hontou ni » Series Review

[Zyl] Negima!? Review

Zyl — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:49:54 +0000

You Can (Not) Be Re-imagined

Trigger

I didn't pick up this series back in 2006, if I recall correctly, because I had heard that the first iteration wasn't great. In general, I'm also leery of anime based on seemingly interminable shounen manga. More specifically, while I enjoyed the Love Hina anime, I was so frustrated by the manga that the Negima franchise's provenance as a Ken Akamatsu work was actually a minus, rather than a plus, for me. In addition, Negima's association with Potter-mania - which invaded even academic International Relations - was another irritant.

But recently I've been on a quest (the subject of another post) to watch the numerous SHAFT-produced series that I had missed/given a miss. And it was helpful that Amazon.co.uk had the Negima!? boxset at 40% discount (plus free delivery due to Amazon Prime trial). While I felt a bit bad about putting money into Funimation's fan persecution war chest, I've generally thought fondly of the UK licensee Manga Entertainment who had brought in quite of a lot of stuff that would not have otherwise been available back in the old days of VHS.

Story

I've not read any of the Negima manga. Nor have I seen the previous Xebec (2005) version of the anime. The general impression among anibloggers, like Kurogane, was that this SHAFT version was more enjoyable. I certainly enjoyed the first Evangeline A.K. MacDowell arc but I was much less enthused by the Star Crystal arc - the process of making probationary contracts with all the girls paradoxically felt both draggy and rushed whilst having a box-ticking feel to it (BTW Chamo should get a much reduced commission for all those Pactios - or at the very least, have them held in escrow until a permanent one is made); the subsequent half of the series, where the cast were trapped in the alternate world, bored me - enlivened only with the occasional character-based vignettes.

Characters

The huge cast made it difficult for me to even remember who was who; I would have really preferred a stronger focus on Asuna, Konoka, Haruna and Evangeline. The fact that Negi was only ten years old also made the harem hijinks somewhat creepy rather than fun. Negi's preoccupation with reaching out to his father Thousand Master Nagi was not developed much beyond some moping, which reminded me of Shinji Ikari in a bad way, and then a non-encounter which, at least, renewed Negi's determination to match his father's achievements as a mage (though hopefully not emulate his parenting style).

Unsurprisingly my favourite character dynamics were Konoka x Setsuna, voiced by the perfectly cast combination of Ai Nonaka and Yuu Kobayashi, especially the tender scene recalling their first childhood meeting, Konoka's teasing invitation to a kiss and Setsuna rescuing Konoka in her Armour/Rare card form. I was pleasantly surprised that I grew quite fond of Asuna, despite her full qualification to be a Baka Ranger. The key scene which converted me was how she gave Negi a nice Oneechan hug from behind after he became depressed, blaming himself for stranding his entire class into the alternate school world, and very gently but firmly got Negi back on his feet emotionally. I also liked how her Chupacabra and Bonge Bonge obsessions were eventually revealed to have more relevance to the main plot than I initially imagined.

Tilt

I was pretty shocked by how bad some of the animation in the initial episodes were - particular problems included graininess and blurred motion. Not sure if this was SHAFT's infamous QUALITY issues or problems arising from Funi's production of the DVD. I don't consider myself to be particularly finicky - though beauty always helps - but perhaps it's all those BDs and 720p fansubs that have become my current baseline.

There were classic SHAFT touches like reference humour via blackboard scribblings. These were a lot less obscure relative to those in Pani Poni Dash! but I also generally glossed over them, finding them much less arresting compared to those in Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei (also more of this in another post). When SHAFT did break out the fight scenes, I really enjoyed them but the Dud cards got pulled out much too often - I really wanted to see more Armour Asuna, Setsuna and Chao.

