Phantom ~Requiem of the Phantom~
Short Synopsis: Our lead character wakes up with amnesia and becomes an assassin.
Chance of me Blogging: 100% (BEE-TRAIN ROCKS)
Okay, so I said before that this season was disappointing so far. After Phantom, though, I’m going to take that statement back: this season rocks, if only because this show’s in it. I’ve SO been dying to see another Bee-Train series, and this series was everything I could have hoped for: a fantastic soundtrack, very addictive and slow storytelling, lots and lots of mystery and two already likable lead characters. This quite possibly was one of the best first episodes I’ve seen this year. The entire episode just screamed style. And even though the graphics look simple and down to earth, what I liked about the action was that everything is so much down to earth: sure, the main characters so have strange powers, but still you can see that without them pulling ludicrous powers or regeneration out of thin air: the battles here are realistic: a gunshot kills people; knives make wounds. Now that’s my kind of action!
Pandora Hearts
Short Synopsis: Our lead character finds a strange watch.
Chance of me Blogging: 60% (Nice potential)
Ooh, nice. Pandora Hearts is promising to be quite the interesting anime. This first episode had a very nice combination between quiet slice-of-life scenes and tenseful drama. This episode was very nicely told with charming characters and a pacing that didn’t drag at all. There’s a nice soundtrack, solid animation and even though the character-designs look a bit childish, they do the job they’re supposed to do. It’s also good to hear Yuki Kajiura again, although this show isn’t her best work by far. My only worry so far is how the creators are going to use the fact that the main characters are a bunch of teenagers: it’s clear that they know hardly anything about fighting, so please don’t make them grow into battle experts by the end of the series.
Higepiyo
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is supposed to be a cute chick (as in bird, not girl)
Chance of me Blogging: 0% (Uh… yeah)
As if this season didn’t already have enough series of five-minute episodes, there’s more! Higepiyo is… some sort of bizarre bastardization of Chi’s Sweet Home, in which an average family takes in a chick. The twist? The chick has the mentality of your average middle aged guy in his midlife crisis. With such a ridiculous concept, I do have to agree that out of all the five-minute episodes this season, this one made me laugh hardest. The hilarious thing about this show is the incredibly deadpan sense of humour that the titular Higepiyo has. He never changes expressions, and that makes the contrast to the things he does (reading the newspaper, eating curry, etc) hilarious. The reactions of the family he’s adopted might be a bit exaggerated, but it’s going to be a fun show if the creators manage to keep the rest of the series fresh.
I don’t know why you are saying this season is bad – the real meat of Spring 2009 will all be airing on Sunday 5th. 13 new shows all airing on the same day!
Most notably of those, is Guin Saga, Full Metal Alchemist and Shangri-La – and of course, Before Green Gables, which I know you will be watching.
And of course, Eden of the East airs on the 9th, which looks great as well.
As it stands, most of these shows already seem to have potential.
About Pandora Hearts, don’t worry about the “battle” thing. Also, you will see in later episodes, most of them won’t remain teens due to some circumstance except for the main chara and one other. Also, there are some cool adults too!
You’re one of those strange people that likes BeeTrains sleep inducing “action” and “storytelling” where they zoom in for eyes for 5 minutes.
I respect your continued admiration for Bee Train, but for me, someone who really liked Phantom of Inferno and expected something closer to it…as an adaptation Phantom is somewhat disappointing, if tolerable.
You say it’s down to earth, but not as much as it should be. They really are shoehorning in a lot of symbolism and visual representations for “strange” powers when that’s not really necessary at all.
I understand that this is going to be a re-interpretation of the game and not a direct copy, but still…what did I want to see? Something that’s less like Noir and closer to Black Lagoon, if you can get the idea.
On the bright side, the voice acting is good and, while Ein is a bit too emotional, at least the dynamic between her and Zwei is fairly represented so far.
I’m really excited about the possibility that you might be blogging Pandora Hearts, as it really is a charming series that I have been anticipating for months now (the manga is all kinds of awesome). Although the animation kinda threw me off in the beginning, I got used to it quickly enough. 🙂
Especially loved Oz’s “dream”-sequence; I was afraid that the anime wouldn’t have been able to capture the entire creepy and tense atmosphere the manga produced, but overall I’m very optimistic!
