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Sep 28, 2014
Glasslip is great! It makes for a great wallpaper or screensaver. If it were part of a tourist promotional video or a commercial, it'd be quite excellent. Oh, as an anime, you ask? Not so much. It's almost like someone conceived of nice art with music and then forgot it would be broadcast as an anime.
The show is done by PA Works, a studio that often frustrates me to no end with their work but often prove rewarding to watch in the end. Their shows have a lot of potential but often encounter some very strange decision making. Glasslip has the frustrating part,
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but unfortunately much less of the rewarding part.
On a conceptual level, Glasslip's story revolves around themes of loneliness and the desire for companionship as well how time is fleeting-- one lives in a moment that won't be there any more. There's also the concept of change brought by another new introduced element, most notable by one of the cast. Glass, reflections, and fragments are key motifs in the story. There's all kinds of foreshadowing everywhere, many of it rather subtle and well done, so the plot progression isn't actually that rocky, convoluted, or contrived.
Sounds like a masterwork right? Well...
The problem is the series forever remains a tease. Stuff gets revealed and the foreshadowing turns out to progress the plot, except it doesn't really lead to a result I care about. Should I feel for what happened? What am I supposed to think? Glasslip just packs its bags and runs. In the end, nobody really cares!
Maybe the show was to be low key. After all, human events of daily life aren't dramatic, and things just happen without many others caring. And to be fair, a lot of Glasslip is extremely idyllic and relaxing thanks to the soothing music and nice backgrounds and characters just doing mundane tasks. But that's why we often have drama so stuff is fun to watch. You don't want your audience to fall asleep!
However, some works want you to leave it up to yourself to think of your own conclusions. I think it's a cop out, but others may like the journey being more important than the destination. Unfortunately, Glasslip sabotages itself with its greatest problem-- the dialogue. The interactions sometimes range from inane to flat out insane, almost to the point where you're wondering if they're playing homage to The Room or something. The series tries repeatedly to claim that the cast members are a circle of friends but there's too many scenes where they just keep sprouting exposition to each other-- and they really don't seem to show much concern for each other. Some friends to have, huh?
The characters individually are actually not too bad. They are often paired with another character where they have relationships that are actually dynamic (too bad the group as a whole isn't). In them, they have to deal with their own insecurities and awkwardness, which generates conflict and drama. This is actually handled better than many over dramatic and over the top series. Most of them grow and reach some kind of revelation about themselves and the people around them.
Although the side characters tend to be more well developed in this regard; I really don't know what the heck the 2 main leads were doing often. Glasslip also features a decent supporting cast such as the parents and siblings that I feel carries the show because they help the main cast feel like actual people. And of course, all hail Lord Jonathan the Chicken as well. I do feel however, that the developments could have been done in a concise manner, because parts of it got repeated and dragged over a bit too much for a 13 episode series.
I think what really kept me around was the art. Those glass making scenes (which I wonder why there isn't more of) are spectacular, and they actually make good use of the lighting and stuff especially when venturing into one of the plot elements. It also seems to change in mood-- the show started out insanely bright and slowly got darker as people got into conflicts... and then we have winter. The only problem here is that the animation is a bit weird and often just has stills for no good reason, proving that every time Glasslip does something great, it must do something awful to counter it.
Personally, I liked the art for the characters as well. They're a bit better than the 2 big eyes +line for a mouth +0.5 nose moestuff that I normally see, though I tend to like moe anyways. They should watch out for those sharp chins though.
Speaking of sound, the anime isn't bad. The opening song was pleasant to listen to every time, the ED song... not as much. Voice acting I thought was decent, well, except for Touko's ehhhhhh noise. Saori Hayami did a particular good job of bringing out the character of Yanagi.
Finally, a double edged sword comes from PA Works's insular references. The chickens and the "artsy" stills are reference to the studio's work True Tears, also by the same director. You should probably be watching that instead of Glasslip.
Overall, the show's pretty inoffensive. It did make me somewhat sad though that this show could have been so much more if some care where made to the editing but it decides to end up like this. Such a pity, but reality is not measured in potential but what actually happened. At least it made me laugh, sometimes intentionally but often unintentionally. You could do a lot worse than Glasslip IMO, but I cannot recommend this to anyone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 27, 2013
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's is a movie rendition of the corresponding tv series, and a direct sequel to the 1st movie which covered the first season of the franchise. While the first incarnation started out as a fairly ordinary magical girl series, it eventually evolved into what could be described as the Magical Girl Lightshow of Befriending, involving flashy combat and interesting swaths of character development that made it unique in this genre.
