Thursday, April 26, 2012

[New April 2012] Hyouka


Japanese title: 氷菓
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12189/Hyouka
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Mystery
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: After he entered high school, Houtarou was forced to join classic literature club, where he met Eru Chitanda. Together with his friend Satoshi, they start to solve mysteries in the school.   

First impression score: 88 - Cute and Interesting

Personal comments: Five minutes into episode one, I can't help but to notice something distinctively familiar. After looking into the staff list, I found out where I felt like this before: the director of this series is same as the director of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The tone, the feel are all so very much like Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, less the craziness. I think this definitely holds potential to be one of the most interesting series of the season. 

Friday, April 20, 2012

[New April 2012] Tsuritama


Japanese title: つり球
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12883/Tsuritama
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/tsuritama
Genres: Comedy / Fishing
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Yuki transfers school a lot. He's also terrible at handling stress. When he transferred to a new school, he met a self-proclaimed alien whohas a squirt gun that could control  the person it hits??!!!

First impression score: 88 - Wacky

Personal comments: This one is just plain weird. But it's so unorthodox it actually feels quite refreshing. 

[New April 2012] Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan


Japanese title: シャイニング・ハーツ 〜幸せのパン〜
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12367/Shining_Hearts:_Shiawase_no_Pan
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Fantasy / Game
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Not sure what's up...probably should just go read. 

First impression score: 76 - Slow and Uneventful

Personal comments: This first episode is extremely slow and uneventful. I know they're only trying to set things up, but they could have done much better than this.

[New April 2012] Sengoku Collection


Japanese title: 戦国コレクション
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12611/Sengoku_Collection
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/sengoku-collection-parallel-world-samurai
Genres: Fantasy / Comedy / Action
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: In a world where Oda Nobunaga is a girl (really? again?), when she is killed, instead she's dimension jumped to the modern world -_-'

First impression score: 78 - Beating on a Dead Horse

Personal comments: Ok, they seriously need to pull a stop on this girl version of Sengoku era characters thing. This is like the fifth one in about two years. I'm just about sick and tired of it...

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

[New April 2012] Sakamichi no Apollon


Japanese title: 坂道のアポロン
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12531/Sakamichi_no_Apollon
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Comedy / Drama / Music?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Kaoru has been transferring from school to school all his life. When he came to the new school, he met Sentarou, where an unusual bond of friendship is made through the appreciation of Jazz music. 

First impression score: 90 - Intriguing

Personal comments: Its synopsis may not look that interesting, but looking at the credit, you'll find that this is the first anime since Cowboy Bebop, director Shinichiro Watanabe and composer Yoko Kanno had teamed up. Even though the theme and setting is significantly different, it somehow has a very similar feeling to Cowboy Bebop. It's really hard to image/believe, you'll have to see it for yourself. 

[New April 2012] Nazo no Kanojo X


Japanese title: 謎の彼女X
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12467/Nazo_no_Kanojo_X
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Mystery
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A new girl transfer student came to Akira's school, for some strange reason, he was compelled to lick her drool (yuck!), then strange things start to happen.

First impression score: 83 - Err...Gross

Personal comments: Even though they were explaining what's going on in the story, but I don't think it's as simple as they were saying. There ought to be some mystery behind all these. I'd like to keep watching and see what's going on, but I don't know how long I can last without being grossed out by this constant drool licking business...

Sunday, April 15, 2012

[New April 2012] Jormungand


Japanese title: ヨルムンガンド
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12413/Jormungand
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Action
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A story about an arms dealer and her support group.

First impression score: 90 - Action Packed

Personal comments: This is a highly action packed series that reminds me much of the style of Black Lagoon and Dogs. Weapons encourages peace rather than promotes violence, that seems to be one major point it's trying pass onto the audiences aside from the exciting gun battles. This is the action series of the season to keep an eye on.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

[New April 2012] Haiyore Nyaruko-san


Japanese title: 這いよれ!ニャル子さん
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11785/Haiyore%21_Nyaruko-san
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/nyarko-san-another-crawling-chaos
Genres: Scifi / Cthulu
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A high school boy is chased by an alien monster, then saved by Nyaruko, who is the Nyarlathotep, the Cthulhu diety of choas. Now he's stuck living with her.

