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Sep 17, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Season 1) (10/10): For more information related to my rating system the video description should be satisfactory. Now it is time to discharge this spoiler laden review.
I never really gave JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure much thought. My brother had shown me an abridged series comprised of clips from an old OVA and with the large cast and ludicrously masculine designs I didn’t see much I would be interested in. Then I was five stories up on the top bunk in a Chicago hostel when I noticed that Stardust Crusaders
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was in the list of updated anime on Crunchyroll. I was mostly watching the latest anime but I decided to give the earlier episodes of JoJo a watch. My initial reaction was just how good the show looked, it wouldn’t be until later rewatching the show that I would see how many still frames and little tricks were used to create the powerful sensation the show delivered but I was blown away by its quality. That quality was complemented by the shows bravado, primarily in the form of Dio Brando. When Dio lept out the carriage and gave Jonathan a domineering look accentuated by unique sound design and shaking katakana I was hooked. Now if you are interested in why JoJo’s is such a fantastic show I recommend you check out Super Eyepatch Wolf’s two in depth videos which I will link them in the description. They helped me to better understand why I enjoyed the first part “Phantom Blood” and why the later “Battle Tendency” turned me into such a fan of JoJo’s.
Now as much as I enjoyed Phantom Blood, as it drew me into the series, I would probably only give it a seven or eight rating. The characters outside of Jonathan and Dio serve only as filler villains or to tell us just how wonderful Jonathan is. While Jonathan is lovable he isn’t very deep, his emotions and actions are very straightforward, more bending to the environments he is placed in than having any established character traits. The other major weakness is how Phantom Blood handles character death, as Super Eyepatch Wolf points out in his videos, holding someone while they give their last words isn’t how death really works. It is usually unexpected and fast or, as we are seeing in season 4 of JoJo’s, you can live too long until your mental and physical abilities leave you and you are but a husk of your former self. Phantom Blood has characters slowly dieing in someone's arms three times (Father, Zeppeli, Jonathan), with Jonathan’s father and Jonathan himself both slowly giving farewells while Dio is in a prime position to befoul the situation. With all of that said Phantom Blood is still an enjoyable over the top romp that runs with the Fist of the North Star baseline and mixes it up with crazy vampire and zombie antics, creating a truly memorable and daunting villain in Dio.
The shift from episode nine ending Phantom Blood into the rest of the season comprised of Battle Tendency was not easy. For the majority of episode ten I was pretty pissed that my lovable gentlemanly giant had been replaced with the loudmouth buffoon that is Joseph Joestar. I figured the story would continue to be hamon user tries to stop vampire with Straizo as the new vampire in another punchout adventure, this time in America some years later. It wasn’t until Joseph whipped out a tommy gun and shot up a cafe and declared “this is war” with tears in his eyes at the end of the episode that I changed my tune. I have watched Battle Tendency three times now, and it still continues to be my personal favorite bit of anime out there. The story is compact with a constant sense of urgency and scale. Joseph is crazy but always consistent to his character, displaying real character growth but never losing what makes him so darn fun to watch. The only major complaint being that the pillar men, ACDC in particular, weren't fleshed out enough but with that being said they all still felt grounded in the world and like the ludicrously overpowered demigods that they are.
Hats off to David Production as they managed to translate Araki’s impactful panels into equally impactful frames. Now the manga has far more detail and warps character models quite a bit so the main strategy used to create a sense of impact is in JoJo’s top tier sound design. Where Phantom Blood was getting the hang of great sound design such as Dio’s arrival, Battle Tendency knows what it wants to do and delivers, as seen in JoJo’s fight against the first pillar man. The music is minimal but tense and every effect is used to create a feeling of dramatic impact or tension. I am a fan of realistic sound design in slice of life anime but JoJo’s is action sound design done right. In the music department you have quite a few standouts with the “Awaken,” however you pronounce this “Il Mare Eterno Nella Mia Anima” and “Propaganda” being three of my personal favorites. Awaken and Propaganda because they do a great job of building up hype as well as amping up powerful scenes and this one (“Il Mare Eterno Nella Mia Anima”) because of how fitting it is in its use. It is used as Caesar theme, which is fitting as an Italian opera works early on for adding a sense of confidence and grandeur to his character that cares so much about his Italian family ties, but becomes a powerful and heartbreaking song when you learn the lyrics. I cried quite a bit when I first experienced Caesar’s death, even more when I was listening to the soundtrack, and even more when I read the english translation to the lyrics, and more every time I rewatch episode 20 or relisten to the song. It is the final crescendo that always gets me.
