Haibane Renmei-winner and champion in my books (I went to the local annual animethon)
Michael Lo
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I just got back from the local annual animethon on
Saturday and Sunday. I was again impressed with how
many people have shown up though it seems that this year
had a higher percentage of uber-fanboys than regular folk
over last year.
Ah god, the fanboys. Sure they got the ball rolling for
bringing over Japanese cartoons for the '80s to now but
man can't someone knock it into their thick heads that
personal hygiene matters! I was there at 9 am on Saturday
and had to go to the washroom. Now public washrooms aren't
going to smell like a flowerbed but this washroom smelled
like a gymn locker room, and that sweaty armpit smell was
coming from a single stall. I didn't look to see which way
his feet were pointed but I'm really hoping that he was
taking a crap because he wasn't just groaning, he was screaming
out "Ungh, Ungh, Aaaaah!" If he was taking a dump, it must
have been a log coming out sideways and if not he must be
yanking to some nasty stroke material he got from the sellers.
Either way, I made sure to wash my really quick and
get out of there (the smell was a killer).
Some of these guys could fall under the Geneva Convention as
weapons of mass area denial. I went to check out one show
and the seat I got reeked of body odour, luckily I was able
to find another seat and the previous person's scent didn't
cling to me. What's up with that, is some kind of bonding
scent amongst fanboys or something? And it's not always
enough to beware of the smelly guys. I was sitting by this
group of Chinese girls and maybe one of them had Crohn's disease
or something, because she kept ripping them right in front me.
Not a single noise, silent but deadly-she must have had a number
of pork buns for breakfast because that's what air smelt like
when she kept doling them out. I kept having to fan the air
with my schedule.
Lotsa cosplayers this year and many in really heavy Trigun
overcoats. Too bad the temperature outside was at least in
the upper 20s, so it was no wonder so many people were rank
smelling. On the other hand they must have been pretty
comfortable inside, because they had the air conditioner
on full blast. I only had a short-sleeved shirt on and so
my arms kept breaking out in goose-pimples.
Well enough of that crap, now to what it's all about-the
SHOWS!!! This year I saw a fairly nice selection of shows
and a number of them were good to downright top calibre with
a few that bit. I saw Princess Tutu, One Piece, Haibane Renmei,
Patapata Hikousen no Bouken, Angelic Layer, Kiddy Grade,
Scrapped Princess, Witch Hunter Robin, Last Exile, Wolf's Rain
in that order:
Princess Tutu-I really wanted to like this one and objectively
I do. Highly imaginative, used a storyline rarely seen and etc.
Unfortunately, they were using a really poor quality tape so
the tracking blew out every so often and there was a lot of
snow kicking in. Princess Tutu also suffered from having
certain sequences that were rather cheezy and ended up weakening
the show. The Drosselmeyer sequences felt like a weak attempt
to push the current episode plot and lead into the Princess Tutu
transformation. Now I know that a good ballet needn't be vigorous
but the "heart rescuing" ballet sequences so far as I've seen felt
rather lifeless and felt like one of those Superfriends lessons
of the day where Princess Tutu comes to the rescue of the possessed
individual says a few feel-good statements that ends up exorcising
the victim. The show was strongest when it didn't go into the
Princess Tutu and Drosselmeyer sequences and focused itself on Ahiru.
I only saw 3 eps so things will probably improve significantly and
there is movement happening in the story.
One Piece-I'm not impressed with this show. While there is some
fun to it, I didn't feel anything there was anything particularly
outstanding about the show. Scenes that should have been thumping
with energy was instead taken up with a lot of posturing and
Monkey D. Luffy doing his standard "I'm not concerned" schtick.
The supposedly touching sequences seemed cynically done and were
just tacked on because the writer felt they were supposed to be
there.
