Sunday, June 3, 2007

The 2007 Spring Season so Far (Comedies)



This is the continuation to my last post but this time it covers the comedy shows of the 2007 spring season.

1) Seto no Hanayome

This show is absolutely MAD and that is exactly why I love it. The best comedy show this season. I must admit that I've always hated Haruko Momoi's voice but for some strange reason, she did very well playing the role of San chan. I love it whenever she gets serious and starts talking about the chivalry of mermaids (one of the staples of each episode). The ending animation reminds me of the Genshiken ending animation (I wonder if that is intentional?!). Of course, the title of “coolest anime male character” this season must go to Masa san (he's got an afro after all!).

2) Nagasarete Airantou

My second favourite comedy this season. This show is so childish but that is exactly why I like it. Even the fanservice is childish. A bunch of quirky characters and a bizarre premise makes for an enjoyable watch every episode. The opening and ending songs are great and Yui Horie's role as Suzu brings back pleasant (not so distant) memories of her role as Manabi in Manabi Straight. Incidentally, did anyone else notice that the character design of the main male lead in this show, Ikuto, is not that different from the character design of the main male lead in Seto no Hanayome, Nagasumi?!! I guess Japanese animators ran out of ideas for male character designs.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

The 2007 Spring Season so Far (Non Comedies)



Below is a short evaluation of some the 2007 spring season shows that I'm currently watching.

1) Victorian Romance Emma ~Second Act~

Even before the current season started, I had a strong feeling this would be my favourite show of the season and it did not disappoint in that regard. Why did I think so? Well, it's because I adored the first season and considered it as a masterpiece. The first season was emotionally overwhelming (at least for me) and words fail to describe the main character of the show, Emma. It's no surprise then that the second season continues the successful record of the first season. The first episode of the second season even brought tears to my eyes which is something that never happened to me before when watching the first episode of any other anime show. Let's hope the second season continues it's strong run and conclude the story in a satisfactory way.

2) Seirie no Moribito

This show is by far my second favourite show of the season. I only watch fantasy shows if the story and art quality are high and this show fits that bill perfectly. It has all the signs of an epic tale and the story has elements of political intrigue and a background setting that resembles ancient china, all of which make this show more appealing to me. Balsa is also a very strong, wise and admirable character and all the other characters are also interesting. The art quality doesn't disappoint as one would expect from Production IG. I also love the opening because it gets me excited over the show.

3) Romeo x Juliet

I'm really enjoying this show so far and I think the changes made to the original play make the story more interesting (I'm always weak for stories of rebellion against tyrants). My only complaint is that the political side of the story is not moving as fast as it should be. I know this is meant to be a romance story first and foremost but I really want to see developments in the political side of things (i.e. Putting forward plans to overthrow the Montague regime). I absolutely love the opening and the ending is great as well.

4) Bokura no

I decided to watch this just to see how shocking it can be since I heard that the manga story is very shocking. The progress was a bit slow and the story didn't really pick up until episode 5 so I have yet to give my final verdict on this. I absolutely love the opening because it gives an ominous feeling about the show.

5) The Skull Man

Stories about revenge tend to be powerful and that is why I became interested in this show. The mystery aspects are also appealing. I generally hate superhero stories but this is not a story about a superhero but rather a mysterious man with an agenda (probably revenge). After watching the first 5 episodes, the story is still intriguing but I still can't tell how the show will end as there are still a lot of mysteries to be solved (albeit I have some good guesses regarding some of the mysteries). I really like the ending and I believe the animation used in the ending contains clues about the tragic past of the man behind the skull. I love the old school character designs and I guess they fit the story very well since it takes place in the 1950s (or was it the 1960s?). The two main characters, Hayato and Kiriko, are very likable and I guess they complement each other in a funny kind of way.

