Apr 07 2008
Special A - 01
As I 
mentioned before I’d be picking up Special A. It’s supposed to air on Sundays but the raw was missing in action. Hopefully next week I can blog it on time so my Mondays aren’t so crowded. So anyway let’s start with the character designs…yes those legs are really long. I mean I know they were pretty thin in the manga, but for some reason in the anime they just seem over exaggerated? It looks like Hikari is walking on a pair of stilts in some of the scenes.
Op and Ed music…well we have no OP this week but the ending is kinda blah. I hate when they show like random patterny scenes during the ending and then someone head through one of the holes in the pattern. It reminds me of some Sailormoon S ending or something. 
Voice acting…ugh. You know I honestly thought Fukuyama Jun and Yuko Goto would be cool voice actors for the main char..and while I don’t mind Jun, Yuko Goto just seems like a miscast. I feel she’s better suited for Mikuru-type roles. I didn’t really like her voice as Miyu from KimiAru, and now that I’m hearing it again I’m having awful flashbacks.
Story…so far so good. Then again typically the beginning episode tends to follow the story and deviates somewhat near the middle and/or towards the end. What really worries me is the whole “Nii-san!” thing with Hikari and Kei. That “I’m gonna defeat” you crap musta gone on for like 6-7 volumes before they started focusing on other characters and things besides “being number 1.” Due to the length of the series, I really hope they skip around and get to the good stuff, instead of focusing on the “i’m gonna defeat” you arcs, then inserting fillers, followed by a made up ending that leaves a sour taste.
Other than that I guess I don’t have much to say. I actually like the casting for Akira & Tadashi despite being randomly unknown seiyuus. The rest aren’t so bad either but I dunno..just Yuko Goto isn’t cutting it for me. I guess I’ll just have to get used to it, but for first time anime watchers who have not read the manga I feel this will be a complete turnoff (similarly to how I was turned off by Karen Children.) Now I’m off to read manga vol. 12! 
Tags: action packed!, childhood friends, romance, shipping, violence
25 Responses to “Special A - 01”
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For me the turn-offs were the same… Goto Yuko doesn’t suit Hikari, Jun is a bit strange as Takishima, and those legs are WAY too long. Oh, and the random placement of that song sung by Goto when they were fighting those test stealing guys.
I’d also love it if they sped some of the stuff between volume’s 2-6 up…
Tess> Yea I was like “wth is with the song? are they trying to milk yuko goto on character singles already??”
That’s going to be the anime’s opening song actually. Personally I think she should have stuck with voice acting…
I’m not that familiar with the manga, I’ve only read the first few chapters so I really don’t know what to expect from this series, but I’m definitely curious.
Are you going to do a post on the latest volume, Hinano?
oh man, those legs o___O
those are even longer then how clamp draws legs.
I just found out Special A was already turned into an anime and I decided to check out your blog right away.
For rants, maybe?
I don’t know why, but Hikari looks extremely fugly to me (at least in this pic: http://special-a.jp/. And she irritates me because she’s so retarded. I mean, it’s obvious that Kei loves her (with the overreacting when she’s about to hurt herself and crap, but I like Kei. His angry expressions are priceless. <3), but she’s all like “I’m gonna beat you!!” for most of the manga. Yeah, when I saw your last post on the cast for them–I thought Yuko Goto’s voice would be too…I don’t know, but it doesn’t suit a character that kicks guy ass and plays basketball and stuff.
Flanarian> Sure why not?
Hinano> Yes! Thank you!
I’ll be looking forward to reading it!
This is a comment concerning your most recent poll about music, for I did not see where else to leave the comment. May I suggest use of some classical music, for I have heard BLATANT copyright violation by Japanese media concerning classical music, which didn’t seem to receive a pip from Deutsche Grammopon nor Phillips Music. Many occasions, I would know the piece and performer of a music and didn’t see it mentioned in the credits. Based on these observation, chances of you getting into copyright trouble is much less for classical music compared to popular music. I would be happy to provide you with list of music you would want for certain occasions. I will try to find public domain or You-tube version of the music, but I could
if only certain recording would do.
Downloaded the seiyuu interview thingy thinking it was the actual episode
, but after watching that it did manage to pique my interest so far…
maglor> I meant to make another post about the project soon as I had some character designs going. In regards to the poll I’m mostly referring to the “theme” song which would be like used for the opening movie. For like game BGMs I was just gonna use random royalty free music from flashkit.
