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Nov 2, 2015
The series is a coming of age story where the lead character actually comes of age. This nonstop adrenaline rush is driven by strong characters and mind-blowing imagery. The monster of the week formula the show employs is overshadowed by the insane amount plot movement, character development and creativity. Amazing protagonists are thrown against equally amazing villains in a kinetic clash where self-confidence is all the power the characters ever need. Ignore all the crap that whizzes past your head, the show hits you with such a heavy sledgehammer of epic that all the corny clichés and downright stupid elements seem perfectly acceptable.
Despite all the
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show’s accomplishments, it’s not without its flaws. The first fifteen episodes is an amazing display of creative storytelling that has become my personal standard that I expect all future anime to follow. In fact, the first part is so good that much of the final twelve episodes look like a fanfic in comparison. No, the show never stops being cool. In a sense, the show continually grows even more ambitious with each passing episode, but actually accepting the story of the second part requires near brain death (not that this is hard considering how jaw-dropping epic the final episodes turn out to be).
Gurren Lagann requires a heavy dose of tolerance for the absurd. This cup of tea is supersaturated five times over with pure caffeine, so fasten your seatbelts and push your suspension of disbelief as high as it can go. If you are the type of person willing to scream “hell yeah” as the protagonist gives a bombastic speech about self-confidence in a massive, sunglass totting robot, then be sure to check out this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 16, 2015
"No one knows what the future holds. It has infinite potential." - Rintarou Okabe
"I told you I'm not Cristina, and I'm not your assistant." - Kurisu Makise
The hardest thing about writing a good time travel story is defining the rules of your universe (or multiverse, as the case may be), how your time travel affects your universe, and what limits your time machine has. Without this solid set of rules, it is more than a little easy to confuse the average viewer and annoy the overcritical among us (in which group I myself am included) who are quick to point out how the elements of
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the story do not make sense.
In Steins;Gate, however, all of the rules are well defined—down to how many letters can be sent in an email to the past as well as the extent to which time travel (quantum leaping if you will) is possible.
But perhaps the most interesting concept of Steins;Gate is the idea that there are unchangeable core realities (which switching between is nearly impossible). Preventing the rise of anime culture in Akihabara or sending yourself the winning lotto numbers is possible, but key moments in the timeline—like the death of certain individuals or society's eventual turn into a dystopia—are not.
When I started watching Steins;Gate, I worried that, like the first half of Robotics;Notes, the story would feel thematically schizophrenic as it tried to tie together all the game’s romance plots into one single story. Instead, each character-specific plot in Steins;Gate was given an episode in the first half and an episode in the second half of the series to resolve itself—which worked well within the time loop narrative.
The problem with time loop stories is that they can be boring and repetitive—(see Haruhi’s “Endless 8” for an example of such). The trick is to make each time loop different yet recognizable enough to keep it interesting. In Steins;Gate, the latter half of the story deals with one such time loop. The same events are always happening in the background, giving the viewer subtle clues about how close it is until the end of the loop.
The story also shows in great depth the effects of such a time loop upon the average human—especially one with such a grizzly conclusion. Okabe, the main character, sees the death of a friend countless times. It both breaks his heart and hardens his soul as he experiences this torture countless times. And if it weren't for the support of those around him, it's clear he would have eventually succumbed to either sorrow or apathy.
When it all comes down to it, Steins;Gate is the story of a man forced to make an impossible choice. He not only must chose between the two women he loves but also must chose which one of them lives while the other dies. The result is pure, well written drama as he tries to find a way around choosing—hunting for a loophole to let them both live. In the end, though, he fails and at last chooses, ending the life of one of the women he loves. The result is a beautiful piece of tragic storytelling, guaranteed to rock even the most jaded hearts with the powerful emotion it evokes.
Of course, this is more than a little undercut by the final ending where, after he chooses and she thus dies, he is given a loophole to save the woman he sacrificed to fate. Don't get me wrong, if any character in fiction deserves a happy ending, it is Okabe. However, by trying to have both its tragic ending and its happy ending, the former loses more than a little of its emotional power.
