Series Recommendations
This is the place where you can come and post recommendations / mini reviews for series that you think other people in the club would enjoy. Who knows—if a series sounds good enough, we might even watch it in our meetings someday!
(Note: being able to post here is a great reason to sign up for a proper account on this site!)
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 pm
I’ll get the ball rolling on this by giving a *cautious* recommendation to a new series called “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu”, or if you will, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”. I figured that anything that is this popular is bound to be something I won’t like, but this time I was wrong. I devoured the 12 episodes available on fansub earlier this week.
(Also Matt F. and I have been having an animated discussion about the romanization of “yuuutsu”, which I have quadruple-checked with the kanji and kana and is correct. The term for “depression” uses two kanji, yuu-utsu. [/language_geek_stuff])
Anyway, the show is about a girl who shows up at a certain high school, starts up a club involving searching out strange phenomena, and somehow attracts to it people with various weird abilities, plus one hapless boy who gets caught in the middle of her weird ideas. Hilarity ensues of course.
Another aspect that interests me, but I haven’t completely figured out, is that the episodes seem to be “purposely out of order”.
The only reason I’m being “cautious” is that there are a few too many of the predictable jokes and groping scenes at the expense of the stereotypical well-endowed girl, especially in the first 3-4 episodes. But there is nothing explicit (at least not VERY explicit), and she too has something to contribute to the plot, besides her torso.
For me, the ending theme makes it all worthwhile, which features the five main characters doing a little dance to the theme music. It looks sort of like a boy band, except that it’s two boys and three girls. The facial expressions are the best part.
Read about it here at the ANN Encyclopedia:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6430
Incidentally, the title character is voiced by the same person who voiced Mamori-neechan of “Eyeshield 21″. I couldn’t imagine two more different characters!
June 26th, 2006 at 8:16 am
Per Dr. Waas’s recomendation, I am downloading Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu as I type, perhaps I should even put it on the site for download when I’m done?
June 26th, 2006 at 11:00 am
The series that got me forever hooked on anime is Urusei Yatsura. The original
manga is by Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma, Inu Yasha, and more).
The series totals 195 half-hour episodes (it initially ran as two 15-minute stories
per episode), 10 OVAs and 6 movies. AnimEigo has released the entire set (except
movie 2, which Central Park Media has released). They also include very nice
culture and translation notes for each episode.
The series is a comedy (a very anemic word in this case – weird is a great adjective
for this series). Urusei Yatsura translates as Those Obnoxious Aliens. The two
main characters are Lum (an Oni princess — from the planet Oni, not the devil kind
of Oni), and Ataru, an unsuccessfully lecherous Japanese high school student. Lum
usually wears a tiger-striped bikini and has an enormous array of high-tech gadgets
in her space ship. Lum is madly in love with Ataru. She thinks he has proposed to
her, so she has moved in with his family. Ataru just wants to chase every girl in the
universe. This makes Lum upset, typically resulting in her giving Ataru a massive
electric shock.
The cast of secondary characters is huge, and most of them are just as weird as
the main characters. Here are just a few:
Shinobu – Ataru’s former girlfriend who is capable of lifting telephone poles out
of the ground and swinging them at people.
Shutaro Mendou – the son of the richest family in Japan (they own 51% of the
country and have a private militia that is larger and better equipped than the
entire Japan Self-Defense forces). Every girl in the school (except Lum) is madly
in love with him. Mendou has a younger sister who amuses herself with elaborate
practical jokes – usually at Mendou’s expense.
Lum’s Storm Troopers – 4 of Ataru’s classmates who are all in love with Lum and
deeply resent how Ataru treats her. The leader of the group is Megami.
Lum’s parents – the dad hides behind a newspaper. His mom often says things about
Ataru like: “I wish I had never had him”.
Ten – Lum’s little fire-breathing cousin who moves in with Lum and
Ataru. Ten is a kid you just love to see get wacked by a frying pan.
He is not above playing the cute little boy in order to get a nice cuddle from
a pretty girl.
Sakura and Cherry: Sakura is a stunningly beautiful Shinto priestess who
moonlights as the school nurse. She is the sexy older woman that all the high
school boys dream about. Cherry is a crazy monk and Sakura’s uncle. The two of
them can pack away food like almost no other anime character I am aware of.
Ryunosuke and her father – they run the high school store (trying to get enough
money to rebuild their seaside tea shop). The father wanted a son and won’t admit
that Ryunosuke is a female. She wears boys clothes and is constantly fighting her
father. He has promised that if she can ever beat him in a fight she can buy a
bra. Half the girls in the high school are in love with Ryunosuke.
Ran – Lum’s childhood friend. She can do the very sweet young girl act but inside
is seething with anger over all the past wrongs done to her by Lum. Her true self
often comes out.
Benten and Oyuki – Lum’s other childhood friends. Benten rides an airborn scooter
and likes chains and bazookas. Oyuki is the queen of Neptune. She is cool, calm,
and ruthless.
Onsen Mark – the overmatched teacher of all the main high school characters.
The series is episodic (with many episodes ending at an unresolvable place – such
as the town being overrun by dinosaurs), but a great deal of Japanese legend,
history, and culture appear. Being episodic, it is amazing that the series could go on
for such a long time and not get stale. Of course there are episodes that are not
all that great, but the continual supply of new secondary characters (I have not
mentioned most of them) keeps things interesting.
The series went through several directors (including Mamoru Oshii) and a few
changes in character design – Lum in particular.
Why, you ask, has this amazing series not shown up in Anime Club?
There are two responses: (1) it has – movie 2 was shown two years
ago (2) there is occasional brief nudity, especially in the earlier episodes.
Some helpful links:
June 26th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
“Urusei Yatsura” definitely sounds like something I should check out. I love that old-school stuff as you know!
