Animania

Another anime series I recently tried via CrunchyRoll is Skip Beat!. Based on the on-going manga series by Yoshiki Nakamura (currently being released by Viz Media), the 25 episode anime series ran in Japan from October 2008 through March 2009 and appears to cover only the first twelve volumes of the manga (which is currently up to 23). Like the manga, it focuses on teenager Kyoko Mogami, who forgoes high school to move to Tokyo with her childhood friend Shotaro after he asks her to support him in becoming a star. She lives frugally and works to maintain an expensive apartment, while he works to become a big star. However, when she learns that he only asked her to have her continue acting as his maid and that he doesn't care anything about her, Kyoko undergoes a transformation from a mousy pseudo-housewife to a woman-scorned hell-bent on revenge. She joins the agency of his top rival determined to become an actress and a bigger star than him, but his betrayal left her unable to love anybody, a major problem for any actress who must be able to love her fans.

On the whole, I liked the premise of the series as it seemed pretty promising. I'd been curious about the manga and seeing the anime was available on the Crunchyroll, I decided to give it a whirl. Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. The animation is top notch at times and the English subtitles had no glaringly obvious issues that I noticed. Kyoko is a great character. I particularly like that she doesn't do the stereotypical crying of rivers over Sho's betrayal and instead goes a little nuts. Her losing her ability to love was a great twist, and well played as she is otherwise an okay girl with a few twisted quirks. However, the series as a whole is fairly predictable and it emphasizes the comedy too much for my taste, to the detriment of the story. A lot of otherwise great scenes are ruined by chibi animation, exaggerated physical gags and facial expressions, screaming, and just plain silliness. This just does not suit me at all, and I found it quickly turned me off to the series.

I also found the series quite predictable, to the point I only watched the first 4 episodes, scanned two middling episodes, then skipped to episode 25, and wasn't lost at all. It because pretty easy to guess how Kyoko would react to situations quickly, such as her stalking of the agency representative, and his coming to grudgingly admiring her (while fearing her) enough to support her efforts. Ren Tsuruga, Sho's rival whom Kyoko is seen cursing early in the series, was the obvious one to become her real love interest (and presumably true love by the series end). Though really, his attraction is hard to understand since he seems to have as much personality as a blade of grass. The childhood connection that is eventually revealed between them was an interesting twice I didn't expect, but left unexplored by the end of the series and largely unknown to them. The anime itself also doesn't really end at all. It stops right in the middle of an actual bit of trouble then just leaves it there without resolution. It also leaves Kyoko and Ren's romance largely up in the air, which is a secondary annoyance.

All in all, if you like over the top romantic comedy with a lot of gags and exaggerations, you'll probably like this series. If you actually want a romance with a little comedy that has the right amount of drama and good story that would go with the stated premise, look elsewhere. From reading reviews of the manga, it seems the same problem exists there regarding the comedic element, so while it appears to have a more fleshed out story-line (and Sho actually remains a rival for Kyoko's affections), I think I'll be skipping it as well.

Rating: C-

La Corda d'Oro ~primo passo~ is one of several anime series I've watched recently via CrunchyRoll.com, who licensed Aniplex's English subtitled version. This twenty-six episode anime series is based on a romance simulation game for women, so as you might expect, it has a central female character surrounded by a plethora of gorgeous males. Fortunately, its way more than just the typical reverse harem situation. The main character, Kahoko Hino, goes to Seisou Academy, a school divided into a General Education segment, which Kahoko attends, and an elite music department that houses some of the creme de la creme of up coming musical talent. The school was founded hundreds of years ago by a music lover. This main once saved the life of a music fairy named Lili, who in turned blessed the school for music and has lived there ever since. For a long time, though, no one has had the ability to see him until Kahoko, a girl who has never played a musical instrument in her life. Thrilled to be seen again, Lili rings a set of magical bells that signal the start of a musical competition in the school and gives Kahoko a magical violin that can be played competently by anyone. Now stuck in the contest, Kahoko does her best to perform to the high standards set by the various gorgeous men around her, while struggling with her own conscience and to hold her own in the competition.

