May 26, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep08
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep08
In contrast to last week's episode, Episode 08 was much lacking in The Goofy Cute. She was very much a tertiary character this week, as the show focused on relationships between the mains this time around.
But that's okay, because this episode was amazing. I mean, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself as much watching an episode of ANY anime as much as I did this one. I laughed, I teared up a bit, I wished I was 30 years younger for a few minutes.
Asuka wasn't in sight very much, but a little speech she gave after one of her friends prayed for luck at auditions was telling. I paraphrase: "Playing music is all about your effort, hoping a god helps you just cheapens it." Amen, and that's why I was never very good. The thing was, I knew I wasn't very good, and that after all the effort, after all the practice... I still wouldn't be very good. It's a humbling experience to know that.
If you're not watching Hibike! Euphonium, you're missing out on the best series this season, and probably this year. Sure as heck it's the best series KyoAni has done since Clannad/Clannad AS. I have high hopes for the new ARIA series coming out in a few months, but it's going to have to work really hard to surpass HibEuph.
So why aren't you watching?
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep08
In contrast to last week's episode, Episode 08 was much lacking in The Goofy Cute. She was very much a tertiary character this week, as the show focused on relationships between the mains this time around.
But that's okay, because this episode was amazing. I mean, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself as much watching an episode of ANY anime as much as I did this one. I laughed, I teared up a bit, I wished I was 30 years younger for a few minutes.
Asuka wasn't in sight very much, but a little speech she gave after one of her friends prayed for luck at auditions was telling. I paraphrase: "Playing music is all about your effort, hoping a god helps you just cheapens it." Amen, and that's why I was never very good. The thing was, I knew I wasn't very good, and that after all the effort, after all the practice... I still wouldn't be very good. It's a humbling experience to know that.
If you're not watching Hibike! Euphonium, you're missing out on the best series this season, and probably this year. Sure as heck it's the best series KyoAni has done since Clannad/Clannad AS. I have high hopes for the new ARIA series coming out in a few months, but it's going to have to work really hard to surpass HibEuph.
So why aren't you watching?
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May 21, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep07
"In the end, Asuka always ends up on my mind."
-President of the band club
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep07
A remarkably Asuka-centric episode. "Remarkable" mainly because she barely says anything, and nothing at all to any of the main characters in a non-ensemble setting. However, the truth is that she was the focal point.
The Goofy part of her was completely missing this time around, but her screen time was actually quite limited. However, almost every conversation somehow became about her... and not always in a positive light. There's an undercurrent amongst the first-year members of the band that she's too perfect, that it's all a put-on, and one can't tell where the REAL Asuka is as a result.
It doesn't appear that the upperclassmen feel the same way. However, many of them feel something even more stinging about her: that she let the band down. We finally discovered why there's such a dearth of second-year students in the band club, and it's about what you would expect: a group of them were more interested in socializing than playing. However, there was a group that DID want to play seriously, and conflict inevitably resulted. People looked to Asuka to solve the conundrum and... she didn't. She played neutral to the whole thing, as well as turning down the position of President. According to one of the officers of the band club, Asuka thought it out and realized that she couldn't succeed as the President with the club in the condition it was in.
That puts a completely different spin on her "master facilitator" persona, one that's not so flattering when mixed with the fake/phony appellation. And yet, we still don't really know the TRUE "cute goofball"... we just know what other members of the band think of her. Big difference there, but it was a fascinating character study cleverly done. I have hope that next week we'll actually find out more.
Because this one image teases so much about her. We've seen a few bedrooms over the course of this show, and none of them have been so empty, so sparse, so... lonely. You'd expect the room to be a riot of color and action and noise, given the "Goofy Cute" that resides in it, but... no. I fear what this means about her backstory.
-President of the band club
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep07
A remarkably Asuka-centric episode. "Remarkable" mainly because she barely says anything, and nothing at all to any of the main characters in a non-ensemble setting. However, the truth is that she was the focal point.
The Goofy part of her was completely missing this time around, but her screen time was actually quite limited. However, almost every conversation somehow became about her... and not always in a positive light. There's an undercurrent amongst the first-year members of the band that she's too perfect, that it's all a put-on, and one can't tell where the REAL Asuka is as a result.
It doesn't appear that the upperclassmen feel the same way. However, many of them feel something even more stinging about her: that she let the band down. We finally discovered why there's such a dearth of second-year students in the band club, and it's about what you would expect: a group of them were more interested in socializing than playing. However, there was a group that DID want to play seriously, and conflict inevitably resulted. People looked to Asuka to solve the conundrum and... she didn't. She played neutral to the whole thing, as well as turning down the position of President. According to one of the officers of the band club, Asuka thought it out and realized that she couldn't succeed as the President with the club in the condition it was in.
That puts a completely different spin on her "master facilitator" persona, one that's not so flattering when mixed with the fake/phony appellation. And yet, we still don't really know the TRUE "cute goofball"... we just know what other members of the band think of her. Big difference there, but it was a fascinating character study cleverly done. I have hope that next week we'll actually find out more.
Because this one image teases so much about her. We've seen a few bedrooms over the course of this show, and none of them have been so empty, so sparse, so... lonely. You'd expect the room to be a riot of color and action and noise, given the "Goofy Cute" that resides in it, but... no. I fear what this means about her backstory.
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May 17, 2015
Oh Why Not?
Because I haven't seen very many good AMVs for Kantai Collection, here's a mostly good one.
I say mostly because it suffers from the same problem the source song does: it's about a minute too long. Still, up to that point a fun time is had by all.
