Category: Finished Series: Romance

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 10

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Okay. I absolutely loved this episode. Last week had me fearing a bit that the creators would go through this series a little too fast for the characters and comedy to really work, and this episode indeed consists out of two smaller stories, but the pacing here was just perfect. This time things really fit enough for everything to play out and for the creators to work their magic.

The first half of the episode was chockful of character development: we finally got to see what transformed Tomoe into his current self. That crucial piece of the puzzle was finally shown here, and yet this only takes up 10 minutes. It was delightful to watch Tomoe there and see him change.

The second half: again character development. This time in the romance. At this point it was obvious that Nanami likes Tomoe, and she realizes that very well, but the use of a mixer was really well placed. It really was just something to have fun, Nanami knew that as well, and yet that turned out to be the trigger for Tomoe’s jealousy: feeling competition from a human of all things. On top of that were some really good jokes and facial expressions (I loved how the mixer was just for one of Nanami’s classmates feeling lonely, or how ridiculous the name for that one guy was… did he ever get that coat of his back?)

Also. The ending. That showed that the creators know fully well that the ending of each episode for this series is awesome, and with this episode they only even made it better when Shinjirou started giving a really bad cover of the regular ED. Not only was this hilarious, it also really reaffirmed something for me:

TMS Entertainment has gotten ahold of a couple of really good producers. I already suspected this, but this really shows that they are flexible enough to just record a different ED for once for the sake of a joke that happens in the series, and it fits so well. It shows that the different departments really take each other into account. It’s also shown with the execution of this series: how incredibly consistent it is. Part of it has to do with how Akitaro Daichi is just incredibly awesome, but the rest of the people working on it: everything just seems so well planned out for this series. It’s all crisp and consistently tries to make the best out of its limited budget with consistently god jokes and timing.

Zetman and Lupin III were the same: they were really rough around the edges in comparison (which makes it all the more surprising how consistent this show is), but they always tried their best to make a spectacle out of their episodes, rather than making an episode for the heck of it. It really shows ambition and the drive to cooperate and improve. Next up is really: try to get a budget for a 2-cour series like this. A series that has the same mindset as Zetman, Lupin III and Kamisama Hajimemashita, and that actually has the time to play out for even longer, allowing for much more opportunities to experiment. I would just love to see that.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 09

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

The current episode… I think it was a bit weaker than the others. And don’t get me wrong, it had an awesome climax again, and this made me laugh harder than any other episode this week, but it was a tad too short for my liking. The rest of this episode, it wasn’t that it was bad or anything in that direction, but after watching an episode of Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo that just kept switching back and forth between comedy and drama, something that THIS show was supposed to be good at, I feel like it could have been a bit more.

But that’s not to say that aside from the climax there wasn’t anything noteworthy in this episode. Tomoe’s past rocked, and how his feelings completely changed. Nanami refusing to steal something that could save the life of that woman whose name I can’t find. It didn’t even cross her mind, she just didn’t want to solve her problems over the backs of others, and I can really appreciate that.

I just missed the same chemistry for a large part of the episode that made me originally like this show so much. The ending made up for a lot, but not everything in this case. Ah well, better luck next week.
Rating: 4/8 (Nice)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 08

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

And as if nothing happened, this show returns back to its usual level of good writing and character chemistry. This episode thankfully reminded me again why this show is so special for its kind: the characters and their chemistry just are incredibly addictive. Where the fanservice in the previous episode was terrible, here it was back to being good again. It wasn’t there for the sake of “hey, let’s show panties!”, but instead they were all about creating tension between the characters. Without it, this episode would have been completely different and actually less entertaining. That’s my definition of good fanservice, and I rarely see a series that uses it as well as Sakurasou.

The previous episode did create a bunch of really big problems though, which really need to be fixed. First of all, the sister in this episode did not return, however she will come back. Being such an inherently wrong character in every single way, the writers really need to do something if they want to be able to make something out of her character. Also, Nanami. Her character still revolves around Sorata. Granted though, she at least started to redeem herself with the help of Sorata and Shiina with how her crush developed over this episode.

