Category: Other:

Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto and its sequel Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~ Natsu no Sora are two completely different series. Not only do they share no similar characters whatsoever, but their execution, focus, themes and atmosphere are completely different, with the only similarity being that they take place in the same setting. I can fully imagine people liking one of the series, but not the other, and vice versa. Personally I like Natsu no Sora better, due to its extra layer of realism and the subtlety in its characters, but the first series also has a lot to like.

For the ones who never saw any of those series: the Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto franchise takes place in a world in which certain people are able to use magic. It explores young mages in training as they are prepared to make a living for themselves. It’s very much a realistic approach to the question of “what if magic really exists?” Way more than Natsu no Sora, the first season looks at what it means to be a mage: are magical powers really that convenient and can you just use them in the way you want? It also addresses the impact that magic has on society: what the general opinion of mages is, and the trouble it can cause in the wrong hands.

The series is much more episodic than Natsu no Sora, and each episode takes one particular character under the loop (about half of the episodes are dedicated to the main cast, the other to random people), and tries to tell the story of this character. At the final episode, the creators do a pretty good job at bringing everything together. It’s not the most emotional series out there, but this series definitely has its points at which it’s heart-warming.

At this however, it perhaps is a bit too enthusiastic at times. The main flaw of this series is that the creators are a bit too keen to spread around death and accidents. I know it’s necessary for its drama and all, but when everyone and his dog lost someone precious to them in some kind of tragic event, it loses some of the tension.

Overall, this series isn’t the best, and a few episodes and individual stories can be a tad shallow, but in terms of the big picture, it’s pretty impressive. It lacks the rock-solid execution of Natsu no Sora, and the drama can get a tad cheesy at times, but in the end I’d say that it has enough things that make it interesting, most notably the attention it has put into its themes, and how all of the characters relate to them.

Storytelling:	8/10 – A tad cheesy, but the stories are well told and come together well in the end.
Characters:	8/10 – Not as good as Natsu no Sora, but their issues and personalities are well portrayed.
Production-Values:	8/10 – The animation does what it needs to do, though not much more. The soundtrack is quite good, though.
Setting:	9/10 – Great themes, makes good use of its setting, puts a lot of emphasis on the morals of magic.

Suggestions:
– Aria the Animation
– Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~ Natsu no Sora
– Hataraki Man

DT Eightron is one of those “screw the budget, we’re here to tell a story”-anime. And really: why not? The plot of this one is excellent, so who cares about the unimpressive graphics?

Personally I loved how the plot of this series unfolded from a seemingly average post-apocalyptic dystopia into a story about survival. What sets this show apart is the huge amount of neat ideas that the creators put into this, all dedicated to flesh out the setting that the series takes place in. It really gets quite deep as the series goes on. It may just be that I’m a fan of science fiction and all (hey, I never claimed that this blog unbiased), but after watching the entire series, I really have to say that the back-story it created is impressive, well thought out and very imaginative.

This show also rocks in the way that it subverts or averts common-used character tropes and cliches here. The lead character actually isn’t in control of the titular “mecha”. Instead, one of his friends is. The lead character is a bit of a bland kid, but for once this makes full sense in the story, and the creators actually make optimal use of this in the story. They never force him to be some sort of stereotypical hero here (those roles are cleverly used for the characters with the most combat experience), and instead its his development that makes him into a worthy lead character. You’ll get what I mean when you watch the series, but I don’t want to spoil too much about it. Just do note that in order to tell its story, it does introduce a few minor plot-holes here and there. The most glaring being the origin of the titular mecha, Eightron, which unfortunately is just never explained.

Watching this series really got me thinking about how perhaps I’ve been a bit too focused on animation budgets for the past months. It’s series like this that show that even though the animation is unimpressive (really, there are too many distorted faces and still frames here), you can still kick ass with your story. While it’s true that a big budget would have made this series even more enjoyable to watch, it’s not something that should be held against it when the plot has so many interesting ideas, and it has been this good at developing its story and setting. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the series that partly inspired Ergo Proxy.

