Gosick – 16

by psgels, posted in Gosick



Yes! That’s the right direction, Gosick! These are the stories that I want to see. This episode was once again excellent, and focused exactly on what this series is good at. This really is the right direction for this series. Now don’t lose it!

Setting aside that this was probably the first episode f anime I ever saw that took place in Lithuania, this episode also showed Kujou at his best. He may have needed a little help to find out the place that Victorique was brought to when she was taken away from the academy, but I still loved how he pretty much did everything that he was supposed to do, and did not get bogged down by stupidity.

The train journey was also wonderful. It’s a great and down to earth way to introduce the major characters, but it also was quite an interesting way for Kujou to socialize a bit with his fellow passengers. The build-up around Brian Roscoe was also excellent. Not to mention how this episode introduced a certain famous chess machine that was used: The Turk, who even defeated Napoleon Bonaparte. Sure, the time frame is a bit off, but it’s nevertheless pretty neat to consider the idea that someone (Brian Roscoe) actually rebuilt it at some point.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hyouge Mono – 05

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono



A new OP? Already? For a 39-episode series? The ED also got a make-over. That certainly was… random, and yet it gave a totally different feeling, even though the visuals stayed the same. Ah well, it probably has to do with some licensing issues surrounding the break-up of the band who sung the original opening theme. And I must say, for something that had to be done on such a short notice, it works surprisingly well.

This episode wasn’t mostly about Sasuke, but he still cracks me up whenever he appears. As someone obsessive over aesthetics, he first marvels over the beauty of a horse, only to later outright steal. I must say, it’s very subtle how he did it, but especially his face as he swapped the wooden stir thingies was priceless. Bee-Train have always been really focused on non-verbal communication, but this show is on a completely different level on that. It’s both really subtle, and straight at your face.

What this show is also excellent at is keeping up its atmosphere throughout these long conversations between two people. The music obviously really helps there, but it’s also the above-mentioned characterization that’s just excellent: characters aren’t just talking with words, but also with their expressions and gestures. That makes the talking in this series much more than just exposition for the sake of exposition.

Oh yeah, and I know that I just keep repeating this and all, but I just can’t get over it that someone actually had the balls to make this series. Beyond being really good, Hyouge Mono is also the most unique series that Bee-Train made since .Hack//Sign. It probably won’t turn this way, but I really hope that this series’ mindset catches on. And with that I don’t necessarily mean make more shows that are about old dudes talking, but rather the mentality to take risks: the mentality to just immediately plan out the full length of your series, or the mentality to try something completely different for a change.

My only criticism with this episode: recaps. What were they doing there, and more importantly: will they get annoying in the future?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-Tachi wa Mada Shiranai. – 04

by psgels, posted in Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-Tachi wa Mada Shiranai



What makes an amazing 11~13-episoded series is completely different from what makes an amazing 24~26 episoded series. The latter has time to build up and flesh out characters. The former however doesn’t need that luxury, and needs to deliver right from the start. And Anohana did that wonderfully: all four episodes so far have delivered, and all have been amazing so far.

The strength of this episode was that it took the heart-wrenching formula and added even more to it: a completely weird plot twist. When Hana-Saku Iroha did this with its third episode, it lost part of its charm, but this episode retained the tension and the emotional connection, while it also showed how Jinta isn’t the only guy member of the cast who completely lost it.

The awesome thing about this episode was that just about every character shined: Matsuyuki for insulting himself, Jintan for having the guts to actually try and talk to him, Chiriko for getting tired of him, Menma for consistently encouraging Jinta, Tetsudo for joining her and trying to keep the group together and Naruko for still trying to get Jinta to go out more. These characters all have their flaws, but this show always makes them play with these flaws.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control – 04

by psgels, posted in The Money of Soul and Possibility Control



It’s here where this series really shows that it’s more than just another pokemon clone. At least, until Pokemon starts turning into a series about economics. I mean, first of all taking away a guy’s kids when he goes bankrupt: that’s some pretty hardcore stuff, but this episode also really looked into why people go into the financial district, plus the difficulties in raising children.

The second half of this episode meanwhile was about reliability, something you also don’t see a lot on these fighting series. The best players are often just one-sidedly strong, while here it’s a bit more nuanced: the best players are the ones who are able to minimize their losses. It’s definitely a series that’s full of interesting ideas.

