Dancewithknives's Blog

Anime Relations: Taiho Shichau zo (TV), Taiho Shichau zo

This is my 13th review of an anime upon my entrance into the community. If you would like to know more about me and what I am to provide from this review, I suggest you click on the following Link

[1]Synopsis:
You’re Under Arrest is an episodic series involving Miyuki Kobiyakowa and Natsume Tsujimoto, policewomen working in the traffic department of the fictional Bokuto district of Tokyo. Besides a few overarching episodes and two parters, most of the episodes are stand alone and do not overlap.
Overall the show follows the daily lives of the traffic division and neurotic adventures that occasionally get out of control. Characters present in the show are mainly different officers around the department, ranging from a chainsmoking detective, the chief, Miyuki’s Love Interest, a transvestite, a shy eccentric police woman who is addicted to gossip and lives through others, and of course, a callback to the golden age of comics.

[2]Technical aspects
You’re Under Arrest or Taiho Shichau zo was made by Studio Deen and streamed on my Iphone 6 in English. Also, 5 OVA’s which are used as the prequel to the main season, were viewed as with the rest of the series. You’re Under Arrest The Second Season, was not.

You’re Under Arrest, being aired in 1996, is animated in classic hand drawn fashion without the use of any CGI. So it goes without saying that it looks very nice, dated of course, but fine like a vintage wine. Quality of animation, though, varies throughout the series. The introductionary OVA’s looked incredible, but the majority of the episodes sans a few special cases were noticeably less defined. Finally, the Movie increased the quality again for the most part… except for when they decided to half ass the animation at times and use still frames.

In the voice department some risks were taken with the English dub cast, not with the main ladies of the cast, but with some of the side characters. Real children were used to voice the kindergarteners, a woman was used to voice the transvestite male to female person, and a recurring side character “Scooter Mama” was voiced by a man. Besides my own opinions on the Transvite and a few of the children, all other voices of the side characters actually worked out very well.

As for the normal conservative voices and characters, everyone was casted very well and their voices match the characters.
There are multiple openings and endings, nothing out of the ordinary, but they either focus on the urban ambience of city life, or on the emotional relationship between the two main characters. The first one, for the OVA’s in particular were quite nice, really giving off the feeling of riding around a bustling city at night.

[3]Personal Thoughts
I was suggested to watch You’re Under arrest at the behest of a member on another site that sold it pretty well to me as a Buddy-Cop comedy, and after watching Free: Eternal Summer, I feel I needed some cheering up.

One thing that I really want to get off my chest about this show in particular, though, is that even though I said above that the animation quality varies throughout the series, even at its worst, I felt that it was really pleasing to look at and watch. I am not really sure why, but like Trigun before it, even though the show doesn’t look as well made as a modern show by a top notch studio, the hand drawn and painstaking effort put into each frame, even if it is collectively not as sharp as the best of what today has to offer, is still just really easy to watch.

Since this is about traffic cops, It would be foolish to not mention that this show does have a fair share of car chases, and as I just said above, these chases in particular stick out as some of the best moments in the series out of how aesthetically pleasing and impressive it is to watch. Like the first OVA introduction, there are times that I found it hard to believe that this was all hand drawn.

Moving onto characters, I feel that the cast present in the show was probably the strongest attribute that it had to offer. Throughout the time watching You’re Under Arrest, I felt that the cast of characters present were very well defined distinct in their own right.

I felt that our main duo was probably the most conventional characters in the show, Miyuki being the more level headed and analytical of the two, being both an excellent mechanic, computer wizard, and often doing the investigative work in the show with a very shallow relationship with her boyfriend, Ken Nakajima.

Natsume is the more boisterous of the two, loud and energetic, she is brawn of the duo and mainly looks to the short term rather than having any foresight into her future.

So with our main duo, we have a largely conservative “opposites attract” type of pairing to the main characters, but to stop there would be a bit of an understatement, as the supplemental characters in the show deserve a spotlight of their own.

Which is a bit of a shame, to be honest, while not saying that the two leads are bad by any means, but it is in my opinion the best episodes of the show are the ones which focus on the side characters more than the main two. Of my favorites are the ones that involve my favorite character, Yoriko, and how her clumsiness inadvertently allows her to succeed. Strikeman and his Golden Age of Comics cheese adventures, and even a few oddballs which go back into feudal Japan for some really zany and unique ideas.

In a way, this show really reminded me of Trigun, another old show from the 90’s, it has good animation, a unique plot, and surprisingly good voice acting, so I was often wondering why this show never was released on Mainstream TV in the West?

And then we get to Aoi.

I am not going to get political, I have my own opinions on the issue, so I am just going to cut to the chase and get it over with.

