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.
People refer to this anime simply as Watamote and I said in my preview that this show has the potential to please me as a fan. Just look at the protagonist and you know that this has the right condiments to be good.
(c) Maimai Yuki
Oh and I secretly want her to end up with her younger brother ^w^
Watamote it is about a girl who has a really screwed up view of herself. She's unpopular but she has this very positive mindset when it comes to describing herself or if it has anything to do with herself. In reality though, she is just this awkward looking girl with bags under her eyes from playing all those otome games late into the night.
Her askew point of views, in my opinion, are the reason this show is so enjoyable. It's painful to look at her being so wrong about everything that has anything to do with social stuff but at the same time we just couldn't get enough of that. Or at least I can't. I wonder if people like her exist in real life.
One of the highlights of the show for me personally is when she wants to be social adept but whenever she looks at people having conversation and left her out, she has this fucked up conversation in her head about those people and they are most of the time full of sexual innuendos. It goes to show how corrupted her mind is LOL
So yeah, this show is definitely one of the most enjoyable show I've watched this season.
Episode: 12
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: Silver Link
arts & animation 7/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 8/10
overall 7.8/10
Heh, if you read my preview for this show, you see how mislead I was. Here, lemme quote myself
"For some reason I got excited with Zetman.
It probably has something to do with that misleading poster. It looks
like a guy carrying another guy in his arms. The fujoshi in me
squeals in delight."
So for the sake of argument, let just say that I have quite an "expectation" for this show XD
(c) pixiv id 4062951
And holy shit Zetman totally blew my mind away. I got more than what I expected. There was blood and violence and the fighting sequence makes me wet my pantsu. I love it.
Jin is a Player, an experimental creature used to entertain the higher society. Unfortunately one day these Players gain a mind of their own and rebel. They are at large in the society disguising themselves as human. Jin was brought up by the man who created him so he's more human than all the other creatures, and hence our main protagonist. This episode pretty much a history lesson for us viewers and it was done cleverly and interestingly enough to make me want to see the episode ASAP.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode because of the reasons I have already stated though I am a bit apprehensive with what's going to happen when he's all grown up and met Kouga again. If they end up as enemy, that would be intense.
I'm giving all the compliments that they deserved to the animation studio for job well done with the arts and animation. I was very impressed indeed especially when Jin showed those thugs what he was made of. That was definitely one of the highlight of this episode for me. The other was when Jin being ZET towards the end of the episode.
I guess the creativity part comes from the manga itself.
I have nothing but good words to say about this show. A very good first impression indeed. I'm sorry that I didn't check this show earlier.
Number of episode: 13
Season: Spring 2012
art & animation 8/10
story 8/10
characters 7/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 7.8/10
Mouretsu Pirates is one of the animes that I know won't sit well with me, based on the preview. As usual, I am watching this just to see if I am right about it. I've heard bits and pieces of this show on Twitter but since I tuned out most of it because of the spoilers, I have no idea what to expect.
(c) Matsumoto Noriyuki
This show evolves around Marika Katou. She is the daughter of the infamous space pirate who led the Bentenmaru. She has no idea about it though until she was visited by her mom's friends and was told that she inherited the space pirate ship since according to the law, only the direct descendant can take over. As expected Marika was skeptical but she can't run from her fate, can she?
Her school is taken over and looks like they are recruiting her friends to be pirates as well. On top of that, the new transfer student looks like she knows more about what's going on than Marika. I have no idea what her role in this show is yet but she's clearly a tsundere.
The art and animation aren't something that will guarantee you to watch this show. In fact I think they are below average. The set up supposedly to be in different planet in different universe but they used kanji to write any legal documents and they were too lazy to think to depict the setting that they wanted to achieve for this show. It ends up like they are on earth in year 3050. It's not convincing at all. Same goes for the character designs. I found them not attractive at all.
The OP and ED greatly compliment the show as in, it annoys the fuck out of me. It has some pretty colorful cast of seiyuu at it's disposal unfortunately they are just average at best and didn't actually bring anything special to their character to remember them by.
