Snapshots: Natsu no Arashi, Shangri-la - 01 April 6
Natsu no Arashi
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Summary:
On a summer day, Yasaka Hajime has created a strawberry filled with pepper and wasabi and tries to use it against his foes at the cafe where he works. Through a mix-up, it gets put on the wrong cake, one that belonged to Kaya and subsequently disappeared. Not knowing about the strawberry but determined to find who ate her cake, Kaya drags Jun back in time twice to find out, and Arashi and Hajime follow her. Kaya is so bent on having her cake that she eats it in the past and soon suffers the consequences for it.
Thoughts:
I thought SHAFT might try to do a semi-faithful adaptation for this series, but boy was I wrong. They throw us right into the middle of the series where all the characters are already present, but no one’s been properly introduced. I suspect that folks out there who haven’t read the manga might be a bit lost or overwhelmed at first, and it kind of sucks that the whole time traveling thing gets spoiled from the get-go. Despite the initial shock though, the whole strawberry and time travel thing wasn’t too bad for a first episode. I’m sure the characters will eventually get a better introduction, but this probably means that SHAFT will mostly just use the characters and their abilities as a vehicle for their brand of creativity and humor. And in their defense, there were some pretty amusing parts to this episode, and I especially liked the mahou shoujo-esque sequence when Arashi went back in time.
The animation quality was also generally pretty good, and character designs didn’t bother me as much as I thought they would, but the voices kind of did. Specifically, I don’t think Shiraishi Ryouko was the best choice to voice Arashi (Noto Mamiko was what I imagined when I read the manga), and I kept hearing bits of Hayate whenever she opened her mouth. On the other hand, she does sing a decent ending song. Anyway, I might watch a few more episodes of this, but it’s unlikely that I’ll blog any more. Comedy series just haven’t been my thing in recent years.
Shangri-la
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Summary:
When Houjou Kuniko gets released from prison, she’s brought back to her home where she’s to be the leader of a group called Metal-age that opposes the government’s policies. She lives in a world of carbon taxes, credits, and the carbon market, so everything is watched and regulated, and when some of the people in Kuniko’s town decide to generate some electricity, thereby creating some pollution, the military appears to come after them. The military is actually there for a different reason though, and the ensuing battle gets interrupted when a wave of something starts falling out of the sky.
Thoughts:
This was the series I was probably most interested in on Sundays other than the new FMA, however it didn’t turn out to be quite like I expected. The show got off to a promising start with a nice May’n opening song, but it sputtered halfway through. I knew that there were going to be environmental themes, but I didn’t think they’d be this overly complex. The whole conversation between Karin and that leader was way too deep, especially for a first episode, and all I ended up hearing was carbon technobabble. Things did manage to get a bit more interesting towards the end, particularly with Kuniko and the transsexual Momoko fighting and whatever mysterious thing happened at the very end. Incidentally, regarding the mystery of who’s voicing the two transsexuals (which aren’t even revealed in the credits), I’m pretty sure that Momoko is being voiced by Nakata Jouji, but I didn’t hear enough to figure out Mi-ko.
In any case, I’m sure all the environmental economics topics are fascinating stuff to some folks, but if they’re going to push that hard on those, then this probably isn’t the series for me. I’ll watch one more episode to make sure, but I suspect I won’t be blogging any more of this.
Note: I normally don’t do a lot of mini-reviews like this, but I was short on time and really wanted to comment on both these series.
Espada at 5:52 am on April 6th, 2009
thx for the reviews
animekritik at 5:56 am on April 6th, 2009
shangri-la, big disappointment..
TadloS at 6:33 am on April 6th, 2009
Dropping this Natsu no Arashi already. Absolutely hated everything about first episode. Animation/artwork, plot, character designs, soundtracks and humour all is pretty poorly.
Status: Dropped = And probably won’t bother ever to finish it.
About Shangri-la. Well animation was great, but somehow plot is not interesting. But still I’ll will watch this mainly because awesome staff working on this.
Kind Anonymous at 7:45 am on April 6th, 2009
Your review of Shangri-La made me go watch it.
I love the character designs. All of them are so bright and attractive. The scenery is gorgeous. As expected of a show called “Shangri-La.” I’m not a music person, so I don’t really care for the OP and ED.
I’m not sure if I fully understand the plot yet. It looks like that’s something that’ll be unraveled throughout the series. Understandable.
I didn’t notice any carbon “technobabble.” In their world, carbon, or rather, the privilege of burning carbon, is bought and sold. The buyers burn carbon, while the sellers give up their ability to burn it. The value of the carbon depends on how well its owners contain it. And obviously, the more you burn, the more expensive it becomes, which is what’s happening in that foreign representative Abidin’s country. See, it’s not that complicated.
