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Mar 26, 2015
Humans are the smartest creatures in existence right? We have brilliant mental processes, reasoning and thoughts which are astonishing in comparison to other organisms. But, what if we came across an organism which was exactly like us? And worse still, a threat to us?
Parasyte follows the life of Shinichi, a shy, average 17 year old who's life was turned upside down after a parasyte named Migi burrowed into his right arm. The story documents Shinichi fighting against parasytes who have taken other people's whole bodies, as well as trying to come to terms with their existence.
In terms of a genre, Parasyte isn't far enough to
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be classed as a horror, but more as a sci-fi thriller, and it's the thriller aspect of the show they succeed at. Atmospherically, the sudden switch from the norm for Shinichi's life almost has a direct effect on the viewer, as in the first few episodes, the fast pace of the story allows us to relate to Shinichi struggling to come to terms with parasytes who are looking to attack him. It's almost as if both the viewer and Shinichi is thrown into the deep end straight away. As a story, Patasyte tries to view a possibility of a symbiotic relationship between humans and parasytes, as well as empathizing with a species that, with a high amount of knowledge like humans, gets killed off due to them being feared as they kill humans. Parasyte looks at survival of the fittest, whether it be for humans or parasyte, and thus leads the show to take more of a philosophical route. Are humans really morally just in its treatment of other species? These questions are constantly made throughout. Lastly, Shinichi's life is turned upside down and the story looks at how him becoming half parasyte-half human affects his own beliefs, his family and his friends around him.
However, the main weaknesses of the show are it's pacing, the message the story tried to make and the ending. In terms of pacing, the fast paced start at the beginning lead the show to become interesting early on, as we wanted to gain more information about how parasytes are, how they think ext. However, the pace of the story couldn't keep up with its fast paced start, which lead to a decrease in character development which couldn't occurred later on, secondly, there were many instances in scenes which felt very rushed and uncomfortable, as it didn't seem to fit well with what was going on at the time. Furthermore, the message it tried to get across seemed too cheap. Although it clearly showed how inhumane humans can be, it was almost mixed up in trying to decide whether to understand where parasytes came from, or to try and understand them, or both. Lastly, the ending mainly was an upset due to it coming across as a filler, as well as the constant repeat of its philosophical message.
In terms of animation, the battle scenes really do spice up the thriller aspect of the show, with the fluid animation of fighting in full view. Very typical of madhouse to make sure the show was given a great feel with the brilliant lighting, as well as making darkness that bit more sinister.
The characters in parasyte are done to a acceptable standard. Shinichi and Migi make up the the main characters of the show, with both equally sharing the spotlight because of their symbiotic relationship. Shinichi is developed very quickly in a very short space of time, due to the events of parasytes attacking him, as well as killing others lead to Shinichi to overcome drastic changes, which cause a devastating effect to his family life and his life at school. He turns from shy and fragile to assertive and calm for the most part. He constantly undergoes many internal struggles to find the answers in understanding parasytes, as well as humans too. Migi comes off as more of an interesting character, as his lack of emotion as a parasyte comes across as simplistic at the start, as he helps shinichi defeat other parasytes, but Migi also tries to empathize with humans too. Finally Tamura Reiko, a parasyte who had taken over a teachers body acts as main embodiment of the relationship between parasyte and humans, with her theories and beliefs ever present in the shows message.
However, the main criticism of the cast is towards Murano, shinichi's partner. She is very much useless in terms of what she brings to the show, as her stance mainly stays the same throughout, as she constantly repeats "shinichi, you've changed" over and over again. Furthermore, she tends to be neglected for large portions of the story, making her influence on the show very slight.
In terms of music and OST, parasyte has a very quirky soundtrack, with many battle scenes containing dub step music, which fits in quiet well. Not to mention the increased suspense it gives to certain scenes. Also, the opening song was sort of a cross between techno and rock, which I wasn't a huge fan of. But I did personally lie the mellow j-pop ending.
To conclude, parasyte started off as a show with potential to become a stand out show, which it had done based on the epic battles and interesting concept, but failed as story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 12, 2015
Can you imagine our world being a utopia a 1000 years into the future? No wars and just peace and love and tranquility? I doubt it. But, if you were to see such a utopia, you probably would have a gut feeling for it to be wrong. Shinsekai Yori tells us to remember that instinctive feeling...
