Sky Girls
Wow, this one could have turned out a lot worse. The blatant fanservice that plagued the OVA is almost entirely gone now, and some actual time has been dedicated to fleshing out the characters properly. To be honest, I didn’t see this coming, and expected the same moe-bait that was the OVA. Still, I don’t trust this series yet. The first episode was all about the characters, and there were only a few shots of action. I fear that once the battles really get started, this series will degrade back to the level of the OVA. I’m also still not sure why it must be necessary to have the ultimate weapons equipped by young girls. I mean, can’t people just make adult-versions? The weight won’t change anything about the firepower of these things. Also, the black-haired girl was just too tsundere for her own good. The only scene that featured her (which also was the only action-scene, hence my worries) was the only really bad part of this episode.
Potemayo
This show turned out to be quite funny. It’s a matter of taste, but I personally love the sadistic yet subtle humour of Potemayo. It’s basically a school comedy, with two mute… chibi… “thingies” (called Potemayo) added, and it basically revolves around random things, happening around these “thingies”. There’s the standard cast of characters, with the male main character, his classmate who’s in love with him, other random classmates, and the two loser-males that always fail, but with the addition of Potemayo, they become hilarious at times. Now all that’s left to hope is that it won’t milk out its jokes too soon.
Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei
I really love the art in this anime, and Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei probably has the best graphics of the entire summer-season for me. Especially with the direction of Shinbo (who did series as Pani Poni Dash and Soultaker before). The OP already starts the anime in a very… “peculiar” way, and there is definitely chemistry between the different characters. What I like about this series, above Pani Poni Dash is that on the outside, the class that this anime focuses on looks pretty much like a normal class, only it’s the inside that’s rather strange. The series also is quite funny, and I believe that it will compete with Potemayo for the best comedy of the season. Okay, it may not have been the best idea to watch a series that is focused at word puns without subtitles, but then again, it’ll probably take ages for this series to come out fansubbed. Anyway, this one’s definitely recommended.]]>
Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito Review – 79/100
From the makers of Touka Gettan, this is their previous work: Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito. Having watched this, I suddenly realize why Touka Gettan felt so weird, because these guys have quite an interesting sense of storytelling. This one is about a collection of stories. Basically, there’s a great library, with a huge amount of books. Each of these books represents a world, and the anime basically features a bunch of people who travel through these worlds, all because of some reason.
The inividual stories aren’t anything special. They either give off a feeling of “been there, done that”, or just aren’t as well developed as the ones in, say, Jigoku Shoujo or Mushishi. What counts in Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito is the overall storyline, because that‘s a memorable one. It may not seem much at first, but even at this time, I continue wondering how deep it actually went. There are quite some motives and emotions that you don’t think off so fast, and I like how, somehow, everything comes together in the end. The ending itself is also quite an interesting one, that actually turned out good.
I can’t believe I’m giving praises here to a hentai-game adaptation, but it’s actually a pretty nice series. This also is one of the few anime-series that actually has shoujo ai as one of its major themes. But, indeed, there is an abundance of useless fanservice at times. Some women also have some of the most impossible hairstyles ever seen in anime, and a few questions were left unanswered by the end (especially the ones regarding the fox). It isn’t extremely emotional or hilarious, and most of the episodes that focus on the side-stories are quite dull, but the plot-related scenes were worth the watch.]]>
Soultaker Review – 87/100
Soultaker is a definite recommendation for any mystery-fan. If you ignore the cheesy title and OP that seems to suggest we’re dealing with a GAR-mecha show, then you’ll find the perfect example of a well-written mystery-series that’s perfectly fitted for thirteen episodes.
The first thing you’ll notice when you start watching this series is the direction. It’s hard to describe, but we hardly ever see any normal shots of the characters, most shots we see of them are weird camera-angles with lots of lighting-effects, which seldom stay for more than three seconds. Because of this, almost the entire series gives off a feeling of fast pacing, where perhaps only one episode really takes its time. Despite this, though, Soultaker never feels rushed, and the creators knew exactly what they were doing.
