Because I'm a follower like that
"Mom, everyone else is doing it! Why can't I?"
"IF everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"
"Woo, bridge diving!" *leaps*
--"Synchonicty" is cool! Me likes. OP was a bit boring for my tastes, but I like moving pictures. Still, CLAMP does draw such nice magic circles. And I liked the end image, of Fei Wang Reed's symbol all red and ominous against the black background.
-- I'm a bit sad that they didn't have any quick LeCourt flashbacks in there. I suppose they figured if you're buying the OAD you know what happened in the manga, so it doesn't amtter that the anime completely screwed up that part. As a standalone the opening wouldn't make any sense, though -- thinking of it in terms of downloaders and possible American release it might seem disjointed, if people have been following the anime but not the manga. (And possibly I was hoping a decent image of Fai using his magic in LeCourt, cause the anime screwed it up and I don't like the manga image much. CLAMP's art is lovely, but every once in a while there will be an important moment where I just don't like how they drew things. More on that later.)
--Poor Kurogane's just not made to be animated. Bee Train got it right here and there (there was that one Outo ep, where Kuro-pi and Fai fight the oni that I thought Kurogane looked rather nice) but mostly sucked at it, and Production IG's not much better, I'm afraid. I know lots of people were hoping Madhouse would get the OAD, but if CLAMP in Wonderland 2's any indication, I'm so glad they didn't. The kids looked great and Fai was quite lickable, but Kurogane was just....NO.
--Tokyo looks nice and destroyed. I like.
--Bodies, bodies, bodies. This bodes well for the carnage later (is it wrong that I am totally looking forward to seeing my favorite character get his eye brutally torn from his head? Because if it is, I don't want to be right). "We're not in Bee Train anymore, Toto Mokona."
--Speaking of Mokona, yay for the return of nice palm-sized Mokona! Giant scary Bee Train Mokona-of-Doom has been smoted. How pleasing. Somehow it's adorable palm-sized but hideous and frightening the larger they make it. I was always worried it was going to break someone's shoulder in the anime.
--I haven't seen the X anime and it's been a long time since I watched the movie ("I want his head in my lap! His head, in my lap!") so I had no expectations for the voices. I liked them, but I'm not a big X person, so I'm not picky about them.
--Kurogane vs Kamui was very nicely done and definitely bodes well for when the real action starts, presumably in the next volume. My only nitpicky complaint was when Kamui got thrown into the wall, because I lied in the mnage when his eyes went all glowy and vampy there, and they didn't really obviously do that here. I thought it was neat, so I was sad.
--Kurogane looked kinda hot after he threw the rock. I don't know why. I just find this important to note.
--I didn't really like that Fuuma and co didn't show up until later. It was more effective in the mange, I think, when they showed up right at the beginning. Now it seems like Kamui gave up a bit easily.
--"And this is Kuro-tan!" Aw, Fai. I miss your :D phase.
--Now the important stuff: The big KuroFai scene.
--Even though I know more or less what they're saying from the manga, I think I'll like this scene better with the subtitles.
--The animation was definitely off in parts of it. Kurogane continues to look weird. Especially at the start, when he was leaning against the wall and Fai was talking to him and we saw them from the side, Kurogane looked really...tiny, kinda. Just not right. Every full shot of him and Fai with Kurogane against the wall just looked off, proportion-wise.
--Fai, OTOH, looked nice throughout most of the scene. I mentioned above that sometimes I think CLAMP's art looks off and this was one of those spots. The close up of Fai with his serious face --"I don't want anyone to be made unhappy because of me" -- never looked right to me in the manga. His face just seemed...I dunno, really wide and odd in that manga panel. So I was very happy with the OAD version. It was purty.
--Good voice acting from Daisuke Namikawa, I think. The obvious difference between his serious Fai and :D Fai is nice (and something that I think would be lost if this was ever dubbed. From what little dub I've watched, I don't think Vic McWhatsis does a sucky Fai, he just does a boring Fai).
--Armgrab scene from the previews! Yay! Enjoyed that. And I liked Kurogane kind of throwing Fai back when he let go. It conveyed more frustration and I just liked it.
--Disappointed with Fai falling to the wall, though. I really wish they would've followed the manga image on that one, with the side view, because the manga version was lovely. The anime one didn't work as well for me.
--Again, enjoyed the voice acting. It almost didn't sound like Fai there in that last line.
--Okay, back to the rest of the show. Boy this is getting long.
--Sakura floats and is a bit boring. I can't wait until the next two OADs where she gets more to do. She really gets shafted in the set-up parts of the arc.
