It’s halfway through the season and people are already starting to look to the next one…and I’m still finishing my First Impressions for spring. Heh. The final two candidates for my ever-growing watch list are Real Drive and Toshokan Sensou.
*Cough*
In other news I’m thinking about changing my blog’s theme to revitalise my enthusiasm…Frozen Twilight 1.0 is beginning to look a bit drab.
The fact that the next three in line, Kaiba, Kamen no Maid Guy and Kanokon, all begin with the same letter is pure coincidence by the way - I’m not trying to be clever or anything here. It’s the ‘Experimental Edition’ of my Spring 2008 first impressions: the first is itself experimental while the other two were another attempt on my part to try something a bit different in another sense. The results were mixed.
You don’t know if fifty minutes of your life will be wasted on something until you waste those minutes on it. That’s the price for being open-minded I guess
Yes, I know I haven’t posted my thoughts on Kaiba yet, nor have I watched Kanokon (before you ask: in regards to the former, I’m waiting for ep #2 to be subbed. In regards to the latter, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” still applies so I’ll watch the first two before allowing myself to rip it to shreds). In accordance with Peter S’s recommendationn I’ll try out Kamen no Maid Guy purely for giggles. Because wake-up call + hosepipes + cleavage == lulz. Maybe. At any rate, my schedule is filling up fast but my .mkv playback issues appear to be resolved. Huzzah. Onwards then, with Golgo 13, Soul Eater and Macross Frontier in glorious 1280×720 widescreen. *_*
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.
In accordance with Hidoshi’s dislike for the term ‘meta-blogging’ used when writing a blog post about blog posts, I declare this to be a blogsturbatory one instead, in memory of the appropriately-titled but apparently deceased Epic Win. The spectre of Real Life loomed, I learned that magnolia wall emulsion and black denim didn’t go well together and I was reunited with the belongings that had been placed in self-store, awaiting my new hikikomori refuge house. It’s good to be back in my own place but sadly I have to wait another two days for my landline to be connected before I can install a new net connection. Hiatus diease ain’t funny folks.</digression>
So cute and artsy, I don’t really need a reason…beyond stating that I’ve just discovered Danbooru and amongst the NSFW garbage there’s some really cool stuff…
Since this temporary connection seems to be working, I’ll post a few brief viewing updates. Ghost Hound continues to be baffling, challenging but at times utterly awesome - the bigger picture is starting to emerge. And Taro is in love. Perhaps. Aww. <3 Persona: Trinity Soul was supposed to be on my watchlist but is already in Backlog Hell and might well wind up in the On Hold list indefinitely. There just isn’t that special something about it to make me watch it. Kaiji on the other hand has kept my attention throughout, and with the end in sight I’m looking forward to seeing the Mulleted One triumph at last. Unless there’s a second season planned to finish things off, which won’t surprise me actually. Spice and Wolf ought to be, by rights, the dull one I’d drop but the show as a whole is saved by the dynamic that exists between Lawrence and Horo. The reader comments seem to echo my own thoughts that even if they sit around in a bar chatting, that alone is entertaining enough.
I thought it would be a good idea to lump my first impressions of the new year’s shows in one post because I want to spend more time watching and less time flooding the aggregators with daily posts. It’s an exhausting task that I don’t feel is sustainable in the long term, and doesn’t give much time for the latest post to enjoy its time at the top of the page either. As I stated at the beginning of the year, the plan is quality over quantity from now on (hopefully freeing up a bit of time to update my other Wordpress part of the site) - plus the fact that I’m watching rather a lot to begin with. 2008’s shaping up quite well already actually, so here are the token First Impressions that I may or may not adhere to.
A burnt-out science graduate seeking solace in solitude and sake…even the hairstyle’s the same
It’s almost cruel to put out the first episode of Macross Frontier, possibly the coolest Christmas gift evaaar, only to declare that we won’t see the rest until the spring; right from the first rumbles and rumours I’d been keeping my eyes peeled for any tidbit of news or scrap of promo art with the words “MOAR MACROSS! MOAR MACROSS!” zooming around inside my head like a Valkyrie on afterburner. Since it’s an anniversary piece I daresay no expense has been spared in getting it together either; even the mighty Kawamori himself is credited on the staff roll-call as Chief Director. In case you’re head hasn’t quite exploded in fanboyish jubilation just yet, what about Yoko Kanno being back to provide her first musical score contribution to the franchise since Plus? Talk about high expectations…
Hell yeah!
Okay then, this was one of THE big 2008 titles for me so I might not be as objective as some. Macross Zero set a new benchmark for aerial combat while Macross Plus did the same thing for the level of characterisation and soundtrack quality way back in 1994 so there are bound to be comparisons here, there and everywhere, both positive and negative. I suppose this uncertainty comes from a pedigree that’s as unpredictable as the mighty Gundam but for whatever reason I’ve always been a Macross man; on the other hand, success is by no means guaranteed, Kawamori/Kanno or no. It’s impossible to gauge from one episode the merits of the character development or storyline either, so to make any judgement in that respect would be idle speculation; so, what do we have to go on?
With a forecast of chilly receptions, widespread mediocrity and a chance of a few scattered moments of greatness across all regions of the anime blogosphere the autumn season looked a little bleak, or so I thought. For sure, there’s been a lot of stuff that passed me by and provoked little more than a half-arsed ‘meh’ but now that some of the new shows are nearing their halfway points there has been a minority that’s significant enough for me to comment on at length…even though I’ve been preoccupied with other things and remembered the posting deadline at a shockingly late hour. Hopefully the likes of JRoxas, Mike, Raymond, Karura, CCYoshi, Hige, J.Valdez, Xerox and Owen prepared themselves a bit better than I did.
If Lucky Star taught me anything, it was how you should never be overly influenced by your preconceptions; this point was hammered firmly home by the likes of ef -a tale of memories. Thanks to the other joint blogging effort earlier on in the week, I’m now ‘all ef-ed out’ and can’t say any more until I’ve seen some more episodes. You’ve all read enough about that in recent days too, right? ^_^
Cute talking microbes. That was the general summing-up of what could be the oddest but most inventive series of the season: Moyashimon (Tales of Agriculture). ANN’s listing gives the simple synopsis of “College student Tadayasu Sawaki has a unique ability. He can see and communicate with bacteria and other microorganisms. Hijinks ensue.” Not much to go on I admit, but there’s not a great deal else happening at first. In a way it reminds me of Honey and Clover in portraying the trivialities of humdrum student life in an amusing and realistic slice-of-life way. Plus cute talking microbes.
Moyashimon: wholesome and full of flavour, and packed with friendly bacteria
As outlined in my mission statement for the season, this was right up there in my shortlist. The staff roll-call was the clincher, of course - I loved Kino’s Journey and SE: Lain is one of my all time faves too (I really need to re-review that sometime). The output from these guys is what makes me feel separate from the majority of fellow fans - I absolutely love the unconventional approaches they take to storytelling and artwork and really dig the premise “you’ll scratch your head until it bleeds!”, even though many viewers can’t stand that sort of thing.
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