One thing I asked myself upon finishing Clannad was, “Of all the recent anime adaptations of Key visual novels, which had the most likable male lead?” After some thought, I settled on Okazaki Tomoya, but it was while evaluating Aizawa Yuuichi’s character that I tripped on something I had never tripped on before: the primary reason why I’m not a big fan of the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi.

When the Kanon remake first aired, there was a lot of talk of how Yuuichi was essentially a clone of Haruhi’s Kyon, given their similarly sarcastic nature and the fact both characters were voiced by Sugita Tomokazu. I saw the similarity as well, but the two characters still struck me as fundamentally different. But why? It’s funny that I didn’t realize it until now, but the reason is quite simple. Yuuichi is likable. Kyon, on the other hand, is not.

Now, I’m sure there are plenty of Haruhi fans out there who will disagree with me, but my impression of Kyon was indeed negative. And since the show was structured in such a way as to emphasize his negative qualities, what with his neverending sarcastic narration and contemptuous observations on the events occurring around him, he grew more and more insufferable with each episode. I’m reminded of a conversation I had with Momotato in which he commented that he would have enjoyed the show more himself had it not been for Kyon’s internal monologue. I think I now understand what he was getting at.

Of course, complicating matters further is the fact that Haruhi is a somewhat unpleasant character herself. Perhaps that’s why Hirano Aya’s voice grates on me so much nowadays? That’s another topic all together, I guess.

Anyway, just a thought. I suppose it might be worth rewatching the show some time soon, just to make sure I’m not being unfair in my assessment.

Regardless of one’s opinion of True Tears, it’s hard to deny that it was a unique take on an otherwise tried and true formula. I suspect it’s for that reason that reaction to the show has generally been positive, bitterness on the part of Isurugi Noe fans notwithstanding. Typically, you would expect a show of this nature to have no shortage of ankle-biting detractors, but I’ve heard genuine praise for True Tears from even some of the most jaded and hardened anime fans I know. That’s pretty impressive.

But why all the good vibes? Nishimura Junji’s excellent direction is notable, to start. His work on Simoun has garnered him a lot of attention as of late, and I think that helped to drive interest in True Tears for a lot of people, myself included. Of course, Nishimura-san has been working in the anime industry for a quite some time now, having been staff on Urusei Yatsura and Director for Ranma 1/2, to name just a couple of older, high profile series. However, his work on True Tears was in many ways most reminiscent of his work on Simoun, be it in his careful use of background music to bridge one scene to the next or in his cuts to highly stylized freeze frames at crucial and climatic moments.

The anime directors I respect most typically leave these sort of calling cards in the shows they work on, to the extent their involvement is instantly recognizable from watching only a single episode. That’s not to say they’re one trick ponies. Rather, I think it’s evidence that they so consistently stray from the ordinary and generic as to be more than “just another anime director.” And, let’s face it: there are a lot of “just another anime director” types in the business.

An anime director is not an island unto himself, however. True Tears also benefited from some surprisingly smart writing, especially given its standard premise. For all of the show’s dramatic cliffhangers, there was no shortage of subtlety and misdirection in both story development and character dialogue. So much in the show was not as it seemed, and it wasn’t until the very end that the story’s theme and purpose came into focus. Even then, it kept me guessing. When Shin’ichiro fell to his knees in anguish in the final episode as Noe slowly limped away, his heart wavering, so did mine. Did the show have one final plot twist up its sleeve? Would it stay the course? I didn’t know. I thought I knew. But, the truth is, I didn’t know anything.

Very few shows can maintain such a high level of apparent unpredictability to the very end without resorting to jarring and implausible plot twists, like a race car driver griding the gears to get ahead one moment, only to fall behind the next. “Exactly as planned,” unpredictability is uncommon in anime. True Tears, on the other hand, had it in spades. I think that’s a pretty clear indicator of how carefully conceived and planned the show was from the very beginning.

Of course, the show’s good points aren’t limited to just the contribution of its Director and the strength of its writing. It’s no secret that the quality of the animation was beyond what you would typically expect from a television series being produced by a previously unknown studio. But, then again, I seem to remember a little studio by the name of Kyoto Animation being relatively unknown when they first burst on the scene a few years back, too. Moral of the story? Pay attention to new animation studios.

And, you know, for all the talk about how this past anime season was a little on the weak side, I have to admit that the combination of True Tears and Aria was more than enough to sate my appetite for good anime through those long and dark winter months. A chicken in the sky is worth two in the coop, I guess.

It may have been a cold and gloomy day with snow flakes flying, and I may have destroyed a hard disk the day before, and I may be thinking, “you know, a vacation sounds nice right about now,” but the news that more Clannad is on the way makes me smile all the same.

