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Aria the Origination has achieved something remarkable to which anyone who's familiar with the slice of live genre knows to be an extremely rare phenomenon; it manages to end satisfactory.

Perhaps more so than even this, it perfectly incapsulates the concept of change, which as anyone not still living in a womb will attest carries great trepidations as well as possibilities. Its said that real courage shines not when one demands change, but upon facing it and seeing all its uncertainty, are able to accept it, and Aria really managed to portray this perfectly along with other themes such as the folly ... of trying to ignore the future, when even in the most timeless of places, nothing ever stays the same for long, but before we get into all that, a quick summary of the show...

Aria the Origination maintains the series' core premise, continuing to follow Akari as she and her close friends chase their dream of becoming Undines (Female Gondoliers) in the beautiful and mysterious city of Neo-Venezia, a brick for brick restoration of the ancient city of Venice now built on Mars (renamed Aqua due to the now abundance of water thanks to terraforming). By now the show is a seasoned veteran, with two series' behind its style has been seamlessly perfected till its like watching a master craftsman fusing experience and knowledge to create a work of art born out of every learned from mistake and good idea since built upon.


Aria the Animation was the past, focusing on the love all humans have for the past and its ostensible simplicity, Aria the Natural was the present focusing on the city and the lives of those living and dreaming in it, and so Aria the Origination is the future. It is as Winston Churchill famously said "not the end or even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning", indeed the series is called Aria the Origination not Aria the conclusion, and perhaps this is the shows greatest strength, it matures rather than just stops. The characters move on to that mysterious infinite world where all our favourite characters live forever doing what we love, Sherlock Holmes and Watson discussing a case by the fireplace of 221b Baker street, Esteban and crew still trying to find the mysterious cities of gold, Ginko forever traveling helping people and Mushi, and Akari and friends forever at bliss in Neo-Venezia. Its a bittersweet feeling to have this series end but its such a perfect end that one cannot long hold a grudge against it, besides a perfect end is always better than a slow decline into awfulness (I'm looking at you Simpsons); i can say little more about the story without giving too much away, and so I shan't…

The art has improved to such a standard that like a high tide it seems to lift everything else up with it, the city has never looked more magical or appealing with greater attention given to all the details that make a series come alive, everything from the washing lines that hang from every window or the food stalls and gardens make the city seem lived in and loved rather than as before where the city seemed more like a work of art than a home to thousands of people.
The design and appearances of the characters while at first ostensibly no different on closer examination show a greater maturity and presence, particularly Alice who looks considerably older and mature, everything from the way she is drawn to her movements and especially how she speaks and acts around people seem to show a great deal of development and maturity in her character. Its a real sign of a classy series thats art can evolve in line with its characters.


Speaking of characters, they are by far the single most enhanced aspect of this series; Aria as a whole its said suffers from little character development, though I've argued before that is not strictly true as instead the show and its characters develop slowly and incrementally like real people do and that the show tends to focus on other things at times like the city or individual stories etc. But now there there is no room for any debate, the series delivers all that it promised made all the sweeter by the (debatable) delay. In fact it works so well I'm certain the series couldn't have worked any other way, the slow growth and change seen in our characters in the previous seasons meant than when the change comes, and boy does it come, the shock is real and almost scary, just like real change. After being so used to the characters always being in one place in time when they finally do move on it carries far more weight and pushes home the lesson about change, courage and the folly of trying to freeze the present or live in the past much more than a conventional series could have. Its not just the main characters either, everyone in the series is swept along by the current of change that soaked Neo-Venezia and this series; I must stress this is not some cheesy ending where in somehow by the end everybody has forever found their perfect place in life and are now simply trapped in a static state of perfection, theres plenty left to the imagination, but thats where it will stay since this is also where the source material leaves off, perhaps for the best since if these characters are to feel like real people then to effectively end their lives would shatter the realism.

To conclude Aria the origination is the season that finally does it all right, standing on the shoulders of Animation and Natural it manages to breach the water line and breathe the sweet air of greatness, it shows as nonsense the age old argument that "nothing happens" in slice of life anime's and sets the bar for how to end a series of this type. Its sad it has to end as the world this series created is so rich and imaginative that their plenty left to work with and perhaps in the future we'll see a spin-off or some other type of story set here however I'm not holding my breath. Rarely does a series get inside your heart enough to make you care and imagine how things will be after it ends but thats the magic of Aria, it allows you to care; and care I did, if thats not enough of a ringing endorsement in a world of soulless shows were it takes the death of every main character to elicit an audience emotion then I don't know what is...

If one is lucky, there may come a point in life were you experience a prolonged period of happiness and peace, a seemingly never ending golden age of joy and determination that makes pale all other periods in comparison as the sun does the moon. Everything may not exactly be perfect, quite the contrary it may be a period of struggle and poverty, perfection is in no way a prerequisite, at the time it may not even seem that you are inordinately happy, but upon reflection you realise that those were the best years of your life. The great tragedy of the present is that ... we can never see it for what it is until it becomes the past… To create a series in which one can witness these feeling played out with an almost musical perfection is no small feat and a rare privilege for the viewer indeed. To accurately capture characters with a dream which while still some distance away are working towards it incrementally, getting a little closer each day, not yet bound by nostalgia to the past but grown beyond simply dreaming of the future, opting instead to somnambulate towards it one day at a time, this is Aria the natural's crowning achievement, portraying the present...

Aria the natural, so called because the 26 episodes allowed for the show to flow more naturally, is exactly what a sequel should be, an improvement on the original in every way that loses nothing that made the first season so likeable while adding a new beauty to the mix. Expanding on everything from the characters, their lives, the city of Neo-Venezia and its surroundings to its history and its mysterious inhabitants whilst retaining even refining the natural quiet atmosphere that made so many of us fall in love with the show to begin with. The series manages, despite it ostentatious surroundings, to portray the simplicity of the present, to be working towards something you want while doing something you love, its a rare experience but a beautiful one thats very difficult to accurately capture in any medium, but somehow Aria the natural manages to pull it off...

The premise of the show is pretty much verbatim the same as the first season, the story continues to follow Akari as she and her close friends continue to chase their dream of becoming Undines (Female Gondoliers) in the beautiful and mysterious city of Neo-Venezia, a brick for brick restoration of the ancient city of Venice now built on Mars (renamed Aqua due to the now abundance of water thanks to terraforming). While the general feel and plot of the show remains like the city itself, timeless, don't be fooled into thinking that this is just season 1 all over again. Only a superficial glance could misled someone to this conclusion, Aria the Natural may retain much of the basic style and structures from Aria the Animation but its outlook and themes are profoundly different. Aria the Animation was basically an intro to the world of Aria, it set up the characters, set the tone and pace but the restrictions on its length prevented it from being able to do much more than simply open the door to this world a smidgen. With the "Natural series" the door is thrown open and we are free to dive fully into everything, be it the city with its history and inhabitants who range from ordinary people who make it tick to the more mysterious creatures that give the city its unique atmosphere. Of even greater importance is the main cast, which are finally given the time to unfurl and bloom naturally in-keeping with the shows subdued and free flowing pace; a greater focus on the supporting cast also allows the viewer to begin to see this city and its inhabitants as being an actual living city with a shared past and vibrant present, this allows the show to step back and instead of telling us that the city is a magical wonderful place as they did so much in the first season it lets us be witness to it.