6) Hitohira

I can't really give a decent evaluation about this show since I only watched the first 2 episodes. I can, however, say that I liked what I have watched so far (especially episode 2). The story concept is quite interesting and I always have a soft spot in my heart for stories dealing with the theatre (I am a big fan of Daddy Long Legs after all). The character designs are average but palatable. The music is great (I love the opening and ending). The characters are interesting enough and even a character like Kana turned out to have an interesting side when I thought she was just there for comic relief purposes. The secret that Nono is trying to hide is another interesting aspect of the show. It might be related to some throat condition she might have (like cancer or something) but that is just my guess.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Story of Perrine


One of the pleasant surprises this week was the release of the first episode of Perrine Monogatari (The Story of Perrine), courtesy of C1 Anime. In case you're wondering, Perrine is one of the World Masterpiece Theater projects (the project of 1978) and one of my favourite anime shows. The quality of the art is exactly what you expect from a 70s show so don't expect anything fancy but having said that, the art is actually very good for the era that it represents.

The show is 53 episodes long (which is typical of early WMT shows) and most of the events take place in 19th century France but a lot of the events at the beginning take place outside France as Perrine and her mother travel through Europe on their way to France. The title characters is very likable and has a very strong personality. Be aware though, like most WMT shows, this show is very sentimental so the warning posted at the C1 anime website about the need for a tissue box next to you is very valid indeed. Following the ups and downs of the life of Perrine is like riding a rollercoaster and is no laughing matter most of the time.

Anyway, I encourage people to watch this show and my gratitude goes to C1 Anime for bringing this gem to the fan community in its original language.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Solidarity (Ultimate Review)



Now where do I start? I'm actually lost for words here. To say that the conclusion of Manabi Straight was good is an understatement. To say that the conclusion was great is an understatement. I guess I'll just have to express myself through the following paragraphs in the hope that my true impressions of this show will reach the readers in as clear a manner as possible. What follows may seem a bit disjointed but please bear with me.

Review Summary

The Bad: That shameless and unwarranted scene in episode 6.

The Good: Everything else!

Story



For a slice of life show, Manabi Straight actually has a story...and a solid one at that. Don't let the cute character designs fool you (but I'm not one to talk since I had low expectations of this show when I first started simply because of the character designs). The show actually gets very serious and touches on a lot of themes. Themes like school politics, the generation differences between young people and adults, the choice between education or earning money through work, loyalty and the sense of belonging to a group, career choice, personal insecurity and trusting others and most importantly...friendship (or solidarity as I like to call it).

These themes are generally covered in tandem and the drama content is quite high. From the first scene in the series to the last one, the directors show remarkable competency in executing the story.


I have talked about the politics of the show extensively before so I don't need to repeat myself. The only thing I want to say is that the politics is closely tied to the overarching concept of solidarity that I have mentioned above. In a way, the politics of this show has many parallels with an anime classic that is very dear to my heart; Romeo's Blue Skies (RBS). In Manabi Straight you have a team of girls who are striving to serve and improve the life of their fellow students. In RBS you have a group of chimney cleaners in Milan who band together (the so called “Black Brothers”) in order to improve their lives and support each other (a form of trade union so to speak). In Manabi Straight you have confrontation between the Seioh student council and the Aikou establishment. In RBS you have confrontation between the Black Brothers and a group of ruthless nobles as well as with the child slave advocates. In Manabi Straight you have a charismatic leader who helped to bring the student council together. In RBS you also have a charismatic leader (Alfredo) who forms and leads the Black Brothers. In Manabi Staright, the girls ponder and finally decide their future careers. In RBS, the main characters also ponder and decide their future careers. It's remarkable how both shows are similar even though one of them takes place in 19th century Milan while the other takes place in the future Japan of 2035!




One must not forget the humour. The comedy in the show is a pleasant aspect that helps to balance the serious aspects of the show. I've laughed out loud many times while watching it and some of the best comedy scenes and punch lines in anime history can be found in Manabi Staright. Episode 7 in particular is very note worthy. Many of the comedy scenes are inspired by the Manzai tradition (albeit without the Kansai accent).

