STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!

Anime titles within this category used a nausea-inducing blurry animation techniques that pisses me off. It look like motion interpolation algorithm going SERIOUSLY BAD.

Review: Arakawa Under The Bridge (荒川アンダー ザ ブリッジ)

Posted by ranpha on 18th July 2010
Posted in: anime review, STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment


The main male protagonist and the best character in this anime.

The audition to select the first holder of the ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title begins with my review of the first season of Arakawa Under The Bridge. This review will also allows me to take the beta version of the Windows Live Writer Wave 4 beta for a spin. A second season of this anime has already been announced, therefore below you will know if I think this anime deserved one or not.


The main male protagonist's new neighbors…

Story:-
A heir to the most powerful corporation in the world found himself pant-less on a bridge after a prank went too far. Trying to retrieve his pants from high atop a steel beam, his bad luck strikes again and he fell into the river. As he fought a losing battle for his life, he was saved by a girl who happened to live nearby, under the said bridge. Therefore, to conform to his family’s motto of not ever be indebted to anyone, he agreed to her request for him to become her lover and they started to live together in sin, forever and ever, under the bridge.

I only watched this anime for 10 minutes but I can’t help but think that this anime is very similar to the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series. The story maybe vastly different, ditto for cast of characters and settings etc. but these two has this eerie feeling of similarity. The story in this anime itself revolves around the main protagonist and his interactions with his new ‘diverse’ neighbors. Instead of a harem filled with willing high-school girls who will do anything for the main protagonist, he has to deal with some crazed people that made one hell of a habitat under the bridge.


…and this is his apt description of them.

This anime has nearly none of the parodies that is one of the hallmarks of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but there are humor aplenty throughout this anime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the high-potential romance element that could have made the story even better isn’t really pronounced or explored, therefore no slapping the romance genre handicap tag upon this anime. But just kinda like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, the pacing of this anime is quite fast too; about just a little bit slower than the slowest Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei installment – the third season. Despite the fast pacing, this doesn’t affect the development of the story one bit as it evolves and flows around the vibrant community under the bridge.

Unfortunately, this anime also inherits one aspect that Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is bad at, and that would be character developments. To be honest, the character development in this anime is not as glacial as they are in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s 2nd and 3rd season, but they are very minimal. Only the main protagonist has the biggest slice of the character developments (making him the best character in this series), and even that it doesn’t compare to what the suicidal teacher in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei has in its first season. About two-thirds of the regular characters (example: the two kids with lead masks, the kappa guy and the main female protagonist) doesn’t have any character development at all. You won’t have any idea who they are at all and why on earth they lived under the bridge.

The ending is where you can actually see some plots in this anime and frankly speaking, it is just ordinary. It served up it purpose of setting up the second season well though. I will definitely watch the second season because there should be more hidden gems still left within the storyline and the characters to be exploited and mined. Surely the director will do that in the next season right? Or is he/she is just as crazy as those queers that lives under the bridge?


This green (and not eco-friendly) character is just one of the queers that lives under the bridge.

Character Design:-
Character designs in this anime is good and a positive point for this anime, but IMO not as good as the one in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series. Lack of black hairs in this anime is forgiven; after all, except for the black-haired main protagonist, there are some strange people living under the bridge…

Ok I should stop ending my paragraphs that way.


The subtitle aptly describe the said queer perfectly.

Voice Acting:-
Another hallmark of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but this anime easily matched it in this department. 3 characters come to mind; Stella (who shared the same voice actress with the best character in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei), the main male protagonist (the main protagonists of this anime and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei shared the same voice actor) and Piko. The latter is unique and the former is simply awesome. A positive point for this anime.

Music:-
The OST is quite decent but none of the OP/ED theme is any good.


And here our green but not eco-friendly hero is fooling around with two of his equally bat-shit crazy buddies.

