Forum - View topicSora Kake Girl (TV).
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pparker
 Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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Sora Kake Girl (TV)
Otherwise known as Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo. Could not find a thread for this new winter show via search or the thread list post, so here goes... (some mod move it if I missed it) I'm curious why no one has started a thread on this, as I kind of like it. There's a foundation of wackiness that makes it fun, and the hope of some far-flung plot developments that could make it very entertaining. The CG is a bit off-putting, but there's so much of it that I don't mind it standing out as I would in Rideback, for instance. Huge spaceships--colonies, actually--with fully realized interior cities, surrounded by a swarm of police cruisers, all meshed with mile-wide spirals of 10,000 years of garbage jettisoned by Earth and its colony civilizations, as a backdrop for personal ships piloted in wild gyrations through and around it all... that's some intense 3D manipulation. Sure, it has tropes and cliches, but they seem to be cleverly done, almost in parody at points. The characters are believable, the plot moves quickly if not transparently, and the fanservice is minimal (almost tonque-in-cheek, I would say). But the best so far is the Leopard AI character, ruler and controller of an empty rogue colony, and he's played by Fukuyama Jun of Zero/Lelouch fame. The animation for this mechanical marvel of comedic self-importance is near-stunning, and fits the character perfectly. Adding character to a big diamond with flashing lights can't be easy. Should mention it's also a Sunrise show, and directed by Masakazu Obara, who directed the Mai-HIME, My Otome franchise. Just sayin', it's something to check out. I already put it at least in the middle of what's been released, with a chance of it breaking out into a really good show. |
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darth_sulaksono
Posts: 8 |
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Saw 2 episodes but haven't figure out the plot yet
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the Rancorous
 Posts: 2248 Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys |
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^yes, this is a detriment to the series so far as well as the reason I haven't talked any about it yet; I don't know exactly what to talk about. Its all flashy, fast-paced and pretty cool looking, but it could really benefit itself by slowing down and letting us viewers take a breather and figure out what exactly is going on (and who that Shugo look alike really is). I'm hoping the 3rd or 4th episodes bring this around, because so far it seems like something I could really get into.
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darth_sulaksono
Posts: 8 |
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^Exactly, I think it’s a little too fast. Maybe it can help if they give a narration or something the beginning of an episode.
Hope they won’t slam the whole plot at the ending 
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pparker
Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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I just rewatched it after these comments, and also checked at that "other" large forum site that can't be mentioned here, where there's a fair amount of interest in this show--but no less confusion
 . There are clues to a plot, but I like the fact that it's not obvious yet. The action, the animation, the subtle humor as well as the over-the-top wackiness keep me interested. But I honestly feel like there's more to this show than meets the eye. While the rapid cuts prevent delving deeply into any scene, the show is dense with hints and allegations... er, information. I sometimes get a Gainax/Gurren Lagann vibe from it, and of course you can't help but feel Code Geass when Leopard/Lelouch goes into insane narcissistic soliloquy.
The show is full of interesting characters. The difficulty is caused by them not being introduced in normal fashion. They show up, something happens quickly, and then we're suddenly somewhere else. I suspect this is by design, and the ends will all come together, but who knows how soon. They remind me of other characters I've seen, but with subtle but potentially significant and unexpected differences. Obviously Leopard, but for instance Akiha's sister Nami is spoiler[ a real piece of work, a spoiled rich biatch with a nasty streak that could get dangerous. Normally a character with that attitude would be arrogant and over-confident, and she acts that way, but she also was very embarrassed and upset in a self-conscious way at the school arrival station when she perceived the students making fun of her and sneering--but was it really that bad, or was it her perception? It seemed a bit surreal. Not in a Chaos;Head sort of way, but that she may be a bit mental. In any case, she was talking rather murderously, if still smiling, afterwards. ] I also like the character designs, quite varied for a seemingly moe anime and with a fresh look in some cases. They somewhat echo the My HIME and My Otome designs, also from Sunrise. Keep in the mind the translated title is "The Girl Who Leapt Through The Heavens", and a wordplay on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (so we start off in at least subtle parody/referential mode). We don't know yet how spoiler[Akiha keeps disappearing and re-appearing elsewhere, or why, but the title is sort of telling us what to expect. Leopard's colony itself is either jumping through some type of non-space or is fully located in non-space at times from the way it, too, just disappears. Honoka called Leopard the "king" and Akiha the "queen", and she's on a mission for Leopard now, so she's already stuck with him. Knowing a bit of his personality, that cannot be a "good thing" for her, but it also means we're in for a lot more of his humor . The colony itself is called a "brain colony", an "outlawed technology" that was thought to have been banished years ago, so why has it returned? Why was it outlawed? Why are there no people in this massive metropolis of a colony? Why the desert where Akiha and Imo-chan landed? Why why why!?]
