Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by EXCELLENCE!)

In any given anime season, there are a select few shows you start on, but somewhere along the line they get lost in the shuffle. It is sometimes due to one having too much on their plate, or it can be due to slow release schedules. There are also shows that you start on that you may totally hate, or just are just indifferent towards, that you drop. This post is devoted to those forgotten shows, both the lame ones and the pretty good ones.

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Current
Casshern Sins: Great art direction but the writing is so boring. I’m pretty sure Casshern says JUST WHAT AM I in every fucking episode.
ChäoS;HEAd: It’s always super special! I like this one a lot.
Clannad ~After Story~: Hit and miss. Needs more Mei and/or baseball episodes.
ef – a tale of melodies: This is like a Shinbo show except not good.
Ga-Rei-ZERO: I mostly like it. Really dig the opening/ending tunes.
Golgo 13: ….
Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: It’s like the writers on this show compete on who can write the crappiest episode.
Kannagi: Yamakan’s direction is great, and the production values are flawless, but the plot stuff lets it down.
Kemeko DX: Nice tits. Humour is hit or miss.
Kurogane no Linebarrels: This show is about man things like robots, tits and giant black men named JACK SMITH who cut airplanes in half.
Kyou no 5 no 2: I guess it’s fine but I still don’t know any of the character’s names.
Michiko to Hatchin: Uneven, but on the whole extremely well done.
Rosario + Vampire CAPU2: This show has moments of genius, actually. Moments of genius mixed with many moments of utter stupidity.
Shikabane Hime: Aka: This show is incredibly trashy, but it takes itself so seriously that I can’t help but take it seriously too. Gainax’s work also really helps it.
Tentai Senshi Sunred: Mostly funny. Some moments fall flat, but mostly funny.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Pretty entertaining fluff after a string of terrible opening episodes. Let’s hope it stays this way!
Toradora!: I really like this, even though I can’t find a character to like. Taiga is almost cute, but she’s too violent.
Tytania: :V
Yozakura Quartet: This has a really shitty plot, but the direction is ok. Good voice acting, too.
Zettai Karen Children: Not as good as Hayate, but a thoroughly enjoyable year-long show.

Not Current
Windy Tales: Finishing this soon.

Reading
Hayate no Gotoku: Comic version is pretty good so far, but Kenjiro Hata is kind of a bad artist but works around his failings well.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee: What? There’s only one volume so far? It’s been a year! Where’s volume two :(

I guess I’ll read more of the Tsukuyomi manga soon.

Alright, I’m just going to come out and say it: The Golgo 13 movie (or, Golgo 13: The Professional, as it’s known in the States) is an absolutely horrible movie. Having just seen about 14 episodes of the TV series, I knew kind of what I was in for, but never did I guess that this movie would reach such heights of complete unadulterated terribleness. This is pure garbage, ladies and gentlemen, and it’s absolutely the worst thing one could ever think to watch. And that’s what makes it worth searching out.

When I say searching out, I mean Google searching. This movie is not by any means worth your money. It’s junk, but it is worth pirating, and you do get your effort’s worth in the end, since this movie is terribly entertaining for the 90 minutes that it runs. It’s a party that plays out like a pulpy comic book, with stunts that defy the laws of everything, larger than life characters that could never exist in this world and 3D CG skeletons that fire revolvers into 3D CG skulls. It’s almost a perfect mix of pure and utter shit that just nearly pushes this movie into “so bad it’s good” territory.

Just nearly, though. What keeps this movie from working at its full potential is Dezaki’s direction. For some reason, the man treats this as an art film, taking every possible moment to be as goddamn experimental as possible. This however isn’t altogether a bad thing. In fact, I quite liked what he was doing until the last 20 or so minutes, when shots just stopped making sense. It’s the climax of the film– there’s no room for awkward directorial choices that entail repeating the same frame of a crazed old man’s face over and over again on the screen; nor is there room to break out the 1983 computers to render some helicopters that look straight out of Comanche 3D. Except worse. Yeah, I know you guys thought that 3D opening was cool– I thought it was ok myself– but seriously, 1983.

Speaking of that opening, it’s quite a piece of work. It would be almost good if they could’ve worked out how to make the animation not jump all the fucking time. Perhaps also mix in some cel-animated naked ladies to go along with that snazzy jazz piece for the full James Bond effect.

Anyways, time to cool down. I’ve shat on this thing long enough, so let’s switch gears and talk about the stuff I didn’t find totally awkward or ironically good. The animation is really great 80s stuff– very fluid and organic looking, with great lighting and shading effects. There are a few unfinished cuts floating around the film, but they’re few and far between. The music is also wonderfully 80s, and suits the film well. It’s a lot better than that horrible synth shit they use in the new TV series.

Really, the only thing that keeps this film from being totally BALLS TO THE WALL awesome is Dezaki’s approach to directing this thing. Which is weird, since he can do stuff like this well. The Space Adventure Cobra TV series is a great straight up action piece, and has no pretensions at all. But then again, the Cobra movie, also by Dezaki, is another wannabe art movie. Maybe he feels he has to prove himself as a director when he’s making big things– I don’t know. But what I do know is that the only person who can make that kind of shit work is Shinbo, as demonstrated in his confused masterpiece SoulTaker.