Animation/Direction:-
Make this anime the fourth title that uses the blurry animation techniques I have mentioned in Monochrome Factor, Nabari no Ou and in last review of this blog, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Finally, Japan has figured out the way to use that technique outside battle scenes (THIS ANIME DOESN’T HAVE ANY – THIS IS NOT A SHOUNEN TITLE – NO WORLD IS GOING TO BE SAVED), and here I initially thought that Fullmetal Alchemist’s usage of that technique outside battles is an aberration. I fear for the future where this technique will finally be deployed in normal scenes. A point docked off the final evaluation because of this.

If the said technique is ignored, this anime actually has decent animation quality even in fast-paced scenes. Choreography in this slice-of-life with plenty of humor and creep is basically non-existent. The director, which is also the same one who directs all three seasons of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei titles (hmmm… I wonder what else is the same between these two series) also has done a good job in this anime, although of course I do think his works in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei are better.


The closest thing this anime has as a parody.

Conclusion:-
At 7 out of 10, I don’t really see this anime become the first ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title holder, unlike the third season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei that has become a surprise package last year. If somehow this anime can hold on and win the title, I will do really fear for the future of Japanese animation industry.


A hilarious yet very creepy gay moments in this anime.

Shortlink: http://wp.me/prgSo-ec

Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (鋼の錬金術師)

Posted by ranpha on 14th July 2010
Posted in: anime review, STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!. Tagged: . 3 comments


The main title protagonist.

As mentioned in the last post, my review today is for the recently concluded Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime (simulcast in Animax Asia just like Tears to Tiara – actually quite a lot of recent anime titles does nowadays). Also in the same post, I mentioned that this anime, and Winter Sonata, are the candidates that may be able to dethrone the current ‘Anime of the Year 2009’ holder Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Unfortunately, this anime failed to do it. Therefore, Winter Sonata is the only 2009 anime I have left in my queue that has the likeliest possibility and bestest potential to become the newest ‘Anime of the Year 2009’ in the future.

I do have more 2009 anime titles in my queue such as Bakemonogatari, the second season of Haruhi Suzumiya, Aoi Bungaku, Seitokai no Ichizon etc., but unless they spring a nice surprise to me the way Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei did back then, their chances is basically nil. Coming back to this review, while this anime failed to get the ‘Anime of the Year 2009’ award, it doesn’t mean I have stumbled upon a new Macross 7. This is still a very good anime; read on to see what I think of it.


And this is the main protagonist sidekick a.k.a. little brother.

Story:-
In a fictional world where alchemy actually works, two siblings tried to misuse the said alchemy to try and revive their dead mother. Predictably, they failed but they get away with it lightly (only losing a couple of limbs and a full body, while in our world they would have been burned alive on the stake). To atone for their sins, they set on a journey to find the way of restoring their body parts to original again, while saving the world in the process.

A disclaimer: I have watched the first iteration of this series a few years ago before this blog was created, and I also have read the manga too. Unlike the first series, this new reboot stay more faithfully towards the manga version. Some early parts of the manga that was also reproduced in this first version of this anime (only the first half of that anime is canon) has been abridged or omitted altogether, but when the part of the manga that wasn’t animated in the first series comes in episode 16 or 17, deviations become far rarer.

OK, unlike many of the votes casted in the ANN page of this anime, personally I think the original storyline seen in this anime is only at the same level as the one you can see in Märchen Awakens Romance, and not more. This may be heresy, but I think the original anime, as a whole, also has better storyline than this original reproduction of the manga. This anime is purely an unadulterated conservative shounen title all the way to the ending just like Märchen Awakens Romance and unlike the edgier first Fullmetal Alchemist anime. But the fact that this anime rarely deviates from the manga saves this anime from the abyss of ordinariness.

With rare deviations from the manga (and basically none from episode 16 onwards), the pacing of this anime is picture-perfect. With rare deviations from the manga (and basically none from episode 16 onwards), the story development and the flow of the plot is simply flawless. In other word, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has the best ever presentation for an anime based from a manga. Apart from a recap episode, this anime doesn’t have fillers or useless episodes. Each episode will advance the story, and each episode with see character developments. This anime is on par with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is this aspect, and where this anime really shine.

