Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Review – 65/100

by K-Off, posted in Anime Reviews, Game Reviews

The title of this game rather says everything you need to know about my initial reaction, and I’m still all around puzzled at the mixed bag that this turned out to be – it IS just a standard mashup while having a bit of fun with some experimentation, but the game itself is actually a jumble of Persona’s mechanics with some hints of Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy X-2 masked behind a colorful anime-esque fatigue. Originally called “Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem” but changed shortly thereafter to “Tokyo Mirage Sessions,” I decided I’d have an open mind about this before I went into it, without looking for comparisons to the Persona or Fire Emblem aspects of the game, and did actually enjoy the gameplay. But by the end of my second playthrough, it turned out to be a mediocre title that failed to consistently interest me as a standalone title, much less as a fan of both Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei.

The story is entirely original, so it’s not required that you play any of the Shin Megami Tensei or Fire Emblem titles for you to dive into it unless you want to understand certain references. The story begins with our protagonist in some talent agency in Tokyo as he learns how to utilize an energy called Performa and attract beings known as Mirages much like in the Persona series. The rest of the plot is pretty by the books, it has cameos/references to Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei characters to keep you interested in the plot, and in between the unnecessarily text-heavy story are the animated cutscenes by Studio 4C, which are all serviceable except for the poorly integrated CGI during music/dance sequences (which I believe were done by a different studio). Although Japanese pop isn’t really my favorite genre of music, it’s well produced to say the least and the background soundtrack isn’t too generic either, they accompany the combat really well as the fights feel like a performance rather than a traditional RPG battle.
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Mob Psycho 100 – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100

We had a pretty great episode of Mob Psycho this week as Mob faces off against another esper in the form of Teruki. Animation was in top form throughout the episode as the two demolished the school with a psychic battle. Well calling it a battle is a bit of a stretch as the only one fighting was Teruki. Comedy was alright but what really shone about this episode was the actual drama and meat behind it. Namely Mob putting forward his belief of wanting to develop a talent without relying in his natural psychic powers. This belief directly opposes Teruki, whom believes that his powers elevate him above everyone else. Mob’s very existence calls Teruki’s philosophy of life into question as Mob equates having psychic powers to a natural talent. Funny enough this very idea came from Seigan who once again, despite being a horrible person, proves that he just may be the perfect mentor for Mob.

Though his teaching does hit a flat note when he he attempts to make a metaphor about knives. Even Dimple remarks that it all sounds very impressive until you realise that Seigan is the one saying it. Still there is sound logic in what he says, a esper can lift a boulder with his mind but that doesn’t make him any more useful than an ordinary person if you asked him to help program a mobile application. When you take it truly into consideration, just how useful are superpowers in a modern society? The obvious end result is to become a superhero and stop crime but for those looking for a more average job, superpowers are surprisingly not that useful.

What’s the point of having telekinesis if you work in IT? Or having super strength if you are a cook? Or having the ability to fly if it rains a lot?  It’s true in certain circumstances these things could have a use but in regards to daily life I think it would be surprising just how little a difference it would make. Superpowers are cool but they don’t make you a perfect human being and what’s more important is that relying on something that was given to you at birth makes your actual character hollow. As Mob put it, he wants to earn something by his own effort than rely on a power he was blessed with. Otherwise if his power was taken away from him, all that would be left is a empty being. Teruki doesn’t take this well, in fact Mob practically emotionally breaks him that it makes him determined to prove Mob a hypocritic and force him to rely on his power.

This is a rather interesting concept as Teruki is forced to face that rather than being the center of the universe, he is just an average person. If you are to contrast him to a standard shounen protagonist it make for some food for thought. After all a lot of shounen protagonists are driven by a need to prove themselves and grow stronger. Mob says that the reason for this is because they have crippling low self confidence which makes sense. For a famous example, Naruto was ostracized and belittled at the beginning of the series. As a Ninja he was failure and it’s possible that even as he reached the heights of power, he still holds a inferiority complex that pushes him to be cocky and strive for more power.

At the end we see that Mob has a level of power beyond that of his 100% mode and upon seeing that Teruki finally comes to terms that he is indeed a average person. But perhaps seeing the friends Mob has made in the body improvement club might help him mend his ways. Who knows, maybe even his hair might grow back. Dimple apparently died in the fight but I highly doubt it’s the last we see of him. It was pretty interesting to see Mobs emotional meter not rise a bit despite DImple being exorcised and even the montage showing that Dimple wasn’t exactly a pleasant being was pretty amusing. What looks to be important here is Mob’s brother and his jealousy over Mobs powers which looks to play a role in the next episode. There’s also the matter of how all this affected Mob himself as this was a high test of his character and in his eyes he broke one of his principles.

