Daydream Sanctuary Features

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Fall 2010 1st Impressions: Psychic Boy + Youkai Girl (xtra: Arakawa Bridge x Bridge)

I still haven't marathoned the first season of this series either.... but I think I only missed less than 5 episodes so perhaps it wouldn't be that difficult to catch up, hehe. I can't help spoiling myself with the first episode of the second season though, and I find this scene in the OP very adorable:

Alice in Wonderland like setting! It would've been nicer if Recruit had the top hat, but still, IT'S SO CUTE! I love the beautifully bizarre yet very creative visuals~ The song, however,..... was she really singing? o_O I think it's the same singer but.... it didn't have the charm like the OP of the first season did =_=

Alright, time for some quick impressions on the first episodes that I bothered to check out as an episode or just through spoilers (two for each). I don't plan on picking anything this season but I'm so easy to tempt so.... oh I just hope I won't be >_<

THE RECENT FALL 2010 SERIES IN THIS POST:
~ Watched an episode ~
[ Otome Youkai Zakuro ] - more enjoyable than I thought~
[ Psychic Detective Yakumo ] - not as cool as I wished it to be...

~ Just spoiled myself ~
[ My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute ] - it's incest and fanservice no matter how you look at it
[ Yosuga no Sora ] - oh gawd no... the manga was surprisingly more tolerable than this.... aaaahhh!!!! nightmares!!!!


[ OTOME YOUKAI ZAKURO ]

Yeah, yeah, there's a youkai vs human conflict here. But unlike most shows with youkai, at least the humans are aware of their existence and they interact like normal.
Yeah, yeah. There's the cleansing supposedly spirits thing, obviously the villains are behind it. But at least instead of magical wands our super girls are acting like shrine maidens that kick ass (because after the flower branch thing, there's the sword fight, w00t!).
Yeah, yeah. The super girls, especially the leading one, get to do the action. But at least the leading guy isn't 100% useless. Hopefully there'll be some things that only humans can do.
Yeah, yeah. The story sounded generic and boring. But at least it knows how to crack jokes and make the interactions of the characters so much fun~
Yeah, yeah. It's such a coincidence our main characters get to have a romantic (or close to it) relationship with an opposite sex. I have no idea what's so difficult in having some of the main cast partnerless. But at least, THEY ARE SUCH ADORABLE PAIRS (trio for one of them rather). THEY ARE CUTE IN THEIR OWN WAY!!! I DON'T CARE!!!! ESPECIALLY THIS COUPLE:

I know that there are a lot of other pairings that bicker.... BUT THESE TWO ARE SO FUNNY xD All the holding hand stuff hint that they're so going to be together.... I just hope they won't get too mushy when that happens. I love how they're interacting right now~
I LOVE THE BLONDE BISHIE FOR BEING SUCH A SCAREDY CAT TO SUCH THINGS YET HE CAN GO HOST CLUB BOY MODE IF HE FEELS LIKE IT!!! LOLz LOLz LOLz YAY FOR MY PRETTY SOLDIER BOY!!!
I didn't like Zakuro when she was easily infatuated with Agemaki when he seduced her with his roses and sparkles... but fortunately things quickly got interesting between them when she found out his true personality.
Alright, back to the episode. Honestly, I don't see it fantastic (and the music's really....zzzz), but it has potential if there's something more into its story. But for now, it's just very very enjoyable to watch. Such lovely characters, they're so much fun that looking at them already brings me joy, hehe.
This is something to be watched for fun, not if you want to see something extraordinary, intellectual, or spectacular. Its characters will not impress you, but charm you. I adore this series.... I think I'm hooked now~


[ PSYCHIC DETECTIVE YAKUMO ]

I looooooooooooooooove the manga version (especially the one at Asuka) while the anime is.... hhhhmmm... it doesn't seem to be as dark as the manga, despite the dark themes and the seriousness of how the artstyle looks. I mean, where's the scene of the basement filled with blood! I was so looking forward to the scary scenes scenes!!
Speaking of the scary scenes, the anime hadn't really been scary at all. It's a disappointment to a horror fan, but a relief to those who are afraid. It's not as thrilling or suspenseful as the manga either. Instead it's so.... shounen?

