pinkraichu's Profile - Reviews

Last OnlineMay 7, 2019 10:26 AM
GenderFemale
BirthdayNov 2, 1991
LocationSinnoh
JoinedJul 1, 2016

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Dec 30, 2016

Soushin Shoujo Matoi (Anime) add

Recommended

Unlike many magical girl anime, Matoi The Sacred Slayer didn't include magical girls. Instead, it featured exorcist girls- girls that could harness the power of different gods to fight demons.

The beginning of the show felt like it was having an identity crisis. It's almost like the writers tried to include every element they could, and fell flat on their faces. Firstly, it jumped into things way too quickly. I honestly had no idea what was going on. This is normal for many first episodes, but there were a lot of other elements included that distracted me. The first episode tried to include a ... lot of comedy (hence the fan service), and it didn't work. The fan service was thrown in the audience's face, which took away from the show and was distracting, as I said. After the first few comedic opening scenes, the show became darker. The concepts of demons and possession were exposed, and the creators did a good job of making these parts very creepy. But then... the show would go back into the goofy, funny scenes. It didn't transition well and clashed with the eerie themes. It made me wonder, "Is this show trying to be funny or serious? I can't tell." I think this mixed message is what turned off a lot of viewers.

Matoi, the main chararcter, didn't help at first either. She was a typical teenage girl who was unknowingly thrown into crazy circumstances. At the beginning, she was used for a lot of the comedic scenes. For example, her exorcist girl outfit evaporates when she undoes her transformation, which leaves her naked. Whenever this happened, she would shriek and run away, making a fuss. What was supposed to be funny came off as irritating. Matoi seemed useless, demeaned as someone to laugh at, with no other quality traits.

The poor executed comedy really took away from the show. The only comedy this show needed was Yuma. She was enthusiastic and funny without being over-exaggerated, but the writers didn't seem to understand this until later.

After the first few episodes, around the half way mark, the show started the become much better. Vital background information was explained, and things started to make sense. We learned a lot more about Matoi and Shingo's past, which made me understand and appreciate them more as characters. As the story's conflict became more complicated and Matoi began to learn about her past and personal responsibilities, Matoi began to mature. Instead of focusing on her blunders, the writers emphasized her character development, which helped make her more likable.

The overall tone of the show became more serious as well. The fan service lessened (except for the swimsuit episode), and without it or the dumb comedy as a distraction, the show felt more real and less forced. This made the darker moments more believable and enjoyable. Whenever there was a funny moment, it was usually thanks to Yuma (that's my girl!), but it was actually funny and didn't take away from the show like the fan service did.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the ending was truly great. With the background story revealed and the characters'personal development, the ending was meaningful. Some could argue that it was little typical or overly sentimental, but I enjoyed it. Besides emotional appeal, the last episode had visual appeal as well. The upper dimensions looked colorful and beautiful as Matoi travels through them. The music added an exotic feeling that matched the colors and Matoi's ascension. The very ending of the show was very sweet, and can pull some heartstrings. The end was also funny as well, but in a good way. No fan service- just Yuma and her shenanigans.

So, why did this show have so much trouble in the beginning? One obvious reason could have been that the writers were trying to find their groove, and didn't figure things out until later. But I think there is an underlying issue that the writers were grappling with, and that's the audience. Usually, magical girls shows are geared toward a younger audience. However, this anime had themes that may not have been appropriate for younger viewers. I am not talking about the fan service here- I'll get to that in a minute. What I am referring to is the concept of the show.

Most magical girls get their powers through some supernatural means, but the reasons why aren't very complex. But Matoi had a rather complicated concept. Her powers as an exorcist girl were granted by gods, beings from an alternate dimension. According to the show, there were multiple dimensions and various gods. This is something that a younger audience may struggle to comprehend. Gods and higher dimensions may be a bit over their heads. A lot of Matoi's character development may have been hard for children to understand as well. Matoi is a teenage girl who doesn't know her mother. She struggles with getting to know her father and her identity as a person. There is a fair amount of teen angst she goes through. Some younger viewers may understand her plight, but it is definitely more relatable to someone who is a teenager, and may be going through something similar.

