[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Autumn 2008 first impressions: Clannad after-story, Shikabane Hime: Aka, Yozakura Quartet
I know I’m so late to the First Impressions party that I’m stuck at the back of the queue for the bar, but I try to draw my conclusions after watching more than one episode. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go on one outing alone; after all, you don’t commit yourself after the first date, do you? The thing is, opening episodes aren’t always representative of the story as a whole so I’m doing a bit more reading around and previewing before getting my watchlist updated proper. First up is Clannad: after story, Shikabane Hime: Aka and Yozakura Quartet.
Clannad: After-story
To be honest, I wasn’t sure where this could possibly be going after only two episodes (which doesn’t bode well for the above philosophy). It seems to revert back into comedy territory, but fortunately the more compelling possibilities of drama and heartbreak loom on the horizon and promise a more powerful storyline than the first season did. Sunohawa’s carefree ladies’ man exterior hides a naïve youngster who just wants to stop his kid sister worrying about him; I can already see parallels between the situation Sunohara’s in as far as a lack of direction is concerned, and how Tomoya’s current situation has changed from a similar predicament to a more stable one. Bringing Sanae into a fake girlfriend ruse cannot end well though.
YOUR MUM IS MOE
I’m sure the central theme will be the Tomoyo/Nagisa relationship that finally came to fruition at the end of the first season, which already means I’ll probably enjoy this part of the Clannad story more than the first one. The harem overtones that stemmed from the narrative’s dating sim origins are no longer present (by which I mean that Tomoyo only has eyes for Nagisa now) so Clannad is now a straight-up high school romance with some comedic bits thrown into the mix. This is much closer to what I’d normally enjoy, so along with the unfailingly pretty and solid artwork I can see these episodes being more rewarding.
I have to agree
I must confess that from a music, animation and screenplay standpoint I have a lot of respect for this series. Yes, it’s a commercialised and lucrative adaptation of a visual novel and it has a bishoujo aesthetic that the moe-haters (which I count myself in as, although it isn’t quite that simple) balk at but I still think I have logical reasons to continue with this one.
Status: keeper
Shikabane Hime: Aka
My Gainax fanboying inevitably makes me a bit more forgiving on this but considering how adapting such a no-brainer premise (zombie girl WITH GUNS) into something decent is akin to making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, I don’t think my old fave studio have done such a bad job so far. I never really had high hopes for this in the first place so the fact that I really enjoyed the two opening episodes was a twofold helping of pleasant surprise: it’s a straight-up supernatural action show and doesn’t make any pretense of being otherwise. Refreshing and fun.
This is as close to an exploitative fanservice camera angle as you’re likely to get here, surprisingly
The production values aren’t exactly outstanding (like the Macross franchise, Gainax’s OAVs look fantastic while their TV shows look a bit ropey) but the colour palette is spot-on: it’s dark, moody and gloomy and gives off a great atmosphere. That does make screencapping a bit of a nightmare but suffice to say the visuals aren’t spectacular but don’t detract from the entertainment value either. So far we have a serial harem killer and three kids killed in a traffic accident who come back to life; despite the fact that these are serious topics that wouldn’t look out of place in any respectable supernatural thriller/chiller, the writers bafflingly still feel the need to inject humour to needlessly spoil the mood. I went into this with the expectation of gore and death, so I don’t need gags about dirty mags and figurines to lighten it up.
“You’ve got red on you.” *
The direction has an assured and firm hand to it, there are no obvious pantsu shots and the music’s decent; although the inexperience of the two lead VAs does show a bit (but then, Makina is clinically dead anyway…). Given how the studio have given us shows that are often comical and otaku-friendly in the past, I’m glad that they’re stepping away from their usual stuff. I mean, it’s Gainax with a modest but solid budget, it makes an effort to be genuinely dark and doesn’t even fall back on fanservice…who’d see that coming?
*props to whoever can work out where I got that quote from
Status: keeper (and to hell with the nay-sayers)
Yozakura Quartet
I went into this with hardly any preconceptions, apart from one: it’s directed by Kou Matsuo. I was therefore under the impression that we’d have something like Red Garden or even Kurenai. Sadly, it’s much less out-of-the-ordinary than either of these: it’s a fairly pedestrian tale of kids with supernatural powers keeping the peace and helping humans live in harmony with youkai. The characters are interesting enough, the visuals are decent (it’s surprising how one subbing group’s encoding is TEN RETINA RAPES PER SECOND while another’s looks fine) and the BGM is great in an 80s kind of way but the production as a whole doesn’t seem to be stretching itself too much.
