blog好き

Nov 20 2010

Categories: episodic review, twgok
Tagged: the world god only knows

15 Comments »

“じね.”

“You can shine on your own! Everyone here was drawn in by your light! I can’t keep you to myself.”

The thing about Keima, and really what makes him the perfect Capturing God, is that he’s not really into women. He’s not in this game to score with as many luscious haremettes that he can– he’s in this game to get it over with quickly such that he can return to playing his gal games. Because of that, he’s not into just getting a cheap thrill– his solutions all heal the holes in the hearts of the heroines instead of just bandaging over them. This is evident as he mans up and refuses Kanon’s first attempt to kiss him. Instead, he tells her goodbye and that she has many people who love her and she can’t forget them.

Of course, this only makes her love him even more. Gosh, this guy is g-o-o-d. Somehow, he managed to turn Kanon from a stun gun wielding, insecure, clumsy, fail idol into a bright, shining star who admits, “I would have been willing to sing for just one person.” And he might have started to be smitten by her too.

(Props to Manglobe for the BGM. The OP, God only knows, is a mess, but the BGM has been fantastic, especially the fanfare for whenever Keima captures a girl. Just for Kanon’s scene, the snow, her outfit, Keima’s blushing– just made the fanfare BGM that much better.)

(No, seriously, have you heard the full _eight_ minute version of God only knows? It’s terrible, with only a few listenable parts, including the 90 seconds used for the OP. ELISA is the queen of Engrish.)

Wow, Manglobe stretched out a seventeen page chapter into a full episode and did a great job at it. They flushed out the backstory for Kanon (something the manga did poorly), they added six minutes of singing (could be better), they added the search for Kanon sequence (filler), but mostly it’s the little touches. It’s a bit more believable that she accepts Keima’s rejection after her Grace-like manager opens up the dome so Kanon can hear the crowd. That isn’t conveyed in the manga.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this arc. Sure, it took a few warm-up episodes, but Manglobe is hitting its stride, and the arguments against Hiro Shimono for Keima’s seiyuu seem as silly as arguing for Greg Oden over Kevin Durant back in 2006. Can’t wait for Shiori’s arc (a heroine I enjoy more than Kanon) to start as well as next season, when you know Manglobe will be pumping on all cylinders… and Haqua will be prominiately involved.

(I just wish they would animate the capturing chapter. Grrrr… there’s a reason he’s the “Capturing God”… animate it!)

(And, yeah, I wasn’t remotely surprised when Oden injured his knee again. He has one leg an inch taller than the other! That’s not normal. That’s not normal weight/pressure distribution, especially for a high-impact sport like basketball. Plus, when he was Ohio State, he looked like he was 37 years old. Not a good sign. Not a bad of pick as Bowie over Jordan but worse than Darko over Carmelo.)

(Shiori is voiced by Kana Hanazawa, who is also definitely one of this season’s hardest working seiyuu… as she’s also voicing Tsukimi for Kuragehime and Kuroneko for Oreimo. Oh, she did this Tenshi role for Angel Beats… not that Shiori shouldn’t sound like Tenshi… mmm…)

Kiraboshi!

There’s no doubt that Elsee should be cast in the next Ghostbusters movie. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

The funny thing is that Kanon’s reflection does talk to her. Just wrong reflection here. I’ve been re-reading the manga, and Tamiki Wakaki actually does drop quite a few hints about what’s eventually going to happen, even fairly early on. There’s a chapter where Keima is tutoring everyone in English, and Kanon joins in… only she cannot stop staring at Keima, which leads to Ayumi becoming quite jealous for some reason.

(Does Kanon completely breaking down and admitting to Keima that she could never forget him make her more adorable? I say yes. The thing I’m most disappointed about is that Euphoric Field would have been a perfect insert song for that scene… which the anime probably will never get to… and they’ll probably never use. Sigh. That should be the go-to song for anytime a girl goes, “But how can I forget you?!” moment.)

Did I enjoy Kanon’s Marilyn Monroe outfit? Yes, yes I did. I liked the touch where they show the other outfit under it. It’s those extra touches that separate the Tavaris Jackson *COUGH* Gonzo *COUGH* studios from the Tom Brady *COUGH* Kyoto *COUGH* ones.

“Calm down, scatterbrained demon.”

If hell really consisted of cute high school girls who wear ponytails and thigh highs, I might go on a crime spree.

(Gotta admit, between this series, Soul Eater, Aa! Megami-sama, My Balls, and Jigoku Shoujo, you’d really think that hell was populated by cute girls.)

There’s just no way a girl idol group could work in the US just because of jealousy, cat fights, and more jealousy. Plus, the chances one of the girls who get into a sex scandal with a producer and one get into a drug scandal would be off the board in Vegas.

Why does this remind me of Ghost in the Shell?

“You really do understand me!”

It takes Keima like two panels to ask Elsee to use her radar to find Kanon… this episode… much longer. Plus, Kanon was sitting next to Keima the whole time in the manga, which I thought would make a better scene. Oh well. I still appreciate how she’s wearing a tube top and a mini-skirt when it’s snowing outside. What a trooper. That ribbon must really keep her warm.

Can’t wait for Kanon to save us from the Zentradi.