Michael is Low on Hit Points
No one can say that I love my anime blog more than anime itself
- Posted October 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 PM ET
- Subjects Bakemonogatari, Spice and Wolf, Umineko, Haruhi Suzumiya, Hayate, Canaan, RideBack, Kannagi
- Tags impressions, mid-season, final look
- Image sources
1- Bakemonogatari [moe imouto]
2- Spice and Wolf [moe imouto]
3- When the Seagulls Cry [moe imouto]
4- Haruhi Suzumiya [moe imouto]
5- Hayate no Gotoku [moe imouto]
6- Canaan [moe imouto]
7- RideBack [moe imouto]
8- Kannagi [moe imouto] - Video searches
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I "had" to take off a month from blogging due to real world obligations. Real world obligations meaning sitting on my couch and watching tons of anime. While I may be a lazy blogger, I sure as hell am not lazy when it comes to lying lazily on my couch and watching anime. In fact, lately I've been lazily consuming anime with as much vigor as one can work up.
So, here are some impressions for my blog-which-shall-have-no-more-impressions...
Bakemonogatari
Gold.
I'll talk more at length about this series once it wraps up online. But freaking wow, what a ride it's been. Even as the series won me over during episode one, I could have never predicted that its stock would continue to rise to this level. Episode 12 (which should really be called Hitagi Crab 3) was the best episode I saw last season. Truly excellent, heart-felt goodness.
I want more Tsubasa Cat noooooow!
Spice and Wolf II
Trenni Gold.
If you've seen season one, then I can simply say season two is all that plus a little more. Lawrence and Horo are as dynamic a conversation as ever. Now that relationship gets even more focus. The economics are as hard to follow as ever, but the unique spin it provides is as positive as ever. Spice and Wolf is simply a formula that works so very well.
Some of the events that occurred this season were just excellent. When Horo breaks down in front of Lawrence, when the riot breaks out in Renos... these are some of the moments that put Spice and Wolf above the rest of the pack. The switch to Brain's Base was an excellent move (no knock against Imagin, who delivered a fine season one).
I want another sequel nooooow!
When the Seagulls Cry (Umineko)
Silver.
Sea Kitties has left me confused. Will everything add up in the end? Will the disparate strands all tie together neatly? Or will it all blow up spectacularly? Dare I say the word I hate so very much: will the series amount to a trainwreck?
Regardless, I'm hooked. I want the next episode yesterday. Because it's a mystery setup, I just have to know what happens next. When each episode ends, I curse. Don't stop now! I need more. Cliffhanger series like these begged to be watched post-airing, when they can be marathoned. Following this murder mystery week-by-week is excruciating.
I'll be honest: my continuing faith in Umineko comes predominantly from Higurashi. It's due to the show's predecessor that I still think Ryukishi07 has something brilliant up his sleeve. Everything will jive in the end, even if it all seems ridiculous at the moment. I just have to keep on believing.
I'm in Battler's camp. The magic is bullshit. Drawing parallels to Higurashi, I think what magic truly does exist isn't affecting the main murder mystery directly. Like Oyashiro-sama repeating time, I think the supernatural element here is merely setting up the gameboard. Anything that happens on it is subject to the reality of the world as we know it.
Of course, this theory is being pushed to its limits. More and more magical craziness is poured on with each passing episode. But if it does end up being the work of not-magic and is adequately explained, the pay off could be epic. And that's what I keep my fingers crossed for.
The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya
Bronze...? Ok, fuck it, I'm done with the medal analogies.
Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody was everything Haruhi should be. Endless Eight was a unique treat, even if most would disagree. The real issue I had with season two in the end was with Sigh. That was my letdown.
The arc was slow to start off. Fundamentally, it's treading on material we've already seen the conclusion for (the oh-so excellent cultural fair movie). The real meat of the arc -- the content of interest -- doesn't come until Haruhi starts to bend our reality based off of her movie delusions in later episodes.
I find it intriguing that the point at which we arrive at the better times of Sigh is right when Kyon flips his shit. The scene was certainly provocative, and metaphorically served as the shock to the system that the arc needed in order to wake up and head in the right direction.
What was weirdest to me concerning Sigh was the direction. Haruhi has always had excellent directorial work. But it couldn't have been more off in the last arc. Even the soundtrack felt forced at times, most noticeably when it would suddenly go all dark and moody as Haruhi perpetuated even the smallest bit of mischief. I guess even the best have their bad days.. or arc.