Mouretsu Pirates is a 26 episodes show. I don't know why it needs that many episodes because I can't see how they can develop the story to be interesting. Though the first episode wasn't bad, it didn't bring anything to the table. I just pretty much sat on my chair and watched it from start to finish without any kind of excitement. It's was monotonous and it's the second worse kind of feeling for an anime fan to have. The first one is of course raging.
Mouretsu Pirates is as average as anime can get, not even that to be honest but if you don't mind spending time watching average anime, go ahead since it wasn't bad. It's definitely wasn't good either.
art & animation 5/10 story 5/10 characters 5/10 sound 5/10 enjoyment 5/10 overall 5/10
When I first watched the OVA, I thought to myself... what was it about this shit that Glo was raving so much about? But once I saw the first episode, I finally understood what he meant, but part of the majority reason why I like this show so much is because of Mikazuki Yozora. I'll talk about her in details later. Wait, I actually has wrote what I think of her in my first impression post so yeah, won't repeat the same shit again.
(c) Buriki
First of all, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, or Haganai for short touches on matters that I can relate to. Just like these characters, I am not good at making new friends. I can talk to strangers if the situation requires it, because it's part of my job, but to call someone a friend takes more than an exchange of smiles. I wish people understand this and stop forcing themselves upon my space.
Haganai characters all have unique trait about them which made them socially inept. Thanks to Yozora who created the club (even though her reason to do so was totally selfish) and also Kodaka (who most of the reason why the other decided to join), they got together. They were so n00bs at making friends, they don't even realized that they are friends now, and always in denial about that fact. At the club, they do whatever shit that they want and once in a while they did something together to experience what the masses experienced, like going to swimming pool together in the summer or did some karaoke.
Most of the time it was seemingly one plot-less episode after the other but in the midst of all that, the core of the story is ultimately about two childhood friends reuniting after ten years. There were also romance in the air (but of course there is, it's a harem after all). Needless to say, I'm pro-Yozora.
Speaking of characters, they are definitely one lively bunch:
(c) pixiv id 1996843
We have Yozora Mikazuki , the awesome leader or head of the club and the reason why we have this show. She's brilliant and witty and doesn't give a shit if she's different. I like that a lot because she's reminding me of me. Her most memorable dialogue is from episode 3. Of course she was referring to Sena.
You damn perverted! Silence wench! You succubus! Flasher! Bitch! Walking cum dumpster! Real dutch wife! Walking porn scene! Don't come near me! Don't touch me! You'll make me pregnant!
Kodaka Hasegawa, the required male protagonist, because after all this is a harem. I like him though and I can understand why the ladies are attracted to him. He is a gentleman in his own way though a bit disturbing that he didn't get a b0nar for seeing Kobato/Sena naked. I wonder if he's gay and didn't know it.
Sena Kashiwazaki or better known as Mikku or Meat which I think fits her perfectly. She's okay as a character and a great comedic relief whenever Yozora making fun of her. Other than that, especially when she starts blushing for Kodaka just annoyed the fuck out of me. I wish she would just play her yuri game in a corner while the others pretend that she didn't exist.
Yukimura Kusunoki is the honorable trap. I think they was hoping he'll be as popular as Hideyoshi but BITCH PLEASE, no trap can beat Hideyoshi. He is in his own category. I think Yukimura character was a waste. If only they played their card right - by reminding us that he actually has a dick all the time - then he would have been more entertaining than just a mere underling for Kodaka.
Rika Shuguma is a genius and a total pervert. I didn't like her much at first but as the show progressed, I find myself looking forward to her random outburst. She pride herself for being a pervert and find any situation as a turn on. That was a talent that I wish I had LOL
Kobato Hasegawa is Kodaka's sister who literally lives her life by cosplaying as some vampire character. I kinda feel for her for having no real identity. She'll have a hard time growing up, I'm sure. Also, she's terrified of Sena.
