It has been a while I got this excited for an anime. In fact, I can't remember the last anime that got me all worked out like this. Needless to say, I think Aku no Hana is a very awesome anime. I definitely recommended it to everyone.
It’s that day when I got another level up in life. I’m turning a year older again today. So many things have changed in a course of a year. I read what I wrote on my birthday last year and I almost choked with laughter at how ridiculous everything sounds.
So overall, year 2012 has indeed been kinder to me. I have achieved what I set out to achieve but most importantly, I unexpectedly found love which is easily the highlight of the year for me.
I need an outlet to express how I feel nowadays. To be honest, things are going too good for me at the moment to the point that I am sort of living in fear for I do not want these extremely good feelings, and the love I have for him to end. If all these are gone tomorrow, there is a big probability that I might lose sanity.
Welp, looks like we are having this conversation again after so many years. Well 2 years and 3 months to be exact. The last time I wrote about my crush, I was in a different state of mind where I know it can be nothing more than just that, a crush.
I quickly judged that this show cannot deliver what it promised based on the studio and the plot that I read from the preview. However, I heard a lot of good things been said about this show on twitter so I guess I was wrong?
So naturally I'm looking forward to check this out.
(c) Mico
Well, the start of the show is definitely intriguing. You don't get to see that everyday. But it quickly goes down hill from there. The plot isn't actually original. How many times have we read/watch something similar where they gathered bunch of kids in one place and forced them to kill each other in order to survive, in this case, get out of the school.
The characters are not really special either. I feel like the anime is mocking me with the character designs. Some of the personalities are OK I guess but just take a look at the protagonist for example. He's weak as fuck and it is really annoying. One of the guy, the most meaty one at that, wears a girl's uniform. Just what the hell? Is this anime supposed to be funny or serious? It can't be both at the same time. Sadly though it seems like the studio can't decide to be which and just go with it.
Urgh I'm still mad that they chose someone that weak to be the protagonist.
Let's just hope that shit will get better with the upcoming episode. I'm sure one of them will snap and kill. Maybe then this show will appeal to me. You know, blood and all.
Episode: 13
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: Lerche
arts & animation 6/10
story 5/10
characters 6/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 5/10
overall 5.8/10
I wasn't sure why didn't I put this anime in the anishit list when I first wrote the preview. I mean, reading the synopsis made me facepalm. An anime about hair is somewhat sounds so pretentious to me and for some reason I somewhat dreading this shit.
Let see if I'm right and that this is going to be one hairy ride.
that loli ass
10 minutes in I know I won't like this show at all so I decided to drop it altogether. Though it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either. Plus I don't understand shit (or my brain refused to do so).
I was right.
Episode: 13
Aired: Spring 2013
Producers: Studio Gokumi
arts & animation 6/10
story 5/10
characters 5/10
sound 5/10
enjoyment 4/10
overall 5/10
My first impression gonna be short and simple. The reasons for that are easy. I don't have much time and I rather spend my time watching anime than blogging but I'm doing these first impression posts nonetheless because I need a reference and a reminder of what shows I've seen, what shows worth the watch or which one should be in my anishit list.
You see, I'm writing this post for selfish reasons and I'm OK with it.
(c) pixiv id 223362
Like I've said in my preview, P.A. Works often produced good shows and their animations are somewhat always seem flawless. Red Data Girl (RDG) is no exception. It got me intrigued in the first minute of the show which is quite a feat to do for anime these days.
So far I like how it's developing. That tsundere male protagonist will somewhat spoiled the show for me but it's alright since he's a shouta and a bishie at that. Also, there are other bishies to look forward to so it's all good.
Besides that shallow reasoning, I like the fact that they don't just spilled the beans with Izumiko. I like the fact that she's still somewhat a mysterious female protagonist in this first episode. Aside from her destroying the computers in the lab, I can't really tell for sure what her power is yet.
By the way, can I have a manservant too? Please? =3
Episode: 12
Aired: Spring 2013
Producers: P.A. Works
arts & animation 9/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 8/10
edited: watched three episodes in one sitting. Haven't done that in a long time. This show is now in my MUST WATCH list. Upgrade!
