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Amagami SS & SS+ (TV).


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Hentai_JP



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 605
Location: Toronto, ON
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:38 am Reply with quote


Amagami SS (TV)
Amagami SS+ (TV) begins here.

Genres: drama, romance
Themes: Love/Romance, Moe, School Life/Relationships

Plot Summary: A second-year high school boy finds himself uneasy during Christmas time due to an experience in the past. However, this year at Christmas, he gets his last chance to ask out a graduating female senior named Haruka Morishima—or one of several other classmates. The story of the anime will be arranged in an omnibus format, with each heroine getting her own version of the story animated. Each heroine will sing her own version of the ending theme song.
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This series has been overlooked.

Only it's hard to blame people for having little patience. The comedy gold isn't realized until episode three, while first two episodes are insipidly bland with no originality in sight. The fourth episode adequately concludes Haruka's arc and is overall a pretty good episode as well.

Recently released episode five moved onto another arc involving Tachibana's energetic middle-school friend Kaoru Tanamachi. The episode was so good it ended way too soon! Not only Kaoru consistently brings the so much needed comedy Jun'ichi also shows some colour giving him a little more depth. Which was very much welcome.

Since this is a 26 episode series, with 4 episodes per arc, featuring 6 girls (2 bonus episodes?), and airing till Christmas or so I decided to start this thread. I believe this series deserves it.

Also, lets not forget the potential for life lessons that could be learned from Amagami SS. If Morishima Arc teached us how to play a dead dog for romantic advances I can only, no... I can't even guess what future endeavors the protagonist is going to undertake.

And last, but not least, I wanted to bring up this M@D. Miya's (Jun'ichi's sister) cute voice and character makes this a pure gold for fans. She needs her own arc, not necessarily romantic as any kind of adventure with her is a potential for hilarity.

YouTube - [Amagami] Miya's Can Can. Huge bonus points if you can understand some lines (they are simple). ~NiShiShiShiShi!
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abunai
Old Regular


Joined: 05 Mar 2004
Posts: 5463
Location: 露命
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:00 am Reply with quote
Hentai_JP wrote:
This series has been overlooked.

Not by me. I found it a bit hard going at first, since the lead is initially such a plain and uninteresting typical eroge wimp. He does develop some character, however, by the end of the second episode, and the series continues to improve.

And yes, it is frequently hilarious.

Hentai_JP wrote:
YouTube - [Amagami] Miya's Can Can. Huge bonus points if you can understand some lines (they are simple). ~NiShiShiShiShi!

Haha, that is amazingly funny. Thanks for linking that -- I think I've found a new ring tone for my phone.

- abunai
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:28 am Reply with quote
Well, I watched the first episode, and I can see why it has such a bad reputation. But though it is derided by people who are fans of the genre, it should come as a surprise that someone who isn't a fan - like myself - actually didn't hate it. Oh sure, the episode was indeed "insipidly bland with no originality in sight". It busied itself with ticking off a checklist, and didn't bother with rising above its own cliches. Boring, predictable, with no laughs or touching moments on offer.

But, I didn't hate it. Weird, huh? I dunno why, except that it wasn't due to any low expectations. Coming into the show I possessed unusually high hopes, possibly because of the art style (which I quite like).

However, on the basis of that one episode I would have dropped the show . . . except that I have now heard three people state that it gets better. Well, it better had, because I am going to do something possibly very foolish and give it another two episodes. Part of it is simple curiosity, to see if those people were right, and also to remind myself what a series that gets better looks like. And part of it is some fragment of my soul insisting on pushing it's irrational definition of "fairness" onto me.

In any case, here it goes. Wish me luck?



P.S. I wish I had a room with fluorescent stars in it like that. Pretty neat idea. Might have to go down to my local Whitcoulls and have a gander.
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4595
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:40 am Reply with quote
Hightlight of #5

The arc's love interest not only hits the protagonist for his unintended perverted ways (as all spunky love interests should- it's a law) spoiler[She stands over him and punches him so hard he is rendered completely unconscious. Not for just a second, but long enough to apparently drag his limp and unresponsive body to the nurse's office... to sleep it off. But it's okay, he forgives her, after all, he got to see her panties, plus it's so touching that she's worried about him.]
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:34 am Reply with quote
Most of the time watching it, I tend to laugh at it, the show is reddled with cliches, and the first arc was pretty crazy: spoiler[He kissed behind her knee, she liked him becaus he is like her dead dog, and she actually gets upset that he respected her enough to not peek on her (something I actually predicted.] I might say a couple of fitting weird people. Actually I liked Haruka's Engrish, it brought a smile to my face. And the opening song is awefull, it is done to the tune of "Last Christmas" and has some of the corniest lyrics I have heard in a while, but has also got me singing christmas songs in the middle of July.

I like the new arc, I have been eyeing her since episode 1, I guess I have a soft spot for that type of character, the whole crazy bed hair look definetly feels attractive. Also there is an anime rule: if the character thinks spoiler[he is being confessed to, he most definetly is not.]

