4ch/a/nner

Moved to http://fourchanner.wordpress.com

2010-02-27T03:32:00.000-05:00

Yup, decided to move over to WordPress after seeing all the benefits they had over Blogger. The new URL is http://fourchanner.wordpress.com, and it has all my old posts there. Just, the pics sometimes came out formatted incorrectly. But it's not like the pics were formatted great here in the first place. Here is also the new RSS feed.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu 8 - Runaway, Maze and Summoned Beast Instrumentality Project

2010-02-25T21:58:00.002-05:00

I've relocated! Please click here to see this page proper!

Well, that was a surprisingly good parody of Neon Genesis Evangelion. That show has been parodied/copied so many times already, but this particular instance of it was impressive in just how true to the source it was, and how consistently it kept up the parody. In fact, the entire structure of the episode felt just like that of an Evangelion episode.

The story is set up with some mysterious student entering the central server room that controls the whole summon system utilized by the school, and accidentally disconnecting a cable. This causes everything in the school to go haywire: specifically, Yoshii's summon is the only one that (1) can be controlled, (2) remains in its original form, and (3) pops up everywhere, like a multitude of clones. The others initially have very human-looking summons that are "ideal" or "fanservice" version of themselves - Mizuki and Minami appear as succubi, Yuuji as a cool elf-thingie, Hideyoshi as Little Red Riding Hood who is also a wolf (very fitting for that character, obviously), etc. Then they eventually turn back into their chibi selves, but are not under control, acting autonomously.

The episode's plot centers around having Yoshii's summon break in to the server room through some tunnels in order to reconnect the cable, as his is the only one that is controllable and can affect real objects. The theme of collaboration and teamwork is heavy in this one, with all the main characters sacrificing themselves in some way in order to help Yoshii reach his destination (the autonomous summons end up trying to stop Yoshii, and they have to help him beat them, which means they're dragged off to detention).

But again, my favorite thing about this episode was the Evangelion parodying. The server room doors, the diagrams with large, bold lettering, the red hexagonal emergency signs, the icons of the synchronization breaking, a faked NERV icon using the letters BAKA, the hero screaming in pain as the support crew can't do anything but watch, the headmaster watching from the back with her fingers interlocked below her nose, they're all there. Heck, they even threw in an End of Evangelion reference. And they're presented throughout the episode from start to end, with no attempt to give attention to it. That lack of irony or self-awareness in this show that is otherwise filled with self-referential humor, is what made the parody work so well.

And the episode even managed to build up the characters a little, showing us a clearer picture of the depth of their friendship. The headmaster becomes a little more easy to sympathize with as well, with her little comment in the post-credits section at the end.

As you might guess, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I was a little down on this show for its recent episodes, but if it can keep up with content like this, it could end up as one of my favorite non-Shaft comedy shows.

Bakemonogatari 14 - Tsubasa Cat Part 4

2010-02-25T00:22:00.001-05:00

Well, thanks to the great Korean subber CORAN , I had the pleasure of watching the 14th episode of Bakemonogatari, titled Tsubasa Cat Part 4, last night. Of course, this is just the 3rd episode in the Tsubasa Cat arc, as Tsubasa Cat Part 2 was dedicated to the relationship between Koyomi and Hitagi (an excellent episode, if you'll recall). This episode felt very much like an in-between episode, like Tsubasa Cat Part 3, with not a whole lot happening plot-wise, but the conversations, as usual, made it an entertaining one anyway.
It's been a while since the last episode, but in the show, it has only been minutes since the cat demon revealed herself to Koyomi and Oshino. Long story short, Koyomi believes that Shinobu can get rid of the demon like last time, but she is gone, on a journey to discover herself. The first half of the episode has Koyomi searching for Shinobu by bike, as well as calling each of the previous heroines for help. The second half has Koyomi collaborating with the cat demon herself, who appears to have no ill will towards him.

As usual, Bakemonogatari shows itself to be a talking anime, not a motion one. I found it entertaining to hear each of the heroines again, and seeing how they conversed with Koyomi. Nadeko was adorable, while Hitagi displayed her usual cool self, ending the conversation with a very self aware joke about tsunderes. And Suruga's unending exuberance with Miyuki Sawashiro's voice is always great to listen to.

Then there was the true heroine, Tsubasa cat. Her appearance was rather unexpected, and her lack of malice was as well. Much of her shots were fanservice, which is just fine with me. She and Koyomi conversed about demons and humans in general, about Shinobu in particular, and ended off with the rather predictable reveal about what's causing stress in Tsubasa. I found most interesting just how much Koyomi cares about Shinobu. Unfortunately, since Koyomi Vamp is not one of the animated stories, I'm not clear on what she had done for him that makes him respect and grateful for her to such an extent.

And Tsubasa Cat was a joy to watch. Her cat-like behavior was appropriately sexy and cute, and I enjoyed it as much as Koyomi did. Again, she didn't seem particularly villainous, but, after all, we want to have the real Tsubasa back. And, of course, in Bakemonogatari, people are very cynical and less wholesome than they might appear to be at first.

The art was pretty standard fare for Bakemonogatari. Simple, blocky backdrops with a surprising amount of detail, lots of cuts to closeups during conversations, and some Looney Toons style SD mixed in. Of note was the OP, which was mostly live action photos of a model cosplaying as Tsubasa. It was... OK. The some, Sugar Sweet Nightmare, is my least favorite of all the OPs, which doesn't help. And while I did appreciate the cat-ear imagery being created with the simplices, the whole thing being in black and white just made it hard to get excited about. Lyrics were nice and somewhat dark, though.

Hopefully the second OP is more enjoyable. I do like the song for the most part, and I could see it being used for a good OP sequence.

Anyway, it's time to play the waiting game once again. I hope more of the events of last Golden Week is revealed, and that Tsubasa gets some closure in the source of her stress. And I hope we have to wait less for part 5 compared to the time between parts 3 and 4 (113 days).

Dance in the Vampire Bund 07

2010-02-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well, being the Shaft fanboy I am, I've been watching this show. The premise, of vampires outing themselves in order to establish a human-recognized society, seemed interesting enough. Of course, the economics of them paying off Japan's entire debt is a bit ridiculous - a sudden injection of that much money into an economy would most certainly lead to hyperinflation, which, even in the presence of real economic growth, would be a very bad thing. With no knowledge of the source material, I found the story to be a bit cryptic. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that are only mentioned in brief. I've heard that the manga went deeper into the political intrigue, and I sometimes found myself wanting to see more of that.

I think the first episode deserves mention for its presentation as a regular TV feed. It felt familiar, somewhat reminiscent of the first episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, though not handled as well. Whereas that show's first episode, while being hilarious, instantly drew you in to the existing story, Dance in the Vampire Bund's first episode seemed nothing more than a gimmick, not doing anything to move forwards the storytelling.

Since then, I've continued to follow the series with my faith in Shaft as the only motivator, and it was only at episode 6 that I felt things were getting interesting. Really, it astounds me to think back just how little has happened until that point. The part that struck me was Akira's rebellion against Mina. It was nice to finally see some sort of central conflict come about, without dilly dallying about with little hints and character intros/appearances. The malice that had been brewing between vampires and humans were finally coming to a head. And given just how loyal Akira had been to Mina up to this point, the conflict was somewhat unexpected and exciting.

Episode 7 made good on this conflict, bringing about more action scenes, animated and directed surprisingly well for a Shaft production. The ending to it did leave me confused, though. If Mina was against all the violent/elitist vampires, why did she and Akira have to fight? Was it just some sort of abstract "fight because we agreed to fight (even if the agreement was made under a false premise)" thing?

