Uchuu Kyoudai – 22

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

Okay. So perhaps it was obvious what the outcome of this episode was going to be. There wouldn’t be much of a series left if Mutta didn’t pass in some way. But the way in which the creators did it was magnificent. This is really where the slow pace of this series came fullest to its right, because this really was an episode which needed to let its twists wink in.

The first half of the episode was dedicated to show how everyone has become friends after the whole ordeal and how they immediately decided to meet again. Especially Ya-San and Fukuda were great in how their accepted their loss. The previous episode already showed this a bit, but this really sunk in today.

And I also really didn’t think that the creators would go so far… but Kenji didn’t make it. It’s an excellent twist here to show that despite his talents, he still didn’t make it and still lacked something. And in his case, it’s perhaps even for the better since he now has the time to dedicate himself to his daughter, which eh would not have had if he made it.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Sword Art Online – 09

by psgels, posted in Sword Art Online

This was actually really good. Thew best episode of Sword Art Online since the first, and the creators are starting to use the build-up provided by the earlier episodes. Due to showing these episodes first, at least we did get a good feeling of who the characters are, rather than jumping right in and this episode made really good use of that. I just have to ask one thing here:

Kirito, for god’s sake stick with Asuna. Become a couple. I really liked that part in this episode, however it will become rather pointless if he’s going to be flirting with another girl next episode. I mean, he can still interact with them and all, but I’d hate to see more and more girls falling in love with him. just focus on his relationship with Asuna. The problem with these earlier episodes was that they showed Kirito developing a relationship with a girl, then moving on to the next, and then to the next… and it just wasn’t written well enough to make all of them count. With more time given to Asuna however, they did a very good job of showing the relationship between them develop.

One thing I missed here was a look into the mindset of that one commander who just showed up from out of nowhere on a place he had no business being on. Him just charging into battle seemed very out of character based on the description that was given of him just a minute earlier. He would have been completely dead by now if he always acted like in this episode.

Oh, and Yuki Kajiura came with a background tune that sounds actually different from her previous works. It’s still choirs and strings like her trademarks, but the choirs were very different from the ones she used in the past few years, and just that touch gives these songs a very different atmosphere that to be honest, fits this show much better.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Summer 2012 Kaleidoscope – Week 35

by psgels, posted in Summer 2012 Kaleidoscope

#1: Natsuiro Kiseki OVA: Oh my god. This OVA was just seven minutes long, so not a lot of stuff happened in it. But I really have to say to every fan of Natsuiro Kiseki: WATCH THIS. You’ll understand why once you do. – 5.5/8 (Excellent)

#2: Nazo no Kanojo OVA: You know what? This actually was a better conclusion that the one of the TV-series. whereas Milky Holmes below was just a random alternative story, this one continues where the series left off and develops the characters even further. It does introduce a bunch of ghosts from out of nowhere, which was a bit out of place, but the effect it had on the characters made it worth it. – 5.5/8 (Excellent)

#3: Kokoro Connect – 08: This was the best episode of the second arc so far. Up till now things were just build-up with a lot of angst, but this one carried it further to the people around the main cast, and the characters started thinking on how to solve their problem and deal with it, rather than running away from it. It definitely made all characters stand out more, even Yui, who didn’t make an appearance. – 5.5/8 (Excellent)

#4: Phi Brain – 46: With this episode we really have a side-cast in which the members all stand on their own. They’re no longer part of that group of side-characters standing between the male lead and the main villain, but they all developed differently throughout the series. I have to say, after how repetitive this series used to be, they definitely made up for it with these latest episodes and their variety. – 5.5/8 (Excellent)

#5: Polar Bear Cafe – 22: This really was another hilarious episode. The first half had Polar Bear at his trolling best, while the second carried the Penko story further, and both really made me laugh. Polar Bear Cafe still misses something at this point, though: a great ending. If they can manage that I’ll be entirely happy with this series. – 5.5/8 (Excellent)

