Monster Review – 95/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

And with this, I’ve finally finished this behemoth of a series. Aside from LoGH, this probably is the most critically acclaimed anime out there. And by GOD, I do agree with that consensus.

I already noticed when watching Master Keaton, how much research its author, Naoki Urusawa, puts into his stories and setting. The same influence can be seen in Monster. It’s completely different from Master Keaton, and yet both shows are meticulously well researched: its portrayal of Germany is fantastic, and like Master Keaton: everyone is a professional. This isn’t a series of impulsive plans: everyone all spends a large amount of time preparing and researching. This has two benefits: it’s incredibly believable what these guys do, and it fleshes out whatever they’re investigating brilliantly.

Now, talking about what makes this show so amazing is very difficult without delving into spoilers, so I’ll try to be as vague as possible with this review, as usual. Let me just say that this series has some of the best villains I have ever seen. Perhaps even the best out there. The only thing I’ll say about them is that their character development is just utterly fantastic.

Now, Monster is long. I have found that marathoning these long series, like most recently Hajime no Ippo and Legend of Galactic Heroes, that while they have some amazing parts, there are also parts at which it’s a bit of a chore to sit through with all of the build-up. And here is the thing: with Monster, I did not have that. It immediately starts off with an amazing display of fireworks, and even though it is paced very slowly, every episode delivers an interesting new twist to the story, and every episode had me at the edge of my seat. Even the build-up episodes are fascinating to watch, and in a personal way that really allows you to connect to the characters. It manages to avoid being repetitive by continuing to push its storyline in different directions, and introducing a wide variety of characters. Seriously, even the development of the minor side-characters has its flashes of brilliance.

On top of that, this show also has a stunning direction, use of music and audio. Masayuki Kojima has really shown that he can direct in pretty much any style. And heck, Ryousuke Nakamura (yes, the Mouryou no Hako guy) was actually the assistant director for this. The result shows, with an incredibly solid show that hardly ever shows any bad animation. The animation that’s there feels real and yet very intense when it needs to, and it makes very good use of its camera angles and fluidity. The music is also just perfectly timed.

This show is amazing. I’m very sure that this show is better than anything else that’s going to appear this year. Did it become my favorite series? Well, it’s certainly amazing, but near the end of its run it does lose a little steam, and the ending itself was excellent, yet left me hungry for more answers. It’s not like the ending is rushed, but because it wasn’t rushed it couldn’t answer as much as I had hoped to. Still, a spot in my top 20 favorite anime has most definitely been conquered.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Brilliant atmosphere and pacing.
Characters: 10/10 – Deep and diverse characters, both main and side. Fantastic development.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Perhaps not over the top or anything, but the animation is very refined and very realist, plus the soundtrack is terrific.
Setting: 10/10 – Again, meticulously researched. A very realistic and believable portrayal of Germany.

Suggestions:
– Gankutsuou
– Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette
– Mushishi

Hunter X Hunter – 20

by psgels, posted in Hunter X Hunter

First of all, I’m a bit puzzled about one thing. I’ve been reading a few reactions to the past arc, and there is one thing that has bugged me: what’s wrong with tournament arcs? It’s not just this series, but whenever a shounen series refers to a tournament arc, I always see some people complain about it. I do wonder why that is, though. It’s not like they appear all the time, and I consider them a great excuse to have a wide variety of different fights and battles. Especially series like Hunter X Hunter, which give a new spin to the whole set-up by having the losers advance. Personally I consider the big battle against the evil that is about to destroy the world worse than the use of a tournament arc.

In any case: this episode surprised me. There were a few parts that it could have done better, but it also had a number of very good parts. As for the disappointing bits: it’s a bit of a shame that they skipped over Kikkua and Hisoka’s fight, even though that was the perfect way to show their characters off. I also didn’t like the narrator at the end of the episode. The 1999 series also had people narrate, but when they did they did get into more depth about what was going on. This episode went “Gon is angry” at the end, and kept repeating that a few times. I mean, there is narration, and just plainly stating the obvious.

Killua’s brother however, was delightful. The creators perfectly captured the relationship between the two brothers, and in particular the parts where he threatened to kill Gon was really well executed. I also really like his voice actor here. My only gripe with this scene was at the point where he claimed that Killua cut his sister and mother and that his mother was crying. Leorio’s reaction to that was just completely weird: instead of being surprised that Killua attacked his mother, he was angry for the brother for telling the last part so nonchalantly. As if violently attacking your family is the most normal thing to do in the world. I mean, I know that the world of Hunter X Hunter is screwed up beyond belief and all, but I don’t think that it’s going THAT far.