And the way the episode ended of course felt like the end of a season. There are still questions to be answered, particularly regarding Mei Ran, the hard candy girl (VA: Kobayashi Yuu) who played a brief role in the fighting in this episode. I suppose episode 7 signifies the end of an arc, wherein Mina comes clean to Akira, who is now trusting and loyal to her.

Still, it makes me wonder where the show is going next, with 5 episodes left. I've found it very hard to get a handle on the pacing of this show. I wonder if we'll go deeper into the political side of things, now that the state of affairs have been more fully established.

One thing that continues to bother me is the art. The provocative OP dancing and the sometimes present loli nudity are definitely a little off-putting, but I can handle them. It's something about he color palette that just feels off, as if it's something from the 70s or 80s. Same goes for the character designs and the effect the oft-moving camera has on the way the characters are lighted. It may be what Shaft was going for, given the style of the OP song (Friends, sung by Aiko Nakano). And even the OP animation is far more traditional than what I'm used to from Shaft.

Then again, there's something to be said about anime character design these days that doesn't seem completely derivative. While that alone doesn't validate the art style for me, it certainly helps this very strange show stand out even more.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

2010-02-10T18:55:00.000-05:00

To be perfectly honest, I started watching this series mainly because I read some comment saying that it was a Shaft show not created by Shaft. I'm a self-proclaimed Shaft fanboy, so I decided to give it a chance, despite the fact that the premise didn't interest me in the slightest. A school where students are put in classes according to academic rank, and can use videogame avatars of themselves to fight for better facilities? A little too silly, and not in a good way.

But I've always been of the belief that the premise is the least important part of a show's quality; it's all in the execution. And after 5 episodes, the execution has been... mixed.

The first couple episodes certainly impressed. Having Akihisa's hand glued to the table for almost the entirety of episode 2 was comedic genius. They certainly gave me that Pani Poni Dash/ Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei vibe with its slapstick and ridiculous humor. That's not to say that Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu was aping Shaft's works. It definitely felt like it had its own identity. It takes some potshots at some modern anime conventions such as the trap or the overly perverted voyeur, but at the same time takes advantage of those same conventions to full effect. And there is something delightfully refreshing about a high school comedy which isn't a harem comedy these days. There's a love triangle between Akihisa, Minami, and Mizuki, and the girls do fit certain stereotypes, but that's about it.

But after the first couple episodes, things started to become a lot more... plain. The focus shifted on the more traditional plot point of a high school comedy, namely the unrequited love triangles and having a clueless male lead. There's also some comedic yuri and yaoi elements as well, which, in their ridiculousness, end up being too predictable. Similarly, the stereotypical so-bad-at-cooking-her-food-kills-you gag that just falls flat due to its mundaneness.

It's still funny, but in a more standard way. The abusive relationship between Shouko and Yuuji is probably what I found funniest in the latest episodes (I liked Apocalypse Now and loved Heart of Darkness, but I couldn't watch the movie twice back to back). The very latest one, about the scavenger hunt in the school, definitely had its moments, especially when Akihisa and his group were using the "by exhaustion" method of finding a prize towards the end.

Maybe it's a sign that the premise wasn't so bad after all - the contents of the first 2 episodes were the inter-class battles, and it was the show's imaginative depiction of them that I found to be so funny. But without them, the show follows high school comedy standards to a fault, and with no interesting characters, it ends up falling flat.

I'll be watching, hoping that the show goes back to the type of humor that differentiated it so much from other shows, the kind shown in the first 2 episodes.

Thoughts on Bayonetta

2010-01-31T18:30:00.001-05:00

After playing 50-some odd hours of Bayonetta, I consider it to be the best 3D action game I've played. What made it succeed and excel as a a combat game was that it was a combination of DMC's combos and Ninja Gaiden's combat, only hurt by a dash of God's of War's QTEs mixed in.

Bayonetta's combat has been rightly compared to that of DMC. It has the same R1 lock-on mechanism, same type of gun+melee combat style, same lack of blocking. The same insane types of weapons (ice skates, rocket launcher tonfas, and shotgun nunchucks being the craziest in my opinion), but even more than in any DMC game. Of course, given that Kamiya was the CREATOR of DMC, this should come as no surprise.

And Bayonetta inherits the former series's excellent freestyle combo system. It's certainly a little more strict than DMC, but there are plenty of roll-cancels to be had, and like the DMCs after 2, there is mid-combo weapon switching. The weapons can be mixed and matched quite freely, and they all work together well. Furthermore, keeping combos going, being creative, taunting your enemies, executing perfectly timed dodges and parries are appropriately rewarded both in combat and in the form of points and currency.

These are the attributes that made the DMC series (DMC3 and 4 specifically) so great. At the same time, though, Bayonetta improves upon that system with a deeper combat mechanic. Much has been said about its Witch Time mechanic, a simple way of integrating bullet time into the combat. But I don't consider that mechanic to be that big a deal. Rather, what made the combat that much more enjoyable for me was the Ninja Gaiden-esque dial-a-combo system.

Like in the NG games, pressing a certain sequence of buttons out of 2 (heavy/weak in NG, arms/legs in Bayonetta) initiate specific combos. The power of this in the NG games was that this allowed for a great varied number of moves. While DMC gave you a medium-sized set of moves you could chain freely, NG gave you a huge number of moves that could only be accessed through certain rigid combos.

And while Bayonetta has this large variety of moves, it still keeps the user free to modify the combo in real-time. The dodge-offset mechanic, which allows Bayonetta to continue from the middle of a combo after a dodge, is one such example. Another is how holding down the attack button in each hit affects or prolongs the duration of the hit.

The enemies of Bayonetta also seem to combine the best parts of DMC and NG. Like DMC, the enemies are varied in size and style. Besides the armed humanoids that make up the majority of the enemies, there are multiple flying enemies and a couple quadrupeds. The bosses usually try to emphasize the scale too much (most of the bosses are gigantic and require multiple phases, including having Bayonetta scale them during the fight), but the best boss by far is Jeanne, who is Bayonetta's foil. You encounter her 4 times throughout the game, reminiscent of the 3 Nero Angelo and 3 Vergil fights in DMC1 and DMC3, respectively.

But unlike in DMC games, these enemies are generally very aggressive, coming at you constantly. Each usually have a large arsenal of attacks they can use, both long and short ranged. In this way, they keep you on your toes much like the enemies in Ninja Gaiden do.

In short, Bayonetta is a great combination of the best parts of DMC and NG, the 2 flat-out best crazy action game series out there.

It's not without its faults, though. For one, it also apes some mechanics from God of War, in the form of Quick Time Events (QTEs). QTEs exist both in-combat in the form of torture attacks or boss-specific attacks/counters, and within cut scenes. QTEs are fundamentally flawed because they strip away the deep, interesting combat system and replace it with a button-pressing DDR minigame. The sole reason for QTEs is that they allow the characters to do things that presumably can't be integrated into the combat system itself.

But is that true? If you look at DMC4 and NG2, both games found ways to simulate QTEs while integrating them seamlessly into the combat system. In DMC4, it was the Devil Bringer, which could have Nero perform long and fairly elaborate moves. Some could also be changed by button presses, again, without having the buttons flashing on screen. In Ninja Gaiden 2, it was the Obliteration Technique. These were also elaborate moves, modulated by what weapon Ryu had equipped, what enemy he was facing, which limb of the enemy had been cut off, and whether the OT was triggered while pressing forward or not. In both games, these complex almost-QTEs could be used against both regular enemies and bosses. No flashing buttons required.