There are other intriguing things, a lot actually (read that "other" site), but for one example: I still have not the slightest idea what was going on in episode 2, after the OP, when Akiha is spoiler[ in the bar/cafe with the ceiling fans and the antique turntable playing a vinyl jazz piano record, with "Charlee Parker" and other jazz albums on wall, and an old grandfather clock. The ambience of the place is amazing, from the deep red color tones of the wood and Naughahyde booths to the jaunty jazz. I so want to go to that bar! But who is the woman talking to Akiha? What's her role in this? Akiha just finds herself talking to this woman who she doesn't know. The woman says, "You can run farther than anyone else... you're body is overflowing with power and you can run off anywhere." Those are the words, but it isn't like someone pointing out the shonen heroine for you. More like Yuuko from xxxHolic saying it with a wink, but yet you know it's true. And then the booth is a trap door and Akiha falls through it... of course. The bar is extremely retro for their time period, and may indicate an overall obsession with artifacts from Earth. This echoes back to Imo-chan's obsession over ancient vehicles and her excitement earlier when the 10,000 year old cars and buses are floating by in space. Some people have already been having fun identifying the space garbage, such as an Xbox 360, so there's that sense of humor infused into the show. And I'm probably missing a lot of that, not understanding Japanese. The huge lost-and-found tag on Kannagi's ship was hilarious.] Maybe I'm setting my expectations way too high on this one, but its my kind of fascinating so far. |
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the Rancorous
Posts: 2248 Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys |
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Mentioning Code Geas made me think that this show will probably be one of those "watch in chunks of episodes" as opposed to one eppy a week (how I found Geas to be). In fact, I actually had a similar feeling 2 episodes into Geas now that I think about it... I'm not ready to draw any conclusions just yet.
To me it seems that their selling the point of multiple factions going after a mysterious being before establishing a solid plot, which can work if they do it right. I like a lot of the ideas they're presenting thus far and hope that they develop them more, but at the same time, keeping a level of WTF does good to keep people interested. And yeah, I found that little peek into the sister's vulnerability to be a promising prospect for characterization. I'm also intrigued by that Shugo look alike (I refer to her by that mainly because I can't recall her name) mainly because of the questions she brings to mind: Who is she? What is she to Leopold? and of course, where did she come from and how did she get involved in this? There is also the Mystery Detectives whom I see a lot of potential in. spoiler[Secretly going against the orders of their superiors and conducting their own operation] is a theme that I'm a sucker for. Here's to hoping this series doen't turn into an "all flash, nothing else" show... |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5515 |
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You know what? I'm just going to watch this just for the delicious eye-candy character designs of the girls because they're DAMN good looking. And if by any chance Sunrise decides to pull a "wham" episode in the future, I'll definitely indulge it.
And with that here are the few moments of Episode 3 I found amusing: spoiler[ - Oh yeah, those two golden balls....I mean....orbs power up Leopard's gigantic cannon and has Akiha shoot his cannon. *COUGH* phallic *COUGH* 
- Imo-chan going angry and nuts at Leopard for him calling her a potato. Leopard fell into despair. 
- Those two mysterious masked girls ended up being the goof-balls. I bet those two will be this series "Team Rocket". - Itsuki to Akiha, "That's right, because I like you!" and "Please trust me and have an intimate relationship with me." And Itsuki starts to strip in front of Akiha. Bwahahaha, my fellow yuri fans, our slash time shall COMMENCE!!! 
- And the student council knows Itsuki's undercover operation, but they won't interfere. It's always the student council, I tell ya'!  ]
And there's the requisite school festival episode in Episode 4: spoiler[BWAHAHAHA, oh GOD Leopard is getting more hilarious and FABULOUS in each episode! For example: - He's in despair for lack of popularity in the interwebs - His threat message at the school. *his voice stutters a bit* "Foolish humanity!" as smoke appeared for absolutely no good reason. - He's in despair for Akiha and Imo-chan going against his wishes. - So he (well Honoka as well to a certain extent) then force those two to find a certain item at an abandoned school. He threatened her by hacking through Akiha's already sexy, revealing outfit by stripping a part of it. Things got worse when Itsuki, who already handcuffed Akiha before, started to get the same punishment. So basically Akiha's and Itsuki's clothing is getting dissolved while being handcuffed together.....oh god my mind just went.......*massive drools*  ]
And speaking of sexy outfits.....  
Oh yeah stuff occurred like....spoiler[- those two masked girl assassins are now in the school as well. - There's an actual plot with those people with freakin' BOXES over their head?! Uhhhh....oooookaaaay.  ]
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pparker
Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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I'm telling you, there's something about this that attracts me. I think it's one of the better shows this (granted not outstanding) season. Along with Rideback, White Album and a couple others that are fluff entertainment, this is the only one I'm ending up watching (and of course continuing Toradora!).
