anything more than the immediate plot arc. No surprises there.
Taishou Yakyuu Musume: Enjoyable throughout! Third from last was my favorite episode, though, by far. Also this show featured the least convincing romance arc evar. Still, the rest of it was cute and fun, and there was period garb, so I liked it.
Spice & Wolf II: Gah, the series plotting committee are BASTARDS. On the one hand, that was totally a great place to end the season from a thematic/meta point of view. On the other hand, that was a really cruel place to end the season from an immediate plot relevancy point of view. MOAR PLZ!
Umi Monogatari: A surprisingly thoughtful little magical girl series. The big reveal at the end was well presaged; on the one hand, it was kinda predictable (although the final resolution did catch me a little by surprise as I'm used to these kinds of shows ending more sadly), but on the other, it didn't feel forced or arbitrary like it sometimes does in, say, Shugo Chara. Pleasantly understated and quietly compelling, I enjoyed it. Also it had a lot of Horie Yui at the end, which didn't hurt >.>
Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou: Mixed feelings here. On the one hand, I generally enjoyed watching every episode of this show. On the other, Koyomi was often really, really annoying; her dojiko antics were frequently, though not always, overdone. Also the brother never became interesting or likable even after his special power was revealed. Still, most of the other characters were solid and the music was pretty good. Overall probably somewhere in the B range, I think.
Kanamemo: Why are you over? I totally could have watched more of this show indefinitely. The ending was a little abrupt as well, although really like most slice-of-life style shows that aren't romances, it's not like I can conceive of a way of it ending that wouldn't be, so that's not much of a criticism. Still, I want more and yet know that I probably won't get it :(
Saki: Also for has sad times that it's "over" (the post-final-episode splash image hinted at more, but not announced yet so probably not for the foreseeable future). I was looking forward to more wacky mahjong-related super powers at the nationals, too. Also more strong yuri overtones, but, y'know ^_^. As last episodes of series whose plots haven't concluded go, though, this one was pretty solid; it pulled together all the characters that'd been the core of the show-to-date (most of whom wouldn't recur in a theoretical second series, as they're the defeated teams from the regional tourney), and gave 'em all a good send-off. WANT MOAR, though. |
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| Wa-ha-ha. |
[Sep. 23rd, 2009|01:13 am] |
Wow, I fail at midseason updates. Going to do a series of posts about stuff ending as I see 'em to make up for it!
Haruhi S2: Too short after all the Endless Eight. I'll admit I thought it was amusing, but only getting two story arcs and a single ep out of the season was a little disappointing. Although the "making of Mi-Mi-Miracle Mikururun" was pretty great, and the segment at the very end tying into the end of the first season was pretty great. Hopefully there will be actually more after the last 4 (chronological) episodes of season 1 are reshown!
Aoi Hana: Ah, the old "there is clearly more manga to this" ending. Does a decent job of tying up the immediate story arcs, though; overall an enjoyable show. If nothing else it was a fun contrast to the more over-the-top lesbians of Saki and Kanamemo ^_^
Shangri-la: Overall its reach exceeds its grasp. It ended more coherently than I'd expected, although there was a lot of last minute character development that came across as somewhat slapdash due to its brevity. I was happy that we got to see the other Neo-Carbonists in person at the end, and the crazy Akihabara-ians and their assimilation of "science guy" were pretty much awesome, as was his long explanation monologue that no one remarked on after having spent the entire series communicating with nods and grunts. Still, there was a lot that was lacking. I'd call it decent, but not as good as it could have been if it'd been a little more coherent and a little less Gonzo (har-har).
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: Wow. I started watching it primarily as a curiosity; you don't see much in the way of disaster shows in anime, and I was curious. It did not disappoint; throughout it maintained a tight focus on ordinary people coping with an extraordinary circumstance, and of the consequences of a disaster of that magnitude. The threats of the earthquake never really dominated, although evidence of them was omnipresent, which really helped set the mood; less of the typical "oh noes now we must outrun the earthquakes" and more "holy crap everything around us is broken and we don't know if the people we love are alive or dead." And the psychological games it plays with the audience over the last few episodes are pretty great, too. All in all a pretty awesome show; would highly recommend. |
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| Having Two Appendixes Doesn't Give Me Super Powers |
[Aug. 7th, 2009|02:06 am] |
Continuationization! See previous post for what the *s mean.
Umi Monogatari: Two sea-dwellers, Marin and Urin*, find a ring as it drops into the ocean. Deciding to return it to whoever dropped it, they go to "the sky," as they refer to the land, and there meet Kanon, its owner who had thrown it away after breaking up with her boyfriend. After the ring is thrown again, it lands next to the ancient prison of half of an evil force, which Urin* inadvertently releases. To combat its efforts to reunite with its other half, Marin and Urin become the Miko of the Sea and Sky respectively.
Yup, it's a magical girl show! Although it's far from typical; Kanon exudes an evil aura, the talking animal is an ancient sea turtle, and most of the plot so far has revolved around the fact that only Marin seems to have bought into the whole "magical girl" thing. It's actually kinda hard to explain in text how this series "feels;" it's kinda like a slice of life/low-key comedic drama story that happens to also have magical girl elements than anything else. I'm interested to see if it's going where I think it is, and it's kinda fun to see a show revisit the tropes of mahou shoujo in a new and different way (see also, Card Captor Sakura and Lyrical Nanoha).
Bakemonogatari: Araragi Koyomi used to be a vampire. Having been cured, he retains a few of the traits, but most importantly has now decided to help save other people who've had unpleasant run-ins with the supernatural, by directing him to the man who helped him. His past success in helping to save his class rep* from a bakeneko leads him to offer to aid Senjogahara, whose weight has been taken by a crab.
I've made no secret of my enjoyment of modern series featuring classical Japanese folklore critters, and Bakemonogatari is a very enjoyable series in this way. It is also incredibly funny, although a not insignificant amount of the humor derives from the fact that it's packed with wordplay; even the title is a bit of one, combining "bakemono" (monster/ghost/etc) with "monogatari" (story/legend/etc). So it may be a bit confusing at times if you don't see how you go from "weight crab" to "feeling/memory god", but even without the puns it's pretty amusing. Very good stuff!
Canaan: Based on the game 428, conceptualized by the founders of Type-Moon (Tsukihime, Melty Blood, Fate/Stay night), this show loosely follows the titular protagonist, a dangerous young woman with the special ability to pinpoint her enemies through synesthesia, and her opposition, who use other people with special abilities born from a mutagenic virus to commit acts of terrorism. But much of the story is told through the eyes of Maria, a girl Canaan had saved in the past, who is now working as a cameraman for an investigative journalist.