Besides Another, Daily Lives of High School Boys or Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is the other Winter season anime that I have high hopes for for the simple reason that Tomokazu Sugita is cast for one of it's main protagonist. I am a big fan of him and he is the reason why I become a seiyuu fag so naturally I will watch anything that has him as one of the casts, no matter how small his role may be. The only recent show that he did/do is SKET Dance which he played the big role of making it such an enjoyable show for me.
So needless to say, I am super stoke to check this show out. I have a feeling that Sugita will be just as awesome as he usually is sprouting random shits that only his character can think of. Aight boys, without further ado, lets dig in =3
(c) Asuda
Less than a minute in, I knew I was right about this show; boys who ran holding bowl of soup on the way to school and met with robots flying down from the sky attacking their town. If that is not random, I don't know what is. Why? Because this is not a mecha anime. This show is categorized in slice of life genre and in our real life, there are no giants robot invading the earth. And random is always good in my book. Plus this show is directed by the same guy who did Gintama. If you didn't know how I feel about Gintama yet, you are retarded.
Danshiko (that's what this show is called in anime fandom) is a tale of three boys; Tadakuni, Hidenori Tabata and Yoshitake Tanaka who are friends and attending the same highschool. Just like Kimi to Boku, they have the serious boy and the other two who will do anything in their ability to annoy the living hell of the serious boy, in this case Tadakuni. But it wasn't always about that. We are going to witness their daily lives routines and the people they acquainted and interact with as well which added to the fun.
There are several segments in one episode that cover different topic which tickled my funny bones. I personally laughed my ass off during the skirt segments. I knew boys who actually did that, especially when there was a gullible boy around. Tadakuni fits that description to a T. These segments are even funnier because almost each of it was triggered or initiated by Hidenori. The segment of Hidenori and literary girl at the river bank was awesome too. It's quite a turning point for me personally to be honest because I realized that I found a replacement for Kyon and he even wears a megane. A crossover of Kyon and Gintoki is just the perfect man, if you know what I mean.
Some people might questioned that this is not what boys normally do in their daily lives, but I assured you that for someone who grew up around boys and is still surrounded by boys in daily life, boys really did do all these meaningless stuffs and talk about useless stuffs. That is what make them so fun to be around. Girls on the other hands are boring. They pretty much talked about cute boys and the latest fashion and being bitchy about everything. What's fun about that? For example when Yoshitake voiced his concern about the hair on his nipples, isn't that real as fuck?
what I said
Needless to say, I will probably force this one down everyone's throat. So beware. I'm maximizing my virgin power for the sake of Danshiko!
art & animation 6/10 story 10/10 characters 10/10 sound 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 9.2/10
p/s: I am glad that I didn't check out the pre-air show for Danshiko ^_^
I read the manga once but I honestly can't remember the details of what the story is all about. It should be good otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up. After observing the aniblogsphere it seems like asread is doing a better job adapting this series that AIC did with Maken-ki!
Gasai Yuno (c) pixiv ID 60436
Mirai Nikki is literally translated to Future Diary. In this case, it is in the form of cellphone. Since it's the "diary of a future", losing the diary means it is a dead end for the owner of the cellphone as well. Yukiteru Amano is one of the owners. He is a quite school boy who spend his time writing short entry of what he observed into his cellphone and it became his diary of some sort. Since he has no friend, he created an imaginary friend of his own called Deus Ex Machina, the God of time and space. Little did he know that his fugly friend is actually a real god. So without his consent, he was chosen as the owner of a Mirai Nikki and have to play the Survival Game with 11 other players (one who is a major stalker of him, Yuno Gasai). Killed or be killed. Poor kid is scared out of his pantsu.
I have never watched anything from fully produced by asread before but I have got to say that, despite how fugly Deus is, they have done a good job with the series. Maybe it was the blood and gruesome murders but yeah, I'm digging it nonetheless. They have also successfully portrayed Yuno as bat shit insane girl that she actually is, even more so than in the manga which makes this show so much fun to watch. Character designs wise, asread has done an exceptional job.
