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timepiececlockmid-episode #29
Haji has a favorite spot to visit in Paris? Haji has a favorite anything? Hey... does this mean... oh my gosh, that's like what people have! People have favorite things! Is Haji developing a personality at long last!? And it only took 29 episodes! And... oh my gosh, he's hugging. There's hugging. Is Haji finally showing us some semblence of personhood peaking through the depths of inscrutibility?
...No, nope. False alarm. He's still a robot. Nice trick though, writing team. You had me for a minute there.
Random: I seriously need roadtrip smutfic for Moa and her reporter/manbitch. They are too awesome together not to deserve roadtrip smut. Snarky roadtrip smut. Very very snarky.
I've been trying to figure out what this series reminds me of. It's taken a while, but I think I got it: Witch Hunter Robin. Something about the mixture of occultism, guns, conspiracies, government organizations, and interesting dialogue. And similar pacing within episodes-- though not nearly as slow in terms of plot arcs.
But I like this show better than WHR. It's not as dreary, not as repetitive (not at all!) and it loves to continent-bounce. Continent-bouncing is a rare thing in anime. Plus, the characters are more consistent (except Haji, who as I've said before, has no character and merely exists to punch things and then fade into wallpaper), and I actually know that this show is going somewhere. That I no longer doubt an ounce.
It also reminds me of The Twelve Kingdoms. Which [also] felt like a book to me. Which I highly reccommend.
While I enjoy the plot to a degree and the monster-fighting to a lesser degree, the reason this show works at all is the characters. I don't squee over the characters, but I do sometimes squee over the level of attention and detail they get. I've said it before but this show is phenomenal in developing the relationships of the main characters, particularly Saya and her two brothers Kai and Riku. Every time we get to a moment where, if this were a normal anime, you'd expect something trite and simplified or just the absense of any address at all, this show gives you a full scene that lets you know exactly where the characters are emotionally, and it balances dialogue, animation, and acting to do so. All the characters feel realistic to their roles-- I believe Saya is what she is, that Haji is what he is, that David is what he is, and that Kai and Riku are what they are. There's no cheats, nothing hidden: Kai's not going to roll out of the wrong side of the bed one morning and become a super-kid; David's never going to utter the phrase "I'm your long-lost father"; and eventually I'm pretty certain people are going to die. It might be a long time in the future, but I can tell it will come some day.
Haji has a favorite spot to visit in Paris? Haji has a favorite anything? Hey... does this mean... oh my gosh, that's like what people have! People have favorite things! Is Haji developing a personality at long last!? And it only took 29 episodes! And... oh my gosh, he's hugging. There's hugging. Is Haji finally showing us some semblence of personhood peaking through the depths of inscrutibility?
...No, nope. False alarm. He's still a robot. Nice trick though, writing team. You had me for a minute there.
Random: I seriously need roadtrip smutfic for Moa and her reporter/manbitch. They are too awesome together not to deserve roadtrip smut. Snarky roadtrip smut. Very very snarky.
I've been trying to figure out what this series reminds me of. It's taken a while, but I think I got it: Witch Hunter Robin. Something about the mixture of occultism, guns, conspiracies, government organizations, and interesting dialogue. And similar pacing within episodes-- though not nearly as slow in terms of plot arcs.
But I like this show better than WHR. It's not as dreary, not as repetitive (not at all!) and it loves to continent-bounce. Continent-bouncing is a rare thing in anime. Plus, the characters are more consistent (except Haji, who as I've said before, has no character and merely exists to punch things and then fade into wallpaper), and I actually know that this show is going somewhere. That I no longer doubt an ounce.
It also reminds me of The Twelve Kingdoms. Which [also] felt like a book to me. Which I highly reccommend.
While I enjoy the plot to a degree and the monster-fighting to a lesser degree, the reason this show works at all is the characters. I don't squee over the characters, but I do sometimes squee over the level of attention and detail they get. I've said it before but this show is phenomenal in developing the relationships of the main characters, particularly Saya and her two brothers Kai and Riku. Every time we get to a moment where, if this were a normal anime, you'd expect something trite and simplified or just the absense of any address at all, this show gives you a full scene that lets you know exactly where the characters are emotionally, and it balances dialogue, animation, and acting to do so. All the characters feel realistic to their roles-- I believe Saya is what she is, that Haji is what he is, that David is what he is, and that Kai and Riku are what they are. There's no cheats, nothing hidden: Kai's not going to roll out of the wrong side of the bed one morning and become a super-kid; David's never going to utter the phrase "I'm your long-lost father"; and eventually I'm pretty certain people are going to die. It might be a long time in the future, but I can tell it will come some day.
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Date: 2006-06-14 09:54 am (UTC)It reminded me of Trigun, but I suspect this is because it is a bizarre mix of genres (in Blood: vampires, werewolves, technology magic and religion; in Trigun, space and westerns) starring a main character who is outwardly dorky, but secretly a scary ultrapowerful killing machine. It also reminded me a little bit certain Final Fantasies (magic + technology), Chrno Crusade (ditto, and the heroes are Catholic Clergy), and Underworld (war between werewolves and vampires, with humans caught in the middle).
Ultimately I stopped watching because I didn't find any of the characters compelling enough.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-14 10:01 am (UTC)It reminded me of Trigun, but I suspect this is because it is a bizarre mix of genres (in Blood: vampires, werewolves, technology magic and religion; in Trigun, space and westerns) starring a main character who is outwardly dorky, but secretly a scary ultrapowerful killing machine.
Wow, really? I never mentally linked Saya to Vash at all. Hm... still don't really see it personality-wise, but in terms of being dangerous and long-lived and possessing an evil twin, sure.
Ultimately I stopped watching because I didn't find any of the characters compelling enough.
I sometimes drift away for that reason, and end up going back and watching about 4 episodes in a row. When they're one after another like that it's more interesting and I don't get tired of it While I admire the writing that goes into developing the characters, most of them don't *compell* me, either. I don't see myself writing fanfic for them. But as a whole the series still has something that draws me it.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-14 11:47 am (UTC)