Dragon Crisis – 03

by psgels, posted in Dragon Crisis




As of this post, Showa Monogatari is being degraded to “Sporadically Updated”, because I have no bloody clue when its final two preview episodes are going to air. I am going to blog it properly once it airs in the upcoming spring season, though. It seriously needs more attention, because it’s exactly the series that anime needs at this point in order to diversify again.

Now, obviously Dragon Crisis has a lot of flaws, Kugimiya Rie being one of the major ones (granted, any voice actress would have been annoying with such a character, but it still doesn’t really help to have her as her voice). The reason I’m choosing this over Gosick is that the cumulative good points impressed me more. Gosick has its creativity, but that’s also about the only thing that has impressed me so far. Instead the characterization is bland and it leaves a lot to be desired when revealing its mysteries.

I think the difference in characterization is best illustrated throughout the male leads. They both have their own backstory, and both are rather girly. Dragon Crisis however acknowledges that its main character is just a kid, while Gosick doesn’t: the male lead jumps back and forth between an annoying whiny brat and a chivalrous hero, while Dragon Crisis looks much more into the characters of its main character and the reason why he refused to do anything at the end of the previous episode: I mean, we pretty much have this kid who is being forced at such a young age to do really dangerous stuff, just because he happens to have crazy parents and huge powers. The expectations that were placed on his shoulders are huge, and for once a show actually tries to highlight that, instead of taking it for granted that a young kid is supposed to be this big hero.

In exchange… the setting doesn’t make any sense. I mean… I still have no clue how Rose ended up in that suitcase if she said earlier that she specifically meant to go to Japan in order to see Ryuuji. Ryuuji’s parents suck as well for failing to give him a safe environment to grow up in. And I mean, this is the umpth wish fulfillment show that we’ve got here, in a world in which dragon princesses hatch in eggs in the middle of nowhere and bond with the first person they lay their eyes on.

The action of this series and especially the use of CG is really sweet, though. This episode as well: the soundtrack and animation both are excellent. Especially considering how we’ve got Studio Deen here. This show really looks unlike any other show they’ve produced so far.

Right now, the biggest potential pitfall is when it goes into something I’d like to call “kidnap ping-pong”, in which Rose just keeps getting kidnapped, waiting for Ryuuji to save her over and over again. I mean, I can understand a storyline that revolves around Ryuuji and Rose protecting each other from the dragons, but please make it a bit more varied than that.

Obviously the end of this episode was annoying and quite sappy. And yet, it also felt surprisingly genuine to me. I can’t really put my finger on why that was, but it’s another of the reasons why I decided to pick up this series.
Rating: * (Good)

Level E – 03

by psgels, posted in Level E



That. Was amazing. Seriously, this show completely blows 95% of all comedies completely out of the water. These past three episodes have been absolutely fantastic.

I was really wondering how the creators were planning to top the first two episodes. Somehow, they did, with one heck of an awesome anti-climax. To think that a show would start with an introductory arc that was pretty much one big joke, I just love the guts that this series has. All of the build-up and the bloody drama of the previous episodes was rendered completely useless. In the last episode I noted how this series really knows how to plan ahead. I didn’t think it would be to such an extent, though.

I also remember noting how, before the twist, some of the aliens were acting a bit weird, and how the Diskonians were getting a bit too one-sided when their attack begun. To think that they were all acting this. Even the prince’s outrageous behavior now totally make sense when you think that throughout the entire airtime of these first three episodes, he pretty much was nothing but being one giant troll.

What also made this such an amazing episode was the characters who were on the receiving side of the prank. You could really see that that prince completely got on the nerves of his three subordinates and it was completely awesome to see that one bodyguard’s eyes twinkle at the prospect of getting to kick the prince in order to attempt to restore his memory.