It’s hard to talk about the plot of this series. Heck, the very first scene already is a major spoiler. Let’s just say that it’s about a mutant with a messed-up family. Through the course of thirteen episodes, it gradually answers more questions, asked in previous scenes, where the new revelations all increase in terms of impact, ending in a nice though predictable climax. Mystery-series should definitely take an example out of this one.
To accompany the mystery, this series comes with a cast of intriguing characters; all with their own motivation and intentions, and most of them get a decent amount of time to get fleshed out. Even the seemingly annoying brat turns out watchable in the end. I do feel, though, that they could have had more development. This series is really well written, and the creators knew how to use their time, but the series never really reaches the height that requires it to become an awesome series. There’s also the matter that all mystery-series need time to build up, so the show needs some time to really get going.
Nevertheless, I’m glad I watched this. It’s an excellent mystery-series that delivers, without hitting the heights. But don’t worry, you’ll be in for lots of surprises. ;)]]>
Dennou Coil – A Circle of Children – 09
Whoa, this episode is not to be missed! It starts out like random filler, but ends up to be the perfect example to demonstrate all good qualities of Dennou Coil. It’s got hilarious moments, the mystery is excellent, a huge amount of characters play some kind of role, and some major revelations are made.
Everything is revolving around the match, which was agreed at the end of the previous episode. It ends up being a combination between a sleeping-party and a kid’s playground. The set-up is like this: wait till dark, and then divide in two parties, who will fight against each other. These parties then split in two groups: the attackers and the victims. Basically, the attackers launch different kinds of attacks at the victims, and the victims try not to get hit. Yuuko and her drunk teacher (who stayed over as well, to keep an eye on the children, but ate a bit too many whiskey bonbons) are the victims for Fumie’s party, and Akira and Gachagiri (please tell me if I got their names wrong) play the victims of Daichi’s party.
But first: ghost stories! Both Daichi and Haraken tell supposed rumours about Michiko-san (I loved the artificial lightning that was used to create the mood ^^;). Daichi’s is obviously fake, but I can’t help but wonder whether some parts about Haraken’s story may be true. Obviously, the black faces were made up, but there could be some truth to Michiko, being once a student of the same school. She found herself in an empty school-building, even though it was already morning. She then tried to take off her glasses, only to realize that she wasn’t wearing them, and then realized that she had become part of the cyber-world herself.
Like I said above, lots of characters had some kind of important role, and lots of characters got a bit of development. The reaction of Daichi and Fumie to Haraken’s story was priceless, and it again shows how similar they are. We also get to see Daichi’s father during this episode, and I must say that I’m not surprised at all that the two of them are related.
For Yasako, this episode can be seen as her “Hazing”, since she had to protect both herself and her teacher from Daichi’s assaults. Because of that, this episode can be seen as the end of the introduction for Dennou Coil. She did pretty well, actually, after having been drilled by Fumie for this task.
Akira also was too cute when Daichi found out about him, being a double-spy. After all, they can all imagine the idea of being abused by a woman too well. ^^: Denpa also tells Haraken why he is friends with Daichi in the first place. It seems that he once was bullied, and then saved by Daichi. Denpa seems to be more sensitive to the cyber-world, by the way. It’s a bit annoying that his name means “radio wave” in Japanese. Only now I realize that Daichi wasn’t talking about the radio waves inside the cyber-world, he just talked about the guy named Denpa!
Still, the funniest moment of the episode definitely was when Haraken’s aunt secretly sneaked a Sacchi inside the school with the help of a meta tag, after which it ran off on its own and zapped some of Daichi’s friends. That must have been a huge wtf-moment for the two of them. xD
Now, regarding the plot. Remember the red meta-bug that Haraken got after the previous episode? At the beginning of the episode, he finds out that it makes a sound, so he lets Denpa translate it for him. The sound turns out to say: 4-4-2-3, which can also mean Yonyon Nii-San, or brother Yonyon (Anime News Network strangely lists 4423 as one of the characters with a voice-actor, hence why).
