Showing posts with label 2010 spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 spring. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

2010 Anime Report: The Best List

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So I realize that I haven't really made my year-ender report for 2010 as per this blog's tradition in the past two years. I suppose I got busy. I'm also about to get busy but I still have at least one week before work will get the better of me. Therefore, allow me to milk these precious free moments to give you my humble list of best and not-so-best titles of anime for the year 2010. (BTW, for categories, I'm taking my cue from jute's previous year-ender posts.)

Most Highly Anticipated Series

I have to admit that this was a tough choice. What did I most look forward to? These two series came out in two different seasons and perhaps because of the gap in time, it's a little hard to compare the anticipation I felt for each one. So I'm afraid that my decision has largely something to do with the overall feeling of satisfaction I got from the series, and not necessarily with how I felt before I watched the first episode.


Best First Episode

For the most part, this was a no-brainer. Occult Academy did have a strong opening, which makes all the more ironic the extent to which it downgraded and eventually fell flat on its face. In hindsight, the series could have done better if it didn't have such a good first episode because then, expectations would not have been set high and I would have come off it a lot less disappointed.

Best Finale

Another no-brainer. What a revelation Katanagatari turned out to be. This is anime done right, and if I knew a word of Japanese, I'd go read the light novels right away. NisiOisin, you the man!

Best Randomly Picked Series

Hands-down. And just imagine that I never even paid attention to this series the first time I heard about it. I thought the art style was a little child illustration book material and it is, for the most part, but strangely enough, it works for this series. And the best thing about it is the story. Fantastic.

Favorite Title

Do I have to spell it out? And to think that I almost dropped this series, not because of anything lacking in the material itself, but because of its airing schedule. White Fox made it difficult with a once-a-month release, but in the end it was worth it.

Favorite Female Character
Busujima Saeko [High School of the Dead]
(Nino, Yasuri Nanami, Tsurugi Meisai, Kazumiya Rio)

Busujima-senpai ♥ ~ Nuff said. Although Nanami and Meisai made the choice a little tough.

Favorite Male Character
Yasuri Shichika [Katanagatari]
(Watashi, Shizuo, Yaichi, Ichinomiya Kou)

I liked Yaichi mainly because of his sexy voice. Kou, despite the insanity surrounding him, developed nicely. Watashi is love but talks too fast. Shichika, on the other hand, had the luxury of a one-hour-long-episode-a-month-for-twelve-months time to develop from a complete toolbox to a human being. Watching it was superb.

Funniest Character
(Togame, Kuwashiro Maya, Hoshi, Maria, Sister)

No doubt about it. Arakawa Under the Bridge has the best cast that if the categories included one for best cast, it would surely win. As it is, if I were to chose between Hoshi and all the other eccentric characters from the series, I'd chose the former. Why? Watch the show.

Favorite Villain
Yasuri Nanami [Katanagatari]
(Yasuri Nanami, Tsurugi Meisai, Ozu, Izaya, zombies)

I loved Meisai. I thought she had an excellent story. But in terms of bad-assness, Nanami pwns them all.

Favorite Couple
Yasuri Shichika x Togame [Katanagatari]
(Yasuri Shichika x Togame, Watashi x Akashi, Susukihotaru x Riken, Ichinomiya Kou x Nino, Kurashita Tsukimi x Koibuchi Shu)

I couldn't take them seriously at first. Togame was obviously using Shichika for her own gain and Shichika was too quick to declare himself in love with Togame right after she asks him to that it was just too incredible. But as time went, the love story became real, made more poignant by its bittersweet ending. Who can't love this couple after all that?

Favorite Crack Couple
Maria x Sister [Arakawa Under the Bridge]
(Kuwashiro Maya x Uchida Fumiaki, Yaichi x Otake, Kazumiya Rio x Filicia Hiediman, Busujima Saeko x Komuro Takashi)

Talk about S & M. But the love story between Maria and Sister is pretty one-sided, and the violence that occurs whenever the two are together in one scene makes it doubly hilarious. Ah, love.