I think what has become the big drawing points of the series is the character of Mob himself as he continues to prove to be not quite as emotionless as he appears. He originally came across as psychic Saitama but now he may have more to him than Saitama ever did. Still despite this Mob Psycho doesn’t seem to be that popular this season from what I have seen. Perhaps due to a lack of resonance with the art style or simply disappointment for those expecting another One Punch Man. While I doubt Mob Psycho 100 will reach the level of popularity of One Punch Man, I think that if it continues to bring episodes like this then it may outclass it in other areas. Though that all depends on what is to come.

~AidanAK47~

91 Days – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in 91 Days, Currently Watching:

I think by now many of you have noticed that my 91 days reviews take significantly longer than the others and I will admit that part of the reason for that is that this show is hard to write about. Not that any of this has been bad, on the contrary the writing and direction has been very solid. Rather I find myself with surprisingly little to say about each episode. 91 Days is a slow burn and in that way it holds a different kind of interest for me. It doesn’t have me waiting on the edge of my seat like a new Re:Zero episode but still has high value in the season.This series seems to me to be a kind that can only be fully appreciated once it’s story has hit its conclusion. Then instead of seeing bits and pieces of it’s plot we can look at it as a whole and come to appreciate it’s value. Of course what value that may be all comes down to how this all plays out and I hope that it manages to end on a good note. I can hardly say that the animation in this episode was great as Shuka does have rather shaky production values, however a good story can make up for lacking visuals.

After the Orco’s attempted to kill Fango, a truce has been signed between the Orco’s and the Vanettis which means that Avilio’s and Nero’s road trip has come to an end. Unbeknownst to Nero, Frate neglected to inform the family that a term of this truce was the death of Nero. The Galassias are also pushing for Neros death and have stepped in to put Frate into being the leader of the Vanettis family. Likely because Frate happens to be sucking up to the Galassias and they would prefer a easily controlled lapdog in the seat of power. However I happen to notice that Frate has gained some dark circles under his eyes. Is that because he ordered a hit on his own brother or is there something else going on behind the scenes?

Do the Galassias have something to keep Frate in line? I have a small theory over who the last persons is that Avilio wants to get revenge on and I think that it is his friend, Corteo. He did nod to the gangsters in the first episode when they were going to Avilios house and it’s possible he was being used as a scout. I highly doubt he knew what would happen and chances are he regrets it deeply if I happen to be correct. However considering Avilio’s mindset, I doubt he will let him live even if his part in the murder of his parents was small. It’s possible that Corteo knows this too and that’s why he is trying to get Avilio to give up on his revenge.

One of Nero’s men has been shot in the failed assassination attempt which puts him in trouble. Avilio, after being warned otherwise, has gone to an unlikely person for help. That’s right, Fango returns in all his loony toon glory. I will at least say this, it looks like Fango has a fetish for heavy women which is quite rare in anime characters. Either way he’s broken off from Orco and formed his own gang with the intent of overthrowing Orco. Avilio seems to have latched onto this and agreed to help Fango in this endeavor. I am not sure if this is part of his revenge plan by getting Nero to team up with someone likely to kill him or if Avilio is truly trying to save his subordinate in order to curry more favor with him.

Considering that Nero is now being hunted by his own family makes it seem like a wiser choice would be to lead him into a trap and use that to get him close to his final target. Or his second final target. Perhaps Avilio thinks Fango could be useful in carrying out his revenge? Fango does seem to be up for something as long as it’s interesting. However his loose cannon nature is what caused him to split off from the Orco’s in the first place. The show doesn’t give us privy to Avilio’s thoughts so I can only speculate as to what he is thinking with this move. Maybe it’s a plan just to get through the current predicament. Maybe it’s a calculated move to further his revenge. Or maybe he is actually interested in some kinky play with Fango’s lady? Who knows. Guess I just need to wait as see how this all works out.

