The following are a bunch of shows that wouldn’t really fit anywhere else, or stuff that I got lazy of thinking of categories to pigeonhole them in, and therefore making this quite the mixed bag. Some might say I already ruined the whole category thing by throwing in Blue Drop there with my previous post. I digress. With this are reviews of Shugo Chara, Bamboo Blade, Moyashimon, and Ghost Hound.

Shugo Chara! was an embarrassing affair, a show that I found a whole lot more engaging and entertaining than its intended audience, i.e. my little sister, found it to be. Maybe the magic didn’t really work, pun unintended, because she wasn’t as familiar with Japan’s school life, acting nonchalant for the most part, not laughing where I expected her to, or being as interested overall like I was.

For the record, my sister turns 12 mid-December. Yours truly turns 21 late November. What this all really means is that my liking for the show isn’t unlike the horde of male otaku during the recent Shugo Chara event. Although I’m pretty confident that my fondness for the show stems from more than just a fetish with creepy undertones, of which I don’t have, in case you were wondering.

while the seiyuus are different, you can’t help but feel Peach-Pit recycled something during the character design phase

SC is basically KareKano mixed together with Cardcaptor Sakura, if I were to sum it up in a sentence. The emphasis on similarities with KareKano stem from how SC is all about “your true self”, and the masks that people tend to wear when they go out into the big bad world. Weighty material for a show targeted at pre-pubescent girls, I know, but bear with me for a little bit. It’s not as bad as it sounds.

Why do I think this is gold? Well, aside from how the gags were truly hilarious and put me in stitches the whole time (standards-wise, the last anime I remember laughing so much at was Ouran, or H&C), it wears its mahou shoujo side on its sleeve with considerable flair and pomp. I’ve got to give the much maligned Peach-Pit credit for thinking up this ingenious combination — while it’s definitely not shallow, there’s the whole magical girl side to it that, when combined with aforementioned deep element, comes up a winner.

This is done through taking the “true self” part literally, e.g. by having magical eggs that have a guy or girl’s true character in the form of a little flying fairy thing. Through combining with said true character, or Guardian Chara as the show calls it, the transformation is obtained, and while usage of that nets the standard power-ups associated with transforming, the integration here comes from there being a distinct personality change while a character’s combined with his or her Guardian Chara.

It sounds schizophrenic on paper, but what this means is that it lends for Jekyll/Hyde personalities that are genuinely humourous, yet realistic at the same time. These Guardian Charas aren’t there for the sake of being a novelty mascot that does exposition dumps or gives motivational speeches to the protagonist — they are the protagonist, little bits of to-be personality embodied in a talking chibi form, something also explained in a properly-enunciated English introduction right before the OP.

Similarities to Dennou Coil spring to mind. Both are targeted at a younger demographic, both excel in their own genres, both do a damn bloody good job of entertaining while being meaningful food for thought that will easily satisfy older viewers. If you have any semblance of good taste at all you’ll do good to check it out and not stop at surface appearances, for I personally think this has serious potential as top-tier anime of the season; hopefully you just might, too.

Bamboo Blade is so hilarious it isn’t funny. Wrap your head around that concept for a moment. The last thing I’d expect a show like it to do would be to play down the kendo element by trivialising the premise at the expense of a truly amusing cast, but it works.

just when I thought the meaning of yandere was becoming diluted, a wild Miya Miya appears and saves the day

Any self-respecting sports anime needs an obligatory talented character, and BB is no different, even if you’re going to take some time to get used to the idea of Library-chan as an anime-watching, justice-upholding, shinai-wielding prodigy. It isn’t all grunts and swordplay though, as the school setting in which it’s based ensures it never really veers onto the Serious Business path.

You could call it Hidamari Lite, with swords. The cast is more caricature than character, doing random things at times or acting in a bizarre manner, and this where most of the humour comes from: whether it’s feeding Tamaki food during lunch, Kirino doing her “83″ face, or Miyako going on her yandere bent, it’s funny, and it fills that comedy void that Lucky Star left very nicely.

Moyashimon is something totally different. It transcends all irrational blanket loathing of genres; there is no loli, no osananajimi, no yandere or tsundere, no yaoi or yuri (although imaginative fangirls can definitely do something about the former) and definitely no mecha to rail against here. All there is is bacteria, and unless you’re one of those twisted moe-hating types who think that bacteria can be moe, well, the OP should say it all. Although I can vouch for them being cute.

As a former Science student who discovered his Arts side out of school, I must say that the portrait Moyashimon paints, of labs and research being all fun and games and little animated microbes, isn’t that unfriendly when compared to its real-life counterpart. It’s what art is all about anyway, glossing over the less-refined sides of life, and as far as bacteria and fungi are concerned, this hits the sweet spot. Highly recommended for some laid-back, trippy fun.

Ghost Hound is slow-paced, or at least looks like it’s going to be so if first episodes are anything to guess from. By slow-paced I don’t mean anime slow-paced — it’s a dripping, Chinese water torture pace that, while sluggish and erratic, is effective. The ambient, almost new-age music lends an atmospheric quality that isn’t found in any of it peers, not even the top-tier ones this season. That’s Production I.G. for you.

The episode titles seem to be loaded with a whole lot of psychobabble. Heck, the entire series, judging from the list of episode names made available so far, seem to centre around the study of consciousness, among other things. GITS Mach II, anyone? I can clearly see how those more geared towards “serious” anime (despite their evidently skewed perception of it!) will warm up to this one. There’s realism, character depth, lots of stuff to chew on, and what seems to be a general mindwank of massive proportions taking place.

Of course, serious anime will always be overrated, not to mention how it really leaves you with not a lot of options unless you like to read symbols into everything. Ah, the soliloquy of the niche, how you never fail to astound me. Misery loves company and all that jazz.

I’m pleasantly surprised to find out that I like Bamboo Blade and Shugo Chara a lot more than I thought would during the advent of the new season. Shows what superficial understanding gets you. I’ve only one complaint, and it’s regarding the strenuous effort of keeping up with so many shows. I suppose that’s what you get for being an anime apologist, but I make no excuses.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Anime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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