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Spring 2014 Anime |OT2| about as likely as a second season of Hyouka
- Thread starter Dresden
- Start date
- Status
I'm trying to recall if a single sole even mentioned this in last year's AotY.
Best Gintama OP is one of the best. There's a reason they always return to the song. First Gintama' OP is pretty great too, there's a lot of good ones.
AnathemicOne
Banned
Love Live! School Idol Project - Season Review
Well here we are at the season review for the first season of Love Live! Was a good show, was it a good idol show? Who are best girls? The following below will answer these questions!
Disclaimer #1: Since Love Live! is and advertised as an idol show, then I shall compare it off an idol show I’ve already seen: The iDOLM@STER.
Disclaimer #2: Ironically Love Live! will be the first I do a series review divided into six separate categories (that matter to me) for easy reading.
Disclaimer #3: There are SPOILERS ahead.
Plot
For an idol show I’m not really expecting much of plot but on the same token I expect atleast something (be it major or minor) to hook me in initially. Love Live! had nothing of the sort: typical high school setting with a generic goal of saving the high school from shutting down, coupled with the entire idol group of course being a school club. Whilst idol shows consist of young teenage and young adult girls/women, the common anime trope of a high school setting is not necessary, as iM@S has shown, and comes off as an unoriginal setting for the show itself.
Pacing
Love Live! progressed at an enjoyable rate with the exception of the last episode being rushed in tying all the plot threads together within its short time frame. This rushed nature only added to the nature of the ending which its drama felt contrived and forced. Aside from that, however, the pacing was standard.
Characters
Most characters of Love Live! encompassed a character archetype of some sort yet never really expanded off it. Most characters underwent their own character development arcs but a few fell short when compared to other characters in the idol group.
However, special shoutout to Honoka Kousaka. This particular character fulfilled the role of the main character being the leader of the idol group dedicated to overall goal of saving her school… except completely making a 180 direction of character during the last few episodes in that taking a selfish persona based off competing against other idol groups which ultimately resulted in ignoring her surrounding and friend(s) in need, a persona that was not only jarring but had no relevance to the original goal of the show in which this character once encompassed. Haruka Amami from iM@S fulfilled this same role and her drama/character building arc was done better, twice, and said arc never had Haruka forsake her friends in such a way like Honoka did.
Music
Music plays a heavy role in an idol show and as such Love Live! is not an exception. Fortunately a majority of songs in this show were enjoyable with the best ironically coming off of the competing idol group of A-Rise (whose song was only shown once). To compare with iM@S, however, such songs (with the exception of two or three (including A-Rise’s song)) are simply not on the same level. Recalling iM@S’s Chihaya Kasaragi’s ‘Yakusoku’ filled with heavy emotion and orchestral background, Love Live! has no such similar songs.
Animation/Artstyle
Animation in an idol show is a big deal as you’re capturing said characters on screen in their idol activities such as singing and dancing. The show’s regular 2D animation was decent and is done well when applied to its comedic scenes, however, the show decided to also mix in CG models and animation in its actual dances/songs shown, a big aspect of any idol show and here ultimately making it look mediocre. Not only during these segments do constant switches of 2D/CG happen, most of the choreography of each song is done in CG. If anything the usage of CG models served a poor advertisement for the Love Live! game (which I don’t know whether the game or anime came first).
Artstyle is pretty average. While it is pretty Love Live! fails in character design to distinguish a character’s uniqueness with eyes and facial structures looking very similar across multiple idols, having only a select few being the exception (ironically Honoka, leader of the idol group, not being part of said exception). In addition the school uniform was bland also.
Ending
As stated previously the pacing for this show was standard until the ending where it was rushed. The episode before the last exposed a problem that was building up over the previous two episode, then the last episode consisted of the idol group disbanding, an idol member quitting long-term, idols having their faults take over, idols realizing their faults, a time of distance between idols, the idol group reforming, said idol member quitting long-term deciding to not quit, and a concert. This rushed nature added to the contrivance of the drama in the first place stemming from idol leader Honoka which was explained previously. Overall a poor rushed end to the show.
BEST GIRL!??!?!?
An idol show must have best girl! This is terrorist’s law (props to anyone getting this reference)! So who is best girl in my opinion? Well unfortunately I wasn’t invested enough into Love Live! to put a single girl above all the rest. However my top three (in no particular order) are, Eri/Eli Ayase, Umi Sonoda, and Maki Nishikino. These characters sharing a similar characterization of being sane, though said characterization is not limited to being the sole one of declaring best girls of the show.
Overall Rating
Compared to iM@S, Love Live! simply doesn’t. Will I watch its currently airing second season? Most likely after a break from it for a while. Love Live! is a decent idol show with enjoyable music, however doesn’t have the strength to stand equal (or even near-equal) to iM@S which is a shame because with a smaller cast you would think said idol characters would be more fleshed out.
Well here we are at the season review for the first season of Love Live! Was a good show, was it a good idol show? Who are best girls? The following below will answer these questions!
Disclaimer #1: Since Love Live! is and advertised as an idol show, then I shall compare it off an idol show I’ve already seen: The iDOLM@STER.
