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Nov 5, 2016
This is not just another time traveling story where characters try to change the outcome of some major event. It felt closer to Kate Akinson's Life After Life than something like Groundhog Day. The main character receives a letter from her future self, warning her to save a classmate. This concept was developed very well as the character doesn't believe it at first, then grows to follow the advice, then sees the future diverging from the letter. Additionally, the story addresses what happens when we have this information: we can take it for granted and joke about it, or even callously say something to a
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friend who doesn't have the same information we might. And what if we're happy in the future, married with kids? Do we still give up that future to save someone?
ART: This anime seems like it was put together very quickly. The art style closely resembles the manga, but it could have been much, much better. It seems like a cheap show from the early 2000s with very 2D colors and shapes, with the sky a jarring flat blue. The character style and animation was also somewhat poor, especially towards the end of the show. Characters movement felt awkward and undefined while at times the way they were drawn just seemed off, and it affected the enjoyment of the show. And then from time to time there was random thrown in 3D-CG cell shaded anime (such as of background characters walking around at the shrine, vehicles, etc.)
SOUND: The music was fine and the voice acting was perfect. The actors felt very at home and natural in their roles.
CHARACTER: The main character was your typical, shoujo blah who eventually develops the barest semblance of a personality. And I couldn't accept that she blindly went along with, essentially, erasing her future to save one person. The characters' future selves also come up with a random explanation of how to send letters to the past that I thought felt contrived. Also, the characters all start out with a sense of mystery to them, but are extremely underdeveloped. I kept waiting for episodes devoted to the rest of the group of main characters.... but instead every single episode focused on the two main characters. This is no Kimi ni Todoke. I'm looking forward to the movie sequel to find out if the hilarious Hagita ever got together with his stylish, baker friend Azusa? What happens with sweet Suwa? And please, for crying out loud!, tell us something about Taka! These characters all have such potential! They're, honestly, what makes the show enjoyable! Their conversations seem very realistic and I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel.
ENJOYMENT: By the end of the series I was glad it was over, but also glad I had watched it. I'm also looking hopefully to the sequel to see how the others turn out!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 23, 2014
Steins;Gate has the potential to be a wonderful anime. Despite its minor flaws, it lives up to that potential. Summed up in a sentence? A 24 episode series with a lot of action, inventive tech, otaku babble, and unique characters.
I have to profess that I did not understand this show for at least half of its running. Then again, I didn't really follow Chaos;Head either. But the English dub of Steins;Gate is superb and I really recommend checking it out. Why?
STORY: I have to admit. Halfway through the series I was lost. I didn't understand the importance between a lot of things in the series.
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I also wasn't a fan of how the show ran very, very much like an eroge. I get that it's the point: not only are the characters otaku, but it's originally based on a visual novel. Great. Still, I feel it ruined a bit of the frantic nature of some of the episodes. Like, it starts out great and then has to address someone's arc every few episodes to hit each of Okabe's women's arcs (or good/bad endings as they're referred to in eroge). Like the time traveler's story, or the crazy girl's history, or a date with the trap, or saving the moe cafe girl. Ridiculous stuff that we could have done without. I have to say, though, one thing that got me was the whole switching world lines concept. Why bother, if you're just essentially changing lanes and not actually changing the future? A character brings this up late in the series but it's pretty quickly dropped. So, they have an ideal timeline, but there's still all those other world lines. Doesn't make much sense, to me. I think quite a bit more could have been done with SERN, as well. And there's quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. You need to just say, "Yeah, okay," and nod along with all the techno babble and raionalization even if it differs from every other theory you've heard (or flat out doesn't make sense).
SOUND: Sometimes poor voice acting can really ruin a show, no matter how amazing the premise. This is NOT one of those shows; the complete opposite actually. I found the sub hard to follow, but the dub is just great. Each VA really fits their roll and the Funimation rework is lovely. I really appreciate when animation companies rework anime into something that is at once loyal to the original version AND brings in new viewers. I think the other shows I've seen that have done the same (altered, but not too much, and normalized for new English speaking viewers) would be Lupin III (red jacket series that is aired on adult swim) and InuYasha. Steins;Gate is the same. I also got a kick out of Okabe referencing Lupin III at one point, when his VA did a voice in one of the Lupin series (as did their downstairs neighbor). It felt like he had switched to a completely different type of world line!
