Short review: While this anime may seem perverse on the surface, Chobits actually does ask deep questions regarding emotions, and technological singularity. Characters are interesting and dynamic, but art and animation is kept to a minimum. English dub is pretty good, and the music is fun but not remarkable. The anime is well executed, and I did enjoy watching it.
Loooooooong review:
Story: (This is going to be long...)
The first half-or-so of Chobits is rather lighthearted and comedic, with Hideki adjusting to city life, school, and teaching Chi new things. This is where you mostly see the slice-of-life part of this anime.Within the middle part, there are
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a few rather pointless episodes, such as a beach episode or the "haunted" apartment episode. However, darker themes are introduced past the first four episodes, getting darker and more mysterious as the show progresses. The second half has a lot of great character moments and backstories that will really force you to question what are emotions and how close computers/robots/AI will be to humans, and if they will ever replace us. A lot of the plot is driven forward by new revelations of the mystery of Chi, and seeing everyone's past experiences and relationships with persocoms.
But contrasting all the drama and tragedy in the second half, the fourth episode of Chobits is funnier than ANY episode in School Rumble, which is supposed to be a straight-up comedy anime. The style of humor in Chobits is a mix of gag/slapstick comedy and sexual humor. The use of the two-tone patterns running across the screen along with English words in the background added to the gag/slapstick part of the comedy, while the voice acting in the English dub makes the rest of the humor more believable and funnier in general. I know this kind of comedy isn't for everyone (Trust me, I did find Hideki's somewhat perverted antics to be annoying at times), but it doesn’t really take away from the experience. If anything, it almost enhances it. The Seinen elements and fanservice in this show may also make some people (particularly a female audience) uncomfortable. Most of the persocoms in this anime are female (looking), and the ones we actually get to know are usually dressed in elaborate lolita or costumes. I don't exactly perceive this as sexist, because I know the four authors that make up CLAMP are all women. My theory as to why CLAMP decided to create this story is because Chobits is a sort of analogy, where (in Japan, the gender disparity problem seems worse) this could be our reality, and in a sense, we already do this. It's sort of like a slap in the face, saying, "Do we really want our society to change like this?" And it seems to me that if anyone's going to create a persocom, they will probably be from Japan. Just a hunch.
Also, I suggest skipping the recap episodes (10, 20, and 27). The pacing of the show is fine, if you're okay with a few filler episodes. It keeps the mystery somewhat suspenseful in the first half, then the pacing does pick up in the second half, with more and more information given to the audience until the last two plot episodes where everything is revealed. And it's this that makes the ending to Chobits satisfying.
Characters:
Chobits does introduce quite a few characters, both human and persocom, in a rather even fashion throughout the series. The characters aren't that memorable in the long run, but I think you'll remember the humans because of their experiences with persocoms, and the persocoms themselves, for their motivations to do what they do. I don't think there is one character I hated, although I can understand how they may not be likeable or if a character is annoying at times. A lot of the characters (mostly humans) do develop throughout the show in different realizations of themselves or their relationships, whether those relationships be with another human or persocom. And it's these relationships and developments that are the show's best parts and drive the plot forward.
Now, let's run down some characters. Although Hideki is a pervert, he really is a nice guy (as he is told many, many times throughout the anime) who has shown himself to be very caring and empathetic. *Sigh* I swear, there's a character archetype for the nice guy who's also a huge pervert (Akihisa Yoshii, Tsukune Aono, Shigure Sohma). Chi fills the role of main female character and "Miss Fanservice". Not necessarily the T&A fanservice (this is CLAMP we're talking about, here), but by doing cute things and just being sweet and innocent. Yes, I did think it was a bit cute, but the pandering male otakus may think so otherwise...
The rest of the characters serve as adding to the mystery, trying to solve the mystery, or has a dark past relating to persocoms. Not a single character in this anime is entirely useless, nor do I think any one of them were wasted. Each of them contribute to the plot in varying degrees or frequencies. and you usually see the characters develop after seeing them realize something about persocoms or relationships.
Art:
Chobits is an anime from 2002, when digital animation was getting started in the anime industry but quickly becoming mainstream. It has a similar style of art as, say, Love Hina. Yes, the art is a bit dated, but it's age does add a bit of charm, instead of style to this anime. The nature backgrounds that are shown in about two of the show's episodes are actually very nice and look as if they were painted with very neat watercolors. The art was a bit flat, but not to the extent that it was boring. Madhouse did successfully re-create the neatness and style of CLAMP's artwork from the original manga. However, the art in the anime looks less...CLAMP-ish.
Animation:
I will say that the animation in this show is not sloppy. The wind blowing Chi's long hair looks natural, and the style of animating the picture book scenes made me feel like I was reading the book. However, in an anime like this, don't expect EXCEPTIONAL animation.
