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In this series, magic users are beings born with a certain organ in their bodies that allow them to use magic in the form of puffing out smoke, be it from their fingers or mouth. On the other hand, you have the regular humans who live in a place called the Hole, which is shown to be a ghetto-ish area. The story thus follows two main perspectives, the first being that of Kaiman and Nikaido having their little adventures in the Hole. The second focuses on Shin and Noi, two magic users who are tasked with tracking down Kaiman. This is later expanded to include En’s family and the inclusion of several other factions and groups. As the series continues, the viewpoints begin to converge as the different characters meet and interact and yes, this is a manga with a relatively huge cast of characters.

According to Wikipedia, Dorohedoro is serialized in Ikki, a magazine that “specializes in underground or alternative manga”. And it indeed is alternative for it is hard to find a manga as quirky and stylish as this. Trying to write a review to explain why this manga is just so addictive is rather difficult as much of its charm lies in its visual styles. For a start, Hayashida Q was Nihei Tsutomu’s assistant so one can see semblance in terms of the sketchy cyberpunk setting and stoic expressions of the characters – I use the word ‘stoic’ to distinct that the characters are not, in fact, emotionless. Unlike Nihei Tsutomu, the characters in Hayashida Q’s work are certainly much more expressive (though both artists are fantastic in their own rights).

Really, trying to categorise this title under a genre is not easy. Manga Updates tagged it with a Biopunk, but it too has the elements of Gothic in its ambience. The only way I can succinctly describe Dorohedoro in one sentence would probably be that it is akin to what it would be like if Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino collaborated to produce a manga. It’s not the best description I’ve got, but I think the analogy fits pretty well. In the Magic Users’ world each Magic User are obliged to wear a personalized mask to mark their identity. Throw in the fact that you have manifestations of curses, devils and death god flying around and the place is like a much more macabre mash of Halloween Town and Beetlejuice. And then you have En’s family and his estate. En’s family being clad in suits make it a like the mafia in a Halloween party. In fact, when Shin and Noi first turned up, I was strongly reminded of Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction. The whole imagery is bizarre, but it is also freakishly cool.

In general, I am not a fan of gore. Titles such as Berserk and Gantz are far from my preferred types of manga and I tend to be averse to manga that displays excessive amount of gruesome disembowelment like Shigurui for example. What I do have however, is a rather twisted sense of humour, and Dorohedoro pretty much struck a chord with me despite the display of characters getting brutally murdered – hell, there’s even a character whose magic is all about disemboweling bodies. Yet within the bleak setting there is sufficient amount of well executed comedy. The gratuitous amount of stylised violence as well as the general nonchalance in attitude towards its delivery by the cast of eccentric characters means that although the tone is grim, it is at the same time funny. The humor style is more towards the dry sort though.

Now, simply having great visuals is of course not enough for me to consider this as one of my favourite. The characters too need to actually be interesting. Since this is after all a rather Gothic story with some rather grim setting, it should come to no surprise that trying to categorize them into “villains” and “heroes” is rather pointless. Heck, considering that the different groups get their own share of characterization and screen time, it is also not easy to distinguish between some of them as “protagonists” or “antagonists”. In other words, despite the large cast, the core characters remain interesting while the other supporting characters too get their fair share of spotlight. The result is that even though the characters are supposed to be opposing against each other, I can’t help but root for some of them all the same. Lastly, not to forget the trippy elements that goes in several parts of the manga. For the most part, the story is pretty straightforward, but as the plot progress, or rather in the recent volumes, there are certainly quite a fair bit of mind screw going on – the macabre art style definitely helped in enhancing the effects.

In a way, one of the things I like about Dorohedoro is also what made me took a liking to Narita Ryougo’s works in the first place: the inclusion of multiple viewpoints and what is at first glance seems like a very chaotic story, as nicely summed up one of the characters in Baccano!, “Depending on who you place in the same situation, the characteristics of said incident change kaleidoscopically. In other words, there is one incident. However, there are as many stories explaining it as there are people involved in it.” — Gustav St. Germain (aka that guy voiced by Norio Wakamoto).