CHARACTER: The characters in this show are unique. They certainly hit a lot of tropes, but manage to stand alone as well. For instance, Okabe is fantastic. He's a self proclaimed mad scientist and speaks in flowery, academic wording. There's Mayuri, the genki girl. In any other world (I'm thinking almost every single Key Visual world) she may serve no tangible purpose. But here she's almost as important as Haruhi Suzumiya in her scope of casual importance. There's the tsundere genius that started all the problems in the first place. There's the chubby, eroge obsessed guy (who also happens to have a great story). There's the quiet but crazy one. This is a cast of great characters. Okabe quickly gains a harem of women which makes the series feel less like a time traveling delusion (similar to Chaos;Head) and more like an eroge. But the girls are all great. Ok, and the trap is wonderful too. How he's introduced by Okabe in the dub is hilarious. The only misstep here is the hacker who can't open his mouth without spewing a trope or meme, and that's fine. But the show will be heavily timestamped (much like Lupin III in which the characters talk about dated references). Unless, of course, that's the point since the show DOES have a literal time stamp on every episode. In that case: very clever!
ANIMATION: Someone walked in while I was watching this and asked, "Every time I see this it's just so DARK." They weren't referring to the tone. The show itself is grungy, dark, and heavily desaturated. I don't understand this trend in anime. I understand it's useful when it pertains to the story, but a lot of the time it really didn't. Still, the character design is unique and nice to watch.
What I appreciated about the anime was that although it IS based on a "visual novel" there was little to no fan service. This show is all about the dialogue, emotions, and "science." I highly recommend the English dub.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 8, 2014
In a movie called "Daisuke Jigen's Tombstone," one might suppose that it would be about, oh, I don't know...Daisuke Jigen. Probably his inevitable death (which will, of course, be fake because he's been kicking since the 60s and do you really think some random movie villain is going to end him?). If you are hoping for a Jigen origin story, you'll find more backstory in many Red Jacket series episodes. Instead of focusing on the titular character (as The Woman Called Fujiko Mine did), this is once again a Lupin adventure. That's, of course, not a bad thing. The Lupin franchise has been going strong
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with no end in sight. However, the movie had a strange feel to it. It was very 1970s, but you won't understand why it has such an outdated feel until a certain end scene at which point the Jigen movie now feels like a prequel and the mood makes sense. In other words: go into this short movie (less than an hour) not expecting much, but still leaving satisfied. Ish.
STORY: As I said, not much focus on Jigen. I mean, I guess it was titled "Tombstone" and not "Jigen Origin Story," but I expected more from the trailers. I skipped through it before watching it, and found a scene with a woman on stage. I assumed we'd have a detailed backstory about that. Nope. No emotional connection there. And the movie is odd; broken down into two parts. Every single Lupin movie/special has at least one laugh out loud moment, one moment to make you really feel glad you watched it. This movie is so blah it's ridiculous. It's an action movie with very little good action and too many over used (and unsuccessful) story props. HOWEVER! The last 10 minutes will pay off. We get a few good cameos, and one that has me going back to watch the certain movie he or she was in.
CHARACTER: As a woman, the only thing I dislike about Monkey Punch's anime and ESPECIALLY the manga, is how much he seems to hate women. They are there to be, either abused, killed off, or romanced. Every single female character in a special is killed off once we've warmed up to the idea of her, or Lupin goes gaga for her, or she's the betraying vixen. Fujiko covers those last two pretty well. This time around, Lupin isn't having any of her B.S. But still, she gets groped, of course, and is nude, of course. The movie takes the rapebait Fujiko trope (and I'm ashamed to admit that's what she is at this point) up a step when Fujiko is set as entertainment for a bunch of pervy old men (picture the club from Speed Grapher) and is almost raped by a giant robot. Really. Horror movie fare, and not something I expected to see in Lupin (despite a good number of his villains being after Fujiko as the norm). All right, enough about Fujiko.
Zenigata and Goemon?? Absent from the movie. Entirely absent. And before you whine: 3 second cameos do not count. They count as fanservice, but do not number towards the character count.
In the movie, Lupin acts as though he practically owns Jigen -- he's clearly the star of the show, there's no doubt about that. This is a Lupin movie, not a Jigen movie. Even during the end show down, it's all about Lupin looking cool.
