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Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi is set in the near future of 2022, technology has advanced enough so that a perfect rendering of yourself can be projected onto a computer screen without the opposition knowing that you're not really there (for quite some time too!). That's some kind of technology!

This story is based around two siblings, Remu and Shiki Mikage. They have a close/distant relationship, because Shiki is apart of a project/game/experiment at her academy OMFC, where you place yourself into a device called a "Body Pool" and you do not have to eat, drink, sleep, or go potty. She says she can study all ... she wants.
But, there have been a lot of problems with these devices (Also something else called NSC or something like that They don't really explain it), as something called the "Early Rapture" occurs, where 53,635 (Apx) people suffered severe brain damage using the machine, and at least 200,000 people have died from it.
Anymore would be spoilers, and I have already given away a good portion of this production.

This is obviously a story where not enough information is given for it to end right here, it is set up so that either a light novel (it apparently is already a light novel), manga, or anime adaptation can be made.

The animation, despite it being a little on the average side, is quite unique with its comic book look, and some imagery can be quite pretty. But the futuristic setting it generic, and I must say, if you don't like the color blue, you'll hate this show. Everything is blue.
The voice acting by the prevalent popular cast is what you would expect, very good. If anything the script is what holds back their talent.
The music is good throughout, nothing special, or too generic. The ending theme is good, quite catchy, and sung very well by the ever so popular Eri Kitamura.

There are quite a few fight scenes in this short, and I personally would have liked it more if it was more about the Body Pools, and how the corporations would have to deal with this. Like an episode of Ghost in the Shell: SAC.

Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi does have fan service, which is kind of unexpected. Some of it was unavoidable (being naked in a body pool), but they could have left a lot of it out (Like Shiki changing her clothes), or chosen much more suitable camera angles (Lots of under shots, and oppai shots.)

The characters are not very relatable. Remu and Shiki have kind of an Incestuous relationship (or at least want to have one), and it is very obvious from the get go that Remu has a sister complex. They're okay characters for the time allotted. But it can get cheesy at times, especially when the scenes are "Dramatic".

There are two big problems with this series.
One is not that there are too many questions left unanswered (That's a given with just 20 minutes to tell a story), but that the questions are too hard to answer if they extend the story without plot holes, or some really clever writing. You will know if/when you('ve) see(n) it. I tried to think of ways where they could solve their "Issues" without it being a major problem, but they already have plot holes from the beginning of this series.
And two is that even if they did extend this Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi , I would not see it. The story just felt a little too cheesy to me. I understand that it's hard to make shows up to the standards of GITS: SAC, but they could have taken out the cheesy romance, and replaced it with a more intellectual narrative.

I give this a 5 mainly for the fact that it did not succeed in having me want more. I do not care how this world that they created turns out.
There are too many answers that need to be answered that I can only believe will leave plot holes. As many know, Xebecs is not known for summing up stories without plot holes.
It is an interesting watch that only gets boring when they focus too much on fighting the enemy for confessing their "Feelings", and cheesy feelings at that.

Keep pursuing your dreams! ~ Wynn

Black*Rock Shooter (TV) is a spin-off franchise based on an illustration by -"supercell" member- Huke, which inspired the songwriter of "supercell", Ryo, to create a song for the illustration, which spawned a music video, OVA, an abundance of merchandise, and then this series.

The story was originally the brainchild of the director, Shinobu Yoshioka. The script writer of this series is Mari Okada, who many would know of from "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai." (myself included), "Canaan", "Fate/Stay Night", "Toradora", and many more.
She has a style of incorporating Moe into her characters, as well as realistic character interaction, and decides ... to focus on the details of feelings, that most people would look over. She also delves into the territory of melodrama, quite often.

This particular series focuses on a slew a characters, which is one of its shortcomings.
The series is only 8 episodes, and there are at least 5 characters to focus on, there's not enough room for explanation, especially when it comes to the melodrama in this series. But I have seen stories handled worse with 13 episode by other writers, so that does show in her ability to write.

