Hahaha. Thought I forgot (again), didn’t you?
I didn’t forget. It may be 4 o’clock and it really hadn’t entered my mind that it was Sunday, but I didn’t forget. Coming down the pipe are previews of Genshiken 2, Ghost Hound, Clannad and KimiKiss Pure Rogue. Please enjoy long time.
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The Leaves, They’re Red!:
Good news, these four series don’t completely suck! In fact, they’re 4 of the top series of this fall (missing Kaiji that I talked about three weeks ago and Sketchbook as well). We’ve got a sequel to one of the best Otaku culture anime titles, Kyoto Animations newest title, lesbian overtones and Production I.G.’s 20th Anniversary work from the mastermind behind Ghost in the Shell.
Genshiken 2:
There isn’t much to say about Genshiken 2 that hasn’t been said about the original Genshiken. For those that don’t know, Genshiken is a manga series about a college anime/manga/Japanese subculture club and its members. Genshiken is the modern version of Otaku no Video in many ways (less of a parody than OnV). Genshiken 2 picks up where after the Genshiken OVA that was part of the Kujibiki Unbalanced DVDs, which is more or less where the first season left off (all you’re missing if you haven’t seen the OVA is the introduction of a new character).
Genshiken 2 benefits from keeping the same humor as the first season and upgrading the animation (which was pretty crappy in the first season). I’m loving it as I loved the original and the manga. Pick it up.
Ghost Hound: Forum Link
Originally created by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), Production I.G. is putting a lot into their 20th anniversary project. On a superficial level, the animation is great; the music is wonder and the voice acting is well done.
Now for the story itself. Ghost Hound, thus far, has focused on a boy who was kidnapped a long with his sister when he was younger. He survived the mysterious ordeal, but his older sister did not. This has left his mother in a pretty delicate state and the boy now “suffers” from lucid dreaming (mainly reliving the final moments of his kidnapping). There are also three other protagonist-worthy characters who have yet to be flushed out in the first two episodes (according to ANN, two of these three will be major players).
Story is well executes, everything else is in above-par shape. Fans of Horror and the Paranormal will love Ghost Hound, too bad I’m neither and easily scared sleepless.
Clannad: Forum Link
Kyoto Animation’s (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, etc.) newest title, Clannad is another beautiful drama. Clannad focuses on two high school students, Tomoya and Nagisa and is pretty straight forward in that regard thus far. Tomoya has father issues (I really hope they come back to this later, as the few moments that dealt with it were good but really brief). Nagisa has delicate health and weird parents, she has also missed a year of school and is now repeating her final year of high school.
I say that the story is straight foward, but it really isn’t. Certain aspects haven’t been flushed out and new ones keep popping up. The execution of the story is KyoAni caliber all around. Humor is there, and while it can get a little out of place, it is generally spot on. Animation’s crisp, Seiyuu are great.
KimiKiss Pure Rogue: Forum Link
“One of these things is not like the other.” Okay, I told a little fib saying that these four were all top quality shows. That is slightly a fib because I’m not completely convinced on KimiKiss Pure Rogue yet. KimiKiss is a school drama featuring an old friend coming back from abroad. The difference, so I read (TIF gives a much better overview on these shows in each of the threads he’s started), is that KimiKiss’ cast will all eventually interact and affect each other. We’ve seen signs of this recently, but nothing major yet.
I’m watching because I get the feeling this show will be good. Reasons why: the chemistry feels real (generic, but real); the premise is nice; and everyone at NHRV has good things to say.
As a side note, if you watch this show, watch the frog interaction between two certain freshman. Lesbians I say! Lesbians!
Random Notes:
Crappy overviews are crappy. Begs the question why I even try. Follow the forum links.
I shouldn’t try to write anything else while discussing Evangelion with friends.
TSUDZUKU:
Next Sunday (maybe) I’ll talked the rest of this falls’ series, mainly the ones I don’t particularly enjoy and/or haven’t watched a lot of.
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
Kurier