Category: Anime Reviews

Milestone time! This is going to be the 750th review I’ve written for this site. Only 250 more until I achieve my goal of 1000 ones! And what a random show to end up reviewing with Fireball Charming that just consists out of 13 2-minute episodes that just feature two robots talking to each other and do random things.

It’s the perfect series for if you’re looking for a quick watch, though. The original Fireball series already was this, but Fireball Charming actually manages to improve on the original series in a lot of different ways. Instead of going with much of the same formula, Fireball Charming aims to be bigger, faster, more random and more dynamic and creative. And it succeeds.

What you often see with comedy sequels is that they end up running out of inspiration, and yet none of this applies for Fireball. Heck, I could listen to Drossel and Gedachtnis for ages at this rate. The creators try to stuff a lot more dialogue in each episode than even the original Fireball, making every second interesting. One nasty side-effect of this is that it really jumps around: there’s no lead-up to anything. and the characters just randomly jump from one topic to the other as you’d expect from two hyperactive robot who have been stuck in the same castle for thousands of years.

The biggest difference with the first season is that this time, the creators really like to show off how good their animation is. Not only does this show look absolutely gorgeous and makes full use of 3D technologies, it also takes every chance it gets to show interesting images, animation and it really likes to throw in as much creativity as possible.

Now, random humour alone isn’t necessarily funny: if Fireball would just have been randomness for the sake of randomness it would have gotten boring really quickly, even for its length. However, it has a great comedic timing and a very eccentric sense of humour that is hard not to like. Not to mention that it has two very likable main characters.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Short but sweet. Completely random and jumpy but consistently interesting to watch.
Characters:	8/10 – No depth whatsoever, but a likable cast this certainly is.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Absolutely gorgeous CG. A feast for the eyes.
Setting:	8/10 – Has a virtually limitless supply of random things to throw at the viewer, and interestingly uses its own setting.

Suggestions:
– Kimagure Robot
– Marie & Gali

The second season of The World God Only Knows has some good points. At the very least the girls that Keima has to conquest (read: get a kiss from) aren’t as terrible as the idol or the rich girl of the first season. Unfortunately, there just still is too much wrong with it for me to really rate it any higher than its predecessor.

Really, I only barely managed to finish this series. If I had to give a tip for anyone checking this out: don’t expect anything from it. The world God Only Knows doesn’t aim to be anything big or spectacular. It’s just there for really light entertainment and to provide some interesting observations about dating sim games. It’s not deep, it’s not funny, it doesn’t have any good characters, nor does it have particularly impressive animation (this is without a doubt Manglobe’s least visually impressive series; just about everything looks generic here). In every area, it does just enough to be watchable.

There are a number of good arcs in this series, in particular the middle one that actually makes use of the build-up that the first season provided (something that unfortunately the rest of the arcs don’t do). It’s here where this show jumps away fro its formula, delivers its best characterization and the most interesting and least stereotypical character of the series. The problem is that all of the other arcs left something to be desired with.

This series follows the same format as the first: we first get a long arc detailing a “conquest”, followed by a short arc detailing something random about either the world of this series or dating sims in general. The long arcs suffer from stereotypical and one-sided characters along with nonsensical conclusions. The short arcs suffer from being completely stupid and moronic. Really, those episodes are completely terrible.

The thing with this series is that it does take care to give its characters interesting back-stories. That’s why I’m not giving this one a terrible rating, and all of the main arcs have their points that make them worth watching. But there’s just way too much fundamentally flawed with this series. This series doesn’t feature a series where a guy needs to save random girls who are infected by evil spirits, it feels more like a guy who needs to collect various characters who magically escaped from his games.

The characterization in this series leaves much to be desired: everyone in this series just has one side, sometimes that side has a twist, but there is nothing other to these characters beyond that twist. Even the main characters suffer from this! I could forgive the first season for that due to the lack of time, but come on: it’s already been 24 episodes and they’re still the same stereotypes.

This series advertises itself as a light-hearted parody, but the problem is that it’s just not funny. This show just doesn’t know how to write comedy: Elcea still is the most obnoxious character, and any joke this show attempts to make falls flat on its face due to poor timing: everything in this show is slow and mellow, even the delivery of the jokes. This show includes a lot of references to other stories, but that’s just what they are: random references that try to be clever, yet aren’t.

