- Last OnlineMar 28, 2018 5:14 PM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayDec 2, 1996
- JoinedJun 24, 2014
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Jun 28, 2014
Zetsuen no Tempest is a perfect example of why I watch anime. It's a phenomenal representation of the medium, showing how deep and powerful the genre can be. As I review this, it has become my 2nd favorite anime of all time in a list surrounded by big names such as Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Steins;Gate.
The 1st thing worth noting starting off this review is how amazing this story is. It's the tale of two boys and their own specific journeys while they work together to save the world. Interestingly enough, while they do plan on saving the world, their motivations are much more
...
powerful than a generic anime hero's decision to protect everyone and is instead a display of how different people respond to the death of a loved one. At the same time, we're introduced to a girl, a mage and princess left in a barrel and sent to an island, who aids them from afar. This story is so unique while relying on the idea of tragedy, specifically Shakespeare's work.
The primary reason why I loved the story was how it played out. Nothing feels rushed, everything goes at a logical pace and the best part of the show is a 4 episode part in which the three protagonists and an enemy of theirs work to prove their respective hypotheses (That may sound like it'd be too wordy and boring but it is masterfully engaging).
The second aspect of the show which must be discussed is the characters which were some of the best I've seen from such a large cast since FMA Brotherhood. 1st We have Yoshino Takigawa, a quiet boy in high school who is seemingly not phased by anything. However behind this outward appearance is a damaged person trying to properly process the death of someone he loved. This approach to the character was very engaging to watch and I loved every second of his character arc, particularly the flashbacks he has. His dealing with grief is very real and sympathetic but by the end of the series, his growth is so measurable while not blatantly in the viewer's face.
The 2nd character to note is Mahiro Fuwa, an angry teenager given the ability to use magic from a mysterious princess and mage named Hakaze. His development is arguably just as strong as Yoshino's due to his very different handling of death. He seeks vengeance and holds resentment at the world for the loss of his beloved younger sister, going as far as to agree to help save the world with Hakaze in exchange for having the killer be found. This juxtaposition of vengeance alongside Yoshino's handling of grief really helps the viewer see these characters and their differences, making scenes with them interesting to watch.
Our 3rd and last main character I need to refer to is Hakaze Kusaribe. As previously mentioned, she is the infamous mage/princess left in a barrel and sent onto an island. She works as the "odd-man out" in the series by having her work with the other two who are so deeply connected, allowing for an outsider's perspective can be shown. She deeply cares for those around her and is driven by her morals, making her a very lovable female protagonist.
On a side note I'm going to make a comment that provides spoilers so skip ahead.
******SPOILERS******
I loved the Yoshino and Hakaze pairing so much throughout the second half and am so glad they get together at the end. While I did like Yoshino and Aika together, I loved this pairing we got in the second half as well the message the show gave us: You have to move on. While Yoshino did love Aika, him living his entire life alone because of it is just too bitter an idea for me to swallow. The scenes with Yoshino and Hakaze were great and I'm glad that this show did not do one of the worst taboos in anime, where the other love interest gets screwed over and she's okay with it. Yoshino and Hakaze were a fantastic pairing and I was panicking with the amount of time left they had to put them together at that ending, I was so afraid nothing would happen but leave it to bones to save the day.
******END OF SPOILERS ******
I don't have much to say in terms of the Art and Sound. I'm giving them both a 10/10 because I loved the feel they both provided and how they worked with the story but I don't have anything I feel needs to be discussed.
Zetsuen no Tempest is a rare thing to see in recent anime: A well done story that does not allow for any cliches such as fan service or shounen action scenes to weigh down the narrative (granted you could argue the show has both but they are down appropriately and without being jarring when watching). Instead, we get a fantastic series that will go down in my memory as one of the greatest animes of all time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Jun 26, 2014
Currently Diamond Cuts Diamond (or DCD for short) has just released its 18th chapter with English translations. Therefore, this review will either be replaced or updated as more chapters come out.
Diamond Cuts Diamond is truly fantastic. It blends one of my favorite genres, murder mystery, with a supernatural tale of Espers. Just to clarify, an Esper is a person with an abnormal ability. The premise for this manga is that 7 years after a show about young Espers presenting their talents called "Esper Shounen" was cancelled, the cast members are being hunted down by a mysterious killer named "Anti".
Our protagonist, Kurosu Kiesuke, a member
...
of the cast who was gifted with the ability to link up with another person's 5 senses, must solve the mystery of who the assailant is in order to end the killing spree.
Frankly, I'm loving this manga. We're given a great scenario that has been playing out very well with the killer hunting members of the cast at random points and we're not aware of who it is. However, this isn't the type of ignorance that is frustrating. Personally, I do have a theory but regardless, it's this kind of confusion that helps keep this story alive. As I read through all 18 chapters, I was constantly given twists and was forced to eliminate or re-examine suspects.
