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Dec 28, 2014
Yuru Yuri ♪♪ is an amazing anime which all anime studios need to take notes from. It's about the normal lives of schoolgirls trying to enjoy themselves in their tea-club. Each character has her own personality and her own unique traits, which helps enhances the series as it goes on. Yuru Yuri generally does not have a story, it only shows us episodes of lesbian (yuri) girls who are not fully aware of their sexual affiliation, which is the core of the comedy aspect in this, almost, rom-com.
Characters:
The clumsy, ignored, and plain Akari. She's the absolutely normal girl every shoujo has, albeit a little clumsy
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and awkward. Her lack of presence is the cause of her distress.
The selfish, easygoing, and perverted Kyoko. She's a famous mangaka, and her class' highest scorer even though she's a slouch. Her gluttony and laziness are her most shinning traits.
The lustful yet calm, and cute Chinatsu. She's the best at making tea and the worst at drawing.
The nice, mature, and independent Yui. She lives in an apartment by herself, and is often found at the center of the four main characters mentioned above.
Then, there are the secondary characters: The vexed but shy Ayano. The wet-dreaming, nose-bleeding Chitose. The jealous, and dumb Sakurako. The big-breasted and lady-like Himawari. The mute student council president, Rise. And Nana, the science teacher whose inventions are all explosive.
Relationships:
The relationships are linear and obvious: Akari is ignored by everyone. Kyoko loves Chinatsu, and often crashes at Yui's apartment. Chinatsu adores and looks up to Yui, and is constantly avoiding Kyoko. Yui is the one keeping Kyoko away from Chinatsu, and having them all at her apartment every now and then. Ayano secretly loves Kyoko but pretends she doesn't tolerate her. Chitose is Ayano's best friend, and the one encouraging and advising Ayano. She day-dreams a lot about intimate scenes between Kyoko and Ayano whenever she removes her glasses, and that causes her nose to bleed. Sakurako is extremely jealous of Himawari's big breasts. She always fights with her throughout the two seasons, but appears to be heavily dependent on her.
Analysis:
The music is slightly above-par, and is catchy and enjoyable. The animation and design are amazing. And the final episode would account for all the rest, meaning: You can watch the last episode without losing much content. It was really good.
The anime is truly fantastic because of what it teaches us about the art of making anime. It serves to be as the perfect model of what NOT to do in an anime. Here is a huge list:
*The characters are heavily contrasted, and that does not reflect any social reality.
*The relationships feel like they were planned or written by a robot: They're linear.
*Each character has a list of habits and traits that aren't shared with anyone, and that is neither the case in Japan, nor in anywhere else. It doesn't feel real at all.
*Each joke is thoroughly and excessively explained in a way that would make it pointless.
*Everything can be expected from the start of each event, so there's not much to anticipate.
*Each character tries hard to be a full representation of her characteristics.
*Everything is commented on. There seems to be no understanding between any character without speech.
*No imagination or thinking is left to the watcher. Every reference or notion has to be pointed at.
*Responses are forced and unnatural. So are the reactions. No flexibility.
*Repetition. All events are similar, and all reactions and responses feel like they're repeated.
*Full exploitation of the relationships between these characters, and all characters' characteristics.
*No character development whatsoever. The episodic nature of the anime makes it closer to a cartoon than an anime.
*No story elements or moral. The series' main and only goal is entertainment.
*Typical characters, typical scenarios, and predictable events.
*The children are unrealistic, and overtly frank in an awkward way, which makes one wonder if the developers ever saw children in their lives.
And with these notes, which are so easy to notice, most anime studios can start making good anime devoid of all these cliches. The only thing this piece-of-garbage anime is ever good for is showing us how horrible an anime could be, with looking and sounding as beautiful as the budget allows.
We all know that anime does not have to be realistic, but characters do, and so should relationships, reactions, and traits. It's alright to exaggerate or bend reality a little, but doing so without limits makes the anime unwatchable. The story, the setting, or the events can be unrealistic, and that's alright, but the characters should be relatable so that the watcher can relate himself to the anime, and have a worthy experience. This is a key in arts, and so should it be in anime, even if anime is more about entertainment.
Overall:
There is not much to be gained from watching Yuru Yuri. Both seasons are mediocre at most and extremely boring. The experience is dull; we don't get any idea about the Japanese culture, nor are we entertained, which is ironic, because that seems to be the main objective of the anime. No new types of characters, no new or even inspired events, and most certainly, no originality.
If there was anything worth anyone’s time in the whole series (24 episodes), it is the last episode, which was, by a whole deal, better than the rest.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 7, 2013
Before I begin:
I have only watched the first 1/3 of the season, and a couple of episodes from each season. The couple of episodes I watched from each season from 4 to 7 were really similar to the formula of those episodes from season 3, that’s why I will not review them. I will only review the 1/3 I watched (54 episodes).