Visually speaking, the movie is extremely shiny and polished, despite a few moments of off model that were barely noticed. While the first movie looked great, it still
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resorted to stills in combat scenes, but 2nd A's makes these weaknesses far less pronounced, leading to a ton of fluid movement. Regardless of the actual content of the movie, it sure does look appealing, especially for those into moe aesthetics.
Unfortunately, it falters in the story department. This was to be expected, as the series was 13 episodes long with minimal filler. Trimming at anything significant would weaken the narrative, and unfortunately there are a few plot threads that simply will not make sense to those who haven't seen the tv series. That is most likely the greatest weakness of the movie, and I would have to recommend you watch the tv series first.
What it does focus on, it does fairly well, and offers a lot of humanization to the antagonists of the story which makes the storytelling a more balanced affair. It's not too easy to take sides in this conflict for good reason, and that makes the movie more involving to watch. The movie actually doesn't spend that much time pew pew'ing all day as compared to the first movie, and focuses some on developing the characters' personalities and inner thoughts. Still, due to time constraints, certain key players from the tv series are left hanging but still left there leaving you wondering what they're supposed to do. I felt they could have fit them in more cleanly.
In the end, I was very much satisfied to see Nanoha animated after an absence of three years. This movie is much more for fans though, and while I'd recommend that you could skip the first television series for the first movie, I really can't say the same for this. So, if you're into the series, you should know what to expect. If not, then try the television series, and give this a pass for now.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 13, 2011
Usagi Drop is a breath of fresh air for those who are a bit tired with the excessive amounts of fanservice, dull characters, and even duller plots that seem to plague the medium. For once we can have an anime that touches upon issues in a serious and honest manner, while having just about the right amount of lightheartedness and humor that prevents the series from getting too heavy. The result is a heartwarming, feel good tale that manages to allow viewers to empathize with the characters and perhaps the show as a whole to be adorable without feeling that they are being insulted.
Visually, Usagi
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Drop is pleasing to the eye, and the watercolor style art creates a pretty distinct effect-- it also looks different. It's not the most breathtaking artwork out there, but it's consistent and you never get a feeling of blockiness that tends to happen with the cheaper animated works. It also gives off kind of a nostalgic feeling that makes me feel like I'm watching a family oriented children's cartoon, but not in a bad way.
The visuals also go really well with the audio, most notably the opening song Sweet Drops. "Yay, everything is happy and cute" is the mood I get from it. Overall, it's very upbeat and optimistic
But while we have this atmosphere of idealism and happiness, the story itself isn't all just a happy world where nothing can go wrong. Indeed, the very premise is about a child by name of Rin who has no one that wants to take her in, and a lot of her family didn't even know she existed. It's a terrible thing for a child to feel unwanted, yet here we have the relatives playing hot potato with a child. On the other hand, taking care of a child isn't exactly something you can just do, and this is what the story will go on about. Answers aren't easy and clear cut.
Enter Dakachi; a man that is still single and has no idea of how to raise a child. Naturally the folks around him aren't exactly confident, but since he's the only one that will step up to the plate.
The anime takes us along with Dakachi and Rin, as well as their friends and family on a journey of growth. Dakachi must learn to raise Rin, and Rin must learn to recognize this man that just took her in. Naturally it's not exactly an easy process, and I really enjoyed how gradual the anime made the process. Never has an experience about the typically boring routine of people's lives been so entertaining.
Usagi Drop isn't the most exciting of animes, nor is the plot the most complex, but watching the characters gradually develop into people that are more able to handle the difficulties of life makes this an outstanding watch. It truly does justice to the term "Slice of Life".
So if you need something a bit different, but is also light and relaxing, I wholeheartedly recommend this. Perhaps it'll allow you to see anime in a better light, or even be able to share this with other folks without having them look at you funny.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 28, 2010
Short Review: It needed 26 episodes.
Long Review: Angel Beats is a pretty interesting work. The writer, Jun Maeda, is responsible for a number of emotional masterpieces such as Air, Kanon, and Clannad. Maeda's ability to invoke emotion in his audience is definitely outstanding and thus I had great anticipation for the series.
Angel Beats! is a treat to the eyes and ears. P.A. works did an amazing job with the visuals. The opening animation is a pleasure to watch and the backgrounds can easily rival Kyoto Animation's which is no small feat. The music is also very memorable, and usually appropriate to the situation. Besides
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the opening "My Soul Your Beats" and "Brave Song", there's also a bunch of songs sung by the show's band Girls' Dead Monster. Some people have noted the songs by GDM sound a bit amateurish, but I think it's appropriate and gives the feel of a garage band trying to make it big.
