9 replies to this topic

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So, as you all may know, the first episode of Sangatsu no Lion (or March comes in like a lion) just aired. It'll run every Saturday at 10:00am PDT (Pacific Daylight Time - or other words for the folks on the west coast of America). I figured while we wait for the next volume we could talk about the anime to keep up interest. 

 

I'll start. 

 

The O.P. and E.D. was absolutely stunning. It wasn't just the music, but the imagery of Rei drowning in an ocean of and then at the end chasing after the Kawamoto family on the shore

Spoiler

with Hina seen first for some foreshadowing

was just a perfect metaphor for Rei's current headspace. All in all, just really well done. 

 

So, does anyone else have any thoughts?

Edited by Blue Flaming Wings, 09 October 2016 - 06:39 AM.

[Vance Finiraldi]

I thought the first episode was rather solid. I can see where Studio Shaft's influence comes to play, even as someone who's only seen a couple of their works and is not as sensitive and well-versed in the habits they've become (in)famous for. It wasn't overbearing though; certainly not like Shaft threw-up on it, as quite a few people were fearing when they were first announced as the studio working on this series. Not as powerful as it could be for a premiere episode, but then again, I personally think the manga's true worth doesn't start making itself obvious to most until it gets past the introductory chapters. And speaking of which...

 

The fact that this episode is showing the titles and numbers of the chapters they're adapting has me a little worried; I seriously hope they're not planning on going by this chapter by chapter without any alterations or condensation of details that may be necessary in an adaptation, especially since the first three episodes are vital in hooking most on-the-fence viewers in for the rest of the ride. There's being faithful to the source work, and then there's adhering to it like its law or religious scripture. If Shaft goes with the latter approach as far as story progression goes, then I'm uncertain whether or not the anime will get to where it needs to go by the end of 22 episodes in order to strongly stand on its own as a work.

 

That aside, I'll be keeping my eye on in this thread. I'm quite interested in what manga-readers pre-release have to say about this adaptation. Looking around, I can tell it might be divisive for some; Guardian Enzo of Random Curiosity already tore the first episode a new asshole with a rather scathing opinion on his own personal blog, while others seem to be surprised at Studio Shaft's restraint. From where I've looked, I'm seeing a pretty even split among the pre-existing, established base.

 

On a lighter note, the music, from the OP/ED themes to the BGM and inserts, is wonderful. So are the backgrounds (did they really have to keep the 3lion ads on the train, though?).

 

And I suppose Kyoko's going to be the one doing Shaft's infamous headtilt? Already sort of seeing it in the anime-original frames for the opening scene, even if they are zoomed onto her mouth... lol

 

EDIT: Also, I hope they keep that "spoken sound effect" thing to a minimum, even in the comedic scenes. That's gonna wear out on me quick. XD

Edited by Vance Finiraldi, 11 October 2016 - 09:02 AM.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

I thought the first episode was rather solid. I can see where Studio Shaft's influence comes to play, even as someone who's only seen a couple of their works and is not as sensitive and well-versed in the habits they've become (in)famous for. It wasn't overbearing though; certainly not like Shaft threw-up on it, as quite a few people were fearing when they were first announced as the studio working on this series. Not as powerful as it could be for a premiere episode, but then again, I personally think the manga's true worth doesn't start making itself obvious to most until it gets past the introductory chapters. And speaking of which...
 
The fact that this episode is showing the titles and numbers of the chapters they're adapting has me a little worried; I seriously hope they're not planning on going by this chapter by chapter without any alterations or condensation of details that may be necessary in an adaptation, especially since the first three episodes are vital in hooking most on-the-fence viewers in for the rest of the ride. There's being faithful to the source work, and then there's adhering to it like its law or religious scripture. If Shaft goes with the latter approach as far as story progression goes, then I'm uncertain whether or not the anime will get to where it needs to go by the end of 22 episodes in order to strongly stand on its own as a work.
 
That aside, I'll be keeping my eye on in this thread. I'm quite interested in what manga-readers pre-release have to say about this adaptation. Looking around, I can tell it might be divisive for some; Guardian Enzo of Random Curiosity already tore the first episode a new asshole with a rather scathing opinion on his own personal blog, while others seem to be surprised at Studio Shaft's restraint. From where I've looked, I'm seeing a pretty even split among the pre-existing, established base.
 
On a lighter note, the music, from the OP/ED themes to the BGM and inserts, is wonderful. So are the backgrounds (did they really have to keep the 3lion ads on the train, though?).
 
And I suppose Kyoko's going to be the one doing Shaft's infamous headtilt? Already sort of seeing it in the anime-original frames for the opening scene, even if they are zoomed onto her mouth... lol
 
EDIT: Also, I hope they keep that "spoken sound effect" thing to a minimum, even in the comedic scenes. That's gonna wear out on me quick. XD

Thanks for replying! Yeah, I'm also unfamiliar with Shaft's methods (or any studio's, really). Could you list some of the habits that they are "infamous" for?

Also, on the flip side, I had a different reaction to the listed chapters in the episode title. I think there's quite a few animes out there that completely deviate from there source material - to the point where they can be called AUs. This is even more the case when you consider fillers or if the anime catches up then passes the original manga. I was glad to see that they are staying faithful to the manga and are allowing new fans of the anime to follow along with he manga.

