Something bugged me about this episode, but I really couldn’t put my finger on what it was, so I actually ended up rewatching parts of the original series to find out (this took place on episode 8, by the way, to get a frame of reference). This episode actually made this part play out LONGER than the original TV-series did. In any case, after watching it, I really knew what bugged me: the acting.
With this, I’m mostly referring to the parts about Hisoka. The general scenario was the same, but how the characters acted just made this episode in the first season better. The problem lies with both Leorio and Hisoka hamming it up a bit too much, plus some really weird rearrangements in the battles (Hisoka’s teleportation powers, for example). The overall result of this is that in the first season, Hisoka really had this air around him of being a menace. Here he looks a bit too when he speaks every single line of his with extreme passion. It makes him much more of a generic villain at this point. I mean, heck, he looked like he was about to get an orgasm when he grabbed Gon.
Strangely enough this is not the product of this show going too fast like what I first feared. It really is just the acting. There were also these strange points like how Gon didn’t find it strange that Hisoka just grabbed Leorio and walked off, but that’s just inconsequential nit-picking. I do have to say that I still liked this episode, and especially the first half, along with the use of the Frog and the laxative (which was something that the first season couldn’t use).
Also, in terms of the big picture: every single episode here has been significantly different. We go from the sea to moral questions to quiet build-up to running to fighting monsters, in just five episodes. I can really not remember any other shounen that was as diverse as this one within just 5 episodes.
What I also love about this show: everyone is equal. There isn’t the usual crap of “you need to fight guy X before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss, ad infinitum”. Everyone here is on the same ground, trying to pass the Hunter exam, and there is none of the usual hierarchical business that shounens usually use to pad out their lengths beyond all forms of patience.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Category: Series which were Dropped
Persona 4 The Animation – 04
I must say that Persona chose to go with a premise that is very easy to go wrong: its antagonists feed on angst. The most annoying part of the past episode, apart from that bear perhaps, are the speeches of “I am you! I’m actually not as perfect as you thought me to be!”, following by lots of denial. Again, it has to do with a rather annoying formula that isn’t just used by this series (if that were the case I could easily forgive it), but it’s the same kind of set-up that loads of other shows use.
I get what this series is trying to do: we all have our different sides. The lead characters all refuse to accept some of those sides, and those persona thingies will help them accept these sides. It’s a solid base, but I’m still missing something. That will be up for the rest of the series to fill in. Do some interesting stuff with this formula. These internal conflicts are great to give the characters background, but they don’t help in fleshing them out. The other selves are just too different from their usual personalities to the point where they nearly feel as different people.
The part in this episode that I liked was when the conflict was about to be resolved. For once the characters actually talk to each other to resolve their conflicts. These parts were quite charming. My big issue with this show is just that it depends on people’s ability to not think straight in order to create its antagonists.
Rating: (Enjoyable)]]>
Guilty Crown – 03
Seriously, what is this show doing in Noitamina? I mean, if this was going to be an experiment for another 2-cour series, there would have been much better series for that: Chihayafuru, Fate/Zero or even Last Exile.
I know that series need time to build up. I’m not expecting series to immediately deliver right from the start. Instead what I’m looking for in the opening episodes of a series is hints that it knows what it’s doing: hints that it knows what good storytelling is, that its characters are well acted. Those kinds of things. I’m not seeing them here.
In fact, this episode showed even more that this show is wasted potential. There are two main reasons for that. First of all, this episode shows the main character running around and drawing weapons out of everyone. In the end, this just turns out to be him random props out of people and moving on to the next. This show doesn’t do anything with them. Or, take the point at which the male lead and his best friend make up and promise each other not to tell about each other’s secrets. The main character conveniently tells him that he did that, instead of the creators showing how he did it. It’s a pretty big point here, as only second later it turns out that the friend did screw him over in the end. That’s just lazy storytelling.
And yeah, then there was the fact that this episode was full of cliches. I mean, even Fractale wasn’t this bad. The fanservice was incredibly pointless, the jokes were the same you see everywhere (and of course the same old boob joke couldn’t be missing). Oh, and why did the female lead move in with the male lead again? I mean, what exactly has she actually done in this series? She’s been completely useless so far!
