Make that ice cream a double scoop, cause I’m serving this all at once.
How refreshing.
Not. One is already enough, but since I did say I was going to blog ’something’ on these two series, I’ll try to make this worth your while. As you may have noticed, from the title, this post contains MY first impressions of Tales of the Abyss and To Aru Majutsu no Index. So without further ado, let me get started. I’ll make this simple by separating my thoughts into two categories.
Tales of the Abyss
What I liked:
- “Karma”. The song itself is catchy, and I can never really get enough of Fujiwara Motoo’s voice. Unfortunately, I don’t really listen to Bump of Chicken itself as a whole, but I’d have to say my two favorite songs are “Harujion” and “Karma”. And in addition, the ending itself isn’t that bad either. “Bouken Houkiboshi” by Kurumi Enomoto? It’s kind of cute, and I think it fits the sort of “Tales” image. I don’t quite understand myself when I say “Tales” image, however…
- An introduction to one of the most likeable characters. Guy has the qualities every girl wants in, well, a guy (hohoho~): patience, humbleness, handsome features you get the point. EXCEPT for the fact that girls can’t really get near him. Although not the main but the supporting character, he can easily make top charts on favorite character in ToA.
- And finally, Luke’s hair. It’s like he dipped the red tips in orange paint. Kind of reminds me of my own hair, which has blonde tips, but his is much better looking.
What I disliked:
- The fact that when some anonymous fansubbing team released it, there were 0 seeds and around 3000 leechers.
- Luke’s voice. Shin was right – and gods, I can’t stand his voice.
- The whole ‘blah’ or ‘meh’ feeling to the episode. Can you honestly say that you were excited after watching this? I almost fell asleep.
- As if Tales doesn’t already have a giant fanbase, Sunrise decides to come out with a Tales of the Abyss anime. Not that I hate the Tales series, but think about it – what kind of plot are they supposed to come up with? The game’s been played, the manga’s out there, why is there a need to animate this? It’s like taking Final Fantasy VII, VIII, or X and making an anime out of it. I like the Tales series, and it’s cool to see everyone again, but I think at this point, it’s just really really overdone.
…
Take a breather and let’s move on.
To Aru Majutsu no Index
What I Liked:
- It’s been an incredibly long time since I’ve heard a techno-like song for an OP. It’s simply brilliant. I’m all about OPs/EDs, and this one blew me away. The ending was not on the same par as the OP, but it’s still pretty good.
- Kamijo’s power. Omisyth’s got more about this. It’s certainly doesn’t seem very powerful at first, but it could be something greater in the future. (Does this remind you of Gakuen Alice? For some reason, I keep thinking of Toma’s power as Mikan’s Nullification Alice.)
- Index’s cuteness.
- How it’s following the manga. I liked the manga, and I’m hoping it won’t go somewhere off road…
What I disliked:
- For some reason, I wish Toma wasn’t so kind and righteous. He’s like a knight in shining armor, but even that armor’s gotta have some chips and blemishes in it, right? (And it would be cool to see an evil main character, but that’s never going to happen.)
Thoughts (Overall)
I don’t quite know whether I’m down to blog Tales of the Abyss, but I think I’ll stay with To Aru Majutsu no Index for a little while. In the long run, actually, it’s certainly not set for either.
“As if Tales doesn’t already have a giant fanbase, Sunrise decides to come out with a Tales of the Abyss anime. Not that I hate the Tales series, but think about it – what kind of plot are they supposed to come up with? The game’s been played, the manga’s out there, why is there a need to animate this? It’s like taking Final Fantasy VII, VIII, or X and making an anime out of it. I like the Tales series, and it’s cool to see everyone again, but I think at this point, it’s just really really overdone.”
By the same token you could ask why there’s a need for any sort of adaptation…..
I guess most of the appeal stems from ToA being such a great game that fans like myself ate it up quick, though I believe there’s enough here to appeal to the average viewers. The fact it’s the direct adaptation of the game means we’re only now at the introductory stages anyway. Oh, Guy does play a major role later on, so look forward to it!
Also, Index-chan is HHNNNNNNNNNNNNG!
hahaha That bunny drinking tea is so cute! :3
I also liked the OP music and Index is a really great character
Wait, how did you make those eyes in the title?
I would just like to say that I have never played this Tales game or read the manga, so this story is completely new to me. I enjoyed the first episode but comparing just the first episode I’ma go with Index> Tales.
I was wondering about those eyes in the title too. I bet some kind of dark bunny magic is responsible!
Hoshi is the mistress of dark magic.
Awww man, now I want to check them out. TOO MUCH TO WATCH! And a lot of falls regular t.v is good too.
Thank god we just got a dvr.
@Kaioshin Sama: PRECISELY. :]
@Shin: haha, you’ve already been struck down with cupid’s arrow. and i’ll look forward to guy’s part then!! (.___.) can’t believe episode 2 is already out though, I feel like a steamroller ran over me and squashed me… now I gotta do kuroshitsuji as well, lolssssss
@Kitsune: ah. bunny? it’s an onionhead emoticon. ;] my favoriteeeee
@Choux: secret. but I’ll give you a hint: I didn’t.
@frog212: well then, i hope watching Tales goes well with you! I mean, it’s not bad, but I certainly don’t think it’s the best either.
@Kitsune again: Dark bunny magic? hahahahhaaha. Dark onionhead magic, more like.
@Sakura: LOLSSS. i’d love to be, but I fail. and YES, so many too watch, and so little time. I don’t really watch any regular tv, except for Heroes, but then again, count in the amount of Taiwanese dramas I watch…
Ah, it is an onionhead! It looks like a bunny with tiny ears ^_^
I had my wish of a well animated walking scene answered with this show (kind of, it was a running scene). Still, I really like this show. The stylish animation, the great animation, the good music, the interesting characters, the insanely high budget, the interesting plot…
The character designs aren’t the greatest (the guy looks generic and the girl has a ugly outfit), but I’m definitely watching this series. The one thing I noticed is that I’m getting Shana vibes everywhere, though I can say right now that I like this better than Shana.
@Kitsune: haha, it does!!
@Choux: I suppose you’re talking about To Aru Majutsu no Index? It’s started off pretty well, so I hope you’ll continue to follow! :]