If they are a quartet, why are there five of them?
I’d call Yozakura Quartet enjoyable but predictable. The allegiances, plot points and character types didn’t take me by surprise, nor did they push the genre boundaries very far. I think the lightning-bolt super powers are what I found to be most tiresome here: they smack of typical shonen fare in that they’re a convenient emergency escape route for the storyline when things get a bit tense or when the story has apparently written itself into a corner. The bad guy was the maniacal white-haired bishie (I won’t even bother to list how many series cast a character like that), the youkai who has a mistrust of humans has a Traumatic Past that I could see a mile off and the only human who makes up the Quartet of the title has issues regarding the morality of his duty.
It’s OVER NINE THOUSAAAND!
All in all this is something that I’ll watch another couple of episodes of just in case it gets more interesting but otherwise I doubt it can keep my attention if it stays on this course.
Status: continuing…for now
Posted on October 17th, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
Of these, I’ve only seen Shikabane Hime - and it’s definitely a keeper. The colourscheme might well be the major advantage of the art, all I know is it pulled me in. On the whole I found the second episode less satisfying than the first, but it’s still atmospheric and solidly pulpy.
coburns last blog post..True Tears as Reaction Porn
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 7:18 am
I’m keeping Clannad because I need a weekly dose of Kyoto Animation’s lush romanticism. And, like Nodame, it’s familiar ground. I haven’t watched ep2 of Shikabana yet, but I remember thinking (as I slog through episode 1 of every show that’s out there) “Hey, that was actually good.”
Actually, I’m saying that about too many shows this fall. Where will my time go?
I’m liking Yozakura more than you are. Okay, there’s the tiresome “white-haired bishie,” but I like how the characters interact and do their daily business; to me it feels more spontaneous than other shows, like when one of the quartet reacts when the unconscious girl wakes up, a delighted “Oh!” It felt like an ad-lib.
… Or it may simply be that I loved the moment when she stuck out her electric tongue. I LOVED that! I swear, I’ve watched that bit over and over …
And so concludes my most intelligent reply to your posts ever.
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 10:00 am
Yozakura Quartet is directed by Matsuo? I heard it was a pretty generic shounen anime, so I had it on my “avoid” list, but everything Matsuo’s done recently has been gold. I don’t know what to think now. I might have to keep an eye on what people are saying about this down the line.
Sorrow-kuns last blog post..Fall 2008: First thoughts
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
First up, a couple of little corrections:
Much as the perverted side of me would love this to be true, I assume you mean Tomoya.
Anyhow, I’ve really enjoyed After Story so far, although judging by the original game’s After Story component I’m wondering how long this humorous and light-hearted approach will continue.
Shikabane Hime I’m starting to warm to, and episode two got the tone just about right - I agree entirely about the unnecessary (and to be quite honest cringe-worthy) attempts at squeezing some humour into the mix though.
Yozakura Quartet I’m baffled by, because from the first two episodes I really quite like it but I’m at a loss as to exactly why. It just works somehow, and from the viewer numbers I’ve seen it’s doing really well in Japan to boot, so they must be doing something right.
Hannerss last blog post..ef - a tale of melodies - Episode 2
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
@coburn: SH is slowly but surely revealing details about the characters but there were still one or two details in the second ep that kept it from impacting on me like the first one did. I hope the substance can match the style though, for all my indifference to its amounting to more than mere entertainment.
@Peter S: Hooray for intelligence! (: I don’t know why but I still enjoy Clannad…it’s so solid, sentimental and dependable I suppose. Not sure what to make of Sunohara (he’s a bit of a jerk in ep #3) but I’ll stick with it for the seriousness that’s supposed to come later. Yozakura is still on probation for me - it has potential that’s waiting to be acted on.
@Sorrow-kun: it does seem like a generic shounen show, which is strange considering my experience with Matsuo in the past. He seems adept at character interactions and dialogue, which could well lift it out of mediocrity. *crosses fingers*
@Hanners: *facepalm* ah, you got me! Put it down to the fact that I’ve been under the weather lately and that MS Word’s spellchecker is no help with foreign names! If I unwittingly inspire a dounjinshi or two through my stupid typos, maybe that won’t be so bad.
