Monthly Archive for April, 2006

Shot Down in Pieces

I hate Ah! My Goddess.

Actually, I don’t. I love the Ah! My Goddess universe. And I’m pretty fond of the supporting cast. That’s what makes it so terribly painful.

But, I can’t help it: I despise Belldandy.

Every time the woman opens her mouth, I want to scream. Seriously. I need a concentrated dose of tsundere mune ni chokugeki just to calm down (god bless you, Skuld). I know anime is all about wish fulfillment, but, for the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone could find such a clueless, cloying, and compliant pushover appealing in any way, shape, or form. Honestly, if I met such a woman in real life, I’d immediately inquire as to what horrible childhood accident left her partially brain damaged. (followed by my condolences, of course)

But, you know, it takes two to tango, and Keichi’s perfectly happy to follow. Belldandy does everything but brush his teeth for him, yet, he’s not man enough to hold her hand? How does this guy manage to get out of bed in the morning? I eagerly await the chapter in which Belldandy is possessed by the Demon of Sadomasochism, First Class, Unlimited, and rides K1 leather-bound and crying into the sunset. Ah! A Burning Night in the Dungeon!

Um…

Anyhoo, even though I’m a Democrat, I can do more than just criticize. Ah! My Goddess could achieve perfection with just a few small changes:

1. Get rid of Belldandy. (see: Ah! My Goddess, The Movie)

2. Have Skuld continue to abuse Keichi in new and imaginative ways.

3. Get Urd drunk.

4. Give Megumi a mahou shoujo spin-off show all her own. (YES, MY MASTER!)

Ah! Who am I kidding? There’s no salvation to be found. What was Fujishima Kousuke thinking?

OPs ‘n EDs, Odds ‘n Ends

Saria’s bit on OPs and EDs got me thinking about the subject. Or perhaps it’s the fact most of this season’s new OP and ED singles hit store shelves this past week. So much music to listen to. Wow.

Anyway, it occurs to me that I have a tendency to judge OP and ED themes separate from the shows they represent. That is, if I dig a song, it’s because I actually dig the song itself. The merits of the show are of little consequence. The end result is that many of my favorite OP and ED themes come from shows I wouldn’t list as favorites - or, in some cases, shows I have zero interest watching in the first place. Good music is good music.

As for the music itself, I find ED themes see more action in my playlist than OP themes. My problem with most OP themes, I think, is this: they don’t work very well out of context. More often than not, the more GET TO BURNING a theme is in TV-bite-size pieces, the more inane it sounds on its own. There’s a certain style of arrangement typical of OP themes that doesn’t work well when expanded to create a full song. From a musical standpoint, they’re often disappointments.

ED themes, on the other hand, tend to have a little more going for them musically. And, because there’s often less need to pair the music so closely to the animation, they tend to make more sense musically. They sound like real songs as opposed to… well, cartoon theme songs. The same could be said for the “B-sides” typically found on OP and ED singles. Often, I enjoy those songs more than the headliners.

In fact, the song I can’t get enough of at the moment is Ishikawa Chiaki’s “House”, the B-side on the Simoun OP single - a show I’m not even watching. Like I said, good music is good music.

And, for the record, “You Get to Burning” isn’t just good music… it’s the BEST MUSIC EVAR.

Too Much Anime, No Life

So much anime to watch. Wow.

A few (more) random thoughts regarding the new season…

School Rumble still needs more Eri. I notice that her character features less prominently in the new OP. Is this some kind of sign? I hope not.

I can’t get enough of GIRL’S HIGH. Yeah, it’s stupid… GOD, is it stupid. Why can’t I stop laughing?

The Higurashi no Naku Koro ni OP sequence is incredible.

I’ve yet to watch past the first episode of xxxHOLiC. Strange. Am I suffering from CLAMP fatigue?

The Simoun OP and ED singles are great. I care not for the show, however. The power of yuri does not compel me. I do love me some Savage Genius, though.

I still can’t pronounce Utawarerumono correctly. Not on the first try, at least.

ARIA The Natural is really outperforming its predecessor thus far. More Aika blushing, please. And more Alice.

When you think about it, Ouran High School Host Club is really just the same joke over and over again. But, the fact that it’s the same joke over and over again seems to be a joke in itself. Weird, huh?

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi still rocks, of course.

Time Out

I’m off to Texas on personal business. This will be my first trip “home” in a couple of years, so I’ll be pretty busy. And I mean BUSY.

Anyway, blogging will resume next week.

Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho

I’ll admit, this whole Haruhi vs. Kanon debate is silly. After all, aside from the fact both are being animated by Kyoto Animation, they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Haruhi is Haruhi. Kanon is Kanon.

