This is a pretty straightforward Aesop’s Fables kind of story – a wealthy man learns to walk in the shoes of the less fortunate and sees the world in a whole new way. The premise is just that simple. It’s also a satisfying story that appeals to people across cultures and generations.

Kou Ichinomiya is a young man who has been groomed his whole life as the heir of a large corporation and even larger fortune. He has an entire philosophy and ambition wrapped around the belief that “made men” make themselves, never relying on anyone for anything. When he finds himself beholden to a homeless girl living under a bridge, he feels indebted and feels compelled to repay the favor by granting her request of living with her as a companion and lover. Whereupon, he learns that money doesn’t buy love. Yes, it’s such a simple and clichéd story, with a simple and clichéd protagonist.

However, about halfway through the second episode, I realized why this series is still so engaging and fun. Every single homeless person living under the bridge is a stereotypical character often seen in anime! There is the little girl with epic fighting skills (similar to any of the girls featured in Gunslinger Girl type shows), there is a mysterious girl of quiet virtue and understated sexiness (similar to Belldandy), there is a femme fatale women with crazy colored hair and a figure reminiscent of a Barbie doll (what anime doesn’t have one of that??), a weird looking “creature” passing at a normal human (again, how many time has anime fans scratched their head at that?), and even the main protagonist that is the “typical Japanese male thrust into a crazy situations” stereotype (Haruhi Suzumiya, anyone?).

The idea of mixing a regular guy with crazy characters is definitely not new in anime, it’s about as original as the overall premise. An easy prediction would be that he learns about the error in his ways and becomes a sage wise person through his journey with these characters. However, this journey isn’t boring as long as this particular series has a creative reimagining. In the case of Arakawa, there is definitely something unique. Let’s be honest, we’ve all wondered from time to time if some of these anime stereotypes could even function in the real world, and have wondered what it would be like if these characters really existed. Apparently, we now have at least one possible answer… all these characters would wind up homeless in Arakawa, living under a bridge, teaching life lessons to the “real” people.

-S.G.

————

Steelbound here …

One of the growing disconnects between general American anime fans and the more hardcore American anime fans/Japanese anime fans is  an exposure to and appreciation of Akiyuki Shinbou, the animation studio Shaft and the types of series that they do.  I knew, therefore, that I had to pick something of his for my sister, S.G., to watch. I wanted to choose an anime that was easier to pick up – not Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – featuring a more toned down Shaft-being-Shaft feel to it – once again not Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei but something that she’d like – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei might have worked but it already had two strikes.

I’m hoping she likes the rest of series (if I can convince her to finish watching it) because there’s several series of Shinbou/Shaft that I want to spring on her. 

Filed under: anime, first impressions

This is a pretty straightforward Aesop’s Fables kind of story – a wealthy man learns to walk in the shoes of the less fortunate and sees the world in a whole new way. The premise is just that simple. It’s also a satisfying story that appeals to people across cultures and generations.

Kou Ichinomiya is a young man who has been groomed his whole life as the heir of a large corporation and even larger fortune. He has an entire philosophy and ambition wrapped around the belief that “made men” make themselves, never relying on anyone for anything. When he finds himself beholden to a homeless girl living under a bridge, he feels indebted and feels compelled to repay the favor by granting her request of living with her as a companion and lover. Whereupon, he learns that money doesn’t buy love. Yes, it’s such a simple and clichéd story, with a simple and clichéd protagonist.

However, about halfway through the second episode, I realized why this series is still so engaging and fun. Every single homeless person living under the bridge is a stereotypical character often seen in anime! There is the little girl with epic fighting skills (similar to any of the girls featured in Gunslinger Girl type shows), there is a mysterious girl of quiet virtue and understated sexiness (similar to Belldandy), there is a femme fatale women with crazy colored hair and a figure reminiscent of a Barbie doll (what anime doesn’t have one of that??), a weird looking “creature” passing at a normal human (again, how many time has anime fans scratched their head at that?), and even the main protagonist that is the “typical Japanese male thrust into a crazy situations” stereotype (Haruhi Suzumiya, anyone?).

The idea of mixing a regular guy with crazy characters is definitely not new in anime, it’s about as original as the overall premise. An easy prediction would be that he learns about the error in his ways and becomes a sage wise person through his journey with these characters. However, this journey isn’t boring as long as this particular series has a creative reimagining. In the case of Arakawa, there is definitely something unique. Let’s be honest, we’ve all wondered from time to time if some of these anime stereotypes could even function in the real world, and have wondered what it would be like if these characters really existed. Apparently, we now have at least one possible answer… all these characters would wind up homeless in Arakawa, living under a bridge, teaching life lessons to the “real” people.

-S.G.

————

Steelbound here …

One of the growing disconnects between general American anime fans and the more hardcore American anime fans/Japanese anime fans is  an exposure to and appreciation of Akiyuki Shinbou, the animation studio Shaft and the types of series that they do.  I knew, therefore, that I had to pick something of his for my sister, S.G., to watch. I wanted to choose an anime that was easier to pick up – not Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – featuring a more toned down Shaft-being-Shaft feel to it – once again not Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei but something that she’d like – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei might have worked but it already had two strikes.

I’m hoping she likes the rest of series (if I can convince her to finish watching it) because there’s several series of Shinbou/Shaft that I want to spring on her. 

Filed under: anime, first impressions

So Shaft and Shinbo’s hightly anticipated original magical girl show has started, which means we finally get to see what all the hype was about. At the same time, this was still just the first episode, so the “wait and see” approach would be the right one to follow at this point. Still, what was shown was unique and displayed a lot of potential, leaving me excited for more.

Story-wise, nothing presented here should make anyone even raise an eyebrow. It strictly followed well established cliches and tropes of schoolgirl anime, although it did it to such a fault that I can’t help but think that it was on purpose. I was inclined to facepalm when Madoka Kaname (Aoi Yuuki) ran out of her home with the toast hanging out of her mouth but was delighted to see her quickly munch it down just seconds after exiting the premises. Was that a casual wink and nod about that particular trope and how the show was using it but also destroying it?

Then, of course, there was the attractive transfer student, Homura Akemi (Chiwa Saito, channeling Hitagi Senjougahara with a heavier, more masculine voice than her usual cutesy one) around whom everyone clusters instantly. And like any attractive transfer student, there’s something mysterious about her (see: Itsuki Koizumi), such as the fact that she appeared in Madoka’s dream during the cold open, and that she already knows who Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki (Eri Kitamura) are, as well as the general layout of the school. Oh yeah, and it turns out she’s the bad guy, some magical girl trying to kill the ferret Kyubey (Emiri Kato) who also appeared in Madoka’s dream.

But enough about the plot. Again, nothing special here. What really struck me about this episode was the art. First of all, the character designs obviously reek of Aoki Ume, she of Hidamari Sketch fame. Though the faces aren’t quite as wide as in that show (for shame), the soft, rounded faces and simple and solid colored hair styles reminded a lot of the characters from Hidamari Sketch. The key was in the large, widened eyes, though, with the subtle pencil strokes for shading visible during the close ups.

But, as was the case before with Shaft’s Bakemonogatari, the backdrops were what really stole the show. Shaft was clearly going for the super-clean near-future aesthetic with the designs of various locales from the episode. It started with the Kaname house (speaking of near-future, we’ve got a working mother and a stay-at-home husband in this one, a very modern nuclear family) with its hard rectangular lines, wide open spaces with huge windows. The bathroom scene with Madoka and her mother could’ve been terribly boring without all that architectural eye candy (and, of course, Shinbo’s favorite visual trick, reflections). There were some subtle touches here and there as well, such as the presence of the staircase in Madoka’s parents’ bedroom, or the changing digital picture frame behind Madoka’s mother just as she leaves for work.

The same aesthetic was pushed hard at the school as well, with all of the walls surrounding the classrooms being made of glass, and the use of digital whiteboards instead of the traditional chalkboards. Same goes for the CD shop at the mall, with its glass shelves and walls filled with square shaped windows. All in all, the super-clean near-futuristic look made for a very appealing world, one very pleasing to the eyes.

And all that served as a strong contrast to what would happen when the magical girls actually entered the picture. As the battle started in an unfinished portion of the mall, the style took a distinct shift in a more dirty, lived-and-worked-in direction. Even with the daylight peeking through the large windows, the place was oppressively dark and dirty. What really pushed that was Mami Tomoe’s (Kaori Mizuhashi – played Miyako in Hidamari Sketch) entrance, when the scenery became full-on psychedelic collage, the same type seen in some episodes of the later seasons of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei as well as parts of Bakemonogatari (it is displayed well here in the OP to the 3rd Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei OVA).

We’re talking some really disturbing stuff, the stuff nightmares are made out of. Creepy chanting butterflies with clouds with handlebar mustaches. I’ve never seen a magical girl show, but I’m guessing that the art style during their transformations and fighting are a lot cleaner than what was shown here. At the same time, the contrast levels took a huge jump, painting the characters with far more stark and harsh colors, away from the soft, more pastel tones from during the everyday scenes.

