Tag: manga adaptation

#26 : Ceres – Celestial Legend (Ayashi no Ceres)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of an urban fantasy manga series, by the creator of Fushigi Yuugi.

Characters

Do you know of the tale of Ceres, the angel who got captured by some guy and was forced to marry him ? How romantic ! And totally the kind of story you tell a girl when she’s just a toddler.

Aya, our protagonist, still starts off as a perfectly normal high school girl. She’s got generic friends, goes to karaoke, and so on. Sure, a kooky old fortune teller predicts her doom and she’s been having creepy dreams, but that’s teenage life, right ?

Aki, her twin brother. They bicker quite a bit, but it’s clear they do care for each other.

There’s a mysterious dude who miraculously saves her from being run down by a car after falling from an overpass. And of course by the time she finds her wits to thank him, he’s already disappeared.

Then, on their 16th birthday, Aya & Aki are suddenly brought to a huge family gathering. Every single distant uncle and aunt is there, looking grim and saying nothing. It’s more than a bit spooky, and looks more like a cult than a birthday celebration. A box is given to them… and suddenly Aya gets shivers and just can’t open it. Aki opens it in her stead… it’s some mummified hand that explodes and shlashes him, drawing blood.

Gramps announces that AKI is thus the True Chosen Heir of Ceres, and the now useless Aya must die.

… Okay, I did not see this twist coming.

Production Values

Oh, hello again, studio Pierrot ! I see you’re still having trouble putting any actual animation in your shows.

… Which is a shame, since there’s some actual directing skill at work here, trying its best to extract tense and moody atmosphere out of a lacking budget.

(Also, no fanservice worth mentioning.)

Overall Impression

Hmm. The crappy animation is very distracting indeed. On the other hand, I’m quite intrigued by the premise, and the seemingly effortless way the show quickly builds up an oppressive and eery mood. As such, I’m curious on where this is going.

I’m a bit on the fence here ; I guess a lot depends on whether the anime got a proper ending resolving the plot. There’s a decent chance of that (it started to air just after the manga concluded), but I wouldn’t be averse to some confirmation.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 6

#25 : Love Hina

(24 episodes + various OVAs & specials)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of one of the now “classic” harem romantic comedy manga series.

Characters

Keitarou, our hapless protagonist, has yet to enter college despite turning 20. Part of the problem is that he’s applying to the prestigious Tokyo university that’s way beyond his reach. This is because he’s trying to be faithful to a promise he made with a girl as a kid, and this is the place they’re supposed to meet again. (His parents wish he would wise up.)

The plot kicks off when his grandma decides to stop running her lodging house, and brings him in as a replacement. The current tenants aren’t too pleased (especially with the tons of ridiculous misunderstandings before he can even introduce himself), but eventually give him a chance. They are :
– Naru, clearly our lead romantic contender, and already displaying plenty of tsundere chemistry with him. Also trying to enter the same university, except she’s actually good enough to have a good chance at it. (Odds of her being the childhood friend : very high.)
– Mitsune, the one obsessed with money ; her interest perked up when, like everyone else but Naru, she mistakenly understands that Keitarou is already in that university and on the fast track to a successful life.
– Motoko, the tall taciturn beauty with tons of fangirls.
– Kaolla, the weird little tanned blonde who just does random stuff.

As explained by Haruka, his aunt who barely has time to give a bit of a helping hand, there’s little choice here : either the tenants reluctantly accept a male manager, or there’s just nobody left to run the place and it just closes down.

Shinobu, a “normal” girl Keitarou runs into in the neighbourhood. Presumably she joins the regular cast later on.

Production Values

Decent enough. There’s a weird ethereal atmosphere throughout, as not only does Keitarou keeps daydreaming all the time, but also for some reason the town keeps being shrouded in fog, with weird old dudes being a bit creepy.

As the lodging house includes a hot springs, expect a good amount of fanservice.

Overall Impression

Well, this was pleasant enough. All of the basic elements have been done dozens of time, but there’s nothing wrong with using them, provided it’s done properly and with enough energy. And that’s the case here ; I was reasonably entertained.

And hey : it’s Love Hina ; it’s the kind of show so famous I feel like I should have seen them already. And this first episode was okay enough for me to have no qualms with finally getting on that sometimes in the next few months.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 5

#24 : Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

(224 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of that shonen manga featuring a children’s card game… Wait, no. Initially, the manga featured a variety of games, and the 1998 anime series reflected that ; it’s only later on that the “Duel Monsters” cardgame took center stage, and this sequel increased that emphasis even more.

