Kamichama Karin
Short Synopsis: Karin is a young girl, with no friends and whose pet just died, when she meets a few strange people, one of them refers to her as “Kami-sama”.
Good: Kawai! Really charming, The ALI-Project shines.
Bad: I’ve seen quite a few mahou shoujo up till now, but I still haven’t found the merit of those extremely long transformation-scenes.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Ah, the Mahou Shoujo of the season. I’ve been waiting for this, and it doesn’t disappoint. The first episode already was incredibly charming and heart-warming. Karin and … somehow really remind me of Sakura and Tomoyo, which of course is a good thing. I already love this. The only thing I’m worried about is the beginning of the show, which gives a small taste about what’s going to happen in the future of this anime. I’m not sure, but it looked rather formulaic. Let’s hope that the future episodes will be able to introduce lots of new stuff, as the first episode definitely showed that Kamichama Karin has the potential to become great. 🙂
Shining Tears x Wind
Short Synopsis: Two teenagers get transported to a different world. Twist: the main character actually isn’t a typical loser.
Good: Excellent mystery, so many potentially interesting characters.
Bad: Quite a few minor flaws (see below).
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
As this was another RPG-adaptation, I’ve been looking forward to it. Let me first say that I’m a total sucker for mystery, and so it’s great to see that there’s been a huge amount of mystery thrown into this anime. I really like the potential in this one. Also, even though the concept may be generic, the main characters actually do know how to fight before the story starts. The way the main character also obtains his power also has much more detail than your average other anime who uses this plot elements. And surprisingly, the romance between the two main characters of this episode could have been done way worse. Overall, I’ve been quite pleased, but the fact remains that there are lots of minor flaws in this anime which could potentially ruin it, just like Star Ocean Ex did once. Most of all, the females. Their character-designs are a bit too fanservice-based, and I do hope that they’ll be more than just damsels in distress. Apart from that, the fights themselves are rather generic, with no outstanding animation whatsoever. The characters also could have been a bit more surprised at the sudden catgirl who appeared in front of them.
sola
Short Synopsis: The sky is beautiful, taking pictures of it is fun, no sky is the same… oh god, this guy needs to find himself a hobby.
Good: The action-scene at the end surprised me.
Bad: Harem clichés ho!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10
The writers of Kanon and Da Capo collaborating for this project. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be exciting. Sure, it’s got a bit of a quiet mood, but the characters are nearly painful. There’s this main character who has another strange hobby, and obviously is a total loser, he runs coincidentally into a girl, and the two fall in love. Remember also that scene in NHK ni Youkoso, where Satou suggested to combine all sorts of character-traits into one character? Well, after watching this anime, I can’t help to think that the creators used that scene as the base of one of the other characters: the bed-ridden sister who acts cold and doesn’t talk much. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be an android as well. Apart from that, we’ve also got the tomboy-childhood friend and the little girl who sleeps in a box. Okay, that last one may not be a cliché, but she doesn’t exactly have an exciting personality either. In terms of graphics, don’t expect too much. The art on the main website already wasn’t really appealing, but this art got toned down even more for the anime-version.]]>
Author: psgels
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 38
Short Synopsis: We pass one month, Shuurei heads back to the capital and presents her plans.
Good: Great to see such a large pacing.
Bad: This had to happen, though very exciting it wasn’t.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
This was a surprisingly focused episode, as pretty much everything is about Shuurei’s proposal about the future of the Sa-province. Pretty straightforward everything. Shuurei presents her plans in front of a huge amount of important people and gets a bit nervous, but of course there’d be no way that Ryuuki didn’t accept her proposal. I did like Kokujun, though. He really needs to struggle now as the head of the Sa-clan. But what was that quote of Shuurei that she plans to use the transfer of the rights of the Seven-Coloured Paint of Luminescence from the Kou clan in order to take care of the funding? I didn’t quite understand that line.