Maria Takayama is a 10 year old kid who became the club's adviser after being tricked by Yozora. I found her annoying because she reminds me of Index. She and Kobato are constantly fight for Kodaka's affection. In other words, Kobato has a brother complex.
Ryohei Kimura is definitely one of the seiyuu in 2011 that I took notice of and he did a great job as Kodaka. I don't usually sing praises for the female seiyuu because 99% of the time, I don't give a shit about female characters. However, I like to do so for Marina Inoue (Yozora) and Misato Fukuen (Rika) for making me enjoying their characters the most. Their deliverance for their dialogue are in my opinion, crucial to ensure that the comedy doesn't fail and they didn't miss a beat. Misato definitely embodied Rika's character as a pervert and make her so damn believable and likeable at the same time.
Unfortunately I am not a fan of either the OP or the ED. They weren't bad, not just my cup of tea. Both were average at best but fits perfectly for the show. If you are a fan of upbeat songs, it might be just right for you. But again, praises for the seiyuu because they didn't sound bad at all singing those lines. The BGM however was... unmemorable because I seriously can't remember any of it at the moment. The insert song in the last episode was okay but unless I hear it repeatedly, it won't have a slot in my brain either.
The art for Haganai is memorable. Even though there is nothing special about it, the details are exceptional. I like how the characters are drawn and they can certainly look cute if they tried. I thought AIC did a great job at capturing all the characteristic of each character design, especially Kodaka's hair color. Same goes for the animation. The quality was consistent from episode 1 to end. Solid work guys. Well done (p/s: I can do without the fanservice though).
Haganai is surprisingly quite an entertaining anime. I said so because I am not someone who usually enjoy a harem anime. In factm I usually ignored/dropped/rage at such anime. For me to say anything good about this show means that Haganai did something right and thus it exceeded my expectation. So this means that I might just recommend this show for you guys if you like harem comedy without the romance.
Since the show ended without any real progress between Kodaka and either two of the female protagonists Yozora, I expect a second season. I truly want to find out how these two further developed their relationship now that both has remember the past.
#Haganai (Fall 2011) 12 episodes Produced by FUNimation Entertainment and AIC Build
arts & animation 8/10 story 7/10 characters 9/10 sound 9/10 enjoyment 8/10 overall 8.2/10
I wasn't too impress with UN-GO so here I am hoping that Guilty Crown could make up for what is lacking in that other noitaminA series.
(c) Redjuice
Ouma Shu is a socially awkward student who is currently living in a quasi-independent Japan. He is not happy with what has Japan turned into after the Apocalypse Virus weakened the country to the point that it has to be dependent on other countries, even after all these years. One day he met with Inori, an Egoist singer who is also deemed as a terrorist since she is a member of the Funeral Parlor. Inori was badly hurt and the "authority" found her and took her into custody in front of Shu. This just pressured Shu to do something. Shit can't go down like this forever y'all!
Inori left Funell, her pet robot there. Inside of it is Void Genome that Inori stole. She must give it to Gai at all cost. This presents the perfect opportunity for Shu to retaliate and redeem himself. Gai is actually so fucking hot and so fucking badass, I think I'm gonna die just watching him being so fucking awesome. He fucking kills people with a smile plastered on his face. Oh shit I think I just came LMAO
whats not to fap? (c) Redjuice
The authority is willing to go to any length to get it back including mass genocide in pretext that they are "infected". Sounds familiar doesn't it? Well, that's what happened when you let the most powerful country (read US of A) "help" you. You are in fact selling your soul to the devil. I am just most thankful to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad for not turning to IMF when the world economy collapsed in 1998. He knew what would happened if we did just that. Instead he tied our currency to MYR3.80 and that save our butt and thus let us continue to be independent. That is why he is my hero.
