Both of these anime come from the capable hands of J.C. Staff but one was hyped, Bakuman, whereas the other, Milky Holmes, was ignored and/or derided (include me in the ignored category). One is a shounen anime and the other is a shoujo anime. One sets itself in a fantasy alternative-history Japan and the other sets itself in a realistic modern Japan. The two really don’t seem to have anything in common outside of the animation studio but watching one reminded me of the other and vice versa so I’m going to roll with it and review them together.

Bakuman

Rating for episode 1 – 5/12 C+
Rating for episode 2 – 4/12 C
Rating for episode 3 – 4/12 C
Anticipation Level: 0.5/5 Very Low

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Rating for episode 1 – 7/12 B
Rating for episode 2 – 7/12 B
Anticipation Level: 2.5/5 Average

-

The Story

In Bakuman, we follow the efforts of two middle school boys as they aim to become published manga artists and have their manga turned into an anime by the age of 18. On the surface this seems very, very unlikely except one is already winning national writing competitions and the other is a gifted artist that had an uncle that was a manga author (mangaka). To add urgency to their quest, one of the boys proposes marriage to the girl he likes and she accepts under the condition of they make a manga that gets turned into an anime and that she gets to voice a character in that anime (she wants to be a voice actress when she grows up).

The world of Milky Holmes is an alternative 20th century world where people are born with magical abilities and these ability users become either gentlemen thieves or great detectives (making the cops look like the Keystone Cops as a result). The Holmes Detective Academy (HDA) is where the future great detectives learn their craft and the most promising group at HDA is a 4 female group known as Milky Holmes. As the curtain raises on episode 1 we find out that our heroes, Milky Holmes, have mysteriously lost their powers and are now on the cusp of getting expelled from HDA.

The Fine Print

Marvel of marvels, Bakuman is the tiresome one to watch and Milky Holmes is the entertaining one.

The biggest problem with Bakuman is a combination of it’s main characters and how the story is unfolding. There’s been zero character development in three episodes that makes either of the main characters into anything other then snot-nose brats. At their best I find the duo of would-be mangaka very unsympathetic as main characters and at their worst I actively loathe them and hope they’re unsuccessful in their dreams of becoming published manga artists. At this stage of the story, I can stand the main characters if it looked like the trials and tribulations of becoming mangaka would drive the main characters into becoming more mature and better all-around people, like in Spirited Away, but that doesn’t appear likely. Instead, everything is lining up perfectly and just being handed to them – is there any doubt how this series is going to end??? They might as well queue a montage sequence of the boys writing a manga, having it become huge and the girl doing vocal work on the anime adaptation and ending with a white wedding in a cute Western-style chapel that seems to abound in manga/anime.

Milky Holmes, on-the-other-hand, has four main characters used to having everything perfect for them until they lose their power and become the school screw-ups. This turn of events has already made for a more interesting show and will continue to make a more interesting show. Will the four members of Milky Holmes regain their powers and their place as top detectives or if they learn to become detectives without relying on their special powers or will they get kicked out of HDA and never become detectives? The show could go in any of these three directions or some other direction but however it turns out, it’s a more interesting show and the characters are going to end up being more interesting, more watchable and more likeable.

I have enjoyed both episodes of Milky Holmes and see myself remaining interested in it for the season. I’m not really a fan of shoujo but I have finished Kobato and will finish Kaichou wa Maid-sama when a certain sub group that I love gets it done (no pressure ) so I know I can enjoy shoujo series when they don’t rely on clichés of the subgenre. For me, the biggest impedance to Milky Holmes from receiving real high marks is it’s genre. I dislike myself for that being the case but in my defense, at least I’m trying to make allowances for my personal bias in this review.

At least one thing I won’t have to worry about with Milky Holmes is getting offended by sexist writing like in Bakuman. I read this article before watching episode 2 (but after episode 1)  of Bakuman and knew the scene where the Mom relays the Dad’s words “Men have dreams that a woman wouldn’t understand,” to the son as the Dad’s way of telling his son that it’s perfectly okay for a middle school student to become a manga artist was coming up. I reserved judgment till I saw the actual episode and now that I saw it, I have to concur – that’s an incredibly sexist and demeaning thing to say and it really gets my blood boiling when I think about it.

Which turns out to be the final nail needed for me to decide to drop Bakuman and as soon as I get a couple of screenshots for this post – I’ll delete the episodes off my hard drive and feel good about doing it.