Wherever you go
Wherever I go
My love lies deep within your life
My love remains in your days
It takes just one of your smiles
One single smile
My soul shall never die. It is immortal
It is no use shedding tears for me
It is difficult to express in words how much I truly love this show but I’ll fight on.
The utilization of animation resources to ensure episodes always looked great when they needed to, even though you can tell the show didn’t have the highest of budgets, is another example of JoJo striving to outdo itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in episode 22 “A True Warrior.” The CG used for the chariot race is not the best but the 2D still looks great, utilizing lots of still frames and tight screen splits to maintain quality and visual interest, with the sound effects continuing to portray impact. Then the animation gets quite smooth in this great shot of JoJo vaulting himself into the air in slow motion. It all works together beautifully to create the illusion that the events taking place are not simply comprised of many still images but are part of a larger moving whole.
Lastly the OP (note “opening theme”) and ED (note “ending theme”). Both the OPs in JoJo’s are pretty darn fantastic but the vibrant colors, fluid motions, and seriously jammable song is what makes the OP for Battle Tendency one of my favorites and one I rewatch frequently. The ED is less visually impressive but what really impressed me about Battle Tendency is how the ending music of the ED would change, and it changes quite a few times, in order to better match the ending of a given episode. It was a great surprise and helped to make a rather visually uninteresting ED stand out in and already stand out show.
Holy crap this has been a long review, and there is still so much to talk about. If you want to know more or have questions related to the JoJo’s anime feel free to leave a comment, I’m more than happy to converse with you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 22, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
Yatterman Night (7/10): To learn more about my rating system check the description down below. Not it is time to dive into this spoiler smattered review.
I am a big fan of original shows, not being tied to a source material means the show can have a conclusive ending and balance the pacing of episodes easier without tip toeing around a core story. Yatterman Night has some truly stand out episodes, episode four had me aghast that the show was willing to get that dark and the final episode, while it had
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its problems, was exhilarating to watch. I had two major issues with the show, first the mother character: she is set up to be a very sweet and caring character but we get very little time with her and she never really displays any flaws or characteristics that make her feel like someone I can relate to or care about. So when the show kills her off I never felt the attempted tug at my heart strings, and when the show keeps bringing her up in flashbacks they are all continued examples of her unwavering perfection so I was never able to relate to that pain. Second was how little the world of Yatterman Night was fleshed out, it would have been easy to include propaganda or design the towns in such a way that they felt more Yatterman themed but for the most part all of the wooden hut villages and bland enemy bases never felt like they had much character. Which is sad because the theme of Yatterman attempting to brainwash the public is really only explored well in episode four and the later three episodes.
The show never tried to adhere to reality, which lowers the stakes for the main characters, the show is at its most powerful when working with citizens of the Yatterman kingdom because they feel more grounded in that reality. Which is what makes episode five and eight feel like missed opportunities. Five because the character they related to was also unbelievable and episode eight because it brought in the lochness monster for no apparent reason. As much as I am griping about the show it never fails to have a sense of fun with some really expressive animation. While the final episode does reuse three or four clips the rest of it is animated with such style and energy it is easily forgivable. Also the opening is a blast to watch and does a great job of encompassing the darker undertones with the more bombastic nature of the show. I had a good time with it, and if you are in it for the fun I’m sure you can too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 22, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
Afro Samurai (7/10): To learn more about my rating system check the description down below. Not it is time to take a tumble into this review.
I have been wanting to watch Afro Samurai for some time now and I finally got around to it. I was expecting over the top action but I was surprised with how wonderfully stylistic it all was. The largest issue that pulls this show down dramatically is its piss poor sound design. Characters more in a dramatic fashion and you hear nothing, footfalls are inconsistent, and
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the clashing of blades effect is rescued time and again. That said the visuals are truly a sight to behold, especially in the later three episodes Afro Samurai makes gushing blood feel impactful by displaying grotesque scenes of bone and viscera with powerful jetting blood that never feels like blood pinatas seen in other anime. The narrative is simple but effective and could have been more so if it wasn’t obvious that the Japanese animators were having a hard time animating lip flaps for an entirely English speaking cast. Which is a shame because the voice work is truly stand out, especially in the case of Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. If you get the chance I recommend you watch this bombastically brutal display.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 22, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (6/10): To learn about my rating system check the description below. Now it is time to ooze into this spoilery review.