Bayonetta's analog of the Devil Bringer and Obliteration Techniques is the Torture Attack. It requires that she have a full line of magic filled up to use, and can be triggered at any time against pretty much any enemy. They're somewhat context sensitive, depending on whether the enemy is knocked down, on the ground, or in the air, as well as which direction the enemy is facing. They involve Bayonetta summoning some torture device (or in one case, a very large 16ton weight) and using it against the enemy. They can be complete in just a couple seconds or take almost 10 seconds to finish.

There are a couple problems here. The first is that whenever you can do a TA, the buttons required for them (Y and B in the 360, Triangle and Circle on PS3) appear right in the bottom middle of the screen. The second is that once it's initiated, a somewhat arbitrary button starts flashing rapidly, telling you to start mashing on it. Neither of these is necessary. The player knows if he can use a TA or not, just by how many magic orbs are filled out and which enemy he's facing. The player knows that he needs to mash some button (there's no reason it should be different for different TAs) over and over again. These flashing displays serve more as distractions than reminders. They're just insulting to your intelligence and turn what could've been a good in-game mechanic to a dumb button-matching/mashing minigame.

And the rules change for bosses. Against bosses, they're true QTEs, happening at unique moments (ie when their health is down to a certain amount) or when they trigger a certain attack. There's no reason the cues for these attacks couldn't have been integrated more naturally into the boss's behavior. For example, Bayonetta has a great countering mechanism - why not use that to initiate boss-specific counters instead of flashing buttons at you?

There's also no correlation with how much magic Bayonetta has. Like TAs, they require mashing a semi-arbitrary button (there's a loose connection - X for hair attacks, Y for punch attacks, B for kick attacks - but they're chosen for you) over and over again. QTEs also happen in cut scenes at somewhat random places - there's no real consistency there, so most likely, the first time around, you'll miss it.

Besides the QTEs, the other weaknesses of Bayonetta are the two driving/flying sections and the two bullet-aiming sections of the game. They're just not fun, and the last bullet-aiming section is horribly designed and ruin the great climactic fight that ends the game.

The common thread with these weaknesses is that they take you away from the combat. When Bayonetta is working right, it's downright sublime, having you go from one combat encounter to another with some very light platforming. But seemingly in an effort to "break up the pacing" or "add variety," Platinum Games added these inane and sometimes downright horrendous parts to the game.

But Bayonetta is far from unique in this regard among 3D combat games. The DMC games have far too many horrible platforming sequences. The Ninja Gaiden games also suffer from bad platforming, as well as those projectile attack sections in NG2. And God of War's just a disaster, because even the combat itself is unfun, and it mixes it with bad platforming/puzzle solving. It's just a shame that a game with such a great combat engine, the best in its class, is taken down a notch by losing its focus from it. I felt the same way when I first played NG2, which is the game I would say has the second-best combat system.

All in all, I'm loving Bayonetta, planning on spending another 50 hours on it, getting more Platinum rankings (I've already completed it for Normal), probably playing through all of it as Jeanne. Its strengths outstrip those of any other game in its genre, and it manages to minimize its weaknesses. I didn't go into the story at all, because I don't consider story to be at all important in a game like this. Sure, DMC3 had a pretty good story and good characters, but other games in the genre, including DMC1, DMC4, both Ninja Gaidens, and God of War have stories ranging from uninspired to downright incomprehensible. They just serve as excuses to go from one combat encounter to another, and that's all they need to do. I will say that there are definitely some crazy fun cut scenes, but nothing approaching the kind of stuff we saw in DMC3.

Likewise, I don't have much to say about Bayonetta's character. She's just an avatar for holding weapons and performing moves as far as I'm concerned; she could be a wireframe model for all I care. I will say that she may be the most mature depiction of a hyper-sexualized female character in video games, though.

Oh, and I played both the PS3 (import) and XBox360 versions of the game. The stories you hear about the difference between the two is true. It takes 4 seconds to get to the pause screen in the PS3 version, and every loading screen takes at least twice as long. And the graphics and framerate are much worse. Get the XBox360 version if you can.

(images were from IGN - clicking on them takes you to a bigger version of the image on IGN's site).

Brushing Your Sister's Teeth

2009-10-22T23:04:00.000-04:00

Ah, how I love 4chan's /a/ population and its obsession with sisters. Mostly younger sisters (imouto in Japanese), but some have a thing for older sisters (onee-san/chan/sama). Either way, 4chan's /a/ board is a cesspool of incest-love.

As someone with a little sister myself, I can't help but shake my head and laugh. To be fair, anime in recent years have promoted this more and more. I remember being shocked by Kanako's character from Love Hina back in the day. Now her character is a typical archetype in most harem shows, sometimes even the main heroine, as was in the case of Da Capo and Da Capo Second Season (I still have no idea how I sat through 2 26 episode seasons of that - I would take it back if I could). And I don't see the trend slowing down.

Anyway, the reason I made this post is because I found a particularly hilarious post on /a/ today and thought I'd share. Regardless of whether or not it's based on reality (I doubt it is), this guy needs to keep writing.

Yeah...

A Certain Scientific Railgun - 02

2009-10-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in the post about the first episode, I find the perverted lesbian character type off-putting, but despite that, I greatly enjoyed this episode. And it didn't even have much in terms of action, which is the part that really appealed to me in the first place. No, this episode was focused purely on Shirai and her attempts to seduce Misaka, and it was executed very well.

The episode does begin by introducing a new plot point and some action off-screen. There is a male student who is capable of resisting Misaka's attack completely, as evidenced by the scorch marks in the alley where she confronts him. They seem to already know each other, since she was clearly chasing him who was deliberately running away. Maybe it's something already established from A Certain Magical Index. Anyway, he seems to be the same guy as the one who walks by Misaka in the OP, so he's sure to return. I wonder if he's one of the other 6 level 5s alluded to in the first episode.

The rest of the episode is dedicated to Shirai and her grand delusions about her relationship with Misaka. What made this work was how the episode balanced the serious and wacky aspects of this perverse relationship. Most of it was good old fashioned over-the-top old fashioned cartoon fun. I particularly enjoyed the scene in which Shirai shows off her impressive collection of nightwear to Uiharu and Saten. Shirai's voice actor (Satomi Arai) did a very good job, I thought, of showing off that character's insanity and obsessiveness with the delivery of her lines. Almost too squeaky at times, but fitting with the character.

The show sometimes felt like it was in danger of becoming too serious, but each time, it brought it back by making the seriousness the part of a larger gag. At the same time, the intermittent mentions of the more serious aspects of Shirai and Misaka's friendship helped us to get a better feel for it by the time the episode ended. And even though the episode started to get too sappy near the end, it fortunately ended on a down note, with Shirai (enjoying) being electrocuted by Misaka after stealing her underwear via teleportation.

Notes

Here is the post on Random Curiosity about this episode.
The whole roommate situation somehow reminds me of Maria Holic. In that, why is one of the parties consenting of the situation? And why aren't the dorm parents knowledgeable enough to take care of it? It seems that most problems in high school anime could be solved with proper adult supervision.
Speaking of things that confuse me, I don't understand Saten's thing with looking at Uiharuh's panties. Is that something explained in the original series?

