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Spring Anime 2012 | Welcome Home, Space Cowboy
- Thread starter iavi
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Maria-sama ga Miteru 11
Episode torn my heart to shreds. This is definitely my favorite episode from the season, no question. Sei's (Rosa Gigantea) dialogue within the greenhouse (screenshots above) was probably one of the most powerful moments I've ever witnessed.
"Rain, don't stop." Best. Line. Ever.
So, so damn happy they decided to give Sei a flashback episode.
Episode torn my heart to shreds. This is definitely my favorite episode from the season, no question. Sei's (Rosa Gigantea) dialogue within the greenhouse (screenshots above) was probably one of the most powerful moments I've ever witnessed.
I already figured their relationship wasn't going to end well, but the scene at the subway was painful to watch nonetheless.
"Rain, don't stop." Best. Line. Ever.
So, so damn happy they decided to give Sei a flashback episode.
Is that hair sex?
Lavalamp1138
Member
So I just started watchin' Fractale and I desperately want all the characters to sound Irish. I'm so hung up on it. Dat ED, man. Dat ED.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
my condolences
Lavalamp1138
Member
chickdigger802
Banned
.
holy crap.
Thank you internet.
holy crap.
Thank you internet.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Huh. I remembered the finger sex, but not the hair sex.
That's pretty much the one "major" overtly lesbian episode of the series though. The other stuff is as dramatically intense as that, but more "class-S".
oh lawd. So glad my boss isn't in today
maybe i should stop browsing this thread at work
Why are you sullying Yayoi?! Also, kinda nsfw buddy.
Are you furiously searching for your DVDs to see it for yourself at this moment?
I like the early narrative structure of Marimite. It went Red->Yellow->White. This particular arc was the culmination of the white story and is super strong. 2 of the best characters in the show are from the white rose family.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
It's a perfectly family friendly picture. She's just reading some books and playing vidya games.
Hurry up and read the Buddha spinoff already!
Ha! I'll finish the Marimite books first (2/35)! 33 more to go...
Jex
Member
Sounds like you've been corrupted too.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
You already have the anime, so you can skip those.
Jex
Member
Well, it sure got brutal in here when I popped out. I am surprised there wasn't blood everywhere.
Typographenia
Member
Phantom Quest Corp.
It's a four episode OVA focused around a ghost exorcism service set in 90's Japan. It feels more like a really extended series pitch, but it was still fun to watch.
Characters / Story(?)
Normally, I would probably discuss a bit of the stories, but all four were essentially the same story with some slightly different window dressing changes. The episode opens with the spectre/monster doing its thing, Ayaka is rudely awoken by lots of alarm clocks, she investigates, things aren't quite what they seem, Ayaka and team work to stop the real problem, and everything ends happily until they realize they didn't make a cent. It's not a terrible formula for the show, as it has a rather western feel to their approach than most anime. However, it also makes for a rather predictable show.
Fortunately, the monsters/spectres are usually entertaining enough on their own that it helps the central characters play well off them. There's not a lot of variation, but every little bit helps. Sometimes things can be really serious, lighthearted, or just rather humorous. An example of this would be the vampire in the first episode that has gone anemic, and he runs a tea shop because he loves to collect tea cups. Not anything spectacular, but it helps inject life here and there during the course of the four episodes.
------------------
I guess I'll briefly address the characters, since they were more important than any overarching story between episodes.
Ayaka was the leading lady, and she was supposed to be an early/mid 30's woman that (irresponsibly) runs an exorcism service. She's quite vain at times, and she has an appearance complex when it comes to people saying the word "old." HOWEVER! She also fights spirits with her lipstick stick that turns into a lightsaber. Yes. Her makeup is used as a deadly weapon. AWESOME. She would also get drunk routinely, and she loved to perform karaoke, regardless of she was in an appropriate location or not. She was capable as a protagonist, but it was a little unfortunate that most of her defining characteristics were really interchangeable jokes. The only time she really seemed to open up a little as a character were in the third and fourth episodes in brief moments with another character.
