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Jun 24, 2011
Why did I choose Air, which is essentially the prototype Clannad? The opening theme was pretty cool, and I figured I could poke fun at the character designs; poking fun being my machete that I use to indiscriminately cut through the layers of crystallized sap to get to the juicy meat of the series.
However, after I cut through all the aforementioned sap, there was hardly any meat for me to gorge myself on. It was like prying open a giant clam to get to a pearl, only to find it conveniently replaced by an I.O.U and a cinderblock.
In Air, a struggling puppeteer named Yukito
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Kunisaki has arrived in a small coastal town to ply his trade. He’s in search of a flying woman who his mother told him about, for reasons that are explained later. One day, while at the mercy of the harsh sun, a clumsy moeblob named Misuzu offers him a drink and a place to rest against all common sense.
From there a friendship is forged which lasts a few days, Misuzu’s dreams seem to take an adverse effect on her health, and Yukito acts as the catalyst for a lot of crazy shit. If you’ve played any dating sim at all, or watched any dating sim adaptation, the setup will be all too familiar.
I wish I could say that the plot is transparent and practically nonexistent, favoring instead the ‘Cute girls do cute things’ approach. It would’ve been easy to wrap things up with a witty quip like “The plot in Air is as visible and substantive as its namesake.” But no, this is Key Visual Arts; a company that has to shoehorn personal drama and supernatural occurrences in whenever possible to tug heartstrings, regardless of how well placed such plot devices are. And they’re stuffed into every available crevice that they can be stuffed in, severely diminishing the impact.
All 13 episodes are crammed so full of details and plot points that it’s almost suffocating. And for the first half, it even has the gall to not succeed with the drama, compounding the problems exponentially.
In the series’ defense though, the main plot isn’t bad. It’s actually even touching at points, especially in the last few episodes. Not even close to the point of making me cry, but the second half is a compelling drama that I can find little to complain about. I may not have liked it as much as I would’ve hoped, seeing as there was still so much crammed in that didn’t need to be, but there isn’t anything to really attack. No, for a number of reasons, the majority of my plot complaints are reserved for the first two thirds and the story arcs that comprise them.
Compared to the well laid out, well paced main arc that explains Misuzu’s general oddness in relation to her past and the dreams that she’s having, the first two are highly concentrated, irregularly paced messes that come off as more than a little sloppy.
If there is anything that I can deride plot-wise above everything else, it’s that things get resolved too easily, and just to get the message across that “LIFE’S A MIRACLE”, or “MEMORIES AND FAMILY ARE IMPORTANT.” Most of these people just need to talk about their problems and they seem to magically disappear. It doesn’t make Yukito look useful, even when it should.
Rather than being a direct part of what he sets into motion, he’s just a bystander like the audience, left gawking at what his presence has unleashed. Hell, in the last half he’s entirely relegated to bystander in an unlikely form. While he’s a decent enough character, certainly my favorite of the entire ordeal, it’s when he’s forced into stepping aside for Misuzu and her aunt to resolve their problems that the show really hits its stride.
Aesthetically, Air is gorgeous. The music is moving (Again, pointing anybody toward the opening who hasn’t heard it yet), the backdrops are beautiful, and the animation is mostly fluid. The one area where it starts to get a bit iffy is with the characters, which will be explained further later in the review.
The characters themselves run the spectrum from boring and trite to not quite boring, but far from Character of the Year material. Of special mention is Misuzu, who fits in one of my two criteria for acceptable moe in anime:
- The character has subtle traits that contribute to their personality as a whole, rather than remaining disjointed and just there to make them seem unique. Example: Akari Mizunashi from Aria.
- It’s explained to be the direct result of some kind of mental or physical impairment, and thus can’t be helped. Example: Misuzu
Misuzu does many, many annoying things: She trips over herself constantly, she has a verbal tic that makes her sound like a dying cat, she cries whenever she gets close to somebody, she acts way too childish for her own good and has the social grace of a nine year old, and she remains unfailingly nice despite her self-imposed isolation from the world at large.
However, none of this is directly her fault, so it’s infinitely more tolerable (Unlike Yui from K-ON, who I can only assume is more than a little touched in the head). Despite all this and her overall lack of usefulness, Misuzu remains difficult to hate as a whole. I even caught myself caring about her fate in the end, and that almost never happens with these kinds of shows.
I couldn’t help but laugh at some things that I don’t think I was meant to, or plugging in that Baywatch music during every instance of slow motion running, but my sympathy for her was true.
There were a few instances of conversation that were just laughable or not what any person, regardless of normality, would have. For instance, Yukito finally gives in to Misuzu’s incessant demands to play cards with her. When she lays out the cards, she has a freakout and starts breaking down.