~AidanAK47~

The Versus Show: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica vs. Steins;Gate

by SuperMario, posted in Other:, Uncategorized

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Time for something completely new for a change. In my opinion, one of the most unique feature here in psgels is always the scoring system, which goes all the way up to 100. This allows much more range in rating a series, compared to the usual 5-star or 10 rating scale. However, the truth is that rating’s highly subjective. We score some shows higher because we think that they are “better” than other shows, and we score them evenly because we believe they have the same quality. But we know that you will always have different opinions than us. Which brings me to this very poll.

Now it’s your turn. The premise of this Versus Show is simple: Take any 2 shows that have the same rating here in psgels, and YOU vote for the one that you think is better. Sounds like fun? Let’s begin.

Here come the first pair, arguably two of the best shows out of 2011, which shared the same score of 87.5. Let’s run them down:

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

(AKA: Girls have to save themselves)

Studio: Shaft

Season: Winter 2011

Episodes: 12

MAL Rating: 8.52

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student. Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. (from MAL)

Here’s an excerpt from an original review by our truly psgels:

“Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica finally shows us another deconstruction of the Mahou shoujo genre, and it is glorious… The thing that’s especially amazing about this series is how well everything fits together. It’s twelve episodes long, but it makes excellent use of its time, the characters all fit the story perfectly and everyone serves his own purpose to the points that this series is trying to make. The show really makes sure that it doesn’t waste its time and just about every episode adds something to the overall story and characters. This creates quite a bit of nice development for such a short series.”

 

Versus

 
 

Steins;Gate

(AKA: Boy saves girl, by letting another girl die)

Studio: White Fox

Season: Spring 2011

Episodes: 24

MAL Rating: 9.17

The self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarou Okabe rents out a room in a rickety old building in Akihabara, where he indulges himself in his hobby of inventing prospective “future gadgets” with fellow lab members: Mayuri Shiina, his air-headed childhood friend, and Hashida Itaru, a perverted hacker nicknamed “Daru.” The three pass the time by tinkering with their most promising contraption yet, a machine dubbed the “Phone Microwave,” which the phenomenon doesn’t provide anything concrete in Okabe’s search for a scientific breakthrough; that is, until the lab members are spurred into action by a string of mysterious happenings before stumbling upon an unexpected success—the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past, altering the flow of history. (from MAL)

psgels said:

“There is one thing at which Steins;Gate is unrivaled at compared to anything else that aired this year: its plot. If it’s originality, creative twists and multi layers that you want, then this is a must-watch. This has a bit of a slow start, but as the series goes on its intricately woven plot about time travel shines like no other and this show is masterful at combining seemingly insignificant hooks into gripping plot twist… The lead characters’ monologues in particular are well written, but on top of that this is a series that really did its research into time travel. It may not present the most logical way that time travel might be possible (I mean, there are still parts where you’re going to have to suspend your disbelief), but it’s very well researched.”

 

This poll is no longer accepting votes

What will you be watching this fall?
VoteResults

 

There are some rules, though

RULE #1:  NO MIDDLE GROUND. You can’t vote for both. It has to be either Madoka or Steins;Gate. After all this is an objective of the poll.

RULE #2: NO MULTIPLE VOTE. One vote per person only.

RULE #3: NO INSULTS. It’s perfectly fine that people have different opinions and we respect that. Don’t ruin the fun by berating, harassing or taking it too personally.

Apart from those rules, anything goes. As this is just purely an experiment to see if you viewers find it interesting, there is no time limit for this first boxing match. Please vote and if you like, tell us more about your choice in the comment below. Also, any recommendation how you would prefer us to do, content-wise and format-wise (even if you want to tell us to stop this) would be very welcome as well. If you think of any interesting pairs for the next show-down, drop us a line as well. For now, HAPPY VOTING!

orange – 06

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Orange

What a development! It turns out that Sowa’s also receiving letters from the future as well, presumably his future self (there’s no way the future Naho would send him letters, right?). From the look of it I think the entire cast receives letters from their future self too, the way they act very supportive lately. Does this development work? I don’t know, it all depends on the direction it goes from now. Personally I would prefer that Naho asks for their help, and then tell them herself about the letters. That twist makes me questions every actions from the group back then, and if those actions are ‘genuine’ genuine (like Suwa’s selfless actions last week). If it turns out those kids behave the way they did just because of someone telling them already what would happen, then I feel a bit manipulated. But there must be some good reasons to make that twist, right? For now, I will reserve my comment to see how all this play out. I guess after all we just finished the first phase (Naho and Kokeru dating together) and proceed to the second phase now (the group try to help Kokeru out of his attempt suicide). Naho also points out in this episode that there are two things that she couldn’t follow the advice from the letters, and those lead to unchanged consequences. The first being the group asked Kokeru out on the ceremony day, which directly lead to the suicide of the mother. The second time she couldn’t talk to him how she felt face-to-face, and Kokeru decided to date Ueda. Although the letters become less and less relevant, it seems that the outcome of those important events doesn’t always change, which makes me wonder if they can really save Kokeru from committing suicide. But I have a feeling they gain too much information from the letters which give them somewhat unfair advantage, like how Naho already know the time and place of his dead. Whatever you do orange, just remember that relying too much on those letters to progress a story is a dead wrong decision. Those letters can’t solve everything; it needs to be from the characters themselves.

