Gosenzosama Banbanzai
Yeah, I know that this ova is already two decades old, but I just had to mention it. Liam recommended it to me, and after watching it, I have to agree that this one’s brilliant! I think the only thing you need to know about it is that it’s basically Mamoru Oshii’s attempt at comedy. Despite its age, this OVA was still a breath of fresh air. If you liked Mamoru’s work on Twilight Q, then you’ll love Gosenzosama. The entire thing feels like it’s being performed inside a theatre, rather than a cinema. Combined with a smashing soundtrack from Kawai Kenji, Gosenzosama is an excellent recommendation if you’re looking for an OVA that’s something different.
Ikkitousen – Great Guardians
There’s a fine line between a bit of innocent fanservice here and there and tasteless fanservice meant to milk money from otaku. Ikkitousen crossed this line and then kept going for forty more miles before it realized the concept of “brakes”. I admit, the soundtrack has some good tracks among it and the story about the Chinese mythology is at least interesting enough, but the characters ruin any trace of potential in this series. Scenarios are written way too obvious, the yuri lacks a lot of subtlety and ends up as just plain old fanboy-bait, and I’ve lost count as to how much time I wanted to punch Hakufu, her mother, the blue-haired girl, etc etc in the face for being so god damn annoying. I’m not a big fan of fanservice, but if it has to be included, it should be inserted into the story, not the other way around. What surprises me the most is the huge amount of fansubs this series is getting: six groups have already released the first episode after it aired. I mean, what?!
Telepathy Shoujo Ran
The first thing that catches attention is the unusual art style: there’s a stark contrast between the very simple character-designs and the rich and colourful background art, and the result works pretty well. Overall, I must say I’m impressed so far. This series is like a cross between Kamichu and Kaze no Shoujo Emily: it’s got the heart-warming slice-of-life feel of the former, and this episode already showed the powerful drama of the latter. Especially the slice-of-life parts in this episode were really nicely done, and they’ll probably form a good base for this series to work with. I did fear a bit when this series suddenly introduced the pretty transfer-student (a way too overused cliché, IMO), but I’m glad to see that this isn’t one of these series where the powers of the main characters are kept secret.
Yeah….big surprise, a show you hate gets many fansubs groups….that NEVER happened before
Oh… you know, when I looked at the screenshots from Gosenzosama Banbanzai, I thought: “Oh, such fine art, a new refreshing series…WTF?”
The quality seems to be still unquestionably good. Despite the age. The primitive style of Ikkitousen backed up by computer graphics is a perfect contrast.
Why do almost every modern anime has to be so cheap-looking? Eh :/
Apparently people like fanservice shows. Who knew?
In all seriousness, the bias in the community for Ikkitousen and its ilk stopped suprising me a long while ago.
Eonir; eh, whut? Could you please point out this “fine art” to me? Gozensosama looks exactly the same as Ikkitousan, save three areas; the colours are less vivid, there’s less detail on the hair and there aren’t any backgrounds worth talking about (though that last could well be reporting bias).
*sigh* another person who doesn’t understand the brilliance of Ikkitousen.
Gosenzosama is a pretty obscure yet famous production that I have been wanting to watch for years now, as it is a brainchild of a really rich and interesting staff. Thanks for your review !
Oh, so I guess I’M the only one here agreeing with Psgels 100%, as usual. I’ve had ENOUGH fanservice for a long time after watching Kanokon. Plus I can’t wait for subs for Telepathy Shoujo Ran. I’m trying not to watch too much this summer season, but this anime is definitely on my must-watch list.
Wow! Telepathy Shoujo Ran turned out to be Unlimited Pencil Works! if you know what I mean.
Currently, I am watching Telepathy Shoujo Ran. My first impression is that the opening song was absolutely awful. I hope I am not mistaken in choosing this series to watch…