Storytelling:	9/10 – Slow, but atmospheric. Not realistic or believable, but excellent at developing its story and mystery.
Characters:	8/10 – Likable in the way that they play with quite a few tropes and cliches.
Production-Values:	7/10 – Yeah, don’t expect eye candy here. Good soundtrack, though.
Setting:	10/10 – Ah, why not? Great ideas, great development. It’s multi-layered, thought provoking. It’s really the kind of setting that I personally love.

Suggestions:
– Ergo Proxy
– Zone of the Enders
– Argento Soma

Perhaps it’s because I’ve watched too much anime, but I found this first of six Break Blade movies to be totally unremarkable. Sure, I guess that the soundtrack is good, (especially considering the huge budget that went into that one), and there are times at which the attention to details is quite good, but apart from that it was just so… generic.

Any potential for the future installments of this series of movies fully depends on how much the creators are going to use the build-up of this movie. Standalone though… I just wouldn’t recommend it. It’s basically just a big collection of cliches. It’s set in a fantasy world in which two big countries are at war. The lead character happens to be friends with the princess and king of one of the countries (so he can feel special and famous without the responsibilities of these jobs), while one of his other childhood friends has become a general of the other country. Oh, and he’s also the only one who can activate the “great awesome mecha of doom”. It’s all got this “been there, done that” feeling.

With so many cliches, you need something to make up for it. Break Blade so far… doesn’t. I understand that it could be holding back some trumps here and there, but it doesn’t make the best first impressions. The mecha battles are just average and unremarkable, while the money shots just come and go without leaving much of an impression. To me, this movie could have used a better direction, with a better build-up and better dynamics between the individual scenes.

The director, Tetsuro Amino has me worried, though. I mean, what is he doing, working on three projects at the same time? There are enough other talented directors out there, so he could have just decided to focus on either Hutch, Break Blade or Shiki. I’m really not looking forward to another Chiaki Kon or Akiyuki Shinbo here…

Storytelling:	7/10 – It sometimes has a good attention to detail, but it also failed to catch my attention.
Characters:	7/10 – Characters have background, but this is all minimal. They’re not bad, but they are completely unremarkable.
Production-Values:	8/10 – For a movie it has quite a few still shots, but it has enough well animated scenes. The soundtrack is recorded by an actual orchestra, but not really used well.
Setting:	7/10 – Too many cliches.

Suggestions:
– Visions of Escaflowne
– Tales of Vesperia
– Tales of the Abyss

Perrine was created in 1978. And really, it’s amazing to think that already at that time, when anime was just in its adolescence and only fifteen years old, it already had its share of masterpieces produced. When thinking of the early WMT-series, usually you think of Isao Takahata‘s Anne of Green Gables and 30000 Leagues in Search of Mother, but Perrine also really belongs amongst them.

Perrine Monogatari has a great story, but I do want to say that I probably have never seen another series that spends so much effort into building up for it. To put things into perspective: the original novel by Hector Malot only starts around episode 20. Before that, it’s all original material, portraying the lead character Perrine and her mother as they journey from Bosnia to Paris. and even when the story starts for real, it still takes its time in order to really make Perrine’s journey as realistic and believable as possible.

And it works, because this series is meticulously detailed. All of the events of the series, bot the uplifting and tragedic ones, really come across as realistic, both in the dialogue, the scenario and the way in which the characters are animated (which really is impressive for a 53-episoded TV-series of its time; there really are very few still frames here), even simple things as buying bread are given plenty of time to signify their importance.

Needless to say, the character-development here is amazing. Perrine slowly grows into an amazing character, but also the side-characters are all very realistic, with both their charms and flaws, and even the characters who only appear for one or two episodes are portrayed as actual people, rather than a bunch of stereotypes. There are no villains here whatsoever, and instead the drama around the series is all created around the flaws of each character, while it explores themes as hard work and honesty.

