First Impressions of the Summer 2011 Anime Season

First Impressions of the Summer 2011 Anime Season

Hello, and welcome to my usual installment.  Summer season has begun, and this is usually the time of year I look forward to most.  I find that the summer season of anime is where studios and directors like to try new things and experiment.  It’s probably due to lower number of viewers during those months, but it usually means this is the season we see a lot of original concepts and ideas floating around.  Is that true for this season, well, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Usagi Drop
I had heard wonderful things about the manga this is based on, but had never had the chance to read it myself.  So when I heard that they were making an anime based on it with the same staff that made Kimi ni Todoke, I was excited.  Sure enough, this show doesn’t disappoint.  The story revolves around a single, middle-aged man named Daikichi who, due to various circumstances, finds himself raising a six-year-old girl.  She is his recently deceased grandfather’s illegitimate child, which makes her his aunt.  No one in the family even knew she existed until his grandfather passed away, and the majority of the family views her as an embarrassment.  Instead of allowing them to shove her off to an orphanage, he takes charge and takes her in himself, unable to just abandon the girl like the rest.  The story follows the two of them as he discovers all the hardships and joys of raising a child.  The series is incredibly heartwarming, and a must see as far as anime this season goes.  Give it a watch, I guarantee you’ll like it.

Sacred Seven
This is definitely one of those shows.  The first episode looked really promising, but then the second episode quickly destroyed any notion about this being a good series.  The story revolves around a teenager with a special ability he is unable to control.  He avoids people to avoid losing control, until a girl appears before him, asking him to lend her his power to defeat those that would use similar powers to harm innocent people.  She is able to give him temporary control over his power as long as she is around, and she has him help her defeat monsters.  All I can say is that this show looks to be very generic.  There’s nothing really original about it, just a gathering of stereotypes, and not a horribly well executed one either.  Anyways, watch if you want, but it really doesn’t seem worth it.

Kamisama Dolls
This one is about a university student (finally something not about a high-schooler!) running from his past.  He comes from a rural village with a secret, a number of mystical automatons called Kakashi that can be controlled by the thoughts of special people called Seki.  After some major incident that has yet to be explained, the main character quit being a Seki and left the village, trying to get away from the village council that dictates every facet of their lives.  Now, his little sister comes looking for him, with some bad news that shows him he may never be able to escape completely.  This series is excellently done.  The storytelling keeps you interested the entire way through so far, and I can’t wait to see how this turns out.  The mysteries in the series go so deep, and everything’s only explained a bit at a time.  It actually reminds me a bit of Higurashi, minus the time loop.  Give this one a try if you like supernatural mystery anime with a bit of action in them.

Dantalian no Shoka
This show is about mystical girl who has millions of forbidden texts sealed away within her, and a man who became her new partner after the previous one, his relative, passed away.  Together they search out more of these Phantom Books in order to seal them away and save those endangered by them.  For a series that feels like it should be a mystery series, this show is surprisingly straight-forward.  Huey, the girl’s partner, finds trouble wherever he gets a request, and the two of them seem to immediately know what’s happening and solve the issue.  Very episodic as of so far, with nothing really connecting one episode to the next.  The opening theme gives me hope for some actual plot though, but I’m not going to hold my breath.  It’s not a bad series, but it really doesn’t have anything yet that makes it anything to look forward to.  Give it a look if you’d like, its definitely not one of the worst this season.

Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth
This show is just adorable, that’s all I can say about it.  It’s about a Japanese girl who goes to Paris as an apprentice to a metalworker.  The entire series centres around her struggle to get used to life, food, and the local customs in France, as well as the people she’s living with’s struggle to get used to her quirks and habits as well.  It’s just a refreshing story of people from different countries learning to get along and coexist.  I can also appreciate the fact that a lot of the narration in the series is actually done in French.  My only issue is the way they handled the language barrier in the first episode.  It seemed a little awkward that they were supposed to be speaking two different languages, and yet it was all in Japanese.  Just a small issue though, nothing big enough to ruin the moment.  This show is very good, and is worth a look.

Kamisama no Memochou
This show starts out with a whiny protagonist who doesn’t seem like he’s good for anything.  Then suddenly it explodes into an interesting and energetic mystery series out of nowhere.  The main character gets stuck working with a group that call themselves the NEET Detective Agency.  An oddly effective team of otherwise worthless individuals led by a shut-in hacker named Alice.  Just a reminder for those who don’t know, NEET stands for Not involved in Employment, Education, or Training.  In other words, these people have no jobs, and aren’t in school, and are more or less useless people who could be making a ton of cash off of this, but don’t for whatever reason.  The series itself is very well done, combining plot, character development, and light humour into one very neat package.  I definitely recommend this one, it’s one of my picks for best this season so far, up there with Usagi Drop and Kamisama Dolls.  One last note, between this and Steins;Gate, I hope Dr. Pepper is sponsoring anime recently, because otherwise they’re getting a lot of free advertising.

Blade
The fourth installment in the Marvel anime series that has been airing for the last year, the Vampire Hunter, Blade.  Now, I’m not quite as familiar with the Blade continuity as I was with Ironman, Wolverine, and the X-Men, so I can’t really compare on that end of things, but if it’s anything like the above, then it should be canon in some way or another.  Just as the last few, Blade makes his way to Japan in order to hunt down a certain Vampire, and comes across a whole organization of them known as Existence, led by the Vampire that killed his mother.  The series seems to pace itself fairly well, introducing new characters for the most part so far, most of whom are probably to be killed off by the end if Ironman and Wolverine are examples to go by.  Anyways, if you’ve enjoyed the Marvel anime so far, you should definitely give this a look.

Uta no Prince-sama
This series is about a school for the performing arts, known for producing many famous actors, pop idols, and the composers that write songs for them.  It follows one girl in particular who aspires to be a composer, and her life as a student surrounded by talented and attractive individuals.  By that last comment, I of course mean Bishounen guys everywhere.  Not quite sure what direction this show is going to take, but it seems entertaining enough.  If you’re not put off by a large number of pretty men, then by all means give it a shot.

Nurarihyon no Mago 2
This will be the one exception to my rule about second seasons in these reviews this time.  I just wanted to say that I enjoyed the hell out of the first season of this series, and I was really looking forward to this.  The first five episodes have so far been a little disappointing though.  It seems a little weird that after ending the first season with Rikuo being shown as hugely powerful and finally fully coming into his powers, they start this season showing off how weak and useless he is.  After being almost unstoppable the entire first season, it just seems like a stark difference.  Also, there have been so many flashbacks to start it off that the actual story has been a little slow to start.  I still have some hope for the series as a whole, but it’s been off to a fairly rocky start.

Yuru Yuri
And now for this season’s dose of bright and colourful random stupidity.  This show follows a set of high school girls through their average school life.  In other words, its just another plotless excuse for moe value because studios know it will sell regardless.  Did you see A-Channel last season?  Then you’ve already seen this show, and I’d give it a pass.  If you like this sort of thing, then go right ahead.  Otherwise, it’s probably not worth it.

Mayo Chiki
I can only describe this series as Hayate the Combat Butler meets Maria+Holic.  It’s about a girl who desperately wants to be her best friend’s butler, but is told that a woman can’t do the job properly.  Finally, the head of the house gives her a challenge.  If she can go through her entire high school career disguised as a man, and manage to keep anyone from finding out, he would allow it.  However, the main character, Jirou, accidentally finds out, and is forced to help keep her secret.  It’s by no means an original plot idea, but I have to say this show pulls it off really well.  It’s filled with clichés and stereotypes, but somehow manages to make them fresh.  Even the rich girl she serves, there’s so many of that character type in every anime ever, and they managed to make it seems like the first time you’ve seen it.  This show is very entertaining, and if you don’t mind a little perverted humour here and there, I’d give it a watch.

Nekogami Yaoyorozu
This series is about a cat god named Mayu who is stripped of her powers and banished to earth where she lives in abject poverty with a young woman.  Not that the whole banishing thing seems to have affected her relationship with various other deities, who all seem to gather around her and follow her every command.  This show bills itself as a gag anime, and it definitely has that element to it, but it can get surprisingly serious at times.  It really harps on the ideas of personal responsibility and friendship, and each episode generally ends with a good moral lesson.  This is an okay series, and if you enjoyed series like Tayutama, I suggest you give it a look.