First impression score: 82

Personal comments: If you haven't noticed, the voice of Nyaruko is done by the same voice actress of Poplar-senpai from Working! There are quite some 4th wall breaking in this episode. After all, this is a nonsense comedy lol

[New April 2012] Tasogare Otome x Amnesia


Japanese title: 黄昏乙女×アムネジア
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12445/Tasogare_Otome_x_Amnesia
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/dusk-maiden-of-amnesia
Genres: Supernatural / Comedy / Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: In the old school building, lies the paranormal investigation club. What some of their members is not aware of, is that the president of the club is actually a ghost.

First impression score: 91 - Funny and Creepy

Personal comments: You'd never thought horror and comedy would go together. But here lies Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, a perfect mixture of comedy and horror that give you the effect of both genre at the same time. I've read some of the the manga it adapted from. It seems though, as far as the opening episode goes, they did not follow how the manga went at all. It's possible they'll reset to manga's plot line after the opening. We'll see.

[New April 2012] Upotte!!


Japanese title: うぽって!!
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12317/Upotte!!
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/upotte
Genres: School Drama? / WTF
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A new teacher is being transferred to a school of...personified assault rifles?!!

First impression score: 72 - W? T? F?

Personal comments: While the concept sounds somewhat similar to Hetalia, somehow this just didn't come out nearly as amusing. Maybe it needs a little more time, we'll see...

[Resumes April 2012] Fate/Zero


Japanese title: フェイト/ゼロ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11741/Fate/Zero_2nd_Season
Watch online: http://www.hulu.com/fatezero
Genres: Fantasy / Action
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Second part of the highly anticipated Fate/Zero series. 

First impression score: 92 - Explosive Restart

Personal comments: Fate/Zero is about the best action drama from October 2011 season. The second half started with quite an explosive opening. I think this could well become the best action drama of 2012.

[New April 2012] Shirokuma Cafe


Japanese title: しろくまカフェ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12815/Shirokuma_Cafe
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/polar-bear-cafe
Genres: .......WTF
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A lazy panda is looking for jobs, then he ran into a cafe run by polar bear.

First impression score: 80 - W? T? F?
 
Personal comments: ......I don't get it......

[New April 2012] Acchi Kocchi


Japanese title: あっちこっち
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12291/Acchi_Kocchi
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: School / Slice of Life / 4-Panel
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Group of friends school life.

First impression score: 81 - Cute
 
Personal comments: Another 4-panel style anime meant to be moe, and it is quite moe. It's interesting at the moment, though I don't know how long it'll last...

[New April 2012] Saki Episode of Side A


Japanese title: 咲-Saki-阿知賀編 episode of side-A
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/10884/Saki:_Achiga-hen_-_Episode_of_Side-A
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/saki-episode-of-side-a
Genres: Mahjong / Sports? / School Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Story of Nodoka Haramura old school's mahjong club.

First impression score: 84 - Mahjong Excitement

Personal comments: As a fan of mahjong, I was rather fond of the original Saki. I'm hoping this is just as exciting. 

[New April 2012] Sankarea


Japanese title: さんかれあ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11499/Sankarea
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: School Drama / Zombie
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A dude who is hot for zombies, not the normal way, rather, the moe way. One day, his wish came true.

First impression score: 88 - WTF?!
 
Personal comments: I've read some of the manga this series is adapted from, and it was quite good. If executed correctly, this would be a great series.

Friday, April 13, 2012

[New April 2012] Natsuiro Kiseki


Japanese title: 夏色キセキ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12119/Natsuiro_Kiseki
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: School Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Four girls, made a wish with a stone says to possess magical power to grant wishes. To their surprise, their wishes came true.

First impression score: 80 - Light
 
Personal comments: So far there's nothing special that separates this anime from all the other girl school dramas--put in plain words, I'm not impressed by it at all. However, my favorite voice actress, Haruka Tomatsu is playing a main character (Yuka), that'll be enough reason for me to see it to the end. Her voice is still playful as ever.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

[New April 2012] Medaka Box


Japanese title: めだかボックス
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11761/Medaka_Box
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/medaka-box
Genres: Comedy / School Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Medaka is a first year high school student, yet she's elected as student body president with a landslide victory. She's out to build the best student council in history.

