Anime New Releases [Spring 2004]

[Dagger]

Okay... Kono Mini is now going straight to the bottom of the scrap pile. After the next few episodes are released, I doubt I'll feel even the slightest temptation to continue watching it.

Has anyone else seen episode 2? I'm sorry, but that shower scene was utterly ridiculous. Naked girls getting touchy-feely with one another is all very well.... [i]if[/i] I'm in the mood for hentai. There is absolutely no way that this show could work as a sweet sci-fi romance; it has all of Chobits' flaws and none of its redeeming qualities.


[QUOTE=densuke][b]Melody of Oblivion[/b] is the other series GAINAX is involved with this spring and I'm betting it is the better one. This anime is willing to deliver some storytelling. Bocca will be one of the most vivid heroes of the season.

The plot is lurid nonsense, but at least it is [i]straightforward and dramatic[/i] nonsense. The first episode already delivered some very good scenes.[/QUOTE]

While Melody of Oblivion has already proven that it's less absurd than Kono Mini, I have my reservations about the show. If only Gainax had put all of its money into [i]this[/i] series. Anyway, I can live without amazing production values.... and the character designs aren't exactly my cup of tea, but Melody of Oblivion seems interesting enough to let me overlook that.

The part when [spoiler]the man and the secretary turn into monsters[/spoiler] was pretty well timed, in my opinion. So I guess I can look forward to witnessing more disturbing moments.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

[b]Le Portrait de Petite Cossette[/b] irritated me no end. It just seemed like a big absinthe hangover to me. I have read quite a few Victorian drawing-room startlers firsthand; this lacks the context and sense of wonder which make those stories interesting.

I generally have no use for shows which fail to engage me in the characters. Horror and gothic tales do nothing if they do not create hopes and fears in the audience. I just found myself rolling my eyeballs over and over at the pseudo-portentous dialogue.

Given these failings, the rich score and often interesting visual design were a lost cause. I am all through with this one.

[b]Mahou Shoujotai[/b]'s debut was a tidy 9:00 long but it packed a fair amount of attitude and action into the short episode. This is a rather breathless fantasy featurette concerning a middle-school brat busting loose in some kind of Magic Kingdom. Apparently she will be part of a squabbling trio of apprentice witches, which looks like fun.

This is [i]not[/i] mahou shoujo like Card Captor Sakura or Full Moon o Sagashite, despite the name. I can't think of anything to compare it to yet, but I only ever saw 9 minutes of it... I am gonna give this the green light, I have a good feeling about it.

[b]Sensei no Ojikan[/b] suffers by comparison to Azumanga Daioh. Already I have to give the nod to the latter show for better score and structure and more memorable characters. This new series is going to have to be pretty damn funny - but all it's given out with so far is an undersized teacher, a girl who likes girls and a boy who likes boys. Too soon to tell, but I am not incredibly hopeful...

Scorecard:
[color=green]
Hi no Tori
Kyou Kara Maou!
Mahou Shoujotai
Midori no Hibi
Melody of Oblivion
Aishiteruze, Baby
Interlude[/color]
[color=orange]
Kenran Butou Sai
Sensei no Ojikan
Madlax
Kono Mini[/color]
[color=red]
Phantom: the Animation
Smash Hit
Bakuretsu Tenshi
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette
[/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='densuke']This new series is going to have to be pretty damn funny - but all it's given out with so far is an undersized teacher, a girl who likes girls and a boy who likes boys. Too soon to tell, but I am not incredibly hopeful...[/quote]

Haha, the latter two characters are my main motivation for keeping up with this show... although Tall Blonde Chick's preferences don't exactly match my own. Lolicon, anyone? At least Peace Maker Kurogane did a good job of turning the suggestion of shotacon into a relatively harmless joke, and dropped that particular line of humor before it could grow old. I feel as though Sensei no Ojikan's scriptwriters won't be quite so wise.

