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May 20, 2012
When it comes to the visual novel genre of video games, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is one of the more recognizable series. Strong writing, fantastic story, puzzling mysteries, solid graphics, marvelous music, lovable and memorable characters... the only thing the Ace Attorney games lack is, ironically, gameplay (which is the most important part of any game, but then again, visual novels rely on on story instead of gameplay).
The games, released for the GBA in Japan and later the DS in America, have gained a large amount of poularity, as well as a dedicated fanbase, of which I'm a part of. Of course, when a franchise
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becomes popular, it'll expand to various different media (a good example would be Transformers, a famous toy franchise that has expanded into a plethora of cartoons, comics, movies, and anime). Therefore, an Ace Attorney anime would seem likely, right?
Well, we didn't get a Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney anime, which is a bummer, considering that Devil May Cry, a franchise produced by the same company, also had an anime, and it kicked ass. We did, however, get a couple manga series based on Ace Attorney. The one we'll be taking a look at today is a doujinshi collection called Gyakuten Saiban Official Anthology Comic: Naruhodou Version (or, in America, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Official Casebook: The Phoenix Wright Files).
Let's start off with the one of the strongest points in the series: story. The Ace Attorney games each had 4 to 5 cases involving the main protagonist, Phoenix Wright, defending the convicted and finding out the real culprit. Here... it's a little different. Being an anthology of doujinshi stories, each one is written by a different writer, and not all of them take place in a courtroom. The tone of these stories varies from being serious to humorous, which isn't too far off from the games, which were generally serious, but were able to have some rather hilarious scenes. Overall, The writing may not be up to par with the Ace Attorney games, but considering that it's handled by different people, it's acceptable.
As far as art goes, again, this is a collection of doujinshi stories. The reason this area gets a perfect 10 out of 10 from me is because, much like the writing, the art is handled by different people, or illustrators in this case. This means we get to see many different art-styles, some better than others, all impressive. Some of them depict the characters realistically, while others go for a more cartoonish approach with goofy expressions.
When it comes to the cast of characters, naturally, we have the main hero of the games, Phoenix Wright, and his assistant, Maya Fey. Mia Fey and Pearls also appear, as well as prosecutors Miles Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma, and Godot. We also see Wright's bumbling childhood friend Larry Butz (remember, boys and girls: if something smells, it's usually the Butz), as well as the always 'dependable' Detective Dick Gumshoe. Granted, not every single character from the games makes an appearance, but for the most part, we do get to see the big stars of the Ace Attorney universe.
If I were to describe this manga to someone, I would say that it reminds me of Hetalia in that it's basically different stories with the same set of characters. The differences are that the jokes are actually funny (unlike Hetalia's shitty, unfunny 'jokes'), the characters are actually likable (Larry Butz > Italy), and the art style is pretty good (unlike Hetalia's half-ass trashy art). I feel ashamed that I have to compare something as good as The Phoenix Wright Files to something as shitty as Hetalia, but believe me, if I could think of any other comparisons, I'd use them.
All in all, The Phoenix Wright Files is an enjoyable experience. You don't even have to be a fan of the games to enjoy it. You just have to be a fan of comedy manga, and you love it. Fans of the games may not find it up to par with the original source, but hey, not everything can be perfect.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 12, 2012
...... you know you have no life when you're reviewing porn.
Well, how do I start this off? By saying that this is my first review of a hentai anime? Maybe, but I've only written three reviews so far, so I guess that that would be obvious. I don't know the best way to start out this review, but I will say this: this review will be a little different than my last three.
At the time of this review, I've only written three other ones on Hetalia, Gun X Sword, and Popotan. In those, I judged the anime on its story, animation, sound, characters, and in
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the case of Hetalia, episode length. However, I'll have to switch gears just a teensy bit here.
Here's the thing about hentai anime, or rather, pornos in general. You can't review it like you would other things in the same media, whether it be books, anime, or movies. You can't judge a porn movie like Deep Throat the same way you'd judge The Cutting Edge, nor can you judge a hentai like Boin the same way you'd judge an anime like, say, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Why? Because pornos aren't there to provide a good story, likable characters, or any of the sort. Granted, those can have a factor and can make the porno more enjoyable. However, they aren't there for that. Pornos are there for the purpose of sexual arousal, and hentai is no different.
