AnimeSuki Forums

Dop · 2009-01-13, 07:58

noitaminA series are always 'must-watch' for me, as I've never seen one I didn't like and seen many I've loved, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Fevvers · 2009-01-13, 18:47

Although I'm not a fan of the novel (couldn't believe how I suffered through that, really, what with that asshat Genji) and neither am I a big fan of the director's older known works (but then again, the melodrama probably has more to do with the source material more than anything else), noitamina hasn't really let me down that much oh wait... there's Library Wars and very few anime have truly grab me for this season. Ride Back, Kemono no Souja Erin, and that's it. Well, at least this gives me time to finish my tons of backlogged series for last season.

Nerroth · 2009-01-15, 12:13

Yay, it's the 15th!

Looking forward to the first feedback... and for word on subs, too.

SeijiSensei · 2009-01-15, 13:20

Took a quick look around this morning and didn't see any raws yet, either. Not that I'd understand them, just want to see how it looks.

Kaoru Chujo · 2009-01-15, 18:09

I've seen ep1 and liked it. Very beautiful. Rather old-fashioned looking. Definite visual echoes of Oniisama-e, for me. The pace and sound are like a reverie, but not too still. Lots happened.

I like what they have done with the adaptation, so far, moving things around and leaving things out, as they have to do to condense a thousand pages into an anime series. So far, they seem to be picking the right things to include -- and even to add -- so I do get a sense of the characters and what's going on. But then again, I'm very familiar with the novel.

Endou Aya, who will be Murasaki, is entrancing as the narrator. Tamagawa Sakiko as Fujitsubo is brilliantly elegant, though maybe she sounds a bit old for Fujitsubo at the time shown. And Kobayashi Yumiko gives the pre-teen Genji a fresh feel.

I loved how intimate with the seasons the backgrounds and sound made me feel. Very appropriate to the Heian sensibility. The ED was nice, but the OP will take some getting used to. Odd choice.

ThoHell · 2009-01-15, 19:12

Oh dear me....playboy at an early age. Ok, don't think this is going to be a watchable series for me after watching ep 1.

Nerroth · 2009-01-15, 19:53

Ugh, that OP sucks - totally out of place.

(I'm trying one of the raws on YT now - well, as much as they seem to actually have there.)

Celestial Kitsune · 2009-01-15, 21:22

Screenshots for Episode 1

I'll be blogging about this anime regularly

LKK · 2009-01-15, 22:38

The OP song ...

... I didn't mind the visuals but the song ...

... where did that come from?? It didn't fit with any of the rest of the show.

If the first episode is any indication, I might as well forget about watching the raws and just wait for the subs. I understood so very, very little of what happened.

Exias · 2009-01-16, 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by LKK

The OP song ...

... I didn't mind the visuals but the song ...

... where did that come from?? It didn't fit with any of the rest of the show.

If the first episode is any indication, I might as well forget about watching the raws and just wait for the subs. I understood so very, very little of what happened.

I know the feeling, I was a bit "o_O" at the episode; thankfully though, our TL'er had no issues in translating it. \o/

Shiroth · 2009-01-16, 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by LKK

The OP song ...

... I didn't mind the visuals but the song ...

... where did that come from?? It didn't fit with any of the rest of the show.

Yeah the OP song is rather random. I don't mind it, but wow it does not fit.

First episode was very stunning, though i'm not going to lie, about 95% of my attention was directed at the score by S.E.N.S, and probably will be everytime i watch this. I may as well just watch it raw for that reason, 'cause i also understand rather little without subs.

ChibiGoku · 2009-01-16, 08:25

I... have a feeling the opening is probably going to change, animation wise. As it is, TMS generally focuses more on the episode's content than the opening and ending animation. So, hopefully it'll change. Because, honestly, as it stands... That song is SERIOUSLY out of place, especially with the visuals...

It's not a bad song, just it's really out of place as it currently stands.

