Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

Shangri-La – 05

by psgels, posted in Shangri-La



Whoa.

I must say, I totally didn’t see this coming. This was without a doubt the best episode of Shangri-La yet. The thing with Gonzo is that they’ve got so much flaws, that I at times forget that these guys make damn good anime. No other animation studio has surprised me more times than they did. Blassreiter looked like a simple action-show, but what terrific action it became. Gad Guard from the outside looked like yet another boy meets robot show, and yet it developed into a very likable series. The same goes for the likes as Solty Rei, Welcome to the NHK, Seto no Hanayome, they’re all shows that turned out to be excellent even though you wouldn’t suspect it at first glance.

After the previous episodes’ disaster in the animation department, I was seriously surprised to see the animation quality this much improved. The inconsistencies are totally gone. Characters aren’t conveniently placed in the background to save money on drawing close-ups, and especially the virtual reality animation rocked beyond belief. Now, if only the rest of this series can keep this same quality.

But also in the storyline department this show got some new dimensions. Like above, the virtual reality turns out to play a much more important role than suspected, as even some of the guys at Akihabara make use of the same technology that our little genius uses to manipulate companies. At the same time, the military has also been working on an invisibility device, and Kuniko makes use of one of the naive guys of the military and finally gets a bit of an idea of what’s going on inside Atlas. I personally loved that scene between them, because you could really tell that the two of them were living in totally different worlds and tried to justify their own actions.

Oh, and I had to laugh at the subtle otaku-jokes. Usually in anime these sorts of jokes are dumbed down a bit too much, but I loved how Kuniko’s grandmother used to be a popular idol when she was young. I definitely understand why she’s trying to hide that. ^^;

In any case, overall this episode made this series even more intriguing than it already was. I really had some doubts whether this series would turn out okay or not in the end, but this episode surely removed a lot of them.

Rating: ** (Excellent)

Guin Saga – 05

by psgels, posted in Guin Saga



I’m noticing a worrying decrease in animation quality with every progressive episode of this series, which seriously isn’t a good sign. I really hope hat Satelight are saving their budget for the later episodes, because amidst the beautiful shots the bad shots really stick out like a sore thumb. The graphics of this show unfortunately are of the kind that need a big budget, because otherwise they’re just going to look bad.

In any case, this episode didn’t have me as much impressed as I hoped to. The novelty of this series has worn off just about now and this episode lacked a bit of atmosphere. Guin, Remus and Linda get captured by the Mongol army, only to get rescued again by Istvan. It’s mostly just used as a building up episode, and not really that of an exciting one, although we do learn some new stuff.

As it turns out, these lands are very unfamiliar to the Mongol forces and they too have a lot of trouble trying to fend off all the huge fishes and giant sandworms, which seems to suggest that they don’t have these giant beasts in their home country (otherwise they’d know how to deal with them more efficiently by now). Another small clue was given about Guin and Istvan’s pasts: somehow the name of Landock is important to Guin, which Istvan once saw written on a very fast ship ten years ago when he was being a pirate.

Rating: (Enjoyable)

Phantom – 05

by psgels, posted in Phantom


Oh, this series is sure shaping up to be an awesome one. I had a few doubts as this episode started that it wouldn’t live up to the other episodes of this show so far, but as the ending credits rolled I really had to this back: this episode knew exactly what it was doing.

I really like the approach when it comes to the random stories of this series: at first, it shows the people from the Mafia from a sympathetic sight. It shows that even though these guys are thugs and don’t hesitate to kill if they want, they are also human beings with a family… only for them to get killed off mercilessly by Phantom in the end. El Cazador in comparison was much more of a travel series, in which the lead characters move around and meet different people, while the early episodes of Noir were more about why the targets were ordered to be killed in the first place, since the two lead characters were freelance assassins, rather than being employed by one particular mafia-gang like the lead characters of Phantom are. I can’t comment on how Madlax did it since I haven’t seen it yet.

Throughout the largest part of the episode, it felt like the parts were swapped, and the mafia boss instead was the lead character of this episode. Eins and Zwei really were portrayed as the bad guys this time, and that‘s something you don’t see very often. And at the same time we also get a pretty good idea of how powerful Inferno actually is: even without Phantom, they have excellent security, and prevent any information about them from being leaked out in order to stay into obscurity.

It’s also interesting how Ein and Zwei are basically mirroring each other at some points. Ein has that strange scientist while Zwei has McCunnen, and with both we see at least some hints that whenever one of them is with them, the other one is waiting for them. Just how they exactly feel about each other still is a mystery, though.