When you watch a porno or hentai, you really shouldn't expect good story or characters, since chances are there isn't any. However, there are some exceptions, such as the hentai I'm reviewing right now, Boin, a 2-episode OVA made by Milky Animation Label and based on a PC game of the same name developed by Crossnet-Pie.
I'm going to be a little less strict about the characters and story this time. That being said, the story in Boin isn't really much of a story. Nothing happens other than that our main hero (we'll get to the characters) has sex with the other three characters. Not too interesting, but for a hentai, it's not that bad, and rather acceptable.
Animation is one of the more important parts of a hentai (not that it isn't important in anime in general, but story and characters are usually more important), and in Boin, the animation is actually pretty good. The characters all look nice and pleasing (no pun intended), and the girls actually have pubic hair, something that usually isn't shown in hentai or is shown very simply.
In terms of music, there really isn't much to talk about. Not too bad, but not great. As for voice acting... well, I usually watch anime english dubbed, so I usually judge the english voices. Now, there ARE english dubs for hentai anime, but Boin is one exception. From what I can tell, there's no english dub for Boin, and if there is one, I have yet to find it. I don't know much about good and bad acting in japanese, so I could be far off, but the voice acting isn't too bad.
As for characters, we have a rather... small cast of characters. Only four of them; one of them being a man, and the other three being girls. Our main hero is Daisuke, a teacher at (according to this entry) an all-female school. Our three sex-dolls are Nao (the red-head), Mitsugu (the blonde), and Touko (the blue-haired teacher). Since Boin is only a two-episode OVA, we aren't going to get any character development due to time constraints. The character that we get a bit of info on is Nao, and we only learn two things: 1) Her boobs are massive now, but she was flat when she was younger and 2) She made a promise to Daisuke. Since we get almost no development, what makes the characters likable depends on other factors, mainly appearance. In case of appearance, the characters look fairly decent. Daisuke looks alright. I believe he only wears one set of clothes (a yellow T-shirt, orange tie, and turquoise pants), and that's it. As for the other girls, they look, well... sexy. Obviously they're going to make the girl's tits look huge. Ignoring that, the other three characters look nice. They at least wear more than one set of clothes. Nao, for example, wears a nurse outfit, a school uniform, and then an apron with nothing underneath. Overall, the characters don't get much to make them likable, but for what it's worth, they're okay, and visually speaking, they look good.
Now, Boin is hentai anime. There's usually only one reason why you'd watch a hentai, and that's the sex. So, what say we focus on sex for a moment? First is the number of sex scenes. Boin may only last two episodes, but that's no excuse for not having many sex scenes, which hentai is mostly made of. There are a total of five sex scenes, which isn't two bad for two episodes. I myself am not an expert on sex (I'm a 15-year-old virgin), so my knowledge on sex positions is limited, but the characters took many different positions. At one point, our main stud Daisuke has one of the girls masturbate in front of him and holding in her orgasm. At another point, Daisuke and Mitsugu are in the cowgirl position, and Nao, who already had her turn, comes up and starts sucking on Mitsugu's nipple, causing further stimulation. Nao then kisses her and remarks that Mitsugu's face at the moment makes her look cute.
... what? Hey, I can't really say much about the sex scenes, other than that they're... well... sexy, I guess. They certainly give me a hard-on, and for hentai, that means a job-well-done. I guess I better wrap up this review before I get caught by my parents (seriously, I get no fucking privacy anymore). Overall, Boin is pretty decent for a hentai. The characters look visually appealing, and most importantly, the sex scenes are 'sexy' enough to do what any hentai should do: arouse you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 24, 2012
Ai, Ai, Ai... Ai love you!
Mai, Mai, Mai... Mai darling!
Mii, Mii, Mii... help Mii!
Sorry, but i just had to start this review with that song. It's just so catchy, not to mention fitting for this review.