Rather than getting help or asking if she’s alright while going over to comfort her, he sits there dumbfounded and asks if she’s crying. It ruined what could’ve been a jarring, yet heartrending scene.
Air TV is good. It isn’t great, but it’s far from mediocre. A rushed and cluttered first half isn’t made up for by a mostly excellent second half, but it almost comes close. Basically, if you liked Clannad or Kanon or pretty much anything that Jun Maeda has penned, yet you haven’t watched this anime for whatever reason, Air should be right up your alley. And if not… well, check it out anyway. If you noticed all my uses of the word moe in this review, that should clue you in. In the end, it’s a competent and memorable, if imperfect series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 15, 2011
Seeing as I hadn’t seen it before, I settled for Black Rock Shooter, an OAV based on a song of the same name in turn based on a song of the same name, which has been met with almost universal feelings of “Yeah, it’s pretty good. Could be better.” So were the general anime watching public right with this? Are they correct in saying that it’s worth the watch, but has too many flaws to be declared a classic?
I can comfortably say, without a doubt, that they’re mostly right. You could go your life without watching Black Rock Shooter, and not feel worse off
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for it. All it did was give several sites a derivative, albeit somewhat interesting mascot and a strange unfulfilled feeling.
But hey, you know how things work here. This isn’t the time to go on about where it went wrong without telling what the hell it was even about.
Black Rock Shooter is a 50 minute OAV that follows two separate, yet somehow connected storylines. One follows Mato Kuroi and a new student Yomi Takanashi and their friendship as it grows, stagnates, and ultimately crumbles with Yomi’s disappearance. It starts off rather saccharine, but ends on a somber, unfinished note. It’s a well done, if predictable story that practically screams “Sequel Hook!” It could’ve stood to be fleshed out a bit more, but I guess that’s what the inevitable sequel is for.
Simultaneously, there’s a barely related subplot involving a mysterious girl who bears a striking resemblance to Mato, the eponymous Black Rock Shooter. From what I’ve seen she mostly shoots blue fireballs, but these are just semantics. It’s good eye candy, but it has little substance or bearing on the plot.
First, before I go in depth on its problems, I’ll concede that it’s gorgeous. OAV quality through and through. And if you’re in for a visual treat instead of an intellectual one, it’d be hard to do much better.
With that said, Black Rock Shooter has many flaws, the biggest being that it doesn’t elaborate on what needs to be explained. Why is there a conflict going on in this other world? Is it Mato’s subconscious, fighting against her conflicting feelings over her failing friendship with Yomi? If so, why did Yomi disappear in the first place? Does the conflict in the secondary world have any impact on the world that Mato and Yomi inhabit?
Maybe there’s something elsewhere that explains it, but I’ve just checked out the OAV so I wouldn’t know. Even then, you shouldn’t be forced to check out any other material to have an idea what’s going on.
There’s also the plot thread that ran throughout the episode. From what I can tell, especially from that large time skip in the first half, there was too much to cram into 45 minutes. And I can totally understand that they did as much as they could’ve to accommodate their vision. However, even just a spot of conversation at the end between Mato and her supposed Black Rock Shooter self that’d round things up with even something along the lines of “Your princess is in another castle” would’ve made it more satisfying.
So to conclude, Black Rock Shooter is a good piece of eye candy. If you’re looking for nothing else, this is what you’ve been waiting for. If you’re in the market for a compelling, well done plot that’s intrinsic enough to not require a sequel, this isn’t it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 13, 2011
Short Version: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is a well executed, funny show with just enough shortcomings to keep from becoming a comedy anime classic.
Long Version: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is what happens when a group of idiots are pushed too far and, in a style reminiscent of Gurren Lagann, rise from below to topple their smarter, more able… just overall better at school than them classmates. It’s been compared with Revenge of the Nerds, if the nerds were bashed over the head enough times to elicit amnesia and the burgeoning of likeable personalities.
Yoshii Akihisa is an idiot of the highest caliber; one so
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stupid that even his parents have little faith in his academic abilities. One day, the school that he attends came up with the idea to separate students into classes based on their academic abilities. Predictably, though still to amusing effect, Yoshii is relegated to the lowest class for his year: Class F.
In the dilapidated class (He has to fix his own desk with glue and the floor is littered with what could generously be called a pungent fungus), he meets up with the ensemble that will make up his group of friends in subsequent episodes: The boisterous yet book dumb Yuuji, the pink haired beauty Mizuki Himeji, Tsuchiya Kouta; the voyeur known affectionately as Voyeur, the tsundere pettanko Minami Shimada, and the unbelievably androgynous Hideyoshi.