Now, there are times at which this series plays around with fate a little too much, and the language barrier also gets ignored throughout the first half of the series, but the only reason why this will catch your attention is because the rest of the series is just so incredibly realistic. This obviously is not a series for those looking for action, but for the people who are interested in slice of life and travelling series, it’s an excellent recommendation. It never tries to force any artificial drama when this isn’t necessary and it always remains wonderfully down to earth. It’s the series like this that showed that anime can be refined and mature, and not just silly entertainment for kids, opening up the door to more and more anime aimed at older audiences.

Storytelling:	9/10 – Very realistic, very detailed, a ton of build-up, but note that it’s very, very slow.
Characters:	10/10 – Wonderful development, charming and realistic side-characters.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Quite good for its time, though a bit messy for today’s standards. Especially the sound quality will be hard to get used to.
Setting:	9/10 – A very detailed portrayal of the places that Perrine visits, from Yugoslavia to France.

Suggestions:
– Porfy no Nagai Tabi
– Anne of Green Gables
– Touch

One shot OVAs of large mangas are often not really noteworthy. They’re usually just commecials for their mangas, but don’t stand on themselves as individual pieces of work. Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu is an exception, so I decided to just write a review about it in an attempt to explain why.

I’m not really happy with the shoujo romance genre of the past five years. You know, those series about a girl and her romantic adventures, usually in high school. I used to be a big fan of the genre, but now it has rather come at a standstill, with only a few series as Skip Beat and Perfect Girl Evolution delivering something new and interesting while we in the meantime are stuck with stuff like Kaichou wa Maid Sama, SA and Kimi ni Todoke that just have the same shallow romances over and over.

Because of that, it’s really a shame that Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu has only one episode, because this episode was definitely the best shoujo episode since Skip Beat. I’m not sure what this would have looked like in the form of an actual series, but this is exactly what shoujo should be, rather than the dragged on and inconsequential other shows of the genre.

This one is directed by the director of Casshern Sins, and you really can see his influence here. Considering the circumstances, he really made optimal use of only twenty minutes. It’s got the same pacing that made Casshern Sins so addictive, in which characters sometimes take a small pause before they talk. There are a ton of close-ups, skillfully combined with other shots that actually give quite a bit of life to the characters despite the limited budget. Along with the surprisingly good soundtrack, this got quite an emotional reaction out of me.

While I haven’t read the manga, my guess is that the creators took some key scenes of the first few volumes, and compiled those together in twenty minutes. The downside of this is that we’re lost on a lot of background information that just couldn’t fit into this episode. Especially that cutting scene piqued my interest, because we’re not shown the context in which it happened, in favour of the more important scenes that did need to get enough time to really work. The result is definitely tightly packed, but in return, the creators gave meaning to every single line here: not one word is wasted here as the characters develop each other through their dialogues.

The only downside was that the creators didn’t really get a good voice actor for the lead male. His voice lacks subtlety here, and is too monotomous. But really, I can see a tv-series based on this thing being successful. There’s not much comedy, but a shoujo romance… I really see a lot of potential in that if the creators treat it the same as they did here.

Storytelling:	9/10 – I’m very impressed here with what the creators did in just 20 minutes here. Great pacing, excellent dialogue, really well cut and pasted from the manga.
Characters:	8/10 – Lack of key events or background, but surprisingly deep for only 20 minutes.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Low budget, but the visual direction is pretty good here. Excellent soundtrack.
Setting:	7/10 – Don’t expect any background to be explained here.

Suggestions:
– Voices of a Distant Star
– Maria-Sama ga Miteru
– Baby Blue

You know these puzzle games? Well, someone actually found it a good idea to make a movie about one, impossible as it may seem. The creators of this movie really were put in front of the daunting task of coming up with some sort of epic story that involves solving puzzles, and while the result is far away from perfect, I’m still surprised at how interesting this movie became.

Let me start with the good: the back-story. The story behind the mystery that Professor Layton and his assistant have to solve is imaginative, and actually a pretty good mystery-story. In the beginning it throws in a ton of red herrings and hints at you, and as the movie progresses it shapes together quite a nice overall story. This pacing, along with its ideas are bound to hold your attention and the characters that the mystery focus on are good and well fleshed out.

The animation by PA works also was quite interesting. The character-designs are simple, but quite varied and aesthetically pleasing. The animation is consistently fluid as you could expect from a movie, and the soundtrack is equally excellent.

