Series about girls’ baseball teams that challenge male baseball teams are nothing new. Princess Nine did this before. Still, Taishou Yakyuu Musume tries to bring in a bit of a twist with its setting: the 1920s. it’s a very nice setting for a feminist series to explore the struggles of a team of girls to be accepted in a male-dominated sport.
When you look at the baseball in this series however, it unfortunately ends up shallow. It isn’t about girls defeating boys. My problem with this series is that more than half of the members of this series’ baseball team start out as complete noobs, and yet they suddenly grow strong enough to be just as good as a team of guys who have been training for their entire lives. I mean, I don’t mind feminism at all (in fact, it’s much better than the alternative and turning females into simple damsels in distress), but that’s no reason to deus ex machina your characters into talented players.
When you look past the baseball however, you’ve got a pretty enjoyable series. This series is actually mostly slice of life, with only a few episodes dedicated to baseball matches, and the slice of life is definitely the most enjoyable part in this series. The characters all have their charms and are enjoyable to watch, and the plot provides interesting situations that shape their characters.
But yeah, that’s nice and all but this remains a 12-episode series with more than fifteen major characters. there’s no way to flesh out all of them, and so a lot of characters remain underdeveloped even though they have quite a bit of potential. Still, at least the two lead characters have enough charms to save this series and while they have a few stereotypes here and there they’re fleshed out nicely, and are able to carry this series as lead characters.
Sure, this series isn’t anything special, but it’s the kind of series you watch on a rainy day. It’s very enjoyable, and even the baseball matches aren’t anything bad if you can swallow the unrealistic skills of the girls. It’s always good for a light watch, and this show really knew what it was.
| Storytelling: | 7/10 |
| Characters: | 8/10 |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 |
| Setting: | 8/10 |
Okay, time for me to review my favourite anime of the past Spring and Summer Season: Phantom, or Requiem from the Phantom. It’s based on a visual novel by Nitroplus, and while it starts off as a Noir clone at first, it develops into something much more. It shows a story about a couple of assassins inside the modern American mafia.
It sets itself apart with an amazing cast of characters. Especially Ein and Zwei develop into a bunch of strong and sympathetic characters, but also most of the side-characters are memorable. They’re all incredibly well acted; the voice actors really managed to capture their characters, and there’s always a lot of subtlety in their actions and development.
This is all accompanied by a terrific execution. Dialogues between people often move slow, but a lot of things are said in-between the lines. The creators have a great sense of build-up, and know exactly how to deliver the plot twists with as much of an impact as possible. Despite the subtlety, the action-scenes also pack a punch. This show knows that gunfights between excellent marksmen can last very short, and they made excellent use of this in their build-up.
Since this is a Bee-Train series, the music is without a doubt excellent, but at the same time you can see that they’re trying out a few new things here and there. The use of music throughout the series is downright excellent, but what amazed me the most is the incredible size and versatility of the different background tunes. Hikaru Nanase, who also did the soundtrack of Noein and Zone of the Enders, created an incredibly versatile set of tracks for this series. The drawings are also continuously crisp, without hardly any distorted frames, and the animation itself is also pretty decent.
A bit of a lesser point of this series is that there are sometimes strange leaps in logic. One character may have escaped death a bit too narrowly, and this series also forces you to assume that with the right training, a bunch of teenagers can become much better at handling guns than any adult out there.
Nevertheless though, I personally loved this series. It’s a show that’s constantly evolving, even within its distinct three arcs. The major theme of this series, in which the best course of action doesn’t always get taken due to a sad combination of circumstances, is excellently explored by the cast. The characters in this series are deep and complex, and often you find them saying things while in reality they actually believe in something completely different. With an ending that you’ll either love or hate, this is a great recommendation if you like dark yet slow-paced series and don’t mind teenagers in your anime.
The first season of Chi’s Sweet Home showed us exactly how awesome cats can be, so I was looking forward to its second season. Unfortunately, it fell victim to the number one pitfall of all comedies out there: it lost its inspiration! Such a shame!
The first season had a set of absolutely hilarious and classic episodes, while the other episodes always managed to put a smile on your face through the antics of Chi and later Blackie. The second season does have its share of funny episodes, but those are nowhere near as memorable as they were in Season One, and the lesser episodes really become more and more tedious to sit through as the series goes on.
