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Feb 21, 2010
For those reading this review w/o finishing the first season will be spoiled so be forewarned
This anime continues where the last one left off, Horo and Lawrence slowly make their way to Horo's hometown. Along the way they happen upon various opportunities for profit and gain useful knowledge. All that while trying to keep a strong relationship between a human and a goddess. Some also might wonder if this can stand up against the hype from the fame of the last series. I can easily tell you it does, but with one Achilles heel....
Its definitely not story or the cast that brings this show down
...
from a perfect 10, its the bad decision to use a completely different production companies to fill in place of the original greats Imagin (animation) and Studio Bihou (Background art). But at the very least keep Studio Bihou as this is what made Spicy Wolf 1 extra special. The animation in S&W2 would appear perfectly the same as before except you will notice many mistakes upon viewing, such as awkward angles, skinny limbs turn to fat limbs, back ground characters, and other minor/major details. Albeit not as exact as the original, it still provides that spice and wolf feel.
If the story of Horo and Lawerence are the heart of the show, the background art would have to be the soul of the show. Amazing amounts of detail were made in S&W1. If you rewatch it, you WILL see things that you haven't seen before. Sadly, the 'soul' of the show appears to be bland, lifeless, and uninhabited. So many angry feelings bubble up when i saw how many simple angles and lines are in one show. Towns don't look like towns. They more resemble a horrible copy paste job that does not fit any point of view angle at all. Small intricate details like wheat in wheat fields or cobblestones appear to be nonexistent. It indeed does hinder the experience considerably. But I am confident you will oversee all the faults once you realize that this story is after all, Spice and Wolf 2.
Lawrence is still very 'crafty' (heh) and Horo is still foxy as ever. Now that their feelings are more established, we will see more character progression this time around and this alone trumps anything a bad artist can draw up. Most of their emotions are still worn on their sleeves, but now they start to rely on each other implicitly. It's just a wonderful thing to see Lawrence and Horo interact with each other. Like a young boyfriend and girlfriend scheming to do things their way no matter how crazy it may seem. You will also notice how much these two characters have grown from before. For better or worse it does make the chemistry between them much more intense. The acting between the two is something of pure win as you will laugh, cry, and everything in between. Such a play on emotions is also a clever way of dissuading the viewer of thinking one way or another when a choice or problem arises for the fearless duo.
This will definitely lead the viewer to varying degrees of thinking about the outcome. Its a formula that definitely works great with a mercantile anime. These situations that they face definitely appear to be more difficult than before and it is apparent through the first story arc. It might be because the stronger relationship between the two or just the trading is more intense. Either way, it will leave you wanting for more. Not in a shounen anime sort of way but more like a good book you just can't put down.
Everything pertaining to the light novel appears as anime gold and everything pertaining to animation production (sans the seiyuu cast) seems to have slipped considerably. Do not let the downgrade fool you though, this is till a very solid iteration to Spice and Wolf.
As a side note: you will love Training With Horo (S&W2 special #2)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 15, 2010
I haven't written a review in almost a year so i might as well start with this
80% of all user made reviews will be positive no matter what. The best way to evaluate anything is to read the negative reviews as well. This is a good rule to go by for anything (games, movies, appliances, etc) With that being said I'm not giving this series a 10.
Quick Review:
- Story (4/10) Its an infinite loop story, shounen boy being the greatest in the world and it follows him in all his wacky adventures.
- Art (6/10) It is indeed
...
a very well animated series but you can easily see many common ways to for the studio to cut corners.
- Sound (8/10) Voice acting is top notch, everyone has a wide range of emotions but some overreact too much in one episode. Whats with all the yelling?
- Characters (7/10) You'll either love em or hate them (or both) Regardless you''ll have your share of favorites and luckily you will know all about them.
- Enjoyment (8/10) Main story arcs are great but what grinds it to a halt are the long drawn out situations in the vein of the Dragon Ball series.
Full Review:
I kept getting bugged and bugged about when i was going to pick this show up. Ever since 2004. Fast forward to 2008 and I finally picked up and started watching this show from episode 1. I started watching this show with very limited expectations since everyone keeps hyping the hell out of this show. And to be honest, the best way to watch this show is to have very low expectations. Because as soon as the story arc for obtaining Nami started (eps 031- 044), I definitely fell in love with this series.
That story ark had everything a shounen anime should have, comedy, drama, action, and serious business. Basically an edge of your seat roller coaster ride trying to figure out what will happen next. Sadly, the story arc's like this are far and few between. The structuring of most arc's usually focus on one or two of the main characters which is perfect for a long running series like this. Don't get me wrong, alot of the adventures are good clean fun which most will enjoy. It's fine if there's no continuity what so ever and plot holes you can fill a 10 gallon trash bag in. It's all about over the top slapstick adventures and it does that well, even perfectly.
