Mystery Person X (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mysteryperson_x) wrote,@ 2008-03-22 13:56:00 |
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Things I have been watching lately
I've been in a mood to watch anime lately, and in the time I have off I feel determined to actually get some watched of my big metaphorical mile of unwatched things. I know, that's not a massively profound ambition, but it helps me to feel like I'm not entirely wasting all this time spent putting off the important work I need to do.
As a result, I have finished 3 series in 3 days, though two are only 13 episodes and I'd already watched half of the other.
First is Rumbling Hearts (a.k.a. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien). The premise of this show intrigued me: It's about the awkwardness of someone waking up from a coma after 3 years, during which time her boyfriend started going out with her best friend. For some reason what I expected out of this was a lot of melodrama and backstabbing, but instead there was just... nothing. Almost nothing happened over the course of the series. It took several episodes to even get to the "premise" point I just mentioned, and then things carried on in autopilot for most of the remainder with little that resembled actual plot. Disappointing.
Much better was Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, the sequel to the original series that I finally got round to watching after 2 years or so. I enjoyed it a lot. On the whole I'd say it improved on the first series, if only because that started off so slowly whereas this was action-packed right from the start. And Nanoha sure is action-packed, with beautifully animated fight scenes spanning several episodes, full of cool weapons and massive explosions. (For those not familiar with Nanoha: Despite the name and the naked transformation sequences, it's not really a magical girl show.) I loved the new characters (especially the adorable Vita) and their backstory, and it was cool to have Nanoha and Fate fighting side-by-side.
However, apart from a few scenes about Fate going to Nanoha's school, there was very little screen time for either of them outside of battle. Didn't Nanoha have some kind of personality before? There wasn't much evidence of it in this series. Without conjuring up bad images of StrikerS (or what I've heard about StrikerS anyway), I honestly think Nanoha A's could have stood to be 26 episodes, with more character development and silly comedy for everyone.
Finally, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. I watched about 10 episodes of this when it was airing, and while I enjoyed it I didn't quite get into it as much as everyone else. Still, I thought I'd better finish the first season before the second one starts airing, so over the last couple of days I made my way through the remaining episodes. I got more into it as it went along, and I really enjoyed the episode 24/25 special that was full of things happening.
On the surface, Code Geass does very little wrong. The character designs are top-notch (everyone knows how much I love CLAMP), the story feels like a Gundam series but set on Earth, there's a large cast of interesting and amusing characters, and the conniving protagonist echoes Light from Death Note. The only thing that's really wrong with it anything to make it stand out (other than Pizza Hut, I mean) - the X factor that gets me hooked on it. Watching it every week and talking about it with other people would probably help, which is the other reason I'm looking forward to the second season.
On an unrelated note, I am in a mood to bake. Charlie inspired me to try making shortbread, and while the result failed miserably at being shortbread, it was still quite yummy. Now Ben is making things and motivating me to do more. What's next on Baccano!
I've been in a mood to watch anime lately, and in the time I have off I feel determined to actually get some watched of my big metaphorical mile of unwatched things. I know, that's not a massively profound ambition, but it helps me to feel like I'm not entirely wasting all this time spent putting off the important work I need to do.
As a result, I have finished 3 series in 3 days, though two are only 13 episodes and I'd already watched half of the other.
First is Rumbling Hearts (a.k.a. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien). The premise of this show intrigued me: It's about the awkwardness of someone waking up from a coma after 3 years, during which time her boyfriend started going out with her best friend. For some reason what I expected out of this was a lot of melodrama and backstabbing, but instead there was just... nothing. Almost nothing happened over the course of the series. It took several episodes to even get to the "premise" point I just mentioned, and then things carried on in autopilot for most of the remainder with little that resembled actual plot. Disappointing.
Much better was Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, the sequel to the original series that I finally got round to watching after 2 years or so. I enjoyed it a lot. On the whole I'd say it improved on the first series, if only because that started off so slowly whereas this was action-packed right from the start. And Nanoha sure is action-packed, with beautifully animated fight scenes spanning several episodes, full of cool weapons and massive explosions. (For those not familiar with Nanoha: Despite the name and the naked transformation sequences, it's not really a magical girl show.) I loved the new characters (especially the adorable Vita) and their backstory, and it was cool to have Nanoha and Fate fighting side-by-side.
However, apart from a few scenes about Fate going to Nanoha's school, there was very little screen time for either of them outside of battle. Didn't Nanoha have some kind of personality before? There wasn't much evidence of it in this series. Without conjuring up bad images of StrikerS (or what I've heard about StrikerS anyway), I honestly think Nanoha A's could have stood to be 26 episodes, with more character development and silly comedy for everyone.
Finally, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. I watched about 10 episodes of this when it was airing, and while I enjoyed it I didn't quite get into it as much as everyone else. Still, I thought I'd better finish the first season before the second one starts airing, so over the last couple of days I made my way through the remaining episodes. I got more into it as it went along, and I really enjoyed the episode 24/25 special that was full of things happening.
On the surface, Code Geass does very little wrong. The character designs are top-notch (everyone knows how much I love CLAMP), the story feels like a Gundam series but set on Earth, there's a large cast of interesting and amusing characters, and the conniving protagonist echoes Light from Death Note. The only thing that's really wrong with it anything to make it stand out (other than Pizza Hut, I mean) - the X factor that gets me hooked on it. Watching it every week and talking about it with other people would probably help, which is the other reason I'm looking forward to the second season.
On an unrelated note, I am in a mood to bake. Charlie inspired me to try making shortbread, and while the result failed miserably at being shortbread, it was still quite yummy. Now Ben is making things and motivating me to do more. What's next on Baccano!
