February 6th, 2018
Some more questions answered.
Anime Relations: Perfect Blue, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, Gintama, Galerians: Rion, Ice, Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi
All right, it's been a while and there are some more questions that have come up that I wanted to address.
Firstly, I should point out that my last entry like this I talked about a time delay, that's gone. I've stopped reviewing anime on GS because I haven't been to that site in actual years. So, now reviews just go up here and on my Wordpress. And I post on both pretty much simultaneously. So, with that out the way, here are the questions I wanted to address.
1.) What's the deal with the ho-yay factor?
Now, I've realised that this can be confusing to some people. I always bring this up and it can cause people to wonder how much it affects the scoring. To be honest, I addressed this in an early blog post on my Wordpress and I'd forgotten to do it here.
The simple answer is, the ho-yay factor does not affect the score. It's basically there as a little bonus discussion on a theme I enjoy seeing. That's why series like Mnemosyne or Ice can score very highly in ho-yay, but very low in score & other works, like Perfect Blue, can have no real ho-yay but score very highly. So, I hope that clarifies why it's there. It's not there as a way to criticise things for being to hetero-normative or anything like that. It's just there as a fun little discussion point.
2.) Why do you watch these anime you hate all the way through?
I hear this one all the time. Usually when I've scored a longer series like ginga eiyuu densetsu on the low end and people want to know why I'd "torture myself" watching something I clearly thought was really bad. Well, two things.
First off, I don't just derive enjoyment out of watching good series. As some of you have probably picked up on, I'm a snarky person. I can watch something bad and still have fun by actively mocking it. It's why with some series, like Galerians, I've actively endorsed watching them even though they utterly fail at what they're trying to do just because they're really good snark fodder.
Secondly, I'm of the view that, if I'm going to review something, I need to have watched it all the way through. I'm not going to look at someone's request for me to review, say, Gintama, watch twenty episodes and call it enough because I don't find it particularly funny. I think that would be a disservice both to the requester and to myself. Because that's the lazy way out.
3.) Why do you have themes every January?
The very simple answer to this is that January is the start of the year, and I want to start it out with something a little different. So, I pick a theme idea that interests me and run with it.
4.) Why do you always review shounen ai for Valentine's day?
First off, that's only been a thing I do for the last three years and, yes, I'm doing it again this one. As to why, the very simple answer is that I get plenty of requests for shoujo ai romance stuff. I also get plenty of requests for het romance stuff. I have never gotten a request to review a shounen ai anime. The closest I've come was someone who asked me to review a yaoi hentai as a joke. So, it comes down to adding some variety.
Well, I hope that answers those questions for you all. I know you guys are pretty good about actually reading these since my old common questions pretty much disappeared after I wrote that one and only one of its questions became irrelevant.
Firstly, I should point out that my last entry like this I talked about a time delay, that's gone. I've stopped reviewing anime on GS because I haven't been to that site in actual years. So, now reviews just go up here and on my Wordpress. And I post on both pretty much simultaneously. So, with that out the way, here are the questions I wanted to address.
1.) What's the deal with the ho-yay factor?
Now, I've realised that this can be confusing to some people. I always bring this up and it can cause people to wonder how much it affects the scoring. To be honest, I addressed this in an early blog post on my Wordpress and I'd forgotten to do it here.
The simple answer is, the ho-yay factor does not affect the score. It's basically there as a little bonus discussion on a theme I enjoy seeing. That's why series like Mnemosyne or Ice can score very highly in ho-yay, but very low in score & other works, like Perfect Blue, can have no real ho-yay but score very highly. So, I hope that clarifies why it's there. It's not there as a way to criticise things for being to hetero-normative or anything like that. It's just there as a fun little discussion point.
2.) Why do you watch these anime you hate all the way through?
I hear this one all the time. Usually when I've scored a longer series like ginga eiyuu densetsu on the low end and people want to know why I'd "torture myself" watching something I clearly thought was really bad. Well, two things.
First off, I don't just derive enjoyment out of watching good series. As some of you have probably picked up on, I'm a snarky person. I can watch something bad and still have fun by actively mocking it. It's why with some series, like Galerians, I've actively endorsed watching them even though they utterly fail at what they're trying to do just because they're really good snark fodder.
Secondly, I'm of the view that, if I'm going to review something, I need to have watched it all the way through. I'm not going to look at someone's request for me to review, say, Gintama, watch twenty episodes and call it enough because I don't find it particularly funny. I think that would be a disservice both to the requester and to myself. Because that's the lazy way out.
3.) Why do you have themes every January?
The very simple answer to this is that January is the start of the year, and I want to start it out with something a little different. So, I pick a theme idea that interests me and run with it.
4.) Why do you always review shounen ai for Valentine's day?
First off, that's only been a thing I do for the last three years and, yes, I'm doing it again this one. As to why, the very simple answer is that I get plenty of requests for shoujo ai romance stuff. I also get plenty of requests for het romance stuff. I have never gotten a request to review a shounen ai anime. The closest I've come was someone who asked me to review a yaoi hentai as a joke. So, it comes down to adding some variety.
