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“I wonder if that stench of death will ever vanish.”

It is clear that Gyo was highly anticipated for quite a while since it is the first animated feature from one of the bizarre Ito’s story. For that matter, we may as well say that it will be the only one since Gyo is perhaps the only story that has this cinematic feels to it (and yes, Uzumaki live action was shit). Anyway, Ufotable’s adaptation of the manga completely changes the feeling of the manga to something more action and drama oriented. While it is not a problem by itself, some of those who ... read the manga might actually feel slightly deceived on how it actually turned out to be. However, for the sake of the review, I won’t pass too much time comparing the two since it would be downright useless; let’s just stick with the OVA, while making some very minor comparisons

For an OVA of merely 70min, the direction isn’t wasting much time for the Story. Precisely, the calm before the shit storm only last for a few minutes, the time we get to identify our main characters. It doesn’t take long to the story before it gets into something quite chaotic. The whole movie feels like a crescendo of what terrible event can happen next until it hits the fan. Then again I have to precise that Junji Ito’s version on paper is much more extravagant than this anime, where, compared to the manga, is more down to earth. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Junji Ito’s work if it didn’t have its typical signature: a romance story behind all that. And even if it was never the strong part of any of his work, Ufotable seems to have placed it as a priority in the anime. In a way, it makes the story much more of drama than an actual horror one. As for the bad thing, Gyo actually have quite a few useless scenes that certainly feels out of place, but there not so much of them. As a whole, the story is direct and doesn’t waste much time.

And for having so little introductions, it is hard to evaluate the characters. Since the plot is mostly driven by some apocalyptic events, the cast obviously won’t leave a spot in your memory, there are for the most completely forgettable. In the essence of a horror story, Gyo is composed of a main heroine, a main hero and some other characters that go to the name of: potential victims. As such, the only back story of the heroine that is given is actually related to the story, but doesn’t add much of it. As for the progression of the characters, the most interesting part is no doubt when the hero and heroine teams up together. However, this is like saying apples are tastier than shit.

The artwork is generally well done. Of course, Gyo suffers from some awkward 2d – 3d relation on the screen that may feel completely off, but didn’t seem to irritate me as much as others said. The character design is more clean and polished than the manga, and thus they look more beautiful than what we would’ve expected to be. Certainly, at some points in the anime, Junji Ito’s drawing style can be seen to make a focus on “when you should be terrified”. It is questionable whether it actually worked, but I thought the intention of having a mix bag of different art style actually felt nice.

As for the matter of sound, Gyo has a soundtrack of typical horror music that really set the mood correctly. On the bad side, I may have to say that Kaori’s performance wasn’t the greatest I ever heard. Her many dramatic break outs never felt passionate, nor could I take her seriously.

In conclusion, Ufotable presents their own version of the story by making it more action oriented and dramatic. Still, while having some obvious and minor issues, Gyo mostly succeed at being a fast paced and intense ride from start to the finish, even though it may look awkward and clumsy for a certain audience.

I have a certain hate against wasted potential and tend to be harsher toward those series. Yet, I find myself sometime to highly contradict my way of reviewing with some shows that should deserve plain hate for legitimate reasons, but end up by being one hell of a show for me. It’s true; Blood-C should have all the merit of being a bad show, and a very bad one I must say. The protagonist is an oblivious dumb girl, the story doesn’t go anywhere and the violence is plainly gratuitous. Certainly, nothing of quality should be left after that. However, it’s actually ... for these very same reasons why I absolutely adore Blood-C, placing it in my top shows of 2011.

There is lack of caring and drama in Blood-C that makes it pure entertainment.

