TheBigN's Blog

Written by TheBigN

I try to make a conscious effort not to have any expectations on hand before I watch a series, which depending on how much coverage the show is getting, is more difficult for some shows than others. The effort to do so becomes that much harder when there’s previous or source material involved and I’m involved with it in some way. A recent example for me comes from watching Gunslinger Girl - Il Teatrino-. Notwithstanding the first season (which I’ll sorta focus on later in this post), I worried about whether or not this continuation, with it’s changes in sound and appearance, would at least keep the “feel” and “mood” that we see in the manga and the well done first season from Madhouse. For the most part, I feel that after the first couple of episodes, my worry has been largely assuaged, but I’m ashamed to say that before I even started watching, it had a couple of strikes against it because of how it looks and the change in voices. And to me, that’s a problem right there.

It seems like the vast majority of anime produced and broadcast has come from an already made source. Be it manga, novels, other anime, games, music, food, what have you, there’s already a basis for most of what we see. It’s a solid idea, since there’s a template already in place for the series, and that tends to solve the problem of coming up with the show’s concept in the first place. Some concepts are easier to work with than others; for example, comedy anime usually seems to be a cut and paste job from its original origin to animated form and the problem just seems to be animating the timing and jokes right for the proper impact. Still others are more free form, where expansion form the original concept could work, as shown during Ogiue’s epic fantasy in Genshiken 2. And then you have ones that are harder to work into animated form, the ones that seem like an anime adaptation wouldn’t quite work out well. Damn if any shows instantly come to mind in this case though, since it seems as if anything can become anime nowadays. I’m crossing my fingers for that extreme curling anime even now. And of course a Touhou anime would be fine too.

At the same time, there are limitations with this method, and that’s where it seems problems can emerge with fans. Even when expanding from the original source, like with Hayate the Combat Butler doing anime-only episodes, constraints appear which can keep the resulting adaptation grounded, so to speak. If something’s off, we know it, and we aren’t afraid to comment, constructively or otherwise, on it. Continuing to use Hayate as a whipping boy, you could make the argument that the anime-only episodes were the weakest ones in the series because the humor didn’t feel the same as from the manga. But then again, for people who didn’t like the manga, those episodes could be the enjoyable ones. But those people don’t count here. :3

Unless you start off in an entirely new scenario from the beginning, it’s hard to strongly deviate from the source, and fans who prefer the original are probably less inclined to try something new, something untested, something not properly vetted (Yes they can!). Even in that exception, if there’s too much of a change from the fundamentals, we have to rely on the good judgment of the creators of the anime to make sure that the final, different product works in our eyes.

But if the adaptation is just going by the book (or game, life, etc.), I think that’s where we fans might anticipate what’s going to happen too much. We all have our own preferences as to why we like something, so naturally we have our own preferences on how something should be done as well. It was frustrating for me to see that the Doujin Work seemed to forget what made it special - Hiroyuki’s… interesting brand of humor -, and that coupled with sub-par animation quality killed a lot of the fun involved, though the show was still a decently fun watch. And I’m sure it’s definitely annoying for fans of visual novels/eroge/whatever they are/etc. when the adaptations combine or leave out good parts of the game or change how things are from the original game. As someone who hasn’t played CLANNAD for example, the “end” of the Kyou and Tomoyo arcs didn’t bug me, as they were characters with significant screen time throughout the series and I kinda knew where things would end with that, plus I liked how things were tied up. But I know that fans of the two characters might feel shafted/led on/screwed from what took place.

The situation is much worse for continuations of adaptations (extra seasons, new series and the like), since you also have to contend with both the original source itself, as well as the series that come before it. Expectations (that nasty term) are raised, as we expect the new series to at least keep the same qualities that the previous series had before. Hence my disappointment at the aesthetic qualities of Il Teatrino before I even watched the series, and my worry about how SHAFT can add on to how enjoyable Hidamari Sketch with x365. For every Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei or ARIA The Origination, “direct” continuations where many claim these seasons to be better than the original series, we have a Nanoha StrikerS, an not-so-direct continuation where many state it doesn’t hold a candle to the original two seasons (but seeing as I liked StrikerS more than the first two, bleh to those people). The reaction to the new series can get amplified because of their ties to the originals, which tends to over shadow the individual merits of a show. This can cause responses such as overpraising (lol neologism) the new series to pretending the show don’t exist if they aren’t up to a subjective par (”what Tsukihime anime?” is a statement that pisses me off, e.g.) to be pretty excessive. But if a fan isn’t excessive, then what’s the point?

