(CR) White Album 2

[Requiem-x]

Originally Posted by Ringil

Well, the original did not have that initial sequence. Regardless, I felt like the introduction of Kazusa was well executed. I also wish Kazusa had some airtime in the OP, though it might just be this episode with its very Setsuna centric OP and Kazusa centric ED.

However, I felt that things with Setsuna felt like it moved a lot faster than in the game, perhaps a bit too fast.

I got that feeling, but only for an instant, nothing that makes me go WTF.

And the lack of Kasuza in the OP is obviously because she hadn't been introduced yet. I appreciate that attention to detail.

[velocity7]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

I don't get it; "Closing" is the ED song played in the WA2 game if the player definitively chooses Kazusa (NOT a spoiler; we all know that VNs have character-specific routes and sometimes even character-specific songs). But Haruki hasn't gotten anywhere near deciding yet at this point, and yet they spring that song on us?

For the same reason an orchestral version of the song showed up during the extra route that's PS3-only.

[Pen3]

What is the song that Setsuna was singing to at the karaoke?

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep2:

*Black Hair girl talks*
｀;:ﾞ;｀;･(ﾟεﾟ )ﾌﾞｰｯ!!
I now expect an incredible revelation that she(?) is actually a guy in disguise!
(;ﾟДﾟ)(ﾟДﾟ;(ﾟДﾟ; )ﾅ､ﾅﾝﾀﾞｯﾃｰ!!

[ginger02]

Was there a season 1 to this?

Welp, another new show that has me hooked. Music has been great this season.

[pagan poor]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep2:

*Black Hair girl talks*
｀;:ﾞ;｀;･(ﾟεﾟ )ﾌﾞｰｯ!!
I now expect an incredible revelation that she(?) is actually a guy in disguise!
(;ﾟДﾟ)(ﾟДﾟ;(ﾟДﾟ; )ﾅ､ﾅﾝﾀﾞｯﾃｰ!!

Spoiler for ep2 Reply:

Well, then "he" looked pretty good rockin that black two piece outfit at the beginning of ep 1 on stage. With a bigger rack than Ogisa to boot.

I'm on board. Have to watch out for the somewhat wishy washy nature of Ogisa though. Never a final decision with her.

[Pocari_Sweat]

So the first episode wasn't a fluke and because of that I have the biggest grin on my face since I've been waiting forever for a True Tears/ef style romance drama and I think I finally found it. Everything from the beautiful backgrounds (not as good as something from PA Works or KyoAni, but Satelight did a more than sufficient job here considering I've seen some HORRIBLY animated stuff from them) to the melancholic, romanticesque, bittersweet atmosphere it is setting up, to the well written dialogue that clearly illustrates that it knows how set up character interactions and romance buildup unlike the mountains of "light novel" like dialogue out there that in the same genre.

In relation to this episode itself, my favourite part was at the swings with Ogsio and Haruki. Loved the playful flirting between the two and also the fact it was having a go at the "weak, damsel in distress, needed to be protected" trope. Ogsio is clearly independent enough to make her own decisions and the fact she is diligently working at her part-time job portrays she doesn't' need to be babysat.

However, I do have two minor gripes with this series. The first is that I find the fanservice too excessive at bits. I saw numerous obnoxious boobshots of Kazusa and there was one particular scene of Ogsio changing that I didn't like as well. It was pretty distracting in the context of things and I hope it will be kept to a minimum because I don't recall the first episode having much of it. The second gripe is Kazusa's voice actor. That was a lot deeper and huskier than I thought it would be. It's gonna take a while for to get used to considering the promo pic I saw of her (Fag at first sight) I expected a somewhat feminine yet elegant voice.

Regardless, my favourite of the season so far by a comfortable margin and definitely the most promising romance series I've following in a very long time.

I know very little of the Visual Novel but I heard that this season is going to cover the prologue/introductory chapter and the real meat is the closing chapter which is also considerably longer (10h introductory v 30-50h closing chapter is what I heard). I'm hoping that this gets good enough of a reception of a second season (2 cour hopefully) because it's rare to see romantic drama done this well in an anime.

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

You just asked. No subforum needed. I've never been a big fan of subforums, but maybe they make it easier for people who want something specific to find posts about it.