The time-skip of three months is also getting interesting (I also like how the main character actually got a tan from practicing outside so much). After this the main storyline should probably start. With this kind of series, it can really be anything. Level E has been by far my favourite show this season, and to think that this only was the introduction. Seriously, it’s been a long while since I’ve seen a show that had SUCH a good start: there have been plenty of series with excellent first episodes, but the ones who can keep this up for three whole episodes are really rare.
Rating: **** (Fantastic)

Heartcatch Precure – 48

by psgels, posted in Heartcatch Precure




There are some series that leave their climax for the final episode. There are others that put the climax in the penultimate episode so that they can use the final one for an epilogue. Heartcatch Precure… to be honest I’m not sure into what category it falls. This episode ends at the exact point where Dune gets pummeled by the ultimate Precure attack. At this point it’s not yet certain whether the creators intend the final episode to be the aftermath of that battle, or whether he still manages to pull some sort of trick out of his sleeve.

Either way, whichever case it may be, this episode was just awesome. The first half was entirely dedicated to Yuri, her father and Dark Precure. And I mean, Christ: people actually died in a kids’ show! The creators didn’t chicken out from this controversial topic, in which most kids’ show refuse to show anything in that direction thanks to censors. It’s awesome to see how much screentime Yuri has actually gotten in this finale: I mean, she really was the main character of the final few episodes of this series. That is just awesome. I know that this series’ fault is that it adheres to a ton of mahou shoujo cliches and all, but for every cliche it follows, it also excellently subverts one.

The creators here really set up the perfect prototype for the mahou shoujo of the new decade and I really hope that it inspires many more mahou shoujo to really put effort in its visuals, characters and stories, because it was really a genre that was about to die out before Heartcatch Precure aired (and this is coming from someone who at one point used to be a big fan of the mahou shoujo genre, and this series definitely reminded me again why).

The second half of the episode was the battle against Dune. It’s not like it got a better budget than usual, but dear god, the animation really was gorgeous, and the action was worthy of this series climax. The action was over the top, and yet not too crazy, and the art too was gorgeous during the busy parts (I love it when the creators sacrifice their character models in favor of fluidity and dynamics).

I do have one point of criticism here though: Dune. The next episode may prove me wrong, but unfortunately he remains a flat final villain who is just evil for the sake of being evil. I really would have loved to see the creators gave the same kind of depth to him that they gave to the other characters, but alas. The final fight against him also made him much weaker than what he once used to be, but I’ve seen much worse in this area.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Star Driver – 16

by psgels, posted in Star Driver




And that takes care of the second act of this series. And it really was an awesome way to do it! Mizuno had a great episode here and her character developed even more from what it did in the previous episode and we finally get to see Takuto’s past as well!

I’m really starting to suspect that Head somehow has the ability to stop time as his first phase. Or at least, that would fill in the plothole of why he said that his father was the painter R. In this episode, it becomes clear that the entire reason he swam over to the island was because he wanted to punch his father. And this is where Marino comes into play: on top of being a great character, her case also relates to that of Takuto.

Also, here is a question that has been bugging me for quite a while now: why are there only two seals broken at this point? I mean, it feels like the Crux Brigade has no intention of breaking Keito’s seal, even though this would have been quite convenient throughout… well… the entire series basically. The fact that they were only looking for the West Maiden shows that they knew about Keito and all, and yet they never even mentioned her as a maiden. What’s going on here?

In any case, the great thing here is that after this point, this show can pretty much go anywhere. We’re getting closer and closer to the point of this series that I’ve really been looking forward to. Furthermore, I HAVE SEEN Melody of Oblivion’s final four episodes. I know what a messed up sunovabitch Enokido can be when it comes to ending his series. My problem with Melody of Oblivion was that those final four episodes were just about the only thing about that series that caught my attention, but Star Driver has been much more solid and interesting at this point. It’s true that it could have been better during its first half, but it always was building up its characters, and fleshing them out. Now, if the creators really want to make this into a memorable series, the time has come to actually use this build-up. The past two episodes were a great start, but it’s definitely not there yet.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Heat Guy J Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews




I think it’s no surprise that my favourite director of all time is Kazuki Akane. If you look at my Top 10 favourite anime, this guy directed three of those spots, and even his flawed series of Geneshaft was fascinating science fiction. Now, I’m not going to compare Heat Guy J to his other series, though. The entire review would then pretty much look like “Yeah, the [insert element here] is very good, but not as good as Escaflowne, Noein and Birdy” over and over again, because as a standalone series, Heat Guy J has a lot to like.