Also, gasp! What happened to the soundtrack? In this episode I think we got to hear three new tracks, and all of them were really good. Especially the track that started playing when Killua’s brother started talking down on him and on how he was raised. Now that is much more like the Hirano Yoshihisa that I know. The track just kept changing and swifting moods with all sorts of different instruments. It still misses the catchiness of the 1999 series and Hirano Yoshihisa’s other works, but it’s definitely a step into the right direction. My best guess is that they used his most one-sided tracks for this first arc, in order to save the best for the rest of the series. That’s the only explanation of the random drum solo and the monotone upbeat tunes that sound absolutely nothing like what Hirano Yoshihisa is normally capable of.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Mouretsu Pirates – 07

by psgels, posted in Mouretsu Pirates

This was a build-up episode that was mostly meant to flesh out Marika as a pirate. She developed a bit, got used to her life as a captain, and continued with her education.

Bizarrely enough a lot of her jobs are to act as entertainment for large cruisers for a very heavy fee (oh, the insurance will cover things anyway). What struck me in particular is how it focused on human errors. Usually in science fiction settings, everything is managed perfectly. Here however, this episode stressed that there are humans behind these controls, and that these humans can make errors. We have no idea who they are, but by describing who they are and what they’re doing, they are getting fleshed out quite well. That’s very good for later on in the series. I also like the solid advice that they kept giving Marika. If anything, Misa Grandwood is a very good teacher.

The end of this episode also showed the first glimpses of the overall plot of this series. The small girl who snuck aboard the Bentenmaru. She will very likely be the catalyst that will trigger everything that’ll be happening for the rest of the series. I’m glad to see that the creators waited relatively long with introducing her, in order to allow the characters to play themselves out. And all that, while avoiding the big problems of building up: not being interesting.
Rating: * (Good)

Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – 18

by psgels, posted in Last Exile - Ginyoku no Fam

This was pretty much a build-up battle. Nearly the entire episode was dedicated to it, but it was just there to build up to the next episode, and the visuals also weren’t as good as with the major battle scenes in this series.

Probably the most interesting was actually Fam. Yes, I’m surprised to say this too, but for once she could act according to her role: a teenager who is caught up in the middle of a war, and who happens to be a really good pilot. With this, it’s natural to assume that she would try her best to help her side win the war, but this conflicts very much against her previous ideals of not wanting to kill others. Finally the creators actually made her torn a bit between this dilemma, and finally it seems like she is starting to understand the situation she’s in. In the second half she goes back again to trying to disable warships, but that’s completely in-line with her character, and for once she actually fails at doing this.

I might also have to correct something I said earlier. About a month ago, I found out that this series is supposed to have 21 episodes. I thought that that was with the recaps included, but the official website of this series seems to suggest otherwise. If I understood things correctly, then there will be 21 regular episodes, 2 recaps, and one special episode (presumably at the end). This episoe at least makes more sense that way: with three episodes left, this wasn’t the kind of finale buid-up that I’d expect, with the main villains doing… absolutely nothing. With two extra episodes focusing on the side villains like here though, it makes sense.
Rating: * (Good)

Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – The Sacred Star of Milos Review – 82.5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood

Out of the entire FMA franchise, the worst part for me was the movie to the first season. It just mad eno sense, was badly animated, especially for movie standards, mad a mockery of the characters and the plot, and overall wasn’t the least bit enjoyable. Thankfully, The Sacred Star of Milos is nothing like that, and is actually a pretty good movie.

Let me first debunk some overall fears that arose with the announcement of this movie: do you remember how in the promo art, Winri looked really inaccurate to her designs in the other series? Well, that is because that wasn’t Winry at all. She’s a character original to this movie, and pretty much the main character. I know a few people who were turned off by the art style of it (yeah), but let me tell you that that is no reason to skip this movie. One thing that you do need to take into account that this IS made by different people as the anime staff, so the animation IS different from the style of the TV-series. The character designs in this movie are a bit more rough and simple. This movie also doesn’t really bother to keep its faces consistent. As a tradeoff however, ti did get a lot of very good inbetween animation. It’s been said before, but this movie has some very good action, and especially the choreography of the different action scenes is very good and creative.