Not that it comes as much of a surprise, of course. I haven’t watched the final two episodes of the first season yet, but based on what I’ve heard, it ends in fairly ambiguous fashion. And given that the anime series didn’t even acknowledge a full third of the original game’s content, it only stood to reason that some sort of continuation would be in the works. After all, Kyoto Animation was relatively thorough in its adaptations of Air and Kanon, so I would expect the same for Clannad.

Personally, I’m as happy as can be about the news. I really have found Clannad to be an engaging and enjoyable show, and because the pacing of the story has been very slow and very deliberate, it’s only gotten more engaging and more enjoyable with time. I’m not ready for it to end. No way, no how.

My condolences, of course, to the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi fans out there still waiting for news on a second season of that particular series. It’s no secret that I’m not the world’s biggest Haruhi fan, but I still look forward to a second season of the series because, one, it’ll probably be a fun watch, and two, people will finally shut up about it.

I’ll take more Clannad first, though.

I’m going to miss you, Kimikiss Pure Rouge.

It was only six months, but I feel a little like I’m losing a close friend. A close friend I didn’t pay nearly as much attention to it as I should have. The past year has been a good one for romantic dramas, embodied in gems like Clannad and True Tears, but what of Kimikiss? In many ways, it was the plain girl in a room full of cheerleaders. However, if you’ve watched enough high school romantic comedies, you probably know by now that the plain girl typically gets the boy in the end.

In the course of its run, Kimikiss never bothered much with pretension, nor did it make any extra effort to impress. That was its charm, I suppose. Yet, despite its homely nature, the show’s characters, relationships, plot, and emotions were just complex enough to make it something special. As romantic dramas go, it was wonderfully paced, and even though the climatic and emotionally charged ending may have seemed trite upon close examination, I was still smiling like an idiot when the ED theme kicked in one last time, our cast of characters finding some measure of happiness in their own particular way, in that brief moment of time. That’s how you end a show like this.

Of course, fans could argue and disagree until the sun comes up about the choices and decisions each character made in the end. And they should. Audience participation is a big part of what makes shows like this so much fun to watch. Our own experiences color our opinions of each character: what would I have done in that situation? What did I do in that situation? What should I have done in that situation? Kimikiss may very well be the perfect ren’ai game adaptation, for it compels its viewers to ask those very questions of themselves. The only thing missing was the multiple choice test.

And did our would be selves choose wisely? I think so. Take the final scene between Kazuki and Eri, for example. The entire time, thoughts of, “Damn, this guy is smooth,” were running through my head as Kazuki said one right thing after another. The reason he said the right things, however, is because he thought the right things. Kazuki was never smooth. But he was in love. And he was willing to say so. In a lot of ways, Kazuki stands out as the admirable half of the show’s fractured male protagonist, having stayed true to himself from the beginning and having treated the two girls who loved him with the dignity and respect they deserved. Eri is a lucky girl.

What about Kouichi? As tempting as it is to call him out for being a coward, I think he too made the right decision in the end. Anything else would have been an insult to Yuumi. After all, she found the strength and confidence in herself to acknowledge and accept that their relationship wasn’t meant to be. And Kouichi responded in kind. Of course, in a lot of people’s eyes, his pledging his undying devotion to Yuumi was the proper and “manly” thing to do. Mao clearly saw it that way.

But, if you ask me, Kouichi is far more a man for having swallowed his pride and having been honest with Yuumi about his feelings for Mao than he would have been had he chose to continue stringing her along in an effort to keep a promise that they both knew shouldn’t and couldn’t be kept. He may have made a fool out of himself, and he may have hurt Yuumi along the way, but he still did the right thing. And Yuumi? She’ll do just fine.

Which brings us to Mao, the little heartbreaker. All I can say is that I couldn’t help but laugh when she gave Kouichi the stink eye when he told her he had broken things off with Yuumi. “Onee-chan is going to have to teach you a lesson!” She’ll keep him an honest man, mark my words.

Sometimes, you just have to give people the benefit of the doubt. Sure, the imperfect characters in Kimikiss practically beg for criticism, but I think it’s best to remember this simple fact: in multiple choice tests, there’s a higher probability of choosing the wrong answer than there is of choosing the right answer. And “all of the above” doesn’t come around to save your ass all that often.

At its core, Kimikiss may have been little more than a high school soap opera, but there’s something in its approach that allows it to connect with viewers in a way more refined shows never do. It’s only fitting that some of the same team responsible for adapting Honey and Clover for anime had a hand in Kimikiss as well. Honey and Clover had a way with connecting with its viewers, too.