But what really sets this series part from the previous series and indeed most other shows in general is that it is extremely difficult to categorise or place in any particular genre. The show despite is slow pace and relaxing story telling atmosphere manages to oscillate wildly from slice of life, Sci-fi, fantasy, historical, romance and even a bit of horror, in particular the fantasy element is extremely prevalent here when compared with Aria the Animation or Aria the Origination. Some may find this a little distracting but personally I feel the show manages to balance it all rather well, mostly because it feels natural, with the more fantastical elements being prevalent only when focusing on the ancient city and most important of all only when Akari is alone, it is hinted at many times throughout the show that the spirits are uniquely interested in Akari and that her kind hearted natural curiosity allows her to get much closer than most people could dream of. In other words there is a good deal of separation between the more character based episodes and the episodes which deal exclusively with the city and its spirits, meaning that things never get muddled and we are allowed to enjoy all the different sides to Neo-Venezia, ranging from simple treasure hunts and lounging around in cafes on warm summer afternoons to nearly being spirited away by a ghost and dancing with a cat god. The fact that Aria the natural is able to balance all of this without ever becoming the equivalent of an explosion in a paint factory is a testament to its wonder as a series, it manages to mix science and fantasy, ghosts and slice of life, detailed characters and a episodic storyline together in a way that would sink other series' faster than a ship without a bottom.

The glowing vintage of the show is its characters which are given here what the first season could not provide them with, room to breathe. Because there was so much to set up in season 1 combined with its relative briskness there wasn't much time to allow the characters to develop and act naturally, but now with ample time at their finger tips the creators managed to give them the space and more importantly the reasons for them to develop and change as real people do. Driven on by their dream of becoming "primas" they gradually become more skilled as undines but more importantly they learn more about the city they live in and the people and creatures they share it with. It is through these experiences that they are moulded into deeper characters and not just cardboard cutouts gawking at the background and espousing exposition about the city. Even the girls mentors are given a considerably higher class of character than you would expect, each one is completely distinguishable from the other and I'm not talking about hair colours here, their personalities and how they instruct their girls is completely different but strangely in tune with their students and their own characters. This welcome addition creates the real joy of the series, seeing all of these characters and the supporting cast together, its wonderful to see their different personalities conflict and compliment each other, watching them bounce off one another and argue over trivial matters or laugh at nothing really creates the feeling that these are real people and Neo-Venezia is a living city alive and not just a museum or a piece of art.

To ultimate, Aria the Natural is a textbook example of a sequel done right, keeping what works and building upon the foundation so strongly laid down in Aria the Animation yet still managing to be a very unique series. At its heart its the same show but its outlook on the world is very different, it no longer feels like its trapped in the past or static. Instead its characters and the world they inhabit are changing and this creates a much more interesting and realistic world that makes the show such a joy to watch, through clever and serene stories we see all the nooks and cranny's of the city, from its canals and ancient buildings to the surrounding countryside and beyond. What really makes this series great is that nothing is rushed or forced, at the risk of sounding like broken record, everything flows naturally, the extra time won by the success of Aria the Animation allowed for this series to take it to the next level creating more than just a pretty looking, utopian fluff fest and instead a realistic story of people. Not at war or fighting each other, not facing death or destruction but instead trying to live and be happy, a rare topic indeed and one that deserves a greater audience than it has. To portray happiness, which is usually the end goal of a series, is harder than you'd think yet Aria the Natural achieves it because it understands that happiness doesn't come from living in perfection having achieved all your goals rather happiness come from doing what you love with people you love and for that to happen time has to be moving and in aria the natural it finally is…

The past has always been a concept of fascination and longing, sometimes even to the point of obsession. One only has to read Scot Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" or J.D. Salinger's "The catcher in the Rye" to see wonderful examples of stories and characters obsessed with time and living in the ostensibly golden world of the past. Humans are very guilty of this crime, we constantly refer to the good old days, we flock to ruins and ancient cities as we believe them to have an almost magical quality, we invariably ignore the words of George Orwell who once said "contrary to popular belief the ... past was not more eventful than the present". It would seem to me that this love of the past is as ubiquitous as love itself, and so it should come as no surprise to find it alive and well in the anime world…

Aria may be a series set centuries in the future, but its heart is very much in the past, be it in its setting, its customs, its outlook or its characters. But before we get into that, a quick summary of the show.

Aria the Animation is the first season of the highly acclaimed Aria series, the setting is a terraformed mars, renamed Aqua due to the now abundance of water. Here mankind has settled into a quieter existence, more reminiscent of the early 19th century than one would expect of a space colony. The main city is Neo-Venezia, a complete reconstruction of the ancient city of Venice, it is here that our main character, Akari Mizunashi, arrives to fulfil her dream of becoming an Undine (female gondolier). She soon falls in the love with the city, its people and their quiet way of life…
From this point on the show for the most part drops its sci-fi shawl and becomes much more fantastical and archaic, to the point that it becomes easy to forget that your on mars or even watching a sci-fi show at all. Instead a slow but steady atmosphere is built up and a tangible world appears before your eyes, it becomes not a story but an experience, and a truly unique and beautiful one at that.

Upon hearing this synopsis it would be perfectly within reason to assume this series will be nothing more than a lighthearted fluffy sci-fi show with some hippy free spirited tendencies, nothing could be further from the truth.
I take issue with people who label, or worse, accuse this series of being "just episodic", granted the series can indeed give this impression and the record of the episodic genre is not a particularly clean one, but there are many things that set this series apart from that taboo genre. One is the excellent characters which help to tie everything together while conveying the feeling that your watching real people living their lives and not just acting out a plot or random adventures. And the other is the recurring themes present in the series, in particular the theme of the past and of manmade miracles...

With it slow pace, longing for the past and love of beauty, Aria manages to convey a feeling thats hard to describe, but is best summed up with the face you make while watching it, a sort of sad smile, a sardonic grin, a longing to be there but a desire to be distant, to keep from tainting its peace and beauty. From its canals and streets flooded with moonlight, its rustic buildings, the different Undine companies and traditions to the simple mailman, a world is quickly built up that soaks you in its cooling imaginative water. The show itself becomes a celebration of mankind and it ability to create beauty, but also destroy (more later). I mentioned earlier the theme of manmade miracles, this idea that man can create wondrously beautiful things if he really wants to is extremely prevalent, after all the whole planet is essentially of human construct, the cities, the air, the water, the atmosphere, the temperature is all man and woman made. A point the show is constantly reminding us of, "No Gods or Kings only man" seems an extremely fitting quote to apply to this spirt, here mankind and individuals came together to create something incredibly beautiful with the result being that people's feelings and desires have actually allowed for an atmosphere where more conventional miracles can occur.

