Date A Live Review

Thirty years before a strange phenomena called a "spacequake" devastated the center of Eurasia, claiming the lives of at least 150 million people. Since then, smaller spacequakes plague the world on a irregular basis. Shidō Itsuka, a seemingly ordinary high schooler comes across a mysterious girl at the ground zero of a spacequake and learns from his sister Kotori she is one of the "Spirits" who are the real cause of the spacequakes that occur when they manifest themselves in the world. He also learns that Kotori is the captain of the airship Ratatoskr and recruits him to make use of his mysterious ability to seal the Spirits' powers and stop them from being a threat to mankind. However, there is a catch: to seal a Spirit, he must make her fall in love with him.

Ah, yes. The harem anime. You'd be hard-pressed to find any genre of anime that's as painfully formulaic as the typical harem anime. Main character who's dumb as a board and has half the personality? Check. Childhood friend with hidden feelings? Check. Tsundere? Check. Typically, you can bet on these aspects being in most(every) harem anime. That brings us to Date A Live.

In its defense, Date A Live does try to do something different with its material. Whenever Itsuka goes on a date, the crew of the Ratatoskr are on standby to give him pointers based on the dialogue options you would find in a typical dating sim. It can be really amusing considering the crew aren't the type you'd want to take dating tips from (One of them has been through 5 separate marriages.). Aside from that, there's not much variety to be found here. They go on dates, fall in love with him, then become members of his harem who are prone to jealousy and respond to any and every misunderstanding with intense violence.

What's worse about this series is that there could potentially have been something good here. The origin of the spacequakes and the nature of the spirits themselves could have made for some pretty decent material. The intrigue is set aside for more WACKY DATING HIJINKS!

Verdict: PASS

Nothing about this show makes it anything more than a waste of time. Its harem has been done numerous times before and has been done better. Skip it.

Freezing Anime Review

Set in a slightly futuristic world where Earth has been invaded and is at war with aliens from another dimension called the Nova, the story follows the adventures of a Japanese boy named Kazuya Aoi who enrolls for training at a special school for genetically modified girls called Pandoras who battle the aliens, and their male partners, called Limiters, who use a special power called "freezing" to limit their opponent's mobility. The protagonist makes the acquaintance of an unusual older girl named Bridgette L. Satellizer who appears to be the most powerful Pandora in her class, but has not yet chosen a male partner to be her Limiter, and in spite of the warnings of all his friends, he decides to be her Limiter. - Anime News Network

I'm actually pretty familiar with the Freezing story. I read the manga and liked it. Having the women out in the field conducting combat while the men were relegated to a supporting role was in interesting bit of gender role reversal. So I was genuinely pretty interested when I heard that there was going to be an anime of it. Then I saw the first trailer and that excitement went from a deafening roar into more of a low rumble.


The main characters are Sattelizer L Bridgette and Kazuya Aoi. Stella (nickname) is a powerful fighter reacts violently when touched. She was branded the "untouchable queen" after she nearly beat a prospective limiter to death. Kazuya Aoi is a shy and passive boy and the younger brother of  a famous Pandora.

The series generally revolves around internal conflicts between Pandora than the fight against the Nova. The anime generally sticks fairly close to the source material. Of course, there are some new things added and a few things removed or tweaked, but nothing that would cripple the series to someone unfamiliar with the source material.

Two words. Fan Service. You see, in the manga, the fights were visceral and intense. These are girls who fight using super-strength, speed, and reflexes coupled with weapons. So of course, when these abilities clashed, someone gets hurt. Faces get punched, limbs get severed, bones get broken. When the Pandora got cut, they got cut.

In the anime, the visceral intensity is gone. Instead of grievous bodily harm, the fights result in a lot of torn clothing and a couple of superficial scratches. For example, there is a particular fight on a roof top early in the series. In the manga, after being smacked around and humiliated, Stella goes into a rage and stabs her opponent right through the chest, almost killing her. In the anime, she just gets up and walks away. It's this diluting of the source material that kind of killed it for me.

Verdict:  Maybe

For someone who's unfamiliar with the source material and just wants to see cute anime broads rip each other's clothes off, this is right up your alley. There's a decent story that newcomers may end up liking, but anyone who's more familiar with the source material should stay away.

No time for anime

Seems like such a crime,

However it is true. Recently i have had 0-no time for anime watching. I've caught a couple eps of Mirai Nikki, rewatched Kaze no Stigma. but not really take a deep long look at the current anime season....

I just wanted to let you know I am not dead. Just busy <3

The Birds and the Bees - Sekirei review

It's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you... without a dope beat to step to.

