Comments on: Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ 5-7: Unmagically Magical

By: Marmoset

Marmoset — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:43:23 +0000

Count me among the legions of Sora. Natsume is very nice and although you can guess the entire events of an episode from the first 5 minutes, it’s a testament to the characters of the spirits that you keep watching an enjoying it. Unfortunately most of the human characters just aren’t interesting enough and I find the scenes with only humans to be mostly quite boring compared to the rest of the show.

What springs to mind when I watch Natsuohmygodhowlongisthistitleilljustcopyandpasteitfromsomewhereelse is that it feels like a ‘hang-out’ anime where the you could just watch the characters interact for hours and still have fun watching it. How many series feature magic yet use it so infrequently? I often wish the classroom scenes were longer because they feature such natural and wonderful characterisation. So long as this maintains this goodness I could quite easily see it overtaking aria as my favourite slice of life series and it could really show these blander slice of life shows that not only does your cast need character they need characters that truly complement each other.

Now when’s is ep8 going to get subbed…

By: usagijen

usagijen — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:49:16 +0000

@hashihime: hehe, don’t worry about posting twice! It’s much to my delight, really

I haven’t understood why Natsume Yuujinchou doesn’t appeal to me as much as Natsu no Sora, until you mentioned about the unnatural feel of the whole stage where it happens, and it’s exactly why I have difficulty empathizing with all the monsters. Episode 7 is said to be the best Natsume episode, something I have yet to watch at this point. Must watch later ^^;

By: hashihime

hashihime — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:32:01 +0000

I shouldn’t post twice in a row, especially on someone else’s blog, but I just watched ep7 of Natsume and liked it a lot. Still not near Natsu no Sora, but very good and with some emotion. Yajima Akiko (Mari in Blue Drop) as the fox cub was outstanding.

By: hashihime

hashihime — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:05:43 +0000

For me, there’s no comparison: Natsu no Sora>>>>>>Natsume. The emotions are much deeper, and the visual, dramatic and musical art are far superior. I am really coming to think that this show is a masterpiece, at least as good as Beck. The emotion-filled silences and subtle ways of getting things across really thrill me.

I should go back and try to watch some more Natsume, but I have tried to twice and my interest quickly peters out. Everything seems so obvious and simple, not to mention artificial. It’s hard for me to care. But I do have a particular problem: monsters turn me right off. The show would have to be outstanding to overcome my prejudice against them. I will go back and try again, though, since so many smart people admire that show.

By the way, Natsu no Sora gets even better starting with episode 8.

By: usagijen

usagijen — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:03:08 +0000

@biankita: I concluded my Natsu no Sora > Natsume Yuujinchou based on how excited I am to see the next episode. Natsume Yuujinchou is a great watch, but something I can put on hold for a while and still enjoy and love it. I’m just not as compelled to watch the next episode. I also blame my bias for romance

@issa-sa: The ultimate edge of Natsume Yuujinchou is Nyanko-sensei and his priceless lulz antics

@Diego: Well I can’t blame you for preferring Natsume Yuujinchou over this (though I’d be very happy to meet a kindred spirit who’d love this show the way I do) Natsume Yuujinchou is supposed to hit close to home for me too because I’m pretty much a loner myself. I guess I’m just not getting into Natsume Yuujinchou all that much… I think that will all change if I get to watch the episodes twice and actually follow every episode each week.

I’d love to read your write-up on Natsume Yuujinchou, if you ever get to doing it

By: Diego

Diego — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:25:31 +0000

Sorry, but on my scoreboard it’s more like Nyanko-sensei and Kid > MTnTnK:NnS. Please don’t hurt me!

I suppose it’s precisely because Natsume Yuujinchou doesn’t shake me to the core that I’m enjoying it so much. It’s the kind of relaxing, gently-paced, walk-through-the-park show that I’d love to see more of. In addition, I feel a deep attachment to it because I can identify with the main character (being a natural loner and all), and not just in a general sense – there were times when I felt he’d acted precisely the way I would have had I been faced with the same situation. Hmm, maybe I should write at length about that in a future post.

Still, your entry was quite persuasive. Now I really want to resume watching this show (time permitting).

By: issa-sa

issa-sa — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:58:29 +0000

What I do appreciate about both Natsume Yuujinchou and Mahou Tsukai (blahblahblah) is that they’re both relatively straightforward shows when it comes to the messages they want to convey (so none of that deep thought provoking stuff that my tired mind can’t handle anyways :P).

Despite the save the dolphins episode though, Natsume Yuujinchou still has the edge for me

By: biankita

biankita — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:47:32 +0000

i watch both natsume and mahou tsukai. i like them both but my anticipation for natsume > mahou tsukai. it may have something to do with the fact the former is released more regularly, but mahou tsukai hasn’t driven me to tears yet.

mahou tsukai’s sweet but quite random and the story pace is beyond slow… not that i don’t enjoy it.