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Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei Review – 92,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei




The Noitamina time-slot surely rocked beyond belief this season. Alongside Sarai-ya Goyou aired the possibly even better Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei, the latest product of Masaaki Yuasa of Kaiba-fame. This time, he went for a ton-of-dialogue artsy character-study slash college life series, in which we follow the lead character as he explores a wide variety of different clubs and lifestyles during his years in college throughout many parallel dimensions. And it works out wonderfully.

At first sight, the way in which this series keeps resetting itself after every episode may seem weird at first, but it actually was a brilliant method to flesh out its different characters. Because of its very frequent resets, this stands out even more than series that did similar things in the past, like Higurashi and Umineko. Because of this, we get to see a ton of different sides of the characters that would never have been able to been shown without these resets, and the most important part is that we see Watashi develop in many different ways throughout each episode. The different side-characters all have their own parts to play in Watashi (the lead character)’s world and everything comes together wonderfully in the final episodes.

All of this is accompanied by some truly excellent dialogue. This series is based on an actual novel, rather than a manga or light novel, and it really shows. The dialogue is incredibly fast and you really need to pay attention to keep up with it, but as a narration it offers very detailed descriptions of the situations that Watashi finds himself in, which is nearly always very imaginative in the ways that it does so, with quite a number of witty remarks.

One potential pitfall could have been for the series to lose itself in either its dialogue and visuals, but neither happens. There are a ton of details stuffed into this series in order to make all episodes stand out, but in the same way the main message and characters remain deceptively simple on the outside. In comparison, while Kuchuu Buranko felt a bit like a loose cannon at times, every moment of Yojou-han is instead meant to bring colour to the life in which Watashi is living, and build up for the episodes that are still to come. Because the huge amount of building up, the first half of this series is decidedly less impressive than the second half, but the build-up is definitely worth it.

It’s a series that doesn’t try to provoke the biggest emotional response, but as a character-study it really stands out as a minor masterpiece here, in the way that it very subtly manages to flesh out and characterize its entire cast. Especially after the final episodes, it stands out as my favourite show of the series that premiered during the past spring season.

Storytelling: 10/10 – Fresh, and varied, skillfully combining repetition with new ideas to flesh itself out. Top notch narration.
Characters: 9/10 – The formula really allows the characters to come alive and show many different sides of themselves.
Production-Values: 9/10 – It’s Masaaki Yuasa. Do I need to say anything more?
Setting: 9/10 – Spoilerific to go in detail here but yeah: this one rocks too.

Suggestions:
– Mind Game (another one of those movies that I’d review entirely different if I were to watch it today)
– Amatsuki
– Revolutionary Girl Utena

Sarai-ya Goyou Review – 90/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Sarai-ya Goyou




One of the things that made the past spring season awesome was the fact that it didn’t have just one, but two Noitamina series. And boy, it sure came with a couple of amazing series to start off this new feature!

Sarai-ya Goyou is a character-study, set in the Japan of a number of centuries ago, and it unites Manglobe with Tomomi Mochizuki, of Toka Gettan, Porfy no Nagai Tabi, Kimagure Orange Road and a ton of other series. He’s a true veteran in the anime business, and he did an incredible job of bringing these characters to life.

The animation in nearly every scene in this series is full of detail, with a ton of subtle movements. This really allows the creators to put as much meaning into these scenes as possible, giving them a surprising amount of depth and development in only twelve episodes. Even most of the side characters get some development throughout the series that already is short on time and despite this limited length, it never tries to rush through things in order to fit as much as possible into its airtime. There comes a price to this, of course: it’s unfortunately an incomplete series, and stops after animating about half of the manga. The main plot threads are skillfully wrapped up at that point, but it’s clear that the storyline isn’t over at that point.

Airing next to Yojou-han this season, this series faced some incredibly tough competition, but it really shined out there despite this, and is a great recommendation for those who are looking for a short character-focused series. There is one arc that isn’t as good as the others (the Matsu arc), which breaks the flow of this series a bit, but apart from that the stories that it tells about its characters are all incredibly thoughtful and engaging.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Very detailed. Tries to put as much meaning into every scene as possible, and succeeds. Never loses itself in its pacing, though the story itself has plot threads that aren’t wrapped up.
Characters: 9/10 – Deep, well developed and thoughtful.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Manglobe does it again with excellent animation that focus on bringing its characters to life instead of over the top action scenes. Haunting soundtrack.
Setting: 9/10 – Excellent portrayal of Japan at the time, with a great analysis of the types of problems that people faced around these ages.

