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When I first started to watch this show, there were a few titles that immediately popped to mind, School Rumble, KimiKiss, and Boys Be... I soon found that Hatsukoi Limited has more in common with Boys Be than the others, this is due to similar themes of young love, ensemble structure, soft almost idealized atmosphere, etc. However, what really differentiates Hatsukoi Limited from Boys Be and what really surprised me about Hatsukoi Limited was the level of comedy/fun in each episode.

Much of Hatsukoi Limited comedy was derived from its characters, timing, and a bit of slapstick. I didn't really feel dumber and rarely did things ever get really stupid for the sake of comedy. In fact the many times I laughed I would have probably cringed in lesser titles. This shows the level of skill that was used in creating this title. However, the best part of the comedy is how well it integrates and transitions to the drama/poignant moments seamlessly even within the course of a single episode. While Hatsukoi Limited is mostly a fun/enjoyable title to watch, there are plenty of poignant moments for example, Chikura arc and the end of the Valentines arc.

Although I use the term 'arc' to categorize the various stories, its not as distinct as your typical 'arc'. By this I mean the various stories are interspersed throughout the 12 episodes, these 'arcs' don't begin and end within 1or 2 episode. Yes, there are episodes that focus on certain stories but at the same time Hatsukoi Limited will address and move other storylines. While, this may sound overly complicated, especially with its large cast, it never seems like that. This is because, they introduce the various plotlines slowly and seamlessly. It is only when you sit down and actually try to map out all the relationships will you realize how complex it is. Plus at the same time you get to see most of the characters mature throughout the series.

There is a catch concerning the story/characters, with such a large cast, a complex relationship chart, and only 12 episodes the characterization does suffer a bit. A few of the characters could have been eliminated and I doubt anyone would really miss them, honestly I wish they did get rid of them as they were either annoying or boring. Also, with such a huge cast, even some of the "main" characters lacked some development, this is why I said "most" in the previous paragraph.

Despite the problems with the large cast of character and short time, I found most of the characters extremely likeable and can relate to them. Also, if one looks at Hatsukoi Limited purely from theme point of view, it does capture the various aspects of a first love and to do this you need a large cast.

Another complaint I have would be too much focus on the girls side, in particular the middle school girls, by the animators. I'm not implying that the male characters lacked any characterization/development or are weak characters, they just spend too much focusing on the girls point of view. This was apparent by the last arc which has a strong focus on the middle school boys and I felt as if they needed a bit more time seeing things from their point of view in earlier episodes to make the final arc stronger. Once again cutting down the cast and/or increasing the length would solve these problems. I heard the manga (source) was cut short, so I guess it can't be helped however, J.C. Staff did an amazing job with what they had leaving me both wanting more and completely satisfied (sadly I can't make any comparisons to the manga as I have yet to read it...).

Since this was done by a well known studio animation the expectations for animation quality was quite high. In terms of consistency and animation they succeeded. There was never a point I noticed any inconsistency with the character designs nor did the movements feel choppy (granted there wasn't much action...). However, the backgrounds seemed almost missing at times, not really a major complaint as most of the time we're looking at the characters. The character designs were done by Mizuki Kawashita, of Ichigo 100% fame, and are beautifully done. Her designs seem to work perfectly with the watercolor-like animation and add to the soft, idealized, almost nostalgic feel of the series. However, since she is also known for Ichigo 100%, we are treated to or forced to endure (depending on your view) fanservice moments. Personally, I wasn't really distracted/annoyed by those moments, as it didn't feel overly forced.

Hatsukoi Limited a well executed romance anime that focuses on "first love". It also has very well timed jokes and a very endearing cast who are often the reason the jokes are funny instead of cringe worthy. To show the various aspects of a first love Hatsukoi Limited has a huge cast but at the same time suffers due to this huge cast. In particular, lack of characterization and development for many of the character, hell even a few of the main characters. This made a few of the characters kind of worthless and will not be missed if written out. However, since the manga was cut short and thus only 12 episodes, I can be lenient. Nevertheless, JC Staff did an amazing job wtih the adaptation leaving me wanting more and completely satisfied. JC Staff also did an amazing job on the animation and art and was also very consistent, granted the background lacks details. KimiKiss, Toradora, and now Hatsukoi Limited, J.C. Staff is quickly becoming a studio I associate with quality romance anime. read more

I’m a big fan of Satoshi Kon’s work, so when I heard that Paprika was showing at the Chicago Film festival nearly 2 years ago I had to go no matter what. So there I was with a fever, headache, and doing my best to hold back my coughing. After watching, I kind of wished I had stayed in bed. Perhaps it was due my illness but after a re-watching it I still share the same sentiments I had nearly 2 years ago.

Those familiar with Satoshi Kon’s work should know he likes to blend reality and illusion. Paprika was no exception, dealing with the dream world via DC mini, a device which can be used to enter someone’s dreams. As expected the dream world Kon created was incredibly imaginative and surreal. Animation and art for this movie was easily the best of Kon’s work as well as most anime. This movie was worth watching just for the animation and surreal world that Kon creates. Music was equally good, creating a haunting yet beautiful atmosphere. Sadly I don’t think its possible to even possible to describe the surreal and imaginative dream sequences in Paprika. However, that’s it, I could go on and on about the movie’s technical merit, but it doesn’t make up for its weak narrative.