Or by me. One of the two.
I say mostly because it suffers from the same problem the source song does: it's about a minute too long. Still, up to that point a fun time is had by all.
Or by me. One of the two.
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May 13, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep06
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep06
We saw both sides of Our Goofy Adoration this week. The stern but fair taskmaster alternately teaching and berating the newby tuba player when she was on the verge of goofing off...
...and showing that she's got the chops to back up her assertions in addition to being cute and goofy. She's clearly serious about this whole music thing, despite not being interested in running the band club.
When handed a new piece of music for auditions, she looks at it for a moment, then plays through it smoothly, error-free, and at tempo. Meanwhile, the main character of the show, who has played the same instrument for seven years, is clearly uncomfortable with playing, tentative and slow. While the rest of the series spins around her, Asuka is proving to be the person I want to know more about. Sure, Kumiko, Hazuki, Sapphire and Reina are the main characters, and their relationships are intriguing, and the show is hitting on all cylinders, but I'll be darned if Asuka doesn't steal every scene she's in. There's something about her, above and beyond the goofy cute, that makes her interesting. She's not a main character, but she's making a good argument to be one.
It's clear there's more than 13 episodes in the story of Hibike! Euphonium. I'm hoping a second season will be announced quickly, and that one of the episodes is Asuka-centric. I want to know her backstory... for all that I've adopted her as a motif to talk about the series, we really don't know much about her.
I have a feeling there's more to it than we think.
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep06
We saw both sides of Our Goofy Adoration this week. The stern but fair taskmaster alternately teaching and berating the newby tuba player when she was on the verge of goofing off...
...and showing that she's got the chops to back up her assertions in addition to being cute and goofy. She's clearly serious about this whole music thing, despite not being interested in running the band club.
When handed a new piece of music for auditions, she looks at it for a moment, then plays through it smoothly, error-free, and at tempo. Meanwhile, the main character of the show, who has played the same instrument for seven years, is clearly uncomfortable with playing, tentative and slow. While the rest of the series spins around her, Asuka is proving to be the person I want to know more about. Sure, Kumiko, Hazuki, Sapphire and Reina are the main characters, and their relationships are intriguing, and the show is hitting on all cylinders, but I'll be darned if Asuka doesn't steal every scene she's in. There's something about her, above and beyond the goofy cute, that makes her interesting. She's not a main character, but she's making a good argument to be one.
It's clear there's more than 13 episodes in the story of Hibike! Euphonium. I'm hoping a second season will be announced quickly, and that one of the episodes is Asuka-centric. I want to know her backstory... for all that I've adopted her as a motif to talk about the series, we really don't know much about her.
I have a feeling there's more to it than we think.
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May 05, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep05
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep05
This week, the Goofy Wacko we've come to adore is almost entirely missing. In her place is a being we've never quite seen before: Deadly Serious Asuka. I mean, last week she was the voice of reason in a band leader meeting. This week, she was the stern taskmaster who drove the marching band to levels they didn't know they could reach.
Because she's the Drum Major and darn well in charge on performance day. She was also the consensus pick to be President of the Band, but she didn't want the job. Well, no wonder she was so influential last week.
I did say "almost", didn't I?
On a completely different note, if you're not watching this show, you're missing out on perhaps the best work KyoAni has done since the Haruhi movie. I mean, yes, there's the scene that everybody will be talking about, but they're making sure every single box is checked everywhere.
Sure, just a simple train station, but holy crap, I thought I was looking at a photograph when I saw the screenshot. Honestly, KyoAni brought their "A"-game for this one, and when they do that, ain't nobody in the same league.
It goes without saying that the reflection of the train's lights in the stream is animated horizontally, but if you watch the scene carefully, you'll see there's also movement caused by the flow of the water. It's a throwaway shot, on-screen for a couple of seconds at most (and, ohbytheway, the train is exactly as long, end-to-end, as the screen is wide), but there's more care put into it than you'll see in almost all flash-based style animation, and most anime in general. Yes, I'm fanboying. Yes, I'm gushing. No, I don't care. It's just. That. Damn. Good.
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep05
This week, the Goofy Wacko we've come to adore is almost entirely missing. In her place is a being we've never quite seen before: Deadly Serious Asuka. I mean, last week she was the voice of reason in a band leader meeting. This week, she was the stern taskmaster who drove the marching band to levels they didn't know they could reach.
Because she's the Drum Major and darn well in charge on performance day. She was also the consensus pick to be President of the Band, but she didn't want the job. Well, no wonder she was so influential last week.
I did say "almost", didn't I?
On a completely different note, if you're not watching this show, you're missing out on perhaps the best work KyoAni has done since the Haruhi movie. I mean, yes, there's the scene that everybody will be talking about, but they're making sure every single box is checked everywhere.
Sure, just a simple train station, but holy crap, I thought I was looking at a photograph when I saw the screenshot. Honestly, KyoAni brought their "A"-game for this one, and when they do that, ain't nobody in the same league.
It goes without saying that the reflection of the train's lights in the stream is animated horizontally, but if you watch the scene carefully, you'll see there's also movement caused by the flow of the water. It's a throwaway shot, on-screen for a couple of seconds at most (and, ohbytheway, the train is exactly as long, end-to-end, as the screen is wide), but there's more care put into it than you'll see in almost all flash-based style animation, and most anime in general. Yes, I'm fanboying. Yes, I'm gushing. No, I don't care. It's just. That. Damn. Good.
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I want this band to play this song. A little bit of self-referential humor for the studio. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to go watch this episode again.
