Forum - View topicJuubei-chan (1 & 2).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11430 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Just watched the first and second series this past weekend and was wondering what anybody else thinks of the franchise.
I gave J1 an overall rating of Not Really Good and thought it was okay. The art was So-so. The character designs seemed kind of generic and not one of them really stuck out the entire time. Colors looked a little pale during daylight and bland during nightime, and backgrounds were also pretty plain. Nothing really good or bad about them, they were just there. Animation was Decent, being a Madhouse production and all. There was a good amount of movement for the comedy and action scenes, and it was drawn with a fair amount of consistency. But then again, Madhouse in 1999 wasn't quite at their peak yet (in my opinion, anyway). Music was Not Really Good. While I really enjoy Masuda Toshio for his skill in composing scores with taiko drums (listen to Naruto), the music in J1 relied too much on a single melody (Juubei-chan's theme) and played it like, 2 or 3 times an episode. It sounds nice, but their wasn't much else to listen to (and when I say that, I mean there was a lack of differentiating pieces). Plot/Characters were Weak. Part of the problem I have with J1 is that I was expecting more comedy, but instead got a badly directed shounen series that tried to hard to balance them both. Jiyuu seems like your typical 8th grader that has friends, a few guys pursuing her as a love interest, and a somewhat wacky father at home. Unfortunately, their isn't much depth beyond that, and the series uses her swordsman alter ego more for the story than as a way to diversify her character. Basically, it was Jiyuu being normal, then transforming at least once an episode (which got old real fast) and beating the bad guy with no real character development. The supporting cast was okay. I liked Koinosuke in the beginning because of how funny it was for him to adapt to the modern world, but as the series progressed, he got more and more melancholy (after things went bad). The Ryuujoji twins and Ruffians were shallow and only had one kind of personality for each of them. The "monkey brothers" (as I like to call them) were surprisingly entertaining though. And Jiyuu's father... wow, I really dislike him. The more dramatic parts required his presence, but I just couldn't stand how his character was written. He's annoyingly overprotective and self-centered, regardless of how he was trying to "protect" his daughter, and his seiyuu REALLY got on my nerves. And that brings me to voice acting, which I'll rate Weak. Like I mentioned, Jiyuu's father annoyed the hell out of me. His voice was much too raspy and low to suit the kind of warm figure I'd expect in these kinds of situations. Even in the more dramatic moment where he spoiler[ was trying to cool Jiyuu's fever using his own body to absorb that scolding heat], I never got the sense in his acting that he really, genuinely was trying to be a good father and repent for his neglect from the past. Shiro sounded like a very bad Midorikawa Hikaru impersonator and really had a flat inflection. He'd try his thing to be all cool or funny, but his voice just didn't fit his personality, in my opinion. As much as like Ueda Yuuji, his character was pretty much a knucklehead, so I was dissappointed that all they used him for was to scream random praises of affection for Jiyuu or to state the extremely obvious. His character was funny at times, but like I mentioned about the pacing, it just felt so out of place at times (especially around the middle to end of the series). Overall, I wasn't very happy with the series and felt like I was forced to watch it just to get to the second series (J2), which was A LOT better. J1 suffers from bad directing/pacing, shallow characters, and poor writing in how they could've better combined the comedy, drama, and shounen elements. I actually wish it would've been 24 or 26 episodes just for the purpose of possibly making the whole thing more detailed. ------------------------------------------------- And with that, here are my thoughts on J2. I'll try to make this quick to save reading time. Art was Very Good. The colors were much cleaner and deeper with the right balance of light and dark in accordance to the situation. Character designs were smoother and more well-rounded in terms of detail (loved the designs for Fressia and Jiyuu in their Yagyuu modes). And while he wasn't much of a character, I liked Kita for his resemblance to Harima from School Rumble (or is that a coincidence  ).
Animation was Excellent. The action scenes were mindblowing in comparison to the last series. Lots of fluid motion and well-animated choreography made it much more fun to watch (especially the scene where they were fighting in mid-air while falling off that cliff). This is the sort of stuff I really love to see out of Madhouse Studios. Music was Good. Not a single tune from the last series was in this, and in fact, it seemed completely different. The new main theme was played for about the same extent, but they were played in a short time or as a slighty different arrangement. And I'll say it again, I love Masuda's skills for using a lot of taiko drums. If you enjoy his action music in Naruto, it feels even more authentic in this one because of no electric guitar (though I wouldn't mind those either). Plot/Characters were Decent. I'd actually like to give it something higher, but again, I HATE Jiyuu's father. Fortunately though, his role isn't as big. That Freesia girl was pretty darn unlikeable, making her a great villain. The theme of "don't carry a grudge" is still present, as it was in the first series, so that's sort of a plus. What I like most though, is the big shift in how they did more action/drama than comedy this time around, which turned it into a good shounen series. I really want to give it a higher rating, but I just can't stand that stupid father  !
Voice acting was So-so. Horie Yui sounds much cuter as Jiyuu, and despite the Russian accent they tried to use for Freesia, it sunk into a more natural Japanese sound as the series progressed. If you know what part of the series I really don't like (I'll make it easy, the FATHER), you should know why I gave it such a low rating. Overall, it was very enjoyable in comparison to J1 and I'd give it a rating of Good. The atmosphere was a little darker, the drama was more enthralling, and the action really kicked the whole series up a notch. I just wish it were longer for more development, but I recommend this to any shounen fan looking for a short 13 episode series to kill time until Naruto or Bleach finally catch up. |
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indrik
 Posts: 365 Location: yonder |
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That's interesting. I watched J1 because a friend of mine really liked it, and I respected her opinion on other things. I haven't had the heart to tell her I didn't like it. She said it was shojo, but like you seem to be saying, it felt more like some guys got together and decided to try to sell a shojo series. The one guy whose shirt kept changing was kind of funny, though.
I've had vague thoughts of checking out J2 to see if it's any better, maybe I'll do that now. Side note: this is why I don't post much. I could totally blow three pages on why I thought J1 was mediocre, but... why repeat everything? |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11430 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Trust me, J2 feels the same in setting, but almost completely different in atmosphere. With the advancement of animation that Madhouse made from their earlier days, the action is very fast paced and more suitable for this particular series. One thing I didn't mention about J1 and J2 are how the flashbacks are different. Normally, a lot of shounen series will have flashbacks to build a certain character or situation. While J1 only has one real flashback that (barely) contributes to developing Jiyuu and her father's relationship, J2 has a secondary character (somewhat of a villain, but becomes more of an anti-hero, then a sort of good guy at the end) that I found to be fairly interesting for a change of pace to the story as a whole. But like I said, J2 concentrates a lot more on action and drama, with the comedy being scatterted throughout the moments that are better suited for that kind of quick gag to get some chuckles and not make the entire thing feel like some angst-driven soap opera. Since you've already seen J1, I'm sure you'll like J2 a lot more in terms of retrospect and transition. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6222 Location: Houston, TX |
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i tried to watch Jubei Chan 2, but i just didn't find it very funny. granted it was creative, but it just couldn't keep my interest.
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epixeltwin
 Posts: 325 Location: Montreal, Qc, Canada |
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J1 seemed like it was aimed at older children/preteens
Clichés, hints of romance, goody-two-shoes characters and a Ninja girl. |
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