Category: Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Hyouge Mono – 36

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono

It really is a shame that the only way to view this show right now is through a very crappy online stream. At the very least this needs to be watched in HD-quality, and unfortunately the probability for this show to get licensed is also really close to zero. Nevertheless, we really need more shows like this. The “screw conventions”-attitude has been getting rarer and rarer these days, and it’s great that shows like these still remind us that it’s possible.

Anyway, about this episode: Rikyuu is getting more and more menacing here. He had this wonderful presence around him in this episode, not to mention him trying to burn his own hand. It may sound strange, but I can’t wait for the finale, because it’s clear at this point that the creators are planning something awesome for him. I’ve been waiting for that moment for months now.

Speaking of the next episodes: this episode hinted that Sasuke and Date Masamune will be spending them together. Gathering the two biggest eccentrics of the show together for the finale. That just has to be awesome.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Some Quick First Impressions: Natsume Yuujin-Chou Shi, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2 and Rinne no Lagrange

by psgels, posted in Natsume Yuujin-Chou, Rinne no Lagrange, Some Quick First Impressions, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Natsume Yuujin-Chou Shi

Short Synopsis: Our lead character can see youkai.
Usually the best of a season is aired last. This time, it’s completely different when the first three series are the big original series, the best comedy, and what’s likely going to be the best overall series for the next three months. Seriously, I can not imagine the rest of the season to live up to these three shows at all; perhaps only Rinne no Lagrange will get trumped. In any case, this was another very solid story for Natsume Yuujinchou. As opposed to the other seasons, it immediately starts off with an arc. And compared to the other first episodes of the arcs we’ve seen so far, it really holds up. This episode was both heart-warming as tense as a cat and mouse game between Natsume and what looks to be the series’ villain Matoba. Nyanko-sensei was as delightful as ever, the animation was also as rock-solid as usual. Now let’s hope that the series will capture the same heights as the third series.
OP: Very clever little op, completely dedicated to character development. The song could have been better, though.
ED: In the same style as the previous ED, with some nice animation and a gentle song.
Potential: 95%

Tantai Opera Milky Holmes 2

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a detective. Or at least she’s supposed to be one.
Oh my god. What the hell did I just watch here? You see, comedy sequels are very hard to do. Most of the times, the sequel is the point where the jokes get stale, overused, and there the creators get too scared to deviate from the formula that made the first season successful. Milky Holmes does not have that problem. Oh no. This episode was actually different from the first season. The creators definitely went into a slightly different direction. I mean, the first season wrapped up pretty conclusively, so the creators had to go for something different. I did not expect that “something different” to mean complete madness. Seriously, this show has turned into an extreme self-parody. This entire episode made the entire first season look completely ridiculous. This only was the first episode of the year, but already I cannot imagine any other show this year to have a DUMBER cast than this here. It was crazy beyond belief. And it was utterly hilarious. Also, what the heck is Artland doing here?
OP: Really, really bad.
ED: Really, really bad.
Potential: 90%

Rinne no Lagrange

Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets to pilot a mecha.
Happy new year, everyone! And so the Winter Season of 2012 starts, and it already does so with the original production of the season. Because of this, it was one of my most anticipated non-sequels for the upcoming start of the new season, despite the obvious problems. The obvious problems here are the fanservice, and indeed this episode had quite a bit of the pointless variation, from some of the outfits to the lead character running around in a swimsuit. Overall though, it definitely has promise, and in particular the direction of this episode was good. This show knows how to deliver tense mecha-battles, and the acting too is quite well delivered. Madoka as a lead character so far has her pluses and minuses. I like how she is a strong female character who is confident and gets along quite easy with others. On the other hand though, the creators also made her just too perfect: she excels at everything, whether it’s kendo, acting, sports or anything else it seems, and she manages to pilot the big mecha of the show like it’s nothing. The creators had better provide an explanation of why 1) she’s able to do that, and 2) she somehow is the only one who is fit to pilot an alien craft.
OP: Quite a standard set for the visuals for the rest of the year. The song is generic, but the use of colours and textures is excellent here.
ED: Dull song, but neat visual ideas.
Potential: 75%

Tamayura – Hitotose Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Tamayura




It’s a common premise: you have a series that’s about a bunch of high school girls and you follow their daily lives; it’s that simple. It’s far from my preferred genre though, and I find myself bored with most of them. There are, however, exceptions. Having the guy who directed all of the Aria series behind this also helps.

The cast does need a bit of time to warm up (especially if you haven’t watched the prequel OVAs), but for me, this was one major step above the usual series in this genre. For one: it spends a lot of time on fleshing out and developing its characters. Every episode is dedicated to showing different sides of the cast, or having them develop as a character. This is all very subtly done, ad the characters themselves are all very believably acted, with some very impressive and fluid animation that remains very consistent throughout the entire series.

