As usual, the episode had its good and its bad points, but I don’t care! At the end of the episode, the creators finally showed what I’ve been longing for ever since this series started: Regal and Presea! They should come in action on the next episode. (Because yes, Tales of Symphonia has been extended to eight episodes!).
About the rest of the episode, a few changes have been made. First of all, now that the green light has been given for an extension of the series, the creators suddenly decided to include Yuan. That’s got to be really confusing for the ones who haven’t really played the game, with the guy’s introduction being mercilessly cut from the second episode. Ah well, I’m glad that the creators decided to include him after all, and I like how the creators changed his personality from the game. He’s much more confident here, and he can actually stand his own against Kratos.
And obviously, there’s yet again a lot of emphasis on Collette, but in this episode, it’s not just Lloyd who is worried about her. Genis and Raine also show much more involvement with Collette than in the game. I like that. I’m also surprised to say that Sheena joined the party much later than expected. She never played a role in the tower of salvation at all, and instead saves the group when they’ve been captured by the Renegades. The interesting thing is that unlike in the game, she’s much less compassionate and a lot less easy to read. That does make me wonder what her relationship with Zelos will be…
Overall, I was a bit wary when I found out that Ufo-Table would be producing this series, with their previous works consisting out of Coyote Ragtime Show, Futakoi and Ninnin Ga Shinobuden. Still, I must say that these guys are learning quite quickly. It started this year with Manabi Straight, and now with Tales of Symphonia too. While they still have much to learn, it’s good to know that they’re keen on improving themselves. If this tread continues, we can expect more interesting things from them.]]>
Author: psgels
Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – 11
And we’ve reached another two-episode arc that would have easily been put into just one episode. I’m not sure whether I like the new happenings on the Starside-hotel, it’s a bit one-sided, if you ask me. Still, perhaps the conclusion will prove to be more interesting. I’m not sure what exactly it is with this series, but there’s something that rubs me the wrong way. I’m not sure exactly what, though.
Surprisingly, we don’t see Furuhata and Andou back, though the old guy returns. So I was mistaken after the previous episode: he and the manger are completely different. He’s now turned into someone who keeps clinging to Kaiji, whom he knows he can trust because he was saved by him before.
The game this time is completely different from the restricted Rock, Paper and Scissors. This time, the contestants (i.e. Kaiji&co), have to engage in an incredibly reckless stunt in front of a number of drunken bastards who are betting on them, fighting for their lives. Basically, there’s a 30-meter long bar that needs to be walked across. If you’re the first to reach the other end, you get 20 million. For every three people, there’s one bar, so if you’re second in line at one bar, the only thing that can make you win is push the one in front of you.
Still, I doubt that this arc is over with just this game. Kaiji, the old man (Ishida) and Sahara didn’t get to share the same bar for a reason: they need to survive for the next stage.]]>
Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – 10
It’s strange… usually I can easily write enough for at least paragraphs for an entry, but for my entries for Kaiji I never seem to have any inspiration.
In any case, this episode is an intermezzo: we see Kaiji, as he spends a few months living and working to pay off the huge debt he has now, before he gets recruited for the next arc by Endou. We also see the final major character introduced: the guy we saw in the ED. The guy really fits into this series: he likes to trick and make fun of people, but he is alert and can see through people, just like Kaiji. I liked the beginning of the episode, where Kaiji basically refused to socialize because he’s just not good at it. But one thing… his new manager, was that the same old guy as before? Well, there goes his image of a nice guy.]]>
Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – 09
And so, finally the Espoir-arc is finished. And really, the conclusion was awesome! It really showed the worst ides of human nature: the ease to lie and deceive. I was surprised at the way that Kaiji found his way out of that room, by actually stealing from Okabayashi.
Overall, I think that anyone could have predicted who would survive the games right from the start. While it was awesome to see that probably the only honest guy on the entire ship was saved too, it had it coming. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had so much attention in the beginning-episodes. Predictability isn’t really Kaiji’s strongest point, but fortunately it makes up for this with excellent character-development and screenplay.]]>
Karas Review – 81/100
If you’re looking for a short action-anime, then Karas is the way to go. Consisting out of six OVA-episodes, the purpose of this series is to deliver lots of action, stunning production-values and an engaging story. And I must say that it did pretty well. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s excellent for a quick watch.
