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8 months and countless shows since watching Love Hina, I've gotten hold of the specials, and it's review time.

Story

It's Love Hina, and it's christmas time, so we have to have some holiday romance.

The story is nice, especially the end, though I found too much of it to be predictable. Relationships move a bit, but I didn't really gain any new perspective on any of the characters.

Animation/sound

Not really anything noticably different from the series.

Character

If you've watched the original, then there aren't going to be any surprises here. They're all given an appropriate part in the story, but as I said above, I didn't feel any new depth to the characters.

Enjoyment

Well, personally, I watched the original Love Hina for the comedy, and the romantic comedy, rather than straight romance. However, this extended episode contains little humour, only a few bits worth mentioning, and with the predictability of the story, I was left feeling just a little bored.

Overall

I guess what really matters is what you watched through the original series for. If it was the humour and silliness, then this extended episode won't give you a good fix, and you'll probably be somewhat bored. If it was for the romance, then you'll probably like this extra bit, though it might depend on how predictable you find it.

Short review, certainly, but it's only a short show. read more

Note: This series is a spin-off from another show called City Hunter, and uses many of it's characters. All I did before watching this series is read the synopsis for City Hunter, and I've had no problems following the story. It still may be preferable to watch City Hunter first though.

Angel Heart starts by following professional assassin (trained from a child), Glass Heart, as she attempts to escape from her life of killing, by ending her own. But after a heart transplant, and a couple of years sleep, she's good as new. The new heart brings it's owner's spirit with it, and refuses to let Glass Heart die, and so, Glass Heart escapes, to try and find out about the person the heart belonged to.

The series is made up mostly of seperate story arcs, the first following Glass Heart's escape, the rest following her new life as she starts accepting missions to help people in dire situations, and in doing so, learning about life.
The first arc is generally more plot-driven and a lot more fast-paced. After the first arc, things start to meander into character development, with far less in the way of action. If you have a short attention-span, you should be able to watch the first arc alone without worries, as it's a self-contained story.

Since the series mainly follows character-development, the characters are important, and in my opinion, they've done well. The regulars are a variety of interesting characters that you should have no trouble watching for the length of the series. The characters that need help are also well made, with realistic reasons for needing help. Honestly, some of the coincidences in the series are a bit of a stretch, but still, they're well used.

I'll also note that there are a fair few flashbacks about how Ryo became the City Hunter, and his relationship with Kaori. These may have been covered in the original series, but if you haven't seen it, then these will fill in a few gaps.

This is a 50 episode series, but there's no real 'ending', things simply keep going without any further resolution beyond that of the first arc. And it is kind of disappointing. Also, with so many episodes, despite the series being good, it does start to drag towards the end.

The art goes for a more realistic style than usual, (most notably, the eyes are smaller) and it's well done.

One thing I wasn't expecting from this series was that it contains a fair chunk of humour. The humour is mostly character-based. For example, Seaba Ryo, the City Hunter, is a bit of a clown, and lot of a woman-chaser.
The realistic art-style makes seeing the silliness of some situations that much stranger, and in my opinion, that much stronger. For instance, the gigantic wooden hammer (that makes only a couple of appearances) is obviously ridiculous, but it does actually look like a real object.

To summarise, this is a good, mostly serious, character-driven series, that involves combat specialists helping people out of dangerous situations, though there's not that much action after the first story. There's also regular silliness to mix things up.
And people with short attention-spans may only want to watch the first few episodes.
You'll just have to decide whether to watch City Hunter first. If you haven't already. read more

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, follows classmates Haruka and Yuuto. Haruka being the popular daughter of a an extremely wealthy and powerful family. Yuuto being......some guy.

The story picks up as Yuuto accidentally discovers that Haruka is a closet otaku, and, not believing it to be a flaw (though others do), he promises to keep it a secret from their schoolmates.
Actually, I didn't think otaku were quite so ostracised in Japan as is shown, but perhaps it's true of private schools. Anyway....

What follows is your typical high-school romantic-comedy fare, but with some storylines having the otaku twist (eg. going to a convention) or the rich-girl twist. There are also some harem elements, but they don't overshadow the main relationship. The show does contain some ecchi-ness, but it's not constant enough to be much of a problem. The show generally moves along at a swift pace, and manages to get quite a bit done in each episode, but it doesn't feel rushed.

