Suteki Tantei Labyrinth
Interesting, this turned out to be a shoujo-series where a girl and two twin-companions run into a mysterious young boy-detective, and yet there are shounen-elements as well when scantily clad females fight each other (we actually get to see that very sequence four times throughout the entire episode…) and a clumsy maid appears. I have no idea what to think of this series at the moment, though. The characters aren’t as stereotypical as other series of this season I’ve seen so far, there’s a nice air of mystery, but it seems to be missing something. Still, I see no reason why this can’t be fixed in the next few episodes. It could have gotten much worse, all it needs to do now is to build up well.
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
This is the second of the three murder-mystery series for this Season. While Labyrinth focused on a more shoujo-style in its approach, Neuro is all shounen. And with that come its problems: this series just isn’t subtle in any way, something which isn’t good for a mystery-series. The first episode already sees our heroes solve one case, but I’m not impressed by how things turned out. The chemistry between the main characters feels artificial at best: all the guy does is look evil and physically abuse the girl, while the girl has a food-obsession and a sad past somehow. I’m not sure why, but Suteki Tantei Labyrinth somehow looks so much better after seeing this series. The style of comedy also isn’t my taste: even Night Wizard was funnier, and yet it had far fewer jokes. But the real reason that convinced me that this isn’t my series is the ending: they just had to throw in a shallow villain who turns into a huge bulked-up monster. I was hoping for cases with the same depth as Ayatsuri Sakon, though now that this series needs to have a fight for every episode, I think I’ll pass.
Blue Drop: Tenshitachi no Gikyoku
Yes! This definitely is one of the most solid titles of the season, both in terms of writing and production-values. The characters are well-written and not based on stereotypes, the scenes build up well for the climaxes with a small air of mystery, and the production values look gorgeous. While I don’t expect the latter to last for more than a few episodes, I think we can expect some great things from this series. There’s going to be yuri in this series as well, which also is a nice addition, and the side-characters so far all have their own potential. The only thing I didn’t like is how the two major characters coincidentally ended up sleeping in the same room of all possible combinations, though that’s nothing major yet.]]>
Category: Other:
Some quick first impressions: Mokke, Night Wizard the Animation and Myself; Yourself
Mokke
Mokke was one of the two series I’ve been looking forward to the most for this season, and it doesn’t disappoint. What we have here is two sisters who live at a local shrine. One of them can see spirits, the other is easily possessed by them. There’s a very nice combination of slice-of-life and drama, and unlike the similar series Binbou Shimai Monogatari, this series never feels annoying, apart from a few animation-issues here and there, perhaps. It’s going to be interesting whether this series will remain fresh or not by developing its characters. Oh, and the music is pretty good as well. Especially the OP has the chance of being among the best OPs for this season. This is definitely the best show of the season so far, but then again, I’ve only seen four of them until now. ^^;
Night Wizard the Animation
So far, this one turned out interesting enough to continue, but it needs a lot to improve on. I like how the main characters go beyond their clichés, and the male lead actually has a sense of humour. This also isn’t a show where all main characters suddenly discover their powers: that’s only the case for one of them. The male lead and the others were already involved in the parallel fantasy-world that exists alongside the normal one. The graphics and music are nice to watch as well,, and small degree of humour is a welcome addition. Still, on the other side, there’s only one male character in the entire show so far, all female characters, the thing lacks realism (why does nobody find it strange when suddenly a car lifts off into the air?), the male and female lead look destined to end up together, and let’s hope that the rest of the series will spend enough time to flesh out the characters and go for something original. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, because this could turn into something interesting if handled well.
