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Jul 18, 2010
I remember learning somewhere that it's Japanese manners to ask for second helpings of something, as a way of appreciating the food. I'm probably mixing that up with something else, but in any case, Hidamari Sketch x 365 is a second course that's almost as good as the first, especially with how the two compliment each other.
The premise of Hidamari Sketch x 365 is really a unique one. It basically serves to expound upon and continue telling the story told in the first season of Hidamari Sketch, detailing the bite-sized adventures of Yuno, Miya, Hiro and Sae. Just like the first season, this means that
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event are told out-of-order, with each episode being more or less self contained. However, the pacing isn't executed quite as well as in the first season; the subtle threads connecting stories and morals aren't quite as present in Hidamari Sketch x 365, and none are quite as delectable. But that's not to say it's bad at storytelling, only that the events are shorter, to the point where several episodes are split in half. That makes it great for watching in short chunks, without the need to remember things that happened ten episodes ago.
The stories themselves are written competently, and are just as much of a roller-coaster ride as ever. Being such an obsessively cute slice-of-life show, nothing really dramatic ever happens, and each episode basically starts and ends the same way. But this accomplishes much more than it lets on. Seeing all the details of such beautiful friendships, how everything really unfolded, and wonderful sequels and prequels to episodes from the first season is more than what anyone who enjoyed the first season could possibly ask for. Some days are more enjoyable than others, but that's how life is.
Art direction really does take a shift in Hidamari Sketch x 365. Animation is the most obvious from the first episode, with a smoother, more detailed approach taken that most fans would find agreeable. Character designs themselves are more subtlety altered - most changes you don't notice until you compare the final episode to the first. This approach parallels the written character development perfectly, and anyone with a careful eye will always notice something intricate. The sound department leaves no major complaints, with all the Seiyuu returning and doing just as well. The new OP is even more poppy and cute than the first, something which seemed impossible!
The characters, just like before, are what make the show shine. Wonderful care is taken to not just develop them individually (which was already done pretty well to completion), but to play out the character relationships. Each girl forms a graspable view of the others. Fights are played out for all their melodramatic glory. Layers are peeled back to expose details that seem new, but that you soon realize were there all along. A minor complaint is that they both try to keep the same cast and expand it at the same time. Guest stars like Sae's little sister show up, but aren't focused on. The much loved Yoshinoya-sensei gets even more screen time, and is exposed probably more than any other. But giving Yuno's parents multiple episodes was a mistake - I agree with the message of youthful spirit overriding actual age, but this a cute show with cute girls, end of story. Seeing middle aged characters in chibi-style is just disturbing.
You probably wouldn't look up Hidamari Sketch x 365 unless you were familiar with the original, in which case you need to watch it: it's just as enjoyable. You certainly could start with the sequel if you wanted to, the pace is nice and slow.
Ultimately, I must give them both the same recommendation, for anyone who can at least tolerate the cutest young girls in anime and who's inner child longs for the days when you could curl up in a blanket and spend the day sipping coco with good friends.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 16, 2010
If the world of anime was a diner, Hidamari Sketch wouldn't just be the cake, it would be a whole damn bowl of chocolate frosting.
Here you will find a show for an extremely specific audience, one that probably isn't for most fans, to be honest. Not only is it the dreaded slice of life genre, but it's unapologetically moe to boot! Both of these subsets have quite vocal critics, and if you insist on rejecting a show based on either qualification, then stop reading right now.
But if you're curious about why I hold Hidamari Sketch in such high regard despite these two facts,
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and if you're patient enough to judge something for yourself, you'll find here a production without equal. Like any anime, it just requires the proper mindset going in. Especially if you've never seen a real slice of life show before, prepare for a whole lot of nothing. Each and every of the 12 episodes begins and ends exactly the same way; Yuno wakes up hitting her alarm clock and goes to bed after taking a bath. But the magic lies in what the writing does for the show despite such an unexciting premise. Anyone can create tension and drama with premises like magical witches, superhuman fighters or giant mechs; it takes something special to make viewers respond to everyday activities. Yuno and her friends have that in spades.