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April 28, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep04
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep04
A rather Asuka-less episode, with the cute goofball having maybe a minute of screentime. She was remarkably serious this time around, too. From being the voice of reason in the section leader meeting that actually determined the course of the series from here on out to teaching the newcomers to the bass section advanced techniques, she played the role of "good sempai" to a Tee.
What might not be obvious at first blush is that Asuka has, to date, gotten everything she's wanted in this series. From corralling three of the main characters to making sure the band is trying for Nationals to subtly siding with the new teacher in the section leader meeting and thus pushing everybody to accept his somewhat abrupt (but effective) style, Our Goofy Fascination is proving to be ridiculously skilled in playing the political game. One gets the impression that if she was even slightly normal she'd be president of the student council, or maybe dictator-for-life.
You know how there is a school of thought that says that the Star Wars series of movies is actually telling the story of R2-D2? At least through Ep04, an argument can be made for Hibike! Euphonium being Asuka's tale, told from the standpoint of the three so-called main characters. To be honest, I'm not sure if I really believe that or if it's just because I'm doing this weekly thing, but I find the possibility to be intriguing.
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep04
A rather Asuka-less episode, with the cute goofball having maybe a minute of screentime. She was remarkably serious this time around, too. From being the voice of reason in the section leader meeting that actually determined the course of the series from here on out to teaching the newcomers to the bass section advanced techniques, she played the role of "good sempai" to a Tee.
What might not be obvious at first blush is that Asuka has, to date, gotten everything she's wanted in this series. From corralling three of the main characters to making sure the band is trying for Nationals to subtly siding with the new teacher in the section leader meeting and thus pushing everybody to accept his somewhat abrupt (but effective) style, Our Goofy Fascination is proving to be ridiculously skilled in playing the political game. One gets the impression that if she was even slightly normal she'd be president of the student council, or maybe dictator-for-life.
You know how there is a school of thought that says that the Star Wars series of movies is actually telling the story of R2-D2? At least through Ep04, an argument can be made for Hibike! Euphonium being Asuka's tale, told from the standpoint of the three so-called main characters. To be honest, I'm not sure if I really believe that or if it's just because I'm doing this weekly thing, but I find the possibility to be intriguing.
Shhhh... don't tell anyone!
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April 24, 2015
Your Weekly Asuka, Ep03
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep03
It's not uncommon for me to be more interested in a secondary character than a main... I love background characters, and always have. The Skippy T Spearcarriers of the world are people too, and they all have stories, at least in a world well-created. Sure, the true background characters, i.e., the ones there to make it look like the world is populated, they won't have anything, but the students sharing a classroom with Our Heroes? They should be people in their own right. Maybe not as interesting as a 12-year old high school senior, or a schoolgirl who fights demons at night with a holy water-powered steam iron, but people nevertheless.
However, it is uncommon for me to create a weekly entry for them, but yet that's what I'm going to do for the character of Asuka from Hibike! Euphonium. There are two reasons for that. The first should be obvious. The second is that, while she's loonier than a sack full of wet quokka, she's also dearly devoted to the concert band in the show. So much so that she's one of the true driving forces behind its continued existence after the second-year student walkout alluded to in this episode.
What I'm saying is, there's more to her than a cute goofball. I mean, sure, that's undoubtedly what I'll be focusing on in this running feature, but don't be surprised if it gets deeper than that. If you're interested in a weekly writeup on the series, visit Ben over at Midnight Tease; he's adopted the show. In contrast to my writeups, there's actual thought behind his!
Since I missed Week 2, here's a special bonus Asuka:
-Hibike! Euphonium, Ep03
It's not uncommon for me to be more interested in a secondary character than a main... I love background characters, and always have. The Skippy T Spearcarriers of the world are people too, and they all have stories, at least in a world well-created. Sure, the true background characters, i.e., the ones there to make it look like the world is populated, they won't have anything, but the students sharing a classroom with Our Heroes? They should be people in their own right. Maybe not as interesting as a 12-year old high school senior, or a schoolgirl who fights demons at night with a holy water-powered steam iron, but people nevertheless.
However, it is uncommon for me to create a weekly entry for them, but yet that's what I'm going to do for the character of Asuka from Hibike! Euphonium. There are two reasons for that. The first should be obvious. The second is that, while she's loonier than a sack full of wet quokka, she's also dearly devoted to the concert band in the show. So much so that she's one of the true driving forces behind its continued existence after the second-year student walkout alluded to in this episode.
What I'm saying is, there's more to her than a cute goofball. I mean, sure, that's undoubtedly what I'll be focusing on in this running feature, but don't be surprised if it gets deeper than that. If you're interested in a weekly writeup on the series, visit Ben over at Midnight Tease; he's adopted the show. In contrast to my writeups, there's actual thought behind his!
Since I missed Week 2, here's a special bonus Asuka:
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April 15, 2015
Triage X Diagnosis: Black
So, I decided to give Triage X another episode. I figured I owed it that much, after the amount of fun High School of the Dead provided. Maybe, just maybe, it'd realize how bad the first episode was and make some sort of drastic change that'd make it watchable. It's not totally unheard of.
But in the case of Triage X, that would be impossible. Everything loathsome from the first episode is back, this time with bandages and narcotics thrown in for good measure. And just why exactly the bad guys decide that duct-taping folding chairs to someone's forearms would immobilize them is beyond me... particularly when the tape is applied in a small X to each seat. I just don't it.