Paprika featured highly imaginative imagery and excellent editing that Kon is known for however, what was it all for? If we take out the imagery out of the equation, what do we have left? The basic outline of Paprika’s story was wafer thin and had a painfully obvious twist near the end. In addition, a tacked on romance that made far less sense than even the most surreal imagery that Kon can muster. Chances are you’re thinking “Its all about the execution, who cares about a weak storyline as long as its done well.” Yes, execution is more important and surreal imagery and crazy editing can be used to make an otherwise boring story captivating. For example, Millennium Actress, one of Kon’s earlier works. However, in the case of Paprika the surreal imagery felt like it was the main point and the story/characters were secondary. Also, the imagery didn’t serve any purpose with respects to the story, it was there for the sake of being there and a “plot” to provide it some context.

What I said was only for the main plot line, the detective’s sub plot was sadly far more interesting. Here the use of imagery really suits his story and conflicts, similar in execution as in Millennium Actress. However, something is wrong when a sub plot is more interesting than the main story.

Characters are also pretty weak. The villain was pitifully boring and one-dimensional. Sadly, I can’t say otherwise for the rest of the cast. Also, the development of Atsuko and her romance at the end was so forced it was unbelievable. Once again, this confused me more than even the most surreal imagery Kon can muster. Konakawa (the detective) was the only saving grace in the cast of Paprika. He actually had a decent amount of characterization and actually developed through the course of the movie.

Paprika was a wholly imaginative work that only Satoshi Kon can create. He creates a landscape that was beyond words. This was coupled with amazing technical achievement by Madhouse, the animation studio. However, Paprika failed in terms of story and characters. The visuals didn’t serve much of a purpose with respects to the plot and felt like it was there for the sake of being there. Also, this plot was incredibly superficial and painfully predictable. The tacked on romance and forced character development was equally painfully and confusing. Konakawa was the only saving grace in terms of story and character however, something is wrong when a side character was more interesting than the main story. In the end, Paprika is more like a dream than Kon probably intended. It was captivating during but when it ends you’ll remember only a few visual snippets and forget everything else. read more

When Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu aired many fans questioned whether or not the then unknown animation studio Kyoto Animation (Kyoani) would be up to the task. It was pretty obvious that they were and after establishing themselves with the otakun community with Air: TV it was clear they were a force to be reckoned with. Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid (FMP: TSR) the direct sequel of Full Metal Panic! (FMP) would be their next project and in the end became a worthy sequel. Perhaps FMP:TSR could even be considered to be superior to the first FMP.

FMP: TSR story/structure can be easily described by its opening and ending. The opening, Minami Kaze is a song that features hardship yet remains optimistic for the future while, accompanying primarily military/mecha scenes. Where as the ending, Mou Ichido Kimi ni Aitai is a somber piece about 2 lover separated and wish to meet again. This song is accompanied with shots of an empty school and Sagara and Chidori walking together. The opening is distinctly representative of the first half of FMP: TSR as there is quite a bit of fact paced action. Easily some of the best ‘light’ military action scenes I’ve seen. In addition, there is a bit of military drama but it never gets too heavy. Mou Ichido Kimi ni Aitai, the ending song is best representative of the 2nd half. FMP: TSR takes a more serious turn focusing on the character drama between Sagara and Chidori, in particular Sagara. Both halves were very good in their right however, the transition between them could have been better. The beginning was very story driven but suddenly ends up character driven.

Many of my complaints for the first Full Metal Panic! still apply. All of the villains are extremely flat, Gates isn’t much more than a crazed lunatic and the Xia sisters are pretty boring albeit badass. They did introduce another villain that should to prove interesting in the next Full Metal Panic’s. There are also a few plot holes/inconsistencies that can be annoying. The use of comedy, one of FMP best parts felt a bit awkward the beginning of FMP: TSR. In particular, the 2nd episode, it felt like they were forcing the comedy in-between story segments. Thankfully, the balance was found later on in the series.

Character wise, once again similar to the first FMP, they are pretty interesting and fun to watch. However, what really separates FMP: TSR and FMP! would be the more serious character drama in the 2nd half of the series. This part was extremely well done and gives Sagara the much needed character depth and growth. I’ll stop now for fear of spoiling any more. Let me just say that for the next FMP’s this is easily one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to.

The one part that FMP: TSR really improves upon would be the animation/art. Action was extremely fluid and well choreographed. They were among the best mecha action scenes I’ve seen in any anime. In addition, many of the actions scenes are extremely fun to watch, as it never got too gritty/realistic. Art was equally good and consistant. Overall, Kyoani truly deserve the reputation they have for high quality animation/art. Music, was good, but nothing really note worthy.

Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid features an action packed beginning with bits of drama. Actions scenes are among the best I’ve seen and the art/animation is of the highest quality, as expected of Kyoani. However, the 2nd half takes a more serious turn, focusing on character drama between Sagara and Chidori, in particular Sagara. This darker more serious turn is was really separates itself from the first Full Metal Panic! In addition, this gives Sagara the much needed character depth and growth. The transition between the 2 halves could have been done better as it feels a bit too much of a jump between the story driven first half and the character driven second half. Also, the villains were a bit flat, with the exception of one who should prove interesting in the upcoming Full Metal Panic’s. However, these complaints can’t take away from the fact that Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid is an enjoyable watch featuring excellent actions scenes and character drama. Now where’s the sequel? read more

Gainax is easily one of the most well known anime studio, especially with titles like, Neon Genesis Evangelion, KareKano, and Wings of Honneamise. However, as of late many fans claim that the quality of Gainax has dropped down significantly and that their golden age is over, well that was until Gurren Lagann. Without a doubt Gurren Lagann took both Japanese and western fandom by storm. This coupled with the fact that there was very little hype before hand thus, making the extreme popularity even more impressive. For me what was more impressive was the fact that people that normally don’t like this sort of thing (ie prefer more serious, dramatic works) enjoy it immensely. This was what drove me to watch Gurren Lagann and write this review afterwards.