Myself; Yourself
So, a guy returns to his birthplace after having been away for 5 years? Where have I seen this before? Ah well, it did at least some things right: the characters go a bit beyond stereotypes unlike with Da Capo II, and the character-designs of the teenagers aren’t as outrageous as I feared. That doesn’t mean that the plot isn’t incredibly shallow, though. His childhood love turned into the worst tsundere possible, another became his landlady who agrees to make his lunch for no possible reason, the third girl turned into the obligatory unimportant female classmate and his only male friend looks way too much like the obligatory male best friend you see in every harem. I’m not sure, but why can’t these creators come up with something original? It’s really not that hard, you know? One thing I have to say though, is that this is probably the first harem without a cheesy J-pop-tune for its OP: instead we get treated to a catchy J-rock one.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Bamboo Blade, Da Capo II and Sketchbook ~Full Color's~
Bamboo Blade
This one turned out into a pretty decent high-school anime. I like the male and female lead, who for once aren’t destined to love each other. The male lead also is an adult teacher, and there are more important male characters than him, including a geek who actually has his own girlfriend. Nice one. The banter between the different characters is fun to watch, and there’s good chemistry between them. It’s just a pity that the black-haired girl had to ruin everything. She somehow manages to beat heaps of adults at one time without breaking a sweat, she’s silent and never goes beyond her stereotype. This series is about a guy who has to assemble a team of five girls for kendo. If he does that successfully, his colleague will give him a year’s worth of sushi, or something similar. So far, we’ve seen three of the girls, one clichéd and two with promise. Let’s hope the other two will be worthwhile. The animation was definitely rushed for this episode: those were some crazy camera-angles, were often you wouldn’t see a character’s mouth when he or she was talking. Ah well, the thing this series needs to watch out for the most is not falling into a moe-fest.
Da Capo II
I haven’t seen the original series, but I decided to check this one out, just in case I missed something really good. Well, it turns out I didn’t. The major problem lies with the characters. The cast comes with a lot of females (who can be conveniently recognized amongst generics due to their near-outrageous hairstyles), who’ll probably all end up getting close with our main character, who looks suspiciously much like the main character of any other harem-series. Basically, every member of the cast is a stereotype. There’s the younger sister who helps the local nurse, the elder sister who acts motherly towards her brother (yes, the main character), there is the childhood friend, the little girl that makes us doubt how she got in a high school in the first place, the big-breasted blonde girl, the obligatory male best friends who keep acting annoying and let’s not forget the most popular girl in school. I think the only harem-cliché that misses here is the android, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up somewhere along the way.
Sketchbook ~Full Color’s~
Oh my, this one actually turned out funny. It’s thankfully not as moe-centric as I thought, and the different characters have interesting personalities, which work together quite well. I’m not going to call this a success yet, as I remember how a previous 4-Koma adaptation (Lucky Star) turned dull quite fast, but if this series can manage to remain fresh, it’s going to be an interesting watch. Basically, it’s about the art-club in a local school. The funniest parts of the episode were the crow and the members of the club, trying to come up with inspiration for their next drawings. The only downside is the main character, though. It’s not the way you think: she’s fun to watch, but she makes Mugi from Hitohira look like a talking machine: I’ve only heard three actual words come out of her mouth throughout the entire episode. While it’s nice to hear her voice-actress having fun to explore the different meanings of huffing and puffing, I’d prefer to hear some actual dialogue out of her, besides her inner monologues. ^^;]]>
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Review – 78/100
If you came to this entry, expecting another rave about how Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann should deserve to be the best anime ever, then you’ve come to the wrong address. This series is a nice watch, but for me, it wasn’t the instant classic that others make it out to be. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan is homage to the GAR mecha-series of the seventies and eighties; it’s a brainless over-the-top action-series, nothing less, but barely anything more.
This series suffers from a huge degree of predictability. The good guys are basically like a bunch of energetic monkeys who’ve drank too many cups of coffee, and they often like to think with their hormones, instead of their minds. Nearly the entire series has them basically running forward, taking out enemy after enemy. When one enemy is defeated, another, more powerful one appears. He or she is cocky, but he keeps getting surprised at the ever-increasing power of our protagonist. Of course, the anime does this in style, but the lack of much variation does become jarring after a while.