Another great part of the manga is Kurosu's relationship to our other protagonist, Yami. She was a fellow actor on the set of "Esper Shounen". While the manga plays their relationship up for laps sometimes due to her large breasts intimidating our hero, it's very clear that their relationship is very valuable to each other and they both hold real weight in the other's life. This makes suspenseful scenes all the more dramatic because of how you really care about these two. At the time of this review it has yet to be confirmed if their relationship involves romantic feelings for one another or if it's platonic (Personally I ship them all the way).
Another great part of the series is that I think not many people will be alienated. While a murder mystery, the series does channel that Shounen action you'd expect in a manga about children with special powers.
I highly recommend this manga, it's one of the few I've read that while serious at times is just a pure joy to read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jun 26, 2014
No Game No Life is a clear example for the anime community of overconfidence. It's a story of Sora and Shiro, an expert gaming duo, sent to another world where everything is settled through games. While this may appear to be simply following the hype of Sword Art Online as other animes have done, this is actually a much more advanced and original premise than meets the eye.
Unfortunately, the shows only aspect in its favor is the story's usage of different and unique games in order to settle disputes. The rest of the anime leaves much to be desired, simply applying clear attempts to
...
gain popularity and providing poorly written characters to drag along the plot.
Considering there is not much to discuss as far as the story without providing spoilers, the most important reason as to why I do not recommend this anime would be due to its excuse for characters.
Starting off, we have our 1st protagonist, Sora. Sora is Shiro's older step-brother who is practically designed to be unlikable. While many anime characters are perverted in nature, Sora is just down right despicable. Using his skill as a gamer he forces a girl to fall in love with him and with the help of Shiro, proceeds to provide her with belittling comments and sexual harassment on a level that can never be justified. Furthermore, rather than actually establishing a unique and developed character for Sora, he's written as a clear Lelouch Lamperouge copy, mimicking the star of Code Geass' intellectual prowess without having the same charisma that makes a fan of Code Geass love the protagonist. It's this sloppy writing that exposes the empty characters we are seeing on screen.
Moving onto our next gaping flaw in No Game No Life we have Shiro, Sora's younger and impressively less likable sister. While Sora at least had some semblance of a character, Shiro is just a part of the show. She does things that help the plot sure, but she's not deep in the slightest. Her only noticeable trait aside from being a gamer is that she is overly protective of her brother. She constantly gets worked up when another female interacts with Sora, going as far as to take one girl's clothing, including underwear, and having her dress up as a dog before being tied to a pole in front of the townspeople. It's these types of moments that make No Name No Life so mediocre. It's having our main female character be abusive to another relevant member of the cast without any sort of reprimanding that makes her painful to even watch. Such actions on her part make her extremely unlikable and unfortunately this is her only aspect to her character with noting. Other than this, she's just a piece of cardboard that can somehow speak.
No Game No Life is not the greatest anime of all time; in fact its not even good. Quite honestly, this is one of the most overrated animes I've ever seen. If you want to see people have an engaging battle of the minds, watch either Death Note or Code Geass. If you want to watch overly unnecessary fan-service and some of the worst written characters in anime, only then can I ever recommend No Game No Life. While the games themselves are an engaging part of the overall experience, the rest is a train wreck that shows that a good concept still needs strong writing to be successful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jun 25, 2014
Just to clarify, I am only reviewing the Code Breaker anime, not the manga which is apparently both longer and from some of the early scans I've seen appears to follow a different story. At the time of this review, I've only read the 1st chapter of the manga so for fans of the manga keep in mind this review is aimed specifically at the anime.
That being said, Code: Breaker is a very strange anime to review. This is not because it is so much as unorthodox anime as it is a confusing one. After finishing it, I had very mixed feelings. So before I
...
provide a very long analysis of the 13 episode season I want to state my general thoughts: It's not a bad anime but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
Code: Breaker starts off with the story of a young girl named Sakura who while riding the bus one night, witnesses a young man setting several others on fire in the park. Running off the bus to investigate the scene however she sees no trace of evidence of an actual crime committed. Confused, she goes to school the next day and a new student, Rei Ogemi has arrived as a transfer student and he looks just like the young man she had seen the day before.
The story itself has a good premise. We have Sakura, a girl driven by her feelings of righteousness, and Rei, an executioner for the wicked. The two early on play off each other well, with Rei playing mind games against Sakura as she contemplates the ethical debate brought up by the show: Killing killers. Quite frankly, the best part of this series is the earlier episodes with Rei still being a dark entity and Sakura a witness to his actions. I very much liked how they played off each other with their ideologies clashing with the other. However, this concept soon becomes repetitive for the viewer as it seems for the first half of the show, before the main story kicks in, they keep repeating the same concept in differing scenarios. Every time, Sakura questions Rei's right to judge and he clarifies why he feels it's okay for him to take another's life.
