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Oct 28, 2014

Tamako Love Story (Anime) add

Mixed Feelings

Before you're losing your head about my overall score, I'm using 5 as a middle ground. Means, everything above 5 can be considered as 'good', Okay? Got it? Lets get to it:

Tamako Love Story, I heard it several times before it even premiered. And even read a 'translated' interview with Yamada (the director) about what could we expect in this new movie. Basically, she said that this is still about 'everybody loves somebody' as a central theme. And now, we're focusing more on Tamako and that she loves somebody.

Well..., yes it is. Except that it didn't really fulfill (my) expectation. So, before you're expecting anything ... 'romance' be prepared to be disappointed. Because, its not romance at all. It did fulfill Yamada's word in a very strict manner. That Tamako loves somebody. Why its not romance? Because there is barely any romantic interaction at all. Heck we don't even get a nice exposition on their basic intimate interaction. Say, two of them spending time talking something private in somewhat believable way? Nope! none of that! Well, we did have both of them stepping outside of status quo. But thats it! its like you're just walking into The Last Boss throne room in an RPG game only to find that there is nothing inside. Not even chest! That was why I'm hugely disappointed.

Because, aside that brief glimpse of Tamako and Mochizo past/childhood interaction, brief glimpse of Tamako's mother who gives a finger. We just got nothing! Well, at least the visual and animation is amazing, with Yamada's personal touch here and there, and nice catchy music is really makes this show looks beautiful. Even more if you have a Full HD TV and a set of decent Sound Theater. And that was why my disappointment is even bigger. I'll gladly give it higher score if it was condensed into a full 20 minutes musical or even 5 minutes AMV. Because, there is barely any stories and the script writing is not that good either. It just a Slice-of-Life with visual steroids.

Now, Tamako does has her share of character development, just as Yamada had promised. But then again, it just really falls flat on how she has to step outside of status quo without being afraid of change. Because, in the end nothing has changed. No, I don't think its bad idea. Because, at least Tamako has her self realization without being thrown shit by anyone. And, it actually nice to see an anime character has a gradual advancement without being a drama queen or anyone being one. it was very nice and comfy experience. But, then again, it really feels like a pointless ride with very anticlimac- No! Its not even anticlimactic, but totally half-assed and no closure at all!!

Now, we moves on Mochizo. What about Mochizo? What-a-bout-Mochizo *insert your disinterest face here*. Well, I understand if Yamada only wants to do Tamako-centric show, because everyone already have their share on TV series including Mochizo. But, we just can't leave it 'that way'. There is very little to no exposition on Mochizo's character as much as TV series. It was almost feels like Mochizo's character (and his exposition) can be replaced by W*k*pedia's summary: "Mochizo is Tamako's childhood friend as well as her neighbor as well as her love interest which has crush on her". Aaaaand... thats it. We don't get his character, his motivation, exposition or even his motivation on having a thing for Tamako, let alone anything to do with his decision to move to Tokyo other than a plot device. It just very poor exposition on Mochizo. His character never gets explored even though he is the main love interest. Poor Mochizo

Now, about Yamada's hand. Yamada is undoubtedly very talented and high-skilled director. This show was very much lets her direction style shine trough and trough. If the MAL score include 'Directing' or 'Storyboarding', I'll gladly give it 10/10! Everything looks really nice, nothing feels overly pretentious, character interaction felt somewhat believable (as long as it doesn't have anything to do with Mochizo and his peers), everything just magic. For the most of part, the girls group dialogue and direction felt really alive. Well, I don't mean all jokes and funny, No! Again, it feels fluid and more believable. The best one I've seen since Tari Tari. And of course, The art direction is also exceptional. Everything so finely tuned, even some gimmick when they tried to visualize Tamako's heart/feelings. Overall, it pretty much makes the tedious everyday life somewhat looks interesting to watch even without magic or ninja or a talking bird. And definitely one of the best feature this show has, aside that animation quality which really out of this world (in a good way).

I would really want to end this with impressed or surprised. But the overall chemistry between our two main character doesn't really live up to expectation. No, I don't mean they have to kiss or holding hands. Just a nice long private chat to explore their past and current relationship as well as to enhance the immersion of the romantic development will be nice. Oh, and the ending. THAT ENDING!! Seriously, when this show end, I really want to bang my head on the nearest door while screaming What the hell? It really spoils my enjoyment. And they did it at the classic cliche: the train station cliche. Y- F- I don't know who to blame. Because, the show isn't really bad if you could cope with the actual Slice of Life theme whereas some people will find it boring. But..., it just that there is no reward in the end. It was very unrewarding and leaves very bad aftertaste.

So yeah, thats Tamako Love Story for you. Which indeed fulfill everything they promised. But, just that. There is no tip or any value added aside from nice visual, music, and Yamada's talent.