There really isn’t anything that really stands out in this series. The whole drama around Shu’s friend is very inconsistent: on one hand we have these terrorists who know perfectly well that they will be tortured to death if they get caught, and they act surprisingly calm to one of their comrades (who has vital information and weapons for their plans) gets too naive and gets caught. Shu meanwhile is a wimp in the bad way. To compare him with Mirai Nikki: there the lead is a wimp, but he knows he’s a wimp, and at the same time he has legitimate reasons for trying to survive. Here, I have no idea what it is that the male lead wants. On one hand he wants to be left alone, then he wants to help the terrorists again, but then he’s too scared to look people into the eyes… he doesn’t really seem to understand the situation he’s in.
The thing is also that I praised the first episode for looking gorgeous. The thing is, that even in this area this show can be eclipsed if it isn’t careful. Last Exile is well on its way to show better graphics than this series, Un-Go is well on its way with much better artistic direction, and the same goes for Chihayafuru. This show has the budget. It has the inbetween animation, but it doesn’t seem to want to do anything with it.
Rating: — (Lacking)]]>
Hunter X Hunter – 04
Whoa. This episode was actually really well done. The creators actually nailed this episode, and despite the fast pacing, they did not rush through the running part, in order to really make it feel like a test of endurance. And the creators actually used it for the main cast to get to know each other. I actually think that this episode was better than the running part in the original series, however…
The main reason was that Donpa surprisingly didn’t do anything. Instead he got rid of the computer kid (I already found it weird that I didn’t remember this kid). This made this arc into more of a standalone story, because the part where Tonpa originally revealed himself to the main cast… just felt a bit weird and forced. It however did lead to a very interesting Donpa in one of the later arcs, because that part fleshed him out as a villain. At this point in the original series, he already changed his purpose. In this show however, he still is the same. What will the results of this be?
But yeah, the characterization here was damn enjoyable. I love how in this series, the characters don’t seem destined for each other, but instead just bump into each other and make friends. Especially Gon and Killua connected with each other in a very natural way. Leorio and Kurapica are also a wonderful duo together who play of each other wonderfully. The one person I still can not get used to however is Hisoka. In this episode too: he’s just hamming it up. His character probably changed the most compared to the first season, and I really hope that the creators know what they’re doing with him.
But yeah: how many other shounen were THIS varied and imaginative, after only four episodes? This really shows how you can build up and deliver at the same time.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Persona 4 The Animation – 03
I still haven’t forgiven AIC with its bullying away of some of the animators due to mis-management. But I have to admit: I liked this episode.
There are things that are starting to grow on me. The introduction of each episode is actually quite well done with these two figures in the limousine, but also the comedy and the quiet moments were much better than last weeks. In particular the scene in which the two leads got arrested by the police for walking around with fake swords was hilarious, but I also liked the timing of the parts where Yukiko suddenly appeared on the television screen.
The last interesting part still was the fight scene, though. On one hand it’s interesting to see so many things that look like a game, but the battles still follow too strict of a formula. The whole inner conflict in this episode was pretty much identical to last episode, and what’s also weird is that both thi week and last week, the angsty character in question had a strong relationship to someone who hardly ever got any screentime at all. The weakest part was the angst, though. That needs to have better acting in the future.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Guilty Crown – 02
This show is gorgeous, it’s directed by Tetsurou Araki (the director of Death Note and Kurozuka) and animated by Production IG. It’s bound to be action packed, and for those reasons I’m going to blog it. I don’t have any expectations for this beyond mere eye candy, though.
Here’s the thing: we’re in the middle of a very creative season, with continuations of shows with incredibly rich and imaginative settings (Last Exile, Hunter X Hunter, Fate/Zero), new series with really creative premises and purposes (Ben-To, Un-Go, Chihayafuru, Mirai Nikki and even Phi Brain). And here this show comes with its superpowered teenagers, bland boy meets mysterious girl, stereotypically sadistic villains… and that’s pretty much it. Beyond the fact that it can shoot a good action scene and that this show looks amazing when it wants to, it just doesn’t have anything that sets it apart.