--Another change I didn't like - skipping the bit with Syaoran going creepy before they go out worm-hunting. I feel like that was a poor choice. In the manga I assumed that Fai made Kurogane stay behind partly because of the Syaoran thing, but here Fai shouldn't even know about that. And despite that he doesn't seem surprised when it happens later. That just seemed odd. (Though I kinda like the idea that Fai made Kurogane stay behind here just to be mean. Payback for the armgrab!)
--Fai got to shoot something! Oh, I liked that.
--Like I said above, Fumma showing up here seemed...unnecessary. It worked better in the manga. Did like Fai's little wave when Fuuma glanced at them, though. Oh, Fai.
--Syaoran's creepy moment could've been creepier. He didn't look as cold as he does in the manga. And again, shouldn't Fai be more surprised? THis is the first time he's seen that happen, since they cut the earlier scene. (Though presumably Fai does know what Syaoran is, so maybe he wouldn't be surprised after all.)
--Yuuko!
--Hellooo, Real Syaoran. I loved the music where he escaped. So cool. That was a great moment.
--Kurogane climbing on the bed. Aw, Daddy's worried about his daughter!
--Something new I really liked: Kamui holding the crossbow on Syaoran and Fai just easily stepping between them. That was just a nice little moment. You don't threaten the child when Mommy's right there, Kamui.
--Xing Huo looked pretty. I can't wait until she dies :P
--Yuuko again! I was really impressed with how they drew her, she looked great. And Real Syaoran gets to look cool, too. (I wonder how Holic we'll see in the background here? I'm guessing they'll probably skip the mention of Watanuki falling through the window when R!Syaoran is talking to Yuuko at the end of the arc. Come to think, if the second season of Holic uses that storyline, are they going to skip R!Syaoran's part in it? He paid a price too, after all.)
--The ending. Loved the shots of the main cast. It was very melancholy, and very fitting for the mood our cast will be in when the arc ends.
--Fai is pretty. That is all.
--So if Fai's got the eye patch, then the Syaoran with the group's got to be R!Syaoran. Would've been nice to have Cloney in there somehow too, besides in the last shot.
--Wasn't into the long view of the X characters, though like I said I'm not big into X. I would've liked less slow long view of X characters and more shots of Our Heroes. Nice to see Subaru though, since he won't really be showing up till near the end of the arc. (And poor Mokona didn't even get a close up. Stop discriminating against pork buns, ending theme!)
--Last shot was so very Infinity. I want that animated. And I really want Celes animated.
--So, that's the end of part one. More please! (Let the carnage begin!)
"IF everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"
"Woo, bridge diving!" *leaps*
--"Synchonicty" is cool! Me likes. OP was a bit boring for my tastes, but I like moving pictures. Still, CLAMP does draw such nice magic circles. And I liked the end image, of Fei Wang Reed's symbol all red and ominous against the black background.
-- I'm a bit sad that they didn't have any quick LeCourt flashbacks in there. I suppose they figured if you're buying the OAD you know what happened in the manga, so it doesn't amtter that the anime completely screwed up that part. As a standalone the opening wouldn't make any sense, though -- thinking of it in terms of downloaders and possible American release it might seem disjointed, if people have been following the anime but not the manga. (And possibly I was hoping a decent image of Fai using his magic in LeCourt, cause the anime screwed it up and I don't like the manga image much. CLAMP's art is lovely, but every once in a while there will be an important moment where I just don't like how they drew things. More on that later.)
--Poor Kurogane's just not made to be animated. Bee Train got it right here and there (there was that one Outo ep, where Kuro-pi and Fai fight the oni that I thought Kurogane looked rather nice) but mostly sucked at it, and Production IG's not much better, I'm afraid. I know lots of people were hoping Madhouse would get the OAD, but if CLAMP in Wonderland 2's any indication, I'm so glad they didn't. The kids looked great and Fai was quite lickable, but Kurogane was just....NO.
--Tokyo looks nice and destroyed. I like.
--Bodies, bodies, bodies. This bodes well for the carnage later (is it wrong that I am totally looking forward to seeing my favorite character get his eye brutally torn from his head? Because if it is, I don't want to be right). "We're not in Bee Train anymore, Toto Mokona."
--Speaking of Mokona, yay for the return of nice palm-sized Mokona! Giant scary Bee Train Mokona-of-Doom has been smoted. How pleasing. Somehow it's adorable palm-sized but hideous and frightening the larger they make it. I was always worried it was going to break someone's shoulder in the anime.
--I haven't seen the X anime and it's been a long time since I watched the movie ("I want his head in my lap! His head, in my lap!") so I had no expectations for the voices. I liked them, but I'm not a big X person, so I'm not picky about them.
--Kurogane vs Kamui was very nicely done and definitely bodes well for when the real action starts, presumably in the next volume. My only nitpicky complaint was when Kamui got thrown into the wall, because I lied in the mnage when his eyes went all glowy and vampy there, and they didn't really obviously do that here. I thought it was neat, so I was sad.
