Short Synopsis: An Englishmen episode. Under the lead of Kanna, they launch another surprise attack at Enomoto
Good: Whoa, I never expected that the creators would go that far; great fights as well.
Bad: Dammit, I was beginning to like the three Englishmen.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
At the end of the previous episode, we finally saw the Englishmen again, after having been absent for episodes. Surprisingly, they immediately launch their attack. I remember how I speculated how Queen would end up doing something stupid, but seeing all of them to get slaughtered like that was certainly something I didn’t expect at this point. The deaths could have been a bit more dramatic, but the fights definitely were impressive. Especially Hijikata vs Knight was interesting: English versus Japanese swordsmanship. The creators were brilliant in showing the differences.
And regarding Kakunojou, things are worse than I thought concerning her. When Soutetsu said that she had to “guide” Akizuki, I didn’t think too much behind it, but he actually meant for her to join their side, and convert Akizuki as well. The previous episode makes perfect sense now, but I can imagine that Kakunojou is in some heavy identity struggles. Because of her sword, it’s her destiny to protect the lord’s head from Akizuki, while she actually is in love with him. To make things even better, she even converted Kanna to cooperate with her. She’s becoming like a revolutionary icon in this new suit of hers.
This episode also revealed a bit more information about Soutetsu and the lord’s head’s goal. I obviously didn’t understand everything, but could it be that the lord’s head’s former subordinated went down in some war, and they’re trying to resurrect them? Apparently, they must hold some great values, as Soutetsu’s gestured that he’s planning to conquer the world with them. Well, that indeed is a goal worth of going through so much trouble.
Hijikata, meanwhile, makes an interesting move. With Kakunojou gone, Akizuki stands all alone at the moment, apart from his allies back in Yokohama. Hijikata actually doubted Enomoto this episode, and he returned to Akizuki. It’s no confirmation yet that he’ll definitely join him, but it does show potential. I also liked how Akizuki stayed in the shadows for this episode, by the way. Not only am I very curious to see him action again, it also made sure that the attention was where it belonged: the Englishmen and especially Kanna.
On a final note, Queen did show a potential weakness of the lord’s head before she died. Note where Kanna tries to shoot Enomoto, and discovers that all his bullets are reflected by some shield. Queen takes advantage of this by firing an arrow without Enomoto noticing, but she misses by about half a centimetre. The arrow, however, was not reflected. Does this mean that if you ambush Enomoto, you can get past that pesky barrier he keeps using?]]>
Sci-Fi Harry Review – 80/100
Don’t let the title fool you. It may be cheesy, but there’s a good reason for the show to be named like this. Sci-fi Harry is a mystery-drama, focusing at a psychic named Harry. He’s an incredible social outcast, unable to talk even normally in front of people, who discovers that he’s got huge psychic powers. Through pressure of one of his few friends, he ends up in his own tv-show, called “Sci-Fi Harry” because people are so enthusiastic about him. The thing is, however, that he doesn’t know how to control his powers, which causes quite an incident. Ever since then, different people try to obtain his powers.
First, let me say that this anime features some great moments. It isn’t afraid to show some disturbing scenes (like people with their necks all twisted around), and Harry works as a great main character, due to his constant worries and inabilities. To add to this, Sci-Fi Harry comes with a multi-layered plot, where nearly every episode reveals a bit about a huge complot which is going on. Lots of storylines happen at the same time, ranging from decent to excellent.
A huge theme in the anime is betrayal. Nearly everyone who runs into Harry tries to manipulate him. Because he’s such a weak character, this actually succeeds most of the times. In addition to that, the other members of the rich side-cast also all have one or more instances where they betray, and are betrayed themselves. Especially Mother and Chinori turned into awesome characters because of this.
I liked the fact how this anime follows so many different storylines, but there lies also the problem. Managing all these different storylines which split up and get combined frequently is extremely difficult, and in the end, the creators of Sci-Fi Harry didn’t manage to do this perfectly. Because of this, some of the storylines are more interesting than others, and it’s annoying to see the more interesting ones get interrupted by the less interesting ones. John, an interesting main character in the beginning also gets condemned to the role of a mere unimportant side-character after the first half of the anime, which was a pity, actually.
