April 26th, 2010
Spring Impressions: Arakawa Under the Bridge
Anime Relations: Arakawa Under the Bridge
Ichinomiya Kou is a wealthy young man with a terrible past--he was raised to never owe anyone anything since he was a toddler. One day, while fetching his pants scaling a bride, Kou falls into the river and is saved by an eccentric girl who claims to be Venusian. In a panic to repay Nino, he agrees to shack up with her in her home: under the bridge. Kou meets the denizens of the riverbed below, and adjusts to a life unlike what he has known.
This is a SHAFT show. After sitting through the horror that was Dance in the Vampire Bund (it ended up being shitty, that's all you need to know), I renounced my fanboy nature for the studio. Shocking, I know. That said, I still found this premise to be interesting, so with trepidation, I watched the first episode. It was mediocre. The second was better, but still a little janky. The third episode, however, was quite fantastic.
I suppose Arakawa Under the Bridge hit its stride (at least I hope so), because what I saw in the last episode was comedic awesomeness I haven't felt since Natsu no Arashi (another SHAFT show) last year. There is a wonderful sense of pace, a mixed bag of characters that can keep the show interesting, and two leads whose chemistry works in such an engagingly quirky way that I can only compare the show to Nodame Cantabile in the loosest sense. Amidst all the disparate parts, the show really seems like it can soar. I hope SHAFT doesn't get in the way of that.
What do you think? Comment below.
This is a SHAFT show. After sitting through the horror that was Dance in the Vampire Bund (it ended up being shitty, that's all you need to know), I renounced my fanboy nature for the studio. Shocking, I know. That said, I still found this premise to be interesting, so with trepidation, I watched the first episode. It was mediocre. The second was better, but still a little janky. The third episode, however, was quite fantastic.
I suppose Arakawa Under the Bridge hit its stride (at least I hope so), because what I saw in the last episode was comedic awesomeness I haven't felt since Natsu no Arashi (another SHAFT show) last year. There is a wonderful sense of pace, a mixed bag of characters that can keep the show interesting, and two leads whose chemistry works in such an engagingly quirky way that I can only compare the show to Nodame Cantabile in the loosest sense. Amidst all the disparate parts, the show really seems like it can soar. I hope SHAFT doesn't get in the way of that.
What do you think? Comment below.
Posted by noteDhero | Apr 26, 2010 8:08 PM | 3 comments
April 24th, 2010
Spring Impressions: Rainbow
Anime Relations: Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
After being shat on and taken advantage of by various adults in their lives, six boys quickly learn to distrust people and fend for themselves, committing crimes in the process. Rainbow follows the miscreants as they are placed in a juvenile detention center in 1955, meeting another young man inside the hell hole who changes their lives forever.
To say that there are gay undertones is an understatement. The show's emphasis on the bonds between the six characters and Sakaguchi (the guy they meet inside the center) in spite of all the melodrama and harsh realities of a society that doesn't accept them reeks of the type of gay films ending in tragedy that wind up becoming Oscar bait. This isn't necessarily bad, except that it always pulls the focus from the real character drama that should be center stage.
And therein lies the problem. In Madhouse's attempt to lighten up and commercialize a harsh, gritty tale of how post-WWII Japanese citizens coped with the end of the war, nuclear bombing, and restructuring of the country, they reduce nearly all of the adult characters to one-dimensional "villains," and equally diminish the moral grays of the protagonists into good, beautiful, happy kids who were just down on their luck.
For me, it seemed very obvious that Madhouse was holding back from going where it needed to from a production stand point to get across the message of the source. However, I'm starting to wonder how true that is, because the show has been backsliding into being over-the-top and resting on the "gar-ness" of its laurels for three episodes now. What started as one of the most promising shows of the season (it was supposed to be out last Spring) has become one of the bigger disappointments. Hopefully, it gets better and goes somewhere truly darker.
