Sukisyo Review
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:58 am
Okay, time to get serious. Shounen-ai (boy-boy love) and shoujo-ai (girl-girl love) genres aren't well known. This is mainly due to the fact that they're never licensed in the States and fansub groups don't wanna be involved in same sex relationship based anime. I have always been a firm supporter of these genres of anime, so here's my review for...
Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai!!...
... is a thirteen episode shounen-ai anime created by Riho Sawaki, and is commonly referred to as "Sukisyo" do to its long name. Roughly translated, the title means "I Like What I Like, So There!!"
STORYLINE
Hashibara Sora, after falling from a 4th story window at his school by mysterious circumstances, has completely lost his memory. Returning to his school after recovery, he finds he now has a new roomate, Sunao, who is a childhood friend he cannot remember. As time passes, Sora eventually starts to fall in love with him. However, a darkness lurks within Sora, one that holds the fragmented truth of his past, and he must slowly try and peice them back together...
ANIMATION
The animation can only be defined in one catagory: cutesy. Pure and simple. Usually when a comedic scene appears (which is almost all the time), the characters transform into chibi-mode (they become small and deformed) during the joke. A great example, and my favorite at this point, is when Ran calls Sora "Yoru". Though Yoru is a persons name, it also means "Night". Yoru not being Sora's name, points to the moon in chibi form and says, "Yoru?" The series itself isn't meant to be totally serious, though it does have its moments, and therefore a lot of scenes involve puns.
The character designs themselves are incredibly simple. Think something like Midori no Hibi, only slightly less. However, with this series' atmosphere, the character designs match well with the feeling as well as the backgrounds. Though original I admit, I always disagreed with One Piece because the BGs were so damn detailed and the characters were simply designed. I'm glad they didn't go in that particular direction.
MUSIC
The music is suprisingly good in this show, but there was very little. I can't recall what the last background music I heard was. However, I shall endeavor to make it up to you with the reviews for the OP and ED themes.
Just A Survivor by Tatsuhisa Suzuki (OP)
Catchy, and enjoyable. Especially the first few times you listen to it. Though it doesn't get old, it feels kinda repetative after several consecutive listenings. I believe it to be a very good OP and was a perfect choice to represent Sukisyo, but I wouldn't go so far as to buy the single for it.
Daydreamin' by Kisho Taniyama (ED)
Very memorable and a lot more enjoyable than the OP. It kinda reminds me of Tactics from Rurouni Kenshin. It has that basic feel, and I always did love that song. At first it seems too deep and serious a song to be used for Sukisyo, but if you think of the premise of the story; someone who's lost his memory, desperately trying to regain his memory, being surrounded by two childhood friends who he barely even knows... Its rather sentimental, and it works in that particular light.
FINAL COMMENTS
This series, though only thirteen episodes, is quite balanced in all areas, and those of you who might notice from the recently finished Gudam SEED and ongoing Gundam SEED Destiny, the seiyuu who play Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala also play Sunao and Kai (respectively). It was nice to hear their voices played in something like this. It's a nice change from hearing them in the war-torn world of SEED.
OVERALL SCORE: 7
I know shounen-ai isn't a very popular subject, especially with guys, because it involves same sex relationships between males, but if you like really fun and cute anime like Midori no Hibi or Steel Angel Kurumi (only without the big boobs, women, and fanservice), then I implore you to check it out and I hope you enjoy it.
The reason I gave this series a score of 7 is because there were somet things I couldn't shake...
Firstly, I would've preferred more indepth detail to both the characters and the background. It was a little too simplistic, maybe? I dunno.
The second thing was the absence of more music. More background music would have been a nice -- maybe a nice orchastral score here and there to liven it up a bit. I know I'd be sitting there watching it and during periods where I thought there should have been at least a soft background melody playing, but there was nothing.
There were other things that also seemed to make the whole thing incomplete, especially so since I've watched the final few episodes. I've knocked the score down a point and a half... But, it's still a good series to check out on those rainy days when you want something fun!
Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai!!...
... is a thirteen episode shounen-ai anime created by Riho Sawaki, and is commonly referred to as "Sukisyo" do to its long name. Roughly translated, the title means "I Like What I Like, So There!!"
STORYLINE
Hashibara Sora, after falling from a 4th story window at his school by mysterious circumstances, has completely lost his memory. Returning to his school after recovery, he finds he now has a new roomate, Sunao, who is a childhood friend he cannot remember. As time passes, Sora eventually starts to fall in love with him. However, a darkness lurks within Sora, one that holds the fragmented truth of his past, and he must slowly try and peice them back together...
ANIMATION
The animation can only be defined in one catagory: cutesy. Pure and simple. Usually when a comedic scene appears (which is almost all the time), the characters transform into chibi-mode (they become small and deformed) during the joke. A great example, and my favorite at this point, is when Ran calls Sora "Yoru". Though Yoru is a persons name, it also means "Night". Yoru not being Sora's name, points to the moon in chibi form and says, "Yoru?" The series itself isn't meant to be totally serious, though it does have its moments, and therefore a lot of scenes involve puns.
The character designs themselves are incredibly simple. Think something like Midori no Hibi, only slightly less. However, with this series' atmosphere, the character designs match well with the feeling as well as the backgrounds. Though original I admit, I always disagreed with One Piece because the BGs were so damn detailed and the characters were simply designed. I'm glad they didn't go in that particular direction.
MUSIC
The music is suprisingly good in this show, but there was very little. I can't recall what the last background music I heard was. However, I shall endeavor to make it up to you with the reviews for the OP and ED themes.
Just A Survivor by Tatsuhisa Suzuki (OP)
Catchy, and enjoyable. Especially the first few times you listen to it. Though it doesn't get old, it feels kinda repetative after several consecutive listenings. I believe it to be a very good OP and was a perfect choice to represent Sukisyo, but I wouldn't go so far as to buy the single for it.
Daydreamin' by Kisho Taniyama (ED)
Very memorable and a lot more enjoyable than the OP. It kinda reminds me of Tactics from Rurouni Kenshin. It has that basic feel, and I always did love that song. At first it seems too deep and serious a song to be used for Sukisyo, but if you think of the premise of the story; someone who's lost his memory, desperately trying to regain his memory, being surrounded by two childhood friends who he barely even knows... Its rather sentimental, and it works in that particular light.
FINAL COMMENTS
This series, though only thirteen episodes, is quite balanced in all areas, and those of you who might notice from the recently finished Gudam SEED and ongoing Gundam SEED Destiny, the seiyuu who play Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala also play Sunao and Kai (respectively). It was nice to hear their voices played in something like this. It's a nice change from hearing them in the war-torn world of SEED.
OVERALL SCORE: 7
I know shounen-ai isn't a very popular subject, especially with guys, because it involves same sex relationships between males, but if you like really fun and cute anime like Midori no Hibi or Steel Angel Kurumi (only without the big boobs, women, and fanservice), then I implore you to check it out and I hope you enjoy it.
The reason I gave this series a score of 7 is because there were somet things I couldn't shake...
Firstly, I would've preferred more indepth detail to both the characters and the background. It was a little too simplistic, maybe? I dunno.
The second thing was the absence of more music. More background music would have been a nice -- maybe a nice orchastral score here and there to liven it up a bit. I know I'd be sitting there watching it and during periods where I thought there should have been at least a soft background melody playing, but there was nothing.
There were other things that also seemed to make the whole thing incomplete, especially so since I've watched the final few episodes. I've knocked the score down a point and a half... But, it's still a good series to check out on those rainy days when you want something fun!