Together, this group of misfits, nobodies, and just general oddities plans to rise from their unfortunate conditions to take the opulence of Class A for themselves. “How might they have the means to do this?” you might be asking, hypothetical person who always questions when it’s most appropriate. Well, the school has a rule that’s most different from others. Rather than remain in the caste you’re designated to be in, you can move your way up through the ranks through the means of improved test scores, mixed with chibi avatar battles.
Thus, Class F does all they can to improve their test scores to move up to the extravagant conditions of Class A, often with hilarious results. Along the way, they dodge crazed stalkers, inquisitors who crucify anybody who has a girlfriend, and the answer to what Hideyoshi’s gender really is. Hint: He’s a guy, but nobody else knows that.
The story is flexible, transparent, yet omnipresent in the grand scheme of things. The characters drive it, bringing it upon themselves to advance the plot whenever the current gag has run its course. It rarely, if ever, feels like it’s drawing a joke out past the point where It stops being funny. The characters drive it, each bringing their own unique spin to whatever situation rears its head.
Oddly for a comedy series, the male lead has the most personality out of the entire cast. While I wouldn’t call Yoshii a dynamic character, he’s by far the most interesting to watch, if only for the situations that he brings upon himself. It helps that he’s likeable, but enough of a dimwitted pervert for the audience to relish whatever pain’s brought down upon him with little malice.
The side characters also get enough time in the spotlight to elicit a few laughs. The most memorable is Yuuji’s crazed stalker Shouko, who is by far the most over the top yandere character in recent memory, yet is oddly endearing considering the amount of abuse she puts the Kamina-in-training through. Electrocution and eye gouging are the norm for their hilariously lopsided relationship, and Yuuji’s futile attempts to break free make for one of the funniest episodes of the series.
There’s also the mysterious FFF, an inquisitorial squad dressed in black robes vaguely reminiscent of the Klan who constantly persecutes Yoshii for the amount of female attention lavished on him. Despite their short time in the limelight, they’re collectively one of the best parts of the entire show.
The animation and art style are bright and cheerful yet generic, occasionally descending into black and white hand drawn mode during stirring speeches. The backgrounds are sparse, punctuated by dots in a style reminiscent of manga. It can feel gratuitous at times, but it’s nothing distracting. There are even a few visual treats, such as Mizuki’s rabbit hairpin changing expression to match her own, that make the sparseness of the art style pop at times. In short, you’ll either find it kind of neat, or a little annoying.
While the music matches the art style (Bright, poppy, yet nothing special), the voicework is exceptionally well done, never feeling overwrought or bland. Nothing to rave on and on about, but still quite good overall.
Now, with all that said, here are the criticisms. There are very few, except for one glaring example: The variety of comedy used.
No matter how uproarious or timely jokes and gags are, they inevitably grow stale the more they are repeated. I’m not talking about jokes with enough variation between iterations. After all, Krauser raping a tambourine and him raping Tokyo Tower are both hilarious without feeling recycled, and they both involve excessive crotch thrusting.
If comedy is a pallet with different colors, the best kind is mixed with others and applied to the canvas to form a brilliant new component of the portrait. If you just paint in the same seven or eight colors, it’ll still look good, but not nearly as eye catching. Where Detroit Metal City, Azumanga Daioh, and Cromartie High School (My top three most hailed comedies) mix and match to form interesting and ultimately fresh styles, Baka to Test keeps everything from blending together. Each joke is repeated with little variation each time, and it really starts wearing itself thin in the second half.
After all, there is only so many times that the gag with Yoshii still lusting after Hideyoshi, blissfully unaware of his lack of uterus and vagina.
With that one fairly significant complaint aside, Baka to Test is a cleverly written series that nevertheless falls short of being an utterly memorable comedy classic. Most of the jokes struck home, hitting a broad enough range of subjects that hit more times than missed. If you have room in your anime roster for one more series to watch, I suggest picking this up. The laughs are cheap and easy, and they come in stride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 28, 2011
After being recommended by a friend, I decided to check out this series during a lull in my hectic anime watching schedule. I wish I could’ve come up with a better introduction, but I’m writing this in between clacking away in a race against time to finish a 4,000 word creative piece about a magical girl forced to defend a town in Ukraine from radioactive zombies by Monday. I would wait, but I have a feeling that if I did, these thoughts would just poof from my head and wouldn’t come back nearly as easily.
Kodomo no Jikan is a show that raises several interesting points
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through a superb blend of drama and comedy about the nature of children’s emotions, and how they tend to be rather hyperbolic in nature. As we all know, children don’t learn self constraint on their own. By age 8, which is the age of the main children in KodoJikan, emotional control hasn’t fully developed, and there are still tendencies toward feeling strongly one way or the other that can sometimes overlap into precocious infatuation.