Shinsekai Yori documents the lives of humans 1000 years into the future who have gained the ability of using psychokinesis (commonly referred to as cantus). The story follows the life of Saki Watanabe and friends who go to Zenjin academy to hone their cantus skills, and their investigations about the
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mystery 'tainted cats'.
Shinsekai Yori is seen as a fantasy thriller, trying to delicately weave in high suspense moments in an idyllic setting whilst using children to uncover the dark secrets of how the world has come about. The clever juxtaposing techniques are what bring about the tension. However, underneath this complex story, what we see is a slice of life. Not an ordinary slice of life, but the 'slice' which is never really looked at in anime too often. It's the negatives about our world which are expressed fully in the Shinsekai Yori, every flaw in our imperfect world are scrutinized in depth. There are so many parallels between our world and their world, from using 'unintelligent' creatures (in Shinsekai Yori these are named Queerats) as slaves, to the brainwashing of society or even forcing dictatorship and judgement on the weak, are well documented. Furthermore, it also looks at how those in control sanction such inhumane laws on those who could cause risk to society, going as far as brainwashing people to maintain control. The show can almost been seen as consisting of 3 arcs which involves time skips to show life at different ages, mainly focusing on the problems with the children and the other focuses on the war at the end. Atmospherically, the show oozes tense undertones in comparison to the cheery nature of the children and the lush scenery. The show also features romance, but not the human conventional falling in love, it's more instinctive love, which gave for truly unique displaying of relationships.
However, one of the biggest criticisms of the show was the radical changing of themes in terms of relationships. Quiet early into the show both yaoi and yuri themes were shown, which was a stark contrast to the possible relationship pairings previously established. Furthermore, the pacing was back and forth due flashbacks of the history in shinsekai yori, which made it slightly hard to follow, however this stops and the pacing becomes better, adding more tension.
The animation for the show wasn't entirely fluid or sharp compared to many anime's in 2012, however the art isn't bad either. There is some bloody moments, all of which isn't censored. The scenery itself is done well, not necessarily picturesque but good nonetheless.
The characters in shinsekai yori are fleshed out by showing their mental 'strength', this strength shown by the characters is how they manage to overcome problems which provide extremely stressful. When younger, the characters come across as a common cast of friends, such as the smart one (Shun) the quiet one (Mamarou) or the cocky one (Satoru). But as they grow you see the strength of these characters. The show does well in presenting difficult situations for the characters, and sympathy can only be given to see children so young deal with so much that they may not understand, such as political issues or certain laws. Also, the killing off of characters shows no one is safe at any point, and the characters are put under the stress of knowing this constantly.
However, it could be seen that Saki, the main character and narrator of the show gets off lightly with some issues. Although she struggles and is able to cope well, she is known to be weak in terms of fighting, which could lead to big problems at times. But, she generally good for most of the show.
Musically, Shinsekai Yori shines brightly. Although the shows opening isn't used much (if not at all) it's 2 choices of ending are definitely good for those who love more romantic J Pop. The OST is composed very well, with each terrifying moment made that bit more tense, and the more relaxing moments that bit more peaceful.
To conclude, this genre within a genre anime is definitely worth watching for someone looking for anime which is slightly unique. It's one not to miss, as an anime like Shinsekai Yori doesn't come across too often.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 27, 2014
Harem anime's are very popular aren't they? Some create a real frenzy when it comes to fans "shipping" certain relationships, in which a certain sect of the audience drool at the sight of a certain relationship developing. But with any drama, unpredictably can arise, and Nagi no Asukara really does break the harem stereotype.
Nagi no Asukara follows the story of Hikari and friends, whom live in an underwater city called Shioshishio from the help of Ena (a skin covering helping them breathe underwater). It documents them making the jump from going to school in the sea to on the surface, as well as showing the
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strained relationship between sea dwellers and land dwellers, and how the has affected the fate of the world as they know it.