The Character of Aoi was a Male to Female Transvestite, meaning that he is basically a crossdresser that goes beyond just being a fetish. My speculation is that at the time Aoi was a sensitive issue that tv programs and providers didn’t want to have to push or face backlash on. Going beyond the politics of this inclusion, my personal thoughts on the character was that recurring jokes involving Aoi’s choices, namely perverts falling for the “trap”, are abused a bit too much, and personally I think that it would have been more appropriate to have a man voice Aoi in a womanly voice rather than having a woman do it. For example, there is a scene where Aoi is present as a man confronting another over the issue, and I personally felt it didn’t have a lasting impact because, while dressed as a man, the voice is still that of a woman.

But now we come to the hardest part of this review. It took my almost 5 months to get through watching all of You’re Under Arrest, all 54 episodes of the show. It honestly no slouch, but it almost gets into the realm that its almost too much to get through. But with that being said, there aren’t necessarily any truly bad episodes or terrible story arcs. For as much as I want to glow over this show, the problem is that the show really is just mediocre. It’s unusual, Avant garde, it’s the type of thing that you’d find in a hipster’s memory box, but it really can’t be said that its good or bad, it just is.

[4]Rating
If you would give me a moment, I would like to go over how I rate things. Instead of using a number based system to rank shows against each other, I instead use my rating system instead to show MY personal enjoyment of a series ranging from 0-5. A 0 means that a show is absolutely terrible, but after that, the numbers are different ways of showing my recommendation and enjoyment of the show.

1 means I did not enjoy it, but there may be an audience for it out there.
2 means I that I didn't enjoy it, but that it has more to do with me than the show.
3 means that it had some enjoyable parts to it, but I think it should be watched to see what the fuss is about.
4 means I enjoyed it so much that I recommend it to others.
5 means I enjoyed it so much that I not only recommend it to others, but would willingly watch it again after watching the credits roll.

So with that being said, I rank You’re Under Arrest a...

3

The more I thought about the show and rating it higher, the more I realized that I needed it give it this rank. Like I said above, this show is not bad, I actually enjoyed it very much, but my personal enjoyment is not a recommendation, and I believe that I could not honestly recommend it to everyone. It’s old, it had pretty animation, and I liked the voice work, so I suggest you go find an episode or two on the internet and make up your own mind on it.

If you would like to know more about the suggestions I have received to watch, or would like to make a suggestion, contact me by any means or follow the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/140QKop3EvaNR9YoI--j-XK_cpvuaf7r7w0Nh0w6FB3M/edit?usp=sharing

Next time, I predict I will be doing a review of Blue Exorcist, feel free to tell me how I did with this review.

Anime Relations: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu

Forgive any spelling errors, I am doing this in one take.

So, I have an idea for a show which I think would be pretty unique and personally fits, as it partly reflects on a few struggles I had at my new job.


The show follows the life and... well... slow descent to madness that he experiences over the span of a few months while also showing the value of a social life.


the show takes place in 2 styles, a realistic and drab representation of the real world, with high contrasts between light and dark colors, and the imaginary dream world, where things are vibrant and lively with colors that pop off the screen.

The story follows the life of a young man, lets just call him Kyle for short. that has started his first real fulltime job, working in the cargo industry, I would make him a Longshoreman either working in the office the whole time, or being stuck in a cargo container crane operator.

As the first few episodes establish, and we see each time in the real world, the demands of the new job have mostly ruined his social life. the job starts in the hours of the morning and gets out mid day, but is too exhausted to do anything but sleep, which causes him to wake up and have to go to work a few hours later.

One things that I thought would actually be cool is that the ending credits are actually a sped up version of his commute to work in the night and the ending theme is what is playing on his radio.

Now, since his life is boring and lonesome, he makes up for it with his dreams and imagination.

As he sleeps throughout the day, he dreams of fantastic worlds and characters in a variety of different secenarios.

While the dreams are very different in nature (IE, a zombie survival situation a La the Walking Dead, Futuristic space warefare like Quake or Halo, A farm setting where everyone is an animal, etc) the tropes and personalities of the characters are constant(a person who is a mother to one character in the Zombie Survival situation may be a broodmare to other characters in the Farm setting; the constant antagonist may be the farmer in the Farm setting, a fellow survivor who is an asshole in Zombies, but the alien master in the Space war dreams).

At the onset of the show, Kyle basically acts as the lone audience in these dreams, watching things playout and improvise as he sits in the background watching it all, and revising it as he sees fit, but as his conditions get worse, they start to become more than just dreams.

Either through trauma, stress, or a reliance on sleep medications, Kyle starts to daydream of his dream worlds, and eventually just actively sees them in his everyday life. He sees outer space outside of the windows at his work, he sees zombies in the distance on the street, and while he is driving, characters are in the car with him talking to each other. Eventually he gets to the point where his dreams begin to splice together where characters of the same trope begin to replace each other and settings begin to clash.