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
This is a show about a boy and a witch who fell in love with each other, and were finally reunited after being pulled apart around ten years prior to the start of the show.  In the mean time, the main character had his memory of his meeting her erased, but finally figured it out when things started happening.  Now he fights to protect her from those trying to hunt her down, alongside two somewhat unlikely allies.  Now, this show is mainly an action/fantasy series, but it also tried to throw some psychological thriller into the mix, though it generally fails at it.  The main character’s ability, given to him by the witch, is that he has seven lives.  However, if he can manage to not die for fifteen minutes, the counter resets back to seven.  That might seem like an awesome ability, but the fact that he seems unable to do that so often just seems like it’s pushing it a bit.  How hard is it to not die?  Apparently it’s the hardest thing this guy has ever done, because he gets killed at least six times an episode.  This show tries to take itself seriously, but it goes way over the top with things sometimes.  It’s not a bad watch, and it looks like its trying to get at a deeper storyline, so if you like fantasy and magic, I would give this one a look.

Mawaru Penguindrum
This show is just plain weird, but its weirdness gives it an interesting feel that keeps you wanting to watch.  It follows a pair of brothers, who, after losing their sister to an illness she’s had her entire life, are amazed to see her come back to life.  Her life, however, is now tied to a mysterious king penguin hat that seems to house some sort of deity.  In order to make sure that their sister remains alive and well, they are forced to follow this deity’s every whim, which seems to involve collecting mysterious objects without ever actually telling them what it is they’re looking for.  Despite the somewhat original plot, the series seemed to be treating itself as fairly generic until the musical number.  Yeah, I’m not even sure what the point of that was either.  It was so out of place too.  Sitting eating dinner, arguing, then suddenly the hat was on, “Survival Strategy!”, and suddenly a really trippy musical number.  It was just so delightfully out of place that I couldn’t stop laughing for a few minutes.  Anyways, this show is definitely entertaining, so it’s totally worth a look.

Anyways, that’s it for this season.  Now, there are a number of other shows, but as usual, I only mention what I myself am watching.  On that note, if someone gives me a good reason to watch No. 6, I may pick that up too, but I’m otherwise totally disinterested in the other shows that aired in July.  I’ll see you again around the beginning of November for my first look at the Fall anime season.

First Impressions of the Spring 2011 Anime Season

First Impressions of the Spring 2011 Anime Season

Yes, I’m about a month late on this, but in my defense, I kind of over-did it on the anime this season. I didn’t even get a chance to start some of the stuff I picked up until just recently. In the end, I didn’t even start a few of them, I just decided to put them on the back burner. So, screw Nichijou and Seikon no Qwaser 2 for a while, not that I think I’m missing anything good in the process. So yeah, welcome to the season of plot twists both good and bad. Here’s my first impressions of the halfway point of the new Spring Season.



Hidan no Aria

Taking place in a world where terrorism has gotten so bad the world has started giving licenses to high school aged kids to work as mercenaries, this series is your standard fanservice-y action anime. I must say, I had high hopes for this show at the beginning, but it’s kind of failed to live up to them so far. The action scenes are well done for the most part, but the storyline leaves much to be desired. It follows a high school boy named Kinji who goes to a school for mercenaries. During an attempt on his life, he meets a high ranked mercenary girl named Aria, who becomes interested in an innate ability of his. The two go on to solve various situations together. Just going to say one more thing about this show, and it’s a bit of a spoiler so ignore this if you like what you’ve heard so far. Somewhere around episode 4 this show turns into the descendant of Sherlock Holmes versus the descendant of Arsene Lupin. I couldn’t facepalm hard enough at this. This isn’t even a mystery series in any respect, it is a bunch of teenagers with swords and guns and knives trying to kill each other. Where exactly does Sherlock Holmes fit into this at all? Why does it matter? Are we just name-dropping now? Trying to get some credibility going? It’s not working. Next.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko

This show is definitely visually beautiful, not your usual Shaft series as far as the artwork goes. Then again, after Madoka, I guess they have budget to spare on that sort of thing. The series itself is about a boy who moves in with his aunt in order to go to a new high school, only to discover he has a weird cousin that no one else in the family seems to know about. How weird? She thinks she’s an alien. At heart it’s a series about trying to find your place in the world after something goes horribly wrong in your life, wrapped up in gags that actually manage to kind of add to it. The characters are all really fun, and the series presents itself really well. My only complaint is the opening theme. It’s a nice track, and the music itself is catchy, but I can’t help but think it would be so much better if not for the girl singing it. She’s a little off pitch. Good show so far, give it a look.

Ao no Exorcist

Now, I was really looking forward to this show after all the trailers I’d seen over the months before the season started. Now, it hasn’t necessarily disappointed me yet. The first few episodes were great. Set up the situation really nicely, awesome visuals and plotline. Unfortunately, they’re currently doing something I really, really hate. They’re doing that thing where they take a few episodes of the series, and the plotline they just got you all hyped up for takes a back seat so they can spend a few pointless episodes introduce a bunch of characters who’ll probably be more important later. That’s usually more of a J.C. Staff thing to do. Anyways, the show itself is about the son of Satan, being raised by a priest. They hid his true identity from him until finally the seal they had placed on him gives and he discovers the truth. Though rather than join the ranks of his real father, inspired by the man who raised him, he chooses to become an exorcist himself. The show seems promising still, whenever it gets started finally anyways.

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi

Someone’s going to make a comment about this one, I just know it. Yes, I’m watching this. Yes, I picked it up knowing full well what it is, and yes, I’m actually enjoying this series as of so far. For those of you who don’t understand what I’m talking about yet, you’ll figure it out soon enough. So yeah, this series is about a man who goes to work for a publishing company, only to get stuck in the Shoujo Manga department. He weathers it at first, but soon discovers that his boss is actually his first love from high school, who had betrayed him. Not only that, but it turns out that they’re now neighbors. It’s a somewhat serious series about people in the publishing industry, and old love resurfacing no matter how much one tries to avoid it. I find myself sitting down, watching this series, enjoying the plot, laughing at the gags, and then on occasion, I look at the main character’s boss, laugh, and go “This guy’s a dick.” This reaction is usually followed by an immediate thought of “Oh my god, I’m watching a Shounen-ai series and enjoying it…” That’s right, the first love in question is a guy, and a few episodes so far have come just a little short of Yaoi rape. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch some lesbian porn and grow my testicles back…

A-Channel

Speaking of lesbians, its time for the light-hearted comedy of the season. A-Channel is a slice of life comedy, not unlike Azumangah Daioh, in which one character seems to be a little too protective of her best friend. Nothing too special about this one, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing original. Then again, it’s a format that’s proven at least to be entertaining. This is a decent series if you’re bored and have nothing to do, and nothing else interests you.

Steins;Gate

Made by the same guys who brought us Chaos;Head, this series follows in the same sort of genre. In fact, this is supposedly a sequel to Chaos;Head, though that only seems only to extend to it taking place in the same world. The show revolves around a scientist by the name of Okabe Rintarou, and his associates after discovering that one of their inventions actually allows them to send text messages into the past. The series revolves around mysteries surrounding time travel, government cover-ups, and the outright insane moment that Okabe has, being not quite right in the head and all. Okabe discovers that for some reason when history is altered, he still maintains his original memories, leading him to some really awkward moments of confusion. While this series doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor, it’s still a pretty good series. Lots of twists and turns to keep it interesting, and the interactions between characters are usually pretty entertaining. It’s a good show to keep your eye on, although I can already predict a coming twist.

Dororon Enma-kun Meerameera

Okay, let’s first get the title out of the way. The title, loosely translated, is “It’s Enma-kun! *Sparkle Sparkle*”. After hearing that, if you’re expecting any sort of seriousness from this show, there is something wrong with you. This is a ero/gag anime, meaning the majority of it is perverted gags, with a very minor amount of plot. What little plot it does have involves a gang of youngsters from Hell come to earth in order to stop other demons from having their way with mankind. It’s a monster of the week style series, a new demon every episode, loosely connected by plot and gags. It’s not exactly the best of shows, in fact, I spend a lot of my time watching it face-palming over stupid jokes and references. Why am I watching it? Easy, this series is based off an old manga by Go Nagai. One of his first I believe. With that in mind, you know I have to watch every single minute of it. Also, the theme song is absolutely amazing. I can’t wait for the single to come out. Anyways, if you’re looking for randomness, give this series a shot, though don’t say you weren’t warned about how weird some of the gags can get.

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi

I’m going to make this quick. This is yet another anime based on a dating sim. Guy and his little brother move to the country because the little brother is prone to sickness and the clean air will help him. The older brother’s stayed there as a kid, and a few girls seem to have memories of him from way back, though he remembers none of them. Love triangles abound, the standard fare for this genre. Nothing too special about it aside from a few weirdoes that seem to have taken a liking to the main characters little brother… you know, the token trap character. Not even going there, so let’s move on.