Haibane Renmei-Now this is where it's at!! After watching the somewhat
disappointing Princess Tutu and the mediocre One Piece, Haibane Renmei
put life back in me. Haibane Renmei and Azumanga Daioh were playing
at the same time so I wound up missing Azumanga which I haven't seen yet
but I'm not least bit disappointed because I stayed for the 4 eps of
Haibane Renmei that they were showing. I know people have said this
is one beautiful show. But what makes Haibane Renmei? I think Haibane's
rather Celtic ditty is totally appropriate because Haibane Renmei feels
like one of those old country tunes that descended from that Celtic
tradition. Haibane has that warm folksy touch that does not veer into
the cloying. The show is gentle in atmosphere and presents a world
where things are not perfect but the characters are a family who band
together to make it a wonderful place to live in. Haibane lives up to
the cardinal rule of animation of "show don't tell" and the images it
presents are truly fantastic. For instance Rekki the big sister of
the Haibane (think of a kind-hearted Motoko of Love Hina with Aunt Haruka's
mannerisms but none of the violence) finds that Rakka (think of a
younger Excel Excel as a normal person) is sprouting her wings
prematurely so she races for the first aid kit and drops it in her
haste. With the supplies scattered, she can't get a hold of any
painkillers and has to do the next best thing which was pad her thumb
up with bandages and have Rakka bite down on it so Rakka won't
accidentally bite her tongue. The next scene has a weary Rakka
lying forward with Rekki washing the blood and grease out of Rakka's
wings. Watchingin Haibane Renmei was something of a mesmerizing
experience, it was so perfectly paced that never once was I bored at
any point. I just kept watching and watching and thought "damn
it's over now!" for each episode. An animated feature that has great
artwork, great storytelling, great music, great characters and animation
is an experience that's just magic. Haibane is magical and retains it
throughout the 4 eps! This show totally basks in creator project of
love and Haibane hits every note perfectly. The music was beautiful but
never over-utilized, humourous sequnces were genuinely funny and unexpected
but plausible, the drama was real and never crosssed into hamminess or
insincerity and the warmth, oooh the warmth of that show. Kudos to the
director and may Abe make more films that have Haibane's magic. Speaking
of directors, watching Haibane made me sad that it's not likely that a
Haibane could have been made in North America despite Haibane's world
design that smacks more of Europe than Japan. It's not for a lack of
talent and an inability to tell a story like Haibaine but it with the
exception of John Lasseter, there doesn't seem to be many big directors
who are interested in a story like Haibane. The love of many NA directors
seem to lie in comedies and adventures; the slice of life stories made by
them have to have heaps of the above two elements. There's also the power
of the committee to deal with and would likely turn Haibane Renmei into
a post-modernist comedy with a lot of ironic dialogue and in-show explanations
tossed around. Oh yeah one thing, where the rest of the shows I watched
were video tapes that were made from what the person downloaded off
the net, Haibane Renmei was a Chinese Bootleg DVD and it bit ass royally.
The visual quality was there but the subtitles must have been done by
someone who was doing translation straight out of a dictionary and never
saw the series. First off, everyone in Haibane was a "he" and occasionally
the sentences would have their structures mixed up so you're wondering what
the hell the person would try to say. Finally for some reason, the time
and location of a sequence would crop up in the subtitle. I'm going to have
do some a bit of accounting and pick up a bit of temp work to squeeze Haibane
in the budget
Patapata Hikousen no Bouken-okay the description on the schedule made
this show sound interesting. But bloody hell, what a waste of time this
show was! If Haibane was clearly the best show I saw, then Patapata
was certainly the worst. Haibane is a show that says director controlled,
Patapata likely had its director being controlled. What does Patapata do
wrong? Okay, musically Patapata was nothing special. It's not great and
somewhat annoying in its preciousness (in the way some lower end 30's-50's
films were) but it wasn't thoroughly bad. However Patapata needed some
way to distract the viewers attention to what's lacking onscreen and is
incessantly playing some score or another in virtually every scene.
There were few moments of silence to Patapata. Patapata is curious in
that it rarely did close-ups, almost all the shots are down from a medium
to far view. I don't know what the director was thinking with that but
what this accomplished was that you got a full view of the background in
all its lack of glory. The background work was done in a rather pastel
coloring and many of the shots were empty of detail (such as the garden
with 1 tree and the "busy" street with a single stagecoach). I'm scratching
my head as to why people say Patapata looks like a Ghibli because what
the characters actually look like are the ones from those cheezy '90s
films trying to capitalize on the success of The Little Mermaid-including
such masterpieces as the Tin Soldier and the Troll in Central Park.
