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Been watching a *boatload* of anime lately to get caught up on some rentals that I'd taped to VHS to watch later. Sooo.... some mini-commentary.
Gilgamesh, Vol. 3: I'm still not entirely sold on this series - the funky character designs are certainly striking, but they don't particularly allow for me to develop an emotional attachment to the characters. I keep getting distracted by the main character's helmet-hair or the freaky lack of expression. Still, it's an interesting series and the art style does match the mood. This volume also did a much better job in getting me to care about the characters as the main team of kids have bonded more and we've started to see more of the group dynamics from the inside. It's definitely growing on me.
L/R (Licensed by Royalty), Vol. 1: Ho-hum. Low-rent James Bond wannabes working through predictable spy capers. Gee, the boys are in a pickle...I wonder if that gadget introduced earlier in the episode will help get them out? I'll probably keep watching because it got fairly decent marks from Chris over at AOD, plus I can't quite pass on the bishie-buddy-cop element without another look-see, but it's nothing special.
Melody of Oblivion, Vol. 3: This is one of my favorite series I'm actively watching right now. It's got such a unique vibe, with the characters having a modern-day attitude to them, but everything else around them being sort of surreal and bizarre. This volume introduced some very cool new allies that I'm hoping to see again in later volumes. They were way too interesting to waste on just one arc. The only problem I have with this series is the Monster Union. The series' main bad guys (referred to as simply "monsters") are portrayed great - very surreal and otherworldly and menacing, even when they're taking human form. But there's also an organization called the "Monster Union" that's formed by humans who've sworn alleigance to the monsters. Some of the arcs have the hero, Boca, fighting Monster Union sub-bosses instead of real monsters, and these dudes have all crossed the line between bizarre and just plain irritating. It's frustrating to like the rest of the series so much and have that one *major* irritation.
FMP: Fumoffu, Vol. 3: Very funny stuff. Sousuke training a group of wussy football-players via Melissa Mao's training methods (complete with incredibly obscene expletives) was just too, too funny.
Saiyuki Reload, Vol. 3: Ugh. I could live with the random filler episodes. I could live with watching in Japanese because I can't get used to the new English cast (even though I'm having just as much trouble getting used to the Japanese cast...the English voices ADV used were *that* good). What's really irking me is that the quality of the animation and character designs is just such absolute CRAP. I thought the first series was bad in that regard, but at least when they really hit the designs, they looked *good*. Here, even at the best of times, the characters look like hell. Hopefully things will improve by the time they get to the real story later in the series. (Or hopefully the storyline will be done well enough that the technical issues won't matter too much.)
Escaflowne, Vol. 8: Well, I'm glad I watched this series finally, but I'm not sure I can praise it as highly as some. There were moments in the series that were truly epic and astounding, but there was also much that was just a bit too dependent on the standard shoujo playbook. It took me about three volumes before I got into things at all, and this final volume felt very anticlimactic to me. Maybe I needed to watch the volumes closer together, but I still don't have a clear idea of what Dornkirk expected to achieve or how Hitomi and Van defeated him. The stuff with Dilandau at the end really came out of left field, too. I totally didn't remember that Allen even *had* a sister, let alone that she'd gone missing. He'd spent the rest of the series angsting over all sorts of other stuff, after all. In the end, I'd say that I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't put it in my Top 50 if I was recompiling that list.
The Legend of BLack Heaven, Vol. 1: I think I need to see a bit more of this before I decide where I stand on it. Unique premise, but the main character was a little too self-involved for me to care about him. But that seems to be part of the point of the series - teaching him to appreciate his family and teaching his family to appreciate him - so I'll keep watching.
Kimagure Orange Road, Vol. 1: This was a rewatch, as I saw the first dozen or so episodes many years ago. I expected the series to be really dated, and the first few episodes did kind of drag, but as the triangle got rolling, I fell in love with Madoka and Kyousuke and Hikaru all over again. :) There's a definite charm to these characters, and an inevitability to their predicament that's just infectious. I never got to the end of the series, so I'll be looking forward to how things play out.