Shounen in a sense that Yakumo seemed like he had some super power when he creeped out the culprit with his strange red eye. Then he's got a rival that has double red eyes. I dunno if the villain is an anime original or based on the manga (I haven't read that far), but I wish the villain has a different ability.... or someone normal yet threatening instead. Like with Death Note. Sadly it hadn't been like that here.
What's with the art style.... I mean, it's nice but it looks too similar to Requiem for the Phantom. Perhaps Bee Train is better with the dark action series than the dark supernatural mystery ones. This makes me think that Madhouse could've done this better ^^
While with the music, the ED's nice. While the OP... some parts were cool while some feel.... errr... off? I dunno if it's the song or the singer. And I wish there were more creepy parts in the visuals of the OP =_=
Back to the episode, well, I enjoyed it.... but not as much as I hoped for. I'm relieved that the characters are in-character and the anime didn't remove much of the humor, hehe. I wish the anime had given more focus on Yakumo's and Haruka's personality....... Yakumo was supposedly not as cool as he appears, and neither was Haruka as normal as she seems.
Overall, the anime adaptation doesn't seem to have fully grasped the cool aspects of the manga versions. I wish the anime was more suspenseful, eerie, and bloody. I also wish it had more drama and humor.... I've seen the manga version as a dark series yet has some heartwarming moments. *sigh* I like the Yakumo anime but it really could've been better. I'm quite disappointed.


Both Psychic Detective Yakumo and Otome Youkai Suzume were pretty good but Yakumo hadn't been as good as I anticipated while Zakuro had been much better than I expected. Zakuro was very enjoyable to watch, looking forward to more~


As for the others I feel that I've been wise enough not to watch anymore:

[ MY LITTLE SISTER CAN'T BE THIS CUTE ]
This really could've been interesting especially with that snarky main character. The sister's disturbing tastes seem interesting xD But it's still meh. Especially the incest thing. I don't know if it had really been like that in the manga and I don't care if people insist that it's not really incest..... those scenes that she does with her brother scream sexual tension that it's disturbing.
And ugh, even if I put aside the disturbing parts, it's really pretty boring to me. And I don't know what else its story could tell.... aside from more progress to the incest relationship and more disturbing scenes because of the girl's tastes. Ugh.

[ YOSUGA NO SORA ]
O_O... what the.... the anime is going all-out on the incest and the harem thing. It wasn't this explicit in the manga (at least in the initial chapters). Oh gawd... cliche and stereotypes... and the fanservice... and my eyes when I saw the sister wanting to be raped and to rape (that's how it seemed on that scene to me O_O! She disturbs me!).... and is it me or it appears that there's yuri in this as well? Dear lord.... I'd rather go with the fanservice shows that are aware of how stupidly perverted they are instead of some "deep" romance that do.... aaaaaaaaaahh!!!!!! It's scary!!!!

WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT WITH PLATONIC/PURE/SIMPLE SIBLING LOVE??? IS INCEST THE HOT TREND THESE DAYS???? IT SCARES ME!!!!

3 comments:

abandonedfactory said...

It is so nice to have Arakawa back, and they seem to be promising some revelations about Nino. I agree, the OP was nice visually, but not as effective musically.

I thought Otome Youkai Zakuro was pretty fun, which I was NOT expecting.

Also agree about Yakumo. A psychic detective is a cool idea, but it didn't really grab me. Maybe they haven't really hit their stride yet.

Those other shows sound disturbing. :shakes head:

Aorii said...

lol Zakuro felt like... when westerns suddenly walk into eastern society, especially 'back in the day' xD Tbh, Zakuro's early episode fawning annoyed me a bit and I wished she's reach out to one of Agemaki's sparkly flowers and crush it =), but of course that soon changed and lulz were had xD

Arakawa is enjoyable as ever~

I think the 'sexual tension' thing is part of the point in OreImo, and that they're portraying how she's doing all those things that other guys be interested in; but instead of getting embarrassed like a usual protagonists, all her brother thinks of is how to kick her out of his room, but (shrug), not your dish I guess.

Yosuga has no excuses. W.T.F.

Well incest has been a hot literary topic for... a long time o.O. After all, normal sibling romance isn't usually very dramatic, but (shrug).

Sapphire Pyro said...

@ abandonedfactory
I also didn't expect the first episode to be this fun.... the first chapter of the manga didn't give me the same effect. Strange... since the story's the same....

Hopefully Yakumo gets better later. The manga was pretty good.


@ Aorii
I also saw that kind of cultural divide in the episode... heck, our soldier boys are already embracing western practices from their uniforms, hehe.

I'm relieved Zakuro didn't stay annoying like the way she had been when fangurling over Agemaki. They're more fun with all the LOLz~

I have no problem with the male protagonist of OreImo... only the girl. Classic tsundere providing fanservice.... it's so making me sick =_= But yeah, perhaps it's just not my cup of tea....

I'm aware that incest in stories has been prevalent for a long time... but seeing OreImo.... then Yosuga made me SNAP I guess. Yosuga'sso wrong no matter how I look at it x_x

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