Greywings Anime

Not much to point out here, other than the deja vu getting stronger. And the hazy 3D-glasses effect at the end was rather cool, I thought. But after last week, I’m really doubtful that this is part of a buildup to the arc’s resolution. And I would say chances are good that it won’t end next week. and chances are good that I’ll still keep watching.

I still don’t understand this decision by KyoAni/Kadokawa, as it makes no sense financially. Especially when you throw in the whole ordeal over S2 DVDs. Haruhi fans have been the most die-hard and patient of fans out there. To get their hopes up and then dash them like this simply cannot be justified.

Now, I do see what they are trying to do with Yuki’s character, and I hope with the bottom of my heart that it’s in preparation for Disappearance. In fact it’s really the KyonxYuki that intrigues me the most every week. I just pray that this is actually going to go somewhere.

Next week: D-Day.

I guess this is going to be one of those rollercoaster series where I’ll hate it one week and then absolutely love it the next. This week was on the upside, as DEEN did a near perfect rendition of the final chapters of the Legend of the Golden Witch. The only complaint that I could find was the overemphasis of busts, but I could live with it. I’m guessing it’s the animator’s way of throwing in a bit of their own humour, although it is sorely out of place and is not at all necessary given the loyal following that Umineko has.

Anyways, like I said, the rendition of the final murders, the jump to Maria’s letter, and the Tea Party were all pretty much spot on. And the OH SHI- moment was one of the best I’ve seen in an anime so far.

A couple things I learned from this episode:

1. Battler has blue eyes.
2. The cousins all have distinctly colored hair (Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange).
3. Will need to play through VN Ep. I again, but don’t recall Battler actually shooting the portrait.
4. Beato’s room was depicted in white daylight, as opposed to dark night. Kinda like the negative of a film…
5. Beatrice: Mugen no Maho (Witch of Infinity, or Endless Witch)

And just to touch on the whole “VN players should stop expecting a 100% accurate adaptation” I will throw out there the claim that this episode was the best so far solely because it followed the VN to the letter. It wasn’t rushed, there were no random L5 faces or motion blurs. It simply depicted the events as described in the canon. Umineko’s biggest appeal to me was that it was not like any other VN out there, and not like any other mystery I’ve ever picked up. It had a soul and personality all to its own. The anime’s biggest flaw up until now was that it completely failed to grasp that core element that made Umineko so special, and instead settled for cheap, standard run-of-the mill animation.

With the second arc looming for next week, I can’t help but feel both very excited and very worried. Excited on the fact that DEEN has actually proven they can make a decent episode of Umineko, just in time for some of the more crucial parts of the story. But worried that they’ll just regress back to bouncing boobs and crazy Maria faces. And the worst part is, I’ll probably stick around to watch no matter which one it ends up being.

Onwards to the Turn of the Golden Witch!

When I was in Japan back in March, I got to see the Kara No Kyoukai: Gate of Seventh Heaven Remix, which was basically a short cliffs notes version of the 6 movies that had been released in theaters so far. When they got to the part for Oblivion Recording, I remember feeling very confused as to what was going on, which was compounded by the fact that I don’t know Japanese beyond a few words and phrases. What I was able to determine was that the 6th movie was distinctly different in style and mood from the other movies. So I was eagerly anticipating the release of the 6th DVD (even pre-ordered the LE version), to see just how different it was.

And it was drastically different, but it wasn’t necessarily in a bad way. There was definitely a lot less mystery (likely due to the amount of source material that was left out), and it was a lot more straightforward plot-wise. However, I really liked very refreshing take on the whole mahou-shoujo genre, with Azaka having just the right amount of fanservice scenes. I think moe would be stretching it, but it was definitely more light-hearted than the previous five movies.

However, the element of tragedy/darkness was still intact, albeit with a bit more subtlety. The whole movie, I felt very conflicted laughing at Azaka’s moe moments, and pausing at the underlying tragedy that was taking place at the school. After having read a synopsis of what was left out in the movie, I can see how the director was trying to let the audience (most of them fans) fill in the gaps and keeping the darkest items unspoken. And the gradual reveal of Azaka’s memories with Mikiya was thoughtfully executed, and it really raised my view of Mikiya and his inner strength.

I don’t really consider Oblivion Recording to be the “calm before the storm” that will be the next and final movie. I think this one stood on its own quite well. Especially the absolutely gorgeous visuals. It did make me question where such a place existed that was so green in the dead of January. But the beautiful backdrops combined with smooth animation and fairly epic special effects made Oblivion Recording a very eye-pleasing experience. And Kajiura-sama’s trademark touch created a hauntingly soothing soundtrack that really completed the other-worldly fantasy atmosphere.

Like with the previous five movies, I had to watch Oblivion Recording at least three times in order to fully appreciate all that I mentioned above about the movie. It started out feeling like the weakest in the series, but I can now easily place it as an equal amongst the others in what has become my most beloved series. I cannot wait for Murder Speculation (Part 2) to be released on DVD, but I’ll also enjoy watching the 6 released movies over and over again until then. I think ufotable should release Gate of Seventh Heaven: Remix on DVD, as it would make a nice distraction until the final movie comes out on DVD. Or they could animate the extra chapter, Recalled Out Summer, which would make me super happy (and I haven’t even read it).

