Well after Gosick decided to finish the two spring shows I started months back:
Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor: 7/10.
Decent show, much better when it isn't being serious, the serious stuff kinda falls into generic predictable stuff. Could have done with a second cour.
Love Tyrant: 7/10
Decent again, and again much better when it isn't serious and just being goofy, Guri was definitely entertaining as hell, but I did ultimately feel the show was waning a bit towards the end so one cour definitely was enough.
Guess it's time to check the rest of the spring stuff as the summer season winds down.
A fresh, glossy and often inventive action-comedy, BBB is frequently very funny and wrings plenty of mileage out of its quirky, science-fantasy New York setting. I do stand by my earlier assessment though that the anime-original plotline, while decent enough in its own right, was not as effective at adding drama as the show otherwise is at doing comedy. I also found it difficult to really process everything that was going on at times; there's a definite feeling of trying to cram too much in, both in terms of characters and story. Whether this is down to the adaptation or just the nature of the source material, I don't know, but again, I found it much more forgiveable during the comedy episodes than when the show was trying to be more serious.
Nevertheless, it's rare for me to reach the end of a show and be so enthusiastic to go back and watch it through again. Maybe it's because there is so much happening that it seems more appealing to go back and try to pick up on what you might have missed. Keen for the second season.
Where do I begin...
The OVA from the Manga Collection really isn't worth the money unless you can find a copy for less than a couple of quid and even then it is little more than an exercise in general incompetence. Even if the excuse of time constraint and change of anything could be valid reasons, we are still talking train wreck material.
The premise is decent enough, but the execution throughout the OVA is deplorable from start to finish, and I'm being fair at this point.
You see the first two episodes have merit. The first is mediocre at best it at least has a coherent story. There is a sore lack of development of both Jack and the associated cast, but there is still a story that makes sense and might be worth your time. There is an striking over play of sex and debauchery which does detract from what would be a better story, yet oddly this seems to make Jack a far more lovable character.
The next chapter is probably the best of the buch with a fairly solid action bent. Frankly this should have been the opener and everything based of this episode. While it suffers the same lake of exposition, it still provides a more complete package compared to the first and abominable third episodes.
I would like to add more, but another over arching sin of violence Jack is it's general lack of depth and explaination.
Finally the third episode is just a no go. If Manga had the whit to leave it out they would have had something reasonably watchable, but to include it, even for completeness, was the undoing of an already thin and mediocre offering to begin with. All I can say is watch Violence Jack; Slum King online to see what an abomination it is, From no coherence to effectively no diologue for Jack and a poor attempt at a BDSM setup and possible the most rushed and botched ending of anything in history, you'd swear I was being defensive in my description of this tripe. What what a middling to poor OVA sharply becomes subterrainian by the very existance of this episode.
Violence Jack is probably the best example of a decent idea, bent over and de-flowered before being ram-rodded anally for a final insult
Either watch for completeness or just avoid and be happy
Goku: Midnight Eye 8/10
Must say I was surprised. I had high hopes from previous comments, made in favour of this anime and I must doth my proverbial hat to those commentators.
Goku is one of the best anime I've seen in years, with one of the best action stories I've seen in years. It is well paced with no delay and very little flannel to fill out what is a near perfect point-to-point anime on the market. It is an anime that even betters a lot of modern anime that would be better to simply imitate Goku.
There are complaints however, but we are talking minor issue. There is somewhat iffy voice acting with a couple of characters (the love interest in the first episode and a minor character in the second), where the legendary overacting screech rears its ugly head. Annoying as it is, it must also be remembered this is an 80's anime an shonky voice acting is to be expected. Not forgiven, but expected. Also, and this is just for the sake of saying it before others say it as ut means little to me, the imagery is very dated compared to modern anime. Again this is an 80's anime, so don't watch expecting crisp backdrops and outline, but looking past its age Goku has impressive animation and, while no Akira, it stands as a great example of good animation with now archaic tech. If it wasn't for the likes of Goku we wouldm't have Bebop and basically every modern anime in terms of animation.
Goku proves to be one of the best anime of a generation. It may not be Akira and suffers some of the worst voice acting, looking past its generational issues it is an essential and has a story that is worth the time with a pacing far superior to many that has come after.
Slowly making my way through spring season, this show was a surprise didn't know much but the first thing that stood out was the animation. A different take on the whole romance thing that I've seen, the two protagonists being reserved and things got cut to the chase right at the beginning, it wasn't played out how I imagined it would.
The short animated vignettes at the end of some episodes were pretty darn hilarious!
Pleasantly suprised with this one, would definitely buy when available on home video.
