I had a tiny computer issue to deal with over the weekend (and by “tiny”, I mean “completely hosed”), so last night was spent catching up with a week’s worth of new episodes. In what’s becoming a regular feature here at Hop Step Jump!, let’s take a look how the season is progressing…
The second season of School Rumble continues to feel less consistent than the first. Then again, I recall the first season actually had issues of its own, with many episodes that fell flat on their face. However, I appreciate the introduction of new characters, and I’m happy to see the story moving along. Playing up the various potential pairings makes for a lot of fun - although, I’ll admit that only a Harima x Tenma pairing makes sense in the long run. Still, I’m rooting for Eri x Harima in the interim. Could be I’m just a hopeless Eri fanboy. Any plot thread that results in increased Eri screentime gets an automatic thumbs up.
Utawaremewhatever remains the biggest surprise of the season. There’s a certain degree of silliness to the drama that bugs me (Girl throws rock = WAR!!!), but it’s at least compelling in its own special way. Also, I watch the OP and see all of these characters yet to be introduced (and potential hints of what’s to come) and I can’t help but get excited. How will the story develop? Who’ll be pushing up daisys next? Who is Hakuoro? Will he ever bone Eruru? Inquiring minds want to know!
The backstory episodes in Nana were interesting and all, but felt awfully clunky. I’m glad the show is returning to the “present”. Six episodes to get started? I suppose the alternative (Who are these people? Why are they doing the things they do?) would have been much, much worse.
Yume Tsukai is really quite generic, but nonetheless charming with its unique animation style and Danny Elfmanesque score. It’s not a show I think about all that often, but I enjoy it immensely when I sit down to watch.
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi… you know, I really enjoyed Episode 6, but the fact it won’t be concluded until hell knows when sincerely pisses me off. At the moment, I see no value in this episode shuffling whatsoever, and I worry it’ll only get more bizarre as the show progresses. The show’s more than good enough as is, KyoAni… why get cute with things?
Strawberry Panic remains silly as all get out, but that’s a big part of what makes it fun. When you think about it, Maria-sama ga Miteru had the same sort of silliness in spades, but buried under a layer of ZOMG SERIOUS DRAMA. Strawberry Panic doesn’t really have that (yet), so it’s much easier to laugh at. Or laugh with, rather, since I can’t stop watching and all. Best guilty pleasure of the season.
I’m still digging Ouran High School Host Club. And Girl’s High gets a +5 charisma bonus with the Shimizu Ai / naughty little girl combo. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni continues to be the most intriguing show of the season. Aria is still… Aria. That’s a good thing, mind you.
Hmm… feeling a little too tired to give brief thoughts at the moment. I will come back with my own thoughts on the shows that I am watching now. :)
Cheers.
Next week’s ep of Suzumiya Haruhi looks to conclude the stranded island eps (or at least, is part 2).
NANA is settling in for a LONG run. I mean, not only does it take six episodes to get back to the present, but the sixth (and seventh) episode(s) are just extended recaps of the first episode. I enjoy direct adaptations like this, so I’m not going to complain, but I’ve been sitting on this same part of the story since I quit reading Shojo Beat in February (and quit watching the live action movie when I got to the apartment part), so I’m little more than overly anxious to just GET ON WITH IT. I figure I’ll fall back in love with the series once I can enjoy part of the story past the second volume of the manga.
From what I understand, the episode shuffling is done due to the Haruhi novels, as they stand, are pretty episodic and there’s only one storyline that goes longer than 2 chapters (as I was told). So I’m presuming without the shuffling we’d just wind up with one 2-3 part episode and then the rest would be singles.
Which is not quite impressive I expect
Ouran High School Host Club is actually really funny. All those scenes with Haruhi going “damn rich kids” make me laugh. I should really pick it up again.
“…but the fact it won’t be concluded until hell knows when sincerely pisses me off…”
I agree, although it does leave a lot of room to speculate, it also just makes things more complicated and there was really no need for it.
Jeff’s back! I didn’t know till now that there was a sequel to “nowhere”… glad to have the benefit of your recommendations again.
If, as I’ve been led to believe, the S-Haruhi run is only a dozen episodes or thereabouts… it can’t really hurt them to shuffle about with time, as a purely linear telling of the story’s first volume wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining. Granted, the last time they “split” a pair of logically-attached episodes it made a quirky kind of sense. I’m not quite as delighted by not following through on a sudden murder mystery, but the show’s built up enough “entertainment credit” to get away with it.
As for Nana… recap episodes already? I was getting my hopes up, having just watched the end of the backstory eps, but sheesh. How disheartening.