Think Don Bluth but with a nickel and dime budget or if you've got access
to Teletoon-Patapata has a lot in common with the Pippi Longstocking
cartoon (Patapata's heroine Jane has moments of being semi-decent like
a Nausicaa/Tita knockoff but for the most part it looks like she was done
by someone with a lack of understanding in human anatomy-her head almost
rivals her torso in size and it's only by magic that her pencil thin arms
and legs can support her colossal head). So the characters are not only
pretty ugly looking but they're drawn to be bloody obvious-the slimy "chip
on his shoulder" adopted brother is constantly sneering and scowling so
when we see him embezzling funds from his dad's bank it's no surprise-all
that's missing is the guy having a moustache to twirl. I only watched 1
and a 1/2 eps of Patapata but from the opening it seems that Jane will
get a mascot who looks like that pig chasing kid from Future Boy Conan;
things bode ill for this series improving much in the future.
Angelic Layer-I was rather disappointed in watching Angelic Layer. I have
the entire comic series and the changes made from the comic to the series
ended up detracting from the show. Misaki is a lot less dumb in the show
(not that it's saying much) but they made her a lethargic sad girl when
Misaki of the comics was a freak-out queen. Misaki freaks out the way
that Menchi freaks out when Excel mentions that she's hungry with almost
the exact same look but cartoon Misaki just blushes and says her line.
In fact all the characters had their personalities toned down except for
Icchan (the one of the few new sequences I found funny was when Icchan
dropped that live octopus down the back of his assistant's pants). Some
of the re-arrangement of the series were clearly done for filling space
rather than any forethought (such as the scene where Misaki gets her
first bout and training session getting reversed and then clumsily
explained by Misaki accidentally entering the fight circle). Shouko
in a wheel-chair was a rather cynical rework to make the plot more
than just about Misaki loving to fight in the arena. Same thing goes
with the changes to make Angelic Layer more romantic. Angelic Layer
could have been alot better if they followed the comic more closely
and it didn't help that Angelic Layer looked like it was done on a
budget not that much higher than the Patapata's
Kiddy Grade-the fight scenes lacked any sort of attribute other
than boring. It doesn't have Berserk's harsh brutality, Noir's
elegant cold-bloodedness or DBZ's sheer energy. The fight's just
came and went. The attempts at comedy were also a failure. Having
Eclair go "Da da da" in a pizza delivery uniform to a bunch of
villains just doesn't tickle the funny bone. This show was simply
there.
Scrapped Princess-the story of Scrapped Princess isn't going to
win any prizes but all in all this is a good show. The strength
of Scrapped Princess lies in the chemistry the characters have with
each other and it's a fun series without being overly indulgent
in comedy. Additionally the characters show a surprising amount
of depth without wallowing. The background drawings aren't anything
special but the characters were very well drawn. The show show
saunter along and adds more to its story with each episode
Anyone know how many eps this series is slated for.
Witch Hunter Robin-that was such an MTV moment in the opening
where Robin is practically dry-humping the TV screen when Amon's
in it. The music for Robin's opening is much more Lisa Loeb than
My Bloody Valentine though Robin is a shoegazer of a series. But
I mean this in a complimentary fashion. Robin is easily one of
the most interesting appearing characters in anime and I find her
quietly compelling. The show's colour scheme is rather purposely
uncomfortable without being totally overpowering in how shadowy
it is. There's also a number of other nice visual flourishes in
the series. I found certain sequences in Robin very interesting
such as Robin bringing out a box of donuts (do they sell donuts
in Japan? They don't in Hong Kong) or how the STNJ building looks
more like a medieval dungeon than a modern office. Still in the
first 4 eps I've seen have played things a bit too close to the
chest and so far it's been the eps have been of the monster of
the week variety. I do like what I've seen so far and really
admire it's stylishness and the mystery of it. This series
has potential
Last Exile-Last Exile is certainly impressive and if Gonzo
keeps along these lines rather than that of Kiddy Grade then
its reputation is going to shoot through the roof. I don't
know who the director is but compliments are in order here.
