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Shelf Life - Nabari no Go

great poster collection...

i would LOVE to have few of those Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star posters myself...

If there is one thing worth noting about the series, though, it's the backgrounds. All painted in soft-hued watercolors, the backgrounds look like they were taken from a quaint children's storybook, like Winnie the Pooh. Except in this version, instead of having cute woodland creatures, you have generic-looking anime ninjas leaping around foggy cities, throwing shuriken at each other. It's a little hard to get used to. At times, the palette seems so washed out that it's distracting. Also, it's not entirely clear what they were going for. The settings aren't particularly whimsical or magical, so the artistic reasoning behind the choice isn't entirely obvious.

Sounds like the background art is from Kobayashi Productions. I like their washed-out watercolor style, especially in shows like Aoi Hana or KimiKiss Pure Rouge, but it also works very good in fantasy anime like Figure 17, at least for me. In general, Kobayashi Prod. background art gives an anime a softer yet still stylized touch and reminds me of manga. Many people however prefer more "realistic" looking backgrounds, which can also can be quite hit or miss, depending on the show's budget.

That's the problem with Kurokami as well. The main character just watches a pretty little girl get beat on in every episode. He just stands there, even though, like Miharu, he has special powers.

And the main character grates on my nerves with his apathy. I mean, the very first episode he gets saved like 4 times and each time is an ungrateful bastard, or he disappears! Hoo boy, sooo funny. I'd like to smack him.

But the plot in the first half was rather bland. It does show some promise with a few interesting elements, especially the odd relationship between Miharu and Yoite, not to mention its position that none of these ninjas can really be considered "good guys" or "bad guys."

Unfortunately, this also means that there won't be a Shelf Life next week, but we can all party at Javitz, so no tears have to be shed.

sunflower wrote:

Um, isn't the whole point of Nabari no Ou that it's supposed to be a satire of ninja shows like Naruto? Nothing about it, IMO, is meant to be taken seriously. I think you're doomed to disappointment if you watch it expecting a serious action show. Humor, and poking at all the tropes of the genre, is the point.

Er, you're probably thinking of Ninnin ga shinobuden? Nabari no ou is not a parody of anything. It takes itself pretty seriously, it has a big dramatic story and everything, especially the manga (which I liked until it became a thinly veiled Yoite/Miharu love story).