Is Steins;Gate really the story of a man who accidentally invents time travel or is it instead the story of a paranoid schizophrenic who has a psychotic break?
Okabe has more than a few schizophrenic symptoms: He talks to imaginary people on his cell phone and constantly rants about a secret organization that only he can defeat. Before the start of the story, he has no family support and exactly two friends—one of which seems largely unable to understand the world around her.
Perhaps instead of a time travel story, Okabe experienced a psychotic break upon discovering Kurisu's body in the first episode. Thus his mind escaped into a world of his own creation where not only was the girl not dead, but also was his friend and confidant. Then slowly but surely, he built this fantasy into a paradise world in his mind where he is fighting a secret organization bent on world domination—as per his former delusions—alongside an ever-growing cast of friends and allies.
Then, one night Mayuri died in the real world, shattering the dream. From that point on, he became driven to restore his fantasy world to the utopia it had been, only for the real world to bleed through—ending with Mayuri’s death over and over.
I’m not speaking in hyperbole when I say that Steins;Gate might be the best anime I have ever seen. It is well constructed and emotionally resonant. Moreover, it is pretty much the perfect time travel story with the concepts it explores and the world it builds. I recommend this anime to absolutely anyone who is even remotely interested after reading this review. You won’t be disappointed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 5, 2015
Noragami, or Stray God, starts out with a typical shonen feel. However the show quickly begins to unravel into something completely different. A show with a great setting, unique world building, and interesting characters that all create a flavor of its own.
*Story/Character-------
Hiyori Iki is a fairly average girl with an interesting secret. She loves pro wrestling. Though her secrets stretch further when one day she sees a man walking in front of an oncoming bus and she pushes him to safety. As she speaks to the man, her attention is turned to the front of the bus where her body now lay
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separate from her. Later, after regaining consciousness in a hospital, she’s surprisingly given a clean bill of health and told to get some rest. The reason why she made it unscathed is revealed later that night when the man she saved shows up in her bed.
Turns out the man she thought she saved is actually a god. Yato is a dysfunctional god that has no shrine to call home and does odd jobs to fund his dream of having one. He points out to Hiyori that her spirit is now half way dislodged from her physical self and may detach at random. After later running into corrupt spirits named phantoms, she’s informed that the destruction of her tether (that comes in the form of a tail) will cause her to pass on from the living.
While Hiyori is a crucial part of the series, as the eyes for the viewer to this interesting world, the scope of the story branches further from there. Yato turns out to have quite a history as a god, though many characters may come to find it shocking. Then there’s the many gods of this world and their use of “equipment” called Regalia. Regalia are spirits of humans that have met an early and unavoidable death. Once a god gives them a name, they form a pact with the god to be used at their discretion. This is further expanded in the relationship they carry and the burdens they can ultimately place on one another.
Combining all of these elements with a really great cast of characters proves to be a truly enjoyable experience from start to end. I really liked Yato’s silly and dysfunctional personality, then meshing that with the far more enduring plot elements that come into play late in the show made for a really dynamic character. Supporting him in the entirety of the series was Hiyori, of who I absolutely adored as a character. She didn’t follow any tropes and really stood out as a lovable and level-headed character. Then there’s Nora, who had a great deal of mystique about her that just made you crave for her to show up.
As expressed above, the real treat in this series was the way it fools you into thinking you really know the characters. They did well in designing a false sense of lightheartedness that later is transferred to a dark, gripping, and serious underlining plot. When it hits, it makes you want to see what’s next around the corner. I also really enjoyed the more technical aspects that make up the gods and their relationship to the Regalia.
*Animation------
From start to finish, the folks at Bones Studio manage to create a beautiful and realized world. The characters have a great deal of detail and life to their movement that really sells the storytelling. While there was some use of CG for Phantoms, the style in which they utilized makes them blend into the world and never become off-putting. Quite a bit of the action and combat scenes also look fluent and pleasing to watch.