To say that there are gay undertones is an understatement. The show's emphasis on the bonds between the six characters and Sakaguchi (the guy they meet inside the center) in spite of all the melodrama and harsh realities of a society that doesn't accept them reeks of the type of gay films ending in tragedy that wind up becoming Oscar bait. This isn't necessarily bad, except that it always pulls the focus from the real character drama that should be center stage.
And therein lies the problem. In Madhouse's attempt to lighten up and commercialize a harsh, gritty tale of how post-WWII Japanese citizens coped with the end of the war, nuclear bombing, and restructuring of the country, they reduce nearly all of the adult characters to one-dimensional "villains," and equally diminish the moral grays of the protagonists into good, beautiful, happy kids who were just down on their luck.
For me, it seemed very obvious that Madhouse was holding back from going where it needed to from a production stand point to get across the message of the source. However, I'm starting to wonder how true that is, because the show has been backsliding into being over-the-top and resting on the "gar-ness" of its laurels for three episodes now. What started as one of the most promising shows of the season (it was supposed to be out last Spring) has become one of the bigger disappointments. Hopefully, it gets better and goes somewhere truly darker.
Posted by noteDhero | Apr 24, 2010 1:13 PM | 3 comments
April 22nd, 2010
Spring Impressions: Hakuoki
Anime Relations: Hakuouki
Hakuoki is the next show that I'll talk about for the 2010 Spring anime line-up. The show follows Chizuru, an obviously feminine girl, posing as a boy as she searches for her missing father. One night, she witnesses something she should have never seen, and falls into the custody of the Shinsengumi. Chizuru finds out that her father helped the Shinsengumi with a series of experiments of a top secret nature, but had gone missing after an accident. Surrounded by a harem of bishounen officers, Chizuru continues her search for her father and wheedles her way into the hearts of everyone.
In case you didn't realize the key words, this is a reverse harem. Also, I'm pretty sure that the show will have some kind of vampire in it. Whatever that will mean, I don't know, because they spent the past three episodes doing relatively nothing but laying the groundwork for the vampire element of the show. Almost immediately, all the guys fall for Chizuru's charm and allow the defenseless dolt to do as she pleases, even playing a role in official business.
There isn't much to say. From the first five minutes of the show, it's painfully obvious that the show is based off of a visual novel. The choices in music selection, bad attempt at comedy, and the way Chizuru's harem introduce themselves is straight out of every parody of the genre. We have the the asshole she falls in love with, the guy with the glasses, the one that looks like a kid, the big, cuddly one, the fatherly one, the quiet one, and the brotherly ones. Some of the characters even seem like copies of others, making it difficult to remember who is who personality wise.
That said, the show looks great, and even with the lack of animation, the show is directed in a manner that feels very fluid, especially in the action oriented battles. So unless you're a fan of the genre, I say don't watch it. There's much better this season.
In case you didn't realize the key words, this is a reverse harem. Also, I'm pretty sure that the show will have some kind of vampire in it. Whatever that will mean, I don't know, because they spent the past three episodes doing relatively nothing but laying the groundwork for the vampire element of the show. Almost immediately, all the guys fall for Chizuru's charm and allow the defenseless dolt to do as she pleases, even playing a role in official business.
There isn't much to say. From the first five minutes of the show, it's painfully obvious that the show is based off of a visual novel. The choices in music selection, bad attempt at comedy, and the way Chizuru's harem introduce themselves is straight out of every parody of the genre. We have the the asshole she falls in love with, the guy with the glasses, the one that looks like a kid, the big, cuddly one, the fatherly one, the quiet one, and the brotherly ones. Some of the characters even seem like copies of others, making it difficult to remember who is who personality wise.
That said, the show looks great, and even with the lack of animation, the show is directed in a manner that feels very fluid, especially in the action oriented battles. So unless you're a fan of the genre, I say don't watch it. There's much better this season.
Posted by noteDhero | Apr 22, 2010 5:08 PM | 1 comments
April 17th, 2010
Spring Impressions: Angel Beats!
