Spring 2008 first impressions #1: Allison to Lillia, Itazura na Kiss, Kurenai
Emerging caveman-like from Backlog Hell and mindful that one episode is never enough to get a decent grasp of what the shows will be like, my belated spring 2008 first impressions post is intentionally belated. Recently I’ve tried to see the previous season’s shows through to their respective ends and giving the new ‘uns two episodes before making my mind up on them; chances are I won’t be able to follow all of them but there’s no harm in trying. Hopefully I’ll get a better idea than guessing on the first ep alone, this way.
In other words my final thoughts on Clannad, Kaiji and (when the last ep is released) Ghost Hound will be forthcoming this week. I don’t know about you but following so much stuff simultaneously begins to get a bit confusing - there’s a lot coming up this season that promises good things so I don’t know how many more of these First Impressions posts there will be. At any rate, first up are Allison to Lillia, Ituzura na Kiss and Kurenai.
Allison to Lillia
My first thought was “This is one of the most beautiful op themes I’ve ever heard,” because it has such a melancholic, wistful and timeless feel to it. Imagine a cross between Spice and Wolf and Haibane Renmei…yes, that good. The rest of it is an historic adventure tale set in what I’m guessing is a pre-WW2 European-inspired setting, which pretty much explains the music but also makes it a good contender for the ‘refreshing change’ of the season. Overall it’s the kind of show that gets the “they don’t make ‘em like this any more” label - the worldview comes across as being broad, complex but not without dark and mysterious recesses for the series to explore. I’d expect nothing less from something inspired by novels written by the author of Kino’s Journey, of course. Did I mention it’s animated by Madhouse too?
The most entertaining thing abou this show so far though is the relationship between the two leads - unlike Kino it has some moments of levity and humour but their chemistry is very similar to Claus and Lavie in Last Exile, having the childhood friends premise and headstrong female/cautious male combination (not to mention the historical/fantasy backdrop). They’re a great double act and their respective personalities bounce off each other well - no blushing or teenage angst here. It’s good old-fashioned adventure too: complete with biplanes, kidnappings and the hunt for treasure that could end over a century of warfare. As long as it’s not another romantic couple separated by armed conflict because heaven knows I couldn’t cope with that again so soon…
Overall though I loved the two opening eps of Allison to Lillia, although I’m not sure how many others will appreciate it as much as I did; I can see myself single-handedly championing the cause for this one.
Chances of continued viewing: HIGH
Itsura na Kiss
The 90s-era character designs ought to be offputting here but since I was so enamoured with the retro look in older shows, I felt utterly in my element here - seriously, I love the art style and I can’t explain why. It’s simple, slightly slapstick and has that lo-fi 90s vibe to it that I personally really appreciate. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a bit here too what with it being a shoujo comedy so I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised by this one and feeling all smug later on if it turns out to be a sleeper hit. The op theme is sung by a male vocalist, which stands out for some reason and the end theme is unusually quite memorable. Both these and the BGM are really catchy and upbeat, which suits the material well. No problems there.
Gambatte Kotoko!
Although she’s utterly ditzy (”Just because I’m a fool that doesn’t mean I’m stupid!” being particularly priceless) I became sentimentally attached to Kotoko right from the get-go. She’s one of the most cute and engaging leads I’ve seen in a while so hopefully her spirited and expressive personality will be enough to to carry the show. That is to say, while I could hug Kotoko and wish her every happiness I’d quite happily slap the others: Kin is likable in an oafish kind of way and the respective parents are endearingly clueless in regards to Kotoko’s predicament but her other friends are a combination of stupid and downright irritating. I find Naoki in particular to be such a bastard I don’t think the English language has yet devised a combination of four letters to adequately convey what I think of him; I’m praying his isolated moments of humanity in the second episode are a sign of things to come.
My beef with InK apparently stems from cultural differences in terms of expectations of who dates or rejects who but from this particular laptop screen Kotoko is a likable love-fool, her classmates are unsupportive and her would-be crush has done next to nothing to deserve her affections. Ironing out these problems is asking a lot but it should be good for a laugh if they are put right because otherwise it’s a straightforward, back-to-basics high school comedy effort that could be a lot of fun. Gambatte Kotoko! ^_^
Chances of continued viewing: MODERATE
Kurenai
Apparently there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding regarding this one in that because it’s an anime show featuring a kid, that somehow makes it a lolicon show rather than a seinen one. Given the Western habit of jumping to conclusions on the loli/anime issue (a ‘pseudo-paedophile hysteria’ that’s exhibited the sensationalist approach by the media in general) I can’t say I’m surprised but that makes it no less inaccurate. Basically, Kurenai is downright excellent - if anyone reads a lolicon subtext in this, it’s the viewer who’s misrepresenting things, not the series. Don’t let me hear any more of that “Argh! lolicon!” nonsense with this one then, you hear?
Kurenai wins on the characterisation front - Shinkurou has the token tramatic past and superhuman powers of recovering from injury, and the culture clash when this streetwise character becomes the bodyguard to Murasaki, the naive little rich girl presents some fascinating dialogue-driven scenes. It also wins in terms of artwork - it shares the same director and character designer with Red Garden and is produced by the same studio as Beccano (two shows I really need to see sometime soon) so the animation has a classy and mature look to it too.
