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Sep 9, 2017
Ever wished Godzilla was a cute girl? No, neither have I, but someone clearly did...
STORY
As you'd imagine from an ONA, plot and story development are pretty light in Kaiju Girls. That's not to say there's none, but what is here is fairly shallow. Characters are generally pretty one dimensional, but that's fine. The main three girls have enough personality that each episode is interesting enough just seeing them interact with each other. Nothing's all that serious but the show is aware of that, even the climactic finale is little more than an "Oh no maybe this is a little trouble" moment, but it's cute and
...
that's kinda what matters in this series.
ART
Do you like chibi? If you answered no then turn away now (though you could probably tell that by the image above). This series is very, very chibi. And I think that's actually kinda to it's detriment. One of the main points of Kaiju Girls is that each girl transforms into wearing a costume that looks like a Kaiju (most are vague references to popular Kaiju but nothing specific enough that it's obvious). My issue with this is that the characters have such small bodies in comparison to their heads, and their costumes are so detailed and intricate, that overall most of the girls seem to be wearing costumes that look way too busy and over-designed. This is a personal gripe, and obviously it's true for all chibi anime, but I found it a shame that this is the format they chose. However everything is very bright and colourful, kinda making up for some of this.
Animation is also standard. There are a few kinda neat scenes but for the most part it's what you'd expect from an average Flash animation. It's passable.
SOUND
The music, for the most part, is fairly standard. There are light, twinkly tracks for the light hearted scenes and more intense tracks for the action scenes, though none really stick out. The opening theme and closing theme are both, as you'd expect, very upbeat and cute and, honestly, both were pretty catchy (the ending song Kaiju Heart in particular) though just generic enough that you'll probably forget them within a month.
The voice acting was pretty standard. No role really stood out, though Pigmon's VA did a great job of being very cute so I guess props to her.
CHARACTER
As stated above, the whole point of this is to be cute and occasionally referential to Kaiju movies, with a hint of idol anime thrown in. The cute part it delivers in spades, the Kaiju part vaguely now and then and the idol parts is where it oddly shines. If you like seeing girls striving to be better at something and achieving it with hard work and spirit then you'll probably appreciate this anime.
ENJOYMENT
Looking back on the series while writing this I realise that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I did once I'd finished watching it. There were a couple funny moments, and a few cute ones, but to say I enjoyed it may be a little much. I liked it, but that's about it.
OVERALL
Overall it was an okay ONA, and at 5 minutes per episode it's not like it wasted my time or anything, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend it really. It wasn't bad by any means, but it did nothing to stand out either. For that reason I find that 6 is the right score. If you're interested I guess give the first episode a try but don't expect anything too memorable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 21, 2017
Does Linda dream of electric sheep?
STORY
Being an OVA, the story is pretty basic. Split up into two smaller stories, it follows Mint's teddy bear, Choco, as she becomes a real person (like in that one episode) and tries to buy Mint a camera. Meanwhile some aliens crash and give Linda the ability to dream.
Yes, the plot is as odd as it sounds.
And, gotta admit, the section where the crowd turn into robots and point at Mint and her friend was legit actually kinda creepy.
ART
Honestly quite surprised by how well animated this was. Being as it was made as a pack-in with the DVD/Blu-Ray releases it
...
seemed like it would either be a hastily thrown together OVA or a clip show. But it was neither (there were references to previous episodes but even those had some extra animation). There are some pretty well animated moments and overall the OVA looks better than the show.
SOUND
Not much to say in the sound department. The voice acting was good. No complaints there.
The soundtrack was pretty great. There was a fantastic Chinese-inspired track that may have been in the series but I forgot. There's also a bit (around the 14 minute mark) where they use that Naruto track again (see my review for Rio: Rainbow Gate) but overall the OVA features a lot of the more fun songs from the show.
CHARACTER
The whole OVA feels very fun. It's clearly just a showcase of weird/funny segments and that's exactly what it does.
I was surprised to find myself actually a little sad when Choco turned back into a teddy bear again, having enjoyed life as a human for a while.
No, seriously, it did.
I was emotionally moved by a fun OVA based off of an ecchi series about gambling.
What the hell is wrong with me?
ENJOYMENT
Yes. My answer is yes. I enjoyed. A lot. Seriously, just like the show, it's fun to watch. Nothing mentally taxing, just lots of fun things happening with a cast of characters I've grown to know.
OVERALL
If you enjoyed Rio: Rainbow Gate (judging by the reviews, I'm guessing that's not too many people) then this is a great watch. Kinda treat it like it's a "Several months later" episode set after the end of the main series.
Or, maybe, if you don't want to watch 13 episodes of Rio, but do want to know what the series is like, maybe give it a try.