I have two complaints, though. First of all this episode introduced a lot of new characters who I doubt will able to get their depth within 11 episodes. Also, I’m still not sure why Kimimaro is the main character. He lacks… motivation. I’m still not sure why I should root for him, especially when he keeps winning through either dumb luck or other people helping him.
Rating: * (Good)

Showa Monogatari – 04 – AGAIN

by psgels, posted in Showa Monogatari



Ah, finally this thing appeared. It’s about bloody time. Seriously, I have been blogging anime for a long time, but I’ve only encountered one show where the raws took even longer to show up (some of the episodes of Porfy no Nagai Tabi). This series is not a kiddie show! It actually has very good characters!

In any case, this episode mostly shed lights on what would happen to Kanako in later episodes. In terms of romance, it was actually pretty good here. I mean, in this episode she fails, but she does actively try to ask him out. It’s not like she’s in denial about her feelings. It’s refreshing to see a romance that is more about the question “when will he/she grab the courage to confess”, rather than “when will they realize they’re into each other”. It’s also interesting how in the future episodes, she still is struggling with her feelings later on with the series.

Also, in this episode Kouhei wanted to watch a show called 8 Man. Yeah, that 8 Man. Heh, I nearly forgot that this took place in the year after the debut of Astro Boy.

On a side-note: it’s ironic that Kouhei’s friends have better voice actors than him.
Rating: * (Good)

Steins;Gate – 05

by psgels, posted in Steins;Gate



In this episode: the clear hint that the main characters aren’t what they seem. Makise Kurisu apparently did something to Suzyha Amane but this was somewhere in the future so she didn’t actually do that yet. In other words this episode was foreshadowing things that are about to happen. The interesting thing is that we were promised an dimensional time conspiracy thriller, and here this series is going “screw that for now, first I want to set everything up correctly!”

Now, the people of Cern are a bunch of idiots for storing reports that could cause a public outrage… on an unencrypted mail server. I mean, all you need is one hacker who is crazy enough to try and break into a world famous organization (which, let’s face it, is very likely to happen), and you’re screwed. It’s a good thing that Okarin is such a proud idiot that he refuses to let anyone else in on his discoveries. At the same time though, the way in which this show keeps talking about them but never shows who they actually are is definitely good for the mystery in this show.

Mayuri meanwhile… got on my nerves in this episode. It’s both that her voice actress is very monotonously ditzy, as well as how she hasn’t really been useful, has she? Amongst Makise and Okarin’s banter, and the knowledge of the other characters, she feels out of place. All she has is this sad past and all, but so far the plot would be exactly the same if she was simply removed. I hope that the creators are building her up for something other than just a damsel in distress.
Rating: * (Good)

Supernatural The Animation Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Supernatural The Animation



Supernatural was definitely an interesting experiment: produce 22 straight to DVD episodes, based on a popular American TV-series. Supernatural adapts the first two seasons of the Live-Action series, and delivers quite an excellent storyline in the process.

The series is episodic, and follows the “First half Random stories, second half plot”-format. In the first half it takes a look at all sorts of supernatural phenomena, and it always tries to make things more or deeper than what they seem at first. Some stories are better than others, but they always make sure to also build up to an overall storyline in some way, or give mode depth to the main characters. It really gets going however when the second half arrives and the characters and main plot go and stand into the spotlight. There is a ton of character development and every episode just finds some way of making things more interesting.

It’s a series that loves to give its own spin on familiar concepts. At first you might think that this show has a lot of tropes, but it always uses them significantly different from what you’d expect. This series is fresh, and makes use of it.

The big flaw of Supernatural is that at times the acting is a bit stiff, that leads to a number of cheesy scenes at times, especially in the first half of the show. As the series goes on though, the character development more than makes up for it. This series especially rocks in how it shows many different stages of the lead characters’ lives, This show doesn’t just have one flashback that shows about who they were when they were younger: it has a ton of them, and you can really see how the events they went through shaped their characters.

With very stylish visuals, Madhouse surely delivered on this series, after the disappointment that was Iron Man. The show looks gorgeous despite a tight animation budget, and it really has the plot and characters to make for an amazing watch.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Excellent version of the “first half random stories, second half plot”-format. Knows how to tell stories with twists and uses them really well.
Characters: 9/10 – Terrific character development.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Not consistent and has problems with making characters move believably, but the visual style is definitely impressive.
Setting: 8/10 – Re-imagines folklore in quite an interesting way, and some parts are looked at with a surprising amount of detail.

