Basquash! episode 14 ~ When it truly begins…welcome back Basquash!

Ignoring the gaping hole where I left off back in episode 8 purely because the series started to become all shakey which really affected my enjoyment of the it, it is good to see that this is the real episode since a long time where the series makes a strong comeback and proceeds to move forward at full steam (episode 13 also did this but I wasn’t sure until watching this episode). So with a fresh new OP/ED theme and things getting back on track, I shall continue with my selective review of the series. Bring on the Basquash!

Hell yea! We are back in business!

Time Out! (Because I’m Sick And Tired Of People Telling Me I’m Watching K-On Wrong)

K-On In A Nutshell, Light, Fluffy, Cute, It Is What It Is, But It Doesn’t Mean That People Can’t Criticize It Within That Context

It’s no secret that my experience with K-On and in finishing it has been an arduous one and that I’ve been very critical of what I saw as it’s total lack of imagination with gag bits and characters that I found to ultimately prove about as interesting as the kind you might see on a Saturday Night Live sketch during one of it’s poorer seasons, but that is not what I am here to talk about.  I am here to address the frequently brought up counterpoint that has been offered as a catchall to your general criticism of K-On (whatever it may be), because I think it’s not only a limp-wristed knee jerk defensive reaction that doesn’t really prove a viable rebuttal, but that it’s also somewhat presemptuous as well.

Eden of The East Finale=Gundam 00?

Don’t know what the gg half time break is talking about with regard to Code Geass R2 comparisons, but so many parts of this finale made me feel like I was watching Gundam 00 without the mecha and with a different goal and a smaller scope that I’m wondering what the deal is:

Basquash! episode 8 ~ The truth behind DESTROYs

Iceman asks you all to watch his amazing performance

While I’d admit that this wasn’t as good as the previous episode where it was all just gun-ho exciting to watch, this was still a solid continuation of the series and brought us some significant development for Iceman and quite a lot of foreshadowing to come for our little princess basketball player.

Well Played K-On……

Well Played Indeed……..

Basquash! episode 7 ~ and boy, you don’t know what you are missing out on if you aren’t watching this.

So three weeks and 120+ episodes later, I have finally caught up with the current series on my list for this season and have noticed a common theme amongst a lot of them that doesn’t speak well for the current titles being produced from Japan. There just seems to be a lot of series this season aren’t that good at all and while few of them have proved to be under average the majority just hovers around the average meter for me and that isn’t limited to only one or two genres (as I really am not a heavy genre favouring type of watcher). But with every new season, there is bound to be a series that flies under the radar of most people but turns out to be an absolute gem above all of the other bloated and indeed overrated series (just look at K-ON and you will know what I mean). Basquash! is one such series which completely surprised me as I unfortunately fell into the same mentality as a lot of people before starting the series. “Meh, it’s just a crappy looking sports anime with mechas in”, was my thought but the funny thing is when an anime turns such an unfair and generalising sweeping statement onto it’s head and presents you with something that is of another dimension. Basquash! is this type of series and I believe that you would be mad to miss it.

The colourful cast

The Most Brutally Honest Look At K-On Episode 05 You Are Ever Likely To See

I heard a voice say to me tonight, “Stand up Kaioshin and be counted among the many” to which I replied, “Hell yeah I will!”.  Or perhaps it was just that while reading Behind The Nihon Review one of Sorrow-Kun’s quips while talking about this show struck a chord with me:

Sorrow-Kun: I could say stuff like “this isn’t my sort of anime”, but that’s a weak way to dismiss one’s own opinion so as not to step on anyone’s toes, and I don’t like to do that because I like to think that my opinion is reasoned.