For one thing, Blood-C is very dry with its story telling. The first episode consists of Saya in her everyday life where she would go to school, meet with her friends and sing a joyful song, until she goes back home and beat the crap out of a monster. As Saya isn’t questioning her role, nor does she mix her secret life with school, the story really lacks at explaining what is really happening with the monsters, or the nature of their existence. In contradiction, the force of show actually resides in the fights between Saya and the enemies. Surely, the fight scenes should be labeled as pointless, too long and way too violent for no reasons, but it’s actually the first time in my life where I truly admired Clamp’s work. As it is, while the fights were great at showing off Saya’s personality, which is quite lacking logical emotional feelings, the way it depicted the monsters was absolutely fascinating. It is not rare to see an anime with monsters killing humans, but blood-c did it in a way where those creatures actually acted like real monsters. They don’t act on feelings of hate and lust of blood; they act on instinct which makes them more terrifying than your typical shounen antagonist. The big problem with blood-c is actually how far one need to suspend his disbelief. Even if the obvious contradictions worked as foreshadowing elements, it is not beyond the fact that the village is very dumb and stupid and that Saya has one of the most contradicting personality ever made in anime. For me, I enjoyed the story for what it was. It stayed true to its business, and didn’t go into something deep and useless.

And there’s a lot to say about Saya, the monster hunter. Probably hailed as one of the most worthless hero of the year, she makes use of the “protect everyone” trope quite actually well. By that, I mean that she doesn’t protect anyone, nor does she actually feel bad about it. If she would fail to protect someone, the next day she would sing a song about the nice weather. And again, she doesn’t question her supposable super powers and her extreme headache. Quite the dumb heroine I must say. On the other side, the other characters don’t really serve any purposes other than being gore material.

Visually, Blood-C has the reputation of being one hell of a bloody mess. Regretfully, most of us had to deal with the censorship that, while it wasn’t too bad, was definitely taking away some of the experience. As for the monsters design, it has to be some of the slickest and interesting ones I’ve seen in a while. In comparison, it is fair to say to it resembles some of the creatures in Mohiroh’s works. As for the character design and the environment, there’s really nothing much to say. If there’s one thing that would stand out as being original, it probably would the school uniform that I actually rather liked. The animation is actually handled quite well. For sure, some of the fighting animation might feel awkward, but the studio did use the monsters to their capacities, which makes them feel more real and alive.

The music is not really distinctive in the anime. It accords itself to the situation, but there isn’t any wow factor. Opening song is good, ending song is forgettable.

In conclusion, this review tended to explain Blood-C for what it is. Either way, you may find yourself that you’ll hate or love this show after reading this. And for me, I’ll have to place myself in the loving camp. For what it is, Blood-C works remarkably well at lacking anything deep, not trying too hard and simply being mild entertainment.

Apartment is an over simplified piece of animation that simply fails at being remotely interesting.

Really, it is sad that this anime failed, because the story did hold quite an interesting premise that was to picture the whole apartment and those who live in it. However, despise that premise, it is clear that the man behind the project, Jun Aoki, was downright lazy when he produced this piece of animation. Don't get me wrong though, I am at no point criticizing the length of the anime which I think perfectly fits the style. On the contrary, I'm criticizing the lack of interest that the man actually ... put in his work. This to say, Apartment! does try to show the audience the repetitive and mundane life of living in apartment, and this with an humouristic touch, but it's all downright pointless. Even if the message is clear, watching a bunch of badly drawn cartoons doing simple tasks is an antonym to the word Entertainment.

The production value is also quite bad. Surely we can't blame him for being the only one behind the project and we certainly can't compare him to the big industries with tons of money, but still, following the same standards, it is still terrible. Let me remind you that anime such as Pale Cocoon, Voices of a Distant Star and There she Is!! are all projects with one mperson behind. Even in the non-anime style of drawing, I can find tons of animation shorts on Newgrounds better produced than Apartment!, and if not actually better as a whole. I can actually see what the man was trying to show with the simplified background and minimalistic animation, supporting the mundane life, but he was at the same time, trying too hard.

In the end, as mentionned in my introduction, Aoki tried too much to simplify everything in Apartment! when it wasn't actually needed. Per say, it doesn't hurt to watch it since it's only 5 minutes long.

I hate Shaft, I really hate this studio. For every good show they make, there must be some 5 mediocre ones in between. However, I still love their artsy touch and the way they handle most dialogues that is much present in Denpa Onna. Yet, there’s something lacking in Denpa Onna to make it good and that is a focus. It’s a shame really, because this anime had such a great start. I find it sad that they had to ruin it in the second half.