Isako spends the episode tracking the illegal that’s been hiding in the school, explaining the fog that came out of the classroom in the previous episode. There is something different about this one, though. It already formed a keyhole on its own, without the help of Isako. A strange glowing fairy-like thing came out of it, and started to run around the school. Haraken notices it, and strangely, it reminds him of Kanna, so he follows it. It then brings him to some strange kind of room, with a phone in it. He dials 4-4-2-3, and somehow Kanna’s voice comes out! Things get even weirder when Isako arrives, traps the fairy, calls it Michiko, and absorbs it!]]>
Alexander Senki – Reign the Conqueror Review – 83/100
I was really surprised when I found out that this was the third-worst rated anime on Anime News Network. Heck, even Tekken had a better rating. I can’t believe how many people gave this a measly 1/10 score, just because it’s a bit different from your usual anime, and failed to look at the merits of this series.
For me, Alexander Senki is a piece of art. It’s loosely based on the life of Alexander the Great, we see him take over the title of king of Macedonia from his father, and we follow his world conquest, and the people around him. The background art is incredibly surrealistic, and it turns this anime in a visual treat. Everything in this anime is just extremely stylistic, which fits the mood of Macedonia before Christ perfectly, and not to mention that we’ve got quite a few famous people from those ages making cameo-appearances. The music makes the atmosphere even better, when it combines epic music with synthesisers.
Still, I can imagine why people wouldn’t like it. Not only is the character-art very unconventional, it also tries to meld in with the unique style of this anime. It works, but lots of male and female skin is shown in the process. People basically walk around without any pants, nude women often parade the screen, and there’s also plenty of male nudity. It’s easy to think that this will lapse in some kind of yaoi-fest. But let me assure you, there isn’t any hint of Yaoi in this anime, and you also can’t really call this shounen-ai.
Still, there are a few technical flaws in this series, which prevent it to be part of the top-notch anime. The most notable one is that this show brings the Deus ex Machina back to their original meaning, when it seems that at times, the Gods themselves like to interfere. While it is nice when compared to the Deus ex Machina from other anime, they do remain Deus ex Machina, and certain parts, especially the supernatural ones could have had more explanation. Some important side-characters also could have been a bit more fleshed out as well.
The fact remains, though, that this is a really thought-provoking anime, with lots of symbolism and references to the ancient Greeks. It constantly makes the viewer think a bit. The ending may have been a bit too enthusiastic in this, by the way, and I’m still not sure whether that’s in a good way or a bad way. It’s clear that the creators intended to end the series with a huge question-mark, and lots of questions that shouldn’t have been answered are left for us to ponder, but there were also enough questions that should have been answered, and the fact remains that this series would have benefited so much from one more episode.
Overall, if you like unique anime, favour thought-provoking series, are interested in the ancient Greeks and don’t mind the male nudity, this can be an interesting watch for you. The series has its flaws, but the third-worst anime ever?! It seriously deserves better than that.]]>
Mahou Tsukai Tai Review – 81/100
So… because the summer holidays started I have a bit more time to watch anime, so there’ll be an increase in the amount of reviews. First one up is Mahou Tsukai Tai, a charming slice-of-life show, about a school’s magic club.
At first sight, the cast looks like a terrible amalgamation of stereotypes. There are five members in this magic club, and among them are a ditzy idol, the pretty-boy who gets adored by al the girls at school and is terrific at sports, and a geek who can’t help to think perverted thoughts. Still, upon further watching, it becomes clear that these stereotypes are just small parts of these characters, and they all form a very likable cast.
To give a few examples, remember the pretty-boy? Well, he’s gay, and he’s put his eye on the geek, hence the reason of his unlikely membership of such an obscure club as the magic club. The geek, on his part, is the one who founded the club, and throughout the series, we actually see him stand up for the things he believes in, unlike his counterparts in, say harems, who never get to do anything. And I haven’t even started talking about the main character: Sae. She’s a really cute character, who always has trouble expressing what she wants to say. And the combination of all these different characters makes the anime feel incredibly genuine, which also plays a big role for the story, in the end.