I do think that adaptations can give us too much familiarity and too much comfort for us to allow significant change from what we’re used to. I believe that focusing on what we want to see captured from the original foundation(s) limits the scope of what people look for in anime and what they decide to watch, which is a concept that I disagree with. Yet each fan has their own reason to do so, so I can’t criticize them if they’re in it for the entertainment, the relief of stress of all types, healing, analysis, and all that jazz. I guess what I want to say is lighten up a little on that and take things on stride, but that’s too general. So, adaptations are good, but one should always be able to allow some wriggle room if it’s not what you expect. Myself included, as I often forget that important thing.

Written by TheBigN

So DMAB has reached 100,000 hits, and I didn’t think that this figurative milestone would be reached so soon. Though based on how long it took to get here, it seems like it will take a little more than 9 or so years to get to one million hits if I last that long. That being said though,  it’s always more about the quality of the hits than the hits themselves.  If they aren’t like the fist of an angry god, then the hits really don’t matter.  I want something positive to come out of this for everyone involved.

I do like how this blog has had more impact than I expected it to (remember folks, keep expectations low, and you’ll be pleased when they’re exceeded!), and as always, I hope that nomadotto, myself and the readers/commenters/etc can continue to get what they want out of Drastic My Anime Blog.  Positively speaking, of course.

Written by TheBigN

Three different types of them, to be exact. :3

First off, as already mentioned by others, a contest is going on from Tokyopop where the goal is to make an awesome music video using music and kits that the company provided. I’m always a fan of putting your own spin onto “common” things (one of the reasons I started this blog of course), and this sounds like a fun idea for those interested in this. Of course, I would think that the video iPod makes for a great incentive as well. :3

Now, Onto That Loosely Related Segue…

Episode 9 of ARIA The ORIGINATION has been the most powerful episode of anything that I’ve watched this season, and probably in a while. 90% of that is due to the amount of familiarity I’ve built up with the undines and you can say that it’s really just a continuation on where The ANIMATION and NATURAL left off, so it isn’t fair to the “fully” new shows this season. But I think it says something about how there have only been a couple of shows that have made me go “WOW” this season, and how even despite that, by just being simple, ARIA can trump everything else for me. Of course, that also says something about my preferences when watching anime.

And because of that familiarity, I’m going to be really sad when ORIGINATION is over, as it seems that the show is matching up with the end of the ARIA manga as well. Especially because this season of episodes has been the best yet, in my opinion. It’s been interesting to see much more of a focus on the undines themselves instead of the wonder that is Neo-Venezia, but it makes a lot of sense. I initially got hooked by the magical (you can’t really use any other word for it) world, but I stayed for the interactions between the characters. After all, it was Akari and her wonderful world view that made Neo-Venezia the mystical, ethereal and beautiful city that it is on Aqua, and that created the bonds she shares with her friends and with us watching from the screen. I got to know a variety of engaging personalities, and grew to love them as they themselves grew from their adventures and explorations of the world.

But I guess you could say for me, ARIA is one of those things that you love so much, you have to let them go. There are four episodes left, and I can’t wait for them to come soon enough, but I’m also sad because of what they signify as far as we know. It’s been a spectacular ride, and I would hate to see it end “so soon”.

(On a side note, how come I haven’t seen any ARIA-related Touhou pics out there? Surely there must be some… :/)

Finally, there has been a series of awards set up for anime blogs, where input comes from the anime bloggers themselves. That is, those that have an anime blog can nominate others (thankfully, not for themselves) that they think fit one of the specific categories available. I think it’s good to have a nice little pat on the back from your own peers, so I’d strongly encourage people participate. It is one of the first times that I think the animeblogosphere has really done something for themselves like this, so comments and critiques are obviously welcome to make sure that these accolades aren’t a one time thing. I hope that in their own way, these awards help to expand the community, highlighting anime blogs that have done much already, blogs that hold great promise, and the up-and-comers that are slowly staking their own fortunes on the web.

I guess all I can say to all of these happenings going on is MASSUGU GO!

Written by TheBigN

Yes, cheesy title. I know.

True Tears has been an entertaining 12 episodes so far, though unlike other bloggers I’ve read, I’d like to think that this show isn’t one of the best that will be offered this year, let alone this season (/undine-mailperson-kendo bias :3). It’s not because the show isn’t that good, since it is in a lot of ways, but because I hope that the series shown later in the year will be more spectacular than this one. That being said, I figure I should say my superficial, maybe already stated (and probably inaccurate) views on Hiromi from true tears since I can’t seem to get her out of my head from episode 12. Some disclaimers though: I’m more of a Noe fan than a Hiromi fan, but I’ll “try” not to have any bias here (*wink wink nudge nudge). There will be spoilers up to episode 12 of True Tears, so be careful. And as said in other places, Hiromi + glasses = no fair.

