Monthly Archive for February, 2008Page 2 of 2

A Fanboy Moment

20 Comments |
February 8, 2008
| Television

I’ve been using this image as my desktop wallpaper for a week or so now, and every time I look at it, I’m reminded of how attractive the Aria character designs are. Like many female artists, Amano Kozue really knows how to draw beautiful women. Funny how that works.

And since I can never pass up an opportunity to talk about Aria, let me say this: the third season is incredible. While there’s no such thing as a “bad” episode of Aria, there were episodes in the first and second seasons that were especially memorable and a cut above the rest. So far, the third season has been nothing but episodes of that quality. The fourth episode alone is one of the best of the entire franchise, if you ask me.

I’m also happy to see Hal Film Maker pouring a lot of sweat and tears into the production. Aria has always been a pretty show, but as I’ve mentioned in the past, the animation has never been particularly extravagant. That changed somewhat with last year’s OAV, however, and continues now with the third season. It’s not flashy, but it looks great. There’s some sparkle and polish that was never there before.

It’s a shame Amano Kozue will soon be putting Aria to rest, but I’m sure I’ll be rewatching the anime series for years and years to come. Next time you hear someone say, “there’s nothing good coming out of Japan anymore,” tell ‘em to put a sock in it.

Spice of Life

17 Comments |
February 4, 2008
| Television

Bamboo Blade is such a tease.

With an episode title like, “First Training Camp and First Bath House”, you’d expect fanservice. Right? Well, the episode did indeed provide a bath house scene. It just forgot a few things. Like the kendo girls. And the fanservice. And more than five seconds of animation.

Some viewers might have thrown their TVs out the window, but I fell out of my chair laughing. Talk about a meticulously planned gag.

Then again, Bamboo Blade has been a bait and switch act from the very beginning. What at first blush looks like a generic harem comedy is nothing of the sort. And what looks like a fanservice vehicle is anything but. The show offers far more to the kendo enthusiast than it does the admirer of pretty girls, presence of pretty girls be damned. It’s also a show that’s simultaneously heartwarming, hilarious, and action packed. Bamboo Blade may send mixed signals, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun to watch.

In some ways, the show takes the old school approach. Back in the day (the roaring 90s, that is), it was common for shows to continually maneuver from one genre to the next, trying to be a little bit of everything to everyone watching. The first series that comes to mind is the Tenchi Muyo franchise: was it comedy? Or was it action? Drama? Romance? Sci-fi? Harem? It was all of those, of course, and while the series will always be described in terms of “what could have been”, it’s because it tried to be everything at once that so many anime fans remember it so affectionately. Tenchi Muyo was far from perfect, but it was a lot of fun, for a lot of people, for a lot of different reasons.

Today, however, anime series are more specialized than ever. A moe vehicle here, a slice of life show there, girls with guns sulking in the corner… it’s good stuff, sure, but the more specialized anime gets, the more specialized fans get. It’s oh so easy nowadays for a fan to miss out on good shows simply because they don’t carry the proper labels. Even I’ve fallen victim to that sort of thinking.

It’s because I don’t want to be that sort of anime fan that I gave Bamboo Blade a chance in the first place. And I’m really glad I did.

True Tears: A Closer Look

17 Comments |
February 1, 2008
| Television

The more I watch, the more I fall in love with True Tears.

Perhaps the most engaging thing about the show at this point is the tacit suggestion that there’s “more than meets the eye,” as far as Isurugi Noe’s obsession with collecting tears is concerned. Is there a supernatural element to this story? Or is it simply a red herring? I’m inclined to think it’s all metaphorical and that the story will remain grounded in reality until the very end, but there’s enough mystery in Noe’s words to leave me uncertain. The show continues to do a wonderful job maintaining that air of mystery.

And Noe is a fantastic character. I appreciate that she’s the central character among the female leads. As much as Shin’s attention is directed toward Hiromi, the story really does seem to revolve around Noe’s circumstances. That’s not something I expected going in, and I think it’s especially interesting given how Noe isn’t so much a romantic interest for Shin as she is his nutjob partner in crime. It saves the show from the sort of “one guy, one girl” tunnel vision so typical of high school romance anime.

There’s also something to be said for Nishimura Junji’s deft direction. His work in Simoun was far more deliberate; the operatic nature of the show demanded it. The direction in True Tears, however, is more abstract. Seemingly minor scenes and exchanges provide some of the greatest insight into the story and characters, and there’s surprise to be found in the smallest nooks and crannies of each episode. If you ask me, this is atypical for this sort of show. Most high school romance anime series have all the nuance of a sledgehammer upside the head.

I’ve previously touched on the impressive animation, of course, but I feel compelled to add that, watching True Tears alongside Clannad, I almost feel as if PA Works is on the verge of besting Kyoto Animation in certain ways. Both studios have mastered the art of expressive character animation, but the approach taken by PA Works in True Tears feels so much more “natural” to me. Whereas many of the small gestures and movements made by characters in Clannad appear carefully calculated and precise, those same gestures and movements in True Tears appear smoothly integrated into the show’s animation as a whole.

For example, in the fourth episode, there’s a brief sequence in which Miyokichi attempts to grab hold of Ai’s hand while she’s not looking, and her reaction as she pulls away in shock strikes me as surprisingly organic. They might as well have been two real live people on film. The show is full of moments like this, and it makes the more emotional scenes all the more gripping to watch. Every conversation between Shin and Hiromi, for example, is loaded with hidden body language you don’t see all that often outside of theatrical anime and a few particular television series.

Do you see the underlying message here? True Tears is really something special, and I think it would benefit anyone who passed on the show due to its supposedly generic premise to give it a closer look. It’s not your average anime series.

Oh, and on the topic of the show’s recently revealed release plans for North America, I’ll just say one thing: True Tears is a show I would happily buy on DVD, but not at Bandai Visual’s absurd prices.