Kodomo no Jikan is a show that follows Aoki Daisuke, a third grade teacher fresh out of college, eager to teach his new class. He has to deal with all the frustrations of fostering learning in elementary school students still in the prime stage of emotional growth: Complaints, balancing friendliness and strictness, spoiled brats… and a precocious girl with a Lolita Complex, named Kokonoe Rin, who lusts after him.
Yes, from that synopsis, you will likely gather that KodoJikan is an ecchi-fest of monumental proportions that will make lolicons the world over cheer in jubilation. However, before you write it off as nothing more than pointless fanservice, I’m going to take away your pen and smack you hypothetically for making presumptions based on that overly simple synopsis.
You’d be correct in assuming that this is heavy on the fanservice, but there’s an entirely different point to be made here: Not only does this series relish in the comedy of such an uncomfortable situation, but it does well at analyzing all the factors involved. And, happily enough, Daisuke doesn’t eventually fall for Rin. Not going to spoil anything here, but it ends on a very happy note, and Rin turns from a manipulative little succubus into a wholly sympathetic character with a tragic past, whose lust is somewhat justified.
Notice that I only said somewhat, since it’s still a little creepy how much she likes Daisuke.
The story is wonderfully told and occasionally heart wrenching, the events of Episode 6 even more so, and there’s hardly ever a lull, even in some of the fluffier episodes.
The only complaint that I have with KodoJikan is the censorship. In order to get the series aired, quite a lot had to be censored, through use of Rin kicking a giant ‘No’ symbol round and round and various animal noises. Strangely enough, some lewd things got through that were a little worse than what was censored. If at all possible, find it uncensored somewhere or read the manga to catch what you missed due to the irritating bird cheeps blocking things out.
Aesthetically, the series is functional. The art style doesn’t impress, though the opening and closing songs are amazingly catchy, especially the overly-energetic J-Pop number at the end, so we’ll call it a wash.
Of course there’s objectionable content; it’d be weird if a show about a girl eager to sex up a teacher 15 years her senior didn’t have any. However, it’s done with a purpose. There’s plentiful fanservice, but it isn’t done just for the sake of doing it. I’m going to likely get odd looks for this, and I don’t blame you, but I actually believe the underage fanservice helps drive the point home at times in ways that it wouldn’t if fanservice were avoided. It’s a main element, but it’s an element crucial to developing the plot to its fullest.
To wrap things up, Kodomo no Jikan is a good series that elegantly makes the point that children have as many, if not more, complex emotional needs as adults do, and they need to be nurtured properly in order to grow up emotionally healthy. If you enjoy a show with a moral that isn’t beaten into your skull, even if it’s stated in a way that’s hard to bear at times, I couldn’t think of a better series to watch. It may just surprise you at the end by the depth and breadth of the matter covered.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 28, 2011
While perusing my preferred anime download site one spring morn, I stumbled on an odd sounding series called Lemon Angel Project. I scoffed at the title and decided to click the link and read the synopsis just for the sake of a cheap laugh. And just like that, on a whim, I subjected myself to Lemon Angel Project, possibly a hidden gem that got lost in the unforgiving trends of the anime season.
Before I rip it to shreds, I’ll just get it out in the open that I liked LAP despite its shortcomings, of which there are many. It’s a short feel-good series that’s hard
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to dislike, with heartwarming moments and catchy J-Pop tunes abound.
With that said…
There are many good reasons why this was likely forgotten by everyone, and most likely doesn’t deserve a high place on anybody’s To Watch list. It’s a show that lacks subtlety and finesse, barreling straight on into a clunky mess of a story without any warning. Aesthetically, the animation isn’t great. It was a series from 2006, but even by those standards it doesn’t look like a fresh face.
It isn’t terrible, but the appearance is just so mundane that it’s hard to keep watching for the aesthetics alone. With the animation and art style alike denounced as mundane, it’d better have a story to make up for the lackluster visuals. After all, Welcome to the NHK didn’t look too good and that’s a classic in my books. [C] is looking hilariously off model most times, but it’s too interesting just to be held up by that.
Fortunately, there is a story in there. It’s just so predictable and obvious that the show almost doesn’t win points for it. The synopsis is essentially as follows: Tomo, oddly enough the only girl with an odd hair color in the universe aside from the foreign girl (Who’s made painfully obvious is foreign, but more on that later), witnessed the disappearance of her favorite pop supergroup, Lemon Angel, over a year before the current time.
She learns that the former leader, the elusive and aloof Miki, attends her high school and so begins to stalk her.
