hontou ni
16Oct/0644

Fall's 5 classes of bishoujos


"It's not about looks, it's all about personality and character"

Jabba the Hutt's wife probably subscribed to that. Myself, I'm not so enlightened. My personal take on looks is, like money, it's important but not all-important. But I so agree with Janet Kay when she sings in my favourite song (Loving you) from Tecmo's Dead or Alive Extreme beach volleyball, "Loving you is easy cause you're beautiful." The excuse which my all-encompassing love for anime bishoujos is founded upon.

Yet, anime beauty is but a mere entry-level lead-in for this complex phenomenon known as character love. Using Fall's harem series, here's a shot to categorise the charm of the bishoujos (with a veiled attempt the pimp some of these series).

In ascending magnitude of love,

Class E bishoujos - Lovedol idols

I've always preferred quality over quantity. That's not to say Lovedol girls are not lovely. With moelicious ribbons and frilly dresses, I ought to be grovelling like one of those overworked salarymen at their concerts with enjo kosai on my mind. But frankly, the combined manufactured charms of all 18 bishoujos cannot even rival a single sincere uguu. The soul-lessness of the girls could not have been more oppressive.

Class D bishoujos - Crescent love schoolgirls

I absolutely LOVE Yoakena's character designs. No doubt the game to anime transition nerfed some allure, but Feena is still scaling my anime hime charts fast together with Mai who's skyrocketing on my favourite imouto list. (I just need to know they're not blood related to seal the top 5 spot deal). But alas! Doumu's poor animation and uninspiring presentation squandered much of their charms. The voice acting is solid but the animation fails their seiyuus. Crossed eyed Feena while sounding regal is NOT kawaii! I sense sooo much potential but sadly, the excellent designs and possibly endearing personalities are strangled by Doumu's poor transmission.

Class C bishoujos - Happiness mages

While the Happiness girls suffer similiar issues from Yoakena, somehow their personalities are better transmitted allowing for greater love. The artwork/animation are mediocre (actually some parts of ep 2 were atrocious) but their refreshing character designs and consistent portrayal of personalites (especially the 2 main gals) make me want to see more. Maybe having a more interesting premise also improves character charms .

Class B bishoujos - 3 sirens of Tokimeki Memorial

Honestly, the designs for the 3 leads aren't really anything to shout about. But as fanboys not live on harem alone, so does anime girls not memerise with solely physical aesthetics. AIC ASTA brings out the charms of the girls most naturally via their little gestures/postures, intuitive interaction/responses and excellent voice acting. Point in case, refer to exhibit A below.

Here we have 3 simple but alluring stills of the girls sitting on their bed yet pouring forth speech on their personalities. We see Tsukasa stretching unreservedly, confident and outgoing. Next we have Mina bashfully covering up, enveloped not only by the soft blanket but also a gentle aura of shy submissiveness. And finally we have the most womanly Sayuri who exulds such feminine poise, bringing to mind a proud but incredibly delicate lily while simultaneously invoking one's instincts to protect/cherish. Truly the very anointed AIC ASTA sure knows up to crank up girlish charms.

Class A bishoujos - Kanon's sad girls in snow

While I deem their character designs to be below Yoakena, they have but to be the loveliest anime girls to come on air this year. (Or two years ago if you read AIR). The little idiosyncratic gestures, cutesy noises, intuitive dialogue are details that authenticate the originality of each personality. I simply cannot put in words the charm of the Kanon girls. Like the pain of childbirth sublime taste of good food, it cannot be described, one needs to experience it for himself.

Incidentally, I recommend Class A to D series in that order. Lovedol? I confess, I'm only watching for that kawaii kawaii imouto chan. Yes, being a sister has its privileges on this blog.

Related posts:

  1. So many worthy bishoujos, so few OVAs
  2. How popular are your favourite anime bishoujos?
  3. The lolicious and babelicious – 10 SUNRISE bishoujos

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Filed under: Kanon (2006), Random Rants Leave a comment
Comments (44) Trackbacks (0)
  1. tj han
    October 16th, 2006 - 03:02

    Tokimeki by far have the hottest girls this season. Otoboku, Happiness and a couple come close. Kanon girls look like oversized rats.

