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Dec 31, 2013
Sometimes it's difficult to know before going into a series if you will enjoy it or not. Sometimes it's a mistake, and sometimes it doesn't matter. I waited until this series/season was complete before I gave it a look, and really I am glad I waited. I started watching this at 10pm on a Saturday night. I figured I would watch a couple of episodes then call it a night, but 14 episodes later the series finally took enough of a break for me to go to sleep. It was surprisingly addictive, unexpected and wonderful. It is based on an ongoing Manga (which I read
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immediately after finishing the anime) and it was/is a great series. If you enjoy mild thought provoking and action filled anime then this is a great watch.
Anybody who has read any of my other reviews knows that I do not like to break things apart too much. There are plenty of others that will dissect these for you, but I do like to slightly touch on the categories this site offers when writing a review. Across the board this is a solid 9 for me. It has a great story, though it is somewhat predictable at times, there are plenty of small surprises along the way. Great art, music, voice acting, blah blah blah. It has everything that I look for in a great series. The characters are all special and unique, and you never know which one will die. Yes, many characters die in this story. It is not a happy skipping along the yellow brick road sort of adventure. No, this is a dark and brutal journey that leaves you wondering what will happen next. The only complaint I can muster is the ending, but the Manga is still on going and this is really close to the Manga series.
What is it about? Well, this is one of those synopsis that are really quite far off. Titans vary in height, and most are mindless human eating machines. The people are protected behind giant walls, but one day that all changes with a breach that leads to a crushing defeat for mankind. The main characters witness a very brutal and terrifying event in there hometown which leads them to joining the military in hopes to fight and defeat these monstrous beasts. Their method of fighting involves swinging/flying through the air on cables that allow them to swing behind the beasts and hit their weak spots with thin blades. It has a unique feel to the combat in the story, and witnessing them training to fight these creatures in itself is very entertaining. Once trained they witness another breach, and the story takes a few more dark turns that lead to a greater and more sinister plot than originally presented. It is brutal, it is violent, but it holds back just enough to not be too gory.
One thing I found relieving is that the main character isn't the best but he works hard to become among the best. His greatest strength is his will which makes him an exceptional leader and a great inspiration to those around him. His closest friends have their own unique strengths which makes all of them useful and important to the overall picture. It has a good feel from start to finish.
I feel this is a much watch for action anime fans. Be warned it is brutal, it is dark, and these 25 episodes end just as the major plot gets started in the manga, but it is close to the original material and it is a great piece of work. Definitely add this to your short list.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 18, 2013
How could something so epicly funny be so epicly short? Senyuu answers that question, after the first episode it's hard to resist it's satirical slapstick comedy that is incredibly short and sweet. It takes the classic hero knight story and turns it on it's ear. The only problem I have with this series is the length of each episode. 5 minutes becomes 2.5 of actual episode once the credits have been accounted for, but that's part of the humorous appeal. This is one of those special series, and I look forward to watching season 2.
If you like knights, demonlords, old perverts and constant slapstick satirical
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comedy then this is for you. Don't miss this wonderful series. It's not like you don't have time for it!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 18, 2013
Bounen no Xamdou is one of those series that took me by surprise. It was on my to watch list for a while, and I really trudged my way through a few misses before I found this one. It's hard to get a gist for what you're going to see by reading a synopsis, because it is a character driven story from start to finish. The overall story isn't bad, but it's really about the people in the story and their relationships with eachother. I was impressed, and it had a satisfying ending as well. Definitely this was a great series.
It starts our looking like
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your stereotypical mecha, post war, children of war, superpowered series. I thought I was in for the same song and dance I've seen over and over again. I was surprised to find that this wasn't the case. After the main character is wisped away and his friends are left in the aftermath, the real story begins. The story does a good job of following all characters, and you are given plenty of time to develop an emotional bond to them all. There are not a lot of action filled scenes, but the ones you get are satisfying. It's pacing isn't too slow, but it definitely is never rushed either. All in all it's done really well.
One thing that I was really impressed with is that some characters started out villainous and then seemed less and less evil as the story progressed. Others started out seemingly ok, but then became more and more villainous. Not one character was ever truly evil, and I felt most were likeable in their own way. As I said, this was character driven story and it was done extremely well.
I'll say the artwork and animation were pretty good, but the music and voice acting were top notch. The music was typically right on, and it really fed to the emotion in each scene. They really did a fantastic job. The voice actors hit their mark just about every time and it made for a great experience.
If you don't mind story/character driven anime series with less action than character development then give this series a look. I thought it was great and would highly recommend it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 17, 2013
Deadman Wonderland is a pretty memorable Manga series. It is extremely graphic at times, and it has a very dark theme from start to finish. When a story is based on a prison that has a secret super powered inmate fighting ring it's not about to win happiest story of the year award. The super powered fighting comes at a price, and to be honest, there's not much in this story that doesn't have a price associated with it. I found myself feeling for the main characters, and that includes the bad guys as well.