The fanservice is there but it is sparse overall and the level of it (with the exception of that scene in episode 6) is nowhere near the shameless sexual references that you see in other shows. The fanservice was never a goal for this show to begin with and the character designs don't help project a fanservicy image either. I'd say about 70% of the fanservice in the entire show is in episode 6.



Continuing the ufotable tradition of including cameos of their old shows in their recent ones, it seems the image above from episode 1 is a cameo of the androids May, April and Febraury from Coyote Ragtime Show (a younger version of them at least). It's quite a subtle reference and I wonder if there are any other cameo appearances?


Then there is the conclusion. As I indicated in previous posts, my main fear for this show is how the directors will end the story. The previous record of ufotable isn't exactly astounding in that field. The directors decided to silence me once and for all with the best conclusion of any ufotable anime ever. It's not that the conclusion is very good relative to other ufotable conclusions, it's just excellent compared to any story conclusion (anime or otherwise) you can think of. Simply speaking, the conclusion is just right.

It seems the strategy of using a group of directors to work on each episode of this show has paid off handsomely. Not only that but by adopting such a novel approach, Manabi staright joins the leaugue of innovative and successful experimental anime shows.


There is still an extra OAV episode that will be released with the last DVD volume on the 10th of October and it goes without saying that I'm looking forward to it. I really hope that the epsidoe will be of serious nature instead of being a fanservice episode but I wonder what more can be addeed to the story after the satisfying conclusion of episode 12. Who knows, we might even get a Momoha focused episode (^_^)


Art and Animation



The art is gorgeous...simple as that. That is something to be expected because ufotable shows never lacked when it comes to art and animation. The quality of the art only dropped a few times in scenes that involved a lot of people appearing in one screenshot but even those were barely noticeable. Screenshots of individual characters were well done and the background art was also of high calibre.




The art associated with modern devices like computers, scooters and notebooks is very classy and attractive. The trasparent monitors are especially noteworthy.





The school uniforms are unique enough and use the novelty of tartan skirts which I don't think was used in any other school anime before. There is also the novelty of having their personal organisers attached to the sides of the uniform skirt in a reminder that the story takes place in 2035 and not 2007. Having said that, the world of 2035 as portrayed in Manabi Straight is not that different from our world with the exception of using some high tech gadgets in schools and at work.



The character designs are definitely cute and attractive (and chubby as some bloggers have put it). Even though the designs have a lot in common with each other, the animators have managed to create a unique design for each character even when you have scenes where a a large group of students is standing together (like in episode 11). The designs have the oddity of making the characters look younger than they actually are because of their short chubby stature but you get accustomed to them after a while (when you are engrossed in the story) and comparisons with the designs of adult characters removes the oddity because the adults are only slightly taller than the students which gives the right sense of proportionality.



The animation is no less attractive than the art and makes its mark felt in such scenes as the opening animation, the Manabi concert in episode 11, the water drop scene in episode 7, all the crazy action in episode 1 and the angel scene in episode 3. The water drop sequence in episode 7 alone deserves some sort of animation award. The ending sequence uses the ufotable trademark of clay animation which is a funny and interesting way of ending each episode.


By the way, I love how Manabi makes manga sketches of herself and her friends and uses them for student council documents every now and then (^_^)





One of the unique and very obvious aspects of the show is the use of low colour contrast for much of the indoor scenes. You would think that this would be an annoying aspect of the show especially if you compare it to the bright colours used in other shows but I never found this aspect annoying at all. On the contrary, it actually gave the show a unique flavour that would distinguish it from other shows. This is another example of the innovation and experimentation approach that was adopted by the producers.


Music




The music in the show is as appealing as the art. Whether it is the opening theme, ending theme or background music, all of it adds to the “feel good” atmosphere of the show. The clapping sound that is used every now and then (the one played during episode previews) as background music is a nice touch. My favourite piece is by far the opening song, A Happy Life, by Megumi Hayashibara (who was a candidate for Manabi's voice role). That song is calm at the begining but the pace increases half way through and the lyrics are about the generation difference between young people and adults and the rebellious nature of the youth (one of the main themes of the show). The Seioh school anthem, which features prominently throughout the show, is also another favourite of mine (especially the concert version).