Kudo's antics are pretty cute, and I like Suetake's seiyuu (who was also, incidentally, in PMK... not to mention a host of more popular shows). Only a few of the jokes actually made me burst out laughing, but I [i]am[/i] normally impervious to anime humor. Sensei no Okijan might be good if it plays up its characters' personalities rather simply assigning one major quirk to each.

[b]Pugyuru[/b] is another new comedy series. Its episodes are around five minutes long, if I remember correctly, and it looks surprisingly like a Flash movie. I don't know the history of this anime, but I suspect that it's based on a webcomic or something.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

[b]Tenjou Tenge[/b] is so unpleasant that I couldn't be bothered to finish the first episode. Aya's voice was the prime offender, followed by her sister's bizarre morphing, the ridiculous gimmick for the whole show, the ridiculous premise for the first episode, the music and the looks of most of the male characters.

The "in-your-face" fanservice (although there is a nominal martial-arts motif to the series, most of the "action" seems to involve female body parts) doesn't inspire anything within me either except the suspicion that this series will never come within an inch of telling a story.

Tenjou Tenge is already licensed and will probably sell pretty well (the manga has a certain following).

Scorecard:
[color=green]
Hi no Tori
Kyou Kara Maou!
Mahou Shoujotai
Midori no Hibi
Melody of Oblivion
Aishiteruze, Baby
Interlude[/color]
[color=orange]
Kenran Butou Sai
Sensei no Ojikan
Madlax
Kono Mini[/color]
[color=red]
Phantom: the Animation
Smash Hit
Bakuretsu Tenshi
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette
Tenjou Tenge[/color]

[Dagger]

Thank goodness I decided not to try out Tenjo Tenge. ^_^;

I'm pretty pleased with the first episode of [b]Mahou Shoujotai[/b] (that sounds [i]so[/i] much better than the show's English title). It reminds me vaguely of Kiki's Delivery Service, but I suppose anything with apprentice witches would. At this point it's hard to tell whether it will have a stereotypical RPG-ish type storyline or do something more original and different.

Some of Mahou Shoujotai's concepts are unique, at least when it comes to anime; for example, the witches seem to operate under a bureaucracy similar to the one found in Harry Potter. While its character designs aren't exactly flashy, I thought the brief CG sequence at the beginning was very well done, and the main character's flying looks fantastic. I'll definitely continue watching this one. ^_^

Despite its many positive attributes, [b]Interlude[/b] kind of upset me. Its artwork, which has the level of detail and quality that I've come to expect from OVAs, is so lovely that I kept watching it despite my initial skepticism and later disappointment. Episode 1 actually starts off really well... I was fully prepared for forty minutes of heavy-handed existential moping accompanied by breathtaking imagery. Instead, it begins with a wonderfully sad, delicate atmosphere--and then completely loses that as the female lead makes her entrance and proceeds to obsess about other women's breasts.

There's a time and place for ample cleavage; a seductive woman (such as the doctor in Texhnolyze) can be an incredibly powerful character. Yet Interlude's director plays this for laughs. The bouncing is mesmerizing, but not particularly funny, and it destroys the show's sense of darkness and impending danger. Read or Die incorporates such fanservice better than any other anime I've seen, but it's a much less serious OVA and doesn't even begin to tackle the type of psychological problems found throughout Interlude.

I'm about to watch Le Portrait de Petit(e) Cossette. However, what I'm really looking forward to is Kyou Kara Maou 2. Hopefully it'll come out sometime in the near future.

~Dagger~

[Naru]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][SIZE=1][FONT=Century Gothic]Ah! there are so many new releases coming out this spring! @_@

