(L) Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko

[Haak]

It's a comedy first and foremost and I'd say the show is supported by some very strong comedy so I'd have to disagree with that. If the comedy has so little impact for you then you're best off dropping it altogether than putting it on hold.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by klare

so confirmed there are no aliens or supernaturals? feels like the show now is supported only by moeness and harem development. put this as on hold

I don't think anything is confirmed yet. There is another character to appear who is shown in a space suit, so who knows? We still have the mystery of those six months when Erio was missing. And shop-grandma expects to be cattle-mutilated sometime soon.

But of course, this is first and foremost a wild comedy, with intense moe characteristics and a harem with one predominant girl and a droll lead. And a couple of characters with backstories to learn. And some character development, at least for Erio.

To be honest, this is my favorite show of the spring, and one whose episodes I watch several times. Just as I did with another less-than-popular Shinbou show last year: Dance in the Vampire Bund. The main strength of both shows, to me, is the interesting visual/aural rhythms and timing that Shinbou seems to be the master of. He is a real artist, when he gets it right, and when he has good material to work with. And in this show, he is presenting what may be the most effective ero-moe I have ever seen. But I guess that is of no interest to some viewers. Fair enough.

[Hooves]

This is just random guessing, but for some reason the girl in the spacesuit at the opening gives me the impression she was the one that lead to Erio's dissapearance back then and made Erio believe she was an alien. Of course that can't be true she is to be added to the harem???

[Ekureiru]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I'm in love with the OP, but the ED and I are also very good friends. Both are among the themes this season that I still listen to right through.

The ED is apparently composed and sung by an artist called Yakushimaro Etsuko. She calls herself Tika α as a composer, and has several groups, including Theory of Relativity and Tutu Helvetica. She has worked with many other musicians, including Kanno Youko and SMAP. For someone who is not quite 24, she has a long discography. She is also a visual artist and narrator. She sang in the ED to Tatami Galaxy.

She's also done the OP to both seasons of Arakawa Under the Bridge. The first OP she did (for the first season) was Venus to Jesus, while the second OP (for the second season) was Cosmos vs Aliens.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by klare

so confirmed there are no aliens or supernaturals? feels like the show now is supported only by moeness and harem development

put this as on hold

Agreeing with this. I was coming into this expecting a SHAFT-y, weird blend of Bakemonogatari, Haruhi Suzumiya and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni only with aliens instead of gods.

What I got was a generic harem moeblob show with a ton of deliciously hot women desperate to fling themselves on the protagonist. Sweaty basement otaku wish-fulfillment fantasy at its finest.

Nobody's died yet, nobody's gone insane and gone on a murderous rampage, aliens haven't abducted anyone, no MJ-12, no men in black, no Illuminati, no Noisy Crickets...

Bo~ring.

Edit: Sorry SHAFT, but Puella Magi Madoka Magica set a new standard for your work. Producing this... after achieving that level of excellence is just a shame. The bar's been raised and you guys did the raising yourself--so what the hell is this?

[Marcus H.]

so what the hell is this?

If every single anime that would follow Puella Magi Madoka Magica is gonna follow suit, then it would leave a bad taste, because they will eventually run out of ideas and rely on the opposite of moe — violence.

[jeroz]

Madoka Magica is an oddity in SHAFT's lineup of works. If you had been following the studio you would know that Denpa Onna is what they often do: a cast of oddball eccentric characters doing crazy things (these days with an extra male protagonist that frequently comments on the absurdity).
They occasionally goes into the serious darker side, but that's pretty rare.

Why I have a feeling that a lot of people only first heard about SHAFT because of Madoka Magica?

[applejuice]

@synaesthetic: You are disappointed in Shaft since they are doing anime of the genre which they are used to do? Make no sense. Shaft has always been playing otakus with their own unique standard of moe-ness that differs from Kyoto Animation. You are very late for realising it.

Plus, generic harem? Sadly, it is not. There is much better word describing this genre; which is called 靑一點.

[Silverwyrm]

Now I liked Madoka Magica but I hope comparing every other shaft show to it isn't going to become a trend Denpa contains much of what I like best about Shaft

[jeroz]

Off topic a bit

to be honest, if you tell me that SHAFT is doing a magical girl show without Urobuchi

I wouldn't even touch it.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by jeroz

Madoka Magica is an oddity in SHAFT's lineup of works. If you had been following the studio you would know that Denpa Onna is what they often do: a cast of oddball eccentric characters doing crazy things (these days with an extra male protagonist that frequently comments on the absurdity).
They occasionally goes into the serious darker side, but that's pretty rare.

Why I have a feeling that a lot of people only first heard about SHAFT because of Madoka Magica?

Not only that, if people bothered to do some background check, they would find that for the entire last decade, the only show they had that broke 10k sales in dvd/bd was Bakemonogatari- albeit, it's one hell of a break.