This atmosphere is unique among anime, or any series I know of for that matter, few come close to achieving its healing and peaceful aurora, only certain episodes of Natsume Yanijico or the manga Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou can touch it. But do not get the wrong impression of what i mean, this is no frosted cake of sugary sweetness, superficially perhaps, but under it all there is a distinct bitter after taste, oh its subtle all right but make no mistake its there. From Akari's occasional references to the state of Manhome (a.k.a Earth, I know its a stupid name) and how "you can't swim in the sea's of Manhome anymore" give earth a distinct dystopian feeling, and her fascination with all the simple wonders of utopian Neo-Venezia make one wonder just what her childhood was really like back on earth, which seems to have been all but ruined by man and woman. On top of that we have episodes dealing with letters to dead men, journeys to the past and worrying about the future. Again seeing this fascination with the past tinged with sombre nostalgia which sees to permeate throughout the whole show, creating this mix of feelings, happiness tinged with remorse, joy mixed with regret, jocoseness juxtapositional with a realisation that this bliss cannot last forever...


But enough with themes, on to the shows central pillar upon which everything else is able to rest comfortably, the characters. And do not let first impressions sway you to believe that they are going to be moe fools splashing water on each other as the picture M.A.L has chosen to encapsulate the series would seem to suggest...
Instead the characters, like the show are quite subdued and not in any rush to explain to the viewer who they are. One must also take into account that this is only the first season, and the real character development doesn't come until really the late second and third seasons, all the more aesthetically so for it, but here the ground work is set for the future masterpiece, every great work of art had to begin with a few basic sketches, a few simple outlines and in a similar way that is what is happening here. At first it may appear a bit jarring and one dimensional to see Akari's simple minded fascination with everything and her close friend Aika's constant scolding of her wonder and "embarrassing remarks" or to see Alicia's (her senior) ever-present smile and gracefulness, but before long they become like reassuring kisses to your soul. Besides the show quickly makes it clear that these people are far deeper than a quick glance would suppose. I have already alluded to Akari's past and the possible reasons for her fascination and wonder at Neo-Venzia but there is also Aika and her struggles with her confidence and Alice their other undine friend who struggles with the stigma of being a child prodigy.
But one thing all of the three main girls Akari, Aika and Alice have in common, besides their frustratingly similar names, its that they each have a senior who mirrors them in some shape or form, the original three "water fairies" as they are known, who guides them in their own unique way and whose friendships and past is similar, reminding one of what Mark Twain once remarked, "History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme"...

To talk about the visuals and the music of this series is to do it a disservice, not only are the visuals stunning and the music divinely/hauntingly unforgettable, but everything fits so well with the atmosphere that you'd hardly even notice that music is playing or animation happening. I hate to beat a tired drum but i must stress that this atmosphere, is the show, this strange mix of feelings and wondrous healing aurora is only possible thanks to the perfect tone setting music, while portraying the themes of the series so vividly is only possible thanks to the exceptional art, showing us this man made miracle, this rusty but alive city… Speaking of the city, you might be wondering why even bother to set this series on Mars if your just going to have a quiet little character driven series with little to no sci-fi. Well I suspect that the extravagant setting was to allow for two things, more creative freedom without the constraints of being set in a factual Venice, and to allow the introduction of certain characters and idea's such as Akatsuki Izumo a character who lives high above Neo-Venezia in a floating city and works to control the temperature to make it habitual for humans, all in all it was a paramount decision that helped to create a masterpiece.

To culminate, as with the past itself, Aria only gets better with age. Like some great golden tower it seems to rise out of its genre and set the bar for all utopian works. Making no attempt to disguise what it is or be what its not it sets its own pace and like a gentle breeze we are carried along with it. The challenges its characters face are not of a life threatening disposition and all the better for it, its love of the past and of man-made miracles provide a look into something we all feel but rarely discuss or think about. Like the beating of the tide against the buildings of venice or the rhythms of a poem, Aria seems to subtly ebb and flow between joy and sadness, future and past, the miracles of man and moments of magic, without ever losing focus of its characters or their hopes and feelings. And while Animation may be the weakest of the three seasons, it is only so because it must be, all that would eventually become a masterpiece is set-up here and the foundations of greatness firmly laid upon which its tower is built.

Like the golden past we long for so much, Aria the animation isn't perfect, but it does open the door to future seasons, which damn well come pretty close…

The tale of Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) and his many struggles and trials by the Gods as he quests to get back to his beloved Penelope, is the purest definition of a classic. Indeed being one of the earliest existent works of Western literature yet still read and well known tells a far greater tale of its epicness that any words I can offer ever will. So it should come as no surprise then that it has had many retellings, adaptations and allusions over the years, one only has to read James Joyce's famous novel aptly named Ulysses for a perfect example of a modern ... retelling. With that said it was rather inevitable that such a classic would get an animated adaption, and who better suited to undertake this Odyssey (eh! eh! Get it…) than Jean Chalopin, creator of such classics as Mysterious cities of Gold, another delightful pseudo historical adventure series.

Created in the wonderfully bizarre world that was the 80s, Ulysses 31 incorporates everything one would expect from such an endeavour, complete with a classic soundtrack, abstract visuals and a crazy future sci-fi setting, Ulysses 31 can really only be summed up in one sentence, "Only in the 80s…"

As previously mentioned the story is loosely based on The Odyssey by Homer, except set in space… please take as long as you need to allow the full weight of that sentence to sink in…

For those not familiar with this tale (please leave your caves and take your heads out of your …) the basic story is that of Odysseus/Ulysses journey home from the Trojan war to Greece. However he angers the Gods by killing their cyclops and so most partake in many challenges and trials in order to return home to his beloved wife Penelope. Ulysses 31 takes the basic premise of this but changes several things, such as having his son Telacmacus with him rather than at home, being set space, etc. It also incorporates many other classic greek and roman myths, with a futuristic twist of course. Such as the tale of Sisyphus cursed by the gods to roll a bolder up a hill only to have it roll back down every time, (almost as painfully futile as reading many a youtube comment), or crossing paths with such famous deities as the Sphinx or Chronos the God of time. All of this gives the series one of its greatest strengths, its educational value, imparting ancient tales and moral lessons all the while being exciting and and abstractly bizarre, the series really succeeds in what few series even bother to try anymore, to make enlightening entertainment.

Mostly told through episodic stories, Ulysses 31 largely involves Ulysses searching for the route back to earth while trying to escape the many traps set for him by the Gods or help others who are also under the omnipotently oppressive thumb of Zeus. An episodic style like this can often present frustration to the viewer by potentially becoming repetitive or lacking in consequence, however Ulysses 31 manages to find a good balance, incorporating all the individual stories fluently into the main quest of returning home without it becoming cyclical. However some may feel that the story would have been better severed with one or two story arch's, particularly with regard to the end, however this is a small nitpick. For the most part it all works like a swiss clock, granted some episodes are better than others, the adaptation of the story of Calypso being a good example of one of the better episodes, but even the less memorable ones are more than made up for with their visuals and music.

