Genres: action, comedy, drama, romance Themes: ecchi, fanservice, harem, robot girl Objectionable content: Intense Number of episodes: 24 Vintage: 1999-10-05 to 2000-04-04
Plot Summary: During Japan’s Taisho Era (1912-1926), a scientist named Ayanokoji developed the Steel Angel - an artificial humanoid with superhuman physical abilities. While the Imperial Army wanted to use the Steel Angel as a new means of modern warfare, Ayanokoji wanted his creation to be a new step in the future of mankind. Thus, he defied orders from the Army and secretly made the Steel Angel codenamed “Kurumi”. Then one day, a young boy named Nakahito Kagura snuck into Ayanokoji’s house as a dare by his friends and stumbled upon Kurumi’s lifeless body. A sudden attack by the Imperial Army shook the house, causing Kurumi to fall on Nakahito. At that moment, their lips met, and Kurumi woke up from “the kiss that started a miracle”.
Staying with tradition, dragoon and I have set up a viewing schedule to watch the whole ADV released series (7 DVDs - SAK, SAK:Encore, SAK 2) as it’s a new series to me.
[size=16]For those that want to participate[/size]: If you have the DVDs: Watch them according to the schedule, then come back here to the forum to post your thoughts, findings, and views on the series thus far.
If you watch them subbed on CrunchyRoll: Watch them according to the episode count on the DVDs, then come back here to the forum to post your thoughts, findings, and views on the series thus far.
[size=16]Schedule[/size] Friday 7/10 - SAK DVD 1 (episodes 1-6) Saturday 7/11 - SAK DVD 2 (episodes 7-12) Sunday 7/12 - SAK DVD 3 (episodes 13-18) Monday 7/13 - SAK DVD 4 (episodes 19-24) Tuesday 7/14 - SAK: Encore (episodes 1-4)
2 days off for VOD/Online stuff
Friday 7/17 - SAK 2 DVD 2.1 (episodes 1-6) Saturday 7/18 - SAK 2 DVD 2.2 (episodes 7-12)
Thanks Coffee, especially for adding the episode info per DVD too. I should let you do this from now on!
Looking forward to re-watching this show again.
Anyone else who wants to participate is free too either through the DVDs or streaming on the above post. (Although personally, this is a series I’d never watch fully in Japanese)
[quote=chrisc]
I will join the party. Next week you can do the same thing with kaleido star.[/quote]
Yay, someone else!
Actually, though it hasn’t been discussed yet, a Princess Nine viewing is probably next.
I wanted to wait until this viewing session was over before discussing it with dragoon.
However, I’m pretty sure both dragoon and I are up for another Kaleido Star viewing session some time in the near future.
We can definitely do Kaleido Star viewing in the near future and have a group discussion, perhaps towards the end of summer? I watched it start to finish 2x in the last few months, and Coffee and I had a group discussion about it in the previous forum before it went down… so we’re kinda focusing on stuff that Coffee bought and hasn’t seen yet.
After the Steel Angel Kurumi and Princess Nine group viewing we can definitely consider Kaleido again!
[quote=ANN]
Voice acting is good on both sides. The dub adds in a little bit of minor profanity and localization, but is highlighted by strong performances, especially with Hilary Haag as Ryo.[/quote]
No wonder Dragoon loves it :)[/quote]
LOL yeah, Princess Nine is definitely one of my favorite Hilary Haag performances, maybe even my favorite (along with Tessa in FMP). For dub aficionados, PN is also considered the title that launched the careers of Vic Mignogna and Monica Rial (as their first big and notable performance roles) it also has tons of ADV’s stable of favorites of past and present. (miss the previous VAs… Jennifer Earhart and Kelli Cousins :()
Yep, dragoon does it again!
Another excellent pick that I bought due to your urgings.
I’m loving this so far!
It has a nice mixture of a lot of aspects and genre I really enjoy and look for in anime. I really like the animation as well, like the artistic switch between still action shots and motion action.