Voice:
Comparing the sub with thew dub, I'd say go with the dub, because I thought it was funnier and more natural. In a complete contrast to the role Crispin Freeman is most famous for portraying (go look it up if you don't know), he does a GREAT job at voicing the fish-out-of-water Hideki. He sounded exasperated, concerned, goofy, hyper, just very good at conveying emotions and making Hideki sound more natural and 3-D. While Chi's dialogue is cheesy sometimes, I think it did a good job of conveying innocence and curiosity. And Michelle Ruff did a nice job with her high pitched voice for Chi, and the darker voice for Freya. Almost all the side characters also had great dub performances, such as Minoru, Yumi, Mr. Ueda, and Ms. Shimizu. Minoru did sound like a mature kid, kind of like Ed in the dub of FMA. Yumi sounded perky and sweet when she needed to, but when things got serious, she did sound wistful, sad and depressed. Not many parts were too over-acted, with was also very nice.
Music:
The opening to this show is very catchy and cute, although repetitive. It almost made me want to dress up in one of Chi's outfits and do a cute dance with a bunch of backup dancers dressed exactly the same. That's the only way I can describe the opening. I didn't think either of the ending themes were exceptional in any way, but the choice of which ending theme to use did fit how the episode ended. The OST is mostly light, cute, fun, but not terribly memorable. However, the music does kick it into high gear whenever something intense happens. And the music box theme that plays whenever Chi is reading a book is actually kind of creepy. Overall, the OST does add to the overall experience of the anime.
Execution:
Chobits is initially set up as a rom-com, but I think I should have known this show would get darker. While some may have problems with the pacing and the filler, saying it takes away from the good stuff, I think this anime adaptation was set up with an audience enjoyment in mind ahead of the deep story. One episode, you're laughing, the next thinking deeply. So don't watch this anime for one element or genre, because, as you saw in my pie chart up there, Chobits combines a lot of genres. You may get confused about the atmosphere of this anime, so if you want to check this out, go in with no expectations (even though I just talked about this anime in detail...) If you do so, then this anime will work for you.
My Enjoyment:
Okay, in my book, there are two kinds of enjoyment for an anime (well, there's three, if you want to go there.) The first is having a lot of fun with an anime and really enjoying yourself, see Gurren Lagann. The second is being engrossed in the story and it's characters, such as in Death Note. Chobits falls more under the latter, with its overarching mystery and interesting characters. I didn't so much have fun with this anime as I did get engaged to the story. That's the whole reason I ended up marathoning large portions of this anime over about a week. The suspense was enough to keep me coming back, and the comedy is usually nicely placed, which did make the experience rather positive. And if you want to get all nit-picky about the supposed sexism in this anime, you're not going to have a good time.
If you liked this review, please check out my anime review blog! Link is on my profile.
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Oct 19, 2014 Recommended
Short review: While this anime may seem perverse on the surface, Chobits actually does ask deep questions regarding emotions, and technological singularity. Characters are interesting and dynamic, but art and animation is kept to a minimum. English dub is pretty good, and the music is fun but not remarkable. The anime is well executed, and I did enjoy watching it.
Loooooooong review: Story: (This is going to be long...) The first half-or-so of Chobits is rather lighthearted and comedic, with Hideki adjusting to city life, school, and teaching Chi new things. This is where you mostly see the slice-of-life part of this anime.Within the middle part, there are ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 19, 2014
Hakushaku to Yousei
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Short review:
Having read the first volume of the manga, I was very excited to find out there was an anime adaptation of this. However, the story was paced a little too quickly, and often times felt disjointed. I also found it a bit difficult to get attached to the characters. Art and animation are kept to a minimum, like with most shojo anime. The voice acting was okay, and the music didn't really stand out to me. Overall, I don't think this anime can stand alone, meaning you wold have to get the original source material to fully enjoy this anime. Loooooooong review: Story and Characters: Now, ... I've read the manga, but not the light novels. And I will be making comparisons between the manga and anime. So, let me try to put the story into a satirical form (minor spoilers): Edgar: Help me become the Blue Knight Earl. Lydia: Why do I have to? Edgar. I can kill you. But I also think I love you. Lydia: Uhhh... Raven: I am Edgar's loyal servant. Nico: MORE SHRIMP!!! Edgar: Mr. Carlton, please let me marry your daughter. Lydia and her father: ?!?!?!?! Edgar: You know, I was once in love with someone named Ermine. Kelpie: I want to mate with you, Lydia. And then there's Huxley, who I really don't remember much about him. I give the story creativity points. But looking at the story as a whole, it only vaguely made sense to me. The transition from different plot points is sometimes sudden and/or