The anime basically consists out of two parts. In the first, the magic club tries out random spells, all going different from expected, so that they can give the different characters some development. The second part is about the main storyline, in which a mysterious character appears and starts wreaking havoc. In my opinion, the first part was the better one. The main storyline is nice and all, but what really shines in this anime are its characters, and they show their best while dealing with the random spells that they let lose on the world (think of spells involving a giant walking cherry-blossom, or a spell that teleports you to the place that’s on your mind). The fact also remains that this mysterious character takes quite a few episodes to get interesting.
Mahou Tsukai Tai did air about a decade ago, so don’t expect much on the graphics-department. The animation looks decent and it’s never awkward and the art style does well enough to tell the story but it’s nothing special. At times, there may be a bit too many fanservice-jokes, but it’s nothing serious. Apart from a very catchy OP and ED, the music also does a fine job of not getting noticed.
Overall, if you’re a slice-of-life fan, you could check this one out, as it’s got some memorable characters. It was definitely fun watching especially the beginning part, and the ending left me with a good feeling, it’s just too bad that some of the middle episodes were a tad dull.]]>
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 52
Seriously, I couldn’t help but shed a tear at end of the episode. Now that the main focus of the anime has turned back to Shuran’s home village, and Eigetsu’s fate, it’s promising to be incredibly sad, and if the cliff-hanger was just a sign of things to come, then I can’t wait to see the next couple of episodes. Seriously, that was awesome, and most definitely one of the highlights of the entire series.
Most of the episode spends its time building up. Shuuran and Riou tell the meaning of the kanji that’s used for their names (and Riou isn’t his real name, by the way). If I had to guess, then the home-base of the cult indeed is in that village, and “Riou” somehow ended up involved with them (after all, he did spend his childhood with Shuuran, that is a fact).
We also finally get to know what happened to Kourin: she got captured, mistaken for Shuurei (again ^^; Shuuran also guesses that Kourin looks a lot like Shuurei). She then got locked up, along with about thirty people, suffering from the disease. Ever since, she managed to convince her guards to let her help them. Right now, she manages to escape with the help of Shuuran, and finally gets her teary reunion with Eigetsu! So sad.
Oh, and Ryuuren returns again. Seriously, when I first saw episode five, in which he got introduced, I never thought he’d have any big role, but he did turn into a vital supporting character, who provided lots of support to both his bosom buddies #1 and #2. We also see him more serious than ever when he turns up, it seems that he went to the village as fast as he could (by the way, how did he know where Eigetsu was locked up? Did he ask people at Korinjou?)
Anyway, it’s such a shame that the episodes only air once a week. I want more!!]]>
Seirei no Moribito – 14
This one’s another plot-heavy episode, in which a few new things get explained regarding Chaggumu, by both Torogai-shi (who returns) and Shuga. We also get to see quite an exciting chase (god, that Torogai-shi is quite tough for her age), and Shuga gets locked up. Intentionally or by accident, I don’t know, however.
In any case, the reason why Torogai-shi went on a trip was to speak with a colony of water-spirits. Shuga meanwhile acquires the favour of two of the palace guards, so tat he can finally get a chance again to look at the old library we saw him in a couple of episodes ago, when he was ordered to research Chaggumu by Seidoushi. They both find out the same thing (and please, PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong, because it’s a MAJOR plot twist): Chaggumu’s existence won’t cause the drought.
It seems that two-hundred years, a similar story happened, when another boy got implanted with the egg of the water-spirit. If I understood things correctly, this boy eventually transformed into a water-spirit himself, and had to be slayed by the royal guards. Will the same thing happen to Chaggumu, or can he somehow be saved? Also, if you pay close attention to the episode, you see that Chaggumu is starting to behave like a mother to the egg inside of him. That really was kind of cute. ^^;
This episode also introduced a new party: the fire-nation, as one of their beings starts attacking Torogia-shi. I’m not sure why, it either doesn’t like intruders, or it doesn’t like Torogai’s involvement with the water-spirits.