Suggestions:
– Witch Hunter Robin
– Rainbow
– Night Head Genesis

Supernatural The Animation – 22

by psgels, posted in Supernatural The Animation



The lead up to the climax of this episode was utterly amazing. Dean’s character in particular went through a leap of character development. “Getting shot right before the ending”-twists are common, but this show has actually been building up to. Sam actually died back there, and like, immediately, however, the previous episodes made it very clear that it’s possible to revive someone with your own life, and Dean had to beg for it even more than usual. Dean made one heck of a decision to just live one year for the sake of his brother, especially after his father gave his own life so that he could keep living. That really made this episode for me.

As for the actual climax: Jake indeed was a great villain here. After that though… the creators unfortunately did pull a number of Deus ex Machina. Sam now got his powers much more under control, but the most notable was that ghost of their father showing up at exactly the right time to get rid of the yellow eyed demon. It’s a tad too conventient for a) the Yellow Eyed Demon not firing off the final bullet (he only wanted the Colt, not its bullets), b) their father knowing where the gates of hell were, INSIDE of hell, and 3) the yellow eyed demon being scared of ghosts. Sam coming back and his powers: okay. Those were built up. Unfortunately we never really got an in-depth look into the yellow eyed demon himself. We never really learned about the nature of hell. That hurt this episode.

Overall, the thing I hated about this series the most is its release schedule: airing at these batches of six at a time was… a bit too much at times. It is that this was a great series, but the next time such a thing happens I’ll probably write some sort of compilation post. And don’t get me wrong: it’s great to have three series with an irregular schedule in half a year (Mitsudomoe 2, Moshidora and Supernatural): these are the series that need to be successful in order to get rid of that weakness that anime tends to have, when they are too constrained by having a fixed amount of episodes. Just don’t make me blog 22 episodes in three months anymore…
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Supernatural The Animation – 21

by psgels, posted in Supernatural The Animation



Oh, this really was an excellent semi-final episode, which subverted quite a few tropes in the process. This really was fresh and imaginative. It came with great twists and yet it delivered even more in terms of the characters.

I loved how down to earth this episode was. Usually anime use these semi-final episodes to build up for an epic finale, but this episode instead was quiet and slow-paced, even though it did build up for the bad guy trying to take over the world. The atmosphere was excellent because of that, especially because this episode brought back some of the best side characters of the series. It’s just a bloody shame that so many of them died so quickly. Not because it’s bad storytelling, but rather that I’d love to have seen more of them. That’s a compliment here.

I also really like how this episode toyed around with the “chosen one”-tropes: at first it indeed seems that Sam was the chosen one, where his powers would be the strongest of all characters in the series. But here we have a girl who can kill people on touch, and… a guy who is so strong that he just punched a hole in Sam. Sam may have been able to blow up a deer and all, but in terms of actual control he’s pretty much the most useless of the bunch who were transported to that ghost town, destined to fight to the death.

The question for the final episode has suddenly gotten much more interesting. Jake is an excellent villain here to use there, especially because it still remains the question what he’ll end up doing. He only was introduced 2 episodes ago, but his military background actually worked out really well here.

I really love supernatural’s plot. My only criticism for this episode: stop talking triumphantly about your evil plan when there’s still a gorilla of a soldier walking around!
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Supernatural The Animation – 20

by psgels, posted in Supernatural The Animation



Ah, the episode where a character gets possessed and is forced to live in a completely different world. I have to say, Supernatural did an amazing job on it. This was definitely among the better episodes of Supernatural.

Throughout the series Dean’s character has always been about how his family changed as he grew up: first he lived happily along with his parents, then Sam was born, then his mother died and he was forced by his father to become a hunter, then Sam grew up and went to College, only for Jessica to die, his father to disappear and him to travel together with Sam, with eventually his father ending up dead. Before he already got a chance to change this fate, but this really takes the cake, showing exactly what would have happened if none of that took place.

It’s got nothing to do with the plot, actually. It’s just there to give more depth to Dean, and it’s definitely an interesting way to spend the episode before the big finale. It’s especially interesting that Supernatural indeed will only have a two-episode climax. That will make it either short, but sweet, or a complete rushed disaster. If the creators can pull it off though, it can get an amazing ending. The big question is whether the creators will find a fitting end for the now God-Moded Yellow Eyed Demon.
Rating: *** (Awesome)