Still, I’m afraid to say it, but Saiunkoku hasn’t been as good as it once was. The first half of this series shined so much, because it featured a woman, climbing up in a male-dominated society. Now that she has reached a high position, Shuurei has been doing other things. And I don’t mean that the second half didn’t have its memorable moments (Sakujun’s death was amazing), I still like the episodes in which I was cheering for Shuurei not to give up more enjoyable than her mission to restore the Sa-clan. While her plan to restore the Sa-clan definitely is insteresting, I do hope that in the second season she gets put in another situation, with all odds against her, and nobody to help her. That’s where she shines the most. There’s also the matter that the first half of the show featured a nice combination between seriousness and quirky scenes. I’ve been missing these quirky scenes a bit, mostly due to the fact that the funniest characters and combinations of characters were written out of the main plot.]]>
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto Review – 89/100
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto takes place in the Meiji-era, where supernatural events can occur. It follows Akizuki Youjiro, a very talented swordsman who has been tasked to seal an item called “the Lord’s Head”. This item is able to fully control others, and has to be sealed no matter what. A theatre-troupe, meanwhile is out on revenge.
One thing that immediately strikes with this series: its awesome production-values. Seriously, this series showcases some of the highest-quality art and animation for a tv-series. Characters move extremely fluid, the CG is terrific, and especially the background art is extremely detailed. The graphics just ooze with realism like no other series has managed to do before. And if that wasn’t good enough, this anime comes with an absolutely smashing soundtrack, which doesn’t lose focus for even an episode.
On top of that, it comes with a very detailed storyline, featuring both historical as fictional characters, based around Enomoto Takeaki’s mission to found the republic of Ezo, on what is now known as Hokkaido. Be warned, though, as the storyline does require some afford in order to actually understand it. A lot of references are made to the Meiji-period of Japan, and without sufficient knowledge, you’ll need to look up things a lot in order to get all the references.
Still, as the anime moves on, the story will become clearer and clearer, and it results in one of the more solid storylines I’ve seen in anime. Still, with that, perhaps one of the few problems with this anime lies. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto may be a really solid story, it also lacks plot-twists. Most of the series is pretty straightforward, and only episodes 13 and 18 provide a number of very juicy plot twists (which, in the end, turned out to be the best episodes of the anime).
Overall, though, it may be a bit too straightforward, but it’s one hell of an entertaining series. The solid plot and great production-values more than make up for this flaw, and Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto has been one great watch.]]>
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 26
Short Synopsis: This was definitely an Akizuki-episode, as he closes the story by defeating Kakunojou, Soutetsu and the Lord’s Head.
Good: Akizuki vs Kakunojou was so sweet.
Bad: What exactly was the role of the troupe in the later half of this anime again?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
And thus ends Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, one of the best series to hit last year’s fall-season. Again, the ending was as solid as ever. I loved the confrontation between Akizuki and Kakunojou, while Soutetsu’s fight was a bit predictable, though. The epilogue itself was nice enough, and I was surprised to hear that Kakunojou actually is using a fake name for herself. Soutetsu also reveals a final part of his background before he dies, which involves his meeting with Sakamoto Ryouma. It seems that Soutetsu told Sakamoto about the plans he had, though Sakamoto disapproved of them. I’m not sure what kind of effect this had.
Like I said, Bakumatsu has been a really solid series, but ever since Rook died, this solidness did show one disadvantage: the rather straightforward plot. Rook’s death, and Kakunojou’s cutting of Akizuki were the last major plot twists in this anime. After that, it’s been a straight race towards the finish, in which Akizuki catches up with Enomoto, all unimportant side-characters die, while the Lord’s Head and Soutetsu are taken care of in the final episode. While this does make for some very solid storytelling, it could have been more exciting. I would have loved a few major twists towards the end, like in episode 13 or 18, but alas.
Overall, I’m glad I watched and blogged this series. There’s no denying that for me, this was one of the highlights of the Fall-season. It’s not the best series of that season (that title goes to Red Garden), but it’s definitely been lots of fun watching this. Thanks w, for explaining some of the more difficult parts of the storyline.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Kotetsushin Jeeg, Darker than Black and Koutetsu Sangokushi
Kotetsushin Jeeg
Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to pilot a big mecha.
Good: Rocking OP.
Bad: Sadly, the OP was the only exciting part; horrible main character.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10
The umpth attempt to remake a mecha-classic. While most of them turn out good, or at least decent enough, Kotetsushin Jeeg, turned out to be pure garbage. It features characters with a way-too high testosterone-level, the main character being the worst case of this. Basically, it’s just an excuse to show flashy action, while attempting to make its characters look cool (which, let’s face it, obviously failed). Such a waste of a good OP.
