Hyouge Mono – 16

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono



This was a fairly focused episode: most of it revolved around Furuta Sasuke visiting Tokugawa Ieyasu. This, after the pineapple incident when Oda Nobunaga was still alive. Once again it takes a unique approach to what would have been a political meeting by focusing more on the food that gets served and silly dances.

That silly dance was by far the biggest wtf-part of the episode. Silly dances are of course one thing, but in a series where the character designs are so much more detailed than usual, This episode was really a bit of a political game, and I also liked how Sasuke had huge troubles not following Tokugawa Ieyasu’s example with the pineapple and get into a fit of rage.

And again, this show handles deaths very well. This time, by not spending a lot of time to it, and just focus on the funeral of Sasuke’s brother. And again, to think that Sasuke already has two children. That’s another reason why the past season rocked: normally you never see an old protagonist, and yet here suddenly come two series with main characters who already have significantly old kids. Now the summer season brings in Usagi Drop, and I really wish that this is going to be the start of another trend.

But then again, I really doubt that Hyouge Mono will become a trendsetter. I mean, it’s got the ideas and all, but I doubt that it’s going to have the influence…
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Mawaru Penguin Drum – 03

by psgels, posted in Mawaru Penguin Drum



Okay, Penguin Drum has definitely made the best first impression of the entire season. There are just so many details stuffed into it that do an amazing job at fleshing the story out. The creators really nailed the dialogue of the stalker girl. Combined with the background music they did really well in portraying a young girl in love. The stalker part is there, but subtle enough to not take over her entire character. You don’t see that often with crazy characters.

This series also does a ton of things that play around with known tropes. I mean, at first sight it’ll look like this series will be moving around from side-character to side-character, and yet the OP and ED are full of apple symbolism. Much more than what you would expect if the character was just going to disappear once her arc is over.

I also really want to praise the creative symbolism here. The apples are of course the obvious ones (not just in terms of all the images, but also in Ringo’s apple curry for example), but that cat with that fish, or that cow suit also were great, or take the ads in the train that just keep changing with every episode. And the creators just continue to stuff details into that. I really feel like no moment of this show is wasted.

On top of that though, this series has also plenty of deep points. It’s like Kanba said: how far are they willing to go in order to protect Himari? There are 21 episodes left. I really suspect that this line will come to bite him back in time. At this point the Penguin Drum is still pretty much of a McGuffin, but will it remain like that?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

No.6 – 03

by psgels, posted in No.6



So, the obvious question when you start watching No.6 is: who are these people? Even in the second episode, there is this strange brown-haired guy who looks nothing like the guy on the promo material, although it also provided a big hint about what would suddenly cause this change in hair pigmentation. This episode indeed shows what caused it, and I really have to praise the creators for delivering one heck of an intense scene.

The second half of the episode pushed the story forward again, and put a huge emphasis on morals: letting the killer bees hatch will probably lead to the downfall of No.6 if they’re allowed to spread without being noticed during Winter. This will mean the end of a dystopian society, yet also it will lead to the deaths of countless of innocent people who are merely living their lives without knowing anything about the world. the big question right now is what has Nezumi so convinced that those sacrifices should be made?

I like how this series has a very strong concept of foreshadowing: it doesn’t necessarily have huge cliff-hangers, but instead it ends every episode with the promise of new major revelations. The first episode promised a ton of change and intrigue, the second episode promised the change in hair colour, and now this episode is promising that next week, we’ll learn about the truth of No6. After all, there’s no way that Nezumi is going to wait with that.

Also, regarding the soundtrack: it was the soundtrack that I was looking forward to the most after Dororon Enma-Kun (both show share the same composer), and it has definitely delivered. I especially like the kinds of bombastic soundtracks, and this one is both that and subtle and varied.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Steins;Gate – 16

by psgels, posted in Steins;Gate



This is one of those spoilery episodes. Spoilers I will be talking about below, so if you haven’t seen this episode yet it’s probably wise to just close this window and watch the episode. This line is to make sure that those spoilers don’t show up in blog aggregators.