So even though Magical Girl Madoka Magica isn’t exactly taking things to The Tatami Galaxy or Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt levels, it’s doing some very fun things with its art style. And so far, the eye candy alone intrigues me enough to be excited about seeing more. Again, the story is strictly run-of-the-mill, and the music isn’t much to write home about. The tune during Mami’s transformation scene (one that was wonderfully short and to the point, I might add) was quite nice, but the rest of it was forgettable. Yuki Kajiura‘s music has never done anything for me in the past, other than fitting in wonderfully with the dark horror theme of the Kara no Kyoukai movies. And the opening theme, usually a strong point of Shaft’s shows, might have been good if it didn’t sound exactly like Irony, the opening theme to last season’s horrendous My Little Sister Can’t be This Cute.

This was a strong first episode overall, certainly stronger than the first episodes of any of Shaft’s (new) efforts last year (Dance in the Vampire Bund, Arakawa Under the Bridge, and Yet the Town Keeps Going). Even though we’ve yet to see any of the story unfold, the distinctive and pleasing art style makes me see a lot of potential for the rest of the show.

I just finished watching episode 6 and it was epic epic, like when Simon and crew defeated the anti-Spirals or when Mustang fought Lust or the true ending to Clannad After Story. I thought last episode’s fairly light nature meant that Shaft/Shinbou was going to lay off advancing the story further then what happened over the first four episodes. I was hoping that wasn’t the case because I didn’t want to see a repeat of the second season of Natsu no Arashi where, after the first 3 episodes, the story that made the first season so interesting was set aside in the name of random hi-jinks and pointless comedy. Episode 6 signaled that, no, it was going to stick to the story.

If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop here and just enjoy the sketch of Nino that I stitched together from this episode and then go watch the episode.

-

I knew this episode was coming; I knew that someday the signal that this show was ready to show the cards it’s kept hidden would happen. I just didn’t know it was going to happen in this episode and it leaves me feeling anxious, a bit worried and just plain excited.

A bit worried because I’ve come to really like (deeply love would probably be a better description) Arakawa Under the Bridge and I don’t want something to happen that’ll spoil it. Anxious because it is very conceivable that we won’t actually find anything out next time like the time that Star recorded the leech song onto Nino’s tape. Excited because it looks like we’re about to learn in Nino is a real Venusian or not and because Nino is going home. So it feels like the show is standing on the precipice, a long way up the side of a mountain, right now. A fall here would be deadly for Arakawa Under the Bridge but if it succeeds with episode 7, I think it’s got a lock on the top spot for best anime of 2010 and eventually earning a spot on my top all-time anime list.

(As a completely off-topic aside, in today’s society of instant gratification, I think it’s good that I, and everyone else, will have to wait a week for the next episode. It’s character-building and it increases the viewer appreciation of the show in question. I really believe one of the main reasons that I rank Gurren Lagann so highly is because watching it weekly allowed me to tear apart and examine each facet of each episode while waiting for next week’s episode.)

Okay, that’s enough worrying about the future; let’s look at some of the awesome parts to episode 6.

The Mayor just became one of my favorite characters in the show.

She should have heeded the Mayor’s warning

Nino and Recruit’s conversation was done just perfectly.

Commercial for the new Shaft show. It’s hard to get excited about it when your watching Arakawa Under the Bridge.

Recruit’s fantasies are showing that he’s come a long way from the start of the show.

You can’t get enough Nino smiling, it’s a proven fact.

Swapping the live-action sequence for the ending song helped make this episode feel more special.

The people at Shaft know how to appreciate the night sky.

Filed under: anime, weekly anime review

Yes this is one of those totally fluffy anime posts where I wish everyone a Happy Halloween and fill the post up with Halloween anime pics.

So, Happy Halloween to everyone that celebrates Halloween. Last year I also reminded my American readers about having to turn their clocks back an hour since Daylight Saving Time was ending so I’ll mention that this year next Sunday is that week that we have to turn our clocks back. (And to further derail the point of this post, according to what I saw for Europe, this weekend is the end of summer time and it’s time to turn the clocks back an hour.)

Anyways, first here’s a picture of the jack-o-lanterns that my family carved. Mine is on the bottom right.

And here are more Halloween themed anime pictures.

 

 

Filed under: anime, general anime interst

Soredemo Machi ha Mawatteiru MAID! We like maids right? Yeah we do! But sadly, I won’t keep up with this for now. Which is weird considering I like these type of anime where not much goes on and jokes are odd and dumb. But I got Arakawa for this season so I’ll skip on this [...]

Also known as the transliteration from Japanese, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru – or SoreMachi for short - Yet the Town Keeps Going is a new comedy series, based on a manga by the same name, from studio Shaft and its main director Akiyuki Shinbo. I’ve made it clear that I’m a big fan of both the studio and the director, so I was quite excited about this show, especially with the season premiere of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge – by the same studio and director – from last week exceeding my expectations. Unfortunately, this first episode was kind of a middling affair, not ever finding a good comedic rhythm and feeling all too plain.

As expected, the music was quite good. The OP song, DOWN TOWN sung by Maaya Sakamoto, was lively and bouncy, as was the OP animation. The OP sequence felt pretty normal, not particularly Shaft-like. There was plenty of dancing by the protagonist Hotori, who was spinning around a broom like a baton or moving a metal tray around her body like a pair of nunchucks. It had a very lively-city-at-night feel to it, sometimes reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop’s OP with the spotlights and contrast between light and dark. Fitting for a song called DOWN TOWN.

The ED song, Maze Sanjou! by Maze, was very good as well. The animation sequence featured 4 of the characters playing in a band and singing with various backgrounds from the show flashing behind them. I’m not sure, but it sounded like the song was sung by the voice actors as well – I thought I heard Omigawa’s voice when Hotori was singing. Notably, the song does include both an accordion and a violin, along with the standard electric bass and drums. Like the OP, the ED didn’t feel distinctly Shaft-like, but doesn’t mean it wasn’t great anyway. Hotori’s dancing and wacky antics towards the end were very cute.

The background music was pretty subtle and pretty varied in style, all very light. There were parts that I recognized as being very Round Table (most well known among anime fans for featuring Nino and doing the OPs to Chobits, Welcome to the NHK!, and, of course, Diebuster).

As for the contents of the episode, it was pretty plain, surprisingly devoid of humor. It dove right into the story of our main character, Hotori Arashiyama (Chiaki Omigawa), a high school student working as a waitress at Sea Side Cafe, a maid cafe run by a rather homely old lady, Uki Isohata (played well by a very male Takahiro Sakurai). The first half was about her introducing her workplace to her friends the buck-toothed Harue (Ryouko Shiraishi) and the neurotic Toshiko (Aoi Yuuki). Toshiko starts lecturing Hotori on the proper behavior of maids at a maid cafe, leading to some predictable gags (“welcome back, master,” or “maids must be clumsy”), before she realizes that fellow student Hiroyuki Sanada (Miyu Irino) is a regular there and decides that she wants to work there as well.

The second half involved Hotori and Toshiko dealing with their math teacher Natsuhiko Moriaki – played ably by Tomokazu Sugita – who is quite strict about the school’s rule prohibiting part time work for students unless allowed by a teacher. At first, they run away when discovered on their way to work, but have to face him head-on when he follows them all the way to the cafe and enters as a customer.

At the beginning, the angles of the shots and the constantly moving camera made me think of Shaft’s and Shinbo’s previous Bakemonogatari or Dance in the Vampire Bund (of which Aoi Yuuki was the star), though as the episode went on, I was more reminded of their other sea side cafe series, Natsu no Arashi! (in which Ryouko Shiraishi was the eponymous star and Chiaki Omigawa also played a main role). Indeed, that’s the show this one is most comparable to, both in the setting and the lighthearted character comedy.

And about that comedy bit… comedies are supposed to be funny, and this episode just wasn’t. All the elements were there: the peculiar setting, the quirky and quirkier-looking characters, the slapstick action. But the show just seemed to be going through the motions. None of the jokes caught me as witty or clever. They just felt stale and, as mentioned above, predictable.

The ostensible heroine of the show, Hotori, was pretty boring, a bit too much of a straight man. I will say that she was very cute, with her sideways ponytail, malleable and a bit chubby and rounded face, and, of course, that maid outfit. It was all amplified by Chiaki Omigawa’s distinct voice. Far more charismatic was Toshiko, who was the excited and energetic catalyst in both halves of the show. Aoi Yuuki’s ability to transition quickly from a soft feminine voice to a more masculine in-control one worked well for her.

Story-wise, there’s a typical love-triangle being set up here, with Toshiko clearly being obsessed with Hiroyuki who just as clearly has a crush on Hotori. I wonder if it’ll lead anywhere, but my guess is that it will be more of a running joke, similar to the love triangle between Hajime, Arashi, and Takeshi in Natsu no Arashi! This was the only real story thread introduced in the first episode, but there are plenty of characters to be introduced, so we shall see how it goes. If Shaft likes anything, it’s to take their sweet time in introducing the characters of the cast.

