Friday, March 14, 2008

Progress

So I finally finished a few series from summer 2007. Oh, sorry, Dennou Coil actually dates from spring 2007. From the same season... haven't finished Hitohira... I'll probably never watch Saiunkoku... Romeo x Juliet someday I guess... As for spring 2007, I got through Doujin Work. Still got Higurashi, Zero no Tsukaima S2, Baccano!... sigh.

Well, Doujin Work was pretty fun, through pretty trashy in terms of animation quality. (Well, there weren't any cabbages, at least.) It makes me want to check out the manga, which is probably made of LOL.

Dennou Coil was downright incredible. Definitely one for the history books. I would have liked to have seen more plot, rather than the extended illegal-exploring lull in the middle of the series, but that's just a minor quibble. If only American "kid's shows" could mine such deep territory; sorry, Jonny Quest can't touch this. Go watch this if you haven't already.

I finished Asatte no Houkou, which has got to date from 2006. It was quite riveting for the last few episodes; channeling the thoughtful approach of historical Japanese cinema (think Ozu), while keeping a character of its own. Kudos to J.C Staff for another animation job well done.

Currently working on: Kimikiss, CLANNAD, Hidamari Sketch, (and maybe finally get through) Noir. All of which I heartily recommend.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Tainaka Sachi

I placed an order at YesAsia for a bunch of stuff. Enough stuff that I was debating whether to add in Tainaka Sachi's latest album, Love is.... If you'll recall, タイナカサチ burst upon the scene with the OP to Fate/stay Night, "disillusion". Strangely enough, that song was produced in a way that takes the edge, the distinctive cry out of her voice. I guess they were going for a different effect, with the sweeping violin harmonic line and the, uh, soprano solo.

I was much more impressed by the "B-side" to the single, 忘れかけていたのかな (Wasurekaketeita no kana). It's a quiet song that shows the artist's ability to write musically sophisticated songs, and the brilliant vocal ability to pull them off. Curiously, this song hasn't made it into either of her albums, although it's one of my favorites.

Back to Love is.... Itoshii Hito he is a song where she's really got the cry going on. Seriously, her voice gives me chills. The music video is lacking something, though.

Lipstick is a song which I found somewhat too obnoxious at first, but I've warmed up to it. It's nice that there's real brass in this song, though it seems to be multitracked. With regards to the PV, I can attest that it's really hard to groove while playing a trumpet, unless you have extensive marching or ska band experience. I'm also a bit surprised that I can't find a translation for this song online. Makes me want to step up and do it, but my skills are probably far too rudimentary.

Well, anyway, I ended up not ordering the album. Maybe next month, who knows.