Even the single use of color for dramatic purposes, shown above, is disappointing because you just know it's going to go away for the BD release. Instead of dramatic silhouettes, you'll wind up with bodies and blood, just like every other awful show that has a surgeon-samurai with gigantomastia in it. Really, it's almost enough to make me weep for the anime business that crepe like this can not only be released, but awaited eagerly.
I'll be fair, however: there was one change I can approve of in this episode.
They added "Episode: 02" to the card. After last week's "Prescription of Hell" with no hint of what that meant, this must be considered a step up. Maybe someone from CrunchyRoll reads The Pond.
Whatever. This is so dropped.
So, I decided to give Triage X another episode. I figured I owed it that much, after the amount of fun High School of the Dead provided. Maybe, just maybe, it'd realize how bad the first episode was and make some sort of drastic change that'd make it watchable. It's not totally unheard of.
But in the case of Triage X, that would be impossible. Everything loathsome from the first episode is back, this time with bandages and narcotics thrown in for good measure. And just why exactly the bad guys decide that duct-taping folding chairs to someone's forearms would immobilize them is beyond me... particularly when the tape is applied in a small X to each seat. I just don't it.
Even the single use of color for dramatic purposes, shown above, is disappointing because you just know it's going to go away for the BD release. Instead of dramatic silhouettes, you'll wind up with bodies and blood, just like every other awful show that has a surgeon-samurai with gigantomastia in it. Really, it's almost enough to make me weep for the anime business that crepe like this can not only be released, but awaited eagerly.
I'll be fair, however: there was one change I can approve of in this episode.
They added "Episode: 02" to the card. After last week's "Prescription of Hell" with no hint of what that meant, this must be considered a step up. Maybe someone from CrunchyRoll reads The Pond.
Whatever. This is so dropped.
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April 06, 2015
It's An Amazing Day
Okay, first it's Opening Day with a full slate of baseball games on TV and radio. That always makes it a good day. But even better is the appearance of this:
This PV for the upcoming ARIA the Avvenire answers many questions about the upcoming series. Specifically it lists the cast members and the news on that front is good: the VAs that made their characters who they are will all be coming back. The PV does list Tomoko Kawakami as Athena, which on the face of it seems impossible since she passed away in 2011 from cancer. Maybe flashbacks, or dialogue snipped from past episodes? They can do remarkable things with technology! The presence of Ai and Akari's hair style suggests that Avvenire will be continuing on from Origination... which means Athena and Alicia would both be retired gondolieri, but they're shown in their respective company uniforms. Which means who knows?
Here's what I can tell you for sure: I desperately need this show in my life. Like, right now. Instead, we'll have to look forward to September.
This PV for the upcoming ARIA the Avvenire answers many questions about the upcoming series. Specifically it lists the cast members and the news on that front is good: the VAs that made their characters who they are will all be coming back. The PV does list Tomoko Kawakami as Athena, which on the face of it seems impossible since she passed away in 2011 from cancer. Maybe flashbacks, or dialogue snipped from past episodes? They can do remarkable things with technology! The presence of Ai and Akari's hair style suggests that Avvenire will be continuing on from Origination... which means Athena and Alicia would both be retired gondolieri, but they're shown in their respective company uniforms. Which means who knows?
Here's what I can tell you for sure: I desperately need this show in my life. Like, right now. Instead, we'll have to look forward to September.
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March 25, 2015
Kantai Collection: Good News, Bad News
The good news: a second season of Kantai Collection was announced today, just before the final episode of S1 aired.
The bad news: it seems that crunchyroll got their copy of the episode very very late, and thus it has yet to air here.
Allow me to repeat my prior warning: any spoilers of the episode of any sort will result in the offender being banned. Period. I want to watch this one with no hints or suggestions of any sort. Even saying "you'll love it, Wonderduck" isn't welcome.
So just don't, okay? Cool.
UPDATE: I've finally seen the final episode of S1. That was about as good as we could have hoped for, save for the "rocks fall everybody dies" Bad End. Strong way to end the season. Writeup to begin Thursday morning.
The bad news: it seems that crunchyroll got their copy of the episode very very late, and thus it has yet to air here.
Allow me to repeat my prior warning: any spoilers of the episode of any sort will result in the offender being banned. Period. I want to watch this one with no hints or suggestions of any sort. Even saying "you'll love it, Wonderduck" isn't welcome.
So just don't, okay? Cool.
UPDATE: I've finally seen the final episode of S1. That was about as good as we could have hoped for, save for the "rocks fall everybody dies" Bad End. Strong way to end the season. Writeup to begin Thursday morning.
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February 19, 2015
The Greatest AMV Ever. Bar None.
I hear you now, gentle reader: "The greatest AMV ever? That's quite the claim, Wonderduck." To which I reply, "who are you and how did you get in here?"
Nevertheless, I stand by my assertion. Reader haunter103 called my attention to his AMV, entitled "Good Clean Fun", and asked if I had seen it. I had not, so I decided to take a look at it. Here it is...
By the time it was over, there were tears running down my face. Tears of joy, and, surprisingly, tears of pride as well. For there, listed at the end of the credits sequence, is Wonderduck's Pond, specifically the "Ducks In Anime" category.
Thank you, haunter103. Thank you for letting me be a small part of your accomplishment. It's a good video, and I'd think so even if I didn't love rubber ducks. However, the ducks just push it into the "godlike" category.
That was fun as all get-out!
