- Last OnlineJan 28, 8:08 PM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayOct 24, 1985
- LocationWoodbridge, VA
- JoinedMar 2, 2011
RSS Feeds
|
Apr 16, 2012
I wish I could just say "It's a series by Gainax. Enough said." Unfortunately, it is too early to make that statement for Medaka Box. The series is off to a good start but it is still unclear if the series will hit the mark that many expect out of Gainax.
The series revolves around Medaka, a first year that is elected as Student Council President with a staggering 98% of the vote, and more or less forces her childhood friend, Zenkichi, into joining the Student Council as its lowest ranking member.
The first thing she does is establish a suggestion box, later dubbed by students the
...
"Medaka Box". Medaka encourages students to submit any problem to the box without hesitation and promises to take on any issue from anyone. The Student Council members then spend their days solving the problems submitted through the Medaka Box, whether they be hooligans in clubs where they don't belong or people who've lost their pets, gradually earning the respect and admiration of the entire school.
Medaka has a very charismatic, hardworking, trustful and overwhelming personality that makes her seen as a 'superior human' which plays a huge role in the series as various characters continually point out, but she also has some very glaring human flaws that few see. She has a very large jealous side and can also be a tease to her friends. In a way she reminds me of Haruhi Suzumiya with the alien and supernatural obsession swapped out with an obsession to help others.
My favorite character at thie point, however, would have to be Shiranui. She is the comic relief character of the series. Zenkichi is apparently the only person who can get along with her and somewhat control her. Even though she is the smallest of the main characters, Shiranui has a very large appetite and is constantly seen eating. She has a knack for finding confidential information with ease, knowing about most things that would seem to be vague details, and is unusually perceptive. Normally, she is a very cheerful girl but she is shown to have a dark side and is brutally tactless.
Backgrounds are well done. It's vivid and bright, reminded me of Baka to Test series. The character designs really remind me of High School DxD and the animation is very fluid and smooth.
The soundtracks do a pretty good job of blending into the anime's atmosphere, and while the opening and ending were quite good they are not all that memorable.
The series definitely show the elements to make a great show, but it all has yet to come together. Based on the first two episodes I would say...
Score wise:
Story (7/10)
Art (9/10)
Sound (7/10)
Character (9/10)
Enjoyment (8/10)
Overall (8/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Apr 10, 2012
The most unexpected anime series airing in this 2012 spring season I would say would have to be Haiyore! Nyaruko-san. It can be categorized as both Parody and Comedy at the same time and shows great promise as it is a series that does not take itself seriously and is unafraid to show itself as such. If it's able to keep up the level of quality, this series has a good chance of becoming the best comedy series of this year.
In H.P. Lovecraft's stories, the Cthulhu was an unspeakable, indescribable horror that haunted the collective dreams of mankind. In Nyaruko-san, the Cthulhu is a cute
...
girl sent from the stars to protect a typical normal guy.
Mahiro Yasaka is a normal high school guy until he finds himself pursued by a monster one night, only to be saved by a cute girl bloodily slaughtering the monster with her bare hands and then jauntily declaring, “I am the chaos that always creeps up to you with a smile, Nyarlothotep!”, Nyaruko for short, while striking a sentai hero-type pose.
She was sent there to protect Mahiro and it's revealed that she practically begged for the assignment, partly so that she can get her hands on some Earth entertainment (anime and manga apparently being highly-valued throughout the universe) and partly so that she can cozy up to Mahiro, much to his dismay.
However Mahiro isn't completely dominated by Nyaruko, but tries, in his own ways, to fight back the stranger who "destroyed" his peaceful life. At this point that usually involves him wielding and trying to skewer Nyaruko with a table fork.
Nyaruko, despite being in some respects the stereotypical hyper-aggressive girl, is such an abjectly ridiculous character, and is played with such unrelenting enthusiasm, that it's difficult to watch the episode without a constant bemused smirk on one's face. Nyaruko is way too perky for a creature of a well-known horror mythology and generally a lot of fun to watch. She's always moving and switches conversational modes at the drop of a hat. It helps that she looks nice as well. She also has a proportionate body without either inflate-a-boobs or a little girl figure.
The first episode enjoys small recognizable moments, with Nyaruko's back story fast-forwarded (complete with squeaky VHS sounds), comments about how the show will get taken off the air if the characters aren't careful, and a slew of images in a store that have a very familiar look to them. Add in some sentai jokes and a Pokémon reference and you get a parody element that helps to make this more entertaining than it might appear at first glance.
That said, within its hyperactive romance-comedy framework, the series works really well. Nyaruko is amusingly nuts and the jokes about her Lovecraftian origin are entertaining. She's only in cute girl form because her real form would cost Mahiro a lot of "sanity points" and her horrific origins are hilariously apparent in her sickening fighting style (brutal beat downs using rocks to crowbars). She's also refreshingly open about her feelings for Mahiro which reminds me so much of Lala from To LOVE-Ru.
The animation isn't perfect, but there's enough flow that it's easy to watch and the music has a definite sense that it could grow on you.
This looks to be a series that will have me groaning at the end of each episode, disappointed that I need to wait for the next episode.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Apr 7, 2012
Also being labeled as Ozma. It's created by Matsumoto Leiji (the creator of Space Battleship Yamato) and directed by Takahashi Ryosuke who created Armoured Trooper Votoms. The story is a bit cliche to me. Takes place in a world where almost everything has turned into a dessert, a fateful encounter happened between a boy, Sam with a girl, Maya. Maya, who appears to be an important person, was chased by Theseus, a cloned army of the government. Sam saves Maya and brings her to his ship. Theseus army then begins the chase.... Does anyone else expect a pair of droids or a Yoda character to
...
be mentioned at some point?
From just the staff and art style gives an "old school" 70's/80's style anime feel. So if you like old school anime or just have a thing for nostalgia this is a good series for you!
Score wise:
Story (7/10)
Art (8/10)
Sound (8/10)
Character (9/10)
Enjoyment (8/10)
Overall (8/10)
I personally dropped this anime. It shows potential but just wasn't to my taste. I don't mind that the art style is a bit old school but I found the story to be a bit too cliche.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|