Shameful Otaku Secret!

Virtual Harisen time

Everyone is still all hopped up on Geass — There are almost as many people blogging it as are subbing it, even though I’m pretty sure the shark is just a distant memory at this point. And don’t even get me started on Not-So-Special-A, which for some reason people seem to like.

Anyway, here’s where I tell you what I like, then casually berate you.

1. Kure-nai

Yes, it has occurred to me that people are in fact watching Kure-nai, but it’s so good that everyone should be watching. This is a treat, a treasure. It’s an unexpected gem, and much like True Tears last season, it snuck up on me. It’s a show of contrasts. The bouncy poppy OP and ED conflict with the sober, eerie shamisen during the next episode previews. The ultra-cute interaction between Shinkurou and Murasaki (and their bizarre neighbors) contrasts with the ultraviolence that occasionally crops up, and the lighthearted nature of many episodes is the ultimate contrast with the seriousness of the plot. It looks like next episode will really bring that home as the two sides clash like they haven’t since early on.

Why you aren’t watching? Murasaki is a real child, no a loli. You sick fucks.

2. The Daughter of 20 Faces

Come on, everyone. You love Aya, don’t you? Of course you do. I’m sure you also love a good caper. And who in their right mind doesn’t love an airship (Hindenberg aside)? Twenty Faces may look like Roger from Big O, but he’s your classic thief with a heart of gold, and while there aren’t Geass-level (read: ridiculous) plot twists, it’s a clever show with an awesome Aya Hirano lead character.

Why aren’t you watching? Because Bones put the entire 2008 fiscal year budget into Soul Eater. Or perhaps you’re too busy buying Pizza Hut to care, aren’t you? You make Aya cry. Happy? UPDATE: I just watched the newest episode, and enough people died to make even you degenerates happy.

3. Real Drive

Absolutely zero love for Real Drive, what’s up people? Is it because Stand Alone Complex is a little racist? Have we given up on Masumune Shirow forever? We’re Americans, we’re supposed to love Shirow no matter how much he hates us. Production IG has even thrown us an olive branch — a young girl lead character — and given us panty shots for peace offerings. I thought as western anime lovers we were supposed to be raised on this Gibson-esque cyberpunk shit.

Why aren’t you watching? Perhaps the Age of Moe really is upon us. You’re all a bunch of pansies! Also, everyone seems to have stopped subbing it. Audible sigh.

4. Allison and Lillia

Much like Real Drive, Shinsen seems to have given up subbing this in favor of stuff 8 other teams are already working on, but AniYoshi is still trucking, thankfully. And much like 20 Faces, this is a nice slice of retro adventure. It’s got a laid-back feel, and a casual romance element that never gets in the way of the fun. Plots move by incredibly fast, and sometimes with way-too-easy resolutions, but it doesn’t dampen the bright charm of the series.

Why aren’t you watching? It’s just not flashy, the art style is retro, and of course, they skip right over the parts where people are in high school. Really, you can go without uniforms for 20 minutes a week, can’t you?  You ungrateful philistines ought to be ashamed. Or you ought to go watch me blog the show at Yukan.

5. Kaiba

I can’t say it enough, people. Kaiba is a monster. It seems to prompt a lot of people to analyze it, but for me it works largely on the emotional level.

Why aren’t you watching? Not enough talking? Too round? I don’t know! I swear to god one episode had panties! Are you watching it yet? No? You disgust me.

We should be bowing low and thanking whatever deity we believe in that we live in the era of instant fansubs, and we should be enjoying those fruits.

Are there any shows out there that you feel aren’t getting enough love from the otakusphere?

These aren’t the blog posts you’re looking for

Lured by the promise of cookies, I have joined forces with blissmo and crew over at Yukan Blog. I need to practice playing well with other kids, and she only demands a few small screencaps, no faux-clever captions.

Look for me as Otou-San: I’m going to move Itazura Na Kiss and Allison & Lillia over there. This is great to me because Yukan has gained a pretty decent readership in the short time they’ve been around and I don’t see a lot of people rushing out to blog either show, so maybe I can change a mind or two. Plus, I am a first-class whore.

The short but enthusiastic list of comments on the initial post at THAT give me hope that Allison might very well get some fans, despite lacking in robots, panties, or moe. And people who can’t seem to get over the artwork of Itazura are slowly coming around as well, so let’s see where it goes. Even if both shows eventually bomb and suck, I solemnly swear to continue giving them what they deserve.

In other news, I am now using Feedburner for my RSS, so you may need to re-subscribe if you are reading through RSS.

Update for clarity: For anything involving Soul Eater, LeDouche, Nyan-Nyan, or … panties, keep reading over here.

Itazura Na Kiss posts at Yukan | Allison & Lillia posts at Yukan

New show promises adventure, may have candy in van

This season’s getting crowded. After last season’s initial reactions, which ranged from ho-hum to enraged to “hey I know what would shake up a boring season, let’s enter the already-crowded anime blog space partway through,” my brain shakes and twitches like a junkie’s at the though of Macross and Geass fixes. I doubt I will watch everything I started with (I see no intrinsic value in Special A aside from the fact that Jun Fukuyama is in another freaking show), and I probably shouldn’t be blogging everything I watch. Oddly, Geass may fall into that list, much as I enjoy watching it, unless I can make a really fun game out of screencapping Pizza Hut logos and goth poses. And then along comes Allison & Lillia.

Story and Characters

Allison & Lillia was initially a bit confusing to me until I found out that the series is divided in half: Lillia is Allison’s daughter and doesn’t appear until the second half of the series.

In an alternate reality defined by an early-20th-century European look and a country at constant war with its neighbor, Wilhelm is a model student, so much so that he’s often asked to teach younger kids in the name of obvious plot exposition (still beats Special A, seriously). But one day in the middle of school his childhood friend Allison shows up in her biplane. Apparently she opted for the air force instead of high school.

When they encounter an old man with a bunch of made-up stories, their summer starts to get odd. One of his stories about his days in the army — which he claims to have not made up — turns Allison and Wil’s notions of world history upside down.

But before they can find out more, a man in a black car who claims to be the tax assessor takes oji-san away. Sensing something suspicious, impulsive and athletic Allison drags the reserved and bookish Wil along in a chase that starts by motorcycle but ends the episode in a plane, and very obviously begins a huge old-school adventure.

Psych Evaluation

Are you interested in seeing a cartoon where a pair of kids go off on a grand adventure in what (at first glance) appears to be a family-friendly, but grand and epic way? Would you like to see such a show capably animated in a vaguely vintage-feeling style? Then you, my friend, are sane! I know I want to see it, and I am almost definitely not that crazy.

This show had near-instant appeal for me. In spite of what my sidebar tells you, I’m still in the midst of establishing what to blog, but this has a better chance than most of making it on the list.

Will it hold up? Madhouse’s animation varies between shows but they are solid technicians, usually consistent from beginning to end. In this case it’s not bad, not great, but certainly watchable. Computers are used minimally to improve the smoothness of the airplanes in flight, and it works very well. The music enhances that old-school adventure feel, and seems very cinematic if this episode is any indication.

It was really refreshing, much as I like robots and Jun Fukuyama (and as much as you like fox-girl-panties, come on…), to see something like this. I’m really interested in seeing where it goes.