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Jun 15, 2016
"Rainbow Days" is one of those candy animes for people who like just a little bit of relationship drama and realism, but don't really want a soap opera or gritty drama. As seems to be the trend with shoujos, the main characters are boys, in this case four close friends who avoid club activities. All of them are in varying stages of dating (or trying to date) their respective girlfriend, and they help (or tease) each other as they go through their trials and tribulations. That's pretty much the entire anime, some people will obviously not want anything to do with it, but it does
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have a certain appeal to many of us.
It will not win any originality award, but at the same time it is not just one cliche after the other, the main characters all have distinct personalities and some are a bit fresh. They go through many of the relationship anime standard plot devices but don't really dwell too much on generic drama like the cocky rival love interest who appears just as things were starting to go okay for the main couple. Mostly each episode is a little romp at the usual places - karaoke bar, the beach, the hot springs hotel, etc.
It actually works pretty well with the short format, although I found myself getting behind on purpose and enjoying it a lot more to watch several of these in one session. Since it's such a breezy show it's hard to maintain your concern over the romantic cliffhangers for an entire week sometimes.
The characters are not hyper-realistic but they're not cartoon version of high schoolers that you can't relate to at all. When the guys learn their buddy's girlfriend's pet name for him and tease him for the rest of the series about it, or when the thorny Mari-chan makes her many appearances to disrupt the easy-going flow of the other characters, this is all stuff that can fondly remind me of my own "rainbow days".
Shorts always get under-rated on MAL for some reason, I really think if you like fun (but not silly) relationship drama animes, this is a must watch even despite the rating and it being shorts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 11, 2016
"Princess Sara" is, according to a list someone posted to Reddit, the least popular top 1000 rated anime on My Anime List. It is a 46-episode 1980s shoujo without any adventure themes, and much of the content concerns the depressing mistreatment of the protagonist, who falls from wealth and into the hands of a cruel boarding school headmistress. It's no accident that this anime isn't very popular with modern audiences, but its ranking is actually a bit lower than I think it deserves, and I think many modern viewers might enjoy this.
The biggest complaints from the reviews seem to be that the protagonist is too
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perfect, and that the anime is painstakingly slow and uninteresting. I definitely hear both complaints, and at times Sara does seem to be annoyingly good at everything, and yet she is definitely given a human portrayal, we really see how much she is struggling at times in her ordeal. It is not easy at all for her to be so perfect, or later on for her not be broken by experiences, and she does have a specific motivation and logic to why she behaves as she does.
As for the length and tedium, I felt like the individual episodes all had some sort of story to tell, and most were pretty entertaining by themselves. They really worked well though because they were clearly all building toward the conclusion, the viewer can't help but become emotionally vested in the story because of the strong portrayals of what Sara goes through. Those slow, unpleasant episodes all get you more and more amped up for Sara's eventual revenge, which you will probably wish would be something out of a Tarantino movie, but as this is an upbeat children's story at its core, that just couldn't have happened. In fact it is remarkable that the anime makes you feel so emotionally connected to Sara's plight even though none of her abuse is over-the-top violence, most of it is just unpleasant and emotionally degrading. I'll put it this way, and this shouldn't be a real spoiler, but there's a scene about halfway through where one of Sara's tormentors unexpectedly gets a small but delicious taste of what she deserves... I shouted and cheered with real emotion, and I think anyone paying attention would do the same. This anime really will make you care, if you let it.
So, who will actually like this show? If you like shoujo at all, I think you probably will. It has a lot of the classic shoujo elements - the good girl protagonist and her struggles, the hapless best friend, the evil social enemy girl, etc. I'd also consider this a masterpiece of what people call the "slice of life" genre as most of the episodes just concern a day or two in Sara's life, usually with nothing of great importance happening, and yet by the end it feels like you've experienced quite a sweeping story. Finally I think people who just enjoy good anime drama in general might like this, sure it's slow and plodding, but if you can bare it for 43 episodes, it really does deliver the payoff you've been longing for.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 21, 2016
"The Fruit of Grisaia" is one of the most uneven animes I've ever seen. It has moments where it is genuinely quite good, and moments where it is laughably bad. The content varies from near-ecchi levels of gratuitous boob and panty shots to decent relationship drama to somewhat disturbing horror, in a way that seems rather uncoordinated rather than deliberate.
The story concerns a boy with extensive military training, something of a Jason Bourne type of government-created super-soldier, who is more-or-less an ethical person and claims to just yearn for a typical high school experience. He is sent to an unusual school which has just
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a few other students, all of them comely lasses of course. It's not the most original plot in the world but what in this genre of anime really is?