A comment on the first episode of “Haruhi”: Be aware that (1) this is “really” the sixth episode (or thereabouts), and (2) you are seeing an amateur-film-within-an-anime, complete with execrably bad singing, and almost equally bad acting.
Well, if we’re going to include old-school recommendations as well as the “series that got me hooked” aspect, I might as well include my main addiction for over a year, “Saint Seiya”. This show aired in Japan in 1986, with 73 episodes. By 1990, two miniseries and four OVAs had also appeared. And in 2003, the show was revived with the same voice actors (by then in their mid-50s) and modern technology, in the form of one OVA and one miniseries. This year, another miniseries has been started, with new voice actors.
A badly mangled version of the first TV series aired on the Cartoon Network some years ago, under the title “Knights of the Zodiac”. I have seen a very little bit of this, and the rumors are unfortunately all true — mismatched voice actors, badly mispronounced names, all blood edited into blue or green “magical essence”, and no one ever dies — they’re “just resting”, like the infamous parrot in the “Monty Python” sketch!
By the time ADV came out with an uncut version, with an (actually not half bad) English dub, the damage was already done: the show was a miserable flop in the US, in spite of to this day being quite popular in Europe and Central and South America. (Complete Spanish, Portuguese, and French dubs are all available for instance, from what I understand.) As a result, only 60 of the 73 episodes were ever released uncut with good subtitles. (Though I am working on a way around this problem, wink wink.)
What’s the show about? It’s basically the standard shounen fare about five lads who strap on colorful armor and save the girl (and the world along with her) by beating up bad guys. The only difference is that “Saint Seiya” was one of the earliest shows of this kind. There are also some interesting elements of Greek mythology: Seiya and his friends serve the incarnation of the goddess Athena (who isn’t a very impressive goddess, seeing as she needs Seiya-tachi to save her hindquarters all the time), and yet a lot of times it is other Greek gods who are the enemy. Sometimes Norse gods also, and in one OVA, the enemy (incredibly enough) is Lucifer!
So what’s so great about this show? Well, don’t get me wrong, I like to watch some rollicking good butt-kicking as much as the next person. But there are also strong undercurrents of faith (of a sort), repentance, courage, and loyalty that drew me in almost immediately. There is also something charming about the older anime, where every single frame was drawn by hand. Finally, I feel that this show has taught me some things (however distorted) about what it means to be a soldier, and to have comrades-at-arms, that I would never have thought about otherwise.
In my ample spare time (ha ha), I’ve been planning a fancomic based on this series, and have been redesigning the characters to look more like real, modern people. Which brings us to the question of what the characters look like. The answer is — not that unlike the ones we’ve met in “Fushigi Yuugi”, only perhaps with less pointy chins. Here are the five lead male characters in civilian clothes, complete with 1980s style muscle shirts, wristbands, mullets, and gi-normous eyes:
http://fuunoroad.free.fr/gallery/saint10.jpg
From left to right: Cygnus Hyoga, Dragon Shiryu, Pegasus Seiya, Phoenix Ikki, and Ikki’s kid brother Andromeda Shun (and yes, that’s a boy). Here is how they looked in their battle armor, hair blowing dramatically in the wind. And yes, I’m so sorry, but Shun’s armor is PINK.
http://users.animanga.com/stayka/st-shita/sht-sl50.jpg
As for the show itself, it is hard for me to recommend showing it in our club, since besides occasional brief nudity and bad language, there is TONS AND TONS of blood. Almost never gore per se: but blood in amounts so exaggerated, that it is almost funny. Nevertheless, if you like shounen anime, and want to see one of the first of its kind, predating “Yu Yu Hakusho” and even (barely) “Dragonball”, check out “Saint Seiya”. And if you make it through episode 60, see me for episodes 61-73.
June 27th, 2006 at 9:08 am
Wow they all have amazing 80′s hair. . .
June 28th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I hear that mullets are coming back too, horrifyingly enough…. Also, Shiryu is drawn a little bit out of the ordinary in the civilian clothes pic. His “Mao jacket” has long sleeves (which would, however, have covered his impressive (?) guns, hence no doubt the decision to remove them), and his hair is usually even longer, sometimes down to his knees.
I’ve also discovered that the voice actor for “Urusei Yatsura”‘s Shingo is the (to me) legendary Touru Furuya, who voiced the title character of “Saint Seiya”! No one else could match his rendition of Seiya releasing his signature attack, flying through the air (complete with speed lines of course) whilst shouting his battle cry, “Pegasasu Ryuusei Ken!” (Pegasus Meteor Fist!) Being of a similar vintage, the two shows share other voice actors too.
Seiya’s new voice actor (who incidentally also voices “Bleach”‘s Kurosaki Ichigo) does a good job, but the difference is noticeable to say the least.
Currently I’m reviewing the new series “Utawarerumono”, and my thumbs-up is pending, as I’d like to “research” (ha ha) a few more episodes first.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
OK, I believe I can recommend “Utawarerumono” (“The One Being Sung”, note the first two syllables of _utau_=”to sing”) as I haven’t seen anything objectionable after 12 episodes.
The show is about a mysterious man who shows up gravely injured in an extremely odd village, where the residents tend to have various auxiliary appendages, such as tails and animal ears. Also they ride on these dinosaur things. (It’s anime, so we mustn’t ask.) He is wearing a mask that he cannot remove, and has lost his memory. I’d say the show is basically about his rapid rise to power (of COURSE he becomes emperor of the entire geographic area, don’t tell me this surprises you) and how he relates to the others, both his friends and his enemies.
Technically this is billed as shounen anime, and I’m sorry, Dr. Gossett, but it does include spiky-haired characters fighting. On the bright side, at least they aren’t also yelling out things at the same time like, “RAGING 500 STAR POINTS SOUL BLADE OF MAYHEM AND JUSTICE!!!”
