Yikes, has it really been eleven days since I posted last? Shocking. I’ve been doing alot of overtime at work, so there’s not been alot spare to even think about blogging. Apologies!
Anyways, we’re roughly halfway through the summer 2009 Anime season now (its around episode 6-7 territory), so I thought it was time for the usual ‘what I’m watching and what’s been good and other rants etc.’ type post.
A warning in Advance: SPOILERS AHOY!
CANAAN
Well, considering how excited I was at the start of the season for CANAAN, I have to say its been in a gradual decline, generally speaking, since its opening act. Maria has said ‘Sugoi!’ far too many times to be a regular person, and Canaan herself stopping a Smart bomb from hitting the right spot was a little silly. Not to mention the fact that they allowed the villians security company to mediate the proceedings of a Peace Talk EVEN when THEY KNEW it was a cover operation for their terrorist activities. Thats just immense stupidity, surely. However…now that theres less sister yuri going on and perhaps an actual bit of development of the plot, things may begin to look up again for the series.
Clearly, a reliable source. Apparently this is enough to convince the vice president to launch an airstrike though. Seriously, WHAT!?
You don’t say… You have to admire his strength though, completely resisting a bunch of swat team members.
Good lord Maria, I think your job description is to secretly provide excess fanservice, isn’t it?
Princess Lover
I’m quite happy to declare that, assuming one ignores the hiccup of stupidity that is Episode 6, Princess Lover is perhaps one of the best Harem shows I have seen in all time. Teppai is a very strong, confident male lead. I can actually manage to bring myself to respect his character. Considering nearly all protagonists of these kind of shows turn out to be gutless idiots, this is a fabulous improvement. Charlotte is…okay. She is the irritating airhead archetype, but her natural bravado saves her a little. Sylvie is still quite literally Saber with chest implants. Seika is a typical tsundere. So his harem is fairly generic, but above average as well.
He resolved the Seika situation (that is to say, her innate hate of his family) rather well. Looks like a bribe in this pic though, LOL.
Charlotte does the puppy dog eyes on Sylvie.
Hideki! Hideki! Hideki! Hideki! (poorly disguised Chobits reference…)
Bakemonogatari
Now this has gone from strength to strength, making it quite possibly my favourite show at the moment this season. Again, the fact that Araragi is a great male lead really helps the show, but in this case, unlike Princess Lover, the girls are very unique as well. You’d think that with Senjogahara setting such a high bar with her pocket dimension of stationary, that others couldn’t measure, but that hardly seems the case. More interestingly, the fact that Araragi has already chosen (or maybe, chosen by) Senjogahara is rather refreshing. No angsting over relationships here, no sir-ree. The main couple are already going out. Progress in relationships!? In an anime!? SHOCKING!
Good on you, sir! But think about cutting that fringe of hair, yes?
Considering that Araragi is your first boyfriend, this statement is rather unnecessary. Though it just highlights her violent possessive character, I guess.
Assuming it isn’t obvious, from scenes like this. You cheat on this girl, she stabs you in the eye with a fineliner. Its probably a good thing that he still has his vampire regeneration, eh?
Especially when this happens. Ouch.
Spice and Wolf Second Season
Good to get into this again, though in actual fact, I blitzed the episodes 3-6 in a short marathon, because I knew this would cover the part of the novels which I had already read on the Baka-Tsuki Fan Translations site. Nevertheless, they covered that section very well and I thought it was very nice to see it animated. Whats more, its a great relationship development exercise for Lawrence and Horo as well as the usual test of his and her merchantile partnership and capabilities. The result of this development is shown quite evidently in episode 7. Again, relationship development in my anime!? I thank the person who took away the reset switch.
KAWAII!!! … is literally the only caption fit for this shot.
Lawrence actually starting to blush at Horo’s antics is amusing too.
I suspect that Horo’s tail sticking out when she gets excited will eventually prove a problem.
Yoko Wakeru Gendai Mahou
Well, this is still pretty lighthearted with the undertones of a plot that may develop. In fact, it went back in time for the second and third episodes to reintroduce how the characters basically came into contact properly. But the roles are still solidly defined. You know, with the whole Yumiko as the ineffectual but powerful fall-girl, Kaho as the deadpan humour girl, etc.