Suggestions:
– Mushishi
– Porfy no Nagai Tabi
– Seirei no Moribito

Some Quick First Impressions: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Amagami SS and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

by psgels, posted in Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Some Quick First Impressions

Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is looking for some legendary hero or something.
Aagh! Dilemma! I’m well aware that this is from the creators of Koukaku no Regios. That series also had a first episode that had quite a bit of potential… only to never realize any of it. This first episode of Legend of Legendary Heroes used a ton of tricks that other series like to use in order to impress wit their first episode. The action-scenes here were the best looking scenes that Zecxs has ever animated, the background art in this series is just gorgeous, but it just screamed “yeah, we blew our budget on this thing”. The comedy was the best I have seen this season so far, but that doesn’t mean that it’s also good. The comedy in this series is of the shotgun type: it tries to deliver as many jokes as possible, of which some of them end up actually funny. Let me put things this way: if this series can fulfill the potential it showed in this episode in its upcoming 25 episodes, then it will be quite entertaining. It’s a tongue in the cheek fantasy series that doesn’t take itself seriously, and the way that the deadpan female lead and expressive male lead keep snarking to each other had both its annoying and amusing moments. The side-characters… they’re varied and can become interesting with a little depth and development. I’d love to be able to give a favourable review for this one, but I know the director and his tendency to not use any sort of potential that’s handed to him. I’ll get back on this one in a few more episodes.
OP: Well, decent I guess.
ED: Again, decent.
Potential: 35%

Amagami SS

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is bland, shy but very kind, so he’ll probably date a bunch of cute girls throughout the series.
Here we have the first of the onslaught of AIC Moe series this season, but at least this one looked to be the most solid. And indeed, whether this series is going to work out right is a little more complex than with Ookami, but this series has a number of huge flaws against it. First of all it’s a harem based on a dating sim, and the creators really spent no effort to defy from the cliches that this series usually suffers from: annoying sister (who he’ll probably get to date eventually as well), the spunky best friend girl, the incredibly popular girl, the weak girl, and of course the male best friend of the lead character. The premise is utterly terrible, but there were a few hints at at least a bit of substantial drama. For one, the lead character isn’t entirely bland, but had his crushes in the past. That’s like an entire novel worth of background for your average harem lead! He also got rejected when he tried to confess to a girl he only got to know on that day, so at least the characters and females aren’t morons here, but in the end, the series is just too constrained by its premise. This episode showed the lead characters hop back and forth between all of the girls that he’s supposed to be dating in the future, making for an incredibly forced first episode. I know that this is by the creators of Solty Rei, which also had a very unimpressive first episode. But really, you can do a lot more neat stuff with science fiction than another one of those shows set just in high school.
OP: A tip for whoever sung this: stay away from English lyrics. You’re not good at them.
ED: Boring j-rock
Potential: 35%

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is socially awkward, completely bland, but actually a pretty nice guy so of course he gets a cute girl as a semi-girlfriend.
Well, so the first real premiere of the summer season… turns out to be a disappointment. I was actually looking forward to how the creators would interpret the fairy tale premise that they had to work with. And somehow… they chose one of the blandest ways to do it. In the end, this is just another one of those series about a weird club in high school, with a tsundere, maid, typical lose lead guy, sarcastic boss, and really annoying best friend. There also is a narrator, and while she sometimes tries to actually say something witty, she loses herself way too often in small boob jokes. The fanservice here is just utterly pointless, bland and uninspired, which makes it even worse. The production values are nice, I grant it that, but this is exactly the kind of moe high school show that I’ve gotten more than tired of by now. If it had something interesting about this episode, it might have been serviceable, but this had just nothing. It was all just bland. No hints at potential whatsoever. This is only for the people who like moe humor.
ED: Annoying j-pop
Potential: 20%

June Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

I think what mostly set this month apart was a lack of disappointments: all of the series I’ve been following were interesting and enjoyable, and actually none of the series that I watched (22 of them) felt like a waste of time for me. Series that once were annoying redeemed themselves, and even the shows I liked to bitch about has plenty of good stuff to like.

Overall, This season was average: it wasn’t among the best seasons I’ve seen, but also not among the worst. It set itself apart with well thought-out settings, which was definitely what I liked about this season overall the best. The worst about this season was that there are just too many series that were too short. But that’s a dead horse that I think is already beaten enough.

