Hello again. It's been 10 months since I started this blog. I have recapped several episodes and a movie of bad anime; but I have also made a couple posts about good ones to recommend. This is the third in a series of them; as I have elected to make them a permanent feature of this blog. So, let's get started.
Mawaru Penguin-Drum
This is a series about two young brothers, Shoma and Kanba, who live with their sister Himari, who is terminally ill. During a family outing to an aquarium in Ikebukuro (a district in Tokyo that is well-known as the setting of Durarara); Himari dies. Suddenly, she is brought back to life by an alien life form living in a hat modeled after a rockhopper penguin; which was bought at the aquarium. The life form agrees to extend Himari's life in exchange for a mysterious essence called "Penguin-Drum." They are given three penguins in order to do this. The creative staff behind this anime was also involved with the shojo piece "Revolutionary Girl Utena"; which I have never seen, but I have seen plenty of shout-outs to it in other anime I've watched. The series is animated by Studio Brains Base; and it is one of the best looking series I've seen. The best-animated sequences are when the life form initiates a "Survival Strategy" using Himari's body, and summons a large piece of architecture with hundreds of moving parts. Mawaru Penguin-Drum is a bizarre series; as I found strains of FLCL, a series that is a strange coming of age story, Big Fish, a sort of anthology film of tall tales, and Pee-Wee's Playhouse; as influenced from the "Survival Strategy" sequences and the residence of the family.
Cromartie High School
A series about 16-year-old Kamiyama, who attends the titular Cromartie High School with all sorts of delinquents. They include Hayashida, who becomes a vital friend; Mechazawa, a sort of chibi robot; a student who somewhat resembles late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, and a literal 800-pound gorilla. Yes, it's that kind of anime. Lampshading many of the shonen clichés, in everything from story to art style (many of the students have a glare that resembles that of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star); Cromartie High School is one of the most self-aware series I've done. I also like it much better than Ouran High School Host Club; as my large unfamiliarity with the shojo genre has made it highly inaccessible to me (I'm on the final episodes and I still can't fathom its humor). This show, on the other hand, is hilarious to me because of all the shonen I've seen.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
This is the second anime series for Full Metal Alchemist, the first one airing in 2003. Brotherhood is an an adaptation that is truer to the manga; a sort of director's cut. It still largely retains the same story, though I will have to see more episodes to say how I truly feel about it. For now, it has good animation; and the vocal cast gives good performances. As for this argument between the 2003 series and Brotherhood; I'm looking at it like this: the Tim Burton Batman movie did not stop being good simply because The Dark Knight came out. I will support both adaptations.
Casshern Sins
A darker and edgier re-imagining of Tatsunoko Productions' classic superhero anime Casshern, this anime tells of the titular Casshern fighting against evil machines in a world ravaged by war. Much of humanity has been forfeit, with only humanoid robots remaining in their stead. There is also a constant theme of Casshern's morality in the war; as he is confronted by a mysterious woman about his past. I am highly interested in seeing more.
So, this is all for now. I intend to make this a regular feature that I'll post between recaps. I have read up to the sixth chapter of the Deadman Wonderland manga; and I'm about to watch the second episode of the anime. After that, I'll get started on the next recap, which I hope to have out within the first week of November. I know what I want to do; and you will find out soon. For now, I shall simply say that the subject of the next recap has been treated horribly these past few years; and I hope things can improve for him...
I started K-ON! right now; I made it to episode 4 of the first season. I really like it, and I would recommend it over Haruhi (haven't seen Haruhi yet, but I don't reall care for it). Though there's fanservice in it, I don't think it's that distracting in my view (though the wonderful characters and superb animation will already suck you in). I would also love to watch Cromartie High School because I love surreal humor, and I would laugh my ass off at the random jokes that it provides (I wouldn't be into Ouran High School Host Club not because it looks girly, but because I wouldn't be able to identify with anyone in that series). Also, Casshern Sins is almost done on Toonami; let's see if any of our predictions turn out to be true. So . . . is the next recap on Bobobo? That would be awesome if you could mention that series; it was my favorite on Toonami when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really on board with Haruhi either, mostly because I'm sick of seeing her everywhere. Another problem with Ouran I have is all the rich humor; and I started watching it as the Occupy movement began. Thus, seeing a middle class person as the lead did little to help. I will think about K-On, but the next recap is not on Bobobo, as much as I'd like it to be. I will watch that second episode of Deadman Wonderland and get started on the next recap within the hour.