*Sound------
Another element that makes this series stand out is the music. With a very unique and modern vocal track that is as stylish as the animation itself. I couldn’t help myself but feel caught up in the more action oriented segments when the vocal tracks kick in. It also helps that the opening “Goya no Machiawase” is a great track that I listen to regularly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 29, 2015
"President of the Student Council at the almost-all-boys Seika High School, the hard-as-nails Misaki Ayuzawa works every day to make life easier on the small population of co-eds who have enrolled there. Though an unholy terror to all things male during school hours, in order to provide for her impoverished family, she secretly works after school at a maid cafe in Akihabara. However, when campus hottie Usui Takumi wanders into the restaurant during her shift, suddenly she finds her reputation in school at his mercy..."
Story: Even though I finished watching Kaichou wa Maid-sama long ago, I’ve been caught up in some strange and unexpected business
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that made me postpone doing this review sooner, however better late than never. Kaichou wa Maid-sama from the moment it was announced people expected this one to be a big hit. The manga was popular way before the anime was announced, and the content that it has and the theme that it debats at the beginning surely managed to form a big fan-base in no time. What Kaichou presents is actually a simple romantic story but with a comedy aspect, sometimes well thought with very funny moments, with a tasteful humour but dragged way too long. The story centers on a high school girl named Misaki Ayuzawa. Even though she appears to be a normal high school girl, she has a big responsibility on her shoulders. Her father left her mother with a huge debt and to repay it she needed to get a job so that she can help her mother to pay the bills and to live a poor but normal life together with her younger sister Suzuna Ayuzawa. In order to cope with such a huge responsibility she had to strengthen up and become a reliable person and also an organized person. She became the student council president in a school where in the past it was an only all boys highschool but recently it got co-ed. By becoming a dictator she placed the welfare of the feminine side first so that the influence of boys may diminish. But this thing proved to be very difficult since all the time she had to do more than just her normal job. One boy in particular always proved to be very annoying since he did not do anything bad for the school nor for the teachers nor for other people but he attracts attention with his good looks and by the fact that he always rejects the proposals coming from other girls. Misaki stands firm and confronts the boy, his name is Usui Takumi. However this ends when Misaki’s secret has been exposed to Usui, he sees her when she was working part-time at a maid café, which Misaki did her best to keep it as a secret so that her reputation won’t fall. Thinking about it, since the school at that time was filled with delinquent boys, the fact that she was seen as a ruthless dictator might’ve been a stimulant so that they should stop harassing the girls, however if the secret was known by the guys they would have used it to exploit her weakness and all the thing would’ve went out of control. Nevertheless, Usui offered his help since Misaki is the kind that works too hard for other people’s sake while ignoring her own welfare, in other words a workaholic, and from this point on a strange but an imminent love relationship begins. One thing makes this show so popular, and that is the comedy aspect that I mentioned at the beginning. While the beginning of this show seemed to be a bit more serious, what is about to come are some big waves of laughter and shocking scenes (shocking not in a negative way). The romantic plot moves in slow motion but it surely develops mainly because Usui always hanged around Misaki, when she needed or not. How will their relationship develop and will Misaki be able to accept Usui and his own feelings in the end? What about her own feelings, will she notice them and accept them? I guess we all know the answers since this show does not seem like a melodrama to end in a dramatic way but the one thing that I was kinda disappointed in, was that they needed over 26 episodes so that they can reach a damn conclusion, when this could’ve been ended much earlier with room for more development. Nevertheless, Kaichou wa Maid-sama is not a show to be overlooked that easily, since it provides what fans look for mostly.
Animation and Sound: When we speak about a studio like J.C. Staff (Ai Yori Aoshi, Azumanga Daioh, Hatsukoi Limited, Kimikiss Pure Rouge, Tsukihime, Nodame Cantabile, Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima, Toradora, etc) we speak about good animation quality, design and directing. Even though this studio has a long history with both good shows, average and bad shows I have to admit that they did their best when it comes to animation issues and Kaichou is yet another example. Somehow this studio has a tendency to adapt romantic shows (with the romance aspect being in the center or as a side aspect is really not important) rather than mindless shounen shows which is another reason why they managed to impress. As for the sound, pretty much forgettable, the soundtracks are so shoujo~ish that it makes you sometimes burst into flames and quickly overlook them, however the only good point about this show regarding sound issues are the background sound where we can see several improvements. As for voice acting, it was pretty good even though there aren’t so many popular names among the cast, Misaki being voiced by Ayumi Fujimura (Kara no Kyoukai, Hatsukoi Limited, Kaze no Stigma, Letter Bee, Shinrei Tantei Yakumo, etc) and Usui being voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto best known for his role Asu no Yoichi and To Aru Majutsu no Index.