Jacky: If there were any more animation, you couldn’t concentrate on the superb soundtracks which is the real selling point of BeeTrain. Seriously, it worked in Noir because it was kind of new and stylish. It got old pretty fast though and I’d say they should steer clear of action-based stories because it just doesn’t fit them.
Doesn’t fit, my ass. They just can’t do it. .hack//ROOTS was the most boring thing ever, and Tsubasa was so bad that CLAMP dissowned it.
Yet again, it looks like you’re the only one who likes the Bee Train show.
The plot looks generic and uninspired to me, as do the leads, and the action scenes are totally cheesy-at first I thought they were trying to parody James Bond or something. The BGM has a few pretty cool tracks, actually, and the OP/ED are kind of cool, but with all the nudity, regardless of the quality of either show, you really don’t have a right to make fun of the Asura Cryin’ OP for showing the female lead naked for no reason.
Pandora Hearts is vaguely interesting, but I didn’t like the animation, and after deciding the plot would be more enjoyable to just read spoilers for, I can say it has potential, but doesn’t seem too special-besides, it looks like the manga is still ongoing, so they’ll probably have to split off at some point. It’s up in the air as to whether the creators of the anime will be able to pull off something good on their own.
I KNEW IT
I was sure you’d blog this show (phantom) !!
I’d like to point out that the OST isn’t made by Yuki Kajiura like most other bee train project but by Hikaru Nanase.At first that had me worried but then looked into her resumé and I thought it was quite a nice one (for exemple she wrote the shigofumi OST which i know you like) and i’ll take your word for it that it’s turned out good.
Hikaru Nanase did the Noein soundtrack, didn’t she? I love Shangri-la.
God, why is everything today somehow related to Shangri-la? GONZO, Angela, Noein, it keeps turning up.
I decided to check out Phantom, and I can definitely see what you like about it. I really enjoyed it too, VERY different from other stuff airing this season. However, I’m guessing that if I had watched more shows like Phantom, I might not have liked this one.
So let me get this straight: Asura is bad for having the girl naked in the OP for no reason, but if Phantom’s doing that, then it’s fine? You’re more of a hypocrite then usual today.
senerikfred: I can only speak in detail about the game so far, but while the plot isn’t the most original one in the world (yes, parts of it do remind me of James Bond, among other things)…it does have a number of twists and combines several elements nicely. I like the character interactions/relationships more than the overall story per se, to put it in simple terms. Some of the routes are better than others in this respect too.
This anime adaptation? It looks like they are, roughly, following the same story, just changing some of the details (like the Ein-Zwei fight, which was originally shorter and had a slightly different end, I believe) and inserting unnecessary symbolism, like I said. I also agree about the action scenes not being what they could be though.
“You’re more of a hypocrite then usual today.”
Hey at least him being a hypocrite makes this blog entertaining, it’s always a laugh when he rags on a show for doing something and than completely ignores it in a show he likes.
The Phantom game has an excellent and very riveting storyline (think a cross between Noir and KimiNozo). If you don’t know it, then be careful on judging the show just on the first ep.
At first I also had doubts about Bee train doing Phathom,I love both the game and the stdio but for the completly diffret reasons.
But then I thought: if you think about it logically what is the point of adaptation to be extremly faithfull , it will only please fans of the orginal, but even then it will not make it as good as the orginal was. If they did evrything the same way like in the orginal it would actaully make it rather boring, because hey I already played the game, if want more of the same I will simply play it one more time. Bee train style is diffrent enough , to make it seem as if it is something new, and as I like their style this new should also be to my liking. Plus Gen Urobuchi orginal creator of Phathom is on the staff so things that were really good in the game have good chance of not being omitted.
Mentar: I know you’re a far bigger fan of the game than I am, but let me add this: the storyline becomes very interesting because of the characters and how they mix things up, which is quite good in my opinion.
But if you leave them out, as a purely mental excercise, the premise isn’t that new or original by itself. Say, on paper Scythe Master has all the marks of a Bond villain (he has goofy name, looks the part and so forth), but it’s how he’s connected to other people (Ein, for instance, since that’s already obvious…although sometimes people do spoil things when they comment on this blog) and how he acts during certain events which makes his role in the story work properly. He’s a better character than what you’d think, if only given his role in the story. That’s the kind of thing I mean (there are better examples, but those would spoil the plot).
