| New Anime: "Mezzo DSA" and "Maria-sama ga Miteru" |
[Jan. 13th, 2004|08:57 pm] |
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With the new anime season started in Japan, it won't be long before the first fansubs of the new series start to appear. We've checked out the first episodes of two new series.
The first was "Mezzo DSA", apparently a spin-off of the Mezzo Forte movie. "DSA" stands for "Danger Service Agency", and the series is about a trio of 'special agents' who run missions for their clients -- for a price. The episode starts with a schoolgirl being mugged by two other girls in some ruined building -- and then a bomb explodes behind the wall. Lots of guys in dark clothing run around (obviously the bad guys) and they are being kicked around Matrix-style by a girl in an orange, skin-tight tracksuit.
Some dead bodies and explosions later, we get a lot of exposition about their mission and who they are -- the actors have to talk really fast to fit all this information into the single episode! Then we get some sort of ghost story (which is also explained rather rushed) and some more action.
And then the episode is over. Man! Those directors certainly don't want to bore you with useless details, they rush through the plot like there's no tomorrow! (And I thought my writing was too fast...)
It's certainly interesting, designs are colorful and the directing of the action scenes is certainly excellent. I have a feeling there will be some sort of metaplot revealed in episodes to come, but I hope the writers will slow down the pace a bit.
Second was "Maria-sama ga miteru" (St. Mary is watching). This is about an all-girls school with a rose-themed student council... There's this system of 'big sisters' who take 'little sisters' under their wing (sempai-kouhai), and our main character is a first-year student who secretly admires one of the older girls. Due to various circumstances, this older girl chooses her as her little sister (something to do with hating men and having to play Cinderella in a school play along with the all-boys school next door).
Now, this might all sound rather innocent (and perhaps it is), but there is a little bit too much hugging and staring into each others' eyes going on to re-assure me. I would hate to see what the fanfic-slashers would make of all this...
And yes, it ends with the younger girl declining, and the older girl vowing to make her accept her as her elder sister, with lots of 'meaningful glances' (or maybe my dirty mind is just imagining this -- but anyone knows that the ancient Greeks didn't think much of sexual relations between mentor and pupil, and it doesn't take much imagination to see this series at least hint at that tradition).
Designs use soft colors and the character designs are very manga-like: high foreheads, pointy noses and luscious hair (with a few loose strands). It'll be interesting to see how this develops. |
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Mezzo Forte.. that's from the same people who did Kite, right? I really love their animation style. Wish they'd throw less plot-irrelevant nudity into it, though. (Or in the case of Kite, just obvious hentai. -_-;;) The action scenes are quite good, though.
And 'Maria-sama ga miteru' surely sounds like it has a lot of shoujo-ai potential ^_~ So there's something between the younger and the older girl, right? :3 Somehow it reminds me of Utena (of which I've seen far too little), but maybe that's just because you mention the combination of school and a rose-themed student council..
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/26240408/1085137) | From: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fub
2004-01-13 01:30 pm (UTC)
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Mezzo Forte.. that's from the same people who did Kite, right?
I haven't got the faintest idea.
Wish they'd throw less plot-irrelevant nudity into it
Mezzo DSA only has that one girl in the skin-tight (though not as tight as could have been) orange "jumpsuit"-thing.
And 'Maria-sama ga miteru' surely sounds like it has a lot of shoujo-ai potential
Yes. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of doujinshi produced to that effect.
So there's something between the younger and the older girl, right?
Well... Not really. At least, not out in the open.
It's kind of complicated, but the older girl wants the younger girl to accept her as her sempai, for various reasons. So she'll have to 'win her over'.
Somehow it reminds me of Utena
There are some superficial similarities. Maria-sama seems to have a lot less 'WTF!?'-moments.
From: (Anonymous)
2004-02-08 04:59 pm (UTC)
Re: Mezzo Forte and Kite | (Link)
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Yes Mezzo is made by the same people as kite.
(Heads out to find some Maria-sama) ...
| From: fub
2004-01-13 10:31 pm (UTC)
Re: OOOOHhhhhhh! | (Link)
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If you have BitTorrent installed, try this torrent-file. It still has seeds, so you should be able to download it without problems.
I grabbed it last night, before I even got to your post! I'm not watching it for a couple weeks; I've got a backlog of anime (and, ahem, Live Action Sailor Moon) to get to before, plus, we're really busy again. Thank you so much for the torrent-faq and everything ... it's made me so happy!
Toodle-Pip, Fub!
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/6598672/1085137) | From: fub
2004-01-14 04:23 am (UTC)
Re: OOOOHhhhhhh! | (Link)
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(and, ahem, Live Action Sailor Moon)
O_o;
we're really busy again.
Well, that sounds good. Hope it is!
Thank you so much for the torrent-faq and everything ... it's made me so happy!
We aim to please! And if you need something special that you can't find, ask me. I might be able to help you out.
| From: fub
2004-03-10 07:37 pm (UTC)
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I recognise his drawing style. Seems he has a thing for girls-with-guns... Not really my genre, I must admit. | |
