07-17-2013, 08:39 PM | #1 |
我が名は勇者王!
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Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru
I really think this title and Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai aka Haganai should probably swap names. There's some structural similarities between the two stories, although it's perhaps a bit more fundamental than that. Take high school setting. Add a loner guy without friends. Throw in some beautiful but eccentric girls as love interests, and voila. You have the basic skeleton of a light novel. But the actual titles are far more appropriate when swapped. Haganai, when not viewed ironically, is not about a bunch of loners who can't make friends. It's about a bishounen and his harem of girls who want to pogo on his pelvis. That's pretty fudged up to me.
OreGairu, as this anime's name is contracted to, is legitimately about some lonely kids. Two of them are pretty messed up, and the other is "normal", but becomes something quite more than that by simply hanging around the other two. If one has ever seen a fungi grow in a sewer, it's like that - ugly and beautiful. The nastiness of society coalescing in one place gives birth to something as glorious as life. That metaphor is so magnificent I want to gag! I'm pleased to say I gave this show my highest rating, Masterpiece. That's something I seem to give out to one show every two years, and while my quantity of shows consumed each year has gone down, it's more because I'm very selective about what I watch. This some intrigued me enough to watch despite a setting that is starting to grate me, and in spite of everything it managed to be a richly rewarding experience. So here, I'm going to try and parlay this fun into a pitch, for all not named kaisap to be enchanted by. There isn't much more to say, oh wait the plot. Hachiman's teacher wants to change his personality so she forces him into a club whose only other member is an eccentric girl. Later, another eccentric joins up. Stuff then happens. Let's talk about them characters. Hikigaya Hachiman - called "Hikki" by some and "8man" by everyone outside of the show, he's the man. He has a loner personality and has immense distaste for the social strata that dominate adolescent life. However, he is a loner by preference, his personality permanently corrupted after being rejected by his crush in middle school. He's got some incredible social skills and is surprisingly intelligent and athletic, but is so withdrawn few ever notice this talents. Yukinoshita Yukino - she's basically a Haruhi character with a different personality. Rich, talented, and beautiful, she's a bit of a loner herself because her attitude and ability isolates her from other people. While her phenotype is similar to Hachiman, their logic and thinking is very different. Hachiman hates her. Yugihama Yui - a bubbly girl who is like a stereotypical good natured love interest. If only she were a childhood friend, but she isn't. She started hanging around the club and its weirdos and as a result strays from here stereotype. Her chest is like, huge. Totsuka Saika - Hachiman's love interest, an ultra-feminine, hyper moe trap in the tennis club. His presence is un-setting even to the mucho macho. Zaimokuza Yoshiteru - a fat, feudal Japan otaku version of Shishoh Guy. He's loud, he's amusing, he's loud, his voice oozes courage, and boy oh boy, can he raise his voice. Hayama Hayato - a nice guy liked by everyone including Hachiman. A jock with a heart of smooth muscle, because gold isn't as good at pumping oxygen during soccer matches. Seeks atonement with Yukinoshita for some reason. So, now, the review. Characters: 10/10 This show's character development is power maximum. tsuritama was the last show with character development approaching this and OreGairu blows it away. There's at least one minor character improving in each arc, and the main leads change incrementally over the course of the series. New history is revealed too that adds further depth. Finally, in the final episode, you see a small light in Hachiman's cold, dead eyes. The characters were amusing, entertaining and developed tremendously, what more could one ask? Plot: 9/10 It's nothing special. Club that helps people does just that. We've seen it all before. But I love Hachiman's solutions, very rarely do things work out "perfectly", usually he ends up just saving the idiot classmate from hurting themselves or hurting others. It's a very sober approach to relationships between people and in that sense highly refreshing. Setting: 10/10 The setting is simultaneously a 0/10 and a 10/10. I don't care for the "subversion" meme/buzzword but it's effective here. The show, much like Muv-Luv, has the worst starting premise or one that is eye-rolling obnoxious sounding, and then proceeds to turn water into wine and create bread/fish out of thin air right before one's eyes. Amazing! Art-Animation: 4/10 + 6 I like the art, but the animation is nothing special. It always seems like shows that I see as Masterpiece titles don't have the best art/animation because the writing is so strong it dominates over it. This show doesn't need a ton of visuals, but makes efficient and appropriate use of them, so I'm giving the score 6 bonus points since too much animation, too much art would have taken away from the experience, I think. This isn't a period war drama or a space flick, it's a story about kids in school, it doesn't have to look like Akira. Acting: 7/10 + 3 The cast has some inexperienced/young folk on it, but they do pretty good jobs. Considering the main character is introverted, there isn't a lot of opportunity to show a ton of range, lines are delivered in casual adolescent speech with minimal emotional distress. But as in the previous discussion, it's appropriate for what the show's trying to do. Themes: 9/10 Since OreGairu is strongly character focused, there isn't much on the themes, but the obvious one is if Hachiman's approach to human sociology/psychology and how he manipulates people is the right thing to do. It's very practical, in that his approach gets people to accomplish things or improve, but rarely are his solutions positive. They're either neutral or negative, with the alternative being a very, very poor outcome. He doesn't try to go for the happy ending, he aims for a realistic solution in a cut-throat form. Other students like Hayama acknowledge Hachiman's work but dislike what he does, in a Suzaku-Lelouch kind of way. Ends justify means, means don't justify ends and all that rot, but not quite in a life-or-death setting. Overall: 10/10 I watched this series opening to ending, thirteen times, pretty close to non-stop. I didn't pause during the dicey moments. There wasn't much fanservice and if there was it wasn't gratuitous. It's a humble title with some strong messages. Pharmaceutical grade awesome. Watch it!
