Dog Days: B+
So this is another fresh-off-the-air series from Japan, just over. Shinku, a normal junior high school athlete finds himself transported into a strange world of cat and dog-people, and the dog girl princess explains that he has been summoned to be their hero in their war against the cat people. This sounds awfully serious, until he learns that war in this world is an exceptionally polite affair in which nobody dies, people are rarely injured beyond going into harmless ball-forms of their animal type, and that the entire thing is broadcast to both nations in a manner not unlike a sporting event. Realizing that this is the best world ever, Shinku throws himself into the role of Hero and makes friends with the Princess, her captain of the guard, and even quite a few of the cat-people commanders, as war is for fun in this world, and wins and losses rarely result in hard feelings. The only problem is that the's no way to return a Hero back to his homeworld, and Shinku only has two weeks of spring break...
Dog Days is an incredibly lighthearted series with little in the way of substance. Fan service runs oddly high for how innocent the characters themselves seem to be, overall, and the series is more than a little saccharine. This mostly pales, however, to how thoroughly it manages to be really fun and adorable. Seriously, if I could get a Dog Days version of Dynasty Warriors, I would play it so much more than I play regular Dynasty Warriors. (Especially if they kept the fan service levels and my idea that for KO animations named characters suffer critical clothing damage.)
Due to the relative lightness of its plot and characterization, I wouldn't recommend this series to anyone who doesn't appreciate moe as an art form, as aside from their unique approach to warfare (which is worth checking out just for the idea), the series provides few surprises. If light-hearted cuteness sounds like your thing, check it out. But don't hope for a deep and engaging plot, just relax and enjoy the silliness.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Pani Poni Dash!
Pani Poni Dash!: B+
Another series directed by my favorite director in the Anime business, Akiyuki Shinbo, though one of his earlier works. Like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (which Shinbo also directed), it is a slice of life series taking place at a high school and focusing on a very unusual teacher and their collection of very unusual (and predominantly female) students, and, like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, it makes extensive use of cultural reference, non sequitur humor and absurdity (though for the western viewer, cultural reference and absurdity often seem like the same thing). Pani Poni Dash! (a name which does not make sense after you've seen the series) revolves around the students of Rebecca Miyamoto, a ten-year-old genius who has returned to Japan to teach high school.
As a slice of life series, there isn't enough plot to speak of, which does make room for more humor, misunderstandings and general comedic sociopathy among the cast. It's fun and doesn't take itself seriously, the characters manage to be both caricatures and individuals at the same time and overall the humor holds up very well so long as you don't try to catch every single reference the series throws out.
All that said, it's a difficult series to recommend to people. It's not brilliant, but it's good for a laugh, it's not lavishly animated but it's never painful to watch, and while I have very few criticisms of it I'm not entirely sure what sort of person absolutely must see this series. I suppose if I had to criticize it I'd say that it doesn't really go anywhere: not that it really has anywhere it needs to go, it's a slice of life show.
So I guess in short: if you're into watching truly bizarre high school-ish antics, check it out. If you're looking for something with a bit more story and meaning, skip it.
Another series directed by my favorite director in the Anime business, Akiyuki Shinbo, though one of his earlier works. Like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (which Shinbo also directed), it is a slice of life series taking place at a high school and focusing on a very unusual teacher and their collection of very unusual (and predominantly female) students, and, like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, it makes extensive use of cultural reference, non sequitur humor and absurdity (though for the western viewer, cultural reference and absurdity often seem like the same thing). Pani Poni Dash! (a name which does not make sense after you've seen the series) revolves around the students of Rebecca Miyamoto, a ten-year-old genius who has returned to Japan to teach high school.
As a slice of life series, there isn't enough plot to speak of, which does make room for more humor, misunderstandings and general comedic sociopathy among the cast. It's fun and doesn't take itself seriously, the characters manage to be both caricatures and individuals at the same time and overall the humor holds up very well so long as you don't try to catch every single reference the series throws out.
All that said, it's a difficult series to recommend to people. It's not brilliant, but it's good for a laugh, it's not lavishly animated but it's never painful to watch, and while I have very few criticisms of it I'm not entirely sure what sort of person absolutely must see this series. I suppose if I had to criticize it I'd say that it doesn't really go anywhere: not that it really has anywhere it needs to go, it's a slice of life show.
So I guess in short: if you're into watching truly bizarre high school-ish antics, check it out. If you're looking for something with a bit more story and meaning, skip it.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Maria+Holic
Maria+Holic: B
So, I believe I've mentioned my love of the director Akiyuki Shinbo before (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Bakemonogatari). It's to the point where I will watch anything he's directed simply because he's directed it, and so, with some reservation, I finally started watching Maria+Holic.