I’m of course not talking about the identity of Suzuha’s father: Daru. I think it really was clear with the name of the time machine: if Okabe was really Suzuha’s father, then it’d have a really fancy and screwed up name, and yet her father just had to be an important character. I still think that Daru’s voice actor was a bit of a mis-cast. There was this one line where he tried to act cool, but instead sounded more like he does usually. Overall he just sounds strange, in a way that he’s forcing a different voice from his usual range a bit too much.

In any case though, what really struck me about this episode was Suzuha’s death, and how she failed to change the future for more than one percent. Throughout the entire scope of Steins;Gate, the concept of travelling to the future has never been hinted as plausible, and this episode really confirmed that it’s a one-way ticket. On top of that she also gave really strong background to the landlord.

I’m also fascinated at the complication that this has for the future. Especially since this episode was purposefully really vague on what else has changed: what happened to Makise Kurisu? What happened to the IBM5100? I mean: what was the reason why Mayuri’s death was evaded? I see three possibilities:
1. John Titor II never existed and he never gave Okabe the inspiration to experiment with time travel.
2. The message that Okabe received from himself scared him really badly and made him decide to abandon the time machine research.
3. Makise Kurisu never got involved and therefore the time machine is currently different.

I really suspect that a lot here is connected to each other. Suzuha travelled back in time, pretending to be John Titor probably was the cause that Makise Kurisu became a lab member. Interestingly, what would have happened if Okabe never went back in time to where Makise Kurisu was alive, back in that first episode? That also would have been a big setback for CERN. It’s also interesting how the time machine really seems like something that Daru would have built: one that focuses on sending stuff back to the past. It was Makise Kurisu’s influence who suggested sending thoughts back in the past, which so far turned out to be by far the most convenient time machine. I also suspect that that’s the reason why CERN was so easily able to take over the world.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Natsume Yuujin-Chou – 29

by psgels, posted in Natsume Yuujin-Chou



This really was a wonderful episode. The best of the third season so far. It’s focused on Natsume’s past, interestingly, and on the kids who used to bully him. They changed too over the years, and this episode focuses on one who came in contact with a youkai.

Again things are much different from what they seem at first. The guy seems the same jerk at first, but gets much more rounded as the episode goes on, the youkai goes from a cute girl to a monster to a weak cute girl again. It’s great character development, not to mention how confronting this was for Natsume: throughout the entire series he has been trying to leave his past behind him, and here it comes back to him. For the first time we actually got to see Natsume really uncomfortable. The creators handled it really nicely.

Three episodes in, and I have to say that the creators really nailed the consistency so far. Right now, the third season is somewhere in between the first and the second season in terms of how much I like it. What it needs now, is the kinds of episodes that make it stand out: the really well written and heart-warming ones, like the Hotaru-episode. There still is plenty of time to do that, so I really hope that the creators are going to make use of that. In any case this season has the big advantage of character-development.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée – 03

by psgels, posted in Ikoku Meiro no Croisée



Ah, this was really good. This episode was once again chock full of the main characters exchanging some of the things they grew up with, and the contrasts between them. Yune and Claude grew up in completely different environments, and between that it’s Claude’s grandfather who connects the two. Seriously, this is a premise you don’t see every day here.

They talked about all sorts of different stuff, like naming conventions, language, paper, housing. Oh, and I now know that rain in Japan lasts really long, compared to just the short outbursts of rain that we have in Europe. I also really like how Claude’s father talked in this “you should have been there”-way to Claude, as if he was urging him on to also travel once in a while. It was all really hard to imagine for Claude, especially in such an age where different cultures were relatively far apart from each other.