Anyways, having skimmed over the general episode, the animation is simply a beautiful piece of work. Tezuka Productions and TMS Entertainment doing the animation is a rather interesting combination. I'll actually get a better opinion when I actually watch the episode. I'm actually waiting for subs on this one, simply because this seems rather dialogue heavy...

Voitan · 2009-01-16, 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThoHell

Oh dear me....playboy at an early age. Ok, don't think this is going to be a watchable series for me after watching ep 1.

Heeeeei-yayuh!

Watching, Genji's Playboy Hijinks. (clearly what the title should be for the show)

SeijiSensei · 2009-01-16, 19:51

Well, I thought the show was lovely in both its artwork and background score. Like others I found the Puffy OP pretty inconsistent with the show itself, thus continuing a trend of late seen also in shows like Real Drive and Kurozuka. I recognized the ED artist Atari Kosuke right away as the fellow who did the ED for Natsume Yuujinchou; his voice is pretty distinctive. The OP/ED backgrounds were a bit hard to fathom for me; are they supposed to be scrolls?

I probably missed it in the novel, or it hasn't come up so far in what I've read, but I thought there was a much larger age gap between Genji and Fujitsubo than simply five years. Like Kaoru Chujo, I thought Tamagawa sounded much too old to be a fourteen-year-old, but presumably that will matter less as both characters mature. Kobayashi Himiko does another of her excellent boy characterizations as Hikaru, and Sugita Tomokazu never disappoints, here in the role of To no Chujo. We only heard a brief line of two from Sakurai at the end of the episode; I look forward to the rest of his performance.

In the sub there were a couple of rather strange transitions in the audio, one during the sponsor billboard, one at the midpoint and one at the end of the ED. I'm guessing they were commercials that weren't quite fully removed? I wonder, though, because the segment in the ED sounded a bit like Puffy. (Edit: Please don't take this as a criticism of the sub group in any way. I thought they did a great job especially given how quickly they turned this around. Thanks to Exias and his compatriots for their efforts on our behalf.)

Genji is quite the precocious little fellow though, isn't he?

SageGaiGar · 2009-01-16, 20:11

I noticed the audio issue was well, still to whoever is subbing this, your work is appreciated. Even with the 'glitch', it was still understandable.

While I liked the OP for Kurozuka and Real Drive, I hated this one. It just didn't fit at all. I was more than happy with the ED, thought it sounded a little familiar.

. I'll probably keep an eye on this series, even if Genji is an asshat. (Quite a bold kid as well)

Nerroth · 2009-01-16, 20:58

I see the thread has been moved - but who is carrying the series?

rose-wisteria · 2009-01-16, 21:30

I watched it a few hours ago and man, I loved the first episode. I haven't read the book but thanks to this first episode, I probably will. XD Good show so far. ^.^ And of course, I agree with everyone about the ED being great and the OP... er... not so much.

LKK · 2009-01-16, 22:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I recognized the ED artist Atari Kosuke right away as the fellow who did the ED for Natsume Yuujinchou; his voice is pretty distinctive.

I thought that was the same vocalist! You're right. His singing style is very distinctive.

Quote:

The OP/ED backgrounds were a bit hard to fathom for me; are they supposed to be scrolls?

I'm not sure what the OP/ED visuals were supposed to be, but that's a good guess.

White Manju Bun · 2009-01-16, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerroth

Takahiro Sakurai as Hikaru Genji himself.

Im in

Also if S.E.N.S is doing the music, Im doubly in.

Kaoru Chujo · 2009-01-16, 22:54

1. I think five years is about right for the gap between Genji's and Fujitsubo's ages. I've also found one site that specifically says so. Wikipedia has full info on the whole original story, on its main page and on the pages for each character, if you don't mind spoilers.

2. On rewatching with the sub, I thought I saw a number of places where the anime deviated somewhat from the book. In general, the anime seems to make explicit what is implicit in the book. Like Genji kissing Fujitsubo, for instance. (The whole relationship of the pre-teen Genji with Fujitsubo is covered in less than half a page of the novel's thousand pages, and there is no line about getting stronger and protecting her.)