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai

This one’s an interesting one to watch. Parts have a fantasy feel to it, some feel like it has the same spirit to it as Durarara. I’ve also never seen a show go back and forth between interesting and just painful to watch so fast though. At first this show seems to be about three different people, and their completely unrelated lives, but a few episodes in they turned that idea on its head. As it turns out, the three unrelated people, are actually the same guy. It’s explained as multiple spirits inhabiting the same body, though there are still parts of that explanation I don’t buy. It’s one of those shows where you’re not entirely certain if the person whose perspective the series is seen from actually knows himself what is going on. One personality is a high school student who also thinks he is a warrior from some far off fantasy world he occasionally gets teleported back to in the middle of the day. I personally think he’s just nuts. The second is a womanizing playboy who frequents a local café. Not exactly a character I particularly like either, though he has grown on me a bit. The third is Dora, and Dora is just awesome. He hangs out downtown in the middle of the night, doing odd jobs for people. He knows everyone, and everyone knows who he is. The interactions between him and all those he knows are just fun to watch. Anyways, this show’s a fun one, and I recommend you take a look at it, though be prepared to sit through some awkward moments I swear were written by a six-year-old sometimes if you do.

Dog Days

Speaking of ideas children come up with, we have Dog Days. This series is a fantasy story about a hero summoned to a medieval world from a modern day world in order to aid in fighting a war. Don’t let the plot or the high action opening sequence fool you though, this war is anything but dangerous. Wars in this world are fought like sporting competitions. Magic is used to reduce defeated warriors into what I swear look like In-Training Digimon. War is a game in this show, one where no one is hurt, and everyone involved has fun. There’s even obstacle courses involved sometimes. Definitely sounds like something a kid would come up with, eh? Anyways, I actually kind of like the idea once you get past the initial obstacle course episodes. It’s kind of a refreshing way to have the action take place without the characters getting all moody about taking lives. It’s a fun, entertaining series, though I find myself more willing to side with the antagonist of the series then the good guys. That says something I suppose.

Sengoku Otome ~Momoiro Paradox~

Yeah, this is a simple one to explain. A girl from modern day Japan accidentally travels back in time and ends up in the Sengoku era, except everyone is a woman. Think a weird love child of Inuyasha, Sengoku Basara, and Koihime Musou. The plot is lacking, and some episodes are just pointless and stupid, but all in all it’s not quite as bad as I had thought it was going to be. The only thing I really can’t get over is just how stupid the main character is. I mean, I understand how hard it would be to accept being in such an illogical situation, but there has to be a point at which it becomes the only explanation. It seriously took her until episode 2 to figure it out. “Man, there’s a farm village on fire in my home town.”, “What kind of house doesn’t have flushing toilets in this day and age?”, “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house this big around my neighborhood.”, and my personal favourite… as she leaves a castle town, and wanders into a forest…“I wonder if there’s a convenience store around here.” Ladies and gentlemen, the current leading contender for retard of the year.

Astarotte no Omocha

I think this one just proves it, I watch some weird stuff. This show… *sigh*… is about an 8-year-old succubus princess in the midst of forming a harem, because a succubus needs “life seed” to sustain herself. Only issue is, she has an irrational hatred of men, that the first member of her harem, a 23-year-old human named Naoya, has to try and fix. So yeah, that plot description makes this seem a lot more perverted than it actually is. First of all, despite being a member of her Harem, Naoya treats her more like a daughter than anything else. Which is kind of funny now that I think about it, considering he slept with her mother a few times. Secondly, apparently “life seed” can be extracted simply through kissing, and not the way I’m sure everyone who read that the first time thought they must have meant. While the show tries to be the usual perverted loli anime, I have to say it doesn’t actually seem to accomplish that. In fact, it seems to have developed into a light-hearted sort of father and daughter drama. Though the fact that Naoya is supposed to be a romantic partner is ever present, they never quite feel like it. I will give this show a little credit as well for a few plot twists that I totally wasn’t expecting right near the beginning. It’s a decent show, and if you can get past the age of the heroine, then I recommend you give it a look.

Deadman Wonderland

This one’s a little morbid, but still pretty good. The basic premise here is that after watching his entire high school class get slaughtered by a super-powered maniac, a boy named Ganta is charged, and convicted of all of their murders and sent to a special privately run prison known as Deadman Wonderland. A theme park-like place where the owners make profit off using the inmates as labour and attractions. In the prison, he discovers he has a power much like the killer’s, and in fact the only reason he was the sole survivor of the attack was because the criminal took an interest in him and gave it to him. He also discovers the only reason he was convicted is because his lawyer, in reality the warden of the prison, messed around with evidence to guarantee that anyone with that power was contained in his prison. The story revolves around Ganta, and the living hell he has to endure in this prison. The story is interesting, and the setting is surreal and emotional stirring. The only real issue I have is that Ganta is a little much of a whiner for my liking. Then again, he did get pulled into a load of crap that would break most people instantly for no real fault of his own, so maybe he’s allowed to be.

Hanasaku Iroha

This is a show about a city girl forced to grow up and learn how to work when her deadbeat mother decides to run away with her deadbeat boyfriend to avoid all the people who he owes money to. So much money that he apparently put their apartment as collateral instead of his own. Nice guy, real keeper. Anyways, she gets shoved off to her Grandmother, who disowned her mother a long time ago. So, why she was the first choice seems kind of weird. Anyways, Grandmother owns an inn in the country, and forces the girl to work for room and board. I swear the setup for this show is one step away from being Hayate the Combat Butler… and that one step involves borrowing money from the yakuza using your son’s internal organs as collateral. Anyways, this show has some real promise, following this girl as she is forced to mature through all sorts of trials and errors. It’s a nice dramatic series about a girl trying her best to adapt to her new life, and I recommend it to almost anyone.

Hen Zemi

Yep, not going into depth here. This show goes really far at every turn. It follows the students of a university seminar on the subject of deviancy. What do they do? They do experiments about the weirdest, most perverted things imaginable. Not even kidding. This show takes things to a whole new level every other episode, with some strange visuals all around. Though I do give it credit for the very creative new years episode that showed nothing, and left everything to the imagination. Which somehow made it the most disturbing episode of all. Anyways, if you’re up for some serious shock value, this is the show for you.

SKET Dance

This is an old style gag anime that follows around a school club dedicated to helping other students with their problems. It’s a nice series, with a set of characters that really work well together, and play off each other’s strong suits nicely. It gives the series a good flow, and makes it fun to watch. It’s nothing plot heavy, it’s just something fun to sit and watch. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, this a good series for you.

X-Men

Following in the almost year long tradition now, comes the next in a line of Marvel anime projects. This time, one of their biggest franchises, the X-Men. It follows Cyclops, Storm, Beast, and Wolverine as they travel to Japan (You know, like the last two series had the superheroes do for some reason). There they try and investigate a massive incident involving mutants and something blocking out Professor X from seeing what’s going on in the region. It also adds a new character to the mix, a Japanese mutant named Hisako who can summon some sort of energy armour around herself. Personally, I very much appreciate the Japanese mutant voiced by Tamura Yukari. Anyways, as of so far it seems much better than the previous two Marvel anime. Having an actual continuing plot instead of being episodic like Ironman, or messing with the characters like Wolverine. It actually seems to stick true to the franchise, and has a proper plot going on. I’m liking it so far, but I’ve been put off by endings before, so we’ll see how this goes.

Anyways, that’s it for this season. As usual, I’m not including sequels, or OVAs, so you’ll have to check those out yourself if you’re interested. See you around, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for IXI Studios at Anime North in Toronto starting tomorrow. I’ll be in attendance as well as everyone else.

Preview Review: I Am Number Four

Preview Review: I Am Number Four

Just came back from an advance screening of I Am Number Four, a new Disney / Dreamworks film. I hadn't heard about it prior to getting free tickets through SCENE. I watched the trailer; my first thought was "Oh, another superteen movie like The Covenant? Might be worth looking at."

I decided to go in completely blind rather than doing research on it. If only I'd paid attention when someone responded to my initial reaction with "Aliens, actually." I had no idea how right he was.

Throughout the first half of the movie - and I KNOW I won't be the only one thinking this - I was like "why are they aliens?" There's zero footage of their home planet or anything resembling an origin story outside of a few minutes of exposition while he drives away from another community that outed him for finding out his secret.

We never get to learn the true names of the main character (Alex Pettyfer) and his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) - they change names and appearances every time they emigrate. First he's Daniel, then he's... John Smith? The fu? The obviously fake name ended up serving the plot, but it still did little more than establish the fact that they tried too hard to blend into human society.

You know this could have been just a superteen movie when he has to run out of his class because his powers are developing.

The love interest for this movie (Dianna Agron) was actually pretty cute and fit a character archetype that has always interested me - a shutterbug who lives in a boring town and wants to get out and travel. What better matchup than a guy who's not only travelled the world, but is from another planet?

The movie also features a conspiracy geek (Callan McAuliffe) who gets proven right, and immediately starts zapping aliens left and right.

The action is good and the effects are great for the plot that presented them - thank/blame Michael Bay for that.

