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REVIEW: Shonen Onmyouji DVD Boxset




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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:16 am Reply with quote
Never even heard of this series...

Why were no dub actors mentioned? Is it an overseas dub?

Sounds kinda intriguing... I love series that are supposed to be a stereotype, but unexpectantly transcend their roots/origins to be something greater... like Welcome to the NHK: supposed to be fan-boy series (and it kinda is...), but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable psychological animes I've ever seen!

I know this one probably won't click with me on that same level, but it's nice to know that critics still come across series like this, especially in this day and age...

Right now, I can't start any new projects, but I'll wait, see how other people respond to this, and give it some thought!

That's about I can do. Like I said: I love shows that become MUCH better than what they appeared to be in the beginning.
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Kit-Tsukasa



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 930
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:30 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Never even heard of this series...


That's because Geneon went belly up soon after they picked up this title.
Honestly, this series had things going for it, but was often never executed to the end. The series constantly left things hanging in the middle. Typical Studio Deen if you ask me.
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neocloud9



Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 1178
Location: Atlanta, GA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:48 am Reply with quote
Uhhh, I feel kinda bad for saying this... But that show bored me to tears. I bought all but the last DVD, then realized I didn't care enough to continue and sold all the earlier discs. The dub was also really awkward to me. Confused
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Lemoncookies23



Joined: 02 Aug 2008
Posts: 355
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Excellent review. I enjoyed the show a lot, despite its flaws.
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LeanGreen



Joined: 10 Jul 2009
Posts: 323
Location: New England
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:46 pm Reply with quote
I've read several reviews of this anime, and they all either seem to say that they enjoyed the execution of the story and the plot, or that it was dreadfully boring. I'm still trying to decide which side I would be on. Nice review.
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dragonrider_cody



Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 2541
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:09 pm Reply with quote
My boyfriend loved this show, but I couldn't get into it. It was an okay show, but it always felt like it was missing something. And I can easily see how so many people thought it was boring, a it definitely had some issues in the pacing and character departments. But I guess you can do much, much worse.
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FireChick
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Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 2389
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:18 pm Reply with quote
People will call me crazy, but I seriously LOVE THIS DURNED SHOW with a BIIIIIIIIIIIG passion. I'm probably the biggest otaku for this show anybody will ever know. Sure, I do agree that the beginning plot is a bit cliched (wanting to be the best, yada yada yada), but as the series progresses, it's not even about being the best anymore. it's about learning to accept that things don't always go the way you want, and that not all decisions in life guarantee the safety of other people. This show doesn't sugarcoat the ending by spoiler[Reincarnating Guren and making him return as his usual self. Instead, he loses his memories completely, with no guarantee the old Guren/Mokkun will ever return].

To be honest, I actually love the dub, despite the actors being complete newbies (and having somewhat Chinese-Korean names). I actually think this is one of the few dubs that were great to me. They were faithful to the original translation (other than the Buddhist chants, which didn't really pick at me much. I hardly understood them anyway). Plus, call me crazy but I don't care, in my opinion Masahiro is absolutely cracktastic when he's angry! He always makes me laugh whenever he has a tantrum. he's my number one favorite anime character of all time! And his seiyuu, Kaida Yuki, is my all-time favorite seiyuu too! I love her voice!

I think both the music, execution, and the artwork was very good too. Plus I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the plot twists that appeared in the second half of the series, and they left me craving for more until the end (which I cried at)! All in all, Shounen Onmyouji's basically my number one favorite anime. It's made a huge impact on me and it has a special place in my heart. Yeah, I respect everyone's opinions, but I just irk whenever someone hates it. Some shows start of stereotypical at first, then turn into something more, which are what I like. Some shows have such a strong story to tell and a message to give out, but are so misunderstood, unknown, and underappreciated that literally it's unbelievable (such as Amuri in Star Ocean, which is UNBELIEVABLY AND AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!!)!
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:54 pm Reply with quote
I watched this series during its original airing and really enjoyed it. If you like the anime, the drama CD series is even better. I really hope Tenko Hen will be animated one of these days.
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Taiyz



Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:42 pm Reply with quote
I think this Talkback thread nicely lays out the general response to the series. Some people can't get past its slow pace and generic shounen basis, but then some find something else in this series that totally hooks them.

And I think it's needless to say that I hope nobody goes knocking on Odex's door anymore. There was a lot of potential for a dub to spice up the series and make it a little less boring or the characters a little more charming to make the shounen influence more tolerable. It's hard not to be disappointed by the shortcuts taken in localization.
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CCSYueh



Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 2707
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:54 pm Reply with quote
I think one of the problems is some people think this is a shonen tale then it is solidly a shojo harem title & when compared to other shojo harem titles, it actually stands up very well. This is a variation on Fushigi Yugi meets Kyo Kara Maoh & in that light, used to average animation (as long as the bishonen look good a majority of the time), this one looked incredible. Anyone who doubts this is shojo need only look over the old news releases to see the article mentioned here about the stage version of shonen onmyouji bragging of having XX bishonen on stage(!!!)
It copped out in a couple places, but overall, this title had less sugarcoating than one usually gets in a harem title. I liked the original premise with the princess fated to be locked away as a concubine of the emperor & yeah, saving her from that fate was a cheat. It would have been more brave to leave it stand, but that would also destroy a love interest possibility. The manner in which it was dealt with suggested a greater maturity on the part of our hero.
I was aware of this title from Newtype USA & was so happy when Geneon licenesed it. The English dub was so painful, I watched it subbed, but with Katsuyuki Konishi, Akira Ishida, Toshiyuki Morikawa, & Toshihiko Seki who really cared how the English dub sounded? It was a cheap Odex dub with actors who sounded as though English were their second language.
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