--Kurogane looked kinda hot after he threw the rock. I don't know why. I just find this important to note.
--I didn't really like that Fuuma and co didn't show up until later. It was more effective in the mange, I think, when they showed up right at the beginning. Now it seems like Kamui gave up a bit easily.
--"And this is Kuro-tan!" Aw, Fai. I miss your :D phase.
--Now the important stuff: The big KuroFai scene.
--Even though I know more or less what they're saying from the manga, I think I'll like this scene better with the subtitles.
--The animation was definitely off in parts of it. Kurogane continues to look weird. Especially at the start, when he was leaning against the wall and Fai was talking to him and we saw them from the side, Kurogane looked really...tiny, kinda. Just not right. Every full shot of him and Fai with Kurogane against the wall just looked off, proportion-wise.
--Fai, OTOH, looked nice throughout most of the scene. I mentioned above that sometimes I think CLAMP's art looks off and this was one of those spots. The close up of Fai with his serious face --"I don't want anyone to be made unhappy because of me" -- never looked right to me in the manga. His face just seemed...I dunno, really wide and odd in that manga panel. So I was very happy with the OAD version. It was purty.
--Good voice acting from Daisuke Namikawa, I think. The obvious difference between his serious Fai and :D Fai is nice (and something that I think would be lost if this was ever dubbed. From what little dub I've watched, I don't think Vic McWhatsis does a sucky Fai, he just does a boring Fai).
--Armgrab scene from the previews! Yay! Enjoyed that. And I liked Kurogane kind of throwing Fai back when he let go. It conveyed more frustration and I just liked it.
--Disappointed with Fai falling to the wall, though. I really wish they would've followed the manga image on that one, with the side view, because the manga version was lovely. The anime one didn't work as well for me.
--Again, enjoyed the voice acting. It almost didn't sound like Fai there in that last line.
--Okay, back to the rest of the show. Boy this is getting long.
--Sakura floats and is a bit boring. I can't wait until the next two OADs where she gets more to do. She really gets shafted in the set-up parts of the arc.
--Another change I didn't like - skipping the bit with Syaoran going creepy before they go out worm-hunting. I feel like that was a poor choice. In the manga I assumed that Fai made Kurogane stay behind partly because of the Syaoran thing, but here Fai shouldn't even know about that. And despite that he doesn't seem surprised when it happens later. That just seemed odd. (Though I kinda like the idea that Fai made Kurogane stay behind here just to be mean. Payback for the armgrab!)
--Fai got to shoot something! Oh, I liked that.
--Like I said above, Fumma showing up here seemed...unnecessary. It worked better in the manga. Did like Fai's little wave when Fuuma glanced at them, though. Oh, Fai.
--Syaoran's creepy moment could've been creepier. He didn't look as cold as he does in the manga. And again, shouldn't Fai be more surprised? THis is the first time he's seen that happen, since they cut the earlier scene. (Though presumably Fai does know what Syaoran is, so maybe he wouldn't be surprised after all.)
--Yuuko!
--Hellooo, Real Syaoran. I loved the music where he escaped. So cool. That was a great moment.
--Kurogane climbing on the bed. Aw, Daddy's worried about his daughter!
--Something new I really liked: Kamui holding the crossbow on Syaoran and Fai just easily stepping between them. That was just a nice little moment. You don't threaten the child when Mommy's right there, Kamui.
--Xing Huo looked pretty. I can't wait until she dies :P
--Yuuko again! I was really impressed with how they drew her, she looked great. And Real Syaoran gets to look cool, too. (I wonder how Holic we'll see in the background here? I'm guessing they'll probably skip the mention of Watanuki falling through the window when R!Syaoran is talking to Yuuko at the end of the arc. Come to think, if the second season of Holic uses that storyline, are they going to skip R!Syaoran's part in it? He paid a price too, after all.)
--The ending. Loved the shots of the main cast. It was very melancholy, and very fitting for the mood our cast will be in when the arc ends.
--Fai is pretty. That is all.
--So if Fai's got the eye patch, then the Syaoran with the group's got to be R!Syaoran. Would've been nice to have Cloney in there somehow too, besides in the last shot.
--Wasn't into the long view of the X characters, though like I said I'm not big into X. I would've liked less slow long view of X characters and more shots of Our Heroes. Nice to see Subaru though, since he won't really be showing up till near the end of the arc. (And poor Mokona didn't even get a close up. Stop discriminating against pork buns, ending theme!)
--Last shot was so very Infinity. I want that animated. And I really want Celes animated.
--So, that's the end of part one. More please! (Let the carnage begin!)