Jul 10 2007
Summer Firsts: Chibis, Lolis and Emo Teachers
So while I was at Anime Next a crapload of new shows aired. Luckily I found a working ipod video converter (which doesn’t crash or screw up files) so that I was able to catch up on a lot of them during my morning & afternoon rides on the NY Subway.
Moetan: LOOOOOOLLLLLLLL….i. The Engrish at the end was kinda funny since it had some truth to it (coughKamichamaKarincough) and Tamura Yukari seems to fit the role pretty well. Although I keep thinking of how useful she is to loli roles and useless for characters like TenTen in Naruto. I like how Ueda Yuuji voices the dude and most of the time his roles are pretty amusing. I may watch another episode of this to see if I will continue blogging it. The lolicon duck made me laugh constantly. 
The loli jokes are almost “ironic” as if the animators are like “yes we know she looks like she’s 10 but is really in high school and we’re gonna make all the jokes and puns about it.”
Potemayo: Ahh so it comes from Potato Mayonaise. How original. Parts of this show bring back memories of Di Gi Charat. The violent cat eared girl, laser beams, the bland backgrounds, the focus on random shit rather than any kind of plot. Also other blogs say that this show is being aired in random order. Is that the trend nowdays? Cause you know what, its retarded. Shows being aired in wrong order are an instant reject to me. It was ok with Haruhi but a show like this which lacks to pull me in any sort of way, this only makes it worse. I think the only reason I made it through this episode is because I needed to occupy myself on the rush hour N train. Needless to say this show is an insta-no for me.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Dear Diary, I hate SHAFT and all that comes out of its butthole of a studio. Ok so their animation isn’t something to be insulted, however that’s all they should be: an animation studio. When you give them creative ability, they turn everything into crap and always manage to throw in stupid tasteless fanservice that they PURPOSELY throw in for the sake of “here have some fanservice you otaku”. I never read Zetsubou Sensei, but watching this show reminded me of everything I hated about Negima!? Also most of the jokes flew over my head (well I did skip through like 75% of the episode) but the ones I got just made me go “HARR” and move on.
18 Responses to “Summer Firsts: Chibis, Lolis and Emo Teachers”
Loading ...
The engrish in Moetan is true because its (belive it or not) based on “learn english” aid books for Otakus (and they are more learn engrish).
O.o It’s a pity. Try reading a bit of the manga of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. The chapters are pretty short but apparently the language level is rather high. Whatever - imho its dark humour should not be missed. (You can even get it as scanlation, btw.)
Isn’t Potemayo actually episodic? Because if it is, then they probably just call the next episodes 23 and 24, but in fact, it only means that they’ve taken jokes out of the third volume, of something. And it doesn’t disturb the (non-existing) overall storyline.
I’m curious, what exactly is the difference between the stupid tasteless fanservice of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei and the stupid tasteless fanservice of Moetan? In my opinion, Moetan is just one big excuse to give some loli-fanservice to the otaku, so why is that okay, while the only nude scene in gets bashed?
I guess one takes itself too seriously, and the other doesn’t
- T
psgels> I actually GET the “humor” or “jokes” in moetan, while Zetsubou makes no fucking sense with their jokes, just like Negima was never really that funny.
Er, I don’t think Potemayo is being aired in the wrong order. The preview lists the next episode titles as “Pote 3″ and “Pote 4″, and the “te” looks weird enough to be mistaken with a 2. We’re not getting episodes 23 and 24 this week.
… not that it really matters if the show doesn’t work for you, but people might get confused. :p
I thought Potemayo had a lot of good stuff going:
1) It’s like Di Gi Charat. You compare it to Di Gi Charat as though it were a bad thing, but wasn’t Di Gi Charat awesome?
2) Although it is like Di Gi Charat, it’s also J.C.Staff channeling a bit of their past cutefests Little Snow Fairy Sugar and Mahoraba - Heartful Days. Although there’s less of a plot in Potemayo, the smooth movement, colorful artwork and brain-melting cuteness are still there. Not to mention that Potemayo has a bit of Sugar in her and Sunao has a bit of Shiratori.
3) Visual-based jokes and simple dialogue. Potemayo and Guchuko are hilarious and they don’t even speak. Someone like me whose knowledge of Japanese is only about 2000 words and 500 kanji still got most of the jokes watching the raw. Hell, someone who doesn’t know any Japanese at all can get most of the jokes.
1) Yes Digi Charat was awesome….8 years ago. Watching Di Gi charat NOW for the first time might evoke the same reaction in me. I guess I’ve grown out of mindless violence unless its done in a creative way to blend in with the story (like inukami)
2) Nothing wrong with the animation style. I was just comparing it to DGC, its cute, its colorful. I’ve got no beef with that.