At the very least Elcea doesn’t try bathing with Keima anymore, and that second arc finally took this show somewhere other than just a cliche fest, but the main reason why I’m rating this series lower than the first is because it’s a much bigger chore to sit through. The terrible, terrible side-arcs are part of this, but the big factor is that this show has had 24 episodes now and I’m getting really tired of it. I don’t enjoy watching the majority of this series. It’s a miracle that I even kept with it, but that is mostly because people keep telling that the future arcs get better. I’ve been hopelessly caught in this series, hoping for it to finally turn good, fueled by a few good parts here and there that affirm this and yet this bloody show keeps testing my patience over and over with its cliches and complete stupidity.

Storytelling:	7/10 – It’s sufficient, but refuses to try and stand out. There’s a lot of meh in the way it delivers its story, most notably on how slow and monotone it can get.
Characters:	7/10 – It’s a character study, so the characters at least are well explored. They’re all (with the exception of perhaps one) still game stereotypes, though. If they were enjoyable to watch then okay, but more often than not they’re not!
Production-Values:	8/10 – Adequate. But for Manglobe’s standards it doesn’t stand out in any way.
Setting:	7/10 – Offers nice trivia at times, but most of this series isn’t about games, it’s about games in the eyes of an obsessed fanatic. This show did the opposite of what it was supposed to do and made my (someone who never plays visual novels) image of dating sims even more jaded than it already was.

Suggestions:
– Kuragehime
– Hanamaru Youchien
– Skip Beat

I love remakes! I’m not sure what it is, but they nearly always seem to get made by big fans who really want to make something special out of them in order to do them justice. Take Casshern Sins with its amazing style and direction, or Tetsujin 28-Go which brilliantly made the context under which its original series was written into its storyline and made it a central theme. This also goes for the silly series. And damn. Dororon Enma-Kun’s new coat turned into a wonderful and outright crazy series to watch for the past season.

Let me first put up a fair warning though, because this show isn’t for everyone. I really mean it when this show is crazy. It’s also a fanservice series: the main character is a huge pervert and this show won’t shy away from any opportunity to show naked girls. It even has a character who runs out completely naked throughout the entire series. It’s filled with sexual references, and it’s completely juvenile in every single way.

In fact, when this series started I was really close to drop it. The first two episodes of this show are really bad, and they just feel like some random adventures with a lot of annoying kids and fanservice that just wasn’t entertaining at all. Only at episode 3 does this series show its real colours. From this moments, it just takes its fanservice to complete absurds. No idea is stupid enough for this series. From episode three onward, this series gets completely over the top in every single way. It’s filled with the most bizarre scenes, parodies some obscure references from the time in which the original Dororon Enma-kun was written, and the overacting reaches bizarre levels of ridiculousness.

I’d even label this over Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. It’s true that that series looks more unique and that it also have some really good ideas to base its episodes on, but Dororon Enma-kun has it completely upstages in terms of entertainment. If you can appreciate the juvenile humour, it is a ridiculously entertaining series. It takes one crazy idea and just makes it spiral out of control over and over without any sign of slowing down. Not all of the episodes are of the same level, but the really crazy episodes (there are about five of them throughout the series) are just completely awesome from start to finish and one hell of an entertaining ride.

Basically, this is the kind of series that I want to watch when I don’t feel like watching an intricate plot or deep characters: a show that really releases all brakes in order to be as entertaining as possible. This show knows how to upstage itself time and time again, and while it uses several running gags, there is so much creativity put into this thing that it never feels repetitive or dragged out. It uses its own ideas incredibly well and I had one hell of a time watching this. Pun semi-intended.

Storytelling:	9/10 – A “No idea is too crazy”-mentality. Completely over the top in every single way and uses its huge amounts of creativity to deliver a really entertaining series.
Characters:	8/10 – Obviously you shouldn’t expect any development here, and they really take time to get used to, but their antics get hilarious to watch.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Amazing soundtrack (seriously, this thing is completely awesome) and while the character designs look simple at first, there is a ton of creativity put into it.
Setting:	8/10 – Obviously it’s nothing special at first look: youkai invade the world and they need to be stopped. But it has so many ideas put into its run that it it becomes amazing.

Suggestions:
– Hoshi no Umi no Amuri
– Hakaba Kitarou
– Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen

Okay, so I finally managed to finish this series. I can now understand why when it first aired in 2003, it made quite an impact. It had this unique charm and excellent CG animation that actually still holds up today. It’s got a few problems, but overall it’s a unique adventure series.

