Tsuritama and Ano Hana
Aug. 26th, 2012 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pacificpikachuI finished Tsuritama and then Ano Hana yesterday and today, so time to write down some thoughts!
Tsuritama was definitely a fun, enjoyable series. I loved the use of color and distinct style of the backgrounds. Visually, it was such a treat. The characters were great, too! Ultimately, I liked all of them and I don't know if I can even choose a favorite. I loved the friendship formed between the four mains, and this series made me smile a lot. Tsuritama in general was just a solid, fun, enjoyable ride. I'm looking forward to hopefully watching it again with friends at some point. It would be pretty hard not to enjoy such a different, funny, sweet little show.
I might ship Yuki/Haru a little bit. >___>
Also, Tsuritama made me want to go to Enoshima, haha. I'll always be able to recognize the Enoshima dance, that's for sure!
The theme song and ending theme both made me super happy, too. I'm just generally happy that I watched this series because I think it cheered me up out of my slump somewhat.
Silliest "criticism": Tapioca didn't sound, move, or act like a real duck at all. XD I have twelve ducks, I of all people would know! I don't think realism was the intent, though, somehow. XD (Clearly, this series is all about realism, right?)
--
Ano Hana was...hmmm. I have mixed feelings about Ano Hana. On one hand, I felt like it captured some of the complex emotion surrounding the loss of a loved one. Personally, I was moved by it and able to relate to it. That said, the writing could have been much better. There are quite a few criticisms I could make about the characterization, pacing, script, and so on. I found much of it disconcerting because of the schism between me as an extremely empathetic person who gets really into whatever I'm watching, and the critical part of me that was going, "Something about this series isn't quite right."
That said, I cried hard at the last few scenes. Even while feeling critical about it somewhat. I think I needed a good cry, and I could feel for the characters even while not being 100% convinced by them. I understood the feelings behind the characters, the complexity of their grief, and having to say goodbye again. The finality of it struck home for me, and the outpouring of emotion from all of them. I don't cry in many anime series, and I intentionally seek out tear-jerkers (shh, I like them), so I'm a bit surprised that this series got me, but at the same time, I think there was something genuine and relatable to it despite the so-so writing.
I think the OP and ED make me more emotional than the majority of the series itself, though. I had a hard time seeing the characters as fully real. Menma herself was a flat character to me. I found her hard to love somehow, there was just not much to her. She and Jin-tan had no chemistry. Most of the characters were the sort that could be summed up more-or-less in one sentence, without much complexity to them. They felt like tools to drive the story and ratchet up the emotions, rather than organic people themselves.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the series, though. It had its moments, and I feel like what it was trying to capture is so difficult that the things it did capture well made it a good series despite everything. Not a fantastic series, but a good one. I found it cathartic in a way--probably because I'm lonely, and miss my friends from childhood and high school, and look fondly back on being surrounded by groups of friends like that. I also struggle with loss a lot, although in my case it's more animal friend losses than human ones (but, well, ultimately grief is just grief regardless, right?).
I don't think everyone would love this series, but I think for some people, it will strike a chord. It's too bad that it wasn't as well-executed as I would hope, but having written stories with grief as a big motif myself, I know that it's not an easy thing to convey, especially masterfully.
Hmmm, several anime series vying to be the next thing I watch. I think I'll decide what's next tomorrow, though.
Tsuritama was definitely a fun, enjoyable series. I loved the use of color and distinct style of the backgrounds. Visually, it was such a treat. The characters were great, too! Ultimately, I liked all of them and I don't know if I can even choose a favorite. I loved the friendship formed between the four mains, and this series made me smile a lot. Tsuritama in general was just a solid, fun, enjoyable ride. I'm looking forward to hopefully watching it again with friends at some point. It would be pretty hard not to enjoy such a different, funny, sweet little show.
I might ship Yuki/Haru a little bit. >___>
Also, Tsuritama made me want to go to Enoshima, haha. I'll always be able to recognize the Enoshima dance, that's for sure!
The theme song and ending theme both made me super happy, too. I'm just generally happy that I watched this series because I think it cheered me up out of my slump somewhat.
Silliest "criticism": Tapioca didn't sound, move, or act like a real duck at all. XD I have twelve ducks, I of all people would know! I don't think realism was the intent, though, somehow. XD (Clearly, this series is all about realism, right?)
--
Ano Hana was...hmmm. I have mixed feelings about Ano Hana. On one hand, I felt like it captured some of the complex emotion surrounding the loss of a loved one. Personally, I was moved by it and able to relate to it. That said, the writing could have been much better. There are quite a few criticisms I could make about the characterization, pacing, script, and so on. I found much of it disconcerting because of the schism between me as an extremely empathetic person who gets really into whatever I'm watching, and the critical part of me that was going, "Something about this series isn't quite right."
