Ergo Proxy – 07

by psgels, posted in Ergo Proxy



Where the previous episodes had a lot of Vincent and a bit of Lil, this episode has a lot of Lil and a bit of Vincent. The two are separated once more, and each have their own story in this episode. I’ll start with Lil.

She’s able to recover, and once she gains conciousness, she leaves her hospital-bed, looking for answers. She looks beautiful without her make-up, by the way. Anyway, she avoids a couple of doctors, while Dedars notices what she’s doing. The two meet each other in the nursery-room. In this room, all the people are born, and artificially raised to be perfect citizens. This was an interesting surprise for me. I knew that Romdeau was focused on total control, but I never realized that the control would be this total. People are truly raised to be perfect citizens, no more. Dedars is willing to tell Lil everything he knows, but before that, she’ll have to face her grandfather. When she does, he just doesn’t respond to her at all. I’m wondering whether this old guy really is the mastermind behind Romdeau, or that he’s just controlled by the statue-like things right next to him. Anyway, when she gets back to Dedars, he shows her a couple of things. First of all: Iggy. It seems he’s making a come-back, this time without being monitored by the police, as Dedars installed something nice in order to prevent it. Second, some info about Proxy, or more precisely: Monad Proxy. It seems that it’s not a bad thing after all. It served as some kind of power source for the humans, taken from Moskou. I’ll just wait a couple of episodes before declaring it along with the good guys, though. But just like Lil, I’m really interested. I want to know what it means. The creators did a fine job in this. Anyway, Lil says some things about her motivation, and then some infected auto-raves enter, trying to kill our two protagonists. The fun thing is: Raul sent them. He’s using the cogito-virus as a weapon to get rid of Lil. She manages to shoot all of the incoming autoraves, though one manages to slice her. Hard. We don’t see what happens to her afterwards. All we see is Dedars making up a death notice for Lil. This is fake, of course, but I do want to know what happened to her.

Vincent, meanwhile, spends the episode flying to his city of birth: Moskou. This was really interesting to see. His companions don’t survive the trip, and he gives them an honorful burial. Eventually, he ends up alone with Pino. This also means that the entire population of Outer-Romdeau is dead now. Nobody has survived. That’s not the first thing you’d expect after episode 4. Anyway, he spends most of the time monologueing about the harships of the journey and his loneliness. Pino’s an autorave, so she doesn’t count. She has a very small part in this episode, by the way. Though, the fulfills this part nicely.

It seems that the next couple of episodes will be revolving around Moskou. Lil will probably also be heading there, and she’ll probably arrive around episode nine. Episode eight will probably involve Vincent arriving in Moskou. About the episode: I really liked it. The dialogue between Lil and Dedars was just superb.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – 03

by psgels, posted in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni



Not as good as the previous two episodes, though this one still managed to amaze me. We continue the morning after the last episode. Keiichi wakes up, and suddenly doesn’t feel like going to school, so he calls in sick. He goes to the hospital, and on the way back, he runs into Oishi who invites him to lunch.

During this lunch, Oishi reveals some more interesting things about Keiichi’s friends. They all have something to do with one of the victims. If it weren’t for me not being able to remember all of their names, I’d list who had a relationship with who. Furthermore, Rena apparently had a little ‘fun’ on her previous school, before she transferred, including a baseball bat and all of the windows in the school.

For some reason, Keiichi now is the one in most danger, even though the festival’s almost a year away. That night, Keiichi gets paid a visit by Rena and Mion, who bring him a couple of ohagi. Then, they turn into creepy-mode again. The impact just wasn’t as good as the previous episode in which Rena went berserk. In there, Keiichi was a bit pushy and wanted to know something of her, and got totally owned afterwards. Right now, they just changed spontaneously, it seemed only meant to deliver a message, or something. Still, the results are pretty awesome to watch, as Keiichi now totally loses it. Especially when he finds a little ‘souvenir’ left in the ohagi.

