Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!

[Anacone]

It was really funny Manabi style wins. I haven't laughed so much long time. Not just funny but has good music, moe & style too although ending song had maybe too much Eurovision feel, but it's not too bad so it has chance to grow. Those "cat smiles" like at 0.45 were bit odd first, but now I think they are cute Certainly something to look forward.

[JediNight]

I have to give it big thumbs up as well. Assuming it holds true to episode one -- this is how moe should be done IMHO. It seems to have a regular good plot coming at us, just with moe characters. I hate it when the moe is the focus of the show and there is a half-assed plot slapped on.

[suguru]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Well, frankly I'm tired of defending simply cute little series just because certain drooling contingents see things ... makes me wonder how a shoe fetishist can stand shoe stores... just open and exposed in broad daylight.

lol...that's a good way to put it...

Loved the first episode--the characters look like they have very different personalities and should be fun to watch, I like the character designs, the animation was good, and while for now it seems to be more school life/comedy, from the PVs I'm guessing once we get to know and like the characters then they'll level up the drama. Although watching the raw with my sorry level of Japanese comprehension, about all I understood of the dialogue was "massugu--go!"

[Kaoru Chujo]

In her interesting blog, Hirano Aya has a little item today saying it's hard to play tsundere, and especially the restrained tsun of her character in Manabi Straight, Mei, the one with long black hair. She adds that the feeling of having a new challenge makes her very happy as a voice actress.

There are some good little pics of her in the blog. Work your way back into December. That's where the parka picture in my avatar comes from. The little wide-angle pics are a lot different from the professional shots in magazines and on her main website. She also has pics of visiting a temple at New Year's. And shots of the screen in a karaoke box, when she and whoever she was with were singing anime songs, I think from Evangelion.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

In her interesting blog, Hirano Aya has a little item today saying it's hard to play tsundere, and especially the restrained tsun of her character in Manabi Straight, Mei, the one with long black hair. She adds that the feeling of having a new challenge makes her very happy as a voice actress.

Did she just confirm my ever unpopular conviction that Suzumiya Haruhi infact isn't a tsundere character?

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

In her interesting blog, Hirano Aya has a little item today saying it's hard to play tsundere, and especially the restrained tsun of her character in Manabi Straight, Mei, the one with long black hair. She adds that the feeling of having a new challenge makes her very happy as a voice actress.

There are some good little pics of her in the blog. Work your way back into December. That's where the parka picture in my avatar comes from. The little wide-angle pics are a lot different from the professional shots in magazines and on her main website. She also has pics of visiting a temple at New Year's. And shots of the screen in a karaoke box, when she and whoever she was with were singing anime songs, I think from Evangelion.

Are you like her publicist or something?

Well at least she seems to be a Jam Project fan. She even kind of imitates there style in concerts with the manic energy and jumping all over the place. She's slowly gaining some respect from me. Wouldn't be surprised to find out she's a mecha fan or something.

Know what, I think I have no beef left with her anymore, she seems hot blooded enough. I've been blaming her all this time for not meeting expectations, when the real problem as with most idols are her groupies who have unrealistic and trumped up visions of her, and frankly scare me, because if they met her on the street they'd either rip her apart in a stampeding frenzy or worse John Lennonize her. God I hate groupies, they're all the same. Wonder how many voice actors in Japan hire bodyguards (cause I would). Which reminds me I read an article somewhere about how her appearance on that talk show had a stacked audience of non-rabid fanboys because she and her agency were afraid they would embarass her. Apparentely something similar happened to Nana Mizuki on the show and they didn't want to repeat the mistake

[Skane]

Originally Posted by suguru

lol...that's a good way to put it...

Loved the first episode--the characters look like they have very different personalities and should be fun to watch, I like the character designs, the animation was good, and while for now it seems to be more school life/comedy, from the PVs I'm guessing once we get to know and like the characters then they'll level up the drama. Although watching the raw with my sorry level of Japanese comprehension, about all I understood of the dialogue was "massugu--go!"

Oh thank goodness! Somebody else finally agrees with me that there will be drama and weepies in the later episodes.

Yay!

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by Toua

Did she just confirm my ever unpopular conviction that Suzumiya Haruhi infact isn't a tsundere character?

...what!? haruhi tsundere!? O.o thats the least i would think of her character

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

This was quick. Medical Berry, Gamblerclub, 4040, and Reason:


A quickie by E.T.C. at the end:

[Vexx]

@Skane: I'm guessing Petopetosan style of plot (lots of funny up front - some heartfelt drama in the peak, subversive messages throughout) so ditto with Skane and Suguru.

@Kaioshin: the Japanese "fanboi" nuts tend to be heavily self-policing, treating the idols as untouchable goddesses. Anyone getting too close has all the others to contend with (that group conformity pressure effect). Couple that with otaku usually just turning into stuttering ooze near real women and being terribly passive - and they're relatively safe. Making one's idol angry or afraid would cause brain implosion of shame. However, the idols do tend to be careful. Given Hirano's current frenzy status -- it might not be unusual for her to be escorted by friends or company personnel.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

In her interesting blog, ...
There are some good little pics of her in the blog. Work your way back into December. That's where the parka picture in my avatar comes from. The little wide-angle pics are a lot different from the professional shots in magazines and on her main website. She also has pics of visiting a temple at New Year's. And shots of the screen in a karaoke box, when she and whoever she was with were singing anime songs, I think from Evangelion.

