October 05, 2015

Relics and fossils

I decided to dig out a few old series to see what I thought of them.

First was K-On. It's hugely popular with fan artists, needless to say, and its been a meme ever since it came out, so I decided I should find out what it really is.

I managed to finish the first episode, with large amounts of skipping, but migod it ain't for me. Jeeze; I was cursing at the end.

So next on the list was rewatching Macademi Wasshoi. It's been years since I last watched it, and I had forgotten how good it is. It doesn't really have a series-level plotline, but it does have a theme:

Next on the list is Yozakura Quarter. This is a show I keep meaning to watch but never got around to it, so today I found a round tuit and downloaded this series. Episode 1, coming up.

UPDATE: ...And... it isn't bad. It isn't bad at all. Several kids with super powers who are also interesting characters and don't come off as tropes, a relatively light-hearted story (so far) with a lot of action. I really enjoyed it. I wonder if it will stay like this?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 10:12 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Which of the Yozakura Quartet versions are you watching?
There's the first series from 2008 is considered a fairly By-The-Book adaptation, that goes into anime-original territory.
The 2013 series is actually closer to the original manga and follows through more closely, with little adjustments here and there.  But the bigger thing is that it keeps the art closer.  They also got one of the best animators in the business to director.  (I also really, REALLY like this series)
The one difficulty is that there is two OVA series that go with the 2013 series (Called "Hana no Uta", i.e. Flower Song).  The first, "Hoshi no Umi", was actually the proof of concept for redoing the anime series.  If you're watching the series, watch that OVA series after ep 8.  They recap the whole thing at the start of ep 9, but it is a little jarring.
The second OVA series, "Tsuki ni Naku", takes place after the main anime series.
Even if you don't like the series, Juri and Lila (ep 10+), are very much great screen cap material.  Also, some of the animation they have for Ao and Kotoha are great.  It's a wonderfully animated series.

Posted by: sqa at October 06, 2015 12:50 AM (dySw6)

2 Yeah, that's the thing with K-On!  The moment I saw Yui, I knew I was going to love the show.  If you don't click with the characters right away, it's not for you.  It's entirely a character-driven show; the story is more-or-less accidental.

Coincidentally, I have two computers named from K-On! (Mio and Azu-nyan) and one from Macademi Wasshoi (Tanarotte, of course).

But then, I have one from Dirty Pair, one from Slayers, two from Hidamari Sketch, six virtual servers named after the Bottle Fairies (plus their winged cat thingy), and all my Android devices have anime names starting with A (Arale, Akane, Aria, and so on).

Which was probably not the best idea, because I can never remember which is which.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 06, 2015 02:16 AM (PiXy!)

3 It's not as simple. I am no fan of the "retard moe" that Yui exemplifies, but I liked K-ON well enough overall. It was during the golden age of animeblogging at Ani-nouto and is well documented, too. Without that written record I'd think the most interesting character was Mio, but actually it was Mugi, at the time.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at October 06, 2015 07:51 AM (RqRa5)

4

I'm watching "Yozakura Quartet Hana no Uta".

As to K-On, I took an instant and massive dislike of the drummer, when she bullied the tall one with long black hair into joining the club with her.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at October 06, 2015 07:52 AM (+rSRq)

5

This is my favorite character so far:

Though not for that reason.

 

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at October 06, 2015 07:57 AM (+rSRq)

6 The image of Steven cursing at K-On! makes me think of the guy from Grand Torino yelling at poor Mio and company as they cower on his lawn. Hating K-On! is like hating puppies or ice cream. Or, in the case of K-On!, hating tea time.

Not that I'm a fan or anything; I only watched both seasons, the OVA, the movie, and two of the seiyuu concerts. (the prettiest seiyuu is the one who plays Mugi; the seiyuu that plays Yui looks like a giant compared to the rest, but in real life she's only 5'6").

Yozakura Quartet was very good, I liked both the series and the OVAs. It's one of those worlds of anime that you can see the authors continually exploring, with infinite possibilities for stories.

Posted by: wahsatchmo at October 06, 2015 09:08 AM (VFkGH)

7 I watched the first K-on! Series but couldn't finish the second.  I was surprised when I went to re-watch the first series that I couldn't watch it anymore, either.  Had no patience for it.

Posted by: Ben at October 06, 2015 09:55 AM (YTvcG)

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