Starting off, the action in this series is really good and also surprisingly varied. The animators here ended up experimenting with a ton of different styles for animating their action scenes, you have clean brawl-fests, there are fights with messy yet very expressive animation, there are gunfights, car chases, sword battles. This wide array of different styles makes every action scene here worth watching. If anything, just watch the first episode for some superbly directed and animated action. The soundtrack too is very excellent and varied as well. The character designs will probably take a while to (this and Escaflowne have the same character designs ;)), but once you do they too look great, diverse and imaginative.

The show is pretty episodic, and the ratio of random to plot related episodes is about 30 to 70, and even episodes that might seem random at first turn out to have some significance as the story goes on. Heat Guy J’s story is very much dependant on its cast of characters, which really is excellent. The acting is perhaps a bit stiff at times, but the entire cast grows into something lovable by the end of the series. All of the major side characters either get some significant development or an interesting back-story, and I especially loved how the final fight with the major villain at the end ties everything together, wrapping this series up very nicely without leaving any bad aftertaste whatsoever.

The series takes place in another one of those post-apocalyptic futures, but what’s interesting is that while most shows of this kind tend to have a very bleak and depressing outlook, Heat Guy J balances this out with also a lot of positive energy. On one hand, it delves into corruption and crime, but on the other it’s having fun and celebrating humanity’s collective ability to survive a harsh environment and making the best of what they have. This balance they create is great and definitely gives this show an interesting setting to work with.

So yeah, to get back to the first paragraph: this show has a lot of good stuff in it, though I also admit that it did not reach the heights of Birdy, Noein and Escaflowne. Most of the difference lies in the details, though: the latter ones were much better fleshed out and the only real flaw of Heat Guy J is its stiff acting at times, Still, it’s hard not to love the titular J and his constant one liners about what a real man should be, or any of the other characters for that matter.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Nice pacing, interesting stories.
Characters: 9/10 – Great and lovable characters with diverse backgrounds. Nice depth and development to them as well.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Excellent animation, especially during the action scenes. Awesome soundtrack.
Setting: 8/10 – Simple but effective. It’s well fleshed out at the end.

Suggestions:
– Noein
– DT Eightron
– Turn A Gundam

Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu! – 03

by psgels, posted in Mitsudomoe



Okay. Um. Mitsudomoe’s second season’s episodes so far have all been completely different. This is very good for a comedy, but this episode showed the bad side of this. I mean… it did just about every bad thing that the previous two episodes avoided so well. What the hell?

Last episode I noted how the previous two episodes now only made a sex joke when they had a genuinely funny one. This episode showed what happened to the bad ones. I mean, seriously: this entire episode was full of bad sex jokes. And a bad normal joke is bad enough already, but when a sex joke falls flat it’s ten times worse. To make things even worse, this episode also brought back the worst misunderstandings that were already milked out too much in the first season.

I mean, this was bad. Really bad. There only were three or four good jokes in the entire episode. Especially the triplet’s father suffered here: he went completely out of character for the sake of a bad nude joke (by far the worst part of this episode was when he randomly started to strip; when did this guy turn into a complete and utter moron?!). Another really bad segment was the earthquake test. Again, there is a fine balance between silly jokes and the utter stupidity that that segment devolved into.

I don’t think I have ever seen a comedy that jumped from this good to so outright bad from one episode to the other. Due to the random nature of this series I’m going to give this one one more chance next week. If next week’s episode is good and like these first three episodes completely different, then there’s no problem. If next week’s episode is as terrible as this one though, then the first two episodes were just flukes and I’m going to swap it in with Gosick…
Rating: — (Bad)

Letter Bee – 41

by psgels, posted in Letter Bee



This pretty much was an aftermath, entirely dedicated to the twist at the end of the previous episode. And boy, was it worth it.

Nearly the entire episode showed a search for where the heck Gauche went, along with what happened to Roda after she fell into that canyon. We actually saw some scenes of the previous episodes, from her own perspective, and learn that even she had no idea what happened to him. On top of that, it was also very nice of the creators to bring some of the characters from the first season back. It’s great to see how they have changed.