Favorite Slash Couple
Izaya Orihara x Shizuo [Durarara!!]
(Yaichi x Akitsu Masanosuke, Kazumiya Rio x Filicia Hiediman, Togame x Hitei-hime)

Simon pretty much confirmed it in the last episode, calling Izaya's constant picking on Shizuo as his "Shizuo complex." Besides, what's love without a little man-handling? (and vending machine throwing?)

Best Horror Series

The series started out very slow, so slow in fact that I could barely get through it. Add to that the very distracting character design and hair-do. But don't let appearances fool you because this series is creepy. No, I don't mean you're going to spend the entire time screaming pantsless at your monitor. The scary is more psychological here for the monsters aren't the only monsters in Shiki.

Best Comedy Series

When I came up to this point, I thought to myself: "Hm, which is funnier? A cross-dressing nun with an unhealthy regard for guns or a boob wall? But Arakawa Under the Bridge has the advantage of having an insane number of cast who, well, insane, so it wins by sheer number.

Best Drama Series

I think Shiki should win this category. But I have not yet finished watching the entire series so I can't really say. House of Five Leaves, however, turned out very well.

Best Action Series
(Durarara!!, Katanagatari, Star Driver Radiant Takuto, Heroman)

If there was a category for best fan service, the series would win it, too. Busujima-senpai ♥ ~

Best Romance Series

I don't know if you can correctly classify this series as a romance. There certainly are some romantic elements in it. At the very least, there are unrequited crushes. But the show doesn't resolve any of the possible romantic entanglements so...eh. On the other hand, the runners-up aren't really about the romance either so there. Kuragehime wins this category because I actually was aware of the romantic tensions at first blush and primarily watched this show for that.

Best Production Value

Madhouse. Need I say more? With this title, they've saved themselves this year. Now, if only I could say the same thing for 2011. But perhaps, I'm saying too much too soon. After all, we have two whole anime seasons still coming up.

Best Opening Theme
"Maigoinu to Ame no Beat" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (The Tatami Galaxy)

Best Ending Theme
"Kimi no Kirei ni Kizuite Okure" by Sambomaster (Kuragehime)

Best BGM

Kaijura Yuuki, baby. Also, Kalafina. (Keiko-san ~)

Best Voice Cast

I really, really liked Yaichi's voice. But I'm judging this based on the entire voice cast and Katanagatari has the best, IMHO. The Tatami Galaxy also came close because...Sakamoto Maaya (who is also in Arakawa Under the Bridge). 

Best Style

SHAFT / Shinbo did something amazing with Arakawa Under the Bridge. But stylistically, The Tatami Galaxy was pure insanity. Add to that the really messed up presentation and we have ourselves a winner.

Best Animation

Because I don't know. The whole series was just cute.

Best Background Art

Not much of a choice really. I thought High School of the Dead would win this one for sure but on second look, SHAFT did a pretty good job with the river scenery.

Best Character Designs

The designs fit the characters. Watashi looked generic enough as to be anonymous. Ozu certainly looks devious. And Akashi is seriously cute and fits the bill for the girl-next-door type only with more grrr.

Best Storytelling

NisiOisin. Nuff said.

Best Concept

Everything about it, even its title, screams: GENIUS. And the whole rewind bit confused the shit out of me at first but in the end, all I could say was BRILLIANT. And a main character named "Watashi?" Absolutely inspired!

Anime Series of the Year

As much as I loved The Tatami Galaxy (for its eclectic style) and thoroughly enjoyed Kuragehime, Katanagatari offers a more complete package. Style, it has it in spades. Cuteness, why, yes. See Togame and Nanami and Pengu. Story? Absolutely.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Final Thoughts: House of Five Leaves 08-12

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Matsu gets caught

I came into this show without any real idea what it's about. All I really know about House of Five Leaves is that it's vaguely about samurai and like I said in my first impressions post of this series, I'm not a huge fan of that. Then I saw the first episode and thought yes! the premise of a cowardly swordsman thrown together with a bunch of gangsters is definitely a recipe for pure comedic gold. So I stuck with it, just to see how it all plays out.
as if Masa's life isn't complicated enough...