Based on a light novel, the story shares some similiraties with the Haruhi Suzumiya. Most notably, the two main characters, ... which both have the same personality, are emerged in a world of bizarre situations. The difference is that Denpa Onna is completely voided of any supernatural element, even though it brings aliens and espers in the foreplay. Though the story could be considered as some sort of coming of age, it is never clear what it is really about. The big problem with Denpa Onna is how well it handles the many elements that it is given, for I must say, not well at all. While it does begin as a simple story of “saving the broken girl”, it doesn’t take time before the series loses its initial charm. For the second half, the anime turns around in a midst of pointless moments that can range from enjoyable to plain boring. Though, these pointless moments, are for the best, emotional. The results here shouldn’t be surprising. Denpa Onna concludes in a unsatisfying and completely out of place way that leaves you a bitter taste in the end. In other word, what it needs is a satisfying sequel with a much, much better direction.

Knowing Shaft, it is not surprising that Denpa Onna shares a good amount of mentally ill characters. For new comers, this might be a refreshing outcome since they act mostly in an extravagant way. For the Shaft followers or other anime connoisseurs, it is nothing that you haven’t seen before and might even annoy you. Though, while the characters’ traits aren’t problematic, there is a big lack of character development that would have helped this anime greatly. If Denpa Onna would truly have been a coming of age, some actual development for the characters would have been great. However, everything stays static in this series. There is also an issue of not enough screen time for the female characters in this series. The series is mostly in the point of view Makoto and we mostly see him jump from a girl to another many times in the anime and this only ends up in some sort of unassuming harem between two friends and his cousin.

Shaft, as always, delivers in the production value. Erio might have been an uninteresting character after all, but her character design is probably the most interesting of the season. Sadly, the same could not be said about the other characters. For the visual, Denpa Onna has its fair share of eye candies and sparkles moments that will please any fans of the sort. I have to admit that some of these scenes were actually beautiful. Shaft is also more lay back in this one, and Denpa Onna doesn’t have too much quick and weird angle shots. The music is also top notch in Denpa Onna. The anime opens with a tad annoying, but very catchy song. The score in the actual series doesn’t have anything impressive, but it does the job well done. As for the voice actors, well they were great, no doubt about that.

To kill the mockingbird, Denpa Onna is actually a very forgettable show. The anime did have an interesting and original premise, but it soon falls into something that has been done million times before. Still, if someone is looking for moe characters, this anime is definitely for them. There are some rumours about a possible second season. If this happens, let’s just hope Shaft does it right this time.

Dog Days doesn’t really have any element to call it unique or special. Still, as my expectations were low, it still managed to be one very entertaining series. Sure there’s nothing of quality to call it above average, but it’s one of those anime that one doesn’t need to feel ashamed to watch. In other words, this Zero no Tsukaima clone is not to be ignored by those who loved..Well..Zero no Tsukaima.

To simply call it a clone would be somewhat of a false statement. True, the premise is highly similar to Zero, but the difference entirely lies in execution. The difference between the two is ... that Dog Days doesn’t suffer from a bad direction. As a matter of fact, the direction is quite excellent. Of course I’m not talking about the actual story that is nothing more than your average shounen story, but the story itself unfolds in a smooth way through its 13 episodes. And while the anime might be at fault with its obvious fan services and its predictable plot, it was actually used in moderate manners. However, being this an original anime production, it’s somewhat sad that the writer didn’t try to give something different, but instead decided to remain in the same old circle of what’s already been done. This, to the eyes of many, is probably the weakest point of dog days and certainly the one that makes it impossible to reach a quality standard. Another point is how silly this show seems in the first episode. For it to be a good aspect or bad one, entirely depends on the viewer. Right in the first moments, Dog Days makes complete fun of war to a point that it is completely useless. Gladly, it doesn’t stay in the comedy zone for all of the show and the drama is flowed perfectly later on and doesn’t feel out of place or forced. Presumably, Dog Days is one of these shows that stays in the same zone. While it’s not actually a bad thing, it’s not a good thing either. Either way, there’s at least a generally likeable cast to support the show.

