Autumn season first impressions part 2
Ah, upgrades…I can now throw myself into the viewing backlog but since Genshiken 2 and who knows what else is on the horizon, I’m going to be whittling it down quite a lot. So far the only two shows I’m intending to watch are Gundam 00 (it’s all about the shiny mecha) and Mokke (Mushishi-lite, but still…), so on with the run-down.
ef-A Tale of Memories
It seems to be a slice of life drama piece, showing three couples whose relationships are presumably connected in some way. The story arc featuring the guy and the girl at the abandoned train station didn’t work for me: the dialogue was a bit forced and unnatural, and as for the whole eye-patch wearing thing…I couldn’t get into it. The scenes with the bicycle thief and the wandering photogropher on the other hand were great - it has the beginnings of a decent romantic drama right there. There’s a third arc with a guy who carries a camera around and a girl who may be his girlfriend…they don’t get much screen time in the first ep so I’m not sure what’s up with them. All in all it’s an interesting start, not least because I’m wondering how all these people’s paths could cross later on.
Shinkai is soooo gonna sue these guys
Tenmon’s music, as I expected, is great - not on par with the stuff written for Shinkai’s movies but nevertheless it’s definitely above average. The animation on the other hand is something I’ve not made my mind up on. It’s as if the writers and artists went all-out to make the series ‘arty’ and distance itself from its dating sim roots: the animation style is experimental and at times beautiful, but it looks like it’s trying too hard in being sophisticated. The lacklustre character designs don’t help either, especially when drama shows such as this are so character-driven.
Yes, it’s really pretty and all, but what’s it FOR?
That is to say, ef-A Tale of Memories comes across as being written by someone who’s seen 5cm Per Second once too often and tries to gain credibility by cramming in more Anno-isms than Kare Kano - sometimes it works but at others it feels like quirkiness for quirkiness’ sake. Oddly, for an opening ep I’ve found so much to talk about, I still haven’t come to a definite conclusion about it yet.
Clannad
How many people have googled for the Irish folk band of the same name and got horridly confused with the results? The idea of that just amuses me, is all. So does taking subtitles out of context, btw.
Yeah, Clannad is another new show based off a dating sim, featuring characters who look little more than half my age so it *shouldn’t* be my thing. I could be really awkward and say “hey, this is ANOTHER anime based off a dating sim. I refuse to enjoy this.” Since one of my favourite books was based on one guy’s experience of hanging out with drug addicts though, I really shouldn’t judge something purely on its dubious origins. Besides, Tsukihime was really enjoyable too, but I’ll leave that for another day.
So…Clannad. It has doses of high school romcom and even a bit of magical girl but the opening episode had some Honey and Clover overtones, such as the screenie above - it seems to have one or two serious messages to convey. I have my suspicions that it may veer into harem fantasy later on but I’m willing to admit that, thanks to some decent humour and interesting themes pertaining to the ‘family’ idea that gives the show its title, the beginning of Clannad was actually pretty good. How’s that for a surprise?
The Kaiji ep #1 download is taking longer than I thought so my review of that will have to wait for another day. In closing, this is how my current fansub watchlist is looking:
- Blue Drop (unless something meaningful happens in ep #2, I won’t be following this)
- Bokurano (ongoing)
- Clannad (everyone else is blogging it but at least I can understand why now)
- Denno Coil (ongoing)
- ef-A Tale of Memories (see comment for Blue Drop)
- Future Boy Conan (when will I get time to continue this? WHEN?)
- Gundam 00 (mecha!!)
- Kemonodzume (I’m halfway to completion)
- Mokke (it’s still Mushishi-lite but I still like it)
- Sayonara Zetsebou-sensei (ongoing)
Further recommendations are welcome but remember I do need to do stuff like eat, sleep and go to work in the intervening hours.
Posted on October 15th, 2007 @ 9:52 pm
I actually watched the first two episodes of Clannad. It sounds like you enjoyed it a little bit more than I did. I thought it was pretty easy to get into, had nothing overly nonsensical or ridiculous and had a nice atmosphere, but at the same time it just feels like I’ve seen this show and all of its characters a million times already. I guess that’s to be expected with an anime of this type. I did enjoy the stuff with Tomoya and his father, but I’m sure that won’t get too much screen time and is just there to be used as a plot device to set up Tomoya’s character. I’ll continue on with this show in hopes of something interesting happening when the actual plot gets underway, as I found the first two episodes to be at least watchable.
Kaiji is a definitely watch for me.
Posted on October 16th, 2007 @ 12:15 am
@KT: I’m trying to convince myself that the scenes with his father and her eccentric family are going to be a regular feature but if this isn’t the case I’ll feel the need to drop the series and go back to wondering why everyone loves the Key stuff so much.
Kaiji will probably wait till tomorrow now.
Posted on October 16th, 2007 @ 5:44 am
I say hold out till they get into the meat of the much-anticipated “family” theme, because leaving at the slightest hint of digression would be like ordering a dinner at some swanky place and leaving after the salad because it wasn’t that great, nevermind how the main course’s what you should be looking out for.
Coincidentally, the Shakugan no Shana movie (operates on a different continuity from the anime, but eh) is perfect introduction to the series, if you’re feeling open-minded. Not kidding. If the movie works for you, you’ll be able to stomach, and perhaps taste enough of season 1 to be able to catch up to season 2 right now or something, so yeah. Highly recommended for previewing purposes. Only 1 hour and 26 minutes, too.
Posted on October 16th, 2007 @ 8:48 pm
@Owen: Cheers for the recommendation. I am feeling pretty open-minded at the mo actually, which is in contrast to the subject of my next editorial…
Posted on October 16th, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
lovin Kaiji so far (madhouse strikes again lol)
my love for pink haired anime girls knows no bounderies:proof? “shugo chara” lol
Posted on October 17th, 2007 @ 11:50 am
@Totoum: I watched the first ep of Kaiji last night - you’re right, it’s awesome! I’ll post up a review tomorrow since I think it’ll be straight onto my watchlist. Clannad an ef on the other hand I’m still undecided on until I see more.