On the topic of the visuals and music, their probably the most endearing aspect of the show, despite being over 30 years old, enough time for any series to lose its lustier, it still looks topnotch. Any fan of hand drawn animation will be pleasantly rewarded for viewing this series. Add to that the fanatically unique and ostentatiously 80s depiction of future space, complete with huge starships, monsters, aliens, weird planets, laser swords (and shields), robots, cyborgs and everything that one has come to expect from sci-fi space adventures and you get a memorable experience to say the least. They say the mark of a good show is whether or not it stays with you, and thanks to some imagination, stark visuals and creative artistry, Ulysses 31 won't soon fall into the void of nothingness where so many bland shows ultimately gather.

The soundtrack to Ulysses 31's is again topnotch and like so much of this show, very much a product of its time. From its kickass opening "Galactic Legend Odyssey" to the awesomely 80s style action music to the quieter more sombre pieces the series really is worth watching for the soundtrack alone, in fact its worth it just to hear that opening 26 times…
Jean Chalopin really is a master of using music to elevate the emotions of his series', something he outdid himself with in Mysterious Cities of Gold but even here we can see the master at work, knowing exactly what to play where and when to bring out the full potential of his creation. They say sound is 60% of any movie or series and thats very much true with regards to Ulysses 31. However listening to some parts of the music one feels that the show was vey much inspired by (blatantly ripped off) the original star wars soundtracks, in fact one can even see this with regard to the visuals (laser swords/lightsaber etc) and some of the nosies the robots make sound very similar (are exactly the same) to R2-D2's famous beep noises. I believe this even led to the series being sued by Lucas Film at one point... C'est la vie.


With all that said however, probably the weakest aspect of the series is its characters, this is an inevitable consequence of the episodic nature of Ulysses 31 but there are also more substantial reasons for it. Ulysses 31 is at its core an adventure series, its not really driven by its characters so much as it is driven by the action and the feeling of a grand quest. In this way the characters are sort of set pieces that never really change or evolve, Ulysses is calm, knowledgeable and badass, he will never lose hope or abandon his friends, he was like that at the beginning and remains so at the end. Interestingly Ulysses greatest weakness from the original Odyssey, his arrogance, is missing from this adaption, 'tis a shame…
The other characters are also pretty much just one trick ponies, Telamacus simply wants to returns to return home and doesn't shut up about it, Yumi simply wants her brother back and doesn't shut up about it, while Nono their robot companion is your standard mildly annoying comic relief that all shows back then were required by international law to have for some unknown reason. Ulysses himself is interesting and awesome enough to enjoy despite the lack of any real growth or interesting faults that would make him relatable but like i said the focus of the series is really on the individual adventures rather than on the characters and in that regard the show works quite well.

To culminate, Ulysses 31 is an fascinating travel through time, ironically not forwards but backwards, to an age when shows were not aimed at any particular age or audience and everyone could come away having enjoyed something from it, to a period when you could make a series that was not only awesome but be a retelling of a 3000 year old Ancient greek poem. Despite its age, or rather thanks to it, the series manages to take its place among some of the best animated classics of the 80s, up there with Mysterious cities of gold, TMNT etc. It has its faults to be sure, but with its creative visuals, funky music and timeless story its one voyage thats earned its tittle as a true odyssey.

If theres one thing that anime can claim a rightfully deserved monopoly on, its the whimsical slice of life genre. No other media, that i know of, can produce so many shows with scenes of people eating breakfast and doing the laundry yet still manage to be interesting, (save perhaps some classic british series like Jeeves and Wooster), but it does it, and not only that but it often does it quite well, one only has to look at series' like Aria, Natsume Yujincho, Hibane renmei, to see this is true. But from here the trail follows that the best slice of life series' ... are those that successfully mix slice of life with the supernatural, and so be easily relatable but still mysterious, interesting but not ridiculous, and most important of all, require the audience to think a little to discover the meaning behind each episode…

Mokke for me, took many of these principles to heart, but perhaps sliced off a little to much life and didn't leave enough room in its tummy for a developed plot or story, but more on that particular cake later…

The series tells the story of two young girls who both have the ability to interact with ghosts, Shizuru, a high school student is even able to see them, while her younger sister, Mizuki can't, but is easily possessed by them. In order to find some peace they both move to the country to live with their grandparents, who have had some experience dealing with these spirits. Together they must both learn that they cannot simply avoid or destroy their ghostly apparitions all their lives, but instead must lean to coexist, and maybe even learn something about themselves and life along the way.

In terms of actual plot theres not much beyond the original premise, and thats to be somewhat expected, even preferred in this genre. The story mostly involves episodic plots about one of the girls (rarely both unfortunately) interacting with these ghosts. With Shizuru usually dealing with the creatures affecting those close to her, having to deal with her helplessness and loneliness not being able to talk to or help her close friends. And Mizuki having to deal with the fact thats ghost see her body as a thief sees a stately home with its front door left open. All the while trying to hide her abilities from her close friends and enjoy her childhood as best she can. An upward struggle for both girls, but one that is characteristically rewarding...

Rather than having a continuing story, each episode rather contains a theme, and is very like a parable, with some problem emerging that has to be overcome by our heroines and by the end they are stronger and wiser for the experience. Its makes for pleasant viewing, with some of the lessons being quite interesting and can strike very close to home at times, but it does get a little repetitive, as one sometimes resorts to playing guess the message of the week, as it where. Also one needs a high whimsy tolerance to be able stomach some of these episodes, fans of the gritty, brutal ghost story will find no macabre comfort here, best search elsewhere.


This episodic nature may a defining feature of the slice of life genre, but perhaps Mokke took it a little to far, with the only plot point that has even the slightest effect on the story as a whole is when Mizuki joins a club, (in fact the biggest plot point of all happens in the last few minutes of the final episode!). Its true that the best slice of life series' usually are episodic, for example Natsume Yujincho, (which is probably the closest thing to this series) but Natsume excels where this series stumbles as it managed to include small story arcs and introduce characters that later go on to be an intricate part of the story. Mokke's biggest problem is that there is none of this, characters or plot points introduced in one episode cease to exist in later episodes, even if their problems or stories have not fully been fully resolved. Some may argue that this is how real life works, with not every problem wrapped up into a neat little bow by the end of day, and while this is true i would endeavour to remind them that this is a slice of life series, not a full course meal of life series. It simply make for generally better viewing when things that are set up come to interesting conclusion, my opinion but one i feel is very close to the truth.

With all that said, the real pillars of the series are the characters, with each one of the three mains distinct and interesting. Mizuki the younger sister is energetic and playful, a product of her youth, this can give the impression that she if full of confidence and strong, but closer inspection reveals that quite the opposite is true. Constantly be possessed by spirits has led her to believe that she is weak and tends to laugh away her problems rather that face them, however as the series progresses she does try to rectify this problem, (not always with the intended consequences) and with the help of her sister, learn to find the balance between fighting and coexisting with these spirits. She is very much the heart of the series, providing much of the light hearted comedy and charm that characterises the series.

