Back to 11AM's Profile 11AM's Profile

Plot & Synopsis:
Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi from Konohagure or 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves', embarks on a mission with the rest of his team to stop a rogue ninja puppet master Mukade from acquiring an ancient power. Captain Yamato, Sakura and Sai all encounter said puppet master in ruins of a once glorious country (?) Rouran where in an attempt to snatch the power, he an Naruto are thrust 20 years in the past. Now, Naruto has no idea what is going on as he awakes and finds himself in the middle of Rouran's political affairs with a team of mysterious Konohanagure shinobi whose ... leader seems vaguely familiar to the young hero.


Characters:
Being a typical piece of the Naruto franchise, it centers on the title character Naruto and a number of supporting cast that appear a few times throughout the movie. Naruto is as headstrong and heroic as always, babbling on and on about having guts, doing what you have to do and his ninja way. The supporting cast is made up of the antagonist Mukade, a rogue shinobi puppet master, Rouran's Queen Saara and none other than Namikaze Minato, a Konohagure shinobi. Appearances by series regulars in their adorable 20 years ago selves were also made by Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake and I think that was Kurenai there for a scene.

Sound & Music:
Utilising the original cast from the series, voices such as Takeuchi Junko, Nakamura Chie and Morikawa Toshiyuki were featured as Naruto, Sakura and Minato respectively with new voices for our 20 year prior cuties and the original characters Mukade and Saara. As for the music director, I dunno but I will commend whoever it is for selecting Nishino Kana's single 'If' as the ending theme. I found out about the movie because I heard the single was being used as the ED so I decided to check it out. Nothing much more to say here, as a typical action based shounen anime film crashes and screams to increase power were prominent.

Art and Animation:
Really short section here. Rouran 20 years ago was really nicely done. It reminded me of something European almost like a church with the way the buildings were done. I almost thought I was watching something like DenYuuDen for a second. The colours were nice and such and Saara was designed pretty nicely while Mukade could've done with another trip to the drawing board compared to some previous antagonists. I guess it was ok based on the nature of how the story went. All in all, pretty nicely done Murata Masahiko and Yamashita Hiroyuki.

Enjoyment and Closing Comments:
Well I'm not a Naruto fan but the movie was decent. In my opinion, it started out boring then got exciting for the remainder until the generic ending. I would've liked a little more screentime and interaction from Minato though. The movie mainly followed Naruto when I thought, given the posters and how it was advertised, it would've been a NaruxMina moment. As mentioned at the start, a pretty generic plot with the bad guy in search of some awesome power then Naru beating him down in the end. Why do people make awesome powers? They're just gonna fall into evil hands at some point or the other... Highlights were the climatic fight that started pretty early on and went on for a while so points for that and Kana as the ED.

Synopsis & Plot:
Gosick (stylized as GOSICK) is a story about stories. Ghost stories to be specific. The story revolves around the Dark Shinigami, Kazuya Kujo, and the Golden Fairy of the Library, Victorique and their constant involvement in solving bizarre occurances for the inspector Graviel de Blois. Throughout the story, the Dark Shinigami begins to unravel the countless mysteries that surround his newfound friend Victorique. However, with each answer several more mysteries pop up. Just who is the Victorique and what is the truth behind the story of the Golden Fairy of the Library?

Characters:
The characters in Gosick all have a little quirk to them. Beginning ... with Kazuya Kujo, an exchange student from Japan. He's known throughout the school as the Dark Shinigami because of his 'black eyes that swallow up the darkness'. His name came from the ghost story 'The Springtime Shinigami'. He thought that Victorique was a doll on their first meeting and that he had dreamt the entire thing until his homeroom teacher confirmed Victorique's existence as a student of the Academy. As a protagonist, he is just and believes in protecting Victorique from danger. Victorique on the other hand, reminds me of Shinku from Rozen Maiden with a combination of her and Zero no Tsukaima's Louise de la Valliere's personalities minus the physical abuse. She is sarcastic and speaks to him the way one would speak to a servant yet still blushing when he says something the typical protagonist would say. The rest of the characters are just delightfully eccentric; from the overenthusiastic homeroom teacher to Inspector de Blois and his splendidly animated YuGiOh hairstyle, there's sure to be someone for everyone to love.

