Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – 47

by psgels, posted in Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood



Contrary to the large scale of the past number of episodes, this one was nearly entirely focused on the group of Ed, Greed and those two Chimera. But that still didn’t prevent it from being as excellent as usual. I really have to admit that the way in which the action scenes of this series is written is stuffed with a ton of creativity. That fight against pride was really excellent, especially in the way that we finally get to see one of his major weaknesses.

What I also liked is how this series shows that not all human experiment victims are dissatisfied with their bodies, and want to go back to who they originally were. Like the two chimeras in this episode said: at times it’s pretty convenient to have such a body. With Al, it’s of course an entirely different story. Convenient as it may be to have a mechanical body, he’s completely under Pride’s control now, not to mention that the link between the armor and his mind can sever any minute now.

There was a little Deus ex Machina in this episode, though. While it’s awesome to see Lan Fan back, I do wonder how she 1) knew where Lin was at the time when Ed put a lot of emphasis on secrecy, and 2) knew where the heck she should look for in the total dark.

In any case, I’m expecting a very long finale here. I mean, the promised day is like what? The next day? At this point there still are 16 episodes left. Overall though, I’m very glad that for once we get a series that gets enough time to tell its entire story, rather than it being cut off at a random point.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Cross Game – 47

by psgels, posted in Cross Game



I’m not exactly sure why last week suddenly introduced a hiatus, but it was probably the Olympics. But seriously: it was SO WORTH THE WAIT. This episode was amazing, it was just one huge chunk of atmosphere. It was exactly what this series is best at. And on top of that the character-development is finally kicking in!

Despite the wonderful characters, Cross Game up to this point always suffered from two flaws: first of all the baseball (on which I’ve commented often enough), but the characters also were pretty static for most part after the first episode. Right now however, everything is coming together and you can really see how everyone’s evolving. Senda is growing up from the idiot he used to be, Kou, although this is very subtle, is also growing up and isn’t the kid that he once was. Aoba is throwing her Tsundere-side away, the bond between every character and Akane has also changed considerably from when we first met her.

I truly believe that this final arc is all about transcending into adulthood. Not necessarily about the increased responsibilities, but rather leaving the past behind, and growing up. I fully remember that a few months ago, I commented on how I couldn’t see this show surpass itself anymore after that point.

Well. I was wrong.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Cobra The Animation – 10

by psgels, posted in Cobra The Animation



So this is going to be the final arc that closes off this series, spanning the final four episodes. So far, I must admit that I’m intrigued: here this series comes and gathers 13 people for a mission… only to kill off more than half of them throughout this episode without any information whatsoever as to who they were.

The remaining ones are actually pretty similar to the group that was there at the mountain climbing arc: we have the token chick and assassin combined into one, then there’s the guy who bears a grudge against Cobra and the siblings are also there, although this time they’re less friendly with each other. The Geronimo of this story will probably be the King.

Despite the similarities, it wasn’t a boring episode at all. One of the reasons for that was of course the unpredictable bloodbath that occurred in this episode, but this arc also has a lot more time to get interesting, compared to the mountain-climbing arc that was just two episodes. There’s also that matter of who it was that called everyone, as none of the people who made it alive seems like a good candidate. The siblings are just too stupid for that, the bird wouldn’t call everyone together without knowing about Cobra, the woman would not have invited Chaos Troopers, and Cobra would have been a lot more careful with choosing who he wants to work together with, if something would cause him to have to find back-up for some reason.
Rating: * (Good)

Letter Bee – 22

by psgels, posted in Letter Bee



Finally, the main storyline is back! After 22 episodes, we’re currently at 13 chapters in the manga, it seems. With 37 chapters currently released, the second season will have no problems fitting those all in, provided of course that the manga will end in about a year or something.

I liked how this Mana arc, despite being another one of the fillers, neatly tied in and introduced the upcoming arc, by fleshing out who Gauche is, without offering any information about what the heck happened to him. That might prove to be very valuable to the future, and the creators chose this arc very well. Thunderland also got a lot of extra depth in this episode, and he’s no longer the stereotypical scientist that he first was. It’s pretty much exactly what a filler should be: either an excellent standalone-story, or a story that contributes to the overall story.