Seitokai no Ichizon 01 - First Take

2009-10-10T00:47:00.000-04:00

I decided to take a look at this mainly because of the post on Random Curiosity about it. The post didn't really detail the show very well, but what caught my attention was the mention that there were some shitstorms in the internet anime community about the show. The only such community I keep tabs on is 4chan's /a/ board (as much as I can, anyway), and I hadn't seen much indication of that there, but I do enjoy shows that are polarizing. Part of the reason why I like GAINAX's and Shaft's works so much.

Anyway, I had read an older post on Random Curiosity about the light novel, so I had some idea of what to expect. The show turned out to be a lot more goofy than I expected, but at times a lot more serious. The former was a good thing, the latter a bad thing. And I could certainly see why it polarized anime fans.

First of all, the show is extremely self-referential. The episode actually starts with the president of the student council (the short, red headed Sakurano Kurimu) explaining to the rest of the group why it's important to understand the differences between media, namely the transition of Setakoi no Ichizen from light novel series to anime. References to other popular anime are dropped liberally throughout the episode, often calling them out directly by name.

Then there's Sugisaki Ken, the sole male member of the group, who only got in because he had the highest grades in the class. And he only got the highest grades because he studied his ass off in order to get into the student council, so that he could make the rest of the council part of his harem. Yeah...

Much of the episode is devoted to his thoughts on this goal, and the girls beating him up (sometimes literally, but mostly using words) over it. Sugisaki is shown to openly play some eroge on the computer in the room at times.

The self-referential, almost self-degrading humor was enjoyable, but at the same time felt a bit overdone, a gimmick that the creators didn't know when or even how to stop using. The show was laughing at itself more than I was laughing at it.

Then there were the more serious moments, which fell flat. Sugisaki is such a reprihensible, chauvinist character that the only way to like him is to see him as for what he is: an over the top caricature. But at times, particularly at the end, he is more serious and shows genuine affection and sympathy for his fellow members. This just doesn't work. It's not making his character deep or multidimensional. It's stapling on a contradictory characteristic to try to make a truly detestable character more likable.

As for the design and art, I must quote /a/nonymous: "Moe is the cancer that is killing anime." Now, I don't agree with that statement, but this show certainly seems to support it. The female characters are, as Sugisaki says, quite cute. But to a fault. The ridiculous pandering results in characters with nothing to call their own, nothing that separates them from any other high school anime out there, right down to the slutty uniforms (as a side note, I'd love to see a light-hearted maybe harem high school show where the girls' uniforms had a more realistic design, like skirts that reach down past the knees).

So I don't think I'll continue with this series. Maybe another episode to give it a chance. I love the type of self referential humor in this show, but I just don't think it's being done right in this case. It works well when it's done all the way to the point of wackiness, as in the case of Szs or done very dryly as in the case of Suzumiya Haruhi. But trying to mix in seriousness with the over-the-top wackiness is very difficult, and this episode didn't pull it off.

Notes:

Here is the Anime News Network page of the show.
According to a posting on Random Curiosity, Bakemonogatari episode 13 will be shown online on October 28, same time as the Mayoi Snail arc DVD/BD release. Can't wait for it.
On another post on Random Curiosity, there will be a movie based on The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, one of the novels in the light novel series. Head over to the posting to see a short teaser. Supposed to come out Spring 2010. I was greatly disappointed by S2 of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but knowing how good the first season was, I know that KyoAni has the potential and the ability to do this right. Let's hope it turns out well.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun - 01

2009-10-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't seen To Aru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index), the show off of which To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Rail Gun) is spun. In fact, I had never even heard of it. I was just interested by the title, because I'm a huge physics geek, and rail guns turn me on. The premise and setting were interesting, and the characters were likable enough, but some of the anime conventions the show followed held it back for me.

One is the whole level system to rank the students. I understand that this actually isn't too far off from the Japanese school system, which posts public rankings of students' test scores - Korea does this as well. So the target audience could easily relate to a ranking system like this. But like the power levels from Dragon Ball, it's just a lazy way to convey the relative abilities of the characters. It makes it too much like a video game.

That said, that there are 6 other "level 5s" does drive anticipation for the rest of the show, so it's not totally a bad thing. I just think there are better, more clever ways to achieve the same thing.

Another peeve is: does the show have to take place in an all-girl's academy? Sure, I enjoy seeing schoolgirls as much as the next guy, but I appreciate balance, too. It's like they took a harem show and took out the guy. It doesn't help that one of the main characters, Shirai Kuroko, is an over-the-top perverted lesbian. And while some pandering is okay, having too much of it cheapens the overall experience.

Other than those two complaints, which could really be made about a lot of current anime series, I enjoyed this first episode quite a bit. The action wasn't exceptional, but it was well animated, and the powers both Shirai and Misaka used were fun to watch. The eponymous rail gun was appropriately badass.

Even if it acts nothing like a rail gun - the reason a rail gun is called a rail gun is because it has a pair of rails along which the payload is accelerated using electricity; it doesn't just push things really hard. A more accurate depiction would have been if the coin started at Misaka's chest with both her arms aimed at the target, with the coin accelerating between her arms until it shoots off from the fingertips of both her hands at its highest speed. But that wouldn't look as cool, and that's just the physics geek speaking in me. I suppose the space between her thumb and index finger can make a very short rail gun, which emphasizes just how powerful Misaka's electromagnetic abilities are.

I'm worried that the characters seem to fit into their archetypes a little too neatly, but it's impossible to make a good judgment about that just one episode in.

The OP played at the end of the episode. The fast-paced beat of the music made me excited for the series, while the animations were okay. Too cliche, but also with some decent shots.

Oh, and another complaint: why put wind turbines right inside the city? Those things are terribly loud and dangerous to birds. Maybe working in the power/energy industry makes me a bit over-sensitive to such things, though. Suspense of disbelief and all that.

Anyway, promising premise, good enough action, and rail guns are awesome.

Notes:

There was a pretty accurate depiction of an iPhone, complete with an "Orange computer" sign at the top. The controls just need to be at the top and translucent. Actually, the UI displayed looks better than the real iPhone's.
Here's Random Curiosity's take on the same episode.

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 12

2009-10-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

It seems that Shaft decided to make the first two segments thematically similar. Hiding and the ways in which it can be counter-productive was the highlight of both of the first two segments. The first had a good take on Schrödinger's cat. While the possibility for multiple outcomes exists if something is hidden, when someone hides something deliberately, it's sometimes obvious exactly what it is he's trying to hide. Eventually, everyone ends up in boxes, so that none of their potential is taken away. And Nozomu's older brother Kei (the artist) turns out to have quite a... unique wife.

In the second segment, the class finds an unexploded missile in their baseball field. The labeling clearly indicates that it came from Japan, which means that it's a government secret, and that leaves everyone afraid of what might happen to them if it got out that they had seen this. Conveniently enough, journalists are supposed to report on a baseball game on that field that day, leaving them precious little time to cover it up. But of course, all attempts at covering it up only make the missile more obvious. Things get really weird when they find out that there's an old cassette tape inside the missile... The ending to this segment had a live-action doll exploding.

3rd segment was very short, and was a continuation of 11's 2nd segment, in which Rin needs to buy and break through adjacent houses to reach the ramen shop. Eventually more students join in, we see Nozomu singing the ED at karaoke, and they end up back at the school during their property buying/destroying spree. Not much in the social humor here, just bizarre fun.

The shogun and MAEDAX are the featured artists in the Zetsubou Sensei Character Song segment.

Most noteworthy was the segment AFTER the credits and Zetsubou sensei drawing song. If you've listened to the second Zan Zetsubou Sensei ED single, you know that there's a second song in there called Private Lesson, sung by Kaere's voice actor, Yu Kobayashi. Well, that song makes an appearance in the form of a music video starring the slutty private tutor Kimura Kaere. The video was entertaining, with some pretty Escher-inspired art. It was just blatantly gratuitous at times, highly suggestive at others, and very sexually charged.