Right, now that that’s out of the way: the bad stuff. Well, first of all, the movie assumes that its watchers are fans of the games. This means that you’re not going to get any background information about the main characters. Who is professor Layton? Why does he, one of the apparently most brilliant “puzzle scholars” (actual quote from the movie!), have a ten-year-old kid as his assistant? Who is that charming but mysterious Scotland yard cop? Especially the intro of the movie is just weird, unnecessary, confusing, stupid and never explained. Expect none of this to be addressed throughout the movie, even if they’re jarring. It’s just there to focus on the story of the Eternal Diva.

Then, the plot. As imaginative as it may be, there are just large chunks of it that don’t make any sense whatsoever. Most notable is the plan of the bad guys, which is just ridiculously complicated no matter how you look at it. The reason that this movie has so many red herrings is because of how incredibly needlessly elaborate their actions are, considering the goals that they’re trying to accomplish. You’d need to have looked at the script of the movie in order to be able to understand what’s going on (yes, that’s also a criticism to a bit more spoilerific part of the movie).

Overall, the movie is too forced. It’s too focused on its storyline (which really is quite good) and forgets the fine details as avoiding deus ex machina, completely writing characters out when they’re not needed anymore, making sense, that kind of stuff. Still, I’d especially recommend the first half of this movie, because that really is build up for a mystery done well.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Deus ex machina, lacks attention to detail, but is actually pretty good at building up and creating tension.
Characters:	8/10 – No depth on the lead characters, but the side-characters are pretty good for a movie.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Pretty good for movie standards, though not the best.
Setting:	7/10 – I’m very torn on this one. The setting behind this movie is very imaginative… it just doesn’t make any sense and really doesn’t seem to care about this at all.

Suggestions:
– Laputa: Castle in the Sky
– Gedo Senki
– The xxxHolic Movie (just ignore that review. It’s crap)

it’s been a long while since I took so long in finishing a mere 13 episoded series, but this is not meant against this series: the episodes here just have this tendency to suck all energy out of you, but for once in a good way. While I wouldn’t consider this anywhere among Sato Junichi’s best series, I still enjoyed its calm atmosphere.

Aria’s genre, the slice of life moe series, is a genre that I usually don’t really enjoy. It’s definitely one of the better series of the genre, though. While a lot of time is spent on just showing the every day lives of its lead characters, it sets itself apart with two things:

First of all: its dialogue. Between the characters it feels natural, while the voice overs have this tendency to talk about pseudo-philosophical themes that have to do with the episode’s content. It actually works quite well in both making the episodes interesting and fleshing out its characters. The characters in this series aren’t exactly well developed, but they’re neither stereotypes or one-sided. They’ve all got this natural charm to them.

Second: it actually takes place in quite an interesting and original setting. Instead of yet another high school series in Japan, we’re brought into the future, where Mars has been colonized and a new Venezia has been founded. This series is excellent at portraying the city, as well as the jobs that the main characters have as gondoliers. The series explores the past as well as the present, and also managed to create an entirely new culture. It’s this part that managed to impress me the most about this series so far.

By far the most annoying part of this series was the portrayal of cats, especially the strange blob that is the pet of the lead character (named as President Aria). This cat is just way too over the top with its attempted cuteness, and a large potential turn-off for future audience. I know that this was the case me, when I first tried to check it out, back in 2005 when it first aired.

Overall though, you can see that Aria the Animation is only the beginning for its story: the side-characters actually received much more development and background than the lead characters, while instead a ton of time is spent on building up its setting and fleshing out its characters. Things really have to move in a weird way if its sequels aren’t going to surpass it.

Storytelling:	8/10 – A ton of slice of life, but also doesn’t forget to put meaning to its scenario.
Characters:	8/10 – Not much development, but the human characters are all nicely down to earth. The animals are annoying, though.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Not the best, not the worst. The soundtrack especially has its moments.
Setting:	8/10 – Original, interesting.

Suggestions:
– Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
– Anne of Green Gables
– Kino no Tabi