(CR) White Album (All Episodes, 1-26)

[aohige]

Originally Posted by DingoEnderZOE2

But sir I am offended by your other statement. hmph I can't speak for other people but I do not play these games with my pants down and a box of tissue next to me.

I play them while usually eating slices of pizza and sometimes brownies or milk and cookies next to the monitor to eat after I finish the pizza.

Well, I had to play quite a few games with very, very cold legs before I learned it the hard way. Damn these wishy-washy games that takes forever to get to the point!

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by aohige

Well, I had to play quite a few games with very, very cold legs before I learned it the hard way. Damn these wishy-washy games that takes forever to get to the point!

But the sex isn't really the point anymore. Not in the good games anyway. (Although from my limited experience, the better visual novels tend to be the ones that don't have any sex and aren't eroge at all). I think that's why people are so adamant about a distinction between eroge and hentai games. The sex is generally incidental in most of the better eroge.

[aohige]

Eh, I wasn't looking for a maji-res (serious response) to a toilet humor....
Sheesh, do I really look like the type of person to walk around with my shinanigans hanging ou.... oh nevermind.


aaaaanyways, I finally saw the first ep.
.......wow, my memory really is rusty. I had totally forgotten about the "best friend" and his attraction to Misaki-san.

I chuckled at 163 yen to a dollar though.
Oh, and the comic books on the shelf were awesome.
Mezonetto Takahashi? Tap? Cash Eye!? Kajikazawa Syndicate??? Touya's got good taste in his selection of comics, that's for sure.
(Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi, Touch, Cat's Eye, and Karuizawa Syndrome)
Lots of memorable parodies in the background.... Jaikel Macson anyone?

[Deathkillz]

After watching this episode again with the subs which has allowed me to understand the situation more clearly...

Right...

This won't be ending pretty if the male lead is going to let his harem hang...and boy is it hanging

*Rubs hand and polishes pitchfork*

@aohige ~ you've made my day with those wise cracks XD

[Oxtail]

I think this show has good potential for angst/drama, but the comedy in it kind of falls flat. It feels out of place and every time someone makes a joke I just think to myself "am I supposed to laugh?". Sometimes I can't even tell if they're trying to make a joke or not.

I do love the mid 80's setting. 160 yen to the dollar, lol. 7 years later it would double in value. And the phone cards! I'm digging the nostalgia.

I really really don't like it when Aya Hirano plays "nice" girls. Her Minato/Yuki voice just doesn't sound natural to me. I think she sounds much better when she voices girls with a bit of attitude or some quirkiness.

[Kouvley]

Originally Posted by Oxtail

I really really don't like it when Aya Hirano plays "nice" girls. Her Minato/Yuki voice just doesn't sound natural to me. I think she sounds much better when she voices girls with a bit of attitude or some quirkiness.

Agreed.

She sounds like she's trying too hard to me which I shouldn't really fault her for i suppose, hopefully she will get better as she gets more into the role.

As for the episode itself, not knowing what to expect going into it I found it a bit underwhelming to be honest. I can see some potential though so I'll probably stick around for a few more episodes.

[Julius Firefocht]

Originally Posted by Oxtail

I really really don't like it when Aya Hirano plays "nice" girls. Her Minato/Yuki voice just doesn't sound natural to me. I think she sounds much better when she voices girls with a bit of attitude or some quirkiness.

I thought Aya did a fair job, considering she is voicing a new idol with the stars still in her eyes, so to say. Passionate for her job, enthusiastic and naive to a certain degree. If Aya was aiming to portray these qualities, then she has succeeded, at least in my opinion.

She still can't compare to the pure win that is Nana though.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I liked this first ep. It had some real emotion about it, and people seemed to have interior lives. More seinen than just harem. In fact, perhaps because of the college level of the people, I got some Honey & Clover vibes -- and that would be a good thing.

The guy and Yuki both seem to me to be at a higher level of emotional intensity and truth than most anime characters. Sure, Hirano is somewhat unnatural. That's her style, man. She pushes a lot of feeling through that filter, though. We'll see how it goes: if Yuki really is so fey, and fragile-but-resilient, then the voice works. If she isn't, it doesn't.

I have sometimes thought that Hirano only succeeds when she can make the running, and doesn't have to fit in with a more normal style. Here, I think Maeno is following her to the outer reaches. He's painting a fairly weird character. Which could be a good thing, as far as I am concerned.

Nana-chan's character is a wonderful one, but Nana-chan's very normal delivery makes her fade almost out of sight, for me. This is what I worried about from the start: that Nana-chan's standard pro voice would make Hirano sound incompetent, and Hirano's vividness would make Nana-chan disappear. So far, both may be happening. But maybe it doesn't matter.

The story is working very well for me. And so are the characters. Then again, I loved KGnE, and found the guy twice as interesting as most harem leads. Seinen realism versus shounen cliche.

As you would expect, 2channel seems to be obsessing over the 1980s details. I thought the details were given very well, and the various odd tricks -- long sequences wandering over artifacts of the time; thoughts and descriptions written out on-screen -- all worked for me.

There's something pretty clunky about the look and some of the direction. I thought there were jerky movements, and I noticed some tentacular hands. But I liked some of the details, such as the bag-strap slipping off the guy's shoulder in the scene with Yuki after school.

Anyway, I'm eager to see ep2.

[0utf0xZer0]

I like the melancholic style of this one. There's a few shows of this type that I've seen use this style, but it's still something that's fresh enough for me that I enjoy the contrast to the mood of typical harem shows.

On the other hand, I'm not sure about the characters. They're okay so far, but I'm worried that at some point one of them is going to slip from merely melancholic to outright whiny. I'm well aware that college isn't all fun and parties for everyone (it can actually be somewhat lonely if you're a heavy studier), but if any of the characters start getting really whiny, it's going to get annoying fast. It's a bit annoying but understandable when teens do it, it's VERY annoying when adult characters do it.