This episode further highlights the insecurity of Kokeru. Several times in this episode, he asks Sowa if it’s really okay for him to date Naho, not because he fears that would hurt Sowa (maybe a little), but because he fears that dating Naho would turn out to be a disaster and he will bounce for more regret. Moreover, he always feels guilty about his mother’s death. But really, he should understand that moving forward is way better than don’t do anything at all, and he shouldn’t blame himself on the death of his mother. It is really a good call from Naho to ask him about the mother, because this guy needs to share it to his friends. Keeping it to yourself and the pain will never go away. The two lead’s chemistry is engaging and intimate so far, kudos to the fireworks scene, which for me is a bit cheesy but overall effective.

This episode is also a return-to-form quality in terms of production values. As mention above, the firework sequence is animated very well, and I love the shot’s choices of many scenes. Many of the shots focus on the pair with their backs on us, either when them watching the fireworks, or later when they sitting in a park, it creates their very own atmosphere: just the two of them witnessing things together, but perhaps never really see things eye-to-eye. I also like the shot when Kokeru needs sometimes alone and sits in a different chair. The shot (included in the screenshot above) really establish the distance between them and moreover the isolation of Kokeru. To conclude, this episode marks the end of the first half and wheels forward to the latter stage in which the group attempt to save Kakeru from committing suicide. I’m overall happy with the first half and hope it continues to be a rewarding ride. But seriously Naho, get rid of that hairpin. It brings you no luck at all.

~SuperMario~

Thunderbolt Fantasy – 05

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Thunderbolt Fantasy

This week’s Thunderbolt Fantasy runs a much slower pace compared to last week, which has only one main development: Sha Wu Sheng the Screaming Phoenix Killer agrees to join the band, as we can probably figure out last week. That’s my only complaint though, because the episode still provides a lot of gold moments. I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculous “it is already a sitting fight before the sword fight” situation or campy lines like: “I thought as much. I knew you’d be the one who come”, because when you really think about it, our main character is the LEAST likely person who would’ve come. It will be more reasonable if Gui Niao pays a visit to the guy, or the three who fought him in last episode. Even Dan Fei would make more sense if she’d come. Prior to this episode, we see the story through Shang Bu Huan point of view- a somewhat ‘normal’ guy, compared to an eccentric cast around him, and I come to really love his stunning reaction whenever something absurd happens. The world around him is too crazy for him to comprehend, apparently. But it’s nice to see that he has a lot of room to develop this episode, and he actually turns out to be a very sincere guy at heart who decides to turn up because he doesn’t want to see his new friend getting killed the next morning. At first I thought he and the Screaming Phoenix Killer knew about each other, judging by the way they already anticipated the moves of the opponent, but it was not the case. Shang Bu Huan hints that he come from Xi You (the other side of Wasteland of Spirits), which apparently is impossible to cross over. Well, at least we know now that he is not an ordinary guy, his skills are even on the same level as Sha Wu Sheng. The fighting scene, although brief and anti-climax, is still very impressive.