The one area – animation style – that might have gotten me to watch a few more episodes of Bakuman turned out to be another disappointment. It’s J.C. Staff’s watercolor look but it’s the most generic, stripped down, dull version of this style that I’ve seen in a very long time from them. Compare Bakuman to Otome Youkai Zakuro, another show done in the same style, and the differences are so glaringly obvious. Heck, even Milky Holmes which obviously received a smaller budget and can’t compete in terms of animation quality has been more visually interesting.

So, in conclusion, Bakuman is getting dropped and Milky Holmes is surprisingly entertaining and has earned a spot on my watch list. I like Milky Holmes enough that I recommend everyone giving it a one episode chance (though if you only watch one episode you’ll miss the adorable cat named Fish Paste that appears in the second episode).

 

Filed under: anime, first impressions

Honestly, I don’t have a lot of interest in manga.  If I ever had the chance to see an artist’s studio though, I’d leap at it in a heartbeat.  It was cool to see the walls lined with models and manga, and just imagine the chance to look at, not the finished work, but the process leading up to it.  All those ideas which steadily evolved over time, and others which never made it past the desk.  I enjoyed seeing it, even in animated form, but this episode is all about the characters.

Mashiro’s talk with his father was well played for two reasons.  For one, it signifies our lead character has already grown up a bit due to recent events and the responsibility he’s been entrusted with.  You should remember from last episode that he never talked to his father about any problem directly.  He always used his mother as a proxy, and if father said anything important, she relayed it back to him.  Mashiro has finally cut out the middle woman and decided to address his father for himself.  It’s probably for the best as well.  His mother definitely doesn’t approve, but his father believes in him.  I will tell you, even for someone like myself who has a rocky relationship with his father, the fact that he believes in me no matter what means a lot.  I’m sure it means just as much to Mashiro as a character.

I also liked how it cemented Mashiro’s goals.  It’s been a process over all three episodes, moving him from simply dreaming about drawing manga to actually doing it.  Now, we know he identifies with Joe Yabuki, the main character of Ashita no Joe.  It is a manga from the late 60s about an orphan who grows up to become a boxing champion.  The penultimate fight takes place against the World Champion.  Not only does Joe lose the fight, but also he dies in the ring from the injuries he sustained.  It’s quite a sucker punch.  However, he went a full 15 rounds and never gave up despite the trials and the pain.  He could die satisfied, and in fact, he goes out with a smile.  It takes a special strength to do something with everything you have.  Mashiro’s uncle died doing it.  Hopefully, he doesn’t grow up to meet the same fate.

One other thing I want to touch on is the relationship between Mashiro’s uncle and Azuki’s mother.  I found the whole thing very bittersweet.  Here were two people who obviously liked each other, but they could never get over saying three little words.  Of course, had they done so we likely wouldn’t have a plot, but still, it’s tragic.  I understand his uncle’s desire to become an established manga author before taking the plunge.  After all, if you want to marry someone, you want to be able to provide for him or her.  On the other hand, you can’t wait forever to do things.  If you never take the risk, you can never reap the potential rewards.  The uncle took many risks with his work, giving everything he had, but he just couldn’t take any risks for love.  In the end, he lost because of it.  Perhaps this is why I’ve already come to love Bakuman as a series.  It manages to say a lot while actively doing so little.

Well, I’ve been thinking about what show I wanted to blog for the past week, and I finally settled on Bakuman.  I’m actually liking a lot of shows this season, however, I don’t really feel suited to blogging them.  Panty & Stocking is crazy, but it’s a bit too adult for me to write about.  Squid Girl is fun, but the comedy is a bit too light for me to make a substantial post every week.  I don’t think I could manage to stick with The World Only God Knows for the entire season.  So my hopes rest on this series, from the creators of Death Note, which will run through Winter 2011.  I think it’s already off to a good start.

 

Over the course of this episode, we’re seeing a change in Mashiro.  He’s had his world turned upside down by his new partner in crime, Takagi.  He keeps resisting the change, but slowly comes around to the idea.  His dream of becoming a manga artist might just become reality.  Where we had a boy who had little direction just an episode ago, we have a boy who’s creativity and imagination has been sparked by the possibilities.  He has his skills, he has a writer, he has the girl of his dreams, and amazingly, he lands his parents permission too.

