April 12th, 2006
So yeah, I’m bored, so here we go with the spring season of anime… there’s a lot. Here we go, in no particular order!
Very minor spoilers may be included…
The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Two episodes in and this seems to be the best show of the season. Normally, I hate Kyoto animation’s designs, though their animation is top-notch… however, Noizi Ito has done the original designs for the novels, which means that Haruhi herself looks more than a little like Shana’s older sister.
Synopsis:
Suzumiya Haruhi is a girl that has no interest in speaking to anyone who isn’t an alien, time traveller, has super powers, and so on. Kyon is our narrator, a sarcastic slacker who manages to become friends with Haruhi despite being a regular human. He get caught up as she creates her own club, the SOS Brigade, or: Suzumiya Haruhi’s group to make the world a lot more fun. Along for the ride is the purple-haired, monosyllabic Nagato Yuki and Asahina Mikuru, who.. is small and cute, but has big breasts. Haruhi abudcted her to be their moe mascot.
Impressions:
The animation is slick, the music is catchy (though mostly j-pop with a bit of other things, namely ska accents) and Haruhi is… I can’t say adorable, but she’s definitely something. Few characters reach such levels of insanity in a fairly realistic show. Kyon’s quick sarcasm compliments Haruhi’s manic energy well. I’m curious to see where all this goes. The very first episode, by the way, is actually Haruhi’s own creation as Super Director of the SOS Brigade: The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru: Episode 00. About a combat bunny girl waitress from the future defending a boy with super powers against an evil magician from space. Credit must be given to Kyoto Animation for making it look so believably bad.
Conclusion: Watch subbed. a.f.k. is doing the subbing and they’re on top of this so far doing a reasonably good job. Kyon and Haruhi talk so fast it’s nearly impossible for me to figure out what’s going on except by context.
Ouran High School Host Club
Not only is Bones doing a comedy, but it’s a SHOUJO comedy with tons of bishounen? What the hell? I’m as surprised as anyone, Ouran Host Club is funny and tightly directed with a cast of interesting characters. Also, the main character here is also Haruhi.
Synopsis:
Ouran High School is a school for those with money and privilege. One student has entered the school based on grades alone, however. Fujioka Haruhi bears more than a little resemblance to Jin from Rozen Maiden. At least at first. The Host Club is full of beautiful boys that entertain beautiful girls with a lot of free time. Haruhi stumbles into the Host Club’s room one day and accidentally breaks an 8 million yen vase. Haruhi can’t even afford the school uniform, much less the vase, so is put to work as the Host Club’s dog. Soon, however, they make a startling discovery. Underneath the baggy clothes, thick glasses and horrible, horrible haircut, Haruhi is actually very cute. So they offer Haruhi a deal: Attract 100 customers and the debt is off. Well, Haruhi may seem antisocial, but it turns out, she’s actually rather charming. Oh, yes. Haruhi is a girl, and a cute one at that.
Impressions:
Haruhi is cute! A cute boy or girl, it doesn’t matter to me. She’s actually rather mysterious in some ways… she’s very nonchalant, pays no attention to things like gender or appearance, and is at times insultingly blunt. Bone’s animation makes the opulence of Ouran stand out. The animation is great, the music is good, and the direction is very nice. Also, Maaya Sakamoto plays Haruhi. I had no idea, really. The Host Club themselves may be obnoxious snobs, but they’re endearing, too. It’s definitely one to check out this season, even if you don’t normally like shoujo. The direction has actually taken things more mainstream than the manga, but that’s not really something I’m complaining about. Most of the changes are minor and work to make it something that boys can enjoy, too.
Conclusion: Watch raw and/or subbed. Having read the manga, or some of it anyway, I can pick up the jokes easily enough. Still, it’s popular enough to get some subs, so I might watch those.
