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Note: This review contains spoilers from the first two seasons.

The Psycho-Pass movie takes place a couple of years after the ending of the second season. Once again it follows Akane as she takes her incorruptible hue and immovable morality outside of Japan to hunt S1 favorite Kougami in SEAUn (South East Asian Union).

After Akane stops a well organized terrorist group in Japan, she learns of Kougami's connection to them and goes off by herself (with the blessing of the Sibyl System) to SEAUn to investigate. The continent itself acts a representation of two things, one, what life is like in countries outside of Japan ... (without the SS) and also how its used and affects the lives of those where the system is recently implemented (to an extent.)

An issue is that the SEAUn is all we have of the world outside of Japan. It's a place where violence is common and the area is not only under constant risk of terrorist attack, but has just had a civil war. We hear that "Every place is like this outside of Japan." The problem is that we have no way to really verify this claim.

Of course we get to view both sides of the coin here, how the city is viewing things with the newly implemented Sibyl System making things peaceful, and the Rebels who understand the dangers of the system, probably thanks to Kougami (although it's not explicitly stated except for a single line of dialogue). But it's all really what we knew or expected overall. No real major revelations.

The movie does have some minor world things tossed in like how people who are latent criminals where collars in order to enter the city, but are often shunned by others, and how the city generally accepts the lack of freedom because of Sybil because the lack of freedom without it was greater, but those are really fleeting afterthoughts.

The story really wants to go everywhere and touch a lot of points that fans have been asking since the end of season 1. The problem is that it does not have enough time to fully explore any of it or the story put restrictions where we don't get accurate depictions. It's pieced together well, but only at the seams and seems pretty shallow overall. I suppose it did a good job for the time frame. If it feels like I dislikes the story, I didn't I actually thought it was decent, but they should have focused more tightly on a couple of things instead of simply trying to answer every question.

Akane has always been the constant of the show and she has true main character status here. But as much as I like her as a character because the story gets in the way of her and in some cases just screw her over. It almost seems like they go out of their way to establish how badass she's become only to completely erase it later on, and then reestablish how she's able to almost easily force her views onto the Sybil System at the end. There are parts made to make Akane contemplate her decisions with the Sybil and her actions, but he moral and personal beliefs are so strong that the time the movie dedicates to this is nowhere near enough to have an effect. What worse is that if this was a full season instead a movie I fully believe that Akane would have subverted these "story" elements that hamper her character in the movie.

Much more interesting is Kougami. It's not even as his character really develops a lot throughout the movie, it's more where his character is now since we last saw him. He's in essence the leader of the resistance against the Sibyl System and has taken on several traits of S1s antagonist, Shougo Makishima. But his hows and whys are fundamentally different. Which raises an interesting point, if his ends justify the means and the audience agrees with him (as I expect a lot of us do), are we being unfair to the Sybil System because in almost every case life for those under it are better?

The villains are pretty lame and kind of obvious what they are doing. Not much else to say about them except that the Sybil System is involved somehow. There is an interesting part where the villains basically offer Kougami to step over the line and become a Makishima, and not without obvious benefits.

That leaves the other characters and not a lot of them really do anything of significant note. I suppose I should mention Ginoza, who has since forgiven Kougami and now even seems to respect his actions despite not agreeing with them. The other is Mika Shimotsuki who pretty much represents a faithful dog to the system. If Kougami represents Destruction (The system must be destroye), and Akane represents Change (The system is needed but so are humans), she represents Order (The system is perfect) to a point where she has an extreme view of the ends justify the means and it shows a couple of times within the film.

I do need to address her interaction with Akane. It's no secret to those within the anime that their approaches and viewpoints deviate significantly and it often results in arguments (more like Mika yelling at Akane) as it's not in Akane's character to really argue her points in the heat of a moment. But when she does it here it just seems like it was tossed in only to make sure we know this girl has an opposing viewpoint. The problem is that her credibility ended at a very low point in S2 and we don't see any of her development since then so her word hold little meaning against Akane who has single handily changed more than anyone else in the series. I understand they want her to have a foil, but Mika is not compelling.


The art and animation in the film are generally very high quality. The action sequences are very well animated and some of them even have this weight to them where you almost feel the characters movements and the impacts. It also has some Akane fanservice tossed in. But at times it does feel more like an action show rather than the more drama based stint that the series really is, although I suppose that is to be expected with a movie.