That pacing is the most unique thing about Hidamari Sketch in the end. Unlike just about every other show, it's shown anachronistically (out of order), with one episode for each month. But instead of being chaotic, the resulting pacing is seamlessly continuous. The subtle beauty of connecting motifs and barely stated plot points one after another creates an experience that seemingly never ends. When the last episode finally arrives (quite quickly, as the show tends to suck you in), the full context of the first episode is revealed and a real sense of maturity descends.
That's the other beautiful thing about the show, the delicacy of the themes. Common things like coming of age, friendship, independence and childhood dreams are addressed, but instead of being beat over the head again and again like less articulate shows, morals are only ever implied. You have to look for the rewards here, but the result is much more satisfying.
Outside of the writing, that overriding moe style is quite unavoidable, for better or worse. It really is for the best if you can at least stand cuteness upon cuteness, and if that's a delicacy of yours, then look no further! Basically, that overused chibi style is used more often than the character's normal designs. And the loli fan-service, for lack of a better descriptor, rears it's ugly head more often then any cute pretext could pretend to require. While on the subject of design, the animation could be called...simplistic at best. To fit with the overriding cute style, things are seemingly left out. For example, other students are left as blank silhouettes, random objects like alarm clocks and vegetables are drawn photo-realistically, and passing cars are only animated as a cutout with the word "car". If you're a stickler for big production value, then this might be an issue. But again, it's not a bad thing. If you can open your mind to see what kind of story can be told without all the bangs and whistles, then you can begin to appreciate it.
Yuno and her three friends are quite a paradox, really. Each one can be quickly associated with a primary color personality, but the way they mix together will astonish you. You'll see them gradually mature over the course of a year, and you'll grow right along with them if your inner child can at all remember what that age was like. For an anime based on the lives of student artists, it might seem like very little drawing actually takes place. Just like everything else, this is all part of the illusion. Each time something small is sacrificed, tiny and intricate rewards pop up at every turn. Whether you're looking for a pleasant diversion for the young at heart, a blatant nostalgic trip to childhood days gone by, or an incessantly cute comedy craving, Hidamari Sketch will leave you with a smile.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 30, 2010
Anyone who's been to an sensational rock concert can tell you how easy it is to lose yourself in a wave of music. Anyone who's ever lost an old friend can tell you how hard it is to say goodbye too soon. And anyone who's ever been to public school already knows the value of a little recreational delinquency. Angel beats tries to mix themes such as these alongside more than a handful of different genres/styles. For only 13 episodes, it has nothing if not ambition.
As a result, Angel Beats is very unique in that, when it does so well, it can aspire to
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the heights of not just one but many different kinds of anime. The strongest of these is the music. Holy crap the music. Words can't come close to the spirit even the shortest clips bring to the show. If you're at all curious, find a recording of the OP (My Soul, Your Beats) to get a good idea. What seals it to a ten, though, is the in-show girl band Girl's Dead Monster, which goes far beyond functioning what could have been just a minor plot device. Each concert is exquisite; the full album that was recently released is proof in itself.
Artistically, Angel Beats leaves very little to be desired. Character designs, while largely stock material, go through a few unexpected changes. Combat is fast-paced, fluid and intense. When the rare occasion for artistic locations crops up, the animation does not disappoint.
Those stock characters aren't really bad, just a necessity of having three main characters alongside a supporting cast of about 16 in such a short series. The show does better and better to develop backstory, weave relationships and the like as time goes on. These stories range from what you'd expect in a series set in purgatory - i.e., everyone regrets something - to the surprisingly personal. One really wonders how the expanded cast could have been utilized if the plot didn't force the show onward in the last two or three episodes. Still, anyone can find a favorite student to watch - and that's not even taking into account the awesomeness that is TK. Don't stop dancing, get chance and luck!
