Tag: romance

Honey & Clover

(1st season : 24 episodes + 2 specials, 2005 ; 2nd season : 12 episodes, 2006)

My previous exposure

None whatsoever, beside being aware that it’s an adaptation of a josei manga that aired on noitaminA. (And that there’s also been at least one live-action TV series of it.)

For those not aware, noitaminA is a well-reputed TV timeslot that’s known for airing (1) adaptations of josei (female adults) manga (which is quite rare in anime) and (2) ambitious and/or artsy series. Both of which are perfectly up my alley, so it might surprise you that the first noitaminA series I watched was… last year’s Kuragehime. Since then, I’ve made a point of at least checking out every new show of theirs, while also going through their back catalog. Hence me now watching the series that started it all… and there are more of them in my to-watch list (I’m open to suggestions).

So far, only one show has been particularly outstanding (Eden of the East), and there’s been some misfires (Fractale, [C], most probably No. 6), but even those were at least interesting to watch, and the baseline quality of what I’ve seen has been quite good indeed : noitaminA really deserves its reputation.

What’s it about ?

A group of students at an art college who share a low-rent house. There’s Takemoto, doormat supreme, our de facto point-of-view character ; Mayama, the neat-freak who’s slightly more mature than the others ; and Morita, the money-grubing asshole who shares his time between cartoony antics and being away on mysterious, well-payed but tiring jobs. Also part of the main cast are Hanamoto, a young teacher of theirs that they’ve become quite close to ; Hagumi, Hanamoto’s cousin who looks like a child ; and Yamada, a girl who pins for Mayama.

While there’s a lot of slapstick humour, the main focus is on the various romantic subplots : both Takemoto & Morita are pinning for Hagumi, but the former’s too shy and friend-zoned, while the latter doesn’t think he deserves her (and I kinda agree) ; meanwhile, Yamada’s love for Mayama is mostly one-sided, as he’s stalking Rika, a close friend of Hanamoto who never quite recovered from her husband’s death.

What may be surprising is that none of these subplots make much progress over the 38 episodes and 5 years the series spans ; sure, the characters grow up quite a bit, but none of those relationships really goes anywhere (aside from Rika partially accepting Mayama) ; and despite frequent rejections, the characters can’t really move on. (The ending scenes suggest they do move on a bit eventually, but not that much.)

I’m treating both seasons as one because they’re really the same show with a six-month hiatus two thirds in ; there’s no real point in separating them.

What did I think of it ?

Well, it’s certainly an interesting watch. The first impression is that nothing much happens, with none of the romantic subplots making much progress over the course of the series ; which is compounded by the show averaging 4 episodes per in-story year until it finally slows the heck down and devotes a third of the first season and all of the second one to the fifth and final year. As a result, it’s not a show about people slowly discovering their love for each other ; it’s a show about people in (one-sided) love getting bluntly and repeatedly rejected, and learning to come to terms with that. Only Mayama gets some level of success in his romantic pursuits, and even that’s debatable. But then, there’s something grounded and realistic in how those classic rom-com archetypes (Takemoto the Nice Guy, Morita the Charismatic Jerk, and Yamada the Violent Tsundere) fail and it’s the Creepy (But Handsome) Stalker who “wins”.

You’ll notice I’m not talking much about Hagumi. That’s because she’s mostly an object of desire for other characters. We barely ever get into her head, and our perception of her is mostly filtered through Takemoto, Hanamoto and Morita. (And I get the feeling that Morita doesn’t understand her.) Sure, we don’t get much into Morita’s head either, but he’s easier to get a handle on (especially as the second season develops his backstory), and he’s not objectified to the degree Hagumi is. I do think Morita’s a horrible human being who wrecks everything and everybody around him, but at least he mostly feels real. Hagumi doesn’t, and her way too youngful appearance doesn’t help ; the only time I manage to take her seriously is when the camera is framed to make it less obvious.

So, we’ve got a love triangle centered on a non-character, and meandering romantic subplots that never go anywhere for much of the series. Does that make the series a wash ? Well, no, because occasionally there’ll be absolutely brillant melancholic sequences that will just break your soul. Especially striking were Episode #1-05, where Takemoto’s uneasiness with his new stepfather hit way too close to home ; and #1-06, where Hanamoto explains Rika’s circumstances (but there are a lot of those throughout the series). Moreover, I’ve grown to really enjoy the company of those characters (well, mostly Yamada, Hanamoto & Mayama, however much I joke about the latter’s “creepy stalker” behavior). They do feel like a tightly-knit group of friends (plus Morita), and I’m going to miss watching them, however rote some of their slapstick and infuriating their hopeless romantic pursuits are.

