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Jan 2, 2011
I must say, Ghost Hunt came as as personal disappointment because I was expecting a lot from it's high scores. It's not that the series is bad, but the style of Ghost Hunt doesn't demand, and is therefore lacking in two department: the characters and the animation, two big factors for my enjoyment of the series.
I guess the lack of a proper OP/ED sequence and the sub-par animation stems from it's low budget. The pale color theme used throughout the series is a result of this, but I guess it works quite well in the horror/psychological genre.
I think one thing most can agree on is
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that the characters are pretty one-dimensional, since there's hardly any form of character development; something I hoped to see but didn't get. Not that it keeps them from being interesting; the characters have good chemistry between them and can keep things alive with their standard jokes. However, since Ghost Hunt sells almost only on the plot, the characters always maintained the same roles in each arc and always produce the same kind of reaction throughout the whole series. That's probably the series's biggest weak point.
While I'm never into the horror/psychological genre, the story has even manage to get me hooked for a bit and anticipate the next episode. The plot isn't particularly clever in any of the arcs, but it has very good suspense with the use of many twist in the plot. With the material they got I think they could have created more powerful endings though.
Not my cup of tea, but certainly a pretty good one anyways.
Plot/Concept: Very good
Story Style: Very good
Audio/ Visual: Meh
Value: 8
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 26, 2010
I guess the point for this is to milk the beach episode for all it's worth, and might as well help sell the visual book at the same time.
This omake is just a short extension to the (fake) beach episode in the original series. Kuroko is up to one of her schemes again trying to er... "get closer" to her Onee-sama (Mikoto) when her plan accidentally got foiled by Saten, making Uiharu a victim. Hilarity ensues.
The omake doesn't contribute at all to the To-Aru storyline or universe, but at least it's new scenes of your favourite characters. Even though it's intended as a comedy/fanservice project
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it isn't really funny or ecchi, but I liked seeing Misaka again after a while the main series has ended. So while it's kinda worth watching for me, I can't say the same for everyone else.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 25, 2010
How many extras does the Railgun anime have? Ok, at least this is a full episode with a completely new story by itself. I'm not sure if this story is present in other forms of the Railgun media though.
There isn't any real difference in animation quality compared to the main series, but it's still very good. I didn't pay full attention to the OP and ED songs but they have a similar feel to them since the songs are by the same singers... JC Staff must have a good budget to use new songs just for a 1 episode OVA. The episode's also slightly longer
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(34 minutes) but that about it; it feel just like any other Railgun episode.
I don't wanna spoil the story, but I like the pacing even though there's a full plot in just one episode. The story quickly goes into the problem Misaka faces and it's pretty cool to see her awesome abilities in all her glory. I actually wished that episode could be longer.
I liked it, but I could only recommend it as much as the original season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 25, 2010
Like Index-tan and Shana-tan, this omake has nothing to do with the storyline and simply a way... for the studio to get creative I guess? What goes on in these two episode is crazily random and the characters talk as if they're on high. Of course, most of what they're talking about have reference to the main storyline so you'll still "get it". The way they poke fun the certain character's particular traits is also pretty funny.
I'll say it's worth taking a look if you don't mind watching the little extras that always comes with the DVD/Blu-rays.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 24, 2010
Asura Cryin' is definitely the most needlessly complicated series I've ever seen. While I like the fact that many types are powers and factions (demons, mecha, cyborg, etc) have to fight one another, I feel that the series is trying to bite off more than it can chew. The different powers and factions aside, the many important plot keys like contracts, various devices and stuff makes it hard to digest what was exactly going on. The worst part is that the number makes it hard to place a stronger emphasis on one part of the story itself, which also indirectly results in several plot holes,
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like, what's stopping Takatsuki from forming the contract anyway?
And maybe it's because of the style of the original story, Asura Cryin' tries to do too many genres as well. It wasn't as obvious as the first season, but it still tries to do all of them within 13 episodes. It's not so bad until they inserted a beach episode somewhere in the middle of the season, trying to incorporate some fan service/moe/comedy/romance into the mix, ignoring the fact that the mood of the story is pretty tense and there are actually lives on stake while they are partying.