The graphics and music are absolutely stunning. Both the computer-generated 3D-images and especially the traditional drawings are beautiful, rich and detailed. My only complaint is that at times, the two don’t blend in together. The music consists out of lots of violins and cellos, creating an epic atmosphere for this series to work with.
But yeah, the plot is just decent. Thankfully, it’s much more detailed than with a show like Afro Samurai, but it’s still not one of the selling points of this series. The setting is quite original, though the plot itself is just enough to keep the action going without feeling annoying. The final episode also is exactly what you’d imagine: an incredibly blown-up fight between the main protagonist and antagonist. While there are a few interesting twists and turns, the lack of time and the other priorities of this series prevent it from becoming really interesting. More time could have been used to flesh out the story a bit much, but instead the creators decided to show more action.
Luckily, the characters do a bit better. While they aren’t the best or truly original, the creators do manage to develop them and flesh them out. This prevents Karas to become “just another action-flick”. Obviously, the characters aren’t that deep, but they’re deep enough to make you care about them, and they’re the real reason why the action remains enjoyable through the three hours length of this OVA. The only exception to this is the major bad guy, he really was in need of more depth.
One thing that should be noted before watching this is that this isn’t such a good movie to show to your little brother or sister. There are quite a few bloody scenes. Obviously, if you like a quiet pacing, this isn’t an anime for you, but if you’re into action, are easily bored or just a fan of great graphics, then Karas is quite a good recommendation.]]>
Moyashimon Review – 85/100
There are more than enough anime-series with high-school antics. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about university-antics series. I could be mistaken, but 2007 only featured two of them: Nodame Cantabile, which aired earlier this year, and Moyashimon. Incidentally, both were noitaminA-series. Basically, Moyashimon takes place on an agricultural university. The selling-point is the strange ability of the main character, though: the ability to see bacteria, depicted as cute stuffed-toy-like creatures.
The great thing is that Moyashimon would have been an excellent series, even without the germs. It’s got enough material to remain fresh for eleven episodes, and some of the best jokes of the series don’t involve any germs at all. The major good point for this series is the script: the dialogue has been cleverly written to not only teach a few things about germs, but also showcase some hilarious situations in which the characters end up in. If it wasn’t for Suteki Tantei Labyrinth, I’d label Moyashimon as the most eccentric series of the year, but unlike with Labyrinth, I mean this in a good way.
As this series takes place in college, it also means that the characters are refreshingly different from the high-school-kids, and they’ve all gone out of their puberty. The result is that the series doesn’t seem to care about stereotypes beyond the main character, and all but him are immediately fresh and different from usual. I especially liked the antics of the two upperclassmen that Sawaki, the main character, befriends. There’s a bit too much useless fanservice here and there, but that’s just a very minor problem.
The major problem with this series is that it could have been more. Some scenes drag on a bit too much, and it really feels like the cartoony germs had much more potential than what they showed in the series. The final episodes are also not something to look forward to, as they suddenly introduce a dramatic element that gets nowhere, resolves nothing and has a rather bad conclusion. The scriptwriters of this series are really talented, and I wish they’d have more opportunities to show it.
Still, what they do manage to show here is excellent. Moyashimon is a short, well-scripted and imaginative comedy about campus-life at an agricultural college, with perhaps a few humps and bumps along the way. It’s a shame that there doesn’t seem to be a noitaminA-show scheduled for the Winter-Season, because this timeslot always offers refreshingly different and yet excellent series.]]>
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 69
So apparently Saiunkoku Monogatari went, just like myself, on a two-week hiatus, so I didn’t miss anything of this series. Today, the next episode arrived, and I must say that this series is getting better and better.
And seriously: Seiga is a bastard!!
First he guides Shuurei, dressed up as Juusanhime into a horse carriage to spend the night, only to pull a Sakujun on her. If it wasn’t for Ran, who happened to be passing by, things would have turned out even nastier. And then later we see him making shady deals with the ones who actually PLAN to assassinate Juusanhime! And really, he TOO tries to mess with Shuurei’s hair.
Ryuuki, meanwhile also seems to have paid a visit to the mansion of the Ran-family. Probably to get acquaintanced with Juusanhime, but I think that he also secretly hoped to see Shuurei somewhere, which happens near the end of the episode. Juusanhime also mentions her loved one to him for the first time, and I liked how both of them realize that they’re in the same boat: that they’ll never be able to live happily with their loved one.