There are worse ways to feel about a series, aren’t there ?

via [LTTP/WIW] Various anime from the 00s and beyond – Page 4.

The Vision of Escaflowne

(26 episodes, 1996 + 1 movie, 2000)

My previous exposure

This seems to be the first anime series I ever watched in full, as it aired on French TV in the late 90s. I hadn’t rewatched it ever since, so I thought it’d be interesting to revisit it.

I’d never watched the movie until now, which allows it to barely squid under this thread’s mission statement.

What’s it about ?

Hitomi, an ordinary high-school girl with a gift for fortune-telling, gets suddenly brought by accident to the parallel world of Gaia (a blend of med-fan and steampunk) by Van Fanel, who was busy fighting a dragon as a rite of passage for becoming king of his country. Before anyone can settle down, said country gets destroyed by the big bad empire of Zaibacher, whose stealth mecha are way too powerful for the defensors to handle. So Hitomi and Van are on the run aboard Van’s super-duper-special mecha Escaflowne (whose very existence was the reason Zaibacher attacked for the first place). Along the way, they gather a ragtag group of allies, most notably the litteral knight in shining armor Allen Schezar (and the crew of his flying ship).

This being at least partly a shoujo show, we get lots of Hitomi hesitating whether to pursue a romance with either Allen or Van. Gripping stuff.

The REAL plot of the show involves Zaibacher actually being a tool for Isaac Newton to create a big machine that alters fate and will allow him to recreate Atlantis. No, seriously. The series never quite recovers from that reveal, sadly.

What did I think of it ?

I have mixed feelings about this one.

At the heart of it is a very well-constructed, 16-episode-long chase scene. Despite being a bit repetitive (“Van & Hitomi arrive somewhere, they aren’t really taken seriously, Zaibacher suddenly attacks and our heroes narrowly escape, usually with some more allies in tow” happens, what, five times in a row ?), it manages to showcase some interesting worldbuilding, develop the characters properly, progressively increase the stakes and build towards the big reveal. The fight scenes are mostly well-staged (except Ep #13, which is a bit of a mess), and made all the more thrilling by the top-notch soundtrack (probably the second-best Yoko Kanno has ever composed). It’s hard not to get enthralled when the choirs start going “Es! ca! flow! ne !”…

And then the story stops dead on its tracks with the big reveal. Never mind that it’s very stupid indeed ; that’s not the problem, and to be fair the show had spent a lot of effort before that point to foreshadow it and make it somewhat believable. No, the big issue is that the story loses all momentum. Zaibacher stops being the implacable assaillant it’s been up to now. Our heroes finally find a safe base or operations, just because (which is made worse by it being a place they’ve already visited and found hostile). The show never quite recovers from this, and ends on a whimper. (The climax includes a Van/Allen fight that just feels gratuitous and contrived.)

One subplot I find emblematic is Dilandau’s fate. He’s a great villain in the first half, chewing scenery with gusto and providing the heroes with somebody to fight. Then comes the progressive reveal that he’s actually Allen’s sister manipulated by Zaibacher’s fate-altering machine… and okay, that mostly works in context, despite depriving us of a fun villain. But the finale has him reverting to the original with no memory and no real consequences (aside from setting up that half-assed Van/Allen fight), which just feel like a cheat. This lack of followthrough is pervasive throughout the last few episodes of the series, which alas contribute to bring the whole thing down.

There’s a lot I like here… but I have this nagging feeling that a lot of it comes from the first-class soundtrack elevating it above what it really is.

What about the movie ?

The good part : it does away with most of the series’ most questionable aspects. They’ve managed to completely write Zaibacher out, which is quite an achievement. Dilandau stays who he is throughout. The Van/Hitomi/Allen love triangle is completely absent (Allen has a smaller role, overall).

The bad part : it replaces it all with a by-the-numbers plot with nowhere near the same ambition as the original. To accomodate the plot, Hitomi starts off a lot whinier. And the worldbuilding is much less interesting, with the only flashes of interest coming from leftovers from the series.