Characters: Character wise I was once again impressed. Misaki surely has a very interesting personality, a ruthless dictator at school, a kind person around the other female students, a hardworking one when it comes to both school and family issues, she places the welfare of others in front of her own. However the only person which she can’t handle very well and her true self is revealed is of course Usui. He does not have a bad influence around her but somehow he is always around whenever she needs help. By pulling several pranks he managed to see more moods and reactions from Misaki and without knowing a true and strong relationship develops, which Usui does not try to deny while Misaki strongly tries to keep her feelings locked inside, catalogating Usui as a perverted alien whenever he pulls a prank against her and makes her feel embarrassed. As for the other characters, even though they have a less important role to play in this show they help in building the relationship between Misaki and Usui while they are also developed and not left behind.
Overall: Kaichou wa Maid-sama has everything a good show should have. Though sometimes drama is the aspect that makes a romantic show more spicy, for this one it did not need it since the comedy aspect of it did a great job. I admit that I prefer romantic dramas over romantic comedies but this was up until I encountered this show. I hope for a second season of this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 25, 2015
Asu no Yoichi! is surprisingly unwatchable. While not an absolutely terrible anime, there’s just simply nothing special about it at all. None of the characters in the show are memorable, the action is boring, the plot is predictable and even the fanservice is disappointing. I have to question the director’s decision to animate this show in the first place; after watching all twelve episodes, I had to ask myself, “So what? Why do I care about any of this?”
And frankly, I couldn’t find an answer. I simply could not bring myself to care about any of the characters in the show. Scripting and plot are
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definitely to blame for this, as the seiyuu do a pretty good job of attempting to bring out character. Yet, how does one extract personality from a cardboard cutout? The characters are absolutely flat and act in a manner that is insultingly predictable. Yoichi, as the hero of a harem anime, is perverted and clueless; Ibuki, the master of the Dojo, is the stereotypical busty family matriarch… the list goes on and on. The creators put absolutely no thought into the motivations and aspirations of the main cast, and the result is absolute disaster.
Not satisfied with the lack of character development in the main cast, the creators have chosen to present Asu no Yoichi! in “villian of the week” format. This leads to antagonists frequently being replaced, and causes a lack of continuity between each episode. There does exist an overarching meta-plot that drives the series, but its premise is so ludicrous and its resolution so predictable that the series could have done without it.
In addition, the fanservice and the comedy are both flops. Absolutely no decent fanservice occurs throughout the entire show; weak attempts at accidental boob-grabs (as is common in all harem shows) are made, but the results are rather painful to watch and seldomly amusing. Most of the humor in this show falls flat on its face; I found myself groaning in disgust more than laughing.
All in all, this show suffers from only one major (yet damning) problem: poor, poor writing. It’s clear that the writers did not attempt to create any sort of unique character for each member of the cast, and the show suffers accordingly. Couple a cast with as much personality as drying paint with a highly repetitive plot and uninspiring humor… and you have the disaster that is this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 23, 2015
The anime is about Sagara Yoshiharu, who travels back into the Sengoku era where feudal lords fight among each other to expand their territory and to inch their way into conquering Japan. The anime opens with our main, Sagara, trapped in a battle field. He meets the leader of the Oda clan, Oda Nobunaga. No, wait. He is shocked to discover that the man who unified Japan is actually a young tsundere blonde. She’s not Oda Nobunaga; she is Oda Nobuna. Sagara then decides to serve under Oda Nobuna and using his knowledge of playing video games about his conquest, he has proved to be
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a valuable weapon for Oda. He helps her correct wrongs that happened in history and to predict the events to give Oda the advantage. He also vowed to make sure she’s alive after she conquered Japan. It’s not an easy task when the rest of the feudal lords are out to make sure she doesn’t succeed.