Sato Junichi also uses this one trick that also worked really well with Aria: well written dialogue and voice overs, containing subtle morals that all of the characters can relate to. It again works very well, and all of this leads to a very heart-warming series with a genuine cast of characters.

It’s definitely a series that needs to grow on you, because the characters definitely do not show themselves off right from the start. This does lead to a few annoyances that you just need to sit through, like a really big crybaby, or a character who does nothing but whistle. Plus Sato Junichi’s habit to go with the weirdest looking cats imaginable.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a heart-warming slice of life series then this is a very solid choice. This is very relaxing and heart-warming, and it’s short and to the point with only 12 episodes and 4 ovas.

Storytelling: 8/10 – It’s slice of life, yet things happen here. Excellent at creating a heart-warming atmosphere.
Characters: 9/10 – Well developed in a short time, excellent acting, although you do need to get used to the cast.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Lots of animation, fluid and consistent, and a very good soundtrack.
Setting: 8/10 – The town in which this all takes place is actually very detailed and fleshed out.

Suggestions:
– Aria the Animation
– Windy Tales
– Hitohira

Tamayura – Hitotose – 12

by psgels, posted in Tamayura

The first part of this episode was pretty much what we expected: celebrating the end of the year by organizing a large exhibition, restaurant, shop and theater for the lead characters. Although it still was weird to see people celebrate the end of the year in a completely different way from what I’m used to. (What I’m used to is mostly staying inside, watching random television and everyone massively igniting fireworks all at the same time after the clock hits 12).

What this episode showed me was that Japanese really treat the end of the year as another festival, where you can informally visit a lot of places, hosted by all kinds of different people. Is that true, or was that an exaggeration by this series? Last episode there were perhaps a bit too many people who came to just view Maon’s performance, and this episode too had the characters acting like magnets for other people.

And then, this episode suddenly closed off with Sayomi taking them on another trip, and her car getting stuck. I must say, that was quite a creative way to end this series with. It was fully on-topic, giving Potte a reason to remember her father again, but at the same time it was so random and whimsical that it’s definitely going to be memorable, rather than the usual carefully built up ending or aftermath. I like it.

The past half year, Sato Junichi has really delivered. First with Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, and then with Tamayura. They filled in for each other perfectly: Tamayura didn’t have an as interesting setting as Croisee, it on its turn did not have the forced drama and had much better acting. I’d count neither among the best slice of life series I’ve seen, but at the same time both were really solid and interesting.

I tried following other slice of life series this year, but that didn’t work as well as here. I’m still not exactly sure why, but these two series did not try to be funny: they just let their characters speak for themselves. Nichijou could have been nice if its jokes weren’t so hit and miss. A Channel just degenerated into boob jokes, while Yuruyuri went down even faster with its lesbian jokes. Those just aren’t the shows I want to watch. These two series however had characters who knew who they were, a solid setting to back it up, meaningful dialogue. That kept my attention.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hyouge Mono – 35

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono

The death scenes in this show are truly un-rivaled. No other show does them as well and as creative as this series. This episode finally had another one, and even though the one who died wasn’t one of the main characters, it still was really refined and well acted.

Still, with Toyotom Hidenaga, who once was Hideyoshi’s right hand man, another chaptr of this story is closed here. What’s so bizarre here is that we’re leading up to the finale, but this point in history is relatively short on battles. I really expected these final episodes to include some more of the battles that this show did so well, but instead it has been all about the characters lately. Sasuke in particular: he once was a messenger, but right now as a daimyou, he is getting more and more removed from the battlefield. As shown by how he’s now actually selling some of his pottery designs.

In fact, this whole series structure has been bizarre. The big reason for that is the sheer difference between Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The former was the definition of coolness, while the latter had much more strange and lame sides, while at the same time also being this capable ruler. If anything, he lacks the charisma of Oda Nobunaga, but what do you expect with that ridiculous getup he walks around in?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hyouge Mono – 34

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono

If you’re wondering why this entry is so late (yes, all three of you), it seems like the raw providers have nearly completely abandoned this show, and I couldn’t find it for a long while.

In any case, this is the episode where Riyuu went nuts. The first half though, was unfortunately a part where the animators screwed up. I know that it sounds a bit strange to complain that his facial expressions looked silly with the nature of this series, but up till now, all of the silly faces in this series were really well drawn. Here though, they weren’t.

But really, Sasuke has turned into a bit of a side-character with this. He really is being guided around by Rikyuu at this point, and despite his good intentions, he does miss the point of the “Wabi Sabi”, as it seems to be called. After the badly drawn faces, this episode really grabbed itself back together as it showed Rikyuu trying to get back at Hideyoshi, especially with that large statue of his.

Also, did Date Masamune just try to poison a few people?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Tamayura – Hitotose – 11

by psgels, posted in Tamayura

“Oh yes, today is christmas”.

