Turn A Gundam Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



Those who have been reading some of my past mecha series reviews will probably know that I’m not the biggest fan of the Gundam franchise. These series often degenerate in strings of random fights that hardly ever resolve anything, and the storylines are way too often taken over by angsty and emo teenagers (or in Gundam 00’s case: angsty and emo young adults). However, this isn’t the case for Turn A Gundam!

I’m really glad to see that Turn A Gundam, directed by Tomino himself, manages to keep a solid direction and focus throughout the series. Okay, it’s a bit of a flawed direction here and there, but at least the plot is continuously moving. Something very impressive considering the complex, detailed and imaginative world that this series has to work with.

While on one hand, Turn A Gundam doesn’t escape some of the big clichés of the mecha-genre (a teenaged lead-character who just “happens” to find the “superpowered mecha of awesomeness”; “fighting is bad, so I will fight for these ideals!”), it makes up for it with its attention to detail: the cast for this show is huge, but Tomino manages to create lots of different fractions, all with their own ideals and morals. It has a carefully constructed setting, and the attention to detail for each of the mechas, airships, hovercrafts and spaceships is very impressive. I personally loved how at random times, Tomino liked to subtly flesh out random nameless soldiers, as they reported some news right next to a very important queen that everyone looks up to.

The large focus on politics is also one of the highlights of this series. While there are of course plenty of mecha-battles, a major theme of this series can also be found in the continuous peace negotiations, and how things like this that are so seemingly easy and obvious can be hampered by bad luck, just two or three people, or just plain bad planning and coordination.

As the show moves into its second half, it does lose a bit of steam, though. While definitely not bad, the second half of Turn A Gundam is inferior to the first. For that, I blame the series’ major villains: Agrippa has just way too little airtime and therefore makes no impact, while Gym Ghignham is just a plot device who continues to shout cheesy one-sided ideals. The two of them really put an evil side (and subsequently turn the lead characters into somewhat stereotypical good guys) to a series that had such a fine blur in morality, in which nobody really belonged to the good or bad side, and drag this series down.

Because of the lesser second half, I can’t quite call this show top-notch, but there is a lot to like in it nevertheless. Yoko Kanno has really worked her magic on the soundtrack, and the direction is strong under Tomino, with his trademark fast-paced dialogue that will keep the viewer on his toes. I’ll continue to raise eye-brows at teenagers who somehow end up piloting the most important military weapons in a single war, but hey: the rest of this show has enough other stuff to offer.

Storytelling: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Production-Values: 9/10
Setting: 9/10

Letter Bee – 11

by psgels, posted in Letter Bee



Ah, such a shame, Letter bee is back to its regular cheesy stories about random people. Get back to the main storyline dammit!

And sure, I can understand the point that this episode tried to make: Lag’s ability isn’t always handy. However, creators: if you want to illustrate this, use a real example, not such a half-hearted one as this episode was. Show Lag what his powers can really do to people if used wrong.

Letter Bee is now at the point where it’s beginning to test my patience. I’m not going to drop it because I know what it’s good at: the main storyline. The problem is the random stories. Letter Bee’s thankfully aren’t as bad as with Konnichiwa Anne, but they’re too one-sided, moralistic and stereotypical. Also, imagine what would have happened if Lag didn’t choose this particular day to deliver that letter to the old woman: a Gaijuu would have jumped up to her, destroyed the bridge and she would have died. I mean, it’s fine to play a bit around with coincidences and all, but that’s really stretching it!

And the panty-jokes in this episode… just… who the hell thought of that? I have to admit that these were some of the most original panty-jokes I’ve seen, but really… there was something very disturbing about them.
Rating: – (Disappointing)

White Album – 24

by psgels, posted in White Album



I have no idea what exactly happened with this series. The first season was so incredibly cringe-worthy. And yet the second season is so good! It basically took everything that was good in the first season, and left everything that was bad behind. This episode yet again showed what a great series this turned into, both in terms of plot and romance.

Oh, and this show is so cruel in its cliff-hangers. I can’t believe it took me twenty-four episodes to figure this out. Every cliff-hanger makes you expect the worst, and yet in the next episode things progress naturally, rather than what people would be doing in a soap opera. Akira didn’t die, get into a coma, or anything. Instead, he just has to spend a few days in the hospital, and the development from this accident is mostly subtle, rather than really angsty and cheap. This episode too: Yuki walked in, in an emotional state, at Touya’s house. While he has Menou sleeping over. I was really looking forward to see how she’d react… and then the credits rolled. Even now, I have no bloody clue how the creators are going to progress this in the next episode. After all, we’ve only got two episodes left!