The CG works well because the the colour scheme is often done
in black and white and this mutes a lot of the incongruity that
happens when you place 3D CG images along with 2D traditional
drawings. What Last Exile's steam fantastic world reminds me
of is the movie Metropolis. The art really does rival that of
a movie's and the characters are very believable and the battle
sequences had a lot of vigor and desperation as firing lines
were drawn up and big naval battles involving air ships commenced.
I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far and if it continues
this level of quality I'll get this series when it comes over
Oh yeah Last Exile has some pretty nice music in it as well
Wolf's Rain-I missed the last 2 eps of Last Exile so I can see
what Wolf's Rain is about. And I'm not disappointed, very vivid
and lush graphics about the dangerous world that the characters
live in. The characters are very atypical of what I've seen.
The 4 main characters have certain softness to their faces and
skin tones that I don't usually see in male characters of anime.
Their faces also have less exaggeration and this gives a certain
North American comic book style to the characters (I'm surprised
at how skinny Tsume looked, in all the websites he looked like
the big muscular guy of the group). I only saw eps 3 and 4 but
I like it as much I like Last Exile so far. I did find Toboe
rather annoying. But it's an intriguing show so far
All in all I had a good time kicking back and soaking up the
toons
Arthur Kimes
Lo) wrote:
] Witch Hunter Robin ...
] first 4 eps I've seen have played things a bit too close to the
] chest and so far it's been the eps have been of the monster of
] the week variety.
the MotW stuff doesn't happen too much more as the main arc
starts kicking in.
"We'll have no unnecessary floating aboard this ship." - General Merritt
The Wielder of the Scythe
> the net, Haibane Renmei was a Chinese Bootleg DVD and it bit ass royally.
> The visual quality was there but the subtitles must have been done by
> someone who was doing translation straight out of a dictionary and never
> saw the series.
Because the subber really has not an inkling of what he was translating. Bootleggers seem almost
invariably translate from Jap-Chi-Eng so the original Japanese transcript is never seen by the
Eng. subber.
> Scrapped Princess-the story of Scrapped Princess isn't going to(snip)
> Anyone know how many eps this series is slated for.
AFAIK, 26 eps.
> the series. I found certain sequences in Robin very interesting
> such as Robin bringing out a box of donuts (do they sell donuts
> in Japan? They don't in Hong Kong)
Yes, doughnuts can be found in HK though most of the time they are not the kind you can get in
the US or Canada. They are rather pedestraian affairs - limp, soggy, flavourless,
overbaked/fried (yes, Fried!). No Dunk'N's here anymore.
Michael Lo
Hey I didn't know you're living in Hong Kong. I came back from living there
about 2 years ago and every time I go back my sister asks me to buy a box of
donuts for her from Tim Hortons. Since I never saw a single donut place in
any of the districts I was in, I assumed none had really got in (I remember
Arby's used to have a location in the Ocean Pier shopping centre but that
went out of business). Limp, soggy, flavourless, overbaked/fried-Wait are
you talking about the fried doughsticks you dunk in congee (I don't know
the english name for them)?
God I hated the TV in Hong Kong-they had a few nice cartoons and I liked
the martial arts drama at 7pm (I also remember watching this puppet show
about some swordsman that was kinda neat) but there'd be long stretches
of crappola and the news programs were often little more than extended
business reports.
How're things over in Hong Kong these days. The Taxi drivers and police
got courteous last time I was there and things had really cleaned up (though
the smog levels was still atrocious).
The Wielder of the Scythe
> The Wielder of the Scythe <scy...@netvigator.com> wrote in message >
> > Yes, doughnuts can be found in HK though most of the time they are not the kind you can get in
>
> Since I never saw a single donut place in
> any of the districts I was in, I assumed none had really got in
There is supposed to be one in Central but I really cannot find it. Looking up the yellow pages on the net also
came up with nothing. I guess real donuts/doughnuts are dodo-ised here. Only a myth now.