Meanwhile, Sorata’s feelings through this episode were wonderful, being rejected for something he worked really hard on. And it’s also interesting how the creators found a way to keep the angst from getting too out of control with their anti-climaxes. There also was a lot of play on symbolism (you should start running forward… if you don’t want that guy to catch you!).

Also, there is one thing I’m wondering: why are so many series centered around school? Don’t get me wrong, Sakurasou avoids this wonderfully: the characters go to school, but instead of that we see the interesting parts of their lives. But what I mean is that since these series are supposedly aimed at teenagers, why pick school as the setting so often? Don’t most teenagers that age hate school?
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 08

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Just like Sakurasou, a sell-out episode. Where Sakurasou came with the sister, Kamisama Hajimemashita treats us to a beach episode. The big difference is that where Sakurasou got lost in its own cliches, Kamisama Hajimemashita used those clichés to achieve some really good character development.

And the simple reason for this was something major that Tomoe did in the sea 526 years ago. This was back when he was still completely different from who he used to be, and stole one of the eyes of someone called the dragon king, who is very strict with debts, to the point where it gets hilarious. This episode danced around the issue, but this seems to have been a major defining moment in Tomoe’s life. The biggest hint for this was that he was practically baited into it by that tramp: the issue had to be solved somehow, to the point where he felt that it was worth risking Tomoe’s life for.

What made the beach part of this episode enjoyable was how fresh it was. Rather than just showing the female cast parade in swimsuits, they really added stuff that was personal to the cast: Tomoe being unable to enter the water, Nanami unable to buy a swimsuit, to that one girl skipping along while just being dumped by her boyfriend. This episode really made sure to spice up such a clichéd set-up, and made it fun again, and it was the school example of how to do such an episode right.

Plus, the guy with the scarf just lost all of his dignity with that speedo of his. I burst out laughing there, but at the same time I really like the mystery around him and the irony of how he has basically been watching Tomoe from behind without him noticing it. I really want to see Tomoe’s face when he finds out. The creators already managed to create this expectation that it will be awesome just from the few times he has bene in the picture. Now that is good storytelling.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 07

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Aagh! Not the sister!

This episode made this show cost a lot of points. Mari Okada, you should know better than this. Even if this was exactly like the original source material, this episode had such major problems that they should have been fixed by the script review. I think everyone here is to blame for not noticing it, but even then: someone had to have come up with this.

First of all, the sister was an exact carbon copy of all the other token sisters you see everywhere. That was by far the worst offense this episode made. It didn’t start well when she started by randomly showing her panties, but the rest of the episode did not make this better by making her only defining character trait “I like my brother”. This was just plain bad.

Another problem was that she also dragged the entire show along with her. Previously I said that the fanservice in this show adds to the characters: remove it and the show would be less good. The fanservice in this episode however, was just plain random and pointless. The sister just randomly shows her underwear, the bath randomly breaks down so that we can go to a bath to see the girls grope each other… it’s all incredibly shallow that you’d expect from a third rate hentai game adaptation, not this show that prided itself with quality writing and character development.

On top of that, there was Nanami. Previously she was a character who also had her agenda. In this episode her entire character also got reduced to “I like Sorata”. Again: Mari Okada, you should know better than this.

The sole salvation for this episode was the direction: it knew it had something completely awful to work with, and at least tried to make the best of it. The visual images were great to watch, the use of life action worked great and the camera angles and timing actually made me laugh. Sorata’s straight man act also saved this episode from a complete disaster, and Misaki getting her drivers’ license also was a nice touch. I expect much better next week though. But what do you mean that the sister is going to be a recurring character!?
Rating: 3/8 (Mediocre)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 07

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Holy crap! The ending of this episode was just perfect. Overall it was a bit of a weird episode, full of the hormones of teen-aged girls. That alone was quite enjoyable in how the creators managed to portray it, but the thing that all of that was building up to was even better: Nanami (there are quite a few characters named Nanami this season by the way… which is quite confusing) actually gets mercilessly rejected by Tomoe. After all of the romantic hints, he has no intention whatsoever to become romantically involved with his master.

On top of that, this episode had a really good director working on it. I mean, this series usually has very creative and varied camera angles, but this episode was quite special: the variety in shots really impressed me, and it brought out a lot of emotion from the characters, even more than usual. When the entire point of this episode was romantic angst, it really helped to bring this episode to life with Nanami’s feelings being thrown on a roller coaster.

