Yeah, yeah. I know I’m shuffling around series more than ever this season, but who cares, this episode was goooood. Consider Hakuouki dropped now, because Uragiri’s second installment did just about everything better.
I was a bit reluctant with this series. Not because of the gay undertones, but rather because of the prospect of another gothic show with angst and bishies. Sounds like Vampire Knight, doesn’t it? But really, the reason why Vampire Knight sucked wasn’t because of its angst and bishies. It was because of its completely shallow plot and characters and the horrid character of Zero. There have been plenty of good examples of series with bishies, and really: who cares about the homosexual undertones?
One of the biggest reasons why I consider this to be better than Hakuouki is the voice-acting, which was painfully rushed in the latter. It’s like the creators were “ah, just act like a hot guy and you won’t have to worry about being credible”; it’s the same thing that annoys me about all those cheap moe show. The characters here however are credible and don’t overact despite the angst. On top of that, the lead character is much, much more bearable here. Sure, Yuki isn’t exactly the most useful character, but at the same time with such a power as his, on top of being a girl in a guy’s body you can expect why he has emotional problems. And on top of that, he also isn’t the guy to run into a building full of murdering ronin without thinking things through. That also is a plus.
But what impressed me the most about this episode was its climax. Seriously, that was some really good combination of music, dialogue, atmosphere and build-up. I can also sense a lot of creativity in the art department: the gothic undertones are there, but they’re subtle, and the use of CG is the same. The plot itself also is quite creative: not in its ideas, but its execution. I really must praise the director for what he did here, and looking at his work, it seems that all of his works as a main director have been surprisingly solid: I loved what he did to Asatte no Houkou, Rescue Wings and Tsukihime: all had excellent characterizations.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Uh… lol, I almost wanted to pluck my eyes out and tear my ear drums from Yuki’s overly annoying voice–and throughout the entire episode as well. I don’t think we’ve been watching the same anime. But then again, I couldn’t watch Vampire Knight past the first episode without the need to be emo as well (“Why am I watching this-insert other emo thoughts-“).
Okay, so I thought I could keep watching this for the bishies. I obviously can’t. Not my cup of tea. Really. I could have loved this if I stumbled on it when I was still in my early teens, but I guess I grew out of this. Letter Bee was borderline enjoyable and cute, but then again, I dropped the anime after episode 8.
I’ll stick with Rainbow right now with the lesser cute guys and wrinkled-pedos.
Is Clamp somehow involved with this? I kind of feel like I’m watching an off-beat remake of X, complete with the clamp-esque yaoi vibes.
Pi: it may just be that I’ve been comparing Yuki to Hakuouki’s lead female, but I weasn’t that bothered by his whining, actually.
Puran: I don’t think Clamp was involved here, though.
WHAT ?? There´s no Tsukihime anime.
@Psgels, oh ho~ first time you have replied to one of my comments, I feel special now!
Ah… Hakuouki… I watched the first troll-subbed episode. And I wasn’t particularly interested–despite the funny subs. I tried the second episode and finally decided to drop it as well. But I think this is very similar to Vampire Knight which is a big turn off. I think there’s something else that really bugs me in Uragiri. I don’t know what, but it’s rather painful for me to watch this.
I’m going to keep following your blog post and perhaps it’ll eventually convince me to keep watching it.
Heh yeah, sorry. Over the years I’ve gotten a bit lazy with replying to all of the comments that get posted here. I do read all of the comments you post, so don’t worry. ^^;
I wouldn’t be bothered by the homosexual undertones if they weren’t so forced and was natural. Still Uraboku is quite intriguing and entertaining.
I already anticipated that you would find this more likable than Hakouki…. but to consider an episode of it to be excellent, wow xD cool~
So it looks like the anime did a good job in adapting the manga *hasn’t actually watched this yet* I should catch up already x_x
> I wouldn’t be bothered by the homosexual undertones if they weren’t so forced and was natural. Still Uraboku is quite intriguing and entertaining.
You are totally bothered by the homosexual undertones 😉