I was reading Newtype and I saw an artical about a new series called [COLOR=Blue][B]Negima[/B][/COLOR] which comes out on April 27th.. Its by Ken Akamatsu, the creator of [COLOR=Blue][B]Love Hina[/B][/COLOR]. Its about a 10 year old boy who graduates from magic school [this is where there Harry Potter connections stop.] and becomes a teacher [of magic]. ok, this could be the whole summary, but we're talking about the [B]Love Hina[/B] manga-ka Ken Akamatsu, so you know there has to be a twist. It turns out, he starts teaching at an ALL-GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL. Sound familiar? It should, because in [B]Love Hina[/B], Keitaro becomes the Karinin [live-in manager] of an all-girls dorm. Again, in [COLOR=Blue][B]A.I. love you[/B][/COLOR] [also by Ken Akamatsu] its a ratio of one boy:lots of girls. And with [B]Love Hina [/B] at the top of [I]Publishers Weekly [/I] list for EACH of its 14 volumes, I think its safe to say that [B]Negima[/B] is worth following.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Dagger]

A few thoughts about the first episode of [b]Le Portrait de Petit Cossette[/b]:

Although I really admire some of Petit Cossette's visual techniques, I didn't enjoy it in the same way that I would enjoy something like Boogiepop Phantom or Texhnolyze. For one thing, the OVA goes to great lengths to complicate what is ultimately a very straightforward plot. Petit Cossette's symbolism (some of which comes across as being annoyingly blatant) only conceals the relative simplicity of its storyline.

In my opinion, that's a silly gimmick; mindf*ck anime doesn't have to be needlessly complex. The main character's mental troubles provide more than enough fodder for confusion without randomly sticking him on a cross to reinforce the fact that he's a self-sacrificing kind of guy.

However, I [i]love[/i] Eiri's seiyuu (she also plays Okita Souji in Peace Maker Kurogane, Tsukasa in .hack//SIGN and Wolfram in Kyou Kara Maou). Generally speaking, the voice acting in Petit Cossette is nothing short of superb... hopefully the OVA will become a little less dense in future episodes.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]Okay... Kono Mini is now going straight to the bottom of the scrap pile. After the next few episodes are released, I doubt I'll feel even the slightest temptation to continue watching it.

Has anyone else seen episode 2? I'm sorry, but that shower scene was utterly ridiculous. Naked girls getting touchy-feely with one another is all very well.... [i]if[/i] I'm in the mood for hentai. There is absolutely no way that this show could work as a sweet sci-fi romance; it has all of Chobits' flaws and none of its redeeming qualities. [/QUOTE] I myself am cutting it off at the knees right here (#2). This show obviously doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up. Last episode it was a poorly-thought-out action series; now it's a harem anime? With a hint of incest on the side? It's probably not going to accomplish any of this, and I don't care to cheer it on anyway.

The thing that bugged me the most was the poor flow of both episodes. There was no need to drag in so many characters right away (even if Hikari knows them all, I can't remember most of them). They need to [i]do something[/i] with the characters. And then they just tossed all these cute little scenes around. The shower scene just fell out of the sky for the sake of showing breasts. Nothing paid off - even the bit about "Hikari is Hikari" fell flat because there was no buildup.

[b]Shura no Toki[/b] looks like a run-of-the-mill feudal-era martial-arts thingy. A girl pretending to be a boy, taking the name Kishomaru and somehow being targeted by run-of-the-mill feudal-era martial-arts bad guys is most of the story. Some famous names are dropped but that kind of thing is lost on me. The visuals are not bad but not much is being put into the animation. I find the show tolerable.

A short-episode series called [b]Dogtato-kun[/b] is whimsical and interesting; another short called [b]Panda Z[/b] is not.

[b]Sensei no Ojikan[/b]'s second episode convinced me that the show is not going to do anything I want to see. I don't find it funny and don't care about the characters. I don't find anything attractive in the production either - the show seems cheaply made. Overall it reminds me of Momoiro Sisters, except that that show's episodes are mercifully much shorter and Momoko (the younger sister) is a half-decent character.

Even given the cheapness and low-level (well, gutter-level) humor, a little attention to pacing and the guts of the scenes would really help out. But the writers can't manage to pay off what they set up.

As for the comparisons with Azumanga Daioh, I watched the first couple of episodes just to see if it was slow starting off like this series seemed to be. From the second episode on I was enjoying myself so much that I wound up watching the entire series all over again. Frankly it kicks Sensei no Ojikan into a corner and then [b]beats it with a lunch tray[/b]... while I watch laughing hysterically...