As for the story, Nagi no Asukara is a very untypical harem anime drama, in fact, atypical is better in describing it. There are 2 arcs (which is separated by a time skip) in Nagi no Asukara, with many varying themes from the secularization of religion, to coming to terms with change and the "guilt of love". Furthermore, it does include a bit of magic in places, mainly when referring to the main religion, the devotion to the sea good. Although it starts of very typical in terms of how harem usually come about, with the many complex love triangles obvious from the get to, the story telling, raw, emotional character interactions and it's pacing make it truly into a drama, with twists and turns in developing friendships and how change can effect the relationships too. In terms of atmosphere, although it may appear light hearted here and there, the many themes which are mainly adult, even including the racism of children and the on going feud with land and sea add a brilliant juxtaposition to what you would 'expect' to see. Those themes lead the group of children coming together to try and mend a broken society and a broken world. The anime ended with an atypical ending, completely against the traditional harem ending.
However, there are some draw backs. Although it has the atypical harem anime style, it can be seen as over dramatic in its messages and some issues can be a bit farfetched. In terms of using the magic and supernatural in religion, it can also be seen as too fake as it doesn't work well with the other themes. Nevertheless, the added magic and religion, as well as charterers in love in all do make for some interesting developments.
In terms of animation, it's stunning graphics do set it well above many anime made recently, the scenery of shioshishio is truly stunning, giving it almost an 'Atlantis' theme to it, with dazzling, sharp colours. In terms of character models, although each is designed well, one problem can be with this who aren't too fond of HUGE blue eyes, however, as they live in the sea, it acts as an added touch, and even adds to the theme of racism too, which was done well.
The show shines when it demonstrates the characters. When the show started, the characters mainly fell into the most predictable type of casts. For example, the main character Hikari was the usual tsundere, there was Tsumugu, the stoic-voice-of-reason character, as well as the forgotten main characters wing-man Kaname. Not to mention the coy, shy one Chisaki, and the cry baby Manaka. But instead of keeping the characters like that, they were fleshed out to the extreme, with many serious events developing, or better yet, completely re-defining the cast into a group of kids with many flaws, many skewed perceptions of reality and, most of all, grounded and realistic, similar to the youth of today. The show does make use of the characters inner struggles well, this can be seen by the love interest within the friendship group. It does add for drama and emotion, told brilliantly by inner monologues. Overall, the characters really do go on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
However, there is a catch, some characters do come into play well, such as Miuna, whom was very prevalent in the second arc, but characters like Sayu and Kaname (one of the main protagonists) ended up getting less screen time. Nevertheless, they're problems, although brief were dealt with to a good standard.
As for the music, both the opening and ending were rather enjoyable, both had a slight feeling of being cute and cuddly, but was preformed well and was very rememberable. However, the ending song did give away some spoilers for what would happen later on in the series, which was disappointing. The original soundtrack was done very well, with each intense moment, working well with the music.
To conclude, Nagi no Asukara does set a high bar as being a really remarkable drama, with realistic characters, and a well crafted story. I will recommend it to anyone who wants to watch drama at its finest.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 21, 2014
Has someone ever asked you the most ambiguous question in the world? What is the meaning of life? It's a pesky question in which answers can differ from person to person, with no one coming close to an answer. But, in my very subjective opinion, Berserk' answer is a very solid one.
Berserk follows the story of Guts, an incredibly strong mercenary who fights battles for pay. He eventually meets a man named Griffiths, the leader of a mercenary group called Band of the Hawk. The story documents Guts joining the group, and the many tales of battles and wars the band of the hawk
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face, which all go towards Griffiths' trying to accomplish his dream.
Berserk opening episode starts off (and I don't know if this is a real word) in an anti clockwise cyclical nature, in that it goes from present, to past (which is most of the story) and then back to the present again, which can be confusing for an opening few episodes, but is very integral later on. What makes Berserk interesting is it's genre in comparison to the morale of the story. For a mythical, medieval hack and slash styled show, it would be expected to have a simplistic message so the watcher isn't put off by complex drivel. However, Berserk concentrates on people dreams, and how, as humans, trying to convert a dream into reality is one of the things we seek out the most. It's philosophy at its finest, identifying and pondering on one's own existence in the terror that is war, which offers a clever juxtaposition in the circumstances. However, it also looks at how hard striving to make one's dream become reality really is, the sacrifices made, the obstacles they face and the burden people go through can be overwhelming for anyone, but to reach their destined fate is worth it. This therefore gives a real world account of why people give up on dreams, only for them cling onto someone else's, as 'fate' would have it that their dreams are nothing but fantasy.
