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Dec 21, 2012
This review will be based on the Japanese version. Also, I had finished this movie a long time ago (in 2011) before writing this review.
As far as I remember when I watched this movie, this movie was released in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Most fans in my belief were waiting impatiently for this movie, as this was the first movie in the history of all Yu-Gi-Oh! movies to date, where all three protagonists from each era – Yugi Muto (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters), Judai Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX) and Yusei Fudo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s) had all made an appearance. Their purpose here
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is to defeat Paradox, the main antagonist, who couldn’t be defeated if each of them had a solo duel with him. The movie may seem good due to the appearance of all three protagonists and hence an expectation of an epic long-length movie. However, this movie had failed to be on the expectations of some fans. As the expectations were ranging from a good story and characters, to having all the powerful cards being played during the main duel against the main antagonist. But non of these were accomplished well in this movie unfortunately, which was a pity. Especially the story.
The story in this movie was definitely a weak spot. The producers had probably rushed their way through this movie during production. A rushed work can never be as good as a work that had being done carefully. But this movie became a victim of this. A movie which was expected to have a duration of over an hour long, but turned out, it was less than an hour (45-50 mins approx.) in length. Due to the short length, the storyline didn’t develop too far and when things were getting interesting, the movie had ended. Therefore, the story was one of the weak points of this movie, as the background story of Paradox, wasn’t told very well and it was too brief. A lot of expansion to his backstory would be required, which would make the story better. Hence we will learn more about Paradox and his purpose. But since the detail wasn’t there that much, therefore the rating for the story is only 7/10. Though the good news is that, the final arc of the main series of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, known as the Arc Cradle arc, had revealed more about who Paradox worked for and a slight amount of details that made the plot in this movie much more sense. This is one good aspect of this short movie in comparison to other Yu-Gi-Oh! movies, as this movie had a connection to the main plot of the main series. In this case, the movie connects to the final arc as mentioned before. This means it's not really a waste of time watching this movie.
The art style was good. The CG effects for some summoned monsters were flawless. Though a CG effect on the D-Wheels was slightly annoying sometimes and seemed out of place occasionally. But overall, the movie was animated well. The Sin Monsters that Paradox had in possession were also drawn and animated well.
The music was the same as the main series, no problems with them. Though there were some downsides. One thing would be the fact that this is a movie, so there might be an expectation of some unique soundtrack for Paradox, but there weren’t any. The other thing would be the ending theme for the movie. It may sound nice at first when nobody knows what the lyrics are. But once I read the translated lyrics, I realised that the ending theme turned out to be a love song, which was completely out of place. As there were no romance in the movie at all. This was a let down and in turn it affects the overall rating for sound. But in terms of the voice actor who voiced Paradox, I think he was perfect for him, the voice had matched Paradox's personality and appearance.
The next weak point would be the characters. One might expect an appearance of all the supporting characters from all three eras of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but there weren’t many except Yugi’s grandfather, Pegasus, Yubel and all the usual characters from 5D’s. There weren’t many character development in any of the three protagonists in this movie. They remained the same as in their corresponding eras. Though Paradox was a good antagonist in this movie despite the weak backstory. His villainous personality was shown quite well and there were no occasions where he may seem to be a good guy. Also, similar to the main series, he could be viewed as an anti-hero as well. Only if you watched the main series (especially the last arc of 5D's), you may understand why he could be an anti-hero despite his cruelty towards the past timelines.
In terms of enjoyment, I still had the enjoyment when watching this short movie, though everything seemed to be rushed, even the main duel seemed to be rushed. Due to this, it had affected my enjoyment a lot and as said before, it could do better.
