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Jan 5, 2010
There are two ways you can look at this series:
1) It's something that's trying to be a serious action series and fails because it's terribly cheesy,
or
2) This is ~meant~ to be a throwback to cheesy cartoons of the 1970s and 1980s, and the cheese is, at least in part, self-satire.
Personally, I lean more towards the second interpretation, and find that the series is accomplishing what it's set out to do. If you don't like cheesy old-school or satire, you're really not going to like this series at all, I'll give you that as a fair warning.
First, you've got the typical daredevil macho hero with
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an arm that looks like it belongs on Megaman, then there's the scantily clad heroine and the villain I can almost imagine yelling "I'll get you next time, Gadget!" as she flies away in her ship after having her plans foiled. (I want to say again, but this is only the first episode so far)
Second, you've got what looks like a pretty typical plot - keep the key to the Universe from the bad guys while you get it to where it needs to be. Nothing fancy at all here.
So, why the (somewhat) high rating?
Maybe it's just that something feels almost nostalgic about this, or maybe it's that this type of "typical" is actually pretty uncommon in anime. I'd say the main character almost feels like He-Man with a gun arm, and certainly seems like he'd belong more in an American-style cartoon rather than an anime.
I also appreciated a couple of satirical bits in the first episode: Normally, when the hero blasts away a vehicle as it races towards him, the flaming debris that should remain seems to conveniently vanish. This wasn't the case with Cobra, as the flying vehicle speeding towards the hero simply became a flaming flying vehicle speeding towards the hero instead.
Given that we're only at the first episode right now, I could be wrong and this could turn out to be a terrible series, but so far I'm leaning towards believing it's satire and am enjoying it thoroughly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 14, 2009
This was originally supposed to be aired as episode 10 in the DearS TV series, but wasn't aired mostly due to excessive nudity. (It's Barbie doll nudity) It was released with the DVDs as an extra episode and is sometimes labelled as episode 13.
This is pretty much your standard fanservice episode - there's not really character development or plot, the episode is here for the fanservice. That said, despite the fact that I generally don't like fanservice episodes, this one didn't go so far as to totally distort the characters or tone of the series, so I didn't dislike it. Given the style of show
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DearS is to begin with, a fanservice episode doesn't go all that far away from the tone the series already had.
So, if you enjoy your guilty pleasures, you'll probably like this episode, if you're not really into it, it's probably still worth if you liked DearS. If you haven't watched DearS yet, but plan to, you could watch this where episode 10 should happen, since that's actually where it's supposed to be. Overall, it doesn't really matter much since it doesn't really affect the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 13, 2009
*This review is spoiler-free, for those few who have not yet been spoiled*
*Please note: I have given this season an 8/10 based on a particular way of viewing it, please read on to understand what I mean.*
So, finally, this is the second season of Haruhi and whether you've heard or not - there's a lot of controversy surrounding it. As any comments on the controversy will inevitably lead to spoilers, I will refrain, and instead give you some helpful advice on how to best enjoy the season while avoiding its less pleasant side.
So, what's this advice, you ask? Just skip episodes 4-8. Yes, I'm serious.
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You'll understand when you get there.
As a 9 episode series, the second season earns an 8/10 rating from me, and I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable as well. As a 14 episode series? Probably a 5 or 6.
In terms of content, this season has three "arcs": episode 1, episodes 2-9 and episodes 10-14. As some of you may or may not know, this season actually fits into the middle of the first season, so, if you're in the mood, you can rewatch it as part of the first season, (it is not, however, necessary) to do so, just follow these easy steps!
1) Make sure you're watching the first season in chronological, not airing order. (Read more on Wikipedia if you're not sure what this means).
2) After original episode 7, "The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya", insert the first episode of the second season.
3) After this, continue watching the first season normally until original episode 12, "Remote Island Syndrome Part 2", insert the rest of the second season episodes here, leaving out episodes 4-8.
4) After the end of the second season, insert the remainder of the first season episodes.
Please note: I do not in any way endorse what KyoAni did with around 35% of this season, I am merely proposing what I feel to be the best solution given the circumstances. If you gave this season a poor rating, I can't say I blame you, though I try to look at things in a more positive light. I found that, having only watched 1-3 and 9-14, I found the season rather enjoyable, and so my review reflects that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 13, 2009
First of all - this is an OVA of the series Akikan! It takes place after the main series, though there is little content so that barely matters other than for knowing who the characters are. I suggest watching the TV series before the OVA.