Thus this was not an inspiring first episode to this new series. Then again, I was not so hot on the first episode of Arakawa Under the Bridge earlier this year, and that one ended up quite fine. That said, I would hope for at least some good gags or foreshadowing of plot to come in a first episode, and I found neither in this one. Just good music and fun OP and ED sequences featuring Hotori being a lot more entertaining than in the actual episode. Still, being a fan of many of the people involved in this, I’ll be watching this with a skeptical optimism.

Notes

• Maaya Sakamoto, the singer of the OP song DOWN TOWN, stars as the main heroine Nino in this season’s other Shaft show, Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge. The background music to this show was done by Round Table, a band better known as Round Table featuring Nino, which, fittingly enough, features a singer named Nino.
• Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge also has Chiaki Omigawa and Tomokazu Sugita playing in main roles.

I love doing these seasonal awards but I have to admit to feeling a weight falling off my shoulders now that I’m about to finish. But let’s not terry, it’s time to countdown anime.

4 – Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

At the beginning of FMA:B there was no mention of it animating the whole manga (or that the manga was ending) so I kept wondering how Bones would finish the show without repeating the debacle that was the first Full Metal Alchemist. I figured there was a good chance at another poor ending since so many of their otherwise great shows end so terribly. Prior to the Spring season this wondering became worrying and started to intrude upon how much I enjoyed the show. I was relieved when it became known that the manga was ending and Bones was on-track to animate the ending.

I breathed a big sigh of relief; not only did I not have to worry about the ending, getting the manga ending promised to see Full Metal Alchemist go out with a bang.

Which ended up happening, gloriously so. And I even loved how they managed to make the ending completely satisfying while leaving themselves with an angle for a sequel (which I really, really hope they do).

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3 – The Tatami Galaxy

When I found out about The Tatami Galaxy, I was giddy because it was being directed by Masaaki Yuasa who’s last series was Kaiba, my pick for the top anime of 2008. I tried to keep the giddiness in check since sky high expectations often only result in disappointment but I was only partially successfully. Good thing for me that The Tatami Galaxy was able to beat my high expectations. It had the interesting animation style that hid how well-animated it was animation that I expected. It had the intellectually interesting premise while not forgetting to have good characters, solid character development and an entertaining story that I expected as well. It had that unique quality to it that set it apart from everything else even while reminding me of so many other books and shows vibe that I expected from an accomplished master of storytelling like Masaaki Yuasa.

I also expected that The Tatami Galaxy would be largely unwatched by people like Kaiba was but that turned out not to be the case. It was shown (as many people know) on the TV block Noitamina in Japan which has earned a fan following around the globe for it’s consist high-quality anime programing. This pushed many people to give the show a shot and, in a not very shocking to me turn-of-events, they liked it. Now, I hope the popularity of The Tatami Galaxy will spill over to Masaaki Yuasa’s other works and get people watching them as well (hint, hint go watch Kaiba ).

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2 – Rainbow – Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

In the rush of trying to catch all the new shows at the start of a new season, invariably, there’s a few that I miss. During the spring season one of those shows that I intended to catch was Rainbow because Madhouse was animating but it somehow slipped through the cracks. Several weeks later, after the dust had settled some, I looked around at the various blogs to see which shows I missed and if t
hey were worth sampling. There wasn’t much coverage of Rainbow and most of what there was considered the show way too melodramatic to be any good. Star-Crossed had a more positive outlook about the show so I decided to give it a shot.

And I’m glad I did, Rainbow is an awesome show.

I had a moment of cognitive dissonance when I started watching Rainbow; I kept waiting for the absurd, over-the-top drama and waiting and thinking that surely I was watching some other show then everyone else. The moment passed and I realized that I was watching the same show but I got it. Granted, I was maybe more ready to watch Rainbow then some. I had just finished reading Samurai! and it touched on the brutal hardships faced by many after the war and how the war disrupted the basic fabric of Japanese society. Which fit well with what I learned of the time period from reading and from anime like Millennium Actress, Magical Arcade Abenobashi and Natsu no Arashi. I think the portrayal of the time period is accurate and anything less would be a fanciful fantasy that would paint over the despair and grittiness of the time period.

If I had to pick an anime to compare Rainbow to, I’d pick Gurren Lagann. The two share many of the same qualities that made Gurren Lagann more then just a dumb movie with giant robots. For starters there’s the single-mindedness of our main characters to overcome the perceived wrongs of their world with hard work and self-determination and the help of their friends. And let’s not forget that society is often a poor judge of people as both anime remind us as well as the hardships of trying to be a hero. Rainbow and Gurren Lagann also show the power, beauty, and majesty of a courageous person which always warms my heart to see.

It’s comes juuusst a bit short of the top spot but if it can continue on this same level over the summer season, it might just be snagging the top spot. Before moving on there’s another similarity the two anime shared that I want to mention. It was how both far surpassed what I imagined the end point of the anime to be. For Gurren Lagann, I thought it was going to end with the defeat of the Spiral King and for Rainbow, I thought it was going to end with the kids getting out of prison. I know I wasn’t the only person who thought this of Rainbow and it sounded like it might have kept some from giving Rainbow a chance which is why I wanted to mention it.

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1 – Arakawa Under the Bridge

Inching ever so slightly ahead of everyone else this season is Arakawa Under the Bridge. When Shinbou and Shaft get it right, they really get it right; not only was this my top show of the season, it was the one I would most look forward to between episodes.

It’s perfect. That’s the only word that feels right when describing why this show deserves to place in front of so many other fine shows but it’s not terribly descriptive. It’s perfect in the same way that the perfect way to end the day is eating your favorite ice-cream, on the beach, listening to the waves lap at your feet, as you watch a spectacular sunset with family and friends. Which is still not very descriptive but will have to do.

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So there it is. I finished the spring awards just in time to start considering the summer seasonal awards . I’d like to thank all the people that read my 5000+ word review of the Spring 2010 season; I hope you enjoyed it and maybe discovered an anime or two that you want to watch now.

–

Spring 2010 Awards Part 1: Cast and Character Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 2: Genre and Misfit Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 3: VMA Awards
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #8 – #5

Filed under: anime, awards

Well, it’s that time where our intrepid team of bloggers adds our voices to the cacophony of season preview posts.  I myself only followed six shows during the summer season, but this season seems to have a lot more bulk to it.  I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with myself between school, work, and other obligations, as well as the series I’d like to watch.  The Fall season finally sees Madhouse and Marvel’s collaboration come to its first fruition with the Ironman franchise.  We also have another work directed by the man behind Durarara!! et al.  Then there’s Shaft proving to us they can manage an incredibly short second season turn around time with another Arakawa.  There’s a bunch of other things going on, but why read me talking here?  You can just click past the break and read me talking with everyone else!

Star Driver Radiant Takuto

Rakuen: Hello, original project!  Mecha is for sure, and while that’s not really my forte, I’m cool with it.  All the girls with the main protagonist in the middle is kind of worrisome though.  On the other other hand, the staff behind this is crazy awesome.  Let’s see where this one goes.

Raph: I’m really not much of a mecha fan, but the staff here are pretty phenomenal and the art is fantastic too. And it’s Bones. I’m definitely going to check out the first episode of this; I’m not sure if the show will be my cup of tea, but I’m hopeful (and don’t want to miss out on a potential hit).

Nameless: As much as I love everything BONES animates, this show seems a little out there. The mecha designs seem interesting enough, so I’ll give this show a shot.

Ironman

Rakuen: Marvel is giving Madhouse the opportunity to animate Iron Man. Apparently, there’ll be more Marvel adaptations in the seasons to come. I would pay out the nose for Deadpool to be in there somewhere, but it doesn’t look like that will happen. For now, I think Iron Man is cool and I want to see where this project goes.

Raph: I was very much impressed by the trailer, but I feel this could go either way in terms of plot development. Will we get an engaging, complex story or will things stick closer to a villain of the week format? I’m hoping for the former, and I’d like to think there’s a good chance we’ll get this, what with the creative license Madhouse have been given with the story. I’m definitely going to check out at least the first episode of this.

Nameless: Why Marvel feels the need to have all of their properties become anime is beyond me, but I’ll give this a shot.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Rakuen: Oh Gainax, you so crazy.  I’m sure this has been pointed out enough already, but these are the characters’ names.  I agree with Scamp, this seems a lot like the Powerpuff Girls to me.  However, since I like Gainax, it at least deserves a try from me.  I say this either works out crazy awesome, or so bad it’s good.  I’m banking on the latter.

Raph: This will either be spectacular or spectacularly awful, and with not much a lot of material to judge from at this stage, it’s hard to make a call. The premise sounds fun, though. I’m definitely going to see how this goes; I think I’ll end up deciding what I think about Panty and Stocking within five minutes of it beginning.