Popotan is an anime adaptation of the visual novel of the same name. If you're familiar with visual novels, you might have heard about the Popotan visual novel. Well, I'm not exactly knowledgeable about visual novels (the only ones I've ever played were the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games, but that's beside the point), but I have done my homework on Popotan.
From what I've heard, the anime I'm reviewing
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here doesn't follow the visual novel's story. Instead, it takes place in an alternate reality (kinda reminds me of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, if you ask me) with a completely different story and shares only a few characters. However, the story that is presented here is actually pretty good. Each of the 12 episodes in this series focus on a single character and the situation they get into in that episode.
The artwork looks fantastic. Almost everything looks colorful, full of life, and absolutely cute (Hetalia, an anime that tried to look cute and failed miserably, could definitely learn a few animation lessons from Popotan). Also, one thing I'd like to bring up is the style. Ever heard of Nurse Witch Komugi, that spin-off of The SoulTaker? I've never watched that anime, but I've definitely seen shots of it, and the animation in that and Popotan look incredibly similar. Nurse Witch Komugi was made in 2002, while Popotan was made in 2003. I honestly would not be surprised if they were animated by the same person.
As for sound, the music is well done. The opening theme, Popotan Hatake de Tsukamaete, by Under17 is super catchy, awesome, and fits perfectly with this series. The credits theme, S-U-K-I by Funta, is also catchy, and it kinda reminds me of video game music. At times, the music playing during scenes can be happy and cheerful, or very emotional and sad. The voice acting, at least in the english dub by Geneon USA, is also pretty good.
As far as characters go, the main protagonist from the visual novel makes no appearance in the anime whatsoever. Instead, our protagonists are the three sisters and their maid in the magical house that the protagonist interacts with in the game. There's the oldest sister, Ai, voiced by Nicole Oliver, who is calm, easygoing, and caring, wears glasses, and has a nice set of... assets. There's the middle sister, Mai (my personal favorite character), voiced by Nicole Bouma, who is tomboyish, short-tempered, and constantly annoyed by being reminded about her small breasts. Then, last but not least, is the youngest sister, Mii, voiced by Jocelyne Loewen, who is energetic, perverted (which, in all honesty, I didn't expect from her), naive, as well as a cosplayer. Finally, there's the maid, Mea, voiced by Anna Cummer, is an android with all the personality of a brick (which is understandable because, as I just said, she's an android).
As far as whether or not you'll enjoy this, that depends. First of all, there's a lot of nudity in this anime. Granted, there aren't any scenes of sexual intercourse (quite unlike the visual novel), not even a shot of the girls' pussies, but there ARE plenty of shots of their nipples. Second, there's very little blood. There is an episode where one of the characters gets injured and blood is shown, but blood isn't something you'll see in every single episode. The same thing applies to cursing. There's only one instance of swearing I can recall, where Mai says 'damn it'. When you think about it, if you took out the nudity and, to a small extent, the blood, Popotan would make the perfect kids' TV show (that single swear word uttered by Mai can be left in, since there ARE kids' shows and movies that get away with using the word 'damn' once or twice, such as Power Rangers RPM and The Transformers: The Movie). If you don't mind the nudity and you're someone like me who can get into kids' shows easily, you'll find enjoyment in this.
Overall, Popotan may not be for everyone, but if you're willing to look past the nudity and and any other flaws, you'll have found yourself another great show. It's on Netflix for streaming, so if you have it, check it out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 21, 2012
I have to be honest here: I kinda expected Gun X Sword to be a little different than what it really was. I thought it was going to be a purely-western anime, and that the main character, who is dressed like the typical main character in a western movie, would wield a weapon that functions as both a gun and a sword (this show is called "Gun X Sword", after all). Well, I got the 'dressed like the typical main character in a western movie' part right, but that's about it.
The story is nothing new. The main character's wife was killed, and now he's searching
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for the bastard responsible, while making some friends and helping others along the way. It's been done before, but that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, it's actually done really well here. The series takes place on a different planet known as the Endless Illusion, unlike many other series that take place on Earth, though Earth does get mentioned once.
The animation is crisp, clear, and absolutely superb. Every character is well-detailed and very rarely look like one another. The backgrounds and scenery look gorgeous. If you have an HD-capable TV and Netflix, I encourage you to watch Gun X Sword in HD. Seriously, it looks freaking beautiful.