I do not know most of the casts for the main characters though but fear not because they are obviously professionals so no worries there either. Mirai Nikki series has a good story based to begin with and I'm just glad that asread didn't screw this one up. For the first time I think the anime was better than the manga.
Time flies when you are having fun and before I knew it, there's Murumuru showing us how she recruited the Third. She's cute. There I said it!
There are 25 more episodes to go and I hope the gore and blood will not just be a tease. I'm a fan.
arts & animation 8/10
story 8/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 8.6/10
Initially this show is categorized in the "potential to be shit" list in my Fall preview. I just don't like the sound of the synopsis. It was too overly complicated and a little bit too ambitious I think. However, here I am now sitting in front of my computer watching this shit instead of finishing a business proposal.
The show started with a high school student who looks like he has a permanent scars under his eyes, saving some dude in a cape from death as he tried to solve a puzzle that caused the earth to cave in and consequently created a lake. Like I said, they are too ambitious with the ideas.
Daimon Kaito (that's his name by the way) is self-claimed puzzle genius. He's your Indiana Jones. In short, he's an asshole. Soji, the president of a puzzle club at his school gave him a game that contains several puzzles to be solved. Once he got that cleared he receive an invitation from a Minatour, some retarded dude wearing a buffulo mask. Either he will solve the puzzle or he dies. Meh, needless threat >_>
Anyhoo, Soji is in the league with the principal to recruit student with Phi Brain and obviously Kaito is a candidate. They need him so they can get to Divine Puzzle shit whatever. But first he has fulfill the Orpheus' Contract, which he did (duh).
When I heard the name Kaito, my brain does a flip and this is the only image that comes to mind (c) Kyou Zip
The character designs, like I pointed earlier are kind of derpy. I just don't dig it much. It's just not about the designs but the personality of the characters as well. They are kind of a typical and nothing inspirational. Thankfully though the seiyuus are all pretty excellent and that makes the characters likable to a certain extend. The episode itself is meant to be engaging but it just lack the excitement. It would have been better if the audience is allowed to figure out some one the puzzle as well. The grand idea is there but they sort of fail at the execution.
I would have dropped this if it wasn't for the preview. It seems like they will introduce a new character that will be one of the three musketeers for this show and he looks crazy enough to pique my interest.
So for now, this show survives.
art & animation 5/10 story 6/10 characters 6/10 sound 7/10 enjoyment 7/10 overall 6.2/10
When I see the title of the first episode, I couldn't help but chuckled. How am I to take this show seriously when you named an episode Galactic Pretty Boy.
Star Driver started with Wako, seemingly the female protagonist, saving Takuto who almost drowned. Wako is the "south maiden" on the island, although in all honesty she doesn't look anything like it. She is supposed to married Shindo, the rich kid ins school. He might look serious and demure but I believe he's just a pervert otherwise his maids won't be wearing animal ears when serving him.
The reason Takuto ends up on the island is to find his dad. Although Shindou and Wako is supposed to be joined hands in marriage, Shindou believe that he should be able to choose who he wants to fall in love with and Wako seems interested in Takuto. Love triangle in the making?
But this is all subplot to what's really going on. Apparently there are shits going on underneath the island. All these dudes and duddettes wearing outrageous silly costumes and masks. Even with that stupid get up I know who exactly are they. They kidnapped the maiden (since there are 4 of them) and stole their seals to fire up their mecha. Their next target is Wako and since Takuto was somehow around, he will not just stand and watch. Turned out he's the Galactic Pretty Boy! ZOMG I couldn't stop laughing. I'm sorry but this is just too hilarious. It is just way too fucked up to be taken seriously. Jeebus...
In all honesty, I think there are too much going on for an introductory episode. I kinda at lost with the amount of information that I need to digest so I can understand what the hell is really going on. They should just stick with the love triangle plot, imo. This has starting to feel like Tengen Toppan Gurren Lagann. Takuto definitely resembles Kamina with his extravagant attitude. As if that wasn't enough, at the end of the episode, after the ED, we are served with Ultraman preview. LOLWUT? *chuckles*
When he transformed, he kinda looks like that protagonist dude from Flag.