Anime Relations: Angel Beats!
Well, it's a new quarter, and that means more anime. Which also means that I get to complain about the season. I'll be honest, from what I'm seeing this Spring, this looks like the best line-up since last Spring, and it may even be better (especially since I don't have to cut my wrists to Basquash). Regardless, I'm going to use the same format to incrementally discuss the new shows as I watch three episodes, and Angel Beats is first.
So, gathering from the first episode, Angel Beats is a show in which characters fight, post-mortem--in a high school, slice of life setting--the injustice of their death, rebelling against God. That's what is said anyways. Our blank slate of a filter is...umm...(checks MAL listing)...Otonashi! Otonoashi has no memories, and is dropped into this 'afterlife' where no one can die, yet fight for some abstract sense of existence. There are also allusions that they inhabit a video game. What are the nature of Otonashi's memories? What is the nature of Tenshi? We're supposed to figure this out.
Ok. I know I said that I wouldn't watch anything by Key anymore, but I have two really good reasons why I'm watching this:
1) This isn't a Key cycle series centered around a season with a harem.
2) I lurked in the episode discussion of the first episode, and it was wonderfully contentious, as opposed to annoyingly masturbatory.
And I see why it's so polarizing. This is being produced by P.A. Works (Canaan, True Tears), a studio with a tiny number of projects and, I assume, a small staff. In the first episode alone are terrible differences in character design, and visibly noticeable mistakes in production value that it's a little jarring. The cast is also pretty humongous, and full of re-designed characters from other shows. We have Haruhi and Yuki from Haruhi, and then everyone else is a rejected design archetype from all of Key's other works. On the other hand, it's very ambitious, and uses lighting to create a dramatic mood very well.
And just because this isn't a show in the vein of Clannad and Kanon, doesn't mean that it's missing the distinct Key melodrama. It's all here, baby. In the second and third episodes we're given "heart-wrenching" back story to two characters meant to evoke tears. Except that it's 3 episodes into a show with unestablished players who are supposedly already dead. Why are we supposed to care? I don't know, and it just doesn't phase me.
The whole thing is feeling like The Matrix meets Key, so you tell me if you think it's going to be good. The deus ex is already an established convention, so while I appreciate that--as opposed to tossing it into the last couple of episodes like Clannad and Kanon have--I still just have a bad taste in my mouth and wish Key would do something that isn't set in high school, and doesn't have vaguely metaphysical garbage, because there is potential in the writer's ability to craft genuinely heartbreaking moments with nearly wooden characters. That's a feat.
I'm sure you've already decided whether or not you're going to watch it, but leave your thoughts in the comments section anyways. This week will see a lot of third episodes to be aired, so I'll try to space them out to once-a-day as much as possible.
So, gathering from the first episode, Angel Beats is a show in which characters fight, post-mortem--in a high school, slice of life setting--the injustice of their death, rebelling against God. That's what is said anyways. Our blank slate of a filter is...umm...(checks MAL listing)...Otonashi! Otonoashi has no memories, and is dropped into this 'afterlife' where no one can die, yet fight for some abstract sense of existence. There are also allusions that they inhabit a video game. What are the nature of Otonashi's memories? What is the nature of Tenshi? We're supposed to figure this out.
Ok. I know I said that I wouldn't watch anything by Key anymore, but I have two really good reasons why I'm watching this:
1) This isn't a Key cycle series centered around a season with a harem.
2) I lurked in the episode discussion of the first episode, and it was wonderfully contentious, as opposed to annoyingly masturbatory.
And I see why it's so polarizing. This is being produced by P.A. Works (Canaan, True Tears), a studio with a tiny number of projects and, I assume, a small staff. In the first episode alone are terrible differences in character design, and visibly noticeable mistakes in production value that it's a little jarring. The cast is also pretty humongous, and full of re-designed characters from other shows. We have Haruhi and Yuki from Haruhi, and then everyone else is a rejected design archetype from all of Key's other works. On the other hand, it's very ambitious, and uses lighting to create a dramatic mood very well.
