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Sep 29, 2012
For a show where nothing world-shatteringly important happens Hyouka is surprisingly addictive. Maybe because it has a heart and well-written characters instead of gimmicks at its core.
Story: Deadbeat teenager with a knack for logical deductions is forced to solve non-mysteries by a bouncy genki moe girl and their two friends. Slice of life ensues.
The show is a string of loosely tied events where the members of the sos brigade...er, literature club find strange little occurrences and force the main character to do the math, so to speak. With every little incident we get a peek into the character’s minds and this carefully crafted buildup
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continues in a lovely way all the way to the final episodes where it comes to its sweetly inevitable endpoint. Now this all sounds much more exciting than it is but if you appreciate the little curiosities in life and well…real life itself you will love this show.
Characters:
Oreki is our main character: a logical deduction ace and a professional lazybones—or energy conservation expert, heh. At first I really disliked him for his passive nature but throughout the series he actually grew surprisingly well, if predictably so. By a certain poignant episode his character shone the best out of all four.
Chitanda is of course the catalyst for everything that happens and she is a bouncy genki girl, as anime would have it she is also a princess (not really, but a wealthy daughter of an old family. Do these girls grow on trees in Japan? Every anime seems to have one…) a top student and generally has every moe virtue under the sun. At times the moe made me cringe but surprisingly, she evolves beyond that. So now we have two characters who have pushed themselves beyond the stereotypes. Lucky day for you, there’s more!
Fukube is Oreki’s best friend and a genki guy this time. Praise the goddess no moe, the only thing I hate more than moe-turd girls is moe-turd guys. Anyhoo, I liked his character a lot because there is always the subtle tension between his frustration with playing second fiddle to his best friend and the depth of the friendship itself.
Ibara is the other girl (didn’t expect that didya now? Yeah, right…) and she veers towards tsundere territory without ever becoming Haruhi levels of annoying. In the end I liked her most of all for her level-headed attitude and sheer determination.
In general, all characters first appear as your basic stereotypes that anime land is littered with but it only takes an episode for them to start growing beyond that. And it is done while you are busy watching them solve their non-mysteries.
Animation:
Can’t get more beautiful than this. Fluid, smooth and with tons of background it is Hanasaku Iroha level of scenery porn. In fact, they look very much alike. The character design is attractive and pleasing, movement is natural and there are lots of imaginative little sequences playing out as the non-mysteries are explained.
Sound:
Typical. This is not the kind of anime that needs an elaborate soundtrack and that’s just fine.
OP1&2: Dat perky jpop you know so well.
ED1: uhh, this was a total miss. It is creepy pedobear stuff and has the two girls crawling around in their underwear for no reason except to appeal to creepy viewers. Thumbs down for whatever creepster producer greenlit this.
ED2: my favourite ending theme of the season! This fits the show perfectly, is ultra cute and has a totally catchy song to match!
Overview:
While I loved this show, it is not for everyone. I heard many complain that it was too slow, too uneventful and unexciting. I would like to point out that this was never about the mysteries, it was always about the characters’ development and the incidents were always filters through which we’d see them grow. Sure, they could have gone the shonen route and had Oreki solve murders or other crime stuff but that would cheapen the mellow, coming-of-age slice-of-life this show has in its heart.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 14, 2012
Another is a satisfyingly bloody little cup of anime. There is a haunting atmosphere, a refreshing plot resolution and kids dying gruesome, gory deaths. What more do you want?
Story: Clueless transfer student lands smack in the middle of a cursed classroom where the unlucky students and their family are dying in horrifically inventive ways. And you thought your failing math test scores were the worst thing that could happen…
Now, the story has some very good points and some not so good points. It gets cookies made of sparkly awesomeness for producing twists that keep up the interest, letting the characters do stuff that is
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unexpected, pulling the rug from beneath the viewer’s feet in sudden delight and generally keeping up a creepilicious atmosphere throughout the whole. It never reaches top score due to the fact that in order to have these plot twists make sense it sometimes needs to give real flimsy excuses, aka pulling shit out if its ass. Not that it detracts much, in a show like this, it’s the body count that matters and this anime delivers gore in bucketfuls.
