shinigami’s blog

Ok, when I say “Sekirei - worth watching just for references” I meant that this show will remind you of many, many others, which is to say that it’s derivative to the extreme.
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And here it is, the 3rd series I’ve been expecting this season. The fact that this is a “two girls find each other” Bee Train anime, directed by Koichi Mashimo (who else? lol) with music by Yuki Kajiura and chara design by Yoko Kikuchi (Noir) made it an instant favorite. Main chara seiyuu are Ai Shimizu (Mikoto ^^) and Shizuka Itou (Rei, MariMite; Shouko, Asatte). The only point against this series is that Koichi Mashimo also did Madlax, which was… well, let’s just say I didn’t watch more than one episode, yuri or not. I plan to watch more some day though. (I did mention the yuri, no?)

My first impression of this anime, just 2 minutes in, was that I’ve seen ALL of it before and I was just waiting to see it again. Maybe I am biased though. *pauses* Heck, who cares? It’s been too long since I was this enthusiastic when watching anime.
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Finally, the second show I’ve been waiting for this season! Nanoha was no 1 only because I know for sure, or thought I knew, that it’d make an enjoyable series, while Claymore, awesome as it is as manga, had a not very promising trailer, screaming low budget. I wouldn’t have minded less than perfect animation, really, but what the trailer showed was cheesy shortcuts taken in the action scenes. Those get really old, really fast, and are a mood-breaker. Well… the first episode is not quite trailer bad.

The beginning is very gory and shot all in red and black, but the music is a classical piece, on the serene side, which offsets the visuals quite nicely.
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Based on a manga by Atsushi Suzumi. The first chapter was action-filled and had the classic cool, mysterious, monster fighting, patch-wearing girl (goth loli Lucia) meets ordinary girl with a minor power (Sumire). There were some subtext vibes already, and the cover had them lying together, looking awesome. Needless to say, I was really eager to see the first episode of this new show. (Anime News Network recaps the chapter here, as plot summary for the series.)

Now for the anime…
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Seriously, this is a badly done parody, right?

In the beginning alone we have a black samurai guy dodging bullets point blank, his head still twitching as if trying to speak minutes after it was cut, and somehow with a gun, no less!, the Bad Guy (I suppose) describing the plot to the freshly deceased’s son and manic villain laughter. Confronted with so much laughable elements, I can’t be impressed by the action. To be fair, the graphics are surreal, the action very fluid to the point where it might become more of an exercise in animation than something satisfying for the action-oriented viewer.

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I started on Tokyo Tribe 2 with a modicum of enthusiasm. The art is distinctive, and, well, artsy. And artsy can mean interesting anime. Hey, it worked for Kemonozume. But the first contact was:
Colors: “Wee! We are bright and shiny! And there’s too much of us.”
Me: “Oh man, my eyes… my eyes…”
The OP kicks in.
Me: “Oh man, my ears… my ears…”

As the show starts we see an ugly guy being pursued by gangsta zombies-look-a-likes. Then there’s Daddy McPimp, sporting a fur-collared coat and bling in the form of the “hikari” (light) kanji; he draws a katana in a very literal flash of blinding light. So much kool cannot be defeated with mere bullets, so despite dual wielding pistols, the ugly redshirt gets cut to pieces. His severed hand makes a lovely image with the blueish moon in the background. W00t!

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We are off to a good start. A bunch of mecha with odd looking feet fall in an Western movie setting. The camera dutifully spins around them for the classic shoot out scene. Beware the awesome looking weapons of destruction, their funny feet and their nice moves. We find out this all happens in a virtual reality of some sort, the wired district. I can get why the western thing, but…. a children’s clothing shop? Called “Child Kids“? Nice touch there. >.>

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