If there was just one thing that the anime adaptation was successful in doing, it was to fuel the hype machine for the release of the 6th episode of the VN. And for us non-moon-speakers, the ending of the anime coincided quite nicely with Witch Hunt’s release of the English patch for Episode 5.

The first in the Chiru arcs has Lambdadelta as the new game master, with Bernkastel temporarily starting the game in Battler’s place. The idea here is to show how the game would be played with new players under the same core set of rules. And ideally, this should help us the readers figure out just what exactly these rules are, and the underlying force that’s behind this series.

I blame Episode 3 for it, but throughout this episode I caught myself being very wary that all of this will be just one big Beatrice troll. It was painful, as I really wanted to sympathize with what was going on with Beato’s character. But there was just something about the one-sidedness of the battles that came across as the game trying to tell me where to focus. It became too easy to place Beatrice on the good guys’ side, because it felt like abandoning a good opportunity to solve the mysteries and get to the truth.

But Erika’s character muddied the waters and made it really difficult to maintain my distrust of Beatrice. I think it’s pretty ironic that she got a lot of flak from readers, when she is essentially a representation of the fan. She cares only about finding out the truth, and we’re shown that that mentality has its consequences, not the least of which is that it ultimately fails. Simply piecing together several processes of elimination will not yield the truth of the Legend of Rokkenjima. As Ronove puts it, her method “lacks love.”

Regarding the actual mystery, I find it highly interesting that the first episode that any of the cousins died during the first twilight had George, Jessica and Maria all taken out in one go. The game sure had quite a different feel with those three gone. And it confused me to no end as the ‘cousins surviving the first twilight’ was a consistency that I had come to depend on. No ‘Uu’s and more suspiciously no despair from the servants Shannon and Kanon at the deaths of their significant others.

And the adults themselves got cast in somewhat different lights than normal. Really felt for Natsuhi’s character being dragged through the mud like that. Kyrie was somewhat suspicious as well with her remarks.

In the end, this Episode confirmed that I do not have a firm grasp of the core truths of the series. I think I’ve been concentrating a little too much on reading in between specific lines, and not trying to figure out the bigger picture. Who is ‘Beatrice’? Who is ‘Battler’? And who is the ‘culprit’? All the necessary clues have been shown by now, it’s just time to put the pieces together. There are a few theories put forth by others (namely Shannon=Beatrice) that I would like to explore more through a re-reading of the previous episodes. I was somewhat hopeful to find some support for my case against Gohda the Rose Killer, but the “how dunnit” and “why dunnit” never really materialized.

I’m guessing in Episode 6, Battler being the game master will certainly reveal big clues to the mystery, if not the whole truth itself. I just hope to start that game with a slightly better idea of events of the Rokkenjima serial murders.

I’m having such a difficult time just keeping up with episode reviews on this little outpost in the backwaters of the anime blogosphere. I can’t even imagine trying to maintain the “conversations” all those cool power-bloggers hold from time to time. Instead, I’m resorting to the batch summary of the anime I’ve watched since the last post.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutso 19-22: I’m getting the same feeling that I got when I watched the first season in the novel order: there just isn’t that much that really wowed me. The plot’s sticking to the novel’s, but there isn’t much in the animation or direction that is keeping me interested. Let’s hope Disappearance is different (should it actually be animated).

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 8-9: The lack of impact continues. So many big moments completely subdued by subpar directing and animation. And I really don’t understand the censorship, since they’re showing the blood anyway. Haven’t really picked up anything new the mystery in these episodes, although the emphasis on the Wolf and Sheep puzzle was nicely handled. I’m just worried that the censors are going to ruin the later parts of the arc.

Bakemonogatari 6-8: I enjoyed this last arc, if only for Miyuki Sawashiro’s smexy tomboyish charms. The love triangle was somewhat intriguing, but it looks to be pretty much resolved at this point. Supposedly things will start tying together soon, but knowing SHAFT / Shinbo, it’ll just continue this facade of an underlining plot for the rest of the season. Which would be perfectly fine with me. And on a side note, it seems odd that so much violence and ‘gore’ was shown while Umineko has to censor every little cut. I guess being artistically styled makes it tasteful.

