PinkuBentoBox

Yeah, it’s been a while since my last update. Two weeks, to be exact. Basically, classes started back for me and I’ve been kinda struggling to adapt to having to wake up in the morning again (as opposed to…weekend afternoon), all the while trying to knock out my first projects for the term. I don’t care what people say, I enjoy rigging CG characters (I just wish the knees wouldn’t bend backwards so much…). Anyway, since Negs has taken care of (or is almost done taking care of) previewing this season’s new offerings, I’m just going to proceed right along with updating what I’ve been watching of late. Been playing a bit of catch-up in order to partake in some of this quarter’s second season offerings first & foremost, as well as getting ahead of Adult Swim and starting on some of the new season stuff I find interesting.

Oh, and I should point out that lately I’ve been delving rather heavily into a pair of reasonably popular fan-made Fate/stay night fighting games, Fate/sword dance and Fatal/Fake. At some point this week (or more than likely early this weekend), look for my review of both of those. It should be interesting.

So…let’s get to it.

Aria the Animation
Aria is a rare breed of anime. Very rare. It’s not flashy at all; it doesn’t move at any sort of fast pace, nor does it have any sort of action or heavy drama or over-the-top comedy. It doesn’t even have much in the way of plot. It’s just a very basic premise and a small cast of recurring characters. Nothing more. Yet, from the sheer quality of how that little bit is put together, it’s easily become one of the most emotionally touching and thoroughly engrossing shows I have seen in a long time. It’s absolutely beautiful in its simplicity, and one of the few shows to leave me in genuine tears on multiple occasions (something only the likes of Haibane Renmei, Ayashi no Ceres, and a small handful of others have done before it). It’s such a serene and lighthearted series, and it’s incredibly calming and relaxing to watch. I honestly can’t say enough good things about it. Just…I know it’s probably an acquired taste and it’ll probably pass under far too many radars, but…watch it. If you’re reading this, and you haven’t already, just watch it. If you have any sort of calm and peaceful and even sentimental bone in your body you will find so much to love here. And it’s strange. Judging by the very premise of “girls row gondolas on Mars,” it sounds like something that shouldn’t be so good, but it is! Trust me. Give it a shot. You’ll like it.

Eureka 7, episodes 1-4
So, I’ve heard a lot of positive praise for Eureka 7. Positive praise from people whose tastes I tend to agree with, at that. And given Adult Swim was slated to start airing it this past weekend, I figured I’d get ahead of the curve and down as much of the series as I could before it started. Well, I was a little late on that, but I still managed to get a good four episodes in over the past weekend. Thus far, there’s really not a lot for me to comment on. Surfing robots, a lead with a Naota complex (y’know, from FLCL?), and a lot of hinting around at something (or, several somethings) extremely interesting just on the horizon. Eureka herself definitely strikes me as an interesting character. Like a more extroverted and free-spirited version of Rei Ayanami (incidentally, a Rei without the qualities that made Rei so annoying at times). And I really have to give the producers props for taking something like sky-surfing robots and actually…making it kinda cool. Seriously, to make a premise like that not suck horribly? That’s talent. Also, just a personal point of amusement, but I find it funny how the characters’ facial expressions all look like this combination of being stoned, sleep deprived, and terribly, terribly bored. Which I guess makes sense for the Gekko crew, but I just find it a generally humorous quirk of the character designs.

Anyway, withholding judgment on this one until I see some more. It seems like it has a lot of potential, and I really want to like it, but all in all it really has yet to take off at this point.

Fate/stay night, episodes 13-14
Dammit. Just as I was getting used to the idea of this series being a straight-up adaptation of the game’s Fate scenario, new information begins floating around of things deviating into Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feel territory again. The new opening, for one (which is actually episode 15, but whatever), which shows Archer and Shirou dueling it out inside of Unlimited Blade Works, and a vastly increased presence of Sakura (including hints of her relationship to Rin from Heaven’s Feel). There’s also reliable talk of a suspiciously increased role for Sakura, and talk of a “shadow” or “pool of blood” in a near-future episode. I don’t want to get my hopes up again, but it is all very tantalizing.