That said, I cried hard at the last few scenes. Even while feeling critical about it somewhat. I think I needed a good cry, and I could feel for the characters even while not being 100% convinced by them. I understood the feelings behind the characters, the complexity of their grief, and having to say goodbye again. The finality of it struck home for me, and the outpouring of emotion from all of them. I don't cry in many anime series, and I intentionally seek out tear-jerkers (shh, I like them), so I'm a bit surprised that this series got me, but at the same time, I think there was something genuine and relatable to it despite the so-so writing.
I think the OP and ED make me more emotional than the majority of the series itself, though. I had a hard time seeing the characters as fully real. Menma herself was a flat character to me. I found her hard to love somehow, there was just not much to her. She and Jin-tan had no chemistry. Most of the characters were the sort that could be summed up more-or-less in one sentence, without much complexity to them. They felt like tools to drive the story and ratchet up the emotions, rather than organic people themselves.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the series, though. It had its moments, and I feel like what it was trying to capture is so difficult that the things it did capture well made it a good series despite everything. Not a fantastic series, but a good one. I found it cathartic in a way--probably because I'm lonely, and miss my friends from childhood and high school, and look fondly back on being surrounded by groups of friends like that. I also struggle with loss a lot, although in my case it's more animal friend losses than human ones (but, well, ultimately grief is just grief regardless, right?).
I don't think everyone would love this series, but I think for some people, it will strike a chord. It's too bad that it wasn't as well-executed as I would hope, but having written stories with grief as a big motif myself, I know that it's not an easy thing to convey, especially masterfully.
Hmmm, several anime series vying to be the next thing I watch. I think I'll decide what's next tomorrow, though.
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no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 07:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 09:20 am (UTC)http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v389/pacificpikachu/Dex%20Scans/?action=view¤t=MewMedium.jpg
I'll try to get you more Mew scans from my books! I have too many projects going on as it is and not enough energy, but I am gradually scanning things anyway so I'll look through what I've already scanned for Mews if you'd like.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 10:30 am (UTC)I enjoyed Ano Hana too (enough to buy it, well partially because it was released by NISA) but I felt the conclusion was way too over the top with its emotions. I prefer something more subtle.
I know you are already thinking of several things to watch but I highly recommend Chihayafuru.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 03:47 pm (UTC)Yeah, AnoHana suffered from a lack of subtlety and there were some things I wish it had addressed, but...well, I still enjoyed it. I may buy it too for the right price, because it had some lovely aspects of it and brought out some good emotions in me.
I have Chihayafuru, actually, it's one of the series I was considering! I think I'll watch it next, then. :D
Oh look, an excuse to use this icon.
Date: 2012-08-26 09:26 pm (UTC)I agree that Menma was really hard to like. I didn't hate her, but I didn't really like her either. It felt like she was too "perfect"... but in a way, I guess that makes sense. I mean, Jintan is doing the narration, and people have a tendency to look back on lost love ones or friends with rose-tinted glasses. As for her and Jintan, I don't really mind that there was no chemistry between them. It was a childhood crush. I still look back fondly on my childhood crushes even though I know they wouldn't go anywhere if I met those boys today.
PS - Yes, the opening and ending were fantastic! I couldn't resist buying both of those CDs.
Re: Oh look, an excuse to use this icon.
Date: 2012-08-27 01:27 am (UTC)Sorry to butt in but not only is it licensed it is already released on DVD/BR here
http://nisamerica.com/index.php?nav=ap&aid=anohana
Re: Oh look, an excuse to use this icon.
Date: 2012-08-27 07:56 am (UTC)Thanks for the info! Although... wow, $60? Why so expensive? I think I'll wait and see if they release a cheaper version without the art book.
Re: Oh look, an excuse to use this icon.
Date: 2012-08-27 10:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-27 10:57 pm (UTC)I started the show and kept up weekly but then I missed a few episodes. I seriously want to go to Enoshima to and have an Enoshima Bowl. xD
Tsuritama was so cheerful and it made fishing seem glamorous somehow, which is just beyond me.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-27 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-01 07:50 am (UTC)Re: Oh look, an excuse to use this icon.
Date: 2012-09-01 07:57 am (UTC)Ah, well, it's easy to pick apart the flaws of something when it's not something you made yourself, right? I can be critical about it, but I did enjoy the series.
Yeah, that's how I felt about Menma, too. It's not like I hated her, I was just indifferent about her. And I'm someone who normally loves main characters, even ones people consider "boring," so it's kind of unusual for me. I think she just had a little bit of a cardboard character because of that sense of flawlessness, I guess. It felt like, yeah, she was clumsy and sort of not down to earth, but that wasn't enough for me to be convinced of her human-ness.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-01 07:59 am (UTC)I love the cheerful atmosphere and bright colors! It's hard not to think of Tsuritama without a smile. I'm definitely not a fan of fishing, but it works within the confines of a silly anime series. I've watched series about all kinds of things that I wouldn't normally be interested in, and ended up feeling more interested, haha. Though fishing I have moral problems with, so it's more complex in this case.