But yeah, this episode did mark the beginning of the end: you can see that the creators are working towards the ending of this series. The scandals surrounding Eiji (it was about his picture, wasn’t it?). It really looks like is agency is done for, and if this is the case then things are also looking pretty grim for Yuuki.

There are quite a few series that are going to end in the next two weeks. And really: aside from Aoi Bungaku, White Album’s ending is the one I’m looking forward to the most. Heck, I can’t help it. The build-up has been so good throughout the entire series. I have absolutely no idea how the creators are planning to end this thing. Out of all the upcoming endings, White Album’s is the biggest mystery to me. Again, aside from Aoi Bungaku, but that one’s special because I don’t even know what kind of stories it’s going to animate.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Kemono no Souja Erin – 48

by psgels, posted in Kemono no Souja Erin



This is really why long series rock: they can really take their time in building up and give their characters enough time to prepare themselves for the upcoming climaxes. The key in these sorts of things is making the build-up count, and that’s something that this series has become really good at: the past three episodes were in no way inferior to the more fast-paced and plot-twist heavy episodes so far and they formed a very good build-up for the upcoming climax while keeping its atmosphere.

The big question now of course is: will the creators be able to pull off a good ending? There have been many great shows like this one with a great pre-ending build-up, but with just a rushed or dull ending. It’s a shame, but Damya still is just a stereotypical evil villain. I was really hoping that the creators would delve more into his character, but all they did throughout the series was make him more and more evil, rather than dynamic. This could pose a very serious problem for these final two episodes.

What I want is an ending that doesn’t just resolve the major themes of the series, but also progresses them in some way. It’s one way to just have the final two episodes full of pointless battles that eventually end up killing Damya and bringing peace back to the country, but that’s just lazy storytelling. Since the novels progress after this point, this is going to require input from the creators of the anime themselves. They NEED to have put some serious thoughts into how to let this end in the best way possible. If they can do that, then congratulations. This episode really was excellent in its atmosphere. This series really has put forth some great themes, characters and settings. It DESERVES a good ending to accompany them!
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Armed Librarians – The Book of Bantorra – 11

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



There really is something beautiful about the Mokkania arc. It’s only two episodes long, and it’s not as complex as the Colio or the Enlike arc, but nevertheless it was in no way inferior to them thanks to its portrayal of its three central characters: Mokkania, his mother and Winkery. And it makes things look so damn easy!

Seriously, this show is doing what every show should be doing: give ample time and development for every minor character; EVEN the villains. In fact, the only static characters in this series are the main ones: the Armed Librarians, Hamyuts Meseta and the major church people, who still have plenty of time left. The rest of the cast is truly well-rounded and developed. A true rarity, especially without coming across forced. It seems so easy to just give these minor characters that will never return again a bit of a lame backstory, or just not put in the time and effort to develop them in a short time-frame.

And that’s just one of the things why I like this series. Winkery was so a-typical compared to your regular anime side-villain. Despite being against the lead characters, he has a personality, he’s intelligent and actually can hold a normal conversation with his enemies. There’s no side that refuses to listen to the other, nor any cheesy ideals: Hamyus knows that she has made a lot of enemies with the church, and has no intention to talk their grunts out of their plans. That woman is so refreshing in the middle of “let’s all stop fighting and become friends”-anime. And that’s exactly what characters like Noloty and Mokkania are for: they’re meant to show that that’s just another way of thinking, rather than the truth, which a lot of anime lead characters seem to suffer from, trying to push the hypocritical pacifist ideals of the lead characters as the only right way.

I also loved that little hint to the Colio-arc, in which we see Winkery book a room for Colio and his gang as they prepare to bomb Hamyuts. It’s interesting that such a little thing can give the organization of the Church so much extra depth: it shows that people like him aren’t just focused on their own task, but instead take care of a lot of smaller administrative businesses as well. Even those so simple as booking a room.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Darker than Black – Ryuusei no Gemini – 10

by psgels, posted in Darker than Black - Ryuusei no Gemini



Hell yeah! This series is really coming together quite nicely. It both fits in with the first season and yet has created an entirely new style and mood. With this episode, you can really see that the build-up of the past number of episodes has paid off.

2009 really has been a stellar year for Bones. But yeah, now that we’re near the end of this series, their particular weakness pops up again: their seeming inability to create an actually good ending. I’m really not sure what it is with their series and adaptations, but during the previous summer, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 was the first series I’ve seen from them with an actually good ending. All of the others that I watched so far were either rushed, forced, or just completely ruined their series. And that considering that the rest of their series are often so well produced.

