'Nishi no Yoki Majo' ~ sweet? sickly sweet?

'Nishi...' is one of the rare cases when I have to criticise almost everything, and still admit I liked it very much. now that I think of it, 'Nishi...' is an anime that has broken many stereotypes and expectations of mine

plot and characters

first of all, this is not a fantasy I am used to. since this is not the achievement of the anime creators, I cannot praise them for making good characters and putting them into the brilliant, fascinating, absorbing fantasy world - this praise must go to the ranobe author, Ogiwara Noriko-sensei. however, I do not know exactly how everything was in the original, and so I judge the anime version separately, and I give it a high mark as a fantasy story, due to interesting interpretation of typical fantasy elements, for example unicorns

another genre of 'Nishi...' is 'shoujo', and for a shoujo, perhaps 'Nishi...' is one of the most tolerable works I have ever watched. it certainly plunges to the most dangerous 'shoujo' depth, but does not leave the aftertaste of disgust, not being a sickly saccharine shoujo. 'tis not common to have a Main Heroine admitting her feelings so quickly and expressing them so bluntly, even though in the end she stays within the frames of a Kind-to-Everyone-and-Wanting-to-Save-the-World type

the story, however, is so lame that I doubt it can be really called a story. most developments are so rash that the spectator cannot catch up with what is going on. in 13 episodes there are at least 3 story layers, none of them properly developed. most of crises are solved with the help of 'a piano in the bush' as we call it in Russian - contrived coincidence

former enemies turn to allies in a couple of scenes. 5 minutes before the end. a mysterious person (whose identity is not revealed and who appeared like a miracle in front of the Main Heroine only two episodes ago) says to the Magic Star

and the wish is granted, and the world is saved. however fantasy this may be, world-concerning disasters are not supposed to be overcome like this
also 'Nishi...' has humour - very strange one. it rather makes you o____O than laugh. especially young Adele who constantly tries to make a yaoi couple out of her brother and Main Heroine's beloved

and an all-female academy where...

in order to maintain peaceful coexistence with other countries
and, of course, I did not expect Main Hero to come there as...

or The-Prince-on-the-White-Horse saving not the Main Heroine, but her crossdressing boyfriend...

graphics
is one of the main points to judge when you watch fantasy. the world may be described in words as beautiful and gorgeous, but it depends on the designers and artists to make it happen. are amulets decorated with ornaments? are castles' architecture striking one's fancy enough? are dresses frilled? do they give the impression of some magic being worked? the answer is yes

however, concerning objects of smaller scale, as much as I was fascinated with 'Aria', the same disappointed I was with 'Nishi...'. even though some close-ups look good

more frequently they do not...

also, beware of lots of fanservice

seiyuus
here, again, I had just the opposite of what I expected. Orikasa, unfortunately, spoiled the whole role. her Firiel was so positive and energetic that when she obviously needed to be sad she failed to sound as such. when Firiel was crying or angry, her voice hardly ever shook. other seiyuus who were not bad but failed to leave any impression were Ishida Akira, Saitou Chiwa and Fujimura Ayumi. they seem to have lost their own voice tone and timbre to the extent I did not even recognise them. maybe those was their true voices, but I like it better when they have those special 'overtones' which made them so distinguished for me in roles of Ayuzawa/Cecily, Aika or Chrno
instead I discover Hirata Hiromi as one more female seiyuu voicing male characters (they are my soft spot...), who brilliantly made Rune (I wonder who decided to spell his name as Roux???) into a living person, hear Saiga-sama voicing a female character, which was truly interesting, and finally get to know how Tanaka Rie's low voice sounds

music
I may sound heretical, since I love Masumi Ito/Nanase Hikaru, but I totally understand why people are not very happy with the ED. before watching 'kanata' performed by Mariaria - which consists of Hikaru Nanase herself and Saneyoshi Isako - one should better be prepared by having listened to at lease a couple of other Nanase's works. however for me, with an experience of 'Haibane Remmei', the song was no surprise. the same no surprise was 'starry waltz' by kukui, as Shimotsuki Haruka's music style and vocals are an unforgettable phenomenon. I might be a little less fascinated with the background music here than I was in other fantasy anime series, but I believe that the OST is also pretty well done - by Nanase-sensei again

conclusion
after some animes with sad ending I cry and feel devastated. after some animes with supposedly good ending I do that too, because I am frustrated with how it ended, like in case of 'Princess Tutu'. after 'Nishi...' I feel almost elevated. I am so satisfied with it that I find myself smiling silently. a strange feeling I cannot get very often, but it literally feeds me
'Nishi...' is one of the examples why anime can become a 'raison d'etre'

