Author: psgels

Sarai-ya Goyou – 08

by psgels, posted in Sarai-ya Goyou



This episode seemed to me like the start of the arc before the finale. You know, the arc that isn’t exactly at the centre of the plot, but rather is meant to develop some of the most prominent side-stories. With this series, that is about Matsu: in this arc we finally get to know him for real, and it’ll probably get resolved in the next episode, before the series can close off with a finale dedicated to Masa and Yaichi. At least, if the creators know what they’re doing and don’t just cut off this show without any conclusion or second season in sight. That’s the ONE disadvantage of this series: it’s an adaptation.

In any case, this episode was as wonderfully paced as usual. The plot is a bit more straightforward, now that Matsu has been captured and all, but the creators really made sure for it to make sense within the story. Matsu is portrayed as the noble thief. He may steal, but he’s doing it all to repay the debts that were paid to him to save his son. by a store owner. Before, we’ve already seen that when he operates alone, he becomes very reckless. He’s only the careful Matsu when guided by Yaichi, and I think that Yaichi knows this very well.

What made this episode for me however were again the tiny things, like the interplay between Masa and Yaich, and how at first sight Masa might be another one of those wimps, though his lines are all surprisingly calculated and sharp. This episode also stressed how important the friendship is in keeping Goyou together. I mean, if Yaichi wasn’t there, there would be no reason to keep doing it. Instead, everyone is acting not just out of loyalty and admiration of Yaichi (which only seems to be the case for Matsu), but also out of loyalty for each other. Masa is indeed very interested about Yaichi, but he has also gotten attached to Ume and Otake. Ume on the other hand actually nearly left, however due to what happened to Matsu he just couldn’t leave.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ookiku Furikabutte – 36

by psgels, posted in Ookiku Furikabutte



Ah, crap. Even I could see that this episode was rushed. The thing that set Ookiku Furikabutte apart from all of the other baseball series is that it takes every pitch seriously: it spends time at animating even the most unimportant pitches, treating them like they have the potential to change the entire game. In this episode, you could clearly see the creators rushing through these unimportant pitches. This really sucks. Even though there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, it really looks like the creators are planning to end this match at episode thirteen. There can only be one reason why they would suddenly decide on that.

I knew it was too good to be true, for A-1 to keep such an incredible animation-quality throughout this entire second season, while also animating Working and Senkou no Night Raid alongside it, added to Kuroshitsuji II, Occult Academy and Sora no Oto. They like,tripled their capacity in 2010 or something? The worst thing here is that trying to cram a new season into thirteen episodes just doesn’t work for this series. The reason why the first season was so awesome was exactly because of that gruelingly long match that took up eleven episodes. With this, they took away one of the best parts of this series.

And that really is a shame because this episode really was excellent as usual. Take a look at the point where Abe grabbed Mihashi’s arm tightly and let go of it again: it actually changed colour like you’d expect with a real arm. This episode was full of these tiny details that by far would have surpassed the first season if it actually would have gotten 26 episodes to fully drag out this series.

You can see the lack of time the most at the opposing team. Really, we only got to see a lot of the pitcher and catcher. Who are the other guys? To be honest, I have no idea. They lack the individuality of the team of the first season.

I know that there is still an option for a third season, but seriously: don’t hope for it. There have been plenty of series (and sequels) who suffered the fate of never being completed, even the very popular series couldn’t escape it. It’s the one thing I hate the most about anime: the tendency to not just fully animate something but rather just animate the beginning and then see whether or not the sponsors still feel like it.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Darker than Black – Kuro no Keiyakusha Gaiden – 03

by psgels, posted in Darker than Black - Ryuusei no Gemini



It’s interesting how all three installments of Darker than Black (Kuro no Keiyakusha, Ryuusei no Gemini and Gaiden) have been completely different from each other. Gaiden again has no intention to be repetitive, and instead plays out like a slow-paced love story between Hei and Yin amidst all kinds of intrigue. Hei is here at his weakest, and even the soundtrack is completely new again.

And as much as I’m trying not to, I really can’t avoid those very obvious hints that the creators keep giving that the Darker than Black Saga is nowhere near over. I know that this is very dangerous, especially after what Ookiku Furikabutte is currently trying to pull, but still. There is no way that the creators intended the final episode of Ryuusei no Gemini to be the conclusion of this series. Even with this episode’s explanation, about how Yin is able to change the world, there still remain a ton of twists that still haven’t been nowhere near wrapped up.

