And so, Pete, having begun watching Dog Days, now has finished it and seems to have liked it. And thus I can now respond to some of the things he wrote in his earlier post. They're spoilers, so below the fold.

He wrote,

Actually, they are setting up Leon as the villainess who's gone on the crazy side, but I'm pretty sure they won't have the stones to follow through with it.

I thought they did an excellent job of explaining that. Everything she was doing made perfect sense, and there wasn't anything crazy about it. Misguided, perhaps, but not crazy. And certainly not evil.

He mentions Wakamoto's performance as Godwin. Wakamoto was chewing the scenery, as he seems to do a lot these days, but it's that kind of character and it was what the director wanted, so Wakamoto gave it to him. He doesn't always chew the scenery; in the redub of Dragonball Kai he certainly didn't. (And I was much relieved; I feared he'd ruin what I've always considered to be the best part of the series.)

Reason few people mentioned Koyasu is that it isn't a very distinctive part. Koyasu does a serviceable job of it, but it isn't a very challenging role.

Pete maybe didn't notice Mizuki Nana (as Ricotta Elmar) or Horie Yui (as Millhiore). Or Koshimizu Ami as Leonmichelle. This show really has one hell of a cast. Even Becky's voice was top drawer talent. (Even though it's a small part, she may have consented to do it in hopes of a bigger role in a sequel, should there be one.)

Mizuki Nana also did the voice of Nanami. If there is a sequel, it'll be interesting to listen to any scenes where those characters are together. (Reminds me of Kiki's Deliver Service. Kiki had the same voice actress as that artist in the woods, and they had a couple of very long scenes together.)

He mentioned that based on the first couple of episodes he liked Eclair somewhat more than any of the other characters. Now that he's seen the whole thing, I think he'll understand why I am so taken with Ricotta Elmar. She's wonderful!

Maybe he doesn't want to watch it again, but I've rewatched it quite a lot. And I'm noticing things the director did that were very well considered. One thing in particular: when it gets serious in ep 10, and Shinku is going after Millhiore, he doesn't have the magic ring. All the stuff he does, including all the magic he uses, it's all him. No outside help.

That wasn't accidental. It's when Shinku is at his most heroic, and the director wanted to make sure there wasn't any doubt that it was Shinku himself doing it. And the reason why he didn't have the ring at that moment made perfect sense in character and plot terms.

The story is extremely well constructed. I'm very impressed by it. And dammit, it's a place I'd love to visit. Those are people I'd like to know. The director is a really good story teller.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in System at 10:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 520 words, total size 3 kb.