Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorrow-K
If people have yet to see all 24 episodes of the series, they shouldn't be commenting in this thread, as per the rules that have been laid down in the OP. I don't see how people can (or should) be making any speculations or forming judgements on a partial viewing of the show when this thread is supposed to be a discussion of impressions/opinions formed on all 24 eps. Sorry about playing the wannabe mod, but that's a pet hate of mine.
Anyway, I figure a few people have already read my review, but I've given it a very strong "8". It's an outstanding series, and most of the flaws are really only minor. It's a series that demands a really fine analysis to properly form a judgement of it, since (like many of KyoAni's works) much of the devil is in the details. Much of the character development comes out of little character interactions that seem unimportant at the time but actually make quite profound commentaries on the characters, and much of the plot is propelled by little gestures from the characters that just say big things (Mai taking her mom to the "zoo" was one of the biggest examples of that).
The technical aspects of the show were amazing. I wanted to discuss the seiyuu in my review, but it was already well-and-truly long enough as it was, but the cast was fantastic and there were outstanding performances all round, particularly from Kawasumi Ayako (who I think has seriously matured and come into her own over the last couple of years), Horie Yui and particularly Sugita Tomokazu. The directing was beyond reproach... I rank Ishihara along with Shinbo as my two favourite TV-show directors at the moment. And "Last Regrets" has become my most-listened-to song over the last few weeks.
The only significant criticism I have of the series is that the final episode lacked dramatic tension, but as a conclusion it worked decently enough, and I think most people have already pointed out both its boons and banes, so I won't go over it. Overall, loved the story, loved the characters, will desperately miss the anime. It won't make my top ten list, but I won't be forgetting it any time soon. |
The thing is this thread is probably going to be long gone and/or forgotten by the time I actually finish episode 24 which will probably be early 2008 to mid 2008 if not late 2008, so I want to get it in now. Since the thread doesn't specifically state that you have to have seen each episode in full to the very last minute in order to post, but you have to know about all 24 when discussing, I don't think I've strayed from what is allowed, specifically the "gut feeling" part of the opening post. There's also a lot of ambiguity as to what it means to have seen each episode such as for those who skip previews, opening narration banter, opening themes, eyecatches, slow moments, does that exclude those viewers. Those who have seen raw episodes, subbed episodes, foreign subs, poor quality rips (and I have seen some pretty crappy ripped versions believe me) and the list goes on. What constitutes a full viewing of the series or full impression of the series can be different to a number of people, especially those who may not have a lot of free time on their hands and may skip past entire segments of an episode in order to get to the juicy stuff.
I have considered a LOT of written text and plot synopsis, review summaries of episodes on the show, clips of important scenes and the shows overall course and I am dead certain that 7/10 will be my final score. I've considered a lot more than those people who vote for an episode before it even airs. If I didn't know exactly what was going to happen in each coming episode right down to the minute I wouldn't be giving a final score and its more than just a gut feeling that I'm basing it on. The only thing that would change that is if the animation somehow tanks in which case it would go a bit lower, but I don't think thats going to happen with Kyoto Animation at the helm and from the clips I've seen it hasn't at all. So I hope this follow up to my original post has helped to explain for everybody my reasons for giving the score now.