Apart from that though, you also really feel these characters live their daily lives. Claude spends quite a bit of time working, Oscar meanwhile is enjoying his retirement to the fullest, while Yune also is quite cute when she runs around the house. The dialogue also feels really natural between them. this really is great. There’s just one big but here…

That rich girl… was by far the worst thing to appear in this series so far. I mean, she wasn’t exactly a carbon-copy of the “ojou-sama” you see everywhere, but she was really stereotypical nonetheless. I mean, Yune is great: she’s cute, but she’s not like the stereotypical moe girl who does nothing but whine and go after the main characters’ pants. Beyond being adorable, she’s polite, sharp and curious. She’s not annoying in the slightest. That rich girl really needs to shut up soon, though. Who found it a good idea to make her like that?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hana-Saku Iroha – 16

by psgels, posted in Hana-Saku Iroha



Before the actors arrived, I just couldn’t help but think that the entire movie thing was a scan. Then the actors arrived, and I’m not really sure what to think right now.

I mean, while I can buy a film crew making a movie in the inn (it does have a very authentic character, after all), I’m really not sure in what kind of mind the director was to promise important roles to the Kissuiso staff. Even weirder having the novelist assist with the writing… without an editor or even one meeting with the director about what he should write. Then there was that pool thing: why bet on something of which you have no idea how much mold it has accumulated over the past 20 years? (Also, please tell me that that isn’t going to be an excuse to have a pool episode in the near future…). It all seemed way too convenient, and more like this suspicious guy coming onto Ohana’s uncle with this shady deal that required 10% of the Inn’s income.

But no, the actors came, and it actually really looks like the director is just quirky. We’re going to have to wait for the next episode to really see the points it was trying to make, but the focus on Ohana’s uncle was really good. On top of that, this went further on the troubles of a small inn. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the inn ended up going out of business for the climax of this series.

I do have a bit of criticism at this point though, especially when comparing this series to Ao no Exorcist. I know that it’s a bit weird to compare slice of life to shounen fighting and all, but I’m especially referring to the light-hearted scenes (again, this show knows how to do drama correctly): with Ao no Exorcist, I really noticed the light-hearted scenes get more interesting and enjoyable with every episode, as you can see the cast grow. With Hana-Saku Iroha though… this still is more of the same. Those kinds of scenes weren’t really interesting in the first half, and little has changed in the second half I’m afraid.

It’s not really the fact that nothing happens: I have really enjoyed far slower series in the past. But like that scene where Ohana was trying to fly on a broom, or when they were cleaning the pool… it just… didn’t feel right. Too forced, even.

What’s also jarring is that now that I think about it: the second half so far didn’t really have much character development for the main cast. The past arc developed Yuina and her fiance quite well, in Kissuiso (whenever things aren’t happening), things are changing too slowly. Perhaps the biggest change in the main cast is that Minko is less annoyed with Ohana. Compare that to Tiger & Bunny, taking a look to give a ton of new insight to vital characters, Ao no Exorcist who introduced a bunch of new characters to spice things up, Steins;Gate with its plot twists or Hyouge Mono, where [SPOILER]. There seems to be too little movement in this series, and the fact that this is slice of life shouldn’t have anything to do with that: it has enough drama to have made something interesting out of it.
Rating: * (Good)

Ao no Exorcist – 14

by psgels, posted in Ao no Exorcist



Another Gasshuku. While I’d like to complain about repetition, this episode once again was really enjoyable. And heck, for the first time it actually stressed teamwork. The characters came up with a pretty good plan that utilized a lot of their potential powers as well, in a much different way compared to the previous Gasshuku.

Still, while in the previous Gassuku Rin and Shiemi got to show off, this time it was the turn for Konekomaru and Ryuuji to shine. Especially Ryuuji with the way he kept mumbling his incantations and his plans at the same time was pretty interesting. Beyond that there also was a lot of really good interaction between the characters once again, which made for an all around enjoyable episode.

What’s also interesting is how there were two people who remained alone. This episode showed either Izumo or that mysterious blond guy who hardly talks in trouble. If I had to guess, then it’d be Izumo, because of how easily those moths tore up Shiemi’s summoning paper. I think that this time, Shiemi also was completely useless, or useless in terms of combat. The creators know that she isn’t strong, but they kept finding interesting way for her to be useful in order to not have her fall into the “damsel in distress”-role. This time though, she pretty much was bait: first to attract some of the protagonists together, and second to lure that lantern across the river.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Tiger & Bunny – 16

by psgels, posted in Tiger & Bunny



Holy crap, what a plot twist! Compared to the light-hearted episodes of the last two weeks, this episode was really dark. It didn’t just reveal Lunatic’s background, it also put a completely new spin to this series.