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08-30-2013, 08:39 PM | #2 |
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I started watching this. Really liked the first episode! This is my sort of Slice-of-Life, with lots of idea's and beliefs and such. I'll write more about it tomorrow at some point once I've seen maybe the first 3 episodes, but just a small point that Yui is REALLY pretty. Prettier than Yukino, I would say. I also like how both Hachiman and Yukino are right to some degree in their ideologies, but both take it to a bit of an extreme in their own way. Looking forward to more of this.
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08-30-2013, 08:54 PM | #3 |
我が名は勇者王!
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I'm glad Midge is on-board with this (sort-of) under-rated title! And take back what you said about Yukino!! She is a noble beauty, even if her personality isn't the best yet. Not that Yui is all that bad to be honest.
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08-30-2013, 09:56 PM | #4 | |
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Quote:
That'd be another reason I like Senjougahara Hitagi so much. xd |
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08-31-2013, 12:27 PM | #5 |
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Finished this this morning! I think Imove through shows a little too quickly, I only started watching this last night. :s
I quite enjoyed the series, especially some of the character interactions. Here's a review of sorts: Spoiler: show |
08-31-2013, 12:43 PM | #6 |
我が名は勇者王!
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The romance is a sticky situation. I'm not sure what someone like Talon would think of it seeing as he likes big, obvious and visual developments, and what we saw in OreGairu was mostly subliminal.
What you wanted to see out of Yui wasn't going to happen without some dire consequences. Remember, of the three characters she's the most social, but also least socially smart. Had Hachiman not stopped her she would have confessed to him during that street scene and permanently altered their relationship, which Hachiman didn't really want to do to her. Not quite friendship...I'd say it would be analogous to putting a dying dog out of its misery. A bit more like sympathy. Regardless, the characters as we saw with the incremental development in the series were not ready for something like that. I've seen people complain about the ending before, but it really was a conclusive one, even if there's some room for a second season (unlikely to happen). Yukino, who was the next most messed up of the three, had the basic inclination of wanting to come out of her shell and open up to the other two. She'd gotten to the point where she was more willing to trust them, after she had lied to them earlier in the series about her relationship to them. If I were to scale the development over the course of the series from a 1-5, Hachiman was like a 1, Yui was like a 4, and Yukino a 2. Hachiman is clearly the nucleus of the story and the hardest nut to crack, so the story didn't really focus as much on his internal changes and went mostly with Yui and some Yukino. The ending gives you the light over the mountain at dawn that there's hope on the horizon for her changing, while also leaving the wish possibility of Hachiman eventually emerging as well. I think the other minor characters acting stereotypical was just to provide some comic relief, and since they're not the focus so if they're not extreme caricatures (the type one would expect to predominate in a romcom) you'd forget them. All the main characters were far more complex and breathed ideas and thoughts.
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09-26-2013, 10:19 PM | #7 |
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I've watched half of this show. I'm enjoying it so far. It's nice how this is more about social interactions than generic the LN romance the title seems to suggest (which is why I passed this up in the first place). It's also nice how the main girl isn't the one who does everything. I was afraid she'd solve everything while the main guy was impressed by her and all that stereotypical jazz. Thankfully it hasn't happened.
I can't really say I have any problems, but the way this show presents itself screams "generic LN harem". Also Yui's voice is a plus for me. I really liked her voice in Mosaic (that blended with broken Japanese sounded great). |
09-26-2013, 11:27 PM | #8 |
我が名は勇者王!