Characters:
Sakakibara the transfer student is the main character we follow for the majority of screentime but it is essentially the whole cursed class interacting together that makes the show shine. Alone, Sakakibara is just your everyday joe but since every other character adds a little something to every action and conversation they have together it snowballs into giving everybody depth. Now, since this is a “whodunit” show I won’t analyse the characters because much of their evolution hinges on spoilers. Wait for it, they are very fun to be around.
Animation:
This show is straight up scenery porn, the backgrounds are simply jaw-dropping. Everything looks sleek and clean and motions are fluid. There are a couple of weird frames here and there but keep those eyes on the porn—the scenery porn that is, don’t go thinking dirty thoughts now.
About the only nitpicky complaint I have is the character design. Why the frak do they all look 5 years old, even 30 year old adults included? A more realistic design would have lifted this up to a perfect score.
Music:
The music really sets the tone here. It is creepy and spooky and perfectly keyed to crucial moments. It knows when to play and when to stop. Me gusta.
OP: A lot of dismembered dolls and deliciously creepy scenes set to a gothicky jpop tune.
ED: boring ballad and a still picture that just screams red—pun intended—herring.
Overview:
This was immensely enjoyable and quite gory. Starts slow, builds up carefully and just explodes in the end. Recommended for all who liked the Ring.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 31, 2012
Chihayafuru is a sporty anime about playing a game called Tetris.
…Yeah, not really, but it could be, considering how boring the actual karuta thingamaboo is to watch. Just like watching someone play Tetris. I’m guessing it is way more interesting to actually be the one playing karuta. If you actually understand enough Japanese and have wicked memorization skills.
Story:
Unstoppable girl finds the meaning of her life in playing karuta, drags along others in her quest to be the best in Japan. Too many games and too few slice of life moments ensue.
The story is sneaky as hell: it builds around the Tetris…er, karuta matches
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and peppers them with a few choice moments between these charming characters that keep you coming back. Even the matches themselves have enough variety and surprises to keep up your interest, no small feat for such a boring sport. Yet, the things you most want to see never actually happen. And I’m not talking about who won the damn Tetris…er, karuta finals! This show finishes and the story is left incomplete. Nothing of import is resolved apart from the characters getting some insight in their gameplay. Reportedly low sales guarantee no second season so you are left with a massive case of something that sounds a lot like bluebells.
Characters:
Chihaya is a socially clueless girl who follows her passion about karuta (ok, the Tetris joke grew old, I admit it) with admirable determination and balks at nothing. More of this sort of character please, and enough with the softspoken Yamato Nadeshiko shrinking violets in anime who faint when a boy so much as looks their way. Anyhoo, Chihaya is great fun to watch and her sheer energy is enough to power the Enterprise. She is the catalyst and glue for all the characters around her, they orbit her like planets around a bright star.
Taichi is one of Chihaya’s childhood friends and is the one who goes through most of the changes during the course of this show. He is so used to easily getting to be first place he now has to deal with rejection issues and the prospect of failure where it matters the most. He’s also one part of the (love) triangle that will always be out of your reach (unless you read the manga, I suppose. I know I will just to know what the hell happened next)
Arata is the other childhood friend, the one who got Chihaya hooked on karuta. He gets annoyingly little screentime compared to how much you want to see his story unfold. He has to deal with tons of guilt and find his drive again after an unfortunate event in his life. How he plays against the other two parts of the triangle is very well written. There is always a subtle balance between all of them with Arata being the pivoting point.
Club members: every sport anime needs club members and here we have quite a group of three. Each and every one of them brings something different to the game approach. From the artistic appreciation to the mathematical calculation to the persistent experience, the three of them open new paths to Chihaya as she moves towards her goals.
Rivals: each and every rival is unique and brings their own challenges and eye-openers for our girl Chihaya and her team. Generic? There is no generic in here, dudebro.