Oh, and we find out Jigen likes couture. Whoo. So glad we got that backstory out of the way. Not like there's a whole period of his life he spent in America, or his youth, or anything else from his life before Lupin we could have possibly covered in an hour about Jigen, right? Right?
ANIMATION: Good, I guess. Steps it up a bit from the Fujiko series while still maintaining the style. The only thing worth mentioning is Lupin's new look. Whether a blue or green jacket, that's debatable as the movie gets a subtle filter that could have shaded the jacket from green to blue (and for the time line laid out, green would make sense). For a few minutes in the movie, Lupin gets a delightful disguise (you know the one -- with the eyepatch). Also, Jigen hasn't looked this good since the Pink Jacket series. As there were only a few characters, they definitely stepped up their allure.
SOUND: Where's my jazz?? No Yuji Ohno on this one! Other than that, normal voice acting from the Lupin gang. Nothing worth mentioning.
OVERALL: Meh. Watch it because it's as good as watching one long, unimportant episode of Lupin. Watch it because you like mediocore action. Watch it again for the end scenes ^__^
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 14, 2014
As you will be told at the start of nearly every episode (or one character will announce at least once per show), Paradigm City is the city of amnesia. The idea is that in some event 40 years ago, everyone lost their memory. Ok, that's easy enough to accept as a decent premise for a show, right? But...what about all the younger people? Yeah, for some reason, EVERYONE has lost their memories at some point in the past, including our Negotiator and main character who appears in his late 20s. As I watched this show I developed a theory: these are not humans, but rather
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long lived elves or evolved humanoids. See, that would explain the looks, both the young appearance and the crazy, tiny, pointed ears.
SOUND: The voice acting is just ok. The voices of the main characters (Roger, Dorothy, and Angel) were in high demand at the time this was made. The only decent characters were the mains, which would be fine except that there are a LOT of side characters. The music (both OP and ED) is fantastic, as well as the variety of music used in the show for BGM and as plot points. The one piece of sound that becomes a problem is the sound effects. The people in the show, although walking all over every sort of terrain, have only one single sound when their feet touch the ground: every person and android sounds like a lazy pony clopping along in chunky high heels. It might be funny except that you hear it so much that it becomes detracting.
ART: I remember reading in Newtype or another magazine that the show was designed around the looks of Batman the Animated Series. And it does look like Bruce Timm's styles done a bit sloppier. The characters have severe looks with pointed talons instead of fingers that taper into nails, and have tiny pointed ears.
CHARACTERS: Roger is a well rounded character. Certainly he and Norman are meant to be similar to Bruce Wayne and Alfred, but the further you go into the series the more different the relationship becomes. Also, eventually the city accepts Big O and Roger as their protectors, realizing that they cannot protect the city themselves, which is not the norm for vigilantes and I liked the change. And Roger isn't the only well done character. Dorothy is great, as are some of the villains like Beck and Rosewater.
STORY: The first half of The Big O is episodic and enjoyable. The second half, called The Big O II, dives right into the drama.The first half is basically "slice of life"...in the life of a mech pilot slash negotiator, his android, and his antics. The second half takes a hard turn, with Roger constantly being haunted by missing memories, Angel being whiny and upset by everything, and Dorothy overcoming her programming. I would say watch the first half. If you really enjoy it, finish the series. Otherwise, just enjoy the noir-ish, slice of mech life drama first half.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 7, 2014
A fun romp of a movie that starts has Lupin having fun with extravagant robberies, Fujiko in trouble, and Conan and his gang solving mysteries. This movie had me sit up and take notice three minutes in when it did a mock opening sequence for both Lupin and Conan. It is almost word for word from each show, first with Conan narrating an updated Green Jacket style opening and then Lupin doing the same for Conan's standard opening. It's very clever and will grab any fan of either series happy.
STORY: This movie is a direct sequel to the popular Lupin vs. Conan special from
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2012. In case you didn't see it, don't worry, this movie has a summary clip in the closing credits. The series will also make you do a double take a few times as it gives tongue in cheek references to Conan characters and more Lupin references (like the Fujiko series and the Gold of Babylon movie) than Green vs. Red.
CHARACTER: Zenigata is given more lines and more personality in this special, but it seems forced. Still, the differences detracted slightly from the movie. Zenigata also has a very pointed line (I really don't know how to word that without giving it away) that seems like it's there for different types of fans. I'm interested to see how they'll translate it when the movie is dubbed. The more I think about it, maybe Zenigata's personality is changed due to the fact that he has a competent partner (a Conan character) in the movie?