There’s one point in the anime where it actually promises to be more than just this, though. At episode 17, there’s a time-skip, and both the setting and the characters themselves develop quite interestingly. Unfortunately, the creators chicken out after three episodes, and go back to the overblown action of the first part of the series, and increase this ten-fold. If there’s also a point in this series where every chance has turned against our heroes, then don’t worry. A previously unmentioned plot-device will appear and turn the tides. After this happens for the fifth time, it does take away some of the tension.
The characters are fortunately a bit more interesting than this. They’re basically the definition of passionate manliness. I especially liked Kittan and Rossiu, two side-characters who do what they can to help out, and can actually think for themselves. The other characters are enjoyable enough, though the two lead females have a few problems here and there. Nia’s actions in the beginning feel a bit forced, and while Yoko is a great side-character, she becomes really annoying when she becomes the centre of attention. This is a Gainax-anime after all, and of course they had to stuff in the obligatory fanservice.
If you’re looking for something realistic, then stay far and far away from this series. While I can’t say it for sure, but especially the final episodes deserve a good chance of being among the most scientifically inaccurate episodes ever. If you’re looking for epic GAR and manliness though, you should give this one a chance. The over-the-top action nearly thunders out of your screen with the bright and energetic production-values, and among the general fandom, this has become a favourite series. While I can’t share this opinion (Gurren Lagann is nowhere near the best of the previous season), it remains a nice watch.]]>
September Summary
+ September 2007 Rankings +
And finally the Spring- and Summer-seasons have ended. Last month, I received the comment that my ratings have been a tad too high, though I must say that they’ve possibly become even higher. But then again, September has been the best month in terms of anime for me for this year, and the ratings will probably plummet down for October, when the new season starts, since there are only very few anime which can be awesome right from the start (Night Head Genesis and Asatte no Houkou were probably some of the few who actually did it).
Anyway, in case this is the first time you see this, the series are ranked from worst to best, the number between the ( and ) indicates the place where that series was on last month, the rating is out of 10, with average being a 6,0 (and yes, I’m using the decimal comma).
#38(new): Saishu Shiken Kujira – (4,3/10) – Garbage also comes in episodes of five minutes.
#37(39): School Days – (4,8/10) – Finally Final Fantasy 7 has been beaten in terms of a character-death that’s hardest to avoid being spoiled about. The final episodes were quite possibly even worse than the rest of the series combined. The final episode itself was okay, but the ending was horrible. I mean, no police?
#36(new): Kodomo no Jikan – (6,2/10) – Better than I expected, but the useless fanservice has to stop. If this is an omen for the series…
#35(38): Romeo X Juliet – (6,4/10) – In addition to bowmen, it now also looks like there isn’t a good stone-thrower in the entire kingdom. Anyway, this story is now about to get closed off. I’m going to be disappointed if Romeo and Juliet don’t end up committing suicide!
#34(37): Lucky Star – (6,6/10) – Like I said before: episode 24 was one of the best episodes of this series yet, but that may also be because of the relief that the boredom was finally over. The episode with Konata’s mother was artificial at best, though.
#33(19): Reideen – (6,7/10) – The final episode was garbage. Seriously, it ruined a major part of the continuity the show had been building up.
#32(35): Sky Girls – (7/10) – Sky Girls seriously needs to develop its setting now. At the moment, I have no idea how many bases on earth remain. Why was Western Europe the only place where new sonic-divers were made? And if they’re so easy to maintain (after all, a team of four people is enough for three of them) then why aren’t they more available?
#31(14): Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha – (7/10) – Whoa, what happened here? Nanoha, with cookie-cutter villains? Oh my god, scriptwriters: what the heck are you doing?!
#30(13): Claymore – (7/10) – You’ll either hate the final episodes of this series, or you’ll love them. I’m close to the former, even though I haven’t read the manga. Diverting from the manga is okay, but please use a sensible storyline and not the… “thing” we saw here.