What begin as time honored Shoujou-Ai clichés quickly and thankfully change to Tomo stumbling on the dark secret of Lemon Angel and auditioning for the revival group. Along the way, she becomes more confident, makes friends, deals with her and her friends’ pasts and yadda yadda yadda. This has all been done before, and done better in Mahou Shoujo shows.
To be perfectly fair though, the drama is quite effective in some places; the tsundere being humbled by an old lady being a prime example.
Despite the occasional gold specks in the depressing dank of the story, these alone don’t save it. There isn’t a single challenging thought or deed, which I think has been done to attract and keep as many viewers as possible. However, it’s easy to see just how this managed to become such an obscure flop with such an approach.
Okay, so the story’s a big piece of shit, but what about the characters? Surely they can hold a show on their own if they have interesting enough personalities or backgrounds. Well, hypothetical inquisitive person who I always seem to quote, that would be the case. And to give the show even more credit, one or two of the characters are a little compelling. Too bad it’s balanced by just as many flat, offensive, and just plain hyperbolic characters.
For every girl in a modeling agency who wants to break free from her restraining, greedy, corrupt boss, you get two girls whose only collective goal in life are to be members of Lemon Angel. Also a gay guy who makes Liberace look like a ladies man.
For every two of those, you get a villain whose only reason for existing is to make the main characters miserable just for the sake of being evil. C’mon, this is a show about five girls and their rise to fame as part of a citrus fruit/seraphim themed phenomenon. For hell’s sake, Heartcatch Precure does better characterization with their villains. I mean Kumojacky at least becomes a little less smug over time.
Lemon Angel Project has little characterization, especially with the antagonists. They stay bad throughout the episodes that they feature in, and have no chance to redeem themselves. If their actions weren’t so cartoonishly villainous, they’d be marginally less boring than the color beige.
Speaking of color, the focus on the foreign girl Erika Campbell and just how foreign she is doesn’t make for a very compelling plot. Then again, I’m just irritated that I never found out what her nationality really is. They say she came from South America, but being ethnically ambiguous, that would still lead to confusion over the last name Campbell, a distinctly un-Spanish/Portuguese last name. She also looks and acts similarly to Kaolla from Love Hina, so that only complicates matters more.
However, where the characterization, overall plot, and animation fail, individual elements of the plot come to the rescue. It isn’t too much of a stretch to say that despite the lack of a compelling overarching narrative, the plot itself isn’t bad. I retract what I said earlier. The small elements, like Erika learning the truth behind her brother’s past and the entire train station episode, are done pretty well and with enough conviction to make me forget the lame… everything else.
Since I seem to be running out of steam, there are just a few more points I’d like to make, and gripes I’d like to complain about.
There are a few minor problems that I had watching it, in addition to the larger ones. These weren’t enough to really make my experience unpleasant, but they sure didn’t help LAP’s case at all.
First, the main character’s voice is annoying through most of LAP, even when singing. I don’t know any kinder way to put that. Some people just don’t like it, but I found it mildly grating after a little while. Imagine Ahiru’s voice from Princess Tutu, except cracking while yelling into a wind tunnel. Now you can imagine how unbearable Tomo’s voice really is at times.
Finally, the entirety of LAP was punctuated with thunderstorms to frame a dramatic moment. I can’t tell you just how unfortunate it was that every single evening and nighttime moment was accompanied by an intense rain and thunderstorm. The last episode had a particularly hilarious example where thunder would sound whenever any two characters argued. I counted four different storms, all brought on by internal strife.
To summarize my first point again, Lemon Angel Project isn’t bad. It isn’t particularly imaginative or good, but you could do far worse in the coming summer months.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 23, 2011
If I had to describe NHK in three words or less, I’d go with the oft said “Holy shit.” Really, there were quite a few times that I found myself uttering that without intending to. If I had to describe it in more than three words though, I’d best start a bit more eloquently.
Welcome to the NHK is easily one of the best series I’ve seen, for many reasons. As couldn’t necessarily be gleaned from the title (Unless you agree with Sato that the NHK stands for the Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai), the main character is a hikikomori and NEET (Not currently in Employment, Education,
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or Training).
He wastes away his days sleeping for upwards of 16 hours and lamenting his current lifestyle, living off his parents’ goodwill and convenience store-grade instant ramen. Sato is a frightful, lonely, hateful person who wants nothing more than to disappear off the face of the earth and end his self imposed torment.
The beauty of NHK is its delicate balance of such serious subject matter with comedy in a way that only accentuates the hell that Sato lives through, and leaves one chuckling nervously rather than laughing uproariously at his misadventures on the path to readjustment. It’s a superb comedy, but the grim premise pervades every bit of the show, limiting the laughs somewhat.