I’m expecting it to get serious after Sunohara’s arc…at least I hope it will do so sooner rather than later. SH is another one that will benefit from less needless comedy, yeah. YQ has great character dynamics - it reminds me a bit of Denno Coil for some reason, possibly because of the fictional town setting and the major characters that are almost all youngsters - but the action falls a bit flat. I really do think Matsuo’s influence can make the difference here.
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
I could leave a complex comment about the article…or…I could just say;
SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Restrained myself from watching more Clannad out of principle (Yup, Moe-hater here), however reading your post made me feel compelled to follow it again. I’ll see if I can resist this time..
As for Shikabane Hime; I can’t fault Gainax for their adaption, sadly what they’re adapting seems so hollow it’s like getting blood from a stone. In spite of the nice visuals I reckon I’ll pass. A schoolgirl with an uzi just isn’t enough for a good yarn.
Posted on October 18th, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
@Maltos: congrats, you win a bonus internet! What a great movie that was too…
@wildcard: when I say my moe-hate isn’t straightforward, my enjoyment of Clannad is a case in point. Assuming it gets all teary and serious as I expect it to, anyway. SH is no-brainer television that’s fun to watch but if it produces a strong story or characterisation my pleasant surprise will be upped further. It does have a schoolgirl, a couple of uzis and ZOMBIES in it though…doesn’t that tempt you? (:
Posted on October 19th, 2008 @ 6:36 am
‘SH is no-brainer television that’s fun to watch but if it produces a strong story or characterisation my pleasant surprise will be upped further. It does have a schoolgirl, a couple of uzis and ZOMBIES in it though…doesn’t that tempt you? (:’
As a fan of zombies, Hellsing and a variety of other crude ’style over substance’ offerings I would have thought so, but it somehow doesn’t cut it for me. Even the most basic shows need some sort of distinctive feature - SH seems like several other shows mashed together minus the personality. It’s not awful, and yeah I’ll admit there is some no-brainer enjoyment to be had, but there are already too many other good shows to watch this season. Still, zombies..
Posted on October 19th, 2008 @ 9:50 am
See, this is why I was confused by the surprise of some over GAINAX’s choice of adapting Shikabane Hime. Chicks with guns is as much of an established GAINAX trope as piddling ineffectual shonen protagonists and crazy mecha. It’s a perfect fit after a bit of retrospect.
Also, I quite liked the voice acting. Any anime that doesn’t feel the need to shriek and squeal (thus making me want to tear my skin off) is a-ok in my book. Kagami’s VA reminded me of Masashi’s from FLCL, too, which didn’t hurt.
Higes last blog post..Eve no Jikan – Identity Expressed in a Hairband [Act 2]
Posted on October 19th, 2008 @ 11:18 am
@wildcard: fair enough. But don’t forget the zombies!
On the subject of moe stuff that at the same time isn’t really moe, I strongly recommend Hidamari Sketch. It’s cutesy and all, but is really funny in a chilled-out kind of way.
@Hige: the choice still baffles me a little but I think the fact that the two lead VAs are inexperienced actually helps. Makina comes across as reserved and laconic; Ouri comes across as the clueless nice-guy (in the same way that Keanu Reeves’ inability to act makes him perfect when typecast as the clueless nice-guy I guess).
I just realised how the song played at the pedestrian crossings is the old folk tune Toryanse. Wiki-ing the lyrics, the choice makes perfect sense…
Posted on October 19th, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
The second episode of Shikabane redeemed the show quite a lot in my eyes. More action and Shikabane, less Ouri and highs chool troubles; this is the path the series should take.
Omisyths last blog post..Ladies and Gentlemen, It Has Begun…
Posted on October 20th, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
I don’t have such high hopes for Shikabanehime Aka, but it does interest me in the slightest. Yozakura Quartet’s rather… mediocre, however. But I’m still watching it for some reason.
And of course, Clannad ~after story~ is a must.
Zeroblades last blog post..Wonderfulness in a Box
Posted on October 20th, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
@Omisyth: I’ll be interested to see where SH goes, to put it mildly. Will Gainax stay faithful to the manga or give it their own spin? There’s a second season planned apparently, but rumour has it that a different studio’s working on it. Odd really, when it’s so early on in the first.
@Zeroblade: I just read over on Jeff Lawson’s other blog that the episodes of Clannad After-Story will be broadcast later on in 16:9 format; with my backlog being the way it is I think I might wait for the widescreen versions and watch those instead. It’s a pretty-looking show and looks much better than old 4:3 for me.