Disclaimer #2: Ironically Love Live! will be the first I do a series review divided into six separate categories (that matter to me) for easy reading.
Disclaimer #3: There are SPOILERS ahead.
Plot
For an idol show I’m not really expecting much of plot but on the same token I expect atleast something (be it major or minor) to hook me in initially. Love Live! had nothing of the sort: typical high school setting with a generic goal of saving the high school from shutting down, coupled with the entire idol group of course being a school club. Whilst idol shows consist of young teenage and young adult girls/women, the common anime trope of a high school setting is not necessary, as iM@S has shown, and comes off as an unoriginal setting for the show itself.
Pacing
Love Live! progressed at an enjoyable rate with the exception of the last episode being rushed in tying all the plot threads together within its short time frame. This rushed nature only added to the nature of the ending which its drama felt contrived and forced. Aside from that, however, the pacing was standard.
Characters
Most characters of Love Live! encompassed a character archetype of some sort yet never really expanded off it. Most characters underwent their own character development arcs but a few fell short when compared to other characters in the idol group.
However, special shoutout to Honoka Kousaka. This particular character fulfilled the role of the main character being the leader of the idol group dedicated to overall goal of saving her school… except completely making a 180 direction of character during the last few episodes in that taking a selfish persona based off competing against other idol groups which ultimately resulted in ignoring her surrounding and friend(s) in need, a persona that was not only jarring but had no relevance to the original goal of the show in which this character once encompassed. Haruka Amami from iM@S fulfilled this same role and her drama/character building arc was done better, twice, and said arc never had Haruka forsake her friends in such a way like Honoka did.
Music
Music plays a heavy role in an idol show and as such Love Live! is not an exception. Fortunately a majority of songs in this show were enjoyable with the best ironically coming off of the competing idol group of A-Rise (whose song was only shown once). To compare with iM@S, however, such songs (with the exception of two or three (including A-Rise’s song)) are simply not on the same level. Recalling iM@S’s Chihaya Kasaragi’s ‘Yakusoku’ filled with heavy emotion and orchestral background, Love Live! has no such similar songs.
Animation/Artstyle
Animation in an idol show is a big deal as you’re capturing said characters on screen in their idol activities such as singing and dancing. The show’s regular 2D animation was decent and is done well when applied to its comedic scenes, however, the show decided to also mix in CG models and animation in its actual dances/songs shown, a big aspect of any idol show and here ultimately making it look mediocre. Not only during these segments do constant switches of 2D/CG happen, most of the choreography of each song is done in CG. If anything the usage of CG models served a poor advertisement for the Love Live! game (which I don’t know whether the game or anime came first).
Artstyle is pretty average. While it is pretty Love Live! fails in character design to distinguish a character’s uniqueness with eyes and facial structures looking very similar across multiple idols, having only a select few being the exception (ironically Honoka, leader of the idol group, not being part of said exception). In addition the school uniform was bland also.
Ending
As stated previously the pacing for this show was standard until the ending where it was rushed. The episode before the last exposed a problem that was building up over the previous two episode, then the last episode consisted of the idol group disbanding, an idol member quitting long-term, idols having their faults take over, idols realizing their faults, a time of distance between idols, the idol group reforming, said idol member quitting long-term deciding to not quit, and a concert. This rushed nature added to the contrivance of the drama in the first place stemming from idol leader Honoka which was explained previously. Overall a poor rushed end to the show.
BEST GIRL!??!?!?
An idol show must have best girl! This is terrorist’s law (props to anyone getting this reference)! So who is best girl in my opinion? Well unfortunately I wasn’t invested enough into Love Live! to put a single girl above all the rest. However my top three (in no particular order) are, Eri/Eli Ayase, Umi Sonoda, and Maki Nishikino. These characters sharing a similar characterization of being sane, though said characterization is not limited to being the sole one of declaring best girls of the show.
Overall Rating
Compared to iM@S, Love Live! simply doesn’t. Will I watch its currently airing second season? Most likely after a break from it for a while. Love Live! is a decent idol show with enjoyable music, however doesn’t have the strength to stand equal (or even near-equal) to iM@S which is a shame because with a smaller cast you would think said idol characters would be more fleshed out.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Another man out for my heart. Man love triangle forming up.
Hell that's hard. If there's one positive thing that shounen anime as a whole can lay claim to, it's that they have a disproportionately high number of great, memorable OPs compared to anime as a whole. Of course, part of that is an inherent advantage of many of these shows running long enough to result in several OPs per show and thus increasing the likelihood of at least one standout OP, but even between, for instance, One Piece and Bleach, there might be ten or fifteen OPs that are really good listening.
If I had to list FIVE that I really like in no particular order, though:
1. Brand New World (One Piece) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KXBIPZ_c_I
2. Makka na Chikai (Busou Renkin) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcYnLcWYYo
3. Tonight Tonight Tonight (Bleach) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s94SBuQ99U
4. Again (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGcoZh3MIiY
5. Sono Chi no Sadame (JoJo Phantom Blood) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZtGDSZie5I
Admiral Woofington
Member
Two wrongs don't make a right, despite what math tells you.
