What are you Watching?

[Animusubi]

Finished re-watching The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. I enjoyed it more the second time around, even Endless Eight...to a degree. >_> It was nice to watch the movie again.

Now I'm watching Ace of Diamond, which is awesome so far! And I'm 4 episodes away from finishing Record of Lodoss War.

It kind of bugs me sometimes that many anime fans kind of look down upon the episodic format, as if any anime that isn't some epic serial Tolstoyian epic is a "crude" and "dated" form of entertainment. Sometimes you just want to pop something in for 20 minutes or so and enjoy good animation, good writing and short, unpretentious stories that wrap up in one sitting. Even with Cowboy Bebop, fans tend to value the episodes that "move the overarching story forward" rather than the one shots.

[Char Aznable]

I recently finished up the Mardock Scramble trilogy. The director's cuts were better than the original versions but, overall, I wasn't blown away by the movies. I've read the original novels which were, at times, enjoyable, but had the tendency to drag on. The whole casino/poker tangent gets very tedious in the novel. I bought the blu-rays with the hopes I'd enjoy them more, but will probably toss them on eBay.

I also watched Fate/Zero. It was an interesting concept, had some intriguing characters and was very well animated. I'm now four episodes in Fate/Stay Night--but, unfortunately, I should have watched Night before Zero. It's hard coming down from such great animation to somewhat lesser production values. My other issue is I'm not digging Shirou Emiya, the main character of Night. I hope he moves out of the "whiny hero" archetype as the show goes on. Still interested to see where the show goes.

[llj]

Anyone a fan of WMT anime?

I've finally gotten my hands on a full set of Little Princess Sara, an anime I've wanted to watch for a long time. I also snagged a set Cantonese language set of the first half of The Story of Perrine.

Many, many, years ago back in college I watched 2 episodes of Sara and at the time I was sure I just watched one of the best shows of the WMT library. And indeed, the animation, direction and designs do hold up quite well. But so far through 10 episodes, I'm finding elements about it that grate a little--one dimensional "villains", a Mary Sue protagonist, and the rather petty emotional cruelty inflicted upon the "good" characters seems a little audience-manipulative at times. And it will probably get worse as Sara tumbles down the social ladder soon. I've read a bit of the novel, but it seems to have taken a more distant tone compared to the anime. It's still a wonderfully crafted show but I wonder if I got psyched up too much for it over the years. I'm not sure how I'll react to 30+ episodes of Sara being treated like shit by some snotty bitches while she tries to keep her head up.

Perrine, though, was a complete unknown. I'd picked it up solely on a short synopsis. The online screenshots didn't look the best. That said, I'm actually really enjoying this show right now. It's episodic so far, but I think out of all the WMT characters I've seen so far, Perrine is shaping up to be one of my favourite protagonists. Unlike Anne (of Green Gables) or Sara, she's less self-righteous, less sheltered, and more practical and pragmatic. She's still optimistic, resourceful, and kind-hearted like all WMT protagonists usually are, but she's older (at age 13 she is surely one of the older WMT protagonists) and less emotionally melodramatic, a little tougher in her "let's just get on with it" attitude. Making money and looking out for herself and her mother are more important to her than trying to be friends with everyone she meets. She'll do you a favour if you help her, but she won't waste time in one place and try to solve a stranger's problems out of the goodness of her own heart. That makes her a more realistic character while still being likeable. Of course, from what I've read of the brief plot synopses, her toughness will surely be tested so there's still time for her to take a turn for the worse or more annoying. But so far, I am really digging this chick! The character designs are a little, er, aggressively plain, but after a while it seems to add to Perrine's appeal as a "realistic" girl and not some cutesy anime "princess".

[greg]

I also watched Fate/Zero. It was an interesting concept, had some intriguing characters and was very well animated. I'm now four episodes in Fate/Stay Night--but, unfortunately, I should have watched Night before Zero. It's hard coming down from such great animation to somewhat lesser production values. My other issue is I'm not digging Shirou Emiya, the main character of Night. I hope he moves out of the "whiny hero" archetype as the show goes on. Still interested to see where the show goes.

I've only seen F/SN. As a reluctant hero, Shirou isn't so bad. The teacher is who I found to be very annoying. She is even animated differently, like from a whimsical, screwball type of show, so she seem so out-of-place in the show. Sakura is annoying for being a vacuous, moeblob type. Maybe I'm using the term "moeblob" incorrectly, but that is how she struck me. Pretty to look at and kind, but braindead.

Anyone a fan of WMT anime?

I've only seen Romeo's Blue Skies. My wife and I were given fansub tapes of it and man, it must've been 10 years ago since we watched it. That was before our daughter was born, when we would just devote the time to watch anime together. Remi was released subtitled by the short-lived ImaginAsian TV network that also brought out Orguss and Cat's Eye. Those DVDs were made on-demand, so they are extremely rare. I only focused on buying the complete series of Orguss. Maybe Discotek would be the most likely to release stuff like this.

[Char Aznable]

I've only seen F/SN. As a reluctant hero, Shirou isn't so bad. The teacher is who I found to be very annoying. She is even animated differently, like from a whimsical, screwball type of show, so she seem so out-of-place in the show. Sakura is annoying for being a vacuous, moeblob type. Maybe I'm using the term "moeblob" incorrectly, but that is how she struck me. Pretty to look at and kind, but braindead.