Unfortunately, if everything about one series is one thread, requests and questions are very likely to be buried underneath the constant chit-chat and fanart/video postings of other users, especially those who are just making comments about the series. After all, we're not all moderators who have to go through a thread post by post. A subforum would allow us to categorize discussion threads making it easier for everyone to find what they're looking for.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I looked on the game-maker's site and the anime site and didn't see sheet music among the goods for sale. Sorry I don't know much about this area, but maybe someone else here does.

Their loss, then. I'd love to have piano sheet music for the WA series songs, including ones from WA1 such as Powder Snow or Yuki no Mahou. It'd also be nice if the music sheet book included "cast and creator commentaries" from the singers and composers of each piece of music.

By the way, is there any chance we could see a prequel episode showing Youko Touma's past, possibly even how she came to meet Kazusa's father? I'm sure that could be a nice tragic love story.

And aside from fanservice, was it really necessary for us to see Setsuna primping herself before her "date" in her "really girly" room? If Haruki has already seen her in her frumpy grocery store worker getup, then why would he need to see her in that getup (aside from the fact that it's what she wore in the equivalent game CG)? It's not like he requested that she dress up and smell nice.

I also thought it was funny how Setsuna described her family as the "average Japanese family." Isn't the problematic economic climate forcing more Japanese married partners to both work at least part-time? And aren't marriages in Japan becoming rarer and rarer as Japanese women's standards becoming less and less realistic while Japanese men (such as "grass-eaters") see less and less reason to live up to those standards (tall, wealthy, and well-educated)?

I'm surprised that Kazusa's hands were described as rough and callused. Since when does "tinkling the ivories" give you calluses? Unless she made playing the guitar her primary musical activity (which I highly doubt) wouldn't the calluses eventually come off?

Also, I take it that no one liked how Touya from WA1 didn't have his voice actor speak his thoughts aloud, but instead had his thoughts appear in writing on the screen. Haruki loves to think to himself, with his voice actor speaking his thoughts aloud.

[Freeter]

This director really loves that crotch angle, doesn't he?

Black haired girl's name is Touma? Can we expect some epic punches to go along with those superb piano skills?

[kitten320]

I'm surprised... I'm enjoying this show far more than I expected. It has great visuals, nice music and interesting story so far.

I want to see more.

Fingers crossed, it won't be ruined by the end of the season.

[Requiem-x]

Originally Posted by Freeter

This director really loves that crotch angle, doesn't he?

Black haired girl's name is Touma? Can we expect some epic punches to go along with those superb piano skills?

Considering the path this series will be taking, I actually wouldn't be surprised if there's punching involved at some point.

[Leon_Lelouch]

Originally Posted by Pen3

What is the song that Setsuna was singing to at the karaoke?

you mean the first song? its called 「悪女」sang by 中島みゆき..... I thought I ever heard this from somewhere

about the ed song.... maybe, the director was indirectly telling us which route this series will take or maybe again there'll be a chance for 時の魔法' (insert the year of coda airing here) -_-

and really.... Do we really need to see the scene of Setsuna changing her outfit... and with that angle... looks like the director really like to see the angle from below face...

Kazusa's voice.... well according to Nabatame from her blog, she really need to lower and lower her voice for Kazusa's part in the beginning

really... I think they should later release a booklet for the score sheet of their BGM, songs, etc... hope they will think about this after the WA2 concert later

[velocity7]

Originally Posted by Leon_Lelouch

you mean the first song? its called 「悪女」sang by 中島みゆき..... I thought I ever heard this from somewhere

Never heard this song... sounds pretty good, but also at the same time, an absolute troll...

EDIT: For people who are curious, there is a rough translation of the entire lyrics to Akujo here. You'll see what I mean after reading it...

Originally Posted by Freeter

Black haired girl's name is Touma? Can we expect some epic punches to go along with those superb piano skills?

Spoiler:

No, but you might get some kicking instead.

[Tranhieu]

Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat

However, I do have two minor gripes with this series. The first is that I find the fanservice too excessive at bits. I saw numerous obnoxious boobshots of Kazusa and there was one particular scene of Ogsio changing that I didn't like as well. It was pretty distracting in the context of things and I hope it will be kept to a minimum because I don't recall the first episode having much of it. The second gripe is Kazusa's voice actor. That was a lot deeper and huskier than I thought it would be. It's gonna take a while for to get used to considering the promo pic I saw of her (Fag at first sight) I expected a somewhat feminine yet elegant voice.