Animation:
Madhouse. They invested a lot in motion fluidity, creative shots and sequences to keep the matches interesting. Not so much in details or eyepopping backgrounds, which is okay because this is not the kind of anime that needs it. Very nice character designs too—finally, people that look their age and not 5 years old.
Sound:
It has a small set of repeating energetic tracks that evoked traditional Japanese sounds but had a modern touch and a symphonic, lofty, uplifting overtone. Well, that’s what it sounded to me, I could be wrong.
OP: Nothing stellar but full of energy and spark with a jolly jpop tune.
ED: the cheapest of cheap CG background shots with a slideshow and an obligatory ballad. Didn’t really need a fancy ED so there you go.
Overview:
After much thought, I decided to keep this and rewatch it at a later time when I’ve forgotten what went on in the karuta matches. I might even skip forward to the juicy slice of life parts entirely. I would recommend it to all slice of life fans and people who like watching people play Tetris.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 3, 2012
This is a bleak story about bleak people doing bleak things in a bleak city with a bleak outlook. Oh, and there is a lot of bleakness going on, just in case that did not get through to you the fourth time I said it. Seriously, this show puts the ‘mo in emo like few others.
Story:
Right off the bat you can tell this story is going to require a healthy dose of anti-depressants to sit through. Pick any ugly part of human nature and society and you’ll be sure to see it here. Abuse, power-struggles, self-destruction and then some. There is some serious
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nihilism going on, I tell you, and the pacing would run backwards if it got any slower. In the end the various strands of the story—the hero’s journey, the gang wars and the changing city--do come together to form a brutally ugly picture of human devolution. It’s like the writers were holding a contest to see how fast their viewers would fall into despair. Jolly bunch, I can tell.
Characters:
Ichise: is the sad sod we follow around for the most part as he plods through one desolate panel to another, from one depressingly violent situation to another. I suppose we’re expected to relate to him but for the life of me I couldn’t. He always seems to be drifting and basically doing nothing but follow someone else around. I’m sure that was intentional in order to “make a point” which is why it bugs me. If he had been someone who looked a little more alive and less distant then the story’s ultimate end would have been much more powerful instead of just predictably unimpressive. Go ahead and apply that last sentence to every other character, too.
Onishi: is one of the various mafias’ top dogs. He seems to be one of the few who are not ready to just keel over and get it over with so he is more sympathetic to the viewer. Still, you know what happens to honourable generals in times of civil war.
Ran: the prophet girl is very adept at walking around town in her fox mask, looking mysterious and saying as little as possible. Er…that’s it. I really didn’t care what happened to her or why.
Basically, these characters are not here for the viewer to like, they are just pawns in a game and the story is all about the game. Sorry, but that’s not my cup of tea. For me, it all starts and ends with the characters.
Animation:
Every goth’s dream palette: nothing but black and grey all the way. It does set a great atmosphere and a suitably despairing tone and the backgrounds are beautiful to look at, especially if you are feeling quasi-suicidal. It has the post-apocalyptic scenery porn nailed and believe me, the way the plot moved you have ample time to do your sightseeing.
I actually liked the character design, mostly because I hate the alien moe-turd look and love the realistic style. The story might be a bit too much on the emo side but the animation is really spot-on. It has any number of inventive sequences, works a great feeling and never shies from showing the buckets of blood and gore that are raining here.
As an aside, here’s a fun exercise for you: jot down the number of people who die violently in this anime and get back to me, because I lost count after the first 50 or so.
Music:
Suitably ambient and dark.
OP: I actually really liked the opening sequence. Plus, you can just take the OP, play it 322 times and you will get the same result as watching the anime.