Keiichi makes up some kind of plan during the night, and goes to school extra early, at which he almost gets hit by a mini-van. He then notices that the driver intended to actually hit him. At school, he searches through random lockers, and suddenly finds a baseball bat. He finds this a nice weapon, and decides to practice with it. His friends all see this, and all get away from him as soon as possible.

After school, Keiichi just goes home, without joining the club. Rena follows him, and reveals some interesting information about Satoshi, in a quite emotional scene, again with her changing into freaky-mode. The same complaints as above. That night, Keiichi gets the jolly news that he’ll be spending 24 hours home alone, as his parents went away for work. Oishi then makes a call, and Keiichi tells him about what happened, and realizes that he would not make a good detective. Then, we see a strange figure walk to his house, and ringing the doorbel, after which the episode ended.

Like I said, I loved the previous two episodes more. They had just utter crazyness. This one was probably more meant in order to give a bit of explanation to what was happening. Ah well, we’ve got the basic outlines now, all that’s left are the details. And there are a LOT of details.

Ayakashi ~ Japanese Classic Horror – 09

by psgels, posted in Ayakashi ~Japanese Classic Horror~



Today, we start with the third and last part of Ayakashi: Bake Neko (I’m really forcing myself not to misread it as Baka Neko). And again, it feels like we’re in a total different anime. The funny thing is, that the impact is even bigger than with Ten Shu Mono Gatari. And again, Bake Neko has some unique features. Yotsuya Kaidan had the incredible murders, Ten Shu Mono Gatari had its great love story. Bake Neko, however, is just crazy. And that has to say something, especially when compared to Yotsuya Kaidan.

The first thing that comes to the eye is the once more changed character art. Yotsuya Kaidan had ugly characters. Ten Shu Mono Gatari had elegant-looking characters. Bake Neko has hilarious looking characters. Especially the minor characters just look like they had to suffer from the horrors of overbudgetting, ending up with a continuously idiotic look.

That’s not all. Also the dialogue just screams chaos. While Yotsuya Kaidan’s dialogue was based on history, Ten Shu Mono Gatari tried to be as romantic as possible, Bake Neko just uses fast-paced dialogue combined with characters being weird, and combines it to something that actually ends up pretty enjoyable.

Anyway, about the story of Bake Neko: I like it. I really like it. This might be the best of the three. We have this demon, who’s busy assaulting a rich family, consisting of a grandfather, a father, a mother, a daughter, an uncle, two or three bodyguards and a bunch of servants. He already killed the daughter and one of the servants, and if it weren’t for a medicine seller who happens to know exorcism, the entire house would have been demolished.

In order for the medicine seller to be able to kill the demon, three things must be known: Katachi, Makoto and Kotowari: the form the demon takes, what is really going on, and the events that made the demon act the way he did. Katachi is immediately clear: this is a case of Bake Neko (hence the title). The merchant needs the members of the house in order to be able to determine Makoto, after which the episode ends. My guess is that the rest of the episodes will deal with the merchant figuring out what happened, accompanied by a couple of nice deaths. I also like the way that especially the uncle seems to be hiding something, though my favourite character still is the assistant bodyguard. He’s just so ignorant.

Some quick first impressions: Yume Tsukai, Ar Tonelico and Jyu Oh Sei

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

We now turn to the series which were kindof ignored by the fansubbers. They’re all fantasy series, in one way or another. Again, some are good, some are bad. Some of them, though, really deserve more credit than they get.

Yume Tsukai

I liked the promo-art when I first saw this. It promises to be an interesting series, with kindof a weak start. If I guess this right, this will be just like series as Jigoku Shoujo and Mushishi: each episode, we get a different case, and each episode is a story on its own. Still, the former two captured me at this moment. Yume Tsukai, however, seems a bit mediocre. I do have confidence, though, that this will turn out to be a great series later in the show. Still, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to witness it, due to the enormous amount of other shows which currently air, and caught my attention more. I’ll try, though.