So why in the hell did I give the story a score of 4? I could make a 10 page essay if I listed them all but the main issue is its whole premise. It is a LONG RUNNING shounen anime. That means they will do anything and everything to make a story arc as long as possible. A perfect example is that the opening AND closing credits will average between 90 to 150 seconds each, a last episode recap will last around 5 minutes , and a next week preview will last for about a minute. Add all that up and that roughly adds up to ~15 minutes of non essential story telling. FIFTEEN MINUTES!! Granted, new story arcs wont have as much time shaved off to start but the typical formula will repeat itself every time. But even then its like why bother watching last weeks episode if you can almost tell half of last weeks story today? Its an infinite loop that we're doomed to be in.
Since they are a long drawn out stories, they also suffer from the Dragon Ball virus. Having a face off between good guys and bad guys for 30+ episodes and essentially 'filling' in the time with flashbacks or side stories really insults the viewers intelligence in my opinion. They even have the gall to replay back story arcs that lasted upwards to 10 episodes and 'rehash' the arc into one or half an episode. I could have easily skipped over 260 episodes if i knew they were going to do that. I know it is to acclimate new young viewers to how their lovable characters came to be, but isnt that what dvd's are for? Or at the very least, don't bother to tie them in to a story arc.
One more thing I must mention, try not to think too hard when people look like they're going to die one minute and the next, they're up and jumping around like nothing happens or any inconsistencies like that. It will make your head explode if you do.
If you are willing to forgive the aforementioned problems with this show (or any long running shounen anime) I'm sure you will notice they do carve alot of nice stories that you will more than likely enjoy. As the actual stories told in the series just look so much fun. It's like watching Indiana Jones NONSTOP. Although it will take forever for them to tell you a story, you'll either be laughing crying or enjoying the wackiness that is One Piece.
The creator did do a wonderful job of making VERY unique and non static characters, although some might appear typical or cookie cutter, they usually do something completely opposite or you will discover things you never thought would happen (inconsistencies aside). On top of that, the voice actors are very memorable and fit their characters awfully well. Although most of them yell more than i would like, the sheer number of cast members is staggering and is hard for me not to be impressed. I agree I am not a fan of a few of the main characters but knowing so much about them (due to side stories) its hard not to cheer for the straw hat crew!
This series is far from perfect, but it is very enjoyable.
6.6
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 25, 2009
Story: 5 (what you end up getting is a half hearted attempt at putting a script together.)
Art: 8 (high artistic accuracy to the original artwork is very rare especially at this high of detail.)
Sound: 7 (Excellent voice work is somewhat hindered to a sub-par manuscript.)
Character: 9 (Sure it might not sound all that original on paper, but...)
Enjoyment: 10 (Pure proof that sex sells, why mess with an age old secret.)
...
OVERALL: 39/50 = 7.8 (Love it or hate it, this is just an anime made strictly for the fans.)
According to MAL users via word of mouth, this anime is pure 'crap' because it appears to have no story. To be technical in accordance to MAL's scoring system, the 'story' only counts as 20% of the 'overall' score. That is if the 'reviewer' consideres a non-wieighted scoring system. So that means a VERY poorly told story can still amount to mounds of fun and entertainment if the other elements of the show are in good standing. Such is the case for Queens Blade: Rurou no Senshi.
___What Is Queens Blade___
Before we go in to great detail about the show, a LARGE majority of the viewing audience have no idea what the hell they are watching. Queens Blade is basically an expansion to the Lost Worlds universe. Lost Worlds is a pen and paper game designed by Alfred Leonardi and originally published in 1983 by Nova Game Designs. Currently, Flying Buffalo owns the rights to the Lost Worlds universe and is based in Arizona.
The most current series of books, of all female fighter-types, under the title of Queen's Blade, published from late 2005 by Hobby Japan. These 19 books, have generally proved to be just new ecchi illustrations for existing combat matrices (from other Lost World books), rather than "new" characters. As of December 2007 a second series, Queen's Gate, was introduced, featuring characters from Japanese visual media, and in October 2008 Hobby Japan announced four further characters in a sub-set of the original series. (source: Wiki)
Each character book consists of 50 illustrations with the specific character in various positions according to the context of the text (i.e. dodge, thrust, uppercut, receive damage, etc). Needless, to say there's a lot of clothes shredding and exposure in the artwork.