Well, I hope that answers those questions for you all. I know you guys are pretty good about actually reading these since my old common questions pretty much disappeared after I wrote that one and only one of its questions became irrelevant.
Posted by ktulu007 | Feb 6, 2018 1:12 PM | 0 comments
February 14th, 2014
Ktulu's first annual anime awards
Anime Relations: Shinseiki Evangelion Movie: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni, Koukaku Kidoutai, Petshop of Horrors, Binzume Yousei, Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, Blood: The Last Vampire, Cossette no Shouzou, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Slayers: The Motion Picture, Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä, Hotaru no Haka, Inukami!, Battle Athletess Daiundoukai (TV), Brave Story, School Days, Kara no Kyoukai Movie 1: Fukan Fuukei, Doubutsu no Mori, Chika Gentou Gekiga: Shoujo Tsubaki, Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino, Kara no Kyoukai Movie 2: Satsujin Kousatsu (Zen), Sekirei, Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, Kuroshitsuji II, Black★Rock Shooter (OVA), Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai., Coquelicot-zaka kara, Psycho-Pass, Btooom!, Aku no Hana, Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge, Kitaku-bu Katsudou Kiroku
You know, I've been writing reviews for nearly three years now. So let me start by thanking all those of you who have consistently read them Fluffy, Kupo, Sky, NT, OA, UZ, etc... and those of you who leave non-whiny comments. I really enjoy reading those. You're a beauteous crowd and it's been an honour to entertain you. I hope I've also made you think at times. But I'm not here today to stroke your egos. Since I have been doing this for a while, and will probably continue to do so, I've decided to give out some yearly awards. Here's how it's going to work. The awards are going to be based not on what came out that year, but on what I reviewed that year. So, this first one covers everything from Blood+ to Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. There will be awards for both the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Now, I want to end this on a positive note. So I'll start with a negative award and, since this is sort of a first run, if you have any suggestions for ways I can expand or improve on this feel encouraged to leave a comment. I won't necessarily adopt the idea, but I do enjoy constructive feedback.
The Moffat award for unbearably awful writing within a supposedly mostly serious series or OVA:
I saw some real stinkers this year, and these are undoubtedly the worst of them. The nominees for the Moffat award are (all of these will be in alphabetical order): Aku no Hana, Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge & School Days.
Three truly horrendous works but the Moffat award can only go to one and the “winner” is... Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. I suppose it's not that surprising. Both School Days and Cheesesteak Suppository did get ratings above a “1” after all. Crime Edge was the only “serious” series I watched this year that merited no points whatsoever.
The Simone award for writing excellence in a mostly serious series or OVA:
Yes, with the bad have certainly come the good and these are the top for this past year. The nominees for the Simone award are: Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, Petshop of Horrors & Psycho Pass.
Three excellent works any one of which would make a worthy recipient of the Simone award. And the winner is... Psycho Pass. I struggled with this one since I like all three roughly the same. In the end, Psycho Pass gets the win just because it deals with more difficult material than either of the others does.
The Abrams award for horrendous film writing:
I've seen quite a few films this year. Some good other horrible. The worst of the latter category merit mention. The nominees for the Abrams award are: End of Evangelion, Kara no Kyoukai 1 & Midori Shoujo Tsubaki. No matter which one wins, they're all terrible. The Abrams award goes to... End of Evangelion. Pretentious and poorly plotted, this isn't just the worst film I've seen this year, but it ranks among the worst I've ever seen.
The Miyazaki award for stellar film writing:
There are some films I'll never forget and that will always make me smile be it from pure joy or bittersweet memories. I've reviewed some really excellent ones this year. The nominees are: Ghost in the Shell, Grave of the Fireflies & Nausicaa. Three brilliant films. The Miyazaki award goes to... appropriately enough, Nausicaa. This one was a real toss up between Nausicaa and Grave of the Fireflies, but Nausicaa won for one major reason. It did more. It took on more themes and handled them all perfectly.
The Macfarlane award for most failed comedic attempt:
Comedy can be a tricky thing. It's generally very hit or miss. That being said, some attempts at comedy don't just miss, they throw their bats in the air and give themselves concussions. These are the comedies that hurt themselves the worst. The nominees are: Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai and Sekirei. Not only are these series completely lacking in humour, but they're downright vile. The Macfarlane award goes to... OreImo. As terrible as all of these are, at least the other two don't feature incest.
The Pratchett award for wit:
We've looked at the misses. Now let's look at the comedies that hit their marks the best. The nominees are: Bottle Fairy, Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku & Slayers Perfect. The Pratchett award goes to... Bottle Fairy. Cheerful, creative, upbeat and downright fun, Bottle Fairy is definitely the funniest comedy I've watched this year.
The Meyer award for worst written romance:
Love is in the air and plastered all over media. Usually romance plots follow a very basic pattern and there ends up being nothing special about them. Sometimes, they stand out either for positive or negative reasons. These are the latter. The nominees are: Inukami, OreImo & School Days. This was actually hard to pick nominees for since there were so many badly written romances in a lot of the worst anime I've seen this year. I ended up narrowing it down by picking only those romances that had a significant bearing on the plot and had factors that made them egregiously terrible. The Meyer award goes to... OreImo.
