Shakunetsu Kabaddi – 02

I can’t but chuckle at the similarities between Ichikawa Kazuya’s two recent sports series, both of which feature a first-year soccer phenom who hates being touched.  The similarities between Aoyama and Yoigishi pretty much end there, of course, but the comic tone of the two series is not at all dissimilar – which suggests that Ichikawa’s directorial sensibilities are an important factor.  Either that, or he’s just good at getting matched up with material that suits his style.

I’m certainly not into Shakunetsu Kabaddi to the same degree I was Keppeki! Danshi Aoyama-kun by the time it wrapped, but that show took a while to reach that level.  And Kabbadi is certainly entertaining.  The gags (like the bit with the soccer coach and his misunderstandings) generally work.  And while kabaddi still frankly seems like a pretty bizarre idea for a sport to me, I’m enough of a sports nut to take interest in learning the minutiae of any game.  I mean, who even knew they made kabaddi shoes?

I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out that Yogishi is eventually going to get very good at kabaddi.  He’s a natural athlete and pretty quick on the uptake.  Is it kind of a shame that someone so gifted at soccer has allowed himself to be disenfranchised from it?  In my view yes, though I don’t necessarily expect the series to agree – that would imply that kabaddi is a lesser sport than soccer, after all.  But whether you believe that or not, not even the most avid kabaddi fan (I guess they must exist) could deny that soccer offers more potential for a young player’s future if he’s as good as Yoigishi-kun seems to be.

This strikes me a strong candidate for a show I watch rather than cover, given how nuts this season looks at this point.  But then, I would have said that about Aoyama-kun after two eps too, so who knows.  No clue whether I blog future episodes, then, but I’ll keep my options open.

Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song- – 02

OK, third impressions.

Boy, I just can’t shake the Guilty Crown vibes watching this show.  That feeling is even stronger than it should be based on the superficial similarities, which makes me think there’s something deeper connecting them in my mind.  Maybe there’s a kind of vapidity thinking it’s profundity going on here, and that was certainly a fault of GC.  I don’t find Vivy to be as vapid as some LN or LN-like anime, but there is a strong whiff of pretentiousness to it.

Also, Fukuyama needs to switch to decaf, seriously.

Plot-wise, we jump 15 years ahead – 15 years where Matsumoto has been asleep and Vivy has been going about her business as a singer and even having some success.  She’s not thrilled to see him wake up, but he has another assignment for her.  She resists, naturally enough after the final scene last time.  But he conjures up imagery of all the people who’ll die if she refuses to help and he once more has her dancing to his tune.  This time it’s an orbital hotel called Sunrise which will be crashed into the Earth by its A.I. owner Estella, sparking a wave of hatred towards AIs that leads to eventual warfare.

Once more I find the plot modestly interesting, as long as I don’t analyze too much.  The underlying themes are painted in pretty broad strokes and not especially compelling, but the surface-level narrative and visuals are competent enough to buy Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song- at least one more week in viewing terms.

Shaman King 2021 – 02

Well, that was fine.  Paku Romi as Ren is a bit of an odd duck casting choice for me (so is Inuyama Inuko as Manta for that matter), but that’s how it was in the first series so I guess continuity wins out.  Ren is only one of two major new figures introduced, as fan favorite Anna (likewise played by the original seiyuu, in this case the magnificence that is Hayashibara Megumi) turns up at the end of the episode.

I’m finding Shaman King to be entertaining enough, but it feels – and I fully accept the irony in saying this – very “kiddy” to me.  I’ve watched other shounen from this vintage and it doesn’t completely go down to age – the tone of this series just comes off that way.  I’m having a hard time so far grasping what made SK one of the more popular shounen of its era, what makes it “special”.  Maybe that will become apparent in future episodes, but so far it all seems pretty straightforward to me.

That said, You is quite a likeable protag (I especially liked his lazy chibi self), and the messaging behind the series seems pretty enlightened on the whole.  As for blogging who knows, especially with a full year of episodes (at least) in the bargain.  But I’ll watch for a while at the very least, because if there’s something to this series that makes it a shounen masterpiece, I’d hate to miss out on it by bailing too soon.