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Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now arriving at the next station, the evolution of manga and 4-koma:

*Tired of waiting a week, a month or in case of Miura, a few ages for new material?
*Are you suffering even slightly from a short attention span as real life worries are more important than your entertainment?
*Do you want to be able to read more chapters a day, but have no time?

Well look no further, as we have Yanagida Fumita's first full blown manga, 'Tomo-chan Is a Girl!'.

As those of you who are familiar with this manga, you probably decided to read it on a whim, because it has ... cute art, cute girls, and romance in the tag.

But then... you were surprised.

"WHAT?! One page per chapter? What is this madness? A daily manga?
How in the world would that work?"

I've came to tell you it works better than a lot of current Japanese entertainment features.

Welcome to the probable 'successor' of other great 4-koma that were made into full anime such as the likes of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Girls, Watamote and Mikakunin de Shinkoukei.

Story: 9
Tomo-chan Is a Girl! synopsis is misleading, as the story is a lot more clever and well planned than you think it is if you judge it by its cover.

Just like Monthly Nozaki girls, this manga features the antics of a few oddball characters in a high school setting, something we've seen a lot, but it wasn't executed properly most of the time.

The initial premise is, that Tomo, the main female character is in love Jun, the male lead. She is tomboyish and Jun doesn't notice her womanly features. He socializes all buddy-buddy with her as guy-guy thing. But as each daily chapter unfolds carefully, it manages to surprise and uses, breaks and fleshes out cliches in clever ways.

As I don't want to spoil, just know, in the universe of Tomo is a girl, things are not always as they may first seem. The story develops in many ways other manga and anime series sometimes fail. We are not always in the same 'Namek', stuck in the non-creativeness of the writer to write a proper development. As I read 236 short chapters that are currently out in 2 hours, the amount of story development is respectable.

Art: 9
The art is in great quality. Usually we don't see well polished art in 4-koma, but in other cases, those with art that manages to catch your eye are those who will be picked up by enthusiastic manga readers, and that Tomo chan is a Girl! succeeded in.

The character designs are fitting to what the mangaka wanted to visualize on each panel. It has good consistency as each daily page is not made in purpose of just being a filler, but always has something to show the readers.

Character: 10
One of the biggest strengths of the series, are the ability of the characters to carry on the story without getting you bored. Each character fulfills its colorful role, in both whimsical personality and variety.

Tomo sometimes may be or may not be your typical tomboy character who blushes a lot. Jun also may be dense, or is he? Misuzu is one hell of a well written character, and pretty smart too to boot. Carol is quite the British prima donna with the same reaction face that trolls the readers.
In a successful 4-koma, the characters mean a lot, and that Tomo chan is a Girl especially delivers.

Enjoyment: 10
You will probably read all of the current available chapters in one sitting and never be bored. Enjoyment is high on this one.

Overall: 9
TL;DR: 'This manga is freaking good. Everyone go read it!!' Eks Dee

This manga is terribly underrated.

Made by the late Miyata Kouji, Pictorial Book of Sound is a collection of 9 short stories each unique but all share one theme, music and sound.

Story: 10
The first story is about a guy with Synesthesia, some call it a mental condition but I don't see how it can be harmful to the person with it or others that surround the person, be able to see sounds. It's an amazing rare condition that makes music come to life visually.

The second story is about a princess who's trapped and waiting to be rescued by a fateful encounter. I won't spoil the real ... meaning behind this great story.

The third story is a silent prehistoric piece.

The fourth story is one of my favorites, alongside the first one. It's about a man who's trapped in an elevator, hearing the voice of a woman who helps him cope with his claustrophobia. If I say anything else, it will be a spoiler.

The fifth story is about an old woman and a young girl, the old woman shares her youth's story and concludes with a strong message.

The sixth story is about a girl and her great great grandfather. This is quite the tear jerker, with a strong meaning behind it.

The seventh story is a futuristic space piece. Not one of my favorites, but setting is pretty awesome.

The eighth story is about a man who's coping with Deaf-blindness. It's one of the best stories in my opinion.

The ninth and final story is a reprise of the first story, another guy with Synesthesia. But it's unique and stands on its own.

Art: 10
The art is simply magnificent, with a great touch and detail. It's cute, visually appealing and full of visual metaphors. It fits perfectly with the flow of the story.

Character: 8
As the characters star in short stories, they can't be fully fleshed out like in a full length manga. But they develop pretty well in their respective short shorts.

Enjoyment: 10
This manga is highly enjoyable. Their variety is refreshing after each story concludes. Each story is quite short, but is never dull or made as a filler. Each story has it's own powerful message and will keep the readers immersed and hungry for more.