Overall I was impressed with the artwork in this series. The
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emotional state of the characters were always well dipicted, and the mood always carried off of the page. This lead to a very engaging story, and I was very pleased with the over all experience.
Regarding how graphic it was, if you're sensitive to deranged behavior, bloody scenes, and violent nature then you will want to avoid this series. That said, it's not the most violent, not the most graphic, or even the craziest story I have read. It's dark, but it shines light occasionally and does have it's heartwarming mements.
I really enjoyed this series, and I highly recommend it to others. I'm just sad it ended. This is a must read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 17, 2013
This series is roughly based on one thousand and one arabian nights. Characters like Aladdin, Ali Babba and Sin Bad are main characters. It's not closely linked to, but the theme is taken from some great classic tales.The series is adapted from a Manga series, and I highly recommend reading it as well.
Magi is a series that started out very promising. It's based on an ongoing weekly manga series. The story is a little truncated compared to the manga, and it's pacing is set a little too fast at times. It's quality effectively is great at times, but it does drop occasionally. Overall it's a
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pretty good adventure anime series, but for fans of the manga it does have a made up filler ending.
One thing this series did really well is stayed true to the characters and their personalities. A lot of adaptations differ in too many ways, but this anime did a fairly stand up job. I loved the artwork and animation most of the time, but the comedy animation felt very lazy to me. I enjoyed the music and voice acting, and during the airing of this series I as extremely satisfied. This is one that I waited for week to week with anticipation. It does a really good job on the theme and I felt it was very enjoyable.
It lost me at the end with the unnecessary filler ending. They could have ended it the same as the Manga's story arc did and had a much better open ended conclusion. One of my biggest complaints in most series based on Manga is that they deviate too much. If something has a big enough fan base to animate it then they should leave the story alone. Make it better if you can without changing it. I don't think they delivered in the end, but if you haven't read the manga then you won't bat an eye.
Complaints aside, it's a great introduction to the series. I love the characters, and I enjoyed the story. I feel it's a must see if you're into action adventure anime series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 29, 2013
I want to start by saying that I am a huge one piece fan. It is my favorite manga and anime series hands down. I normally don't like filler or movies inspired by series, but this one I was looking forward to. I really liked Strong World, so since Oda was involved in this, I hoped it would be as good as movie 10. Was it? Not really, but it wasn't a horrible movie either. I have to say it was pretty good and worth watching.
Anybody following the manga series knows that they have made some adjustments after the time skip. They put the characters
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in more peril in the anime than they experienced in the manga. The feel is just a little different. This movie feels as different from the anime series as the anime is from the manga. The mood just isn't the same. I really sort of missed the carefree feel you get from the anime series as they explored a little more of a serious tone this movie. It still had some of light hearted humor but I thought it was a bit slow and dry compared to what I have grown to love in the series. The pacing was very slow until the end, and it was missing a lot of those classic One Piece moments that I have had long discussions with my friends about. That pretty much covers my feelings, but don't let my comments take away from this adventure, it was still pretty good and worth watching.
Artwork is a solid 9. I would give it a 10 if it was consistent all the way through. Music, voice acting, and sound in general were great, again I give the sound a solid 9. Characters are a 10 because hey, it's the strawhat crew. I even enjoyed the new villain. Where it dropped for me was overall story and enjoyment. If they had executed the story a little better (like what we're used to in the series) then it could have been so much better.I don't want to give any details because I don't want to throw spoilers around, but the final fight compared to what you see after the time skip was a little bit of a letdown. Again though, pretty good and no real complaints.
If you like one piece then you should check this one out. It's not bad, but I still liked Strong World better. Still it made a high enough score in my book for filler! :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 27, 2013
Vividred Operation was a weird series to watch. I really enjoyed it's message about friendship. I thought the idea of forgiving and identifying with your enemy was great. The daily life portions of the series were pretty entertaining and it wasn't too bad. It has some decent comedy as well.
Then the action scenes started... I was speechless. Not in a good way, mind you, but in a "why the heck am I watching this cheesy *$#^% ?" sort of way. This is another series that really sits well with preteens (I would think) but not for the late teen or older. It has a lot
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of good, but the bad was just so aweful that my opinion of the series completely dropped.
It has good artwork, and it's music is a little cheesy (more cheese). The voice acting is a little cheesy at times (and yet more cheese), but I loved the characters. It really does have a lot of appeal (cheese aside).
But, the action scenes! Oh lord help me please! The tone of the series changes when they perform their horribly cheesy (have I used this word enough?) power ups and combining and... who cares. If you can make it through horribly cheesy (have you been counting the use of this word yet?) action scenes then there is a good message in this series. If you can't, then do skip this one. I liked it a little, but the CHEESE was pretty bad in this one.
Not a must see, that's for sure.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 27, 2013
Senran Kagura drowns itself in it's own mediocrity. It has most of the basic elements in the series, but it falls short in most areas and never quite delivers. I held on through the story, but 12 episodes was more than enough, in fact, I wish it was halved. At times I enjoyed it, and others I couldn't wait for the episode to end.
