April showers bring [Spring 2011] anime

[TWWK]

Moshidora was nice...and boring. Although I think I shouldn't judge a series based on the first episode (particularly one with a setup as unique as this one), I think I'm going to have to pass. And I was looking forward to this one for a long time. Eh well, so much anime, so little time.

I've settled on just AnoHana, Hanasaku Iroha, and Nichijou (here and there) for this season.

[R86]

Moshidora was nice...and boring.

O rly?

*watches first episode*

Um ... uhhhh ... the characters have ... nice ... ears....

Well, I might give another episode a try. Sket Dance isn't working out for me as well as I'd hoped, since I guess that style of humor just isn't my thing. Of course I'm also waiting to get my hands on the first episode of C.

I'm in for the long haul with Tiger and Bunny, and also Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, the latter partly so that I can keep my Saint Seiya Fanboy card. I am thinking that between Sket Dance and Moshidora, I will abandon at least one of the two, but I'm not giving up yet. And as for C, it remains to be seen.

[blkmage]

I was wondering why the Moshidora light novel sold so well and based on the anime so far, I suspect it's because people would rather read this than Drucker.

[TWWK]

*watches first episode*

Um ... uhhhh ... the characters have ... nice ... ears....

Well, that gives it one up on Cross Game for ya!

[R86]

Well, that gives [Moshidora] one up on Cross Game for ya!

And here I'd tried so hard not to say it, but it was the best I could come up with! Also, lousy ears or not, Kou and Aoba managed to get me to care about them. I guess I care about the lead girl in Moshidora already, which isn't nothing, but I'm giving them one more episode to give me the opportunity to learn the names of at least the starters on the team, and a reason to care about them.

It is inevitable that I will compare Moshidora to Oofuri, but that show had me caring about Mihashi (while at the same time not being able to stand him) by the end of the first episode, and about the other nine players on the Nishiura team by the end of the second episode -- by which time I could also have learned at least their family names if I'd tried harder.

So as I see it, it's only fair that I give Moshidora one more episode. I can forgive having to stretch a bit to believe the main plot device (though in the end blkmage may have it exactly correct), but if I can't care about the characters, I at least need some cool explosions or something.

[MasterDias]

Blue Exorcist is proving to be a solid adaptation of the manga. The added anime-original material works well (except for maybe the awkward supermarket antics), so I'm content so far. I'm not too hot on the opening and ending visuals though.

Sket Dance isn't working out for me as well as I'd hoped, since I guess that style of humor just isn't my thing. I am thinking that between Sket Dance and Moshidora, I will abandon at least one of the two, but I'm not giving up yet.

For what it's worth, Sket Dance is one of those series that apparently improves quite a bit as it goes on, especially once it gets into serious character backstories and such. It actually won a Shogakukan Manga Award a few years back (Cross Game won the same award the previous year.)

[R86]

Well, I just watched episodes 2 and 3 of Moshidora. I gave this show kind of an ultimatum -- and it has delivered for me. The premise is a bit goofy, but it seems already to be heading for the theme of Character Transformation Through Training And Teamwork, which is a big favorite of mine that I can't seem to get enough of. And is probably why I tend to like sports anime in spite of having been terrible at sports my entire life.

By now I'm on record that character design is of paramount importance to me. I find these character designs to be more than adequate for expressing what the creators seem to want to express (even if I would prefer more chin and more nose). Interestingly there is at least one design that is almost copied from Oofuri, which isn't helping me to avoid comparing the two shows, but I guess that's OK. My fellow Oofuri nerds who know all ten Nishiura players by name will easily find the Suyama lookalike.

My main problems so far are with the subtitles, which I wish were a bit more literal, though this is admittedly a matter of personal preference. (Granted that I am tickled that they "translate" sankyuu! into a different language each time, i.e. "Merci!" "Danke!") Also I would be happier if they romanized Yuuki, Yuunosuke, and Niimi correctly, but I am also on record as being exceedingly picky about such things. Also something in me dies a little bit more every time I hear, Eh? Ah. Hai.