I’m not so much a fan of the original Kanon TV series as I am a fan of Kanon itself. It’s for that reason that I’m truly excited about the coming remake. And, to be honest, I don’t even like to refer to it as a “remake”. After all, it’s not like we’re getting the first TV series, retouched and reanimated. Much like how the Ah! My Goddess TV series has relied on material ignored by the ancient OAV series, or the X TV series expanded on a story previously crammed into a (horrid) theatrical feature, the “new” Kanon looks to be a matter of original material finally receiving the treatment it so properly deserves. It’s not so much a remake as it is a “do-over”.

Will the “new” Kanon outdo the first TV series? I should hope so. The first series has no shortage of fans, myself included, but one has to admit it glossed over (or plain ignored) much of the rich story found in the original game. With a length of 24 episodes, KyoAni’s Kanon is more likely to explore the original material to greater depth. And, of course, there should be a dramatic difference in animation quality. That much is a given.

When all is said and done, will anyone remember the first TV series? The hardcore Kanon fans will, I suppose. But, for most, it’ll probably be forgotten - overshadowed by the newer, more complete, more stunning version that came along four and a half years later. That’s where the excitement comes from. That’s why Kanon fans have reason to be happy. The first TV series may not have gotten the job done, but that no longer matters… because, if all goes as expected, the “new” Kanon will.

Some things deserve a second chance.

Melancholy Girl in Snow?

Kanon WIN! Haruhi LOSE! Oh noes!

Seriously, folks…

Planning committees are generally responsible for determining episode count, long before a show goes into production. Obviously, available resources factor heavily into that determination, but if the committee has a target episode count, it can always work to procure the resources necessary to make it happen. Animation studios don’t fund themselves from within; the funding for a project comes from outside sources. Ultimately, those sources play an important role in the planning process. They’re footing the bill, after all.

Of course, outside involvement doesn’t cease once a show enters production. If it were up to a single animation studio alone to produce an entire show, start to finish, we’d only see a few new shows each year. Animation studios simply don’t have the manpower or talent necessary to do anything and everything under the sun. So, what’s a studio to do? Outsource, that’s what. Studios rarely do their own in-between animation; typically, the work is contracted out to “sweatshop” studios overseas or large domestic studios such as GAINAX or Production I.G. In fact, some studios exist solely to do in-between work for “marquee” studios. In the case of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, in-between work is being handled by Ani Village, a Korean studio.

Clearly, “marquee” studios can (and often do) work on more than one show at the same time. For example, Madhouse is juggling five shows at the moment: Nana, Black Lagoon, Kiba, Yume Tsukai, and Strawberry Panic - and that’s not even counting the shows they may be doing in-between work for. Not all of these shows receive the same priority, however. Nana may be Madhouse through-and-through, but watch the ending credits for Strawberry Panic, and you’ll see a string of Korean names. (For the record, even Nana is being outsourced in part to DR Movie, yet another Korean studio)

Kyoto Animation is no Madhouse, of course. They’re nowhere near as large, nor are they anywhere near as established in the industry. Essentially, they’re a “support” studio that only recently moved up to the big leagues. Even though they’ve been around since 1981, they’re still the new kid on the block.

Now, it’s no secret that Kyoto Animation made a name for itself with its work on Air. And, it’s no secret that the companies involved in the production of that particular show, including Visual Art’s/Key, have made a bundle of money. So, it should come as no surprise that Visual Art’s/Key would choose Kyoto to animate a remake of Kanon. And it should come as no surprise that Kyoto jumped at the opportunity. Kanon is a very, very big deal, after all.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, however? Not a very big deal, I’m sorry to say. But, before crying “Ayu killed Haruhi!,” consider that the episode count for Haruhi was likely decided before the planning process for Kanon even got underway. And, even then, Haruhi doesn’t strike me as the sort of show that would run for 24-26 episodes. Sure, enough original material exists for that number of episodes, but if every show adapted from a popular manga or novel series was animated to its full potential, 100+ episode counts would be commonplace. Compression is a big part of adaptation, and history has shown that you can do a lot with a mere 13 episodes, especially if you’re working with an open-ended story.

Of course, Haruhi sports an odd episode count at fourteen. Granted, odd episode counts seem to be all the rage these days (along with special DVD episodes), but is fourteen really as strange a number as it seems? If you subscribe to the idea that the Kanon remake trampled all over Haruhi, you have to assume 14 = 24-10. But doesn’t 14 = 13+1 make more sense? Especially when the first episode of the show was, essentially, a gag episode?

In other words, fret not fellow Haruhi fans: the show isn’t being cut short. We’re getting an extra episode. And a Kanon remake, to boot! I sure as hell won’t complain.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruka