Year In Review: N-Squared List
Just like last year, I guess some things have not changed. This could be a reference.
Leader of the Pack: Autumn 2009
The below endorsements are not exclusive; there are a handful of shows I would like to watch but haven’t gotten around to check, but these I will definitely follow. (Well, subs and time permitting…with the caveat that some shows are better with less brain cycles spent trying to figure out what was said while watching. As a side note, lol, White Album is epitome of that statement. Thanks CR!) That is on top of the show I am watching that, heh, is not eligible for this post for some reason. Like White Album.
I wouldn’t have guessed at all that A Certain Scientific Railgun was so much fun a month ago; perhaps that is why I didn’t guess at all. On the other hand I recall some people lamented that it was Index that got adapted back half a year ago, and not the stories surrounding the electrifying campus celebrity herself. At any rate, Railgun episode 3 got to a point that it reminded me of the more enjoyable/fun TV anime from the 90s, except it looks sooooooo much better. I would think anyone who followed Index from earlier this year would watch Railgun just by virtue of still being in the hobby of watching anime, but this is good enough to pull in new fans, and make people hopeful for a future that is not just darker than black.
However, that’s not writing off several other shows which might be more directly targeting certain demographics–
- Seitokai no Ichizon is the surprising hit for me. Episode 3 raises the stakes by introducing Toudou-san, and having Mamiko Noto play a major foil/antagonist, well, satisfies the kind of otaku that’ll likely get enough of the actually-funny references to keep with this frantic anime 4-koma-kind of thing. What is ultimately surprising is that not only I got enough of the jokes to enjoy each episode, but the jokes were easy enough to get for someone like me!
- Kimi ni Todoke gets a mention only because, well, there’s so much left to go and so little to go on right now. I enjoy the art style and the animation, first and foremost. And yeah, Mamiko owns me. At any rate it has not hit its stride yet.
- While I wasn’t overly fond of Mind Game, I think Trapeze will be a better experience simply because I only have to take it 22 minutes at a time. The first episode at least strikes a balance between the interesting (as in, makes me want to watch it) and the odd (as in, makes me sleepy/bored). Strictly for the art house crowd though.
- Sora no Otoshimono–you already know this. (As an aside I wrote up a little thing about the whole panties disjunction, but I’m debating about revising and posting it. Maybe you have a different take than mine: It seems like a redundant exercise, and a bad idea. I mean it’s like trying to explain a joke to tell you why it’s funny. Or why porn is…porny?)
As to sequels–
- Sunred is as you know it; I don’t think they can screw up a show like that simply by making more episodes of it.
- On the other hand, it’s not out of the woods yet, but the moe-relationship craving crowd probably will also stick with Haruka’s Secret for now. Second season jumps on what makes the first one worth following, and really cranks up the dial. It might not be what some who enjoyed the first season want to sign up for, but you win some, you lose some. Regardless Haruka scores better-than-expectation for me.
- And remember, November 11 is only 23 days away. The non-coupled episode arcs for Darker than Black 2 is something I have not gotten used to (it’s only 3 episodes in!) but so far it’s got all the charm from the last season, almost.
It seems that sequels this season are somehow better than sequels of yore; a welcomed change if it follows through.
A Girl’s Last Regret
…is not getting to know November 11 a little better.
Eternity approaches. The feeling of solitude escapes its frail shell through the cracks of the oncoming holiday season. Weather changes from warm to chilly; perhaps your coworker has caught a cold and you try your own best to beat the bug. At any rate, all of this is to pass through the flight of time. In a blink of eye we will be reading Jeff Lawson’s post about his favorite anime being better than yours, along with everyone else that partake in the half-trollish, half-festive tradition. The urge to recall what happened early this year fills you invariably with happy and sad memories at the same time, or worse, a chilly void of “wow, what have I been doing with my life?”
Eternity is here, in some sense. For girls like Chihiro Shindou eternity has been severed into pieces; each night’s sleep leapfrogs her from one small reality to the next, guided by written continuity from the hands of an equally fragmented author. A little sheep grazes at the lawn it is chained, perhaps, to its eventual death. However, what that little sheep fails to realize is that life keeps going. She may be limited by her chains but the sum of herself is more than the recollection of self. It’s the fact that eternity is here. It’s the story about memory, and how we perceive them and express them.
Pop quiz: Why did Nayuki asked Yuuichi if he remembers her name?
Answer: Kanon 2006 FAILS.
But good o chap Jack Simon will live on with those who remember him. And I think even if he doesn’t exist as a real person, he is pretty inspirational as an icon of those who can keep his cool all the while doing the thing he has to do.
Women Don’t Have A Thousand Faces in Anime
Sorry Yumi-chan, but a cat has even more.
Or in this week’s case, an alien bent on destruction of the Human race.
That must’ve been one of the most satisfying moment in anime that I ran in to for some time. It’s definitely one of the more satisfying thing to happen to a persistent pain-in-the-butt character (and Heroic Age’s got its share) that I’ve seen. It’s not even karmic, because to be fair Peato Ou does have the right idea (killing DNAra will lead to the end of the Human race), even if he’s blind about the end result. (It’s like knowing not to hit a tagged rogue in Area 52 on a PvE server, but you do it anyways because you are dumb.)
In the introspection of the nature of men and women, there are some anime that take it seriously, and there are some anime that don’t. For everything else, there are high quality key animation frames that captures the essence of the human spirit expressed through the art of body language translated into pictures. The exaggerated nature of anime art style only enhances the enjoyment of its audience when we see the actors on stage, normally being serious, break out in a show-and-tell of how badass something that may have just happened to them.
And this treatment is gender-neutral! Dropping your jaw is not a sexist behavior in anime.
Darker than Buck Naked
I highly approve the use of nudity in this episode. Why? It just goes to show how boring Misaki’s office outfit is. In fact, as long as she wears anything different–could be even a boring jeans & t-shirt combo–she looks just dazzing.
How does episode 21’s nudity shows that? I’m not sure, but it goes along the lines of “hey, I look good naked, maybe you should try something different too? You can’t go wrong!” And it seems about 4 other guys tried it, probably to good effect. Well. Maybe that’s exactly what episode 21’s nudity doesn’t show.
I don’t approve the reappearing blood elf though :/
On the other hand, the previews for episode 22 shows the world in an alternate state of affair in fashion. November wears a different color suit? Shocking!
