Anime - NHK ni Youkoso - Episode 01 Response

I wasn't going to post anything on this yet, but Omni put up a typical first episode entry that I wanted to share. I took plenty of screenshots, and now the 1280x720 RAW is out (probably be torrented in america today/tomorrow), but that means sorting through them and 'making decisions'. That, and there are different types of 'introductions', and I'd rather first make an 'announcement' to gather interested individuals, then go into the episode details in a separate post. This is a brief summary of my opinions.


Manga vs Anime

Character Design - There was the worry that the anime characters might not look close enough to the originals from the manga. After seeing the first episode, Sato-kun and Misaki-chan seem reasonable to me. Kashiwa-senpai is fine too. Young Committee Rep (from the short clip we have) looks good. 'oro?' you say, read on. Of course Misaki's Aunt, well she has a face you can't forget. Clips of Yamazaki in the next episode preview as well, he seems a bit different though. (Closer to the sites character design in terms of looks.)

Plot Progression - Episode one 'Welcome to the Project!' (anime) Covers the grounds of the first chapter of the manga (minus introduction of Yamazaki). The beginning of Misaki introducing 'The Project' while outside, is also included.
If you were wondering about Kashiwa-senpai and Committee Rep., a few flashbacks were included. Kashiwa-senpai gets a bit of the limelight, and Committee Rep. gets a 10 second or so clip. (These decisions seem appropriate considering 24 minute time frames.) (Committee Rep can be seen at bottom of this post)

Changes? - The anime thus far (one ep) seems as if its not 'as dark', but it is still somewhat dark (ok, maybe not, but some might find it to be so). As compared to the manga, not nearly as dark. So far the plot lines up, the character designs are very close, and the mood seems acceptable. Though currently, the drama is taking the place of the thinned darkness. (Maybe its to hook first time viewers?)
A few pieces of the plot have been moved around, but its not to an extent of changing the plot, though how one experiences it might vary. (ex. when he answers the door he doesn't 'daydream' while standing there, that happens later.)
As for the 'darkness' a simple/subtle example of tone is how he looks when he answers the door, then his response afterwards.) (After job hunt... chocking? -_-)

Somewhat SPOILER-esq (not if you read ch1 of the manga) you have been warned:
-----BEGIN SPOILER-esq Mentionings------
I wondered how they might get away with some of the rather 'questionable scenes'. At first they had Sato-kun imagine a nun which was 'sleeping and talking in her sleep' (I'm not noting the placement of her hand @_@; ). Ah ha, reasonable. Later they have him imagine her, but its a bit more 'revealing'.
-------END SPOILER-esq Mentionings-------

Example of Anime vs Manga

Some frames from the manga were 'recreated' in the anime. As with many manga-to-anime conversions, there are different approaches and some things come out 'just different'. (Ex. conquering/destroying the glass bottle as a first step. The expressed tone/mood in the manga just seemed better (to me at least). Remember that these are different mediums though.

A little more info on the manga can be found in this old entry.


Random Aside

On-topic, yet sidetracked - short observations based on How a viewer's interpretations are objective and How anime typically 'imposes more' on a viewer then manga does.

Of course, when reading a manga the reader can typically make of it what they want (to an extent). Anime can also be received in many ways, but with music, voices, moving pictures!, 'more time', and etc. anime can be a bit more imposing. If it seems 'funny', the anime could potentially not be 'as funny', though this is all objective, and the reasons for which one creates their opinions is based on their past experiences with the presented music/similar_music, phrases, voice actors, situations, and other presented material, even how they grew up to interpret the world. (A whole lot.) Meaning if something subtle is changed, it might mean a great deal to one group of people, and nothing to another. (Same/similar to one man's trash being another's treasure, one man's comedy might be another’s tragedy (sometimes a very sadistic tragedy), people interpret things differently.

(Not exactly applicable here, but I was reminded of this quote)

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an open manhole.

-Mel Brooks

I mention that difference in the interpretation/experienced_effect, so that I can point out that thus far there have not been (what might be interpreted as) any 'major changes' that I have noticed between the anime and the manga. (But, the darkness factor so far is fairly significant.) Though there are some 'more subtle' differences which might bother people, the first episode seems to be 'logically' mostly similar. A.K.A the anime's plot and looks are pretty close to the manga. (Tone-wise its a bit different but not by 'a lot'.)
Note: This Response is all based on a single episode (the first no less), -it means almost nothing- (basically), but it leads to some interesting pondering huh? ^_^;

(Extracting the underlying themes and approaches GONZO 'has taken' with the first episode (note those are all interpretations anyway) assumptions can be made based on assumptions. I rest my case. But I'll do it anyway and then point out the irony of it all. >_< )


My Response to episode one?


Opening (OP) - Cute. Fairly stylistic, as might be expected by GONZO. The puzzle theme is nice. The song is also appropriate.
Ending (ED) - Fun, I enjoyed it quite a bit. 'Weird' :/ Also be Warned, a few semi-'newd13' shots (but tastefully done in my opinion), then the fun starts.

The Show -
At first I just kinda’ stared at it without making any evaluations (confused, not really sure that I saw anything that bothered/amazed me). There were things that I enjoyed, and not much that I thought I could complain about it. I defiantly enjoyed it, but with just the first episode thus far, I'm not 'crazy about it'(aka enamored) yet.
Yes, its 'different' from the manga, though not so much that it would frustrate me. I just take it as something of its own for now.

'Mike-like' style at times. \(^_^)/
(If that makes sense. Hey! Watch it, no, where's everyone going T_T >_<; But seriously, if you believe it might be amusing give it a chance. Its only a bit.)



Check out Omni's SCREENSHOTS of several scenes throughout the first episode.

Again, to emphasize:
With this being the first episode I can not make much of an evaluation/prediction on how the series will turn out.

So far though, I would say that I will continue to embrace the manga as the original, and the anime as an extra perk. Then if the anime becomes something of its own, I will give it recognition, but that recognition will be based on its ability to stand on its own.
(Not as a being 'better then the manga' but as something separate. Different scoring scales you might say, as in comparing the enjoyment of pure comedy to pure action films, they are enjoyed for different reasons. (not as apples to oranges, but as portraits to vacation photos~?)


Final Ramble
Bits on Omni's comment

The opening animation is unique, high production quality, very fitting for the Puzzle theme. Same goes for the ending animation, but it’s a bit more on the weird side (minus the n3k1d Misaki and Kashiwa-senpai).

(fixed n3k1d)

LOL, n3k1d Misaki and Kashiwa-senpai == not weird. ???
(Or is it that the n3kidne55 is not of HQ? I don't believe that is what was meant though)

Well, I guess its expected from the manga (therefore not weird)... I believe people expect certain things from the anime of this century, and I find their expectations - amusing. ^_^; (as in, the fact that their expectations are what they are, not as in the expectations themselves. Though, those can be fun too.. if done 'well' >_< )

-----
Omni figured out the encoding
Checkout the OP and ED Clips at omni's blog.
(If rapidshare maxes out after the OP try the second mirror (megaupload) for the ED.)

Ha! Why am I one of three people to vote the anime a 7 (the lowest rating so far) and there are 40 people that gave it a 10? I thought I liked it lol
(40 votes on 10 the other 10 votes on 7-9.5)
No, I know several reasons why, I'm just teasing, but I find it amusing. With more voters, the distrobution will probably change within the next week or so.



And finally heres a shot of the Committee Rep for anyone interested.

(Oh, and I apologize, this entry isn't very well organized, but hopefully someone might find it useful.)