As for the series I’m not going to blog:
– Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls is just bad. Its dialogue is so camp that it becomes silly, no matter what it does. Its voice acting sucks, the premise is worthless and there’s just no hope for this one.
– Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai keeps sending off the same hints that regular romances use for their lead couple. Learn some subtlety dammit.
– Super Robot Wars – The Inspector is full of cheesy morals, plus I know too little of the franchise to really enjoy it.
– Yumeiro Patissiere has its character development, but I’m missing too much in the other areas: the characters are annoying, and the pacing itself drags on, instead of keeping my attention.
In any case, before I move on with this episode, I do want to say a number of general comments towards the Autumn Season, and my main problems with it: I’m lacking some kind of adult touch here. Iron Man just sucks. Panty and Stocking does focus on adults, but it also has the toilet humour of a teenager, Togainu no Chi has its lackluster direction, the same goes with Hakuouki, and Arakawa just is hit or miss. What I’m trying to say is that, while these characters are technically all over 18 years old, there’s nothing mature about them other than Panty’s sex addiction. The good series that feature adults are Yakumo and Otome Youkai Zakuro, but those seem more aimed at a teenaged audience than a mature one. That just leaves Kuragehime and we don’t even know yet whether that one’s going to be good.
So yes, teenagers. That’s really the biggest fear I had for Star Driver, but this series has more than enough to set itself apart from all other teenaged series. This episode really established this series as Utena’s spiritual successor, and yet still feels new, refreshing and full of potential. I also really like how this is supposed to be a mecha series, made by people who don’t have anything with the genre: this way they can really go into their own ways, rather than follow all of the examples that have been set by series in the past.
Based on the fact that this series was going to be completely original and the exceptional staff, this really was the series I was looking for the most. The thing with the staff is that they may not be the best choice when it comes to adaptations. Yoji Enokido, the guy behind the series composition and script, also wrote the series composition behind Sailor Moon SuperS (haven’t seen it, but it seems regarded as the worst Sailor Moon series), Ouran High School Host Club (which I didn’t really like: it was unbalanced and there were too many boring episodes) and Nodame Cantabile: Paris (again unbalanced and nowhere as good as the first season). The director, Takuya Igarashi‘s previous two series also weren’t much to my liking: Soul Eater and Ouran High School Host Club. I’m not sure whether this was because of the material that they were working with, or whether they simply didn’t portray them right, but they have been involved with some disappointment.
And yet, we’re also talking about the guy who directed Ashita no Nadja, an incredibly charming and uplifting shoujo adventure and three of the Ojamajo Doremi, one of the supposed best mahou shoujo franchises, along with the guy who wrote Utena, a ground-breaking title with brilliant characters, a brilliant script and chockful of symbolism, and FLCL, another highly experimental anime with a ton of neat and original ideas, being consistently entertaining to watch. How could I not look forward to this? We could have a potential classic if these two manage to get in their element here.
And overall, I’m really pleased with the results. You can really see the influences on Utena, but instead of its elegance, the director here swapped that with flamboyance. On top of that, this episode toyed around with interesting ideas. I mean, take the kissing: at first it may seem random, and then it turns out that people have different powers. Also, “kissing through the glass”, could that be a reference to the strange glass balls in which everyone is caught during the fights in that strange dimension?
I love the concept of a mecha who can only move around in zero time. I’m expecting a lot of this series, though: if everything goes right, it can really become a potential classic. It’s only one of the two series this season that is really trying out something new and fresh. And since the other series that does this is Panty and Stocking, this really is one of those series that NEEDS to work out well, in order to set an example for many other series to follow.
Also, Shinichiro Watanabe (the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo) directed the OP for this one. How cool is that?
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I’m guessing you mean Shinichiro Watanabe. Yeah just by watching Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloos opening, they really oozes of coolness and freshness.
Ah, yeah. That’s what I meant. I keep confusing the names of Nabeshin and Shinichiro Watanabe, even though as directors they’re completely different.
Star Driver won’t get as excessive as Utena since Ikuhara isn’t involved here, but yes I definitely see parallels since Enokido certainly was one of the writers for Utena. This series really isn’t as weird as many people perceive it though… Look at Boukyaku no Senritsu, another work of Enokido where he just went crazy. It did went out of control in some aspects, which is why it seems to me like this school settings kind of concentrate his ideas so they don’t just burst out. I may be wrong though since we’ve only seen the first 2 episodes so far…
As for Yakumo: The manga adaption is indeed serialized in Gekkan Asuka, but I don’t recall the original novel series to be aimed at a specific target audience.
*did go
… I must be hallucinating. I thought you wrote Yakumo was aimed at female teenagers. Oh well…
*did go
… I must be hallucinating. I thought you wrote Yakumo was aimed at female teenagers. Oh well…
Mousou: yeah, sorry. I did indeed write that, until I realized that Yakumo’s main characters are also still in high school, so it didn’t matter in the point that I was trying to make.
Weren’t they university students…?
Oh wait, you’re right. Never mind then. ^^;
Boring episodes for Ouran?! Never! Comedy in the episodes more than made up for any lack of plot!
regarding the super robot wars,
‘the inspector’ hasn’t showed themselves at all, they are not the protagonists
Hm this is weird, and as I said before Im not a fan of “battle of the week” at all, its boring and repetitive
Still have no clue what the hell is going on, so Ill keep watching anyway
I know what you mean… none of this fall season’s animes seem to “grab me” and after “Giant Killing” (which was awesome) even for a girl like me.. I am left completely wanting … sigh … so I am following your blog (as always to see if there is anything eventful that develops)… is it the bad economy? or just no good material… what happened to the “Code Geass” and “Fate Stay Nights?”
This series is highly entertaining and amusing, something like Code Geass. Something that I wouldn’t consider the best or my top favorites, but something that I definitely enjoyed 😀
Wow psgels!I read a comment by someone in one of your posts about the punctual posts…even I am amazed!Hats off to you 🙂
Well I just finished seeing episode 2..I am glad I chose to watch this series!Its building up brilliantly!Is it a 13 episode series too?That would be bad,as most of us wouldnt get enough if Star Driver 😉
And I really love that Fish Maiden’s song…do u have any idea what song is it or where can I get it?
Aah, Sailor Moon Super S was probably the worst in terms of the overarching plot and characterization getting lost in manga–>anime adaptations + it got kiddified beyond belief (shifted its focus from the male hero & daughter to the daughter alone =_= , and downgraded Usagi/Moon’s personality&maturity in a way that not even the Stars anime series could mend) BUT it also featured some of the better comedic moments and happy descents into self-parhody and crack.
Hopefully Star Driver will feature the good comedy points but not the characterization&plot issues :D.
I’m still on the fence with this series, but along with the yet-to-air Kuragehime is the only anime managing to catch my interest this season… hence I’m very thankful for your impressions about the series episode by episode.
Star Driver is fun to watch. hopefully they will not repeat the ‘pretty boy’ transformation every week, otherwise it will lose its flamboyant appeal.
yes, i miss Giant Killing, which focus on adults, instead of teenagers. the next one to look forward to is Shiki (after a 3-week break), which features both adults and teenagers, trying to survive.
Considering a history of both Utena and Sailormoon, it would be odd if they didn’t repeat it … it’s like 5 seconds anyway … now only if it had its own theme music …
Actually Otome Youkai Zakuro is based on a seinen manga, so it’s aimed on older audience, haven’t read much of the manga to know the plot, but the OP and the beginning of the second episode suggest at least some seriousness and complications ahead.
Did anybody notice that early death flag for the blue haired guy? I mean, it’s ankward when you’re in a love triangle and are not the lead char…