UPNetwork  

Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > Anime

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-26-2012, 09:58 AM   #3826
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Glad you watched it! I'm on my phone right now butI should very much like to write a lengthier reply later. (Remind me to if I forget!) For now I'll reply in brief:

Season 1 > Season 3 > Season 2, but each season has some great moments. One of my favorite episodes of all time is a Season 2 episode. Without spoiling others, I'll clue you in: it's the episode where Kana is scouring the city for a glass figurine. That episode just KILLS me every single time, both as Kana is on the hunt and her posse keeps reporting in as well as when Haruka opens the front door at the end and ... yeah. I'm surprised you didn't mention this one!

I love Minami Haruka. So I can understand your vexation a tad bit. That stated, I didn't really feel that she was absent or unimpressive this season the way that you did. For example, she has one of the best roles in the episode I just mentioned. She's also an important anchor for the season's surprising finale. But sure, she's not up to her Season 1 par. Then again, no one is. Season 2 was just overall an inferior season to Season 1. I don't think Sakuraba Coharu's source material is to blame for this: I chalk a lot of it up to the change in studio. The new director, producer, and/or editor just couldn't pull off the same magic that the Season 1 studio's did. You'll be delighted to see, though, that while they got the rights to Season 3, they took fan criticisms to heart and they "Season 1-ified" their designs and such.

Speaking of Season 3, you simply must watch it. Hosaka returns in top form. One of the greatest, and my personal favorite, Hosaka scenes of the entire franchise is in Season 3. The other Minami family returns after a conspicuous absence from Season 2 and Atsuki, the middle brother, has some great scenes. Just in general, you really should check out S3. While not quite as good as the magical Season 1, it's still very good.

Just noticed my phone motives Hosaka into Hosanna. If stuff like that's happened elsewhere, my apologies.

Okay, last thing for now: what did you think of the scavenger hunt towards the end? I absolutely LOVED what Chiaki drew and who she tapped for it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Their relationship is certainly hinted at in Season 1 (what with how she sits in his lap and looks so secure and happy, how he's the one who plays Santa for her, etc), but Season 2's where you get that first adorable (and awesome) confirmation that this is how she sees him. Anyway, I bring it up not only because it was one of my favorite moments in Season 2 and not only because it was awwwww adorable and you said you like that stuff, but also because you'll see a lot more of that in Season 3. And it's fairly awesome (imo). So what are you waiting for!? Go and check Season 3 out today!
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 10:28 AM   #3827
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
I conquered my fears
I need to do this today.

Nay, I *must* do this today.
__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 08:09 AM   #3828
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Yes, I did like the ending to the glass bunny episode. The season 2 finale was indeed touching, but I knew she wouldn't leave, so no big surprise there. As Woody Allen said, 90% of life is just showing up, and that's all she had to do for that moment. Still nothing really creative like those awesome season 1 scenes I mentioned before!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post

Okay, last thing for now: what did you think of the scavenger hunt towards the end? I absolutely LOVED what Chiaki drew and who she tapped for it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Their relationship is certainly hinted at in Season 1 (what with how she sits in his lap and looks so secure and happy, how he's the one who plays Santa for her, etc), but Season 2's where you get that first adorable (and awesome) confirmation that this is how she sees him.
To be honest, I was not as astute as you when it came to this. I haven't watched season 1 in its entirety in a long time, but I do remember the part (who could forget?) where Chiaki said to Fujioka, "That's my seat" but before he had a chance to get up, she just sat on him, haha. I was too focused on him crushing on Kana. I liked it when she tried to German suplex him, but he misinterpreted it as a hug from behind! At any rate, Fujioka's a good kid. I like the cut of his jib. I wish him luck in his impossible quest to become Kana's boyfriend, then he can indeed be a full time father for Chiaki!