This show is awesome. It's sorta like what you would get if Type-Moon and Bee Train had a baby; lots of crazy gunplay, awesome story, fun characters, creepy conspiracies, and supernatural powers. It also has Nakata Jouji as a bit player cab driver, which is hilarious because he's always voiced a villain in previous Type-Moon projects. While I'm a bit nervous about the potential for adaptation decay (see also, There Is No Tsukihime Anime), hopefully it won't be a problem since it's explicitly based on a single arc of the original game, which it will hopefully do in a way that is interesting and doesn't involve, say, leaving out plot critical information. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Princess Lover: After humble soba-restrauntier's son Teppei's parents die in an accident, he discovers he's the heir to the vast fortunes of the Arima group, headed by his estranged grandfather, who approaches him to offer him a chance to find out why his parents die. While on his way to accept his grandfather's aid, he encounters Charlotte, in a horse-drawn carriage, being accosted by road thugs. After he rescues her, she informs him that she's the princess of a kingdom; after he reaches his grandfather's, he discovers he's been engaged to another princess. The show subsequently follows Teppei's attempts to adjust to his new lifestyle and sort out his numerous potential romantic partners at his new school.
Yup, it's a pretty typical harem show. It's neither especially bad nor good in this aspect; its protagonist is fairly generic, as are the heroines. Mostly what makes the show fun is that the grandfather is voiced by Wakamoto Norio (Charles from Code Geass), who, if you're not familiar with him, totally sounds like that sibilant villain from every samurai movie ever. He's AWESOME, and the amusement of him being the grandfather is enough to make the show interesting for me. But it's really otherwise pretty unremarkable.
Taishou Yakyuu Musume: Set in 1925 during the Taishou period in Japan, this show follows a group of girls who are roped into the creation of a baseball team after one of their number is insulted by her fiance (who suggests that women are "unfit" for such things). The story follows their attempts to assemble the team, as well as learn the game well enough to have a match.
Yet another baseball show that I like in defiance of all logic. Although admittedly I have a love of period stuff, so that certainly helps; the Taishou and its preceding Meiji periods are fascinating, because they're the periods in which Japan transformed from a feudal nation to an industrial one. So it's got great aesthetics of people in traditional clothing and period western clothing all interacting, with pull-carts and trolleys travelling down the same streets. There's something inherently romantic about that, and the show does a good job of playing it up. The girls themselves are interesting characters, although admittedly there's not been much time to see them developed individually yet, and I've thus far been impressed with the way it's handled the story. All in all a pretty fun show.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: A young girl and her brother are away from home when a massive earthquake (the "8.0" designation is not on the more familiar Richter Scale; it's on the Japanese Meteorology Agency seismic intensity scale, which measures the actual amount of shaking felt on the surface rather than overall magnitude, and only goes up to 7, meaning that "magnitude 8" is actually an earthquake more intense than the persons devising the system thought was possible) strikes the Tokyo Bay, leaving much of the city in ruins and people scrambling for safety and a way to contact home. The two kids, along with the young single mother Mari who's anxious to get home to her child, but also caring enough to offer aid, then set out on a journey towards a home that might not even be there.
This is a subject matter that you hardly ever see in anime; we've got plenty of disaster movies in the States, but I don't think I've ever seen a full series based on the premise (Birdy Decode:02 had something similar going on in the background that was fascinating, but it wasn't the focus of the series like it is here). It's also very well researched and thought out; I've been very impressed with how much like a real disaster aftermath it appears to be. A very cool show; worth checking out the first couple episodes of at least just for how different from normal fare it is.
Sora no Manimani: Saku's mother has moved him back to the town where he had lived for a time as a child, wherein lived his childhood friend Mihoshi, who had dragged the bookish boy around every night to look at the stars. Upon his return, the still-unchanged Mihoshi immediately drags him into the eccentric astronomy club, consisting of her, a yamamoto nadesiko upperclassman, and a club president who's apparently dying of tuberculosis, and placing him at odds with the student council president (who's also the literary club president and thus not-so-secretly bitter that he's in the astronomy club rather than hers). Pulling in a classmate with a crush on him and acquiring a hanger-on from the photography club with a crush on the upperclassman, wacky astronomy antics ensue.
I'm amused that, unlike most "reuinited with childhood friend" shows Saku is actively not looking forward to his reunion with Mihoshi. Their relationship is fun to watch; it reminds me of Haruhi and Kyon, although Mihoshi isn't quite that level of insane and is far more affectionate. The other characters have been interesting enough so far as well, so it's on my to-watch list.
GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class: Essentially "Lucky Star at an art school," this show follows a group of young art students (the naive cute one, the over-the-top genki one, the sneaky mischievous one, the understated serious one, and the mature one*) in their wacky hijinks. And art. But mostly hijinks.
What can I say? I love these kinds of shows. Comedy fun times ensue, so I'm happy. Definitely a decent example of the genre, if not yet approaching the greatness of the best of them.
And that's it! As you can see, good times this season, especially when you remember the stuff that's continuing that is also awesome. Omnomnom. |
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| It's a Good Thing She's a Woman . . . |
[Aug. 4th, 2009|09:01 pm] |
Full stuff, round 1! For my own amusement, I'm going to be marking characters voiced by Horie Yui with an asterisk.
Aoi Hana: This show follows a pair of recently united childhood friends recently united when one of them moves back into the area. Seems like the typical plot for a romance show (see also, Sora no Manimani later on), but this one's a touch different than usual, because it's a yuri show. Thus far the focus has been primarily on Fumi, the tall, shy bookworm who begins the series heartbroken over her cousin's marriage. Reconnecting with Akira, the more outgoing girl who'd looked after her as a child, she soon comes into the orbit of another girl, and the romantic drama picks up as that girl is the crush-target of a third*.
Overall Aoi Hana is a very pretty show, and a much more "serious" take on yuri themes than most other series. It's definitely on my "watch" list. It also streams on Crunchyroll every wednesday evening, which is nice.
Kanamemo: Little orphan girl takes a job at a newspaper delivery service. Said delivery service is run by an even younger child, and staffed by a crew of misfits including a quirky lesbian couple and a fermentation science university student* whose penchant for sake is matched only by her rampant lolicon fetish. Hilarity, naturally, ensues.
Really this show had me from the beginning, but the random musical episode (and I do mean random; the songs don't start til almost halfway through and start and end seemingly arbitrarily) left me completely sold. This one also streams on Crunchyroll, on Sunday afternoons, so it makes for a good block of goofy fun when combined with Saki :)
Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou: Two kinds of magic exist: Traditional Magic, wherein the spell's "code" is built using self-discipline, chanting, etc and formed in the mind, and Modern Magic, wherein spells are programmed into a computer. Magical services are sought after by the rich and unscrupulous, as spells can be used to do things like compel people to make purchases at their stores, etc. Enter Koyomi, a generally unremarkable girl who seeks out a teacher in magic so that she'll be able to do things better . . . and whose natural talents lie in precisely one area: the summoning of the large washbasins often used in Japanese slapstick comedy.
It's hard to really say what this show is ABOUT just yet, since it's playing "out of order" games in the episodes. Mostly, though, it seems to be magical silliness more in the vein of Rental Magica than a magical girl show. Pretty fun so far; we'll see if it goes anywhere interesting or remains mostly slapstick. Streams on Crunchyroll on Saturday afternoons.
Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei: The latest season in this awesome-crazy series, it has thus far not disappointed. If you haven't seen any of the previous SZS series, you should; they're great fun even though some of the humor is lost if you're not catching the language and japanese politics gags. This time around, the main difference appears to be the addition of segment with something of a running plot, and the fact that Chiri appears to have gone COMPLETELY ax-crazy rather than just occasionally so. My only complaint so far is that it could use more Kiri, but that's just cause she's my favorite.
Umineko no Naku Koro Ni: From the makers of the absolutely spectacular Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni comes a new happy-go-psycho groundhog day murder mystery show. Umineko follows a more traditional murder set-up: an extended family and its servants are gathered for a meeting in which they are preparing to divvy up the assets of their still-living-but-not-for-long patriarch, who built the family from nothing thanks to, according to family legend, a massive store of gold he received from a witch by the name of Beatrice. After an ominous message from her suggests that the whole family is "interest" that she'll be taking back when the term expires, family members begin dying under mysterious circumstances, creepy-awesome little girl Maria* declares them the results of the witch, and it's the unfortunately named Battler has to try to figure out how they could have been the work of humans.
This show is AWESOME. It lives up to its pedigree very well, and is full of fun little call-backs to the original show (such as Maria* is constantly watching Higurashi on TV, usually scenes involving Hanyuu*; it's little wonder she's a bit twisted! ^_^), but definitely stands on its own quite well. By far the best thing on this season so far, and given the quality of stuff in general, that's VERY high praise. I literally cannot recommend this highly enough.
Spice & Wolf II: A continuation of the original, about a merchant and a wolf-goddess traveling through pseudo-europe. The first series was great, and the second has continued to be great. Horo is still a great character; human enough to be likable, but alien enough to make you sit up now and again. Her voice actress and Fukuyama Jun (who does the voice of Lawrence the merchant) have great chemistry (not a surprise, as she was the voice actress for Kallen in Code Geass), which really helps sell the story. I never thought a series about buying low and selling high could be so dramatic and engaging, but it really is.
Needless: Shameless shounen nonsense. After a big war, yadda yadda, SUPER POWERS! So, super powered "Needless" fighting each other for domination and ultimate power. There's an evil corporation for good measure, but really? No one is watching this for the plot: this show is all about the over-the-top fight scenes and yelling the names of your attacks as giant kanji spell them out on screen.
It's dumb, it's childish, and it's also a lot of fun. Sorta like Gurren Lagann played straight; while that series was actively subverting and mocking the genre, Needless is gleefully indulging in it. I dunno if it's something I'd recommend for someone not looking specifically for mindless indulgences, but it's still enjoyable enough when you accept it for what it is.
Halfway through; think I'm going to break and do the rest later. |
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| I'll grope you again! |
[Jul. 28th, 2009|02:20 pm] |
Ok, I lied. Gonna do continuing series before I do new ones.
Basquash!: Why is this show so good? The creators have gotten a surprising amount of mileage out of robot basketball. It's funny, it's gorgeous, the voice acting is top notch, and the characters are compelling enough to watch. All in all it continues to be a highlight.
07 Ghost: This show is . . . slow. The plot moves at a snail's pace, there's a lot of repetitive angst, and I'm worried it's going to end up just cramming its resolution into about 4 episodes. It's not that it's bad, it's just . . . slow.
Cross Game: Still awesome.
Tears to Tiara: Yeesh. It's taken 17 episodes, but I finally no longer want someone to kill Arthur every time he's on screen.
. . . only most of the time.
Saki!: Koromo is AWESOME. 13 episodes worth of build up about how she's the incarnate devil of mahjong . . . and when she appears she's an adorable little girl who just wants people to be her friend, who just happens to also be the incarnate devil of mahjong. As you can probably tell, this show still pushes all of my "awesome" buttons :)
Shangri-la: . . . the hell?
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Good stuff! It's now thoroughly diverged from the first series, so looking forward to seeing where it's going. Which sadly probably will not involve the Full Metal Alchemist Gambit. Ah well.
Shugo Chara: I don't want to get my hopes up, but it almost, almost, looks like this show is going to actually have a plot again, after basically an entire season of not. I may just be biased due to Utau's voice actress, but her season was much, much more interesting than this one. At least they've finally allowed Nagi to actually be useful after bringing him back 40 episodes ago. Le sigh.
Haruhi Season 2: Cheating a bit with this once, since while it technically started during last season most of its episodes have been in this one. Still, worth commenting on, as most of the episodes thus far have been Endless Eight, wherein the characters are trapped in a time loop. I have to say, it's pretty ballsy to take one of the most anticipated series in recent memory (remember, this season was originally slated to air last fall, but was pushed back in favor of Clannad After Story which is produced by the same animators and had substantial voice actor overlap) and basically spend half of it airing the same episode every week (although from a production standpoint they're NOT the same; the animation and voice acting are unique to each trip through the loop). What's been interesting is the way that each episode manages a different tone; the first few were fairly light-hearted, the fourth was tense and creepy, the fifth was sort of melancholy, etc. An interesting experiment, although I'd probably be fairly annoyed if I was mostly there for the funny; fortunately the Haruhi-chan shorts pretty well filled that void for me, so I was mostly interested in seeing more of the mind-bending aspects from the full series.
Next time: the aforementioned squealing about Umineko. Which is totally squeal worthy. |
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| Spring Wrap-Up |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|03:18 am] |
Spring season ended recently; here's thoughts on the stuff that finished up. Not much, as it turns out; lots of continuing series (and, as I'll note as appropriate, a lot of the stuff that's ending for now has continuations in the pipe). This makes the summer season EVEN MORE RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME than it already is (Umineko, new Zetsubou-sensei, new Spice & Wolf, and so much more . . . but that's for another post ^_^)
K-On!: Oh K-On! . . . why are you over? :( It was so very, very good, and it's sad that Azu-nyan didn't get more episodes. Great series all the way through; haven't been this disappointed to be out of episodes of a series since Minami-ke.
Hatsukoi Limited: I was kinda surprised at the couple that ended up getting most of the limelight; wasn't who I would have expected given the first couple episodes. Still, it was a good choice, and the show as a whole was very ensemble-driven, which made it more interesting than a lot of romance shows where if you're not sold on the main couple you don't have much investment. The various non-euclidian love shapes were amusing to watch as well. All in all pretty enjoyable.
Natsu no Arashi: When I watched the first episode I thought it'd be nothing special. But it was actually a pretty enjoyable show; it had a very old-school vibe to it, which is appropriate given that time travel is a recurring theme. The arguments about spoiled milk alone were worth watching the whole thing for. And there's a second season coming sometime in the future, so good times.
Queen's Blade: Yes, I watched it. DON'T JUDGE ME! . . . it was pretty much dumb throughout, but the poor actual plot buried under all the fanservice was trying so hard I kinda wanted to see it through. Also, unsurprisingly to anyone, there's going to be more, just not til the winter season.