The video was followed by a short segment where she's teaching the same horny student from before, this time about cylinders instead of cones. Long story short, the lights go out and Kaere happily grabs a "cylinder" that is able to change in size... yeah...

Good episode. The second segment was a bit confusing at times, but the third and first were just flat out hilarious. Their take on the concept of Schroedinger's cat was very much in line with what I'd expect in Zetsubou Sensei, and the all-box ending was great. Segment 3 had more Rin being Rin, which was entertaining to watch, as she gets so little screen time. And the Kimura-sensei bit was completely unexpected, off-the-wall and funny in its gratuitousness.

Finale is next episode. I'm putting off watching it until I can get a full English sub, in order to maximize my comprehension of it. Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei series haven't had such great season finales, but due to the nature of the show, it hasn't really been an issue. Still, every season finale leaves me in despair that it might be the last Zetsubou Sensei episode ever, so I always hope for a good send-off to this unique series.

Canaan 13 - Land of Hope (Finale)

2009-09-29T20:45:00.000-04:00

A passable but disappointing finale. The dénouement was well done and one of the most satisfying in recent memory, but the climax was too subdued.

One of the problems was how the episode negated everything about the ending of episode 12 that had made me so excited for the finale. In the opening seconds, the bomb finishes counting down and explodes, and Canaan suddenly turns the tables against Alphard and gains the upper hand. Soon afterward, we find out that Maria survived the explosion, because Yunyun ran back to the cart and saved her just in time.

It's never explained how she managed to get back into the cart that was coming at her at considerable speed and to save Maria within 30 seconds. Or how they survived when it appears that they were inside or at least very near the cart when the bomb went off.

Regardless, it makes meaningless the whole existence of the bomb in the first place. Likewise, that Canaan suddenly had an epiphany and started beating Alphard easily and immediately negates all the tension that was building up in the previous episode.

But beyond that, the climax was just not enough action and too much thinking/talking. Type-Moon's works have long been criticized on /a/ for being LOLDEEP - as in, spending too much time being serious without enough substance to make it work - and this climax was the best example of it so far. There was definitely some substance there, but not enough to justify the long internal monologues and conversations. Especially since it cut down on the one thing Canaan kept doing very well, which was the action.

And the action was good. The setting was intense, with Alphard and Canaan duking it out on top of the moving train and on the ladder to a helicopter that eventually crashes (on a side note, why would they design the machine gun on a helicopter to be able to be aimed at the pilot, or inwards at all?), ending with Alphard hanging freely off the side of the still-moving train.

And the way Alphard (appears to) commit suicide was badass, cutting her figurative ties to Siam and Canaan as well as her physical connection to Canaan who was forcing her to remain alive.

So it definitely had its moments. It had beautiful animation, choreography, and cinematography. There just wasn't enough of it. Every time it looked like something cool was about to start, it reverted to conversation mode again. I don't mean to imply that it was completely without substance. Canaan's revelation that she doesn't need Maria by her side and Alphard's revelation that she had to let go of Siam were both good plot points. I liked her mentioning Liang Qi in her thoughts; it would be nice to think that some part of her misses her.

Now, what I did like a lot was the ending that followed. It was disappointing to see Maria and Canaan never meet up again for LOLDEEP reasons, but overall, it was handled very well. Each of the surviving characters are shown to move on with their lives, with a very slow, bittersweet sounding song in the background. I particularly liked seeing Canaan again, presumably back to her job as a hired gun, pointing her sniper rifle at the plane Maria is in, and calling it hers. The smile she had displayed the enlightenment she had achieved.

Maria seems to have arrived at some sort of enlightenment as well. She cannot be part of Canaan's world, but that doesn't mean that she can't "be by her side" as an equal. The way this was conveyed through the conversation about the term "amazing" that Maria and Minoru have in the back of their taxi was excellent.

And two characters who are presumed dead at this point make appearances: Cummings, as a Buddhist monk, and Alphard, in the airport where she quickly disappears from the camera as some people walk by. At first I thought maybe that was just supposed to be an image of her, but the post-credits section implies that, no, that was really her. It was an odd choice to have Cummings become a monk, but it also accentuated the central message to the ending: that life goes on, that we aren't bound by our past.

Before the closing credits, we see Maria showing off her photos at a gallery, where she looks at the two headshots she took of Canaan and Alphard in the previous 2 episodes. They share the one label "Canaan," and Maria reflects on how Canaan was an "ordinary girl" right before the screen fades. It was a great closing and sent the viewers off with the message that no matter how great some individual might seem, in their core, they're humans just like us. And the shot itself reflected one of the central themes, that it is important to remember it while not being trapped by it as so many of the dying characters in this show had been.

The great sendoff was why I didn't much like the post-credits scene. It was neat seeing a Canaan who looked somewhat older and sporting Alphard's hairstyle, and learning that the conflict between Canaan and Alphard continues. But it accentuated the fact that the conflict as it was shown in this episode wasn't satisfactory. The last frame is just a black screen with END on it, implying that this ending sequence was just a glimpse into the life of Canaan, not a hint at a sequel. At this point, I wouldn't mind a more action focused sequel of some sort, because this finale left me too disappointed in its lacking.

I'll probably try to rewatch the series at some point just to get a refresher of the plot and sequence of events, but either way, I'm hoping to write up a post on the series overall some time soon.

Bakemonogatari 12 - Tsubasa Cat 2

2009-09-26T12:12:00.002-04:00

"We're going on a date. No, that's not right... Date... Would you please go on a date with me? What if you went out on a date with me? ... Then let's go on a date, Araragi-kun."
- Senjougahara Hitagi, opening minutes.

A truly romantic episode. It had nothing to do with the title, but that ends up not mattering even a little bit. This episode provides us with a wonderful, deeply emotional finale to the TV airing of Bakemonogatari.

The episode starts off innocently enough, with Koyomi and Hitagi eating lunch together, and latter asking the former out on a date. After the OP, an excited Koyomi bikes as hard as he can to Hitagi's house, only to be dragged straight to her father's car. What commences is a very long car ride with the standard pun-filled dialogue present in most episodes of Bakemonogatari. The subject of conversation goes back and forth, hot and heavy at times, lightly humorous at others.

Hitagi asks Koyomi what he likes about her, and his only reply is that he knows what he doesn't like about her. Later, Koyomi challenges her with the same question:

"What do you like about me?"
"That you're kind. That you're cute. And that you're like my prince who comes to save me whenever I'm in trouble."

Through it all, they're talking about themselves and their relationship. When they reach their destination, Hitagi's father speaks for the first time after Hitagi leaves them (we see her walk in the woods). This is when the episode really takes a turn, I think. It's cliche to say, but Hitagi's father has some wisdom to offer to Koyomi.

Hitagi returns, drags Koyomi with his head down to a spot in the woods where she put down a blanket, and tells him to open his eyes, revealing the amazing view of the stars up above. There's a nice little nod to the lyrics of the ED (Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari "The Story You Don't Know" by supercell), followed by an extremely genuine, extremely romantic conversation between these two teenagers who are just discovering such feelings. The trauma involving her mother in the past is referred to a couple times, in a fittingly mature way.

They again ask each other what they like about each other. Koyomi's response is different this time: "I like everything. There isn't a thing about you that I don't like." Hitagi's remains unchanged.