___Story___
The story in the anime is loosely based on the campaign book: "Queens Blade Beautiful Fighter Retsuden [Adventure Record of Nomadic Soldier]" (in japanese クイーンズブレイド 美闘士列伝 「流浪の戦士冒険記」) The campaign is basically an alternate rule set and conditions from the normal Lost Worlds books. The show tries to follow over a dozen different girls on their attempt at becoming the queen of the land. That itself is a recipe for disaster as there are so many characters to introduce in only 12 short episodes.
It tries its best to get everyone up to date with the players but it ultimately falls short as people come and go in a blink of an eye. So what you end up getting is a half hearted attempt at putting a script together. And for a rushed script, it isn't completely terrible. It just lacks the proper back story to get new viewers up to date to the Queens Blade universe. So it all just looks like alot of tits and ass and no fluff.
A best way to approach the storyline is to not compare it with other anime of the genre, but instead, compare it to those silly ending cut scenes in any fighting game. The main emphasis of the fighting game, is the mechanics, entertainment, and addictiveness. Such is the case of Queens Blade.
___Art___
The characters art books were all designed and created by well known Doujin Artists (Mibu Natsuki), Key Animators (Kaneko Hiraku), and Character Artists (HIsayuki Hirokazu). Over a dozen artists conglomerated to make this series a sucess. And it shows very well through the various merchandising and even through the television series. Each character is drawn in painstaking detail thanks to the experienced artists of ARMS. You can't help but give props to the minimal loss of detail to the characters. Sure they show alot of skin but their outfits are very elaborate compared to the typical full body armor that most viewers are used to. Observing the high artistic accuracy to the original artwork is very rare especially at this high of detail.
The backgrounds, and static environments are just as good as well. You can actually experience their improvement over the years from Mezzo, to Elfen Lied, to Ikkitousen, and now Queens Blade. Even the background characters like soldiers and citizens have a high amount of detail, only a close minded fool would find flaws in it. Mad props, but my only gripe with the art value of this show is that some of the action scenes appear to be hindered by limited frame rates and 'skippy' attacks. You will know what i mean when you see it. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to notice it.
Another obvious visual effect is the gratuitous use of oppai (boob exposure). Its really there for fanservice and does its job very thoroughly. They show you alot right away and before you know it, if you were like me, it will most likely become second nature and doesn't feel obtrusive after a while. If you have a fear of boobs and/or get agitated when you see them in your tv shows, this is a good vice to get you accustomed to seeing massive use of oppai. I mean, what is so bad about boobs that would entice people to get angry and pull out their pitchforks and torches? This is the 21st century AND it's japan, oppai isn't going to go away. If you want to rage over a set of tits go watch EIKEN....
___Sound____
It appears that they tried to spare no expense with this anime, from top name anime production (ARMS is a member of Association of Japanese Animations), they also enlist an A-list cast of seiyū. Rie Tanaka, Mamiko Noto, Aya Hirano, and the list goes on. Their experience really shows in how they fit their voices fit their characters perfectly. Of course, with some of the more monotone seiyū (Rie Kugimiya and Yuko Goto specifically), its hard to visualize the characters when all you can think of is Shana or Mikuru. Bet that as it may, their excellent voice work is somewhat hindered to a sub-par manuscript. Its not the voice actors fault really so that is more of a story issue more than a sound issue.
Music and sound effects are of course top notch and really associate to the scenes very well. A lot of orchestral overtures and dramatic music to fill the fight scenes and such. Each battle rumbled with ferocity and battle cries echoed throughout my house. This is truly a show that is best viewed on a big screen tv with your 5.1 booming at a level 11.
___Characters___
Throughout my review, I've been harking over the great quality of the characters on all levels. Artistic quality is 2nd to none. The voice cast is something one can only describe as "a true all-star cast." And the originality can only come from the best minds of the anime/doujin world. It's amazing how they can take a simple super power (like shape shifting or super strength) and completely sex it up. Sure it might not sound all that original on paper, but to recognize the complexities of drawing 50 illustrations of the same character, incorporating 20+ special moves with strengths and weaknesses, heights, speeds, movement and many other things to fully make a character its own and have it balanced enough to have anyone win any fight(in reference to the combat books), really adds depth and detail to these relatively static characters.
___Overall___
The aren't just some pair of boobs that just became popular overnight, it's been a steady, increasing fanbase that has been building for the past FOUR years. From an extremely simple pen and paper game that any one can play (just as long as they can read), to the 100's of Queens Blade merchandise (including artbooks, doujins, over 50 figures, etc), to an anime series. Those who still cant understand how people can like this show, go look at all the anime merchandising websites and observe how many Queens Blade items are constantly sold out. Some people don't know there are as much (if not more) Queens Blade fans than there are Touhou or K-On! fans. Love it or hate it, this is just an anime made strictly for the fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 24, 2009
Quick Review:
Story: 9 (Manages to suck me in to this story from the very beginning and somehow forces me to find out whats next)
Art: 4 (its just damn awkward staring at characters for long periods of time without eyes.)