However, I find this show much more balanced than other shounen anime — even, I hate to say it, than “Saint Seiya”. In that show, for instance, the characters take themselves MUCH too seriously. Here there are some light moments, some thoughtful moments, and a surprising amount of day-to-day life and (gasp!) character development.
You can read about the show here:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5746
There is a character named “Benawi” who, to me, looks eerily like Sasuke from “Naruto”. Interestingly, as you’ll notice further down on the webpage, he is voiced by the same seiyuu who voices Tean (Teen? Tiin? Chiin?!) from “Tide Line Blue”! Another interesting seiyuu connection involves the one who voices Eruruu, one of the lead female characters. In “Naruto”, she also voices Sakura’s blonde rival, Ino.
July 25th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
***RETRACT*** recommendation for “Utawarerumono”. Ugh, this is embarrassing. It seems they saved the “objectionable” stuff for episode 17, the Animesuki forum is collectively frothing at the mouth, and the comments are that the “best” (?) is yet to come in episode 18.
Too bad as I’m dying to find out who Hakuoro really is and what the deal is with his mask!
July 26th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Hey, you can feel free to recommend (or disrecommend) anything you want here, Bethical or non-, as long as you specify what’s objectionable in the show. I’m planning to recommend Higurashi later on specifically because it turned out to be too strong to be shown in the Anime Club (but it’s still really unique and interesting).
Honestly, I’d watch “Utawarerumono” just because it has about the most fantastic name ever, except maybe for “Kono Minikukumo Utsukushii Sekai” (another show I may recommend which probably has just a tiny bit too much fanservice to be shown in-house) and “Melody of Oblivion” (which I never finished because it appeared to be a pointless excuse for, uh, “boing.” But it still has a great name).
July 28th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Well, perhaps my prudish side got the better of me and I overreacted. I will state the content of the “un-Bethical” scene and let others make their own decisions. It basically involves the hunky Oboro, servants of his who are twins of indeterminate gender (I assumed they were female until I “researched” the Animesuki forum), and the aftereffects of too much alcohol. Nothing explicit is shown. It is admittedly funny (though in different ways) regardless of which gender the twins are, and in either case one rather feels sorry for Oboro (though in different ways).
August 7th, 2006 at 11:48 am
Well, THAT’S crazy. I’ve just learned that ADV has licensed “Utawarerumono”, and it will be renamed “Shadow Warrior Chronicles”:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=34869
The folks on the Animesuki forum are apoplectic, and not about it being licensed already, but about the title change. Which I can understand.
I will buy it anyway when it comes out, otherwise I will never learn what the deal is with Hakuoro and his mask.
I bet they cut the scene I mentioned, which lasts for only about half a second anyway. And I wonder if the twins of indeterminate gender will be voiced by men in the English dub, if they truly are supposed to be male?
August 7th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Good thing you already recommended it, because I never would have been convinced to watch it with the name “Shadow Warrior Chronicles!” (Whereas I’d watch something with the name “Utawarerumono” without even checking to see what it was about.)
I think that the twins should both be voiced by Kurapica from “Hunter X Hunter.” Yes, I know it makes no sense for an anime character to voice another anime character, and it really makes no sense for a character to be dubbed by a character who’s never been dubbed her- (or as some claim, “him”)self. But I don’t care. If it’s indeterminate gender you want, it’s Kurapica you have to call in.
August 7th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Well as far as “Un-Bethical” things go I think we’re safe since this isnt even on a Bethel server, although I think we should exercise a level of restraint (nothing has come close to breaking my tolerance level as of yet so no one should be worried, only something like the early AMV Hells could come close to that).
August 13th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
I guess its my turn now for some series recommendations. As you all already know, I recommended FLAG to Matt F and he seemed to like it quite a bit. Its supposed to be a giant robot kind of anime but I assure you its something much better. Not only does it have giant robots (which have a since of realism to them) but also complex theatrical elements, in a way this series reminded me of the ghost in the shell movies (I think the animation is rather similar as well). Also, thank you Dr. Wass on your recommendation of Utawarerumono, this is a great anime that everyone should see. Although I havent gotten to the feared episode 17 yet, Im sure its nothing that I cant handle. But I swear, those twins HAVE to be girls, I mean come on. If they were guys I would have some serious psychological damage.
Yes I agree, that jewlery would look good on WOMEN!
Here is my reasons for thinking they are girls:
August 14th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
…which also describes nearly every male character in Fushigi Yuugi (and 3/4 of all other shoujo shows). The same applies to Maze‘s Ran Chiki. Honestly, in anime everyone should know that just because it looks and acts like one gender doesn’t mean that it is—please see Vandread‘s BC for the ultimate proof.
Just for argument’s sake, the following are my reasons for believing the twins to be male:
They are male
Everyone at this thread secretly knows it, but some of them are in denial. So there.
PS: Yes, I realize that it’s ironic that I’m arguing about a show I haven’t seen using a show I haven’t seen as my “ultimate proof.”
August 21st, 2006 at 9:58 am
Ok, I guess I can now see how they can possible be male after watching the infamous episode 17. Although I dont think that ep is bad enough to make me stop watching the series, in fact I rather enjoyed it except for about 20-30 seconds (if you’ve see this you know what I’m talking about). Other than that I can continue to strongly recommend this wonderful series, its on par if not better than Tide Line Blue in my opinion.
August 26th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Ah, the Utawarerumono twins. I suppose they are probably male, and I think will be voiced by women in the English dub (probably by the same woman, as in the original Japanese dub) in order to leave it ambiguous.