Thanks for reading, see y at the next review.

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Feb 28, 2014

Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Movie (Anime) add

Recommended

As the summary said, this is a recap movie. Which is actually pretty weird. Considering, why did they bother to make a full-length movie just for a recap of season 1? My best guess is, this movie consists 3 parts which shortly describe: a recap of season one, an epilogue of season one, and as a early prologue of season 2. All the main plot elements are served in this half and a hour movie, with a lot of cut towards the secondary plot/subplot, like "Isshiki's heroic moments" for instance.

This type of execution is not all that strange actually since Stand Alone Complex did ...

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Dec 18, 2013

Kyoukai no Kanata (Anime) add

Recommended

"Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste." ~Voltaire~

Kyoukai no Kanata was by no means a very ambitious project (or a very pretentious subject). It had very linear and straight forward story line which actually very easy to understand and very comfy to follow, delivered with excellent animation and a proper adolescence romance development ... is probably an understatement. But, saying it was the best foreshadowing is also an exaggeration.

For starters, the anime was built upon a very basic concept: human with ... supernatural power, hunting monster. Well, I can get the hunch of where all this 'generic' spouting comes from. But the foundation itself was built upon several layers, in which each layer redefine the rough concept and premise into its own unique traits. So, on the surface, it does looks like any supernatural anime which comes from before 2005. But, if we take a closer look, the show didn't follow the usual formula for a show which tagged: "teen, supernatural, fantasy, anime" in which I'll call it 'chuuni anime' for shorts. So, that was also explain very polar opposite receptions by fans.

The main idea behind the story is about seeking a new light at the other side of tunnel/boundary. Which is basically, what Mirai was trying to do. But of course its ot so easy as to flip the other side of a coin. There are also Akihito who has the same (more or less) state as Mirai. Yes, the story revolves between these two characters, starting from where their first encounter, their conflict, acceptance and longingness. This is one of very few shows which shows a proper teenage romantic development mostly due because they have a rather similar condition which makes them able relate to each other. That was the basic story concept.

The world was built upon nowadays era and civilization but with a little tweak, that there are monsters which lurking in the darkness, waiting to infect humans with its poisonous nature... or killed them, whatever bad effects they brought. All of this 'youmu' concept-building is shallow, weak, generic and so does the 'ikaishi' part. There are almost not enough explicit exposition in exploring both concepts, because its not your usual 'nerdy' chuuni shows which spouting something like 5 new vocabularies every 3 new episodes or so. The mixture of slice of life and supernatural in a sense is very pleasant, but in another sense was frightfully almost doesn't mix. The reason is maybe has something to do with this studio specialty, which is Slice of Life (SoL), and cute girls. The SoL part has more depth even when compared to any other SoL anime (let alone another chuuni anime). Their technique in mastering this particular aspect was just so excellently done. You could feel the atmosphere surrounding this show. Heck it does feels like watching someone bringing a mini-DV into 2D world. But this depth of exploring SoL side was a bit backfired. Every supernatural elements looks out of place. The youmu form for example, just looks like derived from a pok*mon game or something.

The storyline was very linear as I said earlier, but it doesn't follow the regular formula which says "beginning, middle, end". Rather, it straight forward jump into a start-middle scene which left some people confused and screaming "plot hole" out loud. Well, this is to be expected, since that was how it was... in the beginning. I even have this tingling funny sensation when watching first 3 episodes. Why did they leave plot hole so open, and heck even pointed it out. Then, I understand it was a foreshadowing... which was revealed after episode 8. Here's the problem: This show tried to bring forth a whole huge concept story on to the table, which is actually very rare thing to see since all we've got were per-arc episode(s) which doesn't entangled to each other. So, we're used to a scheme where: 1st episode doing foreshadowing, then following episode (or two) does the revelation... which you can see in every single chuuni anime... ever..., also don't forget the explicit spoonfeeding. This show does none of those thing. which is why for some people, watching this show was kinda tiring. It could be understandable since this show requires huge amount of observation span and very long patience... which not many people have. As a proof, a lot of people doesn't recognize 'Sakura Inami' in her first confrontation with Mirai despite all the clues being littered throughout the show. (sorry, no further spoiler).

The execution is a bit flocky sometimes, but in general still pretty decent. But of course you still need to be observant and use a bit of deduction thinking in figuring how the world moves. Since there are barely any explicit long-ass chuuni dialogue in this show (I didn't say none). In directional stand-point is still also very flocky. There are some good-standout episode (like Takemoto ones), but there are also very bad ones. The reason why the difference in directional execution was so glaring might because there are almost no clean-up from the general director. The reson is..., well I don't know.

