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Jan 10, 2012
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is a great, slow paced anime that really focuses on strong character development in a fascinating setting. The story focuses on its 2 main characters, Ein and Zwei, who both have their memories erased and are trained to become deadly assassins for an underground mafia group called Inferno. Although the premise and the first episode may make the viewer believe that this is an action packed show, its actually extremely slow paced (not in a bad way) and focuses more on the characters than the story.
Story: 8
The best part of the story is how dynamic it is.
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It is split into 3 arcs which are all completely, different from each other. The characters, mood and settings are all drastically different in each three arcs, which is the main strength of the story. However, the story of Phantom is not perfect. For instance, certain points in the story can become a little far fetched. But most of these occurrence happen in the first arc (which is also the worst out of the 3 in my opinion) so once you get past that the story really shines.
Art and Sound: 10
The background art in the show is very detailed and the character designs are great, not too over the top but still interesting. When there are actions scenes, there are animated very fluidly and excitingly. The sound is even better than the art. The voice acting is some of the best and the music is truly amazing. There are so many different tracks that can be heard in this anime so that it never gets repetitive. The music also fits the mood of the story perfectly at all times. Honestly, even though Bee-Train is known for their excellent soundtracks, they really outdid themselves with this series
Characters: 10
And now we get to the true strength of the series: the Characters. It is hard to describe the strengths of these characters without delving into spoilers, but seriously this show has some of the best character development I have ever seen. Specifically Zwei and Cal have some amazing character development that all really comes together at the climax of the show. Furthermore, this show has very interesting and well developed side characters. The best is the interaction between all these characters is wonderfully thought out and presented perfectly.
Enjoyment: 10
To me this series was a complete pleasure to watch. It is not for everybody though. As previously said it is very slow paced, which some people do not want to bother with. Another one of the most enjoyable aspects of this show is the themes it deals with; mainly regret and the effects of ones decisions. It deals with these themes subtly and maturely. And as said before, the characters are just so easy to fall in love with and become completely attached to. Be warned this show does have an extremely notorious Love it or Hate it ending, which I personally loved
Overall: 10
The characters and music more than make up for the shortcomings of the logic in this anime's story. I was really torn between giving this show a 9 or a 10 overall, but the problems it does have are not glaring flaws and the character development that comes from the problems in the story is more than worth it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 5, 2012
Hanasaku Iroha is a drama about growing up that sometimes confuses itself for a silly slice of life. This series is about a 16 year old named Ohana who has to live and work at her grandmother's traditional inn. Now though this sounds like a slice of life, the series' strong points is its accurate depiction of teenage drama and its emphasis on the theme about appreciating work.
After watching the first two episodes of the show, I was almost sure that this would be one of the best shows of the year. However, immediately after that the show delivers what
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are without a doubt the worst few episodes of the entire series, taking what promised to be a great show and turning it into a show about annoying teenage antics. This is without a doubt the worst part of this show, is that these episodes are really a pain to get through, as they are not very funny and don't have the interesting drama that the rest of the show does. The good thing, however, is that after a few of these episodes the show transitions back to its roots and again focuses on the characters.
Which brings me to one of the strengths of the series: the characters. Now, the characters do take some getting used to, seeing as they are teenage girls. Specifically Minko, who is just overly angry, and Yuina, who seems to have no real purpose in the show for the longest time. However, even though they are annoying, there is actually some great character development throughout the course of the show. On top of that, Ohana is actually a great lead character, mainly because she is so far away from the average teenage girl tropes. She is loud and abrasive, but in a way it is very unique for an anime character, while at the same time portrayed very believably. Another good point about the show is that it doesn't only focus on teenage girls, which admittedly would get pretty annoying. Ohana's mother and grandmother also prove to be wonderful characters, and there is also realistic and interesting drama revolving around the rest of the adult cast. In the end, the cast really does come together for a great ending to the show, and even though some of them have their annoying attributes they still play off each other well through the entire show.
Another one of the shows strengths is the artwork. The character designs are all very good and consistently drawn. However, the best part about the artwork is the background art. The backgrounds show are beautifully drawn and greatly show the stark contrasts between the city and the countryside. Both of these areas are drawn wonderfully and offer tons of eye candy for the viewer. Almost every episode has at least 1 background to marvel at.
Perhaps my favorite part of the show was the themes it dealt with. At its core, this show is about working, specifically taking pride in ones work. Though this show has its share of romance and comedy; in the end this is the main point of the series. This is an extremely unique theme for an anime to deal with and it is portrayed wonderfully. Usually in anime and media in general, work is portrayed as the thing that is hard to enjoy, or being what keeps somebody away from their family. However, Hanasaku Iroha shows that hard work can bring people together, exactly like the cast does here. The show never lapses into pointless rambling about work and never gets corny or preachy like you see with other shows with a central theme.
All in all, I highly recommend Hanasaku Iroha. Though there are certain episodes that are hard to get through, in the end it is all worth it, and the longer arcs in the show truly do have some interesting drama and character development. And of course, the art is just breathtaking at times, further increasing the experience.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 31, 2011
I will admit that Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon is an underrated anime, but not that underrated. It has a very interesting premise and above all its biggest strength is its creativity, however, there are still a lot of glaring problems with the show
Story: 7
The story of Kyoukai senjou no Horizon is actually very well thought out, based on an interesting premise and engaging. The problem lies with the story telling itself. While the story is interesting, it is portrayed so inefficiently that it is almost impossible to understand without doing outside research. Honestly, nobody should have to do this much outside research
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to properly understand what is going on. Much information is left out or is given to the viewer in crazy information dumps that are hard to follow, which again is not very good story telling. However, the story is there and it is good. The best part of the story is how intertwined it is with the setting which is very well thought out and fascinating. The focus on history is also very interesting. The storyline of the episodes themselves is not as hard to follow and is still engaging
Art: 7
I would love to give the art a better score, mainly because this show has a pretty decent budget. The problem, however, is that the character designs in my opinion are just utterly awful. I mean, they all just look like ridiculous stereotypes that just scream unnecessary fanservice. However, the battles are animated very well and the background art is very good, which levels out this score
Sound: 7
The music in the show was very good, however, it was outshined by most other shows this season. The voice acting was decent at best, most of them being pretty bad, save for a few notable exceptions
Character: 6
This is another hard category. The cast as a whole is pretty good, there is so much diversity, including a blob, a giant, a mecha, a ninja, witches, and a few other interesting characters. However, individually all the characters are pretty bland or straight up annoying. Aoi Tori, the main character has interesting antics, but some of these antics really intrude on the serious parts of the story. The biggest problem with the rest of the characters is that they are so one-sided. Most of the female characters just act like stereotypes and the more unique characters have hardly any screen time (I wanted more of the blob!)
Enjoyment: 8
This is the best part of the show for me. There is just so much creativity in this show that it is hard not to like parts. Particularly the actions scenes are wonderfully unique and well directed. Every fight in this show is different from each other and all really fun to watch. The comedy on the other hand, is very hit and miss. I will admit I don't like fanservice comedy and the groping got old really fast, but that is just my taste. Some other instances of comedy did end up working though.
Overall: 7
This show gets a solid 7 from me, the creativity really saved this show from its uninspired, bland characters and the awful character designs. I am looking forward to the next season. Hopefully the characters will be able to become more than just one-sided characters and the setting will be developed even more. However, this was a fun show with a very interesting premise.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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