Overall: 10
Just as I looked on its MAL photo, I knew Pictorial Book of Sound will appeal to me, a huge fan of music and musical themes in manga and anime. Each story is unpredictable, and always manages to surprise.

I recommend this manga for fans of musical themed manga and Seinen manga. Don't be turned off by the length, each story provides a great amount of depth and is satisfyingly concluded in clever ways.

Definitely a must read.

Watamote. A popular anime and manga around the Internet despite being all about an unpopular Mojo girl who suffers from acute Social Anxiety.

Before I'll review this OVA, I'd tell you a little about Watamote's first rise to success, and I'll cover about Kuroki Tomoko's character as I wished to do it for a long time now, and then of course, I'll review the contents of this 13th Anime Original episode OVA.

-Prologue-

Watamote (Shortest way to call it, so I'd just use that) started out as an unknown little manga that featured a very unique female protagonist, a Mojo, meaning a very gloomy unsociable girl. When I ... first lay my eyes upon a random 4chan thread back in 2011 featuring Tomoko , I immediately knew this manga is going to be something special.
As one who enjoys unique portrayal of protagonists, and even better, something closer to home, a more realistic one, someone you could relate to easily, I knew I had to try it out.
So I read the first chapter that got scanlated by an Anon, and I was immediately intrigued.

How did Watamote managed to rise to success so easily?
It was with the help of those 4channers themselves, which stands out as a very nice story. 4channers promoted the manga in many threads, and even helped the mangaka financially so she could write more chapters by buying as many copies as they could. So instead of Japan, we got the West to support Watamote's first rise to success.

4chan is a controversial home to various people who enjoy social interaction through image boards, troll each other, and generally spread the Internet phenomena of Memes. Through the years it had its ups, downs, and as one who used to follow threads daily for years, 4chan indeed earned its name on the Internet.

So those 4channers who many of them themselves suffered from social alienation, enjoyed Watamote the best. And after the manga became enough popular, a 2013 anime adaptation adapted the manga story, shone Tomoko in different light, making her come to life with great visuals, sound, and endless attempts for Tomoko to become a popular sociable girl, which always resulted in utter failures.

-Kuroki Tomoko-

From what I read in reviews on MAL, Kuroki Tomoko is a character you could easily relate to if suffer from similar societal anxieties, or you could just throw her existence as a loser who can't learn from her ways, and have a clear lack of empathy for her, even clearly feel pain from what she goes through, to the point you feel awkward when you watch the show.
Her life portrayal in a dark comedic show is something that can be very unfunny to some, while some would laugh and then feel guilty about it.

When I watch Kuroki Tomoko in action, I don't see a loser girl that clearly. Tomoko is someone that tries her best, and fails. Then tries again, then fails. A loop that will occur in the whole show.
Why does that happen to her? Why is she so different from other people surrounding her? Is this her fate? Is this how she supposed to live her whole life?

My own answer is, her state of mind, which over the years, strayed afar from a healthy one, into one ridden with such social anxieties.

Tomoko in Middle School was more sociable than in her teenage years, that's when the social anxiety attacks harder. While some who suffer from SA can live with it, some clearly, can't.

As one who knows what it's like to feel such heavy anxiety, despite not suffering from clear SA but something different, I'd tell you, even on one sunny day, things begin to change.
Sometimes you won't feel it right away, won't understand why it's happening, that you're in this mess, but after a few years, you won't remember how it even happened.
You'll be so delusional you'll think your whole life was this way, that you amount to the lowest human being.
And when one thinks he will fail, he's prone to failures much more than others. When one is in unhealthy delusional state of mind caused by anxieties, traumas or a mental illness, he will see the world differently, sometimes live his daily life through his hobbies, will fail to see the world as it itself works in reality like others without such anxieties, see them as clear as the sun.

Then it can be a life long suffering.

The worst thing is, that many or even most people around you will see you as a lower human being than their standing. And when many, or even every person acts hostile towards you, you'll make generalizations about this world, and build up years of hatred towards many of your peers, despite the problem lying deep in yourself.
It can be an lifelong cycle of hatred, that can bring you to make drastic measures. Shut yourself in? Lose friends one after another or never have a close friend at all? Succumb to the state of mind until it becomes a lifelong illness? Much is possible.

Can one go out of it? With kind help from others, a change in environment or even with years with good Rehab, and the right medications, one can slowly come back into a healthy state of mind: A healthy soul in a healthy body.
But such thing may never happen to many people, and they will succumb to it, lose themselves in it until it breaks them, and simply tears them apart from the inside.
They can easily lose their sanity, or meet an early demise.
This is not a matter someone can brightly joke about.

Kuroki Tomoko however, is in a dark comedy anime. The show name can be used in two ways: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular!/ It's Not My Fault That I'm Not Popular! which clearly expresses the delusion Tomoko is living in. Can Tomoko break out of it?