doesn't make sense. This is the kind of story that needs to marathoned in order to remember everything and to remember all the mysteries and "clues" in the anime. It's also not very enjoyable, either. But that may just be me, because I was waiting for some real chemistry between Lydia and Edgar. I am not afraid to say I was struck with bishi fever when watching this anime. Obviously, there's Edgar, but then there's Kelpie, the water spirit in love Lydia and kind of looks like Kaname from Vampire Knight (CURSE YOU). And there's (another) character every other fangirl seems to love but I didn't, Raven. All these bishis did have some sort of a (back)story, but was either applied too lightly (Paul, Kelpie), or too heavily (Raven, Edgar). The character relationships, especially the ones involving Ermine, seemed a bit confusing, and would be more confusing had I not read the manga. Okay, let's talk about Lydia. I have mixed feeling about her. I appreciate that she's not entirely helpless and she isn't stupid, either. But she's stubborn, although with good reason. She doesn't develop much, except for her (reluctant) feelings towards Edgar. And like Lydia, I also had mixed feelings about Edgar. He's manipulative, a charmer, and not afraid to get what he wants by any means necessary. But at least he didn't treat Lydia like trash. I think this "split" was a good idea, though, because it offers a bit of darkness and "reality" to a main male character in a fantasy anime. It's even better if that kind of guy is your thing, if you get what I'm saying. He isn't clueless, like Tamaki Suoh, or very abrasive, like Kyo Sohma. But I think Edgar is fine as he is, because he's a different type of male love interest in shojo anime. Art and Animation: The Earl and The Fairy was produced by studio Artland, who also made the anime Mushi-shi. The art style isn't that different between the two, but it didn't suit The Earl and The Fairy very well. I thought the art was too flat and the colors were a little too pale. But I also thought they put more work into drawing Edgar than anyone else in the anime. Because this is a 2008 anime, I expected this to be a very beautiful looking shojo anime. Honestly, I expect shojo/romance anime to look nice (Ouran, Clannad). Cardcaptor Sakura, an anime that's 10 years older than The Earl and The Fairy looks better, in my opinion. Which is a shame, because the artwork in the light novels and the manga is VERY beautiful. And is it just me, or were all of Lydia's formal dresses really ugly? However, I can understand why they didn't want to put a lot of effort into drawing or the art. The animation is about average as well. What comes to mind when thinking about the animation is whenever Raven fights. I just thought the flash of green and then seeing all the enemies go down was kind of cheap and cheesy. The opening animation also looks kind of cheap. But this is a shojo anime, and I think animation isn't supposed to be one of it's focuses. Music: Before I talk about the music, I would just like to say there is no voice category for this review because this anime has never been dubbed. Yeah, after my Attack on Titan review, I realized I can't judge the original voices in an anime very well. I don't think there was at least one memorable OST track. I think it "set the mood" of the anime, but just wasn't exceptional in any way. The opening theme was okay, but it wasn't that great. It really didn't fit a historical, shojo anime, either. And I'm pretty sure the ending (well, this is mostly the animation we're talking about here) caused almost as many ovaries to explode as did the trailer for the Free! anime. Execution and My Enjoyment: Kind of how I said a high school slice-of-life comedy should not be super-long, a shojo anime should not be only 12-13 episodes. I don't think that's enough time for true, satisfying romantic development. The story was just too much to be compressed into 12 episodes. Normally, one volume of manga = 4-5 anime episodes. The first volume of the manga became the first 2 episodes of the anime. Yeah, I think you get the idea what the pacing of this show is like. This anime had far too much (somewhat disjointed) story elements crammed into 12 episodes. I don't mind when an anime tries to do a lot of things, like in Angel Beats, but that balanced many different genres, while The Earl and The Fairy had too many plot points condensed and overlapping. Overall, this anime had nothing really special about it, and had a story that was too complicated (for me) in 12 episodes. The production quality is a bit low, in my opinion, and from episode 3 onward, I kept trying to remember what had happened and who was doing what. Along with the changes made from the manga, things got confusing fast, and watching this anime almost felt like a chore towards the end. But, like I've said many times before, I partially watched this to catch bishi fever. Enjoyment may vary between person to person depending if they prefer a complete retell of the original story or a different one. If you liked this review, please check out my anime review blog! Link is on my profile.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 19, 2014
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
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Short review: Probably the best short anime I've ever seen. The story is very satisfying at only 12 episodes. Unique art style, smooth action animation, brilliant character and psychological horror writing from Gen Urobuchi, an unforgettably epic soundtrack, but not AS MUCH of a genre deconstruction as others may say it is.