#29(???): Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula – (7,1/10) – I finally realize what’s wrong with this show: the sheer predictability and the lack of cultural references. Seriously, why the heck did the creators have to make the United States of all possible countries special? Why the heck is Europe so unimportant that it’s already killed off entirely at this point? Why don’t we see any sort of accurate cultural references from the different countries?
#28(33): Nanatsuiro Drops – (7,2/10) – Any attempts at a deep story backfire horribly for this series, but the love-relationship between the two main characters is cute, I really have to admit that.
#27(31): Potemayo – (7,5/10) – The final episode did evoke some emotion, but it would have been so much better if Sunao’s background was moved to the beginning of the series.
#26(34): Kenko Zenrakei Sueibu Umisho – (7,7/10) – The added drama is surprisingly good for a comedy. This month hasn’t been better for Umisho, but it also didn’t turn worse, and there were some funny moments. But that still gives no excuse for the excessive fanservice!
#25(28): Murder Princess – (7,8/10) – Okay, the finale was cheesy, but at least it was entertaining enough.
#24(24): Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – (7,8/10) – I liked Kittan’s end, and Yoko turned much more enjoyable now that she’s a mere side-character, instead of a main one. I liked the spiral-guy as well. It’s just too bad that the predictability in this show is back again.
#23(18): Zombie Loan – (7,9/10) – Two words: Too Short!!!
#22(26): Saiunkoku Monogatari – (7,9/10) – Yes! After a nearly endless amount of recaps, Saiunkoku Monogatari finally returned. This month ha been mostly introductions, but things are looking promising.
#21(23): Tetsuko no Tabi – (8/10) – One thing I didn’t like about the past few episodes is that there haven’t been any guests on the trips. Still, you just have to love Kikuchi’s reaction to Yokomi’s wild fantasies, and it’s also nice to see that the final episode was one of the best of the entire series. Such a thing doesn’t happen often for comedy-anime.
#20(30): Mushiuta – (8/10) – Nice, but it’s got a bit too much angst for my liking. The creators seemed to have written themselves into a corner when they came up with the idea that only downhearted people can get possessed by Mushi. I mean, it’s an easy way to write a sad storyline, but not only does this limit the storyline a lot, seeing every single character in the show turn angsty can become annoying.
#19(9): Code-E – (8,2/10) – The finale wasn’t as fun as the rest of the series, though seeing Chinami’s power gone was quite interesting to watch. I’m looking forward to the next anime the staff is going to tackle.
#18(???): Perrine Monogatari – (8,4/10) – I’ve decided to include this series in the rankings as well from now on, even though it aired more than twenty years ago. Plus, this is probably the only anime that shows a realistic life in Eastern Europe of two centuries ago. I’m at episode six now, and so far, this series has earned its title of World Masterpiece Theatre
#17(27): Heroic Age – (8,4/10) – Surprise surprise, Heroic Age is getting good. Now that it actually started to progress its storyline, unlike what it did in the major part of the series, the series has been getting more enjoyable by the minute. Sure, the discovery of the Golden Tribe was cheesy, but at least it felt good.
#16(32): Shigurui – (8,4/10) – I’ve actually been watching Shigurui double: with and without subs, due to my impatience. The strange thing is that even with subs, episode four didn’t make any sense at all. How did Irako and the woman get together? What did he do with Mie? The latest episodes have been getting better by the way. The bizarre rituals are gone and now that the storyline is more focused, Shigurui’s turning tenser with every episode.
#15(29): Gintama – (8,5/10) – Christmas episodes have always been worthwhile, but Gintama brings this to a totally new level with episode 37. The episodes have been utterly brilliant, though it’s a shame this series falls into clichés with its endings. This was especially noticeable for the two stories of episode 37. They’re hilarious, but their endings lacked steam.
#14(17): Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,6/10) – There are only very few comedies which can milk out a joke and turn better because of it, but Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei is one of them. It starts out with a mundane joke and it keeps making it more and more ridiculous. That’s one of the reasons I like this series so much, though there is one major annoyance about this series: the useless and frequent eye-catches become annoying quite soon.
