macross frontier & da capo ii impressions

Well, we’re roughly at the halfway mark! Curse my previous doubts regarding the season’s content as they’ve been completely rendered incredulous. See, I had initially predicted that the line-up’s threshold was effectively barred from being anywhere near as gratifying as it is now, which in hindsight is absolutely way off track. Though I had originally planned to write a post at a much latter date, things are becoming increasingly more enjoyable as the weeks go by to the extent where it has precipitated a need for an entry possessing some critical relevance to the current anime at hand. I’ll be covering my impressions of Macross Frontier and Da Capo II S2 thus far.

omg an anime post

Top three four anime of the season? Being my usual indecisive self has resulted in two titles currently battling it out for #1 place, and as you’d suspect, they are none other than Code Geass R2 and Macross Frontier, with Da Capo II S2 and Vampire Knight  trailing further behind. Nababi no Ou has admittedly lost its appeal, but in its defence I can only concede that it was too early for any meaningful plot developments to occur. I am inclined to believe that while the series is on an “on hold” status, I can’t make any promises to myself; to be frank though, I suspect that the genre just isn’t cutting it for me anymore. If the raw demographic is any sort of qualified indication as to why my interests are dwindling, then perhaps my age just doesn’t properly reflect the target audience anymore… but we all know that’s a load of shit, because you’re never too old for anything.

To keep things brief, I’ll be concise about my thoughts regarding Macross Frontier first.

In short, it’s been too long since I’ve last seen a Macross/Robotech series, with the last dating back to the mid 90s (Plus); that’s over ten years of devoid of the franchise because I didn’t get around to watching Zero. In retrospect, Manga Entertainment’s solid grip on the anime industry at the time really was evident with their releases, because publicity was–in a way–accomplished and subsequently exercised by filling a gap in the niche market during a time of blooming popularity, and thus only a limited amount of series were available; amongst the licensed, Macross Plus was a prolifically acclaimed anime here during its prime era, as some Australians might recall… except you know, most of us were probably too preoccupied with our bush tucker, kangaroo taxi services, koala-born prime minister, Vegemite sandwiches and didgeridoo-playing at the time, as many foreigners like to facetiously mention at all opportunities.

Building on the years of anticipation, I’ve been ecstatic about Macross Frontier, and to this day, the fact that Myung and Sharon Apple’s songs still manage to echo throughout my head at sporadic intervals is a firm indication of its perpetual influence. On the contrary however, my enthusiasm did not initially reflect my discretion. Perhaps I was hesitant to begin this series in the same respect as Gundam 00 (which I enjoyed a great deal, I might add). Further elaboration imminent.

Exorbitantly indulging in my own laziness is a common practice for me; my prerogative is often impaired to the extent in which it cripples my willingness to begin most series, and most people who know me well enough can clearly cite my attitude when it comes to such matters. It’s difficult to discern the specific reason as to what influences the anime I am likely to start on first every season, though I’m inclined to believe that those with simplistic and episodic content are likely candidates, with the rest being held off because of the potential presence of cliffhangers, and stories requiring the viewer to be relatively more attentive because of its elaborate content. The traditionally-themed space opera Macross Frontier would likely be the #1 nominee for this season’s marathon run (Code Geass kept me hanging too long), but I was unable to hold off until the end as I need my Macross fix now. Impatience prevails!

And I digress yet again… must remain on topic!

After blowing through the episodes and bringing myself up-to-date with Macross Frontier, the series so far has not only met my expectations, but surpassed them completely. To expatiate on a more specific topic, I feel that Megumi Nakajima’s work (Ranka Lee’s debuting seiyuu) warrants a noteworthy mention: given the combination of Ranka’s voice + disposition, the slightly unusual combo is mesmerising; to me, it sounded unaccountably felicitous for her character in a fashion so befitting that I have no choice but to love it. In regards to her popularity, I’ve remained ignorant as to how she’s faring on the polls, but any fuss associated with her is clearly justified. I think I’ve found a new character to add to my favourites, so Sheryl fans can go elsewhere and leave me alone with my green-haired cutie.

I’ve had the first “deculture” episode laying around on my hard drive for months now, and having only now been dicked to watch it makes me feel too behind the times. I was extremely pleased when they played a new version of Ai Oboete Imasu ka / Do You Remember Love from the 80’s Macross too, as it really hit the spot. It’s unfortunate that I have no real recollection of the content though; Clash of the Bionoids may have been its respective title here for the English dub, but the years have eroded my memory because I was too young, except for the memorable song which has never once left my head. I do recall placing it on an infinite loop while grinding on Chillwinds in Winterspring (if you don’t get it, then don’t worry).

And what of the plot development? I am enjoying how it’s coming along a great deal; one of the most constituent aspects is receiving proper screen-time dedicated to appropriately explore the relationship dynamics between the main characters; even with my limited experience with the Macross legacy, it comes off as something which cannot simply be disregarded. And as the series is musically-driven to some extent, let us not leave without mention of the beautiful soundtrack, which is every bit as amazing as you’d expect from Macross. Triangler has scored a distinguished place on my playlist, and I think I’ll be leaving it on a continuous loop for days to come. For such an integral facet to be rightfully done with grace, is reassuring, and on that note: did anybody notice the similarities in the initial seconds of Infinity, which sounded a little like Kimi wa Boku ni Niteru from Gundam SEED Destiny? Just another extraneously trivial thought which should be disregarded.