'Princess Tutu' ~ 中途半端

I was not the first among my friends who watched 'Princess Tutu'. 2 or 3 years ago they were already engaged in discussions of Fakir's hotness and general greatness of 'Princess Tutu'. I could not understand why they were enjoying it so much, as I thought it to be a shoujo for younger girls. seeing them, nevertheless, so fascinated, I thought that maybe, 'Princess Tutu' is an anime for a wider audience. unfortunately, I was wrong

plot and characters

some things in 'Princess Tutu' are be taken for granted. such as the fact that the reality and the stories are mixed in the city where the characters live

or the past of the characters being told only in small portions, with their feelings and motives never explained, which especially arrests my attention in case with the main characters

with time, the story only kept growing more and more complicated, with more and more characters, more and more problems, and more and more riddles. none of them were solved until the end, or at least some crucial moment
another weird thing is the distribution of roles. a typical shoujo Main Heroine is present, but the role of Main Hero with

is shifted from the Main Hero to the Second Hero. moreover, from the very beginning those two are bound by a relationship that only young innocent children will see as natural, unlike me, who instantly started to doubt whether they were not dictated by the wish to please the audience

the first episodes were a little strange, but gradually I was getting used to them. however, season 2 broke everything. the most distorted is the ending. everyone who was turned into a human-animal returns to his true form and is 'happy', such as my favourite character, Cat Teacher

and others

those who were not turned into anyone, but had some problems that Ahiru helped to solve, live 'happily'

this is supposed to be a happy ending, and Ahiru's happiness consists in her friends forgetting her existence...

 ...silent swimming in the pond...

...and no normal life at all
in other words, Ahiru has to throw away
1. her life as a human girl - with ballet school, chatting with friends, everyday joyous life - turning into a duck again, simply because this is a premise of the story
2. her love, because the Prince suddenly realises he is in love with another girl for a reason far from convincing
3. her chances of having any normal relationship, as the only possible love interest for her in the end of the story is a man who says to her - let us return to our true form, because even when you are a duck I will be with you
......excuse me?

music

the background music consists of a number of most famous classical pieces, such as parts of 'Pictures at an Exhibition', 'Flight of the Bumblebee', 'Aquarium' from 'The Carnival of the Animals', and 'Gymnopedies', to say nothing of 'Swan Lake' itself. for me, who is fed up with listening to them, they were nothing special. OPEDs were so boring that I only listened to them in the very 1st episode and skipped them all the rest

seiyuus
were good, but I cannot say they were memorable. they fulfilled their types, that is what I can say

graphics
for 2002, this is not bad. outlines are simple, but in general everything is beautifully done

the only thing that puzzled me was the constant greyish and slightly dark colouring of everything. it looked to me as if most episodes took place either at twilight, or on cloudy days, if not at night at all

conclusion
under-appreciated masterpiece! 10 out of 10! are you kidding?

in order to fully appreciate this 'no doubt' story one must be as a child, able to perceive everything unconditionally, believing that if the characters does this or that, or suddenly undoes this or that, then this or that is only natural
meseems I am slightly beyond the age type allowing to enjoy a story like this. I demand a full explanation and responsibility from people of art for what they present. I demand meaning and reason in what people do - both those who create, and those whom they create. if I am left with an expression like this o___O, if I am left with a bunch of mis/non-understandings, then I see an artwork as a fail. I wonder is this is the director's, Koumoto Shougo's, fault

中途半端 - one of my favourite Japanese words. 'half-made', 'incomplete' - according to the dictionary. 'lame' - my own way of interpreting. this is what I would call 'Princess Tutu'. the first season was so-so, the second made me absolutely bored 
what really makes me sad is not that 'Princess Tutu' ended like that, or that it turned to be worse than I expected, but the fact that it seemed to me an anime with high standards, the anti-mainstream one, praised by so many people who are far from seeking cheap entertainment, and being done by HAL, which is responsible for many good anime series. 'tis truly not a popular thing for wide masses, but it did not reach the other shore, either. it makes me sad, not angry, as usual

p. s.
to think that I hoped to add 'Princess Tutu' to the list of recommendations for my young pupil...

