Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「Antithese Escape」 (アンチテーゼ・エスケイプ) by Uesaka Sumire
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Initial Expectations
Not to be confused with my favourite Bleach character, URAHARA is an anime original production, produced through a partnership between Crunchyroll and Bilibili.
Relatively new to the world of directing, Amika Kubo leads a bizarre lineup of voice actresses: a singer (Luna Haruna), a veteran (Uesaka Sumire), and a newbie (Iwami Manaka). Satoshi Motoyama takes charge of sound direction, the man behind legendary music compositions in Shin Sekai Yori, Haibane Renmei. As well as Symphogear. With the inclusion of Haruna Luna, who has chosen to make a rather bizarre foray into voice acting, two dots can be connected. Why else would she suddenly choose to make her sudden debut as a voice actress? I was pretty convinced we were going to receive a surprise musical, full of fun and singing.
General Impressions
Though the whole premise screams of Trigger on a budget, URAHARA possesses its own eccentric charm. Park Harajuku is a real life store, brought to life through the power of animation. As far as I can tell, the series seeks to celebrate the strange and quirky culture specific to Harajuku. Having visited during summer, I can confirm that everything over there is pretty damn crazy!
Anyhow, onto the story. There are aliens who lack any semblance of imagination or creativity, but still appreciate what they deem to be cultured. As a result, they go around to different planets, trying to steal culture wherever they please. Earth becomes a target for their misdemeanours, as the aliens spirit away famous landmarks like Arc de Triomphe, etc. And then, they set their sights on Japan. Only our girls Rito Sudou, Mari Shirako and Kotoko Watatsumugi won’t go down without a fight, and stand to protect their precious place in Harajuku. Armed to the teeth with Amatsumara, enabling them to offensively manifest their powerful imagination, a battle ensues to defend Planet Earth from the invading aliens!
Concluding Thoughts
If not for the musical prospect, why would Haruna Luna be roped into joining this project? The only answer I could think of is that she’s deeply invested with regards to Harajuku fashion, and felt that URAHARA was worth her time as an ode to Harajuku’s culture. However, that alone won’t keep me sticking around, despite some fantastic artwork. To be quite frank, although there was some interesting stuff going on, I found it hard to engage with the content. Unless the second episode really steps up in terms of substance, I’ll have a difficult time justifying why I should personally be keeping up. Perhaps it caters towards a demographic of fashionistas. Unfortunately, I do not fall within that category, though I’ll stay for a bit. It would be a deep shame to see such a unique and refreshing style come to nothing, in an industry where generic norms are only continuing to grow stale.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「KIRAMEKI☆ Life Line」 (KIRAMEKI☆ライフライン) by Luna Haruna
Preview
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End Card
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This is… weird. Not bad, really, but weird. It feels a bit like The Rolling Girls to me, although not exactly.
I thought Rolling Girls was better. In fact, I thought the first episode for that one was amazing! Shame that it couldn’t follow up later on.
The girls and animation are adorable and… yea… that’s about it.
It’s as fluffy as a cloud but also has the same amount of actual substance.
It’s definitely quite vague, like an absent-minded kind of fluffy.
Like they tried to do many interesting things, but ended up with something boring.
That could actually be what convinces to keep going. I don’t know nor care about fashion but I adore seeing anime girls don different outfits. That, and the show hit the right notes for what I consider eye-candy
That’s fair enough, but I’m surprised that they’re angling for a niche demographic, when there’s so much potential.
Fuck, they got that end card money.
The art is amazing, but I feel bad that I tuned out during the show. A lot of the plot stuff just passed me by while I was watching, and it burns because it looks wonderful.
Don’t worry Choya, I fell asleep in the middle of watching this. Lmao.
What is Background? What is moving? Did i forgot to take my pills? I think the last LSD Pill was bad…
Well, lets see.. it is colorful
what i want to “hint with a flower” is… Shading/Shadows… Yes some sort of Light
Yeah… that’s about all it’s got going for it so far though.
https://randomc.net/image/URAHARA/URAHARA%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
The Girls are flying? It is good that their Skirts have an Shadow, but where is the shadow under them on the ground?
https://randomc.net/image/URAHARA/URAHARA%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
2D paint, so far so good
but
https://randomc.net/image/URAHARA/URAHARA%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
2.5D now, because of the Shadows…
consistency is very important. Because this look clue together from different “sub studios”.. as someone took an Wood hammer and fixed this all together for the airing
i do not speak for the others, but
for my Eyes, it seems like the Studio want to make fun of me
And this, boys and girls, is why you shouldn’t shoot bath salts directly into your eyeballs.
Don’t just take it from me, just listen to that talking shrimp tempura…
Ebifuruya was probably my favourite part of the episode.
Youtuber and Crunchyroll partner Reina Scully does a voice as an announcer in this pilot episode. Yes, she speaks and acts in Japanese. That was the extent of my familiarity with this show and it took me reading this page to realize Crunchyroll is actually one of the funders! Which certainly explains things. This is not EVER any anime you’re familiar with. It feels more like one of those rotating animations you see plays on store window displays.