With the help of a girl of mysterious motivations who solicits pamphlets at his door one day and offers to free him of his hikikomori shackles through nightly lessons of seemingly little consequence, Sato begins to break out of his shell, learning to love himself and others again, while dealing with society in all its intricacies.
Along the way to reintegration with society, Sato is joined and tormented by old friends and classmates: A manic depressive paranoiac who influenced him in major ways in high school and continues to, a hotheaded otaku with a passion for all things ecchi who always plays the theme to his favorite mahou shoujo series repeatedly in the beginning, and his old class president turned salesman whose reason for meeting him might be more than meets the eye.
Each of the characters play a pivotal role in his story, and the dialogue between them feels as genuine as can be, while letting their unhealthy personalities and mindsets shine. The entirety of the series is a very uncomfortable, yet somehow pleasant experience as a result.
When not focusing on the drama and dysfunction of the characters’ lives, NHK is very scathing in its focus on otaku culture. From figurine shopping to eroge to online games, several things are poked fun of, in ways that left me better informed at the end. However, the drama is the main focus, and in many instances easily outdo many other series in the drama department that I’ve seen (I’d rate this a million times better than Clannad).
The sound is also worth noting. From the spirited performances by the seiyuu to the irritatingly catchy Pururin theme, it never ceases to be entertaining.
However, the animation and artwork are, at best, decent. They get the job done, and nothing else. And really, nothing else needs to be done.
To wrap things up, Welcome to the NHK is a series as thought provoking as it is mindless entertainment, as good as it is bad... while it isn't perfect, it's pretty close in my eyes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 10, 2011
Watching Yumekui Merry was like riding a jeep down a long, bumpy road spanning several steep hills. When it was good, it was pretty compelling. When it was bad, it was almost impossible to slog through. Though the good outweighed the bad enough to not make me dread the next episode.
Now, I don't expect anyone was especially thrilled to see another show that used every shounen trope to its fullest extent, with a bland male lead, an unstoppable and infuriating lead villain, and a plucky tsundere sidekick.
The story, which isn't properly divulged in the synopsis, is as such: Yumeji is your standard shounen protagonist
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with the ability to read peoples' dreams by making a circle with his thumb and index finger. He meets a mysterious and flamboyantly dressed woman while experiencing a trippy dream sequence, and the two build a friendship that withstands any and all obstacles. That's about it.
In the beginning, there's nothing at all wrong with the story. The problem with it is, quite a few plot threads are introduced, toyed with for an episode or two, and never brought up again.
Just a warning, possible spoilers ahead. If you want this to remain as spoiler free as possible, skip down past the dotted line.
The first plot introduced is Yumeji's conflict with a dream demon who wants to use his body as a vessel. Okay, that's a good plot. And the demon can infiltrate his mind at anytime and plunge him into that dream state. Alright, that works. And the girl who he meets in there one day tries to help him out. Okay, excellent. Sounds like a good, semi-compelling series. But nope, a few episodes later it's dropped and only paid lip service less than halfway through, where it's resolved in an incredibly anticlimactic manner. And for the rest of the series, this entire plot is forgotten, which makes the synopsis utterly useless.
Not a problem though, because a second plot is brought up by Merry, the plucky sidekick. She's also a dream demon, but all she wants is to return home to her world, and for that she needs to vanquish a few demons and use the portals that send them back to send herself back. Not nearly as interesting as the first, but it's still serviceable, and would allow for more freedom with character development. And thankfully character does develop... right up until the last third.
Unlike the first, this isn't forgotten, but just completely shoved aside for the standard plot.
The main plot, of course, being the need to vanquish an unstoppable evil through the power of friendship. You all know how this is going to go, so nothing needs explaining.
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The story is somewhat redeemed by a twist at about the halfway mark, and another at the two thirds mark, that's somewhat unexpected and casts what Merry does in an entirely new light.
It would've been decent if they had just stuck with the main plot, without introducing all those abandoned subplots.
The characters are, for the most part, bland and uninteresting. Merry's the only one not of a cookie cutter design, but her personality is as standard for tsundere characters as it gets. Really, there's nothing here you haven't seen before. Heroes are likable, if somewhat dimwitted, and the villains are despicable in a way that you like them to be. Again, standard fare.
Sound-wise, Yumekui Merry employs a somewhat catchy OP and a pretty good ED, but otherwise unremarkable music. The characters are usually appropriately voiced. Not much worth mentioning either for or against the music or VAs.