But, the show isn't without some drawbacks. The handling of the ending felt distant with how the show had been built up beforehand. Although the mythical side of the show, such as fighting monsters was reoccurring and integral, it made the end of the show detached from the rest of it. Also, considering the anime which came out in 1997 and the manga is still ongoing, it could've continued on for longer, but only one arc has been animated. This eventually lead to the ending leaving more unanswered questions.
Mid 90s animation wasn't anything great to shout about, and it's clear from Berserks how much animation has moved on from 17 years ago, such as more fluid fight scenes and clearer, more defined picture quality. Berserk contains none of this. It's bloody nature of killing, with blood constantly splurting out does look very silly too, but, if you can look past the animation woes for it's story, you could end up enjoying it.
Berserk shines in creating 2 well anchored main characters in Guts and Griffith's. Guts, the caring tragic hero, who struggles to find his own path in life and Griffiths, a man whose ruthless in achieving his fate. Both characters are very much 'cut from the same cloth', so similar in many ways such as being brilliant swordsman. Furthermore, both are developed over the course of the whole anime, leading to better explanations of how they are as people. Guts has the conscience, he's more caring for his comrades, whereas Griffiths is more narrow sighted and is more focused on using others to propel him closer to his dream. Other characters like Casca and Judeau of the band of the hawk are also important, Judeau bond between Guts is very pleasant to see develop. It's the same with Casca, the female commander, who also is struggles in finding her own path.
It could be said that some characters are less developed than others. Each character stated above have their own reasons for why they joined the band of the hawk, and why they help Griffiths. But, although some get reasonable screen time, they lack importance.
The OST is very fitting to Berserk. It's uplifting, almost 'sweeping' style orchestral music is very much the sort of thing you wouldn't mind to listen to whilst contemplating your own existence. Although it was limited, it still made emotional scenes that bit more emotional and fighting scenes that more epic.
To conclude, an anime 17 years young gives a brilliant answer to the question; What is the meaning of life? Berserk believes it's to follow your dreams, and make it become the reality you wished for. A stunning show that I recommend highly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 19, 2014
Would you like to hear a joke?
Terraformars.
That's the whole joke.
Terra formars follows the expedition of strong humans to mars, who have the task of killing and capturing evolved fighting cockroaches that were used to make Mars more inhabitable for humans. The objective is to find a cure for a disease that came from Mars, which could lead to the deaths of many people on earth.
Terra formars is very much a sci fi, horror anime. The shows main message is trying to look at the perspective of "If humans were the pests" instead of cockroaches. It does this by looking at the themes of evolution and
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how humans could lag behind in terms of further development in the future, leading to extinction. Another theme is medical advancement as a way of combatting the evolved cockroaches, this involves taking the characteristics of certain organisms and fusing them with humans to give great fighting abilities. The show also highlights the characters personal reasons for joining the expedition, and their goals for the end of mission too. In terms of atmosphere, there is tension throughout due to the many fights constantly going on, leading there pace being similar throughout. Fighting is very much prevalent with many characters and cockroaches alike being killed, showing that no one is safe. Furthermore, the show looks deeper at how the characteristics of the organisms enable humans and cockroaches to fight.
However, in terms of story, there is little to be desired. The shows pacing was steady due to the fact that 8 of the 13 episodes contained none stop fighting. This in turn lead to a lack of suspense as there was no plot development for nearly all of the whole show. It's over focus on new abilities and 'epic' fights lead to a rushed ending, which, in turn, reverted back to focusing on the epic fighting rather than focusing on other topics such as how the cockroaches managed to evolve. Unfortunately, the excessive focus on humans and cockroaches dying lead to the story being one dimensional. This was upsetting, as the introduction to the show had good pacing and took more of a holistic approach in explaining the plot, character interaction and fighting. Lastly, it's choice of how episodes were ordered was very questionable, as the pacing suffered severely with the focusing on developing 2 or 3 characters for a few episodes. This in turn lead to further plot development troubles.