My take on it (not that anyone asked) is that my response was probably typical of those who have never played the game that the people on the Animesuki forum referred to in that famous thread. I naturally and without a moment’s hesitation assumed the twins were female — and the authors of the story have done nothing to dissuade me from that. It’s as if they want us to think they’re female, unless we have played the game. If I had never read the thread in question, I would have always thought they were female. Now it appears I’m forced to admit they’re male. Who says ignorance isn’t bliss?
As Matt F. says, characters of indeterminate gender are not a new phenomenon in anime. I’d even be able to include my favorite (?) green-haired girly-boy of yesteryear, Andromeda Shun, except that he is at least voiced by a man (if a soft-spoken man with a high-pitched voice). The same is true, more recently, of Toboe of Wolf’s Rain.
Using women to voice young boys who have not finished adolescence, is also nothing new and has been done quite a bit in American animation too. The Japanese seem to prefer slightly older women for this job. Besides the Utawarerumono twins, other examples include the title character of Naruto, Haku from the same show (who, it has been pointed out, is prettier than many of the female characters), and of course Gon, Killua, and Kurapika of Hunter x Hunter. (running for his life with Matt F. in hot pursuit with a crowbar)
Which brings me to my newest addiction and recommendation (nice segue, Professor!), and a very surprising one it is: Rozen Maiden. This is an embarrassing one indeed for me to recommend, seeing as it’s about — how can I put this? — no, there is no other word for it — DOLLS. Mysterious living dolls who come into the life of a junior-high boy who lives alone with his sister (why do anime kids never have parents?) and has some kind of tragic past (I have just watched episode 9 of 12 and am still not completely clear on what happened to him), just when he really needs a new perspective. There is a bit of a dark, Wagnerian (lots of German is used), almost gothic flavor, which normally turns me off, but the antics of the dolls and their mysterious powers keep me wondering what will happen to Jun-kun next.
There is also a second season, called “Rozen Maiden: Traeumend”, which if I remember my high school German of 20 years ago correctly, the last word roughly translates as “dreamingly”.
Whatever your gender, if you were “man” enough to like Angelic Layer, you might want to check out Rozen Maiden. Both it and its sequel have 12 episodes, and both are completely fansubbed and available from the usual places. And I am willing to bet that there will be no scenes involving some guy drinking too much and winding up in a compromising situation with twins of indeterminate gender.
And now if you’ll excuse me, after almost four months of keeping me waiting (out of tune trumpet fanfare), another episode of “Saint Seiya: Hades: Inferno” is out! Unfortunately the fansubbers’ server is down or something. I plan to sit at home hitting “refresh” on my browser until I can download it.
(On second thought, probably not.)
(On third thought….)
See you all on the 31st!
PEGASASU RYUUSEI KEN!!!
– JW
August 29th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
They’re not dolls, they’re action figures!
I’ve heard that Rozen Maiden is good; I’ll check it out that magical day when I have time. Possibly when I’m 50 or 60, the way things are going right now. If you want a lot of German, go watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes (remembering that it will take you the rest of your life to do so).
I wouldn’t have said that Toboe was of “indeterminate gender”–I never doubted that he was a boy, or even mistook him for a girl in the opening the way I did Keel (or Tachibana, a character we’ll meet this semester in Yume Tsukai). ‘Course, Kurapica’s NOT of indeterminate gender either. She’s a girl. In disguise.
In conclusion to this pointless busy post I would like to quote Howl: “What’s the point of living if I can’t be beautiful?!”
September 4th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Gah, what is this page? A random discussion on what shows we like?
And it seems that no one has mentioned Haibane Renmei yet.
I also like Serial Experiments Lain.
babada.
September 4th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Yeah, this page is just random fun.
We watched Haibane Renmei last summer, so there’s no need to mention it (and we all KNOW by now that it’s the greatest series of all time and I can’t go an hour without mentioning it at least three times… oh man, it’s so good, I need to go watch the opening again); Gossett and I are with you on Lain’s awesomeness, but many others have yet to be convinced.
September 14th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I think Rozen Maden is the anime used for that particular creepy scene in AMV Hell, Matt F knows what I’m talking about. I dont think its bad for female voice actors to play male characters; I think the disturbing part is when the supposedly male characters appear to be more female than male. Dr. Waas had an excellent example with Haku from Naruto, even though “he” looks to be completely female (and he wears a dress if I remember correctly), the creators decided to make him a male character anyways leading to who know what type of physiological disorder for the viewer. Anyways, yes I am sorry Matt about not getting Blue Submarine No. 6 for the meeting, although I did get paid yesterday so I will stop by Best Buy and see if they have it. See you all at our first regular meeting this weekend!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Rozen Maiden has been licensed by Geneon.
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:17 am
I wonder how they’ll handle the English dub for “Rozen Maiden.” How will they render Suiseiseki’s cutesy but annoying tendency to end every sentence with “desu” whether it needs it or not? And will Jun-kun be voiced by a man or a woman? Inquiring minds want to know!
I’ve seen five episodes of “Hayate no Gotoku” and I think I can recommend this in the comedy/parody genre. (Which of course means episode #6 will be awful, and I will get blamed. Oh well.) The title means, I believe, “The Five Virtues of Hayate,” though the show is also sometimes called “Hayate the Combat Butler.”
The show centers around a 14-year-old boy (voiced, unfortunately, by a woman) (yes, I really can’t stand that) (though she actually does a pretty good job) who, through a series of mishaps and misunderstandings, winds up employed as a butler to a rich demanding young girl. The show consists mostly of slapstick and parody — I probably miss at least half of the parody owing to not having seen the original anime they’re making fun of. Usually you can tell when something like that is going on from the subtitles — when it’s time to make fun of Gundam, for instance (which happens at least once per episode), you will see something like “***dam” in the subtitles, and the syllable will be bleeped out of the dub.