Overall, this movie was watchable, but only if the producers had put in more effort into the production of this movie, then this movie would be one of my favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! movies to date.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 7, 2012
This review will be based on the original Japanese version, not the edited English version.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, the 4th series of the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, was a massive disappointment compared to the previous three series. Unlike the previous three, where they were all connected chronologically. But Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal has no connection to any of the previous three series at all. So basically, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal is a series on its own. It does not serve as a sequel to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s. This series should never have existed, but unfortunately, it did came to existence. This series is a lot more childish compare to any of the previous
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three series, which made this series far less enjoyable than the previous three series. Some people thought that Zexal is a sequel, as some monsters from Duel Monsters and Duel Monsters GX were seen in episodes 15. But there is still not enough proof that this is a sequel. Fusion, Ritual, and Syncho monsters (and Tuners) were never used in this series. There were no reference to Neo Domino City either. Instead, we get a childish-looking city called Heartland. The only special type of cards they use are called Xyz.
I almost dropped the whole series of Zexal. But what kept me watching was due to the storyline. The storyline seemed decent so far, but still not the best compare to the previous three series. The plot mainly involves dimensions, revenge, and…in the case of Yuma (the main protagonist), searches for his father and collect 99 ‘‘Number(s) Cards’’ for Astral, an alien messenger from the Astral World. The first few episodes were quite boring. They were like fillers to me. Nothing really happened, just duels after duels and get some Number Cards. The pace is almost like the beginning of Duel Monsters GX, which was also quite slow. The plot seemed to be moving a bit just after about episode 20, which got interesting, and got me at least hooked a bit, and it became more interesting in the World Duel Carnival arc. If the plot isn’t good, I would’ve scored a 4 or 5 for this anime and would’ve stopped watching. The plot is the only reason why I’m looking forward to the second part of this series, ‘’Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Second’’, nothing else.
Zexal has a lot of annoying parts if anybody have noticed. Unlike the previous three series, where the plot and other things were almost unique to each other. But in Zexal, there were a lot of things that resembles the previous three series:
- The Emperor's Key that Yuma wears on his neck is a similar idea to the Millennium Puzzle that Yugi wears.
- Astral is a being who is connected to that Key, just like the Pharaoh (Atem), who had a connection with the Puzzle.
- Kaito after transforming into his duelling form looked really similar to Jack Atlas from 5D’s.
- Xyz monsters followed mostly the same summoning conditions as Sycho monsters from 5D’s.
- The World Duel Carnival where there are some implications behind the tournament reminds me of the Fortune Cup and the WRGP (World Riding Grand Prix) in 5D’s, since these tournaments all had some dark intentions behind the scenes.
- Both Astral and the Pharaoh were searching for their lost memories.
- The Xyz cards have the same background colour as the Dark Syncho cards in 5D's.
- And most obvious one, Yuma’s height is like Yugi’s; His hair style is like Yusei’s; His attitude is almost like Judai’s.
There maybe more than the ones I listed. But all these were quite annoying. It shows the laziness of the producers, who should at least try to make this another unique Yu-Gi-Oh! series. But they failed.
The animation was good. I liked the CG effects for some of the Xyz monsters. But I hated the art style for the characters and some other monster cards! It deviates completely from the art styles of the previous three series. For me, Duel Monsters and 5D’s have the best art styles. Duel Monsters GX is also good. But Zexal failed to have a decent art style. All the buildings were too colourful, and too much different colours on them. Also, some characters such as Tokunosuke and Tetsuo, don’t even look like a normal human. Not to mention Yuma’s hair looked ridiculous with the pinky colour in the middle!
The opening and ending themes in Zexal were really good. Particularly the 2nd opening and ending songs. Though I hated the 3rd opening song for some reason. The OSTs in each episode were good, but not all of them though. Some OSTs for duels were really good, as they capture the tension during the duels.
The mightiest annoyance in Zexal are the characters. I loved Yugi, Judai, and Yusei very much from the previous three series. As all of them had a great character development. Judai was a bit annoying sometimes, but in later episodes, he bacame a decent character. I was expecting Yuma to be a decent character too, but he turned out to be the worst protagonist ever! He is amateur at duelling at the start of the show, so it’s almost like everything starts on a new page. The re-explanation of how to play the card game was just annoying, Yuma’s childish behaviour was intolerable, especially during duels that were meant to be really serious. But he is not as annoying as Tokunosuke and Takashi. Both of them were really annoying and should be kicked out from the whole series! Cathy (or Cat-chan) is also quite annoying. But at least Kaito and Ryoga were very interesting characters. Both were really serious during tense situations and never acted childish at all. Kotori was a good character as well. Most of the main villains were ok, particularly Tron, as the theme of revenge comes from him.