ED: skipped it, even if it was Gackt (love you Gackt but after 20 minutes of this anime I need AKB48 to stop thinking about suicide…)
Overview:
It took superhuman determination to sit through this over a period of 6 months. To say that it didn’t draw me in would be a colossal understatement. I generally love post-apocalyptic scifi stuff but this felt as appealing as the stuff I found in my fridge when I cleaned it after 3 years. it was just too gritty, too depressing and too bleak.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 16, 2012
T&B is a light-hearted bromance about sponsored superheroes in a glittering, colourful, retro-futuristic setting. I see you turning up your noses and going all “meh” at me. Well, stop right there because if you miss out on this you miss out on one hell of a fun ride, mathematically proven to make you feel good even if you are mighty pissed and have the urge to kick something (I have personally tested this theory so you know it works).
Story:
I could write a whole PhD thesis on how good this show is, in storytelling terms—but instead I’ll be quick. Now, this show is 25 episodes long
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and each and every one of these episodes is 100% story and 0% filler/ random insane bullshit. In fact, it is so continuous it is more like watching a movie. This is a good thing and so rare I actually felt I had discovered a new species in the Amazon River.
Anyhoo, to be more specific…this is a homage to the classic superhero adventures peppered with ample charm and witty lines. It does have its dark moments but it is essentially a light-hearted buddy comedy and to that it sticks. It is designed to make you feel good but is not stupidly naïve and it has its shades of grey. There is a bit of predictability to it but that makes it part of the fun. At a time when shows are saturated with crazy, pointlessly angsty misery or abysmally lazy stupidity this comes as a welcome breather.
I guess the most impressive thing about the show—besides its excellent pacing—is that it uses every element it introduces in a way that makes perfect sense both emotionally and logically. The twists are always foreshadowed and a lot of them are so cleverly done they are sure to take you by surprise.
To be brief, the story is generally made of more awesome than all the kittens you saw on the internetz today, plus a fridge full of chocolate. I’ll give you a minute to wrap your mind around all the awesomeness this represents.
Characters:
No matter how good the story is, if you can't relate to the characters it all amounts to one big Zero. But look at this! Here we got both an excellent story and amazing characters. Oh my stars, was this a fluke or what?
Seriously, I'm giving you one episode and the characters will definitely reel you in. As an extra added bonus the main characters are NOT wimpy/ moe-tard teenagers but adults (didn't that turn your hair white from shock?).
Obviously, the titular characters are the stars of the show. So, we have:
Tiger: the old—but not very successful—veteran of the superhero reality TV shtick. He is such an easy going, kindhearted, honourable, silly and funny guy you will find yourself wanting to be his friend.
Bunny: appears as the talented, know-it-all, new snotty rich brat on the block channelling some heavy Bruce Wayne vibes.
The magic in this recipe is not these two characters per se but the way they interact with each other and the rest of the cast. The conversations and actions feel very natural and it is wonderful to see how the relationship (hey you, get that yaoi out of your head, this ain't that kind of relationship!) dynamics evolve over time and how major and minor events influence it.
Also, speaking of the rest of the cast, it is just brilliant. Each and every character has their own personality and feels delightfully alive. Not once did a character do something out of…well, character. Every little thing they did was justified. And I mean every single one. Trust me, I was keeping score.
Animation:
Bring on the glitter and glitz! There is enough sparkle and colour in here to cure the colour blind.
The animation style is heavily influenced by American mainstream superhero comics but still retains the distinctive anime feel, which amounts to total eye candy. Animation is fluid and quality rarely dips.
The backgrounds are simply amazing in their complexity and consistency. Let your eyeballs roam all over that pretty cityscape.
Lastly, this gets props for the least eye-gouging use of CG I have seen. All scenes that involve the power suits (NOT mecha, I must stress this) the heroes wear are done in CG and for a wonder they actually look good.
Bonus points for the absence of gyrating torpedo boobs! The little fanservice there is goes both ways. Mmm, those boys sure are wearing some tight pants there. Not that I noticed, I wasn’t really looking. Someone told me.
Music:
Cinematic and exuberant would be the words to describe the soundtrack. It is flamboyant and bubbly as well as dark and threatening when the occasion calls for it. Very good work here too.