It is quite random, but good clean fun. And much to my surprise, “Saint Seiya” was parodied in episode 3! (And disturbingly well, I might add.)
I can also give the thumbs up to “Terra e” or “Toward the Terra” so far, though I’m usually a nut for space adventures. I will also reluctantly admit to “Master of Epic: The Animation Age” being a current guilty pleasure of mine — it pokes fun at RPGs, and rather effectively at times. On the thumbs-down side, I failed to connect with any characters in “Heroic Age” after the first two episodes, and am close to the same verdict with “Kaze no Stigma,” though I will give one more episode a try.
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
Oops, “Saint Seiya” was parodied in episode *4* I think, not 3. They even drew the title character in that style for a few seconds — freaky hair, big eyelashes, etc.
May 17th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Hayate no Gotoku is cute. How can you not like a series with a tsundere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere) young rich girl?
The parodies are fun. Episode 1: watch for Neon Genesis Evangelion; Full Metal Alchemist; Dog of Flanders; and generic giant mecha. Episode 2 (I think) has Sailor Moon.
May 25th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Wow, activity!
The only reason I haven’t been watching Hayate no Gotoku is that I’ve been underground working on big projects for… a long time. And Dr. Waas, I’ve heard that Kaze no Stigma is fairly awful. Anyway, there’s actually several good shows out this semester:
Romeo x Juliet: Everything that makes Shakespeare great in an anime series. Drama! Romance! Violence! Moral quagmires! Cross-dressing! Made by the same folks who blessed the universe with Gankutsuou, this show is the must-watch of the season. I mean it. So go watch it. Please. I’m actually grovelling right now—it’s just that good.
Bokurano: I’ve noticed that every time I try to describe the plot of this excellent psychological series to someone, they think I’m some kind of depraved sociopath. So I’ll just say that it’s like Lord of the Flies with a HUGE robot and fascinating characters. You should at least check out the first two episodes and see what you think.
Hidamari Sketch: I know I have a weakness for shows about students in the humanities, but seriously… this series about four students at an art school is cute and delightful in the best possible way. Although I might be the only one who cares about this, it’s also really well-directed: the animation is clearly done with almost no budget, but it has this wonderful technique of visual metonymy* that I haven’t seen done anywhere else. It will make you feel good—I guarantee it.
I’m tentatively watching some other new stuff—Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula, Seirei no Moribito, and Sola—that may also be good. Claymore is dreadful, avoid at all costs.
[EDIT: Gave up on Gigantic Formula, may resume if I ever have time; finally decided that Seirei no Moribito was worth it despite its associations with the miserable load of dreck that is GitS: SAC; and felt very rewarded when at episode six or seven Sola finally got good. I think I can recommend it wholeheartedly now; it's one of those series that shows you characters doing things and then reveals their motivations later on, which makes it kind of (OK, very) obscure at first---but if you stick with it it can really grow on you. (The whole harem thing is merely a clever disguise.) And I love the idea of a sky-colored umbrella.]
*Metonymy is what you do when you use a part of something to mean the whole thing—for example, crewmen on a ship are “hands” and the ships themselves are “sails.” In Hidamari Sketch, they’ll often show just part of something against a colored background to represent the whole thing: for example, the main character Yuno has one of those hairstyles with a crossed rubber band that forms an “X,” so she’s often represented simply by things in an X-shape (a crossed pair of chopsticks, a railway sign, and so forth). I think this is really cool, but probably everybody else didn’t even read this footnote…
May 30th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I guess its time to put in my current recommendation, by the way Romeo X Juliet would be a great series to watch over the summer while it is still on fansub!
I’ve been watching Darker than Black and am currently up to episode 7, so far so good. I don’t think this is a series Dr. Wass would particularly enjoy, considering it does have its inherent creepiness. However, the most redeeming part is the sound track, which is composed by none other than Yoko Kanno! This is the sole reason I began watching the series, and so far I haven been disappointed (the opening and closing tracks, however, are not by Yoko Kanno). The story consists of “contractors” which are humans with special powers who are hired by criminals for their abilities. The plot has yet to develop; however the animation and soundtrack are both excellent so I’ll probably continue to watch this series until the end.
And yes Matt I did read your footnote. By the way I have to say I wasn’t very impressed with Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula. I think you commented before on the excessively creepy facial expressions of the characters and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve only see the first episode so perhaps I should give it a second try.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Yeah, “Gigantic Formula” took until episode 3 to get promising (and explain what the heck was going on). Unfortunately at that point my patience had already worn pretty thin, so I actually haven’t seen anything past that…
I should videotape myself behaving like a character from that show. No, on second thought, I shouldn’t, because it would freak the jeebies out of everyone.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Um, wow, Sola is getting really good now that the interpersonal revelations are flowin’ like runnin’ water. It’s one of those really good examples of how to generate conflict without any villains whatsoever; everyone has totally sympathetic motivations, but they keep on trying to kill each other. And the fight scenes, although extremely rare and short, are always awesome—it shows what you can accomplish by using your action sparingly. Thumbs up from me; I’m waiting for the last two episodes with bated breath, and wishing that the first few episodes were as good as the rest of the show so that I could convince people it’s worth watching.
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Wow, it’s amazing how much happened here while I was away. I’m still the only one who posts… Anyway, here I am with my breakdown of the new season’s gems:
Sketchbook ~Full Colors~ [OK, so technically the Japanese typography is "~full color'S~"... whatever]: If I tell you that this show is made by most of the same people who make Aria you should have a pretty good idea of what it’s like. That said, this show is considerably funnier, with a highly enjoyable main character (she’s so shy that she hardly ever speaks, and most of her lines are either delivered to cats or consist of the phrase, “mm, mm”) and a secondary cast composed entirely of people who would be your favorite secondary characters in a lesser show. It’s about the daily adventures of a high-school art club, and from the mellow first notes of the opening theme you sink into a state of complete, semi-soporific bliss which may leave you unable to stop smiling for a little while. This show gets better with every installment; episode 4, the most recent, is a masterpiece of subtle emotion and the painterly manipulation of visual palettes.