Loooooooong review: Story: As you've all probably heard before, Madoka Magica is a deconstruction/post modernism anime. It starts off with a rather simple premise, only to become darker, more complex, and deviating far from people's preconceptions of the show. Think of it like adopting an adorable kitty from an animal shelter, taking it ... home, it gradually turns into a terrifying tiger, and then it demands you to sit down and respect it. The story is very original, although the plot twist(s) didn't shock me because I was spoiled by Wikipedia (really my own curiosity) and tumblr. The writing shines the best when there's character interaction, which is where most of the show's psychological aspect is. The words really resonated with me, and just go to show how dark, thought-provoking, and mature this anime is. Quite often I found myself connecting the themes of this anime to the infamous "Law of Equivalent Exchange" from Fullmetal Alchemist. The plot itself didn't feel like a solid linear PLOT, really, but this can be due to the fact that Madoka Magica is only 12 episodes long. I would like to say a show as "well written" as this has perfect pacing, but at times, I did feel like the show needed to "get on with it." This is probably because I can kind of separate the anime into "arcs" and this setup felt a bit abrupt for an anime this short. And I felt that with a plot that's not necessarily linear, a few events (no spoilers) felt just a bit dragged out, with better events and plot points getting less screen time than I would have liked. I can't really talk about the "mystery" aspect of this pacing, because I already knew the ending from the get-go. Lastly, for an anime as dark as this, I was somewhat surprised that the ending felt melancholy and bittersweet. It was (almost) a perfect ending, with everything resolved, and you feel like you've accomplished something after watching this. oh, and one more thing: there is a very minimal Yuri undertone to this anime. I'd say this anime implied Yuri like Free implies Yaoi. Just to be clear. Characters: The characters in Madoka Magica all start off as variations of character archetypes (like most anime do nowadays). Madoka, the (ridiculously) sweet and kind-hearted girl, Homura, the mysterious transfer student (seriously, there are way too many of these in anime), Mami, the big sister/mentor figure, Sayaka, the tomboy best friend, and Kyoko, the redhead rebel who takes no flack from anyone. But as the show progresses, the line between good and bad is blurred for almost all the characters, with Madoka being the emotional and psychological anchor for the characters and story. She's sweet, kind, and caring to the core, almost to the point that it got annoying a few times. All the other characters do get some backstory, which did make them more complex, dynamic, 3-D characters. This is probably why I considered Homura, Sayaka, and Kyoko to be anti-heroes. Every character in Madoka Magica, no matter how minor, helps move the plot forward in some way or another. There are no "useless' characters, and I felt all the characters were used to their full potential. Now, by all definitions, the characters in Madoka Magica are good. The only problem is, I found many of them to be annoying or I just plain hated them. They're not very relate-able, for starters. Even after finishing the anime, when every character showed redeeming qualities or did something to change the audience's perspective of that character, the only one I liked in the end was Kyoko, and even when she was first introduced, I didn't really like her. Most of the conflict and what made most of the characters annoying at some point or another could just be solved with someone (or me) saying/doing something profound, stating the obvious, or just needed to be said/done. Just one sentence could've done the trick at times! But then again, that's the shojo way to resolve character conflict, and Madoka Magica is a Seinen, so yeah. Art: The human character designs are all very moe and their faces look like they were taken straight off a sketchpad. I say human because, well...the witches are something else. The use of actual photographs, stop-motion, a layered-paper effect, and innocent yet subtly creepy imagery in the witch's labyrinths and the designs for the witches starkly and VERY EFFECTIVELY contrast the moe character designs. I mean, you wouldn't think desserts, art supplies, and an orchestra would be creepy. But Madoka Magica makes it so. The best way I can describe this art style is comparing it to an American cartoon called Chowder. Anyone who's seen it knows there are parts that are fully animated, but the show sometimes uses stop-motion type photographs, patterned textures, and even live action puppetry. But as unique (I say this instead of good) as the art is, it does suffer a consistency problem. I watched the fully touched-up version of the anime on Netflix, and a few days later, I saw screenshots of the Japanese TV broadcast version. Some scenes weren't completely drawn, and others had the characters look fuzzy and even have misshapen faces. I wish Shaft would be more timely with the production of Madoka Magica, but I understand they apologize with the DVD release version. In the fully finished version, everything looks very nice, consistent, and very clean, especially with distance shots. One last thought I would like to add: Every single building in this anime is ridiculously nice. Like, how much money do these people have?!?!? Animation: The animation during the action scenes is very smooth and consistent throughout the entire series. Almost exceptionally so. Mixing the smooth movements of the