That reminds me: There was this blue haired girl from season 1 whose name I don't recall, who actually had a crush on Hosaka (though she was quiet about it!). It saddened me how all the girls thought that magnificent specimen of a man was gross, and that's why it was so satisfying and cute that there was one girl who actually did like him! She also acted as a sort of aide to him. To my great dismay, this girl was nowhere to be found in season 2! Poor Hosaka was left all alone, to be called disgusting by everyone. If she doesn't come back in season 3, I fear that she will be forgotten about forever, like a Nangou-san in the wind ...

Quote:
Anyway, I bring it up not only because it was one of my favorite moments in Season 2 and not only because it was awwwww adorable and you said you like that stuff, but also because you'll see a lot more of that in Season 3.
I do, but I like it most when a touching moment occurs between two characters who normally have a hostile relationship!
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 08:36 AM   #3829
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
BPK you should make a club for the fantasy baseball. It'll probably only be a two person Gentleman's Association but we might get curious spectators and baseball enthusiasts.

I need to catch up on Cross Game. =_= I watched nothing yesterday. Still have a YGO craving in me that won't die, not until I perfect my side.
__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 11:52 AM   #3830
lilboocorsola
Dragon's Tears
 
lilboocorsola's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Searching for light
Posts: 6,453
Ooh, you're watching Cross Game, Dopple? I read a summary of it a while ago and grew quite interested but decided if I'm going to watch dramatic children's x games I may as well start with HnG ^^;. How is it?
lilboocorsola is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 01:16 PM   #3831
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
I started watching it years ago (2009?) following One Outs. I never kept up with the anime because I felt uncomfortable with the direction - that Kitamura Kou was having mild attraction to Tsukishima Aoba, which I didn't like because I was firmly Kou x Wakaba, and didn't think he should move on from her.

Chicken hearted, yes. I'm still not sure I'm mature enough for it.
__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 02:45 AM   #3832
big bad birtha
Volcano Badge
 
big bad birtha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,878
The Daily Lives of High School Boys
Like many others, this show ended. The show had a fantastic start, leaving me laughing constantly. While still funny, the show just....lost its magic after a while. The show went from hilarious to slightly funny as the show went on, and I'm guessing the writers just ran out of jokes. Don't get me wrong, I still think this show is still the best of this season, but I wish it kept the momentum it had for the first three episodes. Also, some jokes were really really bad. Like, straight pissed me off bad. This show gets a 7.5 from me.

Shana Final
I made my review and all that, but after seeing the last episode...I wanna mock it some more. The final episode was oozing in pure, concentrated R-E-T-A-R-D-E-D! I mean, I knew they'd pull something stupid, but when I saw Margery become a giant hydra-bear, I realized this show would blow me away with stupidity that I couldn't even imagine. I'm gonna stop there, but this shit's almost Jeanne and 11 Eyes level. It's really sad that Shana turned into this. Season 1 was awesome. However, everything after that was just....ugh.

To my surprise, not only is Daitarn 3 subbed, but there's a well-seeded batch of it available. I assumed Daitarn 3 wouldn't be subbed, since it's an old, obscure mecha anime that's only known nowadays for being in SRW. I guess I was wrong. Anyway, Daitarn 3 is my favorite mech in SRW, so obviously I should give it a shot. The opening is spectacular too.

Finally, Shooting Star Dragon's summon was glorious. Maybe it was the JAM Project, but it was a great scene.
big bad birtha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 11:47 AM   #3833
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Oh GOD! Just watched Minami-ke season 3 episode 2, aka The Triumphant Return of Hosaka.
Spoiler: show
If the gag where he attempted to befriend a girl by whispering her name creepily through a book case had been placed in season 2, I would have declared it Hosaka's finest moment of the season. OH, BUT THAT WAS JUST THE APPETIZER. THE MAIN COURSE WAS YET TO COME.