Ghost Hound: Although Sketchbook will probably remain my sentimental favorite this season, this show from Production I.G. by all the people associated with all my favorite anime (Kino’s Journey, Serial Experiments Lain, etc.) may turn out to be the best. Unfortunately I’m still waiting on the first release by Ureshii, the same group that’s doing Dennou Coil. (Man, that’s a great series!) So why did I even include it here? I dunno, guess I just wanted the excuse to write about something I know nothing about…
[EDIT:] Ureshii finally released the first episode, and it’s just as weird and cool as I had expected, although significantly slower-paced. You know me, that’s a good thing…
Kaiji [Full title: The Suffering Paraiah: Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor]: Words alone cannot describe how fun this show is. From the screaming rock opening (“The future is in our hands! We don’t need your rules! AAAAHHHHH!”) to the hypermelodramatic narration (“Kaiji now knows suffering! He is engulfed in infinite darkness! He must run only forward–forward–FORWARD!!!”) to the characters’ tendency to dissolve into Manly Tears at the slightest provocation to the amazing two-and-a-half-foot razor-sharp noses to the pulsingly aggressive techno soundtrack, this show about–I kid you not–a bum who is drawn into the deadly world of high-stakes Rock-Paper-Scissors is calculated to make your blood race so hard that it floods your brain. Must be seen to be believed. This is one of the few shows I know with no female characters whatsoever, which makes it rather a nice break from all the anime about schoolgirls.
Minami-ke: …Like this one, about three parentless sisters (gee, never seen that setup before), one in high school (the Perfect One), one in junior school (Tomo… I mean, the Hyperactive One), and one in elementary school (the Mildly Sadistic One). If you can keep a totally pure mind, there’s no denying that it’s really funny (and the animation is extremely good), but it sometimes seems to be working very hard against pure minds. (Think Strawberry Marshmallow.) You should at least watch episode 1 for the Kiss Chase and the Kotatsu Bounce.
Mokke: …And this one, about two parentless (well, their parents are absent) sisters living with their grandparents in the country. The older sister has the ability to see traditional Buddhist spirits, and the younger sister has a bad tendency to become possessed by them; uninspired plot summary aside, the show actually has a pleasantly mellow tone and uses each of its supernatural interlopers to make a point about people and their emotions. It is the very definition of “worth watching:” it won’t be your favorite title ever, but when you’ve finished each episode you’ll feel that your time was well-spent.
Bamboo Blade: This show made me laugh in the final week of my stay in Japan, during which I really had very little to laugh about. A high school teacher wants to win a bet and get free sushi for a year, so he must work to gather a team of five female Kendo players and defeat the armies of his old schoolmate. Great characters (the moment when the hapless instructor tries to practice Kendo in his apartment is priceless) and very pretty animation help raise this above the ordinary, and it’s surprisingly hard to pigeonhole: although it’s about Kendo, it’s definitely not a sports show; although it’s about a group of high school girls, it’s not nearly manic enough to be a high school comedy; although there are many satirical moments of romance, it’s not a romantic comedy. It’s just a nice, funny show with the tiniest, tiniest touch of surreality to it. (“The vice-principle’s falling from the third floor!”)
Shion no Ou: Another something-show disguised as a sports show: when she was a very small child, Shion’s parents were murdered by a mysterious figure who left only a wooden King from Shougi (Japanese chess). The trauma sealed her lips forever (great way to save on voice actor fees), but apart from her deafness she is to all appearances a normal, cheerful girl. Well, almost: having grown up in the home of a Shougi master, she has excelled at the game and is considered one of the most promising new players in Japan. As she finally becomes a pro she begins to discover that playing Shougi may lead her to the true identity of her parents’ killer. The focus here is on Shion, not Shougi (most games take about 30 seconds and consist of onlookers saying, “holy cow! How can such a young girl play such great Shougi?”) and if you think it looks like something you’d like, you’ll like it. It’s pretty stylish and involving, but hardly groundbreaking.
Rental Magica: What the heck? No seriously, why am I watching this show? It makes no freakin’ sense… huh? Sheesh, I won’t keep on… wait, the newest episode finished downloading, must watch it! So I watched that because…? Well, never mind coherency. For some reason I’m watching it.
[EDIT:] Hey, I finally understood this show! The problem was that the episodes weren’t in chronological order; I couldn’t even figure that out until episode three and it took until the just-released episode six for me to FINALLY put all the pieces together and decide that it’s really quite a fun series, with a nice group of main characters, a really cool aesthetic, and a rather uniquely multi-cultural philosophy. But seriously, there was no reason whatsoever for the episode mash-up. (Maybe they couldn’t finish animating them in time?) If you want to watch the show, you will enjoy it far more if you watch the episodes in their proper sequence: 2, 5, 6, 4, 1, 3 (as far as I can tell there’s no temporal holes left to fill, so hopefully the rest of the series will be released in order).
Mayashimon: Tales of Agriculture: This is it, folks: the weirdest show this season. It’s about a guy who comes to an “Agricultural College” and excels because of his special talent: he can see microbes. He can hold them, and play with them, and talk to them. This strikes me as extremely bizarre, but not quite as odd as the reactions of the other characters: at one point a graduate student with long black nails dressed in what I can only describe as a dominatrix outfit topped by a lab coat spends ten minutes screaming at the poor kid about how he can’t be able to see microbes, it’s absurd, he just oughta die and she hates him she hates him she hates him. The opening and closings are practically Dada-ist and each episode features a “Microbe Theatre” after the end credits, which consists of microbes making small talk and then calling each other “freaking fungi bastards.” You should at least watch the first episode, which features a scientist enjoying some delicious kiviak (read the Greenland paragraph of the link). Yum, I always wanted to try sucking a seabird’s fermented innards out through its… never mind.