In terms of the animation, the picture quality, overall fluidity of fight scenes and scenery as a whole was to a high standard, as expected from a 2014 anime. The character models were quiet varied, offering more distinction between the different types of organism characteristics the humans had. Overall, it was a pleasure on the eyes.
However, the models of the cockroaches do look very stereotypical of black tribal warriors, which could be offensive.
There is a huge cast of characters involved in Terra Formars, many involved characters with powers and none combatants. It mainly focuses on the characters with super powers, which a narrator explains which organism the abilities have been taken from. Character development is prevalent with some, but not all due to the size of the cast.
However, the shows lack of remorse for characters makes it difficult to like, as many characters could end up dying. This makes it tough to find a "personal favorite". Also, the show seems to lack a solid main character, as there are so many characters important to the mission, so many that die and so many that are under developed, the lack of structure means it's hard to determine which is the main character. Although, some characters were developed to a good standard, and it did attempt to explain many characters opinions.
In terms of the music, both the opening and ending are more focused on rock music, which was fine but not entirely too my liking. It's OST was very pleasurable, highlighting and amplifying tension in battle, as well as more orchestral music for character infractions, which I enjoyed.
In all, Terra Formats fundamental errors in it's writing and in basic story telling lead to the show looking more like Fight club than a sci fi horror.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 24, 2014
When it comes to an anime based on finding a lost parent, i give a usual thought of "meh". This storyline has been used and beaten so much it's dating Chris Brown. And to my surprise Hunter x Hunter was highly rated on MAL, so I thought heck, YOLO. Now I love the lost parent storyline with all my heart and issue a sincere apology.
Hunter x Hunter (2011) is a remake of the same anime of the 90s, it follows the story of Gon Freecs, an aspiring Hunter who wants to find his father, who too is a hunter. Gon teams up with Killua, and
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with added help from Kurapika and Leorio become hunters to achieve their own goal.
With regards to the story, as previously stated, this anime has a bread and butter objective, to find Gon's dad. As it's a shounen anime, the usual themes of friendship, perseverance, comedy and not mention epic fighting are included, as well as being relationship driven in areas. Furthermore, it's separated into (according to it's own wiki) 7 arcs, but primarily it's 6 that's the main focus. 5 of those 6 arcs have the main objective weaved inside them, making sure each arc has a main purpose. Although it seems simple, many anime's over 100+ episodes loose its focus on that matter. The atmosphere starts to change within each arc from suspense in the Hunter exam arc, to a thriller in the York-New auction arc and to a have a detailed analysis on the theory of evolution in the Chimera Ant arc. Also, plot lines can change from character driven to action packed. Training is constantly prevalent in the show, with each character trying to increase their strength regularly. Strategic fights can be strenuously complicated, similar to a game of chess in how the characters defeat their opponent. What's best about that is that they keep it entertaining by reaching a middle ground between epic and calculated. But there's a catch. The main characters don't win every fight, in fact, the lose many times. This therefore adds more of an emphasis for training to become better.
However, Hunter x Hunter does come with its flaws. For example, this is a reboot of the 90s Hunter x Hunter, this lead to a whole new cast being made, which could anger those who liked the older voice acting. Furthermore, it took 2 less episodes for the Hunter exam arc to start in this version than the previous one, so some dialogue had been cut out. Furthermore, some build up can be misconstrued as stalling for time, making it very boring. However, when the build up is fine right, it will make the experience of watching it that much better.
In terms of animation, the rebooted show is definitely no slouch. The sharp graphics are certainly nice on the eye, and fighting animations are very much fluid. The character models themselves are similar to it's predecessor, but nicer on the eye. Gon's usually stereotypical German youth outfit is still a dazzling green as usual. All in all, the detail is very good.
Regarding the characters of Hunter x Hunter, there's only 2 characters to talk about. Gon and Killua's relationship is very much like the ying and yang complex, with each character being 2 sides to the same coin. Killua's more mature, whereas Gon is more childish and blunt in his ways. Although it can look simple, each character does contain a dark side to them, even though it isn't a true representative of their true personality. Overall, the relationship is very much like a loving brotherly relationship. In terms of character development, we see distinct attitudes to the two characters and a clear view of how the characters are based on the past. Furthermore, the many episodes also show distinct contrasts in comparison to the earlier episodes as to how the characters develop.
