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Jan 23, 2019
Tokimeki Tonight is not a well-known anime (which is why there are no reviews for it). It's fallen to the wayside since it finished airing 35 years ago. Is it fair or is there more to this series than what's on the surface?
Story:
If you ever wanted an anime version of the Addams Family with your typical shoujo clichés thrown in, this is the closest you're going to get.
Due to the episodic nature of the series, don't expect any significant progress. Yes, even after the dramatic events of episodes 25 and 26, everything turns back to normal when the credits roll. Also, don't be surprised
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if some clever (at first) ideas get driven into the ground.
The "forbidden" nature of Ranze's love for Makabe-kun will definitely hit home for some viewers. (More on that later!)
Music:
I was rather taken aback by the score on Tokimeki Tonight. The score was quite infectious, to the point that some of it played in my mind while I was trying to fall asleep. A special shout-out goes to the fighting music with the saxophone in it.
Of course, the main draws are the OP and ED. I must admit, this is one of the few series where I liked the ED music more than the OP. However, both are quite catchy and memorable (in accordance with the law of 80s themes).
Characters:
While there's no character I like 100% of the time (outside of the shark in episode 32, which, trust me, makes sense in context), the main cast tends to be likable more often than not.
However, there were some I couldn't bring myself to like, no matter how hard I tried. The rigidness of Ranze's mother made any scene she was in tough to digest. She wants Ranze to fall in love with a fellow monster and repeatedly tries to sabotage her romantic efforts with Makabe-kun. In fact, her rabid traditionalism even puts Ranze in danger in episode 13.
Yoko, Ranze's rival in love, is a brat at best and downright treacherous at worst. However, I believe she was intentionally written to be unlikable.
Recurring characters Sand and Prince Aaron are borderline predators and that ruined any enjoyment I could have had of them.
Art:
One of the most unusual aspects of Tokimeki Tonight is the background art. While the series presumably takes place in Japan, most of the signs are in English and the architecture has an old European flair to it.
As for the rest of the art, it's par for the course for an anime made in the early 80s. There was obviously a limited budget, which explains why the coloring is often basic and there's a lack of detail in the character's faces (you'll notice several times throughout the show, characters are drawn without noses). I'm willing to let this fly, as the art isn't vomit-inducing and anime wasn't the most fruitful industry at the time.
Enjoyment:
Tokimeki Tonight is a mixed bag. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's good. Some stories are entertaining, while others can be borderline snooze fests. Like most everything else with this series, my enjoyment was about abverage.
Final thoughts:
While not the worst anime I've seen (*cough* Blue Flames), it's understandable as to why this series fell to the wayside. It's a 7 at its best and it's a 3 at its worst. I honestly thought I would have more to see for this, but it's just-so average. It's an obvious 5.
So, all in all, I give this series five glasses of tomato juice out of ten.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 31, 2018
The best thing about one-shot OVAs is that they don't demand a great deal of your time. You put your eyes on the screen for 30-60 minutes, and that's all there is to it. However, not all OVAs are created equal, as the subject of today, Fight!!, shall attest to.
Story:
There is not much to say for this anime in regards to story. Don't come here expecting something life-changing, or clever, or original, or even straightforward.
You got Yonosuke, your ostensibly run-of-the-mill hero who secretly has the fate of the world in his hands. A simple mix-up lands him into some trouble and he soon has to
...
fight the biggest battle he has known...or so you would think. This anime is called Fight!!, yet there's hardly any action and when there is, it's incredibly underwhelming. Talk about false advertising.
Further ruining this anime is its questionable writing and shoddy editing. For example, Earth is referred to as "Heaven," while the world Arare and the Inbe brothers (yes, brothers) come from is referred to as "the Earth world." Confusing, huh?
Characters:
Since this OVA is only 30 minutes, there's not a lot of time to flesh out characters. Unsurprisingly, the most developed character is Yonosuke, followed by the Inbe brothers.
