Just got a bent up March 2008 issue of Megami from J-List…
I got this issue for the poster of Kokonoe covered in chocolate, but me being at home, I couldn’t really put that up. Luckily, on the other side is that hot SZS pic.
I ain’t going to sugarcoat things here, but Minami-ke Okawari just isn’t as hot as the show that came before it. It’s inferior in about every way to the studio Doumo produced predecessor from the animation quality to the script writing. That said, I found the show to be at least enjoyable for what it was, and also found it quite fascinating. What makes the show fascinating is the fact that it’s studio asread’s second work. The studio caught my interest with Shuffle!, and since then I’ve been keeping something of an eye on them. If I was this guy then I’d probably keep track of the individual animators, but I can’t read kanjis nor can I identify individual animators’ styles.
I’ll get the boring details out of the way first. The script writing in this series was noticeably weaker than that of the first Minami-ke. It seems the writers at asread can handle a harem well, but tackling slightly more realistic personalties proved to be a challenge for them. By virtue of that fact, a lot of the characters were simplified– boiled down to their core traits, and they worked from there. Some characters were even written off entirely. This was servicable, but because of this dumbing down Okawari lacks the genius found in the first iteration of Minami-ke.
The direction tried its best to be unique, and worked to some degree. The use of question marks or exclamation marks popping from characters’ heads was charming, but other than that it just seemed like another case of asread not really being up to the task of slice of life comedy. The direction is competent, but lacks the energy and flow that made the first series such a smooth operator.
As far as animation goes, it’s noticeably worst than asread’s first work, Shuffle! I haven’t seen Shuffle! in a bit, save the first DVD just recently, but I remember the animation being quite fluid. However, in just the first four episodes that I re-watched recently, there was definitely a consistency issue when it came to art style. Okawari’s animation, from what I can remember, looked consistent the whole way through, it just wasn’t really fluid. Asread doesn’t quite have that Shaft-like dexterity when it comes to stretching the budget, so there were a lot of cuts that just looked awkward, but they made good use of pretty still images when they could.
Alright, now that all that crap is out of the way, time for the good stuff. One thing that struck me here and in Shuffle! was asread’s quirky sense of humour. In Shuffle! it manifested in the form of the girls’ “Defense Forces” and various other small details here and there (the fact that bald old guys attend high school, the first eye-catches.) In Okawari, from what I can remember, it mostly took shape in the opening and ending animations. That strange creative spirit is part of why asread interests me as a studio.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~ is probably an ok-to-good slice of life show at best, and suffers because it was thrown the giant shoes of the previous work and tried its best to fit into them. I won’t say asread didn’t give it the good old college try, but what they eventually churned out here was certainly lacking. That said, I appreciate their ambitious approach to things, and expect greater works in the future!
Not much now. Will update when new things have started.
Current
Chii’s Sweet Home: Three minutes of stuff.
Ghost Hound: I don’t really care about this one anymore. Almost over.
Hakaba Kitarou: Subs have slowed down. Still decent entertainment with above-average art direction.
Kaiji: HOLY SHIT TISSUE BOXES THIS SHIT IS WILD
They Are My Noble Masters: Bleh.
Finished/Almost Finished
Clannad: Rushed but acceptable ending. I hope this after-story thing won’t be too long… but I suppose having questions answered would be nice.
Dragonaut: One episode to go. As horrible as this show was, I don’t regret watching it, since it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
Hayate no Gotoku: I’d welcome 50 more episodes. Nagi~
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Yeah, I’m thinking asread didn’t get their Shuffle! budget for this one. Looks good, but moves awkwardly. Ending was fine.
Rosario + Vampire: One episode left. Decent for a crappy show.
Shakugan no Shana II: lol
Wolfy Spices: Well thank god that’s over!!
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Waiting for Strato to sub the rest, but finished it raw. Very difficult to understand raw ;__;
Reading
Shinigami no Ballad: Past the deadline for the review, so trying to finish this one up. Works better as a cartoon.
Reading some KnJ chapters when they surface, and just finished another wonderfully confusing volume of Trigun MAXIMUM. I still have volumes of GSG unread, am almost caught up on OTAKU USA issues and have lots of unread Macias books from Christmas.
Can anyone recommend me any manga series that aren’t adaptations/have been adapted into an anime that I may like? I kind of wanna be an elitist manga reader, hur. Extra points if it’s not shoujo and not over 10 volumes.
Current
Clannad: Fine. Last arc killed two birds with one stone, I guess, so now we’re on to Nagisa.
Dragonaut: Yes, I’m still watching this, 21 episodes in. It’s so horrible, but it’s so bad it goes full circle and becomes good again.
Ghost Hound: Each episode is well done, but as a whole it leaves a lot to be desired.