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  2. karry
    October 16th, 2006 - 03:57

    Whats so special about bland show like Kanon, anyway ?
    Why so much hype over literally nothing ?

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  3. wontaek
    October 16th, 2006 - 04:14

    I suspect that next series by Kyoto Animation will be surrounded by hype vs. real debate.

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  4. Danny
    October 16th, 2006 - 04:43

    there was hype because Kanon was good the first time round?

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  5. Tsubaki
    October 16th, 2006 - 04:48

    You’re missing Otoboku though. That’s one class that out ranks Kanon. Kanon designs are ugly by nature, but beautified by KyoAni.

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  6. crimson
    October 16th, 2006 - 06:00

    “Different person, different treatment.”

    Looks are important because:
    1. it affects how the people around the person respond to him.
    2. it affects the person’s psychology based on his self initiated feedback.
    3. pt 2 maybe be (re-)initiated by pt 1, or, pt 2 may be (re-)initiated based on the idea of peer or social pressure.
    4. ancient chinese has that face reading which probably adopt a similar principle since it speaks of certain features that may bring about certain favourable or unfavourable outcomes, maybe its a bit like affinity, maybe its a bit like enzymes with their special specific configuration that only triggers with certain type of features.

    Anyway, I kinda agree that “looks isnt everything”.
    In mathematical form, I’ll see it as:
    someone with Looks + Money + Character >>>>>>>> someone with only Looks

    I suppose, you can see as it as a summation thing for now. But, I think the more accurate form would be one of the factor might use a multiplication modifier instead. Meaning, if looks is linked to a Times sign, Looks can be some sort of bottleneck, e.g., if his looks is 0.1, but his character is 100, the overall is merely 0.1 * 100 = 10.
    It is better off than if u isolate an aspect and mentally gauge (eek, prejudice, stereotype, benchmarking or just a way of refencing?) him based on your perception or tradition or habit or convenience.

    Well, I dont have the killer Looks, but I sure know what looks like a D!, lol.

    Anyway, I guess Looks tend to be more important because one’s look is always attached to the person. And as a result, it may be linked back to pt 1 and pt 2 as mentioned above.

    The above is more likely to be rendered untrue if people no longer (able to) perceive matters visually.

    As for the spoof saber, one comment: lololol!

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  7. meganeshounen
    October 16th, 2006 - 06:26

    I believe that there are ACTUALLY those uber-rare Class S-type shoujos. Those that combine charm, perfect VAing, attitude, sexiness/moe and that certain X-factor. Don’t ask me on that last one.

    Hmmm… wonder if Suzumiya Haruhi would count as one of those?

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  8. Ryan A
    October 16th, 2006 - 07:12

    Tokimeki!++ I agree with TJ, though I’d use heavenly rather than hott.
    Kanon is good so far, and the character design isn’t bad for me, but they seems to have more depth, which I think is attractive; easily read characters go just so far.

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  9. Stripey
    October 16th, 2006 - 07:19

    tj han/Tsubaki: Ahh… Kanon girls scores on ethereal charm. :) Of course it all depends if they are your kind of girls. I know there are many who find them overly lolicious. Will check out Otoboku (despite trap aversion). Thanks for the heads up.

    karry: Despite the many story elements seeded in the first 2 eps, the plot wouldn’t be harvesting them anytime soon. The series feeds a lot off character charm for now so if you don’t like the antic of the Kanon girls, you may want to wait til the series ends and marathon it to avoid pacing issues. :)

    wontaek: I sincerely hope that KyoAni-centric hype/debate would be about FMP 3rd season though. :)