[zzeroparticle]

I think people have pretty much commented about the angst, which only makes sense because of Yuki's idol career that's pretty much separated the couple through the distance that work tends to create. The distance becomes even further, especially if Yuki manages to reach celebrity status to the point that the rift becomes irreparable, so we're going to have to see how the relationship will be reconciled, which should be interesting to see.

It's still hard to judge it from just one episode, but I am looking forwards to see how the scenario develops as well as the way the show fleshes out the characters even more.

If there's anything I immediately like about this series though, it's gotta be the BGM.

[meh]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

(´・ω・｀)

Aha~, I see...
Though, still, if the characters don't act the way they did, the game wouldn't be what it was. That wouldn't be good... I mean, if Makoto was this ideal prince charming with the will of... some great protagonist, we wouldn't have some of the routes the game had.
Ah well, the heroines are more important and better anyways, in School Days...

Well, I don't expect them to be prince charming, but as long as they're okay. As in, "is he someone I'd love to be friends with" type of a thing. Anyway, this is going way off topic, so I'll stop here.

Hoping for some good drama in the future. This season is kind of slim when it comes to things to watch, so really hoping his series is a good one.

[Ascaloth]

Episode 1 article is up:

[RIUVA] Trial Run: White Album, Episode 1

It's very intriguing for many reasons, so I'm giving this the 3-episode trial run.

[SuperKnuckles]

Eh. People complain about the angst (like me at times.... True Tears was an ANGST FEST and it had no real ending or logic to it..), but I'm sure everybody who were interested at 1st ep will continue watching it. Like housewives or something.

[Sinestra]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Eh. People complain about the angst (like me at times.... True Tears was an ANGST FEST and it had no real ending or logic to it..), but I'm sure everybody who were interested at 1st ep will continue watching it. Like housewives or something.

LMAO housewives

The angst part is what is going to separate people who are fairly interested in the series to those who are just passing by. Im sure we will see a fair bit of people drop the series because the angst is too much for them. I mean look at what TT did to people. I think several forum members need Prozac and therapy half way through the series.

But the harem potential could keep plenty of people sticking around for more. So far i could 2 possible love interest including his already girlfriend Yuki. Cant remember names yet but The girl his friend has been interested in for 5 years and Yuki's Idol friend. The potential for all out war is growing by the min.

I just hope i can get use to Aya Hirano voicing Yuki it sounds forced and just generally too happy.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

I just hope i can get use to Aya Hirano voicing Yuki it sounds forced and just generally too happy.

Forced and too happy? Seems to me like that might be intentional given the character.

As for the angst thing, angst itself will rarely kill a show for me. It's how the characters act because of the angst. Hence why I say it will be annoying if they get really whiny or something.

[Sinestra]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

Forced and too happy? Seems to me like that might be intentional given the character.

As for the angst thing, angst itself will rarely kill a show for me. It's how the characters act because of the angst. Hence why I say it will be annoying if they get really whiny or something.

I don't know i just cant put my finger on it. Its not like I hate her voice i love it there is just something that sticks around in my head when i hear voice Yuki's role. I don't i cant pin point it exactly i guess i just like it when she a little bit of attitude or is snarky in some way. Oh well after a couple of more episodes my feelings on it will probably fade.

Angst doesn't bother me as long as its done right. But as you stated a lot of people get whiny and bitchy about and end up dropping a series. As long as the progression of the story and character development and interaction are on point there shouldn't be any problems.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Eh. People complain about the angst (like me at times.... True Tears was an ANGST FEST and it had no real ending or logic to it..), but I'm sure everybody who were interested at 1st ep will continue watching it. Like housewives or something.

That last statement was fairly offensive. And the rest I just personally disagree with. true tears was a very good, if not excellent show, with real characters and a story that did, in fact, make sense, especially emotionally.

It bothers me to see people classifying what I regard as true emotion as "angst." It just seems like a way of dismissing feelings that deserve to be taken seriously. I think of these things as emotional depth.

As for Aya in this show, what I hear is not what Sinestra described as "too happy." It's someone in over her head, who knows she should be happy but is really just rushing forward on the path she thinks she wants. I hear an undercurrent of confusion and panic, myself.

This voice is a version of the voice Aya has been using recently: in Hyakko and Akasaka. It's Aya at her least naturalistic, it seems to me, and that is something that can easily put one off. It's not my favorite Aya voice, but it does do a good job of conveying emotional fragility, anyway.

[holyman282]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Eh. People complain about the angst (like me at times.... True Tears was an ANGST FEST and it had no real ending or logic to it..), but I'm sure everybody who were interested at 1st ep will continue watching it. Like housewives or something.

I'm a bit offended as well, True Tears did have logic and a real ending. It's one thing to express one's opinions, but to call other people who likes to watch things to the end like housewives is not only insensitive but tinged with misogyny.

[SwiftStrike]

I guess i'l hear more singing in the future eps?

[Sinestra]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

As for Aya in this show, what I hear is not what Sinestra described as "too happy." It's someone in over her head, who knows she should be happy but is really just rushing forward on the path she thinks she wants. I hear an undercurrent of confusion and panic, myself.

This voice is a version of the voice Aya has been using recently: in Hyakko and Akasaka. It's Aya at her least naturalistic, it seems to me, and that is something that can easily put one off. It's not my favorite Aya voice, but it does do a good job of conveying emotional fragility, anyway.

Thats what i couldnt convey thanks Kaoru Chujo for the help. Thats exactly what i feel when i hear her voicing this particular character it doesnt seem or feel natural.