That said, there's one question I have about the characters that has yet to be answered: Who are the two guys who live with Yonosuke? Their relation to him is never explained.
Music:
If you like synthesizers and flutes, you're in luck because there's a lot of those in this particular soundtrack.
There's a nice, gentle number at the end which I felt deserved to be in a better anime.
Art:
I wouldn't have known this anime was made in 1993 just by looking at it. The art looks much older than that. Of course, this was made before J.C.Staff became the power house it is today.
The most detailed and expressive part of this anime comes at the 6:15 mark, where we zoom in on the old shopkeeper's face. I can't explain why, but it seems to me most of the animation budget was spent on that one moment in particular.
Enjoyment:
I can't say I enjoyed this anime. I did watch it a few times, but only to make this review. The problem with Fight!! is that it's not good by any stretch of the imagination. However, it's not downright abysmal; there is nothing here that makes me want to slam my head into a wall. It also doesn't veer into so-bad-it's-good territory. It's not a popcorn flick. It exists and that's all there is to it.
There are some parts where I want to like this anime, but flimsy execution makes it a moot point.
Oh well. All in all, I would give this anime a 3.
One more thought before I go. If you do decide to watch this anime, pay close attention to the phone number on the business card at the 14:01 mark. Then, look at the number on the shop's marquee a few seconds later. Yeah, really. That happened.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Nov 8, 2018
Before I start this review, I must say the title to this anime is a bit misleading. I wouldn't say it's about THE Samurai, but it's definitely about A Samurai. It's not the samurai story to end all samurai stories.
In spite of that, this is still quite the fun little OVA. It's stupid, but it has that goofy charm that's hard to say no to.
Story: 3/10
The story is first and foremost the weakest part of this OVA, so let's get that out of the way. Yes, the story is stupid, but obviously this wasn't intended to be treated as high art or thought-provoking stuff. That
...
said, are we all going to overlook the fact that Takeshi stabs somebody in the beginning?
Characters: 7/10
Luckily, the quirky characters make up for the lackluster story. Whether it's the modern day samurai lead, the polar opposite twins, the sexually repressed teacher or the pretty boy frenemy who's just as lustful and insane as our lead, there's someone in this cliché stew you're bound to like.
Art: 6/10
As for the art, it's pretty decent for an older anime. Obviously, if you expect the animation to be Ghibli-level good, you'll be disappointed, but there's nothing downright hideous in this anime's world.
As a plus, I will say that I love all the blink-and-you'll-miss-it sight gags the animators put in.
And since this an 80s OVA, of course there's bare breasts. I'll let you rate the design of the boobs on your own.
Music: 6/10
I don't have much to say for the music, since most of it isn't that memorable. However, the opening theme is quite the toe-tapper. Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming it afterwards.
Enjoyment: 8/10
Far and away, the enjoyment factor was what gave this anime a surprisingly high score.
This little one punches above its weight. There wasn't a single moment I can really criticize too much. It's consistently entertaining and there are many moments that are funny as hell (Takeshi's training sequence, the field trip, the brief interaction Takeshi has with Kagiri and Akari's parents). It's farcical and it's stupid enough that it works.
All in all, I give this anime 6 heirloom swords out of 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 23, 2018
This is going to be a short review. I thought I might write a review for this anime, since nobody else has.
Slayers Great is the third Slayers movie (and the fourth Slayers installment to feature the voluptuous Naga overall), and I must say that while I feel the movies and OVAs didn't capture the magic in the same way the series did, this movie scratched an itch...at least for me.
The story has the same hilarity and spectacle as a typical higher-tier Slayers story. Two golems, one modeled after Lina and one modeled after Naga, duking it out? You better believe it's a classic.
As for the
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art, I feel the art was pretty good on this OVA. The fluidity has stepped up since last time, so that's a step up. I would give a decent score to the art.
When it comes to the sound, I loved it. I especially loved the hollow, jazzy music that played at the start of the aforementioned golem fight. The rest of the soundtrack is very whimsical as well. The non-musical sounds, such as the ambient bird sounds, were worthy of praise too. All around, this anime was an aural pleasure.