With rare deviations from the manga (and basically none from episode 16 onwards), character developments in this anime is very good all around even with a huge roster cast. The big episode count really help too. The best character I liked the most is the homunculus Envy; the homunculus group is really the biggest beneficiary of having the anime sticking up with the manga while the two main protagonists benefits the least.

I wonder if Japan will do more reboots of past series that was already aired. Some titles like Hellsing and Claymore could do with a treatment like what this series has.


This is the main protagonist's woman.

Character Design:-
This anime has good character designs overall. Lack of black hairs (and gazillions of blondes) are overlooked due to the setting of this anime. A positive point for this anime.


And this is the main protagonist's pet puppy. And they are very similar indeed.

Voice Acting:-
Many of the voice actors/actresses that features in the first series doesn’t return in the reboot. Some characters are affected negatively because of it, such as Envy, but those cases are exceptions in otherwise solid voice acting gigs in this anime overall. I only singled out Envy because in his case, the voice acting regressed significantly. His voice actress in the first series is so much better than the one in this anime. A positive point for this anime.


This is the best character in the series, facepalming himself because his voice actress in the reboot series is vastly inferior compared to the one in the first series.

Music:-
The OST in this anime is just as good as the one in the first series, but you cannot say the same thing about the OP/ED themes. The first series has at least 4 good OP/ED themes but this anime only has the 2nd ED theme to show for it. 1 out of 10 themes, that’s a huge fail rate there.

Animation/Direction:-
This anime is another title that used the abhorrent blurry animation technique I have mentioned in Monochrome Factor and Nabari no Ou, And this anime seems to use it outside battle scenes too, especially in the latter part of this anime. Even Monochrome Factor and Nabari no Ou doesn’t do that. One point is docked off the final rating of this anime because of this. This is a pity because otherwise, the animation in this anime is very good overall, even in fast-paced scenes.

Choreography in battle scenes are mixed bag; the ones that doesn’t involve alchemy (read: all of the Fuhrer President King Bradley battles) are great while the vast majority of battles that involves alchemy (read: battles that includes the two main protagonists) are almost below average. In fact, the highlights of the ending arc are the two duels that King Bradley is involved in. Those fights are worth the price of admission alone.

The directing is flawless, but if following the manga storyline is the paramount goal of this anime, then you really have to try to screw-up the directing of this anime. This anime is a rare example of where the manga writer is actually the de-facto director of this anime.


And I don’t even mention the ridiculously fake-looking rain effects in this anime. Someone in Japan has to learn from Mister Makoto Shinkai before being allowed to animate again.

Conclusion:-
8 out of 10. The journey ends here, hahahaha! Therefore Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei will still retain the ‘Anime of the Year 2009’ title for the time being. Meanwhile, the selection for the first ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title holder will commence right after this. From the shortlist of eight 2010 titles, one will be chosen to be listed at the right sidebar of this blog. The 2010 titles are, in no particular reviewing order, Nodame Cantabile Finale (S3), Ookiku Furikabutte S2, Mayoi Neko Overrun, Hakuouki, Angel Beats, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, B gata H kei and Working. Which anime will come first, the answer will only be known in the next post.


And this is the main protagonist, in a pinch and is about to be beaten to a pulp.

Shortlink: http://wp.me/prgSo-e1

Review: Monochrome Factor (モノクローム・ファクター)

Posted by ranpha on 14th October 2009
Posted in: anime review, STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!. Tagged: . Leave a Comment


The main male protagonist frolicking with his willing and submissive boyfriend as the foreplay for…

The next random anime I picked from my backlog is Monochrome Factor. This is a 2008 anime, so I suppose that it will compete with Wolf and Spice for the ‘Anime of the Year 2008’ title. Whether this anime really have the credentials to do so is high questionable though, so to find out if this anime can do it, please read this blog’s entry all the way to the end.


