March 22nd, 2015
Wanted! Review
Anime Relations: One Piece
The Wanted! Tanpenshu is like its name implies, a collection of Eiichiro Oda's one shots/short stories before One Piece. If you're not a One Piece fan you probably won't find this worth reading, however, if you are a One Piece fan, the progression of the mangaka's art style and growth might prove interesting.
UH that up there was the review, this stuff down here is my thoughts as I was reading the tanpenshu so maybe you wouldn't want to read these.
Wanted!: Wow, the art style here doesn't look like Oda-sensei at all. This is really the art of the previous era, the sharp pointed features, the I don't know it just feels old. IT FEELS LIKE YU YU HAKUSHO. It has the same spirity plotline, the bad, unlogical plot flow, it even has the same humor. The main characters also have the same attitude. I'm not a big fan of the Wild West theme; I'm glad this didn't become serialized. Also there was minimal background, not as bad as Bleach, but not as detailed as normal.
God's Present for the Future: I liked the trick at the end! It reminds me of how Nami pickpokected everyone in Orange Town at the end of the Arlong Arc. This was actually pretty interesting. Again, the humor was similar to Yu Yu Hakusho in my opinion, and the main character had the same personality. The art got a bit different, a little bit more round, there was a lot more background in this piece.
Ikki Yako: I would actually want to read this if it had become serialized. The main character really looks like Zoro. It had a good outcome and good potential to be a long story I feel. The character art got a lot better from the days of wanted, their attire is more detailed and their facial structure looks close to One Piece. Or at least close to Zoro. The storyline felt like something that could have come out of One Piece; the shocking coincidences that capture everyone's hearts and make the villain that much more villain.
Monsters: I swear all the main characters look like Zoro. The story line of this story really reminds me of the Arlong Arc. One thing I really like about One Piece is its story and particularly how Oda makes all of his stories so tragic. Unlike other manga like Bleach (lol it's not like I hate Bleach or anything its just so bad now, I really liked it before, I promise), where the goal of the arc is saving the world, saving soul society, saving Rukia and stuff like that; the story goals of One Piece are more "these guys are doing bad things and hurting people so we have to save them". I like how the Strawhats come into towns just looking to stock up on supplies but end up getting drawn into the island's problems. I just feel like there's a distinction between "have to save the world" and "I want to save these people". In Monsters I felt the "I want to save these people feeling", this is exemplified by the fact that Ryuma was framed, and the whole town hated him and he had no obligation to help the citizens but he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Also the art when Ryuma cut the dragon was so Zoro, even the blood splatters are the same. Also!! One Piece reference!! This is the owner of the legendary sword of Wano country - the sword that Zoro has now ^_^.
Romance Dawn: Omg the art here is so One Piece. I like how Oda manages to make Luffy look like rubber, maybe not "like rubber" but once you know he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he looks like he's made of rubber (you know that rounded arm kind of look like Popeye). LOL "Your beak made a hole in my boat. Don't move, I plugged up the hole with your butt." This is Oda's humor. I like how Garp still has the same personality, however omg views of pirate life so different. He was a pirate? and he actually wanted Luffy to become a pirate?? AND LUFFY SAID HE DIDN'T WANT TO BECOME A PIRATE?? I'm glad they took out the "Morganeers" and "Peace Mates" concept, I like how it is now, it feels more realistic when everyone is a pirate and you don't know who is good or bad, you just know that there are good pirates and bad pirates yeah this is more realistic. wow in this story Luffy got his straw hat from Garp, I like how he got it from Shanks better.
UH that up there was the review, this stuff down here is my thoughts as I was reading the tanpenshu so maybe you wouldn't want to read these.
Wanted!: Wow, the art style here doesn't look like Oda-sensei at all. This is really the art of the previous era, the sharp pointed features, the I don't know it just feels old. IT FEELS LIKE YU YU HAKUSHO. It has the same spirity plotline, the bad, unlogical plot flow, it even has the same humor. The main characters also have the same attitude. I'm not a big fan of the Wild West theme; I'm glad this didn't become serialized. Also there was minimal background, not as bad as Bleach, but not as detailed as normal.
God's Present for the Future: I liked the trick at the end! It reminds me of how Nami pickpokected everyone in Orange Town at the end of the Arlong Arc. This was actually pretty interesting. Again, the humor was similar to Yu Yu Hakusho in my opinion, and the main character had the same personality. The art got a bit different, a little bit more round, there was a lot more background in this piece.
