October 30th, 2009
A Belated Summer Recap
Anime Relations: Bakemonogatari, Taishou Yakyuu Musume., Canaan, GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Kanamemo, Sora no Manimani, Aoi Hana, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Aoi Hana, Taishou Yakyuu Musume, Sora no Manimani, GA, Kanamemo, Bakemonogatari, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and Canaan were my picks for the last season to finish, and I've been holding off writing this, mostly because my connection's been so poor for the last two months or so that I haven't actually been able to finish them. Still, I think I've got a reasonable idea of where they all sit in my rankings at this point.
Bakemonogatari was without a doubt the best of the season; an incredibly atmospheric and beautifully stylish offering from SHAFT (admittedly I've only seen five episodes - I'm saving the rest to watch in a group). It's followed by Taishou Yakyuu Musume, a show that surprised me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, and had even considered not bothering with it at all, but I'm glad I watched it - it was light and fun, with some strong characters and pleasant interaction between them.
The other two worth commenting on were Aoi Hana and Sora no Manimani. The former because well-done serious shoujo-ai is rare and Aoi Hana pulled off the relationships solidly. I feel that they could have done a better job with more episodes (without spoiling, the ending was slightly disappointing, but the only thing they could plausibly have done with the girls' relationship without some more build up), but I've no idea whether there's more manga material for a second season. The latter was incredibly variable, with some sublime moments reminiscent of healing shows such as Sketchbook and Aria when the characters were actually stargazing to over-the-top and unamusing comedy for the rest of the time. It was unfortunate that the stargazing took up only perhaps five minutes of each episode of Sora no Manimani on average - had the focus been more on that and less on making bad jokes, it might have been a really strong series. As it is, it was merely an 'okay' series.
Shows I disliked were Canaan (inevitable, really, given that I am easily bored by action unless the plot has suspense and mystery) and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, mostly for totally unfair reasons (children below a certain age, whether in real life or anime, invariably irritate me intensely, so when two of them are the main characters, I'm never going to like the show, however good it is for other reasons).
As for this Autumn, I'm going for Kimi ni Todoke, Sasameki Koto, Winter Sonata and White Album 2. A high school romance show, a shoujo-ai romance show and two serious romance/drama shows. Comments implying that I need more variety in genres are forbidden ^_^. (Any other comments are very welcome.)
Bakemonogatari was without a doubt the best of the season; an incredibly atmospheric and beautifully stylish offering from SHAFT (admittedly I've only seen five episodes - I'm saving the rest to watch in a group). It's followed by Taishou Yakyuu Musume, a show that surprised me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, and had even considered not bothering with it at all, but I'm glad I watched it - it was light and fun, with some strong characters and pleasant interaction between them.
The other two worth commenting on were Aoi Hana and Sora no Manimani. The former because well-done serious shoujo-ai is rare and Aoi Hana pulled off the relationships solidly. I feel that they could have done a better job with more episodes (without spoiling, the ending was slightly disappointing, but the only thing they could plausibly have done with the girls' relationship without some more build up), but I've no idea whether there's more manga material for a second season. The latter was incredibly variable, with some sublime moments reminiscent of healing shows such as Sketchbook and Aria when the characters were actually stargazing to over-the-top and unamusing comedy for the rest of the time. It was unfortunate that the stargazing took up only perhaps five minutes of each episode of Sora no Manimani on average - had the focus been more on that and less on making bad jokes, it might have been a really strong series. As it is, it was merely an 'okay' series.
Shows I disliked were Canaan (inevitable, really, given that I am easily bored by action unless the plot has suspense and mystery) and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, mostly for totally unfair reasons (children below a certain age, whether in real life or anime, invariably irritate me intensely, so when two of them are the main characters, I'm never going to like the show, however good it is for other reasons).
As for this Autumn, I'm going for Kimi ni Todoke, Sasameki Koto, Winter Sonata and White Album 2. A high school romance show, a shoujo-ai romance show and two serious romance/drama shows. Comments implying that I need more variety in genres are forbidden ^_^. (Any other comments are very welcome.)