Aoi Hana 1-9: Got caught up with this one over the past two weeks. It is a beautifully done J.C. Staff show with very elegant nuances. Too bad there’s only two more episodes left, as I wouldn’t mind following the shoujo-ai slice-of-life adventures of Fumi and Acchan for a couple more months.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 1-3: Finally finished this OVA on my PSP at the gym. Not much to say other than it was standard SZS fair, which I’ve gotten slightly bored of. Will probably start Zan sometime soon, probably on the PSP as well (it’s a good distraction while running).

One thing I’m particularly proud of is that I am watching all the shows this season raw. And for the most part, I’m able to follow along, especially since for Haruhi and Umineko, I’m already familiar with the plot. I think it came initially out of not wanting to wait for fansubs that vary in release time, and just going directly for the raws which are much more regular (except for the random sporting events messing things up like with Bakemonogatari). However, it does take some of the enjoyment out as I usually have to go dig for a blog with an episode summary to fill in the gaps. Still, I was going to do it eventually anyway, and better sooner than later.

In weaboo news, my quest to collect all the Clannad LE DVDs got a push forward with Season 1 volumes 1&2. Also got K-On Vol.2 on Blu-Ray along with Maddy Caddy. Would like to be able to collect the Haruhi DVDs this time around, but we’ll see.

And lastly, I am seriously looking into applying to the JET program for 2010. Everyone that I’ve talked to who’s gone has had nothing but great things to say about it.

And so starts the Meta world. I thought it was pulled off pretty well, with more BGM to boot. A little concerned about the faces in this episode, but nothing too unbearable. I kinda wished they did a better job with Rosa and Maria’s scenes. They captured the randomness of it all, but they could’ve included more of the dialogue and Maria’s fascination with Halloween. Other than that, the pacing of the episode was good and it ended at a good point.

Some things that caught my eye:

• Human Beatrice looks a LOT like Jessica in the anime…
• Beatrice has very blue eyes, even bluer than Battler’s
• Kyrie was a bit slow at noticing that a guest had arrived

I do hope the animation quality gets back up again. At the least, I wish DEEN would decide just how the hall with Beatrice’s portrait is arranged:

Looking forward to the first Twilight, and more Meta BattlerxBeatrice.

Every season, there’s at least one or two shows that I simply miss out on that I try to go back and watch at a later time. Usually it’s the romantic comedies, which I misinterpret to be simple harem shows after one or two episodes. Honey & Clover, Welcome to the NHK, and Toradora are good examples of this, as I spent many a weekend just blazing through the series in 3-4 hour batches. Usually, this is caused by there being too many shows airing in a given season that it’s difficult to pick out the cream of the crop before too many episodes have aired.

This season, however, there’s at least half a dozen shows that I would normally follow, but a tight work schedule has thwarted this desire. And even moreso, I’ve been unable to blog about all the shows that I am following. So, let’s just have a short recap of what I’ve been watching the past few weeks:

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 6: Yay, DEEN can actually make two decent episodes in a row. I’m also really starting to pick up on small details that the anime thinks is important to the backstory and overall mystery and it’s fun to compare notes. I’m very excited to see how they handle the rest of the Turn of the Golden Witch, and how much Meta they involve.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 18: I have a feeling that the last 6 minutes of this episode wouldn’t have been as epic as it was had there not been 7 previous iterations of that scene. It was definitely way more dramatic than it was in the novels, but it was well executed. Now to see if we’ll get Disappearance anytime soon.

Bamboo Blade: The latest series which I passed up while it aired, and have come to really appreciate. Maybe it’s because I’m starting Kendo classes, but I found all the cheesy corny ’sports-manga’ cliches to be rather endearing. It had me tearing up near the end, and I totally fell in love with the characters. Tamaki’s otaku moments were a riot. And never has an anime series made me actually get up and start practicing and exercising after each episode.