I’m breaking my rule on sequels to give this one a full review, due to its cultural relevance. I mean, I’ve seen enough parody abridged versions of this that it would be silly not to try and have a proper look at it.

Characters

Yugi, our kid protagonist with absurd hair, is really fond of this Duel Monsters cardgame ; it helps that his grampa runs a shop selling it and gave him some rather rare cards. There’s no explanation whatsoever for why Yugi gets a transformation sequence that makes him look much meaner and kick more ass at the game halfway through. Or why he’s got this Mind Crush psychic attack to deal with villains once he’s won against them.

He has a few friends : Jonouchi, who is at least shown playing the game early on (although after that he does nothing but cheer on Yugi) ; Honda, who contributes nothing ; and Anzu, who as a girl gets to make a speech about friendship.

Seto Kaiba, one of their classmates, is definitely Not A Friend : he wants to steal and destroy Yuki’s grampa’s super-super-rare card so that himself will be the only player to own any. Also, he owns a massive corporation that gives him access to goons to back him up, and he’s a technological genius who’s designed a holographic system that makes card battles slightly less boring to watch.

For someone who initially looks like a major deal, Kaiba is defeated quite early on ; a new villain with a fancy monocle makes a cameo at the end.

Production Values

Okay-ish, I guess ; the soundtrack makes a game attempts at instilling a bit of atmosphere and tension early on, but nothing can make the card battles entertaining once they’ve started.

Overall Impression

So, yeah. There’s no getting around the fact that Duel Monsters is a very boring game, especially as the rules had yet to be solidified and balanced by any kind of physical release ; it’s basically a very boring game of Kamoulox Calvinball where each turn is basically “see the new attack I’m pulling out of my ass damaging you !” It’s immediately tedious, and a chore to watch.

What’s more striking is the total absence of any explanation of Yugi’s status quo. I know it because of popculture osmosis (and having watched a good chunk of Abridged Series), but you’d think re-establishing the “possessed by a Pharaoh’s spirit” setup would have been a priority for this sequel. Ahah, no, the new viewer is left without any clue to this stuff, aside from Yugi’s bizarre super-powers. That’s a puzzling exposition failure.

Since watching paint dry is more entertaining than any Duel Monsters match, I think I’ll keep to the Abridged Series, thank you.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 5

#20 : Boys Be…

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a shonen romance manga series… Actually, there seems to have been several iterations of the manga, with the TV series picking and choosing characters and storylines as it saw fit.

Characters

Kyoichi, our male lead, is a high school student with a distinct inferiority complex over his unfitness and “unmanly” hobbies (such as his painting). It doesn’t really help that his hormones are kicking in and making him notice…

Chiharu, his childhood friend, who has grown into an attractive, if athletic and tomboyish girl. Kyoichi thinks he doesn’t stand a chance, especially after her senior in the track team makes his confession. In any event, he’s going to keep quiet about his own feelings. And if this description seems like it’s all about him… well, yeah. We never get into her head, although there are signs she might not be as unreceptive as he thinks she is, and is also trying to test the waters.

Makoto, his lecherous “friend”, who makes a point of mining data about all the girls in school… aside from Chiharu, because he doesn’t do tomboys. He’s a slimy worm and proud of it, and happy to share his knowledge with his pals. (Who look more embarrassed than pleased by his “help”.)

Yoshihiko, the third member of this circle of friends, is a quiet dude who doesn’t leave much of an impression yet.

It seems the series is going for an ensemble/anthology format, as next episode seems to be about Makoto rather than Kyoichi/Chiharu.

Production Values

Quite nice looking indeed ; the characters can act and convey more than they say through their body language.

Due to the content, there’s quite a lot of male gaze in the camera work whenever we’re put in Kyoichi’s position, but it’s more in the angles than actually showing anything. Which is why the eyecatches with live-action ass shots are especially puzzling.

Overall Impression

Let’s be clear : this is a boys’ club series. It shows in detail how teenage boys see girls, with no room for the latter’s experiences. But once that is said, there’s a certain purity to this approach, and it’s not like the script can’t do nuance. The boys clearly have very different outlooks on the subject ; there’s enough variation here to offer proper depth and character development. (And there’s always the possibility of future episodes showing a female point-of-view, although I’m not holding my breath.)