But these are minor quibbles and I expect to stick with this series now. I will bear MasterDias's comments about Sket Dance in mind too, as backstories might be just the thing to give me a reason to care about Goggles Boy, Kansai-ben Girl, and Computer Boy, and maybe even to learn their names.

[blkmage]

Are you seriously critiquing fansubs by gg, who are known for translating liberally, trolling, and generally not caring?

Also, there's no requirement to romanize double vowels, otherwise we'd be typing stuff like Toukyou.

[Maokun]

Are you seriously critiquing fansubs by gg, who are known for translating liberally, trolling, and generally not caring?

Wha? I didn't know this Please don't tell me that Code Geass was all a big lie.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Are you seriously critiquing fansubs by gg, who are known for translating liberally, trolling, and generally not caring?

Also, there's no requirement to romanize double vowels, otherwise we'd be typing stuff like Toukyou.

Should one not watch the gg subs of Madoka, then? Which group would you recommend?

[MightiMidget]

I didn't know any of this about gg subs either. ops:

And I absolutely adore [C], though I really can't pinpoint why...

[blkmage]

No, gg's perfectly fine and, in fact, I think they're great. They just don't believe in word-for-word translations and other similar pedantry (lol honourifics). Also, I think it's silly to critique a show based on fansubs.

[TWWK]

Also, I think it's silly to critique a show based on fansubs.

I don't think R86 was critiquing the show as much as he was commenting on the fansub, which somewhat hindered his enjoyment of the show. That's fair.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Now that we're three episodes in I can definitely say that Ano Hana is my pick for the season.

Also, I accidentally downloaded a German fansub of Moshidora so we'll see if I can have time to actually watch the show now.

Edit: Also, I have a question. Does noitaminA stuff only last 11-13 episodes, or do they sometimes last 24-26?

[blkmage]

Usually, they stick to 11, but there have been a few shows where they went for two cours (Shiki, Honey and Clover, Nodame Cantabile). AnoHana and C are going to be one cours because the summer noitaminA shows have already been announced (Bunny Drop and No. 6).

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I think Sket Dance's third episode was probably the best so far, so it isn't getting dropped unless it turns out to be one of those really long shonen adaptations.

C's second episode was cool, too, I guess. Hopefully future fights will be better than this(One super move ends it).

[MightiMidget]

I'm a bit sad because I finally dropped Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (although I might pick it up and drop it all season). This shouldn't be much of a surprise. I didn't like Arakawa and I didn't like Level E. This, however, was actually sweet, only to be (in my opinion) ruined by the innuendo.

In other words, finally started Hanasaku Iroha, and to my astonishment, really liked it!

AnoHana is still iffy, but I am leaning toward liking vs. disliking, especially if it's a short season. Have yet to see episode 3 though.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I think Enma-kun started out really strong but is starting to peeter out with having too much fanservice. I get that it's Go Nagai and that's one of his things, but the fourth episode was noticeably weaker than the first two.

[blkmage]

Yeah, I was giving Enma-kun the benefit of the doubt in episode 1. At this point, I'll keep watching it, but it's definitely a show that I don't need to keep around if my mood shifts or something. I will say that it made me wonder why I was watching it when I passed over Panty and Stocking.

DenpaOnna was kinda beginning to wear down on me a bit (so many words) until the sudden development at the end of episode 3, which I found pretty surprising. I'm looking forward to where the rest of the show goes now that that's been sorted out. And the OP and ED are pretty awesome.

I think I can see where AnoHana is going at this point, barring a few surprises along the way (e.g. just how far the depth of Yukiatsu's creepery goes). I don't have the same kind of clarity with HanaIro quite yet, probably because it's longer. Anyhow, both of them are fighting it out for the top spot in my personal list this season, something I wouldn't have guessed a month ago.

C has been a huge disappointment for me, because I was was expecting it to be far more than proxy battles with coincidental links to monetary policy. Also, the entire visual style looks terrible to me. It doesn't have any of the director's usual vibrant style to it, which is one of the reasons I like his shows.

