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Jan 30, 2015
Manga review: Unico
Over the years I have become somewhat numb to romance stories, and the more emotionally evocative or convoluted the plot twist, the less I seemed to enjoy the simple tale of love between two people.
And here enters Unico, a story about an infant unicorn with magical powers that only work if she is loved. And I rate it an 8/10, so obviously something is wrong with me.
Or maybe not. Because, yes, on the surface, Unico is a story for children who want some colourful adventure to immerse in. But as I read the story, it was clear to me that there
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is more than meets the eye, which did not surprise me seeming as this is Tezuka we’re talking about.
The 2 volumes cover 8 different short stories as Unico travels on a flying spirit that leaves her in the company of a variety of different people and other furry animals. Each story conveys a different type of love, some of which are: young love, mature love, the love between friends, the love of family, the love of pets, and even forbidden love. The majority of these stories starts with two people meeting and ends with them falling in love. And with the two characters falling in love, without the need for Unico’s love, they discard her, leaving her to once again travel alone. And quite appropriately, one of the later stores delves a little into the isolation of not being loved by anyone at all.
The charm this manga conveyed caught me by surprise, and the raw feelings shown through very obvious means (giant hearts in the sky for example) humbled me. Sure there were simple and cliché plot twists, and the “love” could be seen as mere lust or affection, but I like to think that Unico is somewhat of a cupid, bringing two people together in the name of love.
Many questions are pondered by our little one-horned friend, such as what even is love? What does it mean to be alone? And does it really even matter either way as long as you’re happy? By no means do you have to take these as anything meaningful – which is why Unico is so family-friendly – but if you choose to, then the story can actually have some merit even for hardened adults. Just be aware that the cutesy film covering the story is not all this series has to offer.
I will quickly end saying the art style is good old Tezuka, but with a twist. Because I am yet to mention that the entire series is in full colour. I need say no more.
Overall, I give Unico an 8/10, as any lower would be a mockery and any higher would be an overstatement, as yes, there are inherently “better” stories written by Tezuka (namely MW and Ode to Kirihito).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 14, 2015
“If you’re feeling like there’s nowhere you belong… That you’re trapped in a small world… It’s those feelings that drive us beyond our world.”
Space Brothers/Uchuu Kyoudai is a story about two brothers and their journey of becoming astronauts. Well, except the younger of the two, Hibito is already one, and the older brother, Mutta, starts off at square one.
The series follows Mutta as he struggles through test after test; the long, arduous road to becoming a fully-fledged astronaut. This is a realistic representation of what the journey is like, and the amount of detail gone into is to be commended. And although this technically
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*is* a story about this journey to get into space, the focus is on the characters, and is much more of a slice-of-life than it is a sci-fi. However, I will warn you that the amount of detail can at times become a negative thing. One example is in the initial testing for astronaut selection, the sheer length of the tests and the detail that is gone into can make reading the manga become laborious and at times, boring.
But the manga excels in a few aspects that I want to highlight here. One of these is in characterization and the relationships between characters. Sure the story is "about" these two brothers, but the focus jumps between a variety of the huge cast, and many different personalities pop up throughout the story. Most of the personalities you see will be relatively realistic and will react to situations in ways you would expect a real person to. I also want to point out that relationships between two characters are also done very well; the relationship between the two brothers for one example is done beautifully. Also the relationship between groups of crew members fighting to become a selected candidate is fascinating, as the conflict of interests become a major setback in mission progress, and it leads to a very interesting read on human group psychology.
Space Brothers is also an incredibly inspiring series, but not the false-hope kind of inspiration. There’s no cheesy, hollow, “you can do it,” phrases. Instead, by reading a character realistically setting out a goal and striving for it, and ultimately achieving it; Space Brothers really makes you feel like you can achieve your own goals if you just give it an honest shot and don’t back down when things get rough.
The artwork is for the most part, average for a seinen. However the mangaka definitely puts more effort into the more important scenes in the story. Character design is great however, with each being unique enough to recognise, while still keeping a continuous art style throughout.
One gripe I had with this series that I did not like was the constant flashbacks of side-characters. The amount of chapters put into the back-stories of characters that I honestly had no care for seemed like a waste of time. Time that could have been spent further developing the main cast.
In conclusion, Space Brothers is a realistic slice-of-life story that follows the inspirational journey of Mutta to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut. It is not a story for everyone, but if you like the sound of what I’ve said so far, check it out, you’ll probably enjoy yourself.
The series is still ongoing, and at the posting of this review, is 242 chapters long.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 5, 2014
Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Having never read the novel, I will not make any comparisons, and will review this based on its own merits.
After watching the first episode of this series, I was hyped. The art, wordplay, cute main female and funny main male characters.. I thought I was in for a real treat. Well, that initial sweetness soon started to taste oddly sour. Which is a real shame. Let me elaborate.