His condition begins to get worse and worse, as he loses control of the dreams and his illusions become more vivid, until finally he hits the breaking point and begins to talk to the things he sees in his head.

From there things get progressively worse, at first he can hide and pretend around others that he doesn’t see things, but eventually he starts to mutter to himself and people begin to notice what is happening.

Finally, at the rising action of the show, Kyle begins to get too far deep into his dreams, but when things look bad, he manages to wake up, and while the show starts with the credit a tad bit early, Kyle is attacked by one of the angatonist characters in his car, which causes him to drive off the road and crash.

In a coma, he is now powerless to his dreams, and the only way for him to break out and preserve his sanity at that point is to join in the dream and actively find the resolution to the conflict.

Now, as I have described, Kyle doesn’t have any super power or intellectual trait that makes him particularly good or especially good at doing this, but what he has that helps him succeed is that he is the nexus point of all of his dreams, he is the only person who fully understands each facet of all of the characters through all of the secenario’s they are in, and through that he can use this knowledge and understanding to figure out ways to resolve each conflict while staying true to the canon of that dream.


After he defeats all of the versions of the antagonist, he wakes from his coma in the hospital and it is implied through a small montage that he moves on to a better job and life, but hangs on to the imaginary characters in his mind and their resolved worlds to remember what kept him going through his personal crisis.

What do you think? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Anime Relations: Free! Eternal Summer

This is my 12th review of an anime upon my entrance into the community. If you would like to know more about me and what I am to provide from this review, I suggest you click on the following Link

[1]Synopsis
Following their Legendary and rule breaking Medley Relay at regionals the year prior, the “Girly Named Boys”, Rin, Haruka, Rei, Makoto, and Nagisa are back in the pool again. But in this outing, their records aren’t the only times that they need to keep their eyes on. As normal with highschool, the seniors are swimming on borrowed time as this is their final summer at Iwatobi. So not only are Rin, Haru, and Nagisa making plans to make it to Nationals, but also making plans for their futures after the season is over.

So in the span of 14 episodes, not only are the boys making plans on making it to the National Level of Swimming, but also making plans for their futures, and likewise, how can one plan to be “Free”.

[2]Technical aspects
Free: Eternal Summer was made by Kyoto Animation and streamed in English and Japanese via my phone.

After watching Haruhi Suzumiya and Free: Iwatobi Swim Club, I think I have come to accept that Kyoto Animation and whoever does their localization is amazing at animating their shows and likewise voicing them. Much of what I said for Iwatobi Swim Club copy’s over to Eternal Summer except that this time around you get much more time in the water than before.

Also, while I recommend people to watch a show in whatever language is the most comfortable for them, I recommend to watch the 12th episode in Japanese, being that the show takes place in Japan and in that episode, there is an excursion to Australia and all of the English characters speak in English very well and the guest characters speak in a bit of Engrish. It’s not necessary, but it is really aesthetically pleasing.

For as much as I would like to add more to this, that simply is that. Pretty animation, great voice acting, and very faithful to the sport. Well done.


[3]Personal Thoughts
I reread my review of Free: Iwatobi Swim Club, and in it I recommend a few things I would have done differently or would like to see in a sequel season. I am happy to informal you, dear reader, that I felt that Free: Eternal Summer exceeded my expectations and expanded past the stereotype that the show is simply just fanservice softcore porn for girls.

They have added more of the full experience to what Swimming is, such as characters fighting for relay positions, the social/ dietary aspect of the sport (there is a great scene where Go makes them all food which is basically riceballs packed with protein powder) and overall the plot expanded more to the rather particular struggle that swimmers have when it comes to finding a career involving their sport… which is that its basically nonexistent. Seriously, Swimming is a sport that people care about once every 4 years.

Moving on, while they did have more junior members and side characters to the cast, Sumezika Academy is more than just the black and red antagonists to the show, I feel that a bit of the charm from the show was sacrificed by writing off some of the jokes such as those relating to Go’s muscle fetish and Ms. A’s past, but I suppose that is for the best so they did not retread old jokes.

Also to add, in the previous season Rin really acted as a complete stick in the mud as a character. While this was done to keep some mystery in the show, up until the final episodes, I am happy to say that he has changed over the time that this show airs. Instead of acting like a villain, he now acts as a really good example of how two competitors can be rivals, but still be friends. While past Rin was a complete tool, there is a segment in the beginning in which Rin goes far out of his way to assist one of his adversaries in how to properly swim a stroke even though it holds no gain for him in the end.

While Rei is mostly the same, I think that Nagisa, and Makoto get some necessary character development, while Haruka’s story encompasses most of the 14 episodes. Although I don’t want to spoil it, I will say that it is an interesting change of pace from his near-autistic affection for the water for the first season, while at the same time not completely writing his love of swimming and being “Free” out of the picture.


