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NaBloPoMo Day 24: BLARGH
I spent most of today in bed with a cold.
I ended up watching the first four episodes of Magical Angel Creamy Mami--I've had the fansub on my 'to watch' list for awhile now, and I was in the mood for some cute 80s jpop. Plus, Creamy Mami is one of the early magical girl shows that had a big impact on the genre, and was the first anime used to promote a then-unknown pop star--so I also wanted to see it for ~historical appreciation~ purposes. :P
Episode 1
Okay, I'll be honest--after the first episode I wasn't very impressed. In particular, I couldn't see how this was the successful launching pad of Takako Ota's singing career. The opening theme song Delicate ni Suki Shite didn't really strike me as memorable. I didn't even find it very catchy, although I think that's probably just me--the melody is cute and sweet and the words are repetitive in that pop-catchy way. Ota's voice acting as the ten-year-old Morisawa Yuu irritated me, too--she sounded too loud and brassy for a little girl, and it just seemed grating at first.
Things I did like: When Yuu first enters the invisible-to-everyone-but-her spaceship/arc and discovers Feather Star; the whole sequence is weird and dreamy and inventive, and Yuu is just super-excited and happy to fly around and watch all sorts of weird stuff happen. At one point she just randomly gets a sword and armor and then a freaking DRAGON appears, and Yuu is completely fine with it and just rides up to stab the dragon in its stomach. That is one badass ten-year-old.
The squabbling mascot alien cats, Posi and Negi, are pretty cute and charming, even though their purpose (teaching Yuu how to use her magical locket) is predictable. I suppose back when Creamy Mami first aired they would have been fairly original, though? I like that Posi, in particular, isn't exactly thrilled at giving a little girl magical powers. He comes off as a little mean and judgmental, but it's understandable.
The ending theme song, Pajama no Mamade, is everything I was hoping the opening theme would be. Cute, catchy, with charmingly saccharine lyrics. (I like my pop sappy, okay? XD )
Episodes 2-4
Mashing these together because they're all concerned with setting up the premise--how Yuu's alter-ego, Creamy Mami, is discovered and becomes a pop sensation, how Yuu manages her regular life with her budding pop-star career, how she relates to various characters, etc.
It's in the second episode, when Yuu is walking around the city as her older self and gets discovered by the manager of Parthenon Productions, that I began warming up to Ota as an actress. When she's acting as the older Yuu/Creamy Mami, the harshness she uses for Yuu is softened a great deal, which is my only real issue with her. (I shouldn't complain about that brassy quality, because Yuu is a pretty tough, in-charge girl. ♥ It's almost certainly an acting/director decision, and while I may not like it personally it makes sense, and I'm sure most people enjoy it.) Ota really does have a distinctive and memorable voice; I can't think of any other character that sounds similar to Yuu/Creamy Mami.
THAT SAID, I still don't like Delicate ni Suki Shite, and it's Creamy Mami's debut song in episode 2, albeit without lyrics. Incidentally, I do like how Mami's debut is genuinely off-the-cuff--her stage name comes from Yuu's parents' crepe shop, and her song is just a catchy tune that has no lyrics because how could someone come up lyrics right on the spot?
Other things of note: Good lawd but Yuu has a terrible habit of running into traffic and narrowly avoiding car crashes. I swear, every episode so far has had her narrowly escaping death by car collision at least once. This does lead to one of my favorite scenes so far, though--in episode 4, Yuu runs into the road after escaping a mob of reporters and is nearly hit by a cab. The cab driver gets out and yells at her; Yuu just congratulates his timing, gets into the cab, and demands he take her home. DAMN, GURL.
Yuu's male friends are kinda weird. Toshiro, is kinda-sorta her love interest, is pretty generic, while Midori is a total creeper who says things like YUU SMELLS SO SWEET OOOOOHHHH, OH I WANT TO HANG OUT WITH YUU SHE'S SO ~KAWAII~ and argh I just wish he'd go away. Mami's rival, Megumi, is kinda generic too, but she has some rockin' outfits. I especially like her pink-and-white super frilly and floaty dress in episode 4.