Anyhoo, back to the show. I am not crazy about "putting your hand inside of someone's chest to obtain absolute power whatevershit". It lacks originality (Code Geass/Dantalian no Shouka anyone?) and even though the Guilty Crown looks bad ass, in the hand of Shu, it is just... blurgh. Why does a coward good for nothing character always gets the girl and the cool gadgets? I never realized that it actually pissed me off until I watched this show. Maybe I'm just getting sick of the same platform being used over and over again. I mean, why can't Gai gets the Guilty Crown? Why does Shu, someone who doesn't know the fuck about anything gets it and given the opportunity to be a hero? Does it supposed to represent hope for the losers? Well, here's a bad news: in real life, you will remain a loser if you believe this shit.
Having said that, Production I.G. does not disappoint me this time around. Besides Gai, the stunning arts nd animation are definitely one of the strong reasons why I'm liking this show despite the infuriating story line and shallow protagonists (both Inori and Shu). The other good reasons are the songs. It was beautifully sang and even though I'm not a fan of Inori the wench, I have to admit, her singing is captivating.
Did I enjoy this more than UN-GO? Though the story sort of something that I've seen too many time before, it was beautifully done and thus credits go to Production I.G for the brilliant execution. Here I am hoping that they develop the story nicely so this one could turn out great otherwise it would be another flop.
Conclusion: There is nothing about the story that excites me but my b0nar for the animation wins the inner battle. I'm not losing my faith on noitaminA just yet and that is indeed a good news.
art & animation 10/10 story 7/10 characters 7/10 sound 9/10 enjoyment 9/10 overall 8.4/10
p/s: for the best review of Guilty Crown, click here.
This here I am watching is an OVA for the upcoming TV series that will be released anytime soon. To be honest I was completely confused for the first two minutes of this episode. I thought this show's alternate title in English is "I Don't Have Many Friends" but in this one, it repeatedly shows us statement of "I Have Many Friends" with some spaceship UFO as the background picture. On top of that, they showed us snippets of Kodaka with his harem of not less than 5 girls who are desperate for his attention.
(c) Buriki
Isn't this the opposite of what this show is supposed to be? And to be honest, I am a little bit pissed off feeling that I have been cheated. I don't appreciate the harem as well even though one of them girls has heterochromia. I don't like it even more when only 2 girls are of his age while the others, including the heterochromia, are lolis.
Oh shit this is turning out to be a disaster for me. I don't think I can take it anymore!
Thankfully the first half of the episode was only Kodaka's dream. His perverted thoughts were interrupted with a taser gun. Turned out he and the others were having (poisonous) hot pot in a very questionable dark room. The two girls from his dreams who were all chummy and what not are Yozora and Sena. In real life, they are literally like cat and dog and will compete with each other about anything and everything.
The other characters are Maria, the heterochromia girl, Kobato (Index -you'll get what I mean if you saw her and have watched To Aru Majutsu no Index), Yukimura (Misaka - again, referring to To Aru Kagaku no Railgun) and Rika, the lab girl. If I have to pick one girl to root for, then it has to be Yozora just because I'm a sucker for character like her.
(c) Itachi-san314
The characters are pretty much the archetype characters. There aren't any surprise with their personality which already make this show feels so boring. It doesn't bring anything new and exciting to the table. They thought the story of few people having no friends and socially awkward creating a Neighbors Club for themselves is made of win. Well, I beg to differ. But then again, this is only the OVA. Hopefully with the TV show, they will be as promising as the manga and make it a bit more entertaining and interesting for us.
For an OVA with airing time of 11 minutes, it was a disappointment for me. The first half was full of fanservice while the other half was pretty much a lost cause. If they think this OVA will make people want to watch the TV show, then I think AIC Build has failed miserably.
art & animation 6/10 story 4/10 characters 6/10 sound 5/10 enjoyment 4/10 overall 5/10
The second episode is already out but it is only now that I have the time to spare for this shit. The aniblogsphere has been buzzing at how shitty this one is so I don't really know why the hell am I still watching this show. Maybe it has something to do with self-satisfaction, making sure that this is really as shit as everyone said it was. Or maybe I'm just a closet masochist.