[4]Rating
If you would give me a moment, I would like to go over how I rate things. Instead of using a number based system to rank shows against each other, I instead use my rating system instead to show MY personal enjoyment of a series ranging from 0-5. A 0 means that a show is absolutely terrible, but after that, the numbers are different ways of showing my recommendation and enjoyment of the show.

1 means I did not enjoy it, but there may be an audience for it out there.
2 means I that I didn't enjoy it, but that it has more to do with me than the show.
3 means that it had some enjoyable parts to it, but I think it should be watched to see what the fuss is about.
4 means I enjoyed it so much that I recommend it to others.
5 means I enjoyed it so much that I not only recommend it to others, but would willingly watch it again after watching the credits roll.

So with that being said, I rank Free! Eternal Summer a...

5

While not perfect, Free: Eternal Summer expands on the ground already tread by its predecessor while still having a fulfilling conclusion. I would have finished this much sooner if not for my crazy life and new job.
If you would like to know more about the suggestions I have received to watch, or would like to make a suggestion, contact me by any means or follow the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/140QKop3EvaNR9YoI--j-XK_cpvuaf7r7w0Nh0w6FB3M/edit?usp=sharing

Next time, I predict I will be doing a review of You’re Under Arrest, feel free to tell me how I did with this review.

Anime Relations: Trigun

This is my 11th review of an anime upon my entrance into the community. If you would like to know more about me and what I am to provide from this review, I suggest you click on the following Link

[1]Synopsis
Trigun is a steampunk-esque show in which the show uses many tropes and motifs of classic American and Italian westerns. Trigun follows the misadventures of Vash the Stampede, a blonde haired man in a red coat with a silver gun with a 60,000,000,000 $$ bounty. Vash’s reputation precedes him, with the mere mention of his name strikes fear into the hearts of men and greed in the eyes of bounty hunters.

As Vash travels aimlessly across the surface of the fictional planet of Gunsmoke, he is joined by Meryl Stryfe and Millie Thompson of the Bernadelli Insurance agency, two adjusters sent to minimize the claims and damages that seem to arise whenever Vash happens to stumble into town.

But things seem to be a tad bit misleading about Vash the Stampede, which for his reputation for death and destruction, seems to be a bit of bubbly goofball who is more concerned with preserving human life than killing and causing mayhem. So who really is Vash the Stampede? Is he the murderer and great destroyer that people say, or is he just an immature and strange man who has an insane skills with a gun?

But more importantly, why is he so against killing? And who is that strange woman he keeps seeing in his dreams?

[2]Technical aspects
Trigun was made by Studio Madhouse and streamed on my Iphone 6 in English.

So, Trigun is probably the oldest Anime that I have seen so far (1998), from what I have read, Trigun was one of the first and most influential anime’s brought over to the West. As such, Trigun is also quite old and dated in terms of modern animation and design is concerned, but at the same time I see this as an advantage.
While it is old, it is quite impressive to admire all of the hand drawn and surprisingly detailed characters and set pieces. I must wonder how long it took to animate and design all of these characters back then when in comparison to nowadays when things that would be too difficult to design are just made with CGI.

In the Voice acting department, I find that all of the English cast was well done. For at least the first half of the show, all main characters and even the side characters that only have a few lines are well selected, as the voice matches their character. Johnny Bosch is able to make Vash look like a moron and a child, but then become a Brave hero at a moment’s notice. Meryl sounds like a strong independent woman, and her partner Millie is a complete airhead with great lines such as the one at the beginning of this review.

Story wise, this show has follow an “issue of the week” type of format, especially in the beginning episodes which seemingly hold no connection besides establishing the character of Vash the Stampede. Later we get an overarching plot, but this happens a little too late for my tastes, but some may feel that the buildup is necessary.

Soundtrack wise, while I don’t know any of the tracks names, I did enjoy the way that the studio used a lot of electric guitar riffs and electric renditions of traditional Western and Spaghetti Western Style sounds. While I thought the Ending was forgettable and I skipped it, I thought the Intro opening was very well done to get you into the mood for the show and tell you all you need to know about Vash the Stampede.
I also want to mention that I think it is pretty cool that the Introductions feature a brief montage for the relevant episode.

[3]Personal Thoughts
I feel I don’t have much to say about Trigun because, overall, it was a pretty average and uneventful show. I’m not saying its bad, but at the same time it didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. But then again I suppose that is the key with a show that comes off as the benchmark for others. In time, it will be surpassed but in its time it did what was necessary to inspire others to seek greatness.