At last, Hosaka makes first contact with another member of the Minami family! When I saw that he was in the same supermarket as Chiaki, and they were about to cross paths, I was going insane with anticipation. The way the whole situation played out was just perfect! Chiaki's idle musing as she struggled to decode the shopping list, caused Hosaka to launch into perhaps his greatest fantasy yet; playing a piano song about curry ingredients. Then it flashes back to reality, and she sees him doing air piano, AHAHAHA. This was a callback to season 1, when he was observed by his classmates cooking imaginary pasta. Sweat dripping off his pecs as he finishes off the song and takes a bow ... delicious. And thus he accidentally solves Chiaki's dilemma. It's great because it's like Hosaka indirectly cooked for Haruka and her family, just like he always wanted! And it was indeed of satisfactory quality. And now, Hosaka is this mythical figure in Chiaki's head as the Curry Fairy. SO AWESOME!

My hands are actually shaking right now, I don't know from what. Happiness? Leftover anxiety from how Hosaka and Chiaki's first meeting would go? I watched all of Yakitate!! Japan and never once got the urge to cook bread. But this guy ... this guy seriously inspires me to discover the wonderful world of cooking myself!
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"

Last edited by McSweeney; 03-28-2012 at 12:29 PM.
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 11:50 AM   #3834
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doppleganger View Post
BPK you should make a club for the fantasy baseball. It'll probably only be a two person Gentleman's Association but we might get curious spectators and baseball enthusiasts.
Perhaps ... ARE there more than just the two of us? I totally forgot about the mahjong club too!

Cross Game is on my radar screen of stuff I might watch in the future. I have a feeling I'd like it more than One Outs.
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 12:06 PM   #3835
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
Oh GOD! Just watched Minami-ke season 3 episode 2, aka The Triumphant Return of Hosaka.
On the one hand, I am so selfishly happy to finally have somebody else who understands my appreciation of what is perhaps the best anime ever made. On the other hand ... spoiler tags please!? ^_^; Imagine if I had spoiled this surprise for YOU back in 2008/9 when I watched Season 3! ^^; Then you wouldn't have gotten to magically experience it at full blast yourself right now. So ... you think you could put that into a spoiler box please? ^^; Didn't say anything the other day (despite having similar thoughts! ^^; ) because you didn't spoil any of the best moments of Season 2, but this is one of the all-time best moments of the entire franchise and you've just completely exposed it. ^^;

So ... now to reply to my fellow Minami-ke fan.

You totally hit the nail on the head. Your assessment is very much in line with mine (in line with every fan's?). Just like you said ...

Spoiler: show
1. Epic because it was Hosaka's first contact with Haruka's family -- with his fantasies' stepdaughter! -- but at the same time tastefully done in that he doesn't know who she is. One can only imagine how he'd have shat bricks if he had known who she was.

2. Epic because, as you mentioned, Hosaka has been longing to have Minami Haruka try out his cooking for six months now with no luck, mainly because he hasn't had the courage or tact to find a way to share his homemade bento with her, and yet here, unknown to him, he indirectly finally accomplishes his mission. Well, sort of. ^^; You have to keep in mind, the recipe wasn't his -- it was the television program's. Hosaka just helped Chiaki to realize that the listed ingredients were all part of making curry. Still, though, I agree: it was very much the closest he's ever come to getting Haruka to try out his cooking.

3. The fact that Chiaki now hero-worships Hosaka as the Curry Fairy is insanely awesome. Hosaka would be OVER THE FUCKING MOON if he knew that Minami Haruka's youngest sister thought him a fantastical being like this.

4. This was one of Hosaka's best fantasies ever. In fact, it's my personal favorite. I actually have several copies of the Curry Song on my computer (both official and fan edits ) and I used to sing this song while walking to or from my car sometimes. I've always wanted to try out the recipe for myself but when I had the money to do so I didn't know where to get the ingredients and now that I know where to get the ingredients I'm not in a position to be able to afford purchasing them. But yeah, Hosaka inspires me to cook too.

