- Last OnlineMay 23, 2018 8:33 AM
- JoinedJul 1, 2008
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Apr 21, 2015
So I went and checked out the hype train despite my busy sched and backlogs, and ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to report that the hype.. is real! Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) is a MUST WATCH specially for fans of classical music.
Kimi Uso, if I would put into imagery, is like trying out this Black Forest cake specialty that uses sour cherries at this new classical cafe everyone is talking about. You walk-in, greeted by the beautiful classical ambience, and when your order reaches the table, you see that it actually looks great and appetizing. You start tasting it
...
but get disappointed, feeling that it does not live up to its reputation, but as you continue eating it, you realize that it has just the right amount of sweetness accompanied with sourness within each layer that gives good contrast and variety, perfect for your palate (well depending on your taste of course). Then when you finally get to the eat the whole cherry on top which you expected to be the dramatically and tear-jerkingly sour climax, you find out that it has this unique, indescribable anticlimactic taste of satisfaction instead.
Music, romance, humour, trauma, despair, realization, inspiration, change; I find this series having one of the best story concepts and premises I've seen to date. It starts out quite slow and only picks up half-way through, but you can really see the character development and it ends conclusively well, connecting everything, tracing back to episode one. It has good casting, with perfect setups for each character introduction; everyone fits-in and is significant. The only thing I did not like is the inconsistency, blandness or coldness I felt at the end because I was expecting more drama, more emotions, and my helpings of super tear-jerky scenes.
The story is paired with a beautiful art style consistent with what you can see on the cover and good selections of wonderful classical pieces that can attract people who are new to the genre. You will see fitting character designs, beautiful backgrounds and non half-assed (though sometimes repetitive or recycled) full concours audience with fully detailed expressions; and the most amazingly fluid instrument-playing animation with the most flashy, emotional performances you can experience to date. You will hear well selected voice acting and great, goose bump inducing classical piano and violin that I so love; and which Disney fans should look forward to because they also included Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Waltz in a most awe-inspiring duet. Such budget. Much wow. This series is eye and ear candy.
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is short but complete, and is well produced. I really enjoyed it; to the point that what was supposed to be a check of the pilot episode to pass a few minutes of my time during my visit to the beach, ended up being an all-nighter, that made me miss half a day of my beach vacation. People who liked music titles such as Nodame, Beck, Sakamichi Apollon, should definitely watch this. It is beautiful. It is amazing. It is so much worth.
P.S. I do not eat black forest cakes; that imagery is a lie I told you guys this April.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Nov 23, 2013
This is the 4th Season of Minami-ke and I'm glad to report that a lot of effort seems to be put into this one, probably making it the best of the series, so it is definitely a MUST WATCH.
Just like the rest of the series, it is still a situational slice of life comedy so not much development is to be expected, which is reminded in each episode. The art is great and probably even greater than the rest of the series. It features the same VAs which fit each character, good OP and ED, and BGMs that fit each scene. They have the same
...
fun characters and the supporting ones were given increased screen times, giving viewers a chance to get to know more about the cast and their roles, and showing a better, wider view of the world of the Minami's.
Minami-ke Tadaima is most enjoyable. Each episode contains several sketches which were carefully planned for quality humor, and is incorporated with fanservice of just the right amount and level that is strategically used for some gags. Few minute problems exist such as the use of backgrounds that do not match the mood/situation and some overly forced coincidences, but these do not at all affect the overall Minami-goodness, and viewers would still be served with good laughs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Dec 5, 2010
It is truly sad how the most popular shines so bright that it blinds most people from seeing such great things, and it is even sadder how personal interests or preferences discourage people who are unaffected by that blindness to view them. Unfortunately, I am one of those blind and discouraged people, but my curiosity about high ratings has once again given me the chance to experience great art. I encourage everyone who are still unfamiliar with Baccano to check it out because this series is definitely a MUST WATCH.
Baccano is a story about a series of mysterious events connected to immortality which occur in
...
the years 1711, 1931-1932 and 2001. It is told in an interestingly complex chronology and is very rich in content in a way that it has so many genres. This is a comedy, suspense, thriller, drama, romance, action, supernatural, mystery, horror, etc. One would not expect all these in a story because there would be a case of incompatibility and everything would be in disarray. Funny and shocking gore just don't go together, but here, they are all in excellent harmony.
The animation is high standard. The character and environment drawings are fit and well designed with beautiful and proper colors. Everything is well animated with good movement details, consistent frame quality, and light effects which bring about nice action scenes. Top-notch sounds, good ambience and exceptional voice acting. All voices are well chosen and are perfectly fitted for all characters. The OP is also good with fitting jazz music but the ED however is disappointing.