Lvlln: Well, it’s GAINAX, so I feel obliged to give it a shot. But it also looks a hell of a lot like Powerpuff Girls, and I don’t mean it in a good way. Who knows, I was highly skeptical of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann at the beginning, but it ended up as one of my all time favorites. Then there was Evangelion 2.22 that exceeded my expectations in every way. GAINAX has earned my faith.

Psychic Detective Yakumo

Rakuen: So Yakumo can see spirits and wants to release them.  Well that’s a pretty admirable goal.  Here’s the deal.  I like mysteries, but I don’t like horror mysteries, and that seems to be just about all Japan wants to turn out recently.  I’ll wait to see how this series pans out, perhaps watching it after the season has ended.

Raph: I’m a huge fan of both supernatural and mystery series, so this is yet another series I’m going to look out for. I’ve read a couple of chapters each of the two manga versions of this (one is complete at 9 chapters, one is ongoing); I quite liked both, and I think an anime version will do good things for this. I’ll check this out.

Nameless: While I’ll definitely watch this show, I can’t help but wonder why every super power these days manifests itself in the eyes. Where are the super smelling and hearing shows?

Kuragehime

Rakuen: Okay, so what we have here is a trap in the fujoshi world.  This premise sounds strangely intriguing to me.  Something about the art style reminds me of Tatami Galaxy.  It’s also on the Noitamina block.  You know what?  Let’s do this, why the hell not?

Raph: This is one of the series I’m most eagerly anticipating. Based on an award-winning josei manga with a genuinely interesting premise, animated by Brain’s Base, and airing in the noitaminA timeslot, this has so much potential to be brilliant. To top this all off, Takahiro Omori – who was behind Baccano!, Natsume Yuujinchou and Durarara!! – is directing. My expectations are high.

Nameless: While the cross dressing male in a female apartment complex certainly seems like an interesting premise, I’m not sure that it can carry a show for a whole season. Usually, shows seems to reserve these types of characters for supporting roles. I’ll watch it out of curiosity more than anything.

Bakuman

Rakuen: So this is the anime aiming to make writing AND art fun?  A series about drawing manga just sounds like it could be a lot of good fun.  Really, I feel like I need it right about now when school and work are beating the daylights out of me.  Then it has the school setting on top of it.  Definite watch for me.

Raph: I’ve read some of the manga and found it pretty absorbing – the storyline is good and the characters are strong. Kenichi Kasai, behind Honey and Clover and Kimikiss, is one of two directors and the very experienced Reiko Yoshida is doing series composition. With what seems to be a two-cour run, JC Staff will really have the opportunity to bring this to life. I’ll check this out.

Nameless: How a show about two guys trying to become manga artists is getting the most pre season buzz is beyond me. However, I have enjoyed other shows that have utilized this general premise as a part of its plot, so this seems like a good bet to me.

Togainu No Chi

Rakuen: Okay, so first of all this anime is based off an eroge, which in my opinion is a total crapshoot.  Then, it’s based off a yaoi eroge.  I’m not saying the series will suck, and the post-apocalyptic back drop might make a good setting for this series.  It’s just way out of my range.

Raph: The fact that this is based on an adult BL game will probably turn a lot of people off, but in all likelihood, the anime will stick much closer to the manga adaptation of the series (which has almost zero yaoi content, aside from some undertones). Expect Street Fighter but with bishies and – I hope – a plot. I read a couple of chapters of the manga and it didn’t really grab me, but hopefully this will do a better job of that. I’ll give this a shot.

Nameless: After reading the show’s description I have to admit I was at first pretty intrigued. But then, I found out it was shounen-ai, and my interest faded immediately.

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru

Rakuen: I tried watching a maid comedy before in Kaichou wa Maid-sama, but after a few weeks I ended up losing interest.  But you know what?  Clumsy is a pretty good tool for funny, so long as you don’t end up relying on the same jokes over and over again.  The love triangle makes it a little more interesting too.  I need humor, so I want to give this a shot.

Raph: This could go so many ways, but I’m excited about this series revolving around a wannabe-detective-maid-cafe-staffer (hooray!). It’s a slice of life comedy with none other than Shinbo at the helm, so I’m expecting something engaging and offbeat. I expect Shaft’s signature style to rear its head, and I’m also looking forward to seeing what they can do with a bigger budget after the success of Bakemonogatari. I’m certainly going to take a look at this.

Lvlln: I know very little about the source material, but being the Shinbo fanboy that I am, I’ll definitely be watching this. The whole cafe thing seems to be in vogue lately, with The President is a Maid! and Working!! from last season, and Shaft’s own excellent Natsu no Arashi!! series.

I’m happy to see Chiaki Omigawa get a starring role again, really her first since playing Maka in Soul Eater. Shinbo definitely seems to like her; up until this season’s Seitokai Yakuindomo, the only roles she had besides in Maka were in his works. I’m a fan, and I think her sweet, innocent voice will go well with the character Hotori Arishiyama. Opposite her will be Yuuki Aoi as Toshiko Tatsuno.  Also, @wah__ posted something about the OP and soundtrack being done by Round Table featuring Nino (why Shaft chose them for THIS show when their other one would have made so much more sense, I’ll never know), a band of which I’m a moderate fan. I definitely want to blog one of the Shaft shows, and I’m leaning towards this one just because I already did the first season of Arakawa Under the Bridge.

Nameless: As much as I love almost everything that SHAFT does, I’m not really a fan of maids. While that wasn’t really a deal breaker, the old cross-dressing guy from the preview completely turned me off to this series. One SHAFT show is enough for me.

Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Rakuen: Again, things are getting silly in this season preview.  This time, Squid Girl wants to punish humanity for polluting the ocean.  There’s just one problem.  She’s stuck working at a beach-house!  This doesn’t sound like an anime, this sounds like the setup of a feel-good ABC comedy.  Potentially adorable and funny.

Raph: I like the manga – it’s light, mildly quirky, and fun – so I was really pleased when I saw this was getting an anime adaptation. And then I saw the studio. Diomedea, previously known as Studio Barcelona, are most famous for Kodomo no Jikan and Nogizaka Haruka, and that worries me a little. On the other hand, the director – who has previously worked on xxxHolic, Ookiku Furikabutte and Genshiken - gives me hope that this will turn out alright. I’m going to proceed with cautious optimism.

Nameless: This reminds me of a cross between Excel Saga and Al Gore, and as much as I love Excel Saga this just looks too generic.

Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge

Rakuen: I’m sorry guys, I just fell off the Arakawa wagon about halfway into the series.  I appreciated social commentary embedded in the humor.  It just didn’t quite jive with me, especially with other series to watch.  However, if there’s any sequel which might get me to watch the original material, it’s this one.

Lvlln: I blogged the first season to this in the spring. The last episode had been followed immediately by a season 2 announcement, but who would have known that it would come this soon?

I am very much looking forward to this one, because the first season felt incomplete. Though many people seem to have liked the off-the-wall comedy of this show, I always felt that that was the weaker portion it. Rather, I was interested in and impressed by the story of the growing romance between Nino and Riku, and that was left hanging at the final episode. I want to find out more about their future together. And more about Nino’s past. The first season did a beautiful job exploring Riku’s painful past. I hope that the second season does an equally good job doing Nino’s.

Plus, the addition of the Amazonian, played by Yuu Kobayashi at the end of the first season, yet another big name to an already star studded cast: Hiroshi Kamiya as Riku, Keiji Fujwara as the Chief, Sugita Tomokazu as Star, Takehito Koyasu as Sister, Miyuki Sawashiro as Maria, Chiwa Saito as Stella, Chiaki Omigawa as P-ko, all headed by the amazing Maaya Sakamoto as Nino. Not to mention the cameos by Rie Tanaka and Yuko Goto.

Nameless: I love Nino. I love SHAFT. I will be watching this.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Rakuen: Take Sengoku Basara, but replace the cast with girls.  Now, add in D’Artagnan from the Three Musketeers.  Season with a school setting and mix thoroughly.  You’ve got this series.  I have a lot of interest in the Sengoku period after watching Basara, but I can guarantee this is going to be more of a fanservice fest than a cool fighting series.  This one is doubtful.

Raph: From the people who brought you Queen’s Blade comes… the exact same thing, but set in a world far closer to feudal Japan than Europe in the Middle Ages.  I couldn’t get through more than three minutes of Queen’s Blade - no, really, the pre-OP milk-acid-spraying breasts were enough to get me to stop watching – and I don’t anticipate having much more luck here.

Lvlln: The first episode looked promising. Appropriately ridiculous, as I often say. It’s just something that can’t be taken seriously, in the same vein as High School of the Dead, which, incidentally, will continue through next season. Like that show, this has quite the cast, with Rie Kugimiya and Yuu Kobayashi being featured in the first episode. And the entrance of Yuuki Aoi’s character at the end was quite something.

I like the art style as well. There was an emphasis on thick lines on the character outlines, which gave it a distinctive look, very different from other anime. The elaborate backgrounds were pleasing to the eyes, and the animation impressed, though the first episode is never a good indicator of this for the rest of the show.