Intro:
There’s an old saying that goess “Old is Gold.” Ranma 1/2 is proof of this statement. All the emotions portrayed in the anime are authentic, the music is very appropriate to each situation, all the characters are nice and amusing, and even though
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it is very old, the animation is exceptionally nice.
Ranma 1/2 is an episodic Comedy/Action anime, that runs on a certain formula. This formula consists of:
*Challenges; people fighting over their loved characters.
*Events; something bad happens, and they have to get rid of it.
*Character introductions; new characters are introduced, and a couple of episodes tell you about this character, explain his weak points and his powers, then this character falls in love with another character.
*Dramatic and romantic moments; which only happen in parts of episodes, and these are really rare. But these are the best moments of the anime.
Story:
Saotome Genma, and Tendo Soun are practitioners of the Anything-Goes martial art, and upon reuniting, they decided that Saotome Ranma (the hero of the series) and Tendo Akane should be married, and they are engaged now until then. Even though they don’t rub well together, they support each other from time to time.
The most I can make out of the story is that Ranma is trying to remove the curse on him, in which he turns into a female whenever splashed with water. That’s the only solid goal for Ranma. He jumps at each chance he gets to remove this curse. The other characters want to go steady with the girls they like, but there is always someone that stands in the way. It’s fun at first, but it gets repetitive pretty soon (after the second season). There is no progress in Ranma and Akane’s tsundere relationship as one would think. It doesn’t get better with time; it only develops into a certain stage through the first two seasons, then it stays as it is for the rest of the anime.
You’ll see many side-characters fighting over Ranma or Akane, and they always lose at the end, so there’s not much that could happen. It’s always failed attempts. Which makes it a bit generic, but it’s freaking hilarious. Each attempt is more creative than the one before. It won’t bore you so easily.
The action scenes are okay, but from time to time, an inciting battle boils your blood from the action and speed. With each character introduction, an awesome fight occurs, but normal fights aren’t worth mentioning.
Characters:
I dare you to find one character that is typical. All characters are original, and with each character his advantages and disadvantages, e.g.: Ryouga always gets lost even if he had a map, but is very strong and enduring; Mousse always has his silly gadgets tucked under his sleeves, but can’t see a thing without his glasses; and so on..
Each character has romantic goals, to go steady with a certain character, but it always ends horribly. Given that the anime is episodic, no one holds a grudge against the other, or teams up with another as his partner for long, it’s unstable.
Once you get the hang of each character, the anime gets much better, forcing you to laugh at each encounter, knowing what will happen based on the characters involved in this situation, which is very nice. It makes you feel like you’re personally involved in the anime.
Music and animation:
The world looks very appealing, even if for some recycled backgrounds, but most of them look very good, so I am not to complain. The characters all are very well-drawn, and they all look good. The sky is what really attracts me, I am a sucker for ethereal themes, and the sky does just that, whether it was in the morning or at night.
The music is one of the best things in the anime. This is the first anime that made me listen to each opening and ending (even though I hate most anime endings and openings). All the battle music, and dramatic music are appropriate. The main themes are nice, and there are such a wide variety of soundtracks used. Some that I wait for in each battle.
Lastly, the voice acting is very good.
Lasting Appeal:
I watched the first 2 seasons in 8 days; that’s how much I liked it. It lost its special charm after the first 2 season, and after the 3rd one, it goes downhill.
It made me hate every character that tried to interfere with Ranma and Akane’s relationship; and even though it seems that they hate each other, they get jealous every time another character approaches the other. That innocent childish love is something I wanted to see in every anime, and Ranma 1/2 executed it perfectly.
All the sentiments feel authentic, and they are expressed beautifully. No character feels like it’s pretending to be itself, which is shown at best in Ranma and Akane’s dramatic moments; especially in a romantic scene at the beginning and end of season 2.
Ranma 1/2 excels the most in its humorous side. It is easily one of the funniest anime I have ever seen. Most of its jokes are about the typicality of its characters, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh your butt off.
All in all, Ranma 1/2 is an excellent anime, with original ideas, and fun schemes, but sadly, it overstayed its welcome, becoming way to repetitive in mid season 3 till the rest of the anime. Had they concentrated on the progress of Ranma and Akane’s relationship afterwards, it would’ve been much better. Sadly, they continued on the same formula for 110 episodes, which became unbearable.