This series features absolutely gorgeous music and animation, making it well worth the watch to me. It also has some interesting story elements that work well. Usually in this kind of story, where some girl is given a magical ability, she's just happy to have it and uses it to the best her ability. However, Kahoko struggles with feelings of guilt that she is able to play beautifully with no real work or talent, and in doing so is besting those who have true talent and have played since childhood. As she grows to know her competitors, her feelings of guilt increase, yet she also cannot just walk away, give up her new found passion, nor let Lili down by dropping out of the contest. And though the violin will allow her to play, that doesn't mean Kahoko is instantly a perfect violinist. She has to struggle to learn to read music, lear more about musical styles and composers, and practices her violin for hours on in. I really like this element of the series, and the final results.

Against this backdrop, we learn more about the pasts of the various male competitors of the contest, each with their own hardships and pains from their love of their instruments. Of course, being a harem style series, some of them do fall in love with Kahoko, though not always in the ways one might expect. I do wish they had also covered Fuyuumi's past a bit, but for the genre its not surprising that the other female characters as basically background noise. The main characters however are generally well done and well-rounded. I love Kahoko's personality. Even at her low points, she is generous natured and an all around good person, despite her rather lack of ability to notice the obvious affection swirling around her.. Hihara's effusive personality is fun, especially as he grows fonder of Kahoko. Tsuchiura and Tsukimori's clashes were well-played, with just the right amount of balance between personal dislike and respect for each other's talents. Azuma is a downright hoot with his double-sided nature! Also interesting to me is that with the introduction of Lili in the first episode, I expected him to be the annoying "mascot" character, but he isn't. He usually appears most episodes, but only briefly and never in a really annoying fashion, which again is a nice touch.

The ending of this series managed to surprise me in multiple ways, some good, some okay. Generally in these series the girl ends up having to make a choice of who she loves the most, and Kahoko's choice was both unexpected and yet not a total surprise when one really rethinks the series as a whole. The events around the final leg of the contest are also different from what one might expect in this type of series, but also fit well with the story as a whole and actually made for more pleasant viewing. The story does have a two-part special, La Corda D'Oro ~secondo passo~, which quickly introduces a new musician who is hiding his abilities after suffering a set back and to fall in love with Kahoko. It isn't a bad add on, but it doesn't really add much to the series either except to repeat how the others felt about Kahoko's music and to show where she is with her "love". There is also a ten volume manga adaptation which has been published by Viz Media. I haven't had a chance to read it yet beyond a one chapter preview, but I plan to see if I can find it in stores locally to check it out.

As a whole, I do recommend the anime. Despite a few flaws, it held my attention enough that I stayed up till 4 in the morning watching most of the series straight through, and as soon as I woke up I watched the rest. I will caution that Aniplex's subtitles are not super top notch and almost every episode has one or two grammar issues, but it isn't so bad that it kills the enjoyment of the series. All 26 episodes, plus the two episode special are free for viewing without requiring membership, so in the end, it costs nothing but time. Of course, if you love it, you still won't be able to buy it on DVD, which is one drawback.

Rating: A-

The manga alcove in my Library - already low on space!

With my home desktop down since I moved in August, having my laptop die a few weeks ago was a serious blow! I had no recent backups and the hard drive suffered from massive mechanical favor. I lost ten months of my life! So I haven't abandoned my baby here, just haven't had much time to do reviews because I had to get a new laptop and get it all set up, then try and rebuild what was lost. I still haven't gotten my book and video databases going again, so my online lists are behind for the first time since I launched them. I'm working on getting my home desktop back on-line. I have all the parts and am getting it all installed and set back up. Also finally, after years of being so lazy, implemented a real backup system. At the same time, I've been working on getting all of my books unpacked from the move. Yes, TEN months later, all of my babies are finally shelved again!

That means I can get back in the groove! Coming up I plan on reviewing Ristorante Paradiso and La Corda d'Oro, two series available free (legally) on Crunchyroll. I may also review Crunchyroll itself and Skip Beat. For manga reviews, I have Ballad no Shinigami and Hot Gimmick in the review queue. So stay tuned!