Review: Tokyo Ghoul √A – Ep. 1-4
I’ll be the first to say that I don’t really know what the hell is going on with this season of Tokyo Ghoul. I love the first season even though it ended really awkwardly. When I heard they followed the new trend of renaming the second season, I was just happy that there would be a second season.
I’ll be the first to say that I don’t really know what the hell is going on with this season of Tokyo Ghoul. I love the first season even though it ended really awkwardly. When I heard they followed the new trend of renaming the second season, I was just happy that there would be a second season. In the first episode the show picks up right where the first season left off which was great. We see a transformed and completely badass Kaneki rocking permanent white hair and in control of his power. However he doesn’t do much other than save what members of Anteiku he can find. Meanwhile the humans from the CCG unveil a new device which is basically a living armor made from a Ghoul. It sucks the blood of the user and gives the wearer enhanced abilities and strength. Eventually everyone clears out of the building their in. The CCG takes a massive blow, the members of Anteiku make it out and for some reason Kaneki goes with Aogiri Tree.
The next few episode just shows him tearing ass with them and rocking a weird one piece leather suit that stops at the knees like leather overall shorts. We meet new CCG members including the daughter of Kureo Mado. There’s also a mess of Ghouls introduced and not all of them are a part of Aogiri Tree.
The real confusion for me comes from the fact that no one is really in charge or at least they’re not showing them. We’re to believe that the Owl is in charge, but I suspect that the Owl is actually a member of Anteiku if you catch my drift. Yet Kaneki continues to go on missions with Toka’s brother… yeah like seriously he’s working with the guy that is partially responsible for his transformation.
Overall the art and art direction remains amazing. They’ve worked around the blood this season toning it down so that they don’t have to resort to a negative image, but at the same time… I kind of miss that. The action is much better and has a nice flow to it. Not that last season was choppy, but particularly the fourth episode had a better overall movement and execution than the first episode of the season. That and the costume designs remain awesome. Other than the leather short overalls.
My one gripe with the Ghouls are the lack of diversity in their powers or their “Kagune.” A lot of the grunt Aogiri Tree members all have the same basic shit and no it doesn’t really matter because they die often and easily, but its visually boring to see so many of them and have them not be threatening and worse be generic.
This season is off to a good start, but it’s definitely not as strong as the last season. With the fourth episode we finally get some of Kaneki’s motivation behind joining Aogiri Tree even if it’s through awkward exposition, but we really need the other shoe to drop if it’s going to have any value to the story. For now though I’ll keep watching even if I hate the four minutes of pointless music that each episode contains.
Score: 4/5
Studio: Pierrot Distributor: Funimation
Review: Assassination Classroom – Ep. 1-3
Having never read the manga version of Assassination Classroom, I found this selection to be the most curious. I refrained from reading the manga (mostly because I knew I’d never have the time) and waited for the anime.
Having never read the manga version of Assassination Classroom, I found this selection to be the most curious. I refrained from reading the manga (mostly because I knew I’d never have the time) and waited for the anime. I was instantly disappointed.
I know that’s a strong statement to lead with, but I was and I don’t want to sugar coat it. The problem I have with Assassination Classroom is that its concept is cooler than its execution.
I love the idea of a classroom of assassins that can’t tell about their mission and their mission is to kill their teacher. Why? Because he’s a weird octopus (not an alien, but totally looks like one) that destroyed the moon and has promised to destroy earth if his students are unable to kill him within a year. Meanwhile he wants to teach them…
Crazy right?
I mean I’m onboard with this. I think it would be better if it was students from all over the world and they had some training, but hey the bottom of the barrel at a super school that downgrades your classroom based on performance will just have to do.
Here’s where it loses me… they already have the means to kill the teacher. They have plastic knives that can harm him, but not people. They have BB pellets that harm him, but not people. They have the means, but they can’t use them because he can move at Mach 20.
So how the fuck did they develop the means to kill him?
I’ve mostly just accepted this because thinking about it too much would force me to turn it off. Its fantasy and I accept that, but I hate that they try to bring up the science of him moving at Mach 20 with no residual side effects of this. It’s just a weird thing to point out when you’re going to ignore everything else like say what happens when you move at Mach 20 and say the air space around you when you do. But its fantasy so I really, really try not to think about it.
So you’d think this would be a show in which each week the kids think of new and evil ways to kill their teacher (oh and get rich because they get paid if they succeed) which it kind of is. But then the teacher has this incredible amount of heart and he actually cares about the students. Each episode so far has focused on one student and the teacher and the student go blows until ultimately the teacher wins and the student learns a lesson and starts thinking of a new way to kill the teacher.
It’s sadly the same each episode and I began to wonder why?
We see in a flashback that the teacher (I really don’t feel like typing his name, it just means unkillable teacher) had some sort of connection with a human teacher that died and basically he promised to teach students… so why the fuck is he going to destroy the planet? What good does destroying the planet do? I’m sure his reasoning involves the nature in which the teacher died, but I’m really not that curious any more.
Because here’s the catch, he says he doesn’t lie to them so if they don’t kill him then he will do it. This instantly removes the possibility of him tricking the government into letting him teach a class that he would otherwise never be allowed to do… and yet that’s what it comes off as. He’s really focused on teaching the students and it almost seems pointless to add in the killing part. That’s where the concept comes in. It’s as if the thought was, “how do I make an alien teacher with super speed interesting? Oh I know the kids are trying to kill him!”
With that I have to point out that I haven’t liked any of the characters other than the newest member of the class that was introduced in the third episode. I won’t say anymore in case you haven’t watched it, but the problem is that they neutered his character by the end of the episode. Which seems to be the norm. Introduce an interesting aspect of a character and then have the teacher fix it by the end of the episode thus changing them and making them no longer interesting. It’s a shame because I saw the new character’s presence fixing a lot of the problems the first two episodes had.
Quickly I’ll say that I get that this is supposed to be a dark comedy. It fails at that too and I have a hard time even calling it that. The comedy is just comedy and only occasionally comes across as dark. Painting someone’s nails is just comedy and the show is mostly like that with the exception of dark moments. They don’t overlap enough making it feel like two shows in it’s tone.
The animation is good, not great, but good and really do you expect it not to be? No.
I’m not really sold on this show. Its concept is great, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. I might give it a few more episodes, but I already know there’s something up with the headmaster and I really just don’t care about an evil headmaster playing some role in this entire story. Overall it’s a lot of hype and could have been a lot better.
