Back to stevewiess01's Profile stevewiess01's Profile

Hen Zemi is an OVA based on its original manga of the same title, which stands for Hentai Seiri Seminar (変態生理ゼミナール, Abnormal Physiology Seminar). Some people may describe this show as R-Rated version of Seitokai Yakuindomo, and it is partly true. However, instead of high school students making frivolous jokes about human sexuality, you will see a team of college students doing live-experience research on perverted behaviors of human under Professor Meshiya’s guidance. I won’t go into specific details what they study for the sake of modesty. Basically, every student in the seminar, including girls, is a pervert of some kind; in a way, ... they are kinda of guinea pigs for Professor Meshiya’s grand experiment. The only exception is Nanako Matsutaka, voiced by Kana Hanazawa, an innocent-looking girl who is the only person without any perverted traits. Think of her as a control group in a scientific experiment, and that’s why Professor Meshiya specifically recruited her.

Despite the disturbing content, the XEBEC’s production quality of this OAD was surprisingly good. Even though the OP and ED theme resemble much like SHAFT’s Pani Poni Dash’s OP, they have stylish look and makes a good use of pastel color. For some reason, the OP music sounds like a one from a magical girl anime as it reminded me of Puririn from Welcome to NHK. Oh, the ED even has a reference to the famous music video Baby Baby Baby! :) Even though the characters look very simple and minimalistic, they have very dynamic facial expressions and their body movements are well-animated. It’s probably thanks to the fact that this show is a single-episode OVA, which means the production studio had plenty of time to work on it. You’ll be actually surprised that a show as dirty and perverted as this one has some artistic merit to be appreciated. Oh, if you wonder why this show has a SHAFT-like visual style, it’s because Hen Zemi is directed by Ryouki Kamitsubo, who has worked on SHAFT’s Ef – a tale of stories and Hidamari Sketch as a director under the guidance of Akiyuki Shinbo.

Conclusion: If you have an interest in Japanese pornography culture for some reason, you may want to check out this show. (Whether the purpose is education or entertainment is up to you). Also, avid fans of Kana Hanazawa may want to check this show, because you will hear some embarrassing lines that you wouldn’t normally expect to hear from her. Otherwise, you better stay away from this anime before it ruins your appetite for your dinner.

Source: https://blogs.emory.edu/animec/2010/07/24/hen-zemi-ova/

As soon as the words came out that Bungaku Shojo was going to be animated as a film and OVA trilogy, I was very excited to hear the news as one of the loyal fans of the Bungaku Shojo light novel series. The opening theme of the OVA gave me a initial impression that was very positive; not only it was a good way of introducing the major characters in the novel, but it was also visually pleasing, especially with the surreal background of sunset shining on Amano’s face with a slight red hue and the beautifully-rendered colored marbles flowing out of Amano’s hands. Later, ... the quality of the visuals remained solid with the episode itself with no apparent drop in quality. However, I was slightly annoyed that some of the drawing felt bit angular such as the hairstyle and the jaw of certain character’s face. On the other hand, I think it had the advantage of keeping the characters crisp without any unnecessary details that would distract viewers from enjoying the overall mood of the story.

The classic music in the background matched well very well with the overall atmosphere of the show, which was light-hearted and calming in the most part yet dramatic and serious in some crucial moments. Also, the lightening effect was employed with precision for similar purpose as above, as the shadow caused by the sunset fills the most of the screen when Amano finds about the retirement of Miu Inoue and it is again filled with bright light when she discovers and meets with Konoha Inoue at the school.While there’s really nothing particular to note about the side characters’ voice acting, I really liked the decision to use Hanazawa Kana for Amano’s role as her youthful and energetic voice fits well with the literature girl image. (Just to note, Hanazawa does also very good job of acting quiet girls like Fujiwara Sora in Sketchbook and Sengoku Nadeko in Bakemonogatari) To be frank, I also really look forward Hirano Aya and Mizuki Nana’s voice acting in the future episodes of Memoire OVA.

Even though Bungaku Shōjo did not seem to be a high-budget production, I should give credit to the director, Shunsuke Tada, for keeping the OVA consistent with the novel while making efficient use of the available resources. Overall, the OVA should be appreciated by the fans of Bungaku Shōjo, while remaining enjoyable for those who have faced the series for the first time.

Source: https://blogs.emory.edu/animec/2010/07/17/bungaku-shojo-memoir-i-yume-miru-shoujo-no-prelude-ova/

Wow. As I'm watching the new anime shows of Summer 2010 season one by one, it seems like each one is better than the last. Well, it looks like this one is going to be my favorite show of this summer. Basically, H.O.T.D takes place in a post-apocalyptic world filled with countless zombies. What makes this show special is that it combines just the right amount of fan-service, horror, and goriness without being too excessive to spice up the show. In fact, all the panchira-like fanservice seems very superficial and you'll be surprised at how the atmosphere is very sad, serious, and even quite touching. ... Not only that, it features beautifully hand-drawn color background arts filled with great amount of details and it creates a bizarre effect when they are placed right alongside the hordes of gray zombies.

Just to note, H.O.T.D is directed by Araki Tetsuo, who is also known for Madhouse's masterpiece "Death Note," and both works seem to share a lot of similarities such as the opening theme and the very particular style of color selection (a lot of oranges and blues were used to create a feeling of insecurity). Also, you may notice that Madhouse has put a lot of effort on the music and sound effects in order to maximize the uncomfortable feeling that goes very well with the genre of this show. Anyway, H.O.T.D. did not fall short of my initial expectations and I hope Madhouse and director Araki Testsuo is going to continue the show just as it is.