There are a fair few characters, though quite a few get swept aside before becoming anything more than a couple of lines of dialogue. The regulars are familiar sorts, including the loud drunks, and the teasing, adult-minded loli.

So yes, it has all the typical elements, but, I often got the feeling that something was different. I don't know for sure, but perhaps the show is focusing that bit more on the central relationship than is usual. Sure, there's a lot of noise, and silliness, but it just doesn't seem to be as overpowering as other shows, leaving more room for the main attraction.

So, the final verdict: Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, is a nice, typical, romantic comedy, that just nudges ahead of the pack, thanks to being just a little bit calmer, and more focused. Also, it differentiates itself somewhat via the otaku angle. If you're a fan of high-school romantic comedies, then this is definately worth a look. read more

Moekan follows Takahiro, a strict, seemingly-cold guy, who is in charge of a facility for training combat-maid androids. The story begins with the arrival of a new recruit, Rinia, an older model android, with a clumsy streak. We then watch as the two interact.

Due to it's shortness, the series shoves the story and character development along, and it feels like everything's going just a bit too fast, leaving the impression that they forgot to mention a few bits.

Also, some of the story elements don't quite make sense, for instance, the company that Takahiro works for makes two completely contradictory actions. This would make sense if there was a seperate faction in the company with their own agenda, but this is never actually demonstrated, so it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps the game it's based on is more informative.

There are a bunch of other elements to the story/background that I find weird, but I won't bother going into them here.

Comedy is included, but it doesn't really stand out.

The animation and sound are decent, though nothing special. There is some combat included in the show, and looks nice enough.

Overall, the series has a warm-and-fuzzy, "everything will work out alright" vibe, and if you embrace that sort of feeling without worrying about the details, then you'll probably enjoy this. On the other hand, the more cynical viewers will probably utter a phrase that includes the words 'sentimental tripe' or something to that effect.

Either way, you can probably find better things to watch, but Moekan will do in a pinch. read more

Kurenai is about a young girl, Murasaki, on the run from her families' strict traditions, and Shinkurou, a poor student, who also has the job of settling disputes (usually violently), hired to be her bodyguard. (You'd think a dangerous job like that would have decent pay, but whatever)

The series mostly follows daily life, as Shinkurou learns how to deal with Murasaki, goes to school, and takes a few other jobs. While Murasaki learns about life, and how to have fun, with help from Shinkurou, and the other inhabitants of the apartments where they live.

All the characters are interesting in their way, and each fits into their part of the story well. The humour in the series is all character driven, just watching the way people (particularly young and impressionable Murasaki) act/interact, such as during the 'family' dinners the apartment dwellers have. Whether being dramatic or humerous, I never really felt the characters acted in a way that didn't make some sort of sense.

Near the end, the series switches to mostly action, and it's well done, though it might not be as interesting after the character-based parts. Still, it's hard to imagine the series getting to the end any other way.

The ending is open, possibly TOO open, and many will probably have a sense of annoyance at the fact. However, in all other aspects, the ending is well done, and avoids being entirely predictable.

The art is generally nice, but there are times when the animation quality drops, and things get ugly, usually people's faces. Though, when combat kicks in, everything moves fluidly, and looks great.

Overall, this is a good, humerous, character-driven series, with some nice action thrown in for good measure. The fact that the series seems to place the focus on character-development over story might bother some people, however, I think that given the interesting characters, it works well. read more

NOTE: I wrote this review quite some time ago, and it doesn't meet my current standards, however since there are no other reviews here, it may be somewhat informative.

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Story: Nerd-glasses wearing student one second, handsome & mysterious ninja the next, Mamoru comes from a family of ninjas. Their purpose is to secretly protect the Konnyaku family, whom they have always lived next door to. Mamoru's particular mission is to protect the daughter, Yuna, and he has done so since he was small. This is made more difficult thanks to Yuna being a clumsy airhead who always manages to land herself into far-more-than-your-average amount of trouble. They are good friends (She has not yet mentioned that she loves him), and always go places together, which helps greatly with being nearby to protect her.