Darker than Black
Short Synopsis: In a strange city, people can make contracts, in order to gain strange powers.
Good: Has potential… I guess.
Bad: The main character.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5,5/10
Bones may have hit the spot during the fall-season with Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi, I doubt that Darker than Black will become just as entertaining. So far, it had a few interesting points, but nothing really stood out. Yoko Kanno also disappointed, in my opinion. The main character also just doesn’t suit my tastes, like I mentioned before. First of all, he’s perfect, and second of all, he acts like a wimp. The broken fingers at the beginning of the episode also were a bit too much. I don’t feel like watching any more of this.
Koutetsu Sangokushi
Short Synopsis: It’s a war-anime, focusing on a guy whose parents have been killed, and is now under the care of an important person.
Good: Great combination of fights, characters and emotions.
Bad: I’d like to know how the main character was the chosen one.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Now this is more like it! Koutetsu Sangokushi was one of those anime I knew next to nothing about before I watched it, and it immediately comes with a very strong first episode. It wasn’t without its flaws, though, as the main character gets great powers while it isn’t explained exactly why he got them, but apart from that, I liked this episode a lot. Finally we’ve got a bit of a good main character, who’s really struggling with his own morals at the moment. He’s fairly young, but he’s already learning in this first episode. I was also fairly surprised when he saw his father’s killer. With a first episode like this, the rest of the series either has to be incredibly good, or incredibly bad. I definitely hope it’s the former. Oh, and also thumbs high up for the background music. Beautifully orchestrated it is. :)]]>
Some quick first impressions: OverDrive, Fuyu no Semi and Saint Beast
OverDrive
Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to learn to ride a bicycle.
Good: Decent enough music.
Bad: Yawn… err, where was I?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 3/10
Sports-anime have never really been my thing. Strangely enough, I never really had a good reason to avoid them. Finally, OverDrive gave me one. God, that was awful. The main bad point about this anime isn’t really that it’s bad, but the whole thing is just so incredibly boring. I felt myself nearly fall asleep after the first few minutes. Oh and the main character is a fourteen year-old loser who’s never ridden a bicycle before and will somehow end up as the best cyclist ever without having to practice hard like everyone else does. I definitely do not hope that all sports-anime are as bad as this one.
Fuyu no Semi
Short Synopsis: Quite an interesting setting: Ezo. Two guys who want to open up Japan to the rest of the world fall in love with each other (yes: guys).
Good: Nice historical backgrounds.
Bad: A tad boring, but that may have been because I watched this right after OverDrive.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10
I was quite surprised to see Ezo as the main setting in this OVA. It takes place perhaps a few years after Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, but without the magic and supernatural elements. What was even more surprising that I heard the name of one of the main characters: Akizuki. After a while, it appears that this wasn’t Youjirou, but Keiichirou. Brothers? Anyway, the episode self didn’t make me too enthusiastic. It does have some interesting historical elements, but most of the episode looked like some strange version of a dating-sim.
Saint Beast
Short Synopsis: I’ve been wondering this myself.
Good: Nice OP and ED, I guess, albeit a bit cheesy.
Bad: Oh god the Engrish… the horrible, horrible Engrish!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10
My impression of Saint Beast can be described in one word: forgettable. Yet again, nothing of the episode caught my interest. Heck, now that I’m writing this, I can hardly remember what this anime was about anyway. I believe it was about six bishounen-angels who live happily in a mountain-cottage, until they get summoned by a Greek God-ish type of guy. I can hardly imagine recommending this one.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Nagasarete Airantou, Romeo x Juliet and Gigantic Formula
Nagasarate Airantou
Short Synopsis: A typical loser ends up on an island with only young girls.