And you know, it’s almost refreshing to see a anime romance show where teenagers’ lewd thoughts are front and center, instead of being shoved aside for their base unseemliness. It’s certainly enjoyable enough to watch, and I’m putting it onto the “to see later” list.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 5

#16 : Saiyuki

(50 episodes, + 51 more for the 2003 sequel, + various OVAs…)

Before we start…

This one has been sitting on my shelves for years. I got a Collector’s Edition of it as a gift package from co-workers when I left my job in 2009 (!), and never got around to watching it since then. (I had trouble transferring it to my phone for easy viewing on my commute.) Now, they knew I was an anime fan and there was little chance I’d already seen it, but they clearly valued quantity over quality in their selection. (The package also included Kiddy Grade, Basilisk, a half-naked figure where you can remove the top if you also tear the head off, the whole Mai-HiME manga, a lone DVD collecting a few episodes of No Money, and the Cutie Honey live-action movie. The last of which I actually enjoyed watching, so it wasn’t all crap.)

All this to say I’m not expecting a masterpiece here, but it can’t be worse than some of the other stuff I got.

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a shonen fantasy manga, vaguely based on Journey to the West.

Characters

Sanzo, a monk (with a gun) who receives instructions from the gods to head to a land far to the west where baddies are trying to resurrect an old demon, which has a side-effects of making all the beast people turn evil and attack humans. So get there quick, deal with it, and put an end to this crap.

Also, take those three party members with you :
– Goku, the monkey boy with the extensible staff, who’s an annoying brat ;
– Gojo, the half-demon rogue with the bizarre vaguely scythe-like weapon ;
– Hakkai, the “nice”, always smiling mage with the pet dragon (who can turn into a car)

Oh, sure, they’re all beast people, but they’ve got power limiters on, so there’s no way they’ll turn on you. And you’ve all worked together in the past, so this quest is bound to go swimmingly, hey ?

Production Values

Urgh. Studio Pierrot got a bad reputation in the 00s for churning out low-quality shonen adaptations, and this is certainly one of them. Cheap animation, so many shots where only the mouths move (badly), to say nothing of the numerous still shots… Also, the disintegration effect for when beast people get killed looks terrible, which is a problem as it gets used all the time.

Overall Impression

You know, show, if you’re going to have Sanzo slowly realize over the course of the episode that the revival of the Demon King is what makes the beast people go insane, why do you have the narrator state it in the first thirty seconds like it’s common knowledge ? Between this and the bizarrely chosen flashbacks (that don’t really establish how those people worked together previously), you get a very incompetently-scripted “gathering of the team” episode.

Which is a bit of shame, as there’s quite a bit to like in there. Aside from Goku, the characters have charisma (helped by top-notch voice-acting) and get nice little introduction scenes. I could see some fun chemistry developing here, as they spend the whole series having adventures on the way to their goal. Sure, it’ll look like crap, but otherwise it should be inoffensive enough. (As I outlined above, I WILL watch this… eventually.)

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 3

Gourmet Girl Graffiti (Koufuku Graffiti)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a food porn manga.

Characters

Ryou, our protagonist, is living mostly alone (with her aunt barely having time to check on her from time to time) as she prepares for her high school entrance exams. Her parents are working abroad, and her grandmother, with whom she lived and who taught her all her cooking recipes, died a bit ago. Understandably, she’s a bit depressed (although she puts on a brave face), and feels like she’s losing her cooking talent due to having nobody to cook for and eat with.

Kirin, her cousin “from the same grade” (but two heads smaller), who’s suddenly been “invited” to visit on weekends so she can attend cram school and prepare for Ryou’s art high school’s entrance exams. That didn’t go too well with Kirin’s parents, especially as she insulted her mom’s cooking in passing. (Sure, it’s poorly presented and generic, but still.) Conversely, she loves Ryou’s elaborate cooking, and Ryou enjoys the audience.

Presumably the cast’s size will increase later on, for example featuring Ryou’s classmates ; but for now, we’re focused on Ryou and Kirin getting to know each other.

Production Values

Despite “Chief Director” Akiyuki Shinbo and studio Shaft’s names being on the credits, this barely features any of their usual quirks. It just looks very good, with maybe some artful shot composition at times. Also, Ryou has a very erotic way of eating, for no discernible reason.

Overall Impression

That was… okay, I guess ? It’s not really what I wanted out of a Shaft series ; instead, it’s some gentle comfort food, appropriately enough. Nothing wrong with it, as slice-of-life series go, and at least I didn’t fall asleep watching it ; but there’s little here to really go out of your way for.