I was a little put off by the changes, since the novel's restraint is one of its great virtues. But even if the anime is less delicate than the book, it is more delicate than most anime. They have to find a way of telling the story visually and in modern terms. This is, after all, a novel written a full thousand years ago, in a society that might seem utterly weird to us today.

3. I don't see Genji as "an asshat," at all. But I can understand how he might seem that way to us today. The anime has to find a way of getting us into that ancient society so that we see characters more the way they would have been perceived then. Genji was a high aristocrat with royal blood (though not considered a "royal") and recognized as the most beautiful and talented person in Japan.

It was normal in those days for men of rank to be fairly promiscuous. In the terms of the novel -- which was written by a woman -- Genji was extremely honorable with his many women, never abandoning anyone we see in the novel, even after he ceased spending much time with them. That's just how it was then.

4. The background music is sublime.

5. rose-wisteria, if you are at all inclined to read the book, do. It is one of my very favorite books. Not only is it great in itself, but some people consider it the first real novel in the history of the world -- written five centuries before the first European novel. But it is so much more modern in feeling than most old books. The best translation is in Penguin, by Royall Tyler. One warning: the first chapter is not as good as what follows. Lady Murasaki started writing the story chapter by chapter, and passed manuscript copies to other ladies at court as she went on.

2009-01-15, 12:13	Link #23
Nerroth NePoi! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 43	Yay, it's the 15th! Looking forward to the first feedback... and for word on subs, too. __________________

2009-01-15, 13:20	Link #24
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	Took a quick look around this morning and didn't see any raws yet, either. Not that I'd understand them, just want to see how it looks. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2009-01-15, 18:09	Link #25
Kaoru Chujo Yuuki Aoi Join Date: Jul 2004	I've seen ep1 and liked it. Very beautiful. Rather old-fashioned looking. Definite visual echoes of Oniisama-e, for me. The pace and sound are like a reverie, but not too still. Lots happened. I like what they have done with the adaptation, so far, moving things around and leaving things out, as they have to do to condense a thousand pages into an anime series. So far, they seem to be picking the right things to include -- and even to add -- so I do get a sense of the characters and what's going on. But then again, I'm very familiar with the novel. Endou Aya, who will be Murasaki, is entrancing as the narrator. Tamagawa Sakiko as Fujitsubo is brilliantly elegant, though maybe she sounds a bit old for Fujitsubo at the time shown. And Kobayashi Yumiko gives the pre-teen Genji a fresh feel. I loved how intimate with the seasons the backgrounds and sound made me feel. Very appropriate to the Heian sensibility. The ED was nice, but the OP will take some getting used to. Odd choice. __________________ YUUKI Aoi 悠木碧. b92.03.27 (age 29). 2008 Kurenai (Murasaki). 2009 Yumeiro Pâtissière (Ichigo), Kiruminzuu (Riko), Yutori-chan (Yutori-chan). 2010 Vampire Bund (Mina Tepeş), Shiki (Sunako), Samurai Girls (Juubee), Pokémon: Black and White (Iris). 2011 Madoka Magica (Madoka), Gosick (Victorique), A-Channel (Tooru). 2012 Symphogear (Hibiki). 2014 Pilot's Love Song (Claire/Nina), Nanatsu no Taizai (Diane). 2015 Owari no Seraph (Krul Tepes), Rokka no Yuusha (Fremy). 2016 Boku no Hero Academia (Tsuyu, Froppy). 2017 Kino no Tabi (Kino). 2021 Kumo desu ga (watashi), Kaizoku Oujo (Karin), Heike Monogatari (Biwa), etc., etc. Total of 513 roles in anime and games.

2009-01-15, 19:53	Link #27
Nerroth NePoi! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 43	Ugh, that OP sucks - totally out of place. (I'm trying one of the raws on YT now - well, as much as they seem to actually have there.) __________________ Last edited by Nerroth; 2009-01-15 at 20:04.