Not without its flaws, the cast of Dog Days is as generic as the word itself and this is not surprising at all. However, it is actually unexpected that the development for these generic characters was actually well done or far better than I thought it would be. Not in a way that it would amaze the viewer, but in the way that they would find it coherent. Of course, it is mostly the case of a good direction, but the characters traits, which obviously fall in all the shounen archetypes, compliment the story very well. As for the hero of the story, who is literally called “Hero” in the anime, he doesn’t show much arrogance and actually has somewhat of character’s depth. For the rest of the cast, they are mostly here to fill the missing spots and to support the actual story. Other than the relation between the Hero and the Princess, the others are just for creating yet another harem.

The production value for Dog Days is actually not good. There’s an obvious lack of shadings, the backgrounds are most of the time vast fields with a blue sky and the character design seems to be rushed more than anything else, but it doesn’t stop it from having good animation. Truly, some of the fighting scenes are actually well made and fluid. While it is not a masterpiece of animation, it’s still above the standards of many popular fighting anime (I’m looking at you Naruto).

The anime opens with your typical Japanese pop song, but somehow I never got into it. To me, the opening song never really went too well with the anime. In other words, it’s just another intro worth to skip. The same can be told for the ending. The voice actors, while not giving something extraordinary, are well into it and give an actual good performance. The score for the anime is actually quite forgettable. In other words, there’s nothing to say about the music in Dog Days other than it is very generic.

To burn the last rope, it is not surprising that Dog Days is yet another average anime with nothing special or worth remembering, but on the other, it is a charming series that I actually recommend for anyone who loves simple stuff. I have to admit, that this anime gladly entertained me and it might as well be one of the big surprise this season.

Despite all the bad things in this world, or how the anime industry seems to sink lower than the bottom of the sea, there is always place for originally and quality content. Even though we seem to dig in a pile of charcoal, there’s always a diamond hiding underneath. All in all, the summer season hasn’t been particularly a bad one. We had a share of original productions that didn’t work the way it had to be, we had some disgusting shows such as a 10 years old succubus princess and some other shows that you still don’t know what it supposed to be ... about. In other words, it was one of those normal seasons. However, there was one anime that truly went above standards with a solid point in every aspect, and that is AnoHana.

The reason why AnoHana is so solid is because of the direction it was given. For once, you actually know what it will be about during the first episode. No, it doesn’t offer a pointless 4 episodes introduction with a beach episode in between, nor does it wander around in circle thinking what cheap trick I can use to please the viewer. AnoHana is a simple story about the lost of a childhood friend and the repercussion it had on them years later. With a glimpse of a look, AnoHana might as well be just one of those cheap dramas, but it is in fact not cheap. What makes this series above the other drama is the fact that this anime has a mission, or should I say a purpose. Really, the whole charm of it resides in the simplicity and naivety of the story. This is to say that nothing in AnoHana is overcomplicated. Only, AnoHana is absolutely not a flawless show. It does feel like the series is dragging or simply not getting to point. This is mostly due to unnecessary side plot that doesn’t really develop into something concrete. In example, some sort of love triangle will develop, but this is merely as a form of emotional fan service. There are also some few scenes in the anime that aren’t really needed, but it is far from being distracting. While it doesn’t derivate the plot by much, the audience might find it irritating. Also, AnoHana’s story falls into the category of melodrama. There is a lot of crying in this anime, but unlike some other anime out there, the melodrama is justified and doesn’t feel embarrassing in any bit. All in all, these small problems aren’t enough the flip over the quality of the storyline. AnoHana has a good story and this is entirely because of the cast. Which is not surprising, since this is a character’s driven show.

I’ll be direct on this, AnoHana really has a good cast. Now I am not talking about the flash backs where their children past was showcased with some childish moments. I am talking about the whole point of the anime, and that is dealing with the lost of someone who is dear to you. We all know that death in anime is often a plot element to create a mental breakdown for the main character, but it’s often too deep shit for me. Now of course, there is some sort of mental breakdown in AnoHana, but nothing that goes batshit insane. It is mostly due because the characters didn’t know how to adapt after the event. Thankfully, there is actually more to the characters than some mourning. Through the small 11 episodes of the show, the main cast is developed into a three dimensional way that is simply amazing. Basically, it is marvellous to see how the broken relation between them will rebuild once again. As for the side characters, they serve the purpose to show the consequences from another point of view, since there are more than friends in the life of someone. However, my main problem is with Menma’s mom. Whether she is a good character or not isn’t the question. It is actually her behaviour and reaction that I find a bit unbelievable. To sum it up, a near perfect cast supported by a perfect main cast.

