Category: Some Quick First Impressions

Maria, who asked me to blog about this series and it was a nice opportunity to wrap up the quick first impressions before the start of the Summer-season, since I needed one more series for that. ICE This is probably the first anime of the past few years to actually look like it’s made in the nineties, based on the characters at least. If you’d look just at them, you wouldn’t suspect that we’ve got ourselves a 2007-OVA here. This anime really gives the unique experience of mixing old character-designs with new CG, but unfortunately the fact also remains that the characters just look ugly. The animators also really screw things up with the random nonsensical Engrish that passes the screen, so the visuals shouldn’t be a reason for you to check out this anime. The characters themselves could have been more interesting. Still, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this episode. The story and voice-acting really made up for the flaws. Especially the story, this OVA carries the concept of a world where all men have died out way beyond its basics, and it provides a nice number of plot twists and imaginative concepts you don’t quite easily think of. I also loved how the characters who died or got injured where remembered and taken care of. The voice-acting is unique, most characters have some kind of unique voice, which really works well if you get used to it. EDIT: I wrote this blurb about a week ago, and now that I think back at it, my opinion of this show has become even better, and I’ve kind-of forgotten all the bad parts. This definitely is an OVA that needs a bit of time to sink in, which always is a good thing. Dash Kappei Dash Kappei is quite an old anime, it’s about a small boy named Kappei with extreme sports skills. In this episode, we see him get recruited for the local basketball team at school. Unfortunately, I’m not really enthusiastic about this show. It’s got nothing to do with the age, but rather the main character. In fact, I found myself liking every scene in which he wasn’t featured, and hating every scene in which we did see him. The dog was brilliant, and the team captain was adorable, but Kappei was horrible. He likes looking at the panties of girls and dedicates himself to the girls with white ones. He’s arrogant and he’s skilled in basketball with no signs of training whatsoever. He’s arrogant, his goofy facial-expression looks horrible, he never takes things seriously at all and his chemistry with the other characters is awful. I know that this is supposed to be a comedy, but with a character like Kappei it’ll just be impossible for me to enjoy this series. If you like panty-jokes and don’t mind old graphics you may give it a chance, otherwise: avoid it. Tetsuko no Tabi Tetsuko no Tabi definitely had the most peculiar premise of the spring-season: we follow a mangaka who records her travels along with a train otaku and her assigner (Ishikawa), and the entire anime is completely non-fiction. So, after having seen the first episode, how does it turn out? Well, awesome! The entire anime just sparkles with energy, perhaps even more than with Manabi Straight. It’s a perfect example of a feel-good anime, and the chemistry between the three main characters is excellent. Basically, they travel down one trainway, and make a stop at every train-station. The mangaka, who expected something entirely different when she first took on the job (aka, lots of delicious food), just keeps getting freaked out by the otaku’s antics, and Ishikawa’s fascination at them. Lucky Star had better watch out, as it’s not the only series focusing on modern Japanese culture and otaku anymore, and as things are looking right now, Tetsuko no Tabi will beat it in every department apart from parodies. Unless you need battles or cute girls with obscene hair-colours in your anime, you should definitely check this one out.]]>

The Skull Man You know, this one started out well. Okay, it wasn’t as interesting as some of the other series that have appeared in the spring-season, but it was definitely a solid start, in which a journalist is investigating the murders by a guy, calling himself “the skeleton man” and runs into a girl who has ran away from home or something similar. The concept definitely had potential. That is, until the creators decided that it was a good moment for a friggin’ naked shower-scene. That really took a lot of credibility away from this series. Anyway, apart from this, the series is off to a good start, and it’s different from what I expected it to be. I imagined this being a dark and gritty show, but for the most part, most of its scenes were light-hearted. The characters introduced so far have potential, especially the side-characters. We’ll see where this one will bring us. Devil May Cry Now this one turned out interesting! Finally another actually good action-series appears that contains a great balance between action and dialogue. The action-scenes look terrific, and I absolutely loved the fight in the theatre. Another remarkable feature was that about 50% of the dialogue happens off-screen. While I can imagine some people getting turned off by this, it actually felt very refreshing and interesting to me. Anyway, Devil May Cry features Dante, a half-demon/half-human or something similar who acts as a bodyguard to protect people from ferocious demons… with his favourite food being a Strawberry