OK, that’s it. It’s strangely liberating to write something that you know no one (except Matt and maybe Dr. Gossett) will ever read… anyone have any other suggestions?
August 9th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Axis Powers Hetalia:
Closing Animation (a preview of what it’s like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzipJyPi13Y
Plot: Take a look into the history of the world as countries are personified in stereotypical character arcs (ex. America thinks of himself as the hero, France is a romantic, and Russia is a sadist). Chaos and fun ensues as the countries clash in famous events from the fall of the Roman Empire and World War II. The anime centers around the axis power countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan, but includes more than 40 other countries.
Opinion: I love this. I LOVE THIS. It’s so ingenious. The characters are beautifully designed, the stereotypes are so blatantly true, and it’s such a fun way to learn about historical events. I’m not going to lie; this anime made CWC a lot more fun (when we read about various events, I pictured the characters participating in them, instead of just ambiguous historical figures).
It’s a silly, fun anime, but I wish it took a few steps farther into the serious side of history. Part of Hetalia’s charm is its humor; however, a little bit of real drama would help develop the characters more. There are a few serious things reflected in Hetalia, including the American Revolution, and the Bloody Sunday Revolt in Russia, but they are few and far between.
Another thing that troubles me is the episode length. Each episode is only FIVE MINUTES, which makes it hard for them to have a consistent plot line. The subject matter and timelines of the episodes jump around a lot, and make it a little annoying for the viewers to follow.
I definitely recommend this anime; however, I also strongly encourage people to read the Hetalia web comic as they follow the show, because the comics develop the characters and the situations significantly better than the show. And these are characters worth getting to know ;D
Is it Bethical?: (Yes…) If the anime had been exactly like the manga, it would not have been Bethical. However, Hetalia was made into a children’s show, and so all of the shounen-ai and France-rape was cut out. It’s perfectly fine, with the exception of an odd hot spring scene in episode 4 and the rare F-word (I guess they assume that Japanese children would not know English curse words)
August 9th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Baccano!:
Opening Animation (a preview of what it’s like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msg8ypnLqaw
Plot: It’s the early 1930’s in America, and organized crime is at an all time high. From mafia families to run-of-the-mill scam artists, the 16 main characters of this show start out with very little in common apart from their criminal backgrounds. However, alchemic pursuits, a killing monster, and the secret elixir of immortality cause their paths to cross, and a story full of twists and turns is unfolded before our eyes. In the end, who will come out on top?
Opinion: First off, I need to say that I love the classic gangster set up. There’s something fascinating to me about organized crime, and movies like The Sting and Ocean’s Eleven are some of my favs. The characters in this show cover a whole spectrum of personality types (from the clueless yet loveable robbers Isaac and Miria, to psychotic Lad, who loves nothing more than soaking his socks in other people’s blood after a long day of murder.
A bittersweet trait of this show is its confusing plot. It’s bitter because it’s difficult as HECK to follow in the first half of the series. The story keeps jumping around to different periods of time within a two year timeline, and there are 16 main characters, all of which who get equal air time. The characters all have complicated Russian or Italian names, which makes it really hard to learn their names, and, since there are no purple or blue-haired characters, it takes forever to figure out who is who.
At the same time, though, it’s so fascinating to see all of the individual plot lines come together in such a way, and watching the characters meet and interact. It’s a blast to watch, and I definitely recommend it for people looking for excitement.
Is it Bethical?: (Probably not) This is one of the few anime that manages to have no weird-sexual scenarios, which makes it a breath of fresh air. The problem, however, is that it’s rather gory, and, while this doesn’t bother me, it’s probably too much blood and guts for Bethel.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Code Geass:
Opening Animation (a preview of what it’s like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9rTgY29lBM
Plot: In the future, the world has pretty much been completely conquered by the Holy Britannian Empire. Japan, a once proud nation, has been reduced to “Area 11”, a ghetto of the Empire. Most of the Japanese have bowed under the weight of the government, but there exist a few factions of resistance. Lelouch, an intelligent student of the Empire, detests the dictatorship of the Britannians, and swears to bring them down. With the help of a mysterious girl named C.C., he acquires the “geass”, a power which allows him to controls the thoughts or actions of anyone he makes eye contract with. With this unusual gift, help from a rebel faction, and some quick thinking, Lelouch may be able free the Japanese from oppression. That is, if he can avoid being caught.
Opinion: This show is very reminiscent of Death Note (which I saw first). Lelouch is intelligent, and unsatisfied with the way things are (mirroring Light). Then, with the help of a mysterious gift (geass vs. killing note book), he goes about his own way trying to change the world, even if it’s a little immoral. Then, playing opposite of Lelouch, is the white knight, Suzaku. Suzaku, once a Japanese, now an honorary Britannian, is also dissatisfied with how the empire is being run. However, he wants to change things from the inside out: the legal, and probably more noble way. (Similarly, L too wants criminals brought to justice. However, he will not allow Kira to kill at will)
I usually don’t like shows with mecha (like Gundam or Macross), or “Cartoon Network hits” (like Inuyasha or Naruto). This show happens to be both, however, I still find myself really enjoying it. This is a testament to how good it must be. The plot is intriguing, although a lot of the characters are kind of dry (Lelouch and Suzaku are really the only ones worth mentioning). I’m only 10 episodes in, but, if it continues as it is going, this could end up one of my favorites. Regardless of what anime genres interest you, this one is worth checking out.