2009-01-15, 22:38	Link #29
LKK Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Age: 62	The OP song ... ... I didn't mind the visuals but the song ... ... where did that come from?? It didn't fit with any of the rest of the show. If the first episode is any indication, I might as well forget about watching the raws and just wait for the subs. I understood so very, very little of what happened. __________________ Avatar: Hazuki of Natsuyuki Rendezvous / Signature: flowers from Natsuyuki Rendezvous

2009-01-13, 07:58	Link #21
Dop Mmmm.... Join Date: Sep 2006	noitaminA series are always 'must-watch' for me, as I've never seen one I didn't like and seen many I've loved, so I'm looking forward to this one.

2009-01-13, 18:47	Link #22
Fevvers a regular van veen Join Date: Feb 2007	Although I'm not a fan of the novel (couldn't believe how I suffered through that, really, what with that asshat Genji) and neither am I a big fan of the director's older known works (but then again, the melodrama probably has more to do with the source material more than anything else), noitamina hasn't really let me down that much oh wait... there's Library Wars and very few anime have truly grab me for this season. Ride Back, Kemono no Souja Erin, and that's it. Well, at least this gives me time to finish my tons of backlogged series for last season.

2009-01-15, 19:12	Link #26
ThoHell Senior Member Join Date: May 2006	Oh dear me....playboy at an early age. Ok, don't think this is going to be a watchable series for me after watching ep 1.

2009-01-15, 21:22	Link #28
Celestial Kitsune Myobu Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: US	Screenshots for Episode 1 I'll be blogging about this anime regularly

2009-01-16, 08:25	Link #32
ChibiGoku FightingMagic Founder Join Date: May 2004	I... have a feeling the opening is probably going to change, animation wise. As it is, TMS generally focuses more on the episode's content than the opening and ending animation. So, hopefully it'll change. Because, honestly, as it stands... That song is SERIOUSLY out of place, especially with the visuals... It's not a bad song, just it's really out of place as it currently stands. Anyways, having skimmed over the general episode, the animation is simply a beautiful piece of work. Tezuka Productions and TMS Entertainment doing the animation is a rather interesting combination. I'll actually get a better opinion when I actually watch the episode. I'm actually waiting for subs on this one, simply because this seems rather dialogue heavy...

2009-01-16, 19:51	Link #34
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	Well, I thought the show was lovely in both its artwork and background score. Like others I found the Puffy OP pretty inconsistent with the show itself, thus continuing a trend of late seen also in shows like Real Drive and Kurozuka. I recognized the ED artist Atari Kosuke right away as the fellow who did the ED for Natsume Yuujinchou; his voice is pretty distinctive. The OP/ED backgrounds were a bit hard to fathom for me; are they supposed to be scrolls? I probably missed it in the novel, or it hasn't come up so far in what I've read, but I thought there was a much larger age gap between Genji and Fujitsubo than simply five years. Like Kaoru Chujo, I thought Tamagawa sounded much too old to be a fourteen-year-old, but presumably that will matter less as both characters mature. Kobayashi Himiko does another of her excellent boy characterizations as Hikaru, and Sugita Tomokazu never disappoints, here in the role of To no Chujo. We only heard a brief line of two from Sakurai at the end of the episode; I look forward to the rest of his performance. In the sub there were a couple of rather strange transitions in the audio, one during the sponsor billboard, one at the midpoint and one at the end of the ED. I'm guessing they were commercials that weren't quite fully removed? I wonder, though, because the segment in the ED sounded a bit like Puffy. (Edit: Please don't take this as a criticism of the sub group in any way. I thought they did a great job especially given how quickly they turned this around. Thanks to Exias and his compatriots for their efforts on our behalf.) Genji is quite the precocious little fellow though, isn't he? __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2009-01-16 at 20:04.