First impression score: 87 - Somewhat Unique

Personal comments: The blunt personality of Medaka feel somewhat like Haruhi Suzumiya when she was first introduced. While the concept is rather old (there are only like a thousand different animes about student councils...), I can sense some fresh ideas in this series. Most importantly, the original author of the story is Isin Nisio, the original author of Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Katanagatari. That alone would be enough to stick around to see what this series has to bring us.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

[New April 2012] Zetman


Japanese title: ゼットマン
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11837/Zetman
Watch Online: http://www.hulu.com/zetman
Genres: Scifi / Action
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: When artificially created superhuman called "Player" escaped, mysterious murders in the city started to occur.


First impression score: 87 - Violent

Personal comments: This is an anime adaptation of manga written by Masakazu Katsura, who is well know for authoring acclaimed series such as D・N・A², Video Girl Ai, and my personal favorite, I''s. It's sometime hard to believe how versatile he could be--not only he can draw and write a long and emotional love drama like I''s and Video Girl Ai, but also capable of doing shounen action series like Zetman and D・N・A². He is a truely amazing artist. Back to the anime itself, the respect to original author alone would probably be enough for me to stay with this series because knowing the quality of his work, this series should be at least semi-decent, given the animators did not totally mess up in the adaptation. 

[New April 2012] Ozuma


Japanese title: オズマ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12677/Ozuma
Watch Online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/ozma
Genres: Scifi / Post Apocalyps
I've watched: 3 episode

Summary: In the future where the surface of the earth become mostly sand. People are trying to survive in the harsh environment while fighting battles underneath the sand.


First impression score: 84 - Somewhat exciting

Personal comments: I mark it as April season new anime, but this started air way early in March and it is only 6 episodes long. So it soon will be ending. The first thing you'll notice about this series is its unique style, since it's based on manga written by the legendary Leiji Matsumoto (松本零士), the author of Galaxy Express 999. It's a little odd at first, but it'll grow on you. The first two episode felt very much like one of those classic WWII submarine battle movies, except the battle is done in liquid sand, not sea.

[New April 2012] Hiiro no Kakera


Japanese title: 緋色の欠片
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12461/Hiiro_no_Kakera
Watch Online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/hiiro-no-kakera
Genres: Fantasy / Supernatural / Reverse Harem
I've watched: 2 episode

Summary: Because of her father's job change, Tamaki came to live with her grandma, only to find out that she is the descendent of a sacred blood line and is being asked to be the shrine maiden to protect the world from daemons.

First impression score: 87 - Reverse Harem

Personal comments: Since reverse harem are so few and far between, you can always smell it from far away. However, because it's so rare, the average quality of reverse harems tend to be much higher than its counterparts. So far this is no exception.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

[New April 2012] Saint Seiya Omega


Japanese title: 聖闘士星矢Ω
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12929/Saint_Seiya_Omega
Watch Online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/saint-seiya-omega
Genres: Action / Fantasy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Seiya is now gone, the duty of protecting Athena is now upon the next generation.

First impression score: 83 - Revived Classic

Personal comments: It's been more than 25 years since Saint Seiya was aired originally. After a series of finale OVAs, Seiya finally passed on. While the title still bear the word Seiya, the story of Omega is all about the next generation, given Seiya, the one unkillable person in the entire Saint Seiya series gets finished off within the first 5 minutes of episode 1.

[New April 2012] Accel World


Japanese title: アクセル・ワールド
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11759/Accel_World
Watch Online: http://www.hulu.com/accel-world
Genres: Scifi / Action / VR
I've watched: 2 episode

Summary: In the future, when everybody is linked through "Neural Link", there exists a secret program called "Brain Burst" where people who are capable can accelerate 1000 times beyond normal perception of time.

