(L) Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

[Raiga]

I thought it was kinda interesting how a lot of tropes they're playing completely straight but with a bit of a twist... like how often does the male interest directly mention, "I like her because she's a tsundere and that's cute"? Much less confess in the first episode.

Well, anyhow, I'm intrigued...

[KROMEangel]

Strange; I don't remember ordering any wine with my cheese. :3

Even with all the many 'cliches' that are prevalent, I find the execution done well.
Also, Ryoushi's increased badassery isn't all that far-fetched. I have a feeling he still has a few tricks he hasn't shown yet.

[adamatari]

Well, this is cute, so I may continue watching it, but I am somewhat disappointed with a few things after episode 2. It's annoying that they feel the need to weaken the female main. The emotional component is okay enough; in a fight especially the ability to stay cool despite fear is something any fighter has to learn.

I'm gonna be killing some catgirls here, but I am annoyed that they seem to need to give her electric gloves, and have her as less able to give a strong punch than the male lead. The two aspects of a proper boxing punch's force are the technique of the punch (speed, accuracy, and proper movement) and the weight of the fighter. Likely she's lighter than Ryoushi, but she should have a much better technique. Also, the neko gloves alone should be a fair advantage (assuming they are made of hard material), without any upgrades. There is a reason saps, fistloads and brass knuckles are universal weapons - they make a strong punch into a very dangerous, even deadly, punch. Of course, in real life the "ears" would tear and puncture rather than just make a cute imprint, so it would be bloody.

Those criticisms all fall under the "killing catgirls" category (anime isn't supposed to be realistic, I know), but just on a story note it's annoying that they feel the need to create a "cool, tough" character and then instantly disarm her. It's condescending. I understand the wish fulfillment factor (of course the wimpy guys this is aimed at want to be manly and protect the girl with their fists), but in this context it's annoying. As a character, Ryouko has a lot of attractive elements (and attractive legs), but this episode leaves me with doubts. How is she different from any other typical tsundere character now? She's taller and has legs?

It's still cute, but now it's nothing more than that.

[sikvod00]

^ Yeah, I definitely feel where you're coming from.

[blewin]

Episode 2 really kicks off the anime. I hope it'll get better. Really like the animation as the artwork is same as Toradora's. Ryoushi is quite a cool character with that combination of weakness and strength. and his two dogs are sooo cute!

[mangatron]

What I want to know is, with all the guys looking at them in the park, why didn't he break down into a frenzy and have his phobia kick in....


Naw, I'm thinking too much... /me runs

[Seravy]

Originally Posted by adamatari

It's annoying that they feel the need to weaken the female main.

motherfucking this. at the very least, give it a few episodes before they dig into this stuff.

my other main beef with the ep was the fight scene. as serenade_beta pointed out, the choice of playing the OP as BGM was very weird; jarring IMO. not to mention the excessive dialogue, whole lotta bad guys standing around doing nothing while getting sniped, and disjointed "teamwork" of the other members made the climax completely fizzle out for me.

this show has just dropped off my radar. i am disappoint jc staff, i am disappoint.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Seravy

motherfucking this. at the very least, give it a few episodes before they dig into this stuff.

Why? So you can complain that they spent a quarter or more of the season building her up to be strong, only to weaken her that far into the story to build up the main guy? Personally, I'd rather they not do a bunch of BS for half the season and then rush the character development in the last half.

[spawnofthejudge]

Originally Posted by mangatron

What I want to know is, with all the guys looking at them in the park, why didn't he break down into a frenzy and have his phobia kick in....


Naw, I'm thinking too much... /me runs

They were looking at her rather than him?

*flees*

[mangatron]

Originally Posted by spawnofthejudge

They were looking at her rather than him?

*flees*

*/me hyperextends his arm and grabs spawnofthejudge by the collar

Oh. So the guy with the pipe was aiming at Ookami-chan but "accidentally" hit Ryoushi. I see.

They were back to back! And there were several of them in front of Ryoushi, so....

Yeah, it's suppose to be a fairy tale.

/me hyperdrives into space

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by adamatari

Well, this is cute, so I may continue watching it, but I am somewhat disappointed with a few things after episode 2. It's annoying that they feel the need to weaken the female main. The emotional component is okay enough; in a fight especially the ability to stay cool despite fear is something any fighter has to learn.

