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Tamayura really ought to come with either a warning label or an insulin shot.
Brother’s Conflict – 01
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I confess I didn’t make it through the premiere of Brother’s Conflict. It only took me about three minutes to figure out that this was not working for me in any way, shape or form, though I stuck it out till about the midway point. It says something that Kamiya Hiroshi’s performance as some kind of mutant squirrel is far from the most absurd thing in the premiere (though Kaji Yuuki’s as a ten year-old might just come close).
Otome game adaptations don’t seem to do anything for me to begin with, but I found the execution here especially grisly (yes, I know it was actually a manga first, but could anything be more stereotypically an otome game than this?). The performances, the art, the premise – I pretty much hated all of it. I’m not sure whether Brains Base has decided to go all-in on these sorts of shows, but they seem to form a depressingly large part of their catalogue lately. It’s been a rough patch since Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun – Oregairu was at least something different and had some fine moments, but even that was probably the worst Brains Base series ever in terms of production quality. Here’s hoping Blood Lad can turn things around.
Tamayura: More Aggressive
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Without doubt, the most ironically titled series of the year.
I did 12 posts on Tamayura last year (13 actually, counting the bonus episode) so I’ve made my thoughts on this show pretty clear. It it what it is, and to take it as a positive that’s a relaxing, pleasant sort of daydream more than a viewing experience. This is a monotonal show to say the least – it’s all sweetness and smiles, all the time – Satou Junichi with no one to check his excesses. I imagine Satou-sensei must be a very nice man, because his one-man shows are incredibly gentle, positive and innocent. But I’d find them a lot more interesting if they had a little variety – a little spice or vinegar to cut the sweetness. But when Tamayura wants to introduce a counterpoint for the sugar, Satou adds honey.
I see no evidence anything is going to change this season, so I think it’s unlikely I’ll blog More Agressive. The hook is that Potte wants to form a Photography Club at School, and there seems to be a rival character this time (perhaps they’ll have a smiling contest). But really, you know what to expect from this show and you’re always going to get it, which is both its strength and its limitation. I enjoy Tamayura as a sort of meditation when I’m in the right mood (I could have said sleep aid, but it seems so heartless to say such things about this adorable baby bunny of a series that I’ll settle on “meditation”), and I imagine that won’t change either.
Gary Cochran
July 4, 2013 at 2:15 pmLOL I watched 10 mins of Brother Conflict and gave up on it as well.
I actually enjoy Tamayura in the same way as Aria or Ristorante Paridisio. Sometimes its nice to just sit back with a cup of coffee and watch a simple anime that has a love for its subject matter (photography).
kanin
July 4, 2013 at 4:00 pmBrothers Conflict… I lost it on the moment Kaji's character spoke. I don't hate his voice usually, but that boy sounded like Donald Duck on crack. I'm a girl who grinned through the entire Free! premiere, but I didn't last even five minutes.
Ronbb
July 4, 2013 at 6:56 pmBrother's Conflict — 3 minutes in…forget it. Tamayura — I like you called it a "meditation" series, and "smiling contest"…lol. I don't think I will have the time for it.
Highway
July 4, 2013 at 7:14 pmI made it through the whole Brothers Conflict episode, it was amusing. I wonder if everyone went to overacting school, because there was an awful lot of stilted introduction. It definitely suffers from way too many characters, and so far the best ones are the ones who barely talk. It might have potential to be enjoyable for me, it would be hard to be worse than Arcana Famiglia.
Tamayura is still delightful. It never fails to make me misty eyed and happy. And I think More Aggressive is fine, since we're talking about relative levels. And hearing everyone say "mo agureshibu" with so much conviction is funny. I do wonder how the heck Chihiro made such an outgoing friend as Tomo-chan, tho.
a42
July 4, 2013 at 8:52 pmYeah when the squirrel started giving game manual like introductions for a couple of the guys I just lost it laughing and stopped. It was like a perfect storm of poor script, overacting and blatant fangirl pandering. But whatever, if they decide to use the seiyuu choices as fanservice it's not that different from shows with excessive boob and panty shots. I just reaffirmed that I am definitely not the target audience here.
Juan Migelle Angelo Schroth
July 4, 2013 at 10:51 pmI'm gonna stick with brothers conflict GE. I was a big fan of The Wallflower and the setting for this show is similar. Reverse Harem, bishounen and a very soft spoken central heroine. Well, I admit that Tsunako was soft spoken in a wierd kinda way and Chi as the frail, shy type. Although, I will admit that working with 14 central characters in one cour will be extremely difficult.
Anyway way, I'll go through it since I have a higher tolerance for this type of stuff than most guys. I must admit though that, although I have no qualms with incest or homosexuals, the bit about incestuous homosexuals would have had me draw that line lol
drcasey
July 5, 2013 at 1:44 am"The hook is that Potte wants to form a Photography Club at School, and there seems to be a rival character this time (perhaps they'll have a smiling contest)."
rofl. Shame you're not reviewing More Aggressive, because your Tamayura snark is hilarious. 😛 Ah well~
kaydat
July 5, 2013 at 5:14 am"Tamayura really ought to come with either a warning label or an insulin shot."
Need some bitter L-Elf to go with that sweetness?
admin
July 5, 2013 at 5:18 amAnd I'm neither Moses or a physics teacher.