I'm not done with what I've been watching this week. So instead, have the review that got usurped by my having watched TRON.
Okay, so I wasn't exactly truthful in the OtoBoku review; I don't mind the odd harem anime (though I still HATE HATE HATE that term), but it must follow three simple rules:
1: It must be entertaining. That, by itself, discludes most modern harems, as rule two goes on to specify that-
2: It can't be more than 1/4 pointless fanservice. Any more than that and you have a show that runs pretty much entirely on the panty shot and excessive amounts of innuendo. I can only stand so much tasteless humor. Shows that operate like this definitely don't follow rule-
3: The plot has to move forward. I like story. Story is what keeps me watching something. No story=no point=unhappy Screw=ranty, frustrated Screw.
That all said, Shuffle! has done everything RIGHT. It's rare to encounter a harem anime that's not total fanservicey crap, so I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down and watched the first episode and found that it completely lacked any panty shots, boobs-in-face/camera gags, facepalm-worthy 'jokes', and all the other trademarks that generally send me running in the opposite direction from the genre. This probably has to do with the fact that, like Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru (aka OtoBoku, just to clear that up), Shuffle!'s source material was a visual novel- a medium which tends to fall into two categories, "amazing" and "crap".
Shuffle! has a slightly-dubious-but-still-acceptable premise: Some time ago, two gateways opened on Earth, one from the world of the gods, and one from the world of the demons. Instead of waging a cross-dimensional war like one might expect, the gods and demons started immigrating over to our world because they thought it was pretty nice over here. Incidentally, the only way we really have to distinguish what's what, since all three races basically look human, is ear length- Gods have short pointy Vulcan ears, while demons have long pointy elf ears. Fast-forwarding to present day, it's not uncommon for students to find themselves seated next to other gods or demons. Rin, our protagonist, is just another student at just another school. However, as a refreshing change from the cliche, he's not some worthless, oblivious, indecisive worm like most other harem protagonists, he actually has a personality (what a concept!). He gets understandably upset over things, trades verbal blows with his (relentlessly perverted) best friend, and is fully aware of everything going on around him and the consequences that a stupid decision can carry. And while he still carries the Nobility Ball around like a treasured teddy bear, he has a way of presenting himself that makes it clear that "Nice Guy" is only a -facet- of who he is, not his entire character.
All the characters are well-presented, actually. Itsuki, aforementioned relentless pervert, usually has only one thing on his mind: girls, girls, girls. He constantly jabs his friend for being surrounded by girls who are crazy for him, but when Rin is in trouble, Itsuki is there to help bail him out, making him feel like less of a jealous nuisance and more like useful comedy relief. Kareha, one of the goddesses in Rin's class, is friends with a few of the main players, and is always willing to give some advice, but melts into a giggling puddle of goo when romance- or even the idea of it- comes into play. The teacher presents herself as a no-nonsense hardass ("Class is starting, butts in seats!"), but she's also shown that she's genuinely concerned for her students. And then there's Rin's harem; Kaede is his housemate and childhood friend, who goes to backbreaking lengths to help him because she's had a huge crush on him for the longest time. Asa is a sporty tomboy and a masterful chef; she tries to live life to its fullest but can't seem to admit her feelings for him. Lisianthus (Sia, for short) is the princess of the gods, has a cheerful and outgoing personality, and is a competent housekeeper, but a poor study and her first option for shutting up somebody who's said too much (especially her father!) is to whack them over the head with the first chair she lays hands on that isn't bolted down. Nerine, on the other hand, is princess of the demons, is more of an introvert, and can't do housework to save her life, but is exceptionally intelligent and has a lot of heart. Finally, there's Primula, who is extremely soft-spoken and doesn't show much emotion (ever), but seems to always know the right thing to do in a situation that has everybody else panicking.
It's interesting to note that although the girls are all vying for his hand, all of them are also on good terms with each other. Sia and Nerine both moved in next door to Rin and Kaede (it's plot related), and the four walk to school together. Asa, Kaede, Itsuki, and Rin share friendly banter before class starts. There's an episode where everybody goes shopping together. Despite the fact that everybody knows who their romantic rivals are, there is absolutely no animosity or jealous feuding, and it's a change for the better- You can only play the "These two hate each other!" card so many times and still have it come off as funny.