Shizuru the elder sister, is really quite beautiful, not in some stupid moe sense, but rather she has a very subtle charm to her, the simple art hides the depth-fulness of her character, intelligent, caring, kind, but lonely from never being able to talk to her friends about her abilities. I would insert a vain attempt to compare her to some flower always out of reach, but truthfully, I would rather take a stroll in front of a firing squad… Anyway, while not an amazing character, she does stand out as interesting in a medium, that all to often likes to portray women as being about as intelligent and interesting, as a pile of bricks.

However the star of the show for me at least was the grandfather, who acts as both their guardian and laissez-faire teacher. Rather than rushing in to save the girls anytime they get involved in the other world he prefers to stay back and let the girls fight their own battles. This may make him sound like a cold man but nothing could be further from the truth, as with many things in this series his actions are both subtle and meaningful. He knows all to well that he will not be around forever, and most importantly, he has learnt that one cannot live ones life in perpetual war with nature, but must rather find a way to coexist with what one can, avoid what one cannot and fight only those that seek to destroy us. Saying very little and always keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself, he seems to know exactly how things will play out, but at the end of the day its clear that he cares very deeply for his family, and would never let any harm come to them, nor would he unnecessarily hurt the ghosts and spirits that he has come to understand and respect.

However the side characters are a little different, this ties in with what I was saying earlier about the little to episodic nature of the series, character such as Shizuru and Mizuki's friends, while somewhat prominent, as not given a great amount of that far to overused term "character development". This term has become the go to weapon of wanna-be critics, and i myself have been guilty of this in the past, but i digress. The point is that some of these side characters have interesting features and stories surrounding them, and while some are given quite a good bit of character and even arcs, there are others who are simply forgotten or just outright ignored. Such as the grandmother, who despite being in an incredibly interesting position, married to a man who exercises spirits for a living, and having two granddaughters who can interact with them, very little is ever revealed about her, or if she also has these abilities. All in all these are small complaints but still substantial enough to distract from the story, which is a real pity.

Music wise everything was quite fitting, the opening i found to be quite enjoyable, if a tad dramatic for such a slow paced series. Everything else, like much of Mokke is subdued and pleasant, matching the pacing and the quiet country setting. I am unfortunately not a man of music and so can not speak knowledgeably on the subject, but i do know slice of lifes's and their music quite well, and can say that this is defiantly a very nice addition, while no-where near as memorable as something like Aria, it was instead, (like the whole series) "Quite pleasant".


Overall, Mokke was a fun series that always made for a relaxing and enjoyable watch, containing both interesting and charming main characters. Alas however it lacks enough of a plot to get you really invested, since you are aware that everything will be back to normal by the next episode, and the side characters are very much simply glossed over. Which is a real shame because i thoroughly enjoyed watching this series and would like to have seen more from it, but oh well, C'est la vie. Also a high level of whimsical tolerance is a must if one intends to watch it, however if one is a fan of such classic's as Natsume Yujincho or Aria and wishes to watch something with a similar "vibe" then Mokke may be the perfect dish, just don't expect to be full when its over and you move on to coffee and cigars…

Kotura-san is a ham sandwich…….. (Nurse, he's out of bed again!)

Let me elaborate, what i mean is that the aforementioned sandwich which consists of bread and ham shares similar qualities with Kotura-san, and its not that their both assembled by underpaid employees who spend most of their days wishing the earth would explode..(although thats also true..) Its that both are quite good if you simply want a cheap quick snack, or if your just not really hungry for something more substantial. Ones a food, ones a anime (their both cops!) but no-one said they were gonna be filling…


But enough of ... these high flying and bitingly witty sandwich analogies (always popular at parties) lets talk plot…


Kotura-san is, rather obviously, about Kotoura, no problems so far, although i must say i really love the amount of imagination and pizzaz they put into the title, thats a good sign right…

Kotoura Haruka is a 15-year-old girl who can read people's minds. Now you'd think this would make her the luckiest person in the world, and it should, but Kotoura is… well she's an idiot. And so logically she uses her powers idiotically, reading peoples minds and spitting out their secrets for all to hear. This causes her to be shunned by those around her, even her her own parents who go so far as to ditch her on her millionaire grandpa and piss off, (millionaire?). After this traumatic experience she shuts herself off and becomes bitter and melancholic, moving from school to school as a result. That is until she arrives at generic high school number 300192, where she meets Manabe Yoshihisa, one of her classmates, who because of his simple and kind hearted nature quickly accepts and appreciates her for who she is, creepy mind reading ability and all. And so gradually Kotura begins to open up and tries to live the life she always wanted, to simply be happy with her friends (and drive around in a van solving mystery's).


I would describe the plot in this series (using the, universal measuring system of sandwiches, naturally), as being just plain bread and butter. Its pretty much by the numbers what you'd expect, a lone socially awkward student transfers into a new school, they think its gonna be just like all the other schools (japan must have like a north south jerk divide when it comes to schools…), they meet someone who understands them or accepts them for what they are, blah blah blah, they join a weird club, theres some obstacles or problems to overcome but at the end everyones better friends because of it. (By the power of Friendship!!!!)
Whatever, we all know the plots not the reason we're watching a series called kotoura-san released in January…. the month were rejected idea's come together to blow their own brains and hope the ensuing spectacle will at least mildly entertain us.

So lets get to the meat of this series, or rather, (snicker,…) the ham!!!! (oh I'm sorry, did i get some of my wit on you, I do apologise.)
So of course its Katoura, and first things first…. GOD DAMN IS SHE CUTE, like they took every ounce of cuteness they had saved in the cute bank and shoved it into Katoura shares, she's cuter than a baby lambs pet kitten, I mean they pulled every trick in the preverbal book to make you sympathetic to this character, not only is she ridiculously cute but they also gave her own over the top tragic back story, one that would make even Clannad fans roll their eyes…

Basically life treated her as it own personal shuttlecock and knocked her for six (phrasing, boom!). This caused her to close herself off until she met Manabe who immediately accepts her, and also almost immediately, she changes into what she really is, a timid little girl who just wants to loved (ah, bless). And thats really about it, (keep in mind this all happens in the first episode). After that theres not much to say about Katoura's character, she pretty much just falls into the role of "female rom-com character", there are some sweets bits with her mother here and there but its far too little far too late. Her mind reading ability is also never really looked into or explored, why can she read minds? can others? how does it work? can she turn it off and on? In fact as the series goes on its almost forgotten, only working when its convenient for the plot. In fact this whole series could exist without the mind reading ability at all, just replace it with any social stigma and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference.

But my real peeve with this character is her uselessness, constantly throughout the show despite effectively having a super power, Katoura-san proves to about as useful as a magnifying glass to a blind man. No matter what the situation Katoura-san needs the help of someone else (usually Manabe) to save her, i can understand it at the beginning, but later, hmm i don't know… Unfortunately it all makes for a very predictable watch, which is real shame because there was some potential in Katoura to be an interesting character, but whatever...