UPDATE: If you've stopped by due to Robert's weekly newsletter, hi, hello and welcome! Hope you enjoy haunter103's video, and while you're here, why not take a look at the rest of The Pond? Since you're probably an anime fan, you might particularly enjoy the "Anime Writeups" category, where I do episode-by-episode recaps of entire series... usually, at least. Currently Kantai Collection is the show under the microscope, but Ga-Rei Zero, Rio Rainbow Gate!, Vividred Operation, High School of the Dead, and others have had the dubious pleasure of being a target. Or, of course, you can cock an eye at the Ducks in Anime category, too, because... well, because ducks, that's why. Or anything else that meets your fancy, too, feel free to look around!
Nevertheless, I stand by my assertion. Reader haunter103 called my attention to his AMV, entitled "Good Clean Fun", and asked if I had seen it. I had not, so I decided to take a look at it. Here it is...
By the time it was over, there were tears running down my face. Tears of joy, and, surprisingly, tears of pride as well. For there, listed at the end of the credits sequence, is Wonderduck's Pond, specifically the "Ducks In Anime" category.
Thank you, haunter103. Thank you for letting me be a small part of your accomplishment. It's a good video, and I'd think so even if I didn't love rubber ducks. However, the ducks just push it into the "godlike" category.
That was fun as all get-out!
UPDATE: If you've stopped by due to Robert's weekly newsletter, hi, hello and welcome! Hope you enjoy haunter103's video, and while you're here, why not take a look at the rest of The Pond? Since you're probably an anime fan, you might particularly enjoy the "Anime Writeups" category, where I do episode-by-episode recaps of entire series... usually, at least. Currently Kantai Collection is the show under the microscope, but Ga-Rei Zero, Rio Rainbow Gate!, Vividred Operation, High School of the Dead, and others have had the dubious pleasure of being a target. Or, of course, you can cock an eye at the Ducks in Anime category, too, because... well, because ducks, that's why. Or anything else that meets your fancy, too, feel free to look around!
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February 03, 2015
ARIA the Avvenire!
News leaked out today that we're going to get to travel back to Neo-Venezia!
We've never had an ARIA show released in true HD quality. The final season came out in 2008, when such things weren't common in the least... however, HAL Filmmaker is gone, merged with another company to form TYO, which has done the square-root of nothing since, so a different production house will probably have to do it.
There are two obvious questions involved here. The first is what the series/OVA will cover. The existing shows didn't cover the entire manga, but they did get most of it, and what's left over may not be enough for a series. It couldn't be new stuff from Kozue Amano, maybe focusing on Ai... could it? The director for the previous series, Jun Sato, will also get the nod for this, which is fitting, right, and pretty much required.
The second question is what to do about Athena? Both of her voices have passed away, Eri Kawai (Athena's singing voice) in late 2008 and Tomoko Kawakami (her speaking voice) in 2011. They couldn't just write her out of the story. Well, they could, but... no, I don't think anybody could accept that, including the anime staff themselves.
Getting ahead of myself. Deep breaths. Calm. Center. In with the good air, out with the bad...
I could cry manly tears of joy at any moment.
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The website above was taken down nearly as quickly as it went up. It seems to be announcing, in relation to the 10-year anniversary of the first series, a new BD boxset and, most importantly, a new series (or OVA?), ARIA the Avvenire. If true, you can't imagine how thrilled I am. The general consensus is that it is absolutely legit. The scenery porn from a modern ARIA should be tremendous.We've never had an ARIA show released in true HD quality. The final season came out in 2008, when such things weren't common in the least... however, HAL Filmmaker is gone, merged with another company to form TYO, which has done the square-root of nothing since, so a different production house will probably have to do it.
There are two obvious questions involved here. The first is what the series/OVA will cover. The existing shows didn't cover the entire manga, but they did get most of it, and what's left over may not be enough for a series. It couldn't be new stuff from Kozue Amano, maybe focusing on Ai... could it? The director for the previous series, Jun Sato, will also get the nod for this, which is fitting, right, and pretty much required.
The second question is what to do about Athena? Both of her voices have passed away, Eri Kawai (Athena's singing voice) in late 2008 and Tomoko Kawakami (her speaking voice) in 2011. They couldn't just write her out of the story. Well, they could, but... no, I don't think anybody could accept that, including the anime staff themselves.
Getting ahead of myself. Deep breaths. Calm. Center. In with the good air, out with the bad...
I could cry manly tears of joy at any moment.
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January 23, 2015
Kantai Collection Ep03
Last week, we had a training montage. Fubuki The Clumsy needed to improve, and fast, before she got kicked out of the fleet. This was, of course, done, because it's not that sort of show, right? Also, a fight was brewing to boot... exciting times ahead! Heck, why wait? Let's get on with the show!
We begin this brand new episode with...
...a flashback to "a few days ago," aka "the end of last episode." Nagato has just informed the light cruisers of Torpedo Squadron Three that they and their destroyers will form the basis of the first offensive against the Abyssals. I'd just like to point out that this scene is just seiyuu Ayane Sakura having a four-way conversation with herself. She actually does the voices for eight of the shipgirls, and you'd better believe I'm looking forward to that scene. Jump back to now, and it's time for the mission briefing...
...where Mutsuki discovers that her older sister Kisaragi will be in on the mission as well. Yay for family! Also, yay for delays in construction! Mutsuki is/was actually the name-ship for her class of destroyers, but Kisaragi was completed before her sister. Eh, stuff happens.
Cutest collection of warships ever! Good lord, they'll adorable the Abyssals to death. What we've got here is Torpedo Squadron Four, joining The Fellowship for this operation. Briefly, the plan is for The Fellowship to sneak in and attack W Island...
