Toon Zone Talkback - "The Familiar of Zero": Zero For Innovation, Ten For Enjoyment

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♥kyra♥

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This is the talkback thread for "The Familiar of Zero": Zero For Innovation, Ten For Enjoyment.


Here's hoping for season 2 to get released as well.
 
As I stated in the review, I'm aware it's pretty unoriginal from a comedy standpoint, but it was well-executed so I didn't mind so much. If it isn't already obvious, I find execution is as important to a show's success as concept. And hey, I did care about Louise and Saito by the end, so it must have been doing something right.

BTW, I didn't mention this in the review, but apparently these DVRAB are missing timecodes, which makes it harder to skip ahead of a few seconRAB in certain players. I myself don't utilize this feature, but I thought it was worth addressing for those who care. More info here.
 
In the technical aspect, its a very flawed release - no timecodes, which goes for Nanoha as well. Geneon really has fallen from when they were good, now they are BEI/Viz-level. Such a shame, I would've bought this if it hadn't been for the timecodes and on another level, the absurdly weak dub.

The only reason FoZ is popular is because of Kugimiya/Hino pairing fresh off of Season 1 of Shana. It's only right for the English counterparts, Tabitha St. Germain/Kristian Ayre to be Louise/Saito. English dubbing went back 20 years because of this series, I still believe Ocean was a more "common sense" choice to dub this - but I guess Geneon didn't have the budget(which showed).

Oh well.
 
Neglected to mention the music in my review. I very much enjoy it. There's this recurring, sneaky jazzy tune throughout the show that's always enjoyable to listen to. Seeing as how I've never seen Shana (though I plan to eventually), that didn't factor into my enjoyment of it at all. Again, I honestly didn't find the dub that bad. Louise, in my mind, was perfect, and most everyone else, save for Saito, seemed very well cast. And it was refreshing to hear new voices in the roles instead of someone we've heard a hundred times. It wasn't perfect, but I can think of numerous series with worse dubs than this, and I think saying that it set dubbing back 20 years is very melodramatic.
 
For those who didn't like the series, I hear that the original light novels are much better and more plot-oriented, and in particular, Louise is portrayed in a much more balanced way.
 
Ooh you've heard Nanoha's dub? How is it? I really want to show it to my anime club when I get it but I'm not sure if I should leave it dubbed or change it to subbed.

As for the "FoZ" review, that's my exact same thoughts on the matter. Unoriginal but continuously entertaining. Plus as the High Commander of the Rie Kugimiya fanboy club: North American District, I am obligated to love any show with her in it (Yes, including that one)
 
Yeah, Nanoha's dub is pretty good. It's got a couple of clear (and I mean CLEAR) amateurs in it, but the leaRAB are spot-on. It's only until we get to the secondary/background characters when you notice something's iffy.
 
Neglected to mention an annoyance with the DVRAB: No English credits! AFAIK, we still don't know who played Henrietta (among a few other characters), due to their absence. Let's hope that if season 2 is ever brought here, they make sure to add them this time.
 
I want to like the show, but the gag gets so tiresome. Saito does something pervy, and then Louise calls him a dog and whips him or beats him up. Gets old very quickly.
 
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Exactly. Personally, I also kinda resent the idea that "If we give soem of the female charaters really big boobs it'll make them more entertaining!" No it doesn't, but it does make me think that the producers think I'm stupid.
 
I personally enjoyed this series, but for mindless and simple fun. Though I will share my frustrations that anything major that Saito does to deepen the relationship he has with Louise, seems to always get reset whenever he does something pervy or just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But its kinda hard to blame Louise for being so insecure and beating the guy up. I mean she has some great looking competitors (Siesta, Henrietta, Kirche *well for a while*, Tifa *even though its more like she looks up to Saito*, Tabitha *well Louise might not feel threatened look wise but still someone to look out for*, and such). But its still very amusing to watch the story about these two.
 
The Familiar of Zero looks mildly interesting. I've seen some season 3 episodes, and it's an easy-to-understand series.

What about season 2? I kinda feel that season is underrrated, is there anything important happening in that season?
 
In my opinion, the Zero no Tsukaima abridged series is funnier than the actual show, and I think I may try the light novels

It's the same with Strike Witches, I prefer the original light novels over the anime
 
It's not a bad show, if you like a simple-middle plot and tons of fanservice. But the gags and jokes get tiring after a while.(I mean I watched all 3 series consecutively.) But the series does have it's fun points.

Also, on the subject of light novels, does anyone know when they're suppose to come out?
 
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