Good: Could have become good…
Bad: …if it didn’t have the most horrible concept to work with, didn’t include the main character, blood-noses or fanservice, didn’t seem to think that a guy screaming, getting beaten-up, hurt or getting chased was the funniest thing ever, etc.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10
It took me a while to figure out that “Airantou” is actually a horrible katakanification of the word “island”. Obviously, I think that my opinion on this one is clear by now. Okay, I do admit I chuckled at some parts, I liked it when the characters went crazy, and the evil smiles had potential. But why the heck did the creators find beating up the main character over and over and over and over again funny? It’s horribly dull and his screaming and nose-bleeds are some of the most annoying scenes ever. If the annoying parts are scrapped (including the horrible concept) though, this could make quite an interesting anime, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. Definitely dropped.
Romeo x Juliet
Short Synopsis: Juliet, a former princess now lives underground, in the same city where she used to live. There she gets saved by a boy: Romeo.
Good: Nice production-values, great ED
Bad: …Gonzo…grmblrg…..
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
Okay, I may only have read certain parts of the book, the beginning not included, but I doubt that this first episode was very true to the book. For starters, I never recall Juliet having lost her throne. Someone once commented about how Gonzo likes to add their own elements to the stories they adapt, and only now I realize what that means. Heck, if I’m not mistaken, William Shakespeare even makes a cameo-appearance. I don’t think I’m happy about these changes. In one thing, it did make the story more generic. I was looking forward to seeing this, as the book featured a type of storytelling that you don’t usually see in anime. I also definitely do hope that Gonzo won’t be thinking of a different ending. I’d love to see such an ending, which makes perfect use of the different character’s weaknesses: their naivety. Les Miserables proved that staying true to the book doesn’t mean a bad thing, and I’m fearing that Romeo x Juliet will somehow ruin this classic, in an attempt to make it “mainstream”. Still, the episode itself wasn’t bad if you see it as just another anime, and not “another Romeo and Juliet story”.
Gigantic Formula
Short Synopsis: Somewhere in the near-future, each major country possesses one strong mecha, which fight each other. Two children end up piloting Japan’s.
Good: Excellent production values, beautiful character-designs.
Bad: Makey no sensey.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10
It’s such a pity. If I had to guess, then the creators spent lots of effort to create some very high-quality graphics, music and scenes, only to realize that they ran out of budget to hire a decent writer. The graphics look amazing in this one, but it just makes no sense. I kept wondering how two children can end up piloting such an important mecha, but it appears that all of them are very highly skilled. Even more than normal adults. I really do hope that the future episodes will give some explanation about why these characters are so skilled, as they need every little piece of background they can get after this first taste of the series. Thankfully, near the end of the episode we got a small flash of the history of the main character, but that definitely was not enough. At all.]]>
Ayatsuri Sakon – 19
Short Synopsis: As expected, more people die. The culprit seems to wear a white Noh-styled mask. Kaoru, meanwhile, makes a fool out of herself.
Good: Glad to see the brilliance of the first two arcs finally returning again! Kaoru was quite funny.
Bad: So far, Ayatsuri Sakon’s only bad point was its predictability, but even that was absent from this episode.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I never thought to see some actual consistent updates from Ayatsuri Sakon again, but surprisingly the Ayatsuri-Sakon project released yet another new episode. And I’m glad to say that, apart from the ending of the second arc, this is one of the best episodes yet. There are probably two reasons for that. First of all: Kaoru. I really like this arranged marriage of hers, and the fact that she fell in love with it anyway. She was so cute when Ukon kept teasing her. ^^;
The second reason is the fact that throughout the episode, you’ve got almost no idea of knowing who the real culprit is. Right now, I’m suspecting that the youngest son is behind it, but why would that be? When the previous arcs tried to side-track the viewer, the events were rather transparent. But this arc manages to throw in not one side-track, but lots of them. At one point of the episode, everyone has a possibility of being the culprit.
There’s a lot behind this mystery that still isn’t clear yet. For example, why did the culprit have to wax the floor, when he could have timed the attack perfectly. If it was a mistake, and the slippery floor was actually meant to fend off the killer, and Naoto was the real victim, then why didn’t the culprit kill Naoto off the second time? How did the culprit make Kouei end up in the car-crash? It’s hard to believe that everything is the work of just one person.
Memorable quote: “Hyu hyu! You two are sizzlin’!” – Ukon]]>
Death Note – 25
Short Synopsis: Finally, we get to see a part of Ryuzaki’s background.