Production value doesn’t have anything that is notable, but it end it is pretty much solid all way through. The animation is fluid for the most and it is beautiful supported with its background. The character design for the most part is well done. My main issue is with Naruko’s bunches which looks rather silly at times. Thankfully, her hair style changes in the series so that she can actually look beautiful. As for the music, it does a perfect job at highlighting the dramatic moments. The opening song and ending song are also well fitting with the anime series. There’s also a great job that is done with the voice actors. Their performance feels for the most part believable and strong.

AnoHana is a good show and there is no doubt about it. Only, even though I only pointed few flaws that don’t really matter, it is not a show that is exceptional either. Mostly, this show is a melodrama that can often feel too dramatic for some viewers, so it all depends on the viewer’s taste. Don’t get me wrong though, in the drama aspect, it is a solid one because it is supported by a strong story and a great cast. It is truly one of the highlights of the spring season.

Proof to me there’s nothing exciting in the Yuri genre. After all, Octave was just another drama with no merit what so ever. Sure it might be hailed for its realistic representation of a same sex relation, but does it make actually better? Author Haru Akiyama had dozen possibilities to venture the ground of Yuri at an interesting level, but instead she stubbornly decided to remain in the same circle of drama over and over again after each volume.

What I mean by having no merit is that the story itself doesn’t push itself any further when it should have. Simply put, Setsuko and Yukino ... will often be in a fight for various reasons such as misunderstandings, jealousy, “do you love me or love me not?” or “let’s move together”. Quite so, nothing here is a situation that a normal couple wouldn’t have. Don’t get me wrong, I do admit that a same sex couple will have the same problems as any couple in the world, but my problem is how the manga actually deals with dilemmas directly related to lesbianism. The author did dare to venture carefully into some subjects such as what would the others think or the impossibility of having children. Yet, these problems are simply put aside to bring us another uninteresting and dull dramatic situation. After the last volume, it really shows how much nothing really happened in Octave other than awesome sex scenes. That is not surprising since the characters never had the chance to be well developed and never had the possibility to push the story into something enjoyable.

The characters of Octave lacked the depth that this manga actually needed. To put it in simple words, the couple of this manga were after all straighter than a fast lane. This shows a lot when almost everything in the manga relies on their relationship. Sure their relationship progressed in a realistic way, but there has to be something more than that. I admit that the author did develop the characters individually, but it was either rushed or completely uninteresting. After all, Yukino would be the most well developed character of the two since the manga is told from her perspective, which is to my eye the biggest problem that this manga had. Since she always hides from her problem and almost refuses any form of communication, Setsuko is still as mysterious as she was in the beginning. I am not against characters with a lack of confidence, but in this case it was more a burden than anything else. As for the side characters, let’s just say that they don’t really matter other than giving the story more chapters.

For having average characters, there is also an average artwork to support it. However, unlike the characters, there’s nothing wrong with the art since I actually think it’s the one reason that made this manga an easy read.

In the end, some may scratch their head and still wonder what the whole point of Octave is. Actually, it is nothing more than your typical SOAP, but even though, that is not a reason to ignore this manga after all. More precisely, the drama lovers will appreciate this manga since it is an easy read and it is relatively short. The male audience can also find a liking since there’s a lot of lesbian sex scenes. And as we all know, men totally approves of this.

As for me, let’s say I wasn’t the target audience.

Let me get this straight, I usually don’t watch gender-bender series or anything that is related to the genre. Actually, I don’t recall one anime that I saw that the focus was with cross-dressing of any sort. That said, Wandering Son would actually be the first anime that I have seen that made usage of this trope. And to be honest, it came to be one of the best series of the winter 2011. Wandering Son is a short and calm anime that was enjoyable for its simple, but thoughtful story.