Sound: 5 (Not every scene when the on screen characters, gasp, gulp, groan, or preforming an act of moe, needs to buzzed in.)
Character: 6 (The fantasy slowly and effortlessly turned into reality.)
Enjoyment: 6 (No matter if you're a drama buff or feeling nostalgic of that love lost, this is indeed a drama roller coaster.)
...
Overall: 30/50 = 6.0 (...What is happiness to YOU?)
Full Review:
___Story___
This review is coming from a person who is not entirely into the Romantic Drama genre (prefer romantic comedies). So lets get to the brass tacks of this heart wrenching tale of an 'ordinary' girl and her boyfriend. Clearly the most important part of any deep seeded, plot twist driven, emotional roller coaster is the story. If you have watched any soap opera, telenovela, or romance anime/manga, you know how they normally go, Point A, plot twist, point b, repeat. This works perfectly fine in this show. And it even manages to suck me in to this story from the very beginning.
They perfectly sugar coat a taste of things to come, when you realize that such an important thing happens very early in the anime. I laughed a lot and cried a lot and even got pissed alot, but the story story still kept me wanting to know, 'whats going to happen next?' Behold, the power of the 'next episode' previews and skillfully placed teasers throughout the ending credits. Never have I experienced such a perfect mix of ending credits, cliffhangers, and music mold into such a unique experience, that I realized that i had spent over 10 hours watching this show.
___Art___
Aside the standard 'shoujo style' of drawing, the art direction is actually very 'unique' to say the least. It's sort of hard to describe the awkwardness I kept feeling when ever I tried to determine the feelings of the characters on screen. The first thing that will stick out the most is that 90% of the time, you will see all the characters with either one eye or no eyes. Now I don't know if this is to avoid "watching" their emotions like we normally do and instead, watch their emotions through sounds via the voice acting and chance flags. Whatever the reason, its just damn awkward staring at characters for long periods of time without eyes. Sometimes its just downright scary. And a large amount of the time, its not even necessary.
Sometimes I thought this was just a move to save time and money since you will also realize that they do A LOT of flashback inserts, especially during the later episodes. If you take a technical standpoint to that issue, from episodes 15 through 26, a full 8 minutes is wasted to the last episode recap, opening theme, and flashbacks to previous episodes. That is disappointing to say the least. But in their defense, each episode is riddled with so many plot and emotional twists that most viewers would easily forget why they are acting 'that way.'
Another useful 'cost cutting' technique that they seem to over use would be the pan and scan shots. Which means they draw an 'elaborate' drawing, then they pan and/or zoom the camera up, down, left, right, in and/or out to get the most effect of the drawing. In small doses, this is perfectly fine like in very important (emotional) scenes. But they do take this technique to the Nth degree. Do we really need to see a pan-shot of Nanami's face with no eyes for a full 8 seconds? There are many artistic flaws like that.
A little bit off topic but, this series does lend itself to very beautiful still shots worthy of any picture frame. Just google search the images for this show and you will understand what I am saying. Ironically, that is the reason why I started watching this show is because of all the artwork depicting this show.
___Sound___
As with any drama, there is a wide range of emotions being displayed through all the characters. Some of them play it out very well, some of them not so much. But any show that manages to get the audience to relate or feel the same way as the characters on screen, should be commended. They did a great job in creating such a wide range of emotions by not only voice acting, but the music and sound effects played a large part into pushing that emotional envelope.
The various songs portrayed in this show all came in at perfect times and never felt like it was awkward or forced. The lyrics to all 9+ songs are sure to bring tears to any drama lovers eyes. As it did with me numerous times. There is nothing really wrong I can say about the music in this show. Its all very appropriate and at times, too appropriate.
Again, with such a great execution of song usage, they manage to screw things up with using the same sound effects over way, way, WAY too much. As seasoned, anime fans would know, when a chance time (or flag) occurs, a 'pleasant' beep would go off. It sounds harmless at first, until you realize they are going to use the same sound effect 10-15 times in every episode.
Not every scene when the on screen characters, gasp, gulp, groan, or preform an act of moe, needs to buzzed in. Granted, half of the time the characters don't have eyes (the most predominant way to read their emotions), but at least let the audience realize these flags on their own instead of literally chiming in for us.
