Category: Attraction

The Right Depth

Posted by - June 26, 09

Hayate the Combat Butler!! 06-07 brought some of the most hilarious lovecom I’ve seen in months, but underneath it all there’s more to be asserted in the midst of Hayate’s QUALITY harem.

hng!!depth
Her name is Hinagiku, she has her own ED.

There is much to fanboy over, but what strikes most is her level of attainable perfection; she’s not perfect, though definitely perfect enough. It’s a superb situation.

hng!!depthDazzling, radiant starlet

But Hina’s awesomeness is beside the point… non, non non it is exactly the point; her chivalric moment.

What we receive from Hina in these two episodes is resonant; a familiar situation. Less, her awesome inner probing for true feelings, and more her reliance on the simple pretense of Ayumu X Hayate (thus shattering upon realization of the opposite).

Not that her inner investigation wasn’t lovely…

hng!!depth
The first step of ツン should be denial; the inverse of a 12-step program.

Yes, I’m on about her response to Ayumu, and how it painfully sounds so similar to the unstated affairs of Kyou [and Ryou]. Having not read the manga, I have no idea how this pans out between Ayumu and Hina, but it’s expected that Ayumu’s smile of agreement senses something deeper in Hinagiku’s positive encouragement.

hng!!depth
Beyond female intuition…

Perhaps lovely chivalry could overcome, but it only gets tougher for Hina by the second. Striking the heart, we know so well how Hina’s feelings escalated when Ayumu briefly explained Hayate’s situation.

hng!!depth::heartbeat:: (heartbeats)

Oh the joyous allegory of Hinagiku taking in the lost/stray kitten; that’s so her…. and thus Hayate is there.

hng!!depthXD1000%

The question is, will she really take that painful road we experienced in Kyou’s support for Ryou? I shouldn’t expect such dramatics, for this is Hayate the Combat Butler after all. Still, no reason why such an enjoyable lovecom can’t squeeze in sentiments that actually manifest with the experience.

Personally, this is how that nostalgia is built…

hng!!depth
Now about that Nineball mini-mart…

More…

Attraction :: Anime City, Tokyo

Posted by - May 6, 08

tokyonight

When it comes to cities in anime, I think Tokyo has the lot covered (equivalent to NYC in film) , and that is one thing I love about it. Every take on Tokyo yields a different hue, and the base atmosphere of a series sometimes gives this city a great feeling. Here is the beginning of a post started sometime late 2006/ early 2007…

The other night, while laying down watching the seasonal picks, I pondered what city is that on screen? Tokyo, definitely Tokyo. I realized that Tokyo graces many many anime with it’s superbly complex and compelling ‘essence’. The streets, suburbs, festivals, views, history and development, etc all pour out from the anime screen.

Would it be necessary to considered Tokyo ‘the’ most used setting in Japanese animation? Or is it easily implied; by default? That is up to opinion, but it is highly used. For this reason, I will fetch my picks of “Best Animated Perspective of Tokyo”, though I really need to recall them all first.

Off the top of my head, there are so many series I’ve watched where the setting was Tokyo, which implies greater things considering my shallow experience history of anime. Out of the multitude, it boils down to a few things that make Tokyo as part of a series an attractive point. Briefly…

Active Environment

Many of the series which came to mind are setup in Tokyo, but not all of them “play in the environment.” How noticeable is the city? Does it feel good? Would I be sad if it wasn’t Tokyo? These are things I ask in order to gauge the level of activity, not that I think about this often. I think one of best examples is the FMP franchise. Really, I enjoy the way Kana and Sagara move about the city, and no I don’t recognize exact details of things, but knowing it’s Tokyo just gives it some sort of imaginable flavor. Yum!

Mood

Continuing with FMP, more specifically Fumoffu, the mood given off is like an imprint. While I don’t think we will have Pavlov in the conversation, but it is a good thing there are an abundance of moods for series set in Tokyo. What would happen if it was the same mood over and over… imprinting? NAO let’s hope not. Perhaps this relates to remnants of a series in memory; enjoyable memories of the city setting. What’s the most memorable Tokyo setting for a viewer? Does it have anything to do with the mood? I am not implying, these are fluid questions.

Framing

Place is one thing, but time is another; physics hubbub 101. There are a few noticeable anime out there with historic or future settings in Tokyo (Rurouni Kenshin and NGE, respectively), and I believe this is one contribution to general effect of the city. While it is Tokyo, it might not be anything recognizable, but still holds marvelously intrigue. Personally, I feel modern Tokyo is an attractive setting for anime, but I did enjoy post-Bakumatsu Tokyo as well as the underground concept brought by NGE (what a mess).

Unlike the quoted opening states, I don’t have a “best” at this moment, but some of my notables: FMP, Keroro, H+C, NGE, and Tokyo Majin (didn’t care for it overall). Though, I wonder if others have taken a favorite blend of Tokyo.

Ryan A

Attraction :: Shoujo

Posted by - April 22, 08

This one, is late, as I had a project due this morning; not cool. So in my recent declaration of weekly habit posting, I listed Tuesdays as attraction, a clearer word would have been “like”. Basically, on Tuesdays, I will post a small nibble about an attraction.

Furuba8
A shoujo cover is a shoujo cover…

Today’s attraction is Shoujo (少女) (this sentence rings Sesame Street). I hardly doubt anyone doesn’t know what shoujo is, but what’s the attraction?

I am not an expert or anything, nor a connoisseur of shoujo, but I think it sets a decent example of “a girls’ appeal”, which being a guy, I am naturally interested in seeing what appeals (WHY NOT). Also, most good shoujo, regardless of being shoujo, comes with engrossing stories, romance, and fantastic humor. So it is girly, girls like it, but boys like it too [and not just otomen]. Putting it that way, shoujo is a lot like Audrey Hepburn, appealing to both sexes.

Audrey

Yes, shoujo appeals to me, though possibly not for reasons intended by a mangaka. I enjoy it anyway, and this is partially why I think strongly of Spring 2008, (5-6 shoujo series? quite a bit for a single season)… the shoujo runs strong, especially on Tuesdays ^^.

Stimulating Interest

A couple sites I that likely have more information on shoujo (objective and subjective):

Ryan A

note: Notice how a lot of original shoujo covers look similar? I still don’t know why