Springing ahead ‘09, part one
Wow! Every one of my posts begins with something about how I haven’t been around, so I’ll just skip that and say hey… how about the new season? Lots of talk so far on these series, but so far I’m way more excited than I was last season. More legal streaming for US viewers, more remakes of popular series, and if all else fails, at least there’s more Nyoron Churuya-san.
K-ON
Pre-airing thoughts: The script writer from Aria, Ghost Hunt, and quite a few other fantastic light-hearted series adapts a musical manga. OK, I’m listening. But when it’s animated by Kyoto animation, whose beloved status comes at least partially from Haruhi’s Super Effective rock concert scene, even more ears start perking up. This information tells me I can expect: Cute girls, animation accuracy in musical scenes, and a solid script. Will it deliver? Dunno.
You get the idea.
First ep thoughts: Holy shit. If you want moe, you got it. Looks like our lead girl is the Ultimate Dojikko, constantly tripping, falling, failing, crying, being afraid, etc. I can’t tell if I want to squeal in delight or shoot myself. The art looks a lot more like Kyoto Animation defectors A-1 pictures than Kyoto themselves, which is interesting but I’m unsure why. I’m also not sure if I hate this or not, but I’ll continue for the moment. I’m not expecting another Lucky Star by any means (I think we have Haruhi-chan for that), but let’s hope it’s just more than “[insert series] plus music.”
Shangri-La
Pre-airing thoughts: Well, I think Range Murata’s designs are great. A weird mix of cute and hot that you can only get in anime. Of course, that goes for the post-apocalyptic setting as well, and the two should add up to the kind of sexy action adventure that Gonzo does best (when they don’t overdo it).
You get at least part of the idea.
First ep thoughts: Gonzo has taken the Murata designs and simplified them, Druaga-style, until they lack most of their imagination. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but the sweeping cinematic style of some of the opener’s scenes and setup is promising. The future based around the extreme but somewhat-logical conclusion of global warming is intriguing, but could go in either the “effective world-building” direction or the “overcomplicated nonsense” direction. A technical note: Crunchyroll shows TV Tokyo’s uninteresting (to me) offerings in 720p, but Gonzo’s simulcasts are in SD. What gives?
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Pre-airing thoughts: Wait, there’s a new Fullmetal Alchemist?
You get the idea.
First ep thoughts: I seriously noticed this 5 seconds before downloading. Oh wait, Funi’s streaming it? No wonder their video portal site is down. So I was surprised to find that it’s not really a sequel. Is it necessary to reuild FMA as a true-to-the-manga update with slightly more CG and different character design? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll sniff anything Bones shits out, but I’m not sold on this yet. The series isn’t even very old. I’ll continue for a while though, because episode one featured some familiar characters doing their thing, and the action was solid and fun.
Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z Hen
Pre-airing thoughts: So, it’s not a sequel. It’s not a remake. Right. Well, either way, it’s a trip down memory lane for me, with arguably the first robot I ever watched on TV. I’m not certain whether it was Voltron or Mazinger Z (Tranzor Z) but the Rocket Punch will forever stand out in my mind.
HOLY JESUS FUCK SHITSICLE
First ep thoughts: I… wh… um. It just… holy — motherfucker. FUCK. OH MY GOD.
11:14:23 PM otou-san: thanks for writing a half sensible post on mazinger
11:15:00 PM ghostlightning: lol thanks
11:15:14 PM otou-san: I was reduced to sputtering idiocy
11:15:39 PM ghostlightning: i did notice people were just shitting bricks and calling them posts
11:15:56 PM ghostlightning: but i don’t blame anyone
11:16:11 PM ghostlightning: awesome show is awesome
Here I am, calling this brick-shitting a post. Remember a few seasons ago when Soul Eater started? It was an insane ride from minute one of style and action. It was something new, and it was exciting. This, however, is something old and exciting. It drops you, the viewer, into the dead middle of a situation that you can’t possibly begin to handle and then throws as many robots, heroes, villains, explosions, and called-out attacks as it can at you until you’re reduced to a stuttering, drooling, mess of Super Robot lover. Again I’ll invoke ghostlightning, who led me to the conclusion that my beloved Gainax SR beasts like Gunbuster are made to bring about a child-like state, but reward your adult love with cleverness and references. This Mazinger, along with Imagawa’s Giant Robo OVA (which I’m in desperate need of seeing) are actually for the kids. That doesn’t mean you’re too old for it, though. Check this shit out, it’s so brutally amazing. I’m gonna go watch it again.