Wandering Son starts off with an interesting structure. Instead of starting from an extremity, ... the beginning or the ending, the anime begins somewhere in the middle of the original story. Of course, it is assuming that either the viewer is familiar with the manga or is watching the series seriously. I’m saying this because it is easy to get lost in the anime as it refers a lot to pass events and it is mostly through dialogue than flashbacks. Actually, I applaud the director for using such a direction, simply because that the story works on already constructed and broken relations rather than focusing on making some. However, where the story keeps its real strength is in the problematic itself. Of course, our main characters have an idea of cross-dressing and wanting to be the opposite sex, but such dilemma is never blatantly exposed in the anime, nor does it make it over-dramatic. Instead, Wandering Son almost works as a slice of life. And by that I do not mean IT IS a slice of life, since it is absolutely not, but the story is found between the lines, between the dialogues and the actions of the characters. This way, the anime is helped by a correct blend between light moments and drama. While it is mostly a serious show, the happy moments are never actually forced and it sometimes it is not really sure if a scene was to be happy or sad. Ironically, the lack of focus in the story can also be a weak point for some, as it may get hard to get into a story that doesn’t really shows itself. From this point, it is really a matter of preference. Personally, I think the calm development is the best way to go, since a direct focus would make it too dramatic for nothing. Of course, the story wouldn’t matter without its cast, which exactly knows what it has to do.

Wandering Son has a relatively large cast. Only, it is clear that the anime only focus on the main characters rather than the supportive cast. This way, the small amount of 11 episodes is enough for the viewer to learn about the characters that are really important to the show. As for the others, they play their supportive role very well and that is a big plus point in the series. What is really fascinating about the cast is really the way they are used as whole rather than individually. More precisely, the representation of the classroom can almost be taken as one big character. The chemistry of the students is something I’ve rarely seen in the medium. Individually, the characters aren’t bad at all, but there is a tad annoyance. Looking at characters such as Nitori, Takatsuki and Chiba, they are certainly well written characters. However, especially for Chiba, their way of thinking can often look too far away from the physical age. It’s always hard to represent children or prepubescent teen correctly and realistically in anime and Wandering Son certainly doesn’t have the best one of them all. Of course, I might be wrong on this one, but the characters really were too mature for their age. Though, I wouldn’t say it’s a problem since it works greatly with the story and the feeling of the anime. Childish characters wouldn’t go well with subjects such as gender crisis and the fear of puberty.

The anime is accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack. While the opening song might be debatable, (I for myself wasn’t a big fan of it) the series itself is helped by wonderful melodramatic piano compositions. A prime example is in the first episode where Claire de Lune is played at the end. Not only I respect them for the use of a very popular composition, but it was also completely fitting with the situation. The music is never poignant in Wandering Son. Instead, it is played gently and calmly in the background. You don’t really pay attention, but you know it is well there. As for the voice acting, glad to know that it wasn’t a typical high pitched voice you would often see with children. For most of them, they did a really good job, and while Nitori had mostly a monotone voice, it went very well with its personality.

Another point that is easy to notice in Wandering Son is the artwork which is very similar to book art. I don’t know the reason behind this, but I found it to be relieving. In contrast to the melancholy feeling of the series, the light pastel colors help the viewer to go through the whole series and take it as a lighter anime. The character design is meant to be normal in this show, and so it’s usual for them to look like typical children. However, the artwork is enough to make them look different from the mass. I just can’t say it enough; I simply fell in love with the artwork.

To fill it up completely, Wandering Son is simply a good anime that blends dramatics elements with lighter ones in the best way possible. Even though the style might not be your cup of tea, which is a valid point, I still recommend it to everyone who wants to try something serious once in a while. Really, it shows how the anime industry is still trying to give us original titles rather than the same formula over and over again.

I do know what shoujo means, and I understand that some anime can only be enjoyed by the feminine audience. However, when such genre breaks the barrier to offer its audience something never done and poetic, it shouldn’t matter at which audience it is targeted. This anime my friend is Revolutionary Girl Utena. From its appealing cast to the provocative symbolism, Revolutionary has been for me an excellent experience that I will probably never see again.