Sundae. Nice touch. Overall, the animation is excellent, and the soundtrack features some interesting tunes. Okay, it will never match itself to the great names with its format, but for its genre, it’s doing a very fine job. Wangan Midnight Wangan Midnight, an anime about a guy who likes to speed-race on the highway. I can appreciate how he didn’t just find out about his passion for cars in this episode, like so many other anime of its kind do. What we’ve got here is just a guy who likes being reckless, gets defeated and runs into a really fast but dangerous blue car on the scrapheap. After watching this first episode, I realized that the action-scenes are mostly for the car-lovers out there, as they didn’t do anything to me. There were too many close-ups and too little real action. What did interest me, though, were the human aspects in the episode, most notably the main character’s recklessness. A lot of people are worrying about him, and I do hope that this anime will be realistic enough to show what happens if this continues. Another notable aspect is the really diverse soundtrack. It’s got anything: hip-hop, rock, j-pop. All it misses is some German folklore.]]>

Kaze no Stigma Short Synopsis: Kazuma has been kicked out of the fire-clan because he sucked at throwing fireballs at people. Now, three years later, he’s back with wind-powers to prove the meanies from the fire-clan wrong. Good: Interesting, this anime already starts off by killing its major characters Bad: Someone please teach the writer the basics of human nature. Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10 Ever since I saw the plain and ordinary character-art, I sortof feared that this anime would never become good, and this episode indeed proved my fears. The bad points also don’t limit themselves to the bad character-designs, either. Most notably is the hugely unbelievable behavior of the characters. The girl’s comrades have just been killed by the main male lead, and what does the girl do? She acts as if he just insulted her. She never even looks back at her former friends who just died, and instead she shows the behaviour of a standard tsundere. Sorry, but with a start like that, I don’t feel like checking out more of this series… Oh, and grown-up guys throwing fireballs at each other definitely isn’t cool. Heck, the entire episode made it look like there was not thought whatsoever put behind the concept. Ookiku Furikabutte Short Synopsis: A not-so-typical loser gets assigned as the pitcher of a local baseball team. Good: Surprisingly down-to-earth. Bad: The main character does remain a looser, and I’m fearing for the girl we kept seeing flashes of. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10 Like Kaze no Stigma, I never had big expectations of this, especially after the horribly boring Overdrive. But what do you know, this sports anime actually turned out interesting. First of all, we finally have a loser who doesn’t suddenly get introduced to Baseball, so that he can become the best baseball player ever. This episode also hinted at tactics, rather than raw power like most sports anime tend to dabble into (or so I’ve heard). We’ve also got quite an interesting cast, like the orange-squishing trainer, the very shy main character (probably one of the shyest characters I’ve seen thus far), and the other new guy. Even the girl who watched from the side-lines was quite funny, though I fear her becoming a main character. Kaibutsu Oujo Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to live together with a bunch of supernatural beings, who quite conveniently all end up being cute girls. Good: Thankfully, the ALI project didn’t turn this into a complete failure after all. Bad: So…many….stereotypes… Overall Enjoyment Value: 3/10 I couldn’t help but compare this series to Murder Princess, both feature a blonde princess who likes to kill others. I do have to say, though, that Murder Princess is infinitely better than the rubbish that this series tried to present. First of all, ignoring the clichés for a moment, the main character’s sister has invited her brother to come live with her. Why the heck doesn’t se get worried when he doesn’t show up? Why doesn’t she call the guy’s cell-phone to ask what happened to him. Sure, okay, she’s just a completely stupid and irresponsible girl, okay. I can forgive that. What I can’t forgive, though, is the hospital-people who don’t even notify the guy’s family-members after he died, for goodness’ sake! Now, if you add the clichés to that (big-breasted sister in maid-clothes, cold princess, small uberpowerful girl who keeps beating up the main character, a typical loser male who has been pasted right from another random harem-anime, the metal bar who chose just the right timing to fall down on the princess, and of course the fact that this princess just can’t let the guy die and I can ramble on forever like this) the result becomes nothing other than garbage.]]>