Kanemaki award for loveliest romance:
I don't know why so many writers have trouble with romance. I actually had a pretty hard time finding actual well written couples for this one. I just haven't seen that many anime with good romance this year. Still, those that did it well deserve to be honoured. The nominees are: Battle Athletes, Btooom & Kara no Kyoukai 2. All of these have good main couples. The Kanemaki award goes to... Btooom. I did like Battle Athletes main couple better, however, Battle Athletes also had some really badly written side romances. In the end, Btooom's one good romance wins out over Battle Athlete's one great and multiple crap ones.
Anno award for flattest, most uninteresting cast:
You need interesting characters to make for a good work of fiction. Not necessarily likeable or moral ones, but interesting ones. Some anime fail utterly to deliver on this end. Let's look at the worst of this year. Our nominees are: Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge, End of Evangelion & School Days. The Anno award goes to... End of Evangelion. I honestly had a really difficult time deciding whether to give it to this or Crime Edge. Both have a cast of obnoxious, one-dimensional characters. In the case of Evangelion they're angsty and defined by their baggage. In the case of Crime Edge, they tend to be defined by their fetishes. Both lead to absolutely horrendous casts. In the end, however, I decided that Crime Edge was slightly less terrible due to the canines.
Moore award for best cast:
The difficult part in choosing this one was the there were quite a few anime I saw this year with really good casts of characters. In the end, I narrowed the selections down to those with a bit larger casts that still managed to keep all the major characters compelling. The nominees are: Ano Hana Bishojou Senshi Sailor Moon, & Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino. The Moore award goes to... Sailor Moon. I love these characters. They're a joy to watch, they have some strong development and they have amazing interactions.
Bendis award for dullest major conflict:
Conflict moves stories. When the conflict is dull or really badly written, the story is going to be boring, anti-climactic, flat, trite or some combination of the four. This year's worst conflict nominees are: Cossette no Shouzou, From Up on Poppy Hill & Kuroshitsuji II. The Bendis award goes to... From Up on Poppy Hill. The conflict in this one is trite. It's virtually non-existent. It's super predictable so there's no tension. It was just terrible.
Claremont award for most compelling conflict:
Even though there were quite a few dull conflicts and non-conflicts out there, there were also some really interesting ones. The nominees are: Ghost in the Shell, Nausicaa & Psycho Pass. These were all really interesting conflicts with some good turns along the way. The Claremont award goes to... Psycho Pass. What this one came down to was Psycho Pass's greater length giving it more time to build up the conflict and, unlike many other series, it didn't blow it at any point. It kept it interesting throughout.
Liefeld award for visual ineptitude:
Even a terrible anime can have decent visuals. But some go the extra length to have the ugliest art they possibly can. The three that went the most out of their way in that regard are our nominees: Aku no Hana, Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, & Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki. The Liefeld award goes to... Aku no Hana. With jerky animation, boring visuals and borked perspective, this is some of the worst animation I've ever seen.
Urbino award for visual excellence:
Art in anime, when done really well, doesn't just look good, it enhances the narrative. These are the best examples of that I've seen this year: Nausicaa, Petshop of Horrors & Psycho Pass. The Urbino award goes to: Nausicaa. It's probably not a great surprise since Studio Ghibli's known for their gorgeous artwork, but it really was a close call.
Spencer award for acting incompetence:
Most of the acting I've heard this year has been decent. Some of it has been stilted or emotionless as a result of the characters being poorly done, bad directing, or just incompetent actors however. The nominees for the Spencer award are: Blood: The Last Vampire, Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki & Sailor Moon (the English dub.) For those of you who don't remember or didn't see that review, I actually compared and contrasted the original with the English dub. The Spencer award goes to: the English dub of Sailor Moon. The voice acting in this wasn't just terrible, it was borderline unlistenable. One actress shouted constantly, another whispered and none had the remotest level of talent or skill.
Sir Stewart award for impeccable acting:
I've seen some anime with terrible casts, certainly, but I've also seen anime with really skilled actors giving great performances. The Sir Stewart award nominees are: Black Rock Shooter (the OVA), Bottle Fairy, & Slayers Perfect. These weren't the only good performances but they were certainly at the top. The Sir Stewart award goes to... Black Rock Shooter. What ended up deciding this one is the chemistry between Hanazawa Kana and Sawashiro Miyuki. It is really difficult to convey chemistry between characters using only your voice and this OVA does that magnificently. Let's move on to the final awards, warp factor nine.
Perry award for ear-splittingly awful vocals:
We didn't just hear performances good and bad this year, we also heard quite a few songs. Some of which were pretty horrendous. The Perry award nominees are: Animal Crossing for KK Slider's performance, Brave Story for Ketsui no Asa ni, & Sailor Moon (the English dub) for the mockery they turned the opening song into. The Perry award goes to... The English dub of Sailor Moon. As bad as both of those other musical performances were, they can't even compare to the dubbed version of Sailor Moon. It took the music of a great song and put in lyrics that could have been written by a six year old and let someone with less musical talent than a vuvuzela sing it. It's wretched.