Still, despite the lack of any actual development of any importance, the antics that this lot get up to are still rather bemusing and worth the time.
Yumiko seems to have a penchant for accidently losing her underwear. Poor girl.
Yep, its just pink fanservice goo. Nothing to worry about at all.
At least she has enthusiasm. And of course, the ability to make lots of washpans.
The New Haruhi Season
Oh dear…thank lord the Endless Eight Saga is over. It was FAR TOO LONG, Kyoani! The last four repititions, I just lept through the episodes. Two would have been fair enough. Three…perhaps. But…it…just…kept…on…going… Repeating the same episode over six times, even if it is totally re-animated with subtle differences, was just ridiculous. I know you’re trying to express Yuki’s boredom at the thousands of summer holiday repititions that she had to sit through, but as I say, that could have been adequetely communicated in three episodes. If it had of been three-four eps, I would have been cheering for the resolution. As it stands, however, I was just thinking ‘jeez, its over at last…’.
Now, finally, we’re getting an insight into the Adventures of Asahina Mikuru, the daft ‘movie’ that was shown way back as the first ever Haruhi episode for no reason and then given absolutely no explaination at all in the first season. Back to the fun part of Haruhi. About bloody time.
There was a script, really? Although it is amusing, because Yuki is in fact a magical space alien.
Poor Mikuru suffers alot, as usual, in this episode.
I imagine the blue contact lens was forced into her eye by Haruhi, after all. She looks like she just took a punch.
PandoraHearts
This went on to surprise me from last season, with its obvious Lewis Carroll and Arthur Conan Doyle influences, eventually nabbing the space and its still going in my repotoire as a fun show. To me, it doesn’t look like that they can conclude it in 26 episodes either, but we shall see. The little run in with the Baskervilles, and the fact that Oz has Jack possessing him, not to mention the actual secrets behind the tragedy of Sabrire (why did Glen suddenly go beserk? Does it have to do with the pocketwatch?) and whole Bezurius vs. Nightray rift is still all to be explained, after all.
Also, the last episode I watched was basically a fanservice episode, with Oscar getting everyone drunk, which was hilarious, but had a distinct lack of actual plot development (except Gilbert pouring his worries out, I suppose). Still, its very enjoyable.
Sharon might be cute, but she can’t hold alcohol.
Suddenly, she switches into Ojou-sama dominatrix mode (complete with Rose Borders!) when drunk. I laughed.
Alice, on the other hand, just decides she’s too hot when drunk and strips.
—–
Anyway, I think that about sorts it for now. Hopefully, the long post makes up for the fairly long absensce, yes? See ya again soon!
Detarame 
Angel Beats and B Gata H Kei: First Impressions
Posted in Anime, First Impressions, tagged Angel Beats!, Anime, B Gata H Kei, Commentary, Haruhi, Hilarity, Mindfuck, Previews, Random, Thoughts, Truth and Conflict on April 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Well, the Spring-Summer 2010 Season has begun; and I’ll try to throw out a couple of preview posts again. We’ll start with B Gata H Kei, as that ended up being the first thing I watched; and then move onto Angel Beats.
B Gata H Kei
Not too far off on my initial impressions. Though, actually turns out I Mistranslated Yamada having 100 sexual fantasies. Instead, she has an aspiration to have 100 sex friends (aka. Friends with Benefits) during her time at high school. Yup, thats right, this girl’s life aspiration is to be a complete slut. No really:
This weeks show is sponsored by the Letter H and the Number 100.
Yamada meets her ‘future first time’, as she calls him, in a bookstore, by falling off a stepladder and pantsu smashing him. In any other cliche harem series, this would be a normal first meeting, of course. But her first question to him is not his name, but rather: “Are you a virgin?”. Which makes the poor boy run out crying.
I have a stomach-ache, so you must touch my breasts immediately! There’s medical evidence that this helps!
Now, normal people can’t get these two activities mixed up, I would imagine.