If you like Twilight and/or The Covenant, I Am Number Four is for you.

PS - there will totally be a sequel and it will TOTALLY be called I Am Number Five. QUOTE ME ON THIS.

First Impressions of the Winter 2011 Anime Season

First Impressions of the Winter 2011 Anime Season

It’s that time of the year again, the beginning of the Winter anime season, and once again I’ve put way too much on my plate.  Welcome to my usual first impressions review of the new season, the first one I’m getting out on time for IXI Studios.  Anyways, disregarding second seasons and OVAs that won’t air for another month or two, I’ve got fifteen series to go through, so let’s get right down to it.

Gosick

This series is essentially styled like a British detective novel.  Somewhat clueless yet physically capable teenage boy, teams up with a brilliant young girl to solve mysteries in a made up European country.  The girl, Victorica, gives off a bit of a moe vibe more often than not, but when she pulls off the classic detective part rather well when the time comes.  The male lead is a little too clueless for my tastes, but I’m sure they’ll break him in as the time goes on.  It certainly seems that way at least.  Anyways, this show seems to have promise, so it seems worth a look at least.

Beelzebub

The plot of this series follows a juvenile delinquent, who goes to a school for juvenile delinquents, who somehow ends up the adopted father of the infant son of the Great Demon King.  Yeah, apparently the Demon King was too busy playing Mahjong with his buddies to bother with the whole destroying humanity thing, and decided to send his newborn son to do it instead.  This series is more comedy than anything else if you didn’t figure it out already, and it’s mostly slapstick, but still the series manages to be entertaining.  Honestly, this is probably my favourite series of the season, though that may have more to do with the lead voice actor than anything else.

Wandering Son

This series seems to be a slice of life series, dealing with middle school life, and gender issues therein.  Yeah, weird stuff, but the characters seem very well flushed out, and interesting.  Largely, this series reminds me of Sasameki Koto, just the feel of it in general.  Not to mention the main character seems to have almost exactly the same story as the guy from Sasameki Koto.  You know which one, the only guy in that series.  This one’s probably just a matter of taste, so watch it at your own risk, you may love it, or you may absolutely hate it.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

This series seems to draw heavily from older magical girl series for its content, but has managed to do it without seeming too unoriginal.  That may have something to do with the somewhat strange, and at times creepy art style.  The characters don’t seem too special on their own yet, but the story and powers at least seem to make up for that.  I can only say one thing to describe one of the characters, and that’s Unlimited Musket Works.  I recommend that people pick this up, I’ve got a good feeling about this series, it could be a really good one.

Wolverine

Why do I get the feeling that the only excuse for this show was to have a famous American superhero get his ass kicked by a normal Japanese samurai?  In fact, the Ironman anime had the same sort of thing going until the last few episodes…  Anyways, after the Ironman anime flopped, I went into this not quite sure what to expect.  Sure enough, everyone in Japan know Wolverine by his real name, and the first time we see him in a real fight, he gets his ass handed to him by a normal human with a wooden sword.  When did Wolverine become such a pansy?  Also, two episodes in and they’re introducing a guy who can extent an Adamantium katana from his hand as an enemy.  You know, to have someone who can compete properly, after he got his ass handed to him by a bunch of humans who tried to kill him by laying him down on the railroad tracks while unconscious.  Yeah, this is going to be such a stellar series… not…

Dragon Crisis

A show about a group of people who work to hunt down and collect special magical artefacts, who happened upon a dragon.  A dragon in the form of a loli.  The first episode was pretty quick to get into things, and there wasn’t too much introduction to the logic behind anything they did.  Usually that’s good for building some mystery, but in this case it just managed to make things seem random and silly.  My first reaction to this series went something like this… “It’s not even a minute into this anime, and I’ve heard Kugimiya Rie, found out the main character’s name is Ryuji, and seen Melon Bread on the table… this will be incredibly unoriginal.”.  Anyways, aside from that, it looks like it might be at least decent, but we’ll see as time goes on.

Infinite Stratos

This show’s about as unoriginal as you can get.  One boy going to what has traditionally been an all girls school, instant harem.  Guy not only pilots a mech, he shows an amazing talent for using it right from the start.  Childhood friend with a crush on him, you get the idea.  At very least it seems to have pieced these things together well enough that it’s not a horrible series.  It seems at least like it will be entertaining at the least, so give it a shot if you have some free time, but its nothing to get too excited over.

Kore wa Zombie desu ka?

The title of this show translates to “Is This a Zombie?”, you know, like the author wasn’t quite sure.  The series is about a murder victim who was revived by a Necromancer and tries to solve the mystery of his own death.  Or at least that’s what it’s supposed to be about, it seems to focus more on randomness and comedy more than the serious sounding plotline.  I mean, all seriousness kind of went out the window the minute the main character turned into a magical girl.  He’s a guy by the way.  I wouldn’t quite classify him as a zombie either, undead yes, but he’s still intelligent and not rotting.  Anyways, random show, and it’s already ruined any attempt at seriousness it had within the first episode.  Main character is entertaining, if no one else, but that’s pretty much all it has going for it.

Haiyoru! Nyaruani ~ Remember My Love (Craft-sensei)

Okay, now, over the years in anime, I’ve seen a lot of things turned into young women.  Badass old Chinese guys, Soda Cans, Sanada Yukimura… but the Old Gods from the Cthulu mythos?  That’s a new one.  This series is a set of short webcast flash episodes about just that, and they’re pretty random.  The only reason I see to watch this is just because you’re interested in the premise, and then drop it after a few episodes.  Also, the joke in the title of this show kind of went over my head until about an hour after I watched the first episode.

Yumekui Merry

This series is about a young girl who comes from the land of dreams who finds herself stuck in the real world trying to get back, and a high school boy with some weird ability who wants to help her.  Now, although the animation looks like your standard moe series, this one actually seems to have some substance to it.  The plot has promise, and is interesting enough that I’m kind of hooked.  I’m a little cautious just because of the animation style, but it doesn’t look like this is going to be just another moe series.  I’d give it a watch, even if you usually aren’t drawn to that kind of animation, it seems like it may be worth it.

I Don’t Like You at All Big Brother

What do you know, another brother and sister incest anime.  We’re never going to see the end of this trend, are we?  Anyways, standard setup, boy harbours some sort of feelings for his sister, but would never act on them.  Sister knows all about that fact and tries to make it impossible for him to not act on it.  Drama ensues.  Fortunately for some people, this series uses the “not related by blood” excuse, something I don’t think we’ve seen all of 2010.  Anyways, I can give it credit for a few things at least.  It has so far managed to not do what I’ve expected it to.  The characters reactions have been the exact opposite of what I was expecting.  Girl finds out she’s adopted, and you’d expect her to be ecstatic, considering the situation, but she wasn’t, she was absolutely mortified.  At very least, it seems like they’re taking a more original approach to this material, so it seems worth a watch.

Freezing

Okay, I’m going to get this off my chest now… This show is a weird cross between Mai Otome, Strike Witches, and Queen’s Blade.  It’s about a school where people go to be implanted with nanomachines that give them special powers and be trained to use those powers in order to fight strange otherworldly monsters that appear to attack humanity.  As well as each other by the look of it…  Anyways, this show is fanservicey as hell, full of action, and has the usual idiotic retard of a male lead.  In other words, nothing special, but the story seems to be hinting at something interesting at least.  The show has a bit of promise to it, but whether it follows through on it or not is still yet to be seen.

Level E

Based on an old 90’s manga, Level E is a nostalgic little series if nothing else.  The art style alone just takes you back to a time where character designs were original, and not all random moe, and the animation team really went all out with that.  The plot is about an alien prince who crash lands on earth, losing his memories, and how his very presence there is probably going to lead the universe to war.  Seems entertaining enough, definitely has plenty of promise to it.

Starry Sky

Four episodes into this series and I have no idea what’s going on.  I don’t mean there’s a mystery and this is being suspenseful, I mean this series can’t seem to stay on one thing long enough for you to figure it out.  The series itself is about a high school that teaches a lot of courses like astronomy, astrology, and so on and so forth.  Stuff to do with the stars, as the title might suggest.  It used to be an all boys school, but now it’s co-ed, even though there’s only one girl attending.  Anyways, aside from that, I have no idea what’s going on.  There was some French kid who showed up to look for and confess to the only girl in the school, but never did as far as I know and disappeared again.  Then there was some kid who invents things, we’ll see how long he lasts.  Anyways, this series airs as ten minute episodes streamed over the internet every week.  Overall, there doesn’t seem to be too much wrong with the show, I just don’t like the way they’re pacing it.