Verdict

I suspect that if I would have dropped this series about halfway through if I had watched it, via fansubs, on a week by week basis. The commitment of having shelled out on the DVDs and the momentum of marathoning managed to carry me through right to the end. However, while I'm glad to be able to say that I've seen this popular title and am able to tick off a milestone in SHAFT's CV, I have neither the desire to rewatch the series as a whole nor numerous favourite scenes that I wish to revisit time-and-time again - either (or both) of which, ironically, are key criterion for me when it comes to DVD/BD purchases.

Hatsukoi Limited – Final thoughts

Stripey — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:48:09 +0000

"JC Staff does romance right" was my conclusion after catching the final episode of Hatsukoi Limited, having boycotted the finale for almost a year because the series' callous treatment of Saki-nee. Up til the penultimate episode, I had lamented the lack of proper basis of attraction and worthy men to match the sizzling hawt bishoujo cast. Thankfully, Hatsukoi Limited's finale was a satisfying affair which dispelled much of the tanuki's ill-will.

Here's sharing my thoughts in a couple-centric manner as the finale did.

Chikura Nao X Sogabe Hiroyuki

I'm reminded again of my deepest admiration for 14 yr old Nao as she continues to exhibit uncharacteristic maturity in this love-com and with a gentle wisdom WAAAAY beyond her years. Sogabe may not be senpai-caliber but his taste in girls is at least impeccable.

Arihara Ayumi X Zaitsu Mamoru

Ahhh, the age old debate on "to love vs to be loved". The Truth is for bishoujos like Ayumi, she just safely choose "to love" since a beauty of her standings would eventually win the affections of the one she loves. That is how much faith I have in Ayumi (and bishoujos in general).

Enomoto Kei X Kusuda Etsu

Their pairing was the most contentious but I have learnt to accept regrettable bishoujo choices in anime. Don't get me wrong. It's not about being ugly. It's just that Kusuda had nothing exceptional to snag the likes of Kei who was not only utterly gorgeous but wise and incredibly thoughtful despite her tsundere facade. I had supported wholeheartedly yakuza-eyes Ryuuji (Toradora) and Kenta (Karin) because they possessed other rare qualities not easily found in other men and were thus worthy of their bishoujos. I can barely detect any from Kusuda. Still I wish only the best for the happy couple and can only hope they weather through the tough journey ahead.

Bessho Koyoi X Bessho Yoshihiko

After Nao's senpai, Yoshihiko is the next most worthy man in the show. So it pains me a greatly to learn he has dropped out of the Yamamoto race. But there are times when 2nd place means a bigger WIN than being champion. That fittingly describes the Koyoi and Yoshihiko end. The final still of Koyoi making ai-ai (love love) bento for Yoshihiko did not escape this tanuki's siscon eyes and HE APPROVES. Koyoi is classic representation of all bishoujo-imoutos and it pleases me greatly to see her paired with her beloved onii chan who is a good man.

Yamonoto Misaki X Arihara Yuuji

It baffles me greatly why anyone in their right mind would choose his sister over Misaki and mind you this is coming from siscon Stripey ranks Ayumi fairly highly on the "Lolicious imouto index". I'm just glad that Yuuji is gonna give this a shot and our lovely Saki-nee needn't be heartbroken no more.

Despite my rants and lamentations, I thought the finale did a fantastic job of closure and invoking that warm fuzzy feeling of first-love. Yet another romantic gem worthy of the JC Staff brand. Now to get the R3 DVDs.

Summer Wars

Zyl — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:14:26 +0000

I wasn't going to make the special effort to catch this movie but since it was available on the inflight entertainment system and I remembered there was quite a bit of publicity for it at AFA09, I gave it a go; was certainly entertained but not enough rewatch value to warrant a DVD purchase or even download.

Things started poorly with the documentary-like exposition about the online world of OZ where social networking platforms have become completely enmeshed with not just the social fabric of the world but also its critical infrastructure. I didn't like the whitespace of OZ and failed to see the point of the relatively useless (but appropriately named) "guardians" with whale avatars. Fortunately things picked up quickly after that.