I wasn't wrong in that department. House of Five Leaves does have its funny moments. It's only to be expected, considering the situations that the show's bumbling, cowardly protagonist Masanosuke frequently finds himself in. However, unlike Arakawa Under the Bridge, another funny anime that I've been following and which just finished airing, House of Five Leaves isn't on the air only for the gags. Rather, it's a serious anime -- character-driven, slow to unfold and softly dramatic.
it's strange how much we know about Yaichi and Otake's relationship and still it remains vague

House of Five Leaves is really a show about two people: the aforementioned Masanosuke, a former castle samurai turned ronin and freelancing bodyguard; and Yaichi, the leader of the Five Leaves gang with the mysterious past. As audiences, we are watching the whole show through Masanosuke's eyes so while we feel that Masanosuke's character is changing the more he interacts with the gangsters, we are at the same time witnessing the fascinating unfolding of Yaichi's life story. The realistic approach of this anime, from its treatment of the characters to its overall design, ensures that irony is pervasive. After all, life is supposed to be ironic, isn't it? But also full of wonders.
you can't run away from your past

The other members of the gang, side characters really, are also given sufficient airtime for us to get to know them a little better. Their sob stories, after all, are what makes them who they are at present. But an interesting thing: out of all five, Otake is the only one who doesn't get her own episode. The only thing we really know about her is that she used to work at a brothel (it's a sad yet common enough situation for girls during that time; fathers would sell their daughters in order to pay off their debts), where a young Seinoshin met her, until someone bought her freedom. I like to think it's romantic and maybe it is but you know, it's probably just two people who are so miserable in life they are naturally drawn to each other.
and he is human

As a character-driven story, House of Five Leaves may be slow to unfold. Some people might find the lack of anything happening in each episode to be frustrating and tiresome. But this is how this anime is meant to be and it's not for everybody. Even the oft-commented art style ought to give you a clue. Word: this isn't Rurouni Kenshin with the gentle and polite former assassin and his merry band of friends and how they all work together to make Japan a better country. House of Five Leaves is a small, encapsulated story about a group of people who are just beginning to become friends. It could be a story about anybody, set anywhere in the world and in any time period.
life comes full circle for these two

IN SUM --

House of Five Leaves is a softly dramatic anime with a quirky premise and unexpected depth. The character designs can take some getting used to but the overall production values are sufficiently consistent to leave any nit-picking audience satisfied.

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Monday, July 5, 2010

Final Thoughts: Arakawa Under the Bridge

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Not if the Last Samurai can help it

For a show that's basically about the random events that happen in the random lives of random characters, Arakawa Under the Bridge has managed to piece together a, if not cohesive, then coherent plot. But for those looking for something deeper, you're looking at the wrong place. Scratch that. I meant, wrong season. That's right, folks. The final episode has announced that the series is going to be picked up for another season.

[cue happy dance]

I guess that means we get to find out what made Nino believe that she's from Venus as well as more relationship development and more fun with the side characters. In the meantime, quick recap of the final episode:
Now, now...don't get too carried away

As always with Arakawa Under the Bridge, this episode is basically random. If not, even more so than the previous 12. With the conclusion of the Ric's Father Attempts to Take-Over the Bridge subplot also came the completion of Ric's growth from an uptight, single-minded, focused carbon copy of his father to a more open-minded, relaxed and self-made man that his time spent under the Arakawa Bridge made him. The anime should have ended right there with no complaints from me. However, Shaft decided to extend the comedy by formally introducing minor characters, who are irrelevant to the plot but who, we are all made to believe, have been going through their daily routines while we're busy paying attention to the main characters.
forbidden love between a parrot and a bee

The first one to step up to the plate is Last Samurai, the hairdresser, to whom Ric and the rest of the Arakawa residents go to for a solution to Nino's hilarious bed hair and also for a hair cut. The sitcom moment comes when Last Samurai uses a katana to cut hair. Sister, with his ninja reflex, keeps instinctively dodging all of Last Samurai's attempts, making a simple haircut a very trying experience indeed.