Also I enjoy that song in the same way I enjoy a bad movie. So bad it's good.
Admiral Woofington
Member
another favorite because it makes me lulz over how drastically different it is from the japanese ones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9kN0pct-Q8
It's so 'Murican I love it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9kN0pct-Q8
It's so 'Murican I love it
You're right, that specific version is the best.
The best thing about this OP is that several of the scenes are from the DBZ movies, so you could watch the entire series waiting to recognize the clips and you'd never see them.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Oh, but it doesn't even compare to this or this. That guitar is pretty sick tho
There's also the Hilarious Canadian OP
Prefer the og fma openings (although I'm superfond of op1/Again, as I linked above). I mean yo damn.
Not so fond of the song here, but Soul Eater's first opening has some great animation.
Admiral Woofington
Member
The spanish version basically did the first one in spanish. That's the one I know.
As to the second one? What is this Dragon Ball GT it references? I don't recall that show exisiting.... my brain feels weird.
Also speaking of hispanic version of songs, prepare to be amazed by glorious childhood memories of mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHM1Hnz1CY0
CABALLEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS DEL ZODIAAAAAAAAAAACO
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Jex
Member
The only one that matters.
Remember when shaft had good openings? Umetsu + Maaya.
Arakawa had a great opening as well. S2's op is nifty but it doesn't flow as well.
Arakawa had a great opening as well. S2's op is nifty but it doesn't flow as well.
Dawg, Soul Eater had a most legit OP. Even if I didn't enjoy the show as much as I wanted to, I get nostalgic as hell for this every time.
Heeeeeell yes!
Heeeeeell yes!
I remember watching FMA for the first time on adult swim as a teenager and just about shitting myself when the OP suddenly changed from Ready Steady Go to Rewrite around episode 40. I wasn't expecting a new OP that nailed the bleak tone of the final arc at all.
Then discovering that there were two more OPs that [as] didn't even air.
Admiral Woofington
Member
oh fuck me the name got me to spit my metaphorical drink.
Now i want to read french versions of every anime title.
Les Balles Du Dragon Zeeeeeeeet HUNH HUNH HUNH OUI MONSIEUR
Also why bother with YOU WANT SHOCK
When I AM SHOOOOCK
I would say the OG FMA OPs aren't as sharp on a direction front compared to Brotherhood's ones. Like the one you linked is sort of meandering all over the place. I do very much like the songs though.
Yea I hated the fuck out of the song for the first OP for Soul Eater. I would say the best are OP 4 and OP 2. I think OP 4 is stronger on a direction standpoint but OP 2 is my favorite due to the song.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Honestly if good music is something you're looking into, definitely watch Gintama. Easily the best songs, not only in the OP's and ED's but also the OST.
edit: totally off topic but I still can't get used to having a tag.
edit: totally off topic but I still can't get used to having a tag.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Admiral Woofington
Member
Oh please.
If we're talking about ED's I will literally fight you if you don't post this song as the best shonen ED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McwljLS8sYc
Seriously I will. Raise those fists up.
If we're talking about ED's I will literally fight you if you don't post this song as the best shonen ED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McwljLS8sYc
Seriously I will. Raise those fists up.
I was all ready to link that ED to refute whatever you had posted. :lol
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
It's harder for me to think of great shonen EDs, I usually end up skipping them. The Roundabout and Walk Like an Egyptian JoJo EDs are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. The visuals in the second are so good.
What a dorky tag.
What a dorky tag.
Oh yea, the 2nd half of ED3 is pretty awesome. I have a really big spot for that.
Yup. Fight Together is my current favorite One Piece opening.
Hellsing321
Member
Fuck! The one night I decide to have a social life and something good happens!
Oh well!
Kawai Complex Guide 9
Oh well!
Kawai Complex Guide 9
Am I kawaii uguu, Senpai?
Not posting the second best show OP beside the gintama one.
Jack Bauer
On a more serious note always liked these.
Akagi - Durarara OP2 and Outlaw star
Jack Bauer
On a more serious note always liked these.
Akagi - Durarara OP2 and Outlaw star
Anime needs more long shots, that's impressive.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
You missed the Dinosaurs.
Admiral Woofington
Member
I nod approvingly at you. I would find a gif of a dog doing it but fuck googling with this slow internet.
No you
Nostalgia factor is unbeatable with this one but it's almost nothing but reused animation from the show so it can't win audiovisually.
Grip was probably my fave.
Inuyasha was rare in that it had better EDs than OPs, though. Shinjitsu no Uta > *
Jex
Member
Nah man, this is DA BEST:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgrzUzJg3jI
So much animation. Such frames.
You know, as a kid, I really didn't like the first ED. I thought it was pretty boring but now, I've really come to appreciate it on a lot of levels and it really is a fantastic ED. It says something when the entire ED is on Sakuga wiki. It's literally one big one-take and doing this in an animated format is hard as fuck. There's so many shifting perspectives and Norimitsu Suzuki put in some work.
That said....
My favorite is either ED 2 or ED 3. I think song-wise, ED 2 is my favorite. Such a great song.
How does that even happen?
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