Comments on: Manabi Straight! - 12

By: AS

AS — Sun, 27 May 2007 23:22:14 +0000

Great ending to a great anime. Almost moved me to tears lol, still feel that kind of tear eye motion coming on. Manabi’s decision to go do everything was kind of expected, I believe she should maybe stick to one thing and excel in it like maybe a kindergarten teacher. Mikan’s decision to go to America was definitely a surprise, I agree she should have stayed in Japan, what’s here in America lol. Mucchi’s decision was no surprise although all the “attention” she was getting was kind of funny. Mei was bound to go to college. Momo’s was no real surprise neither, though I don’t know if she got in for smarts, most likely her visual arts ability or her daddy’s money, she’s an heiress but doesn’t really go around showing off her money which I really like about her character. The ending theme song was a nice re-make of the intro. I still hang out with my friends but we will eventually split up, hopefully we can stay friends though like this anime.

By: omo

omo — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:09:06 +0000

I love this show~ It’s so fulfilling thematically and in how things resolve. It’s also super cute.

I’m pretty sure Manabi is not a “half-full/half-empty” type of person although she’s definitely a “massugu GO!” type of person. I suppose that puts her squarely as an optimist.

But what’s much more amazing is how she pulls everyone around her together.

By: Adun

Adun — Thu, 24 May 2007 00:59:56 +0000

suguru: I don’t think Manabi is the “half-full/half-empty” type of person, but more of a person who doesn’t care for such an indepth perspective. To me she is more of a “wow there is stuff in there” kind of person.

Pete Zaitcev: Mikan’s hands look old? That’s probably just the way they have been animated. Also for 1 year and 5 months, I do agree she would’ve at least looked older especially since she went to America, where the culture would be different. Although that may change in the 13th episode.

By: Pete Zaitcev

Pete Zaitcev — Wed, 23 May 2007 16:50:06 +0000

I only have some small notes to list.

One odd thing that threw me off was how old Mikan’s hands look. It was in the part where she returns from America, so I expected her to become much older looking, but in reality she hasn’t changed. The hands though were always drawn the same way (see the example where she is holding her passport). Teens do not care for their nails in the same way. They either ignore them and never polish them or use really crappy enhancements. Oh well, Ufotable…

I hate taggers so much, and the glorification of it pissed me off. But of course I just had to suck it up and deal with it. It’s just a great series otherwise.

The epilogue in PIP during ED was a very nice touch. I love those and haven’t seen a good one since Stellvia.

By: suguru

suguru — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:46:00 +0000

I really loved this series–and yeah, Mikan did seem like the main character more than Manabi, especially with Mikan doing the narration and probably getting the most screentime too. I thought the scene where the American woman talks to Mikan on the plane (probably in English) and Mikan hesitates for a moment, then starts a conversation, was well done too and shows that she’s come a long way and is still growing as a character. Mikan explaining to Manabi how she can “see” what Manabi sees was a good scene too–rather than seeing a declining school, Manabi saw the possibilities for the festival, turning a drab place into something more exciting and fun.

I think Manabi Straight just shows the difference your attitude can make–where one person could have just dragged along with everyday life at a declining school, Manabi saw the glass as ‘half-full’ versus ‘half-empty’ and definitely got the most out of her time at Seioh, making it more fun for everyone else in the process. It’s true in real life too, it’s always easier to complain or do nothing than to try to make the best of things, but the people who do the latter are usually happier. It’s good to see ufotable back with a strong, well-animated series, I liked Dokkoida and Shinobuden so I was really looking forward to this and will definitely be looking forward to whatever they do next.