I find this a very typical line here. Christmas stands synonymous for a warm-hearted feeling, so I pretty much expected this show to fully use it. And then this episode came, and it actually showed that it doesn’t need it. This episode was charming beyond belief, even without the Christmas feeling.

I think that out of all of the characters in this series, the best developed one is actually Maon, and not Potte. Every character is of course very well rounded here, but Maon has this extra edge, where she actually managed to crawl out of her shell very believably. The whistling really shows this: in the second half, she only used it when feeling down. What once was the start of her development now has turned in this reminder to herself of how she should try out many different things.

As a writer, I could really relate to this episode, and what it means to keep living up to everyone’s expectations. A writer’s block is inevitable sometimes, and while at first it seems like just simply putting your mind to it, in practice things don’t go as easily. Personally I’ve found that looking at your work from a different angle works best, with the challenge being finding that angle. This episode portrayed it wonderfully. It was also a very un-typical story, and yet it was exactly something that you’d expect a high school girl to write.

And holy crap, this thing will end next week! Overall, I’ll be content if it ends there though. That makes this series short and sweet, unlike Aria, which requires a lot more effort to fully watch. If you add these 12 episodes to the four episodes of the OVA, you pretty much get the perfect length: 16 episodes. This is something that a lot of other producers should realize. Sure, it’ll probably be a bit harder with continuous stories and all, but what I’m saying: producers, be creative. You’re working in the anime industry, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find inspiration.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Tamayura – 10

by psgels, posted in Tamayura


Once again: what a heart-warming episode. Finally it’s Kaoru’s turn to get an episode, and this may just have been the best of the character focused episodes so far. If anything, this episode stood out because of how well acted it was. Not just Kaoru (who was wonderfully portrayed, by the way), but the entire cast really shined in this episode. To me, this was the episode where the cast managed to reach a new level.

It’s not just that Kaoru’s development and place with the series as the one who isn’t sure what she wants to do has been grounded. It’s also how this reflected to the rest of the cast. Potte admitting that she sometimes doubts whether she really wants to continue with photography for the rest of her life. It’s small, but THAT was a terrific addition to her character. Or take Maon: she’s now miles away from the girl who only whistled at the beginning of the series. Norie’s puke story was also both hilarious and adorable, but also the way in which she said it was very natural, compared to how over the top she was when we first started out with her.

Ten episodes in, and I really have to say: the creators succeeded in creating an absolutely wonderful cast. I dislike the type of slice of life shows where just nothing interesting happens, but this show struck a terrific balance. It was a bit weak at the beginning with the one-sided characters and a bit too much crying, but all of these flaws pretty much went away as this show solidified.

At the start of this series, I kept hoping for this show to deliver that final “oomph” in the end. It’s tie to see whether this show can set itself apart even more. This isn’t a manga adaptation, so the creators can fully plan in an ending of theirs, rather than this show just ending on a random story.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hyouge Mono – 33

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono



The characters really were on fire for this episode. Sasuke made more bizarre faces than ever, but especially Sennou: how much can you develop this guy anyway? In any case, the acting here was absolutely wonderful and really brought some excellent stuff out of the characters.

This episode makes Sennou’s story even darker. There first was him, coming clean about helping out in the assassination of Oda Nobunaga. Only for the second half of this episode focusing on the ever growing tensions between him and Hashiba Hideyoshi. Note how Hideyoshi always takes someone with him to check it for poison. And then the episode ended with him demanding Sennou’s daughter.

Also, this show makes a terrific use of how it has a very limited budget. It has showed for a while now, but this episode really stood out in it: this series is going back to this intricate shading technique that was often used around fifteen years ago. I have no idea why it ran out of fashion, but using multiple colours of shading is something I really haven’t seen in a while, other than CG gradient lighting. This episode in particular had some very detailed shading on Sennou.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Tamayura ~ Hitotose – 09

by psgels, posted in Tamayura

Sato Junichi. Do yourself a favor. Get a cat. Remember the episode from Aria? The one which was entirely devoted to President Aria? Well, for a moment, it actually looked like this episode would in its entirety follow around the big white blob that is Momoneko-sama. It got surreal at times, turning into this bizarre parody of the silent movie to narrate what he was saying. THANK GOD though, the second half of this episode was about something completely different. And it was wonderful. It’s been a while since I watched such a down to earth portrayal of love sickness. The character it centred around only appeared in one scene before, but her characterization was already terrific. With three or four episodes left, I do hope that the creators will use this time to do something special. I mean, this episode was a step into the right direction, but I want more. This show already has excellent characterization for just about every of its characters. Now use that. Also, I’m not sure if I’m the only one in this, but I always really feel sorry for the voice actors who are tasked with voicing simple animals. This episode thankfully wasn’t as bad (seriously at least these cats had some really good voice acting, even though there was absolutely nothing feline about these… things), but it’s especially bad when a voice actor is called in to voice a cow in the background… doing exactly one “mooo”. Do these people feel any pride in their work? Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>