2010-10-16, 01:24 | Link #61 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Am I the only one that felt this was Kimi ni Todoke and Ugly Betty's lovechild?
I was smiling throughout the entire episode, and I didn't even fast forward and OP or ED. I haven't done that since KnT or Casshern Sins. Easily one of the best anime I've seen in a long time, in terms of story (being a nerd and having a parent that's ill I relate to it), the hilarity, the art, voice and music. They just did all the right things at all the right times to charm the hell out of me.
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2010-10-16, 01:41 | Link #62 | |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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But like Sawako, I think she also has that untapped potential for physical beauty if given the chance.
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2010-10-16, 03:33 | Link #64 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Italy
Age: 37
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Really liked the first episode. It outdid my expectations of the show. I thought it would have been just a collection of short gags related to a group of nerdy girls which basically live at the border of the society, but, to my surprise, the show has showed also some substance. Not that was dull or overemphasized. I really liked how the author conveyed the underlying meaning indirectly with that revelation near the end. It was a bit predictable, since you could foresee it by looking at the heavy make-up and the kitsch clothing, but at the same time it fitted nicely for the mood of the series.
I really hope that the director will manage to keep the same quality for next episodes. If he's able to do this might be my favorite anime this season. Oh, the opening is full of win. The Ed instead is just ok, but it’s nice to see Norio Matsumoto doing something less action oriented every now and then. Now with this, PanSto, and Star Driver, I'm set for fall.
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2010-10-16, 04:42 | Link #66 | |
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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This exceeded all my expectations. First off, the opening is awesome. I was pleasantly surprised the show is nothing like the vids we've seen (not that I didn't like them, it's just that I'm not sure I would have been able to watch 11 episodes like that). The narration was very good and HanaKana is truly shining in this role. The secondary characters are way too stereotyped for my tastes but I liked the main character enough to overlook this point for now. Besides, there's a good chance they have another side to them that will be shown in the future.
I loved the flashback scenes with Tsukimi's mother, they were imbued with sadness thanks to the very nice BGM). I never expected to see scenes like that in this anime. It shows that I really had no idea what I was getting into. Quote:
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2010-10-16, 05:28 | Link #67 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Italy
Age: 37
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I liked how the show avoided the usual cliché: “what really matters is the inside, the outfit doesn’t count”. Of course feeling womanly or seductive is something which is up to your mind, your attitude, your self confidence. But at the same time you cannot look feminine if your clothes are awful and you don’t think about your external appearance.
The transgender really exemplifies this. On one hand he’s at easy with him behaving like a woman. On the other he pays attention to the dress, the make-up and other things, which is why he was so seductive and good looking in the eyes of the main character. Also, is it only me or the mood of the show has a bittersweet flavor? It reminds me of things like Hachikuro or Momonchi
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2010-10-16, 05:47 | Link #68 | |
馬鹿やろ
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Stalker?!
Age: 34
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2010-10-16, 06:21 | Link #69 |
Lurker
Join Date: Oct 2008
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Tsukimi and Sawako are nothing alike.
For one thing, Tsukimi isn't dense to people around her. She knows a hipster when she sees one. Secondly, Sawako is beautiful to begin with. It's that her outward posture was "creepy" or some shoujo fallacy that prevented her to get close to people. Once she smiled people were flocking to her. That's shoujo for ya. I'm liking this show so far. Its depiction of socially underdeveloped women is way more realistic than the romantic and idealistic Kimi ni Todoke. I could not take Sawako serious anymore after a while. There's no way there's someone like her in the real world. None. I won't accept it. If I ever meet one I'll shoot myself. |
2010-10-16, 09:47 | Link #71 | ||
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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2010-10-16, 10:21 | Link #72 | |
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Quote:
Here is my review of the first episode. I only do reviews on a consistent basis if I find a show to be terribly good. BTW, I like Chatmonchy, but I think Janis Ian's At Seventeen is a better fit for the OP. Just listen to it.
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2010-10-16, 10:25 | Link #73 |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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Actually my first idea about their being called Nunz was more of a reference to being a nun, and how the social isolation of their apartment complex could be likened to a nunnery...
Not to say that nuns are fashionably debilitated with social relationship issues. I've seen some very pretty nuns in my life. Blog post to follow.
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2010-10-16, 10:28 | Link #74 | |
Avian Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Quote:
On a lighter note, Hanazawa's role as Tsukimi reminds me of her recent role as Kozue in Occult Academy. Kozue's fetish was the occult rather than jellyfish, and Tsukimi had her own "glasses! glasses!" moment, though she didn't ham it up like Kozue. Although Kozue was primarily comic relief, it was clear that Hanazawa really relished the role and threw herself into it headfirst. I think doing Tsukimi gives her a chance to expand on that character archetype, but this time with a character that has a lot more depth to her. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tsukimi develops and also how Kana handles the role. She's handled the comic aspects of it flawlessly so far, in my opinion. Last edited by Sparrow1770; 2010-10-16 at 10:48. |
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2010-10-16, 10:44 | Link #75 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Just watched the first episode. It's pretty enjoyable; the OP really got such nice tune, while a really small part of the ED (in the part of "Anagata ga Totemo Kirei Darkara, Anata ni Soore o Tsutaetai no Sa" vice versa) reminds me of a Naruto TV OP song Seishun Kyosokyoku! by Sambomaster, yes, the same band is doing this ED (Kimi ni Kirei no Kizuite Okure) for Kuragahime! After a few times listening to the ED I really like it.