Still, if there’s any series that could break this trend, it’s this one. With so much build-up, it will be a disaster if the ending goes wrong, but you can see that the creators have planned out this series really well. they should have a great ending planned here, if this episode was any indication. The depth it gave to Suou’s character was really remarkable.

This episode also sheds a totally new light on Shion: it’s obvious now that the Doctor who was with him also was just a copy that he created: the real one really was killed by Hei. How he said that Suou needed to learn what pain was was very hypocritical: he himself has no concept of this, since he thinks that he can just clone anything that he loses.

And zomg: Mao’s backstory! it’s strange to see this guy inside a regular human body, but we finally get a good look at how he lost his original body. The question that remains now: why did the Syndicate betray Mao? Was it just because he happened to be on a place that they needed to bomb, (say, an unfortunate sacrifice), or was he specifically targeted?

Also, Hei has frustrations: it’s one thing to torture his victims for information, but to leave such a mutilated body behind… what the heck was he doing to her? O.o
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Umineko no Naku Koro ni – 24

by psgels, posted in Umineko no Naku Koro ni



Very nice, the plot twists just keep heaping up with this episode. While not as interesting as the third arc yet, there’s plenty of potential left for this in the final two episodes.

The first half of this episode was the usual slaughter-fest in which members of the Ushinomiya-family die rather one-sidedly, though there are several interesting questions raised here: has non-meta-Battler ever directly seen magic up till now? The only point I can think of is the end of the second arc, and that could easily have been an illusion. My guess has always been that what he saw with his eyes happened in real life, and this puts the three phone-calls he made during the first half in a very interesting light.

Right now, my guess is that the murderer used some sort of psychological attack to kill these people. Perhaps some sort of drug or mushroom that made them think that there are things that there actually aren’t. We’ve never really seen Nanjo check for any drug effects, and I can imagine how the killer could have created the flesh wounds afterwards to confuse people and hide the real causes.

A different theory is that the three characters in question found out who the murderer was, and why they were committed. As this seems to have been a very good reason, and simply resigned to their fate.

Because that second half gave a very interesting twist to the whole matter. Beatrice could have acted this again (I see her crazy enough to just ignore Battler like this), but I think that this was one of the first time in which her actions were genuine. Otherwise it would not have made sense for Lambadelta to have shown up.

So the way I see it, Beatrice made a mistake. Something happened six years ago that for some reason really upset her, and she believed Battler to be the culprit… and yet he wasn’t. This wasn’t a case of simple amnesia, he really had no clue what happened. The thing that would make sense is how Rosa killed Beatrice, but this doesn’t make any sense because Beatrice would know this, and she’d be going after Rosa instead.

My guess is that the creators have yet to reveal the exact reason, but I do believe that six years ago multiple things happened that set everything in motion, Rosa’s sin being one of them: I can very well imagine that Kinzou wasn’t really happy when he found out what happened to Beatrice. Also, why couldn’t Battler claim that he’s the son of his mother? Was he switched as a baby with someone else or something? In that case, what happened to the real Battler? And how did this create Battler’s “sin”, six years ago.
Rating: * (Good)

Kimi ni Todoke – 10

by psgels, posted in Kimi ni Todoke



Yeah, It’s as I thought: Kurumi indeed has a crush on Kazehaya, apparently just like any other girl aside from Yano and Yoshida, it seems. While this episode was fine, I see so many potential pitfalls for this show if it keeps going into this direction.

I mean, the Kurumi-issue is probably going to resolve itself in a few episodes for now, or at least that’s my prediction. This just doesn’t seem like a series like Bokura ga Ita, in which these things take their time to resolve themselves naturally. So what’s going to happen after that?Are the creators going to throw in yet another love rival? I mean, Kazehaya is really being set up as the perfect boyfriend for everyone: there are still tons of other girls who might potentially hate Sawako for going out with Kazehaya.

it’s a big cliché of romance shows that I’ve gotten tired off by now. My second fear of a cliché in this show is the lead romance getting stuck at this rate. While the relationship between Kazehaya and Sawako has progressed so far, it’s still pretty one-sided: Sawako likes Kazehaya, Kazehaya likes Sawako, and that’s pretty much it. One thing I hope is that this isn’t going to turn into a will-they-won’t-they show, because I feel that it won’t be able to get everything it wants out of the characters.