But with all that said, I do recommend this film for a one off, or for something to watch with your buds. It’s very entertaining, not too long, and delivers pure 1000% trash, even with all that distracting arthouse direction.

Current
Chi’s Sweet Home: I’m almost confident that I have not seen an episode within the past month. Oh well.
Code Geass R2: Feeling really Gundam Seed Destiny at this point. The stupidity is actually getting to me now.
Golgo 13: ….
Hidamari Sketch x365: Liking it better than season one, possibly because subs are coming out regularly and the episodes are slightly faster paced.
Koihime†Musou: Junk food anime. Tasty but forgettable.
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: Fun to watch– a curious mix of serious stories with comedy-like execution.
Macross F: Uh, I have no idea what this show is about anymore, I just like Ranka Lee. Sheryl can die in a fire etc.
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: I support anime about hot otaku girlfriends.
Sekirei: My Kanokon for this season– well produced fanservice fluff.
Slayers Revolution: Fun fantasy series– want to get around to the originals eventually.
Strike Witches: DELICIOUS FLAT CHESTS CROTCHES AND PANTIES ALL OVER DEAR GOD BEST OF THE SEASON
Telepathy Shoujo Ran: Ok kids thing. Have three episodes waiting to be watched– if they suck I’ll drop it.
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode: I liked the first two episodes… where’s the rest??
To Love RU: Why can’t THESE types of Jump shows run for 100+ episodes?
World Destruction: Has turned into a surprisingly fun adventure/fantasy series. Completely disposable, but I like it.
Zero no Tsukaima ~Princess no Rondo~: Girls, girls, GIRLS!
Zettai Karen Children: Watching it raw at this point. Hopefully Chihiro will continue on with it now that Deculture has folded.

Dropped Natsume Yuujinchou because it sucked.

Sitting on a bunch of DVDs and manga, too.

Man, so much anime, so little time. I work 40 hours a week, dammit!

Current
Chi’s Sweet Home: Good ol’ cartoons
Code Geass 2: Best part of my week.
Golgo 13: ….
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: I’ve finally accepted the fact that this is not a comedy. It still works, but I like it less than I initially did.
Macross Frontier: Consistently entertaining. Though honestly, I just watch it for Ranka and space fights.
Telepathy Shoujo Ran: lol kids show. Like the psychedelic effects.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann music videos: Entertaining little diversions.
To Love Ru: Wonderfully entertaining boobalicious fun.
Toshokan Sensou: Kind of badly written, but it’s a not-boring IG show.
Zettai Karen Children: It has faults, but it’s just too entertaining to not like.

Waiting for other things to start.

Manga
Read a bunch of stuff. Keroro Gunsou is great and I wish I read it 5 years ago and the Hayate manga is just the anime with more stylized art. Moving on to a vampire triple-play with Blood Alone, Karin and Tsukuyomi.

Image stolen from here. Please don’t kill me original artist.

Current
Chi’s Sweet Home: Cat.
Code Gayass R2: Even more over the top! And they said it couldn’t be done…
Golgo 13: Man this is some trashy stuff.
Kanokon: Man this is some trashy stuff. With heart shaped nipple covers.
Kurenai: IT’S GREEEAAAAT. The end of episode 9 was a bit wonky, but this one is still the best.
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: Liking it less. The episodes seem kind of thrown together and the direction is poor. Maybe it’ll get better.
Macross F: Ranka is still cute. The CG is still good. Story is moving kind of slow, though.
To-LOVE-Ru: Wow, way behind on this one. Still, good harem fun that’s worth catching up on.
Toshokan Sensou: Getting a bit too serious. Still, it’s a Production IG show that’s actually good! They haven’t done that since IGPX (shutupitsagoodshow)
Zettai Karen Children: As good as Kurenai but for totally different reasons. So cute~. The story stuff is silly, but who cares.

Not so current
Nadesico: Kind of got stuck at episode 18. I’m enjoying it, and I can see why it’s an anime staple, but I’m not totally in love. It seems like its obsessed with fitting in AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE into 25 minutes sometimes. I don’t see the genius that dm sees in it yet.

Dropped
Allison and Whatever: Not like I don’t like it, just I noticed I was behind by 3 episodes and didn’t really feel like catching up.

The last episode of Miina is finally subbed. I dropped off at episode 8, so I’ll marathon the last 3 at some point.

Will finish Baccano after this post.

After Nadesico I may watch Planetes since I realized I own it all and haven’t finished it. Whoops.

