May 12, 2010 1:53 PM
Spring Impressions: Uraboku, Sariaya Goyou, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
Uraboku
Orphaned Yuki can hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of the people he touches. This power has always been too much for him to handle, causing great trouble in many of his peer relationships. Soon after re-uniting with his older brother, his very presence becomes a danger to the people around him he cares about, and decides to move to Tokyo with his new, magical family, and a tortured man who pledges to always stay by his side, never to betray him. Can Yuki trust his new brother? And why are so many demons after him?
Basically, this show is yaoi take on what would happen if Orihime from Bleach got to star in her own show. Yuki has haxor healing abilities called "God's Light.'' The repercussion is that he takes on the pain that he heals. Despite that, he is necessary to a family of demon slayers--led by his shady brother--in a war against demons possibly being led by a childhood friend (also male). Lot's of pretty boys running around with uninspired religious imagery (how many times do I need to hear of a 'bloody cross' in my anime?), with Yuki bringing up the rear (ha!) whining about how useful he wants to be while constantly placing himself in danger.
Oh yeah, and Yuki is an re-incarnation of some princess, explaining away the gay (because just being gay is lame). You've probably seen this show a million times because you were fooled by the art, but apparently I'm still drawn to these shows in such a way that I honestly thought this would be good despite the desperate appeal to fangirls. And it is decent in the first three episodes. So that's something.
Saraiya Goyou
The House of Five Leaves kidnaps heirs to corrupt houses in exchange for ransom as a sort of noble cause. Or so the wilting samurai Masa is led to believe so by the charismatic Ichi. In truth, the robbers are just a bunch of thieves constantly turning to their criminal roots because there is little else they can do. Except Ichi seems to have no use for money, frivolously spending it on the women in the brothel that he resides. Ichi seems to have taken a liking to the idealistic Masa, and with each new mission, Masa tries to break past his cavalier attitude and understand the man who rarely speaks about himself.
I think I love this show. Saraiya Goyou creates an electric atmosphere rife with tension and anticipation in a way that no other show this season does. Everything from the art to the voice action is executed with such intention that I trust what the creators are doing and just sit along for the ride. The show doesn't really do anything with characters individually that I haven't seen before. What it does do is nail interactions in such a way that I immediately feel comfortable with someone after a few lines of dialogue. All that said, I wonder if the pay off for the mystery surrounding Ichi will be worth it in the end. The poorly transitioned flashbacks tend to break the flow of the episodes, almost to the point that I'd rather the show stay in the present. Regardless, I think this show is worth the watch so far.
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
Watashi (or so we call him) falls into a repetitious cycle of reliving his years in college, wasted with his friend Ozu in some club, and befriending a raven-haired beauty named Akashi. The viewer watches as he is caught in a loop, details of his life and relationships slowly coming into focus.
It's like Groundhog's Day. That was absolutely evident from the second episode. Though some make a distinction in character between Watashi and Bill Murray's character, the premise seems wholly the same to me: Until Watashi can correct his though processes and truly grow as a human being, he is doomed to repeat his time in college. Though a lot of the circumstances and tangential relationships may differ, what remains constant are many key pieces of dialogue, Watashi's visit to a fortune teller, and his relationship with Ozu and Akashi.
The tone of the posts during the episode discussion really excites me. The very nature of the show is anathema to childish weaboos who whine for brawls, boobs, and bros. That alone is enough to keep me watching, even though the story seems to unfold itself relatively slowly, to the point that I was a little bored during episode three. Also, and I'm sure many will call me a hypocrite, there is far too much said and explained. I would like to say simply that there is too much dialogue, but it's not. The overly obvious narration is the culprit. Instead of integrating a lot of great figurative language into the dialouge, the viewer is constantly bombarded with Watashi's incessant, fast-paced monologuing. Honestly, it's a little exhausting, not only to hear, but to read. I will say, though, that because of the quick dialogue, the show seems to breeze by, and even seems to balance the fact that we as the viewer don't get much new in the way of content, thereby keeping us from being as bored as we probably should be.
Well, that's it for this season's impressions. Feel free to comment in any of the previous entries to talk about the specific shows.
Orphaned Yuki can hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of the people he touches. This power has always been too much for him to handle, causing great trouble in many of his peer relationships. Soon after re-uniting with his older brother, his very presence becomes a danger to the people around him he cares about, and decides to move to Tokyo with his new, magical family, and a tortured man who pledges to always stay by his side, never to betray him. Can Yuki trust his new brother? And why are so many demons after him?
Basically, this show is yaoi take on what would happen if Orihime from Bleach got to star in her own show. Yuki has haxor healing abilities called "God's Light.'' The repercussion is that he takes on the pain that he heals. Despite that, he is necessary to a family of demon slayers--led by his shady brother--in a war against demons possibly being led by a childhood friend (also male). Lot's of pretty boys running around with uninspired religious imagery (how many times do I need to hear of a 'bloody cross' in my anime?), with Yuki bringing up the rear (ha!) whining about how useful he wants to be while constantly placing himself in danger.