Characters and Voice Acting

1) Amamiya Manami “Manabi” (also known as Boss)


The charismatic leader of the group and the one who brought life back to the Student Council. Her energy, enthusiasm and “never give up” attitude have always been the driving force behind most of the events in the show. She has a heart of gold and that earned her the love and admiration of students and teachers alike which is a very important asset when leading a group.

2) Inamori Mika “Mikan” (also known as the Cat)


She was the glue that kept the whole group together. She kept performing the student council duties alone for some time before Manabi came in and that in part shows her dedication to her work and her diligence. She also managed to establish a good relation with all the members of the council (including Mei) and that has protected the council from falling prey to personal rivalries between members. She is too innocent for her own good and extremely sentimental (which is why she cries a lot) but that has proven beneficial in a way because it made the other members look after her thus forgetting their differences.

3) Etoh Mei (also known as the Chancellor)



My favourite character and the leader in the shadows so to speak. The true intellectual in the group. When things start sliding into disarray, you can always count on Mei to correct things and put them back to order. Her technical and managerial abilities were invaluable to the group. A character with a sad past, she finally found true solace and friendship after joining the council (thanks to Manabi). The scene where she is lying on the grass with Mikan near the end of episode 5 is a stark reminder of the famous scene in episode 17 of Mahoraba where Tamami is also lying on the grass with Kozue and gazing at the sun. With retrospect, there are indeed many similarities between Tamami and Mei's pasts.



4) Uehara Mutsuki “Mutchi”



The grassroots populist character. Athletic and strong (personality wise and physically). She is always willing to give a helping hand to anyone in need. That attitude coupled with her tomboyish character has earned her considerable popularity amongst students. Her openness to others is demonstrated by the fact that she was Mikan's first friend when she enrolled in Seioh Acadmy and was Mei's only friend before Manabi joined the school.

5) Odori Momoha “Momo”



The public relations officer if you like. A very cheerful and weird girl who likes to wander off and do whatever she pleases. While not officially a member of the student council, she nonetheless shadowed the official members and provided support most of the time (as long as she is not playing around somewhere else (>_<). An amateur journalist at heart, her video recordings provide a real biography of all the major student council activities since Manabi took over (thereby making her the official council biographer). It may not seem obvious but she is actually a very rich girl. That however hasn't changed her friendly attitude towards her friends. She loves to tease Mei every now and then and a lot of the humour in the show is associated with her. (^_^)


6) Shimojima sensie



This great guy deserves special mention. He has always been on the student council side and supported them in every way possible (unlike the other teachers). He even donated his lunch money to the council at some point! Yet, for some reason, he was the object of the student council member's wrath whenever something goes wrong (a sort of scapegoat)!! Despite all this, he never gets mad and continues to support the council to the very end! Is this guy great or is he great?! If you ask me, a golden medal is the least they could offer him.

7) Seioh School Principal





She sympathised and supported Manabi's efforts from the shadows. She would often intervene in favour of the council members whenever they get into trouble. Her memories of being a student council member herself have given her a different perspective on student issues than other teachers in her school.

The voices for all the characters fit them perfectly. If I was to pick a favourite then I would say that Yui Horie's role as Manabi and Aya Hirano's role as Mei were the most memorable but honestly, all the voice actors and actresses involved in this show did very well indeed.

Manabi Straight Rankings

So, after all that has been said above, where does Manabi Straight stand in comparison to other shows.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but, as far as I'm concerned, this show is:

1) The best ufotable show ever.
2) The best show of the 2007 winter season.
3) A strong contender for the title of “Best Show of 2007”
4) One of the finest slice of life shows out there.

Utopia


So, in the end, was the school of Manabi a utopia like the title suggests?

