Author: psgels

Ultraviolet: Code 044 – 12

by psgels, posted in Ultraviolet: Code 044



Short Synopsis: Luka tries to rescue King, and more things happen which I’m not going to spoil here.
Highlights: So different from what I expected!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
Whoa! That was actually a really good ending! This episode was among the best episodes of the entire series, and it exactly knew how to use the things it built up for, and carried them further. Here I just expected 044 to go after Luka in a sudden flash of guilt. Here I just expected Daxus II to easily finish off Luka, only for 044 to finish him. Oh, how wrong I was! I expected the final episode to focus on action. Instead, I got a final episode that focused on character-development.

As it turns out, 044 infiltrates indeed Daxus’ headquarters, but not because she wants to help Luka. Instead, Garcia managed to find out from who 044 was cloned (more on that below), and she wanted to meet that person, who just happened to be sealed inside Daxus’ headquarters. Instead, it’s none other than King who kills Daxus II. A very fitting combination, considering the things that Daxus had done to him.

I’ve seen quite a few solid series, where you’d expect a great ending from, disappoint in their finale. For example, Ghost Hound and Dennou Coil: both were very well written, and yet their endings were rushed, and in Ghost Hound’s case it was all over the place. Ultraviolet, though, manages to use exactly what it’s been building up for to provide some nice extra twists, like how Daxus II is actually a clone of his father, but refuses to admit it. Fear o fhis own identity fits his character exactly.

And of course, there was the twist that 044 is Ultraviolet’s clone. Now everything makes sense: she was the one who unconsciously spoke to 044, and this is also the explanation why 044 was such a badass fighter. This also laid an appreciated parallel to the movie, however bad it may have been.

Then there’s the aftermath: Daxus’ headquarters blows itself up. I didn’t quite catch why, but nevertheless it was a very fitting end to such an action series. I also loved how absolutely zero budget was spent on that explosion. It’s just about the opposite a normal action series would have done. I really appreciate the subtlety of it all.

And the three that survived in the end were Garcia, Matilda and Luka. I especially liked the way that Luka managed to survive: you never actually see the guy escape, he just lives. It’s up to the viewer’s imagination of how he managed to get out of that exploding building in time. I must say that it was a very nifty way of the creators to save some time, rather than to increase the pacing elsewhere and make the ending rushed. We don’t really need to know how Luka escapes. It’s irrelevant to the story. All we need to know is whether he survives or not.

And finally, Garcia. I really like how this series never put him into a love triangle with 044: he knew that she had feelings for Luka, and decided to help her as a friend, preventing this series from delving into a pointless love triangle. I think we can thank Matilda for that as well.

Yomigaeru Sora – Rescue Wings Review – 87,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


If you’re looking for Real Men, Rescue Wings is the correct place to look. It’s a series about the Japanese rescue force, and it especially follows one of its helicopter pilots as he gets introduced into the team. If you’re looking for the realistic side of mecha (well, helicopters in this case, but you get the point), then this series is one to seriously consider. There are no spiky haired teenagers who instantly know the controls of complex machinery here; there are no overly moe females. This is a series about saving those in real trouble.

The result is one thought-provoking anime. It immediately makes things clear to both the viewer and the main character: a job in the rescue force isn’t something to think lightly at. And that’s where this series is a master at: it knows exactly how to pick out your unconscious thoughts, and confronts you with them. It managed to portray the fact that many people die in this business. After watching this series, I can honestly say that I’ve gained a lot of extra respect for the people who work in rescue forces in real life.

The characters are also a very important aspect of this series. Without proper fleshing out, the viewer wouldn’t be able to care about what happened to them, and the creators manage to succeed in making even the smallest victims count. Whether they survive or don’t make it. The major characters are all developed, in the short time of only 13 episodes as well. I’m still impressed at how much development the creators managed to stuff into such a short time, especially considering that the pacing isn’t really faster than average.

The problems in this series arise with its huge cast, though. As interesting as they were, the creators failed to give an identity to the different characters. Too often, I just found myself thinking “wait… who the hell is this guy?” The big problem I think is that spent too little attention to introducing its characters. They’re just… there, and it’s very hard to figure out whether you’re dealing with a new character or an already existing one. Especially since the very inconsistent animation makes all the characters look like each other. Just take a look at the promo-art here. Who are those people?

That’s not to say that the animation is horrible. In fact, the animation-budget for this series seems quite large. There’s lots of movement; it’s just inconsistent. And with realistic character-designs, where everyone looks like each other, that’s not something you want to have.

Nevertheless, Rescue Wings is a typical series for those who are tired of the standard stereotypes that are associated with anime, because this one has none of them. It’s about actual adults, who have to work for their job, and especially to save the lives of others. JC Staff may be a very questionable animation studio, but they do have a few very talented people.