What I’m really afraid of is that this never really gets fixed. My big problem here is that this thing is written by the same guy who wrote Mai Otome and Macross Frontier (ignoring for a moment that he also came up with Seiko no Qwaser). Thankfully these first two episodes were not as bad as Mai Otome: this show is unremarkable, not bad, obnoxious and stupid. However, I’m more and more beginning to see this as the spiritual successor of Macross Frontier, but without the idols. It too looked pretty, but had a very weak story and bland characters, who never really seemed to know where they were going.
I was hoping for this episode to prove me wrong, but instead this was even more generic, due to the lack of quiet moments. First of all there are the usual questions: why do both the military and the rebels, despite having plenty of adults, depend on teenagers to pilot their mechas? If you have a reason for it: then that’s fine, but don’t just put some cute girls in mecha suits just for the sake of fanservice.
Also, the blond kid. Whose idea was that; seriously? This guy is the only actually bad character in this series so far. In every single scene, he’s portrayed as a psycho with a temper, even when there’s no reason for him to be so. I mean, the bomb girl in Mirai Nikki was psycho for a reason: she was risking her life in the middle of a truckload of explosives that she set up herself. This guy instead is like “muhahaha, I’m evil; bump into me and I’ll kill you!”
What’s more is that this show is too busy portraying its bad guys as assholes, rather than actually make compelling villains. The point where they killed those random civilians (who strangely were never mentioned again after their death; not even people mourning about them). What’s also bugging me is the existence of the female lead: why is she in this show, really? All she’s done so far is give powers to the male lead (which, according to what people are saying, can be done by everyone else as well). Oh, and appear in his school. Why was there a need to show that in the most cliched way possible?
However, what has also really bugged me so far: I’m seeing very little of Tetsurou Araki’s distinctive style here. I’m a fan of Death Note, Kurozuka and also that one story he did for Aoi Bungaku: the atmosphere and direction there were rock-solid, but they were nothing like what was shown here. This show needs to grow. Get rid of that psycho blonde and focus more on the characters without wasting time on pointless side stories or making the action too repetitive.
Rating: – (Disappointing)]]>
Hunter X Hunter – 03
One of the things that I find the most annoying about shounen series is the huge amount of time that you have to wait before things get good. Gitnama’s first 13 episodes were significantly less funny than the rest of the series. Bakuman took a huge amount of time to get going, and Nurarihyon no Mago was especially bad at this. It’s because of this that I refuse to watch One Piece, Fairy Tail and Rurouni Kenshin: out of all of them, I watched their first episode at some point, and none of them contained any hints whatsoever that they’d turn out better. Sure, they probably will and all, but I really don’t want to sit through seasons of mediocrity with no hints at quality whatsoever before that happens.
I may have given this show a lot of criticisms, but really: it’s already much better than the majority of shounen series out there. And heck, out of the shounen series that do have a good start, the vast majority of them turns sour after its first arc (Bleach, Ao no Exorcist for example). In three episodes, Hunter X Hunter 2011 has already showcased a lovable cast, an imaginative and detailed setting, a great atmosphere and a ton of intrigue. For that, I have to praise it.
Now, for the criticisms: I had one big issue with this episode: Hisoka. There were quite a bit of differences in this episode, but the only one that really was a downer was how Hisoka was introduced. The first season did this really well: he just stood there, and the only think you knew about him was that he was really dangerous and that he killed an examinator. It created a tremendous aura around him. In this episode? Some one bumps into him and he starts acting like this smug “I’m stronger than you hahaha” villain.
The other major difference in this episode was Tonpa, the rookie killer. In the first season it actually wasn’t clear that he was one until he started to double-cross the main characters. Here, they outright state it. It had an interesting effect, though: introducing all of the colourful side characters that will be appearing in the next number of episodes. He did it in quite an interesting and enjoyable way, making introductions which normally are just a boring side-task, fun and interesting.
For the next episode though, I really do hope that the creators take their time with the running exam. That’s just something that needs to drag on, otherwise it’ll lose its entire point of testing the endurance of the different characters. This episode already made a step in the right direction though. I really liked how it showed everyone just waiting for the exam to start. It’s a great way to build up atmosphere.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Some Quick First Impressions: Last Exile – Ginkyou no Fam, Guilty Crown and Un-Go
Last Exile – Ginkyou no Fam
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a young genius pilot.