In my opinion, the creators shot themselves a bit in the foot when they created the premise for this series. The first season had a red thread running though it: the fact that Chi lived in an apartment in which pets weren’t allowed returned often, provided some nice tension and made sure the series evolved as it went along. In Chi’s New Address, Chi’s owners move to a place in which pets are allowed. As a result, the rest of its episodes can simply be divided into two categories: episodes in which Chi runs around and meets someone, or episodes in which Chi breaks something. Sometimes the creators try to bring in a bit of extra dimension by putting both in one episode, but there is a general lack of direction throughout the entire series, and as it goes on the episodes get more and more repetitive. Especially the episodes in which Chi randomly causes trouble have been done to death by the end of the series.
But that’s not the only thing that deteriorated. For some reason, the animators also lost their inspiration. In a lot of episodes, Chi only has two emotions: neutral and happy. There’s nothing in between! While the characters were so charming in the first season, they were turned into a bunch of bloody stereotypes during the second season. Chi is way too often just happy for no reason whatsoever. Happiness should be spontaneous, not granted or forced.
At the end of the series, the creators do close off with a serious arc again, and to the show’s credit: it is enjoyable. They had a nice idea for it, and it was executed decently, although it really tended to be melodramatic during the heavy bits. Especially that final episode is horribly forced and cheesy. This series is supposed to be seinen, not kodomo!
Overall, it’s one thing for a comedy to stop being funny, but Chi’s New Address screws up in a lot of other areas as well. Thankfully, this summer seasons premiered a show called Kuruneko, and it’s everything a good cat-show should be. So yeah, if you like cats, go watch Chi’s Sweet Home’s first season and Kuruneko, but stay away from this one.
The first season of Ookami to Koushinryou, or Spice and Wolf, came from absolutely nowhere. It had the worst possible staff you can imagine (outside of the team that’s been animating Ikkitousen and Queen’s Blade, perhaps) and yet it came and delivered an incredibly solid series about merchants during the medieval times. Its second season takes this formula, and only improves on it.
It may seem like a given, but sequels don’t always surpass their original. This however is far from the case in Spice and Wolf. The second season is overall a lot darker than its predecessor, and it really made use of the fact that the characters have already got a season’s worth of development in them. It consists out of two big arcs, each in which Lawrence is trying to strike a very, very risky deal. They’re all very intelligent and well-fleshed out, full of surprises and with a very good conclusion.
You can really see that this is a series that’s based on a light novel series, rather than a manga. Just like the first season, the dialogue is deep and meaningful, and you really have to pay attention to keep following it. Horo and Lawrence love teasing each other with smart and witty remarks, and together they develop into quite a memorable couple. There are some great romantic scenes during the quiet parts in this series, that really gets the best out of both of them.
For the second season, the animation has been taken over by Brains Base, and if you pay attention then you can really see that the graphics have also gotten an upgrade, especially the background art looks gorgeous because of it. Overall, the second season is a bit less whimsical than the first one, but it makes up for it by a couple of well built-up and written arcs.
Science fiction, androids and artificial intelligence are a popular theme in anime, but Eve no Jikan shows that you can still come with new ideas. It’s an OVA series of five episodes of 15 minutes, and 1 of half an hour, and it shows a possible future in which androids have just become able to look and act like regular human beings.
It explores the boundaries of intelligence, what it means to be self-conscious and in what aspect androids differ from humans, as well as human relationships with those androids. throughout its six episodes, it shows a variety of cases of how people chose to deal with it, through the eyes of the lead character Rikuo.
Overall, it’s a very well made series, and worth the watch just for the setting. However, it’s also just way too short: it has enough potential to fill up a regular 13-episoded tv-series, and it could quite possibly even run for 26 episodes. right now, the characters are just too underdeveloped, there’s too little time to get to know the fairly large cast in this series, there are so many interesting questions that are still left hanging, and there’s still a lot of potential left in the concept that the creators weren’t able to touch.
Still, there always is the chance for a continuation: Studio Rikka is a rare example of a successful independent animation studio, and considering the success of this series, they’re probably aiming for more. There is a flaw that can’t be excused with this, however: the characters tend to put an overemphasis on their acting. Especially Masaki’s character feels way too dramatic, and feels unnatural because of this.
Nevertheless, I definitely support these short OVAs that try to do something fresh and different. The OVA-format is really one in which you can take a lot more risks than with your regular TV-series, and yet hardly any series take advantage of this. Eve no Jikan’s problem is that it’s just way too ambitious for this format: it tried to too too much in too little time, which prevents it from being a classic, but on the other hand its short length turns it into a very accessible nice and light watch.
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To be honest, until a week ago I still wasn’t quite sure how to review this series. I mean, there obviously was something wrong with it, but I just couldn’t put my finger to exactly what. Nevertheless, with the final two episodes (which were very exciting, by the way), I finally know where this series went wrong, and why it went from a very promising series to just… boredom.