Storytelling: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Production-Values: 8/10
Setting: 9/10

Himitsu ~The Revelation~ – 23

by psgels, posted in Himitsu ~The Revelation~



Short Synopsis: Two dead bodies are found at a love hotel.
Highlights: SEARCH MY BODY
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,75/10
OMG!

Now THIS is what I’m talking about! THIS is exactly why I like this series so much!

Himitsu’s multi-episode arcs have always known exactly how to use their time, rather than dragging on endlessly, they’re focused and try to tell a story that would be impossible to tell in only one episode. Some focus on complex stories, like the one with the biological weapon, others focused on politics, like the case with the murderous girl who killed her family, and others were downright shocking, like the one about the bald mass murderer that caused Maki to shoot Suzuki.

This arc seems to go for both the shock and the complex story. It starts out simple enough, when two dead bodies are found at a love hotel. It seems that one of them committed suicide, but his girlfriend also turns out to have been pregnant. Then however, a high-placed person of a hospital comes to claim the body. Amachi resists, but fails. Only a few days later, her BRAINS pop up in a container, with the note “SEARCH MY BODY”. I think that this is the first time were any main character had his/her HEAD SLICED OPEN like this…

If I had to guess, then the doctor wanted to prevent Amachi from finding out too much, but that doesn’t explain at all why she left Amachi’s brain right in front of Daiku, nor the “Search my body”-note. Also, what was the significance of those numbers that were written on the babies’ feet, in the memory of the guy who committed suicide?

In any case, this episode was just awesome, as it also provided for a lot of new insights into the characters. The characters in this series are already excellent, and this series is still fleshing them out, which only is a good thing. I really wonder whether Amachi is able to return, because Maki did say that her body may still be alive. Who knows, perhaps in this age, there’s some sort of technique that can separate people from their brains without killing them? Still, we have to wait for that until the next episode, I guess.

There’s also one thing I noticed, while looking at the list of episode titles: the final two episodes of this series are going to be standalone stories! In a way, it’s very much possible for the next episode to contain the dramatic climax for this series, only for it to finish with two shorter stories. I personally LOVE these kinds of endings: they’re so much better and less predictable than the “the bad guy dies”-endings. A lot my favourite endings are actually episodic, rather than those with a continuous storyline. Series as The Third, Night Head Genesis, and in a way Bokura no too, they all finished with an episodic final episode or final two episodes, and their endings have become some of the most memorable endings for me. In a way, it does make sense, because it’s much harder to plan everything right in a final episode if you’re going with a continuous storyline, and it’s very easy to rush things, or just finish things with a predictable blow. Some endings of series that I did love, despite their continuous storylines: Haibane Renmei, Crystal Blaze and Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Birdy the Mighty Decode – 11

by psgels, posted in Birdy the Mighty Decode



Short Synopsis: Birdy faces a difficult task: telling Senkawa that Ryunka is in Nakasugi.
Highlights: A bit predictable, but at the same time very interesting developments, considering that second season.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
Okay, so this had to happen: Senkawa had to learn the identity of Ryunka, and the fact that Birdy’s out to kill her. Birdy herself waited way too long, and ended up telling him at the worst possible moment, so he indeed had to retaliate and run off with Nakasugi. His character was a quite annoying, but when viewed as a means of building up, then it makes sense.

When Nakasugi and Tsutomu ran off, the creators laid a few parallels to other stories to try and spice it up. The two of them running away looks a lot like when Haruka and Yuu ran away in Noein, and also the story of Bonnie and Clyde that Nakasugi mentioned on the subway was interesting enough

It’s now clear how the creators are planning to end the first season: get rid of Syamalan and say goodbye to Nakasugi. The second season is also going to feature Senkawa and Birdy in separate bodies (which really makes me wonder how Senkawa’s going to remain the main character of this series). It does seem that the creators really intended the first season to stand apart from the second season, as a means of fleshing out the characters. My prediction is that Capella and the guy with glasses will play the main bad guys, and Muroto and Natsumi will likely also gain much bigger roles (which seems to hint at an increase in mystery).

It’s all going to matter on whether the creators can manage to develop Birdy and Senkawa sufficiently for that second season. I can imagine how both of them will change a lot after whatever’s going to happen in the next two episodes, but the trick is to keep things natural and subtle, rather than turning Senkawa into some battle-hardened tough warrior or something.

Telepathy Shoujo Ran – 12

by psgels, posted in Telepathy Shoujo Ran



Short Synopsis: Rui, Rin and Midori rush to save Ran and Reika.
Highlights: Big animation budget, woo!
Overall Enjoyment Value:8,5/10
This episode made a large impression on me. Not because of how this story ended (fairly standard “please stop your actions!”-bit) or the characters (they have been better in this show), but instead the animation. And mind you, I watched this episode from HorribleRaws. It’s apparent that this episode received a much larger budget than your average Telepath Shoujo Ran episode, but the interesting thing is that this wasn’t spent on gorgeous backgrounds or flashy CG, but instead the character-movement looked much better than usual.