A big problem right now, for me, is that half of the shows I want to watch aren’t being actively subbed right now. *sigh* The Third, anyone?
The following brief reviews only cover the new shows that I picked up this Spring 2006.
The ratings reflect how I feel about each episode.
Ratings:
S ~ MUST WATCH. NOW.
A ~ Well worth watching immediately.
B ~ Will watch when I am free.
C ~ When I somewhat feel like it.
D ~ Danger, Danger. Not giving a damn soon.
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Aa Megami-sama ~ Sorezore no Tsubasa
I have no real idea why I am still watching this. Out of habit I guess. The original OVAs fascinated me very much, and the first season remake was decent. Due to the completist streak in me, I am willing myself to watch this second season.
Starting to lose motivation though… since well… the status quo has not changed. NOTHING, in fact, has changed. Nothing major at least. Lack of change in a romance leads to stagnation, and stagnation is boring.
Currently very, very, veeeeeeeery low on my to-watch list.
Ep01-04
Current Rating: D, falling
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Black Lagoon
I am seriously craving for more of Black Lagoon. I mentioned it elsewhere before, but to recap, Black Lagoon is all about the gung-ho coolness. A show about an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.
Morality be damned. I want my action fix from this work of fiction.
My only fear is that they may make the mistake of making the plot too convulated. When it comes to action anime, it is best to keep things simple. It is hard to appreciate explosions and loud action when your brain is trying to comprehend the background plot.
Unless of course, I was totally wrong about this series’ genre. Heh.
Ep01-03
Current Rating: A , rising
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Good Witch of the West
Be warned. The first two episodes of Good Witch is pure setup and exposition at near warp-speed. These episodes should not be watched if you are not clear of mind. The pace settles down in the third episode, and we begin to see character development.
I had always preferred the unedited versions of classic fairy tales, compared to the Disneyfied( aka sissified) versions. Dark humour in supposedly children tales is one of the reasons why I also liked Harry Potter and Roald Dahl. With that in mind, Good Witch begins to deliver in spades, along with luxurious backgrounds as a bonus.
The animation dips in the third episode when it comes to their faces, but nothing major enough to be overly distracting. The third episode is also where they begin to insert more light-hearted humour, despite the macabre ongoings. No thanks to Adale too… thanks to her, every Eusis&Roux scene is going to be spun into yaoi fodder.
Especially the chess scene… I swear the writers did the dialogue on purpose.
E: “Can I come in?”
R: “I didn’t say you could come in.”
E: “You look cuter without the glasses.”
R: “That’s none of your business.”
E: “When I see you, I feel like I want to take care of you.”
Taken out of context… one can misinterpret it very, very wrongly. Heh.
It is still early in the series. Only time will tell whether Good Witch manages to keep its’ storyline coherent, and not suffer from wandering plot syndrome.
Ep01-03
Rating: B , rising
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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Higurashi fulfils my inner sadist. What greater joy can a bastard audience have but want to see how bad can the main characters die? Self-strangulation? Immolation? Evisceration? Self-stabbing? Bodily mutilation? Severe blunt trauma? Needle chokage? Etc… The possibilities are endless!
Of course it helps if one projects all his angst over spineless harem males onto Keichii. It makes watching his mental breakdowns that much more fun… bruhwahaha…
However, when the series swings back to the happy-happy-fun-fun parts, it seems kinda out of place. Frankly put, I do not like these scenes. The transition from happy to creepy to happy and so on can be quite jarring at times. I would have rated Higurashi better if they had handled these transitions better.
A side effect of the shortness of its’ four episode arcs perhaps?
Lastly, some of the animation was really, really low-budget, and I am not talking about the character designs here. I mean… Looney Tunes style spirals for running feet? What the heck?! It is to Higurashi’s credit that its’ story is alluring enough for me to gloss over most of its’ animation lows.
Ep01-06
Current Rating: B , stable
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Ouran High School Host Club
Unlike many, I was not actually that impressed by the first episode. A consequence of high expectations perhaps. The subsequent episodes however, hooked me onto this series.
As a male, and a straight one at that, the roses do nothing for me, and I simply sigh, as Haruhi must too, whenever the males hosts go into bishie-mode.
Outside of the stock jokes though, lies many an endearing moment as the guys show genuine emotions and make conscious decisions that affect the lives of people around them.
Ouran also takes delight in poking fun at stereotypes and the results are often hilarious, due to the exaggerated nature of the show’s humour. Amongst all the laughter though, exist more serious moments that asks the audience to reflect upon.