Also, a number of female warriors appear, all of whom become enamoured with Mamoru(the ninja), and they begin fighting each other for him.

Summary: A moderately paced series that follows Mamoru as he tries to protect Yuna without her knowledge, and defend himself from assassins, not to mention his parent's training, while the female warriors fight over Mamoru in the background.

My Thoughts: Now, I've seen a few clumsy, idiotic anime characters in my time, but I think that Yuna takes the cake, then trips and falls into it, and promptly falls asleep, leaving mamoru to drag her away so she doesn't suffocate. I can't remember ever seeing a character so consistantly air-headed and clumsy, and there is a fair bit of variety to the situations she gets herself into. It's probably worth a look just for that fact.

Apart from Yuna herself, there is a lot of funny stuff going on, such as ninja dogs and ninja rabbits.

There's not a lot of combat, but what's there is stylish, and often humerous.

Music: The opening/closing themes(Japanese) are nice, upbeat, and might get stuck in your head for a bit, but probably not worth putting in the collection.

In closing: A good, but short, series, worth watching more for the comedy than the combat. I give it a thumbs up. I recommend it to anyone that likes idiotic anime characters or funny ninjas. read more

Happy Seven is your average magical-girl anime, with an above-average amount of magical girls.

Note: I don't know anything about the seven lucky gods, so I can't say anything about how well the legend is implemented.

Okay, quick run-through the basic points:
Mysterious power under the school,
a club made of seven magical girls, one magical guy and a couple of support girls, that goes around fighting monsters that possess people, and also help people be a bit happier in general,
a couple of evil characters scheming in the background,
and one girl the club helps that might just be special.

The show focuses on the special girl, Amano, as she stumbles along after the club (More specifically, the guy), or into trouble on her own. And she just happens to look 90% like Usagi aka: Sailor Moon. She's also dim, a bit of a clutz, and quickly falls for the magical guy, also like Usagi. The only real difference from Usagi is that she can't transform. I guess that's something.

Meanwhile, the club goes around doing it's thing, but somehow, they feel like secondary characters. This is more noticable when everyone is together, and a conversation involves everyone saying a single line. They just try so hard to give all the magic girls equal screen time, that none of them really get enough to feel like major characters. The magic guy doesn't fare much better, wandering in and out as needed to smile or save the day. One thing I did like about the club, is that they actually go out and help people with things that don't require magic. They also have talents beside magic, though it does make me wonder if they all grew up in the circus.

The story is kind of nice, but it's pretty much just background up until the last couple of episodes. Unfortunately, how the club got it's powers is never explained. I guess you'd have to read the manga.

The combat is fine, and the special attacks look nice. Also, the transformation sequences don't take too long.

That leaves the humour, which is really the driving force behind whether you'll want to watch this series. The humour is mostly character-based, each of the girls having some odd trait or two to derive humour from, though they do repeat a bit. There's also the fact that almost a dozen girls love the same guy. It's difficult without giving samples, but I'd say the humour is decent, with a few particularly nice bits.

Overall, the series is decent, and there are some nice bits, but most of the time, I couldn't shake this feeling of flatness/blandness, which may come from having too many characters trying to share the spotlight. If you like the transforming-magical-girl genre, or characters cloned from Sailor Moon, then it wouldn't hurt to check this series out, but I can't say you'll be missing out if you skip it. read more

Oh! Edo Rocket is a mix of crazy comedy and serious drama, and like the fireworks that feature so prevelently, it explodes wonderfully.

*Insert synopsis here*

The show doesn't take itself very seriously at all. The show is heavy with humour, and is quite fond of self-reference, as well as some pop culture (Such as the very apt 'Men in Black'). It also has no problems breaking the fourth wall (ie. admitting it's fictional), and you'll regularly see modern conveniences, such as the TVs used to show some flashbacks.
The humour is well executed, and despite the numerous comedy series I've seen, I never really felt this series' humour to be rehashed/stale.

When the show isn't being funny, it's likely going through a fight scene. Yes, I said fight scene, and there are a fair few of them, I won't spoil why. The fights felt pretty standard to me. Decent, but nothing special.