Score: 2/5
Studio: Lerche Distributor: Funimation
Review: World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman – Ep. 1
Sometimes I wonder if I’m better off titling these reviews by their Japanese names. It could be my old school nature to call animes by their English titles because that’s what I’m accustomed to having been one of the many that can remember anime on VHS and swapping tapes.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m better off titling these reviews by their Japanese names. It could be my old school nature to call animes by their English titles because that’s what I’m accustomed to having been one of the many that can remember anime on VHS and swapping tapes. Frankly World Break is easier for me to remember than Seiken Tsukai no Wārudo Bureiku, but with the golden age of the internet I don’t really know how other anime fans refer to it. I know this really has nothing to do with the show, but it is a thought that weighs heavily on me as I sat down to discuss World Breaker because I had an overwhelming need to discuss it with other viewers. Two episodes of the show have actually aired (depending on when you read this), but I’m just going to talk about the first. Which is rare. Usually I want to just pull the trigger and watch and talk about as many episodes as possible for a review, but this show really resonated with me.
It could be the fact that World Break (yeah that’s what I’m going with) touched on so many genres and reoccurring themes in anime and storytelling in general that it was easy to be swept up by it, because it did them all well.
The premise is that certain people are able to remember their past lives. Not everything, but enough here and there. Because of this they’re brought to a special school to train and learn about the powers that reside inside of them because of this. Step one is a protective set of clothing called a Plana and step two is ripping your dog tags off in a cool manner and pulling a weapon from your past out of thin air. They do this to protect against giant monsters called metaphysicals.
The first episode actually begins in the future with our main character Moroha Haimura and his classmates fighting an epic battle against a dragon. Out of context this scene was honestly confusing, but I liked what I was seeing and the variety of characters. That and Moroha floats in the air writing a spell for like five minutes before attaching it to his sword and slashing it at the dragon… kind of fucking cool if you ask me. And yes it is a bit ridiculous, but I like a world that does this type of action and magic and doesn’t make a joke about it.
The episode then goes into explaining the world and introducing Moroha at the opening ceremony (I swear I’ve seen enough of these in animes to last a life time). Moroha falls asleep and a girl with pink hair kicks him to wake him up. The result is a great animated sequence of folding chairs flying and being pushed back. I know this is stupid, but they actually moved and looked like cheap plastic folding chairs and so yes I did find that impressive.
It’s here that we meet two woman from Moroha’s past life and where it also gets interesting because they remember the past life in which their relationships were different. In this instance our pink haired, one pig-tail girl is named Satsuki Ranjo and she recognizes Moroha as Flaga her one time brother… who she had mad romantic feelings for. Moroha doesn’t really remember her though. It’s this delicate balance of “are you the person I know you to be or someone different now?” that is truly interesting. Especially considering they’re other women from Moroha’s past.
Sure that’s harem through and through, but I liked how he handled it as a character. Of course he was shy when confronted by romantic feeling instantly, but by the end of the episode he showed that he was a bit different from other romantic leads. For the first time in a situation like this I found myself interested more in the male lead than the women he was surrounded by.
I don’t know how different World Break will be in the end. The second female character Shizuno Urushibara that’s introduced seems like a throwaway character trying to appease the genre, but she could end up being a worthwhile secondary love interest. Or it could all go the way of Absolute Duo and become painfully average… but something tells me that’s not going to happen here.
Score: 4/5
Studio: Diomedea Distributor: Funimation
Review: Absolute Duo Ep. 1-4
New anime season is in full effect, but whereas the fall season offered a lot of new shows that I was dying to check out, the winter season has been a collection of shows that are really average or a shining star. Unfortunately Absolute Duo is very average.
New anime season is in full effect, but whereas the fall season offered a lot of new shows that I was dying to check out, the winter season has been a collection of shows that are really average or a shining star. Unfortunately Absolute Duo is very average. The premise is actually the most interesting part, but only because a lot of it has been left a mystery. Since this is my only exposure to the title and have no plans on reading the manga or light novels and will not be reading a wiki to understand the story better. Let the show tell me what I need to know.
The show as I understand it is about special students that are able to pull out a “Blaze” after being given an injection. They’re attending a special school for training and education for a battle we know nothing about yet. We’re just told over and over that there will be death around every corner someday soon and try to achieve absolute duo.
This is basically only touched upon during the first episode which in typical first day of school fashion begins with two students (a male and a female) meeting and sitting together. The school principal introduces most of what I did in the previous paragraph and then informs them that they’ll have their first battle right now… against the person they’re sitting next to.
Hell of a swerve let me tell you.
The battles that are shown are pretty fast and not very interesting. Our main character Tooru Kokonoe refuses to pull forth his Blaze at first until his new friend and some extra danger, force him to. The Blaze is a weapon that represents one’s soul, but low and behold Tooru’s is a shield. This make him an irregular and of course more special than everyone else. The scene and episode closes with Tooru winning and his new friend being forced to leave the school. Though we know that they spent way too much time introducing this character so I’m sure she’ll find a way back into the story somehow… oh wait… there she is on the promo art.
After this the students learn about “Duos” which is partnerships that are for life with another student. I’m sure there will be more to the Duos, but for now it’s a life partner for battles. Tooru ends up with a white haired German student that of course speaks Japanese (because her mother was a translator) named Julie. This is unusual because Duos have to live with each other and everyone else is paired off with the same sex. Yet our adorable teacher dressed like a Playboy bunny has forced them to duo.
This introduces us to the harem comedy aspect of the show because of course Julie is foreign and says things out of context that sound dirty and of course the other girls and class want to make sure they’re not getting busy in their dorm. But who cares right? In fact everyone and their mother could have broken this up and worked it out, but really the only other solution would be for two students to be solo or god forbid the guy who doesn’t talk ends up with her.
Eventually the arrival of our next suitor for our irregular Tooru arrives in the form of Lilith Bristol who is an exception. This means her blaze is a gun apparently and she’s really fucking rich or something because she has a butler that is a girl about the same age as her. This is also when it started to feel a bit like several other animes because her character is from England and is rich and spoiled. Not sure why every character from England is viewed as being mega rich, but I guess you’d have to be rich to know fluent Japanese, have a butler the same age as you and move across the world to go to school for a boy you don’t know.
Really the good part of the story comes from Tooru and Juile’s motivations for being at the school. Tooru grew up in an orphanage and there’s a flashback of a person killing all the students at his dojo. One girl sacrifices herself in order to save him and that’s about all we know. Julie on the other hand reveals that she’s an “avenger” as well and shows Tooru her scar… and naked body. It’s also pretty clear that she too is without her parents.
This show is pretty average. It reminds me of a half dozen shows I’ve watched in the last two years. The characters are to archetype. The art is pretty. The future is bleak. The school pays for everything and there’s plenty of misunderstandings between Tooru and the opposite sex. I mean it’s pretty telling when the promo images don’t even have the main character in them…
But I can’t get over the opening and the fact that we don’t know what danger is coming. Now that could mean that we should expect that to play out pretty typically as well or it could be what makes this show stand out from the typical future school, special powers, my parents are dead and I’m special… harem-esc comedy. Could being the key word there.