The story, however, is rather confusing and keeps shifting gears. We start out in a mysterious world of the afterlife and in a place where not even the characters know what's going on. Naturally, a state of confusion would make sense-- except that most of the world is never really explored or explained. And the explanations we do get are often out of left field, and usually shoved in at the end of the episode.
However, the overall idea isn't bad at all; it's just that the accelerated pacing due to the 13 episodes and the fact that the anime seems to not be sure on where it's going. It just started too much threads.
The most jarring thing about the show is its inability to separate the comedy from the melodrama. It's often mixed together at the worst moments and becomes very cheesy. The worst case of this is probably the character of Naoi, someone who should be interesting, but I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Also, frequently the melodrama feels very forced and manipulative because it's just shoved in there-- you've gotta develop a conflict or issue for it to have any real impact. This was especially true near the end. But Key fans don't worry, there's still some very sweet moments even if it is very messy.
Despite this, Angel Beats is still a very funny show. At first,the humor didn't click with me, but two words: Rocket Chairs. The silly antics of the protagonists group-- the SSS is fun and its enjoyable to see them do silly stuff like that in this world. And of course the character TK himself seems to steal the show every time he utters a line.
The characters are all a fun and likable bunch-- typical for Key. Sadly, a lot of them remained underdeveloped due to time constraints. The ones that they do focus on are very well done-- the amnesiac Otonashi, the competent commander Yuri who's not just another Haruhi, the reliable bro Hinata. The enigmatic Angel is also a decent character who explodes the cuteness meter.
Overall, Angel Beats is not a bad show, but it just feels underwhelming that with all the ingredients for success, the show couldn't make up its mind on what to do. Nevertheless, if you're bored and want a few laughs or a few heartwarming moments, you can check this out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 2, 2010
Higurashi Rei is the epilogue for the entire story. For those of you that are expecting more craziness, this isn't really the place to look for it as Kai had wrapped up everything properly. However, if you'd like to gain more insight into the world of Higurashi as well as deal with character introspection, check this out. It's best to think of this as a closing act. The first and fifth episode of the series are just slapstick comedy and don't bear any relevance-- they are just for fun.
In general, the story delves into the character's pasts a bit more, and comes up with a
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final scenario that questions the value of the struggle throughout the entire story. Despite the fact that the main story in the OVAs was very dialogue heavy I was able to reflect upon the series as a whole with Rika's thoughts and feelings. If the first season was about confusion, and the second season was about finding answers, this season would be about taking all of it for granted. Certainly that causes us to be a short time at times, even with all this knowledge?
Another strength of the story is that it provides more information about a certain ambiguous scene in Kai, and a possible link into Umineko, another anime that may or may not be linked to the series.
Visually, the anime is very impressive. It is an OVA after all, though I did prefer the character designs from Kai (the eyes are odd). The music is also a step above; the BGM seems more effective here. Superscription of Data is very impressive techno song, and Manzashi is an nice, soothing song that is suitable for ending the story, as well as serving as a complement to Taishou.a
I don't think these OVAs are for everyone. They may be too much talking for some people (but there's at least one side of Rika everyone needs to see), and the slapstick episodes are just kinda there. But if you liked Higurashi for the characters, there's no reason not to watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 1, 2010
Have you ever woke up from a hangover and then worry that you did something you'd regret? Well, at least you didn't write the script for this series.
Umineko was an anime that showed great promise, trying to be an intellectual puzzle that would have viewers trying to analyze details and scramble for nuances. After all, it has much to live up to its predecessor Higurashi. The basic premise is to solve a mystery through logical means rather than the magical ones that show up and are far more convenient.
While it seems counter intuitive that you'd use magic to deny magic, it's important to
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realize that magic could exist, but there's still a logical (non-magic) reason to explain the story . (Even if there are magical means to do something, it doesn't mean you have to use magic to do it.)
Anyhow, that was pretty much all I gathered from the show before it decided to meander into the realm of nonsense. I've never played the original game, but it's obvious facts were left out, because the connection between events are minimal and was left wondering "what does that have to do with anything??" at every turn.
The plot seems to take so many dead ends and go off into random tangents that later parts feel more like a Family Guy episode. In other words, the storytelling is laughable and there's no cohesion whatsoever. It makes no sense!
The main issue was the pacing. With poor prioritization of events, it was hard to follow the show. It did good in some spots, but it would dwell a bit too long, hurting other parts that get fast forwarded. For the most part, sometimes the intention is there, but not the execution. The result is that you get events that should make you feel for the characters and what could happen, but it just lands with a thud because it gets rushed. There are of course a few exceptions that were handled very well (typically at the end of a chapter) but those tend to be rare.