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Yui is also burger girl from Hataraku, and her role/character is pretty similar in this title. Except, maybe smarter.
OreGairu shall rule the world!
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09-27-2013, 02:40 PM | #9 |
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By the gods I have finished this show! Actually I really enjoyed my ride through the show. I'm a sucker for things like this. Nothing beats a show about someone manipulating social groups and going on about society! First things first, I really liked the circle of characters, especially the main guy. He's so damn twisted, and his methods for solving things are almost admirable (even says some things I was hoping would be said). His papers are also fantastic. It's nice how he isn't "the nice guy". Actually that role is put on another guy, and the main guy takes advantage of that. Surprisingly, I can't really think of any glaring negatives. The end of episode 3 pissed me off, but thankfully that only happened once. This show gets a nice 9.5 from me.
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09-28-2013, 12:34 PM | #10 |
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Psst. Guys. The OVA has been subbed! Also this from the OVA's description:
"Anime original episode bundled with the limited edition of the Yahari Game demo Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. PlayStation Vita game set to be released this summer."
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09-28-2013, 01:05 PM | #11 |
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A pregnancy PSP minus the pregnancy was also released. But I'm disappointed...for obvious reasons. Granted, it seems within expectation with Hachiman's personality, but the PPSP's are all fantasy anyway.
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02-03-2015, 11:57 PM | #12 |
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Watched Episode 01 just now. I thought it was okay. Didn't grab me, didn't really do much to stand out from the crowd ... I dunno, we'll see. I want to like the series, but it may have been hyped up to heights now impossible for it to achieve. Based on Ep01 alone I'd say 5/10. Animation was pretty damn bad (even for when it came out) which did not help matters much as it was too distracting. Would currently preference Yuigahama over Yukinoshita.
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02-04-2015, 01:15 AM | #13 | |
我が名は勇者王!
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Animation is unfortunately the series weak point, and even with a more advanced knowledge of "visual" presentation the photography in OreGairu remains quite poor. Art-wise, it has a different but not radical style, so it feels familiar yet has a charm to the character designs to give it flair. Consider ordering Mongolian Beef at a Chinese restaurant: one restaurant might add water cashew to the meal. Unusual, but the meal isn't say, Kung Pow Chicken now that it has cashews.
I had a feeling you'd prefer Yui! In my youth, I would have preferred Yukinoshita for her brain and her looks. She's far more beautiful than Yui is, and her high social class is an appeal as well. But Yui's friendliness and enthusiasm makes it very apparent that Yukino's lack of other qualities make her a subpar romantic interest, since her only plusses are superficial. I'm not sure where OreGairu hits the point of no return, but I'm not convinced I loved it at the first episode. What I said previously: Quote:
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02-04-2015, 07:57 AM | #14 |
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02-04-2015, 05:27 PM | #15 |
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I don't think the titular Chunibyou coined the neologism of the same name, but it was definitely the show which propelled the term into common use. Japanese author circles are constantly looking for new words to christen new phenomenon, but it doesn't always pick up. Manga and anime have a much wider sphere of influence than light novels and visual novels, so stuff that occurs within the latter two mediums doesn't become mainstream until adaptions through the former appear.
Consider what we know today as "yandere". That concept became common knowledge with Shuffle!'s Kaeda, back in 2005. It became even more popular when Higurashi's Ryuugu Rena was first animated in 2006, but the term "yandere" did not appear until late 2006 and wasn't fully entrenched until School Days and Mirai Nikki basically marketed the term. Chunibyou's own title is an imitation of OreImo's, as is OreGairu's. OreImo was the very first anime/novel to start the trend of using a sentence as a title. Or, the fading/current trend (since fellows like Daniel DeFoe also used title-sentences, even title-paragraphs!). On Chi/Yui - I think Yui allowed Chi-chan's CV a lot more opportunity for dramatic presence than Maou. The characters in OreGairu are more complex, and so have a more broad spectrum of emotion (and experiences), so she got to show some neat stuff in this anime capped by the premise of Maou.
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02-05-2015, 04:44 PM | #16 |
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02-06-2015, 09:16 PM | #17 |
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The opening credits of Episode 04 are rolling and I've decided to stop in to post this:
Spoiler: show If I'm correct, then this is painfully predictable and I sure hope it's officially revealed this very episode. 'Cause if this ends up being the big plot twist saved for the final act, I will really have to question how Doppel could've given this one a 10. As always, optimistic!