You should post more. I’ve seen K-On, and the episode bored me. I do think, that around episode 3 things start coming together. And when it all ends a rewatch will reward me with little touches and details that escape the cursory viewing. And maybe it’ll be a rewatchable monster, like Lucky Star all over again (I think I still rewatch maybe 2 random eps of LS a week).
As for Shin Mazinger Z, those who saw it erected a city out of building materials excreted from their asses.
Imagawa may make shows that rewards a child-like spirit, Nagai gratifies the horny 13-year old boy that’s still in all of us.
[...] otou-san: [preairing thoughts] Well, I think Range Murata’s designs are great. A weird mix of cute and hot that you can only get in anime. Of course, that goes for the post-apocalyptic setting as well, and the two should add up to the kind of sexy action adventure that Gonzo does best (when they don’t overdo it). [...]
I didn’t even attempt a post about SMSZH, but ghostlightning’s right: if this first episode had been available, Rome really could have been built in a day. Your chosen screencap pinpoints the moment (very) early in the episode when I began to go from ‘Wow, this is awesome!’ to ‘AFKSDIJOIKLSGSD!!!!’
There’s a new Mazinger series?! Why didn’t you tell me!!
re: K-ON!: I actually didn’t like the music TOO much (for whatever reason, Haruhi music got insanely grating after a while for me) but that’s a personal preference. I’d argue that you should go with the “squeal with delight” because that’s pretty much what I did. Kind of. I like dojikko girls, so I was quite sated.
re: SHIN MAZINGER SHOUGEKI! Z-HEN: I found myself so incoherent after the first episode that I felt that I had somehow surpassed SENTENCES WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS and that, somehow, mere capital letters would simply be a disservice to SHIN MAZINGER SHOUGEKI! Z-HEN (yes I am going to write it that way every time, as that is the way it should be written), so I just talked normally about it. It’s Yasuhiro Imagawa Strikes Back Harder With The Bride Of Vengeance II. And go watch Giant Robo now. Best $14 I ever spent (and I think the plain, boring set is still around that price).
@ghostlightning
Lucky Star really does have huge rewatch value for me as well. But I see a lot more plot here — at least, the whole “working toward a goal” should give it a more linear structure, whereas LS’s rewatch value comes from just how standalone many of the “4komas” are.
@IKnight
Gunbuster, TTGL et al can make me love super robots, not just on an intellectual level, in the heart as well. But the pure visceral thrill of these 20 minutes was a level beyond. I went in for nostalgia but was so disoriented that everything seemed new and glorious.
@choujin
There’s a new Mazinger series
@OGT
I feel you. Bold, Italic, 72pt capital letters are just NOT ENOUGH. I will take your word on Giant Robo as well.
I did not like Shin Mazinger.
*runs away before the fanboys come out in droves*
K-ON and Shangri-La both have enough potential for me to be interested in checking out further episodes.
I liked the fact that K-ON didn’t have the typical Kyoto animation style going on, although it maintained the high production values associated with the company.
The highlight for Shangri-La was the ballsy main protagonist. Nice to see a heroine who doesn’t waste too much time on negotiation and gets straight to the tank-busting. The added touch of rebellious doesn’t hurt things either.
FMA was, for me, probably what Mazinger was for you. Raging fanboy aside, I love the world in which FMA resides, so being able to see all those characters come back and knowing that I get to relive their adventures (albeit with a different twist now) had me grinning from ear to ear.
Mazinger was full of crazy, but it didn’t really do anything for me. I’m a mythology dork though, so the brief mention of Zeus got my attention pretty quick.
I’ve watched a few more shows (pretty much anything with a sub) and I’m surprisingly stoked about this spring season. Thank god, ’cause the last one sucked.