Mazinkaiser SKL

This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time now, a sequel to the Mazinkaiser OVA.  Riding in on the success of the 2009 remake of the original Mazinger Z television series, Mazinkaiser SKL is everything I was expecting and more.  I had originally been expecting a complete re-imagining of the original, but I was happy to see that wasn’t the case.  I seems that this is set several hundred years after the events of the original, with a new cast, and two new pilots using Mazinkaiser.  Real Robot fans may wonder how the hell a mech made several hundred years before could still be useful in any way, but honestly, this is Mazinkaiser we’re talking about, its power is limitless, meaning if you add some upgrades here and there to the body, it can still overpower pretty much anything.  Anyways, Super Robot fanboy-ness aside, the action is solid, and the story is about as good as you can expect from a Super Robot series not copying Evangelion.  The series seems to be lacking the Jam Project background music that the original had, but it’s been replaced with some really awesome heavy metal instrumentals, so we can forgive that.  If you’re a fan of super robot anime, Go Nagai, or just looking for something big on action, then take a look at this OVA, you’ll enjoy it.

Alright, that’s it for another season, though I may still end up picking up a few other things later one if I hear good things.  Anyways, not that much looks that good, but then again, it’s a small list, and we’re coming off of a good year for anime, so give things time to try new things and we’ll see what happens.  Anyways, that’s it for me, see you again in three months with my first impressions of the Spring season, which is usually the best one, so it’s something to look forward to.

The Top 10 Anime of 2010

The Top 10 Anime of 2010

Hello there and welcome to my Top 10 Anime of 2010 list. This is the second year I’ve done this, but the first time I’ve done it for IXI Studios, last year’s list having been on both the Starhill Podcast and Blog. Now, as usual, this list will only include anime I’ve actually seen, which, as large of a list as that is, is not all of them. So if you see a show that you think should have been mentioned that didn’t end up on this list, don’t get all up in arms over it, it’s possible that it just slipped past me. Though honestly, if a show I wasn’t watching was that good, I’d more than likely have heard about it and gotten to watching it anyways. Also, this list only includes anime that actually aired starting in 2010, so shows from 2009 that ended in 2010 do not count, though there may be exceptions to that rule depending on the situation.
Anyways, this season we’ve seen a lot of two things, classic horror movie monsters, and incest. I mean, KissxSis, Aki Sora, and Yosuga no Sora all in one year makes those line-crossing series seem a little commonplace. Plus we’ve had movie monsters galore, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Highschool of the Dead, and Shiki being prime examples. All in all though, it’s been a great year for anime, much better than 2009 anyways. Last year I had my list down to a top 12 in seconds, this year took me a lot of effort to get it any lower than 34. That fact should speak for itself. Now, let’s get this show on the road. Here are my Top Ten Anime of 2010:


10 (Tied) - Otome Youkai Zakuro

I won’t talk about this too much since I’ve already covered it just a month ago in my review of the fall season, but it deserves another mention. This was an excellent series from start to finish, with a little something for everyone. It was fun, light-hearted, and very serious when it needed to be, striking an excellent balance. The conclusion was nothing too special, a little unoriginal, but still a solid ending that wrapped up all loose plot threads while leaving the possibility for a season 2. This is a definite must-watch series for everyone.

10 (Tied) - Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Tied for the number ten spot, we have Kaichou wa Maid-sama, a series about the female student council president at what used to be an all boys school, trying to hide the fact that she works at a maid café. It was a fun series, full of little twists and turns, and a romance that for once in an anime was actually believable. That seems to be more of a trend as of late, but still, it helps the series immensely. Anyways, the coupling was cute, the stories were fun and entertaining, and even though it was kind of aggravating that it took the two of them that long to finally get together, the series was fun to watch despite that. I mean, you know you’re dragging things on when literally every single character in the series is pissed off that they’re not an official couple yet. Anyways, fun series, great to watch if you’re into romantic comedy style series.

9 - Yosuga no Sora

Yet another show from the fall season I mentioned only a month ago, so once again I won’t dwell on it too much. This series was based on an H-Game, but it managed to be so much better than the usual based on a game anime. The romances were endearing, and the only thing separating one path from another were little things that basically amounted to luck. There were all sorts of sex scenes in this series, but they didn’t ever feel forced or out of place at all. Honestly, I thought it was a little more realistic that way since it was more like a real relationship between young people. Especially the last two arcs where they happened more often. Two teenagers who’ve loved each other since they were little finally got together? Things are going to happen. Two teenagers who’re in love with one another living alone under the same roof? Things are going to happen a lot. While you can’t exactly call the format of the series original, considering Amagami did the exact same thing during the summer season, it was still fresh enough that it worked for it. If you’re into romance, give this show a shot, you may find you enjoy it.

8 - Nurarihyon no Mago

The premise of this series is simple. Yokai Yakuza. The rest just kind of writes itself, and in this case, it worked out well. I almost want to classify this as a shounen series, but I stop short of that because of how quick most of the fight scenes actually were. The series follows a boy named Nura Rikuo, who is a quarter yokai, and three quarters human. He is next in line to become the Lord of Pandemonium, Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of all Yokai. Problem is he can only take on his yokai form at night, though that does give him an interesting outlook on things. He spends his days as a human, and his nights as a yokai. He is both, and has trusted friends and allies on both sides of things. I really wasn’t expecting this show to be as good as it was, but the story was good, the characters were interesting, and frankly, I just like Yakuza films so that kind of setting really got me hooked. This is one of those shows where I was waiting every week for the new episode to come out, it was just that good.

7 - High School of the Dead

There is only one way to properly describe this show, and that is “So ridiculous that it’s awesome”. As anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock this year should already know, this is a series about the zombie apocalypse in Japan from the perspective of a set of high school kids. The show became known for several things pretty quickly, not the least of which being the amazing… umm… attention to detail when animating the girls as they moved around. As fanservicey as it was, it wasn’t any more so than most American horror movies, or B-movies anyways. That was only half the ridiculous part too, the other half being the absolutely insane combat sequences. Some of the insanely physically impossible moments while fending off the zombies, and the graphic nature of others. Then again, this is an anime with zombies, so you know they had to incorporate the usual anime way of dealing with things. Swords, guns, and whatever else they could get their hands on at the time became a good enough weapon to fend off zombies. So the show was less about holing up and surviving somewhere, and more about moving around in the midst of the zombie horde and taking out everything that got in their way. Now, there aren’t many zombie anime out there, and from what I hear, that’s because of some sort of taboo in Japan over the very idea of them. However, they seem to be getting a little better about that, so we’ll probably start seeing fewer vampires and more zombies in the future, which is cool. Also, glad to see they kept the American horror movie habit of making it easy to see who was going to die next. Like the guy in the first episode who said “I don’t need a weapon, I’m a black belt in karate”. That guy was totally going to die.

6 - Amagami SS

At number six we have a show that actually managed to do something original despite being based on a dating sim. Shock! I know right? The story itself was nothing to special, enjoyable and cute as it was in every arc, but the original part was the format of the show. In most H-Game based anime, they take each individual path from the game and try and meld them into one plot, where he only ends up with one of the girls, generally at random, despite doing the storyline for most of them. This show however, decided to do things differently. Instead of just sticking him with the main heroine of the game and leaving all the others out in the cold, it did all of them individually. The show was made up of four episode arcs where they would go through the story for a different one of the girls, and then reset back to the beginning for the next arc where it would start again with a different girl. This really works well for it, and despite being split up into completely different arcs with no relation to one another, it actually means everything flows together a lot better. Plus the main character doesn’t come off as either a complete dick or a complete wuss when he chooses only one of them and abandons the others, and that means you like him more than most dating sim protagonists. All in all it was a great show, and deserves a watch. Can’t wait for the OVAs to come out, if just to laugh at Chuck because of how much he hates the idea of one of those episodes.

5 - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

This is the exception I mentioned at the beginning, since this actually aired in spring of 2009, and not in 2010. However, I had to add it here because I neglected to put it on my top 10 of 2009. That was mainly because the part of the series that had aired in 2009 had yet to actually get to the meat of the series. It was still kind of marred by the incredibly rushed retelling of the first series that was the first thirteen episodes, and what came after that was still only getting to the good part. The final 26 episodes that aired in 2010 though were absolutely amazing, and I have to give credit where credit is due. If you took the first 13 episodes of Brotherhood, and replaced them with the first 26 episodes of the original series, you would have a perfect anime.

4 - Shiki

This show got off to a bit of a slow start, but once it got going, did it ever get my attention. I only regret that I hadn’t started this show sooner than I did, only hearing about it about a month and a half after it started. The basic story is about a small town in the middle of nowhere that becomes the target of a clan of vampire-like creatures that call themselves Shiki. They plan to take over the town by using the population as a food supply, and creating more of themselves in the process. The main focus of the series though is on the humans, and how they react to the strange happenings around them as many people start dying. For a while it looked like there was nothing the humans could do, but then towards the end one character pulled a plot worthy of Code Geass and flipped the tables completely. The interesting part I found was how this show really blurred the lines between good and evil. It was sometimes hard to tell whether it was the humans or the Shiki that were supposed to be the evil ones. Especially toward the end where you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Shiki. Hell, I found myself booing my own race and cheering for the ones who eat us for lunch. If a show can make you do that, you know it did its job.

