Forum - View topicREVIEW: Magic User's Club! DVD
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18262 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Actually, this isn't an assumption. It's been well-backed-up by sales figures over the years that anime doesn't sell well to newer fans if it looks old. Some titles - especially Ghibli movies - are immune to this because they have more timeless looks, but MUC is definitely not one of them. |
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Varkias
Posts: 31 |
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This is actually a show where I'd be happy to upgrade my 15 year old dvds to a blu-ray copy. For me, the art style is pretty pleasing, and I always enjoyed the humor of the show.
Maybe I'm just getting old. 
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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But we still see remakes of older works like Ushio & Tora, Osomatsu-san, Lupin, Captain Harlock, etc. where people in the modern generation are able to appreciate the older art-styles despite how drastically different they look compared to current tastes (even Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has a distinctly old-school style). It's all subjective I think, and I'm sure in 10 years people will be saying the same thing about art that's coming out right now. Personally when I first got into anime I was interested in all the generations that had come out before my time (Astro Boy, Speed Racer, etc.), so it's unfortunate that it seems the modern generation is less willing to give older works a fair shake (especially when I think Western nerd-dom would probably be a lot more open to the sort of content that released back in the 80's/90's, it seems at least like those works have had an impact on our current generation of animators). On the topic of MUC though, I own the DVD sets but still haven't gotten around to watching them, but they do look like they come from that mid-90's "positive generation" era of theatrical, feel-good shows, so I look forward to watching it (and given the time period, I figure the characterizations are more sincere and less fetishized than what you'd expect from the genre these days). |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3018 |
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I remember this show being popular enough that when Sasami: Magical Girls Club came out, anime messageboards were peppered with fans accusing that show of copying Magic User's Club's shtick. Both shows were definitely products of their time, but Sasami seems to stand up a lot better now, thanks in no small part to its excellent Japanese and English voice acting.
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Brack
 Posts: 283 Location: UK |
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Poor old Chiaki J. Konaka not getting his credit on the review's production credits. You can tell he wrote on it because at one point our heroes start chanting "Iä! Iä! Shub-Niggurath!".
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trilaan
 Posts: 1061 Location: Texas |
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I have to say that, to me, all the differences pointed out between what was done then and what is done now just proves that I like what was being done then much more than I like what's being done now. And current moe girl characters can just go blankety blank blank blankety themselves, for all I care.
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18262 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Even though they harken back to older design styles, they still use current production values, and that's what is making a difference - for better or worse. (Although in the case of Kabaneri, I'd argue that it has a Ghibli-like timeless look to it.) |
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NJ_
 Posts: 3037 Location: Wallington, NJ |
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It has been a long time since I watched Sasami and I don't own the show anymore but I recall not liking the Japanese cast for that at all. They recast everyone for that show (which at the time was weird for a Tenchi Muyo spinoff) with the main cast being voiced by actual children and it showed because they sounded more like bad child actors that we would see in a toku series as the annoying kids of the week. |
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Grico
 Posts: 201 Location: Fort Wayne, IN |
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I remember getting most of the series when Hollywood Video was going out of business. I enjoyed it then. It definitely is a product of its time and doesn't bring anything particularly unique to the table to draw in an audience who weren't anime fans then or of this particular era. It probably is a decent nostalgia buy. It actually reminds me of Battle Athletes, I need to dig out those dvds sometime.
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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I guess I'm too close to this particular title as I can't agree with the review. The one thing I do agree is that the character designs are a highlight. But I love the OVAs (the TV series is weaker IMO). I think it's almost like an earlier K-On but with Magic instead of music (and with some guys). Also, I think the review is a bit harsh on the dub. I'm actually not fond of Akane's English voice, but I'm really disappointed that this is Sae's ONLY role (especially if you watch the outtakes, seeing as she's got a great sense of humor). I also think Misty does a really good job with that "clumsy girl" voice, I'm not sure if she'd have a lot of range, but she does great with that character type. It may be that I would say the "acting" shows the limits of the period, but I think overall it was CAST well.
