Posts tagged review

First Impressions: The IDOLM@STER

Aug02
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea


Plot

The IDOLM@STER, because as anyone who’s ever seen a Linkara video knows, “Poor literacy is kEwL”. The story revolves around 10 wannabe idols and the staff at their agency 765 Productions. The anime includes all the characters from the games along with their original voice actors making this series great for the original fans of the franchise. The first episode which aired in Japan on July 7th this year introduces the audience to the characters via interviews with each idol and member of staff, giving us an insight into their reason for becoming idols and working for 765 Productions.

Even though that’s not what GoGoAnime.com would have you believe describing it as “Haruka Amami isn’t the most confident pop singer in Japan, but when she’s accepted after an audition, she’s sent to Tokyo to start a career in entertainment. Though, little does she know that the agency that’s taken her on is actually a front for a task force that uses giant robots to defend the Earth from falling meteors.” Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa somehow I don’t see that happening, no matter how awesome that would be.

First Impression

So like with the Mayo Chiki! first impression let me start by telling you why this idea was doomed to fail.

1: It’s another blatant attempt to try to make money off the same crowd Lucky Star and K-on pulled into the anime scene, and lord knows we need more of that. (Also in related news I’m not going to give a first impression of Moritasan wa Mukuchi).

2: In terms of the plot nobody knows who these “Idols” are. Now forgive me If I get this wrong, I don’t watch a lot (or any really) of reality T.V. shows, but isn’t the point of them to follow around famous people and see what they do? I don’t know of any shows that follow people around who might just maybe one day in the distant future be idols.

3: Following up on what I just said the reason people watch reality T.V. is because they get to know what their favorite stars are doing on a day-to-day basis, but we don’t know any of these girls which is why the entire first episode is all about introducing the characters. You know what I wanna see? A “reality” show about Miku Hatsune, and all the other Vocaloid characters. We already know and love them, and this type of show would fit extremely well with those characters. (I know because of licensing issues that will never happen, but a guy can dream right?)

4: And finally following up on what I just said, the entire first episode is devoted solely to introducing the characters, but none of that characters stood out as being memorable or interesting, and it didn’t tell me why I should care about them and their dreams. But what I will say in favor of this is they did it very well, having 1 minute or so devoted to differentiating the characters from one and other so I wasn’t on character overload like I was when I watched We Without Wings.

I will also say that the animation in the show is very nice. Not quite Itsuka Tenma no, or Seitokai Yakuindomo, but more like Hanasaku Iroha. I didn’t see any noticeable animation errors and the character designs are above-par.

Look at how much squeezing the artist had to do to make them all fit onto one page. These characters were ALL introduced in the first episode.

The show also had a few funny moments like when the blond girl was sleeping and her friends woke her up to say something to the camera. She said her name and falls back on the couch asleep. The girls wake her up again and tell her to say something interesting, to which she replies “Ohh and I have big boobs” and falls over asleep once more. That was genuinely funny.

Op

The Op is nice in terms of production values and has a fairly good song, but it was really boring. My understanding of an Op is that it’s supposed to get you pumped for the anime your about to watch like STIENS:GATEs’ or the Op for The World God Only Knows ( the first seasons was better btw). This Op was really just kind of boring, and didn’t get me excited to watch the show.

Final ★★☆☆☆

Well in short would I watch this anime? No. In long? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

To be honest the real problem with the anime is that it’s just so boring. Their was nothing going on to keep me engaged, and you wouldn’t believe how many times I just paused the video and went to do something else. That ladies and gentleman is not a good thing. The only redeeming feature of the anime is the nice animation, but if you want that, + a good story then go watch Angel Beats.

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Anime Unlimited Review: Claymore

Jun18
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea

So I bought Claymore last weekend to fulfill my constant craving for anime while I was trapped on vacation in Port Aransas, without my laptop. All I had, was my faithful iPod, and a portable DVD player. When I tried to watch Claymore on the DVD player, I selected “Play” and realized it had been preset to the dub, and other than for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s I’m not a big fan of dubs. “Not a problem”I told myself “I’ll just go to the settings menu and change it”. Then I found out that we had forgotten to bring the remote, and for some reason I could not scroll up and down with the limited controls.