You're Under Arrest, Vol. 2: This is a little too episodic for my tastes. I enjoyed the first volume when most episodes were playing on the Ken/Miyuki relationship, but this volume was all over the place with a new over-the-top silly situation in each ep. It can be fun, but I haven't been in the mood for this particular brand of feel-good comedy lately.
Miami Guns, Vol. 1: "You're Under Arrest" redux, but with the comedic elements played even more broadly and without Kosuke Fujishima's character designs. Same issues with this as I had with YUA, but more so.
Madlax, Vol. 3: I'm enjoying this series, but I think it's time for things to start moving, please. All this back and forth about the off-screen war in Gathsonica (or however it's spelled) and the way the plot has been obviously, but s-l-o-w-l-y, crawling toward a larger arc is going to get frustrating if the next volume doesn't move things along a bit.
DN Angel, Vol. 3: After three volumes, this one is just not catching my interest. Daisuke is irritating, Dark is cute but doesn't really stand out much, the rivalry with Krad doesn't feel particularly dramatic, the artifact-of-the-week plots are too thin, and the little rabbit-mascot kills every scene he's in for me (and there's a whole episode devoted to him in this volume!) I think I'll be taking a little break from this one...
Ranma 1/2, Vol. 4: As opposed to some of the other episodic comedy on this list, Ranma still makes me laugh consistently. This volume introduced Shampoo, and while some of the luster is off of the old "Character A can't tell that Girl!Ranma and Boy!Ranma are the same person" chestnut, there was at least one inspired bit here with Nabiki and Ryouga taking turns splashing Ranma on purpose to change him back and forth, with Shampoo in hot pursuit. And I always love when events inevitably lead to Ranma or Akane showing that they *do* care about each other, even if they don't realize it. Ranma's insistence on curing her when Shampoo causes Akane to forget his existence added the nice bit of sentimentality that makes this series a bit more than just a goofy comedy.
Spiral, Vol. 6: Another series wrap-up, and this is a series that I *really* enjoyed. They never do explain what the Blade Children are, and there are a bunch of other threads left dangling at the end of the anime and the series doesn't really do anything overly special besides being a slightly more grown-up version of a "Case Closed" type investigative logic story, but it ends up being quite satisfying.
L/R (Licensed by Royalty), Vol. 1: Ho-hum. Low-rent James Bond wannabes working through predictable spy capers. Gee, the boys are in a pickle...I wonder if that gadget introduced earlier in the episode will help get them out? I'll probably keep watching because it got fairly decent marks from Chris over at AOD, plus I can't quite pass on the bishie-buddy-cop element without another look-see, but it's nothing special.
Melody of Oblivion, Vol. 3: This is one of my favorite series I'm actively watching right now. It's got such a unique vibe, with the characters having a modern-day attitude to them, but everything else around them being sort of surreal and bizarre. This volume introduced some very cool new allies that I'm hoping to see again in later volumes. They were way too interesting to waste on just one arc. The only problem I have with this series is the Monster Union. The series' main bad guys (referred to as simply "monsters") are portrayed great - very surreal and otherworldly and menacing, even when they're taking human form. But there's also an organization called the "Monster Union" that's formed by humans who've sworn alleigance to the monsters. Some of the arcs have the hero, Boca, fighting Monster Union sub-bosses instead of real monsters, and these dudes have all crossed the line between bizarre and just plain irritating. It's frustrating to like the rest of the series so much and have that one *major* irritation.
FMP: Fumoffu, Vol. 3: Very funny stuff. Sousuke training a group of wussy football-players via Melissa Mao's training methods (complete with incredibly obscene expletives) was just too, too funny.