Lovely Complex Short Synopsis: This anime follows two extremely energetic high-schoolkids: one very tall girl and one very short boy. Good: Surprisingly funny. Bad: Seems to be trying a bit too hard at times. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10 You know, I expected Lovely Complex to be another slice-of-life anime that would get boring soon. Still, it’s surprisingly funny. It’s probably one of the anime with the most different kinds of facial expressions I’ve seen in a while, and I have to say that most of the time, it works quite funny. It isn’t the funniest anime of the spring-season, though (that title goes to Ooedo Rocket), and some facial expressions may be trying too hard, but especially the female lead is quite charming when she is in normal-mode. The shy boy and girl also were quite cute. I’m somehow reminded of Ouran High School Host Club, which aired during the previous season. Now let’s hope it won’t keep milking on the same jokes like Ouran did. Lucky Star Short Synopsis: Lucky star follows the high-school life of four rather eccentric girls. Good: KyoAni without a cheesy romance? This can become actually interesting. Bad: It’s ironic that out of all companies KyoAni blew all its animation-budget on the OP. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10 You know, I think that KyoAni finally managed to come with an actually good show, after the disappointments of Haruhi and Kanon. It’s also quite interesting that most of the budget didn’t go in the animation, like you’d expect, but in the dialogue. This probably is the most dialogue-heavy anime of the new season, heck the only moment in which people didn’t seem to be talking with each other was the beginning of the episode, in which the main character ran for a short while. While the dialogues are about nothing at all (the ENTIRE first half is about what kinds of food the characters like), there’s some nice chemistry between the characters. The lack of a male character also makes sure that there won’t be any cheesy romance, which also is a nice plus. I’m glad to see that Kyoani finally hit the nail. Also, you have to love the ED. ^^; Bokura no Short Synopsis: a group of children are invited to play a game: piloting a mecha in real life. Good: Probably too much to just list here. Bad: None. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 oh god, the expression “save the best for last” really applies to this Spring-Season. I just love this, and to think that Dennou Coil hasn’t even aired yet. I just love how the character-designs are so generic. They really try to show you that this involves normal, everyday children, and not just the hottest girl in school, or the typical loser male. To top that, the cast is huge, and each child has a different personality and feels unique. I bet that they’ll all react to the horrible things that are about to happen in a different way, and I can’t wait to see the second episode to find out! The background music also gave a small taste of the same guy who did the music for Hi no Tori, I’m expecting it to really show up once the major climaxes start coming, as this episode was sortof one general introduction. One detail I absolutely loved is inside the control chamber of the mecha, there are a number of seats, and each of these seats is different.]]>

Kaze no Shoujo Emily Short Synopsis: Emily has a very strong bond with her father, but then he suddenly dies. She then moves in with her aunt: Elizabeth. Good: It’s only the first episode, and Emily already is a very interesting character. Bad: A few predictable moments, character-designs that take time getting used to. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 This has been one of the series I was looking forward to the most, and it doesn’t disappoint. Like expected, the first episode focuses solely on Emily, and she already is an interesting character, losing her parents early on. I loved her crying-scenes. The predictable moments were regarding Emily, living together with her aunt. A large part of the episode is about who Emily should live with, though the OP already reveals that it’s going to be Elizabeth. Still, this is just a minor detail, I can’t wait to see the other characters in the spotlight. Each of them sounds really interesting. Just take note, the art may take a while to get used to, as it’s not your usual style. I’ve already seen Danny comment on how ugly he found it, though once you get used to it, it’s not so bad. Blue Dragon Short Synopsis: A typical brat appears to have a huge power, called the “Blue Dragon”. Good: Potentially interesting characters. Bad: Akira Toriyama Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10 The second of three RPG-adaptations to come this season. I secretly hoped for this to turn out well, like other shows of its kind proved, though the Akira Toriyama-influences are just way too big. We first of all have that annoying male lead, the people powering up, the stereotypical characters, but most annoyingly a main character who wants to protect his friends and so gets to have an excuse to possess the strongest power ever. I’m going to go with Shining Tears instead, and in June Tales of Symphonia. Stay away from this one, in any case. Towards The Terra Short Synopsis: Long ago, humankind went to travel to distant planets, while the earth was left in ruins. Johnnie, our main character gets involved with some strange people. Good: I don’t know why, but I loved it! Bad: I want more dammit!! Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Towards The Terra, another one of my major series to look forward to, and with a very good reason. I mentioned before that I’m an absolute sucker for mystery, and a show like this couldn’t be more mysterious. Where does the main character live now? What happened to the earth? What did these people do to him when he was brainwashed? Who are these people who he keeps seeing in his dreams? Add a great mother-son relationship, an excellent soundtrack, and I’m hooked. According to the OP, the cast of this anime seems really big, and I can’t wait to meet all of these people. This episode was definitely a highlight of the beginning of the Spring-season.]]>