Overall, a pretty nice introduction to the show which got characters who have interesting personalities, pacing is okay, and I have heard that the josei manga is pretty good so if the adaptation is good then this may be one of the better shows this fall; the director is Takahiro Omori who has directed great shows like Koi Kaze, Natsume Yūjin-Chō, Jigoku Shoujo, Durarara!!, Baccano!, so I expect that Kuragehime will be a great manga to anime adaptation. Looking forward to next week's episode. |
2010-10-16, 11:25 | Link #76 | |
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 37
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Quote:
I don't want to get into the discussion because this is the wrong thread for it, though i just had to say something.
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2010-10-16, 11:27 | Link #77 |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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Ugly Ducklings
My first real comment would be on Hanazawa Kana’s work. I’m not exactly a fan of hers, though I did enjoy her work in Kobato and Angel Beats, however I don’t think I’ve ever heard her perform anything that would really set her apart from all the other VA’s in the business. While you could instantly recognize her voice in an instant, kind of like for Nakahara Mai or Kugimiya to a slighter extent, I don’t think I’ve ever been really impressed with her work. That would probably change with this series. It’s only one episode in but I am thoroughly impressed with her performance as a socially awkward jellyfish nerd. I’ve really only heard her perform cutesy and adorable characters, so hearing a very subdued performance from her that starts as an introverted girl, then switching to panicked anxiety then to jellyfish scholar was quite impressive. This might be her first defining performance as a VA for me. I initially came into this series because of the director, who also directed Koi Kaze, one of my favorite series of all time. This show of course is whole different affair from the incestuous angst of Koi Kaze, but as a comedy of stereotypes it manages to deliver the rather believable personalities of society’s more unconventional members. A lot of shows cover the usual otaku for effect, but this show handles the type very well and very differently; that is to say, the comedy comes not from the show making fun of how weird or eccentric the otaku are, but rather it comes from how the otaku act and try to be themselves. A lot of shows poke fun at the stereotype a lot to make us laugh, but I enjoyed this for how it humanizes them rather than alienate them, showing through comedy that even while these fringe geeks have their own problems and issues they work through, they still try enjoy life to the fullest in their own ways. Part of that effect is because we aren’t really shown more socially adherent people to compare them to. We can’t make easy judgments because all the characters we’ve seen, excluding the minor ones, are part of their “group”. Aside from Tsukimi’s issues with beauty and being like a princess, there’s no clash between their group and society at large, so we get to see the more eccentric members of society in their own natural habitat as opposed to being compared and criticized for not conforming to social standards. In this way, seeing the manner in which the residents live their lives feels more natural and normal, so to speak. And because the show focuses more on the character’s daily life as opposed to being compared to everyone else, to me it really brings out a lot of Tsukimi’s mindset and her feelings of being something of an “Ugly Duckling”, hence her obsession with princesses and her difficulty relating to other people. While we really haven’t seen enough yet to try and understand why she has her self confidence issues, we could tie some of it up to the fact that… well when you look at her in the first screenshot above, you really wouldn’t think she’s a looker, would you? In a way it is understandable that she would see herself as inferior to the prettier ones out there like Mr. Trap, but then again wouldn’t Mr. Trap represent the fact that anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can be beautiful if they tried? Tsukimi herself isn’t even ugly, hell I’d insist that with enough alterations (and an Animesuki poster rightfully pointed out those eyebrows) she could look quite pretty. Running around in what qualifies as PJs isn’t. I would say that much of it lies in Tsukimi’s only personality and psychological profile, so I would expect to see more of it in the future. It’s so easy for stories to fall into the cliche of inner beauty and all that, while easily forgetting that physical beauty is part and parcel of really wanting to improve oneself. Inner beauty is great and all, and I consider it paramount, but in the same way that inner beauty can be cultivated, so can physical beauty. You don’t need to stop at the inside and forget the outer, because you can have both.
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2010-10-16, 12:52 | Link #78 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Eh Sawako is pretty she just hid that pretty face with her her hair, while this girl is clearly not pretty, just average and short. Going to the city and seeing how pretty the other girls are compared to her cause her to become like she is right now. But yeah she's more Ugly Betty than Sawako if anything when it comes to looks.
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2010-10-16, 13:07 | Link #79 |
In the Tatami Galaxy ↓
Join Date: Feb 2006
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@ZODDGUTS
I disagree. She's not as pretty as Sawako (Sawako is just a one-of-a-kind beauty), but she definitely is pretty. She just needs a lot of work, and it helps that she's not fat and she has good eyes. Sawako is ... really beautiful.
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2010-10-16, 13:11 | Link #80 |
Seishu's Ace
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
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To borrow an old phrase, "You had me at hello." From the intro and the wonderful OP I was completely hooked. While this didn't have the huge laughs Shinryaku Ika Musume did, I had a shit-eating grin on my face for the entire episode. It just made me happy watching it. Great characters, interesting premise, spot-on writing. This is a tremendous start.
Only odd thing for me was, I was sure Banba (the train otaku) was a guy. Ironic, given the premise.
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josei, noitamina, romance |
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