12 Moments of Anime #5: Series of Disappointment

One of the disappointments (apparently) that I didn't watch myself.

Every now and then we get a highly-anticipated series that turns out to be a flop. It could be due to its studio, original work (for adaptations) and/or crew that we gave it so much attention, but when we finally got to the show itself, it's terrible. Shit happens, I know, but it seems like it happens way too often with 2011 titles. Titles like:

Guilty Crown Ep8

Complimentary beach episode.

Ok, so here's a cliché comment: I think this would be the best episode so far.

And no, it wasn't because of the fanservice. Well, it does make things a little bit better, but this is probably the first time where I didn't go WTF every 5 minutes in the show. It's true, I'm not even exaggerating. The only thing I could possibly whine about is how ridiculously convenient Souta's void is, but I don't find myself easily listing down the things I could complain about, unlike, you know, every other episode that comes before this.

Because first of all, Shu really has grown. He still wimp out on the confession, but wasn't as sickeningly wimpy as before. What I do appreciate is that he's finally man enough to stand up to Souta and tell him that he's not going to help him win Inori. Even though Shu still can't say it in his face that he really does have feelings for her, it's already a giant leap forward for Shu's wimpy personality. Maybe it only works when the character's an absolute zero to start with.

Bro-talk

The "open-up" talk between Shu and Souta would be my favourite moment in the whole of GC so far, and the scene doesn't even have any T&A. I must say it's pretty heart-warming to see the two start knowing each other like how it should be, even though they're kind of rivals now and Shu pretty much betrayed Souta. Much like Shu and Gai's bonding back in episode 6, I guess it's pretty nice to see Shu break the image of a lone loser that no one could understand.

Secondly, I thought that it might be the first time where I've seen the Funeral Parlor guys act in a real friendly manner to Shu. And that comes from Ogumo's "advice" on his almost-confession and Ayase's almost-jealous remark on his unfinished sentence. All these while Shu felt like the awkward noob that no one likes, but maybe that's starting to change.

But ironically, this is it for Guilty Crown for me. I've always took it upon myself to finish (almost) every series I've started, but with the amount of free time getting lesser and my to-watch list getting longer, I just don't see the value to torture myself with a horrible production anymore. This might be an excellent episode for GC, but it still doesn't erase the fact that GC is, well, a piece of sh!t. You know, it's funny, every week I told myself that I'll be dropping this if the next episode isn't good enough, but now I've come to drop this after the long-awaited satisfying episode. Maybe I'm just desperate to get my time's worth out of this show, after all.

But still, like always, I'll finish this one day to review this.

Guilty Crown dropped.

November Roundup

The Good

I'm about to go Takanashi on Mini-Ika.

Shinryaku!? Ika Musume

I guess it's a good thing that I pick back up this series. I hated how literally they translate the manga into the anime, unlike the more elaborate Working, but I guess I just got numb to it. Perhaps this is the best way to animate the extremely simple comedy of Ika Musume.

The ~de geso thing always irks me, but it's funny that Kanemoto Hisako's almost naturally saying it by now. Again, this might just be me getting used to that, but whatever; Ika-Musume is good, almost mindless fun, and that's that. And it's damn awesome that they brought back more mini Ika-chan. The one in episode 5 seems to be an anime original, and if that's true, kudos to them, and keep 'em coming.

Friend zoned. I feel you, Sato.

Working'!!

Opposite of Ika-Musume, it turns out that Working translates very well from manga to anime. I've talked about the problem with the comedic timing of the show, and in the recent episodes they seemed to have made it work by blending multiple jokes together. Their new love for extended pauses helps as well. I mentioned this before, but the repeated jokes are used to setup towards a different one, so don't fault them for that, although it's much less obvious in the manga. On the downside, Taneshima's over-the-top actions is still pretty irritating.

The next err... "storyline" might just be my favourite one so far, so look forward to the next episode.

Carnival Phantasm

I'm not sure if this one counts, but I really just want to put this pic here.
This parody OVA is fucking awesome.

The Above Average

I thought Vespas of that size are meant for little girls!

Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam

To be honest, I'm quite disappointed in Fam's character. Unlike Gizelle and Millia, it feels like her character never really grew at all since the first episode. Her personality drives the story and vice versa, but her development is lacking. This is quite unlike the first LE where the characters are the primary focus, and a lot of that show had us emphasize with how the characters would react in the chaos of the world. This season feels more like the characters being dragged along with the events of the world, and they are simply adapting to it.