As for other characters! Conan and Jigen play off the relationship they had in the first special, and it works out hilariously well. Because Conan can arguably be meant for a younger audience, Jigen and Goemon are less gritty and Fujiko isn't as sexualized. I got a kick out of the Conan kids and how they all worked with the Lupin gang. I thought that with such a large cast it might feel forced, but it didn't at all.
The only issue was the "flavor of the week" characters, whose problems I found myself glossing over heavily. The movie does not make you care about them at all, which I think is the problem: the first special was about Lupin and Conan while this one was about Lupin, Conan, and a third party.
ART: You have to understand that these are two different styles of animation. However, the Lupin franchise has done a great job over the years mixing in other styles with their own.
A problem with mixing styles that are so different is that they don't play well together. For example, every time the Conan characters have a scene where they're shown from the side (profile), I couldn't get over the elongated face, almost like an animal's muzzle, and sharply upturned nose. It's easy to move into that world of animation while watching Conan, but when it mixes with the old, long legged Lupin characters grates on the senses. Lupin's characters are long limbed and gritty detailed. Putting these two in the same scenes together doesn't work fantastically. For instance, one of Conan's characters has big, blue eyes. She's talking to Zenigata who does his bow legged walk out of the room. Then the Conan characters are shown from the side and look almost inhuman. So you're left with a dissonance in which you have to force yourself to believe this is the same anime universe.
SOUND: The usual Lupin and Conan cast sounds great! Only problem (to me) is that in an effort to merge the two, they limit the amount of jazz that Lupin fans might be used to hearing.
ENJOYMENT: Very enjoyable! Lupin and his gang over the years have gotten more family friendly and this definitely falls in that vein. I'd describe it as fluffier than many Disney movies. But hey, you want gritty? Go watch the Fujiko series and Jigen movie...
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 7, 2014
An essential for Lupin III fans and a decent movie if you can put yourself in the mindset that this was made in the '80s at the same time as the Pink Jacket Series with a huge effort to mimic Western animation gags.
STORY: One thing I can say is canon about all Lupin movies and specials...I learn something new about geography or history. This one is about some mysterious tablets, Hitler, New York, and ancient gold from Babylon. And aliens. Before I get into what's bad about this movie, there's always something worth the watch in every single Lupin special. Something about every single Lupin
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special or movie will make you laugh out loud and this one was no different.
ANIMATION: The cons? This is such an old school cartoon. Complete with random stuff popping up with zero explanation, suspension of belief, and hokey, Road Runner and Coyote style gags. Another con was the art. The animation is not great and I can see why it was never released in America.
Even worse was the story. In the start, Lupin and Zenigata essentially put on a show for every American tourist stereotype ever in the audience. There's a motorcycle race between the two of them that goes in and around this giant face decoration thing. This lasts for almost 15 minutes (no exaggeration). I feel like there just wasn't enough effort made in making this movie.
CHARACTER: The characters are horrendous. Old school, hokey, pink jacket era characters, story, and animation. We've got pimps and a cast straight out of Sanford and Son. Lupin wears a "hip" version of his green coat. Then we get a full minute of an old lady doing a strip tease. And she's the most detailed of any of the characters in this movie. There's this scene with a Miss ICPO pageant in which the special manages to insult half a dozen countries as well as women in general splendidly. I don't know why I'm surprised, considering how much Monkey Punch seems to hate women (I say this based on some of the main characters' open sexism as well as the numerous rape and almost-rape scenes in the original Lupin manga.) Goemon has sliced all sorts of things in the past. Satellites in space from the earth. A water spout. Numerous clothing articles. Things that "cannot be cut." In this special, he slices a bolt of lightning.
ENJOYMENT: This brings me to the enjoyment level. Suspend your belief, push yourself back into the '80s, and don't expect much except easy laughs. Then you will enjoy this movie. Again, it's worth a watch but not the best Lupin fare.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 7, 2014
**SPOILER FREE**
This is a great show. I don't know much about hero shows, but this show essentially only requires that you've seen a couple episodes of, say, Power Rangers to understand the premise.