In the midst of playing along with the charade of being his dream girl, Natsuki-senpai's, boyfriend in front of her extended clan, our accidental hero and math wizard, Kenji, unknowingly cracks the super admin password for the antagonist. I was willing to give this a free pass, given that WarGames has already explored the idea of a young boy who accidentally breaches a secure system with potentially disastrous consequences but what just bamboozled me was the absence of any reaction on the part of the authorities. Like the omission of any mention of OZ ownership/management, this made the key role of Kenji and the Jinnouchi family in confronting the wave of crises a tad too convenient.

I actually liked Kenji and cheered for him for him as he gained the respect of the various Jinnouchis through displays of personal courage that belied his habitual shyness and hesitancy as well as how he used his math abilities, which started things, to play his part in resolving the problem and Get The Girl. I just wished that another character could have turned out to be a girl that he would end up with instead of Natsuki. I had a lot of difficulty in liking or caring about Natsuki right from the start; I generally give good-looking girls, whether in 2D or 3D, more leeway but the way Natsuki manipulated Kenji and deceived her family at the start just rubbed me the wrong way even though I can understand rationally (but not emotionally) that what she did was mostly harmless.

I had enjoyed Madhouse's previous theatrical offering, Paprika, for its romance, its fantasy, the use of the motif of the movie and the terrific voice-acting but the way the antagonist was defeated was just too sudden and arbitrary for me. In contrast, I applaud how the Summer Wars endgame was setup and executed with contributions from all the various Jinnouchi men nicely hinted at beforehand as well as Kenji's aforementioned math braininess, Kazuma's kick assery and Natsuki's hanafuda smackdown (which forced me to drop my grumpiness about her status as main heroine).

However, the sweetness of their victory was diminished somewhat by the lack of malice or any real intentionality on the part of the antagonist. If anything, it seemed mischievous. This ensured that even a Jinnounchi family member who had been fingered as a potential villain came out of the whole thing looking very like a prodigal (grand)son made good. The absence of evil or, at least, malice is hard to pull off in shows that feature lots of combative sequences; for me, only Cardcaptor Sakura has truly managed to achieve that feat. Although Nanoha A's and Seirei no Moribito come close, the former still relies on a founding act of evil that corrupted the programming of the old Book of the Night Sky and the subsequent power lust of its masters prior to Hayate Yagami while the latter (in Chagum's storyline) features plenty of human frailties such as arrogance, complacency, being hidebound etc even though everyone is generally well-meaning. Also a cool villain always kicks ass and it's disappointing when you thought they would but don't. But I suppose I really should have expected less when the antagonist, who was supposed to have super hacking abilities, needed to out-source the initial crack to Kenji.

Given the good pacing of the story, its family-friendly paean and no major problems (but also nothing outstandingly good) with the animation, art or voice acting, it made for an enjoyable ride but its sins of omission became all too apparent once I started to reflect on (i.e. over-think) it. Thus it's no classic, just a summer dalliance.

Chain Reaction:

All links via Ani-Nouto. Btw I have not seen Tokikake.

If I had read DKellis's review first, this post would never have made it out of draft as he makes most of the points I wanted to but with much wit and less tl;dr. WRT Kazuma, methinks it's not so much how objectively androgynous he was but that there was more than enough rope for people like me to hold on to the hope he would turn out to be a she right to the bitter end.
Again, I felt that my post is redundant after reading Dark Mirage's review particularly his points about Boy Meets Girl, By Their Powers Combined and the theme of Family which I related to very well since I was born to similar sort of set-up.
Redux redundancy brought on Jason Miao's point on "the whole premise is based on the collective idiocy of the world." Nonetheless he is right that I did enjoy it. But only while I was watching it and actively suppressing my grouses which have thus poured forth into this post. Hmm, maybe its writing was necessary after all, not to add a drop of value (har har) to the oceans of discussions on the interwebs but for the therapeutic effect of hammering fingers on keyboard.
Against all this, SDB is unabashedly enthusiastic, although the start was "a little contrived" overall he thought it was "an amazing journey" and pronounced the love story "handled beautifully".