Having a lazy summer
As my old laptop undergoes a slow and inexorable descent into ruin (image a geriatric getting slower, creakier and clumsier with increasingly serious memory problems before the ever-nearing collapse) I’m finding less and less that’s in standard def and therefore playable. Not to mention playing catch-up on a lot of old shows and recent weeks being busy with Real Life things. My watchlist has grown shorter and things are settling down with plans for putting a new PC together in the next couple of months so I feel ready to watch more again. Recommendations here plz.
I’m still as enamoured with a minority shows, though. I’ve made a start on Fruits Basket and not before time either; it has a great iyashikei vibe with some impressive character dynamics that push it just out of the realms of mediocre and into the territory signposted Could Be Very Good Indeed. The latest episode of Eve no Jikan was exquisite as always, and came out sooner than I expected too. Reviewage for that coming right up soonish.
Higashi no Eden
The ending – which isn’t an ending after all – to Eden of the East was a fine way to finish what proved to be a fine series. After a middle section that gave me mixed signals it got its act together and piled on the Serious Questions to produce something remarkably close to what I’d hoped it would’ve been in the first place. I’m actually glad the sequels are going to be feature films rather than being made-for-TV because the subject matter and artwork won’t suffer from the small screen constraints. Of course, many were annoyed at the decision to continue it in that format but isn’t it preferable to squeezing a story of such scope into one TV run?
I’m glad the religious subtext wasn’t important after all: when the social commentary was emphasised instead it was much more satisfying. My recent travels followed by some more forays into the writing of Ryu Murakami have given my fascination with contemporary Japanese culture a kick up the backside so the interesting stuff bubbling under the surface here was really fascinating when extrapolated just outside the realms of the here-and-now. Excellent opening and ending themes too, which worked well with the imagery.
K-On!
A victim of the snap judgements and the argumentative approach that the fandumb breeds so well, K-On committed the cardinal sin of being on TV but not being Haruhi Suzumiya. Considering it doesn’t really aspire to be anything in particular apart from undemanding, cutesy fun I’d say it’s doing fine. I don’t think the issue fans should have with K-On! is important for the simple reason that there isn’t an issue to speak of; I certainly don’t see the point in paying attention to armchair experts who claim there’s a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of watching it.
The bottom line is it makes me laugh but not to a degree at which I get a hernia and an asthma attack simultaneously, and the musical aspect is Relevant To My Interests. Quite frankly I find it easier to relate to a teenager walking starry-eyed around a guitar store than watching an obnoxious brat who threatens the integrity of the space-time continuum every time she gets pissed off about something. Besides, according to Baka Raptor the Haruhi light novel emphasises the aspects of the story I enjoyed more than the TV show did; the declaration “Sarcastic mental asides work better in book format…” is the point where I was sold on it. I couldn’t care less about the TV version, sadly, and can’t see why I ought to either.
Clannad’s Kyou chapter
Speaking of KyoAni, the final Clannad bonus episode played into the Kyou fanboy camp but was nevertheless a sweet little study into what happens when the unstoppable force of a tsundere girl meets an unmovable object in the form of a tsundere guy. In a remarkable state of astute observation Sunohara remarks how Tomoya and Kyou make a pretty good couple, exploring the little hints and ‘could’ve been’ moments that the main series and the Tomoyo After episode had to ignore. Quite frankly it didn’t feel completely natural after I exposed myself to a True End (twice) and a Tomoyo End but Kyou is a vivacious and expressive character who’s always fun to watch, and the feelings expressed all came across as genuine enough.
What this episode was fundamentally about was, I suspect, giving Kyou the screen time her fanboys were clamouring for but for the rest of us it’s another opportunity to let ourselves get swept along in the dramas and dilemmas of the old love triangle. I guess this would be just another high school romance with the unrequited crush thing going on, but the fact that it’s a revisit type of outing means that you already know the characters and how they feel about one another so all that’s left to do is speculate about how things could’ve turned out.
Aaand…I’m out. I want to watch something but after being treated to a small number of excellent titles, most things would now would blur into a mass of immature, derivative slush. I need a heartwarming drama about people I can give a stuff about (to replace the Clannad-shaped hole in my life), a grown-up piece in the IG/Bones vein that casts familiar ground in a new light (until the Eden sequels appear) and a gritty actioner that doesn’t do the boring-as-buggery Shounen Jump thing where fights are animated poorly, use hackneyed dialogue and last for bloody ages. I refuse to believe that ALL new anime is a load of bollocks so please take the time to list some worthy gems so I don’t have to. Then we can crack open the Pimm’s and enjoy the summer.
Sorry, no related posts yet.
Am I the only person in existence who absolutely loathes Fruits Basket? I couldn’t even make it half-way through the series.