I’m giving it another episode, but it’s on the bubble.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015 – Page 2.

Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu)

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a comedy shonen manga series.

There was an OVA in 2013 adapting a random manga chapter, from a completely different cast, crew and studio. It’s everything but required watching, as this is a much better introduction to the premise. The OVA was kinda crap, anyway.

Characters

Koro-sensei is a weird yellow tentacle monster that showed up out of nowhere one day and destroyed most of the moon. As you do. He plans on doing the same to Earth in a year’s time ; but it the meantime, since just hiding would be no fun, he’s going to teach this random high school class in Japan. They can try their best and kill him ; he promises never to harm them. It just won’t be easy, as he can move at up to Mach 20.

Mr Karasuma, from the Department of Defense, explained all this to a bemused classroom. He added that the world’s governments were happy to comply with Koro-sensei’s wishes, as (1) nothing they’ve tried has more than very temporarily inconvenienced him ; (2) at least this way they can keep an eye on him ; and (3) you never know, maybe one of the students will get lucky and nail the freak. By the way, there’s a $10-million for whoever does the deed, if saving the world wasn’t enough motivation.

Now, most of the class are background figures and barely get a few lines each ; presumably they’re going to be developed properly in future episodes. We’re starting with…

Nagisa, who gets the second half of this first episode. He’s so wimpy and feminine that it took me a while to realize he was a guy. A few of the bigger boys coerce him into trying to suicide-bomb Koro-sensei. The point here is to make clear that the yellow freak WON’T allow his students to hurt each other, or indeed any harm to come to them. He is quite impressed by Nagisa, though, which must be the first time someone has ever said this with the poor little dude.

Production Values

Hey, did they get the character designer from Dangaronpa ? (Yes.) There’s some very heavy linework here, giving characters much more presence than you’d expect from their relatively generic looks. It helps compensate for the okay-ish-at-best animation.

I was wary of director Seiji Kishi’s involvement, but he does have a knack for comedic timing and brutal mood swings ; this is thus the kind of material he’s best suited for.

Overall Impression

Hmm. I have a strong suspicion this is hewing very close to the manga’s original structure, which is always a challenge given how you don’t pace a joke the same way for different mediums. But so far, it’s mostly working out ; the manga was already strong enough to support this approach, I guess.

Now, the big question is whether the joke can support 22 episodes. I’m not sure ; a lot will depend on how much the other students can stand on their own. A good sign is the hint of a secondary plotline, with this class actually being the rejects and dropouts who didn’t cut it for the better classes ; and Koro-sensei turning out to actually be a darn good teacher.

Anyway, the gags are more hit than miss as of now, so I’m willing to give it at least a few more episodes to see where it’s going.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015 – Page 2.

Maria the Virgin Witch (Junketsu no Maria)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a seinen manga series about a witch getting fed up with the Hundred Years’ War.

Characters

Anne, a young French girl who goes to visit the Witch with her mother to get medicine for her grandma, a longtime friend of the Witch who’s too sick to come herself this time around. Anne’s also worried about her father, who’s been called to fight in the War ; maybe the Witch can do something about that too ? (Her mother prudently points out she shouldn’t be too public about her trust in the Witch ; the Church has ears everywhere…)

Maria, the Witch, for some reason decided to make herself look like an old crone for this meeting. First impressions are important, you know ? (She actually looks quite young, whatever her actual age is. And, as the title indicates, still a virgin.)

Artemis, her succubus servant, who breaks the illusion, because it’s funnier that way and she enjoys trolling her mistress. Just back from a mission to “incapacitate” the army leaders, if you catch her meaning. (Again, she enjoys teasing Maria over the details.)

Joseph, a messenger from the French crown who’s been regularly trying to get Maria on their side, to not much success. So he tells her he’s been reassigned to fight in the army. Maria tries to make it look like she doesn’t care about him, but it’s obvious (and particularly to Artemis) she’s at best fooling herself.

Towards the end, Maria clearly explains her agenda : she’s furious about the Church’s treatment of Jeanne d’Arc and the horror of the War in general ; so she’s using her powers to make it stop. (If this saves Anne’s father and Joseph, then that’s a complete coincidence, of course.)

A few other witches are sharing popcorn next to the battlefield, with an English one (with no particular loyalty to her country) taking the naive newcomer role.

Production Values

Quite good indeed. Way less fanservice than you’d expect from the premise, as the show is busier selling the jokes and the characters.