___Characters____
Love them, hate them, or both, they do pull off their lines with ease. They can pull of their personalities with perfection, but for some reason, I had no connection to the characters after watching for a while. I grew to love Nanami and the other cast of characters early on (remember sugar coating), but the plot twists weren't living up to my expectations later in the series that I just gave up cheering for them. The fantasy slowly and effortlessly turned into reality. That's when I started to become disappointed with it as it started feeling like high school all over again. Take that however you may (good or bad) I'm sure you're like me and just end up wanting to watch what happens next 'just because'
It's also a little hard for me to feel an attachment to the characters when they appear not to have any eyes for no apparent reason. I feel like this show would feel much more complete if they completed drawing their eyes, no matter how ugly they are. Kudos to the main cast though as they did manage to just keep it somewhat interesting from beginning to end. Hell, I even caught myself yelling at the screen from time to time at how irrational this drama can be. But hey, that's life right?
___Enjoyment___
No matter if you're a drama buff or feeling nostalgic of that love lost in your past, this is indeed an emotional roller coaster for the soul. Be prepared to cry tears of joy and sadness, and reflect on things that could have been that never were. You will most likely experience all of those things. But sadly the production value and direction they took this show is what ultimately gave me this score. I really wanted to give this show a 9 or even a 10, but the excessive nuances are just too much bear for this poor soul. Maybe they might do a re-release down the line. I'm sure that's just wishful thinking on my part. And on that note...
...What is happiness to you?
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 14, 2009
:::QUICKVIEW:::
Story: 5 ( It almost feels like the show has a bad case of A.D.D. when it skips the important stuff. Trust me, they do it ALOT.)
Art: 7 (I believe most of the time and effort and money went in to replicating the girls instruments with their real life counterparts.)
Sound: 9 - (If you hate j-pop/rock, feel free to deduct 3 points)
Character: 8 (one phrase: Moe moe~ Kyu!, deduct 6 points if you hate moe)
Enjoyment: 9 (Its obvious as to why such a short and simple show is so appealing to the masses)
...
Overall: 38/50 points = 7.6 ~ 8.0 (or 4.0 if you're expecting something unique)
...regardless its another pop culture hit in japan. Might as well ride the HYPE train and see WTF this show is all about.
::FULL REVIEW::
Story:
What do you get when you add four cute girlfriends with the desire to form a music band, situational comedy, and every style of moe an otaku can think of? You get K-On! (or kei-on-bu). Just of a group of girls trying to follow their dreams... sounds very cliche' doesn't it? Well it is and this show oozes cliche'. The setting to the sitcom all the way down to the catch phrase onomatopoeia's like kyuun and hyaan. It's very obvious from the start of episode 1, that the story isn't trying to mess with the success of current trends and tries its very best to run with whats popular with the anime crowd.
Don't get me wrong, the set of stories set through each episode are not terrible by any stretch. Its just very "same old same old." If you watch this you'll quickly recognize if you love it hate it after about two episodes. As for me, I love it but can't really feel attached to the storyline considering the amount of parts that are skipped. It almost feels like the show has a bad case of A.D.D. when it skips the important stuff. Trust me, they do it ALOT.
Art:
The art direction has its high points and its low points, but overall the art can't go a little higher than mediocre. Just observe the op/ed theme songs for the show. Typically, the theme songs have higher production values than the actual show itself. They are indeed better artistically, but it still looks very low quality. Another areas that i could not help but notice in the artwork would be the disproportionate loli scenes and the spaces between their hands. You'll see what I'm talking about.
I can't turn down the entire art direction down though, as the style does reflect the manga quite accurately most of the time. But I believe most of the time and effort (and probably money) went in to replicating the girls instruments with their real life counterparts. Mio's vintage lefty Fender-Japan JB62/3TS, Ritsu's Yamaha Hipgig JK6F46MK, Tsumugi's Korg TR76 (which is ~$1300), and Yui's VINTAGE Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar, are all represented with great painstaking detail. The honey burst colors of the bass and standard guitars, the indentations on the Zildjan cymbals, even the correct amount of knobs and switches on the various Marshall amps (usually the JCM900 is shown the most). They even go far as to showcase even more instrument types throughout various locations like the Sonor Delite Stage 1 drum set in one of the girls summer home. Sadly, the instruments are just mere props that aren't shown in action very often as one would hope in a music-themed anime. But when they are in display, everything else, including the girls, pale in comparison to their details.
Sound:
As usuall, sound is the toughest to score, since its either really good or really bad. But typically its really good, so my standards are set much higher than what most would probably do. The voice acting is above average considering today's standards. Any female seiyuu these days can pull off moe moe voices very easily. As like all the other music anime before it, its main selling point is the music and how its integrated into the series. Now if you cant stand J-Pop/Rock then I'm sure you will probably drop this series. Unless you're a moe otaku and in that case, you'll watch this show religiously. But for a 13 episode series, they play just the right amount of songs, and they manage not to keep playing the same song over and over to the point of insanity like Kirarin Revolution did with Bararaika.
