Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

Nijuu Mensou no Musume – 06

by psgels, posted in Nijuu Mensou no Musume


Spoilers up ahead! Let me repeat: spoilers up ahead! This is one of these episodes you need to have seen before reading such an entry about it, so this sentence is meant to fill up the blurb that appears on the blog aggregators with. I am SO glad that I decided to blog Nijuu Mensou no Musume.

Because oh my GOD! I kind-of suspected that Nijuu Mensou would end up dead somehow, but talk about bloody overkill! This is even worse than the first episode of Chevalier: the ENTIRE cast is slaughtered apart from two people. It is only now that I finally understand the OP, where they only show the grown-up version of Ken, and not everyone else. I now also understand why Ken was the one who ended up with his eye poked out: doing this on any of the other characters wouldn’t have mattered anyway, since they would have died within an episode anyway.

Having said that, I do want to add that Nijuu Mensou’s death lacked a bit of impact. Chiko’s reaction on seeing him die was of course amazing, but I’m wondering why he couldn’t just detach the train and then quickly hop onto her car. With his skills, he could have easily done it. Or did he die on purpose? Did he feel like he would abandon his comrades if he didn’t die with them? I still somehow feel that the creators could have developed the guy a bit more, but at least he and his crew did a terrific job in developing Chiko. I’m really getting pumped up now for the rest of this series!

Crystal Blaze – 06

by psgels, posted in Crystal Blaze


Hah, I don’t care about the general opinion: this show rocks! It may be the most neglected series of the season, but for me it definitely belongs in the top-10 of the series that aired this season.

In this age of big budgets, it’s good to see that a relatively unknown company as Studio Fantasia is also trying its best to put down a classic. One of the things I don’t like about this season is that nearly every good series is done by the big animation studios, as Madhouse, Gonzo, Deen, etc. The studios that are relatively unpopular don’t seem to be even trying (for example A.C.G.T with its questionable Monochrome Factor).

I’m really glad to see that Studio Fantasia is trying to improve itself. Just take a look at their previous work. Before 2006, they only worked on silly shows which only seemed to focus on fanservice, though they pretty much surprised me with their solid work on Souko no Strain, and now they again managed to create a very enjoyable series that goes right where many other series have gone wrong. So yeah, there are a few low-budget parts in this series, mostly the art, but the rest really shines. This should send out a good message to the other lesser-known studios: you can create a good anime, even on a small budget.

Really, this is what a 12-episode series should be: no scene is wasted, quick development and good characterization. A 26-episode can afford to slowly build up for 10 episodes, but series like this one need to deliver quickly. Seeing a series that builds up for eleven episodes, with a climax of only two episodes is nice and all, but it remains mostly boring.

What’s more: the villains actually have some background to them. This episode actually gave the two of them some depth, beyond their stereotypes. It seems that the guy is obsessed with his own work, and is fascinated when he sees how HW-09 has managed to not turn into glass. The woman meanwhile reveals that she knew HW-09 before she became a glass maiden, and as it turns out: she loathed her.

Also, is it me or do the more low-budget series have a bigger tendency to feature good fights than high-budget series? Seriously, I can confidently say that the fight in this episode was better than what I’ve seen from Soul Eater and Macross Frontier so far, even though these series overflow with budget. It’s the same with Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino: the animation was bad, and yet the fights were amazingly directed. Somehow, it feels to me that the creators try to make up for the lack of budget by detailed direction, and it really works!

Nijuu Mensou no Musume – 05

by psgels, posted in Nijuu Mensou no Musume


I do wish that the creators would show more of Chiko, improving her 1337-skills. Walking on a tight rope isn’t something you just learn overnight, and while I can understand that it’s perfectly possible for Chiko to learn this within a year, I’d much rather see her gradually mastering this skill, instead of vaguely hinting at this in the ED and assuming that the viewers will assume that she has been practicing a lot in the gaps between the episodes. I’m not asking for Dragon Ball Z-length training arcs (that would be pretty bad, actually), but right now this is the big (but also the only) weakness of this series.