Well, first things first: it’s awesome to see Gonzo back. It’s not just the series they make. It’s because of their balls: they like to take risks like no other studio out there, and that’s why I became a fan of them, even though they did release their fair share of crap. Now, as for this series: it looks just gorgeous. The CG is still up to Gonzo’s high standards and the creators didn’t just copy designs from the first season, but came up with a whole new set of eye candy that certainly does not stand out as inferior to its predecessor. As for the story of this episode: it’s definitely more childish than the first season, and shows a bunch of teenagers being able to disrupt an entire fleet. The first season had this too, but was a lot more subtle about it, especially with the enemy fleet having very stuck-up commanders and deploying no vanships whatsoever to intercept the main cast. There’s also fanservice, though thankfully not as much as was feared. The acting is overall very good, though it does have a number of weak points. The direction is also quite solid, despite the lighter tone. This is a typical example of a first episode with a lot of potential to become amazing, but also with quite a number of things that can hold it back and didn’t work out as well as you’d hope. Yup, that’s Gonzo alright.
OP: The OP of the first season was much better.
ED: A familiar voice. The song is a bit redundant after hearing it in other EDs, but the picture slideshow looks nice.
Potential: 80%
Guilty Crown
Short Synopsis: Our lead character meets a half-naked girl.
That was absolutely gorgeous. The first episode of Guilty crown is a visual feast, in the way that just about every frame is meticulously detailed and well drawn, in the way that only Production IG can do for a television series. If they keep this up, then this will very likely be the prettiest Noitamina series of the year. As for the rest of the episode though: there were a number of issues I had with it. The biggest is that outside of the visuals, I miss creativity: the scenario of this episode had a been there, done that”-feeling, and the main characters are a bunch of walking cliches. On one hand you have the really bland male main character, and on the other hand we have this female who has special powers, is his childhood friend, and gives the male lead a special weapon that he can use to kick ass. There have been way too many shows already with that premise, and the only thing that this show really added to that was its gorgeous visuals. This is a show that needs to grow significantly. But heck: at least the characters are far from as stupid or annoying as they were in Fractale.
OP: Good idea to combine it with the content of the episode.
ED: A bit of a dull ballad with nice art from the promo images.
Potential: 75%
Un-Go
Short Synopsis: Our lead character solves mysteries.
Here is a very interesting one, and I don’t mean that in the way you might expect. At first this episode started off like your average murder mystery series: the protagonists happened to be stuck in a room full of people where someone conveniently got murdered. It was well built up, but strangely mundane. Then however the second half came around and this episode just kept switching moods, themes and atmospheres. This series is attempting to breathe a new wind into the episodic murder mystery genre. This episode had science fiction, horror, and the post-apocalypse all stuffed together. This was the strange case of not the culprit getting some surprise added depth, but the setting itself became a lot more intriguing once this episode started putting the pieces of its puzzle together. On top of that, this episode was well produced and well directed with very natural camera work. The creators definitely took creative liberties on the original work it’s based on, and the episodic set-up really allows them to try a wide variety of different stuff. Oh, and as an added bonus this episode had the best use of music and sounds of the entire season so far. My only warning for when you plan to check it out: the characters. They are not on the list of priorities for this series.
OP: A bit of a dull song, but lots of neat eye candy.
ED: By far the best ED of the seasons. Heck, even the OPs get nowhere as close to the imaginative visuals and music that was displayed here.
Potential: 90%]]>
Persona 4 The Animation – 02
As for the shows I’m not going to blog:
– Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai is trying too hard. Both in being moe, and with the main character being a straight man.
– Maken-Ki is just stupid fanservice
– Mashiro-Iro Symphony… poor Manglobe. How deep you have fallen.
As for Persona, it won the contest, so I was guaranteed to blog this one. The worst case scenario has happened, however: it didn’t really have the best staff imaginable.
Now, for the record: I liked the first Persona anime, even though it had huge flaws. It was a good mystery story, with the big flaw that it kept using anti-climaxes over and over: every time you thought that an interesting cliff-hanger would finally spice things up, the next episode just continued like nothing happened. Now, this show will definitely not have this problem.