Hopefully it reveals more of the threat soon because otherwise I don’t see myself bothering to finish the season, especially when World Break is doing nearly the exact same thing, but making it far more interesting.
Score: 3/5 (Just barely, thank the 1st episode)
Studio: 8-Bit Distributor: Funimation
Review: Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! – Ep. 1
If you are an anime fan you have likely watched Sailor Moon or some other magic girl show. If you have ever enjoyed one, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! If you thought magic girl shows were silly and needed to be mocked, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! If you just need a fun show, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!
If you are an anime fan you have likely watched Sailor Moon or some other magic girl show. If you have ever enjoyed one, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! If you thought magic girl shows were silly and needed to be mocked, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!
If you just need a fun show, watch Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!
Can you notice a theme here?
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is a new magic girl show. With the only catch being that the characters are boys, not girls. Every other rule applies. Weird animal that can talk and knows what is going on appears, this time being a pink wombat. Wonderfully elaborate transformation scenes for each character happen right as the fight is about to begin. And the power of LOVE wins the day. It is everything you would expect in a magic girl show. This makes it marvelous.
So we have five boys who fit a random generality. One loves animals, one is a giant flirt, one is great with money, etc. These boys are in a school club that is built around avoiding being in a school club. They are all generally lazy when it comes to this part of their lives, even though all of them spend a lot of time with their general pursuit. These boys meet a talking pink wombat, who generally harasses them until the monster of the week shows up. The wombat then grants each boy magic powers and the show is off and running.
And that is the episode. Introduce characters. Pink wombat arrives. Monster arrives, powers are granted, and then fights. By the time each boy says their Princely LOVE name and transforms, you will be completely sold on this show. If you are not, please seek immediate medical help. There is something severely wrong with you.
I really don’t want to spoil much here, but seeing the characters reactions to every magical aspect of the show made for so many laugh out loud moments. We always see the protagonists freak out a little when meeting the magic, but this felt like a “realistic” response to it all. Not that the show didn’t move past just parody. There are some good character moments outside of the cliché magic girl plot points. The monster was very well done, and tied into the random conversation the show started off with.
I love this show already and have only seen the first episode. If you need a good laugh, watch it now.
Score: 5/5
Studio: Diomedéa Publisher: FUNimation
Review: Death Parade: Episode 1 – Death: Seven Darts
Madhouse animations tend to be 50/50 with me. Never the actual animation, but the stories themselves. From the get go I didn’t know what to expect from Death Parade. The visuals instantly lead you to think it’s a serious and darker story in tone which is accurate.
Madhouse animations tend to be 50/50 with me. Never the actual animation, but the stories themselves. From the get go I didn’t know what to expect from Death Parade. The visuals instantly lead you to think it’s a serious and darker story in tone which is accurate. The confusing part is the opening song which paints a different picture. Now usually I don’t watch the openings of animes because they are always misleading, but I happened to catch this one and I wish I hadn’t since it gave a far goofier feel to the show and I spent the entire episode waiting for the other shoe to drop. The episode itself starts off with a couple exiting separate elevators and finding each other. They don’t remember how they got there and they don’t know where “there” is. After a long-winded opening it’s revealed that they must play a game with their lives as the stakes. Reluctantly they push a button to decide their game and Darts comes up. They’re then each given seven darts, but just as they think it’s a simple game of darts the twist of the different areas being connected to their bodies comes in to play. For instance the bullseye is the heart and the pain is amplified by the amount of points. The other twist is quickly revealed when the husband throws his first dart and it injures his wife.
Eventually human nature kicks in and this seemingly perfect couple reveals their true nature and a bunch of emotional baggage is dragged out.
Spoilers ahead
The episode had potential, but when the couple began yelling at each other the emotional weight wasn’t there. More than likely that’s due to the fact that we really don’t know these characters and we’re instantly seeing them at their worse. After the wife wins the game (which is still a loss for her) she tells the husband the “truth” that she was using him for his money and that their unborn kid isn’t his. It came off hollow and more like the words of someone hurt just trying to lash out at the person that hurt her. Instead it was meant to be the truth… yeah didn’t really ring true to me given her delivery and the fact that she was fighting back tears the entire time.
After the events conclude they’re put back on to their separate elevators and one is sent to reincarnation stew, while the other is sent to the void. Let me just tell you I didn’t really get the reasoning behind it and probably would have sent both to the void. In all honestly it was a bit sexist in the choice with the logic being that the husband wouldn’t have done what he did if the wife hadn’t done what she did. Which is the dumbest logic ever, but that’s what the show goes for.
The animation is great for what it is. Nothing really happens in the episode other than flashbacks for the characters and darts hitting a board. Overall it was very clean and character designs while still Madhouse influenced weren’t what I’d call their usual designs. They were more reserved and realistic looking if that makes any sense at all.
Overall the episode explains half of the world we’re dealing with, but it wasn’t very interesting nor was it that well executed. It wasn’t the worst anime I’ve seen, but I don’t think I’ll be back for the second episode even if it looks to expand on this world of limbo.
Score: 2/5
Review: Cross Ange - Episode 1
This show somehow ruined the high concept mechs fighting dragons. Yes, that's right, there is a way to ruin giant robots fighting large dragons.
This show somehow ruined the high concept mechs fighting dragons. Yes, that's right, there is a way to ruin giant robots fighting large dragons. It all starts with mecha fighting dragons. Sadly the fight is a bit over done in 3D animation that would have been amazing to look at a decade plus ago but is really just out of place with the rest of the animation. For good measure we get a few random ass shots of the main character while she fights the dragons, to illustrate her strength and poise under pressure. The dragons are defeated and the day is saved.
Flash back to a few months ago, Angelize (or Ange, aka our main character) is playing lacrosse and is bad ass at it. She is so great that not only is her team cheering her on, but her opponents are saying how amazing and spectacular she is. With both sides right behind her, she wins the game and the peasants rejoice.
Besides most excellent lacrosse skills, Ange is also a princess. Tomorrow is the day she will be crowned Princess Awesome Pants and be given a real voice in the politics of her society. On her way back home she runs across a crowd that are in panic. Since they must not have seen her impressive lacrosse game she goes to investigate.
A small child is being imprisoned by a squad of police/military goons while holding back a crying and frantic mother. Ange, being the voice of the people and rationality, explains to her handmaiden (and the audience) the toddler is a norma, an inhuman beast who can't use magic thus meaning they need to be shunted away from awesomeville. Now, Ange is a compassionate woman. So she goes up to the grieving mother and tells her that maybe she can have another child and get it right this time.