As a bonus, there’s the lesbian S & M relationship with the maid played by Saori Gouto, i.e. Apology-tan. Hope to see more of that type of fanservice in coming episodes and seeing if the show can keep up the pace of its pleasant craziness.

Nameless: I’ve been fooled too many times with shows like these thinking that they will exclusively focus on the fan service aspect of the show, when they end up spending too much time on the other aspects that no one cares about.

The World God Only Knows

Rakuen: Basically, we have the dating sim master having to apply his talents in the real world.  Considering the disjoint in reality many of these games have, it will probably do a lot for the comedy.  I’m usually not interested in harem shows, but I think I’ll keep my eye on this one.  Because, you know, I actually liked Seitokai no Ichizon…

Raph: The manga version of this is loaded with fantastic art, and it’s both fun and pleasantly self-aware. Manglobe is at the helm of the anime, so I expect that all to translate to screen. On the other hand, though, I haven’t gotten far into the manga (I’ve stopped until I see the anime) and I worry that things could get repetitive quite quickly. Many of my friends in the community are big fans, though, so I have hope – I’ll probably check this out.

Lvlln: The PV was pretty cool, but every description of the show seems to peg it as generic harem. I’ll pass unless I start hearing really good things about it.

Nameless: The whole plot premise seems a bit too convoluted to me for it to actually work. I’ve heard good things though, so I’ll give it a chance.

Otome Youkai Zakuro

Rakuen: I have interest in the Sengoku Period.  I have interest in the Three Kingdoms period, though that’s China.  Strangely, I don’t have must interest in the Meiji Era beyond Rurouni Kenshin, which I haven’t even finished.  If it could realistically talk about racial themes, it might be an interesting watch.  I don’t have much hope for it happening.  I’ll probably pass.

Raph: While I don’t normally go for historical series, the supernatural bent here has me interested. The premise is interesting and inventive, and is coupled with some lovely art, but the director is a mixed bag and I’m not particularly wowed by anything I’ve seen in previews or on the website. I’ll probably give this a go, though.

Nameless: If you are into forbidden furry relationship shows during times of conflict than I guess this show is for you. Personally, I’m not.

Yosuga No Sora

Rakuen: So I think I’ve got this straight.  This is an anime based off a manga based off an eroge.  What could possibly go wrong here?  If this is your kind of thing, it looks like the solid series of the season for you.  For everyone else, you’re probably better off watching Panty & Stocking or something.

Raph: The promo material for this has largely failed to grab me, but the promised mystery elements have piqued my interest somewhat. I may give the first episode a try on a whim, but otherwise I plan to wait and see what others think about this after a few episodes – this is one of those series where I don’t think I’ll mind jumping in later.

To Aru Majutsu No Index S2

Rakuen: I did eventually finish the first season, and I still enjoyed the experience.  A protagonist fighting with a luck score of 0 is entertaining.  Since I’ve actually watched this sequel’s source, I will probably pick it up.  Besides, I want to see if anything else happens with all those Misaka clones.

Raph: I’ll spare you the crazed fanboying and get right down to it: I absolutely cannot wait for this. I loved both Index‘s first season, Railgun – and also love the manga incarnations of both – and the franchise is one of the few that can turn me into a blob of deliriously happy fanboy goop. Anyway, my hopes were already sky-high for this, and the trailer, which showed off gorgeous art and animation, (somehow) made me even more excited.

Lvlln: I watched the first season when I was about halfway done with A Certain Scientific Railgun (which I watched during airing), and I found both shows to be pretty mediocre. Mainly, I couldn’t find anything compelling about the story or the characters (except maybe Harumi Kiyama, the bad gal from the first half of Railgun). A crying shame, because when I was introduced to the unique universe in which these shows were set, I fell in love immediately. There was so much potential to explore interesting science fiction themes, but the stories themselves were just… ordinary.

The exception was the Accelerator/Last Order arc from Index. Accelerator, despite being an asshole, is a far more interesting and compelling protagonist than Touma. Thus it is for his story and just to see more stories take place in this fascinating world that I’ll be watching this second season. I’m not a masochist (not much of one, anyway), so I have no interest in blogging it, but I hope that if I shut my higher functions off, I’ll get some entertainment out of it. And I want more Accelerator. Seriously, I’m gay for him.

Nameless: This show bored me to no end when I recently got around to watching it. At least the graphics in the preview look good.

Motto To-Love-Ru

Rakuen: I have heard of this series before.  I hear about doujins for this hitting at Comiket, and don’t hear much else.  That pretty much tells me all I need to know.

Lvlln: I got a few episodes Into the first season before dropping it. I just can’t stand generic harem shows any more, which is exactly what it sounds like the rest of the first season was.

Still, my one regret is that I missed out on hearing Kana Hanazawa as Mikan. After initially hearing her with the exact same voice for every role – Nadeko from Bakemonogatari, Mato Kuroi from Black Rock Shooter, Anri from Durarara!! and Tenshi from Angel Beats! – then getting to hear a bit more variety in her acting in Seikimatsu Occult Academy, I’m genuinely curious as to how she played Mikan. At the very least, Mikan’s character design doesn’t seem fitting for her usual soft voice. So maybe I’ll download some episodes just to listen to some clips with Mikan talking.

I’ll probably listen for Satomi Arai is Lala’s sarcastic, cynical suit as well.

My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute

Rakuen: Because God knows this kind of little sister trope hasn’t been beaten to death, dragged around the square, and then lit into a massive bonfire.  I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one…

Raph - Whether I’ll enjoy this show or not depends largely on how the premise is handled. If it’s merely a springboard for brocon/siscon jokes and fanservice, I’ll avoid this. But if some genuinely good humour eventuates, I’m more than happy to give this a try. The trailer showed off nice character designs and art, so I’ll happily check this out if others enjoy it.

Lvlln: I’ll have some fun watching this one. It hits somewhat close to home, because I have a little sister myself who is a bit of a weeaboo. Not as much as myself, of course, but enough of one that I can take her to a screening of Evangelion 1.11 and we can talk about it later. Though she’s more into yaoi than lolicon…

So not exactly like Kyousuke Kousaka’s little sister. This show has received a lot of hype, most likely due to the fact that it sounds like an otaku’s dream situation. The PV even makes it look like a harem. So I get the feeling that this show will just be more run of the mill stuff. Regardless, I’ll be checking it out for the hype alone. I’m guessing that I’ll drop it rather quickly.

Nameless: While I first thought this show would focus on incestuous relationships between brothers and sisters, reading the first volume of the manga has allayed me of those fears for now. Instead, this seems like a show focused on otaku sub culture and fitting in. That, along with the cute female lead, make this a must watch in my opinion.

MM!

Rakuen: Masochism?  Well, I guess I have to give it credit for not being entirely derivative.

Raph: My response to this was going to be a solid no, but then I noticed this line in the MAL synopsis  “… he finds Isurugi Mio, a girl who thinks she is a god…”. This may or may not get me to watch an episode or two on impulse. If I do so, I’ll proceed with caution.

Nameless: A lot of shows have used sex based themes to some success in the recent pass. Does this seem like one of them? Not really, but I’m still interested.

Fortune Arterial Red Promise

Rakuen: Harem with Vampires.  Oh boy… It’s kind of funny they already have an OVA planned as well.

Raph: A remote island boarding school. A bishoujo vampire. A hapless male lead (in all likelihood). feel and ZEXCS working together. And the director behind such gems as kiss x sis and Nogizaka Haruka. Suffice to say, I really don’t expect much out of this, but I suppose I’m open to being surprised. If this is lauded, though I doubt it will be, I’ll give it a try.

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Rakuen: WHY?  Why does the mystery series have to be a romance game adaptation?  Do you hate me Japan?  I thought we were cool.  I mean, you do the anime thing, and then I watch your stuff for… oh, right.  Maybe this is my punishment.  *sigh*  Whatever, maybe I’ll give it a try.

Raph: I’m nervous about this, and not just because of the title. The character designs are ridiculously saccharin, and the franchise seems to be more Shukufuku no Campanella than Sherlock Holmes (the latter of which I adore). And yet, the bizarre but lulzy and strangely mesmerising PV, and my love for mystery/detective series will most likely lead me to give this series a go. Hooray? (Also, something to note: the main seiyuu cast here are all newbies, with three of the five stars in their first roles and one doing her second, so those who keep a close eye on voice talent might want to give this a look.)

It’s that time again – the voice, music, and animation awards – or as I like to think of them: the set of awards that are completely subjective and some of the most difficult awards to pick as a result. And this season was no different.

Best Male Seiyuu

Winner: Hiroshi Kamiya as Izaya Orihara from  Durarara!!, Hiroomi Souma from Working!!, Otonashi Yuzuru from Angel Beats, Kou Ichinomiya from Arakawa Under the Bridge and I think I missed some

The Overall 2008 Best Male Seiyuu and Summer 2009 Seasonal Best Male Seiyuu makes it a hat trick. Then again, it was essentially impossible for any other guy to win this time since so many shows featured Hiroshi Kamiya in leading roles and he continues to do a great job.