There have been plenty of hints so far that the city of Sternbild is corrupt and closely linked to Ouroboros, but there is one thing that always stood solid as the epitome of goodness: Mr. Legend. That’s exactly what he was though: a legend. His history was written so that he really stands out as a heroic figure, completely masking his flaws. It’s also not like he turned out to be some sort of Ouroboros Mastermind, and during his glory days he probably did some amazing things. He was the one who popularized the hero business after all, and inspired countless of people. Sure he was probably influenced by corporate strategies, but even then he himself had a huge influence there.

And then his powers declined, he started drinking and beat his own wife and son so badly that his son (aka Lunatic) ended up killing him.

What’s more: this episode also rocked because of the huge contrast between Kotetsu and Barnaby. I mean, they already were opposites and all, but right now, Barnaby is going though his glory days, while Kotetsu is about to leave them with the loss of his powers. Tiger in a way is very similar to Mr. Legend, his great example, so I’m really not sure what the creators have in store for him. Like I said before, it would really be interesting if he really were to lose his powers. At this point there have been no hints whatsoever to power upgrades, so it would be a bit of a shame if something like that ended up solving his problems.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Yona Yona Penguin Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews




Rintarou. He’s one of my favourite movie directors, only surpassed by Satoshi Kon (and perhaps Hayao Miyazaki, but that’s more because Hayao Miyazaki is incredibly consistent, while Rintarou most definitely isn’t). Yona Yona Penguin was his latest work, so I’ve been wanting to check it out for a long time, but it just didn’t show up anywhere. After watching it, I can sort of understand why: it’s a kids’ movie that’s completely different from any other series he has directed or worked on, and entirely in 3D CG. I really liked it, though.

Now, Yona Yona Penguin is neither nowhere near Rintarou’s best nor his worst work. It is merely a whimsical really young kids adventure: the main character is around six or seven years old, and the entire movie has this mentality. It doesn’t try to be anything other than that (a mistake that actually a number of other movies of this genre did make, like Haruka and the magic mirror for example), and just focuses on delivering a heartfelt and adorable adventure. And succeeds.

Let me get this out of the way here: Yona Yona Penguin is absolutely adorable. The main character runs, jumps and dances around the entire movie in a penguin coat. The soundtrack is as whimsical as the premise of this movie and only makes her even more fun to watch. She’s really just an innocent child who likes to play around, yet also is serious enough to know when not to goof off and continue on with the plot of the movie. A plot that seems simple at first, but becomes surprisingly heartfelt after a while due to a number of simple but interesting twists.

Rintarou’s experience also really helps during the finale of this movie. I mean, you shouldn’t expect anything as amazing as Metropolis or anything, but nevertheless the climax of this movie is beautiful wonderfully atmospheric. This is something where a lot of other movies don’t know how to deliver, but here it’s the highlight of the entire movie.

It’s a kids’ movie, but if you’re looking for something really innocent, then this fits the bill. Just know that it’s entirely based on kids’ logic: it’s not supposed to be logical…

Storytelling: 9/10 – Ah, why not? This has a childish innocence that a lot of other kids’ movies and series lack, and even during the dramatic parts, it never lets go of this innocence.
Characters: 8/10 – They’re kids, and the characters feel like kids. At first they’re simple, but the movie gives main cast some surprising depth.
Production-Values: 8/10 – 3D CG entirely, which doesn’t look as good as regular 2D animation, but it still has a number of gorgeous scenes. The soundtrack is also really excellent.
Setting: 8/10 – Actually a ton of creativity went into this, from the backgrounds to the world it’s set in. It’s imaginative, yet retains its simplicity.

Suggestions:
– Andersen Monogatari
– Swan Lake
– Metropolis