Gurren Lagann reminds me of another Gainax title, Gunbuster especially the last third. GaoGaiGar was another anime as both GaoGaiGar and Gunbuster are unabashedly over-the-top and cheesy. Not only that, it thrives in its cheesiness and over-the-top nature. Also, one cannot claim that Gurren Lagann half-asses anything, it does everything with the same vigor and intensity. At the same time this is what makes or breaks Gurren Lagann for most viewers. Its cheesiness or over-the-top nature will strike a chord in you or (as some people put it) appeal to something more primal inside else you’ll end up like me, facepalming. This is something I cannot understand for the life of me. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Gurren Lagann can be seen as a throw back to super robots/”manly” series of the seventies a direct contrast to the proliferation of so called “sissy” anime as of late. However, it fails to achieve any more than that, a mindless, over-the-top mecha/action series. Now whether or not that’s a bad thing is up to you.

The story and structure was distinctly shounen thus, suffering from a high degree of predictability. First, you have a powerful opponent yet against all odds the protagonists defeat them. Then another more powerful opponent pops up and yet again against all odds the protagonists defeat them, usually by some kind of power up. Keep on repeating till there are no more enemies left. Many of the characters are also the embodiment of your typical shounen protagonist, energetic idiots that keep running forward destroying every obstacle in their way. This was accomplished with very little thought when it comes to probability, strategy, and even logic. It keeps on this monotonous path until the time skip.

Here the cheesiness and its shounen nature are reduced significantly. The characters and setting are also different and quite interesting. However, at the same time I can see the characters mature/grow in that manner. I was pleasantly surprised by this turn of events and for a fleeting moment thought that Gurren Lagann would redeem itself in my eyes. Sadly it was nothing more than that, a fleeting moment, as it went back to its same old self, magnified 10 times, a few episodes later. It is ironic that for the overall review of Gurren Lagann, I lowered the score due to the fact that’s it was out of place. Consistency is very important in my books. If they had kept with the same seriousness until the end, then it would have rated Gurren Lagann higher.

If my favorite part was after the time skip then my least favorite part would the very beginning, the first arc (ep 1-8). This arc was easily the silliest and dumbest of Gurren Lagann. I can easily see why so many people dropped it during this arc. Not only was it stupid but slow. It took forever for me to get through these episodes as I couldn’t watch more than one episode at a time. If I had to rate this arc alone it would probably get 3 out of 10. Thankfully, after all the mandatory character introductions it starts to really move. By the 2nd arc (ep 9-16) the episodes seamlessly blended together as the overall flow/pacing was much better. Also, idiotic filler such as the onsen episode were gone and the stupidity in the name of comedy was reduced a little bit. Yes, I still find it stupid and over-the-top but at least it had a fast pace and somewhat enjoyable, because of this I could watch multiple episodes in one sitting. This arc would get a 6 or 7 out of 10 and the 3rd arc would be a 5 out of 10.

As for the characters, I mentioned that most of crew are energetic idiots and Kamina was the worst one of them all, as well as being the shallowest (character-wise) of the main characters. All he had was “guts” and confidence that was completely baseless. He said it himself, Simon was the one that saved him countless times, and it was Simon that had the ability, not Kamina. However, not all of characters are like this (shallow I mean), in fact there was a decent amount of characterization and those characters were quite interesting in their own right. Yoko was an awesome side character that was far more than a fanservice character, Simon developed quite nicely throughout the series, Viral was an incredibly sympathetic beastman, etc. I could go on but I think you get the idea. Perhaps this is why I really enjoyed the episodes after the time skip, as there was a lot of focus on the characters themselves and not on the next battle. Sadly, Gurren Lagann didn’t focus enough on the characters. This brings me to my next point, the ending and the epilogue.

The ending just didn’t feel right considering the overall tone and feel of the series. Interestingly enough, I actually thought the epilogue hurt the ending. This is considering how much I love epilogues. Spoilerish comments hidden…
In particular, Simon being a wanderer and Nia dying are two things I didn’t expect. Nia dying really didn’t make much sense to me and even if there is logic behind it, it still doesn’t feel right considering the series. While I can accept that, what Simon did feels really forced. He’s saying he’s tired/done fighting and left everything to the new generation. I can understand the idea they’re trying to get across. With him leaving everything to the new generation at such an early age, albeit forced, reinforces the idea. If it ended right there then it would be a perfectly good ending. However, with the epilogue I was forced to take his decision more literal. He’s only around 20 years old and he’s already done everything he can in his life!? While I don’t see him leading epic space battles, I don’t see him being a wanderer either. Perhaps a mentor to reinforce the idea of the child surpassing the parent.

Since this is an action series, animation is of considerable importance. Gurren Lagann thankfully delivers, and features well animated giant robot action. However, as I stated above I put a lot into consistency and quite often there was be a dip in art/animation after an explosive episode. For example, there was some noticeable weakness in the art in episode 9, which was after the huge battle in episode 8. In general, there were some fluctuations in terms of art/animation throughout the series. As for the art it was unique, but fits with its extreme shounen and silly feel. The only thing that bothers me about the art was the slight lack of detail. However, I really can’t complain too much about the art.

Gurren Lagann was over-the-top, silly, and corny mecha anime. However, it did it with so much gusto it can be seen as a plus for some. This is why I think some people that normally like serious/dramatic/intelligent anime also enjoy this. For me it was simply too silly, too corny, too much. Its blatant shounen nature didn’t help either. Thankfully, the characters fared a bit better as not all of them were overly energetic idiots. Those characters received quite a bit of characterization and are fairly likeable. This was what saved Gurren Lagann from being dropped again. Sadly they didn’t spend nearly enough time on those characters and moments like the dream sequence in ep 26 are far and few in-between. In the end it all boils down to whether or not one can accept its over-the-top and extremely corny nature. read more

I’m not really into mecha anime, so when I decided to watch Gundam SEED (GS) I was a bit reluctant. I was primarily expecting lots of action and very little on story and characters. However, considering the positive reviews I decided to give it a chance. Anyway, before I start I would like to say that I watched several universal century Gundams (0079, Zeta, and Char’s Counterattack) and even did reviews for them. So I may make several references and comparisons.

