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Mar 28, 2019
So, I watch a lot of anime. With this, I’m only two reviews away from my 7th review on this site, and I really try to watch as much anime as possible. So with that in mind, I do not make the following statement lightly: Gankutsuou is my favourite series of all of the anime I’ve watched during the past year and a half, and perhaps even longer. It’s often referred to as one of Gonzo’s masterpieces, and I wholeheartedly agree. This is everything that I look for in an anime, and then some.
Good Gonzo has always stood out with how damn innovating they kept
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trying to be. Gankutsuou is a fantastic example of this, but that’s far from everything about this series. Aside from being consistently experimental, it’s also extremely well executed.
I have not read the story of the original Count of Monte Cristo, but regardless, the creators did a fantastic job of converting it into a story that fits perfectly into 24 episodes. They took the entire setting and turned it into a futuristic setting that at the same time retained the atmosphere of France of more than two hundred years and the aristocratic culture of the days before the french revolution. It’s completely fiction and even through the weird graphics style, it feels strangely authentic. The setting here is really solid, and yet it’s the part of this show that impressed me the least.
Instead, we have some fantastic acting from the cast of characters that really brings them to life. There is a ton of character development in this series, and the creators even managed to make an often whining teenaged lead into a compelling character (though granted, before his development he does not stand out as the strongest member of this cast). The characters in this series all have a ton of flaws, and this series uses those brilliantly. The entire plot weaves together all of the different characters and their backstories, and just about everyone gets his or her moment to really show off his or her character.
And the way in which this is done was a really emotionally resonating one. This series knows exactly when to be subtle, and when to release all brakes and go over the top. The delivery in this is just perfect, with creative poses and animation in which a lot his happening at the same time, yet the story remains focused on what it wants to show. It’s really well shown with a lot of detail in how the characters are reacting to each other.
And as for the graphics… they’re some of the best you can get if you don’t mind the intrusive CG. This series is full of excellent visual ideas. I mean, just about every shot is absolutely gorgeous and it’s ridiculous how creative the visuals can get. The creators really tried to stuff a ton of ideas into the visuals here, as long as they all fitted into the story. The result is a show that looks absolutely unlike anything else. The animation itself isn’t the most consistent, but when it delivers, it really delivers some amazing and hard hitting inbetween animation that combines perfectly with the storytelling. Gankutusou really was a show in which Gonzo could show off what it was able to do with its CG, and while this show is obviously heavy on the CG, it doesn’t feel out of place. Instead, the graphics create this gorgeous whole.
Overall, I found this series one heck of a ride, and Gankutsuou is very likely going to end up in my top 10 favourite anime. I absolutely adore these kinds of series that can get a huge emotional response out of me. It’s obviously not a show for everyone (and I did hear that this anime changed a ton of stuff from the original novel), but to me, Gankutusou took a while to build up, but as soon as it hit its stride just about everything fitted together perfectly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 23, 2019
Was it ever supposed to get this good? Honey and Clover began life as the debut series for Fuji TV's "Noitamina" (read it backwards) lineup, a new anime block aimed at older female audiences. The simple but daring plan worked—young women who would never normally watch anime got into it, and the manga now breaks the Top 10 sales list regularly, sitting alongside blockbuster titles like Prince of Tennis or Bleach. But even viewers outside the target demographic attest to its greatness, pointing out its heartfelt storytelling and unique visual style. It was supposed to be just good enough for sophisticated female viewers—and it ended
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up being good enough for everyone. Funnier than most comedies and more touching than most dramas (even the live-action ones), Honey and Clover has emerged as one of the best shows of 2005.