3 – Katanagatari

For those who liked Bakemonogatari, you’ll probably want to look into this one as well since it’s based on a series by the same author. It is the story of a martial artist named Shichika, who uses an unarmed martial art made to combat armed opponents, and Togame the Strategian (long explanation for the joke in that name, I won’t explain it here so just watch the first episode if you’re curious). The story follows them as they go on a quest all over Japan to find the 12 perfected swords created by a legendary swordsmith in order to gain favour with the Shogun. Now, as you’d expect from the author of Bakemonogatari, this show has quite a lot of inane dialogue to it, but you’d be surprised just how much character development can happen in those seemingly pointless lines. Plus the action in this series, as well as the abilities of each of the swords are actually rather cool. It’s a fun, light-hearted sort of series for the most part, but it does have its serious moments. Also, the last episode of the series was just pure awesome from start to finish, and provided an actual, solid conclusion to the series. Something of a rarity in that way. The episodes aired one a month over the course of the year, and were each a full hour in length, allowing them to get through one sword a month. All in all, I enjoyed this series immensely

2 - Angel Beats!

At this point I’m pretty sure most people know what my number one choice is, but we’re not quite there yet. So let’s focus on the number two for now. Angel Beats is about a group of teenagers who died and found themselves in the afterlife. Not satisfied with the way they died, or the strange afterlife they’ve been placed in, with a girl named Yurippe as their leader, they decide to lead a rebellion against God himself, or so they think. Anyways, this was just a really good show, I don’t know how else to describe it. The world it created for itself was full of mystery, and the characters were all likable and entertaining. The music was absolutely amazing, and the storyline was interesting from beginning to end. Not to mention that massive double-twist at the ending. The entire series just drew you in and didn’t let go until it was all over. It’s definitely worth a watch, everyone should see this series.

1 – Durarara

Back in March, I could be quoted as saying that I really wished the anime industry could top this anime this year since it had three seasons to do so, but obviously that didn’t happen. Not that I mind, this year was full of amazing series, way more good than there was last year. Durarara was just an over the top, ridiculous thrill ride from beginning to end, and we loved it for it. It was fun to watch, the characters all had such depth to them, to the point where most had to get their own back story episodes just to scratch the surface. The series was filled with little twists and surprises, and above all, the unstoppable force that was Shizuo. The all star voice cast helped quite a bit too, and I don’t mean the female A-list that shows up in every slice of life show, I mean the male A-list who know how to just make their characters sound awesome.

Anyways, that’s it for this list, see you in a few weeks when I put up my first impressions of the Winter 2011 season of anime.

Fall 2010 Anime Season Review

Fall 2010 Anime Season Review

Hello and welcome to my usual segment I do four times a year. For those who don’t know, I’m Raven, and I do a video series called The Anime-Niac, which is being moved to IXI Studios since me and the rest of my old group have joined up with Ichida and Litrid. You can look up my old episodes on youtube if you want, there’s only three of them. Anyways, as the so called anime liaison here at IXI Studios, I’ve taken it upon myself to bring an old segment I used to do for Starhill back from the dead. I am of course referring to my first impressions reviews of the new anime seasons.
Now, usually I would have liked to have gotten this done a few weeks ago after only a few episodes, but due to all sorts of issues and delays that come with a new group I’m just getting to it now. From this point on, these reviews will be posted a week or two after the beginning of the season.

Now, I should probably mention that these reviews will only cover the anime that I’m actually watching… which is a lot. Also, I will not usually talk about second seasons or sequels, as if it was popular enough to merit a sequel, you’ve probably either already heard of it, or don’t care. There are exceptions though, sometimes there’s just something I need to say. Anyways, now that introductions are over, let’s get this thing started.


StarDriver ~ Takuto of the Radiance

All I can say is that this show contains the fruitiest mecha I have ever seen. Anyways, this show is about a guy named Takuto, and transfer student on a small island who has some sort of special ability related to the island itself that allows him to summon a mech to fight an evil organization also using similar mechs in order to take over the world. In order to even have their mechs leave the island however, the organization needs to break a seal held together by four maidens, and thus Takuto goes to great lengths to protect one in particular.

Nothing really wrong with this series, in fact is really enjoyable to watch, and a lot of people consider it the best series this season. However, it just bugs me for some reason at points. Nothing really gets explained, it just drops a new gimmick on you every episode and expects you to figure out how it all fits in. I mean, after a series full of nothing overly fantastical outside of the mech battles in another dimension, suddenly this one girl summons an army of magical, flying mermaids in the real world. Also, the main character’s title is the Galactic Pretty Boy. I can never tell if I’m supposed to be taking this series seriously or not. I kind of want to call it a parody of shows like Rahxephon and Evangelion, but then it turns around a pulls a completely serious moment. This is really just me griping about little things though, give it a watch, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Also, I have to give this show credit for some really fun moments, like having Takuto defeat his most difficult opponent to date because she was too busy checking him out to realize she had to dodge.


Ironman

All I can say about this one is that it’s kind of underwhelming. I mean, I was all excited to hear that there was going to be an Ironman anime. I mean, a Marvel comics property being turned into an anime couldn’t possibly go wrong, right? Well, somehow it just doesn’t seem that good. The story is awkward and feels pieced together, they revived a guy who was pretty solidly killed in Ironman’s origin story, and the animation is kind of lacking. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the anime Tony Stark designed after Robert Downy Junior is pretty cool, and the animation for most scenes looks great, but the battles… suddenly they swap to a really crappy CG model of Ironman that looks really blocky. So, if you like Marvel comics, or the Ironman movies, give this a watch, you might enjoy it, but don’t expect a masterpiece.


Togainu no chi

Who’d have thought a show about a city full of druggies constantly trying to kill each other for sport could be so gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course, but still, it just seems so forced in this series. Every man in this show is gay, though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with a show based on a Yaoi game. The plot is slow moving, and often just plain weird. The characters are stock, forgettable personalities that show about as much emotion as a guard at Buckingham Palace. All in all, this is a pretty weak series, and I don’t really recommend it to anyone… unless of course you like bishounen and Yaoi overtones, in which case you’ll probably watch this anyways. Also, if you like Granrodeo as much as I do, you’ll want to get your hands on the opening single.


Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru

This one’s a weird one. It’s kind of like what happens when you take Kaichou wa Maid-sama, Working, Zetsubou-sensei, and School Rumble in a blender. You get a weird show about a couple high school girls working at a small town restaurant that just suddenly decided to have its employees wear maid costumes just for the hell of it. The way the episodes are laid out into short parts on certain subjects reminds me a lot of the Zetsubou-sensei style of storytelling, with jokes and puns flying at you from every which way whether you catch them or not. If you enjoyed shows like Zetsubou-sensei or Maria+Holic, you may enjoy this as well, so give it a watch, otherwise, this probably isn’t for you.


Shinryaku Ika Musume

This is a show about a half-squid, half human girl from the sea who comes ashore in order to invade mankind as punishment for polluting the sea. Somehow though, she gets roped into working at a beachside café in order to pay back the money she owes for damages to their wall in the process of said invasion. The episodes are all separated into three parts, each part having its own self-enclosed plot. There’s no real plot from episode to episode, so you could really watch everything past episode one in whatever order you like and it’d still make the same amount of sense. It’s just a light-hearted comedy show you watch for a laugh, a good break from plot heavy shows as far as I’m concerned.

Also, I have to quote Sankaku Complex on this one. This may be the first anime ever to include hot women in bikinis and tentacles, and yet not have any sort of fanservice involving the both at once.


Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

And speaking of fanservice…This show has plenty of that, an almost Queen’s Blade level of it in fact, though much unlike Queen’s Blade it does mostly go censored except obviously on the Bluray and DVD copies. Though I must say I don’t mind the censoring in this show, it actually feels like it sort of belongs there. The animation style in this series is done with CG, and cell shading that makes the entire thing feel as if you’re looking at an old Japanese painting or scroll. With that being as it is, the sudden appearance of ink blots blocking strategic areas doesn’t seem too out of place. At very least its better then a random streak of light that blocks half the screen…or god forbid the camera just tilting off somewhere else altogether like in a certain other show that aired this year.