But yeah, Kurumi was very nicely done. I liked the subtlety in which the creators revealed her intentions. She’s a major step up from those evil bitches that preceded her, and the tensions between her and Sawako were very nicely done. Now all the next episode has to do is turn her into a character, rather than just another love rival whose sole purpose is to “test” the relationship between the two lead characters. Clichés aren’t bad, as long as they’re handled well. Now, Kimi ni Todoke: prove this!
Rating: * (Good)

Konnichiwa Anne – 36

by psgels, posted in Konnichiwa Anne



Yes! Yes! The creators actually got Edna right! Oh, all signs pointed towards her getting the same treatment as all other secondary characters in this series in a lame and shallow episode that rewrites characters through cheesy dialogue instead of developing them. But they actually got that bitchiness of her right, while adding a bit of extra depth to her at the same time!

Throughout the majority of the episode, I feared the worst though. The point where Anne saw Edna sneak into the shed and talk to her imaginary friend was truly facepalm-worthy. This episode just kept throwing hints that it was going to give Amy Thompson and Edna cheesy one-line backstory, Anne gladly recapped the entire series through cheesy morals and even when the series did begin to look better (the letter from the Cuthberts arrived!), there was Tessa with her endless whining who ruined it. Sure I of course don’t mind a bit of sadness, but the way that Tessa kept bawling was just a case of hopelessly overacting.

But then that final scene. I’m not sure what happened, but we actually saw Edna putting up a very cheesy act that any adult would have seen through, yet Anne in her childish gullibleness believes (which, let’s face it, any kid her age would do). At the same time, it also looks like the creators put their best artist on the job of animating these scenes: the art is powerful and very expressive, and probably the best animated scene in this series.

The thing that separates good WMT-series from average WMT-series is among others, their sense of morality; nobody is purely good. Cosette was weak, hardly did anything and dependant, Marius was a one-minded revolutionary and Jean has had his past issues. Porfy was naive and often picked fights, Anne of Green Gables (not this Anne) pulled quite a few hi-jinks as a little kid. The Anne in this series however is always morally on the right path. Her weaknesses are all meant to be charming and are actually hidden strengths. This was actually one of the first times in which one of Anne’s weaknesses was actually exploited against her.

Now the question of course is going to be: can the final three episodes finish the job? The thing is that the creators aren’t done with Edna yet. It’s obvious that her plan is going to fail, and I definitely hope that the creators aren’t going to make her jump the shark after all. That’s another point at which this series differs from good WMT: in the WMT, you know things are going to happen, you just don’t know why. In the good series, this in no way lessens the impact of these scenes. In the lesser WMT-series, they become pretty dull spoilers that make the story even more predictable than it already was.

However, the thing that worries me even more is the following: why hasn’t the next WMT been announced yet? We’re about to dive into 2010. We can assume that Nippon Animation might be planning to keep the next one at 39 episodes as well, but even then there’s nothing certain yet. Oh, I really hope that they’re not planning to abandon this franchise again.
Rating: * (Good)

Aoi Bungaku – 10

by psgels, posted in Aoi Bungaku



That was absolutely amazing. Oh my god, Aoi Bungaku was already my favourite series of this season… and this episode just blew every of its episodes so far out of the water. What a roller-coaster of emotions this turned out to be! Ryosuke Nakamura. That’s one name to remember, because this guy is destined for greatness.

Unfortunately, he’s also destined for unexposure in the western anime fandom because his series are just so damn hard to translate. Why are there still no subs of episode 9 out at this point, even though the previous episodes were subbed without any problems (in fact, even the double-episoded feature of episode 7 and 8 got out faster than this). It’s the same with Mouryou no Hako: we’ve got ourselves an absolutely fantastic director here, and yet because his dialogue is so damn complex it takes much longer for the subs to come out!

In any case, enough ranting and onto this episode. Just when I already thought that the previous episode was full of emotions, it was nothing when compared to this one. The whole story by Osamu Dazai came together wonderfully. Thoughout a majority of the episode, you keep wondering why his friend abandoned him. When the answer finally comes, the shock hits hard, and yet it makes complete sense: the guy was about to die from heart failure. Especially after all of the things that the lead character called this guy for betraying him.

But the visual direction was absolutely amazing. The animation was just incredible, and especially the part where Melos is fighting on the desk, as the main character is writing his story is nothing short of gorgeous. Anime animation cuts corners?! Hah, this episode has so much emotionally powerful movement in it. THIS really shows what you can do with the animation medium.

And to think that Aoi Bungaku still isn’t finished. The wait is going to take two whole weeks, but after that we’re going to see two stories adapted at the same time. I have no idea what to expect from that. The director is going to be someone completely new, and I have no idea what to expect from this guy. Again, this is a great gamble by Madhouse by putting a new guy in front of such a big project, but who knows? Perhaps they found themselves yet another talent here.
Rating: **** (Fantastic)