On the whole, Dorohedoro may take a while to get into and feel comfortable with its surreal style, but once you do, what you have here is one wickedly engaging manga. Definitely worth the read. read more

[Story: 4.0] Peppered with nothing but plenty of really cheap innuendo, I know that I'm not supposed to be expecting some fabulous scripting from this sort of show, contending for just some silly, cheap laughs. Yet even with this in mind, Akikan manage to be underwhelming.

Akikan wants to achieve too much but lacked the effort to do any of them. It tried to pack in romance, drama, lewd dialogues, action and plenty more lewd dialogue, but was lazy in executing them. The comedy aspect is lackluster - you've seen them in practically any other ecchi series you can get your hands on and they're probably funnier too. Drink cans who transform in girls? Sounds interesting (albeit absurd) until one considers that beneath the gimmick, there's absolutely nothing outstanding about the whole magical/ super-powered girlfriend concept. Attempts to even provide examples of such titles would flood the page. Clichés in itself are NOT bad; it's because they are popular ideas that they become clichés. However, there’s a difference between getting inspirations from popular ideas and blatantly being uncreative.

Lastly, the series should have ended at episode 10. The last two episodes were redundant and just add to how haphazard the series is handled. For one thing, it was too late to introduce new characters. For another, it's not like it contributed anything to the plot anyway.

[Characters: 5.5] Kakeru, the protagonist is mildly amusing in his grandeur and crazy talks, but him alone is insufficient to hold the show together when the rest of the cast is insignificant. It also helps that he's voiced by Jun Fukuyama, who did a fantastic job. However, it is also a waste to actually have Jun Fukuyama in it - and he's actually one of the few redeeming points of the series. I admit, the nonsense babbled by Kakeru garnered a few cheap laughs here and there. In the end, however, those were cheap laughs and nothing more.
Similarly, it's also somewhat a waste to have Mamiko Noto in it as well.

Initially, the gag about how Jigoro often got disregarded and treated as invisible is chuckle worthy. Sadly (and ironically), that really is all he is, unimportant enough to be considered as being 'not there'. Furthermore, the main girl turns out to be a tsundere so there's the obligatory gag that involves her physically assaulting the protagonist. Other characters need not be explained further; generic characters through and through. Also, Budoko's voice is annoying. Really, after the first episode, the series just got lazy.

[Art: 5.5] Perhaps it is not entirely the studio's fault that the story is weak and the jokes are terrible. Perhaps it is the source materials themselves that are bad - I wouldn't know; I've read neither the novel nor manga. However, when it comes to production values, the studio has no excuse and this is the bit that came to be a surprise: Akikan is made by Brains Base. Although it is unreasonable to expect a studio to constantly create high quality productions and unrealistic to hope that all the works are to one's liking, Akikan is really a far cry from Brains Base’s portfolio, including but not limited to Natsume Yuujinchou, Baccano! and Kurenai. Akikan has the worst quality of the lot. To compare on a broader scale, Akikan isn't any better. For a series made in 2009, the art quality is inadequate.

[Music: 6.0] Music was average, typical cutesy songs. BGM was kind of lacking as well. Well then again, this being mainly a comedy, expecting Yuki Kajiura level of pieces would be superfluous.

[Summary] Akikan is, to put it simply, devoid of creativity. Plenty of titles in its genre have done the things it did and better. Really, there are just so many other titles to watch other than this. read more

[Story:8.5] After how mediocre the first season was, I initially had no intention to continue with the sequel – that is, until seeing several screenshots and raves about it on the net, which prompted me to give it another go. Thank goodness I decided to give it a chance as the second season is fantastic, to say the least.

The first season was insipid because the focus is on the school life aspect while the more appealing intergalactic setting and aliens in masquerade get demoted to the background for a relatively large part of the series. The whole ordinary kid stuck in extraordinary events premise is overshadowed by the fact said extraordinary events are way more interesting that the ordinary kid. Naturally, the reverse is what made the sequel so much better. In addition, season 2 deals with alien fugitives taking cover on Earth, allowing the introduction of Birdy’s childhood friend, thus giving the opportunity to explore Birdy’s back-story. To put it simply, the sequel did practically everything that I complained was lacking in its first season.

