Review: Lovely Complex (TV)

Posted on December 25, 2008 by vissione

Kansai-ben. Good old kansai-ben. The inherently funny dialect that some of the funniest human beings on Earth speak. I’d love to end my review here, but then you wouldn’t really know why I think Lovely Complex is good enough to be on your watch list.

Lovely Complex tells the story of Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi, both freshmen at Maido High School. There’s nothing out of the ordinary between these students other than the fact that Koizumi Risa happens to be 170cm tall, and therefore she’s taller than most guys. Ootani Atsushi, on the other hand is only 156cm tall, so he’s about the same height as most girls. They each have a “complex” about their height and it’ll cause problems for both of them as you can surely expect.

A new school year begins for Koizumi so she is all fired up hoping to find a boyfriend. As is typical of this type of shoujo, girl’s are depressed when they’re single and begin high school so they desperately seek companionship. This is precisely when she ends up confronting her seemingly destined rival at life, Ootani. They constantly fight and bicker and never fail to mention things that usually lead to jabs at their difference in height. You won’t exactly know why they fight so much initially, it just happens. However, Otani sees an opportunity to use his “enemy” Koizumi to his own benefit, while at the same time letting Koizumi have her way with perk for herself. You wouldn’t expect this kind of truce in the middle of a battlefield at school, but when there’s something to gain, I suppose it’s worth it. Things quickly backfire on them both (don’t they always?) and they’re back to square one, each being single. Yet again, as fate would seem, they both have very aggressive and competitive personalities so, crazily enough, they decide to make a competition to see who gets a girlfriend/boyfriend first.

The fun starts when Koizumi and Ootani become closer “friends” than they think while everyone else around them perceive them as a couple. They are constantly together or thinking about bumping into each other, and are commonly referred to as the All Hanshin Kyojin comedy duo. Their hobbies are all too similar, they like the same food, heck they even like the same music by Umibouzu, a rapper in the anime. Things are a little too perfect when they’re together even though they actively deny any affection towards each other because of their height.

If there’s a shoujo cliché you can think of, it’s in here in some form. That said, it doesn’t detract from the show since the delivery is spot on every time taking into account it’s little bits of originality with the comedy. It’s one thing to follow a story about a couple falling in love, but another to follow an incredibly unorthodox couple that just somehow seems so right for each other, are funny as hell together, but just can’t shake the embarrassment of being seen together!
If you’re like me and can’t get enough kansai-ben these days and need a good laugh and a bit of joy, you need to add this to your list of shows to watch! You’ll definitely be laughing throughout the entire thing, and the classic happy ending is a well done payoff to remember. If you’re a fan of shoujo you should definitely try this one out. It’s a refreshing new twist on high school love comedy with 100% concentrated fun. Say it with me! Nande ya nen?!

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 24
Vintage: 2007-04-07 to 2007-09-29
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of life
Animation Production: Toei Animation

Source: Anime News Network

Posted in 2007, Comedy, Lovely Complex, Romance, Slice of Life, Toei Animation | 7 Comments

Merry Christmas//Haven’t blogged in a while…

Posted on December 25, 2008 by vissione

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Boy it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog. Over a year to be exact! I haven’t forgotten to, just that life and other stuff took over. I blame the Naruto filler! Anyway, I still watch stuff, read stuff, indulge in stuff, and ultimately trash stuff. If anyone out there still has this on their bookmarks you’ll get a few more posts out of me before the year is over. Next year should be more active around here with regular posts. I’m still not sticking to a schedule since it all depends on what I’m in the mood for and what I really want to talk about. However, my backlog is so big and the future of stuff I want to watch is so bleak I might as well get it out now. I kinda miss the blog since it’s my only outlet for me to get some thoughts out… it’s much easier than trying to inject anime rants into random conversations with people whomost likely don’t give a damn. There’s always IRC though… <3 AnimeBlogger guys.

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There’s a lot of things I need to get off my chest. First off, if anyone cares to know I’m currently watching Toradora! and recently finished the second season of Nodame Cantabile. Bleach has been pissing me off for several episodes, and the manga doesn’t have any useful plot development yet. Naruto anime truly has become a trainwreck sell-out, but fortunately the manga is still made of win. Code Geass R2 ended perfectly, all hail Lelouch!  Clannad made ME cry… zomg. Lucky Star I hated, then I learned to love… it’s made of win. The EVA remake was a waste of my time, but I still love Anno so he gets lifetime forgiveness. Between Death Note vs Code Geass… Death Note obviously won, but I’m still rocking the Code Geass memes!

I’ll eventually get around to putting down my thoughts for everything… I hope. Merry Christmas everyone!

