Today’s meeting is designed to pick our new main series (and as a side effect, the all nighter starter show, which we’ll be picking from the main series nomination list). We’ve nominated a bunch of shows prior with as much variety as possible and we kicked off the meeting with a quick discussion on what we’re watching this season. Alex and I tried to get Tomas to un-drop G-Witch (and the last episode is apparently great!), and we then went into the timetable overview of the term.
The election for new exec is now going to be on a Wednesday, since last year’s election was FAR too long. Our events for this week include the all-nighter and also a Japan Soc collab which is later on the agenda to discuss.
We discussed adding a movie night to the list of events, and a manga/art social to tie into Warwick Draws (which Hawari is organising). We’d plan on starting the project in that event, and also organising a Tokusatsu night. After a brief discussion, we decided to add Warwick Draws into Week 2 Wednesday’s slot.
We then talked about suggestions for Tokusatsu night - since we definitely can’t just show Kamen Rider all evening. Seb suggested Japanese Spider-Man, and I proposed we show a bit of Kamen Rider Den-O. We decided to keep this decision pending, but put the night in Week 4, with Conran to look into room bookings.
Following on from this, Week 3 will be a buffer week for those with coursework deadlines, ahem me and Alex. The remainder of the term from Week 5 onwards will be up to the new exec - except for Karaoke which is fixed for week 6 and week 10, the latter of which will luckily be back in Avon Drama Studio.
Elections will have pre sign-ups but people can also turn up on the day to run for each position. The SU also now requires “proof of election” which will need to be submitted for whoever wins. We’ll also announce the election several times across platforms so people don’t miss it. Now that we also have a guillotine, cutting ballot paper is incredibly easy! We then went through the rules for the election, including that members can take part, and our roles on the day.
We then briefly laughed about how no one can use technology. Tomas also boasted about how he is a top 300 contributor on UltraStar, but is that really a flex? Unsure. He also made a point to not be horrible at the election, so you can trust we’ll be on our best behaviour.
Hawari then took the stage to talk about Warwick (Anisoc) Draws. For those who don’t know, this is a project idea by previous exec which we want to bring to life this year, in which the society draws an opening frame by frame all together. We’d make a dedicated channel for it, and also the opening we picked to do is Code Geass OP 1 - Colors! Hawari will be setting up which frames we’d individually draw and Tomas made a good point about the CG animation, and we’d need a creative idea to replace it since we can’t expect a human to do that. Specific rules would be that the frame needs to look the same, characters should be in the same position and have the same amount, and it “has to flow” (haha see the joke?). A lot of people who draw in the society draw on paper. We’d also mandate inking if doing it on paper.
Hawari also showed us the folder of all the frames and we then watched a few examples, so it’s safe to say we’ve got an exciting project on our hands! What followed was a lot of discussion on taking on frames and ideas for contributions.
Finally, a quick notice to me to add various posts to the Instagram and finish the announcement before tonight…
Main Series!
We then began with pitches, so we kicked things off with Black Lagoon.
- Black Lagoon - Alex’s choice - a very gritty techno OP with some great music. I had to audibly say the music slapped. The show follows plenty of characters including a group of pirates who hold an average guy hostage and end up taking him into their crew, showing their journeys through the seedy underworld.
- Cells at Work - Koh’s choice - the whiplash from the previous choice to this one was huge with the cute opening. The synopsis is self-explanatory - cells are working in a human body to do various things. Definitely a unique pick and a style of show we haven’t seen before, although we did joke about how much biology students will hate us if it gets shown.
- Dorohedoro - Seb’s choice - an anime with a very unique concept, following a lizard-headed amnesiac resident of the Hole, a place separated from laws and a violent test ground for magicians. The show is almost full CG and according to Tomas, “think Beastars CG, not Ex-Arm”.
- Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na! - Hawari’s choice - Eizouken shows the journey of 3 friends making a club to make anime, creating shorts and videos together. The show’s animation and concept isn’t overly technical but still goes into real-world concepts, and the opening is ultra catchy!
