Comments on: Basquash! 1 – 5 (2009): Review

By: tim

tim — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:44:04 +0000

@blauereiter – you should – there’s some interesting CGI stuff, and the background art is fantastic…

@raito-kun you know what I ALWAYS forget to do? Check the original transmission times. Saves a lot of pondering over demographics. Not surprised Basquash! is on late, but slightly surprised it’s on that late. Wow – they clearly are depending on DVD sales…

@Emilien Yeah, I’ve seen up to 7 now and the plot does look like it’s getting more interesting – it was only a matter of time before the moon-side people would leave something so potentially profitable go unchecked…

By: Emilien

Emilien — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:08:20 +0000

Interesting review but you fail to see that it’s not a kid show (in japan, kid shows are like Pokemon or magical doremi) and that it’s only the beginning of a 26 episodez story and most japanese animated series evolve past their first half to a more complex storyline. So far (episode 8), there are some hints for things to come. Basquash is a fun, colorful and gorgeous show (aim at late teens, young adults) with kick @$$ music. I can’t wait for the DVD (or better Blu-Ray given the amount of details in backgrounds).

By: raito-kun

raito-kun — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:22:22 +0000

Great write-up on Basquash. As you say there are certain points that make it stand out among the usual stuff, kind of like Gurren Lagann stood out two years ago. Basquash is certainly no second GL as it won’t achieve the same things (i.e. breaking all the limits of TV Animation), but there are some similiarities like the crazy direction, self-ironic script, over-the-top action, great art direction and high production values. There are several French artists working on it (especially in the background department, and of course the art director), so you can also feel the different approach in the final product. So far it’s one of the few new series that I really enjoy (Higashi no Eden and Fullmetal Alchemist would be the other two).

Regarding the intended target group: I would say it is certainly designed for the otaku crowd, as it’s broadcasted at 2am and will rely on the DVD sales. For an early morning slot like Gurren Lagann it certainly has too much fan-pandering content (Fanservice), so there probably aren’t any stations who would show it in the children’s program (there was even some trouble with Gurren which is a lot more harmless).

By: weigy

weigy — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:32:18 +0000

I’ve yet to even hear about this one! I’ll go lurk around youtube. Hahah, fan service is one of those things where if it’s within the story’s character, I don’t mind it. Gurren Lagann, Mitchiko To Hatchin are among my favorite recent series.

I’m also not one to speak if Japan’s animation is stagnating or not, I don’t check out anime series that often. I’ve always preferred reading the comics if possible since a lot of series actually falls short of the comic by leagues, despite the anime being somewhat decent or even good (One Piece and Berserk come to mind). Lots of series are double treats because the anime and the manga are two different things I can enjoy just as much,ex: Evangelion.

Though I’ll say this, I can’t remember watching recent American animated series for its… animation or art. I do enjoy watching some of them but I associate them with a skit or a parody of a news headline more than a story I’m affected by (which has better mileage by far for me). The last one where I was actually somewhat enjoying the art was Bruce Tim’s run on Batman when I was a kid.

As far as animated features go, I haven’t seen much competition from elsewhere.

By: blauereiter

blauereiter — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:22:29 +0000

I’ve not heard about this one before, but if the production values are really as good as you mentioned I’ll love to check it out. Thanks for the heads up ! :]