Shinigami no Ballad – episode 5
April 6, 2006 on 7:37 pm | In Shinigami no Ballad | 1 Comment“The light of fireflies”
A sequel episode of sorts, featuring some of the same characters as the first episode as support for the lead of this story. It’s a fairly interesting story that deals with the regretful things that people say before their loved ones die.
Kiba – episode 1
April 4, 2006 on 11:10 pm | In Kiba | Comments Off on Kiba – episode 1“The Wind of Fate”
It’s dystopian shounen! I was pleasantly surprised by the compelling nature of this program, because I thought the phrase “This program is brought to you by Upperdeck Japan” might have said it all; it doesn’t.
I almost didn’t watch this at all because I hate time stamps. They make me feel like a hack.
Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross – episodes 1-7
April 4, 2006 on 1:00 am | In Southern Cross | 2 Comments
Southern Cross is best known to Western audiences as the middle third of the Robotech saga. I can barely remember Robotech from my childhood beyond the image of an upside down Minmay poster forever stuck in my mind, so I’ve created new Southern Cross memories.
The primary thought I have formulated is that this is anime that emphasises the role of women in military power, made before people realised that relying on feminine stereotypes was not an effective method of empowerment: it’s very much a “I’m just a girl after all” show.
It is also a series that emphasises that individual people are but small parts of the war machine, and it is a robot show that sees its robots as tools rather than heroes in their own right.
On top of that it’s a series that, in its first seven episodes, gives so little information that one feels an intense need to read supplementary material to have any idea what’s going on.
Continue reading Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross – episodes 1-7…
Suzuka – episodes 23-26
April 3, 2006 on 8:20 pm | In Suzuka | Comments Off on Suzuka – episodes 23-26
It’s over, and I’ve got to be honest: If I wrote Suzuka I would have appended the word “bitch” to every time that Yamato conceded defeat to Suzuka’s harrassment.
Suzuka turns out okay; the problem inherent in this kind of series is that it’s always some kind of stubbornness holding characters back from one another and preventing them from anything approximating honesty. I will admit that Suzuka’s block and self defence had some kind of rationality behind it, but she was tapping into her own fear to prevent herself from going ahead.
What we end up with here is standard romance, dressed up with an ice queen female protagonist, a lot of internal monologue, and a dead-end sports plot. Suzuka is okay, but it’s not overly pretty or well done and the penultimate episode descends into pure cliché of the highest order.
Spoilers hereafter
Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 23-26…
Girls’ High (Joshikousei) – episode zero
April 2, 2006 on 10:39 pm | In Girls' High | 16 Comments“High school girls have their stupid side”
This show goes by a billion names; it seems that the Japanese English name is “Girls’ High”. I’ve done my research and I haven’t watched any anime with substantial fan service in it since October 2005, and I can’t remember the last show I saw that prominently featured panties: I was surprised to see Girls’ High is swimming in them.
Gokinjo Monogatari (Neighbourhood Story) – episode 1
April 2, 2006 on 10:37 pm | In Gokinjo Monogatari | 1 Comment“The Person I like!”
Ten years before Kobayashi Osamu came along and made the sometimes interesting yet deeply flawed Paradise Kiss, another of Yazawa Ai’s manga was adapted for TV. Gokinjo Monogatari is a prequel of sorts to Paradise Kiss, in that they share several characters and the same design school.
There the similarities apparently end, because Gokinjo Monogatari has a very positive feeling about it and endearingly eccentric characters. In Mikako and Tsutomu we have been given a relationship that doesn’t look like there is any room for wankery; it’s all very flowery, but is a great example of minimalistic mid-nineties style.
Continue reading Gokinjo Monogatari (Neighbourhood Story) – episode 1…
Mushishi – episode 20
April 2, 2006 on 4:39 pm | In Mushishi | 3 Comments“A Sea of Brushes”
I miss Ginko already. He’ll be back in May for six more episodes, so it’s not all bad.
Kyou no Go no Ni (Today in Class 5-2) – episode 1
April 2, 2006 on 2:37 pm | In Kyou no Go no Ni | 6 Comments
Five short stories about fifth graders, centring on Sato Ryota, the class’s philosopher. I won’t pretend to begin to understand this show, as I have no idea who it was made for. Was it made with lolicon in mind? Was it made for a younger set? Who is supposed to wring maximum enjoyment out of this half hour festival of weirdness and uncertain aim?
Continue reading Kyou no Go no Ni (Today in Class 5-2) – episode 1…
Binchou-tan – episode 6
April 2, 2006 on 2:30 pm | In Binchou-tan | Comments Off on Binchou-tan – episode 6“Night time Buddhist service bin”
Ren-tan is introduced and her seriousness comes across, quite simply, as hilarious. Also it looks like Binchou-tan is actually set in an earlier era, judging by the cars and TVs.
Suzuka – episodes 19-22
April 2, 2006 on 2:27 pm | In Suzuka | 2 Comments
I won’t complain about how contrived all of this drama is. Okay, I will. Also I find the idea of instilling Yamato with a selfish dedication to track with only four episodes left to be a semi-insult. Simply put, how can one guy manage to say entirely the wrong thing on so many occasions? I can’t comprehend.
Spoilers yonder. Additional warning: editorialising even in episode summary.

 Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 19-22…
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