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Best Female Seiyuu

Winner: Maaya Sakamoto as Nino from Arakawa Under the Bridge and Akashi from The Tatami Galaxy

Runner-up: Yukari Tamura as Yamada from B Gata H Kei and Togame from Katanagatari, Aki Toyosaki as Yui from K-ON!! and Kena Soga from Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou and Satsuki Hyoudou from Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Picking the best female seiyuu was a much different experience with a bevy of strong performances from many different women. In the end I had to decide on a tie-breaking criteria so I chose to pick the seiyuu with the best characters to win. And that was, Maaya Sakamoto, for voicing two female characters that came off as slightly odd at times but were really deep, interesting characters.

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Best OP

Winner: Working!!

Runner-up: Rainbow, House of Five Leaves, Durarara, B Gata H Kei, Arakawa Under the Bridge

There were a lot of openings I liked this season but no one single opening was able to break from the pack to be the easy pick, at least initially, because I remembered the old argument about picking the MVP in a sport. Do you pick the best player in the league or the person that contributed the most to a team even if the team didn’t do well? In this case, I’m picking the opening to Working!! because I loved it and it was the sole reason that I didn’t drop the show. Working!! eventually got watchable, barely, in the last 3-4 episodes but before then, it was the desire to see the opening one more time that kept me watching.

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Best ED

Winner: B Gata H Kei

Runner-up: The Tatami Galaxy, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou

And I’m picking the ending to B Gata H Kei because it was by-far-and-away the best ending and it was always like the cherry that one leaves to eat last from a piece of awesome cake.

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Best Background Music

Winner: K-On!!

This award is one of the awards that I almost never feel real comfortable picking the winner because I often don’t remember the background music to most of the shows I watch. There are exceptions, in the case of K-On, the BGM is light and airy and it perfectly compliments the show which is what the BGM is supposed to do.

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Best Dressed Characters

Winner: K-On!!

Much like the award for best action going to Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood was completely apparent and needed no justification, this award going to K-On is also completely apparent and needs no justification.

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Best Animation Style

Winner: The Tatami Galaxy

Runner-up: House of Five Leaves, Katanagatari

I fell in love with the animation style of Masaaki Yuasa in Kaiba so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I’m picking The Tatami Galaxy with it’s similar style to Kaiba. What kinda surprised me was the number shows that were more stylized in nature this season. When I see animators willing to experiment and these shows actually given air time, I relax when thinking about the future of anime.

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Best Animation

Winner: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Runner-up: Angel Beats, K-On!!, Durarara

There were several very well animated shows this season but Full Metal had this award in-the-bag when it took it’s already great animation and bumped it up even higher this season for the final arc of episodes. Durarara was it’s closest competitor and might have pulled it out if there had been more cool action scenes.

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Top Animation Studio

Winner: Madhouse

The Fall 2008 Seasonal Top Animation Studio and Overall 2008 Top Animation Studio makes it a hat trick this season as well by producing two of the best anime of the season – The Tatami Galaxy and Rainbow. Both were very original works that showcased the best anime has to offer viewers. Both works also turned out to be, surprisingly, heart-warming series that always left me impatiently waiting for the next episode. And it’s possible that Madhouse could win this award again in the summer season because Rainbow continues on which puts them in a strong position.

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That’s it for part 3 of my spring 2010 anime awards. Stay tuned for my top overall picks of the season.

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Spring 2010 Awards Part 1: Cast and Character Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 2: Genre and Misfit Awards
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #8 – #5
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #4 – #1

Filed under: anime, awards

Before we get to part 2, I wanted to mention that I’m going on vacation in a couple of days but I plan on getting all sections of my picks for the spring season written and queued up before leaving. If you know me, it’ll take only one guess to figure out where I’m going. Which was what I wrote assuming I’d get this up before leaving on vacation but I couldn’t finish enough of the parts so it had to wait till after the vacation.

This time around I’m adding two categories that probably should have been included earlier in my seasonal awards and the inaugural winners are very well deserving.

Best Action

Winner: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Easiest.Decision.This.Season.

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Best Fight

Winner: Shichika vs Kanara from ep.5 of Katanagatari

And yet when I started thinking about specific fights, I kept going back to this fight and not one from Full Metal (an example of not being able to see a single tree in a forest). The fight in Katanagatari wasn’t the most flashy, complex, or intricate fight but it was unique, unexpected and felt very important in terms of developing the main characters and the story.

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Best Comedy

Winner: B Gata H Kei

Like many awards I give out, this one is very subjective. For example, some people thought Working!! was funny; whereas, I found it to be probably the least funniest show of the season – the awesome yet very serious anime Rainbow made me laugh more often. And some people disliked B Gata H Kei when I thought it to be, easily, the funniest show of the season.

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Most Entertaining

Winner: Arakawa Under the Bridge

Runner-up: B Gata H Kei, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou

A comedy entertains but not all entertaining shows are comedies; thus, the need for two separate awards. And once again, a different show wins each category. Arakawa Under the Bridge wins for it’s superior ability to mix it’s comedic side with it’s heartwarming and surprisingly poignant side while always maintaining it’s high entertainment level.

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Most Interesting Setting

Winner: The Tatami Galaxy

Runner-up: Durarara

Durarara gave The Tatami Galaxy a strong run but it’s near impossible to beat a show that involves dozens (if not many more) parallel worlds connected by a 4.5 tatami mat dorm room with the only constants being a castella cake, a hidden 100 yen bill and a stress toy.

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Best Plot

Winner: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Runner-up: Rainbow – Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

Full Metal has been working for a year to build up to this final climax and boy was it an awesome ride, topped only by events of this season. Those that followed the manga probably had a good idea about where the story was going but, after the debacle that was the first Full Metal series, I stopped following the manga and got to be surprised as a result. (The type of surprises that I like. )

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Best Story

Winner: The Tatami Galaxy

Runner-up: Durarara, Arakawa Under the Bridge

The story of Watashi’s quest to find his rose-colored college life and subsequent enlightenment in The Tatami Galaxy could have been a SF story I read. That probably sounds like weak-sounding praise but, being a life-long fan of print SF, I’ve come to accept that in America (at least) television or movie SF will, 99.9% of the time, lack the depth found in print SF. Which is fine, sometimes, but I love it when somebody makes a TV series that equals the quality of the best print SF. Incidentally, if you liked The Tatami Galaxy, I’d suggest reading The Walls of the Universe from Paul Melko; it lacks the cool animation style (obviously) but it was a good read and the theme was similar to The Tatami Galaxy.

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Best Villain

Winner: Izaya from Durarara

Runner-up: Father from FMA: Brotherhood

Izaya falls into the conniving, intelligent villain category. It doesn’t seem like he’s out to cause the same level of villainy that Father from FMA:B was planning to do but, on the smaller scale, Izaya’s ability to manipulate everyone around him to his messed-up whims earns a great deal of respect from me, even if I’d wish he got more of a comeuppance at the end of the series.

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Best Final Episode

Winner: The Tatami Galaxy

I wasn’t sure The Tatami Galaxy was going to be able to pull itself together by the end but I shouldn’t have worried. The final episode showed exactly how in control of the story the director was even when each episode felt completely disjointed and the final episode was also just plain epic. If I could, I’d lock the people behind Angel Beats into a room and force them to watch this show a few dozen times and hope they learn the right way to do a final episode.

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Best Ending

Winner: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

The ending to FMA:B took up the entire spring season so for the same reasons why it won Best Plot, it’s also winning Best Ending.

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Most in Need of a Sequel

Winner: B Gata H Kei

Runner-up: Durarara

I liked Durarara a lot and it would have won this award easily (since it seems like there is so much more that could be done) but I’m not convinced that the sequel could surpass the first season in “awesomeness” and I want a Durarara that was just a bit more “awesome” then the first season. (If that makes sense .) Therefore, my desire to see a second season of B Gata H Kei was able to pull ahead to win this award. In the case of B Gata H Kei, I think the next season has to include Yamada finally getting what she and Kosuda desires to be a successful show. (Which then kinda ends the point of the series but the creators could then go off in a new direction and have the luckless couple make a mistake and Yamada get pregnant. They’d probably never do something like that but it would be hilarious and completely different.)

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That’s it for part 2, the next part is the VMA awards.

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Spring 2010 Awards Part 1: Cast and Character Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 3: VMA Awards
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #8 – #5
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #4 – #1

Filed under: anime, awards

After one of the weakest anime seasons in recent memory (Winter 2010) and the accompanying apathy nixing it last time, the seasonal top anime awards returns to The Null Set for one of the most diverse and interesting season of anime in a very long time. We had alchemy, parallel worlds, demon kings, train wrecks, socially-inept samurai, pretty boy samurai, surprisingly deep commentary on what’s truly important in life disguised as a comedy about homeless people living under a bridge, a cute and sweet love story disguised as a comedy about one girl’s quest to bed 100 boys before graduating high school, an uplifting story of heroism set in post-war Japan, a neighborhood full of bizarre people in Japan, and a high school band known as much for the cake they serve in their clubroom as for their music, to name just a few anime.