About this episode, it was really excellent. It was a really slow paced episode, but the ending was very sad, and very well and very subtle in its delivery. We also learn what happened to Amber’s former comrades. They died. Seriously, all but one massacred in just one go. It again shows just how unforgiving this series can be. And at the same time, this episode also was dedicated to showing weaknesses of Hei. For the first time, he hesitated in killing an enemy, and rushed through combat.

One thing I absolutely loved about this episode was that we did not get to see the point at which Yin was captured. We only heard about what happened through that dog. Whatever went on is just left up to our imagination.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Rainbow – 09

by psgels, posted in Rainbow



Oh, how awesome could this series have been if it had an actually good director who knew the meaning of subtlety. Even with the overacting, I’m completely hooked to this series right now. This show has great pacing, and the strength of the manga really shines through at this point. This episode again featured excellent, believable plot twists when you don’t look at how much the voice actors were hamming it up.

Setsuko (the nurse) takes up a vital role in this. She was vital in restoring An-chan back to health, something that the others probably wouldn’t have been able to do this fast. She also knew an interesting shelter, and I also assume that they lived in a time where people have a lot more to do than to look at wanted posters, which allows them to keep hidden for quite a while. The big mistake Joe made earlier was that it was extremely predictable where he was going. It’s not without flaws, though. As soon as someone in the hospital starts talking, they’ll be in trouble.

While it’s going to be obvious that An-chan at least will escape, the creators succeeded in one thing: portraying how important it is for him to actually get away: Joe in this episode may have made sure that Psycho-guard (who is beginning to sound more and more like a cat in a blender by the way) won’t be able to make the lives of Baremoto, Heitai and Cabbage miserable, they will kill An-chan when they see him again. This is so different from your average shounen hero who survives battles against all odds.

And the best thing is probably the promise that there’s much more in store here. I’m still looking forward to the moment that the characters will leave prison and move on with their lives. If this plays such a big role in the OP, which just keeps hinting at it, it’s bound to play some sort of a big role in this series, and not just pop up as a resolution at the last half of the last episode.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Senkou no Night Raid – 09

by psgels, posted in Senkou no Night Raid



This episode did a great job of bringing the series together. It’s really interesting how different the build-up in this show is compared to its Anime no Chikara’s predecessor: there, everything was all over the place, fun and whimsical. Here the characterization
has been composed and mature. Aside from episode four, the creators have been carefully building everything that’s necessary to the plot and characters, while Sora no Oto’s pace felt much more random. It’s very interesting to see how different these shows can get, even though they’re both about impeding war.

A major theme of this episode was the following question: what’s more important to you, a loved one or your father land? Aoi here tried to get his loved one back, against all orders. These plots really need a lot of build-up in order for them not to get annoying, since it’s based on a very overused shounen stereotype. within this context however, it gets a totally different dimension here. It’s been constantly stressed that the stakes of this war are incredibly high. Heck, we actually see the Japanese portrayed as the bad guys in this series. At this point the characters are all performing delicate work that unlike earlier on at the series will have very big consequences on failure. Aoi trying to get his girlfriend back is totally different from an angsty teenager with superpowers who refuses to obey his superiors because he’s rebellious.

This episode was all about seeing your past back. Yukina’s brother also becomes a lot more dimensional here when we get a few hints about his intentions. It’s not like he’s immediately a good guy either, he has done enough morally objectionable things, however at the same time I’m getting the feeling that he’s acting out of fear. We still don’t exactly know how and when he learned of the atom bombs, but my guess is that he’s trying everything in his might to stop one from hitting Japan. Again coming back to that theme of choosing your country above your loved one: he consciously decided to sin, in an attempt to save a large amount of people with a plot that might not even work, above taking care of his family.

Oh, and added to that: the soundtrack really was amazing in this episode.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

May Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

Milestone time: this is the fiftieth month in which I’ve written such a summary about the shows I’ve been watching. Woohoo!

Anyway, this month showed interesting developments: you can really see some shows delivering and becoming better and batter, while also an array of series just failed to live up to its expectations. The success of this season is really going to depend on how June turns out, though. Many series will then end, and many series have been promising a lot of potential for their finales.