Overall Impression

This is an intriguing start, especially for what isn’t in this first episode. That would be the start of Maria’s quest (as it’s already well in progress), as well as more than a token acknowledgement of what she’s actually doing against the war. No, right now the priority is to shed plenty of light over her motivations, whether in that anvilicious rant, by establishing links to people in direct danger, or more subtly in the way the war itself is depicted.

Every effort here is made to have the war look as pointless as possible. There are no stakes whatsoever, as the battles don’t seem to have any purpose beyond keeping the war going. Jingoism is artificially fanned. While the freshly-recruited rank and file die in droves, for the well-equipped professional mercenaries it’s just another day at the job. Nobody high-ranked is shown anywhere near the battlefield. It’s a dreary war that has taken a life of its own and grinds decent people down for no reason. It’s thus no wonder why Maria would want to stop something so horrible.

Now, there’s no clue where this is actually going ; we’re firmly at the world-building stage for now. But it’s been enough to hook me.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015.

#09 : UFO Baby (Daa! Daa! Daa!)

(78 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a comedy shojo manga series.

Characters

Miyu is an ordinary high-school student… except her parents just went and left for the US to work at NASA (Mom’s an astronaut, Dad an engineer). She’s left in the care of a long-time friend of a family. Who’s a monk living in a shrine, because no commute is complete without a ridiculous flight of stairs. Said monk almost immediately lands a ticket for a trip in India he’s longed for all his life, and absconds as well.

This hasn’t been a good day for Miyu.

Kanata, the monk’s son, isn’t especially thrilled to be left alone with this random girl all of a sudden. It’s mild irritation at first sight, and we all know where this leads in a shojo manga.

Ruu is a baby who shows up in a flying saucer that night, just as Miyu was about to leave. It’s obviously going to be the plot device bringing the lead couple together as they must care for it.

Wannya is Ruu’s “sitter pet”, who conveniently explains how the baby got there (random space wedgie), how long it’ll stay (at least a year to fix the navigation system), and presumably will care for it while the teenagers are off to school.

Production Values

The artstyle looks very 90s shojo indeed, and in some ways not dissimilar to the early days of the Sailor Moon anime. The lush pastel backgrounds are certainly pleasant to look at.

Overall Impression

I can easily see how this was successful enough to last for a year and a half : it’s got a fun premise, decent characters, and a good grasp of comedic timing. On the other hand, it’s a bit on the slow side, and not that funny. Also, I’m probably a bit too high above the target age range to really be invested in it.

This is perfectly okay at what it does. But 78 episodes is a bit too much for me to stick with it.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 2

#06 : Miami Guns

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a comedy manga series that follows a couple of cops in Miami City (a parody of America where everyone has Japanese names and drives on the left).

Characters

Yao, the flashiest member of the force, happens to be the daughter of a super-rich business conglomerate owner. When she shows up late, it’s by parachute-diving from a helicopter. (And bungling her landing, because that’s funnier.) She’s an exhibitionist egomaniac who never thinks her “daring exploits” through. The only reason she somewhat gets away with the collateral damage of her stunts is that she can easily buy her way out of trouble.

Lu, the daughter of the police chief, looks at first sight to be the straight (wo)man of the pair, deadpanly snarking at the ludicrousness of Yao’s antics through most of the episode… Except that when she gets bored, she just charges in with a tank to put an end to this crap.

The Chief hates his life and having to deal with Yao, but makes a valiant effort in trying to do his job properly. For all the good it does to him.

Our Perp of the Week is a a hoodlum from out of town who makes the mistake to try and hold a bank up here. Unfortunately for him, (1) in Miami City every bank customer brings in a gun, and (2) Yao & Lu are on the case.

(Good thing Yao bought the whole building, as it’s not standing anymore by the end of the episode.)

Production Values

A bit dated, but decent enough to sell the jokes. The characters can act and the set pieces aren’t too embarrassing.

There’s more than a bit of fanservice (Yao spends half the episode in a bikini), but thankfully the camera isn’t much in pervert mode (except when it’s funny).

Overall Impression

Let’s be clear : this isn’t subtle comedy at all, as it goes for the cheapest laugh at the first opportunity. But with that said, it’s actually quite funny, with most of the jokes landing. The constant refuge in audacity helps.

It’s not a lost gem in any regard, but it seems short enough to be decent popcorn watching and not outstay its welcome. I’m quite interested in coming back to it later on.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 2