This is one thing that Ouran does admirably well, the transition between funny and sombre. Transitions are important, because as a work of fiction, immersion is needed to transport the audience’s mind to the story’s fictional world. Like changing gears in a car, poor transitions will result in stuttering of pace. A jarring break from a smooth immersion. Break that immersion too many times, and you will end up crashing the show.
I like the metaphors in each episode( it appeals to the literature student in me). I applaud the production values in the storyflow. And also, I love it whenever Haruhi gets to say with contempt, “Damn rich bastards.”
However, I am starting to get tired of all the stock jokes. Yes, it is true that they do it differently each time, but all the same, it is still a rose in name.
Ep01-06
Rating: A-, stable
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School Rumble 2nd Term
Despite being a latecomer to this series, it has quickly become one of my perennial favourites. With an utterly different type of male lead, and a whole cast of misfits, the allure of Sukuran lies in its’ measured blend of each student’s hilariously absurd life. K-Jin, the mind behind Sukuran, puts it best. To badly misquote him,
“A comedy of misunderstandings.”
Take heed though, that if you have never watched this series before, you will need to watch the 26ep first season and the 2 OVAs before you will understand most of what is going on in the second season. Well worth the viewing time though.
Ep01-07
Rating: S , rising
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Strawberry Panic
My number one guilty pleasure of Spring 2006. I like watching Strawberry Panic, and I be damned if I stop just because hordes of people decry it. While it is true that some of the scenes are quite over-the-top, SPanic still packs some eloquent moments that touches one heart. Broadly speaking, the first five episodes of SPanic can be deem to be character introduction episodes. With the advent of the sixth episode, it seems that the audience will finally be treated to the main plotline.
To put it shortly, SPanic is all about laughs and yuri.
I am predicting some genuine angst in the later episodes. Now that all the main relationships have been set, the plot is ripe for strife and resolutions. Tamao and Yaya in particular are to be noticed. Tamao’s character is quite subdued compared to Yaya, but there are multiple instances throughout the first six episodes that show her ‘dark’ side. Flashes of irritation. Looks of jealousy. Hints of obssession. It is all there. They just tend to be overshadowed by some other concurrent scenes. I love these little tidbit insertions. :) It makes it worthwhile to be observant during the show.
The biggest complaint I have about SPanic is the extreme inconsistency of its’ character artwork. The characters quite literally deform within frames, and at some points, I wondered whether the animators were Picasso fans, or Salvador Dali’s. It is quite painful to see some of the drawn faces in some scenes, which detracts the audience’s attention. Thankfully, there is some compensation in that in some key scenes, the characters and the background are drawn superbly. Just be forewarned that the girls will see-saw between looking beautiful and looking bizzare.
If SPanic does its’ main plotline justice, its’ final rating will probably be higher. :)
Ep01-06
Rating: B , rising
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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The anime that by this point, needs no introduction. Unless of course, you have been living under a rock. What can I add to the fervour really? No matter how much I want to praise this anime, somebody else probably did it better than me already.
Bootlicking aside, I too am starting to get annoyed by the episode skipping. Not so much as to make me hate it, but enough to make me wish they did not do it. SHaruhi is still without doubt, the anime that makes me think( or speculate if I were to be specific). I want to watch each new episode so much that I want to watch the raws just like I do with School Rumble, but the thrill in SHaruhi comes from the dialogue, and SHaruhi IS dialogue extensive; and thus I have no choice but to wait for the subs to fully enjoy, and appreciate, SHaruhi.
Definitely on my DVDs-to-buy list.
Ep01-06
Rating: S , stable
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Tsubasa Chronicles Season 2
I watch this just for Sakura kawaiiness. Nothing more to it really…
Ep27-28
Rating: B, stable
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Utawarerumono
YES! At long last. An epic fantasy tale that does not revolve around D&D and is actually good( so far). I could weep tears of joy.
Like most of my peers, I do not dig furries. However, a lot of my internet friends( mutual webcomic readers) are furries, so I am pretty desensitised to portrayals of humanoid animals. That said, I enjoy the plotline that is currently unfolding in Uta. Given the pace thus far, I am fully expecting Uta to be at least 26eps( I am hoping for 52).
With adorable characters like spoilt Aruruu and angry Eruruu, it is hard not to have your heart melted. The fight scenes are also pretty exciting, since they are never too one-sided. Folks croak on both sides, frequently, as it should be; with the main ones given proper exposition before their demise.
Keeping my fingers crossed that they pull off a fitting finale.
Ep01-06
Rating: S, rising
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Witchblade
With only one episode to work with… I can’t really give a proper review of the show. The mother-daughter angle appears promising, but the amount of fanservice is disturbing.