Either way, I'm gonna give this an 8. Yes, that is one point higher than what I gave the series, but that's because this OVA was 25 minutes of fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 21, 2017
From "plot" to actual plot.
STORY
As you may expect from the synopsis of the series, Rio: Rainbow Gate is not a series that focuses all that much on the story.
The basic premise of the 13 "Gate Cards" and the concept of "Roll Rulers" is... pretty vague. It's certainly explained, but not in all that much detail.
Why are there 13 cards? What happens once someone wins all 13? Are they kept by that person? After all, if a Gate holder has to accept a challenge from another Gate holder, if someone has them all, it should mean that they can keep them until they die.
Are
...
the Roll Ruler powers effective on everyone, or only other Roll Ruler users?
But questions like this aren't really what the series is about.
Though I must say, in fairness to the series, there is actual story development. As the show goes on, I was surprised to find that characters not only had backstories but by the end of the series the tone had shifted to become fairly serious. Maybe a little melodramatic, but certainly more serious than one would expect from watching the first few episodes.
ART
Do you like boobs? If you said yes then do I have a show to recommend to you!
The key focus of this series (at least, as far as I can tell) is the visuals. Well, and the characters too, but the visuals are certainly one of the points at which you'll either love the series for it, or dislike it.
The art direction is very much on the side of fan-service. The main character, Rio, is regularly shows in revealing outfits, along with the rest of the cast. All the women are generously endowed with more than enough jiggles and shots to demonstrate that there's a big focus on the female form. Overall, it does exactly what it sets out to do: it presents a cast of attractive girls to oggle while the plots slowly amps up around them.
SOUND
The voice acting is good. It's nothing spectacular but then it's not bad either. It... does the job. The characters sound like you'd expect. Shout out to Killer Bee's (of Naruto Shippuden) voice actor voicing a large stereotypical American.
There are also a lot of moans, shouts, screams and other lady noises that would maybe make people ask exactly what it is you're watching if you've got the anime playing on speakers, so watch out for that if you plan on watching it around people who do not understand the context.
The music is also serviceable. There are some happy, breezy sounding tracks, there are some intense, dramatic tracks and overall it fits the feeling of the show well. There are no standout OST tracks that I noticed, though in the final episode it did sound like they used a track from Naruto Shippuden (one of the Akatsuki's themes) which was a little odd. Maybe I was mistaken, but it sounded very similar...
The opening and ending songs are also, as you'd expect, pretty sugary, happy and overall sound like, well, generic J-Pop. The ending theme is certainly catchy and is almost too happy, but overall both fit perfectly within the show, adding to the "looks before substance" theme the anime goes for.
CHARACTER
As previously mentioned, the characters in Rio: Rainbow Gate do have some depth. Well, the main character does, along with one or two others. The series does focus quite heavily on Rio's past, and her links to Rina and Rio's mother, Risa (Yes, her name is Risa, it's not a mistranslation of Lisa, as she is known as "Double R" due to her first and last name starting with R).
The rest of the cast are fairly one dimensional in terms of personality and character, with traits such as "The clumsy one", "The younger sister who copies her older sister's last few words of a sentence" and "The robot girl with tan lines (How does a robot get tan lines?)". Though, as with many other things in this series, that's fine. Depth and intricacies are not two things Rio: Rainbow Gate aims to deal with in terms of plot or characters.
ENJOYMENT
Now this... THIS is the category where Rio: Rianbow Gate shines!
The anime is set at a casino resort, where having a good time is the top priority. And this anime has the same attitude.
It's not about telling an engaging story. It's not about memorable characters. It's not about a moving soundtrack, it's about fun and enjoyment.
In this sense, it actually feels a little like a trip to a resort/casino: You go there to have fun. You may not remember too many details. You may not have your life changed. But you'll more than likely have fun while you're there.
Personally speaking, this was a fun anime to simply unwind to. Put it on and just zone out, watch the pretty girls and the bright colours (which, by the way, are everywhere. It's always sunny in this anime. Unless it's night) and just enjoy being in a world where people have superpowers that change their odds at games of chance.
OVERALL
Overall this anime has a bit of a niche audience.
It's aimed at people who:
1). Like gambling or games of chance.
2). Like fan service.
and
3). Just want to have a good time and enjoy an easygoing anime.
It's certainly not the only anime to have done this. But what it does, it does well.
If you're looking for something serious, or something memorable, maybe look elsewhere.
Even if you're looking for something with plot progression, this may not be for you.
Honestly, if I had to compare it to something, I'd kinda describe it as a fanservice-heavy, colourful version of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Overall I give it a 7. It was good. It wasn't great. It wasn't bad. It was just fun :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 7, 2017
What happens when a cat and banana are combined into one entity? Suffering, basically, you should never mix genetics like that. But in anime's is fine.