I must stop the plot summary and mention this important fact. All normas are female. Probably because men can't wear the thongs and ass-less pants required to fight dragons. Now back to this thing we call plot, already in progress.
That night Ange is narrating why all the normas should be just killed outright instead of the humane treatment they get now, being taken from their homes forever. Just as she is about to go full Hitler, her mother shows up, half naked in white. The two have a bonding moment, and besides the outfit choice, is probably the most humane any character comes off in this episode. We get to the big day finally and Ange's brother pops up, reveals that Ange is a norma and his despicable parents (the king and queen) have been hiding it. Ange escapes thanks to mom, mom is killed, and Ange is sent off to loserville. The brother takes time to give an evil villain speech about repopulating the royal blood line with her. It is super super creepy and beyond creepiness adds nothing to the plot.
Ange continues to bitch and moan about being royalty even though she is a prisoner. She is bound and verbally assaulted. Then some other random woman shows up, smacks her around, strips her, and shoves some kind of tube up her ass. According to Wikipedia, it is done to implant her with devices and such she will need to work mechs and fight dragons. Why we needed to see her get stripped and implanted is beyond me. And why the camera had to be angled in the same fashion it would for a porno, taking time to linger on her exposed curves further escapes me. We end with Ange on the floor naked covered in bruises and cuts crying. The montage of other women is shown, most of them are half or completely naked and none of them seem to be happy about it. Finally the credits roll.
So in summary, the main character is perfect in every way, but also annoying, bratty, and genocidal. The animation is okay at best. The plot is nearly random in its delivery, yet still allows for a few gratuitous shots. The villain is skeevy, plotting an incestuous affair at best and rape at worst. And it ends with the main character we have absolutely no reason to sympathize with being humiliated and objectified in as sexy of a manner as possible.
Just avoid this show. It is trash. There are better shows with mechs. There are better shows with dragons. There are better shows with ass less pants. Have some respect for yourself and go watch any of those instead.
Score: 1/5
Studio: Sunrise
Review: When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace #1-3
When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace. Let that title sink in. It sets a lot of expectations, you expect super powers, you expect fights, and just from how it is phrased, it probably won't all be super serious. This anime delivers on all fronts, and then ramps it up another notch.
When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace. Let that title sink in. It sets a lot of expectations, you expect super powers, you expect fights, and just from how it is phrased, it probably won't all be super serious. This anime delivers on all fronts, and then ramps it up another notch. We start with a normal day for the literature club. Andou, the lone male of the group, acts out a “training exercise” as each other club member shows up. How would they react if his arm is suddenly imbued with magical fire? This short segment teases each character's personality and how they interact with Andou and each other. After everyone is collected, Andou starts to explain how maybe he will have super powers, maybe they all will. Then a huge white light appears and consumes them all.
Six months later, they all have powers, and are completely well-balanced. They are still the same characters as before, they just have powers. Thankfully this is the monthly power check time, so we get a peak at what each character's power set is, and Andou is kind enough to narrate it all to explain the depth of the abilities.
After the danger room scenario is through, the class president arrives and the first supernatural battle is set to begin. What follows is one of the most inventive and logical fight scene I have seen in a long time. Expectations are met and also toyed with, and I can't even remotely do the sequence justice without spoiling it all. Needless to say, it is wonderfully done and is character driven, masterfully animated, and also hilarious. Which really explains the series thus far. The story seems to know what the audience is expecting from the series, and gives you what you are expecting but also tosses curve balls at you.
These curves are subtle spins to the left when it was expected it would spin right instead. The mysterious figure isn't tied to the secret origins of the group, but instead to one individual and understands Andou more than anyone else. Jokes are made at the expense of what one would expect from an anime with super powered high schoolers, yet also some of the tropes are touched upon.
While the cast is one male lead, and four females, it isn't a harem show. And while Andou has been the focus thus far, it is because he fully believed in super powers before they ever occurred, and thus far is the main character. Each other character has a unique personality and set of traits. While they start off as the possible love interest, the naïve one, the stoic but young child, and the tough guy, they are so much more. Tomoyo Kanzaki is also a bit of a chunibyo, but nowhere near as much as Andou. She plays along sometimes, but also takes care of the group frequently. Sayumi Takanashi has two black belts, but also loves reading and there are hints she is a fan of romances. Chifuyu Himeki is the stoic child, who also uses her stuffed animal to talk to Andou when she is upset with him, whining and crying like the child she is if the stuffed animal is taken away. Hatoko Kushikawa thus far has the least growth, but it is only three episodes, she did tell a wonderful tale of her past though which does show there is more than just a polite naivete.
In three episodes the characters have been introduced, a love story has blossomed and ended, and a mysterious stranger with clues to a dark past have appeared. Yet also there has been creative uses of supernatural powers, character based comedy, and just a well written anime. If you are wanting a light-hearted story that is smart and funny, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace is the show for you.
Score: 5/5
Director: Masanori Takahashi Studio: Trigger
Review: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal – Episode 1
The long await reboot for Sailor Moon is here and it’s good. All is well in the world. Be it that I haven’t watched the original episodes in years and they’ve been painstakingly difficult to obtain here in the States (that changes this year though!) I went in pretty fresh on this series. It is a true reboot though meaning you’re basically watching it all over again from the beginning, but the nuances and style is different. The animation is far cleaner and there is just something about seeing it modernized and styled differently that really works in its favor. Usagi which is still a little strange for me to call her having grown up on the dubbed version is the same as she ever was. Actually that’s not true. I don’t think she’s been crybaby Sailor Moon nearly as much as in the original which is a good thing.
The episode follows Usagi as she encounters Luna and unlocks her destiny while saving her friend Naru from a monster that has replaced her mother. It’s pretty cut and dry and I will admit that there was one scene that came across as dated material, but at the same time it played on my nostalgia so I couldn’t hate it.
Tuxedo Mask had an awesome introduction. He’s far more of a jerk, but he’s kind of suave about it so it’s hard to dislike him. He really is just too cool for his own good, but that was okay because it worked with the story.
I don’t really have much to say about it other than the fact that it put a huge smile on my face. It’s working with the same material and practically the same art direction so it stands to reason that some might be put off on it if they weren’t that into Sailor Moon in the first place or are purist. For me I couldn’t help but enjoy it and just appreciate it for what it is. It was great the first time so why wouldn’t it be great the second time around? In a lot of ways Sailor Moon is like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they can exist in many forms and tell the same story over and over, but they’re enduring and when done right I want to hear it again.