Also Nii nii is one of the most anoying things I have heard in quite some time, but that song was actually quite good with it, pretty much makes the whole character worth it. Actually I liked Hatsukoi Limited, so there is a chance that I will start likeing this show more.
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Mister V



Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:29 pm Reply with quote
I think I lasted about five minutes into the first episode... if it gets better later, I might try bearing it... But is it anything like Hatsukoi? Because then I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.
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Xanas



Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 2058
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:03 am Reply with quote
Well I liked Hatsukoi also, so I guess that could mean it's somewhat close in tone. So this one may not be your series.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:03 am Reply with quote
Mister V wrote:
I think I lasted about five minutes into the first episode... if it gets better later, I might try bearing it... But is it anything like Hatsukoi? Because then I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.


It's a perfect galge adaption. There are 6 girls, 24 episodes, each girl gets her own 4 episode route, probably with the happy end. It's the best because usually in these shows the worst girl always wins. It's like having our cake, eating it, and then eating more cakes. Heck, it's not even technically harem, because he never has more than one girl at the same time. It's just six disjointed stories about a kid getting a girlfriend.
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TJR



Joined: 13 Jul 2009
Posts: 223
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:19 am Reply with quote
The first two episodes are barely watchable, but I managed to enjoy the next two.

As for Hatsukoi Limited, I kinda see the two series as opposites. Hatsukoi was based on an unpopular manga, and the anime staff put real effort into reorganizing and improving the material. You could tell that the director and scriptwriter cared, despite the questionable content (which nevertheless killed the show for me).

With Amagami, there's little passion on the part of the staff. The first episode plays out like a scene by scene game adaptation, which doesn't work well. Art, animation, and scripts are also as bland as they get (in terms of art/atmosphere, videos of the original game certainly seem much livelier; it's as if they sucked most of the life out in the transition to anime).

However, the staff are doing a good job in accentuating the sexiness of the characters (used to good effect in Ep. 3 and 4). They certainly understand why fans liked the original, so in that sense, they've delivered what the audience wants in an Amagami adaptation.
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Mister V



Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:31 am Reply with quote
Well, Hatsukoi was the only series I've watched about which I can say that it managed to completely waste my time and be very annoying. After it I understood that dropping series is okay. I'll try Amagami because I really, really like the character designs, I'll see if I can't just skip some annoying parts. Post my impressions later.
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Xanas



Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 2058
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:08 pm Reply with quote
Smile Mister V, I'm not unlike yourself on the matter of character designs. It helps a lot if a series generally looks nice.

I did actually like Hatsukoi and this series though from the beginning. I guess I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.

(Series I watched entirely for characters and didn't really care for the plot would be like To Love Ru or Rosario)
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Bored_Ming



Joined: 17 Jun 2009
Posts: 242
Location: The Edge of ......
PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 3:40 am Reply with quote
I can't really explain why I'm watching this series. The character designs are appealing and they are likable but the story is another creature. I've never played a dating sim so I can't comment on the animes authenticity to the genre. The story seemed flat on the first 2 episodes then 3 had something interesting but ep 4 ended up being predictable yet somewhat satisfying. Now 5 has a new arc. spoiler[A problem I'm having is the format. In episode 5 we see Morishima waking up in the nurses office. With the new arc Tachibana will never be there for her and that makes it depressing. I'm not sure if I'm going to get that with each arc going forward.] I'll keep watching because I'm mysteriously hooked. Maybe I'm a fan of the genre and I'm in denial??? Smile
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Mister V



Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 10:15 am Reply with quote
I just noticed this series has Yukana. Is she playing one of the main girls? Then, yes, I am watching this, I'll even get over any annoying stuff (like the fact that they're all effing blind and have zero peripheral vision). Anyway, she can't disappoint.

That genki curly-wavy girl looks nice, too.
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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:01 pm Reply with quote
Yukana... I presume the character she's doing will eventually get 4 episodes as the main heroine. Until then her role is a minor one.

The format they chose is pretty interesting. It felt as if in just 4 episodes they achieved what a 13-episode romance tries to.
There was a whole lot of absurdity in the first arc, but some scenes were really cute... like when they're playing hostage and he's feeding her.

The second arc doesn't look as interesting because I'm not too fond of watching [long time] friends turn into lovers. Granted, there's nothing wrong with that, but I'd rather see how it'd roll between him and his sister.

Looking forward to 2 arcs, Tsukasa and Ai. The rest is allowed to surprise me with something interesting.

Needless to say: Haruka > Ai > Tsukasa > Sae > Kaoru > Rihoko.
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abunai
Old Regular


Joined: 05 Mar 2004
Posts: 5463
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:42 pm Reply with quote
I find it a telling point (and somewhat typical of galge in general) that the only girl who might interest me, personally, is not an option, and doesn't get an arc.

Ah well, I guess I'm just not the intended audience.

- abunai
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