Overall the Psycho Pass movie is like a surface view of the benefits and downfalls of the Sybil System and the viewpoints of some of the key players within the anime. It's not really any mind blowing twists or sudden character revelations but a solid frame work that was built from the previous two seasons that hold this movie together. Even so, it does raise enough questions and adds enough elements into the mix to hold its own.

6/10

Psycho-Pass 2 has an ability to keep you wanting to watch the next episode. While I often see a lot of complaints about the story, I honestly didn't have an issue with it until the very end. Yeah, it mimics a lot of the same things from the first season so it might come out as stale, like the main villain having a psycho-pass that can't be read, but his true motives and the like remain hidden and there are more moving parts within these 11 episodes.


The pacing is wonderful right until the last episode when things go a little out of whack. Each plot ... twist and reveal is done at the perfect time. You just think you know whats going to happen next when they toss you a complete curveball, and not one from left field, but one that you kind of see in your peripheral but brush aside until it's right in front of you.

The characters though, are not very compelling. Akane, while as a character is awesome, is not challenged at all this season like she was in the first one and therefore nothing really happens to her. If anything she's a major hand in bringing the conclusion. Kamui has an interesting plan but he himself is somewhat boring. Don't get me wrong, he has a lot of backstory, but he takes a step back to his plan. Mika (the recruit from the end of S1) was a chance to do something with a blank slate, but instead they just use her as an annoyance. Oh, and Tougane, they telegraph hes bad news from the start, but when they reveal why and his "ability" it seems like a bad plot device.

The animation and action are very good. Maybe the animation is not as good as the first season, but as a visual show it's very pleasing to watch. Even the combat sequences are well thought out. It also has a noticeably fitting soundtrack.

Psycho-Pass S2 is a well crafted ride with bland characters. Not even overall bad characters, just ones that are not fleshed out or dont get treatment. They don't even serve a purpose to give another character development, because of a widespread mindset of refusal to change, ironically, it's the Sybil system itself that changes the most in the show, and the change is somewhat underwhelming to what could have happened.

PP2 has a lot of missed opportunities, but it does a lot in the 11 episodes it has to work with. 7/10

Note: This is a SEQUEL and will include spoilers for the first season.

The story takes place shortly after the ending of the first season. The Hoshiijiro ena has been "moved" and early on a lot of backalley type set up goes around to make the viewer question the motives of certain characters. Besides all this the other main focal point of the story is a big one, and quite literally at that since it's the hybrid, Tsumugi.

By itself the story is not anything special, but it has set itself up to have some pretty stunning resolutions and encounters down the road. Watching ... the internal conflicts unfold within the show is almost as interesting as watching the huge space battles. The show does a really good job at keeping you surprised. It does also telegraph some short term things like a part where Nagate is fighting a group of Guana and he runs out of ammo and you just know what's going to happen, but it doesn't make it happening any less awesome.

Most of the main cast has not changed much from the first season and maintain their stock personalities. Tsumugi is obvious addition and is essentially a little girl with the body of a super monster. Her actions are clearly driven by her instinct to protect those around her and because of her curiosity. The show goes out of its way to really paint a full picture about Tsumugi and it does a good job, although at the expensive of the other characters.

Again the majority of the cast does not change much, this includes Nagate, who is still "the good guy" and Kunato who is still "The Schemer". However, this does not mean what they do is not entertaining. Kunato, who I found to be a glaring issue in the first season has brought a lot of intrigue to the second.

One of the real draws of the show are the battles. They are massive. It's rare for an anime to do something and make me think "wow, that's cool." The animation and art work during these sequences measures up to some of the best there is. However, some of the issues with the CG from the last season remains, especially awkward sluggish movement that makes no sense at all. It makes it very difficult to suspend your disbelief when there is sometimes sudden shifts in animation quality almost instantaneously.

There is a good balance between the tense action scenes and the more simply relaxing parts. I'm glad it didn't try to really be melodramatic about things and it tends to resolve smaller issues that arise within an episode quickly, while using them to build the major plot points they established for a better climax.

Speaking of those relaxing scenes. There is probably debate over whether those comedy segments with Tsumugi and friends really belong in a show like this where they are in constant danger of being wiped out and are humanities last hope and all that. However, I say that these segments are where most of your character development and the viewers connection to said characters happens. Again not like there is a lot of development in the first place, but it's those simple parts that make characters real.