Pandora Hearts – 05

by psgels, posted in Pandora Hearts



In this episode, we get some more clues as to what exactly happens when a monster from the abyss makes a contract with a human. It’s basically a method for both of them to get out of the Abyss, but it’s not going to last forever: at one point both of them will be dragged back into the Abyss. And at the same time, there was quite a bit of banter between the characters out there. While it’s not quite the funniest banter out there, Oz calling Raven “father” was priceless.

It was mostly a building up episode, but still it made a lot of impact and at the same time this episode also used its time to flesh out the characters quite a bit and increase the trust between the lead characters. It’s of course strange that Oz would simply trust someone he just met (as signified by this episode in which a seemingly innocent flower-selling girl turns out to be possessed by a demon), but then again: there’s nobody else that he can trust, is there? Alice was Oz’s ticket out of the Abyss, and I think that that’s why he’s not suspicious of her, and I think that that’s why he was more shocked at seeing the flower-girl disappear, compared to the thought that he himself would also return to the abyss that way unless a countermeasure is found.

Still, the animation this episode was strange. Throughout most of the episode, it looked as good as ever… apart from that flower-girl whose face looked horribly distorted at times. Usually a bad drawing can just be attributed to either a limited budget or an incompetent chief animation director, but why do only the drawings for that girl look ugly? My guess would be that there was just one guy responsible for drawing her, and he screwed up big time.

Eden of the East – 04

by psgels, posted in Eden of the East



I just realized that Akira and Saki have quite a few similarities as the two lead characters of this show. They’re both at the turning point in their lives and both have to deal with the rather annoying consequences of it. Saki has finally finished her education and is about to get ready for a job, while Akira is someone who seems to have cast his old self away and wanted to start anew, or so it seems at least.

In any case, this episode sheds some light into the purpose of the Selecao and the role of the supporter. Quite early, actually. It indeed turns out that the Selecao are in a game to see who can save the nation first. Accepting such a phone is pretty much a guaranteed death, because if you aren’t the fastest, you’re going to get killed off anyway, and I think that that was the intention of number one when he tried to get rid of Akira: he knew that with such a ‘special’ personality, if anyone would be able to save he nation, it would be him.

The thing is that up till now, all we’ve seen is extremes: ignoring the mysterious number one who appeared only for a flash, we have one incredibly strange Selecao (Akira), we have someone who tried to save the nation, and failed horribly and so started using his money for his personal gain (Kondou), and we have someone who has no problems with dying and just wants to do what he can with his money. I really doubt that the other Selecao are just as extreme as these guys, and they probably all are somewhere in between the latter two (aside from the Supporter, perhaps). I’m especially intrigued that nobody aside from Kondou has tried to abuse his money for his personal gain.

As I’m watching this series, I realize how little anime deal with actualities. I mean, I of course understand that series usually are planned years ahead, and if they’re based on a manga even more, but still even the events of 9/11 are only mentioned or referenced in a very select amount of series. In most ‘modern’ series, the PCs are still stuck in Windows 95. Cameras still look like the models of 10 years ago. And in a way that’s a shame, because keeping up with actualities is a very good way for anime to remain fresh. And that’s why Eden of the East feels so fresh, in these financially difficult times the theme of how difficult it is to save a country is very up to date. In fact, it’s so up to date that it’s almost scary, since I doubt that this series was only planned and produced within the eight months since the recession started.

Shangri-La – 04

by psgels, posted in Shangri-La



Short Synopsis: Kuniko and Momoko head to Akihabara. Or what’s left of it.
Episode Rating: 7,5/10 (Good)
At first I thought that it would be best for me to simply follow the subs from this series, but after last week’s disaster with Tranquil Fansubs I’m just going to continue with the raws like I’m doing for most of the other shows I’m blogging. I’d rather miss a few details here and there than to sit through their “It’s so huge! It’s so huge!” It’s of course one thing to make slight translation errors, but it becomes a problem when a subtitle creates an extra flaw for a series. Shangri-la has its own problems, and it doesn’t need any more.

In any case, the animation of this series is a strange beast: during the first half of this episode, it actually looked quite capable… only to descend into the previous inconsistent quality in the second half. It’s the clear sign of a badly managed animation budget and outsourcing. I can’t seem to find anywhere who is supposed to be the chief animation director, but I think that this is the guy we need to blame for this.