I'm gonna be killing some catgirls here, but I am annoyed that they seem to need to give her electric gloves, and have her as less able to give a strong punch than the male lead. The two aspects of a proper boxing punch's force are the technique of the punch (speed, accuracy, and proper movement) and the weight of the fighter. Likely she's lighter than Ryoushi, but she should have a much better technique. Also, the neko gloves alone should be a fair advantage (assuming they are made of hard material), without any upgrades. There is a reason saps, fistloads and brass knuckles are universal weapons - they make a strong punch into a very dangerous, even deadly, punch. Of course, in real life the "ears" would tear and puncture rather than just make a cute imprint, so it would be bloody.

Those criticisms all fall under the "killing catgirls" category (anime isn't supposed to be realistic, I know), but just on a story note it's annoying that they feel the need to create a "cool, tough" character and then instantly disarm her. It's condescending. I understand the wish fulfillment factor (of course the wimpy guys this is aimed at want to be manly and protect the girl with their fists), but in this context it's annoying. As a character, Ryouko has a lot of attractive elements (and attractive legs), but this episode leaves me with doubts. How is she different from any other typical tsundere character now? She's taller and has legs?

It's still cute, but now it's nothing more than that.

Just watched the episode. Though I always lose in fistfights, some experience taught me when fighting when surrounded :

1. Never close your fists before the first attack.
2. If possible, make the first person your shield. Otherwise, find a human one. The psychological effect on your opponent is tremendous.
3. Someone is very likely to end up seriously injured, knocked out or dead. Make sure it isn't you.
4. You don't exactly need a weapon, but never get yourself cornered, always find a hole so you can run. Never stay and fight against more than one person.
5. For equal sized opponents, aim for the forehead and strike as hard as you can. In bigger sized ones, aim behind the knee and run.

Ryouko's limitation to conventional boxing is her undoing. At least Ryoushi knows what it means to take hard hits with open palms and slightly bent elbows, as well as dodging.

[MitsubishiZero]

Right now, from what I see the anime is going rather well. The development of character is not rushed in any way, some level of detail is retained (from the novel)......Mind you, Ep 3 is already finishing Vol. 1 of the novel (though it skipped a few stories/chapters), and I don't know whether the novel comes later or the reverse, but as long as they don't screw it up I am going to watch it for the rest of the coming few months.....

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Just watched the episode. Though I always lose in fistfights, some experience taught me when fighting when surrounded :

1. Never close your fists before the first attack.
2. If possible, make the first person your shield. Otherwise, find a human one. The psychological effect on your opponent is tremendous.
3. Someone is very likely to end up seriously injured, knocked out or dead. Make sure it isn't you.
4. You don't exactly need a weapon, but never get yourself cornered, always find a hole so you can run. Never stay and fight against more than one person.
5. For equal sized opponents, aim for the forehead and strike as hard as you can. In bigger sized ones, aim behind the knee and run.

Ryouko's limitation to conventional boxing is her undoing. At least Ryoushi knows what it means to take hard hits with open palms and slightly bent elbows, as well as dodging.

Never been in fistfights, but even you know all these rules or things-to-remeber, when you actually get involved in a real fistfight you don't really have time to recall all these steps, not to mention how precise your body can execute those actions to achieve your preferred self-defense....

[Seravy]

Originally Posted by GDB

Why? So you can complain that they spent a quarter or more of the season building her up to be strong, only to weaken her that far into the story to build up the main guy? Personally, I'd rather they not do a bunch of BS for half the season and then rush the character development in the last half.

I don't see this as character development. It's bait and switch. They've been selling Ryouko as this kuu-dere character type. I would like to think they would show us how she's been able to go about her daily life before Ryoushi with just her hard working attitude, bravado, bluster, and luck -- but instead we get a freaking 180 in episode 2, playing her as a goddamn damsel in distress. There are better ways they could have worked out her weaknesses. This was nothing less than a freaking cop out.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MitsubishiZero

Never been in fistfights, but even you know all these rules or things-to-remeber, when you actually get involved in a real fistfight you don't really have time to recall all these steps, not to mention how precise your body can execute those actions to achieve your preferred self-defense....