The story is incorporated between two dimensions. The idea of the story is based around a story book that the main character has always liked since she was a kid. A little bird flies across different parts of the world, and collects the different colors the world emulates through it's wings. But the bird collects too many colors, and its wings turn brown and gray, then black, and then the bird dies. Sounds like your general everyday nursery rhyme to me (No, seriously, it does)!
Mato Kuroi (alter ego- Black Rock Shooter), Yomi Takanashi (Dead Master), Kagari Izuriha (Chariot), Yuu Koutari (Strength), and Saya Irano (Black Gold Saw). And a few more are introduced along the way.
It's the beginning of the school year for Kuroi. While she familiarizes herself with her new school, she decides to make friends with Takanashi, who she mistakens her name as "Little Bird Games (because of the Japanese pronunciation)".
Takanashi's sister (or friend, or something), Izuriha, is, well, crazy. She doesn't want Takanashi to be friends with Kuroi, because of her conceitedness.
And it basically just snowballs to depression, jealousy, deceit, manipulation, rage, ect.
As you can tell, this show is very depressing. And at times confusing, with plot hole abound.
In the other dimension, it is only stylized fighting with some narration every now and then.
Over the course of the series, you will understand, or at least be given an explanation, as to how the second world is connected to this reality (particularly in the last 2 episodes).

I will say this. The feelings that these characters express, are definitely real ones. We all have had these feelings over our lifetimes, especially during puberty. But that doesn't mean I want to watch a dramatization of those emotions that I have grown out of. Especially when they're as embarrassingly immature as they are.

I wish the writing was dealt with more maturely, despite the characters age. I have met a lot of younger kids, and they are much more mature than these characters, even with the same problems.
One of the biggest problems I have with are the adults in this series, they're even more immature than the children (Which is sadly a truth in this world).
Only an immature adult who cannot level-headedly handle a situation, let alone tackle it at all, could create such a disruption of emotions withing these children.

On another note, the music, the art, animation, and CGI are outstanding. The seiyuu do an excellent job with their respective roles. The direction of the cinematography is very stylish, and sometimes can evoke an emotional response. But there has to be something there to make it impactful. What could it be?
The writing. That is where this series falls short.
I think the series would have done much better if they decided to focus on 1 or 2 characters, build up the story a bit, and not have an emotional breakdown over the most menial things. They could also throw the whole "Other-world" idea out, or just stay in the "Other-world", because no matter what message you send with this anime, you cannot place your burdens on this non-existent entity in true reality.
Enjoy life. Be happy that you have the ability to eat hot food, with clean water, sleep on a soft bed, and have a loving family.
There are so many people in this world who go without, and just because "She isn't paying attention to me" 24/7, does not make it the end of the world. Not at all.
We all have those stages in life, but I don't think we want to see them again.

Despite all of my complaining about the writing, the story is surprisingly entertaining to watch, but extremely shallow and over the top.
So if you want to watch this anime, watch it as a step up from a generic, turn your brain off, thriller.
But the writer makes the story feel more important than it really is, and that will annoy many people who have seen how important stories can be told.
The ending will make an accusation to face all of lifes trials, and that you can never live without pain, or happiness. But there are many stories out there with that explanation, and they are better told stories.
___

To conclude, the story is very shallow with many holes, so the water of life will start draining out of it.
But the story is fun to watch, as the art, music, cinematography, acting, and direction are very good.
Watch this as a thriller, with psychological tendencies, and a little heartwarming message at the end, and you'll enjoy it.
Be prepared for the over-dramatic melodrama along the way though, because it's a doozy.

Keep pursuing your dreams! ~ Wynn

To begin, I was not expecting this series to be that great.
I initially viewed it on the basis that it was 6 episodes in length.
I took "Shinigami no Ballad" more seriously after watching "House of Five Leaves", and learned the director - Tomomi Mochizuki - had directed both series. "House of Five Leaves" left that much of an impression on me.
The script writer Reiko Yoshida also had some influence on my decision, as she has written a lot of great scripts for many series such as Aria: The Natural, Major, Kaleido Star, and so on.