I don't think so. It was no different from your typical modern Japanese high school and very similar to school environments in many parts of the world. You're not meant to suffer or experience troubles in a utopia but that is exactly what happens in the show. I think the show was trying to say that you don't really need a utopia to live happily and you can always strive to improve your conditions and the conditions of people around you through sheer sweat and hard work which is what Manabi and her friends have come to realise. Another important issue here is the fact that nothing will ever change unless you decide to take action and change it yourself. Just sitting there, ignoring the problem and not caring will lead nowhere.

Well, if you have read this far then you have my thanks for your perseverance and my apology for the length of the post. I think I've said enough. I'll be looking forward to the DVDs once this show is licensed.

This is Mohammad, webmaster of Oyasuminasai Anime Blog, signing off. (^_^)


Saturday, May 26, 2007

The Tartan Army



Legions and legions of tartan supporters! If this is not true fandom then I don't know what is! Scotland be proud; even the Japanese are mad about you. I still await the day when Scotland becomes an independent nation and then the celebration will be complete. Heck, I might even design Manabi posters for that occasion.





Lost My Music




There is no doubt that the highlight of episode 11 was the Manabi led concert. A true milestone in its own right, the event reminded me of one of the most memorable events in recent anime memory; the concert of Suzumiya Haruhi in episode 12 of the show (original TV order).
Now I have to say that Suzumiya Haruhi was an annoying and lame show in general but I did enjoy 4 of the episodes; episodes 1, 2, 11 and 12 (or episodes 11, 1, 13 and 12 according to chronological order). Why did I enjoy those of all the 14 episodes? Simply because they were focused on comedy instead of trying to be serious. Episode 12 featured one of the best anime concert performances that I have ever seen and surprisingly enough, it was led by the cold queen herself. That episode was the only time throughout the entire show when I though that Haruhi was a decent if not likable character (unfortunately, she returned to her annoying self after that episodes). Her performance and that of her band was incredible indeed and I have to admit that the song was more exciting than Manabi's song.




That is not to say that Manabi's performance was bad. On the contrary, she performed like a real pro. She started out on a slow tone in order to give the instrument players a chance to adapt and pick up the rhythm and the animators actually show that the instrument players have indeed picked up the required rhythm at the last few seconds of Manabi's solo part (bonus points go for that part alone). Manabi then launches into the fast rhythm version of the song accompanied by the rest of the band and we get a performance of a lifetime. Furthermore, the Manabi concert marked and celebrated the completion of critical stage in the show timeline (the school festival) while the Haruhi concert was a one off event that didn't leave any marks later on. It's also obvious from simple comparison that Haruhi was tense during her performance while Manabi was relaxed and was smiling all the time. Needless to say, if I was asked to choose between the Manabi or the Haruhi concert, I would choose the Manabi concert with my eyes (and ears) closed.



Incidentally, in case you don't know, the voice actress for Haruhi is Hirano Aya who also did the voice of Etoh Mei. It makes me wonder what would have been the result if Mei was forced to sing instead of Manabi?!

The Little House on the Prairie



It's amazing how relationship between the members of the student council has developed throughout the course of the series from this...



to this...



When I was young, one of our teachers at school used to tell us that we spend more time during the school year with our classmates than what we spend with our own families. As a result, he said, we should at least treat our classmates in the same manner as we treat our family members. In other words; your classmates and teachers are your second family. It may not be as romantic as he put it but you have to admit that he makes a valid point to some extent. At times, some students find that school is their only sanctuary especially if things at home aren't working well.

Manabi and her friends have been spending long times (and sometimes staying for the night) in their own little house on the prairie (the old student council office overlooking the grass field on top of the school building) and that has increased and strengthened their mutual bonding.

Deja Vu



In a beautiful scene, Manabi reiterates what she said in the first scene of the series but this time from the top of the school building with all her mates standing next to her. It is the start indeed.



The Cat Returns



We get to see Mikan chan (also known as the Cat) practice her feline talents at eating some freshly made Yakisoba. (^o^)



Parodies



We also get to see Mutsuki do her best Ichijo Karen impression while saving a girl who oddly enough resembles Suzuki Nana from Seven of Nana (or is it one of her alter egos?!).