As such, it can be argued that the real reason that season 1 is mediocre is because the real 'story' have not occurred. And it makes sense when one consider the case of the so-called standard 26-episode series. The alien they fought at the end of the first season? It's not the so-called ‘real’ Final Boss. It was not the actual climax. The secret project and experiments was just the set up, merely to prepare the stage for this sequel. Indeed, this one is when it’s finally ready to deliver what it has been building up previously. This is when things finally start to get serious, hence why the pace in season 2 is much faster and with more events occurring.

[Characters:8.0] As said, the character of focus is one of the key reasons defining Birdy Decode on the whole. Previously, the side characters doesn't really contribute much to the story. For all intent and purpose, the only relevant characters were mainly just Birdy, Tsutomu and Natsume who got caught in the event. Now, apart from the protagonists, the main antagonist too gets the fair share of back story and other minor character also get their share of the limelight.

And of course, there is much drama and development to be had for Birdy herself. From her comedic Arita Shion persona to flashbacks involving her past, the scenes were well executed. The lighter moments are comedic when it needs to, while the heavier and darker scenes are dramatic without being overdone. In particular, the story can get surprisingly quite touching and bittersweet in the latter part of the series.

The choice of voice-acting cast was great too. As with the prequel, I like the voice acting for Birdy, especially when she is in her Arita Shion mode. Special mention goes to Mamiko Noto as Birdy’s caretaker.

[Art:8.5] Another compliment goes to the major improvement in production values. Not only is the story better, even the animation quality is much higher. The action sequences are fantastic, albeit some of them being rather brutal. In short, the art style is excellent and in particular, I like the mix of animation styles - for example, the sketchy style (similar to those of Gainax productions) is highly appropriate for some of the more emotionally chaotic moments.

[Music:7.5] Decode has good soundtracks, but the prequel didn’t quite get to put them to good use. Thankfully, this season rectify that. Furthermore, the choice of opening and closing themes are also much more agreeable.

[Summary] With a classic science-fiction setting, some romance and plenty of cool action sequences, it shall suffice to say that Birdy Decode 02 is definitely worth the watch. Never watched season 1? Just go and read the article off Wikipedia and then jump into season 2. Excellent sci-fi flick.

Personal Overall Rating: 8.5











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Rather than calling it The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi, a more appropriate title would perhaps be The Melancholy of Kyon, because now it’s Kyon’s turn to make his decision. In essence, this movie is a major opportunity for character development of not just Nagato, but more crucially, of our beloved narrator as well. In the previous seasons, it is mainly about Kyon being dragged into situations and going with the flow. It was just always about Haruhi. The series was pretty much about Kyon observing and commenting upon Haruhi's actions. Sure, he gets pulled into all the bizarre events, but as far as he is concerned, he is just an observer. A key trait of the Suzumiya Haruhi series lies in Kyon’s narration to the hijinks that goes on around him. This movie thus goes beyond that, serving as a platform to truly explore his thoughts: where beneath the sarcasm, the continuous face-palms and the frequent sighs, is one who does genuinely enjoy the ludicrous situations that he sardonically remarks upon.

Shoutshitsu thus acts as both a response to and contrast with Yuutsu. In Yuutsu, Haruhi’s melancholy is derived from her frustration with how normal, how mundane the world is and thus yearned for some fantasy to exist. This climaxes with her almost re-shaping the world unknowingly due to her Reality Warping. As we already know, this results in the finale that is her subconsciously acknowledging that she is satisfied with the current world and that even though there is nothing supernatural (not that she knows of, of course), that’s fine with her. The world may, in her eyes, be boring but that doesn’t mean she has to follow suit. She can make life interesting for herself as long as there is the SOS Brigade to take command of. Kyon started out being similar to her; from the narratives in Yuutsu (more prominently in the novel's prologue), we can see how outwardly, he behaves like the average, typical guy, but well, the narratives say quite a lot. However, rather than get frustrated like Haruhi, he just heaved a sigh and moved on.