> went out of business). Limp, soggy, flavourless, overbaked/fried-Wait are
> you talking about the fried doughsticks you dunk in congee (I don't know
> the english name for them)?
Simply 'Fried Dough'. (but hey, there are several kinds of fried dough !doh!) I forgot the Chinese name actually
and your message reminded me of it. No the donuts I have bought in some bakeries are really like that. Sad waste
of flour in my opinion. The bakeries may even call a fried bun with a weiner stuck in it (don't chuckle now)a
donut. The gall!
> God I hated the TV in Hong Kong-they had a few nice cartoons and I liked
> the martial arts drama at 7pm (I also remember watching this puppet show
> about some swordsman that was kinda neat)
Yeah, I have had a glimpse of that Taiwanese puppet show. Don't know the name of it but the lot can be bought in
legit vcds (no bootlegs for this one AFAIK. too low profit margins).
> How're things over in Hong Kong these days.
Watch the news. Plenty of protests and disenchantment over Le Gov and Das Chief Exec and his cohorts. It is very
hot. 33 degrees C everyday now. HK TV showing as always loads of animes but of course in Cantonese only so I am
out of luck. Pick of the bunch, if you can call it that, is Rave Groove. They have Ojamajo Doremi and some other
merchandise pusher. Some sentai stuff, do not know which one and Masked Rider something or other.
> The Taxi drivers and police got courteous last time I was there and things had really cleaned up (though
> the smog levels was still atrocious).
The taxi drivers and just about everyone else have been encouraged to be more courteous to visitors. There is a
campaigne of sorts going on to improve English and other languages for putting on a better face for tourists.
Another campaigne to 'appeal' to tourists to come to Honkers. Streets are relatively clean but nothing compared
to Singapore of course; where the penalities are much harsher for fouling up public areas.
Smog is still bad. No solution of course when a lot of it is externally introduced.
And since this is an anime group:
As for anime and manga, bootleggers abound. All the Taiwanese translated mangas are here for purchase, rent or
read at manga cafes (modelled after same in Taiwan where one pays by the hour to surf the net and read manga or
just curl up to nap on a sofa). Almost all bootlegged anime dvds are here too except those that are set aside for
the US and English speaking markets. So no titles from MAC or FX here. But then, the other companies will
cannibalise these releases from time to time.
Legit shops for anime and manga do exist but they are far fewer. Legits are usually locally licensed titles but
as mentioned before, they are really no better than the bootlegs in terms of quality. They are of course much
cheaper than a US original by a long rule. The profit margins for a legit title is very slim if the retail guy I
talked to is to be relied upon for accuracy. For a legit dvd, it is between only 10 - 30 HK dollars. That's HK
dollars folks. For a vcd, it is even lower; especially for a full boxset - just 10 bucks. No wonder there are not
too many legit anime shops around. Even when they do stock legits, there are always (!) bootlegs next to them on
the shelf.
Megane
Iwillnev...@hotmail.com (Michael Lo) wrote:
> > > Scrapped Princess-the story of Scrapped Princess isn't going to(snip)
> > > Anyone know how many eps this series is slated for.
> >
> > AFAIK, 26 eps.
24.
Andrew Hollingbury
"Michael Lo" <Iwillnev...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:884b7c04.03071...@posting.google.com...
<snip graphic, yet horrifyingly accurate, fanboy descriptions>
Ouch. This is why big animethon style things don't usually appeal to me -
our university club isn't bad, but the sweat problem isn't exactly something
I'm comfortable with...
> Princess Tutu-I really wanted to like this one and objectively
> I do. Highly imaginative, used a storyline rarely seen and etc.
> Unfortunately, they were using a really poor quality tape so
> the tracking blew out every so often and there was a lot of
> snow kicking in.
That's a real shame - there's some really well done animation in Tutu (for
those with the DVDs, take a look at the end of the opening sequence, for
example, with the moving paintings as Tutu dances).
> Princess Tutu also suffered from having
> certain sequences that were rather cheezy and ended up weakening
> the show. The Drosselmeyer sequences felt like a weak attempt
> to push the current episode plot and lead into the Princess Tutu
> transformation. Now I know that a good ballet needn't be vigorous
> but the "heart rescuing" ballet sequences so far as I've seen felt
> rather lifeless and felt like one of those Superfriends lessons
> of the day where Princess Tutu comes to the rescue of the possessed
> individual says a few feel-good statements that ends up exorcising
> the victim.
