2008-10-02, 15:09 | Link #63 |
Lost in my dreams...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Age: 37
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I found the first episode to be ... largely disappointing. I might have had too much expectations riding on this, but this was seriously unimpressive. The comedy is done in a over-the-top slapstick manner, which i rarely find to be working when trying to work together with darker mood ... and it didn't really work here either. Not like there was all that much in terms of mood to begin with, as the whole episode is best described as dull and un-immersing, and that includes both the characters (though there is some potential here, depending on how things pan out - after all they were barely introduced here) and the action scenes.
The animation is of varying quality. Generally it is pretty decent, but sometimes the character designs flickers and become quite crude and basic. As far as sakuga quality goes, this won't be anything to write home about. Action scenes themselves aren't very impressive either, and it feels there will be little memorable stuff in this regard. There wasn't much effort put in to making the fights dynamic or thrilling, which makes me worried considering this is the case already in the first episode. The story itself might hold some promise, but we will have to see how it unfolds - at any rate, it seems it will be largely episodic until further notice. There was a scene that i quite liked in the first episode though - Spoiler for ep1:
One impressive scene does not a very positive first impression make though, and mine is less than that. Will see how this unfolds, but first episode left a lot to be desired.
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2008-10-02, 16:59 | Link #64 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 38
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"Come on, it's Gainax" doesn't really cut it for me after seeing this episode. I'm usually not that enthusiastic about dark-themed anime, but I gave it a go because, well, Gurren Lagann was awesome; hardly any episodes disappointed. Shikabane Hime's first episode felt like some old relic that was dug up from the 90's anime burial grounds. I'm expecting more from titles this season because there are so many of them, and I've expected less from some, but they did an outstanding job.
Long rant short, I'm not willing to give this series any slack just because it's a Gainax title. |
2008-10-02, 17:04 | Link #65 | |
Ruiner of Things
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Quote:
/snark |
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2008-10-02, 20:41 | Link #67 | |
21st Century Digital Boy
Join Date: Nov 2007
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2008-10-02, 21:46 | Link #69 | |
霊夢→デレ
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: NYC, NY
Age: 46
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Quote:
In reality though episode 1 sucked... but I'll give it another chance
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2008-10-03, 12:50 | Link #70 |
Yoku dekimashita!
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Mpf, at least seems is a new story, characters apart. Chara design suck compared to the manga, but animations aren't so bad. Guess i will follow this serie as filler like rosario + vampire, maybe something good will happen in next episodes.
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2008-10-03, 15:20 | Link #71 |
~ You're dead ^__^* ~
Graphic Designer
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Average first start I guess, but I do hope they will continue to improve (like what it was for GL).
The OP theme was a complete treat for me though even if the episode was sorta average. I actually don't mind seen as we have only just started...but the "monster of the week" theme is hardly encouraging. Still, I have my expectations and it hasn't lessened thus far yet. Just wait until we get into the character development I suppose. One thing I loved was the choice of weapon for Makina. Normally a cliched exorcise weapon would be either a sword...or if it is a firearm, some sort of pistol. But watching automatic uzis being fired made me laugh
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2008-10-04, 14:07 | Link #73 |
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
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This is definitely not my genre. I loathe monster of the week, or even monsters at all. But I got a pretty good feeling from this first episode. The direction/storyboarding seemed fairly sharp, and I liked the voices.
The female lead, Akiyama Nana 秋山奈々, appears to be an 18-year-old model/actress/singer without much anime experience, and you can hear a trace of flatness in her voice, but it gave me a good feeling anyway. Just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with here, I found a couple of pictures of Akiyama Nana, who may be a big selling point for this show in Japan (click to enlarge photos). She has six idol DVDs and some photo books out, has been in eleven dramas and six movies: We can also listen for Fujiwara Keiji, Horie Yui, Nakata Jouji, and Sugita Tomokazu in this episode, and Suwabe Junichi and Yuuki Aoi (Murasaki in Kurenai) to come. The humor didn't do much for me, either, but it did help to vary the mood. angela's singing was great. As far as I can find out, the director, Murata Masahiko, doesn't direct Naruto, he just does some storyboards for it. He did direct Gilgamesh and Jinki:Extend, however, and was animation director for Naruto Shippuuden.
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Last edited by Kaoru Chujo; 2008-10-04 at 14:24. |
2008-10-04, 14:09 | Link #74 |
Last Engage
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Florida
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She may not have much anime experience, but Akiyama did play one of the secondary characters in Kamen Rider Hibiki. Other toku stars on the cast list are Chise Nakamura and Mika Kikuchi, though Mika does have the most anime experience among the group.
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2008-10-04, 15:53 | Link #75 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Suburban DC
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Saw the first episode, thouroughly delivered in action and production quality. That's all I can say really, nothing else really lept out at me.
As for Akiyama, I thought she was really good. She's just not doing "seiyuu acting". |
Tags |
action, gainax, horror, shounen |
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