Having said that, this series is really picking up steam now, though it does so very subtly. This episode finally introduces a pair of enemies that actually have the potential to cause Nijuu Mensou and Chiko some serious trouble, as they demonstrate by poking Ken’s eye out. That’s a twist I totally didn’t see coming at this stage of the series.

In this episode, Nijuu Mensou attempts to steal a large strange statue, under the cover of a circus troupe. He really demonstrates again how he’s an attention-whore, because he tries to create an as big spectacle as possible whenever he appears. In that way, he’s really different from Chiko, who’s a much more straightforward person.

Amatsuki – 06

by psgels, posted in Amatsuki


Well, we can already see the results of 92JeyRfcya, YS2YSUOe1cLtf, and YnXmHqtxqS being arrested. It’s been 24 hours, and there’s still no Amatsuki 06 on Share to be found. I can only guess (and thank) where the person who uploaded a version on Tokyo Toshokan got his from, but it seems that all other share-uploaders have become scared of being arrested themselves.

I’m not claiming that the illegal file-sharing is right. The reason why I still use programs as Share and Bittorrent is simply because they’re the easiest and most consistent ways to get anime. Once anime companies come with a way that can beat these, I’ll most likely switch to them. The thing is, however, that there are still people who don’t realize the irony of trying to solve illegal file-sharing with violence. Take this analogy: suppose you have a dog that doesn’t behave, and you kick it every time it does something it’s not supposed to do. Obviously, the poor thing won’t instantly turn tame, and instead you’re turning it into a wild beast.

There’s more to that than just that analogy, though. To quote Alafista, the three share-uploaders have been charged of uploading “anime like Macross, Gundam and Code Geass”. In other words, the well-known series. The thing with these shows, however, is that there’s a large enough fanbase for these shows for fans to find some kind of way to watch them in a safe, though slightly more troublesome way. Remember when that cease and desist-letter was sent to the fansubbers of Death Note? Well, I’ve never seen Death Note episodes being subbed as fast as those final two.

And indeed, Kanokon, a wildly popular show (gee, I wonder why…) arrived today on Tokyo Toshokan just as scheduled, while Amatsuki had to wait a day. And I guess that waiting a day isn’t that bad, but what about the series that are even less popular than Amatsuki? I don’t want to imagine how long the raws for Himitsu or Crystal Blaze will show up. Or the worst of all: Porfy no Nagai Tabi and Kaiba.

So, basically what the anime executives are trying to do right now is destroying a major source of international promotion for the more obscure and less mainstream series, who actually NEED this kind of attention, while the popular series are hardly affected at all and just sell themselves anyway. Imagine if the Japanese authorities would continue to smash down the illegal file-sharing circuit: all we’d get to see then are Code Geass and Kanokon, while all the other series die a slow death without ever getting the chance of being recognized. (no offence to those who love Code Geass and Kanokon, of course)

Anyway, please excuse this rambling. About this episode: Amatsuki has just kicked xxxHolic out of my top-3 of this season, and that doesn’t say that xxxHolic has become bad by all means. I don’t know exactly what it is with this series, but it consistently has me edged at the screen. There are hardly any weak moments. I really feel that the dialogue draws me in like no other, even though I only understand 50% of it. Amatsuki realizes full well that its main character is an idiot, and makes perfect use of that.

Crystal Blaze – 05

by psgels, posted in Crystal Blaze


Why I’m not bothered by Manami’s brattiness:
– She’s not THE main character of this story.
– She’s an interesting combination with the rest of the cast.
– She’s fleshed out pretty nicely. She’s an idiot, she’s naive, and yet she’s easily afraid.

The thing I have against most annoying and stupid teenagers isn’t the fact that they’re annoying, but that they’re badly written. Take Lala from To Love-Ru for example. Sure, she’s an extreme case, but the reason why she’s annoying is because the creators spent no effort whatsoever in making her believable. She instantly falls in love with the male lead with no subtlety whatsoever and I couldn’t spot anything that made her really seem like a living being, an being an alien is no excuse.

I think the biggest reason for this is the creator’s desires to make teenagers important at places where they shouldn’t belong. A teenager who occupies a high rank in a military organization doesn’t usually make sense, so writers make these characters a bit too perfect for their own good, in order to help them survive and remain at their position.