The sound production and direction is the best I've ever heard in an anime and I can say this without a doubt in my mind. All the sound effects are crisp and not only fit what they represent but also the mood the scene is portraying as well. The music is also stellar as it fits whatever scale the show is currently running at. I know I often tout that good sound is sound you don't notice (because that means nothing is wrong with it), but great sound is sound you remember. You remember this.

Knights of Sidonia S2 is a huge surprise for me especially after what I considered a middling first season. However, the production value, overall chemistry of the cast, and just plain enjoyability has skyrocketed. This is clearly worth the cost of admission (seeing the first season) to get the full impact.

Note: This review is influenced by knowledge that a second season is coming.

Seraph of the End is a action anime that revolves around the struggle between humans and vampires with the key characters being two friends (who are essentially brothers).

We should get the characters out of the way. For the most part they have boring personalities. Yuuichirou Hyakuya, the main main character, has an undying hatred towards vampires (and rightfully so), but his entire character for most of the show is "Must kill vampires". Of course, this is challenged at the very end, and hopefully will be more so in season 2. Mika ... is the only other character who has something interesting happen to him, and that's near the middle of the show and it's incredibly obvious what's going to happen to him.

Other characters have interesting background, or potential to be interesting, but they just are not really utilized that much. For the most part they are just set pieces. An exception is Shinoa Hiiragi, who has shown sparks of being an important character, and probably the most complex out of the lot.

The animation is wildly inconsistent. However, for the most part it is rather pleasing to the eye. Speaking of eyes, this show has some pretty well done ones imo. They are clearly the most standout piece in the character design. It's also clear though that there were a lot of corners cut in production near the end of this season.

The sound is pretty good, probably one of the stronger points of the show. The OP, which I didn't really like at first, is now one of my favorites of the season. It just has a really catchy intro and bridges into the melody part very well. The rest of the music and sound is pretty on point too, even if it's not as spectacular as KLK and AoT.

Finally we get to the story. In a nutshell the story of S1 is a huge tease. I was completely about to give up on this being anything but some by the numbers shounen but they finally showed their promise, like in the last 2 episodes of the season (and only one of those episodes is actually good).

Despite being predictable a lot of the show is actually pretty enjoyable though. But it does keep you perpetually annoyed because you know that it could be a lot better. This show is an okay anime that looks like it's going to have a juicy second half, too bad this season isn't really enough to sink your teeth into.

Note: While this is for the first season, it really's for BOTH seasons combined. It's here because anyone who is actually thinking of watching the show will read this one and not one for S2.

Space Dandy can be aptly described as Acid Trip: The Anime. It follows the exploits (or lack thereof), of the crew of the Aloha Oe: Dandy, QT, and Meow.

There is no real plot in Space Dandy. The crew works as kind of bounty hunters. They try to find rare aliens and turn them in for money. You quickly find out that they are very bad at this, or just ... get caught into comedic bad luck. Each episode is stand alone for the most part and there is no real sense of continuity between any of them. Actually some of them are so bizarre that the endings would end the show if continuity exited.

This episodic basis is both a blessing and a curse to the anime. For one it allows them to do almost anything the writers want to. At its best it creates some of the best single episodes in anime. They are funny, passionate, and sometimes even thought provoking. However, it also limits things like character development, a cohesive feeling of the world, and also makes the show feel somewhat unbalanced at times.

However, don't let you think that this makes the show anything less than good, very good even. Some episodes are weaker, but the good ones more than make up for it. It's an anime that hits a few singles and then suddenly unleashes that grand slam at the right moment.

The cast is, okay. It's honestly one of the weaker elements of the anime. When I was asked what do I think is keeping Space Dandy from becoming one of the great anime and not just a good one, I said "I can't relate to the cast at all." They are far too simple and the format of the show really doesn't help them either.

Even so, don't let that stop you from watching the show, the cast is really secondary to the overall feeling of the show. Space Dandy, to me at least, never felt like an anime you're supposed to compare to other ones, it's a comedy, but the type of comedy will vary, and it's not beyond tossing in some serious moments from time to time. It's like Dandy is in his own little world here.

I do have to address Boobies, the show equivalent to a Space Hooters. It's in just about every episode. Dandy and his crew frequent the place. While they do visit it a lot there is very limited fan service in the show as a whole.

The music is spectacular. It's hard to say if it's even better than the actual aesthetic the anime creates but it's close. It really helps to enhance the journey.

