Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is working as a waitress.
I’d wish that I could rant about Shaft once more here, but no. Instead, my biggest issue with this episode was that it just went on and on about how waitresses in a maid cafe should behave. It’s another one of those topics aimed solely at otaku and for which I have no interest in whatsoever. Apart from that, though, this was probably the most down to earth Shaft series I’ve seen in a long while now. It still has some of the staples that make their shows so annoying, like the yelling and overacting and the chapter title screens, but again: you can really see that they’ve finally gotten themselves a good budget here, and the animation was much better than what you’d usually expect from them. If you ignore the hordes of maid cafe references and the overacting though, this was a pretty decent episode that simply showed a bunch of people talk to each other and have fun. There is a good chance that this will get boring within a few episodes, but for now this episode was enjoyable enough.
OP: Really good animation. Even for Shaft’s usual standards, this was great.
ED: Obviously inspired by a certain show, but the song is surprisingly good.
Potential: 35%
Arakawa Under the Bridge X Bridge
Short Synopsis: Our lead character hangs around with a bunch of weird people around a bridge.
I did not preview Arakawa’s second season because I’m really biased here: I have yet to encounter a Shaft sequel that did not disappoint me. In fact, the Shaft Sequels are the biggest reason for my huge dislike towards them. But okay, if you really want me to preview its first episode, then I’ll give it a whirl. First of all, I do want to say that Shaft did put the earnings of Bakemonogatari’s DVD sales to good use: this episode was much better animated than expected, and overall it looked pretty good, combining actual animation with Shaft’s visual style works well. But here is something I really want to ask the people who did finish the first season (I never watched past episode 1): is this show supposed to be not funny? I mean, all I saw in this episode was a bunch of characters screaming, yelling and overacting. I could see that they tried to make jokes at times, but I don’t recall even chuckling throughout this episode: everything just felt so forced and humourless. This episode did try to reveal some new things about its characters, but half of those things make me wonder why they weren’t revealed in the first season. I think the worst sketch here was that marathon, especially considering how ridiculously predictable the humour was. I guess that the part I liked best was the very last scene, in which we see what Nino’s dream was about. So is Arakawa Under the Bridge more about the former, or the latter?
OP: Amazing visuals. But then again, it was directed by Ryousuke Nakamura, a guy I can’t hype enough.
Potential: 10%
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a detective who has magical powers. Oh wait, No, she isn’t! Oh wait, I guess she is!
This show is strange. No, really. I expected some generic moe detective series, but this series blew all my expectations by being so ridiculously stupid and nonsensical. I mean, what mahou shoujo randomly strips all of the powers of the lead characters, right at the first episode? This show makes no sense whatsoever, and listing everything that’s wrong with this episode would take an entire essay. At the same time, that also is the charm of this series: it simply had a bit of fun with its characters, it was trying out quite a few interesting ideas, ad it didn’t care in the slightest about making sense or not. This episode was fast-paced and kind of fun, and I enjoyed it. But yeah, there is no way for the creators to keep up with this. The characters are as flat as a pancake, and the reason this episode was fun to watch was because the creators just kept throwing new and surprising stuff at us. Although it will be quite an interesting series if the creators manage to keep the surprises coming throughout the entire series, I see no way for them to be able to do that. It is directed by the director of Lilpri, after all. That one too had a very charming first episode, only to immediately degenerate into nothing but boring fillers afterwards.
OP: I don’t think that the creators couldn’t have been more generic, even if they tried.
ED: FANSERVICE
Potential: 35%
Hmmm looks like the “good” stuff aired during the weekend .. seems I’m back watching Narutard during the middle of the week … I guess that leaves more free time to do something else productive
I dropped Arakawa somewhere halway. I just hated every single character. O ghosh, it was a fierce battle between the star-man and the fake kappa for #1 most hateful char of the year.
I think it is funny that you rip Arakawa in the same post that you say this about a different series:
Heh, now that you mention it. The biggest difference was that Milky Holmes made such a ridiculous mess of its cliches that it became funny, while Arakawa simply tried too hard and failed to raise a chuckle from me at all.
Arakawa episode 1 was pretty dry, it was enough to keep me watching but it didn’t really pick up until the 2nd and 3rd episodes. At least the visual style of the series has always been appealing.
The characters always had charm in my eyes, they may not be original but they deliver their humor well. One thing is Arakawa doesn’t focus on character development, but the series has done a good job dropping hints that most of the folks took up residency there to escape inner demons. Seeing that unfold slowly has been enjoyable and adds a decent layer to their otherwise crazy personas.
Star and Ric tend to be more entertaining only if you’ve been up to speed on their general animosity towards each other. Basically it’s Star wounding Ric’s insufferable pride and Ric’s ego getting himself in over his head. Watching them heckle each other isn’t new but it’s really amusing to see them go at it.
Just my view on the series. This is coming from a guy that HATES Tim and Eric. Personally I find their show (That’s stretching the use of the word here) to be the definition of trying too hard to be funny.
Tried Milky Sherlock Holmes anime raw. Wanted to try if i understood anything. And as a matter of fact, I understood no words at all T__T”. Oh yeah!!
Anyway. Isn’t it there a little too much fanservice for a little girl’s story? Or rather it isn’t a little girl story, is it?
Solaris: unfortunately, I don’t think that this is a series aimed at children. It airs at 23:00 in the evening.
Solaris, I didn’t see much fanservice in the actual episode of Milky Holmes. The ED however… hot damn, and I mean HOT.