2009-01-16, 20:11	Link #35
SageGaiGar You are Next Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NE USA	I noticed the audio issue was well, still to whoever is subbing this, your work is appreciated. Even with the 'glitch', it was still understandable. While I liked the OP for Kurozuka and Real Drive, I hated this one. It just didn't fit at all. I was more than happy with the ED, thought it sounded a little familiar. . I'll probably keep an eye on this series, even if Genji is an asshat. (Quite a bold kid as well)

2009-01-16, 20:58	Link #36
Nerroth NePoi! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 43	I see the thread has been moved - but who is carrying the series? __________________ Last edited by Nerroth; 2009-01-16 at 21:54.

2009-01-16, 21:30	Link #37
rose-wisteria ~Cuteness is NOT a Crime~ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: In my mind... Age: 34	I watched it a few hours ago and man, I loved the first episode. I haven't read the book but thanks to this first episode, I probably will. XD Good show so far. ^.^ And of course, I agree with everyone about the ED being great and the OP... er... not so much. __________________ Minnie's Blog- My thoughts, my stories. Hey, Say, Anime!- My anime blog with a group of writers.

2009-01-16, 22:54	Link #40
Kaoru Chujo Yuuki Aoi Join Date: Jul 2004	1. I think five years is about right for the gap between Genji's and Fujitsubo's ages. I've also found one site that specifically says so. Wikipedia has full info on the whole original story, on its main page and on the pages for each character, if you don't mind spoilers. 2. On rewatching with the sub, I thought I saw a number of places where the anime deviated somewhat from the book. In general, the anime seems to make explicit what is implicit in the book. Like Genji kissing Fujitsubo, for instance. (The whole relationship of the pre-teen Genji with Fujitsubo is covered in less than half a page of the novel's thousand pages, and there is no line about getting stronger and protecting her.) I was a little put off by the changes, since the novel's restraint is one of its great virtues. But even if the anime is less delicate than the book, it is more delicate than most anime. They have to find a way of telling the story visually and in modern terms. This is, after all, a novel written a full thousand years ago, in a society that might seem utterly weird to us today. 3. I don't see Genji as "an asshat," at all. But I can understand how he might seem that way to us today. The anime has to find a way of getting us into that ancient society so that we see characters more the way they would have been perceived then. Genji was a high aristocrat with royal blood (though not considered a "royal") and recognized as the most beautiful and talented person in Japan. It was normal in those days for men of rank to be fairly promiscuous. In the terms of the novel -- which was written by a woman -- Genji was extremely honorable with his many women, never abandoning anyone we see in the novel, even after he ceased spending much time with them. That's just how it was then. 4. The background music is sublime. 5. rose-wisteria, if you are at all inclined to read the book, do. It is one of my very favorite books. Not only is it great in itself, but some people consider it the first real novel in the history of the world -- written five centuries before the first European novel. But it is so much more modern in feeling than most old books. The best translation is in Penguin, by Royall Tyler. One warning: the first chapter is not as good as what follows. Lady Murasaki started writing the story chapter by chapter, and passed manuscript copies to other ladies at court as she went on. __________________ YUUKI Aoi 悠木碧. b92.03.27 (age 29). 2008 Kurenai (Murasaki). 2009 Yumeiro Pâtissière (Ichigo), Kiruminzuu (Riko), Yutori-chan (Yutori-chan). 2010 Vampire Bund (Mina Tepeş), Shiki (Sunako), Samurai Girls (Juubee), Pokémon: Black and White (Iris). 2011 Madoka Magica (Madoka), Gosick (Victorique), A-Channel (Tooru). 2012 Symphogear (Hibiki). 2014 Pilot's Love Song (Claire/Nina), Nanatsu no Taizai (Diane). 2015 Owari no Seraph (Krul Tepes), Rokka no Yuusha (Fremy). 2016 Boku no Hero Academia (Tsuyu, Froppy). 2017 Kino no Tabi (Kino). 2021 Kumo desu ga (watashi), Kaizoku Oujo (Karin), Heike Monogatari (Biwa), etc., etc. Total of 513 roles in anime and games.