Kloss award for harmonious and lovely vocals:
There were a lot of good songs in the anime I watched this year. Even some of the bad ones had really good music. It was tough, but I picked out the best. The Kloss award nominees are: Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan for the song of the same name, Inukami for Hikari & Slayers Perfect for Midnight Blue. The Kloss award goes to... Slayers Perfect. Horie Yui and Saeko Chiba are both spectacular singers, but neither one can quite compare to the peerless voice of Hayashibara Megumi. Midnight blue is definitely the best song I heard in any anime this year.
That's it for this year's awards. It's been a pretty good year. Sure, I've seen some terrible anime that are probably against the Geneva convention, but I've also sen a lot of good ones and I've had fun sharing my experiences with them, good and bad, with all of you. Have a happy day of love with the person you love. Goodnight, Everybody.
The Moffat award for unbearably awful writing within a supposedly mostly serious series or OVA:
I saw some real stinkers this year, and these are undoubtedly the worst of them. The nominees for the Moffat award are (all of these will be in alphabetical order): Aku no Hana, Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge & School Days.
Three truly horrendous works but the Moffat award can only go to one and the “winner” is... Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. I suppose it's not that surprising. Both School Days and Cheesesteak Suppository did get ratings above a “1” after all. Crime Edge was the only “serious” series I watched this year that merited no points whatsoever.
The Simone award for writing excellence in a mostly serious series or OVA:
Yes, with the bad have certainly come the good and these are the top for this past year. The nominees for the Simone award are: Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, Petshop of Horrors & Psycho Pass.
Three excellent works any one of which would make a worthy recipient of the Simone award. And the winner is... Psycho Pass. I struggled with this one since I like all three roughly the same. In the end, Psycho Pass gets the win just because it deals with more difficult material than either of the others does.
The Abrams award for horrendous film writing:
I've seen quite a few films this year. Some good other horrible. The worst of the latter category merit mention. The nominees for the Abrams award are: End of Evangelion, Kara no Kyoukai 1 & Midori Shoujo Tsubaki. No matter which one wins, they're all terrible. The Abrams award goes to... End of Evangelion. Pretentious and poorly plotted, this isn't just the worst film I've seen this year, but it ranks among the worst I've ever seen.
The Miyazaki award for stellar film writing:
There are some films I'll never forget and that will always make me smile be it from pure joy or bittersweet memories. I've reviewed some really excellent ones this year. The nominees are: Ghost in the Shell, Grave of the Fireflies & Nausicaa. Three brilliant films. The Miyazaki award goes to... appropriately enough, Nausicaa. This one was a real toss up between Nausicaa and Grave of the Fireflies, but Nausicaa won for one major reason. It did more. It took on more themes and handled them all perfectly.
The Macfarlane award for most failed comedic attempt:
Comedy can be a tricky thing. It's generally very hit or miss. That being said, some attempts at comedy don't just miss, they throw their bats in the air and give themselves concussions. These are the comedies that hurt themselves the worst. The nominees are: Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai and Sekirei. Not only are these series completely lacking in humour, but they're downright vile. The Macfarlane award goes to... OreImo. As terrible as all of these are, at least the other two don't feature incest.
The Pratchett award for wit:
We've looked at the misses. Now let's look at the comedies that hit their marks the best. The nominees are: Bottle Fairy, Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku & Slayers Perfect. The Pratchett award goes to... Bottle Fairy. Cheerful, creative, upbeat and downright fun, Bottle Fairy is definitely the funniest comedy I've watched this year.
The Meyer award for worst written romance:
Love is in the air and plastered all over media. Usually romance plots follow a very basic pattern and there ends up being nothing special about them. Sometimes, they stand out either for positive or negative reasons. These are the latter. The nominees are: Inukami, OreImo & School Days. This was actually hard to pick nominees for since there were so many badly written romances in a lot of the worst anime I've seen this year. I ended up narrowing it down by picking only those romances that had a significant bearing on the plot and had factors that made them egregiously terrible. The Meyer award goes to... OreImo.
Kanemaki award for loveliest romance:
I don't know why so many writers have trouble with romance. I actually had a pretty hard time finding actual well written couples for this one. I just haven't seen that many anime with good romance this year. Still, those that did it well deserve to be honoured. The nominees are: Battle Athletes, Btooom & Kara no Kyoukai 2. All of these have good main couples. The Kanemaki award goes to... Btooom. I did like Battle Athletes main couple better, however, Battle Athletes also had some really badly written side romances. In the end, Btooom's one good romance wins out over Battle Athlete's one great and multiple crap ones.