Revolutionary is an anime aimed at girl, and one can obviously notice in the very first moment of the anime. Right in the very first seconds, the viewer will ... be drawn into typical shoujo characters, pastel colors and fairy tail. It is true that in these fields the anime doesn’t prove itself among others, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. The whole fascinating thing about this series is the way that it was directed. In a nutshell, Revolutionary Girl Utena might very well be the greatest anime dealing with symbolism, and this for two reasons. First of all, Revolutionary is elegant and entertaining. The anime can get dead serious at time, but can make you laugh with innocent humour in another episode. This being said, Utena holds few fillers episodes here and there, but aren’t as shallow and dull as typical fillers episode. Not only that, but the directing emphasize a lots on the characters and they all have their right moments to shine. Instead of cramming character development all together, each episode will have a specific character to look on. This way, the viewer is very well oriented and can have a better understanding on a specific character. Second of all, not only winning in the aspect of entertainment, Revolutionary is also winning in the aspect of symbolism for being clear and innovative. If some series dealing with symbolism gets lost by showing too much, Revolutionary has a clear idea of what it wants to be. While the message can be clearly read, I love how the anime never actually talks about its symbolism. Instead, the viewer might very well guess what it talks about and have its own interpretation. However, what is most striking with the symbolism is how it actually follows the character development, which makes Utena one of the greatest female characters in anime.

Utena is a girl, but doesn’t act like one. She wants to be a prince, but knows deep inside that is too farfetched. She is a leader, but can’t seem to actually lead herself. All these contradictions make Utena a very well crafted character. Utena is first seen as a perfect school girl. She has good grades, she can compete against guys in most sports and actually surpass them and she is the role model for all the girls in the school. However, what holds Utena characterization is her past that very well reflects into her personality. Having been saved by a prince, Utena really wants to be one herself, even though she has been told that she would become a princess. This is quite interesting, since she struggles between something she wants and something doesn’t wants to be. After all, the viewer might as well realize the subtlest imperfections of Utena. And then there is the relation between Utena and Anthy that is pretty much the core of their characterizations. The first impression of Anthy is that she is a strange woman that rarely talks, never shows definitive emotions and can be seen almost as doll in a figurative way. It is quite amazing to see such a character develop into one of the most important aspect of the series. Her character development comes into a certain explosion, but does it at the right moment and really amazed me. And then we have the prince of the series, Akio. It is true that every shoujo needs their perfect guy, but there’s something about Akio that keeps him away from perfection. Akio is a womanizer, a beauty according to the girls and is the summit of the greatest prince charming one could find. However, his vision is actually quite blurred. You might as well know what he is actually doing, but to actually know why is way harder to tell. Briefly, Akio could be considered as an anti-prince. While these are the main characters, Revolutionary girl Utena actually has a cast of great side characters. Great not in a way of originality and depth, but great in the way they are exploited. Each one of them holds to something and is searching for their own revolution, which is also an important part of the series.
The idea of revolution is something that is hardly explained in the series. While each character is looking to revolutionize the world, the fact that it is a true revolution or simply personal matters is rarely explained. I find ironic that the only one who isn’t looking for such a revolution is getting closer and closer to it.

Artistically, Revolutionary not only delivers in terms of design, but also in term of metaphors and symbolism. Of course, one can see that Utena’s main source of inspiration was Rose of Versailles, a manga written in the early 70’s. This can be mainly seen with the architecture presented in the anime, which is a mix bag of contemporary and baroque style. The character design is, well, quite elegant I must say. While they fall into the old fashion shoujo body, they’re quite distinctive and original. As for the symbolism and the metaphors, let’s say that the anime is filled with it and never does it wrong or too much. The symbolism is actually more poignant in the third arc, where it is kept to a minimum in former arcs.

The score of Revolutionary is what I would consider epic. With an opening song that is quite good and catchy, Utena also offers an epic song that can be heard in almost every episode, or before each duels to be exact. And then there is the piano piece, Sunlit Garden, which is considered by the fans the best soundtrack of the series. This statement is not false, because it beautifully grasp the dramatic moment of the series. To sum it up, the score of Utena is vivid, poignant and compliments very well with the anime.