 

Only one thing could possibly send him over the top, and his grandfather knows just what do.  He hands over the key’s to his deceased son’s manga studio.  Seriously, what else could he possibly want?  He has everything he’s ever dreamed of thrown right in his lap.  Okay, so the pacing might be a bit unrealistic, but it sure gave this anime the kick-start it needed.  I don’t know if I could survive several episodes of Mashiro agonizing over his decision.  Though I imagine Takagi’s poking and prodding would become more amusing over time.

 

Of course, all the ambition in the world can’t guarantee your dreams will become a reality.  In a competitive industry, you can never assure yourself of success, nor will past performance guarantee future results.  I really like it when Takagi points this out.  You should try to follow your dreams, but always have a back up plan.  Who knows when failure will come knocking at your door.  He intends to continue studying while pursuing his dream of working on manga.

 

I’d like to think it’s what inspired Mashiro to come to the same conclusion when talking to his mother.  We know from the beginning he kept attending school out of normalcy.  He simply went through the motions and coasted through the experience.  When it comes to school, what you get out of it really depends on how much you put into the experience.  I hope that he’ll apply himself to his studies.  We know he’s the protagonist so it’s likely he’ll succeed in the end, but it would be more realistic to see this change in him made manifest.

 

 

With the Summer season all but over and the Fall season starting within a week, now is a good time to start getting excited about the new anime shows that will take the baton from the Summer shows and attempt to win the hearts and minds of anime fans around the world.

If the Fall series succeed will only be answered in the course of the next few months but that doesn’t stop some, including myself, from trying their hand at prognosticating the results now. My gut tells me that this season will be a strong one, maybe even on par with this past Spring season (which was probably the best season for the last couple of years), and I want to get my somewhat educated guesses written down to see how I did later as well as push the adventurous souls out there to try an anime they probably wouldn’t otherwise.

Therefore, below are my picks for the Fall 2010 season, sorted by how good I think the show will turn out and broken into 4 broad tiers. Platinum Tier shows are those anime that I believe have a virtually 100% guarantee of being good. Sometimes I’m wrong like with last fall’s Natsu no Arashi 2 and when that happens it’s always very disappointing. The next level is the Gold Tier. This level contains those shows that I think have a very good chance of being, at a minimum, “good” shows. Anime at this level usually miss out on being Platinum Tier because I don’t know enough about the source material or the studio animating it has been known for doing variable work or some other small thing that makes me less then fully certain. Silver tier shows still have a lot going for them but bigger potential problems start showing up. The problem might be in the source material, animation studio, or director and it’s a big enough one that I think the show could go either way. Bronze tier shows have something that makes me think it possibly could be a decent show but I’m not holding much hope. Sometimes there’s a surprisingly good show from this group, last fall I had Armed Librarians – The Book of Bantorra, Sasameki Koto, Sora no Otoshimono on this level and all three turned out great but that same season saw Kampfer and Miracle Train also start at this level but finish very poorly.

If you want a second opinion about the upcoming shows try out the previews by Ani no Miyako, Simplicity, The Deathseeker, That Anime Blog and Rabbit Poets and if you want the most complete coverage of all the new Fall anime, including OVAs go to hashihime’s most excellent preview.

The final item of business before moving to the Fall preview/watch list is the anime that are continuing into the Fall season that I’ve been watching and plan on watching in the upcoming season. The first is Katanagatari; it’s been awhile coming but we’re now down to the last three episodes and I’m excited to see how it ends. Next is Shiki. I love the atmosphere of this show and the animation quality but, so far, it’s been more build-up then anything else, though this season will finish the series so the plot should be getting good shortly. Amagami SS continues with three more stand-alone story arcs covering three different female characters. This show has been strangely watchable and I’m kind of looking forward to see what new weird scenes they can cram into this show. I was so sure that Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes) was a comedy that I was really disappointed to find that it’s actually a straight-up medieval fantasy series. I’m not really a fantasy person but it’s been able to keep me mildly interested in the story with the vocal work being the thing I enjoy most from it.

Platinum Tier

Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge

Director: Akiyuki Shinbou
Studio: SHAFT – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Maria+holic, Hidamari Sketch, Bakemonogatari

The second season of the anime that was my favorite of the spring season definitely deserves to place in the platinum tier. Arakawa Under the Bridge 2 gets top spot because it’s quirky mix of comedy and reflection on the important things in life was a perfect match for Shaft/Shinbou’s talents and I’m ecstatic over the chance to revisit the characters and setting. If making a person wish he could live under a bridge with Nino isn’t a good enough marker for a great show, I don’t what is.