The animation..., is the core of this show. I could talk for hours regarding this topic, but lets just make it simple. The production quality of this product is simply..., outstanding. Kyoukai no Kanata looks like a saint compared to any other action anime. Well, you could say I was exaggerating, but as far as TV anime are concerned, there are very few other action anime which have this kind of production quality, not even SnK (sorry titan fans). There are no reused scene (except that single one from ep 6), no still images (except it was used in succession to create a sense of complex movement (e.g. ep 2, when Mirai slashed zombie youmu form the sand), it has sense of impact and sense of weight (like several scene in EoE), It doesn't have black screen followed by flashing effect, It doesn't have badly produced CG sequence(s), it has terrific inbetweening, but it does however has some share of bad cuts. For example in ep 2 where Mirai swinging her blood without sense of direction and ep 3..., you know that infamous 'timber'. Also, I don't know why, it has several 'copycat' key frames (not reused, but done in similar style). You might felt that the action scenes were a bit short compared to any other action shows. That was because 3 minutes action in this anime = 8 ~ 15 minutes in any other anime. Action flow were so packed and almost gives no room for chanting or engaging in conversation. Even if it does, it still managed to perfectly fit into the timing between action cuts. It doesn't sacrifice the loss of quality for sake of having flowing animation, which is actually a big plus into the animation department. And, lastly of course the shiny Kigami episode. (inb4 idol dancing episode)

The lightning and several effects were movie-tier. And small quirk and gestures from characters were delicious seasoning in this already well-produced show. The music (BGM) were a bit hit & miss, but in general was good, the sound directions were flawless. There are several effect of sound where people talk outside the door is different from inside the door. It also have distinct variation, where people talk up-close or faraway, left or right direction. The voice act for each characters were also very good. Several hiccups sure, but it does gets better once you used to. Some people might not overcome them, but of course different people = different taste buds. The opening and ending song were also very catchy. More over this is also one of very few anime which are using Op/ED sequence in layering one of episode, which is actually very neat works.

And the ending..., THE ENDING, never forget the ending. By no means a satisfactory ending since it leaves so many questions and makes people a bit impatient. But as far as the main story concept was concerned, it was a...., well to be honest I'm not too satisfied with the ending too. Or maybe it was intentionally letting the viewer to interpret the ending as their imagination or their deduction just like Hyo*ka was.

Kyoukai no Kanata stands at the basis of simplicity and displayed as it is without sounding so deep or pretentious or dramatic. But because it started at that very simple idea, because of great directing, multilayer subtlety, and very long foreshadowing, it entices the viewer to at least pay attention to a bit of exposition without feeding needless explicit argument for the sake of understanding. At the end of the day, if you're someone who don't satisfied with action sequence in anime, if you don't want to exhaust yourself in complicated chuuni dialogue, if you're tired watching too many harem anime, or were just seeking for a nice, comfy action anime to spend on weekend or when you're tired from work/school. Kyoukai no Kanata does just that. I might advise to marathon it, at least it will eliminates the patience/impatience factor. But the observation will still there.

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Oct 18, 2013

Hyouka (Anime) add

Recommended

If we're talking about 'mystery' genre, people often confused or lumped it together with horrors, angst, thriller, murder and anything which goes along with deep/edgy/grimdark sentences. Thus, we forgot of what 'mystery' actually mean. Which is being pointed out by this show in an episode.

So yeah, Hyouka did us a favor by adding an actual problem solving (or mystery solving or riddle/puzzle solving) done by a highschooler in a way which almost similar to an actual investigation. But of course, the cases were so mundane that you might find it uninteresting. Well, that was fine since they're just a small highscholl clique, not an awesome-super-highschool-detective-solving-a-murder-case. ... But the most interesting aspect of this show is not the mystery itself but rather the process of solving it. Also, the main premise of this show is not the mystery at all. If I recall correctly, what KyoAni did promise is a youth drama of being a highschooler. It keeps being hinted throughout the show. How our MC, Oreki Houtarou longing to be a just another not-so-standout students living his peaceful days in course of energy perseverance mindset. Which being turned another way around by... well, none other than our Heroine, Chitanda Eru. The case was being built up one step at a time. Until it climaxed by the end of the show. Well, the final execution wasn't that contrast actually. Because, Houtarou would be very out-of-character otherwise.

In contrast with Houtarou, Chitanda Eru symbolize the very essence of youth spirit (Subs: Rose-colored). You might thinking about someone who will be way more hyperactive so that in a matter, Eru will be looks like a bland bipolar character. Well, I can't blame that since she is being designed to be 'like that'. But it can be understandable, considering her social status and her role in her family, but have very big appetite for digesting anything 'curiously-interesting' including some mundane mysteries which littered throughout the show. She was described as a well-mannered and well-spoken oujou who act in an impulse to the point that she doesn't aware if she was being rude, especially towards Houtarou obviously. But of course, no matter what, she is still a daughter of a well-perceived family. So she did has her own 'shining' time which was so natural it almost didn't contrast to her 'seems-like' airhead nature.