Minato Sahashi is extremely intelligent, yet due to his inability to cope under pressure has failed the college entrance exam twice. As a result he has been branded an idiot and loser by many. One day after talking to his yet again disappointed mother he comes into contact with a girl named Musubi who was under attack. The girl runs but takes him with her and soon finds that Minato, while unknown to him, is an Ashikabi, one of the mysterious set of masters that have the genetic trait that can become partners with some of the 108 cute girls, buxom women, and bishōnen called "Sekirei". The reason for the partnership allows the Sekirei to use all their power to win in the competition held by the mysterious MBI corporation. - MyAnimeList

Okay, yeah, it's been some time. How have you been? I hope the five of you who read these are doing okay.

There are some things that anime tends to do that really bug me. Incidentally, this series does most of those things. So I'll be using Sekirei as my target for some very heavy nitpicking.

The first thing that Anime tends to do is to make the male lead a total pussy pansy with no social skills and a really crappy life. In this series, the male lead, Sahashi Minato is one such instance. He's stupid, weak, wishy-washy and and otherwise lacks testicular fortitude (read "has no balls"). He failed to get into university a couple of times and goes back for more. In this series, apparently being a total loser makes you a prime target for droves of super-powered babes. Did I mention he lacks balls? Any REAL man would have taken full advantage of the naive young Musubi getting naked in front of them and boned her silly played lots of... uh, Uno with her.

Looks to me like the artists pulled a draw two.

The second thing series in the Harem category tend to do is boob humor. Don't get me wrong, here. I have no aversion to bouncing breasts. it's just that the old "whoops I fell and landed face first into your G-cups" joke gets kinda old when you use it four times an episode. Random boobs aren't necessarily a good punch line. I guess they have to give some folks something to beat off to use their shake-weights for.

Series like this love to put their men in sexually awkward situations. There are lots of times when our hero is sitting in the bath trying to relax and one of his concubines comes in and says "can i wash your back?" We all know how these situations end. The male lead never turns to her and says "no, but you can wash the front. ;)" or something like that. They always puss out and panic.

  I'm no Chris Brown... but I'd hit that.

For all the things this series does wrong, it does a few things right. The relationship between Minato, Musubi, Tsukuimi, and everyone else is amusing and surprisingly genuine. The fights are nice to watch. Partly because the powers are interesting and partly because every punch results in exploding tops and perky nips. Not that I'm a pervert or anything (I am). The story works out well enough. The characters can be entertaining at times.  The MBI president is usually good for some laughs and has proven himself to be a total ass hat.

Verdict: Yes.

Sekirei's not for everyone. But if you can stand the cheese and boobs, there's actually a bit to be liked here.

Update and Hanasaku Iroha Reveiw

Hey everyone! First off I want to apologize for not posting as much recently. Life has gotten busy with the start of school but expect a post from me about every week or so (provided I have enough time to actually write it) BUT THAT IS MY GOAL!

Now onto the good stuff. WARNING SPOILERS BELOW

Hanasaku Iroha Cast (Females)

Hanasaku Iroha was shown to me by a good friend of mine who noted I was unhappy and needed something to cheer me up. He had tried showing me Madoka but after one of my fave characters died I decided I didn't like that show and it made me feel sadder. So noting this he said Let's watch Hanasaku Iroha and soon I became obsessed.

Let me get this straight at first I didn't like it. It had what I considered a sad first episode. I mean dude... Ohana's mom is like see ya btw go to here with the mother who disowned me and have fun. When she goes her optimism is flattened by people who dislike her for her carelessness and optimism where she budges into people's business. Also her grandmother forces her to work for her keep. In the next episode there are some questionable moments.

The character growth over this series is really something else. Ohana is a relatable character and the supporting cast are well developed. You really start to care for them as time goes on. And that is saying something, even if there is some "fanservice" I found that it didn't bother me. Overall it was a slice-of-life anime I was enjoying.

The music is pretty good I like the 2nd Opening the best Omokage Warp, it is one of those songs that makes you think of the anime and the times and memories associated with it. As for the animation it isnt that bad. It is very well done, being clear and cleanly depicted.

The last episode of this anime will be up this Sunday and I really look forward to it. I hope they will have another season, but even if they don't I am sure I will be happy.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Hm... this one's going to be a bit of a challenge.

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!

Shirou Emiya lost his parents in a fire when he was young and was later adopted by a sorcerer by the name of Kiritsugu Emiya. Although he was full of admiration for his adopted father and yearns to become an ally of justice, Shirou has limited powers and was unable to become a strong sorcerer like his father. That is until one fateful day, he was drawn into the Holy Grail War and had to summon a female "Servant" known as Saber in order to protect himself. It turns out that the Holy Grail War involves a series of battles among powerful sorcerers to fight for the possession of a relic that will grant one's wishes, the Holy Grail. There are altogether seven "Masters" who can summon their respective "Servants" from different classes known as Saber, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Lancer, Caster and Assassin. These "Servants" have to hide their names in order not to reveal their weaknesses to the enemies. The story revolves around Shirou and his entanglement in the Holy Grail War.

