FORTUNE DOGS EPISODE 1
i can't find anywhere online to watch it. ive searched everywhere. it doesnt exist on any classic anime piracy streaming websites, i highly doubt there's anyone fucking torrenting it, and the reuploads that i
think ive found online (on niconico) are,
1. only available in japanese, no english subtitles
2. REGION LOCKED TO JAPAN SO I CAN'T EVEN
WATCH THE JAPANESE DUB IF I WANTED TO!!!!!!!!!!
the other interesting thing is that it seems like there's a tiny sector of spanish speakers that mildly care more about this anime than english speakers. and i was able to find a youtube channel reuploading some episodes of it (dubbed in spanish.). and i would've happily cluelessly watched that too. But they didn't upload the first fucking episode.
So i can't.
Everyone has failed me.
i'm not paying 48 dollars for the dvd.
FORTUNE DOGS EPISODE 1 (FOR REAL THIS TIME)
unfortunately i don't know spanish, so i'm flying totally off of context clues and occasionally recognizing random words. they say pequeño a lot which is fitting when the show is about puppies.
the first characters we meet are a german shepherd (boy) and a gray cat (girl). the gray cat is named grace. i tried listening so fucking hard for a name for the german shepherd but i dont think he's named.
german shepherd tells grace about how he saw the kennel they live across from getting a brand new puppy- and before he can finish his story grace is already running off to the kennel to see the puppy. i guess she really likes puppies?
inside the kennel we get to see a whole bunch of different puppies running around and playing (and also one puppy that seems to have depression. sad!)
grace sticks her head through the bars of the kennel cage (it's the type where people can stick their hands in over the top. you know?) to talk to the new puppy. his name is alex. grace is then kicked out of the kennel because she is a wild cat.
it's around this point that we get to 'meet' ai. she really wants a puppy but her mom won't let her get one. (and she's hanging out with the puppy that has depression. sad!). this is all we really see of her and then she goes home
the next day, grace sneaks into the backyard of the kennel when all of the puppies are out eating. she beckons alex over to The Bushes to talk to him in private. she wants to help him get adopted. (for some reason? is it because he's so ugly?)
inside the kennel, grace gives him very helpful instructions like "WAG YOUR TAIL AT PEOPLE. FASTER. FASTER!!! FASTER!!!!!!!!!" and this is literally the only advice that she gives him. and then she is kicked out of the kennel again.
ai comes BACK to the kennel with her mom, because she's allowed to get a puppy actually!
but then ai gets really sad and starts crying. why's she crying? She doesn't just want one puppy... She wants all of them!!!! (this could be wildly inaccurate but that's how im interpreting it ok.)
ai and her mom argue for a little bit before her mom plucks up alex at complete random and goes "This is your dog now." and hands him to her. and she's already done paying for him by the time ai realizes whats happening. she's still sad about it (maybe because of how ugly alex is?) but the kennel owner comforts her and gives her some wise words of wisdom and now ai is okay with owning alex. The End!
do i want to watch more?
... .... i don't think that i can either way. but if i had the ability i'd say probably not. it's just wildly outside of my age demographic i think this was built to be like Baby Sensory Dog Show with occasional story crumbs to keep the older siblings in check. there's a lot of scenes of just puppies puppying around which is very cute
favorite screenshots
at one point there was a puppy bathtime scene and the guy giving them a bath looks like human wheatley. you also get to see alex when he was first obtained by the kennel
HAIBANE RENMEI EPISODE 1
really, really cool. i feel like it has a kind of understated coolness? like it knows that its cool it doesnt have to push itself to prove its cool factor to other people. either you get it or you don't.
i guess it'd help if i explained what it was about huh? well i'm apprehensive about that a little bit. going in completely blind really helped immerse me in the world and story i feel like, because the main character is also completely fucking clueless as to what's happening. she doesn't have any memories! if i just explained everything to you it'd be a play-by-play of the episode but slightly worse because you don't get to see the animation!
i also really really want to talk about the artstyle. it has a really charming way of drawing people and the landscape shots are REALLY cool. it has a very unique way of using a lot of muted colors, it makes it feel dreamlike and grounded at the same time. (screenshot below does not include main character)
the 'plot' of this show isn't immediately clear, but i think it'll definitely have more to do with character introspection and reflection, rather than anything shounen-like "There's a Monster we gotta Kill It". there's also definitely themes of death and the afterlife. They all have fucking halos. they're not angels or human, though. they call themselves haibane. all of the characters are women and i like all of their designs a lot. it reminds me of
boogiepop a little bit!
if you do decide to watch this one, i will spoil that there is a very graphic and intense body horror scene, but it is also really really cool and i enjoyed it a lot. & the scene that follows immediately afterwards is very sweet. im really digging this show can you tell? LOL
oh yeah and because all the characters are ladys its a bit gay. i hope the rest of the show is a bit gay too.
do i want to watch more?
YEEEESSS yes yes yes yes!!! Enthusiastically Yes! it has such a unique and interesting and mysterious presence. i want to see how it turns out. and i definitely want to learn more about the characters. they introduce literally SIX characters in this first episode but they all have unique characterizations and im curious and invested in all of their deals. which is REALLY impressive considering some anime can introduce like 2-3 characters and i dont really give a fuck about any of them. REALLY good sign for haibane renmei!!!
favorite screenshots
these are mainly just to show off more of the artstyle. the more i look at it the more im a really big fan of it.
YEAR 2002 OVERALL STATS
🎦
I want to CONTINUE: 5️⃣ out of 🔟 shows ‼️
🎨
ARTSTYLE SCORES:
FULL METAL PANIC - 9️⃣
KANON - 4️⃣
it would be so much higher if it weren't for THOSE FUCKING MMMMMOUTHS.
CHOBITS - 6️⃣
TENSHI NA KONAMAIKI - 2️⃣
it's really rough...
PRINCESS TUTU - 🔟
WITCH HUNTER ROBIN - 7️⃣
NARUTO - 7️⃣
HANADA SHOUNEN-SHI - 4️⃣
FORTUNE DOGS - 5️⃣
HAIBANE RENMEI - 🔟
📏
MEDIAN SCORE: 6️⃣ AND A HALF‼️
AWARDS CEREMONY!!!
🖌️ ART -
FULL METAL PANIC!
🔖 STORY -
TENSHI NA KONAMAIKI!
🎶 SOUND -
PRINCESS TUTU!
❌ UN-RECOMMENDATION -
HANADA SHOUNEN-SHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EPISODE FIVE IS TITLED "OLD DICK GRANDPA" IN CASE YOU FORGOT.
and last but most certainly not least, the coveted 🌟
FAVORITE award award is going to...
W-WHAT'S THIS?! IT CAN'T BE... IT'S A
TIE?!?!?!?!