Before starting, below is a listing of the shows that I watched this season and are the pool from which the picks for all the awards are coming from. Also a reminder, I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum but there’ll be some because of how they’ll relate to specific awards and for the continuing shows, only the part of the series that ran during this season is under consideration for this season’s awards.

Carry-over shows watched this season (3): Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Katanagatari, Durarara

New shows watched this season (12): B Gata H Kei, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Angel Beats, K-On!! Season 2, The Tatami Galaxy, Kaichou wa Maid-sama, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, House of Five Leaves, Working!!, Mayoi Neko Overrun, Rainbow – Nisha Rokubou no Shichijin, Hakuouki – Shinsengumi Kitan

Shows that got dropped (1): Heroman

Best Female Main Character

Winner: Nino from Arakawa Under the Bridge

Runner-up: Yamada from B Gata H Kei, Yui from K-On!!

There was tough competition in this category but the self-proclaimed Venusian won out by being awesome enough that Ko still looks like he hit the jackpot by becoming her boyfriend even if it meant having to live under a bridge with a bunch of very weird people.

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Best Male Main Character

Winner: Sakuragi Rokurouta aka Bro from Rainbow

Runner-up: Kosuda from B Gata H Kei

I love heroes with their ability to act contrary to self-interest for a greater good so I was unsurprised when I developed such a quick liking of Sakuragi from Rainbow. Alphone Elric almost made runner-up for the same reason but the large cast to Full Metal lessened his time onscreen too much. Sakuragi, much like Kamina from Gurren Lagann, also oozed awesomeness and had the gravitas to make being a hero look really cool.

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Best Supporting Character(s)

Winner: Celty from Durarara

Runner-up: Ozu from The Tatami Galaxy

A headless mythical creature from Ireland, Celty rides a black motorcycle, wields a scythe, communicates by writing messages on a cellphone and somehow isn’t the oddest person inhabiting the Japanese neighborhood where Durarara takes place. She’s loyal and handy to have around in a fight and the only thing that really scares her is a tough-as-nails traffic cop. She was one of my favorites from Durarara (obviously) and pretty much had this award locked early on.

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Best Screen-grabber

Winner: TK from Angel Beats

Runner-up: Misato from B Gata H Kei, Shizuo from Durarara

Screen-grabbers are characters that don’t have much screen time but make the little time they are onscreen very memorable. This season seemed to have an abundance of great screen-grabbers but TK from Angel Beats won this one pretty easily. Just goes to show you how far speaking nonsensical English phrases in a Japanese anime and just randomly dancing can take a character.

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Best Couple

Winner: Ko and Nino from Arakawa Under the Bridge

Runner-up: Kosuda and Yamada from B Gata H Kei

This was a super tough pick and I debated it back and forth for a long time. One could argue that Kosuda and Yamada should have won because they’ve done more couply things together but there’s just something about how Recruit and Nino interact with each other that’s so nice to see.

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Best Character Ability/Power

Winner: Fortune Teller’s ability to send people to parallel worlds from The Tatami Galaxy

The animators never come right out and say it specifically but they show her living inside the clock that always runs backwards when Watashi jumps universes and she is aware of his parallel world jumping so I’m pretty sure she does have this ability. And it’s a very cool power, useful in gaining enlightenment or making a fortune by taking a popular invention from one world to another that never invented it.

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Best Cast of Characters

Winner: Durarara

Runner-up: Rainbow, Arakawa Under the Bridge, B Gata H Kei

There was a plethora of shows with great casts this season but Durarara pulled ahead by having a large cast of very eclectic characters that somehow meshed well together and were truly awesome by themselves as well. At times I thought Durarara wasn’t trying it’s hardest but it was always the fault of the plot and not the characters.

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Best Character Development for Cast

Winner: Rainbow

Runner-up: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I did not expect Rainbow would be as strongly character driven and focused on character development as it turned out to be though I should realize, by this point, that it’s often the most unexpected show that turns out to be. Just look at the past winners of this award – Railgun, Umi Monogatari, Cross Game, Asu no Yoichi, Toradora, Bamboo Blade. And I can’t wait to see where the characters go as Rainbow continues into the summer season.

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Best Character Development of a Single Character

Winner: Watashi from The Tatami Galaxy

A look at the past winners of this award – Kemono no Souja Erin, Phantom, Toradora, Clannad ~After Story~, Natsume Yuujinchou, Ga-Rei: Zero – showcase some of the best anime that have aired in the past 2 years and The Tatami Galaxy is no exception. A common thread connecting these shows is the director and animation company excelled at telling a story that focused on a few main characters and allowing the characters to grow naturally. In the middle of The Tatami Galaxy, I was a little worried that all the reboots were not doing anything to help the show along but I should have had more faith in Masaaki Yuasa and Madhouse because the final episodes show just how in control of the story they really were.

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That’s the end of part 1; I hope to have the second part up within a day. Comments and feedback are always appreciated – I’d love to see what others would pick.

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Spring 2010 Awards Part 2: Genre and Misfit Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 3: VMA Awards
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #8 – #5
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #4 – #1

Filed under: anime, awards

As I had guessed might happen after the last episode, this season finale was a stand-alone episode, unrelated to the main story that had concluded in episode 12. Still, it wasn’t pure comedy like I had predicted, and the last half was a heartwarming way to end the season and to tie together the most important threads of this show.

The episode starts off seeming like it will be focused on 3 of the “new” characters in the series (actually shown before, but never introduced), kind of like in the 1st season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, which introduced Mayo Mitama and Ai Kaga in the final episode. But it went back to the main characters halfway through, so we only got a couple brief gags out of the Last Samurai, Billy, and Jacqueline.

There’s not too much to say about that half. I can’t say I enjoyed the new characters too much. The real highlight was Nino’s hair, which, as I’ve written before, is easily the best hair on anyone, ever. There were some funny moments, and Mikuru Asahina Yuko Goto provided a fitting voice for Jacqueline, but the new characters didn’t get enough screen time. Perhaps that was the problem, because it took me a while to like some of the main characters as well, including the Chief, Star, and Maria.

The real “finale” was the 2nd half of the episode, which tied together some of the key themes of this show. There was, of course, the theme of lost childhood. Riku never got to be a child, and that made him all the more eager to make sure that that wouldn’t happen to Stella and the metal headed brothers. It affected me to see him work for 3 days straight to make sure that this happened. He was surely a changed man from the neurotic, self-focused person he had started the show as.

Then there was community, with the members of under the bridge coming together to put together an amusement park for the kids. Even at great cost to their health, as in the case of the Chief, who had to wear an extra suit over his normal Kappa suit. The 3D theater gave me some good laughs, starting with the mere fact that there WAS a 3D theater. I also loved the in-joke of having Nino starring as the Princess Amidala lookalike – Nino’s voice actor Maaya Sakamoto had voiced Amidala in the Japanese dubs of the Star Wars prequels.

And finally, there was the romance. Sitting on a bench during sunset alone with your lover holding a balloon while she listens to you talking about your past – it doesn’t get much more romantic than that. I was disappointed that that was pretty much all we got between those 2 in this episode. As I wrote previously, I was hoping to learn more about the back story of Nino.

I did really love the final montage, narrated by both Nino and Riku. It was probably the best one of the show, and it brought everything back to the river, and how it was the connection that fit Nino and Riku together. With the little emphasis on romance in this episode, it did feel a bit out of place, even if it felt right for the finale.

And, of course, this is the season finale, not the series finale, as following this episode was the announcement that there would be a 2nd season of Arakawa Under the Bridge. So I’m hopeful that the story of Nino and Riku will continue to be told, and that, just like Riku’s dark and painful past was explored in this season, Nino’s own past will be told in the next.

Season End

Well, the show may not be ending, but the season certainly is. As I wrote in my post after the 1st episode, I went into the show not knowing what to expect, merely being a fan of the cast, the studio, and the director. Reading that post again now, I’m a bit surprised how much that seemingly innocuous 1st episode had revealed about the rest of the show. I had been pretty much spot on about this being an “absurdist character comedy” with “the relationship that is sure to develop between Kou and Nino” being the main story point. I didn’t see coming the exploration of Riku’s father issues, or how important the overall sense of community would be in the show.

It was an enjoyable show overall. A lot of people seemed to greatly enjoy the comedy in this show, but I thought that it was pretty hit or miss. Angel Beats!! and Working! were both funnier this season. The show’s strength was in the more dramatic, character focused moments. Many of the scenes Nino and Riku shared were very heartwarming, and Riku’s past felt genuinely painful. And though the the ending of the main conflict was rather abrupt, it still managed to provide more scenes that affected me.

So yeah, despite the varied cast of wacky and entertaining characters, I was always more interested when Nino and Riku were the ones on screen. That’s why I feel that it was a shame that their relationship didn’t get to go forward as much as I had hoped. Combining some decent comedy with very good character development that fell just a little short of expectation, Arakawa Under the Bridge was a solid, good show, but I hesitate to call it great. My hope is that this 1st season was the START of something great, because when the show was firing on all cylinders, it really was something special.