Posted in Off topic | 2 Comments

Review: Ouran Koukou Host Club (TV)

Posted on December 30, 2007 by vissione

Ouran Koukou Host Club is one peculiar shoujo to say the least. A fair warning should be said about this show though, which is, it’s a real shoujo. Hardly any aspect of this show can overlap with any other tastes, so unless you’re prepared to be wrapped in male eye candy with some comedy romance drama, you should rethink your decision to watch this show.

Now with that out of the way, Ouran Koukou Host Club tells the story of a first year student named Fujioka Haruhi at the Ouran Academy for the rich and the elite. This student is quiet and very reserved, in part because this person does not have any affluent characteristics at all. As such, this student is known as the special scholarship student that got into this super-rich school entirely on academic strengths and no other merits.

On a regular day in high school, the student in question tries to find a quiet place to study and strolls into a music room that doesn’t seem to be in use. Much to this student’s surprise, the music room hides the presence of a peculiar group of people — the Ouran Koukou Host Club. These people did not quite expect to see Haruhi walk into their lair so nonchalantly. Just like every good story, Haruhi ends up in a bind and is “trapped” (yes, I meant it) in the world of the Ouran Koukou Host Club to pay off a debt of several million yen for a tiny accident in the music room.

Because Haruhi can’t even afford the school uniform’s exuberant price, the little accident in the music room is no joke. The payment for the trouble caused ends up being Haruhi’s torment of having to form part of the Ouran Koukou Host Club. Haruhi’s duties start out as lowly errands, but soon “he”… or should I say “she”… becomes a real host. I’ll let you find out about this legendary trap’s real story on your own.

The Host Club is simply a group of guys that for an hour or two a day, dedicate their after school time to entertaining women with their innermost desires. They’re also some of the most powerful sons of the super rich socioeconomic world, and as such they are both rich and handsome. They speak directly to the hearts of women with soft and enchanting words. They whisper delicately into their ears and wash away their qualms and take them away to their dreamlands. In other words, the Host Club is a club these guys made for women to come by, drink tea, and marvel at them. Add a ton of “moe” fetishes that they play out to further reach these young maiden’s hearts -and- pockets, and you have the Host Club. Give or take a few details of course, that you’ll have to find out on your own if you’re interested.

The Host Club itself is fairly complete, although, once again, it’s not necessary to “get” all the little details. What I’m referring to is the nuances of shoujo and female oriented manga that tends to go to “other” extremes you wouldn’t understand if you’re used to shounen stuff. I’m not going to try to sound like an expert, because I’m far from one, but if you know the difference between an uke and a seme, you’ll probably find this show more refreshing than most from your “usual” material.

Even if you’re not into the homoerotic gags early on, the show will stem away from most of that later and can be tolerable for those of us that don’t really like that kind of stuff. In the end, I stuck with the show because it was incredibly funny almost consistently. There’s tons of comedy acts and the mix of characters seem to pull it off well. They break the 4th wall from time to time by making fun of us commoners a lot. Rich school anime is never complete without pauper life being subject to ridicule for the littlest of things, and it’s pretty good throughout. There’s also some banana slips… maybe a little too many banana slips!

The show makes fun of, but also makes use of a lot of moe fetishes too. It’s good that you don’t have to be into the moe to enjoy the scenes, since after some long winded explanation, some other character will break the ice and bring the show back to its goofy self.

The ending is quite nice, although it’s of the fairly generic -yet- expected happy kind. If you’re feeling experimental, or just want to get to know the cutest reverse trap in the history of anime, I wholeheartedly recommend Ouran Koukou Host Club. It can’t get much more shoujo and funny than this. The few heartwarming scenes can’t be ignored either, especially in the presence of one fine trap!

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 2006-04-04 to 2006-09-26
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Animation Production: BONES

Source: Anime News Network

Posted in 2006, BONES, Comedy, Drama, Ouran Koukou Host Club, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life | Leave a comment

Review: Ookiku Furikabutte (TV)

Posted on December 24, 2007 by vissione

I’ll be honest for a moment and say that there have been times when I really wished I was born in a different place, a different time, and as a completely different person with a different nationality. The moment after I finished Ookiku Furikabutte was one such time, even if it was for a short while.

Ookiku Furikabutte is a baseball anime that shows how a group of boys spend their summer months preparing for baseball matches against equally hardworking teams across their prefecture. Every single one of them is tough, and every single one of them is determined to reach their ultimate goal — the Koshien.

Unlike many parts of the world, in Japan the Koshien is the single greatest sporting event of the year. Everywhere else, such as in the US, all the big dollars will go towards pro players making millions of dollars in baseball, amongst many other big budget sports. However, in Japan, the Koshien is open only to high school students. These are guys that spend their hard earned summer vacation in crazy concentration camp-like training grounds where they perfect their game, bond as a team and as friends, and ultimately better their chances to reach the promised battleground known as the Koshien.

