The first season of Ookami to Koushinryou, or Spice and Wolf, came from absolutely nowhere. It had the worst possible staff you can imagine (outside of the team that’s been animating Ikkitousen and Queen’s Blade, perhaps) and yet it came and delivered an incredibly solid series about merchants during the medieval times. Its second season takes this formula, and only improves on it.
It may seem like a given, but sequels don’t always surpass their original. This however is far from the case in Spice and Wolf. The second season is overall a lot darker than its predecessor, and it really made use of the fact that the characters have already got a season’s worth of development in them. It consists out of two big arcs, each in which Lawrence is trying to strike a very, very risky deal. They’re all very intelligent and well-fleshed out, full of surprises and with a very good conclusion.
You can really see that this is a series that’s based on a light novel series, rather than a manga. Just like the first season, the dialogue is deep and meaningful, and you really have to pay attention to keep following it. Horo and Lawrence love teasing each other with smart and witty remarks, and together they develop into quite a memorable couple. There are some great romantic scenes during the quiet parts in this series, that really gets the best out of both of them.
For the second season, the animation has been taken over by Brains Base, and if you pay attention then you can really see that the graphics have also gotten an upgrade, especially the background art looks gorgeous because of it. Overall, the second season is a bit less whimsical than the first one, but it makes up for it by a couple of well built-up and written arcs.
| Storytelling: | 9/10 |
| Characters: | 9/10 |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 |
| Setting: | 9/10 |
Science fiction, androids and artificial intelligence are a popular theme in anime, but Eve no Jikan shows that you can still come with new ideas. It’s an OVA series of five episodes of 15 minutes, and 1 of half an hour, and it shows a possible future in which androids have just become able to look and act like regular human beings.
It explores the boundaries of intelligence, what it means to be self-conscious and in what aspect androids differ from humans, as well as human relationships with those androids. throughout its six episodes, it shows a variety of cases of how people chose to deal with it, through the eyes of the lead character Rikuo.
Overall, it’s a very well made series, and worth the watch just for the setting. However, it’s also just way too short: it has enough potential to fill up a regular 13-episoded tv-series, and it could quite possibly even run for 26 episodes. right now, the characters are just too underdeveloped, there’s too little time to get to know the fairly large cast in this series, there are so many interesting questions that are still left hanging, and there’s still a lot of potential left in the concept that the creators weren’t able to touch.
Still, there always is the chance for a continuation: Studio Rikka is a rare example of a successful independent animation studio, and considering the success of this series, they’re probably aiming for more. There is a flaw that can’t be excused with this, however: the characters tend to put an overemphasis on their acting. Especially Masaki’s character feels way too dramatic, and feels unnatural because of this.
Nevertheless, I definitely support these short OVAs that try to do something fresh and different. The OVA-format is really one in which you can take a lot more risks than with your regular TV-series, and yet hardly any series take advantage of this. Eve no Jikan’s problem is that it’s just way too ambitious for this format: it tried to too too much in too little time, which prevents it from being a classic, but on the other hand its short length turns it into a very accessible nice and light watch.
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To be honest, until a week ago I still wasn’t quite sure how to review this series. I mean, there obviously was something wrong with it, but I just couldn’t put my finger to exactly what. Nevertheless, with the final two episodes (which were very exciting, by the way), I finally know where this series went wrong, and why it went from a very promising series to just… boredom.
Imagine yourself as the villain: you’re placed high in the military. A certain kid escapes your clutches, and this kid happens to hold the evil godmode powers of doom, and it is vital to get these powers back, so you are assigned this task. You’ve got a number of competent henchmen and you youself also are an experienced commander. It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a plan to capture a 14-year old boy, right?
Well, this guy here sits on a chair for more than 20 episodes, looks evil and hardly does anything, and the plans that he does carry out hardly can be called the most effective ways to get to his objectives. In a lot of series, a good villain can really make a series, and really, Ayanami would have made an excellent villain if this guy actually stood up and DID SOMETHING.
the major problem with 07-Ghost is that it drags. Horribly. The plot here could have been carried out in one quarter of the time it actually used. So in the process, the lead characters have to find ways to keep them busy. Sometimes this is meaningful, but often it’s just way too angsty, melodramatic and shallow. Not really worth the investment of 25 episodes.
Which is a bloody shame, because this show definitely has some right ingredients. The direction during the action scenes is actually quite good: with an excellent soundtrack it knows how to entertain by pushing the right buttons at the same time. The series is full of creative shots and camera-angles, and the animation also hardly has any distorted faces. This is exactly why I was excited about this series: it sounded like an epic premise, but in the end the creators could have done so much more with this premise.
This series takes place in a church for the most part, so there is a unique religious feel about this series, so it’s really a bit of a shame of this wasted potential. Unfortunately, it’s really typical of the director: he did the same one to Hatenkou Yuugi, ruining it by an abysmal pacing. This guy really knows how direct technically: he knows how to make things exciting. However, in terms of content and especially pacing he still has a lot to learn. The best episodes in this series really ended up being episode 1 and 24. That has to say something.