OP/ED: while the first opening was my favourite by far, the rest of them are equally good. Easy on the ears and easy on the eyes. Lots of colour, lots of happy tunes.
Overview:
Go watch this show. It will give you a boost of optimism and bring a smile to your face. Ignore the offputting title and promotional material. This show focuses on characters, not some stupid mecha battle that lasts ten episodes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 26, 2011
This is a strangely addictive overdose of easy-going saccharine slice of life sweetness. I mean, I thought the first episode was totally bleh and yet I kept watching and in the end I became addicted. I hear cocaine works like that. Oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud. Ahem, anyway, on we go…
Story:
The story is about the everyday lives of five friends. And when I mean everyday I mean hardcore everyday. There are exciting occurrences like buying stuff from vending machines, eating lunch and making photocopies (I'm not shitting you, this really happens). And yet, despite the uneventful storyline, this show
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becomes strangely addictive. Perhaps it is the innocence and sweetness it exudes, perhaps it's the nostalgia of the happy schooldays you never had or even the ideal picture of friendship it presents. Whatever the reason, it is a very captivating story despite the detail that NOTHING HAPPENS! There is no conflict, no angst, no drama just a series of sweet little nothings. Sometimes, that is just what you need.
Characters:
Twins Yuuta & Yuuki: are a pair of lazy deadpan overachievers who love trolling people. At first, I did not much take to them because they were strictly reactive and passive characters. Yet, in the end they prove to be the source of some extremely snarky comedy moments.
Kaname: is the exemplary, rigid student with a fetish for older women. His function is to be the straight man in many of the funny moments.
Shun: is a totally girly boy who is gentle, kind, sensitive and loves baking and the colour pink. He provides the group with emotional support and he's also my ideal wifey…oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud. Ahem…moving on.
Chizuru: is the outsider that eventually becomes a part of the group. Many think he is an annoying, hyperactive brat but if you think about it his character is really necessary. He is the epitome of an energetic, active character. This is a quality none of the other characters possess, hence he is needed to balance things out.
So, there you have it. At first glance the characters appear overly simplistic yet as you continue watching you see a wonderful fleshing out process. In the end you feel as if you actually know them and would really like spending time with them.
Animation:
Nothing stellar and often sub-par. Yet this is not a show that requires flashy visuals so it makes no difference really. There is a lot of empty space, pastel colours and soft movements. Very soothing to the eye; it's like eating cotton candy actually.
Sound:
The sound was so discreet I don't even remember it being there. I mean, there must have been some sound but for the life of me I can't recall any of it. Well, maybe I was just so focused on wanting Shun for my pet. Oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud…
OP: A sequence of small moments to introduce the characters matched by a simple, bubbly little ditty.
ED: A sequence of static pictures (stills: the budget anime's best friend) matched by a simple, cute little ballad.
Overview:
This anime is basically worth a 7 but I am giving it +1 for the frequent, random shots of freaky cats.
Will this show appeal to most people? No. It is too slow and uneventful. But if, on the other hand, you are fond of slice of life, sweet innocence and soothing lassitude you will like this. I certainly find myself looking back on it fondly and might actually want to re-watch it someday.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 24, 2011
This is an anime about a loligoth tsundere and her generic male sidekick romping around a historically inaccurate yet picturesque England looking for magical books. It is a story perfectly exemplifying the phrase “golden mediocrity”. You can actually see how everything in this anime is just mediocre. Not bad, or at least, not all the time, but mediocre. You can almost feel how a talented touch would have raised this above the slush. Oh, well, better luck next time.
Story:
The story format is episodic. This means that while there is a lot of diversity in tone and feeling, inevitably episodes will be hit or miss depending
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on their chosen subject. Some episodes really caught my interest while in others I was constantly hitting the pause button so I could go do some important stuff like watch cat videos on my Internetz.