The result was awesome. The characters gained a lot of expressivity in their gestures, both facial and with their bodies. It’s this animation that saved the finale of this series from delving into a cheese-fest, when the obsessed old guy needed to be convinced that his ways were wrong. The characters were exceptionally genuine in this episode, which really worked.

Now that I think about it, I very often don’t pay attention to these kinds of things. I think it’s because there are just too many series who use still frames and minimal animation, and with the series that do put some extra effort into the expressive motion of their characters, I often take this for granted. This is the first time where it struck me so much, probably because the quality was so much better than what we’re used to from this series. I think I’m going to pay much more attention to this in the future because of this.

In any case, about the rest of the episode: the story was clichéd, but it was told well. This entire arc was about Shimotsuki, who at his age still hadn’t learned to forget the past. He was both bullied because of his powers, his daughter probably suffered the same, and after that he even loved her. I liked the climax, where her spirit got the chance to possess Reika to finally settle things with her father. This series has already shown that it believes in ghosts, so it’s quite probable that her ghost had been haunting around her father’s shrine for years now, because she couldn’t stand seeing her father suffer so much.

Quiz Magic Academy OVA Review – 60/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



I originally wanted to put this among the quick first impressions, until I found out that this OVA just has one episode, which puts this OVA in the category of quick watches. With an airtime of only thirty minutes, did Quiz Magic Academy turn into an OVA to recommend? Well, no.

This OVA is based on a much larger manga, and ultimately, it just becomes a glorified commercial for this manga. There are no really redeeming values, and the episode just consists of the characters (students and teachers of the titular magic academy) having a bit of fun at the school festival. In the end, the entire 30 minutes are pretty much pointless.

Thankfully, it’s not all bad. The cast of characters is huge, so you won’t have the time to get bored of their different stereotypes. The creators manage to keep things fresh in the end. I especially liked the transfer student who is way above the age-limit, and I especially disliked the pink-haired teacher who acts like a mahou shoujo-wannabe. For a minute, I also feared that the spunky main character would take up too much of the airtime, but overall the creators managed to balance the episode quite well, so that each character at least gets half a minute of time in the spotlights.

But yeah, you can’t escape stereotypes with just 30 seconds of airtime, and most members of the cast just remain stereotypes that we’ve seen over and over. On top of that, the writers hardly ever attempt to change the mood: every single scene is semi-energetic, without any quiet moments. There’s just way too much sugar in this OVA.

Overall, I’d label this together with Haru no Ashioto: it’s just a silly advertisement for the original source, but somewhat fun to watch. Emphasis on “somewhat”.

Storytelling: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Production-Values: 7/10
Setting: 5/10

Detroit Metal City – 04

by psgels, posted in Detroit Metal City



Short Synopsis: Krauser II gets invited to sing his pop songs in a trendy bar and meets one of his former classmates.
Highlights: The drunk Krauser was hilarious.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Another hilarious episode from Detroit Metal City. I was beginning to fear that the creators would keep the bit where Negishi loses himself in front of Aikawa going a bit too long, but this episode goes into other directions, and Aikawa finally hears him sing. The irony in this episode seems to be that everyone thinks that Negishi’s music sucks, apart from the friends he had on high-school.

Although, I guess that Tetrapod Melon Tea did receive some popularity for them to be featured in a karaoke magazine. I think that one of the big problems with Negishi is that he hangs out with the wrong people; otherwise he’d never have been able to found Detroit Metal City and met the sadistic president. Although frankly, his sweet songs are badly written and way too sugary. I can imagine how not many people would like it.

Some quick first impressions: Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel, Cobra The Animation and Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters are a bunch of crime-fighting mahou shoujo.
Highlights: It’s actually not bad.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10
Mahou Shoujo OVAs have a questionable reputation of being incredibly dull, after the likes of Dokuro-chan and Ryoufuku-chan were just big excuses for fanservice. Kaitou Tenshi also has a very questionable start. It’s just a bunch of moe girls who beat up stereotypical bad guys, there was no way for this to work. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that this first episode actually did have a clear goal: take the overconfidence that usually comes with the god-moded mahou shoujo, and smash this into the ground. There are a lot of references to Sailor Moon (the first season anyway). The problem, though, that apart from that, there’s hardly anything that really stands out. Characters are standard, the villains are standard. There’s also that matter that the second episode of this series can only go through predictable paths (although it would be awesome if the creators realized this and went with something totally different).

