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Thot
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« on: January 07, 2010, 08:11:32 AM » |
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I heard a bit about the first ep being SHAFT trolling. Saw a few screenshots.
But I certainly didn't expect that.
Since it's now down to eleven episodes remaining to cover 7 volumes I hope they're planning to add a second season or something.
Anyway, looks good so far, apart from... well, the so-far nonexisting plot.
Don't recognize the VA for Mina, but it's quite refreshing to hear a little girl voiced in a way that sounds young, at times sweet, but not distinctly moe-style (i.e. Rie Kugimiya).
Now if they either stick to the Manga or turn up the Nekomimi Mode for the rest of the series, I'm looking forward to it.
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TypicalIdiotFan
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« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2010, 03:34:25 PM » |
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1:
Creative way of doing a first episode, really. Gives the director a chance to do something different while at the same time parodying Japanese TV shows (and personalities). It also creates an air of "reality" within "fantasy" that sometimes is missing from shows like this. I'm pretty sure the rest of DitVB is going to be your typical fantasy vampire in anime fare, which means stuff is going to get wonky. Having that first episode grounding us in reality will juxtaposition things nicely. Or maybe not.
And, no, nothing about this screams win to me. Vampires are not my bag to begin with, so vampires hunting "lowly" vampires (who apparently transform into large iguanas) doesn't exactly scream "WIN" to me. Vampires "coming out of the shadows" to form a "vampire nation" is interesting, if done right. The characters are already a mixed bag of boring.
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Thot
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« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2010, 07:25:43 AM » |
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Definitely not what I expected. Neither sticking to the manga nor nekomimi mode happened, instead we got amnesia and giant spiders and more wasted time.
So far, the only really good part about it was the loli fanservice. Which is nice and all, but what a waste.
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« Last Edit: January 14, 2010, 07:32:06 AM by Thot »
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Sorrow-kun
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« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2010, 05:41:56 AM » |
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Ep 1
Oh Shinbo.
As TIF says, the first ep set up is really creative and unique. The irony of the situation is that the show acted as if it could prove the existence of vampires one way or the other despite having no one of credibility on their panel... and then they did. As for the characters, it's way too early to call. We know nothing about them. Could be interesting, and with Shinbo holding the reins, who knows what will happen?
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Sorrow-kun
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« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2010, 07:41:50 PM » |
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Ep 2
I'm surprised they showed that much. Not my poison, but I'll give them points for being bold.
As for the story itself, yeah, fairly by-the-numbers. I guess what separates this from other series is that Mina has no interest in keeping any of the vampire shenanigans a secret. I mean, there's obviously an elaborate mystery behind all of this. But they need to give us more reasons to care.
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Shadowmage
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« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2010, 08:59:10 PM » |
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Episode 1-2
I feel that for a Shinbo anime, the visuals were very straight-forward and tame. I had to double check the staff list to make sure he was indeed the director. Perhaps actually having a budget has allowed him to stop thinking of crazy ways to position each scene or he simply did not have the same kind of inspiration he had in Bakemongatari.
@Thot
I actually don't recall Shinbo ever being reverent to a source material. He usually takes the initial premise and quirks of someone else's work and creates his own thing. Don't keep your fingers crossed for a direct adaptation of the manga.
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Sorrow-kun
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« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2010, 06:52:17 AM » |
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TypicalIdiotFan
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« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2010, 02:12:51 PM » |
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SK,
I'm not sure I agree with his conclusions. First of all, they're extremely premature. As romantic feelings develop, we'll see if our vampire queen is still as outgoing with her sexuality. I also agree with one of the replies down below that the idea that Mina wants to be carried off is contradictory to her modern feminist exterior. It seems more like she's deliberately trying to get him to do what she wants. I don't think it has anything to do with wanting to be protected. That's looking way too deep into the situation. What she's happy about is HE is doing this. Just any animalistic man wouldn't do. Did E-Minor just casually forget the whole contrived "promise" bullshit?
The idea of "traditional" women in Japan being represented in Yuki is weird. While she does try to protect her chasteness with covering her panties, she's also quite disappointed later that she can't lure Akira in with her methods. Akira is then even asked by his classmate why he didn't just go for it. Akira is fully aware of the situation and has made a deliberate choice not to pursue it. The reason is currently unknown.
In a nutshell, what I'm really concerned about with his concepts is the idea of a Japanese ego-centrism. We see it a lot with foreigners in anime who, once exposed to Japanese culture, start taking on Japanese traits, beliefs, customs, and habits. If Mina can kick this trend, THEN we can talk about her symbolism as it pertains to the "kogal" movement.