Maybe Gonzo really isn't up to par anymore. The recent episodes lulled and hints of Shangri-la, a terrible series they created years ago that tried too hard to mimic the first LE. The last few episodes pretty much only talks about the progress of their heist and the movements within the Ades government. The plot seems to move along and forgot about the character development.

However, Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing is still my favourite series this season. Reasons being that the show never really lost the sense of adventure the first LE brought, and while the world in the story isn't quite as elaborate as I hoped it would be, it still gave you a good feel of how vast it is. And I don't have to remind you that the animation quality is superb.

It looks like things are going to get a lot more exciting from here onwards. The Ades war on refugees is escalating, and Giselle's insecurity/stress/doubt might take a toll on their teamwork. This should be fun to watch.

What do you know about making Okonomiyaki?

Tamayura ~Hitotose~ 

It's hard to "think" about an anime you're supposed to "feel", but I'll try. Tamayura seems to be a step back from Sato Junichi's Aria, because it's lack in the "other element". Slice-of-life series often needs to be paired with a secondary genre for it to work, and Tamayura being very pure slice-of-life... seems to have some problems. But I still enjoy it a lot as compared to the OVA, as the little ways that Potte grew as a character makes the show lovely. I admit that there are always snooze periods in every episode, but the series has succeeds in the overall feel that makes it a SoL genre. And I'm surprised that I really liked those shots that Potte or the other photographers in the story took; even though those moments didn't really take place in the anime at all.

And what do you know about poetry in motion? (this scene is fucking epic)

Ben-To

I've dropped this and picked it back up twice. While the series has been incredibly unique and well-presented for how absurd the storyline is, I can't seem to find myself caring about the show. It is entertaining and mildly amusing, but it doesn't make me want to catch the next episode. For all I know, they'll be fighting for another special lunch box with another special fighting style that's uniquely trained in some way. It's like a sports anime for me, a genre which I don't watch.

The problem is, though, I simply have too much free time now and there really isn't enough (good) shows for me. So Ben-To would help me kill time... and make me extremely hungry.

The Below Average

I forgot what he said here, but it's likely along the lines of MUHAHAHAHAHA

Shakugan no Shana III (Final)

Shana 3, much like Horizon, seems to be filled with jargon I couldn't grasp or care about. I know that it might not be a problem if you followed up after the second season (or the novel), but I didn't like it enough to rewatch that (I never rewatch anime series anyway). The story so far has been incredibly slow. They've spent the last 4 or 5 episodes merely setting up the stage for the epic battle that we got a glimpse of in the first few minutes of episode 1, but how long do you plan to entertain me with people simply moving around the world and preparing for the war? Most of them are new characters we barely knew about too. On the bright side, we're spared the Shana tsundere crap and Yoshida stopped looking like she got dumped every two hours.

I can't believe he wore the fucking bikini.

Boku ha Tomodachi wa Sukunai

It pisses me off to see Kodaka not helping Yukimura get a clue about Yozora's bullshit.
It pisses me off to see Rika and her sick fetishes.
It pisses me off to see Yozora.

It wasn't as bad as before, but the animation quality has taken quite a dip since the first episode.

At least there's still Sena. She's supposed to be bitch #2, but I can't help but like her.

The Bad

Couldn't be more obvious what kind of character they're trying to paint Inori as.

Guilty Crown

I'm still waiting (or hoping) for the good part to start. Maybe I'm in denial, but a part of me refuses to believe that Hiroyuki Yoshino (of Code Geass, Mai-HiME, Gundam SEED and Macross Frontier) could pen something like this. I'll like to think that they wrote this with an epic plot twist or ending in mind, and they're just doing whatever they want before they got there. "Epic" as in Madoka-level epic, enough for them to not care about what's really going on in the final product.

I get the feeling I'll be disappointed in the end anyway. They've reached new heights on not giving a shit about what the audience thinks. I haven't seen anything so bad since Tayutama. And the characters are way too bland and inconsistent to make a plot twist work, much less an ending.

I wish I picked another show to blog. Damn you Guilty Crown, for making me feel guilty if I dropped this.

Others

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon (On-Hold at episode 4)
Mawaru Penguindrum (On-Hold at episode 8)
Mashiro-Iro Symphony (Dropped at episode 3)

Guilty Crown Ep7 - 8 things to complain about

Only Shu can fall down and grab something inappropriate twice in a row.