-

Sora no Otoshimono: Forte

Director: Hisashi Saitou
Studio: AIC A.S.T.A. – Bamboo Blade, Tentai Senshi Sunred, Sora no Otoshimono

The anime that completely surprised me by being both a fan-service show and an intelligent, inventive, fun show is getting a sequel and I’m positively giddy. If it can hold up to the first season, it’ll be one of the top shows of the season; if it can somehow surpass the first season, it’ll be one of the top shows of the year and probably “break” more then a few anime fans. It’s secret (which I wish more shows would pick up on) is that it works on many different levels. Heck, even the plot about the “heavenly” creatures that create the all-powerful angel servants pulls one in, if only because we want to see the main character defeat those the decadent and depraved “higher” beings.

-

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Studio: Gainax – Gurren Lagann, Hanamaru Kindergarten, Evangelion

I think this show is just going to be a really fun and awesome anime. This puts me, sadly, in a very small group of people. Which I don’t quite get, it’s Gainax and it’s the part of Gainax behind Gurren Lagann and, if the trailer is to be believed, it’s going to be high-energy and full of fighting with plenty of humor involved. Actually, I know why; I noticed in the past that if an anime falls outside of what’s considered “anime style” it’s instantly regarded with suspension. Happened with Sarai-ya Goyou, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, Kaiba, etc. and it’s happening here which I find funny because there’s always so much complaining about how anime is always the same.

-

Gold Tier

Kuragehime

Director: Takahiro Oomori
Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Baccano, Durarara, Spice &Wolf 2, Natsume Yuujin-Chou

One of anime’s most consistently great studios is back this season with the latest show to be featured in the Noitamina anime block. The story for this one follows a young woman who’s an aspiring illustrator and lives in a female-only apartment complex. She gets a beautiful, fashionable woman to be her roommate and discovers her roommate isn’t quite what she appears to be. I have a very good idea what that means – “isn’t quite what she appears to be” – and, thanks to anime, I can’t wait to see if a trap is involved. I hope so and I hope there’s at least a little slice-of-life feel woven in somewhere. Brains Base does one of the best jobs with that relaxed, introspective, slice-of-life feel that I miss it when I go a season or two without it.

-

Sorademo Machi wa Mawatteiru

Director: Akiyuki Shinbou
Studio: SHAFT – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Maria+holic, Hidamari Sketch, Bakemonogatari

The second Shaft series this season features the story of a clumsy young woman that loves mysteries and works at a highly unsuccessful maid café. The set-up sounds like a good fit for Shaft/Shinbou and the trailer really gave off good vibes. I’m also excited to see Chiaki Omigawa (Maka from Soul Eater, Jun from Natsu no Arashi) voicing the main character. The sole reason I left this out of the top tier is because this is the second series that the perpetually under-funded and undermanned Shaft is working on and in the past it’s been difficult for Shaft to do 2 series at once. (Though, maybe, the success of Bakemonogatari has increased the coffers at Shaft which will translate to more help in finishing their work on time.)

-

Bakuman

Director: Kenichi Kasai
Studio: J.C. Staff – Hatsukoi Limited, Toradora, Potemayo, Shana, Index, Railgun

One of the most talked about upcoming anime, Bakuman follows the story of two high school friends that decide to try to make it as manga artists with one of the main character’s love life and familial pride hanging in the balance. I was going to leave this in the silver tier except I caught that Kenichi Kasai (Honey and Clover S1, Aoi Hana) is going to help direct this.  That’s a pretty strong guarantee for the quality of Bakuman and enough to bump it up a level.

-

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

aka: Psychic Detective Yakumo

Director: Tomoyuki Kurokawa
Studio: Bee Train – Phantom, Blade of the Immortal, El Cazador de la Bruja

I don’t have a lot of experience with Bee Train but something about this anime makes me think it’ll turn out very good. It could be the premise of a supernatural detective with the ability to see ghosts that’s doing it or maybe it’s because Daisuke Ono is voicing the main character (and apparently doing the opening song) or both or neither. Whatever it is, let’s hope that Bee Train won’t completely flub in the final 30 seconds of the show like they did with Phantom.