Aside from the boring character designs, I must admit that the art of the various dream worlds used is quite excellent. Each world is haunting and surreal, from a moonlit wheat field swaying gently in the twilight breeze, to a warped town bathed in a bluish-green glow, surrounded by levitating fish skeletons. Otherwise, it gets the job done, and nothing more. The animation is fluid, the fights are fun to watch, and I was never left bored during the action scenes.
Yumekui Merry breaks no ground, preferring to tread water under pseudo-philosophical debates and questionable handling of the story. I understand that 13 episodes limits the schedule somewhat, but if the subplots were going to be underutilized like that, they should've been left on the cutting room floor.
Otherwise, it's more than watchable. Just don't expect to be wowed or walk away having felt richer for the experience. It's stupid, short fun, and sometimes that's what you need in life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 10, 2011
Is it possible for one to become desensitized to the perversion inherent in society? Is it possible to hear about one's fetishes, their opinions on voyeurism, and whether they think your waste is premium content for a feces farm and look at them the same way afterwards?
Nanako has dealt with this dilemma ever since she joined the Abnormal Physiology Seminar, headed by the eccentric Kenji Meshiya. In this select group, she is among people doing various deeds of illicit sorts for Meshiya. Surprisingly enough, hilarity ensues.
The characters are a very large component of what makes it uproarious more than once, Nanako's naivety providing many
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of the laughs when coupled with her classmates' perverse natures.
Hen Zemi was a show that I didn't expect to be any good. Normally, ecchi is synonymous with fanservice flaunted with reckless abandon and every other quality suffering for it. Hen Zemi, unlike other offenders, keeps the fanservice to a more subtle level, mostly present in speech.
It's very much like Lucky Star, if the girls were all studying and talking about abnormalities in human sexuality, in that most of the action is interaction based.
As an ecchi OVA, there are flashes of titillating (Pun intended) bits, but they don't steal focus from Nanako's squeamishness, or her crush Komugi's utterly casual approach to discussing sex. This is how fanservice should be, even in a series that rotates around it: Present, but not show stealing, and not letting the other qualities suffer just for the sake of its inclusion.
Visually, Hen Zemi is very moe, which makes the content all the more amusing when juxtaposed with the character designs. It's a very warm series, colorful and vibrant, and the animation is more than satisfactory. While it doesn't excel, there's nothing to really mark down with the visual quality.
The sound is much the same, being well above average, but not anything worth mentioning apart from the astonishingly catchy chant that plays over the ED.
What's odd about Hen Zemi, is I feel that I walked away having learned something. That those around me are more depraved than I think them, that I'd be shocked and likely repulsed by their fetishes. It's a very startling realization, and it blew me away that an ecchi-based OVA could lead to such a revelation of what should've been obvious.
Hen Zemi is a fascinating, if utterly deranged and depraved, study of the human psyche and human sexuality. It's funny, without pointing out that it is. And really, what more could you ask from one short OVA? It definitely had me eager to watch the actual series, which I can only hope will maintain the zany, yet down to earth appeal of the OVA.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 7, 2011
To really enjoy this series, there are two hurdles that must be passed:
1. Disbelief of the fact that these people are fighting to the death over books
2. The extremely dull and lifeless opening
With that small disclaimer aside, Toshokan Sensou is an anime series that follows the beaten path in many regards, but does it so well that the lack of originality can be forgiven. Nothing is done here that hasn't been done before, and not every single element works, but it's certainly satisfactory as a brisk watch. Some series try to wow with deep drama, complex plots, and dizzying relationship webs. Others opt for
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the simpler route of entertaining action, linear plots, and a few interesting characters mixed with good humor to spice things up. Toshokan Sensou borrows a lot from the second category.
The synopsis is simple enough, while still being somewhat fascinatingt: In the not so distant future, the Japanese government has crippled the people's right to freedom of speech to prevent the spread of misinformation. To aid them in this unpopular task, the Media Enhancement Committee has been founded and enforces the government's ruling with little mercy.
However, at the same time, the libraries were given the right to be militarized bastions of knowledge, where people can read whatever they want whenever they like. The libraries are tasked with keeping books away from the Media Enhancement Committee, sometimes resulting in open warfare between the two factions. It's a curiously dystopian setting, but it never feels hopeless or deprived, which is both a strength and a weakness for the series.
And this is where Iku Kasahara, the main character, enters. The story follows her rise through the ranks of the Library Task Force and her increasingly tense relationship with her commanding officer, Lieutenant Dojo... all the while keeping it a secret from her protective and conservative parents.
The characters, again nothing unique, are nonetheless well rounded and diverse enough to hold interest. Kasahara does well showing the burden of being the first female in the Task Force, as well as being in the Task Force in general. While she may be annoying at times with her overreactions, she's nonetheless realistic enough to let that slide.