Like Aria, this series is episodic, you can literally ... watch any episode at any time, they're self contained.
Reading the synopsis and watching the first episode, you expect the series to be about what it is implying, a Shinigami taking the souls of people ready to leave this world. But this series is surprisingly more than a Shinigami taking a life every episode.
It has a lot to do with getting over death, or living your life to its fullest as you never know when the "end" will come.

This series is about a Shinigami who looks like a cute girl wearing white, her name is Momo. She's not your average Shinigami, she likes to appear before the souls she will take and let them know that they should start living life to its fullest, or she may even appear before the family, or a sibling[s] of the deceased, as the deceased had some "regrets" before leaving. Since people obviously find it hard to believe this cute girl is a Shinigami [despite her floating in the air and carrying a giant scythe around], she frequently flashes her ID card reading "Shinigami 100100" as proof.
She has a "sidekick" named Daniel, and he's kind of a quirky individual. Oh yes, he's a black cat with a bell around its neck. Most people believe she's a Shinigami after the cat starts talking.
Daniel usually calls Momo a crybaby, because Momo does exactly that. You will see it in episode 1.

Much like "House of Five Leaves" - I'm referring to the calm factor - , "Mushi-shi", or even "Aria: the Natural", which sounds like a very odd comparison to a show like this, but you'd understand if you've seen it. "Shinigami no Ballad" is calming and unusually touching.
This is in no way a horror, at all.

After finishing the last episode, I was actually sad that this very well directed series was over, and wanted to see more of Momo's adventures as a Shinigami.
The aesthetics fit the mood, the music was calming, and for the most part, the acting was very good.
I did not feel there was anything that was left out after each episode, except for in the 5th episode. Each episode is written and directed extremely well. You would think the slow pace would leave things unfinished, which is not the case here.

If there were a few things that put me off, some of the acting was a little too laid back at times, actually it was like they weren't even trying.
The idea of the Shinigami being a cute girl with a cat seems a little too generic when it comes to anime, but you get used to it after a few episodes.
Lastly, the series with its very slow pace and calmness, can be boring to some viewers.
Also the eye-catch is so unfitting and macabre that I burst into laughter every time I watch it. It does not fit the mood at all. Although there's a unique picture on the eye-catch for each episode, that's a nice edition, even though I only noticed it after 3 episodes.

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To conclude, this is a series, if you have any inclination into "Shinigami no Ballad", and don't mind the slow pace of anime like "House of Five Leaves", "Mushi-shi", or "Aria", this is a great story to delve into and enjoy to its fullest, as there are only 6 episodes. You can watch it like it's a long chapter by chapter film.
A surprisingly calm and touching series about death. It is not a horror in any way.

Keep pursuing your dreams! ~ Wynn

P.S.
[This show is currently rated at #2478]
Just because a series rating is not over 100 does not mean it is bad in any way (it can also be true that it is bad though), but the same goes for the fact that a series rated at 100 does not mean it is good.
I recommend reading the reviews that do not spoil the series as well as seeing if the synopsis agrees with your taste. But you can still be missing out even after not agreeing with any of those points.

So basically you just have to get lucky, and hope for the best most of the time.

:There are no spoilers in this review, the synopsis has more information than the actual OVA does, and I'm not kidding:

The concept of "Mahou Tsukai Nara Miso wo Kue!" sounds quite interesting, a world where the existence of magic is know, and used. People can gain more power with their abilities relating to "the Material of an Impediment to the Sorcerer's Orders" or MISO.
Sounds like the anime Sekirei, except you level up, like in a video game.

If executed well, it could be entertaining.

But after the 1 minute explanation of the concept by an omnipresent narrator, the show turns into an ecchi fest.