Captain Obvious has a higher IQ than Yamada. It took her weeks to come to this conclusion.
You don’t say. You stole his umbrella and forced you way into his house.
Despite the assistance of her personal sex devil on the shoulder, it looks to be a long hard process (yes, groan inducing pun intended) as Yamada has no idea, really, how to go about her task.
I think this show sets a new record for the number of times I raised an eyebrow whilst watching. Its just amazing how it gets away with being so…Blatant. I don’t think there’s a better word for it. Somehow, probably because it is so over the top, it manages to cross right through disturbing and end up being somehow marginally funny again. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I chuckled a couple of times; but they do make expert use of facial expressions and signs (there’s some golden ones in the above shots).
I suppose, if you don’t take it seriously, its not a bad choice. Though I had little hope for it initially, it marginally amused me and I have to say I’m at least going to continue looking into it for now.
Angel Beats
Again, not too far off in my initial impressions of this. The setting is indeed the afterlife, and shows a conflict between rebellious souls and the order in charge (which, at the moment seems to be purely represented by a single girl…).
A guy with amnesia, who doesn’t remember his name, wakes up at night in the grounds of a school complex. Nearby is a clone of Haruhi girl with a sniper rifle who explains to him that he’s dead and she is trying to shoot an Angel. Of course, he thinks she’s just a loony, especially when he sees her targeting an apparently normal girl and then another of her friends also shows up bearing arms. He leaves to speak with the ‘Angel’.
Definately a clone of Haruhi. Even the manner is the same. Just with a palette-swap.
At least the Angel girl is cute, but then I’m biased since I have weakness for silver hair and quietness masking ultraviolence.
Anyway, he eventually believes the Angel is also in the gig when she collaborates the story of him being dead. Well, until she stabs him through the heart with a Protoss psionic arm-blade when he asks her to prove it. Ouch.
He wakes up perfectly fine in the school infimiary, though his shirt is covered in blood. A crazy loony with a Halberd shows up and proceeds to tear into our protagonist for insulting Yurippe (the Haruhi clone) last night. Apparently with a 100 hit combo:
Is this actually an episode of Dokuro-chan? I was waiting for a Piru-Piru-Pipiru-Pi!
After being torn to shreds, he wakes up again an hour later, only to be killed again whilst exploring the school by a giant ceiling concealed mallet which blows him out of a 5th floor window:
Having his immortality now proved to him three times, he is then recruited by the rebels, for no apparent reason. Despite his general reluctance, they manage to sway him through talk of him being re-incarnated as a water flea (lul wut?). Or so it seems. His apparent reason is that it gives him chance to recall his memories.
Shortly afterwards, Haruhi clone Yurippe teaches him some philosophy, some handgun marksmanship, and then announces their first mission, to steal lunch tickets from the NPC population. What?
Of course, during this time, he is ‘attacked’ by the angel girl from before. He surprises himself by hitting her in the kidneys, but it apparently doesn’t do much. He runs away.
Eventually, the angel girl is held down with combined supression fire, whilst some the rebels stage a rock concert (WHAT?) in the dining hall. Of course, this is really just a battle of diversion, apparently, as the angel has a bulletproof forcefield that blocks and curves shots away by throwing hexadecimal numbers at them…
Apparently the concert is actually a distraction. The real plan is activate a wind tunnel machine that is built into the hall and blow all of the lunch tickets into the courtyard where they can be grabbed. Why they went to so much effort when surely some simple sleight of hand would have sufficed is truly beyond me.
Erm, oooohkkkaayy… is what I mainly have to say about this show in general. Much of the episode seemed a little too fast paced, and as a result, glossed over the explaination of what the hell is going on. It is true enough that some shows present an inconcievable first episode and then explain it with a second, though, so I guess we shall have to see. I wasn’t really too impressed by the slapstick humour either, to be honest, but oh well.
Its kinda surprising on how the shows have done a flip from my estimations. I feel that, for now at least, I’m more enthusiatic about B Gata than Angel Beats, which is the opposite of what I expected. Anyway, hope these initial posts are helpful to you guys. I’ll try to keep up with others this season, so cya then, eh?
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