But then, there’s only so much you can do with a 95-minute movie. Unlike, say, RahXephon or TTGL, this movie doesn’t even try to cover the same story as the series, and I can’t really fault it for that. It’s a pity it doesn’t manage to build anything really worth watching instead, but I can’t bring myself to hate it. It ain’t horrible : the production values are obviously higher (although the character design has taken a turn for the worse – poor Merle !), the music is still ace, and the plot actually makes more sense… but at the cost of being very generic indeed.

via [LTTP/WIW] Various anime from the 00s and beyond – Page 3.

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000%

What’s it about ?

Male harem romance in an academy grooming pop idols and composers.

Characters

Haruka, our generic female lead. The kind that arrives late because she was busy helping a random little girl. She joined the Academy because she dreams of composing music for her favourite idol. Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, whom I didn’t know could sound so boring and unsexy.

As per the rules of the genre, there are half a dozen prettyboy stereotypes just tripping over Haruka. There’s the boy-next-door, the rich-but-charismatic guy, the brooding dark dude, the childish one… and the mysterious guy who’s a dead ringer for Haruka’s favourite idol, but displays a completely different personality (angry loner instead of clown).

Rounding up the cast are Tomo, Haruka’s roommate (the female equivalent of the “perverted best friend who handily provides exposition about everyone” cliché), their homeroom teacher (an androgynous senior idol voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura)… and the FABULOUS principal, a retired idol who funded the creation of the academy with his royalties, and voiced gleefully by Norio Wakamoto – his entrance ceremony speech just has to be seen to be believed.

Production Values

This looks pretty good, if you don’t mind technicolor day-glo. The character designs for the dudes look beyond generic, though, and Haruka’s dead eyes are just plain creepy.

I quite like the opening sequence with all the guys doing a boys’ band routine : sure, it looks stupid and awkward, but there’s a certain charm to it, and the tune is annoyingly catchy (“Let’s song !”).

Overall Impression

Well, that’s certainly better than I anticipated. Not that it’s actually any good, mind you ; the harem romance is as cliché as possible, and neither the female lead nor any of the dudes look like they’ve got any potential to rise above their genericness. But there’s some decent entertainment to be had out of the setting, as both the homeroom teacher and the principal are FABULOUSLY camp and nearly make the episode worth watching from their few minutes of screentime alone.

I expect myself to get bored of it very quickly (especially if the harem plot gets too much screentime), but I’m surprising myself by giving it a tentative second episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2011 – Page 4.

Spring 2011 capsules

I won’t bother profiling Suzy’s Zoo Daisuki! Witzy in detail. It’s a 2-minute-long preschooler’s cartoon where animals and teddy bears act cutely for the little children. Even the all-star voice cast (Mai Nakahara as the duck main character ! Maaya Sakomoto as the narrator !) can’t make me care.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 4.

I watched the first episode of Maria†Holic Alive. To my complete lack of surprise, it has exactly the same problems as the first season : (1) Kanako is very, very annoying ; (2) Mariya is barely a dick at all, despite it being a key part of the purpoted premise ; and (3) it’s just not very funny.

Now, this show is proof that SHAFT can animate the crap out of any old shit and make it visually interesting, but it clearly falls short of being actually any good. A well-polished turd is still a turd. I really should have known better than entertaining the thought that this sequel’d show any improvement.

I’m starting to reconsider checking out every single short kiddy show that gets subbed. Happy Kappi clocks in under six minutes, barely managing to outline its premise (grade school girl finds a plush toy that turns out to be a prince from a fantasy world, and has magic powers. Wacky hijinks ensue). It’s very cheap-looking, too.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 7.

Yesterday was the premiere of The World God Only Knows, Season Two. It’s basically more of the same, although on the upper range of the series : the jokes mostly work, and there’s some very good use of Keima’s genre savvy for comedic effect. The romance’s still as terrible as ever, but it’s not too annoying in this first episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 9.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (“We still don’t know the name of the flower from that day”)

(11 episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Six kids used to be joined at the hip way back when, but now they’ve drifted apart. Can they come back together ?

Characters

Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi, our protagonist, who used to be the leader of the group but has now become a loser high-school dropout. It progressively becomes obvious why as the episode progresses.

Meiko “Meima” Honma, who keeps nagging him while being adorable. [SPOILER : her death years ago triggered the group’s dissolution]. Jinta figures he’s suddenly seeing her because of stress, but she acts far too real to be an hallucination (although he’s the only one who can see her, causing much awkwardness to ensue). It’s not clear yet how she died, the (numerous) flashbacks only show her running away and never coming back.

