Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「ぼくたちは、ほんとのこころを、かくしてる」 (Bokutachi wa, Honto no Kokoro o, Kakushiteru)
“We’re Hiding How We Truly Feel”
I feel like I always say this, but it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged a shoujo romantic/comedy/slice-of-life, and I think I need more of these in my life for some feel-good anime. Fukumenkei Noise is exactly what I expected going into the premiere of a shoujo manga. There’s a lot of music, signing, some signs of early childhood loves and of course – a love triangle at the center of it all. The story starts off rather predictably. We get a flashback of our main protagonist, Arisugawa Nino (Hayami Saori) humming to herself the same tune over and over again in hopes of seeing the boy that left her years ago. On her first day of high school, she (along with many other students) are greeted by a live school band and on stage, is none other than Yuzuriha Kanade (Yamashita Daiki). Kanade (or Yuzu as Nino calls him) is the young boy that wrote the melody which Nino has been singing nonstop, but unlike her, he seems less than thrilled to see her after all these years. She’s obviously a little heartbroken by his rejection but still decides to help the band by stepping in as their lead singer. During this entire ordeal, we see flashbacks of Nino’s life with another young boy named Momo who seems to have captured Nino’s heart earlier on. We don’t see much of him yet, but Sakaki Momo (Uchiyama Kouki) is seen overhearing Nino’s performance at the end of the episode. How the three of them will interact is yet to be determined, but it’s obvious that there’s a love triangle in play and we’ll see who ends up winning Nino over.
From first impression after starting this episode was that the character designs weren’t my cup of tea. There’s something about their pointy faces, large eyes/mouth and that hair that isn’t super pleasing to the eye for me (does it look greasy to anyone else?). The manga certainly looks better, but if anything, it’s not a huge deterrent from watching the series. Second of all, the music is supposed to be a key component for this show and it was just…alright. It’s not as amazing as say Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso or if I were to throw it way back, Full Moon wo Sagashite which had a real artist singing songs for the anime (and voice act). Hayami Saori, who plays Nino in the anime, does actually sing her own songs in the anime but I can’t shake the image of her being a seiyuu. Until recently, Saori has sang a few opening and ending sequences for anime that she’s been a part of, but all very anime-esqe. Unfortunately I don’t think this show really demonstrates her voice range or capabilities since rock music isn’t really her style. She’s much more suited towards the ballads and soft pop songs. Anyway, overlooking the fact that I don’t think Saori’s singing fits this role, I don’t mind the music and I hope it becomes more of a discussion point in the story and not just a plot driver. It wouldn’t hurt to see Saori/Nino improve their singing skills or even change styles over time.
While I’m not a huge fan from first impressions, I think the story and characters will be the driving force that keeps me engaged with Fukumenkei Noise. It’s clear from the get-go that this will be a love-triangle type of romance story and from the comments that I’ve read, it’s quite unpredictable who Nino will end up with. I haven’t read the manga myself, but there are two directions that the anime can take that would interest me: a) Nino focusing on her passion for music and the two boys help her develop those skills to be a great singer; or b) if the love triangle is very prominent, please do not drag it out. Just confess to Nino or maybe Nino will be the first to confess? I don’t know, but what I hate more than my favorite ship sinking, is if no one gets chosen or Nino “loves them both”. That’s not very realistic to real life and most shoujo will drag this confession or pairing out to the end to keep you guessing. I think it’d be great if the story has her dating one person but end up with another because why not? And this gives fans of both ships something to be excited for. Anyway, I’d love to see a different type of development for Fukumenkei Noise and as long as it can keep me entertained and guessing (but not in a frustrated way), then that’s all I can hope for. I clearly have high hopes for this one.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Story strongly revolves around a love triangle which can be a good or bad thing. So far, typical shoujo which I do enjoy. Not my favorite character design, especially Nino. And I’m not into shorter boys… >_> Poor Yuzu. #アニメ覆面系 #fukumenkeinoise
ED Sequence
 |
 |
 |
ED: 「アレグロ」 (Allegro) by 早見沙織 (Hayami Saori)
Shorter boys you say? Does that mean you’re tall? Hmm…
But yeah, this anime adaptation’s art style definitely not my kinda stuff so I’ll just settle for reading these posts- watching the show at a distance in a sense. Yeah, I was initially interested in the concept when it was first revealed but back then they displayed the manga’s art style which had a certain experimental feel to them in terms of coloring. And eeeyuup, figured just as much that Saori Hayami isn’t really well-suited for this kinda music. In fact, the only one I know so far that is REEEAAALLLYYY suited for rock music or even a wide-variety of music in general is Eri Kitamura. I personally find the full spectrum of her talents criminally underutilized with mundane roles and song structures+timbres. Nana Mizuki’s great but I find that she’s only capable of one tone of voice both in singing and acting so in a sense she’s somewhat of a specialist. Now then on Aya Hirano, I’ve only heard of God Knows and Bouken Deshou and she’s quite capable based on those 2 songs but nowhere is she near the level of Eri Kitamura’s sheer talent. Maaya Sakamoto on the other hand is massively talented and skilled but she really is much more suited for pop and experimental music. Her voice acting chops are just as equal if not better than Eri Kitamura however. Then there’s Yukari Tamura where her soft, silky voice is better suited for just pop and easy listening, which also influences the roles she plays.