Minis:
Simoun: Fighter planes powered by lesbian kisses. That’s all I need to say. Simoun is actually interesting, but the jargon in the first episode left me confused. The designs are very pretty and the backgrounds are nice watercolors. Music is great. Voice acting is… well, everyone in this world is born a woman and the entire cast is female. That makes the older men sound very odd. Still, it’s interesting enough to warrant a watch for a while. The danger with a show like this is not just that it’s absurd, it’s that it’s absurd and entirely serious about it. Subbed is a must, but it still doesn’t make much sense. What’s a Rimersion? What the hell is Tempus Patiem? Who knows…?
Princess Princess: Cute boys in gothloli outfits. Boy transfers to a new all-boys school. Everyone is in love with his bishie looks. Turns out, to keep the boys from going nuts, the pretty ones are selected to be ‘Princess’ and dressed as girls to improve morale. Well, any show centered around crossdressing would catch my interest and there’s enough funny bits to be mildly amusing. I’d say anyone who isn’t prepared for that sort of thing should give it a pass, though. I may watch it subbed.
Strawberry Panic: Cute girls in gothloli outfits. Girl transfers to a new all-girls school. Everyone is in love with her kawaii looks. Wait, huh? Yeah, it’s the same sort of premise, only with girls. Think MariMite but with more explicit yuri.. I was kind of looking forward to this one, but the production quality is rather low. Sern’s sub is terrible, too. Timing errors and they can’t decide on names for the places and chacters. If someone else subs it, I’ll try watching more. Character designs are fine, but what’s with the nasty live action ending? Bleh.
Himawari!: What if Naruto had been born a girl? Himawari was rescued from a plane crash by a ninja. Since then, she’s wanted to be one. Our male lead, whose name I can’t recall, is a new teacher hired to teach at the ninja school at the hidden village. He’s a normal guy, but his job is to teach them about the regular world, since they’ll have to go out there. And, strangely enough, he’s got the same mark as the ninja that saved Himawari! How mysterious. The animation is decent, but Himawari’s voice is rough. She’s a new idol so… ganbare! But the delivery is rather flat. She could get better, so that’s ok.
Still, you’ve got Okama’s character designs and they’re fucking adorable. It may be enough to watch the show just for the character designs. Maybe. No one seems to have picked it up yet, but I’d prefer to watch it subbed. Still, I could basically follow it raw.
Inukami!: Naked men and cute dog girls. Basically, Youko is an inukami, a dog spirit that fights evil. She owns Keita, a human inukamitsukai. Keita seems to get in trouble with men alot, despite him wanting to go after girls pretty much constantly. He’s a jerk, she tortures him. Animation is by the guys that did Nanoha, so the action bits are pretty good. It’s mainly just zany comedy, though. If you enjoyed He is My Master or Magikano, it’s one to check out.
Magical Pokaan: Magical tits is more like it. A witch, vampire, android, and wolf girl come to the human world. They don’t know much about it (and aren’t very smart) but are all very, very cute. Lots of panties, tits and… even no panties. Combined with bits that are just cute. It’s ok, but not enough that I’ll keep watching, really.
Glass no Kantai: Frogs in space. And I don’t mean Keroro Gunso. What would you get if you had the french revolution, opera, space opera, and Captain Harlock all in a big, sweaty orgy? Something like this. Aristocrats battle in the future with swords on asteroids. It’s rather confusing and absurd (during one fight scene, the protagonist’s maid wheels out his tea). If it’s subbed, I may watch. Gonzo’s animation is as expected and Okama does the designs for this as well.
Yumetsukai: It’s creepy and all, but where’s the tentacle rape? The anime version of Yumetsukai apparently is an alternate telling of the manga. Apparently because the manga has things like loli tentacle rape and such. It’s not meant to be erotic, though, but psychological. The anime mixes bright and sunny character designs with vaguely creepy stories about dreams that become nightmares and encroach on reality. The characters are intriguing and the music is great. My concern, however, is that it’ll end up like Jigoku Shoujo. Without each story being really good (like, say, Paranoia Agent) this type of show can become stale fast.