I was reluctant because the pitch for the series gave me reservations: a lesbian schoolgirl named Kanako attends an all-girl's catholic school (in Japan, this is a bigger, slightly more comedic deal, due to the relative non-presence of Christianity), where she encounters a lovely girl named Mariya who is actually a boy in disguise. Having found out his secret, he promptly browbeats her with the fact that he is the former headmaster's grandchild into keeping his secret and generally tolerating his abuse.
I don't think it's difficult to see why that pitch would raise the heckles of forward-thinking audiences, and indeed, for the first two episodes I was a little on edge around the entire subject. But as the cast is introduced, the series focuses more around Kanako's difficulties keeping her fantasies under control and trying to make friends and be accepted and surviving having her heart broken by her mostly-straight classmates, while doing her best to avoid Mariya's wrath. Kanako is portrayed as so outstandingly weak against pretty girls (and, in fact, Mariya, when he's acting girly and dressing sexy, which he does extensively) that it's very difficult to accept her suffering as, if not quite truly deserved, at least as being partially her own fault.
The series also makes extensive use of Akiyuki Shinbo's traditional style of layered reference, fourth-wall-busting humor, extensive art shifts and downright surgical use of fan service, all of which I, personally, find extremely interesting to experience.
Overall, Maria+Holic is an odd concept written very well and brilliantly executed. The comedy is full of schadenfreude, and anyone who is looking for a genuine and honest look at the difficulties of homosexual teenagers will be disappointed, anyone who can appreciate a little black humor at the expense of a girl who thinks like a 30-year-old man will find something to laugh at.
So, I believe I've mentioned my love of the director Akiyuki Shinbo before (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Bakemonogatari). It's to the point where I will watch anything he's directed simply because he's directed it, and so, with some reservation, I finally started watching Maria+Holic.
I was reluctant because the pitch for the series gave me reservations: a lesbian schoolgirl named Kanako attends an all-girl's catholic school (in Japan, this is a bigger, slightly more comedic deal, due to the relative non-presence of Christianity), where she encounters a lovely girl named Mariya who is actually a boy in disguise. Having found out his secret, he promptly browbeats her with the fact that he is the former headmaster's grandchild into keeping his secret and generally tolerating his abuse.
I don't think it's difficult to see why that pitch would raise the heckles of forward-thinking audiences, and indeed, for the first two episodes I was a little on edge around the entire subject. But as the cast is introduced, the series focuses more around Kanako's difficulties keeping her fantasies under control and trying to make friends and be accepted and surviving having her heart broken by her mostly-straight classmates, while doing her best to avoid Mariya's wrath. Kanako is portrayed as so outstandingly weak against pretty girls (and, in fact, Mariya, when he's acting girly and dressing sexy, which he does extensively) that it's very difficult to accept her suffering as, if not quite truly deserved, at least as being partially her own fault.
The series also makes extensive use of Akiyuki Shinbo's traditional style of layered reference, fourth-wall-busting humor, extensive art shifts and downright surgical use of fan service, all of which I, personally, find extremely interesting to experience.
Overall, Maria+Holic is an odd concept written very well and brilliantly executed. The comedy is full of schadenfreude, and anyone who is looking for a genuine and honest look at the difficulties of homosexual teenagers will be disappointed, anyone who can appreciate a little black humor at the expense of a girl who thinks like a 30-year-old man will find something to laugh at.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Gintama (Episodes 1-81)
Jeez, it's been a while since I've updated.
There are a number of reasons for that, but the main one is that I bought a PS3 and have been playing BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Final Fantasy XIII, Prototype and Arcana Heart 3 rather than watching anime. Then I started watching again, and I decided to watch Gintama of all things, a 201 episode series. Unlike most such long series undertakings, Gintama is episodic and ridiculous enough that I don't actually feel the need to finish it (I've gotten through 81 episodes and enjoyed myself but I don't really need more, I don't think).
So, Gintama.
I haven't watched the entire thing, and it's a very different beast from anything I've reviewed so far, so I'm going to tentatively give it a B. This is actually high praise seeing as I watched a full 80 episodes and one of the things I judge very strictly on is how well a series uses the time it takes up. Gintama is shamelessly episodic and scarcely has a plot to call a plot: filler isn't so much an unfortunate necessity as a way of life for the show, but since it has thoroughly embraced it, it works out quite well.
