(L+CR) Samurai Flamenco

[Goty]

Originally Posted by Katapan

I'm bummed that it seems to be flopping so hard

How do you know it "flopped so hard" after episode 2 barely aired? This isn't rotoscoped.

[kuromitsu]

Even 2ch seems to mostly like it so far (after they got over the "omg homo" hysterics, and I'm sure the idol girls helped). I'm sure that this series won't be much of a commercial success, but unless it does something very wrong it'll find its audience.

[Guardian Enzo]

I was impressed with the umbrella and garbage themes in this episode, because they're two of the absurdities of Japanese life I find fascinating. When I moved into my apartment the agent gave me what I thought was the local phone book, and turned out to be directions for throwing out the trash. It's insane, the obsession this country has with organizing trash. As for umbrellas, another obsession here is honestly - large sums are cash are almost always turned in when found, and when folks lose their wallet the police give them some money to tide them over. But these same Japanese think nothing whatsoever of stealing umbrellas every time it drizzles. They're treated almost as disposable items here.

[Kakkou]

Loved the whole thing about stealing umbrellas. Sure the umbrella may be cheap but it won't be once you end up having to buy it over and over again!!

[Guardian Enzo]

I really think this series is quite deep in terms of what it's saying about Japanese society. Yes, Hazama-kun is a pain-in-the-ass - but you know, stealing an umbrella is still wrong. This is a superhero (more specifically super-sentai) show in the modern Japanese context - the hero's greatest enemy is apathy. A masked crime-fighter in Tokyo would have a damn hard time finding any murderers or even burglars, but no shortage of curiosity-seekers whipping out their eponymous camera phones to document his weirdness on Niconico.

[Katapan]

Originally Posted by Goty

How do you know it "flopped so hard" after episode 2 barely aired? This isn't rotoscoped.

It's just that the early signs are highly underwhelming. The preorder rankings are abysmal, the tag is dead on Pixiv, etc. Of course we're only 2 episodes in (hence why I said it *seems* to be a flop), but that's also how anime is - if you miss the boat this badly after the very start, then you're practically never going to be a commercial success. At this rate, if it maintains the quality, the most likely scenario is that it'll slowly pick up and do "ok" at best.

As fertygo said though, it doesn't really matter. I'll just be glad we'll be getting 22 episodes, and it's not like this is the director's first major job, he'll get other promising opportunities even if this doesn't work out.

[MisaoFan]

Spoiler for Episode 2:

The show still doesn't grap my mind yet, but despite the lacking animation, I kinda enjoyed the atmosphere and Mineral Miracle Muse group have its own share of attractiveness so far. I expected this show to have a lot of action but so far it's most likely a slice of life with a theme of superhero. Let's see how it goes since it's 2-cour.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kakkou

Loved the whole thing about stealing umbrellas. Sure the umbrella may be cheap but it won't be once you end up having to buy it over and over again!!

It's not about the money, it's about sending a... sorry. It's about rightful owners getting wet and more importantly maybe being sentimentally attached to the umbrella. (Marimite had an arc about that.)

[Kirarakim]

Somehow this umbrella discussion made me think of how orderly everything is in Japan when it rains (at least as it appeared to me).

Every single person has their umbrella ready when it starts to rain, there are plastic bags left out to carry your wet umbrella (my favorite aspect), and obviously there is a rack outside stores/restaurants to leave your umbrella (though I never thought about umbrellas getting stolen)

Here people just put their wet umbrella on the seat next to them on the bus.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Somehow this umbrella discussion made me think of how orderly everything is in Japan when it rains (at least as it appeared to me).

Every single person has their umbrella ready when it starts to rains, there are plastic bags left out to carry your wet umbrella (my favorite aspect), and obviously there is a rack outside stores/restaurants to leave your umbrella (though I never thought about umbrellas getting stolen)

Here people just put their wet umbrella on the seat next to them on the bus.

