Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Seiren
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3670 |
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The funny thing is that, because it's neither a VN adaptation nor a single timeline, there's no real requirement that the dude be the same one in each arc. We haven't seen the next arc yet, but they could easily customize his personality to match each girl. They may be attempting this here, where he deliberately has a personality that makes it very easy for her forwardness to overwhelm him, but I'd be much more entertained watching a dude with the ability to at least try to keep up with her.
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Parsifal24
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I liked Amagami SS and this so far has a lot of the same qualities I liked in that series mostly that I think using an Omnibus format makes for a series that nips the sort of tangential shipping arguments in the bud. The amount of weird fetish stuff in the first three episodes has been kind of humorous also the sly continuity nod of Ikuo Nanasaki being spoiler[Ai Nanasaki's younger brother] was a nice hat tip to the Amagami franchise.
Tsuneki is fun to observe if only for the constant bedeviling she puts Shouichi through I'd give it a B+ if only because the character design continues to be nice to look at if nothing else and I believe the progress of the relationship. |
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AksaraKishou
Posts: 1414 Location: End of the World |
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This anime always reminds me that we could have had a continuation of amagami... It was so good
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1122 Location: Puget Sound |
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Honestly, that strikes me as pretty sexist, along the lines of "she's a flat chested plain Jane, so why would any guy be interested in her?". |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24144 |
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Huh? In your example, you are commenting on a female character's looks and deriving an opinion of her desirability from that. Nick is commenting on a character's bland personality and noting that a female's character's interest in a guy with such a bland personality seems somewhat non-credible given that she herself is so full of life. In other words, Nick is having a hard time imagine why a seemingly interesting girl is interested in such a non-entity. How is that sexist? |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13240 |
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"He has no personality outside of having a personality." Always love comments like this. Maybe he doesn't have a particularly deep or original personality, but he certainly has one. I actually rather enjoy his chemistry with Hikari. Sure, it's mostly him being flustered by her antics, but he does get the occasional comeback in, even if it might backfire on him. Her teasing never feels malevolent so there's never a question of "Why does he like a girl who treats him like garbage" and his willingness to play along and not really getting mad at her for it is going to work in his favour.
In those scene Shoichi usually is the camera, and he makes sure to get an eyeful, as any straight teenaged boy is going to do. Though I suppose that won't cause as much a stink as One Room did, as Shoichi is often punished for looking too long. |
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Yep. And that's what I like about it. That's something that Amagami nailed as well. I don't really watch traditional "fanservice" titles, because that type of blatant aren't-boobs-and-sexual-assault-hilarious? doesn't do anything for me, but the sensuality that more recent shows like Saekano, Amagami and Seiren have leaned toward is much more what I find appealing. I'm not sure if I totally love the relationship between these two, but that's another plus to having this kind of arc setup. Tsuneki is cute, but I'm continuously surprised at how forward the show is with her sexuality and yet how it mostly frames it as a positive thing, albeit with plenty of the expected bully-like reaction from other characters. I guess there are some Japanese guys who still want a girl who isn't 100% pure and innocent after all.. I like sex-positive content, so I approve. |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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I actually started watching Amagami SS recently, and in addition to the anthology format, the fetish material seems to be an inheritance from Amagami to Seiren, from the two arcs that I've seen so far. In Amagami though it seemed more intensive, focused on one fetish each and concentrated in one scene of one episode of an arc (for the most part) which also seemed a bit more substantive than the stuff in Seiren. Whereas in Seiren we've gotten a larger number spread over two episodes (so far). It does make it interesting, even for someone who is drawn primarily by the girls. I think I will like Amagami better by the latter measure, but there is definitely stuff to like here, personally speaking.
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kinghumanity
Posts: 365 |
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I like Seiren. These kind of shows really depend hugely on how likeable, realistic, and relatable the characters are, and so far Seiren has done a great job at that. Teenage relationships rarely make sense, and the fact that the relationship started because Hikari paid attention to MC just highlights that. Plus I really dig the character designs, which are much prettier and have a lot more effort than, for example, Masamune-kun.
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Morry
Posts: 756 |
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The only thing that honestly raises my eyebrow is the fetish thing. Not the having several fetishes (I'd argue some of these things are universally attractive), but his inner commentary for every single one. Your audience knows what turns them on, Seirin. You don't need What's-his-face to highlight it every time he sees a sole or naval.
Otherwise, this is a relaxed romance with probably my favorite designs for its characters. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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Yeah that does need to be more show than tell. It's like "We got it dude, you don't need to spell it out." |
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Chaos Wings
 Posts: 277 Location: Your guess is as good as mine?! |
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I really liked Amagami SS and SS+ plus they were quite sweet, light and breezy, with just a little sprinkling of drama. They were an all-around pleasant experience and I expect I will like Seiren in exactly the same way.
My only real concern at the moment is we will end up treading some quite familiar ground, with the show pretty much becoming a rerun of its predecessor. Hikari who's the heroine of this first arc feels very similar to Haruka who, funnily enough was the heroine of the first arc in Amagami. They share an almost identical personality both being quite outgoing and energetic. Though granted Hikari is more flirtatious, whereas Haruka tended to be more innocently playful. Physically they bare a close resemblance too, both possessing the same piercing blue eyes. (Probably overthinking it, but it was something I noticed). Also so far Shōichi feels like he has little to no depth compared to Junichi (although he did have his Christmas trauma to fall back on). So I guess we'll have to wait and see if that changes as things progress. |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I'm not really worried about that just because this kind of show is already so rare, and I like both of them, but I did definitely notice the similarities. I would argue that Hikari is different enough though. She's definitely more mischievous and, for lack of a better word, a bit slutty, which is really interesting for anime, in my experience. Girls who want to date the MC are common enough in harems, I guess, but they are almost always portrayed as being pure and innocent otherwise, whereas Hikari seems to actually have some sexual desires and just wants male attention regardless of who it's from. It's maybe a little too late for the show to delve more into that with only one more episode for her arc, but I feel like that could have been a really interesting thing to expand on. |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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That was pretty underwhelming. Hopefully the next route is better. I know Japan loves the spoiler[we-can't-be-together-because-of-life-goals] thing a lot, but was not really what I was hoping for from this.
The whole scene at the Rabbit cage was weird too. "you're not going to say I played dirty now, are you?" Uh, you f*cking did girl. Hikari's reaction was way too chill. I guess maybe they were trying to convey how little she actually cared for that guy, but it kind of screwed her part-time job and got her in trouble with her parents. Things that are worth getting upset about regardless. Also, what was Araki's fetish? When MC dude mentioned this being his first relationship with a human girl, it just made me think he was into anime or something, but then he calls it a "fetish" at the end, making it seem much stranger. Anyway, next arc please.. Last edited by relyat08 on Sat Jan 28, 2017 11:51 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24144 |
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Gotta argree on the underwhelming thing. Hey, I know anime likes to be obtuse when it comes to depicting romance but there's obtuse and then there's virtually non-existent. Oh well, at least the final scene allowed me to imagine that Hikari will be riding Shoichi like a bucking bronco, stealing his life essence until he becomes a bone-dry, withered corpse. And I may be wrong, but I got the sense that some of the translation wasn't properly conveying the meaning of what the characters were saying at times. I do not speak Japanese so I'm not saying this from actual knowledge but just a sense that some of what was being "said" didn't quite make sense.
Next! |
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