Mouryou no Hako – 12

by psgels, posted in Mouryou no Hako




Short Synopsis: Akihiko gathers everyone to tell them about the things he discovered.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
I don’t think that for the past year, I’ve ever been this frustrated at a climax than with this episode, apart perhaps from Kaiba. This episode was simply amazing, and then the creators stick in that damned cliffhanger just at the parts where the juicy parts really are about to begin! That final episode can’t come soon enough.

But really, with a series of this calibre, it actually has the chance of being my favourite ending of 2008, with all the building up that has basically been meant for that final episode, and the big questions still aren’t revealed, even though the huge amount of revelations in this single episodes. I’ve probably said this before, but I really have pity with the poor fansubbers who have to translate and typeset this series. This really is something else, and I’m still utterly amazed at how many open questions the creators managed to create without me even realizing it.

So, let’s see if I got everything correctly: The scientist whose name I forgot is actually Youko’s father, and one of the culprits is Suzaki, the one who died. In the last episode, we didn’t see Atsuko, but instead Youko (my mistake). When Kanako got in her accident, it was actually Yoriko who pushed her, after being inspired by reading Sekiguchi friend’s novel. The trigger was seeing Kanako crying (probably due to Youko, I think that it was then when she found out about how her sister was actually her mother). The man in black coat was Akihiko himself, who seems to have witnessed the event.

When Kanako was caught in the accident, her wounds couldn’t be treated in a regular hospital, so Youko desperately tried to search for a different address. That’s why she wound up at her father’s, and it was Suzuki who she talked to. It then seems that Suzaki was the one who chopped up Kanako and moved her out of the research institute in BOXES, in order to avoid detection. After that, something came and killed him, just like how Kubo Shunko was silenced. The question now remains: who the heck was that?

The way the episode ended was just filled with question marks: what is Kubo doing at the research institute if he’s supposed to be dead? Why did Akihiko say that they’re “inside Kubo”?

At this point, I can’t say whether Mouryou no Hako has been the best series of the past Fall season, since half of them aren’t over yet, but it’s definitely been the best series of the fall season that only lasted 12 or 13 episodes. At the moment, I can’t wait to see what the creators have in store for the finale.

Kurozuka Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Kurozuka


From the director of Death Note, Kurozuka is Madhouse’s latest action series. This time, it’s packed with lots and lots of Japanese-styled horror, and comes in a package that just oozes style. With an OP that’s even more extreme than the second one from Death Note, this is the perfect watch if you need to lose some frustration, pump some adrenaline or find some other excuse to watch a bit of tense action.

Because really, this series hardly gives the viewer any time to take a breath. There are lots of quiet moments throughout the series, but even they remain clouded the show’s very thick atmosphere, as it prepares for the next climax. This series set out to create an combination between action and horror, and it pretty much succeeded in this.

But yeah, Kurozuka is all about action and atmosphere, so don’t even try to expect something special from the plot or characters. The plot is actually pretty decent. It’s simple, yet it’s got a number of surprising plot twist, and even though the ending isn’t going to answer every question that’s left behind, it succeeds in keeping an air of mystery around the show.

The problem with this show is the cast of characters. They’re just… there. They hardly get the time to be fleshed out, but none of them make a particularly strong impression, safe for a few minibosses, who manage to provide the best action-scenes of the series. The main character Kuro has his own background, but we never see any sides of him, other than the silent stoic side that doesn’t talk a lot and wants to fight.

But then again, if you want deep characters, you can always watch a different series. Kurozuka knows exactly what it is: an action flick that never really goes anywhere deep, and that’s where it succeeds at. The graphics for this series are downright awesome, and they turn every single episode into a visual feast. There’s always something nice to look at and a continuous atmosphere. My only real complaints are that the ending doesn’t fit the tone of the rest of the series, but nevertheless I personally enjoyed watching this series a lot.

Storytelling: 9/10
Characters: 7/10
Production-Values: 9/10
Setting: 8/10

Kurozuka – 12

by psgels, posted in Kurozuka



Short Synopsis: The plot of this episode is obviously going to be one big spoiler, but even then it can’t be summarized in just one sentence…
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10 (Good)
Aha! So the creators decided to go for a big WTF-ending. And WTF it is! Since I kept associating this series with Ultraviolet because of their similarities, i expected a similar ending, one where all the threads that were left hanging were wrapped up inside a nice conclusion. Well, even though Ultraviolet’s conclusion was pretty straightforward, this one MOST CERTAINLY ISN’T.

