So I was trying to figure something to swing in the Summertime while Zetsubo is idling and Umisho is tinkering happily along. I’ve been on the Keroro high for oh, I don’t know, a month. I managed to enjoy the first 26 episodes, but I’m holding off on the pursuit of Keroro… for now. I decided Lamune might be a decent watch, so I popped in a disc and began.
This 2005 anime has some good points, but my only discrepancy has to be with the animation. There is a slight cringe with various animated scenes. May be it is good for 2005, but it isn’t as clean as my eyes are accustom to *cough*h264*cough*, though I think adjusting took an episode. Seriously, HD, h.264, etc has us spoiled rotten, but that’s an entirely separate matter. *Change of heart* the artwork is nice and pretty, though some small details just seem to fuzz at points; it isn’t bad, but it is often a shocker when jumping a couple years back.
Half-way through, I can’t foresee any sharp left bends that leave me hanging over a cliff, but one solid aspect of the series is the oh-so moé Nanami-chan. Oh cry the heavens, save me from this moé sensation. She’ good, I caught myself saying … to myself … “how does she not have Ken-chan eating from her pretty palms?” I then realize that this Ken character has some sort of immunization to it all, (his moé gene is broken). It’s a good thing Ken-chan will probably never get that gene back, because if he underwent some late 2005 DNA alterations and magically via science was not immune to the moé complex, he’d die. All those moé memories would flash before his mind’s eye and wham, dead.
So I’m watching this, thinking these things, and it dawns on me that what I’m seeing is an alternate universe Nayuki, except a tad more coordinated and not allergic to cats (I assume). Great stuff. It can be topped, but I’m happy with the time Lamune is absorbing. I would put this in the same cloud as ARIA, but not the same level. Perhaps I’ll finalize that after I finish the next 6 episodes. For now, let the moé explosion continue.
Ryan A