It is, by far, one of the most memorable moments of Season 3. I'm glad you enjoyed it seemingly as much as I did, and I'm glad you decided to take my advice and press on to Season 3. I think you are now seeing for yourself that your buddy Talon wouldn't steer you wrong and that when he told you "Season 1 > Season 3 > Season 2, but Season 3 is really, really close to being as good as Season 1," he meant it. Look forward to the rest of the season. And put your spoilers in goddamn spoiler tags next time. ^^;

Last edited by Talon87; 03-28-2012 at 12:12 PM.
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 12:28 PM   #3836
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Ahhh, yes, I suppose so. I just assumed there was no one left who intended to watch the show, and if they did, they'd have no idea what I was talking about anyway and would have forgotten about it by the time they got there.
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 01:03 PM   #3837
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Forgot to mention this the other day, but ... you had mentioned that Atsuko doesn't show up in Season 2. But she does. ^^; She's there just as much as Maki. Did you mean that she just doesn't have as much scene presence as she did in Season 1? (I'm not sure I even agree with this ^^;, but ...) Or did you just fail to notice her? She's definitely there.

Flipping through some of the past seasons' episodes, you've got some fun Hosaka times ahead of you yet.

Also ... I really need to get some pocket money and fast. ;_; It looks like in the years since I last imported, there have been no fewer than five new volumes of Minamike manga (Vols 5-9). And that some of the more recent ones have had bonus content inside if you got copies from the initial publication batch. ;_; I've got to get on the ball! But do you know what this means ...? :O If there were four volumes when Season 3 came out, and there are nine volumes total now ... that means we have enough material for at least an additional three seasons if they should ever decide to go back and do it. Oh please, oh please, oh please let the original anime studio do this. No more Asread. T_T (Sure, they improved in Season 3, but ...) Anyway, I'm probably just dreaming. Three whole seasons is more than most manga can even dream of, so we're probably not going to get any more Minami-ke anime. But you never know ... you never know. :o
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 01:29 PM   #3838
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Oh, really? Where in hell is she?! I must not have recognized her because of the studio change. She must not have said anything to make me recognize her either. I need to re watch some stuff ...

And yeah, I was a bit disappointed by the "improvement" in visuals from season 2 to 3. It's not THAT much better, in fact, season 2 arguably looks better lol. The characters look too scrawny or something in 3.

And season 4 was already announced, didn't you hear?
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 01:42 PM   #3839
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
And season 4 was already announced, didn't you hear?
GET. OUT. Noooooooo, I didn't hear!? Are you for real? You better not be pulling my leg ...

*goes to investigate*

*finds this*

CEEEEEEEEEEEEELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON! ^____^

This totally makes my year. This is better than Kaiji S2, Fate/Zero, or Usagi Drop (2011). 2011 is still probably overall a stronger year for me so far, but ... this is bigger than any one of those for me. HELL. YES.

And now I'm more determined than ever to get Volumes 5-9 and add those to my collection. I will import those, even it costs me $100 to do so. (Which it should not , but I'm just saying.)
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 01:46 PM   #3840
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
I'm just confused as to how you didn't know already! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE?
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 01:52 PM   #3841
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Because the news only just came out, it seems, on March 19th-ish. And the last I had checked in, there was news of a ninth volume coming out with goodies co-packaged. Never in a million years did I expect that this would be one of the goodies. I also didn't know Volume 9 was out until today, as you just discovered earlier this same thread. So yeah. I just found out. But ... HOLY COW.

To-Do List:
  1. Secure monies with which to import Volumes 5-9.
  2. Read Volumes 1-4 that I already own. ^^; (I am such a procrastinator. ^^; )
  3. Watch Season 3 for my fourth or so time. (I last completed 2, so 3 is next in line to get a re-watch.)
  4. Either bump the thread I created for Season 1 or else make a new thread or something. Probably a bump. (Feel free to bump it yourself if you like and/or want to move our conversation there.) I definitely need to update that thread, the same way I did with "Chobits 4 years later," since in the time since watching Minami-ke in Fall 2007 it was worked its way so thoroughly into my heart that it's pretty much my #1 favorite anime of all time (sorry, Chobits ^^;, I still love you too! ;_; ).
  5. Catch my breath. Pray to the gods that Asread isn't the studio who gets to do Season 4. Pray to the gods that the original studio is the one with the rights.
  6. With some of that money I use to import Vols 5-9, go out and buy some ground curry powder and some garam masala (my last two ingredients) so I can get to working on making homemade curry Hosaka-style.
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 02:28 PM   #3842
lilboocorsola
Dragon's Tears
 
lilboocorsola's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Searching for light
Posts: 6,453
I plan to watch Minami-ke at some point.