Imagine yourself as the villain: you’re placed high in the military. A certain kid escapes your clutches, and this kid happens to hold the evil godmode powers of doom, and it is vital to get these powers back, so you are assigned this task. You’ve got a number of competent henchmen and you youself also are an experienced commander. It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a plan to capture a 14-year old boy, right?
Well, this guy here sits on a chair for more than 20 episodes, looks evil and hardly does anything, and the plans that he does carry out hardly can be called the most effective ways to get to his objectives. In a lot of series, a good villain can really make a series, and really, Ayanami would have made an excellent villain if this guy actually stood up and DID SOMETHING.
the major problem with 07-Ghost is that it drags. Horribly. The plot here could have been carried out in one quarter of the time it actually used. So in the process, the lead characters have to find ways to keep them busy. Sometimes this is meaningful, but often it’s just way too angsty, melodramatic and shallow. Not really worth the investment of 25 episodes.
Which is a bloody shame, because this show definitely has some right ingredients. The direction during the action scenes is actually quite good: with an excellent soundtrack it knows how to entertain by pushing the right buttons at the same time. The series is full of creative shots and camera-angles, and the animation also hardly has any distorted faces. This is exactly why I was excited about this series: it sounded like an epic premise, but in the end the creators could have done so much more with this premise.
This series takes place in a church for the most part, so there is a unique religious feel about this series, so it’s really a bit of a shame of this wasted potential. Unfortunately, it’s really typical of the director: he did the same one to Hatenkou Yuugi, ruining it by an abysmal pacing. This guy really knows how direct technically: he knows how to make things exciting. However, in terms of content and especially pacing he still has a lot to learn. The best episodes in this series really ended up being episode 1 and 24. That has to say something.
Let me start this review by saying that I’m usually not much of a fan of slice of life comedies. In my experience, they’re often boring, repetitive and stereotypical, and just look too much like each other. However, there are of course always exceptions. Hyakko last year for example was great example of a series that hit all the right notes for me, and here’s another one: GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class. This really is everything that a good slice of life comedy should be.
The way this series stands out is that it’s not only enjoyable, it’s also very informative. In every episodes the creators put these nice facts about rt, art techniques and equipment that also made it a very interesting series to watch. I raraly run into a series that actually teaches me something, but this series is one of those rare exceptions. Especially if you like art, there are enough details put into this series to keep you interested.
On top of that, this also is a really well written and directed series. Even though it follows the daily lives of a bunch of characters, it hardly ever repeats itself: every episode is distinctly different, and about a different topic, it hardly ever repeats jokes, and when it does it builds further upon them, rather than milking them out.
This really is a comedy for those who like fast-paced series. The creators really jump from one scene to the other, to keep the show fresh and from dragging. However, that does lead to a bit of a chaotic pacing, and you really need to pay attention in order to be able to follow it, so if you’d like your comedies to be more straightforward you’ll probably be turned off by this series.
Nevertheless, with a lovable cast, an excellent script and a very good portrayal of a bunch of high school girls, this really is one of my top picks in terms of this year’s comedies. It’s always consistently fresh, enjoyable and interesting, and even the parts that aren’t funny are still enjoyable or informative. It’s really a shame that it flew so much under the radar, because it’s definitely among my top 5 series of the past summer season.
Here’s another Clamp-adaptation, the anime with one of the least descriptive titles in existence: X. It tells the story of a bunch of people who have been destined to fight over whether or not the earth is going to be destroyed. And I must say, it hits the mark surprisingly often. Recommended for anyone who likes a good character-study.
There are very few series that can claim that they only get better and better as they go on, but X sure as hell does come close to this. It starts out a bit mundane, but for nearly every successive episode as you get an idea of the plot, and the different characters show their backgrounds and stories, it just gets more intriguing with episode. Especially in the second half, where all hell breaks loose, this series just continues to keep the balls in the air.
What impressed me the most about this series was the maturity of the cast of villains. These guys are miles away from your stereotypical evil overlords, and despite the fact that they’re trying to destroy the world, they’re all surprisingly calm and down to earth which is very refreshing to be honest. The protagonists also receive plenty of attention, which allows each of them to grow beyond stereotypes, and actually develop a bit. A major theme in this series is loneliness, and I really liked how each of them chose to deal with their feelings in a different way.
With all that however, it’s a shame that the least interesting character in this series is the main one: Kamui. With such a colourful cast of side-characters, he fails to stand out and is yet another one of those angsty teenagers with huge powers with the task to save the world. He does develop throughout the series, but it’s all just too predictable and shallow. It’s because of him that the finale of this series turns out to be really cheesy. A pitiful exception to how everything in this series just gets better and better.