Anno award for flattest, most uninteresting cast:
You need interesting characters to make for a good work of fiction. Not necessarily likeable or moral ones, but interesting ones. Some anime fail utterly to deliver on this end. Let's look at the worst of this year. Our nominees are: Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge, End of Evangelion & School Days. The Anno award goes to... End of Evangelion. I honestly had a really difficult time deciding whether to give it to this or Crime Edge. Both have a cast of obnoxious, one-dimensional characters. In the case of Evangelion they're angsty and defined by their baggage. In the case of Crime Edge, they tend to be defined by their fetishes. Both lead to absolutely horrendous casts. In the end, however, I decided that Crime Edge was slightly less terrible due to the canines.
Moore award for best cast:
The difficult part in choosing this one was the there were quite a few anime I saw this year with really good casts of characters. In the end, I narrowed the selections down to those with a bit larger casts that still managed to keep all the major characters compelling. The nominees are: Ano Hana Bishojou Senshi Sailor Moon, & Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino. The Moore award goes to... Sailor Moon. I love these characters. They're a joy to watch, they have some strong development and they have amazing interactions.
Bendis award for dullest major conflict:
Conflict moves stories. When the conflict is dull or really badly written, the story is going to be boring, anti-climactic, flat, trite or some combination of the four. This year's worst conflict nominees are: Cossette no Shouzou, From Up on Poppy Hill & Kuroshitsuji II. The Bendis award goes to... From Up on Poppy Hill. The conflict in this one is trite. It's virtually non-existent. It's super predictable so there's no tension. It was just terrible.
Claremont award for most compelling conflict:
Even though there were quite a few dull conflicts and non-conflicts out there, there were also some really interesting ones. The nominees are: Ghost in the Shell, Nausicaa & Psycho Pass. These were all really interesting conflicts with some good turns along the way. The Claremont award goes to... Psycho Pass. What this one came down to was Psycho Pass's greater length giving it more time to build up the conflict and, unlike many other series, it didn't blow it at any point. It kept it interesting throughout.
Liefeld award for visual ineptitude:
Even a terrible anime can have decent visuals. But some go the extra length to have the ugliest art they possibly can. The three that went the most out of their way in that regard are our nominees: Aku no Hana, Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, & Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki. The Liefeld award goes to... Aku no Hana. With jerky animation, boring visuals and borked perspective, this is some of the worst animation I've ever seen.
Urbino award for visual excellence:
Art in anime, when done really well, doesn't just look good, it enhances the narrative. These are the best examples of that I've seen this year: Nausicaa, Petshop of Horrors & Psycho Pass. The Urbino award goes to: Nausicaa. It's probably not a great surprise since Studio Ghibli's known for their gorgeous artwork, but it really was a close call.
Spencer award for acting incompetence:
Most of the acting I've heard this year has been decent. Some of it has been stilted or emotionless as a result of the characters being poorly done, bad directing, or just incompetent actors however. The nominees for the Spencer award are: Blood: The Last Vampire, Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki & Sailor Moon (the English dub.) For those of you who don't remember or didn't see that review, I actually compared and contrasted the original with the English dub. The Spencer award goes to: the English dub of Sailor Moon. The voice acting in this wasn't just terrible, it was borderline unlistenable. One actress shouted constantly, another whispered and none had the remotest level of talent or skill.
Sir Stewart award for impeccable acting:
I've seen some anime with terrible casts, certainly, but I've also seen anime with really skilled actors giving great performances. The Sir Stewart award nominees are: Black Rock Shooter (the OVA), Bottle Fairy, & Slayers Perfect. These weren't the only good performances but they were certainly at the top. The Sir Stewart award goes to... Black Rock Shooter. What ended up deciding this one is the chemistry between Hanazawa Kana and Sawashiro Miyuki. It is really difficult to convey chemistry between characters using only your voice and this OVA does that magnificently. Let's move on to the final awards, warp factor nine.
Perry award for ear-splittingly awful vocals:
We didn't just hear performances good and bad this year, we also heard quite a few songs. Some of which were pretty horrendous. The Perry award nominees are: Animal Crossing for KK Slider's performance, Brave Story for Ketsui no Asa ni, & Sailor Moon (the English dub) for the mockery they turned the opening song into. The Perry award goes to... The English dub of Sailor Moon. As bad as both of those other musical performances were, they can't even compare to the dubbed version of Sailor Moon. It took the music of a great song and put in lyrics that could have been written by a six year old and let someone with less musical talent than a vuvuzela sing it. It's wretched.
Kloss award for harmonious and lovely vocals:
There were a lot of good songs in the anime I watched this year. Even some of the bad ones had really good music. It was tough, but I picked out the best. The Kloss award nominees are: Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan for the song of the same name, Inukami for Hikari & Slayers Perfect for Midnight Blue. The Kloss award goes to... Slayers Perfect. Horie Yui and Saeko Chiba are both spectacular singers, but neither one can quite compare to the peerless voice of Hayashibara Megumi. Midnight blue is definitely the best song I heard in any anime this year.
That's it for this year's awards. It's been a pretty good year. Sure, I've seen some terrible anime that are probably against the Geneva convention, but I've also sen a lot of good ones and I've had fun sharing my experiences with them, good and bad, with all of you. Have a happy day of love with the person you love. Goodnight, Everybody.