In any case, I really enjoyed this episode. It was fairly easy to understand it, in terms of Seirei no Moribito, and I feel like I’ll be able to rely on other people’s summaries for the things that I missed, unlike the previous episode, where it took me a week to realize that the “ronin” actually was the leader of the royal hunters that noticed Barsa.]]>
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – 27
So, basically because in Higurashi, every single detail counts, and the subs come out at bullet speed anyway, I’m going to continue to follow this series subbed instead of raw. And boy, does it deliver! Only Mononoke will probably be able to stand a chance of beating this series for the title of the best show of the summer-season.
So, basically, the current arc is the aftermath of the sixth arc, and meant to give the final clues, before the eighth arc will reveal everything. It does this by means of the hints that were given in the game, and translated in the AnimeSuki forums. I only read a few of the hints back when the series aired, so it’s going to be great to see them all lined up.
And the creators couldn’t have chosen a better and more awesome setting for this arc: 30 years in the future, with as main characters Oishi, Akasaka and a grown-up Rena!! I’m also really curious as to how long this arc will be, and what will be its climax?
Anyway, let’s start with the new OP, as it reveals quite a bit of information. It’s sad, instead of chaotic like the one for the first season. There are two things that immediately catch your mind: a strange girl, and the huge focus on Rika. Keep an eye out for this mysterious girl, because (having read one or two hints about her), something tells me that she’s playing a huge central role in this series. I’m also really glad to see that it seems like Rika will become the main character of the second season, when compared to Keiichi in the first one. Especially considering she’s my favourite character.
The episode starts with Akisaka with a guy who once was in charge of overseeing Hinamizawa, meeting up with Oishi in the bus stop that we all know so well. Hinamizawa is in ruins, and the disaster indeed happened after episode 26. Akisaka recaps a few things that happened in the fourth arc, after which he introduces Sawada (at least, I think he’s spelled that way. The fansubber refused to translate his name). Sawada now works for the self defence-force after he left Hinamizawa, and he used to be an underclassman of Akisaka when they were in college.
The fansubber also for some reason translated “Onigafuchi” to “Onigahuchi”, but I’ll keep with Onigafuchi in my future entries. It’s probably a translation-error anyways. In Onigafuchi, which has now been covered in concrete, and the ruins of the hospital Akisaka tells about his theories, backed up by online bloggers (this probably is the first time an anime referred to bloggers in any way ^^;). It basically starts out with a summary of the information we already knew at the sixth arc, when Rena received Takano’s scrapbooks.
His conclusion, in any case, is something we’ve been expecting all along: gas never erupted from the march in the first place. According to various people, it’s useless to seal up a gas leak with concrete. According to him, the three great families got in trouble when the original virus began to decline, so they tried to remake it. This failed, and it either killed the entire village, or it made the villagers kill themselves. The alien-part has to be fake, of course.
It also seems that the Self Defence Force knew somehow what was going on. They put up fences around the Onigafuchi-march, and frequently took blood-samples from their members for investigation. The question remains: if they knew, why didn’t they do something about it?
They then go towards the olds school-building, in order to meet with another familiar face: Rena. Oishi then starts asking her a few questions, since he’s the only one that met her before. It really seems that she suffered serious traumas after the disasters in Hinamizawa (by the way, I’d love to find out how both she and Keiichi in the third arc decided to live the rest of their lives).
Oishi then comes with some more facts: after we saw Rika claim that she finally wanted to become serious against the person that played the “endless game of June” with her, Irie committed suicide with poison, she again got killed and at dawn, the disaster took place. Rena was also hospitalized for a long time afterwards. Oishi also has the theory that she was brainwashed when she was there.
Rena then talks of one of the hints that I vaguely read once. Remember when Rena was hiding in the bus? Rika in “Oyashiro-mode” then visited Rena, in an attempt to save her. When Rena, however, became scared of her and yelled at her, Rika claimed that she had no more interest in the village, and that she wanted to move on to another one. This makes Akisaka remember the time he was with Rika as well.
Okay, so let’s combine these facts a bit. The fact does remain that it’s a bit too coincidental that Rena picked the exact evening to carry out her plan, right before the disaster occurred. This seems to suggest that someone was able to control the disaster, which suggests that information was about to become known that was not meant to come out.
