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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 29 March 2005 21:03 |
 I still see way to much of Fushigi Yuugi flashing before my eyes when I watch this show - yes, Harakanaru Toki no Naka De ~Hachiyoushou~
continues to tread some fairly familiar ground, and with it still not
showing much in the way of its own identity, I'm wondering if it's
worth sticking with it...
3 - Onmyouji
So the Hachiyou are those who have been chosen to protect the Ryuujin
no Miko - Akane - and the Dragon Stones they've 'received' are the
visible sign of their position. Problem is, Akane's not
particularly interesting in being anyone's Miko and just wants to
return to her own world - something Tenma and Shimon would be quite
happy with, as well. Plans on finding a way to return home are
put on hold, however, when Akane is taken seriously ill.
Meanwhile, the fourth member of the Hachiyou makes his appearance...
4 - Hanashizume
Tenma's got his best grumpy head on - he's convinced Akane's just being
used by the people around her for her own purposes, and it's beginning
to annoy him. Or maybe it's just a bad case of jealousy.
That evening is the festival of Hanashizume, where a ritual is to be
performed to remove the evil from the land of Kyou - naturally, Akane
and her friends are attending, but the Oni has his own plans to disrupt
the ritual...
5 - A House in the Fog
While Akane gets all worked up over the Oni's broken mask (amazing what
a glimpse of a bishounen will do), Tenma's continuing to raise all
sorts of hell with Fuji-hime about what sort of effect the powers of
the Dragon God will be having on Akane. After a brief flashback
to show how he came to be so attached to Akane, he almost works up the
courage to confess his feelings to her - if it weren't for a
badly-timed visit from a thieving demon...
I'm definitely losing interest here - while bishounen-overload is pretty much to be expected from shows like Harukanaru, the main problem here is that most of them are really suffering from a lack of personality, and the ones that do
have some backbone of their own are turning out to be quite
unlikeable. Add in that Akane herself seems to have no real mind
of her own, and that the story isn't really progressing any, and you're
left wondering why you should makes the effort. Say what you will
about Fushigi Yuugi's failings, but at least you knew
within a few episodes what was going on, and Miaka always knew in her
own mind what she should be doing.
Put it all together, and the end result is that while Harukanaru
has some promising underpinnings, there's not enough being done with
them to make this a show that's worth following. Pass.
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