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Aug 6, 2011
Now that we are almost halfway into the show, I feel I can finally write an almost halfway decent review for this show.
I will be brutally honest; because this show is not Blood+ or Blood the Last Vampire; Because Kai, Riku, Haji (Hagi), David, Diva, Solomon, the entire cast of the old Blood series who had captured our hearts and led us through an epic human drama are all missing. I was disappointed.
Proudly wearing my blood-colored spectacles, I admittedly was, from the first episode, biased against Saya Kisaragi. Her goodie-two-shoe personality, her "Kyou wa ii tenki" song, the pacing of her story, her odd
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schizophrenia, her friends, her family, everything about her world just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like Blood.
But then, as I continued inexplicably to watch this show every week as soon as it came out, realization struck me: Blood C is not a bad show. Hell, Blood C is a good show. Indeed, Blood C doesn't have the dark romance of a soul-bound chevalier. It does lack the harrowing depth of an eon old epic. And it's lead character does not possess the heartbreaking ephemeral delicate elegance of a schoolgirl neither human nor monster. But what Blood C has it has in great volume: entertainment value.
From its OP to its ED, Blood C presents a solid music score does its job of setting up the background and atmosphere. Blood C's art style - done in the standard Clamp fashion - has both moments of devious beauty (Saya's smile at the end of the opening) and moments of sheer oddity (Saya's hair-puff, male characters). The animation from Production IG, however, is as always excellent and both complements and compensates for Clamp's art style (which is usually very hit-or-miss).
In terms of show content, however, the character and story develops slowly. The beginning episodes of the show, admittedly, present us with a rather bland plot and highly Clamp-cliched characters. But these characters, the story, and Saya's world develops and grows (albeit slowly) and, by episode 5, the tide of bloody darkness has already dyed with color the initially monochrome Saya and crew.
Thus while certainly not the best show this season (for me, that title is reserved for Usagi Drops), Blood C is nevertheless a solid anime. Saya may not be the most likeable or emotionally realistic character this season, I still find myself intrigued by story. I look forward to seeing what will come of this show next week.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 31, 2011
The horror genre rarely lends itself to be well done especially in anime. Shows like Higurashi, Elfen Lied, etc. - although good shows in their own right - were a sort of glass ceiling that served to bound the entire genre. Making a horror show more engaging, terrifying, entertaining, gruesome, and heartfelt than that was unheard of - neigh impossible.
Shiki, however, completely shattered my expectations. The opening theme of the anime beckons the viewer to partake of the terrifying yet somehow gruesomely beautiful world of Sotoma. To this day, those dark soulless eyes that pool themselves on the eyes of some of the female characters
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still haunt me in my sleep.
From the opening, the town of Sotoma is elegantly and painstakingly painted in its extravagant color, brightness, and its contrasting murderours darkness. The viewer is introduced to who we think would be our tale's main character and the love interest. But just as I was beginning to suspect I was stepping into just another cheesey lovestory, the artful series composers punched me in the face with one of Shiki's many dark surprises.
I could not help but feel like one of the many helpless bitten townfolk; Shiki had managed to sink its vampiric teeth into my neck and I was hooked. I was drawn by the enchanting town by day, the dark terror by night, and the many carefully crafted personalities wandering the town. The odd background music compounded the mystery and terror haunting the air, drawing me further and further in.
Without giving away anything regarding the plot, I restrain myself to simply say that truly Shiki worked its magic on me, changing my initial opinions and views.
To merely say Shiki was well-done is an understatement; it is an utter masterpeice in the horror genre; something to leave one scared, questioning, and haunted long after the last episode.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 22, 2011
I have watched every single slice-of-life anime since 2005 and Usagi Drop still manages to easily stand out. A good amount of slice of life shows focus on pumping high school girls full of moe and or filling their daily lives with excessive drama and irrationally difficult people. Usagi Drop, however, portrays itself in stark contrast; unforced, un-contrived, and totally natural, the show manages to make its characters and events truly heartwarming without having to resort to overcoming some out-of-place difficulty or killing off characters.
Now more than half-way into the season at episode 6, all the characters have managed to display a definite depth of
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personality and emotion that most other shows never achieve. Daikichi, his mom, his sister, Rin, Haruko, and even the controversial Masako all refuse to be classified down into silly anime stereotypes. Though they each have their own problems in life, they all manage to radiate a heartwarming and real aura. In their actions and words the mature audience can easily spot a heartfelt kindness and the tender je ne sais quoi of life. The characters are, in fact, more than just characters in some story.
And although Usagi Drop still holds an intrinsically touching storyline, it delivers it in pleasant harmony with its characters, its art, and its background music. The audience is transported into the somewhat daunting life of a single Japanese salary-man and sudden father. Yet despite this bleakness, we see the world of Daikichi and Rin as a place filled warmth and a firm sense of family. The chorus of music in the background, neither harkening doom nor hollering gloom, is instead a duet of simplicity, playfulness, and nostalgia. The environmental BGM seeks to neither to overshadow nor contradict the characters, but instead augment gentle Daikichi's kindness, precocious Rin's sweetness, energetic Gotou's friendliness, etc.
