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I'll only carry on with one of these shows below.
This is just going be my impression of the first episode laced with a little bit of summary just so you get the jist of what's going on.
Valkyria Chronicles:
This show was extremely popular on the Anime News Network Poll of the Spring 2009 shows. It looks great. I hadn't done any research or anything before watching the first episode but Marina Inoue's distinctive voice just had me picturing Yoko from TTGL everytime Alica, the female protagonist spoke. The plot is interesting, alternate world war, and a bit of romance kicking off. Standard. I can't say I'm interested but I can see why people want to watch it. Plus it's out as a game on PS3, correct me if I'm wrong. But yeah, I don't have a lot to say except for the fact that I couldn't get Yoko out of my head everytime Alicia spoke.
Shangri-La:
I know I was all hyped up about this but I really had no clue what the heck was going on. I'm sure that was the intention and viewers would probably get the hang of it but it didn't impress me at all. Also, adding in transvestites or a full blown transsexual just for shits and giggles isn't... Sensible... It isn't funny... It'll get old real quick too. The art and animation was solid I'd say. But this show is more of a head on collision between 2 large organisations which means they'll take sometime to lay down the complicated foundations before diving straight in. I'm not bothered with it.
I know I was all hyped up about this but I really had no clue what the heck was going on. I'm sure that was the intention and viewers would probably get the hang of it but it didn't impress me at all. Also, adding in transvestites or a full blown transsexual just for shits and giggles isn't... Sensible... It isn't funny... It'll get old real quick too. The art and animation was solid I'd say. But this show is more of a head on collision between 2 large organisations which means they'll take sometime to lay down the complicated foundations before diving straight in. I'm not bothered with it.
Eden of the East:
As they say, save the best for last. The first episode caught me completely by surprise. It's about a guy who has forgotten everything and has woken up with a cell phone and a gun in his hand. An innocent Japanese girl gets caught and drawn into the mess.
What I really like about this is the American people didn't speak in "Engrish". Oh God, reminds me of the Itazura Na Kiss times where the english was horrible. This one was proper proper. Also Oasis' new single Falling Down:
A well know AmericanBand featuring in an Anime... The message is loud and clear. It's going to be good and it's probably going to be international. As for the art and animation, it's solid. The art takes a little getting use to.
The ED is possibly the most interesting one I have ever scene. It features ... Animation with paper... You'll see what I mean:
The characters including the protaganist are rather plain in terms of drawing style. Not exactly someone you'd have on you display picture in a forum. But this stresses an important point which I missed at first. Anime girls/guys don't have to look amazing for the character to be interesting. This show strives on the Iceberg effect. Little is revealed and viewers are left to speculate about what really is lying under the surface.
I think from my bias first episode review of the three shows you can tell which one I'm going for...
For those who still can't work it out the winner is...
Eden of the East (AKA Higashi no Eden)
Eden of the East sure was awesome. Top-notch animation, interesting characters and cool plot.
ReplyDeleteI rather liked Shangri-La was well because they mix in real life problems like global warming, really interesting to watch. Although they have a lot of mystery / supernatural stuff which I didn't like all that much.