Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tiger & Bunny: Towards the Homestretch


Currently finished: Episode 20

After some 20 episodes of build up, we have finally reached the true climax of the series. In the next 5 episodes, the Jenga tower that was carefully buit with sequences of seemingly unrelated events is going to come crashing down. I expect to see all saved favors cashed in, all characters come into play, and all events, no matter how insignificant it seemed back then, all come tying in for this final showdown. I can't wait to see.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

[New][OVA] Carnival Phantasm


It seems that Type-Moon didn't want 07th-Expansion get all the glories for making cheap ass sequels of once great franchises, because they too came up with some ideas on how to use their established franchise, more specifically, Shingetsutan Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night to get some quick cash out of loyal fans. That's where Carnival Phantasm stood.

These little offshoots are sometimes fun to watch, but in reality they're mostly just dumb laughingstocks made of familiar faces. While great franchises are created to make profits, trying to squeeze the last bit out of them is almost a sure sign that the author's creative talent is running dry. So for the most part, I'm ready to kick Type-Moon off the list that I'm anticipating great new series from.

To me, the series actually felt like Lucky Star, with the exception of using well-know characters instead creating original characters. Other than that, there isn't really much about this series worth mentioning.

Score: 74

*Edit 8/23/11:* If you're so inclined to disagree with me that you bother to check the "what are you smoking" box below (which as of right now, two people already did), would you at least comment and tell me why you think this series is better than I think it is and not just some fart jokes told with familiar faces? Really, I do want to know, maybe you're seeing something I'm not.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Kaiji 2: Cheater vs. Cheater



Currently finished: Episode 19

Come to think of it, Kaiji series has never been about just gambling: it's about cheating in gambling. Whether it's blatantly exploiting loopholes in the rule or just down right sneaky, everything in this story has something degree of cheating involved.

This second season, is all about how one cheater find ways to defeat another cheater. This is about one of the most exciting psychological drama I've ever seen. I said it earlier and I'll say it again, if you like a good exciting brain spinner, you ought not to miss this season of Kaiji.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

[Dropped] Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi: This is just stupid



Last Episode Seen: Episode 5

In my opinion, there is nothing this anime has done right since the series introduction. Like I said a couple of posts ago, this literally feels like a bedtime story for a 4-years old written by a 10-years old. There are so many things are just plain stupid to a point it's not even laughable any more. Having waited painfully through 4 episodes, it shows no sign of getting better. I think it's time to drop it for good.

[New][Movie] Towa no Quon 1: Utakata no Kaben


It seems that recent success of short movie series such as Kara no Kyoukai and Broken Blade has prompted production studios to invest more in series with this format. Towa no Quon is a such attempt made by studio Bones, the studio responsible for great series such as Darker than Black, Fullmetal Alchemist, and most recently, GOSICK. So naturally, when I saw the Bones branding during the opening credit, I automatically set the bar high. However, higher expectation often brings bigger disappointments...

The story is about a group of people that has supernatural abilities trying to rescues other newly awaken ones from government's prosecution (we've only seen this topic done like a thousand times...). Despite being 40 minutes long, there aren't really much real plot. Most time were spent on transitioning from one fight to the other. And because it's only a half-length movie, there were really no time to explain what's actually going on aside from identifying who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. The action scenes were mediocre, but due to the lack of in depth explanation, the transformation scenes just didn't make sense at all.

Overall, it felt more like an episode of TV series rather than a theatrical release. At this point, I would recommend to hold off on watching this until later installments come out.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Mayo Chiki: Building Tension



Currently finished: Episode 5

While I wouldn't call it top-notch, the invisible tension of the relationships among Kanade, Subaru, and Jirou is definitely getting very interesting.

Of course, me being me, the part I'm interested the most is the fact there isn't going to be a perfect solution for that situation--eventually both are going to develop emotional ties but only one is going to have the privilege to become happily ever after. It's quickly becoming the scenario that is similar to the that from Toradora where regardless what the outcome is, someone is going to end up being heartbroken (or something close to that). This struggle is the very reason animes of this type attracts me so much

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

[New][OVA] Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira


Can I just say I am really sick and tired of these cheap ass extensions of this once great anime franchise, now surrounded by so much garbage bear its name. Clearly, the motive behind these late booming OVAs is related to money: what other reason would anybody be willing to destroy a legendary name in anime industry?

There are many signs that there were no intention to produce an anime that bears the same quality of the original series. One being the drawn out scenes of different girls performing lewd acts that were never materialized and exists only in certain individual's imagination but nevertheless given lengthy screen time, yet the real plot (if there is any) is barely in sight. I can't believe 07th expansion gave green light for this.

If you are truly a fan of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch this, at least not just yet--in matter of seconds, it will destroy all the good images that you have for this series that was built up over two seasons of amazing work. If you so desire to see this, I'd say wait till the entire OVA series is out. That way, the plot (if there is any) would at least have the potential to dilute some of this stupid nonsense.

Score so far: 53