In the style of many animes it then explores the back story of each of the girls in a semi-episodic format, through the lens of their relationship with the main character. These stories were where the series got so uneven, some of them are laughably cliche and inexplicable, but I did find three to be pretty good, if not exactly triumphs of realism.
It is just so weird to me, even by anime standards, that an anime would juxtapose panty shots with the heavier content in this series. As decent as the series was at times, it never really rose to the next level like other episodic not-really-a-harem shows.
For me, the silver lining is that the second season is so much more highly rated. I haven't watched it yet but I easily hung in with this one because of the promise of these characters and premise but with a better overall presentation. Here's hoping that pans out!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 17, 2016
"Kimi ni Todoke" is something very elusive in anime: a realistic and non exploitative look at high school life. There is nary a boob shot! This is a rarity in anime, but probably in television everywhere, but I found it be a very enjoyable show.
Our protagonist is Sawako (not Sadako!) a shy and jarringly awkward girl who has the best intentions but ends up terrifying her classmates. She even tries to embrace her spookiness as something of a personal quirk in a last-ditch effort to make friends. However, things really don't change until she happens into two new female friends who seem different from
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the rest.
I found her to be a very relatable character. Who didn't have awkward teenage years? The story was a pleasing portrayal the way that her anxiety and lack of social aptitude frustrated her attempts to break out of her shell, while avoiding making her wallow obnoxiously in petty problems. The real highlight for me were the realistic moments of teenage glory - hanging out with her friends for the first time and the girls scheme to get her on the phone with her crush, for example, that reminded me of what it was like to be an awkward but enthusiastic teenager in the best possible way.
This is really the last anime to watch if you want cheap titillation, obviously. Despite that it miraculously avoids melodrama through basically realistic characters. It even avoids being too tedious by having a funny teacher who generally makes a baffoon of himself given the slightest opportunity - I can't even say it breaks the realism as I had a sports coach teacher in high school myself who was remarkably similar to him.
The art didn't strike me as anything special until the final story arc which takes place around New Years and features some stunningly beautiful scenes in the snow.
I've sought out many animes like this, and by comparison, it's quite good. It is more realistic than "True Tears" or especially "Rumbling Hearts", which are popular shows in this subgenre, and largely as I result I found it to be superior to them. It even seemed a notch better than what had been my favorite "serious" high school romance anime, "Myself; Yourself" as the protagonist is better drawn as a realistic teenager.
It's hard to say why this wasn't a "perfect 10" for me. I definitely liked it, and wish there were more shows like it. Sawako's love interest is perhaps a bit too perfect, as if he was custom created to be the only sort of boyfriend who could spark up a relationship with a girl with such disastrous social skills. The story does stray into a side arc involving one of her female friends which was okay but definitely seemed a notch below the main story's quality. It was ultimately just very fun to watch and reached an enjoyable conclusion, but never really took it to the next level. For this sort of a realistic drama though, that might not even have been appropriate.
So yes, this is about the opposite of your typical high school anime. For me, that's a good thing. Maybe you're the same way?
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 25, 2015
"Rose of Versailles" is a great piece of anime history. But more than just being an interesting fossil, I think it stands on its own if you enjoy historic dramas. It's hard to think of any modern anime with such a sweeping and ambitious historic story. Sure, there are good modern dramas, but if you are starting to bristle at the repetition, I think you'll enjoy going way into the past for this one that is certainly free of modern anime tropes.
The story is strong and works on many dimensions: Oscar, a noble, is raised as a boy by her father and allowed to join
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the army, rising quickly in rank and given the duty of protecting the infamous Mary Antoinette when she first arrives in France at age 14. The series is all about the fictional Oscar, but uses its characters from real-world history in clever (and basically accurate) ways. We also meet Ferson, a Swedish noble, and more famous figures like Robespierre and Saint-Juste. They are supporting characters in a way that moves along the plot but will also teach you a bit about French history, it's quite well done.
In addition to the historical drama, we explore gender issues in a way that I have to think is pretty progressive for the 1970s. Oscar lives as a man, for the most part, to the point where she holds a high military rank, is expected to fight in duels when her honor is challenged, and is even mistaken for a biological man by strangers. She even explicitly chooses to live as a man at one point in the series. She is only romantically interested in men, however, and this forms the basis for some of the plot, with her classic Shoujo harem of real and fictional suitors. Even when she does find romantic happiness I don't think it's in a way that will offend even very politically correct modern viewers. Given anime's typical performance on this issue, I was pleasantly surprised... her crossdressing and gender bending is not once used as a source of humor or degradation.