Posted by Neve | Oct 30, 2009 5:50 PM | 0 comments
June 15th, 2009
The End of Spring, and the Start of Summer
Anime Relations: Fuyu no Sonata, Hatsukoi Limited., Senjou no Valkyria, Higashi no Eden, K-On!, Aoi Hana
Of the Spring series, K-ON! has (predictably) quite effortlessly retained its place as my favourite throughout the season. Fantastic characters, great comedy, and a really appealing art style push it out far in front of its competition. Mugi > Yui > Ritsu > Mio, of course (grrr to all you foolish Mio fans out there).
Competing for second place are Valkyria Chronicles and Eden of the East. The former is currently slightly in the lead, mostly because it reminds me of my favourite Allison & Lillia. The latter started out looking fantastic, dropped very suddenly around the middle, and has now pulled itself together again. It all hangs on the ending, however.
Also of note is Hatsukoi Limited. On watching the first episode, I got the impression that it was going to be a very shallow romantic comedy with lots of fanservice, and almost gave up on it then and there. It has evolved, however, into a rather charming drama/slice of life series with enough comedy to keep it feeling lighthearted, and some very well done pieces of character interaction.
Of the summer series, the one I'm most looking forward to is Aoi Hana. The drama/yuri theme caught my attention, as the last show I saw that used that is now by far my favourite of all time. I also like the look of the rather unique art style. Other series I'm looking forward to are Winter Sonata (potentially some nice drama), and Geijutsuka (if only for something else that feels like Aria). I'll probably pick up a bunch of others as well (see my 'plan to watch' list), most of which I'll most likely drop after a few episodes.
Competing for second place are Valkyria Chronicles and Eden of the East. The former is currently slightly in the lead, mostly because it reminds me of my favourite Allison & Lillia. The latter started out looking fantastic, dropped very suddenly around the middle, and has now pulled itself together again. It all hangs on the ending, however.
Also of note is Hatsukoi Limited. On watching the first episode, I got the impression that it was going to be a very shallow romantic comedy with lots of fanservice, and almost gave up on it then and there. It has evolved, however, into a rather charming drama/slice of life series with enough comedy to keep it feeling lighthearted, and some very well done pieces of character interaction.
Of the summer series, the one I'm most looking forward to is Aoi Hana. The drama/yuri theme caught my attention, as the last show I saw that used that is now by far my favourite of all time. I also like the look of the rather unique art style. Other series I'm looking forward to are Winter Sonata (potentially some nice drama), and Geijutsuka (if only for something else that feels like Aria). I'll probably pick up a bunch of others as well (see my 'plan to watch' list), most of which I'll most likely drop after a few episodes.
Posted by Neve | Jun 15, 2009 6:24 PM | 2 comments
April 2nd, 2009
Spring Anime & Japanese
I write this whilst waiting with increasing anticipation for the release of CoalGuys sub of K-ON!, which will mark the start of my spring anime season. Kyoto's most recent offering is the series which I have the most hope for, and it will be impressive indeed if it manages to fulfill my excessively high expectations. The other series that has potential to be awesome is the re-make of FMA. I enjoyed watching FMA a while back, and this version supposedly sticks more faithfully to the manga (whilst I have not read the manga myself, series that stick to the manga they are adapted from are almost invariably better than those which deviate). My other picks for this season can be found on my 'plan to watch' list, if anyone cares, although I will probably drop at least three of those, and pick up at least one more later on.
On an unrelated note, my attempts at learning Japanese have been steaily progressing. Now that I can read hiragana and katakana fluently, I have been able to start learning grammar and vocabulary. I also have motivation in the form of the first Marimite light novel, which is sitting on my desk, and which I will very much enjoy translating as soon as I am able to do so with a dictionary.
On an unrelated note, my attempts at learning Japanese have been steaily progressing. Now that I can read hiragana and katakana fluently, I have been able to start learning grammar and vocabulary. I also have motivation in the form of the first Marimite light novel, which is sitting on my desk, and which I will very much enjoy translating as soon as I am able to do so with a dictionary.
Posted by Neve | Apr 2, 2009 10:51 AM | 0 comments