In short kotura is defiantly the best thing about the show as she's just so damn cute and can deliver a nice scene once in a while, but unfortunately thats all there really is, she's like a sandwich cut into an amusing shape, fun to look at but still just a sandwich…

The other characters are just damn forgettable, Manabe is the most boring human being on the planet, he's in love with Katoura-san, and thats it… he'd throw himself in front of a truck to save Katoura's shoe. What did he do before she came along, was he just a robot pre-programmed to activate when he met Katoura? We learn nothing about him, other than he has mildly naught thoughts about women occasionally (that BASTARD!). They give us no reason at all to care or relate to this guy, his every thought and move seems to be dictated by Katoura's existence, it's very charming but boring as hell to watch. (His sandwich ranking = bread thats fallen on ground...)

The same goes for everyone else. there's Yuriko, the club president who wants to prove her mother was really a physic by using Katoura, but it goes nowhere and just sort of fizzles out… There's Moritani who starts out interesting but then just becomes wallpaper... and then there that other guy who blah blah blah, voice of Katsuargi Keima from the world god only knows, blah blah blah, dry bread…….

Lets talk comedy, since this show is a comedy, the majority of humour comes from Manabe fantasising about Katoura-san and then Katoura getting embarrassed and angry. But the show works on the logic that jokes get funnier the more times you see them, does it work, you decide…(hint, it doesn't). I can defiantly see some people enjoying this style of humour but it wasn't my particular sandwich so if you like the usually rom-com style of comedy then you'll probably enjoy this, if not theres nothing really new here for you. (sandwich ranking= Marmite sandwich)

One thing i want to say about the art style, is that this series was made by some of the same people who created Mitsudomoe, and this similar style can really be seen in Katoura-san particularly with regard to making the series look as cute as possible, a skill that was well honed in Mitsudomoe. Just thought id put that in.

Overall Katoura-san is a pretty weak series that offers very little in the way of anything new or interesting, despite its interesting premise. However the show is difficult to hate despite its many flaws, due to the cute and charming way in which its presented, it manages to have its nice moments but unfortunately they're not enough to save the show from the depths of mediocrity where it will surely fall. If you are a big fan of rom-coms and just want to watch another one, then Katoura-san will fit the bill perfectly, but if your like me and want something more from a series, then Katoura-san will leave you still feeling hungry… And speaking of hungry all this talk of food has made me just that, I'm off to get something to eat, i think i'll make myself, you guessed it….

soup...

The Hayate series has been going now for a relatively long time, the manga started running back in 2004, and had already added two anime series` to its name (one of which was 52 episodes long), but since 2009 we’ve had nothing really new from the Hayate franchise, except a pretty sub par movie in which nothing happened but whatever. The point is that it had been a while since anything substantially new came out, that was until we heard about this new series, cant keep my eyes off you, which was going to be entirely original, some of us got our hopes up, others ... stayed cautiously optimistic but in the end all of us where to be disappointed by this cynical cash grab.

And that’s exactly what this series was, a rushed, poorly thought out attempt to keep the Hayate series alive and in peoples memory until the next real season comes out, which, COMPLETELY BY COINCIDENCE, was announced just after this series was finished, yeah nothing fishy there, uh hum, nice try.

So Hayate No gotoku Cant keep my eyes open continues the story of Hayate an extremely unlucky teenager who through a series of unlikely events ended up working as a butler to a rich spoilt tsundere girl named Nagi to pay of the massive dept his rotten parents saddled him with. The series essentially follows his misadventures as he tries to avoid death or getting into more debt on a daily bias. This season however deals more with Nagi`s past and when a mysterious girl shows up claiming to be Nagi`s sister, looking for something called the Black Camellia then the gang must journey to Las Vegas to uncover the truth.

I really don’t like writing one sided reviews but honestly I cant think of anything really good to say about this series at all, the only interesting bits in the whole show where stuff they took straight from the manga (such as the diner scene), and as this is supposed to be an entirely original series I cant count that, everything that is original is awful, as are its interpretation of the characters and its design of them, but more on that later, for now lets talk about the major mistakes in this series.

The first huge mistake was actually in even making this series, you see “Cant keep my eyes anywhere near you” is set some time in future of the last season, and is even ahead of the manga, yeah no problems there. You see season 2 ended just before going into what many people including myself believed to be the pinnacle of awesomeness that the manga ever reached, the Athena arc, but they decided to save that for the real third season and instead they gave us this half baked plot about a watch, and some crazy sailor moon villain who wants it and a whole bunch of other boring crap that no-one cares about.

The result is a hackney, Frankenstein like monster of a story that’s trying to do a whole bunch of things but isn’t doing any of them right, its trying to be a comedy but its not funny, its trying to be serious, but its ridiculously over the top (and not in a good way), its trying to be a love story, but with flat characters and no resolution, its trying to be father-daughter story, but they don’t flesh it out enough and waste too much time on pointless stuff.

So in the end by trying to juggle too many things at once, combined with a rushed script they ended up dropping them all, and the result is something messier than a lit paper bag on a door step...
which is ironic because both things are full of sh##

Then there’s the new character, Nagi`s supposed sister, this character was pretty forgettable, another loli tsundre, geeze there must be more of these than there are actual animes. But in all seriousness this was a pretty bad character, most of the time she is just annoying, with the attempts to make her cute and moe so obvious and cheap that I want to punch the screen every-time see appears. There where some attempts to give her a character of her own but for me she never broke free from being a character who has been created simply for this series alone, and then strictly never mentioned again.

The other characters where pretty awful too, Maria was static and boring (and stupid, yes I said stupid, because there’s a scene where she’s standing on one of those air vent things on the floor that blows your skirt up Marilyn Monroe style, and it happens to her three times in succession and she gets angry, but she never once thinks to take three steps to her left and walk off it... you dumb bimbo!) Nagi was bland, disinterested and slow to pick up on incredibly obvious things and so was everyone else, we’ll get to Hayate in a minute but all the side characters felt like puppets with their strings cut.

After that is the art, and if you wanted proof that this series was a rushed mess, then all you have to do it look at it, I mean wow, there were actually some scenes that were comically bad, some characters actually looked like their faces and been created by a blacksmith... who was blind.
I mean Manglobe aren’t exactly top of the line animators but ive never seen anyone turn out a disaster like this in years, geeze!
If you’ve seen this series then I think your familiar with the infamous terrible reveal shot of a certain character, yeah you know what im talking about, its actually so bad its funny, seriously go watch it, its in episode 3, just watch from around 3 minutes in you’ll know it when you see it, trust me...


Lastly we have the main character, why am I doing him last? Well because hes probably the least important thing in the whole show, he doesn’t do anything! No im not kidding he does nothing in the entire show, he`s always there don t get me wrong, but he’s usually just standing in the background, smiling awkwardly. He`s like everything else in this series, horribly forgettable, we learn nothing new about him or his character, he doesn’t grow, regress or change at all, now I know this is essentially a comedy and so character arcs are not as important as in other types of stories, but you still need some level of character or it’ll become a series of “things that happen” rather that a story.