Still, I’m not ready to give up on this show yet by far. While the show indeed isn’t anything amazing yet, it’s doing exactly what it should be doing right now: flesh out the setting and characters. This episode was a great way to show a bit more of the setting by showing how Akihabara has turned into some sort of black market paradise, and how these vastly different cities emerged when Tokyo got turned into a jungle. This series is in no way like Dragonaut, which even in its first episodes was one big heap of dullness, stock characters and predictability. I mean, who cares if it’s not amazing right now: there’s enough chance left for that. It’s clear that this isn’t a show that can be awesome right from the first minute, but there have been plenty of series with an average first half and an amazing second half. That’s what I’m hoping Shangri-la will turn into.

On a more negative side, there have been quite a few coincidences in this episode. The most unlikely ones:
– Kuniko’s mother is most likely confirmed to be Sayoko
– Miiko becomes instantly liked by Mikuni
– Momoko is Mikuni’s mother (?!?)
– Someone Kuniko knows lives in Akihabara. My guess would be either her father or brother.
– For some reason Karin can’t find any data about Kuniko.

Standalone those coincidences are obviously too much, but when you think about the causality between them, things start to get interesting. If Momoko indeed is Mikuni’s mother or father (depending on when exactly she got her sex change), it would make sense of Mikuni to like transvestites like Miiko. We now see that Kinuko is someone special, and perhaps the reason why Momoko left her ‘daughter’ had something to do with Kinuko, and somewhere along the way Miiko got involved. Now the question remains who that guy at the end of the episode was. There are still a few too coincidences, but provided that they’re well handled they shouldn’t prove to be that much of an annoyance. And besides, it’s good that these revelations come this early in the series. It’s much better than the alternative: a “LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER”-moment near the end.

Guin Saga – 04

by psgels, posted in Guin Saga



Short Synopsis: Guin and the others descend a rather dangerous river in order to escape no man’s land.
Episode Rating: 8/10 (Excellent)
While most EDs aren’t anything special, I do have to say that Guin Saga’s ending theme is really good. Probably the best of the season along with Basquash’s (interestingly, both come from Satelight). It fits the series exactly with its epic sound, and the vocals are clean and haunting. It’s a very varied song, considering it’s only ninety seconds.

In any case, this episode again brought a whole new dimension to this series, as it introduces Amnelis, who turns out to be a princess of the Mongol (or however that’s spelled) country. At the same time, this episode was also used to get to know the cast better: everyone has a different goal, but for now they still need to work together to get back to civilization. I was quite surprised by all of the disturbing things that live inside that river. Those oversized piranhas and big-mouthed fish were bad enough already, but to think that some sort of everything-eating plant lived somewhere underwater…

We also learn that there’s some sort of deep storyline involved with Istvan. If I understood correctly, he was supposed to have died at one time. How does that relate to him getting captured by that demon of the previous episode? And Linda also turns out to either have some ability of telepathy, or she occasionally gets possessed by something that wants to talk through her. The meaning of the occult in this series is still a big mystery, though. We also see some henchman of Amnelis who is into foresight.

It seems that next up is the village of Suni’s people, from which either everyone will go separate ways, or something (probably involving Amnelis) will happen that will keep the five of them together for a while longer.

Oh, and on a side-note, while the character-animation this episode didn’t look as good as in the previous episode with quite a few inconsistencies that even I could notice, the architecture in this series really is amazing. All of the different buildings are distinct and look like a lot of creativity had gone into designing them. And it’s not just for one building, but every single structure in this series looks amazing. I bet that the creators could even make a wooden shack look awesome if they wanted to.

Eden of the East – 03

by psgels, posted in Eden of the East



Short Synopsis: Akira and Saki arrive at Akira’s… “home”.
Episode Rating: 8/10 (Excellent)
For me, the great thing of Eden of the East is that it only gets awesome after an episode finishes. At least, I had that with this episode: most of the episode was just a collection of strange events with very pretty production values, but as I started putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together and things started to make more sense, the setting only became more and more intriguing.

So, we now know that all of the Selecao get a starting budget of 10 billion yen, or 77,7 million Euros. Akira used 13,9 million Euros of that in order to buy his own shopping mall and gather 20.000 NEET and had them killed. Since having 3 people killed costs around 11653 euros (as shown in the previous episode), the murder of the 20.000 NEET would have cost him nearly exactly 77,7 million Euros. Now that’s a nice coincidence there that I didn’t expect.

Now, my guess would be that Akira killed those NEET in person, instead of using Juiz, since otherwise he’d be broke right now. The question now remains what he did to all the bodies of those people, since it doesn’t seem like Juiz cleaned up for him.