And all this Rakkyo love-fest got me to track down a fairly priced eBay auction for the GSC Ryogi Shiki Kimono 1/7 PVC. Now if I can only track down a new copy of the Vol 1. LE DVD…

Congrats to the ladies of  Ho-Kago Tea Time for reaching the Oricon Weekly #1, the first fictional band to do so. Goes to show that in economic hard times such as these, there’s nothing like a little saccharine love-pop to warm the hearts (and credit cards) of depressed otaku around the world. Can’t wait to see the VH1 Behind the Music where Azusa overdoses on chocolate fudge, Ritsu gets kicked out because she’s just the drummer, Mugi and Sawa-chan sensei elope after having some spiked tea, Mio has a shimipan malfunction, and Yui commits suicide after Gee-tah breaks a string.

Or I could just wait for C76.

Man, I hope KyoAni does a Budokan tour with the K-ON VAs like they did for Haruhi. I WILL fly to Japan just to experience it.

Source, via Japanator, via ANN.

I feel like we’ve regressed here. KyoAni seems to have shattered the hope that each episode would be progressively moving towards the resolution of the arc. The only small change I noticed was that Haruhi herself seems to be showing the smallest of hints that she’s getting deja vu as well. And I guess we’re in for at least two more episodes of this. Sorry, but I would like to limit my “repeating time frames” series to just one per season.

Again, I really feel like that the resolution of this arc is really not worth the effort in animating all these episodes. It’s going to feel very anti-climatic, and only fuel the interweb fires even more. Unless KyoAni changes the ending as well, which I wouldn’t put past them at this point. But I feel that they’re just gonna end this arc normally and everyone is going to be left wondering what the heck the past 6-8 weeks was all about.

On a side note, is anyone else having difficulty in seeing how Kyon has his deja vu at the moments he does?

I honestly believe that the staff working on this show really don’t care much about the original VN. Some of the things in this show are getting borderline ridiculous, such as Maria’s L5 FACE, and George’s “mourning” over Eva. All of these scenes come off extremely silly, and really just deflate the tension and drama of those scenes. And the BGMs really feel like they’re being wasted on poor timing and just overall not syncing with what’s happening on the screen.

But I guess DEEN has realized that the legions of 07th Expansion fans will continue to watch regardless of how badly they butcher the show. It’s not even about matching the VN anymore, the anime just plain fails at presenting the story in a viewable fashion.

Ultimately, what the show needs is a muuuch slower pace. There needs to be at least some buildup if we are to feel for what is happening to these characters.

Here’s hoping that will happen by the second arc, where all that stuff started to matter. Right now, the best I can hope for is more BGMs and .WAV files to make it onto the show.

You know, I was really expecting Kyon to have an “aha!” moment right at 11:59:59, followed by an “oh shi-” as he would forget it for the next iteration. Again, I’m really not getting why KyoAni is spending the effort into animating 6+ episodes of the exact same plot. They could’ve mixed it up a little more and have 6 different directors each take a turn at the story. Or just play the exact same episode, instead of wasting resources like this. This better be a well-planned build-up to Disappearance, wherein we have a very good idea as to the progression of Yuki’s feelings during this arc.

Rumors have it that this will arc is to end the 6th time around, but I’m pretty sure they will stretch it to 8. At the least, it will be an appropriate number to end on. I’ve waited over 3 years for Disappearance, I can wait four more weeks.

This episode had its moments, and I’m digging the focus on theories and speculation. But I wish they would give Natsuhi a bit more screen time, and give her a chance to be the ‘heroine’ of this arc.

As I mentioned in the forums. I think that anyone who’s played the VN Umineko is probably too spoiled and too detail-inclined (spoiler?) in order to just sit and enjoy the anime version. And having gone through the games multiple times, it’s quite easy to get into comparison mode.  This is admittedly my first experience watching an anime after going through the source material (Pokémon doesn’t count…), and I must say it’s difficult and sometimes frustrating. I can’t imagine possibly trying to understand what was going on without having known the plot beforehand. Maybe DEEN is trying to let the viewers fill in the gaps, or get them to buy the game to find the parts which they are missing out.

However, I will say that the animation in this series could definitely stand to improve quite a bit. I really don’t see the need for the ’shaky cam’ effect, nor the faux ‘dramatic motion’ blur, which actually takes away from the drama. And Eva’s voice is still the most difficult to accept. I want my shrill crabby power-hugnry mother, not droopy-chan. At least Hocchan is doing her best at making Maria the crazy loli that she is (face notwithstanding).

In spite of all that, it’s looking like Umineko is gonna be one of the big hits of the season, at least according to the AnimeNano tags (a statistic which Omo suggests indicates very little). I just think that DEEN had a great opportunity with a big name title, and a lot of hype from the Higurashi OVAs, and is letting it slip through it’s lazy hands.

My theory: this episode is going to repeat until the actual day it ends in the novels, which would be August 31. See, the second season wasn’t meant for Summer, but actually Autumn. If KyoAni pulls that off, they will have secured a revered place amongst the troll legends.

I will say I can see what they’re doing with the gradual realization of what Kyon has to do. I just don’t think it should be taking 5+ episodes to get there. Not really worth breaking canon for.

Muuuuch better Studio DEEN. Whatever you changed since episode I-I, please continue doing it for the remainder of the season. Things were a lot more subtle this episode, and actually somewhat mysterious. The montage at the end of the first day was very well executed, I thought. And Maria’s reading of the letter was rather spine-chilling. It felt a lot more like playing through the game the first time.

The voices are still a bit jarring at times, and the music could probably be timed a little better to build up the suspense. But those are rather minor complaints, and the key is it does appear to be getting better. Kinda wish they expanded a bit more on Jessica’s relationship with her parents, as it took a little away from the last scene in the episode.

As for the mystery, I wonder just how intentional the anime is being with a few of the details (e.g., the wax on the letter, and the tool shed being made out of bricks). Most of it is probably meaningless, but it is keeping me on my toes, which is a good thing.