Notes

• As usual, there are plenty of screenshots on Tenka Seiha and Random Curiosity that are worth a look.
• The ED single, Upside Down Bridge by Suneohair, was released on June 23. Here is a YouTube link to the full song.
• There was a shot of 4 mysterious people somewhere way underground. I’m guessing that they will be the antagonists of the 2nd season.

So this episode actually concludes the father-taking-over-under-the-bridge saga. The title of episode 99 (the last story-based episode), “Conclusion,” pretty much puts the nail in that coffin. The way the story ended was a bit unexpected and abrupt, but it was a strong episode nonetheless, with the 1st half being as funny as I’ve seen the show be, and the 2nd half being extremely heartwarming and sugary sweet.

As written in Tenka Seiha, this felt quite anticlimactic. As I had wondered about after the last episode, the Chief did indeed disappear for a reason. But him being a very rich/influential figure in the business world was too much of a deus ex machina. Too convenient. Same goes for Riku’s father’s sudden change of heart after hearing that ringtone. Instead of the confrontation between father and son I was looking forward to, we were instead given a man acting behind the scenes and a calm conversation between Nino and Riku’s father.

But I don’t want to take away from what a great episode this was. The whole falling star gag was absolutely hilarious. The moment Maria stepped into the picture, I could tell exactly where she was going with it. Never really found her sadism all that funny, but I guess I enjoyed seeing Star being the victim. And just how heartfelt and honest everyone was about wishing upon the falling Star and Riku. I appreciated the call backs, with the metal headed brothers wishing for the destruction of the lab, and Stella wishing for world domination.

And thanks to the Chief’s backroom dealings, Nino’s wish does come true! But, in a sense, Nino actually made her wish come true with her conversation with Riku’s father. Well, the conversation itself actually didn’t do all that much. Nino seemed surprisingly lucid during it, probably moreso than at any other point in the show, as she was explaining the contrast between her worldview and the one that Riku used to have and his father currently has. Her line, “When [Riku] feels full, it makes me feel full,” felt very motherly. Which is fitting, because it was the fact that she reminded Riku’s father of Riku’s mother that was responsible for his decision to stop the development project.

That leaves me wondering again why Riku’s mother is no longer a part of their lives. Riku’s father’s reminiscence of her tells me that it was under sad circumstances, either death or her leaving him. The latter seems somewhat more likely, given Riku’s father’s hope that Riku would be able to make things work with his lover, unlike himself. And again it felt a little too convenient, given that we never really got to know Riku’s father’s character other than as a malicious villain. Then there’s the question of the phone number from the end of last episode. Clearly the phone number was genuine, but why did it get forwarded to a time broadcast that time, why didn’t Riku’s father answer it that time, and why did Riku decide to call that number again?

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But then again, it doesn’t really have to. The final scene as Nino answers Riku’s call was exceedingly sweet, with Riku inadvertently declaring his love for Nino to her. It was wonderfully directed, with the orange hue of the dusk sunlight giving everything a softer, more romantic feeling. The shots were framed very well in classic Shinbo style, and I loved the parallel imagery of the two lovers’ shadows as they (kind of) talked on the phone.

With the main conflict resolved, I can only guess that the next, final episode will be an irrelevant gag filled one, like what Shaft did with Natsu no Arashi! I’m still hopeful that there will be more development into the relationship between Nino and Riku, as we were left hanging only partway complete. But even if that doesn’t happen, if the show can finish strong with a very funny episode, I’ll be happy. With Shaft, there’s always hope for a 2nd season, after all.

Notes:

• The pre-OP scene was narrated by Riku and Nino for the first time. It featured imagery of Nino looking up at Riku, the very opposite of what we’ve consistently been shown in the series thus far. Nino’s narration also made it seem like she was looking for help from Riku. The episode itself still had Nino saving Riku, but I’m hoping this is a sign that the next episode will have a little bit of the opposite, to balance things out more in this relationship.
• The last episode number was episode 100, the post-ED Arakawa talent show gag, and it featured Riku for the first time.
• The preview actually featured the Kappa taking off his mask for some Kappa Noodles! And Nino actually said something very preview-like, which was quickly negated by Riku’s comments, which means that, yes, we have no idea what the next episode will be about.
• Random Curiosity has a good assortment of screenshots, as usual.

This episode really pushed the story forward a lot, though I didn’t necessarily enjoy all of it. It’s just that learning of the mechanics of Riku’s plans to stop his father isn’t all that interesting. The resulting character development and deepening of relationships are what are fun to watch, and that was largely missing. Saved for the next 2 episodes, no doubt. Still, there were some nice scenes showing how close Riku has become to everyone under the bridge, especially Nino, and the comedy was as strong as ever.

The pre-OP scene was pretty personal once again, kind of like that flashback to Riku’s only rebellion against his father a couple episodes back. At least, the visuals were. Riku’s monologue was more general and philosophical, though when coupled with the visuals, they perfectly described Riku’s life up to now. Being pulled away from his mother, dragged into the harsh world at a young age by his father. It was a good way to prime us for the rest of the episode.

After watching Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22, I felt like rewatching Rebuild of Evangelion 1.11 over the weekend. So bad fathers are on my mind. The thing that caught me about Gendo was that he wasn’t just neglectful or distant. That could at least be understood, if not excused (5 points if you can tell what mid-90s movie I was thinking of with that line). No, he was downright malicious and sadistic to his son and actually seemed to enjoy watching him suffer.

Well, Riku’s father is kind of like that. From that opening monologue to him watching his son through a secret camera installed in his company boardroom to the final reveal that the phone number he gave his son had been a fake all along, we’re shown a man who isn’t merely oblivious to his son’s well being, he wants to actively sabotage him. And it has worked well, looking at just how scared Riku is of his father both in this episode and last.

Truth be told, all the trouble Riku goes through in this episode could have been avoided if Riku could just talk to his father. Then again, if it were that easy, he wouldn’t be getting pushed out of under the bridge in the first place. I must admit I’m a little curious about how Riku’s father ended up the way he is. Takai’s comment that Riku’s father also has trouble connecting with people – and the father’s uncomfortable reaction to that – seems to indicate that he has some deep seated issues of his own. The way things are going, there will probably be some sort of resolution between father and son. Still, it’s the relationship between Nino and Riku that I want to see more of.

And there was enough of that in this episode to keep me happy. I liked the dramatic moment early on when Riku explicated the dilemma he faced: leave and save the community, or stay with his lover and be forced out. It was simple, easy to understand, and entirely cliche. Of course, Nino would have none of that, as she wants to have her cake and eat it too. So Riku’s exit from under the bridge ends up being temporary, only long enough for him to come up with a plan to come up with a happy ending.

That forced separation of lovers made possible some good scenes. The Riku lookalike gag was one such scene, which had me laughing for the entire duration. Part of that was probably because I had mistakenly thought that the worker actually WAS Riku, just having gone undercover. In any case, seeing Nino stick 3 live fish into the guy’s mouth before Stella knocked him out as a show of appreciation was both hilarious and sweet. By having Stella in there, it not only showed how much Nino cared for him, but everyone else under the bridge as well.

I also liked Riku’s actual return to under the bridge, with Nino jumping in for the hug. Everyone’s reactions to Riku’s planned park was amusing. Star’s demand for a live music venue, P-Ko’s for manure and plenty of arable land, and Shiro’s for all the walkways to be painted white were predictable enough. But what really had me laughing were Sister’s fears that the park would be too open to attack and Nino’s desire that there be a rocket launch pad. I’m glad her Venusian gag was used so sparingly, because it still remains funny when it comes up like this.

This episode also showcased Nino’s amnesia again, with her forgetting what Riku’s face looks like in the span of 3 days. Maybe I sound like a broken record at this point, but I definitely hope that that doesn’t turn out to be just a running gag. The way Nino’s character has been built, it would be a waste if there was no reveal. I wrote after the 1st episode that I expected this to be a romance in which the 2 people grow closer by helping each other from the pains caused by their pasts. Riku’s path was always through his father, and this episode really drove that point home. But Nino’s is still hazy, and we still need to find out more.

That’s really what I’m looking for as we head to the final 2 episodes. In some ways, I guess I’m looking for something like the TV ending to Bakemonogatari, which reminded us of Hitagi’s painful past, creating a romantic ending that was truly touching and emotional. OK, I don’t expect anything of that order from Arakawa Under the Bridge. I doubt there will be a huge dramatic revelation regarding Nino’s past. But learning more about her will make the relationship between her and Riku more meaningful and easy to sympathize with. And since I’m expecting a nice, tidy, happy, romantic ending, I want that little extra that will make all the more powerful.

Notes:

• Riku has the best cellphone wallpaper ever.
• Lots of good screenshots in this episode again. Tenka Seiha has a bunch, as usual.
• The post-ED talent show gag featured Stella and was pretty damn awesome.
• As P-Ko noted at the end, the Chief abruptly disappeared. Is he hatching some plan?