Shaft is not a studio that constantly churn out record breaking hits, to expect otherwise is well... Pretty delusional thinking. They only got lucky with Urobuchi that's all... Could have happened to anybody

[Malkuth]

SHAFT has much more variety than most studios, from ef, to Tsukuyomi, to Bakemonogatari, to Madoka, to Negima, to Hidamari, to Denpa, for some examples of shows that belong to different genres.

[Ekureiru]

I'm finding the above rage post a little... worrying.

Although Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is probably one of the best SHAFT works to date, alongside their legion of other good material... it's still a unique case. An anime like MSMM was something that SHAFT did that was far from 'normal' comparative to how they do their usual works. You can't expect the one-time anime to set a standard for the studio's entire showlisting.

@Malkuth: Precisely.

[erneiz_hyde]

SHAFT: Where socially dysfunctional girls look attractive.

Seriously they've been doing this for a long time now, you can call them a specialist on oddball and eccentric characters.

Btw since someone brought this up

Yakushimaro Etsuko

I'm gonna say she's one of my favorite singers since Venus&Jesus. She has a unique voice that is somehow...cute?...erotic?...erotically cute?...whatever, it's that unique voice that hooked me up.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

SHAFT: Where socially dysfunctional girls look attractive.

That's because they are attractive IRL

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

Seriously they've been doing this for a long time now, you can call them a specialist on oddball and eccentric characters.

LOL, who exactly was dysfunctional in Madoka, Soredemo, Hidamari, Negima, Rec? At least no more than you average girl in any late night anime.

[applejuice]

Originally Posted by jeroz

Off topic a bit

to be honest, if you tell me that SHAFT is doing a magical girl show without Urobuchi

I wouldn't even touch it.

There is already one, Negima!?. It is magical girl genre, but still full of shaft.

Originally Posted by Malkuth

LOL, who exactly was dysfunctional in Madoka, Soredemo, Hidamari, Negima, Rec? At least no more than you average girl in any late night anime.

You only listed Shaft product that is normal. MariHoli, Vampire Bund, SZS, Bakemonogatari, Pani Poni Dash, Arakawa, Neko-mimi mode, is totally dysfunctional, and these are almost half of their series line-ups.

Plus, Madoka, Negima is dysfunctional in sense how characters are presented. REC is not Shinbo-era product. Soremachi was only animation from Shaft that you can really call it normal. Edited: and Hidamari.

[zarqu]

To even out the Madoka fanboyism, I'm disappointed that this is not another Bakemonogatari. WTF are you doing Shaft ??!1

I'm sorry shaft, but Bakemonogatari set a new standard for your work.

Originally Posted by jeroz

Why I have a feeling that a lot of people only first heard about SHAFT because of Madoka Magica?

Madoka certainly appeals to a wider audience, and it was pretty hyped from what I gathered.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by applejuice

You only listed Shaft product that is normal. MariHoli, Vampire Bund, SZS, Bakemonogatari, Pani Poni Dash, Arakawa, Neko-mimi mode, is totally dysfunctional, and these are almost half of their series line-ups.

To make my point

Originally Posted by applejuice

Plus, Madoka, Negima is dysfunctional in sense how characters are presented. REC is not Shinbo-era product. Soremachi was only animation from Shaft that you can really call it normal. Edited: and Hidamari.

In Madoka only 2nd iteration Homura and thereafter could be considered unfriendly, but no way socially dysfunctional at Hitagi or Erio levels. In Negima, some girls are a little eccentric but still quite social. And we are talking about the studio, not Shinbou, however much influence the man has, SHAFT is not Shinbou

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by klare

so confirmed there are no aliens or supernaturals? feels like the show now is supported only by moeness and harem development

put this as on hold

Thing is, if there aren't any aliens, then you would need a "real life" explanation for her disappearance and memory-loss. I wonder how moe that would turn out to be?

[mysterious]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Agreeing with this. I was coming into this expecting a SHAFT-y, weird blend of Bakemonogatari, Haruhi Suzumiya and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni only with aliens instead of gods.

What I got was a generic harem moeblob show with a ton of deliciously hot women desperate to *** themselves on the protagonist's ***. Sweaty basement otaku wish-fulfillment fantasy at its finest.

For the record, I dont like Bakemonogatari, Haruhi or Higurashi though so I certainly glad those three shows have nothing to do with this show. And I am not a sweaty basement otaku either.

Edit: Sorry SHAFT, but Puella Magi Madoka Magica set a new standard for your work. Producing this puerile moeshit after achieving that level of excellence is just a *** shame. The bar's been raised and you guys did the raising yourself--so what the hell is this?

An outstanding show with moe girls with crazy antics, one of the best MILF ever, and some touching moments. That is what it is. Any questions?