A Delusional Girl and a Young Man #01 — Dinner

April 14th, 2011

 

How to not animate a show.

Impressions:

On the upside, this is Shaft operating at only about 80% Shaftness. On the downside, it’s because the rest of it is made of up of literally nothing. Zero. Nada. Blank empty space. I feel bad about ragging on Aria for budget saving now because this episode was bloody lousy with it. See this shot? I hope you like it, because you’re going to be staring at it for most of the next four minutes. Not even the worst 80s sit-com ever made would dare to pull that kind of visual nonsense, but I suppose since it’s Shinbo, for some reason it’s genius. Maybe because it’s occasionally self-referential, which automatically turns something from a stale, boring cliche into subversive humor. All it takes is a line or two referencing itself and voila! A shame that they couldn’t do that with the MC instead of having him constantly narrate what’s going on around him. Yes, I can see what’s happening. I don’t need you and your dull monotone telling me that too.

Speaking of Shinbo though, I think the headtilt count for this episode was either five or six. Aside from the truly godawful OP, the music was fairly strong overall. The art also looks good for the most part too, especially given how long you have to stare at all the distance shots. Of course, get used to staring at people’s chins or inane shots like from inside a telephone receiver since this is Shinbo. I can’t even fathom the creative process there. What is the shot from inside the phone supposed to add? How does it enhance that scene? Direction should be transparent to the audience. It should be there to add to the scene and the show, not to remind everybody who is doing it and sell Shinbo as a commodity. Ew. That thought disturbs me.

*ahem* Anyway, out-animated by every single other show this season, characters with zero personality, good music. Not as Shafty as most Shaft shows, but there weren’t any decent jokes at all nor did the characters do a single thing to make me give a rip about any of them. My lasting impression so far is that I hate the OP with the passion of a thousand suns. That’s not a good place to be. 

Posted in Anime | 21 Comments »

21 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • GF202020 says:

    …um…why is she wrapped up in that futon cover? …does SHAFT have a bondage fetish?

  • DmonHiro says:

    Oh, Shinbo, you so crazy….

  • Dem says:

    that OP made me want to kill myself, wow

  • Kaisos says:

    That OP was awesome, I dunno what you’re talking about.

  • amyable says:

    The Shinbo head tilt/over-the-shoulder poses are annoying to the point of obtrusiveness. And I never even noticed them until you pointed them out however many weeks ago. Can’t unsee.

    Still, though, I’m hoping you stick with this show for at least a few more episodes. Once you get past the still shots and the head tilts and the screechy OP and the Shinbo-ness for the sake of Shinbo-ness and the inconsistent animation and the monotone narration, you’ll find that there’s something there. Maybe.

  • sage says:

    What? Are you complaining? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of MILF.

  • Aex says:

    So THIS is what happens when you combine Toradora and Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya…

  • rufe says:

    The OP didn’t bother me that much. Apparently I’ve been playing too much contemporary music =|

  • Pozzy says:

    http://tenka.seiha.org/images2/delusional1/delusional1_73.jpg

    l0l. i didnt pay much attention to that when i was watching it but now that you mention it… fucking shinbo working his magic again.

  • Longhaul says:

    Shinbo this, Shinbo that…

    Anywho, this was really drivin by the daughter Erio. Got a good laugh out of her bratty behavior during the discussion at the table.

  • Anise_Punter says:

    That was surprisingly enjoyable if you can get past whoever voicing Erio attempting to get into the Kugimiya/Tamura Squeaking and Shrieking Hall of Fame.

  • demonic_apostle says:

    Boring as hell

  • skyhack says:

    I liked it, music and all. It’s … eclectic? No, not quite right… Strange? No, that’d be me… Original? No, Ive seen similar before… Thought-provoking? No, not really… Engaging! No, that’s not it either… Riveting? No, that’s not it… Interesting? Hmmm… Close, but—
    Oh, I got it!