Haruhi, and by extension the other members of the club, hence made him regain the fantasy that he used to have. The events in Shoushitsu thus challenged Kyon: the stable but very much dull world or the exasperating one filled with Espers, Aliens and Time Travelers? His long epic rage against the heavens of a soliloquy in Shoushitsu is his answer, a callback to the opening narration in Yuutsu's prologue. That’s why Haruhi got along so well with Kyon. The paths both of them took may be different, but in the end Kyon shared the same sentiments as her. This movie is Kyon’s affirmation that John Smith is every bit as eccentric as Espers, Reality Warpers, Aliens, Time Travellers and any other oddities.

Next, we have Nagato as the second focal point of the film, where we get to see her as beyond the emotionless doll that she was in the series. Or rather, it would be more appropriate to say that in the series, her development as a character was mostly subtle, more of a gradual build-up whereas the film finally provided her the vehicle to express more of herself. Last but not least, is none other than the titular heroine. As the name of the movie may have revealed, Haruhi does not have much screen time, but she does get her moments and similar to Nagato, one can see the stark difference in the world without the SOS Brigade. All in all, the movie excellently ties in the dynamics of the characters, bringing about a fulfilling addition to the franchise.

KyoAni certainly went all out on this, for the production value is high in more ways than one. 5cm/s often gets praises about it being a movie comprised of amazing wallpaper-worthy scenes. Well, Shoushitsu deserves to claim some of the limelight in the visual department too. It’s not just the details given to the background, as the animation such as the characters’ movement is fluid - the scenes as envisioned by KyoAni are fantastic and I particularly like the snow motive that is being used throughout the film.

When it comes to audio, the studio didn’t hold back either. The voice actresses of the film’s main heroines sing the theme songs, so it sure is nice to hear the upbeat and energetic “Bouken desho? Desho?” as the opening theme again. This is contrasted with the ending theme: a quiet, soothing track by Chihara Minori. In addition, great use of orchestra pieces during the appropriate scenes. Hirano Aya returns to portray Haruhi’s over-energetic personality while Chihara Minorie did well in depicting the differences between both worlds’ Nagato. The highlight however, has to be Tomokazu Sugita, who shows just why he is the ideal voice actor for Kyon. Prior to this film, I’ve always been considering his best role as being Sakata Gintoki of Gintama. Shoushitsu just shows that yes, his role as Gintoki is great, but Kyon is not to be overshadowed too. The superb voice acting, along with the meticulous animation for the facial expressions, thus combines to convey an emotionally poignant and memorable performance. Indeed, his soliloquy near the end of the movie is absolutely fantastic. It shall suffice to say that every element in the movie worked seamlessly, for good art style and pleasant audio alone are not enough. In short, the movie is well paced and the scripting is well delivered.

Top-notch production values, intriguing storyline with poignant scenes, delivered by distinctively memorable and very much appealing characters, this movie is in essence, a perfect combination of faithfulness to source material and production staffs’ own creative input. This certainly is one adaptation done right, for it didn’t just meet my expectation: it exceeded it.

*The above is a spoiler-free version of the review. For the version that includes potential spoilers, see here:
http://mizunoyuutsu.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/shoushitsu/
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[Story: 7.0] I initially considered K-ON (season 1 at that time) as being the weaker works by KyoAni. Well, I'm going to take that back. The previous season was by no means terrible, but it certainly was not that spectacular; it was just mildly enjoyable. Season 2 however, turned out to be an improvement. For one thing, this season is more than just the girls skiving around being moe. There's more content and more events going on. In particular, the impressive part of the series lies in the last few episodes, where most of the girls are about to graduate.