Given the frequent appearances of traditional Japanese gardens, decor and clothing (the kimonos!), the creative team’s kaleidoscopic palette has really done it justice. The unusual art style in the op and end sequences looks strangely familiar as well - I can’t place where I saw it last but it has a very distinctive ‘un-manga’ appearance, like something drawn by Moyoco Anno perhaps. At any rate, I’m not sure how popular Kurenai will be but I for one think it’s fantastic - certainly too arty and sophisticated to be written off as a lolicon show.
Chances of continued viewing: HIGH
That’ll be two definites and one maybe so far.
Posted on April 21st, 2008 @ 4:58 am
This season I told my self I would watch every ep1 out there or die trying. I should have just died.
But the three you mention here did stand out as possibilities for further viewing, maybe Kurenai the least. I think the girl’s running away at the end was an attempt to force emotion out of us and it didn’t work for me.
Then again, I just saw “Kamen No Maid Guy” and rather enjoyed it, so maybe I’ve been watching too much.
You’re right on with Allison to Lillia’s main characters. I love how the boy is reluctant to follow along with the girl’s plans, but tags along anyway because he trusts her and wants to back her up. As for Itsura Na Kiss, well, we’ll see. I got a little tired of Kotoko’s impotent raging, but the circumstances will certainly change.
Posted on April 21st, 2008 @ 5:15 am
I’m definitely in agreement on Allison & Lillia and Kurenai, although I’ve also been waiting impatiently for Allison & Lillia since it was announced thanks to the Kino connection and Madhouse doing the animation production. Kurenai I wasn’t sure about watching at first, less due to the loli stigma, and more due to the fact the plot didn’t sound interesting at all. Fortunately I turned out to be wrong on that as it has easily grabbed my attention as a top show this season between the lovely animation and surprisingly good dialogue and characters. InK I haven’t seen (oddly since I’ve watched way more stuff than was necessary…) so I can’t comment on that.
And since I’m leaving a comment which never happens anywhere, I must take this opportunity to pimp Kaiba as well. I mean c’mon, a new series from Masaaki Yuasa? That’s enough for me to watch it even though I’m not quite as high on it as A&L and Kurenai quite yet.
Posted on April 21st, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
@Peter S: these were the first three I tried, and liked them all. That said, I have deliberately avoided certain shows that I’m sure wouldn’t be to my taste (e.g. Kanokon) because the chances of them being a waste of time are too high. I might watch Kamen no Maid Guy for the lulz though, because you never know…I might like it too. 0_o
@Absoutely Steve: the Kino connection and the Madhouse involvement were what enticed me towards A&L too, but I can’t see how it can fail really (famous last words…) Point taken on Kaiba too - I’ve been looking forward to it ever since that trailer Bateszi posted.
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 @ 7:05 pm
I agree with you virtually word for word about Itazura no Kiss and Kurenai, although I’m not entirely sure about the latter’s art style personally - I absolutely adore the use of colour in it, but the actual animation seems to vary from stunning to atrocious even within a single scene.
I’ve only caught the first episode of Allison to Lillia so far, but I found it rather generic and uninspiring. I’m going to stick with it for the time being though.
Oh, and all hail Code Geass R2 - Seeing as we’re talking about the Spring anime season, I had to squeeze it in somewhere.
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
A&L was great, even if it was a little clumsy and stumbling in its intro; that, or maybe I’m just jaded with convenient info dumps like those in the first two episodes. You’re right about it being uncommon in terms of make, and that’s what draws me to it — the unconventional look is refreshing, and the unknown composer who did the music (he doesn’t even have an ANN page!) looks like someone to keep an eye (or ear) out for.
I’ll be looking forward to you writing about this (assuming you can manage), if only because you can pry open this type of show way better than I can. (:
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
@Hanners: while the artwork itself is fantastic, the animation of Kurenai is a bit hit-and-miss. It’s less of an action show than I expected, which make this slightly less of a problem. A&L is going to be a sleeper title I think, since not many people are into that sort of thing these days. It reminds me of a pre Mononoke Hime-era Miyazaki at times actually.
@Owen S: If you haven’t done so already, check out Kino. Honestly, it’s a really unusual series but well worth your time. I doubt A&L will follow the same dark and philosophical route but it certainly has a distinctive vibe and I’m really liking the soundtrack too. I’m definitely continuing this one!
Posted on April 24th, 2008 @ 3:04 am
Gotta love Allison and Wil’s antics, it’s one of the things that keeps me watching more of A+L, aside from the solid story I’m seeing. We’re in for quite a journey with this one, a heartwarming journey at that ^^ Sigh, now I wanna go watch Kino too! Years back when I saw it in wowow, I was still close-minded about slice-of-life shows and labelled it as ‘boring’ lol.
And, I’ve already said much about Kurenai’s awesomeness, and how I sense RuroKen vibes mixed with Aishiteruze Baby and Aka-chan to Boku XD Gotta love what the staff did to transform the novel!! It’s really an adaptation at its finest!