Karino was a cop from the "U Division," which I can only assume has something to do with paranormal activity, and worked in tandem with Ayaka and her jobs. They never really delved deep into explaining any of it. He felt much like a father personality, and he seemed to just be a few years older than Ayaka. They weren't exactly strong romantic interests (
), but they had a believable relationship between friends/workers that had known each other for several years. I really lament that he wasn't on-screen more, because he had a really warm presence that made the scenes he was in feel really pleasant. He had some really great comedic moments, and I wish we could have learned a bit more about him and his job.
The remaining four characters weren't terribly well fleshed out. The little boy (I think his name was Manuro or something), was the average "kid taking care of the adult" type, and mostly did the leg work on computers researching stuff for Ayaka's job. He would also be the one giving her a hard time about them not making any money or her more crazy behavior she indulged in. The other three were just differently gifted character types that were in an episode when it was necessary for them. They were pretty much the equivalent of James Bond's gadgets, only with faces. The man was an exorcist, the woman was a spirit reader, and the young lady would create fire when she got scared. Yeah, that's basically all you need to know. They weren't awful, but they weren't really anything that made you want to see them more often than you did.
Presentation
PQC looked pretty nice, all things considered. There were moments where it was obvious that they had put less effort into the background art, the animation might look shoddy for a bit, or they'd hang a few seconds too long on a still shot, but it could really shine when it wanted to. But then they would have moments where it was completely irrelevant visuals that they put more effort into. I don't get it, but I guess they had... some kind of reason behind it. I'd almost be tempted to say they reached the final episode with a much larger sum of money left in the budget than they imagined, so they went all out. The key animation looked quite nice during the final fight, and there was much more effort put into the movements of everything in general.
Regularly, though, things were well acceptable. They weren't pushing any envelopes with any designs, much of the settings and costumes looked rather generic, and the visuals for any kind of supernatural energy/event would best be described as "stock." I don't know if it was played this safe because of budget, if this actually was originally done as a pitch, or if they just didn't have any grander ambitions for the work, but it doesn't really hurt or help it. It just feels very safe.
The music tended to vary much more than the visuals. Sometimes, it would be spot on and have a great, moody jazz or an appropriate electric guitar for their respective times. However, there were moments where it felt like they were trying to fill a vacuum of dead air with looping noises that didn't match the visuals at all. The worst offender was when the group was busy evading capture in the last episode, yet there was a very serene/mysterious 10 second looping piece playing over it. It doesn't completely ruin the show when it happens, but it is extremely noticeable.
I won't speak much to the voice acting, as I don't speak japanese, but I found Ayaka and Karino's actor's to be the real standouts. Ayaka's VA nailed her older, yet somewhat ditzy personality, and she did a spectacular job with the drunk scenes, as Ayaka was prone to bouts of karaoke. Karino's VA really felt like a perfect match for the age of the character. He had a well-worn but spirited sound to his delivery, and it made his character really endearing, despite not being on screen a whole lot.
Final Thoughts
PQC was a rather predictable piece, but it was still fun. There were enough quirks and spins on traditional elements that it helped give it a distinct flavor, but it wasn't enough to truly set it apart from its contemporaries in a significant way. It's still a fun watch, and I'd still recommend looking into it some time if you were interested.
It's a four episode OVA focused around a ghost exorcism service set in 90's Japan. It feels more like a really extended series pitch, but it was still fun to watch.
Characters / Story(?)
Normally, I would probably discuss a bit of the stories, but all four were essentially the same story with some slightly different window dressing changes. The episode opens with the spectre/monster doing its thing, Ayaka is rudely awoken by lots of alarm clocks, she investigates, things aren't quite what they seem, Ayaka and team work to stop the real problem, and everything ends happily until they realize they didn't make a cent. It's not a terrible formula for the show, as it has a rather western feel to their approach than most anime. However, it also makes for a rather predictable show.