Eden of the East: Mixed feelings here. On the one hand, the ending was pretty cool, and the show did a good job of balancing mysterious with enjoyable. On the other hand, it totally never answered the core questions about the actual Selecao conspiracy, so it was kinda disappointing. The last episode said there'd be movies, though, so maybe those'll include the appropriate reveals. All in all, enjoyable, but also sadly incomplete.
Sengoku Basara: Continuing the trend of "stuff that's technically ending but will be continued in the future," this show was awesome over-the-top GAR fun all the way through. I love that it completely throws out its historical basis in favor of more awesome fights to come. Also the first season's been licensed, so mmm, dvd quality video of inexplicable giant samurai robot.
Next time I drool all over the summer season offerings. Advance warning: this season is like a giant trough of delicious cake, on which I will gorge myself until my inevitable death by gluttony.
Edit to add: Chrome Shelled Regios: Forgot about this one. Kind of appropriate given that my opinion is "enjoyable enough, but forgettable." As I suspected, the show never really got around to explaining 90% of the mysteries it presented, but did a reasonable job with presenting the characters with interesting situations to overcome and respond to. I did really like Felli as a subversion of the "quiet, soft spoken emotionless psychic girl" trope, though, so I did at least enjoy it. |
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| Vegetables will never betray humans. |
[May. 24th, 2009|11:55 pm] |
Quick midseason thoughts:
Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: NEW HARUHI = VERY YES. Only one new episode so far, but damned if it didn't hit every note that made the original great. Poor Kyon.
Saki: This show continues to be one of my favorites and incredibly funny. It's so deliberately over the top, you can't help but love it. Were it not for the fact that K-On! is so ridiculously awesome this would probably have been my favorite this season prior to the second coming of Haruhi.
K-On!: Words cannot describe how awesome this show is. Also I was terribly amused by its reinforcement of the "Mio is Kagami from Lucky Star" theme by placing her in a different class.
Valkyria Chronicles: Quietly good. This may just be the generally high quality of stuff this season, but this show is good without being the best; I suspect it would sit higher in my list under different circumstances, but as it stands, it's fun and interesting without leading me to unhealthy obsession. Also Fukuyama Jun as the evil emperor is just typecasting at its finest.
Queen's Blade: How does a show this bad have voice talent this good? Hirano Aya, Noto Mamiko, Kugamiya Rie, Kawasumi Ayako, Yuko Goto, and more? It's like they just had enormous bags of money (which isn't all that surprising given that it's apparently based on a fighting game played with basically porn books) and were like "it'd be a waste not to spend them all!" Yeesh. |
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| If I Don't Have Tacos, I Can't Retain My Human Form |
[May. 13th, 2009|01:41 pm] |
Finals over! /cheer
First thing's first:
Birdy Decode 02: Caught the last episode a few weeks back. Definitely lived up to the high standard set by the first series! The ending was pretty neat stylistically, although it pushed the moralization a little too hard. Also I almost cried when a particular character made an entrance, so it definitely did something right. Good stuff!
Right, with that out of the way, let's talk about streamed shows!
Saki!: Saki is a show about a high school mahjong club, with ridiculous special effects, and lesbians. More seriously, the show is basically a sports anime in the spirit of Bamboo Blade, in that it's centered primarily around the girls on the team as they try to make nationals. It's got some definite actual yuri overtones, though; one of the girls lights up like a christmas tree every time she sees one of the others. Thus far it's been really cute and funny; the fact that the secondary cast (after the two female leads) includes Fukuyama Jun as the token guy who doesn't realize what kind of anime he's in paired with Kugamine Rie as the crazily energetic girl with no attention span is a serious mark in the series' favor, as they combine for some serious hilarity. This is one of my favorites this season; we'll see if it manages to stay there. Streams on: Crunchyroll.
Natsu no Arashi: Young boy meets older girl, who turns out to be a time travelling ghost from WW2 era Japan. Hilarity ensues. This show is modestly amusing on its own, but the real reason I'm continuing to watch it is that at the end of every episode (and sometimes in the middle), there's a great set of dialogue between two characters in which one of them describes old school shounen manga as though discussing great works of literature, while concealing the title and what they're actually talking about until the end, when she repeats "the phrase that the main character often says." This alone (well, this plus the hilariously old-school '70s funk riff that is the opening sequence) is more than enough to keep me coming back, as there's nothing funnier than someone talking about a serious and deep commentary on a post-apocalyptic future and it turning out to be Fist of the North Star. Streams on: Crunchyroll.
Shangri-la: In the future, global warming has made carbon-cap trading the basis of most economies. Japan has turned Tokyo into a giant jungle-city in order to capitalize, while building a giant internally regulated city called Atlas on top of it and filling it with things they apparently got on sale from Dystopian Futures 'R' Us. Meanwhile, outside the city, a rebel militia with little to no apparent goal other than to be rabble rousers and Robin Hoods called Metal Age does . . . stuff? In the middle is Kuniko, the heir to leadership in Metal Age who has little interest in the family business. Stuff ensues. This show is interesting, but it seems to suffer a bit from its reach exceeding its grasp; there's so much weird stuff going on that you almost have to wonder if it'll ever actually cohere into a real vision or moral, or whether it was just an excuse to draw something cool. Still, worth checking out, methinks. Streams on: Crunchyroll.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Rather than a continuation of the original, it's a retelling. Presumably it will follow the manga continuity this time rather than diverging from it (which the original did because it was being released contemporaneously and the author of the manga wanted them to be separate experiences); thus far, it's been moving through the stuff that was in both at a fair clip. The production values are amazing; they're actually higher than the original series, and probably pretty close to those of the movie. This is some pretty good stuff right here. Streams on: Funimation.
And that's that for new streams!
I could talk about Queen's Blade, but basically it's just a show about boobies, so there's not much to say. So, instead, here's my recommendations for this season:
Best Overall: K-On! Can't recommend this highly enough.
Best Drama: Cross Game.
Best Sports: Tie: Saki! and Basquash!. Both are pretty funny and highly enjoyable. Also both have Kugamine Rie in them. Coincidence? I think not.
Best Action: Guin Saga.
Most Absurd: Tie: Sengoku BASARA and Queen's Blade. The first for how over the top it is, the second for no one wearing a top. |
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| She's strong in fights, but that's a secret! |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|10:39 pm] |
Okies, general info on new season stuff!
07-Ghost: Set in something of a magi-tech world populated entirely by painfully bishounen men (and a few female nuns, but mostly the bishounen men), the story centers on a boy who, upon graduating from the military academy, discovers that the country he has just enlisted for is the one that murdered his parents and destroyed the kingdom he was born in. Oops. So he escapes (with the aid of his Heterosexual-We-Swear Life Partner, who is left behind) and is taken in by a church that uses the power of the "7 ghosts" to fight against some kind of horrible curse left behind by the god of death. I'm not sure on where it's going but I'm expecting it to involve a lot of, ah, overtones involving the lead and his buddy.