#23 (26) – Hakuouki – (6,5/10) – Yeah, I dropped this one. The lead female just keeps getting rescued over and over, and instead of learning she just continues to go into dangerous situations. The plot behind it may have been interesting, but I couldn’t take her any more.
#22 (19) – Kaichou wa Maid-Sama – (7/10) – Ah, screw it, this one’s dropped as well. Episode nine was the final straw for me. For one thing: if you make a nonsensical filler episode: make it funny. This was just stupid, pointless and suggested to me that even the creators have given up on it. I’ve got many better things to do than keeping up with this thing.
#21 (23) – Marie&Gali – (7,5/10) – This series is still incredibly creative, but the thing with this sequel is that it’s now explaining science for the sake of explaining science. It lacks the spontaneity of the first season, and the new main character is also more annoying than she is funny. Such a shame!
#20 (18) – Hetalia World Series – (7,75/10) – Nothing much can be said about this one. It’s the same as ever: not the best, but solid entertainment.
#19 (10) – Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru – (7,75/10) – The past few episodes have been rather dull, but there is definitely potential here. The characters are interesting to watch, and I especially like the role of the kids in this series. A big problem is the new side-cast, though. They either need to develop or leave.
#18 (14) – Anymaru Tantei Kiruminzoo – (8/10) – I do have to say that the creators often rely on the same gimmick: putting a creature in Japan that has no reason whatsoever of being there. I know it makes sense in the story, but something new has to happen. You can’t keep milking that forever.
#17 (17) – Kuruneko – (8/10) – Releases are very sporadic, but this still remains an enjoyable slice of life series. The different cats all have their different quirks and they remain fun to watch even after forty episodes.
#16 (20) – Kaidan Restaurant – (8/10) – Yeah, okay, I was wrong. This show is just too good to be dropped. It’s repetitive, but the bite-size chunks of horror work every time, and are surprisingly well told. It will have a lot more competition once the Summer season starts, though.
#15 (22) – Heroman – (8/10) – Props to Heroman, for actually delivering quite a solid saturday-morning-ish show. The plot has its clichés and overused tropes, but it has also been continuously moving with a lot of potential to develop into.
#14 (11) – B Gata H Kei – (8/10) – Not as good as during the first few episodes, but still very enjoyable. The big problem with this show is the huge amount of overused clichés, but the chemistry between the lead characters still manages to elevate this far beyond any other fan-service show for me. The two are hilarious together with the sexual tension that keeps sparking between the two of them, and the side-characters all do their jobs to support this despite their clichés.
#13 (13) – Durarara – (8,25/10) – Overall, this series has been good, but not as enjoyable as I would have expected. The whole conflict that is spiralling out of control is of course interesting, but to me it still feels like it’s missing something, and it doesn’t really help that this show keeps giving off hints to Baccano while it in fact is completely different. If the series would go on for more than 24 episodes, then I probably wouldn’t be complaining as much as I am now, but i just feel that the conclusion of this series just isn’t going to get the best out of the concept with so many novels still unanimated.
#12 (16) – Ichiban Ushiro no Damaou – (8,25/10) – I’m really surprised at how good this show has become, especially considering how it has so much pointless fan-service. The wit of especially the green-haired girl is delightful, and you can see that the creators are having a lot of fun pulling all kinds of weird twists into the plot. The serious parts aren’t the most interesting of this series, but they work well enough I guess.
#11 (8) – Katanagatari – (8,25/10) – It’s still a consistently enjoyable show with a ton of dialogue. The past episode again showed that it’s sufficiently varied to keep the audience’s attention, and as the show goes on I’m getting more and more faith in it. The dialogues are still excellent and interesting and the action again is short but sweet.
#10 (7) – Ookiku Furikabutte – (8,25/10)

The big match of this season has finally started, and again this series sets itself apart with a huge attention to detail in its matches. Consistently enjoyable so far,though I noticed that the creators are using quite a bit more comedy than that they did in the first season. It works, so there’s nothing wrong with that.

#9 (12) – Rainbow – (8,25/10)

Yeah, the acting can be pretty bad at times, but the overall scenario, pacing, plot and story really are excellent here. When you can stomach the overacting you’ll be rewarded with a great story with excellent characters who all help each other survive the harsh prison they’re in. Especially the past few episodes have to be praised for how far they actually went.

#8 (9) – Angel Beats – (8,25/10)

It really has had its ups and downs, but Angel Beats really looks like it’s heading towards a very solid conclusion. The past few episodes have become really good and the characters are more and more coming together. I had my doubts at first, but the creators now actually have a good chance of pulling this one off.

#7 (15) – Senkou no Night Raid – (8,5/10)

Episode seven sold me on this series. It really was amazing how well the creators handled such a touchy subject, and I really admire their balls balls to actually go through with such an episode. Overall, this show has really grown on me despite the slow start, and it’s especially getting interesting now that the episodic stuff is dropped and it’s moved to a continuous story. The characters all have been fleshed out quite well and they become more and more interesting to watch. If it continues like this, it’s really going to surpass Sora no Oto for me.

