I came pretty close to dropping OtoBoku as the first half of the first episode was so excruciatingly clichéd. My suspension of disbelief was stretched pretty thin too with how Mizuho was regarded as one of the school’s beauties. I love Mariya but there’s no way her makeup kit can be that powderful [sic - you'll get this pun only if you're fluent in Singlish]. It’s not a far stretch of the imagination for a pretty girl to look like a pretty boy (think Ouran’s Haruhi) but it takes a very very pretty boy to make a decently pretty girl, much less the school idol. While I do think of the catgirls, I just couldn’t let it slide. Until the super deformed (SD) mode kicked in. With the show not taking itself seriously at all, it was hard for me to continue being pedantic.
OtoBoku is probably the most recent example where SD is an important and successful part of the animation. In other cases,
such as Hellsing Ultimate. The SD, like the rest of this Satelight remake, is very faithful to the style of the original manga. My personal favourite is her with jaw dropped and rotating fishcake patterns in the background. It also nicely illustrates how Seras is the most ordinary person (mentally) in the whole of the Hellsing organization. While Hellsing attracts fans due to the vampires, guns and gore, what really hooks me to the story is the character relationships - particularly Alucard’s attempts to seduce Integra into vampirism and Integra and Alucard’s very different approaches in helping Seras come to terms with her vampirism. The SD images are a nice reminder of her humanity and that she’s still a young girl.
On the other hand, SD doesn’t seem to add much to Sumomo mo Momo mo. (Mad thanks to DarkMirage for clarifying the meaning of the title.) I guess it’s because Momoko herself is already rather chibi to start with. I’m enjoying it for other reasons, such as its bawdy humour and the OTT martial arts nonsense [Momoko dragon > Saber dragon].
[On a sidenote, I was struck by the Ranma 1/2 parallels such as the childhood engagement made by the martial artist fathers, the resemblance in dress between Suon Tendou and Unken Inuzuka as well as Genma Saotome and Sendayu Kuzuryu. I also seem to have heard its eugenics and pronatalist assumptions somewhere before.]
I also have to thank Kabitzin for making the connection between Mariya and Lunamaria Hawke as well as spurring a connection with another favourite character of mine - Asa Shigure. While she did set up the awful premise of this series, she’s fun, energetic and…
…deliciously evil as shown by this wonderful scene in episode 2. Plus she gets called oneesama by the Akane Suzumiya design clone (Yukari).
The ED is a real treat too. Besides the SD, I like how each character’s appearance is prepped by a particular shape. And then we are also shown another side to the character as she flips.
Also loved the reference to Azumanga Daioh’s Raspberry Heaven ED sequence.
Btw I don’t think Mizuho is a trap as both Mariya and Shion know that he’s a guy. If any girls become (sexually) attracted to him, then he’d be a reverse trap (for lesbians). Mizuho might be a trap for heterosexual male fans though, given his character design and the seiyuu power of Yui Horie - thus the Kurogane-DarkMirage doctrine. SD might be able to come to the rescue too - by making all the dilemma irrelevant whenever it’s on. LOL
I am with Kuro and jason’s camp in regard to Mizuho.
Mizuho for Saimoe 2007 :D
>>>[On a sidenote, I was struck by the Ranma 1/2 parallels such as the childhood engagement made by the martial artist fathers, the resemblance in dress between Suon Tendou and Unken Inuzuka as well as Genma Saotome and Sendayu Kuzuryu. I also seem to have heard its eugenics and pronatalist assumptions somewhere before.]
Ranma was one of my first experiences with anime, and remains one of my favorite series today, and I think that’s why I’m so smitten by this show. At its heart, it’s Ranma. Only turned on its ear. Gone are the gender bending and animal transformations, but in their place you have the intentionally cheesy CGI Chinese zodiac animals. You have boy and girl in a predetermined martial arts marriage, and it’s just as obvious that they’ll end up in love with each other, but instead of twin tsunderes, one is all tsuntsun and the other is all deredere. You’ve got anumber of female martial artists vying for the heart of the male lead, and the similarity even goes down to the point of both having the primary rivals be examples of the old aquaintance (Ukyo, the class rep) and turned antagonist (Shampoo, Iroha) harem archetypes. Add in the similar kind of over-caffeinated madcap action, mean-spirited banter between characters, and the often decidedly adult humor that both shows have, and it’s pretty obvious there’s some Ranma love in the creation of this show.
Shion’s SD is so strange, so hopefully they’ll show what is up with the hair in future episodes. It’s funny that the SD always give diaper-panty shots…
I was considering for a time to drop OtoBoku but I stayed for the SD I guess part of me finds the super inflated head endearing. The premise was stretched to breaking, but since they brought it up I hope they don’t dare cop out at the end.
Xellos-_^, I don’t really think very much of SaiMoe so having Mizuho win next year will be eeeeexcellent.
quigonkenny, I was already getting some Ranma vibes from Muteki Kanban Musume but it’s much clearer with Sumomo. Not sure if Momoko will pick up any new tricks like the way Ranma does everytime he faces a tough new opponent.
Kabitzin, I think Shion’s SD form is a daruma reference. Yeah, granny frocks 4TW.
Crusader, well, Mizuho could go mountain hiking and get hit by a spaceship. The aliens repair him and now he’s a she! etc etc.
>>Btw I don’t think Mizuho is a trap as both Mariya and Shion know that he’s a guy.
Err… who’s referring to Mizuho as a trap in the show’s context? I’m totally referring him as a trap for the male fans of the show. And yes, really, they should all go take a stroll up the nearest mountain and leave him to get hit by an alien spaceship. That would solve a lot of the mental confusion and anguish.
Hey Otoboku is fucking awesome! Lol. I like the show, only slightly less than Happiness. These two are the best nonserious shows this season.
There’s a Suzumiya Akane clone in this series?!?
*proceeds to rip it off the torrents*
yes, mariya is definitely asa in disguise. The fact that she is responsible for 90% of the sexual tension in Otoboku means she instantly rocks.
That said, no mention of Kana at all?