DeleteYeah, I'm sick of hearing about Haruhi and how great it is from my friends. From what I've heard, I'm actually kind of afraid of her. If I am to like something that's popular, it has to appeal to me; nothing more, nothing less. That's why I loved watching Gurren Lagann and Madoka Magica; because they appealed to me on a deep level for the most part. And wow, I didn't realize that Ouran made fun of the affluent and well-off. I didn't really wanna watch due to all of the camp in it, which I think is a gross stereotype among men and women. I'm pretty sure I'll ignore both; besides, I'm gonna be stuck with K-ON! for a while now (have you ever seen Nichijou; it was animated by the same studio as Haruhi and K-ON!).
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, good luck with the next recap; though what do you really think of Bobobo?
I love Nichijou. Ouran actually supported the well-off, and was unintentionally condescending to the middle class. I've never seen Bobobo, but I get the feeling I'd enjoy it for how bizarre it is.
DeleteAnother bizarre series I'd recommend is Excel Saga, just for how self-referential it is due to the multiple parodies of every genre in entertainment and the many fourth-wall jokes that it makes. It's surprising you haven't seen Bobobo. As I said, I saw some of it on Toonami as a kid, and I thought it was so weird, yet so funny. You would definitely love it. Thank you for mentioning Nichijou; it's one of my friend's favorites, and he got me to watch it as well, of which I immensely enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteWell, according to DirecTV, Inuyasha is coming back to [as], though this is its first time on Toonami. Some may think that Toonami is getting lazy with its schedule, but I'll say this: It's mainly because since they want to give the people what they want, they're showing as many animes that they have the rights to, and they've picked this one to show while they wait to acquire something that hasn't aired on the network yet. Though I really don't care for Inuyasha, I'll just watch it for the hell of it, since something is better than nothing. What are your thoughts on Inuyasha, then?
ReplyDeleteI like it fine.
DeleteI have an idea for a future blog post: Come up with a top 10 list of animes that you find to be overrated or overhyped. This blog deals with annoying quirks in animes, right? Well, this list would probably fit in with the overlying purpose of the blog at hand. You should also add a disclaimer saying these are only your opinions, as we both know we don't want to start a flame war on here. However, you should save this idea for a later date, as I am only suggesting it to you as something interesting to consider.
ReplyDeleteThat's an idea. It will probably be later though, since I have plenty of recaps planned in the interim.
DeleteI usually hate to ask this, but when will the next recap come out? If it seems like I'm acting rude right here, it's just that I'm pumped to see what you've got.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm sorry if I haven't replied much here since I was distracted by this webcomic (yeah, THAT one), and I was wondering if you were alright on your side of the woods. I hope you post something about your progress with the next recap, because I'd hate to recap this again.
ReplyDeleteJust been offline a bit since my Mac charger broke and I had to get a new one. I have my recap drafted and I can do more work on it to get it out.
DeleteWow, I thought something bad happened to you, and I was concerned for your sake. Anyway, glad you're charger's up and running now. By the way, Toonami has added Inuyasha, like I mentioned earlier, and Tenchi Muyo GXP to the lineup (I wonder about you thoughts on this harem anime), and with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ending tonight, I expect something different in the pipeline by next week. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteTo be frank, I never watched any Tenchi Muyo on the original Toonami. I'm liking Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood so far and I'm comparing it to the 2003 show in the same manner that people compare The Dark Knight to the first Tim Burton Batman. I think with Deadman Wonderland, it may very well turn out like Big O did: Japan didn't think much of it, but America liked it so much that the Japanese studio agreed to fund a second season. I think it definitely came out here at the right time, with the success of Battle Royale and The Hunger Games (Deadman Wonderland bears some similarities to both those works). I could conceivably see Trigun being put back on; since it often aired alongside Cowboy Bebop on Toonami and later Adult Swim, to the point where most western anime fans consider it a key companion piece. Regarding the recap, I don't like missing deadlines, especially ones I've set for myself. I also had another recap planned after the one I'm posting, so I hope I can get it out soon.
DeleteI don't even mind if a recap is late or not. What does matter, however, is that you're back online typing out these bad boys. If I can be assured they'll come out by this week, then none will be the wiser. And you know, I didn't think of Deadman Wonderland being resurrected like that. Maybe us Westerners do have a say when it comes to the production of animes.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a week now, and even though you're presumed to be back online, I'm still concerned for you and the blog's well-being since hey, I happen to enjoy your posts as well. So if you could type up a status update confirming your itinerary, then I'll be able to let out a sigh of relief. Sorry if I'm sounding too tense, by the by.
ReplyDeleteOK. I'll write up an entry on the status of my recap and other ones. Short answer is, I've been under the weather and my internet connection has been inconsistent since I got back online. The long answer will be in the post.
ReplyDelete10-4, bro. 10-4. In the meantime, I will be looking forward to the long answer. I'll be sure to leave a post on there if I feel the need to.
ReplyDelete