Space Dandy ends up being an anime that has some of the the most entertaining episodes I've seen. It does have some flops too, but even then they are just so close to being great that they still end up being entertaining. Be patient with this one, it'll surprise you before you know it.

Log Horizon is an adventure anime where our cast is among the people who have been trapped in an online game representation of Japan.

The story is somewhat multi-faceted. It starts with the characters simply trying to figure out the working of their new world into trying to manage it. There are other small arcs that interconnect these things together. At the start of the anime I was very impressed with how it really seemed like they were in a fully functional MMO with rules and teamwork. Almost everything in the anime somehow focuses on different aspects of what you would know from an MMO and ... have interesting takes on how the changes would affect them.

I was also impressed with how well they built the world. It has all the elements of an MMO and yet they don't neglect the fact that changes are being made within the world and take into account how these changes might affect the rules and characters within the game.

The cast is reasonably large but it's really only fair to focus on a few characters, the main Shiro, is a decent male lead who essentially is the gateway for things to happen in the anime. While a lot of the cast is likeable an issue is that a lot of the main characters get almost no development, and this includes Shiro.

This is not to say there is no character developmet, it's there... but the side characters get it. Now, again, just about all of their growth is facilitated by Shiro, but I do find it odd that the main cast simply follows their archetype like Shiro is devious and Akatsuki is one of those shy type girls fully devoted to Shiro. While the side characters start to change their stripes and question more than their situation, they question themselves and their character.

There is a problem with Log Horizon beyond the weird development imbalance. Honestly, that's not even a huge issue. It's that it seems to dress up what should be a trivial problems and make them much larger than they actually are. The pacing of the show is also somewhat odd since they will often place little fun episodes in for no reason at all, not even fan-service, it's like they are just there. It's not even a filler episode since a lot of them somehow link to the next one, it just has a very different tone.

Another problem is that there is a very distinct lack of action as the show begins to take the turn more into the affects of the change in the world versus the world being an MMO itself. Because of this there is a lot of dialogue without much payoff for conversations since everything is building to something else, and a lot of these are not yet realized.

The animation is somewhat middling. Not bad mind you, but just not impressive. The OP is great and while the music does take some time to have its full affect in the show, it steps things up along the way. The sound in the anime is impressive.

Log Horizon has some amazing world building and an enjoyable cast of characters but fails to capitalize on them beyond a surface level.

Golden Time is an anime by the creator of Toradora!. It follows around Tada Banri as he starts his life as a college student.

Golden Time is a romantic dramady and the pacing is extremely similar to Toradora!. The story mainly revolves around Banri and his romantic and his "internal struggle". The romance parts that largely don't involve the internal struggle are handled very well. However, as the show goes on the story becomes more and more centered around this single plot point and it damages the entire fabric of the anime. Eventually it locks the show into one of two solutions, one of them being ... a deus ex machina and the other where it's somewhat akin in the ending of Sonic 2006.

On the surface the cast is fairly decent. The mains in Banri, Koko, and Linda receive very rapid character development. The entire cast feels very authentic and they have a dynamic that is rarely seen in anime. On top of this I found almost all of them likable despite that they all have some flaws. However, one of them has a very major flaw, and that character is Banri. Of course, his flaw is the "internal struggle", it completely ruins his character for several reasons but for one very important one; it completely inhibits his ability to make choices in the anime. Toradora! was an anime that became about the choices the characters made. They were not always the best choices, but many of them were understandable and made you appreciate the characters more. In Golden Time Banri's inability to make choices makes every other character have less appeal. Golden Time pulls Banri and Banri pulls back, not creating a balance but instead slowly wears out the rope.

Just a quick bit about the animation and sound. It's there, not extraordinary. The animation is somewhat vibrant, but I have noticed they do have changes in the color grading as the mood of the show changes.

Despite Golden Time's very strong start, overall strong cast, and good romance the show's main focus and character weigh it down to the point where it becomes almost unwatchable late in the series. It becomes hard to take serious despite having all the parts to have been a great anime.

Despite the title of "Hentai Prince" the show is not an ecchi/fan service title and is really some strange supernaturalish romantic comedy. The show is about how the wishes granted by the Nekogami affect the characters and the world they live in.

The Stony cat grants a wish in a rather particular way. For instance, the main character wants to be more open with who he is so he asks the cat to take away his facade. At the same time the cat will give what it took to someone who needs it. This along with the rather unlimited power the cat has is the basis ... of the show and how just about all the situation evolve.

