Textbook Example of Gang-Rape and Mutilation

Hello everyone. It's (p)review time again. This post was actually intended to be about something else, however that was more than a year ago. Recently, I've come across something that fits the title just as well.

You may remember my post from some time ago, about two girls offering a stunning show and the soon-to-be sequel of just that stunning show, featuring two different girls that I was dying to meet. Yes, we're talking about my sneak peek at Kiddy Grade 2 and here we are, 2010 and with the sequel entitled Kiddy Girl-and is among the delicacies of the Fall 2009 anime list.

Usually, I don't compare anime series outright, except when we're talking about a sequel or a similar work from the same director/studio or an adaptation after a book. Since Kiddy Girl-and falls into the first category, I will definitely be comparing it to Kiddy Grade. Before I do that though, isn't it strange that they changed the title? Why isn't it Kiddy Grade 2, like they said in the teaser? Simple: because it's not a sequel. I's more of a spin-off. I've heard that they changed the production halfway through the series, and that's why it ended up being a spin-off, rather than a sequel.

Now, equipped with that thought, before I go on, I'm going to invite you all to watch the opening of the two (Kiddy Grade and Kiddy Girl-and), as a starting point for the comparison (as a note, I've chosen the first opening for Kiddy Grade).

So, here's Kiddy Grade:

 

And here's Kiddy Girl-and:

 

Awful, isn't it?!?! I mean, what is this?! Where should I start?! I'm surprised I managed to keep my composure this long. Kiddy Girl-and is crap. What even happened to the original character design? Ascoeur was supposed to have white hair and be this really cool girl, reminiscent of Lumière. Instead, we have a pink haired klutz doing all sorts of stupid things. The series has absolutely no action to it. Everything revolves around petty disputes and unimportant events. Everything is taken lightly with so much comic relief it's oozing everywhere. Of course, the series starts with the battle that ends Éclair's life (they probably spent a lot of money on that scene back when the series was supposed to be cool, and didn't want to scratch it).

I'm hugely disappointed in it. I have only watched a few episodes (due to the subbing group slacking off), that's why it's only a (p)review, so please, if there's a true Kiddy Grade fan out there that considers the spin-off to be worthy of the original, urge me to keep watching it, cause I have serious doubts. At the time being, my only hope is that a true sequel, the lost Kiddy Grade 2, will still be made at one point, and it will feature a serious story line and characters, as it should.

Phew... Now that that's off my chest, see me for my next review, Seagulls Also Cry.

Negative Marketing

I something something interesting on my way back to the dorm today. It was a white van, with a huge green logo on it. It belonged to some kind of energy usage optimisation company. I don't remember exactly, their slogan was something similar to "Energy costs money. We save both." The funny thing is, the car's engine was running, with no driver in sight. Now isn't that a waste? Talk about bad publicity...

PS: As a side note, this is the true 100th post. Due an error in the post numbering system, it appears that drafts were also counted when I published the last "100th post" post. So yeah, here it is! By the way, Happy New Year everyone!!!