I enjoyed this series, but not very much. The duels were ok, but somehow not as exciting to watch as the other series. Yuma vs. III is the only duel I liked so far. And the duel against one of the main villains (Dr. Faker). The plot is the only thing that made this series at least worth watching. For those who hate childish characters like in this series, then Zexal would not be the anime for you. But if you are a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! and have no bother of annoying characters, then you might like this series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 20, 2012
Aqua is one of those manga that can be read without worrying about having violence or anything creepy in it. It's a very slow-paced, relaxing manga to read. If anyone is into action or fast-paced manga, then Aqua will not be your type of manga, and you’ll more likely going to drop it once you begin to read this short manga. Compare to the anime, there are indeed some differences. But the relaxing feeling is still mostly the same.
Story:
This manga is unique in my opinion, as most other slice of life mangas I’ve heard of are mostly taking place in a setting just like in
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real life. But surprisingly, this manga takes place in a planet called Aqua, which is terraformed Mars in the future. The plot is not complex. Akari Mizunashi came to Aqua all the way from Manhome (Earth) and trains to become an undine, a professional gondolier who guides tourists in the city of Neo-Venezia, which is a city based on Venice in Italy. The story may seem simple, but the unique setting and strange characters such as President Aria (a cat) makes me want to explore Aqua further and get to know how Akari was trained to become an undine. I’ve yet to read its sequel, Aria, in order to explore Aqua futher and compare it with the anime version.
Art:
The art is excellent. The characters and the setting were well drawn. The city of Neo-Venezia has a great detail and still looked great even though it’s only black and white on the manga. Though the only part that might turn people off are some of the deformed faces of certain characters, which occurs sometimes in certain situations throughout the manga. But I don't really mind about it, as the deformed faces were used to display how a person feels about something.
Characters:
The characters are very likable. Each character has a different personality, which is why it made this short manga good to read. Though Alicia and Akari can be similar in some way, as both of them are easy-going and never get angry. Aika may seem a bit strict and moody sometimes, but she is also a likable character. President Aria is a cute cat which sometimes acts like a human even though it cannot speak like a human. This made President Aria a unique character, which made me fascinated.
Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this short manga very much. This is my first manga actually, as I usually watch anime instead of reading manga. But I was glad that I picked Aqua as my first manga to read, it’s very relaxing and great manga to start off for me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 18, 2012
These short OVA episodes came out before the sequel - Tamayura: Hitotose. But for those who have never seen these OVA episodes and went straight into the main series, you won't miss too much, but you might miss a few things though, which were revealed in the OVA episodes only. So watch the OVA episodes first, then go to the main series. Tamayura and Tamayura: Hitotose were the first slice of life anime I've ever seen, since I mostly focus on action genre. But surprisingly, even though the pace of every short episodes in this anime were very slow and nothing seemed to be happening,
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I somehow watched all of them without getting bored, I actually found this anime quite interesting. Not everyone are going to agree with me since a lot of people will find this OVA (and it's sequel) boring and too slow, if they are mostly into fast-paced anime. I only found out about this anime when I was checking on random anime videos on some video sites. I was only into anime in 2011, so I didn't know that slice of life genre actually existed for anime until I watched this OVA (plus the sequel).
