Category Archives: mahou shoujo

Nanoha Cannot Be the Best Magical Girl Anime

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I take issue with people who declare Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (or one of its sequels) to be the best Magical Girl series ever. The magical girl genre is understandably focused primarily on relationships, the pursuit of love, and other similar themes. Nanoha, meanwhile, is noted for its magical girls engaging in earth-shattering battles with devastating laser barrages and bone-shattering impacts. The general impression I get from people who make the claim is that Nanoha is great because it’s a magical girl show without all the fluff and romance.

In other words, it’s the best magical girl show for being nothing like a magical girl show.

I don’t think this is a case of breaking genre conventions, though the thought occurred to me. It’s different from a show like Evangelion which turned the mecha genre on its ear because Evangelion did not go against what defines the mecha genre in the first place. The characters may have been emotional wrecks, but the common theme of humanity and its relationship with war and suffering is a long-running concept since even before First Gundam, and it’s present in Evangelion with a twist. Princess Tutu, as an example closer to the topic of Nanoha at hand, approaches the issue of meta-stories and the very nature of “story” itself, but it maintains itself as a magical girl series with, again, its emphasis on relationships.

I like the Nanoha series, but the appeal of it is more like a Sunrise mecha show than it is a magical girl series, and I think to judge it from that perspective is a little unusual. It would be like saying that a plate of spaghetti you just ate is the best yakisoba ever, despite tasting nothing like how a yakisoba should. The key word in mahou shoujo is shoujo, and personally I think the fact that Nanoha is basically only a magical girl show on the surface automatically disqualifies it.

PS: If you’re wondering what I consider to be the best magical girl series, Cardcaptor Sakura, of course.

Shugo Chara!: No, Seriously, I Really Do Like It

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I’ve talked about Shugo Chara! here in the past, but I feel that I haven’t done a proper job of conveying how highly I think of the series, so I’m here to correct that. I’ve already summarized the basic premise Shugo Chara! in my first post on it, so I won’t really elaborate on that point.

Honestly, I’m almost surprised at how well Shugo Chara! has held up. It’s simply a joy to watch every episode, to see the interactions between the characters, to cheer for Hinamori Amu as she falls in love and teaches herself and others to never give up on their dreams. I mean, who doesn’t want to support a girl who more than anything wants to be herself, only to realize that the “herself” she wants to be has limitless potential? A person can never be too old to reach for the stars, especially when those stars are deep within one’s own heart.

The show is simply very strong on a variety of technical notes. It has a very bright and refreshing artwork with a heavy pink and plaid motif. The humor brings a smile to my face with its charming innocence. The theme songs are catchy and match the opening visuals quite well. The overarching plot is something to watch out for, but on a purely episodic level and everywhere in between Shugo Chara! keeps my attention.

And the characters! I won’t go too much into them, but I will say that it would have been so very, very easy to make a lot of the characters annoying and unbearable. Amu’s sister, fellow Shugo Chara owner Yaya, and especially the Shugo Charas themselves all had the potential to be deal breakers, but they are all very enjoyable characters. Especially Yaya.

Though I do find it odd that the person Yaya wishes to be is a baby. I wonder if she’s maybe an older sister who has to take care of her younger siblings, and she wishes she could live a more normal life at home. I’m probably reading too much into it.

I can safely say that Shugo Chara! is the best Peach Pit series I’ve seen. Yes, more than Rozen Maiden. And yes, especially more than DearS. Shugo Chara! is perhaps the finest modern mahou shoujo series I’ve seen since Cardcaptor Sakura.

Oh, and the best Shugo Chara? Miki, by far. I’m just saying.

Let me explain

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Shugo Chara! is getting serious and yet somehow remains lighthearted. I am continuously pleased with just how well this show is going. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Shugo Chara! is exactly what I was looking for in an anime, and it really stands out among the other shows airing right now.

Actually, I just made this post for that screenshot.  Yaya isn’t even my favorite character but man this was totally worth it.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 3

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Otaku obsess over characters, and I am certainly no different. Hell, I named my blog after obsession #1. I’ve often been asked though, how is it I could maintain what is now an almost 3-year-long interest in the character of Ogiue, especially in this age of constant fansubs where the viewers are witness to new characters every season. I really don’t know if I have a complete answer to that, and this post is going to be about trying to find a reason.  Warning: meandering ahead.

First, I think Ogiue is totally deserving of it. I believe her to be one of the most unbelievably complete and well-rounded characters in anime and manga. Actually, this applies to pretty much every other Genshiken character as well. What puts her above the rest is that she’s attractive to me.