Score: 5/5
Creator: Naoko Takeuchi Director: Munehisa Sakai Studio: Toei Animation
Review: Tokyo Ghoul – Episode 1
Tokyo Ghoul didn’t turn out how I expected it to, but it might turn out better in the end. It will definitely depend on what happens in the second episode because the ending of this first episode kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Everything leading up to the ending was tremendous though. The story takes place in a world that is populated by flesh-eating ghouls. They are actually dead and they live off of humans, but one human can last them weeks or even months. People kind of accept this fact because ghouls also have incredible powers which tends to vary on the ghoul, but speed seems to be a common factor.
The story kicks off with an ordinary human by the name of Kaneki. He’s all alone in the world and he’s working up the nerve to ask a girl out for the first time. His friend Hide gives him a hard time, but nice guy Kaneki preserves and ends up going on a date with a beautiful named Rize. They seem to hit it off as they both like the same author and have a splendid date at a book store. Rize asks for Kaneki to walk her home due to all the ghoul attacks in her neighborhood and lo and behold she turns out to be a ghoul. Kaneki puts up a fight after being bitten and is saved when some construction beams fall and kill Rize.
Since Rize smashed the shit out of Kaneki’s insides he needs all new organs and since Rize is dead and in human form the doctor in charge uses her organs. This turns Kaneki into a human/ghoul hybrid that has never been seen before. Kaneki figures it out when he can’t eat anything because normal food makes him throw up. He catches a TV show that talks about the difference between Ghoul and human tongues and it all but confirms it for him that he’s no longer human. This sends him into a deep depression, but his journey isn’t over just yet.
I won’t say what happens in the last five minutes of the show, but it sets the stage for the rest of the series. The only part that I didn't like was the very last scene. It just didn't seem necessary.
Kaneki’s humanity really rings true in this first episode. There’s a scene in which he tries to eat everything in the house including a bag of food his friend Hide bought him. He feels terrible that he’s wasting the food that his friend went out of his way to get, but he can’t keep it down which brings him to tears. The pinnacle of the scene comes when he takes the time to cook his favorite hamburger and bites into it. He doesn’t instantly puke like the other times, but you can tell by the stream of tears that he can’t bear the taste. Kaneki cries a lot, but given the situation I think that’s the human response as his life as he knows it is over.
The story is supposed to deal with him battling back and forth with being a ghoul and a human and holding onto his humanity. I hope it stays there and doesn’t go all “look at these cool powers” on us because that’s not the part that’s interesting. Given the same situation I don’t know if I could carry on knowing my one and only food source is people, especially when you consider yourself among their numbers.
I’ve personally have been looking for a dark fantasy story and this itched that spot perfectly. It doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but the potential is there for it to be very different and present a great story about fighting your nature to hold on to your humanity.
Score: 4/5
Director: Shuhei Morita Writer: Chuji Mikasano Studio: Pierrot Distributor: Funimation
Review: Rail Wars – Episode 1
When I hear alternate time line my interest is instantly piqued no matter the story. With Rail Wars, I may have been piqued too soon. As the name implies the story revolves around trains and the alternate time line involves the national railway system never being privatized in Japan. What that does that mean? How is it different from now? I haven’t a fucking clue. Sorry but my understanding and knowledge of the history of Japan’s railways is limited to Wikipedia and that didn’t prove to be too informative either. Did it hurt the story? No, it’s anime and they get to carry guns on rail cars and chase down purse snatchers so who really cares. The story follows four characters as they enter a trade school of sorts to work on the rail cars. They take the shit very seriously and after about a month they form a tight bond and are constantly paired together in group work including their final exam which is a live field test.
The series is narrated by the character Naoto Takayama who is essentially the main character though he shares a lot of the story time with the other characters. On the first day he falls for Haruka Komi who is the bashful beauty that is well endowed. Frankly it goes a little harem comedy there as he’s easily distracted and borderline perverted about her boobs. Haruka is actually portrayed to be very smart which was a nice change of pace for her character type.
The other main character is Aoi Sakurai who constantly gives Naoto hell for being even a little pervy and seems to really hate perverts. In the opening they’re asked what the proper procedure for handling a pervert on the train and she says to shoot them on sight. The teacher doesn’t disagree with her, but it’s not the correct answer. She’s a bit of a mystery in this first episode. I get the impression that she’s the tsundere type of character and that she secretly likes Naoto. I could be wrong, but some of her actions lean more towards this way. The fourth character is just kind of there to round them out, but I’m sure he’ll have that one episode that explains his motivation and stops him from being completely useless.
The animation on the show is solid. With there being moving trains and several models of trains, there is actually a lot of detail put into them. Since they’re detailed and realistic the quality of the rest of the show has to match and it does. It looks good even if the character designs are pretty standard. One nuance I liked was the fact that all of the students wear their old high school uniforms during training. This made them all stand out, but also show how diverse they all could potentially be.
The story is okay. I would watch the second episode, but I don’t have a character I like above all the others. I think that Aoi is pushed too heavily to be that character and since she’s really just stock standard tsundere she doesn’t actually stand out. Tsundere characters are great, but they need to bring their own quirks to the role and Aoi has none. The main character wasn’t a guy I could back. There was just something about the way he interacted with Haruka that didn’t win me over. It’s not that I don’t think he’ll be the solid nice guy throughout the show, but I think the creator was going for a harem type guy and missed the mark completely. It makes him more socially stupid around women than awkward.
One thing that annoyed me about the first episode was that all of the characters commented on how it was strange that they were paired with each other over and over. I’ll give you one, but then after that just shut up about it. I’ve never seen an anime go out of its way to say “I’m not going to attempt a logical explanation here so let’s just address that it’s weird.” Listen it’s a story taking place on an alternate time line and about railways… I’m buying in enough as it is so when you say once “they’re stuck together” I’m already sold and really the audience has already assumed as much. It was honestly quite strange to me the amount of non-effort they were putting into it.
As I said I’ll check out the second episode, but I don’t know if it has the legs to hold my attention the entire season. From the premise it seems they’ll be fighting a group of extremists eventually which seems like the second episode will in a way also be a first episode as it establishes the norm. It really boils down to the fact that it was average. Everything about it was stock standard and with so many new shows this summer I don’t know if it can get over the hump.
Score: 3/5
Director: Yoshifumi Matsuda Studio: Passione Distributor: Sentai Filmworks
Review: Sabagebu! Survival Game Club! – Episode 1
Perhaps with a title like “Survival Game Club” my hopes were too high. It sounds like an awesome idea and if was comical and yet serious it may have been wonderful. Instead it was kind of boring and strangely apologetic. It wasn’t exactly violent, but what little violence there was, was constantly explained and the fact that it was fake was reiterated whenever possible. It strange because I’ve seen far more violent animes and when you add the fact that fake guns are being used… well it doesn’t translate I guess. The concept is that Momoka Sonokawa is starting at a new school yet again because of her father’s job. She’s doing a nice girl act so that life is easier for her. After a chance encounter with a third year student on a train, she followers her to discover a bunch of beautiful girls playing with guns in what they call a Survival Game Club. They’re pellet guns as Momoka quickly discovers. She asks what the point is and the leader that she met on the train shows her how to fire a gun. After that she is relentless in making her join the club. Finally Momoka is drugged and ends up joining.
