Omo beat me to it, but I want to point everyone toward these incredible vector traces of Simoun eyecatches, courtesy of NegativeZero. Typically, I don’t use vector traces for desktop wallpaper, but these are too attractive not to use (notebook | desktop). I look forward to seeing more.
And, speaking of Simoun, I have to say this…
When the show first started, I ignored it. Later, I figured I’d give it a try. Initially, I wasn’t sold. But I kept watching. And now? One of my favorite shows of the year. No doubt about it.
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.
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?