#6: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 – 02: Oh god, no: not another Supernatural that releases batches of six episodes at once! That’ll be a pain to cover. Anyways, this was great build-up. The storyline is still the same as the original Yamato-series, but with a ton of stuff added and updated to modern standards. Think of a bunch of new characters, extra detail in showing how everyone prepares for such an epic journey ahead. Oh, and the soundtrack is still godly. – 5/8 (Great)

#7: Saint Seiya Omega – 21: In this episode Mars reveals his evil plans: he wants to recreate the world because it is rotten. It’s a bit unfortunate that he doesn’t explain exactly why it is rotten… Either way this was a training episode that was meant to bring Kouga on his feet again and at the very least the atmosphere of this episode was rock-solid. I have no idea who that cameo was, but he definitely convinced me that he was what was needed to get Kouga to stop angsting. – 4.5/8 (Good)

#8: Dantalian no Shoka OVA: I’m not sure why, but this week has a lot of OVAs released. Dantalian no Shoka’s OVA is the most conventional of the bunch: it’s just another episode indistinguishable from the TV-series. It’s neither the best nor the worst story of the series, and the atmosphere still is as good as I remember it to be. So yeah. It’s a nice watch if you liked the series, though not really a must. – 4.5/8 (Good)

#9: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – 20: I just realized: did Tori actually do anything this season? I mean, his charm in the first season was that he was completely different from the rest of the cast, yet was forced to stand in the center of everything. Here he just runs around naked while everyone else solves all of the problems. – 4/8 (Enjoyable)

#10: Tantei Opera Milky Holmes – Alternative One: Wtf… just, wtf. I was looking forward to this one, being a fan of the TV-show and all, but this one really took me by surprise: it actually takes itself seriously. Honestly: this episode was what Tantei Opera Milky Holmes would have been if they didn’t put effort into making a premise that stood out, and if they didn’t throw in that hyperactive nonsensical storytelling and just went with a conventional direction. There now is a male lead as well, for some bizarre reason. This just shows how easily Milky Holmes could have sucked, with a clichéd set-up, stupid mysteries and unremarkable dialogue. This OVA definitely was not good, but it reminded me why I became a fan of the TV-series. – 3/8 (Mediocre)

Edit: ah, that explains: the creators for this short are completely different. This episode didn’t have the original director, but instead we have the director of Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel. Things make a lot more sense now.

Hells Angels Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

I’ll get to Kyousogiga later today. First I want to talk about a sort-of similar production: Hell’s Angels; a 2008 movie that I finally managed to track down. Like Kyousogiga, it’s got a ridiculous amount of style, and even though it’s not as well directed as the former, it does have its charms to watch.

To get an idea of the style of this movie: it is animated by Madhouse and the character-designs have been done by Nakazawa Kazuto, the character-designer of Sarai-ya Goyou, Ashita no Nadja and Samurai Champloo. Pretty much one of the top 5 character-designers out there. The result is a really colourful cast with a lot of different and rugged looks. It’s not the best character-design work of this guy, but still: it definitely looks good. But what about the rest?

Well, right from the start this movie has one very apparent problem: it doesn’t care about dramatic build-up. It just goes from scene to scene to scene without any sort of introduction or slow moment, it just pulls scenes out of its ass and completely disregards trying to create a good flow in its storytelling. When characters need to be together, they just pop up completely from out of nowhere, even lacking scenes that hint that they might be nearby or are about to arrive. This is a very jarring problem for the first half of the movie. The second half of the movie gets more epic, and this problem disappears a bit, making place for a lot of cheesy dialogues. The strange thing however was that despite being cheesy, I was actually sold on this in that second half.

The plot ended up being surprisingly interesting, taking a few biblical stories and giving quite an interesting spin to them. On top of that, the it knows how to deliver an entertaining climax and i had a lot of fun watching it. The characters really had some troubles fleshing themselves out in the beginning,but thankfully they manage to fix that as the movie goes along (it IS nearly 2 hours long). It is a shoujo story, so there are quite a few clichés, but they’re creatively used.

So yeah, this is a good movie for if you’re having a movie night and want something light that looks good. This series has the style to keep you interested, and it has enough substance to not make this get boring within 10 minutes. It entertained me and even though it’s not among the best movies, it set out and did what it intended to do.

