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Mar 29, 2015
For an anime that has a lot of characters for a one season series, the focus is quite firmly on Takamiya Honoka (one of only two males in the series, not that I'm complaining) and Kagari Ayaka, the main characters and practically the heroes of the series, the good guys you're supposed to root for. The story, full of mystery and the unknown at first, progressed nicely for the first 8 episodes, then I lost track of who wanted what and had to ask my younger brother for clarification, which was a bit humbling. The series didn't have much variety to the humor
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it brought to the episodes, but Kuraishi Tanpopo's karaoke was a blast to watch. The voice actress of Kuraishi, well chosen for her part, gave a sidesplitting performance. It was a scene that I watched again and again, and bolstered the ratings of Witch Craft Works.
The artwork, and often the computer graphics integrated in the drawing cells was perhaps, maybe, arguably the best I've ever seen in the 30 years I've been watching anime. Of course, anime from the 80's and 90's can't hold a candle to the extravagant and lush and imaginative and fanciful, breathtaking visuals that anime studios bring us these days. The genre of this series must be fantasy. It surpasses even Paprika in terms of trippiness. I say that with a firm assertion. The lowest scores of Witch Craft come in the story and character departments. The big reveal of all this hustle bustle is that not only EVERYTHING comes back to what it was at the start, but EVERYONE also. That is, there's no ending, happy or sad. There's no development from the characters. Ayaka never had much in terms of personality. Her schtick is to be icy, detached, cold but blindly devoted to Takamiya for reasons that are hinted at to tease us, but never revealed. She's the one who stays the most normal during these episodic escapades, and frankly it suits her. It's Honoka that fails lamentably in growing, growing up, evolving any sort of emotion beyond hopelessness and mild stress and confusion. He never grows into the role he has been entrusted. Having frozen everybody's interactions and interface, the story makes everything go back to normal. THAT was hard to take. It was a case of Simpsonland.
The type of magic used in Witch Craft is about bond and bartering. The bomb girl, Evermilion, a very annoying villain, seemed overpowered and her constant victories seem to undermine the invincible Ayaka. She even took out, seemingly, even Ayaka's powerful mother, who has been subtly and indirectly hyped up as the most powerful witch in that town.The type of magic used, is quite convenient, too much, and servile to the caprice of the story and is subject to the vagaries of the plot. Yet, the visuals are still at the service of the story, unlike most non anime and live action series I've seen. There has been quite some imagination spent into fleshing out this world. The worlds in between, the alternate dimensions are all memorable and intricate. There have been quite a few anime (cough, K, cough), that have put all their onus on the artwork and failed in all other respects. Witch Craft Works is an arresting series with a lot of heart, and I appreciated it very much, proof of which is reflected in my scores and this review. I definitely recommend it and will remember watching it for a long time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 20, 2015
Spice and Wolf is a perfect example where I loved a series despite not grasping the telling of the tale of this fantasy, this historical fiction, and a simple story of growth and bond. I loved most of the first season. It's fair to say that I'm not in the minority about not understanding the economical side of the story. I'd go as far as saying that I expect 80% of the viewers were too young or not sharp enough to get the gist at first viewing. Despite not much happening in the first season, you cannot know for sure that something
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will not happen at some point. If this anime were a Japanese novel, it'd be stunning. I'd probably not be able to lay my hands on that imaginary book, and I'd not even be aware of it. Big thanks to the anime community for keeping on producing art that is risky, outlandish, solemn, daring, thoughtful, eager, wholesome, fantastic, and in the case of Spice and Wolf, humble and unpretentious.
The animation is gorgeous. Most animes, especially long running ones, tend to lower the absolute best bar of the background, so as to blend in the characters and the decor, landscape and the background. There's also the budget and the schedule to think of. Spice and Wolf foolhardily gives us some gorgeous and magical drawings of the scenery and boldly differs the animated characters from the world. This, is not a problem, as there is no gamble that paid off, since I'm sure the animators knew what they were doing. Considering that I've never seen such rendering in any other anime I can think of, I wonder why this is so. The standards of animation has followed the trajectory of any medium where drawing is involved - anime, manga, comics. These last few years have been a golden age for anime and I wish - en passant - that along with us, the hardworking animators would profit from it as much as us viewers do.
The strong points in favor of the high score eclipses the lapses in Spice and Wolf but we do feel the errors' pull. Humor is surprisingly near inexistent in most of the 13 episodes I've watched. The 'acting' of Lawrence in particular, is lacking in subtle and varied terms. This seems to be a direct result of the yoyoing playful but repetitive bond between Holo and Lawrence. Holo is the playful character and it's good that she doesn't joke really, but taunts and teases, but often with a punctuality coated with girlish charm. The routine that develops is that Holo keeps on yanking the chain of Lawrence and we expect Lawrence to retort but his reactions are the shrugs of a man prematurely old and fully knowing of his situation, and accepting it with stoic regularity.
I've forgotten most of the males' names and remember Nora Arendt's because the former are so many and interchangeable while women are at a premium in Spice and Wolf. The drawing style of the anime is not kiddy at all and Nora is the one that benefits most from it. I was quickly concerned about her well-being, and I don't know for sure who she is exactly. She seems shy, devout, humble, timid but trusting and fearless and loving towards her animals. She is important in providing a rival of sorts for Holo. Or at least, that's what they want you to believe. Talking about Spice and Wolf is rather difficult and I've done my best, and exceptionally, I count this review to be more writing than talking. Hope it has been useful to you!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 15, 2015
I'm not an expert on Fairy Tail. I don't know the arcs' name nor those of minor characters. It's a bit sad to stop following Fairy Tail, but I don't like the spruced up design and style of new characters. They are a bit indistinct from stock characters and bring nothing fresh to the table. I also didn't like the inane way Luxus was taken out. He simply could have remained in the form of a lightning bolt and evaded Natsu's punches. I know he was maddened with anger and that's kind of a legitimate parry to allow seasoned warriors to behave like
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unruly boys in combat.
I am pleasantly surprised that Makarov did not die before the episodes reached the half century mark. There are quite a few positives to take from Fairy Tale. I do feel kind of sad for not following it. I do want to know about Ivan and the wonderfully written Erza's feats of strength. But I'm in search of very good animes and as soon as an arc will waste my time, I'll be off. If there's a churlish undercurrent against Lucy, I'm not sure it's justified. She's not annoying, she is a likable person, some of her past has been nicely worked into the story, she fights realistically. She's not a man with boobs. She has her own personality. And I am glad to feel that it's for the best that she's not with Natsu or Gray. I swear she would wind up with Leo/Loki.
And then there is Happy. He is cute like a child. He doesn't do much. He's no longer useful. He might be a rip off of Tony Tony Chopper. I don't know. Natsu himself behaves quite like Luffy. I reckon the villain I've liked most of all is Jose. His design is okay, but his voice is out of this world. Very suitable and a mixture between obnoxiousness and cunning. His defeat was satisfactory, notably the form it took, with him standing in shock while Makarov turns his back on him after unleashing Fairy Law. So there it is, my review. As soon as I saw one of the villains for the arc where I stopped and I knew about his name - Cobra, sounds like a martial arts, b-movie name from the 70's - that I decided firmly to end my viewership with Fairy Tail. Villains from anime are dangerously close all the time in behaving like immature tweens. The posturing, and so called badass one liners can be distracting and detrimental. Give someone like Cobra a snake, then the sky's the limit for bad, embarrassing writing. So there it is, with my review, my ties with Fairy Tail end. Special mention for Juvia ( my favorite character in Fairy Tail) and Ur.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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