Three Way Action – Episode 5
This show we’re joined by one of our newest recruits Reckoner, along with myself and Sorrow-kun to discuss some things that we had on our minds. We had a blast recording this episode, which containis plenty of rambling on about this season’s shows, noitaminA, cross-dressing, and DotA2. Hopefully you’ll get a laugh out of our discussion of Okada Mari.
0:44 Introductions
2:29 Space Bros & Sankarea
5:41 Hyouka & Mysterious Girlfriend X
9:50 Fate/Zero
13:48 noitaminA, Kids on the Slope, Tsuritama
20:08 Okada Mari
26:37 Conclusion & DotA2
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I think Space Brothers is very down to earth (which is odd considering the premise), and I do like it. That said I do agree with Reckoner in that I have a lingering feeling it could be better, however it’s definitely above average.
I’ve been thinking about Sankarea, and I’ve come to the realization of how good I thought it was going to be. It’s a bad habit of mine, but if the opening looks good, I tend to have a lot of positive bias towards the show, and I had that with Sankarea. Due to that, I keenly feel the disappointment every episode now.
Hyouka has grown on me quite a bit like with everyone else, and I’m quite interested to see about whether they’ll develop the romantic relationship between the lead pair inn an interesting way. If they do it clumsily or in a cliche way I won’t like it, but I feel like it could be intriguing.
Mysterious Kanojo X… Well, I’ve always found myself not liking it too much. I get the feeling that the romance thinks it’s better than it is, which I dislike, and as I’ve said, I don’t like the characters apart from Oka much. I wholeheartedly agree with sorrow-kun, the friendship between Oka and Urabe is much more interesting (and is more productive) than the romance.
I’m glad I picked up Tsuritama again, though I still think those first two episodes were excruciatingly painful… The way the characters have grown and changed is something I think they’ve done very well, I see barely anything of the characters that pissed me off way back then. I’m looking forward to see how it ends.
I would play Dota2, but my time hole is definitely (apart from anime) League of Legends. I might give it go though, I have 3 months free.
Anyway, why is no one watching Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan? If nothing else the art is easily the best this season, and the animation is probably in the top 2. It’s not fantastic, but I keep wondering why hardly anyone is watching it.
Yeah, I need to catch up with Kids on the Slope and Space Bros as I’ve gotten a bit behind.
As for Fate/Zero, Kiritsugu basically had to be a broken human being since the alternatives were for him to be a retard a la Shirou or dead like Madoka’s Sayaka. This whole “hero of justice” thing is a crappy gig in both Nasu’s and Urobuchi’s vision of the world.
For Space Brothers:
I don’t think the show is meant to be one that breaks boundaries. It’s hardly a show that’s known for groundbreaking premises or doing something ballsy in any sense. It’s all about being down-to-earth with the characters, and the wholesome thing going on is what makes it a good series rather than a bad one. The level of optimism may lack a bit of harsh realism, but the sheer likability of the characters always win it over for me.
For Hyouka:
I get what Reckoner is trying to say about Chitanda in Hyouka. I do agree that she’s like Haruhi, but only in terms of her role and not her personality. Personality wise, Haruhi and Chitanda are nothing alike but role wise, both play the figure of making things happen within their respective clubs. Without Chitanda/Haruhi, Oreki/Kyon would still be their lazy selfs who refuse to do anything remotely interesting. They set things into motion, and that’s where I see the similarity between them. In fact, when I personally compare TMoHS and Hyouka, I draw comparisons based on roles rather than personalities.
@AC
I understand the whole down to earth aspect, but I actually feel they lose a bit of this by being so overly optimistic. A series that I felt executed this much better was Usagi Drop. A series where real life choices came into play and Daichi was constantly making sacrifices despite the down the earth presentation. In never bogged you down with anything depressing, but it did give you a dosage of reality. I don’t think the series is offensive or anything at least, but it just doesn’t do enough for me.
As for Hyouka yes you captured exactly what I clumsily trying to say. I was talking about roles, not their actual personalities. It’s practically the same situation. Energetic strange girl drags along male lead into a club against his will (At least initially) and the way the plot typically unfolds for each arc. Now the subject matter is of course different but its the character dynamics at play that remind me so much of Haruhi, just in a watered down way. For me, I rather have seen more Haruhi because I find that show more entertaining.