In solving the mysteries, Holmes didn't act alone. Yep, Fukube Satoshi, a fake gentleman of the world. If anything, he just looks like a relevant comedic relieve character. But funnily enough, He gained considerable amount of 'development' from the first episode to episode 21. Which leaving a lingering question to Houtarou. Which it doesn't take too long for him to get the answer. But well, he does has really unique features which being brought to life in this anime. You know, his quirk and interaction never tires me out. On another note, after Juumonji incident, it almost feels like he is more like a flamboyant type. Especially if it has anything to do with Ibara Mayaka... or was he always like that?

Who? Someone who had a crush on Satoshi... since middleschool. At first glance, she just looks like a grumpy runt who'll just blast all school windows if someone ever called her 'chibi'. But seriously, it seems she had a permanent pms or something. Whats the deal with that grumpy attitude? Given her critical approach in seeing things (especially, arguments) and never wanted to lose, you can expect a heated discussion on whatever matter you're discussing with her. Well, you can thanks Satoshi for that, maybe she is just romantically frustrated? If you get what I mean.

This anime revolves around those four members of 'kotenbu' (Classic Club/Classic Literature Club) playing and solving mysteries around their daily lives. In a sense, that was just pointlessly wasting time, but so does watching anime. So, why did you keep doing it anyway? Actually, the original author (Honobu Yonezawa) always hinted that matter in this show. Humble it might be, but still impressive in bringing that reason of why they do this deductive activities. There was always a message behind it and also it helps understanding each character and improving them or in some cases, improving their relationship.

Speaking about relationship, it did changed or developed. I don't know about Satoshi and Mayaka (seriously, they just like usual until the end) but the relation between another two (plus Houtarou and Satoshi) did changed/developed. There are also other characters as well and interaction with them. Interesting enough, almost all of these side characters are already highlighted since episode 1. Just family name I see, but look at these (Sorry for the crappy romanji): Juumonji, Sarusuberi, Chitanda, Manninbashi. See? No? Well, that was fine too, I didn't get it at first either. Each of those first letter of family names translated as: (十) ten, (百) hundred, (千) thousand and, (万) ten thousand respectively (thus explain why Satoshi pretty worked up in bringing rumors about those four families). I don't know if it piqued your interest, but this kind of trivia are littered in this show (Like in Kanya Sai name). And not just about everything written on the subtitle, but also anything else which would just lost if you didn't pay attention on it.

Speaking about detail, the production quality for this title is just magnificent. Even more so, considering this is a TV show, not a movie. Even more impressive since all this show is about people talking for the whole 20 minutes or so. Saying this never bores me would be a blatant lie. But, at least the crew which made this show working to their death in making boring conversation/discussion ala novel actually acceptable/watchable in the audiovisual media. The result is really. They paid a lot of attention on detail, whether it was a animation detail or something else (like, idea or symbolism). You can tell how those characters thinking or feels just by looking at the screen. For example: You can tell that Houtarou's heart was beating like crazy just by showing a heart-shaped pendulum swaying side to side while accompanied by a steady loud ticking clock rhythm.

Now that I mentioned rhythm. The music (or BGM) in this show is really engaging. Especially, it was being arranged to match the shows atmosphere which it has somewhat nostalgic feels around it. The direction of the sound is also perfect, I didn't talk about the nature of each track, but the audio direction. They know what goes where for how long. A bit nitpick if I may say, but a show where the sound director/enginer is so broken does exist. Well, lets say, this aspect also helps cracking up nuance score even higher. And also being supported by powerful cast to help the characters comes to life.

Of course the atmosphere and nuance doesn't came from the sound alone. The nature of key animation, the high value of in-between animation and creativity of misc really helps for this show to be more 'easier' to watch. Comparing to any other detective stories which just leave the talking into a mediocre media plus a crappy outline. Well, different MBTI have different impression anyway. Thus why this show is not for anyone. Well, at least, the animation movements are smooth and fluid that it is relatively 'easier' to watch. ANd actually it doesn't stop there. Hyouka team really puts a lot of thought in animating scenes, dialogue, monologue, even silent scene. For example: How many different angle shots from where Houtarou meets Eru in the cafe? And that was just for a 7 minutes worth of talking.

Final words, Hyouka makes us changed our perspective, Hyouka changed our habit, Hyouka changed the standard for Slice-of-Life anime. It can be deep, it can be engaging. But it will all comes down on how deep you actually wants to swim on it? How far will you walk alongside with it? And how curious you are in exploring all contents provided in this show that you can get from watching all episodes? And of course, how well did you receive all the messages in those episodic parts? (Ending is included).

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