Aaaaand I'll end with a video of the second ending theme, which is TOTALLY AWESOME in a jpop anime idol way:
I ended up watching the first four episodes of Magical Angel Creamy Mami--I've had the fansub on my 'to watch' list for awhile now, and I was in the mood for some cute 80s jpop. Plus, Creamy Mami is one of the early magical girl shows that had a big impact on the genre, and was the first anime used to promote a then-unknown pop star--so I also wanted to see it for ~historical appreciation~ purposes. :P
Episode 1
Okay, I'll be honest--after the first episode I wasn't very impressed. In particular, I couldn't see how this was the successful launching pad of Takako Ota's singing career. The opening theme song Delicate ni Suki Shite didn't really strike me as memorable. I didn't even find it very catchy, although I think that's probably just me--the melody is cute and sweet and the words are repetitive in that pop-catchy way. Ota's voice acting as the ten-year-old Morisawa Yuu irritated me, too--she sounded too loud and brassy for a little girl, and it just seemed grating at first.
Things I did like: When Yuu first enters the invisible-to-everyone-but-her spaceship/arc and discovers Feather Star; the whole sequence is weird and dreamy and inventive, and Yuu is just super-excited and happy to fly around and watch all sorts of weird stuff happen. At one point she just randomly gets a sword and armor and then a freaking DRAGON appears, and Yuu is completely fine with it and just rides up to stab the dragon in its stomach. That is one badass ten-year-old.
The squabbling mascot alien cats, Posi and Negi, are pretty cute and charming, even though their purpose (teaching Yuu how to use her magical locket) is predictable. I suppose back when Creamy Mami first aired they would have been fairly original, though? I like that Posi, in particular, isn't exactly thrilled at giving a little girl magical powers. He comes off as a little mean and judgmental, but it's understandable.
The ending theme song, Pajama no Mamade, is everything I was hoping the opening theme would be. Cute, catchy, with charmingly saccharine lyrics. (I like my pop sappy, okay? XD )
Episodes 2-4
Mashing these together because they're all concerned with setting up the premise--how Yuu's alter-ego, Creamy Mami, is discovered and becomes a pop sensation, how Yuu manages her regular life with her budding pop-star career, how she relates to various characters, etc.
It's in the second episode, when Yuu is walking around the city as her older self and gets discovered by the manager of Parthenon Productions, that I began warming up to Ota as an actress. When she's acting as the older Yuu/Creamy Mami, the harshness she uses for Yuu is softened a great deal, which is my only real issue with her. (I shouldn't complain about that brassy quality, because Yuu is a pretty tough, in-charge girl. ♥ It's almost certainly an acting/director decision, and while I may not like it personally it makes sense, and I'm sure most people enjoy it.) Ota really does have a distinctive and memorable voice; I can't think of any other character that sounds similar to Yuu/Creamy Mami.
THAT SAID, I still don't like Delicate ni Suki Shite, and it's Creamy Mami's debut song in episode 2, albeit without lyrics. Incidentally, I do like how Mami's debut is genuinely off-the-cuff--her stage name comes from Yuu's parents' crepe shop, and her song is just a catchy tune that has no lyrics because how could someone come up lyrics right on the spot?
Other things of note: Good lawd but Yuu has a terrible habit of running into traffic and narrowly avoiding car crashes. I swear, every episode so far has had her narrowly escaping death by car collision at least once. This does lead to one of my favorite scenes so far, though--in episode 4, Yuu runs into the road after escaping a mob of reporters and is nearly hit by a cab. The cab driver gets out and yells at her; Yuu just congratulates his timing, gets into the cab, and demands he take her home. DAMN, GURL.
Yuu's male friends are kinda weird. Toshiro, is kinda-sorta her love interest, is pretty generic, while Midori is a total creeper who says things like YUU SMELLS SO SWEET OOOOOHHHH, OH I WANT TO HANG OUT WITH YUU SHE'S SO ~KAWAII~ and argh I just wish he'd go away. Mami's rival, Megumi, is kinda generic too, but she has some rockin' outfits. I especially like her pink-and-white super frilly and floaty dress in episode 4.
Aaaaand I'll end with a video of the second ending theme, which is TOTALLY AWESOME in a jpop anime idol way:
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