Kenshin & Chobits
Nov. 20th, 2003 08:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalHmm, sounds like a dish at a Southern restaurant...
Picked up the first issue of the Ruroni Kenshin manga yesterday. The manga is different in a few details from the TV series. In the series they never specified what happened to Kaoru's father, or just what Yahiko's mom was doing to support him after his dad was killed. The opening plot with the false Battosai is also a little more complex (though with a Scooby Doo sorta twist).
Overall it's a good read, being slightly more complex than the series, with more Japanese language left intact for flavoring. Which is overall a good thing, except that by *not* translating the kanji on the back of Sano's coat, we lose a little something. I got it only because I'm familiar with the name "Aku" from Samurai Jack.
Chobits is improving, just as Jim and Beth predicted. From the preview at the end of the first episode, I was expecting the second to be sheer fanservice, what with a harem of persacomms dressed as French maids. But in context, given Minoru's warning to Hedeki, they're just an expression of Minoru's longing for his personal Persacomm to be something more than she is.
Third episode was a more of a nessasary exposition ep, showing Hedeki dealing with practical matters and introducing the characters at the restaurant. Not to mention getting the hang of teaching Chii stuff. I'm thankful her vocabulary is expanding. If "CHI!" was the only thing she was going to say through the whole series, I think I would have snapped the DVD in half and paid Jim back for it.
Fourth Episode: Sumomu is *extremely* kawaii, yet not really annoying. I felt bad when she shorted out trying to scan Chii. When she's guiding Chii on her little errand, it comes across pretty clearly that Sumomu is a sophisticated machine, but she's still limited. In Transhuman Space terms I'd call her a cybershell running a mid-range LAI, or perhaps a high-end NAI.
Tommorow: Time to start watching Excel Saga again. I'll be sure to take Ibuprofen beforehand...
Picked up the first issue of the Ruroni Kenshin manga yesterday. The manga is different in a few details from the TV series. In the series they never specified what happened to Kaoru's father, or just what Yahiko's mom was doing to support him after his dad was killed. The opening plot with the false Battosai is also a little more complex (though with a Scooby Doo sorta twist).
Overall it's a good read, being slightly more complex than the series, with more Japanese language left intact for flavoring. Which is overall a good thing, except that by *not* translating the kanji on the back of Sano's coat, we lose a little something. I got it only because I'm familiar with the name "Aku" from Samurai Jack.
Chobits is improving, just as Jim and Beth predicted. From the preview at the end of the first episode, I was expecting the second to be sheer fanservice, what with a harem of persacomms dressed as French maids. But in context, given Minoru's warning to Hedeki, they're just an expression of Minoru's longing for his personal Persacomm to be something more than she is.
Third episode was a more of a nessasary exposition ep, showing Hedeki dealing with practical matters and introducing the characters at the restaurant. Not to mention getting the hang of teaching Chii stuff. I'm thankful her vocabulary is expanding. If "CHI!" was the only thing she was going to say through the whole series, I think I would have snapped the DVD in half and paid Jim back for it.
Fourth Episode: Sumomu is *extremely* kawaii, yet not really annoying. I felt bad when she shorted out trying to scan Chii. When she's guiding Chii on her little errand, it comes across pretty clearly that Sumomu is a sophisticated machine, but she's still limited. In Transhuman Space terms I'd call her a cybershell running a mid-range LAI, or perhaps a high-end NAI.
Tommorow: Time to start watching Excel Saga again. I'll be sure to take Ibuprofen beforehand...