When I think about how hard it is, and yet how awesome it is to be able to be seen on TV and rooted by everyone, I have to wonder what’s the big deal about pro sports. Sure, it’s difficult to become a pro player, make the big bucks, and win half the time, but there’s even more difficulty to reach the Koshien. You only have 3 years of your life to make it. You either make it as a Freshman, a Sophomore, or a Senior. Then it’s over. Sure you can keep playing ball and make it to a pro team and be admired by lots of people, but you won’t ever play at the Koshien. That’s what makes it so special in my opinion, and that’s what made me wish I had such an opportunity to spend a part of my life on. The way the show drew me in with how every character fought with high levels of determination, I felt as if I needed to be there. I needed to not cheer them on, but be on the field, keen on my position and supporting the team from within.

Ookiku Furikabutte’s main character is Mihashi Ren, a highly timid freshman that was his middle school baseball team’s star pitcher. He was able to take the ace number he wanted so badly through connections, since his grandfather manages the team. The players resented him, and although he was hardworking, he felt as if his selfish ways let his team down.

Now Mihashi is going to his first year of high school at a new school. He convinced himself he’d only watch the baseball club, and not join them, as he approached their field. As you might have guessed, he unwillingly got put up to try out for the team since the coach was having trouble getting a full team put together. The coach ended up being a very peculiar girl named Momoe Maria. She’s a very docile and caring woman half the time, but can turn into a scary and violent tough-girl when she wants to. When asked, Mihashi stated his name and his position, and surprisingly Mihashi seemed to be the only pitcher present. The only catcher, Abe Takaya put Mihashi to the test and he observed that Mihashi had an incredible amount of skill in his pitching. Although his pitches were slow, they were accurate, almost too accurate. Not only that, his “fastball” had an alarming backspin that not even Mihashi seemed to be aware of.

Mihashi eventually takes the ace number for his new team and tries to make up for the past, depending solely on his skills and hard work. As he learns to cope with his new team members and their aspirations, Mihashi takes it upon himself to battle his emotions on the inside and the game of baseball on the outside. Unfortunately, Mihashi is a first-class crybaby, and you’ll have to cringe at him crying at every little thing that happens. He worries a lot and is constantly aware of making mistakes. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s plain stupid, but it will always reflect who Mihashi really is — a hardworking individual. As a result, Mihashi’s personality can be a bit annoying at times, but thankfully Abe takes care of him for us. Even so, Mihashi will win you over from time to time on the field. Fortunately, everyone else on the team is fairly normal.

The baseball team eventually molds together little by little and they finally enter the summer competition. An entire team composed of freshman students coached by a girl is extremely rare, and everyone else underestimates Nishiura, Mihashi’s high school baseball team. You’ll need to watch it yourself to see how it all unfolds.

The end of Ookiku Furikabutte is incredible to say the least, and as a result it is the best baseball animation I have ever had the chance to enjoy so far. I loved the first season of Major, but this show is a lot more condensed and fair. The main story is much more compact, and therefore the details stand out more. Although the show ends abruptly without going as far as I and most likely others would like, the point where it stops is very symbolic. You can almost “finish” the show yourself with the pieces left behind at the end. You’ll soon find out Mihashi and his friends have what it takes to survive and that they’re “just starting.”

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 25 
Vintage: 2007-01-11 
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Sports 
Animation Production: A-1 Pictures Inc.

Source: Anime News Network

Posted in 2007, A-1 Pictures Inc., Comedy, Drama, Ookiku Furikabutte, Slice of Life, Sports | Leave a comment

Review: Nodame Cantabile (TV)

Posted on December 11, 2007 by vissione

Close your eyes for a moment. Picture yourself in an auditorim. Listen to the void of the hall as it prepares to engulf you with the waves of aural enchantment. As it begins, you are instantly drawn in. The first note is enough, as you resonate strongly with the bold introduction. The intensity binds you with a chord and hits you repeatedly. Then it continues on to a strong -yet- delicate heart-piercing arpeggio. The force is enveloped by the emerging sound of the orchestra. How strangely, through the hollows, glows this piano introduction like a dull red morning light! Into the deepest gorge it flows, scenting abysses in their night. There vapor rises: here the orchestra sweeps, now like a fragile thread it creeps, now like a colored fountain it plays. Here the vast length of a piano passage winds its way, in a hundred veins, down the vales, and all at once, it swept you away to a golden world!