While I felt that Trigun took too long establishing itself as scifi instead of its steampunk, I feel that Trigun did a good job of making its own genre rather than trying to fit itself into another. In a way, I find that this show is very similar to the videogame Destiny, another genre that is primarily sci fi but also has a focus in philosophy and a western like setting. It was pretty entertaining to see another adaptation of this seemingly niche genre being explored, and I hope I can find some more Sci Fi-Westerns in the future.
Another thing I want to mention was that I thought the futurized/ steampunk version of real firearms was pretty cool and interesting in this show, be it the Mauser C96, Meryl’s Derringer’s, M1911’s, or my personal favorite, Vash’s gun with the barrel on the bottom cylinder rather than the top, something that actually became a reality with the invention of the Mateba and Chiappa Autorevolvers.

One of the few, and I mean few, as in this is probably the only thing that I didn’t like about Trigun, was that the ending was pretty lackluster.

[4]Rating
If you would give me a moment, I would like to go over how I rate things. Instead of using a number based system to rank shows against each other, I instead use my rating system instead to show MY personal enjoyment of a series ranging from 0-5. A 0 means that a show is absolutely terrible, but after that, the numbers are different ways of showing my recommendation and enjoyment of the show.

1 means I did not enjoy it, but there may be an audience for it out there.
2 means I that I didn't enjoy it, but that it has more to do with me than the show.
3 means that it had some enjoyable parts to it, but I think it should be watched to see what the fuss is about.
4 means I enjoyed it so much that I recommend it to others.
5 means I enjoyed it so much that I not only recommend it to others, but would willingly watch it again after watching the credits roll.

So with that being said, I rank Trigun a...

4

Trigun is an old show, it has a beautiful design and a lot of good ideas. I think that the story didn’t turn out very well in the end, it did a good job of being entertaining in the meantime. I did not give it a 5 because I didn’t really have a need to rewatch it. Also, if I may ask, why is the show called Trigun? I don’t think they ever explain.
If you would like to know more about the suggestions I have received to watch, or would like to make a suggestion, contact me by any means or follow the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/140QKop3EvaNR9YoI--j-XK_cpvuaf7r7w0Nh0w6FB3M/edit?usp=sharing

Next time, I predict I will be doing a review of Free! Eternal Summer, feel free to tell me how I did with this review.

Anime Relations: Gunsmith Cats, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, Angel Beats!, Mirai Nikki, Free!

Hello, my name is Dancewithknives and I have decided to make a type of self check on my adventures into Anime. After every 5 reviews, I plan to go back and write up a list of my favorite characters from the previous shows I have watched. This will contain spoilers to their respective shows. Also, some reasons may seem arbitrary.
The following character will be from:
6. Angel Beats!
7. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
8. Future Diary/ Mirai Nikki
9. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
10. Gunsmith Cats

[12]
Irene “Rally” Vincent from Gunsmith Cats


Although being a few episodes long, Gunsmith Cats did a good job of showing how Irene “Rally” Vincent really was an expert with firearms. Not by giving off some long winded monologue about guns, or by making a few insane crack shots, but by demonstrating and using actual firearm safety and techniques that only the most diligent of shooters would be able to demonstrate. Also, she’s pretty soft on the eyes as well.

[11]
Rei Amano (Yuki’s Mom) Future Diary


“Have fun storming the castle!”
Yuki’s Mom was not a well made character, she was basically designed as a checklist for all the things a young man would want in their parents: gamer, knows how to cook, is completely fine with your Girlfriend, etc. But what she lacks in actual character she more than makes up for in pure entertainment value. I thought that the Abridged Diary version of this character was a joke of the “Mom who wants grandchildren” trope, but they weren’t kidding, Yuki’s Mom openly encourages the two to have sex. That’s when I lost it and had to stop the video until I could breathe again.

[10]
Haruhi Suzumiya from MoHS

As I said in my review, I did not like Haruhi Suzumiya in regards to what she did in line with the storyline of her show, but at the same time, what I think was so very well done was the attention to detail and mannerisms that not only the animators, but also the localizers and the voice talent had to go through to really capture who Haruhi was. I think that you could take a few lines out of context from the show and ask a random person to describe Haruhi’s personality, and they could do a pretty accurate job at it.

[9]
Miho Amakata from Free! Iwatobi Swimclub

I have to say I kind of liked this character because she reminded me of an out of touch History teacher I had in Highschool who would try to find ways to make old quotes and sayings and try to apply them to real life with limited success. I was funny because I really reminded me of how irrelevant I thought that class was and how much of a waste of time it was. On the other hand, the fact that she was constantly trying to avoid the fact that she was a swimsuit model to get through college was pretty funny, it reminds me of the stories of female teachers in their 40’s having the secret that they were porn stars or strippers in their golden years come out.

