so i was gonna snark about shounen series this week
(as usual)
But eh, why waste my time. Exercise in positivity: I'll note one good thing per series.
1. Naruto: I love seeing the female characters being badass, not that this is going to last and not that the underlying motivations aren't still fucking gross (in the case of one of them), and that fandom has still devolved into shipping wank over the other.
Whoops. Snark.
2. Bleach: RUKIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
(Kuboscience and his usual philosophical pretentiousness aside, I think it's actually fairly entertaining to watch Kubo shamelessly trolling his audience every single fucking week.)
3. Fairy Tail: I have been SO unbelievably annoyed at this latest arc. Like seriously, I didn't even mind the tournament arc, which dragged (and made a narrative choice at the end which pissed me off*), or the post-tournament stuff that I can't even really remember anymore, but there's just been SO MUCH about this arc that's rage-inducing. Up until now I actually really liked the series (even though I didn't talk about it much): it was a lot of fun and the characters were fun. OTOH, I don't think I've liked a single chapter ever since this arc started (one a few weeks ago in fact outright made my stomach turn).
* as spoiler-free as possible -- it combined two of my least favorite tropes ever: reset button and gratuitous sacrifice as redemption
Yeah TBH I have nothing good to say about the past couple of weeks. Instead: I'm still quietly rooting for Cana to become the next guildmaster.
- - -
I've been trying to keep the One Piece spam to a minimum but dammit the series really does make me consistently happy. (It also makes me totally giddy that Oda is also a fan of Hara Yasuhisa's Kingdom. XD)
Anyhowwwww today's spam is about the anime OST. The One Piece anime is really uneven in general -- the movies have glorious animation but subpar writing; the main series has terrible pacing in order to let the manga stay ahead and quality varies on a scene-by-scene basis.... but there's one thing that really surprised me when I first started poking at the anime (after I finished the manga), which is the OST. Which is surprisingly and delightfully classy*! (I feel like I almost never hear almost fully orchestral soundtracks these days except for smaller ambitious series that bring in Michiru Ooshima [Zetsuen no Tempest, Xam'd a few years back, and of course FMA] or similar composers.)
* To the point that the series actually features one of my favorite inserts of Dvorak's New World Symphony. Which is one of those classical pieces that's abused/misused waaaay too often -- but in the OP context? musically it really really works. <3
The OSTs also prove that it is, in fact, possible to make piratey music without resorting to the usual cliches.
A few highlights (this should go without saying, but don't read the comments):
1. Overtaken: One of the most iconic tracks of the series. I LOVE THIS. It's brassy and sassy. Easily the best track of the entire show.
2. A Mother's Love: Probably my favorite piano track. It really reminds me of the sea. (Probably deliberate. There's another track done in a similar style titled "Mother Sea" -- which features a lovely instrumental take on the most iconic opening theme with lots of winds.)
3. The Very Very Very Strongest: XD Probably the most stereotypically piratey track, but it's actually fairly subtle. I love the arrangement.
4. The Fight Continues: Starts out brassy, then segues into more pensive strings.
5. After Eating, Grand Line!: Yeah, that title. XD But this is another track that shifts moods really well. The "Grand Line" half makes me indescribably happy.
I left out a lot of other stuff I like. And this isn't even counting all the character image songs (Law's Dr. Heart Stealer is hilarious and GREAT considering what he's actually had to put up with in story XD. I love Shanks's image songs too lmao [this one especially]) -- or the really amazing Marine insert song in Film Z, or the one plot relevant track, Binks no Sake (Binks's Brew), neither of which I'm linking because they're best experienced in context!
comments at the original Dreamwidth post
But eh, why waste my time. Exercise in positivity: I'll note one good thing per series.
1. Naruto: I love seeing the female characters being badass, not that this is going to last and not that the underlying motivations aren't still fucking gross (in the case of one of them), and that fandom has still devolved into shipping wank over the other.
Whoops. Snark.
2. Bleach: RUKIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
(Kuboscience and his usual philosophical pretentiousness aside, I think it's actually fairly entertaining to watch Kubo shamelessly trolling his audience every single fucking week.)
3. Fairy Tail: I have been SO unbelievably annoyed at this latest arc. Like seriously, I didn't even mind the tournament arc, which dragged (and made a narrative choice at the end which pissed me off*), or the post-tournament stuff that I can't even really remember anymore, but there's just been SO MUCH about this arc that's rage-inducing. Up until now I actually really liked the series (even though I didn't talk about it much): it was a lot of fun and the characters were fun. OTOH, I don't think I've liked a single chapter ever since this arc started (one a few weeks ago in fact outright made my stomach turn).
* as spoiler-free as possible -- it combined two of my least favorite tropes ever: reset button and gratuitous sacrifice as redemption
Yeah TBH I have nothing good to say about the past couple of weeks. Instead: I'm still quietly rooting for Cana to become the next guildmaster.
- - -
I've been trying to keep the One Piece spam to a minimum but dammit the series really does make me consistently happy. (It also makes me totally giddy that Oda is also a fan of Hara Yasuhisa's Kingdom. XD)
Anyhowwwww today's spam is about the anime OST. The One Piece anime is really uneven in general -- the movies have glorious animation but subpar writing; the main series has terrible pacing in order to let the manga stay ahead and quality varies on a scene-by-scene basis.... but there's one thing that really surprised me when I first started poking at the anime (after I finished the manga), which is the OST. Which is surprisingly and delightfully classy*! (I feel like I almost never hear almost fully orchestral soundtracks these days except for smaller ambitious series that bring in Michiru Ooshima [Zetsuen no Tempest, Xam'd a few years back, and of course FMA] or similar composers.)
* To the point that the series actually features one of my favorite inserts of Dvorak's New World Symphony. Which is one of those classical pieces that's abused/misused waaaay too often -- but in the OP context? musically it really really works. <3
The OSTs also prove that it is, in fact, possible to make piratey music without resorting to the usual cliches.
A few highlights (this should go without saying, but don't read the comments):
1. Overtaken: One of the most iconic tracks of the series. I LOVE THIS. It's brassy and sassy. Easily the best track of the entire show.
2. A Mother's Love: Probably my favorite piano track. It really reminds me of the sea. (Probably deliberate. There's another track done in a similar style titled "Mother Sea" -- which features a lovely instrumental take on the most iconic opening theme with lots of winds.)
3. The Very Very Very Strongest: XD Probably the most stereotypically piratey track, but it's actually fairly subtle. I love the arrangement.
4. The Fight Continues: Starts out brassy, then segues into more pensive strings.
5. After Eating, Grand Line!: Yeah, that title. XD But this is another track that shifts moods really well. The "Grand Line" half makes me indescribably happy.
I left out a lot of other stuff I like. And this isn't even counting all the character image songs (Law's Dr. Heart Stealer is hilarious and GREAT considering what he's actually had to put up with in story XD. I love Shanks's image songs too lmao [this one especially]) -- or the really amazing Marine insert song in Film Z, or the one plot relevant track, Binks no Sake (Binks's Brew), neither of which I'm linking because they're best experienced in context!
comments at the original Dreamwidth post