Everything in this show has to do with books. Magical books that have some weird superpowers. This is a nice concept and I would have been very pleased to see it delivered with more gothic subtlety and psychological horror stuff. Instead, most of the time the writers are pulling shit out of their asses that looks like it was googled on the spot and then put in the blender. I have to give them credit, though, for presenting this random hodgepodge of ideas and names as though it was actually true.
I guess the worst thing about this show is that it is so ridiculously over the top and crams so much corny stuff when a more subtle approach would have worked wonders for it.
Characters:
Dalian: is a tsundere loligoth who loves reading and being snotty to others. She also has a magical lock on her chest, which makes for a pedo-creepy, sexual sequence that I guess the creators thought looked really cool but is actually pretty dumb. Anyway, Dalian is the keeper (one of the keepers? I don't know, I'm confused) of a mystical library of magic books. I must say, the most that can be said for her is that she is not as annoying as she first appears to be. But she is pretty annoying. Weak, too. She can neither fight nor cast any spells. To reduce the annoyance factor I suggest putting the magical lock on her mouth. Nothing interesting comes out of it anyway.
Huey McDuck: (demons in hell, who had the brilliant idea of naming this guy? I’ll just call him McDuck) is the generic male lead who does all the legwork. Aside from getting beaten up, shot at and drinking tea—which are all activities I enjoy watching characters do—there is nothing interesting about him. He is such a basic, unshaped mould of a character that he feels as bland as raw flour.
Random episodic characters: to make up for the lameness of the main pair there are a bunch of interesting side characters making random appearances. I just realised that the episodes I liked the most focused on these other characters, like the guy burning the books and his sidekick in a straightjacket. Or the perky cosplaying heiress. Once again we have a show where the side characters are much more interesting than the leads. I suspect this is some kind of trolling trend in Japan. Along with frozen highschoolgirl panties or whatever.
Animation:
This has the sort of glossy animation that's become popular recently. To save money, the studio used filtered photographs for backgrounds. It has a slightly jarring feel to it but nothing as eye-gouging as badly done CG.
The thing that bugged me most about the animation was the style used at “magic” moments. Often, the visuals are totally inappropriate to the mood and setting. Enough with the stupid energy bolts and Technicolor seizure graphics! This ain't Power Rangers, dammit! Instead of going for dark, gothic and discreet they ruin the atmosphere and buildup with that wacky stuff. Hey, should I be expecting Ichigo to pop up with his new Bankai?
Sound:
The soundtrack is quite competently put together. It has a sort of melancholy choir vibe going for it and a kind of music box tune. The people working on this knew where to put it to good use, that's for sure.
OP: a quite pretty and atmospheric ballad that ties in nicely with the graphics. In fact, it makes you believe you're about to watch a much better show. Ha! Joke’s on you!
ED: some weird live-action sequence. I don't really like live-action in my anime so I never bothered to watch it to the end. I doubt it was something stellar though.
Overview:
It was a semi-chore to sit through this easily forgettable show. The best time to view it is when you're home and you are so bored out of your skull you have nothing better to do. Maybe some lazy Sunday afternoon. Not even loligoth fetishists would vote for this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 27, 2011
ItazuraCrap is of all the anime I have seen the one I detest the most. Sure, there are tons of stupid, annoying, brainless shows out there but this one exists in a craptastic category of its own. There is so much wrongness stuffed behind the mask of a cute shojo that it makes me want to get myself into a Tardis and erase every sign of this anime ever having been created. Let's dissect the wrongness…
Story:
The story kicks off clichéd to the n(th) degree: plain, ditzy girl is unrequitedly in love with the School Prince™. Now, this kind of setting can be charming given the
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correct ingredients: the right characters and the right dynamic between them. Far from being a good recipe, this anime requires an enema after viewing. The first few episodes were predictable enough in that the girl got her face shoved in the mud and suffered through lots of expectable humiliation. However, I was looking forward to the time when she would pick herself up, grow as a person and win the affections of her love interest. Respectively, I was expecting the love interest to stop being a jerk and show that he was actually a good enough person for the heroine. Instead, I got an S&M show. The heroine could not get enough humiliation and outright abuse, even at a point in the story where you'd think she'd get some love and affection. The love interest was such an abusive, unlikeable, insufferable asshole he only needed a Nazi uniform to make him complete. Honestly, if any viewer actually believes he is the ideal love interest then s/he is in desperate need of psychiatric evaluation and should not be allowed to care for small pets or children.