    Danny: I believe the ‘hype’ is from 3 camps. KyoAni fans, SHnY fans and Kanon fans. And as with every action, there’s a equal and opposite reaction. Hence the anti-hype. :) For all its flaws, I understand many kanon fans were made via the Toei version back in 2002 (including myself)

    crimson: thanks for the thoughts! To add to your list, I quote the ever wise Zyl, ” We can take more crap from pretty girls.” The reason we endeavoured to court/marry only pretty girls… LOL!!

    meganeshounen: hehe uber S-class would have to be Shirakawa Kotori for me. No other. :)

    Ryan A: Words of wisdom! Kanon girls with their depth of characterisation would go a much longer way. Although I do hope TokiMemo girls would go the length too since they have to sustain for 26 eps. :)

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  10. arkon
    October 16th, 2006 - 08:59

    I wish the rats around my area looked like that. Then I probably wouldn’t be calling in pest control.

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  11. Crusader
    October 16th, 2006 - 09:15

    Beauty and youth are fleeting, but uguu will always fill me with murderous rage.

    Men can take more crap from pretty girls, but my crap tolerance is dismally low. If nothing else the paradox of bad attitude graced by beauty can always be rectified with a well placed strike from a rifle butt…

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  12. crimson
    October 16th, 2006 - 09:49

    ooooh yes, S-class…there’s still the S-classes that are yet to be revealed.

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  13. Zzz...
    October 16th, 2006 - 09:50

    Lol…rifle butt right in Ayu’s block shaped too wide face…rotf…

    I don’t like Ayu…I don’t hate her either…but I want her to suffer nonetheless…never liked clingy girls…

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  14. starcaptor
    October 16th, 2006 - 10:40

    Youll be glad to know that (at least accd to getchu), and semi-spoiler alert in case anyone wants to run for hills. Ok, ure all gone, haha.

    Mai is not blood related to Tatsuya at all. Typical dead parents live together keep-it-secret-from-world arrangement. Feel free to re-commence imouto-kon!!

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  15. Kefit
    October 16th, 2006 - 11:06

    I had figured that Mai and Tatsuya weren’t related, as they have a ridiculous number of sex scenes in the HCGs.

    Speaking of which, I find myself enjoying the Yoake girls far more than any other group of bishoujos this season, despite the budget issues. Too bad Natsuki doesn’t stand a chance =/

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  16. Kefit
    October 16th, 2006 - 12:31

    I had figured that Mai and Tatsuya weren’t actually related, as Mai has a ridiculous number of sex scenes in the game HCGs.

    Speaking of which, I find myself enjoying the Yoake girls far more than any of the other groups of bishoujos this season, despite any budget issues the show may have. Too bad Natsuki stands absolutely no chance. Oh, whatever happened to the days when the childhood friend was the star :

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  17. wontaek
    October 16th, 2006 - 13:39

    S-class…

    1. According to Korean Most Moe Tournament, it may be the Rozen Maidens as Suiseiseki was crowned Moe Queen there. She is the highest vote getter in Japanese SaiMoe as well, so I guess that is the world’s opinion.
    2. SOS-dan may qualify as well. Yuki might have won in Korea had she not been a victim of tactical voting by all the non-SOS supporters, and she may win the Japanese Saimoe. It is not often you would see such a bold proclamation as Human Incarnation of Moe ( Moe made flesh – Asahina Mikuru ), supreme being ( YHWH – Suzumiya Haruhi ), creator of new meme ( port-a-loli, Kyon’s Sister ), and the fatal attraction ( the sharp beauty, Asakura Mikuru ).
    3. If individual counts, you have to consider Siesta of the bath tub.
    4. If you want diversity, it is hard to beat School Rumble.
    5. Shirakawa Kotori and the DC Gangs?
    6. Some people are just nuts about Sakura Wars.
    7. If you want quantity, go with Sister Princess Re-Pure.

    That is my Seven S for S-Class.

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  18. Tess
    October 16th, 2006 - 13:42

    Someone else who’s noted how bad the animation got in Yoake! And in… just the second episode! Did they just blow the little budget they had on episode one? Episode 2 was dirt. UGH. I think this is the first series I’m going to drop. Maybe come back later to check up on Midori and Feena.