It has great casting. Filled with various characters that are unique and most interesting, this is one of the best points of the show. You have alchemists, mafias, psycho killers, delinquents, a newspaper and informant group, a comic thief duo, a homunculus, a train monster, etc. All of them are well made, with unique traits and sensible purposes.
Baccano gives outstanding enjoyment. You will laugh, you will be thrilled, you will be shocked, you will be curious and you will want more. Well actually, you will demand more because in the 13 episodes some things were not explained so hopefully, the OVAs would cover those holes in the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 6, 2010
Being related to a poor OVA of the same name, Canvas 2 surprisingly had good content. The title and cover would make people think that it's just a typical harem anime with a whatever plot and tiresome service, but it isn't like that at all. It has good story material, serious drama, and good humour. Canvas 2 is unexpectedly enjoyable.
The story, unlike what you would expect from the cover and the OP, is not about a harem. If you look in the information section, you will see that harem is not part of the genre, that is because the story is mainly about an art
...
college student's life and his love triangle with a cousin and a childhood friend. The story, despite having a lot of bugs in it, developed pretty well. The storyboard had a lot of holes and question marks, but somehow, it was able to flow well by sincerely following the three main characters' love story. It has serious dramatic nature, slice of life and some comedy which made it interesting to watch. It starts okay, continues well, but was unfortunately decided to conclude in a way that majority would not approve of.
The art is not bad. The character designs are fine, most of the drama and comedy were delivered well, and overall, the animation is plain and simple. Negatively, it has lame, unnecessary service scenes and the OP+ED makes it look like an ecchi/harem show.
As for sounds, the OP and ED songs are just okay, it has a soundtrack that fits the scenes very well and I believe that it has good voice acting for all characters.
The characters are mostly cliched, a lot of them were very unnecessary, and most of them did not have a clear background. It's not well casted, the supporting characters make the holes and question marks on the storyboard, but the important thing is that the main cast makes up the good story.
The series kind of ended up as a fail, because of the conclusion, but still, I enjoyed watching it, specially the funny segments after the ED song. The show had a lot of potential and I really think that it could have become great if the supporting characters were set up more sensibly and if the story had a better ending.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 17, 2009
Since the 2nd season of Minami-ke was a let down, this third season, Minami-ke Okaeri, was expected to bring back the enjoyment experienced from the 1st season. Good news is that it's really improved. The OP and ED is back to being good, and the show is now much more fun and interesting with the increased comedy and the cute developments. The character designs and animation has been modified again. According to some news I read before Okaeri came out, the producers tried to bring it close to the look of the 1st season and I'm glad to say that it didn't turn
...
out badly. They also used the idea of strategically positioning the OP and ED in each episode, which is something I look for in anime, but I expect very creative and effective blending when producers try to do that, and it turns out as a so-so blending. Further going negative, the improvements were not enough to filter out all the bad things from the 2nd season. Some episodes were a bit boring, or maybe really boring but still, they have really good material in most of the episodes which greatly makes-up for it. You'll be expected to laugh here, very much on some parts, so it's a MUST WATCH specially for Minami fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Mar 10, 2009
With the first release of episode one, I mistook it as the episodes 1 and 2 of the whole OVA. This OVA actually has two episodes containing two parts each with different plots. It's really a great MUST WATCH because I've never enjoyed an OVA so much until I saw these two episodes of Seto Hanayome.
About the story, it's a four part OVA with different plots that have little to no connection. All are really enjoyable! But take note that at least the last part should be watched alone in the middle of the quiet night, in a dark room where the only light comes
...
from your screen, or else, you wouldn't be able to appreciate it as much as I did.
The art is really great! I believe that the animation was improved a lot in the OVA. There's a different OP and ED video for each episode and all four of them are very nice, specially the two OPs!
The sounds are very good! The voices are excellent! The two episodes have their own separate OP and ED songs which gives a total of four different songs, one song is really nice and mellow and the remaining three rocked!
All the significant characters were shown as well as two new characters, and they're all fantastically funny! An exception however to the poor unnoticeable ones.
Seto no Hanayome OVA is very enjoyable and eventhough I've confirmed that I've really watched the real last episode of the OVA this time, I still hope that there's more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Dec 10, 2008
Finally! "Flame of Recca - Final Burning", The title sounds very exciting, yes?
The Flame of Recca series is good, and since the ending has left everyone so hung, seeing this title will surely make everyone want to watch it.
This is labeled here as a special sequel to Flame of Recca, but well... it's not really special... So, sorry to break the excitement because it wasn't made well.