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TypicalIdiotFan
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« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2010, 02:18:49 PM » |
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2:
Oh, and as for my thoughts on episode two: sucked. Rather, I don't like where this is going. Monster of the week, rehashed concepts from Tsukuyomi - Moon Phase, pinky promises are always important no matter how stupid they are, and the established male fighting character who simply cannot be beaten.
Once again, aside from the "Vampire Nation" thing, I'm not seeing anything that sets this apart from a dozen other anime just like it. And, despite E-Minor's theory, it's not as if the lolicon pandering is going to help.
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C0MPL3X
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« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2010, 08:23:06 AM » |
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Not sure if I agree with that article, i certainly didn't see a modern man needing to become animalistic to subdue a modern woman in that anime. All I saw were loli vampire, boring female narrator, poorly designed monsters and bad shounen fighting, omgnotanotherpromiseofineedtoprotecther.
What I liked the most from epi 1~2 were three things. First is the interesting way of opening its episode (although GITS: SAC and Ergo Proxy executed the game show style episode much better). Second is for that 'gel' scene, which was incredibly sensual and as SK puts it, bold. Not entirely sure how I feel about treating a little girl's body as being so erotic, but it got the results. Third was that boring girl's closing narration, which makes me feel that there is something more valuable and poignant behind this crappy episode, and this show might be worth sticking through. I'll wait and see if the show gets better before committing myself to it.
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TypicalIdiotFan
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« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2010, 11:41:15 PM » |
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3:
I wonder what E-minor will have to say about the strong feminine character corrupting society...
This episode was really clumsy. I know Shinbo has his quirks and uses them at his leisure, but watching this episode almost made me throw up. He's juxtapositioning smooth panning shots with cheap stills. I know it's part of his budget saving ways, but right now it just clashes.
The only scene I liked was at the very end. That's how a vampire story is supposed to go...
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Sorrow-kun
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« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2010, 06:55:34 PM » |
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Ep 5
You pretty much have to accept that Shinbo's style is gonna be pretty over the top. The slow-mo action sequence, those sensual moments. I wouldn't exactly say they're executed all too well, since they're kinda hammy. Who even knows why Mina is in school. It's like one of those typical anime-isms... have a show deal with political upheaval and civil (in this case, vampire) wars, and the characters have just to attend school. Well, if it's good enough for Code Geass...
I have to admit, I'm enjoying this show now. The plot's started to pick up and get some momentum, there's a good amount of mystery and intrigue and I'm very interested in seeing where this is all going. The biggest lingering problem, though, is the characters. There's just not much in the way of "personality" here. Everyone's kinda robotic except in those moments where emotions drive the plot. Even Mina's confidence, political nous and teasing sexuality are kinda ho-hum compared with other similar characters (Yakushiji Ryoko immediately comes to mind).
This show has it's flaws, but I'm enjoying it way more than I am Baka Test, for example.
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Shadowmage
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« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2010, 12:55:22 AM » |
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Episode 7
Wait, what?
Does this have any story left?
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TypicalIdiotFan
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« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2010, 01:40:06 PM » |
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7:
Yeah... are we done here? Sure feels like we're done here.
Oh and LOL Vampire Vaccine! Wow... after those (awesome) horrific scenes of carnal feeding by the vampires on the students and the absolutely terrified and distraught nun, we get a ****ing reset button. If the Marquis' son is right, then the vaccine might prevent them from becoming vampires, but it sure doesn't do a damn thing to their psyche. I'd love to sit in on that therapy session. "I... I was treated like a piece of meat... like a steak... or a leg of lamb... they tore into my flesh and there was nothing I could do to stop them... and the worst part is... I enjoyed it! It was better than the best sex I ever had! I enjoyed someone eating me!"
Oh mama. An entirely new field of psychological trauma awaits.
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Sorrow-kun
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« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2010, 03:14:14 AM » |
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I loved all the blasphemy in this episode too. Burning Bibles, semi-naked bodies strewn across pews, people being impaled by giant crosses. So much of this episode was over-the-top, but the whole show's been like that. You kinda just have to roll with it.
As for the episode, well, this is a plot-quake if I've ever seen one. Still, my biggest problem remains these bland characters. It's hard to really engage with the over-the-top plot twists and melodrama and drawn out suspense (the action sequences in this ep just screamed "Shaft") when the characters are so dull.
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