(L) Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by tigerwoods

..A really daring Sora in the third episode, I would have never thought her personality could change like that....

This makes sense, but I actually think Sora didn't change. She is a shy country girl, but she is also a determined country girl. She went right ahead and even suggested using magic for her friend, for example. And she made her own way from the station to the magic school. I think we just expect her to be shyer than she is, because of her manner, but maybe she is like some women I know in being shy on the outside, but bold on the inside -- at least when she is sure she is doing something good for someone.

Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly that she was great in this episode.

[Chase]

oh my goodness at the one scene where the kids were running by sora, was that shortcut city or was i looking at sextuplets.XD

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Until the third season, ARIA ran quite noticeably low on budget... Only the last two Hal series had a lot of buck going on for them (ARIA third season and Sketchbook).

There are plenty of things that have better animation than ARIA, but ARIA always came off as fairly polished to me. If there were deficiencies in the budget, then I thought they did a pretty good job at hiding them.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 3

Ignoring the very sudden jump from Sora getting under her client's skin by not fulfilling the request and interfering with her personally to them sharing a cup of tea and a Hallmark moment over her photo album, this was a really good episode. I'm surprised how forceful Sora was with her client, she seemingly did everything she could to piss her off, but, unlike the other mages that went before her, she did service what I think was a veiled plea for attention.

It looks like they've got some interesting character set ups going on here. The class of mages adds an interesting dynamic to everything as well, something that was missing from the first MTnTnK.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Episode 4 was scheduled to air on Wednesday 23 July, but was cancelled due to a special on the recent earthquake(s) in Japan. It will now air on Wednesday 30 July.

[blewin]

Sora seems a stronger girl to me then Yume (Someday's Dreamers). She insists strongly on what she feels to be right. I got a laugh out of the episode when she reveals how she's destroyed the lock rather than simply unlocking the safe (without anyone knowing, esp how her teacher missed that bit too!).

On the other hand, we get to see the guy (forgot his name) struggling to do simple magic. A very different perspective, which is as Sorrow said, missing from Someday's Dreamers. The two story threads are nicely balanced, and I say we can expect some very good interaction when the two threads converge.

[kari-no-sugata]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Episode 4 was scheduled to air on Wednesday 23 July, but was cancelled due to a special on the recent earthquake(s) in Japan. It will now air on Wednesday 30 July.

Thanks for the info - I can see it on the home page too.

Does this mean 2 eps will be broadcast on the 30th, I wonder...? (Website doesn't say as far as I can tell)

Hmm, seems it isn't broadcast on other channels...

[BBOvenGuy]

Sora doesn't get a uniform or a nifty holographic-projection ring, like Yume did. There must have been budget cuts at the Bureau of Magic.

[selkirk]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Sora doesn't get a uniform or a nifty holographic-projection ring, like Yume did. There must have been budget cuts at the Bureau of Magic.

Well, she becomes Mahou Meido Sora-chan in chapter 3 of the manga.



(by the way, Episode 3 was about 98% different from chapter 3 of the manga.)

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by kari-no-sugata

Thanks for the info - I can see it on the home page too. Does this mean 2 eps will be broadcast on the 30th, I wonder...? (Website doesn't say as far as I can tell) Hmm, seems it isn't broadcast on other channels...

According to shoboi calendar, they will just push the eps all back a week. The final ep, ep12, will then be on 24 September. This is not official, but that site is usually reliable. The show is on TV Asahi. It will be replayed on Kids' Station, starting with ep1 on Thursday 7 August.

[rjd22]

I really liked this second ep. Had some action in it and gave a good view of sora's powers.

btw we released ep 2

http://fansub.ftp-anime.com

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Sora doesn't get a uniform or a nifty holographic-projection ring, like Yume did. There must have been budget cuts at the Bureau of Magic.

Good. I hated that dolphin. I really did.

Originally Posted by selkirk

Well, she becomes Mahou Meido Sora-chan in chapter 3 of the manga.



(by the way, Episode 3 was about 98% different from chapter 3 of the manga.)

Goddamn, Sora is a lot more moe in the manga. I think it goes without saying that Kobayashi's style doesn't really translate moe well.

[blewin]

Is the manga finished?

[selkirk]

Originally Posted by blewin

Is the manga finished?

No. The 6th chapter will be coming out tomorrow (magazine).

The first tankoubon came out last month, and should have the first 5 chapters (I've only been getting the magazine releases so far). The 4th chapter was pretty important in terms of the plot. Chap5 was a short flashback to Sora's childhood.

I'm guessing the series will end at two tankoubon, since the plot is already all set (in the manga). The anime hasn't really started on that yet as far as I can see, but the anime gets a couple of episodes more than chapters in the manga, so it can afford to have a filler or two .

[Babbito]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Pretty good 3rd episode with the plotline. BUT, I'm still having major issues with the animators getting all lazy and panning to the background instead of animating what's actually happening.

This isn't an animator issue. This is the Kobayashi directorial style. No, seriously. Whenever possible he likes to focus on the background, characters are static, a lot of the time when characters are talking their mouths won't be shown, oh, and he's obsessed with cars (see: Paradise Kiss). But it's something I've noticed since Beck that got only more prominent with Paradise Kiss. I don't know if it's a cost-cutting move on his part, or what, but that's how he likes to make his shows.