Yeah, I like the girls and the mild ecchi yuri, but more so the mystery they are carrying along amidst this ever expanding cast of misfits and kooks. Pretty much sure that Leopard is building his spoiler[abandoned colony into a planet buster, if not a universe annihilator, and we still don't know how Akiha fits into this as his "queen". Leopard is HAL on amphetamines ]
And the box is a big deal/clue... spoiler[somewhere else was mentioned that Honoka's tattoo and the label on the box she came out of match the symbols on the box men... and that the box men show up elsewhere, maybe in the OP, though I haven't checked. ] There's definitely a story, maybe epic, that is slowly revealing itself. But frankly I don't care. When Leopard is on Akiha's pink laptop, and basically does a spoiler[ Zero terrorist video threatening the world], I'm in for the ride. There's enough eye candy without it being an ecchi show, enough intrigue and action, enough weird characters and wacky comedy to keep me watching regardless of the story. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6229 Location: Houston, TX |
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this is from the co-creator of Gundam? i did not know that.
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pparker
Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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Yeah, and Cowboy Bebop, etc. Of course... "Hajime Yatate is the collective pseudonym for the entire Sunrise animation staff." But there are other good pedigrees. The director's resume is short but good. All the Mai Hime/Otome stuff, and worked on Big O. Character designer worked on Mai Otome as well, which some say these characters resemble. Look at Jukki Hanada for pretty impressive list of writing credits. Doesn't guarantee a great show, but it ups the odds anyway. |
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v1cious
Posts: 6229 Location: Houston, TX |
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lol. ok i didn't see that note at the top of the page.
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larinon
 Posts: 992 Location: Midland, TX |
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This is especially funny because it's not only the same voice actor as Zero, but he's using exactly the same voice. You can recognize other Code Geass voices here and there as well. I think the voice actor who does Lloyd in Geass showed up as that ICP guy with the prominent front teeth in episode 2. It makes sense though, since I imagine the animation studios prefer to work with talent that they're familiar with.
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pparker
Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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I love that they are so blatant about it, not even trying to disguise the reference (but then I'm a huge fan of crossovers... CLAMP, anyone?). Much more, and it will start to feel like an alternate CG universe. So, now we know what really happened to Lelouch--his soul was looking for a good fit and found Leopard. Bigger game, better toys .
I'm enjoying the mix of comedy, action and intrigue. Hoping it continues along the same lines. |
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pparker
Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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Well, I'm not crazy for liking this show. Erm... at least according to 2channel, the primary otaku forum in Japan. Ranking based on numbers of forum threads, which each contain the limit of 1,000 posts (24 threads = 24,000 posts). Anyway, thread count generally = popularity unless it's overwhelmingly an "anti" thread.
Data from: http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2009/02/2channel-current-anime-popularity.html ... where there's lot more shows and numbers, including sequel series numbers (read link for difficulty in comparing numbers for series that cross seasons). New January shows: Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo 24 Chrome-shelled Regios 14 White Album 14 Fresh Pretty Cure 13 Maria Holic 13 Rideback 10 Kurokami 10 Akikan 7 Asu no Youichi 6 Munto 2 6 Genji Monogatari Sennenki 5 Hajime no Ippo New Challenger 5 Kemono no Souja Erin 4 Kurokami Korean discussion 4 Viper's Creed 3 |
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Azmodeus
Posts: 185 Location: Sweden, ass end of nowhere |
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Alright, i have seen 4 episodes of it so far and i'm cought BIG time. Some impressions:
Eps. 1: Okay, its the 1st minutes and the lead girl already has a fiancé. haven't seen that in a while. Then there's a cute mai.. WHAT?? A flying potato just flew out of the apparently mechanic head! Then continue with me being both puzzled and positively drawn in by the setting as well as the characters. Apparently humans haven't improved when it come to littering either And then, of course, i get a big goofy smile on my face when we meet Lelauch a la Brainiac
Eps.2: Opens up with more "WTF". We get some hints at a conspiracy, learn that the student council is not to be underestimated and then there is the hole spoiler[King and queen business with Akiha and leopard.] Plot? Who needs plot when your having this much fun! I'm positive that Sunrise got so psyched up doing CG They needed something to blow of some creative steam. And presto! Eps.3-4: OK! The action is heating up now. we get to see more of what the grasshopper mechs are capable of. spoiler[And we also get to see Leopard reclaim his manhood form something, Use Akiha to get a big "release" for the first time in fifty years and then see the state this act put the two involved parties in (Nerval was a third partie, and him/it got blown away to say the least]. This entire segment is completely family-friendly, by the way
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