3) I don’t find the jokes funny. I dunno something about a rabid …cat chibi thing biting people’s heads out of jealousy..bleh. Also the fact that the main guy is a total washout with no personality really annoys me too. That orange haired girl is the only interesting one but everyone else is blah. It’s just not my cup of tea, I think I’ve grown out of these kinda shows. I know CHIBI things are popular amongst younger audiences (as clearly shown by anime next)
Kata> Oh okay, I read on someone’s blog that it was being aired out of order
As one who has sold his soul to J.C.Staff, I must now continue to defend Potemayo against the (admittedly reasonable) complaints of Hinano.
Also the fact that the main guy is a total washout with no personality really annoys me too.
That’s true, but I’m thinking that’s part of the joke. Sunao has been made to be even more personality-less and emotion-less than a normal person, and that makes for very unique reactions to the very strange things that happen around him.
Recall how characters in other anime have reacted to a Magical Pink-Haired Girl that dropped into their lives. Kotaro from Pita-Ten had to keep prying Misha off of him. Hare from Hare+Guu was in a constant state of paranoia. Saga from Little Snow Fairy Sugar was freaking out about her plans carefully laid and now destroyed. Naota from FLCL… well, you get the idea.
But Sunao? He discovers the Magical Pink-Haired Girl in his fridge throwing hearts at him. Does he have a cute attack? Does he freak out? No, he takes a milk carton out of the fridge, closes the door, and thinks of what to name the creature. When Potemayo is on Mikan’s face having a fit of jealous rage, does Sunao start screaming at her to stop? Does he try to pry her off? No, he hands her two pieces of bread and has a sandwich. Sunao remains emotionless in the face of a Guchuko Beam destroying a statue, and in the preview, stares back calmly at Mikan who has seen him wearing a skirt.
I’m not expecting any type of character development from a series of this type, but the stage is set for Sunao’s development. If you look at the opening and ending, you can see Sunao showing some emotion when he cuddles Potemayo. The only time he actually shows emotion in the episode itself is when Potemayo tries to say his name. I’m predicting that eventually he will come to have the feelings of a normal person and perhaps even come to recognize Mikan’s feelings for him.
Looking at it that way, having Sunao be a total washout with no personality at this point in time makes a lot of sense.
Geh, corrections (I’ll proofread next time, I promise!):
more personality-less and emotion-less than a normal person
more personality-less and emotion-less than a normal washout
he hands her two pieces of bread and has a sandwich
he hands Mikan two pieces of bread and has a sandwich
I’m not expecting any type of character development
I shouldn’t be expecting any type of character development
Sorry. And sorry for reading too deep into this first episode. My contract made me do it!
I have nothing against JC staff sixten. In fact I love a lot of their shows you mentioned in your post along with classics like
Ai Yori Aoshi
Excel Saga
Hand Maid May
Kare Kano (yes I know its from gainax)
Iketeru Futari
Karin
Maburaho
MAZE
Nanaka 6/17
Slayers
Tsukihime
Winter Garden
Like I said they’ve had some good shows (maybe a bit on the silly/fanservicy side but whatver I liked the stories). However watching this reminds me of how KyoAni produced sucky star when they’ve had much better content in the past. To me this show is like JC Staff’s diarheaa after some bad chili dogs or something cause I know they can do better than this.
I apologize for questioning your devotion to J.C.Staff and apologize further if I have offended you.
Despite appearances, there are actually some J.C.Staff works that I don’t much care for.
I merely believe that J.C.Staff shines the most when it focuses on the cute and silly and holds back on the fanservice, as demonstrated by Azumanga, Mahoraba, Sugar… and Potemayo. You, on the other hand, believe that Potemayo is to J.C.Staff as Lucky Star is to Kyoto (and Lucky Star sucks).
We have our own tastes and I will stop trying to sway your opinion. I will not make you watch the potato mayonnaise any more than you will make me stop watching it.
I hope there are no hard feelings.
Ah no it’s okay XD I just sometimes wonder why people come here (youre not the only one btw) trying to convince me to watch a show that I clearly stated I didn’t like. I guess sometimes people forget this is a blog after all, not a ANIME REVIEW SITE! XD
(you should see how many comments I get telling me to watch seto no hanayome :lol:)
It’s part of human nature: My viewpoint has served me well, therefore for your own good, I will attempt to make you think as I do. And its not so distant dark side, You think differently than me, therefore you must be wrong. For good or evil, this part of human nature motivates religious missionaries, political activists, heads of state, and anime fanboys/fangirls alike.
Btw I think your artwork is adorable
Thanks! (wow, I got complimented by a real doujin artist)
Shame on you for not liking Potemayo!
It’s absolutely hilarious and nothing like Sucky Star. How can’t you like a cannibal chick and moeblob that offers bloody dead animals to her “master”. It’s pure random fun.