The Sunday broadcast is on Chiba TV, so perhaps it’s just that no-one who gets that channel is into posting. The Monday broadcast is on TV Kanagawa. Maybe this is going to keep showing up on Mondays.
The long legs struck but did not bother me, but I agree about Gotuuza-sama’s Miyu/Hikari voice. I love her Nanami (Lamune) voice, but not this one. I know she wants to do stronger characters, but I’d rather hear her go whole hog and do someone hard and evil. Maybe a hard-drinking biker chick, lol (seeing as that’s part of her persona in real life).
haha her persona is the opposite of her voice!!
[...] shows for Sunday (which is when this is actually suppose to air). Besides, Hinano has already guaranteed to blog this and I really don’t feel like getting in her business for no [...]
I actually liked Yuko Gotou as Hikari, I can’t stand her Mikuru voice because it’s too high pitched for me but this one is fine. Jun Fukuyama on the other hand will take time to get used to. Akira and Tadashi are both perfect for their roles, but I already thought that when I saw who was voicing them. It’s a pity though that I won’t be able to watch this raw, it’s kinda sad but I didn’t get a single one of Tadashi’s cracks (and they were my favorite jokes in the manga) so I think I am gonna have to wait for the subs to really judge anything else for now.
[...] Hinano didn’t like the long legs too much, while Garten is not too crazy over the character design too. However, I am fine with it and feels that it brings a bit of the shoujo flair that I enjoy so much. It might be strange but I always like such a character design with long legs and slim bodies. It’s not done too excessively, so I am generally fine with it. The animations i generally crisp for a shoujo-orientated series, and the characters are well transformed from the manga to the anime. [...]
[...] Hinano didn’t like the expanded legs too much, while Garten is not too crazy by the character design too. However, I am fine with it and feels that it brings a bit of the shoujo flair that I enjoy so much. It might be strange but I always like such a character design with enlarged legs and slim bodies. It’s not done too excessively, so I am generally fine with it. The animations i generally crisp for a shoujo-orientated series, and the characters are well transformed from the manga to the anime. [...]
So the question is, have they ruined it? I guess not yet at least…
For the theme song you should hold an Otaku composition contest
Yeah, it seemed odd right away to cast Gotouza-sama here. But I think I understand what the intention is: the director wants to emphasize the class difference between Hikari and the other S.A.s.
I’d like to see a head-to-head competition between Kei and Naoki of Itazura na Kiss. Of course Kei can use his geass. And Naoki will just turn into a bloody mess. Though if Kotonoha finds out, Kei might be in trouble. But he’s got Horo on his side, so maybe he’ll be ok.
>>> I’d rather hear her go whole hog and do someone hard and evil
Bell Zephyr in Night Wizard. Can’t get any more evil than that.
I *would* comment on the episode but WHAT IS THIS A COUNTDOWN WITH MARRIAGE WRITTEN ALL OVER IT WHAT?
already looking forward to it (subs) and still crossing my fingers that it’s not screwed - thanks for the review… made me slightly relieved that gonzo didn’t screw it up THAT much. but for some reason… and anime like this made me wish it was done by BONES instead
you’re right about the plot thing… i hope they will also skip some parts and somehow volumes 6 onwards of the manga would be included in the series.
boatswain> hehe where have you been?
biankita> its hard to tell if its screwed up. also i heard gonzo isn’t doing the story line just the animation so it shouldn’t be too bad.
Hhehehe, seems like we will be blogging the same things again. You will be providing the initial outlook, while I provide the detailed summary. Heh ^^
Bah, Hinano, you got TB by evil anime666 X_x
Impz> Lol yea I know you did too thought…actually he stole your summary which happened to trackback mine
Man I hate scrapers.
I’m glad this show is not so shoujo-ly overdone, like with Vampire Knight. Although I haven’t read the manga, the first episode of this show didn’t leave a bad impression, so thumbs up.
I’m just gonna say, like everyone else, legs are WAY too long. I really like the artwork, but I don’t understand why some people say it sucks. Ok, maybe the legs but ONLY the legs. They shoulda done the Kei’s bday thing at the villa but no, they skipped it…