    In any case, I think for this season Otoboku and Kanon are the best. There are a few other girls out there this season, but they aren’t from the bishoujo shows.

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  19. wontaek
    October 16th, 2006 - 13:43

    It should have been Asakura Ryoko, not Mikuru for Fatal Attraction. Her popularity jumped up very high after that certain bunny-girl shot.

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  20. Icteridae
    October 16th, 2006 - 14:24

    You have just outlined my top 5 series to watch this season. Except for Lovedol. I’m still watching it, but I don’t feel it quite belongs in the same class as the others. Instead, I prefer Asatte no Houkou.

    In general, however, I’m liking the way this season is turning out. Other series that look like they might have value, though not necessarily in the same genre and in no particular order:
    -Black Lagoon (2nd Season)
    -Negima
    -Busou Renkin
    -D.gray-man
    -Pumpkin Scissors
    -Black Blood Brothers
    -Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
    -Code Geass

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  21. suguru
    October 16th, 2006 - 21:40

    I think so far Otoboku gets my vote for character designs that bring out the best of bishoujo. Mariya in particular is great, and I’m not just saying that because of her choice in negligees, I swear ^_^; I really wish Yoakena had a bigger animation budget–for the love of Haruhi, where did their animators learn to draw? I didn’t expect them to be able to make Feena-hime look as good as August does in still CGs, but most of episode 2 was first season of Negima bad. After watching Yoakena 1 I was optimistic, after ep 2 I still like the characters and story but the animation’s just makes me want to stick my face in a fan.

    Happiness isn’t stellar in the animation department either but I think through the first two episodes, somehow they’ve done a much better job of making the bishoujo, well…look like bishoujo. I think Kanon would’ve been so much better if they used Haruhi-like character designs instead of Air-like designs–Yuichi’s like three feet taller than Ayu. In spite of that I’d give Kanon my #3 bishoujo spot, just below Otoboku and Happiness.

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  22. Skane
    October 16th, 2006 - 22:08

    Ayu HAS to be short. There is a very specific reason for this, and they would need to change the storyline drastically if they made her any taller.

    Also, Yuuichi only looks like a giant compared to Ayu because he is like, what? The tallest cast member? When you put the tallest person next to the shortest person, of course there would be a significant difference. ;) :P

    Cheers.

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  23. Stripey
    October 16th, 2006 - 23:05

    arkon: LOL! yeah I’d be calling in the midwife.. I mean talent scouts. :)

    Crusader: LOL! You are the refreshing harem lead we all need! I can imagine this scene…

    Stunning bishoujo: MOUUU Crusader-kun te ba! Hurry up and pick up the groceries I spilled deliberately to make you fawn over me….

    *Crusader re-arranges bishoujo’s facial landscape with rifle-butt and gathering crowd laughs*

    A new sub-genre of romantic comedy! XD I’d the admit I have such impulses in RL too though less for anime bishoujos.

    starcaptor : OMG!!! Thanks for the heads-up! Mai enters top 5 imouto-sans! Now I’d be rooting futilely for Mai XD

    Kefit : I find it hard to forgive Doumu for making Feena crossed eyed but I’m still catching Yoake for the entrancing character designs. :) Natsuki has no chance indeed but I’m hoping she’ll at least pose a strong challenge. Better still Mai… XD

    Tess : I read that Otoboku is animated by Gansis/Shaft hence the correspondingly high DCSS-esque bishoujo quality. But I’m sooo afraid I would hear Shirakawa Kotori in Horie Yui’s trap role… :P

    wontaek: Ryoko’s hawtness. :) I know I’ll risk the MMM but honestly I put her above Mikuru.. until I can confirm Mikuru’s imouto connection to Kyon XD

    Icteridae: Again thanks for the highlight. :) With so much talk about Otoboku, it looks like I can’t avoid the trap much longer. :P I’m keen to start on a non-bishoujo themed series since too much of a good thing is bad too. :)

    suguru:

    >but the animation

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  24. Skane
    October 16th, 2006 - 23:35

    The Kanon forums on AnimeSuki are a constant headache for me because people keep spoiling in there unnecessarily. I lost count of the number of times I reported a post for unmarked spoilers. :P I have strong feelings over unwanted/unnecessary spoilers because it has ruined my viewing experience before, such as the time I was spoiled on Souseiseki’s fate in the second season of Rozen Maiden.