I didn't follow the manga to recent chapters yet, but I heard that recently she shows more of her social side, so there is some change. But clear change can take years of serialization, or...

May never happen at all.



It's time for me to review the OVA itself.



Story: 6

This OVA feels, looks, and is an original story. The story also feel much more lighthearted compared to the main show.

It starts with a prologue that hints about a possible second season. The prologue is about Tomoko wanting to change the series completely for the second season, then snaps out of it by Kii, her cousin, with the flashy entrance of the OP, which I really grown to love.

It manages to portray a more sociable Tomoko, in 2 halves:
One is through the eyes of a regular Chuunibyou middle school kid Aomatsu, which sees her as a cool girl who can change his boring daily life, just like in the anime he enjoys.

This part doesn't really feel like the regular Watamote, but more of a homage to many anime that cater to Chuunis. We see a cool Tomoko, with a cool voice, appearance and demeanor, spouting some chuuni remarks which the guy finds oddly intriguing.

The second part is from Tomoko viewpoint, which actually shows what happened in reality, and not through the help of Chuunibyou vision.
So it's basically half an episode covered in 2 viewpoints.

What I liked about it, that Tomoko feels different while she was in middle school, even if the Original Story setting required her to act different.
She was even unbeknown to me and to the other viewers, taller in her middle school years than her high school years, which clearly ignited the guy's Chuuni Mentality.

They both met a few times on the school rooftop, a setting to many Chuuni-inspired stories.
Tomoko just wanted to create a cool setting for them to meet frequently, but sadly, it didn't go anywhere in the end.
After 3 years, he couldn't even recognize her anymore despite bumping her once. Tomoko managed to change so much just in 3 years, with her additional social anxiety silent behavior.

So in the end, this was a refreshing Watamote story, through if I look at it overall, it was nothing that special.

I did enjoy it more compared to Yahari's original story OVA (a similar protagonist show) which I felt was more lacking, and not as refreshing.

-Art & Animation: 8-

The art is the same as the main series, which is perfectly understandable. Silver Link made the simple manga's art into something that looks way more grim and flashy at the same time. No complains here.

Sound: 9

The OP and ED are the same as the main series, and the sound is just as great.

While some hate the combination of J-Pop and Screamo Metal in the OP song, I really found it to be the killer combination, perfectly fits the show theme of regress.

I missed the ED as well, and hearing it again in the episode after such a long time sure feels nice.

Kitta Izumi is back and great as ever. She carries the show without any flaw with her portrayal of Tomoko, a voice that she never uses in other shows, which it makes her most special role.

Character: 9

Tomoko, Tomoki and Yuu-chan return, with the addition of 2 new characters, Aomatsu and Komiyama Kotomi, a friend of Tomoko is her middle school years. They don't play a big role as a whole, but for a show with so little characters, every addition is welcome.

Enjoyment: 9

I enjoyed the main series and this OVA in the same way. They both have the same Watamote feel, despite the OVA being an original story, which shows the director's ability to produce good Watamote episodes even if they are not adapted straightly from the manga.
I also enjoy Watamote's anime more than the manga, because of great directing, and of course the addition of voice acting, music, animation, better art, and it's just better as a whole for me.


Overall: 9

Despite this review was more about Watamote as a whole and not only this Stand Alone OVA, I said pretty much everything I wanted which was pent up about the show, since there was not much to review on this episode as standalone. So it's basically a Two-in-One review.

I recommend Watamote and this OVA to every person who enjoys dark comedy, different protagonists to the norm, and those can relate to Tomoko more easily because of their circumstances.

This is not a show about beating Social Anxiety so far, but one that just portrays it. Something that is avoided a lot in more of an Escapist (But not only) Mediums such as Anime and Manga. Please keep that in mind.

Enjoy Watching, and I hope you enjoyed reading this review as much as I enjoyed writing it. (:

Steins;Gate changed my life.

It completely changed my views about anime, and even life in general.

'How can an anime change your life?' You must be thinking. 'Is he completely mad?' You must be asking.
If you think the above, this is probably because you simply didn't watch Steins;Gate.

This review will cover my reasons why you should watch Steins;Gate for those who still did not. It will also hype Steins;Gate through the roof for those who already watched it and want another view about the show.

Alrighty, then. Let's get started.
...
Story: 10

The story starts out slow, boring and uninteresting, as expected from a story that starts on a small scale. What else can you expect from a story that starts with a small group of friends of a hot summer in Akihabara, in a small cramped place they gather called 'The Future Gadget Laboratory', with nothing flashy, no boobs, no high budget shounen battle scenes?
The first episode will confuse you, even bore you because of that.
You might even want to say... 'Hey, I'll just drop i-'

STOP.

Don't. Don't be fooled.