Characters:
The characters are, of course, cute and lovable. Their actions and reactions are all spot on scenes of cute humor. And all the jokes about each other are always sure to bring out a chuckle or two. The chemistry is also a very good mix which proves that the standard 4 B's of personalities (brash, bashful, boorish, and benevolent) can never falter for great story telling.
Everything they see, say, and do is just insanely cute. It might not be of that loli persuasion but its all moe that gradually increases its moe powers even more with every episode. Be that as it may, they are great characters, but they are by no means very original in the character designs. Sadly, I too (as millions of other people have fallen under Mio Akiyama's spell and forced me to give it an 8 out of 10... "Moe Moe ~Kyuun!"
Overall:
I enjoyed the time I spent watching this show. I never felt like this was a waste of time or anything of the sort. Maybe its because I love school comedies or Mio's ability to bring the whole country of Japan (and the world) to its knees. Regardless, its still fun to watch these girls try to get by and reach their goals together. Its obvious as to why such a simple show is appealing to the masses. It has all the right components and the constant bombardment of moe scenes will defintiely make any moe fan's heart flutter. It defintely has its flaws (in some important places) but since it is so short, you get just enough story progression to enjoy it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 15, 2009
Yomiko Readman will probably be the cutest bookworm you will ever see. Obsessed with the philosiphy "reading first, hygine second" The viewers will be fully immersed in the life of cute but unkempt Yomiko. In this world, books are the prized posession of the world. Books are so precious, there is a world organized task force designed in protecting these books from 'the bad guys. You'll be imersed in crazy steampunk/fantacy/etc vs magic conflicts and edge of your seat madness through the eyes of Ms. Readman.
The story itself is very farfetched and out of this world, but its a story that everyone should experience at
...
leat once. Reality may be limited as paper can stop bullets or take down giant insects, but the cute and clumsy Yomiko and her friends will keep you watching with great intent. Being a three episode ova, there is little back story to all what is happening and it leaves the backstory up to its viewers imagination. Which is fine because all that leaves room for is high quality action only an anime can portray.
When I mean high quality action I mean high framerate action sequences coupled with great coreagraphy and amazing attention to detail. Things like paper sticking to a hand or scouring an old bookstore littered with books and dust really show how much hatd work and effort it took the artists to make such amazing detail come to life. Nothing impresses me more than attention to detail esepecially in rooms/buildings. On top of the OVA quality artwork, this show just oozes cool from the James Bond-esque themesong and sexy girl credits to the crazy steampunk gadgets and flashy magic spells, its a pure sensory overload for me.
Speaking of sensory overload, the female supporting cast were quite an eyeful. All of them were either beautiful or cute, very easy on the eyes. And for the girls, the guys are all quite burly military men in stature and can give up quite a good fight. The enemies, on the other hand, are pretty outrageous incarnations of storytime characters (Genjo anyone?) Crazy badguys do lend themselves quite easy to some fun and crazy battles. Not much can be salvaged in terms of backstory information for most of the characters, but the chemistry between all the support characters and Yomiko are quite believeable in an anime sort of way.
Not much can be said in terms of negative aspects other than sloppy animations and some silly situations, but the overall experience is just too fun if you're really into the fantasy action genre. Don't get me wrong, its not the greatest OVA of all time but it is well worth your time (read: Good). If you're a sucker for a glasses-moe like I am (think Yuki Nagato or Miyuki Takara), you'll love this show. And if you love this show, I'm sure you'll love the R.O.D. TV series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 9, 2008
::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 9 (Great amnesia story, love the sci-fi elements)
Art: 10 ("I DO" yelled Sam, "I do like green eggs and ham!")
Sound: 7 (overly silent at times, but dialog helps lot)
Character: 9 (So simple yet very complex, a must see)
Enjoyment: 10 (Felt like a 3-hour summer blockbuster movie)
Overall: 45/50 = 9 (Everyone must experience this)
::FULL REVIEW::
People always try to be above others. It's because they can't be happy unless they have people below them. This show creates a whole universe around this concept and other unconventional ideals. From the anime description and genre choices for this show, and even the database picture the normal
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anime viewer might be a little turned off from this show. At first glance for me I quickly turned it away as I thought it was aimed toward children. Despite showing an R+ rating I also notice ratings are usually 20% correct in the MAL database.
But after pushing it aside for about two weeks, I finally decided to give it a shot and boy will you be surprised. Right off the start, you're heart will start racing as you follow the story of the main character. A after waking up from a daze, blade runner 'esque chase quickly follows. After the action, the main character appears to be very lost, which I'm sure most of you will feel the same way he does. This also starts a unique connection and experience between the viewer and the main character. This is where the show really starts.
