More Live Action Anime

Do you think this could look more ridiculous?

I've been watching a lot of stuff the last week or so, maybe making up for the months and months of not watching anything. XD Remember how I mentioned last week at the end of my post on the Ranma 1/2 live action movie that my friend had Ouran High School Host Club live action...

Well, I spent this week consuming the entirety of that series. That's really not as impressive as it might sound; the series was only 12 episodes long.

Do you remember last fall when I posted a brief line about watching the first two episodes of OHSHC live action at Anime Weekend Atlanta (here, about 6 paragraphs down) and described it as both epic and horrible all at the same time? I still stand by that description. It is definitely hokey in a lot of places, and the special effects are frequently goofy. Yes, I said special effects. This is a reverse harem drama series with special effects. XD

The live action series roughly follows the anime, keeping most of the more pertinent episodes. They are not 100% identical, but some of the episodes are definitely close to it, especially early on in the series. With the Sailor Moon live action, the different plot line was a major plus for the series. Here having the plot very close to the original anime is a good thing. The live action for OHSHC keeps the feel of the anime. The characters are all very well done, in my opinion.

My verdict on this series: OMG It Is So Freaking Awesome!!!! Since this is not any kind of official review site and is just my place to rant and ramble on random things, I have no qualms with fangirling here. =P I absolutely love this series. I'm still on the fence as to whether I like the live action better than the anime or not. I think the live action version was a little more intense. I almost teared up in the episode where the twins fight (it plays out roughly the same way as it did in the anime) and I don't tear up at movies--I think the last instance where I cried at a movie was after Theodred's funeral in The Two Towers and I blame hormones on that--my 2nd son was only a week old and Theoden's line, "No parent should have to bury their child" really choked me up. Anyways. Back on topic. I thoroughly enjoyed this series. If you liked the anime, I definitely recommend watching this. If you didn't, then chances are, this isn't going to be up your alley either.

Ranma 1/2 Live Action

Late again... this is becoming a theme. This time it was a mix of day camp for the older boys, exhaustion and an open house for a new Boy Scout troop we might be joining--nothing like an evening of boys playing with fire and sharp objects.

Last Friday, after working on the Anime RPG book, we sat down and watched the live action Ranma 1/2 movie. We fully intended to heckle it and enjoy an hour or so of mindless entertainment. Within the first few minutes we determined we didn't really need to heckle it so much; it made fun of itself. Considering it is a live action rendition of an animated series, it wasn't half bad. Of course, you have to keep in mind that you really can't expect a whole lot from anime turned live action; I think the live action Sailor Moon is one of the only exceptions to this. With Sailor Moon, the series was excellent--I would even say better than the anime--as long as you look past the hokey special effects.

After giving up on heckling Ranma 1/2 we turned to comparing it to the anime, and we took bets as to what characters would make appearances in the movie, beyond Ranma, Genma, and the Saotome family. I think we were all a little disappointed. My husband wanted to see Ryoga. I wanted to see Kodachi--there was at least one scene at the Kuno mansion, so how hard could it have been to have worked her in? I suppose it is understandable in hindsight why these characters were left out; they weren't necessary in any way to the movie plot, which involved Ranma and Akane taking on a gang of drag queens for access to a spring that would supposedly turn a person into a man. The movie does do some things right. It worked in some of Ranma and Akane's favorite insults for each other, like "uncute". Ryoga didn't make an appearance but Akane's room was decorated with pig-themed things.

Was it good? Eh. It was okay--not bad, not epic. Was it worth watching? Yes. We definitely got an enjoyable evening of mindless entertainment out of it that we wanted. Next up: I'll probably be watching either Ouran High School Host Club live action or Wallflower live action. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. XD