magical girls with the erratic, (creepy) stop-motion animation in the witches labyrinths was very jarring, but worked to the show's advantage VERY much so. The action scenes, combined with the amazing OST (more on that later) made all of the action scenes very exhilarating and often would make my jaw drop. It doesn't do an Attack on Titan, where the camera spins around a lot, which was much appreciated. The animation also doesn't feel like shonen action, which I guess should be expected from an anime of this quality level. Even in non-action scenes, Shaft didn't skimp too much, which is also a good indication of quality. Voice: Now here's the one area of the anime that I had low expectations. I know moe is very hard to dub in English well. But the thing is, Madoka Magica didn't need cutesy moe voices for the dub. This is a dark show, after all. The dub didn't distract me, and the dub script was not rewritten much from the original script. I switched between sub and dub very frequently throughout the series, and I honestly couldn't hear the difference between Madoka's voice in sub and dub. Because if you can act out a(n annoying) character so well that you feel the urge to yell at/slap that character, that deserves major praise. Shout out to you, Christine Marie Cabanos. You easily gave the best performance in this entire anime. Kyubey's voice took a little getting used to. I don't think Cassandra Lee quite nailed it whenever Kyubey has to explain/reveal things to the magical girls. Everyone else (Cristina Vee, Sarah Williams, Carrie Keranen, Lauren Landa, Shelby Lindley, Marianne Miller) gave rather average performances (compared to better dubs), but I actually didn't mind. Every dub VA in this anime has a wide (enough) emotional range, and this dub shows it with all the characters. Sure, the quality of this dub isn't earth-shattering, but I would actually recommend watching this in English, even though to others this may just seem like a passable dub (and it actually kind of is). Also, since this is an action anime, that's another reason to watch this dubbed. Music: As usual, let me start with the opening. Now, I saw a YouTube comment on a video of the opening that said something along the lines of "I love how this opening lies so much to the audience." To which I would disagree, because I think it isn't a happy-go-lucky song like the kinds used to open other moe or magical girl anime. Sure, it's not something I would want on my MP3 player, but it actually suits the anime quite well, both music and animation. The soundtrack to Madoka Magica was composed by Yuki Kajura. As such, a lot of the music is dark, chilling, and ominous. The OST music in this anime DEMANDS attention with many memorable tracks with many different "feelings" to them. A sign of a good OST is when there are many tracks that would be great as just music, to which Madoka Magica delivers with flying colors. Even when characters are just having a conversation, the music makes it ten times darker or intense. The same goes for the show's ending themes 2 and 3. One of the best tracks in the OST is the second ending theme "Magia." It matches the anime in both melody, mood, and lyrics (yes I looked them up). Seriously, I got chills whenever I heard that used as a battle theme in the anime. Execution: As a deconstruction, Madoka Magica does fine. However, it's not AS BRUTAL of a deconstruction as many people say it is or like we've seen from other anime. (If you want more info on this, read my magical girl rant) In 12 episodes you get a solid and complete story, well-written characters with proper character motivations, and a soundtrack that will blow your mind. However, despite the overall quality of this anime, I consider Madoka Magica to be a WW (weekend watch) anime, albeit a very good one. It's one of those short shows that you can finish in a weekend if you have nothing to do. And while I don't think I could have written a better ending, it does leave a bit to be desired (something that people say Rebellion fails to fix.) My Enjoyment: It should be pretty obvious that this anime is not necessarily meant to be "enjoyed", but to be "awed at" or to promote deep thinking. The pacing was a bit strange, and I never really found my self in awe until towards the end of the story (probably because I spoiled the entire plot before watching this) and after I gave the anime a little thinking over. I never felt a moment of AMAZINGNESS while watching this anime, probably because many parts felt slow compared to what my expectations of the show were. And honestly, I didn't have that "OH MY GOSH THIS IS AWESOME" buzz that I've gotten after finishing other anime. I even waited a few days, and it didn't come. I'm sorry if that makes me an immature anime fan. However, all the headcanons, fanart, and other Madoka Magica stuff on tumblr did leave me with a little bit better of an impression of this anime. Seriously, I actually really like (Non-Yuri) Madoka Magica fanart. So, learn my lesson, and go into this anime with NO SPOILERS. If you liked this review, go to my page, and there's a link to my anime review blog.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 19, 2014
Cowboy Bebop
(Anime)
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Short Review: (I know, I know, I gave Cowboy Bebop less than a 10/10) Almost everything about this anime is of extremely high quality, especially considering we're talking about an anime that's more than 15 years old. Pitch-perfect English dub, a vast bout incredible OST, unique characters, and incredibly fluid animation. HOWEVER. I did not expect an episodic story, and this led me to almost hate the anime at times.