With regards to Kurapika and Leorio, each have similar traits to Gon and Killua, but unfortunately haven't received as much screen time, but the screen time they were given showed their personalities well.
With regards to music, I'm not a massive fan of the opening and ending songs, not many have tickled my fancy as stunning moving pieces of music. The OST however does get a thumbs up, as not only can it be lighthearted, but it can easily intensify the atmosphere in thriller and suspense moments.
To conclude, for an anime which ended on an incredibly high note, I hope I see another series of Hunter x Hunter in the coming years. I do recommend this to those who want to see Shounen at its best.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 21, 2014
Aldnoah.Zero not only flashed the name Urobuchi before it aired, but it was supposedly seen as the love child between Legend of the galactic heroes and gundam wing. I'm glad they used a condom because Aldnoah.Zero would tarnish their names through association.
Aldnoah.Zero follows the strained relationship between humans (commonly referred to as Terrans) and Martians (from mars). After an assassination attempt on the princess of mars, war breaks out with the Martians, whom wielding their sacred Aldnoah technology fight against the earthlings. The show depicts the war from both sides.
Aldnoah.Zero follows the mecha genre in more of a 'super robot' format than the 'real robot'
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format due to the mysticism of Aldnoah technology. As for the themes of the show, it attempts to highlight how the hate and obsession of what others have, as well as prejudice, can lead to the loss of many human and martian lives. The show also dabbles into the characters feelings of what the war personally means to them, as well as if there will be anything gained from it. As for the fighting, it's based more on tactics than on brute strength, as the Martians overwhelming technology would mean outright victory if it wasn't fought on tactics. As for the pacing, the shows first three episodes are paced well with very good plot development and suspense in each episode, after that the shows pace shows down, usually ending on a cliffhanger each episode.
Unfortunately, the show is ruined by the large amounts of 'anime logic', in which events favor the main characters too much rather than being slightly more realistic. For example, although the Martians have almost invincible mecha robots due to their power, the glaring and awful design of them leads to them being defeated with only the slightest bit of common sense. As this happens each week, none of the fights contain any suspense due to the high amounts of predictability. Furthermore, after episode 3 (low and behold, the end of Urobuchi's involvement in the show entirely), the episodes lose their valor, pondering on pointless dialog, with slight hints of character development and slow plot development.
As for the animation, a large budget would have been needed for this show, as the fights with the mecha are done to a very high standard. Although the transitions and movement of the mecha are not super smooth, it didn't have a negative effect on fighting scenes.
Leading onto the cast, this is where the show really disappoints. The main protagonists are Inaho (terran), Slaine (a terran who works for the Martians), Princess Asseylum vers Allusia of mars and Rayet (a martian). As for character development, it's night and day between the protagonists. Slaine it's the most developed in the show, he is constantly striving and struggling to do what's right for the princess and although he may get things wrong, he fights his hardest to work to the goal of saving the princess. It's very similar to Rayet, whom acts more towards the end of the show as someone who moves the plot along, this comes from the peril she has come across during the war affecting her greatly, which leads her to take action.
On the other hand, the princess and Inaho face little or no development. The princess is too pampered for most of the series, and only starts truly knowing the extent in which the war has had on everyone's life. But it's Inaho which divides most opinion. Inaho has received virtually no character development at all. For a character that shows no emotion when his friend dies in front of him, it's difficult to look at him as being a relatable character, and therefore is difficult to like. His lack of emotions may make him look cool under pressure, but in the end he comes truly across as cold. Not to mention his brilliant tactics, as he is the only person who can defeat the Martians, he becomes so overpowered he virtually takes control of the army ship whilst others stand by and watch, which ends up being very boring.
As for the opening song, it starts off slightly classical before turning into a slight heavy jpop song, which I didn't really sit well with. The original OST was very good, making each battle distinct and entertaining. The show contained no ending song.
To conclude, Aldnoah.Zero is a prime example of how name dropping and high expectation can ruin a series, and it did in this case. Although it was the most talked about anime this season, I wouldn't recommend it due to the poor writing of the show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 17, 2014
The definition of moe has been argued over for many years. Is it a pure form of feelings toward a female character without it being sexual? Is it borderline loli with a dash of kawaii? Well look no further than Clannad, the definition of moe in anime form.
