Oreimo 12 and Wrap-up (Until the Blu-ray)

Kirino seems to have made great strides in respecting her brother and what he’s done for her and on her behalf. She’s most pleasant and cordial to him as she announces their ‘final’ life-counseling session, involving him picking up a new eroge for her at a midnight release in Akiba. Everything goes smoothly until he discovers plane tickets – Kirino is headed to America – tomorrow.

First of all, I’m a little surprised that he had absolutely no knowledge of her travel plans, but that said, it wasn’t very nice of her to keep them from him. This would seem to be another test for Kyousuke: she seems to want him to tell her not to go, but he gets angry and tells her to definitely go, she beats him up (one more episode, one more indignity to suffer…) She tells him he doesn’t like her, and she doesn’t like him right back – but like the lyrics to the opening song, she’s likely to mean the opposite of what she says.

Case in point: she doesn’t go to America, much to Kyousuke’s delight. She then lists off all the reasons she stayed, without mentioning him once. This girl… So life continues pretty much as it had. Only she warns: the life counseling isn’t over. This is true, in a way, because four more episodes of Oreimo will be on the Blu-ray, including an new ending. Makes sense, considering the theme of the show. Otakus be lovin’ the extras. So we shan’t say goodbye to Oreimo; merely ‘see you later’. Rating: 3.5

Series Mean Rating: 3.500 (Ranked 6th out of 15 Fall 2010 Series)

Kirino seems to have made great strides in respecting her brother and what he’s done for her and on her behalf. Their ‘final’ life-counseling session involves him picking up a new eroge for her at a midnight release in Akiba. Everything goes smoothly until he discovers plane tickets – Kirino is headed to America – tomorrow. 

First of all, I’m a little surprised that he had absolutely no knowledge of her travel plans, but that said, it wasn’t very nice of her to keep them from him. This would seem to be another test for Kyousuke: she seems to want him to tell her not to go, but he gets angry and tells her to definitely go, she beats him up (one more episode, one more indignity to suffer…) She tells him he doesn’t like her, and she doesn’t like him right back – but like the lyrics to the opening song, she’s likely to mean the opposite of what she says.

Case in point: she doesn’t go to America, much to Kyousuke’s delight. She then lists off all the reasons she stayed, without mentioning him once. This girl… So life continues pretty much as it had. Only she warns: the life counseling isn’t over. This is true, in a way, because four more episodes of Oreimo will be on the Blu-ray, including an new ending. Makes sense, considering the theme of the show. Otakus be lovin’ the extras. So we shan’t say goodbye to Oreimo; merely ‘see you later’. Rating: 3.5

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru 11

All of the scenes this week were tied together by one constant: an oncoming freak typhoon. Thus, Hotori and Kon’s bleach plans are ruined, as is Tatsuno’s reason to ask out Sanada. Hotori also walks the semi-sentient family pet tanuki. Earlier, we’re introduced to Hotori’s dad, who simply wants a peaceful morning walk, but is constantly flummoxed by distractions and petty misfortune – like a rare out-of-order vending machine.

The episode also had mini-segments of something called “Mr. Poor-man” interspersed throughout; these didn’t really do anything for me, and had the air of filler to them. This was made up for somewhat by some nice ordinary snapshots of life for the Arashiyama family, of Mr. Moriaki trying to equate math with sleuthing, and of Hotori and Kon hanging out, or rather Kon tolerating Hotori. Kon’s intense look is out of place in a slice-of-life, but in a good way; you keep hoping she’ll whip out a katana or ninjitsu or something. Rating: 3

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya – Film Review

I’ve been a fan of Haruhi Suzumiya from the first episode of the original series back in 2006, and I haven’t stopped being one since. She’s a polarizing character some find either unbelievably charming or unbelievably annoying. The same goes with the Suzumiya franchise. Lord knows there have been dozens of anime that imitate it since it took that world by storm. I even sat through the infamous “Endless Eight” arc (call it my completionist side), in which the producers had the audacity to recreate the very same tortured feeling of repetition that Kyon felt. Call me a masochist, but I relished every excrutiating, suspense-building episode.