STORY
Taking place in the mind of an overworked office worker, Banyana follows the lonely, stressed man's life as he imagines several "Bananyas" inhabiting the world in order to cope with his mundane, pointless existence. He helps cope with life by creating many different types of his imaginary banana-cat hybrids, each with their own personalities, like Bananyanko, the pink haired female one (who is, by the way, best girl), or Baby Bananya, or Banyana, the star of his stress induced dreams.
I'm
...
kidding about the stressed out worker part. But seriously there's barely any story here, each episode just have a vague story like "Bananya has a nap outdoors" or "Banyana goes to the supermarket".
ART
How do you feel about cute drawings of cats? Kinda like that Pushin cat guy that Facebook seems to love, the art in Bananya is very, very cute. If you're looking for a more traditional anime style this may not be for you. It honestly reminded me a little more of Western cute artwork than Japanese. Nontheless, it's adorable.
The animation is also surprisingly good. Maybe not completely fluid but it certainly has enough animation quality to make watching it a pleasure, if somewhat basic looking.
MUSIC
In terms of voice acting, this show only really has one key voice, and that's the narrator. A slightly awkward sounding guy, he tells the audience about the Bananyas, as well as gives them advice such as "Don't stick your claws into the balloon" or "Even when Bananya is awake, he is not awake". Overall he's kinda the highlight of the show at times. The cats, predictably, just say "nya" a lot.
There is some very inoffensive background music that sounds like that of a music box, there to simply add background noise.
The ending song though, is something else. It's a very catch sugary J-Pop song (called "Lucky Holiday I think, though I could be wrong). Even though it lasts all of 30 seconds I still occasionally find myself humming it. It fits the show incredibly well.
CHARACTER
Bananya is very unique. Well, pretty unique, I'm sure there are many short anime about cute things, so in that regard this isn't exactly a new concept, but it certainly embraces it's mix of cute and odd.
Each of the characters has their own (albeit one dimensional (although that's kinda expected for a 3 minute episode anime)) personality, ranging from Long Haired Bananya's vain adoration of his luscious hair to Bananyanko's cute, girly nature. All in all the characters are exactly what you'd expect, and that's a good thing.
ENJOYMENT
As stated above, if you don't like cute things, then this series is going to be VERY difficult to watch. But for those of you who want a very, very simple anime that you can watch an episode or two in between doing something, then this is great.
Personally speaking I enjoyed this a lot. It certainly wasn't high on my priorities of things to watch but it was a fun show to just dip into three episodes (especially as that only took 9 minutes) when I felt like watching something that barely took any amount of attention. I did find myself smiling more than a few times at the absurd, cute adventures of the cat-bananas.
OVERALL
If anything I've mentioned here even makes you a tad curious just watch an episode. They're 3 minutes each, you could have probably finished watching an episode by the time you finish reading this review.
It's not going to be on anyone's "Best of 2016" list or anything, and that's okay, that's not what this show is about. It's just about being cute, and making you smile.
Overall I give this an 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 18, 2017
A kinda fun 80s mech anime OVA. Style over substance, but only sorta.
STORY
The story, as you can tell from the synopsis of the plot, takes place on a fairly interesting world where radiation from the sun is a constant threat, giving the whole movie a bit of a Mad Max vibe.
As the plot continues we learn more and more about the world, along with backstories of quite a few character. By the end I found myself actually caring about a few of them and, though most remain fairly one dimensional (the main brother and sister in particular have nothing interesting going for them) some
...
have surprising depth that I didn't expect.
I was quite surprised to find myself actually interested in the concept of the mysterious "tower" as the movie went on. In fact, by the end of the movie I actually found myself rather frustrated by the cliffhanger.
ART/SOUND
The art style is very of it's era. Going into this no one should expect stunning visuals or jaw dropping vistas, but for what it is it's presented quite well, easily on par with shows like Macross and Gundam.
The mechs themselves (whilst few in number) are quite well designed. The main mech, the Legaciam, in particular had a really cool designed that looked like a combination of Onslaught (the Marvel villain) and Shredder from the Ninja Turtles (but, obviously, as a mech).
As for sound there was nothing that particularly stood out to me, though there were one or two songs (the credits song being a great example) that absolutely nailed the 80s feel, with synth-driven pop numbers with occasional wailing guitars. That may not be to everyone's taste but I personally loved it.
Side Note: There's also one scene there the first few bars of the instrumental track playing sounds like the start of Anakin's theme from Star Wars. It has no relation, of course, but I thought it was funny.