Let me start this review by saying that I’m usually not much of a fan of slice of life comedies. In my experience, they’re often boring, repetitive and stereotypical, and just look too much like each other. However, there are of course always exceptions. Hyakko last year for example was great example of a series that hit all the right notes for me, and here’s another one: GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class. This really is everything that a good slice of life comedy should be.
The way this series stands out is that it’s not only enjoyable, it’s also very informative. In every episodes the creators put these nice facts about rt, art techniques and equipment that also made it a very interesting series to watch. I raraly run into a series that actually teaches me something, but this series is one of those rare exceptions. Especially if you like art, there are enough details put into this series to keep you interested.
On top of that, this also is a really well written and directed series. Even though it follows the daily lives of a bunch of characters, it hardly ever repeats itself: every episode is distinctly different, and about a different topic, it hardly ever repeats jokes, and when it does it builds further upon them, rather than milking them out.
This really is a comedy for those who like fast-paced series. The creators really jump from one scene to the other, to keep the show fresh and from dragging. However, that does lead to a bit of a chaotic pacing, and you really need to pay attention in order to be able to follow it, so if you’d like your comedies to be more straightforward you’ll probably be turned off by this series.
Nevertheless, with a lovable cast, an excellent script and a very good portrayal of a bunch of high school girls, this really is one of my top picks in terms of this year’s comedies. It’s always consistently fresh, enjoyable and interesting, and even the parts that aren’t funny are still enjoyable or informative. It’s really a shame that it flew so much under the radar, because it’s definitely among my top 5 series of the past summer season.
Excellent episode to close off the series. There’s no real climax or conclusion, but it’s not like this series ever needed one. I’m looking forward to that OVA in March, and it’s definitely been fun blogging this show. At this point, it’s got a very good chance of being my #3 of the shows that debuted the past summer season, but that’s still going to depend a bit on how Spice and Wolf II is going to close of.
In any case, in this episode we first see Nozaki missing a day at school due to sickness (strange how you rarely see regular flues in anime, right? When a character gets sick, it’s often some sort of life-threatening illness or something). Kisaragi was as cute as ever trying to worry about her.
But what I absolutely loved in this episode was how the cast would eventually visit Nozaki’s house (after she got better), in order to eat dinner together, which eventually lead to the creation of the evil stew of doom, in which Noda and Tomokane threw in a bunch of horrible, horrible ingredients, like sweets, cookies, chips and melon bread. The horrors that resulted were… hilarious.
In terms of art, this episode the characters had to create these mood boards, and they had a bit of fun trying to draw the mood of the characters behind them. This also resulted in a bunch of awesome jokes. Especially when Noda turned into an evil witch because of this.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]> 
Strange use of budget this episode: a lot of still shots, far-away shots, distorted faces, and yet absolutely stunning backgrounds, and a really great fight between Guin and that strange kid, who turns out to be some sort of strange monster. With this however, I’m certain of my Top 3 of the past spring season: Phantom, Shangri-La and the Guin Saga comes in third. Sure, there are still a bunch of shows that aren’t finished yet, but technically the same also goes for this series.
The strange thing is that this episode pretty much wraps up the current arc… and there’s still one episode left. Heck, it has already started to introduce the upcoming arc in which Scar heads off to Nosferas, Amnelis gains the favour of the kingdom that captured her and Istvan returns back to Guin, Remus and Linda. The next episode should probably continue these introductions.
And with that, Guin Saga joins the long list of series that still need another adaptation. I think the most annoying thing is that at this point, there is no way to know whether it’ll actually get one. With the announcements of new seasons of series as Inu Yasha and Harukanaru no Toki no Naka de suddenly appearing from out of nowhere, it could even take years for the next season to be announced.
Rating: * (Good)]]> 
This episode was just… amazing. As cheesy as the drama was around Mildred, Randolf and Henderson, this episode was the exact opposite: powerful and subtle, and a very fitting end to one of my favourite characters of this series. I’m really happy with this series: there really were times when my patience had completely ran out because of said cheesy drama, but the past two episodes have actually made up for that. I’ve seldom seen series that start off great, then turn out disappointing, and yet manage to pick up themselves back to their previous level eventually.
the star of this episode was to my surprise Horace. While he was the oldest of the family, he was able to still remain a little kid because Anne was there to take care of his siblings. With this however, it really occurred to him that he is the oldest man in the family. His character-development from such a bratty little boy to an older brother who desperately wants to be dependable really was one of the best parts of this episode.
And yet for Johanna, it’s the complete opposite. It’s ironic: I kept wondering why Anne would be forced out of the house, because the series has shown that she’s able to support her family, if only barely, with the help of Anne. However, this episode fully explained that: she may have hated her husband at times, but she still really cared about this good for nothing drunk. His death completely sapped the life out of her, and who knows how long she might take to recover from it?
