OK, a slept the whole day away, I think yesterday’s ride & eating a complete half tub of Haagan Daaz asian girl ice cream put me out. Doesn’t help that I had/have a dang headache that this nasal congestion I’m sure has something to do with. Damn these plants & their reproductive cycles. Anyway, since I’m not doing much of anything today, guess I’ll catch up on some anime mini-reviews.
Lesse, there’s this show, El Cazador de la bruja
Again, it’s all things we’ve seen before. Mysterious cute little girl is actually some subject of mysterious experiment that gives her powers. Tough on exterior hot shot girl bounty hunter ends up taking the girl under her protection, resulting in them becoming the object of everyone’s attention. It’s done well enough to be entertaining for now.
Moonlight Mile
There seems to be something of a popularity with Japan in space program this season. This show seems to be set in near future where humans in space is more common, but were talking very near future, all the technology is current space program level. I can’t say I especially like this show though. The art is alright, the character designs are pretty ugly. Everyone kind of looks Hokuto no Ken-ish. Story follows exploits of two buddies who after pretty much after exhausting their mountain climbing, decide they’ll go to space. I’ll keep watching if I have nothing else, but it’ll prob fall low on list.
Rocket Girls
This is the other show involving current setting space flight. It is a lot less “realistic”, you have to get past the idea of a space program recruiting young girls. The excuse is with the failure of the newer larger rocket they were working on, they need to go back to an older less powerful one and need smaller, lighter astronauts. And they say well, even a monkey can do it. Anyway, there you have it, cute young girls in a struggling space program. Can’t help but make comparisons to Stratos 4, and it sure has the same look too with its art and designs, which isn’t a bad thing. I haven’t checked to see if it’s same people, but if it isn’t, it sure follows the formula, down to the chinese restaurant. That said, I like this so far. It’s fairly mindless entertainment.
Getsumen To Heiki Miina
Speaking of mindless entertainment, here’s one that can only be described that way. Created after the huge popularity of the Densha Otoko phenomena and the live action TV dorama that featured this fictional anime figure, that figure was turned into a real anime. And as such, it’s total fanboy fluff, and yet you can’t stop being entertained. Looks like a huge amount of work went into the tranformation and the weapon launch sequence. Of course they can and do reuse that footage, and I’m sure CG rendering has made the mechanical animation easier. I suppose if I were a true otaku fanboy I’d know all the studio, character design, producer, seiyu, etc. connections. I just watch the stuff and occasionally recognize some stuff and wonder how they’re connected. The Miina character comes from the intro animation sequence for the TV dorama that was a total homage to the total otaku animation for Daikon that was done by group that would become Gainax. This time done by Gonzo, which you have to wonder how connected to Gainax they are? Anyway, check your brain in at the door and enjoy. Of course fan service aplenty, but it works.
Tengen Toppa Guren Laggan
And speaking of Gainax, here is the latest from them. It also prob the best of the bunch of shows I’ve mentioned today. Has style and appealing designs, funky giant robots. You also don’t want to think to carefully about it. The “aliens” are sometimes anthropomorphic things. And there’s a continuity error that falls to style. Didn’t the enemy giant robot fall through ceiling, so shouldn’t there already be a gaping hole there? But it looks cooler and more dramatic for them to burst through like they do. So far the story is simple, but there are issues brewing that you wonder what Gainax might pull? And again, lets not forget the fanservice, which again works.
Aika R-16
And so, can there be a thing as too much fanservice? It’s a funny thing, fanservice. When is it too much, when is too little? This show being an OVA, has pretty much free reign, and it having the Aika name, is pretty much expected to take those reigns and run with it, and run with it they do. Although if you play the Aika drinking game with this one, you might last until near the end, as opposed to the first series where if memory serves right, you’d probably be comatose. This one I believe is suppose to be a prequel. Anyway, is this too much? Your call. Thing is, aside from the fanservice, there isn’t anything else much going for it. Art, animation, designs are all decently good, but there isn’t anything that has really hooked me. No characters really appealed or story. Anyway, this is pretty much a throwaway. Another, if there’s nothing else to watch kind of thing.
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