Friday, August 29, 2014

Hamatora: Resurrected?


Last Seen: Re:Hamatora, episode 2

Heeey. You remember this little thing? From way back in January? Because I didn't. Apparently it got a second season, Re:Hamatora, in July.

I never finished the first season (until just now). I got up to episode 5, and then just...started watching other things and progressively forgetting it more and more. I think it came out roughly the same time as several 5 minute anime. It feels like I left it behind for roughly the same reason as those. Ya see, I have this problem...about leaving things alone. In particular, story and plot. The more I taste of it, the more tenacious I am to finish it...even if it sucks, just to confirm it will stink from start to finish.
Hamatora is by no means bad though, let's put that on the table now. In fact, it's very good. It does however, have a problem with presentation. literally 1-2 episodes after it faded from my scheduled watching, it went NUTS. The show comes off from the starting line looking very very shallow. They play a ton of trope cards, and play them straight. Which is usually obnoxious, and probably why I faded on this one so fast. What you don't pick up until later is that they're actually playing them straight, and then twisting them after the fact.

In my first post, I slotted this firmly into Shounen, plus cheap mystery. That would be a mistake on my part. The mystery was so pathetically weak, because it wasn't suppose to be an appeal point. A more proper assessment would be Human Interest, with Comedy and Drama. Not quite sure which is greater after human interest, the comedy or the drama, but the central theme is definitely conflicting philosophies. It takes a bunch of people with individualized personalities, throws them in a room, and then stirs with a few spices of minor characters. Comedies got a large overtone on everything in the show, but that feels more like them trying to give us a breather in between slapping us in the face repeatedly.

The central story isn't about the Hamatora ... detective agency? I dunno what it is, but the story is not about it. The center of the story is Minimum Holders and Humanity.

Long story short, this thing revived from the dead in force for me. I recommend it. For the second time now, I have no idea where the show is going. They're very fond of restoring the 'Status Quo' only to mess it up worse the next time. I literally feel like I'm being double slapped every time I try to guess what it's doing next, or what it will and won't do, has done, et c.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Value to Endure for

Oh, so that wasn't a graphical error...
You have some Creepy Cool eyes there old man.

Last Seen: episode 17

The last time I wrote about this particular anime, I was concerned about how deeply technical everything it weaves into the story was trending towards. My suspicions were correct, that you don't particularly need to understand all the technicalities, the show has made sure to explain in more detail anything that is relevant to the story and plot, as it comes up, sometimes sooner or later to try and build things up.
[Aside]
Grant, I still have concerns about whether their additional detail would be sufficient for anyone that would watch, but at that point it falls to a debate of how many resources the studio should use/have for long winded explanations, how flow breaking a longer explanation would be, and where the balance between the two is. You can't reasonably account for everyone, and so far I'm content with the shows extended explanations.
[Aside end]
I just wanted to stop to write that by this point, (to be honest, a lot earlier, but this episode was the easiest to draw attention to), the show is more than worth whatever amount of nuisance you may find the oft difficult to understand technicalities of the magic.

The longer the show goes, the deeper and deeper my interest in Tatsuya. Just what on earth was done to him? The show is so brilliantly, wonderfully, annoyingly aggravatingly coy with giving us clues about him, delicately waving it in front of our faces and laughing maniacally as we try to grasp it. I dare say it's the strongest hook in my brain at this point.

Not to say that the other characters are at all lacking, far from it. Most of the time, I'll have 1-3 characters in a show that I'm particularly interested in, but Magic High Irregular is pulling aces out of its pockets for the central cast, because I'm interested in basically all of the central characters around Tatsuya. Some of them sooner than others, but I'm curious to learn more about each of them now. The exceptions being the entire student council. Just personal lack of interest at this point, instead of any notable flaws.

I'm not granting any awards yet, but I'm giving this show a strong recommendation, if the technical nature of the magic isn't a put off for you.