That plot is Angel Beats' single largest flaw. The premise is promising enough, and about nine or ten episodes in it does just fine. Hilarious interactions give way to exciting fights, over-the-top Japanese sports events and so on. But the show's climax comes a little out of left field, and ends up being precisely one episode too early, leaving a good 25 minutes filled awkwardly. Even the show's early scenes suffer from this in retrospect. So many good questions about destiny, life after death and eternal love are either subverted or go plain unanswered.
In the end, Angel Beats both lives and dies on the unique little details it contains. A perfect example is the theme of RPG elements like NPCs, invincible enemies and even a hit counter. Things like this are quite delicious, but leave you wishing for a bit more. But fans of almost any kind will find something to enjoy here, be it comedy, action, romance, drama or good old animation. Angel Beats provides quite a tangible experience for those looking for one; I know I'll be humming these songs for days to come.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 29, 2010
I guess I might as well start off by saying that this review won't be liked by a good number of fans who loved the first season of Gunslinger Girl and hated the vast number of changes that Il Teatrino made to the original. Having seen and loved season one myself, I will concede that it was a better adaptation in every department. However, to leave it at that does the series a great injustice.
The biggest flaw Il Teatrino struggles with throughout all 13 episodes, to the point where some action scenes are really hampered, is quite poor animation. I'm hardly an expert when it
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comes to anime, and I can't speak to Artland's other productions, but it really gets in the way of the storytelling. Now personally, I judge an anime's artistic value as more than pure animation, and this provides a good example. See, the show still remains remarkably faithful to Yu Aida's manga, and a great many scenes are artistically painted, and even some of the additions they made in the form of motifs and symbols are quite beautiful. Of course the poor animation wounds all this. But don't let that stop you from trying Il Teatrino unless the only thing you care about is seamless production.
Sound-wise, Il Teatrino is a bit of a mixed bag. Another popular complaint is that they changed every voice actor in the original dub for the sequel (at least in the original Japanese dub, so you're in luck if you like the English dub), and while that's a shame, none of the original cast stuck out that much. I do have a few minor complaints about their new casting (I'm looking at you, Rico), but overall they're quite competent. The characteristic classical soundtrack in the original is amiss, but it's been replaced with largely satisfying piano interludes that are actually tied into the character relationships pretty uniquely. The only downside is that one theme in particular gets quite stale, so take of it what you will. Kokia's "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" does a great job in the OP as well.
Where Il Teatrino really makes up for all it's admitted shortcomings is in both character development and storytelling. Gone is the rather immature storytelling in the original where villains were new every episode and never stood a chance. Il Teatrino does an exceptional job of painting a much clearer, intelligent plot line throughout. The original series gained strength with each major character background it wove into the plot; the sequel only really has one more such origin to tell with Triela, but boy is it a doozie. Just like the first Gunslinger Girl, don't get too involved if you're faint of heart, but the reward is immense if you aren't.
Unfortunately, this is also where many fans of just the first anime will protest. For while it did so tastefully, the first season rearranged the events in the manga liberally to provide an emotional ending. Without spoiling anything, fans who only watched the anime were basically mislead to think a certain main character died. So her unapologetic return understandably raises some eyebrows. Now, in my opinion, Il Teatrino is really doing the only thing it can; for a series so faithful to the manga, it can't just retcon at will.
Narrow-minded fans looking for a pure sequel to the first Gunslinger Girl and nothing else won't take easily to Il Teatrino. New fans, as well as fans of the manga and those willing to accept a different interpretation, should take to the emotional literature, heartwarming relationships and philosophical desperation much better. In other words, Il Teatrino isn't for everyone. And while the original may never be equaled, Yu Aida has here a story worth telling by any means necessary.
Above all, this is a series about humanity; I, for one, forgive it for showing a few humanistic flaws.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 28, 2010
Ah, School Days. What an experience. It's become such a phenomenon in the anime community (Nice Boat!) that most people have probably already seen it. If you haven't for whatever reason - and especially if you haven't had the ending spoiled - you're missing a diverse little head trip.