Ar Tonelico

I secretly hoped for this to be the next Tales of Phantasia. Note to self: NEVER do that again. The story is just generic. The main character is an impulsive, immature, pubescent male. That is so original. Especially when you try to consider that the creators try to make him look like some perfect being. That doesn’t work. The fact that he immediately ends up with a cute girl doesn’t really help, so does the fact that another cute girl happens to be the best engineer ever. Still, despite all this garbage, there’s one thing I really loved. The graphics look totally amazing. Especially the backgrounds were on Mushishi and Tales of Phantasia-level.

Jyu Oh Sei

I have absolutely no idea why this show is neglected this much. It’s brilliant! I urge everyone to check this out, you won’t be disappointed. It’s not the best to come in this season, but this will certainly be a good watch. Another thing: even though the concept is huge, the show only airs eleven episodes. This will either mean great pacing or a rushed ending. Judging from episode one, I’d say its the former. Let’s hope it’ll be able to keep up, because if it will, this will become awesome. Interesting fact: the first thing I thought of when I saw this anime was “Fantastic Children”, which is true, the main characters really look like some upgraded versions of the Children of Befort, which is a very good thing.

The Law of Ueki – 50

by psgels, posted in Law of Ueki



One episode left, and we’re in for a grande finale. It promises to be a great drama, after all, Ueki has only 18 chances to finish Anon off. The Ballow team also still has to give out its final trump card, Hideyoshi also didn’t get to stand in the spotlights. I’ll eat my hat if Sano, Rinko and Mori have played their parts in this show, Robert still has to have a few tricks up his sleave, and is Rihou really taken out forever?

Though, I’m wondering… how did Anon manage to beat Robert in the first place? Anon had nothing at that time, no sacred treasures, no power, no nothing. So, how did he do it? Anyway, it’s also glad to see that the creators still haven’t used up all of their creativity at the end of the series. Ueki’s Maoh, and Anon’s trick at the end totally deserve credit. The fact remains, though, the the fight wasn’t as glorious as we’re used to. Unfortunately.

Will the ending be as predicted, will the ending be horrible, or do we still have a few surprises left? The way it is now, this show can go every possible direction.

.Hack//Roots – 03

by psgels, posted in .Hack//Roots



The episode begins with the members of TaN discussing for a bit, then we switch back to Haseo, who’s busy levelling. These are also the only fights that happen in this episode. It makes me glad to see that this series didn’t focus on the fights after all. Anyway, after killing a bunch of monsters, he walks into three suspicious-looking PC’s, probably after an easy PK. Then we switch to the members of the Twillight Brigade. Shino and Ovan have a little talk with each other, with Ovan being as mysterious as ever.

Back to Haseo, it seems someone has been spreading rumours about him being the legendary Haseo, with superpowers and super-items. The three PC’s from before were begging him to join their party. Haseo tries to flee, but runs into some other guys who heard about him. These, however, are a bunch of PK-ers, only after his money and items. Haseo gets saved by Tawaraya, the big merchant from TaN. Tawaraya, interested in Haseo’s bond with Ovan, is stunned when he founds out that Haseo knows absolutely nothing. He goes back to TaN, and wonders why Ovan was so interested in this kid.

Haseo, meanwhile, gets bothered by Tabby. She’s the only character in the show I have problems with. In combination with other characters, she works pretty well, but her artwork SO does NOT fit with the others. It’s really another art style she’s drawn in. She also was the biggest reason why I feared that .Hack//Roots might be going into the wrong direction. Anyway, she gives Haseo a special card, which makes you able to join a certain guild, in this case, the Twillight Brigade. The two spend a bit of time together, Tabby keeps bothering him, and Haseo decides to lose her the quick and easy way: by logging out.