We're left with an unambiguously ambiguous ending, panning up to the stars as the two turn to each other for their first kiss.

I think key to this episode having the effect it did on me was seeing Hitagi vulnerable for the first time since her breakdown in episode 2. Her condescending, almost too emotionless tone remains, but the way she struggles with how to say certain things to Koyomi reminds us that her cool act is just an act. When she's talking to Koyomi under the stars about her feelings towards him, there was a sense of genuineness, a sense that she really meant and felt everything she was saying to him. And not only that, but that she was scared and unsure of herself, struggling to say these things despite feeling exposed, truly vulnerable; it's an aspect of hers not seen much in the previous episodes.

In his conversation with Koyomi, Hitagi's father says outright the thing at the core of this episode: Hitagi is not a well-adjusted girl. She suffered through major trauma in the past due to her mother, her relationship with her father isn't all that close, she had lost all her friends since entering high school. It had been a long time since he had seen his daughter so happy.

The point, of course, is that it was thanks to Koyomi that she changed. And not because of what he did, but just because of who he was. I think this is a realization that Koyomi came to at the end of the episode; up until then, he seemed genuinely confused at the fact that Hitagi wanted to be his girlfriend. She was attractive, smart, (used to be) athletic and popular. Why him? There was no reason, and there never had to be.

They're not grownups yet. But we got to see these two characters growing up, together. They had thrown the word "lovers" around before, but it was only in this episode that they really became that (obviously literally, but I mean figuratively here). Or at least take one more step towards that.

"So, Araragi-kun, we're going to kiss. No, that's not right... Kiss... Would you please kiss me? What if you gave me a kiss? Let's kiss, Araragi-kun."
- Senjougahara Hitagi, closing seconds.

P.S.
Of course, as wonderful as this episode was, it didn't give us anything involving Tsubasa Cat. I'm looking forward to seeing that story expanded upon in the 3 web-only episodes. In terms of timeline, this episode does jump significantly ahead of the last one, so I'm guessing the next episode will take place before this one. It's a great finale, and I wonder if SHAFT was pressured to release it at the end of the TV run instead of the end of the series in general, because it doesn't really fit in this episode slot.

I'm somewhat reminded of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya here, which I consider to have had two endings: Some Day in the Rain and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 6. The former being the chronological one, the latter being the more plot-related one. Perhaps SHAFT can pull off something like that, with an equally fitting finale in episode 15.

It's true what they say about the ending making or breaking a piece of motion picture. I was somewhat skeptical of - still enjoying, mind you - Bakemonogatari, but this episode gives me hope that it will be one of the most memorable anime I've seen in a while.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2 - 25

2009-09-23T21:33:00.000-04:00

The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00. A retrospective.

This past week's episode was from the first season (as I expect the rest to be), so I thought it was a good opportunity to look back at it.

This was, of course, the well-known very first episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya that was released, and likely the first one we all saw.

I remember not knowing anything about the show when I first watched this episode. I'm probably not alone in having experienced some confusion when the episde started. The main thing was that this was definitely a 16:9 file, but the screen was in 4:3. Had the encoders made an error?

But more important was the content. It didn't take long for me to realize that what I was watching was a show-within-a-show. Which explained the incorrect aspect ratio and the obviously poor acting and production values. At the beginning, I waited to see when I'd be taken out of the show, to be exposed to the greater, "real" world in which this took place.

By the halfway point, I realized that this entire episode was going to be just this. That's when I started laughing, uncontrollably for a bit. What a ballsy move, to make this the audience's first point of contact to the show! I don't think of being different as inherently good, but I did respect the amount of guts it must have taken to pull off a move like this.

And the fact was, the show-within-a-show was genuinely funny and enjoyable, and not in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way. The producers clearly had a vision and were executing it successfully. The backdrops were meticulously drawn and detailed, just out of focus and off-color, as you'd expect from a cheap hand held cam. The close ups, zooms, drawn-on special effects, pan-outs, over-used still camera shots and the music accompanying them were all wonderfully cheesy. The horrible acting by the extras, the shots with crew members appearing, the times when Tsuruya just broke down, they were all wonderful. My personal favorite was when the fireworks were exploding around Mikuru and Haruhi jumps in, before the teachers appear from the door to the rooftop.

The best part was that Kyon was there with us the whole time, completely in on the joke in his narration, but somehow not amused. Just like someone who had to work on this project but had no control over its direction. It was a very dry, almost humorless humor that I certainly wasn't used to seeing in anime.

It was only in my second viewing of the episode, after I had already seen the series, that I realized just how ingenious the episode was. It became clear to me that this was the perfect way to introduce this show to the audience, and that the episode had a lot more to offer than the laughs I had gotten from it the first time around.

Of course, the show tells us from the start the nature of the three supernatural characters, presented fictionally. But there are clues placed here and there that show us that the fantastical elements exist outside of the show. Shamisen's speech looks just a little too good to be ventriloquism. When Mikuru fires her beam right at the camera, there's definitely some real flash coming from her eye. When Koizumi uses his ultimate attack, to send Yuki into space, it looks much better than anything else so far in the show.

But I think the most enlightening part was Koizumi's conversation with Yuki in his apartment. There was certainly an air of mystery about it, as if they were talking about something that only they understood (which was indeed the case), and Kyon even points it out afterwards. The first time around, it did a good job showing that yes, there is something more to this show than just a high school comedy. The second time around, the true meaning of their words are fully understood.

The episode ends by finally showing us the "real" world in its full widescreen glory. We get to see the eponymous Haruhi for the first time, and her personality is transmitted to us instantly. She alone is not only happy, not only excited, but absolutely ecstatic about the results. And despite all her smiling, the one thing that caught my eye was the very last shot before the credits, when she turns to Kyon and smiles... a little differently. It felt more genuine, more deep in her core than her previous (and future) smiles. So it was this subtle touch that foreshadowed the fact that ultimately, this show was going to be about romance, even if it wouldn't seem like one at any point.

You can probably guess from my ravings that I was a big fan of this episode. It's easily my favorite episode of any anime since FLCL. The direction, the writing, the art and animation, all were executed exceptionally to create not only a great episode, but also an amazing and unique way to begin a show.

Canaan 12 - Seasonal Train

2009-09-22T20:38:00.000-04:00

Wow. This episode was the one that I was waiting for. Well animated fight scenes, more insight into Alphard's motivations, and an intense (even if cliche) set up that leads to the cliffhanger for the final episode. It had its slow and needlessly dramatic moments as well, but those were few and forgivable.

The episode starts off on the same down note the last one ended in. Some extremely heavy lesbian overtones had me smiling - as has been said many times by anonymous, they should just fuck already. But it picks up the pace quickly once our three female protagonists (Canaan, Maria, and Yunyun) get on a train which Alphard soon hijacks. Long story short, Alphard is bitter at Siam for having chosen Canaan over her, wants to see Canaan's true power, and uses Maria as bait to force her to reveal it. Oh, and because Alphard doesn't want to kill Canaan but rather the concept of Canaan, she's invisible to her synesthesic powers. The episode ends in a cliffhanger with a bomb counting down on a train with an injured and tied up Maria and Canaan facing off against Alphard on it.

Or actually, I'm not too clear on whether or not the car with the bomb on it also has Canaan and Alphard on it. It would make more sense if they weren't, as that would explain why Maria wanted Yunyun to detach the cars. But if they aren't, how is Canaan going to save Maria with less than 30 seconds left and Alphard on top of her? I guess that remains to be seen.