All the male characters look to be suffering from malnutrition. They are all skinny. They also have these weird, yet cool, looking hairdo. If i need to pick their best traits, I would definitely gonna say the hair. I wasn't really crazy about the character designs, and the overall look of the anime, especially with that ridiculous bad guys outfit but they make it up with awesome fighting sequences and over the top mecha shiznit. Credits to Bones and Aniplex. They tried really hard.
I noticed Sugata Shindou seiyuu right away. Jun Fukuyama is definitely growing on me. I am also delighted when I heard Mamoru Miyano vocalizing Takuto Tsunashi. I was even more surprised when Head appeared and is voiced by Akira Ishida. Three of my top ten seiyuus in one show? Awesome. These three seiyuus have distinct personality in their voice and it fits perfectly with the kind of character they are playing. Sorry, I don't pay attention to the other characters though ^^"
I like the OP, both the song and the video. It definitely cheer me up somehow. LOL it obviously will since the OP is by Aqua Timez, one of my favorite Japanese bands of all time. Then the fish girl started singing to entertain Head and I think it was beautiful. I feel the same way with the ED too.
I guess I did enjoy this episode despite the all the fucked up shit. With this one, it will either be a hit or a miss with everyone. So far this turned out quite decent for my entertainment. I'm gonna check out episode 2 just to see how the romance progressing.
If you like TTGL the fucked up version, this one is for you :P
art & animation 8/10 story 5/10 character 6/10 sound 7/10 enjoyment 7/10 overall 7/10
When I checked my first impression for Angel Beats! , I couldn't believe that most of us didn't have anything nice to say about this show. Even I was skeptical. I compared it with porn for fuck sake but I didn’t outright hate it. I said that it was a decent show but definitely not the best one for Spring 2010. Well, I was wrong and I stand corrected. Angel Beats! ended up among the few shows that I look forward to every week for this season.
I guess I have to thank Monroe for this. He was pretty adamant that I watch this series so he has someone he can talk to. I wasn't keen at first, especially when everyone says that this series is trying to imitate The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. As a fan of Haruhi, I obviously have my reservations. Thank goodness, though it has similarities, it is not an exact copy.
Angel Beats! is about a bunch of teenagers who found themselves dead and are living in the afterlife. Most of the students are the NPC while a small portion of the students fight to keep their personality and memories from their previous life. In other words, they have regrets. This small portion of students formed a brigade and they are lead by Yuri (this is where the similarities with Haruhi end). They believe that they have to fight the Angel/Kanade in order not to disappear. This is where normal ends and cue supernatural. They are able to make guns out of clay and so on. It kind of over the top but done with subtlety that you barely notice. The story took a different turn halfway through and that is where you will start to be very appreciative of this show. It throws something different in almost every episode though there is still something to link the plot together.
The involvement of Maeda Jun has been discussed a lot. I have a hate-love relationship with his previous works. I love the beginning for both Clannad (the first season, I hate the ending too much to bother with second season) and Kanon but totally hate the ending. I was afraid that he will do the same thing to Angel Beats! Guess what? He did although it is not as chronic as those two series I mentioned earlier. He has the knack of pairing the male lead with a female that I like the least (read: borderline hate). Having said that, I love the roller-coaster journey from total happiness to sorrow, all which is done in one episode. You'll laugh your ass off only to feel extremely touched afterward, all in a blink of an eye. Some people may not like the abrupt transition but I for one love it.
Reason number 23962 of why I like Angel Beats! is because of the brigade members. They have different personalities and most of the times, they are the reason why Angel Beats! turned out to be so great. Their antics are endless and it will keep you guessing. What next? So yeah, you'll be thoroughly entertained. This is guaranteed.