What do we have for characters? Well, we have Lina and Naga, who are funny as always. When it comes to the unique characters, we have the timid Laia, who takes delight in the madness all around her. We also have Laia's father, a golem sculptor, and her brother, also a golem sculptor. Watching the two clash might hit home for some viewers, but the two are idiots and not that different from each other. There's also these two kings, and I won't say much about them, except that they looked like they walked straight out of a circus.
All in all, this is a fun romp that is a microcosm of Slayers at its best. The golem fight, which I know I keep bringing up but it's the focal point of the entire movie, captures all the high-flying action and gut-busting hilarity we know and love.
If you have the time (it's only an hour), I would recommend checking this one out. It really lives up to its name, because it's pretty great.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 10, 2018
Hello there, traveler! I'm sure you've come to this page after watching Evangelion, FLCL, Gunbuster and/or Gurren Lagann, and you wondered to yourself, "What else does Gainax have to offer?"
There's...THIS. I am not sure what you would call this besides bottom of the barrel trash.
The Chocolate Panic Picture Show was made after the Daicon shorts and Studio Gainax became its own beast. I think that the studio was still just three guys in a garage at the time. Obviously, they were still putzing around, still trying to come into their own.
Anyway, I can't really explain this, since there's no plot and it's just a bunch
...
of trippy images. You know those 30-second bumpers that Nickelodeon aired during commercial breaks back in the day? This is like that, but longer, older, less entertaining and Japanese.
So, what do we have here for characters? We have three stereotypical African children playing, and that's it. There are other people who pop up, but yeah, not important.
As for music, it was occasionally tolerable (I kind of liked the drum roll during the "climax"), but the song that played during the end credits was an assault on the ears.
The art is pretty crappy, which is unsurprising considering this is Gainax's early days.
I can't say I got any enjoyment out of this. It was surrealistic, but not the fun kind. It's dumb, but not the kind of dumb you could enjoy with your friends, or even by yourself.
In conclusion, Gainax is quite the powerhouse in anime, but this is their lowest point.
I would avoid this if I were you...unless you're a flat earther. I bet flat earthers would get a kick out of this anime's ending.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Aug 4, 2018
Not too long ago, I decided to look for some interesting anime by going from url number to url number. Today's subject has the url number 305, so it was one of the first thousand added to this site. Now, the score is 5.53, so I wasn't expecting anything marvelous, but do we at least get some trashy fun? Let's find out!
Abashiri Ikka, better known as the Abashiri Family, struck me as Kill la Kill before there was Kill la Kill. Let's tick off the boxes. Tough-as-nails girl fighting with the concepts of feminity/masculinity? Check. A school that's more like a dungeon run by psychopaths?
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Check. Over-the-top action? Check. A bubbly and incompetent roommate/sidekick? Check. Ecchi stuff? Check. Animation that constantly switches between serious and comical? Check. Enough plot turns to cause you neck pains? Check.
Now if this sounds like barrel of fun to you, I'd recommend looking into it.
The story is pretty dumb and the morality is undeniably black-and-white. Every character, Kikunosuke notwithstanding, is either completely stupid, completely evil or dies before you get a chance to figure out. For example, the faculty that run the school are all cannibals/rapists/murderers. Yup, that's definitely nuanced and complex. As for Kikunosuke's aforementioned roommate, she doesn't do much besides provide support for Kikunosuke in this dark time and get kidnapped.
The art, as I've mentioned, shifts from serious to comical. However, seeing how this was inspired by a Go Nagai manga, I can't speak ill of it too much.
All in all, I felt the 5.53 score is more or less accurate for this anime. It's not going to make you think about life, it won't leave you with much to reflect on, but you'll get some thrills. You're probably not going to remember it after the fact, but it's a popcorn flick when it lasts.
It's certainly better than Dark Cat, I can tell you that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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