But with that said, you can see that the story's still pretty gripping. There were many unknowns in the first season now that were explained, and the story makes many daring twists that could have spoilt the storyline... and risking a lot of plot holes (which did). Towards the end, the story had several over-the-top moments that had the series worthwhile after all.
Though I've never liked how they designed the characters, I must say the animation's still relatively good. I've never liked the songs, but that could be just my opinion.
Overall, watching Asura Cryin' can be frustrating at times due to the needless complexity and plot holes, but the bold direction of the story lines and many elements of the story makes it interesting to watch.
Plot/Concept: Excellent!... ignoring the plot holes.
Story Style: Good
Audio/Visual: Good
Value: 7
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 24, 2010
I must say I'm a fan of slice-of-life series, since I can appreciate the slow pacing of the show and simply enjoy of atmosphere created by the series. I loved Hidamari Sketch and Aria. I even liked series like Sketchbook and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, though they was never my favourites. But I cannot seem to enjoy what Tamayura has to offer.
First of all, the setting never really got to me. I have a bit of interest in photography, but I've never got the least interested while the cast is on the subject. Secondly, the cast is really, really boring. Fu and Kou are the only
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names I recall. I can only remember the rest of the cast as the whistling girl, the twin-tail who's always on high, and the nondescript ponytail. They do not seem to have any other traits I can remember.
So in the end, I can hardly remember anything about the series, even though I've only just finished watching it. I could hardly pay attention to what little the series has to offer. I had expected more from Hal Films...
The art quality is average and the music is forgettable. I feel that the seiyuus, even Kana Asumi, isn't doing a very good job with the characters even though she's more familiar with the genre.
I really cannot recommend this to anyone since I cannot seem to find any parts of the series interesting enough to talk about.
Plot/Concept: Fair
Story Style: Meh
Audio/Visual: Unimpressive
Value: 3
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 24, 2010
Seitokai Yakuindomo runs on a very simple formula; Protagonist Tsuda enters an almost entirely all-girls environment and is always (verbally) sexually harassed by the female schoolmates around him. The unique thing about the show is how the girls are the ones making the perverted jokes, giving you a very different feel of the girls act compared to other series (or perhaps closer to RL). Every other males in the series is almost non-existent (I forgot if I ever seen one) so there's a hint of harem, but it's not like that mattered for the show anyway.
There's a brief sequence in the beginning showing how Tsuda
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got into the situation he landed himself in, but don't go thinking that the show actually have any real story; Any form of plot goes as far as the first episode and the rest of the show is a series of perverted tsukkomi-boke routine, with Tsuda delivering the witty comeback to every joke.
The animation quality was mediocre. I didn't expect much from a show like this though. It did get the job done, but there was nothing impressive about it. I do like the OP and ED though, they've injected a more energetic feel into this otherwise fairly stale anime.
Seitokai Yakuindomo is fairly enjoyable if you'd like to just let your mind go blank for a bit and simply enjoy a slightly different kind of comedy. Not exactly what you'd call a "quality" show, but a fairly decent one nonetheless.
Plot/Concept: Kinda interesting...
Story Style: Good
Audio/Visual: Fairly good
Value: 7
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 10, 2010
Kaichou wa Maid-sama was enjoyable, but it has also disappointed me in many aspects.
It's hard to believe J.C Staff made this series. Or rather, I don't want to believe that J.C Staff would make something like this, since they are capable of great recent works like Index, Toradora, Kimikiss, etc. Were they trying something different since Kaichou wa Maid-sama is a Shoujo series?
For a series with such huge potential, I can't understand why I would see subpar animation. It wasn't outrageously bad, but it's obvious that the lack of details and the excessive use of super-deformity (chibi mode) was a budget issue. But come on,
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lesser known series produced by J.C Staff had more effort with the animation than this series.
