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Kaioshin Sama · 2012-10-08, 11:31

So I finally got a chance to check this episode out with subtitles and as expected it was absolutely by the textbook Kyoani premiere material and nothing I haven't seen from them before (save for one particular which I'll mention), but at least it's not outright insulting and I could see why people that are into this sort of thing would enjoy it.

While I wouldn't say I enjoyed it (I wasn't immediately turned off by it though which is a pleasant surprise), I can at least see some little improvements Kyoani has made over the years in how they depict their characters, comedy, subject matter etc that could eventually lead to me finding a Kyoani show I'd actually want to stick with down the line without attaching strict conditions if the trend continues. For one while the comedy still relies a lot on the imo over usage of one particular very Japanese styling (manzai) and tended to run over the exact same material throughout the episode (I believe in magical powers->Magical powers are stupid and doesn't exist->Yes they do->No they don't *chop*->*Rikka clutches her head and whines*) it's not absolutely up in your grill explaining every nuance of the joke that just transpired to you like say Lucky Star, thus it gives the material at least some room to breath even if I can't say it had me eliciting more than a couple light chuckles. And while Lucky Star basically felt like a glorification of all things otaku for the sake of promoting Kadokawa Shoten merchandise (something that continued to get more aggressive and really started to turn me off that show) here the tone towards otakudom seems to be more neutral than anything, finding a healthy medium between something like Lucky Star and say Welcome to The NHK. It doesn't seem to particularly feel either way about whether being amused by and into magical anime type things and showing it in a social setting like school is a good thing or a bad thing as of yet judging by how neither of the two characters made any real ground on each other or seriously talked about the matter.

And that seems to be the hook here, a sort of light commentary about the degree to which one ought to embrace their love of entertainment and where it might help to reign it in. I'm not sure if I'm giving the show to much credit here, I mean this is Kyoani and from every experience I've had with them even that seems like it would be too engrossing a concept to actually tackle so I kind of expect the latter episodes to revert more to straight manzai style comedic scenes and romantic angles as our textbook Kyoani male lead (sarcastic tsukommi with what appears to be an endless internal monologue going on) pursues the various "hotties" we see in the opening and throughout the opening episode. Though I must say, I can never find these Kyoani female character designs attractive. Maybe it's how they look caught halfway between chibi and that style that Kyoani used for the second Haruhi season (those stubby digits and limbs man....), but they just don't do anything for me and just look kind of whimsical. Hey though some people are into that though so who am I to really judge.

So anyway much more watchable than I was expecting and for the first time in a while with a Kyoani show I didn't find myself checking the time left in the episode every couple of minutes, but still not sure I want to continue given how much I've already had on my plate this season. I suppose I'll give it one more episode and then decide whether it's something worth keeping and it'll probably hinge on whether it tries to tackle the commentary on otakudom and social behaviors regarding it in school anymore or opts for the safe comedy approach.

As for the animation quality, it was as expected very good and looks VERY similar to your usual Kyoani anime, but I don't find myself really drooling over it here after having been spoiled by many shows that look pretty damn good as well lately and have a lot more going on in their premieres as well. Don't take this as a complaint or hate regarding the animation and content though, I just prefer to be especially down to Earth and sobering when it comes to this particular studios shows that I don't think sees enough skepticism to their approach.

2012-10-08, 11:31	Link #995
Kaioshin Sama Banned Join Date: May 2004 Location: Neither Here nor There Age: 39	So I finally got a chance to check this episode out with subtitles and as expected it was absolutely by the textbook Kyoani premiere material and nothing I haven't seen from them before (save for one particular which I'll mention), but at least it's not outright insulting and I could see why people that are into this sort of thing would enjoy it. While I wouldn't say I enjoyed it (I wasn't immediately turned off by it though which is a pleasant surprise), I can at least see some little improvements Kyoani has made over the years in how they depict their characters, comedy, subject matter etc that could eventually lead to me finding a Kyoani show I'd actually want to stick with down the line without attaching strict conditions if the trend continues. For one while the comedy still relies a lot on the imo over usage of one particular very Japanese styling (manzai) and tended to run over the exact same material throughout the episode (I believe in magical powers->Magical powers are stupid and doesn't exist->Yes they do->No they don't chop->Rikka clutches her head and whines) it's not absolutely up in your grill explaining every nuance of the joke that just transpired to you like say Lucky Star, thus it gives the material at least some room to breath even if I can't say it had me eliciting more than a couple light chuckles. And while Lucky Star basically felt like a glorification of all things otaku for the sake of promoting Kadokawa Shoten merchandise (something that continued to get more aggressive and really started to turn me off that show) here the tone towards otakudom seems to be more neutral than anything, finding a healthy medium between something like Lucky Star and say Welcome to The NHK. It doesn't seem to particularly feel either way about whether being amused by and into magical anime type things and showing it in a social setting like school is a good thing or a bad thing as of yet judging by how neither of the two characters made any real ground on each other or seriously talked about the matter. And that seems to be the hook here, a sort of light commentary about the degree to which one ought to embrace their love of entertainment and where it might help to reign it in. I'm not sure if I'm giving the show to much credit here, I mean this is Kyoani and from every experience I've had with them even that seems like it would be too engrossing a concept to actually tackle so I kind of expect the latter episodes to revert more to straight manzai style comedic scenes and romantic angles as our textbook Kyoani male lead (sarcastic tsukommi with what appears to be an endless internal monologue going on) pursues the various "hotties" we see in the opening and throughout the opening episode. Though I must say, I can never find these Kyoani female character designs attractive. Maybe it's how they look caught halfway between chibi and that style that Kyoani used for the second Haruhi season (those stubby digits and limbs man....), but they just don't do anything for me and just look kind of whimsical. Hey though some people are into that though so who am I to really judge. So anyway much more watchable than I was expecting and for the first time in a while with a Kyoani show I didn't find myself checking the time left in the episode every couple of minutes, but still not sure I want to continue given how much I've already had on my plate this season. I suppose I'll give it one more episode and then decide whether it's something worth keeping and it'll probably hinge on whether it tries to tackle the commentary on otakudom and social behaviors regarding it in school anymore or opts for the safe comedy approach. As for the animation quality, it was as expected very good and looks VERY similar to your usual Kyoani anime, but I don't find myself really drooling over it here after having been spoiled by many shows that look pretty damn good as well lately and have a lot more going on in their premieres as well. Don't take this as a complaint or hate regarding the animation and content though, I just prefer to be especially down to Earth and sobering when it comes to this particular studios shows that I don't think sees enough skepticism to their approach.