January 2008 Anime

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008

Picture shamelessly stolen

Not much right now. Waiting for the new stuff to start.

Current
Clannad: Coming off as the weakest amongst the Key/KyoAni trilogy. Fuuko’s arc was fine, but nothing much past that. Kotomi’s story seems to be kind of interesting, though. I just can’t shake the feeling of “been there, done that” after Air and Kanon.
Dragonaut: The “so bad it’s good” thing is wearing off. Not sure if I’ll be able to finish this one just for the lulz alone, but it has nice production values for the most part…
Ghost Hound: Each episode is interesting and mildly entertaining, but it doesn’t go out of its way to make want to love it.
Hayate no Gotoku: Still consistently funny. This needs to run forever.
Kaiji: Shifted from Death Note JUST AS PLANNED episodes to NHK-esque examinations of people who have hit rock-bottom. I still like it.
Moyashimon: Unfortunately, quite boring. The microbe designs and opening are so great, but the show itself is a yawn-fest. I’ll probably finish it since it’s short.
Shana II: Will all the fanboys stop whining about the lack of action now? You get to see your loli engage in badly animated battles again! YAY! Whatever, it’s fine.

Will finish Minami-ke and Sky Girls once the subs hit.

Not So Current
Just watching a bunch of DVDs I got for Christmas. Air is nice a second time around. I haven’t seen it for so long, so it’s mostly all new to me. Will start on Soul Taker when I get a chance, and maybe Nadesico after that.

Will probably update when the new stuff hits.

Comic Site Rant: The 1000th Summer

Monday, December 31st, 2007

Original Post

Squeezing in one last comic before the new year. I like this one quite a bit. It didn’t call for much in the way of backgrounds, but I like how that first panel turned out. Sure, it’s all blue, but that’s because it’s cold! Line art isn’t exactly as I want it, but it never is. Overall I’m quite happy with this one. And yes, no matter what you say, 0nT2 is a true MAN’S ROMANCE.

There’s something of a break right now in terms of anime coming out, but I don’t really mind at all since it gives me something of a chance to catch up with all the DVDs I got for Christmas. I decided to start off with the first volume of Air. I haven’t seen the show in about 2 years, so it’s pretty fresh to me. KyoAni’s work rendered in DVD is lovely, but it’s funny how rough the show looks compared to their current works. Not to say it doesn’t look amazing, because it does, it’s just cool to see how much they’ve improved in such a short time. The first epiosde was beautifully directed, and reminded me of how adorable Misuzu was. Let’s see if the rest of the series is as good. I don’t remember my impressions too well, but I think it’s my favourite out of the KyoAni Key adaptations.

Apparently the last episode of Minami-ke came with a preview for the next series, Minami-ke ~Okawari~ by studio asread (of Shuffle! fame.) I have to say that things look quite promising. I’ve heard that people in certain corners of the internet are already hating on it for some stupid reason. As far as I’m concerned, if the direction and scripting stay somewhat consistent, I don’t mind. And before anyone brings up the fanservice aspect, think back on all the fanservice in Doumo’s Minami-ke. There is quite a lot, even if you don’t realize it. A lot of other series have ended, too. Once I catch the last episodes of Sky Girls and Minami-ke, I’ll do a Year in Review post.

That’s it for 2007. See you all next year~