Next is Jacqueline, the queen bee, and Billy, the parrot-head. Both are apparently involved in a forbidden love triangle with Jacqueline's 10,000 husbands. Aside from that, the episode didn't really focus on them too much and the whole scene just came out weird.
word

In the second half of the episode, the Arakawa residents all work together to put up an amusement park right there under the bridge. Unfortunately, this being an eccentric group of people with questionable sanity and backgrounds, the amusement park turns out to be quite horrible and even life-threatening.
that's a big BUT!

Ric, who professes never to have been in an amusement park before, joins in the fun, only to receive the worst treatment. First, from the creepy mascot outfit of the Village Chief. Next, from a merry-go-round set up by Maria, which included real, wild horses. Next is a 3D theater, featuring real swords and real bullets. And finally, the park's highlights: Sister's Iron Maiden ride.
aww

But despite the insanity, the kids enjoyed it and Ric suddenly recalls a time in his childhood when his father brought him up to the rooftop of a building and there were all kinds of rides for him. Nino soon joins Ric and he tells her all about this forgotten childhood memory.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I came into this show for the laughs. And in that regard, Arakawa Under the Bridge delivered. However, something else that that this anime quite unexpectedly manages to deliver: some soul. This might essentially be a gag show but there is some depth here, hidden under all that randomness.  
All through the episodes we can see the main character Ric develop and grow from a self-serving man to someone more willing to give more of himself with no thought of return or favor. The other characters are also sufficiently dwelled upon though I suspect their stories are only there for comic relief. Nino, on the other hand, remains a mystery, a minor snag which I think the second season will resolve. 
That said, this was a very entertaining anime filled with crazy, hilarious and ultimately endearing characters. The animation isn't amazingly superb but it is inspired and perfect for its style and content. I'm not a huge fan of the OP and ED themes but I rarely am so hey. And the subtle background music is subtle. I can't remember how the tracks sounded but that's usually a good sign.

IN SUM --

Arakawa Under the Bridge is an entertaining, surprisingly deep gag show of an anime. Looking forward to the second season.
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Monday, June 28, 2010

Arakawa Under the Bridge 9 - 12

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Stella finds out Sister is in love with Maria. Talk about scary.

EPISODE 9 - Stella finds out that Sister is in love with Maria and she is none too happy about it. So much so that she transforms into this hulking, massive, violent man-girl. She decides to charge into Maria's farm in order to get even but before doing so, she first forces Hoshi into eating "starfish sauté," much to Hoshi's consternation. When Stella next turns her rage on Kou, he runs for his life to Maria's farm only to end up being used by Maria literally as a human shield.
How Sister met Maria: A War Story

Kou attempts to get Sister to save him but even the latter is too afraid to interfere. It is revealed in a flashback that upon their first meeting, Maria shaved Sister's head, leaving only a single strand of hair. Maria eventually steps up to the plate and faces the angry Stella, overwhelming her so completely that Stella contemplates committing seppuku. Maria changes her mind and from then on, Stella becomes her loyal follower, to Kou's utter horror.
Hoshi's a bishie!

In a completely separate aside, Hoshi's back story is revealed a bit when Kou sees him (without his mask) returning from buying cigarettes at a convenience store. At first, Kou doesn't believe that Hoshi is that same guy, prompting Hoshi to tell him that he had a #1 album in the Oricon Charts. But Hoshi was disillusioned by the fact that his producer wrote all his songs while he (Hoshi) got all the credit. On his breaks, Hoshi often went to the Arakawa to play his self-written songs and it was there that he met Nino for the first time. Nino claimed to like his songs so Hoshi decided to stay.
Fire Drill under the Bridge

EPISODE 10 - Kou wakes up to a fire drill with real fire! It turns out that Sister does this quite often with everyone expected to work as a team. The Village Chief contributes very little to the entire event but that doesn't stop everyone, with the exception of Kou, from idolizing and admiring him for his "heroism." Even Sister is not above pampering the Village Chief, catering to his every whim.
Scary Daddy is scary

Meanwhile, Kou's Dad finds out about his misadventures under the Arakawa Bridge and decides to put a stop to it. The very next day, Kou receives an eviction notice from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT) and discovers that his father had bought up all the land under the Arakawa Bridge for development. A panic-stricken Kou runs towards Sister's church to report the matter but neither Sister nor the Village Chief is too worried about it. The Village Chief especially thinks that having the media all over the place won't be too bad for his image and also marvels at Kou's concern for their group, a fact which surprises Kou.
That Maria can drive her lessons home