#22 (new) – Sekirei – (7,5/10) – The first episode pretty much was what the first season was, only with even worse comedy. Yeah, I know it’s a fanservice show and all, but it’s among the better ones. The only reason you’d want to watch this if you’re not horny is the plot, but still, it’s pretty decent and solid for its genre.
#21 (20) – Hetalia World Series – (7,5/10) – The biggest problem with this series is its balancing issues. Yes, we know that Prussia is an evil bastard, can we finally move on now? The thing is, that this is called Hetalia WORLD SERIES, but it has only been focusing on European politics of three hundred years ago.
#20 (21) – Marie&Gali – (7,75/10) – I’m getting used to the new main character. I’m not sure whether it’s supposed to be a good thing for one to get used to a mosquito buzzing around your ears for a week and a half, but the fact remains: the creators have not lost one ounce of their creativity. Even with annoying presence of ‘her’, they still focus on making explaining science fun.
#19 (15) – Heroman – (7,75/10) – Here’s the thing with this series: its initial premise really was riddled with cliches, staple characters, and plain idiocy. But really, the creators took this concept, and actually developed it quite well. Most of the major characters have grown by now, the plot is completely different from what it was ten episodes before, and while the government people are sometimes portrayed a bit too stereotypical, it definitely makes for an interesting intrigue plot.
#18 (19) – Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru – (7,75/10) – There are a lot of faults in this series I like to bitch about. But really: at its core it’s a solid series. Characters are solid in their interactions and build-up, the atmosphere is very good, I like how it uses its CG. There are a number of plot-holes, but nothing major.
#17 (16) – Kaidan Restaurant – (7,75/10) – A rather abrupt ending, but it remained as enjoyable light horror until the end. The final episode was a good way to close off, albeit a bit forced.
#16 (12) – Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou – (8/10) – Well, this series did what it was supposed to do: make a very entertaining finale that was consistently fun to watch. Sure, it made no sense at times, but that was nowhere where the appeal of this series lay for me. The action-scenes were fun, the characters themselves did their job, and didn’t become boring or tedious to watch at all. I also liked some of the crazier plot twists it pulled. I know it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, but I personally enjoyed it a lot. Shouldn’t that be enough?
#15 (11) – Katanagatari – (8/10) – This month’s episode wasn’t the best, but nevertheless very solid. Making use of a well known trope didn’t hurt the overall dialogue at all.
#14 (17) – Kuruneko – (8/10) – I’ll review this one as soon as I can find the final three episodes, but seriously, they’re almost impossible to track down. It’s a bloody shame that Akitaro Daichi’s series are so incredibly underrated, because Kuruneko has been consistently enjoyable from start to finish.
#13 (18) – Anymaru Tantei Kiruminzoo – (8/10) – I’m pleasantly surprised here. The series still consist of random episodes, but you can really see things develop very, very slowly. Characters are starting to think about what they can do themselves, Riko got some surprisingly touching moments that made her quite a colourful character, and the humour still ranges from cute to hilarious.
#12 (8) – Angel Beats – (8,25/10) – I’ve said this before: I’d rather watch a series with a ton of hiccups, but a ton of interesting ideas and concepts, than a series that might not have any holes in its plot, but also doesn’t take any risks at all, has no originality and doesn’t attempt to think outside of the box. Angel Beats was chaos, but it was fun, enjoyable, and varied in the way that it actually succeeded pretty well with all kinds of different genres. The climax did not live up to Key’s usual standards, but nevertheless it stood out in its ideas. That is for me enough to make up for the lesser parts of the series.
#11 (14) – B Gata H Kei – (8,25/10) – I really thought that at the halfway point this series would just go downhill and not match the fun of the first episodes. And then it turns out that the creators saved some of their best jokes for last. A number of priceless scenes, along with some actually surprisingly solid development of the lead characters ended this series on a very good note for me. It has definitely become my favourite fanservice comedy (and it’s ABOUT TIME an actually good one showed up).
#10 (13) – Durarara – (8,25/10)

This is a bit of a response to the criticisms I have received for my review of this series, most notably “how come show X (in this case Daimaou and Angel Beats) is rated as high as Durarara?” Now first of all: why are you comparing a show as Daimaou with Durarara? They have completely different purposes, I rated the former the way because it succeeded as entertainment that kept me engaged from start to finish. I rated the latter this way because for a show with substance, it could have done better and was a bit overshadowed by other series with substance, including its own first half. In fact, I still really like the character-development, and if a Durarara sequel will pop up, there is no doubt that I’m going to rate it higher. But the past arc just wasn’t the right one to quit the series with.