Posted by ktulu007 | Feb 14, 2014 12:46 AM | 2 comments
December 26th, 2012
A couple questions answered.
Anime Relations: Perfect Blue, Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku, Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, Chou Robot Seimeitai Transformers Micron Densetsu
Hello, everyone. I know that it's been quite a while since my last blog on this site, but there are a few questions that keep coming up and I thought I'd be nice and answer them for you.
1. Do you review everything that people request?
The answer is, just about. I did a blog not too long after I first created my profile giving certain conditions to my reviews. The first is that I don't review hentai, ever. Now, I don't care if you like hentai. It's really none of my business, but I have absolutely no interest in it and, honestly, the general purpose of hentai is to cause arousal and I don't feel comfortable dictating to anyone what they should be aroused by. So, I don't review it. The second major condition is that I do all my reviews based on the original Japanese versions. Usually that's not an issue, but sometimes I just can't find the request in the original Japanese. It's only happened twice so far, and I do apologise to those people who wanted to see reviews of Transformers: Micron legend and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, but if I can't find the original Japanese version, I'm not doing the review.
2. Why does there always seem to be a time delay in your reviews?
Yeah, I've gotten several people asking why I announce things like horror anime month, and mention my first review of the month, when it's the second review I've posted for that month. The reason is simple. There is a delay. I originally post my reviews on GS, one week later I post them here with very few if any changes. There are two major reasons for this. The first is that most of my requests and comments come from people on GS, so I show my appreciation by giving them the reviews first. The second is that GS is where I got my start, roughly half a year before I started posting my reviews here. It seems only right to continue to give them extra attention.
3. Do you have a problem with nudity?
This one comes up on occasion, usually when I've just given a negative view of something that has nudity. The simple answer to this is no, no I don't. As some of you may know, two of the three anime I've given perfect scores have nudity. What I take issue with is mindless fan-service. The two aforementioned anime both have nudity, but it serves a purpose for the plot or symbolism, so I don't mind. That being said, even mindless fan-service doesn't ruin an anime for me. I ave given 7s and 8s to anime that have quite a bit because they have merits that more than make up for it. Mindless fan-service only adds a problem. If the anime is good otherwise, I'll still give it a high score. If the anime is crap, then the mindless fan-service just gives me one more thing to complain about.
So, there are your answers to those questions. Please, stop asking them. Of course, I don't mind answering different questions but don't be upset if I just give you the answer instead of putting it in a blog.
1. Do you review everything that people request?
The answer is, just about. I did a blog not too long after I first created my profile giving certain conditions to my reviews. The first is that I don't review hentai, ever. Now, I don't care if you like hentai. It's really none of my business, but I have absolutely no interest in it and, honestly, the general purpose of hentai is to cause arousal and I don't feel comfortable dictating to anyone what they should be aroused by. So, I don't review it. The second major condition is that I do all my reviews based on the original Japanese versions. Usually that's not an issue, but sometimes I just can't find the request in the original Japanese. It's only happened twice so far, and I do apologise to those people who wanted to see reviews of Transformers: Micron legend and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, but if I can't find the original Japanese version, I'm not doing the review.
2. Why does there always seem to be a time delay in your reviews?
Yeah, I've gotten several people asking why I announce things like horror anime month, and mention my first review of the month, when it's the second review I've posted for that month. The reason is simple. There is a delay. I originally post my reviews on GS, one week later I post them here with very few if any changes. There are two major reasons for this. The first is that most of my requests and comments come from people on GS, so I show my appreciation by giving them the reviews first. The second is that GS is where I got my start, roughly half a year before I started posting my reviews here. It seems only right to continue to give them extra attention.
3. Do you have a problem with nudity?
This one comes up on occasion, usually when I've just given a negative view of something that has nudity. The simple answer to this is no, no I don't. As some of you may know, two of the three anime I've given perfect scores have nudity. What I take issue with is mindless fan-service. The two aforementioned anime both have nudity, but it serves a purpose for the plot or symbolism, so I don't mind. That being said, even mindless fan-service doesn't ruin an anime for me. I ave given 7s and 8s to anime that have quite a bit because they have merits that more than make up for it. Mindless fan-service only adds a problem. If the anime is good otherwise, I'll still give it a high score. If the anime is crap, then the mindless fan-service just gives me one more thing to complain about.
So, there are your answers to those questions. Please, stop asking them. Of course, I don't mind answering different questions but don't be upset if I just give you the answer instead of putting it in a blog.
Posted by ktulu007 | Dec 26, 2012 1:09 AM | 5 comments
August 6th, 2011
Top 5 reasons I won't watch anime in English
I mentioned in my blog about requests that I won't watch anime in English. Some people have asked me why I won't or implied that I'm "doing it wrong" because I won't watch the English dubs. So, for the curious, here are the top 5 reasons I won't watch the English dubs.
#5. The time factor. It's just a fact that just about any new anime will be subtitled before it gets dubbed. Some of it won't get an English dubbed version at all. So it's just more convenient for me to watch the subtitled versions.