The episode was very Hollywood-esque. And that's what I loved about this episode. The confrontation between Alphard and Canaan was about as intense as anything I've seen so far in this show. The animation was very good for a TV show, and we actually got to see the fight, unlike their previous encounter in the bathroom. The choreography and direction was excellent. It was just a pure joy to watch, and the time bomb was the cliche cherry on top that made the scene that much more intense.

The argument they had throughout the fight was seamlessly integrated and at the same time helped reveal more of Alphard's story and motivation. It's a shame that she only seems to have one tone of voice: condescending and amused. Because I really like the voice of Maaya Sakamoto and she seems underutilized. Still, her unique, slightly boyish/mannish voice fits in perfectly with Alphard's character.

Alphard clearly outclassed Canaan who couldn't use her powers to her advantage against her. It looks like Canaan is going to have to reach deep to beat her next episode, likely involving Maria, who is her "light," after all.

Speaking of which, Maria was a bit useless in this episode, reverting back to her usual damsel-in-distress role. Even though she was coming on to Canaan in the beginning of the episode, she seems to want to detach herself from her (the show makes it a point to show her literally not grasping Canaan's hand when they're holding hands). I thought it was nice seeing her take initiative, having the courage to ask Alphard for permission to take her picture, but after that one scene, she's just mopey and, going with one of the major themes of the show, self-destructive.

Still, perhaps such a role is necessary in a show with a plot like this. As I mentioned above, and as has been hinted at in the OP, there's definitely some more important role Maria will play in the last episode.

Despite all the twists and turns this show had gone through up to now, it has finally regained its focus when it matters. The final showdown has begun, and I'm very much looking forward to the climax in the next episode. I'm hoping that the fighting in this episode was just a small taste of what's to come.

Bakemonogatari 11 - Tsubasa Cat 1

2009-09-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

More artfully drawn and directed conversations, slapstick comedy, fanservice, and a flashback sequence with disturbing revelations about our new heroine.

Anyway, Tsubasa Hanekawa, the class rep who's had long conversations with Koyomi in every other arc, is the heroine this time. It's revealed through conversation with Koyomi (in a sea-side scene that was very pleasing to the eye) that the "parents" she lives with are not her real parents, and that her step-father is physically abusive to her.

This doesn't come as too much of a surprise, as she has been shown to detest going home in the past (after all, she was able to see Mayoi, because only those who don't want to go home can see her). And though Koyomi reacts in surprise, he didn't seem to respond in his standard. Perhaps Oshino's lecture on not helping everyone got through to him. At the very least, he's promised Hanekawa that he wouldn't tell anyone about it, though it's a promise he doesn't intend to keep.

There's a nice little scene with Nadeko after the OP, with more gratuitous fanservice and the seemingly out-of-place but now expected slapstick/super deformed comedy. A couple confusing things happened at the end of their conversation.

First, Koyomi reaches out to a hesitant Nadeko and slightly lifts up her skirt. He is quite a pervert, as shown by his actions in Mayoi Snail, after all. But that action was still confusing and came seemingly out of nowhere.

What was clear to me was that SHAFT was trying to draw a parallel between the shape of Koyomi's extended arm and that of a snake. I still have hope that last episode was not the last of the snake's story.

The other confusing thing was that when Hanekawa happens to appear, the level of fear Nadeko showed. She sprints off in a hurry, leaving Road Runner dust trails behind her. There's apparently something very fearful about Hanekawa.

The flashback that follows provides some insights. Exactly a year ago, during Golden Week, Hanekawa had been haunted by a cat, transforming her into a (hot) catgirl and causing her to go about town sucking the energy out of people, apparently enough only to hospitalize them. Her first targets were her parents, who I'm presuming were her real ones at that point.

And it's Shinobu who manages to stop her. Interestingly, Koyomi was out trying to track Hanekawa the entire week, even though he's not supposed to be a vampire at this point. Anyway, we see Shinobu in action, which is pretty cool. Since she does have a voice actor listed, I'm hoping there will be more flashbacks with her involved.

I really enjoyed the flashback, which felt longer and more coherent than the previous flashbacks in the show. Hanekawa avec cat ears, sans glasses, clothes, pig tails is, as mentioned above, quite hot and looks nothing like her. The whole headaches leading to cat ears reminded me of the 3rd episode of FLCL, when something similar happened to Naota and Ninamori. And we got to see Shinobu being more active, even if her take down of Hanekawa was rather subdued considering what was going on.

Bakemonogatari is at this point a known commodity; the specifics of the plot are new, but all its themes and conventions have been laid out on the table. I don't mean to imply that this is a bad thing; from the very beginning, the show was about the moment, the progression of the story merely vehicles to allow for the beautiful scenes and if not witty, at least amusing dialogue. I just feel that I have a better grasp on the show now as a fun character-based dark comedy instead of something striving for more.

That said, Hanekawa's story still interests me. I'd like to see how her problems, both supernatural and domestic, get resolved. One of the themes of the show has been solving problems by oneself - Oshino says twice to heroines that he can only help, that they'll have to solve their problems themselves - so I'm interested in seeing what Bakemonogatari's unique approach will be, and how the two problems will tie together.

Also, since the different OPs have been excellent and I do really enjoy listening to Yui Horie, I'm hoping that next episode will feature her OP.

Canaan 11 - See Saw

2009-09-17T21:21:00.000-04:00

The theme of this episode was love. Some shit does go down in this episode, but I felt that it was a bit of a transitional episode.

The episode begins right where the last one left off, with Natsume pointing a gun at Maria and Yunyun. Alphard comes to interrupt and lets them go, at which point Natsume and Alphard have a little chat about their motivations It ends with Alphard giving her some important piece of data. Natsume then orders the destruction of the lab, which happens throughout the episode by US soldiers who got helicoptered in.

Here, Alphard remains her ambivalent self. This is the third major character whom she was in a position to kill (the others being Canaan on 2 occasions and Maria) and lets go. In fact, she helps Natsume out willingly. This continues to give her that air of mystery and omnipotence; she's really just toying with everyone, but for reasons that are still unexplained.

But the big chunk of the episode is devoted to Liang Qi and her manic love for Alphard (and hatred for Canaan). Being the neglected little sister she is, even as she fights Alphard to the death, she perceives the injuries she sustains as expressions of love. But even as she's about to be killed (lovingly, in her view) by Alphard, Alphard ignores her and looks at security footage of, who else but, Canaan. This drives Liang Qi even more insane, leading her to destroy her body with experimental pills, all in the false hope that this will help her win Alphard's approval.

Ironically, in the end, as she's delirious and in constant pain from the pills, it is Cummings who performs the mercy killing on her while Alphard walks away. This leaves Cummings in despair, and he stays with Liang Qi as the building gets destroyed.

The sort of self destructive love that led to those two essentially killing themselves seems to have been the theme of this episode. Canaan, dispatched to find drugs for Yunyun and to rescue Hakko walks in on the latter nude in bed with the body of Santana. And like Cummings, she opts to stay there with her dead love as the building collapses, forcibly rejecting Canaan's urges to leave.

The episode ends on a bit of a down note, with Maria celebrating Canaan's return with a photo, but shedding tears at the same time. While some of those tears might be for Hakko, I'm thinking that most of it had to do with a realization she seemed to have in the middle of the episode; she can't be by Canaan's side any more. No matter what, she isn't and can't be in the world of Canaan, but must instead be a bystander, content to watch and take pictures. In this case, Maria's love for Canaan was cut short before it could become self destructive, but that theme remains nonetheless.