So yeah, the next episode yet again promises to be something amazing: thankfully Johanna’s parents have agreed to take her in, and take care of her children. Anne however, doesn’t fit in there, and so she’s going to have to find a new family. The next episode is going to be a major episode for Anne, and I’m really curious to see what the creators can do with her at this point.
Aside from the next episode, I have absolutely no idea what the final third of this series is going to be like. Is it going to be good? Bad? This series has proven to be so brilliant at some times, and yet so painfully annoying at others. It can really go anywhere, especially since I suspect that the final third is going to focus on a whole new cast, and we’re soon going to say goodbye to the Thomas family.
In a way, I like this: I really like series in which you won’t know what to expect. There really have been few series that have had such a large contrast between their highs and lows. It’d be awesome if this series could keep this up, but even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t change that this episode was an amazing one.
Rating: *** (Awesome)]]> 
Here’s another Clamp-adaptation, the anime with one of the least descriptive titles in existence: X. It tells the story of a bunch of people who have been destined to fight over whether or not the earth is going to be destroyed. And I must say, it hits the mark surprisingly often. Recommended for anyone who likes a good character-study.
There are very few series that can claim that they only get better and better as they go on, but X sure as hell does come close to this. It starts out a bit mundane, but for nearly every successive episode as you get an idea of the plot, and the different characters show their backgrounds and stories, it just gets more intriguing with episode. Especially in the second half, where all hell breaks loose, this series just continues to keep the balls in the air.
What impressed me the most about this series was the maturity of the cast of villains. These guys are miles away from your stereotypical evil overlords, and despite the fact that they’re trying to destroy the world, they’re all surprisingly calm and down to earth which is very refreshing to be honest. The protagonists also receive plenty of attention, which allows each of them to grow beyond stereotypes, and actually develop a bit. A major theme in this series is loneliness, and I really liked how each of them chose to deal with their feelings in a different way.
With all that however, it’s a shame that the least interesting character in this series is the main one: Kamui. With such a colourful cast of side-characters, he fails to stand out and is yet another one of those angsty teenagers with huge powers with the task to save the world. He does develop throughout the series, but it’s all just too predictable and shallow. It’s because of him that the finale of this series turns out to be really cheesy. A pitiful exception to how everything in this series just gets better and better.
Overall, X is a bit too angsty for my tastes. Too often, we see characters stare pointlessly into nothingness instead of actually doing something, and the lackluster lead character and ending prevent it from really standing out, but aside from that there’s a lot to like in this series. It’s an interesting effect you get when half of the series’ plot twists have already been prophesized (especially if you watched the special episode 00, which is basically a very cryptic recap of the series). With a strong soundtrack and very solid animation by Madhouse, I definitely don’t regret watching this.
Whoa, I must say that this episode really caught me off-guard. It really is one of those episodes that’s a perfect example of how good this series can be: fun and tense at the same time, hardly impossible to predict and full of some very surprising plot twists.
Where to start? Because the creators killed off Marcoh in the first season, I really expected the same here… yet he is merely kidnapped. It does make sense: whatever the Humonculi are after is somehow related to the Philosopher’s Stone, so it would make sense for them to recruit the help of someone who is very knowledgeable about it.
But the really fun part in this episode was the part that took place in the forest. Overall it was a very creative action scene with this series’ trademark style of delivering comedy, action and drama all at the same time. Especially Gluttony got a bit of depth: we learn that he at least has half a braincell, and isn’t a complete berserk. Yet again, this guy is developing so completely different from the first series.
We also get our first glimpse of pride… who turns out to have powers of either invisibility or telepathy, and I also really liked the parts that featured Lan Fan, as she was unable to do anything for her master due to her losing her arm. My favourite of this episode was Envy, though. He was a very nice villain, and it’s a bloody shame that he died in this episode. there was so much potential left in him.
This episode ended with Roy Mustang, finding out that the problem isn’t just that the Fuhrer is a Humonculus, but he also has a ton of allies at his side. Thinking back, the first season never mentioned any of this, right? Now that I think about it, it would indeed have been a bit strange for just one or two humonculi on their own: one screw-up and everyone knows who they are. With enough allies on their side, they could cover up for them in those cases (such as, right now with Roy).
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]> 
Glad to see that throughout the tournament, there still is plenty of time for a bit of slice of life that this series is so good at. The first half of this episode was that, combined with a bit of building up for the upcoming match, which started in the second half of this episode.I do ope though that this match isn’t going to drag on this series.
But yeah, the gist of this episode was: Kou should have practiced more at fielding. The opponents in this episode did their homework, and managed to find out that Kou relies on his high pitches too much, and so they just bunted everywhere in order to confuse him, which indeed earned them a point in the first inning. Their mistake however was to assume that Kou had no stamina… which didn’t turn out to be the case.
It’s not like Akaishi and Aoba didn’t think of ways to counter Kou’s weakness, so the opposing team ran a bit behind the facts this time, though they were helped by how Kou just forgot to practice fielding. Still, for such a team they did pretty well: instead of randomly playing, they really took their time in analyzing their opponents, even though the persons they used to spy on Kou’s team were… unsubtle to say the least.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>