[8]
Kyon from Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

That salt… The only reason why Kyon stuck out to me as a character was how sarcastic and salty every one of his lines were. Without that, I would have forgotten about Kyon like the rest of the cast from MoHS, but the voice work and effort put into this show makes it an undeniable diamond in what I thought was a lot of rough.

[7]
12th (Yomotsu Hirasaka) from Mirai Nikki

He is literally a Blind Power Ranger.
I love 12th, because he is kind of funny, kind of sad, and kind of ironic all wrapped up into one character with a criminally short amount of screen time.
He’s funny because he is a person dealt with a very bad hand in life, being blind, and must have lived vicariously through TV, namely, Power Rangers. But with that being said, he is very optimistic and easily does more in life to fulfil his dreams than most people. He starts a shop selling memorabilia based on his own likeness and after he somehow is able to disarm a heavily armed serial killer, visits him regularly in prison in order to gloat over his success.
He’s sad because he is literally a blind power ranger. He has a childlike personality and just wants to use potential god powers in service of good and justice. In his After Credits shorts, I really think that the use of stop motion to describe how he sees things in his mind is really hearthrobing because of his disability.

He’s ironic because like most vigilante in media, he breaks as many rules and goes to as many extremes, and even more, than the people he is trying to fight. He tortures Minine, He hypnotizes the cultists, and brainwashes 4 other people to be in his power ranger team with him.

[6]
Deus Ex Machina from Mirai Nikki

“I didn’t ask for a snack… or did I?”
This is literally a person who gives 0 Fucks. Most of the time that expression is regulated for who don’t care about most things, or is a badass, or etc. But this is the first time that I have seen some who really embodies that mantra perfectly.
He start’s a war because he can.
He decides to start a battle royale with god powers to 11 maniacs and 1 pussy ass teenager because he can and can’t be bothered to pick one himself.
He lets people break the rules and doesn’t give a shit.
And he himself even breaks the rules of the game when he figures out Mur Mur’s a cheatin’ Ho so he can get back at her.
Seriously, No Fucks.
Also, I think that Kent Williams did a very good job of voicing him, he really made him sound like a god much more so than the Japanese VA.
And on a final note, I think that this is probably the god that atheists believe in.
[5]
Tk from Angel Beats

“Knock Knock Knocking on Heaven’s Door.”
I’m honestly not sure if TK was supposed to be an American who is trapped in Afterlife High and the Engrish is just him talking English, or if he is a westaboo who is just using American pop culture references out of context because he thinks it’s cool. The only thing I know is that he’s hilarious, and I regret saying in my review that TK’s hilarity is why I would recommend watching it in Japanese. On the flipside, though, I wonder if Shiaa, the Ninja warrior trapped for 200 years would be voiced in Japanese in the English dub?

[4]
Iwasawa from Angel Beats

*Crying*
Why god why? Bwaaaaaa ha ha ha…. Waaaa ha ha ha…

[4.B]
Iwasawa’s Guitar from Angel Beats

“There you go; Best seat in the house.”
*Sounds of person trying and failing miserably to hang themselves by their shoe strings in the back ground*



[3]
Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki

The epitome of Bitches Be Crazy.

What else could be said about Yuno that hasn’t already been said? People can call Future Diary a trainwreck as much as they want, but they can’t deny that Yuno carries most of the show and is hilarious. Especially in the beginning before she went completely psycho, she really embodies the reasons why younger teens need to think of things besides trying to find their Girlfriend/Boyfriends.
After watching Higurashi, a horror anime, I will say thtat she show did not scare me, but there was a moment in Mirai Nikki, at a little past the half way mark I think, that the show legitimately made me freak out and jump at the screen.

It was after their quasi breakup when Yuki admits that Yuno is unstable, Yuki is called down to dinner by his mom and is eating and for some reason Yuno is mentioned, and it was at that moment that I realized that, from the perspective of looking at Yuki, Yuno was standing right behind him before she vanishes.

[2]
Rin from Free!

*sung to the tune of Sound of Silence*
“Hello, gay thoughts my old friend… What are you doing out of the closet again?”
Gay Jokes aside, after watching Free! Completely, my attitude on Rin changed dramatically. Yes, it he still was a little bitch and needed to grow the fuck up, but to be honest it is so true how frustrating and depressed it can be swimming when you can’t improve, or you work your ass off just to find out that you are in the same exact place where you started. I think it is a good reminder of how young men need to put sports into perspective with their lives and realize that at the end of it all, its just a game.

Although I had some issues with times, I was never able to reach state level competition in my own independent event, I did not allow it to ruin my life. I really can’t explain why, maybe its telling as to why I didn’t succeed being that I lacked drive (Cock sucking motherfuckers who keep decreasing the qualifying time each goddamn year) but to me it was just a pastime and when it was over it was over. I had the opportunity to continue, but I decided it was time to hang up the speedo and goggles and move on in life.