...shown here and please pay no attention whatsoever to the resemblance to Wake Island. Merely coincidental, that. Anyway, The Fellowship is to sneak in and attack Wake W Island at night, cause as much mayhem as they can and then withdraw, bringing the Abyssal ships known to be stationed there out after them. Then Torpedo Squadron Four will ambush the Abyssals, The Fellowship will turn around, and the massacre will be total and complete. There's no risk of being detected ahead of time, so all is right with the world. It'll be a piece of cake!
more...
We begin this brand new episode with...
...a flashback to "a few days ago," aka "the end of last episode." Nagato has just informed the light cruisers of Torpedo Squadron Three that they and their destroyers will form the basis of the first offensive against the Abyssals. I'd just like to point out that this scene is just seiyuu Ayane Sakura having a four-way conversation with herself. She actually does the voices for eight of the shipgirls, and you'd better believe I'm looking forward to that scene. Jump back to now, and it's time for the mission briefing...
...where Mutsuki discovers that her older sister Kisaragi will be in on the mission as well. Yay for family! Also, yay for delays in construction! Mutsuki is/was actually the name-ship for her class of destroyers, but Kisaragi was completed before her sister. Eh, stuff happens.
Cutest collection of warships ever! Good lord, they'll adorable the Abyssals to death. What we've got here is Torpedo Squadron Four, joining The Fellowship for this operation. Briefly, the plan is for The Fellowship to sneak in and attack W Island...
...shown here and please pay no attention whatsoever to the resemblance to Wake Island. Merely coincidental, that. Anyway, The Fellowship is to sneak in and attack Wake W Island at night, cause as much mayhem as they can and then withdraw, bringing the Abyssal ships known to be stationed there out after them. Then Torpedo Squadron Four will ambush the Abyssals, The Fellowship will turn around, and the massacre will be total and complete. There's no risk of being detected ahead of time, so all is right with the world. It'll be a piece of cake!
more...
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January 17, 2015
Kantai Collection Ep02
After having been hiding from the weather for the past couple of weeks, I ventured forth into the frozen wastes of Northern Illinois this evening for a lovely dinner with The Librarian. I mention this for no other reason than to make an interesting bit of filler for this, the top paragraph of the Second Episode writeup for Kantai Collection. In the first episode, we met half of the entire Imperial Japanese Navy and none of you, my readers, seemed to notice that I used the opening monologue from the movie Pacific Rim to describe the background the anime presented us with. That made me sad. I only had to change two words, to boot. Perhaps I'm not as clever as I thought I was. In any case, that was then. This is now, and I'm probably even less clever just from the ongoing march of time killing off brain cells. Hopefully not measurably so, but how would I know? I leave that as an exercise for the reader. Maybe one of you will tell me, but I can understand if you don't... after all, it might be more entertaining that way! "Hurr durr... stupid hair girl stabs dead guy with pointed stick." And I've just gotten distracted fixing a youtube link at that episodic recap and now I've got the soundtrack of Les Miserables going through my head and I'm going to give up for now and pick this up later. Okay, it's later now, let's get this show on the road! Raise anchor, all ahead flank speed. Damn the torpedoes!
It is not late, it is very early. The sun is not up. Nary a shipgirl is stirring. But yet, here is Our Heroine, Fubuki, out doing physical training. You've gotta put in the effort if you wanna be the best around. Nothing's gonna ever keep you down.
Except for having all the agility of a giraffe wearing ice skates, that is. That and not being able to hit the broad side of a barn from the inside might have something to say about it. Which would make for an interesting show, I've gotta say. Everybody else goes to war, while Our Heroine stays behind. She has to deal with being useless, particularly when the other ships come back damaged... or don't come back at all. She'd feel completely worthless. Then, as the Abyssals make one final push to smash the fleet, she'd be sent out, along with whatever shipgirls were left in desperation. Finally, she'd have her chance to make a difference... to be a hero! And then she falls over, takes a few crippling blows, and is forced to watch helplessly as her friends, her home, and her hopes are destroyed in front of her eyes.
The end.
more...
It is not late, it is very early. The sun is not up. Nary a shipgirl is stirring. But yet, here is Our Heroine, Fubuki, out doing physical training. You've gotta put in the effort if you wanna be the best around. Nothing's gonna ever keep you down.
Except for having all the agility of a giraffe wearing ice skates, that is. That and not being able to hit the broad side of a barn from the inside might have something to say about it. Which would make for an interesting show, I've gotta say. Everybody else goes to war, while Our Heroine stays behind. She has to deal with being useless, particularly when the other ships come back damaged... or don't come back at all. She'd feel completely worthless. Then, as the Abyssals make one final push to smash the fleet, she'd be sent out, along with whatever shipgirls were left in desperation. Finally, she'd have her chance to make a difference... to be a hero! And then she falls over, takes a few crippling blows, and is forced to watch helplessly as her friends, her home, and her hopes are destroyed in front of her eyes.
The end.
more...
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January 10, 2015
Kantai Collection Ep01
Wow, here's a shock, I'll be doing episodic writeups for Kantai Collection! Sure, I've said I'd be doing them, but I'm really, really doing it! As has been previously stated, it's not like this show is perfect for me or anything... the spirits of Japanese naval vessels from World War II reborn into the bodies of young women. Throw in a rubber duck and a F1 car and we'll effectively have all of my serious hobbies all in one place. And then The Pond will collapse in upon itself, forming a black hole of blog; all writing therein will be self-referential... nothing from the outside will intrude, nothing from the inside will interest. So, kinda like MySpace, then. Of course, that almost certainly won't happen... why would a F1 car show up in this show? I've said it many times before, however: if an episode of anime contains both a rubber duck and a F1 car, The Pond will shut down. If the duck is driving the car, I'll close it right then and there. If they're in the same episode, I'll finish the series. Somewhere, one of my readers is on the phone to SHAFT, trying to make this happen. And I don't blame them, really. I'm actually a little excited about the possibility: it's not like most blogs have a defined and announced endpoint. Brickmuppet isn't going to close his when he graduates from college. Ben's not going to close his when the Texas Rangers win something. Steven isn't going to close his when the ducks invade. But if one animator out there that was on the production staff of Rio Rainbow Gate! is still holding a grudge, he has the power to end me. That's kinda fun to think about. Know what else is fun to think about? Kantai Collection! Let's have me stop bloviating and get right to the recappin'!
