I have to admit, animé just isn’t doing it for me right now. I look at all the crap on fansub and go, “ewwwww!”
Hayate lost me because it has no intention of going anywhere soon (it’s a 50 episode series now on #32, get back to me around #48, k?) Dragonuts was just dreck, Rent-a-Mage was uninspiring (wait, you mean the other harmette was a ghost?), Night Whizzing comes across like the first effort of a twenty-something, and the never-to-be-mentioned-again (until I decide to rant about it some more) Sha-na-na II turned out to be to Tomogara ass-kicking what Princess Nine was to baseball.
I think Kugimiya Rie had another awful loli-on-a-rampage series this season, didn’t she? Zero something something? I forget.
It’s pretty sad when the series that I think are interesting are a mindless illogical jigglefest that might have a really badly executed plot hidden it it, and a show about bacteria. It may also explain why my rogue in WOW is now level 43.
/Looks at incomplete articles: Shakugan no Shana Movie, Angst in Animé, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Coyote Ragtime Show…
I need to start getting together my list of “Top Ten Worst Animé for 2007.” I may have to do two honorable mentions, at this rate.
It will be interesting to see what kind of flaming wreckage is left after Ninomiya-kun takes a shot at developing a plot. Hell, they could surprise us. Maybe the whole thing is a bait-and-switch meant to drive an epic plot down the throats of fanservice otaku. My expectations at this point are ≈0, so anything above that is a win.
I’ve been enjoying Sketchbook and Minami-ke immensely.
Sketchbook is mellow in a way I can’t quite put into words, and it’s the only show this season that I make a point of watching through the OP and ED everytime. They’re really good. Sora >> Osaka.
The Minami-ke sisters are a riot. For everytime you think Chiaki may be the smartest of the bunch, you see another side of her that’s a naivete befitting her age.
…a bait-and-switch meant to drive an epic plot down the throats of fanservice otaku…
It’s been known to happen (Divergence Eve). But I doubt it in this case.
Actually, I think a Hanaukyo Maid Team La Verite is probably too much to expect from GSNK, let alone a Divergence Eve, but we’ll see. My money’s on a lame attempt at intrigue and mystery, but that is more than I expexcted.
As for Minami-ke, about 19 minutes of the middle sister was all I could take. Unfortunately, sans commercials, the episodes are about 22 minutes…
Man I would totally watch a show about bacteria. I guess that would remove any kind of romance, wouldn’t it? No fan service either, well, at least none discernable to my eyes…
It’s been known to happen, but I think GSNK is coming at it from the other direction. They came up with a fanservice concept, then got the hair-brained idea that they could write a good story with it. Like I said, I expect flaming wreckage.
I will give you that Kana can be a handful on her own, but all three of them are rather dull/obnoxious when singled out. It’s the group dynamic that makes the show work.
I’ve been spoiled by the KyoAni snark. When she asked, “Have you got a bondage fetish?” I was disappointed that the answer wasn’t, “No, I’m checking yours out.”
You may well get something at the level of a Najica Blitz Tactics, in terms of story behind fan service. (Interesting how we actually have something of a scale going, isn’t it?)
Beckoning Chasm, I gather that you haven’t seen any of the screen caps from Moyashimon, have you? There’s a grad student, and she dresses like a dom.
So… is our “I came for the fanservice and all I got was this lousy plot!” scale (from worst to best):
If so, I think there’s a big gap between NBT and DE. Nominations, anyone? (Gravion Zwei?)
Here’s what I’ve got for a scale, from highest to lowest:
Divergence Eve/Misaki Chronicles
Hand Maid May
Hanaukyo Maid Team La Verite
Grenadier
Najica Blitz Tactics
Popotan
Girls Bravo
Eiken
As to where GSNK may land on that scale, obviously we can’t tell until it’s over, but I bet it lands at about Grenadier.
Regarding Minami-ke, I agree that Kana (middle sister) would be annoying in large doses. Episode 1 is actually more Kana-heavy than the others. What’s impressed me most about the show so far is precisely that most of the sketches *aren’t* just driven by Kana doing something crazy. Like Will said, it’s all about the group interaction. So if the slice-of-life/comedy appealed to you aside from Kana-overload, it might be worth a second look — especially considering your current “Blah” situation.
But it is a grim season … my only current shows are:
Minami-ke: YAY
Clannad: on probation (watched 2, OK so far)
Bamboo Blade: OK, stock is rising (only watched 2 so far)
Sketchbook, Mokke, Moyashimon: fine, but didn’t grab me
Ghost Hound: intrigued, haven’t watched yet
Having seen very little of it, I’m not sure where to place Ikkitousen (or Ik:DD) in the field, but it sure seems like it should be in there somewhere.