The fact also remains that this anime took a bit more on its plate than it could take. Especially the final two or three episodes lose a bit of steam when compared to their predecessors, and yet they continue to introduce more plot-elements which could have been easily omitted. Because of this, the ending left a bit too many questions unanswered, and some answers that were given weren’t really satisfying. The identity of “Accuser” just didn’t fit right, and we never know who keeps sending the text-messages through the computer. The final episode itself also was a bit disappointing. Not because it was rushed, but it lacked a decent aftermath. Something very interesting happens at the end of the episode, and I would so have loved to see how people reacted to this, but instead the anime ends and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Still, despite this, I really enjoyed this anime. If you like dark mystery-stories, then this is definitely an anime that you should check out. Just be aware that Harry’s art style may be a bit annoying at times, but I think that that was what the creators had in mind. He really looks like a worthless person. And Chinori looked too scary at times.]]>
Death Note – 22
Short Synopsis: Ah, of course. Misa didn’t reveal exactly how she convinced Higuchi that she was the second Kira. Because of this, L was able to come up with a plan to capture the guy and reveal his method of killing.
Good: Ah, Finally the Yotsuba-arc stops playing around and this series turns interesting again.
Bad: L’s obsession with sweets is turning more ridiculous with every episode; Good Light still remains annoying.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
Ah, I’ve been waiting for this. Death Note has been getting worse with every episode progressing, I almost gave up on this. Luckily this episode fixes a lot of things when it stops with the out-of-place comedy and finally brings some kind of climax. The second half of the episode was awesome, due to the high stress it puts on Higuchi. Not only that, if the plan actually works, L will actually be able to figure out the secret behind the Death Note.
The first half was decent, though. It featured a bit out-of-place animation at times, and quite frankly I’m beginning to get a bit sick of L’s obsession with sweets. He isn’t Blossom, you know? The way Watari brought in sweets like a butler as if he’s got nothing else to do really was ridiculous. I liked when this was still rather subtle, like the first time the police officers met with L, and he put an unusually large amount of sugar lumps in his coffee.
Still, I’m glad to say that the other members of the Yotsuba-arc finally turned a bit interesting, when three of them showed that they’d actually wish to get rid of Kira as well. Misa had a small role, so her usual annoying blabbering also was pretty much absent from this episode. Overall, it’s a very good episode, and I’m really hoping that this episode marked the end of Death Note, trying to make fun of itself. Still, that climax was definitely worth watching.
One final note about Light: he made a mistake this time. This just shows how much the Death Note changed him. After all, when he made the call, his life wasn’t really in danger. The guy basically doesn’t have to fear for his life at this point. That very much was a different case when he still was Kira, when he came up with some crazy plans, in order not to get caught. It’s the basics of human nature, when something very important is at stake (especially your life), you start to unconsciously perform better. At least, if you manage to keep your head cool ;)]]>
Tempou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi – 01-15
Okay, I just finished Lunar’s wave of new Ayakashi Ayashi, and I know I’m not blogging it, but I just had to say something about this series. While I originally thought that this would be just another shounen-fighting series, it has pleasantly surprised me on so many levels. First of all, its characters. It comes with a wide variety of characters, some of them had some kind of problem, worry, which has something to do with their history and the way they grew up.
The great thing is that these problems and worries really are different from what you usually see in anime. Never have I seen an anime which put so many emphasis on longing for another place, or different faces of yourself. Not only that, but Ayakashi Ayashi combines this with some very complex storytelling. It’s based on arcs of two or three episodes, but somehow these small arcs end in great multi-layered conclusions.
Another thing which makes this anime stand out is its huge roots in Japanese history. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto may have a lot of historical references, that series is nothing compared to Ayakashi Ayashi. While Bakumatsu looks at history from a higher-up’s perspective, Ayakashi takes this a step further when it shows the story from the perspective of people with a low to medium status, and it does this with great detail. For example, I’ve seen my share of anime which involved a brothel, but never did I see it this detailed as in Ayakashi Ayashi.
It’s too bad, though. This is an excellent series, it’s got great storytelling, but the fact remains that it’s hard to understand. Because of this, it’ll never be really popular. And still this series has been scheduled to air at the prime-time date of anime, the former place of popular series as Blood+, Gundam Seed Destiny and even Full Metal Alchemist. The result: it got cut down from 52 episodes to 26. -_-
I’m actually wondering how this will take out. There’s no doubt that there will be rushed parts, but it’ll be interesting to see if the creators actually managed to pull this off right. The results are noticeable even now, though. The past five episodes have had a sudden increase in comedy, and Saizou often turns into chibi-mode when she’s astounded. Often by Atl’s new found relationship. So far, especially the comedic note has done the series good, the creators actually knew when to use it, and when to keep serious.]]>
Ghost hunt – 22
Short Synopsis: The next, and probably final case revolves around a family which has been haunted by one or more spirits for a few generations.