He might as well be part of the scenery for the majority of the show, he mostly just nods and says “yes m`lady” or “eehhh!” you could remove him from the show and just put in Parker from Thunderbirds and it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference.

Its painfully obvious that this entire series is filler and so they couldn’t do anything drastic with the characters or the story as this series is meant to be seen and then forgotten.

The Hayate franchise has always worked on a basic formula of a zany sort of Gintama like comedy, and a basic harlem series with a clueless main character. And while the franchise had its problems, it still produced some funny and memorable moments despite the constraints of the genre, however none of those moments exist here, this series feel like a cheap imitation of a Hayate series with a hackney story attached that would make even a college student throw up in disgust.

It adds nothing to the franchise and is completely forgettable, well except for that reveal shot (whoah that was hilariously bad), and is clearly just a very long trailer for the real third season. The whole thing just feels like it was rushed out to tide people over until then and really should have just been shortened to an 3 episode OVA and released as a special edition with the next volume of the manga.

Its really quite sad to see how badly this series messed up because it really feels that with just a good bit more work and time spent on it then this could have been a good series in its own way, but as it is im afraid it really is a stinker.
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2 + 2 = 4
This is a simple equation and a hard fact of maths. If you add 2 and 2 you will have four, its a tried and true fact of life. So why am I bringing this up in an anime review up, well because Tari Tari also religiously follows a tried and true equation, High school girls + slice of life = Money

In fact it follows so close that it actually didn't bother to bring anything original or interesting to the table, and because the writers believed so deeply in this formula they thought that it wouldn’t matter ... what they fed us, as long as they stuck to this equation people would watch it. (And the sad fact is, if you look at the blue-ray sales, they where actually right, sigh.)

So what is Tari Tari, well here`s a quick summary of what its about.

Tari Tari follows 5 high school kids with High school problems who form their own choir club due to the main character, Konatsu, being unable to "Shine" in the original music club. The main plot revolves around each of the main characters providing a look into each ones goals and life ambitions and the problems they face in achieving these goals.

It all sounds simple enough but here`s where the problems come in, the main plot, that of the group led by Miyamoto Konatsu trying to perform at the cultural festival, while a simple enough idea is so poorly written and executed that it ruins the whole series, confused, let me explain...

the idea of a group of teenagers, all with their own problems, being brought together by music and then working to put on a big show is a pretty good idea, Sakamichi no Apollon (kids on the slope) did this idea too but they did it so much better because it was much better written. These characters had their problems too but they where more relatable and, most important of all their problems weren’t solved in two episodes so the story could move onto another character with problems.

Also the music played a much bigger part in Sakamichi no Apollon, you really get a feel that these characters are being brought together despite their differences because of there love of jazz, with Tari Tari no one really seemed to care about the music club for much of the series and it certainly never seemed to bring them together or help them with their problems, in fact they all solved their problems on their own so what was the point of this series.


Not only that but there where some really stupid scenes in this series as well. Like with the sub plot about the school being closed down because some rich guy wants to build a hotel, I mean what is this a 90s Disney channel tv movie, come on how lame is this. Theres even a scene where the rich guy is sitting in a big chair looking over an expensive wine bottle while telling the principle hes going to close the school, oh I get it, hes a bad guy isnt he. they should have just had him counting dollar bills while stroking an evil cat and spitting on orphan puppies, if your going to do a stupid scene like that you might as well go the whole way don’t ya think.


But to be honest this show isn’t really about the plot, its more about the characters and how they fight against their problems and obstacles in order to achieve there dreams. And while all five protagonists have believable problems, mostly typical of your average teenager, the show again suffers from bad writing and clichéd ideas. You see again they followed a formula with the characters, introduce them and their goals + add problems + shake well = leave to cool for 1 episode then move onto another character. Then there’s the characters themselves, despite this being a character driven story we find out very little about some characters and too much about others, very little time is devoted to the male characters, they are developed shocking little in this series and given very little screen time and attention compared to the female characters. I mean I suppose there was some attempt to give them depth like with the sup plot about Wien and some childhood friend back in Austria (which again is horribly written to the point where its almost comical) but its very small in comparison to the female cast.

The main problem with the characters is again the belief of the writers that by adding a few scenes of people crying and some sad back story’s this would count as character development, it does not. Character development is when we the audience can relate to characters who feel like real people and we watch and learn how they grow and change throughout the course of the story, its not devoting two episodes to a character crying because she cant do what she wants then ignoring them for the rest of the story.

Now to be fair some of the back-storys where quite sad and moving such as Wakana`s with the story of her dead mother, but again it could nave been done much better with some decent writing and some good direction.


So anyway the problems with this series aren’t particularly complicated or mysterious, its just a simple case of a series that tried to be quirky and whimsical with characters that warmed your heart, but instead it fell its face face due to bad writing, lack of imagination and using every cliché in the book. Overall not a bad series but there’s so many other that do this idea much, much better such as Sakamichi no Apollon, watch that instead.

One of the problems with something truly unique and original is that it can often become a victim of its own originality, alienating a large group of people who just don’t get or who just don’t care for its ideas. This does not make a show bad but rather an “acquired taste”, and Haibane Renmei is defiantly of this type. Its slow pace ,and encouragement to think for yourself could put a lot of people off which is a shame because Haibane Renmei is actually an interesting and thought provoking anime that feels truly unique in an industry that ... likes nothing more than to make carbon copies of other successful things to make a quick buck.

The basic premise of Haibane Renmei is the story of a young girl named Rakka, a newly arrived Haibane (basically an angelic-looking being), and the other characters who are also Haibane and live in the city of Glie a city walled from the rest of the world. The story follow Raka as she tries to get used to being a Haibane and the new world she now inhabits while also trying to understand who or what she is and what it means to be a Haibane ...

So what makes an anime about a bunch of girl with wings and halos living together original and worth watching? Well God is in the details my friends and that`s where this show excels, in the details. Clearly a lot of work and passion went to making Haibane Renmei and it really shows because it looks great, sounds great and is surprisingly depth-full, especially the story and characters which where as interesting to watch as they where thought provoking. Now I should mention that Haibane Renmei is based on a Doujin by Abe Yoshitoshi (serial experiments Lain) so I should give give him credit as he is the original creator, with this having a very similar atmosphere and feel too his other work. Clearly his original ideas where not watered down by the studio as they allowed him to write the screenplay for this anime so it retains the feel of the original very well. And of course its always good to know the original artist was involved greatly in the making of the adoption. As I said whats really great about this show is the atmosphere that Abe Yoshitoshi creates, its the kind that you can see feel in all his works that really pulls you in with it foreboding and mystery while making you think, it not incredibly deep like say Mushishi is but it still better than the vast majority of anime out there is.

