Anime I am watching: Shakugan no Shana, part 2
I have finished through episode 15 of Shakugan no Shana now. I've been watching one or two episodes each evening when I get home from work and am too exhausted to do much more than that.
I've also seen two episodes of Bleach this week (#3 and #4 - those are the ones that were available through On Demand) and have downloaded the first episode of Durarara! and the first two episodes of Bakemonogatari to watch later. I'm kind of annoyed that Crunchyroll has picked up So Ra No Wo To, because my connection doesn't like streaming video. It's a pain in the ass to watch even simple YouTube vids. I don't know if it's because I'm using up too much memory on my laptop, or if it's just that my DSL is crappy for streaming video, but it sucks. I tried watching a few episodes of xxxHolic from Funi's streaming site, and it kept skipping or stopping every minute or so, which drove me crazy. So I stopped trying to watch it that way and have had to be content with watching it via On Demand.
But I'm talking about Shana in this post, so onwards.
I can't say that I've grown any fonder of the series, though I'm still intrigued enough to want to see how the story develops.
I'm still bored as anything with the action sequences. They feel like they're very poorly done, though I imagine that all the budget went to the effects. I dunno, maybe my expectations were too high? But it's really obvious that corners were cut in the animation - so many frames are repeats, and sooo often there isn't any animation at all, just a slow zoom in/out on a still frame, or not even that. It just feels really really bad, and I guess the fact that it IS something of an action series makes me less able to tolerate it, because I'm not really a fan of that genre. The parts I like best about Shana involve the relationships among the characters and the school scenes.
Also, the introduction of Margery Daw was just horrible. I couldn't stand her character design and the book was obnoxious, but it got toned down some when they switched to the "good" side. Another thing that was horrid but seems to have been toned down as the episodes progress: the prologues to each episode that were almost entirely summations of the previous ones. These are the recaps that show before the title card. I couldn't stand them, but lately they've been giving more new information.
Some positives: I loved the episode where the main cast went to the public pool park place, though I'm not sure it wasn't filler fan service. And I love the subplot with Margery Daw and the two boys. It's kind of cute, especially as it develops and we aren't forced to view as much of the bottle fairy antics. Also, the ed song is kind of nice. I also like that they established that somehow "Shana" is the nickname for Hirai, because the fact that Yuji called her that in class when everyone else called her Hirai or... Yoshiko was it? made me do a O.o face.
But I still can't shake the overwhelming feeling of "meh" with this series. I continue to watch because I don't want to go to bed too early, and risk not sleeping through the night, but I'm too tired to actually read or anything, and these 25 minute chunks are a good length. Also, I do want to know if Shana and Yuji ever do anything about their mutual attraction, though I kind of want the other girl to date him just because Shana's "urusai urusai urusai" is one of the most obnoxious things ever. And I want to know what is going to happen to Yuji because of his Mistes thing. And the minor plot with the siblings was just awful. I don't even want to remember it. It felt half-assed and the sound effects that accompanied their kissing made me feel ill (I have a Thing about mouth-noises. The noises that Kugumiya Rie makes whenever Shana or Taiga or Miki or whoever is eating also make me feel ill, even though they're not realistic at all).
Anyway, there are 9 episodes left, and then a handful of extras, and I can get them off my harddrive. I'm looking to watch Sasameki Koto next, and maybe I'll try Chu-Bra at CR while I have the free membership trial. Also maybe Kimi no Todoke? I'm reading the comic at MangaFox right now, and it's not bad.
I've also seen two episodes of Bleach this week (#3 and #4 - those are the ones that were available through On Demand) and have downloaded the first episode of Durarara! and the first two episodes of Bakemonogatari to watch later. I'm kind of annoyed that Crunchyroll has picked up So Ra No Wo To, because my connection doesn't like streaming video. It's a pain in the ass to watch even simple YouTube vids. I don't know if it's because I'm using up too much memory on my laptop, or if it's just that my DSL is crappy for streaming video, but it sucks. I tried watching a few episodes of xxxHolic from Funi's streaming site, and it kept skipping or stopping every minute or so, which drove me crazy. So I stopped trying to watch it that way and have had to be content with watching it via On Demand.
But I'm talking about Shana in this post, so onwards.
I can't say that I've grown any fonder of the series, though I'm still intrigued enough to want to see how the story develops.
I'm still bored as anything with the action sequences. They feel like they're very poorly done, though I imagine that all the budget went to the effects. I dunno, maybe my expectations were too high? But it's really obvious that corners were cut in the animation - so many frames are repeats, and sooo often there isn't any animation at all, just a slow zoom in/out on a still frame, or not even that. It just feels really really bad, and I guess the fact that it IS something of an action series makes me less able to tolerate it, because I'm not really a fan of that genre. The parts I like best about Shana involve the relationships among the characters and the school scenes.
Also, the introduction of Margery Daw was just horrible. I couldn't stand her character design and the book was obnoxious, but it got toned down some when they switched to the "good" side. Another thing that was horrid but seems to have been toned down as the episodes progress: the prologues to each episode that were almost entirely summations of the previous ones. These are the recaps that show before the title card. I couldn't stand them, but lately they've been giving more new information.
Some positives: I loved the episode where the main cast went to the public pool park place, though I'm not sure it wasn't filler fan service. And I love the subplot with Margery Daw and the two boys. It's kind of cute, especially as it develops and we aren't forced to view as much of the bottle fairy antics. Also, the ed song is kind of nice. I also like that they established that somehow "Shana" is the nickname for Hirai, because the fact that Yuji called her that in class when everyone else called her Hirai or... Yoshiko was it? made me do a O.o face.
But I still can't shake the overwhelming feeling of "meh" with this series. I continue to watch because I don't want to go to bed too early, and risk not sleeping through the night, but I'm too tired to actually read or anything, and these 25 minute chunks are a good length. Also, I do want to know if Shana and Yuji ever do anything about their mutual attraction, though I kind of want the other girl to date him just because Shana's "urusai urusai urusai" is one of the most obnoxious things ever. And I want to know what is going to happen to Yuji because of his Mistes thing. And the minor plot with the siblings was just awful. I don't even want to remember it. It felt half-assed and the sound effects that accompanied their kissing made me feel ill (I have a Thing about mouth-noises. The noises that Kugumiya Rie makes whenever Shana or Taiga or Miki or whoever is eating also make me feel ill, even though they're not realistic at all).
Anyway, there are 9 episodes left, and then a handful of extras, and I can get them off my harddrive. I'm looking to watch Sasameki Koto next, and maybe I'll try Chu-Bra at CR while I have the free membership trial. Also maybe Kimi no Todoke? I'm reading the comic at MangaFox right now, and it's not bad.