This anime has been the biggest surprise of the season so far because I didn’t even knew this anime existed until a couple of days ago. I certainly didn’t expect it to be so damn good. I saw the title and I sighed a bit because I expect another anime like Brave Ten that uses the feudal era as a setting and basically doing something subpar with it. The anime has all the elements to fail miserably yet it turns out to be very amazing. I always believe that cliché isn’t a bad thing and it all depends on how you use it. This anime has a harem with all the generic fixings but it was able to properly use the elements to make one remarkable story. Also, it’s a light novel anime. I love anime adapted from light novels because they have more emphasis on story than any other medium. Oda Nobuna no Yabou is one of the best anime of the season.
The anime proves to be a bit ridiculous when you see the first episode. I actually find it hard to believe that they made a show where Oda Nobunaga is a tsundere. It boggles the mind and I was sure this premise wouldn’t last. They might replace it with pointless fan service or build a harem or something. All the elements are there for the anime to drop the premise. We have a bunch of girls and one guy, the generic casts of a harem is here: the tsundere, the big breasted one, the silent one and the loud one. They just needed to align themselves and I was preparing for the worst. It didn’t happen though. The anime didn’t disintegrate into a senseless Ecchi or Harem anime. I was relieved to know that. It couldn’t become a pointless Ecchi show mainly because the anime has a pretty impressive story to tell.
The biggest hurdle in this anime is accepting the fact that the heroes of Japan are replaced with girls. Oda Nobuna is a freakin tsundere. If you can follow that fact then you can enjoy the anime. It started pretty interesting actually. The first episode started with a battle and the plot was laid out pretty nicely afterwards. The idea of having a guy from the future telling Oda of all the things she did wrong is pretty sweet. It’s like going to the movies with a guy who already seen it. He spoils the story and Oda is able to capitalize from it. The rewriting of history and the characters turning into cute girls is among the charm of the anime. The plot of the anime is very serious despite the ridiculous elements of the anime and it’s the reason why the anime was able to straighten out right away. The first half has some very powerful episodes that will easily grab you.
The anime is about a part of history of Japan though but it never got in the way. I recognize most of the characters because I played a lot of Orochi games on the PS2 and that’s as far as I know regarding the Sengoku era. The anime often has time to have a narrator introduce the characters so they can easily slide themselves into the story. After the introduction, the anime proceeds in building the story. There are a lot of dialogues in the anime but it was used to establish certain situations in the anime. The anime is like watching a game of chess and you eagerly wait for the moment where a player shows the trick up his sleeve. There are a lot of moments in the anime that is really impressive. One example is declaring that building a fort in the field would prove impossible because it’s near a feudal lord’s territory and he will do his best to make sure the fort won’t be built. The anime uses certain situations like this and have Sagara or Oda have their moment of brilliance and attempt the impossible. Once you get used to the pattern, it’s not long before you wait for the next big hurdle to come and the moment of brilliance the characters will do to overcome the problem.
The characters are certainly the strongest point of the anime. They are a bit generic but they have the perfect personality to make the story interesting. The cute little girls being involved in feudal wars are really interesting because the anime did a great job presenting it. Of course, the idea of a stuttering ninja who looks about 9 years old is a bit of hard pill to swallow but when the story moves along its climactic moment, all the characters was able to bring their own charm to the scene. There are a lot of characters and none of them look alike. They all have a certain role to the story with their unique personality. There is no shortage of interesting characters here from both the good guys and the bad guys. They certainly make the story a lot more interesting.
Oda Nobuna is pretty rounded herself. She is considered as a military genius capable of doing the impossible but most of the time she is just a little brat. I really love how most of the times, she is the problem and her weak hearted nature adds some needed tension in the anime. It does wear off pretty quickly because the anime relies far too much on her weak personality but it deepens the story and makes it more exciting. One moment she is this girl with a nasty personality trying to rule the country then the next moment she is a docile little kitten that needs the other characters to comfort her out.