(c) tinkerbell
The show is about Subaru, a high school kid who is forced by his aunt (who is smaller than him and looks like an elementary school student) to coach the basketball team at her school. The basketball team in question, has 5 members whom Subaru will gradually warm up to and thus, instead of only coaching for three days, he voluntarily signs himself up for the whole semester. Even more so when he got challenged by small boys acting like brats. So damn predictable.
I thought height plays a big part in selecting the players. They also need to know at least the basic rules about basketball. Apparently these kids are so awesome, they don't give a fuck about all that. Bullshit.
The characters... Tomoka reminds me of Tamaki from Bamboo Blade for whatever reason even though their personalities are so different while Himeji from Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is Hinata. Moha is obviously Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku. As you have probably deduct by now, I don't exactly appreciate cloning so the characters itself is one of the weakest points for this show. Recycling material is only good in real life, not in anime.
If that's not bad, they even has a shower scene with them naked and placement of strategic bubbles. Then, they even feel each other up in that fucking shower. I mean, these kids are elementary students, for fuck's sake. What are you trying to teach them? Hentai lifestyle? How fucking lolicon can you be? I won't allow my kids to watch this show. Nu'uh. No fucking way.
Though I do want to see the second episode just for the fuck of it though I don't think I ever will. Not with this much backlog, I can't :(
art and animation 4/10 story 4/10 characters 4/10 sound 4/10 enjoyment 4/10 overall 4/10
I don't read the manga although I really want to but since I can't afford to spend my time with any manga (except Bleach) nowadays, I am really look forward to see the anime. I have heard and even been forced to read the original so that's why I have high hope for this one. This is only a 12 episodes show though. I wonder if the pace will be too fast. I hope Manglobe doesn't ruin the original with the adaptation.
To be honest, I have no idea what this show is all about. I avoided spoilers because I know even the slightest shit will ruin the show for me. Thank goodness the synopsis didn't tell you much either so imagine how fucking wet I was when I found out how bloody and gore this show is. FUCK FAPPING YES!
what a sight ^_^
Imagine your friends were killed in front of your eyes. Imagine waking up to corpses and ruined class. That's what Ganta, our protagonist, has to deal with. If that's not bad enough, he was accused of mass murdering the 29 students in his class and sentence to death. Well, the evidences were all against him, after all which just made this show that more interesting though it was clear that he was framed and someone wants him dead. That someone is the antoganist, Tamaki. He is the warden of Deadman Wonderland, a prison that is also a theme park, where Ganta was sent to. That's where he met Shiro, a mysterious albino girl who possesses inhuman physical abilities. I guess the more time you spent in Deadman Wonderland, the more adapt you'll become. Shit, I'm all stoke now when I saw the inmates eating candy. Fuck, now I want some too.
Ganta actually met the guy who killed his classmate. He called him the Red Guy and that dude left a souvenir for him in his chest. Now he too possesses super power.
coolness
The details in the animation are great. The slow motion in certain scenes captured the essence of what the story was trying to convey to the audience and since more often than not we are seeing things from Ganta's perspective, it gave us the sense of embodiment with the character. Manglobe didn't skim with the budget. When characters look scared, they look like they were just about to piss in their pantsu. Sure they missed some here and there but all is forgiven because the overall result is awesome. If only they don't fucking censored it too much. God dammit.
I recognized Kana Hanazawa's voice immediately. That's how big of an impact she made as Nessa. But yeah, the cast of seiyuu for this show is great. I have no complain at all. Having said that I still don't understand why they hire Paku Romi as Ganta. Why not hire a male for the job? Ah little details...
It's official. I am a fan of Deadman Wonderland now. No wonder my friends were forcing this one down my throat. I am definitely going to read the manga now. Screw work and time. My worries were unfounded. Thank you Manglobe for adapting this.
arts & animation 9/10 story 10/10 characters 9/10 sound 9/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 9/10
Ao no Exorcist is the only anime that I look forward to the most because of two factors. Factor number one is the fact that I have read the manga back when I was a manga whore so I know what to expect and I expect greatness because the story is fucking awesome (though I have forgotten most about it). The other factor, if you have not guess it yet, is the fact that A-1 Pictures is the one producing this show.