I can tell you ... the whole story right now:

Opening monologue explaining existence of magic and MISO,
Two characters are intoduced, 1 joke,
OP titles (a waste of time where they could have added some story),
out of nowhere the two characters have a short fight with a helicopter,
Some brooding dialogue with the "Boss",
then a random ecchi scene for no reason (it's so unrelated it is to the show your jaw will drop),
then a new character is introduced, one joke with some up-skirt shots,
another unrelated ecchi scene,
and then it repeats that exact same cycle of "New character, joke, up-skirt, random ecchi scene" 3 times, until it ends with a cliffhanger fught (if you were actually interested enough to call it that). ED credits (Just scrolling text over black.)

This short episode felt extremely off the cuff, and not very well planned.
It did not make me want to read the Light Novels in any way.

There's absolutely no character, you just see what they look like and what kind of underwear and bikini they would wear.

The art is quite good when it comes to anime, but generic. For an OVA it could have been better, especially if it's trying to persuade me into reading the light novels.
They have the time, they have short window to tell a story, why couldn't they make it successful?

The music and seiyuu are what you would expect, they do the best with what they've got.

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I thought I was going to watch something unique, and bring some form of entertainment, but the useless, random ecchi scenes, and disjointed storyboard make this a confusing mess, and it's only 15 minutes.

Too much time was wasted on the useless ecchi, bad jokes (the jokes are redundant, if you can believe that), OP, and ED.

This may have been an episode that was coupled with the novels, so it's kind of like an extra treat. But this will leave a bad taste in your mouth, compared to much better series you probably have already seen.

"Sekirei" would be a better Series to watch if you want something like this.

It would be wise to have watched the whole first season of Code Geass before watching these Specials.

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"Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch Picture Drama" are a great addition to the back story of some of these characters of Code Geass.
If anything, they are entertaining enough to watch.

Episode 1 is How Lelouch and Susaku met at a young age.

Episode 2 was Milly, Nina, Shirley, and Kallen talking in the Ashford Academy Onsen/bathing house. It's quite sexy.
...
Episode 3, Jeremiah confides to Villetta about how he failed to protect Marianne 8 years ago.

Episode 4, Rivalz is talking to Susaku about how Lelouch is quiet about his childhood while repairing a bike. Susaku talks to Cecile and Lloyed afterwards, they make Susaku feel more at home.

Episode 5 was a comedic episode of the Student Counsel going to the beach. Euphemia and Cornelia have an announcement.

Episode 6 the student council have a cosplay party!

Episode 7 Lelouch has trouble explaining to Nunally why CC is at their house, and Sayoko has a surprise when she gets home.

Episode 8 Nunnally remembers how kind and gentle Eyphemia was as a child.

Episode 9 Was a serious episode about the departure of Susaku and Lelouch's childhood.

The animation is what you would expect of a Picture drama.
The art is quite unique, most of the art in each episode was made with a rough draft style, (I actually like the look a lot), but some are higher quality drawings of what you would expect (Especially episode 2... I'm not complaining.)

The usual soundtrack from the show.
The Seiyuu are excellent.
Great SFX.

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I've always liked these types of specials, that include OVA specials.

The fact that each of these specials adds some background to the characters, and brings some light humor is enough for it to be worth watching.
If you've purchased the DVDs of Code Geass, you will not be disappointed.

It would be wise to watch Code Geass R1 & R2 before seeing this special, it will make a bit more sense.

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"Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch - Kiseki no Birthday Picture Drama", is a picture drama that takes place after the final episode of Code Geass R2.

That may arise some questions, as it did with me.
It will. Even after the explanation they give us.

Despite that, the show is fun to watch, even though it's a Picture Drama.
...
If you read the synopsis it is truly what the story is and nothing more.

Most of this special should entice laughter, especially at the beginning.
The very end tries its best to make you cry. And if you love the characters so much, and don't care about the ridiculous explanation, then you just may.

The character designs are what you would expect from Code Geass.
Same great music, and Seiyuu and SFX.

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There's not too much to this.
It's a funny, entertaining story.

If you love Code Geass, I would recommend this.

"PES: Peace Eco Smile" is a Sci-Fi/Love Story created to sell the Toyota brand.