Good: The first plot twist was awesome. The background was awesome.
Bad: The background could have been more, certain parts could have been cut out of your resident bishie-anime, too bad I saw the second plot twist coming.
Good: Still, the results of that plot twist were awesome as well.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
Oh boy. I had a hunch about what was going to happen in this episode, but I never saw Light’s plan coming. Instead of the easy way around, make Misa meet L, and write down his name afterwards, which would obviously place Misa yet again on the place of a major suspect. Instead, he uses Misa in order to place Rem in an inescapable plan. He makes Misa kill people again. Because of this, it’s evident that the Death Note has to be researched yet again. Once L finds out that the rules are fake by testing it on actual prisoners, Misa will become a major suspect yet again, and will definitely face the death punishment with all the charges found against her.
The genius plan: the only way to save Misa from being killed: Rem killing Ryuzaki, and taking her own life with her. She can’t take Light with her in the process, as this would bring great sadness to Misa, who apparently does have a short life-span. She has NO choice but to kill Ryuzaki, and sacrifice herself for it! Not only does this not place any suspects on neither Light nor Misa, it also removes the pesky problem of Rem, preventing Light to kill or harm Misa. Still, she probably would have been smarter to kill off Light right ahead. After all, I doubt that Misa will survive long. Then again, she does prove him useful with her eyes and all. He’ll probably decide to keep her, and kill her off when he really needs to.
Also, Ryuzaki’s background definitely was interesting, albeit a bit vague and short. L hints that he’s never told the truth to anyone he knew before. We hear some bells, we see a couple of kids playing and crying and we see Watari stand with a young Ryuzaki right next to him. This probably means that L lost his parents at young age, and then got put in the care of Watari. Watari then probably taught him how to think like a detective.
Also, the wet-bishie-towel-scene may have been a bit too much. Still, the underlying thought was quite interesting, as we see L struggling with his own morals. Obviously, the only way to really find out about the Death Note is to try it out. This means nothing other than to kill somebody with it. Not only does this mean a to go to the same depths as Kira, it also means big trouble for Rem, so she kills both Watari and L off before they have the chance.
The fact remains that this final thing was predictable, but it still was great to see it! Also, Light is now not only Kira, he’s also head of the research, in charge of tracking down Kira. One thing I’d love him to do is look at Rem’s Death Note, and look at Ryuzaki’s real name. I’ve been dying to know what it actually was, and I do hope that the next episode will tell a bit more about Ryuzaki’s background. The guys we’ve been seeing in the OP will probably arrive also in a couple of episodes as well. Sounds promising!]]>
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 37
Short Synopsis: Shuurei lets her tears lose in the comfort of Ryuuren, and she comes up with a plan to rebuild the Sa-province.
Good: Obviously, the crying-scene would turn out great.
Bad: One of the more quiet moments of the series.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
This episode definitely was different from the other episodes of the past few months. Not only does it close some wounds from the past, it also looks into the future. I quite liked it, ‘but on the other side, there weren’t any amazing moments. Still, the scene between Ryuuren and Shuurei was great, and it’ll be very interesting to see how Shuurei will actually turn the Sa Province into the centre of intellectuality. Obviously, this won’t be an easy task, and I can see Shuurei spending the entire second season in order to do this.
Still, this does make you wonder. Obviously, two episodes won’t be enough to create a fully fledged Saiunkoku-climax, which probably means that the final two episodes of Saiunkoku will be about preparing for the meeting, and putting the final ideas into Shuurei’s plans. Still, I’m suspecting that the second season can’t be all about the plans to turn the Sa Clan to an intellectual capital. I’d personally love to see some more background on characters whose background we haven’t seen yet or insufficiently:
– Ran (we actually don’t know anything about this guy’s past)
– Eigetsu (especially the identity of Yougetsu)
– Ensei (where did he grow up?)
– Sho Taishi and his companion (what is their role in this story?)
We’ve also seen Ryuuki’s clan, the Ran-clan, the Kou-clan and the Sa-clan. Apart from that, there still are three (or four?) clans that haven’t had a lot of attention. I somehow suspect that they’re going to play some kind of role as well. Especially when Shuurei pays her visit to the capital.]]>