My only complaint is that they aren;t doing much music related stuff. After all, the studio has been shown to put in massive amount of effort in things such as the accuracy of the instruments. Some fans will point out that music isn't exactly the main focus and that it's more about the girls enjoying themselves. I agree, however, it was a bit of a wasted potential to not see them have actual, proper practice sessions despite being graced with such expensive instruments. Besides, wouldn't them practicing together also help in the portrayal of their bonds? Still, the things like the concerts are great.

[Characters: 7.5] Season 1 was just decent because the series was more about displaying as much as possible of the various gimmicks like the moe factor and such. The sequel moves away from it considerably, choosing to go for the more slice-of-life approach. Furthermore, although the characters aren't exactly the most original, there is nonetheless evident characterization beyond their initial basic archetypes. For example, there's Azusa growing attached to the club, and later realizes the impending loneliness that will occur after the other girls graduate. In short, it's not just about the girls being cutesy, it had some heartwarming moments as well, with the series exploring their friendship and relationship with several other people like their teacher and so on. On that note, I mentioned in my review for season 1 how Sawako exists mainly as a plot device to get the girls to cosplay. In this season, the series chose to focus on her position as someone who, beneath the childish and easy-going nature, is a teacher who genuinely cares for her students. The events and ideas in K-ON may be common and predictable, but the directing style and pacing prevents it from becoming a bore.

Lastly, I like how KyoAni took the effort to include the other classmates into the interactions (creating new materials that wasn't originally available in the 4koma). Yes, the main girls are the protagonists, but the world certainly doesn't revolve around them just because they are the lead characters.

[Art: 9.0] Cute girls to KyoAni is what robots are to Sunrise; it's their trademark. And in the current cute girl trend, saying that KyoAni is successful is a mere understatement. Also, they seem to have stepped up the art quality in this season. As with the previous season, the animations for the ending themes are appealing.

[Music: 9.0] The OP didn't really appeal to me. The EDs, No, Thank You! and Listen! on the other hand, are absolutely fantastic and so are the various inserts. The bgms are simplistic but fits the series just fine. Again, it would be nice if they actually had more practice sessions.

[Summary] On a final note, we often make fun of studios when the adaptations are not as good as the source material (lol DEEN), but seldom do we do the reverse. For contrast, look at Minami-ke. The manga is also another simple slice-of-life title. While season 1 by studio Doumu was popular, the second season by studio Asread was less so. Kyoto Animation is thus commendable in how it managed to take a simple 4koma and expand it to obtain such levels of achievements. Again, I don't see myself as a huge fan of K-ON and I think that it is rather overrated, but then it's not the first time the fandom has taken to exaggerated extols. Nevertheless, as far as a slice-of-life series go, I don't mind admitting that this second season is pleasant to watch.
Personal Overall Rating: 8.0
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Kakurenbo is a short flick involving an urban legend that tells of how those playing a specific game of hide-and-seek at a certain forbidden, deserted neighborhood all goes missing without a single trace. This being of the horror genre can mean only one thing: a group of kids got curious and were lured into the game, with obvious disastrous consequences, as they found out just why the game is a taboo.

I'm not expecting much from the characters, since this is such a short film (and a horror one at that). You have the bully/ jerk jock archetype and his cronies, followed by the stoic and quiet characters, the obligatory mysterious creepy child and so on. The cast may not be outstanding, but they suit the show just fine, though it would be nice if the movie were somewhat longer so as to allow a little more characterization; a bit more background on the characters' motivations, maybe a little bit about the town and so on. While the idea of having the entire cast wearing the fox masks in order to play the game prevents the audience from seeing their expressions, it does add to the ambience and that's the crucial point.