Bakemonogatari: This is an amazing series that I have no idea how to describe. “Shinbo being Shinbo to the max” is probably a good starter, as it tells you right away if you’ll love it or hate it. The plot is right up Shinbo’s alley, with very little in the way of formal structure, but enough plot there to realize that there’s something going on beneath it all. The dialog in this show is timed perfectly, and Senjogahara is a wonderfully enigmatic character. I am a bit disappointed that there’s a summary episode only 6 in, but I do know that SHAFT always cuts things close to the deadline (e.g. Hidamari Sketch), so maybe it’s good that they’re giving themselves one extra week.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: The first thing I noted about the show was how Mira’s character was so easy to relate to. Made me realize just how emo I’ve been these days. Need to catch up on this show before it gets lost in the Queue of Doom.

Other shows that I wish I had the time to watch: Taishou Yakyuu Musume (J.C. Staff does a timepiece), Aoi Hana (J.C. Staff does yuri), GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Canaan, Kanamemo.

And I thought the Japanese anime industry was on its way down. Here’s hoping fall quarter will be less packed and allow me to catch up some of these summer shows.

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!

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.

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.

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.

It’s finally arrived, the first episode of the anime version of our beloved sound novel, When They Cry 3. As someone who experienced Higurashi mostly through the anime (with some TIPS and translated chapters here and there), I was anxious to see how my perspective may have changed now that I have actually played the games released so far before the anime aired. Turns out I had a lot to say about one episode, so let’s just use lists.

What irked me:

1. The OP/ED: Now this is odd considering they kept the same singer from the game for the OP. However, i felt that the song itself didn’t have the same punch like the one in the game did. It simply reminded you that it was a different song than the novel’s. At least Higurashi’s OPs had a bit more impact in them. The ED was visually nice, especially that neverneding chessboard, but the song itself was a big ‘meh’ and will hopefully be replaced by a second one soon. Again, a softer gentler ED like the ones from Higurashi would go well here.

2. The voices: None of them matched the ones in my head as I played the game. I expected a little bit of that, but the voices in the anime were just way too off. In particular Eva, who I imagined would have a much more shrill voice, and instead comes off sounding exactly like Takano Miyo. I could hear Hocchan give her best at doing Maria, but it still sounded a bit off. Overall, the adults sounded a bit too much like they were simply reading the script instead of being in character. I feel that instead of going simply off of star power and industry experience, DEEN could’ve chosen some lesser known actors who fit the role better. It was well-intentioned I’m sure, but it’s really just not working for me.

3. The character designs: I couldn’t recognize some of the characters. Rosa looks like a brunette version of Rika (huh, never realized how similar their names were…), while Shannon and Kannon looked like they got pulled straight off the set of Children of the Corn. DEEN should’ve hired the guys behind the UMGs.

4. The unoriginality: While I supremely appreciate how closely the anime is sticking to the canon, it does come off as more of a Cliff’s Notes version. The directing feels very conservative and samey, and didn’t really offer anything that couldn’t already be found in the game. On a side note, I found it a bit amusing that they just gave up narrating the character intros about halfway through, and not sure why they went with a camera shutter sound.

Again, the above are my complaints after playing through the English tranlsation of the game. Maybe everything matches appropriately with the original Japanese version, though I highly doubt it.

What I liked:

1. The pace: Yes, it felt a bit rushed at times, but DEEN was pretty good about selecting which narrative parts to leave out. And they successfully captured that moment in the garden when you realize that the story all of a sudden took a darker, more serious tone (accompanied by a storm).

2. The BGM: They used songs from the game. And in most of the right places. Even some of the sound effects were kept. Definitely a plus there.

Looking forward to how the rest of the series will play out, and what Studio DEEN manages to pack into the season. I’m doubtful I will get any revolutionary insight about the mystery from the anime, but you never know. At the least, it’s a good way to review my notes and see what the director felt was important.