That is what I had in mind when I commented back then that you wouldn't pick it =) The series is slow [size=small]and it rewards you more as you watch it, but it also does it in subtle ways. The episodes that I liked the most came in the second half of the series, and I[/size][size=small] [/size][size=small]often[/size][size=small] don't make it that far. I was lucky that a lot of my friends recommended it to me and I didn't feel like I could put it off half way through.[/size]
[size=small]Normally I would say that they would have been better off cutting down the number of episodes, but with this anime I can't name more than a few scenes that could have been cut off. It is as if this anime has to be that slow, can't be done better.[/size]
I gave it 8 on MAL. It is not "just like Madarauchiha" though =) As far as I understand his system, 8 is a pretty a high score for him, since he never gives 10/10 to anything and rarely gives 9/10 too (right? maybe I'm wrong
). For me 8/10 means it is one of the better shows out there, worth watching, lots of good points to it, not so many negative points. But I do give 9/10 and 10/10 too, so there is that : D
(don't take my scores too seriously though, they aren't that meaningful)
Well, it's true that I don't give 9 easily, and 10 to any anime. I'm forced to in MAL, because it allows only integral values. 10's are more like 9.7 or 9.8, and 9's are between 8.5 and 9.5.
And, to Nel, I do think this anime is very good, but, in my opinion, it had a lot of problems.
Did you watch the live action?
@MadaraUchiha
Haven't found the time to. I may watch it later, but, if it has the same plot as the anime, why do I need to?
I'd argue that animation wasn't all that great, but it was done well. They managed to be consistent for most of the series and have some well animated fights, that is good enough. I think they relied heavily on CGI-assisted tools, at least that is how it looks to me. And there is quite a bit of raw-looking CGI too. Like the grass in the ending, you can see the forefront is drawn, the middle is CGI and the background is a static picture.
Here my fav soundtrack. It was first played when Balsa agreed to train Chagum, loved that moment.
https://youtu.be/bK9cSX-peE4
Yeah, I like how Chagum turned out too. Though I sort of noticed that he wasn't the whiny type from the time he arrived at Balsa's place at the very beginning of the series, so I was pretty interested in him from that time. Can't comment on the Japanese voice acting, watched it in English dub. Everyone was good enough in the dub, Balsa's actress was especially good.
I feel the lore sort of lacks justification, it is sort of unnecessarily complex for such a simple story. But I know that the anime series only covers a part of the original story, so maybe all those details with fire, water and earth spirits and Nayug and Sagu would be used in the later events or something. Anyway, it adds a bit of a mystery to it all, and the episode where Tanda travels to [size=small]Nayug[/size][size=small] was pretty good =)[/size]
I don't want to sound like a smart-ass, but, I was specific about 2D animation. That's because, even I noticed the 3D animation many times, and it felt, incomplete, and not rendered well.
Well, that's my second favourite actually. I noticed it the first time it was played, but, it kind of made me go and listen to it again, when it was played around the time the Nahji appeared to carry the egg from Chagum. Here's another one of my favourites, Teidou no Balsa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me0ADmtDLYg
[size=small]^^This is probably an oft-repeated theme in the series, and I think you'll easily recognise it.[/size]
On a side note, the OST Omoi Haruka is an instrumental version of the Nahji no Uta. I also like the OST 'Balsa Hashiru', and it's a variation of Teidou no Balsa, but, as the name implies, it's fast-paced, and is used in chase sequences.
It wasn't like I was weary of him for 5-6 episodes, I noticed that he was a good kid in the second episode, but, you know, I was just worried that he was gonna annoy me. And, I can't speak about Chagum's actor, but, as far as Shuga's is concerned, I don't know whether it was the lines or the actor, because, he was mostly narrating information.
As far as lore is concerned, I do agree that it gets convoluted, but, only when it's being told from Shuga's perspective. That's why I kind of dressed upon this point in a generic sense in my criticism of the anime. I feel like the simple things, like with the two worlds, the egg, the drought, etc., were done explained well. Though it is kind of disappointing that it didn't have a second season, but, it's to be expected. . Any other year, and it would have been very popular, but, it had to come out in 2007, unfortunately. That's the same year as Death Note, Code Geass, Naruto Shippuden, Gurren Lagann, Clannad, Darker than Black, etc were released. As good as SnB was, I feel like it was swept under the rug. 2007, was, in my opinion, the best year in anime this century.
On a side note, the same year saw the release of Higurashi, one of my personal favourites, and Lucky Star, which I haven't seen, but I remember you talking about it.