(c) hizuno
Otonashi started out as a blah character. He was so ordinary compared to the other more colorful characters in the brigade. He was completely developed till the very end. The other brigade members received the same treatment although half of them were left out (though they deserved to be developed further). The only other character that gets a lot of development is Kanade. She changed from a stoic emotionless girl to someone who hums song and has springs in her footsteps. Everyone's character development has something to do with Otonashi though so basically the other characters are evolved around him.
But let's talk about my favorite characters. Hinata started out as the gay partner for Otonashi, then Yui's arc enemy (or seemingly so) before becoming one of the most gentlemanly characters in anime history. I knew he's special the first time I laid my eyes on him. It was love at first sight. Besides Hinata, I also like the English-speaking, nonsensical TK. He is unique and needs no introduction. He is definitely one of the most memorable characters in anime fandom because of that. You can either hate or love TK. No in between. Who could forget episode 8 when he does that lookout dance. He's so random like that. As for female character, it has to be Yuri. Funny though because at first I really don't like her that much but as the story comes to an end, I found myself rooting for her. I guess I must have been attracted to her qualities and personality: she is strong and don't pull the "I'm the damsel in distress" bullshit. That's my kind of girl.
If you read my episodic review, you will notice that I don't like Kanade much. I have only one problem with her. I was fine with her when she has almost zero personality. Once Otonashi got attached to her, she changed. This was when I started to dislike Otonashi too. I guess you guys would call it character development. I called it interference. Sure it has something to do with the whole plot, the way it developed around their friendship but it bothers me to no end. This is all Maeda's doing...
So anyway, if someone asked me if I want a season 2 of Angel Beats! I would have said yes just so that I can see what Hinata, TK and Yuri are up to. After all, we didn't get the chance to send TK off =(
Music and sound. They are one of this show strongest points (how many strong points does this show have?!). They timed and chose the background music for certain moments perfectly which is a big help in setting up the emotional scenes as well as the funny parts. The OP and ED are good and the songs from Girls Dead Monster becomes talk of the anime fandom. K-ON! can learn a thing or two from both the song choice and animations during the performance. My song sang by Iwasawa imo is pretty haunting and memorable on its own.
The seiyuu too did an excellent job. I have high hopes for Otonashi when I found out that Kamiya Hiroshi does his voice. However Otonashi as a character at the end of the show ruined it for me. This doesn't mean that the seiyuus are at fault. If anything, they did a great job for invoking such reaction from me. They gave everything they have to put personality and attitude to the characters which give them life of their own. Kudos.
The art and animation however are decent. I've seen better. It was because of the arts that I initially compared it to hentai. I believe P.A Works could have done a better job. I mean, I adore the animation and the arts in True Tears so it is not like they aren't capable to do so. Besides Aniplex is one of the producers. They have plenty of resources, I am sure. Or maybe Angel Beats! is such a success because of the lack in this department. For example, I thought in some of the episodes, the quality of the animation was top notch, especially when there is blood involved.
Well, I guess it is obvious that I enjoy Angel Beats! At least up to episode 9 I did. Maybe the reason I was able to enjoy it is because I have learned to watch it at face value without questioning the facts and logics. Granted that the ending was a phailed attempt for tear fest, the other episodes easily make up for that. I managed to complete it on time, didn't I? That definitely accounted for something.
Angel Beats! is a show that you truly have to get to know to fall in love with it. If you judge it from the first episode alone, you'll be missing a lot. My initial rating for it was 7 out of 10. After 13 episodes, I changed my mind slightly.
Arts & Animation 8/10 Sound 10/10 Story 8/10 Characters 9/10 Enjoyment 9/10 Overall 8/10 For a longer additional read, you can check out Guy's review. He dedicated a paragraph for TK :P
The story is about two people, Oz and Alice who made a contract in the Abyss, a place where the condemned was sent. At first I wasn't sure why Oz was sent there on his coronation night but gradually as the story progressed, the pieces of the puzzle fall into places.
The Abyss produced Chain, a doll-like creature that want to be in the real world to obtain power but the instability forced them to make a contract with a human, just like Oz and Alice. However, the Chain will gradually extinguished the human. Once the seal on the contractor's chest is completed, they, together with the Chain, he/she will be sent to the deepest Abyss and this time there is no turning back.
