Track Two

Track Two: True Tears

Jan 27th

(True Tears summary here, when I understand the show more. All I know is that it’s a visual novel conversion.)

1/24/08 – Episode 1:
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Let me preface this impression by saying that it is <i>really cool</i> that True Tears is in HD-huge size, yet still only 170 MB in size. I enjoyed watching shows like Shana II this big, but hated the extra 50 MB tacked on. Maybe I’m behind the times with encoding advancements, but more of this would be awesome.

Back-to-backing this with H2O ~footprints in the sand~; with that one, I blogged it live. This one, I’m doing my summaries after watching the show.

My best summary of True Tears is that it’s another show that I’m far too happy to be irrational about. In many senses it was the same kind of intro episode as H2O. Same ’show all the characters’, same ‘let’s have something almost important happen’, even some mild fanservice – c’mon, the typical ‘peeking in the bath’ thing.

And yet, it was So Much Better.

It’s probably because I’m shallow. True Tears is a looker, especially compared to H2O. It’s characters appeal, perhaps, to a different subset; while H2O has mostly submissive characters that are drawn to the male lead (with one notable exception), True Tears has a few that are decidedly far apart, either emotionally or mentally distant from the male lead. This insight would probably explain a lot as to why I like Eriko in KimiKiss so much; for some reason, the female characters that are cold, distant, unfeeling, in appearance, have always been more appealing. You could even stretch the definition to Mai (Kanon) or Nagato.

It’s weird. Maybe it has to do with the American ideal of working hard for your dream, and that allure of “being able to open up a person to the world, to make them smile.” Odd, considering that anime fans like me probably need a lot of opening up to the Real World.

And so, despite True Tears admittedly being built on a few choice cliches (chance meeting, childhood friend, dirty commentary male friend, etc), it really has a good feel to it so far. I hope it can live up to the expectations now established by people like Owen.

Click here for more information on Track Two.

-CCY

Track Two, True Tears

Track Two: Clannad

Jan 27th

Posted by canon in Clannad

1 comment

Clannad is a visual-novel by the famous company Key, turned anime by the famous animators Kyoto Animation. It’s a mix of the same tear-jerking emotion typical of this company and genre, and a large amount of humor that rivals the best comedies, making Clannad a good combination of genres. In this story, we follow nice-guy delinquent Tomoya Okazaki as he becomes friends with Nagisa Furukawa, a soft-spoken but strong girl, and many other interesting characters in his school. These include Fuuko, a strange and small girl who always seems to be at school, Tomoyo, a strong fighter who just wants to be seen as a girl, Kotomi, a socially inept genius with a taste for the violin, and the ever-appealing twins Ryou and Kyou. What secrets do they all hide, starting with Tomoya himself…?

1/26/08: Episode 15
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1/20/08: Episode 14
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Click here for more information on Track Two.

-CCY

Clannad, Track Two

Track Two: In Syndication

Jan 25th

Posted by canon in Track Two

3 comments

Aside from Danbooru and other image boards, Owen is probably my next best source of images

Crunched for time on posting today, and these Track Twos have been burning a hole in my hard drive (luckily, only figuratively) ever since Ikimashou went down, so I’ll post up a couple of them here.

For those unfamiliar with my Track Two feature, it’s essentially my form of “episode impressions”, a miniblog updated periodically with shorter entries. Not so much summary so much as Mystery Science Theater 3000. Or, alternatively, episode-by-episode analysis. Enjoy.

(credible spoilers for KimiKiss through 14, Kaiji through 15 and Clannad through 14, and if you’re really dense, Shana II through 14 and Shugo Chara through 15)

(will reply to comments on the Lolipop article in the near future, as well)
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General, Track Two

Track Two: Miscellaneous

Jan 17th

Posted by canon in Track Two

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The Track Two is for commentary on random anime-like substances that may not warrant a post or category all to themselves. This includes such things as visual novels.

1/27/08 – Game Release: Battle Tetris
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1/27/08 – M3 is BACK!
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1/17/08 – Shira Oka Preview Video:
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Click here for more information on Track Two.

-CCY

General, Shira Oka, Track Two

Track Two: Shakugan no Shana II

Jan 16th

Posted by canon in Shakugan no Shana II

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Shakugan no Shana II is a standard action-slash-supernatural romance show revolving around a hardly-normal boy named Yuuji, who secretly harbors a hidden treasure called the Reiji Maigo inside his body. This, combined with his status as a Torch, a sort of copy of a deceased person’s personality, makes him a top target for hunters known as the Guze no Tomogara. It’s up to Shana, a female Flame Haze who fights to keep the balance of the world, to protect him – but could their relationship be something more? Or does Yuuji’s friend Yoshida have something to say about that? Not to mention, a wide array of other main and side characters, including Margery Daw, a far more reckless Flame Haze, Wilhelmina, the Flame Haze with a caring, outspoken personality, and many of Yuuji’s friends from school, who all play roles in the gears of this story.

1/27/08: Episode 15
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1/21/08: Episode 14
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1/16/08 – Episode 13:
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Click here for more information on Track Two.

-CCY

Shakugan no Shana, Track Two

Mega Megane Moé

Track Two

Track Two: True Tears

Track Two: Clannad

Track Two: In Syndication

Track Two: Miscellaneous

Track Two: Shakugan no Shana II

Micro Megane Moé