#6 (6) – Gag Manga Biyori – (8,5/10)

It’s still absolutely hilarious, pulling parodies from all kinds of genres. My favourite was the spaceship episode. I’m not going to spoil what it was about, I just want to say that… it really had a point there. 😛

#5 (5) – Heartcatch Precure – (8,75/10)

This series really has been amazing for the past month. Whether the episodes were about a random story or the main plot, they all kicked ass. We’re not even halfway yet, and it’s already a heart-warming series with utterly gorgeous graphics. Only episode 17 was a bit shallow in comparison, though.

#4 (4) – Giant Killing – (8,75/10)

I love what the creators have been doing with this series. They brought in a ton of foreigners (who all spoke in their native tongue, rather than Japanese), the tension just keeps increasing because Tatsumi still hasn’t turned the tables for his team and they still kept up with everything that made the earlier episodes so enjoyable: the fans, press, player, staff, rival coaches, everyone here is important, gets his own characterization and stands apart from the others. Because of this attention to detail I’m really enjoying this series and more than willing to forgive a bit of unrealistic soccer play.

#3 (1) – Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – (9/10)

To be honest, this hasn’t been Full Metal Alchemist’s best month. It however still kicks ass beyond belief, and it’s been a consistently excellent action series to watch for the past month and the story has delivered quite a few interesting plot twists. The animation has been in a dip through he past number of episodes, though. Considering the budget that this series used to have, it is a bit unnerving.

#2 (2) – Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei – (9/10)

You’ve got to love the presentation of this series. After six episodes Watashi has gotten really fleshed out now, despite every episode resetting. The episodes are all unique and well written, and I don’t just mean the dialogue by that. The scenario, choreography, storyboard, everything about the script in this show excels beyond belief here.

#1 (3) – Sarai-ya Goyou – (9,25/10)

Utterly amazing; the characterization in this series is incredibly well executed. Every line, every scene is meant to flesh these guys out and add more meaning to them. The characters are poignant, deep and fascinating as they make their decisions. The plot has really been mature and even though the pacing is slow, the creators have really made use of every second to get their message across.

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru – 08

by psgels, posted in Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru



Yeah… tons of fanservice in this episode. It’s annoying when moe shows do this, but with the bishies it’s just as bad. Especially during that bathing scene I’m surprised that sparkles didn’t start flying off the characters. You could also really see that Yuki used to be a girl when he started making necklaces for everyone.

So yeah, this was another laid back episode meant to flesh out the characters. It did its job well, we got to know a bit more about zess (he finally doesn’t feel like a one-dimensional paper bag anymore, though he still looked like an idiot when he brought Yuki to school). It’s nice and all, but this episode did remain boring. It’s not a chore sitting through it, but that also pretty much everything positive you can say about it.

The first and foremost priority of the creators is avoiding to pull another 07-Ghost here. These past two episodes are one thing, but the show shouldn’t stick too much inside its own fillers. Whether these came from the manga or not shouldn’t matter. The manga should also have tried to make these chapters more interesting.

Having said that though, the background art in this episode was quite good.
Rating: (Enjoyable)

The Secret of Kells Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



I know that this is an anime blog, however that doesn’t mean that I’m not allowed to talk about anything else. Japan certainly isn’t the only country that can produce great works of animation. I’ve reviewed Korean and Chinese movies, so why not? This Oscar nominated co-production between Ireland, France and Belgium is certainly worth a look, and I also believe that modern anime can learn a lot from it.

The graphics of this movie are very impressive. At first the character-designs may seem simple, especially the lead character Brendon. However, the animation itself totally makes up for it, as it is incredibly smooth. What steals the show is the artistic direction, though. Gorgeous, imaginative and varied, this is a feast for the senses. The soundtrack is also excellent; it’s a great composition that combines traditional instruments with a modern soundtrack feeling.

The story looks a lot like a family movie, but make no mistake that this is based on Irish folklore. On one hand you have some often used tropes of a boy who wanders into a forest and meets a cute mysterious girl spirit. On the other hand, this movie is also about the Viking invasion of Ireland. It’s got a surprisingly elaborate story to go through in just seventy minutes, on top of building up its characters. There’s also plenty of character-development, the characters are all likable, and the most important ones are well fleshed out.

