Forum - View topicREVIEW: Occult Academy Episodes 1-7 Streaming
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toyNN
 Posts: 252 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I like Occult Academy but for me the "mess" part is that the show has now been come standalone stories perhaps like Hell Girl or Ghost Hunt. For a 13eps series that's really unfortunate. All the interesting themes and characters have become a bit flat since eps 4 or 5. I've seen eps 9 and while I really like it, spoiler[its filler-like not part of the main underlying story..and its a two part eps. This seem to give 3 eps to wrap up the underlining story.] I actually would rather Occult Academy was a 24eps show, then the back/side stories and pacing would make more sense. - toyNN |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Not sure I would consider episode 9 filler, particularly when it deals with spoiler[Maya's own childhood and her facing the symbolic destruction of said childhood by the house she lived in being literally torn apart. You did notice how she seemed to ascribe that the same thing that had happened to her as a child happened to Akari, right?] I have to think that such things are going to play an important part of whatever is coming up next in the story.
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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Yes ... no certainty, of course, since there's no knowing how the current two-ep story will resolve, but given the continued hints that different events are efforts at foul play, there's lots of opportunity to pull seemingly random events back into the save the world plotline. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18333 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Carl's comments hit on what has bugged me about the show: the narrative is, indeed, rather haphazard and the series does, indeed, seem to be fine-tuning itself as it goes along. It is supposed to have a primary comedic leaning, however, so that haphazardness doesn't bother me anywhere near enough to keep me from watching it every Monday.
The main cast members don't hurt, either. Bunmei is lovably pathetic and Maya is the year's most impressive new character to date. I love the way the series uses her expressions and body language, moreso than her words and actions, to display her attitude. That alone would probably keep me watching. The Goth guy who's always dowsing (forget his name) is also fun.
That one has a vastly more consistent tone and narrative, sticks more resolutely to its plot, is more clever in execution, and is in general a superior example of its genre. This one isn't. So why wouldn't AnI have a much higher grade? |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23986 |
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Because, silly, don't you understand that the merit of a review is how closely it hews to the reader's own opinion? So because super-genius EvilMonkey likes Occult Academy more than Asobi, he/she CANNOT POSSIBLY FATHOM how two different reviewers could give two different shows grades relative to each other that differs from what he/she would have assigned. DOES NOT COMPUTE!!! 
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3492 Location: Back stateside |
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Yeah, people really do seem to forget that there are different reviewers on this site, that it's not all one vast conspiracy by a single mind to screw over whatever series they like or praise whatever series they do.
Also: IGNORE THE GRADING SYSTEM!! It is completely broken and arbitrary, since it has no rubric. Just read the reviews themselves. Besides, the point of a review ultimately should be to let you know whether you want to watch something or not. And Theron's review of Asobi ni Ikuyo, for all that it was positive, let me know I didn't want to watch it, since it gave a very thorough description of what the series was like, and that description didn't appeal to me at all. I think Carl's here does a similar thing; most people would agree that the plot is sort of rambly and monster-of-the-week, but some don't consider that a minus. Edit: oh, and Theron... While I haven't watched Asobi ni Ikuyo myself (because as I said, I have no interest in it), one of the complaints I've heard from people is that while the tone may be consistent and sticks to its narrative, it's also consistently unoriginal and the narrative it sticks to is stupid. The poster may have been implying that both series should have gotten lower grades. Last edited by vashfanatic on Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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No, Occult Academy gets a B-. I'd, on the basis of the precise same review, give it a B+. There is, of course, no rubric for characterization, or for character development or for character interplay, or for atmosphere, so most of the things that make Occult Academy fun to watch do not get to have an individual grade. Of course, some might see some of that as part of "story", but much is not, and at the same time "story" tends to elevate the questions of the coherence and apeal of the plot, where if the different plot threads are going to be spun together in a satisfying way or not will not be known until the final three episodes. |
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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The problem I have with this review and most comments on this series is the a priori assumption that the chaotic nature of the plot is unintentional. In other words, the writers are too lazy/inept/confused/incompetent/whatever to write a plot line A->B->C->D just like a million other animes you just saw.
That may actually be the case, but it is still an unproven assumption. Perhaps they are trying to make some other statement other than "Maya meets boy she doesn't like but really does and has an adventure with him and catches the bad guy. And saves the world." All the criticisms of the series I have seen so far just amount to: <whine>the story isn't doing that!</whine> Incidentally, how is OA's formula any different that the very successful X-Files? |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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The thing is, though, HaruhiToy, that the plot point introduced in episode 2 and the lingering mysterious circumstances from episode 1 gave the indication that the deeper plot would matter. Now, I didn't watch X-Files when it was on TV, but the impression that I get was that Mulder and Scully's mission was to be on the constant lookout for mysterious circumstances in general, while Occult Academy has a very specific end of the world scenario looming in front of it that must be stopped. Furthermore, X-Files ran for how many seasons? Occult Academy, on the other hand, is planned to be a complete story wrapped up in thirteen episodes.
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HaruhiToy
Posts: 4118 |
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When they were chasing a flying saucer there was no thought given to the clairvoyant that had all the answers the prior week. When they were running down the yeti nobody cared about the psychokinetic the prior week. When it seems EVERYTHING WOULD BE ANSWERED there would be a really interesting side plot involving people coming back from the dead and Nostorodomous secret bible papers in the church conspiracy which made you forget about the CIA conspiracy involving telepathy creepy old black guy gets involved (devils really exist?) and Skinner is getting orders from the top to stop what you are DOING MULDER! So then we rely on the quirky super-smart sidekicks that always have some gadget or answer or secret source that knows something about the SECRET UNDERGROUND BASE with bubbling tank experiments. And the public doesn't know! Remind you of anything? Before X-Files had a bunch of seasons they had a pilot run of I think fewer than 13 episodes. I don't have a problem with anyone saying they don't like what OA is doing with its plot. All I am saying is that it makes no sense to assume that it is unintentional. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23986 |
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I think that's a good point, HaruhiToy. Again, a lot of people seem to forget that anime series are planned out well ahead of time so it's not like they animated episode 3 and then suddenly wandered off topic unexpectedly. But I guess a lot of peeps are REALLY invested in that whole Nostrodamus's Key thang...
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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And yet, even if it is on purpose an anthology of short stories rather than a novelette (lkind of the opposite of Sora no Woto, the first series in the Anime no Chikara project, which looked like it would be series of post-apocalyptic slice-of-life stories but ended up actually having single story arc) ... they have left enough hooks in the form of the actions of the wicked vice principal and her cronies for the last three episodes to tie different threads from individual stories together. |
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GWOtaku
 Posts: 678 |
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I'm amazed some people seem to believe that a prolonged murder mystery would have given this series "substance" or consistency that it supposedly lacks. Why is that a given? Exactly how is that a grand improvement over the series' semi-episodic adventures and the angle where saving the future means dealing with Occult things that Maya has such a love/hate relationship with? There's even been actual development in the so-called filler with the afterlife story in 5-6, where Maya gets some respect for Bunmei that she didn't have before.
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Well, if it's not unintentional, then it just seems lazy, as they have a perfectly good ongoing plot the could be dealing with instead, while still including the comic/parody aspect of the series. GWO, I actually don't have as much of a problem with the near-death machine episodes as I do with the mothman and chupacabra arcs, because those two both play at being part of a larger conspiracy while not actually advancing said conspiracy. If they were completely random occurrences, it would be less frustrating, because then I wouldn't be left wondering what Double Buns thinks she's going to accomplish by unleashing monsters that inevitably attract exactly the kind of attention she doesn't want. |
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