Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Good to see you all again! Although I can’t really speak much from experience, I must stay that I was thoroughly impressed by the lineup this past semester. Showing was a real event this time around, and I’d like to take a few moments to take a quick look back on it.
Series Reviews:
Genshiken –
Our starter for this semester was one I had not seen since I was in high school. At the time, I was rather amused with it, but after re-watching the first season, I found that the series hasn’t held up as well as I had thought. Let me be clear: It’s not a bad series; I don’t think so, anyway. But whenever Genshiken’s not poking a good-natured elbow in the ribs of hardcore anime fans, the overall result is disappointing. The humor tends to be awkwardly spaced; whole episodes can go by with scarcely a slice of wit to hold interest, relying instead on the (mostly bland) antics of local basket-case Madarame to keep the whole thing from grinding to a halt. Add to that rather generic BGM and character design, and what’s left is a series So Okay, It’s Average. You could do worse than this dull little piece of work, but you could do much better as well.
Wolf’s Rain –
I must admit, I was pretty skeptical about this series. Just looking at the character designs made me shudder; I like bishounen as much as the next fan, but I didn’t walk in expecting much in the way of, well, anything else. Thankfully, Wolf’s Rain does not disappoint. It has its issues, mind you; the plot moves at the pace of cheap pancake syrup and the dialogue can sometimes suffer as a result. But thus far, it’s been nothing short of a treat to watch. The backgrounds and character animation are, as expected, fantastic, with real eye for detail and cohesion. And the music! Man, Kanno-sensei should really go make an album or something. If she does stuff like this for a show… Ah, I digress. Anyway, if this series can overcome its pacing problems and deliver its already unique story already, then it’s well on its way to becoming a favorite of mine.