#9 (7) – Senkou no Night Raid – (8,25/10)

The thing I loved about this series is how thought provoking it ended up to be, combined with its characters who, while bland at first sight, had this air of maturity and lack of overacting that made them a very solid cast to watch. The big problem is a number of plotholes and characters changing sides a little too easily, but despite that it’s been a very solid finale.

#8 (9) – Rainbow – (8,5/10)

It’s impossible to talk about Rainbow this month without mentioning spoilers, but I do want to say that I absolutely love that SPOILER, and not only that, but also SPOILER. With 13 episodes lift, this opens the door to so much character-development!

#7 (6) – Gag Manga Biyori – (8,5/10)

The best of this month was the manga artist episode. It’s brilliant how the creators carried on that one single joke, and instead they built further upon it rather than dragging it out. It’s really sad to see this show go now, though. It’s definitely been my favourite comedy of the past two seasons, and I can’t imagine anything surpassing it as my favourite comedy of 2010.

#6 (10) – Ookiku Furikabutte – (8,75/10)

Definitely the best month of the second season. It was rushed, sure, but even under these circumstances the creators delivered an awesome match. The animation was consistently excellent throughout and the creators really showed the ins and outs of baseball.

#5 (5) – Heartcatch Precure – (8,75/10)

We’re about to get to some turning points, but in the meantime this series continues its delightful trend of heart-warming stories along with its incredibly addictive and engaging main cast. The animation really allows the creators to show a ton of different emotions and really make them dynamic characters.

#4 (4) – Giant Killing – (8,75/10)

This month was nearly all about one big football match. This really allowed the creators to get the best out of the involved character, and make it a real turning-point for the series. Not just for the players, but everyone round it: the supporters, the coaches, the managers, the press. Everyone is important in this series. The only downside is the strange includes of recaps at the beginning of each episode.

#3 (1) – Sarai-ya Goyou – (8,75/10)

My favourite parts of this series still are located in the middle, but the past month has also had a number of very impressive episodes. Especially Yaichi’s background is handled really well.

#2 (2) – Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei – (9,25/10)

Deciding my number one for this month was a very tough decision. In the end, I decided to put Yojou-han second, mostly because we haven’t seen the end yet. It’s already a masterpiece, but that ending could even make it surpass itself even more than that it did this month. The way the creators developed Watashi, putting everything around him into context was just masterful. Masaaki Yuasa definitely did it again. I can only imagine how amazing that conclusion must be.

#1 (3) – Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – (9,25/10)

The climax of this series was amazing. Everything came together wonderfully, the action was epic, and the characters showed their best sides. I love how nearly everyone helped in their own ways. It’s awesome to see that this everything that this series has been building up for during the past five seasons has come together.

Gag Manga Biyori+ Review – 85/100 (Again)

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



Last season I accidentally posted a review of this series before it had actually ended. No worries, though, because this just give me another excuse to try and hype the hell out of this series. With thirteen extra episodes, I have no doubt that this is going to end up as my favourite comedy of 2010. I know that this series has a really obscure reputation, but really: it’s absolutely hilarious.

The formula of the fourth season is 50 percent recap, and 50% original episodes. This makes it an excellent way to get introduced to the series for even those who haven’t watched it, and the thirteen new episodes are as hilarious as ever. In fact, from what I’ve seen of the series, it’s actually gotten better by time.

The thing that really sets this series apart from all other comedies is its energy. Seriously, you will not find a series that is more hyperactive than this. Even the Excel Saga, Sexy Commando Gaiden and Gintama feel slow. The dialogue leaves absolutely no time to catch your breath. The voice actors are all excellent in the way that they keep the energy going, finding a great combination between overacting and deadpan tones.

The subject matter of this series varies widely, but episodes can generally be divided into two types: the historical parodies and the anime parodies. My personal favourites were the latter, but that’s mostly because I have more affinity with it, compared to the surprisingly obscure yet important historical figures that the former addresses.

Either way though, this series may be known as random, but that also does a bit of injustice to its premise. Sure, the characters here are all morons, but very often you can see episodes build up to some kind of punch-line, some of which are just brilliant in the tropes that they make fun of. In fact, these are the best episodes of the entire series, with my personal favourite being the spaceship episode.

