Hey, everyone. Last night went pretty damn well, I think. The movie was long, and felt long, but things were smooth when the computer wasn’t freaking out at some of the more taxing scenes.
Anyways, I’m sure it doesn’t beg explaining why this post is called Majou Shoujou night. There were so many damn magical girls, it was awesome. If you like magical girls, I mean. And I guess I don’t hate them. It seems like magical girls have been pretty popular among the anime club recently.
At least, these ones have been.
Actually, seeing Nanoha really makes me want OreImo Madoka to hurry up and stop being delayed. I know Chris had a theory that they’re altering the story to include less earthquakes and flooding, but my theory is the opposite. They like depressing people in Madoka, so if anything they’d want to add earthquakes and flooding, right? Right? Then people could, um, relate.
Anyway, I guess we didn’t show Madoka. We showed Meruru and Nanoha, so I guess I’ll get on with that.
Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai 9-10
Sup, Meru-chan. I noticed your eyes are the wrong color. I call bad cosplay.
This as a pretty good pair of episodes. Watching Kirino roll around on her bed in ecstasy was a bit strange, but whatever turns her on, I guess. I’m glad not everyone gets so excited about their porn, though. To be honest, though, I hardly remember whatever happened in episode 9 after seeing 10. I know everyone kept saying how great an episode it was, but I’m glad it wasn’t disappointing.
It’s good to see Ayase trying to compromise and support Kirino’s hobby at least a little bit. She and Kousuke kind of went through a lot just to get a trophy for Kirino, however valuable it might have been. Never mind that Kanakana did all the work… I sort of feel bad for her not apparently getting any sort of reward for her effort. A little bit, anyway.
Seeing all the grown men enjoying the show so much was also pretty hilarious, but I guess it’s true. I should probably save this, but having seen Nanoha, even though it’s obviously a kid’s show, the creators obviously try hard to attract their older, male demographic as well. Since I guess we sort of knew that, seeing all the adult male fans getting so into it isn’t exactly surprising, but jeez, I guess Ore Imo really knows who to poke fun at.
Anyway, good episodes overall. Now onto the real mahou shoujou…
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st
I like this picture because it features the best character, Bardiche.
I hadn’t bothered watching any Lyrical Nanoha before, so I was pleased to find out that the movie was a recap of the first season of the series, and not a continuation or anything like the Gundam 00 movie, where I didn’t recognize any of the characters. Since I haven’t seen the series, I can’t exactly comment on how well the film sums up what happened, but to me, I think I got a good impression of who most of the characters were as it went on.
That said, the movie was just okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t exactly awful. It gets some concessions for being a movie that’s more or less kid-friendly, having a lot of qualities that just shouldn’t exist in a show meant for older audiences–but it isn’t one of those, so I guess it’s off the hook. The story wasn’t exactly enthralling, and the characters didn’t have much to them, but it was–at the very least–entertaining, and the movie has a bit of charm in that it’s pretty classic mahou shoujou.
The beginning, actually, was very fun to watch. It seemed like you could put the first 20 minutes next to the first episode of Madoka and they would be almost identical; it really shows what Madoka was going for when it set out to deconstruct the genre.
I recall Steve saying ‘It’s like mecha!’ or something to that effect, and… yeah, I have to agree. A lot of time in the movie was devoted to Fate and Nanoha firin’ their MAGICAL LAZAHS. Hell, it even ended in lots of UNDERSTANDING, and some lesbian subtext to boot.
Speaking of lesbian subtext, the decent amount of fanservice in the movie definitely reflects back on part of the genre’s target demographic being ‘sweaty old men’. The panty-shots (not that frequent), the transformation scenes (self-explanatory, though I hope no one’s pants got too tight at the third-grade breasts–but whatever floats your boat, bro!), and their clothing going to tatters all seemed to be nods to that particular audience.
Still, it wasn’t too excessive or anything. The main characters may have been total lolis, but most of the time there wasn’t anything super sexual about it (Fate’s mom looked like a character from a cheesy porn show, though), so I don’t feel too bad about having enjoyed the action.
So, yeah, Lyrical Nanoha–decent movie. Not great, but it wasn’t something awful.
That’s it for this week. I should hurry up and end it here before I decide to start talking about Madoka again. I mean, it’d be appropriate, since last night was Mahou Shoujou Night, but… yeah. All right.
“Actually, seeing Nanoha really makes me want OreImo to hurry up and stop being delayed.” I think you switched the series. 😉
Anyway, uh, it’s nice seeing your posts every week. It’s pretty much the only regular thing to expect on the blog so far… (I had to say something else so I didn’t feel like a jerk just pointing out a mistake)
Grant Walker · March 24, 2011 at 5:13 pm
…I did switch them. How the hell did I do that?
But uh, yeah man, regularity’s great.
I love regularity.
Grant Walker · March 24, 2011 at 5:13 pm
@Daniel Pascua
…I did switch them. How the hell did I do that?
But uh, yeah man, regularity’s great.
I love regularity.
Chris · March 24, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Nanoha is technically a seinen series, despite (or maybe because of) its mostly child cast. Fun fact: Meruru’s (and Kanako’s) VA did Nanoha. And apparently Yuuno’s VA did Mami.
Nanoha movie was alright (and it was a decent recap of the first season). Biggest problem I had with the original series was how they turned Precia into a complete villain at the end to make it absolutely clear she’s the most despicable person ever so we forget about her and make it easier for the animators to wrap up the plot. There was just something cheesy and forced about the way she kept telling Fate how she hated her in like 15 different ways. They added a lot more backstory in the movie (original TV series had none of Precia’s flashbacks). 1080p lazers was also good.
On an unrelated note, they’re releasing more Higurashi in celebration of its 10 year anniversary.
Grant Walker · March 24, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Since it’s you saying it, I’ll believe it’s seinen, but I think a young kid could easily sit through the movie and know what was happening. It does so many things I’d expect from a kid’s show that it’s really easy to see it that way, at least from my point of view.
I’m surprised to hear that the movie would have more back story, but I guess that’s cool. But yeah, even a nub like me picked up on how much Precia suddenly seemed to want Fate to realize how much she hated her. It definitely felt overdone.
Higurashi is exciting news, though. Does that mean more novel chapters, or more anime?
Grant Walker · March 24, 2011 at 5:58 pm
@Chris
Since it’s you saying it, I’ll believe it’s seinen, but I think a young kid could easily sit through the movie and know what was happening. It does so many things I’d expect from a kid’s show that it’s really easy to see it that way, at least from my point of view.
I’m surprised to hear that the movie would have more back story, but I guess that’s cool. But yeah, even a nub like me picked up on how much Precia suddenly seemed to want Fate to realize how much she hated her. It definitely felt overdone.
Higurashi is exciting news, though. Does that mean more novel chapters, or more anime?
steve · March 27, 2011 at 7:00 pm
IT’S LIKE FUCKING MECHA! WHERE DID THAT LASER COME FROM?!
In all seriousness though, Nanoha was OK. The beginning was so stereotypical mahou shoujo I don’t even know how to discuss it. Once the story picked up a bit and some fighting commenced though, I could not stop watching. The fights were like fucking mecha. Moar lazorz please. The fights were the only thing that differentiated Nanoha from other mahou shoujo, and even then not by much. Conclusion: if you want a solid mahou shoujo, watch Nanoha. If you don’t like mahou shoujo that much, you’re not really missing anything. I’m with Grant though, I WANT MY FUCKING MADOKA.