I’m still not exactly sure what the heck went on there. Kuro first slaughters the kabuki players (of which I have no idea what they were even doing there), suddenly blood comes raining down from out of nowhere with buckets at a time and then he finally arrives at the room where Kuromitsu is. The one who’s talking to her: Benkei. That bugger seemed to have received immortality was well (or at least a body that ages very slowly, as becomes apparent later in the episode).

As it turns out, he was no traitor, but instead he couldn’t bear to see his friend that’s fallen in love with such a person as Kuromitsu, which is why he betrayed him. I’m not sure whether he was actually in love with Kuromitsu, or didn’t see her fit as someone who Kuro should love… it’s there were he obtained a body that wouldn’t die, though over the years, his body did age a bit, as he’s turned into an old man. As it turns out: Kuro has become immortal, but Benkei chopped off his head. Apparently, he spent ages without any body whatsoever, and that’s why Kuromitsu created Kuon to serve as a body for Kuro. That plan failed, however, and in the end she had to settle with a random soldier from the bad guys.

Okay, so far so good, but why did Kuromitsu still go after the guy’s head once he got a new body? I’m still not sure at this point, and the rest of the episode didn’t make things any clearer: Kuro and Benkei fight, Kuro wins. Kuromitsu then finally manages to chop off Kuro’s head. Time then reverts, we see a bunch of flashbacks and we suddenly see Kuro and Benkei again as if they were in the first episode, only with the rest of their surroundings destroyed. Eh, what?!

To be honest, I’m not sure whether this was the bets ending the creators could have gone for. Sure, the confusion is fun and all, but it’s leaving a strange taste in my mouth. The threads, such as where did the bad guys come from, why did they last 1000 years, and why did they work together with Kuromitsu in the end are unsolved. What was the purpose of the kabuki players, why are they so keen on killing every single being? What’s up with their blood obsession? What was Benkei doing at Kuromitsu’s, after 1000 years? I really need to watch this episode with subs, but even with that there are just too many threads left hanging for this series.

Overall, it was a fun series, and it’s got an excellent sense of horror, but when I have to compare this to Ultraviolet which aired this summer, then I’d prefer the latter. That mostly is due to the rather lacking characterization, that’s plagued through this series, safe for two or three episodes. Ultraviolet on the other hand did have a strong cast that was fun to watch.

Ie Naki Ko Remi Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Note: this is a review of the 1997 World Masterpiece Theatre version of Ie Naki Ko, not the Osamu Dezaki version of 1977. I’d love to have watched the original version, but unfortunately I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere; it’s gone up in smoke, so I needed to settle with this inferior version. For those of you who don’t know, Ie Naki Ko has a whole backstory to it.

In 1996, the World Masterpiece Theatre franchise was in a lot of trouble. The previous WMT-series, Famous Dog Lassie, had been suddenly halted after only 26 episodes, and it was replaced by this series. 23 episodes later, and it was suffering from bad reviews and low television rates, so it got taken off the air completely by the television network. After 23 years of non-stop series, the World Masterpiece Theatre went into a hiatus that would last for nearly ten years, until it was picked up again by Les Miserables. Even among the WMT-fans it seems to have been rated as one of the lesser series of the franchise.

However after watching the series, I do want to say that if the version that’s universally considered as a cheap rip-off is already this good, then I can only imagine how incredibly beyond awesome the Osamu Dezaki version must be.

But yeah, this series definitely has its problems. The creators here tried to stuff a story that’s meant for 52 episodes in only 26 of them. They changed a lot from the original novel, including the actual gender of the main character, and even with the shortened episode length, it still includes a few fillers. I think that this was done in an attempt to make the WMT-franchise more mainstream, which obviously failed.

Nevertheless, despite this the show has an awesome cast of characters, which stay true to themselves no matter what gets thrown at them. Remi may have changed into a girl, but she’s a really strong character, who is able to carry the weight of the series easily. There are still plenty of slice of life moments, which really try to flesh out the different characters. Despite the fillers feeling rather random when you watch them, each of them has its own purpose of foreshadowing later plot-twists.