Looooooooong review: Story: Before watching this anime, my expectations for Cowboy Bebop were astronomically high, pun somewhat intended. Having known this cult classic's reputation, I was sorely disappointed to find out Cowboy Bebop is an episodic ... series, something that was conveniently left out in every review I had come across (I don't really like episodic shows). I was expecting this epic space opera tale filled with drama and complex characters, which Bebop only fully delivered the latter. A lot of this anime's story goes something like, "There's a new bounty on a criminal!" "Let's catch him/her!" Stuff goes wrong, fights ensue, then things look up, the problem is (somewhat) solved, and in the end, the crew gets (almost) nothing. Episodes that do not involve trying to catch a criminal usually involve the antics of one of the crew members, something which the writers must have had a lot of fun coming up with. Occasionally, some other stuff is sprinkled in, mostly involving someone/thing from one of the crew's past. This is where the main theme of the show comes in, as every crew member gets at least 1 episode dealing with their past and how they handle it. This method of storytelling left much to desired from me, because for every great and very enjoyable episode, there was one that made me feel very annoyed and facepalm a lot. And there were only about 10 "plot" episodes in the whole series. However, the anime did keep me interested by ending the episodes in a way that most people wouldn't expect. This was probably the most interesting part of the show. The narrative of Cowboy Bebop does not ever do the "info dump" many sci-fi series are guilty of. Because of this, the writing may seem "masterful" but for me, a few times I spent the first few minutes of an episode wondering just what was going on. Once again, maybe I just wasn't "mature enough" for this anime. Cowboy Bebop makes the unique genres of Space Western and Neo-Noir work together exceedingly well, which is probably what contributed to this anime's popularity. As for the ending, I don't think I could have written a better ending to this anime. It's just one of those where it lightly hangs in the air, waiting for its full effect to sink in. It felt like everything was tied up in the story, but not in the "fast-forward" way others shows end. Characters: I do give praise to the characters in Cowboy Bebop, as every one of them is unique and not lazily written. They all have their deep motivations for why they do what they do, and it's usually isn't a cliche reason. The best part about this is as you see more about the characters, it becomes more interesting to watch their dynamic, them growing and reacting to their surroundings, because everyone is so non-cliche. Every member of the Bebop crew is very likable and has a fleshed-out personality, with Spike being effortlessly smooth and cool, Jet being a (reluctant) voice of reason, Faye being the strong female lead with no romantic feelings for Spike (shocker), and Ed being ridiculously enigmatic and childish, but never annoying. Even Ein had his moments of being very necessary to what was going on throughout this anime. It's because everyone aboard the Bebop is so different from one another, this rag-tag team feeling did push the story into many great moments and episodes. They highlight each other's flaws, but also make each other stronger, despite all their bickering. Secondary characters are usually in only one episode each, because this is an episodic series. Characters siding with our protagonists usually change by the end of an episode, and the "bad guys" were all unique, mostly memorable, and fun to watch get chased down by the Bebop crew. The real bad guys, Vicious and the Red Dragon syndicate, made interesting antagonists, despite their roots in western movie cliches. They were threatening, but not enough that it becomes the focus of the show. All the character designs were both unique and creative, which brings me to my next point... Art: I really do have to tip my hat (if I was wearing one right now) to the art style of this anime. It's very 90's, while having its own unique style. Yes, it very much looks like anime, but the style is also westernized, blending the two in a beautiful harmony. The one thing that Cowboy Bebop really left an impression on me is that the art (actually, most of this anime) is undeniably stylish and unique. I really loved how all the sci-fi elements looked gritty and realistic, while the aspects closer to present-day were incredibly detailed, almost as if the animators took real buildings and setting and transformed them into anime. The art perfectly blends the western and sci-fi elements in a way I would have thought would never have worked. Animation: Cowboy Bebop is one of the last anime series to be made entirely by traditional cel animation, drawing each and every single frame by hand. But for it's time, the animation is incredibly fluid and consistent throughout the entire series, something which was a problem for other shows using the same animation method (cough Evangelion cough). Heck, I'd even say the animation quality of Cowboy Bebop is equal to, if not greater than some of the stuff that's being made today, 16 years later. All the action is as effortless as Spike's fighting style, and the animators took great care in making sure everything in this anime looked realistic, somewhat gritty, and absolutely amazing. Only very few clips of recycled animation were used, and the only ones I can think of are when the Bebop flies through hyperspace and those yellow gates. Clearly Cowboy Bebop had a large budget, and it was used to its full potential by not skimping on animation. Voice: This is a no-brainer, but I say watch Cowboy Bebop dubbed. Part of the reason this anime is so famous here in the west is because of its amazing dub. While it actually took me a few episodes to get used to the voices, especially when a new member of the crew was introduced, the dub quickly grew on me, but did did hit a few bumps in the road here and there. Steve Blum is probably most well known for playing Spike, and the same can be said about Wendee Lee playing Faye. All the voice actors clearly had a lot of fun dubbing this, and they gave it their all and it payed off. The script is witty, the delivery for all the actors was (95% of the time) pitch-perfect, and added to the style and overall feel of the anime. The dub just feels so much more stylish, while reading subs usually just give you the raw translation. With a western prime audience in mind, Bandai made sure this dub was of the best quality, and it is one that is considered the best dubs in all of anime. Even Shinichiro Watanabe, the Japanese director, says the English dub is better. Music: The