You see, the band heading to the Seven Sin Towers with very different goals in minds; Dan Fei has to achieve the legendary sword; Xing Hai the demon necromancer concerns about that sword that might affect her world; Juan Can Yun the spear wielder wants fame. Sha Wu Sheng wants revenge and Shou Yun Xiao the archer follows the gang because he just wants to help out Gui Niao (I know it’s a lame reason but in the world of wuxia, where you are skilled and you have nothing to do beside screwing around, make yourself useful by helping your friends out surprisingly makes a lot of sense). It’s the more dangerous that we don’t really know the motive of Gui Niao. Seriously, he’s the worst allied friend you could ever wish to have in your team. He really needs to keep Shang Bu Huan on the team to the point of offering his head to the Screaming Phoenix Killer, despite that our main guy doesn’t have much role on the plan. But in fact, everyone here pretty much has pretty solid purpose in this journey: The demon girl for The Village of the Dead, the archer for The Valley of the Doll, the Screaming Phoenix Killer for Labyrinth of Darkness; Dan Fei retains a part of the sword and Juan Can Yun for killing the enemy guards. What role would it be for our main character then? My guess would be Gui Niao needs him to be the one who control and wield the legendary sword when the parts are finally in place; so that he could kill the main antagonist and everyone on the way, including Sha Wu Shang and save his head at the end of the day. Sounds sinister, right? But it might not be as far-fetch. Next episode is called “Seven Comrades”, which will be about our seven characters head towards the Seven Sins Tower, and we will have seven days to wait for that journey; and now I’m head off to drink Seven-Up.

~SuperMario~

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 19

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

I certainly am glad that we got positive Subaru back, he’s finally getting on track and using his head. Now that he is not acting like an insane madman, things are going well. Too well in fact. This is somewhat of a personal gripe but I am not too fond of just how fast things are working out. The past episodes made the crisis facing Subaru into an insurmountable task and yet with a few logical moves everyone that belittled him in previous loops is suddenly looking at him with respect. All the praise Subaru is getting almost seems like an apology to the viewer for the excessive suffering and to me it feels a little patronising as well as cheap. I think giving a few scenes with Rem and Subaru brainstorming a plan could have remedied this issue and made Subaru’s sudden wit less out of the blue. For one the anime leaves out a very important detail which left likely others as well as myself confused. Before Crusch mentioned that Subaru has no power to promise anything to her and yet here he is making deals with mining rights with both Crusch and Anastasia with no trouble. What was left out is that Rem wasn’t just at Crusch’s house to help with Subaru’s recovery but was in fact given right by Roswaal to negotiate for help as he suspected that the cultists would come to attack his manor. When Subaru asked Rem for help she gave him the right to negotiate thus allowing him to put forward mining rights as a bargaining chip.

Wilhelm got some development here as we learn he has a deep seated grudge against the white whale for killing his wife. I am wondering if some Moby Dick symbolism might come into play here and possibly lead Wilhelm to his death. It seems he’s not the only one affected as a number of knights seem grateful to Subaru for giving them an opportunity to strike back at the White Whale. You may be asking how they can have a grudge if the White Whale erases people’s existence but that is another detail unfortunately left out of the anime adaption. Apparently if the White Whale eats you then it erases your existence, however if it kills you then it just takes your name. Hence why Crusch said during her speech that the number of graves that they cannot even inscribe with names will only rise. Hence the reason why Wilhelm’s wife is only referred to as “that master swordsman” who wasn’t Reinhart as I initially thought. Rem continues to prove herself to be the best female character, and while you might think it presumptuous for me to declare that I have heard news of Rem body pillows being delayed due to overwhelming demand so perhaps that sentiment is shared by many. Still seeing her have moments with Subaru is always heartwarming though worrisome as she has essentially become the pillar of his mental health. If she falls in this battle then I see Subaru falling fast with her. Also her getting jealous over a ground dragon getting close to Subaru was quite funny. Yeah…I may be fond of this character a little too much.

The last scene with the white whale showing up was excellent as they even managed to make the silly ringtone of Subaru’s phone feel foreboding and grim. Some funny trivia about that ringtone is that apparently there was a big argument over which ringtone Subaru’s phone would have and it was resolved by the studio buying the exact model of his phone, looking through the default ringtones and recording it from the phone in the studio. The ringtone itself is the opening theme of “A Dog of Flanders” anime TV series made in 1975.(Link to opening here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_wm4KmrDH0) Considering the ending of that anime, this could be a rather foreboding sign(The Dog of Flanders ends with the boy and his dog freezing to death in a church. Considering episode 15…) Distorting it the moment the whale came on screen was also an excellent choice in showing just how the army was reacting to the creature. I got to say that it is quite a feat to make a giant flying whale look like a genuine terrifying threat. They have built up the fight quite nicely so i think we might be in for a spectacle next episode. However the question is that if the white whale is killed, how does Subaru plan to get Crush and Anastasia to take on the witch’s cult afterwards?