Art & Graphics:
The art is done generally well. That I attribute to the time and the availability of resources to make a scene look picturesque. It's enough for you to be interested but not enough to potentially wow you. The characters are also, generally well done with my only...problem for want of a better word being with the plainness of Kujo's design. He definitely looks like the author spent the majority of the time developing our lovely loli's design over his. The most interesting design is by far Inspector de Blois and his hair. I just can't get enough of that hairstyle. I think that special mention should be made of the animation during the OP and ED sequence as they seemed to be a slightly more developed than the backgrounds themselves.

Music & Sound:
My favorite part of this is the music. BY FAR. The music was organised by Nakagawa Koutarou who did the soundtracks for other note worthy series such as Code Geass, Hayate the Combat Butler and 07 Ghost. The main roles of Kujo and Victorique are voiced by Eguchi Takuya and Yuuki Aoi respectively. The role of Kujo is Eguchi's first main role which based on reception from fans, he seems to pull of well. Yuuki on the other hand is no stranger to main roles such as Kishitani Shinra from Durarara!!, Yagyuu Jubei from the fall 2010 anime Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls and most recently as Kaname Madoka from the popular mahou shoujo anime, Puella Magi Magica Madoka. For me, the sound of this anime gets a perfect score.

Enjoyment:
I sat to watch this anime after a stressful day of school and before I knew it, it was dark and I was 7 episodes in. I don't remember the last time I'd watched so many episodes of an anime that was not a typical shounen like One Piece without falling asleep. I had heard good things about the GOSICK novel and that the anime was just a little shy of its original's reputation but it seems to surprising me in all kinds of ways. I look forward to seeing more of Gosick in the near future.

Synopsis & Plot:
Pretty Cure is the first Precure! of the Precure! series. It features Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, two girls of Verone Junior High’s 2nd year Sakura class. One night Nagisa makes a wish to be noticed by boys instead of girls and is greeted by a strange creature named Mepple from the Garden of Light. Honoka finds a box containing a cellphone that turns into Mipple, the Princess of Hope. Mepple and Mipple were sent from the Garden of Light to find Pretty Cure and gather and protect the Seven Prism Stones from the inhabitants of the Dark Zone. From that point on, ... Nagisa and Honoka fight the Dark Warriors as Cure Black and Cure White to protect the Garden of Light and their own realm, the Garden of Rainbows.

Characters:
Nagisa Misumi is the ace of Verone Junior High’s lacrosse team and Honoka is a member of the science club. The most compatible match? Hardly. But the two make it work over time. Nagisa is tomboyish and athletic and it shows when often she spaces out to think about takoyaki or chocolate. Honoka on the other hand is more literal and at random times blurts out information that really doesn’t need to be known. The combo of the athletic Nagisa and the brainy Honoka makes for interesting interaction between our Precures throughout the series.

Art & Graphics:
The art in the anime is acceptable; nothing to particularly wow you but it’s nothing that will turn you off either. At some points in the series, you’ll notice the quality of the art being a little lower than usual while at others, you’ll notice it better than usual. This being a Mahou Shoujo, I have to talk about the transformation scene in the art section. At first, I wasn’t impressed with it comparing it to things like Sailor Moon, Nanoha and Corrector Yui but after a while I got used to it. Their Precure attacks were particularly fun to watch, especially in the second arc of the series. In fact, they were one of the highlights of the episodes :D

Music & Sound:
The opening and ending themes were typical cardboard Mahou Shoujo songs; perky, upbeat and girly. At first I listened to them but after a while you just find them stuck in your head playing over and over all perky like. On the point of voice acting, Yukana’s voice as Honoka jumped out at me instantly. She’s so kawaii ^_^. Nagisa on the other hand is voiced by Youko Honna who I’d never heard in an anime before. At the beginning I thought her to be a little annoying but by episode 10 or so, I got used to her catchphrase ‘Arienaiiiiiii’ every episode. One thing that I HAVE to mention talking about voice acting was the way they said the names of their attacks. I never got tired of hearing them chant ‘Black Thunder! White Thunder! Pretty Cure Marble Screw!’ all through the series. I was able to pick out Yukana especially from the duo and she sounded extra cute saying it. All in all, a great job by Youko-san and Yukana-san.