Violence Jack has been repeatedly suggested to me for my Anime Nasties series, so I'm likely going to have to watch it at some point, but yeah... not looking forward to it :/ Interestingly, I think the Manga UK release put the episodes in the wrong order, although I'm not sure it'd make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things.
Death Parade 6/10 - An interesting premise does not always make a good anime and this is case in point. It relies on drama and style to hide a chronic lack of any overall storyline and most of the characters have no development at all. The show itself raises many question but never really answers any of them.
The cool intro indicates your in for a fun ride but it's a case of false advertising as the show has no humour (was expecting a bit of dark humour given the subject matter) and at times is desperately dull. The dub is pretty good and it's well animated but there is absolutely no reason to watch this show again. In short it's rather overhyped.
Violence Jack has been repeatedly suggested to me for my Anime Nasties series, so I'm likely going to have to watch it at some point, but yeah... not looking forward to it :/ Interestingly, I think the Manga UK release put the episodes in the wrong order, although I'm not sure it'd make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things.
Not really. Regardless of were the Slum King episode was put in (which would still have to come after the middle episode given a reference made in the episode and a character link) it was such a shoddy mess with no development at all, that from the very opening you are left with a hanging question that is left unanswered. The other two episodes are actually watchable with the first being almost stand alone, but none are without fault. If I was to review the first two episodes I'd actually up the score to 4 or 5 out of 10, but Slum King is the Pile through the heart of the collection, hence the overall score I gave it.
It is! Wow, this is a disaster on par with Psychic School Wars. It's just... a mess.
I mean, where do I start? The bland character designs are the first thing you see; they'd be underwhelming for a kids' TV anime, but this is a theatrical production — by Production I.G no less!
Then you've got your main character, Hazuki. NEO magazine called her the most useless protagonist in anime (or words to that effect), and they're right. You could probably just about remove her from the film without affecting the actual plot. She doesn't DO anything! (Other than repeat what other characters have said, trip over and run away.)
I haven't watched any of the extras yet, but what's the idea with the media tie-in with all-girl rock group SCANDAL? I bet they weren't in the source material! (In fact, I'd be interested to know how many liberties Production I.G took with the original novel.)
Twenty minutes into the film I had that sinking feeling of "What's even happening here? Who are these kids?" You've got your supposedly emotional moments that fall flat because (just like Psychic School Wars and *gasp* some Makoto Shinkai films) they was nothing building up to those moments to actually get the viewer invested. And then add to that the lame attempts at humour that telegraph the punchline miles in advance. I think the plot tries to make itself out to be a lot more complex than it actually is, and just ends up muddying the waters to the point where you can't bloody see through them!
THEN there's the occasional bit of faulty translation that makes things confusing on top of that. ("I've helped you before, you know" rather than "You know, that girl you helped before." And [to Hazuki] "They're in here" instead of "You wait here.") And yeah, thers's also the issue with confusing Kono's gender. She's ferrered to as "he" and "him" from the start, and then we see a flashback from years earlier...
where she's wearing a skirt and being assailed by a serial attacker who only targets GIRLS.
Shame no-one could apparently be bothered to go back and correct what had already been translated by that point. They just ran with what they had.
Haven't tried the dub (what, you mean RE-watch it?!? ), but I hear that the mistake even found its way into that, with a MALE voice actor being cast in the role.
So, yeah... I seem to have spent the last few paragraphs raising my voice a lot and being incredulous. What was the question again?
Oh, yeah: I gave it 4/10 on MAL, 'cause 4/10 is what equates to BAD on their scale.
Anime, like all forms of media, is capable of making you feel a whole host of different emotions. Some will make you feel happy, upbeat slice-of-life comedies or first pumping action shows, others will make you feel sad, full of drama and tragedy, and sometimes, although rarely intentional, an anime can inspire a flurry of rage from deep within. Within my anime watching so far, I thought I had run the entire gamut of the emotional spectrum, however, upon watching the Madhouse produced My Love Story, I discovered that anime is capable of making you feel another emotion; optimism.
