Author: psgels

Sakamichi no Apollon – 03

by psgels, posted in Sakamichi no Apollon

Holy crap. This episode would be about the romance. The girl that caught Sentarou’s fancy last episode turns out to be Yurika Fukahori, who is one year above him. For a moment, this episode really had me face-palm: Kaoru arranges a double date for the four lead characters, and through some well-timed lines Ritsuko ends up thinking that Kaoru likes Yuriko instead. Not another one of those love triangles that take ages to get anywhere! And at the end of this episode, I was blown away.

Um, Sakamichi no Apollon… you’ve got eight episodes left, haven’t you? In this episode you went through what most series take 10 episodes to establish. This episode was penultimate episode material, that’s how much stuff happened. For once it had a wonderful combination between characters unable to say anything, and them actually being proactive about their feelings. Both Sentarou and Kaoru managed to overcome their anxieties and confess to the girl they liked. Everyone changed in this episode.

Instead of everyone being completely clueless, people actually picked up on subtle cues on how everyone behaved. Kaoru realized that Ritsuko doesn’t like him, and Ritsuko also realized that Sentaou would go away from her. The scene that made the most impact on me this episode was the one at the roof, where Kaoru’s anger for making Ritsuko cry was really well portrayed (it also was backed by a wonderful soundtrack).
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Lupin III – Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna – 04

by psgels, posted in Lupin III - Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

This episode revolves around the Phantom of the Opera, with Lupin making a return as people run around a theater while a performance is going on in order to steal the mask of the lead actress who has been hiding her face ever since it got scarred. It was quite a strange episode, but I like how the creators got actual opera singers for this.

This episode also showed how hard it is to animate people singing. And I don’t mean the cheesy J-pop idols that you see everywhere, but actually well sung songs. But especially with Opera in which singers have to hold high notes: that must take a lot of effort, and actually portraying that in animation is something that I have no idea on how to actually do, making the singing in this episode look a bit weird.

I also like how pretty much everyone was trolled in this episode at the end. It was quite an elaborate plan set up by two lovebirds who didn’t seem to care about anything. It was a great anti-climax to a fun chase sequence, made even more interesting with everyone attempting to just make the show go on, even though a horse randomly walked off the stage and a light just fell. Imagine how Sengoku Basara would be when Date Masamune’s horse from out of nowhere dropped its owner and took off with that ninja woman.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Zetman – 04

by psgels, posted in Zetman

Interesting: someone actually saw a bunch of thugs beating up someone, and did the most sensible thing: run away. Unfortunately this was nullified a bit when she headed outside again afterwards, but at least this was for a better reason than the usual “I want to help too!”

In any case, what also was interesting about this episode: all of the people observing Jin. They feel different from your average support crew. For one they feel like having actual characters and worries beyond their professionalism. It doesn’t feel like they exist solely to support Jin, but have a more complex job.

With the players, the creators also made random thugs better than your average thugs you see in anime. What I mostly like about these characters when they’re used is how they’re devoid of any sort of character. It’s like, “we need drama! throw in some random thugs with just one line!” These guys actually had a personality though. And they were actually a bit smart in when to run away. Two of them, at least.
Rating: +* (Great)

Phi Brain – 28

by psgels, posted in Phi Brain

This episode confirms that we’re first going through the cast of side-characters, beign possessed by some sort of Orpheus accessory. The beauty of this is that it makes use of this to turn even the most minor characters into interesting ones by showing their worries. This time it’s the turn for the girl member of the puzzle club.

What was cute about this episode was that for the first time in a long while the puzzle wasn’t exactly deadly. From the way things were set up, it was indeed very likely that Nonoha being a damsel in distress again was one big lie, but it’s still great to see that the creators actually went through with it. It just makes the villains much more interesting than if they were just using the same methods over and over again. And of course it was quite hilarious to have them actually dig up and steal this model kit that Kaito has in his room.