Yes! The moeblob term is spot on here--in fact that same thought crossed my mind regarding Sakura when I was watching the first episode. Agreed about the teacher as well, that character threw me for a loop, especially coming off Fate/Zero, which has absolutely no forced "comedic" levity. Zero is very somber and dark, and a majority of the characters are not high school age, but older.

[ParaParaJMo]

Episode 38 of Jojo Stardust Crusaders. I must say it is an awesome series. Despite reading the manga for years, this anime still excites me. I still dig the voice they give Iggy for his inner thoughts. It's just so cute.

Watched the first episode of Saint Seiya Soul of Gold. They are re-visiting the Asgardians who were anime only so I am guessing that Kurumada-sensei has nothing to do with this anime. But I do love how they used Soldier Dream as the ending them in the first episode.

Up to episode 43 of Saint Seiya Omega. I don't think many of the attacks of the Golden Saints in this series make any sense. Especially with Aquarius.

Episode 20 of Sailor Moon Crystal. Pretty fun series. I hope they adapt the entire manga.

Episode 46 of Prince of Tennis. The way Akutsu plays tennis, you swear he is Krizalid from King of Fighters 99.

[llj]

My copy of Discotek's Cutie Honey TV series arrived in the mail yesterday. Wow, the video quality is very good here. The colors just pop. Much better than I expected, actually, and I already had pretty high expectations to begin with. The more I see of Toei's early color TV anime the more impressed I am by the color design of these shows. They really blast those primary colors at you, but in a way that's chosen carefully and not just slopping on color for the sake of color. No doubt part of it was to give early owners of color televisions a real visual treat. Cutie Honey in particular seems very psychedelic (complete with "groovy" 60s-70s styled soundtrack), so they really pushed the color design in this one. As much as I really enjoy Shin Cutie Honey and respect Cutie Honey Flash, I don't think many of the sequels captured the intense color design of the original until Re:Cutie Honey.

[Drew_Sutton]

Anime-related, I watched the Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki documentary Kingdom of Dreams and Madness on Netflix today. Even though I wouldn't say I am a Ghibli or Miyazaki fan, was a great piece. I really enjoyed the "inside baseball" approach. The documentary is mostly about the production of the film The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) but there's archival footage of other films or events (such as the founding of the company, moving into their first office space, etc) that I absolutely loved. I know Miyazaki gets a lot of grief for being a grouchy old man - and it comes out at times - but I think there is a lot of truth behind what he says. Or maybe I'm turning into a grump myself.

[llj]

3 shows recently:

The Devil is a Part Timer (completed)--I liked this, but I wanted to like this more than I actually liked it. It squanders quite a bit of potential, especially by defaulting and wimping out on having The Devil actually act like The Devil. In this series, Satan is more a benevolent rascal who didn't know the extent of his old "evil" actions...WTF? So right from the start they make a faux pas by trying to have the audience like him. And of course, the "angels" are the real bad guys. There are also moments of sentimentalism that's there to build unnecessary sympathy for Satan. SIGH. And not that I have a problem with Churches and angels being portrayed as actually evil, but it's such a tired anime trope by now. It's funny by dint of its concept, but right now I wonder if I ever would have tried this show if it had a different title.

Cutie Honey (halfway through). Wow, this show seems to get more and more trippy as it goes along. I'm enjoying it...though I'm not really paying attention to the story really. It's more like some LSD trip.

Story of Perrine (halfway through): This is probably a pretty good example to use when you want to argue that anime heroines of later eras aren't half as gritty and tough as anime heroines as the 70s. So far I've seen Perrine experience the death of BOTH parents, walk miles and miles with only a handful of change and a water bottle, and experience starvation, dehydration, fever, heatstroke, etc,. Anime heroines today don't deal with half as many obstacles of that nature. Now it's about getting a boyfriend or saving the world so that her nice suburban lifestyle continues to be maintained. Honestly, Perrine, the original Cutie Honey, Oscar, heck, that girl from Attack No 1 would wipe the floor with a lot of heroines today in terms of sheer grit and toughness. It was just a different era.

[llj]

I decided to try out some of the Monogatari anime. Nekomonogatari Black and Bakemonogatari. Can't say I'm that impressed. This is exactly the type of anime I think of when they refer to "modern otaku oriented anime". Western Otaku love blaming the ills of the industry on fanservice, but to be honest, it's shows like these that are probably much more distancing to new viewers. Aggressively obtuse, esoteric, and emotionally cold, the only real point in their favour is that they are great for those fluent in the Japanese language. But I can't see how they come across as appealing to English-speaking-only anime fans at all, since the wordplay, humor, and dialectical nuances are completely lost in English subtitles. The art direction is great, but one gets the feeling these shows were almost made solely for online screenshots and not to actually create an involving setting for the viewer. The Monogatari series might as well be a radio play, because it's essentially a talking head show; visuals are almost unnecessary to these shows. I don't mind talking head shows, that is if they're talking about something that's interesting as it relates to the characters and their emotional state (a la Rohmer), but all I get here are long monologues about vampire concepts or otaku fantasy mythology, which is utterly boring to me.

There is, of course, some fan service, but it's the kind where they try to wrap it in a "Oh, this is SATIRE! And we're commenting on male gaze BLAHBLAHBLAH" package. I hate shows like that. Either come clean about what you're doing or don't do it at all. I've got a lot more respect for shows that are unabashedly fanservicey over shows that presume to be greater, but end up trying to have their cake and eat it too.

I'm kind of glad I'm not paying out of the nose for the Aniplex BDs of these things. These are definitely niche type anime, but completely not my thing.