I know that Humour is something personal that’s different for everyone, but if you’re looking for hyperactive humour, then you really can’t get more hyperactive than this. I know that I keep teasing everyone during my monthly summaries with my huge praises of this series, but I really want to give it as much exposure as possible, in the hope that it’ll eventually get noticed by a fansub group who want to pick it up. This is an awesome addition to the comedy genre in anime, it doesn’t deserve to get forgotten like this!

Storytelling: 9/10 – Insane pacing. Never fails to keeps the balls in the air and deliver great jokes with an unrivalled hyperactivity.
Characters: 8/10 – A bit hard to judge in this context, but there are surprisingly few cliched characters in this series. Most characters only have up to five minutes of airtime, but they still manage to be hilarious. Well written in its own way.
Production-Values: 8/10 – A rating of 8 here obviously doesn’t mean eye candy, but the animation is solid, and never gets in the way of the humour. In fact, the simple graphics are refreshing for the anime medium that way too often goes for moe and bishies.
Setting: 9/10 – Clearly spent a lot of time thinking up ideas for tropes that it was going to parody. Great finds, and references to surprisingly underrated historical figures.

Suggestions:
– Excel Saga
– The other Gag Manga Biyori Seasons
– Kodomo no Omocha
– Sexy Commando Gaiden

That Aniblog Tourney

by psgels, posted in Special Articles

So yeah, I made it to the quarterfinals of the Aniblog Tourney. Thanks everyone for voting so far.

This time I’m up against Impz and his posse. Be sure to check it out before voting, but chances are that you already know about it.

Anyway, for the THAT groupies who have come to check out this site: welcome to Star Crossed. I’ve been blogging series weekly for about four and a half years now. I also write series reviews and first impression, all of which you can find in the sidebar below.

Senkou no Night Raid Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Senkou no Night Raid




The fact that a series is slowly subbed doesn’t mean that it can’t be excellent. Really, with Yojou-han immediately subbed, this was by far the hardest one to translate by fansubbers, and therefore it didn’t get the coverage and attention that it should have gotten. Night Raid is a special series, and much more series should share the utter guts that it displayed. Be sure to support it when it eventually does come out in English!

But first and foremost, let me respond to the naysayers out there: no, Night Raid does not rape history. As a series about a group of Japanese people in China, in the 1930s. This could have been the most historically insensitive series out there. The problem is that, if I understood things correctly, there is this habit of the Japanese to really ignore anything they did around the second world war, and instead of accepting that they did a lot of things wrong and move on, there seems to be this air of not wanting to talk about it and learn from it at all.

This series, it seems to me, wanted to be a response to statements like this. While we follow a group of Japanese spies in the middle of China, it makes sure to cause no misunderstanding: the Japanese did some horrible things, and they consciously chose to do these things. In fact, a huge part of this series is about them, making these decisions, considering the alternatives, and act based on what they believe is right. Self-righteousness is a huge theme in this series, and the way this series explores them makes it a very thought-provoking series. Sure, some of the tropes it uses have been used a number of times before, but never in this context.

Now, as for the actual execution, this one could have been a bit more solid at times. The result is a number of plot-holes that are there to just keep the plot from going further. With thirteen episodes, it also doesn’t exactly have the time to give the characters a lot of background, though it definitely does try.

The acting department is a bit of a mixed bag. Some characters put down very convincing performances, like Yukina and Airi. Others, like Aoi, sound a bit too immature and unrefined. Especially in the first few episodes does this get tedious to watch.

Which is especially annoying because the first half really exist to just set everything right. It’s episodic in the way that it introduces all of the concepts, and fleshes out the setting. I think the most notable here is the infamous fourth episode, which is only dedicated to fleshing out the characters and nothing else.

If you’re interested in this series however, I do urge you to watch until episode seven before passing judgment, because it’s there where the series shows its true feathers. The thing with Night Raid is that on the small picture, it is indeed a bit inferior to its predecessor Sora no Oto. In the big picture however, I really believe that it surpasses it.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Knows its priorities, knows how to build up and most importantly: knows how to be subtle with its drama.
Characters: 8/10 – Good depth for the short length of only 13 episodes, some are well acted, others could have been done better.
Production-Values: 8/10 – A-1’s best artists were at Ookiku Furikabutte this season, but nevertheless solid enough, plus a very good soundtrack also helps.
Setting: 9/10 – The guts it has with its subject material as a medium of anime surpasses even Zipang. Very daring and thought-provoking.