Fortunately, the monsters/spectres are usually entertaining enough on their own that it helps the central characters play well off them. There's not a lot of variation, but every little bit helps. Sometimes things can be really serious, lighthearted, or just rather humorous. An example of this would be the vampire in the first episode that has gone anemic, and he runs a tea shop because he loves to collect tea cups. Not anything spectacular, but it helps inject life here and there during the course of the four episodes.
------------------
I guess I'll briefly address the characters, since they were more important than any overarching story between episodes.
Ayaka was the leading lady, and she was supposed to be an early/mid 30's woman that (irresponsibly) runs an exorcism service. She's quite vain at times, and she has an appearance complex when it comes to people saying the word "old." HOWEVER! She also fights spirits with her lipstick stick that turns into a lightsaber. Yes. Her makeup is used as a deadly weapon. AWESOME. She would also get drunk routinely, and she loved to perform karaoke, regardless of she was in an appropriate location or not. She was capable as a protagonist, but it was a little unfortunate that most of her defining characteristics were really interchangeable jokes. The only time she really seemed to open up a little as a character were in the third and fourth episodes in brief moments with another character.
Karino was a cop from the "U Division," which I can only assume has something to do with paranormal activity, and worked in tandem with Ayaka and her jobs. They never really delved deep into explaining any of it. He felt much like a father personality, and he seemed to just be a few years older than Ayaka. They weren't exactly strong romantic interests (
until the end
The remaining four characters weren't terribly well fleshed out. The little boy (I think his name was Manuro or something), was the average "kid taking care of the adult" type, and mostly did the leg work on computers researching stuff for Ayaka's job. He would also be the one giving her a hard time about them not making any money or her more crazy behavior she indulged in. The other three were just differently gifted character types that were in an episode when it was necessary for them. They were pretty much the equivalent of James Bond's gadgets, only with faces. The man was an exorcist, the woman was a spirit reader, and the young lady would create fire when she got scared. Yeah, that's basically all you need to know. They weren't awful, but they weren't really anything that made you want to see them more often than you did.
Presentation
PQC looked pretty nice, all things considered. There were moments where it was obvious that they had put less effort into the background art, the animation might look shoddy for a bit, or they'd hang a few seconds too long on a still shot, but it could really shine when it wanted to. But then they would have moments where it was completely irrelevant visuals that they put more effort into. I don't get it, but I guess they had... some kind of reason behind it. I'd almost be tempted to say they reached the final episode with a much larger sum of money left in the budget than they imagined, so they went all out. The key animation looked quite nice during the final fight, and there was much more effort put into the movements of everything in general.
Regularly, though, things were well acceptable. They weren't pushing any envelopes with any designs, much of the settings and costumes looked rather generic, and the visuals for any kind of supernatural energy/event would best be described as "stock." I don't know if it was played this safe because of budget, if this actually was originally done as a pitch, or if they just didn't have any grander ambitions for the work, but it doesn't really hurt or help it. It just feels very safe.
The music tended to vary much more than the visuals. Sometimes, it would be spot on and have a great, moody jazz or an appropriate electric guitar for their respective times. However, there were moments where it felt like they were trying to fill a vacuum of dead air with looping noises that didn't match the visuals at all. The worst offender was when the group was busy evading capture in the last episode, yet there was a very serene/mysterious 10 second looping piece playing over it. It doesn't completely ruin the show when it happens, but it is extremely noticeable.
I won't speak much to the voice acting, as I don't speak japanese, but I found Ayaka and Karino's actor's to be the real standouts. Ayaka's VA nailed her older, yet somewhat ditzy personality, and she did a spectacular job with the drunk scenes, as Ayaka was prone to bouts of karaoke. Karino's VA really felt like a perfect match for the age of the character. He had a well-worn but spirited sound to his delivery, and it made his character really endearing, despite not being on screen a whole lot.
Final Thoughts
PQC was a rather predictable piece, but it was still fun. There were enough quirks and spins on traditional elements that it helped give it a distinct flavor, but it wasn't enough to truly set it apart from its contemporaries in a significant way. It's still a fun watch, and I'd still recommend looking into it some time if you were interested.
You already have the anime, so you can skip those.