While I'm at it, more Shamisen couldn't have hurt. Best. Cat. Ever. Call me a bastard, but your kitty can't compare.
All things considered, Melancholy 2009 is a quite few notches down from Melancholy 2006. But that's not the end of the world. Actually, I don't even think it's that big of a deal. Better content (so I've heard) is forthcoming, and a solid Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya film could easily bring the property back up to its former glory.
Don't sleep on Suzumiya.
Hayate II
Only when it involves Hinagiku...
That's not fair. "Hamster" and Sakuya work for me too! All preferences aside, Hayate feels sort of like a sine wave (forced analogy). Everything will be excellent for a string of episodes, but then the series will dip down for an episode or two of comedic misfires or worse -- content focusing on Nagi (sorry). It's nothing major, but it does hamper the flow of things.
I'll really be digging the show for a while, then get hit with a subpar episode and -- for lack of motivation -- put the show on hold for a bit. I'm not sure why I expect the worse only after one bad episode. Season two didn't really end up having that many down episodes. I definitely give credit to the shorter run this time (25 vs. 52 episodes).
Even though everything is mostly moving in the right direction, it's too bad that Hayate won't resolve anytime soon. It's not that I'm sick of the series... yet. But the longer this goes on, the more chance that we'll exhaust the setup. Even comedies can run past their course. Plus, no one can blame you for going out while you're still on top. As long as Hayate picks Hina...
Canaan
Right from the get go, Canaan's production values scream "serious, quality anime." It's a shame then that this simply isn't the case. The direction, cinematography, animation, music... all of those elements are executed with great precision.
Unfortunately, the writing is off the mark... way off the mark. Next to the show's serious direction, the writing is anything but. The story repeatedly comes across as silly and vapid. And I'm not talking about silly fun, but silly stupid. While every so often the series hits an over-the-top yet still awesome note, most of the time the plotting misfires badly.
And then there's the cast. Maria didn't have to be this annoying. Canaan mopes around too damn much in the end, which would be fine it it was backed with solid reasoning. Most of the time, characters act in certain ways without the proper motivation. Much of what I saw development-wise felt forced.
I only ended up finishing the anime in anticipation of the Canaan vs Canaan fight. Unfortunately, the writing couldn't leave well enough alone. The inevitable confrontation was bogged down and frequently interrupted by failed metaphors and weak thematic speeches. My one hope for at least a cheap visceral thrill was dashed in the end.
Some other ending woes: when Canaan exclaims in the final episode, "I know Maria's still alive," it must be because she knows the show suffers from bad writing 101. Don't even get me started on the whole "she is my light" theme. I don't want to say that "the power of friendship" is automatically an immature theme; it just needs to be handled more maturely, especially here.
Type-Moon + PA Works + 40/40 Famitsu-scored source material = this? Really?
RideBack
What do you mean this is late!
I finally finished, after putting the series on hold mid-way through. Disappointment got the better of me during its airing. RideBack's premise had some real potential. Our heroine is drawn in via her new club to student activism against an oppressive government regime. Sign me up. That setup gives the story a touch of real world meaning (see Iran) and a solid platform for which to tell a compelling story.
Unfortunately, I feel the producers didn't do too good of a job telling said story. They had most of the pieces in place. It looked good. It sounded good. The characters were fine. The core plot concepts were fine. But the series never got all the details right. Some scenarios were awkwardly presented. Many key scenes felt forced. The emotional "oomph" never really materialized. RideBack was so close, yet it was so far away.
Moving towards the finale, it looked as if the series just wouldn't resolve in time. The only really good thing I can say about the anime in respect to my expectations is that the final episode did manage to wrap most of the important things up nicely. Sooooooo, there's that...
Kannagi OVA
I always felt that Kannagi was a mixed bag. Ever so rarely it was really good, but most of the time the series was a bit silly and felt more like a guilty pleasure. This episode may have fallen more towards the latter, but in spite of that it does make one important impression on me: I wouldn't mind a sequel.
To be continued
I've rewatched quite a few anime series (separate post coming... eventually). There's also a few more series that I want to explore individually in later posts. And then of course, BlazBlue has gobbled up plenty of my attention. I may be wasting my life away with anime and games, but at least I'm wasting that time away pretty damn efficiently.