It has a lot of chibi, but not really of the type I actually dislike (well, mostly). The times that does have the type chibi I dilike, they actually took the characters back to normal (or vice versa) in animation steps, negating the entire reason I have a dislike for it. It’s that whole jumping from normal/serious to chibi then back again without those animation steps that really bugs me about the usage of chibi.
The soundtrack was pretty good, though not really memorable (might change my tune later however). Though some parts of it had me rolling. It had that cheesy 70s vibe to it that reminded my of when I was a child, when I use to watch Kung Fu Theater on Saturday afternoons.
Some highlights…
Had a good laugh about the episode titles for eps. 3 & 5, since Saki is so similar to Saké.
*
Kurumi’s jealousness makes for some hilarious moments.
Like when she begged Nakahito to kiss Saki, then pushed him way away saying the she was the only one allowed to kiss him.
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I love the extras!
Behind the scenes interviews are what I like in extras, more than episode commentary, since you get to see the VA cast, what they look like and how they move and talk on a normal basis.
Chris you have plenty of time to catch up, don’t miss the boat!
Coffee I shall not lead you wrong!
Glad you enjoyed it. The first volume was your typical introduction to some of the characters, world and plotline… The best is yet to come though!
The aspect I really enjoy about the series is the balance between charm, romance and comedy… this series has a lot of heart and you’ll be getting to see that in later episodes.
I had forgotten how much I love Steven Foster productions, well, you all know how highly I think of him after the old forum’s (Pani Poni Dash and Le Chevalier D’Eon threads)… but watching these and the very cool 30 minute feature, all the extras just reinforced my memories. The insights provided in the 30 minute video feature were great, and I loved the bits about Hilary Haag’s previous roles, and Claudia Black’s inclusion. Steven Foster’s ADV productions are always something very robust and rich (recording ambiance in Gilgamesh, etc) - I miss the old days.
As with some of the older Foster productions, purists always get all bent out of shape when he caters the production for English fans… but this is one case where localization definitely spiced things enough to make it more entertaining. Like the earlier scene where Kurumi answered/shut the door on the Doctor. The JP version was dull with a it’s the mister line… but in the English adaptation, it was changed to, It’s that guy that keeps bugging me - coupled with Kelli Cousins’ delivery, the result was far more entertaining in my book.
Can’t wait to rewatch more of it… it’s almost like watching it for the first time again since I saw it last 2 and half years ago.
That was awesome!
But Gah! It left off with such a cliffhanger.
Now I have to wade through tonights AS anime waiting until tomorrow to find out what happens!
Leaving off after Karinka kicked ever loving hell out of Saki, right as the fight was about to start between Kurumi & Karinka just sucks!
I know it’s only 24 hours, but dammit, I can’t wait that long!
*
Kurumi’s jealousness is just too funny though. That, mixed with her obliviousness of Saki’s feelings and Nakahito’s boyish shy nature, just keeps a smile on my face constantly (inbetween the awesome battles that is).
*
Eiko & Yoshino (the two spies following the group) also make it rather humorous. Especially when Yoshino is watching Nakahito getting undressed at the doctors office commenting on his “cute little body”, while a little later we find out Eiko has a crush on Dr. Amagi and both calling each other hypocrits.
Was unavailable yesterday so I didn’t have a chance to post but I am on schedule. Surprised you did not post about Vol 3 yet! Don’t worry about double posting, it’s only an issue if it’s done within a short period of time or unimportant type post.
Volume 2 and 3 were packed with a lot of fun moments. The comedy in Volume 3 with Karina (Hilary Haag) was as some of you would guess, one of my favorites.
[spoiler]Part of the charm of this series is how it gracefully transitions between comedy, drama and romance… but especially how this is reflected by Kurumi herself, the way she can go from yelling to songbird-like to annoyed, running the gamut within seconds. It’s a difficult role to play and I think Kelli Cousins does a fantastic job on it.
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One little moment I enjoyed in Volume 2 was when Dr. Amagi mentioned how she’ll need to look after them like their mother… then a few minutes later she got up out of the futon and said, scratch that make that older sister. There’s a very sophisticated form of comedic timing in this anime that is not common in my view.