Anyways, back on track, this series is about a sort of alternate Japan that’s modernized, yet still kept a sort of Edo era medieval sort of structure to it. The Tokugawa family has remained in power due to a special ability they possess to create warriors called Master Samurai. By creating a contract with a samurai, they can give them superhuman power and thus not only have kept the country safe from outside influence, but have actually become a major influence on other countries themselves. You know, the total opposite of what happened in real life. Anyways, the series centers around Yagyu Muneakira, a servant of the Tokugawa family that discovers he too has the power to create Master Samurai, and gets swept into a web of secrets, lies, fortune telling, and love triangles because of it.

Other notable facts are that it includes various historical figures from Japanese history as women. Like Sanada Yukimura as a loli voiced by Kugimiya Rie. Yeah, this series really only takes itself seriously about 60% of the time, but other than that, its actually a pretty good series. If you can stomach that fanservice and random idiocy the other 40% of the time, give it a watch.


The World God Only Knows

I really, really enjoy this series. This one’s about a high school kid named Keima, who pretty much does nothing but play dating sim games. One day he receives an email from a mysterious sender, and accidentally signs a contract with a demon. To fulfill the contract, he has to help a rather ditsy demon named Elsie collect escaped souls of the damned that have attached themselves to girls on earth. How? By wooing them and making them like him. Yep. It is so much fun to watch this guy try and use dating sim logic on real girls. Does it work, oh hell no, or at least not in the way you’d think. The only reason he succeeds is because he’s persistent, and has a decently smart head on his shoulders, and knowing exactly what to say at the right time helps quite a bit.

Oh, and if he tries to get out of the contract, a collar around his neck will explode Battle Royale style. Fun times. Definitely worth a watch.


Otome Youkai Zakuro

This is an odd one as far as I’ve seen, but in a good way. The plotline is original, and it doesn’t stick to the usual conventions for this type of anime. It takes place in Meiji era Japan, when the country was starting to accept more western ideas. In this case though, where spirits actually exist, this also means that spirits that were once revered are now being shunned for more Christian ideals. In order to keep spirits in check, under the guise of creating a peaceful existence with them, the government creates the Department of Spirit Affairs to handle them. The actual story revolves around those working in the department, mostly spirits themselves, with the exception of three soldiers assigned to it in order to keep an eye on things. The show has a major overtone of prejudice towards other races that you rarely see in anime, well, not shown as a negative thing anyways. It has a little bit of everything too, well done fight scenes, drama, romance, and mystery, and it’s all really well balanced. This is definitely one of the best this season, so you should give it a try.


Yosuga no Sora

Well, if you pay attention to Sankaku Complex at all, you’ve probably at least heard of this series, they certainly cover it enough. Yet another series based on a dating sim game, but it does it a little better than most. Like Amagami, instead of putting together a piecemeal plot made from every separate path from the game, it actually decided to pick a few girls, and do them as separate arcs in the series, restarting from the beginning every so often. Though unlike Amagami SS, which starts fresh each time, this show has a habit of starting again from a previous episode and just doing things differently from that point on. Thankfully it’s done in a way that minimizes confusion, so you always know where you are.

Now, the plot itself is about two siblings who move back to the country home they grew up, having moved to the city when they were younger due to the younger sister’s illness. The story follows the older brother and all the little romantic decisions he makes about which girl he’s going to end up with and helping solve whatever major issue may exist for them. The series got a lot of attention for the actual sex scenes that result from all this too. Very little censored in them as well, they just make sure the camera angle doesn’t show anything below the waist. The show seems to be going into its last arc at this point, and I must say, I called the subject of this one a few weeks ago. The conversation went something like this:

Friend: So who do you think will be after this arc? The class president? The maid?
Me: Only 3 episodes left, so I assume they’re just going with the main heroine of the game.
Friend: Oh? Which one’s that?
Me: The one the series is named after.
Friend: Oh. Oh… Isn’t that a little…
Me: Don’t worry, it’s anime, so chances are just for the one arc it’ll turn out they aren’t actually related by blood.
Friend: …but they’re almost identical…
Me: So? Won’t stop them from using the excuse.


Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai

Speaking of shows that get a lot of coverage on Sankaku Complex… Not a week goes by where you don’t get a plot summary and pictures for the newest episode of this show. Though they thankfully leave out the actual plot and focus on other things. Anyways, the translation for this title is My Little Sister Can’t Possibly be this Cute. So yeah, with a title like that you’re probably expecting a main character with a sister complex. Nope, you get an otaku little sister with a little sister complex. Yeah, figure that one out. Basically story revolves around the older brother in this family, who discovers that his supposedly perfect at everything sister is actually a closet otaku. He promises to help keep it a secret, though it comes out to most people anyways (it usually does in these shows), and helps her meet girls with similar interests. Other than that, the show is more or less slice of life involving this guy, friends, his sister, and how pretty much every girl in this series seems to have developed some sort of feelings for him… his sister included, though she very much denies that she has even a passing interest in any sort of relationship with her older brother. You know, despite all the h-games she plays that involve incestuous relationships between a brother and his little sister...

Overall the series is pretty enjoyable, so give it a try, you may be glad you did.


Sora no Otoshimono Forte

Those who were around for Starhill Productions might remember my Top 12 Anime of 2009 list. While the first season of this didn’t quite make that list, it got a special mention from me for being so entertaining despite how bad of an anime it was. It was a bad anime, but it was what all bad anime should aspire to be. The second season picks right up where the first left off, and manages to maintain the same sort of spirit as the first, though in my opinion the ending themes are nowhere near as awesome as the first season’s. Anyways, I don’t talk about second seasons too much in these reviews, so that’s all I want to say about this one.


MM

This series kind of came out of left field. It’s about a high school boy (aren’t they always) who is struggling with a serious case of masochism that’s ruining any chances he has at a normal life. He requests that a senior from the Volunteer club help him to cure it, and she promises she will succeed, somehow… eventually… okay, mainly she just finds new ways to torture him in hopes that one day he’ll find his tolerance limit and be so scarred by the experience that it’ll go away. Not looking likely by this point. Anyways, throw in a love interest that is afraid of men, a cross-dresser with multiple personality disorder, a genius loli inventor, a lolicon, and a mother and sister duo a little too obsessed with their son/brother, and you have the odd little freak show that is MM. Now, I went into this fully expecting it to be creepy and hard to watch… but I find myself pleasantly surprised by it instead. This show is actually kind of fun and enjoyable. I don’t know how they pulled that off, but still good going, and keep up the good work. Also, the successful Kamen Rider/Super Saiyajin parody/fakeout was very much appreciated.


Super Robot Taisen OG: The Inspector

Okay, you know you’re doing your Super Robot series wrong when even I’m not all that fond of it. I’m usually all over this stuff like a drunk in a brewery, but even I have issues with this series. There’s little to no character development, the characters are kind of bland, missing even the standard badass character screaming at the top of his lungs all the time. I think the main issue is there’s too many characters in this series, so no one really gets any decent amount of screen time. The “Main Character” seems kind of cool though, I wish they’d focus on him a bit more than just having him come out of nowhere in the middle of some melodrama and punch someone in the face.

This series doesn’t seem to be able to decide whether it wants to be Real Robot or Super Robot. Just remember, Real Robot anime focuses more on the pilots, and their feelings and experiences being involved in the war. Super Robot focuses more on the machines, and how powerful and awesome they are. This show has so far done neither of the above. The characters get no real time for development, and the battles are so quick, and have no many new machines popping up every few seconds that you can’t really focus on that either. A lot of the machines are pretty stock too, some resembling mechs from other shows in more ways than one.

Anyways, enough griping from me, the plot is… hmm… There’s a war going on between two human factions for control of the earth. Aliens show up, tear things up, I assume a team-up is more or less imminent. Only one side of the battle has anything even resembling a mass produced machine, while the other seems to work on the logic that any pilot worth sending into battle is worth their own special machine. I know the title Super Robot Wars kind of denotes many machines… but usually it works because we already know who everyone is, this one’s kind of pushing it. Still, lots of mindless mech fights in this show, give it a try if you’d like to watch mechs beating the crap out of each other without making you think for once.


Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt

Oh god… why am I watching this again? I blame Erich… Anyways, this show is about two Angels sent down from heaven to defeat evil ghosts that threaten mankind… and that’s more or less it. Best way to sum up this show? Powerpuff Girls with sex and swearing. Honest to god, that’s all this is. From the creators of Gurren Lagann comes a series with animation so flat you’d think they blew their entire animation budget for this show on the hookers and drugs that were the inspiration for the writing. It’s random, bizarre, and often times just plain weird. The English cursing just sounds awkward when mixed into Japanese sentences, and the writing is nearly nonexistent aside from a few clever moments here and there.