[b]Madlax[/b], on the other hand, came up with a very good story for episode 3 and seems to be promising something further along, which would have something to do with Margaret, a new character introduced in the cryptic and somewhat frustrating second episode. At this point the show feels a lot like Noir, and I for one say [i]it's about time[/i] someone did a proper rehash of Noir, even if it has to be Bee Train.

[b]Midori no Hibi[/b] episode 3 was dreadful and really hard to watch. It featured huge naked breasts accompanied by Seiji's idiot older sister Rin and a drunken [i]onsen[/i] spree which didn't add anything to the story. Given that the anime adaptation doesn't cover everything in the manga, it is discouraging to see that this was considered important. Midori was thoroughly annoying in this episode; if I had been Seiji, I would have taken out a very sharp knife...

I keep putting off watching [b]Monster[/b] for some reason...

Scorecard:
[color=green]Hi no Tori
Kyou Kara Maou!
Aishiteruze, Baby
Melody of Oblivion
Mahou Shoujotai
Interlude
Madlax
Dogtato-kun
Koi Kaze[/color]
[color=orange]Shura no Toki
Midori no Hibi
Kenran Butou Sai[/color]
[color=red]Phantom: the Animation
Smash Hit
Kono Mini
Bakuretsu Tenshi
Sensei no Ojikan
Panda Z
[/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='densuke']and I for one say it's about time someone did a proper rehash of Noir, even if it has to be Bee Train.[/quote]

Bee Train has yet to blow me away (and those recycled character designs can get astonishingly annoying), but perhaps I'll take another look at Madlax.


[quote]Midori no Hibi episode 3 was dreadful and really hard to watch.[/quote]

Dear god, yes. I feel as though the director is trying to display bare breasts in [i]every single episode.[/i] That's unfortunate, because I really like certain aspects of this show... despite the fact that Midori has zero backbone and the uppity girl (Ayase?) is much better suited for Seiji. Rin comes across as some kind of freakish, perverted, poorly drawn version of Gokusen's Yankumi. I enjoyed the flashback scene, but not much else.


[quote]I keep putting off watching Monster for some reason...[/quote]

Monster has a lot going for it, and thus far it's done an admirable job of living up to all the hype. Granted, I haven't read the manga.... so take that assessment as you will. -_-

Despite the fact that it'll probably make many people uncomfortable, [b]Koi Kaze[/b] appears to be an interesting and well-executed show. Its first episode has the kind of graceful, poignant eloquence previously seen in anime like Shingetsutan Tsukihime and Hoshi no Koe. Even seemingly insignificant gestures carry a great deal of emotion and significance, as do the show's blandly spoken lines.

For me, the pivotal moment took place when Koshiro rested his head against a bathroom mirror and then slowly, blindly trudged away, only later realizing that he'd forgotten his briefcase. It's rare for me to be so impressed with a series this early in, but that scene perfectly embodies Koi Kaze's bittersweet, almost despairing atmosphere.

I'm interested in learning what other people think about the anime, especially considering its incestuous undertones and the unusual sensitivity with which the script treats its main characters.

EDIT: Clearly watching Panda Z is just an exercise in masochism. I'm never going near that show again. >_<

~Dagger~

[densuke]

[quote name='Dagger IX1]Despite the fact that it'll probably make many people uncomfortable, [b]Koi Kaze[/b'] appears to be an interesting and well-executed show... I'm interested in learning what other people think about the show, especially considering its incestuous undertones and the unusual sensitivity with which the script treats its main characters.[/quote]I am enjoying this one. Koshiro and Nanoka are very likable and act like human beings.

I think I can trust this show not to go... someplace I don't want to follow it. It's so much more... [i]grounded[/i] than Onegai Twins or Da Capo, for one thing. There is a certain sense of humor about it which defuses its own suggestivity.