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02-06-2015, 09:43 PM | #18 |
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Won't say anything, just that I tend to watch OPs/EDs once at the start and a bunch of times at the end of anime to avoid spoilers. OPs/EDs do not follow under "author intent" and too many anime directors, loving the ability to ruin experiences or tease viewers, love to hide stuff in them.
Like the Jojo openings, hah!
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02-06-2015, 10:02 PM | #19 |
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I think you may have been confused by what I said. I told readers (or I had meant to tell them if I did not) that I had just reached the OP in order to offer a sense of placement: "ah, he's just witnessed the pre-OP scene." Everything I wrote about is with respect to the scene shown prior to Episode 04's opening credits; no analysis nor meta-analysis of the OP took place.
Anyway, Episode 04 just completed. And so ... Episode 04: Spoiler: show
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02-06-2015, 10:12 PM | #20 |
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There's a little easter egg in the Episode 4 title, I'm not sure I noticed this before but it just stands out right now.
That said, Talon I've got a question - how does the surname "Yukinoshita" strike you? A fake name, or an unusual realistic one? I ask because I used Yukino's last name for my visual novel's city, "Yukinomiya" since there is an existing city Nonomiya. But I cannot shake that the name sounds fake!
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02-06-2015, 10:31 PM | #21 |
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It stands out as the sort of name a grade schooler would come up with for characters in their story. To be fair, they all do: the almost omnipresent alliteration is obvious and feels amateurish to me:
Yukinoshita in particular, though, sounds as fictional to my ear as Shiroyuki-hime yet at the same time as authentic as Kinomoto, Kinoshita, and surnames of similar meaning or construction. It's a weird experience. It certainly sounds less real, more made up than a Saitou or Yamamoto, but it's not quite as bad as Midorigumo or Nijinokanata ... then again, maybe it's precisely as bad as those. ^^; I dunno, it's weird. The name is a prepositional phrase, is the thing, and that I think is why it stands out so much. Her name is literally yuki no shita or "beneath the snow." Her given name of Yukino feels much more normal on its own -- it is, after all, an authentic name -- but in combination with Yukinoshita it seems just as ridiculous. Yukinomiya sounds 10x more realistic than Yukinoshita. To my ear, anyway.
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02-06-2015, 10:48 PM | #22 |
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Aww, I found the alliteration charming. I feel like the most amateurish names are ones that are utterly random with no deeper meaning. Naming the protagonist of an action movie "Jeff Burger" for example. Even something like "Arnold Dangerzone" would be less lame!
Additionally, it's kind of rare that such alliterative names appear in anime...even in comics or television, the only big-name media project that comes to mind is The Amazing Spider Man, and only "Otto Octavius" seems way too cheesy. I won't deny it's probably an elementary approach to naming conventions though...how else would I come up with "Katou Katsuyuki", even if it is a normal sounding name...
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02-07-2015, 12:57 PM | #23 |
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02-07-2015, 01:33 PM | #24 |
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I'm not sure I'd classify Haruhi as a love story. If you go that route, it seems inevitable that Kyon will end up with Haruhi, because any other ship would end in disaster for the world. Certainly fans for the other girls have their appetites whet with Kyon's attention to them, but it feels like bones. Not to mention that for that time period, Haruhi is the only other 'normal' girl present.
As for OreGairu, despite the title it isn't clear that it's a love story. In fact the title is quite snark toward the concept, as we have two very typical romcom girls but a very atypical male lead, who doesn't want to play by romcom rules. Much of the entertainment value for OreGairu comes from Hachiman bucking his own universe's conventions, as is ability to due so is highlighted as unique to his own experiences. That is, it's more of a cross-examination of Hachiman through the eyes of romcom characters, in a parallel to Muv-Luv Unlimited. I don't see a lot of comparisons with ToraDora, or even Haganai which I believe is what OreGairu was written in response to. Hachiman describes his middle school love life as "I was rejected by a girl I liked". But...that warps him into this souless, pessimistic shell, when the same happens to millions of people every year and doesn't do anything nearly as damaging. You have to wonder if he's faking his misanthropy in an effort to protect himself from being hurt again (which he is often accused of)...or if he's legitimately been corrupted, which means something in the story might be left out.
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02-07-2015, 04:27 PM | #25 |
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This is making me want to rewatch the show.
I enjoyed this show because of how cynical the it is. While there's hints of very typical developments, we're treated to the main guy just being a dickhead to everyone. His "friends" make it more enjoyable. I actually don't give a damn about the girls. Generic prince guy and fat Link are much more entertaining! I still think of this show as the best show to have aired since early 2013. My memory is a bit foggy though. I guess I can blow some of that fog away! |
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