And just as Honey and Clover reminded us of what it was like to grow up, Kimikiss reminds of us of what it’s like to be in love. And I think people like to remember what it’s like to be in love.

I know I do.

It’s cold and I’m tired. It even snowed last night. A good weekend to stay at home, don’t you think?

Which is exactly what I’m doing. To pass the time, however, I plowed through Da Capo II last night and this morning, a show I probably should have watched when it first aired last year, yet didn’t. Believe it or not, I have a bit of a soft spot for the franchise. It’s not a work of art, by any means, but as bishoujo game adaptations go, the first two seasons weren’t all that bad. And even when they were bad, they were still entertaining. Sometimes, that’s all that matters.

But what about the sequel? I had heard so many nasty things about it going in that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and while I fully understand now why the show gets such a bad rap, I have to admit that it still managed to pass the “well, at least it didn’t put me to sleep,” test. In fact, the show actually got off to a surprisingly strong start. However, that just makes the sloppy finish all the more frustrating. Thankfully, the show will have an opportunity to redeem itself in its second season. And it can start by doing a little something about this.

That aside, what’s with robots as bishoujo game heroines? Is it just a natural expression of Japan’s obsession with robots in general? Have patience, fair and gentle ASIMO, for the day you’ll be an irreplaceable sex toy friend to the human race will soon come.

Work is keeping me on my toes, so new posts will be lacking for another week or so. That said, following up on my earlier post, here’s a quick glance at the new shows I’m interested in for the coming Spring season…

Toshokan Sensou - Typically, I view shows that air in the Notiamina time slot on Fuji TV in one of two ways: I either love them, or I have zero interest in them. Nothing in between. Since I’m already interested in Toshokan Sensou, I can only assume I’ll end up loving it. Very scientific, I know. Seriously, though, this show looks like the sort of mainstream, adult targeted fare I dig. And the popularity of the original novels is hard to ignore.

Kure-nai - I’m surprised by how little attention this show is receiving, because the more I learn about it, the more I feel it’s poised to be one of the season’s better offerings. Either way, the premise grabs me, and I’m attracted by both the character designs and the general look of the animation as seen in the show’s trailer. And, on that note, the banter between the two leads in the latter half of the trailer suggests some lively voice acting. And by “lively”, I mean, “that’s one bitchy sounding tsundere.”

Macross Frontier - Just as a lot of anime fans have a special place in their heart for all things Gundam, I have a special place in my heart for all things Macross. However, while there’s been plenty of activity on the Gundam front in recent years, the same can’t be said for Macross. Hopefully, this entry in the franchise will make up for all those years of waiting. And, speaking of years of waiting, I’m excited to see Yoko Kanno and Maaya Sakamoto working together again. I hope it isn’t a one time thing.

Itazura na Kiss - When all else fails, watch shoujo. This actually looks like fairly generic shoujo, and the fact that it’s only thirteen episodes in length despite the story in the manga spanning decades kind of leaves me scratching my head. That could very well end up being the show’s secret weapon, however. I’m a bit curious to see how it plays out.

S.A - Special A-Class - I’ve heard good things about the manga, and I really can’t pass on what looks to be a solid shoujo comedy in an otherwise slow season. I really enjoy watching this sort of stuff. My initial impression is that it looks and sounds like Ouran High School Host Club’s trailer park cousin, but I expect I’ll be proven wrong.

When Right Stuf first started talking “mystery license” a few days ago, my initial reaction was, “I bet it’s Maria-sama ga Miteru.”

I should buy a lottery ticket this weekend.

Hence, today’s announcement doesn’t surprise me. Marimite has always been one of those shows that, despite not appearing popular, still has its legions of dedicated fans. And with all of the shoujo ai themed titles being licensed and released nowadays, I figured it was just a matter of time before some North American distributor got it in their head to go and license the crown jewel of the genre.

I’m still deliriously happy, of course. Marimite is one of those rare, long-running franchises that only grows sweeter with age. It’s also one of a few select anime series I can get excited about watching at pretty much any given moment. For example, I’ve already watched the OAV series three or four times now, despite the fact it’s less than a year old.

So, the entire series has immense rewatch value, and has been at the top of my licensing and DVD purchasing wishlist for quite some time. A couple years back, I came within an inch of purchasing the entire series up to that point on R2 DVD during one of my many intoxicated visits to Akihabara, abstaining only because I expected it to be licensed for R1 release before long. I’m glad I waited; especially so, given that Right Stuf will be releasing the series in convenient seasonal boxsets at a very attractive price.

With the third TV season of the series set to air in Japan this Summer, 2008 looks to be the year of the Yamayurikai. Any distributor out there want to make it the year of Neo-Venezia while we’re at it?