STORY: It starts out light hearted with a boy who wants to be a real life hero. Halfway through the series, however, the show takes a hard turn towards the serious. Honestly, it was a light hearted show about a guy that desperately wanted to be a real hero and often took a beating for it. Then we find out about his family connections to this dream, the serious emotional ties. And
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then, in the middle of en episode in which it seems like there's someone in an elaborate costume...people start dying. Have you ever been the only one laughing at a joke only to realize it was a relatively inappropriate response? That's how this will make you feel. But still, by that time you've been pulled into the characters and their story to give it up.
CHARACTERS: I enjoyed the character development, even if I felt tricked into thinking it was a light hearted buddy comedy. People suffer from things that have happened to them. Romance isn't easy. And friendships have bumps. My only issue is that you get attached to some new characters only for them to leave for the final arc. But I suppose that's what happens in real life, as well.
SOUND: Good music and fantastic, fitting casting.
ART: Consistent, fluffy animation that is enjoyable to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 30, 2014
I went into this anime special as a loyal Lupin fan, watching it strictly out of loyalty and not expecting much at all. Boy was I surprised! For an animation made in 1989, it was such a delightful treat and easy to see why it sparked annual Lupin specials from then on!
ANIMATION: It's hard to believe this was made in 1989, technically part of the pink jacket series (thought Lupin wears red, as he does in most specials). The DVD/BD release's animation is better done than a lot of stuff released today. Many of the animation sequences seemed to have quite a bit of detail,
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featuring movements and tricks that you still see today. This movie was the one that sparked the yearly Lupin special, so it's no surprise. Wow, just wow! If you watched this right now without knowing that it's a remastered version, you'd never think it was made in the 80s!
Additionally, there are some freeze frames that look like they could be straight out of the manga or manga covers, a nice homage to the origins!
CHARACTER: While Lupin is constantly compared ( in other specials and shows) to a monkey, I think Jigen really resembles a goat in this movie. Out of all the Lupin series, the pink jacket style of animation is the most stylized with the big shoulder pads and Western cartoony style. Surprisingly, a style that seemed at times sloppy in the 24 minute show, seems thoughtful and unique in this special.
The movie introduces a new character as if we already know him and should feel attached to him, although it doesn't do a thing to build those feelings. I don't think the character has more than a handful of lines before he dies and the gang decides to avenge him. That was the only detractor in terms of character, really.
SOUND: Usual voices, usual Yuji Ohno music. Which is a great thing! Zenigata trying to speak English (and Lupin's Engrish) were really a high point of this for me.
Highly recommended. It's a typical Lupin story, with physics bending and suspension of belief, with over the top capers. And it's so enjoyable!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 14, 2014
I've rewatched this several times to get a better perspective and open my opinion. Woow! As any Lupin franchise fan knows, the history of the characters is volatile and trying to make any one back story canon will make your head explode. That said, I think this series has possibly the best back story for the characters.
CHARACTERS: Fujiko has never been one of my favorite characters. I think Jigen and I share the same opinion of her. But her meeting with the main characters (in this series at least) is great. First there was the Lupin episode (what happens at the end of that
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one, the start of their relationship was pretty neat), then the Jigen episode, then the adorable Goemon episode, and then OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH ZENIGATA! STOP IT!
Ok, I am a big Zenigata fan and I wade into each series or special wondering if this will be a "Zenigata the Fool" special or "Zenigata the Badass Detective" special. This one is happily the latter. His appearance is upped, which is neat considering the others seemed exaggerated in the opposite direction. At one point Jigen's beard is so distorted that it's almost touching the brim of his hat. On the other hand, Zenigata looks almost...bishie. I don't think his assistant was the only one to swoon over him thanks to that. And his character development was so different than a lot of the series. He never loses his cool, and seems to be really on his game.
The characters here are changed a bit from the anime norm. But that's a good thing. Sit down and try to binge watch ALL the Lupin series, then the specials and movies, and now the new stuff. The early stuff was a bit heavier, including some of the specials. This show, however, opens up new meeting possibilities and changes not the characters, but the way the world sees them and the way they see themselves. Fujiko, for instance, couldn't care less about who sees her nude. She's overly secure in who she is. Then there's Zenigata, the older but still very attractive inspector. This seems a deviation from the normal bumbling officer fare from most other Lupin. We even get a new cop, Oscar, who is similar to Melon Cop in the manga, but definitely not the same character. This series, of all the Lupin series, is the closest to the manga. Depending on what you like about the franchise, this may or may not be a good thing.
