You know, after listening to the Simoun soundtrack - which is incredible, by the way - I wonder if I should give the show another chance. As much as the premise didn’t grab me initially, the show looked to have style. I could see it in the art direction, and I definitely hear it in the music.
And there’s the yuri, of course.
Unfortunately, it looks as if only the first three episodes have been subtitled. If I remember correctly, the dialogue in the first episode was dense enough that I wouldn’t want to attempt watching the show raw. Shame.
Back to the music, though… Sahashi Toshihiko has a long list of credits, but nothing really jumps out at me. Why have I never heard of the guy? And what’s with that haircut?
Yeah, Sahashi Toshihiko is awesome. I hadn’t realised he was doing the music on Simoun (doesn’t interest me in the slightest), but I really liked his work on Gundam SEED&SEED Destiny (no matter what you think of the actually show, the SEED Destiny OSTs are really, really fantastic), Dendoh and The Big O. I particularly like his booming, brassy robotic fisticuff themes.
I’ve only watched the first three episodes of Simoun; I was enjoying it quite a lot, but it’s an odd little show. The yuri is so perfunctory and non-fanservicey that it almost seems out of place, and most of the show is just talking, talking and MORE angsty hormone-fuelled talking (hence why I haven’t caught up; I totally failed at getting what was going on, and episode 4 looks really interesting but has no subs available whatsoever (7-11 have softsubs out written by a member of the AnimeSuki forums I believe)).
The music is awesome, and the art’s pretty good; I’d recommend trying the second episode out at least because it’s very, very different from the first (although there’s still a lot of technobabble flying around).
Yeah, Toshihiko Sahashi is a pretty darn good composer. His Gundam Seed, Gunslinger Girl and The Big O soundtracks are in my regular rotation.
mumble mumble shows I like not getting subs grumble snarl…
Okay, so Simoun is hardly “sliced bread” level stuff, but I kinda wanted to know where it was going. It’s certainly stylish enough, and the deliberate (?) use of dated-looking backgrounds lent it an interestingly retro feel at odds with the good (but not quite top-notch) CGI. The concept had merit, and was compelling enough to carry me through some of the more obnoxious mysterious babble. I’m sort of writing it off, though, ’cause I suspect I’ll never see the thing fully subbed. Oh well.
Now as long as my The Third episodes keep coming, I won’t have to go all postal and stuff or something.
I saw those softsubs for episodes 7-11. Why they skipped ahead, I have no idea.
Now that I think about it, the show is good licensing material.
I’d say Simoun is one of the best shows this season. It’s much better than thrashy Strawberry Panic, yet that show has more subs.
I’m a sad panda.
I agree both that Simoun’s music is outstanding, and I am a great fan of Toshihiko Sahashi, ever since I first heard him in Gundam SEED and FMP! as well as the anime itself is great
And Jeff, Simoun absolutely deserves to reconsider and give it a second shot. It is indeed very good and it is a sad thing indeed how undersubbed this wonderful anime is. I think that if you watch the first 3 eps, which are quite different in feeling from one another and yet make prefect sense in a way, you will see the great potencial of the anime. There is a sub for ep four as well. The eps without subs are only 5 & 6.
I saw those softsubs for episodes 7-11. Why they skipped ahead, I have no idea.
Now that I think about it, the show is good licensing material.
The episodes before that are mostly character and setting introduction - Ep7 Introduces the final pair into the cast (Ore-onna is supar Moe
Note to self for future: Do not use heart-smilies when posting WP comments, they apparently cut off the rest of your message. Good thing I had this on the clipboard =P
I saw those softsubs for episodes 7-11. Why they skipped ahead, I have no idea.
Now that I think about it, the show is good licensing material.
The episodes before that are mostly character and setting introduction - Ep7 Introduces the final pair into the cast (Ore-onna is supar Moe for a Mooey and Mamiina is cute angry girl) , and the figurative (heh) Bomb is “dropped” in Ep8, so I guess that was a logical starting point for whoever it is who’s doing them.
If you want a sum-up:
Ep4: Some antagonist background stuff, and Aeru & Loli-Rimone get TRAPed!!!11
Ep5: Rimone is sad loli because of Last episode, enter non-milf milf Dominura for surrogate mother. Results… questionable.
Ep6: Neville is still emo, Kaimu is gay for Paraietta, who gives up on Neville in in favor of Aeru.
For a show with such a silly gimmick premise, the Yuri is as, mentioned earlier surprisingly subdued and only really recently (Ep12) reered its head in more of a non-perfunctory manner. And as much as I like Strawberry Panic for beng so shamelessly gay in the open I’ll have to topple Simoun over it because it, ironically, doesn’t come across half as forced. In SP, the characters serve the Moe and Yoori, in Simoun, the Yoori serves the characters, and then there was Moe ;-)
For those who still havn’t noticed, It’s a character centric pice and not an epic-xile. The plot is moving and building, but it’s doing so mostly in the background of the daily lives/troubles of our Yoori Miko Flight Academy Death-Kaleidoscope Squad.
Why do I like the show? It’s no 20-set french cousine, that’s for sure, but it does enough things right, and makes it easy to ignore the wrongs, for me to keep up the interest. Your own home cooking may not be a match for the extravagances that the french chéf can throw at you, it’s more mundane but still tastes goodl and probably is a good deal healthier too ;).
It kind of reminds me of Marimite in one aspect - Not because of the girl-girl stuff, but the drama leaves me with a similar flair in both - It’s silly if you really start thinking about it, but you can’t help but enjoy it and move with the flow when you get down to watching it. Though where as Marimite is more moody and even subtle at times, I guess Simoun is a bit more… typical?
And the soundtrack indeed totally rocks my socks.
I agree that Simoun is one of the best shows this season, and perhaps the most unappreciated. Fortunately this show will receive quality fansubs RSN; I believe our group’s encoder is starting today or tomorrow, Tempus Spatium willing. I’ve watched our drafts several times this week, and if I must say so myself they’re looking a lot more polished than Doremi’s. Expect episodes 4 & 5 to appear this weekend.
That’s great news, MacGuges!
I seriously hope your translation is reasonably lucid, at the least. The slow pace is turning me off from the show as much as the senseless attempts at comprehensible English sentences.
omo: Well, I’m hoping it makes sense. All of us really enjoy the show, so it’d be nice to make it accessible (and comprehensible!) to many more fans.
It’s all about the mood…and the girls.
It’s like trying to take in Ergo Proxy with its own share of technobabble…which after repeated viewings are still techno, but no longer babble. Same with Simoun, but for me is far more accessible because it actually has a decent color pallette!
Simoun is like a new religion (indeed it has strong religious themes). It makes you go wtf at first, but in the end it does make a little sense.
well thanks to your translation I managed to “understand” better, and it is a good watch once you pierce through that babble. i’ve even ventured into the raw now that I have a clue where the show is going.