Tag Archive for 'Nana'

Year in Review: NANA

6 Comments |
December 21, 2006
| Television

10. NANA

A couple nights ago, as I laid sprawled out on the couch watching a particularly emotional episode of Bokura ga Ita, my roommate made the comment that he couldn’t “understand” shoujo. “But I think I understand the appeal,” he added. “Soap operas are addictive.”

Indeed.

But, you know, just as soap operas are a dime a dozen, so are shoujo series. Thumb through a shoujo anthology at the newsstand, and you’ll see the same thing repeated again and again: the same premise, the same characters, the same art style, the same roses and flourish and mush and… oh dear, I hope the Family Mart next door stocks testosterone in a bottle. But, occasionally, a shoujo series comes along that, for whatever reason, shines brighter than all the rest. And, if the author is lucky, lucrative publishing deals, movie deals, merchandising deals, and a swarm of salivating fangirls (with deep pockets) will follow.

Oh, and an anime adaptation is fine, too.

So, if the NANA anime is well-received, it should come as no surprise. After all, it’s just the latest in a long series of successes for a popular and profitable franchise. But, just because something is a commercial success doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “perfect”, and it’s indeed true that the NANA anime has its flaws. Some of these flaws are a reflection of the original material, of course. The narrative IS uneven at times, no matter how you slice it and serve it. Hachi IS a pain in the ass for the first third of the story. And there’s no way in hell they can afford that giant apartment.

But, as anime adaptations of long running shoujo series go, NANA is remarkably well paced. The story is always moving forward without pause or apprehension. Stuff happens. Lots of stuff. Compare this to your average shoujo series, which can somehow stretch a confession of love into an entire season. The serial nature of shoujo can be both a blessing and a curse… the long and winding road is enchanting, that’s for sure, but after nine hours of driving, you’ll be thinking, “Enough with the fucking curves already!” Shoujo is either terminally addictive or terminally frustrating. Or, in the case of, say, Marmalade Boy, it’s both.

NANA, though? Nine months on, and I still have two hands on the steering wheel, the sunroof open, the radio blaring, and the pedal to the metal. Sharp curve ahead? Bring it on.

Hachi no Kechi

5 Comments |
July 1, 2006
| Television

There’s a scene in Episode 11 of Nana where Hachi is walking around Mizukoshi-san’s store, carrying this phallic kryptonite glass knick-knack thingamajig, fretting over her financial situation. You’re just waiting for her to drop the thing, given her clumsy nature and all - not to mention the fact it would make for great comedy, what with her being down to her last 2,000 yen and Junko’s bag of pity rice. “You break it, you buy it.” Anyway, Mizukoshi-san walks up and surprises her with an offer of dinner (and in Hachi’s mind, something more, I reckon). As expected, Hachi throws her arms up and squeals “Yatta!,” and you’re thinking “Ah, here it is… here’s the gag…”

And, sure enough, in the next shot, there stands Hachi, sans phallic kyrptonite glass knick-knack thingamajig, except…

That’s all. It just vanishes. No gag.

Weird.

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.

Let’s Grow Old Together

10 Comments |
May 21, 2006
| Television

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.