Indeed, because the story is such a simplistic and short one, the movie relies heavily on its audio and visual elements. As such, the animation quality is unsurprisingly impressive. Things such as the way shadows are cast, as well as how the various lighting effects are done all helped to create a spooky atmosphere for the story. Furthermore, the abandoned buildings in the background are detailed and appear to have a tint of cyberpunk feel to it, suitably adding to the mood. Last but not least, the music compliments the movie well. Using an orchestra of traditional Japanese instruments certainly helped in creating a haunting, chilling soundtrack throughout the movie. My only complaint however, goes to the demons themselves. They are too obvious. A large element of horror and paranoia stems from not knowing what you’re up against; yes, the demons need to be scary looking as well (and they do look menacing) but it is building up the suspense of them appearing that really sets the tension. In this case, the demons are properly seen right from the beginning. We see them too clearly and that results in the show being less spooky than it could have been. I guess this is attributed the fact that film is simply too short to do proper build-ups. On the other hand, the designs for the demons are interesting: traditional Japanese folklore sort of demons but part mechanical – further contributing to the subtle cyberpunk feel.

All in all, Kakurenbo is a reasonably decent show to watch. While not downright spine-chilling scary, it is nonetheless relatively creepy, particularly with the reveal and the stinger at the end. It being such a short film thus bears resemblance to those series of short horror stories prevalent on the net (also known as 'creepy pastas'). If anything else, Kakurenbo is at least worth the visual treats it offer. read more

[Story: 7.5] Taking on the old Jekyll and Hyde concept with a new twist, Detroit Metal City is a comedy about Negishi, who for some strange reason, ended up singing for a band of the genre he hates the most. There, he takes up the persona of Krauser II, a supposed deranged escaped convict. The setting for DMC thus brings forth the question: how different is it between the performers' stage personae and their actual lives? How much of the so-called scandal and tales of debauchery publicized on the media true? However, that's a minor detail. The real humor lies in how Negishi gradually loses control of his Krauser persona, who will break out and end up committing outrageous things the shy and mild-mannered Negishi will never dream of doing. Like raping Tokyo Tower, for example (yeah, its that kind of show).

Second key aspect of the series is the portrayal of the band's fandom. Much of the humor comes from the ridiculous behaviors of fans in their blind worship for Krauser, crowning him as an invincible demon lord and constantly coming up with crazy theories to build up Krauser's legends. Just like what real-life fans of various types of hobbies/ subjects tend to do, it's practically a satire of what fan dumb can be like.

[Characters: 7.5] Main focus of the series is of course on Negishi who leads a dual life. He loves Swedish pop but people think he's terrible at it. Thus, whatever attempts at debuting in that genre is futile. On the other hand, he hates Death Metal but the band he leads is a legend. As such, the gags in each episode involves how the timid Negishi unconsciously becomes increasingly dependent on the insane Krauser as his stress relief, using him to vent his long pent up frustration or solve his problems in an exaggerated manner. Sometimes the results are good, though most of the time it's with disastrous consequences. Either way they're downright hilarious.

[Art: 6.0] The art is ugly; no, it's deliberately bad. In a way, its 'cheapness' creates its own style for the series. Furthermore, some of the gags were made funnier because of the ugly facial expressions the characters put up - think GTO for reference.

[Music: 7.5] Just like the story, its music is a sheer refuge in audacity. The lyrics in the OP (and pretty much the entire point of the band's songs) are so crude that it is funny, albeit in a morbid sort of way. This is juxtaposed with the more sweet and bubbly ED - again, pretty much the entire point of the series.

[Summary] Needless to say, the dialogues and gags are often offensive in more way than one, so the humor style of Detroit Metal City may not be to everyone's taste. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for something different, e.g. comedy with elements of satire in it, DMC is worth giving a try. The ending is rather inconclusive, but that’s mainly due to the fact that the manga is still on-going.
Personal Overall Rating: 7.0
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[Story: 8.0] Toradora is, dare I say, undisputedly one of the most popular series of 2008. And it's not hard to see why, provided one watches past the initial episodes of misunderstandings, love triangles and such, that is. Because although Toradora began with plenty of elements common in its genre, it ended off as more than just a typical romance comedy. The series isn't just about romance, as it deals with relationships not limited to the typical love scenarios and gimmicks prevalent in most school-life shows. There isn't much to really comment on the story, as the plot itself is rather straightforward and simplistic.