~AidanAK47~

New Manga Spotlight – Happy Sugar Life, Jigokukoi; Death Life, Niehime to Kemono no Ou, Canaria-tachi no Fune and Kangoku Jikken

by AidanAK47, posted in New Manga Spotlights

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Happy Sugar Life

High-schooler Matsuzaka Satou has a reputation for being easy, but one day her lifestyle of sleeping with one boy after another comes to an end. It happens when she meets the child Shio, for whom she is convinced she feels true love for the first time. Satou may seem sweet and innocent, but there is nothing she won’t do to protect their life together, including committing murder. But from where did she acquire the little girl, and how long can their “Happy Sugar Life” together last?

This is a story about love. But not in the sense of “Let’s get married and live our lives together” but more along the lines of “I will stalk you and watch you as you sleep at night, breathing heavily.” This story is about Yanderes and it certainly has them of all kinds and sizes. What you are going to get out of this depends on whether you like dark stories like myself. In this case everyone in this story is messed up in some way or another and it brings some great twists to the table. If you watched Mirai Nikki and thought that it would have been more interesting if it focused primarily on Yuno then this is the manga for you. Admittedly the main characters preaching on other characters “Love” is somewhat grating and this does depend a lot on it’s shock value. Still I think it has merit in that there are so few of these kinds of stories pulled off this well.

 

Jigokukoi; Death Life

Another series by the author of Jigokuren ~Love in Hell~. Set in the same world as Love in Hell but with all new characters.

A love comedy in hell you say? Well this isn’t necessarily a new title as the author has used this setting before in a similarly titled manga. But damn if it isn’t an interesting setting. Basically our protagonist dies and goes to hell. Hell in this universe happens to be everything you expect it to be besides the cute demon girls as it is their job to torture their subject in order to gain some level of status and money. Oh and by torture I really mean that in every sense of the word. If you are not a fan of gore you would do better to stay away from this as it does not hold back with it’s artwork. There’s people getting skinned alive, having their intestines nailed to a wall and even chopping off…yeah that’s too painful for me to even type. Regardless of the damage inflicted, once a person dies they just revert back to their old selves and thus the torture can begin anew. Despite how dark the subject material sounds this is actually more of a dark comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I would recommend reading the prequel to this as I am not too fond of the new characters dynamic. The best comparison i could make for this is that it’s like Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan.

 

Niehime to Kemono no Ou

Saliphie, the 99th sacrifice to the terrifying demon king, learns two secrets about the king: The first, that he has been letting the sacrifices go in secret. The second, that half of his blood is that of a human. She gets to know the king’s kindness and sorrow, and then it’s announced that the king has taken Saliphie, who wishes to become a source of energy for the king, as his queen, and…?

Well it’s beauty and the beast without the stockholm syndrome. This is an odd choice for me as I generally don’t go for these kinds of stories. However I must admit that their is something rather charming about this one. Maybe I just like the Dynamic between the king and the sacrifice girl as he tends to act menacingly while the girl just sees right through him. Plus i really love the design of the king and the setting of the monster kingdom. Of course there may be those of you being put off by the fact that the King is a lion and that this story looks like beastitly. Don’t worry, the king has a human form and their relationship is not sexual. I am not exactly crazy about this one but I admit that I rather enjoy reading it. It’s a very warm and fuzzy love story.

 

Canaria-tachi no Fune

Yuri is just a normal girl in high school: she loves hanging out with her friends, she has dreams, and she has worries. But one day, she wakes up in a strange forest she’s never seen before beside a man named Chihiro. As the two of them learn more about the place they suddenly find themselves in, and the oddly real dream they had of being abducted by aliens, the dark secret of where they are and what has happened to them will begin to unfold.

A man and a girl find themselves on an Alien planet without any real knowledge of why they are there. Once again this is a pretty dark story as the two come to terms with their alien surroundings. Artwork is great and so far the story has had some interesting turns. Might need a bit more time to show where it really is going but the general mental breakdown of the protagonists is enough to keep me intrigued.

 

Kangoku Jikken

Eyama Aito, a high school student, is the victim of daily bullying. One day a strange letter arrives inviting him to a “captivity game.” He may choose one person to hold captive for one month with a chance at winning a large amount of money. He chooses the ringleader of his bullies, Aya Kirishima, and the only rule of the game is to not kill her. Everything else is fair game. Eyama’s revenge begins!