I'll keep it short and sweet. It really had a volatile mix of ingredients. It had good artwork, but they focused too much on sex appeal and didn't put enough attention into anything else. The sound was tolerable, but I wish
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it had better music.The voice acting was mediocre, they didn't focus enough on character development, and I found that I didn't have enough invested in them to like the characters. I just kept waiting for it to get good but it didn't. It was seriously lacking in so many areas. The story even was super simple and not satisfying.
If you're into panty shots, skimpy clothed teenage girls fighting, and low quality voice acting, then you may enjoy this series. It has a predicable story (what little there is), and it's filled with simple cliche characters. It really is on the the bottom border of being mediocre as far as action anime series go. Don't expect anything more than you get from the beginning, because it does not deliver. So why the 6 overall? I did use the word "volatile" when describing it. It's good and bad at the same time, but I think 12 year boys will love it.
In short, I don't think it's a "must avoid" anime series, but I won't be watching it a second time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 1, 2013
Ixion Saga DT is a satirical comedy with just the right amount of slapstick to please and not annoy. It has a great cast of characters, and plenty of mini story lines to please the casual anime viewer. It even has an appropriate ending for the series which seems to really be lacking these days.
This satirical comedy is fantasy based. It's a simple plot, but it works well enough. Basically Kon gets transported from sitting at his computer playing video games to a different world. In this new world he's supposed to save it somehow by using his hyperion powers. He is in no way
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a warrior, and the group he accompanies is filled with strong weirdos. This series is bizarre, yet I found it highly enjoyable.
From the very beginning you are immersed in a ridiculous world that is different yet the same as ours. There's a princess, a muscle bound warrior, a dress wearing gunslinger, and then Kon. They are being chased by another group, and the larger story unfolds slowly throughout. Each week is a different themed episode, and it's all comedy. It has great cast, good animation, catchy theme music, and overall it's done well. If you're looking for a new comedy then this could be it.
I highly recommend this series. It's a great time filler and it is full of laughs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 31, 2013
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha has an interesting concept. It takes a look at economic and social issues during a medieval themed period, and it focuses on the "behind the scenes" sort of events. Again, it's an interesting concept, and at times I really liked it a lot. The ending was very disappointing, and it dropped my opinion of it dramatically. I simply want to warn that this story really doesn't have an ending and will most likely leave you expecting more (notice I didn't say wanting, but expecting). I did like this story (I figured I should say that much). I did look forward to it
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each week, and I was intrigued by the concept. I wonder if I was more intrigued by my speculation of where it was going as opposed to where the story actually went.
Now for the basics. It looked good so I can't complain there. The music was ok, not very memorable, but it worked. The voice acting was good (probably one of it's strongest points). I did like all of the basic details, and I don't feel it really let me down in any of these areas. The problem is that it attempted to create a fantasy tale that wasn't a fantasy tale. There were demons, knights, mages, castles, kingdoms, and churches. There was a long standing war that was at the center of this story as well. Holy crusades are talked about during this story. Detach yourself from these facts immediately. They are simply background to what is actually taking place. What you get with Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is a love story between a superhuman and a demon that are attempting to end their war (long term mind you) by correcting the social, economic, and political issues of their time. The methods they choose are the story. It's not much of one, but that's it.
Despite the lack of something substantial, this story is interesting. I enjoyed watching the demons introduce new ideas and technologies to a world full of dumbfounded sheep-like people. It had a lot of good moments, but the story was ultimately flawed. I made a lot of speculation during my viewing of the show that probably carried over into my opinion. This is not an extremely exciting nor a game changing anime series. It does have some good things to offer, but do beware that it is filled with a lot of plot holes and bad logic. The potential is there, but it is never fully realized, so I feel it should have been a lot better.
Now for the best part of this show... the characters. So what if it's filled with stereotypical fantasy characters. I liked the characters in this series. I enjoyed the weird love story that was in there too. I wanted to see different events transpire, and I wanted to see a little more of the action, but we don't get too see too much of that. There's a lot of setup and not a lot of execution, but the characters are still fun to watch regardless.
There's mild relationship humor and some interesting friendships are born throughout the journey. It's filled with character interaction and reaction. It's the reactionary behavior that I enjoyed the most. The self conscious main characters with low self esteem created a sort of fun awkwardness that I thought brightened the show. Without that, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much.
I know I have both rued and complimented this series, but my overall feelings are that this was interesting, yet it was very flawed. It is a 7 for me, even though I was left a little confused as to my reasoning. Sometimes liking something doesn't have to make perfect sense, and this series is an example of that for me. With only 12 episodes it's an easy watch, and I do recommend it.
Though I think it's worth watching, it is hard to say who exactly will like it or hate it. Some people will like it because it's different, while others will hang on its many flaws. All in all, I suggest you try a couple of episodes to get a feel for the story, and if you don't like it after the first couple of episodes then you probably won't like it at all. Do expect a lot of dialogue, and do expect to watch more of the mundane than you may be used to.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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