I personally also like the use of a bookend (or framing device), such as how the way the show started mirrors how it concluded; it may be a minor thing, but it does contribute to the overall feel of the series, in that it helped in creating the mood of a finale with proper resolutions. And it's an excellent resolution as well and I like the dialogue being echoed at the end - if there’s anything I've got to complain, it would be that I didn't get the ending that I wanted. I was shipping Ryuuji and Minorin (despite the very obvious series title).

[Characters: 9.0] What's enthralling about Toradora is none other than its cast, each of who has their own distinct personalities that are well explored during the course of the series. Without a doubt, the cast is astonishing, growing (and shedding) past their archetypes and are shown as individuals with depth. For a start, there's Minorin: beneath the eccentric and ever-energetic persona, is a girl with a surprisingly complex emotion and disposition - something one doesn't usually associate with the genki girl archetype. Similarly, despite the initial setting of Ami being the school idol with a snarky attitude, she was gradually portrayed as not only sympathetic, but can be quite a good friend as well. Even Kitamura has his own share of drama to deal with, showing that indeed, being the vice-president of the student council and class representative isn’t a ticket to being infallible after all (breaking quite a few anime conventions in the process).

Most notable of course, is none other than the titular pair of protagonists. Ryuuji, being a nice guy deep down, whose main quirk is being someone with an obsession for cleaning and housework in general, creates an interesting contrast with Taiga's brash and clumsy actions. Some of the interactions those two had in the later part of the series can be both poignant and heartwarming. Overall, their actions and how they open up to their friends are what determined the dynamics of the show.

[Art: 9.0] Toradora, despite being a romance comedy, actually had better animation quality than a certain Fantasy series also made by JC Staff and released also in the same year. Now that's saying a lot for both shows. As a compliment to the studio, Toradora's art quality is fantastic. Apart from the great character designs, much effort is evident in things such as the subtle twitch in facial expressions, the gestures and fluid movements, which are all very well done. These are made all the more pertinent in the later part of the series when it’s more drama-heavy, thus aids in amplifying the mood of the series. For example, refer to the scene between Taiga and Sumire - that alone is a testament to the studio’s success.

[Music: 9.0] The theme songs are all fantastic, with the two OPs, Pre-Parade and Silky Heart being very catchy and addictive, making good use of not just their voice-acting skills, but also as singers. The bgm isn't anything impressive, but they suit the series just as well and the choice of tracks is fine too.

[Summary] With a cast of endearing characters and a nice blend of humor and drama, Toradora is certainly entertaining and worthy of its hype. It may not offer anything new to the genre, but it does it well. High re-watch value, too.
Personal Overall Rating: 9.0
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"Since robots don't have a soul, how could they comprehend music?"

[Story: 8.5] Naturally, Time of Eve is far from being the first series influenced by Isaac Asimov's works. However, unlike most of the science fictions about Robotics (and Asimov's eponymous Three Laws of Robotics), Eve is done in a more slice-of-life style, rather than having the common action-focused plot. Nevertheless, as with its genre, the themes within the show can be easily surmised to revolve around the blurring of the boundary between machines and humans. While Eve doesn't really put a new spin to the genre, the characterization is more than enough and is done very well. Moreover, despite it being such a short series, it contained with it the right amount of drama and development that nicely ends off with what seems like a potential for a sequel hook.

[Characters: 9.0] The characters' interactions are thus what made this short series so entertaining. One example would be the way the robots express themselves, such as how their lively, diverse range of human dispositions while in the café (and thus free from the Laws put in place) is in stark contrast against the hollow, rigid and monotonous expressions when outside. This became a crucial point when we observe the gradual change in conversation style between Rikuo and his Android, Sammy. Indeed, it is impressive how the show managed to develop not just the main characters, but also provide adequate personalities and backstory for some members of the side cast when considering the length of the show.

[Art: 9.0] Eve is a work that is reliant on its visuals and as mentioned, the robots' actions within and outside the café are captured excellently and the scripting isn’t the only reason. Furthermore, there is also the nice blend of 2D and 3D CG, not unlike GONZO Digimation. The character designs may be rather plain, but its simplicity does spark its own charm.

