07.26.07

If I Could Save Smiles In A Bottle

Posted in Anime at 1:38 pm

So, let’s continue the Cavalcade of Pseudoreviews, shall we?

Bottle Fairy, completely unrelated to the stock female character that Rick is thinking of, is a short series along the lines of Risky Safety in terms of length. Episodes are short at fifteen minutes each and there’s only thirteen, corresponding to the months of the year plus a bonus finale. I’m only about halfway through, but what I can say right now is that it’s phenomenally cute. The premise is teaching aspects of Japanese culture, and with that in mind it’s aimed at small children. Still, it doesn’t get overly schmaltzy or moralistic, and the four main characters are at once well-defined and side-splittingly unpredictable. It also has the benefit of some very strong writing and scenario planning in general, with a huge amount of the gags being more or less universally accessible. One episode in particular has the single greatest beaver-related pun in existence while at the same time being completely and totally innocent. It’s cute, harmless fun that is probably a little overpriced ($25 each for two discs, where you only get about three hours’ show out of it total), but quite recommended if you happen to see it on a con schedule.

I’ve spoken before about Ichigo Mashimaro (which is probably more recognizable as the translation “Strawberry Marshmallow”, which consequently is really kind of confusing) in its animated form, but the manga is certainly a different beast. The author (going by the nom de plume Barasui) hadn’t nailed down the character designs in the first few chapters, so several characters appear identical at first blush (Chika and Miu primarily) while others are completely unrecognizable (Nobue– why does she have blonde hair?). This isn’t helped by an on-model introduction preceding the first chapter. Forgiving that, though, the series is a bit similar to its later animated counterpart with regards to its pacing. Which is the polite way of saying it’s bloody slow. I can certainly understand that slice-of-life series like IM and Lucky Star are naturally going to be a bit more leisurely than, say, Azumanga Daioh or any other animated series, but there has to be some concessions made to keeping some folks’ attentions… and I’m fairly certain I don’t have ADD or anyth That said, I find myself going back to the series and watching through it because Barasui is a remarkably good artist. I mean, a VERY good artist. When he has the ability to stay on-model, he’s fantastic; paintings and color illustrations, doubly so. The writing… not so much, I think. I’m still going to read through it– it’s certainly easier to take in manga-delivered doses than sitting down for an hour or two (at least until I rip it and watch on the iPod)– but it’s decidedly lower-priority.

I keep putting off discussion of Daigasso and Jump Ultimate Stars, but no longer– tomorrow, gamers shall rejoice in import goodness.

EDIT: Note to self, snag Dynasty Warriors: Gundam demo tonight.

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