Where this series falls behind in comparison to the other WMT-series is that it wants drama a little too badly. With this, I mean that no matter where Remi arrives through the series, you’ll know that something bad is going to happen to her. Be it a robbery, stolen item, or whatever, and especially the way in which Remi meets her real family feels really strange. Compare that to Porfy no Nagai Tabi, where you’ll never know if a person Porfy meets is going to have gentle or ill intentions, and yes, it does fall flat in that aspect. There’s also a bit of romance that pops up near the end of the series. On one hand, it’s incredibly heart-warming, though it can also be way too soppy at times.

But what impressed me the most about this series is that even though it usually has a warm but naive idealistic nature, there are times where the cold, hard feeling of reality crashes down on the characters, and at those times it really spares nobody. It may fool you at times, but this series is typical WMT in the sense that it can be incredibly dark for a children’s series. We’re talking about brutal child abuse here. The contrast between these dark and cold parts and the heart-warming mood is what really made this series something special.

So yeah, while overall flawed this nevertheless is a very capable series. What it lacks mostly is polishing. If the creators could have spent some attention to make the drama less soppy, the different coincidences less apparent and added 26 more episodes, then I can imagine how the Osamu Dezaki version could easily be one of the best anime of the seventies.

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

ef – a tale of melodies Review – 77,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


2008 has been a bad year for Shaft. While I can’t speak for Hidamari Sketch, their only two other series this year were simply sequels for series that didn’t really need one, and both of them featured a drastic decrease in quality. While ef – a tale of melodies didn’t decrease in quality as much as Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei, it still is rather underwhelming and a disappointment if you’re a fan of the great first season.

Like the first season, a tale of melodies is also split up in two parts, and tells the story about two different couples. They’re the side-characters of the first season. The story about Kuze is pretty good. Even though it has a few humps and bumps in the middle and isn’t as impressive as the stories of a tale of memories, it nevertheless comes together in the end with a pretty nice conclusion.

My real problem with this series was the story between Yu and Yuuko. While on paper, it may seem worthwhile to finally learn who the mysterious guy with white hair from a tale of memories is, the creators handled it really in the wrong way. It seemed to me that the creators never really knew what they wanted to do with this story. They keep throwing one plot twist after the other but forget to make the viewer accustomed to the characters. They’re hardly fleshed out, unlike the stories in the first season.

The characters, although they change through the series, feel more like cardboard cut-outs than real people because of this. It was a nice idea full of ambition, really, but the creators simply tried to stuff too much in such a short timeframe. The conclusion to this story becomes downright ludicrous because of this, and we’re not even answered the simple question: why did Chihiro end up with Yu in the end?

My issue is also with the themes of creative expression that were so prevalent in the first season, because they play a much smaller role in the second season. Sure, there’s a character who plays a violin, another one sketches, another one paints, but the creators never actually use it. They’re no longer the central themes of the series, and the new themes of this series (taking distance from someone you love) feel superficial and not fleshed out enough.

Thankfully, there’s one definite bright spot of this series: the graphics. While the animation isn’t of any particularly high quality, the creators throw an even bigger amount of special effects at the viewers than even in a tale of memories. There are lots of cool shots and filters, and there’s lots of eye-candy in this series. The background music is also of the same high quality as the first season, so at least that part didn’t suffer.

It’s a shame that I can’t say the same for the rest of the series, and I can only hope that 2009 will be a better year for Shaft. They’re a great and unique animation studio and all, but at times they seem to get lost in their style, forgetting that they’re also supposed to have substance. ef – a tale of memories was a great example of a series with an excellent combination of both style and substance. ef – a tale of melodies, unfortunately isn’t.

Storytelling: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Production-Values: 9/10
Setting: 8/10

Porfy no Nagai Tabi – 51

by psgels, posted in Porfy no Nagai Tabi



Short Synopsis: The final bit of build-up before the big climax!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
Well, so it really looks like the creators planned to reunite Porfy and Mina at the very last episode from the beginning. Ooh! It’s going to be epic!

