Snapshots: Shikabane Hime Aka, Yozakura Quartet, Kemeko Deluxe! - 02 October 12
Shikabane Hime Aka - 02
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OP: “Beautiful fighter” by angela
Watch the OP!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Streaming ▼
Not shown last week was Shikabane Hime Aka’s awesome opening, which not only sounds pretty good but also has one of the best sequences this season to go along with it. For that reason alone I felt inclined to say a few words about the second episode. Story-wise, things feel somewhat episodic with Makina going after a young girl named Hikaru, who turned into a freakish-looking Shikabane after she died. I found it a bit strange how Makina hesitated killing Hikaru on several occasions, but it was nice to see another “corpse princess” (Ruo Minai) show up later on to help her out. Quality-wise, it turns out that the series should look better than the AT-X broadcast (as shown here). After skimming over the rebroadcast of episode one on TV Aichi (which airs four days later), I can say that everything definitely looks a lot sharper and not so washed out, so that’s a big plus.
I’m still undecided about following this series on a weekly basis given the pacing though. While I enjoy the action that Makina gets into, I really want to see more of the main storyline involving her and Ouri, which has been slow to develop. Because of this, I’m considering watching this one in spurts or marathon the entire series when it’s done airing. Being only one season long (sequel notwithstanding), I expect this series to become a lot more interesting in the upcoming weeks, so I’ll probably be checking back now and then.
Yozakura Quartet - 02
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Slipping relatively under the radar on Thursdays seems to be Yozakura Quartet. I was actually a bit surprised about this though, since I found the first episode more enjoyable than some of the other offerings. While I understand that the human/youkai premise may not sound very interesting on the surface, the characters in this series have been so far. This episode focused primarily on Rin from last time and her hatred for humans, but it did delve into Akina’s “Tuning” (調律) ability more, explaining how it returns a youkai’s soul back to its realm — effectively killing it. They also introduced some of the other key characters this time around, including Shinatsuhiko Yuuhi (Matsumoto Sachi), the hundreds of years old shounen-disguised local god, Mariabelle (Tanaka Rie), his assistant who he likes to make cosplay, and Shinatsuhiko Yae (Kuwatani Natsuko), his younger sister who’s a nun.
Due to Enjin’s meddling this time, I find that there’s just enough underlying plot to string the series together and make me want to keep watching. Based on the credits, Enjin also shares the same Hiizumi surname as Akina, so I’m curious as to what he’s trying to achieve in the town. Production-wise, I really like the work that Nomad is doing here, which doesn’t look amazing by current animation standards but is more than enough to appease me. With that said, this series is somewhat low on my Thursday priority list due to my commitment to Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, but it’s turning out to be one I want to continue following. With the series slated for only twelve episodes, I get the feeling things should start ramping up fairly soon.
Kemeko Deluxe! - 02
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Kemeko Deluxe! is turning out to be my guilty pleasure of the season. After watching the second episode, I can’t really say there’s anything about this series that clearly distinguishes it from the likes of Kamen no Maid Guy or To LOVE-Ru — aside from the absence of ecchi-ness — but I’m still loving every minute of it. The comedy hasn’t been as funny as Kannagi, but still has some nice quirks here and there with references to CLANNAD’s dangos and Sayonaru Zetsubou Sensei. I wish M.M. (Tomatsu Haruka) would come out of Kemeko more often, but the super-deformed robot is pretty funny at times. They introduced Sanpeita’s younger sister Tamako (Gotou Mai) this time around, who’s your typical 12 year old… except that she keeps her family afloat. With a useless older brother and a mother who works like a slave as a mangaka, Tamako pretty much does all the cooking, cleaning, and just about everything else around the house. Because of this, it was pretty funny to see how dangerous she is with a frying pan, which led to the “abuse Sanpeita” theme that’s prevalent in the opening sequence. (Jesus, Jesus, Jesus… Kami-sama!)
Story-wise, my jaw dropped when M.M. destroyed the picture Sanpeita tried to show her, but I was even more surprised that M.M. claims he has her mistaken for someone else. Well that’s a little bit of plot I’d like to see some explanation about, in addition to why M.M. considers the Mishima company her enemy. Next time looks like the introduction of the sword-carrying Kurosaki Ryouko (Shiraishi Ryouko) though, who seems to be after Sanpeita as hinted towards the end of this episode. Normally I would’ve blogged a series like this in a heartbeat despite how relatively unpopular it is, but I have no plans on doubling up any days this season and I like Kannagi a lot more, so it won out in the end.
david at 4:09 pm on October 12th, 2008
well i only have one question, you`re ot going to blig chaos;head 1 episode are you?
divine at 4:12 pm on October 12th, 2008
david:
As I mentioned before, I left CHAOS;HEAD in Omni’s hands, so it basically came down to if he wanted to blog it or not.
minikui at 4:18 pm on October 12th, 2008
I like the EVA parody in Kemeko … it’s so evil xD
And nice to see Yozakura Quartet, many seem to find it boring, but I really liked it so far.