The creators may have been a bit too ambitious with this, though. Trying to stuff as much as they did in this movie lead to a number of strange leaps in logic, or plot twists that lack poor build-up. The ending for example is based on a bunch of great ideas, but the creators reserved too little time to make it flow naturally, reducing impact from what it could have been.

Storytelling: 8/10 – A bit rushed, but well told, nice humour, excellent scenario.
Characters: 9/10 – Engaging characters in Irish folklore.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Excellent artistic direction. Very fluid animation.
Setting: 8/10 – Great portrayal of the old Ireland, though the Vikings and other monsters don’t get a lot of depth.

Suggestions:
– Comedy
– Arete Hime
– Night on the Galactic Railroad

Tales of Vesperia Review – 87,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



The Tales of-franchise stands out because every game gets to be adapted by a different production company and a total different staff. This leads to a wide variety of different adaptations with all their own focuses, interpretations and things at which they stand out. With Tales of Vesperia, it’s Production IG’s turn, and they went with the movie format. And holy crap, is it good. This is everything an RPG adaptation should be.

At first it might seem like your average fantasy story: alas, the protagonists are young. One of them appears to have a princess as girlfriend, there are more cute girls, meant to act as the voice of reason when the lead males go out of control again, blah blah blah. But make no mistake: for every cliche that this show uses, it subverts two of them. While this is a fantasy movie, it for once does not require the leads to travel across the world and have all kinds of adventures. No, these guys are part of a town guard: they simply belong to a unit, responsible for protecting a bunch of people. There’s nothing like saving the world in here. Aside from the initial cliches, there’s no attempt made to make these characters seem any bigger than they are: they merely follow the orders of their captain when they fight a battle.

Also, this is animated by Production IG, and it really does live up to their name. The battles here are incredibly well animated: in duels, there are no still frames or convenient cuts; a lot of focus has been put on the sword skills, team work (and not just a team of four warriors or something, they often fight battles with a small squadron in which everyone knows his place). Fights aren’t a matter of whacking a sword long enough until the other party goes down, instead they’re calculated, realistic and believable. Because of this, the magic system can also be fleshed out a lot more: the spells here are a lot more interesting, logical and believable than you usually see in fantasy series.

There is a lot of drama in this movie, most of it centred around the coming of age of the two lead characters. The two of them are flawed, and a lot of the focus of this movie is about fleshing these two out, and developing them. Especially in the first half of the movie these two like to cause trouble, which can be annoying to watch at times, but it’s all with a purpose: to get the best out of their development. They really both develop into great characters in the end. What also helps throughout the first movie is a great sense of humour: it’s got a very good comedic timing.

The fact that the characters for once are simple town guards also has another advantage: you really can get a good feel of the people who live in this town, and this movie takes optimal advantage of that: it chooses a few random townspeople and gives them a convincible personality and character, which all do a great job of bringing the town to life.

I do have a few question marks about the ending credits, though. I’m not sure whether it’s meant to be an advertisement about the games, or a sequel, but it showed many of the cliches that this movie avoided so well. In any case though, this movie is yet another excellent example of how good RPG adaptations can be when some actual effort is put into them. Despite some initial cliches, it’s got excellent characters, a believable scenario, excellent animation really manages to bring its setting to life.

Storytelling: 9/10 – It’s got a ton of fantasy and action, but brings this realistic and believable. Well paces, nice ideas and good attention to detail.
Characters: 9/10 – There are cliches, but makes up for this with excellent character-development and great chemistry between the characters.
Production-Values: 9/10 – What you’d expect of a movie: no cut corners, well portrayed battles that find a very nice balance between believability and action.
Setting: 8/10 – Inspired and lively, though loses points because of how young some of the characters are.

Suggestions:
– Tales of the Abyss, Eternia, Symphonia, Phantasia.
– Strange Dawn
– Popolocrois.

Heartcatch Precure – 17

by psgels, posted in Heartcatch Precure



Yay, more Cure Moonlight. This really was a build-up episode, meant to develop the relationship between her, Tsubomi and Erika. From now on we should probably see her more often.

The Desatorian of this episode was a bit less compared to the other episodes, though. He lacked the time due to this focus also on Cure Moonlight, and the conclusion was overly simplistic. This series is set up in such a way that being turned into a desatorian shouldn’t make you see the light, however the way in which the guy in this episode immediately realized what he had done wrong felt forced.

But ah well, there’s always next time. The parts that focused on Cure Moonlight rocked as ever, and even though the drawings of the baking family lacked a bit of inspiration, just about everything else in this episode looked again beautiful.
Rating: * (Good)