Unsung Heroes: Q & A and BGM Composers – Part 2

I look at the comments posted in my debut column and it amazed me how much effect Kajiura Yuki has on people. The demand for Kajiura’s work to be placed in the top ranking has been petitioned to the point that maybe I should re-review my choices. Maybe I made a mistake or just maybe…just maybe, I might have gone over the line. I should give into the public opinion and just do what they consider is right.

Or not. 😛

However, that does not mean I should do whatever I please. The readers of RC have brought up some issues that intrigued me. I feel that I am obligated to answer it. Before I list my ‘Starting Lineup’, I would like to take this moment for a little Q & A session.

Random Curiosity Power Rankings – June 2007 RESEED

Based on the responses from the initial Power Rankings post, and because I’ve watched an obscene amount of anime in the past week for the purpose of providing a better ranking, I’ve updated the rankings and descriptions for each, as well as removed/added shows. Keep in mind that I’m only doing this “reseeding” as a follow-up to the first post – just because a show might have dropped 10 spots doesn’t mean the latest ep really sucked! Subsequent power ranking posts will come about once a month!

June 2007 Rank (LW) Title Comment
1 (1) Gurren Lagann A great beach episode that not only elevated Nia to the Tessa stratosphere, but also had Yoko using her much-needed screen time well. Notice how Yoko looked a tad bit cuter this episode? The action remained nothing short of insanity, we saw the dramatic death of one of the prime evils, and there was even time for a haircut scene. In terms of sheer volume of enjoyment, the other shows don’t even come close to this.
2 (4) Lucky Star What’s this…consistency? Even the dialogue-exclusive episodes are really starting to be enjoyable. Whether this has to do with the dialogue getting better (maybe), the subject matter being more interesting (not likely), or just me getting used to this group of friends (there we go), Lucky Star has really, truly, deeply become a special, special show. Episode 11 was pure love.
3 (6) Claymore One way I evaluate anime is how badly it makes me want to read the manga after a cliffhanger – for those who haven’t done it already, this seems to be an issue that becomes more and more prevalent every week. Meanwhile, the anime is doing a great job of keeping it together and keeping it legit – somewhat of a rarity these days so far into the series!

More after the jump….

Summer 2007 Preview!

We’re now just two weeks away from the new season, so it’s time for another preview! This summer is filled with plenty of new adaptations along with several sequels including fan favorites Zero no Tsukaima and Higurashi. In fact, I think the only new show this season that is not based on a manga, game, novel, or previous anime is CODE-E. Anyway, before we get started, a few notes. As usual, I’ll watch the first episode of most shows within certain parameters (in other words, not the kiddie shows), and what I list here are the chances of me actually blogging something based on my initial impressions from promotional material. However, even if I list the chances for a show as good or guaranteed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stick with it for more than a few episodes.

By no means does this list reflect all of the anime that are going to be aired, though I did try to be as comprehensive as I could. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and AndrewLB’s Summer 2007 Wiki for who’s tentatively subbing what.

Technical Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thursday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.

Moetan
http://www.ink-chan.com/
Premieres July 8th, 2007
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 25:30
Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Sundays at 12:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, syoboi
Moetan was originally an English language study aid aimed at teaching otaku by using game and animated related phrases. It included gems like “When I fell in love with the her, I thought that the girl was my stepsister. I bet if I had known she was my real sister, I would not have fallen in love with her.” and “My friend found the picture I was hiding, so I tricked him by saying I have a sister that is a primary school student” and “All guys who like small breasts have large ones themselves.” Of course, there’s no guarantee that phrases like those are going to make it into the anime, but I think this show has the potential to be hilarious in so many different ways if executed correctly. Popular voice actress Tamura Yukari will be taking the lead role, and I’ve heard her English isn’t that bad, so I’m quite excited to see this.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed
Baccano!
http://www.baccano.jp/
Premieres July 26th, 2007
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 24:30
Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Thursdays at 11:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, syoboi
Baccano! is a show that intrigues me quite a bit because it has such a wide and diverse cast of characters. Although the back-story involves a group of alchemists who received a liquor of immortality from a demon in the 1700s, the main story takes place in America in the 1930s during Prohibition and involves those alchemists along with mobsters, thieves, terrorists, delinquents, murderers, and even a ghost. Having such a large cast probably wouldn’t work so well for a short series, but if this manages to be longer than 13 episodes, I think it could be a lot of fun. The trailer certainly had plenty of energy and music, and interestingly enough, several of the key staff positions (director, character designer, series planner, sound director, and music composer) all worked together in the past on Koi Kaze. In any case, I’m looking forward to this quite a bit.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Good

Note: This is a rather long and fairly comprehensive list of the shows coming in July. Much much more after the jump, including the torrent link for promotional material.