Tag Archive for 'Higurashi'

Lazy Afternoon

7 Comments |
June 28, 2006
| Television

I’m giving Simoun a try after all. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, but the show has some serious problems. In particular, the direction and voice acting lacks energy. The show promises tension, but never really delivers. The phrase “going through the motions” comes to mind, unfortunately. That said, I still dig the art direction. The “sketchy” backgrounds are especially nice and reminiscent of Figure 17, which features some of my favorite background work of all time.

The character designs are starting to bug me, however. There’s an unusual amount of variation in style, and it can be a little upsetting when the entire cast is on screen at the same time. There have been some character model issues from episode to episode as well. In particular, the studio hasn’t managed to nail down Limone’s design. Speaking of which, I don’t care for teh Mamiko in this particular role. When Limone opens her mouth and Mamiko’s voice comes out, my brain produces some sort of instant “DOES NOT COMPUTE” response and shuts down for a moment. The voice doesn’t match the character.

Reports of the death of Ouran High School Host Club have been greatly exaggerated. After some thought, I realize there’s only been a couple of “bad” episodes - relatively speaking, that is. The only episode that really bugged me was the first “beach” episode, partially because it promised to be a Honey/Mori episode, yet never amounted to much, and partially because it was followed by yet another, more superior beach episode. Other than that, I’ve been absolutely delighted with the show. There have been enough “ROFLMAO” episodes to make up for the occasional “meh” episode, I think.

I’m going to skip the recap episode for Nana and give Madhouse a freebie by pretending it never existed in the first place. I really like that the story is starting to move along (at whatever glacial pace one could expect from a 50 episode TV series), but I have to admit: anime Hachi annoys me far more than movie Hachi or what-I-read-of-the-manga Hachi ever did. I think I understand now why her character ruins the whole thing for some people.

Oh, and the most recent chapter of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has actually been kind of interesting. Probably because stuff actually… you know… happens.

What a novel idea.

This is What it Sounds Like…

7 Comments |
May 1, 2006
| Television

Oh. Now I get it.

After finishing the fourth episode of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, there was a brief moment where I sat, scratching my head, wondering what the hell the show was trying to do. Then, it dawned on me, and the show’s coolness level shot right through the roof, left the atmosphere, up into orbit.

Dammit, I’m gonna enjoy this.

The funny thing is, the narrative seemed so straight-forward in the first four episodes that I don’t feel particularly inclined to go back and search for things I might have missed the first time around. I keep trying to think of potential red herrings or unexplained events, but come up empty. I have a feeling, however, that, if I did go back and watch those first four episodes again, I’d come to discover the show was a lot more subtle than I give it credit for. I just need to find the time, I guess.

It’s worth noting, however, that, as super creepy as the show is at times, I don’t think I find it particularly scary. Rena’s initial “freak-out” definitely comes out of nowhere, but by the fifth or sixth instance, it’s more funny than it is chilling. What did surprise me, however, was Keichi’s increasingly bizarre behavior (perhaps raising some interesting questions about the roles of the “victims” in the story?). In fact, the scene I found most intense in the show’s first act is the one in which Keichi freaks out, slamming a door on Rena’s hand, ignoring her pleading cries of pain. That was pretty out there, if you ask me.