Forum - View topicZettai Shonen
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist
 Posts: 3788 Location: Montreal |
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Has anyone seen this anime? With a title like "Zettai Shonen" I was expecting a typical dumb shonen anime with a lot of fighting, but was I got instead was a fascinatingly slow-paced and introspective story. As typical of this kind of anime, the plot is only of secondary importance to the pure otherworld-ness of the atmosphere, so it's really difficult to describe. There's this kid stuck in the boondocks, and there's a good amount of... oddness going on around him. But all the other characters, having lived in this remote little hamlet all their lives, seem to take the oddness for granted, as a matter of everyday life.
I find this has a lot in common with titles such as Haibane Renmei, Niea_7 and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, so if you like those titles I highly recommend Zettai Shonen. It's a very very odd little jewel and I'm glad I found it. So all the sifting through vast amounts of crappy anime was worth it in the end! 
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smutchi
Posts: 189 |
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Actually I saw the promo of the series... If I remember correctly there's this boy, the main character, driving around on his bike and also something about a cat?
I thought it looked strange, but very interesting... I haven't seen these other shows you mentioned that are similar, but I like slow-placed shows. I think I'll check it out.
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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The story and the art style really look interesting. When I first saw it (in Newtype USA), I thought it was going to be another slow-paced, thought-provoking anime. The coloring was very...pastel...ish. Isn't it created by a lot of major names, such as Kazunori Ito?
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Emerje
 Posts: 7390 Location: Maine |
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Time hasn't allowed me to watch past the first couple episodes, but I do want to get back to it. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of the episodes; just watching cats do their thing, people standing in the rain, a kid on his bike. Just an all around sombre atmosphere that I look forward to getting back into.
Emerje |
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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I love this show. It's such a relaxed atmosphere. A nice mix of slice of life and sci fi mystery. The new story arc is just as interesting as the first, but with a different cast of characters. And the end of the first arc was great too.
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Gubernaculum
Posts: 9 Location: Adelaide, Australia |
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I saw this a few months ago so I don't remember all the details. I thought it was going to be a sci-fi mystery type of show but while it does have elements of that, the central theme is actually more of an exploration of the trials and tribulations of teenagers (at least that's how I interpreted it). It's divided into two halves with different characters playing the main roles though the second arc is connected to the first and some characters in the first turn up in the second.
It was quite well done and I enjoyed the show a lot. If you don't mind the slow pacing and the at times confusing narrative then I definitely recommend it. |
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Anthony P
Posts: 227 Location: Phoenix, Arizona, US |
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I'd agree that what you said definitely holds true for the first half of the series, where there's little going on plot-wise. But the what-and-why of the "material fairies" is focused on more in the second half, and an overall theme (what I gathered, at least) also establishes itself in the second half , as well.
Yes, that has a strong presence in the series, but I almost think it plays second fiddle to the ordeal of the spoiler["material fairies" and "material evils", and how the material evils came about from the pollution and degradation caused by an urban environment, and the events that followed.] |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Out of all the things I enjoyed about Zettai Shounen, I must say that I enjoyed the expansive, detailed, and well animated world. The animation, I thought, was really well done, and somewhat resembled a watercolor painting. The characters were at times energetic but still down-to-earth people, and there was a love web that was also done in a relaxed and believable manner. The series certainly takes its time slowly revealing the mystery, and for the first half, I would agree that the plotline is second to the relaxing yet odd atmosphere.
I really loved the switch in setting for the second half of the series. I had grown to love the small town where Ayumu stayed, but the Yokohama of the series was also an immersive and believable setting. I really enjoyed seeing things from a different perspective, and how "ordinary" people would perceive the existence of spoiler[material evils and material fairies]. |
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