First off, you're going to need a good bit of patience. SD likes to tease it's audience, to the point that you could really consider the first 11 episodes as painfully slow buildup to the (admittedly awesome) finale. That tension encompasses a veritable roller-coaster of emotions, styles and themes. You'll see cute awkwardness give way
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to genuine affection, best friends turn on each other and just about every girl in this school find the main character to inexplicably be a sex God. Oh Japan, so silly.
That would be the easiest way to categorize School Days, as a harem anime. It doesn't really come out until about halfway through, but once it does, it doesn't shy away from the taboo. The show shifts genres parallel to a shift in tone from the witty, cheesy cliches that japanimation is famous for into a bleak social commentary so smoothly and naturally that disbelief is never broken.
This is really School Days' biggest strength; being able to contrast perverted grade school humor with stark images of heartbreak. You can easily go into the show just looking for a lighthearted diversion and be satisfied. Similarly, if you're willing to sit through the shtick humor and (at first) angst-ridden melodrama, you'll end up with surprisingly well-developed characters and an extremely gratifying ending.
Artistically, the show isn't perfect. The animation isn't bad, in fact several scenes were quite evocative, if a bit trope-heavy. The voice acting really shines, especially later on, once the characters round out, at least in the Japanese dub. The soundtrack is straight J-pop for better or worse. One nice little facet is that they use a rotating selection of songs for the end credits, keeping the experience fresh. They only add music to a handful of scenes within the show, and while I really liked them all, more music overall would've helped.
School Days ultimately suffers from an unfortunate medium transition. Originally appearing as a harem simulation game with multiple unique endings, the anime directors had the difficult task of picking one ending to a story meant to be dynamic and fluid. Many elements of this carry over; prepare for innuendo more overused than some (perhaps not all) may care for, and anyone who can sit through the first 11 episodes and not want to become a staunch feminist should probably seek a psychiatrist. That said, I was surprised to find the care to storytelling present in what I wrongly assumed would be a shallow perversion. It's no classic, but I enjoyed taking the time to absorb the experience.
And I sure as hell am going to think twice before I go out with two girls at once.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 27, 2010
Gunslinger Girl is like nothing I have ever seen before. I stumbled upon the series enticed by the premise of young girls working as assassins, but I found so much more. I laughed, cried and grew along with each girl as the story progressed.
The show might not be so well received by viewers looking for a different approach. See, although at first glance GG appears to be an action series, once you get two or three episodes in you begin to understand it's really a character driven drama. So if you go in expecting over-the-top gunfights ever other scene, you're going to be disappointed. But
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this hardly takes away from the show's weight; once you find yourself relating to one of the five main characters, you'll be hooked until the all too soon end.
That's one of the show's biggest strengths and weaknesses at the same time - it's very short, only about 4 hours, 20 minutes in all. With such a big cast to support, this means a few very intriguing characters really only get one or two scenes to shine in. But boy do they shine. Each episode is filled with very heavy overtones about mortality, unrequited love and loss of innocence, despite whatever plot happens to be going on. Not to say that the plot is poorly written or that the action is bad - on the contrary, several fights keep you on the edge of your seat, and a few specific villains were set up quite well to perhaps return later on (I haven't yet seen the sequel or read the manga). And this also means that it's quite easy to do what I did and power through the 13 episodes in a day or two.
There's one warning I have to issue above any other; GG doesn't just pull at your heartstrings, it rips them right out. I was left in tears at the end of the series, and I doubt I was the only one. Each girl's story is shown to be tragic, some even more so than others. Anyone who's ever questioned their own mortality, had a hard life growing up or ever been disillusioned about love will find themselves wrapped up in each girl's story. It's absolutely worth it, just don't go in expecting all happy endings.
What really sold me at the end of the day was the art style. Madhouse did a superb job adapting what was already a great story into a true artistic masterpiece. The animation, symbolism, dialogue (I watched the sub, but from the one episode of the dub I watched it's not much worse), music and characters come together perfectly. One thing about the music - the mostly classical soundtrack fits wonderfully, but it eventually gets a bit overused, and the strange fight music isn't as great. But overall, Gunslinger Girl is a work of art that I'll be watching several more times and that I sincerely recommend anyone looking for a emotional piece of literature give a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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