About the only positive thing I have to say for the story is that it moves fast. For the shojo genre it moves at warp speed 9 since it moves past high school and college and professional life. I suppose it shows more but I didn't make it past episode 15 so I wouldn't know. Nor would I want to know. I’d rather unclog my toilet.
Characters:
Kotoko: this is the kind of non-role model people should steer their kids away from. She has no self-respect, no life, no goals outside of loving the Jerk. I kid you not, she is a pushover and a doormat like no other. She even chooses her career only to complement the career the Jerk has chosen. She suffers untold humiliations and abusive behaviour because “she loves him“. Her only purpose in life is to love the Jerk? I wish I could put her head to the meat grinder and feed her to my cat. Then her life would have a better purpose.
The Jerk: has a name but I'm not going to use it. He's just the Jerk. He's supposed to be very pretty and very smart, so smart in fact that he has the supergenius ennui flu and views the rest of humanity on the same level as cockroaches. His “love interest” included. At no point does he become someone we can root for. You know, someone a girl in her right mind would actually love or even like. I wish I could put his head to the meat grinder and feed him to my cat but I’m afraid she’d just vomit him up.
By no means is this relationship the only problematic relationship in this anime. Throughout the show we have the message that boys should “smack their bitch up” and that the only good woman is the woman that is submissive to her man (re: total doormat). If you look closely, you'll see that any female character that is not a doormat (or does something against the wishes of her man) is portrayed as an evil bitch from hell. Honestly, I've seen hentai with healthier relationship portrayal.
Animation:
Below shojo mediocrity
Sound:
It’s there.
Overview:
Lighten up, I hear you say, this is just a romcom. No, it's not a comedy. It's a mean, sadistic piece of shit. You're not laughing because what you see is funny, you're laughing because you see a character being humiliated. And it's about as romantic as child brides.
Seriously, if you still can’t spot the shit compare this turd with romcoms like Skip Beat and Lovely Complex.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Oct 23, 2011
No.6 makes a valiant effort to cram as many themes as it possibly can in its short duration. It aspires to be a post apocalyptic dystopian adventure, a corrupted-regime-fighting character study with a dash of yaoi and some inexplicably mystical deus ex machina as topping. It all makes as much sense as divining the future from my cat’s furballs.
Story:
Stupidly naive boy is kicked out of an artificial paradise city, lives with a pretty bad-boy in a refugee ghetto. Confusing situations ensue.
The story is all over the place. It spends too much time on things that are proven to be unimportant in the end, it
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uses cheap tricks and gimmicks and leaves behind a plot so ridden with holes it feels like eating Swiss cheese. I kind of wonder, what sort of audience is this aimed at? It has far too little yaoi to appeal to the boys’ love club. It is not nearly science fiction-y enough to appeal to the scifi buffs. It has too little action to classify as a typical shonen.
Frankly, I was bored most of the time. I did exercise my mind by pointing out the logical inconsistencies so that must count for something, like fighting against Alzheimer's in my old age. Also, it does not help that we have a faceless sort of threatening enemy doing largely illogical things like trashing the refugees' slum city, taking prisoners, driving them to prison and then executing them. I mean, why not just kill them then and there? My brain, it hurts.
Characters:
Most anime who fail the story test can still reclaim some viewing enjoyment from well fleshed out characters. Not so here.
Shion is supposed to be the main character but he is so frigging useless I kind of wonder why are all the other characters so enamoured of him. I get it, he is supposed to be the embodiment of kindness and altruism in a jaded society so that he draws others in like a white light. In theory. In practice he is so annoyingly stupid I really wanted to put his head to the meat grinder and feed him to my cat.