Rage of Bahamut Genesis is fun, and for an anime adaptation of a videogame it is pretty darn special. There are moments where the animation is truly mind blowing, the first episode being a fantastic over the top introduction to the style and the characters. Where Bahamut struggles is a feeling of consistency, the characters start out doing odd jobs going after bounties, then they are having
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a dramatic sea battle, then they are dealing with demons is a floating Cthulhu fortress, then they are bumming around a castle oh wait now they are engaged in defending the castle from a demonic onslaught, now they are in an alternate dimension chatting up a dragon, and now there is a demonic insurrection. A sizable issue is the a main villain that feels underwhelming as their motives are unknown and their character has been playing a very reserved role up until now but suddenly is crazy? The world doesn't feel very realized as it pulls from way to many areas at once, for example they keep referencing Satan but honestly he played little to no role in the show. The magic system is also a problem as the show tries to place dramatic weight on magical actions being taken, but you never know how powerful any given beam of magic light is supposed to be as it all starts to blend together after awhile. It makes up for its scattered world and narrative by having a fun cast of zany characters that, for the most part, remain consistent. If you are willing to overlook some crazy plot and magic conveniences than Rage of Bahamut Genesis can be an entertaining adventure to follow.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 17, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
You and Me Season 2 (2/10): I know this rating might upset you so I would direct you to the video description on how to better understand my rating system. Now it is time to scamper headfirst into this spoiler filled review.
Where season one was a big pile of unresolved garbage season two of You and Me is a smaller pile of poorly resolved garbage. The animation is a tad better and there appears to be more cuts to cats than in the previous season but the tired attempts at comedy,
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toxic friendship dynamics, and painfully slow pacing are back in full force.
Little blond guy and little angry girl have some tense exchanges that lose all weight when they are left hanging in the wind to dry while nothing else of consequence is happening. Although her development later on with finally gaining some friends is nice. The twins are quarreling but don’t worry because the characters haven’t changed since childhood, and actions taken in kindergarten still help to make awful characters somehow not awful. The lunch lady plotline of shared interest between a high schooler and an older woman is interesting but ultimately goes nowhere. The little brother plotline is the most interesting but is held back by the lack of acceptance from the effeminate brother that fails to produce any meaningful dialogue past “don’t be a bad boy.” Glasses guys love troubles with his older childhood friend is the most coherent story line but it is still ultimately underwhelming, it would have been interesting to have had the problem arise earlier to see how it would have informed his character. The last episode shoots for a feeling of fear of the future which feels halfhearted and watered down as I still failed to relate to any of the characters. Lastly there is a special place in hell for whoever greenlit the ninth episode “Mix Juice,” never have I felt so bored and condescended to in an anime.
Final verdict, it sucks but at least it presented some more coherent ideas and completed them. Don’t watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Aug 17, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
You and Me Season 1 (1/10): I know this rating might piss some people off so I would direct them to the video description on how to better understand my rating system. Now it is time to spiral headlong into this spoiler filled review.
You and Me was a show that I discovered while going back through all of the seasonal anime on Crunchyroll and placing shows with high ratings and premises that interested me in my que. After Kokoro Connect blew my expectations of the water when I chose to give
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it a watch, as I wasn’t expecting the show to feel that real or get that dark I had hoped to find another comparable show in You and Me. So when I saw “Together we will watch as they laugh, dance, cry and share the memories of growing up together in everyday life” referring to the group of friends pictured I figured that a show with three hundred and twenty nine five star ratings had to be SPECTACULAR and hit some really powerful character beats! Little did I know that the show was attempting to cash in on the ‘’cute boys do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’ crowd.
Now the main reason You and Me season one is a one and not a four or five is because it keep leading me on and then smacking me on the head when I hoped for decent character development. The show even says multiple times throughout its run that the characters haven’t changed at all since they knew each other back in kindergarten. Which could have been a great setup to subvert character's expectations as they all begin to grow apart or change as people and struggle to come to terms with those changes. Sadly the show seems more content with setting up those hooks only for us to learn that the characters are about as deep as their initial tropes that were established in episode one.