I’m sure there’s a place under the list somewhere for those two series. I left Ikkitousen at DrHeinous’ the last time I was there, and I haven’t missed it. In fact, I think he said he hasn’t even bothered to load it up either.
Question: what are our criteria?
Fanservice shows,
Harem shows,
or only Fanservice Harem shows?
If the harem is a requirement, Ikkitousen and Ik:DD are out.
Edit: oh, and I just spotted Prism Ark at Baka-Updates. If GSNK starts developing a story, I can always try it for mindless jiggle!
I was using fan service but not requiring harem. There’s no harem in Grenadier, for instance, and though there’s what amounts to a harem in Popotan there’s no guy to enjoy it.
And I wasn’t including every single fan service show. Rather, I was trying to include a range of shows which were at different levels, to provide a rating scale. So I left out Tenjo Tenge, and Ikki Tousen, and DearS, and Dirty Pair, and Gravion, and Happy Lesson, and World of Narue. (For instance, World of Narue lands right on top of Grenadier, so including it would be redundant.)
…I’m not sure where to place Ikkitousen (or Ik:DD) in the field…
Probably right along with Najica. Incessant fanservice, with a glimmer of plot (particularly in I:DD).
Ubu, you’re just not watching the right shows this season. Sketchbook, Minami-ke, and Bamboo Blade are all good-to-excellent shows.
I’ve heard that Minami-ke is definitely a matter of inidividual taste. Some people think it’s fantastic. Others object to the middle sister, who is sort of a reincarnation of Miu from Ichigo Mashimaro. I know that Miu began to wear on me after 5 episodes of IM, so I have trepidation about Minami-ke. (Even if the oldest sister does look fantastic in a string bikini.)
Is the youngest sister in Minami-ke a Ruri?
She definitely has Ruri-like tendencies, but every once in a while the older sisters start beating around the bush of big-girl-stuff, and her age starts showing.
What, no Bamboo Blade? I’m through Ep. 4 and its been a lot of fun. The other anime this season has been Sketchbook and Genshiken 2, both of which I’ve found solid
Divergence Eve/Misaki Chronicles has my favorite cast of all, and it isn’t because of the totally stupid fan service.
The thing is, it’s a great story told with real characters who become more of who they are meant to be, over the course of the series. And I love the characters, they are truly wonderful people. (“Sora,” the ending theme, can still make me tear up around the two-and-a-half minute mark.)
I really think it would be nice if someone would come along and Lucas the series so that the women looked normal. Yeah, you’d lose that dumb fan service, but you’d grow the show beyond “doomed cult series.”
Sigh (throws up ghost). I guess I’d keep it the way it is, ultimately. It wouldn’t be the same. And I hate it when people Lucas things anyway.
So I’m not the only one it does that to. I just can’t make out if it’s the music or my memories of that finale. I suppose the music wouldn’t have the impact without the show, but if there’s a better ending to anything, I have yet to see it. Steven called it “magnificent” and that is exactly the word for it.
Oh, Hollywood probably did something back in the day. Damn if can think of anything though, what with all the dreck they’ve produced in the last 30 years.
Oh, Hollywood probably did something back in the day. Damn if can think of anything though, what with all the dreck they’ve produced in the last 30 years.
I have to admit the Fredric March-Janet Gaynor version of “A Star Is Born” can still do that to me, to this day, in one of the moments near the end.
Oh, and I think “Sora” works precisely because of the combination of music-and-ending. Without the show, I’d probably still like the song, but the show gives the song a huge emotional punch; similarly, different music over the DE/MC ending might have had less of an impact. Who knows? I’m really, really glad we got what we did in both areas.
Forvrin (sorry, forgot to check my queue): I watched about 2/3 of one episode; it didn’t revolt me, but it didn’t capture me either. The weirdly-drawn crybaby ping-pong fan did kind of turn me off, and the first couple of girls introduced were too stereotypical.
I mean… this is a sports animé. There’s certain types of characters that have to be there. The hardcore player, the reluctant natural, etc. Maybe it was because I always got picked last (small, slow, clumsy) but I am not a big fan of sports movies, and such. Except for Hardball — I liked it. On the other hand iBad News Bears (ANY version) is sheer torture, and should be banned by Article IV of the Geneva Convention.
And to everyone who’s suggested Minami-ke, it’s not just the middle sister. Notice how many slice-of-life series I’ve blogged about? Zero. (And I don’t mean the one with the pink-haired tsundere.)
I think I’m in search of two things: epic plot or epic fanservice. (No wonder DE grabbed me, it’s got both!) seriously though, I tried once to write an animé themed teen sex farce, inspired by all the things I saw wrong with Sister Princess…. and it turned into an epic story. 48k words later, I gave up.
48k words later, I gave up.
Ha ha, 2K short of a NaNo project…