-

Silver Tier

Iron Man

Director: Yuuzou Satou
Studio: Madhouse – Death Note, Kaiba, Kurozuka, Rideback, Kobato, Rainbow, Tatami Galaxy

The trailer for this looks completely awesome and would normally make me really excited to watch it but I’ve noticed these cross-oceanic projects between the USA and Japan never seem to really work. Look at Heroman, for example. There is the potential for a decent show and, at the minimum, Marvel should have given Madhouse enough money to make the animation look very good. We’ll see very shortly.

-

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto

Director: Takuya Igarashi
Studio: Bones – Soul Eater, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, X’amd, Heroman

Taking over for Sengoku Basara 2 in the Sunday early primetime spot is an original work by Bones named Star Driver. The placement ensures that it’ll look really pretty but I’m not a big mecha fan and Bones seems to have a problem with how it ends it’s shows. One would think that since they don’t have to adapt something for Star Driver how it ends wouldn’t be a problem but X’amd showed it’s still a problem that the viewers have to worry about.

-

Toaru Majutsu no Index 2

Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori
Studio: J.C. Staff – Hatsukoi Limited, Toradora, Potemayo, Shana, Railgun

I really wish this was Railgun 2 instead of Index 2. The first season of Index was a pain to complete and I almost didn’t include this at all because I seriously doubted I could stand more Touma and the child teacher and Index. What saved this is the trailer showed both Uiharu and Saten from Railgun as well as the white-haired good bad guy (which was the best story arc) from the first season. It’s probably getting my hopes up but maybe this time it’ll be a better show.

-

Bronze Tier

Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai

aka: The World Only God Knows

Director: Shigehito Takayanagi
Studio: Manglobe – Michiko to Hatchin, Samurai Champloo, Seiken no Blacksmith

This is a rare anime where I’ve read some of the manga before watching the anime. It didn’t blow me away but in the right hands, it could a decent show and sadly, I just don’t think Manglobe is the right hands. I’ve liked their high quality anime, Samurai Champloo and Michiko to Hatchin, but when they went slumming with Seiken no Blacksmith it flat-out stunk and TWOGK falls a bit outside of “high quality”. AIC was probably a better fit to squeeze the best possible anime from the source material. I guess it could have been worse, Xebec or Feel or Studio Deen could be the animators.

-

Otome Youkai Zakuro

Director: Chiaki Kon
Studio: J.C. Staff – Hatsukoi Limited, Toradora, Potemayo, Shana, Index, Railgun

The story for this one really interested me. Namely, Otome Youkai Zakuro is set in an alternative 19th century Japan where humans and youkai (spirits or monsters) co-exist easily. The humans move to change the calendar to match that of the Western world and upset the youkai. To calm nerves, a goodwill mission is implemented featuring both humans and youkai and we end up with a historical, romantic comedy as a result. I’d’ve ranked this higher but I read that the manga writer for Otome Youkai Zakuro is primarily a BL written and that’s a genre I really don’t like. If the anime has BL elements or not is something that only the watching the anime can answer but for now, I’m keeping my anticipation low for this one.

-

Ore no Imouto ga Kannani Kawaii Wake ga Nai

aka: My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute

Director: Kawaguchi Keiichirou
Studio: AIC – Onamori Himari, Mayoi Neko Overrun, Sasameki Koto, Amagami SS

The story for this one – a H.S. age boy has a younger sister who’s an otaku for little sister ero-games which somehow creates much hilarity  – actively turns me off but I find myself liking the character designs enough that I’m willing to give this show a couple episode chance. I’m probably going to hate it and then pretend I never watched it but there is always the slim chance it’s actually good.

-

Hakuouki Hekketsuroku

Director: Osamu Yamasaki
Studio: Studio Deen – Hetalia, Higurashi, Seitokai no Ichizon, Giant Killing

The final show that I plan on catching is a sequel to the spring anime – Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan. It wasn’t a great show by any stretch of the word but I liked the setting (1860’s Japan and the Shinsengumi) and the voice acting. I mention it here for completeness sakes because there are very few out there that are even in the position to give this season a chance. Not that I can really find fault in anybody, Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan was done by Studio Deen and there was so many other good shows to watch.

-

There’s my list. If I missed something that you think I’d like then, by all means, post a comment to suggest it. I still remember having Cross Game suggested to me in a comment on this blog and discovering one of my favorite shows of the year. I’d’ve never picked it up since it was technically a sport anime, a genre I don’t normally like.

Filed under: anime, season preview