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REVIEW: Daphne in the Brilliant Blue DVD Collection 1




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championferret



Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 765
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:32 am Reply with quote
I agree with everything in this review (except I'd be a little less forgiving, I think)...I got the first DVD of this for free a while ago in a giveaway and somehow watched it all. About 90 minutes of my life I'll never, ever get back.

I do share Carl's view that the first episode was actually rather promising; because I really did sympathise with the lead. I could actually -feel- her disappointment that she wasnt accepted into that school, and thought "Wow, this show looked so trashy, but it might actually not be that bad?"
Then the rest of the Nerids came in and all those expectations went out the window. Sigh. Frankly, just not a good show...and I really wouldnt recommend it to anyone. There is not a single thing in this show that another series doesnt do better.
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JohnnySake



Joined: 22 May 2008
Posts: 582
Location: Auburn Hills, MI
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:21 am Reply with quote
Just by chance, I just watched the entire series just a few weeks ago. I had picked it up through one of RightStuf's crazy cheap sales and finally got around to watching it. What led me to actually buying it was having a chance to see the first episode by itself. Like others had mentioned, the lead character really got put through the wringer in the first ep and I wanted to see how it was going to play out.

Yes, the character designs seem a little odd at first, and time and again I had heard about the costumes, or lack thereof. But I got over both issues and focused on the trials of Maia, which was what hooked me to begin with.

I guess, for better or worse, sometimes I get emotionally invested in a given character and as the plotlines revealed themselves, I found myself more and more concerned about Maia. There were plenty of bombshells dropped about Maia in the later half of the series. Items such as spoiler[ Maia being the last survivor of that one destroyed domed city and her brother actually posing as her grandfather] just blew me away. Another item which touched me was spoiler[ how you learned Maia knew her racing friend's great grandmother personally, which left me speechless, considering how much her friend idolized her great grandmother.]

As an outside observer learning more and more of the truth of things, I had wondered how they were going to finish things up. It seemed like the flashback spoiler[ when Maia accessed the room (through retinal scan) where all the frozen animals were being held (where her dad was at the time) in the separate dome] could have been used as an impt. plot device too. spoiler[(Since she might have been the only one left who could have done such a thing now.)]

In the end, what Maia was able to do was pretty important and was stirring enough. Yes, there was alot of silly stuff throughout the show, but there was just enough seriousness in it to make a positive impact on me.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:42 am Reply with quote
This title has been on my guilty pleasure wish list for some time now. If I hadn't hesitated too long during TRSI's latest 25 for $100 sale, all of the singles would now be in my collection (some volumes sold out before I could act). Anyway, Carl's review, even with its less-than-ecstatic parts makes me think there may even be more enjoyment to be had than I originally expected.
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asimpson2006



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 3151
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:34 pm Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
This title has been on my guilty pleasure wish list for some time now. If I hadn't hesitated too long during TRSI's latest 25 for $100 sale, all of the singles would now be in my collection (some volumes sold out before I could act). Anyway, Carl's review, even with its less-than-ecstatic parts makes me think there may even be more enjoyment to be had than I originally expected.


I will most likely rent this series to see if it is something that I will like or not. It's got a lot of fanservice according to the review so that's a plus in my book.
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Gewürtztraminer



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 1028
Location: Texas - Its like whole other country.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:36 pm Reply with quote
I watched the entire series via rental a month or two ago, to figure out if I wanted to buy it when released.

I have to agree that this series is not a waste of time, and does pick up in the second half. But overall, there are better things for me to buy. I decided to hold off for now.

Did they ever explain the reason for the skimpy mission outfits?

"Your mission is to find a lost cat. Change into this tiny/form fitting piece of latex lingerie and get to it!"
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:18 pm Reply with quote
asimpson2006 wrote:

I will most likely rent this series to see if it is something that I will like or not. It's got a lot of fanservice according to the review so that's a plus in my book.


Well I enjoyed the series.Sure the fanservice was over the top for some people,but any fanservice is good fanservice in my view.

After all it was made by (J.C Staff) who did the ikkitousen series which is my favourite fanservice series ever.

At least the mystery of maia's past is a decent mystery of the storyline to get in to and her often clumbsiness & the branch managers ediocy are definately a laugh to see,not to mentioned Gloria who seriously needs a power keg for that temper and Yun who needs a taste of Home Ec 101. and those mob family are funny,but can by as annoying as hercule from dbz.

Also the dub version is preety decent,though having Sam Regal as the ADR script writer left people scratching their heads a lot,especially me.

in my view the dub should get a B- at least cause it aint that bad though having japaneese subtitles during epsiode 15 of the english version at Siberia City has me scratching my head from confusion.

Either way i seriously recomend getting the series. and it's definately a must for all of those over the top otaku fanservice fans.I've already preordered mine.
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Kalessin



Joined: 15 Aug 2007
Posts: 931
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:36 am Reply with quote
If you can get this cheap, it's worth it. It's not high class, but it's a load of fun. And arguably, the details of Maia's past are good enough that they deserved to be in a more dramatic series (though of course, they're revealed pretty close to the end of the series). The fanservice is decent, but given the artwork, it's not the best, and the outfits they wear makes no sense at all from on in-story perspective, but it's all part of the fun. If you go into it expecting it to be entertaining but not particularly deep, then you'll enjoy it.

Now, why the dub cast got such a low score, I don't know (I haven't watched it subbed, so I can't rate the Japanese cast), but they did a great job all things considered. Given that the material is pretty much mindless fun, they did an excellent job.