And now, why didn’t I give Utena a perfect score? I have to say that Utena doesn’t start as something Magnificent or extremely deep, it is becoming this way later on. Not only that, but Utena deals with an awful lots of repetitions. While these repetitions may give the viewer a sense of coordination and coherence, it can also affect greatly the enjoyment of the viewer. However, Utena is still a masterpiece and to date, no other shoujo has dared to offer something completely out of the box.

Winner of the 2009’s popular vote for Best Anime of 2009 on Animereactor, Bakemonogatari is yet another anime that Shaft can add up to their collection. To make it short, Bakemonogatari is overrated. Overrated in a sense that the animation style has nothing to brag about, the story isn’t unique in any sense and that the characters aren’t even special in the first place. However, it doesn’t change the fact that Bakemonogatari is still a very good anime to watch and it is among my favourites of 2009.

Bakemonogatari is structured with five story arcs, with the fifth one being aired solely online. For ... those who are Shaft followers you will see no difference in how the story is told in this anime. Just like most of their work, Bakemonogatari’s story is driven by the dialogues rather than the action. This being said, Bakemonogatari dialogues, while they make most part of the story, aren’t exactly telling the story itself. More of a casual discussion between two peoples, the plot is not given away for the purpose of being vomited to the viewer, but it rather flows with the casual talk that the show tends to offer. Now of course, there are some action scenes and fighting scenes in Bakemonogatari, but it is mostly used in a way to conclude an arc or for adding a bit of spice. I have to say that the story arcs aren’t original and can be quite repetitive as it uses the same recipe for each of them. It is repetitive in a way that each story arcs starts the same way and pretty much end the same way as well. Of course, not being original and being repetitive is not a synonym for boring. Bakemonogatari always managed to interest me with each story arcs with its direction toward suspense and climax build up.

There’s a problem with the story arcs and its character. Because the story arcs holds almost no connections toward each others, Bakemonogatari fails in term of characterisation and it always seems that the relation between Senjougahara and Araragi is stalled. Step aside the social and love relations, this series hold way more interest in the characters individually, and by that I mean Senjougahara. While Araragi is an interesting character, he’s nothing different from any other male lead that Shaft use to have, and they all have the same voice actor of course. He may be fitting leading for this anime, but his lack of originality and the fact that he’s just a Shaft preset doesn’t make him a good character. On the other line, Senjougahara, to make it short, is the spotlight character of this show. While the anime tends to put her as a side character, being not so important except for the first arc, she is a woman that is very interesting for her sarcastic tonality and her way to lead everything. Now, there’s nothing that support her characterisation very well and that I have to admit. It’s more of her personality that makes her a good character. Bakemonogatari also has a strong set of side characters that really supports the show very well. These side characters are cool, fun to watch and entertaining, but it doesn’t go beyond those points. Just like any side characters should be.

The visual is perhaps one of the most controversial in anime history. I’ll say it, those red screens is not a form of art, it simply a form laziness and does not bring anything, except for pissing off the viewer big time. Now that I’ve talked about those screens, let’s look at the actual art. The visual is nothing original, as it is the same that Shaft uses in almost all of their anime. Bakemonogatari uses lots of pretty colors, high contrasts, typical chalkboards and many cut scenes that one would recognise as a Shaft work. However, the characters are very well made, unique and distinctive. And even though it’s been made dozens of that, I actually never get tired of Shaft’s fancy visual style and it actually compliments the anime very well.

The sound is on a whole new standard. In fact, it is absolutely amazing. Without no hesitation, Staple Stable became an instant opening favourite for me, and for the ending as well. Bakemonogatari also offers a new opening song for each story arcs that supports the soundtrack very well. The inner songs in the anime actually capture the moments and intensity perfectly. Voice actors are also top notch. Hiroshi might have been using the same kind of voice, but it’s simply because it’s the same kind of character. Chiwa Saito, who also sings the opening, is the highlight voice actress of this show.

In the end, Bakemonogatari has its reason for being overrated, because it is actually enjoyable and very good. Fans of Shaft will obviously love it, and for the others it might as well be a hit or miss.