Saiyuki Reload, Vol. 3: Ugh. I could live with the random filler episodes. I could live with watching in Japanese because I can't get used to the new English cast (even though I'm having just as much trouble getting used to the Japanese cast...the English voices ADV used were *that* good). What's really irking me is that the quality of the animation and character designs is just such absolute CRAP. I thought the first series was bad in that regard, but at least when they really hit the designs, they looked *good*. Here, even at the best of times, the characters look like hell. Hopefully things will improve by the time they get to the real story later in the series. (Or hopefully the storyline will be done well enough that the technical issues won't matter too much.)
Escaflowne, Vol. 8: Well, I'm glad I watched this series finally, but I'm not sure I can praise it as highly as some. There were moments in the series that were truly epic and astounding, but there was also much that was just a bit too dependent on the standard shoujo playbook. It took me about three volumes before I got into things at all, and this final volume felt very anticlimactic to me. Maybe I needed to watch the volumes closer together, but I still don't have a clear idea of what Dornkirk expected to achieve or how Hitomi and Van defeated him. The stuff with Dilandau at the end really came out of left field, too. I totally didn't remember that Allen even *had* a sister, let alone that she'd gone missing. He'd spent the rest of the series angsting over all sorts of other stuff, after all. In the end, I'd say that I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't put it in my Top 50 if I was recompiling that list.
The Legend of BLack Heaven, Vol. 1: I think I need to see a bit more of this before I decide where I stand on it. Unique premise, but the main character was a little too self-involved for me to care about him. But that seems to be part of the point of the series - teaching him to appreciate his family and teaching his family to appreciate him - so I'll keep watching.
Kimagure Orange Road, Vol. 1: This was a rewatch, as I saw the first dozen or so episodes many years ago. I expected the series to be really dated, and the first few episodes did kind of drag, but as the triangle got rolling, I fell in love with Madoka and Kyousuke and Hikaru all over again. :) There's a definite charm to these characters, and an inevitability to their predicament that's just infectious. I never got to the end of the series, so I'll be looking forward to how things play out.
You're Under Arrest, Vol. 2: This is a little too episodic for my tastes. I enjoyed the first volume when most episodes were playing on the Ken/Miyuki relationship, but this volume was all over the place with a new over-the-top silly situation in each ep. It can be fun, but I haven't been in the mood for this particular brand of feel-good comedy lately.
Miami Guns, Vol. 1: "You're Under Arrest" redux, but with the comedic elements played even more broadly and without Kosuke Fujishima's character designs. Same issues with this as I had with YUA, but more so.
Madlax, Vol. 3: I'm enjoying this series, but I think it's time for things to start moving, please. All this back and forth about the off-screen war in Gathsonica (or however it's spelled) and the way the plot has been obviously, but s-l-o-w-l-y, crawling toward a larger arc is going to get frustrating if the next volume doesn't move things along a bit.
DN Angel, Vol. 3: After three volumes, this one is just not catching my interest. Daisuke is irritating, Dark is cute but doesn't really stand out much, the rivalry with Krad doesn't feel particularly dramatic, the artifact-of-the-week plots are too thin, and the little rabbit-mascot kills every scene he's in for me (and there's a whole episode devoted to him in this volume!) I think I'll be taking a little break from this one...
Ranma 1/2, Vol. 4: As opposed to some of the other episodic comedy on this list, Ranma still makes me laugh consistently. This volume introduced Shampoo, and while some of the luster is off of the old "Character A can't tell that Girl!Ranma and Boy!Ranma are the same person" chestnut, there was at least one inspired bit here with Nabiki and Ryouga taking turns splashing Ranma on purpose to change him back and forth, with Shampoo in hot pursuit. And I always love when events inevitably lead to Ranma or Akane showing that they *do* care about each other, even if they don't realize it. Ranma's insistence on curing her when Shampoo causes Akane to forget his existence added the nice bit of sentimentality that makes this series a bit more than just a goofy comedy.
Spiral, Vol. 6: Another series wrap-up, and this is a series that I *really* enjoyed. They never do explain what the Blade Children are, and there are a bunch of other threads left dangling at the end of the anime and the series doesn't really do anything overly special besides being a slightly more grown-up version of a "Case Closed" type investigative logic story, but it ends up being quite satisfying.
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