Hay hay May

Watching
Allison & Lillia: Bit too much “for the family” polish for my tastes. Not sure if I’ll stick with it.
Chi’s Sweet Home: 3 minutes of joy
Code Goose 2: JUST ASS PLANNED hilarity and general madness. Good times.
Golgo 13: ….
Kanokon: I can’t believe it’s not porn!!
Kure-nai: Best of the season. Great animation, great writing, great acting… just perfect.
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: Second best of the season. Good mix of craziness and drama. Fuka is too cute. Love abused lolis.
Macross F: Third best, I guess. Not much of a Macross fan, but this is good enough. Nice space battles and nyannyan dances.
To-LOVE-Ru: Guilty pleasure show of the season. I love it.
Toshokan Sensou: A good Production IG show?? And they said it couldn’t be done…
Zettai Karen Children: Decent fluff. Can’t really get past the hay 1990s art style, though.

Finishing Dennou Coil tomorrow. It is a good show.

Reading
Gunslinger Girl: Makes me want to watch the anime again. Great stuff.

Read some Ichinensei ni Nacchattara. It’s good.

Oh man, I just had a dream where Golgo 13 was fighting Lupin III. It was far more bizarre than that, but I can’t even begin to describe just how batshit this all was. For starters tough, Golgo had emotions.

Maybe this is because I watched an episode of Golgo 13 and a Lupin special yesterday.

[16:02:55] wildarmsheero: like apparently Golgo and Lupin III were fighting in the city of boston but boston was under a giant dome with a bunch of lasers on it that were shooting down on everyone and there were guys like attached to that dome too and there were like disco lights and golgo didn’t use a sniper rifle and aaaaaaaa
[16:03:36] TheBigN: XD
[16:05:15] wildarmsheero: that’s the best that I can put into the words
[16:05:19] wildarmsheero: it all happened so fast
[16:05:29] wildarmsheero: the word
[16:05:31] wildarmsheero: into words
[16:05:32] wildarmsheero: rather
[16:05:34] wildarmsheero: blah
[16:05:37] wildarmsheero: i just woke up

I watched all these a couple of days ago so these aren’t immediate reactions like the last few posts.

Kamen no Maid Guy

This was a real disappointment. I expected quality gags in the vein of Hayate, but instead I got some really badly designed and poorly scripted bunk. All this show has going for it is boobs, and even those are poorly done. I’m sure there’s an audience out there for this stuff, though– the same audience that loved Magikano, probably.

Golgo 13

Japan’s number 1 stone cold killer finally makes his way onto the small screen after 40+ years of being mostly restricted to the pages of his 140+ volumes of manga. None of this stuff is really original, but it’s proper no-nonsense Adult Anime, and the medium could probably do with more of it. People have been complaining that the animation is stiff– while it is, it doesn’t really bother me. When stuff actually needs to move, it moves well, and the scenes with little to no movement don’t really feel cheap. The production is about as good as your average Death Note epsiode, which is to say pretty good. There’s going to be 50 episodes of this, so I hope the subbers can keep up/don’t loose interest.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki

This show almost has my favourite character designs of the season if it wasn’t for Kure-nai and Kanokon. Fuka especially is quite fuckable. That stuff aside, the first episode of this show is humour scenes mixed with trying-to-be-serious-but-this-is-not-a-serious-show scenes. This one has potential to be real fun, but the final shot of episode 1 coupled with the small bits of “seriousness” sprinkled throughout this episode make me worry that it’ll take its silly self seriously. Kyouko, the main girl, is the kind of character I don’t really like, but she’s cute enough so that’s all well and good. I’ll probably be keeping up with this one.

And that’s it for this series of posts. There are still a few other shows I’ve seen and want to see, but the spring rush is pretty much over now. Hope you all chose your spring viewing wisely!

Original Post

Here is the Anime Boston con comic, which puts a lid on my Anime Boston 2008 coverage. Like last year, most of this stuff only really made sense in context, but whatever. I should also note these kinds of comics aren’t really what people said word-for-word– if you want that, listen to the podcasts. Expect a comic about noses next week.

Lots of stuff from the TAF, which actually took me by surprise for some reason. Unfortunately, I can’t be all too excited about much of it since I’m not all that pumped about this next season, even after seeing these trailers. I guess I’ll just bullet-point this stuff.

• The Golgo 13 trailer is good, but it has too many still images, which makes me worry for its budget.
• Crystal Blaze looked fine for the first minute, then in the last minute it took a nosedive– I’m afraid it’ll take itself seriously.
• DMC looks like it could be fun.
• Jigoku Shoujo is the same old thing, which means it should be moderately entertaining.
• Michiko to Hatchin is Manglobe’s new offering, and certainly looks more fun than Ergo Proxy. Approaching with some degree of caution, but I have high hopes for this one.
• I’m guessing this new Gurren Lagann footage is from the new music video project, and not from the new movie. Some of it looks quite interesting.
• I certainly hope the people in this video are cheering for something else going on in the hall, and not for Kanokon.

Reading that Ballad of a Shinigami novel that Seven Seas sent me. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and should be done in a week or so. It’s a good light read, but doesn’t really have a distinct writing style that inspires me or anything. It’s not bad, but it kind of just makes me want to watch the anime again. Maybe I’m just not used to reading books that aren’t written by Patrick Macias.

So I guess Hayate is getting a second season, which is good news. It’s managed to keep my attention for 50 episodes, which is quite impressive. Let’s hope they don’t drop the ball with this next one!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s a wrap.