On with Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up~

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

Though the latter half ceased with some of the annoyances, I agree the humor never quite matched the punch of early episodes. In a sense it felt like they were playing it overly safe to compensate. The show ended on a pretty blah note - a little too mundane for my tastes even though there's apparently another season coming. At least the poor main guy showed up again for some of it after being almost completely absent from most of the later eps. While nothing really pissed me off, one of the sketches in the final episode honestly freaked me out. Maybe it's partly due to Another's influence, but I think even without watching random bloody deaths each week I would expect...

Spoiler: show
The hot dog stick to impale someone's hand. Was clenching mine the whole time. Dudes, just let the thing fall. What if it had flown into someone's eye? *shudder*


All in all, it was still a fairly funny show, and would look forward to a sequel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Three whole seasons is more than most manga can even dream of []. But you never know ... you never know. :o
*crosses fingers for Natsume Yuujinchou season five* They say if folks buy merchandise they'll consider it. =O Forget the giant Nyanko-sensei plush so long as there's something related to the franchise at AB I'm getting it. >O ^^;

Need to make my review post for the finale (and also for Another). So hard to sort out FEELINGS~ though. XP
lilboocorsola is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2012, 03:00 PM   #3843
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
Something that bothered me about The Daily Lives of High School Boys was it started to lose that sparkle in the second episode. The first episode was amazing, but revisitng the skits in the second episode...considerably less awesome. And only hearing it gets worse isn't urging me to continue forward, it's just not interest.

Now, what is interesting -

>Talon
>BPK

__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:22 AM   #3844
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Come to think of it, I should have posted my rants in the old Minami-ke thread instead of here. OH WELL.

You're right, that girl was "Atsuko" all along. I have this problem with remembering the names of minor characters. Why'd her hair change from purple-blue to green? GOD! Well I'm just glad she's here.

I found that whole apple gag in episode 3 hilarious. I was wondering if they were doing a parody of the the movie Se7en, with the scary atmosphere and the warning not to look inside that box! I was incredibly curious as to what could possibly be in that box to explain the eerie tension caused by the apple gift. Brad Pitt's wife's head? And then ... of course. That DOES explain everything!
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 11:23 AM   #3845
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
I don't think either of us have made any comments in these Minamike posts that tie in to other programs so we could always ask someone to kindly transfer the posts over. *cough* That's if you want them in the Minamike thread in the first place. Like I said, I really need to overhaul that thread. ^_^; Bring it up to date with my current thoughts, with some Season 2 and Season 3 commentary from me, etc. Which makes me wonder ... did I watch Seasons 2 and 3 while I was away from UPN? I wonder. 'Cause you'd think I'd have posted about those there. Anyway ...

(EDIT: never mind. I just scrolled up after I posted this and ... I see that you did in fact make references to other shows. Shame on you. )

I feel like Atsuko's hair is blue in Season 1 and blue again in Season 2. ^_^; Different shades, sure, but ... I wouldn't call it purple in S1. Green-blue in S2, yes. I guess this gets back to how people perceive colors differently and how the Japanese in particular have a funny (to us Westerners) sense of what constitutes "blue." To them, colors we'd consider to be green (like a traffic light) or indigo-purple (like many scholars say is the case for Lady Aoi in The Tale of Genji) they just blanket-consider as "blue." You can actually see this in some older animes where the budget was low and/or the attention to detail was less and the traffic lights are clearly (to even our Western eyes) red, yellow, and blue -- because the studio just painted it in blue instead of trying to get that exact shade of green right. Anyway, digression. ^^; My point was, to the Japanese (and apparently this time to Talon too! XD), Atsuko's hair in both seasons is probably to be considered blue; but to your eyes, you see her S1 hair as borderline purple and her S2 hair as borderline green, so it creates cognitive dissonance for you.