The story further struggles because it feels in a word, compiled. Interesting ideas such as Sakura's mysterious back story never are fleshed out and so the story feels increasingly incomplete. While I can understand there is much to cover in a 13 episode series and some ideas could be left out, there are several pointless moments that I'll refer to later that can easily be removed.
By the end of the 13th episode, the plot seems to be unclear as to what is going on, what has been going on and what will happen later down the road. This ultimately leads to just a bitter ending for the viewer who feels like nothing significant changed for these characters by the end of the show; Rei never changed his ways from taking another life from the show and while the anime may have meant to justify vigilantism, it was never made clear.
Moving onto the characters I'd say that this is, while stronger than the story, still a weak aspect of the show. Starting off we have Sakura. The show makes it very clear early on that she is an optimist, always trying to see the morality in people. While not necessarily original, I think Sakura was a nice sort of conscience for Rei. She makes clear points that murder is wrong and her character does help fuel the ethical debate greatly. However, Sakura is constantly undermined by the series. First off, the cops are in on what the criminals are doing, as explicitly stated in episode 1. As a result, thugs would not be properly prosecuted which makes the argument that killing is not the only way to stop evil a fallacy because it practically is. it's particularly strange to see the law's corruption because the manga's 1st chapter implies that the police actually do legitimate work. The only reason I can think of as to why this change was made to the anime is because it might make Rei seem more justified.
However, this is the opposite of what happens. Rei's character is a mass murderer, taking the lives of criminals throughout the course of the series. He views his actions as "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and evil for evil", meaning that in his mind what comes around goes around. The show constantly justifies this view point by putting Rei and Sakura in positions where its clear that Rei's way is the only way. The problem with this is that while yes you do what Rei to not be a complete bastard, he seems to be ALWAYS in the right so his darker character seems incapable of ever being wrong. As a result, Rei comes off as a glorified mass murderer, making his character difficult to like because his view point is never proven wrong.
The show does a commendable job with the series villain, Hitomi. Without going into too much detail, he is portrayed as one of the most sympathetic villains I've seen in anime, making his character very likable. In one of the last episodes, we are given a fantastic insight into the character from his back story and therefore making him pleasant to watch throughout the series. Unfortunately, the anime makes a mistake with his character as well. The problem is Hitomi is too justified, similar to Rei. Hitomi's reasons for what he's doing are not just sympathetic but almost admirable. Although he does do terrible actions later on that doesn't make this problem too extreme, Hitomi is easily the most likable character in the series because of his ideology.
I viewed the English dub for Code: Breaker and while not a fan of most English dubs, found this one to be pretty strong. Rei's voice actor in particular, Micah Solusod, does a great job applying a dark tone for his character's voice. While later on Sakura's voice actress Jackie Ross seemed not as strong, I found this issue to be more with the dialogue she was given rather than the actual performance which in the earlier and better written episodes was very well done. Other highlights such as the Prime Minister and Hitomi deserve recognition as well. The music from both the opening and ending I'm indifferent to because while it was not bad, there's nothing worth noting.
The art direction for the show is not anything worth noting either, the best parts of the show being the fights and use of the character's powers, particularly Rei's blue flames.
Before I conclude this review though, I'd like to address two very important issues I found with the show that I feel don't really fall into any of the categories previously discussed. This is mostly from what I mentioned very early on in the show, its misuse of time. This first has to do with a scene where a girl at school fondles Sakura's breast. I have a series issue with this for various reasons. Firstly, the scene has no reason to exist. These 30 seconds or so could be better used for things related to the actual plot, particularly the bitter ending which needs great fixing. Secondly, this is inappropriate in my opinion. Others may find this funny and I am a male so my opinion lacks any actual "experience" but this is just sexual harassment. It's clear Sakura is uncomfortable with the scenario and there's no real reason to have it in there. I'm from America so I am aware there's going to be a difference in humor between where I grew up and Japan but all the same this is just wrong to me. As a result such scenarios weaken my enjoyment of the show because of its poor taste and treatment of the heroine.
My second complaint is with the focus on Sakura's family. This is a plot point randomly given to the story and I'm not sure why because up until the show needed her family to be powerful enough to have so many "guards" it was never clear. This seems to be for convenience and annoys me because previous episodes never even hinted at this home life DESPITE us seeing her at home previously. This issue only annoys me more after an incident where multiple people at her home become injured and she feels guilty. They give her a cliched speech about how they believe in her, only further irritating me because it is so unnecessary. These people have no reason to be in the show and for the 1st half weren't present. This randomness hurts my enjoyment further by causing me to only resent them for existing in the medium without proper justification.
Overall Code: Breaker is okay at best. I want to like the show but I can't because its characters and story are generally flawed. If you have nothing else to do, maybe watch the first 3 or so episodes and see if you want to continue from there. Otherwise, this series is not worth the watch sadly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