Storytelling: 7.5/10 – Throughout the movie, it becomes clear that the creators need to follow a few courses of screenplay 101, because there are a few basic technical issues with how this show jumps around way too much. Later on this gets better and it becomes quite entertaining, even though it can get a bit cheesy.
Characters: 8/10 – Good and likable characters. The female lead is a bit of a Mary Sue, but within the context of this movie it does fit. The cast of characters is also quite diverse.
Production-Values: 8.5/10 – Lots of style; great camera-work and character-designs.
Setting: 8/10 – Neat twist on biblical themes here.

Suggestions:
– Kyousogiga
– Alice in the Country of Hearts
– Hoshi no Umi no Amuri

The Manga Experiment – Week 35

by psgels, posted in Manga Experiment

Hotel – Ch.05: The fifth and for as far as I know last chapter of Hotel is only 16 pages long, and unlike the other chapters seems just like a place in which Boichi wanted to tell a short joke (comprising the first two pages) and draw some really pretty images (the other fourteen pages). The latter in particular are done in full-color and they are stuffed with eye candy. The storyline itself is nothing noteworthy, but it definitely looks nice.

Coelacanth – Ch.04-05: These two chapters form the middle part of Coelacanth (unless the manga is still on-going). The two main murder mysteries are now introduced, and these chapters mostly consisted out of character-development and hints that link the two together, albeit quite subtly. The author likes to weave contrasts together: the two seemingly unrelated murders, combining mystery with romance, involving both teenagers and adults. And then there is that sheep.

Shingeki no Kyojin – Ch.06-07: Holy crap this is intense. However, while reading these two chapters, there was something that bugged me: this series is about total despair, and then there is a character like Mikasa. Level-headed, the top of her class, and just about the only one who can consistently kill giants without putting in effort. She was too perfect and needed flaws, which thankfully sowed up at the end of chapter 7, followed by one heck of a plot twist that shows that things haven’t even begun yet.

A Lollipop or a Bullet – Ch.07-08: These two chapters continued this series’ streak of amazing chapters. Seriously, this is some haunting look on child abuse and neglect and I’m really quite shocked at the events here. And the great thing is that this wasn’t because of some plot twist, but rather because of the things we learned about the characters: realizing the terrible situations they’re in and how they’re trying to sustain themselves and trying to cope with it. Oh my god please tell me that the rest of this manga can be found translated somewhere.

Eureka Seven Ao – 18

by psgels, posted in Eureka Seven Ao

This episode… had a really good director. This really was a sharp episode, and even though it may not have had the animation of the previous episodes with their Itano Circus and all, I really enjoyed it even more.

It’s not apparent when you just casually watch this episode, but what the direction in this episode did was put focus on the direct environment around the characters. What the creators could have easily done was show Elena peoples walking down some random road. But no, the camera stopped specifically at a flower with really well animated lightingeffects. Nick and Ao could just as easily have a conversation between the two of them, but with that sloth distracting in the background it made the scene so much livelier. And this episode was just full of these details that brought life to these surroundings, and the best thing is that you can really see that the creators put time into placing them there. They’re inspired and creative.

Beyond that, the acting in this episode was also much sharper than usual. Often the characters delivered a ton of emotion and meaning with just one line, or even a simple facial expression. Or take the point at which Elena was consumed by anger: the creators actually twice used the facial expressions of her giant robot and her helmet respectively to strengthen portraying these emotions. This was the work of someone with a lot of passion for this series.
Rating: 6.5/8 (Amazing)

August Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

I’m not going to recap the manga I read this month due to a lack of screenshots that I have for them, but rest assured that I am planning a sort-of compilation post at the end of the season, including my highlights and overall impressions. In the meantime we go further with the Summer season, which really showed itself as a season of creativity. I’m watching a bit less than usual with only 17 series at the same time, but seriously, with the exception of Tari Tari, Saint Seiya and perhaps Rinne no Lagrange, all these series here stand out with their imagination and that’s a much, much higher share than usual. Especially considering how next season will be incredibly different: Fall 2012 will really be about quantity, with a lot of series that look similar to each other instead.