The plot is quite wide-ranging, with episodes featuring everything from swashbuckling to court intrigue (with an injection of Shoujo drama), to romance to political thriller to history lesson. I found that it all worked surprisingly well, it's true that the tone and content of early episodes is markedly different than later ones, but at the same time the early ones were definitely progression toward the eventual conclusion in a coherent way.
The art is, well, it's an anime from 1979. It would be silly to judge it by modern standards. The art is not cheap and psychedelic as I'd feared it might be, given the era. You can definitely see its age in the backgrounds and action shots, but the detail to faces and clothing was quite good. It also freezes at dramatic moments at the end of segments for a detailed, painting-like still which shows both artistic and emotional detail, it might seem silly to some viewers but I have always liked this effect.
The music is pretty good, with strong opening and closing themes, and some decent incidental music... although not much use is made of period music. I'm not a huge fan of seeing 1780s scenes with 1970s synth music, but it could have been a lot worse. I am not a great critic of Japanese voice acting but I did find that the tone of the voice actors meshed pretty well with the sorts of characters they are playing - you can hear the pretension and condescension in the nobles, and the grittiness and honesty in the voices of the good commoners.
This anime is not perfect by any means, but I think the modern viewer can definitely enjoy it if they go in with an open mind. Comparing this to American and British television of the era, wow, Japan was definitely making some good stuff even back then.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 21, 2015
A sports anime about an obscure card game based on Japanese poetry... I typically enjoy drama animes but wasn't so sure about this specific one based on the capsule description. It ended up being one of the best drama series I've seen, and my personal favorite sports anime.
Chihayafuru has that elusive mix of story, characters and tense sports action that so few get right. And yes, a card game can be a sport, it's definitely a high level of competition, and in the anime world this is a very aggressive, cardio-intensive game which leaves its players drenched in sweat. The sport scenes are extremely
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well done and are deeply intertwined with the ongoing development of the characters, which really makes all the difference.
Most of the show takes place away from the straw mat, with immense time given to character development. Our protagonist Chihaya is a well-developed character, she has model looks but is known as "beauty in vain" for her abrasive personality and lack of interest in being ladylike. Although she might be obnoxious to sit in front of in class, she's quite likeable as a lead character, with ample silliness to keep things amusing but she's a fully fleshed out human being and watching her overcome her flaws is very rewarding.
Her two best friends are Arata, a poverty-stricken, Karuto-obsessed boy, and the hyper-wealthy Taichi who becomes obsessed with Karuto himself. While the focus is definitely on the two boys through the lens of their relationship with Chihaya, they are also strong characters who change a lot as the series progresses, and it's easy to find yourself rooting for one or the other.
There is a great cast of supporting characters, too many to mention, but for the most part they aren't cliches, and are fun and original additions to the show, great foils and friends to Chihaya as the action goes on.
This is simply anime drama done right. Its basic plot devices are nothing you haven't seen before, but there is still a lot of originality in the characters and the novel idea of an anime built around this crazy card game very few people outside of Japan had ever heard of. It's all just done so well, this one's a real winner.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 4, 2015
Mystery, romance and drama in a mature anime? Hyouka is one of the most aggressively pleasant and enjoyable "grown up" animes I've had the pleasure of watching. It's not profound, it doesn't take itself too seriously; it's just smart enough and wholly enjoyable. The episodes are fun to watch and the series as a whole has a nice progression and character development to it, it's the sort of series that leaves you feeling completely full inside (but hoping for the same thing tomorrow).
The basic premise is that four kids join their school's floundering Classics club but keep getting drawn into solving quite trivial, yet
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intricate, mysteries. Houtarou, the reluctant detective, is an "energy conservationist" or to put it bluntly, a slacker. The mystery genre works so well with an unlikely detective, and Houtarou's deep commitment to exerting as little effort as possible fits the bill quite well. He is usually conscripted into detective work by Chitanda, who really is the perfect counterpart. Not only do her pleas of curiosity move the plot along, the slow-building relationship between her and Houtarou is quite delightful.
The mysteries range from historical trivia to absurdly minor problems, but it's all in the presentation and I personally was on the edge of my seat. In a world where so many mystery series feel that one dead body just isn't entertaining enough, it's refreshing to watch one that feels less is more. It also adds to the realism, you can really get into the characters and their progression because they seem so human and relatable.
If you need explosions and dead bodies and all of that, this probably isn't the anime for you. I for one was riveted though, this is really anime drama at its best.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 26, 2015
I normally don't like sports animes, nothing against fans of the genre but for me, I dislike the unrealistic depictions of the games and how a single game spans many episodes, often to the detriment of character development.
