First Impressions – Bakumatsu Rock
Japan’s first indie band
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The premise for Bakumatsu looks like it falls somewhere between the line dividing “funny” and “stupid”. …So really, this is right in my watching strike zone (point and case, UtaPri and Meganebu). I attempted to play the game last week too just to see how it was, but man, those vertical text boxes are near impossible for me to read. OTL |
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Everyone knows that rock music started in the early 1800s, right? You know, just after Ben Franklin flew his kite in a thunderstorm, they developed electric guitars. So of course we get this story of unofficial music being prohibited and everyone saved by… |
The Power of ROCK!!!!
Highway// I’m actually surprised they didn’t come right out and say this cheesy line. Instead, what we got was Ryouma trying to figure out what kind of music he’s playing, and how to get people to listen to it. From what I could tell, we never actually heard the “Heaven’s Song” which is supposed to be the only official music that you’re allowed to play or sing, but we did get to see the Shinsengumi, the government officials who are allowed to sing. And of course, they’re stuffy guys in big white uniforms, while Ryouma (and later Kogorou and Shinsaku, his magical bassist and drummer) are much more laid back, scruffy kind of guys. That’s to be expected, seeing their master, Shoin, who has probably the biggest afro I’ve ever seen depicted.
The plot of forbidden music that just needs to come out isn’t a particularly original one (like AKB0048, or even Styx 1983 hit Mr Roboto, which was about the jailed rogue musician Kilroy escaping in a robot suit – probably a lot of people’s first experience with Japanese language), although I’m still struck by the idea to make it rock music and put it in a setting so far in the past. So far the music’s been pretty terrible, although it got better for that full song they did at the end of the episode, which included magically spawning instruments and even the Shinsengumi heros Okita and Hijikata deciding they liked it. Also pretty terrible was the animation, which was pretty static and boring, and doesn’t really flow with the big costumes that everyone has. I was trying to defend Deen before the season in the preview for this, but they let me down. At least the Les Paul guitar that Ryouma had given to him by Shoin didn’t go off model.
Sakamoto’s Legacy …of ROCK
Karakuri// The last time I remember seeing Sakamoto Ryouma being portrayed in any Bakumatsu-themed anime was Gintama. …Though that show is about as historically accurate as this one. To be fair, I guess one of the larger parts to Sakamoto’s historical legacy was his opinion that Japan needed to modernize, and how he was influenced by the Western culture. So twist that reasoning enough, and the rock thing makes more sense. As for this version of Ryouma, he seemed like your average rebellious protagonist. Not that being an average character is a bad thing, but watching him spend an entire episode trying to find his sound and being told to get lost by everyone was a little… bland. Of course he was going to be the underdog in the series since his opponent is the shogunate and their idols, but the whole episode was so predictable. Maybe they can make this more interesting as Ryouma and his band inevitably grow in popularity. This seems like the kind of show that could come into it’s own as the series goes on. But at the moment, for a show about putting rock in the Bakumatsu period, this really could have taken place at any unlikely point in time, and all that would have really changed was the setting’s aesthetic.
Though there were points of ridiculousness in here that were worth a laugh. Apparently Okita Souji’s tuberculosis (if he even has that illness in this anime) has little to no impact on his singing career. And then, of course, there was the part at the end, where Ryouma decided that the best way to fend off the government was to start singing and then instruments magically appeared, and clothing started disappearing.
Not to mention the constant game of “how can Ryouma tell that this character is male?”
I have to say that I’m a little disappointed with this opener. The last song may have redeemed it a bit, finally showing off Taniyama’s voice a little bit and not being some rambling awful song like the rest we heard, but I wonder if we’ll ever actually hear Heaven’s Song, if it’s so good that everyone has to love it. The idea of two of the Shinsengumi idols switching sides, like they seem to be heading towards, is not a bad idea, and might be a fun twist, but it might be hard to watch this if it stays this poorly animated.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with Highway. I wasn’t overly impressed with any of the insert songs they had in this episode. Or actually, the episode itself wasn’t overly impressive either. I didn’t have the patience to try and read through the prologue of the game, and wasn’t interested in what was going on enough to put more effort into things. Before watching this, I thought it might have been the text format and my lack of sleep/tiredness at the time, but now, it might have just been the story itself. Things were certainly uh, fabulous at parts, but I just wasn’t that entertained for some reason. I guess what I was hoping for was something a little more unique story-wise, since the premise was so ridiculous. But I suppose there’s a lot of time to see where this goes.
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Needs Gintama crossover ASAP, and special appearance by alt-rock musician Himura Kenshin, aka Battousai the Noteslayer.
And will this Hijikata have a sickening mayonnaise fetish?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
lololol Battousai the Noteslayer. I think the Vita remake is getting Commodore Perry as a new rocker, if that counts for anything. Though that’s still not enough to convince me to play it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Leave the awesome Gintama alone. It’s not worth doing a crossover. T_T
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
What was that animation in the beginning? You have people singing a la UtaPri and no dance moves? Uhhhhh…. Not to mention electric guitars and pizza in an old era of Japan… I just dunno man, I could not digest this one at all even when clothes were ripped and some rock music was heard.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
We will we will rock you!
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I like this song, not the anime though 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
This had enough oddballness to capture some of my interest. I may even give it a watch next week.
And I didn’t even twig on that this character could/might be Sakamoto Ryouma, a compelling figure indeed. The parallels between rock/punk and establishment is stretched, but it works for this sort of fantasy…
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
I think I found my popcorn entertainment anime of the season XD I can’t stop laughing at all the stuff that are out of place in that era and the stripping (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ))
You won gloriously into my follow list, Bakamatsu Rock. Good damn Job.