It was then and there I decided that I wasn’t even going to the dub a chance. I was going  to fight off my anime urge, throughout the weekend, and wait till I got home to watch it. By Saturday morning I was sucking my thumb in the fetal position due to lack of anime. By Saturday night I was all but without strength to get out of bed from the lack of nutrition that only the Japanese could provide.  It was only on Sunday morning when I was minutes way from anime starvation that I gave in and decided to watch the dub. Jk :P I just kinda shrugged it off and put up with the dub throughout the weekend.

So what was the point of those two paragraphs other than to make you laugh? To say I watched Claymore’s dub and not the sub.

In a world where sentient monsters called Yoma that feed on human innards, an organization has created an order of half-human, half-yoma warriors to protect humans from the yoma. The people of this world have dubbed these warriors “Claymores” based on their swords. They are also referred to as “Silver Eyed Witches”, based on their appearance and seemingly cold nature toward others. Each Claymore has a rank number which is based on their strength and ability. There are 47 ranks corresponding to the number of regions of the land/world.

A Claymore known as Claire saves a small town by killing a Yoma living there, and meets Rocky, a boy whose parents were killed by the Yoma. Out of gratitude, Rocky ends up following Clare from town to town during her Yoma-killing jobs.

The animation in Claymore is OK, the only thing I can complain about is the character design of the Claymore’s. In anime there are very limited ways to design a character that makes it possible for the audience to identify one character from another. These things include hair color, hair style, eyes, facial bone structure, ears, personality and voice. The more you take away the harder it is to tell which character is which. In the anime all of the Claymore’s upon having the Yoma blood transfusion have their eye color changed to silver (hence the nickname the townspeople gave them “Silver Eyed Whitchs”), but for some reason all the Claymore also have blond hair. I’m going to assume that is also a side effect of the Yoma blood, but I don’t remember that ever being stated in the anime. In Claymore it’s really difficult to tell one Claymore apart from another, and most of the time it’s left up to the characters hair style and personality. That creates confusion a lot of the time, especially during action scenes when it’s Claymore fighting Claymore it’s hard for me to tell who to be rooting for.

That being said however the characters especially the Claymore’s have a wide variety of personally’s, that does immensely help to define each Claymore as a character, not just a girl in the background with a broadsword. There is also a heap load of character development, especially with the main character Claire. The only character I didn’t like was Rocky. He did NOTHING throughout the 26 episodes of the show, and he’s supposed to be the male lead! All he ever did was cry and give barf worthy emotionalspeeches. He even has a sword, he just never uses it! That being said if you can get past Rocky then you’ll definitely enjoy the personality’s the Claymore bring to the table.

 

The Op and Ed are both very nice, although only the Op earned a spot on my iPod, but the rest of Claymore’s music is extremely repetitive. Throughout the show I felt like the anime only had 5 total songs on its soundtrack and a lot of them didn’t fit the style of the show. Not to mention their was one techno song they played at almost every fight scene that drove me insane. Fighting music shouldn’t sound like that, it should be feel suitably epic and blood pumping like this song.


Claymore is a dark drama, adventure anime with a lot of blood and awesome fight scenes. If that’s your thing I think you’ll really enjoy it. Would I recommend you buy it? Well I did, and I think its worth it. I can say without a doubt, that while it’s not perfect and has it’s flaws, It’s a really good watch and definitely worth your time. Also I have been told that the anime only covers around 1/3rd of what the manga does, and it’s not very likely Claymore will have a second season, so if you like the anime, check out the manga.

If You Want To Buy The “Claymore: Complete Series Box Set [Blu-ray]” You Can Do So At Amazon.com

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Preview: “Controller Assault”

May12
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea

So I am thinking of doing some first impressions video game reviews. However as I am dirt poor, I can hardly ever buy games, nor do I really like to because of all the money you lose once you are finished with them.  I learned this lesson after I bought “Halo Wars” and finished it in one night. So I think I’m going to start out doing reviews of game demo’s off Steam with the occasional review of a game I bought. If all goes well, I can start actually buying all my games before I review them. Also if your interested here is my other excuse for not buying the full versions :P .

So as far as I am concerned, the purpose of video game demo’s are to show off the games content so the buyer knows whether or not he or she will like the game. The official definition in fact is “Demo: Demonstrate the capabilities of (software or equipment).”

So no promises on the date my first will come out, but I would like my first “Controller Assault” review to be sometime soon.