Dmonhiro there’s something odd in the chara. Look at the initial part when we see the little girls sleeping, or the evil girl. (don’t wanna count the teacher’s half naked performance brrr~)
Now compare with an actual kiddie show like Kiruminzoo and notice the differences…
I loved the first season of Arakawa. I truly thought that it was one of the funniest comedies I’ve ever watched, and the characters are all insane (but that’s makes them lovable). It’s not only a story about crazy people living under a bridge, it’s a story that has actual heart and gives you appreciation of the small things in life.
The story is so perfectly done with the way it wraps in on itself, collapsing the world Recruit’s has always known and building up a new world as he learns what he really wants in his life might not be what common sense tells him what he needs.
A one episode taste test isn’t always enough for most great series. I strongly urge you to pick Arakawa back up again.
I actually watched a few episodes of the 1st season of Arakawa thinking the screaming and shouting to stop.It didn’t.
I thought Arakawa Season 1 was OK. Not amazing as some praise it but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it more when it wasn’t trying to be fake serious and I still do. That being said I found the first episode hilarious and haven’t laughed as much and as consistently since Gintama was airing. Plus last season was pretty much devoid of the SHAFT pointman Kamiya Hiroshi so it wasn’t completely painful to me like it was 2 seasons ago when he was voicing 3 leads.
I really disliked Arakawa by the end of the first season. Like you said, the jokes were incredibly predictable. I don’t think Shinbo’s style really works with that gag humor, the jokes were telegraphed minutes before the punchline hit and the constant eye close-ups and ironic dramatic zooms got on my nerves. Really unfunny and if you don’t like the characters initially, you’ll never get used to them.
Arakawa belongs to the “crazy japanese comedy with people shouting in it”. It’s exactly the same kind of humour that we can see in “Excel Saga” or “Jungle: Hare+Guu”, or Seto no Hanayome (or School Rumble also). I can understand that the bullshit and the shouting can turn off some people, but other people including me like these kind of comedies.
All of them aren’t apealing to me; for example I didn’t like Zetsubo Sensei or Maria+Holic, but for me, Arakawa is a good one, a very good one.
In fact , arakawa is not the best funny comedy of the year but this is a pretty one if you have watched the first season.
The characters are just dumb and it’s so fun to look at them and at their careless.
ps:sorry for my poor english, i’m just a french guy. (yeah this blog is known very well in france :))
Doh! Psgels conquered Europe. All hail Psgels -.-// 😛
Besides i laughed out loud with both Guu and Excel Saga, but found Arakawa pretty unfunny + uninspired. So i fail to catch the connection between them.
Well.. its funny, I have frequent only two real anime blogs, and I usually side on the opinion of psgels – I mean he introduced me to Baccano (need I say more?), although for once I completely disagree with the review… I for one found it to be an original show (gosh the tired highschool harem setups really grate on my nerves), so even though it can be quite nonsense at times, its probably only the first anime in a long time that made me laugh out loud… maybe my humour has been shot to shit with all the fanservice jokes… So anyway – 1st season was good, im looking forward to the next!
The issue with Arakawa, is that you have to be receptive to the sentimentality that is a big part of it. If you aren’t, then you won’t be as attached to the characters, and the humor won’t be as good either and the whole enterprise will just fall apart. The humor in the premier of the second season depended entirely on the audience being familiar with the dynamics between Hoshi and Ric and the Mayor and Maria and Sister and Stella and all of their relationships to Nino.
I remember the later episodes of the first season had some really elegant moments when describing the interactions between the sexes, or how in the apparent insanity of the society under the bridge can the inherent insanity of mainstream society be illuminated and be laid bare. It was succinctly alluded to by Nino in the first episode when she naively asks Ric if someone from his planet saves someone only to expect gratitude in return. Through the ruminations of a supposed space-case, hypocrisies are exposed and common sense wisdom is shaken. Because, after all, what is common sense anyway?
Arakawa was my favorite series in the Spring, and has returned in fine form. If sentimentality with your comedy isn’t your thing, that’s fine, but it made for some surprisingly transcendent moments in this franchise.
Oh, and there was some speculation about Nino’s past in the first season, but just a bit. The first season concerned itself primarily with Ric’s past and his relationship with his father. Since that was resolved, it seems that this season is going to dive into Nino’s past and possibly explore the reasons behind her eccentricities.
The current speculah states that Nino and Ric share a more similar upbringing then may be first apparent…
Arakawa Under the Bridge x2 has the worst op song for this season. What is that song? Random blubbering?
You may have judged Arakawa way too quickly. It’s not the most perfect series out there and the comedy may seem a bit forced… but it’s almost like that’s the natural aspect of the series.
It’s not trying to depend on its humor or entertainment value as much as it’s working on its criticizing of common sense.
The characters SEEM very one-dimensional, but as you watch, you realize that they ARE forcing themselves to be one-dimensional. They ARE forcing their comedy, to a point. And they are actually just hiding their “societal selves” under that guise.
All in all, I thought some parts of the first season were made only for comedy, and some characters WERE just insane, or dry, but it had potential to ignite some questioning of life in society… and especially in the Japanese context, where society forces so much on individual lives, this show did a great job of building itself into something beyond your expectations and understanding.
If anything, I suggest you try it from the beginning and see if your opinion of it changes. =3
So, nobody knows if there’s aome good soul who’ll sub Milky Holmes?
Crunchyroll picked up Milky Holmes. It starts simulcasting to everywhere but Japan in about fifteen minutes. (Although, when a simulcast airs several days after the airdate, it’s kind not a simulcast anymore. More like a proximalcast.)
haven’t watch arakawa and milky holmes…
But, soremachi is a good material, I guess just let it roll a little bit in order to be known and appreciate.