So how else are things coming along? With the summer season already making its debut, we can expect to see more tsundere Rie Kugimiya goodness in Zero no Tsukaima season three (airing on July 7th). Now, onto Da Capo II S2.

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Sorry, I really had to start with the Yume screenshot from episode one of S1. I guess its value has been excessively cheapened as I had long before planned to use that for something beforehand, but as no other previous entries were too relevant to DC, I didn’t want to make it feel incongruous. A post dedicated partially towards Da Capo? The sole reason why I’m giving this series such esteemed treatment is because of my previous criticisms, which in hindsight were a little too harsh.

Anyway, to get to the point: prior to season two’s screening, I clearly expressed my dissatisfaction with season one’s horrendously unforgiving direction, though we can assert some sense of forgiveness due to the presence of Nanaka, which essentially saved it from damnation. In regards to its central plot however, as much as I’d like to deter myself from jumping on the bandwagon, the season warranted its respective opinions in its entirety; it failed to deliver a significant portion of its purpose, which partially rendered the drama aspect meaningless.

With all that’s been said and done, I feel like I trampled on a little too far with my denigrating criticisms, which is why I shall now exercise my exclusive rights as a human in order to redeem myself, as season two certainly did. It remains difficult to absorb that the season which preceded this was actually the initial part of the series, as the contrasting quality of content would suggest. Anyway, to remain a tad more pertinent to the topic at hand:

From the span of two posts from months long past:

Excerpt #1 from anime update – impressions #1:

“Ah, Da Capo II. This is one anime that does not stray from the standard harem drama archetype. Fortunately the studio didn’t dare be too pretentious with the style of direction which spares it some points.

I’ve never played the game it was based on, but if it was anything worthwhile then what we have here is an excellent example of a failed game-to-anime transition because the producers were unable to properly dramatise a potentially fruitful plot either because of the sub-par voice acting, awful soundtrack, generally unoriginal characters (save for a few of the heroines plus Sakura; hope to see more of them next season) or just the general direction in which the plot was headed. Drama is unequivocally made to move the hearts of others, and if it fails to accomplish that then its purpose is defeated.

If there’s something that saved it from even harsher criticism, it’d be the ending which–although anti-climatic and bordering on the edge of mediocrity–proved to be decent in relativity to the rest of the series. With season two on its way in April, I really do hope that it can salvage the remains of this season and put it to good use; the content covered so far has proven to be unimpressive at best.”

Excerpt #2 from spring 2008 anime line-up thoughts:

“Because you have to finish what you start. Duty, my friend, duty! Viewers have been unanimously faced with a failure of a drama that does not even come close to meeting the threshold for emotional impact, and now the producers are forced to walk the path of redemption. Hope that they succeed, but don’t hold your breath, and most importantly: don’t expect anything.”

Well, it turned out that my convictions regarding the season climax have been backed by a considerable amount of truth, because it has completed the appropriate steps required in order to reclaim its glory as a drama. On that particular note: what the hell prompted me into such an overly-disparaging mindset in the first place? The soundtrack wasn’t even bad at all, as were the characters, I just saw them as unjustified opportunities to spout my spiteful conjecture. If I was capable of regretting, I would, but adhering to my sense of protocol I can only see this as a time to learn from my mistakes, and to not discount something so thoroughly when it has yet to complete. When I’ve seen enough anime to know that character development can sometimes be a bit of a bore–especially when it comes to Da Capo–I can only blame myself.

Sure. The entire franchise hasn’t received as much positive recognition as numerous others, but occasionally there are times when I feel its underrated reputation should be somewhat more deserving. Though initially, Da Capo II ultimately amounted to nothing more than a standard seinen harem which followed genre customs faithfully–with a touch of supernatural elements, I might add–the events certainly escalated to much more dramatic proportions, following in suit of its true predecessor (Da Capo S1).

Episode 11 nailed the coffin shut with the protagonist receiving what I’d consider to be the “Fuuko treatment”, as his presence slowly began to fade from the minds of others; when these particular dramas revolve so integrally around the relationships between the characters, I’d say this took a 180 degree turn from the previous season. Though still overshadowed by the effect of many other dramas, this series is still holding well on its own. In terms of how it was handled, there aren’t any real complaints to be had.

Hah! We’re not done yet however; with two episodes remaining, what does that entail? Please do not break what is not broken, my dear producers. I will forgive you if you make me baw from depression, but I will not forgive you if you make me baw from terribleness. Keep the pace good, and hit a home-run!

And finally, a special thanks to Chihiro Subs for actually, like, you know, letting me watch this damn series. The definition of “speedsub” is so often ridiculed because people fail to view its optional advantages, and that many others prefer to watch anime for its informative values rather than waiting ten years for over-glorified text effects and magical karaoke. I just don’t give a shit.

~ by Espydon on 18 June, 2008.