Touka Gettan.
May. 13th, 2008 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elwenI finished Touka Gettan on Sunday. I guess in the end it was a good series, with a whole lot of complexity that flew over my head, and the ending sticks with me for some reason.
As is now widely known, the proper chronological order of the series is 26, 24-1, 25. I started watching while it was airing, and did not know about the reverse order, so I watched 1-7 while being very confused. Then I found out, and decided to wait until the whole thing came out so I could watch it from 26. Which I started doing, except 25 confused the hell out of me because it's an after-series recap, and then I gave up again for a while. So yes, the series has caused me a lot of headaches and confusion.
Looking back, I think if you like mysteries and figuring out what's going on in a series on your own, it's not too bad watching it 1-26 as intended. One of the AniDB reviews captured my experience very accurately: the first few episodes are confusing like crazy, but after a while, things seem to read a bit more smoothly. I can't decide whether it helps to know that it's running backwards, or whether that's too big of a spoiler. (If it is, I'm sorry. Maybe you should just watch it chronologically like I did, then.) But episode 1 is really confusing. After I got there again, I couldn't believe I didn't drop the series like a rock after it. I guess it's because there are so many tantalizing details in that episode. And such gorgeous art. And such a lovely soundtrack.
The other thing about which order in which to watch it is that I got the feeling that the creators really do intend for you to watch it 1-26, so that the early episodes (late chronologically) spend more time introducing the characters. Maybe. It's all too mixed together in my head for me to say for sure now. The other thing is that the chronological flow is not that smooth either way, because it's harder to have cliffhangers going backwards. (Although there are a few.)
In some ways, most of Touka Gettan is just a high school romance. But it spends enough time on the supernatural aspects to make things interesting. There are still many things unexplained at the end, but not in an unsatisfying way. [If you're slow-witted like me, it helps to read this page afterwards, which has a lot of "hints" that the show dropped that I missed.] It's not anywhere near the top of my list, but it was a fun and worthwhile ride. Also, it was impressive how the insane Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito crossover episode actually explained a lot more than the episodes around it. D:
Once I get the ending out of my head, the thing that is definitely going to stick with me from this series is the music. I just keep listening to the soundtrack on shuffle-repeat. Also, I decided finally to look into the vocal children's song that they use occasionally as background music and which is kind of catchy, and . . . it broke my brain. It's all in the notes here, so I won't repeat it. I guess it's appropriate for a series like Touka Gettan. Still breaking my brain even after I've watched it all.
As is now widely known, the proper chronological order of the series is 26, 24-1, 25. I started watching while it was airing, and did not know about the reverse order, so I watched 1-7 while being very confused. Then I found out, and decided to wait until the whole thing came out so I could watch it from 26. Which I started doing, except 25 confused the hell out of me because it's an after-series recap, and then I gave up again for a while. So yes, the series has caused me a lot of headaches and confusion.
Looking back, I think if you like mysteries and figuring out what's going on in a series on your own, it's not too bad watching it 1-26 as intended. One of the AniDB reviews captured my experience very accurately: the first few episodes are confusing like crazy, but after a while, things seem to read a bit more smoothly. I can't decide whether it helps to know that it's running backwards, or whether that's too big of a spoiler. (If it is, I'm sorry. Maybe you should just watch it chronologically like I did, then.) But episode 1 is really confusing. After I got there again, I couldn't believe I didn't drop the series like a rock after it. I guess it's because there are so many tantalizing details in that episode. And such gorgeous art. And such a lovely soundtrack.
The other thing about which order in which to watch it is that I got the feeling that the creators really do intend for you to watch it 1-26, so that the early episodes (late chronologically) spend more time introducing the characters. Maybe. It's all too mixed together in my head for me to say for sure now. The other thing is that the chronological flow is not that smooth either way, because it's harder to have cliffhangers going backwards. (Although there are a few.)
In some ways, most of Touka Gettan is just a high school romance. But it spends enough time on the supernatural aspects to make things interesting. There are still many things unexplained at the end, but not in an unsatisfying way. [If you're slow-witted like me, it helps to read this page afterwards, which has a lot of "hints" that the show dropped that I missed.] It's not anywhere near the top of my list, but it was a fun and worthwhile ride. Also, it was impressive how the insane Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito crossover episode actually explained a lot more than the episodes around it. D:
Once I get the ending out of my head, the thing that is definitely going to stick with me from this series is the music. I just keep listening to the soundtrack on shuffle-repeat. Also, I decided finally to look into the vocal children's song that they use occasionally as background music and which is kind of catchy, and . . . it broke my brain. It's all in the notes here, so I won't repeat it. I guess it's appropriate for a series like Touka Gettan. Still breaking my brain even after I've watched it all.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-16 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 06:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 01:33 pm (UTC)Someone recommended that watching Haruhi in broadcast order is the best, but if I have to keep looking up which episode to watch next, I will probably never get around to watching the series properly. :P