Nodame Cantabile is just like the first paragraph of this review, hard to picture but a beautiful experience. There’s many layers of intriguing things to find in this unconventional yet amazing shoujo. Nodame Cantabile is strictly a show about classical music and how a very special group of people end up living and experiencing it in ways that many of us may never have the opportunity to do so. If you’re put off by classical music, don’t worry. I was put off at the beginning and now I’m a fan of Rachmaninov!

Nodame Cantabile is a true shoujo at heart, and the main female character is named Noda Megumi. Noda Megumi likes to be called Nodame for short for some reason, hence the name of the show. She’s a piano major at a conservatory in Tokyo called Momogaoka College of Music. Together in the lime light with Nodame is Chiaki Shinichi. He’s the perfectionist number one piano major at the same conservatory where Nodame studies. He is not only gifted with musical talent, he is also gifted (or cursed, however you look at it) with looks that make all the ladies fall for him.

Although the show is called Nodame Cantabile, much of the focus is on Chiaki and his turmoils towards success. This makes sense in a shoujo, since his appearance, skills, and personality is the eye candy. Nodame does get developed a bit later on, but it was a little surprising how quickly Nodame’s spotlight disappeared in the beginning. She’s always a part of the show in some form or another, so my comments about her participation might be a bit moot.

As for the premise, it’s fairly simple. Chiaki, being a son of a famous pianist, was able to travel to Europe as a child and experience some of the world’s greatest musical performers on stage. He was smitten since then and he vowed to return to Europe one day to become Vierra-sensei’s student and become a conductor like him. He played the piano and violin early on as a child, and wished to hone his skills and become a conductor proficient in piano, that can also play the violin! The problem is that Chiaki soon developed a fear of flying -and- a fear of sailing ever since two seemingly cursed events formed his paranoias. He’s now a grown man, yet he’s emotionally trapped in Japan and cannot reach the outside world to fulfill his childhood dream.

As his world continues to fall apart to the point where he even considers quitting music and just getting a typical salaryman job, he meets up with the strangest girl on the planet — Noda Megumi. Noda Megumi, Nodame for short, is just weird. I won’t list her peculiarities, since it’s part of her charm, but for now just picture the the weirdest girl you know. Now take that image and multiply it by 100, that’s Nodame.

As strange as she is, Nodame was able to get Chiaki back into caring about music and working towards his goals without depending on studying overseas. A bit of luck and help from the outside brings Nodame, Chiaki, and a ton of hard-working students at the Momogaoka College of Music in contact with a very special foreigner. As you can expect, it boils down to Chiaki not being able to go see the world, so with the help of Nodame and a little luck, he brought the world to him. There’s plenty more to discover in Nodame Cantabile, especially since the story takes on a new direction after one of the best high points in the story. Chiaki’s goals take on a new direction, and Nodame takes the talent that Chiaki saw in her and puts them to the test. All of this unfolds in interesting ways all the way till the end.

Nodame Cantabile is exceptionally funny along the way, yet it takes pauses to exemplify the rich serious tone when it needs to. There are a few high points in this show that are just beautiful, and although it’s always a known classical piece, for me it was always a scene of musical discovery and appreciation for yet another work of art so pure that I never took the time to appreciate. You will be tempted to watch the high points of the show at least more than once, given how much of an impact they create. Very few shows can make me want to watch them over and over, but this one did.

The end of Nodame Cantabile is an open ending that won’t exactly compare to the shows other high points, but it does deliver a solid reaffirmation of closure and new beginnings for all of the characters. The unsolved mysteries are pointed out in manga-style shorts that are both informational, witty, and out-right funny. This show won’t make you do anything drastic like get your friends to play instruments so you can conduct an orchestra, or make you change your major to piano, but it will open your eyes to some really beautiful music if you make the effort to appreciate it.

Hidden within the magic of music is a very comical romance story that will definitely hold your interest. It’s amazing how well things are so obvious to some characters, while others remain completely oblivious — or at least want to be. The way things unfold bit by bit until the end will at least give you a few laughs in between the music and the rest of the insanely good gags.

If you need any more convincing, piano, violin, oboe, cello, -heck- an entire orchestra is to Nodame Cantabile as guitar is to BECK. Maybe rock music as a whole to NANA. You can even throw in Hirano Aya’s performance in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu if you want to stretch it a bit. If you were swayed by fictional character performances in these anime shows, Nodame Cantabile is yet another experience you shouldn’t miss. The bond between the viewer, the characters as performers, and the music has only been achieved at this level in very few instances like these.

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 23
Vintage: 2007-01-11 to 2007-06-28
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Animation Production: J.C. Staff
Music: Nodame Orchestra
Music Collaboration: EPIC Record Japan
Music Production: Fuji Pacific Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment

Source: Anime News Network

Posted in 2007, Comedy, J.C. Staff, Nodame Cantabile, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life | Leave a comment