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Apr 11, 2014
Where Fate/stay night meets Cardcaptor Sakura in a more kickass fashion.
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya is a spin-off of Fate/stay night set in an alternate universe where Illyasviel von Einzbern is a magical girl. While it is directed by the same director as C³ - which was never really sure of what it wanted to be - Fate/kaleid knew exactly what it was and never tried to do anything else. It is a magical girl anime through and through and I wouldn't go into this expecting anything more.
The story is told in a simple, straight-forward fashion. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. It doesn’t try too
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hard to be deep and meaningful. Some may argue that this makes the story is predictable. Yes, we all know how it's going to end - with good guys triumphing over the bad guys - but the part we're all really interested in is the filling of the sandwich, and that’s where the length of the series comes in. 10 episodes has its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it is fast paced and there are no fillers. However, on the other hand, it lacks detail in the story. In the case of Fate/kaleid, I think it could’ve done a lot more with just 2-3 more episodes but it finished well and doesn’t leave you expecting more or questioning anything.
While the series doesn’t have the same darker, more serious atmosphere that Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero do, the episodes were a good mix of action and comedic moments. The action scenes were well played out and not always entirely predictable. I found the comedy enjoyable for the most part, but at times the dialogue felt forced. I did enjoy the comedic elements surround the Illya x Yuri ship. There was ample fanservice present for those who are interested but at times it felt extremely tacky and awkward, especially considering the age of the main characters, but if you’re into lolis… well…
The first thing I noted about the main characters is that they are all female. Shiro is very much a background character in this. Illya’s cheerful personality made her an enjoyable lead for the series and her naivety added to the comedy. Miyu was a good compliment for Illya; initially a cold and distant high achiever but gradually warms up to Illya. Rin returns as her beloved tsundere self, although her rivalry and constant bickering with Luvia became rather tiresome at times. The Kaleido Sticks are more for comedic relief than anything else. All your favourite Heroic Spirits also feature in the series. The story isn’t made for character development but the set of characters works well for the purpose.
Visually, this is no ufotable adaptation. However, that’s not to say it didn’t look good. The colours and backgrounds were gorgeous. The character design wasn’t particularly detailed but the outfits fit the magical girl vibe. I thought the action scenes were particularly well done and on par with something out of Fate/Zero. The motions were fluid and the special effects were appealing. The scenes were really brought to life. A quick search of the animators revealed some of them worked on series such as FMA:B, Shakugan no Shana and Star Driver.
I didn’t always notice the background music but I found it perfectly complimented the action scenes and amplified the intensity. The OP and ED themes were enjoyable and suitable for the genre. The voice actors portrayed the characters really well. It was nice to see the VAs for Rin and Illya return. Kaori Nazuka did an immensely better job as Miyu than the last role I heard her portray, as the Heroine in Amnesia.
Overall, Fate/kaleid is by no means radical or ground-breaking but it is a cute, fun and exciting magical girl series. I am a fan of magical girl anime and would definitely recommend this to anyone who is also a fan of the genre. It will really appeal to the niche audience but if you're not a fan of the genre, this will do little to change your mind. For fans of the Fate/stay-night franchise, it is entertaining to see some of your favourite characters in an alternate universe and it is a good quality production but don’t expect a similar serious, dark atmosphere.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 30, 2014
In a world where romantic comedies simply use formulas that are tried and true, J.C. Staff brings us Golden Time. This is a story about Tada Banri, a student that had an accident after highschool graduation and lost all his memories prior to that, and the shenanigans that ensue during his first year at college. But is this really any different from anything we've seen in the past?
The original source material is written by the same author as Toradora! - which is the best romantic comedy I've seen to date - and has a similar style of comedy and story telling. One thing that
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sets this apart is the college setting. College is where people go to find themselves and build their futures. It should feel like more of a mature environment but for the most part, I completely forgot until words like "lecture" were mentioned. Golden Time seemingly starts off as your run of the mill romantic comedy and it really remains just that for the better half of the series. It's funny and does the job so who's to say that's a bad thing if you know that's what you've signed up for when you pressed play on episode one? As a romantic comedy, I thought Golden Time could do no wrong and I was hooked.
Banri's amnesia and the issues involved with his memory returning ultimately serve as the overarching plot for the series and this is where I felt the real downfall of the story was. Each episode had a good miniplot but with each passing episode, they simply became rife with melodrama. The series lost it's charm and in the second half declined into more of a drama than a comedy.
The main protagonist, Kouko, is arguably the best character out of the bunch. She's beautiful, popular and intimidating and after her dramatic entrance in the first episode, took a little getting used to. Initially, she clingy, over the top, knows what she wants and nothing will get in her way but eventually mellows out. She's something a little different in a female protagonist. Other than that you've got Banri the typical college boy with amnesia, his friend Mitsuo, his childhood friend Linda, the comic relief 2D-kun, and the other girl to even it out Chinami. There aren't any notable side characters except Nana who seems to be based on the main character of the series with the same name.
I have a little soft spot for J.C. Staff because Shakugan no Shana is one of my favourite series but the animation in this series was disappointing. Often I'm too busy reading subtitles to notice but in this case, there were a lot of jerky, awkward movements and a lot of talking scenes where all you could see was the talking character's mouth flapping. Sometimes it didn't even feel like it matched up with what the were saying. With that said, I have no issues with character design. It's pretty easy on the eyes.
The soundtrack was something I barely noticed, if at all, while watching this. Obviously it was no Guilty Crown or Fate/Zero in terms of sound but it didn't detract from anything. I always skipped the OPs and EDs because I felt like the never fit well with the mood of the series. They really stuck out like a sore thumb, particularly the second OP.
Overall, Golden Time is definitely nothing new or fresh in terms of romcoms but I don't think difference necessarily makes something ultimately better. I found it enjoyable for the most part and would definitely recommend you give it a try if you're a romcom fan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 28, 2014
This season saw the return of all your favourite main characters as well as a new addition. Again, it is a coming-of-age love story disguised as an adorable comedy. It retained all the fun, comedic elements and endearing characters of the first season but really failed to develop on the previous season in any way.
There was barely any development in the relationship between Rikka and Yuuta, and all the other main characters now seem to be there purely for the comic relief. A variety of side characters were introduced none of which had any real impact on the plot. Satone Shichimiya, Yuuta's middle school
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friend is introduced to the story which created some drama but again not much development. There were some missed opportunities when it came to character development such as the conflict of whether Rikka had to give up 'chuunibyou' to really love someone but it felt rather dismissed.
Animation is fabulous as one would expect from KyoAni. Aside from the lack of development, I still found it a really entertaining watch right up until episode 11. The last episode felt like a filler that didn't really fit in. It was like an elephant sat on my 11 episode balloon. It was just tacked on to the end and made me question the entire thing.
If you were a fan of the first season, I'd still say give this a go just don't expect anything mind blowing. It's just fun and entertaining. If you weren't a fan, don't even bother.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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