Ikki Yako: I would actually want to read this if it had become serialized. The main character really looks like Zoro. It had a good outcome and good potential to be a long story I feel. The character art got a lot better from the days of wanted, their attire is more detailed and their facial structure looks close to One Piece. Or at least close to Zoro. The storyline felt like something that could have come out of One Piece; the shocking coincidences that capture everyone's hearts and make the villain that much more villain.
Monsters: I swear all the main characters look like Zoro. The story line of this story really reminds me of the Arlong Arc. One thing I really like about One Piece is its story and particularly how Oda makes all of his stories so tragic. Unlike other manga like Bleach (lol it's not like I hate Bleach or anything its just so bad now, I really liked it before, I promise), where the goal of the arc is saving the world, saving soul society, saving Rukia and stuff like that; the story goals of One Piece are more "these guys are doing bad things and hurting people so we have to save them". I like how the Strawhats come into towns just looking to stock up on supplies but end up getting drawn into the island's problems. I just feel like there's a distinction between "have to save the world" and "I want to save these people". In Monsters I felt the "I want to save these people feeling", this is exemplified by the fact that Ryuma was framed, and the whole town hated him and he had no obligation to help the citizens but he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Also the art when Ryuma cut the dragon was so Zoro, even the blood splatters are the same. Also!! One Piece reference!! This is the owner of the legendary sword of Wano country - the sword that Zoro has now ^_^.
Romance Dawn: Omg the art here is so One Piece. I like how Oda manages to make Luffy look like rubber, maybe not "like rubber" but once you know he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he looks like he's made of rubber (you know that rounded arm kind of look like Popeye). LOL "Your beak made a hole in my boat. Don't move, I plugged up the hole with your butt." This is Oda's humor. I like how Garp still has the same personality, however omg views of pirate life so different. He was a pirate? and he actually wanted Luffy to become a pirate?? AND LUFFY SAID HE DIDN'T WANT TO BECOME A PIRATE?? I'm glad they took out the "Morganeers" and "Peace Mates" concept, I like how it is now, it feels more realistic when everyone is a pirate and you don't know who is good or bad, you just know that there are good pirates and bad pirates yeah this is more realistic. wow in this story Luffy got his straw hat from Garp, I like how he got it from Shanks better.
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 22, 2015 12:25 PM | 0 comments
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Review
Anime Relations: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
This was the best anime (and manga) of its category that I've seen. I loved the story, and I thought that it was executed masterfully, in a way that makes you feel like any more or any less would ruin the story.
I really liked the animation style and I appreciated how closely it adhered to the mangaka's drawing style. I thought that the little comedic animations livened the series and made the characters more relatable and sympathetic to the audience.
The music selection was amazing. I loved the first opening by Goosehouse and overall I felt like the opening and ending themes were good representatives of the anime's vibe. The music selection (this is a music anime afterall) was really good and like Nodame Cantabile, the best parts (in my opinion) of the pieces were played and hatched together yet still represented the original pieces quite well. Very noticeably, the transitions between different portions of the pieces was incredibly smooth, and a lot better than those from Nodame Cantabile.
Like every other shoujo anime you have the tropes and the all too familiar triangle(/square). Honestly I can't really say why I felt so connected to these characters other than that their actions and their personalities felt realistic, relatable, and maybe most importantly understandable. The romance, however a large and important part of the series, was not the driving force of the series and that is what love should be. Their love motivated them to become better than who they were and allowed them to move forward with their lives.
Although the story is tragic, after finishing the anime amongst the sadness I also felt hope and a desire to live differently and that is what I think makes this story truely great.
Story: 10 Animation: 10 Characters: 10 Music: 10 Overall: 10
I really liked the animation style and I appreciated how closely it adhered to the mangaka's drawing style. I thought that the little comedic animations livened the series and made the characters more relatable and sympathetic to the audience.
The music selection was amazing. I loved the first opening by Goosehouse and overall I felt like the opening and ending themes were good representatives of the anime's vibe. The music selection (this is a music anime afterall) was really good and like Nodame Cantabile, the best parts (in my opinion) of the pieces were played and hatched together yet still represented the original pieces quite well. Very noticeably, the transitions between different portions of the pieces was incredibly smooth, and a lot better than those from Nodame Cantabile.
