Quote:
Originally Posted by Haak
I think that's a good distinction to make. I vaguely remember similar complaints coming up in the Sound Euphonium thread way back when it first started as well. In my opinion, I've observed three main types of the "Cute Girls Doing" (CGD) genre. - Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT) - e.g. K-On
- Cute Girls Doing Difficult Things (CGDDT) - e.g. Sound Euphonium, High School Fleet, (I haven't seen it but maybe Girls Und Panzer counts?)
- Cute Girls Suffering (CGS) - e.g. Madoka Magica and all the various knock offs.
These aren't meant to be rigid labels. Shows that are predominantly one type can still have elements of the other, particularly between the first two which is where I think the confusion happens.
That said, I'm not totally sold on the first episode. One main reason why Sound Euphonium worked for me is because of its excellent characterisations. In CGDDT shows, focusing too much on the "Difficult Thing" can often lead to flat characters that aren't much better than characters in CGDCT shows and this anime is in danger of falling into that trap (and the comedy is a little stale too). I'll watch more episodes before making my final judgement. I also have personal issue with CGDDT shows in that there's often no real storytelling point behind that "CG" bit other than cynical money making, and that they'd be better off with a more gender balanced cast (A bit of a hypothesis but I imagine the main reason CGDDT shows have turned out so popular is because they mimic the increasingly virulent idol culture that has this kind of drama at its core?). Sometimes I can look past it, but even shows like Sound Euphonium will annoy me because of this. |
Girls und Panzer would definitely fall under that category... in general, I think you could viably describe it as a cross-over between CGDCT and a sports anime (except the sport is made up - but still very well thought-out). And BTW in a lot of occasions sports anime ARE like that, except for boys. I've been watching Haikyuu, there's a couple of support female characters, one of which might be a love interest for the MC, but it's all very much on the sidelines. The focus is squarely on the sport, manly friendships, manly rivalries, and manly sexual tension
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