Kyoto Animation provides us with stunning visuals in this series. I loved how the atmosphere is often dark and dreary, yet with
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a faint touch of light here and there, that glimmer seemingly attached to our heroine, ‘Miss Clumsy’ herself, Mirai Kuriyama (more on her later). The animation for battle scenes are spectacular, and had me rewinding many a time to relive a moment that just blew me away. The fluidity of bodies during action scenes is just so well done as well, with Kuriyama and the various youma being especially well animated. This atmosphere is torn up and thrown out the back window all too soon with ridiculous outfits (let's just say there is a maid outfit with bunny ears involved at one stage), situations and even entire episodes revolving around comedy and fan-service.
Instead of breaking up the darker sides to the story, it only made me lose any interest I originally had. Many shows keep a dark side all the way through and those who don't give in to fan-service are those that in my humble opinion, deserve the higher ratings. If a story on it's own can't stand up without the constant crutch of cute girls and innuendo's, then sorry to say but your story is terrible. And this show's story is, well, yeah it's not good.
At first, I found the OP to be mediocre, but as the show progressed, so did my taste for the woman’s voice in the opening song. I ended up watching it every episode, and not skipping it like I do with many other anime. But I will say, it certainly doesn’t fit the shows feel quite right.
The ED is just wonderful.
The music that plays throughout the show is something that really stood out for me. Instead of being there, the tracks used set the mood for scenes near-on perfectly. Action scenes really *feel* like good old down-to-earth ACTION scenes, and coupled with the animation, I couldn’t help but be completely immersed in them. In the calmer parts of the show, the music is less influential, but certainly fits just right. When the story was lacking (and it did at times), the sound was there as a crutch to put a bit of feeling into a scene, and this is evident throughout the entirety of the show. The music is very well done.
The characters in KnK are very 2-dimensional, in that any development is only either very minor, episodic or forced. Kuriyama's character is honestly frustrating to watch, because, I adore her character design. The hair colour and shape, red glasses and just being generally kawaii (ha), but from episode 1 to episode 12, she doesn't change hardly at all. Yes she cries a lot, shouldn't that give her instant development-points? Not at all. The reasons behind the emotion in this show are honestly nothing for the viewer to care for - only making those that cry seem weak and annoying and those that get angry seem hotheaded and unintelligent.
Side characters are plenty, and most serve a similar function of being plot devices, which is fine, but repeated all too often and only makes the storytelling evidently weak here; having to rely on temporary characters with convenient back-stories.
This show had good promise in the first episode, but quickly tripped over it's own laces, with 11 episodes of rolling further and further downhill.
But it wasn't all bad; it made me giggle and laugh out loud, “awww” at Kuriyama’s clumsiness and gasp at the action scenes. But the sad emotional scenes KnK force-feeds the viewer really put me off. I feel like this show tried to be too many things in too short of a time-frame. This show would have greatly benefited from having a 24-episode running, so plot and character development could have been drawn out well enough for me to actually care what was happening.
Individual ratings are as follows: Story - 5; Art - 8; Sound - 8; Character - 3, Enjoyment - 5; Mean total - 5.8 (rounded to 6))
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 31, 2014
Everyone's been in situations where someone asks them "How are you?", and you reply with "Fine", when what you're really feeling is far from fine. Noragami works in very much the same way, it comes off as a very cheery show, but holds so much more emotion behind what it shows at first glance.
The story is nothing special; an unknown God called Yato tries to gain recognition by answering the prayers and calls for help from people. Things happen to Yato and people around him that branch from that, which would be fine usually, but nearly everything that does happen to him and his friends
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arises from something from Yato's past, which is never even explained. It doesn't flow very well, but at least it is entertaining.
The art style is very nice to look at, with character designs unique and animation that flows. It is very reminiscent of Bleach in fact, having the backdrop of a city/town, where Phantoms (Hollows) reek havoc on the town at nighttime, and Yato and fellow God's fight them. The fights aren't ever anything original, but they do look nice for sure.
The OP and ED are both very good. It's rare that I won't skip through an OP and end the video before the ED, but Noragami got me to sit through them, which is pretty impressive. The music throughout the show is something I've not experienced before... It's just so strange... With automated singers against very new-world synths, I can't say I always enjoyed it, but it was at least it's own style, and something Noragami will be remembered for.
The character's are what make this show so good, and if it weren't for their development throughout the show, I'd have dropped it easily; disregarding it as another generic action/comedy. I don't know how they managed to fit such intricate stories to Yato and Yukine, but you really do feel for them when things get dire. Hiyorin (the damsel in distress) isn't as fleshed out as the boys, but with another season, I'm sure she'd get her own spotlight.