Clannad follows the story of Tomoya Okazaki life at school, in which he meets and gets to know Furukawa Nagisa. He eventually meets many other girls similar to Nagisa, in which he finds out their backstorys and their dreams for the future, as well as trying to confront the girls problems, and his own.
For the story, Clannad contains
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5 arcs portraying the lives of each of the characters. It can be said the plot is character driven, as most of the story is told by the actions of the characters. The atmosphere is at many times lighthearted, with many jokes and puns prevalent in most episodes. 1 fact that needs to be addressed is that this is a serious harem anime, filled with romance and kawaii (cute) moments, which are filled within each arc. Although the atmosphere can be lighthearted, some of the themes can be quiet dark, some themes include guilt, depression and death. However, it's main positive is taking those themes and making it into a more slice of life. The anime does well in demonstrating how the characters cope with their problems in their designated arcs, and even though their past can be very hurting, they still get on with their lives when it comes to school. The ending was a typical harem ending, which was coped with well.
However, although the premise of the show is positive, it does have many flaws which ruin the series. Some of the more emotional moments can be over sensationalized, which leads to characters almost forcing tear jerking moments. Furthermore, the arcs themselves, although at some parts detailed very well, some lack any real substance and can be see as filler episodes. Lastly, although the comedy comes at the right times and are enjoyable, sometimes it can be too overused, and leads it to be boring. Unfortunately, these flaws are too consistent to not notice.
As for the animation, it truly is breathtaking. Some of the scenery is so well done I feel like it fits well into the idea of scenery porn. The brilliant contrast of sunsets are stunning, with fluid like movements and fine detail. However, the nail in the coffin comes from the character models itself. Their eyes scare me. Unfortunately, the models look really cheap and lack any really importance. The use of moe designs in the anime are not a favorite of mine, however, they do make some moments cute and nice.
As for the characters, it can really be a hit and miss. Main character Okazaki is a nice blend between not having an easy going life and still being kind and considerate. The problem is that, other characters have problems which can become annoying, for example, Furukawa has a extreme guilt complex, understandable at times yet forced too. But Sunohara acts as one of the best comedy relief characters that has a back bone, which is truly refreshing. Furthermore, the cute interactions slow the pace of the plot down too much. Nevertheless, the story revolves around character development. The past is narrated by the characters themselves, with the emotions dealing their problems very much real.
As for the music, both the opening and ending cater to kawaii end of the music scale, both I thought were decent but not fully to my tastes. However, the original soundtrack was incredibly moving, I really enjoyed the moving music, and it made the experience watching it slightly more appealing.
To conclude, Clannad is famous moe/harem anime at its best. But I found some parts stale with side order of boring. However, I do recommend Clannad to those new to drama anime's, as it is a good starting point and a good reference as to expect.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 17, 2014
Anime being based on manga adaptions are very much common place, in fact, I'm not sure if I know an anime not based off an adaption. However, anime's based on old novels are very rare, and Aoi Bungaku is one of those rare types.
Aoi Bungaku (Or Blue/Evergreen literature) follows the adaptions of some of the most popular Japanese literature in the mid 20th century, and how their messages still resonate today.
As for the story, Aoi Bungaku is split into 5 arcs, one 4 episode arc with three 2 episode arcs. The last 2 episode can be left as either separate stories or together as they
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contain the same characters, setting ext. Furthermore, the show contains a male narrator (or guide) who not only tells us about how the books came about, but the psychology and personality of the writers themselves, as well as their life stories. This gives vital information into why the stories can be so dark and why the characters are they way they are. In terms of themes, as mentioned above, the psyche of the characters play a key in making this a good series. From inner bouts of depression, money, suicide, murder and betrayal, some of these themes play apart in every arc. It's realism into the topic of suicide was very stark and informative. But with each arc, the story changes from friendship based, to the mythical and so on, so there is a good choice of different stories to choose from, as well as many different types of atmospheres too, some sinister, some emotional.
Unfortunately, the main flaw of the anime is it's inconsistency in its arcs, some of which (especially the 1st and 4th) were done superbly, whilst the rest left much to be desire due to the lack of story development in the 2 episodes the arcs had. Nevertheless, the added introduction of the male narrator filled in a lot of the gaps left by the arcs.