Anyway, Eden of the East was as good an ending as I could have hoped for given the forthcoming movies – It finished off the main threads of the story fine while still leaving plenty of room for more to come.
K-ON! was great fun to watch, it was a great show to come home to on a Friday to unwind and feel warm and fuzzy with after a long week at work. It wasn’t perfect, and it isn’t KyoAni’s best, but as you say it did everything it set out to so there’s really not all that much to complain about. Of course, Haruhi was KyoAni’s best, but at the moment I’m not even on speaking terms with that franchise for reasons that you’ve doubtless seen smeared all over the ‘blogosphere already this past couple of weeks.
Kyou’s Clannad chapter was fun to watch, but Tomoyo’s OVA is still the Clannad for me.
As for recommendations… As far as brand new shows go Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a must watch (it’s Bones, it’s a huge earthquake in Tokyo based on actual data, it looks like it has a strong human element from episode one) and Canaan might fill your action boots (weird story I can’t get my head around, but the action sequences are fanastic so far two episodes in). I’m tempted to recommend Shangri-la to you as well, simply because I don’t see why I should be the only person to suffer through it. ;)
Ignoring all of your requests, I’m also going to recommend Bakemonogatari for this season, because it’s beautiful and weird. Oh, and Spice and Wolf is pretty much the poster wolf girl for the phrase “heartwarming” in my book right now, if you can stand the rather dull faux economics at times.
While I cannot join Hanners in saying that I actively detest Fruits Basket, I certainly found that any initial charm wore off pretty damn fast. The ‘what I am I doing wasting time on this’ disillusionment is, I suppose, the best reason to know just what you like and seek it out, but I’ve found that often the best kick is slightly outside my comfort zone.
For a long time I put off Mononoke for not really seeming to fit into a neat ‘x kind of show that I like’ packet. And when I watched it it turned out to be both immediately fascinating and deeply unfuckwithable. So yeah, I reckon that would be a good thing to watch.
Anyhow, at the risk of actually recommending something in line with your interests, and looking at your MAL, maybe Baccano! would do for slick action plus something different in the plotting department?
Maybe you guys just have repressed, traumatic childhood memories prominently involving fruits and/or baskets, leading to the irrational disdain for anything involving the two? I vividly recall one chilling adolescent experience with the latter (baskets), one that taught me to never blindly trust the advice of my parents, but even that didn’t turn me off of Fruits Basket. To be fair, of what I remember since the years I’ve last seen it, the most enjoyable episodes were loaded in the later portions. Episode 18 in particular is one of my favorite single anime episodes ever, mainly because I so love “knuckle ball” episodes.
Recommendations:
Hanners already mentioned the obvious Bones produced Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. I don’t think I really need to say much about it but only to point you towards Hanners’ and ghostlightning’s posts, just in case you haven’t seen them, and send you on your merry way.
As far as heartwarming stories go, I loved Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~, a series that got overlooked last summer because of its ultra-relaxed pacing and curious visual style, but in my opinion is a beautiful slice-of-life story.
Sketchbook ~full color’S~ might have a funny name, but is the quintessential lazy summer anime. From the creators of Aria, it focuses on comedy more than its better known sister series, yet still shares many of Aria’s unassuming charms.
If we’re not restricted to just recent stuff, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and the A’s sequel are pure shounen without the baggage of empty filler, being two 13 episode series.
Your MAL list says you’ve seen Crest of the Stars, so you should go ahead and see Banner of the Stars I and II, just because they’re plain good.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is a wildly stylized and abstract drama, if you’re in the mood for something more challenging and out there. In truth, I mentioned it because I just recently finished it and want to see what others think of this now decade-old classic. See the Utena movie at your own risk.
Finally, have you finished Cowboy Bebop yet?
How about Hataraki Man? Consistently high animation quality, great voice work, witty and well-written script, and taking micro-scopic look at what ‘work’ means to us (worth sacrificing fun and relationships? just something to earn you enough money to enjoy other things in life? or essence of your life?). Only 11 episodes too, and arguably one of the best slice of life anime series, just behind Honey and Clover.
Seconding Hataraki Man. Btw, there’s been something like two more volumes of the manga released since the first season aired so another one would be great.
Yay, Eve no Jikan review! I loved the last episode and am looking forward to your review. Apart from that, I believe you have gotten quite a few good recommendations already, and I second all of them, especially Baccano and Hataraki Man (although I suppose your work life is different from the anime). You absolutely need a little time to marathon it though, I don’t think it’s the type of show you can enjoy weekly or on an even larger watching frequency.