I am three things: anime tard, Sugita slut and A-1 Pictures' whore. Explain a lot, doesn't it? LOL
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1704054
As expected from A-1 Pictures, the start of the anime puts me at the edge of my seat where a bunch of priests praying to protect the Assiah but one by one they were burned to crisp. But this show is not about them, this show is about the twin Rin and Yukio Okumura who have opposite personalities. Yukio is the smart and obedient one while Rin is the rebel who always gets into trouble.
The Abbey where Rin and Yukio live provides exorcism but Rin doesn't believe in ghost and demon until he saw one himself. That's the beginning of his adventure. Little did he know that he's the offspring of Satan. The day he learned that, he also saw Father did his exorcism and finally he was told the truth about himself. Now that the demon knows where and who he is, Rin will be hunted down. Shit is about to get real people!
Fuck, I'm soaked.
Ao no Exorcist is not all serious shit. It plays with emotions too. When Rin was embarrassed in front of Father, I feel my cheeks heat up as well. And then there were the clumsy side of Rin that made me chuckled. He's cute like that. The same goes for Yukio. I can really feel his concern for Rin and I can't wait to see him playing his role in this whole premise. Gah, twinsome is awesome.
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1704054
I dunno who Nobuhiko is since I'm not familiar with his previous works but since he does Rin so well, I better look out for him the next time I watch an anime. Yukio is voiced by Jun Fukuyama who is famous for his role as Lelouch so Yukio kinda has that kind of charisma. The rest of the cast will definitely makes this show a huge success, like Hiroshi Kamiya and Kana Hanazawa who are yet to make their appearance. Both the OP and ED are outstanding. Uverworld, whom I know and come to like thanks to Bleach, does the OP and since I learned that 2PM is singing the ED, the conceited old me like it right away. Credits to the music director as well for the appropriate BGM.
There is no need to sing my praises to A-1 Pictures for the great art and animation. It was expected of them and once again, they delivered. It was flawless. The character designs are just like that of the originals and the backgrounds were very detailed. To say that I'm impressed is an understatement. Thank you A-1 Pictures for not disappointing me this time around.
I'm going to recommend this show to everyone not just because I am a biased fucker but also because I think great anime ought to be shared. I already have friends that I can spazz to so that just makes watching it even more enjoyable. Love. Love. Love.
art & animation 10/10 story 10/10 characters 10/10 sound 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 10/10
I have high hopes for Fractale but with each passing episodes, I feel the hopes dwindling to nothingness. The only reason I watched from week to week was because of Sunda but they fucking killed him in the last episodes.
Everyone, meet the late Sunda and Enri Granitz
The story itself was what made this show lacking. It evolved around Phryne, Clain and Nessa and it shouldn't be so. Phryne and Nessa are the key to reboot the Fractale system. If Phryne didn't ran away and be a jackass about it, people won't have to die unnecessarily. Though she is (literally) a slut it is still no excuse for her to be so fickle about every damn thing. If she agreed from the very beginning to be the key and didn't change her mind every god damn 4 seconds, then the Temple will not declare wars on Lost Millenium (they are the one who are against the Fractale System - but not really). Sunda and Dias wouldn't have died.
As you can see, I'm very pissed right now and rightfully so. I am filled with rage when Clain ended up having a happily ever after ending with Phryne (with Nessa's personality). Damn these kids.
I can't believe I said some really nice things about her in my first impression post. 10 episodes later I have nothing but hate for her.
Characters wise, they are not lacking in term of personalities (except for the plain Clain). The character designs also helped built each characters' personalities while the voice actors compliment those characters, giving them souls. Thanks to her splendid performance as Nessa, I think I am a fan of Kana Hanazawa now. Credits for Yu Kobayashi as well for her job well done as Clain though I still wonder why didn't they pick a guy for the job.