That isn’t to say that the first season doesn’t have any redeeming qualities as the third episode, while slow, is still an interesting look at one of the twins and how they held some deep seeded self resentment around from their childhood. Then it is addressed at the end of the episode and it turns out it was no big deal but he still feels a little sad about it. It is a nice message about the importance of communication and that circumstances aren’t always what they seem, but then it NEVER ADDRESSES THAT AGAIN. The rest of the season is littered with unresolved or poorly resolved plot points.
Episode one, we find out that glasses guy was into his kindergarten teacher and kind of still is but this never develops past a side gag. Episode two we meet the small angry girl character who does a complete 180 and falls in love with the effeminate group member who is oblivious to her interest and never goes past a running gag that she likes him and he doesn't notice or she is too afraid to tell him. Episode five little blond guy starts to show interest in small angry girl but that goes unaddressed until episode two of season two. Episode seven has a very interesting premise about one of the twins saying yes to a girl who asks him out, this is where I really got my hopes up that the show would start to break down the established tropes and start to develop the characters, but all it turns into is the twin talking about missing his brother and the girl having crappy friends. Then it goes a step further and has the twin tell the girl to stick with her awful backstabbing friends because reasons. I was really hoping this would later come back and show how truly toxic the main group's relationships with one another are but nothing ever develops and it is just an episode about staying in your lane even if it sucks. Episode eleven sets up the lunchlady arc and episode twelve introduces effeminate guys younger brother, both of which go unaddressed until season two. The rest of the episodes are gag episodes that do nothing to develop the characters or further any subplot.
Now you might be wondering why I gave season one and season two separate scores when they obviously share story ties and I would ask Crunchyroll the same question. Because as of writing this review Crunchyroll has them listed as separate shows. The only reason I found there was a season two is because I couldn’t believe season one was that awful and inconclusive so I looked it up and discovered there was a season two. If you are interested on my thoughts, you can check out my season two video. As for my season one thoughts I’m fairly certain it is clear, this is the worst show I have ever finished, hence the one out of ten rating.
Also I forgot to mention the show is incredibly boring!
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Aug 13, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
She and Her Cat -Everything Flows- (10/10): Go watch it, it only takes around 26 minutes if you skip the first three end credits. This review is going to be my analysis so go watch it. With that said, I’ll try my best to not break down crying while doing this review.
Not every show has to be a sprawling space epic (Legend of the Galactic Heroes), mind bending journey (Neon Genesis Evangelion), or be a full length series to be fantastic. I would say that She and Her Cat is far
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stronger because of how compact its story is. Not a frame wasted as it goes about spinning its tale of life, death, strife, and acceptance. The show bleeds earnesty as it opens up on the cat Daru sitting in an open field reminiscent of his childhood flashbacks, before him a door leading out into reality. The train is a constant visual, displaying the passage of time and later on used to represent the beginning and ending of a life. The facial animation is a real standout as our protagonist Miyu struggles when talking with her mother and begins to feel overwhelmed by life. The show continues to use vibrant colors with more washed out backgrounds and through lighting and shot composition can express feelings of elation as well as despair. Finally the message of reincarnation and continued perseverance is refreshing, as it feels organic and doesn't try and force any ideas down your throat. I found myself crying even more on my third watch, making further connections and feeling closer to the characters, I am elated that I have been able to experience “She and Her Cat -Everything Flows-.”
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 12, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
Ace of the Diamond (8/10): Huzzah for rating systems, if you want to know more about my luxurious rating system check the description down below. Now it is about time I sprinted toe first into this review.