My thought exactly. All the service shown in episode 2 isn't necessary considering how well the 1st episode went without having any, at some point I felt as if the person in charge of the storyboard was trying desperately to feed us with boobs.

I was also surprised when Kazusa started speaking for the first time, tbh her voice is a bit disappointing since her appearance and demeanor gave a completely different vibe about her. It's not like the voice acting was terrible (she only had a handful of lines in this episode though) but I reckon most viewers will expect something softer and more feminine.

Apart from that, very solid episode. They keep going straight to the point and the rest of the cast was introduced nicely with strong impression. Plus we also had some character development at the same time so it's all good.

[Leon_Lelouch]

Originally Posted by velocity7

Never heard this song... sounds pretty good, but also at the same time, an absolute troll...

EDIT: For people who are curious, there is a rough translation of the entire lyrics to Akujo here. You'll see what I mean after reading it...

it's actually a bit old song I think
lol, yea.... maybe the story of IC was based on this song (?) lol
look at the tv when Setsuna sang it... really troll....

Originally Posted by Tranhieu

I was also surprised when Kazusa started speaking for the first time, tbh her voice is a bit disappointing since her appearance and demeanor gave a completely different vibe about her. It's not like the voice acting was terrible (she only had a handful of lines in this episode though) but I reckon most viewers will expect something softer and more feminine.

feminine and cute has already been taken by Ogiso Setsuna, and Kazusa's role is for playing the cool beauty one so...

Spoiler:

although later she will use a softer voice

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by Tranhieu

My thought exactly. All the service shown in episode 2 isn't necessary considering how well the 1st episode went without having any, at some point I felt as if the person in charge of the storyboard was trying desperately to feed us with boobs.

Maybe I'm inoculated after watching Infinite Stratos, but I didn't get any impression of excessive fanservice - I never even thought about it ^_^;

Also, seeing Setsuna excitedly dressing up for a joint Karaoke session _did_ have a point. It tells a lot about her character. _She_ is excited and wants to show herself to Haruki in a favorable light.

I was also surprised when Kazusa started speaking for the first time, tbh her voice is a bit disappointing since her appearance and demeanor gave a completely different vibe about her. It's not like the voice acting was terrible (she only had a handful of lines in this episode though) but I reckon most viewers will expect something softer and more feminine.

2 lines only, in which she's coolly scolding Haruki. And she clearly has a big range - just listen to her ED. That's plenty feminine to my ears.

[Tranhieu]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Maybe I'm inoculated after watching Infinite Stratos, but I didn't get any impression of excessive fanservice - I never even thought about it ^_^;

Also, seeing Setsuna excitedly dressing up for a joint Karaoke session _did_ have a point. It tells a lot about her character. _She_ is excited and wants to show herself to Haruki in a favorable light.

I didn't say it was excessive (it didn't get on my nerve, just a tad annoying), but rather that much amount of service is unnecessary. I would have had no trouble with the service if this was an IS (or highschool dxd) kind of show, in fact I would have craved for more if that was actually the case. I never played the visual novel nor learned about the original material beforehand but last week episode convinced me that the show will have a more serious and 'mature' tone to it (or did I get a false impression?). Of course that doesn't mean the show must be service-free, but they could have done it in a more subtle way than placing the camera right next to Touma's bust or showing Setsuna running around in underwear.

I like the karaoke chat as well, one of the best highlights of this week's episode.

Originally Posted by Mentar

2 lines only, in which she's coolly scolding Haruki. And she clearly has a big range - just listen to her ED. That's plenty feminine to my ears.

It doesn't sound cool to me at all, more like a manly voice I would say. But I will wait for more before making any more comment.

[Pen3]

Originally Posted by Leon_Lelouch

you mean the first song? its called 「悪女」sang by 中島みゆき..... I thought I ever heard this from somewhere

Yeah thats it! Thanks for the follow up, i appreciate it

[kobester11]

an okay episode i guess? though the soft filters used in episode 1 are mostly gone here. theres also fanservice(though i kinda find it as cute since she acts like shes going on a date, theyre able to portray her excitedness meeting mc properly).

the technical issues is probably because a different company is doing this episode(aic asta) hope we"ll go back to normal next ep

[kitten320]

I hate fan service shows but I'm honestly confused with all the fan service talk here...
I can't remember a single fan service shot apart from changing and even that was kept to minimum.

I think you guys are over reacting.