Still, if that’s the case, then why was Rena the only one to survive? I can imagine that Keiichi would have survived in the third arc. He was unconscious and away from everyone, which means that he wasn’t exposed to the virus in any way. For Rena, though, this is different.
My theory is that Rena was one of the first people to be infected. Because of that, she also was one of the first to stand a chance of being cured. Notice the syringe Rika is holding in the flashback? Rika actually wanted to cure her, but Rena refused. Instead, Keiichi managed to cure her, in the same reason that Rena tried to cure Keiichi with in the first arc. It was only then that Rika realized that the virus could also be cured in a different way. Unfortunately, the realized this too late and got killed before she could take action. This suggests why the eighth arc is going to reveal everything: it’s because Rika will finally get serious.
I also assume that Rika was the one who cured Rena back in the first arc, in an attempt to get her to save Keiichi, but this failed, and after this she kept quiet for a long while, until Shion went crazy in the fifth arc. I also finally realize why Rika was able to predict her death so accurately: she already had lived the same timeline over and over again. Of course she’d get a bit sick of the same things happening again and again.
Going back to the disaster of Hinamizawa, I think that is the time that a certain someone awakened the virus in the entire population of Hinamizawa, and they began to kill each other. The reason Keiichi went crazy in the first arc was because of the weapon Rena showed him (probably under light influence of the virus, after which Rika probably came to her), which awakened the virus too early. The same can probably be said for Satoko when Keiichi petted her in the third arc, Shion losing her fingernails in the fifth arc and Rena getting Takano’s scrapbooks in the sixth arc.
The question remains: what does Rika’s little friend have to do with this? And where does Takano fit in this story? Why did Irie commit suicide? And are there possibly two Rikas?]]>
Some quick first impressions: Buzzer Beater, Code-E and Mushiuta
Buzzer Beater
Okay, you know when an anime is bad when it uses recycled Pandemos-designs from Master of Epic with varying skin-colours for its alien-designs. Yes, it’s that bad, and it immediately shows the image that the creators have of them: all aliens have horns, so they’re evil, while humans are good and they have to win. And believe it or not, but things are even worse on the earth-side. Somehow, the creators found themselves the most annoying brat, and gave him a star-spot on the basketball-team that’s supposed to finally defeat the aliens. How the heck did that happen!? Buzzer Beater enforces my opinion that most sports-anime are garbage, simply because they almost always include the near-impossible scenario of a 14-year-old brat that somehow becomes the best in the field. Buzzer Beater features one that has no team-spirit whatsoever, happens to be of the same level as grown-up players who trained their entire lives and continues to think that he’s king of the world. Don’t even bother to give this one a chance.
Code-E
With the director of Simoun, I just had to look forward to this. Unfortunately, it’s not anything special yet, apart from the OP and the climax. This episode was really meant to introduce the main character, who has the strange power to disrupt electrical equipment when startled or scared. She already was very shy, which may not have been the best personality-trait for this power. I liked how she’s cheerful in surroundings that she and is trusted with, but becomes incredibly scared when new things are introduced to her. So far, the first episode dabbled along nicely without getting boring, and there were smudges of hints that the future episodes will become intriguing (most notably, the climax), but I do have to say that the male lead must really improve over the next few episodes, as he’s rather horrible, both his character-design and his personality.
Mushiuta
After having watched the episode, I know for sure: this is going to be a very dark story. Even the light elements in this episode had a gloomy atmosphere. The story is based around the general premise of “bunch of people with powers fighting monsters”, and the main character seems to be the strongest of the team, a fourteen-year-old kid, and he acts like a timid person when he’s not involved in a mission. Still, despite this, he managed to distance himself from the other teenaged brats that we see so often. He’s not cocky, arrogant or whiny at all, due to the things that have already happened to him. Okay, he’s still inexperienced (he let a very easy target slip away at the beginning of the episode), but as far as characters like his go, I like him. If you’re looking for a dark story with high-school elements, this will be a fine pick. If it manages to stay away from fillers, that is.]]>