In any case, Gauche’s eventual appearance at the end of the episode really was worth the wait. This episode built that moment up really well, and really established that the entire heartwarming part of the previous episodes… was just an act. At this point, I do believe that Gauche got his entire memory back, but at the same time also refused to let go of his identity of Noir, even after receiving Lag’s letter.

I also guess that Gauche himself spent this entire episode, looking for Roda, who he probably spotted somewhere in the previous episode. It just shows how different “losing your heart” is in this series compared to its conventional meaning of being heartless and incompassionate, because I think it’s now established that Gauche really cares for at least Roda, and probably Lag as well (otherwise he would not have chosen such a subtle way to run off during the previous episode). “Heart” in this show seems much more like memories and its combination with the meanings and values of those memories, rather than the usual cheesy definition.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Bakuman – 16

by psgels, posted in Bakuman



Bizarrely enough, this episode ended with a twist from a bad soap opera, in which Character A walks in on Character B and C while they’re making out. It’s a good thing that there are no love triangles in this series.

Apart from that, it pretty much was the same old story here: this episode was slooooooow, but some stuff did happen: Akito dived into a bit of a writer’s block, Mio made her first appearance on TV and Moritaka is going to be the assistant of Nizuma Eiji during the summer vacation. That latter was probably the major development of this episode, but the fact that people actually kissed here also is a major breakthrough. As opposed to Moritaka and Mio, Akito and Kaya actually spend time together, which is a much healthier way to develop a relationship.

And yeah… that’s pretty much all I have to say about it. Normally with blogging I try to at least fill three paragraphs, but this is moving at such a slow pacing that apart from that I don’t have much to say about it, hence this fillery paragraph…
Rating: (Enjoyable)

OVA Impressions: Goulart Knights

by psgels, posted in OVA Impressions



I really don’t want to waste too many words on this: this OVA really was horrible. It’s another one of those terrible reverse harems that are just there to show off cute guys being cute and angsty.

It’s basically a project to promote a random group of upcoming idols. Now, they are completely talentless: they can’t sing and their acting is also terrible, but even the best voice actors in the world would not have been able to make such an abysmal script work. The dialogue is terrible, the writers also put no effort whatsoever in making this work and the entire premise of this one episode OVA was just laughable. And the character-designs…. oh god, the horrible character designs!

Probably the part that I liked most about this episode was the way in which the end of the episode continued to suggest how one of the characters looked like a girl, and yet they never even mentioned the girliest (and by far most annoying) character with the most ridiculous hair style I’ve seen in a long while. Yes, even the Hair Guy from Gosick looks normal compared to that white-haired kid. I mean, I’m really far from the target audience of this show…. but really?
OVA Episode Rating: 3,5/10

Wolverine – 03

by psgels, posted in Wolverine



It’s great to see that this series is actually getting slightly better again with this third episode. I mean, this show fixes so many of the problems that Iron Man had. Wolverine is quite unique as an anime protagonist, especially in this Winter Season, and thank god the creators actually make use of it. This is what I’m expecting of a superhero action series.

Both Iron Man and Wolverine had to find ways to balance their characters, and prevent them from being too god-moded, and it’s hilarious how badly Iron Man failed at this by turning into an ignorant wimp at times. There was really no tension to this character as you could completely predict when he would win and lose. Wolverine is different though: the past three episodes showed that he’s an unstoppable beast, and yet there are plenty of people who have more refined combat techniques. Everyone in this series actually has a different way of fighting. This episode also showed that with the help of his female side-kick, Wolverine can come up with quite some interesting ways to fight back, like with the Molotov cocktail bombing.

Above all though, I love how well this series makes use of its simple storyline in order to never really slow down. It always keeps the balls in the air. The action scenes are long, but not too long and make sure to provide new small twists in order to prevent it from getting stale. The soundtrack is even better than the one from Iron Man and really helps to complement the action. It’s a simple action series, and it definitely isn’t as well animated as some of the other action this season (Madoka Magica and Yumekui Merry in particular), but it’s definitely some good, clean fun that I dearly missed t Iron Man.
Rating: * (Good)