Psychic Detective Yakumo

A series about a boy with the ability to see ghosts who aids other people, as well as the police with cases they are involved in. No one really expected this show to be all that good, I mean, even I glossed over it at first when picking my shows for this season. However, I must say it really surprised me with how good the writing was. Yakumo himself is actually a really good character, likable despite the fact that he acts like a total ass half the time. You really get the sense that he’s been through a lot in his life, and yet he was moving on and coping with everything as it came. I can also really see the romance developing with him and his sidekick Haruka, it just works somehow. You can really see why she’d be attracted to him, and why she’s probably the best thing to ever happen to him. Anyways, great show, give it a try, especially if you’re into mystery anime.


Anyways, that’s all for this review, hopefully the first of many. Look forward to my Top 10 of 2010, which should be up by the end of the month, and my first impressions review for the Winter 2011 Anime season in the first few weeks of January.

Kotaku Updates Again!

Kotaku Updates Again!

Is USB Storage In The Xbox 360's Future? ~ Kotaku
I Certainly hope so. This will make media-related usage much more convenient.

Wild Arms Creators Make RPG Magic On The iPhone ~ Kotaku
DO WANT. DO WANT! Thank God I finally got Installous working. :P

Square Enix Will Do Its Best For Final Fantasy Dissidia Sequel ~ Kotaku
DO WANT MOAR! MOAR DISSIDIA FOR ALL! Especially now that I can get AdHoc Party working, and I have a PSP-to-component cable. We need to do internet Dissidia matches!

Commodore 64 Rises From The Grave ~ Kotaku
Zombie computer! A zomputer! Good God. Let's see how this turns out. :P

Japan Lines Up For...Digital PS3 Recorder ~ Kotaku
Goddammit, RELEASE THIS OVER HERE ALREADY.

Final Fantasy XIII - Mid-Game Review

Final Fantasy XIII - Mid-Game Review

This issue will be my de-facto review of Final Fantasy XIII after five hours of gameplay.

To start with, since I know this is on everyone's minds - yes, the game is linear. All of the fields/dungeons I've been through so far have been straight shots, save the occasional small branch for either a save point, an item box, an enemy, or a combination of the three. More than that, much of the featured character development and battle features take time to reveal themselves. Thusly, if you are the type who plays Final Fantasy for gameplay alone, you will not like Final Fantasy XIII.

I suppose it's safe to buy XIII if you enjoyed X, because this game shares the same spirit, in that where gameplay lacks, the sheer overblow combination of enthralling story, graphics, and music picks up the slack and makes this game worth it.

Just as Final Fantasy X was the shining glory of the PS2 in terms of the potential of the hardware, so too does Final Fantasy XIII push the PS3 to its full ability. The game is beautiful. Every area, every tunnel, every enemy you fight, are all designed beautifully. Thus, graphixwhores/anyone who plays on HDMI will get the full experience.

Players like me who value the story over all else will get a kick out of the game. Now follow me on this, because it took a long time for me to understand this myself. Cocoon is the world the game starts out, which is a medieval-futuristic society (a la FFXII) maintained and powered by some sort of godly biomechanical deities known as fal'Cie. These fal'Cie actually power all of Cocoon as well as offer the Pope - I mean Primarch - advice on governmental decisions for the tens of millions of Cocoon citizens. Meanwhile, Cocoon itself is actually some sort of orbiting moon-type deal above Pulse, the world below, which I would equate as the Earth to Cocoon's moon-in-orbit-inside-the-atmosphere. Pulse is said to be Hell to the people of Coccoon, filled with all sorts of hellish terrors. Thus the Cocoon citizens fear Pulse to such an extent, that if even a whiff of any kind of Pulse elements, be it technology or life, were to be found inside Cocoon, it would be immediately "purged." And thus the story begins with Lightning saving a bunch of Purge deportees while attempting to save her sister Serah. I won't spoil much, but through the events of the first two hours of the game, Lightning, Sazh, Snow, Hope, and Vanille all convene before a fal'Cie from Purge. This is baaaad juju for Cocoon, as these rogue fal'Cie have a habit of recruiting humans into their personal taskmen. These "chosen/cursed" are called the l'Cie. With extremely vague instructions, the fal'Cie give each l'Cie a Focus - a life-sworn quest - to complete. It could be something as simple as "slay this," or "tell her that," or something as monumental as "blow up all of Cocoon." Now here's where the "cursed" thing comes in. Complete your Focus, and a l'Cie is transformed into crystal and "given eternal life." Fail, and become Cie'th, basically unholy zombies of varying shapes and sizes. So, tasked with a mission they have trouble interpreting, Lightning and co set out, branded as pariahs by their homeland, Cocoon, armed with the magic of the l'Cie, the best of which includes their own personal Eidolon, a summon creature who can transform into a vehicle (Gestalt Mode). So far the best character-related plot is Snow Villiers'. He's pretty much Seifer with some morals. His motivation is rescuing his fiancée, a storyline that really pulls in those who still have faith in human love, as scarce as that type of person may be among those wont to play this game.

See? That story takes a LOT of setting up. I'm not sure where it's going from here, but that's all I can really cover without spoiling too much.

Now, what positive aspects of the gameplay system are there? First off, it's an active system; time is ever-flowing. There doesn't seem to be any Wait function as in previous games, outside of the Pause button. Instead of choosing one attack once the meter is full, this system lets you decide on string of attacks. Either fill up your queue, and they all set off once the meter fills, or cut it off midway to execute only part of your queued string. I like this. Lots of freedom here. The encounters work inside instances, but enemy parties are visible as you travel, so with the right crowddodging skill you can avoid whoever you want to. The class system is certainly new and interesting as well. I'll start off by saying that only one class has the "Attack" command. Stay with me. The six classes are -

Commando - Attackers. Physical attacks of varying types. Key for causing damage.

Ravager - essentially mages. Their role is to build up an enemy's chain meter, which when filled, causes enemies to Stagger, multiplying all damage dealt for some time.

Sentinel - defense specialists. They keep everyone safe by having high-ass defense and provoking everyone.

Synergist - buff mages. That's about all.

Saboteur - debuffers. These are kind of necessary for boss fights, trust me.

Medic - if this needs explaining, you are stupid. :P

And on these six classes - er, Roles - we have the Paradigm System, which lets you macro combinations of each of these six classes, set a default, and switch between any of six macros at ANY moment in battle, allowing for lots of experimentation in combat, making sure you're covered in all scenarios and contingencies. Send out a threesome of offense roles to beatdown the enemy, but uh oh, your health's getting low - switch to a Paradigm with a Medic; the two will keep attacking while your Medic keeps you alive. Those enemy attacks getting annoying? Switch to a Sentinel, Medic, and Saboteur/Synergist paradigm, ensuring you're kept totally safe while the battle slowly becomes a trifling task. It's got lots of room for play and is truly where the battle system shines.

Supplementing these classes is XIII's "Level Up System," which also seems to have been ripped from X and improved upon. The Crystarium System resembles the Sphere Grid noticeably. Each character's crystal branches out for each Class they have access to. Abilities they learn on each branch are functions that class can use, while stat-boosting spheres/crystals on each branch are character-global and are permanent increases no matter what class is being used. Instead of EXP or Sphere Points or w/e, there's Crystogen Points. It takes one or two hundred or so to move to each crystal, and inactive characters in the party gain them equally.

Anyways, this is all I can offer after five hours of gameplay.

Kotaku Updates!

Kotaku Updates!

A whenever-I-have-something compilation of interesting videogame-related articles I find throughout my day.

Well, You Always Need an Extra Button ~ Kotaku
I think they messed this one up a bit. :P

Week in Games: Finally ~ Kotaku
So hard to believe the years of waiting will end TOMORROW. Don't expect ot hear much of me for awhile. Funny thing is, I finally got a fansub of FFXII International Zodiac Job System working the other day and killed Sunday playing it in a weird sort of preparation.
BlazPSP will be fun. I've already nabbed Megaman 10 on the Wii. Not interested in anything else.

Nintendo Patent Implies a New DS Cartridge Design ~ Kotaku
They're STILL churning out new DS mutations?! Good GOD.

Digimon Battle Digivolves Into Open Beta Registration ~ Kotaku
I'm gonna play this for the nostalgic lulz. Anyone else in?

Report: FFXIII On 360 "Isn't Anywhere Near As Impressive" As PS3 Version ~ Kotaku
Was Bayonetta THAT much of a shakeup that they have to issue report after report of a fact we knew YEARS ago?!

Report: Sony To Launch New PlayStation Smart Phone In 2010 ~ Kotaku
Ooh. Please do this. Properly. I would like to see how this turns out. :D

Oh, and I'm playing Mass Effect now too. Which means my pile of games includes -
Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System
Final Fantasy XIII (as of tomorrow)
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2 (after beating 1, dur)
White Knight Chronicles (for Blue Knight)
Phantasy Star Universe (need to just finish Story Mode)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (STILL haven't finished this...)
The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (urrgh...)
Eye of Judgement Legends (Oh yeah, I got this too over the weekend. Love that announcer.)
and whatever I'm forgetting.