GS was considered to be an updated version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam (MSG) for the 21st century, as it deals with more contemporary issues (ie cloning, genetic modification, etc). So it should be no surprise that GS starts out in a very similar vein to MSG. However, this isn’t to say that GS copied MSG, instead GS took the best parts of MSG and improved it. Well at least for the first half of the series. The pacing was a definite improvement as it was nearly flawless, I can’t really separate the episodes easily as they blended so well together which makes GS ideal for marathoning. The story is also very similar, 2 warring factions, political intrigue, and the viewpoint of both sides, typical Gundam. I don’t need to get in to specifics, in general the crew of the <new advanced ship> attempts to escape/fight off another ship and its crew. This is while trying to get to a specific destination and completing various checkpoints. Sure it wasn’t the most original of stories but paired with its fast pace and execution it was damn entertaining in its own right. However, in the case of GS the characters take a much bigger role. While the 1st half was good and entertaining it doesn’t compare to its 2nd half.

The 2nd half was where GS breaks free from its MSG roots and finds its true self. Here, GS really focuses on the characters, in particular the conflict between Kira and Athrun. Not only them, there was a lot of focus on the various character’s conflicts as well as plenty of character development. Here the action/battles take an even more secondary focus and the characters/narrative clearly becomes the primary focus. The overall structure of the story improved tremendously as it’s no longer linear (from checkpoint to checkpoint); instead GS features a more dynamics story structure. Pacing for the 2nd half moves even faster and GS rides this momentum until the very end. However, its not without its faults. The new antagonist introduced felt like they were introduced for the sake of having Gundam battles/make more toys. This is due to them being extremely one-dimensional. Finally, there were quite a few coincidences and illogical moments throughout. For example, when the odds becomes overwhelming Kira or someone else coming out of nowhere to save the day. Considering the overall quality of everything else, those moments can easily be forgiven.

As I mentioned before there was a much bigger focus on the characters in GS than in MSG. For the most part, the characters are multi-dimensional and likeable, the major exception being the newly introduced antagonist in the 2nd half. Kira in particular has gone through quite a bit of development. The angst Kira goes through in the beginning is often exaggerated by some people. If anything Kira is quite admirable, fighting/doing what he has to despite his fears and doubts. He doesn’t let his feelings get in the way of what needs to be done and the only person he’s complained/confided in was Fray. This is unlike Amuro or most of the cast of Zeta where they do whatever they want for no concern for the greater good. However, Athrun get my vote for most complex and interesting character in GS. Not only does he have to deal with having his best friend as an enemy, he also has to deal with his father, own beliefs, etc. Plus he’s a badass when it comes to all forms of combat.

In terms of purely technical merit, GS features good animation and artwork. Rarely does the quality drop. My only major complaint would be with the constant use of recycled animation, a major pet peeve of mine. Also, the action scenes feel a bit uninspired. Gundam shoots, close up of plot screaming, Gundam does a melee attack, close up of pilot and repeat. What made these mecha battles more exciting was the excellent and powerful music. The ost in general is also well done and features some very good insert songs.

Another interesting thing to note would be the recap episodes. Normally, I hate recaps but in the case of GS there were a few that were worth watching. This is because some of the recap episodes actually add background information to the GS universe. Nevertheless a recap episode is still a recap episode and they had far too many. (Not 1 or 2 recap episodes but 4!)

I also have to warn the viewer that GS features many references to other Gundam titles and the Gundam universe in general. References such as newtypes, Char clones, etc will go over the head of viewers not familiar with the Gundam universe. While its not necessary to watch other Gundams to enjoy GS it will most likely increase one’s enjoyment.

GS is easily one of the better mecha anime titles I’ve seen. The first half was light and enjoyable with a fast paced plot, albeit very linear. It feels like the crew of the Archangel was simply moving form checkpoint to checkpoint. When the 2nd half comes the overall quality increases. This is partly due to GS becoming its own and really focus on the character/narrative. The 2nd half was distinctly more serious and dramatic. Plus it takes its momentum and keeps building and building until the very end. Animation and art were all top notch, suffering from a few thing namely, recycled animation and slightly uninspired action scenes. GS also suffered from too many coincidences and illogical moments. Although, considering the quality of everything else, those things can be ignored. In the end Gundam SEED is fast paced entertaining watch, but the true strength of Gundam SEED can be found in the 2nd half with its characters. read more

Mai-Otome was the next series of the “My/Mai” franchise, with the first being My-Hime (which was an excellent anime IMO). However, Mai-Otome was almost completely different from My-Hime, with the exception of most of the secondary characters. Even with this in mind I had originally dropped Mai-Otome halfway through the 2nd episode when it was originally airing. Due to the incredible praise of many fans, well half of them, I decided to give it another try and do a marathon.