Naruko “Anaru” Anjo, whose metamorphosis from a mousy glasses girl to a member of the popular cliques is something to behold. Jinta keeps claiming she doesn’t like him, despite much evidence to the contrary (and her tsundere-lite denials only fool the both of them). The flashbacks even suggest that her jealousy about Jinta is the indirect cause of Meima running away.

Atsumu “Yukiatsu” Matsuyuki and Chiriko “Tsuruko” Tsurumi are the “successful” kids of the bunch, now enrolled into the local prestigious high school instead of the dump Jinta doesn’t attend. He despises what Jinta’s become ; she’s a bit more sympathetic. They’re obviously a couple.

Tetsudo “Poppo” Hisakawa used to be Jinta’s sidekick ; now he’s a lot more confident in himself and has taken over the group’s old hideout for his own purposes.

Production Values

Quite nice looking, and the various characters’ body language are very well done indeed.

Overall Impression

Now we’re talking. This isn’t Hanasaku Iroha, but the characters are well developed and feel real, which is essential for such a series. While there’s an obvious direction for this to go (Meima’s ghost helps the group to rekindle their friendships, Jinta to put his life back together, and sets him up with Naruko so that he can finally move on), it’s still a compelling journey and I’m in for the duration.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 11.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (“Electromagnetic Wave Woman and Adolescent Man”)

(12 episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

A standard harem protagonist who did not get the memo that he was in a SHAFT production.

Characters

Makoto Niwa, our protagonist. In a reversal from the usual cliché set-up, he moves from the countryside to the city, which he hopes’ll allow him access to more than the few girls at his former school. Fortunately he keeps being sidetracked by the weirdness around him, so he’s not too annoying.

Meme Touwa, his aunt, with whom he moves in at the start of the episode. She seems to purposefully cultivate her looks and childish personnality to look younger ; and it works, as I wouldn’t have pegged her as 39. Her more bizarre trait, though, is how she deliberately ignores…

Erio Touwa, apparently Meme’s daughter. Or an alien, if one believes the nonsense she keeps babbling. She spends most of the episode wrapped inside a mattress, looking like a sushi roll. Which somehow doesn’t prevent her from ordering and eating pizza.

Production Values

This is actually remarkably free of SHAFT-isms, aside from Makoto often tilting his head backwards. As a result, it’s quite bland-looking.

Overall Impression

Meh. It’s far less weird than I’d been given to think, which is quite disappointing. While there’s some good comedic timing here and there, a lot of jokes are just lost in translation, and it’s just not very funny. The romance angle’s not very interesting either.

I’ll probably persevere with it for a couple more episodes because I’ve discovered myself to be a huge SHAFT-whore (see also : me sticking with Maria Holic Alive despite loathing it), but this isn’t a very promising first episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 11.

A Bridge to the Starry Skies (Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi)

What’s it about ?

Generic dating-sim adaptation.

Characters

Kazuma, our protagonist, is moving back to the countryside with his sickly little brother for the latter’s health’s sake. Cue every single dating-sim cliché happening to him.

The girls… There’s the one he slips onto and accidentally kisses, her outraged best friend, the maid at the inn they now live in… and, for the older ladies lovers, the owner of the same inn, whose behaviour verges on sexual harassment.

Production Values

Minimal. The backgrounds are okay, but the character designs are horribly generic and same-y.

Overall Impression

Zzzzzzzzzzz… Excuse me, I nearly fell asleep there.

I’m amazed they’re still making those. Fortune Arterial at least had a hook by mixing in vampires, and Yosuga no Sora had the sick-and-wrong twincest ; this, on the other hand, has no selling point whatsoever to distinguish it from the myriads of other dating-sim adaptations. It’s so incredibly generic that it hurts.

What’s the point, honestly ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 10.

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi – World’s Greatest First Love

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Yaoi romance comedy in a shoujo manga publishing house. Oh, the irony !

Characters

Onodera, who fled the Onodera publishing house because his co-workers suspected him of only getting his job out of nepotism. He’s trying a new job elsewhere to get acknowledged on his own merits. He thought he’d be working as a literature editor, but somehow ended up assigned to the shoujo manga department. He’s a bitter and cynical narrator who’s bemused by the bizarre quirks of his new co-workers… but at the core he’s still a hard worker who loves books.