Personally I don’t watch much anime lately anymore at all, especially now that K-ON ended and I didn’t start any new shows so far at all. I will be following what everyone says about those shows and will keep them in mind though. I also have dropped Higashi no Eden midway and will be taking my time watching it considering that the movie is only going to be released next year.
Do I understand it that you have read the Haruhi novels by now? I have never come to like them (I read the first half of the first volume) although I too love Kyon’s sarcastic comments more than anything else in the show.
Sympathies with only being able to play standard-def files, until recently I was in the same situation and with stuff increasingly being released in HD it was a pain finding anything I could watch.
Seems the recommendations have already been made, but my picks at the moment would be Canaan and FMA: Brotherhood.
I’ll make it a fourth for Hataraki Man, if just because now you have to watch it! :) (Not to mention that it’s a very good, adult slice of life series written by Hideaki Anno’s wife no less)
I guess I’m in the minority with K-ON!. It had its moments, but they were far apart in a series I found plodding.
Agreed on Canaan: I was dazzled by the action scenes in ep1. If nothing else, it’s great to look at.
Didn’t watch much Hataraki Man, but enjoyed what I saw. And it’s got ADULTS in it!
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 had a strong opening episode, even before the quake hits.
Bakemonogatari reminds me of a much bloodier Ef.
kadian1364 mentions Revolutionary Girl Utena. This series is a jaw-dropper. The story is genuinely exciting (and routine for an anime show, when you look closely), but loaded up with so much surreal imagery, non-sequitors, taboo sexuality, choral rock anthems, and flowers (lots of flowers) that I seriously could not believe someone had the imagination to think it up, much less the balls to produce it. Utena is a hallucination with a plotline. It is magnificent, and the only anime I’ve ever seen that matches Evangelion in terms of Just Plain Weird. Why it doesn’t get more attention I don’t understand.
Finally, I’m a Haruhitard, so I think we will always disagree on that show …
Ditto on Hataraki man.
Though it’s a bit repititious, I love Fruits Basket.
And for Recommendations from Left Field, you’ve come to the right old man. Watch Kemonozume, Kamichu and Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu. Natsume Yuujinchou is like Mushishi crossed with Fruits Basket. And if you have any stomach for good sports anime, Cross Game.
Mental notes made of all recommendations guys. Thank you kindly. ^_^
@Hanners:I don’t think I’m far enough into Furuba to really give a conclusion just yet, but I can’t agree more on Eden… and Clannad’s Tomoyo chapter.
@coburn: will the charm fade for me too? Tim will tell. I’ve heard good things about Mononoke though…and your taste often overlaps with mine too.
@kadian1364: I found episode #5 of Furuba to be my favourite so far – it’s fun but quite serious and meaningful at the same time. Banner of the Stars will have to be an import for me, so I’ll pick it up when the exchange rate is a bit better (the £ is still pretty bad against the $)
@gaguri: I never got into H&C I’m afraid, but this one sounds more Relevant To My Interests, as Solanin was (which is, by the way, AWESOME).
@lastarial: so I ought to put the manga on my ‘to read’ list afterwards then…?
@Sasa: yeah, Eve no Jikan is still brilliant. I watched the first series of Haruhi back in ‘06 but the opening episode of the new season didn’t do much for me. I’m hoping I’ll enjoy the novel more, especially since I’ve started reading a lot again lately.
@Wildcard: my new build machine will only be a couple of months away but jeez…even 720p files are giving this old thing a hard time!
@bateszi: I gave in and tracked down a torrent for it. I remember reading your blog post on it ages ago but only recently found the episodes online…this weekend ought to be an interesting experience now!
@Peter S: I wish I shared everyone else’s love of Haruhi, I really do. I believe I have a copy of the Utena movie somewhere, but I read somewhere that it’s pointless if you haven’t seen the series…?
@ojisan: Kemonozume was innovative but weird…I prefer Kaiba and would recommend it if you haven’t seen it already. Natsume Yuujinchou was great…the first season, at least. Maybe now is the time for me to watch the second one…
“I believe I have a copy of the Utena movie somewhere, but I read somewhere that it’s pointless if you haven’t seen the series…?”
I still think it’s pointless even if you have seen the series, unless you just want to see the WTF-level raised to 11. It’s almost like
Utena movie : Utena TV :: End of Eva : Eva TV
except that the Utena movie is not a conclusion, but an alternate telling. It’s the super-concentrated essence of the Utena story. It’s hard to elaborate further without blowing spoilers all over the place, so I won’t.
kadian, also the movie seemed a little too slick. Apart from the fun when a familiar theme or character shows up, it doesn’t have the resonance of the original series. Though the chase scene was fun.
Trouble is it’s hard to find any of the original unless you want to pay an arm and a leg.
The only thing I have to say about Fruits Basket is this: Read the manga over anime or your soul will die.