Alternatively, it is interesting to see other fan's opinions. I don't really know of Gaurdian Enzo of Random Curiousity but I guess I'll try to find his review to see what he says.

I gave my opinion on the OP/ED but I agree with you on the back ground. I happen to really love the artwork and background - particularly when we saw that black smoke symbolizing Rei's mental space (though I do question the ads too. Is that normal for Shaft?) Lastly, about the sound effects, I just loved the entire scene with the Kawamoto family. The mood was so dark and angst riidden but everything changed the moment he went into the house, which really homes in his later thoughts that the house is warm like a kotasu but Rei's life outside it is so cold and lonely.

It's part of the overall effect of the Kawamoto household for me.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So Episode 2 was just released and one of the things that immediately stood out to me is backstory development and characterization. We just learned for the first time that Rei's parents (his biological parents) are dead and even see a flash of the car crash. I just appreciate how subtle and even natural it feels. Of course, Obon would make him wonder about his parents deaths and if he ever really cried/mourned for them (he didn't). It was a great set up for later revelations.

 

Also, I think at this point, Rei had a bit of a crush on Akari. He thinks that both sides of her (that is her housewife/hostess sides) are beautiful, when he wonders if he should go to the Kawamoto household he thinks of "Akari and her sisters", lastly he realizes that he "just can't say no to her" for some reason. It's just that his emotions are so suppressed he's unable to notice it.

Edited by Blue Flaming Wings, 15 October 2016 - 05:53 PM.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So, the third episode was released earlier in the day. A couple things stood out to me. First, I liked the character set up with Nikaido. Though the show/manga made fun of his shounen-like attitude, he really does have an ungodly determination. I know firsthand how badly heat can affect you when you have health issues. Speaking of those issues, I didn't really catch how severe they were the first time around when reading the manga and was a bit thrown off guard in later chapters, but the anime did well in laying the groundwork. 

 

Secondly, I really liked the crying scene with Hina by the river. In the manga you don't actually hear her say oka-san (mother), so even unknowingly it doesn't hit as hard. But this? This you can feel. All around good acting on part voice actors. 

[RaRaRasputin]

It was definitely a solid episode. I'm really liking what Shaft has been doing so far except for the voiced sound effects. I hate those things.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

In Episode 5 that was released today, the thing that most stood out was the scene where Rei and Kouko were both playing shogi. I liked how it started off well (or at least neutral) but then her temper got progressively worse over time as it became clear that Kiriyama would win. I thought it added a bit of something to it as clearly the two would have played against each other but we hadn't seen it in the manga. Also, them playing at the beginning and (seemingly) getting along makes Rei's crush on her make more sense with her physical and verbal/emotional (though we will only see that in the next episodes) abuse. His family was killed, he moved into this new family and ended up latching onto her, during the few times she was nice when they were working together at becoming better at shogi, out of a lack of anyone else his age to turn to. 

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So, in this episode, Kyouko was finally revealed. I was both looking forward and dreading this. On one hand, I was excited to see how Shaft would handle her - to see how she would be depicted on the screen, but on the other hand her appearance means that Rei is about to go into some pretty dark places. Also, and this is just my own personal headcanon, but I believe kid!Kiriyama was in love with her (as seen with Rei stating that "He just wanted to protect those he cares about") and even confessed, but Kyouko didn't take that well (as seen in the flashback scene where she pins him to the ground). 

 

If that is the case, if Rei did confesses to her in the past, than her stating that she's in love with Gotou is yet another attempt to just mess with his mind - to twist the knife of heartbreak just a bit further. Even if he didn't confesses and so Kyouko wasn't hurting him deliberately I like how the image gets dark and hazy when Kyouko says she'll kill Gotou in his sleep if he ever tried to harm her. And the reason she'd go so far was because she loved him. The twisted emotions (of both her's for saying it and Kiriyama as he listened) was beautifully portrayed in that moment. 

[Blue Flaming Wings]

One of the things that stood out to me was not so much the episode, as it was the immediate reaction to it on reddit and similarly discussion forums.There's a lot of excitement going around because Rei stood up to Kyouko to tell that Matsunaga wasn't retiring. I kinda want to say that this is only the tip of the iceberg - that Rei is going to grow a spine in later chapters when he has something to fight for (namely Hina, and I'm thinking of the Cuccoo comment he gives to the dad - I really want to see it animated). So, I know that despite any backbone that Rei shows that things will only get worse before they get better. And that moment is going to be on that bench in Chapter 52, the moment Rei became "indebted to" (fell in love with) Hina the story took a 180. The tone just shifted. 

 

Also, while on this topic, I'll confess that ReiXHina is my favorite ship of all time. I feel that for a lot of anime/manga there isn't really a realistic portrayal of what makes someone fall in love in the first place (with most leaning towards attractiveness, simple exposure, or taking one attribute of someone's character and putting on a pedestal). But in their case, the reason for Rei's feelings make a sort of convoluted sense - there's something of substance with it 

Edited by Blue Flaming Wings, 10 December 2016 - 09:52 PM.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

The latest episode (21) really hit home with that cellphone scene at the end. I had never really paid attention to it in the manga, but seeing it animated was another story entirely. While at this point of time Hinata is still crushing on Takahashi I still found it to be excellent foreshadowing.