Has Hirano had her teeth worked on? They seem a lot straighter than I remember from a year or two ago. Heh, she's a brave girl to put that fisheye image of a closeup in her parka out Actually, someone needs to give her a keitei with a higher quality camera The self-snapshot of her in a white tibetan style cap in front of an xmas tree is kind of cute.

[Vexx]

(oops double post ... baka)

[Kaoru Chujo]

I just got a chance to watch episode 1. This is moe in the Kamichu/PetoPeto-san class, it appears. And there seems to be enough intelligence involved to make it promising. The character design and animation are really good, and the characters do seem to have personalities. And I enjoyed the voice-acting: particularly Horie Yui as Manabi and Hirano Aya as Mei, but maybe that's just me. "Bakabakashii."

I don't think that quote from Aaya really said anything about Haruhi. Haruhi might have been a previous tsundere role. I'm not sure whether she would count as a tsundere or not. She certainly had lots of tsun and a few dere moments. But Haruhi was very different from other tsundere, I think, if Shana is the typical example. Too much joy.

If you want to see the best and worst of the idol-seiyuu/otaku-fan dynamic, here is the clip from YouTube where Aaya bursts into tears at the warm reception given her by fans at a live event last May. Her agency got her to more live events last year (67) than any other seiyuu. In October, she collapsed at a recording session for Death Note and cancelled all live appearances for a month.

Aaya is 19. She has been in show business since she was 9 and in anime since she was 13, and was in an idol unit ("Springs") in her mid-teens. So she's used to all this, but maybe not at the intensity it's reaching now. The fact is, however, that she is feeding the fire with daily entires in her photo blog that 2channel is finding fascinating. Posts there are tearing along at a rate of almost a thousand a week right now.

[Vexx]

That clip reminded me of that moment in REC when Aka burst into tears because a little child recognized her work ...

Hirano seriously needed a hug at that moment (from a trusted coworker, ahem).


Random aside: everyone should have a bowl of instant ramen or cup'o'noodles this week to honor the passing of the Noodle King, Momofuku Ando, credited with the invention and proliferation of instant noodles:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbi...eek+exclusives

[Lunacy]

I just read today about Manabi Straght and this caught my attention..

Interestingly, Manabi Straight is taking a new approach to direction, eliminating the traditional "director" position and allowing a team of studio producers and episode directors to share the burden.

What do you guys think?

[Vexx]

That the result *might* be a camel instead of a horse... but we'll see.

[Skane]

So like, I started wondering what would an episode of Manabi Straight by Hideki Anno be like?

Oh noes!

[monir]

Originally Posted by Skane

So like, I started wondering what would an episode of Manabi Straight by Hideki Anno be like?

Oh noes!

In between attempt of extremely cute lolis and angsty looser mecha hero who can never escape from a baleful parent. In other words, disturbingly appealing.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Kaioshin_Sama asked before if I was Hirano Aya's publicist. I was tempted to say: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" I've just posted a longish piece about her on my blog, with photos, and links to YouTube videos.

Every six months or so I change my avatar and sig and learn more about one of my favorite seiyuus. It's Aaya's turn, and she's worth the attention. If you haven't heard her as Layla in NANA, you're missing something (try eps 24-25). And the video of her on a Japanese TV interview show suddenly dropping from her high normal voice into that lower register is a fascinating display of skill.

I'm happy to see her here in Manabi Straight working with Horie Yui. You learn by working with the best, and Hocchan, although I don't love her voice as much as some people do, is one of the top pros in the game. She may be the most popular idol seiyuu of all right now.

[Wavedash]

Off topic: I lean more towards Kaoshin in my opinion of Hirano Aya. I don't think she's especially talented at anything other than different voice registers and a never-ending well of energy, which served her well as Haruhi. For example, in ep 11 of SHnY, Haruhi tells Kyon about the time she realized she was only one of many unremarkable persons in Japan. Listening to Aya in that section quickly made me lose interest, as she speaks in deadpan without emotion. Certainly we all have our different opinions on how much feeling should be in a given scene, but to me, that part required a depth of worldweary angst and depression that Aya was simply unable to convey. She might as well have been talking about what she had for breakfast. In the video Kaoru mentions from the Haruhi DVD extras, it struck me that perhaps she feels uncertain about herself as well, leading to a heartfelt plea to her fans to not forget about her.

On topic: I am hoping that the animation displayed in this first episode remains at the same level of style and energy, because I am starved for some moe that doesn't involve sad girls in snow/summer. As of right now I don't think it will take the Haruhi pathway because Manami appears to be a shade more sensible and considerate of others' feelings than the SOS-dan ultra commander.

[Lunacy]

What do you guys think of the claymation ending?