[Falx]

I'm considering dropping Moshidora and Sket Dance simply because I have too many shows to watch and they're not something I genuinely look forward to.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I think Nichijou has sold me on Kyoto Animation. I'd already really enjoyed Haruhi and Second Raid, but I really like the way they're doing the show and will be sure to keep my eye on them for future projects.

Hanasaku Iroha also continues to duke it out with Ano Hana for my pick of the season and I wish it would come out faster.

[R86]

I've dropped Sket Dance for much the same reason as Falx mentions. I am sold, however, on Moshidora, at least until I find a reason otherwise.

I have added C and Shouwa Monogatari into the mix, though. I'm pretty sure I was born in the Shouwa era myself (though I don't remember most of it), and for me there is something comforting about watching daily life in the Good Old Days. I am not sure about C yet -- something about it disturbs me in the same way that Death Note did (which I watched anyway because I felt sure I'd miss out if I didn't, and I think this was the right decision). In some ways, I could even handle the blood in Berserk and the F-bombs in Beck better than the sheer psychological tension behind C. I can't really explain this other than that there's no accounting for taste, especially mine.

But Tiger and Bunny is definitely at the top of my list among this season's shows. I am really digging the mix of American comics style with the medium of anime, and finding the characters to be generally likeable. So far I'm surprised as I expected C and Sket Dance to be my favorites this season, with Tiger and Bunny being a long shot but worth trying just in case.

[TWWK]

Ah, still need to check out C. And to give Moshidora another chance. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying AnoHana to know ends, and though Hanasaku Iroha has become less ambitious, it seems, I'm enjoying more than I did at first. Nichijou continues to be hit and miss, but the hits are big ones (more in the "wow, that's very interesting what they did there with that joke" than the "bwahahahaha!" department).

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So according to ANN(oh no, right?) the noitaminA stuff got ratings of 5.5, which is excellent.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So, Ano Hana is definitely my favorite show for the season. I think what I like the best about it is that it kind of feels like my generation or whatever. There's some stuff during the flashbacks that remind me of when I was a kid, and I've definitely drifted apart from a lot of my friends since I've grown up, so I guess there's I might be a bit biased towards the show. Still my pick for the season.

C, on the other, is pretty disappointing. There isn't a whole lot about the show other than the music and the design of Midas that I like. The art for everything else is kind of ugly and I don't like any of the characters. A lot of the stuff about money feels in your face, as opposed to, say, Spice and Wolf.

[blkmage]

It looks like noitaminA's back up to its historical ratings. Apparently, last season with Fractale and Hourou Musuko, ratings dropped pretty hard. I thought about why this might be, because even though 2ch makes jokes about Fractale all the time, Hourou Musuko was pretty decent. I realized that Madoka was airing on MBS in the middle of both noitaminA timeslots.

In other news, the Nichijou OP's PV is up on Hyadain's Youtube channel. It turns out Hyadain is the same Hyadain responsible for such classics as this and this.

[Falx]

I love how he did all the voices himself, even the female parts.

That girl in the PV is only there as visual filler, which is a shame since she's got a pretty good singing voice.

[Narnian]

So far nothing looks very interesting spring anime wise. Now would be a good time to finish catching up on the past three or four years of anime. I can't believe I missed so many good releases when I was trying to catch up on everything else I missed!

[MightiMidget]

I can't believe I missed so many good releases when I was trying to catch up on everything else I missed!

I know, right? xD I got into anime August of 2009, and started watching airing anime in 2010. And...now everything that looks really interesting to me aired in 2009. I feel like I just missed the year of awesome. ops:

[Midori]

I think I'm going to wait a while on which animes I watch this season. There are a few I'm really into, but I'm not feeling a real urgent push to keep up with them. I'll probably wait for batches of the ones I'm interested in.

Except for Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko. I was so amazed by that one that I got my parents to watch it with me as it comes out weekly. The three of us are completely transfixed. It also wins my award for best OP and ED, both of which do a perfect job of setting the tone for the show.