Finished anime.
Oct. 6th, 2007 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elwenI actually finished a few anime series this season (as well as from previous seasons). The running theme, unfortunately, seems to be "unsatisfying endings". Then again, I didn't really expect differently. Hoped, yes. Expected, no.
Strangely enough, they weren't even unsatisfying endings of the "and thus things go on as they did" variety. They're just ones that went "chop!" to the story without explaining anything at all.
Venus Versus Virus
I think I braced myself for this one because I heard it was unsatisfying, so I actually didn't mind it as much. Perhaps there was so much unexplained, all through the series, that I was used to taking things at face value and just ignoring the questions that popped into my head. Overall, it was a decent show -- a cute drama about human relationships with some supernatural action. Not highly recommended, but something to watch, and hey, it was only 12 episodes.
Darker than Black
Here's a series that started out episodic, suddenly started to seem like it was going somewhere, then tripped and fell flat on its face. I still give it a high rating just because its mythology is so interesting, and I really like the character portraits it paints in each pair of episodes. According to one AniDB review I read, the first half of the series was "characters without a direction", and then they actually changed producers around episode 15, which is when things really start to pick up. Unfortunately, it didn't pick up enough to explain anything (which is mostly fine -- it's not necessarily the kind of mythology for which you want a detailed, thorough scientific explanation), and worst of all, I think what they did explain was utterly stupid as a driver of all the events. Still, it was enough closure not to ruin things -- in the end, it's a great series; it's just the last episode that's bad.
Romeo x Juliet
Finally a series with a good wrap-up. Things did get kind of bizarre at the end, but as an overall package, the series is very good. Enough of the original Shakespeare at the beginning to draw you in with dramatic irony, and then enough divergence to keep you wondering until the end -- not just about whether it will really still be a tragedy, but about the rest of the new mythology they create. It draws on a much broader cast than the play and manages to develop those characters without losing focus on Romeo and Juliet.
And I'll update this entry as soon as I finish up the following series:
- Mushiuta (not expecting much from this one)
- Seirei no Moribito (the ending had better be good)
Mushiuta
As I expected, the ending was not that great. Enough to serve as an ending, but very similar to Venus Versus Virus in failing to explain anything at all, including what happened to the characters and what happened to the cause. I heard someone say there is a second season in the works, which would be nice, although in a way there was enough finality to make that hard at the same time as nothing being resolved. =/
Seirei no Moribito
This has been the most perfect series throughout, and the ending was no different. It was more bittersweet than I would like, but I guess the ending I wanted wouldn't have worked anyway. I think this is my new favorite series, especially since I don't know what my old one was. (I keep telling interviewers Cowboy Bebop, but that's half because it's old, licensed, and has a chance of being known.) Too bad Geneon had to go boom before they could release it. =/
ETA: Somehow I was never all that enamoured of the Romeo x Juliet opening theme while I was watching the series (I usually didn't make it past the "Original Work: Shakespeare" water drop part before skipping forward), but now that I'm done, I keep getting it stuck in my head. In particular the English version. I'm impressed by how coherent and poetic the lyrics are, and the melody is just so uplifting.
Hm, maybe I should do a music post soon. I think I've built up a good batch of new OPEDs now.
Strangely enough, they weren't even unsatisfying endings of the "and thus things go on as they did" variety. They're just ones that went "chop!" to the story without explaining anything at all.
Venus Versus Virus
I think I braced myself for this one because I heard it was unsatisfying, so I actually didn't mind it as much. Perhaps there was so much unexplained, all through the series, that I was used to taking things at face value and just ignoring the questions that popped into my head. Overall, it was a decent show -- a cute drama about human relationships with some supernatural action. Not highly recommended, but something to watch, and hey, it was only 12 episodes.
Darker than Black
Here's a series that started out episodic, suddenly started to seem like it was going somewhere, then tripped and fell flat on its face. I still give it a high rating just because its mythology is so interesting, and I really like the character portraits it paints in each pair of episodes. According to one AniDB review I read, the first half of the series was "characters without a direction", and then they actually changed producers around episode 15, which is when things really start to pick up. Unfortunately, it didn't pick up enough to explain anything (which is mostly fine -- it's not necessarily the kind of mythology for which you want a detailed, thorough scientific explanation), and worst of all, I think what they did explain was utterly stupid as a driver of all the events. Still, it was enough closure not to ruin things -- in the end, it's a great series; it's just the last episode that's bad.
Romeo x Juliet
Finally a series with a good wrap-up. Things did get kind of bizarre at the end, but as an overall package, the series is very good. Enough of the original Shakespeare at the beginning to draw you in with dramatic irony, and then enough divergence to keep you wondering until the end -- not just about whether it will really still be a tragedy, but about the rest of the new mythology they create. It draws on a much broader cast than the play and manages to develop those characters without losing focus on Romeo and Juliet.
- Mushiuta (not expecting much from this one)
- Seirei no Moribito (the ending had better be good)
Mushiuta
As I expected, the ending was not that great. Enough to serve as an ending, but very similar to Venus Versus Virus in failing to explain anything at all, including what happened to the characters and what happened to the cause. I heard someone say there is a second season in the works, which would be nice, although in a way there was enough finality to make that hard at the same time as nothing being resolved. =/
Seirei no Moribito
This has been the most perfect series throughout, and the ending was no different. It was more bittersweet than I would like, but I guess the ending I wanted wouldn't have worked anyway. I think this is my new favorite series, especially since I don't know what my old one was. (I keep telling interviewers Cowboy Bebop, but that's half because it's old, licensed, and has a chance of being known.) Too bad Geneon had to go boom before they could release it. =/
ETA: Somehow I was never all that enamoured of the Romeo x Juliet opening theme while I was watching the series (I usually didn't make it past the "Original Work: Shakespeare" water drop part before skipping forward), but now that I'm done, I keep getting it stuck in my head. In particular the English version. I'm impressed by how coherent and poetic the lyrics are, and the melody is just so uplifting.
You Raise Me Up
lyrics by Brendan Graham
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up, to more than I can be
There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up, to more than I can be
Hm, maybe I should do a music post soon. I think I've built up a good batch of new OPEDs now.