Another dark concept to add to the mix. The bully and bullied which places when a boy enters the girl that torments him in a game. The rules of the game are simple, enter a name and that person will be abducted and held in a facility for one month. In that one month the one who entered the name can do absolutely anything to the victim. As long as it doesn’t kill the victim or remove their ability to speak then anything is fair game. However at the end of each week the victim is given an opportunity to guess the name of their capturer. If they guess right they get 10 million yen paid by capturers pocket. If they fail to guess the name in that month then the victim pay the capturer 10 million yen. What makes this one interesting is that their are others in the game as well who take part for different reasons.Our protagonist looks to be someone who is a potential sadist and has at least some degree of intelligence. I am hoping it doesn’t pull the rape card as that would be cheap however so far it looks like it’s sticking to just physical and psychological abuse. It might need some time before we can really see where it goes but for now I am rather fascinated.

 

Other Notable New works

Goblin Slayer

Shinyaku Marchen

Wombs

Bokura no Fushidara

Unbalance School Life

Kami-sama, Ki-sama o Koroshitai

Berserk(2016) – 06 [Nighttime Feast: Burning at the Stake]

by Bam, posted in Berserk(2016), Currently Watching:

The episode picks up where the last one left off, with the lakeside haunting of Casca and Nina. We see the brand attracting ghouls followed by the Demon Child warding them off. For those who might be unfamiliar with the franchise, the Demon Child is Casca’s infant, and it’s been corrupted by the Godhand form of Griffith, Femto. The child’s powers were never clearly explained, but it’s safe to assume that he takes a bit after his stepfather. This will be further explored in the coming chapters.

The next scene marks the return of the Skull Knight. I’m definitely disappointed that we didn’t get to see the fight between Guts and the Wheel Skeletons. It’s not really a crucial scene, but given the iconic design of the monsters it is still a letdown. Skull Knight warns Guts of the significance of the ‘hawk dream’ which apparently was shared with him as well. Guts calls him “old man” which is a bit of an understatement, given that he’s at least a thousand years old.

Speaking of millennia, the Skull Knight explains that an Eclipse-like event is about to unfold, which takes place every thousand years. It’s unclear if he’s referring to the general descend of the Godhand, or specifically to the rebirth ceremony. It is widely believed that the he is the psedo-apostle form of another character in the Berserk universe called Emperor Gaiseric. He supposedly united the nations of Midland over a thousand years ago. Later in the episode we learn that the emperor imprisoned a man that refused to deny his sins. The prisoner must’ve been in the possession of a Behelit, as his trial ends with an Eclispe. This occurrence causes the empire to crumble, and earlier in the story we see the remains of branded bodies in the tower where Griffith was being held prisoner. It’s unknown if Gaiseric ever became a Godhand and then later reborn, or gained his powers from a separate source.

The scene comes to a close with Guts asserting his intention of saving Casca, no matter what gets in his way. I have to say that it’s refreshing to see this defiant side of Guts again. His resolute attitude and disregard for warnings and danger is a core part of his personality, and one of the main reasons why he’s such a beloved character. He fights on against all odds, and his neverending struggle is symbolic to the spirit of survival that keeps pushing all humanity forward. This charming arrogance is sorely missing from some of the new chapters of the manga. Readers who are staying up-to-date probably know what I’m talking about. He has been portrayed uncharacteristically timid in the newer installments. This might be due to character growth, but I’m hoping that it’s temporary, and that we’ll soon get to see the true berserker in action.

We switch back to the Tower of Conviction, as a doubtful Farnese is reflecting on the state of affairs. There is a subtle juxtaposition of the relative prosperity of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, set against the hunger and famine that continue to ravage the land outside. If you’ve been paying attention, there are frequent close-up shots of Farnese throughout the series. I realized that the reason for these is most likely because the close angles hide the uncanniness of the CGI, and create a more drawn look to her face. Moving on, we get to see the prostration of Mozguz, and him reassuring Farnsese of her faith, by an appeal to blindly following the divine authority. Even in reality, blind faith is often used to give purpose to those who are distressed by uncertainty. It’s also explained how Mozguz targets the social outcasts and uses their ostracization as a tool for recruitment.