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Utakoi ~ lonely. no, all right. no, lonely

あの人に伝えて…寂しい…大丈夫…寂しい - 'tis a line from Porno Graffitti's 'Saudade' meaning 'tell that person - lonely... all right... lonely...' - a brilliantly fitting epigraph for 'Utakoi'. it seems to me the Japanese have always been like this - unable to decide exactly how they feel. being apart from their beloved, are they lonely or are they all right?

plot and characters

are based on the real events and people, but spiced with unusual setting. Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu is literally translated as 'super-liberal interpretation of the Hundred Poems of Hundred Poets' which is a prominent anthology, compiling poetry of Heian period. at first I did not know that 'chouyaku' is really a word that means 'super-liberal interpretation' and thought 'tis only an invention of those who wrote the anime's description. and it proved to be truly SUPER-liberal
I think I read someone saying that the characters 'behave the same as in the 21st century'. well, 'tis partially true, because the characters indulge in reactions and expressions widespread in modern anime, they cry, shout, are surprised etc. etc. like people do nowadays

the other point that makes this anime so 'super-liberal' is the way how the story is told - with the help of numerous crazy elements like this

 or like this

or else

on the other hand, the stories shown are not funny at all. what we get is a very serious explanation of how the development could probably be when this or that poem from the anthology was being composed. we get to see exactly how, from the point of view of the authors, the people behaved and felt. for example we see several young girls in grief over their position in the society

or about them being unable to live happily with those they love, because of difference in social standing and so on

we see people falling in love, but being torn apart due to designations to some remote areas, or suffering because their beloved died at a young age. well, that is Heian for you

the message of the anime is that poetry of ancient periods is supposed to link the modern generations with people of the past, and that poetry made those who composed 'immortal'

graphics

another point which makes this a 'super-liberal interpretation'. wonderful patterns fill all the space for clothes and some objects, the nature and scenery and big objects are done with pleasant colours and some details are pure fascination

seiyuus

at first I thought like 'I will certainly praise this seiyuu' or 'that seiyuu', but there are so many of them, and they all are so good that I doubt I can list them all. let me leave it like this - a bunch of great seiyuus each leaving a certain image. the only one who really surprised me was Kobayashi-san. I would not think such a cute looking girl would utter phrases with such a low, mellow voice

music

one more point in favour of the 'super-liberal' tag. the opening is a wonderful jrock piece with ecosystem's soloist's vocal being pleasant and the background arrangement being energetic and the melody being really unusual. the ED song is a typical Japanese r'n'b, very soft and pleasant, by the background music is something I certainly will search for and download

conclusion

I have been praising this anime all along, haven't I? this is good, and that is good, too... it seems ideal already. however, it cannot even approach the top of my favourite anime list. Y?

first of all, I generally prefer something more 'consistent' rather than a compilation of short slices-of-life. a row of stories, even though got up beautifully and leaving a good impression, does not sway my heart. I was not sad when I saw something sad. I never even felt an urge to cry

secondly, this anime looks like a Captain Obvious to me. oh thanks, I already know that rank, position in the society were crucial then, or that promotion was a highly desirable thing, or that the politics was pretty complicated. I know that people used to die young because of illnesses yet incurable. and yeah, I know that in spite of all that they were the same people that we, the modern-age-livers are. on the other hand, there is nothing new under the sun. I wonder if I have any right to expect something beyond what I got
thirdly, these are not the stories of the type I like. the characters repeat without boredom or tire words about their work or reputation. they choose their 'fate' or 'duty' over their love, cry over this, and consider this enough. we see those people, despite the harshness of the era, live strongly and face the future with no fear. these tears are true, but they do not make those who shed them fall down in despair and die because

well yes, I generally mean I would not be able to live like them for two reasons - 1. I am much weaker when it comes to my wishes, and 2. I am much more stubborn
well, obviously our - my and the anime-creators-team - views of 'love' are different
oh, now I see. at least this anime taught me tolerance

p. s.
I just understood the reason behind all this. TYO Animations is a company formed by merging of 'Yumeta' and HAL. HAL was great, responsible for many superb anime series. Yumeta was responsible for merciless shoujo (reverse) harem. 'Utakoi' is the product of their merging