It might start out on a small scale of a simple happy going slice of life anime. But the fact it's no shounen or doesn't have any boobs is plus, and will serve as the form for the great things to come.
You might even think, 'Episode 2. Boring. Episode 3, Boring. Episode 4 Boring. Episode 5, BORING. Episode 6 Boooring. Now lets just drop i-'

But after episode 6 is when the things are going to start super entertaining, intriguing and even funny at times with some nice portions of light hearted-ness. The comedy will be funny, the characters will finally start fleshing out, and the story will progress in a steady pace with no filler moments, nothing to distract from fully enjoying a truly good story.

ARE YOU STILL NOT ENTERTAINED, going to episode 7 - before the ending of 12?
If you think like that, then this anime is about to change your life, just like it did for the millions who watched it already.
Keep watching, and be amazed. Keep watching, and thank me for creating this review. Keep watching, and add it to your favorites after that. Keep watching... and be prepared for one of the most epic journey ever done in TV shows, movies, manga, games, in the past, present and even in the future. Nothing might even not come close to the experience that Steins;Gate will offer you. I consider Steins;Gate story to be White Fox, Nitro+ and 5pbs true masterpiece. A true life changing Sci-Fi Thriller about Time traveling and everything that beautifully ties into that concept. I don't want to spoil you the story any further.

Art & Animation: 8

The weakest point of Steins;Gate, is truly the art & animation, as it isn't a really high budget anime with amazing animation, beautifully drawn boobs or 200 episode long fighting scenes like in your Typical shounen anime. But it takes out the small budget it has, it uses up every single ¥ out of it. The art in the visual novel in which the anime is based on is done by Huke, and is truly the most surrealistic, most atmospheric and most artistic art I have ever had a chance to lay my eyes upon. The fine fellows in White Fox anime studio said: 'HEY, that art is fucking awesome! But we don't have enough yens to fully transcribe it into a TV series with everything moving like it's alive. So lets take a solid take on the art, which will be much less flashy, but will do the trick'. And so they did.
The final product however, is a bit full of QUALITY in times, and doesn't look really beautiful like in the visual novel.
It looks like a standard realistic art in anime, and while there are some weird hair colors like in your most anime series, this art still helps fleshing out a believable story.

Sound: 9

In the beginning of the anime, you will mostly hear the sounds of cicadas chirping, with barely any BGMs present, and that's why my score was downgraded from a full 10 to a 9. While it feels atmospheric, it can also bore alot of new watchers who are searching for masterpiece first episodes with bombastic Star-Wars like symphonic soundtrack. Later on, there is much more soundtrack, Done by Abo Takeshi who did the soundtrack for the visual novel too, and by Murakami Jun. The soundtrack is different from the visual novel, while there are some tracks present from there fitting to some scenes. My favorite track is 'Gate of Steiner', which is basically the opening title menu music from the visual novel, but is present at the best shocking and thrilling scenes.

Itou Kanako, that I consider as the Goddess of J-pop music after her songs in various Steins;Gate visual novels and ports, has made the opening music, 'Hacking to the Gate'. I think I listened to this track and to the animated OP more than I watched the whole series and read the visual novel, and considering that I rewatched the series many times and the visual novel is about 50 hours+- long, means that I listened to this track alot. A fuck whole lot, even. It's that good.

Sakakibara Yui has made the ending song for the anime. The song is a pretty sad track, and is a perfect closure to every single ending of every single episode. So perfectly, it fits like a glove into a human hand. A great choice.

Lastly, the SFX are believable in every single scene, and help you feel the tension in the thrilling scenes, laugh your guts out in the funny scenes, cry like a motherfucking wounded animal in the sad scenes. White Fox have them pretty fucking awesome SFX.

Characters: 11/10 (MAL fault for having a faulty grading score, not me):

Okabe Rintarou (Nicknames: [Self Proclaimed] Mad Scientist, [Self Proclaimed] Hououin Kyouma, Okarin) -
My favorite protagonist of all times. This dude is like fucking anime Jesus or something (Nope, not Jesus from Saint☆Onii-san). For those who didn't watch Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, you might confuse this dude as Schizophrenic, and not as a guy with a simple case of Chuunibyou syndrome.

He helps carry out the shocking scenes with 100 percent enhancement, and his Chuunibyou personality is so addicting and cool, that I can't help to take out my closed cellphone and say "OREEEEEEEEEEEE DAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' and "KIKAN' etc etc.

When shit will get realer than real , his mask of the Chuunibyou will break, and his true layers of his caring personality for his friends will show. He will be sad, shocked, everything you'll expect from a protagonist stuck in a Sci-Fi thriller.11/10 Protagonist, right here. I want to be him. Where can I buy some Dr Pepper in my country, BTW?