I finally did it, I made it through all 126 episodes of Ace of the Diamond! Although I didn’t watch the recap episodes so it is a little less than that, but it was a long a heartfelt journey that I did not expect to be graced with. Most sports anime these days last around twenty
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five or fifty episodes so if a show is this long it had better be good and for the most part Ace of the Diamond is. This show has some of the highest highs I have ever gotten in sports anime and I can honestly say I actually enjoy watching baseball now where before I found it tedious and dreary. It does a great job of teaching the viewer the necessary information and then slowly adding layers of complexity. Making you appreciate every good pitch and clutch fielding play. There is also an assortment of matches that don’t involve the main team and that leads to some truly nail biting moments as I couldn’t guess who was going to pull out on top in those games, even the main team isn’t safe! This unpredictability helps to raise the stakes and build tension where other sports shows can feel like they have a pre-determined outcome. One of the shows greatest strengths is in how it makes the opposing teams feel real, and that they are people working together even though there are some stars. I found myself rooting for the opposing team after hearing some of their backstories. It makes you appreciate that everyone is giving it their all and I felt heartbroken a few times when the main team won because I had gotten so invested in the other team. While this could be seen as a weakness, as it takes quite awhile for the main team to be fleshed out, I really enjoyed the ride and the second season does a great job of making up for lost time. Now the show isn’t perfect, and the time between games can really drag the show to a less than stellar pace. I found myself setting the show down a few times when I was following it week to week because of those slower sections. They do have some touching character moments and build up drama for the upcoming games, but it can sometimes feel more like an excuse to give the animators a break than intentional pacing. If you are unsure as to whether you want to dive into the show, the first two episodes do a great job of building up excitement so I would watch those two and make your judgement. I’m sure this show isn’t for everyone but as a sports anime aficionado myself I found Ace of the Diamond to be a long ride worth taking.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 8, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
JOKER GAME (6/10): HOW DARE YOU! A 6 OUT OF 10?! More information on my rating system is in the video description. Now it is time to vomit language as I begin a potentially spoiler filled review.
Joker game is a very pretty show. Many backgrounds are wonderfully detailed and the architecture is generally consistent for the time period and different countries where the stories take place. That isn’t to say the animation is all that impressive, it is unobtrusive for the most part but the show does a great job of
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having a considerable level of detail in the character designs. You can generally tell the difference between characters from different countries, where German characters have different facial structures from their Japanese counterparts. The first two episodes display most everything wrong with Joker game quite clearly, because they aren't dressed up in exotic locals or using stories that center around characters that aren't spies. The dialogue feels stiff and fails to convey any sense of urgency. This isn’t helped by the spies as characters as they act ‘oh so cool’ keeping a calm composure and generally looking down on those around them. Then at the end of the second episode as will become a trend in all of the others, a lengthy dialogue scene spells out exactly what happened in the episode explaining points the were obviously hidden from the viewer that makes the reveal feel cheap, even more so on a re-watch. What makes the show so interesting, aside from the great art, is the themes and ideas presented. Episode 3 dealing with how German occupation can turn friends against each other and episode 4 looking at themes of morally bankrupt individuals partaking in murder and pedophilia. The real kicker in episode 4 was how the one soldier reacted after hearing how his boy sex slave had been killed, displaying remorse over the loss of his perceived love rather than the horror of his own actions. There are a few very intriguing episodes and if I were to recommend the series I would personally say to just watch episodes 3, 4, 10, and 11. If you watch to watch the others they can still be entertaining but I found those four to have the best self contained stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 3, 2016
I made a video: you can find it at my YouTube channel "BasementOtaku"
Video Script:
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (9/10): Holy buckets a 9 out of 10?! More information on my rating system is in the video description. Now it is time to slip on verbiage as I begin a potentially spoiler filled review.
To tell you the truth I dropped this show after its first episode. It was awful, the premise was intriguing and the thug who appeared to be the main character was new, I love most shows in older time periods but IT WAS SO SLOW! The pace was that of molasses, slowly dripping
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before my eyes, I just couldn’t continue to watch it. It is still an amazing show, but if you don’t want to suffer through the first episode the basic information you need to know is that an old story teller is showing us his past after taking in a student for the first time. He has lives with a young woman who is the daughter of his now dead friend who blames blames him for her father's death. That is all you really need to get out of the first episode. Now back to the review, I figured the history of the old master would take a few episodes and didn’t like what I saw. Lucky for me other more dedicated anime viewers watched the show in its entirety and sung its praises so I had to take a look. Man am I glad I did! This show is similar to Berserk in that its history arc is a fantastic story on its own and even knowing this show has a second season planned I am would be happy with the offering given. I haven’t seen a story have such a gratifying build up with characters that felt this real in a long time. It looks amazing, it sounds even better and the payoff is spectacular. Now I am seriously torn because I want to give this show a 10 out of 10 rating but the fact that the first episode was so repulsive and that the show takes awhile to pick up its pace has me docking it the one point. I understand that the show was most likely trying to be faithful to the manga but the first episode should have been tighter, and I believe adapting it to fit a 24 minute time slot would have been for the best. In the end it was a show that made me think, it made me reflect on my own life and the cruelty of existence, being kind enough to give me a good cry or two along the way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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