Let’s Grow Old Together
May 21, 2006 | Miscellaneous, Television | Haruhi, Nana, Ouran High School Host Club, Strawberry Panic
Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten into the habit of letting a week’s worth of new anime episodes pile up, only to work my way through them in a single sitting once a free evening presents itself. The days of eagerly anticipating new fansub releases, grabbing them on IRC the minute they become available, and rushing to the TV within seconds of the download finishing… those days seem like a distant memory. Anime has become a routine.
That’s not a complaint, mind you. I still get around to watching new episodes within a week or two of airing, with plenty of time in between to rewatch old favorites, catch up with forgotten shows, or (most of the time) do something entirely different altogether. I have to be especially careful about avoiding spoilers, but, for the most part, I’ve found the “my pace” approach to be pretty satisfying.
It’s funny, though, the shows I look forward to and the shows I don’t. This season, in particular, is a lot of trouble in that, with so many good shows worthy of “favorite” status, it’s been difficult to prioritize. Furthermore, those shows that achieve “favorite” status aren’t always the shows I look forward to most from week to week. A perfect example from the current season would be Ouran High School Host Club, perhaps my absolute favorite show currently airing… but not a show I eagerly await new episodes of on a weekly basis. Why? It’s the lack of a narrative hook, I think. As enjoyable as the show may be, there’s little to link one episode to the next. There’s no continuing storyline, for the most part, nor is there much promise of a continuing storyline to come. That’s not to say it won’t happen, of course. Plenty of episodic shows develop stories in their second acts as a matter of necessity.
And, of course, there’s everyone’s favorite, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. This is actually an odd specimen in that, while there may be some sort of underlying story to speak of, Kyoto Animation’s insistence on shuffling the episode order only serves to minimize it. Haruhi may be a show with a purpose, but, best I can tell, we won’t know for sure until it’s over and done with. Unfortunately, that makes the show a bit tedious to keep up with from episode to episode. Sure, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of each and every episode thus far, but once the end credits have rolled, it’s out of sight, out of mind until the next episode airs. It’s the anime equivalent of a hit and run.
So, what shows do I look forward to on a daily basis? The obvious winner, I think, would be Nana. In a lot of ways, Nana has what it takes to displace Ouran as my absolute favorite of the current season: it’s old fashioned shoujo, after all. But, what’s most important, I think, is that, since it’s based on a popular, long running, well developed manga series, it has a lot of story to work with from the very first episode. There’s been no dilly-dallying around thus far - in fact, if anything, the anime series has been more in-depth with regard to story than I ever expected. Four episodes of backstory to kick things off? Wow! Even the pseudo-recap episode was enjoyable. I watched the first episode a million times as is, so seeing those scenes again one last time didn’t bother me in the slightest - especially with the addition of a few new scenes along the way.
And I’d be remiss not to mention Strawberry Panic. Here you have a show that’ll never be a favorite, yet, I somehow grow more and more excited about it with each episode. Once again, I think it’s the presence of a continuous narrative that holds my attention between episodes. Nagisa and Shizuma may be the dullest leads around (seriously, do they even have a purpose in the story yet?), but the soap opera raging around them is awfully intriguing. Even “bad” shows can be compelling if they manage to push the right buttons.
Story is important. Plot is important. For all the shows I have especially fond memories of years after the fact, the presence of a deeply satisfying and obvious storyline is the one common factor. Maison Ikkoku. Cardcaptor Sakura. Full Moon wo Sagashite. Kaleido Star. Marmalade Boy. Planetes. The list goes on and on…
“Hit and run” anime has value, of course. But its value is “in the moment” - and a moment only lasts for so long.
I’ve noticed a similar thing myself, at least in regards to terms of “favorites.” I find myself watching Fate/stay night and Haruhi Suzumiya fairly quickly, but I don’t really regard either show all that highly. Compare to a show like Aria, which I love, but kind of let pile up, just to watch an episode and wonder why I always put it off.
I am curious as to how you weigh in a “favorite.” Is there much weight put into the anticipation of it? For example, is your lack of real anticipation for Ouran the very thing that could hinder it in comparison to something like NANA? Is there more weight to the quality of the show itself or is it just something that just clicks?
“Favorite” can have two meanings, I suppose. If you consider an entire library of anime, “favorite” would be any show I find particularly special or memorable (like the shows listed here). Each show is judged on its own individual merits, so I’ll obviously end up with a number of “favorites”. Still, some shows stand out from the pack; when I say Maison Ikkoku is my favorite anime series of all time (i.e., numero uno), I mean it.