Tea: Well, the difference is that you like Bee Train’s style and not everyone does. I don’t hate them, but don’t love them either.
I found the game refreshing because it wasn’t that close to Noir or Madlax, at least in terms of presentation. That’s why this is disappointing in that area.
It’s good that Urobuchi is collaborating with the writing, from what I hear, so it’s true that will help (I have not complained about the writing, if you notice), but he can’t exactly change the show’s style, production or direction, can he?
Phantom was cool! One BGM bugged me because it sounded like Burly Brawl. From the recent season animes I’ve watched this had the best first episode, since this has a serious story. Of course more shows are premiering this season and hope to find more favorites in this season’s lineup.
You liked Pandora Hearts and Phantom . . . two of my most anticipated shows this season xD That’s so awesome. If you also liked the other 4 I look forward to the most, that’s simply . . . WOW xD
There isn’t any ‘special power’ in Phantom, that effect with the main character when he leaped for the shot is purely ‘visual.’
One show changed your opinion of the season? Eh?
I have mixed feelngs for Bee Train. I haven’t watched anything from them in a while, and the setting/plot sounds good, so I’m definitely starting Phantom.
Whats with all the hate for Phantom? I agree 100% with what he wrote here, its by far the most exciting first episode of the new season so far, everything about it was just right, it didnt feel forced or cheesy, plus it got me genuinely interesting in learning more about the characters
Keep in mind though I dont know anything about the story, so its 100% fresh to me… and yes, anyone could see the “jamdes bond” similarity, but I couldnt care less as long as its well done
It feels to me there are way too many people so biased agaisnt bee-train they dont even bother trying to look for good things, kinda like with Gonzo, you should just try to forget whos making it and enjoy it regardless, thats how I go about it
Hey! Glad to start off a new season of anime with you. 😀 I’m looking forward to your blogs. 😀
Pandora Hearts- I’m an avid, avid fan of this manga (number 4 on my top manga list…:D) and I’m glad the anime hasn’t let us down yet. Don’t worry about your fears- they won’t be confirmed in this show. The plot really dives into the characters and the setting (mysteries) rather than all kickass action, so I’d say it’s more of a supernatural/mystery/dark genre than shounen. I hope you blog it!
Phantom: OMG I’m SO glad there’s someone here who likes Bee-Train. Yeah, sure they’ve got their downs and little miseries, but they’ve also got some great series, and a lot of potential for this one in general. Love the mystery, quiet dialog, and the setting of this show so far. It definitely looks promising. I’m so glad it’s not all out with super powers either *cough cough CLICHE!*
A lot of the five minute episodes aren’t looking good at all…*sighs*
I was actually surprised by Phantom. Normally I hate Bee-Train more than anything, but I kind of enjoyed this first episode. While the super cheesy/cliché dialogue and ridiculous CG cars were laughable/annoying, I did like the music and style a lot. Depending on how long it is, I might stick with it.
I’ll have to chime in here and call you a bit of a hypocrite. How come youre complaining loudly over kyoani when they do similar themed shows, but when beetrain pulls the same stunt all the time your legs gets all wobbly and you start moaning like a school-girl who found out that there’s a new design of leg-warmers for sale at the 100-yen store (makes no sense I know).
It just seems to me that you have a preference for these types of stories and you’re looking at it from a very biased point of view, which is OK I suppose, since this is a blog and all, but it does stink a bit, since beetrain has produced some really horrible series (like arc the lad) and also has a pretty narrow reach, aside for the occasional show aimed solely for kids. All they’ve done the past few years is Hack sign and action themed series in the same theme as noir. The funny thing is, this happened after they produced their first independent show noir (so playing safe cards is not a bad thing when it’s your favourite studio? 😛 )
Just wanted to chime in and say that I’m also a huge fan of BeeTrain. They’re one of my favorite studios, actually. I haven’t had a chance to see Phantom yet (internet in my new place just got activated today), but it’s one of my most anticipated shows. Hopefully it rocks as much as you make it out to.