The three main shoujo shows that were on my watch list this season were Itazura na Kiss, Vampire Knight and Special A. I stalked the animesuki website in search of subs and once they were released I downloaded straight away. Special A was the final one to be released and I watched that 2 nights ago in bed so this post is now, the first day of my two week holiday, what great timing.
I’m a shoujo lover and keep in mind I have NOT read ANY of these mangas.
Itazura na Kiss
Story, in simpler terms
A not so smart (F-class) girl named Aihara Kotoko falls for the smartest guy in school, Naoki something (forget his name) but he rejects her cos she is a dumbass lulz. And stuff happens and her house is destroyed by a earthquake and she ends up living at her father’s friend’s place and guess who it is! NAOKI’S DAD!
Also known as Mischievous Kiss and was adapted as the popular TW drama “It Started With a Kiss“. 26 episodes are planned.
Vampire Knight
Story, in simpler terms
Yuuki’s earliest memory is being attacked by a vampire and saved by another named Kaname Kuran. She gets taken in by the headmaster of some school and idolizes Kaname who attends “night classes” for the vampires at the school. To protect the night class student’s identity as well as the day class students from getting injured she and Zero act as guardians who patrol the school.
26 episodes planned and I just ruined everything for myself by reading wikipedia. When will this get more dramatic?
Special A
Story, in simpler terms
The girl (forgets name) grew up as an invincible and strong girl but one day meets Takashima who ends up beating her in everything she does. Determined to beat him she enters his same school where they are placed with the top 7 students in the school. Day after day she challenges him but is always coming out as “Nii-san”, the name that plagues her.
24 episodes planned, Gina said that the series was hilarious, I want the anime to get to volume 9 because I saw some steamy romantic action.
Comparison
Style/ Visual Aesthetics
By far, Vampire Knight wins in this category. The series features stunning character designs for both males and females as well as a dark gothic color scheme that suits the series well. Yuuki is a very pretty heroine and both Zero and Kaname (I just typed Kame) are bishie material.
It’s a tie for S.A and InK because although S.A has a more modern character design and better animation the people are freaking elongated giraffes. Also Special A has an Ouran mood for me with all the sparkle *sparkles* and luxurious area but Ouran > S.A lol. Itazura na Kiss oozes ’90s shoujo style, the animation isn’t great but theres a pastel palette and classic character designs, Kotoko is cute but Naoki’s chin is HUGE and side characters… look like side characters.
Characters
Tie for InK and Vampire Knight. InK characters have potential and I know the TW drama so I know what these characters end like, as for Vampire Knight, Yuuki isn’t every special but I’m more interested in Zero and Kaname. I honestly think that the characters in S.A come off annoying thus far though and a little cliche.
Comedy
All these series’ boast a comedy factor each to varying degrees but in the end I think S.A wins.
InK and S.A are obviously in the comedy arena but funny scenes are also integrated into Vampire Knight which is kind of awkward sometimes but it is funny and breaks up the mood. The comedy in InK is mostly a miss this episode but the comedy in S.A is a hit more often than a miss. All made me chuckle but I am waiting for my LOL School Rumble romance scenes.
Romance
Romance is pretty much standard in shoujo and right now. Special A wins this for the simple reason because it’s so obvious that guy is in love with her, I really hope they pair off all the characters cos I’m a pairing junkie. InK is tied with Vampire Knight, I know the direction of InK but I’m more interested in the love triangle within Vampire Knight though at the moment I want Zero to end up with her because this reminds me of FuruBa with Yuuki as Tohru, Zero as Kyo (!! <3) and Kaname as Yuki.
Corn
I don’t know if it’s an honour to win this but I LOVE corn in shoujo because it makes everything 10% more laughable and funny. InK was CORNY CORNY CORNY CORNY from the start. CG bells ftw. S.A is a close second because Takashima had a hell of a corny speech and half stripped which was the best part of the episode. Vampire Knight wasn’t corny at all.
OP/ ED
I think Vampire Knight and InK win this. The OP and ED (ED ESPECIALLY!) for Vampire Knight are paired with some very spooky sequences and although they aren’t going onto my repeat list they definitely leave an impression. InK has some nice pop tunes that I can see in my itunes list , I really like the OP and ED actually but their sequences are less than stellar so it isn’t a clear first. S.A has the male voice actors singing but that was terrible honestly (worse than JE if I do say so myself), no OP this week
In Conclusion
I think that Vampire Knight had the best first episode, it was intriguing and the story interests me at this point. The whole vampire concept with it’s sexual temptation/ whatever ties in nicely with the romantic aspect and I’m a HUGE romance buff and pairing whore so I hope the series gets dramatic. It’s also the only series where I remember all the main lead’s names.
Special A and Itazura na Kiss are tied for me, they could be funnier because comedy is their main selling point. Right now it’s a little hit and miss but i do hope that once I warm to the characters it’ll get better.
They all have potential right now and I’ll be watching them for sure! WOW, I put in a lot of effort for this post.
Vampire Knight has got to be one of the best mangas at the moment.. but it takes Kino forvever to bring in the new volumes. The story is a bit too slow for me ..screw Zero..KANAME!!..so i’ll be watching S.A for the romance~
[…] 25, 2008 by mooray I’m still watching the three shows from last time and they’ve been subbed up to episode 3 so far so here is the second installment of my SHOUJO […]
You know i actually love all three and am watching them as the episodes come out along with the chapters of the mangas but all i want to see is how the endings will be for the anime. Will it reach to a point were the romance is explained in Vampire knight and S.A. or will they; keep us guessing, because i know the volumes take forever and now the romance is not decisive so i wonder how it will all be closed or will they have a second season in store for later….ah the possibilities.