Like a true slice-of-life series, it begins right in the middle of things—Takemoto in his second year of college, Mayama nearing graduation, and Morita stuck in seventh-year hell. When Hagu-chan shows up, there's hardly any "please welcome the new student" pomp; she simply joins the cast, and the drama-go-round begins. There is no epic quest to fulfill, no convoluted conspiracy to unlock, no childhood friend to win over—it's just a bunch of college kids figuring out what to do with their lives, and it is fascinating. Every character gets a moment in the spotlight, with story arcs transiting flawlessly between each other. Even Takemoto, who spends most of the series as a neutral observer, closes things out with an inspiring personal triumph. The mood of the show switches effortlessly from madcap comedy to utter heartbreak and everything in between, yet nothing feels out of place. Within a single episode, a game of Art School Twister takes humor to new heights, and yet minutes later, Takemoto muses upon the meaning of friendship.
Like all good shoujo, Honey and Clover succeeds because of its characters' complex personalities. Morita emerges as a quick fan favorite with his bizarre antics and affinity for money, but to focus on him is to miss out on the intricate relationships between everyone else. In particular, Ayumi's unrequited attachment to Mayama is sure to arouse plenty of indignation about the portrayal of women in Japanese entertainment. But maybe that anger is because Ayumi openly reveals everything we hate about themselves: weakness, insecurity, and the tendency to do really stupid things in the name of love. She is the most human character in a cast of incredibly human characters.
Despite this realism on the emotional level, however, the artwork in the show is decidedly surreal and dreamlike. The character designs match the manga almost perfectly with big, expressive eyes, ultrathin lines, and characteristic hatch marks. Even the coloring style adheres to the comic; you may never again see an anime that looks like it was watercolored (there are a few exceptions, like SaiKano). The animation is equally adept, with moments of broad physical comedy being rendered just as smoothly as subtle scenes of close-up dialogue. And of course, no discussion of Honey and Clover is complete without the infamous "food" opening, where spinning plates of food behave in very un-foodlike ways. This 90-second homage to stop-motion auteur Jan Svankmajer is just the first of many artistic touches, proving that the animators—like the art students depicted in the series—treasure creativity above all else.
If music is the language of emotion, then few shows speak it as eloquently as this one. With just a few studio instruments, the soundtrack is able to express the gamut of emotions that each character runs through. The energetic opening theme by YUKI converts into a gentle piano solo, and even Morita's bouts of insanity are accented by charming comedic themes. The most effective emotional tools, however, are the insert songs by singer-songwriter Suga Shikao and rock group SPITZ. Playing a poignant song over internal monologue is hardly a new thing, especially in angsty teen dramas, but to hear it used in an anime makes the technique fresh once more.
If Honey and Clover has any faults, it's that you want it to keep going after it's over. It ends just like it begins—right in the middle of things, with so much more yet to be experienced. Without realizing it, you've become part of that circle of friends: you've shared their heartbreaks and triumphs, walked alongside them as they poured out their feelings, and watched each one of them learn a little bit more about themselves. Whether in school or not, who hasn't asked themselves at some point: "What do I want to do? Who do I want to be?" Honey and Clover may not have the answers, but it's all about trying to find them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 14, 2019
Positives:
Emotionally powerful story surrounding a strong cast of characters with development.
Proper opening and closing.
Good animation with an attention to character movement details.
Great voice acting that conveys the characters’ emotions.
Oozes charm.
Negatives:
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Characters’ side plots needed more time.
Visual character detail drops at times.
Too few music tracks
Ano Hana, or the excessively long name above, is a show I went into not knowing what to expect. By the end of its eleven episodes, I was impressed at its ability to weave charm, emotion, character, humour, and conflict into one. This is an anime not to be missed.
We arrive as high school student Jintan is shadowed by the ghost of his childhood friend, the late Menma. She pesters him non-stop and eats his food. As kids, they were part of a group of six friends called the ‘Super Peace Busters.’ Since the death of Menma, they drifted apart, venturing down different paths in life. Jintan fell into a state of depression, failing exams, avoiding school, all the while attributing the hallucination of Menma to stress. The adorable Menma tries her best to cheer him up with her loony antics; she’s a cute character with the heart of a child and innocence to match. She isn’t overdone either, keeping her from becoming an irritation, as is often the case with her character archetype.