I loved seeing the interaction between Usui and Misaki; seeing a smug Usui making the all-confident Misaki blush again and again never gets old; and I enjoyed seeing the growing bond between the two. The progress of the plot is very slow; I was expecting that from a Shoujo series, but the very rushed ending made me feel like the pacing of the series was just messed up. All the build-up leading up to that last episode doesn't deserved such a rushed ending, and I'm quite pissed at that. A lot of screentime is wasted for supporting characters whom I could care less about, since if you compare them to Usui and Misaki, all the supporting characters have little substance.
Even if they're trying to be faithful to the story in the manga, I don't appreciate how the side stories always abuses the duo's superhuman abilities. THAT does gets tiring after a while since you'll always expect one of them to save the day by pulling off some superhuman feat. The side stories often simply ends with a touching conversation between the two, but I'd rather see some progress in the main storyline. It's better than the rushed ending, I though the series deserved better than that.
Summary; Kaichou wa Maid-sama is enjoyable, but I hate to see so much wasted potential, especially coming from a studio like J.C Staff.
Plot/Concept: Great!
Story Story: (Very) Bad Pacing
Audio/Visual: Fair
Value: 7
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 6, 2010
I'm quite disappointed in Shukufuku no Campanella. I'll like to see it as a light-hearted comedy set in a magical world, because what little story and action they have didn't really matter. I thought it will be better to focus on the characters more since it's the stronger aspect of the series, but the series had a melodramatic ending that's along the lines of "our determination will overcome all odds!"... shounen styled, and really wasted a lot of potential the supporting characters had. This feels a lot like the recent Ookami-san, where a lot of screen time is put into introduction of the supporting characters
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which fail to play a real role in the story.
The main characters were disappointing. Leicester didn't have any of the energy or manliness the other characters gave him credit for. Carina was nondescript, and Minette were as annoying as hell. I hoped they would have showed more of Chelsea, Agnes and the Tortilla sisters (basically everyone else in the party), but too bad.
The animation was rather bland and sometimes sloppy. The production quality doesn't deserve any praise, except maybe for the ending theme. There wasn't really anything else interesting about the series, so I won't recommend it.
Plot/Concept: Fairly Good
Story Style: Boring
Audio/Visual: Boring
Value: 5
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 4, 2010
K-ON!! is the epitome of "moe blob" anime; one which got so many other similar series to start, and is also the No.1 selling anime for a long time... While I agree that the colossal amount of "moe" based series is hurting the industry, I must say that K-ON!! represent one of the best in this saturated genre.
It's a bit sad that the second season hardly touches on the music aspect of the series as compared to the first season, as I feel that it's one of the nicer part of the series, especially the live concerts and the original music the club had. This
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season focuses almost entirely on the comedy, slice-of-life, and story parts of series, but I guess this is what the larger part of the market wants to see. It's sad that the series lost it's unique trait that allows me to call it a anime of music genre, somewhere along the line of BECK and Nodame.
What's good about this season however, is the HUGE improvements on the production quality of the show. Not that the first season is shabby, but it seems that they've managed to perfect every single part of the show. The difference in the directing of the series is so great I could taste the budget they've put into this franchise... Kyoani knows where to put their money where it's worth. It's not like there isn't any boring parts of the series, after all they had to put one year of the story's timeline into 26 episodes, where else they had put two years into the first season's 13 episodes... I suppose they wanna milk it for all it's worth... so there's a side effect of some parts being particularly boring, but it's not like there's any unenjoyable episodes. K-ON!! always managed to put a stupid grin on my face everytime I watch it.
I don't think I need to talk about the animation quality. Aki Toyosaki's two new OP's are a bit too cute for the general public, but I do find them very interesting. But they can't be compared to Youko Hisaka's two ED's, which are simply awesome.
Of course K-ON!! isn't for everyone, but it's definetely the best of it's genre. People who are looking for strong plot lines and twists, or strong character developments, K-ON!! isn't something they're looking for. Unless the "moe blob" genre turns your stomach, you must give this a try.
Plot/Concept: Awesome!
Story Style: Awesome!
Audio/Visual: Superb!
Value: 10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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