The rest of the residents hears about the news and, unlike Sister or the Village Chief, are all kinds of worried. Meanwhile, a grumpy Maria wakes up to the sound of someone knocking at her door. It's the MILT man and he's got the notice of eviction for her. Maria, however, is in no mood to be tolerant and decides to teach the government employee a thing or two about proper decorum and speech, a lesson that becomes self-evident as Kou and the others later meet him in front of the church. After apologizing several times (a side effect of Maria's lessons), the MILT personnel confirms to the group that they really must leave the place. Nino, however, declares that she's never going to leave.
A noble sacrifice

EPISODE 11 - After Nino's declaration to stay, Kou is left with only one noble thing to do: he's going to leave and hope that, with him gone, his father would stop his plans of developing the land. But Nino says that she wants to stay under the bridge with Kou and everybody else and asks Kou if he doesn't want to make her happy. With this vote of confidence from his girlfriend, Kou develops a little spine and decides to use his business head to solve the problem.
Sister in disguise, Whitey in a suit, the Village Chief is serious for once -- what in the world?

Kou leaves the bridge for a few days in order to meet with his company executives and discuss his plan to compete with his father's company in the bidding for the Arakawa under the Bridge project. While he's gone, the residents are left with explicit instructions to lie low in order not to stir up trouble. But, of course, this is impossible and it's only a matter of time before Nino, who is bad at remembering people's faces, mistakes one of the Ichinomiya Group workers for Kou and stuffs his mouth with fish. This is followed by Hoshi who plays an ear-splitting song for him and Stella who gives him a "pressure point rest." It is only after the man is incapacitated that they figure out he's not Kou at all.
Wrong guy, Nino

Kou finally returns to the bridge with Takai, much to Nino's glee. However, she ends up hugging Takai, whom she mistakes for Kou. Later, Kou shows the residents his plans of developing the river bank and assures them that his company would win the bid. But instead of being pleased with his plans, the residents only give him a string of complaints. A frustrated Kou declares that the plans are final. A moment later, the contractor calls to tell him that they're backing out from the project, apparently because they're too afraid to compete directly with the Ichinomiya Group. With this unfortunate development, Kou finds that the only thing left to do is to call his father, a prospect which scares the shit out of him.
Sister says that Maria wakes up as an "S," suggesting that she's sometimes "M" but so far we find no evidence of the latter

EPISODE 12 - Everybody blames Kou for being a coward, with Nino the only one supporting him. Hoshi then takes this opportunity to show off, saying that Nino can make her wish upon a star. Maria, however, has a better idea, saying that wishes can only be made upon a shooting star. So she brings Hoshi up to the top of the bridge and orders him to shoot (jump). Kou is also there to aggravate the matter further but while the two are arguing, Maria takes Hoshi's mask off and puts it on Kou then she kicks both of them off the bridge, figuring that two shooting stars are better than one.
Like father, like son

Unknown to Kou, his own father is getting bad news regarding the project. It seems MILT doesn't want to develop the land under the Arakawa Bridge and despite his threats of withdrawing funding, the department head is unrelenting. Thinking that this is all somehow part of Kou's schemes, he decides to pay him a visit, only to end up much like Kou did on his first day at the bridge: falling victim to a bunch of pants-stealing pranksters. Nino, who happens to be there fishing, tries to give him back his pants but Kou's father refuses to do so, citing his family's motto. Then while talking to Nino, he discovers that Kou doesn't even know about the MILT's change of mind.

At that moment, his phone starts ringing and he recognizes the ring tone for Kou's but to answer it now would be to give up his adherence to his motto so he gives Nino permission to answer it for him. He leaves with the knowledge that Kou has finally developed enough guts to call him. Nino, who doesn't know anything about cellphones, runs to Kou for instructions on how to answer the call but on her way there she accidentally hits the receive button and so hears Kou's declaration of staying with Nino forever. Much later, Shimazaki bails Kou's father out of jail after having been arrested for indecent exposure.
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