Takano, his new boss. He’s quite rough and brutal indeed (sexual harassment on the first day for the new guy !), but also a genius who revitalized the shoujo department since he got the job.

Neither of them really recognize each other, but they had a hot and steamy fling, way back in high school. It’s been 10 years since…

Oh, and we briefly see the three other (male) editors in the department, but they don’t show too much personality yet.

Production Values

Barely adequate. Ah, Deen…

Overall Impression

You know, I was all set to hate this : yaoi doesn’t tickle my fancy, and the prequel OAV really rubbed me the wrong way (it’s 20 minutes of really cliché high school yaoi romance). But this actually ain’t half bad… at least as far as the office comedy is concerned.

I have my reservations about the yaoi romance subplot, but as long as it stays in the background it doesn’t bother me too much. When it takes center stage, though, I’m out.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 6.

Health and Physical Eduction for 30-year-olds (30-sai no Hoken Taiiku)

(13-minute-long episodes)

What’s it about ?

A thirty-year-old virgin gets visited by an annoying sex god who’ll educate him so that he can finally pop his cherry.

Characters

Imagawa, our male lead, exactly as pathetic as you’d expect (and voiced by Hiro Shimono, of course). The kind who borrows the 600,000-yen blow-up doll from one of his co-workers. Very annoyed by the sex god’s intrusion : he’d like to take his time, thanks (but then that’s his whole problem…).

Daigorou, the sex god. Very, very annoying, and impossible to get rid of. He can only go away when his mission’s accomplished ; to his credit, he does offer Imagawa the easy way out to get done with it (but Imagawa doesn’t want to even think about it).

Andou, the female lead, barely makes an appearance in this first episode, but the OP & ED suggest she’s getting a pair of sex gods too.

Production Values

Dire. It doesn’t help that there’s some very heavy censorship that hides anything vaguely risqué (we don’t even see one bit of the blow-up doll) and blips through half of the dialogue.

Overall Impression

I didn’t think it was possible : this is making me long for B Gata H Kei. There’s an art to the raunchy, ecchi comedy with protagonists raring to get it on, and this series completely fails at it. It’s not funny, and the heavy censorship kinda defeats the point.

Since this reportedly adapts a PhysEd book, it does sneak in some helpful tips (Wash it appropriately to get rid of bacteria ! Don’t squeeze too much on them !), but they’re drowned by the tedious attempts at whimsical humour by walking clichés calling themselves characters.

Avoid.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 6.

Ask Dr. Rin! (Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite!)

(51 episodes)

What’s it about ?

An ordinary junior high school student tries using her divination powers to improve her love life.

Characters

Meirin, our protagonist. She comes from a family that makes a living from Feng-Shui divination. Her brother has set her up the “Dr. Rin” webpage, where she gives Feng-Shui advice to whoever writes in (it’s quite popular among girls, to the point that his father is starting to lose business). She’s more than a bit clumsy, and madly in love with…

Asuka, her (male) love interest. Captain of the soccer club, good-looking, the works. He’s more than a bit annoyed by Meirin’s aggressive stalking, although he does soften up a bit after she saves him from a nearly-fatal accident.

Said accident was provoked by a mysterious blonde boy who stalks Meirin/Dr Rin very creepily, and isn’t above getting rid of the competition (read: Asuka) by possessing a crane and dropping a ton of junk on top of him.

There’s also a few other classmate of Meirin and Asuka’s, but they don’t make much of an impression yet, with the exception of Meirin’s best friend Yue, whom I hope is only kidding when she offers herself as an alternate target for Meirin’s affection.

Production Values

Not very good, but it does the job. I quite like the catchy OP tune.

I wondered for a bit whether Meirin’s divination stock footage was a parody of Sailor Moon-style transformations (colored ribbons of light wrap around her… for no reason, as she doesn’t change clothes at all !), but it seems most of the similarities comes from having the same music composer.

Overall Impression

Hey, this is actually quite fun ! Despite Meirin being an obnoxious and unrepentant stalker, she’s slowly grown on me. Even the bullshit Feng-Shui divination (which looks nothing like any Feng-Shui I’ve ever heard of, but does come with a marvellously toyetic divination station) fails to annoy me.

Now, I have no clue how you sustain 51 episodes on this premise, and it’s stuck into fansub-limbo-land anyway, so I can’t really recommend it. Still, I like it.

Mighty Feng-Shui divination powers, activate !
Mighty Feng-Shui divination powers, activate !

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 6.