And then it hit me, I should have no reason to fear voicing a differing or even dissenting opinion on a popular show just because some other bloggers on the sphere might not agree with what I have to say.  I’m brutally honest on forums like Animesuki after all, so why not here on my own blog?  There are tons of other bloggers that don’t mind being brutally honest about their feelings regarding certain popular shows that they may or may not have a universally positive interest in, so why should I have felt the desire to hold my tongue all of this time for fear of stepping on the collective blogosphere’s many toes?  Nothing ventured nothing gained, that’s the policy I’ve always preferred to follow when it comes to how I watch, comment on and debate various forms of media with others, yet I have been weak when it comes to having my true voice heard as of late….disgracefully so……but no longer.  The past month has seen the reignition of that fire in me that rocked the blogosphere during the middle months of 2008.  Sans the silly combativeness that I took many lessons on interpersonal relations from.  Nothing ventured nothing gained. 

Could it have just been Winter blues keeping me down until the spring broke.  Was it Chris from MAHQ’s Straight Talk Express inspiring me to talk….well….more straight about the anime that I watch again?  Was it just that I needed a break?  I don’t know for sure, but right now I want to offer my own raw and completely uncensored reactions and thoughts regarding K-On Episode 5, because it’s my blog and I damn well can.  To those who would disagree, the comment box is always open.  To those who would dislike me more for anything I am about to say, just be thankful that Deathie isn’t the one adding his voice to the mix on K-On.

Random Musing Of The Day (On K-On And Popularity)

I wonder if it’s not that K-On is extremely incomparably popular in the western hemisphere based on it’s own merits, so much as people like writing low content posts (especially of the “moe moe kyun” variety) about how popular it is at an accelerated rate and in such a manner that makes it seem like it’s the case.  There’s no easy way of denying that it’s content is a popular and controversial topic of conversation at it’s inception, but it’s starting to seem like it hit it’s peak in terms of self-generated popularity a little while before what we have gotten in the last couple of weeks and has instead been feeding into itself in terms of perception of popularity in a way that makes it seem like it’s getting moreso.  Is intense and constant mention of a single event in one episode really a sign of growing and overwhelming popularity, or just a sign that people feel the need to talk about it because it’s perceived as popular and relevant, thus creating a substantial portion of the popularity in the process?  How much does K-On owe to itself in terms of popularity, and how much does it owe to it’s fans conversational quirks?  But one of many questions to ponder.

Okay Can Somebody Explain To Me What The Big Deal About Mio Is?

Seen One Flashy Shiny Sparkly Rainbow Over The Top Moe Character, Seen Em’ All, Mio Can Stand With The Rest Of Them For All I Care

I don’t get it, I really don’t get it.  What is it that has practically everybody on the blogosphere slobbering all over this extremely par for the course moe-centric character and rushing to make formulaic and derivative worship posts about her “moe moe kyun” sequences?  I know this IS the blogosphere and all, but I mean it’s like nobody has ever seen a pseudo-tsundere character before.  Is this really what character popularity has come down to now?  How over the top a sequence you can make to exploit every last bit of moe potential a character design has and then some?  Is it really that simple?  Well not in my book.  Call me when Mio get’s some actual solid character development and a backstory.  Maybe then I’ll bother to care a greater deal about this latest trendy moe character over the next that has the blogosphere joined in a monotonous chorus yet again.  All of these moe characters are starting to run together now anyway…….can hardly tell them apart anymore……

That said Mio is almost certainly the best character that K-On has to offer at the moment in that unlike Yui, Ritsu, and Mugi she doesn’t have an annoying character trait that all but cancels out anything one could find that is likeable about either of them.  Can one tolerable character really carry an entire 4-Girl-Koma anime series through it’s whole run though?  The question is of course rhetorical.

K-On Episode 4 (Attempting To Prove A Theory)

Previously I had theorized that K-On was entirely watchable while half concious, thus tonight I attempted to prove it while watching episode 04 while totally hammered.  Here’s how my major reactions all went down:

Teeheeheehee Teeheeheehee it’s meat in the fridge. It’s liek Oh Ma God!  Why does it sparkle though….. O_0