Sunday, August 23, 2009

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 06
















Episode 06 (8.5/10 Great!)

Impression:

Despite that the artwork in the first quarter of the episode was terrible, and despite that a colleague of mine said this episode lacked the quality of the others, I really enjoyed it. Mari is my favorite character, so a look into her mind was welcomed. This episode took the time to develop her character. Aya was a good addition to the show; she provided a foil for Mari and was pretty funny. What she was doing dragging around a metal bat, I don’t know, but she was interesting for sure.

Suggestive Content:
Scenes of fire and destruction.

Rating:

Animation: 7/10

Characters: 10/10

Writing: 9/10

Pacing: 8/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Yurumeitsu - 66/100
























Concept: (5/10)

When the anime makes an allusion to its lack of originality within the first five minutes, there’s no reason to pretend it is unique. (For those of you who don’t know whose outline that was, it’s Kyoko from Maison Ikkoku.)

Writing: (6/10)

This was just meant for fun, so I didn’t expect a story or anything. Yurumates is a string of gags. So, please, don’t set unrealistic expectations for this! Just sit back, relax, smile, and watch the fun.

Characters: (6/10)

As Yurumates and several, several anime have proven, losers and weirdos will always be entertaining. I’m afraid, though, these aren’t real characters. They are pictures with traits assigned to them. I know that gag manga don’t need psyches, they need character types to act out their jokes, but there’s nothing lost when a writer takes the time to work on the characters. I’m not talking about making up characteristics; I’m talking about bringing to life a character that can move on their own, without using its “type” as a crutch. Kumi’s name really suited her; if I’m right, it means “cloud” and she sure was a space case. She’s my favorite; I liked Sae, too.

Animation/Artwork: (7/10)

I like saxyun’s drawing better than the anime adaptation – though the differences were very subtle. I suppose no one is as picky as I am. These are by no means groundbreaking visuals and they used the patterned backgrounds frequently. However, the animation was solid and I liked the way it moved. As for the backgrounds, they were able to set the mood. I have plenty of good screenshots.

Voice Acting: (8/10)

Good job.
Enjoyment: (8/10)

As you can tell, I like slice-of-life, I even like gag anime. I don’t understand the rice cooker gag, though. It was funny and all, but I thought the Japanese ate rice every day. Why would Yurume not use hers for a month and Matsukichi for three years? I think more could be done with this as far as character, but it was enjoyable and lighthearted.

Rating: 66/100

Content Warning:

Yurume’s house mates drink and party a lot; other than that, though, it’s clean, fluffy fun.

Recommendations:

Hidamari Sketch, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Strawberry Marshmallow