In other words, it's just not enough to list events A,B,C,D.
The animation is ok most of the time, but it suffers from the stupid faces Higurashi liked so much. The music is arguably the best part of the anime, but it was oddly misused at points. However, I would definitely say that's one thing memorable I got from this show. The opening is epic, and the ending is crazy, much like the series.
The characters are largely bland, but that's a bit forgivable since there's so many of them. The ones that they do focus on, particularly Maria and Beatrice are well done. There are also quite a few emotional moments to be found near the end; I guess the writers sobered up. There is one character near the end that is exceptionally done-- you'll know when they appear. The antagonists are extremely... colorful.
Despite all of this criticism, this is hardly a terrible show. I found it more enjoyable when I stopped taking it seriously and went along for the ride-- how does someone enjoy something by nitpicking constantly? It's a pretty good comedy actually (Some intentionally, surprisingly) Every week, I'd tune in to see what other increasingly ridiculous outfits and twists the show could come up with. Add in a few legitimately touching moments, and it becomes a good watch that makes you morbidly curious.
I reject the pretentious notion that a show has to be all deep and coherent, and must excel in all categories to be considered of quality. Anime is an entertainment medium and the most important thing is that it makes you want to watch. And it did keep me watching.
The very end is unforgivable though... it kinda just leaves you out there and probably had some of the worst execution ever-- a wasted opportunity to have the show really leave an impact.
Umineko is not a good show, and it is most certainly not well done. It is however amusing, though I'd imagine fans would have wanted more. I'd say time was well spent watching it. But it could have been just so much more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 10, 2010
The movie is a retelling of the first season for the Nanoha TV series. For those that don't know about Nanoha, the story is about the young protagonist, Nanoha Takamachi who comes across a magical device and must hunt for magical treasures before the bad guys get to them. However, this seemingly shallow and typical story hides its true nature which contains very well defined character interactions, relationships, and giant beam cannons.
Story: The story is far more coherent than its tv series part. It has essentially been streamlined and the boring filler parts have been excised. The story quickly establishes a focus on
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the central conflict which happens with Nanoha and Fate, the antagonist who is a young magical girl just like her but is actively opposing her. The story focuses on the events of the conflict as well as the background and thoughts surrounding them.
I will have to say that certain parts feel extremely rushed, because of the movie formats, so some of the fight segments are going to leave you with very little transition time.
It just feels like at certain points that Nanoha is constantly at battle, which is nice for those fond of the cool fights, but can be jarring for folks that would want to know more about the character's when they're not blowing crap up. There are also flashbacks that take up a good amount of time and I felt that they could have been placed and paced better.
Despite all of this, the last parts of the movie come together extremely well, much like the TV series.
Art: I'm no expert in this area, but naturally with the bigger budget, the movie looks great. The character outfits have been changed quite a bit, and they look much cooler. The battles in the movie are also more intense and feature extremely fluid motion. And the explosions! Who can have an anime of this nature without having some great looking ones?
Sound: The sound is mostly passable being a remix of the show's, though it seems like it's stuck on the serious/sad ones. It pretty much is there to do the job.
Character: Character interaction and development have always been a strong part for the Nanoha series. The way the relationships between characters grow feel natural and well planned. Fate's terrible relationship with her mother is disturbingly realistic.
In general, the movie captures aspects such as Nanoha's naivety and idealism as well as Fate's despair and her longing for reaching out (but being unable to). Unfortunately, development for the side characters tended to lopsided towards the antagonist's side. It's welcome since the tv series didn't go over them much, but Nanoha's family, friends, and especially her ferret assistant Yuuno suffer a lot which weakens Nanoha's character a bit as well.
But given the time constraints, the characters are still very likable and easy to feel for (except the villain of course-- as it should) and the movie does well with the characters it does focus on.
Enjoyment: Although the fact that this retelling hasn't changed the story very much, I did appreciate most of the "fixes" they made to the story. The rather jarring loli stuff is almost nonexistent here, which I think it's a good thing because it turned away quite a few folks since that was very annoying in the first few episodes of the tv series.
I can't say it was ground breaking, but the fights were cool, and the last part of the story is just as heartwarming and emotional as the original-- the scenes near the end are easily some of my favorite in all of anime, so it was fun to watch them in its big budget glory.
Overall, this was an enjoyable movie and many scenes were just as good to me as I saw them the first time. I've always seen the first season of Nanoha to be fairly average but saved by some exceptional parts-- the movie makes it better. If you don't know anything about this series, the movie will give you a good introduction. If you liked the first season but hated certain aspects of it like I did, watch this movie ASAP.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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