SOUND: Great voice actors. We've got the English dub's usual Lupin voice (the one used for all the specials, NOT the awesome Red Jacket version), a decent Goemon, a great Fujiko, and...the Red Jacket version's Jigen as Zenigata. That was a weird change. 100 episodes and they just randomly switch voice actors?
Another thing that bugged me was that Lupin dubs can't seem to decide on which pronunciations they want for the names. Lu-pin (like a needle) or Lu-pin (like the French way). Same goes for Fujiko's last name: Mine. Is it Mi-ne (with the Japanese pronunciation) or Mine (like "Youre mine)? This becomes an issue when Fujiko flat out tells Goemon her name isn't Maria, it's Fujiko Mi-ne (Japanese pronunciation) and he responds by making it clear he's interested in her. He says: "Mine...Fujiko." (Mine as the "You're mine") That scene was ruined by the dual pronunciation.
Another highlight AND lowpoint of this show was the music. It tried WAY too hard to be artsy. I was downright disgusted with the opening. But the rest of the music was fantastic, Goemon's theme in particular, that flutey sound that has become as iconic for me as the main Lupin theme.
ANIMATION: My original reaction was that the animation was BAD! AWFUL! But they put so much attention into that strange animation method. Besides that, there are some slick movements, and attention to detail that you just don't see in "prettier" shows. As for the art style (I've gotta say something about it), it took me a lot of getting used to. It's extremely reminiscent of the original TV series and pays some serious homage to the manga. Which, if you go into it open minded, is a good thing. It doesn't try to be a new thing the way Green vs. Red did (and failed at). It screams, "I am old school and proud of it!" and then throws some boobs in your face.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 23, 2014
First off, let me just say that this show is fantastic. Based on the raw preview I saw (no subs), I assumed this show would be a cute, possibly surreal (maybe not, maybe just symbolism) slice of life show, similar to K-on...but with water. So I sat down to watch a subbed episode and see what it was about, thinking I was going to be watching a comedy or drama, and not really having high hopes for it as I originally thought it was a bit too cutesy. Wow, was I wrong! And I'm so glad I was!
ART: This show is anything but cutesy. Well,
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that might be saying too much. They push the cute at first, then club you in the face with realistic characters. The art is amazing. I can't stop staring at the characters' eyes, which look as watery as their own world. And Shioshishio (the underwater world) is just gorgeous! It makes you want to live there.
STORY: Rather than a slice of life similar to K-on, this is more like a drama in the vein of Kokoro Connect or Shinsekai no Yori (without the killing). While the characters are adorable, they have some serious issues. And the cute, young art style just emphasizes that they are tweens dealing with the drama of simply growing up as well as some more serious issues mixed in (dating a widower, falling in love, needing an outlet to express your emotions, wishing ill on your best friend because you're in love with the guy that loves her and all that will will makes you hate yourself, etc.). On top of all that drama there's the sea god's "spokesman" who may curse you by making your knee sprout a talking fish...like tweens need THAT kind of problem?
CHARACTERS: Well, most were very likeable. Hikari is your typical angry, angsty guy similar to InuYasha. I don't usually like characters like that, but Hikari seems to almost physically grapple with his feelings to the point that his anger is clearly a metaphor as he struggles to understand himself. Then there's Manaka, who seems at first glance to be the typical wilting flower that can't stand up for herself. Except that she grows as well to the point that she's not only standing up for herself, but protecting her friends as well (there's an episode where Hikari is utterly amazed by this). I don't know, sounds cliche but it isn't. There are two characters that were a little too much like what I've seen in every other anime like this, and that bothered me. One is Chisaki who loves Hikari and is sad all the time because he doesn't love her. Her character resolution by the end of the series was unexpected and it worked well. The other is Kaname who is the gentle, almost feminine support that compassionately loves the unobtainable female. He seems "too nice," but definitely has a lonely, jealous side.
What was great about the characters is that there aren't good guys and bad guys. They're just kids with a multitude of feelings. Having a negative emotion doesn't make you evil.
STORY: The show has a time skip, but it's different than most. And all the character resolutions and evolutions make sense and anticlimactic, but if they were done any other way it would have been a completely different show. There are major events going on in the world of this show, and that seems to make up for anything else that is lackluster in an an anime (but may seem over the top in the real world). A great show! Good for fans of moe as well as fans of drama.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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