Box Head at 4:25 pm on October 12th, 2008
@divine
So whats Omni bloging for this season?
divine at 4:30 pm on October 12th, 2008
Box Head:
To be honest, I’m not sure. He still has Bleach, SOUL EATER, and Xam’d carrying over from last season with Gundam 00 and CLANNAD guaranteed, so that’s five series already right there. To Aru Majutsu no Index seems highly probable, but I think he’s still contemplating a few other series.
Hei at 4:41 pm on October 12th, 2008
What are the chances of you following Ga-Rei-zero
Lot’s of “unique” show this seasons
pimpolla at 4:43 pm on October 12th, 2008
yozakura quartet is very cool i wish you still blog it!
Polaris at 4:49 pm on October 12th, 2008
Agree with you about the animation style for Yozakura, and I’m not sure which anime it reminds me of but its nice.
@Divine
I don’t know how you cover SO MUCH anime each season, but I just wanted to say that your impressions on each series keeps me coming back to Random. Keep up the good work
Gintama at 4:50 pm on October 12th, 2008
Shikabane Hime’s op is absolutely sweet!
Box Head at 5:26 pm on October 12th, 2008
@divine
Why don’t you and Omni blog any anime movies? :/
desho? at 6:15 pm on October 12th, 2008
@Box Head
As I recall RC blogs seasons only and/or OVAs but I do have a slight memory of a snapshot for Byousoku 5 cm or Toki wa Kakeru Shouju…?
LKK at 6:22 pm on October 12th, 2008
Yozakura Quartet is a show I decided to give a try late in the preseason warm-up, mostly because the character design looked mildly appealing. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. I was mildly curious at best. Imagine my surprise when I realized how very interested in the show I was after seeing the first episode. I think this is one series that’s really going to fly under most people’s radar. But it really should be getting a higher attention level from the fans.
Luce at 6:58 pm on October 12th, 2008
So does that mean youre not going to blog Kemeko Deluxe?
BROOKLYN otaku at 7:32 pm on October 12th, 2008
i feel yall, that ish cant be easy, omni blogging five, FIVE!! man ! 2 would be enough writing in my book , and thats coming from a nigga who deals wit hellish paperwork all da time. kemko DX = kamen maid guy??? that would be scary cuz maid guy was HORSE SH!T
lunchbox at 7:37 pm on October 12th, 2008
Yozakura Quartet is one of my favorites this season i can tell just by the first ep i cant wait for the subs, as far as Kemeko Deluxe! i really had high hopes for this show… when i read the synopsis it seems so awesome but the first ep was disappointing
the production value is low i hate the way its drawn and none of the character seemed likable to me and i only laughed like once the whole episode :/ the only thing i like about it is the op.
Amyable at 7:50 pm on October 12th, 2008
Awww… no Kemeko? Too bad–I was really looking forward to seeing this series blogged somewhere.
divine at 8:11 pm on October 12th, 2008
BROOKLYN otaku:
Five is still a lot less than 9, which I was doing last season. As for the Kamen no Maid Guy comparison, it was more to emphasize the feel of the series, not the actual story. Kemeko Deluxe! is pretty light-hearted and silly for the most part.
Luce & Amyable:
Probably not. I still plan to watch it though, so I might post a one-off snapshot on it here and there down the stretch, but nothing on a weekly basis.
Irie at 8:58 pm on October 12th, 2008
Yozakura Quartet and Shikabane Hime are really very entertaining. Skikabane had alot more emotional drama than what I originally expected. I completely agree that a little romance would be nice to spice things up. I thought it would come from Ouri’s classmate but that doesn’t look too likely now. Yazakura needs a little more character development. It feels flat right now but the stories have been entertaining.
Can’t get into Kemeko Deluxe! The chiba eva is just too creepy. When she says “your my fiance” I get the impression the eva has it’s own identity.
calde at 9:08 pm on October 12th, 2008
Yozakura could be this season’s Allison and Lillia as the most under-rated/under-the-rader show of the season.
divine at 9:41 pm on October 12th, 2008
Irie:
Hmm, I wasn’t really alluding to any romance between Ouri and Makina (wouldn’t that be kind of gross with her being a corpse and all?), but more so about when Ouri forms an “En” with her and takes over for Keisei.