I’ve noticed before, but now I know for sure: the episodes of .Hack//Roots all start out a bit of mediocre, but as the episode progresses, the scenes become better and better by the minute, and the scenes at the beginning of the episode all get their meaning. The result is awesome, and this episode was no exception. We now get our first taste of supernatural events on the show, and finally it becomes clear why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. For some reason, the screen gets a weird tint, all PC’s and NPC’s disappear, and all Haseo’s able to see is Ovan, who’s walking a distance away from him. Haseo tries to follow him, but the screen turns normal again, and he bumps into Tawaraya. Tawaraya soon understands what happened to him, and finally understands why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. He gives him a special card as well. It also now becomes clear why TaN’s so interested in Ovan. A lot of pieces fall into place this way.

Shino, meanwhile sees where she went wrong, and goes back to Haseo. This time, not to convince him, but just to be with him. That’s what I really liked: two characters, just sitting next to each other, saying just nothing. A lot more anime should attempt this. Haseo leaves, but Shino made a big impression on him. The rest of the episode, we see Haseo thinking about which guild to choose. The result is predictable, but the way the decision is made totally makes up for it. After all, it took Haseo three episodes to make a good decision. Each side was explored, he knew the advantages and disadvantages, and he made a choice. You don’t usually see this in anime either.

Overall, this was another brilliant episode. Haseo’s in the guild now, but I like the way it happened. I wonder what he’ll be doing next.

Magikano Review – 73/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



What we have here, is an example of an anime containing great, but at the same time, horribly wrong comedy, often combined with huge amounts of fanservice. Although the fanservice is bad, the comedy totally makes up for it. Each episode, we get to see our characters do the most stupid things ever. The characters are brilliant when it comes to comedy. This is a typical harem-series, so there naturally is just one male member in the cast, with the rest filled with women. All of course, in love with our main chacrater. Each of these characters has her own different personality, and in combination with each other, they work absolutely great.

The graphics themselves look pretty decent. The character art can be debatable, but it’s good enough to not be bothered by it. The CG looks very nice. Maybe it’s a bit too much copied and pasted, but I’ve seen anime do this worse. The music itself isn’t really special, but it gives a nice mood to the series. The OP is way too cheesy, however. It fits the anime perfectly, though.

Like I said before: this anime really works, I had a great time watching this series. However. This anime only works when it doesn’t take itself seriously. Every time it attempts to introduce a serious scene, it turns into pure and utter garbage. I especially recommend everyone to stop watching after episode ten, as the last three episode were part of the most boring episodes in the history of anime.

Apart from that, though, I really recommend this anime for the people who are in for a few good laughs, and like some horribly wrong comedy.

Final rating: 73/100

xxxHolic – 03

by psgels, posted in xxxHolic



Ah, finally Himawari and Domeki play a big role in an episode. Especially Domeki works very well along with Watanuki and Yuuko. The three of them just form a perfect team. The character animation still is as buggy as ever, but the special effects look amazing. This gives a very unique feeling to the show.

The case in this episode involves the school where a friend of Himawari resides. A couple of students have been playing with Angel-San, which seemed to have induced some very strange incidents. I had a bit of trouble figuring out what Angel-San was in the first place, but it appears to be an instrument with which you can call ghosts and make them say a message.

Watanuki and Domeki both arrive at the school, accompanied by the greatest Chobits-pun ever, and indeed, the entire building is infested with spirits. Inside the building, there’s a very strong smell, which only Watanuki can feel. The smell increases as they both go higher, until they reach the roof of the building. There, they see a couple of schoolgirls with an Angel-San which has totally gone berserk, threatening to kill everyone. When Watanuki tries to break them apart, it appears that the schoolgirls were supernatural themselves, as they change into a giant evil spirit. Then a gigantic snake arrives, and eats everything. Especially this part I loved, the choreography was just awesome, not to mention the music included.

We then see a little aftermath, in which Yuuko explains what has happened. That only shows that the dialogue in this anime is top-notch. Everything gets perfectly explained, I like it.