#17 (14) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (7.9/10) – Horizon’s selling point still is its boundless creativity, combined with bizarre politics with strange premises. That part is still rock-solid. I have a few issues with the cast though: at this point in the story they should be getting more interesting and lively with development… but I’m still not really noticing anything here, and to be honest this drags the show down a bit for me.
#16 (15) – Tari Tari – (8/10) – Tari Tari is a well done drama series. It’s nothing special, and a bit forced in the way that it jumps from character to character to show their development and story, but these stories do their job to flesh them out.
#15 (20) – Phi Brain – (8/10) – After having my suspense of disbelief broken for a few months, I’m back to enjoying Phi Brain again as it heads into its conclusion as it finally brings in some good character-development and the themes of saving the villains finally get somewhere. The sequel definitely had some balancing issues, but I’m glad that it managed to come together.
#14 (18) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8.1/10) – Whoa, this show has become much better this month! After long string sof rather boring fights, they are getting much more exciting now that the sakes are getting higher. I alos like how this show keeps track of its characters, and how it’s willing to go against “the party must stick together”-syndrome that a lot of adventure series have.
#13 (16) – Sword Art Online – (8.1/10) – Ah, Sword Art Online: brilliant setting, great acting from the main cast… but the main cast definitely needs some better writing to make them more interesting because at the moment this show screams a bit of wasted potential for focusing too much on Kirito meeting cute girls. Show some variety dammit!
#12 (10) – Moyashimon – (8.25/10)

Moyashimon had a string of episodes in which it lost its magic. The school festival arc was dull and for a while I just missed the chemistry between the characters that made me originally like the show. Thankfully this has returned again in the recent episodes, in which the characters were really enjoyable to watch again.

#11 (12) – Uta Koi – (8.25/10)

If I had one criticism for Uta Koi, then it is the animation. I get that it’s really hard to animate character-designs of this scale, and the budget for this series definitely is low, but the still frames do stand out a little too much and interfere a bit with bringing the characters to life. It’s a good thing that the stories it tells are still just wonderful. There is a ton of historical background and detail in this series, and the balance is just perfect: no character is overexposed, yet there are a few characters who get a bit of extra time to show how they changed over the years. And yes, episode 06 was awesome.

#10 (11) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8.25/10)

This show is building up to something, I can feel it. In the meantime there is random comic relief and time to flesh out the characters some more. At this point the cast of Rinne no Lagrange has definitely matured and changed. Now all that’s left is to use this.

#9 (13) – Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – (8.25/10)

Jinrui has improved nicely, in the way that the cast has become much more likable and the stories more interesting. This month also showed that the order of the arcs is completely random, which makes it also a challenge to puzzle together the real sequence of events. The setting with the fairies also is as strong as last month.

#8 (8) – Kokoro Connect – (8.4/10)

Kokoro Connect’s biggest flaw is that it sometimes focuses a bit too much on its drama, making it a bit one-sided. Said drama however, is really, really good and really aims to delve deep into the different characters. The characters clash wonderfully together.

#7 (6) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8.4/10)

While hilarious, this wasn’t the best month for Shirokuma Cafe. It had a few episodes which were too much about panda trolling, and the best moments weren’t as utterly hilarious as some of the earlier episodes. Still, there was enough to like, ranging from Polar Bear’s antics to the whole affair around Penko.

#6 (7) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8.5/10)

It’s unbelievable, but I’m only liking this series more as it goes on. It’s already in its third season, and it still feels fresh despite all of the content it puts in, and the jokes that keep coming are all new and original. I hardly see anyone mention or talk about this series, but I really look forward to watch it every week.

#5 (5) – Hunter X Hunter – (8.6/10)

Oh yes! With this month, Hunter X Hunter has really set itself apart from the rest of the shounen series. The Yorkshin arc has finally fully started and it’s great to see Kurapika in the spotlight. It’s great to see people actually working on jobs and acting that way.