I'm generally not a fan, but I know there are people who don't mind it.

[Mirrinus]

Started following this anime, and so far it's the only show this summer that I intend to finish. Sure, it's relatively uneventful, and the gorgeous backgrounds often clash with the poor character designs, but it's got a quiet charm to it that makes me want to continue watching. I'm especially intrigued by the classroom dynamics; the whole petty academic competitiveness feels so familiar to me that I'd love to see more of it. The summer imagery and motifs also seem quite fitting right now.

Yeah, the series feels like a slide show at times...but it's still so pretty!

[kari-no-sugata]

Originally Posted by Babbito

This isn't an animator issue. This is the Kobayashi directorial style. No, seriously. Whenever possible he likes to focus on the background, characters are static, a lot of the time when characters are talking their mouths won't be shown, oh, and he's obsessed with cars (see: Paradise Kiss). But it's something I've noticed since Beck that got only more prominent with Paradise Kiss. I don't know if it's a cost-cutting move on his part, or what, but that's how he likes to make his shows.

I'm generally not a fan, but I know there are people who don't mind it.

It's a Japanese (asian?) thing to focus more on the backgrounds, to the extent that an important word in photography is based on a Japanese word:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

Bokeh (derived from Japanese bokeaji ボケ味, "blur") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

But, I'm sure this won't change your feelings towards the show at all

[Babbito]

@kari-no-sugata, don't get me wrong, it's not like I dislike the show. I haven't seen enough of it yet to make a decision either way. I meant that I'm generally not a fan of Kobayashi's style of directing. And it's also not like I'm unaware of the technique being used (Though, admittedly, I didn't know the name). It's just that Kobayashi tends to over-use it, IMO.

It's not like I'm the only one to pick up on it, either. One of my good friends also commented on how much he used this technique in ParaKiss without my having mentioned anything about the director/style. But then, we're both fans of the manga and as far as Yazawa Ai adaptations go, Nana's adaptation was much, much better (also a Madhouse anime like ParaKiss). Another one of my friends was enjoying the Beck anime until she started reading the manga, then she just couldn't enjoy it as much, after. The manga is very dynamic (take the bicycle sequence, for instance), something which just didn't come across as well under Kobayashi's direction.

And please don't take this as me having something against him personally. I met him at AX back in '05 and he was a really nice guy . . . I'm just not a fan of his work. But, you know, different strokes for different folks.

Errr, sorry for this digression. I'll stay more on-topic in the future. I liked the first Someday's Dreamers so I'm definitely going to give this one a chance.

P.S. One last bit of off-topicness: So excited for the Skip Beat anime! Love your icon.

[kari-no-sugata]

Originally Posted by Babbito

@kari-no-sugata, don't get me wrong, it's not like I dislike the show. I haven't seen enough of it yet to make a decision either way. I meant that I'm generally not a fan of Kobayashi's style of directing. And it's also not like I'm unaware of the technique being used (Though, admittedly, I didn't know the name). It's just that Kobayashi tends to over-use it, IMO.

Hi Babbito - nice detailed reply... though I hope you didn't take my post as being negative. I just felt like pointing something out.

It's not like I'm the only one to pick up on it, either. One of my good friends also commented on how much he used this technique in ParaKiss without my having mentioned anything about the director/style. But then, we're both fans of the manga and as far as Yazawa Ai adaptations go, Nana's adaptation was much, much better (also a Madhouse anime like ParaKiss). Another one of my friends was enjoying the Beck anime until she started reading the manga, then she just couldn't enjoy it as much, after. The manga is very dynamic (take the bicycle sequence, for instance), something which just didn't come across as well under Kobayashi's direction.

I was a fan of Beck long before the anime came out, so I know what you mean. The style here in "Natsu no Sora" certainly does take some getting used to - took me until ep 3.

And please don't take this as me having something against him personally. I met him at AX back in '05 and he was a really nice guy . . . I'm just not a fan of his work. But, you know, different strokes for different folks.

Indeed. At least there is some variety out there though (would be dull if all directors were the same). Sometimes having a clear artistic / dramatic vision behind a series can be very welcome. Sometimes it can be a case of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Personally though, I don't tend to follow "names" (directors, film studios, seiyuu much), and just watch the first few eps of all anime without researching them much. There are times when I'll drop a series on the first ep though - sometimes even before finishing the first ep.

Errr, sorry for this digression. I'll stay more on-topic in the future. I liked the first Someday's Dreamers so I'm definitely going to give this one a chance.

Hehe... well, it's fine I think. Though it has magic in it, it's rather ordinary in setting (no world changing events here) and the measured pacing does rather limit the possibilities for discussion.

P.S. One last bit of off-topicness: So excited for the Skip Beat anime! Love your icon.

Thanks! I've only ever had a blank avatar or this one. I'm very much in two minds about a Skip Beat anime, but since it's my current favourite manga series, it does rather make me want to promote it a bit

I wonder how director Sayama Kiyoko will handle it...

[Kaoru Chujo]

Personally, I've always liked Kobayashi's stye. Including the lovely money-saving long shots.