The episode starts as Porfy is very glad to meet up with his old friend again (who changed significantly, actually. In fact, Porfy’s character-designs have also very subtly changed throughout the series). As it turns out, Zaimis has managed to win an international competition that’d allow him to study music in Paris (if I understood correctly). He asks about what happened to Mina, after which Porfy answers that he might have found her, and shows him the poster. Zaimis wants to see the movie to check for sure.

After the movie is over, Porfy still doubts whether it was really Mina, but Zaimis is utterly convinced that she’s the one, and that Rose was the one who was wrong. Porfy refuses to believe that, and figures that maybe it was Amelie who made a mistake. Porfy then introduces Zaimis to Rose, taking him to her apartment. She’s been waiting for him, actually. It also seems that Porfy has written a lot about Rose to Zaimis, so he’s already heard about her. He tries to convince Rose that it was really Mina who he saw, but then she starts yelling and leaves.

Zaimis then suggests to confirm it once more. Instead of leaving it to rose, he plans to go along with Porfy to the movie studios without letting Rose know. Porfy is a bit puzzled as to why he has to keep it a secret for her, because he still doesn’t suspect that he lied to her. Mina meanwhile is in awe at the huge Christmas tree that Tiffany had planted in her back garden (that’s rather cute, ending the series at Christmas).

The next day, Porfy tries to find an excuse of getting out on his own. It almost backfires, since Rose offers to go along with him to show Zaimis the city of Paris, but luckily she realizes that the two of them haven’t met for a while. She then gives Porfy some money, and asks whether he’d like something for a Christmas present. Porfy really doesn’t have anything he wants, aside from meeting with Mina.

Because of this, Porfy is late and has to apologize to Zaimis, who avoid the question of why Rose know about their little trip. At the movie studio, they face the same problem as before: the annoying gate keeper. In the end Porfy gets in by letting Zaimis distract the guy so that he can sneak behind a large prop. In the studio, Porfy accidentally meets someone who takes him for someone who works at the place, and ends up accompanying him, carrying boxes.

The next person Porfy meets is a guy who mistakes him from yet another someone who has fallen in love with a certain actor, and managed to sneak in (apparently, the guard hasn’t been doing his job that perfectly). He doesn’t know Porfy, but he does know Amelie. Amelie then tells Porfy the same that she told Rose, and also how she told Rose about Mina. This is where Porfy realizes that Rose lied to him.

When Porfy returns, his sad look first makes Zaimis think that it was indeed a misunderstanding, but instead Porfy is wondering why Rose lied to him. Mina meanwhile is asked the same thing as Porfy was earlier: what would she like as a Christmas present. Obviously, she only wants to meet Porfy. ^^;

That evening, Rose returns and is shocked to see Porfy in a room without lights. Porfy then says that he’s met Amelie. He first believes that it was because of Tiffany, but then Rose tells him the truth, while crying. That she doesn’t want Porfy to leave. After that the episode ends.

There’s only one downside to this whole final arc: NO ALECIA! Apart from that, it’s been such a creative and solid finale for this series. I’m also really surprised. I originally believed that the creators were planning to turn the finale into an even bigger tear-jerker than the earthquake-arc, but instead they’ve chosen for a much more quiet pacing, that instead is building up to the two of them finally meeting again. After the very dark episodes of Porfy’s journey in France, I really never expected this.

And yeah; so what if the creators are recycling their old background art with different colour filters run through them! They still look freaking awesome!

Ga-Rei Zero Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


For the adaptation of the Ga-Rei Zero series during the past Fall Season, the creators came up with a daring idea. Since the original manga was reportedly poor, they decided to screw the manga, and go with a concept of their own. The result is a downright shocking first episode, followed by the rest of the series which attempts to explain what the heck happened back there, focusing on a cast of completely new characters.

And what do you know? It actually worked.

The strength of this series is that due to the really strong first episode, you’re going to want to finish the series, to find out what drove these characters to do what they did. Even through the boring parts, the whole thread that the first episode created remains. Because unfortunately, the building-up part of the series does remain a bit boring. It takes a relatively large amount of time to warm up to the characters, and especially Kagura isn’t likable from the start.