Therefore, I think the creators were trying to cater this anime toward teens and adults. If kids aren't going to be watching it anyway, why not add some elements that will attract more teens and adults? This brings in the fan service. You cannot deny that fan service on general has gotten more and more popular over the years, and the creators probably thought it would help them get more views. However, in this particular anime, the fan service hurt the show, rather than adding to it.

Despite its inadequate beginning, I enjoyed this anime. What impressed me the most was the concept. The idea of an exorcist girl who controls the power of a god is fascinating to me. The concept of other dimensions was interesting as well. If you want to watch something that uses a different take on magical girls, I highly recommend this anime. Unfortunately, the fan service, and the sloppy execution of the story and other elements did hurt the show as a whole.

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Oct 2, 2016

Qualidea Code (Anime) add

Mixed Feelings

Qualidea Code is about a post-apocalyptic Japan that was attacked by creatures called Unknown. The majority of adults were killed off, but, in order to protect future generations, the government forced the world's children into deep sleep. When the children (now teenagers) awoke many years later, they had strange powers called "World" and most of civilization was gone. Using their powers, the children fight against the Unknown and help administrate the new military system that was created by the remaining adults.

This concept sounds entertaining by itself, but it is also one of the problems with this show. There are so many anime where creatures ... attack, a large portion of the population or world are destroyed, and then the youth need to save the world. It isn't a bad concept, but it's getting old. I want to point out that this anime does have a certain twist to it, which makes things interesting, but the many flaws of the anime eclipse the show's positive elements. The thing that hurt this show so much was the characters.

I need to point out that most- if not all- of the characters had some kind of trope or stereotype with their personality (i.e. Canaria being a klutz). While tropes in themselves aren’t a bad thing, the problem is that these tropes took over the characters’ personalities made them seem very one-dimensional. While some of the characters are great (like Maihime in my opinion), there was one character that more or less ruined the series.

And that would be Suzaku Ichiya, the protagonist. In anime, there are a lot of main characters that start out as an insensitive tool and then slowly develop compassion or other positive character traits. But Suzaku Ichiya was on a whole other level. To put it simply, he was deplorable. He was arrogant, rude, and reckless. Even after he went through some character development and realized he was being too pretentious, he still isn't very likable. At one point, he kind of drifts out of the spotlight and I honestly completely forgot about him for a while. That's how forgettable he is as a character.

As I mentioned earlier, the twist in the story was very interesting, but it was overshadowed by all the series' writing issues. In the first half of the series, the battle scenes were dragged out. Other times the characters had long, pointless conversations that didn't contribute much to the story. Instead of such long battles or unnecessary scenes, I would have focused more on the plot. There were parts that included some background information and character development. However, the emotional scenes sometimes felt over-exaggerated, melodramatic, or prolonged. And even with the backstories, there was lot of information missing from the anime. For example, the backstories of Yuunami Airi and Asanagi Gutoku, two adult military officers, were basically nonexistent.
About half way through the series, the story started to pick up pace and get exciting. However, toward the end things seemed rushed. The interesting twist was never really explained. What would have been a really interesting part of the story wasn't revealed in enough detail. How did the world get into the state it was in? How did the enemy infiltrate and evolve? None of this was really explored. Because of the abruptness and the plot holes, when the series ended, I didn't feel satisfied.

Perhaps if there is a second season, it will all be explained. There are manga and light novel adaptions of the series, and, if I am not mistaken, I think this series is a sequel to Qualidea of Scum and Gold, a light novel. Perhaps these mediums are more detailed and fill in the missing information.

As the series goes on, the animation gets considerably worse and it wasn't the best to begin with. I felt like the audio was off at times too. It's a shame. The creators probably didn't have enough time or money to make the overall quality better. Maybe if they had postponed the release date, they could have improved the animation and sound. They could have also worked on the story, shortening unneeded parts and expanding the plot.