The characters were nothing new and that’s what really breaks the story. It could be funny or charming even, but the characters aren’t strong enough to support it. They’re cookie cutter characters, but towards the end of the dough when it’s thin and breaks too easily from being rolled too many times.
The narration starts off funny, but then it never lets up which kills the effect of the humor it’s supposed to bring. Momoka in particular is annoying. She intentionally puts on a good girl act, but then when it’s found out and she has the opportunity for revenge she goes bat shit crazy. I didn’t find it funny I just thought that she kind of sucked. The story asks you to feel sorry for her and respect that she goes through it all without breaking and then when the switch is flipped and she shows how terrible she can be I had to wonder if she was a character I wanted to invest time in.
I might, and it’s a big might, give the second episode a shot. It was a letdown for sure and what wasn’t a letdown was average at best. I totally understand that formulas are used for certain genres and they usually work on me, but when it’s bad it’s just bad and no formula can save it.
Score: 2/5
Director: Masahiko Ota Writer: Takashi Aoshima Studio: Pierrot+ Distributor: Sentai Filmworks
Review: Re: Hamatora 2.1
Did you watch the first series of this? I didn’t which means that I went in pretty blind on this already established series. First and foremost I have to say that zero effort is put into explaining anything from the first series. There are a couple of throwaway lines that out of context mean nothing to new viewers so that was a pretty big turn off. The gist is that there are mutants, but they’re not called mutants because then Marvel would be all over them. No they’re called Minimum Holders and they all have different special powers. After some evil shit went down in the first season, people are less trusting of them. Almost all of them work as private detectives for some fucking reason and one of their own has seemingly died. Great way to start a second series, let me tell you.
The entire episode is about them trying to find work and eventually taking a body-guard job when an up and coming Minimum Holder’s life is threatened. He’s more pop star than detective, but again for some reason they’re all detectives.
Spoiler ahead, the main character Nice (that’s really his name) is the only with cool powers or I should say he’s the only one who actually gets to display their powers since everyone else just sits around talking about the lack of work. Oh and he’s not dead… everyone knows he’s not dead which is the really dumb part and there’s no enemy that they’re trying to fool with his death either. It’s like they were trying to fool the audience and did a terrible job at it. I spotted him instantly and it was the first time I had ever watched the show and he was wearing a disguise.Every scene has a really annoying transition to it. It can’t just cut to a new scene it actually freezes the frame, adds a filter, a graphic and makes an annoying sound while switching. This happens for every scene change and there are some pretty short and pointless scenes. Needless to say… it wore on my nerves quickly. You know how some anime’s have a scene leading into the commercial? Picture that but without ever leading into a commercial.
I get the impression that this is a show that fucks around the entire season being cute and then gets heavy and dramatic at the end of the season. It’ll sprinkle in the drama here and there as it does with the end of the episode, but only to give the viewer the impression that it’s going somewhere.
It could be a cool idea, but I just couldn’t get into it and it didn’t try to bring me up to speed. It spent a great deal of time establishing what the world is like and that they have powers, but didn’t spend anytime showing them. Hell it didn’t even spend time explaining the relationships of all the people. Are they rivals? Different divisions of the same agency? Friends? I don’t have a fucking clue and I doubt they’re going to recap any of that with the second series. When you go out of your way to make it look and come across as its own thing, then you should make sure that new viewers can jump on. I was lost and unimpressed which means I won’t be coming back for more.
Score: 1/5
Director: Seiji Kishi Writer: Jun Kumagi Studio: Lerche
Review: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders EP. 2: Who Will Be the Judge
It looks like it’s business as usual for JoJo, even after he’s learned that he is in possession of a powerful Stand (a ghostlike entity that kicks all kinds of ass) and he is fated to fight the most evil mofo on the planet named DIO (the man, not the band), has return and possessed his grandfather’s grandfather body…anywho it’s off to school. On the way to class JoJo is praised by six of his female classmates who all happen to think that JoJo is a hunky dreamboat. So much so they begin to bicker in a humorous fashion until JoJo shuts them up. As JoJo makes it down the stairs he suddenly receives a massive laceration on his knee from out of the blue and begins to tumble down a ridiculous amount of steps. Before he hits, he used his Stand ability to catch himself.
Then we are introduced to Noriaki Kakyoin, a man who also possesses a Stand of his own named, Heirophant Green. Who can possess people and unleash an Emerald Rain attack as his main method of attack.
Now in the nurse’s office, JoJo is having his leg tended to. As JoJo prepares himself to receive treatment the nurse starts to act strange. JoJo notices a ghostly tentacle draping down the nurse’s leg. He surveys the room and sees Noriak chilling in the window sill using his Stand’s abilities to control the nurse. The two men square off, destroying the nurse’s office in the process.
The second episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Episode entitled, “Who Will Be the Judge” slows everything down for about a second. Then it gives you the first real dose of Stand on Stand action that you’ve be waiting for. The battle between Noriaki Kakyoin and JoJo is pretty entreating and while it doesn’t blow the roof off the place it does an excellent job in easing the viewer into the physic that comes along with doing battle via a Stand.
Another take away was the color pallet changing while the two men were battling. It adds to the drama and actually put a sense of urgency into the fight. It gave a Manga type of feel that was very cool to witness. Sure you knew that JoJo was going to win with him being a novice with his Stand but how would the encounter change him? Will he improve with the Stand or will he be a slave to it almost how Noriaki was portrayed?
A running gag is how shitty JoJo treats his mother; I mean this guy is a real dick to her. Maybe he’s just an ass to women in general, he did go off on the girls at his school and he was pretty short with the nurse too. But for some reason it’s mildly amusing and does show some evolution as it put that touch of humanity to JoJo and keeps him from being an unbearable pompous bad ass that has to be cool all of the time.
Overall the second episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders is a good one, it gives you an exciting and flashy opening to get you pumped but most importantly it keeps the story moving along nicely and slowly peels back more to reveal the crazy and thrilling world of six foot diesel looking guys with ghost powers kicking each other’s ass. What more do you need?
