Dated 12 April 2007: Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight
Collateral damage.
No! Not the Futakoi Alternative mugs!
Dated 18 April 2008: Futakoi Alternative mugs are real
Futakoi Alternative mugs.
As spotted on Koshimizu Ami's blog. So much nicer than my own Futakoi Alternative mugs.
[Edit: Pity Kadowaki Mai didn't cross-post the picture on her own blog.]
Dated 23 January 2009: Claymation is so fresh
I really hope Datsun Nissan taps ufotable to create a commercial for the new 370Z.
Dokkoida?! ED.
2x2=Shinobuden ED.
Coyote Ragtime Show ED.
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight ED.
Kara no Kyoukai public service message.
Nissan 300ZX commercial (not made by ufotable, as far as I know).
Dated 9 April 2010: B Gata H Kei's episode one is the Futakoi Alternative of sex comedies
Tiny pictures are the way of love, Yamada.
I had extremely low expectations of B Gata H Kei and only watched the first episode as a goof. Pleasantly surprised, it looks like be watching more because this first episode is brilliant. I knew the basic premise of the show's 4-koma roots: sex-crazed virgin high school girl ends up pursuing monogamous relationship with Potato Guy. It's a stupid or wonderful premise depending on your point of view, but either way it's hilarious in execution.
Kosuda is lucky Yamada didn't want a bigger dictionary.
Like Divine, I had initial reservations about Tamura Yukari voicing the lead girl, but she's perfect. It turns out B Gata H Kei is basically Ranpha ~The Early Years~, so Yukarin's high-school-Ranpha voice is sex-comedy perfection here.
I was much less surprised by Horie Yui's character than Noto Mamiko's.
In light of my low expectations for Spring 2010, discovering B Gata H Kei is hilarious is a very welcome surprise. Of course, your mileage may vary; comedy is a tricky thing. In my view, the most important factor is timing, not material. Since the comedic timing in B Gata H Kei has been spot on, the show works for me.
Whatever they're paying Yamada's Sex God it's not enough.
More accurately, its first episode works for me. However, I've watched too much anime to judge a show's merits entirely on its first episode. That path is quite precarious. Even a good show can lose its viewers if the follow-up episodes of a series depart substantially from expectations created by a strong first episode. Consider how many people felt betrayed after the incredible first episode of Futakoi Alternative.
Sara finds Rentarou.
Taken in its entirety, I view Futakoi Alternative as an excellent series (even more so if you've ever watched any of the dreadful original Futakoi), and I rank its amazing first episode among the best—if not the best—first episode of anything ever, but that first episode is also incredibly misleading. Many viewers soured after the frenetic first Futakoi Alternative episode gave way to contemplative (and somewhat downer) follow-up episodes.
That is one really firm size chart/scorecard.
B Gata H Kei has a great first episode, but I hope the rest of the B Gata Heckler & Koch anime isn't a letdown. Like I said, comedy is a tricky thing. However, as long as Yamada keeping putting out Sawako-with-a-libido vibes each episode I won't even care if she doesn't manage to make 100 friends with benefits. I heard there's no guarantee she'll go to heaven even if she does kill 108 dudes. [Spoiler.]