The big strength of Last Exile is that it’s inspired and imaginative in just about every single way: it’s heavily influenced by the Miyazaki flying movies, but it managed to build its own original setting around that: there are original ideas behind just about every facet of this show, the designs too are just completely unique (with excellent CG to back this up). This is a wondrous journey from start to finish.

Now, beyond the ideas, this show also has the execution to back it up. I want to specifically praise the characters and the acting, who too feel unlike other shows of its kind. To best explain this: the dialogue feels much more natural and balanced than what you usually see in anime, making good use of pauses and nonverbal communication as well. The drama in particular is really well delivered thanks to this.

In terms of the story, this is a bit of a strange one, though. It’s the kind of series that really dislikes exposition, and keeps most of this as brief as possible. Because of this, a lot of the stuff in this series is left to the imagination as to “how and why” they happen.

Due to the acting, another interesting effect is that some characters go completely against their supposed archetypes. The one big exception is the main villain who really is an evil megalomaniac no matter how you cut it, but characters like Lavie, Mullin, and even Alex Rowe: they really know their characters and don’t try to be anything more for the sake of some extra forced drama. I really appreciate that, but because of that this series does have a few points where it drags because of that. It does come together wonderfully for the ending, though.

The strange thing with this series is that it may not be the most exciting series. And despite the solid acting, there are certain moments in the story that do feel forced. And yet, now that I’ve finished watching this show, it feels so complete. The end of this series really feels like the end of a long journey, and yet I can fully see a second season that focuses on a completely new cast work; the setting is more than rich enough for that. I wouldn’t call this amongst Gonzo’s best; they made too many classics for that, but it still makes the top 7 and it’s definitely a great show to watch.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Lots and lots of style. A bit one-sided at times, but never really drags.
Characters:	9/10 – Characters who fit the setting incredibly well. Very natural dialogue and voice acting.
Production-Values:	9/10 – This show is eight years old and still looks unique and amazing. You don’t often get to say that about 3D CG in a tv-series.
Setting:	9/10 – The setting still stands on its own with great ideas and a detailed description. It leaves things unexplained, but gets a nine because it really speaks to the imagination.

Suggestions:
– Shangri-La (just note that while Last Exile is really subtle, Shangri-la most definitely isn’t).
– Simoun
– The Third

Oh heck, Studio Ghibli did it again. With this, they created yet another must-watch for all ages. If you like family movies, it really is a must-watch.

Now, Ghibli makes two kinds of movies: epic adventure movies, and slice of life movies that often have fantasy adventure themes. Arrietty belongs to the latter, as it shows how a young boy meets a fantasy creature known as one of the borrowers: tiny people who borrow small stuff from humans in order to survive. That kind of set-up is common, but rather than “boy meets fantastical creature”, this movie makes it “fantastical creature meets boy”. Unlike the vast majority of these kinds of movies, we follow Arrietty, how she lives, where she lives, and what she does. And dear God, this movie is good at that.

This movie is meticulously detailed in order to make its setting come alive. Nearly the entire movie just takes place in one house in a small forest, but the creators put a ton of small ideas and detail into just about every scene. The amount of things that these borrowers create from the stuff that they borrow from the humans is immense, the movie is full of all kinds of different kinds of animals, ranging from bugs to mice and birds. It’s a lush movie that just sparkles with life wherever it goes.

Also: the animation. Let me say that out of all of the Ghibli movies not directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, this one has the best visuals. The backgrounds in particular are just gorgeous, but what feels unique about the animation is how the creators succeeded in showing the difference between large and big. I mean, the main character is about ten centimetres high. When big things are around her, they really look BIG. Especially the way in which humans are animated next to her: that was done in such a way that I have never seen before.

There’s only one major weakness in this movie, and that is some forced conflict near the end of the movie. I’m not talking about the actual ending (which really was great), but the climax before that, in which this movie suddenly turns into one of those preachy environmentalist movies for ten minutes with a conflict and villain that just don’t fit the mood at all. It’s an act that feels like it doesn’t belong in the movie in terms of tone and themes, not to mention that the ‘villain’ is pretty pathetic.