Oz comes back to the real world after 10 years he went missing in the Abyss so Gil, his best friend cum servant is much older than him and is working for Break and Sharon. These two, just like the Baskervilles, are searching for the Will of the Abyss and apparently Oz is the key to it.
The only reason Alice wants to get out of the Abyss is to search for her memories so together with Oz and Gil, they search for it. In their quest both Oz and Alice find out the truth about their past and at the same time, they try to stop the hand of the seal from moving, with the help from other people who either care about them or just using them.
The art is nothing amazing. The background or the surroundings are pretty much dead, as in static, most of the time. The colors used were too contrast with the characters at times which kinda made them looked out of place. Possibly to follow the theme of the show. Having said that, I really do like the character designs. The males especially are what I would called bishies. They are really pleasing to the eyes. The females aren't bad either but since I'm not gay, I'll leave it at that. To be honest, the reason that I was attracted to this series after all, was after I saw the characters in the DVD special, which kinda explained what a huge pro they are.
OZ Bezarius
I like Oz but my god he can be so damn annoying sometimes with his insecurities. He needs to grow some hairy balls, is what I think. Because he has yet to have them balls, I say he's gay for Alice. Oz is the key to the Will of the Abyss (wanted by the Baskervilles) thus he keeps getting into trouble as he tries to find himself and helps Alice.
Alice/B-Rabbit
She's the chain for Oz. She was once human but she got murdered and ended up in the Abyss as B-Rabbit. That was where Oz found her. She took Oz as her manservant which in truth is the other way around. She came back to the real world to find her memories in order for her to remain herself. A definite tsundere when it comes to Oz. Loves to eat, especially meat.
GilbertNightray
Gilbert 'Gil' Nightray is the loyal servant/butler of Oz and has the power of Raven from Nightray. He is Vincent's brother. Just like Oz and Vincent, he is one of the few who managed to escape the Abyss. He is the only one that can sealed B-rabbit's power. His weakness is cat. Definitely gay for Oz and can't see eye to eye with Alice which consequently provide quite a lot of comic relief.
Xerxes Break
Formerly known as Kevin Regnard. The user of Mad Hater's power. The most powerful one out of the bunch. Very sly and cunning. Reminds me of Ichimaru Gin what's with his gray hair and crimson eyes. They even shared the same kind of creepy smile. However unlike Gin, he is pretty funny with his carefree attitude. He loves sweet and you definitely don't want to piss this guy off. He has a very interesting background story that kinda surprised me. Eccentric guy over all and my favorite character in the series.
Sharon
I am not sure what her relationship is with Break but Break called her Ojou-sama and she has no qualm at beating his ass with her fan. She has a chain too named Eques. Definitely a sadistic.
Vincent Nightray
He wanted to erase anything that can recalled what happened 100 years ago. Master of Echo. Most definitely gay for Gilbert. Not so right in the head but he has very cool eyes. One could even named him the series' psycho resident. It is either you like him or you hate him. I happened to like crazy evil people ^o^
Jack Bezarius
The one who stopped the Baskervilles 100 years ago. He appeared as fragments of Alice's memories and helps Oz a lot when he is in a pinch. He also warns everyone about the return of Glen Baskerville which obviously will repeat the Tragedy of Sabrie again. By the way, he was the only friend of Glen and vice versa. It must have pained him to stop his friend from going berzerk. Pretty good looking fella ^^
Eliot Nightray
Another little brother of Gil. He is the voice of reason for Oz. I like him straight away. He is the only one who can tell Oz to be a man and take his own destiny into his own hands instead of giving up on his life thinking that it would solve all the problems. He's valiant and funny and cute has quite a temper. Definitely a Nightray. He hates the Bezarius and I can pretty much tell why. Could he be Glen's reincarnation? hehehe >3
Ada Bezarius
She is Oz's sister. Very gentle and such. I don't usually like this kind of character but I like her for some odd reason that I am not too sure what. She looked like she has a brother complex but then we found out that she has a b0nar for Gil. Priceless XD
None of my favorite seiyuus are in this production but Vincent was voiced by Jun Fukuyama so a plus there. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Oz was voiced by a female so yeah, the seiyuus are good nonetheless. Also I like OP song more than the ED song as it is more catchy but not as much as I like the song Lacey from the pocket watch. It kinda present the anime with a whimsical yet foreboding feel which is perfect for the theme.