And then there was the ending of the episode where Nanami was first dragged on top of a building, only to fall off it. That’s where the direction really impressed me, because it really managed to portray Nanami nearly falling to her death. Oh, and on top of that, I also found out that Akitaro Daichi has been personally adapting the script for each episode. That definitely explains a lot, and why this show is so incredibly consistent. I mean, I have hardly seen one weak moment in the characterization between the characters.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 06

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Now this was a very emotional episode, especially for Nanami. From the previous episode it would become clear that at some point it would be too much for her, and this episode immediately goes with it. Unlike Sorata who sits behind his pc all the time, she has a part time job, she has to put a lot of energy in getting her voice right. She’s overworked herself pretty badly, but what really impressed me in this episode was that despite collapsing, she still tried to go to her audition. Of course it was a complete mess and she failed horribly, but it was a worthy experience for her.

So from now on it seems like they’re going to split Mashiro duty, which seems to be the wisest choice. To split the load and stuff. The chemistry between the characters by the way still was great in this episode. Mashiro in particular was as sharp as usual again. She makes the most hard-hitting lines right from out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, the creators are doing a very good job in building up the subplot between Misaki and Jin, and it really works from both sides: I really felt Misaki’s loneliness there, but on the other hand Jin is a great character to watch as well. We still don’t quite know why he is purposefully trying to stay away from her, but this episode took it even further by showing that within a year he’ll be gone.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 06

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

I love how this show is able to cheer me up no matter what. This once again was the best episode since the first episode, and that first episode really was in a league of its own with all of the hyperactivity going on there. This episode was utterly hilarious in its first half, and incredibly charming in its second.

I usually dislike fevers because they’re often forced in for extra drama, but here the creators made brilliant use of it by having Tomoe dress up as Nanami. As an added surprise, Shinjirou was again hilarious in combination with him, toying with a lot of the bishounen idol cliches. His entrance alone was just delightful in the way that it created this expectation that things would get crazy, and they did.

What this episode also did really well was portray love: Nanami’s crush developing was very good, especially now that she also got to see a chunk of his past and how much he changed. His previous master is also finally introduced here. This part worked particularly well due to how much I like the characters already, after just six episode, and I really have to say that Kamisama Hajimemashita has some of the most consistently enjoyable characters of the season.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 05

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

The one charcter I always found a bit questionable in this series was Nanami Aoyama: the classmate. Why would the creators want to bother adding a harem element with this series when the relationship between Shiina and Sorata already is interesting enough? With this episode she took an interesting new twist.

So it was obvious that she would move in at some point. I did not expect her to actually take over Shiina duty for at least a while though. It’s a nice touch to finally have a normal girl in Sakurasou to balance out the aliens that are Shiina and Misaki, and the creators make great use of it. This episode was actually quite hilarious whenever Shiina started trolling the couple of Nanami and Sorata.

Also, this episode was about deadlines: everyone in Sakurasou is pretty much incredibly busy with their work, and this episode was full of all-nighters. It’s actually quite inspiring to see everyone work so hard at what they want to do, while also balancing out the chaos that happens in Sakurasou.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 05

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Now that was just completely adorable. This episode was the best episode of Kamisama Hajimemashita so far since episode 01. It was all about the recurring characters this time. And Tomoe gets turned into a kid.

What I’ve noticed with a lot of comedies that lost my interest is that they introduce these characters with gimmicks, and the blow all of their best jokes on the episodes that these characters are introduced in. The result are heaps of characters who feel like one trick ponies. Then Shinjirou Kurama returned in this episode (the idol), and he was much funnier in this episode compared to the second episode. The chemistry between him and Tomoe and Nanami in particular was hilarious.

And at the same time, the serious bits again were really good: this episode again kept switching back and forth comedy and drama. The drama was really genuine, especially near the end of the episode. With the previous episode we already got to see Tomoe’s worries about Nanami, but this episode went even further with him feeling depentant on Nanami, and being ashamed of showing his weak side to her. Nanami on the other hand was really well acted when she properly fell in love with him there after seeing Tomoe’s new haircut.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)