Shinigami no Ballad: Shinigami's Ballad

Preview by Triad:

http://a.scarywater.net/triad/...ad_Trailer.avi.torrent

" Anime adaption of Hasegawa K-Ske`s series of Shinigami no Ballad "lite novels". The six (so far) Shinigami no Ballad novels tell the story of "Momo the Girl God of Death."

Description (translated from official site):
The girl wrapped in white, Momo ...
In her hand, a sickle shining dully.

Beside her, a winged black cat, Daniel ...
Yes, she is one who transports human souls - a "shinigami"
When the white shinigami gently touches a human`s heart, the world becomes filled with tenderness and sorrow ...

At the end of each episode is a heartwarming story. "

http://www.momo100100.com/
http://www.animenewsnetwork.co...edia/anime.php?id=6201
http://www.animenfo.com/animet...j,shinigami_no_ba.html
http://anidb.info/perl-bin/ani...how=anime&aid=3572

as much as some descriptions are sometimes WAY off... this phrase "At the end of each episode is a heartwarming story"... for me, that's not very interesting.

This series actually caught my attention a little while ago. But it looks like the first episode is aired today in Japan, so obviously I couldn't find subs...

That "heartwarming story" does sound a bit dubious, but since we are talking about Japanese anime here, not Hollywood productions, I might still have a look at this. Hantsuki was also a heartwarming story, although it was one long (if you can call 6 eps long) story. This seems to be 6 separate one ep plots.

KuroNeko was telling about this series on their front page news, so I wonder if they are going to sub this as well. As always, it would be good to have multiple subbers, not just one.

Sounds interesting to me, but that could be because to me It sounds like it shares similarities to Neil Gaiman's Death, which I thought was a wonderful series.

This anime looks like is going to be sad

i'm gonna wait to see what others have to say about this one... Could be good (even if sad) or it could be fluffy 'heartwarming' crap.

anyone know when the first episode airs?

Hmm... Either today or tomorrow. Well, I had a look at only third party websites, and KuroNeko's website says thursday, whereas Mahou's grand airing time chart says friday.

A little composite image from the trailer material:
http://www.gotwoot.net/d/1719-1/shiniballad.jpg

First episode by C1Anime
http://a.scarywater.net/c1anim...BFBDDDE%5D.avi.torrent


Fist episode by Kuroneko
http://85.8.4.222:6969/torrent...c2a331fefd0d8214f1a9d7

I think i died a little on the inside, this show seems to have no real focus besides dealing with death and thus involves some bleak subject matter. Did this episode summerize one of those books mentioned earlier? And if so, are the stories anything but "How to deal with/grow from death" stories? Guess I'll watch one more, but man was that depressing, heart-warming...not for me.

Jesus H crist are we gonna have to watch some little girl/boy die every episode cause i wont be abel to deal with that shit

well these 'it was so sad' remarks have sparked my interest. I'm a glutton for angst (don't confuse that with being emo though or I'll slit you from ear to ear) and a good cry everyone now and again can do wonders for the soul.

As for fansub groups, Triad released the trailer, but not the first episode yet? I've never seen a KuroNeko release, and I like what c1 does with Mushishi, so I think I'll try them for now. anyone know anything on the groups subbing this show?

Sorry, masamuneehs, but this first episode won't serve you at all. It was a failure. I can see how this series could work to some extent in general, but the execution of this first ep didn't really work. Based on the preview the second episode could be a better one.

There were a few distinct problems:
1) The whole kitten thing was like irresponsible play for the two kids (which it basically was considering Mai apparently had tried it before and got scolded. And learnt nothing, it seems), and thus I only pitied the cat, and actually hoped it would end up to somebody who actually has the means to take care of it, or just die.
2) I found the appearence of Momo hilarious, and not solemn at all. I can't specifically explain why, but it just felt funny to me. Needless to say, because of the point 1), I would have liked Kouta to just watch the shinigami kill the kitten. Although I doubt she could have killed it anyway. It looked like a perfectly healthy being.
3) The Shinigami Momo sentenced the kitten to an unsecure future of being taken care of by a young kid who didn't want the thing in the first place. It'll soon end up being a stray cat. And such an irresponsible action was actually the teaching of this episode: Pick up a cat even if you can't take care of it.

Shinigami's Ballad episode 1 by Triad, which I'm 99% sure it'll be the best version, at least the best translated.

http://a.scarywater.net/triad/...allad_-_01.avi.torrent

http://a.scarywater.net/c1anime/%5BC...5D.avi.torrent

Episode 2 of Shinigami Ballad is out from c1
gosh i really want to figure out how to give names to links...

Actually it's also out from KuroNeko. Since I got the first ep from them, I'll just try to be consistent and get the second one as well.

Episode 2 - KuroNeko

Edit: Well, I suppose it was a decent episode. Much better than the first one, anyway. Still, I think the stories are kind of light and a bit hollow. They are just lacking impact. But perhaps cramming enough emotion to really make a difference isn't all that easy in a single episode plots.

I can't help but wonder who this show is aimed at. It's lacking for mature audience, yet I can't picture kids being interested in things like this. Perhaps adolescent girls...

Episode 2 is out by Triad:

http://a.scarywater.net/triad/%5BTri...02.avi.torrent

I should start watching this soon.

Episode 4 is out:

Episode 4 - KuroNeko

Also, ep 3, because there's no link to it here:

Episode 3 - KuroNeko

Even if I risk repeating myself, I still think this series is partly empty. It's cute and all, no denying that (if somebody here actually values simple cuteness as a virtue), and it has plots, even if they are only single episode plots. But all in all the basic idea behind this show wasn't quite up to the task of supporting a whole series.

Still, it's not boring, and the quality is good. There certainly are worse series to follow, so in that sense no reason why not check this out, as well.

Edit: Partly in reference to Masa's post below the reason why I haven't dropped this series is that I'm very poor at dropping series before the end. I tend to stick to them unless they are especially gross. This show is just empty, not terrible.

watched episode 3

dropped this series like a ton of bricks. so many better animes going on right now...

see what Kraco said

With Masa dropping this like a sack full of stones, I might be the only one still watching this, but nevertheless, here's a link:

Episode 5 - KuroNeko

Edit: 100% cliche story guaranteed.

Since this is the last episode, it's safe to say this is the last time this thread will be bumped.

Episode 6 Final - KuroNeko

This was the only episode in the series that really had even a half decent plot. It started just like the other ones, but this actually had a nice twist. It couldn't fill the general emptiness that plagued this show from the beginning till the end, but it made this single episode a working one.

All in all this is one of those series you will completely forget after a month. Due to the single episode plots, the characters changed all the time, and despite the name and the outward appearence of the show, Momo the Shinigami really wasn't a main character. She was more like a forceful product placement, if you allow me to be so blunt... Practically nothing of her character was learned, and despite the fact she carried out many schemes during the series, she or her actions never appeared to be a part of something greater.

Well, I'll play the role of a Shinigami now and let this thread sink to its grave. For my own part, anyway.