Hakaba Kitarou: Carries itself on art direction, but is still enjoyably dark and mischievous. Makes me want a US release of the Gegege no Kitarou manga.
Hayate no Gotoku: Coming to a close. I wouldn’t mind a second season after something of a break. This last batch of episodes is pretty strong.
Kaiji: Working off shock value now. About six more episodes to go.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Not really funny, but an enjoyable watch. Asread’s animation doesn’t seem as good this time around, but I don’t remember much of what Shuffle! looked like past that one Memories episode I skimmed through for screencaps.
Rosario + Vampire: I should drop this crap, but I guess eight episodes is past the point of no return?
Shakugan no Shana II: Stuff is finally happening… four episodes until the end!
Spicy Wulf: Boring but watchable.
They Are My Noble Masters: Kind of want to drop this one too, but it’s not as bad as Rosario + Vampire. Carries itself of references.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Only good winter season show that’s not Hakaba Kitarou (and I guess Okawari). For serious. ZETSUBOU FAITO.
Not So Current
Dennou Coil: Watching this again for some reason. Still pretty boring, but I’ve gotten past the point where I dropped it last time.
Reading
Trying to get through back issues of OTAKU USA. Have stacks up unread manga sitting about. Should read those Macias books I got months ago.
Current
Clannad: It’s good. I think it has nice characters and a number of good scenes, but thus far the main stories have been kind of weak.
Dragonaut: I don’t even know why anymore…
Ghost Hound: Still moves at a snail’s pace, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. Something of a plot seems to be developing, and I’m hoping it involves more Miyako screentime.
Hakaba Kitarou: Deliciously dark and enjoyable. Needs Nekomusume :3
Hayate no Gotoku: Nearly over, and I shed HOT TEARS OF SHAME. Another year-long season, please?
Kaiji: Show kind of got weaker after GAMBLEBOAT but it’s still fairly enjoyable. I hope E-Card is more complicated than it looks.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Most certainly different, but that’s not a bad thing. It looks good, but you can tell Asread is still a bit green with some cuts here and there. Probably not as funny as the last one, but still enjoyable. You can tell they’re trying.
Rosario + Vampire: Apparently has no inbetweening. Yeah, this animation is super cheapo, but the characters are always on model, so that’s good. I could probably stand it for another nine episodes.
Shana II: Stuff happens.
Wolf and Spices: Pretty good, but not totally awesome. Probably a step above a lot of stuff airing right now, though.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: EXTREME. Shinbo and Co. play with original manga material, usually with hilarious results.
Mr. Sunshine used some underhanded marketing tactics and got me into watching They Are My Noble Masters. I’ll check it out soon.
Not so current
Baccano!: Finishing the rest tonight. Just plain fun, but I hope all the stupid commotion makes sense in the end.
Devil Hunter Yohko: Finally finishing this after many years. Lots of nudity, action and dirty jokes– so basically good stuff for growing boys.
It goes without saying that Doumo’s rendition of Minami-ke was brilliant, and that such brilliance would be difficult to replicate, especially by a completely different studio. Though, surprisingly enough, Asread’s doing pretty alright. Asread is a fairly new studio, with their resume being chock full of a lot of in-betweening credits and various other wishy-washy roles. Their only true work is Shuffle!, which was spectacular, but with newer studios it’s hard to tell if further works will be just as good as the other one or two things they made. I remember being psyched about Doujin Work, given Remic worked on Magical Pokaan, only to find that it was absolute dreck. Asread, however, doesn’t disappoint with their version of the three Minami sisters.
Now, it’s not all candy and sugar and shit. The show kind of got off on the wrong foot. The first episode was very awkward, like it was trying too hard to duplicate the charming scriptwriting of the first series. About four or so episodes in though, I’m starting to dig it. It could be a case of me just getting used to it, or the series just settled into its groove. The approach to the material is different, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. I can’t say I prefer Doumo’s episode structure to Asread’s or vice-versa, but they’re both entertaining, that’s what matters. However, what I do like more about this one are the visuals.
The first thing that struck me about the Shuffle! TV show was how it looked. I loved the character designs, and the use of colour and shading. It all just worked for me. Okawari looks basically the same, so naturally I love it. Everything from the detailed backgrounds, to the colour selections, to the sharp character design– I love it all. This isn’t to say Doumo’s look is inferior. I love the character designs in that one, too (they’re closer to the original, I think?) but as far as the rest goes, it’s good but doesn’t really hit my weak spots.
Anyway, here’s hoping for nine more wonderful episodes.
Ever since I found out what Gegege No Kitarou was, I simply had to partake of it in some form. Everything about it just looked like tons of fun, but it was all in a language that I could just barely understand. What a fucking cocktease. It’s good to know that at least one group of individuals out there cares and have decided to translate what is probably the most faithful Gegege No Kitarou adaptation to date? I dunno, I’m hardly familiar with the franchise at all, but seeing as this is based on the original ORIGINAL Kitarou, I don’t think I’m too wrong in making that claim.