Now, as for the main storyline: this episode hinted at a lot of interesting stuff. Human experimentation has been done often in anime, but it gets an interesting dimension when it suddenly gets linked to Gauche’s mysterious disappearance. It would hint at how he got into an accident when he went to meet that person who was unable to become a spirit. What does that mean anyway, becoming a spirit?
Rating: * (Good)

Armed Librarians – The Book of Bantorra – 23

by psgels, posted in Armed Librarians - The Book of Bantorra



So here I thought that I was beginning to understand the story of this series. And then this episode comes and gives a completely different dimension to just about everything. Seriously, is there no end to the Armed Librarians’ awesomeness?

I remember noting a few episodes ago, that the Violet Sinner might be this series’ protagonist. Okay, so that was obviously wrong and incredibly misguided, as this episode showed that she too could be quite the bastard to Hamyuts, and probably turned her into what she is today. I’m very surprised that the creators have decided to show much deeper into the past, to show where everything begun: with the wishes of one of the acting directors to destroy heaven. AKA: that damned tree!

This episode revealed A LOT: as it turns out, the Armed Librarians exist in order to protect heaven, while the Church is there to maintain it: to provide it with good books in its attempt to achieve true happiness. The reason they’re at war is mostly because most members don’t even know about this, and Kachua getting strange ideas and taking these ideals much further than necessary.

Now, about Hamy: the majority of her past hasn’t been revealed yet, but based on what this episode my theory is the following: both she and the Violet Sinner were developed as a way to destroy heaven. Heaven told Makia that it wanted to die, however I believe that this was mostly another one of its attempts to create the ultimate book: Hamy. I have no bloody clue what his wishes are, but I think that the church believed that Hamy’s book was the one that Heaven was looking for, and therefore tried to kill her with all their might. In contrast, the Violent Sinner was meant to destroy heaven: when her love would come true, heaven would be destroyed.

My guess is that whatever Heaven is trying to do, Hamy wants it as well. By ‘wanting to ascend heaven’, she meant that she wanted to have her book absorbed by that tree. She’s basically been living her entire life, trying to make her book as exciting as possible! That’s why she wanted to die: in an as exciting way as possible, so that’s why a simple suicide wouldn’t work: everything about her needed to be glorious in order for her to be the book that grants Heaven’s wishes.

I’m not sure how that ties in with the Violent sinner, though. There are just too many open questions about her at this point. Who did she love? What is her connection to Hamy, and what did she want Hamy to create?

Overall, Armed Librarians has been without a doubt my favourite show during the past Winter Season. The next question is simple: SECOND SEASON WHERE!?
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Durarara – 09

by psgels, posted in Durarara



Wikipedia has the following to say about the so-called ‘Westermarck Effect‘:

“When two people live in close domestic proximity during the first few years in the life of either one, both are desensitized to later close sexual attraction. This phenomenon, known as the Westermarck effect, was first formally described by Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck. The Westermarck effect has since been observed in many places and cultures, including in the Israeli kibbutz system, and the Chinese Shim-pua marriage customs, as well as in biological-related families. In the case of the Israeli kibbutzim (collective farms), children were reared somewhat communally in peer groups—based on age, not biological relation. A study of the marriage patterns of these children later in life revealed that out of the nearly 3,000 marriages that occurred across the kibbutz system, only fourteen were between children from the same peer group. Of those fourteen, none had been reared together during the first six years of life. This result provides evidence not only that the Westermarck effect is demonstrable, but that it operates during the critical period from birth to the age of six.”.

Someone, please go to Japan and hit the anime creators over the head with this page.

So yeah, while these two siblings are very likely my least favourite members of the Durarara cast after this episode (they’re a bunch of elitists who can’t see beyond their own ‘love’), I liked the rest of this episode. “Celty’s head” (for a lack of a better name for her at this point) running into Mikado may have been a bit forced, but I guess it’ll do to get him involved with the rest of the storyline.