And Finally:

[1]
Chaa From Angel Beats

*Hardly audible grunt and small smile off into the distance*
Like the other characters from Angel Beats! On this list, I wanted to make a depressed and crying joke instead of actually trying to make a point. But I really need to talk about this seriously.

Angel Beats! Was the Passable Tranny of all the anime I have seen so far. It drew my simple mind in with the pretty allure of guns, but at the end of the day left me depressed to the point that I wanted to use a toaster as a floatation device.

Like it or hate it, one thing that I think Angel Beats did very well was use subtle storytelling to allow you to fill in information about characters without directly telling you. Yes, they did this with a few, ie Iwasawa, yui, yuri, the Vice President, and I think that it is a legitimate point that the show really used force to make you feel emotions about a few of these characters, but I really think it shined with a few of its side characters.

The big problem with only being 13 episodes is that they could have had side stories or character development episodes, but if they did this I think they would have spoiled a few characters. Although there are many who are left without closure, I think that a few characters in this show can show enough information based on a few traits that can allow volumes be inferred on their personality.

So, why Chaa?

Chaa was one of the lesser of the side characters in the show, but I felt that every scene he had really gave us all the information we needed to know about his character.
He is the gunsmith, he discovered that metal can be made from dirt if the summoner knew enough about what they were doing, he ran the guild and supplied the Afterlife Battlefront with guns and ammo for their fight against god.

But why was he there? Afterlife Academy is for souls who felt cheated and were not prepared to move on with their lives, and so the limbo was made for them to come to peace with themselves? He’s a grown man who does a good job of making guns and seems to enjoy being in charge? Why hasn’t he passed on?

Most of this is inference, but I bet the problem with Chaa is something that I find as a flaw with myself; He’s too good at what he does.

He probably went through his whole life not taking time out to meet and become valuable as a person to other people. He was probably a mechanic, and he probably was the best person at his job, but whenever someone came in to enlist his service, they saw him as a tool, not a person. All they saw was a grease monkey in oil stained overalls and not Chaa, the person.

He saw people and wanted to meet them, wanted to talk to them, he probably wanted to be the hero for every pretty girl who stopped by the shop in fear of what the check engine light meant, but at the end of the day, they always left him standing there waving, telling them to come back the next time they needed an oil change.

So when Armageddon happened in Afterlife High, and Yuri ventured alone into the catacombs to strike at the heart of the corruption, he took his chance and did the thing he was best at and crafted her the most ungodly abomination of an M4 I have ever seen.

She took his Magnum Opus and told him it was perfect, and thank him, and like that he was at peace.

It wasn’t a kiss, a peck on the cheek or a long winded show of admiration, all he needed was for a pretty girl to say Thank you, and as I stated above, he grunted in return and made a small smile off into the distance, and he was gone.

Almost all you read above was my personal interpretation of who Chaa was, and after discovering the Angel Beats! Wiki, I learned that I actually wasn’t too far off.

So… Yeah, That’s why I really enjoyed Angel Beats! And gave a hardly relevant character my top spot.

So lets wrap this character audit off with a prayer to the Gunsmith up in the sky:

Chaa, who art gunsmitthing in Heavan, Ridiculous be thy M4.
By Afterlife Come, Guns will be done, with dirt and other materials.
Give us this Beretta, in Inox or Naught, and reload our casings so we may fire them again.
Lead us not into Malfunctions, but Deliver us from Knock Offs,
For thy shall make thy Handguns, thy Automatics, and thy rifles until episode 12.

Amen

Anime Relations: Gunsmith Cats

This is my tenth review of an anime upon my entrance into the community. If you would like to know more about me and what I am to provide from this review, I suggest you click on the following Link

[1]Synopsis
Taking place in the 1970’s dystopia of Chicago Illinois, Gunsmith Cats follows the adventure of Irene “Rally” Vincent and Minnie May Hopkins, the owners of the eponymous and highly illegal Gunsmith Cats armory. When the two aren’t selling, modifying, and maintaining guns for clients such as the CPD, they double over as Bounty Hunters looking to save the world, Punisher style.

But after stopping a no good arms smuggler skipping town on bail (who may also be their competition…) they find themselves entrapped by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) to pay said scumbag smuggler’s bail, pose as a potential buyer, and reveal his stockpile. But as with most favors, one thing leads to another, and another, and another, and soon enough Rally and Minnie find themselves embroiled in a plot that the ATF itself is involved in.

[2]Technical aspects
Gunsmith Cats was created by OLM and streamed via my Iphone 6 in English.

I think that it’s important to point out first and foremost that this is the first OVA that I am reviewing as its own show, as Gunsmith Cats was only 3 episodes which covered an arc in the Manga.