And just because this isn't a show in the vein of Clannad and Kanon, doesn't mean that it's missing the distinct Key melodrama. It's all here, baby. In the second and third episodes we're given "heart-wrenching" back story to two characters meant to evoke tears. Except that it's 3 episodes into a show with unestablished players who are supposedly already dead. Why are we supposed to care? I don't know, and it just doesn't phase me.
The whole thing is feeling like The Matrix meets Key, so you tell me if you think it's going to be good. The deus ex is already an established convention, so while I appreciate that--as opposed to tossing it into the last couple of episodes like Clannad and Kanon have--I still just have a bad taste in my mouth and wish Key would do something that isn't set in high school, and doesn't have vaguely metaphysical garbage, because there is potential in the writer's ability to craft genuinely heartbreaking moments with nearly wooden characters. That's a feat.
I'm sure you've already decided whether or not you're going to watch it, but leave your thoughts in the comments section anyways. This week will see a lot of third episodes to be aired, so I'll try to space them out to once-a-day as much as possible.
Posted by noteDhero | Apr 17, 2010 10:38 AM | 2 comments
March 27th, 2010
Winter Impressions: Katanagatari
Anime Relations: Katanagatari
Some of you may be wondering why this post is finally coming out. Two reasons: First, this awesome show only comes once a month. Second, I thought another sub group picked it up so I could watch this from my PS3. They didn't, so I'm still using Mazui.
Katanagatari is pretty much what the title (understandable by most weaboos) implies. It's a tale of swords. Togame, a strategian for a shogunate who's name I've already forgotten seeks the help of the exiled Shichika, a master of the "no sword" style of swordsmanship. Or something like that. It's pretty straightforward, but all you need to know is that he owns other swordsmen with no sword. Togame persuades Shichika out of exile, and the two travel the country (I'm not totally sure if this is supposed to be Japan, but I'll say no) collecting twelve mythical swords to ensure peace. Of course, Togame has ulterior motives and the two begin to fall in love.
Despite all the cliches, though, Katanagatari has wonderful characterization, style, and dialogue. The show has managed to do in three 45 minute episodes what takes other shows a full season. Moreover, even though the episodes are twice as long, they aren't loaded with filler or exorbitant amounts of fanservice that pulls me out of the experience, and therefore leaving me bored with what's going on on-screen. The show remains smart and brilliantly paced.
Where the show falters is in the animation department. Though Katanagatari is more about the characters and the journey, each episode comes to a head with a battle between Shichika and the owner of one of the swords. These battles last about three minutes and are made up of slideshows, fades to black, and Shichika standing over the body of the defeated. It's very anti-climactic this way, so the show can be a little misleading if that is what the viewer is looking for out of the show. That said, the art is a much more palatable version of what Samurai Champloo tried to accomplish. There's something unmistakably American about the art design, but it's very hard to pin down.
Katanagatari, produced by White Fox, succeeds where SHAFT has been failing the past year: telling familiar stories with witty flair that doesn't get in its own way.
Katanagatari is pretty much what the title (understandable by most weaboos) implies. It's a tale of swords. Togame, a strategian for a shogunate who's name I've already forgotten seeks the help of the exiled Shichika, a master of the "no sword" style of swordsmanship. Or something like that. It's pretty straightforward, but all you need to know is that he owns other swordsmen with no sword. Togame persuades Shichika out of exile, and the two travel the country (I'm not totally sure if this is supposed to be Japan, but I'll say no) collecting twelve mythical swords to ensure peace. Of course, Togame has ulterior motives and the two begin to fall in love.