At least in the parts of America where I lived, umbrella racks or at least bins at restaurants and stores weren't that uncommon. But the best part here is the machines that autmoatically dispense those plastic bags and wrap your umbrella in them - very cool, except that they don't work on portables (which also don't fit in the racks).

[pampz21]

Wish they'll explain why they choose the name Flamenco!?

[kuromitsu]

Am I the only one who always carries a portable umbrella and a small plastic bag to hold it in whenever the weather is generally bad? I've been doing the latter for ages.

[Frontier]

I find it ironic that Haruka Tomatsu is playing an idol who appears to be a fan or heroes, when she's currently playing a Sentai villain who acts like an idol from time to time .

I think Tomatsu even uses a similar voice for both of them.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Am I the only one who always carries a portable umbrella and a small plastic bag to hold it in whenever the weather is generally bad? I've been doing the latter for ages.

Yes I do the same thing actually. But more because I hate having to hold a wet umbrella.

[jeroz]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

the best part here is the machines that autmoatically dispense those plastic bags and wrap your umbrella in them - very cool, except that they don't work on portables (which also don't fit in the racks).

those things are the best. you stick it in, pull it out, and the cover is on automatically nice and simple

[Kaoru Chujo]

Here's a characters/seiyuus page for this show, with pics of nine characters and their seiyuus, and a bit of info about each seiyuu.

It's an interesting cast, with a couple of stars near the top (Sugita and Tomatsu), a lesser known bishounen (Masuda Toshiki) in the leading role, two rather new voices in the middle (the ex-gravure idol M.A.O. and 15-year-old Yamazaki Erii) and then four heavy-hitting old pros to round out the cast: Kosugi Juurouta (Tekkaman Lance, Brialeos in Appleseed); Ookawa Tooru; Nakamura Chie (who has made a career playing Sakura in Naruto shows); and Mikami Satoshi, a TV and film actor who also dubs the voice of Sherlock Holmes (the one played by Benedict Cumberbatch).

[Shadow5YA]

Forget Batman and Superman, Samurai Flamenco has to have the most original backstory ever.

"I stole someone's umbrella. It really messed me up"

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Here's a characters/seiyuus page for this show, with pics of nine characters and their seiyuus, and a bit of info about each seiyuu.

It's an interesting cast, with a couple of stars near the top (Sugita and Tomatsu), a lesser known bishounen (Masuda Toshiki) in the leading role, two rather new voices in the middle (the ex-gravure idol M.A.O. and 15-year-old Yamazaki Erii) and then four heavy-hitting old pros to round out the cast: Kosugi Juurouta (Tekkaman Lance, Brialeos in Appleseed); Ookawa Tooru; Nakamura Chie (who has made a career playing Sakura in Naruto shows); and Mikami Satoshi, a TV and film actor who also dubs the voice of Sherlock Holmes (the one played by Benedict Cumberbatch).

Just a note, the name of Nakamura Chie's character in Gankutsuou was Eugénie. (Claire-Marie is part of her full name but she uses Eugénie.) For a moment I wondered who Claire was and whether I've started to forget details about the series... (And Kosugi Juurouta will always be Fernand to me... and Akio from Utena.)

I find it amusing that Masayoshi's voice is provided by a professional ikemen with his own aspiring idol past - he was even a model in his own photobook, and he can do all the things that Masayoshi apparently can't, ie. singing and dancing. Perhaps he'll sing the new OP or ED or something... But what with Masayoshi being canonically tone deaf and Sugita Tomokazu not being much of a singer, character songs are probably out.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

Forget Batman and Superman, Samurai Flamenco has to have the most original backstory ever.

"I stole someone's umbrella. It really messed me up"

Hey now, don't even joke about that. We all know how deadly japanese colds are (in anime anyway), he could have indirectly killed that kid! Umbrella thieves are murderers!!

[TurkeyPotPie]

Masayoshi is dare I say it, super moe. Can't help but like a fellow that straight laced and earnest. The budding friendship with Goto is a lot of fun too.