One of the things I love about the series was the infinite possibilities that come from Haruhi’s apparently limitless power. A visual metaphor in the original opening says it all: the camera zooms into Haruhi’s eye and the entire universe unfolds within it. That’s the potential of this series: anything can happen to Kyon, an otherwise ordinary student with no powers in an otherwise normal school in an otherwise normal city. This epic, two-and-three-quarter-hour film met that potential…and surpassed it in ways I could not have predicted.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the production values. This film was simply a masterpiece both of light and color and in breathing life into the characters and settings by employing peerless care and attention to detail. I didn’t look into the budget for this film, but it was frankly worth every penny. From the soaring orchestral arrangements of familiar musical motifs, to portrayal of such mundane actions as applying double-stick tape or walking home at night and having headlamps cast upon you, this film simply looked and sounded bad-ass. Not to step on toes, but on some levels this film even surpasses Ghibli in rendering an utterly beautiful yet believable world.

As for the story, in the best tradition of the franchise, it weaves a tangled tale of unprecedented complexity, as Kyon travels across time and space, having somehow fallen out of his own. As the title suggests, Haruhi is nowhere to be found…at first. But the twists and turns the plot takes as Kyon desperately searches for someone who understands him, and the epic quest to set things right in the world – and indeed, discover what constitutes ‘right’ for Kyon, make for a satisfyingly addictive cinematic experience.

The film essentially boiled down to a choice Kyon – not Haruhi – has to make; a choice made possible by Yuki Nagano, who after living with humans so long, has reached the point where systemic “errors” cause “anomalous behavior” Read: she’s developing emotions for her brigade-mates, slowly but surely, and decided to act upon Kyon’s outward attitude towards the world he lives in. He seems weary of all the supernatural experiences, the danger, and the hassle of dealing with Haruhi.

So Yuki remakes the world; a stable world where both she and Haruhi are powerless, and there are neither time travelers nor espers to be found. A world  Kyon seemed like he’d prefer…and a world where Yuki herself would be a normal girl with feelings for him. Naturally, upon finding himself suddenly in this world, he wigs out…at first. This is where the choice comes in: will he admit he actually likes being with Haruhi and enduring her schemes, or live a quiet, safe life devoid of anything fantastical in the world Yuki made?

At times, this seems like a choice between Haruhi and the ‘new’ Yuki. After much hand-wringing, he chooses the original world, not because it was the logical choice, but it was what he really wanted. Thus, he rejects the new, human Yuki with whom he could have had a normal romantic relationship with. Even so, his later pledge to original Yuki – that he’d fight just as fiercely to get her back if anything ever happened to her – showed that his affections aren’t limited to Haruhi, or Asahina, but to Yuki too.

Well, that’s enough rambling for now. Frankly, I’m still reeling from the experience. This is a long and engrossing film, but I almost can’t wait to see it again soon. I’ll simply close by saying this wasn’t simply an excellent Haruhi Suzumiya film; it was an excellent film, full stop; I immediately count it amongst my favorites. And if Kyoto Animation wants to make another Haruhi anime series in the near future, I certainly won’t stop them. Rating: 4

To Aru Majutsu no Index II 11

So yeah…they’re still chasing Oriana. One of the problems with this series’ first arc was that the running and chasing went on a bit too long. That seems to have been repeated here, in which most of the episode was devoted to locating and chasing Oriana, with some stuff sprinkled in the middle.

Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to see Himegami again (Btw, Mamiko Noto sounds an awful lot like Maaya Sakamoto), but unfortunately she’s little more than another red shirt caught in the wake of Touma’s misfortune – like Fukiyose two episodes ago. The annoying pink-haired mini-teacher spills a drink all over Himgami’s shirt when they bump into Oriana (who just happens to be racing by…is she going in circles?) and Oriana sees her cross and zaps her with a horrible blood curse. Also Oriana found Tsuchimikado and totally whaled on him.

So even if this is a little repetitive (right down to Touma’s dad checking out another woman again), it does establish Touma’s stakes, and the consequences of getting mixed up in all this science & magic business. If I were him, I’d have brought Mikoto and/or Shirai to support him; after all, they’re Level 5 and 4, respectively, and I don’t see how they won’t get involved eventually anyway – this is their city too. Relying solely on magic and not involving espers hasn’t worked out that well; I’d say it’s time for something different. Rating: 3