Secondly, except for possibly Trigun, I think that this may be the oldest show that I have watched to date, being that it aired in 1995. I want to bring this up because being old and without the modern animation styles and knowledge that shows today have, I will say that the animation in the show is incredibly smooth and pretty. Although I don’t know much about animation, I have a feeling that with this show, all of the details feel as if they are hand drawn. Every expression, all of the animation ranging from casual walking to an entire car chase on the highway, and all of the guns are incredibly beautiful.

So, while I doesn’t stand up too much to modern animation, it is easy to marvel at the time and effort it must have taken to make these three episodes.

For what it’s worth, the plot is pretty straightforward, sort of film noir about vigilante justice, a woman who drives a GT Mustang, and idolizes the CZ75B, and corruption in politics. Its nothing that will make you marvel at its superb plot, but its passable.

Characters are passable, they do their job, and in a short span I would say that the story does a good job of showing that Rally has an uncanny mastery of seemingly every firearm, but I think that the voice actresses and actors do a marginally better job than their on screen characters. Its not that the writing was superb, but that every VA was matched well with their character.

The opening theme and animation is also pretty good, its stylish and has a smooth Jazz soundtrack to it which fits well with its James Bond-like opening sequence, but I will admit that I can’t even recall the credits.

[3]Personal Thoughts
When I first saw a recommendation to watch something called “Gunsmith Cats”, I thought it was a gun review series on Youtube where someone voices their two housecats as they talk about guns. Thankfully after I watched the intro I learned that it was actually an anime… and I had a feeling it was about Furries. After finding out that I was thankfully wrong about THAT as well, I decided to put a halt on Trigun and Free! To go watch it since it was only 3 episodes long, and I am glad that I did.

Some people say that criticism of a show’s length is a petty thing to talk about, but I disagree. Sometimes I think it is a very valid reason to comment on a show if the episodes they work with do not properly fit with the narrative they were trying to make. Gunsmith Cats, while only working with 3 episodes, was able to make a story, fill in characters and describe their motivations, and wrap it all up to make a fulfilling product by the end of the day.

I felt that the show did a good job of mixing in fact and fiction, fact in regards to shooting stances, details on every gun, the role of the ATF, and things such as you CAN actually tell the difference between a loaded and unloaded gun by holding it. But Fiction, in regards to the fact that I simply find it hard to believe that this show could realistically take place in Chicago Illinois, or downplaying the world of shit the girls are in for not owning any license to run a gun shop, namely the Class 3 Permit to own fully automatic weapons.



yes, you heard me right, Liberals, you CAN NOT simply “buy” MACHINE GUN from a simple gun shop. It helps to know a little bit about this sort of thing before you try to force your conjecture onto others.


I felt that part of the reason why I enjoyed this show was how clean and organized it was, knowing that it didn’t have time to extrapolate other greater themes, morals, or side characters. It knew what it had to do, it knew its source material, so it went out and gave the audience exactly what it wanted to give them.
Not to spoil the plot, while I do think that the story is kind of funny, especially when considering the current political race for presidency and the stances of Hillary Clinton, I will say that I also felt that it was also a bit silly as well.


[4]Rating
If you would give me a moment, I would like to go over how I rate things. Instead of using a number based system to rank shows against each other, I instead use my rating system instead to show MY personal enjoyment of a series ranging from 0-5. A 0 means that a show is absolutely terrible, but after that, the numbers are different ways of showing my recommendation and enjoyment of the show.

1 means I did not enjoy it, but there may be an audience for it out there.
2 means I that I didn't enjoy it, but that it has more to do with me than the show.
3 means that it had some enjoyable parts to it, but I think it should be watched to see what the fuss is about.
4 means I enjoyed it so much that I recommend it to others.
5 means I enjoyed it so much that I not only recommend it to others, but would willingly watch it again after watching the credits roll.

So with that being said, I rank Gunsmith Cats a...

5

If this show was any longer, like 13 or 26 episodes, I think that I would have probably rated this a 4, but I would say that Gunsmith Cats definitely benefits from its short length because it doesn’t dawdle in things to waste your time. It has a story, so it tell you it and looks absolutely amazing while doing it. Like I’ve said before in defining my rating scale, the only real difference between the 4 and the 5 is that I would willingly go and rewatch the 5 if asked a few minutes after finishing the show, and with Gunsmith Cats, it’s just like having a candy bar, whereas other shows would be a full course meal.
If you would like to know more about the suggestions I have received to watch, or would like to make a suggestion, contact me by any means or follow the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/140QKop3EvaNR9YoI--j-XK_cpvuaf7r7w0Nh0w6FB3M/edit?usp=sharing

Next time, I predict I will be doing a review of Trigun, feel free to tell me how I did with this review.