Sasami-san@Ganbaranai Episode 1 Discussion

Lelouch22 said:
That was an exceedingly bizarre introductory episode, and, though I’m slightly intrigued by several aspects of the show, the incoherent and largely uninteresting material, along with the highly inconsistent execution, detracts from the show immensely; to the point where this episode and, in turn, the show is derived solely from a conscientious tonal dissonance and an abundance of pandering nonsense. The excessively offbeat nature of this episode doesn’t particularly lend itself towards a favorable impression, as it’s far too needlessly fragmentary and essentially devoid of even a singular glimpse of narrative potential. Essentially, this was a thoroughly nonsensical tapestry of a plethora of disparate elements, lacking in a necessary cohesion within the story, which resulted in an episode that was disappointingly trite and largely mediocre.

The opening was easily the worst sequence in this episode, as it was disturbingly voyeuristic in nature, which, I suppose, applies to the entire episode, for that matter, unnecessarily lingering on Sasami and her brother’s seemingly incestuous tendencies. Sasami’s interactions with Paparin were definitely the worst element within this episode, as they consistently strayed towards fully establishing an unnecessarily creepy dynamic. This narrative flaw within the episode is largely due to the brother’s involvement, since he’s consistently the most irritating character in the show. Though surrealistic and considerably illogical, the action sequence towards the end was quite enjoyable and very well-animated, but alas, nearly every moment aside from those few were comprehensively terrible and worthless within the construct of the “narrative“. If only the thoroughly poor direction hadn’t partially squandered the potential for momentary brilliance.

Though expected, the numerous intonations towards a vaguely incestuous dynamic throughout the episode, and, in particular, the interactions between Sasami and her brother, was an unfortunate and highly uninteresting aspect, as it only detracts from the relationships between the characters. As such, Sasami’s seeming attraction towards her brother, though expected, is quite disappointing, since it heavily cheapens their interactions and will likely be detrimental to the story, especially if her affections become unmistakably romantic in nature.

The characters, so far, aside from Tsuguri and Sasami, to an extent, are very uninteresting and completely devoid of actual characterization. They are, for the most part, particularly soulless, lacking the subtly complex or engaging personalities that are necessary for the effectiveness of their interactions. Perhaps this thoroughly noticeable flaw will be remedied as the story progresses, but it seems distinctly unlikely at this point. The effectiveness of the comedic touches throughout was essentially non-existent and, at most, quite inconsistent, typically elevating towards it’s marginal best whenever Tsuguri was directly involved, as her personality complements the humor far better than any other character.

The direction was highly inconsistent and detrimentally poor, resulting in incoherent storytelling throughout the episode. The character designs are quite impressive, as they’re more individualistic than I initially expected. Musically, this episode was very good, as this particular aspect easily distinguishes itself as the best throughout, most evidently illustrated by the whimsical selection that accompanied the closing scene. The animation, as well, was great, particularly throughout much of the action sequence. The OP was decent, but quite forgettable in nearly every area. The ED was simply atrocious and offensively lazy.

All in all, Sasami-san is essentially devoid of any particular element that’s even remotely compelling, resulting in what is the most disappointing show of the season, as the first episode made it perfectly clear that it possesses little to no noticeable potential. Stylistically, the show is quite appealing, but, aside from that rather insignificant element, the first episode never exceeds beyond a disappointingly tiresome mediocrity, often resolving itself to a thoroughly uninteresting repetition of needlessly perverse antics and dull interactions.