Aside from that, however, is the fact that I have a tendency to carry long-term obsessions with characters in general, and it just manifests itself most strongly with Ogiue. Maetel, Tomoyo, Eureka, Cagalli, Hinata, in many, many cases once a character manages to catch my eye, they never quite leave. Some have faded a bit over time (Filia from Slayers TRY for example), but for the most part the strong presences of my past are not overridden by the strong characters of the present.

The real question, then, is why exactly am I able to obsess over characters for significantly longer periods of time compared to some of my peers? One possibility is that I form what feels like an emotional bond with the characters such that even if the quality of the character is not as great as I imagine, even if they turn out to be fairly big cliches, my memories of fondness for the characters are much stronger than objective reasoning. If they are indeed strong characters with strong emotions, such as Eureka, then that connection becomes much stronger and much longer-lasting. That said, I don’t think I’m all that susceptible to pandering fanservice characters (no matter what type of fanservice it may be), but there are always a few. I don’t call them guilty pleasures because they never really are.

I don’t think all that many people actually just cast their preferred characters aside when a new season starts, and the primary difference between me and some friends becomes how we display our passion for anime and its characters. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve stuck with the Ogiue paraphernalia (avatars, name tags, this blog) for quite a while. It’s the public display that is more important. New, strong characters appear every season, but I stick with Ogiue.

Maybe it’s just how I want people to think of me, but I feel more like I’m compelled to do so, because she is that strong of a character.

Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! appears to have a higher budget

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Seriously, I’m watching this first episode and the animation during the transformation sequence is ridiculously good. It blows last season’s out of the water. Did the producers find a few dozen sacks of money? The youtube video doesn’t quite do it justice.

PS: If anyone can help me figure out how to get higher quality youtube videos, that’d really be great.

Who was there before Ogiue?

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While this blog is indeed called Ogiue Maniax, I thought I’d talk about two of the girls of anime who I called and still call my favorites, particularly the ones prior to my discovering Genshiken.

Daidouji Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura has, in terms of favorite characters, been #1 for a very long time. Her devotion to Sakura, her desire to help those she cares for, and just the strength of her compassion makes watching her in Cardcaptor Sakura simply a joy every time. In fact, to give you an idea of how highly I think of Tomoyo (or maybe how highly I think of Ogiue), I am going to have to rewatch some Cardcaptor Sakura so I can determine to myself which is currently #1 to me.

Maetel from Galaxy Express 999. Prior to Ogiue, she was the most beautiful character I had ever seen. I remember seeing the GE999 movie in a theater about 8 years ago, and it changed my life. Galaxy Express 999 is the best anime I’ve ever seen, and the timelessness of Maetel’s character contributes to that feeling immensely. Watching 999 leaves me very emotional, so it’s no wonder I consider Maetel not only one of my favorite characters, but one of the best characters in fiction, period.

There are of course more, but we’ll save those for another day.

Shugo Chara: 12 Episodes Later and Still Good

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I am quite pleased with the way Shugo Chara has progressed. It is slated for a long episode count, and so it would be easy for the show to fall into the trap of endless episodic filler, but Shugo Chara manages to make progress with every episode. Either the overall story is advanced, or we learn more about at least one character. The steps are small but steady, and I am personally am a fan of this type of pacing.

The way the show is paced, combined with the overall cute, girlish aesthetics of the show, it makes for an anime I can visit every week with no irritation or desire to see the plot move forward, so when it does happen I am pleasantly surprised.

Shugo Chara: It’s All Right

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I am glad for the existence of Shugo Chara.

I’d been lamenting the sheer lack of legitimately girly magical girl shows as of late. Ones without that unfortunate veneer of obvious otaku appeal that you see in so much mahou shoujo these days. Not to say appealing to otaku is bad, but I’d simply been getting tired of things like Nanoha or Pretty Cure (granted, Pretty Cure is less guilty of this). The last show I could think of that was legitimately girly was Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu!

In comes Shugo Chara.

Hinamori Amu, a girl whose facade as a rough and tough loner does not match her girly inner self. She wishes she could be more true to herself, and her wish is granted in the form of Guardian Characters, or Shugo Chara. These cute little fairy-type mascots let her do things she would be too hesitant to try normally, and when in danger she can do a more powerful “Character Transformation.”

Even the character transformations are good and cute. Not Futagohime good, but at least the outfits are stylish and girly. The Spade Amulet transformation is particularly good.

Frilly shirt, striped stockings, shorts, big ol’ boots and even a beret. It’s like they read my mind.

Even if this show does attract an otaku audience, at the very least it feels like a clean show. It’s full of joy and wonder, and you almost wouldn’t realize that the manga was created by Peach Pit, creators of Rozen Maiden.

And that is all right.

(Do! Do! Do! Dreaming!)