I really enjoyed Noragami; it's simply a lot of fun to watch. It has a great combination of comedy, action, story, packed with great visuals and a unique soundtrack. The only thing I have to say that dissapointed me was the plot and the 12 episode length. Another season with a plot that had more focus would really help this show become top-notch. Either way, this is worth your time whether you want a comedy show, an action show or an emotional ride, because Noragami fits into every category.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 28, 2013
Story: 5 (Mediocre)
Fairy Tail is a shounen anime that revolves around a Mage Guild called 'Fairy Tail'. Each arc in the anime revolves around 4 main characters; Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Gray.
The first few arcs in the show have varying plots that slowly unravel these characters' pasts. Later arcs have plots related more-so to the guild's history, but the show never fails to ruin a good plot with the addition of random bad guys used purely for battle-scenes, so characters can power up with the power of friendship. yay.
Another downfall to the story of Fairy Tail is that is had no direction it is
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moving in. Okay, so Natsu has his ultimate goal to find his trainer and guardian Igneel - the dragon that raised him and taught him Dragon Slayer magic - but the anime is over 150 episodes long and we haven't seen even the slightest trace of a dragon.
Art: 6 (Fair)
The art and animation are also very average, but they do increase in quality as the show progresses. The show is a very colourful and vibrant one, with settings that are always very visually appealing, and characters that have nice attire and yes, the good ol' anime hairstyles we've all come to kow and love.
The reason I gave the Art category a 6 is because the animation of characters is hardly ever fluid, even in fight scenes, the frame rate skips, the punches aren't actually punching, they are just posing in front of diagonal lines... It's just, for an anime that has so much fighting, I expect good quality animation, and it's simply not there (don't get me wrong, there are some good fights, but they are scarce).
Sound: 9 (Great)
Finally, something Fairy Tail has that I find are lacking in other shounens; a good soundtrack!
I believe there are three soundtracks released to date and they are what make the many prevalent fight scenes so damn epic. I would not have watched Fairy Tail past the first few arcs if there wasn't some awesome electric guitar riff going on while Natsu was punching his way to victory.
Characters: 5 (Mediocre)
The story and the characters are a crucial part of a shounen, and should come second to nothing. The main characters in Fairy Tale are given a whole lot of backstory, terrible pasts, shock twists etc etc.
Most character's pasts are cliche and overly dramatic, and these only apply to our main 4 protagonists, and a few side characters (The Elfman, Lisanna, Mirajane trio for example).
Another downfall for characters is that they remain very static throughout the show, and hardly ever budge from their niche. What I mean by this is that every character's past defines who they are in the show, and who they pretty much always will be. There are no moments in the show that change the characters behaviour hardly at all, and I find that very unfortunate.
Enjoyment: 7 (Good)
Obviously there was something that made me gat over 100 episodes into this show. That my friends, was purely because I enjoyed myself.
The comedy in the show is a major highlight, with crazy characters, funny one-liners and silly situations all mixed into one another to make us laugh and smile. And that's what Fairy Tail is; it's fun! Sure it is serious when it needs to be, but you can always count on someone to brighten up the mood almost instantly.
Overall: 6 (Fair)
Okay, so there's the final verdict; a solid 6. Fairy Tail is a shounen anime that shines in its comedy, its soundtrack and a few decent fights along the way, but it lacks in unique and original story and plot, character development, and animation at times.
If you are just starting off on anime, its a great gateway anime, but if you're a seasoned anime fan, there are better shounens out there, and there are better comedic shows out there, so its not really worth the length the show goes for (with no end in sight as of yet).
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 23, 2013
Story: 5 (Mediocre)
The story is simple. Punie (the main character) is sent to Earth by her parents (more willingly by her mother) for one year before she is eligible to become the next queen of Magical Land. To use her time on Earth wisely, she gets enrolled in a school. While there, she meets a few enemies with whom she encounters in battle over the course of the show. Note that this anime is a parody, so the story is supposed to be terrible.
Art: 6 (Fair)
Colours are nice, Character designs are decent, and the animation isn't bad, but sometimes the frames go by a tad
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fast in a lot of scenes, making it a little awkward to watch.
Sound: 4 (Decent)
What can I say? It's average.
The OP and ED are both nothing to call home about, and the ambient tracks played throughout the show are really average, though they do fit their respective scenes.
Characters: 3 (Poor)
Unfortunately, the only good character design is Punie herself, but at least she has some sort of depth to her (and by depth I mean a split personality on opposite poles).
Although a few side characters get some backstory, so that's something.
Enjoyment: 8 (Very Good)
The majority of enjoyment comes from the comedic aspects of the show (though the fight scenes are surprisingly well done). This is where the show shines the brightest; from silly jokes to crazy situations to random characters with even more unexpected behaviours, Dai Mahou Touge is one funny anime!
Overall: 6 (Fair)
If you are looking for a short and hilarious anime and nothing more, then I urge you to watch this. It'll make you laugh for sure :)
Any other reason and it's not really worth it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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