#4. I think that the original versions of things have a purity that gets lost in translation. Yes, I know that sounds cheesy, but I really do prefer to enjoy media in their original languages if it's at all possible. Because I truly feel that the original version is going to be the best.
#3. English is not my first language. Yes, I do speak English well, but it's still a second language for me. I really have no reason to watch anime in English. It's not like all my friends are watching the English version or I know anyone who works for the English dubbing company.
#2. The voice acting. I have heard a few English dubs, mainly from mis-labeled videos on streaming sites, and they've all been atrocious. FMA, Bleach, Death Note, Duel Monsters, The Slayers, Evangelion, Darker than Black, Sailor Moon and several others. I would rather listen to a mixed CD featuring Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Le' Arc en Ciel, and Rebecca Black than listen to the English versions of anime. And, honestly, if I were to review an anime based on the English version you'd have to deal with a paragraph of me analysing how terrible the voice acting is and I don't think anyone wants that.
#1. Censorship. I hate censorship. I am absolutely and completely opposed to censorship. The biggest problem I have with watching the English dubs of anime is that they're frequently censored. Whether it's the dubbing company trying to hide the fact that the anime has *gasp* gay people or they're toning down the content because "it's too violent" I don't care. I'm against it. It also presents a problem as a reviewer since I'd never be sure if there was actually a story issue or it was just that the dubbing company butchered the anime.
There you have it, the reasons that I don't watch English dubs, and no, I don't care if you think you might have an anime I should make an exception for.
#5. The time factor. It's just a fact that just about any new anime will be subtitled before it gets dubbed. Some of it won't get an English dubbed version at all. So it's just more convenient for me to watch the subtitled versions.
#4. I think that the original versions of things have a purity that gets lost in translation. Yes, I know that sounds cheesy, but I really do prefer to enjoy media in their original languages if it's at all possible. Because I truly feel that the original version is going to be the best.
#3. English is not my first language. Yes, I do speak English well, but it's still a second language for me. I really have no reason to watch anime in English. It's not like all my friends are watching the English version or I know anyone who works for the English dubbing company.
#2. The voice acting. I have heard a few English dubs, mainly from mis-labeled videos on streaming sites, and they've all been atrocious. FMA, Bleach, Death Note, Duel Monsters, The Slayers, Evangelion, Darker than Black, Sailor Moon and several others. I would rather listen to a mixed CD featuring Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Le' Arc en Ciel, and Rebecca Black than listen to the English versions of anime. And, honestly, if I were to review an anime based on the English version you'd have to deal with a paragraph of me analysing how terrible the voice acting is and I don't think anyone wants that.
#1. Censorship. I hate censorship. I am absolutely and completely opposed to censorship. The biggest problem I have with watching the English dubs of anime is that they're frequently censored. Whether it's the dubbing company trying to hide the fact that the anime has *gasp* gay people or they're toning down the content because "it's too violent" I don't care. I'm against it. It also presents a problem as a reviewer since I'd never be sure if there was actually a story issue or it was just that the dubbing company butchered the anime.
There you have it, the reasons that I don't watch English dubs, and no, I don't care if you think you might have an anime I should make an exception for.
Posted by ktulu007 | Aug 6, 2011 6:16 PM | 10 comments
July 18th, 2011
Ktulu's top 15 anime couples Final part
Anime Relations: Mai-Otome, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars, Mai-Otome Zwei, El Cazador de la Bruja, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
Before I reveal my absolute favorite anime couple I'm going to go over a few honourable mentions. These are couples that were close to making the list, but didn't quite get there.
Shizuru and Natsuki from Mai-Otome
The main reason they didn't make it is that there isn't enough of their relationship. They're both side characters and most of the time you see them they're either with students or they're providing exposition. As a result you really see very little of their relationship dynamic. Which really is a pity since what you do see is very well done.
Haruka and Michiru from Sailor Moon
These two are really a great couple and very well developed. The only reason they didn't make the list is because there's one Sailor Moon couple I like better.
Madoka and Homura from Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
These two didn't make it for one simple reason. By the time I saw Madoka I'd already made the list and started posting it. Honestly, now that I've seen Madoka these two would probably take the #9 spot. But it was just too late by the time I'd seen it.
Those are the honourable mentions. Now all that remains is to reveal the number one couple.
#1 Ellis and Nadie from El Cazador De la Bruja
These two are such a great couple. I love the way they meet where Nadie wants to capture Ellis for the bounty and Ellis not only goes along with it, but helps Nadie. I like the way their relationship evolves and how it affects the story.For example, the way that Nadie experiences a very real conflict as their relationship progresses. She feels guilty about the bounty she's receiving and, in the end, chooses to protect Ellis even from her former employer. They receive a lot of cute moments. They both make sacrifices for the other. They drive off into the sunset together. These two are an awesome couple and that's why they're number one.
Well, that's my list. I hope that those of you who read it enjoyed it. Next time I do a top list I'll cut it down to one or two parts so that it doesn't take so long to post.