Score: 4/5
Directed by: Naokatsu Tsuda, Kenichi Suzuki
Written by: Yasuko Kobayashi
Studio: David Production
Release Date: 4/4/14 – Ongoing
Review: Selector – Infected Wixoss - Ep. 1
Out of all the anime I’ve watched recently Selector grabbed me the least, which is a shame because the concept was what drew me to the show to begin with. The basic idea is that there is a card game called Wixoss that has become popular with young girls. Some of the girls that play the game are chosen (randomly?) to be Selectors. So what the hell is a Selector? Well in order to play the game each person that buys a starter pack and is given an Avatar card; aka their main character used in battle, but Selectors have slightly different cards. Their cards are alive (called Rulig Cards) and their avatars talk to them or grunt and meow as is the case with the main character’s Avatar Tama. Selectors seek out other Selectors to battle and if they continue to win they can have their wish granted. If they lose three in a row though, they’re avatar basically dies and they stop being a Selector.
The story goes that the main character Ruko Kominato is at a new school and has no friends. Her grandmother is worried about her so her brother (who doesn’t live with her for some reason) gives her a pack of Wixoss. At school the next day another Selector finds Ruko and challenges her knowing that she’s never played and doesn’t know any of the rules. The girl’s twin brother (who she’s in love with *siscon style) helps Ruko out and we soon discover that Tama is a fucking powerhouse that wants to battle constantly. The plan doesn’t work out and the girl’s battle is interrupted by the school bell. Of course Ruko gets a friend in the girl she battles and she learns a bit about the game from her as well.
The set up for the second episode is that Ruko meets more girls, but what doesn’t interest me is that she’s the reluctant hero. Of course her and Tama are going to win and beat all competitors, but Ruko is so concerned with friendship in order to not worry her grandma that tries to give her new friend a freebie win. Clearly this will continue or at the very least she’ll be used by these new characters as it seems to be in the preview which shows her new friend more and more reluctant to be around the other girls and Ruko.
At its core this story almost seems like commentary on card games and video games which are brought up as well. That could be interesting, but there’s too much else going on in the story for me to buy into that all the way.
It really boils down to a lackluster story with forgettable characters that failed to get its hooks on me. I might check out the second episode, but it’ll be more to see if I was right and not to continue the journey.
Score: 3/5
Director: Takuya Sato Writer: Mari Okada Studio: J.C. Staff
Review: Blade & Soul Ep. 1 & 2
It has been quite some time since I’ve found a fantasy based world that I could get interested in. I’ve gotten back into anime a lot in the past few years and there’s only one other fantasy world that I’ve enjoyed and it bounced between the “real” world and the fantasy world. Blade & Soul is grounded in fantasy through and through. The first episode is actually pretty useless. The opening is awkward and actually little for the overall series at least for now. We meet the character of Alka as she flees from pursuers. It’s not really clear why she’s running especially after she handles them with ease. Eventually she ends up in a village as a protector in the upcoming negotiations with a kingdom that Alka used to kill for. Alka is revealed to be the last of the Clan of the Sword.
The second episode is basically used to introduce the world and get Alka out and in the open. The problem is that she has a butterfly looking birthmark on her arm which has made her a target for bounty hunters. She reaches a town looking for work and the hostess of the best bar notices the mark and tells her to leave the town so that they don’t have any troubles. Alka leaves and of course runs into trouble.
Alka as a character is only interesting when she’s kicking ass because otherwise she’s just the silent type and I mean silent. When she speaks it’s really just to say her name or to acknowledge that she’s from the Clan of the Sword.
What really hooked me was the animation style. It’s gorgeous to look at and even though the character designs are on the cheesecake side of things, the characters are all really cool looking. The coloring is vibrant and rich which is probably why I’m drawn to it so much.
While this looks like a basic “last of my clan” revenge story set in a fantasy world, I’m still curious even if it’s just for the great action animation and rich coloring. It’s definitely not for everyone, but as I said it’s the first fantasy world to hook me in a long, long time.
Score: 4/5
Directors: Hiroshi Hamasaki, Hiroshi Takeuchi Studio: Gonzo (with lots of help)
Review: Haikyu Ep. 1 & 2
The sports genre in anime almost always has the same formula. It’s tried and true, but for some damn reason I’m a sucker for it when it’s executed properly. That’s the case with Haikyu which is a men’s volleyball anime. Does the character want to be the best and go all the way to nationals? You better believe it. Does he possess raw natural talent that people haven’t seen in generations? Again, you better believe it. What grabbed me about the series was the different approach with the main character and the story in general. The main character Shouyou Hinata comes from a small middle school which has no men’s volleyball team. He refuses to join the women’s team and so he becomes a one man volleyball team. We meet him at his first tournament ever as he’s finally convinced enough of his friends to be on the team. His first tournament also turns out to be the very last tournament of his middle school life.
He goes on to meet the “King of the Court” which is what Tobio Kageyama is known as; they’re to face each other in the first round which spells trouble for Shouyou as Tobio’s team is favored to win. It goes about as well as you’d expect, but of course we see a display of Shouyou’s raw talent and the problem that Tobio has as a team player.
Fast forward to the second episode and Shouyou has made it into the school that inspired his love for volleyball; only to discover Tobio is attending the same school and trying out for the Volleyball team. The team itself is in a state of rebuilding. Once viewed as a top ranked team, but now referred to as a fallen rival. Shouyou and Tobio start in with each other instantly and eventually the captain tells them that if they can’t be a team they can’t play for them. This of course will set the stage for them to stop being rivals and become friends… well friends that yell at each other and are very competitive, but friends none the less.
While there are plenty of tropes to the genre present, they’re working very well. That’s why they are almost always the same. When you do it right, it’s magical and the little touches that Haikyu adds is great. The first time “the King” is introduced we see a flash of a red rob and crown or when Shouyou sees the character he calls “Little Giant” play for the first time and we see a flash of black Crow feathers as he leaps into the sky. Little stuff like that is what will keep Haikyu from being typical and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. I’m disappointed that I have to wait for the next episode already because with any sports series you really just want to marathon through it, but isn’t that the best kind of disappointment?
Score: 5/5
Director: Susumu Mitsunaka Writer: Taku Kishimoto Creator: Haruichi Furudate Studio: Production I.G.
Review: Ping Pong - Ep. 1
If there has been one anime I haven’t been waiting for its Ping Pong. Having never read the manga’s I only have the live action movie to go from as a previous source material. How did the anime fair? Well, it was okay. Granted my anticipation may have been too much for this series to live up to, but only having the movie to draw from may also have hurt my experience. The pacing of the first episode blazes past a lot of the intro in the movie. So much ground is covered that it makes me wonder what they’ll do to fill the rest of the series which only totals to eleven episodes. What was disappointing though was the lack of ping-pong playing itself. There was a lot of talk and quick comic book montage edits, but the actual back and forth of ping-pong didn’t captivate me.
The story for the unfamiliar follows two characters Smile and Peco. Smile never smiles which is one of those ironic nicknames, but it is actually a pivotal part of the plot. He drives the story for the most part as he is Peco’s handler. Peco is the star of the team at their high school and while he thinks he’s the shit he soon discovers otherwise when the duo go to a rival high school to watch their transfer student from China play. Peco ends up playing Hong (the transfer student) and getting *skunked .