While the story is rather fresh at first and honestly, pretty funny. It goes out of hand during mid to late episodes with some questionable archs until the last couple of episodes which are heart warming and explains just about everything

This show has the benefit of having two of the most entertaining, and rather likeable leads of the season. Youto (the hentai prince), can't really talk to people, not because of being shy, but because he, after all, is a pervert and can't express himself correctly. So he wishes that the Nekogami take away his inhibition... which causes to be problematic. Tsukiko on the other hand has always relied on her emotions. I'm sure you can see where this is going. They try to help each other to regain what the cat took from them.

The show is somewhat a harem so other girls are present too. Among the most notable is Azusa, who starts out as a troubled and somewhat bullied character that looks like she might get some nice development, but unfortunately gets stuck in a rather poorly done later arch along with another character. Tsukushi (Tsukiko's older sister) is somewhat more important later on in the show, but never really gets the development she's due til the end.

Overall a lot of the characters do get significant development, but not always in the way that might be the best. For having such strong main characters the side ones range from completely annoying to average.

In the end The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat is a show you should not pass over due to its name. It has very entertaining and endearing main characters with enough of a moe factor to keep fans watching past some of the more questionable middle parts.

Karneval is a shojou anime, boarding on shonen-ai. It follows the adventures of Nai and Garaki and how they got involved with Circus, a secret organization which protects Japan from monsters.

The story is kind of loose. It's mainly about Nai and how he is looking for Karoku, but also about Gareki and how he tries to make himself useful to everyone around him in circus. I say loose because they are not really actively searching for Karoku and a lot of the time they just seem to be roaming around without any real direction of what they are doing. For being an organization that is ... supposed to take out monsters they don't really seem to care that much about doing their jobs.

Karneval has two true main characters, Nai and Gareki. They are also really the only two characters that get any form of development. Nai is an young innocent boy who has super sensitive hearing (which is not really utilized) who is looking for his friend, Karoku. He runs into Gareki, a cold loner who just seems to be along for the ride (but the reasons why he stays is explained later). He is really the only good character in the show and it would have been a lot more enjoyable if more characters had such development. Nai himself is just annoying, yes, his personality fits his background and character twist (which is IMO incredibly dumb and you'll know why once you get to it), but I'd rather have him be more engaging than more or less fit perfectly into his backstory.

The other characters are mildly entertaining, but don't really get a lot of development. Yogi is probably the most "main" of the side characters, but is really just there for some comic relief. Tsukumo is really there for being the only female in the entire show.

By far the worst thing in the entire show is the dialogue. Now, I watch this subbed like I'm sure most of you do so maybe it's not really that bad, but I am surprised when a character makes a full sentence. Actually, I was not sure if Nai was even able to say more than Karoku and Gareki for a while. Also, Yogi seems to cry through half of his lines, which is not really dialogue, but his voice acting is bad even compared to the rest of this cast which I would say did not do a great job presenting their characters.

If you really like looking at girly boys, that are not traps, then this is a show for you. The art is pretty good too, at least it has a pleasant style that seems to fit the show. However, if you want anything else, even some sort of romance then you are sorely out of luck.

Somewhere in another world the Demon King is about to become ruler of the entire world, but he is stopped by the hero and is forced to live in Japan. Start comedy of the Spring 2013 season.

This shows main draw is the characters. Just about all of them are exceptionally entertaining, even the ones that tend me be kind of annoying have some truly hilarious moments, especially when you add in their facial expressions.

Many watchers will be pleased by the fact that they show never really goes into full out harem. Although each girl has some level of feelings for the MC, they vary based ... on their background with him.

I mean obviously the show is a social dialogue on the state of the economy where the great demon king Satan (Sadao) has to work at a McRonalds in order to scrap together rent. Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit. But part of what makes the show great is the setting that it's put in.

The early episodes are clearly better than the ones in the middle. This is kind of problematic because there is a slight decline in quality throughout the series until you get to the ending (which are really good episodes). The comedy is still there and it's still very entertaining, but the funniest character is essentially sidelined. This is not to say the episodes are not bad, they are actually pretty good, but it's like the difference from an A to a B.

The animation is well done and on closer examination looks kind of like a more polished Katanagatari based on how the colors are done and such.

If you want a unique comedy with entertaining characters look no further than this show. It's one of the best that Spring 2013 had to offer.