We then head back to the campsite, and are introduced to Nina’s thirsty lover, Joachim. He’s mostly used as a plot-device for the viewers to get to see the other side of Nina, as she invites him to their secret gathering. As I expected, the episode includes the infamous cave scene. Similar to the manga, the gathering is a plethora of psychedelics, sex and cannibalism. I guess now we know where Nina caught that nasty little STD. Among the storm of hedonism it seems that some curious nipple-theft is taking place, and nobody’s the wiser.  It’s surprising that so much nudity is included, especially given the fact that they were well aware of their limitations due to censorship. It’s not really a big deal, but it’s seriously distracting. The orgy scene itself is drawn minimally and awkwardly, giving it a clean and sterile look that detracts from the sense of grotesque that they were going for. No matter how much they distort the images, and draw characters off-model, this still doesn’t look all that hellish. The cannibalistic imagery might be the only aspect of it that is slightly unnerving. We also get a glimpse of the Goat Head, who serves as the leader of sorts to the cult. I’ll be discussing him in more detail in the upcoming episodes.

The party is interrupted when Joachim is chased out of the cave, leading to his fall into the ravine. He’s later found by the Egg-Shaped Apostle, which will be playing a crucial part in what’s to come. It’s always good to see Luca, as she takes no nonsense from Nina, and promptly starts scolding her for her stupidity. Their reconciliation doesn’t last long, as Casca’s discovery leads to an attempted rape by a group of impressively aerodynamic men, which itself is interrupted by the manifestations of some more ghosts. This scene is very awkward, since the few models they had were reused so many times, in some instances standing almost next to eachother. The saving grace is that the scene is brief, as the Demon Child yet again dispels the apparitions.

Similar to episode three, this one also has an extended post credit scene. We get to explore the backstory of both Farnese and Serpico. Farnese is engaged in almost Lady Melisandre levels of pyromania, and it is shown that this is deeply rooted in her childhood. Serpico again demostrates that he’s a sympathetic fellow, and it’s his tragic past that has brought him into the Vandimion fold; that among other things. This episode in whole was rather plain looking, and primarily used as set-up for the next one. I understand that there was no way to exclude this whole section, but I hoped that they portrayed it with some more energy. The grey muddy colors are really tiring, and at this point I can’t wait for the Eclipse to bring some change in the scenery. The next episode is called “The Black Witch” so at least we know it’ll be racist. I jest, in reality we’re going to get a big reunion, but not a particularly sweet one. Things always seem to pick up when Guts enters the picture, and so the next one is going to be a more dynamic episode

~Bam~

Under the Dog OVA Review – 55/100

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Other:, OVA Reviews

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Under the Dog represents the latest in a growing trend of anime being funded in alternative ways like Kickstarter or Netflix and represents a break from the traditional financing method of animation production committees. Over the course of its development, it had its fair share of problems from to trouble in delivering its stretch goals to creative splits to swapping out animation studios but the first OVA has now finally arrived to disappointing results.

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Initially, Under the Dog has an interesting premise where monsters exists, governments try to contain an outbreak and a third faction has an odd interest in recruiting special people that can have the power to destroy or save humanity. Unfortunately, that is squattered on the two high school characters that end up being inconsequential to the narrative as they end up dying before the episode’s end. Anthea, the character that the trailer hyped up, shows up near the end and doesn’t add much other than showing off her boobs and muttering a couple of lines. I also didn’t really end up learning about the history or the basic mechanisms even though terms like “flowers” and “light of humanity” were being dropped left and center. It reminded of how the first movie of Kara no Kyoukai thrusts its viewers in the middle of a perplexing alternative nasuverse before returning to the beginning and building its characters and mystery up. At the very least, I enjoyed the US military squaring off the monster and the high school chick as the action was decent enough with the infantry displaying a decent amount of realism in their tactics.

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As this is animated by Kinema Citrus, a studio who isn’t known for their consistent quality or smash anime hits, the results are disappointing when compared to the promise of the original trailer. Everything looks rather bland in both colour scheme and in the details of its world and character while maintaining a jerky animation style that seems to be missing a couple frames. Even more bizarre is the omission almost all of the footage that was shown in the original reveal trailer where the cool motorcycle and the smooth fighting scenes are nowhere to be found and the new footage from the OVA didn’t come close to what the this Kickstarter project promised.

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If this was a regular TV anime and not an OVA funded through Kickstarter and had a badass reveal trailer, I wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. However, the final product is a far cry from its promise and goes to show that it is not where the money comes from ,but rather the creative process and talent that enables how well it turns out in the end. Under the Dog is less of Kick-Heart or Little Witch Academia and more of a Mighty No. 9.

55/100

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