I can't do it. I wanted to see the worth of GC without the clichés and non-logic, but I've seen too many other series for that to happen. Actually, I don't think anyone who had seen a decent amount of films (of any sorts) can do that either. Sorry I took so long to realize. I guess I'm just guilty about wanting to give the show a chance.

At least they're trying to keep the audience happy by introducing even more girls this episode. The sad thing is that none of them are very original either. So we need to introduce a mom? Let's make her ageless and sexy, because who needs old and wrinkly old ladies? Let's parade her in a lingerie and give her some skinship with the main character because why the hell not. It's not like it totally came out of nowhere...

Well... not in the context of Guilty Crown anyway.

Honestly, though, there should be a limit on how young you can go. Haruka looks even younger than Arisa. If not for the beer can they made her hold in her first scene, I would have assume they made a mistake and drew Shu's sister instead.

Apart from the introduction of new characters Arisa, Haruka and the muscle commander, this episode is mainly boring filler. Shu and Inori somehow went back to school, and Shu controversially became the most popular guy in class, with a little help from Arisa and his idiot friends. Funeral Parlor has a problem with supplies, so they Gai and Shu sneaked into a anti-GHQ party in order to "negotiate" a deal with Arisa's grandfather, only to be attacked by GHQ because Gai intentionally leaked the info to the newly introduced commander. This prompted Shu to use Arisa's void and transform the incoming missiles into fireworks to complement the orchestra music of the party, who are completely oblivious to their impending doom.

So, yeah, not very interesting to talk about, so I'll give you a list to complain about instead. GC being the kind of show it is, does made it easy to create a list of this sorts.

Things to complain about:
1. Talk about cheap: they used a grand total of SIX frames to play out Arisa's backstory and family situation AND the objective for the party.
2. God, Haruka's so far away, yet the first thing Shu did is to run in the opposite direction the very instant he saw her. And promptly bumping into other guests.
3. Why did Arisa ran after Shu which could possibly create a scene? Did Shu owe her money?
4. Crouch down behind a flower pot to pick up a call? Way to go trying to stay low. There's a fucking curtain beside you for you to hide behind.
5. Shouting at Gai who's at the second floor is pretty damn conspicuous.
6. How did Gai know that he'll be able to defend from the GHQ attack in the first place?
7. Can Arisa's void stop the impact of the missiles or not?
8. Arisa's way too easy. They're really overdoing the Gai=Cool thing.

Of course, you don't have to agree, but catching and ranting about these mistakes actually makes this more fun in the end. GC's probably the only anime that gives me this many things to complain about, so I might as well exploit it.

Guilty Crown Ep6

Come on Gai, he didn't even feel that one.

Late post is late.

And here's why: I've almost totally lost interest in Guilty Crown. For the past two episodes I had put off watching them for almost half a week, unlike the other series this season where I would usually watch them straight off the bat, and that includes the "pretty crappy" Haganai. I've mentioned in the previous episode post, that the show is now best described as "boring". I can't even think of a subtext for this episode.

The first half of the episode is filled with Shu being a wuss, a hypocrite and kind of a dick all at the same time, and a angsty Gai going through a mid-life crisis. Shu somehow thinks he has the rights to oppose the plan put forward by Gai, considering that he's the new kid on the block and he is indirectly responsible for most of the recent GHQ deaths. Gai suddenly gains a tender side and we starts to see him doubting his own abilities. Well, at least either the producer or the writer thinks that's interesting. As a bonus, we get a "real men talks with fists" segment.

The second half of the episode is filled with action, GC-style. And by now, we should have realized that GC-style action scene means throwing logic out of the window and giving it the finger. No problem, I'm numb to it by now. Combining different Voids into a newer weapons isn't a terribly interesting concept though, but I have issues with how overpowered it is.

Next, I'm going to blow up that really tall tower over there. Just because I can.

The crazy thing about this Inori+Kenji weapon isn't just the power, it's the auto-aim. That's the only reason why Shu is able to shoot down the satellite in outer space without any kind of aiming equipment. I'm sure you can see the potential of this totally imbalance weapon. This game-ender might as well be a cheat code. I hope that they would have a good explanation on why this new overpowered weapon isn't going to win them the war instantly, but who am I kidding?

On the bright side, the characters are earning a bit of points from me. Tsugumi's by default set on "awesome" (as long as she doesn't start gaining a corny background story), Ayase has become a lot more likable, and I'm actually interested to see what the budding friendship between Gai and Shu would lead to. And that leaves us...