1 Baka-Raptor
I was quite pleased with Canaan's moping. It really didn't last too long, got straight to the point, wasn't accompanied with crying or over-emoting. We're used to a lot worse in anime. I suppose the less you like the show, the worse the moping seems.
2 Kabitzin
Type-Moon + PA Works + 40/40 Famitsu-scored source material = this?
Wow, when you put it that way, Canaan really does sound disappointing. I could forgive some of the over-the-top stuff, and I think some of that is due to expectations coming in. However, you're right about the lackluster directing and the poor use of metaphors.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Baka-Raptor
Even though Canaan didn't cry or big time wig-out, I still felt that each of her depressions were forced a bit. I can admit though that bad elements pile on top of each other making every one seem a little bit worse. If the rest of the show was great though, it would stick out as a sore part for me. Forced gravity -- as forced depth -- just comes off bad.
@ Kabitzin
The over the top stuff can work in the right atmosphere. Canaan had a direction that really wanted to be taken serious much of the time. If the anime had been light hearted start to finish, those more silly elements of the plot would have fit in better, naturally.
But yeah, Canaan was Type-Moon's worst showing (for me) yet. I haven't seen any other PA Works series, but that animation consistency deserves better. As for the game 428... well, as if we'll ever be seeing that in English (at least anytime soon).
3 Glo
I really have to watch some of these. I think the only ones here that I've finished were Canaan, Haruhi and Hayate. For the most part, I didn't even start any of the others yet (as I no longer watch anime week to week, and now only jump around between completed shows (even though Spice and Wolf II is complete, and I really want to finished it)).
I'll say that Canaan started off awesome, and I feel like a spectacular first episode made my expectations too high, and thus, by the end of the series, I felt disappointed at what I had watched. There was just something about the last half that was off. I can't really describe it, but if I had to say something, I'd say that it almost felt lazy (the story). One good thing about Canaan was the Taxi Driver, who was my favorite character in the show.
4 Kairu
Are you trolling me? You just gave a gold medal to the shittiest anime of 2009? wwwwwwwwwwwww /troll
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Glo
I'm with you on pulling away from week-to-week watching. Except for sequels and the rare exception, I'm going to be holding off on most new anime moving forward. I watched the first Spice and Wolf II arc on a weekly basis, and then held off until the anime finished to view the second arc over the course of one day. The wait was well worth it.
The first episode of Canaan was pretty good, but I think that's because the silly plot hadn't reared its head in opposition to the serious execution yet. I really think the 'off' feeling from the later episodes was this mismatch between execution and design. Had they both been serious or silly, the anime would have simply 'felt' better, I believe.
Though it's not to say that a serious anime can't have a reoccurring silly bit. You know, something on the side, just like that taxi driver. That's why I think he rocked. He fit. He worked. And he was ridiculous... ridiculously awesome.
@ Kairu
Come on! Bakemonogatari and Spice and Wolf are two of the only things me and the internet agree on! Don't betray me now internet!
5 Nazarielle
"...felt more like a guilty pleasure."
You know, I feel like this is a bit of a silly assessment of an anime show. All anime is guilty pleasure. You're just watching it to be entertained, for enjoyment.
On Umineko, I agree with you completely. From the beginning, I was with Battler. My friend was totally thinking it was all about magic though, until around episode 3 or 4 (VN). Of course, being someone who read through the VN, I'm a little displeased with how things are going, but I think that's just because I'm overly picky.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Nazarielle
On the "guilty pleasure" line, he's how I think of it. Legend of Galactic Heroes is brilliant. An absolute masterpiece. It is well thought out and well written with deep themes well explored. I literally consider myself better off after having seen that series.
With a guilty pleasure, none of the above really applies. These series are usually silly and often stupid. They're pointless and I don't take much from them in the end. They were slightly enjoyable to watch, and sometimes I'm not even sure why.
I would not call every anime a guilty pleasure, but I guess that comes down to your definition of the phrase, which is subject to interpretation (as is everything in this world, I guess).
I haven't played the visual novel for Umineko, so the only thing I can compare the anime to (fairly or not) is Higurashi. I wish the anime would spend a bit more time letting you explore and think about each murder in a real world light. You know, like when Beato will stop the gameboard and taunt Battler asking him to explain what just happened.
Because at this point, all I see is magic, magic, magic. I don't buy it, but I haven't had time to actually think about any of the recent scenarios (during the actual episode, at least). Battler isn't doing any actual fighting back much recently. He's just been watching all the magic in between bitching out Moetrice.