Like every other shoujo anime you have the tropes and the all too familiar triangle(/square). Honestly I can't really say why I felt so connected to these characters other than that their actions and their personalities felt realistic, relatable, and maybe most importantly understandable. The romance, however a large and important part of the series, was not the driving force of the series and that is what love should be. Their love motivated them to become better than who they were and allowed them to move forward with their lives.
Although the story is tragic, after finishing the anime amongst the sadness I also felt hope and a desire to live differently and that is what I think makes this story truely great.
Story: 10 Animation: 10 Characters: 10 Music: 10 Overall: 10
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 22, 2015 12:24 PM | 0 comments
March 20th, 2015
Tokyo Ghoul (Root A) - 11
Anime Relations: Tokyo Ghoul √A
I really liked the dialogue that occured between Amon and Kaneki. I felt that it gave Kaneki more humanity than the manga did at this point in the story and I like how Amon is able to see that side of him.
Aside from that, I thought that the battle scene between the Second Owl and Juzo was pathetic in that the Owl easily killed Shinohara-san without a bat of an eyelash but kept flicking Juzo away like he was a spec of dust. I did think however, that that scene was very touching and emotional, just that it wasn't particularly realistic.
I also disagreed with how late Arima was to arrive at the scene; yes I know, this all has to do with that manga thing where the hero shows up last and saves everybody's skins and it builds up excitement and pushing and pulling the audience and whatnot yeah yeah, but seriously they lost so many lives just because he took his time combing his hair and putting on his makeup. The CCG were the ones who initiated the attack on Anteiku and they were also aware that they would be combating the Owl, the whole mission was called the Owl extermination. I find it unreasonable to think that Arima would not have been present at the start of the mission.
I really wonder how they're going to end the anime at this point without introducing another season, I'm excited to see how that turns out.
Aside from that, I thought that the battle scene between the Second Owl and Juzo was pathetic in that the Owl easily killed Shinohara-san without a bat of an eyelash but kept flicking Juzo away like he was a spec of dust. I did think however, that that scene was very touching and emotional, just that it wasn't particularly realistic.
I also disagreed with how late Arima was to arrive at the scene; yes I know, this all has to do with that manga thing where the hero shows up last and saves everybody's skins and it builds up excitement and pushing and pulling the audience and whatnot yeah yeah, but seriously they lost so many lives just because he took his time combing his hair and putting on his makeup. The CCG were the ones who initiated the attack on Anteiku and they were also aware that they would be combating the Owl, the whole mission was called the Owl extermination. I find it unreasonable to think that Arima would not have been present at the start of the mission.
I really wonder how they're going to end the anime at this point without introducing another season, I'm excited to see how that turns out.
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 20, 2015 2:51 PM | 0 comments
Natsume Yuujinchou - 1
Anime Relations: Natsume Yuujinchou
First Impressions:
The overlying plot is clear and has endless potential for small single-episode plots and maybe even a mini arc here and there.
The animation style is clean and simple, although I can actually imagine this anime having a japanese theater-puppet style??
I like the ending theme <3
Story:
So Natsume (I forgot his first name) and his grandmother, Reiko, are both granted the ability to see youkai and this ability isolates them from the rest of society. Reiko, in her loneliness composed a Book of Friends by defeating youkai and taking their names from them. Now, Natsume and Nyanko-sensei and trying to give the youkai their names back.
I kind of seems out of character for Nyanko-sensei to easily agree to help/accompany Natsume. Especially considering that he himself wants the Yuujinchou for his own evil purposes and Natsume's actions are effectively depleting his demon army. Second, he we definitely beaten too easily by Natsume? like this isn't one punch man? and they gave him a scene totally munching on another youkai? so what was up with that. So yeah, I have a few issues with the credibility of these events but this is anime and whatever makes the story works, goes.
The overlying plot is clear and has endless potential for small single-episode plots and maybe even a mini arc here and there.
The animation style is clean and simple, although I can actually imagine this anime having a japanese theater-puppet style??
I like the ending theme <3
Story:
So Natsume (I forgot his first name) and his grandmother, Reiko, are both granted the ability to see youkai and this ability isolates them from the rest of society. Reiko, in her loneliness composed a Book of Friends by defeating youkai and taking their names from them. Now, Natsume and Nyanko-sensei and trying to give the youkai their names back.
I kind of seems out of character for Nyanko-sensei to easily agree to help/accompany Natsume. Especially considering that he himself wants the Yuujinchou for his own evil purposes and Natsume's actions are effectively depleting his demon army. Second, he we definitely beaten too easily by Natsume? like this isn't one punch man? and they gave him a scene totally munching on another youkai? so what was up with that. So yeah, I have a few issues with the credibility of these events but this is anime and whatever makes the story works, goes.