You mentioned yesterday that you prefer Season 2's art to Season 3's. Maybe it'll just take time for Season 3's to grow on you, but I've never much cared for Season 2's. I really don't like the way that Asread drew and colored the eyes in most cases -- Haruka's face is especially "WHAT DID YOU DOOOO!? " in Season 2 -- and I feel like S3 was a big improvement in that regard. S2's animation seemed to be trying to be too flashy -- for example, they made Kana's rival's hair a much brighter purple, they made Atsuko's hair practically sea green like you've already noted, they gave Makoto bright green eyes, etc -- but in S3 they seemed to take to heart the fans' criticisms of S2's art direction vs. S1's and they made the characters seem more real. I think it's most noticeable in the eyes. They return to a more realistic form and have better (imo) colors. For example, Haruka's bizarre acquisition of red eyes in Season 2 is gone and she gains back her golden hazel eye color from S1. Another example is Chiaki's hair: the bizarre red highlights from S2 are now thankfully gone, though her practically blonde S2 primary hair color remains.
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 11:43 AM   #3846
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Actually, watching episode 4 now, I definitely do prefer season 3's look. Especially the faces. But Haruka is supposed to have a fairly voluptuous body wouldn't you say? She's too damn scrawny in 3!

I never noticed how tall Hosaka was until Chiaki referred to him as "that big guy". Then I started taking note of his height compared to others. Holy crap he's huge! A foot taller than Haruka. He could have rested his chin on top of Haruka's head when he was hugging her in his fantasy!
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 12:42 PM   #3847
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Hosaka is amazing. He's handsome, passionate, a hard worker, and at least decently intelligent as far as we can tell. (His absurd adventures aren't the result of stupidity so much as they are peculiarity. ) His only problem is that he tries so hard from the shadows but he has virtually no game in the spotlight. This has the double-whammy negative impact of keeping him off of Haruka's radar -- she has no idea how he feels because he's never once even said "hello" to her! -- while registering as a creep to Haruka's best friends (who, luckily for Hosaka, do not appear to have told her that he's obsessed with her). I think Hosaka is pretty much the handsome, buff embodiment of a lot of fans of Minami-ke. I know I can personally relate to him. (Take that for what you will! ^_^; )

Regarding thinning, I've never noticed it. I went and looked back at several episodes in Season 1 and compared them with several scenes in Episode 04. The only "thinning" I think I can see is in the faces, but I don't really perceive the girls as having gotten thinner or anything: it's just a difference between how the two animation studios draw the faces. I prefer the original studio's designs to Asread's, but Asread's aren't bad either in Season 3. I guess they are a little ... I dunno, less baby fat-looking? A little more mature-thin? And thus thin? But ... as for the bodies (waists, busts, etc), I did some direct comparisons (can upload screencaps if you like) and they look identical. Haruka is depicted as a liberal B / conservative C cup in pretty much any clothed shot that isn't drawing special attention to her bust. So I don't feel like Haruka got a downgrade in that department.

Since I randomly picked S3 E4 for the comparisons, I got to rewatch the scenes with Hitomi. Awww, so you've finally met her! What do you think? On the one hand, I was slightly concerned to see Season 3 introducing more complexity to the love web -- what are they trying to do? outdo School Rumble? -- but on the other hand Hitomi is pretty cute and it's interesting to see that ___ has a secret admirer. Sure, her voice is ridiculously childish, but I guess it fits what they're trying to do with her character: create somebody who wants to be seen as a woman by the person she likes even though she's younger than the person that they like. It also produces an interesting contrast with her manner of speech which is pretty gruff and yakuza-esque at points. lol @ Touma's birthday gift. XD I'd completely forgotten about that. My lord, those brothers are crazy. hahahaha
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 01:25 PM   #3848
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
Don't have to tell me twice. I'm Hosaka's #1 fan for a reason! He's right there with Akagi in terms of my favourite characters of all time. Akagi caters to my fantasy of being an ingenius badass with brass balls, but at the same time, Hosaka panders to my latent desire to be dandyish, sweet, and funny!