#13(20): Demashitaa!! Power Puff Girls Z – (8,7/10) – Episodes 42 and 43 were utterly brilliant. I keep getting surprised at the bizarre sense of humour of this series.
#12(22): Kekkaishi – (8,7/10) – Kekkaishi has been getting stronger than ever with Gen’s development, BUT (and there’s a huge but here) Yoshimori has hidden powers. If there’s anything that can ruin a series, it’s hidden powers that can be conveniently used to power up the main character due to laziness of the writers!
#11(16): Dennou Coil – (8,7/10) – This month has been a month of building up for Dennou Coil. While it has been better, I’m definitely curious as to where it’ll go from now. Especially episode 18 was really intriguing
#10(11): Darker than Black – (8,8/10)
Okay, so the ending was rushed. In this case, a 26th episode would have been better for this series, but the pre-ending episodes were really good. I especially liked Mao and November 11.
#9(3): Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – (8,9/10)
While it wasn’t as good as at other points in the anime, the past month has been building up for the story and the upcoming revolution. Things are promising to become awesome.
#8(6): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – (9/10)
Now that most of the mysteries are cleared up, Higurashi is no longer the chaotic paranoid mystery-series it used to be in its first season, but in return, the characters have stepped up to become this series’ highlight, and the bond that’s developing between them is fascinating to say the least.
#7(5): El Cazador de la Bruja – (9/10)
Ellis and Nadie showed that you can even become extremely cheesy if the character-development is excellent. This month, El Cazador has finally decided to focus on its storyline, and the result, when combined with the characters was nothing short of awesome.
#6(10): Baccano! – (9,2/10)
Now this is a well-written storyline! Every single character seems to have his or her own story, and the amount of development it achieves is something most other series can even dream of.
#5(8): Ooedo Rocket – (9,3/10)
The final episodes rocked! I was expecting that the drama would totally overshadow the comedy, and I’m so glad I was proven wrong.
#4(7): Toward the Terra – (9,3/10)
Episodes 21 and 22 were all kinds of epic and awesome, and while it wasn’t the best ending, it still was satisfying enough. It’s sad to see this series go, and we can only hope that it set the standard for other science-fiction series.
#3(3): Seirei no Moribito – (9,4/10)
And finally everything the series has build up for has come together perfectly! The fight against Rarunga was quite possibly the best multi-episoded fight I’ve seen this year.
#2(1): Kaze no Shoujo Emily – (9,5/10)
Seriously, making Emily grow up in the final part of the series was a masterful decision, as the final episodes have been nothing but tear-jerking awesomeness. The way Emily and her friends have developed throughout the years are magnificent.
#1(4): Bokura no – (9,6/10)
I seriously couldn’t have expected a better finale for this series. Everything worked out perfectly, there was no rush and the fights were awesome to watch.
+ Top 5 Episodes +
#5: Seirei no Moribito – 26
In these kinds of endings, everything comes together and works out perfectly, despite the predictability.
#4: Toward the Terra – 21
I really cried during the several plot twists of this episode. Toward the Terra may not have had the best ending, but it does have the best pre-ending episodes of the spring-season.
#3: Ooedo Rocket – 26
*grins* I’m nog going to tell you why~ Muahaha!
TAMAYA!!!!
#2: Bokura no – 24
A truly magnificent ending that closes off the series perfectly for me. While others will disagree, Bokura no has been one of the best series of the year for me.
#1: Toward the Terra – 22
It’s not often that a series takes up two spaces in this top-five, but Toward the Terra deserves it with two magnificently epic and tragedic ones.]]>
Darker than Black Review – 87/100
Darker than Black is an arc-based series, much like Studio Bones’ previous production of Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi. The setting is quite different, though. Instead of the Tenpou-era, this one plays in modern-day Tokyo in an alternate universe, where strange humans with supernatural powers, calling themselves contractors live amongst humans. For once, their purpose isn’t to destroy mankind, but to just carry out their job. And that’s the beauty of this series.