When I was a kid, whenever I'd feel small or lonely, I'd look up at the stars... wondered if there was life up there. Turns out I was looking in the wrong direction. When alien life entered our world, it was from deep beneath the Pacific ocean.
A fissure between two tectonic plates. A portal between dimensions. The Breach. I was 15 when the first Abyssals made land in San Francisco. By the time ships, jets and tanks took it down six days and thirty-five miles later, three cities were destroyed.
Tens of thousands of lives were lost. We mourned our dead, memorialized the attack, and moved on. And then, only six months later, the second attack hit Manila. And then the third one hit Cabo. And then the fourth, and then we learned that this was not going to stop. This was just the beginning.
We needed a new weapon. The world came together, pooling its resources, throwing aside old rivalries for the sake of the greater good. To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. The Fleetgirls program was born.
Oh boy.
more...
When I was a kid, whenever I'd feel small or lonely, I'd look up at the stars... wondered if there was life up there. Turns out I was looking in the wrong direction. When alien life entered our world, it was from deep beneath the Pacific ocean.
A fissure between two tectonic plates. A portal between dimensions. The Breach. I was 15 when the first Abyssals made land in San Francisco. By the time ships, jets and tanks took it down six days and thirty-five miles later, three cities were destroyed.
Tens of thousands of lives were lost. We mourned our dead, memorialized the attack, and moved on. And then, only six months later, the second attack hit Manila. And then the third one hit Cabo. And then the fourth, and then we learned that this was not going to stop. This was just the beginning.
We needed a new weapon. The world came together, pooling its resources, throwing aside old rivalries for the sake of the greater good. To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. The Fleetgirls program was born.
Oh boy.
more...
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January 07, 2015
KanColle Ep01 First Reaction
Oh my, yes.
That was the most fun I've had watching an episode of anime in quite a while. Well, duh, it's not like it wasn't made for me: the spirits of WWII-era Japanese warships reincarnated into girls with special powers? Now I know how tank fans felt about Girls und Panzer.
Except there's one thing that bothers me. Akagi and Kaga wear their flight decks on opposite arms, and correctly so. Except the Akagi had her island to port, Kaga to starboard.
In Kancolle, the game, the artbooks, the plush figures, and now the anime, they wear the flight decks on the opposite arms. I guess that puts their heads on the correct sides, but it still puts my teeth on edge.
I understand that there's plenty of time for this to go completely belly-up, but at least for one episode, boy, that was awesome!
Now, to work on my schemes and plans...
Dai Ichi Koku Sentai, at your service.
Very yes. MUCH yes. Yes, yes, yes.That was the most fun I've had watching an episode of anime in quite a while. Well, duh, it's not like it wasn't made for me: the spirits of WWII-era Japanese warships reincarnated into girls with special powers? Now I know how tank fans felt about Girls und Panzer.
Except there's one thing that bothers me. Akagi and Kaga wear their flight decks on opposite arms, and correctly so. Except the Akagi had her island to port, Kaga to starboard.
In Kancolle, the game, the artbooks, the plush figures, and now the anime, they wear the flight decks on the opposite arms. I guess that puts their heads on the correct sides, but it still puts my teeth on edge.
I understand that there's plenty of time for this to go completely belly-up, but at least for one episode, boy, that was awesome!
Now, to work on my schemes and plans...
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No Kancolle Spoilers
Okay, just in case anybody has the bright idea of discussing the first episode of Kancolle here before I post about it?
I WILL ban you, I will ban your family, I will ban everybody you have ever loved. I will ban your pets, your next-door neighbor, and your postal worker. That nice person who always waves at you? Banned, and I will laugh about it.
Even joke comments about it will bring about a ban. Do NOT try me on this one.
We cool? Cool. And thank you in advance for your understanding.
I WILL ban you, I will ban your family, I will ban everybody you have ever loved. I will ban your pets, your next-door neighbor, and your postal worker. That nice person who always waves at you? Banned, and I will laugh about it.
Even joke comments about it will bring about a ban. Do NOT try me on this one.
We cool? Cool. And thank you in advance for your understanding.
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January 04, 2015
First Episode Writeup #4
I find that I'm enjoying these one episode writeups! There's no long-term commitment involved, I'm not devoting myself to watching the entire series, I can pull out every joke I can think of and use 'em all at once, it's great! Even better, if I miss a plot point or something, it doesn't matter! For example, in my very first series writeup (Ga-Rei Zero) I completely missed the significance of the blue butterflies and the gray-haired prettyboy in the first episode... who knew he'd be the Big Bad? As an aside, after re-reading that series of writeups, I should go redo them in my improved style... hm. Food for thought. Anyway. We're not here to discuss that series, we're here to discuss a new First Episode Writeup! What poor show gets the patented Wonderduck treatment this time around?