I had originally dropped the series because of Arika. While it can be argued that both Mai (My-Hime) and Arika are both optimistic and energetic characters, Arika took it too far. Coupled with a childish/naïve nature, Arika was an extremely annoying character. Her combined with Mashiro, the distinct opposite of her quiet self from My-Hime, was what forced me to drop it the first time around. However, it wasn’t just them that made me dislike the series, it was a combination of things, before that on to the rest of the characters. The other main character Nina, was an interesting enough character, but suffers from some out-of-character moments later in the series. Nevertheless, I found Nina to be a far better character than Arika and Mashiro combimed. Probably due to the fact that she didn’t annoy me and that she’s voiced by Ami Koshimizu :P The support characters are mainly from My-Hime and have similar personalities but take on different roles. This creates an interesting effect as it can be seen as constant cameos. Here, I already know and like these side characters, which can detract from the main characters, which I know very little about. For most of the series I was thinking “where’s Mikoto?”, “screw Arika and the gang where’s Mai?!” In the end I never really warmed up to the new characters and the beginning episodes where the characters are suppose to be introduced and fleshed out were mediocre.

Shows like Mai-Otome and My-Hime live and die on the strength of their characters. The beginning of the series serves to build up theses characters and the beginning of Mai-Otome just didn’t make me care and really understand their character. This is due to the fact that the beginning episodes being far too silly, light, and stupid for my taste. Also, I blame the fact that the well establish characters of My-Hime stole many of the scenes. Nina is the only major exception, as she gets plenty of time to flesh out her character. However, she does suffer some serious out-of-character moments in the 2nd half. I have to admit though; she’s not the only one that suffers from character inconsistency.

Throughout the series there are far too many illogical and contrived moments. This is characteristic of the middle part of Mai-Otome. People supposedly dying but somehow surviving were among the most illogical. The battles in space were equally eye roll worthy. I could go on and be more specific but I rather not get into too many spoilers. I already have to accept quite a few things from the beginning, such as the world itself. The second half was simply too much and my suspension of belief could only be held for so long.

So Mai-Otome had a weak beginning and illogical/contrived middle. However, it did have an exciting end that was enjoyable to watch, albeit a bit shallow. Also, it was actually a decent ending, unlike My-Hime’s infamous WTF ending. In terms of pure action the last few episodes were awesome and exciting to watch. Even throughout the series I have to admit there were some really enjoyable moments, sadly there wasn’t enough of them. Mai-Otome improved on its predecessor’s weakness by having a good ending. Also, Mai-Otome changed its OP/ED to reflect the more serious tone of the series.

Animation-wise it’s an improvement over My-Hime and for the most part pretty consistent. That is ignoring those disturbingly large bumps in a certain episode… The battles/fight scenes are also better, featuring more fluid movement and choreography. Art was equally good for the most part, my only major complain was the horrid designs of those uniforms. Music is also done by Yuki Kajiura so it should be as good. However, it just wasn’t as good as her other works, it was as if she didn’t put the same effort into the Mai-Otome ost.

Another thing that bothered me was the pandering with its maid-like uniforms and shoujo-ai undertones. Now that I think about it you really can’t really say Mai-Otome had shoujo-ai undertones/light innuendo…it was blatant shoujo-ai fanservice. Lets not forget the large amount normal fanservice, once again pointless, stupid, and worst of all annoying. My-Hime in contrast had fanservice but, it never detracted from the story/characters.

Mai-Otome features one of the most annoying character I have ever seen, as well as featuring a pretty boring and one-dimensional cast. Part of my dissatisfaction with the new character was due to the old My-Hime cast stealing the show. What makes it worst was the amount of character inconsistencies, especially with Nina. In addition, there were far too many contrived and illogical moments. The pandering via extensive fanservice and shoujo-ai tendencies were far too distracting and annoying. However, despite its weak beginning and contrived/illogical middle it does have some exciting moments and a decent ending. This ending is better than the infamous My-Hime ending and was actually quite exciting to watch. Finally, I find it funny that Mai-Otome improved on 2 of its predecessor’s weakness the ending and improper OP/ED but was inferior with respects to just about everything else. read more

I had watched a trailer for My-Hime a few months before its original airing. From the trailer I had concluded that My-Hime would be a school life fanservicy anime with plenty of action. Well things didn’t work out as planed, the fanservice was extremely toned down and more focus on the action/drama. I suspect that was due to it airing on “TV-Tokyo,” a public channel. Thankfully it did as I fear My-Hime may have turned out to be just another fanservice anime instead of an excellent title, which I often refer to as a “battle royal done right.”

The beginning of My-Hime was quite fun to watch, featuring extremely likeable characters and well choreographed action sequences. In particular, the first episode had amazing action sequences and was quite a good way to start. However, I started to wonder just as the previews for ep 2 said “Hey, isn’t this suppose to be a school life story and have lots of moe in it?” Afterwards they started to focus on the school life aspect, introducing and fleshing out the large cast of characters while slowly building up the plot in the background. Where as in the 2nd half all of this character building is cashed in so to speak and the plot rolls in full force. Without the first half the 2nd half of My-Hime would have not been as effective.

Now this isn’t to say that the 1st half of My-Hime was bad, it just wasn’t anywhere near as good as the 2nd half. As I said before the 1st half was fun to watch with amazing action scenes and very likable characters. What really surprises me is the fact that virtually everyone in such a huge cast gets plenty of screen time to flesh out their characters. Even now I can still remember the names of most of the characters, where as most of the time I can only remember one, the main character. Part of this is due to the extensive back-story and distinctive personalities of each of the characters. In addition, there is a high level of consistency with the characters actions when things get intense in the 2nd half, which is where My-Hime really shines.

The 2nd half features some of the most powerful moments in all of anime. Even now I’m hard pressed to think of any arc in any anime that was as emotionally intense as the 2nd arc of My-Hime. This is because of the highly fleshed out characters and relationships between the characters. I could go on and on but I’ll let the unspoiled viewer see first hand. This is how Battle Royal (movie) should have been done, yes I found it tragic, but it was not emotionally involving as I didn’t know the characters or their relationships.