As for Sagara, well, he’s a pretty normal guy. He is the generic type of main character that just flows along with the story. If the scene calls for him to be an idiot then he becomes an idiot. If the scene needs him to be hero then he’ll rise to the occasion. If the story needs him to be “cool guy” the girls will fall in love with then he becomes that guy. I guess it’s a good thing that he’s a flexible main character but he doesn’t have enough personality to stand on his own. It’s not a bad thing though because other supporting characters get some screen time thanks to his lack of a decent personality.
There are some hints of fan service in the anime but it was never a main focus. The story did point out that Sagara is a pervert but there aren’t any panty shots and there was only one moment of boob grabbing. It’s pretty alright because some of the characters are a bit under aged and it’d be pretty awful to sit through another Ro Kyu Bu type of anime (which gets another season and some more pedo fan service). There is also a slight hint of romance to tie the entire anime together. Sagara and Oda’s relationship is one of driving plot points of the anime and it’s often of the elements that cause a lot of tension in the anime. One moment they’re buddy buddy then when push comes to shove, they’re fighting.
The anime does have some downsides to it. The biggest hurdle is accepting the cute characters as competent warriors battling adult sized soldiers and what not. The story easily covers that up. The anime never explained Sagara going back to the past though and it does bug me at first. He just suddenly showed up and no mention of black holes or time machines to explain his time travel. The anime obviously didn’t want you to question it because the plot was pretty good that it didn’t matter how he got there. The one complaint I have about the anime though is that the anime slowly pushed Sagara into the background. In the first half, he was very pivotal in the fights because of his knowledge about playing video games. As the anime progresses, this knowledge was no longer used and some of the moments of the second half would’ve been more awesome if the anime had Sagara spoil the fights. It’s a minor complain though and the anime didn’t crumble from the lack of Sagara’s knowledge.
The pacing in the second half did become a bit fast and certain events had little effect to me because the anime rushed in getting there. There was no climactic build up in the second half and it was a shame that they couldn’t make the final moments of the anime more awesome. It ended pretty anticlimactically and it’s a shame. It did tease a second season and I seriously want another run at this awesome anime.
In terms of character, the anime did a heck of a good job at it. There is a huge range of character design here from the cute kin of character up to the grown up old type adult character. One thing I love about this anime is that no character looks alike. They are all extremely detailed using the attire of the era to their advantage and putting a spin on it. There is a stuttering ninja with a pink skull hairclip, a little girl with a spear and a tiger hood and even a girl with a cute dragon emblem on her head. The characters are the best part of the anime and it’s their diverse look that makes the experience a lot more enjoyable.
The animation is also one of the anime’s best parts. The fight scenes are a bit too short but they still have an air of awesomeness to them that makes them fun to watch. The use of CG in some scenes is nicely done because it doesn’t look stiff. The way the camera changes angles is also one of the reasons why the fight scenes are some awesome.
The fight scenes are pretty straight forward and there isn’t a lot of technicality in them. The anime uses it as a way to move the story along and it’s often not the climax of the anime. It often leads to the climax but the battles where never once the main attention of the anime. The moment of brilliance among the characters is like building a fort overnight. That being said though, the fight scenes are still pretty nice. The capture the feel of a real war and there are enough effects to give us the impression of a massive battle. There is no blood though. I would’ve preferred at least some blood out of slashed necks but the anime often cut away before any blood would gush out or they would be off screen. Let’s focus on the moe characters instead.
The anime’s OP is “Link” by Aimi. This really captures the anime’s theme and it nicely reflects the relationship of the two main characters. The anime’s opening sequence is pretty awesome as well. It introduced all the characters without spoiling the story and overwhelming the viewers. I also love the scene of the horses meeting each other for a battle. You can clearly see the awesomeness of the anime and the high production value of the anime.
The ED song is “Hikari” by Makino Mizuta. It’s a slow song with a romantic theme to it. It has a meloow vibe to it compared to the rough nature of the anime. The ED sequence is has a bigger fan service than the overall series with all the girls naked and draped with a sheet. It’s pretty nice, I guess.