When I began watching Tutu, I was expecting a high class mahou shoujo show
of a more typical type - the first episode, for example, with Tutu calling
out "Hana no Waltz!", and her "fight" against Arukuimi-chan in episode 2.
But the ballets become more sparsely animated and more stylistic as the
series progresses (in an almost Utena-esque way, the dances reflect the
personalities and the ballets they come from) because the audience is
supposed to focus on the emotions driving them - especially with the
"Mytho's heart" ideas. Sometimes it's more important to pay attention to
the characters other than Tutu and her "opponent" in these dances...
I like Drosselmeyer, but he generally serves as a framing device with little
purpose until the end of the series. His later appearances feel even more
tacked-on as a "cliffhanger" provider. However, his later appearances do
avoid the "snigger mysteriously at Ahiru until she transforms" cliche.
The show was strongest when it didn't go into the
> Princess Tutu and Drosselmeyer sequences and focused itself on Ahiru.
> I only saw 3 eps so things will probably improve significantly and
> there is movement happening in the story.
Definitely, it's a top notch show.
> Haibane Renmei-Now this is where it's at!! After watching the somewhat
> disappointing Princess Tutu and the mediocre One Piece, Haibane Renmei
> put life back in me. Haibane Renmei and Azumanga Daioh were playing
> at the same time so I wound up missing Azumanga which I haven't seen yet
> but I'm not least bit disappointed because I stayed for the 4 eps of
> Haibane Renmei that they were showing. I know people have said this
> is one beautiful show. But what makes Haibane Renmei? I think Haibane's
> rather Celtic ditty is totally appropriate because Haibane Renmei feels
> like one of those old country tunes that descended from that Celtic
> tradition.
I like the Haibane Renmei music in context, but it doesn't stand up so well
outside of the show in my opinion. It generally evokes a "dreamlike"
atmosphere throughout, which suits the muted colours well.
> Kudos to the
> director and may Abe make more films that have Haibane's magic. Speaking
> of directors, watching Haibane made me sad that it's not likely that a
> Haibane could have been made in North America despite Haibane's world
> design that smacks more of Europe than Japan. It's not for a lack of
> talent and an inability to tell a story like Haibaine but it with the
> exception of John Lasseter, there doesn't seem to be many big directors
> who are interested in a story like Haibane. The love of many NA directors
> seem to lie in comedies and adventures; the slice of life stories made by
> them have to have heaps of the above two elements. There's also the power
> of the committee to deal with and would likely turn Haibane Renmei into
> a post-modernist comedy with a lot of ironic dialogue and in-show
explanations
> tossed around.
I think it's very difficult to create a "slice of life" story that doesn't
become boring without comedy and adventure. Haibane has the gift of several
interesting characters - particularly Reki, Rakka and Kuu - and a
fascinating fantasy world to learn about - and there's plenty of drama later
in the series, which kicks in when the world "discovery" becomes a little
tedious. However, Piano - another "slice of life" show - bored me almost
immediately.
> Patapata Hikousen no Bouken
<snip>
I think only the character designs really remind people of Ghibli films in
Patapata. I believe the show was actually a Korean production, though I may
be wrong.
Like you, I've only seen two episodes, and it didn't impress me that much.
I thought it was competent, and nothing more - it didn't burn my eyes with
its awfulness like, say, Saint Beast did. I only really watched it for the
Garnet Crow opening theme, anyway...
> Angelic Layer-
<snip>
>Angelic Layer
> could have been alot better if they followed the comic more closely
> and it didn't help that Angelic Layer looked like it was done on a
> budget not that much higher than the Patapata's
Really? I thought Angelic Layer had some very impressive animation,
actually - from Bones (RahXephon, Bebop movie, Scrapped Princess).
I've not read the manga, so I can't compare, but I thought it was vaguely
decent - nothing special, mind, but good fun to watch once. The show would
be absolutely perfect for Toonami, IMHO, with only the slightest cuts to
some of Icchan's more excessive moments perhaps.