Ayakashi ~ Japanese Classic Horror – 08

by psgels, posted in Ayakashi ~Japanese Classic Horror~



As expected, Ten Shu Mono Gatari ends just as morbid as Yotsuya Kaidan. While the latter ended a bit too predictable, with the rats and all, the former delivers a much better and satisfying ending. The deaths actually make sense this time. We start with Zusho-no-Suke and Tomi Hime standing in the highest room of the castle, and watching the local army stand at the gates. Tomi Hime wants to defend the castle, and the old woman shows her civil side.

What then starts is a horrible bloodbath between the minor forgotten gods and the local army. The local army may have 1000 people at its command, the forgotten gods remain forgotten gods, who have the ability to take out ten men at a time. I guess I don’t have to say that they gladly make use of this. But then again, the forgotten gods have weakened. Not as in, they can only cast a few skills before their MP is up, but as in the fact that once they get hit, they’re dead, just like any other human. They still don’t know how to mask this weakness, so eventually every forgotten god except Tomi Hime ends up killed. It was great to see that the creators showed the scenes from both parties point of view. It gives so much more backgrounds than when just one side is put in the spotlights.

Tomi Hime and Zusho-no-Suke, meanwhile have problems of their own. First, the old woman tries to kill Zusho-no-Suke after all. He gets saved by his ‘wife’, feeling extremely jealous. Then, she finally realizes that Zusho loves Tomi Hime, and not her. She forces him to go with her, and we’re in for a pleasant surprise, as it appears that Zusho has turned into a forgotten god himself, as his face gets a total make-over. In a bad way. By seeing this, the wife runs away. Zusho and Tomi Hime then decide to defend the castle themselves.

When Tomi Hime, however, finds out about the fate of the other residents of the castle, she goes berserk, complete with a number of extra hands and a pair of wings. Every soldier outside gets killed by her, while Susho himself takes care of the soldiers inside the castle. The landlord is the last of the army to perish. It might be a bit morbid and predictable, but I liked the way it was carried out.

Afterwards, when we think that the ending couldn’t have been more obvious, we get to see a great final scene, as the two demons, without much success, try to search for valuable things in the castle, which got burned to the ground during the battle. Then they see three figures flying in the sky. They make some remarks, and leave. I loved this part. Overall, Ten Shu Mono Gatari was a very nice story to see. I still find Yotsuya Kaidan’s craziness better, though. Furthermore, where, exactly, was the ‘horror’ part?

Ergo Proxy – 06

by psgels, posted in Ergo Proxy



I just love the way that Ergo Proxy takes its time to build up an episode, and then manages to finish it off with some of the most amazing scenes. This episode was certaily no exception.

We start off with Lil, who apparently got sick of the poisonous gasses which float around. All of the ‘villagers’ have had an antidote, and Vincent managed to recover on his own. With only one antidote left, in the possesion of Queen (who isn’t particulary on Lil’s good side), Vincent faces a dilemma.

Then Hude come with the idea of Vincent going back to Romdeau, in which Lil could be saved. Vincent plans to take the aircraft Lil used to get back to Romdeau, in order to accompany her. The other villagers, meanwhile, plan to move away from Romdeau as soon as possible, now that it has become clear that only death awaits them if they stay.

Both parties prepare, Pino says goodbye to Lil and Vincent, and both parties move to their destinations. We switch back to Romdeau, mostly in the long-haired guy’s point of view. He finds out Vincent came back, and he sets off as fast as he can. Only to find a pleasant surprise awaiting him. The death of a certain character afterwards also was amazing to see.

Queen and Pino, meanwhile, have a lot less luck. Along with them, about eight other guys are with them. They ride on some sort of weird boat, apparently named ‘Usagi’. Then they get attacked once more, by nine Romdeau-airplanes. After they get saved by the plan described above, only six people remain on the boat. A ‘certain’ person, Pino and four villagers who managed to not get killed by the gunfires from the Romdeau-airplanes. The deaths were a total surprise to me. I never expected it to go this way. It also shows lots of potential for the next couple of episodes.

Pino was once again, amazing. She now begins to understand the pain of losing someone dear to you. Just like a small child, who just realizes what happened.