Between the humour and fights, there isn't really a lot of space, so you could be forgiven for thinking that's all the show has, but somehow, they managed to sneak in a serious drama amidst all the craziness, and it gradually grows to take a firm place in the series. Saying anything more would probably spoil it, though. The show does start to slow down near the end, but you'll probably have already decided if you're sticking with it by then.

The artwork is quality as far as I can tell, all standard styling though. A few characters are SD (stumpy), but I don't consider that a problem.

As for sound, well, as usual, I didn't notice much. The OP and EDs weren't anything special, but they felt appropriate. The OP DID annoy me though, as the first few 'riffs' sounded nice, but then it just went silly. I felt kinda cheated.

Summary: In my opinion, this is a great comedy series. There IS some good drama in there, but the comedy is the star. If you're not into comedy anime, I can't say this one would change your mind. If you like comedies, then I see no reason to leave this series off your list. read more

No other reviews? Okay, I'll write one then.

Platonic Chain is essentially a look at the many different possibilities about how personal information (Such as video records of EVERYWHERE you've been for the last few years, voice recordings, personality profiles, and more) could be used if it was accessible to the public, though this series is a light one, and the uses it shows are all relatively harmless.

It really is an interesting idea, and there are some really creative, even amusing uses on display, though I won't spoil them.

Unfortunately, the series does have a number of drawbacks. The first thing you'll notice is the animation, which is anime-styled CGI. I'm not a fan of CGI anyway, but this stuff is clearly showing it's age.

Now, short episodes aren't necessarily a bad thing, however, when the OP and ED take half the 6 minute episode time, you start to wonder what they're thinking. After all, most full, 24-minute animes don't even give either the OP or ED 2 minutes, but a tiny 6-minute show does? Madness.

The main characters are easy enough to fit into stereotypes, which is probably a good thing, considering the shortness of each episode, and the series overall. Also, the characters do seem appropriate for the situations they're put into, which is good.

The animation moves them, but fails to bring them to any sort of life, and you'll probably be reading emotions from the voices and gestures, rather than expressions.

I can't really say anything about the sound. Nothing stood out, except the opening theme, which was far too dull for my taste. One looped beat, does not a decent theme song make, so to speak.

In conclusion, if you're just looking for an anime to enjoy, I personally recommend you take out a ten-foot pole, and ensure you're at the opposite end to this series (There WERE times I laughed, but it's really not enough to recommend this series), if, on the other hand, you can stand a little mediocrity in other areas, to check out an interesting, possibly unique, idea, I'd say give this series a chance.

Review ends.

Well, the review might not be too informative, but it's better than nothing, eh? read more

Before I begin, you can probably tell from the scores, but I have nothing good to say about this anime. Keep reading if you would like more detail on what I thought was bad about it.

Very simple romance story. Couple love each other (5%), relationship strained by circumstances(90%), guess the end(5%). (Percentages are of estimated time used)
Of course, even a simple story can be made entertaining in the right circumstances.......but that doesn't apply here.

The art is a bit dated, but along with the sound, it mostly does it's job, except, I'm not sure if it was the character art, the voice-acting, or a combination of both, but I didn't feel a lot of emotion from either of the important characters. It felt more like I was watching a couple of bad actors.

In this anime, only two characters are of any real importance, only one of those gets much developement, and no time at all is wasted on developing the unimportant ones. Unfortunately, the main character doesn't seem (to me anyway), very real. She regularly gets upset, (understandable) and then she starts giving strange responses (Stranger than you would expect) to whoever she's talking to. I'm starting to think all the stress is affecting her sanity.

It doesn't help that there's regularly an odd delay between one person speaking and another person responding.

Now, 30 minutes isn't a long time, but for me it wasn't nearly short enough. it took maybe 10 seconds of watching for me to start bracing myself for impact. I'm serious.

Admittedly, a few of the things I've said might be overstated, but I'm not going back to check.

So, in conclusion, this anime just doesn't have anything going for it. I can't recommend it to anyone. The only reason to watch this is if you like romance and you honestly can't find/be bothered to find another.

And yes, I probably spent longer writing this review than watching the anime. I also enjoyed writing this review more than watching the anime. read more