Good: A smaller scale than the previous cases; I liked the back-story of the ghosts.
Bad: Will this final arc really save this series?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
Ah, last time, I made a prediction that either Naru or Mai would end up in some kind of grave danger. In the end, this turned out to be Naru, when he let a rather malicious ghost possess him. This leaves him put in a forced sleep for the next couple of episodes, and out of the investigation of the case. With this, Mai can only cling to Bou-san, which gives the current arc quite a bit of potential for Mai to show what she’s really made of.
But then again, I’ve been saying that for each arc. And still, they turned out disappointing. Gain, the show isn’t bad, but I keep expecting this show to match the fifth episode, and I’m getting annoyed that this has yet to happen. For some reason, the past few arcs found it a good idea to lower the pacing and give Mai a damsel-in-distress role. And that while the pacing was so addictive in the fifth arc.
Still, one thing I genuinely liked about this series was the back-story of the ghosts. If the creators can continue this further through the next episodes, then things can become really interesting. It seems that we’re dealing with a series of ghosts, among which is a couple, who committed some kind of sin and had to get chased out of their village because of this. I’m assuming that they died. So far, we’ve got three ghosts which have been confirmed to posses people. The one who now has hold of Naru, and the two children called Katsuki and Wakako. I assume that the two of them are possessed by the couple. Apart from them, I suspect that one of the other sons also has a spirit inside of him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the other girl also was possessed. I’d just wish that we’d see a bit more of her.
I’m also glad that this arc is a bit more down-to-earth. Both Ubusuna and Sakauchi tried to curse an entire school, while Urado had almost countless of victims. This makes it rather hard to sympathize with the original victims, but right now the case revolves around a family. Most people who died were members of the family. This arc reminds me a lot of Ayatsuri Sakon, especially the Byakko-arc. Heh, I’d wish that Mai would be as versatile as Sakon. 😛
We also got some very obvious signs that Matsuzaki is going to play a big part in this arc. While I don’t like the obviousness, it’s great to see Matsuzaki actually being useful. Before, you could have replaced her with a cardboard box and you still wouldn’t have noticed the difference.]]>
Deltora Quest – 05
Short Synopsis: Lief, Barda and Jasmine run into the trap of Nij and Doj, two of Tegan’s servants.
Good: Very refreshing, finally an adventure anime with the emphasis on using your head to get rid of the enemy.
Bad: I had a near-headdesk moment when Lief, Barda and Jasmine ran into the trap without noticing anything.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
Ah, for the first time since the first episode I’ve been impressed again. The past few episodes were nice and all, but they were missing something. While this episode did have some annoying points, I still loved how both parties try to deceive their enemies. During the climax, Lief and Barda also didn’t just use their huge powers to slay the monsters. No, instead, they fled, and tried to eliminate them by disabling the path, which can be switched on and off.
I also loved the cross-references between the episode. I was wondering if the song of the last episode was some kind of introduction, and indeed it was. I’m suspecting that we’ll run into the eleven other children. Also, which raven has been swallowed by Tegan? I’m also curious about the frogs, the worms and the flees.
To make matters even better, the Tara-guy had a surprisingly heavy background. I assumed he couldn’t speak because he spoke a different language and didn’t even bother, but the voice of him and all his comrades has been sealed away by Tegan. Never knew that she would be this big. He also proved to be quite useful, instead of just acting like a random victim, or a person who gets to “see the light” because of our main characters.
Overall, I was right to chose to blog this series. It may have a few clichéd elements, but the rest of the anime more than makes up for it. It’s too bad that this series has been so incredibly neglected.
Still, I wish the fansubbers would proofread their releases a bit. At one point, they thought one of the monsters just talked gibberish at one point, they translated it as “bla bla bla”, with a note that he just “doesn’t say anything”, while it was in fact a sentence that even I could understand. Loosely translated, it’s something like “you’ll soon sleep forever”, which is why Lief suspected that they did something in the tea.]]>
Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – 10
Short Synopsis: Most of the episode centres around Jean Valean, as he’s forced to reveal his secret. Cosette, meanwhile writes a letter to her mother.
Good: Jean was very interesting; How long must Thenardier keep interfering with Fantine and Cosette?!