Accompanying the intense action/drama of the 2nd half is nothing less than the music of Yuki Kajiura. The pieces were appropriately haunting/sad when needed and happy/upbeat during the more comedic parts. I consider this to be Yuki Kajiura’s best work to date. Voice work was equally as impressive, as it should considering the number of well known voice actors/actresses were cast in My-Hime. For example, Mai Nakahara, Tomokazu Seki, and Saeko Chiba. Animation is excellent, as evident of the amazing action scenes as well as the high level of consistency in character design. Although, I wasn’t too fond of the characters designs, in particular Haruka’s eye shadow and Yukino’s hair.

However, My-Hime is far from perfect, my majors complaints would be the lack of direction in the first half and the ending. Most of the first half was dedicated to introducing the characters but it felt like they were introducing characters for the sake of introducing more characters. In addition, there were a few filler episodes that didn’t serve any purpose. I felt that the writers didn’t have the full story planned out from the beginning and was testing to see how popular My-Hime was to gauge how long it would be. As evidence, My-Hime was originally planned to be 13 episodes (or at least that’s what everyone thought at the time) and due to its popularity it was made into 26 episodes. Similar to Code Geass, originally planned to be 25 and ended up with 50.

My 2nd and perhaps more critical complaint would be the ending. Since this is extremely spoilerish and is something that I cannot leave out, the rest of this section will be hidden.
I’m not opposed to happy endings (contrary to what most of my real life friends would say), I’m opposed to poorly done happy endings. Around ep 16 the series became much more darker and serious. However, half way through the last episode they decide to pull a 180. All of a sudden the tone shifted to light and happy and all the previous conflicts were magically resolved (ex, Haruka and Shizuno). In addition, all the hime’s coming back was done in such a cheesy way, it was almost painful to watch. This was not a dues ex machina as the “beloved one” being revived was mentioned and was a major part of Midori’s role. It was the reset, sudden shift in tone, and the poor execution that pissed me off. Also, some of it made no sense what so ever, for example, Alyssa died of a gunshot not because of the child of her “beloved one” was defeated. I think the creators were so dead intent on a happy ending they forgot about everything else, especially in making a well executed ending.

I have one more minor complaint, I wish they had changed the OP and ED to reflect the tone of the 2nd half. It felt awkward when an upbeat song is used as the OP for a series where things are extremely dark and serious. Besides that I can’t think of anything else to complain about.

My-Hime features a fun and lighthearted 1st half with extremely likable characters. In addition, the characters are all fleshed out, which is quite impressive considering the number of characters. The 2nd half is the payoff of the character building of the 1st half, featuring one of the most intense and emotionally draining arcs of any anime I’ve seen. However, My-Hime is not without its faults. The first half lacked a bit of direction and the ending is poorly done which forces me to drop the final score. However, this doesn’t change the fact that My-Hime is a fun yet emotionally intense anime series with a great cast of characters. read more

In many ways this is a difficult review to write. This is because I’m clearly not the target audience, as Spirited Away is a film that is clearly targeted towards children. In the end, I simply decided to review the film as I normally do and leave a disclaimer about not being the target audience.

I first watched this film 5 years ago during my senior year in high school when a friend of mine was raving about it. Back then I found the film to be boring and feature a paper thin plot. Now 5 years later and a few hundred anime titles later I was compelled to review this. However, since it was 5 years since I viewed the film, I decided to re-watch Spirited Away in preparation for this review as my memory is a bit foggy. After watching it again, I discovered 2 things about Spirited Away. I now know why I forgotten many of the events, thus needed to re-watch it and my perspective about the film really hasn’t changed.

Spirited Away begins with Chihiro’s family moving to their new home. Like any normal 10 years old girl she is quite sadden and angry about leaving her old life (hell anyone would feel this way). Chihiro’s father makes a wrong turn somewhere and decides to take a short cut through the forest. Ok, perfectly normal but what gets me is when they see an abandon building they decided to go in and explore. Next, they go, “oh look food that’s sitting out with no-one around” let eat. The events leading up to Chihiro getting trapped in the fantasy world are way too plot devicy for my taste. However, this isn’t my main complaint about the film, it’s just that the rest is so shallow I can’t really analyze it with much depth. The rest of the story can be summarized by Chihiro get a jobs, does a job, returns something, get freed and goes home. In fact, I’m quite dumfounded as to how they created a 2 hour movie with this plot line.

Although, perhaps I’m being too critical with the story and story structure that Spirited Away takes. What I think Spirited Away tries to do is create a magical world in which the viewer can escape to. It tries to take us on an adventure to somewhere very different. That is does, studio Ghibli creates a worlds that is both imaginative and beautiful. I could go on and on about the world but words wouldn’t do it justice. However, something is very wrong when the only major praise I can give is about the fantasy world that is created. They spend way too much time creating and focusing on this world. When I analyze a few scenes I realize how drawn out Spirited Away makes each scene. They could have easily cut 30-40 minutes and have a more focused story. This is how they were able to stretch such a thin plot out for 2 hours.

When reviewing anime I put the most weight on the plot and characters. I’ve already talked about how thin and weak the plot is in the above paragraphs. Sadly the characters don’t fare too much better. Chihiro does grow over the course of the movie and in the end she is a bit stronger and can now face new challenges (i.e. new school, neighborhood, etc). After going through what she went through, I don’t think a new school will faze her. However, there really isn’t much to Chihiro’s character, she’s simply a random girl that happens to go on an inadvertent adventure and becomes a little bit stronger in the end. She feels a bit like an empty shell for the audience to live through. In general, the characterization for the movie feels a bit weak, I mean do we really know these characters? If that’s all there is to these characters, then I have no choice but to conclude that most of them are extremely flat.

