3x Quick [Rambling] Thoughts: Ergo Proxy, Claymore, Seirei no Moribito
Yaho … still alive da yo … ^_^ been ‘sort of’ busy for the past few weeks (or is it months already? @_@) *fades away* … anyway, to minimize the impact or better yet, to avert a possible ‘state of withdrawal’ due to long periods of anime deprivation, I figured a slow consumption of three titles in parallel (well, sort of parallel) will suffice as some kind of life-support for the hard times ahead :p. Now I can say that it worked out fine ^_^*. Although the ‘Busy Season’ may not yet be over, I see smooth sailing ahead.
Back to topic, I started watching these titles in this order; Ergo Proxy -> Claymore -> Seirei no Moribito. And since there are three titles in this ‘Quick Thoughts’ post, here is what I can ‘quickly’ say:
( Seirei no Moribito == Ergo Proxy ) > Claymore
Lol … that simple? :p … although I am comparing apples to oranges to peaches here, my basis for judgement is the same for all three: the overall enjoyment factor.
But enough of the comparisons, here are the individual quick thoughts:
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Ergo Proxy … the first thing that came to mind when I first heard of the title is a computer-based sci fi. I don’t do much background checks on the titles I pick so I never had any idea what to expect of this show. All I know is that this was sci-fi and to a person with sci-fi interests, it was enough for a go signal.
Set in a pseudo-dystopian-utopian future, Ergo Proxy is a psychological show with a theme centering on raison d’etre or purpose of existence. In this story, there is a level of control/rules and with control comes regulations and with these regulations come the imposition of tasks and duties on the characters that give rise to the purpose-of-existence motif.
The story is deep but even with the mental/psychological aspect put in plus some dark undertones, it was still a light watch for me. The characters are cool and likeable (with one of them turning out to be verrryyy likeable that I am a self-professed ‘Pino-fan’. As to who Pino is, you would need to find out for yourselves. All I can tell you is that I consider her a special charcter of the series). In addition, I see no annoying aspects whatsoever and with regards to the story, I can say that it unfolds nicely up to the climax culminating into a satisfactory end.
As for who will this be good for, I am not really sure. This is a good sci-fi anime and it can sometimes toy a little bit with your mind so this might work well with sci-fi and thriller story enthusiasts. But for the general viewership, if ever you would get to try this, I suggest you watch at least 4 episodes to see if this will strike a tune within you. :)
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Claymore … now this one is a first for me, a bloodbath anime (The last time I watched something close-to-“similar” was Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol.1 :p). The story is simple in nature; world is farm for ‘yoma’ with humans as the ‘livestock’, yoma-fused humans called claymores hunt down these yoma. Main character for this story is a certain claymore named Clare and a oh-no-I-think-this-kid-will-turn-out-to-be-annoying-in-the-future lad named Raki in what would follow in the standard formula of soon-to-be-symbiotic-support-pair (even though one is seen to be very/clearly useless in all other aspects ;)).
Anyway, I have heard a lot of negative feedbacks about this anime but those are mostly a result of being compared to the Claymore manga from which this anime adaptation comes from. However, I haven’t read yet the manga so my comments are all based on taking the anime at face value. For me, it is ok as a whole. Decent enough to be enjoyed if you are ok with the mindless hack and slash (I was even concerned for the weapons used as to when they will break :p) … or perhaps more than decent as I really did enjoy the show anyway. The story is ok too, glad Raki didn’t turn out to be ‘that’ annoying and looking at his total air time ;), I’d say a thumbs up for that aspect (well not only that but I could say the same for the whole show as well :D).
That’s it for a quick rundown of the anime, now I just have to find some opportunity to pick up the manga as I get a lot of recommendations for it.
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Seirei no Moribito … now we’re talking :D. This is a very nice show. The story goes like this, Balsa, a bodyguard expert in the spear is asked to protect Chagum, a royal prince who seems to be harboring a doomsday spirit, from assassins while at the same time trying to learn more about the condition.
The story is very enjoyable deriving some of its charm from three of the main characters namely Balsa, Chagum and Tanda, the herbalist friend of Balsa. At first I thought that Chagum, being of the royalty, will show some annoying traits but there was none of that. He actually turns out to be a very strong fellow and that is good and like the rest of the cast, is very likeable. The action scenes while few, are nicely done and are notable that is it stays closely within the limits of human parameters (not exhibiting superhuman characteristics of which a lot of shows usually have :p).
Overall a wholesome show I consider a gem among the usual moe, fanservice laden titles out there. A nice watch I would never mind suggesting to any anime enthusiast. (^_^)=b