The interesting thing is of course that while this episode would have been very mundane if the course of this series was only 13 episodes, it creates a ton of possibilities for a 24-episoded series. It’s a pretty nice build-up for whatever is going to happen in that second half of this series. I also loved Izaya’s role in this episode: in this episode we really get confirmed that he’s genuinely interested in people, but he just happens to have a sick mind that can easily lead to trouble.
Rating: (Enjoyable)

Cobra The Animation – Time Drive Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Cobra The Animation



Here’s a quick review. I think that my biggest issue with Cobra is that I unfortunately happened to watch one of the worst Cobra episodes as my introduction to the franchise (the first episode of the Psychogun), and because of that I was reluctant to check out Time Drive. Still, I’m glad I did, because especially that first episode stands out to me as one of the best Cobra episodes I’ve seen.

The main problem with Cobra has always been that he God-moded himself through any sort of problem that he ran into. This OVA shows a unique side of his character, though. It’s not just the fact that we get to see a younger Cobra, but also the older Cobra is much more interesting than he usually is. Not to mention the huge amount of ideas that the creators managed to put in just thirty minutes. It’s an excellent adventure.

The second episode is a bit of a step back. Nowhere near bad or anything, but it lacks the punch and the amount of creativity of the first episode, plus the transitions move a bit awkwardly at times. Nevertheless, it’s a nice conclusion to that excellent first episode.

Storytelling: 8/10 – A bit rough around the edges but packs a great sense of adventure, which is exactly what

this series should be.
Characters: 8/10 – In two episodes, it showed more variety to the characters than the 40 TV-episodes that I’ve seen so

far.
Production-Values: 7/10 – Hmm, lacks the excellent animation of Cobra 1982 or the eye candy of Cobra 2010, and it’s

supposed to be an OVA. Though Yoshihiro Ike kicks ass as usual.
Setting: 9/10 – So. Many. Neat. Ideas.

Just one side-note: what is it with Japanese confusing “dive” with “drive”? First Real Drive, and now this. When characters are clearly diving into

something metaphorical… why call it that way?

Mobile Suit Gundam – Stardust Memory Review – 62,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



The Stardust Memory Gundam caught my attention mainly because one of its directors: Mitsuko Kase. While I’m also a bit of a fan of her, her directional style is completely different to the stuff we usually see in Gundam: both the early Tomino Series and the later incarnations.

And seriously, the work that she pulls off here belongs to her best. The animation is beyond incredible, and the battles all know how to not go over the top. The weaknesses of the different pilots in combat play a huge role here, and this makes the battles much more intense than your usual Gundam battles. The tension between the different characters is great, and the characterization, despite throwing in lots of Gundam archetypes (most notably, ignoring orders) gives an entirely new dimension to the Gundam formula.

Oh, how I would have wished to sing these kinds of praises for the entire 13 episodes of this OVa. Unfortunately, Mitsuko Kase only directed the first five of them. Derailing is a big word… but that’s exactly what this show does after that point.

And I’m not kidding here. Few series I’ve seen have transgressed from so good, to so utterly bad in such a short amount of time. I really wish I could, but aside from the animation I just can’t say anything positive about the mess that this show eventually devolves into. As the characters move into space, the show loses all of its subtlety and battles simply turn into the endless repetitions that we’re known of Gundam. The characters all lose their charms and devolve into generic archetypes. The male lead once was an interesting new version of Amuro Ray due to his rookie status, but he soon develops a bad case of constipation, somehow gets to be the only one who can pilot the Uber Gundam of this series and has as much personality as a brick wall.

There is a plot, and it would have been a fairly good one if only the execution wasn’t so ridiculously stupid. Plot twists are pretty much pulled out of the creators’ asses. Is your Gundam destroyed? Well, conveniently people have been developing a brand new one behind the scenes. Need some extra drama? Well, you wouldn’t believe the stuff that this show pulls in order to get there. Not to mention the godawful ‘foreshadowing episode’ (you’ll know which episode I’m referring to, right when you see it due to its elephant-like subtlety). Even for Gundam’s standards, the plot twists are just BAD beyond belief.