On the other side of the coin, though...
As backstories are exposed one by one, though, things serious the hell up. The show goes from being a romance comedy with dramatic elements to a drama with romantic-comedic elements. Primula's arc was the final nail in the coffin- After it's concluded, there's no doubt that everything has changed, and things are coming to a swift and definite end. It's a clever bait and switch, drawing in viewers with "Look, Comedy!" and then slapping them in the face with actual intriguing stories, but it's also one that'll knock you on your butt if you can't see it coming. I had the gigantic wall of text up there written out before I hit the second half of the show, and now I'm not entirely sure it's all still applicable. The transition feels a bit like the endings to the Tenchi Muyo OVAs- It's funny up until the point where the writers have decided they're bored with funny and want to tell an actual story, and then the entire viewing audience gets hit over the head by drama that came from out of nowhere, leaving them to ask themselves if they're still watching the same thing they were 2 episodes ago. "Where'd all this come from?!"
As a word of further warning, Shuffle! isn't afraid to get risque. There's a scene where the camera is focused on a certain female character, sitting in the bath, thinking to themselves, they stand up to get out- and the camera DOESN'T cut away to the bathroom door or the character's back, or anything else that would leave it up to the viewer's minds. It's a brief moment of sudden boobage and it's unexpected and surprising* and one of the few early moments that clues us into the fact that despite the initial fluffy atmosphere, the show isn't entirely kid-friendly. There's the usual harem-comedy perverted humor (used very sparingly, thank GOD), but then there are also a few moments where the show decides to remind us it was made for adults, or at the very least late teens, and does so. Effectively. There's no sex, but beware of unexpected (and uncensored) breast shots.
What I can say about Shuffle! is that it's a definite step up from the crowd. Rin DOES choose (because he's not a spineless indecisive wimp, and amazingly competent for a harem protagonist), but at the end of the day no matter who he picked for his romantic partner, the show's designed that it really could have gone any other way, and that's a definite plus. None of the characters are grating or even moderately poorly handled, even though it's adapted from a visual novel and adaptations from one medium to another tend to go horribly awry.
It's not bad, but it does have NSFW bits here and there so if I said "go watch it" I'd also have to say "but not around the kids, because it's rated R".
*and in addition to this, it made me choke on the water I was drinking. That NEVER happens...
Okay, so I wasn't exactly truthful in the OtoBoku review; I don't mind the odd harem anime (though I still HATE HATE HATE that term), but it must follow three simple rules:
1: It must be entertaining. That, by itself, discludes most modern harems, as rule two goes on to specify that-
2: It can't be more than 1/4 pointless fanservice. Any more than that and you have a show that runs pretty much entirely on the panty shot and excessive amounts of innuendo. I can only stand so much tasteless humor. Shows that operate like this definitely don't follow rule-
3: The plot has to move forward. I like story. Story is what keeps me watching something. No story=no point=unhappy Screw=ranty, frustrated Screw.
That all said, Shuffle! has done everything RIGHT. It's rare to encounter a harem anime that's not total fanservicey crap, so I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down and watched the first episode and found that it completely lacked any panty shots, boobs-in-face/camera gags, facepalm-worthy 'jokes', and all the other trademarks that generally send me running in the opposite direction from the genre. This probably has to do with the fact that, like Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru (aka OtoBoku, just to clear that up), Shuffle!'s source material was a visual novel- a medium which tends to fall into two categories, "amazing" and "crap".