My image of the pre-mind-wipe Akira at the moment is one of a deranged madman: somehow he got the complete wrong idea of carrying out his mission of improving the world, thought that it’d be a good idea to simply get rid of all of the NEET in Tokyo, rather than all of the bank-robbers, rapists or terrorists. He threw around with money for a while, bought his own shopping mall, killed 20000 people by hand and was happy about it. Then he started to probably regret his choice; he went crazy, did nothing but watch every possible movie in existence, made some fake passports, fled around the world and in the end he simply erased his own memory to end himself from constantly being haunted.

It’s interesting how for once, we have a show that doesn’t criticize bad society, but those naive minds who think that with the right amount of money and power this world can simply be turned into a better place. I do want to see more of the other Selecao though. Akira in this episode was labeled as a very notorious member, which means that the other members of the Celecao didn’t run off with their money in the way he did. It’s going to be interesting to see how the other ones ended up using their money: are Akira and Yuusei the two worst examples, or are the others the same and also waste the money of the Selecao?

Phantom – 04

by psgels, posted in Phantom



Short Synopsis: Ein and Zwei disguise themselves as a teenaged couple in order to get close to their next target.
Episode Rating: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
Whoa! I must say, that while Phantom may be a blatant Noir rip-off, it’s promising to surpass Noir very quickly if this keeps up. From the outside this episode looks like your average random episode, but the cast got so much depth through it. It’s in episodes like this in which Bee-Train’s real strength lies: not the awesome music (though that does help), but the excellent characterization.

It was very strange to see Ein acting so convincingly like your average teenaged girl on a holiday with her first boyfriend. Especially considering how goofy Zwei looked right next to her with his bad acting as her boyfriend. I like how she even commented to Zwei how he still needs to work on his acting a lot. There was quite a bit of subtle fanservice in this episode, but even that had its purpose: to show the sexual tension between Ein and Zwei.

And that’s another point at which this series rocks: Ein and Zwei are really characters who don’t speak what’s on their mind: they leave their feelings and thoughts exactly out of their jobs, but the thing is that we hardly ever get to hear their thoughts. During those above-mentioned fanservice moments, for example: we can only guess what goes on their head at those points, and this gets especially confusing when the two start acting like their complete opposites and at times it gets really hard to point out which a subtle action of the belongs to: their acted personas, or their own intuitions.

And I’m personally a huge fan of series that manage to leave certain things up to the viewer’s imagination. Phantom knows exactly the difference between simply leaving out an important plot point, and just subtly refraining to say things that most people can figure out on their own. And when we finally get a confirmation (or denial in this case) of Ein’s feelings at the end of this episode, it does make impact. Especially considering how this series has only gone on for four episodes, I’m surprised at how far it has already come.

Pandora Hearts – 04

by psgels, posted in Pandora Hearts



Short Synopsis: When Oz wakes up from the Abyss, he’s greeted by a certain threesome.
Episode Rating: 7,5/10 (Good)
Okay, so this episode was mostly meant as a build-up, to close off the introduction for this series and introduce the rest of the main cast of characters that it’s going to work with: Break, Sharon and Reibun. Obviously not the most exciting episode of this excellent series, but still a really good one.

Here’s one thing that I don’t get though: why the heck does Reibun look like a grown up Gilbert? And if it indeed is Gilbert (hinted at everywhere by the promo art) and lots of years must have passed since Oz was cast into the Abyss, then why hasn’t Sharon grown up as well?

In any case, it’s interesting how Oz and Allies aren’t exactly allies of Break, Sharon and Reibun, but instead they’re just two parties with the same goals, and they were actually nearly enemies if things would have gone a little different. There’s going to be an interesting tension between them for the rest of the series this way.

We learn quite a few things in this episode, including what Alice has been hiding: the fact that she lost her memory. This is why she couldn’t remember strangling Oz when he found the locker, since that memory of her seems to have been erased. It’s interesting how she never wondered why she ended up right with Oz of all people: it’s because he met her before when she was in the abyss, through that watch of his. After that point, something must have happened to wipe out her memories that way.

At the same time, Oz also proves that he’s quite a bright kid in this episode: he’s observant and quickly draws conclusions based on the things around him. That could prove to be interesting in the next couple of episodes, and as an added bonus he seems to move more and more away from your average wimpy lead this way.

Oh, and on a side-note: why exactly is the animation of this show so hated? I mean, I know that it isn’t the best animation out there and all, but I see no reason to dislike this show based on the animation: there are no distorted faces due to inaccuracies, there aren’t many still frames, the character-designs are distinctive and not copy-pasted. What more could you want? What makes the artwork in this show so “atrocious”?