Jintan soon realises she will move on if he completes her wish, only, she can’t remember what it is, the scatterbrain. They figure it involves getting the old group back together. This is harder than thought since everyone has changed after so many years, and only Jintan can see Menma. Former friends have turned either pretentious like the black-haired girl, Tsuruko, or callous and heartless as Yukiatsu, the light-haired boy. Only Poppo, the boisterous traveller believes Jintan that Menma has returned. Lastly, there’s Anaru, who has joined the trendy girls out of low self-esteem despite being little like them. The acting is fantastic, particularly for Anaru.
The struggle is on for Jintan, with Menma’s well-meaning help, to rekindle their friendships. Even Pokémon games are used (or Nokémon as they retitled it here) to bring back the memories – they incorporated it accurately from the three starters, trading to evolve, hunting in grass, and even using a link cable for Gold Version!
Conflict is interspersed with light-hearted humour that never overpowers the emotion of the show. An adorable charm complements the heavy moments, creating a good balance where no single aspect becomes too much. With a well-crafted plot built on a foundation of believable, three-dimensional characters, you feel the emotions, the trials and triumphs of everyone. The side plots are relevant, as they have to deal with problems like any other teenager; often, writers will forget that problems don’t go away just because another arises. We still see jealousy, selfish motives in relationships, and doubt at capabilities. Jintan especially has to overcome great adversity before the end. Looking at a poster or screenshot doesn’t do this anime’s depth justice.
Warning: if you are the sort who shows emotion in times of sadness for a show or movie, prepare for rivers here.
My one complaint in terms of plot is how little time some of the side stories get to develop. Another episode or two could have satisfied every thread.
You won’t go wrong in watching Ano Hana. You will feel joy and sorrow simultaneously for deep characters brought to life by the right voices, leaving no reason not to spend time with the Super Peace Busters.
Art – High
The art leans towards charm rather than the emotion. That’s not to say the emotion won’t come through their expressions – the opposite in fact. Menma’s cute design enhances the sorrow you feel for her, while making her more adorable during her wacky moments. No compromises were made with the environmental art; however, the same can’t be said for the characters. There are times when the quality slips, in particular regards to light and shadow.
Sound – High
An aspect I rarely comment on, for it is usually unremarkable either way is the opening and ending sequences. Ano Hana manages to do both beautifully, music and art matching the story well. It is unfortunate the same can’t be said for the background tracks, which are lacking. At first, I thought the acting was nothing special outside of Menma – who sounds adorable – but was pleased to concede defeat when the emotions hit their high notes, delivered with skill by the actors. Anaru the trendy girl is especially good.
Story – High
A coming-of-age story that looks to the past filled with depth, emotion, and conflict. Brilliant.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 13, 2019
Among the many genre present in the anime landscape today, shounen holds particular esteem for not only extremely popular but very mainstream as well. Titles like Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naruto and Bleach have propelled the shounen genre to the very top of the Anime food chain. A sub genre of the Shounen library, sports shounen, however, is a completely separate matter. Far from being popular, only the most hardcore of hardcore Anime fans seems to enjoy this incredibly niche genre. It is indeed a tragedy, because with series like Hajime no Ippo, it becomes quite difficult to imagine why this genre hasn’t taken
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the world by storm.
Hajime no ippo is a sports shounen show, more specifically a show about professional boxing in Japan. The story revolves around a young man named Ippo, who starts off as an extremely weak person (bullied at school), only to be drawn to how strong and impressive the world of boxing is. Desiring a change in himself and wanting to become as strong as the boxers he admires, Ippo steps into the world of boxing, and gradually proceeds to become one of the most talented and fearsome boxers in the professional boxing circuit of Japan.
Hajime no ippo is most definitely a shounen show at heart, but simply throwing the series in that particular category is a disservice to its magnificence. The series could easily double as a slice of life, a romance comedy, a general comedy series and a full on battle shounen series. Unlike most shounen sports shows, Hajime no Ippo rides closer to the more mainstream side of things simply because of the nature of the sport it highlights, making it a great introduction to the world of sports anime.
