slr2moons | Skip anime...I've waited so long!

I just finished watching the first episode of the Skip Beat anime. It's difficult for me to describe how I feel. I'm suffused with joy that my beloved Skip has graduated to anime status! It's so strange and wonderful to see Nakamura's characters moving and talking....T.T I'm delighting with the seiyuu so far. Particularly Sho's. His voice is deeper than I expected, but the actor nailed Sho's ~~initial~~ snobbish, bratty nature perfectly. The artwork is surprising. Kyoko's eyes seem so strange in anime form. I love how they kept the shine and many facets, and the unusual shape (not all round and gentle) is striking. Ren seems rather different, even if we barely saw him in this first ep. Animation neccessitates less lines, so his hair seems a bit plain, but it's definitely him! (Nakamura always colored his hair a rich brown in her artwork, though in the anime they went with black. Hmmm.)

Content-wise, the first ep is a very accurate rendition of the first chapter. They shortened a few moments and added one scene at the end with Ren, but for the most part? It's spot-on. I wonder at the change of "Act #" to "Stage #". That's curious.

The part that worries me, and is keeping me from exploding with joy, is the production values. Skip has the storyline and comedy potential to really use animation for all it's worth, like Ouran. But the studio didn't go for it. The animation is quite limited, and reminds me strongly of what Madhouse did with the Nana anime. 90% of the motion is limited and drawn at average level, the remaining 10% is done well. This really concerns me since the premiere episode of a series usually has a very high budget, and is where you'll find the most consistent full-motion animation. That Skip's premiere was on a typical tv anime level concerns me. Does this mean they didn't give the premiere a bigger budget? Or did they, and ep 2 will take another animation quality step down?? I hope not...Skip deserves the best.

I really wish Bones had taken Skip on. When it comes to tv anime, I believe Bones is the best. The limited animation didn't do any of Skip's insanity the justice I was hoping to see. Perhaps my expectations were too high. *sniffle*

But at least this is one anime where I won't have to worry about being spoiled for what happens in the manga. At the moment I'm half-way through vol 18, and even if the anime is longer than the typical 26 eps, I doubt it will reach this much story. Shoujo anime these days rarely makes it beyond the single season mark, so I think everyone who is current with the manga release in NA should have no fear of spoilers for the entire series.

Overall, I'm happy, but not overjoyed. Slightly disappointed, but more than willing to watch more. Gambatte, Skip anime!! You can do it! You can win my eternal devotion! FAITO!!

(cross-posted to the Shojo Beat comm and my own journal)