Bad: It took so long for Cosette to write a letter?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Ah, so that’s why Jean Valjean was so worried. It wasn’t just that Javel thought that he was Jean Valjean, it’s that someone else had been arrested under the name of Jean Valjean. This means that this poor person was about to be judged for the sins that the real Jean Valjean committed. Because of this, Jean’s problems may be over, but the fact remains that he dedicated himself to building an upright life. Heck, he tries to throw away the chandelier that he “got” from the priest, but even that is impossible for him. He just can’t let an innocent person be judged because of the things he did, which is why he reveals his real identity in the end.
The results of this revelation will have to wait till the next episode, when Javert will probably find out. Jean managed to walk away in the end, but there’s no way he’s not going to be judged. I wonder what Aran’s role will be in this. He’s been rather absent after he warned Jean about Fantine. Speaking of Fantine, I’m really hoping for Cosette to get at least a chance of meeting Fantine before she dies. Right now, the happy times at the Thenardiers seem to be completely over, with the things Cosette did to annoy them in the past episodes. She’s especially lost the support of Gavroche, and it seems that even the priest is going to be moving away towards Paris.]]>
Master of Epic – 10
Short Synopsis: The fishing scene returns, just as the main character-clone of the first episode and our two brave adventurers.
Good: Lots of Bukotsu and Chuu; Funnier than usual; An actual serious scene that works out well!
Bad: The creators were SO mean with that serious scene!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
You know what, Master of Epic has been getting better and better for the past few episodes. Mostly because it’s been reusing more and more characters from previous episodes. I don’t know, usually when shows of this nature do this, it feels cheap, because they couldn’t just come up with some new characters. But with Master of Epic, I’m actually very glad that these characters return, as we get to know them better and better, which makes sure of some very funny results. I’ll keep quiet about the main character, though. I’m content for now because her clone had a major role in this episode.
Sketch 1: The Introduction. This time, the two hosts talk about something called Nashi. I had no idea what this was, so I looked it up a bit in an online dictionary. It seems they were either talking about a Japanese pear, or the word “without”. Seeing as the reporters were awfully quiet when they found out about this, I’d put my money on the second option.
And CURSE that second sketch! Finally we have a serious and really touching sketch, and what do the creators do? They decide to go old-tv style by making the dialogue show up on the screen, instead of through voice actors. Okay, I can understand a bit of Japanese speech, but how am I supposed to decipher that much kanji?! The scenes looked amazing, and I LOVED the ending, but I would so have liked to know what the characters talked about. Dammit. Still, ranting aside, this sketch rocked. Big time.
Sketch 3 abandons the seriousness again when it comes with the news. The fishing scene returns again, as the reporter interviews the female Pandemos who’s been fishing on some random docks. He doesn’t get much out of her, and she demands him to be quiet, though. ^^;
Sketch 4: Bukotsu and Chuu again. This time they deviate from the usual formula when it’s not Chuu, but a random bear who does something cute. Still, you can’t deny that their reaction wasn’t cute in a strange way. 😛
Sketch 5: The news, 6 hours later. The Pandemos seems to have caught something and almost explodes out of anger when her line snaps. XD
Sketch 6: Our two “brave” heroes return again. Of course, I’m talking about the courageous duo of Phillipe and Syozo. This time, Syozo tries out ways to calm ferocious animals, or in this case a hungry wolf: tempting it with a steak. Okay, it attracts a few more wolves, but it does work, doesn’t it? I mean, the wolves stayed quiet, okay… for a little while perhaps. ^^;
Sketch 7: another fishing scene. This time it features Chuu and Bukotsu. If you wondered where their usual antics were, well, it’s in this sketch, when Chuu has fun with masks. XD
Sketch 8: the news yet again, this time the next day. The Pandemos is still fishing at the same spot, and it seems that the reporter stayed up all this time, watching her catch a pile of sharks. Chuu then comes and fishes up the treasure chest the Pandemos has been searching for all along. The anchor, meanwhile, falls asleep. (^^)
Sketch 9: Waragecha V. When things couldn’t get any weirder for the Waragecha five, the huge black mecha arrives with a fake anticlimax. Yup, a fake one. First she acts like an overly emotional parents towards her child, only to reveal that she actually is on the producer’s side. The Waragecha meanwhile break up their new shiny robot, in order to transform back into it again in order to make sure that this episode also features a transformation-scene. Heh, talk about efficiency. 😛
Sketch 10 closes the episode with Bukotsu, who is about to fight the copy of the main character, who is being coached by her boyfriend. I guess she didn’t slay him after all, too bad actually. In any case, Chuu is coaching Bukotsu. do I still have to mention how this ends?