I am stating from what little experience I have. I remembered most (all of which occurred 6-8 years ago) because apparently the pain and hurt from losing knocked it into my head. No. 2, for some reason, became something like a second nature to me : holding the person from behind his collar and swinging him around certainly makes things less painful from what I remember. HAD been involved in a few fistfights, most of which I ended up running from/ dragging a friend away from because they were ambushes.

Like most martial art practitioners, Ryouko didn't know something called adrenal stress control. When surrounded, you don't stay within a certain range : work your way out of that circle. The focus shouldn't be on winning, but rather, escaping. Adrenal stress shifts your mental focus to physical, so if your body doesn't have that "refer to brain again for details" mechanism drilled in (wish I had that wired in when talking or arguing with people instead of just physical ambushes), you'd just get into alot of trouble.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Seravy

I don't see this as character development. It's bait and switch. They've been selling Ryouko as this kuu-dere character type. I would like to think they would show us how she's been able to go about her daily life before Ryoushi with just her hard working attitude, bravado, bluster, and luck -- but instead we get a freaking 180 in episode 2, playing her as a goddamn damsel in distress. There are better ways they could have worked out her weaknesses. This was nothing less than a freaking cop out.

So because it didn't spend half the season repeating the same thing, it's bad? Her actual attitude didn't change at all. The only difference was we were given her inner thoughts. I'm sorry if you expect the character development to go at the same pace a 52 episode series would go, but this doesn't have the episode allotment to waste 8 episodes building her up as untouchable before showing her weak side.

[Seravy]

Originally Posted by GDB

So because it didn't spend half the season repeating the same thing, it's bad?

Yes. I was promised cool & fiesty kuu-dere. JC Staff failed to deliver. As I stated in my original post: I am disappoint JC Staff, I am disappoint.

[frubam]

Just watched ep 1 and 2. I can't think too hard while watching this, I'd probably be disappointed. Ex. how did Ookami know where Ryou was and not everyone else? The shots were being fired from the same direction, it shouldn't have been THAT hard to find him.

While I see what some of you are talking about, with the whole "Ookami needs help too early" thing, it doesn't particularly bother me. Really, from the very first fight at the beg of ep 1, she's been getting helped in some manner or another, so I don't really see her as being all that powerful. The simple fact that she uses specialized gloves gives me that impression. Also, though someone was saying how she survived up til this point, the part where she was talking with the reflection of her younger self makes me think she's had help for quite some time, and something happened that made her want to become stronger. It's not like she lifts weights or anything, plus she's quite slim and flat-chested, and you know those types don't have any physical strength.

Oh well, I don't really care about that anyway, I just like the narrator and Ryoushi's phobia(which is unique to me i guess).

[Kleeyook]

I like Ryoshi. He's cool.
It's a shame he still couldn't conquer his phobia though.

[Raiga]

Originally Posted by frubam

Just watched ep 1 and 2. I can't think too hard while watching this, I'd probably be disappointed. Ex. how did Ookami know where Ryou was and not everyone else? The shots were being fired from the same direction, it shouldn't have been THAT hard to find him.

Eh, knowing what to look for does give you a pretty significant advantage.

[Saturn Beaver]

Originally Posted by mangatron

*/me hyperextends his arm and grabs spawnofthejudge by the collar

Oh. So the guy with the pipe was aiming at Ookami-chan but "accidentally" hit Ryoushi. I see.

They were back to back! And there were several of them in front of Ryoushi, so....

Yeah, it's suppose to be a fairy tale.

/me hyperdrives into space

Or maybe, he was so terrified of the prospect of getting beat up that he forgot his scopophobia? So perhaps a new greater fear makes him forget about his usual fear, it's all in his mind anyway...does this even make any sense? I like it better when we're speculating Keena's secret nature...

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of Ookami being shown to be weak this episode either, but I know something like this will come up eventually so I don't get too bothered by it. What's really bothering me is that an uppercut from a guy who only pulls slingshots can be stronger than a girl who regularly trains herself boxing. Written properly a sinper could be very badass by itself, no need to give him additional powerful close combat skills. Even for an anime, I just think it's weird.