Tried out Natsu no Arashi. I was pleasantly surprised - Author wasn't enthralled by it, exactly, so I didn't know what to expect. Three episodes in - Crunchy turns out to be quite nice for those really slow days at work, which I'm afraid are more or less all of them lately.

What I got was a show that runs the line between "artsy for the sake of artsy" and a period piece, giving the viewer a good chunk of both. I feel like it's evoking nostalgia for, let's face it, a period that I certainly never lived through in the first place. The male lead is a ridiculous schoolboy... but he's ridiculous precisely because he's living a stereotype, because he's taking his cues for what to do from old superhero stories. So in some ways he's an idiot... but when he's being an idiot, he knows he's being an idiot, and that counts for a lot.

The time travel aspects are interesting, but it's not clear where it's going with it. Risking paradox to hunt for strawberry shortcake was funny, dodging B-san was a bit less so. So what's really up with Arashi? No clue at all, and that's worth something too.

I'm getting Utena vibes - not plot-wise, but in the directing. The characters are acting, and that acting can go from "normal" acting to "absurd melodrama" in a split second. So are the absurd parts just a break from a somewhat humdrum "normality"? Or are they pointing out the "normal" acting by exaggeration... how Hajime's normal behavior is as much of an act, a geeky little kid stepping into the hero role, as when he and Arashi are acting out military drama against the formidable UFO catcher machine in the arcade?

It could yet fall flat. We still don't have an antagonist (I'm assuming that the detective ain't it, heh), or even a real narrative structure. The show's conflict so far is "man versus ?", and that's not sustainable. So will it be able to come up with a point that's as self-aware as the rest of the show? Dropping Hajime and Arashi into the role of action heroes would be a terrible let-down. Or will they end up against someone who's as uncomfortable in the "villain" role as Hajime is as a "hero"? That could be interesting indeed...

Geh. Re-reading this post, I might be making too much of it. But (leaving aside the freaky anime reference ED bit,) they're doing an excellent job of doing fun, tricky things with the art direction, without going into full-on Utena "Giant Castle Rover" no-sense-whatsoever mode. If they can stay in that groove, I'll definitely be happy with it until the end.

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at 01:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 455 words, total size 3 kb.