I do enjoyed Pandora Hearts. The plots are mysterious which keep me guessing from one episode to the other. It makes me interested to see the next episode to find out what will happened. There are also occasional unexpected comedy in it that I appreciate. What I didn't expect however is the end. It poses more questions than answers which can only mean one thing... second season! I look forward to watching that.
This actually made me want to pick up the manga...
art 8/10 story 9/10 sound 8/10 character 9/10 enjoyment 8/10 overall 8/10
edit: Glo said that the anime ending is different from the manga. But... isn't the manga still on going so how was that possible? =\
I remember at one particular time, I was obsessed with sports-related anime. In my craze, I picked up Bamboo Blade and was glad that I did. It even makes me interested in kendo. Too bad I'm too old to pick up a sport, or to learn martial art.
Bamboo Blade is pretty straight forward in terms of the story line. We have a struggling kendo club looking for new members to ensure that the club will not be canceled. Of course, as the story progress they managed to gather new members, including two boys. The instructor is kind of good for nothing sensei. One day he met with an old friend, another instructor at another school, and bet that his club can beat the other kendo club in a practice match. The prize is one year supply of sushi (didn't I said he's good for nothing?). Anyway, somehow the practice match leads to the final tournament. There are nice mini stories, trials and tribulations in between that completed this story.
Bamboo Blade does a fairly good job explaining what Kendo is, the strategies and the ropes of the sport. As a total noob when it comes to Kendo, I didn't get lost in the plot trying to understand what has taken place.
Each of the members have eccentrics personalities which make this show so fun to watch because they are such a riot! The members of the club is the heart of this series and totally has the best character chemistry ever. Tamaki got to be my favorite character in the series. She's small and seems to have a quiet personality but she's one of the best at Kendo. Also she's an otaku, so she wins big time. Kirino is the responsible captain of the kendo club and have a close relationship with Sayako, the hilarious red-head. There is also Satori is the timid girl, Miyako who have split personalities and is totally in love with the very eccentric, very geeky, Dan the pimp. Let's not forget Yuuji who is the only sensible male around and seems to be the closest with Tamaki (I was hoping for some romance), and their failure of a teacher, Kojiro.
Despite this being a all female cast for the most part, there is absolutely no ecchi or fanservice to the pervert, which is something that I appreciated.
Kawazoe Tamaki. She might be small but she can so kick your ass to oblivion.
While it may not be the best looking series out there, I think AIC A.S.T.A, FUNimation Entertainment and Studio Tulip did a pretty good job with the art. The characters were designed with their personalities in mind and has such versatility to them. The overall animation is well enough to catch your attention and does not come off as an over kill. Only the background is lacking in character, imo.
The OP of this series is pretty catchy and lively. It will give you a sense of happiness. It also has a sweet ED too. Both songs were done by Hirohashi Ryou (the seiyuu for Tamaki). The background music too is pretty awesome, with epic orchestral pieces to hot-blooded insect songs. The voice actors did at awesome job to add personalities to the characters. They also did well in matching with the characters' various emotion. Did you know, Kojiro is voiced by the same guy who voiced Kamina-sama from Gurren Lagaan, with the same intonations and vocal gestures. It was sheer hilarity and full of epicness!
Bamboo Blade has it all: comedy, drama, romance... all rolled up into 26 episodes. If you are looking for a fun anime with great character chemistry and amusing anecdotes, then Bamboo Blade hits the mark just right. However I can't recommend it to everyone especially if you like plot twist and a fast pace non-linear storyline.
Personally I thoroughly enjoyed this series though :)
Art 8/10 Story 8/10 Characters 10/10 Sound 8/10 Enjoyment 10/10 Overall 9/10