- Golden Kamuy - Koh’s choice - Golden Kamuy takes place in Hokkaido, in the early 20th century. It follows a man who is looking for money to fulfil the wish of his dead comrade, and encounters a legend about a fortune of gold hidden on the island. An interesting show filled with twists and a lot of historical grounding.
- Gunslinger Girl - Alex’s choice - a story set in Italy, with a beautifully sweeping opening. Using the latest advancements in technology, the Social Welfare Agency turns young hospital-bound girls into ruthless assassins. The series truly explores the underlying message of what it means to be human.
- Hanayamata - Seb’s choice - by far the most idoly show we’ve been pitched this meeting, Hanayamata joyfully shows the beauty of traditional yosakoi dancing. With a cheery opening, and animation by Madhouse, it’s an aesthetic and colourful pick.
- Heike Monogatari - Tomas’ choice - another historical anime on our list, it adapts a traditional 12th century epic called the Heike Story from Japan. The show features brilliant music by Ushio Kensuke (of Devilman Crybaby and CSM fame among others) and tells its story in a truly human way. Keen members will note it was also an exec choice last year.
- Hibike! Euphonium - Ana’s choice - a choice to add a bit of a variety to the meeting’s climate, with music and slice of life as its main genres. With an opening by TRUE, Hibike! follows Kumiko Oumae, a student who joins the band in high school after a crushing loss at competition in middle school, and her journey alongside friends in improving.
- Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica - Ana’s choice - Madoka is a great example of Shaft’s creativity, with an incredibly popular opening from ClariS. It follows Madoka Kaname, a student who meets Kyubey, a familiar with the power to grant any one of her wishes as long as she becomes a magical girl. The show hugely subverts the magical girl genre and takes a darker approach.
- Paranoia Agent - Tomas’ choice - a thought-provoking series by Satoshi Kon, being the only TV show he made. An elementary school student dubbed Shounen Bat is going around attacking various people with his baseball bat, but the police soon discover that his identity, goals and ideas are far more wide and alarming than they realised.
- Planet With - Tomas’ choice - an anime by Tomas’ favourite mangaka, Planet With follows a lovable cast of characters, including Souya Kuroi who is dealing with his amnesia and a set of strange dreams about an alien invasion. The opening has plenty of colours and the show promises to be a visual treat.
- Shigurui: Death Frenzy - Tomas’ choice - with an instrumental opening, this Madhouse show explores the fight between two samurai to gain their master’s sword and his daughter. The show is built on dramatic tension and the rivalry between these two samurai from the past to the present. The series explores loyalty and the depth of your ties to someone.
- Sora yori mo Tooi Basho - Hawari’s choice - some shows have surprising emotional depth despite cuter music and exteriors - and this is one of them. Following a group of girls who aim to go on an expedition to Antarctica for various personal goals, it displays the struggle in one’s youth to not miss out and to make the most of things despite every possible setback.
- Spice and Wolf - Conran’s choice - with a classic opening, that almost everyone knows, Spice and Wolf is pretty much the only romance show on this list. Following a merchant and a wolf deity and their journey to the latter’s home, the series is character-driven and the dynamic between the main characters is a beloved one.
- Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song - Koh’s choice - and finally, one of the newest series on our list. A futuristic show showcasing the dangers but also capabilities of AI, and again exploring what it means to be human. Tasked with saving the human race from a robot-induced calamity, Vivy is made to prevent a war to come in a 100 years time by changing many events, as she is the first autonomous AI. However, Vivy is not a fighter - and is actually designed to sing songs.
Elimination Rounds
What follows is all the pictures of what we voted for and how we ended up with our final 4 choices…
And with that, we were settled on:
- Black Lagoon
- Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!
- Hibike! Euphonium
- Spice and Wolf
That concluded our meeting, and we proceeded to look forward to Tuesday’s showing!