This is a really good anime and it’s too good to miss. The plot, the characters and the action all makes for one awesome anime experience. Try to enjoy the moe girls fighting in the Sengoku era because the anime is really great. I highly recommend it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 21, 2015
Imagine you’ve lived the last 15 years of your life with your priest foster father at a monastery along with your twin brother. You’ve gone to school, maybe gotten into a few fights, but as far as the world at large is concerned you’re normal. Now imagine that, on what may as well be any other day, you are attacked by a demon, saved by your foster father who turns out to be an Exorcist, and told that you’re the son of satan. And then your foster dad is killed by your real dad. Sweet. For Rin Okumura, all that is an unfortunate reality.
Before he
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can stop to really take stock of what has happened Rin is thrust into a world where demons are a part of everyday life and one of the country’s most prestigious high schools is actually the True Cross Academy for training Exorcists. Oh, and his brother has been going there for years without him knowing. And he’s now Rin’s teacher. Double sweet. Rin vows to grow stronger to take revenge on satan for what he has done, but before he can do anything he needs to learn to get on with his classmates and, y’know, study.
Ao no Exorcist starts off very strong, throwing both you and Rin into unfamiliar territory before you can stop to ask any questions. Learning about Rin’s heritage, the actual state of the world and the ways of True Cross Academy will very quickly grip you and get you interested in both the characters and plot itself. While the middle of the series is still very entertaining, it sags a little as the writers can’t seem to decide whether they want to advance the plot, develop characters or just randomly muck around. Don’t get me wrong though, every episode is just as good as the last on its own, it’s just that the way they come together to tell the overall story isn’t as well done as it could have been. The ending, while still on par with the rest of the series quality-wise, felt very premature, with little indication that the conclusion of the story was coming up before the last few episodes.
I probably say this too much, but Ao no Exorcist could very easily have been a longer series. As it was, it felt like the writers were rushed into the final arc before they had laid down the groundwork for it (and the manga is still continuing, so there you go). Side characters that were really quite well done weren’t given the attention they deserved, being presented as important but remaining relatively insignificant to the main plot. The variety of abilities they possessed had a lot of potential that was never realized, and their role within True Cross Academy and the True Cross Order of Exorcists could also have been developed further. There’s also a slight problem with consistency in power levels, with Rin simply powering up DBZ-style to tackle any obstacle that comes his way. I was left waiting for a training sequence that never came (well, it was mentioned, but never really explored).
It may sound like there’s a huge amount the series fails to get right, but the only reason I’ve identified so many faults is because of how much I enjoyed watching the series in the first place. These aren’t problems that need to be fixed, just areas that could have been improved to make the experience even better than it already was. It should say something about the concept itself that it can have so many gaps while still supporting such an engaging tale.
The animation was also of a very high quality; from facial expressions to background scenery, everything is pleasing to look at and the character designs themselves are also excellent. The animation studio can be very proud of their work here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 20, 2015
Popular guy falls for unpopular girl. However unlike the norm, they waste no time establishing these two as a pair. It's refreshing in that the "whole does he/she like me" is over pretty much episode 2 which allows you to see the relationship grow. The bad thing about it is nothing ever really establishes why these two actually like each other and have a connection. Yamato's initial reasoning for being interested in Mei is that she roundhouse kicked him which makes her "interesting." Mei on the other hand is so new to having friends or anyone show any real interest in her, would fall for
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the first guy who genuinely gave her attention (something that is kind of made obvious when another character comes in). While they do have personalities that seem to get on well and work together, there is no real spark to them. The amount of obstacles they face would have broken up any normal couple with this little passion and substance.