 |
| Everybody's looking at the camera except Kaede, who was distracted by the most adorable doggy in the world. |
All the characters are well-presented, actually. Itsuki, aforementioned relentless pervert, usually has only one thing on his mind: girls, girls, girls. He constantly jabs his friend for being surrounded by girls who are crazy for him, but when Rin is in trouble, Itsuki is there to help bail him out, making him feel like less of a jealous nuisance and more like useful comedy relief. Kareha, one of the goddesses in Rin's class, is friends with a few of the main players, and is always willing to give some advice, but melts into a giggling puddle of goo when romance- or even the idea of it- comes into play. The teacher presents herself as a no-nonsense hardass ("Class is starting, butts in seats!"), but she's also shown that she's genuinely concerned for her students. And then there's Rin's harem; Kaede is his housemate and childhood friend, who goes to backbreaking lengths to help him because she's had a huge crush on him for the longest time. Asa is a sporty tomboy and a masterful chef; she tries to live life to its fullest but can't seem to admit her feelings for him. Lisianthus (Sia, for short) is the princess of the gods, has a cheerful and outgoing personality, and is a competent housekeeper, but a poor study and her first option for shutting up somebody who's said too much (especially her father!) is to whack them over the head with the first chair she lays hands on that isn't bolted down. Nerine, on the other hand, is princess of the demons, is more of an introvert, and can't do housework to save her life, but is exceptionally intelligent and has a lot of heart. Finally, there's Primula, who is extremely soft-spoken and doesn't show much emotion (ever), but seems to always know the right thing to do in a situation that has everybody else panicking.
It's interesting to note that although the girls are all vying for his hand, all of them are also on good terms with each other. Sia and Nerine both moved in next door to Rin and Kaede (it's plot related), and the four walk to school together. Asa, Kaede, Itsuki, and Rin share friendly banter before class starts. There's an episode where everybody goes shopping together. Despite the fact that everybody knows who their romantic rivals are, there is absolutely no animosity or jealous feuding, and it's a change for the better- You can only play the "These two hate each other!" card so many times and still have it come off as funny.
On the other side of the coin, though...
As backstories are exposed one by one, though, things serious the hell up. The show goes from being a romance comedy with dramatic elements to a drama with romantic-comedic elements. Primula's arc was the final nail in the coffin- After it's concluded, there's no doubt that everything has changed, and things are coming to a swift and definite end. It's a clever bait and switch, drawing in viewers with "Look, Comedy!" and then slapping them in the face with actual intriguing stories, but it's also one that'll knock you on your butt if you can't see it coming. I had the gigantic wall of text up there written out before I hit the second half of the show, and now I'm not entirely sure it's all still applicable. The transition feels a bit like the endings to the Tenchi Muyo OVAs- It's funny up until the point where the writers have decided they're bored with funny and want to tell an actual story, and then the entire viewing audience gets hit over the head by drama that came from out of nowhere, leaving them to ask themselves if they're still watching the same thing they were 2 episodes ago. "Where'd all this come from?!"
As a word of further warning, Shuffle! isn't afraid to get risque. There's a scene where the camera is focused on a certain female character, sitting in the bath, thinking to themselves, they stand up to get out- and the camera DOESN'T cut away to the bathroom door or the character's back, or anything else that would leave it up to the viewer's minds. It's a brief moment of sudden boobage and it's unexpected and surprising* and one of the few early moments that clues us into the fact that despite the initial fluffy atmosphere, the show isn't entirely kid-friendly. There's the usual harem-comedy perverted humor (used very sparingly, thank GOD), but then there are also a few moments where the show decides to remind us it was made for adults, or at the very least late teens, and does so. Effectively. There's no sex, but beware of unexpected (and uncensored) breast shots.
What I can say about Shuffle! is that it's a definite step up from the crowd. Rin DOES choose (because he's not a spineless indecisive wimp, and amazingly competent for a harem protagonist), but at the end of the day no matter who he picked for his romantic partner, the show's designed that it really could have gone any other way, and that's a definite plus. None of the characters are grating or even moderately poorly handled, even though it's adapted from a visual novel and adaptations from one medium to another tend to go horribly awry.
It's not bad, but it does have NSFW bits here and there so if I said "go watch it" I'd also have to say "but not around the kids, because it's rated R".
*and in addition to this, it made me choke on the water I was drinking. That NEVER happens...
Comments
Post a Comment