Speaking of Juusanhime’s loved one: I think I know who he is: the prisoner who refused to go out of his cell in the previous episode. While I still don’t know the details, it does make sense how such a criminal like him can never really be fit to marry someone of such a high status as Juusanhime.]]>
Shugo Chara – 12
Yup, just like expected. Even though it’s a bit early, the first Christmas-episode has arrived. Interestingly enough, it went very different from what I expected, though. The focus is way more on Utau and Ikuto than on Christmas itself, as the two of them get quite a bit of development. Both of them are still quite angsty, but they’re getting less and less annoying, and this episode worked out quite well.
The only bad part about this episode was the revelation that Utau turns out to be an idol. Of course, in such a series it was unavoidable to not have some kind of idol somewhere, where so many members of the cast are popular, cool and good-looking. I’m also not sure why being an idol can help her and her manager to find Embryo. Could Utau perhaps be the link to Embryo?
In any case, in the later parts of the episode, Ikuto distances himself from both Amu and Utau, when he collects a huge amount of X-eggs in front of the former and refuses to come to an appointment with the latter. One thing I do want to see is a good explanation of why he’s so incredibly angsty. What the heck has happened to the guy? Bad childhood? There really has to be some kind of episode in the future that shows how he and Utau grew up together.]]>
Ghost Hound – 10
You have to love the cliff-hangers of this series. For the past episodes, they’ve always brought some kind of new twist. This episode gives a bit of a humorous side to the twists, which works out quite well, if I say so myself, even if it’s a bit mean. ^^;
This episode was mostly building up as usual again. After the previous episode, Tarou gets a new sort of therapy recommended by the councillor: Thought Field Therapy. I’m not yet sure what that means, but we’ll probably find out in the next episode, because Tarou really needs this after being exposed to the figure of the guy who kidnapped him and all. It now also seems that the councillor took the things that happened to him rather seriously, and is still frightened of the strange time-leap he made, two episodes ago.
Also, one of the questions that was raised in the OP has been answered: remember the Fox-like creature? That’s actually Makoto in Ghost Hound-mode. After seeing Tarou, he tried to move into the same form, and succeeded. In the meantime, the bully-side-story still isn’t over, when the bullies have now decided to make Masayuki into their victim. Luckily, Makoto prevented any real casualties in this episode, but things have to go wrong at one point.
Meanwhile, Masayuki finds out about Tarou’s crush on Miyako. Cute moment, by the way. Miyako seems to be really wary of her father, by the way. He just takes out one beer and she notices and gets annoyed. Could this have to do with her schizophrenic side, that was mentioned a few episodes ago?
Overall, I’m liking the quiet moments of this series more and more. It’s interesting enough for me to just see the different characters interacting, and that’s one of the signs of a good anime for me. Let’s see what this series will have in store for us once it enters its second half. Ghost Hound is an excellent recommendation for this season.]]>
Ghost Hound – 09
Those who are watching Ghost Hound for the plot can rejoice, because a lot of stuff happens in this episode. Everything starts with a bunch of teenagers, who are at night exploring the abandoned building-site where Tarou’s kidnapper died. It then seems that the ghost of this guy has come back to haunt them. Basically the same happens as when Makoto ran into it, but this time it also possesses one of the kids.
Rumours like these obviously travel fast, so Makoto, Tarou and Masayuki hear about this quite quickly. They decide to take a look in ghost-form, and there some very interesting things happen: Tarou freaks out (he does come into contact with his kidnapper, after all), and transforms from ghost-monkey to Ghost…. Hound-like being (now I also understand where the title for this series comes from). Masayuki gets to be the one to shoot the black figure down, when he basically turns out to be able to use the moves from his video-games. Quite cool, if you ask me.
In other news, the councillor has started contacting his colleague after what happened last episode, while sounding quite nervously. Masayuki meanwhile finally stands up to the bullies who torment his classmates, only to get beaten himself. Masayuki’s father also suddenly sees ghost-leeches dangerously close near his daughter, who just keeps playing simple video-games. Tarou, meanwhile, gets strange blushes when he’s near Miyako. *hint hint*]]>