My Love Story, or Ore Monogatari if you prefer, is a romantic comedy centered around high school student Takeo Goda, who meets the love of his life when he saves Rinko Yamato from a molester on a train, and how their relationship comes into bloom. Now, I have a somewhat complicated opinion when it comes to romance anime, in that it isn't usually my cup of tea. I can watch one, appreciate its merit, and fully comprehend why someone would enjoy them, but I don't really like to watch them myself. As someone who's love life is totally non-existent, I can't help but feel some sort of resentment deep down towards the protagonists, often pretty boys who seem to have little issue meeting girls and establishing relationships, quite often with a handful of girls in tow. It's definitely a personal issue, and one close to my heart, but it really impacts my enjoyment of this kind of anime. This, however, is where My Love Story differs from almost every other show I've seen in that the protagonist, Takeo, is not a traditionally attractive anime character. His face isn't attractive, and he's freakishly big and tall, yet despite this, he still manages to find love in the form of Yamato. Despite his unconventional looks, Yamato thinks that Takeo is the dreamiest man alive, and loves him with all her heart. This is what I meant by this anime making me feel optimistic. I know the whole 'there's someone out there for everyone' sentiment isn't exactly original, I've had that one thrown my direction many times, but to see it actually portrayed is enough to give me some kind of hope, that maybe there's a Yamato for everyone, maybe there's a Yamato for me.
What really cements this concept is their relationship is about the purest, most perfect relationship one can hope for. There isn't much drama between them, and even when there is, it's so insignificant that they manage to get over the issue no problem, with true love shining through in the end. Some might argue that this portrayal is unrealistic, too idealised, and you'd probably be right, but I honestly don't mind. It's a change of pace from the pointless third act break ups and misunderstandings that plague most RomComs. Instead of injecting conflict into their relationship, the anime instead chooses secondary characters to explore a variety of facets of romance, and most of them don't end well. We see unrequited love, characters falling for people already in relationships, total ambivalence to the idea of love and rocky starts to relationships that eventually work out. By the by, there's actually far more heartbreak here than you'd think, where people don't end up together for a variety of reasons, but in spite of all of this, the relationship at the core, between Takeo and Yamato, shines brightly, a beacon of hope for all of these people, and for the audience, of what romance can be like when you find the one. It's truely remarkable.
I'm not sure if this will be a helpful 'review', if you can even call it that, I realise it's really quite personal, but I really just had to write down I this anime made me feel, because I've not experienced anything like this. If I've said even the smallest thing that sounds like this could be up your alley, I implore you to watch it, you will not regret it.
Okayish series, some fun characters and some pretty funny moments hampered by that one character, shody art and animation. I'd watch a S2 but wouldn't be a series I would physically buy.
Dragon Dentist
This was... just phenomenal. I'm still a bit lost for words. I think this film's a bit subjective, though: I mean, there were parts where some folk in the audience were quietly laughing out of (I'm guessing) bafflement, while I was holding back tears. There are some really brave and clever stylistic choices in the animation of some scenes, which honestly blew me away, and some parts of the story are very uncompromising. It seems to borrow certain ideas and images from Evangelion rebuild (3.33 in particular) but does sooo much more with them. And Kouichi Yamadera and Megumi Hayashibara are among the voice cast! What more could you ask for?
I feel a bit embarrassed, actually, because the original Dragon Dentist was one of the very few Animator Expo shorts I really wasn't that keen on and wondered why that one out of all of them had been chosen for expansion.
In the end, it's 10 out of 10 for me.
Fireworks
So, I went into this expecting some problems after reading this post by @qaiz. It was decent enough but by no means great. I personally didn't have any issues with the animation or voice acting, but totally agree that the intended character drama fell flat. The most memorable and impactful scene, for me, was...
the disorientating spectacle of fireworks exploding into a flat disc, accompanied by that chiming sound.
The ending was...
highly, frustratingly, vague.
I still enjoyed it overall, though, so I'd give it 7 out of 10.
Venus Wars
Now, this one was a lot of fun. Much more than just the 80s kitsch and retro kicks I was expecting, it has a lot to like. The plot is nice and pacey, the story always in perpetual motion; the characters have generally convincing depth to them, driven by plausible motives; and the art is excellent with high production values — very good quality all round, especially for its 1989 vintage. (Just don't mention the live-action scrolling backgrounds in some scenes, which got a good laugh from the crowd, or the rather dated AIDS joke, which also got a laugh. Of disbelief.)
Oh, and the explosions look great. There are lots of those.
An unexpected treat, and brilliant fun as part of an audience. As a child of the 80s, I've got to give it 8 out of 10.
Watched A Silent Voice/ The Shape of a Voice today. I did enjoy it. It's commendable to see anime take on themes of depression and disability. Ultimately though, like the other cinema released anime I've seen recently which tackle serious subjects in at least some capacity, this is a bit twee to say the least. There isn't a smidgen of nuance. Big blue Xs are literally plastered on people's faces, which is a bit of a heavy handed way to put you in a character's head, in my opinion. Also, at one major point in the film the plot lost me a bit, and I couldn't quite understand why everyone suddenly started arguing.