Kamichama Karin Short Synopsis: Karin is a young girl, with no friends and whose pet just died, when she meets a few strange people, one of them refers to her as “Kami-sama”. Good: Kawai! Really charming, The ALI-Project shines. Bad: I’ve seen quite a few mahou shoujo up till now, but I still haven’t found the merit of those extremely long transformation-scenes. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Ah, the Mahou Shoujo of the season. I’ve been waiting for this, and it doesn’t disappoint. The first episode already was incredibly charming and heart-warming. Karin and … somehow really remind me of Sakura and Tomoyo, which of course is a good thing. I already love this. The only thing I’m worried about is the beginning of the show, which gives a small taste about what’s going to happen in the future of this anime. I’m not sure, but it looked rather formulaic. Let’s hope that the future episodes will be able to introduce lots of new stuff, as the first episode definitely showed that Kamichama Karin has the potential to become great. 🙂 Shining Tears x Wind Short Synopsis: Two teenagers get transported to a different world. Twist: the main character actually isn’t a typical loser. Good: Excellent mystery, so many potentially interesting characters. Bad: Quite a few minor flaws (see below). Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10 As this was another RPG-adaptation, I’ve been looking forward to it. Let me first say that I’m a total sucker for mystery, and so it’s great to see that there’s been a huge amount of mystery thrown into this anime. I really like the potential in this one. Also, even though the concept may be generic, the main characters actually do know how to fight before the story starts. The way the main character also obtains his power also has much more detail than your average other anime who uses this plot elements. And surprisingly, the romance between the two main characters of this episode could have been done way worse. Overall, I’ve been quite pleased, but the fact remains that there are lots of minor flaws in this anime which could potentially ruin it, just like Star Ocean Ex did once. Most of all, the females. Their character-designs are a bit too fanservice-based, and I do hope that they’ll be more than just damsels in distress. Apart from that, the fights themselves are rather generic, with no outstanding animation whatsoever. The characters also could have been a bit more surprised at the sudden catgirl who appeared in front of them. sola Short Synopsis: The sky is beautiful, taking pictures of it is fun, no sky is the same… oh god, this guy needs to find himself a hobby. Good: The action-scene at the end surprised me. Bad: Harem clichés ho! Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10 The writers of Kanon and Da Capo collaborating for this project. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be exciting. Sure, it’s got a bit of a quiet mood, but the characters are nearly painful. There’s this main character who has another strange hobby, and obviously is a total loser, he runs coincidentally into a girl, and the two fall in love. Remember also that scene in NHK ni Youkoso, where Satou suggested to combine all sorts of character-traits into one character? Well, after watching this anime, I can’t help to think that the creators used that scene as the base of one of the other characters: the bed-ridden sister who acts cold and doesn’t talk much. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be an android as well. Apart from that, we’ve also got the tomboy-childhood friend and the little girl who sleeps in a box. Okay, that last one may not be a cliché, but she doesn’t exactly have an exciting personality either. In terms of graphics, don’t expect too much. The art on the main website already wasn’t really appealing, but this art got toned down even more for the anime-version.]]>

Kotetsushin Jeeg Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to pilot a big mecha. Good: Rocking OP. Bad: Sadly, the OP was the only exciting part; horrible main character. Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10 The umpth attempt to remake a mecha-classic. While most of them turn out good, or at least decent enough, Kotetsushin Jeeg, turned out to be pure garbage. It features characters with a way-too high testosterone-level, the main character being the worst case of this. Basically, it’s just an excuse to show flashy action, while attempting to make its characters look cool (which, let’s face it, obviously failed). Such a waste of a good OP. Darker than Black Short Synopsis: In a strange city, people can make contracts, in order to gain strange powers. Good: Has potential… I guess. Bad: The main character. Overall Enjoyment Value: 5,5/10 Bones may have hit the spot during the fall-season with Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi, I doubt that Darker than Black will become just as entertaining. So far, it had a few interesting points, but nothing really stood out. Yoko Kanno also disappointed, in my opinion. The main character also just doesn’t suit my tastes, like I mentioned before. First of all, he’s perfect, and second of all, he acts like a wimp. The broken fingers at the beginning of the episode also were a bit too much. I don’t feel like watching any more of this. Koutetsu Sangokushi Short Synopsis: It’s a war-anime, focusing on a guy whose parents have been killed, and is now under the care of an important person. Good: Great combination of fights, characters and emotions. Bad: I’d like to know how the main character was the chosen one. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Now this is more like it! Koutetsu Sangokushi was one of those anime I knew next to nothing about before I watched it, and it immediately comes with a very strong first episode. It wasn’t without its flaws, though, as the main character gets great powers while it isn’t explained exactly why he got them, but apart from that, I liked this episode a lot. Finally we’ve got a bit of a good main character, who’s really struggling with his own morals at the moment. He’s fairly young, but he’s already learning in this first episode. I was also fairly surprised when he saw his father’s killer. With a first episode like this, the rest of the series either has to be incredibly good, or incredibly bad. I definitely hope it’s the former. Oh, and also thumbs high up for the background music. Beautifully orchestrated it is. :)]]>

OverDrive Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to learn to ride a bicycle. Good: Decent enough music. Bad: Yawn… err, where was I? Overall Enjoyment Value: 3/10 Sports-anime have never really been my thing. Strangely enough, I never really had a good reason to avoid them. Finally, OverDrive gave me one. God, that was awful. The main bad point about this anime isn’t really that it’s bad, but the whole thing is just so incredibly boring. I felt myself nearly fall asleep after the first few minutes. Oh and the main character is a fourteen year-old loser who’s never ridden a bicycle before and will somehow end up as the best cyclist ever without having to practice hard like everyone else does. I definitely do not hope that all sports-anime are as bad as this one. Fuyu no Semi Short Synopsis: Quite an interesting setting: Ezo. Two guys who want to open up Japan to the rest of the world fall in love with each other (yes: guys). Good: Nice historical backgrounds. Bad: A tad boring, but that may have been because I watched this right after OverDrive. Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10 I was quite surprised to see Ezo as the main setting in this OVA. It takes place perhaps a few years after Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, but without the magic and supernatural elements. What was even more surprising that I heard the name of one of the main characters: Akizuki. After a while, it appears that this wasn’t Youjirou, but Keiichirou. Brothers? Anyway, the episode self didn’t make me too enthusiastic. It does have some interesting historical elements, but most of the episode looked like some strange version of a dating-sim. Saint Beast Short Synopsis: I’ve been wondering this myself. Good: Nice OP and ED, I guess, albeit a bit cheesy. Bad: Oh god the Engrish… the horrible, horrible Engrish! Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10 My impression of Saint Beast can be described in one word: forgettable. Yet again, nothing of the episode caught my interest. Heck, now that I’m writing this, I can hardly remember what this anime was about anyway. I believe it was about six bishounen-angels who live happily in a mountain-cottage, until they get summoned by a Greek God-ish type of guy. I can hardly imagine recommending this one.]]>

Nagasarate Airantou Short Synopsis: A typical loser ends up on an island with only young girls. Good: Could have become good… Bad: …if it didn’t have the most horrible concept to work with, didn’t include the main character, blood-noses or fanservice, didn’t seem to think that a guy screaming, getting beaten-up, hurt or getting chased was the funniest thing ever, etc. Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10 It took me a while to figure out that “Airantou” is actually a horrible katakanification of the word “island”. Obviously, I think that my opinion on this one is clear by now. Okay, I do admit I chuckled at some parts, I liked it when the characters went crazy, and the evil smiles had potential. But why the heck did the creators find beating up the main character over and over and over and over again funny? It’s horribly dull and his screaming and nose-bleeds are some of the most annoying scenes ever. If the annoying parts are scrapped (including the horrible concept) though, this could make quite an interesting anime, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. Definitely dropped. Romeo x Juliet Short Synopsis: Juliet, a former princess now lives underground, in the same city where she used to live. There she gets saved by a boy: Romeo. Good: Nice production-values, great ED Bad: …Gonzo…grmblrg….. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10 Okay, I may only have read certain parts of the book, the beginning not included, but I doubt that this first episode was very true to the book. For starters, I never recall Juliet having lost her throne. Someone once commented about how Gonzo likes to add their own elements to the stories they adapt, and only now I realize what that means. Heck, if I’m not mistaken, William Shakespeare even makes a cameo-appearance. I don’t think I’m happy about these changes. In one thing, it did make the story more generic. I was looking forward to seeing this, as the book featured a type of storytelling that you don’t usually see in anime. I also definitely do hope that Gonzo won’t be thinking of a different ending. I’d love to see such an ending, which makes perfect use of the different character’s weaknesses: their naivety. Les Miserables proved that staying true to the book doesn’t mean a bad thing, and I’m fearing that Romeo x Juliet will somehow ruin this classic, in an attempt to make it “mainstream”. Still, the episode itself wasn’t bad if you see it as just another anime, and not “another Romeo and Juliet story”. Gigantic Formula Short Synopsis: Somewhere in the near-future, each major country possesses one strong mecha, which fight each other. Two children end up piloting Japan’s. Good: Excellent production values, beautiful character-designs. Bad: Makey no sensey. Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10 It’s such a pity. If I had to guess, then the creators spent lots of effort to create some very high-quality graphics, music and scenes, only to realize that they ran out of budget to hire a decent writer. The graphics look amazing in this one, but it just makes no sense. I kept wondering how two children can end up piloting such an important mecha, but it appears that all of them are very highly skilled. Even more than normal adults. I really do hope that the future episodes will give some explanation about why these characters are so skilled, as they need every little piece of background they can get after this first taste of the series. Thankfully, near the end of the episode we got a small flash of the history of the main character, but that definitely was not enough. At all.]]>

Ooedo Rocket Short Synopsis: In a fictional Edo, we’ve got ourselves a young kid who’s able to make some of the greatest fireworks. Unfortunately, what he’s doing is illegal. Good: Hilariously awesome, great parodies. Bad: Obviously, most people will never give this wonderful concept a chance. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 I never thought I’d say this, but boy, that was awesome. Obviously, this isn’t going to be the most serious story, but I just loved the parodies in this one. It’ll be a great replacement for Master of epic. Ooedo Rocket is one of the few obscure series this season, but obviously it’s just as promising as the other obscure anime of the previous seasons. The series comes with a huge cast of characters, each with their own different and unique quirk. Characters appear in all kinds of different sizes. We’ve got some small townsfolk with some of the most hilarious faces, there’s a bunch of teenagers, a couple of “normal” men and women, some strange monsters, and let’s not forget the guy who is so tall that his head almost always doesn’t fit in the screen. ^^ I also loved how the officer had a cleaning-obsession. If you like an anime which is different from usual, hilarious, and doesn’t take itself too serious, then this is a definite recommendation! Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica Short Synopsis: A typical loser can turn his tsundere friend into some kind of superhuman when he plays piano on his motorbike. Good: Good points? We don’t need no stinkin’ good points! Bad: Lack of thoughts behind the concept, too much fanservice, the fact that there just aren’t any good points. Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10 In a season with so many potentially good series, it’s good to know that some series are just never going to be something worthwhile. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica is one of these series. The demolition showed me that this is just an excuse to show cute girls. Real demolition teams would never allow people to enter their construction-site, and they would make sure that all items and properties are removed from the building before they detonate. The addition of semi-classical music for the climaxes also just doesn’t work, and the main guy doesn’t look cool AT ALL when he’s playing his motorbike. Add a female tsundere with an unnaturally large amount of hair, and whose only purpose is to supply fanservice to the viewer, and you’ve got yourself a failure of a series. Engage Planet ~ Kiss Dum Short Synopsis: The current year: 2031. The greatest enemy of mankind: bugs. And lots of ’em. Good: Great climaxes. Bad: A bit too heavy on the techno-babble, teenagers, able to pilot complex machinery. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10 With certain series, I just know that watching the raws with my limited Japanese is going to be near-impossible. Kiss Dum is one of these series. Not really because if has more difficult dialogue than other series, but the pacing is just insane at times. I think that you’ll need to be able to understand this perfectly in order to enjoy it to its fullest. And it’s got quite some potential to become good, I especially liked the climaxes at the beginning and the ending of the episode. Still, the main force of the protagonist somehow consists out of either teenagers or young adults. I tried, but I never managed to find any veteran amongst the characters. I’m not really enthusiastic about these kinds of concepts (due to the lack of realism), but I do admit that I’m impressed so far.]]>