Utawarerumono – episode 14
July 24, 2006 on 7:04 pm | In Utawarerumono | 3 Comments“Destruction”
The design of nameless characters takes a hit so that the violence can be ramped up and the fluidity of the animation dazzle.
The exercise smells of a build up to the final showdown, but we’re only halfway through the series. Shikeripetim must be another obstacle to the true goal.
Ouran High School Host Club – episode 15
July 23, 2006 on 10:47 pm | In Ouran High School Host Club | 4 Comments“Karuizawa Refreshing Battle”
I wish that Ouran High School Host Club was true, that Japan really was run by men in dresses. Then it truly would be the nation of kings.
Mushishi – episode 23
July 23, 2006 on 10:45 pm | In Mushishi | 1 Comment“The Sound of Rust”
Rust never sleeps.
Take Me to Summer Side
July 23, 2006 on 10:36 pm | In Anime Industry News, Kimagure Orange Road | Comments Off on Take Me to Summer SideAnimEigo’s Kimagure Orange Road licence expires at the end of this month. If you would like to buy it, The Right Stuf has it for $124 (with OVAs and movies on a separate discount) and AnimEigo has it for $62 without cases.
AnimEigo doesn’t ship internationally, so unless you have a mule to buy it for you you’re stuck elsewhere.
Now you can have the honour of owning one of the out of print series that I extol the virtue of! Too bad you missed out on Don’t Leave Me Alone, Daisy. Oh well, there’s always HD for that!
Kimagure Orange Road – episodes 1-8
July 23, 2006 on 10:34 pm | In Kimagure Orange Road | 3 CommentsMany, many years before he was made to hit in America with Beck, and more still before he threw gas onto the burning trainwreck that was Paradise Kiss, Kobayashi Osamu directed Kimagure Orange Road, one of the templates of proper romance comedy – spiced up by psychic powers.
A true child of the eighties, this 1987 vintage series has the special aura reserved for the well-designed veterans of that era. It belongs to the genre that features romance heroes with clear intentions and is generally fun besides.
Nana 12
July 22, 2006 on 5:48 pm | In Nana | 1 Comment
It’s not really a surprise if you’ve seen the images before. This is the Nana that ends with high drama spelling out danger in episodes to come.
Spoilers beyond
Kiba – episode 15
July 22, 2006 on 5:47 pm | In Kiba | 1 Comment“Small Treasure”
or
“Emo Bread will prove a saviour!? Milquetoasts never prosper!”
Another example of a less than interesting A story being overshadowed by a pertinent B story, that once again proves the theory that Noa is more interesting than Zed.
Utawarerumono – episode 13
July 22, 2006 on 5:44 pm | In Utawarerumono | 1 Comment“Battle of Bloodshed”
At the halfway point, Utawarerumono kicks its arse into gear and decides that it doesn’t want to hate me any more.
Go go go! Except I don’t know how the alliances are going to match up from now on, but that’s part of the fun. When battles are interesting like this, the show doesn’t suck so much. Eruruu, on the other hand …
Nana 11.5 – a fake meditation on the nature of the recap
July 22, 2006 on 5:42 pm | In Anime Standards | 2 Comments
A recap episode. I watched it at 4x speed for maximum efficiency, slowing down only for Junko, Kyosuke and Shouji’s commentary on the plot.
You may argue that I lost the effect of the episode, but I’ve seen this all before and didn’t need the reminder. Others among you may say “Why didn’t you just skip it?”
I have an urge to observe all new animation in recap episodes, no matter how little it is. I maintain that Evangelion has one of the best recap episodes in town, partly because it only takes up half of an episode and partly because it features new voice overs by characters that add a little something to the scenes. Nadesico had a recap episode that scored for novelty points but one realises that the actual recap material isn’t very interesting at all and suffers from ADV’s incredibly dry sub translation of that series.
I’m amazed at how few of the series I’ve seen actually feature recaps, as I was raised in the early days of my fandom to believe that they were a common occurrence. I can’t think of many other titles that I’ve seen off the top of my head that featured recaps. Gundam Wing had two consecutive recap episodes, which was a major buzz kill for a series that was already boring itself to death. While I have not seen it, I can imagine that Wolf’s Rain‘s four consecutive recap episodes would have been torture.
In matters dearer to my own heart, the recap episode of City Hunter presented action sequences without the charm that the series required to pull them off. The new animation content in that episode was pure horror, as well, as if Sunrise had drawn Kaori, Ryo and Reika then shopped them out to the staff of the more poorly produced episodes of Angel Heart.
As for Nana itself, back on topic: I can’t be the only one who finds it weird that the previews aren’t actually previews, but rather advertisements for Nana related merchandise.
City Hunter Handbook: Episodes 6-10
July 22, 2006 on 4:48 pm | In City Hunter Handbook | Comments Off on City Hunter Handbook: Episodes 6-10
With the introductions of more of the major supporting cast in quite different guises to those that we will come to love them under, the second half of the first ten episodes of City Hunter effectively introduces Kaori to the equation without disrupting a thing.
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