But then, not every film that deals with these subjects needs to be a harrowing piece of realism. I still laughed, I still cried (it's no feat to make me cry). 6 and a half/ 10
I’m currently 60% way through Sakura Quest, its a nice little anime with charming characters and a nice setting. Nothing groundbreaking but its still a good way to pass the time
I'm pretty sure it was RWBY I last seen, but I'm going for mmo junkie anyway
Plot copy pasta from Wikipedia, salt 5g:
Moriko Morioka is a 30-year-old single woman who became a NEET after quitting her corporate job. After dropping out from reality, she has taken off in search for a fulfilling life and ended up playing an MMORPG game. In the game's world, she began her new life as a handsome character named Hayashi. While starting out as a beginner, a pretty character named Lily reached out to help her. Meanwhile, in the real world, Moriko has a chance encounter with a good-looking elite company employee.
This is one of those surprises thus season that I haven't had since the earlier part of the year, and that was mostly how titan was handled, it's always a big hit when more gets adapted, but mmoj is different to what I usually look for, being that it focuses on players of a game as a romcom and slice of life.
Some of the characters are surprisingly human especially the main two moriko and yuta. Where a lot of characters often talk about things that don't concern the game moriko and yuta talk about the kind of people they meet online, and at first they don't have a clue that their on game avatars is the other person gender flipped. I don't want to talk about tropes too.much but mmoj does use them, and often likes to subvert them. Yuta isn't paying attention while he's on the phone walking down the street, moriko is around the corner rushing home, it's set up like the old late for school their eyes meet scene, except that yuta is unphased as he accidentally elbows moriko right between the eyes - damn!
Another trope mmoj uses and subverts I would have to say I'll compare it to tim Burton's corpse bride, though there are many shows and movies that treat their "other worlds" just like corpse bride does, in that, the living world literally has a lot of shades of grey. Almost everything is a shade of grey, with washed out colour and a dim atmosphere, many of the living characters are stagnant, sterile and stale
In their personalities, it is ment to disappoint and depress the viewer, as something painted by an emotionally crippled artist, but the afterlife is vivid, it's characters have more diverse personalities, a more genuine sense of humour and everything is altogether more lively and believable, the viewer and the characters new to these worlds want to continue to visit them, as, in a sense, it makes the viewer and the characters happy. mmoj does have this kind of divide, but it's real world is the believable world, and it's not an entirely depressing one like most users of the trope, the game world is a little more vivid again, but there are plenty of unreal things in it to separate it from the real world. Neither of mmoj's worlds are inherently depressing or entirely negative.
The art is pretty spot on, for anyone who watches high action shows like super you will notice that some of the art in those shows aren't consistent, the animators have to deal with putting a lot of information on screen at a lightning pace, where as shows like mmoj which are more about the relationships of its characters don't have that problem, but both worlds of mmoj still look pretty. the game world is cutsey, colourful and where you'd find most of the stock/background characters and the real world is more of the photo - realistic animation you'd see in the past few seasons, and no one really looks like a cookie cutter caricature, the only times the real world seems unrealistic is through moriko' s "manga stock" reactions that are just a joke on exaggeration.
What feels the most real in my opinion is how moriko and yuta act, but I feel moriko is more relatable these days, with adults in low wage, low motivation jobs who want to leave it all behind and engross themselves in their hobbies, and come across the awkward phenomenon of trying to make new friends and find love as an adult (Yes, I am all of the above)
A very nice breath of fresh air if your usual taste in action is getting stale 7/10
I've wanted to see this cult, nine-part anthology film for years and now, miraculously, it's become one of the only Discotek titles available to the UK on Crunchyroll. It's very consciously an arthouse production and, as you might expect, some of the shorts that make it up are more successful than others, but the amount of technical talent on display is astonishing - it's an absolute who's who of the great and the good of 1980s anime production, with everyone bringing their A-game (except for Mamoru Oshii - did someone forget to invite him or what?). The disparate parts are united only by the robotic theme and the storytelling isn't always successful, but this is effectively ninety minutes of analogue sakuga and it's worth it for that alone. As the segments go, Edo-themed knockabout TheTale of Two Robots will probably be most peoples' favourite, but the eerie, haunting Presence is the most likely to linger in the mind.
My only complaint is that CR's stream isn't the greatest quality. A BD is on the way (for next year, I think), but this version is most likely a Laserdisc rip and it does show. To over restore it would be to kill some of the film's charm, but the image is dark and grainy, even by my standards, and this is a film that deserves to be seen in the highest picture quality possible.
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