Anyway, as for these two specific episodes, there’s really not much to say. For the most part, the series remains a solid Tour de Fate, specifically entering into the Berserker arc of the scenario. A lot of talking in episode thirteen that basically amounted to a massive transition from Rider to Berserker as main threat. Then came what seems to be everyone’s favourite episode in fourteen. And really, if it weren’t for me being so impressed by Saber & Rider’s duel in episode twelve, I’d be in full agreement. Archer hasn’t gotten much time to develop in this series, but the screentime he got in fourteen was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Short of a few animation flubs (seriously, what was with the Freedom Gundam pose after “Unknown to death / Nor known to life?”), his duel with Berserker was really stunning to watch, especially when he finally busted out Unlimited Blade Works in full. It was also nice how the producers managed to weave in all those clever hints to Archer’s true identity, though unfortunately almost nobody except prior fans of the game will really pick up on them. Here’s hoping they find some way to give Archer some post-mortem development. It really is a shame that they’re killing off all the best Servants just before we start to learn precisely what it is that makes them the true fan favourites they are. First Rider, now Archer. I suppose Caster’s probably gonna get crimped character development at this point, too, being on a similar level of awesome and all (with just as much cute to match :P). But yeah…despite my bitching, Archer/Berserker was an awesome spectacle that really helped to renew interest in the series for me as a solid interpretation of Fate/stay night, even if it doesn’t include the specific favourite parts we all banked on seeing.

Nana, episode 1
The definitive josei hit comes to TV, and already it’s showing precisely why the manga has garnered the hype it has. While it basically seems to boil down to “josei Odd Couple,” the writing is nothing short of top notch and the comedy is very, very sharply written. And the characters are really nicely done, too. It would’ve been so easy for the writers to make perky, country girl Nana one of the most annoying characters ever with her hyperactive personality, but they manage to work around that, which earns a lot of respect from me. Of course, punk-rawk Nana is just pure awesome, but that was a given. Having only seen one episode, it’s hard to comment any further, but I will say that this show is already a huge contender not just for series of the season, but series of the year providing it keeps up this level of quality.

School Rumble, episodes 1-7
A~and, digging through the pile of series that I started a while ago but didn’t follow up on despite them being completely kickass, I decided I’d finally knock out School Rumble before I fell too far behind with the second season. I had gotten about four episodes in when the first season began, but didn’t finish it at the time because all that Media Factory shit kicked up and anybody subbing School Rumble in a timely fashion closed shop (same reason I never followed up with Gankutsuou, which just pisses me off). But, with that whole mess having died down, I figured now was the time to pick up where I left off. Really, this show has to be one of the best high school comedies I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t mire itself in perversion or angst, and just focuses on being a cute, enjoyable, very funny show. Tenma is just the most adorable thing to come out of Japan in years, and Harima is just the right combination of lovable dope and badass that you simply can’t help but root for him. Also, the fact that the rest of the female cast (especially Yakumo and Itoko) are fucking hot (again, without having to be subjected to excessive fanservice shots) tends to help matters. I’m still only a handful of episodes in and not much in the way of plot has kicked up yet, so I’ll stop here for lack of much else to say.

Strawberry Panic, episode 1
Y’know, I hear all over the fucking place how this series is basically a more explicit MariMite, Maria-sama ga Miteru with more blatant lesbian overtones, MariMite with less subtlety, yadda yadda yadda.

…not that I’m arguing with that assessment or anything. It’s completely accurate down to the Virgin Mary statue. Just figured I’d point it out is all.

Anyway, yeah, it…basically really and truly is Maria-sama ga Miteru with a little less quiet elegance and a lot more potential for hot lesbian sex. It’s much less the tender sisterhood between Sachiko and Yumi, and more Shizuma’s seductive hunt of Nagisa. Again, not that I’m complaining at all. Really, this is the sort of show we all expected MariMite would be when it first started, so this was more a gleeful inevitability. And the characters thus far are quite enjoyable, though not quite on the level of their much-beloved Lillian Academy predecessors. Also, is it just me, or does this show give off a strong late-80s/early-90s anime comedy vibe? It might just be the way the video was encoded, or the way certain gags and cuts were executed, but the show struck a note with me of being about a decade older than it really is. Ah well, once again (and I apologize that I’ve been saying this too much in this entry), not much to say, as I’m just now starting this series, but it’s definitely one I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future.

At last, I leave you this week…with an image. An image that altogether terrifies and amuses me. An image that leaves me sitting awake at night in sheer terror (no, not really). An image…that proves that the cutest things in the world are, in reality, the most evil, and are waiting for just the right moment to maim and torture you in the most demonic ways possible. Waiting and waiting, with their gaze of infinite HELL.

I leave you with…THE EYES!

‘Til next week!
-Nagi