    Surprise and anticipation are vastly different.
    ~~~~ ~~~~

    In other news, gender inequality ensures that we will rarely see instances of men kneading the faces of women, short of pornography and its’ ilk.

    Generally speaking, society finds the concept of women beating up men in anime funny. See Sousuke, Kenshin, Keitaro, Imadori, Jun, Naruto, Ganju, Saito, etc…

    The same society however, frowns on men beating up women in mainstream anime. Even more so, if said woman is beautiful( unless she has an ugly personality).

    For every instance you can find of men beating up women for comedic effect, you can probably find four instances of women beating up men for similar purposes, if not more.

    Yeah, it is an unfair world. ;)

    Cheers.

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  25. vexx
    October 17th, 2006 - 00:02

    Yuuichi is tall, Ayu is short …. some people need to get out more if they think Ayu is too short. I can count 5 women I’ve encountered today between 4.5 and 5 feet (my wife is 4’10″, my JP language teacher is a hair taller, and then there was this one tiny college student that wandered by while I was studying … yee gods Hazuki in US-legal format, etc).

    Kanon is popular because the story itself was popular, both in game and in TOEI form. This release just adds the KyoAni touch of sparkly and with the expanded format more room for character development. But I guess some people confuse “jaded negativity” for either having a clue or maturity or something. It just makes them look a bit sad.

    Hmmm, now I guess I have to give Tokimeki M. a looksee….

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  26. crimson
    October 17th, 2006 - 05:16

    Well, there are cases of housewives beating the shit out of their husband (till they need to apply for some sort of protection). Taiwan is one possible avenue to see this type of news.

    Local newspaper (sg) has also reported that while housewives may be subjected to physical violence (from the husbands), husbands are prone to mental abuse (from the wives).

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  27. crimson
    October 17th, 2006 - 05:17

    yeah, just wanted to say the idea of women whooping men’s butt isnt new.

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  28. Skane
    October 17th, 2006 - 07:51

    I’m not saying that it does not exist in real life, I was commenting on how most people will perceive such acts in a comedic light when done in anime, but will not hold similar thoughts when the genders are swapped.

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  29. Stripey
    October 17th, 2006 - 10:01

    Skane/crimson: maybe it’s cause girls ‘beating’ up guys can be done in a moelicious manner, just like how I always find my significant half cute/moe when she headbutts me (sooooo kawaii!). I doubt my headbutting her would elicit the same effect. :P

    vexx: You captured the strengths of Kanon and this remake so succinctly. :) Well said! Do give Tokimeki a shot. As of ep 3, I’d say it’s a entertaining series with a good mix of crazy hijinks and bishoujo sweetness. :)

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  30. Crusader
    October 17th, 2006 - 11:46

    Just for the record I would have offered to help but not pick up everything at the very least I would have given the 18 feet warning in Stripey’s scenario. I am not a wife beater, I don’t have a wife.

    Abuse does not discriminate the only difference is that mental abuse is harder to prove. Still I find Ayu’s physical torure, which is self infliceted, to be funny because this all pretend and in the real world I would have been the guy making the arrest. While there is a double standard at work when it comes to dishing out pain, I must say that your average male lead is already a douche bag in more ways than one adding abuse makes it incite murderous rage second only to Shinji. Most Girls are portrayed as honest and sincere we sympathize more to qualties that are next to non-existant in the rough and tumble of real life.