…the hot stimulating yaoi scenes that comes afterwards. This is the most SFW screenshot of that particular scene as the main protagonist started to have his way with him.

Story:-
The world is under siege from fiendish being from the Shadow World, thus our main male protagonist was recruited by a fishy white-haired bishounen character to stop them on their tracks. Together, alongside with some other unimportant characters, they went ahead and try to save the world from devastation.

This 24-episode anime is your typical shounen anime where the hero has to defend the world from being conquered by some evil forces etc. In other words, originality is not a strong point of this anime, and the unoriginal storyline here is not exactly a great one either. A weakness that this anime has that I want to highlight in this review is that there are too many ‘monster of the week’ episodes, which does have multiple consequences upon the rating of this anime.

Those ‘monster of the week’ episodes rarely helps at advancing the storyline, and just like what the white-haired bishounen character says in one of those episodes, it doesn’t help advancing character developments either. And with the fact that these useless filler episodes are usually bunched together consecutively, they become a big hindrance for the pacing of this anime’s main storyline. There are 24 episodes in this anime, and I estimate that at least 10 episodes can be eliminated just like that, maybe even half of the series if the director can manage the story’s flow and pacing efficiently. Character developments was also slowed down by the filler episodes, although I suspect that this anime is unique with the fact that the throttling of character developments are intentionally done as required by the needs of the storyline. The best character here is probably the main protagonist himself, although he is the one affected most by the throttling phenomenon.

The presentation of the ending (the last three episodes) was also affected negatively by the abundance of filler episodes here, because those fillers caused a semblance of discontinuation between the penultimate developments of the main storyline (happened maybe about 5 or 6 episodes before) and the ending itself. Having those episodes before the ending really screw up the flow of the storyline, after all, when the anime reaches its (crappy) climax, you have to see more fillers before you see the conclusion. This event is common in One Piece anime, where fillers are arbitrarily inserted in the middle of a canon arc in effort not to let the anime catch up to the manga too fast. The ending incidentally prepares the anime for a second season, but I think if the director cuts out all the ‘monster of the week’ episodes, then let the current ending happened in the middle of the series and fill the second half of the series with materials for second season, this anime would have scored higher in this review.


He is another object of the main male protagonist's sexual desires. He resented that incident so much, he is involved in that lame 'plot twist' at the end of the series.

Character Design:-
Just like Tytania and Nabari no Ou amongst others, this anime has plenty of pretty male characters (and has the minimum amount of female characters it can get away with). There are not many black-haired Japanese in here, although to be fair there are hints that there are extensive hair dyes usage in this anime. Definitely a positive point for this anime.


The fact that his servants are also sex-starved maniacs who will fulfill their desires with him doesn't help either.

Voice Acting:-
Voice acting in this anime is decent overall, with the white-haired creepy bishounen’s voice actor having the best gigs behind that microphone.

Music:-
Here is where this anime falls flat on its face, neither the OST or any of the OP/ED themes are any good.


These people are some examples of the monsters in the filler episodes.

Animation/Direction:-
The blurry animation techniques in action scenes I have mentioned in the same section in my Nabari no Ou review is also present here. Now I know that this annoying technique is not an aberration; this may herald a new age of headache-inducing action scenes in Japan’s shounen anime titles in the future. One point deducted from this anime’s evaluation just because of this. Animation quality in normal scenes, even fast-paced ones, are good though. Choreography in this anime is average, leading to many uninspiring battles. The directing is average, but for all the faults mentioned in the story section above, he/she has done well in camera works etc.


This is the annoying blurry animation techniques that caused this anime to lose a point off the final evaluation.

Conclusion:-
6 out of 10. Wolf and Spice will retain the ‘Anime of the Year 2008’ title. If there is a new season of this anime planned, I may watch it too.


Every shounen anime always have their own share of idiots in it, like the sibling characters above.

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