I do hope that the other members of the puzzle club will also get their episodes like this, because at the moment, they’re probably the worst characters in this series. They’re always used as plot devices and have no character on their own whatsoever. Their behavior in this episode also was just plain weird and forced. They’re minor characters, so they only make a minor impact, but it would be a good choice to see these guys improve as well.
Rating: *+ (Great)

Aquarion Evol – 17

by psgels, posted in Aquarion Evol

Okay… so this show just explored some new depths here.

Shoji Kawamori, Mari Okada, or whoever it was who came up with the idea for this episode: why? Why did you stuff everyone in swimsuits? Why was the ancient aquarion hidden in a lake? Why do people need to take a bath in milk? Why did that milk suddenly become a way to teleport people into mechas. And what on earth was up with all of the banana references? Seriously, with these past episodes this series has made all of the training arcs look completely ridiculous.

This was by far the most sexualyl charged episode so far. And despite some of the really bad twists of which I’m still not sure whether they were pulled on purpose or not, some characters emerged better out of it, while others got even worse. By far the best character in this episode was Andy, with his incredibly awkward freudian mistake. By far the worst was Zessica. This episode pulled the twist that gave her even less of a personality “I’ll love you even if you don’t love me back”. This remains a terrible twist. At least lett her attempt to move on or something. Also, what on earth was up with that new outfit of hers? Who on earth found it a good idea to give her a Queen’s Blade outfit? What on earth was that meant to symbolize?
Rating: * (Good)

Ozuma Review – 67,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

So… Ozuma. What is there to say about it, really? After years of absence, another Matsumoto Leiji series has come out, adapting a story of his that’s more than 25 years old by now about sand submarines. After six episodes, I’m still not quite sure what I watched.

Ozuma’s biggest problem is that it’s plagued by production issues. While in theory it’s nice to see a series who says an entire “screw you” to broadcasting schedules, this series feels very sloppy, and way too short to really do anything with its premise. It just delivers a bunch of ideas, but doesn’t connect them well. The ideas are great, don’t get me wrong about that, and this could have been a great retro series, but in the end nothing really comes together and the whole execution lacks soul, not to mention the sloppy animation.

I think what also was pretty bad for this series was its cast of characters. The main character is a very annoying brat, and the ones around him just fail to be interesting. They have neat ideas behind their characters, but their delivery is all just so lackluster. I miss passion here, I miss attention to detail, I miss the build-up that stories of the Leijiverse are so good at. You can see that the original Ozuma story had potential, but it’s like the creators didn’t care or something.

Storytelling: 6/10 – Lackluster is the best way to describe this. Doesn’t care at all about standing out.
Characters: 6/10 – These guys feel like caricatures of the usual Matsumoto Leiji characters. You can see flashes of other, better characters in them. Oh, and be aware of the male lead. He’s annoying.
Production-Values: 7/10 – Great character-designs, but very sloppy animation and doesn’t stand out at anything else.
Setting: 8/10 – Great ideas! Sand submarines? Awesome! Bloody shame that it doesn’t use them, really.

Suggestions:
– Space Pirate Captain Harlock
– Hi no Tori
– Secret of the Cerulean Sand

Uchuu Kyoudai – 04

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

More about the romance in this series: there are actually other guys who try to hit on Serika. And it’s in a non-creepy way. After watching so many “will they won’t they”-romances, it’s so refreshing to see one that actually handles it well. Every part of the romance in this series feels natural instead of contrived.

In any case, I love how this show plays around with its narrative and keeps its viewers in the dark. There are certain scenes that this show blanked out on purpose, only to reveal them later when it fit in better. Or take the part in the interview when after it finished, everyone stopped by a certain alley, of which we later learned contained a series of portraits of Japanese astronauts. This series has a ton of small touches that tell so much about the characters like this.

