Comments on: Naisho no Tsubomi

By: Baoky

Baoky — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:15:54 +0000

Thanks for this article , well written hehe

Rgds,
Baoky

By: LDC

LDC — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:47:40 +0000

I don't know. I love this show, but I can't decide whether this show is shoujo or lolicon. Can it be both?

By: bluemist

bluemist — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:48:49 +0000

I would agree that maybe fanservice and 'loli' are too strong words to describe the anime, and I was actually supposed to oppose the 'loli' part too but I didn't emphasize too much about it. I still consider this anime more on the shoujo-slice-of-life theme and it's really supposed to be like that. But I felt that they didn't downplay the nekkid scenes, instead over-exposed them a bit to be noticeable. When you blatantly have semi-nekkid scenes (even if not titillating at all), plus the moe~fied seiyuu performances, I can't help but think they're aiming for that other kind of audience entirely.

"Anime of the year" was supposed to be sarcasm, of course this could never deserve it, but with all the anime crap I watched recently, then watching this, I felt a sudden jolt of quality in anime that left me so engaged in it.

By: piyo

piyo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:46:42 +0000

I checked this out because of your post.

> "the anime is specifically aimed at lolicon otakus"

I start off agreeing, somewhat. Who would pay about 7500 yen for a exclusive version of a 30 minute anime? Then again, I wouldn't call these those pantsu scenes "fan service" because to me there's no titillation angle about it. In fact, I believe you do this anime a big disservice calling it "loli".There is of course sexual content, but the sexual content is all verbal, not visual, which really makes me doubt this is aimed at guys at all. So I'm going to have to disagree.

I felt aggravation and annoyance with all of the misinformation scenes. The typical Japanese group think/staring scenes and bullying compounded this feeling. Perhaps that is the point. What happens when your parents don't tell you about the critical things that happen to your body, and the only information you get is from other kids? I was expecting this down slide of unfortunate circumstances to continue to the closing credits, but luckily the scenes with Nemoto-kun and Tsubomi's mom at the end salvaged the anime. The dream sequence adds by being mysterious.

I wrote most of this comment before seeing the trailer for the next episode (paused on the voice cast credits, naturally). The next episode seems to be a bit more visual with a kiss scene, probably. As it stands I think this first episode has satisfying closure on its own and I don't feel the urge to watch any more.

The voice cast is surprisingly bishoujo major. Its great to hear Kaori Nazuka again. I remember her from Canvas 2. Sara Nakayama as Tsubomi's mom is another long-time no-see seiyuu (to me). I remember her from Yumeria and Green Green. Ryoko Shiraishi does her young boy voice after having a year long practice with Hayate no Gotoku. No doubt you could probably link the other seiyuu to bishoujo works. Perhaps it's this link that makes me assume this is yet another otaku-oriented work.

Instead of feeling wonderful at the end, I just felt relief that the downturn plot finally resurfaced. I was hoping to find something "anime of the year" about this, but in the end I'm not even moved to read the manga. Still it was entertaining and surprising.

By: hashihime

hashihime — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:14:59 +0000

Excellent piece. What you describe is exactly what I saw. First-rate slice-of-life with well-conveyed warm emotions and real issues in the background. Plus a hint of tasteful fanservice. Nazuka Kaori and Koshimizu Ami voicing the two main characters were absolutely outstanding. The only thing I disagree with at all is that I thought the dream sequence — and the mutual dream aspect of it that turned up later — was one of the key parts of the show and worked wonderfully.