2012-04-02, 13:22 | Link #121 |
Bury My Shell
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I'm glad I'm hearing good things about this show then. This show is the only one of the two shows (waiting for Hyouka) that I'm looking forward to watch this spring season. I'll wait for a proper HD release by a better sub group.
So it's not license, is it okay to mention sub groups then? |
2012-04-02, 17:14 | Link #123 |
Wonderful Wonderholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: This super duper galaxy
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The first episode was kind of simple and boring to me in the beginning. The opening theme was alright, but I loved the ending theme. It was really cute and it seems to fit the series well. The end almost made me giggle a bit because I found it a little unexpected. Overall, I hope the series continues to get better because I feel like it has a lot of potential.
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2012-04-03, 11:03 | Link #124 |
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
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Ya know ... I was kinda disappointed in the first ep. Seems like it went out of its way to make three of the four main charas as annoying (or maybe trying to show them as "realistic") as possible ... the quiet shrine maiden was the only one of the four who didn't come across as such.
And ... I still don't know what the story is about. But there are some things that look interesting and I still feel the story has potential, so I am gonna keep giving the next few eps a try and hope it will get better. :\
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2012-04-04, 16:49 | Link #125 |
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Personally, I liked the emotional conflict. It seems some depth can be developed in the characters.
I also liked the fact that Mina-chan and Ayahime are the featured pair -- both in this first ep and on the official site -- rather than the other two, who are generally more successful seiyuus (although not better, since I think Ayahime is the best of the four). Enjoyed both the OP and the ED.
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2012-04-04, 17:19 | Link #126 |
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
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Also kinda liked the OP/ED Sphere music ... sounded very much like their anime material, which in my book is good.
Hmm ... I guess for me the emotional conflict was not "convincing". Anyhoo ... it is only the first ep, and I will definitely be giving the next few a try.
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2012-04-04, 22:34 | Link #128 |
The Chaotic Dreamer
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: In a cruel yet beautiful world
Age: 32
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Both the OP and ED were really lovely, didn't think I'd like them as much as I do! And the visuals of the OP had a really nice friendship nostalgia factor to them that was really spot on.
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2012-04-05, 00:04 | Link #129 | |
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Quote:
In prowling around the official site, I found a sort of "official portrait" of the four main seiyuus, featuring the two who are featured:
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2012-04-05, 06:18 | Link #130 |
Spinning round and round~
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Singapore
Age: 32
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First episode throws some conflict in already. Kick-starting character growth so quickly?
That aside, loved the ED theme, which was cute and the performance by the seiyuus were good. Haven't heard Takagaki Ayahi in a while, and I was impressed, as always. |
2012-04-06, 05:55 | Link #135 |
Me, An Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: UK
Age: 33
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Well it was interesting at first but it became less and less throughout. Not exactly a ground breaking first episode. I couldn't really find any of the characters likeable so I didn't care much about their problems.
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2012-04-06, 14:40 | Link #137 |
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
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I watched it again and enjoyed it even more. I don't know whether I "like" the characters, but I find them strong and interesting. Saki has clearly been knocked for a loop by having to move, and has gone a bit crazy.
Ainama suits the soft-spoken miko character (more than she does Medaka). One of the best I've heard. And I thought the blaring voice of Tomacchan as the black-haired girl really worked. There were good pics on the official site's characters page, so I put them together into a characters/seiyuus page to help those of us with poor memories/hearing skills keep the four straight.
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2012-04-06, 20:33 | Link #138 |
Senior Member
Author
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I just watched the first episode.
I'm really loving Natsumi, and I'm really loving the conflict caused by the aloof/difficult Saki. Yuki and Rinko are fairly generic characters, but they do a good job of rounding out the cast and keeping things on an even keel. Basically, Yuki and Rinko compliment the much more high-strung/tense Natsumi and Saki. Natsumi is really a great female lead, imo. I love how she has a genki girl side to her, but is also very serious minded and with a firm sense of duty/obligation. She actually reminds me a bit of Madoka Magica's Sayaka Miki, which is a definite plus for me. Saki, for her part, is an intriguing character. I don't think she's heartless, but she's very proud, rigid, and irritable. How well her character is handled is going to be crucial to this anime, I think. She probably needs to be kept difficult enough to create compelling personality conflict (which she's doing so far, to her credit), but she also can't be so crude and stubborn as to become like Hanasaku Iroha's Minko at her worst. So far the anime has hit the sweet spot with her, and if it continues to do so, this will be a very, very good anime I think. My main "red flag" issue is this wish-stone. That can become an awful Deus ex Machina that undercuts the personality conflicts if it's not used well. So, overall, the first episode is very promising but it does show some potential problems as well. The quality of the writing will be key here. With good writing, this could be a sleeper hit (at a creative level, anyway, I admittedly have no clue how this will do commercially). With poor writing, this could become mediocre fast. But I'm going to be optimistic here. It's already done two things very well that are important, and suggests that good writing is at work here - Have a strong, compelling lead protagonist and have excellent personality conflicts at play. I find that nothing is more important to a Slice of Life/Life Drama anime than those two elements.
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Tags |
seinen, slice of life, supernatural |
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