There are plenty of other shows out there which are better, but I think that it's definitely worth watching as long as you can get it reasonably cheap. I bought it back when Geneon stopped distributing and I'm glad that I did. It's good that it gets a second chance at life thanks to ADV. And, of course, anything that helps keep ADV alive is a good thing in my book. Maybe they'll actually get back some of their former glory one of these days...
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Goodpenguin



Joined: 02 Jul 2007
Posts: 457
Location: Hunt Valley, MD
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:32 am Reply with quote
jr0904 wrote:

Either way i seriously recomend getting the series. and it's definately a must for all of those over the top otaku fanservice fans.I've already preordered mine.


I'd be a bit careful with that unqualified cry of top-rate fanservice. I'm an unreconstructed, rally-to-the-party ecchi fan and I found 'Daphne' to be a miss in the fanservice category. Admittedly I didn't watch more than the first 3-4 episodes, so perhaps I'm missing something, but the 'fanservice' factor here seemed to be rather static, wooden character models wearing skimpy bathing suits. No jiggle, no ecchi set-up, no real 'effort' into something a bit more entertaining (in a relatively perverse way).

It's like a 90's series with the budget cut out and put on Prozac. You can enjoy it if you're looking for a diversion that doesn't dovetail into the usual melodrama fest (I'm assuming the rest of the series doesn't go that route), but it's a lot less 'fanservicey' than one would think.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:08 pm Reply with quote
Goodpenguin wrote:
jr0904 wrote:

Either way i seriously recomend getting the series. and it's definately a must for all of those over the top otaku fanservice fans.I've already preordered mine.


I'd be a bit careful with that unqualified cry of top-rate fanservice. I'm an unreconstructed, rally-to-the-party ecchi fan and I found 'Daphne' to be a miss in the fanservice category. Admittedly I didn't watch more than the first 3-4 episodes, so perhaps I'm missing something, but the 'fanservice' factor here seemed to be rather static, wooden character models wearing skimpy bathing suits. No jiggle, no ecchi set-up, no real 'effort' into something a bit more entertaining (in a relatively perverse way).

It's like a 90's series with the budget cut out and put on Prozac. You can enjoy it if you're looking for a diversion that doesn't dovetail into the usual melodrama fest (I'm assuming the rest of the series doesn't go that route), but it's a lot less 'fanservicey' than one would think.


I cant deny that fact but it's still fanservice due to those contumes if you read the previous reviews which is good enough in my view. Also it does have a decent stoyline in the end as well as did some character development after ep 15 which is a good thing.

And you can't deny epsiode 5 of Rena's attempt of of the chief who in my vew looks like those pimps from mezzo forte.Not to mentioned having the head manager of Siberia City's Nerids branch starstruck at the end on epsiode 13 or 14. if that aint a little fanservice,what is?

Though it would be nice in the comedy hijunks,they included fanservice like in popotan though.That would be a howl.
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Kalessin



Joined: 15 Aug 2007
Posts: 931
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:22 am Reply with quote
jr0904 wrote:
I can't deny that fact but it's still fanservice due to those contumes if you read the previous reviews which is good enough in my view.


This show definitely has fanservice. The girls are regularly wearing some of the skimpiest clothes that you'll ever seen in anime. There are also a few scenes that are definitely meant to be sexual (though generally comedically so).

However, the level of artwork and animation is rather low for a show this recent. It's more like what you expect from 15 years ago than 5. So, if you're watching it for fanservice - especially if you want more than just bare skin - you're going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're looking to avoid fanservice, you're also likely to be disappointed because it's definitely there. So, on that front, it's arguably a lose-lose situation.

If you watch this show, it's likely to be primarily for the comedy and characters, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the mystery of Maia's backstory (though as good as it is, it's a small enough part of the show that you might as well go look it up on wikipedia or something if that's all you care about). If you watch it for much of anything else, you're likely to be disappointed. It's a fun show, but it's far from the best, and anyone who expects a lot from it is not going to find what they're looking for.

Still, I enjoyed it and I'd recommend it for anyone who's look for some good entertainment which isn't particularly deep and doesn't mind that the characters are practically nude a good chunk of the time.
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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:46 am Reply with quote
Kalessin wrote:
This show definitely has fanservice.

This is where anime becomes subjective to the viewer, because I saw no "fanservice" in this series at all. But then again, I've a feeling my definition doesn't quickly classify the label simply for a swimsuit.

The bathing suits, while pushing the bounds, are no different than what we can see on a beach. What I found to be pleasing with this series is they didn't throw in the much-overused boob-jiggling, which probably accounts for some the average animation rating (the expectation wasn't met).

I discounted the swimsuits because they are, after all, living on an island and a great deal of their client work placed them on the water. But did anyone notice that when they're not working a client job they're wearing every day clothing?

I would agree with the "fanservice" label if they wore the suits throughout the series.

But I digress. All I can say is to those curious about this series and are "iffy", best to stream a few episodes first to get a feel for it.
I do agree with the overall ratings, as it is an average cliche-filled series that's fun to watch.

What you take away as "fanservice" will have to be left up to you, viewer. As you can see, there are varying definitions of it.
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asimpson2006



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 3151
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:41 pm Reply with quote
jr0904 wrote:
anservice in my view.
After all it was made by (J.C Staff) who did the ikkitousen series which is my favourite fanservice series ever.


Well I liked Ikki Tousen, and The first Disc for Daphne came today from Netflix so I will try and watch some of it tonight.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:24 am Reply with quote
asimpson2006 wrote:
jr0904 wrote:
anservice in my view.
After all it was made by (J.C Staff) who did the ikkitousen series which is my favourite fanservice series ever.


Well I liked Ikki Tousen, and The first Disc for Daphne came today from Netflix so I will try and watch some of it tonight.


If a lot of people were like us,then the world would be a decent place for fanservice junkies.

Also it might mean that there's a slim chance that over the top fanservice series like queens blade & Kodomo no jikan might stand a chance in the US though a lot of reviewers will be hacking at those series just like with ikkitousen.
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