Second, I am not particularly fond of fanservice, so consider my review in that light. If you like fanservice in general, you may enjoy this a lot more than I did. (I find that fanservice usually detracts from the characters/story).
This is your typical hot springs episode. All of the important characters make appearances, but there's virtually no story or character-driven content
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whatsoever. To make a fairer comparison - the pool episode in the TV series had fanservice, but also some plot as well, whereas this OVA lacks any semblance of plot or interesting character interactions. To me, it felt artificial and contrived. There are still a couple of amusing parts, but nothing had quite the same special cheesy-to-the-point-of-actually-funny that the TV series did.
If you liked Akikan, the OVA is a ~little~ something extra. If you're really into fanservice stuff, you'll probably like it too, but there aren't any nipples, so don't get your hopes (or anything else) up.
Oh, and if you do watch it, there's also an extra 15 seconds or so after the credits.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 2, 2009
Since a review is ~not~ supposed to be an plot summary, I'll give a general feel of what to expect and my opinion about it:
This OVA is broken into two basic sections: Silly episodes (the first and last) and plot episodes (the middle episodes).
You will likely not enjoy the silly episodes if you did not enjoy the silly/cute side of Higurashi. If, on the other hand you liked the antics throughout Higurashi, the silly episodes will probably just make your day. (They were the highlight of the OVA for me, though that's just personal taste).
The plot episodes have more of a traditional Higurashi feel to
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them - suspense and mystery are essential elements, though it's a different sort than we're used to, I would say it's much more 'subtle' than the main series. I can't say I enjoyed these episodes quite as much as the main series, but I felt that they were still entirely worth watching, and were very well-done considering the options open to the storyteller at this point in the story.
In short - If you watched Higurashi, you should enjoy this. (If you didn't like the silly stuff, just skip the first and last episode).
Even if you haven't watched Higurashi, the first and last episodes are still entertaining.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 12, 2009
If you like the idea of a show that is entertaining, self-satirical, has 'colorful' characters and manages to save a little room for serious stuff, this could be the show for you.
If you are really into deep, complex characters with intricate winding plot twists and you looove super serious business 24/7, this is probably not the series for you.
The MAL ratings this show gets don't do it justice. Don't get me wrong, it's no masterpiece, but it's not a ~6.5 either. I can't say what people think of it, but my guess is that a lot of people take it too seriously. Most of the
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show really isn't meant to be taken seriously, in fact, I would argue that it's an outright satire of the "Hey look I found the perfect girl for me in a garbage can around the corner and I didn't even have to do anything for it" genre. If you didn't take it that way, you probably ~would~ think it was terrible. A lot of the time, it's just making fun of itself and similar series. If that's going to hurt your feelings, or go over your head, don't bother watching.
As a review is "not supposed to be a story summary", I'm going to avoid doing that, and say that simply, the plot is ~not~ what drives this show. The plot is fairly basic, nothing very unique for the most part, though, I will give it credit on the point that it throws in a couple of unexpected serious twists to make things more interesting. In this review I'm going to focus mostly on what I think makes this show - the characters.
What I like about this series is that the male lead is not the typical passive male lead character that you would usually see in this sort of series. (Randomly living with a beautiful girl out of nowhere-type) He's outwardly perverted, often sarcastic, and a 10/10 troll...but at the same time is actually a decent human being, and, yes, can even be serious once in a while. Oh, and he's voiced by Lelouch's VA, which is something you can definitely hear when he goes off on his "speeches". (This is more obvious earlier in the series)
Melon is a pretty typical female lead, a tsundere, gets very indignant about almost everything, and is totally thrown off by Kakeru's antics. As well, being a 'can', she is somewhat naive, and thus even easier for Kakeru to troll almost constantly.
Najimi is a great addition to the cast, (posisbly my favourite) and it's interesting that they managed to make a female character somewhat perverted with it being more amusing than creepy. (The facial expressions she gets are priceless.)
Yell is amusing in her "serious business" approach to almost everything, while at the same time, like Melon, she is very naive about certain things.
These characters get the most screen time while there are a number of other characters I won't be covering who range between mediocre and awesome.