With some changes and improvements, this show could have been really great. However, its flaws overshadow all of the anime's good aspects. Overall, I would give this show a 6 out of 10. I am hoping the anime can redeem itself with another season or with the series' other mediums.

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Aug 11, 2016

Anne Happy♪ (Anime) add

Recommended

Anne Happy is a slice-of-life comedy about five girls who have extraordinarily bad luck. Because of their terrible luck, the five characters are enrolled in a "Happiness Class" that is supposed to help them with their misfortune. However, instead of offering therapy, this class offers “interesting” (or rather, insane) activities for the girls to participate in, making their already odd lives even crazier.

Positives-

The characters are the strongest aspect of Anne Happy. There’s Hanako who experiences misfortune in every sense of the word; Botan who has incredibly poor health to the point where it is ridiculous and funny; Hibiki who has horrible navigational skills and easily ... gets lost; Ren who has female animals constantly fawning over her because they are attracted to her charm; and finally there is Hibari whose misfortune takes the form of love because she is in love with a construction site sign.

With all of the insanity, the audience gets to follow the characters through their misfortune- ridden lives. We get to witness all of the crazy things they go through on a daily basis and, frankly, it is fun and amusing. The facts they all have different kinds of luck helps to make things less redundant. You never know what sort of disaster is going to befall them next. When catastrophe does strike, it is usually in a comical manner and the characters struggle through their difficulties in chibi form, giving an extra cutesy vibe to the already adorable atmosphere. The constant chibi portrayals were one of my favorite things about the show's animation. Overall, the animation gives a unique feeling to the show. Each character has adorable character designs. One thing that particularly stood out was the use of watercolor. The background uses beautiful pastel colors and water color brush marks. The show is extremely colorful and pleasing to the eyes. Another aspect, although quite minute, was the characters' hair, especially Hibari's. If you look closely, her hair is two shades of purple, but it is blended so well that it is hard to notice. This attention to detail shows much effort the animators put into this show.

Negatives-

Firstly, Timothy, a mechanical bunny robot and the mascot of the show, was extremely annoying, in my opinion. Appear-wise, he is adorable; however, his squeaky voice and personality are irritating. But most importantly, whenever Timothy was around, the show focused on him instead of the characters.

That was my main issue with the show: the story. It is a slice of life anime, meaning that, instead of a clear-cut story, the show is shown through small snapshots of the characters' lives as they go through their daily routines. Because of this, most SOL anime have little, if any, story or plot. Anne Happy is much the same. However, instead of really focusing on the girls' everyday lives, it focuses their experiences in the insane "Happiness Class." This class, as I mentioned earlier, does all kind of ludicrous things to make the students happier. Some highlights include a life-size board game, a virtual casino, and a game of tag that was more like a man hunt.
Seeing what sort of silly scenario the class had to go through was entertaining, but the show focused too much on the spontaneity of the "Happiness Class." The show should have focused on learning more about the characters as people. Was there a reason for their bad luck? How did their bad luck affect their families and friends? How do the girls react to the constant stream of misfortune that seems to follow them? Does Hibari ever find a love outside of a sign post? In my opinion, this would have been much more interesting to explore than robotic rabbits and a school with an obviously outrageous amount of spending money.

Yuri-

Based on your personal preferences, yuri can be a good or bad thing. While it is not entirely yuri-based, Anne Happy definitely did have some yuri. The most yuriish moments are between Hibiki and Ren. As I said earlier, Ren attracts female animals because of her charm. However, it isn't just nonhuman species that like her. Human females are attracted to her as well, including Hibiki. As the series goes on, a lot of hints about Hibiki's feelings for Ren are thrown in. If you want heavy yuri, you would need to look elsewhere, but if you are interested in adorable shojou ai, I definitely recommend Anne Happy for a cute yuri fix.

Despite some of its flaws, I really enjoyed Anne Happy's concept, animation, yuri, and its adorable and unique take on slice of life. Overall, I would give it an 8 out of 10.

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