Yeap most Japanese voice actors aren’t the best singers but people like Eri Kitamura and Maaya Sakamoto I find to be some of the most talented and skilled ones I’ve ever had the honor of knowing in my life.
And same as you as well, I really hope that they tone down on melodramatic elements if they’re heavily emphasizing the romantic-based ones, it just makes things needlessly overwrought. In fact I will say that melodrama is most effective and at its best when the music is inextricably linked and carries its own story through the sheer unique qualities of its timbres and structure in addition to having a cast of incredibly likable and iconic characters, y’know just like what melodrama really is SUPPOSED to be about. Which is why Aquarion and Ace Combat are such effective melodramas where both characters and music grandly synergize to create truly ‘touched by the Gods’ narratives. And finally the Macross series could be considered one as well, though that one has a rather fluctuating track record though…
Anyway that’s all for now… Phew, y’know I think this is the first time I even made a full comment on one of your posts Cherrie cuz you’re rarely around with one XD
(P.S, to demonstrate my point on music being absolutely vital and inseparable from effective melodrama, here’s some samples from both series)
Ace Combat 0: ZERO
Ace Combat 4: Agnus Dei
Ace Combat 5: Razgriz
Ace Combat 6: Liberazione di Gracemeria
Aquarion EVOL:
Kimi no Shinwa
Gekkou no Symphonia
I have to agree with you Cherrie, especially on the point of Hayami not really fitting the role. I get that her character is not supposed to be experienced, but that’s not really the issue. Her voice is certainly not built for this style. I have to admit I don’t think she’s all that talented of a singer to begin with, which only compounds the issue (Anyone else find all the lalala’s annoying?). Also, the art and animation is certainly… off-kilter. Especially the singing movements and expressions. They were awkward at best.
Idk. Maybe I’m just salty about “light music club” anime because I’m coming off Fuuka…
Someone that is come out of her style and is still doing pretty good at that is sure is not talented, with you yourself said that the character is not supposed to be experienced why don’t just look and see. She has the rough and blunt in her voice which actually pretty good for this genre, The ED theme is pretty good, you overlooked that? also it is not only about singing but also voice acts while singing, so it has to be a seiyuu and this is a raw rock element that is not use often especially in anime songs.
Hmmm. On one hand, I see what you mean about the character designs-they are definitely a bit weird, and when the characters are moving or shown very close up it even looks a little creepy at times. On the other hand, there are some shots that the art style looks very good in-the three shots of the ED you put in are quite nice, and some of the little-kid flashbacks were cute too. And these, too:
https://randomc.net/image/Fukumenkei%20Noise/Fukumenkei%20Noise%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Fukumenkei%20Noise/Fukumenkei%20Noise%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Fukumenkei%20Noise/Fukumenkei%20Noise%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Fukumenkei%20Noise/Fukumenkei%20Noise%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
So it’s not all bad (though I acknowledge that it is somewhat bad). As for the music, again I sort of see what you mean, but still lean towards liking it. The soundtrack isn’t amazing, but it is decent and I think I’ll enjoy listening to it as the show goes on. Saori Hayami’s voice, amazing as it is, doesn’t really suit the songs, but neither does it sound awful, and the ED song is actually pretty good.
I’m not sure what I think of the inevitable upcoming drama now that the love triangle, such as it is, is established. All I can really say is that I am interested to see what will happen from this point onwards and finding out exactly what happened in their childhoods.