Comments on: Kurozuka halfway thoughts: Madhouse know how to make a vampire anime

By: Martin

Martin — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:44:50 +0000

@Hashihime: the fluidity of the direction is part of the reason why I’m still watching, although I’ve heard the voice acting being praised by many (sadly I’m so dense in such matters that it’s only when a performance is really bad that I pay much attention to its quality).

@Peter S: I’m not a big fan of violent show these days either (must be my old age!) but like you and Hashihime, I’m still enjoying this. For the most part the violence is for the purpose of portraying the worldview and furthering the story…and of course it looks so wonderful!

@Bateszi: I can only reiterate my lack of observational skills in appraisal of seiyuu, but in this case the performances are outstanding. As superficial as it is, you’re dead right with the quality of the execution. I’ve seen countless vampire films and TV shows, bu like Gurren Lagann I’m having to much fun watching this to care about how it’s all been done before.

@Emo_wandering_bear: on your and Bateszi’s recommendation I might just pick up the manga at some point. There’s a lot on my ‘to read’ list though, which I won’t be able to tackle until after christmas!

@Coburn: I can honestly see some big boss fight at the end, where Kuro finally takes on his brother or whoever is in charge of that organisation now. That and the fact that I want to see Kuro and Kuromitsu together in the end! I’m a sucker for sentimentality like that.

By: coburn

coburn — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:06:23 +0000

I’m not sure if I didn’t prefer it when the plot was trying to be clever. I prefer that confusion to the military massacres, and it kept me involved between fight scenes. To be honest, if it weren’t for episode 6 and that fantastic showdown, I would have dropped this. It’s anticipation for the “boss fight” that keeps me on board.

coburns last blog post..Michiko to Hatchin 5+6: A Perplexing Pairing

By: Emo_Wandering_Bear

Emo_Wandering_Bear — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:08:20 +0000

Manga was superficial, mainly because the plot was stretched over such a vast period of time, that it was difficult to add much substance to it.

Regardless, I highly recommend the original manga, mainly for its art. Seriously, read it for its drawings. It manages to convey a sense of desolation and loneliness that the anime simply cannot.

Apparently it was originally a novel. I’d be quite interested to see the differences in plot between that and the manga, but unfortunately it’s very hard to find ;_; oh well.

By: bateszi

bateszi — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:38:48 +0000

Kurozuka is kind of like Gurren Lagann in the way that it takes a rather cliche narrative and stretches that to the very limits of coherence, so, while the story itself is nothing special, the execution is superlative. That’s really what I liked about the manga, too. It has absolutely no regard for conventional logic or subtely, and, though it may come off a tad superficial, it is always graphic and exciting. Though, like hashihime has said, may be the depth that seemed lacking in the manga has been furrowed for the anime by the seiyuu? For what it’s worth, I think Romi Paku is the best voice actor in Japan, and she definitely brings a sad maturity and nuisance to Kuromitsu.

By: Peter S

Peter S — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:24:47 +0000

What Hashihime said! I don’t like these type of shows much either (I was breathlessly describing it to a coworker, who loves buckets of blood in her anime, and she replied “And you’re actually WATCHING it?”). In fact I almost dropped it early on, but the first half of ep6 had so much going on; it was relentless, the incredible direction, visuals and music working together flawlessly. It felt like an entire episode. “How are they going to top THAT?” I wondered, and then with the battle with the invincible guy, they did just that.

By: hashihime

hashihime — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:10:10 +0000

I generally have no interest in action shows, but I love this one. I wonder why. It's partly because the action is just so well done. It's stylish and makes sense. Everything counts. And the storyboarding/direction seems so elegant to me. But perhaps one of the big things is the voice-acting. The two main characters, in particular, have voices that resonate with feeling and inner meaning, to me: Miyano Mamoru as Kurou, and Paku Romi as Kuromitsu. Maybe that's why I feel some emotional depth here that distinguishes this from other action shows, at least for me. hashihimes last blog post..Aya and Nana in White Album -- And So It Begins