Secret Santa 2013 – Combo Pack
No, there is no anime called “Combo Pack”. Here, I bring you my thoughts on four very different works as a part of the Secret Santa festivities.
Merry Christmas! Or some time close to that, since I’m not sure when exactly this post is going to get published (obviously I’m writing it in advance). And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, then happy holidays all the same!
Anyway, it’s that time of year for the annual Reverse Thieves Secret Santa again. If you couldn’t tell, I’m participating. So let’s get straight to the point. About two months ago from when this post is published, I received an e-mail that reads as follows:
To answer Reverse Thieves’s question, I thought Solid State Society was just another GitS: SAC recap film. I was wrong.
Yes, that’s right. Three gift-wrapped shows which I’ve not yet had the pleasure of watching. The “rules” state that I should pick one of the three and go ahead with it. But screw the rules. If it’s not evident from me taking the time to write about anime on a regular basis, I quite like the stuff. So why not go all in and watch everything? Oh, and if you look closely you’ll see that Reverse Thieves also took it upon themselves to recommend a fourth bonus show. So heck, why not watch that one as well? It’s like looking in your Christmas stockings and finding more than you expected. What a deal! Now, since there’s obviously quite a lot of material to cover, I’ve divided this post into five sections for better readability. Just click on one of the links below and you’ll be whizzed away to my thoughts on the corresponding show. But be warned: these shows are relatively old so I won’t be holding back on the spoilers. I won’t give away everything, but I will discuss some important points.
————————————————————–
————————————————————–
About Sumairii
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
hmm…Solid State Society seems nice…i’ll give it a look
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
You really should.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Just echoing myself, but make sure you’ve seen the TV series or the recap films first.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Out of what’s shown here, I’d go with Whisper of the Heart because of my loyalty for anything made by Hayao Miyazawa and Solid State Society. I saw a few Ghost in the Shell episodes on Toonami and fell in love with the show.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I hear Masamune Shirow mostly draws pinup girls for ero manga magazines nowadays.
Apparently it was more profitable for him, or so I hear.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Knowing the evolution of the Major’s character design (not including Arise since that was someone else), I can see why he went for pinup girls in ero magazines… There certainly was criticism for the sexualization of her character between the original film and the TV series.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Awwweee yaaaaa Azumanga Daioh! My only experience with that is in dub format and the same goes for Solid State, but Azumanga was so damn fun to watch <3
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, of these four I’ve only seen Azumanga Daioh, and had about the same reaction. The jokes just kind of peter out, and while it’s interesting seeing them all eventually graduate, and it’s also good that they feature Sakaki more, it’s just not as funny or captivating later. Some things just get *too* weird, and other things just get old.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Holy boobs I’m amazed you can watch all 4 in such a fast amount of tine
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Suma, you crazy person!
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Well, in actuality I spaced watching them out over a span of about a month. =P
POWUH: iLurker with 3 comments
[…] reviewed Azumanga Daioh, Whisper of the Heart, Planetes, & Solid State Society as recommended by […]
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
The knife season in Azumaga Daioh is ingrained in my memory (I burst out laughing at that scene). I enjoyed Azumanga the first time through, but it’s not one of those series that I would watch more than once (there’s not many of those). The Otou-san was weird at first, but I got used to it.
I’m a fan of the GitS universe, the two main series were a blast to watch. I found the OVAs and movies were a hit or miss though. SSS was more in the miss bin for me, personally. Ok, not great.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I take that back. I got SSS confused with something else. SSS is actually pretty good =P. My memory just sucks, I take all the blame.