Category: Kuchuu Buranko

Kuchuu Buranko – 02

by psgels, posted in Kuchuu Buranko



Well, so I don’t think it’s much of a surprise that this is going to be the final series I’m going to blog this season, making my blogging schedule:
Monday: Konnichiwa Anne
Tuesday: none
Wednesday: Kimi ni Todoke
Thursday: Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Friday: Darker than Black, Kuchuu Buranko, Armed Librarians
Saturday: Letter Bee, White Album, Kemono no Souja Erin
Sunday: Full Metal Alchemist, Cross Game, Aoi Bungaku
In other words, I’m going to have busy weekends.

In any case, I’m a pretty big fan of Kuchuu Buranko. Not necessarily because of the depth (we’ve got Aoi Bungaku for that), but rather for the entertainment value. The cases in this series are often easily solved: the protagonist just needs to realize something and his troubles are over. However, the fun comes with the presentation, and the majority of the episode which explores all of the problems that are generated from the ailment that he has.

The weird graphics may seem quite random, but I’ve discovered that there’s at least a shred of logic in them: the calendars for example signify that a day has passed. The nurse-injection scene seems to be there in order to change the lead character in a weirdly coloured animal (this time, a rhino). Also notice how there are now two syringes in the waste-basket (nice reference to the previous episode), and how the guy’s horn got smaller, right before he got healed.

This time, if I understood correctly we have a guy who injures his penis, and therefore can’t stand straight and cringes down in pain whenever he gets turned on. Yeah, you just have to think about it. Cue an episode full of awkward moments of intimidation in which the lead character in this episode fails completely and gets increasingly stressed out by the women around him.

I’m often not into sex-jokes. Not because I’m that allergic to them, but 95% of them are so uninspired, cheap, unsubtle and corny that they stopped being funny for me ages ago. This episode however was a nice exception. This was a pretty funny episode, and especially the loser of a lead character was pretty likable and fun to watch.

Also, I already thought that the OP and ED sounded familiar: they’re done by Denki Groove, who also did Hakaba Kitarou’s awesome OP. They’re a bit less impressive, but still among the best OPs and EDs this season.
Rating: * (Good)

Some Quick First Impressions: Winter Sonata, Kuchuu Buranko and Kiddy Girl-And

by psgels, posted in Kuchuu Buranko, Some Quick First Impressions

Winter Sonata

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is angsty.
Thank you Meep for pointing towards the first episode of this new series. This time, you should really consider this entry as a “first impression”, because I ended up watching this series in raw Korean despite knowing not a single word of the language (hey, at least in Spanish I know the words for one, two and three). There were subtitles in both Chinese and Japanese, but that too didn’t help me either since my Kanji is terrible. Anyway, my first impression of this episode: really pretty graphics, but the drama was sappy. It’s of course great to see a romance that focuses on actual ADULTS, rather than teenagers, but I would have preferred a bit more slice of life. Perhaps that’s yet to come in future episodes, but the characters were a bit too often staring into nothingness, rather than interacting with each other. However, I do support this series: it’s the very first attempt at a full-fledged Korean TV-series. If this can be the doorway to more and interesting premises that set themselves apart from both anime and western animation, then it’s definitely a good thing.
Also: Irony. There are a few English-speaking characters in this series. The good news: the creators actually hired properly English speaking people to voice them. The bad news: the creators still screwed up by miscasting a 30-year-old woman as a 10-year-old girl. She sounds like a strange witch now!
OP: Sappy love ballad. Not my style.
ED: Decent ballad. A nice way to end every episode.
Potential: 50%

Kuchuu Buranko

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is stressed out.
What is up with the raw providers this season? First Aoi Bungaku and now this. Are they allergic to shows that don’t focus on cute teen-aged girls or something? Anyway, Kuchuu Buranko… yeah. What is there really to say? It’s really an experience, and an awesome one at that. It’s full of the weirdest animation techniques, surreal art styles, and the direction keeps changing from one mood to the other. It’s really just a game of “let’s play psychologist”, with a different case looked upon during every week. With the best sense of humour of the entire season, I’m loving this series already. 🙂
OP: Heck, this is actually a really good song. Simple, but not annoying, and the strings int he background really work.
ED: Yeah, the best ED of the season. Funky, catchy and a great way to close off this series.
Potential: 100%

Kiddy Girl-And

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a teen-aged maid who kicks bad guy ass.
Wow, Satelight sure is busy this season. With four shows, they’re definitely the most represented in this season. While last season, they produced some of the best-looking shows of their seasons, this time… not so much, and all of their shows look pretty generic on the outside. The epitome of this… is Kiddy Girl-And: yet another moe action comedy in which teen-aged girls have kick the ass of various bad guys. But what about the execution? Unfortunately, this also is pretty generic. The female lead is incredibly annoying to listen to; her voice actress keeps yelling and yelling, hoping to make an impact. The scenario also keeps hanging too long around panty-jokes. The gimmick of this show seems to be quirky and over the top action-scenes, but even they fail to stand out. While they’re nicely animated (especially for Satelight: for once the animation wasn’t rushed at all), but the direction lacks any sort of creativity.
OP: Obnoxious J-Pop. Do not like.
ED: A bit better, but still with that obnoxiously cute J-Pop voice.
Potential: 0%