(On a side-note: I really wish that I could rate this one higher, but unfortunately I can’t find an excuse for it. It unfortunately had a few too many faults, but the advantages really made up for it for me.)
Suggestions:
– Zipang
– The Cockpit
– Mobile Suit Gundam – War in the Pocket

Bakemonogatari Review – 72,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Monogatari Series



I usually don’t wait for DVD-only or other kinds of extra episodes for writing a review, but for Bakemonogatari I made an exception because I thought that the final three episodes would air quite soon after the end of the TV-series. So I was wrong. My memory may be a bit fuzzy about the series right now, but I do want to talk a bit about why I didn’t like it.

But first, let me say the following: I’m usually a big fan of shows that feature lots of talking. Ergo Proxy, Mouryou no Hako, Amatsuki, I can’t get enough of them. I also like series that do something interesting with their art and visuals, to give us some kind of unconventional eye candy. I was set to like this series when I first started watching it… but the way it turned out just didn’t work for me.

Now, the reason I’m a fan of anime is the way that it combines storytelling, visuals and music into one. Even with series who have a ton of dialogue, they really focus on portraying these characters as they tell their stories. With Bakemonogatari however, this combination is completely gone. There are way too many scenes that don’t focus on the characters, but on some random eye, object in the background, or just a very far away shot of a bunch of people talking. The creators go out of their way to avoid animating the full faces of these characters. There are a number of episodes in which this gets carried way over the top: one episode has scenes of three minutes, at which it just does nothing but stare at the same landscape without any variation. Another episode consists for about thirty percent of just black and red screens with random text on it. The rest of the episodes are also riddled with these blank screens that don’t really do anything except break pace.

All of this results in the fact that this isn’t really an animation about a bunch of characters having conversations with each other. It feels more like an animated slide-show in which a bunch of voice actors read a story. If I wanted something like that, I’d go for drama CDs or something.

The way that the source material was adapted leaves also a lot to be desired. Scenes are dragged on for way too long with boring dialogues, while the dialogues that matter are rushed through. This series has this very annoying habit of hinting at back-story, while only devoting a few lines to what happened, if any. This is especially annoying considering that this is a harem, in which everyone and his dog just ends up falling in love with the lead character. Most of the motivations for these characters and their crushes turn out to be just superficial. For me the worst was the snake arc. It wasted so much time with pointless stuff and weird fanservice, while the real story was rushed, glossed over with hardly any attempt given to give the characters some depth.

Now, the series also likes to play around with poetry: there’s a ton of symbolism, and the original novel is full of wordplay, but in the end that doesn’t really amount to anything. Yeah, there are a bunch of word jokes, and when the characters talk about cats you see pictures of cat ears, those kinds of things. They will strengthen the experience if you did like the series, but for those who aren’t a fan like myself, they’re pretty much pointless.

Granted though, the budget and focus do get better near the end: the creators finally take their time to fully animate episodes, it wastes less time with pointless stuff and there are a number of scenes that have some really sweet animation. But even then, it’s not really worth it to sit through the rest of the series just to get there. This series advertises itself by fleshing out its characters through its dialogues, but to me, that’s rather failed. There are still too many characters who just have one side to them, and just feel like caricatures.

There really was a time at which I liked Shinbo. And I still consider him to be a good director. However I’d much rather see him put his full attention on just one series, instead of churning out a bunch of half-assed product that might or might not have their moments.

Storytelling: 7/10 – Badly paced, and badly portrayed.
Characters: 7/10 – A lot of bark, but no bite. Most characters fail to impress.
Production-Values: 8/10 – I give this one the benefit of the doubt here. It cuts a ton of corners, but granted there are a number of scenes that are really well animated.
Setting: 7/10 – There is no explanation of the magic system here. Things just… are there, but I failed to see any cohesion or depth.

Suggestions:
– Soultaker
– Boogiepop Phantom
– Twillight Q

Angel Beats Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Angel Beats, Anime Reviews




For Angel Beats, Key decided to go into a completely different direction: no more visual novels but instead a straight-up anime production, instead of being a straight-up drama, it tosses in all kinds of different genres, it’s got a much more upbeat mood than any other Key work so far, but at the same time it still has some of the elements that made Air and Clannad so addictive. It’s definitely a great premise in theory.