The thing is with Manami, that even though she’s an idiot, the creators never portray her as some kind of hero. The only thing that she’s good at is providing emotional support for others, but this episode showed yet again that she often gets way too ahead of herself and tries to get involved in places she shouldn’t belong.

I still wonder why this series has become so neglected, though. Is Manami such a turn-off? Or does this have to do with Poririn? I admit that he was rather disturbing in this episode, wearing the gala-dress and all, and trying to pee while wearing it… Still the reason why I like this series so much is the chemistry between the different characters. The cast of Crystal Blaze is varied and interesting, and one character’s weaknesses are complemented by another.

Nijuu Mensou no Musume – 04

by psgels, posted in Nijuu Mensou no Musume


Excellent, Chico is already growing up, and this episode skips ahead one year. This episode did well in just being believable enough. While it’s a bit hard to believe that in just one year, Chico would turn from a fragile girl who always stayed in bed into a master knife-thrower and how she has no problems with holding onto a rope for so long, the creators did handle her fighting-abilities very nicely. One year of intense practice should be just enough to learn how to execute a basic judo-throw, and a kick in the groin by a cute girl should always be enough to throw an unsuspecting guy off-guard. Although I do admit that it’s a bit hard to believe that a fully grown and trained man would get knocked out just from falling down a bunch of stairs.

I do wish that the creators showed Chico practicing her lock-picking skills a bit. That rather came from out of nowhere, when Chico was in the elevator and suddenly disconnected the suitcase that was attached to one of the policemen by a pair of handcuffs like it was nothing.

One thing that’s interesting to note is how Chico may be a child genius with all the intention to be better, she does lack experience. Right now, she’s moving forward and forward, though this has to end somewhere. She has a lot of book-wisdom, but there will be a point where her confidence will shoot her in the foot. I guess that when Nijuu Mensou disappears, it’ll have a pretty interesting effect on everyone, and I commend this series’ ability to build up for this.

Amatsuki – 05

by psgels, posted in Amatsuki


Seriously… how good can this series be anyway? Even though this episode took a step down from the previous episode, it was still an excellent one, and the thing is that I’ve got no idea what the creators did to make this series so great. Sure, it’s got a great soundtrack, but it’s not the best one this season. The art is pretty, but there are other series with better art. The incredibly complex dialogue probably helps, but even then I only understand half of what people are saying. I really can’t exactly put my finger as to what makes this series so great, but there has to be some reason why this series suddenly stands out, while most other series need episodes of building-up before they can reach such an emotional level…

I also have a question to those who’ve read the novels for Amatsuki. I recently found out that Amatsuki is only going to have 13 episodes, and I can’t really think that that would be the right length for this series. If I’m not mistaken, then there are 7 volumes of the original Amatsuki manga, and after episode five, at which point in the manga are we currently? If we’re just at the end of the first volume, then there’s a possibility for a second season, though if we’re up to the third volume already, then this’ll be a bit more difficult.

From what I understood in this episode, Tokidoki and Kon finally meet the princess’ real form. I first wondered a bit why so many priestesses were needed for just a simple audience, but then it turns out the princess’ body has been long dead, and it takes a whole ritual to get her spirit from that doll we saw in the previous episode to that body. Another surprise: this “princess” turns out to be a guy. Meanwhile, Tsuyukusa follows the spirit of a broken fox-statue.

From what I picked up and read on on-line forums, the “princess” and Bonten seem to be on opposing sides, and both want to use Tokidoki’s strange abilities. I’m glad that in this episode, we saw a more human side of Bonten, getting annoyed at Utsubushi’s worrying. Bonten and the Princess seem two out of four beings who can at will change bodies. The other two are a strange priest that hasn’t been introduced yet and the spirit that created this world. The names of all these four seem to end with “ten”, meaning heaven. I’m not sure about the intentions of these guys yet, though.