#4 (4) – Hyouka – (8.6/10)

This month featured the conclusion for the school festival arc, and I have to say that Hyouka surpassed itself there, making the best with its focus on mundane mysteries. The stories that followed were also really good, making great use of the character-development that has been established at this point.

#3 (3) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8.75/10)

This show is confusing, to the point where I often find myself forgetting important plot points of episodes ago, but I kindof like that about this series and how it doesn’t want to hold your hand along the way. It also still has the best action of the season and the characters still keep this one going really strong.

#2 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9.1/10)

The only fault of this show is that sometimes, it is paced a bit too slowly. But heck, with how incredible the cast of characters has become, I really don’t mind that at all. The conclusion of the third round worked incredibly well and managed to bring the entire cast together, only ending with the message that we haven’t even started yet.

#1 (2) – Natsuyuki Rendezvous – (9.1/10)

This show knows what it is. This month really showed that it makes perfect use of its length of only 11 episodes with how much focus it puts on just one plot twist. This was wonderfully acted once again, and it already had some amazing pay-off as of episode 09. Heck, at this point I’m pretty certain that this will be somewhere in my top 2 of 2012.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous – 09

by psgels, posted in Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Natsuyuki Rendezvous, I applaud you! That was magnificent!

Now this is really how you do a dramatic climax. There was so much emotion in it, yet it was wonderfully restrained. The acting here was just brilliant. Everything in this episode was just leading up to that one moment in which Rokka would realize that for some reason Atsushi is back in Hazuki’s body, and they did so brilliantly.

The way they built it up also was amazing. Whilst Rokka was catching up to Atsushi (which is believable considering his mind has no affinity with being fast in any way), this episode kept showing flashbacks of the most memorable moments that the two of them shared together, which this series very nicely saved specifically for just this moment (now that I mention it: we never saw the flashback of the actual moment in which Atsushi died, right? That’s a wonderful touch right there for this series).

Beyond that I also really want to applaud the dialogue for this episode: that was some really well written stuff, miles away from the usual cliches. It felt fresh and captured the characters perfectly in how it described them. It also flowed so well with the actual animation. This episode didn’t feel like “okay, and now we have a bit of exposition”, but all the scenes flowed into each other, and did so incredibly smoothly. Dogakobo, where have you been hiding this talent for all this time?
Rating: 7/8 (Fantastic)

Moyashimon – 20

by psgels, posted in Moyashimon

This episode had something: chemistry. It’s the kind of chemistry that drew me into the second season of Moyashimon in the first place, and that had been unfortunately absent for a string of three or four episodes. I’m glad to see it back again.

It’s hard to describe what made this episode work, but the variety had a lot to do with it, how everyone split up in three groups that all did their own stuff, and how whimsical this all happened. There was one part romance, one part comedy and one part character-study and they went togehter really well. The animators also were quite good with their camera angles this week, which also really helped in bringing the cast alive.

I feel that this episode was really needed to keep this show from getting stale. The story from the blond girl about inheriting her family’s business: it was different from the usual things. You know, parents pushing their businesses down onto their children without much more detail. The story of her father and how her entire family is involved: I like that. Especially after watching so many episodes in which Haruka’s story was nothing really more than “girl gets forced to marry against her will”. That also got a bit more detail. It still is a bit stale compared to the wine girl, but at the very least it isn’t so damn cliched anymore.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Uta Koi – 09

by psgels, posted in Uta Koi

Sei Shonagon again, this time with the focus on her actual romance. This definitely was an episode for dialogue, because the two of them loved making quibs to each other and there were a lot of tongues in cheeks this week, along with nice historical details like how hats played such an important role in those days.

A difference between this episode was that it wasn’t necessarily about the constraining environment in which people lived back then, but instead it showed a different side of how things went on for the nobles and poets of those days. Sei Shonagon is a woman who has enough influence over people to make a difference.

Overall, Uta Koi has painted this nice picture of who the authors of the 100 poems were. It doesn’t stray too long on one of them, but it also picks a few of them to give a bit more attention than the others. Whether it’s the most exciting show though… that is unfortunately not the case. The fact remains that the acting still is quite wooden (although this episode wasn’t the worst example of that).
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)