On top of all this is the characters which are defiantly this shows strongest element, their played subtly and not too much in your face especially the main characters Rakka and Reki who by the way where extremely interesting to watch and grow. They where given much time to develop and it never felt rushed, which was a accomplishment seeing as this was only 13 episodes. I also found it interesting how the focus of the show is never entirely on one character and actually cleverly allows for all the characters to shine while allowing for their stories to mix and develop which was a nice touch as some animes tend to only focus on only one character and sometimes overdevelop them ignoring other potential interesting characters.

The art for this series was excellent , after all it was based on Abe Yoshitoshi orginal Doujin so difficult to go wrong there. Its stunning in its beauty, with European-style architecture in the city and beautiful green rolling fields which really make you feel the tranquillity and secluded oasis feeling that this anime gives off but never losing that mysterious feeling that so important to this anime. Because of this I really enjoyed this setting, which is basically a walled off city similar to a small European village ( what! An anime thats not set in Japan, quickly to the Führer bunker!) and separated from the outside world so no-one knows what its like beyond the walls. I thought this was kinda cool because it created a sense of danger and foreboding that all humans get from not knowing what’s goes on so close to where they live. It created a good mystery and left it open for interpretation as to why this city is walled off and what if anything is in the outside world and especially the all important question of what the Haibane really are.


If I had one compliant about this show its that there where times when the main character sometimes acts in ways that just didn’t make sense to me. One example is that after being born a Haibane from a cocoon, given a Halo and even grows wings in the middle of the night she never has any real questions about anything that’s happening. If that happened to me id be asking questions at a million miles a minute like, “why do we have wings?, can I fly?, does everyone have wings? , can I fly?, what are the halos made off?, can I fly?, am I dead?, “is this heaven?” ,“seriously, can I fly?” but she just accepts all of it like it doesn’t concern her at all. I get that she has no memories but did she leave her common sense in that cocoon. I don’t know, this is a small complaint that I just thought id mention to balance this review out a bit, because otherwise this is a relativity flawless series. When you watch it you might see what im talking about here or you might not, it could be that im just nitpicking here but whatever, moving on.

Anyway this problem should not keep you from watching what is otherwise a great and unique series, the feel of it is great, the characters are great, the art is great. I would recommend this series to anyone looking for something a little different and proof of the heights of originality and greatness that anime can rise to if it really tries and given a a chance.

As a big fan of the original I was naturally very excited too hear they where making a sequel and I had high hopes that this series would be just as good as the last “how could they possibly screw it up” I asked myself . Well the anime industry seems eager to screw up everything they touch these days so the answer to that question came rather unwelcomingly in the form of Moyashimon Returns, a series that as flawed as a plane with a hole in the side and as hollow as a bamboo shoot. The only redeeming quality of this series is that ... it rotten corpse like body can feed the many bacteria and fungi that the show goes to such pain to educate us about. So what went so horribly wrong you ask well before that heres a quick recap of what this show about.

The first series of Moyashimon took place at an agricultural university and centred around a first year student named Sawaki Tadayasu, after arriving he is taken under the wing of the eccentric professor Itsuki Keizo after he discovers Sawaki has a special gift: that he can see all kinds of microbes, Not only that, but they dont look scientifically accurate but instead like cute chibi creatures with smart mouths. Throw in two degenerate but likeable losers, a cross dressing best friend, a dominatrix like girl and some good writing and you have Moyashimon, a simple and weird yet highly enjoyable anw ime that while not very successful and gathered something of a cult status.

So many years later with the studios all out of new ideas they decided to give it another season, this of course having nothing to do with the massive success of Arakawa Hiromu`s (Full metal alchemist) new manga Gin no saji (silver spoon) which is also set in an agricultural university, yep their completely unrelated, just a coincidence...

So anyway what went so terribly wrong with this sequel you ask, well to understand that you have to know a little of what was so good about the original. The first series was no masterpiece, it was no emotional roller-coaster that took you to far of worlds but what it was, was a quirky, fun imaginative series that was highly original in climate of rip offs and carbon copies. The story knew exactly what it was, a weird and humorous tale of a bunch of losers and rejects learning about microbes from a man who may or may not be insane and all the wacky hijinks that this in-tales. The characters where likeable and given just enough depth to make them relatable and for us to care about them but never so much that it ruined the comedy or messes with the tone of what is a pretty silly series.

Then this series came along and right of the bat I knew something was wrong, for some reason they started this like it was just another episode of the first season, despite the fact that the original aired 5 years ago, they just jumped right in without taking any time to set up what the hells going on or whose who, if your new to this or haven’t seen the original in a while then your fucked plain and simple. Then as the first few episodes go by the problems start to emerge, they somehow thought it would be a good idea to remove the humour from this series and replace it with, well nothing, and then have some stupid sub plot about the professor having a secret room and have one of the female characters try to find it because she doesn’t like it when people keep things from her, for some reason, even though shes keeping things from other people all the while the main character does nothing except utter awkward dialogue but it okay because the story goes nowhere and is devoid of any humour or life, oh wait thats bad. Everything about this series feel rushed and like it was trying to appeal to mainstream audiences by removing all the quirkiness that made the first series so good. Also for some reason Sawaki the main character is ignored for much of this series, I mean I know he wasn’t the strongest main character in the first season but at least the story followed him, as it should hes the main, but in this it follows everyone but him giving him and in turn the story this bland feeling that seems to emulate from the whole series.

Then the dumbest thing ever happens one of the characters Hasegawa is forced to go to Paris by her rich father to wed a child-hood friend against her will, so the guys gather up some money and try to rescue her from her forced marriage. Do I even need to explain whats wrong with this, how did we get from a weird and fun series about microbes to serious drama and running trough france trying to stop a woman from getting married, a women who constantly complains about being a “bird in a cage” while she drives in a limousine through the French country side, yeah life’s really been a bitch to you, watch you dont hit any peasants on your way out, bitch.

Its amazing that they didnt realise that you cant have serious drama mixed with a comedy about a guy who can see microbes , okay writers, those dont mix, they just fuck with the tone and make things awkward, right got it, moving on. So next the even more dumbest thing ever happens they introduce a character called marie who`s father owns a winery, everything about this character is pointless, badly written and just distracts from the story. For some reason it goes to great lengths to tell us about her problems which despite like 3 episodes or something mentioning it I still don’t quite know what the hell she was moaning about, something about her father or wine or who gives a fuck, literally why did they think this would be interesting to people who enjoyed the first season or anyone for that matter. Half this series is wasted in a pointless sub plots and mindbogglingly strange decisions with the story and the other half is just unfunny, rushed and poorly written, damn even the editing was jarring and getting on my nerves did this series do anything right except, with the microbes of course they still fun.

I mean how much more could you possible fuck up the second series than this one did, all the jokes what little there are suck, the characters are flat with the life and uniqueness from the first season sucked out of each, the story is a confused mess that skids all over the place and feels nothing like the light hearted, creative series that I so enjoyed, the main characters does nothing while boring side characters that we dont give a shit about whine and complain about stuff we also don’t give a shit about. It a mess plain and simple, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, fans of the original stay away, everyone else just ignore this and watch the original.