Thoughts: Eh, it's ok. I get the feeling it'll be one of those "it's mysterious!" shows where nothing is explained in any satisfying way before (and potentially after) the latter half.
Asura Cryin': After being kicked out of his house by his mother when she remarried, Tomo moves into a dorm, bringing along with him Misao, the ghost of a girl who died in a plane crash years earlier. There, he meets the head of the science club that his absentee genius older brother founded, who attempts to get him to join said club, while dropping off a mysterious suitcase. Later that night, he is attacked by a miko with super powers who attempts to steal the case; the next day, he meets a girl who looks just like her at school. Meanwhile, the school defense group, who apparently are some kind of inquisition, come knocking in search of the case, followed by a yakuza group lead by some kind of fire-demon-man. The resulting mexican standoff leads to the case being opened, revealing a modestly-giant robot (it's only about 15 ft tall rather than 50). This robot is an Asura Machina, which is somehow linked to a coming calamity that destroyed the world once before.
Thoughts: The first episode's portrayal of the main character is probably spot-on for most of the audience, in that he spends most of it wondering what the hell is going on and ends it in the middle of a gunfight. Moderately formulaic (down to the "soylent robots are PEOPLE!" moment), but definitely enjoyable, and the various underlying concepts are being explained at an acceptable pace to avoid term-fatigue thus far. This one's probably made my watch list.
Basquash!: This is a show about giant robots with cars for heads that play street basketball on a run-down planet in the hopes of reaching the giant glowing city on the moon. . . . really, at this point, no further explanation is needed.
Thoughts: I was skeptical when I saw the first trailers, but this show is actually pretty good! The main character and his annoying animal buddy are a bit loud and obnoxious, but the characters in general are pretty interesting, and the giant robot basketball is so ridiculous it's endearing. Definitely a recommend here.
Cross Game: This show is in theory about baseball. It's actually about death, and the things we leave behind.
Thoughts: I can't really talk too much about the plot without ruining things, but I'm really enjoying this show so far. It's worth checking out.
Eden of the East: A man comes to be aware of himself across the street from the White House, naked and holding pistol and a cell phone. He discovers he is part of some kind of organization of "nobles" and that he has an enormous bank account--referred to as his "duty"--to spend as he pleases. He returns to Japan to find that it has been the subject of a number of missile attacks which, miraculously, had until just before his arrival resulted in no casualties.
Thoughts: An interesting spin on the conspiracy concept, made much more fun by the fact that the hero is very genre savvy; the things he does remember are mostly movies and books, leading him to make the obvious comparisons with the Manchurian Candidate or the Bourne series. A fun mystery; looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou: Just to get it out of the way, there are no mecha in this show; the "mecha" in the title is actually a word meaning "extremely" (that portion translates to "the extremely popular/attractive class-rep"). Instead, the show is about the titular character and her efforts to be extremely popular and attractive while still doing right by all her classmates. Oh, and she also used to be a gang leader before becoming the class rep, and is thus secretly badass.
Thoughts: This is straight-up young girl shoujo in the tradition of Super GALS!, but it's not nearly as much fun as that show was; Ran solved her problems with violence, but Mimi mostly solves hers with hair-care tips. She's also less charmingly spontaneous, although she is amusingly conceited at times. Coupled with the poor quality of the animation (it uses fairly low-polygon cell-shaded CG models that are animated stiffly and awkwardly), this is probably a skip.
Guin Saga: When the holy city of Parros is sacked by the (inexplicably ninja) Mongauls, its twin prince and princess are sent away using magic; unfortunately rather than to safety, the magic sends them deep into enemy territory. There, they encounter the amnesiac leopard-headed Guin, who is so badass that he punches a guy into a tree, which then catches fire from the friction of his head against its bark. Conan style adventures ensue.
Thoughts: This show is hella cool. The prince is an annoying little prat, but his sister has nerves of steel and the bearing to back it up. And, as previously mentioned, Guin is ridiculous. Very good show; a definite recommend.
Hatsukoi Limited: Love polygon shoujo! Girl is confessed to by scary and delinquent looking (but secretly totally a softy) older boy. Girl meets boy's brother and develops a crush on him. Younger brother has a crush on an older girl who is his neighbor. Older girl lacks any interest in romance of any kind. Hilarity ensues.
Thoughts: This is a fun little shoujo show. What's surprising, though, is how much random fanservice there is; it's like the animators didn't get the memo about what kind of show they were drawing. Either that or it's trying to appeal to both shounen and shoujo romance fans.
K-ON!: A 4-koma show (see also: Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Minami-ke, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) centering around the popular music club at a high school (which essentially means they're a rock band) with limited talent and experience. The guitarist, Yui, is an airhead with focus issues. The bassist, Mio, is tall, intelligent, and cool but secretly shy. The keyboardist, Tsumugi, is the sheltered rich girl who brings expensive snacks to the club meetings (helping to ensure that Yui actually attends). The drummer, Ritsu, is the over-the-top energetic one who drafted them all into the club in the first place.
Thoughts: My favorite so far this season. This show has all the fun and charm of its genre-cohorts and the added fun of musical references. The characters are endearing, the comedy is spot on, and the animation is very nice. Highly recommend!
Marie & Gali: Goth loli girl finds herself in the strange world of Galihabara: a clockwork city inhabited by famous figures in scientific history. Accompanied primarily by Galileo, she explores the environs and teaches you SCIENCE! in between goofiness. Think of it as sorta like Professor Peabody, only weirder.
Thoughts: This show is really interesting because it's a fun glimpse at the strange world of Japanese educational programming. The episodes are clearly targetted at children, but they're only 5 minutes long, so it's worth checking out if for nothing else than the weirdness factor of John Fleming as a rapper.
Sengoku BASARA: GAR. Just . . . GAR. The two main characters are a guy who wields two polearms and a guy who wields six katanas while riding a horse with motorcycle handlebars instead of reins and a pair of apparently decorative exhaust pipes. It's loosely (as in, it's maybe seen or read about) based on the warring states period in Japanese history, which means it also includes Oda Nobunaga as the absurdly evil villian; the guy first appears looking down from a giant mountain under an electrical storm sky with a giant crimson column breaking the clouds directly above him while an ominous choir chants over a goth-metal score. Meanwhile, one of the other generals is so bishounen that he's blatantly voiced by a woman, but still embodies concentrated sex to the point that he can cause his kunoichi retainer to orgasm simply by looking at her.
Thoughts: This show is amazingly stupid fun. It's like they just got a bunch of guys together in a room and asked them to make the most over the top badass thing they could come up with, and then took the results and ran them through about 5 other rooms of guys to make additions to that first draft. Not since Gurren Lagann have I seen anything so incredibly GAR, and it's hilariously fun.
Slap-Up Party Arad Senki: Based on an asian MMO. An oni-swordsman (a guy with a demon's arm that could cause him to turn into an ogre eventually), a gunslinger who's read too much Trigun, a martial artist woman, and a child wizard with a smart mouth wander around a fantasy world trying to . . . do . . . something. I guess the oni swordsman is looking for a cure? Not really sure what anyone else is doing. Goofy hijinks ensue.