{8.6/10}
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 27, 2013
What happens when you mix Mecha, Drama, and Sci-Fi in one anime, set it in a post apocalyptic era, and add deep psychological elements to the anime? Neon Genesis Evangelion happens. Set in future Japan, where science has brought us much forward from where we are now, humans created the evangelions to destroy the Angels; giant creatures from what seems to be extraterrestrials who are out to get us. The main characters are the three pilots of the Evangelions: Shinji Ikari, an always depressed and afraid of being hurt kid, an arrogant brat, Asuka Langeley, and Rei. Also, the head of NERV, a base bent
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upon destroying the Angels, Shinji’s father, Gendo Ikari, Ritsuko Akagi, the head scientist, and Misato Katsuragi, the chief operations officer.
The plot goes on about how these children fight the evangelions and live their lives, and then the plot thickens, as they all struggle from past scars, and overflowing emotions. Which I find cliche. Almost all anime I've seen have this main character who is struggling with past memories, and emotional instability, and generally feels like a nuisance.
Evangelion is filled with creative ideas of angels (their shapes, their behaviors their natures, their abilities), and how the heroes defeat them, almost like they are major influences for a lot of videogame and anime developers. And the angels here aren't like normal enemies from other anime, they feel real, and hostile, equivalent of bosses in videogames. They won’t ever hold back on killing the evangelions. You’ll get your fair share of action and blood and gore here, along with all the suspension there is. The anime’s themes sometimes change rapidly, but not in an overwhelming manner, in other words, it won’t exhaust your mind trying to comprehend what is happening, but I can assure you that it will surprise you… in a disappointing way sometimes, even. At least that’s what I felt.
From delivering an awesome story, to teaching you high values of life, Evangelion excels in one, and fails miserably at the other. Some episodes here are really strange, and surprising, as to show you how weird the anime can be, but not in a good way, unfortunately, which is a turn off. But you’ll find other moments, where the anime is heading the course it should take, and it can’t get any better. Simply compelling at times.
Once you watch the first episode, you won’t stop until you finish the whole anime. A splendid experience, from start to finish….. At least I wish it was from start to finish. There are parts in the anime that seem lacking, and there are parts where the anime is just better without. You’ll encounter a long psychological part, where the minds of the protagonists are being messed up, and most of these parts seem elongated, and are tedious. With that said, the rest is just pure excitement. I’ll say especially at episode 18 and 24 where the anime reaches its climax.
Evangelion perfected the twisted feel most anime try relentlessly to give, but it failed to show you the beauty of the world. It made me cringe, and by that, I honor it. And I honestly, didn't think it would go this far.
You know how a lot of normal movies start out, and continue normally with nothing worth noting, nothing really interesting, and then by the end, it all hits you? Evangelion is the opposite of that. You’ll see later on. Just try not to be disappointed. I know many people who liked the ending, but since a lot of the fans complained about the terrible ending, Gainax made the movie, The End of Evangelion, to replace episodes 25 and 26, which were pretty neat. And wicked.
You’ll see a lot of things in other anime which were ripped off from Evangelion, which is very nice to see, and add up to the actual experience.
In the end, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a remarkable anime, and one of the best out there. One that should be added to everyone’s anime experiences. You probably should avoid it, if you hated a nagging protagonist, but it wasn't that much annoying to me. 10 hours of pure fun, and 1.5 of not so pure fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 27, 2013
Black Rock Shooter is from start to finish a down-right strange anime. I think it generally represents the idea that nice and kind people whose righteousness comes straight from their hearts will always help people even if it costed them their night’s sleep or their current happiness. It also threw hints about Freud’s psychoanalysis; how there is a netherworld, where people’s suppressed emotions are converted into restless champions in constant battle. I will not deny that it does this in a very strange way, which is good, because even if this looks typical to the naked eye, it is far from it.
The anime ends in
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an ambiguous manner, leaving you questioning whether the anime had a meaning or a lesson, or was just for entertainment.
There’s the start, and there is the finish, surely. But what happens in between is where all the good stuff’s at! And it is nothing less than magnificent.
There is something here for everyone:
Epic battles, check.
Authentic emotions, check.
Excellent animation, check.
Twisted characters, check.
Atmospheric music, check.
THE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY, check, check, check!
Hell, everything was inspiring.
The anime is short (only 8 eps., 25 minutes per ep.), but that is not a bad thing; it feels better that way, because had they made it any longer, it would end up depressing you. It’s atmospheric, alright.
My only complaint is that it does not feel, only for the main antagonists, the twisted characters who are really sinister, have a decent excuse for them to be so.
However, all the characters are in a good way overdramatic.
The plot isn’t very much engaging, but you’ll be compelled by the extra fine battles, and the responses and reactions of characters. And if that doesn’t appeal to you, just kickback, and let at all the colorful worlds, and the very nice music take you for a ride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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