----Story----
I have a different approach when it comes to rating the storyline for anime. Unlike some people, who mostly judge an anime based on how interesting the plot is and whether there is a story or not. For me, I rate the plot not only on the two things I mentioned, but also based on the level of focus on the plot, and how complex the storyline is. I hate overcomplex storylines in anime, where it leaves you with lots of question marks above your head. For a slice of life anime, I like storylines where it can be explained with only one or two lines, and this anime is perfect for it. But for action anime, I expect a fair amount of plot but not too complex. In this case, I gave 10/10, as the story is simple, not complex, interesting and well-focused. Fu Sawatari, a shy girl who likes to take photos with her late father's camera. She likes to hang out with her friends and she likes to talk about the meaning behind each photo. Fu and her friends later seeks the place that her little brother had drawn few years ago, when her father was still alive. The themes of friendship and memory are well shown in this anime and it's quite emotional near the end of the OVA.
----Art----
Excellent art, nice style.
----Sound----
Sound is good as well. Opening and ending themes are really good and suited for a slice of life anime. The voices of characters are really good also, suited to their age.
----Character----
I gave 8/10, even though I gave 10/10 in my review of the sequel. The reason I lowered the score a little bit is because there is little room for character development (only Fu has a bit of character development). Unlike the sequel, where there is plenty of room for character development. After all, it's only an OVA with 4 short episodes. But I like the personalities of the main characters, though I do find Norie a bit annoying, as she goes hyper very easily.
----Enjoyment----
I really enjoyed this series overall (also the sequel). For those who are extremely into action and fast-paced anime, then better avoid this anime. But for those who like slow-paced and relaxing type of anime, then this and the sequel are both great to watch. If anybody watched the Aria series, then the atmosphere in this one is similar, except there are no elements of fantasy or anything futuristic.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 16, 2012
Even though I began to watch a few anime since 5 or 6, but I only began to watch a lot of anime in 2011. I thought that most anime were mainly focusing on action and violence, but then...I saw a trailer on a video about Tamayura: Hitotose. I was really curious, since I see no violence or anything in the trailer, then I realized that there are more anime genres than I thought. Tamayura: Hitotose is actually the very first slice of life anime I've ever watched. I was really glad that I watched it. I never have realized, that even a slow-paced anime
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like this one, can be so well-executed.
----Story----
The story is really simple, easy to understand and has no complexity. It's mainly about a girl named Fu Sawatari, who likes photography and likes to spend her time with her best friends - Kaoru, Norie and Maon (and Chihiro, who Fu said farewell to in episode 1, before she moved back to where her late father used to live). She loves taking pictures of whatever she sees using her late father's camera. The story may seem boring to some people, but since there are a lot of meaning behind each photo that Fu (and her late father) took, it makes the show kind of stands out from many other anime. I like anime with great themes and this one really did a good job on it. It shows how a photo can hold so many memories, and how a photo can display what a person loves in life. Episode 1 may be boring for some people. But for me, I actually stayed watching to the end without asking myself ''How long is it left?''. Chihiro may seem annoying, as she is a crybaby. But I eventually don't mind about it anymore, since her crying is a symbol of how she cares about Fu. Chihiro doesn't want Fu to get too upset about the death of her father, so she usually does the crying for her. A great bond of friendship here, which made me want to watch this anime further, as I like anime where there is a great bond in friendship.
----Art----
I've nothing to say about the art. It's really well drawn and good quality.
----Sound----
Sound is excellent. The voices of each character are suited to their age. Opening and ending themes are excellent as well and suited to a slice of life anime.
----Character----
The characters in this anime are well developed. Each character eventually became more mature and began to wonder what they'll do in life. Kaoru became more confident on what she is about to do in the future. Maon is no longer a shy girl and began to talk more near the end of the anime instead of whistling a lot. Fu overcame the sadness of her father's death and decided to continue with photography. Norie may seem to be annoying due to her energetic nature, but her caring side was shown in some episodes, which made her a less annoying character.
----Enjoyment----
I really enjoyed this series. I recommend this series to people who like slow-paced anime. This anime is a healing anime, so there are no conflicts (like war etc.). It leaves you with a very relaxed and positive feeling in the end of the anime. However, those who like action, or fast-paced anime, then better stay away from this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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