Thoughts: This show is pretty dumb. The characters are mostly one dimensional and there's not really a plot to speak of yet. The animation is decent, but the art style's a little simplistic at times. It would be wholly forgettable if not for the ending linked in the previous entry, which introduced me to the awesomesauce that is YMCK. The show's skippable, the band is not.
Souten Kouro: A retelling of the events of the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history from the perspective of Cao Cao. Usually portrayed as somewhat villainous, this show casts him as the hero, supposedly in the interest of bringing him closer to his historical counterpart.
Thoughts: The show itself is ok; nothing great, but not bad either. Mostly it's intriguing because usually Cao Cao is something of a foil for Liu Bei; generally Cao Cao is portrayed as the ruthlessly ambitious proto-dictator to Liu Bei's populist hero. So it's interesting to see him as a more human character, though no less ambitious and perhaps even more ruthless.
Tears and Tiara: Evil priest kidnaps the daughter of the deceased chieftain of an honor-bound people to use her to awaken the Dark Lord. Dark Lord decides he likes her better than the evil priest and kills him instead. Girl decides to marry dark lord, placing her brother in the difficult position of having to work with him. Dark lord turns out to be not that bad, leading to questions as to why he was sealed in the first place.
Thoughts: A fantasy epic with the misfortune of premiering in the same season as the superior Guin Saga. It's not that this show is in any way bad; it's actually pretty compelling, especially once the other factions in the kingdom start to appear. It's just that if you only watch one fantasy epic series this season, it should be Guin. If you watch two, this one's worth checking out, though.
Valkyria Chronicles: An adaptation of the game of the same name, about a set of people drawn into an international war after their hometown is invaded.
Thoughts: Good show; a faithful adaptation down to using the same voice actors. It's also got this interesting filter that makes it look like it was animated on parchment, which is actually pretty visually compelling. Definitely worth checking out if you like the game or have any interest in it.
This post is very long, so I'll address the shows I've watched on streams next time instead. |
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| @Japan Re:shows WTF |
[Apr. 14th, 2009|07:46 pm] |
Extended maintenance means I have too much time on my hands, but I'm not ready for a full post on the new season yet (I like to get at least 2-3 episodes watched before making up my mind). So, instead, I'm going to do twitter-length first impressions of everything I've watched. Note that these are likely not useful in any way, but they amuse me. Also I'll include links to openings or endings (or in the case of Mari & Gali, a whole episode since it's five freaking minutes) so you can be even more confused what the hell I'm talking about.
07-Ghost: This is totally going to end in gay sex.
Asura Cryin': Ghost, robot, devil miko, mexican standoff.
Basquash!: THIS . . . IS . . . BASKETBALL!!
Eden of East: Why did he take off his pants?
Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou: There's no mecha at all!
Guin Saga: Why is everybody in this show a f*cking ninja?
Hatukoi Limited: There's a lot of fanservice in this show for a shoujo series o.O
Mari & Gali: Goth-loli teaches you SCIENCE!
Saki: Dramatic Mahjong is Dramatic.
Shangri-La: Oh sh*t, it's the Carbon Police!
Sengoku BASARA: This could not be any more GAR if it tried.
Slap-up Party Arad Senki: Terrible show, EPIC ending.
Tears & Tiara: Demon King: When outlaw biker just isn't rebellious enough
Valkyria Chronicles: Honestly I'm still in shock that Sega made a game that doesn't suck. |
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| Winter Season Wrap-Up |
[Apr. 11th, 2009|04:02 pm] |
Leaving out Clannad since I already more or less covered it, and Birdy since the last couple aren't out yet.
Akikan!: This series really did get a lot better when the writers basically decided "screw the plot, let's just have wacky hijinks." Also major props for playing on the obvious pun of "Miku" by using the Vocaloid of the same name in the ending song for the last episode :) All in all, enjoyable braindead sugar.
Asu no Yoichi: No complaints here; the show was basically "Love Hina if Kenshin were the protaganist," and did a very good job of remaining consistently amusing while true to its concept. I would have liked more Chihaya and ninja girl, but I usually like the minor characters in these sorts of shows better than the main ones, so that's no different than usual here.
Casshern SINS: Very good ending, if a bit on the pretentious side (although that charge could be leveled against the whole series). It did a really good job of driving home the point that the show was trying to make, and all of the major characters were given real, thoughtful treatment leading up to it. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes some meat to their entertainment.
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th: Awwwwwwwwwww. What a cute ending! Like the three previous series, I left it wanting more; for such a simple show, it's really very engaging and charming. It's fun watching Yumi grow up, slowly but surely, and take on some of Sachiko's best qualities. This show still makes me so very, very happy.
Minami-ke Okaeri: Did a much better job of living up to the original than Okawari. Although it is kinda sad that the show exists in Simpsons time, wherein years pass and holidays recur, but no one ever ages; I think it'd be interesting to see the characters grow a bit more, but their goofy antics are enjoyable enough that this is a tiny complaint in a sea of praise.
Natsume Yuujinchou: Like the first season, this one doesn't so much "end" as "stop." I'd still like more Reiko. No real complaints, but it still didn't feel particularly conclusive.
Rideback: Let me start off by saying that this was by far my favorite thing I watched this season. I loved this show to death; the animation was great, the main characters were endearing, the voice acting was top notch. But my previous complaint remains my primary criticism: the plot is too disconnected from the "point." The whole dystopian government vs. terrorist revolutionaries thing resolves itself mostly in the background and really only serves as a backdrop for the real story, which is Rin's coming to terms with the tragedies of her past. Structurally there's nothing wrong with this, but the disconnect between the two is just too severe; using the story as a backdrop for a character's growth is a time-honored technique, but it works best when the story itself is something that feels engaged with that growth rather than as a series of semi-random events that occasionally intersect with it. A very good show held back from greatness only by this problem.
Shikabane Hime: This show provides a very good counter example to the previous. The plot of the show exists almost exclusively to drive its message about the nature of life and death, but that plot feels "real," and its consequences are more natural than forced. I also love that the show ends in the middle of things, because by the time it happens, what comes next is less important than what led up to it. Very cool stuff, definitely a recommend.
Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuseru Sekai: Fun if short (unlike its title). The ending was pretty clearly a "there is more in the manga that we didn't animate" type, but the stopping point is natural, so it works reasonably well. Visually stunning throughout, good characters, decent story.
Tales of the Abyss: Probably the most faithful adaptation of a console RPG ever; sadly this is often to its detriment, as it uses too much of the "let's go here; ok, let's go back over here" type things that could have been compressed a bit. Interesting that they chose to leave the final battle from the original game out; it sorta felt like "if you want to know what the hell was up with the ending, you should play the game." Also I never really actually got to like Luke, even after he stopped being a whiny bitch and started being an emo bitch. Very meh for me; mostly I watched it for Anise and her giant killer stuffed animal, which sadly got less screen time than I might have hoped.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Less of an ending than a "please wait for next season!" Which I will, especially since they confirmed the development of a To Aru Kagaku no Railgun anime. Which fills me with ridiculous amounts of glee :D
Toradora: Cute ending, if predictable. A little disappointing for me since I was pulling for a different character, but it was still cute and endearing enough for me to forgive it.