opening theme, "Tank!" has lent itself to be one of the most iconic anime openings of all time, being a) instrumental and b) as stylish and jazzy as the rest of the show. In case the title of this anime didn't clue you in, almost the entire soundtrack is inspired from jazz or classic western movie music. Even some of the episode names are classic American rock songs (Bohemian Rhapsody) or albums (Toys in the Attic). Yes, this does lend this anime "cool" points, but the sheer number of tracks in the OST (93!!!) means that you won't hear a lot of them very often. There are a few exceptions, like the music box theme whenever Spike's past came up. Some songs are slow, some are quick, some are sad, and some are kinda goofy. Yoko Kanno has proven that she can compose a completely amazing soundtrack, and this is one of her most famous works. The first ending theme actually wasn't that impressive, but the second ending theme, used only for the last episode, had my mouth gaping open by how it matched the tone of the show's ending perfectly. It very much reminded me of "The World of Midnight" from Black Lagoon. Execution: I failed to recognize while I was watching this anime that it was designed to appeal to a western audience with its episodic storytelling and not being like typical anime of the time. While most seasoned anime fans and critics regard Cowboy Bebop as a "cult classic," the two words I would use to describe this anime are stylish and westernized. I don't think Cowboy Bebop necessarily failed, I just went in with the wrong mindset and impressions of the show. In other words, Cowboy Bebop's reputation precedes itself, but not by a long shot. Sure, this anime passes style with flying colors, but it seemed to me at first to lack the meat and potatoes, aka an overarching rich story. But I am one to agree this would make a good (but not the best) first anime and a great way to get fathers or brothers into anime. My Enjoyment: Because I went into this anime with such high expectations, my enjoyment was hindered very much so. As I clicked on the next episode, I kept telling myself, "Okay, this is it. We're actually going to see some overarching plot or an entertaining episode." only to be disappointed 25 minuted later. I'm a bit hesitant to call this anime "overrated," but again, I just think my problem was that I went into this show with the wrong mindset. Sure, there were plenty of entertaining episodes, but there were more that had disappointed or just made me feel weird (not in the good way). The creativity involved for the more slice-of-life episodes is remarkable, but I can't help but feel a sort of grudge against this anime for "letting me down." Sure, I could go back and watch this series again (with the proper mindset) but I think my enjoyment of this series was ruined from the moment I caught wind of this anime's extreme reputation. Cowboy Bebop is the kind of anime to just pick up an episode or two, kick back, and relax. Enjoy the memorable characters, creative episodes, vast soundtrack, and the excellent dub. But don't watch it because "You're not a real anime fan if you haven't seen Cowboy Bebop hurrr hurrr." That is NEVER a good reason to watch an anime, and if anyone says something like that to you, tell them to shut up. If you liked my review, please go to my page, and there's a link to my anime review blog.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 19, 2014
Fruits Basket
(Anime)
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Recommended
Short review:
I found this anime to be very enjoyable and well executed. The characters were great, the story was simple yet effective, and the English dub is better than the original voice acting. However, the artwork and animation quality is extremely average, and the music, while unique, was not a highlight of this anime. Loooooooong review: Story: Fruits Basket takes a very slice-of-life approach to telling its story, with each episode being rather self contained. Often times, an episode is spent getting to know one of the members of the Sohma family (most often a guy, you know, because of the whole Tohru-hugging-them-thing to reveal ... what animal they are.) There are your standard slice-of-life episodes, including a hot springs, school festival, and Valentine's Day episodes that we've all probably seen many times before. But this isn't a bad thing, as characters are developed and moral lessons are taught basically every episode of Fruits Basket. This wasn't just a tack-on, because it never felt forced or dumb. Instead, I found myself smiling uncontrollably at times while watching this anime, and other times in a state of awe or loss. I've mentioned before in my reviews that I don't really like episodic shows. But I think part of the reason Fruits Basket worked for me is because I went into this anime with barely any expectations. It's because of this method of storytelling that I don't consider this anime AS MUCH of a shojo as others would say, to be honest. The comedy is actually fairly innocent, with only a sprinkling of sexuality here and there. It's rather light, without it being the focus of the story, and it's primary niche is its quirkiness. There's also plenty of drama and depressing, thought-provoking moments in Fruits Basket, so not everything is bishis, rice balls, and comedy routines. I thought the drama was handled really well, and was entirely believable, instead of it all feeling superficial. Overall, because of how Fruits Basket handled its' story, I would actually recommend this to be the first shojo anime anyone watches. But a bit of advice here: skip episode 22. It was such a pain to watch, personally, and I don't think it added to the story that much. The ending I found to be interesting, actually, in that is followed the manga instead of diverging off, like what Ouran did. Characters: As usual for slice-of-life and shojo anime, Fruits Basket is a very character-driven show. Every character is unique, has their own quirks, and a different problem in their life. The cast of Fruits Basket is actually rather large, but to me, it didn't feel like the characters were based too much on common archetypes of shojo anime. All these beastly boys and girls revolve around our protagonist Tohru Honda, who's sweeter and kinder than a teddy bear decked out in pink ribbons holding a basket of Mars Bars. Her desire to improve the lives of everyone around her is matched only by her desire to not be a burden to anyone. This may make her come off as a cookie-cutter or annoying character. I didn't think so, because she's not perfect; she has her own problems. There'a a certain joy I got out of these characters simply by seeing a character come back after their respective spotlight episode. It's the feeling of character