Makise Kurisu (Nicknames: Christina, Assistant, American Virgin, Perverted Genius Girl , Celeb 17, The Zombie [MAN THATS LIKE 1K NICKNAMES OR SOMETHING]) -
The main heroine of the series. The best heroine with a tsundere personality, no contest. At the beginning she will act all tsun-tsun, later on when shit gets real, dere-dere. She will help Okabe in the toughest times, and the two will be the perfect combo in them shiny white Lab Coats. 11/10 Heroine.

Shiina Mayuri (Nicknames: Mayushii) -
The mascot of the show who keeps saying Tuturu - and you will too, and a main plot device. No further spoiler allowed, so sorry.

Hashida Itaru (Nicknames: Daru, Perverted Gentleman, Super Hakar; Robotics;Notes - DaSH, DaSP) -
A fat super hakar- I mean hacker, that without him the main plot won't even budge and will still stay on a small slice of life scale.

Amane Suzuha (Nicknames: Part-Time Warrior, Suzu) -
;_; (This is probably my third review I'm doing the same description for her, but you can't stop me.)

Akiha Rumiho (Nicknames: Faris Nyan Nyan) -
Moe character that keeps saying Nyan and has cat ears. How perfect can she even get?

Kiryuu Moeka (Nicknames: Shining Finger) -
I liked her introvert personality at first, then hated her to death, and then liked her when the story came to a closure. You will do the same.

Urushibara Ruka (Nicknames: Rukako) -
I want to tap that trap (Or is he really a trap even later...?) And I'm perfectly straight. Blame anime for that.

Tennouji Nae (Nicknames: Sister Braun [In the visual novel]) -
Even such a small girl minor character like her as her secrets and awesome scenes, some both different in anime and visual novel. Appears in Robotics;Notes as a full grown sexy lady.

Tennouji Yuugo (Nicknames: Mr. Braun and another [spoiler to tell]) -

Where can I buy a braun tube? This old guy's speech later in the story is so fucking awesome. Share his secrets too that unfold later on in the story.

Dr. Nakabachi - Oh man. I'll skip talking about this guy, you'll just see.

Enjoyment : 10

Never before have I enjoyed a series like Steins;Gate. It will change your views on anime and life in general, just like myself.

Overall: 10

It's time to for me to go so I can't write any further. Just.. watch it. That's all.

Robotics;Notes is the 2012 anime adaptation addition to the Science Adventure series, which so far consists of three different series which are all connected by alternative settings: Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate and lastly Robotics;Notes.

Made originally by 5pb while the previous series C;H and S;G were a collaboration of both 5pb and Nitroplus, the anime showed much promise to be an engrossing Sci-fi tale about ipad-like devices named Poke-Coms, mecha and robots all in a near future school setting.

To tell you the truth, for some time after the Visual Novel was announced it was one of top highly anticipated visual novels, and when the anime announcement came before ... the visual novel was even out I was ecstatic. I thought just like the case of Steins;Gate, that we will need to wait a couple of years after the visual novel was out to get the anime adaptation, and in the case of Chaos;Head the anime adaptation came a few months after the visual novel was out. In the case of Robotics;Notes, it was the same, only that the anime was announced before the visual novel was released.

So, hearing the news about the Robotics;Notes adaptation made me really happy inside. I anticipated the series greatly and hyped in massively in my mind, mainly because of the highly successful and critical acclaimed previous series in the Science Adventure franchise, Steins;Gate. I was certain that after the mistake that was the Chaos;Head anime adaptation we'll get another great adaptation. Steins;Gate was made by White Fox, an unknown studio at the time that quickly gained popularity from the few anime it released. Robotics;Notes however, is made by Production I.G, A respectable studio who is responsible for many good anime adaptations. Chaos;Head was made by Madhouse Studios, another respectable studio, but, butchered the anime adaptation of C;H to bits for some reason. So unlike the case of Chaos;Head, and like the case of Steins;Gate, I was certain we'll get another great anime adaptation, Robotics;Notes.

Q:Was I disappointed?

A:Yes. greatly.

Q:Was the studio responsible for my disappointment?

A:No.

Q:So... what is responsible for my disappointment?

A:Clearly. The source material.

In the next paragraphs I'll explain exactly what disappointed me about Robotics;Notes.
Read on.


Story: 6
The story of Robotics;Notes in the beginning was slow, yet showed much promise. Characters were introduced slowly one by one, and it seemed we have a winning adaptation again, just like Steins;Gate.


But...

That is what was the problem.

Robotics;Notes tries to be just like Steins;Gate, but fails in the process.

Sub paragraph-Gameplay of the science adventure series:

The visual novel of Chaos;Head came before Steins;Gate, and had the delusional trigger system, which the main character in it, Takumi, triggered delusions in it that can affect the ending the reader can get.