Unlimited blade works is essentially an alternate timeline to the Fate/Stay Night anime series from a while back. While I liked the original series, I didn't like the ending. I thought it was some old bullshita shame that Saber ended up dying in some war somewhere in the past. Those gripes are for another rant, though.

Well there's a familiar face.

Let me get this out of the way immediately. This movie is retardedly well animated. I mean seriously. This movie is damn sexy. They must have had a monster budget for this and they sure as hell put it to good use. The lines are sharp, the movement is ungodly smooth, and the fight scenes... oh, the gorgeous, mouth watering fight scenes. I would be hard pressed to come up with an analogy that would over state just how freaking beautiful the art is in this movie. The only way it could possibly be any prettier is if Shakira showed up and started pole dancing in high definition. Don't get your hopes up. That doesn't happen.

Poetry in motion.

The story was... well, it was Fate/Stay Night. If you seen the original anime, you know what to expect, because it feels pretty much the same. The main issue I saw, however, was that the movie retold the story of the anime, with a different ending. Though I really do wish they had kept the Rin-Saber pseudo-yurifan service scene, it worked out admirably. It seemed to me, though, that the writers worked under the assumption that you had already seen the anime, and as a result, they skipped a LOT of plot. The beginning scene jumps from Shirou being stabbed and revived, directly to Saber's summoning, then to the first time Shirou goes to the shrine, then into the arc involving the barrier at school. This movie wastes no time tearing through plot points with little exposition in between. It worked out for me cause I could fill in the blanks from memory, but anyone who isn't familiar with the source material will probably feel about lost as an Amish man on the internet.

VERDICT: Why the hell not?

I enjoyed it. A lot. I recommend it for anyone who has seen and enjoyed the anime series. Even if you haven't seen it, the animation quality alone is worth a watch.

Paprika Review

So I decided to take a break from the normal 2011 Summer Anime Reviews, today I will be looking at the 2006 animated movie Paprika. It really all started when a friend of mine on Voice Hollywood was talking to me about music and linked me to the Parade Song  from Paprika. It was weird and fanciful and strange, but lovely at the same time. After a bit I got into looking at some of the other songs and I was very happy with them. One of which I recgonized and I realized a friend had shown me the opening before but I didn't watch the movie as a result. Well now was my chance right? Well here is my reveiw on the movie - SOME SPOILERS BELOW !!

Paprika Movie Cover

Paprika

So let's get this show on the road! Paprika begins out interestingly enough, with a circus a strange chase scene leading to a guy awakening. We find that he is using the services of a woman named Paprika to help him understand his dreams and find psychological roots to them and diagnose a mental problem he might be having. He seems to be really into her and we soon cut to the opening credits which has a super catchy song!!!!! We see Paprika go through all sorts of things really hinting that this is not something reality based. In the end she returns back to her normal self Dr. Atsuko Chiba

Seriously this is interesting stuff

Paprika seems to be a livelier and more carefree person while Chiba seems to be more serious pairing the characters as foils and yet one in the same. We meet a whole cast of characters and plunge straight into the plot of the story where someone has stolen the DC Mini the device that allows the viewing of dreams and what Chiba was using with Paprika. it is up to Paprika, the Detective, Chiba and the others to get to the bottom of the mystery. The story then develops, blooms, and becomes an awesome not usual anime type of movie. This is a movie that holds ground with Princess Mononoke, and other Studio Ghibli films and more.

I really don't want to give away parts of the story and even if I did then I wouldn't be able to explain it properly. This movie is a giant ball of so many things that it can be hard to pinpoint it to one thing. And also it is one of those things that really shouldn't be spoiled.

VERDICT: OMG YESSSSS! 

This movie is a great one, it displays great animation with a integration between 3-D computer graphics and the 2-D animation style creating a world of it's own which even without the animation it would be able to deal. This futuristic world is well though-out and planned making references to dozens of things but still holding itself together. It has various subplots and some you don't even realize till the ending. This is a movie that I watched two times in the same night and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time.

The music is also wonderfully done bringing a futuristic twang, but keeping it fanticful and spritely or strange and alien when it calls for it. Susumu Hirasawa did a fantastic job with the music and I plan on buying the OST as soon as I can.

As for the storytelling, while odd at some places, the story did a great job telling itself and making you believe in it. It is no wonder how this movie help with the inspiration of Inception. It is wonderfully done and a movie that I feel mature audiences will enjoy. It is colorful and imaginative and no wonder that there is some talk of a new live action adaptation. However for me I think I will enjoy the original animated one for now.