Tower of Druaga: Recently watched all of it on Crunchyroll; since the second season (Sword of Uruk; the first was Aegis of Uruk) just recently concluded I figure it should count. This show was definitely at its best when it was being silly; the episode based on the original sadistic arcade game was my absolute favorite. The dramatic portions were enjoyable as well, but it's the goofy that I fell in love with. Also notable as yet another show where Horie Yui's character gets hosed :(
White Album: While the series ended with a "see you next winter" rather than an actual conclusion, I'm kinda curious how they expected people to react. The main character seems to be heading suspiciously close to the level of rampant douchbaggery as the one from School Days, but I don't know if this show will actually give him what's coming to him, and I don't know that as a watcher I'd be willing to let him get off with an apology and a happily ever after. Rina is still the best part of the show, and she's tragically underused. All in all I'm kinda disappointed; I really enjoyed the show when it started, but now I'm not sure if I'll watch another season out of anything more than morbid curiosity.
Next time, new season stuff! |
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| Intermission |
[Apr. 10th, 2009|01:20 am] |
Winter season retrospect is still forthcoming; need to catch up on a couple episodes to be complete (which is more of an issue than it sounds since there's a TON of stuff for the spring season that's just starting that I want to watch as well :) )
In the meantime, here's something else I've been working on in my spare time:
Mwahahaha! |
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| You Didn't Follow Along at All! |
[Mar. 18th, 2009|12:51 am] |
Clannad After Story: Oh god the crying. I have to say, I kinda agree with the main character, who at one point accused the world of giving him happiness only to snatch it away cruelly. Although the show actually had a happier ending than I expected, thanks to the wtfrobot. And the second half of the last episode was entirely Crazy Starfish Girl with her sister, which I can only assume was some kind of apology.
Ga-Rei Zero: I realize this actually ended a while back, but my fansubber was slow. Very cool show; now I want to read the manga it was a prequel to (although given the casualty rate most of my favorites aren't in it).
Rideback: I still like this show a lot, but the whole dystopian evil government thing really feels more "in the way" than anything else, which sucks now that it's become the focus of the show. Also for as much as they've tried to sell the robot motorcycles as being super awesome weapons of war, the way they were actually used in the one scene so far where it was done was borderline retarded; I'm pretty sure they actually would have INCREASED the danger to their riders. I really wish the show would have stayed as more of a sports/racing style show.
Minami-ke: Spent most of my spring break catching up on this show, which is AWESOME. The first season ("Minami-ke") was non-stop crazy hilarious (I AM BOSS). The second season ("Minami-ke Okawari") was not as funny but still pretty good (it tended to just recycle the previous season, which was still fairly amusing but not as hysterical). The third, current season ("Minami-ke Okaeri") has gotten closer to as good as season one, which is definitely welcomely hilarious. Also, won't you play volleyball?
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Index having a chance to be more than just a McGuffin + Kawada Mami song for the scene = crowning moment of awesome.
Stuff's starting to end for the season, so should be a big retrospect soon, followed by new season stuff (MORE FULL METAL ALCHEMIST, HELL YEAH!) |
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| Fuuko's Neighbors Often Say She is Thinks Like a Perfectly Normal Earthling! |
[Mar. 1st, 2009|01:10 pm] |
Clannad After Story: As much as I'm bracing myself for the deep, deep bitterness that the next brutal sledgehammer to the emotional soft-spot will engender, the surprise reappearance in the last two episodes of Crazy Starfish Girl have reminded me of why I loved this show so very, very much in its first season. She really was the best character, and I'd forgotten how much I liked her.
Also, I've not talked much about the shows I'm watching on Crunchyroll, mostly because I don't have as convenient a reference for them. The two in question are Shugo Chara, a mahou shoujo show from the same manga author as Rozen Maiden and DearS
(I'll pause a moment for the wtf)
and the second season of Natsume Yuujinchou. Shugo Chara is a fun little show; not brilliant, but enjoyable (plus it has Mizuki Nana in it, which makes me happy, although her character hasn't show up as much in the third season). Natsume Yuujinchou is still good times, although I'm disappointed that there's not as much Irresponsible Spiritualist Reiko anymore. Although the episode about the youkai who wanted to see the ocean was fantastic. |
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| You're Weak Against Swaying Things! |
[Feb. 26th, 2009|12:00 am] |
So apparently "later this week" means "the next evening."
Akikan!: I swear to god watching this show is going to give me an aneurysm. It alternates between "this is the most retarded crap I have ever subjected myself to" and "dammit let me breathe, laughing too hard." They really need to just write the retarded plot out of the show and just focus on the antics; seriously no one cares about your asinine steel vs. aluminum war, we just wanna hear Fukuyama Jun describe in graphic detail his love for a chair. Also bonus points for the new opening song, but minus them for NOT CHANGING THE ANIMATION. The hell?
Casshern SINS: So, yeah. Wow. Pretty cool stuff; curious where we go from here.
Chrome Shelled Regios: Is it wrong that my favorite thing about this show is the "Felli & Fon-Fon" BGM that plays whenever they're being silly?
MariMite.4th: It's hilarious how much drama they can manage to squeeze out of these kids.
Rideback: Robot motorcycle ballerina is still awesome. Just thought I'd point that out.
Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo: Looks like we're coming up on exposition time. I'm amused that basically at this point the only two major characters who don't know what's going on are the heroine and the police officer.
I AM NOT TYPING THE GODDAMN LONG ASS NAME OF THE Munto TV Series: The animation is still gorgeous, and the characterizations are surprisingly good. I was expecting mostly fantasy fluff and am continually pleasantly surprised.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Chibi-railgun = win
Toradora: Pretending to be happy Minorin is still sad :(
White Album: More Rina please. |
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| Crowning Moments of Awesome |
[Feb. 24th, 2009|09:57 pm] |
So I spend more time on TV Tropes than is probably healthy for my GPA. Inspired by perusing the "crowning moment of awesome" section, I thought I'd reminisce a bit about some of my favorite ones for my various characters over the years. (Yes, this is another non-anime post. I'll probably do one of those later this week when I have more to talk about).
In no particular order:
Katya Yuki: Elven Mage (Necromancer)/Thief (D&D2E). Katya was one of my first attempts at making a really charisma-focused, story-based, and secretive character. She had a lot of crowning moment of awesome; most of her combat-related ones came from the fact that she was suffering from a horrible curse of undeath which would make her more dangerous if she got injured enough (giving her a sort of berserker mode), but my personal favorite was her talking the paladin in the party into believing her protestations of innocence after he had been forced to turn her to stop her from eating him. Good times.