Based off the manga by George Joji Morikawa, Hajime no Ippo is a love letter to the world of boxing. It glorifies the sport, but it also freely reveals all the dangers, sad stories and the cruelty of the sport with its head held high. Injuries, trauma and all the pain that accompany this dangerous sport are all present and shown in all their unadulterated purity. All the while, the show also highlights the pleasure, the thrill and the excitement that has kept boxing alive even today.
One of the highlights of the series, is definitely the aspect of its story’s unpredictability and high stakes. Very few shounen series can truly make viewers feel a sense of impending danger for their characters. All the matches, battles and even minor slice of life events in the series serve to surprise, amaze and excite. With all these glorious elements packaged in, Hajime no Ippo provides an almost complete story arc. The series chronicles Ippo’s entrance into the world of boxing all the way to a rather significant event in his career. There are very few series in the anime industry that are this good, and that end on a satisfying note while still leaving more further development.
And indeed, should the 76 episodes of the series not be enough, there are a ton of follow up items in the franchise to look forward to. The manga series for the franchise is still currently ongoing, having reached its 100th volume earlier this month. There are also a slew of sequel OVAs as well as a second 26 episode second series. With all the supporting material, its easy to think that the series will hardly end at a satisfying stage, but it clearly does. If there is a reason for viewers to continue, its because of how engrossing the world and characters of the series are.
One of the definite selling points of this show is the wealth of amazing characters it has. Ippo himself, is an extremely relatable and loveable underdog that you can’t help but root for. Surrounding him, is one the most diverse and interesting group of boxers, trainers and people that can only be found in some of the best romance slice-of-life anime of the 1980s. Whether its Ippo’s older brother figure Takamura, or the extremely strict and wise trainer “Kamogawa Gen”, or the more senior boxers Aoki and Kimura, Ippo’s supportive mother, his crush Kumi, the bully turned staunch friend Umezawa, or his many boxing rivals, none of these characters fail to leave their mark.
The attachment that viewers will feel to these characters is immense, as they undergo some truly life altering journeys and some truly touching moments. Yes, Hajime no Ippo has enough emotional omph to rival some of the most engrossing slice of life anime series to date.
If there is one strike against Hajime no Ippo, especially in this day and age of truly jaw dropping animation and artwork, its that it definitely looks a bit dated. Not as bad as say Maison Ikkoku or even Slam Dunk, but Hajime no Ippo is a somewhat old year 2000 series.
The series gets progressively better with time (as budget and popularity probably increased), but it can be off putting to some people at the very start. Studio Madhouse, while definitely not knocking everything out of the park in the visual department, manages to craft a series that can hold its own despite being more than a decade old at this point.
The sound work though, is quite impressive, particularly the japanese voice acting. The characters are brought to life by extremely impressive performances by their seiyuu. The music and Sound track for the series, while not the most memorable, is definitely all about crafting an unforgettably atmospheric experience.
What it all boils down to, is that Hajime no Ippo is an amazingly engrossing experience, and one of the best series to come out of the anime industry. It is definitely worthy of being known as one of the best sports shounen series, and will likely convert many a viewer into a diehard fan of a currently niche genre. Hajime no Ippo, despite being over 12 years old, receives a grade of A+ from us. Rock on and punch hard champion!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 13, 2019
Iwatani Naofumi was summoned into a parallel world along with three other people to become the world’s heroes and save the kingdom from the Calamity. Each of the heroes were respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned. Naofumi coincidentally received the Legendary Shield as his weapon, the only defensive weapon of the lot. Scorned by everyone for his uselessness, Naofumi’s destiny in a parallel world begins…
Hands down, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari takes one of the most unique approaches to the virtual video game genre I’ve ever seen. And that is, the anime incorporates a very real emotional element in its storytelling. Having
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many tales in this emerging genre, I am definitely not over-generalizing when I say that most virtual MMORPG stories are lacking in “dramatic complexity.” And that’s perfectly fine because audiences are buying into these stories for the vicarious experience of living a video game, becoming heroes / villains, and conquering the world. Even Log Horizon, which takes a more “slice of life” approach to the genre and explores the psychological difficulties of suddenly living a video game, has mostly one dimensional characterization in a mostly happy-go-lucky atmosphere. Well, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is definitely not happy-go-lucky, and characters are certainly far from one dimensional.