Darker than Black is about the relationship between your job and your own instincts. All the characters in this series are adults who are just trying to survive in a dark and gritty environment, with pressure coming from both enemies and superiors. The interesting thing about the contractors is how they’re able to make rational decisions, regardless of their emotions, making this quite an intelligent series. Organizations have many layers and characters have often subtle motives.
The powers of these contractors are just like the setting: full of creativity. In this series, the people with the strongest powers are actually the weakest, because these don’t leave any room for strategies. The story also knows how to use its characters, where every major character gets at an arc dedicated to him or her for development and background information. There is just one issue with the ending: the creators got too ambitions and tried to stuff too much in the final episode, making it end up rushed.
There’s one more problem, one that many other arc-based series suffer from as well (for example Ghost Hunt, Ayatsuri Sakon): the quality of the different arcs fluctuates heavily, and you’ll never know when an arc will turn out great or just good. The best episodes of the series are because of this not among the final ones, but episodes 13 and 14. These were simply perfect, with some of the best minor villains I’ve seen in a long while. The successive arcs were good as well, but none of them really lived up to the same quality, unfortunately.
Still, despite this, Darker than Black is a definite recommendation for anyone, looking for a story aimed at adults. There’s enough action, and yet the action is not of the brainless kind you see in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It knows how to build up the individual stories for each arc very well with nearly all of them having satisfying climaxes, and this is definitely one of the more intelligent series that came out in the past spring-season. And let’s not forget Yoko Kanno, who composed the soundtrack for this series. Her style may be a bit more subtle than say, Yuki Kajiura, but it fits the series perfectly.]]>
Kaze no Shoujo Emily Review – 94/100
Kaze no Shoujo Emily, or Emily of the New Moon as its English title, is the third of what I’d like to call the “big three” of the spring-season 2007, along with Toward the Terra and Bokura no. These three form the cream of the crop of the series that have been released for the past half year, perhaps even for the past year.
The problem is, though that there’s a good chance that many people haven’t even heard of this series. It’s a sad thing, but in addition to being one of the best series of the season, it’s also one of the most neglected ones. Seriously, only the kiddie-shows like Bakugan Battle Brawlers have gotten less coverage than this one. I’ve often said that popularity is no way to determine the quality of an anime, and Kaze no Shoujo Emily is the perfect example of this.
The biggest problem with this is probably the fact that this is a Shoujo-series. I have no idea why, but the fansubbers have always tended to neglect the Shoujo-series. Only half of them ever gets subbed, while there are some true gems among the genre, beyond this series as well.
Okay, enough blabber, what about the content of this series? Well, it consists out of standalone episodes that tell the story of Emily Byrd Starr, a eleven-year-old girl who lives in Canada, about a century ago, and her three friends Perry Miller, Teddy Kent and Ilse Barnley. It’s loosely based on the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote it and who some might recognize as the author of Anne of Green Gables.
The series is basically a slice-of-life series with lots and lots of drama, and this formula turns out to work so well. Emily is a wonderful character; she differs from the usual Shoujo-lead by acting rude and energetic. She longs to be a writer someday, and she often fantasizes in her own world in an extremely poetic mood, and this personality of her often clashes with those of others, resulting in some amazing dramatic climaxes.
The side-characters of Perry, Teddy and Ilse provide wonderful support for it. They’ve all got their own story as well, and throughout the series, we can see the four of them clash, grow and interact. A major theme of the series is living towards your dreams, and some of the episodes are just incredibly inspirational.
One of the things I loved about this series is how it’s so delightfully consistent. There are maybe four or five lesser episodes, but apart from that, you just know that nearly every episode you’ll watch will leave you with a heart-warming feeling, unlike many other anime, which often need episodes for introductions and aftermaths.
