- Last OnlineMay 10, 2015 3:42 PM
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- BirthdayJun 25, 1991
- LocationOhio, USA
- JoinedMay 9, 2013
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May 27, 2014
Hamatora is another one of the many crime fighting/detective type anime out there. Its story centers around the PI duo of the Hamatora group, Nice and Murasaki, and the various cases and investigations that they get involved in. The aspect that is supposed to make this series unique is the existence of beings called "Minimum Holders," humans with special powers. Think along the same line as NEXT's from Tiger & Bunny. The thing with Minimum Holders is that they have to engage in certain actions in order to activate their powers.
Story: The actual plot of Hamatora is relatively decent. It centers around the idea
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that "weak" people envy "strong" people, and what will happen if we empower those "weak" people so that nobody is "weak" or "strong" anymore and everything is on equal footing. The issue, however, is that you have to get through a lot of filler and side-quests in order to get to the actual meat and potatoes of the series. When the show is actually focussing on the plot, it's really good. Now, that's not to say that the side stories aren't worthwhile, because some of them serve as a device to try and fill out character's back stories, but for the most part, it is kind of superfluous to the main storyline, and some of the filler really, really interferes with the flow and suspense halfway through the series.
Art: For a series with a low budget, for the most part, the art was nice and consistent. I did enjoy the art style and the use of colors. Color and texture are definitely used to reflect the mood in this series. There were definitely also scenes here and there where the art wasn't quite up to par, but for the most part, I enjoyed it.
Sound: I enjoyed the opening and ending songs. And then there is a song that plays every time Nice activates his Minimum that I also enjoy quite a lot. It starts to play, and you know that some sort of action is about to go down, and has quite a lot of impact. Other than that, while there were one or two more songs from the soundtrack that kind of stuck out to me, overall I would still say that aside from the parts I already mentioned, there wasn't much that stuck out.
Character: There wasn't a lot of evolution of character or anything like that in this series. Many of the characters don't even have decent back story. It's a difficult situation, as well, in that the two characters I found to be most engaging weren't even technically considered to be "main characters." One would be the head Inspector of the police force, Art, and the other would be the main villain, Moral. Both of these characters, in their own way, were very, very interesting. I won't go into why because I don't want to accidentally spoil anything, but honestly, without these characters present, this series wouldn't even be worth my time.
Enjoyment: I only rated my enjoyment of this series an 8 because, like I've stated previously, when the story is focussed on the actual plot, it's really good. There are a handful of parts where I was kind of bored (though really I would say that I just wanted them to return to the plot), but for the most part I really enjoyed it.
Overall, I had to give Hamatora a 7 because, even though I really did enjoy the show (a couple of the characters in particular), there are some issues with filler and momentum that really count against it. There's also the lack of filling out information about many of the main characters that makes it hard to bond with any of them, thus making it harder to connect to what's going on and what's happening to them.
I would still recommend watching this anime, because it is an enjoyable view, and I will probably re-watch it myself at some point in the future. If you're reading this review after watching Hamatora and you enjoyed it, then I would also recommend Tiger & Bunny, Psycho-Pass, and Get Backers to you. Hope you enjoy~
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 11, 2013
While at first a story about an idealistic future, Psycho-Pass presents ideas and actions that are much more than meets the eye: a great show that I would recommend to fans of action anime.
Story: The story of this anime presents a very interesting concept in that it gives us a society in which machines are able to analyze your psychology and determine pretty much everything about you--from your likelihood of becoming a criminal to what job you are most suited for. Pretty much nothing is decided for you anymore, which is, as I said, an interesting concept with a lot of consequences that Psycho-Pass
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manages to explore. There is also the main plot consisting of people committing crimes and trying to hunt down the perpetrators. Whichever point you find to be most interesting, Psycho-Pass is an anime that will frequently have you on the edge of your seat with suspense as you try and figure out what is going to happen next.
Art: I enjoyed the art style. It was nice and modern with darker colors to suit the theme of the show. There were some parts where I felt the art was somewhat lacking, but for the most part, I found it to be very fitting and nice to look at.
Sound: Honestly, I really liked both opening themes and really didn't like either ending theme, so the music there is just so-so overall. In terms of the soundtrack during actual episodes, nothing really stuck out to me all too much in either a negative or a positive way, so I have to say that the music was just good overall. Nothing particularly amazing, but nothing really bad or annoying, either .
Characters: I think that all of the characters were very interesting. A problem that I have, though, is that this anime kind of fails at expanding into the background of many of the main characters. I would have liked to learn more about each of the main characters in more detail than what was given. That being said, I do think that many of the characters were very interesting, especially the main villain. He struck me as very unique and he really makes the viewer think about the situations within Psycho-Pass, and who is really 'right' and who is really 'wrong.' I enjoyed that aspect.
Enjoyment: I enjoyed this anime quite a lot. I wouldn't necessarily say that it was life changing in any way, or anything of that nature, but it was interesting to watch, and I had a fun time watching it.
Overall, I rated Psycho-Pass with an 8 instead of a 9 because, while I liked many aspects of this anime, the ending bothered me quite a lot and I had to rate it down. That's all I'll say on the matter here for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but overall, I'll say that regardless of the ending, its' still an anime worth watching and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 24, 2013
Okay, so I had been putting off watching Mononoke for a long, long time. I watched the first episode at the suggestion of a friend, thought it was cool, and put it on my list of things to watch. Big mistake! I wish I had watched this anime years ago because it is so, [i]so[/i] worth the watch. Easily one of the best anime I've seen in a long time.