One important theme of the show is the lack of relatedness between brothers and sisters. Although the show takes it to extremes by separating Nanoka and Koshiro and then tossing them back together years later, I think it is trying to point out that males in Japanese households are rather spoiled and fail to show affection towards their sisters, while also demonstrating that the males suffer for this in various ways - such as the emotional numbness Koshiro lives in.

I think people will probably get more plugged-in about the age difference than anything else. For younger people from certain cultures this subject matter might be a bit too sensitizing. But this show is not intended for them. It is broadcast very late at night. The manga is written for the [i]seinen[/i] (college-age and older males) market.

[Dagger]

Sensei no Ojikan's humor and animation may be cheap, but it's not particularly dirty (aside from some strong innuendo in episode 1). I'm just grateful that the series doesn't go out of its way to show naked women; if nothing else, it's sparked my interest in the original manga. Of course when a fantastically catchy OP and one or two hilarious gags per episode are all an anime has to offer, we can probably assume that its appeal will be somewhat limited.

I guess I'll continue watching this. It's just amusing enough to keep me from being bored, and none of the characters are totally detestable... some even have the potential to become fan favorites. I love the entire male cast--their personalities are so colorful that they make the girls seem rather dull.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

Somehow I feel like this is too many shows to watch *shrugs* I liked the winter season better - fewer shows to watch but I liked them more.

The only show I never tried was [b]GANTZ[/b]. I read a lot of the manga, which is just some kind of throwback to '70s Heavy Metal-style comics. I gave up on the manga mostly because it is glacially slow. Fans claim they enjoy the cosmic mindfart of a dictatorial black box sending out ghosts on suicide missions, but I think they just like the half-naked girl on the title page of each chapter. And the anime will just cut down on the half-naked stuff and the gore...

[b]Shin Getter Robo 2004 OAV[/b] ("Shin" as in "new," not "Shin" as in "true" - there were some "true" series but this is the "new" series) is an update on a classic mecha anime. I was very impressed by the visual style and the stark energy - the crazy vitality of classic anime is really in there. This show is insanely violent and beautiful.

Kenran Butou Sai is too gleefully illogical and unambitous for me. It was when I got to episode 4(?) and there was no fighting that I realized that character development was just not a big priority in the series. And it paled by comparison to the new Getter Robo series.

Scorecard:
[color=green]Hi no Tori
Mahou Shoujotai
Kyou Kara Maou!
Aishiteruze, Baby
Koi Kaze
Melody of Oblivion
Madlax
Monster
Dogtato-kun
Shin Getter Robo 2004 OAV
Interlude OAV
Shura no Toki
Midori no Hibi[/color]
[color=red]Phantom: the Animation OAV
Kenran Butou Sai
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette OAV
Smash Hit
Kono Mini
Bakuretsu Tenshi
Sensei no Ojikan
Panda Z
[/color]

[Dagger]

EDIT: Gantz's premise is pretty interesting, but the main character is so damn unlikeable that I just wanted to punch him in the face.

I can't really work up any enthusiasm for Shin Getter Robo 2004 (possibly because I never saw the original series). It's a great-looking OVA, with bold character designs and hyperkinetic action--I guess the blood, guts and oni just aren't my kind of thing. I usually find series in which humans are the enemy to be more interesting than those featuring zombies or monsters or even sentient aliens. :/ Chances are that I'll end up feeling ambivalent about Gantz as well, but I'm going to watch its first episode sometime later this evening... if only to know what I'll be missing out on when I stop following the show.

Right now the only new anime I'm [I]definitely [/I] sticking with are Koi Kaze, Monster, Hi no Tori, Kyou Kara Maou, Kenran Butousai and Melody of Oblivion.

~Dagger~

[densuke]

Love*Love, the finale to the "Unholy Trilogy" of Cosprayers and Hitto o Nerae, is [i]so bad[/i] that Triad, the group who subbed the first two shows, [i]refuses[/i] to be bothered with it... it doesn't even rate a spot on my scoreboard - even if it does get subbed I won't be watching it.

I bet the whole mess will be [i]licensed by ADV[/i] by the end of the year...