When this already is quite amazing, this series turns even better once the characters actually start growing up. The majority of the series shows Emily as an eleven-year-old girl, but starting with episode 20, we actually see her time in high-school, and the final episodes show the major events of the last years of her youth, ending with Emily being around twenty. During this, this series becomes a real tear-jerker, delivering one awesome episode after the other.
The character-designs will take a bit to get used to, though. Emily is drawn in a really shoujo way, and it’s hard to not label this series as some kiddie-series (trust me, it’s not). The colours used in both the backgrounds and the character-designs are bright and colourful, though the production-values are quite high, and this series ends up looking beautiful, as soon as you get used to it. The soundtrack also consists out of a collection of beautiful classical tunes, which strengthen the series even more.
Overall, if there ever was a series that deserves to get subbed, it’d be this one. Not only does it deliver memorable characters, it’s also a valuable chance to see anime tackle the Canadian culture of a century ago, and I must say that it does a pretty good job. The differences between the Japanese culture are definitely there, probably influenced by the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery. If you ever have the chance to watch this series, I recommend you to take it, unless you really need action.]]>
Seirei no Moribito Review – 91/100
Spring 2007 came with many excellent and unique series, and Seirei no Moribito is one of them. Produced by Production IG with extremely solid production-values, this series is a true gem for those, looking for substance.
Let me first start with the following statement: Seirei no Moribito does not have an overall genre. While the first three episodes might suggest that we’re dealing with an action or martial-arts anime, you’ll be proven wrong by the middle part of the series, which takes a more slice-of-life approach. A drama also doesn’t quite cut it because it’s got quite a few light-hearted moments, and while some episodes fall in the adventure-category, other episodes just show characters standing and talking. To be honest, apart from any World Masterpiece Production, I haven’t seen any anime that feels more like a novel than Seirei no Moribito.
The big key behind the success of this anime is the immense amount of detail that went in nearly every department of this series. The animation is truly gorgeous and detailed. Characters move more than necessary, they leave footprints on rough, terrain, random bypassers move realistic. It’s almost as if you were in a Ghibli-movie without all the over-the-top fantasy-elements. And to top things: the fight-coordination is among the best I’ve seen, even though there are only four or five of them in the entire series.
And then the characters. Don’t expect any flat characters here, nearly all of them have complex motives that can’t be described in one or two lines, they can think like normal human beings and some of them are quite smart, development is realistic and yet, as the series nears its conclusion you really begin to feel sympathy for them.
The storyline also finally doesn’t want to create the worst-case scenario in the end. All the plot-twists in the series favour realism over sensation. This series knows how to build up a good base for it, and it doesn’t want to ruin this by excessive amounts of forced drama and plot twists like we saw taken to the extreme in Code Geass. The storyline becomes so incredibly solid because of this, and because it moves relatively slow, it makes sure to put enough time to flesh out both the plotline and the characters to an excellent degree, so that it’s able to finish with an excellent finale that doesn’t feel rushed in any way.
There’s one major problem with this series, though. It may have been a tad too long, and many of the middle episodes, while they serve as a way to flesh out the characters, they also border on filler, and the story doesn’t get anywhere for about seven or eight episodes. It’s series like this one that make you pity that series can’t pick the option to take on the length of 1,5 seasons, as this would have been perfect for this series.
The first half may feel a bit tedious because of this, but everything comes together in the end like a charm. The music also fits this series perfectly and easily deserves a place in my top-3 of best soundtracks of the season. If you like series with lots and LOTS of detail, you should definitely check out this series, though you need patience to be able to enjoy it.]]>
Ooedo Rocket Review – 88/100
Ooedo Rocket (also known as Oh! Edo Rocket, it seems) is one of the more neglected series of the past spring-season. I have no idea why, as it’s been directed by the director of Full Metal Alchemist. You’d think the fans would want to see his next work. I’m glad I checked this series out though, as it’s without a doubt the best comedy-series of the season. And not only does it make you laugh for nearly every single episode, it also has something that/s very rare in other comedies: a compelling plot.