Story: So, the way the story works is that it centers around the adventures of the Medicine Seller as he travels around exorcising evil mononoke. The series is slightly episodic in that there's no overarching plot,
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so much as a set of five mini-arcs that are each about two/three episodes long. This might sound boring or not worth the time to those who prefer plot and long story arcs, but don't be mistaken: despite the mini-arc aspect, each arc is extremely interesting and each has its own unique plot with twists and turns the whole way through. It really keeps the viewer guessing right on the edge of their seat. Honestly, to me, it was excellent.
Art: I've seen some comments that the art is off-putting to viewers, but for me, I thought this was absolutely beautiful, based off of classic Japanese artowrk. It's a completely unique style that I've never seen before. My sister who watched the series with me said that it reminded her of a moving story book, and I think that this is quite accurate. Honestly, for me, the artwork was one of the best parts of the series, and I absolutely adored it. Even if it's off-putting at first for those who aren't expecting it, I think you'll come to appreciate it in the end.
Sound: The music, too, is extremely nice. Much of it is classic Japanese style, and it really aids in the development of the story and the suspense of the viewer. Really top notch; I loved it.
Character: Each mini-arc has its own unique set of characters for the most part, with the only constant being the Medicine Seller. That being said, I think that this helps to maintain the mystery surrounding the various stories, and despite the short presence of each of the characters, they go through almost as many changes as the plot does, so it's all very dynamic. Also, the mystery surrounding the Medicine Seller himself is very helpful to the story, because while watching, I often found myself wondering if he really was a 'good' guy. Just watch the series and you'll see what I mean.
I think by now if you're still reading this review, you can surely tell that I greatly enjoyed this series. I really wish that I had watched it sooner instead of putting it off, because I really think it's great. I pretty much found myself watching it all in one sitting because I couldn't bring myself to stop. Very riveting. Overall, I'm rating this one a 10 out of 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 22, 2013
Well, I don't know that there's a lot to be said about this anime, considering its age and that it's already pretty widely viewed.
The story is pretty standard. Nothing too original, and honestly, there weren't very many twists or surprises along the way. That's not really to say that it's boring--don't get me wrong; it was interesting all the way through. There's just a lack of suspense. The main thing that kept me going throughout the series was the charisma of the MC moreso than the plot or anything like that.
The art is one of my favorite things about this anime. It's all very
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smooth and modern and makes it very nice to look at. I also really like the colors and most of the character designs. There are a few moments where if you pause, the art is worth laughing at, but for the most part, the animation is consistent and fun to look at.
Sound is good. I'm not a big fan of the second opening/ending themes, but as for the soundtrack, it's good. Not really much to say here.
Uuh, with characters, honestly, I would have liked to see more development and focus among the side characters. The only one who really go through any kind of dynamic change is Shiemi, of all characters. Everyone else pretty much stays the same, and the anime never really goes into anyone's backstory, which is also annoying. The one saving grace is that many of the characters are very charismatic. They make me want to know more about them, which is why I kept watching.
Enjoyment was okay. Like I said, the plot wasn't particularly fascinating, and the characters left a bit to be desired, bu this is by no means a 'boring' anime. It's a good piece of entertainment if you're bored. It's just not amazing, either.
That being said, I rate this a 7. Definitely worth the watch, but I don't think I'll be watching this anime again.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 10, 2013
I found UtaPri to be basically your regular reverse-harem type anime. It's a cast of handsome guys centered around one 'somehow special' girl. Not horribly unique. As far as the story goes, I have to say, there wasn't much to it. No crazy plot twists or suspense to speak of. Everything that happened was pretty predictable, though I will say that except for some slow parts, the story did at least flow well.
I did find the art to be pretty fun. I would have rated it higher, but the main heroine has some pretty freaky eyes that aren't emulated in any of the other
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characters, and I found that to be extremely off-putting throughout the series. Otherwise, the art features mainly bright colors, and there were very few parts where the art was particularly lacking. I thought the random chibified scenes were cute, too, which was a plus.
Likewise, the music for this anime was surprisingly good. I know it's supposed to be about boys becoming idols, but the music was still pretty high quality, and the voice actors they chose all had voices that were pleasing to the ear. No weak vocals to speak of, so that was a good thing.
Overall, I gave this anime a 7. It's not a bad watch, but if you're looking for something particularly engaging, I would suggest going somewhere else. This is a good series if you just want to sit back, relax, and take a load off your mind (oh, and listen to pretty anime boys sing).
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 9, 2013
Overall, I would say that this is a show worth watching. I feel like it presents a kind of unique cast of characters, and it introduces them relatively gradually, so it's pretty easy to keep track of everyone. It really gives you time to connect with the characters, so the things that happen to them mean more to the viewer. I think the anime was pretty well drawn. It transitioned well from manga to anime without losing a lot of details, and the music was engaging if not a little over dramatic at parts. I was also a fan of a lot of the voice
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actors, so that was a huge plus as well.
I read the manga before I watched the anime, and for the most part, the anime follows the manga pretty closely, which I appreciate. The only real issue I had is that the last three or four episodes progressively work in more and more filler, and while I understand that this was probably done because the manga is still in publication, I feel that the direction that they went with it all was kind of silly. Overall, though, it's not the worst filler I've ever seen, and it didn't take away too much from the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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