Rakuga Kidou reports that fans of Yusei Matsui’s manga Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro are so unhappy with the anime adaptation that they’ve started up a petition to try and pressure the producers at Madhouse into being more faithful to the original.
Now, I haven’t read the manga so I can’t address the faithfulness, but I hope that the producers pay attention and that it results in slightly less insipid mysteries. I love the characters and their interactions, I really like the visuals, but I can pretty much always tell who the bad guy is within five seconds of them appearing on screen (if not faster).
So we’re up to ~episode six in most series, which is the halfway point for the Fall season (though not necessarily the halfway point for each show). I figured I’d check in and talk about where I am with each show these days.
Bamboo Blade: Miya-Miya owns the ass of every female character this season, hands down. Then again, it’s not like she’s up against a lot of competition. Status: Watching regularly.
Blue Drop: The pacing is sooo slow, it took until episode three or four for anything to actually happen. But the promise of lesbians keeps me going. Status: Watching regularly.
Clannad: I maintain that this show would be so much better if they would just ditch Nagisa entirely. Beyond that, I’m liking it better than I expected to. I do still wish that anyone looked somewhat close to how old they actually are / sound…but eh. Status: Watching regularly.
Dragonaut: The Resonance: I can’t explain why I keep watching this show. I’m not really fond of the art style, the plot is pretty mediocre…and yet, I keep watching. I blame the boobies. Status: Watching regularly.
Genshiken 2: Ogiue’s Sasahara x Madarama FTW. That is all. Status: Watching regularly.
Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun: GOOO REIKA! GO GO GO! Mayu’s cute, but boring. Status: Watching regularly.
Jyuushin Enbu: Story-wise it’s gotten better, but the art and animation are still incredibly mediocre compared to FMA, and the characters aren’t as cool either. Status: Watching every so-often.
Kaiji: I’m interested in seeing where this goes, but running out of space on my anime plate for watching it. Status: Dropped for watching later.
Kidou Senshi Gundam 00: Major improvements in terms of developing characters, but I think I still like the ending theme better than anything else about the show. Status: Watching regularly.
KimiKiss: I like this show, and I think it’s because it’s a dating sim but not one that focuses on one guy and a dozen girls, but rather a group of friends (male and female) and their love lives. Status: Watching regularly.
Kodomo no Jikan: Epic yet uncomfortable win. But I’ve ranted about this show being undervalued as mere pedo fodder enough, so suffice to say Status: Watching regularly.
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro: I would totally be watching this show IF ANYONE WOULD FREAKIN’ SUB IT. I’ve actually already seen people cosplay from the manga, and yet no one will sub the anime? Am I missing something? Status: Watching…if it ever comes out.
Minamike: I like the show a lot, but almost all the comedy comes from either crazy middle sister Kana, or crazy Kana-like characters (Chiaki and Haruka each have a classmate with a similar dynamic). And Kana is never given the opportunity to have any redeeming features. Hmph. Status: Watching regularly.
Moyashimon: This one’s a little behind, but I like it…though the agriculture 101 bits can be a little dull, the rest of the batshit insane stuff makes up for it. Status: Watching regularly.
Night Wizard: I’m getting a little tired of Eris being the sweet, cheerful, flock-of-birds attracting Mary Sue, and annoyed at Renji being the show’s whipping boy with, like Minamike’s Kana, no real opportunity to redeem himself. Status: Considering dropping.
Prism Ark: …One episode was really enough. Status: Dropped.
Rental Magika: It got so boring in episode three I just couldn’t continue. Status: Dropped.
Shinrei Kari / Ghost Hound: I still have some issues with the art style, but the pacing has picked itself up nicely and I’m curious to see where it’s going. Status: Watching regularly.
Shion no Oh: Mmm, delicious trap, must eat. Status: Watching regularly.
Shugo Chara! Mmm, delicious magical girl, must eat. This is probably one of the more solid shows of the season, IMO, though it’s obvious not for everyone. Status: Watching regularly.
Suteki Tantei Labyrinth: Looks cute, but pretty dull– I’m more interested in the dolls than in anything to do with the main character. Status: Dropped.
Overall: ♥♥♥♥ (Neuro made it to third base with me.)
Thoughts:
What do you get when you pair a gluttonous demon with a gluttonous high school girl? You get Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, the tale of the demon Neuro who, having eaten all the mysteries of the demon world, decides to move to the human world. There, he attaches himself to a remarkably skinny over-eater named Yako and forces her to become a detective so that he can eat all of the mysteries she comes across. Before long, she’s a local celebrity: the high school girl detective. (Neuro acts as her mysteriously talented assistant.)
The show is solid in its humor and premise, although the first mystery is a bit cheesy in some parts. The ending is pretty surprising, or at least it was to me, though admittedly I’m not a big mystery buff. I don’t think it’s especially a “solve the mystery on your own!” kind of mystery show though; I think they prefer to surprise the audience with the how-dunnit (if not so much the who-dunnit).
The art isn’t always to my taste, especially on the secondary-and-lower characters who’ve appeared so far. But it looks like it’s going to be a fun ride. ♥
Instead of posting about all manner of depressing things here today (like I’ve been doing over at theOtaku), I’m going to post a bunch of videos I’ve stumbled upon this evening.
First up: Sayonara Neuro-sensei:
FF6 High School Host Club:
And, how did I miss this? Apparenlty it’s a little old, but too awesome to pass up. Ef Star:
