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Oct 8, 2009
This anime feels like a plain retelling of the original story, and those who have played the visual novel game won't find great content in watching it. On the other hand, those who haven't are unlikely to find it any better either - chances are they would find the story and the characters completely uninspiring.
Fate/stay night does not have any horrendous flaws in it, enough to make your watching experience miserable. That said, it will fail to instill many emotions in the viewer and putting the hype aside, I cannot fathom how those new to the Fate/stay night universe might find it anything other than
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not-too-bad.
Story: Mediocre (5/10)
Even the story in the game isn't that spectacular. Perhaps its greatest value is the carefully constructed world with intriguing characters and not many plot holes. Therefore, it was easy to get immersed in the game and get to like a certain cool servant or a master for its beliefs, actions, personality, looks or history. Albeit rather fantastic and idealistic ones, the motives behind the characters were thoroughly explained and thus brought to life.
As the result of mixing of the three routes that exist in the game in order to (try to) depict every servant/master and thus get more fans, not one character feels complete. Many of the game's monologues and dialogs are of course left out so once the ball starts rolling with the Holy Grail war one event tramples over another until the very end, making the story seem pretty unsubstantial and childish.
Art: Good (7/10)
The best way to explain the art here is to say it's like a well-drawn picture book with some cool photoshop effects sprinkled here and there. My biggest objection here would be the unexplainable inconsistency in the art style; somewhere around the middle of the show it almost feels like a slide show for a couple of episodes, even some characters were drawn sloppily (this is not the case throughout the show, but when and if you get to those few episodes, you'll know). While you will certainly enjoy the colors and art style which are both very fitting, you won't be thrilled by the lack of real animation.
Sounds: Good (7/10)
Disillusion, the first OP is an improved version of the game OP and is simply superb. ED is okay, the second OP is below average. Background music fits the mood well but you're likely to get sick of it. Voice acting is not extraordinary nor particularly bad.
Character: Mediocre (5/10)
What I said for the story applies here. Characters don't have their personalities explained well and its hard to get attached to pretty much anyone, even if you've played the game.
Enjoyment: Decent (4/10)
If you've played the visual novel you'll find this anime fun from the perspective of watching an animated set of CGs coupled with voices, though it might get excruciating after a dozen episodes or so. The parts which I have liked the most are those at the beginning when the characters joke, have meals, go to school etc. because it is probably the only part that differs from the game story and feels less like a retelling of it from one lazy teenager to another.
If you haven't, don't fall for the hype - the game is good, the anime is far less good - if you feel there are inconsistencies in the story and if it feels bland, it's because it is.
Overall: Mediocre (5/10)
Play the game instead.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 30, 2009
Starting out slowly, with a tragic story of the lives of those in the villages under Yoma oppression, then gradually expanding the story further and deeper than you might have imagined at first, this manga leaves you very little space for thoughts like "oh it's just another fighting shounen".
Under the explicit scenes of combat and gruesome looking monsters called Yoma, an intriguing story set in a well-crafted universe of "Claymore" unravels at ever-increasing pace, escalating into a conflict between unlikely allies and foes so enticing- you'll feel the Youki flowing right into you.
Story: 8/10
Although it is a combat-based manga, the underlying story is intelligent
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and filled with unexpected plot twists.
Art: 9/10
The characters look proportioned and beautiful, environment isn't any worse and in the latter chapters the monster design certainly doesn't leave anything more to be desired. Combat scenes are brutal (though the blood is there just in the right amounts) and really take you there.
Character: 8/10
A multitude of characters is introduced and none of them are exploited more than they should, I have yet to find myself disliking any of them, even those rather one-dimensioned ones.
Enjoyment: 8/10
"Claymore" is extremely addicting to read, it is quite easy to forget yourself and immerse in the story.
Overall: 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 27, 2009
Right from the start, a certain "emptiness" can be felt as the general atmosphere. In a ravishing, but flawed universe set in Shanghai and later the deserts of the Middle East, a puzzling battle between several parties takes place.
Amidst this chaos painted with many sentiments, an impressionistic tale of friendship, unrequited love and subconscious search for one's true nature. This hollow in the heart of each character isn't easily filled and tends to expand to the anime as well, leaving it flawed and to be taken as-is, without any resolve to tie up the loose ends.
Story: 7/10
Plot itself is original. The "real world"
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conflict involving terrorists, secret organizations behind the government of USA and Japan, with a dash of genetic experiments (this is dealt in a realistic fashion) isn't often seen in the ocean of "slices-of-life", stories with supernatural phenomena and fighting animes. Bad thing is - it likes to open a lot of doors to deepen the personalities of characters, but does little to at least hint to a sensible reason behind some actions they take. This spot is usually supplemented with a variety of colors and their associations the main protagonist can see and the ongoing search for the meaning behind the name Canaan and its relation to the actual character of its bearer.
Art: 9/10
Flashy, fluid, consistent. A select number of eye-pleasing color makes the palette of CANAAN. Action sequences show the character motions in their entirety rather than resorting to "epileptic" lines in the background as the means of portraying speed and resolve (a major plus).
Sound: 8/10
Voicing is good, but I can't really say it's anything more than that; in my opinion, there isn't anything exceptional to it. OP and ED are catchy and fit the anime well, surely worth mentioning.
Character: 7/10
They are memorable and lively. Their actions are often confusing though, it's as if the makers of the anime wanted to add weight to their personalities by somewhat random and radical behavior but along the way forgot to fit all the reasons to support those.
Enjoyment: 6/10
Here CANAAN fails the most; to put it shortly, although technically you are supposed to be captivated by the bustling plot, action and general turmoil, you simply are not. I found myself often drifting away and forgetting what I was watching, by which time it was difficult to get back and realize what the hell was happening.
Overall: 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 23, 2009
As beautiful and grand as it may be sometimes, face it, your, my, or anyone's life isn't a novel or a movie. People have always found it hard to face the fact that we are just not that important to the world; living with such uncertainty is an internal struggle each one of us can either deal with or be dealt with.
Though there are those times when it feels like humanity is like a colony of ants in a glass container, looking out into the unknown or living about their simple lives littered with chores - each one of us sentient beings IS important. Sadly,
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it usually takes a tragedy the size of an earthquake for us to figure that out.
Story: 7/10
The story shows the simple life. In its simplicity, it is sometimes grand and other times less so. Still, the first 5 or 6 episodes are pretty darn good to get you going and the last two are exquisite; taking into account that there are eleven total, that's quite solid.
Art: 7/10
It depicts the earthquake, the shattered buildings and that whole chaos in a very realistic fashion. Lots of details in the surroundings, little in character design, though the latter still is somehow fitting.
Sound: 8/10
Subtle, enough to accentuate the atmosphere. Love the ED.
Character: 8/10
Though this anime focuses more on depicting the potential earthquake and all that follows, the characters feel human and therefore are easy to relate to, so you could say they are one of the best aspects of it.
Enjoyment: 7/10
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is quite enjoyable for the most part. Right before the end there are a few episodes that are...okay really...but ruin the average score in this category. I don't know, those seem to be there simply to increase the episode count, though of course there are moments which are rather important for the plot there too.
Overall: 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 11, 2009
So it has finally come to this. As I'd watched this anime I felt compelled to review it, heck I've done it in my head many times over. Every time I had a new thought, realization that made it greater in my mind. The reason for doing this is most likely that Clannad succeeded in amplifying every single story arc, making it feel grand, perfect and complete. It was around halfway into After Story that I'd realized I am in way over my head. This does not deserve to be dissected and reviewed like some faulty piece of garbage. No sir.
Clannad has grown on me
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more than I ever thought possible when I played that first episode. Sakura trees, overdramatic (though fabulous) music, deep thoughts, cynical male protagonist right at the start of the anime? I knew it was really popular and loved, but back then I thought I knew just why and my presumptions weren't bright at all.
"I realize why some people might like this stuff but me? Nah...this is too corny for me...oh well, now that I've started, I'll give it a shot with a few more episodes."
But how the hell could I have known?
It's a 10, the biggest freakin' 10 I've ever given to anything in my entire life. This is what animes are basically all about. Granted, there are animes that are different, unusual and branch out pretty far from their origin. But essentially what makes them anime, not cartoons or tv shows, a medium that has attracted so many people lately is more or less the same. And Clannad is a conventional anime in that regard. Except it took all that emotion, tranquil slice-of-lifeness, seemingly naive but in fact deep story and made it feel REAL. Every character, every moment, everything that might have put me off at first - though it seemed bland at times - has converted into a great memory, a profound feeling of love. Clannad has stripped off the defense mechanisms I have implanted into my brain as I grew up, thinking I have toughened up, grown smarter, more experienced, when in reality all I did was block off those simple, yet beautiful things and emotions that make life. Because it was easier that way, it left me less vulnerable, rid of any great expectations, making it harder for me to get hurt.
Friendship, falling-in-love, the simple quirks and talents that make us special, the dreams of our childhood and adolescence, all that seems to be labeled as a stupid ideal or taboo today. Should we trivialize those things, take them for granted and treat those moments as such? (This is exactly what Ryou was talking about in Kyou's arc, Alernate World episode) No, instead we should hold them as precious memories, even though they might not be "Clannad" for everyone. I was a bit like Nagisa in those years and I regret what I have missed. When I think about it, those years will always hold a special place in my heart even though my childhood and adolescence was short of practically any happy moments. If I had a chance to redo things, I definitely would have acted more like Tomoya, I would've stayed true to some things even when I was ridiculed and insulted by others.
Clannad is all too simple. If I tried to describe it, I certainly wouldn't do it any justice. Every aspect of it is combined in a perfect way to create a masterpiece, making it all seem believable. I cried plenty of times, I smiled like I haven't since childhood (I mean those truly happy, altruistic, empathic smiles) because the characters felt completely real. No real way to describe it other than watch it; this is what makes animes great - to an outsider all this would seem pathetic but rather than using complex dialogues or situations to build up characters and explain their morality like in the real movies or TV shows, in animes it's done in a way that's almost magical. Not only that, this anime makes you rethink your life priorities and thus changes it. Yes, this anime is life-changing.
There, my impression of Clannad. It's the best thing I've watched in my life. Rewatching an anime seemed like a ridiculous thing to do when there are so many good ones around, but I am positive I will rewatch Clannad one day and rejoice as I have on my first watching.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 3, 2009
Death Note is a top notch anime. Like a symphony masterpiece, it drags you in slowly without ever letting go, increasing the pace through ingenious actions the characters take til the grand finale where it culminates.
To start with, I think it looked pretty awesome. Admittedly, there were fluctuations in the character animation/drawing at certain points, but those weren't that often and when done right, the visuals are great; the death gods, character expressions and action sequences are full of eye candy and look very stylish. The script is really ingenious, I could seldom tell what was going to happen next. If I had to name
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the part in the series which I particularly liked, it had to be the time when L was seriously starting to get on Light's tail - revealing the way characters think in a dramatic way is one bright point in this anime. Actions are never taken without serious calculation and reasoning, therefore I really can't think of any plotholes right now.
However, as much as I liked the episodes after L's death, I don't think they could ever surpass the ones prior to them. If it had ended with L dying, I would have been pleased. Don't get me wrong, I totally liked Near, Mello and the events that followed; if one asked me whether I'd like to undo the creation of those episodes my answer would be no. But this, and the fact that Light went berserk in the end and died (not very surprising, justice wins bla bla bla) still stand as slight objections to this anime in my review. Maybe it's just my personal preference, but the last third of the show is a bit pale compared to the first two.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 3, 2009
Honestly, I am very surprised at how much I liked this show. I felt great unease while watching the first episode and the only reason I continued watching was because I'd already downloaded all the rest as well. At first it just felt like I'm not meant to watch this thing - now that I'm done with it, I feel a bit like Azusa after she joined the light music club, thinking "This isn't for me, what's with all the cuddling and being cute and childish"...my opinion has changed as well as hers.
The animation quality didn't seem that great when I first got into the
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show (compared to Haruhi for example), but later on I started thinking it was perfect. I don't know if that's also a matter of adjusting or if the animation quality really increased exponentially as the show progressed. As for the music and voicing, it's extraordinary. Every character has a lovely distinct voice and every single song has gotten into my daily playlist. There isn't much to the plot but I guess the creators of this anime were going for that "light" feel here as well; let's just say it certainly is original for the most part and enough to keep you glued to the screen till the very end.
K-ON! may seem simple at first but trust me, it's an acquired taste. The more you watch it the more you like it. I'm not the type of guy to watch something like this and I was still smiling in an odd, benevolent way throughout the show, watching it was pure joy.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 3, 2009
Prior to this, I'd watched the whole first season but I haven't played the game. This is the first time I've had the opportunity to see an alternate world in an anime so I was anxious to see how the episode turned out. Naturally, I wasn't disappointed.
What this episode shows very well is how our fate is in fact in our hands; believing in soul mates is ridiculous, there are plenty of good people out there and many of them may turn out to be right for us. Tomoyo is just as good a girl as Nagisa - I needn't mention her personality is convincing
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and well thought out - and if the events had occurred the way they did here, Okazaki would get to love her as much as he did Nagisa in the main story.
At first, the notion of the two of them splitting apart over the future of their careers appeared a bit cliché-id but they handled it well and as the episode progressed, it really struck me for the first time how damaged Okazaki Tomoya is as a person. Then the decision Tomoyo would have to make of whether she should stay in that small town for the rest of her life with someone she has gotten to love deeply, but has only been with for a short while didn't seem so naive anymore. That kind of stuff could happen in real life (it probably does all the time).
The episode finale wasn't that unexpected but in true Clannad spirit managed to be emotional and put a smile on my face. A part of that was probably because I heard that great song that only played once before when Fuko had to "leave" and that made quite an impact on me at the time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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