What We’re Watching – Oct 30

October 31, 2009 at 7:46 am | In Weekly Showing, anime, winter 2009 | Leave a Comment
  1. Astro Fighter Sunred 28 (S2-2)
  2. Eve no Jikan 5
  3. Sora no Manimani 10
  4. Bakemonogatari 7
  5. Kobato 4
  6. Chebrushka Arere 2
  7. Aoi Bungaku 1
  8. Nyan Koi 4
  9. Higepiyo 22
  10. Geijutsu Art Design Class 5
  11. Majime ni Funifuni Kaiketsu Zorori 4

This looks like way too much, but a lot of these are very short. Chebrushka Arere continues to be cute enough that at only 3 minutes I’ll throw it in.

Aoi Bungaku is a new entry, and is very interesting – it’s basically the classics of Japanese modern(?) literature, animated.  It starts with Ningen Shikkaku, which is a fine, fine choice. The animation is excellent, as you’d expect from Madhouse, but unfortunately the adaptation doesn’t live up to what I remember and makes it a bit too much Catcher in the Rye.  I’ll let MoeSucks elaborate, since I’m too lazy.

I’m still quite happy with Sunred, Eve no Jikan, and Kobato (which rides that really fine line between cute fun and schlock hard).  Bakemonogatari is still my favorite – so much so I don’t even care if the other people appreciate it or not, though this ep was extremely accessible.  Arararagi-kun is such a deer in headlights.

What We’re Watching

October 24, 2009 at 8:24 am | In Weekly Showing, anime, winter 2009 | Leave a Comment
  1. Cheburashka Arere #1
    Kids’ show about an alligator who gets a mutant monkey/mouse/koala(?) in a box of oranges and names it Cheburashka because it falls a lot. When it falls over it says ‘Arere?’. And that’s pretty much it.  Cute designs, but this is probably skewed too young.
  2. Eve no Jikan #4
    Very good ep about an ugly first generation robot in a world of too human androids.
  3. Nyan Koi #3
    Still okay high school comedy romance but now it’s really starting to veer too much into harem.
  4. Bakemonogatari #6
    Still my favorite show. Senjogahara is amazing in this ep as the psycho girlfriend, and the ending is quite an unexpected pleasure.
  5. G.A. Geijutsu Art Design Class #4
  6. Spice and Wolf 2 #12
    End of series 2. Well at least Lawrence said it, but since this is 4 of 9 books of course things are left stupidly unresolved. And as this goes on Lawrence gets more interesting and Horo gets less.
  7. Kobato #3
    Visually great, still fun. The good deed feels less forced this time, some plot is actually kicking in.
  8. Kinnukuman #1
    Since there’s no new Kaiketsu Zorori I threw this in this week. Real old school Stupid (with a capital S) gag anime that had everyone laughing since it’s just so ridiculous (and dated).
  9. Higepiyo #21
  10. Sora no Manimani #9

Bakemonogatari

October 18, 2009 at 12:48 am | In anime, best, comedy, harem, nothing happens (and that's ok), tsundere, winter 2009 | Leave a Comment

Summary: Supernatural Waiting for Godot
Based on: 5 eps
Series Info: at Anime News Network

Everyone in Bakemonogatari is damaged and some kind of supernatural being (hence the name of the show, which you could translate as Monster Stories), but this is not as glamorous as you might expect from recent fiction and anime. This is the best writing I’ve seen in an anime for years and the best visuals since Mononoke. The Blu-ray sales for the first collection are through the roof, and I’m not surprised at all.

It is also very tricksy – it puts up a front of the usual cliches then subverts them. This is technically a harem anime with a nebbish male and plenty of fanservice. In addition, the guy is a (ex-)vampire, which is the most glamorous of all supernatural beings, right? Let’s take a look at these.

This is in some sense a harem anime; everyone but the lead nebbish male (Koyomi Araragi) and the detached  sensei-figure are cute girls with the usual buffet selection (princess, loli, tomboy, class rep, exotic blonde…).  But they’re all so damaged it’s hard to feel there’s the usual shallow competition for the hapless doof.  The beautiful princess-like lead girl, Senjougahara, confesses  soon enough, but she’s so emotionally damaged and scary that this makes poor Araragi-kun more wary than happy even as he lusts after her. She’s beyond tsundere and into yandere, so ‘I Love You’ is more a declaration of war.

There is plenty of fanservice – the series starts out with a panty shot in the first five seconds. But it seems to be smirking at you – here you go, how do you like this, you shallow bastard? Happy now? Here’s the beautiful girl naked, but what she’s saying is making your manhood wither.

The lead nebbish (Araragi-kun) is a vampire, which is the most glamorous of all monsters, right? Well no, he’s an ex-vampire. And his single talent is wanting to rescue other monsters. But he’s not a pushover, even though he’s not too bright – he’s perfectly willing to punch a schoolgirl in the guts and knock her out. He lusts after Senjougahara, but it’s not the mere idea of sex that frightens him unbelievably as it usually does with the emasculated lead, but the fact that she really is a very scary girl.

Finally, this series isn’t afraid to spend an entire episode in a (visually arresting) park with two and three characters just talking.  This is where I can’t recommend it to just everyone – if you need action you are going to be disappointed. It plays with various visual effects and angles you won’t see in other anime, but it may still be too boring for some people just because it really is just people talking, like Waiting for Godot.

That’s why I’m currently a little torn about including this in the weekly showing, because while it’s visually stunning and has plenty of fanservice and uses various tricks to cover up the lack of action I wonder how much it still bores some of the other people – but I love it. You owe it to yourself to at least try a few episodes.