Ok now on to the easy part of this review, the technical aspects. It should be no surprise that the animation and art is top notch. This is studio Ghibli and Spirited Away is also a movie so there should be no excuses when it comes to animation. The environments are beautiful and quite vibrant. Characters designs are extremely consistent but I don’t like the designs that Studio Ghibli uses. Not really a negative, just a personal preference. Music, really works to create and accent the magical world of Spirited Away. However, the music is nothing too note worthy, above average I guess. In contrast, the voice work, this is a meh for me in both the English and Japanese, nothing really outstanding or bad. However, there really wasn’t anything in the movie that would require the VAs to show their talent.

As with any Miyazaki films there are themes of environmentalism along with others in particular, greed. Thankfully, these themes and ideas never become the focus or become too blatant. Also, I have to add another audience that Spirited Away may have been targeted to. That would be nostalgic Japanese adults that long for a more traditional setting away from the modern world. In that respects it does a great job however, I’m neither a child nor a Japanese adult disillusioned with the modern world. So it should be no surprise that I’m not very fond of this film, as none of the positives really appeal to me. Those would be the imaginative/magical or nostalgic world of Spirited Away.

Spirited Away is an imaginative and magical world that child will most likely enjoy. In addition, its nostalgic feel will appeal to some Japanese adults. However, it also features a paper thin plot as well as weak characterization. Spirited Away is a nice watch if you want to get away for 2 hours and turn off your brain but it is ultimately shallow and forgettable. Even now after watching it a few hours ago I’m having a hard time remembering the details. read more

So how does one make a 75 episode anime about go, let alone a good anime? Simple, you don’t, instead you make an anime about people that play go. While Hikaru no Go can be classified as a sports anime it does not follow the typical sports anime structure. That structure is characterized by train, fight/play, train, fight/play, etc. One can call Prince of Tennis an anime about tennis and Hajime no Ippo an anime about boxing. However, it would be incorrect to call Hikaru no Go an anime about go. Before I start this review let me just say one thing. I was once a nationally ranked chess player back in high school so I have first hand experience of many of the things the characters goes through.

Hikaru no Go is 75 episodes long yet it has this uncanny ability to keep the viewer sitting wanting more. I attribute this partly to the seamlessness nature of Hikaru no Go as well as having constant cliffhangers. Virtual every episode ends on some sort of cliffhanger. If I really think about it, I have a very hard time really breaking down the story down into multiple arcs, this only shows how each episode seems to blend with each other. Wait, actually I can, the first arc is over 60+ episodes long though. Around this time the seamless nature breaks down a bit and loses much of its focus but, it does get back on track in the end. However, if one looks objectively the dip in quality spanned around 7-8 episodes, that’s around 10 percent of the entire series. It like saying a 26 episode anime series was bad because of 2-3 weak episodes. So I can forgive Hikaru no Go for its slight dip in quality, especially considering how good the other 90 percent was.

As I said in my introduction, Hikaru no Go is all about the characters. Shindo in particular goes through a lot of change in the 2 years the anime covered. However, the change the characters go through is so gradual and natural that one won’t realized it unless you go back to the first few episodes. Also, as I mentioned in my introduction, Hikaru no Go doesn’t follow a typical sports anime structure. Shindo does lose, and he loses plenty of times. No matter how good one at something, they are bound to lose. This isn’t because one needs to lose to grow. While this is true, sometimes your best isn’t enough. Sometimes no matter how hard you work you’ll still fail, what matters is that you keep going. This is far more realistic than most other sports or shounen anime. Where the protagonist is so perfect they’ll always win or at the very least push a far superior opponent to their limits. For those titles, I often get annoyed and even start to hate the protagonist or at the very least get bored by its predicable nature. Shindo on the other hand is far more human and likable when compared to other sports/shounen anime leads. Also, I can’t forget about the other characters. Sai in particular is a lovable character, with plenty of depth and complexity to compliment his fun nature. Ok, I’ll stop now, because if I don’t I’ll probably keep going on and on about how awesome a character Sai is. In fact, most if not all the characters are likable to some degree. I find it really hard to not like or at least understand anyone as they do a good job fleshing the characters out.

Music is another one of Hikaru no Go’s high points. The many pieces they use really bring out the intensity of some of the games as well as accent some of the more emotional scenes. In addition, I’m fond of most of the OP and ED, in particular “Get Over” by Dream.

As for the art I much rather like the style they used (same artist that did Death Note) and I really like the female designs. Too bad there were so few female character. Sighs, oh well I guess its realistic in that sense too. In addition, I really like the fact that the characters actually ages realistically over the course of 2 years, especially considering the fact that they’re going through puberty. However, what makes me really like art is the fact that it was extremely consistent. For something this long one is bound to have some weakly animated episodes, thankfully they didn’t, or at least I don’t remember any. As for the actual animaion, I felt that they got a bit cheap in this regards. Sure Hikaru no Go doesn’t need extremely smooth animation, but it can get annoying when we’re constantly viewing panning shots.

As someone that has played tournament chess, I must say they did an excellent job in portraying the life of a tournament player. If an outsider looks in on me playing a chess match, they’ll probably think its boring. Well chess or go isn’t a spectator sport and its definitely not boring to the people playing. When I’m playing a chess match, I go through a wide spectrum of emotions as well as playing with an extreme amount of intensity. Hikaru no Go perfectly depicts this intensity and the emotions of the player perfectly. In addition, to game play the tournaments as well as the life of a professional player are depicted in a true to life manner.