Despite all the cliches, though, Katanagatari has wonderful characterization, style, and dialogue. The show has managed to do in three 45 minute episodes what takes other shows a full season. Moreover, even though the episodes are twice as long, they aren't loaded with filler or exorbitant amounts of fanservice that pulls me out of the experience, and therefore leaving me bored with what's going on on-screen. The show remains smart and brilliantly paced.
Where the show falters is in the animation department. Though Katanagatari is more about the characters and the journey, each episode comes to a head with a battle between Shichika and the owner of one of the swords. These battles last about three minutes and are made up of slideshows, fades to black, and Shichika standing over the body of the defeated. It's very anti-climactic this way, so the show can be a little misleading if that is what the viewer is looking for out of the show. That said, the art is a much more palatable version of what Samurai Champloo tried to accomplish. There's something unmistakably American about the art design, but it's very hard to pin down.
Katanagatari, produced by White Fox, succeeds where SHAFT has been failing the past year: telling familiar stories with witty flair that doesn't get in its own way.
Posted by noteDhero | Mar 27, 2010 12:54 PM | 1 comments
February 6th, 2010
Winter Impressions: Ookami Kakushi
Anime Relations: Ookamikakushi
Ookamikakushi is about a boy named Hiro and his family. Hiro's father moves them into an idyllic town--where everyone is very friendly, happy, and energetic--in order to research a book that deals with wolf gods. Hiro seems to be coming into his adolescence with all the attention he has been getting from his classmates, especially from one girl in particular, but something doesn't seem right. No one goes out past sundown, and everyone seems too intense, and worried about the upcoming festival, named after the famous fruit. What exactly is going on? And why does no one talk about the abrupt departure of a classmate?
What troubled me was that this show seemed very familiar. I see the beginning of what could be a violent situation, a boy transferring into a quaint new town, everyone talking about a festival, someone goes missing, no one is surprised. It stunk of a Higurashi no naku koro ni clone. So, imagine my surprise when I find out this was made by Ryukishi07, the very creator of the series I felt I was watching a derivation.
It's boring. It is lacking on every level that Higurashi succeeded or was just mediocre. I could go on and on about how mind-numbingly bland it is, but I won't. Instead, I will tell you of how ridiculously brilliant it is to watch a grown man go so crazy over the main character (in a psycho, Higurashi way) that he looks like he's going to rape him on the spot. I'll also regale you with how pitiful the main character is, staying in the stationary car while he is being groped and drooled over, choosing instead to continuously yell "Stop! No! Please! Don't!"
So this is probably why the property has enough fanatics that I was absolutely flamed for pointing out the mediocrity: Ryukishi07 and yaoi fangirls. A very potent combination, indeed. What I find amusing though, is that male members of the former group can't stand the "faggotry" so they are at a crisis in deciding whether or not they should continue. Otaku homophobia for the win.
What troubled me was that this show seemed very familiar. I see the beginning of what could be a violent situation, a boy transferring into a quaint new town, everyone talking about a festival, someone goes missing, no one is surprised. It stunk of a Higurashi no naku koro ni clone. So, imagine my surprise when I find out this was made by Ryukishi07, the very creator of the series I felt I was watching a derivation.
It's boring. It is lacking on every level that Higurashi succeeded or was just mediocre. I could go on and on about how mind-numbingly bland it is, but I won't. Instead, I will tell you of how ridiculously brilliant it is to watch a grown man go so crazy over the main character (in a psycho, Higurashi way) that he looks like he's going to rape him on the spot. I'll also regale you with how pitiful the main character is, staying in the stationary car while he is being groped and drooled over, choosing instead to continuously yell "Stop! No! Please! Don't!"
So this is probably why the property has enough fanatics that I was absolutely flamed for pointing out the mediocrity: Ryukishi07 and yaoi fangirls. A very potent combination, indeed. What I find amusing though, is that male members of the former group can't stand the "faggotry" so they are at a crisis in deciding whether or not they should continue. Otaku homophobia for the win.
Posted by noteDhero | Feb 6, 2010 3:56 PM | 1 comments