The story's strength lies in the fact that despite characters with all sorts of traits with various levels of popularity, they have all struggled with their insecurities and their relationships (both romantic and platonic). Although there are some background characters, the majority have their own stories. Transitioning them into the main story is what throws everything off. It's never really stated why Mei's two best girlfriends all of a sudden became her BFFs out of almost no where (especially with the one who appeared latter). A person of Yamato's past who is transitioned in also was done poorly and his actions didn't even make sense with the story. Even Mei's nemesis who is interested in Yamato is poorly done and their first initial encounter is out of character for her Not to mention they do not explain her relationship to a friend you had no idea she even had when she was younger. Allowing connections and relationships to develop a bit more would have greatly strengthened this story. Transitions are super rushed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 19, 2015
Shingeki no Kyojin is an amazingly written story with a very dark premise and a lot of action. This is definitely not a series for the faint of heart, especially those with fears of man-eating giants that don't even have the decency to kill you before they eat you (sometimes). The story keeps you guessing as it progresses, there's a new reveal that completely destroys what you thought you knew and makes you wonder just how far the rabbit hole goes. The characters are very relatable and you really do want to see them succeed. What makes this series unique however is the protagonists very
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rarely ever win a battle. Every mission the cast engage in usually ends in a blood bath, but it's not without purpose. The gruesome deaths we witness just cements how high the stakes are in this story, and the determination of the protagonists to push forward is very inspiring.
Another unique thing about the cast is they are rather three-dimensional in comparison to a lot of anime and manga I've seen. Where I expect some characters to be completely flat jerkasses or emotionless bastards, there's always something that really makes you like them. The series also makes a point of establishing that no matter what you see on the outside, the characters certainly feel and act human deep down. This makes it really heart breaking when you see characters you like die in the line of duty, and only makes you want to see the good guys succeed all the more, which serves to make their victories so much sweeter.
tl;dr, This series is a must-read/watch. If you have a weak stomach or a phobia for cannibalistic slasher smiles, give it a miss. Otherwise, give it your full attention.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 17, 2015
The anime is about a girl named Shizuku Mizutani who has grew up without any friends. Instead of making friends, this girl would rather study and try to be the smartest girl in class. She would act cold towards people and she doesn’t really care for most things. She is so extreme that people started calling her “Dry Ice”. One day, Shizuku was asked to deliver some homework to a classmate named Haru Yoshida. Haru is a troublemaker and he loves getting into fights. Shizuku was shocked to discover one of the school’s toughest guys to actually be desperate for friends and he has gained
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a strange liking towards Shizuku. So now, a girl with very little experience about making friends is suddenly being befriended by a guy who would scare people away just by glaring at them. Shizuku has a tough front but it would seem Haru caught her attention. What’s a girl to do when Haru suddenly started saying declaring his love for you? For Dry Ice, it was a new experience but this love thing isn’t exactly one sided. Or is it?
The premise of the anime instantly grabs you. There is a girl who has no care for anything except her studies and a guy who is a brute but a gentle misunderstood soul. Their interaction was pretty fun to watch since the girl is the only person that can get close to the guy and the guy is annoying the hell out of the girl. Little by little though, the relationship of the two gradually grows into something that is really adorable. The anime is pretty straight forward pretty much focusing on this story alone. That’s right. There are no other love stories in the anime. Or rather, the anime was still building up one but it was surely not as important as the main love story. This was great thing because the story of the two characters is really fun to watch and their story might seem straight forward at first, but it eventually reveals some surprises you never expected the show to do.
This anime is not perfect and one of the reasons is because the primary focus of the show is the love story yet it was thinly spread out throughout the anime. There is a decent progression but the relationship of the characters are often dreadfully dragged that nothing satisfactory comes out of it. Majority of the episodes have the relationship on stand still going absolutely nowhere and you wait for a decent resolution only to be sorely disappointed. It was cute but thirteen episodes are too long for something cute that doesn’t have much to tell. Towards the second half, the pace died down and the focus was shift towards something else. At first I was glad that there is only one love story in the anime so it can develop the story some more but towards the end, the show fizzled out. The love story that grabbed you halted midway and snail paced its way to the ending. The characters stopped developing to compensate the immediate halt of the story and the focus was shifted to another thing. This is sadly, a typical Shoujo thing. I swear to God the whole anime is a manga lure. These are anime that stops the story so blatantly that it urges you to read the manga. It’s not really bad because anime fans are now familiar with the medium. The problem is that the anime had no decent ending. It basically slammed the door in your face with the sign hanging on it that said: read the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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