By the way, this episode actually featured a couple of very nice background tunes. I like where this is going. And yes, I’m crazy for liking a show like this.]]>
Flag Review – 90/100
Okay, so I just finished watching the second season of FLAG (thanks to w for pointing out that it already was released). I have to say that it looked much more like an anime, with multiple climaxes, a small break, and a bit more focus at the different characters, but still retaining its original style and narrative. Even though I missed a few points here and there, I have to say that the second season was even better than the first. Mostly due to a few very strong episodes, a great climax and a charming aftermath.
For those who haven’t seen its first season, not only is FLAG a unique anime who knows no equal, it also is probably one of the most realistic mecha and war-based anime out there. It’s a war-based documentary-anime, featuring a civil war in a fictional country, somewhere in Asia. Its main character, Shirasu is a photographer, who managed to take a picture of a flag, which became the symbol of peace for the country. Peace is finally about to be formed when this flag gets stolen by rebels. Shirasu has now been asked to report and record the mission of a military team, which has been assigned to retrieve the flag.
Among others, this anime sets itself apart from all other anime through its narrative style. The entire anime is seen through camera lenses. It’s basically one huge collection of movies and pictures. Heck, we hardly ever see Shirasu, because she’s behind the camera. The camera-movements are extremely realistic. You can really see that the Shirasu’s camera is controlled by a human, instead of a machine.
But that’s not the only thing that’s realistic in this anime. We get treated to a nice dose of politics and we get to see a number of investigational reporters doing their job. Also, the military has possession of a few mechas, which finally make an attempt to deviate from the stereotype that each mecha can just be piloted by a bunch of kids. Especially the first season of Flag shows that you need an entire team behind these mechas to make them do their job properly.
The animation also is gorgeous, like mentioned before. The only small remark I have is that the creators didn’t synchronize mouth-movement with the voice-acting, but this is a minor detail. The character design also has been done in a style which bothers to differentiate from the usual, giving some very interesting effects, and the background art is just absolutely beautiful. It’s needless to say that the pictures we see flashing on the screen were very interesting to see. In terms of the musical department, this anime also delivers. Most of the anime doesn’t have a background sound, but when it does (mostly during the climax), it comes with a near-perfect soundtrack for an anime like this.
If you managed to sit through the first season, then I definitely recommend you to check out the second season once it gets subbed. I’m hoping for this to happen soon, as this anime definitely deserves some attentions because of all the new things it tried out. Still, one of the few downfalls in this anime is that at times, it spends a bit too much time preparing and building up. Especially the first three episode are just one big introduction.]]>
Jigoku Shoujo – 48
Short Synopsis: It’s time for the final number of cases. This is actually the first to feature the same main character as a previous episode: Takuma.
Good: Very nice twist. Episode 40 may have been disappointing, seeing it continued in this episode was great!
Bad: A bit too much based on coincidence.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I believe that this episode introduced the beginning of the end. Kikuri has been more annoying than ever, and if I had to guess, then the next episode will be featuring the final case, after which episodes 24, 25 and 26 close off the series, explaining what the heck Kikuri actually is, and why she’s so annoying. Still, could this really make a good ending for Jigoku Shoujo? Or am I smelling a third season? 😛
In any case, it was great to see Takuma, who had to live alone for three months, with the experience of seeing his mother get killed, his father get stabbed, and being the centre of all gossip. All around, people talk about how he killed his mother and nearly his father, and how it’s strange for him to get released. It’s not strange, therefore, for him to get ignored by everyone. Still, he proved to be quite a strong boy, ignoring everything that has been thrown at him, waiting for his father to get out of his coma.
The girl meeting up with Takuma may have been a bit too coincidental, but it had some great results. Her original house was taken away because of the destruction of a station, which in the end was cancelled. It seems that she lost her parents afterwards somewhere, not sure how, though. In any case, she’s planning to leave her hometown to somewhere else. For that, she needs money, which she blackmails off the one who initiated the building of the station.
Then it seems that Takuma’s father really was right when he said that if you do bad things, they only come back at you. It’s the same for the girl, Seri, as she’s now got the angry wife of the guy who she blackmailed with a doll in her hand after her. Poor Takuma, first his mother dies, then his father gets put in a coma, then he makes his neighbour disappear, and now, the only girl that acted normally towards him gets sent to hell as well. I wish there were more cases like this in Jigoku Shoujo. It’s actually pretty interesting.]]>