Next stop...the finale

Friday, May 25, 2007

Yes! Yes! Yes!



While checking the latest news on Anime News Network last night, I came across this news item. My heart immediately skipped a beat. I knew it was just a matter of time before this would happen because the story was begging to be animated. Needless to say, I'll be looking forward to this show. The only thing I'm worried about is the company that will handle the animation. The company wasn't revealed in Kodansha's statement but I really hope it falls into the hands of capable people like JC Staff, Madhouse or Production IG. Falling into the hands of Toei Animation, Gainax or even Sunrise would be disastrous. We'll just have to wait and see. Incidentally, I did write a review of what I read so far of the manga if anyone is interested in knowing more about the story. This news item also came as a wonderful coincidence. I was checking the ANN manga encyclopedia a few days ago and I discovered that there was no entry for Shion no Ou so I decided to add one. The plot summary on that page was written by yours truly (^_^)

There is something that really annoyed me though. I decided to see the reaction to the news post on ANN's forums. Someone using the user name Andrew Cunningham wrote a very amusing post. Apparently Shion is a moe character and Ayumi is a transvestite!! He also seems to think that the manga Yume Tsukai is far better than Shion no Ou which I find extremely amusing since that manga has a character who is openly pedophillic and is not ashamed to say it (not to mention the notorious content that this manga is famous for but was downplayed in the anime for obvious reasons). I'll agree with him about the disproportioned image at the start of the first volume though. Apart from that image, the art is quite good.

It's really sad when all anime and manga fans think about is moe whenever they see a young girl in a story and it gives a sad picture of the state of anime fandom.

Friday, May 11, 2007

And then came the bandanna!



Let's talk politics...


Just like the principal of Aikou Academy said, the student council of Seioh Academy failed to obtain 70% of the student body signatures for the school fair petition. Instead they obtained 76% of the signatures. If this was an election then the media would call it a Landslide Victory! Indeed, a result like this would be the cause of envy amongst most of the political parties of the world.



In a way, the result above is that of a referendum on the performance of the new Seioh Student Council since Manabi took over as president. The initiated remodeling of the old school clock tower and the eventual destruction of that tower and the student council office with it has rallied the student body (the masses so to speak) behind their council (government so to speak) and they overwhelmingly decided to help the council in moving in to their new home (which turns out to be a new building. How cool is that?!).



As ironic as it might be, there is nothing that brings humans together like tragedy and misfortune. These conditions tend to ignite a sense of bonding between members of the community and force them to act as one since they are all affected by the misfortune. It's the will to survive and fight on. Episode 10 also highlights the best way to get people interested in something; by getting them directly involved. A hands on approach does wonders when it comes to raising public interest or capturing public imagination. The direct participation of most of the student body in renovating the new council building has ignited the feeling of belonging to Seioh Academy amongst the students and that was reflected in the petition final result.



In the end, the student body decided to give an overwhelming thumbs up to the student council because they remembered how the council was good to them and how it strove to make student life better. Good governance always pays (well, sometimes it doesn't but that's due to certain political circumstances and we don't need to go into that).




So Shimojima sensie was part of the student movement in the past! I always knew that guy was a leftist at heart. He also has one big appetite. I'll talk more about Shimojima in my post after the series ends.



Poor Momoha. She tried to be friendly with Mei and what does she get?! I'm a big fan of Mei but she should try and be more friendly with others. I guess she was searching her heart at that time because she finally decided to open her heart to strangers in a scene that I consider to be one of the highlights of the whole series (and a cute scene as well). That smile on Mei's face was priceless.



We also get to see Manabi do one of her trademark frog impressions. I can't get enough of these faces (^o^)



Let's hope Seioh Academy will continue to thrive under the auspices of the new Number 10. I'll end this post with a nice screenshot.

Note: This is the first post I've written using Writer from OpenOffice.org. I'm very pleased with the results (^_^)