I love talking about studios, whether I’m giving some less–respected ones the credit they deserve or driving the ones I hate as far into the ground as possible. It’s hard to call Gonzo a less-respected studio because in reality they’ve been one of the best-loved studios in anime for over a decade, but I’ll be giving them some love anyway.
art by ryuuzaki ran
Thanks to Crunchyroll‘s simulcasting, Saki is available to watch streamed and subbed instantly and legally for free. This is especially since Saki is a show you couldn’t enjoy without knowing what was going on. Unfortunately, it may not be a sow you could enjoy at all. Or is it?! I can’t tell!!! This was one very confounding first episode. It was like a constant barrage of things that were totally great and things that all completely sucked all flying around and colliding. It’s an episode that should mean an instant drop, but I can’t justify not at least watching the second episode in light of the numerous good points to the show.
The opening video for Gonzo’s upcoming conservationalist anime Shangri-La has been leaked and reported by Moetron who lets you watch it here.
I already had plenty of reason to watch Shangri-La – first of all, I love Gonzo (I may be the last one) and second of all, the designs are by Range Murata, who is without doubt one of Japan’s great artists. (his site here, links are thankfully in English). Murata and Gonzo collaborated in the past on both Last Exile and Blue Submarine no. 6 which are both ten kinds of awesome. Shangri-La doesn’t look terribly original, and I’m a little leary over the amount of seriousness which may be present. It’s based on a novel, though, and that’s usually a good thing.
The preview has me very psyched. The animation is pretty much drop-dead gorgeous, as expected from a Gonzo op, but much more exciting is the lush art which brings back memories of Last Exile. If the show’s art is as good as the op, this will be an instant favorite for that alone. The buildings covered in moss were like a shoutout directly to me, haha. Really looking forward to this.
EDIT: Oh, and I guess the song was okay too.
I am of the mindset that an opinion should be made based on research in any situation. I hate to hear people bitch that ‘all mecha sucks’ when they’ve seen exactly two shows from the genre (this seems to be the case for many.) I am sick of people calling a show ‘cliche’ when the show is intended to be homage or parody. These are all things that a little research would show to anyone. Whether or not you like the show is based all on you, but before you open your mouth to the world, you’d best know what you’re talking about. That’s why I’ve gotten rather tired of people making uneducated remarks about studios, especially those that supposedly ‘suck.’
My Sword Is Unbelievably Dull 