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is off to a good and unique start. It’s relatively under the radar right now, but it deserves more love.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 12, 2019
This anime is a true work of art. The animation style is a bit old but the direction takes care of that. The entire setting is centred in and around Germany and old Czechoslovakia. The architecture style and culture depicted in the background reflects the reality and is quite detailed. The shows folllows real world history and is amazingly accurate in depicting it.The soundtrack is nothing special but is used in such a way that it gives you shivers at times. Every episode is full of twists and turns. Agreed, that the story does get predictable at times, and is insanely slow paced (more so
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in the middle) and the show is very long at 74 episodes but that is where Monster shows it's hidden beauty--the storytelling.
I have not seen a better character development anywhere. There are dozens of characters each with his/her own intense back story but the way Monster has succeded in presenting them makes it very hard to call anyone a “side character”. 74 episodes meant that there was a lot of time for small characters and side-arcs —each a separate piece in a giant, complex puzzle. The mystery and tension exist until the very last second. Part of the reason for the pace is that Madhouse did a frame by frame animation of the manga, trying to stick as close to it as possible.
The general tone is very dark and realism in scenes is extraordinary. The story is set in 1986 after the fall of Berlin Wall in Germany. But at times, it goes back even to the 60s. The story follows a young and talented altruistic Japanese neurosurgeon working in Germany, Kenzou Tenma, who saves the life of a child --risking his career by doing so. Ten years later, he crosses paths with the titular Monster. What follows, is an epic chase connecting many people, places, and stories. The ending is among the very best-- take my word for it. And the villain, the true gem of this show, is better than the most famous mainstream villains, namely Joker and Hannibal.
The show can be described as a scholarly article on philosophy and psychology. It tackles some of the most important moral and philosophical questions of our age. Urasawa’s work in a simple way is like what Nolan’s movies are- mind bending visual spectacles always leaving you with something to ponder about. The way human nature is shown as the conflicting thinking of characters along with an omnipotent dark-horroresque atmosphere and the villain, is second to none.
The OP is suitably dark without any vocals. “For the love of Life” by David Sylvian again, is among the very best of EDs. The second ending song is wierdly okayish. The rest of the OSTs are good enough.
In short, this anime is not made for everyone.
Or more importantly, not everyone is made for this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 8, 2019
Considering Dororo is structured around a fairly repetitive plotline: badass warrior and annoying child sidekick go to X place, find it monster-ridden, and leave it less monster-ridden than they found it, this book should have collapsed in on itself around the halfway mark.
And yet it remains compellingly readable - thanks in no small part to Tezuka's breathtakingly beautiful art, incredible monster design and situations that while nowhere near as deeply horrific as Message To Adolf or MW are still quite shocking.
Hyakkimaru, the aforementioned badass warrior is born in a brutally mutliated state after his father makes a deal with demons who divvy up his body
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parts among themselves at the time of his birth.
In the course of his wandering, he meets the bratty Dororo, the self-proclaimed 'greatest thief in the world'. The universe they live in is riven by war, frequent brutal conflict and odd moments of innocence, beauty and companionship. The action is fluid and vividly rendered, the setpieces gorgeous, bringing a thrilling aspect even to the umpteenth conflict between character and strange beasty/gang of bearded thugs/elite warriors.
Probably the best story of the lot is when they come across a Samurai who in shades of Elric's Stormbringer, is compelled to kill by a bloodthirsty sword. Highly recommended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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