Episode 12 had it’s share of “SHOCK” moments I felt, from Hiromi’s plea to Noe, to Jun’s demonstration of his real feelings (which I actually found kinda randomly appeared in full force thanks to plot device letter), to Noe’s Tom Petty moment at the end of the episode (;_;). I guess I’m one of the few who thought that Noe’s action, based on what she’s seen and how her mind works, made sense for her, and that she was not going off the deep end or anything like that, but I’m digressing. The moment that really grabbed me though was where we see a nice still shot of Hiromi’s realization that Noe was also watching Shin’s Mugiha dance, and she stays focused on out little chicken girl until the dance is over. Of course the still shot shows the importance of the moment, but I also felt that it “defined” Hiromi’s character, so to speak, with two impressions that I got from the moment.

The first thing was that, whether or not it’s known to her, she doesn’t really know Shinichiro. Focusing on this example, from his perspective while he’s doing the safety dance, it’s a defining moment as he realizes where he received the motivation to keep doing things he didn’t want to do at first. Such as the current dance where we can see the training and conviction come out in full force. I’d say it’s there that he’s actually “flying” for the first time, and the thing is that it doesn’t seem as if Hiromi realizes this. Granted, she’s had to deal with Noe appearing out of the blue, Ai mistakenly saying that Shin and Noe are a pair, and two unintentional (or so I think, though others apparently disagree) blowoffs before and after the dance from Shinichiro, so I can see how her sole attention isn’t on her apparent boyfriend. But for all the subtleness that seems to be everywhere in the show, just like people complained about Shin missing Hiromi’s signals, the same could be said the other way around. I think her missing the end of the dance highlighted that fact. We and Noe can see the change that is exhibited in him from just dancing, but Hiromi can’t, though she might have started to notice from his lack of concentration towards her.

Which is where my other thought popped up from: that her insecurities are showing (how lewd!). This was more explicitly shown during the confrontation earlier in the episode. It kinda worried me seeing Hiromi crying after telling Noe to leave her and Shinichiro alone because they both loved each other. Those seemed like tears of worry that somehow Noe would disrupt her happiness by just being there. I specify it just being only Hiromi’s happiness, and not the apparently coupling’s happiness, as her confession reminded me of how earlier she had been projecting Shin’s mother when claiming that Noe was stealing her man away. That moment had bugged me, since Hiromi had not directly confessed her feelings to Shin at that time, and she couldn’t have it both ways by outwardly distancing herself while secretly longing for him. And focusing again on episode 12, it raises some doubts for me when you see that she’s not staring at Noe watching the dance for a split second, but for a long while. By focusing on her rival so much that she misses an important moment for Shin, we can see that her priorities are a little messed up.

In trying to zoom out on this for a little bit, I’m actually not really sure whether Hiromi’s feelings are really love when I think about it. From flashbacks, this affection also started from some previous insecurities as well. If you wanted to have fun with symbolism, you could say that the missing sandal from the past represented Hiromi’s fear of being left alone. Hence the pain we could see from her living together with Shin’s family, but apart from everyone at the same time. But if she gets what she’s always wanted, she’s right as rain, which is why we see her having a ball by herself in the apartment (Dexterity +2 with the foot maneuver as well). It also explains the camaraderie she had with Jun as another loner who understands the feeling, as well as how love could not develop between the two.

Of course, her pleas for Shin not to leave her in as a child and now after the dance, coupled with her purposefully taking off one of the sandals compared to losing it way back when, verify this worry about being left out in the cold. And the sandal retread also illustrated that Hiromi’s still living in the past, yet she hasn’t realized that yet. As the band Keane would put it, she’s trying to make a move just to stay in the game (for Shinichiro’s heart), trying to stay awake and remember her name, but everybody’s changing and she doesn’t feel the same. This dichotomy between her actions with Shinichiro and Noe demonstrating her current inability to move on and how she presents herself at school and with others bugs me.

Her situation reminds me of that of Kei’s way back in ef ~a tale of memories~, from the beginnings of their crushes for their prospective loves, to the confrontation with their rivals (albeit via two different methods), to the “OH NOES this crazy girl/candidate is about to take away my destined love/position” vibes that both girls gave off. Thinking about it, the current love triangle is a direct reminder of the Kei-Hiro-Miyako triangle in ef, and I wasn’t a fan of Kei for much of the same reasons that I have with Hiromi, and why I don’t support a Shin x Hiromi pairing at the end at this current moment. It would only work for me if Hiromi was able to move on from where she is, and from the preview of the last episode, it does look like Hiromi will be able to do that with or without Shinichiro doing everything properly, so that’s a good thing. But for those who currently long for that pairing, I hope you can see where I’m coming from with this.