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anime update
Jan. 13th, 2008 11:12 pmDropped:
Bamboo Blade:
Not on purpose. I just haven't watched any episode past the first, and it was taking up space on my harddrive, so I deleted it all.
Genshiken 2: I lost my place, and besides, I've already read the entire manga, which is better. I enjoyed the animation, but it's not worth trying to figure out what I watched last.
Still watching:
Minami-ke:
They tend to drag individual jokes out too long, and it's far too apparent that each episode is constructed out of unrelated shorter segments, but every now and then, it manages a moment of sublime comedy. Plus, it's only 13 episode long, so why not finish it?
Ghost Hound:
Honestly, it's the standout of the season for me. It's hard for a show with such an ambitious concept and understated delivery not come across as ridiculously pretentious and inaccessible, but this one clicks with me, and I love it for it. Apparently, one of the producers is Shirow Masamune, which explains the complex plotting and altered-consciousness bent, but does make me wonder where all the hot cyborg women are hiding.
Shion no Ou:
Don't judge me, okay? I know it's pandering, crime-drama trash with a disturbing moe undercurrent. I know the cross-dressing is cheap and silly and the gender politics are questionable. But it's a total soap and I like the main characters, and that's enough to keep me coming back for more, even though it's like they took Hikaru no Go and washed away everything good about it and then crossed it with some thriller movie called I Spit On Your Mom's Grave or something.
Picked up:
Blue Drop:
I delayed trying this for a long time because I only sorta-liked the manga (enjoyed it, liked the art and the shoujo-ai aspects, didn't think I'd like it enough to actually sit through an animation with my ridiculously short attention span). Once I found out it's a prequel to the manga with an original plot, I was more interested. Fortunately, I've forgotten the plot of the manga, so I don't actually know how this is going to end, nor can I even guess. It's cute! Really nice animation, good character design, great voices, amusing, sympathetic, and likable secondary cast, etc.
I also like Mari, the main character quite a lot. She's cheerful and energetic by disposition, but has normal human girl reactions to unpleasant things--sulking when she's sent away from her family to a boarding school, holding a grudge against someone who physically attacks her, etc--that make her feel much more rounded and human that your average genki heroine. (Like Mai from Mai-HiME, but without the little brother or the martyr complex.) She has some kind of truly weird connection to her new roommate, Hagino, who cavorts with pigeons and--as you will discover in the first episode, so I'm going to spoil it--is actually a space alien. The only plot point not adequately explained as of episode six is what the hell a space alien is doing hanging out at a private boarding school anyway, but if you just roll with that, it's a pretty entertaining blend of school drama, light school comedy, and spaceship fights with really awesome water special effects.
Bamboo Blade:
Not on purpose. I just haven't watched any episode past the first, and it was taking up space on my harddrive, so I deleted it all.
Genshiken 2: I lost my place, and besides, I've already read the entire manga, which is better. I enjoyed the animation, but it's not worth trying to figure out what I watched last.
Still watching:
Minami-ke:
They tend to drag individual jokes out too long, and it's far too apparent that each episode is constructed out of unrelated shorter segments, but every now and then, it manages a moment of sublime comedy. Plus, it's only 13 episode long, so why not finish it?
Ghost Hound:
Honestly, it's the standout of the season for me. It's hard for a show with such an ambitious concept and understated delivery not come across as ridiculously pretentious and inaccessible, but this one clicks with me, and I love it for it. Apparently, one of the producers is Shirow Masamune, which explains the complex plotting and altered-consciousness bent, but does make me wonder where all the hot cyborg women are hiding.
Shion no Ou:
Don't judge me, okay? I know it's pandering, crime-drama trash with a disturbing moe undercurrent. I know the cross-dressing is cheap and silly and the gender politics are questionable. But it's a total soap and I like the main characters, and that's enough to keep me coming back for more, even though it's like they took Hikaru no Go and washed away everything good about it and then crossed it with some thriller movie called I Spit On Your Mom's Grave or something.
Picked up:
Blue Drop:
I delayed trying this for a long time because I only sorta-liked the manga (enjoyed it, liked the art and the shoujo-ai aspects, didn't think I'd like it enough to actually sit through an animation with my ridiculously short attention span). Once I found out it's a prequel to the manga with an original plot, I was more interested. Fortunately, I've forgotten the plot of the manga, so I don't actually know how this is going to end, nor can I even guess. It's cute! Really nice animation, good character design, great voices, amusing, sympathetic, and likable secondary cast, etc.
I also like Mari, the main character quite a lot. She's cheerful and energetic by disposition, but has normal human girl reactions to unpleasant things--sulking when she's sent away from her family to a boarding school, holding a grudge against someone who physically attacks her, etc--that make her feel much more rounded and human that your average genki heroine. (Like Mai from Mai-HiME, but without the little brother or the martyr complex.) She has some kind of truly weird connection to her new roommate, Hagino, who cavorts with pigeons and--as you will discover in the first episode, so I'm going to spoil it--is actually a space alien. The only plot point not adequately explained as of episode six is what the hell a space alien is doing hanging out at a private boarding school anyway, but if you just roll with that, it's a pretty entertaining blend of school drama, light school comedy, and spaceship fights with really awesome water special effects.