People call them brother and sister. Sure, there's a 20 year age gap between them, at least, but that's not too strange, right? Right? Neither is the glowing way she looks at him, like the look an adoring golden retriever gives her master, that's not weird for a little girl at all. What IS weird is the perspective on this shot, which makes it look like the two of them are walking in front of a projection of the City of Townsville town below. Never mind the viola case she's holding... yes, I said "viola." Not violin. Viola. Because the viola doesn't get enough love in this world, it's such a mellow sounding instrument, not all squeaky and screamy like the violin. If it turns out to be a violin she's carrying, so be it. Until that time however, it's a viola because this is my writeup, darnit. Meanwhile, in another part of the anime...
...a graphics glitch has rendered another young girl's shotgun useless. So many things in that sentence I never thought I would ever type. For such a great looking show and trust me, it is though we haven't quite gotten to that part yet, that's a fairly egregious mistake... particularly because it occurs twice.
It turns out that the young girl, who is named Triela, is paired with an older man as well, named Hilshire. They seem to be part of some sort of paramilitary/police special forces unit, and their target wasn't there... which means it's at the other target. A target that...
...is being watched by yet another heavily armed young girl/older man combo. Her name is Rico, which seems like a fairly unlikely name for a girl. His name is Jean, which means that the two of them should probably switch names. There's also a lot of regular agents standing around looking inconspicuous. Inside a nondescript apartment in the building being cased...
...a bunch of malcontents and neer-do-wells are gathered. They've just received word that their other safehouse has been hit, which rendered it not so safe. Oh, and the informant said that young girl did most of the damage. The man on the right rolls his eyes and looks dubious at this news. And rightfully so... little girls being used as assassins? Preposterous! What are they gonna do, hit us with Hello Kitty and My Little Pony plushies? The doorbell rings and someone we will call Skippy goes to see who's there, chuckling under his breath: "Hello Kitty plushies."
Oh.
more...
People call them brother and sister. Sure, there's a 20 year age gap between them, at least, but that's not too strange, right? Right? Neither is the glowing way she looks at him, like the look an adoring golden retriever gives her master, that's not weird for a little girl at all. What IS weird is the perspective on this shot, which makes it look like the two of them are walking in front of a projection of the City of Townsville town below. Never mind the viola case she's holding... yes, I said "viola." Not violin. Viola. Because the viola doesn't get enough love in this world, it's such a mellow sounding instrument, not all squeaky and screamy like the violin. If it turns out to be a violin she's carrying, so be it. Until that time however, it's a viola because this is my writeup, darnit. Meanwhile, in another part of the anime...
...a graphics glitch has rendered another young girl's shotgun useless. So many things in that sentence I never thought I would ever type. For such a great looking show and trust me, it is though we haven't quite gotten to that part yet, that's a fairly egregious mistake... particularly because it occurs twice.
It turns out that the young girl, who is named Triela, is paired with an older man as well, named Hilshire. They seem to be part of some sort of paramilitary/police special forces unit, and their target wasn't there... which means it's at the other target. A target that...
...is being watched by yet another heavily armed young girl/older man combo. Her name is Rico, which seems like a fairly unlikely name for a girl. His name is Jean, which means that the two of them should probably switch names. There's also a lot of regular agents standing around looking inconspicuous. Inside a nondescript apartment in the building being cased...
...a bunch of malcontents and neer-do-wells are gathered. They've just received word that their other safehouse has been hit, which rendered it not so safe. Oh, and the informant said that young girl did most of the damage. The man on the right rolls his eyes and looks dubious at this news. And rightfully so... little girls being used as assassins? Preposterous! What are they gonna do, hit us with Hello Kitty and My Little Pony plushies? The doorbell rings and someone we will call Skippy goes to see who's there, chuckling under his breath: "Hello Kitty plushies."
Oh.
more...
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December 29, 2014
Barkhorn In Dirndl
-Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow pt1
Because I can, that's why.
UPDATE:
Because why not? It's not like I hear you complaining.
Actually, it's more like "it's not like I can hear you complaining." One advantage of a blog, that.
-Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow pt1
Because I can, that's why.
UPDATE:
Because why not? It's not like I hear you complaining.
Actually, it's more like "it's not like I can hear you complaining." One advantage of a blog, that.
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December 27, 2014
Visual Novel Review: Sakura Spirit
It's late Christmas night, so late in fact that it's technically the next morning. I'm browsing through the holiday sale on Steam for ridiculous deals, and I stumble over something that looks... um... interesting. I notice at the same time that Pixy Misa, our Australian blogboss, owned it and that he was using Steam at the same time. I shoot him a quick message asking if the game was any good, and wander off my merry way. When I come back a few minutes later, there's a reply: "I dunno, I haven't played it yet." Well, that's unsurprising... Pixy seems to have an infinite backlog of games, the way some of us have an infinite backlog of anime to watch (note: Pixy has that, too). We chat for a minute, and I wandered away again. Upon returning, I loaded Steam again and found that I had two notifications: I had been gifted both of the games on my wishlish. By Pixy. Now, neither of them was expensive but I'm not exactly used to just being given things out of the blue like that. When I asked him about it, he said "You can tell me if the game is worth playing." What better way for me to do that than to actually review the thing in the style of one of my writeups? So without further ado, let's get right to it... let's take a look at Sakura Spirit!
I think it's important for me to point out that this title screen does not, in fact, show up anywhere in the game itself... I stole it from a promotional video. Right away this inspires nothing but confidence in my heart.
more...
I think it's important for me to point out that this title screen does not, in fact, show up anywhere in the game itself... I stole it from a promotional video. Right away this inspires nothing but confidence in my heart.
more...
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