Short Synopsis: Akiyuki tries to make sense of his new body as the assault causes many casualties.
Highlights: Shows all the basics of good storytelling.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I can imagine that if there ever was something like a “Basic Guide-Book to Telling A Good Story”, it would use Bonen no Xamdou as a major source of inspiration, or in any case the first two episodes. Everything so far has been done exactly by the books, and although this makes these two episodes predictable, it also makes them very solid. The setting for Bonen no Xamdou is huge, and so far we’ve seen the characters introduced and properly defined (and some of them already have evolved a bit), all the major parties have had their introductions, and yet the pacing has been frantic in order to keep the viewer interested.
I also really like the use of budget in this series. Bonen no Xamdou has a huge budget, but interestingly this isn’t used to create stunning backgrounds, like Porfy no Nagai Tabi or Macross Frontier, and instead it makes sure for a lot of detailed motions on the foreground. Very nice to see that for a change, especially in a series that’s as busy as this one.
And with this episode, I know for sure: it’s a pet peeves of the director to pay homage to some of the classics of anime. We saw this first in Eureka7, where Eureka’s three children were based off of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and here you can spot it too: Nakiami’s outfit is very obviously inspired by the costumes in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke. On an interesting side-note: the children seem to return for Bonen no Xamdou as well, though this time there’re just two of them. Let’s see how these brats ended up on such an international war-ship.
International Warship? I thought it was just a postal service, lol
And yeah, this was a great episode, and I liked the split that happened half-way through, as it almost felt like the start of another episode, as well. And as usual, it seems that Xamdo is one of those anime that people can’t help but link to other works, and it’s nice to see that.
This met all my expectations, I can’t wait til the next episode. This could very well be my favourite of 08.
Looks like you got a good “recording” of the show.
Let’s have a cheer for Xamdou’s animation style. IMO, intricate backgrounds that are practically meant to be paintings and flat, bright characters who don’t move well are a terrible way to do things, and are continuously jarring(for me, at least).
I’m hoping not only that this style continues, but also that the main character doesn’t abandon Haru, who is proving awesome when involved, to be paired with the pilot girl (Nakiami, right?). Dreadlocks guy would actually be a nice end for the latter. Bones pulls off good romance more often than they do good platonic relationships, so whatever they come up with should be great.
I wonder who the romantic interest for Akiyuki will be, Haru or Nakiami. Both have their qualities. Haru is a childhood friend and has a lot of fighting spirit for a student. She’s spunky yet vulnerable. Nakiami seems very worldly and obviously knows her stuff when it comes to surviving and warfare. She’s definitely the strong, silent warrior type which just makes her cooler. Let the love triangle shenanigans begin. 🙂