Let me explain this one first. Yeah yeah, it's an anime basically for kids. Female kids even. A friend made me watch it. That's not the real reason though.
Studio 4C. That's why.
For those unfamiliar, Studio 4C is an animation studio that gave us (and by "us" I mean... not many people) the movies Tekkon Kincreet (which was pretty good) and Mind Game (which was AMAZING, but only released in Japan because life is unfair) along with the odd series Kemonozume (which is also quite brilliant.) The one thing all of these shows have in common is their vividly imaginative visual style. I say this as someone who has seen his fair share of anime, but is also vaguely sick of the usual anime visual style. The style of Studio 4C shows tends to be equal parts anime and then european style comics and american independent animation. It's a delirious mix that consistently surprises with it's camera angles, compositions, use of color schemes and odd animation effects. Mind Game was best among these, followed by Kemonozume, then Tekkon Kincreet. Coming in last is Tweeny Witches, which seems to be the company's shot at making a relatively "normal" anime style series. I found the show on their website and mentioned it to Cap'n Mystery (name changed for political reasons) who then watched the show on youtube (her being closer to the target demographic than I am). When it later came out on DVD in the states, she promptly snapped it up and watched it all over again, this time dragging me along for the ride.
As I said, the show seems to be the company's attempt at making a regular anime. Unfortunately it is not as easy and breezy as most regular anime's nor is it as cutting edge as their usual fair. In the end, the whole thing is less than the sum of the parts. Visually, it is an amazing show. Witches and wizards fly about wearing goggles and drawn in such odd shapes that highlight more the outlining shapes of the characters. It's hard to describe what makes the style so beautiful to me. But a funny thing happened on the way to the end of the show: I kept falling asleep. Not that this is new to me, but no matter how dramatic the story got, I was slightly puzzled/bored/apathetic. It was all a bit too much grand gesturing with every grand gesture/plot twist displayed as if in a case showing the most generic essence of each thing. This despite the show being really weird.
What was it about? A girl named Arusu (or Alice) finding herself in a magical world where magic exists and fairies are being hunted for.. some reason. Something to do with dark magic/light magic and some other hoohah. Alice is supposed to be spunky and fun, but we know this more because we are told this many times. Not because she actually is. And that is the problem. The show seems to be advertising what it's all about more than actually BEING what it is all about. In the end though, I had no real idea what had happened, just how I was supposed to feel but didn't really.
Still, it was really effin' pretty.
Grade: C
For Cat or other type nerds, me included: B-
Studio 4C. That's why.
For those unfamiliar, Studio 4C is an animation studio that gave us (and by "us" I mean... not many people) the movies Tekkon Kincreet (which was pretty good) and Mind Game (which was AMAZING, but only released in Japan because life is unfair) along with the odd series Kemonozume (which is also quite brilliant.) The one thing all of these shows have in common is their vividly imaginative visual style. I say this as someone who has seen his fair share of anime, but is also vaguely sick of the usual anime visual style. The style of Studio 4C shows tends to be equal parts anime and then european style comics and american independent animation. It's a delirious mix that consistently surprises with it's camera angles, compositions, use of color schemes and odd animation effects. Mind Game was best among these, followed by Kemonozume, then Tekkon Kincreet. Coming in last is Tweeny Witches, which seems to be the company's shot at making a relatively "normal" anime style series. I found the show on their website and mentioned it to Cap'n Mystery (name changed for political reasons) who then watched the show on youtube (her being closer to the target demographic than I am). When it later came out on DVD in the states, she promptly snapped it up and watched it all over again, this time dragging me along for the ride.
As I said, the show seems to be the company's attempt at making a regular anime. Unfortunately it is not as easy and breezy as most regular anime's nor is it as cutting edge as their usual fair. In the end, the whole thing is less than the sum of the parts. Visually, it is an amazing show. Witches and wizards fly about wearing goggles and drawn in such odd shapes that highlight more the outlining shapes of the characters. It's hard to describe what makes the style so beautiful to me. But a funny thing happened on the way to the end of the show: I kept falling asleep. Not that this is new to me, but no matter how dramatic the story got, I was slightly puzzled/bored/apathetic. It was all a bit too much grand gesturing with every grand gesture/plot twist displayed as if in a case showing the most generic essence of each thing. This despite the show being really weird.
What was it about? A girl named Arusu (or Alice) finding herself in a magical world where magic exists and fairies are being hunted for.. some reason. Something to do with dark magic/light magic and some other hoohah. Alice is supposed to be spunky and fun, but we know this more because we are told this many times. Not because she actually is. And that is the problem. The show seems to be advertising what it's all about more than actually BEING what it is all about. In the end though, I had no real idea what had happened, just how I was supposed to feel but didn't really.
Still, it was really effin' pretty.
Grade: C
For Cat or other type nerds, me included: B-
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