Nevertheless, this series managed to avoid collapsing under the weight of its first episode, mostly due to some very solid storytelling that appears once the series hits its second half. This is a series that’s not going to pull any punches, and it’s got quite an amount of ruthless scenes as the show goes on, rather than being an idealistic tale of friendship.

So all in all, the series managed to deliver for me, even though there were times in the beginning that made me doubt. It’s a really solid and focused series, in terms of both production-values and storytelling. The characters themselves are not really something special, but yet they never get in the way of what makes this series important and they do manage to bring the series to life. It managed to deliver on the promises it made in the first episode, and that’s something not every series can boast (Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou, anyone?).

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

Mouryou no Hako – 11

by psgels, posted in Mouryou no Hako



Short Synopsis: Kiba’s had enough and starts going after who he thinks is the culprit.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 (Excellent)
Whoa, to think that this series actually managed to squeeze in some romance, and manages to get away with it! At this point, it really is clear that both the limbs in boxes and Yoriko’s death were simply red herrings in order to keep the viewer busy, and distract him from the one who really is at the centre of everything: Kanako. This episode, with the announcement of the death of Kubo, finally gets back to her own story.

I’m not exactly sure whether Kiba really picked out the real culprit, but someone in the research facility at least has to be involved with the whole mess. This someone used Kubo as a way to get female bodies and cut those up and used them in his experiments to create the ultimate human being: when it dies, just replace its limbs and it’s up and running again. This guy also murdered one of his colleagues, probably because he either found out too much, or was involved with the project, but tried to chicken out at that time.

Central is also Youko. If this is the case, then it would explain why the movie director knew about the human experiments. I’m still not exactly sure why she found Kiba her biggest threat, but I guess that we’re going to find that out in one or two episodes. I also wonder, what was the point of showing that poisoning-murder case at the beginning of the episode. It didn’t seem related in anyway, or did it?

I also keep getting impressed by this series’ idea of “action”. Most of the action here lies in its subtle but very powerful emotions. Like with Kiba in this episode: the creators know exactly how to create tension, and make the viewer hope that Eno’s going to be able to stop Kiba in time.

Regarding the cliffhanger, if this was a regular anime, it’d mean that the scientist didn’t die yet. However, this is Mouryou no Hako we’re talking about. Everything can happen from this point, and I’m really anticipating to see what kind of ending the creators have chosen.

(Oh, and on a side-note: Atsuko looked scary as a teenager O.o)

Casshern Sins – 12

by psgels, posted in Casshern Sins



Short Synopsis: Casshern meets a painter who wants to leave his mark on the world.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 (Excellent)
Well, if it’s indeed true what CasshernXLyuze said, then this was the last of the “filler” episodes of Casshern Sins, and as usual it was a really interesting one. It’s about another aspect of a future of certain death: being remembered by others, and artists are of course the perfect example of this, hoping that even though their bodies will die, their art will live on forever.

Since the story takes place at a city that was once ruled by Braiking Boss, it shows another way of how robots have decided to live with the destruction: simply wait for it and kick the hell out of everyone who disturbs this order (ie: the painter).

I also like how the past two episodes brought an end to “Casshern the chick magnet”. It’s good to see that another episode is dedicated to a male robot. It really makes the series feel like less of a harem series because the creators favour females over males.

Casshern Sins – 11

by psgels, posted in Casshern Sins



Short Synopsis: Casshern gets himself stuck in trouble, and Frender needs to find help to save him.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 (Excellent)
I remember noting that there weren’t enough males in this series that Casshern would run into. Well, somewhere along the line the creators seem to have listened, because this episode exactly offers the demographic that has been missing so far: male humans and robots, human children and human woman. It’s really one of those episodes that restore the balance in this series. It’s not among the best episodes of the series, but yet I really liked it.

I also love how Casshern only has two or three lines through the entire episode: this really was an episode where he was just someone who watched from the sidelines, and it was about the group of humans and robots who travelled together, in search of Luna. We learn that despite the upcoming destruction, there’s still a large amount of trust among them.

It also becomes clear that robots with strong wills are able to survive longer than most other ones. Well, that explains why Dio is still in one piece: he really is set on defeating Casshern.

Interestingly, this was another one of these episodes that surprised me about how long its airtime really is. I only felt like I’ve watched this episode for just ten minutes, instead of twenty.