Enjoyment & Closing Comments:
Being a fan of Mahou Shoujo because of their light friendly atmosphere that’s able to pick me up when I’m feeling down or just in the mood for some cute. Pretty Cure was no disappointment. It was a little slow at times and I thought the story dragged a little toward the end but Mahou Shoujo fans will like Pretty Cure. The typical and cliché elements like young love and balancing their fight for justice with their regular lives are important in this series and it shows up quite a lot throughout the show. All in all I gave the show a 7. It lost points for slow pacing, the drop in art at some points and the cardboard sound of the opening and ending. Despite these things though, a mahou shoujo should take some time to watch this enjoyable series.

I’ve been looking forward to Starry☆Sky since it was announced. I liked the majority of character designs, the emphasis on astronomy and astrology and the fact that they’d tie it in with a romantic story without panty shots and excessive boob movements every few minutes. However, this series has fallen short of my expectations.

Story-wise, what caught my attention was the fact that they were using the astrological signs to make their characters. Each of the 12 signs have 2 episodes to get their story across and tie it in with Tsukiko and the final two episodes I imagine will feature the thirteenth secret character that ... represents the new sign, Ophiuchus.
This leaves pacing at the extremes; either very quickly or very slow. Either way you don’t leave the arc completely understanding the character. 6/10

As for characters, I still have no idea what their names are and I’ve seen the first 4 arcs. I refer to them all by their signs. Their personalities are all based on the theory behind those of the astrological signs and once again are usually not fully developed in their 20-minutes of fame. As for Tsukiko, I think she has the least development of all the characters and is very much a huge eyed mystery to me. 6/10

As I mentioned before, the art was one of the things that caught me. Scrolling through the characters’ pictures I saw just about every color of the rainbow used in hair and eye color. As a reverse harem goes, it is never complete without fancy colored hair. So far Aquarius, Virgo and Gemini are the characters that stand out to me. They all have something unique that separates them from the rest. Tsukiko’s larger than normal eyes make her look a little strange and she really never stood out for me. 7/10

Sound is probably best in this show. Another plus for me. The cast is all well known male seiyuu. Names like Ono Daisuke, Fukuyama Jun and Suzumura Kenichi all grace this anime with their talent. The ending theme is an instrumental piece that grabs my attention so much that I must listen to it after each episode. Like I opened with, the sound is what saves this anime. 9/10

As much as the character designs and music keep me interested, I find myself thinking hard about watching the new episodes each week. Usually if I do, I don’t mind just letting the episode run and listening to the dialogue while I browse the internet. I fall asleep through the episode if I don’t. 6/10

Live On Cardliver Kakeru is an anime based on the manga of the same name. Seeing as there wasn’t a review for this, I figured that I should make one. I have no idea how to play the game and perhaps I’ll pick it up throughout the series.

SYNOPSIS/PLOT:
LOCK focuses on our main character, Kakeru who, like usual, wants to become the number one Live player. In his school, he’s the number two Cardliver just beneath his classmate, Ai. It seems that, Ai’s only advantage is that she has a Live Change Card. One day, Kakeru finds a strange dog which is being pursued by a ... group of strange people. During a Live match against one of the people in said group, Kakeru receives a Live Change Card from the dog which allowed him to transform into Blue Mane Wolf and win the battle.