Nezumi is the bad boy who rescues him—and the love interest, you should know. For 2/3 of the anime he is the standard “abusive attractive asshole”. Hey, at least he does interesting stuff and he's not stupid—much.
Safu is Shion’s childhood friend and has a crush on him. Hmm, looks like someone didn't get the memo. Safu the beard spends a lot of time mooning over her love that never was and in the end proves to be a plot device.
Of all the other secondary characters—who are all as useful to the plot as a third leg—I mostly liked the Dog Lender. I felt that this character embodied the spirit of the refugee camp and had the most consistent character development.
Animation:
I was going to say that the animation was average but then I realised that recent anime have really spoiled us with attractive graphics. Five years ago this would have been spectacular despite a slight dipping in quality here and there. So, it is quite good without breaking new ground. Especially the characters, they are very fluidly animated.
Music:
The music is a bit jarring at times. There are some ballads and slow tunes that really don't fit the post-apocalyptical scenery. A show like this needs DJ Space Beats and his fluorescent synthesiser.
OP: Beautiful. Lovely animation and lovely, ethereal song.
ED: Slow ballad that failed to move me in any way.
Overview:
Every theme in this anime has been covered by a much better show. If it is yaoi you be wanting, you can find more titillating stuff. If it is post-apocalyptic science-fiction you be wanting there is Ergo Proxy. If it is natural mysticism you be wanting there is Miyazaki. Really, there is no reason for you to watch this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 16, 2011
Azazel-san is the funniest comedy you never saw. Small wonder, since in every one of its tiny episodes it manages to offend pretty much everybody and everything. If you're not touchy about religion, toilet jokes and gallows humour you will laugh your arse off.
Story:
Apprentice witch and detective assistant Rinko Sakuma summons loser lust demon Azazel to help out with her work. Unbelievably gross situations ensue.
The story is pretty much episodic, with each arc covering one standard episode or two episodes in the 12 min format this anime uses. The humour is outrageously absurd, the jokes are coming at light speed so that
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you might miss one if you blink. Many times you need to multitask your eyes to get everything that is happening in both background and foreground. There are tons of gimmicks and tricks and twists on popular tropes to keep you laughing well into the wee hours of the morning.
Characters:
This anime shines in the character department. Despite being a comedy, each and every character feels unbelievably real and three-dimensional. In its tiny running time, this anime has produced lifelike characters the likes of which many full-time 24-episode shows failed miserably at. Let's take a look…
Azazel is the star of the show, obviously. A loser demon of lust, he suffers much bodily harm at the hands of his summoners. His antics and gross habits generate not only laughter but also sympathy. Just stop and think about how difficult it is to make a repulsive character like this appear sympathetic and yet, there he is!
Sakuma Rinko is the kind of well rounded female main character more anime should have. She's not there to provide dumb fanservice or be a damsel in distress: she actually does things, gets in trouble but digs herself out. In all the mayhem she is the most realistic character, there to anchor the viewer.
Akutabe is Rinko’s immoral boss and master demon summoner. He is so delectably badass and wickedly deadpan you can never get enough of his evil ways.
There is also a multitude of extra demons and angels and each and every one of them is hilarious. I will leave it to you to discover their absurd powers and characters.
Animation:
Very pretty work courtesy of Production IG. Check out all the details they cram in.
Sound:
Now, this should get top score. The music underlines many jokes and makes them even funnier and the sound effects are spot-on. I've noticed that in comedies this is much easier to do and yet, this anime uses its music to the utmost. Plus, a special mention must be made for the exceptional work of the seiyuus. Now, I don't usually bother with talking about seiyuus since most of them do great work but holy sh!t, every seiyuu was amazing here. It's easy to see they had tons of fun working on this anime.
OP: I still have this song as a ringtone on my cellphone.
ED: you only get to hear it once but it's fun.
Overview:
You should definitely check this out if you liked the randomness of Gintama’s humour and are not easily offended by toilet humour and blasphemy. Else, enter at your own risk.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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