> Scrapped Princess-the story of Scrapped Princess isn't going to
> win any prizes but all in all this is a good show. The strength
> of Scrapped Princess lies in the chemistry the characters have with
> each other and it's a fun series without being overly indulgent
> in comedy. Additionally the characters show a surprising amount
> of depth without wallowing. The background drawings aren't anything
> special but the characters were very well drawn. The show show
> saunter along and adds more to its story with each episode
> Anyone know how many eps this series is slated for.
It's scheduled for 26 - episode 13's just been fansubbed.
> Witch Hunter Robin
Some people get very bored with Witch Hunter Robin since there's little
evidence of an over-arching plot line until about 9 or 10 episodes in - it's
all "monster of the week" to that point to develop the characters. I'm glad
I'll be buying this on a Region 1 release - 2 episodes a disc would drive me
mad. I'll be interested to see how the dub portrays Robin - while I really
like the performance of Akeno Watanabe, I don't think she actually got the
character quite right based on the dialogue.
<snip the other two reviews which I almost totally agree with, but how can
you dislike Toboe? ^_^>
Andrew H
Michael Lo
> "Michael Lo" <Iwillnev...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:884b7c04.03071...@posting.google.com...
>
> <snip graphic, yet horrifyingly accurate, fanboy descriptions>
>
> Ouch. This is why big animethon style things don't usually appeal to me -
> our university club isn't bad, but the sweat problem isn't exactly something
> I'm comfortable with...
>
For me, I went to check out some free 'toons and scope out some of
the big name series I keep hearing about on this newsgroup. I didn't
mingle with anyone there and what I wrote earlier is largely the reason
why. The other is the sheer spillage of man-boobies all around, a lot
of these guys can easily wind up on Dave Watson's Being Upfront page
That's good to hear, but after watching that tape I'll have to rent a
DVD to make sure
> > Haibane Renmei-Now this is where it's at!! After watching the somewhat
> > disappointing Princess Tutu and the mediocre One Piece, Haibane Renmei
> > put life back in me. Haibane Renmei and Azumanga Daioh were playing
> > at the same time so I wound up missing Azumanga which I haven't seen yet
> > but I'm not least bit disappointed because I stayed for the 4 eps of
> > Haibane Renmei that they were showing. I know people have said this
> > is one beautiful show. But what makes Haibane Renmei? I think Haibane's
> > rather Celtic ditty is totally appropriate because Haibane Renmei feels
> > like one of those old country tunes that descended from that Celtic
> > tradition.
>
> I like the Haibane Renmei music in context, but it doesn't stand up so well
> outside of the show in my opinion. It generally evokes a "dreamlike"
> atmosphere throughout, which suits the muted colours well.
>
The music isn't the most dynamic and pounding out there but it conveys that
dreamy atmosphere as you said, plus it also has homey folksy feel that makes
me think of the Maritime islands in Canada. Heck Reki even dresses like
a stereotypical Newfie.
> > Kudos to the
> > director and may Abe make more films that have Haibane's magic. Speaking
> > of directors, watching Haibane made me sad that it's not likely that a
> > Haibane could have been made in North America despite Haibane's world
> > design that smacks more of Europe than Japan. It's not for a lack of
> > talent and an inability to tell a story like Haibaine but it with the
> > exception of John Lasseter, there doesn't seem to be many big directors
> > who are interested in a story like Haibane. The love of many NA directors
> > seem to lie in comedies and adventures; the slice of life stories made by
> > them have to have heaps of the above two elements. There's also the power
> > of the committee to deal with and would likely turn Haibane Renmei into
> > a post-modernist comedy with a lot of ironic dialogue and in-show
> explanations
> > tossed around.
>
> I think it's very difficult to create a "slice of life" story that doesn't
> become boring without comedy and adventure. Haibane has the gift of several
> interesting characters - particularly Reki, Rakka and Kuu - and a
> fascinating fantasy world to learn about - and there's plenty of drama later
> in the series, which kicks in when the world "discovery" becomes a little
> tedious. However, Piano - another "slice of life" show - bored me almost
> immediately.