The visual novel of Steins;Gate came out a few years prior to Robotics;Notes. This Science Adventure visual novel had the phone trigger system, which the story changed significantly according to some important text messages the reader chooses to send, something like a choice system like in most visual novels, only much cooler.

Robotics;Notes developers boasted: 'Those who enjoyed our previous visual novels in the franchise will not be disappointed'. The developers clearly tried making another Steins;Gate, so instead of cell phones, we got Poke-Coms, and with them the reader triggered everything with the Poke-com Trigger, which like Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head, affects the story significantly and decides what ending you'll get.

So making a system much more similar to Steins;Gate and less to Chaos;Head, is what I call riding the success of their previous series, which was critically acclaimed.

But... it wasn't.. Steins;Gate.

Story-Continuation:
Much like Steins;Gate, the story of Robotics;Notes revolves about conspiracies and in the end about saving the world, but instead of time travel and world line shifting, we get robots to aid out heroes.

The story starts when the MC, Yashio Kaito and main heroine, Senomiya Akiho try to reform a dead robotics club by recruiting more members. Each episode in the beginning introduces characters one by one, Hidaka Subaru, Furugoori Kona, The Karate girl I can't let myself bother remembering her name etc. The story starts so slow... that it feels like nothing happened.

Let me break in down for you guys:

First episodes: Nothing happened.
Middle episodes: Nothing happened while the writers tried miserably to write some happenings in the story but failed.
Last episodes: Still nothing happened, while the writers tried to write some happenings in the story, but again, failed.

Robots, grandpas, monopoles, conspiracies, Mr. Pleiades, Robo-One, Death of a minor character, 'The isn't the gunvarrel I know', Furugoori scenes, conspiraces, AI's and much more etc etc, sounds like a story with major happenings?

The thing is, they feel so minor like the story stayed stuck in episode 1.

While one character in the series like to say 'IMPACTO', that is exactly what the story of Robotics;Notes lacked.

'IMPACTO'.

No Impact. Nothing. When I watched the series I asked myself, 'When will the story start'? Well... it simply didn't even feel like it started.

Similarities to Steins;Gate-Story:
Conspiracies, the committee of 300, sudden romance in the end, sci fi, devices with communication ability , saving the world, death of a character, circle of friends, tsunderes (Kurisu and Subaru, the male tsundere of the series), a female Daru Furugoori, few character makes minor appearances like a grown up nae and even a certain super hacker etc.

Story-Conclusion:
Riding on the success of a successful series like Steins;Gate doesn't make Robotics;Notes successful too. On the other hand, it makes it much inferior.

I'll give the story a 6, the lowest score I give to anything, because for me it was the weakest point of Robotics;Notes. The writing was mediocre, simple as that.

Art: 7
Animation looked fine, but it had QUALITY FACES EVERYWHERE. While the art in the beginning of the series was solid, then the QUALITY kicked in. Many faces were drawn awkwardly, even cheaply. While it was also the case with the Steins;Gate anime adaptation, Steins;Gate had scenes with massive detail in them. Robotics;Notes had none.

Sound: 9
The theme songs were extremely catchy. Some are rockish, some are poppish. Unlike previous Science Adventure series, the opening wasn't sung by Itou Kanako, But by Zwei and Haruki. However, the second ending was sung by her.

The voice acting was on par of every other professional anime, but because of the faulty story, it didn't reach to its true potential.

Character: 7

Yashio Kaito - the main character. No Okabe by anime means, not even Takumi. He's just a normalfag who likes fighting games, that's all.

Senomiya Akiho - 2genki4me, though her blushing scenes made my nutbladder go wild.

Hidaka Subaru - The tsundere of the series. Yes, he's a male. A male tsundere. He also has his alternative persona, Mr. Pleiades.

Furugoori Kona - Daru? Yes, only female. That's all.

Airi - A-I that is voiced by Kugyuu. She's in most of the series, just.. useless. Later she developed more, but in the end, she was still useless.

Karate Girl - What was her name again? Ju-- I can't remember. I watched 22 episodes and I can't even remember.

Other characters: useless most of time.

Enjoyment: 6.5
While I found the story to be the weakest, at the beginning the anime was somewhat enjoyable, hence an addition of 0.5 to the final score.
Most of the time though, I didn't really enjoy myself. Polarizing to Steins;Gate, because the beginning of Steins;Gate was much less enjoyable from the latter episodes where shit got realer than fuck and the anime was awesome.

Overall: 7

My rating scale goes like this - 10 the highest score, 6 the lowest. If I give an anime a 7, it means I was severely disappointed by it. By any means, this is no Steins;Gate, even if it tries hard to even reach its toes. In the end, Steins;Gate was extremely memorable for me, While Robotics;Notes was the opposite, extremely forgettable.