Nana: Nanas are doing it for themselves. What, you don’t know Nana already? Well, it’s a manga by Ai Yazawa about two girls named Nana. One’s a punk, one’s a ditz. By chance or fate they end up living together and become friends. It’s a soap opera, really, but the characters are interesting and Ai Yazawa’s art is great. Nana takes a more faithful approach to the direction and character designs than Paradise Kiss did. That’s a good and bad thing, since it looks great, but doesn’t feel that much different from the manga. The story has been slightly shifted to fit better as an anime, but the plot points are intact. I… probably won’t watch it. Because I’ve read the manga. If you haven’t, definitely give it a shot, it’s nicely written, funny, and cute and one of the few shows other than, say, Honey and Clover, to deal with characters OUT of school.
Yoshinaga-san’chi no Gargoyle: Loli but not. It’s not loli like Ichigo Mashimaro. Rather, it’s a light adventure show about a little girl, Futaba (voiced perfectly by Chiwa Saito) and her family’s gargoyle, Gar-kun, who they won in a raffle and can shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Still, when you have Chiwa Saito and Mamiko Noto playing little girls, something magically cute happens. Futaba’s a violent tomboy, but cute and her older brother’s damn cute as well. And Iyo’s hot. I really hope someone subs this, but if not, it’s easy enough to watch raw. The animation is crisp and music is decent.
Makai Senki Disgaea: Mid-season is good enough for you. I’m a little disappointed. I knew the quality wouldn’t be like the promo video, but it’s still sad. Voices are great, Flonne is adorable and Etna is.. well, would it be wrong to say she’s hot? She is a demoness. The story’s been changed around, but that’s to be expected. I just think the makai looks a little too sunny. Oh well, I’ll watch, if, for nothing else, Flonne.
Continuing:
School Rumble Ni Gakki: If you haven’t seen the first season, watch that or read the manga. You’ll have no idea what’s going on otherwise. School Rumble’s character relationship chart looks like a spider web, or at least a subway map. But yeah, it’s funny, it’s still funny, and so if you liked it before, keep watching.
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu!: Gyu! GOD FUCK THIS IS CUTE. Gyu! is still adorable. You don’t really need to have seen the first season, but it helps since a lot of the characters have carried over onto this one. Now, Fine and Rein are going to school at the Royal Wonder Academy. They’ve got a new set of powers, new costume, and are still adorable. No subs out, but it’s a good one to watch raw since it’s made for kids. Fine for the win.
Fate/stay night: Can we see some tits yet? I’m still watching this, but the pacing problems really weigh this show down. By episode 14, very little has actually HAPPENED. I’ll finish watching because I’m a masochist and everyone else fucking loves it so there must be something good about it.
Old subs:
Law of Ueki: I love this show. It’s been licensed, but it’s going to get mangled with the 4Kids style treatment. I can see why, but it makes me sad. The characters are wacky and lovable and the battles are absurb but somehow compelling. I really wish that there will be a Law of Ueki Plus anime, but apparently the mangaka is sick and hasn’t been drawing recently. Get well soon, this is one of my favorites.
Keroro Gunso: Frogs from space. Keroro gunso’s funny and I’m glad SOMEONE has actually started subbing it. I gotta say, with Keroro Gunso, Suzumiya Haruhi, and NHK ni Youkoso, Shounen Ace seems like quite the magazine.
Manga:
NHK ni Youkoso: Loli porn, MMORPG addiction, drug abuse and suicide has never been so funny. You haven’t read this yet? Read it now. While Genshiken is a fond look at otaku culture that sort of holds your hand as says it’s ok, NHK ni Youkoso ties you to a rack and whips you. It’s brutally honest and darkly funny with great art. Yoshitoshi ABe did the character designs for the book, too, and that can’t be bad.
Yubisaki Milk Tea: Boys dressing as girls for fun. I was pretty surprised when Tokyopop licensed this. But happy. I haven’t seen anything before that has such an understanding of crossdressing and gender identity. It’s not all that nice, either. Romance? Comedy? Please. This is something darker and more honest.
Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa: Fun with hermaphrodites. This is one of… well, no, the only manga I know of that’s about futanari that isn’t porn. But it is ecchi. There’s plenty of tits and sex, but ultimately, this is a comedy. It’s funny and the characters are cute.
So there you go. Long, yeah? Imagine how much time I’ve seen watching all this stuff.