I was hoping for a good action filled climax to Liang Qi's story, but that scene finished essentiallly before it started. Not that her complete breakdown that followed wasn't well done or very satisfying to watch, mind you. Her facial expressions were priceless. But I feel like there was some lost potential there.

That's been my main beef with the show so far. It started off with some good action in the first episode, but it hasn't been able to provide the same level of excitement since. There have been brief glimpses here and there, and the climax to episode 7 was fun and intense in a
very 24-ish way. But for the most part, it's been a hodge podge of various characters' storylines, none of which I felt were shown with enough depth.

That's why I was glad to see closure of those two story threads in this episode, even though both left me feeling a bit sad. There are only a couple episodes left, and I feel like the main conflict hasn't received enough attention yet. I wish the show hadn't pushed so many side characters so hard - Yunyun and Hakko/Santana mainly - and focused more on the main story.

Then again, perhaps not touching the main plot too deeply was purposeful. There's still a lot of potential for surprises left in these last few episodes, and that greatens the anticipation with which I await them. A lot is going to have to happen and be revealed in the last two episodes, and I hope that it will be executed well. At the very least, it seems that when the producers want it to, it can be a very intense, fun show, so I'm quite hopeful.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2 -24

2009-09-14T22:10:00.001-04:00

This was the most satisfying new episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in this second season. It's a shame that (I think) it will be the last new episode.

The abrupt (or rather complete lack of) transitions that have marked the Sighs of Suzumiya Haruhi episodes continues. We are thrown into the filming scene with nary an explanation, expected to have the ending of the last episode fresh in our minds. It's just lazy editing and directing; since the story of all 5 episodes is based off of one straightforward novel in the Haruhi series, it was as if KyoAni decided to make the whole thing, and cut it into fifths without concern for how the results might hold up when viewed episodically.

But I digress. This episode was a little different from the other ones in the arc. It succeeded because it finally presented us with a greater glimpse into the underlying scifi/fantasy setting where all this typical high school comedy is taking place. The Shimasen scene in the beginning was one of the only moments in this season that I found genuinely funny, but more than that, it gave us a segue into discovering more about the mysterious powers of Suzumiya Haruhi. As Haruhi's antics produce weirder and weirder results, the non-ordinary people around Haruhi become more and more on-edge, realizing that a cataclysmic event, like the one that happened at the end of last season, could be on the horizon. And of course they take this information to Kyon, the only one capable of influencing Haruhi. They each meet with him individually, chiding him to remember that while on the surface they lead a normal life together, there are many things happening behind the scenes to which he is oblivious. The fact that these characters are not from the same side is made clear here. Mikuru outright states that her organization disagrees with Koizumi's interpretation of Haruhi's abilities. This while Koizumi makes it very clear to Kyon that he believes that Mikuru's cutesy helplessness is all an act, designed to get her closer to Kyon. And Yuki gives Kyon a nebulous no comment, reminding him that he shouldn't trust anyone, not even her. It was during these scenes, scenes that almost seemed like callbacks to the end of the first season, when each character was having one-on-ones with Kyon to prove their extraordinariness, where the episode really shone. It was nice to be reminded that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya precisely because it's not just another regular high school comedy. The ending to the Sighs story arc was handled okay, I thought. Having read the book, I knew what to expect, but I was hoping they'd make a bigger deal about Haruhi's recording the disclaimers, maybe even show us with Kyon holding the mic to her and forcing her to read out loud what he had written, and Haruhi angrily yelling, "Isn't it obvious?!" The explanation was relegated to a couple small comments as the credits for their Mikuru film begins to roll, and we the audience finally understand why those words were in the credits in the very first episode of the first season.

Alas, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is no Arrested Development.

But I'm being nitpicky here. That said, the final bits of the episode was undoubtedly a call-back to the last episode of season 1, where we're shown Haruhi and Kyon meeting together sans the rest of the brigade for club activities. Then, Kyon's narration only hinted that he would tell her about the time travelers, aliens, and espers around her. This time, we're shown him actually trying to do it. I wasn't a fan of the scene. I do think KyoAni was being faithful to the novel, though. At this point, we'd expect that, if he really wanted to get the truth across, he would know Haruhi well enough that he'd know that just telling her wouldn't work. But maybe that's the whole point; he himself didn't want Haruhi to know, but another part of him wanted to just lay everything out on the table, so he did it in a way that both looked genuine on the outside and was destined to fail. But now I'm getting too pop-psycho-analytical.

In any case, whatever Kyon's intentions were, they weren't conveyed very well here.

Yet, I liked this episode because it gave us a reason to care about Haruhi again. With this season, starting with the OP, it was clear that KyoAni was giving us a show about a stubborn girl who got her way, and by getting her way, she would force everyone around her to have fun. That had been one of the main themes of the first season. But this season, it was as if all other ideas had been muddled and dimmed out in order to only highlight that one.

And that's how we ended up with the mess that was Endless Eight and the overlong Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya. This episode was like a glimpse into the first season, the (what I consider to be) masterpiece that made so many many of us fall in love with the series in the first place.

Bakemonogatari 10 - Nadeko Snake 2

2009-09-12T15:32:00.001-04:00

New OP this week, for the new heroine, as to be expected. Renai Circulation (or Romantic Circulation, I guess, if you translate it) sung by Kana Hanazawa, the voice actor for Sengoku Nadeko.

(EDIT 2/25/2010 - the original video had been taken down, so I switched it to a 1080p hatless version from the Bluray)
The song was cute and pretty catchy, featuring some very poppy rap for most of it. There was a part of the main chorus that sounded very reminiscent of the main theme in Staple Stable. The OP animation featured Sengoku with a lot of very abstract backgrounds, similar to that of some other of SHAFT's works, including Pani Poni Dash! and both Ef series. I'm thinking that with this one, they tried to go for the "OP of slice of life show starring Sengoku" feel.

Before the OP, we are shown Koyomi talking with Oshino about Sengoku's situation. I didn't quite catch everything, but there was some love triangle issue with her at school, involving a friend and a boy who confessed to her. And Oshino confirms that whatever's causing these scale marks on Sengoku is indeed a snake, wrapping around and constricting her.

After the OP, Koyomi gets back home where Kanbaru and Sengoku (still in only bloomers, but with a jacket draped over her) are waiting. Long story short, they have to go back to the snake's shrine and have Sengoku pray. Koyomi tells Kanbaru in private that if it's not done tonight, Sengoku's life would really be put in danger.

So they take the nighttime walk all the way back up to the shrine to try to get the snake off her, but of course, things don't all go as planned.

Bakemonogatari reamains a pretty difficult show to get a good grasp of. It keeps its perverted tongue fully in its cheek, showing Sengoku still half naked, then showing her in a school swimsuit because Kanbaru thought that it would appeal to Koyomi (it does).

At the same time, the issues the characters have to deal with are presented in a genuine manner, without making light of them. This worked well in the first few heroines' arcs. The subject matters, while rather contrived, were easy to take seriously. I'm not so sure about this one, though. I don't feel like I have a good grasp on Sengoku's character yet. Part of it may be blamed on the language barrier; once I see the English subs, maybe I'll feel different.

Interestingly, the preview for the next episode isn't Nadeko Snake 3, but rather Tsubasa Cat 1. Of course, the only reason this is interesting is that this episode doesn't provide closure to this story arc. To avoid spoilers, that's as far as I'll mention.

I would like to see how this story ends, though, so I hope SHAFT does come back to it somehow. It's also possible that the open thread at the end of this episode continues on to be the beginning of whatever Tsubasa Cat will be about.

Random Curiosity's take on the episode