I often see people praise the UC Gundam timeline, and how it’s so much better and superior than the other Gundams and stuff, but I disagree. For me, Gundam has been a string of series that actually disappointed in their second halves more often than that they didn’t, often derailing the plot completely into pointless angst or stupid plot twists like this one. Oh, let’s hope that the currently airing Gundam Unicorn can avoid this because for me, it’s likely to be the most overrated franchise in anime at this point.

Storytelling: 6/10 – Starts off tense and realistic. Ends incredibly unbalanced, wastes too much time, and pulls random plot twists from out of nowhere.
Characters: 5/10 – Start off full of promise, ends with a ton of archetypes and caricatures, a ton of emo and pathetic romance.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Starts off amazingly fluid with an excellent soundtrack. The animation dulls in but it’s still very good, aside from a cop-out at the climax. Oh, and the good music somehow disappears.
Setting: 6/10 – You’ve got to love, how at the end some disclaimers and Deus ex Machina are pulled to fix the continuity errors that this show created…

Kobato – 20

by psgels, posted in Kobato



You know what this episode reminds me of? That one episode of Touka Gettan: the Lost Episode of Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito. The Tsubasa Chronicle cast drops by, they have nothing to do with the story, and at the end they just say goodbye and leave again to go back to their own story when there don’t seem to be any feathers here (or whatever they’re searching for at this point in the story, since Sakura was absent and all…). At the start of this series, when I found out that this kind of an episode would pop up I was very afraid that they would hog up all the screentime, but this was a really good episode, which made them more than Clamp’s usual cameos, and yet didn’t overdo it.

On top of that, the few revelations that their visit brought was interesting. It was a nice way to hint at Ioryogi’s original form. Who knew that he was his world’s Kurogane. I never realized that they had the same voice actor, and exactly for that reason. I also love the way in which Fye wished Ioryogi good luck with Kobato. He clearly seemed to know what was up with her.

In any case, this episode skips about a month and a half forward to Valentine. Predictable, but at this point I don’t care. For me, this show has reached the point where the creators can stuff their characters in any sort of setting, and make it utterly enjoyable. The valentine episode also was surprisingly good for the romance in this series, without going too obvious. You can see that Kiyokazu has grown a lot closer to Kobato during the past months that weren’t shown, and the valentine’s episode wasn’t used as a cheap knock-off getting the two of them together. Speaking of which: I very much approve of series that keep track of their own time: that’s an awesome way of showing the development between the characters, and making it less sudden.

And that ending was very powerful. That’s some great build-up there: this moment was bound to come: Kobato was bound to run short on time because of how easily distracted she can be. As a kid at heart, she constantly needed to be pushed by Ioryogi and yet you can see that she genuinely wants to go to some place. We have no idea why, all we know is that it’s something very important for her and that she’ll never have any more chances after the deadline passes. With four episodes left, I hope she gets there.
strong>Rating: ** (Excellent)
ED: Really weird place for a new ED, but better than the first one and a solid ballad.

Sora no Oto – 09

by psgels, posted in Sora no Oto



So, since Kureha was the only one who has yet to get an episode of her own, it’s good to see that this episode focused on her. It’s not as good as the Felicia-arc, but definitely adds to her character. The story between her and Claus, who she decided to admire after the loss of her father made this episode quite worthwhile.

Regarding the main story: I’m surprised that the princess is actually dead. There’s an interesting twist, and probably explains why Rio looked back to her with a sense of nostalgia.

In any case, four episodes left, and this episode just finished all of the preparations that this series needed to do. After this, it’s just a matter of this series closing off well, using the stuff that it’s built up for in the past nine episodes. My biggest fear here is Rio: in this episode she may have been a bit too angsty for her own good. If she was trying to make a difficult decision that we don’t know about, then okay, I can understand that. But please don’t tell me that she was angsting like a teenaged girl who hates her father and who is trying to make her do things she doesn’t want to.
Rating: * (Good)