With regard to Ouran, however, it’s more a “favorite” in the sense that, compared to the rest of the season’s offerings, it’s the show I enjoy most. Favorites are bound to change over the course of a season, though. Some shows get worse with time. Others improve. First impressions are only worth so much. Chances are, I’ll be calling Nana my “favorite” before long, since Ouran no longer excites me the way it used to. Anticipation plays a role, no doubt, but it’s just part of the package.
Anyway, I generally don’t like rating or ranking shows, so when I refer to something as a “favorite”, I’m really just saying, “This show is special to me.”
It doesn’t help that this season in anime seems to be somewhat lacking. I mean yeah, we have Haruhi, xxxHolic, and Utawarerumono, but I personally don’t feel compelled to blog about any of them but Haruhi, and even then its only because there’s a lot of story speculation. I personally await next season when maybe (hopefully) we’ll see a slew of new shows that can catch interest a lot more.
Every year I’m always searching for that perfect series that makes me want to watch it over and over again. You do everything to avoid spoilers and you do everything in your power to watch it to it’s fullest potential. You know what I mean. It’s that good.
A few years ago it was Fullmetal Alchemist and this year it was Honey and Clover. Those two were extremely good series. And they’ll probably remain with me for the rest of my anime life. Or at least I hope I can remember them. There should be some anime that remains timeless.
BTW Jeff did you get that application in on time? Those 9rules guys were looking like they were desperate for diversity.
Strawberry Panic’s an odd case. I started out laughing at the blatant MariMite riffs, got bored with it as they pushed heavily on the tedious Nagasi-Etoile thing, and then found new enthusiasm as the other characters and their drama are being woven into the fabric of the show. Mind you, I just “caught up” with the show this morning in a marathon viewing of 5, 6 and 7. (I can now appreciate the Reptilian Brain video that much more, of course. *snicker*)
I, too, seem to have settled into anime viewing habits that follow my available schedule rather than my schedule being written around anime releases. Sometimes this means I marathon a few eps of a show, sometimes it means I watch a half-dozen different shows, but it’s almost always when a free bubble of time comes up and not a matter of my “making” time. It feels a lot less like work this way, which is quite nice of course. Who wants their hobby feeling like a chore?
For me the “MUST WATCH NAO” show of the season is clearly Higurashi.
Waiting for new episodes of that can be TORTURE.
The most exciting show this season for me is Black Lagoon. It hits really close to home in terms of what I look for in an anime, and I’m surprised that it was possible to see all those themes from a package like that. I’m still excited about Suzumiya Haruhi but I don’t find the schtick as compelling now; the episode shuffling actually didn’t make it worse–a mundane progression would have made it a lot more predictable and much less exciting personally.
I’m actually really disappointed with Ouran Host Club. Too much slice-of-life shoujo trope-slapping and not enough channeling Utena’s directoral flair. Shounen anime has done it for a few years now, and I grow wary at warp speed with that kinds of predictable routines. Maaya Sakamoto really helps out, on that note.
Nana is too slow at this rate. I’m only bothering with it because I haven’t gotten to read the manga past volume 1. If I had read the manga I wouldn’t even give this a thought (Like Monster…) I guess when my patience wear thin (by next season) I would just stop caring and stop watching.
Higurashi is a lot of fun, but it’s not as suspenseful as most people who are watching it make it to be. It’s actually kind of ridiculous. I’m glad the anime hasn’t failed so far.
I hope Utawarerumono ends real fast and get to the point. Watching that is like watching Xenosaga video capture, but with anti-aliasing.
Michael - I got my app in on time.
Omo - I too find Higurashi more silly than scary/suspenseful. I wish I had more time and energy to devote to the show (that is, speculating about things, trying to solve the mystery, etc.), but, for now, I’m just along for the ride.
As for Nana, it has the sort of things I look for in a show, so I’m naturally inclined to enjoy it. It’s something I can really settle in to. True “serial” shoujo has been hard to come by lately.
And Ouran… the first couple of episodes were pretty classy (that “Utena directional flair”). The juxtaposition of high drama and cornball comedy is what made the show so fascinating. Recent episodes have been heavy on the cornball comedy, though… it’s just not as interesting.
I love Utawarerumono, for some reason. Could be a matter of it exceeding low expectations. It’s predictable as hell, but oh well. As far as these sort of shows go, it’s nicely put together.
I have a soft spot for anime using quality classical music at the right occasion. I also tend to bump down any anime with horrendous musical performance like ‘Sumire’ in ‘Canvas 2′ and most of angel’s performance in ‘Oh, My Goddess’. There is a unique feeling associated with growing old with animes using old music. I like to mention that today is the birthdayof infamous composer, Richard Wagner. He is one of the person most responsible for the split between artistic music and commercial music. Do take the time to read about him, for his influence can be detected in many anime music with big supporting budget.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner
Keh, another harutard.