Also, I just personally like the music.  Production-wise, it's an earlier work from the "Princess Tutu" combo of Junichi Sato+Ikuko Itoh and I think they do a great job with it.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4106 |
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There's something about the OVAs I love, maybe it's the "magic" versus "science fiction" setting or maybe it's the uncertainty of character relationships- why is the most concrete relationship between Akane and the adult reporter? Not that it is- maybe- but it just feels like it's the only one that has legs. Maybe it's the opening? Or maybe I'm just a fan of 90's anime? Can't be that one, I'm a fan of all animation.
I'm not much of a fan of the phrase "good for its time", as I'm a fan of anything good from silent movies/cartoons up to the latest CGIfest; as long as some thought, work or talent went into, when it was made is incidental to me. I love that age argument though; "Anything that looks old doesn't sell"? No, it's anime, if it wasn't made last week, it doesn't matter. Really, it's how more than a dozen shows are made, can be made each season Well, DBZ is still selling after all these years, not just the new ones. And I can't argue Sailor Moon wasn't a hit for Viz; At least it's an easier argument than Ranma 1/2. And the Escaflowne situation, that was... Oh right, that reminds me, it's the older fans who have the money and buy physical releases these days. Or is it "has the mentality to buy physical releases these days"? *looks at Higurashi selling equal to Parasyte the Maxim on Amazon* I'm sure there's an explanation fitting the "what looks good, sells and that's always the new stuff" argument somewhere. I'm just sticking with the "what's good, sells" stand in the meanwhile. Well, I guess you can always use Akame Ga Kill as an argument; It's a terrible show even though it looked good, not that it helped how rotten its core is; Wait, those two are on Toonami so Higurashi's just selling because people who know about it, want it? It's hard to even argue the nostalgia factor thanks to what Geneon and Funimation did with the franchise. Weird. Anyway, I'll just say Magic User's Club is good, not just for its time but... oh man, how much cheese... for all time. It's not a "classic" in the "OMG, you have to see this before you die!" way but I'd say it's much better than just being pleasant. Honestly, I'd take it over Miyazaki any day; "Top shelf"- ok, it's where I have my favorite Sato series ARIA, Princess Tutu and MUC so your own description of his best may vary- Sato is indeed top shelf material. But really, the idea of comparing an animation done on an OVA/TV series budget to an animated movie? Even the gall for even insinuating a comparison can made between the two harkens back to the days of "Either all anime is Akira or crap" days. "It's timeless"? I should hope so, they could have taken years to do it and that's just pre-production. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18262 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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You're using outliers to prove your case here, and that isn't statistically sound. DBZ and Sailor Moon are all-time iconic franchises and two of the biggest that anime has ever seen, and Ranma ½ was one of the biggest gateway titles of its era. They're the exceptions rather than the rule. MUC was fairly popular but never on their level.
Purely subjective.
I think my evaluation holds regardless of how you consider it. There are tons of series out there that do considerably better than it in almost any evaluative aspect you'd want to name. |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3018 |
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To each their own. I found it refreshing that they sounded much more like actual children than what we normally get in those kinds of shows. 
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Graceful Nanami
Posts: 303 Location: United States |
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Mahou Tsukai Tai! will forever be great. And how is the animation rough? It is obviously quite well crafted.
The characters themselves may not have long sprawling backstories but they don't need them. Their interactions with each other are spectacular and make you want to be there with them. The show is pure magic and it really takes hold of you from start to finish. And it holds up quite well if I do say so myself. Why do we always have to immediately go to the "does this hold up? uh oh" area? |
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Animexcel
 Posts: 27 |
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I'm a big fan of Magic User's Club. I loved the OVA; I thought animation and character designs looked great. The TV series was okay. Anime was transitioning from painted cels to digital around that time. I really enjoyed some of the music; same composer who did Little Witch Academia. I'm curious if the Nozomi release is the remastered version of the OVA.
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