As for the music, the opening theme is amazing. It fits the series well, gets you excited for the current episode, and if your watching Gun X Sword for the first time, it helps the opening itself do what any opening should do: grab your attention and keep you interested. The music varies from adrenaline-rushing, exciting, and fast-paced to calming, peaceful, and emotional. My favorite has to be Paradiso by Hitomi, which has to be the most beautifully sung song I've ever heard in my entire life. I've watched the Funimation english dub, and I must say that the voice acting is also superb. Every voice actor injects voice into their respective character with each line they speak, almost as if they are the characters themselves.
The characters, with the exception of maybe one or two, are all kick-ass and likable. Van, voiced by David Vincent, is a tall, lanky, wandering swordsman who searches endlessly for the man with a claw for a right hand that killed his wife on his wedding day. He's normally calm and tranquil, though any mention of the man with a claw for a right hand will drive him into a fiery rage. Van tries to remain uninvolved in other people's situations, and usually only helps them out of public sight. He wields a shape-memory-alloy sword that he can straighten with an electric jolt and use as a weapon or loosen and use as a grappling whip. Whenever he eats, he always asks for all the spices and condiments available, smothers his food in uncomfortable amounts of them, and upon taking a bite, shouts a phrase like "DAMN, THAT'S SPICY!" or "GOD, THAT'S GOOD!". Van also pilots a giant robot known as Dann of Thursday, which is kept in a giant satellite in outer space when not in use.
Wendy, voiced by Stephanie Sheh, is a teenager who is looking for her older brother, who she believes was kidnapped by the same man who murdered Van's wife. She keeps a pet turtle named Kameo given to her by her brother. She joins Van after he saves her hometown of Evergreen. Unlike Van, she's willing to help others in need, rather than leave them to themselves. She carries her brother's gun with her, which only contains one bullet. She's also irritated when people put her aside due to her coming of age.
Overall, this anime is probably one of the best I've ever seen. If you like giant robots, westerns, and tragic revenge stories, then this is the anime for you. It's available on Netflix for streaming, so if you've got Netflix, check it out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 21, 2012
This has to be the absolute worst anime I've ever seen.
The animation is total crap. The animators were trying too hard to make this series look 'cute'. While I don't have anything against cute-looking animation, they seriously overdid it with Hetalia. I've seen anime that were from the 80's, 60's, and even the 50's that had better animation.
As far as story goes, I wasn't expecting much, since from what I can tell, this is supposed to be a parody of World War II. However, what I got was nothing. That's right: nothing. There wasn't a story to drive it forward and keep you interested.
When it
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comes to sound, the music is average. There's nothing too interesting or poor. However, the ending theme is probably the worst I've ever heard. Voice acting is an entirely different story. I like Funimation as much as the next guy, but even their skills at dubbing can't save this miserable pile of filth and vomit.
The episode length is a goddamn joke. Only 5 minutes? Seriously? I've seen porn videos that were longer... not to mention better.
Characters... oh god... can we even call them characters? The 'characters' of this series are representations of countries, since this is a parody of WWII. However, almost every single character is either A) completely boring, flat, and devoid of any life and personality or B) absolutely and aggravatingly annoying. Also, if your expecting characters such as Italy, Japan, Germany, and Prussia to be full of character development, prepare to be disappointed. This series gives the 'characters' absolutely no development at all. Seriously, I've seen more character development in the Sentinel robots from the X-Men cartoon. It's really sad that almost every character is just there for the sake of being there. The only exception to this is America. However, he only has very little development, and it's dragged out to about 5 episodes. A competent anime such as Rosario + Vampire, Corpse Princess, and Gun X Sword would've given ALL the characters development and would've done so in 1 or 2 episodes for each character.
Overall, if you want to watch something that's entertaining, go watch Rosario + Vampire. Go watch Gun X Sword. Go watch Street Fighter II V. For god's sake, watch anything other than Hetalia, because almost anything is better. If you haven't watched Hetalia, consider yourself extremely fortunate.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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