One thing I'm sure most people will notice is the art style. You will either love it or hate it but don't let the artwork turn you away from this show. After an episode or two you will most likely appreciate the level of originality this art style brings to the plate. After i have seen over 100+ series in a three month span, this was a very welcome change to the orthodox anime styles. Dont let the simple look fool you as well, there are more than enough small details to pay attention to throughout. From the tiny memory pellets to an overcrowded storage room. Everything looks very thought out and amazing. Often you'll probably think to yourself, how the hell does Misaaki and Nobutaka make this ***t up?
Another false assumption was that the characters were mostly children since they have a simple child like look to them. But they are very much mature adults. The characters are are all so very likable and I owe a lot of that to the art style and the small details that they do or don't leave out. The even greater point is how Masaaki Yuasa goes to great depths to control the viewers emotions with the use of these characters. One minute, you'll hate a character, then the next you'll feel sorry for them, then you'll feel frustrated because this is almost an emotional roller coaster. Rest assured, this is a good kind of frustration (if there is such a thing).
Defintiely "don't judge this book by its cover." This point of view story was rather an interesting one and the science, technology, and hierarchy surrounding this universe was very captivating experience. There are quite a large number of allusions and ideals in every episode that got me reflecting on what I have just experienced (which I absolutely love). I can't really compare this to any other anime show. If i had to compare the story to something, it like a telling of a blade runner/ matrix story in the eyes of Dr. Seuss.
A great way to close this epic show would be a quote from Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle:
"You hush your mouth!" Howled the Mighty King Yertle.
"You have no right to talk to the world's highest turtle.
"I rule from the clouds, over land, over sea!
There is no nothing, NOTHING, that's higher than me!"
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 26, 2008
::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 6 (Constant alternate universe style)
Art: 7 (It's ecchi-tastic! Everything else is nice too)
Sound: 7 (Lots of girl groaning in this show)
Character: 8 (So... much... fanservice [/drools])
Enjoyment: 9 (I enjoyed the hell out of it)
Overall: 34/50 = 7.4 ~7.0 (It'll play with your emotions)
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::FULL REVIEW::
Ohkay okay, its time for a proper review of this piece. Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito (Yamibou for short) Is a heartwarming coming of age tale about a love between two super cute sisters. Their world gets torn apart when Hatsumi mysteriously disappears into thin air right in front of her sister Hazuki. But as Hazuki is about to find out, theres more to this adventure than she realizes.
The story itself feels something similar to an excel saga or magic shopping district in terms of overall feel with our main characters jumping into different 'books' and such. Don't worry it'll be explained to you pretty early. Hell in the first 6 minutes of episode one, you find out that theres girl love, incest, and drama. So this show knows that it's series is short and they compensate by trying to let you understand the Yamibou universe in detail. Of course this style of story telling is not immune to plot holes and inconsistencies, but they cover it very well with quite a gratuitous amount of fanservice.
If your a fan of large boobs you'll definitely love this show. If not, just be prepared. There are more than enough fanservice shots in EVERY episode. Even during the heat of battle, one is not immune to losing a top or having entire sets of clothes dissolve in to thin air. It obviously doesn't progress the story whenever things like this happens but it is a good indicator at how well they managed to produce a fairly good quality show ...from an artistic standpoint. Every one of the girls were drawn with sexuality in mind. Head to toe, and from costume to bare skin, its all there obviously to cause quite a stir from the viewing audience.
The characters are mostly made with a moe attitude in mind. You got your clumsy stupid girl, your tsundere, and even a silent type. Nothing is really new in the personality department (with the exception of the girl love), but you'll still feel intrigued as to what will happen next for Hazuki and company. Even the little side characters are cute as well. I laugh every time i hear that chicken :P Mind you, the characters aren't comparable to like a Key character (Kanon, Air, etc) But they are better than average.
Overall it was a good anime viewing experience worth the 3+ hours watching it. Although I was sort of confused as to who this show was being catered towards because the overall story is very girl oriented, but the fanservice is very boy oriented. Either way, if you like the Alice in Wonderland style of story with loads of skin give this a shot. It'll play with your emotions.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 26, 2008
::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 7 (Nice idea but drop the power ranger stuff)
Art: 3 (I've seen better art off in cheap hentai)
Sound: 5 (Nothing to wow you but nothing to hate)
Character: 4 (permanent cross-eyed loli's are bad)
Enjoyment: 6 (Defintiely aimed for children)
Overall: 25/50 = 5.0 (Only for shrine maiden fans)
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::FULL REVIEW::
Well what can I say about this anime that's not been already said. One thing you'll notice is that there is a 5/10 overall score for this show. It's also quite a forgettable series with such a short time and poor cast of characters, this is one of the weakest shows i have ever seen. Kind of sucks since this is the first anime series I have seen in a while. But that wont really factor in for the whole score, yet.
