Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Fall 2008 impressions, part 1

A few days ago, I was reading around the manga-related sector of the interweb, which appears to have expanded significantly. Reading longer-form pieces makes me want to produce some of my own, especially as my essay-writing skills need some honing. Through my years at college, I was only able to write one essay where I felt I had done a really good job. Part (most) of it was procrastination, and the rest lack of inspiration. With anime and manga I'd have ample inspiration, with the challenge of constructing a thesis and collecting supporting arguments. We are cursed to live in interesting times, and I am cursed to imagine that I have something substantive to say about them.

The task currently at hand, though, is to relate my first-episode impressions of the Fall 2008 anime season. My comments will probably not be as snarky as I had anticipated when I first started this blog; the all-corrupting moe has gone to work on me and lowered my standards. Anyway, in rough order of consumption:

Toradora!

Out, damned spot, out I say

So I read the novel translation over at Baka-Tsuki. I read the manga scanlations. For whatever reason I can't get tired of this franchise. For sure it's Yet Another Chibi Tsundere Series, but it does get to be more than that. Later I feel that it becomes "neurotic girls are neurotic", but I digress. The first episode of the anime is fairly well done. It's not particularly brilliant, but it's competent. I will probably end up watching it.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka

Sure, Rozen Aso is the PM now, but a more lasting solution to Japan's leadership crisis is...

I expected this to be bad, but it's not as bad as I had expected. The voicework is pretty good; the animation is lazy. The only distinction seems to be a preoccupation with stocking-related camera angles. I didn't expect Katagiri to be so damn moe though. This will be this season's "trashy romance series" for me.

HYAKKO

Oshi-

This was pretty ambitious. Pretty insane, too. I approve. The most insane part was the next episode preview: seiyuu talking in their normal voices? Tripped out, man. Note to people thinking about more manga based on the four-girls-in-high-school setup: please, susser Tod, no. (Pontera, I'm talking to you.)

Kannagi

Do you eat taiyaki headfirst or tailfirst?

Not bad, not bad. Much is being made of the fact that "Yamakan", the original director of Lucky Star, is heading up this one; the OP is certainly lol-worthy. And it does seem KyoAni-like in that the animation is well done. Nagi's got the right amount of condescension in her voice too. I'm looking forward to the rest of this.

More to come.