Recommendation value: low.

Verdict: Time killer, that's all. Not even a good one.

Next reviews by me:
1.Steins;Gate movie.
2.Main Steins;Gate series, while I watched and rewatched it many times and even read the visual novel, watched the dub, read many of the manga adaptations and listened to the drama CD's, I just delay this review. I'm guessing I'll be done with it in 2036, if I'll be alive by then.
3.Maybe... Just maybe I'll write more reviews outside the science adventure series. But I'm still not sure.


Robotics;Notes review by DeadEnd2013 reached its dead end. Hope you enjoyed reading.

White Fox does it again.

Instead of a generic beach episode that we witnessed maybe a million times already in many different anime series we get a true sequel to the Steins;Gate anime series in this special titled: Oukoubakko no Poriomania or in English Egoistic Poriomania.

And this special has everything. EVERYTHING!
Extremely funny comedy moments. Strong plot moments. Romance. Okarin speaking hilarious English. Christina with cat ears and in a maid uniform. Daru in an Hawaiian shirt. A Suzuha 'look-alike' that drinks with Okarin in a bar.

White Fox knows how to spend their budget right. If you seen many anime series you know that usually in ... these kind of special extra episodes we get some crappy beach episodes and not true sequels to their respective series.
But White Fox knows how to make their anime good and that's why I love you, White Fox.
We can now safely say that Steins;Gate boasts with an amount of zero filler episodes, every episode has a very strong importance to the plot.

Story: 10
The story in Oukoubakko no Poriomania starts on-the-mark from the very beginning.
We see Okarin walking in a desert-like road speaking to himself on his shiny closed cellphone (Damn I want a cellphone like his), saying the usual stuff we expect from him such as 'This is the choice of Steinzu Gaaiito (I always heard this line like he says Shota in za Gate) and El Psy Congroo.

After that the next scene shows our lab members preparing to go in a trip to America sponsored by Feiris.

And after that our lab members are shown in America, and Okarin obviously doesn't know English well so he gets himself arrested (A couple of times, even).

Almost every character (except Suzuha, but that's expected if you watched the main series) has their own special moment in this special. Okabe, Kurisu, Mayuri, Ruka, Feiris and even Daru and Moeka (Moeka even blushed for a bit! HNGGGG, my heart).

This special is indeed a very strong fanservice to the fans, just without any boobs or ass. What I mean by fanservice is a service with strong plot moments and hilarious comedy.

Art & Animation: 9
The art and animation have improved by a whole margin from the main series. Characters are drawn better and the animation looks more fluid than ever, with much less 'QUALITY'.
The America scenery is also believable and looks great.

Sound: 10
Miyano (Okabe) and Imai (Kurisu) sound much like in the main series, and their voice acting along with all the other characters is top-notch. Hacking to the Gate is used as the ED, and some tracks from main series along with some new additions are present.

Character: 10
Okabe - Much like in the main series, he is crazy and lovable.
Kurisu- Tsun done right, Dere done even better.
Mayuri- Has her moments.
Daru- He looked awesome in the Hawaiian shirt.
Ruka- Daga Otoko Da.
Feiris- Moe.
Moeka- Quiet and has her secrets.
Suzuha- Wasn't shown in this special, but we get to see a 'look-alike' of her.
Mr. Brown and Nae- Not much to say about them.

Enjoyment: 10
I have received a very high enjoyment from this special. Everything was in the winning formula, much like the main Steins;Gate series.

Overall: 10
This special shows that anime still has a future. Every anime studio should learn from White Fox how to make their anime good.

I'll be also writing reviews for:
1.The main Steins;Gate series after I'll finish reading the visual novel.
2.The Steins;Gate movie.
3.The inevitable Robotics;Notes anime adaptation in the future.

This review is biased, because I read the VN. I thought about writing a review that does not mention the VN at all, but I that I'd rather write one that does, one that mentions the VN throughout the whole review.
It's also a long-ass review. Did I mention that I'm rambling on the game?

ChäoS;HEAd is an adaptation of a popular Visual Novel of the same name, spanning 12 episodes.

Just from the idea of a 30-40+ hours Visual Novel adapted into a 12 episode anime (about 5-6 hours) you already know that many segments will be shortened or cut off completely, unless it is only the ... first season out of few, which is not.

When I first read the synopsis of the game: "Takumi is withdrawn and is not interested in 3D things" I already had a great interest in playing the game.
Mixed with a mysterious serial murder case and Takumi chatting with people in the internet, staying in his room most of the time... it sounded like an excellent idea.

I installed the game and started to play it (without knowing Japanese) and just from the beginning I was hooked. The menu music and design, the atmosphere in the beginning of the game.. it has blown me away.
And when I knew that a translation project has just started and is progressing fast, only a few months after the game came out.. I looked forward to this real bad.