Ep01
Rating: Pending
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Yume Tsukai
Judging from the murmurs on the grapevine, the anime series is a whole lot tamer than the manga. That said, only Ep02 has caught my attention thus far, with its’ more likely scenerio. The plot in Ep01 and Ep03 were just too corny for me to stomach. Besides, why do the nightmares always become robots? Is it because they do not want to spill blood in the anime? Yeesh…
Yume Tsukai caught my initial attention due to its’ premise, and thus far, it is in a tricky position. Ep02 has demostrated that the writers can pull off a genuinely touching episode, but the other episodes are so weak in comparison. Here’s hoping that Yume Tsukai strengthens in its’ future episodes.
Ep01-03
Rating: C , wishy-washy
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Other animes that I am watching in a glance,
Aria the Animation: B , rising
Bleach: C , rising
Ergo Proxy: A-, falling
Fate Stay Night: B, falling
Kamichu: B , stagnant due to lack of fansubs
Karin: B , rising
Naruto: D-, FALLING
Pani Poni Dash: Hard to rate, since I do not get most of the in-jokes. C from my point of view.
ZOIDS Genesis: Rating Not Necessary. I watch this because I collect ZOIDS.
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Cheers.
Argh… I thought I proof-read it already?
The line,
“To put it shortly, SPanic is all about laughs and yuri.”
should have been,
“To put it shortly, SPanic is not all about laughs and yuri.”
instead.
Freudian slip? :P
I don’t see how a Harima X Tenma pairing makes sense in the long run. That would be a complete disaster. If Harima ends up pairing with anyone other than Yakumo or Eri then it will be the lamest ending in anime history. My guess is that the second season will end on a non conclusive note just like the first season since the manga is still running. That would be the producers polite way of telling the anime fans to go check the manga to see how the story ends.
I don’t see how a Harima X Tenma pairing makes sense in the long run.
Because Harima x Tenma is the cornerstone of the entire story, perhaps? Whether I like it or not (I’m fairly indifferent, to be honest… I’m cool with Tenma, at least), it’s the only ending that makes sense. And, ultimately, I think it would be the only truly satisfying payoff.
I agree, however, that the second season will likely end on an inconclusive note.
why not Karasuma X Tenma?
I highly doubt that cornerstone idea. It is now common knowledge that the magazine that serializes School Rumble (Weekly Shonen Magazine) conducted a Sukuran character popularity poll. The results had Yakumo in first place, Eri in second while Tenma was a far third. As a result, Jun Kobayashi decided to change the course of the story so that it introduces an Eri X Harima angle and a Yakumo X Harima angle (which is what happened in the last few episodes of the first season, the OAVs and now we see it in spades in the second season). The mere fact that the author changed the storyline based on a popularity poll means the main premise isn’t finalised yet. Personally, I think his decision to change the storyline was the best one he has made so far and has greatly increased the popularity of the anime and manga. I also think that a Tenma X Karasuma pairing is a perfect one but Karasuma is a loner type so I doubt he will pair with any girl in the end.
Harima is a man who’s schtick is being misunderstood.
Tenma is a girl who’s schtick is getting stuff messed up, EXCEPT with regards to Karasuma.
Karasuma is… well.
Eri is oujo-type through and through (gah I hate you JAL now she reminds me of Elis Housen)
There is no end to this mess. Don’t fool yourself. Any hint of it is red herring FROM OUTER SPACE. We can debate which pair is better until kingdom come. I’ll agree that it is the Karasuma x Tenma triangle that is the cornerstone. Problem with that is just thankfully the people responsible for School Rumble realized Karasuma is BORING. In other words, it will never end because there is no exposition for Karasuma, and this kind of a story just wouldn’t fit it.
Utawararenomono is a good watch. I just need to actually watch past episode 1. :rolleyes: So uncompelling like a boooooring console video game.
Recently, the majority of activities were centered around Harima X Yakumo X Eri triangle, and soon they are goind to develope Asou X Mikoto, so it may be good to get Tenma out of the picture by anchoring her to Karasuma. Even in TV episodes, we have seen that Karasuma accepting Tenma inspite of all her faults and Tenma has begun speaking more openly with him. Let’s face it: Harima X Tenma will be constant disasters, thus Tenma’s best chance for stable relationship would be with Karasuma. Sure, that is a boring relationship, but we have enough things on side to keep things funny and interesting. Even Imadori X Karen is getting exposure and there are other male/female characters dying to get their chance in the spotlight, so affirming the boring couple of Tenma X Karasuma, thus keeping them out of the main action, may be good for the series in the long run.