It’s a comedy, adventure story, action series, drama, and sometimes also a romance and slice of life series, but at its core Angel Beats is a full fledged mystery-series. The characters are thrown into a setting they know nothing about, and gradually it unfolds its true nature. Really, the biggest reason why you’d want to watch this series is for the creativity, and the large amount of ideas that the creators tried to put into it. They really tried to create an original world with a lot of depth behind it, and the mystery itself is written quite skillfully to make optimal use of how it unfolds, resulting in a great climax.

The rest of the series would be best described as ‘chaos’, both in the good and in the bad ways. Over thirteen episodes, the pacing is really all over the place. It makes for a number of interesting episodes, but at times the series also just stops trying to make sense. A lot of scenes are just disjointed from each other, and this series hops from one plot twist to the other without much of a transition.

Unfortunately, Key just had way too many ideas that it wanted to put into just thirteen episodes. I think what suffers from this the most is the characterization: it’s often rushed and cheesy because of it, and while the cast as a whole is impressive and enjoyable to watch, nearly all of the characters are rushed through so that only two of them get some actual time to tell their story. The rest of the (for 13 episodes) HUGE cast has their moments in which they just don’t work or connect when they should.

These pacing and rushed issues really prevent this series from standing out, but nevertheless it has quite a bit to like, and its ideas will keep you busy as long as you don’t expect too much of it as a key series. While good, it didn’t have the “oomph” that I experienced with the Air and Clannad TV-series and movies.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Good mystery, very varied, but also rushed.
Characters: 7/10 – The cast shines as a whole, but most of the individual characters lack attention.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Excellent animation and visuals, especially the money shots.
Setting: 9/10 – Original settings. It may have a few plot-holes, but the creativity put into it more than makes up for it.

Suggestions:
– Air
– Haibane Renmei

Durarara Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Durarara




I personally like those series who manage to make their setting come alive, and Durarara turned out to be quite a fine attempt in this. In the middle of Ikeburkuro, it intertwines the stories of all kinds of interesting people as they live their daily lives. From seemingly average teenagers to invincible fighting machines to Russian waiters at a sushi restaurant.

It’s at its best when it can really intertwine these stories with its a-linear pacing. Especially the first half of the series manages to bring a lot of colour to the combination of different characters that parade the screen. It’s fairly episodic, but that format really allows the creators to show a lot of different things about its setting.

A lot of character-development can be found in the second half, which for better and for worse, is completely different to these colourful first parts. The story becomes a lot more linear, it becomes a lot darker and a lot more straightforward. Personally I’m a big fan of character-development when used right, but it felt to me that in this part, the creators sacrificed a bit too much for the sake of this character-development. Be prepared for a number of characters who tend to act rather illogical, refusing to solve problems that can simply be solved by talking to each other. Personally, for me it just wasn’t as good as this first half: it lacked energy, and it tried to look a bit too much like Baccano, which it most definitely wasn’t.

The animation varies throughout the series. It really starts off excellent, and especially the background art is gorgeous, though you can see that the budget becomes a little tighter as the series goes on, and more shortcuts show up. The music is also pretty good, and it has some excellent tracks for both the lighter parts and the darker ones.

Overall, this series has been created by the creators of Baccano, and the director had done a ton of other stuff including Jigoku Shoujo, Fancy Lala, Natsume Yuujinchou and Koi Kaze. Durarara isn’t among the best of them, and in that way it turned into a bit of a disappointment. From most other directors however, this series would have been gold. It suffers a bit with its characters (quite a few of them have their unlikable moments), it has a bit of a wonky pacing in the second half, but it has a pretty inventive plot, a ton of nice ideas and while not the best, it’s definitely worth your time.

Storytelling: 8/10 – The disjointed format in the first half has a great effect, so much that it feels empty when it’s not there in the second half. Tries to give too much pointless hints to Baccano.
Characters: 8/10 – Some characters are well developed, but the show ends too fast to actually use this, and others remain rather stereotypes. The teenagers aren’t really that likable throughout large parts of the series.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Some great stuff, some standard stuff.
Setting: 9/10 – Ikebukuro (a neighbourhood in Tokyo) is well fleshed out and especially comes to life in the first half, but also gets well fleshed out in the second half with a number of pretty interesting ideas and concepts.

Suggestions:
– Birdy the Mighty Decode
– Kaze no Youjinbo
– Mobile Police Patlabor