The rest of the movie is environmental, but not at all preachy. Instead it focuses on the subtle tensions between coexisting species, not pointing a bad finger but rather letting everything resolve itself naturally. It’s got some wonderful characters to back this up with (again, the animation really brings these guys to life) with really good voice acting. Despite that one hiccup near the end, it’s a wonderful watch.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Down to earth, well paced and mature, with perhaps one forced bit near the end.
Characters:	8/10 – There may not be much interesting development, but the acting is excellent, and the characters really come to life. It’s got a bad villain, though.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Gorgeous artwork, detailed beyond belief, not to mention the wonderful soundtrack.
Setting:	9/10 – Immensely detailed in describing the life and environment of the main character. There are a ton of ideas in just about every scene.

Suggestions:
– Kiki’s Delivery Service
– Furusato, Japan
– Porco Rosso

Ah, Ascension: the new promising production company, spawned apparently from Sunrise. I originally thought that Kizuna Ichigeki from the Young Animator Training Project was their debut, but as it turns out their first work is the movie Colorful. After this, they stand out even more as a force to be reckoned with, because here they actually got themselves a number of good writers.

Colorful is a slice of life movie. This is a crowded genre at the moment, but it holds itself up very nicely. It’s perhaps not the best, but the character development is definitely worth it. It doesn’t follow the formula of “first half slice of life second half drama”, but instead it blends in both parts very nicely, taking the time to slowly show his character in his every day life, along with the problems he has and how he develops. The drama is good and quite genuine at times as well.

Kou Outani developed a solid soundtrack, and the animation is also simple, but detailed: not the best for a movie, but there is still quite a nice amount of movement. Characters move life-like, and the animation and voice actors succeed pretty well in portraying the characters throughout the movie. It does have a number of flaws that prevent it from being a great movie, though.

This movie was directed by the same guy who directed Kappa to Coo to Natsuyasumi, and pretty much suffers from the same problem in that it perhaps does not make the best use of its time. It’s the build-up that leaves things to be desired and feels incomplete at times, which prevents the drama from really reaching great heights.

Second of all, and this is a complaint that I’ve seen mentioned by some others already: the ending is… a bit of a downer ending. It’s not like it’s rushed or anything, and neither is it a plothole ending, but it’s the kind of ending that tries to shove its messages down the viewers throats, and they weren’t messages that I personally agree with. For the sake of spoilers I’ll only say that this movie does not use its premise well enough. Beyond that though, it’s a very solid movie that’s worth the watch if you’re into slice of life dramas.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Really well written dialogue, but misses something in terms of building up.
Characters:	9/10 – Excellent and life-like portrayal and development.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Nothing special for movie standards, but the animation remains impressively detailed. Especially the background art is consistently great.
Setting:	8/10 – Don’t watch this movie for its premise; watch it for its characters and how they fit into their daily lives.

Suggestions:
– Junkers Come Here
– Whisper of the Heart
– Kappa to Coo to Natsuyasumi

2011 is surprisingly short on sports series. Moshidora was pretty much the only new one we got here. But at the very least, it did come up with a really interesting premise: instead of being just another group of high schoolers, it focuses on a “what if?”-scenario: what if a high school girl got her hands on a business management guide and applied that to the management of a high school baseball team?

Throughout the series, we see a high school girl apply the basics of management to high school baseball, and succeeds at this pretty well. It takes a look at things as marketing, innovation, performance, and yet it also criticizes itself, and doesn’t take everything for granted. It’s quite an inspirational work, and the series also doesn’t forget to give some colours and development to the characters themselves. It’s a short series with only 10 episodes, but it makes optimal use of its time.

Now, this show was produced with a really small budget, though: the animation is simple and full of distorted faces. You really don’t want to watch this for the eye candy. But on the other hand, it’s not like this gets in the way of the storytelling. Instead, this series’ biggest flaw is its cheese. It really tries to pull at your heartstrings without restraint at times, but fails due to either insufficient build-up, acting, or questionable coincidences.

The baseball matches in this series also suffer from these coincidences: from start to finish, they feel completely directed and unnatural. It’s clear that the major focus of this show are management and its characters, and the baseball is just something that they happen to have as a common goal. It’s not the most believable at times, but definitely an interesting watch.

Storytelling:	7/10 – Makes good use of its time, but can’t control its own cheese.
Characters:	8/10 – They’re cheesy at times, but still remain surprisingly likable and developed for a 10-episode series.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Nothing special. Does what it needs to do to not get in the way of the other parts of the series, though.
Setting:	9/10 – An original idea surprisingly well fleshed out.

Suggestions:
– Cross Game
– Ookiku Furikabutte
– Touch