I too love Kichijouji and Koganei and their comic relief antics, Kichijouji and her interest in Dr. Amagi and Koganei in her interest in Nakahito are most amusing… The way Koganei talks about Nakahito is surprisingly hilarious given the subject matter. Also enjoyed their scenes at the fair and at the train. LOL
The General sending the 2 on a mission… When we see Karinka’s drawing on his desk. What an old perv.
One of the memorable parts where I enjoyed the writing being modified a bit was when Kurumi and Karinka were arguing in Volume 3 and Kurumi made a reference about Karinka not being like Karinka… in the original it was just her saying about her not being bad. The combination of the modification and how Manison delivered it came off a lot more humorous to me.[/spoiler]
The Volume 2 and 3 extras were particularly good and gave a lot of insight to the actresses and Foster’s train of thinking. He does a lot of out of the box thinking that helps give the fans unique insights to the productions and the VA talents that a lot of people were always asking/curious to know about.
DVD 3 was a rather fun one, conversely, it’s also the most serious one so far.
They did a real good job at leaving cliffhangers for these last two DVDs. The parts they leave off at really make you want to see what’s going to happen on the next DVD.
With the addition of Karinka to the group, and all her little scheming, it makes for some really fun moments. We’ve both said it before, Hilary Haag is just awesome with firey spirited girl roles.
*
Along with the humor, there’s a more serious tone in this volume, as we start to see some changes in Kurumi, like the dark wings. We also find out who is behind the theft of Dr. Ayanokouji’s lab, simply known as the Academy, and who they are and where they come from.
*
Mikhail, who is part of the Academy, kidnaps Nakahito, and discusses with him, what the angel hearts actually are, as well as what the Mark II Heart is. In giving Nakahito this information, he also trys to get Nakahito to agree to, in essence, killing Kurumi by removing the Mark II before it’s too late.
And this is where we leave off, with the final volume viewing tonight.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Great comments on hitting on all the important points of the volume, as was your last one.
I have tonight all cleared for the final volume (kind of a shame though that we’re coming across the break on Tuesday since the OVA is next before it segues to a totally different SAK, season 2). Around what time are you watching it?
Indeed, re, Hilary Haag. I’m so pumped to re-watch Princess Nine! When are we scheduling that anyway? Do you need a break after this one or are we scheduling it in succession?
[quote=dragoon]
Great comments on hitting on all the important points of the volume, as was your last one.
I have tonight all cleared for the final volume (kind of a shame though that we’re coming across the break on Tuesday since the OVA is next before it segues to a totally different SAK, season 2). Around what time are you watching it?
Indeed, re, Hilary Haag. I’m so pumped to re-watch Princess Nine! When are we scheduling that anyway? Do you need a break after this one or are we scheduling it in succession?[/quote]
The break is on Wed/Thurs, so we get the OVA in before the change to season 2, so it actually works out well with the gear change.
I wanted to wait until this series was done before any schedulling though. Princess Nine is definitely next, but we also have Air Gear on the list, as well as another Kaleido Star viewing to schedule, so I wanted to wait to see how open your schedule was before commiting to anything.
Though if you want to start Princess Nine in succession, we can do that if you wish. That would be 3 DVDs / break / 3 DVDs starting this Sunday.
I usually start watching around 7-7:30pm when I can open the windows in the apartment to cool it off.
Oops, I’m totally confused this afternoon. For some reason I thought our break was Tuesday-Thurs… I have no idea why I was thinking that today, when we’ve done this enough times that it should be ingrained in my DNA. My head’s still in the weekend. LOL!
Seeing the trailers of Princess Nine in the SAK DVD extras has made me looking forward even more to seeing it again, so, I’m good to go with Princess Nine, after a day or two break to wrap up discussion whatever for SAK… We can start Princess Nine monday, tues or fri next week. Your call, I can adapt to the schedule. Once you decide, if you can post it on the Princess Nine thread and group like you did with this one, that’d be great. Thanks.