>
Well what I mean is that a lot of NA directors would take a series and put
so much gag attempts and action that whatever it was before might as well
have been a pure comedy or action adventure to begin with. There's not
enough having faith or love in the material to let it ride on its own merits
when it comes to slice of life shows
> > Patapata Hikousen no Bouken
>
> <snip>
>
> I think only the character designs really remind people of Ghibli films in
> Patapata. I believe the show was actually a Korean production, though I may
> be wrong.
>
> Like you, I've only seen two episodes, and it didn't impress me that much.
> I thought it was competent, and nothing more - it didn't burn my eyes with
> its awfulness like, say, Saint Beast did. I only really watched it for the
> Garnet Crow opening theme, anyway...
>
I didn't like the opening. The only thing I retained in my head is the
annoying "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" chorus and the hokey CG image of that
airship. It's not Sat AM junk from the '80s but it was cleary bad bunk
>
> > Angelic Layer-
>
> <snip>
>
> >Angelic Layer
> > could have been alot better if they followed the comic more closely
> > and it didn't help that Angelic Layer looked like it was done on a
> > budget not that much higher than the Patapata's
>
> Really? I thought Angelic Layer had some very impressive animation,
> actually - from Bones (RahXephon, Bebop movie, Scrapped Princess).
>
There was a lot of cheats done, too much in fact and I ended up seeing
how weak quite a bit of the animation was. The characters were awfully
stiff and subdued plus the action sequences employed a lot of speed lining
and heavy panning. The dancing Angels were pretty underanimated
> I've not read the manga, so I can't compare, but I thought it was vaguely
> decent - nothing special, mind, but good fun to watch once. The show would
> be absolutely perfect for Toonami, IMHO, with only the slightest cuts to
> some of Icchan's more excessive moments perhaps.
>
The comic did a much better job in my opinion. It knew what it was and
never took itself seriously like the show did. Almost all of the characters
were bug nuts at time and Hakoto wasn't nearly the smug little twat that
she is in the TV show
> > Scrapped Princess-the story of Scrapped Princess isn't going to
> > win any prizes but all in all this is a good show. The strength
> > of Scrapped Princess lies in the chemistry the characters have with
> > each other and it's a fun series without being overly indulgent
> > in comedy. Additionally the characters show a surprising amount
> > of depth without wallowing. The background drawings aren't anything
> > special but the characters were very well drawn. The show show
> > saunter along and adds more to its story with each episode
> > Anyone know how many eps this series is slated for.
>
> It's scheduled for 26 - episode 13's just been fansubbed.
>
> > Witch Hunter Robin
>
> Some people get very bored with Witch Hunter Robin since there's little
> evidence of an over-arching plot line until about 9 or 10 episodes in - it's
> all "monster of the week" to that point to develop the characters. I'm glad
> I'll be buying this on a Region 1 release - 2 episodes a disc would drive me
> mad. I'll be interested to see how the dub portrays Robin - while I really
> like the performance of Akeno Watanabe, I don't think she actually got the
> character quite right based on the dialogue.
>
> <snip the other two reviews which I almost totally agree with, but how can
> you dislike Toboe? ^_^>
>
> Andrew H
Maybe not the dialogue but she got it right based on the character's
expressions, Robin has shoegazer mixed with "NY singer song-writer"
down pat. That girl seriously needs to start a band.
As for how can I dislike Toboe. Well all of the 4 are rather cliched.
We have Kiga the proud and distantly noble 70's action hero with his
requisite shaggy mane of hair, Tsume the surly Visual Kei reject and
his impressive fag-tag, Hige the chubby and constantly hungry chappie,
and then there's Toboe who occupies the worst cliche of all-the ever
earnest boy sidekick that can't stay out of trouble. Still he has
strong expressions so he's not all bad. Funny thing about Toboe,
take the first incarnation of Eclair from Kiddy Grade. Cut her hair
to shoulder length and bind her breasts. Next slip her into a loose
shirt and jeans that don't emphasize her hips. Add a few years to
her personality and you have Toboe