Is it Bethical?: (Yes) I’ve only seen a handful of episodes, but so far I have not seen anything particularly offensive in this show.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Death Note:
Opening Animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdEE8t-4P8o
Plot: The world is corrupt. Everyday people waste their meaningless lives on things like gossip and crime. And Light Yagami is sick of it. A brilliant high school student, he watches helplessly as criminals escape justice time and time again. But that’s about to change.
Enter Ryuk. Ryuk is bored. Ryuk is also a shinigami with a notebook that can kill people. One day, Ryuk decides to drop the Death Note into the human world, to see if anything interesting occurs. Light, sitting in class and staring out the window, spots the book falling from the sky. Picking it up, he brings it home and decides to test it out…
Opinion: I love this show. Unlike most shonen anime, this show is less about the action and more about the psychological suspense. It’s all about the mind games that Light and his antagonist, L, play. It’s absolutely brilliant.
I also love the fact that the main character is actually the villain of the show. Light is an egotistical, self-righteous genius who wants to become the god of his new world. He kills people who he deems as filth and, if anyone tries to stop him, he offs them as well. It’s interesting to get into the head of the mass murder for once, instead of always hearing about the cop or the detective.
This show has a creepy air to it, but it really isn’t scary at all. In fact, Ryuk, the creepiest looking character in the show, is actually the comic relief. The character designs are interesting, the music fits perfectly, and the plot twists and turns like you wouldn’t believe. This show is in my top five favorite anime, and I definitely recommend it.
Is it Bethical?: (Maybe) Generally speaking, this should be viewable at Bethel. There is no nudity, and only a few hints of sexuality (there is an attempted rape in episode 1, Light looks at porn to throw L off his tracks, and Misa wears a few weird outfits…at least her boobs don’t jump around like in most anime -_- ; ) The violence is mostly hidden from the viewer (the Death Note’s primary agent of death is the heart attack), and the language is no worse than you’d hear on the street. Part of the reason why it may not be Bethical is because you’re getting into the head of a psychologically unsound person. The show does such a good job at portraying Light that you almost find yourself sympathizing with the serial killer. I love this aspect of the show, but I realize it may be rather unsettling to some Christians.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Fruits Basket:
Opening Animation (a preview of what it’s like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DLaWPs3jzk
Plot: Tohru, a flaky but loveable high school student, has been living in a tent for the past month. With both of her parents dead, she tries her best to make it on. However, when a landslide wipes out her tent, she is taken in by the school’s prince Yuki and his older, perverted cousin, Shigure. The deal is that she can stay as long as she helps with the housework. Tohru is more than happy to oblige…that is, until she discovers the family’s secret: the Sohmas, when hugged by a member of the opposite sex, transform into the animals from the Chinese Zodiac. As Tohru gets to know each of the Sohmas, she discovers what a burden the curse is on them. However, through the laughter and the tears she teaches them what it’s liked to love, and be loved in return.
Opinion: I apologize for my weird plot summary. I make it sound incredibly cheesy, when it’s actually awesome. This was my gateway anime: the anime that got me hooked on anime. Each of the characters (most notably, the Sohmas), has unique personality traits and attitudes towards Tohru. The fact that they each represent an animal (thirteen, including the cat, although the horse and the rooster only show up in the manga) helps encompass their differences and make them so much more loveable >w<
Although it contains a lot of drama, this show is actually also a comedy. Shigure’s perverted antics, Kyo’s raging temper, and Yuki’s sarcastic comments make for a lot of amusing scenes. However, as previously stated, this show is mostly a drama. Most of the Sohmas have been through really sad experiences, and we watch them struggle, and, over time, learn to deal with their pasts. All of my female friends love this show, but it may be a little sappy for male audiences. I guess the only thing I can suggest is that you give it a few episodes to decide whether you like it or not.
Is it Bethical?: (Yes) Definetly. Violence is minimal, nudity is only suggested (when the people change back from their animal form they appear naked in a cloud of smoke), and language doesn’t extend beyond the occasional B-word. Filled with themes of love and hope, this is definetly a good, Christian anime.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Fullmetal Alchemist:
Opening Animation (a preview of what it’s like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMDvps_q9qo
Plot: Somewhere, in a world parallel to ours, the advancement of science is replaced by the extraordinary laws of alchemy. People can create and destroy with nothing more than an intricate circle and a few raw materials, if they follow the most basic of alchemic concepts: in order to gain, something of equal value must be lost. The Elric brothers learn this lesson the hard way, when a failed attempt at resurrecting their dead mother results in the loss of Edward’s arm and leg, and Alphonse’s entire body. Broken but not beaten, Ed and Al set out in search of the legendary philosopher’s stone (an alchemic product believed to contain the power to bypass the laws of equivalent exchange), and a chance to regain their bodies.
Opinion: Fullmetal Alchemist is the first shonen anime that I ever fell in love with. It’s a good mix of many genres: there’s a lot of action, some good comedic moments, and even a little bit of romance. At 51 episodes long, it’s the longest anime I’ve ever watched. There are a few filler episodes in the beginning, but the story develops well enough after a bit, and soon picks up speed. It’s beautifully done, and the cast includes a wide range of characters, making this one of my top five favorite anime of all time.
Is it Bethical?: (Yes…) This show is fairly clean. There’s swearing, but no S/F/C words. There is a lot of violence, but no gore beyond a little blood. And sex is missing from the anime entirely. There is, however, a little bit of nudity, but none of it is meant to be sexual (for example, at one point we see a mother holding her child, and they’re both naked, but we don’t see any graphic body parts) So it’s not exactly a G-rated show, but I’m more than willing to bet that it’s Bethical.