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Anime Unlimited Review: Black Butler

Apr23
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea

Summary

In a manor house on the outskirts of Victorian era London, butler Sebastian Michaelis serves Ciel Phantomhive, the orphaned twelve-year-old head of an English noble family and a toy and candy empire, who serves directly under the Queen as her “guard dog”. Sebastian carries out any task required by his master while solving the problems plaguing England with ease and perfection, because of his demonic lineage and Faustian contract with his master. The parents of the Phantomhive estate were murdered when Ciel was younger. As a result, he made a deal with a demon asking for vengeance upon those who had disgraced him, and the Phantomhive name, in exchange for his soul.

Review

The anime has just the right amount of drama and suspense and action and comedy, and while there is dark humor there is quite a bit of lighthearted humor in there as well. For instance there are several running gag’s in the show like how Tanaka spends most of his time in chibi form because he lacks the energy to maintain regular appearance and the other characters take notice, or Sebastian’s catchphrase “I am simply one hell of a butler”.

The voice actors of the two main lead’s of the dub Ciel Phantomhive ( played by Brina Palencia ) and Sebastian Michaelis ( played by J. Michael Tatum ) have a good bad thing happening. I really don’t like that Ciel’s voice was played by a woman as it really doesn’t sound all that mannish at times, but when I think of Sebastian’s voice I cant think of any other voice more perfect for the character.

A really cool thing about the anime is they play with historical figures like Jack the Ripper and The Queen Of England. All the characters all seem to have quite a bit of back story to them even the supporting cast. My favorite character is Grell because he made me laugh every time he was on screen. But lets not forget Sebastian . He is badass. I’m sorry I usually refrain form using language on this blog, mostly because I get a lecture from my father, but there is no other word to describe him.  He will make Yaoi fangirls sequel aloud, and I believe this video I made (cut down an episode) proves that point perfectly.

The thing I love most about the anime is how it ended. Perhaps the most satisfying ending ever! I’m not going to spoil it, but it was incredible. It seemed like everything was answered and I don’t think it couldn’t have ended better.  A exelent anime and I sugeust you check it out

If You Want To Buy “Black Butler: Complete First Season” Then You Can Do So At Amazon.com

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First Look: Blue Exorcist

Apr22
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea

Summary

Humans live in the world of Assiah, demons in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other, but demons still possess creatures in Assiah in spite of this. The humans who can fight these demons are known as exorcists. Rin Okumura is a boy who bears the curse of being Satan’s illegitimate son. His foster father sacrificed himself to save him from demons. To avenge his foster father’s death as well as to prove himself, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist.

First Look

I’ll say it outright in general here, I am a Christian. A lot of anime nowadays seems really Anti-Christan like in SnO where they portray God as being the bad guy, one of the only things I hate about the show. Blue Exorcist seems to be a complete 180 of that. Being a Pro-Christan anime I had to give it a look.

The first episode ends with Rin, ( played by Nobuhiko Okamoto who also voices Usui in Kaichō wa Maid-sama! and Yorito from Sola ) finding out he is the Lucifer’s son. The reason Lucifer bore a son is because no human is strong enough to contain his essence for very long, so he gave birth to Rin to be his container on Earth. This is not to Rin’s liking so he decides to fight his father and fate and by becoming an Exorcist, a very good idea for a plot. The characters seem likable enough with Rin being a good-for-nothing slacker, and his twin brother a very successful overachiever who wants to be a doctor.

The anime has a comedic tone to it, like when Rin is trying to explain away his scratches and bloody nose from a fight, he says he tripped down some stairs into a sexy girl and got a nosebleed, although it also seems like its going to be very action based.

A thing I don’t particularly like is how the majority of the demons seem to be drawn.

( See the little black bugs? Those things are demons. )

In my opinion demons should look like the hooded things from the song “Hellfire” not scribbles out of my math notebook, but I digress.

The series seems very good so far, and I think I’ll have to stick with it. This anime is a contender for my favorite anime of the spring line-up for sure. So is it worth watching? I’ll say yes. And hey if my First Look doesn’t convince ya, maybe the fact that it was #3 on the New York Times best selling manga list might.

Final First Rating

★★★★☆

 

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Anime Unlimited Review: Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?