Next, the opening theme, Sweet Drops by Puffy, is a touch of crayon magic mixed with a well-performed song that perfectly captures the pure and innocent love so subtly themed throughout the show. This show is quickly leaving the realm of simple afternoon entertainment and entering the realm of heartwarming artwork.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 16, 2011
It's no secret that Akiyuki Shinbou and the usual suspects at SHAFT productions tend to produce avaunt-garde shows with weird intros, strange camera angles, odd positioning, and artsy flares. Yet, even amongst the veritable flood of Shaft shows (actually, all anime in general), Soremachi stands out. It has become a rare example of when good source material meets good animation production. Everything from the loosely connected story-line, to the elegantly constructed setting, to the personalities and interconnections between all the characters spin perfectly into one gem of an anime.
People often argue that a "good" anime must have a "good" story; such an all-encompassing statement is
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simply not true. Lucky Star, Hidamari Sketch, GA, K-On, etc. did not bother with trying to tell an "epic" tale and yet all ended up being amazing. Meanwhile, Ichiban ushiro no dai maou, Shana, to aru, seikon no qwaser, etc. were all deep stories that floundered upon the rocks of poor scripting, stupid characters, and pathetic presentation. A good anime, instead, should be engaging and entertaining - Soremachi does this with its rapier wit and clever lines. And a great anime should seamlessly and effortlessly mix brief moments of poignant depth with an usual atmosphere of the playful, heartwarming, and or mysterious - Soremachi does all of this too with its skillfully planned scenes and ever lovable characters.
And the characters of Soremachi - the residents of their particular Tokyo suburb - strike me as particular real and loveable. Unlike the millions of other high school animes where the main character, claiming to be the "average high school kid" is actually a tsundere sword-wielding warrior with major personality issues living by herself because her parents are somewhere overseas involved in top-secret research (or something similar), Arashiyama Hotori is a 16 year old girl living in a upper-middle class suburb of Tokyo with her mother, father, two younger siblings, and the family dog (which looks like a raccoon). Her parents count on her to look out for her siblings, she gets in trouble when her little sister cries or when her brother tattles on her, she goes and hangs out with her friends from school when she tires of dealing with the kids, etc. Actual normal, realistic, stuff!
Yet, through expertly done scripting and directing, the normal everyday lives of the residents around the Maruko shopping district is heartwarming and charming to the audience. Be it Hotori's misadventures with math, Kon's tomboyish rowdiness, Shizuka's sci-fi fantasy search for rainbow delights, or "mourning for Sanada", the viewer finds himself drawn into town coupled with happy fanfare and cheerful folk music. And for a too-short 12 episodes, the viewer not just watches but lives the conflict, conversation, witticisms, tiny victories, and hilarious defeats of Hotori, Hotori's friends, family, teachers, and environment.
Soremachi manages to convey its wit through timeless humor, its history through poignant moments, and its charming magic through good fun and cheer. Its many messages are bold where it needs to be an subtle where appropriate. Its character art-forms are delicate and beautiful when appropriate, and refreshingly (and realistically) ugly (fat, old, bald, etc.) when called for. The pace presses to presto-allegro to skip over the dull droning moments, and slows down to lively vivace to highlight the vibrant lives of the citizenry. The source is skillfully written, the anime masterfully produced, the music expertly scored, and leaves the viewer delighted at being able to watch such a sparkling jewel of a show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 10, 2011
My first impression of this show after finishing the first episode was a simple "what the **** is this?" And now, 15 episodes in, Nichijou has done nothing to change that.
From the epic imaginative world of Suzumiya Haruhi to the everyday laughter filled schoolyard of Lucky Star to the soul-wrenching vicissitudes of life that is Clannad, I had great expectations for Kyoto Animation's newest anime. However, Nichijou managed to somehow ignore all of them.
Lacking in story, continuity, character development, setting establishment, and everything else that goes into making a book, manga, anime, etc., Nichijou is completely devoid of substance. It doesn't provide the creative
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plot and story-boarding of Haruhi, it has none of soulful depth of Clannad, and it fails utterly in replicating the smart humor and rapier wit of Lucky Star.
Instead, Nichijou seems to focus on drawing random people with random personalities doing random stuff in random ways. Every episode begins with random unfunny lines and end with random unfunny lines. And after every episode, I find I still don't know what's going on, still don't care at all about the characters (except maybe for Mio), and still don't know why I just sat through another 24 minutes of this thing.
In fact, the only two areas this show does not fail are sound and art. And though the sound track doesn't fail, it doesn't succeed either - it's "okay", acceptable, not noteworthy in the least. The art, on the other hand, is done beautifully; without having to worry about developing plots, characters, and scripts, Kyoto Animation could afford to splurge on art. The animation and presentation too, I suppose, is acceptable; it's clearly an attempt to emulate the style of Akiyuki Shinbou over at Shaft... though, if one wants actual artsy presentation, one should directly check out Mr. Shinbou's works.
A final note: if you're a fan of Kyoto Animation, don't watch this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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