I liked Hitomi a lot! The way the show handles people crushing on other people is simultaneously humourous and cute. The best I've seen. There was also Fujioka marveling at Touma and "his" ability to be playful around girls without being shy. Then he's like, I must try that with Kana! I can do this! And, well.

As for body types, well check this out:




Okay so it's not AS severe as I thought, but I didn't almost mistake her for Chiaki in pic #1!

VISUALS ASIDE, season 3 is better in overall quality just as you said. Remember how I said Kana carried season 2 when others failed to show up? Well she's actually taken a back seat in season 3 as others step up!
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"

Last edited by McSweeney; 03-29-2012 at 01:36 PM.
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 03:48 PM   #3849
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Yeah, I took some screencaps to support my viewpoint too , but I was too lazy to upload them and resize them for you. Maybe later? ^^; For now I'll just say this: I don't think the girls have lost any weight or fat-padding in Season 3 versus Season 1 other than that they are narrower than they were in Season 1. Like, if in Season 1 the girls were let's say 2 feet wide at one vertical plane, here they're like 1.75 feet wide. I agree with you that they look much better in Season 1, but 99% of the Minamike fanbase is with you there, my brother. Also, just like you said, I took almost mistook Haruka for Chiaki in that bottom picture. Especially because ...

(Season 3 spoiler, safe to click if you've seen through Episode 02)
Spoiler: show
... starting in Season 3, we start to see adult versions of Chiaki in various situations, notably her Good Conscience, Bad Conscience routine.

But yeah. It's not too bad. Just like you've admitted. Just like I keep repeating. ^^; We can all agree that Season 1 animation rocks the house but that Season 2 animation is bearable (for our beloved Minamis!) and Season 3 animation is actually pretty good, just not as awesome as Season 1's was.

I think another thing you can spot them doing in Season 3, whether deliberately or not (and whether encouraged by Sakuraba Coharu or not, I don't know), and that is that all of the girls appear to be growing up physically. In your second screencap, for example, Touma looks a hell of a lot older than she does in Season 1, even though she's only 10 to 11 years old in all three seasons (her eleventh birthday taking place in Season 3, as you just saw). The first season covered some of spring and then all of summer, fall, and led us straight into winter. The second season picked up during winter and was pretty much one long winter smorgasbord. The third season starts us off with what appears to be a traditional New Year celebration (i.e. circa March; note the green shrubbery and tree leaves and the SFX crew's planting of bird chirpings everywhere ) and continues on from there. So in three seasons, we roughly cover one school year's worth of adventures. Which is why it's pretty crazy that Asread went so to town on the girls' designs and made them all look like they'd grown by 2-3 years. Haruka goes from looking like a young adult woman to definitely looking like a young adult (22+ y.o.) woman, various characters really shoot up (compare S3 Uchida with S1 or even S2 Uchida), etc. As a fan, I'd actually be really interested to know to what extent Sakuraba Coharu had a say in the anime's production and to what extent he was in support of making the characters all appear older in S3 than they did in S1.

If Yuki decides not to copy these posts over to the Minami-ke thread, I'm definitely going to need to bump it and link to all these posts or something. ^_^; There's too much good Minami-ke discussion going on here to not include it in the proper thread!
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2012, 05:17 AM   #3850
McSweeney
Soul Badge
 
McSweeney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 1,488
I'll just edit out anything not related to Minami-ke after the posts have been moved. Seamless! Like when Stalin photoshopped people out of pictures after he had them killed.
__________________


Smoking Gary sez:
"Stay in school kidz"
McSweeney is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Lower Navigation
Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > Anime


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 2 (0 members and 2 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:30 AM.


Design By: Miner Skinz.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.