Celine: Half-Elf Cleric (D&D2E). Celine was a fun character; I called her my Meryl Strife Cleric, because, like the character from Trigun, she had a big leather coat full of guns (the game was a sort of "wild west" renaissance-tech level world, so she basically carried a whole bunch of flintlocks which she could quick-draw with both hands and fire off each round until she ran out, rather than reload them). While this made her basically crowningly awesome every time we have a fight, my favorite part was the moment where she nearly made a classic noble sacrifice: she had a character flaw which caused her to take damage every time she cast a spell (thus the guns), but when a party member was bleeding out and she was low on health, she cast her best heal on him and collapsed from the damage. Luckily for her, the party was able to save her as well, but it was a pretty badass healer moment.
Harle Brightwing: Pixie Bard (D&D3E). Oh god. This character is probably one that will live in infamy for me. Her entire career is basically a series of awesome; her career began with her refusal to answer the call of her goddess getting several settlements and sections of nature destroyed, proceeded to convincing a city full of pirates that she was a famous halfling pirate captain named Gretchen (who, prior to that moment, had not existed), further convinced one of the locals to "lend" her his ship to use for the party, foiled the big-bad while 10 levels lower than him with the old "silence on an arrow" trick, and then turned around and took full ownership of the boat by killing the jerk who owned it (he had it coming) while simultaneously convincing the city of pirates that he was responsible for the death of the (non-existent) famous halfling pirate Gretchen who was totally her mentor in piracy. But I think her real crowning moment of awesome was when she shot one of the big bad's minions with a memory loss arrow and then convinced her they were friends, essentially giving herself a yuan-ti pureblood cohort. Of course, Harle's effectiveness at sneaky tricks and general monkey-wrenchery got her brutally mauled in the final battle (because the big bad had told his ultimate boss to "watch out for the fairy"), but this ended up working in the party's favor, since it used all its tricks on me and freed up the combat monsters to completely obliterate it. Epic.
Cilyyd Bloodeye: Wood Elf Fighter/Monk (D&D3E) Cilyyd was a fun character, built around a fairly simple gimmick: a feat from the Eberron setting book that allows you to use Flurry of Blows with a longsword. That's pretty cool, but it's even cooler when the longsword in question is sized for a fire giant (if you're keeping score at home, that makes it huge-sized). Needless to say, he was pretty stylish; he rarely actually HIT anything, but when he did, it hurt a LOT. Witness one of the antagonists: an orc fighter with a helm of glorious recovery, who had originally been designed to be a tough fight because he could self heal after he'd taken some damage. A few lucky rolls (including a crit) from the guy with the ridiculous sword and he was dead before he had a chance to do more than take a single swing, leaving the new hat for me! His custom mini is still one of my favorites, and garners comments any time I take my case out.
Aniya: Human Monk/Drunken Master (D&D3E). Another fun character, Aniya's personality was similar to Amelia from Slayers: straightforward ally of justice, but not too bright. Especially since, after she left the monastery, she developed a taste for liquor and was frequently inebriated. Her most badass moments came due to a quirk in the original 3e rules where a monk's incredibly fast movement could be doubled with boots of striding and springing, coupled with the rules for modifying Jump checks based on speed and the monk's unbounded leap class feature: essentially, she could do wire-fu jumps at will, and she was a grappling-type monk, allowing her to do things like, say, leaping onto 20 foot high walls, running along them, and then leaping into towers above to get at fleeing enemies who thought they were safe from low-level PCs by flying.
Prise: Human Barbarian/Warlock/Demonbinder (D&D3e). Something of a variation on Cilyyd, Prise was basically built around monkey grip with a large greatsword, plus the warlock Hideous Blow power, which let her channel her eldritch blast damage into the weapon for massive damage. And, for extra incongruity, she was a tiny little girl, who was capable of these feats of strength due both to having started using a sword as a small child and to having a marilith bound into her soul to give her warlock powers. I dunno what moment was her most crowning, really; pretty much any time there was a fight, something would get nuclear'd back to the stone age.
Shadow Whispers: Human Warlock (D&D3e). This character will definitely live in infamy. Beginning fairly humbly as a warlock living on the fringes of a tribal society, the combination of her party being made up primarily of terrible people and having certain opportunities presented to her, she attained probably the most impressive feat of any of my various characters. See, we helped a goddess (one of the earliest for the world) ascend to godhood, and she offered each of us a boon. Most of the party asked for treasure or divine blessings of various sorts. When it came to be her turn, Shadow Whispers asked simply to know how the new goddess had done it. This led eventually to, at the climax of a war between her people and a vastly larger, technologically and magically more sophisticated culture, her and certain trustworthy members of the party digging a series of tunnels below the enemy capital in a giant magical symbol, creating an enormous magical engine which she used to consume the souls of every living being there, using them to fuel her ascension to godhood. Elric siblings, eat your hearts out.
Natalya Windwalker: Human Wizard/Air Elemental Savant (D&D3E). One of my absolute favorites, Natalya went from tomboyish innkeeper's daughter to (still tomboyish) queen of her kingdom, while simultaneously becoming an incredibly awesome mage in a society that frowned on magic. Among other things, she turned the previous queen into an ashen smear for threatening her brother, killed Olidamarra for pestering her (he was mortal at the time due to a heavenly snafu before the campaign started and had been trying to convince her to be his priestess; being not the type to be bound to other people even if they were deities, she found him obnoxious and eventually took him out for doing some unpleasant things in order to attempt to convince her not to cross him), and ended the campaign by, in the first round, one-shot killing Vecna's lich avatar with a maximized, empowered sunburst, and in the second, doing an encore presentation by one-shotting his necromancer minion with an empowered chain lightning. This had the added side effect of forcing her poor, poor paladin childhood friend to hang around in the tower until Vecna reformed from his phylactery so that he could be destroyed once and for all with the sword of kas. That was just icing, though.
Lu Bot: Warforged Fighter (D&D4E). My first 4e character, and, as can probably be guessed, hilarious to play. Like his flesh and blood namesake from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Bot is basically a guy wandering around spoiling for a fight with anyone who he can find. 4e lends itself well to Crowning Moments of Badass, but I think my favorite so far has been dropping a fairly dangerous baddy with a brute strike and then intimidating the group of Orcus cultists, while simultaneously demanding that they "bring me their god, so that he may face me in honorable combat!" Although I think one of my favorite moments of awesome was a meta-game one, wherein one of my partymates expressed surprise at the fact that I had a high wisdom score and above average int as well. I explained to him that Lu Bot is neither stupid nor lacking in common sense; he recognizes that all the ridiculously dangerous things he keeps trying to challenge to honorable combat would probably beat him, but he just doesn't care. To him, being defeated by a stronger foe in combat would be an honorable death to be sung of through the ages, so he relishes them even if he doesn't expect to win. Also the running gag that, after nuclear winter, only three things will survive: cockroaches, kobold warlocks, and Lu Bot.
I'd do Feng Shui characters as well, but that whole GAME is just a series of Crowning Moments of Badass if you're doing it right.
Also, new icon again. She am strongest! |
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