Overall, X is a bit too angsty for my tastes. Too often, we see characters stare pointlessly into nothingness instead of actually doing something, and the lackluster lead character and ending prevent it from really standing out, but aside from that there’s a lot to like in this series. It’s an interesting effect you get when half of the series’ plot twists have already been prophesized (especially if you watched the special episode 00, which is basically a very cryptic recap of the series). With a strong soundtrack and very solid animation by Madhouse, I definitely don’t regret watching this.
One thing I love about watching anime is that sometimes, there are these series that come from absolutely nowhere and blow you away. Tokyo Magnitude is one of those series. It’s based on a “what-if” scenario: what if modern-day Tokyo were to be hit by a massive earthquake? This actually is a very likely scenario: it turns out that there is a 70% chance that Tokyo will be hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 in the next 30 years.
Tokyo Magnitude shows that even in the city that is probably the most well-prepared city for an earthquake, it would still be plunged into chaos if an major earthquake actually were to take place. Tons of people would end up either dead or injured, even more people would lose their homes. The creators end up portraying this sense of chaos and despair incredibly well.
The series follows three people in particular: two siblings Mirai and Yuki and an adult called Mari, however that doesn’t stop the creators from showing how everyone else is doing. They make really well use of their budget to create an identity for every single passer-by: they take care in emphasizing that every single person in the background was also just a regular person who also was hit by the earthquake, who also may or may not have lost someone, or might be separated from his or her loved ones. This series really managed to create a setting that feels real, in which just about everything is filled with details that make the setting come alive. Figuratively, of course.
The first half of the series is mainly this, while the second half, in which the chaos tones down a bit, changes the direction of the setting in a character-study of the lead characters. I’m not going to spoil exactly what happens, but both halves are equally bittersweet. You do need to know that the second half does this at the sacrifice of a bit of realism, though. The second half is much quieter in comparison to the chaotic first half, but that really allows the plot to be very subtly developed, and the emotions to sink in.
The biggest flaw of this series is a little disclaimer at the start of each episode, which claims that this series is as realistic as possible. While this series is indeed very realistic (more realistic than like, 98% of all other anime out there), there are points that could not have happened in real life. Besides, it’s a rather pretentious disclaimer anyway: instead of telling us it’s realistic, we’d rather like to be able to judge ourselves.
Nevertheless, at this point Tokyo Magnitude has the potential to remain a classic in anime. It’s believable, depressing, but also uplifting, fresh and inspired. There’s been a lot of discussion going on whether or not this series took the right turns along the way, but personally for me, it has been an amazing series. Most people who know this blog will know that I’m already a big fan of the Noitamina timeslot. Aside from Honey and Clover, I’ve seen every single show that came out of it, and Tokyo Magnitude has become my favourite series out of all of them.
After watching Kaleido Star and Strange Dawn, you can pretty much consider me a fan of Sato Junichi, the guy who directed them. Umi Monogatari is his latest work; it’s nowhere near his best, however it still is a very solid series: focused, emotional and powerful. This series demonstrates that even with a simple story and clichéd setting you can do a lot of nice things.
What impressed me the most about this series is that it has so many ingredients that anime has become infamous for, and it makes them work. It has a big-boobed hot chick in a swimsuit as a main character, alongside her is her younger sister, also in swimsuit. We have this evil power that brainwashes everyone, there’s an angsty love triangle subplot, people getting into fights over the smallest misunderstanding and let’s not forget the animal sidekick.
There is really a LOT of angst and drama in this series. Usually in anime, this means a lot of cheese, but here the creators manage to make a very emotional series while avoiding getting ludicrous or melodramatic by keeping the characters genuine. Especially Marin and Kanon are a couple of very likable character. They’re well fleshed out and avoid being stereotypes. Especially Marin cries a lot, but for once you feel that it’s part of her character, rather than having her cry for the sake of melodrama.
While a cheesy mahou shoujo at first sight, Umi Monogatari at heart is a story about adolescence: a tale of growing up, expanding your horizons, getting into fights and trying to make up again, which never is easy. It’s also about discrimination and misunderstandings, and it has a lot of meaning put into the emotions of the different characters.
Granted though, the plot is very simple; if you’re not into the characters, or like a fast-paced plot in which a lot of stuff happens at the same time, you’re not going to like this series. Umi Monogatari is more like one of those series that takes its time in subtly developing its characters. Still, that final episode really has been the best ending I’ve seen so far in this season, and has a good chance of being among the best endings of the shows that ended during the Spring and Summer Season, even though I usually dislike those sorts of endings.