The animation is usually meh, ok, with a couple of episodes being an exception to this rule. (6 and 11, I believe?) The music is pretty average: I wasn't a fan of either OP, though it's kind of neat that the ED is always different. (Miku fans may be pleased to hear that the planned OVA's ED will be 'sung' by Miku)
There are a few lines in this series (Like Kakeru tricking Melon about what "Masturbation and Titty Fucking" mean) that really made me kind of go: "Wait...wait...were the fansubbers screwing with us, or did they really say that?" (He really did say that) So, keep in mind this isn't something you want to show your 10 year-old kid or niece/nephew. BEAR IN MIND that these 'shocker' lines are not constant, so much as exceptional "wait, what??" moments.
For fansubs: I recommend Coalguys for episodes 1-7, and, well... CommieSubs seemed alright for 8-12. (Chihiro does all of them and is so-so, but they aren't my top recommendation.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 12, 2009
There is no doubt that Leopard is the character who makes this series. Don't get me wrong, it's not like the other characters are totally uninteresting, but his Lelouch-like rants and megalomania (even as an AI) single-handedly raise the score of this show by a full point.
Don't watch this if you're looking for a lot of plot intricacy or subtlety, I found that the pacing can be a little ADD-mode sometimes. Then again that might be exactly what you're looking for.
This series has been somewhat episodic so far, though there is obviously some buildup for a larger underlying plot. In the most recent episodes it
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seems like we might be beginning to see the forming of something a little bigger. Despite being fairly light-hearted and silly so far, I'm inclined to think that things are going to get a little more serious eventually.
In short, it's an entertaining show to watch, not exactly time for deep-thinking, and it's a great way to get a weekly dose of Lelouch. ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 12, 2008
Why you should watch this: The main character doesn't actually visibly move. He just sort of...teleports from scene to scene. If you're the type who likes to have a firm logical grip on reality this is really not for you. A lot of things don't exactly make sense, but overall it's really not supposed to, and in fact I think it kind of makes fun of itself in a way.
Very episode-to-episode style, but the relationships between the characters do develop in a satisfying way. This would be a good animé as a sort of intro for kids. It's definitely lighthearted in general, though it's still
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got some points serious enough to make it not totally silly by any means.
If you've got a bit of a silly sense of humour or you like something vaguely, but not totally mindless, I think this animé is worth watching. Uber-serious watchers are best advised not to approach.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 12, 2008
This is worth watching whether or not you've played the game, for Playstation 2 because the plot takes some significant divergances, which I found to be an interesting alternate storyline. (The ending is still very much similar, but how they get there is different enough)
The story, in large part is very episodic, so a lot of the time "real" character development doesn't happen. There are, however, a couple of parts where there's some "real" development, generally in the beginning and end, I would say. Though it's generally lighthearted, it has its serious points as well.
The characters, I think, are pretty lovable. Ok, not Gordon. But
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Laharl, Flonne and Etna are all lovable or hateable in their own ways, and Prinnies are just kind of funny in general. MIDBOSS. <--- Is why you should watch this.
Disgaea also has a sort of...zonky cartoony sense of humor. You might like or dislike this, I kinda liked it.
The action scenes are somewhat...lame, at least most of them. I was expecting a little more of that from an animé like this, but I suppose it was good enough elsewhere that it wasn't a fatal disappointment.
Watch this if you want a relatively light and short watch, it has some good moments and I thought the ending was even a little touching for what was otherwise more on the silly than serious side.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 12, 2008
Though it's not necessary, I recommend watching Mai Hime first. (Besides, it's better by at least a full point, in my opinion) This is not a true sequel from the character point of view, as only one character is *actually* the same person, with the same memories. (Everyone else looks the same, and may even have the same personality, but they have no memories of their Mai Hime self)
If you've watched Mai Hime, you can probably bump the overall score of this from 7, to 8 just based on how much you'll giggle at/appreciate the ridiculous amount of subtle (and not-so-subtle) references.
The characters are, for
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the most part, very convincing and the plot is half-decent, but I found the way it ended especially to be underwhelming. (Kind of like Mai Hime, but worse IMO) I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that it felt like the good guys had it far, far too easy, and the main bad guy, who previously had been devious and very good at predicting his opponents' moves sort of...was disappointing. If you're expecting the level of "HOLY @#$#@" you get from Mai Hime at certain points, this one doesn't quite give you the same good level of shock.
Still, worth watching, but not OMGAWESOMECRAZY 10/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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