First impression score: 88 - Intriguing

Personal comments: Interestingly enough, this is a series that is based on an environment very similar to the world described by Dennou Coil, where I just mentioned a couple of days ago about google's Project Glass. I always find this kind of story intriguing, so long it doesn't focus too much in the drama that exists purely because of the technicalities of VR environment, like the later .hack series (not .hack//sign or .hack//Quantum though). I'm much interested in seeing what this series has to offer.

[New April 2012] Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead


Japanese title: これはゾンビですか? OF THE DEAD
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/10790/Kore_wa_Zombie_Desu_ka_of_the_Dead
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Magical Girl (lol) / Zombie / Vampire / Supernatural / Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Our beloved zombie magical girl man is making an return.

First impression score: 90 - Kick it up a notch
 

Personal comments: One of the most outrageous anime of 2011 is making a return. If you haven't seen the original yet, you should. Most notable property of the original series is the wild mood swing. From the feel of this new series so far, I think they're going to be just as wild.

[New April 2012] Uchuu Kyoudai

Japanese title: 宇宙兄弟
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12431/Uchuu_Kyoudai
Watch Online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/space-brothers
Genres: Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Year 2025, two Japanese brothers, one is about to go to the moon on a NASA mission, the other one has just gotten fired from his work as an automobile designer. They both had a dream once upon the time to go the the space. Now they both set off the achieve them.

First impression score: 82 - More interesting than I thought

Personal comments: It's series like this, where I had pretty much no expectation what so ever, would once a while surprise me. Whatever it is, it somehow grabbed me, despite it isn't in any art style that I'm fond of, nor do I have any interest in the topic. For now, I'd say I'll at least give it to mid season to decide whether this is a keeper for good.

[New April 2012] Queen's Blade: Rebellion

Usually, I try to wrap up the previous season before I put out new season posts. But since I've accumulated so much backlog and the new season has already been trickling in since last week, I figure I'll just go ahead start on this season while slowly finish up my reviews for previous season. And what's better than kicking of the new Spring season of animes with the biggest and bounciest boobs in anime history--Queen's Blade
 
Japanese title: クイーンズブレイド リベリオン
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/11859/Queens_Blade:_Rebellion
Download: available through http://www.nyaa.eu/
Genres: Action / Drama / Ecchi / Boobs
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Queen Claudette now is in charge, and she repealed Queen's Blade law. Now new civil unrest start to appear.

First impression score: 78 - ... It's still Queen's Blade

Personal comments: It's still Queen's Blade, though the boobs aren't appearing nearly as often as the original series. While I was rather fond of the original series' plot, I'm not sure whether this series will be at par. For one, take that screen cap for example, while dressed like that, some how people still manage to think she is a "he", until a couple of seconds later her breast plate blew off and her boobs are shown. I don't remember the original series had any stupid ignorance like this. This is not a good sign.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

[News Flash] Dennou Coil Technology Becomes Reality

For those who have seen Dennou Coil, you'd probably be interested in looking up the term "Project Glass" on Google--the technology of Dennou Coil has just become reality.

For those who haven't seen Dennou Coil, you really should watch it, as it is one of the only three animes on this blog that I've ever given a perfect overall score to.

[Ended] Ano Natsu de Matteru: Revamp of Modern Classic


If you have seen Onegai Teacher, you'd probably would have cried foul at some point along the way because it's unarguably clear that Ano Natsu de Matteru is literally an episode by episode (if not scene by scene) revamp of Onegai Teacher. Of course, there are some new contents added to it. But if Onegai Teacher wants to take Ano Natsu to court for a plagiarism case, 10 out of 10 times it would have won it.

Having said that however, I would not say you should dismiss Ano Natsu as a "copycat" product. In fact, I would recommend this series if you ever liked Onegai Teacher. For one, Ano Natsu would actually reminded you about everything we liked about Onegai Teacher and how it became one of the modern romance anime classic. On top of that, director Tatsuyuki Nagai, who is also responsible for all the tears we shed over Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, had done an almost equally amazing job here to set up an environment that is warm yet melancholic which resulted in a feel that is light and relaxing yet powerfully moody.