The OP/ED, BGM and sound effects for this show is highly commendable. Both the OP and ED are sang by Hitomi Azuma. There are three songs featured in the single CD titled Harinezumi but I never heard the other one. Like I said, towards the end of the show, the OP grew on me and I can even sing along to it. Having said that, my favorite remains with the ED despite the poor Engrish pronunciation.
If there is one thing that blow me away regarding this show, it's the art and animation of the whole thing. I mentioned this several time during in episodicreviews. A-1 Pictures is really good at delivering these sort of stuff. Some of the scenes looks like they came from a beautiful painting, and the camera angle for certain scenes really stood out. Kudos to the animation production team. It was splendid.
But sadly, for a show that is featured in noitaminA, it certainly didn't live up to expectation. I am not entirely sure whose fault is it but if the story didn't evolved around Phryne, it could have ended up as a fabulous show. This show pretended to be deep when it's not. Yamakan totally lost the plot. I rage at how conceded it turned out to be.
arts & animation 10/10 story 7/10 characters 9/10 sound 8/10 enjoyment 6/10 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
I won't normally watch something like this but I promised myself that I'll check this out and form my opinion after I've watched it. Who knows that I might like it just like I did with Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou.
The story: Misaki is the bossy president of the student council. She is freaking poor. Ends up working as a maid waitress at a restaurant which forces her to become meek. She tried to keep it a secret from her school mate but Usui Takumi, the hottest guy in school (FUCKING CLICHE!!) saw her. She worried that he will tell the whole school about it, not knowing that Usui has taken an interest. Of course she'll pretend like she didn't notice it. Slut.
I seriously want to puke.
But Usui is kinda cute.
Dammit!
Why is it so damn predictable?!
art & animation 7/10 story 5/10 characters 6/10 sound 6/10 enjoyment 6/10 overall 6/10
With Dance in the Vampire Bund turned out to be such a mega disappointment, I am relying on Durarara!! to at least made the winter 2009 worth something. People keep saying how this is similar to Baccano! and since I like Baccano! I have quite an expectation for this show. We will know whether or not those expectation will be met after half and hour.
Glad to report that I like the OP immediately. Just like Baccano! they kinda introduced their characters in the OP vid. Something that I really like actually since I tend to forgot characters' names. Good sign indeed.
Let me make a brief introduction of the character Mikado Ryugamine. I dunno what his problem is but he is a wuss who really likes to stay at home. He never ventured out to Tokyo until now, when he decided to attend the Raira Academy in East Ikebukuro, with his best friend, Masaomi Kida.
Mikado really has to rely on Masaomi to show him the rope of being the "Ikebukuronese" as he calls it. It is also through Masaomi that Mikado gets to know some of the other characters.
Then there are characters that seemingly has nothing to do with Mikado or Masaomi but I'm pretty sure they are connected one way or the other soon. This is where the most intriguing character in my opinion, appeared. The man in black riding a black motorcycle with no lights on, who apparently doesn't have a head and carries a scythe inside his hollow body. Awesome PAWNSOME.
Yeah he totally did that, dude! BAM!
There also appeared to be an online chatting session going on. Since I am so fucked up when it comes to details, I ain't sure who they are. Maybe I'll get it when I watch it the second time around. I suspect these guys as the informant for the show since they discuss about what's going on out there like people committing mass suicides or the disappearance of teenagers.
That's a pretty cool chatting application ^^"
Like in Baccano! all the characters can be considered as the main characters. They are all significance in this show. I like that a lot. And the character designs somehow reminds me of Yozakura Quartet, especially Mikado.
After all the anime-shit I've seen recently, Durara is like a breath of fresh air. The art is amazing, the story too and the characters are awesome. Did I mention that I love the ED song as well? And on top of that, there is the promise of bloodfest even if it's a little =3
I can't freaking wait to meet the other characters!
art 9/10 story 9/10 sound 9/10 characters 10/10 enjoyment 10/10 overall 9/10
