Category: Commentary

Miscellaneous thoughts on the latest shows

Commentary

K-ON: How To Make A Simple Thing Good

k-on-first-impressions

K-ON: it’s the show everyone is talking about. While not directed by Tatsuya Ishihara of KeyAni fame, the fact that it’s being produced by Kyoto Animation is enough reason for the fans to go figuratively wild, and when you add the distinct moe character designs and the simple yet appealing slice-of-life premise and setting, it should come as no surprise that K-ON is one of the most fervently discussed – if not praised – shows of the current season.

However, while naysayers do exist (and the minority always has its way of making its voice heard), I’ve fallen for this show after a mere two episodes. Certainly, the series isn’t technically good by any means, and I can’t think of anything truly original that it’s accomplishing – but therein lies the answer. Why do I like K-ON? Because it’s simple, and without doing much of anything, these first two episodes have already provided me with far more entertainment than I dared ask for.

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Analysis

Toradora: A Story of Contradictions

toradora
It’s pictures like this that can hold the viewer back from seeing what the series really is.

In case you haven’t caught wind of the hype yet, I’ll start with this: Toradora is definitely among the more unique romantic comedies that’s aired in recent time, and it does an excellent job at playing with stereotypes. Like with everything else, there are probably a few naysayers in the audience, but by and large the show has gained its fair share of respect. With charaters that look shallow on the outside but contain much depth on the inside, skillful writing that’s both believable and entertaining, and an all-around solid presentation that accomplishes everything that one would expect from the genre and then some, it’s a show that I would recommend to most anyone.

However, something dawned on me while watching the fifteenth episode the other day. It’s a little something that’s been in front of me all along, yet took me this long to notice: a little something involving Vanilla Salt and a neatly-woven tale of preconceptions.

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Commentary

Clannad – Why I Love It, and why it’s probably more than you think

clannad-after-story-analysis-3

Clannad: the viusal novel about family. We’ve all at least heard of it, many of us are watching it, and a few of us had the pleasure of playing the original 50+ hours VN. By this point, it’s hard for one to call Clannad cliche, or to accuse it of being a stereotypical Key story – the community, from the forums of AnimeSuki to the blogosphere, has already proven otherwise, with countless debates and predictions about the development of the plot and the constant themes throughout the story. More importantly, however, the show has spoken for itself, declaring subtly yet proudly that it’s only a male-targeted fantasy on the outside, and that in reality it holds a much deeper story about the relationships we have with the people around us and the way those relationships make us stronger.

However, even knowing this, it took me this long to come to a conclusion that I should have come to long ago. Clannad is not truly a visual novel, nor was it written by Key; and it’s about as far from generic harem as a show can ever get. Clannad is closer to being a shoujo than anything else, presenting a heartwarming slice-of-life/romance story more than worthy of the best in the genre, and if you’ll give me a moment, I’m prepared to defend that statement.

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Commentary

Code Geass R2 – A brief retrospect

I believe it’s safe to say that every anime fan has their own taste in anime; from the GAR of Gurren Lagann to the moé of Kanon to the romance of Special A, everyone finds a few shows from each given season based on their genres or their staff, and follows them in the hope that they won’t disappoint. I, of course, am like this as well, what with my seemingly unnatural tendency to gravitate toward anything connected in some way to visual novels – or, admittedly, anything involving effeminate romance and drama. However, I think we can all agree on one thing: there’s one show that’s been airing since spring that everyone somehow wound up watching, and for good reason, at that. I’m well aware that few (if any) of my readers would be interested in a detailed account of the history of the series and the various twists and turns that lead us to this point, but there’s one thing I CAN do, and that’s give my own opinion on this WTF-fest we call Code Geass.

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