Shizuru and Natsuki from Mai-Otome
The main reason they didn't make it is that there isn't enough of their relationship. They're both side characters and most of the time you see them they're either with students or they're providing exposition. As a result you really see very little of their relationship dynamic. Which really is a pity since what you do see is very well done.
Haruka and Michiru from Sailor Moon
These two are really a great couple and very well developed. The only reason they didn't make the list is because there's one Sailor Moon couple I like better.
Madoka and Homura from Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
These two didn't make it for one simple reason. By the time I saw Madoka I'd already made the list and started posting it. Honestly, now that I've seen Madoka these two would probably take the #9 spot. But it was just too late by the time I'd seen it.
Those are the honourable mentions. Now all that remains is to reveal the number one couple.
#1 Ellis and Nadie from El Cazador De la Bruja
These two are such a great couple. I love the way they meet where Nadie wants to capture Ellis for the bounty and Ellis not only goes along with it, but helps Nadie. I like the way their relationship evolves and how it affects the story.For example, the way that Nadie experiences a very real conflict as their relationship progresses. She feels guilty about the bounty she's receiving and, in the end, chooses to protect Ellis even from her former employer. They receive a lot of cute moments. They both make sacrifices for the other. They drive off into the sunset together. These two are an awesome couple and that's why they're number one.
Well, that's my list. I hope that those of you who read it enjoyed it. Next time I do a top list I'll cut it down to one or two parts so that it doesn't take so long to post.
Posted by ktulu007 | Jul 18, 2011 12:53 PM | 1 comments
July 11th, 2011
Ktulu's top 15 anime couples part four
Anime Relations: Chrno Crusade, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's, Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
Well, we're almost at the end. After today there'll be only one installment left. So let's get right to it.
#5 Chrno and Rosette from Chrno Crusade
These two have an interesting relationship. They're driven by mutual need, tragedy and their own desire to live life to its fullest. Their relationship is great because it always has an element of time to it. They know that they can only be together for so long before Rosette's time runs out. The whole situation compels them to make their time together all the more special. Their relationship is really complex and, although it doesn't end happily, it does leave a strong emotional impact.
#4 Quatre and Trowa from Gundam Wing
These two are great. Their relationship may start really abruptly, but that's okay. What's important is what gets done with it after it starts. I think the element that makes this a really strong relationship is the empathetic bond they share. Which allows Trowa to sense Quatre's emotions when Quatre is in orbit and Trowa's on the colony's surface. This bond adds a whole new layer of understanding and complexity to their relationship. It also shows how close they are.
#3 Ami and Rei from Sailor Moon
These two are a great couple. In many ways they're very different, but that just enables them to compensate for each other's weak areas. When Ami is inclined to offer assistance to someone who won't really do anything with it, Rei can take her by the hand and remove her from the situation. When Rei is about to act impulsively and cause problems, Ami can grab her shoulder and gently pull her back. They're both strong and capable but they still need each other and that's really what makes them a great couple.
#2 Nanoha and Fate from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
These two are adorable. I really like the way their relationship constantly evolves. In the first season it's a young love, faint and new. In the second season they've gotten to know each other better so it's more emotional and a lot stronger. Then in Strikers they may as well be a married couple. They stay in the same quarters, they've adopted a child. The point is that you get a great relationship progression with them. It makes their relationship really well developed and interesting to watch and it's always cute.
Next week I'll go through some honourable mentions and reveal the #1 couple.
#5 Chrno and Rosette from Chrno Crusade
These two have an interesting relationship. They're driven by mutual need, tragedy and their own desire to live life to its fullest. Their relationship is great because it always has an element of time to it. They know that they can only be together for so long before Rosette's time runs out. The whole situation compels them to make their time together all the more special. Their relationship is really complex and, although it doesn't end happily, it does leave a strong emotional impact.
#4 Quatre and Trowa from Gundam Wing
These two are great. Their relationship may start really abruptly, but that's okay. What's important is what gets done with it after it starts. I think the element that makes this a really strong relationship is the empathetic bond they share. Which allows Trowa to sense Quatre's emotions when Quatre is in orbit and Trowa's on the colony's surface. This bond adds a whole new layer of understanding and complexity to their relationship. It also shows how close they are.
#3 Ami and Rei from Sailor Moon
These two are a great couple. In many ways they're very different, but that just enables them to compensate for each other's weak areas. When Ami is inclined to offer assistance to someone who won't really do anything with it, Rei can take her by the hand and remove her from the situation. When Rei is about to act impulsively and cause problems, Ami can grab her shoulder and gently pull her back. They're both strong and capable but they still need each other and that's really what makes them a great couple.
#2 Nanoha and Fate from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
These two are adorable. I really like the way their relationship constantly evolves. In the first season it's a young love, faint and new. In the second season they've gotten to know each other better so it's more emotional and a lot stronger. Then in Strikers they may as well be a married couple. They stay in the same quarters, they've adopted a child. The point is that you get a great relationship progression with them. It makes their relationship really well developed and interesting to watch and it's always cute.
Next week I'll go through some honourable mentions and reveal the #1 couple.
Posted by ktulu007 | Jul 11, 2011 2:02 PM | 1 comments