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  31. Crusader
    October 17th, 2006 - 13:09

    I took a look at Happiness and it looks like there is another Haruhi to cheer for. Thanks for the recomendation. I like her hair and I expect great things from her so that she may live up to her name sake. Don’t fail me Kamisaka Haruhi or this racoon is going to get. :P

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  32. suguru
    October 17th, 2006 - 21:09

    Skane: I watched the first Kanon so I know what you’re saying, but Ayu’s still the same age as Yuichi–although I’d buy that she’s just got the shortness gene and Yuichi happens to be tall. The difference in eye style between them maybe throws me a little too, it just makes them look to me like they stepped out of two completely different series. I liked Suzumiya Haruhi or FMP’s character designs much better than Air’s or Kanon’s, but that’s not to say I don’t like Kyoani’s Kanon–from what I’ve seen so far it’s a big improvement on the original, and the original is one of my favorites.

    Crusader: Kamisaka Haruhi isn’t much like Suzumiya personality-wise (then again, who is?), but she’s definitely cute–Happiness seems to be really hit-or-miss with people, but I like it so far. I hope it goes the Lamune route (focus on the two main characters and their relationship) versus the harem route (everyone wants to be impregnated by the male lead and they rush through all the girls’ storylines in 12 episodes).

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  33. suguru
    October 17th, 2006 - 21:10

    Stripey: BTW, that is one scary Saber, I just had to Adblock it or I think it’d start giving me nightmares…

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  34. Stripey
    October 17th, 2006 - 23:05

    Crusader: Glad you picked up Happiness! The character sand premise show promise. Although ep 2′s production values may cost me my tail.

    suguru: hehe gomen gomen.. i have half a mind to take it off since this blog is powered by bishoujos and that saber pic is causing occasional power outage… or is it dreamhost? XD

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  35. crimson
    October 18th, 2006 - 05:52

    headbutt!!! *thinks about utaware dvd special*

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  36. cyw1988
    October 18th, 2006 - 08:14

    S Class:

    Move out of anime and into Jdrama =D

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  37. Stripey
    October 18th, 2006 - 11:06

    crimson: hehe I must be missing something here :P

    cyw1988: Actually I haven’t seen anyone in RL (famed or commoner) who is both beautiful and wonderful like Kotori. Maybe it’s a sign I be stopping anime for the sake of my mental health. XD

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  38. crimson
    October 19th, 2006 - 08:43

    in utaware dvd special, aruru does a headbutt on hakuoro. I think 4 camera angles were shown for it.

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  39. Skane
    October 19th, 2006 - 09:10

    Correction. Aruruu attempts to headbutt Hakuoro, but Hakuoro used Oboro as a shield, and Oboro ended up being the one taking the brunt of Aruruu ‘kawaii’ attack. :D

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  40. Stripey
    October 19th, 2006 - 09:36

    hehe, my fiancee never misses. XD Thanks crimson for the highlight and Skane for the correction. If you’d excuse me, I need to educate my love on how to make her headbutt more moelicious. :)

    *looks for utawareru dvd special*

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  41. crimson
    October 20th, 2006 - 08:09

    nooooo skane….. it was supposed to be a smoke bomb so stripey gets a pleasant surprise.

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  42. crimson
    October 20th, 2006 - 08:10

    and stripey…after u watched it u’ll understand why i dont recommend that move to your other half.

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  43. konaa
    January 2nd, 2009 - 19:23

    Kanon had its charms, and I’d say it lives up to most of the praise. Perhaps the naysayers haven’t played the game, perhaps they didn’t appreciate the emotions that were conveyed … or perhaps it just wasn’t for them. Its really a question of what you’re into. If you can ignore how the characters seem at first cliched and look at the depth behind them

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  44. Stripey
    January 3rd, 2009 - 11:19

    Agreed. :) Personally, after Planeterian, I’d say Kanon is Key’s most coherent and affecting work for me. I particularly enjoy how all the stories are pegged onto Ayu’s tale. The little details all added up and KyoAni did a fantastic job bringing out these minor seemingly inconsequential details only to have them play a pivotal role in storytelling later on. Good stuff indeed :)

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