Hikaru no Go features nearly flawless pacing and strong character development. The flow of the story does get a bit weak in the mid 60’s but that’s only 10 percent of the entire series. Furthermore, the characters are realistic and extremely likable. Music is used to great effect as well as featuring some very nice OP and ED songs. Hikaru no Go is not a very deep or complex anime, for the most part its pretty light but, it is nevertheless fun to watch thanks to its very likable cast of characters. Also, make sure you marathon Hikaru no Go as the story structure and light nature lends it to be marathoned. read more

Edit: added more stuff and reworded some things

What drew me to Kaiji was the interesting premise, gambling. Considering the manga had over 30+ volumes, there had to be something to this. However, the question pops in my mind “how is one able to make an anime about gambling?” In the end, I found that a more important question is “how can one make a good anime about gambling?” and Kaiji isn’t a very good example.

Itoh Kaiji owes 3 million yen to the yakuza and is forced to go into a special cruise ship to gamble his way out of debt. The gamble is based on rock, paper, scissor, while simple at first there is quite a bit flexibility to mess with the system in your favor. This is what makes the first arc so interesting. My roommate and I discussed the many possibilities after each episode and eagerly waited to see what Kaiji was gonna do next. Near the end of this arc the story really started to drag on, but it wasn’t too bad as I though the story would end on episode 13. If I were to rate Kaiji based purely on the first arc it would have gotten a high 7 or low 8. However, Kaiji didn’t end on the first arc…

The next arc consisted of 3 major gambles, human derby, e-card, and umm… “awesome box.” Here Kaiji loses what made the first arc so interesting, the open nature of the gambles. The human derby arc wasn’t really a gamble per say, instead it was a task to complete for money and entertainment of very rich guest. Here Kaiji tires to create human drama and really delve into the minds of the characters. Well there’s only one problem with this, Kaiji never had strong characters. The people participating in the human derby were newly introduced and we don’t know anything about them, they are effectively faceless. So why should the viewer care what happens to them? People die everyday so why don’t we weep for them too? Yes, I’ll admit it’s quite tragic and on some level I do feel sad for the characters. Even for the title character, Kaiji, I felt very little, this is because the first arc only really focuses on the gambles and very little on the Kaiji himself. So there is no big pay off, so to speak when things get dramatic (ie My Hime). Instead it’s more like watching the 10pm news.

In this arc they also really delve into philosophy and psychology. The philosophical aspects were too in your face, reminding me of the extremely blatant Ghost in the Shell movies, especially Innocence. This is because of the delivery, long winded speeches from supposed sage. This wise old man steps on to the podium and lectures not only Kaiji but the viewer as well. There is nothing subtle about this nor was it very grey, this is how the world is because he said so. As for the psychological aspects, visuals were often used to convey the inner struggles, its just that they really over did it and kept repeating the same damn thing. This leads to my major complaint overall with Kaiji.

The thing that made Kaiji lose the most point is the fact that they dragged things for way too long, far longer than the first arc. The omnipresent narrator didn’t help either; I was ready to scream at the screen “shut up, we get the idea already!” As for the other 2 gambles, they faired a bit better…only a little bit. They were actual gambles, but featured the same things that made the human derby arc bad, too dragged out, shallow drama, and overt philosophical ramblings. However, in the E-card arc it did give me back a little of the “how’s Kaiji gonna get out of this mess” feeling. Although, the nature of the gamble is very closed, thus I remain a passive viewer. Finally the way those gambles ended was way too contrived for my tastes, suffering from the “just as planned” syndrome.

Let me add that Kaiji is extremely overt with the way it handles itself, from the emotions to the thoughts of the characters themselves. In some ways it feels a bit caricature but I guess that’s mainly the art that gives that impression. Visual metaphors are used to ram their ideas into the viewers head as well as the omnipresent narrator constantly tells the viewer exactly what is going on. It doesn’t help that the narrator is using an overly dramatic voice, reminiscent of movie guy.

Animation was excellent; it was very smooth as well as extremely consistent, as expected by Madhouse. For a very dialogue based story they made use of many visual metaphors, once again it gets old fast. It would have been better if they simply used more dramatic angles and shots as in Death Note. Art is well…ugly, very ugly, which makes me wonder why Fukumoto (the mangaka) was allowed to keep drawing manga. He should have someone else draw and he’ll work on the story.

The music is easily the best part of Kaiji, I loved the instrumental pieces and was surprised at how good the music was when I listened to the ost. Not only that the music was especially fitting considering the gritty tone of Kaiji. I just wished they used it more often. Most of the time there isn’t music, instead the narrator sets the tone and the trademark “zawazawa.”

Oh let us not forget about the ending… Kaiji ended on an extremely open note, so open that I wondered where the next episode was gonna air. While open endings can work, they only work for character based stories and Kaiji didn’t have the story structure to support such an ending. I’m not going to be that critical on the ending as I’m sure they plan on animating the rest of the Kaiji story. What I am gonna be critical on is the fact that Kaiji seemed to have grown dumber in the end. Ok let me rephrase that he’s grown smarter as a gambler but dumber as a person. There is a sense of irony when Kaiji, minus 4 fingers, an ear, and even more in debt, was talking about how he’s stronger now and will defeat the chairman next time. There is no evidence showing that he stronger as a person, only as a gambler. Even during the interlude between the first and second arc he is shown unable to live in normal society. Now I feel he is even more unable to adapt and live under normal circumstances.

I was an active viewer during the first arc and that was what made things interesting and fun. However, when they took that aspect away I was made into a passive viewer. Here, the flaws with the narrative, pacing and characters became apparent. The pacing was horribly dragged out and extremely slow. Perhaps I would rate Kaiji higher if I didn’t watch it weekly and marathoned it, but what’s done is done. In addition, they suffer from the “just as planned” syndrome too much in the 2nd half. Now that think about it I didn’t really mention the characters in my review yet. Well that’s because all the characters are flat. As for Kaiji himself, he is someone with no past and based on the ending, he also has no future. read more