Having said that however, to some, the fact the creation process of this series is literally taking all the art work out of Ano Hana and plugged them right into Onegai Teacher could be somewhat bothersome to many. Personally, I think that's fine, so long the end result is good series. But some of you may not be so kind in overlooking these "plagiarism" factors. 

Final scoreboard:


Drama: 90 (Dramatic)
Comedy: 90 (Romance humor)
Action: 80 (For what it had)
Art/Animation: 88 (Ano Hana)
Sound/Music: 86 (So so)
Character: 88 (Interesting)
Plot: 80 (Not original)
Ending: 81 (Implied)

Re-watch value: 60 (Unlikely)

Overall: 88 - Retelling the Onegai Teacher Story in Different Form

Recommendation: Personally, because I'm very fond of both Onegai Teacher and Ano Hana, I really don't have a problem for someone try to do a makeover of those series, especially when they did a fairly good job. For people have seen neither of the referenced series, this is no substitute. But, as a stand along series by itself, I would recommend it.

Monday, April 2, 2012

[Ended] Black Rock Shooter: Masochist Manifesto



If reading the title of the post makes you think I don't like this series, well, you're totally wrong. In fact, I'm rather fond of this series. The title, is actually how I felt when the post final climax explanation went down: they fight to be hurt, they fight to carry the pain, and above all, they fight because love. Even within the context of Black Rock Shooter realm, this sounds like a masochist manifesto. But I think that's the point it's trying to get across.

Come to think of it, since I finished Persona 4 right before I watched the final episode of BRS, I see lots of similarities in the morals they are both trying to carry out--treasure life and what you have in life, even when you can't see, sometimes you may hit a bump in the road, but sometimes, there are those who are carrying even more pain for you than you aware. So you should consider yourself fortunate, and enjoy life when you still can.

Final scoreboard:


Drama: 90 (Drama heavy)
Comedy: N/A
Action: 94 (3DCG battles)
Art/Animation: 86 (Mostly CG)
Sound/Music: 90 (Miku)
Character: 88 (Good development)
Plot: 83 (Makes more sense than OVA)
Ending: 86 (Happily)

Re-watch value: 60 (See the fights)

Overall: 88 - Interesting concept

Recommendation: This TV series makes a lot, I mean a lot more sense than the OVA. It actually has a pretty decent plot and an interesting moral. As one of my friends put it, this series has quite some table flipping moment (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ when key part of the story is being developed. If you have some anger issues, I would recommend you not to have anything you can throw nor any tables you can flip when watching episode 4--, it'll literally make you want throw them to the TV. ^_^

[Ended] Persona 4: Wild Ride

For the most part, the early episodes of Persona 4 feels like a wild goose chase. According to people that has played the game, the series actually feel very much like how the game went down. But since I've never played game, I have no way of knowing. One thing I could tell you for sure, is the fact Persona 4 is in a completely different league than Persona: Trinity Soul, which was one of the slowest and most boring plot I've seen in animes. It's a bit hard to understand early on, in turn, the mystery just didn't seem that impressive. However, as the story progresses, more and more persona revealed, they literally stack the mystery up one block at a time and constructed a rather complex plot that in my opinion matches the reputation of the Persona series.

The story of Persona 4, reflects upon a problem that exists in today's society, where instead of accepting realities everybody is facing, we'd rather hide behind the shadow and cheat ourselves out of seeing the truth. As a result, we only  see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. At some point, we start to live in our shadows, and eventually, we become our shadows.

Final scoreboard:


Drama: 89 (There are some rather dramatic moments)
Comedy: 85 (Ok to certain extend)
Action: 88 (Nod bad)
Art/Animation: 81 (Acceptable)
Sound/Music: 83 (Interesting)
Character: 90 (Well developted)
Plot: 90 (Twists and turns)
Ending: 90 (Grand, but slightly anticlimactic in my opinion)

Re-watch value: 60 (May still be interesting)

Overall: 88 - Nicely done

Recommendation: It may not look that impressive early on, but as they're stacking the pieces higher and higher, it becomes more and more interesting. I wouldn't say this is a must watch, but if you have some extra time, this would be a good series to pick up.