The others do well enough at sticking to their post, some even standing out long after the series is over, the GAR captain being a notable example.
Animation and music are, unfortunately, nothing worth writing home about. It's all very solid, and I had no complaints, but nothing was done well enough to warrant much of a mention.
While the character interactions are satisfactory and occasionally compelling, the combat lacks some of that spark due to the very Capture the Flag-ish feel to it. It's engrossing to a degree, right up until you remember that they're fighting over books, and only for that purpose. There's no true animosity between the Media Enhancement Committee and the Library Task Force, it's all just part of the job for both. The constant shifting between the conflict and Kasahara's personal life can be jarring at times.
While a little character development is good for a primarily action series, it feels awkward and rushed in some places, obviously to cram as much of the material in the light novels in as possible. This is further sadly enforced by a small glimpse into the inner workings of the Media Enhancement Committee, which doesn't completely fulfill its intention of making them look slightly more sympathetic as punch clock villains.
Again, Toshokan Sensou is a series where people are willing to fight to the death for books. If this premise seems too ridiculous for you, you might not take the well executed combat or plot devices seriously, and thus will cease to enjoy this. Other than that, there's hardly any objectionable content. Good guys win, bad guys lose, characters develop with a little comedy thrown in, dystopian doesn't necessarily equal horrible conditions... nothing that will offend.
I certainly recommend Toshokan Sensou. It may not be perfect or particularly original, but it succeeds very well. If it had a little more focus and a slightly less silly premise, it would be a truly excellent series. A second series would've definitely been beneficial for it. So while it isn't groundbreaking, it does what it does well... if a little schizophrenically.
I enjoyed it, and I see no reason why anybody who can get past the fact that they're fighting over books wouldn't. Pretty fun for such a short little series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 4, 2011
I went into Maria Holic with mixed expectations. Everyone that I had talked about it with beforehand either told me it was a wonderful comedy that skewered a genre in need of some massive skewering, or it was too sick and dark to be labeled as such.
At first, I was in the latter camp. I found the humor to be lacking, with the abuse hurled towards Kanako almost being too much to bear. I couldn't describe it to a friend without making it sound like I stumbled upon the next School Days. Yet around the end, at about episode 8, I started to see
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exactly what the series was getting at. At that point, the humor inherent in Kanako's position made sense, and I started to look forward to each subsequent episode. But this wouldn't be much of a review if I didn't go into the how and why, so strap in.
Maria Holic is about Kanako, a tall, well endowed, not-so-closeted lesbian with a penchant for nosebleeds at the slightest sign of arousal, who transfers to an all girl's Catholic school. While exploring the campus, she meets up with a future student, Mariya Shidou.
Mariya is the perfect Shoujo-Ai love interest: Soft spoken, polite, and beautiful. Fast forward a bit, and Kanako discovers that Mariya is really a boy. Mariya threatens blackmail, makes Kanako's life a living hell, and hilarity ensues... or rather it would if the entire thing weren't so utterly deranged.
The biggest turnoff about this show is the lack of grace with which this is handled. It's a parody of the Shoujo-Ai genre, but sometimes it's impossible to tell.
Mariya's treatment of Kanako gets worse and worse as the episodes progress, even intruding on her monologues from time to time. If you're repulsed by the end of the second episode, when it really gets started, then it's advised to stop watching and find something that doesn't make a plot synopsis sound like a really freaky after school special.
Strangely enough, despite the amount of abuse she hurls at Kanako and anyone else who gets in her way, Mariya ended up being the best character. Yuu Kobayashi evidently had fun playing both the bubbly disguised Mariya, and her sinister male side, and it shows. Her two vocal ranges, especially when conversing with Mariya's loyal yet snarky maid, are a real treat to listen to.
The other characters, aside from the dorm mistress, are cardboard cutout archetypes, not really worth mentioning in particular. Kanako is a harem male lead protagonist in a girl's body, and all the associated personality traits apply.
Animation-wise, it's typical SHAFT: Detailed characters, sparse backgrounds. It works well in its favor, but the frequent character distortions can seem like an act of laziness at times.
The sound is easily the highlight, another special mention going to Kobayashi's voice, as well as the irritatingly catchy OP and ending themes. Unfortunately, the rest of the soundtrack isn't terribly memorable and falls by the wayside.
The question that has to be asked is whether you'll enjoy Maria Holic based on these merits. If you don't mind a constant bombardment of random gags and jokes of a visual nature (Most flopping), and an overdose of black humor, it's well worth checking out for Mariya alone. Sadly, it didn't live up to what it could've been.
Here's hoping the new season will pick up the slack and provide better jokes to match the splendid casting and scatterplot... plot. I'll definitely be watching.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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