Which part are you having trouble understanding? Maybe we can discuss it some more.
Anyway, it’s for me too early to pass judgment on the quality of the story. There are a lot of unexplained elements, so it has the potential to be expanded. Plus, I’m sure it’ll touch upon how the state and happenings of their world are related to ours.
Overall, while I might not be superbly hooked yet, there’s more than enough to keep me interested. I’ll continue to watch.
ConfusedGirl29 at 7:49 am on April 6th, 2009
I dunno if I should read the manga to Natsu no Arashi or watch the anime, I thought the anime was so-so but I suppose I might like it more after a few episodes
ewok at 8:43 am on April 6th, 2009
Never bothered about Natsu no Arashi. Combat and ecology mix of Shangri La made me interested but transsexuals put me off! I like to know which gender I am listening to.
Brizzle at 9:19 am on April 6th, 2009
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought Momoko was voiced by Nakata Jouji. I thought I was hearing his voice simply because I’m a giant Type-Moon fan.
Anime Junkie at 9:32 am on April 6th, 2009
So far it would seem that for Sunday’s offering, the only decent anime besides FMA: Brotherhood would be Valkyria Chronicles. Hopefully Valkyria Chronicles is something you will continue to post your thoughts on post-episode 1.
Flobb3k at 10:11 am on April 6th, 2009
I saw the first episode of Shangri-La, because I expect very much of this Series, but now I dont now, if I should drop this Series or not. Too many Arguments for an against that Anime.
My first thoughst of the Charcter designs was, that is looking really weird, but only Kuniko had a good looking Style for me.
And too deep information for the first episode, I looked for other things in the internet, so I dont sleep away by this babbling.
vbnm at 11:11 am on April 6th, 2009
I downloaded Shangri-la having seen just one illustration. Then I skipped around the video, saw that faggot with tits and deleted the file inmediatly. Motherfucking Gonzo, why don’t they just die.
Nai at 11:53 am on April 6th, 2009
FYI, the first episode of Natsu no Arashi was the eighteenth chapter of the manga. The second episode will be the first episode of the manga. So no “vehicle for their brand of creativity and humor” here.
Not-So-Kind Anonymous at 12:30 pm on April 6th, 2009
@Kind Anonymous, maybe whoever did the review for Shangri-La is retarded?
napen at 12:55 pm on April 6th, 2009
I agree on Natsu no Arashi, but maybe u had too much expectations for Shangri-la. will have to see for the future eps
SpacyRicochet at 1:10 pm on April 6th, 2009
I actually enjoy these mini-reviews more than the bigger, actual reviews. Since I mostly use this site as a reference for the appearance of new episodes, whether new series are any good and a quick view if people thought the same thing about an episode.
So, more mini-reviews!
kadian1364 at 1:10 pm on April 6th, 2009
The original premise and quality production of Shangri-la draws me towards it, but I don’t know how I’ll feel if it continues so heavily on the “like real life” politics of environmentalism and such. ANN called it a show “with an Ax to grind”, and I’m inclined to agree.
Duran at 2:54 pm on April 6th, 2009
You know seeing how things went for Shin Mazinger and FMA2, I think Nasu’s first ep was a general showcase of things, not a real introduction episode. It really wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case, since it seems the trendy thing to do with anime (Airing the pilot/showcase episode first) Though I think TMoHS kinda started it due to the weird broadcast order)
Duran at 2:58 pm on April 6th, 2009
I’ll also add that it’s foolish to judge the anime by just the first episode. (some big hits had first eps of varying quality…. TTGL didn’t quite impress on the first episode)
Silver at 3:16 pm on April 6th, 2009
@ vbnm
If I were you:
I watched the first episode of Asura Crying and one of the the characters was a ghost. I’m terrified of ghosts so I immediately deleted the file. Motherfucking Seven Arcs, why don’t they just die.
That sure does not sound very good.
jaalin at 4:49 pm on April 6th, 2009
duran: WHAT?! gurren lagann’s first ep was amazing! fkin kamina was surfing a tower made entirely of underground boars! BOARS
at any rate, shangri-la may be the very first anime title to be classified under action-economics. however, given the dialogue and events of the first ep, it might be better if they focus more on the action and less on the economics…
mb at 4:54 pm on April 6th, 2009
The design of Kuniko is so anachronistic in the setting of Shangri-La that I was bored from the start. By the time we learn that she is destined to lead Metal-yawn, like some pint-sized monarch, I was rolling my eyes. The most promising aspect seemed to be the artists’ depictions of urban decay, but that doesn’t make for much of a show on its own.
I really don’t find the idea of a show that deals with such environmental themes inherently boring, but the first episode looks like a nightmare scenario envisioned by the addled minds of some Exxon astroturfers.