CHARACTER
As stated in the Story section, the characters within Relic Armor Legaciam are certainly not going to be on anyone's list for Top Ten Mech Anime Heroes, but they certainly become fleshed out enough for the audience to care about at least three of them. The pilot of the Legaciam, Alicia, was quite an interesting character. While the whole "mentally unstable mech pilot" trope isn't exactly new, it still added a nice addition to making Alicia more than just a boring teenage mech pilot.
The overall feel of the movie is one of slight tension. The threat of the sun's radiation always feels like it's present throughout, whilst not taking too much attention that the threat seems obvious. The same can be said of the Tower. Whilst mentioned throughout the movie it does genuinely take on an air of mystery, with only snippets seen or heard here and there.
Overall the movie does a fairly good job of having a plot and world that feel fairly well developed, especially given the OVA's 50 minute run time.
ENJOYMENT
This is where the movie shines for me. It's certainly not perfect, and there are one or two scenes that seem either unnecessary or just there to pad a little, but overall it's a fun OVA that moves pretty fast. Your enjoyment will obviously depends on how much you enjoy a). anime from the 80s and b). mech related things, but even if neither of those are your thing you may still find enjoyment in this OVA.
OVERALL
Overall I'm gonna give Relic Armor Legaciam a 7.
I certainly recommend it to fans of 80s anime and those looking for a maybe more obscure mech anime to watch. At only 50 minutes there really is no reason not to at least give it a watch for the first 10 minutes if anything I've mentioned in this review interests you.
It's definitely not perfect, and it's unlikely to ever be remembered as a classic, but if you just wanna see a bunch of cool mechs fight and experience a story that can surprise you with subtlety at points, then this is the OVA you're looking for.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 2, 2012
The collision of Eastern and Western styles in an anime is one that has been often tried, yet rarely has it succeeded. Can this five-part anime series prove to be a success?
STORY
The story centers around a man named Afro (full points for originality there). The basic premise for the series is that, at a young age, Afro witnessed his father being killed (rather brutally) in front of him for a headband. This wasn't simply some stylish headband that people would (literally) kill for, it had a meaning. That meaning was that, whoever possessed the number 1 headband would, officially, be the number 1 assassin
...
in, urm, Japan I assume. Though this is set in a post apocalyptic world there is very little if any back story as to why the world is in such a bad state.
After his father is killed the headband is taken by another man, Justice, who then tells Afro that, when he grows up, he can challenge him for it if he feels up to it. Suffice to say Afro trains for years and the series deals with his journey as he is finally ready and skilled enough to avenge his father.
ART
Put simply it's stunning. There is, however, one warning: If you don't like gore this is definitely not the anime for you. One thing this anime can pride itself on is it's in-depth portrayal of blood and gore. The series in general is very stylized, it's all rather dark and the characters are all drawn in an odd-ish way, that lends to the show's character rather than making the people look weird. All in all it looks amazing.
SOUND
The sound for this anime is very much Western, having a heavy emphasis on hip-hop that the creator himself said he had a large interest in. The music for the series is all made and mixed by The RZA, former member of the Wuu Tang Klan, and it definitely brings some character into it. This doesn't mean, though, that the music is entirely Western. It also includes traditional Japanese music with instruments such as the shamisen and others making an appearance in the music, which is deftly made as a mixture of Western and Eastern.
The voice acting is superb. There is, contrary to many people's belief, no actual Japanese track. This was originally made in the English language, as such many claims of it being "a great dub" are moot, as if there is, somewhere, a Japanese track then that would be the dub. The creator of the series said that he was a large fan of Samuel L. Jackson, and as such wanted him to voice Afro and his companion, Ninja Ninja. Though, despite such a stellar voice actor, Afro himself says very little. This is partly due to his mysterious character. Though this is all countered for by Ninja Ninja, his somewhat hyperactive companion, who essentially acts as Afro's inner thoughts spoken aloud.
CHARACTER
The show has a very unique character. It brings with it a sense of the collision between East and West, with monks, shrine and traditional Japanese houses set to hip-hop, with many people wearing modern, Western clothing and the monks featured even speak like Christian preachers from the Deep South. All in all it's a character that hasn't been truly seen before in anime.
ENJOYMENT
As stated above, if violence and gore isn't your thing stay away from this anime. However, if it is you'll truly get a kick out of how gruesome it can be, especially at certain times.
OVERALL
Overall if you're looking for a chilled-out, peaceful, happy anime then go elsewhere. If you're looking for a well-made world with genuinely interesting characters, even if it's all slightly depressing, and some non-stop action and a rather interesting story then Afro Samurai is a must. Plus, in total, it'll take you about 2 hours to watch, so even if you're not sure, watch at least one episode and see how you feel. Personally speaking I give it a 10/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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