Though Studio Rikka has produced only a few works, they have managed to establish several prominent styles, which I daresay, are easily identifiable with them. Most notably is of course their distinctive camera angle, whereby the use of occasional mild camera shakes enhances the realism of a First-Person View, making the various dialogues even more engaging to watch.

[Music: 8.0] Generally, the production value in Eve is high in more ways than one. Apart from the art quality, the cast consists of several big name voice actors such as Jun Fukuyama, Rie Tanaka and Tomokazu Sugita (though he got the minor role). The bgm is mild and rather minimal, but its theme piece is surprisingly catchy. Overall, the music blends well with the show and that will suffice.

[Summary] Interesting story and directing style plus aesthetically pleasing art makes Time of Eve recommendable for just about anyone. It is only about 6 episodes in length so it doesn't take long to watch anyway. read more

[Story: 5.5] The success of shows like Suzumiya Haruhi and Lucky Star has initiated many new trends – from having characters dancing in the theme songs to featuring genre-savvy meta characters as the central gimmick. Seitokai no Ichizon is yet another anime jumping onto the bandwagon, bringing with it a setting that parallels said shows. Clearly, the influences are undeniable. Again, this is understandable. Since references and parody anime has become the new fad, it is natural (expected, even) for the industry to produce more of such shows, because ultimately, the industry exist to sell itself. With that said however, it all goes back to something fundamental: doing something that is considered popular does not make you popular. And that’s where Seitokai no Ichizon flops.

Seitokai got too ambitious for its own good, overestimating its own limits. Every episode, the show tries to cram in as much references as it could and here’s the problem: it merely made references, rather than crack a joke using the references it made. It is obvious that they’re merely deliberately using popular references to appeal to as much of the demographics as possible; It is often random, redundant and often lacking in any sort of punchlines. Ichizon does have a few funny moments. Then again, too few funny moments anyway.

Seitokai is like guidebook that is supposed to teach you how to be funny so it’s crammed with lots of comedic technique, except that the author of said guidebook has no sense of humor. Theoretically, Seitokai is supposed to be funny. In reality, Seitokai is akin to the poor awkward kid who memorized the “list of top 10 jokes” and tried to make someone laugh but wasn’t good at delivering the punch line. Or just printed out the list from the internet and read it out to others, without an idea of what ‘articulation’ means. Similarly, that’s also why their attempt at things like self-deprecating humor, and sometimes hypocritical humor, is ironic for different (read: wrong) reasons.

[Characters: 6.0] Strangely enough, a lot of the scenes that had me chuckling a little are the ones where they don’t try to randomly hurl references. It was thus quite a pity as all the unnecessary references interfered with the characters, giving them very little chance to go for a gag centered on their personalities. This also ruined some of the more sentimental scenes in the later part of the show – these scenes simply had too little time to be shown. The result is, the supposedly touching scenes felt rather shallow and forced. Not good for the characters’ development, particularly bad for Sugisaki.

Playing with the 4th wall is a popular meta-fictional technique that once challenged the concept of the boundary between a medium and its audience. However, this technique is now so prevalent in pop culture that it is no longer a guaranteed trump at being witty. Also, the characters used it way too often to the point of abuse. On another note, Seitokai lacked subtlety; the references are too obvious – and sometimes too blunt - to even be amusing.

[Art: 7.0] The art quality is decent; not too shabby, but not fabulous either. Character designs are also more of above average. Well, then again, considering the show’s genre, fanciful animation isn’t exactly a prerequisite so that’s okay, I guess.

[Music: 6.5] Nothing impressive with the music either. The theme songs are basically that of those generic harem/ rom-com sort of show but in this case I’ll assume that’s what they’re going for – though that still doesn’t change the fact that the music is rather bland.

[Summary] Watch Hayate no Gotoku instead. Or Gintama (if you don’t mind the crude humor that goes with the parodies and references). Gosh, now I really can't wait for an anime adaptation of the manga, The World God Only Knows. read more