CHARACTERS:
Kakeru is your typical card game shounen protagonist; wishes to be the best, spiky hair and the cards he use are red. He also has the same drive to protect random dog-like creatures that he sees injured which leads him into a fight that he absolutely must win. Ai Kozeri, however, isn’t your typical shounen girl which was a nice change. Her cards revolve around birds and she has the upper hand on the male protagonist [girl power]. How long that lasts can only be told with time.

SOUND:
The music in LOCK seems really…annoying. For the first time in a long time, I just skip past the OP and ED not because I don’t want to hear them but because they just shouldn’t be heard. The background music seems generic but the voice acting however is fine seeing as the voices match the characters’ appearances [so far].

ANIMATION:
The animation is what has impressed me the most about LOCK. Although it began in 2008, the artwork reflects 2009 in my opinion. Colors seem to flow well and the color schemes used for the characters fit them. I must say, it’s nice to see an anime where the male protagonist’s color scheme doesn’t revolve around every single part of his clothing being red and the female protagonist, pink. The villains do, however, look like rip off Team Rocket grunts.

ENTERTAINMENT:
LOCK kept me entertained throughout the episode that I’ve seen and it made me want to look for the following episodes to see what happens. Also, I have this feeling that the Live game itself will be explained should I choose to continue the series.

OVERALL:
All in all, LOCK seems like a good watch but for those anime fans around the ages of 8-13. I’m a die hard cardgame anime fan but I’m just not sure about it. It definitely isn’t an anime I’d download episode after episode and watch in one sitting. I give Live On Cardliver Kakeru 6/10.

Synopsis:
Senou Natsuru is your normal, everyday high school student. However he´s been chosen to be a Kampfer, who´s objective consists on fighting other Kampfer with either guns, swords or magic, however, there´s catch; first you can´t chose if you´re a Kampfer or not, and second, you must have the body of a girl to use your powers.

Plot:
“Whether or not you want to be a Kampfer is irrelevant, you are chosen and have to fight. Lastly, to use your abilities as a Kampfer, you must have a girl’s body.” These are all rules that were thrust upon a poor high school student named Natsuru Senou. As ... the days go by, his life complicates even further as he is forced to live a life as a girl and try to figure out why everyone around him is turning out to be a die hard lesbian!!!!

Characters:
Natsuru Senou – the protagonist of the anime. He woke one day in a girl’s body and on his way to school was attacked by a mysterious girl with a gun where he transformed into his female self once again.. His long time crush, Sakura Kaede, falls in love with his female self and this starts a wheel of unfortunate events for our hero(ine). Natsuru wears a blue Kampfer bracelet and wields Zauber type battle capabilities based on fire.
Akane Mishima – the mysterious girl that attacked Natsuru on the day of his Kampfer-ing. She is usually very kind but when in her Kampfer form, she becomes very foul mouthed and proceeds to shoot first and ask questions later. She is a Gewehr type Kampfer who uses a semiautomatic handgun.
Sakura Kaede – Natsuru’s childhood friend. She falls in love with his Kampfer form and begins a relentless pursuit of his love. Also, she has a fondness for the Entrails Animals series of stuffed animals and gives them out as gifts. Strangely enough, everyone to receive an Entrails Animal from her becomes a Kampfer…

Sound & Graphics:
The music in this anime is very upbeat keeping with the entire all-girl cast. The music utilises artists such as Minami Kuribayashi and Megumi Nakajima in the OP and ED respectively. The seiyuu are all also all stars with voices like Nana Mizuki, Yui Horie and Yukari Tamura. The animation in itself uses bright colours again keeping with the feminine aspect and the characters all have their kawaii appearances and the transformation scenes (when shown remind you of the old time scenes from Sailor Moon).

Entertainment & Replay Value:
Really one of the anime that I wait for with my fangirl squeal each week. I can’t wait for the episodes to come out and when they do, I can’t wait to watch them. There are times that I ask myself if this is an action anime because the action isn’t so prominent but when fights come around, they please the audience. Also, since this revolves around mainly female characters, there is obviously a heavy dose of yuri here. Shoujo and yuri fans will be greatly entertained