Seiji Kishi as a director lacks one major thing: subtlety. He likes to deliver things with bombast, which clashes rather with Persona, which apparently depends a lot on quiet moments. He’s more suited for fast-paced stories as Angel Beats and Kamisama Dolls, and his direction can really make those exciting and interesting. As for Yuuko Kakihara… well, let me just say that I never finished any of the series she wrote the series composition of: Sora no Otoshimono got repetitive really fast, Kamichama Karin was also a very uninspired mahou shoujo, and Jewel Pet Sunshine and Stitch were just dull kiddie shows. Her lack of experience on an actual well paced show really shows here, because the script is more busy with trying to cram the exciting bits into 24 episodes, rather than make the writing and pacing actually work. This is opposed to for example a series as Deadman Wonderland, which did cut a lot of exciting stuff, though the stuff that it didn’t cut was given the time and pacing to actually deliver.
And yeah, there’s the matter of the animators getting bullied by the animation directors. It’s just a rumour that originates from 4chan, so I’m not sure whether it is actually true or not, but if it is: AIC, you should be ashamed.
Now, it will be interesting to see whether this series is actually going to work or not, and I mean this in the overall build-up. This episode was a bit awkward, but it wasn’t bad. It rushed through the story of the pee guy, and left a lot of things for the viewers to assume (which isn’t always a problem, by the way) and it left way too little time for scenes to actually play out, but I got the gist of what it wanted to tell. Also a clever idea is the way the creators are using the main character and his personality charts in the eye catch. Both changed subtly compared to the opening episode.
However, please someone put that squeaky bear thing on a bus or something.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
OP: New visuals, and they look great.
ED: I have no idea why the ED is new, but this one too is pretty good. Addictive beat and simple but effective graphics.]]>
Hunter X Hunter – 02
As for the series I’m not going to blog:
– Let me get back to Bakuman when Mirai Nikki airs. It really seems to be better paced than last season, but I’m not entirely convinced yet.
– Squid Girl is funny, but much of the same.
– C3’s second episode indeed was better than the first, and the artistic direction at least was interesting. But the acting and direction still are terrible. Even during the “good” parts.
– Majikoi has no confidence in its own direction. If you’ve got an original concept, go for it. Don’t half-heartedly insert fanservice, harems and a horny dog in the second episode.
– Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon’s source material is way too big to fit in 26 episodes, and the second episode didn’t really seem in a hurry to get to the good parts.
As for Hunter X Hunter, here’s my issue: the animated version of the Yorkshin arc was perfect. What can this new version hope to add to it, and how long does it take to find this out? The guy behind the series composition has a rather questionable resume, so I’m really not convinced that he can really do justice to that arc. I’m not worried about dumbing down the gore or violence, but rather that the subject material and dialogue are dumbed down.
But ah well, it’s not like the first season was flawless. Its slow pacing in its first half worked at times (the running exam for example), but at others it took a bit too long (like with Killua’s home). If this show can solve these pacing issues, it’ll definitely be interesting to see where it’ll go. The animation is also quite good so far: the characters move quite a bit around, and interestingly there is none of the usual CG that Madhouse likes to overuse.
And yeah: I’m not going to pass up what pretty much is the cream of the crop in terms of shounen series. This show is miles above the likes of Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail and all of the other cliched shows that have loud-mouthed brats fight in over the top fights that take on for bloody ever, nor does it have cheesy romance. It’s full of creativity and imagination and what also makes it unique: every major arc is significantly different from the other. There is not one moment like the other. Now THAT takes some real skill. In the end, this is just too good to pass up, even though I’ve already watched this story.
This episode also was no disappointment and what I’m especially glad to see: it wasn’t dumbed down. Instead of just brainlessly fighting, the creators still required the characters to think, and they did. Kurapica in particular seems very intelligent, and he is definitely the best portrayed so far. Leorio’s voice actor is a bit of a mis-cast, but it probably won’t be hard to get used to him. Gon’s voice actress though… that really was a bad decision. She lacks experience, and yells too much.
Rating: * (Good)]]>