A few months later, Right when the before the anime started, finally a decent beta patch came out (playable with pretty much the whole game, unlike the patches that came out before that).

I started playing the game and in the next day, I watched the first episode of the anime.

Already, I noticed a few differences between the anime and the game, but overall, the differences were not that great, and the anime had a good start.

I finished the game after some time, and while it had mixed reviews from other people, personally, I enjoyed playing the game very much - even if it suffered from some problems which I overlooked because it was thoroughly an enjoyable experience for me.

While progressing in the anime I felt that the anime lacked the emotion that was present in the game, but overall it did a nice job following the main storyline without any problems up until episode 6.

I couldn't wait to watch episode 7, because the most interesting stuff are about to begin from here, if it had followed the game.

To my surprise and disappointment, episode 7 had some significant changes , emitting one of the best parts of the game, and made the anime lose all the horror and suspense parts it had up until now (even if they were few in number).

Episode 8 was an episode that was not present in the game at all.

Episode 9 followed the game, but rendered episode 8 unneeded completely.

Episode 10 emitted all the best parts from the game, completely, and was censored as hell, more than others, and was not enjoyable for me at all.

Episode 11 was bad, and censored as well.

Episode 12, the final episode,was good, considering that the previous episodes were a trainwreck.

Wow, that was a long introduction. So lets get to the technical details:

Story 6/10: Rushed, best segments from the game were not present in the anime, lacked feeling, lacked almost all of the horror and suspense elements.

Art and Animation 6/10: Character designs were simplistic, and while the animation was really good in some scenes, it was choppy as hell in others.
While some backgrounds were done beautifully, most of the background characters were done so badly, really badly.

So in one word... inconsistent. In Two words, very inconsistent.

Sound 9/10: I think I'm one of the few people that liked the anime OP more than the game OP. The ED was great too, I never skipped the OP or the ED not even once.
The background music was really nice.
All the voice actors did a great job, and overall in the sound department it gets a 9/10. Why not 10/10? because the anime was rushed and the script was rushed , the voice actors had to rush it too, and it's a shame. Because of that, many scenes lacked the feelings that were presented in a much more superior way in the game.

Character 7/10: While in the game, some of the characters were stereotypical and undeveloped, I liked pretty much all the characters, and especially Takumi.

Takumi is a stereotype of a withdrawn person that is not interested in 3D things.
He's pretty much the biggest stereotype of an anime Otaku almost Hikki that barely goes to school just to graduate), collecting figurines, shuts himself in his room all day, playing MMO's, living on a container on the roof, has an imaginary anime character WAIFU (He likes her more than all of his other WAIFUS) that he faps and fantasizes about all day up until the point that he talks to her when he's alone and her voice is served as his inner voice giving him the ideal advices for him when he's in a pinch... getting to the shoes of a guy like that can't get more interesting for me. It was so awesome for me to know what Takumi thinks about, the fact that he barely talks in the game, the fact that he doesn't trust anyone.... the way that his characters was developed and was faced with all the crap he has to go through it was amazing. I found myself agreeing with him, being amused by him... I just really like his character.

Now the anime... take his character, make him less pathetic, make him more talkative, and the fact that you barely hear him thinking... suddenly I didn't care what happens to him as I did in the game. He was much more flat, and it goes to almost all the characters in the anime compared to the game, mainly because of the changes in the anime and the fact that it was rushed. I didn't like the Imouto because she wasn't as moe in the game... the same goes to pretty much all the other characters (Rimi, Sena, Ayase, Yua , detective Ban, Shogun, Suwa, Hazuki, even Daisuke... and so on).

I liked Kozu-Pii just like I liked her in the game... maybe I liked Kozu-Pii a little more in the anime. I'm not sure about this. It's just that I didn't care what happens to the characters as I did in the game, because it was rushed, and the new mediocre story segments made things only worse in the development of the characters.

Enjoyment 7/10: The most important factor for me. Did I enjoy the anime? Most of the time? yes. Did I did not enjoy the anime at other parts? yes.
I had some mixed feelings, really. But I guess the reason I'm giving this a 7 in not a 6 as I planned because to my surprise... I enjoyed the last episode. No other hidden meanings here.

Overall:

The anime was a:

In one world: Trainwreck.

In four words ( I think..):Trainwreck that I enjoyed.

In eight words (Wait.. I'm not sure here): Trainwreck that I enjoyed most of the time.

Should you watch this anime? You should decide for yourself.


That is all for this long ass ramble first review. To my surprise, it didn't take me long to write this. I guess that I wrote what I thought, simple as that. Sorry for the spelling mistakes and all other shit.

Sayonara.