The animation is very good, some of the designs and events are quite imaginative.
The character designs remind me of Kino no Tabi, they are very good as well.

The music is well implemented, and the some of the songs are catchy.
The Seiyuu are good. And the SFX fit the series.

I assume that this is a children's series, or at least I hope so. That would go against their advertising though, why would a 8 year old want to buy a Toyota vehicle?

PES is an alien who has crashed down to earth for whatever ... reason, with his alien friends named "NaSuBi".
After Pes saves a random girl from falling off a bridge, she kisses him for no reason (it looks ridiculous in the show), her name is Kurumi.
His space ship crashes into a river.
Ken is Kurumi's brother, and Sho is Kurumi's friend who plays in a band, you never hear their music.

The story is bad.
Just cause people call an alien space craft a UFO, does not mean that an alien would call it a UFO as well. UFO is an acronym for Unidentified Flying Object, that could be anything that is flying in the air and you don't know what it is.

I wish someone told the writers things like this before they released the script, most of the events in this anime are preposterous, and silly. Not in a good way like Gurren Lagann.

No matter how shiny and creative the visuals were in each episode, I was very bored, and that is sad.

This series would have worked much better if it were 7 music videos with catchy, fun songs, like most of the last episode. That was much more entertaining than the story they told.

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I don't like seeing time, effort, and talent wasted in productions like this. Especially when everything except for the script is talented.
This is merely an advertisement for the Toyota brand. I believe they missed their target audience.

This series would have worked much better as 7 music videos for catchy and fun bands.

The only people I would recommend this series to are people who are interested in animation and want to use this series as a bit of inspiration. But that is even stretching this series pretty thin.

"Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2", the sequel to the first "Code Geass", is a very fun series that can make you think twice, or even more times about what will happen next and what is going on.
It suffers from the same problems as the first series, but here, it's even more so.

After Lelouch meets up with Suzaku at the final episode cliffhanger of R1, we are treated to a "1 Year Later" event, where the events of that year are explained over time. You'll be surprised at how well they explain it, even though most of the explanations are made up, they're still explanations.
The ... rest of R2 is a series of twists and turns. It keeps getting more and more ridiculous until it literally breaks its back, and you're just expecting a twist every 10 minutes or so.

Up to a certain point in this series, the reality of this world becomes a mess, and the show becomes more of a mediator for the writers philosophies, let alone an attack on government and politics, rather than a driven series that is realistically well controlled with its politics and drama.
That doesn't stop the fun though, but the huge twists are almost too ridiculous to take seriously, especially near the end.

I must give it to the writers though, the execution of the plot is like something I have not seen before or after the creation of this series, there are times where you think the show could have ended, but they managed to create something more from that event, and so on, and so on, and so on... It's almost too much.

If you haven't seen Goro Taniguchi's Gun X Sword in 2005, there are similarities to key elements of Code Geass that are similar to Gun X Sword, especially when comparing the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia and "The Claw".

The art is what you would expect, like the first season, except on a bigger scale.

The music is once again very well done, the seiyuu are still excellent, and the SFX fit.

:Semi Spoiler:
This series plays with the idea that the world is created and run with lies, truth is a false hope that cannot be obtained. Everyone wears a persona, a mask.
It is the basis of this series, you will see every leader lying to each other and their comrades to continue their reign of power, and their drive for "World Peace" which up to a certain point, it is obvious that this is also a lie.
You even see it in the first season, just not up to this scale.

I must mention, the last episode is much more powerful than I expected, this series, may be chaotic, but the last episode did impress me.

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I actually had more fun watching this series than the first one, no matter how clustered the world of Code Geass became.
They're selling a product, I think they did a great job as business goes.
If you've seen the first season, there is no reason to skip the second one.
Have fun, and watch with an open mind.

I believe the last episode of Code Geass R2 made the whole series worth it.

"Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch", the highly received production by Sunrise, directed and created by Goro Taniguchi, is quite a unique venture into political anime.
Code Geass tries its best to surprise you with its twists and turns, even to the point of it twisting so many times it practically breaks its back.