Cobra the Animation

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters meets a cute woman who is involved with an intergalactic space-complot.
Highlights: Is too busy overglorifying its own protagonist.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10
Cobra the Animation seems to be another attempt to revive an old anime franchise, but unfortunately this one didn’t go so well. Overall, it feels very much like a half-assed attempt. The plot so far is rather unimpressive, but the biggest turn-off is that Cobra is just too perfect of a person. He’s an excellent marksman, he’s popular with the ladies, he possesses the latest physics-defying gadgets to steal anything that’s loose. He’s just too awesome, without any weaknesses whatsoever. Add that to the tendency of the creators to just make Cobra appear at the exact places where the story needs him to be without any explanation, and the massive amounts of useless fanservice and you just lost my interest.

Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is obsessed with a children’s card game.
Highlights: Full of stereotypes, but what else did you expect?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4,5/10
Well, so this is the latest addition to shows that are only aimed at kids. It’s one of those genres that lives off seeing who can rip each other off the most, so it’s not surprising that this is the umpth one about playing card games. To make matters worse, either its rules are very incomprehensible, or they’re inconsistent with each other, which is not really a good start. All the stereotypes are also present: spiky haired bratty lead, female love interest, talented tsundere rival, father who’s either dead or gone, et cetera. Still, it’s not all bad. It’s got a decent OP and ED (which were most likely animated by the same animators as Power Puff Z, giving them a stylish look), and my favourite part: all the cool main characters have cute and fluffy pets that accompany them. The writing is also solid enough when the characters aren’t playing cards, but overall it’s nowhere near Net Ghost Pipopa, the series that I consider the best kiddie-show of 2008 (based on the first episode I watched anyway).

Bonen no Xamdou – 09

by psgels, posted in Bonen no Xamdou



Short Synopsis: Raigyo gets his proper introduction.
Highlights: Haru.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
A quiet episode this time, which was just meant to give Raigyo’s character some time to catch up in terms of background and fleshing out. Nothing much happened, even for a Xam’d-episode, As it turns out, Raigyo had been travelling the world for two years of his own free will, and in the meantime he brought back a bunch of souvenirs. The crewmembers on the ship apart from perhaps the captain are thrilled to see him back, so of course Akiyuki starts to suffer from an inferiority complex when he’s around. Fairly standard, although I guess that this was a valuable chance for Akiyuki to realize that he’s not special, and that there are more people of his kind.

In any case, I don’t think that I would have suspected this after just the first episode, but Haru’s really turning into my favourite character from this series. She doesn’t take anything for granted, and because of Akiyuki, she continues to doubt her superiors, and yet at the same time she doesn’t run around and throws tantrums to anyone who wants to listen.

Benikawa came with an interesting twist this episode: she actually plans to attack the Northern Government. That was quite a surprise to me, as she’s been behaving like a pacifist for the majority of the series. Well, it does make sense now, why the Zanbani has assault weapons, and why the members are so skilled with fire weapons. Benikawa’s pacifism turns out to be her habit of not getting involved in pointless fights that’ll only put the crew in needless damage.

I do have to say, though, that the website of Bonen no Xamdou sucks. When I want to look up something as simple as the name of one of the characters, it makes me wait more than a minute before the site has fully loaded. That’s way too long, for such a tiny bit of information.

Macross Frontier – 23

by psgels, posted in Macross Frontier



Short Synopsis: Ranka and Brera arrive at the home planet of the Vajra.
Highlights: Well, finally it seems that the love-triangle is over.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
Okay, so this episode was meant to spice up the upcoming finale a bit. It was a it of a mixed bag, like usual with this series. There were some things I liked:
– Sheryl’s little bits of screen-time
– Some more exposition about the nature of the Vajra and Ranka’s background. The creators actually remembered that huge space-craft of ten episodes ago and explained what it was about. As it turns out, Grace once lived together with Ranka and her mother, and they lived happily together with the Vajra.
– A few scenes here and there about the casualties that the recent Vajra outburst caused.

There were also some things I didn’t like. Most importantly Ranka, getting captured by the Vajra like the damsel in distress that she is. Really, I want to like her, and her character isn’t badly written at all. It’s just the way that the creators use her that bugs me like no other. Especially since now it seems pretty much clear that she’ll end up together with Alto. Okay, Alto said that he’d rather kill Ranka than let the Vajra use her for destruction, but I really doubt whether the creators have the GUTS to kill her off.

There’s also this bit about Brera, being Ranka’s brother, which has been delayed way too much in my opinion. It was pretty obvious that the two were siblings more than thirteen episodes ago, and only now the creators decide to reveal it to the characters. This should have been clear much earlier, to allow for some development between the two. To think that even Brera didn’t know.

Please, Ranka. There are two episodes left. Please do something in that finale other than predictably provide a Deus ex Machina ending. Kick Grace in the ass, make the Vajra kill Leon, anything as long as you don’t end up being some god-moded damsel in distress!