Mar23
2011 1 Comment Written by Syyiailea

 

Summary

Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka focuses on a high schooler named Aikawa Ayumu. One day while walking home from the convenience store, Aikawa is killed by a mysterious serial killer. Shortly after he is resurrected by a non-talkative girl he met at the store who turns out to be a necromancer from the underworld named Eucliwood Hellscythe ( Eu for short although the translation on Crunchyroll were I watch my anime is Yuu) As thanks for his resurrection he sorta becomes Yuu’s servant. (And I say kinda because all that really happens is he lets her live with him and he does all the chores which if you think about it he would have been doing anyway…ya….) Seeing as he is now a zombie and cant go out in the direct sunlight, he spends his nights searching for his killer. One such night he runs into the self proclaimed genius Mahou Shoujo Haruna in the middle of her fight agienst a monster called a “Megalo” when she chops him in half with her chainsaw. Somehow Aikawa manages to accidently steal her magical powers, and she decides to live with him while she regains them. Also through circumstances that would take me a day to write and 30 minutes for you to read, he also ends up living with a Vampire-Ninja named Seraphim and married to a Vampire-Ninja named Maelstorm.

Review

With a Mahou Shoujo, necromancer, Zombie, and 2 Vampire-Ninja’s I think this is an anime aimed at Otaku’s like myself. Be warned the series does have some blood in it, but not nearly as much as H.O.T.D. That brings me to talk about something else, the protagonist is a zombie, but Kadokawa seems to steers away from the traditional zombie design. He feels pain, he walks normally, and he is as smart as he was when he was alive (except while in the sun.) A funny thing about the show is that after the first episode when Haruna makes him a Mahou Shoujo he introduces himself each episode after that as a Zombie and a Mahou Shoujo, not a Mahou Shounen. A pet-peeve I have is that the anime suffers from what I like to call ” Blood Geysers”. Its when a character gets hurt, the injured spot suddenly spurts out more blood than what i’m convinced the human body can retain.

Even with the “Blood Geysers” I still think this is the best show of the winter anime line-up.

Average Enjoyment Per Episode: 4

Plot

★★★☆☆

Characters

★★★★☆

Op

★★★☆☆

Final Grade

★★★★☆

Recommended- Yes

Info

Manga- Yes (although I believe they just starting to scanlated the manga)

Second Season- Not At The Moment

Anime Published by Kadokawa

 

 

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Anime Unlimited Review: Maria † Holic

Mar10
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Syyiailea


Summary

The story is about a girl named Kanako Miyamae. She has enrolled in an all girls school, because touching guys causes her to break out in hives ( which kind of explains the fact that she’s a lesbian) , and to search for her “Fated One”. The day before she enrolls she meets one such person she thinks is perfectly suited for her. A girl named Maria who is the granddaughter of the schools former principle, and her maid Matsurika. However Kanako soon learns Maria’s secret, Maria is actually a guy who has been forced to cross dress because of his grandparents will. ( It seems like they stole that bit from Otoboku, but I’ll let that slide.) Now Maria is done with his sweet and caring act, and reveals his inner demon by blackmailing Kanako into keeping his secret and even goes as far as to kick out her former roommate to keep an eye on her 24/7. With bloody noses, cosplaying cross dressers, and the deadly Tchaikovsky’s’ disease in B minor galore, this is not an anime to miss out on. Just ask the neko dorm manager named god.

Review

Strangely enough the story isn’t told from Maria’s point of view but rather Kanako’s, and how miserable her life becomes when she is forced to spend time with Maria. But if I wanted the story from the CD’s perspective I would just go re-watch Otoboku. One of the good/bad things about the show (depending on how you look at it) is that when ever something dramatic happens its always either false or ruined in the moment. While this can be funny sometimes it can get a little annoying. A really great thing about the anime has going for it is how hilariously evil Maria and her maid can be. One of the shows weaknesses is that Kanako in general is a really annoying character. It seems as though all she ever does is get nosebleeds whenever the slightest ecchi thing occurs. Its funny at first but it loses its touch after a while.

All in all if your looking for a plot like Sola’s this may not be the show for you, but if you want “laugh your head off” comady then go watch Maria † Holic. I personally can’t wait for season 2 coming out this april as part of the spring anime line-up.

Plot

★★★☆☆

Characters

★★ ☆☆☆

Op

★★★★☆

Final

★★★☆☆

 

Info

Manga- Yes

Second Season – Yes

Second Season Release Date- April 2011

Anime Published by Media Factory

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