Mutta also was as hilarious as usual. Again the details around his crush on Serika are hilarious (that photo!), but the interview question when one of the interviewers suddenly started talking in very bad Engrish. The cotnrast between Kenji’s answer couldn’t be bigger. I also love how insightful the discussions with him after each test are: the creators use his character well for that.

Furthermore, after this we’re in for something completely different.. This series doesn’t linger in endless exams, because the next few episodes show a small side-trip to Hibiki at NASA in order to show a different side of the astronaut business. And to keep us in the dark for a bit longer on whether or not Mutta made the exam…
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Fate/Zero – 16

by psgels, posted in Fate/Zero

Kiritsugu… has generic villain motives. “I am going to end all murder and killing, and in order to do that I’m going to murder and kill!”

Joking aside, with three episodes, it’s evident that the second season of Fate/Zero is already improving a lot. The first season had a lot of build-up, and now that that is over we can finally get down to business, and I love how well the creators made use of this. Kiritsugu’s plans were very well thought up and executed, in addition to being completely ruthless. Although I do wonder how he knew where Kayneth and his fiance were. Does that have to do with these familiars that were mentioned in one of the early episodes of the first season?

I also loved that after all of the focus on Chivalry from Saber’s perspective, this episode yet again comes with the complete opposite of this in order to criticize it. Neither side is right: Chivalry basically means killing with honour, but Kiritsugu’s methods also only give birth to more conflicts. I love how this episode managed to balance that out.

Also, Kotomine Kirei. If I didn’t find out that this guy is the main villain of Fate/Stay Night, I really would not have guessed that. This episode again showed him as this conflicted soul, not sure of what he wants to do. Seeing him trying to figure this out is also quite interesting.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)

Mouretsu Pirates – 16

by psgels, posted in Mouretsu Pirates

Up till now, I didn’t really mind Mami: she’s a girl with a healthy fixation on making clothes, and I can very much see why she wants others to wear the clothes she designs and makes. There was nothing creepy about her. At least, until this episode. Spending three all-nighters to create random costumes for twelve different high school girls on a whim. That’s a bit much.

The actual heist this episode also was hard to watch: it worked out fine in the end, but it was very unprofessional. Not to mention the dress up party that popped up from nowhere and some of the characters putting on very bad displays.

Thankfully though, this was far from the main point that this episode wanted to make. Everything apart from that was really solid. This is an arc for Marika’s growth. For that, this arc did take some risks with its suspense of disbelief, but then again Marika would never have been able to change and show herself off like this if it hadn’t happened. Also, the end of this episode finally revealed what this arc had been building up to all along. Wow. Now that’s an interesting twist.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Eureka Seven Ao – 02

by psgels, posted in Eureka Seven Ao

The three big mecha/sci-fi shows last Winter Season have gotten an addition: Eureka 7. If you don’t include Uchuu Kyoudai among them (which is a completely different show anyway), then these are the four best series of the genre in 2012. Where Rinne was fun and witty, Aquarion was over the top and weird, Mouretsu Pirates was creative and down to earth, Eureka Seven puts the focus on its drama, and does it really well. This second episode, I’d probably rank it above the second episodes of Aquarion and Mouretsu Pirates and below Rinne no Lagrange, but in terms of potential, it could possibly eclipse all of them if it keeps on going like this.

This show also looks gorgeous. It’s a bit different from Aquarion, which spams eye-candy through its CG department. Here the CG and 2D animation mesh much better, and it’s the 2D animation that steals the show by being really expressive. That’s really going to work in the show’s favor later on.

For this series, the creators really used Ao’s innocence as a central point. It’s no excuse that he immediately knew how to pilot the Nirvash as soon as he stepped into it, but beyond that: it cares about continuity, it plays around with different parties who are all after him, and he realy is forced in the middel of this giant war, just because he refuses to let go of this bracelet of his.

I’m also very surprised at how the creators used Eureka in this series. If that really is the same Eureka as in Eureka Seven, she really changed.
Rating: ** (Excellent)