Jackpot. Ahem.

Inori. I can overlook a lot of things, but THIS... this I cannot forgive. I know how cool it is for Inori to be a femme fatale, but the writers are making it so easy for her, they aren't even trying. And that makes her character look stupid. And they made this scene looked really stupid. First off, the goons announce their arrival by shooting at their feet. They aren't even noticed, but they didn't even aim for the head. Then the second round of goons merely charged at Inori without firing WHY? So that Inori can pick them off one by one while doing her best Dante impression. In the end, the writers had achieved nothing with Inori and she's still the same mindless husk as she was the previous 5 episodes. They should have prop her up somewhere nice and clean as a simple fanservice character like Tsugumi, but no.

So Inori, just go and die already. Take your childhood friend scenario and cram it.

Guilty Crown Ep5 - lolwut, Inori

lolwut Inori? I thought your character's supposed to be emotionless, and now you actually blushed after pressing your boob on Shu's back? Don't you remember the time where you changed their clothes right in front of-

Wait, I did tell myself not to criticize this show anymore, right? I suppose this ain't a legitimate complain anymore now that they're chalking everything up to "Gai told me to do all these to seduce you".

Despite her sudden change of heart, I think that is actually a good thing. I'd hate to see Shu screwing things up every now and then, only to be comforted by the pretty girl that would shower him with selfless and unconditional love and concern. It's not just that Shu doesn't deserve that; it's just that with Inori standing by Shu the whole time, it would make it very hard for Shu to develop as a character. Put him through the trials, I would say.

It's just a little weird that they've decided that it's okay for Inori has adopted a "We're done, now f*ck off" attitude. Perhaps the Undertakers has decided that Shu has gone too far to turn back now. After all, Gai did formally introduce him to the Undertakers, and there would be more than just a couple of people out for his blood if he ends up being a traitor. It wouldn't be too bad if the story ends up like Wanted where Shu will end up killing off the entire group by himself, but I doubt very much that Shu's got the guts for that.

Anyway, this is week 1 of trying to look at Guilty Crown in a very different light; one that does not make comparisons to any other series whatsoever. It isn't very difficult to not hate the series, but at the same time it is also very difficult to like it, and the primary reason is still the main character, because he is simply very, very... bland. Getting him to work extremely hard to gain the recognition from the Undertakers is a good move, but he just doesn't have selling points to make it as a character we have to see so much, and he himself knows that he's still stuck under the way more interesting Gai. Besides Shu, though, the other aspects of the show has managed to sell the show extremely well, especially the girls, although it weighs more on the character design than the depth of their personality.

Well, so congratulations to myself, for Guity Crown has transformed from a vexing show to a boring show for me. Not that's it's not fun to write about, though.

Shu desperately needs a transformation, real fast. Getting a cold shoulder from Inori, a good beating from Gai injured due to his incompetence, and thinking that the two are often screwing like rabbits might make that work.

P.S. So complain #1 of my post on the previous episode is actually valid; Shu did not recognize Kenji this time, but he somehow did when he got his face covered the last time.

Guilty Crown Ep4 - And how you are supposed to watch this show

BELIEVE IN ME THAT BELIEVES IN YOU!!!... I wish

I told myself that I'll stop complaining about Guilty Crown, but the latest episode seems to be testing my resolve. There are so many thing I want to rant about, like, you know:

Guilty Crown Ep3 - Much Better

Inori moves in with Shu. I think we all saw this coming, right?

Anime-Source.com First Impressions (and my early october roundup)

 

The first impressions I've co-written at Anime-Source.com is out! Thanks to fellow writers Himitsu, Chikage_Shampoo, eisenmeteor and AJtheFourth from Altair & Vega. Disclaimer: Most of my contributions are rehashed opinions I've written on this blog, and probably aren't too useful for well-informed readers of the blogosphere. Still, go check it out.

Guilty Crown Ep2 - Can't I not like what I see?

Remember kids, the future of combat lies in your ability to play Bejeweled. The game also respond to butts, but using your ass to play is detrimental to your high score.

Short summary: Shu learns more about the "Power of Kings" and how he can contribute as a terrorist. Inori joins Shu's class as a transfer student.

So... Guilty Crown.

I got the episode as early as Friday, but waited until now to watch it... Almost all of the blogs I've read on Friday itself was pretty negative, so I wasn't too keen to watch it right away. With all the crap airing this season I'm not ready for another disappointment.