'Skip Beat' ~ beating my previous record

I should have learnt my lesson well - NO MORE watching animes based on ongoing manga. what am I doing again? without a second thought I gave a try to 'Skip Beat' believing that 1. a 2009 anime cannot be based on a manga that is still running in 2013, and 2. an average shoujo would not be able to capture my heart. oh, I was wrong - and I do not even know whether this is a good or a bad thing
I have surpassed myself. while in school and first years in university I used to watch no more than 3 episodes a day. then sometimes, when I had free time, I could watch up to 8-10, spending several hours near the screen. my biggest record was probably around 15 episodes, like it happened with 'Working', when I was both interested and free. well, I watched 21 episodes of 'Skip Beat' in one day, after watching the first 4 the day before.

plot and characters

to my surprise, though some achievements of Kyoko were a bit far-fetched, which made 'Skip Beat' look close to average shoujo about a heroine who, by her spirit, gains everyone's love and respect and overcomes all the obstacles, in general 'Skip Beat' is not THAT far from reality. yes, 'twas a bunch of miracles that the LME agency's boss felt interested in Kyoko, and that she learned many useful things while being brought up in Kyoto, etc. however, at least the number of such 'convenient' developments and their scale was not as great as I could expect

moreover, this is an incredibly wise move of the authors to make it so that Kyoko, fortunately, had no reverse harem around her, and even the number of girls who felt jealous of Kyoko because she received some special treatment from some guy was pretty tolerable

then, again, we do not have typical main characters here. Kyoko is not just a 'yooosh gambaru zo!' girl. I mean, she shows much more human feelings than a shoujo main heroine would. first of all, she is able to fall in love sincerely - unlike heroines who sway and cannot choose between their variants. next, Kyoko's condition was brilliantly portrayed when her love and dreams were crushed. her anger, despair, hatred etc. etc., her process of creating her new self are not momentary, her feelings remain through the whole series - while usually they die within a number of episodes and are never again revealed later. she does not try to make friends only because she loves everyone on this planet, but because she never had a female friend. she does not tenderly calm down a crying child, but says that no one comes to help only because a girl is in tears. when someone is unfair she feels hurt, and when someone picks a fight she responds. and of course, she cannot get rid of her desire of revenge easily. for me as a spectator, even if a characters behaves 'wrong' but is led by his strong feelings, 'tis better than if a character becomes a saint, but empty inside

now, we do not even have typical 'love interest' here. well, I could say the same for other characters. I could describe them for a long time, but to make it simple - they are human, though bizarre a bit
oh, and I have forgotten... 'Skip Beat' is funny! really funny. I did laugh a lot at the unexpected plot developments or some characters' lines, but you know... not every anime creating team can allow making SD, simplified faces like here ↓ and make fun while creating a shoujo series

though the characters are the way they are due to the original manga, this does not change the fact that watching 'Skip Beat' never left be bored. I love the LME's president with all his eccentricity

graphics
here I find only one problem. along with beautiful girls with long lashes

and wonderful backgrounds

I see this ↓

such type of men is usually a sign that the work belongs either to the genre that starts with the letter Y (or at least S-A, if you know what I am talking about), or at least determines a very certain direction - pleasing girls, which mainly means the work is shallow. I was truly happy to see the graphic style had nothing to do with the quality

seiyuus

however, I cannot ignore who is Ren's seiyuu - mr Konishi Katsuyuki. well I have already put up with it - Kosugi-san, Ono-D, Toriumi-san, and many other seiyuus with this type of voice are frequently participating either in hentai, or in yaoi/shounenai, or in both, and not in series I could acknowledge as good. 'tis time for me already to learn how to put up with this

the seiyuus I knew were only Miyano-san, Enomoto-san and Kawasumi-san. the others were new to me. and I was not even in the least disappointed. Inoue-san as the protagonist was simply great. I would probably also praise Hayamizu-san for her performance of Kotonami. too bad her list of works is not long

music

unfortunately, I am not able to say much about the background music - I do not remember it. however, OPEDs were good. opening songs were probably nothing outstanding, but still above average. first ending was a very nice hiphop song, and the second, though I did not like the song itself, contained pretty good lyrics fitting the anime's plot

conclusion

am I absolutely satisfied with 'Skip Beat', then? no, unfortunately I must say I am not. and the reason is not the 'and I believe that tomorrow will be better than today' ending. the reason is that the creators made this ending too abrupt which leaves an unfavourable impression. just 10 minutes before the end we see a hint on something important, and then it just ends... moreover, in manga the moment ending the anime was only a beginning, while in the anime we are just made to face the fact we will see nothing else. plus the fact that the 'standard' length is not 25 but 26 episodes. in other words, I cannot but thing the team of creators did not do their best. thought their 'not-best' is not-bad