So, what about the story? As it turns out, this takes place around the second half of the Brotherhood TV-series. It’s an original story that doesn’t have anything to do with the main storyline of the series, but it does flesh out the world the world it’s set in. As for the plot: it has some good and bad parts. The good parts was that it packed a good amount of twists that were well built up throughout its airtime. It created a new city in the FMA universe, and actually successfully populated it and created an epic storyline around it. Although… near the end it does get a little too epic.

What I mean by that is the following: you can really see that the creators put some good thought into some of the twists that are pulled. Near the end of the movie however, they just run out of time and momentum to keep that up, resulting in a rushed ending and a final villain with very flimsy motives who continues to spout random moral crap at the main characters. The themes and morals also are a part where this movie leaves things to be desired. Like the TV-series, it’s full of morals, and it doesn’t just copy them, but also adds in its own themes. At the end of the movie though, it didn’t really do anything with them, and most of the final quarter was just completely inconsistent with the morals it tried to build up, and not in a way that makes things come together.

So yeah, it’s a very nice movie, which unfortunately suffers of the common flaw of trying to do too much and trying to be too epic. Still, I’d recommend it. It’s a solid movie with likable characters, and I’d say that out of the Primetime Timeslot movies to come out in the recent years, it is so far the most solid and enjoyable.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Solid storyline for a movie that is just about a random story, albeit a bit too short to give everything the time it needs to build up.
Characters: 8/10 – A solid cast, both the old and new characters. The main villain is flimsy, though.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Great action choreography.
Setting: 8/10 – Doesn’t build much on the themes of the TV-series, but does flesh out the world it plays in.

Suggestions:
– Cowboy Bebop – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
– Heartcatch Precure Movie
– Metropolis

Inu X Boku SS – 06

by psgels, posted in Winter 2012 Kaleidoscope

So, with Black Rock Shooter still in build-up mode, Ano Natsu coming with that horrid beach episode and Smile Precure still in introduction mode, I do have to return again to Inu X Boku. And don’t get me wrong: I have major issues with this series, but despite that, it’s consistently able to put a smile on my face.

This sixth episode was special: it was the first episode that didn’t introduce any new characters (aside from random classmates perhaps), and instead focused on Karuta (the skeleton). And with that, it did a surprisingly good job. At the very least, Karuta just was completely adorable in this episode. And on top of that, I also feel that the rest of the cast emerged from the better.

Still, my big issue with this show still stands: this is a David Production series, and it lacks ambition. Ristorante Paradiso was a unique look at the Iyashi-kei genre with a ton of really old characters who were all very well depicted, Armed Librarians was an awesome roller-coaster ride with awesome storytelling, Level E was one of the best comedies of the recent years, and Ben-To pushed the boundaries of the fanservice comedy genre. And here we have Inu X Boku… where we follow a bunch of half-youkai. This charm of the characters is nice, but this just isn’t up to their usual standards. Of course, it’s far from their worst (I mean, Dogs was an awful OVA), but still: I’d hate them to turn into another Manglobe.

Also, main character: the next time try to confirm that the monster you killed is actually dead… before turning your back to it.
Rating: * (Good)

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes – 19

by psgels, posted in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

And then there were none.

Oh my god. The series has been building up to this point for quite a while now, but today, it’s finally time: this was the episode in which Henrietta finally snapped. The result is a completely action-packed episode in which she single-handedly kicks everyone’s asses in a gloriously badass episode.

This is how you do action. After about five minutes of build-up where Henrietta gets drunk on what looks like ice tea, the rest of this episode was pretty much one big action scene in which the entire cast gets beaten by the main villain when she finally stops being polite. The action was full of creativity, and especially Henriette versus her three subordinates kicked ass. Some other highlights include firing off Kokoro in order to destroy the entire school, and Henrietta getting so angry with Milky Holmes that she actually punched the entire earth. The symbolism also featured some nice touches, with the highlight being the last supper. I didn’t think that the creators would end up comparing Henriette to Jesus…