The show doesn’t disappoint. It has a striking visual style, is deliciously dark, and is, as expected, just a lot fun. I can’t write too much about it, since I barely know anything about the characters or the franchise, but what I can say is watch it. If you do maybe Shinsen will sub it faster.
Not really related, but Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei episode 4 was more awesome than all of the first season combined. If you can even fathom that.
The second, and probably last round of reviews for the winter season. Only two this time– probably not going to watch much more than this unless someone decides to sub the new Gegege no Kitarou and/or Noramimi.
That’s it. Considering the titles this season has to offer, I may just end up watching Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Minami-ke ~Okawari~. Rosario + Vampire is pretty insipid and poorly animated, and Spicy Wolf could go up or down for me. I guess the good part is that I’ll have time to catch up with some older shows.
The winter season has started, but unlike every other blog I’ve come across, I am in fact not watching every show that rears its poorly animated head. I am a very discerning creature, and after about four or so years of seriously watching anime I can tell just from various promotional materials what would probably interest me. Thusly, out of all the current offerings that have aired up to this point, I have only watched three shows, all of which I will cover now.
That’s all. Apart from those three, I’m waiting for subs of Minami-ke ~Okawari~ and Gunslinger Girl 2. Yeah, I know they’ve gotten mixed reviews, but I need to see them for myself. I’d watch Hakaba Kitarou and Noramimi if people actually subbed them, though.
2007 was really fucking uneven. The first few months got by on the better titles that carried over from 2006, but between April and August it was something of a wasteland. I managed to get my fix for good modern anime by way of genius works such as Gurren Lagann and Hayate no Gotoku, but all the other offerings during that period of time where somewhere between mildly amusing to plain bad. Thankfully, August saw the debut of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Zero No Tsukaima 2, both of which restored my faith in the industry somewhat. October once again impressed with Minami-ke, Kaiji and Clannad.
What follows will be something similar to my monthly posts, but for the Year In Review, I’ll be ordering things by quality using letter grades, starting from the worst to the VERY BEST. I cover a lot of shows in the post, but it’s not everything I watched during the year.
Here’s my rankings.
First comic of ‘08! It looks kind of bad! It’s not totally horrible, but it’s not totally good, either. I do like Tina’s yandere face in panel 4, though. After reading this comic over and over, I realized that it’s actually just this comic + this comic. Oops. This comic plays up the slowly developing insanity in Tina. Normally she’s a cheerful fangirl with pretty well rounded opinions on things, but if you hung around Rets as much as she does, certainly you’d have instances where you’d crack. Rets, however, is smarter than he looks, and knows how the right time to exit. He should thank his lucky stars he’s not dead on the floor. Yet.
The severe lack of Nagi doujins out of C73 is a problem, though. I let last Comiket off since the show was just beginning, so naturally I assumed there wouldn’t be a good turn out. But now the show is almost over, we are lacking in high quality Nagi porn! What is with the fixation on Hinagiku, huh? Tell me, Japan! Actually, I’m sure Japan would tell me to stop whining and just go over there to buy the things myself. Which I would like to do. Eventually. I may do a comic around that idea for next week, but it’s not really fully planned out, yet. In any case, I am in despair. To console myself I’m downloading older Hayate doujins, hoping they will be of Nagi. It’s fine, but I want stuff that’s FRESH. FRESH, NEW AND WELL DRAWN. Sigh. Comiket, I will take you on. One of these days.
New season has started, and as usual, I’m not watching the first episode of everything like every other blogger. I am a discerning individual, and can tell just from promotional art whether or not a show will be for me or not. My judgment has rarely done me wrong, so I’m fine with not watching everything. I have watched some things though, those two things being Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Rosario + Vampire. I won’t say much here, since I’m reserving my thoughts for a blog post that may or may not happen. I will say that SZS 2 is more of the same except with better animation and the style may be a bit more off-beat and wacky. Rosario + Vampire is a stupid fanservice show, but provided Gonzo doesn’t fuck up the animation, I could watch that for 13 episodes. As of right now currently looking forward to subs of Minami-ke ~okawari~, Gunslinger Girl 2, and the end of Sky Girls (I need to finish my year in review, dammit!)
Before I take off, I’d like to mention a few things. The comic has gotten some press again, this time in the form of the Anime Genesis Podcast, and Aarin’s Blog. Anime Gen declares me webcomic of the year, and Aarin gave me a fairly well thought out and honest review. Thanks to both of them.
That’s it for this week. I head back to school next week, but I’ll try to push out another comic before then. Later!
Woop
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~
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