As for animation, Madhouse did a brilliant job of making the arcs feel authentic to the genre it portrayed. From the dark and dulled down colours in the first arc to the bright and dazzling scenes in the last, they definitely spent no time making sure the animations were fluid. The character models all differed for the right reasons, which was nice.
In terms of the characters, it's a tale of two sides really. The character development in 2 of the 5 arcs are done brilliantly, from demonstrating how their backstory made their character, whether it be sexual abuse leading someone into dabbling with prostitutes, to a best friend betraying their trust, it did make for a spectacle to watch. Unfortunately, the direction of the other characters went off at a tangent, in the end, some characters were done well, others more shabby.
As for the music, for the most part, it was mixed in well with the different arcs, sad music for sad scenes, emotional music for emotional scenes, simple yet well executed. They're wasn't an opening song, as it was substituted for the narrator which was fine. The ending was a personal favorite of mine. Overall, the music was done to a good standard.
To sum up, Aoi Bungaku sets a slightly high bar for anime's based on real novels, but dropped at the final hurdle by keeping the a high standard in all the different arcs. I do recommend it for those looking for a new change to the psychological genre of anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 17, 2014
When you think of red geranium flowers, does the word "determined" come to mind, no? Me neither. But this is one of the many quotes from Trigun that can lead you to ask yourself thought provoking questions such as "can murder ever be justified?" or "why does a black cat keep popping up on screen?"
Trigun is a late 90's Western styled anime documenting the life of the fugitive, anti hero/hero humanoid typhoon Vash the stampede. It follows his life story as well as those caught up in his life, Milly Thompson and Maryl Strife from an insurance society and Wolfword a"so-called" priest who travel around
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always meeting Vash one way or another.
When it comes to Triguns story, we see a multitude of noticeable traits of more predictable shows. It starts off as a mere character focused (in this case Vash) episodic plot line, with a slow and almost care-free sort of pacing. A few jokes, sometimes cheesy is thrown in and all stirred together with a splash of action. But when it hits the end of the first cour, the plot really does start to thicken. Many themes such as passivism, the right to kill and religion all start to blend together nicely to create a more though provoking anime. It does make you question motives of those who kill, and if in any way killing can be justified. Furthermore, it shows how important friends can be to those who are facing troubles. With this perfect blend of comedy, action, suspense and real life questions, it truly does become a well written spectacle to watch. Lastly, the ending provided a satisfying answer to the characters many problems, and in all was thoroughly enjoyable.
The back story is filled in with cut away scenes towards the middle of the second cour. It can be seen that Vash's true identity wasn't explained well enough, and could be seen as very puzzling. Furthermore, the slow pacing at the start could be misconstrued as bad writing. However, the slow start further adds to the drama and surprise as how the story develops.
When it comes to the animation, it unfortunately lags behind many anime's of today. It was made in 98, but even other anime's in the late 90's showed more quality than Trigun. Furthermore, the character models are very easy to remember as they aren't particularly unique. This is because they are recycled from anime's made around the same time. Therefore, the animation is definitely not rememberable.
The characters however are another kettle of fish. Vash himself is what makes this anime so good. His laughable antics, amazing skills in combat and boyish charm can make him easily likeable. But the character development digs deeper and beyond that. It shows a more sensitive, pacifist side, contradictory to his fugitive title and living in a western styled environment. His relationship with Wolfword created a "ying and yang" complex, which further demonstrated the great writing of two different characters.
However, Milly Thompson and Maryl Strife, although occurred very frequently, were those whom didn't gain much character development. In spite of this, both managed to add some humor and undertones of romance to the series, as well as defending Vash in spite of his tarnished name.
Musically, the score in itself has ups and downs. The opening and ending both are easily forgettable, as both add nothing musically that will take anyone a gasp with joy. Both the opening and ending songs are mainly to fulfill Vash's true persona. However, the OST is something to be proud of. The music can sometimes help amplify action, as well as some tunes weaved into character development.
To conclude, I still don't believe red geraniums signify determined. It does for Vash however. In all, this anime is a real hidden gem from the late 90's which can be enjoyable for anyone. I do recommend this as being a brilliantly thought out show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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