Heck, this show is pure entertainment. This is what I’m looking for in these kinds of series: the shows that really try their best to be creative and try out new visual things. Sure, it’s incredibly stupid, but I’m enjoying the hell out of this series. I do want to stress that it’s not as good as Level E last year: that one had an actually compelling story, setting and characters on top of being hilarious, while here the overall conflict and setting are quite simple. So no, it’s not going to be a comedic classic. A really entertaining roller-coaster ride though? Most definitely!
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Mirai Nikki – 18

by psgels, posted in Mirai Nikki

Apologies for the delay. In this season, it’s sunday that’s the crazy day, in which five shows that I’m blogging at the same time, and my sundays are often completely booked in real life. When I need to catch up on these series though, I do want to prioritize on the shows that captivate me more. With that, I don’t mean that Mirai Nikki is bad. It’s a fun show, but it didn’t capture me in the way that the other shows that I’m blogging are doing.

After 18 episode, I think I’m pretty sure of the reason why: the complete lack of good side-characters. Looking back, even Seventh were just one-sided over the top lovers. Everyone that Yukiteru and Yuuno faced was one-sided and in the end not very interesting. Only ninth got even close to being a bit of a dynamic character, but even that was bare-bones and ultimately not very rewarding. At this point, eight of the diary owners have died, but what did they really accomplish anyway? That’s pretty much my big criticism of this series.

This episode meanwhile was all about Yuno and Yukiteru. So yeah, these problems didn’t really apply to it. Yukiteru’s father again was a very one-sided character until nearly the end of his life, but at the very least his death had a very clear meaning for Yukiteru. In this episode he really snapped and actually killed someone (unless of course they’re going to play the same crap was when they did when he first shot that officer…). There was a lot of character development on Yukiteru this episode. On top of his feelings for his father, I also liked how they showed a bit of his past, and how he actually had a crush that he confessed to (and actually was turned down).

Also, we finally got to know Yuuno’s background. With six episodes left, it’s about time they did that, but at the very least this explains why she ended up as crazy as she did: parental abuse. A good reason, and Yukiteru was there at the right time for her. This episode tried to be a bit mysterious to the third corpse that Yuuno carried, but I bet that it was that girl that Yukiteru confessed to. This is anime. A female who once has been hinted towards being a potential love interest will never be able to move on and have her own life.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Another – 06

by psgels, posted in Another

You know what? Everyone keeps praising Ano Natsu for its down to earth romance, but with this, I think that Another has beaten it. Especially after Ano Natsu came with that awful sixth episode.

A large part of this episode just showed Mei and Kouichi casually talk to each other and about themselves, and surprisingly it felt really natural. There were no cliches like shyness or random fanservice, and for once the creators actually allowed them to talk. And holy crap. I just realized how not often such a thing happens: long conversations between love interests. There were also these small scenes of them looking at each other that were neat touches. The only thing that stood out as weird was that dance scene, but even there: I am so glad that for once the creators went with an original fantasy. Most of the time they just stick to males sparkling, and females undressing.

The second half fleshed out the basic premise of this series more. It’s interesting how there is one guy who pretty much has been with the mystery from the start, and also doesn’t really have anything to hide. Instead, the creators used this artificial amnesia to create most of the mystery after this point: traces of the ghost that it’s trying to hide in order to stay unnoticed. It’s in any case established that the death of Kouichi’s mother was something special. In the meantime though, we have a teacher going crazy.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Natsume Yuujin-Chou – 46

by psgels, posted in Natsume Yuujin-Chou

This arc was just wonderful. Here once again, Natsume’s character gets pushed forward. Before, he kept worrying and worrying about involving his friends in the youkai world, which is why he kept trying to distance himself. This time though, Tanuma actually gets hurt because of this, and actually would have gotten killed if it wasn’t for Natori. With this, I now also get why this season needed to put in episode 44, about the younger classmate that Natsume met: she was supposed to be the lead-in to this story, showing how the people around Natsume have gotten closer to him. That’s slightly different from the third season, which really was all about Natsume.

I loved how this episode placed parallels between Takashi, Reiko and Natori: Natsume is actually walking a path that the other two couldn’t. Natori actually gave up on it, while Reiko actually failed to do it? Is that why she was so involved with Youkai and kept stealing their names? Indeed, in the flashbacks we’ve seen her in, she always was with youkai. We’ve never seen her before with other people.

This episode also had some very expressive animation. There really were a lot of different youkai in this episode, and there were some scenes in which the characters looked really dynamic. It’s interesting how Brains Base have gotten better and better at animating this series here.
Rating: *** (Awesome)