Crystal Blaze – 04

by psgels, posted in Crystal Blaze


Heh, this episode finally featured an actually funny fanservice joke. When the horny doctor first appeared, I feared the worst, but his nurse’s BSDM have turned out to be quite hilarious. Especially the dog’s outfit was brilliant. Really, if series as Kanokon realized this, they would have been quite fun, though instead they just can’t think beyond the tried-and-true formula of groping, blood-noses and panty-shots.

Fanservice aside, I’m still surprised at how much I’m enjoying this show, seeing as it’s turned into one of the dark horses of this season in the rest of the anime-community. The budget is indeed quite low. Studio Fantasia is no Satelight or Madhouse, so the drawings and animation are quite simple. And yet this has never had a weak episode so far, in my opinion at least. This episode again was a great one, and it finally pushes the plot forward again.

We learn that the one who changed all the women to glass was indeed that little girl. This time, she kills Yuumi, who indeed went on her solo-debut, dropping Seiji without him even knowing it. The glass women like her and Sara were meant as humanoid weapons. Hence why the bad guys are so interested in retrieving her. They’re currently in the process of testing out their work, which has finally shown its fruits.

One thing I also like is how this series has managed to make characters likable who would have been really cliché otherwise. Especially Shu and Manami would have been incredibly annoying if they didn’t receive any development. Manami, however, turned into a really sympathetic character, who’s just finding out how naive she’s been in the past episodes. She’s a girl with real fears, instead of contractor-like behaviour (a la Darker than Black) of knowing what to do in any dangerous situation. Shu meanwhile turned into quite a refreshing main character, who neither is a stereotypical ambitious guy nor a carefree “cool dude”. This guy doesn’t care about being the best; he just cares about the people around him. For some strange reason, both of them have really turned into my favourite characters in this series.

Nijuu Mensou no Musume – 03

by psgels, posted in Nijuu Mensou no Musume


I must say that this series is getting more interesting with every episode. The first episode was a huge disappointment for me because it didn’t really show the thought-pattern behind Nijuu Mensou’s plans, though thankfully the past two episodes have put a much bigger emphasis on planning and back-ups, in case something goes wrong. With this episode, I finally see that Nijuu Mensou isn’t inhumanly strong or smart. He’s just paranoid and a perfectionist.

I can indeed see why Chico will end up as Nijuu Mensou’s successor. Due to the way she’s raised, she’s ended up rather paranoid as well and doesn’t take anything for granted, and yet she’s willing to work hard for the person who saved her. This episode mainly meant to bring her a bit closer to Nijuu Mensou’s crew, and flesh out the different characters a bit.

What I’m waiting for right now is to see the always-composed Nijuu Mensou screw up. Obviously, this has to happen sometime, and I’m rather eager to see Chico, as she takes over his position. It’ll be interesting to see Chico evolve, and meet the other two girls we see in the ED. Like I said before, I like series that don’t play all of their trumps in the first episode.

Amatsuki – 04

by psgels, posted in Amatsuki


Okay… Amatsuki has a good chance of becoming Studio Deen’s next masterpiece. Yes, this episode was that good.

I’m left quite speechless by it. Amatsuki has really been the most emotionally intense series of the spring-season so far, and with series as Kaiba, xxxHolic, Kurenai and Himitsu, this HAS TO SAY SOMETHING. I really like how all the good series this season have their own points at which they excel.

It turns out that Toki was called by a god who is the head of a shrine. When he arrives there, the major bad guy first comes into contact with him, and he makes it clear that Toki’s eye is something very special. He does all this in some kind of strange dimension. When Toki returns from this dimension, he’s found inside the shrine. The priestesses of this shrine then get mistaken by the huge demon inside of Kuchiha and think that the threesome is an enemy. Then all hell breaks loose as they attempt to release the dormant powers inside both Toki and Kuchiha, in order to find out their origins, though I didn’t think that they expected to find such a huge beast inside of Kuchiha. The goddess of the temple then shows up, and almost gets crushed by said demon (in the shape of a huge dog). Bonten then appears as well, taking over one the priestesses.

After this episode, I know for sure: Amatsuki is going to be a really special series. Really, so many things happened at the same time, and the result is nothing short of stunning. If you’re doubting whether or not to check out this series, then at least wait till you’ve seen the fourth episode to decide whether or not you want to follow it.