The real gist of the story is a team of shrine maidens operating in an antique toy store try to save the world from "bad dreams." All that is fine and dandy and i don't even mind the quirky weapons that they carry, but what really killed the show for me was the added power ranger element. With super weapons and cheesy transformation and power up sequences, it all started to go down hill for me. On top of that, despite being only 13 episodes, it becomes repetitive fairly quick. I felt a weird unbalance between the drama and the action. At times, fights would end in under a minute, at other times fights would take half the episode and the monsters didn't have any difference in power.
The characters of this show was pretty forgettable. No love or hatred for the characters ever came forth when i was watching this. Even though they try to sexualize the lolis with garters and upskirt shots, it really felt like an afterthought. I did manage to laugh at a few jokes considering there is an effeminate lolicon that was usually at the butt of the jokes. Also, considering these girls are supposed to be cute, they all also looked very ugly. A large part of it was because of their eyes.
It's most likely the creator's art style, but I just couldn't get over how ugly the characters were. A permanent cross eyed loli didn't appeal to me and im sure it wont appeal to most audiences. It did appear that they tried to make this show look good with all the small details like all the toys in the toy store, or the high frame rate during action scenes. But in the end, the art just feels poor and unpolished.
With a poor cast of characters and an unpolished art style, its too much burden for this show considering that the story actually isn't that half bad. Maybe if they took this series a little more serious they could have had a hit. Unfortunately, they would rather aim this toward the younger audience and leave many things unexplained. I'd recommend this only to the hardcore shrine maiden fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 30, 2008
::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 9 (Shougi connected to a crime mystery is impressive)
Art: 7 (Good quality for today's standards)
Sound: 9 (The way Shion moves Shougi pieces is sexy)
Character: 8 (If you find a way to hate Shion, you're going to hell)
Enjoyment: 8 (Very good from beginning to end)
Overall: 41/50 = 8.2 (Serious sports anime are a rare find )
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::FULL REVIEW::
Shion no Ou was a fairly fun take on the game of Shougi. It could easily have taken the tired and true route by just making this a shounen sports title with an emphasis on comedy. But instead, they manage to make this quite an involving story concerning dead parents, corporate undermining, a mute loli, and a sexy trap. Sounds pretty ridiculous for a show centered around Shougi.
But I'll be damned if I didn't love every minute of this show. A great draw to this show is that if you know anything about Shougi or not, you can still have a very inquisitive experience with all the mystery and drama stored in this lovely little 22 episode show. It paces itself perfectly and keeps the Shougi games very intense and thought provoking. Granted many things get left out during the games but once you're used to the terminology, you'll feel like you're right there watching the match. Also, for an anime about shougi, its pretty G-darn bloody.
The high definition aspect the the art and animation wasn't used to its full potential but what can you expect. Everything looks crisp and clear, but at the same time it has a feel of simple and plain. Don't get me wrong, there are amazing details thanks to the high definition aspect, but it looked like they preferred to keep most things simple and settings limited. I mean theres only so many changes you can do to a shouji room and some matches last longer than one episode. The only things that changed constantly were the characters.
It's hard to talk about sound effects in this day and age considering its pretty tough to critique such a simple (yet essential) part of anime. All I'm going to say is that I was shocked when I actually appreciated the crisp sound of shougi pieces slamming on to the board. Something so simple, yet you can literally feel the emotion relayed through the pieces (also a recurring theme in the show).
The characters are a mix of 'pretty boy' men and 'cute loli' girls, there are also a mix of middle/old aged adults that really look their age and all have their own unique look and personality. Well not so much in personality since most of the shogi players are either passive or aggressive. Thankfully, The main characters are the big draw for this show. Each has their own play style and matching personality to how they play. But enough about the personalities, the my favorite of this show is definitely the lovable, Shion Yasuoka. Theres something about a cute little girl that cant speak and only communicates through written messages in her sketch book that makes her very, VERY moe. Her facial expressions are simply classic, and even her non spoken words feel like they have more character and power compared to most anime characters WITH voices. And don't get me started with Shion's fashion sense. Ever since she was a baby she's been wearing omega cute clothing and it definitely works for her and her character.
Overall, the way this story was constructed perfectly. From the beginning to the middle to the end, it will constantly keep you guessing on many aspects. It's kind of embarrassing when a show like this can write a better crime drama than most anime out there. Don't let the shougi fool you!! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery anime. You wont be disappointed, this is definitely a diamond in the rough.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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