I enjoy the animation style for the most part. Sure while I’d love to have everything be crisp and clean rather than the constantly moving lines, something about it really does fit the world and that’s important. For Ping Pong to work it needs to feel real and yet offer the magical fantasy world that Peco lives in his mind.
The other downer for me personally was Peco’s voice acting. Now I didn’t expect the actor that played the character in the movie, but I did hope for something equally as special. Instead the take on the character is really strange and personally the voice actor misses a lot of Peco’s personality. I never once found Peco to be arrogant or a crybaby. Instead he came across lacking confidence when his character should be overflowing with it.
It’s a start though and while it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it to be, it was still enjoyable even if it just made me put on the movie again. I’ll be back to see how the rest of the series turns out and at the very least I’m just glad that it’s a story that’s not forgotten since it’s one that I never have. Fun fact, my Twitter handle comes from this story… that should tell you how much I like it right there.
Score: 3/5
Director: Masaaki Yuasa Creator: Taiyo Matsumoto Studio: Tatsunoko Prodction
*Skunked = Loosing a match without scoring a point
Review: Black Bullet – Ep. 1
Black Bullet is a series that struggles with its own identity. What begins as a realistic disaster story with a hint of near future sci-fi quickly turns into a monster of the week formula, but with the obvious twist of a “chosen one” that hates the way the world is and will be the one to stop it! If that weren’t enough though the second half of the episode is more in line with a harem comedy or even a *brocon. The premise is that an epidemic has swept Japan and once someone is infected they turn into a giant insect of some kind. There’s actually some science used to explain how the insects are able to move around in giant size, but it’s really not needed since I doubt people being hunted down or killed by them stop to think, “how is it still able to jump when the weight of its own body would surely crush it!?!” As a member of the audience I didn’t think about it either until they explained it.
Our main character is an orphaned boy by the name of Satomi Rentaro. He’s the handler/chosen one that will defeat them all and is paired with Aihara Enju who is one of the Cursed Children. The insects are known as Gastrea and apparently some pregnant women were infected via their saliva and created half-human, half-Gastrea children know as… the Cursed Children. Cursed because they’re not really human and have the crazy Gastrea strength; what’s worse is that they’re only girls, which puts in place the well-worn formula of basically any show that’s done something similar (another of which I’m reviewing as well). The kids are used to fight the Gastrea and their handlers are given special bullets… black bullets. The bullets supposedly harm the Gastrea, but as we see Rentaro unloads an entire clip in a bug’s brain and it shakes it off.
The voice acting is fine, the animation is fine, the fact that there is an adult male Cursed one running around infecting people is fine, but really that’s it. The problem with Black Bullet is that everything is so familiar that nothing other than those three elements stand out and even that last one is nothing new.
Young girl in love with older boy and overplaying their relationship: pick an anime. A small and struggling agency of some kind that can’t get paid because the main character forgets or gets too wrapped up in the major plot line? Too many stories to count. A rare item in which the series gets its name from, but has as much use to the overall world as a knife cutting water; yeah I could name a few. The lists of comparisons go on and on and the real problem is that Black Bullet isn’t half as good as the other anime’s you’ll think of while watching it. If you’re going to be familiar then you better also be better or great in comparison.
Score: 2/5
Director: Masayuki Kojima Creator: Shiden Kanzaki Studio: Kinema Citrus/Orange Animation Studio
*Brocon = A romance in which a sister loves her brother, but the feelings are (usually) not reciprocated. It’s also used in case of a sister like character loving someone she equates as a brother.
Review: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders EP. 1: A Man Possessed by an Evil Spirit
Anime and Manga is not really my thing. It has its moments and there are some very amazing stand outs. For me JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always been one of those said titles. Enter the recent television show, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. This is going to be good. The year is 1987, off of the African Coast a boat of treasure hunters finally locate something worthwhile and pull a massive treasure chest from out of the ocean. But unfortunately for the crew they got more than they bargained for. When the boat is located, its abandon and the chest is empty.
In Japan, 17-year-old Jotaro Kujo or JoJo is a punk ass kid (though he is the most massive, jacked up, shredded kid that I have ever seen) that doesn’t take kindly in being told what to do, is sitting inside a jail cell. In the distance he can hear his mother, Holly, crying for him as the police officers inform her why her son is being kept here. JoJo tells them that he has an evil ghost like presence that inhabits his body and is making him do such wreck less things.
Holly tries to reason with her son and JoJo explains that he needs to stay in the jail cell due to the “evil spirit” lurking inside him. The cops think that he’s crazy until JoJo proves it by using the spirit to take a gun from one of the cops. He puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Before the bullet can hit JoJo the spirit catches; protecting its host. The cops can’t see the entity by Holly and JoJo can.
At the airport Joseph Joestar, Holly’s father, has arrived. Holly fills in her father on the whole JoJo fiasco while taking her to her son. Joseph reassures her that he’s got an idea about what’s going on it. Because Joseph and his homeboy, Mohammed Avdol have been on a global search for answers. He explains that there is a rise of such occurrences stemming these spiritual powers that they have dubbed “Stands”, basically spirits that physically manifest themselves and can be controlled by its user at will.
So instead of telling JoJo what is going on with his new-found power, Joseph lets Mohammed Avdol (who also possess a Stand) demonstrate. Now a believer, the Grandpa Joestar enlightens the family about DIO (no, not the rock band) a possible decent of the Joestar family that has returned pissed off.
It had been years when I fist saw the OVA of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure which was the third volume of Stardust Crusaders. Ever since then I haven’t been following the series and I know that I’ve missed so much but the first time awesomeness has always stuck with me. The only sad part is that now I know how this particular adventure ends, which sucks but damn it, it’s all about the journey with this one.
The art style might not be for everyone, overly massive dudes eclipsing regular people who wear flashy over the top costumes *cough* superheroes *cough* but the action is pretty cool and the pseudo glam rock on the characters kind of work.
There are weird moments in the show, like when Holly meets her father at the airport, she is so happy to see him that she begins to tickle him profusely. He tries to get her to stop and he lets out this comical scream and everything shifts to a dramatic Manga panel with Japanese characters everywhere. It was odd but very humorous for a mostly dramatic show.
Thanks to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders I’ve opened that fun and mystic door back in to the anime world. Who knows maybe I’ll get deeper and deeper into the world or maybe I’ll just go and get myself glomped.
Score: 4/5
Directed by: Naokatsu Tsuda, Kenichi Suzuki Written by: Yasuko Kobayashi Studio: David Production Release Date: 4/4/14 - Ongoing
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