This is the conclusion of Recca and company's story, with the dragons and the flames and the Hokage. Haven't read the manga yet so I have no idea what happened in between.
The art is most frustrating here. I
...
think that it's even poorer than the roughly animated TV episodes. The character designs and the colors were different and unattractive and the action is boring.
Sounds were okay. So-so music with so-so voicing. The japanese audio really sounds much better than the animax english dub.
No idea about the characters since I have no idea on how they developed in the manga so no comment on that.
It's not really enjoyable, since the art isn't good and the events will make most viewers go "huh?", but it's still more serving of Flame Recca so it's alright to watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 28, 2008
Koihime Musou is unexpectedly more of a comedy anime. I was expecting something a bit more serious and action-packed but it turns out to be a funnier version of Ikkitousen with less service and less action. If you like girls and comedy then this is a title you shouldn't miss.
The story is a joke. It's based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and it was supposed to be about a girl on a journey to find a way to change the chaotic, war-torn world. They just took things from there and then made a comedy, service anime with some respectable action here and there.
...
It's like that but that's why it's funny so it's alright on my book.
The art is one of the best points, good animation with very good character designs, well mostly very good character designs because I wasn't satisfied with all of them. This anime could have been a lot better if the greatness of the action animation scenes is constant.
The sounds are fine. The music is s'orayt, not something you'd really want to hear a lot but it's alright, and I believe that all the voices of the characters are good.
The characters, well, all of the girls have awesome points like being beautiful, having god-like skills or just being really funny. I liked most of the girls and that's the problem, I only liked most. Some were just lame, extra-like or annoyingly uninteresting. There's also this tiring trio of weak bad guys, which usually have roles of bandits. The trio appear a lot in the show and they're different people in each episode, meaning they haven't met with the main characters before.
The story is not so good, The art is nice, the sounds are alright, the characters are funny and I enjoyed it a lot. It has a lot of flaws but it's still good comedy.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 23, 2008
The anime Wind: A breath of heart if taken as food, would look alright but will taste bad. This was one of the titles I was looking forward to watch in my collection since it seems so promising, but after 2 or 3 episodes (forgot how far i watched) I got too bored that I wasn't able to continue watching it. I've endured watching a handful of bad series but it looks like this series was the one that bored me the most because I still can't find enough motivation to finish it.
I'm not sure about the story yet since I haven't finished but I
...
think that it's about this boy who lives in a town where people have special abilities. He meets a childhood friend he promised to marry or something after a lot of years and blah-blah. It didn't have much development and I didn't notice any episode climaxes, even the fated meeting of the boy and his childhood friend didn't seem so special.
The art isn't bad, but it's not good either. Nothing much to talk about.
The sounds are alright. The characters and the music sound fine. Nothing much to talk about either
The characters, well, not so sure yet, I've only seen a few episodes so I haven't seen everyone. All I can say is that they're not that interesting eventhough they posses special abilities. I didn't even bother knowing what they can do.
I didn't enjoy anything so I still can't find a reason to continue yet.
Wind: A breath of heart, try watching the wholes series if you can. It has OVAs and specials so maybe it's alright to watch.. maybe.. XD
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 17, 2008
Kujibiki Unbalance (2006), an anime that can be appreciated specially by people who liked Genshiken and the Kujibiki Unbalance OVAs. Unfortunately, it's a lot different from what you would expect from the OVAs but the art is definitely better. It's not a "must watch" but I believe that it should be tried by people who liked Genshiken and the Kujibiki Unbalance OVAs, and also by people who would like to have some good laughs.
The story is not much and the series is short, but it's not bad, it's "s'orayt". Chihiro and Rit-chan are still childhood friends here and it still has the same Kujibiki, student
...
council plot like in the OVAs. Other than that, everything else is different.
The art is very good. The character designs actually pull down the art category because they're still unimpressive, with both good and disappointing changes, but it is a lot better than the OVAs though. The good ones here are the backgrounds, the coloring and the effects. These three factors make this anime look nice.
The sounds are okay. The voices are nice and the musical scoring and the sound effects are good. The OP and ED are not interesting but it's not bad, it's "s'orayt."
The characters are the best point of this show. I only find it fun to watch because of them. They're all good, specially Chihiro's older sister. I'm pretty sure that because of her most viewers will like the show better when they reach episode 3.
I find this show very enjoyable, it has a good mix of characters in a well fitted plot. It's simply good comedy. Kujibiki Unbalance (2006) is another series that deserves to be watched so don't hesitate to put it on your list ; )
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