The primary premise of the series is that, in the middle of Edo-era Japan, a group of anthropomorphic animal aliens invaded earth and subdued the local populace. A large number of samurai resisted the invasion, but the resistance fell apart as the government had already surrendered. Among these samurai was Sakata Gintoki, who now works as a "Yorozuya," a jack-of-all-trades who will do any odd job for enough money to pay the rent. Gintoki is a lazy, slightly perverted, immature, self-centered jerk with a heart of gold who loves his friends and has dedicated himself to what he believes is most important in life. He is accompanied by his "apprentice" Shinpachi and a young alien girl who he took in named Kagura, but the setting and the character's work mostly serve as a framing device for screwball comedy, social commentary and japanese pop cultural in-jokes.
The series has no fourth wall, with the characters being actively aware they're in an anime (despite the fact that they also read manga), and indeed often trying to prevent each other from doing things that would get them cancelled. Gintoki's laziness is occasionally countered by threats of him no longer being the main character of the show, and they are not afraid to poke fun at themselves: during a clip show episode, they comment how Kagura's figure has regressed since her first appearance, then move on to re-dubbing over lines from previous episodes with the commenting character's voice during the clip show.
It noticeably violently averts traditional fan service and the many of the characters are deliberately drawn as being somewhat plain and unattractive, if not downright ugly. The show also deliberately stretches the bounds of what they are allowed to broadcast and the boundaries of taste, having a particular penchant for toilet humor, though generally avoiding sex jokes while remaining exceptionally puerile. The counter to this is that when it (very occasionally) decides to do a serious plot, it does an excellent job of maintaining the series' general humor and treating the serious plot with just enough gravity to allow it to be taken seriously, a combination which deserves sincere commendation.
Gintama is a very unusual series, and very different from what I usually watch, but I highly recommend it to anyone who's had it up to here with cute, fan service, over-the-top violence or oh-so-serious subject matter. If extremely crude, self-referential humor or unattractive characters get on your nerves, go ahead and stay away.
There are a number of reasons for that, but the main one is that I bought a PS3 and have been playing BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Final Fantasy XIII, Prototype and Arcana Heart 3 rather than watching anime. Then I started watching again, and I decided to watch Gintama of all things, a 201 episode series. Unlike most such long series undertakings, Gintama is episodic and ridiculous enough that I don't actually feel the need to finish it (I've gotten through 81 episodes and enjoyed myself but I don't really need more, I don't think).
So, Gintama.
I haven't watched the entire thing, and it's a very different beast from anything I've reviewed so far, so I'm going to tentatively give it a B. This is actually high praise seeing as I watched a full 80 episodes and one of the things I judge very strictly on is how well a series uses the time it takes up. Gintama is shamelessly episodic and scarcely has a plot to call a plot: filler isn't so much an unfortunate necessity as a way of life for the show, but since it has thoroughly embraced it, it works out quite well.
The primary premise of the series is that, in the middle of Edo-era Japan, a group of anthropomorphic animal aliens invaded earth and subdued the local populace. A large number of samurai resisted the invasion, but the resistance fell apart as the government had already surrendered. Among these samurai was Sakata Gintoki, who now works as a "Yorozuya," a jack-of-all-trades who will do any odd job for enough money to pay the rent. Gintoki is a lazy, slightly perverted, immature, self-centered jerk with a heart of gold who loves his friends and has dedicated himself to what he believes is most important in life. He is accompanied by his "apprentice" Shinpachi and a young alien girl who he took in named Kagura, but the setting and the character's work mostly serve as a framing device for screwball comedy, social commentary and japanese pop cultural in-jokes.
The series has no fourth wall, with the characters being actively aware they're in an anime (despite the fact that they also read manga), and indeed often trying to prevent each other from doing things that would get them cancelled. Gintoki's laziness is occasionally countered by threats of him no longer being the main character of the show, and they are not afraid to poke fun at themselves: during a clip show episode, they comment how Kagura's figure has regressed since her first appearance, then move on to re-dubbing over lines from previous episodes with the commenting character's voice during the clip show.
It noticeably violently averts traditional fan service and the many of the characters are deliberately drawn as being somewhat plain and unattractive, if not downright ugly. The show also deliberately stretches the bounds of what they are allowed to broadcast and the boundaries of taste, having a particular penchant for toilet humor, though generally avoiding sex jokes while remaining exceptionally puerile. The counter to this is that when it (very occasionally) decides to do a serious plot, it does an excellent job of maintaining the series' general humor and treating the serious plot with just enough gravity to allow it to be taken seriously, a combination which deserves sincere commendation.
Gintama is a very unusual series, and very different from what I usually watch, but I highly recommend it to anyone who's had it up to here with cute, fan service, over-the-top violence or oh-so-serious subject matter. If extremely crude, self-referential humor or unattractive characters get on your nerves, go ahead and stay away.
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