Lelouch is the anti-hero in Code Geass, doing all the wrong things with good intentions. Lelouch and his gained power "Geass", reminded me of Light in "Death Note", which was released the same year as Code Geass. But that comparison falls once the show starts rolling, and that didn't happen until around the 13th ... episode. The rest of the story (including the second season) is a bunch of twists, turns, stabs, jabs, and u-turns.

One of the main problems I have with this series is that there is so much information in each episode that it was hard to keep up at times.
And for some reason, I did not find most of the episodes to be very memorable. Whenever I watched an episode, I had a hard time remembering what happened without looking up the synopsis of the particular episode.
I found this out in the time that I've watched/read anime, movie's, books, ect. That there can be so much drama and so many twists in such a short time, that one becomes basically numb to it, and new twists are not as surprising as they could have been in a much more controlled series.
Not to say that this series is boring, it's actually an intelligent portrayal of two empires at war, and all the twists are quite imaginative. It's fun to see how this series goes down, and by the time I was finished watching the first season, I was excited to watch the second season.

Just about every character plays an important role in the show, whether they are intelligently implemented or there to be the annoying twist creator can be hard to decipher, but just about every character is either of these two.

Lelouch Lamperouge is the brains of the series (Literally, he can barely do a 100 Meter dash without stopping in the middle, out of breath.), he obtains an ancient power called "Geass". With his new power, he is inspired to take revenge on his father, the emperor of Britania who abandoned Lelouch, and create a world where his sister Nunally can live in peace.

Suzaku Kururugi is Lelouch's childhood friend. He's very important to this story, regarding Lelouch.

C.C. is a being who was discovered somewhere and locked in a capsule, has the power to grant Geass to whoever is worthy.

Kallen Stadtfeld, Milly Ashford, Rivalz Cardemonde, Nina Einstein, and Shirley Fenette are all Lelouch's close friends, and apart of the student council at Ashford Academy, Milly Ashford is the president.

There are many other side characters that will come into the loop as well.

The art is very well done. I must note that there's quite an abundance of ecchi in both of the series, one instance frontal nudity.
The fights can be dramatic and epic, and the animation never seems to drop noticeably in quality.

The music is very well done, and gives off that Dictator and Monarchy vibe quite well.
The Seiyuu are excellent, they're never out of character.
The SFX also fit very well.

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This is a series that deserves its recognition to an extent. It is imaginative when it comes to the politics of this series, creative in its delivery, and fun to watch.
You may even want to watch it just because everyone is so in love with the series, it would be nice to know what people are talking about.

If you are interested in a show with many twists and turns, and are not bothered by the comparisons to Death Note, Gundam, & Legend of the Galactic Heroes, go ahead and watch this fun series, you will love it.

"One Off" is a very simple story. It's all about overcoming the obstacle of negative thinking, things that you may think are impossible can actually be more easily attainable when you are working towards that goal and thinking positively. If anything, you will feel better.
Nothing good comes from negative thinking except for just that, more negative thinking.

This is your basic slice of life story with mopeds, motorcycles, the eagerness to travel, and Honda (yes, the vehicle company) as the main subjects. With one of the best directors when it comes to slice of life works, Junichi Sato.

It's not original, but does anyone really expect ... that when it comes to slice of life stories? I like it, it's executed well, has a great atmosphere, and is fun to watch if you like slice of life stories.

The art is excellent, very much up to standards here.

The music is very well done, the opening by RoundTable is always a nice touch in an anime, and the ending and insert songs are pretty catchy as well.
The seiyuu act their characters with great enthusiasm.

There's not much character here, but the little that there is, serves well enough for the story and execution.
For a slice of life series, there's actually a small bit of ecchi in this show, and that is the role of Cynthia (You'll see when you watch it).

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I enjoyed this short series more than I expected.

One Off serves as a feel good slice of life story that is as short as a motorcycle or moped ride to a convenience store.
It's very well done, and if there was more, I would watch it.