Oh yeah, and Yuki is an re-incarnation of some princess, explaining away the gay (because just being gay is lame). You've probably seen this show a million times because you were fooled by the art, but apparently I'm still drawn to these shows in such a way that I honestly thought this would be good despite the desperate appeal to fangirls. And it is decent in the first three episodes. So that's something.
Saraiya Goyou
The House of Five Leaves kidnaps heirs to corrupt houses in exchange for ransom as a sort of noble cause. Or so the wilting samurai Masa is led to believe so by the charismatic Ichi. In truth, the robbers are just a bunch of thieves constantly turning to their criminal roots because there is little else they can do. Except Ichi seems to have no use for money, frivolously spending it on the women in the brothel that he resides. Ichi seems to have taken a liking to the idealistic Masa, and with each new mission, Masa tries to break past his cavalier attitude and understand the man who rarely speaks about himself.
I think I love this show. Saraiya Goyou creates an electric atmosphere rife with tension and anticipation in a way that no other show this season does. Everything from the art to the voice action is executed with such intention that I trust what the creators are doing and just sit along for the ride. The show doesn't really do anything with characters individually that I haven't seen before. What it does do is nail interactions in such a way that I immediately feel comfortable with someone after a few lines of dialogue. All that said, I wonder if the pay off for the mystery surrounding Ichi will be worth it in the end. The poorly transitioned flashbacks tend to break the flow of the episodes, almost to the point that I'd rather the show stay in the present. Regardless, I think this show is worth the watch so far.
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
Watashi (or so we call him) falls into a repetitious cycle of reliving his years in college, wasted with his friend Ozu in some club, and befriending a raven-haired beauty named Akashi. The viewer watches as he is caught in a loop, details of his life and relationships slowly coming into focus.
It's like Groundhog's Day. That was absolutely evident from the second episode. Though some make a distinction in character between Watashi and Bill Murray's character, the premise seems wholly the same to me: Until Watashi can correct his though processes and truly grow as a human being, he is doomed to repeat his time in college. Though a lot of the circumstances and tangential relationships may differ, what remains constant are many key pieces of dialogue, Watashi's visit to a fortune teller, and his relationship with Ozu and Akashi.
The tone of the posts during the episode discussion really excites me. The very nature of the show is anathema to childish weaboos who whine for brawls, boobs, and bros. That alone is enough to keep me watching, even though the story seems to unfold itself relatively slowly, to the point that I was a little bored during episode three. Also, and I'm sure many will call me a hypocrite, there is far too much said and explained. I would like to say simply that there is too much dialogue, but it's not. The overly obvious narration is the culprit. Instead of integrating a lot of great figurative language into the dialouge, the viewer is constantly bombarded with Watashi's incessant, fast-paced monologuing. Honestly, it's a little exhausting, not only to hear, but to read. I will say, though, that because of the quick dialogue, the show seems to breeze by, and even seems to balance the fact that we as the viewer don't get much new in the way of content, thereby keeping us from being as bored as we probably should be.
Well, that's it for this season's impressions. Feel free to comment in any of the previous entries to talk about the specific shows.
Posted by
noteDhero
| May 12, 2010 1:53 PM |
8 comments
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Lindle | Nov 12, 2010 9:50 AM
Disregard my previous comment about Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, I suck cocks.
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ladyxzeus | May 28, 2010 8:35 AM
Oh and I added Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei to my plans, it seems interesting. =p
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ladyxzeus | May 28, 2010 8:33 AM
OMFGASDAGA URABOKUYou are being good to it. But, yet again, you are not trying to comment each episode on a thread full of fangirls circle jerking at LUKA OMG LUKAAAA. Jesus Christ, I swear that I had never seen a series so full of cliché elements as Monochrome Factor. The only thing that differenciates both is that Uraboku's art is a bit better. But dat CG monsters..... |
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yamakasi | May 22, 2010 7:19 PM
I'm kind of in love with Saraiya Goyou, too. Or at least the chemistry between Yaichi and Masa. (And Yaichi's voice.)
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Lindle | May 13, 2010 1:30 PM
Hmm... I basically agree about the first two. I checked a very small amount of Yojouhan, but I was more or less instantly put off by the goddamn speedtalking. I'm not saying it was bad, but what I am saying is that i'm not doing that once a week for the next several weeks.On top of that, though, i'd put up with it if it wasn't for the rather prominent question of WHY. OK, so if it somehow improved the artistic expression, fine. But I can't see how it does. If anything I get the feeling it was actually trying to be alienating. And if that's the case, then job well done. I hope they're happy with themselves. On a happier note, Saraiya Goyou is really taking me by surprise. I was expecting it to be good, but it may just be the best thing this season if it carries on at the quality it has. |
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ridojiri | May 12, 2010 10:41 PM
House of Five Leaves, tension? Tension? It has as much tension as Mushishi, like really.I do like how it is doing the period style though. |
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garfield15 | May 12, 2010 4:38 PM
I get the feeling that the dialogue in Yojouhan is partly because of the way the light novel is written so in consequence, the dialogue in the show comes off that way.(Also, some of the posts in the topics are very good but at the same time, some can be a little pretentious in analysis. Just IMHO) |
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hounddog | May 12, 2010 3:40 PM
I hadn't heard of Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei before...sounds like it's worth checking out! Thanks for the tip. XD
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