In "Moshidora" I was even more apprehensive because the premise (a girl inadvertently buys a business book about management, but sticks with it to find guidance in managing a baseball team) seemed like the "it's funny because she's cute and therefor dumb but look she's trying to do smart stuff" subgenre, which I don't really like.
What I actually found in this series was pretty decent. The episodes
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follow Minomi as she incorporates lessons from the management bible to running a baseball team, with interesting results. All the while she is reporting back to, getting advice from, and at times at odds with the team's original manager, her friend who is in a hospital with a mystery ailment.
Okay so it's not the most original story. It does however treat Minomi with respect, she's highlighted for her intelligence, resolve and sincerity - nary a shot or scene seems to treat her like a mindless little thing just there to be cute. The baseball is quite realistic, which for me was refreshing. The only foible was that I seriously doubt the team's central strategy would be a good idea at all (it ain't Moneyball that's for sure) but who knows, maybe it would kill in Japanese high school baseball.
The end result was just a well-executed sports anime with a refreshing balance between on-field action and character development. It's not that it was the most moving story or deepest characters I've ever seen, but it was just good fun to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 11, 2015
Practically any review of "Eureka Seven" has to mention Evangelion. Evangelion is the notorious classic that was many people's introduction to anime, myself included. Eureka Seven has so many similarities, both are mecha sci-fi animes, of course, but nearly every Evangelion character has an obvious Eureka Seven counterpart, both in terms of age/gender and their basic character type. It is not surprising that many have dismissed Eureka Seven as a ripoff.
All of that said, I felt like there were meaningful differences. So many of the similarities are superficial, and end up feeling a lot different in Eureka Seven. In this anime, our hero joins a
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group of cool rebels that he aspired to be a part of, he's not conscripted and made to fight as in Evangelion. And most importantly, the characters develop in different, and less emotionally limited, ways. I think everyone liked Rei Ayanami but it's fun and rewarding to see her Eureka Seven counterpart end up developing in different and surprising ways.
The series is much longer and has a few side-trip episodes, some of which are rewarding tie-ins to the main plot, some of which I found to be tedious filler. A lot of the extra time is used for character development, which is great. The element of life aboard a rebel ship is well played to make the middle episodes exciting, you're always wanting to know more about what they're up to. The core story is, at times, prone to sci-fi mumbo jumbo, although it does stay coherent enough to work well with the emotional human story that's going on. It's not an all-time great of sci-fi storytelling but it's good enough to carry the series.
I found the art to be okay, but I really liked the music. The in-episode music is good, and occasionally related to the plot, but the first opening and closing songs and the final closing song are going to be on my list of all-time favorites from anime.
I'd say it's a good sci-fi and adventure anime for people who like relatively deep characters. Also, if you liked the characters of Evangelion but were put off by the harshness of some of the things that happen to them, this series might be downright cathartic for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 28, 2015
"Nana" will seem unusual to many anime viewers. It's a shoujo and although it may have been written with women viewers in mind, I'm a guy and found it enjoyable enough as a drama. Not many anime tropes are present here, and that's a great thing, it's almost like a western-style drama trying to realistically depict the dramatic lives of a cast of cool characters.
The characters are also not your typical anime fare, especially punk Nana and her boyfriend Ren. I've never seen characters like that in an anime, they might not be edgy by western standards but it's cool to see characters in
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a realistic drama who are way out of the norm for Japanese people. The other Nana might initially seem to be a shoujo cliche - a straight-laced average girl who the female viewer can identify with - but she is quirky and imperfect, and goes through some real drama that doesn't pay lip service to the way that the unrealistic standards for how a woman is "supposed" to be (but few actually are).
There is a pretty expansive cast of characters including two full bands - one established, one looking for their big break. All of the characters have personalities and are multi-dimensional, which definitely adds to the story as you actually care about these crazy kids.
The music was a mixed bag for me, some of the background music was excellent and the band's songs were decent, but they were so repetitive. I guess that's just to be expected though, it's hard to have that much great original music.
I found the ending to be unsatisfying. It wasn't awful, but I didn't really feel like it was a fulfilling finish to all of that buildup. This was probably due to the manga author having had to stop putting out new content due to an unfortunate illness.
I highly recommend this anime to anyone who likes anime dramas but is tired of the whole harem/high school drama thing. Even though some of them are quite good, they are doing the same basic thing. Don't let the shoujo label scare you off, this is really just a good drama.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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