Nah, I like the books quite a bit and plan on finishing them (some day). I said this before but I really like the classiness of Marimite and the book sets up the atmosphere quite a bit better. Like, the ojousama in St Lilian are ojousama but they're not the horrible caricatures in pretty much all anime ever. They're just girls who happen to have had a privileged upbringing as opposed to crazy bitches who abuse their butlers like Sanzennin Nagi or something.
dakkumauji
Member
Ah My Goddess TV 24
Such a good episode, the conclusion of the Lord of Terror arc, we get to see a Valkyrie in action and all that romance. If this was the finale of the show, it would be a good finale. But, we got like two more episodes of this season and a whole other season to go, so uh good luck show trying to top this.
This probably made worth watching 23 episodes of varying quality worth it.
Such a good episode, the conclusion of the Lord of Terror arc, we get to see a Valkyrie in action and all that romance. If this was the finale of the show, it would be a good finale. But, we got like two more episodes of this season and a whole other season to go, so uh good luck show trying to top this.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
But imagine how much better it would be with guys!
Jex
Member
My dreams! Crushed!
Going to be difficult finishing up this series now.
Well, what do you expect, an actual yuri show? Those things don't happen.
So you've told me, repeatedly in fact!
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 02:
Good news everybody, it was actually okay this week. Let's just pretend that this was the first episode and that last week never existed, especially since this episode introduced most of the main cast yet again and therefore made last week's trainwreck completely redundant.
I mean, the show is still far from great, but I think I can probably stick with it as a junk food series if it's never Ep. 1 levels of terrible again. Yuuko is cute, and I'm an absolute sucker for the atmosphere in the old school. It conjures the absolutely lovely haikyo photography that I read about time and time again at the Tokyo Times blog linked above.
Interestingly, Silver Link threw in a lot of one-off visual quirks this episode, but they really didn't have the budget to execute the direction. It was clumsy and generally felt like a tepid attempt to SHAFT up the episode, but I still commend the effort.
Good news everybody, it was actually okay this week. Let's just pretend that this was the first episode and that last week never existed, especially since this episode introduced most of the main cast yet again and therefore made last week's trainwreck completely redundant.
I mean, the show is still far from great, but I think I can probably stick with it as a junk food series if it's never Ep. 1 levels of terrible again. Yuuko is cute, and I'm an absolute sucker for the atmosphere in the old school. It conjures the absolutely lovely haikyo photography that I read about time and time again at the Tokyo Times blog linked above.
Interestingly, Silver Link threw in a lot of one-off visual quirks this episode, but they really didn't have the budget to execute the direction. It was clumsy and generally felt like a tepid attempt to SHAFT up the episode, but I still commend the effort.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
I think you mean it's totally true!Not at all!
Crash Station
Member
Well that's good. The series deserves a competent adaptation.
Sounds like Un-Go Ep2.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
That's Silver Link and Shin Oonuma in a nutshell.
Not sure what this is, but holy shit at those screens.
Ultimadrago
Member
Its more rare that its a genuine show that (hopefully) wont have pointless fanservice
dat lack of CG
Jex
Member
Don't worry, the girls are super close.
I thought Marmite had no angst? Or was that just in comparison to Oniisama e...?
There's a very tedious, long and angsty story arc in S2. Outside of that, I think it does a good enough job to avoid falling into the standard traps.
Which I am coincidentally just about to watch!
ivan's fallen upon hard times
firehawk12
Subete no aware
It has angst, it's just not as overwrought (except for one of the OVAs).
No one is taking pills or being locked in closets or silly stuff like that.
Jex
Member
I was hoping you'd be able to turn back before you're consumed like the rest of us.
I also liked the variety of vehicles featured, and the general attention to detail in terms of building a visual world which seems plausible and inhabited.
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Sounds boring.
As if the yaoi overtones of T&B weren't already at a high.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Then you're doing it wrong!
One vehicle in particular I thought was an amazing touch was the firetruck. I can't even remember the last time I saw an emergency vehicle in an anime.
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