Winter 2009 Anime

October 17, 2009 at 11:38 pm | In anime, winter 2009 | Leave a Comment

This is the winter of our discontent…  I’m actually going to fold Fall 2009 in to here, because while I think Winter is generally better than Fall was, Fall had two decent shows including one of my favorites.

So far so good:

  • Bakemonogatari – This has the best visuals (reminiscent of Mononoke) and easily the best writing of any anime in the past couple years.  It will bore anyone who can’t appreciate those to tears.
  • Eve no Jikan – Neat little six episode show about the possible societal impact of humanoid robots, and what if you couldn’t necessarily tell humans from robots? This is obviously a more polished followup to Mizu no Kotoba.
  • Kimi ni Todoke – Your shoujo romance for the season. Like Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (The Wallflower) but not so stupidly over the top. More believable and more touching.
  • Kobato – A CLAMP anime in the Angelic Layer and Card Captor Sakura style. This is just flat out adorable if you can handle them shoe-horning some touching scene in at the end.
  • Tentai Senshi Sunred Season 2 – I loved season 1, and this carries right on in the same style. It’s based on a 4 panel gag manga about a superhero and the evil organization he’s fighting. Completely tongue in cheek examination of what life as a superhero or evil villain is like when you have day to day concerns to worry about. And it’s written for adults.

Could be Worse:

  • Aoi Bungaku – the classics of Japanese modern(?) literature, animated.  It starts with Ningen Shikkaku, which is a fine, fine choice. The animation is excellent, as you’d expect from Madhouse, but unfortunately the adaptation doesn’t live up to what I remember and makes it a bit too much Catcher in the Rye.  I’ll let MoeSucks elaborate, since I’m too lazy. Will watch ep 2, though.
  • Higepiyo – fun little 5-minute shorts about a very manly chick by the Ebichu author.  Not nearly as risque, and the same sense of absurdity. The little moments where Higepiyo gets a dumb blissed out look on his face and makes this utterly content ‘Huuuuuuuu’ sound just make it for me.
  • Nyan Koi – Okay, this is mostly standard high school romance, but while the opening animation would make you think this is just fanservice there’s almost none of it in the actual anime. High school boy gets cursed by a cat god and can suddenly speak to cats, who abuse him mercilessly. The lead girl is too oblivious for this to really be harem anime, which is a plus.
  • Seitokai no Ichizon – High school comedy.  Closer to Pani Poni Dash than Azumanga Daioh.

Forget it:

  • Kampfer – I was expecting Canaan, but it’s Ranma 1/2, Sekirei, and Kashimashi in a blender and puree. Boy who turns into a big-breasted combat maid – and of course the girl he loves is in love with his female form and doesn’t know they’re the same person. The usual harem cast.
  • Kiddy Girl-and – As far as I can tell this is just a Kiddy Grade sequel.
  • Seiken no Blacksmith – Generic fanservice fantasy. This season’s Zero no Tsukaima.
  • Sora no Otoshimono – Big-breasted compliantly dumb wish fulfilling angel falls into life of nebbish loser and fulfills all his fantasies. Sounds familiar? This actually has a moment of promise when she obeys his wish to be ruler of the world by killing everyone else on the planet, but then they call a mulligan on it. I would be very surprised if second ep didn’t have another dark skinned angel showing up.

More of the Same:

  • Darker than Black – Ryuusei no Gemini
  • Dragonball Kai
  • Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu – Purezza
  • Queen’s Blade S2

What are we Watching?

October 17, 2009 at 11:03 pm | In Weekly Showing, anime, winter 2009 | Leave a Comment

Friday’s Show:

  • Higepiyo 20
  • Eve no Jikan 3
  • Nyan Koi 2
  • Bakemonogatari 5
  • To Aru Kagaku no Railgun 2
  • Kobato 2
  • Spice and Wolf S2 11
  • Kampfer 1
  • Majime ni Funifuni Kaiketsu Zorori 3

Higepiyo continues to be good, dumb short fun.  Nyan Koi and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun are in there just for the comedy romance quotient and could be dropped at any time, probably Railgun first. Kobato is a CLAMP joint from the Angelic Layer team, and if you can put up with the shoehorning in of a touching bit at the end (like He-man) it’s quite pleasant.

Bakemonogatari continues to be one of my favorites, though I’m not sure if it’s boring the other people. More on this next post.

Kampfer was crap, and not what I was expecting. It’s like Sekirei except instead of big breasted Pokemon, the guy turns into his own big breasted combat maid. That won’t be back.

Finally, Kaiketsu Zorori continues to be lots of fun. It’s emphatically for kids, but a well written kids show is a good guilty pleasure, and often superior to a mediocre show written for teens or adults.

We’re back, sort of

October 17, 2009 at 10:00 pm | In anime | Leave a Comment

I  have to admit, I’ve been fairly burned out on anime lately – it seems to be getting worse and worse, and I’m not sure if that’s just me getting older or anime actively getting more cynical and pandering. I’m leaning towards the latter based on:

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/10/18/queens-blade-sexy-nipples/ (NSFW)
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/06/26/fight-ippatsu-juuden-chan-pure-ero-anime/ (NSFW)
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/10/18/seikon-no-qwaser-breast-sucking-bdsm-ero-anime-preview/ (NSFW)

and then the parade of usual crap like Kanokon and Kampfer.  I’m not opposed to sex, but it’s just boring when it’s the raison d’être of a story (something Laurell K. Hamilton never figured out either).

In short, I can no longer stomach watching the first episode of every anime, no matter how bad, which was the original premise of this blog.  However…  even if the odds are lower you can still find the occasional gem.  I’ve been enjoying ‘Kimi ni Todoke’ as a fairly touching shoujo anime, and next post talks about the good stuff. I’ve moving to a more abbreviated format with shorter summaries, preserving the core mission of ‘what’s the good stuff?’

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