relationships growing and changing that often brought each episode to a close, and very often made me feel extremely satisfied, just by seeing these characters interact. What Fruits Basket tries to emphasize with its characters is that no one is perfect. Characters still have flaws, even after Tohru manages to change their hearts. One thing I noticed about the characters in Fruits Basket is how a lot of them can pull a 180 character flip rather quickly and frequently. Yuki? Check. Kyo? Check. Kagura? Check. Hatsuharu? Oh yeah. This is mostly for comedic effect, but is occasionally used for drama and character development, like with Momiji or Kisa. And when the show does this, it's GOOD. I found myself holding my hands to my mouth from the shock of back-stories and thoughtful words that came from these characters' mouths. But I can almost guarantee to anyone that there will be a character you will love, and one that is absolutely annoying. I've heard from the haters of this show complain about all the characters being annoying, and to be honest, sometimes I can see where they're coming from. The only reason I can understand this is because of the character that was annoying for me, Hiro Sohma. Even though he did change a little for the better, this kid is almost as much of a brat as Aloise Trancy. (And he even looks like him) Art: It pains me to say this, but there isn't anything that great about the art in Fruits Basket. But this is probably due to the fact that this anime was made back in 2001. From what I've seen, Studio Deen has only recently made anime with decent artwork, such as Hetalia and Is This A Zombie. All the character designs are very simple, but at the same time, classic shojo. The distinguishing feature of the characters is almost always the hair. The art is a bit different than the manga (which I am reading, actually), which must have come as a bit of a shock to those that watched Fruits Basket when it first aired. The color pallet is very muted and pastel, with probably the brightest thing being Kyo's hair. The use of exaggerated backgrounds during comedic scenes added to the effectiveness and appeal to the comedy. The set pieces have a hand painted look to them, but not so much that it is blatantly obvious, a la 1994 Sailor Moon. Overall, the art is a bit dated, but at the same time has aged surprisingly well. The simple sweetness of the art perfectly compliments the nature and tone of Fruits Basket. Animation: As I've said before, animation is not usually the highlight of a shojo anime. Fruits Basket is one of Studio Deen's classic titles, and as I said above, they still aren't the best when it comes to animation. Animation is usually kept to a minimum, and sometimes small motions are repeated or go through loops. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing this time and is a bit understandable, as I believe Fruits Basket was animated at least partially with traditional cels. There are your typical anime shortcuts for emotion or action (anger veins, speed lines, the river of tears, many arms and legs while running, etc.) But the exaggerations are a good part of what made the comedy funny, and I just can't imagine Fruits Basket without them, really. Voice: Like I often do, I'm recommending watching this anime dubbed, partially because Yuki sounds nothing like a guy in Japanese. Yes, you have Laura Bailey, Eric Vale, and Jerry Jewell (common Funimation leads) as Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo, respectively, but I didn't really recognize anyone else on the cast list. Which is good if you often associate English voice actors with their other roles in anime. Many old dubs are associated with being cheesy, but Fruits Basket is a bit of a different case. Either I didn't mind the cheesiness, or the anime was very often cheesy so the script went well with the anime. Probably a mix of both. Chris Sabat pulled off a flawlessly flamboyant Ayame, Kent Williams a cold-but-kind Hatori, and John Burgmeier was outstanding as the perverted, but fatherly Shigure. I think everyone pulled off their roles well, though some of the actors or actresses fell a bit short when it came to the drama moments. But I think this dub worked very effectively with the comedy, and that is enough for me to call this a good dub. There isn't much about this dub that can be called "outstanding," but there's nothing wrong with it, either, so if the sub and dub are equal, I always choose dub. Music: The opening and ending themes are both quiet, simple, sweet, but overall unremarkable. They're easily skippable, unless you like that sort of thing. A lot of the OST is as quirky or fun as the characters. Other times, the tracks were just "little sounds", simple melodies, or just piano pieces. Now, none of these tracks are bad, it just sometimes feels like the OST isn't there, really. It seemed to me that the only purpose for most of the OST was to make the slice-of-life sound very cute and fun. However, I give the OST points for being unique. Execution: I can't judge execution for Fruits Basket as much as I can with other anime, simply because of my lack of expectations when I started. If you're looking for a full-on shojo romance anime, you may be a bit disappointed with Fruits Basket. Thankfully, I did not have this mindset or expectation while watching this anime, so I thought the slice-of-life was handled and worked really well. And it wasn't just about the pretty boys, I also thought the balance between the comedy and the drama/character development was really great as well, giving Fruits Basket a lot more substance than if it was just a plain slice-of-life. This anime works perfectly fine as a shojo, but I consider this anime the kind that will cheer you up and put a big smile on your face. Fruits Basket is the kind of anime where you just watch one or two episodes after a long day, instead of marathoning it on the weekend. My Enjoyment: There were plenty of times in Fruits Basket where I could not stop smiling. And when the show did get serious, I felt myself really sympathizing with the characters. Sure, there were a few annoying characters, but thankfully, I can count them on one hand, and they didn't show up often in the anime. Fruits Basket is my second favorite shojo anime of all time, but I think that's because I've seen more bad ones than good. It's mainly because of this anime that I don't consider myself a slice-of-life hater, a sort of beacon of past glory, in the sea of moe girl slice-of-life that occupies much of anichart every season. So, other than a few hiccups,and this was all due to personal taste, really, my enjoyment of Fruits Basket was very consistent.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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