Ooedo’s power lies in its characters. Every single one of them is fun to watch and they literally come in all kinds of different sizes. Each one has his or her own quirk and they can actually be funny without making a joke at all. They’re all far from stereotypes, they feel like real characters, they develop a bit, and they’re a delight to watch when they start interacting with each other in just a daily manner.
This is enough to make a good comedy. What makes Ooedo a great comedy is how it adds so many details to strengthen the series. An example is its setting: the series explores fireworks in the Tenpou-era (between 1830 and 1844), and yet people have televisions, toasters and even internet and nobody seems to find it strange, even though these references only appear occasionally. And let me specifically mention the music. It’s not your standard soundtrack with all kinds of jazzy tunes, but it works perfectly. For me, each time it started playing I got pumped and exciting for the new scenes.
And then there’s the plot and the drama. The drama is for me the weakest point of the series, basically because the characters are so much fun to watch when they’re quirky that they become a bit disappointing when they’re serious. The plot, however, makes this series shine. The main character, Tamaya Seikichi (the son of THE legendary fireworks-maker) is basically asked by a cute girl to build a rocket to fly her to the moon. A large part of the series actually sees him, testing out different designs for a rocket to try and figure out how to do it, which is quite interesting. In addition to that, there are numerous side-plots that are explored, and the characters actually have the talent to be both funny and develop the plot at the same time. Most other anime only go to comedy when there’s some kind of aftermath or intermezzo where the plot doesn’t really matter that much.
Then there’s also the interesting point that the dramatic climax of this series is at episode 20, instead of twenty-six. At that point, I was beginning to fear that the final parts of the episode would focus way too much on the drama, but to my surprise, they didn’t. The final episodes are basically the characters having fun while the plot develops, combining both perfectly, with a sort-of satisfying ending.
I’ll admit, Ooedo Rocket isn’t consistently funny. Some episodes are utterly hilarious, while others are a bit less, and there have been comedies where I laughed harder. But because of all the extra things it added, it turned into one of the more successful comedies out there. A definite recommendation if you’re looking for a fun series.]]>
Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho Review – 78/100
When I first read the premise of this series, I expected nothing of this series. A swimming-club where the main female lead likes to swim around in the nude. Fanservice anyone? Imagine my surprise when Umisho actually turned out (*gasp*) enjoyable. That’s probably the first for any fanservice-anime out there.
So, yes, there’s fanservice, and a lot of it. But while most other harems and similar series have characters with what I’d like to call the “paper-bag-syndrome” (by not being able to think for themselves, having no personality and being as interesting to watch as a paper bag), the creators of Umisho have put a bit of extra work to them. Fair enough, they all start out as clichés, but right from the start it becomes clear that every single character has one or more elements that go way beyond clichés and make them really fun to watch. Think of a shy big-breasted girl who is actually secretly a pervert, or the childhood friend who used to horribly abuse the male lead in the past, and of course the male captain of the swimming-team, who for once isn’t a huge pervert but instead a giant creep without any sense of shame. You’ll understand when you see him.
There’s also been a nice amount of detail put in the setting, where the competition between different swimming-clubs gets a nice amount of development, and every member of the club has at least an identifiable character-design. The character-designs are rather “pleasing” to the eye and the soundtrack gives the series a light overall tone. Overall, it’s one of the best fanservice-anime I’ve seen this far.
But yeah, there are enough times when this series loses itself in its excessive fanservice. Some scenes were just too outrageous and blatantly obvious that it nearly became painful. This series would definitely have been even better without the useless fanservice. Then there’s also the matter of the obligatory drama and romance that show up once in a while. It works in about 40% of the cases. The others are a tad too forced and aimed at fanboys.
It’s really nice to be finally proven wrong in my bias against fanservice-anime. Umisho is energetic, has likable characters who can think for themselves (really, at times we hear huge inner monologues when certain characters are attempting something stupid), and I laughed quite a bit at times. It’s nowhere near the best series out there but it remains fun to watch.]]>