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 20, 2015 2:36 PM | 0 comments
March 19th, 2015
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Final
Anime Relations: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
OMG I'M DYING
That was such a good ending. I really loved how they added that scene of Arima and Kaori playing the "duet" together during the competition that was missing in the manga. It was beautiful really; that they got to play one last duet together and that her presence carried him through to the end and that he was able to say goodbye to her in his own way.
I know this sounds weird, but I'm really glad Kaori died. I feel like if she had lived it would have detracted from the meaning of everything she had been working for. Her death made everything that much more precious.
Did I mention the music selection in the anime is amazing? Just like in Nodame Cantabile, they snipped out all of the fluff and kept all of the expressivos and cantabiles and I felt like it added to the anime positively as well as showcasing the beauty of the music in a way that appeals to everyone. The transitions between sections was also very well done.
I like how the first ending song made an appearance during the conclusion of the episode with the violin and piano instrumental accompaniment. It mirrored the depiction of spring returning again, the spring where I first met you - a spring without you, how things returned to they way they were in the beginning.
I thought that the letter scenes illustrated Kaori's feelings well. Although it was pretty obvious throughout the series, I appreciate how Kaori didn't tell Kousei about her feelings and how she explained her lie in April, elucidating the title. I liked how they animated Kousei's reactions as he read the letter although it seemed a bit unrealistic, and I like how they portrayed Kousei and Kaori actually having a conversation at the end.
This anime was very emotional, and I'm sure everyone who has lost someone before related to this episode on a personal level. Our situations may not be exactly like this one and so it speaks to everyone of us in a different way. I think this anime inspired me to live a little more, to want to do things my way and to find my own way in life. Thank you, Kaori.
That was such a good ending. I really loved how they added that scene of Arima and Kaori playing the "duet" together during the competition that was missing in the manga. It was beautiful really; that they got to play one last duet together and that her presence carried him through to the end and that he was able to say goodbye to her in his own way.
I know this sounds weird, but I'm really glad Kaori died. I feel like if she had lived it would have detracted from the meaning of everything she had been working for. Her death made everything that much more precious.
Did I mention the music selection in the anime is amazing? Just like in Nodame Cantabile, they snipped out all of the fluff and kept all of the expressivos and cantabiles and I felt like it added to the anime positively as well as showcasing the beauty of the music in a way that appeals to everyone. The transitions between sections was also very well done.
I like how the first ending song made an appearance during the conclusion of the episode with the violin and piano instrumental accompaniment. It mirrored the depiction of spring returning again, the spring where I first met you - a spring without you, how things returned to they way they were in the beginning.
I thought that the letter scenes illustrated Kaori's feelings well. Although it was pretty obvious throughout the series, I appreciate how Kaori didn't tell Kousei about her feelings and how she explained her lie in April, elucidating the title. I liked how they animated Kousei's reactions as he read the letter although it seemed a bit unrealistic, and I like how they portrayed Kousei and Kaori actually having a conversation at the end.
This anime was very emotional, and I'm sure everyone who has lost someone before related to this episode on a personal level. Our situations may not be exactly like this one and so it speaks to everyone of us in a different way. I think this anime inspired me to live a little more, to want to do things my way and to find my own way in life. Thank you, Kaori.
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 19, 2015 2:14 PM | 0 comments
Natsume Yuujinchou - Starto
Anime Relations: Natsume Yuujinchou
So I decided to start watching Natsume Yuujinchou/Natsume and His Book of Friends after finishing Mawaru Penguindrum today.
I've tried it once before and dropped it; however, I'm looking forward to giving it a second shot. It seems kind of like a slice of life, laid-back, day-to-day anime kind of like Gintama or Barakamon without the over-the-top comedy, especially considering its extensive exploration the pain of loneliness.
so yeah, yoroshiku onegaishimasu lul
I've tried it once before and dropped it; however, I'm looking forward to giving it a second shot. It seems kind of like a slice of life, laid-back, day-to-day anime kind of like Gintama or Barakamon without the over-the-top comedy, especially considering its extensive exploration the pain of loneliness.
so yeah, yoroshiku onegaishimasu lul
Posted by safirebluedragon | Mar 19, 2015 12:44 PM | 0 comments