[Ended] Kamisama Dolls: To Be Continued

At first glance, the story of Kamisama Dolls is a simple story. But as new characters being introduced and back stories being told, you'd realize this is not nearly as simple it it originally seemed. Most of the complication came from the massive role reversals--almost every new major character is introduced as a villain, followed by some background stories that would explain how they become of that. After knowing the reasons behind their act, it's actually somewhat difficult not to sympathize with them.

It may looked somewhat amusing early on, I find the out-of-place insertion of random comedic moment is not only annoying, but also breaks the rhythm of the ongoing plot flow. I'm not exactly sure what they're trying to achieve with this technique. It sacrifices the flow of the story in exchange for some not-so-good laughing points. In my opinion, that's not a good tradeoff.

Certain part of the story seems to ignore the fact that surrounding them, it supposed to be a normal society. Take the final battle for example, with it lasting that long in the middle of Tokyo in the middle of the day, how is it possible towards the end of the fight, the streets aren't packed with people and police, and helicopters aren't all over the place? Also, would anybody explain to me why all the sudden the kamisama dolls start to bleed?! Just where is the blood coming from?! I have to say the author didn't seem to be trying hard enough to let the story stay within our reality.

The ending of the series clearly indicates that the story of Kamisama Dolls is far from over. Although whether rest of the story would be told through TV screen or in forms of manga only is unclear. 

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 91 (Slowly build up)

Comedy: 80 (Out of place, out of sync)

Action: 89 (Pretty good "God" battle)

Art/Animation: 82 (Typical)

Sound/Music: 90 (Love the theme songs)

Character: 83 (Flip flop)

Plot: 92 (Gets complicated)

Ending: -- (It's not over yet)

Re-watch value: 65 (Maybe to catch some more details)

Overall: 85 -  First of many
 
Recommendation: Honestly, as much as I criticize it, I am actually quite fond of this story, especially when it gets massively complicated like this. It's really hard to give recommendations on this one because on one hand, there isn't anything too special, but on the other hand, it's actually somewhat of an interesting story that has set up some massively complex world that is ready to be explored.

[Ended] Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni: Comedy of the Season

Aside from the the slightly unsatisfactory slow start, in my opinion most of this second season is just down right brilliant. In fact, in most aspects, this second season outshines the original series by a fairly large margin. In additional to the summon battle, there are some in-depth character development and some outrageously hilarious and complex situations. On top of that, it went far and deep into the relationship conflict, not with just  a single triangle, but multiple triangle all tangled together. Combine that with some random rolling on the ground laughing caliber pop out acts of some characters, this is no doubt the recipe for

Comedy of the Season for July 2011 Season

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 97 (Outrageous)

Comedy: 95 (Brilliantly funny)

Action: 91 (Summon battle)

Art/Animation: 90 (Still takes a bit to get used to)

Sound/Music: 88 (Good)

Character: 88 (There are some depth to them)

Plot: 92 (Very clever arcs)

Ending: 90 (Meh...)

Re-watch value: 91 (Won't be nearly as exciting)

Overall: 94 -  Rolling on the floor laughing
 
Recommendation: If you want some good laugh, this is THE series to watch from July 2011 season. Just don't judge it with its first two episodes.

[Ended] Kaiji 2: Luck vs. Skill

Some say that luck favors the skilled. That in my opinion is largely reflected upon in this exciting second season of Kaiji.

While the main theme of this season is cheating, there is no lack of excitement watching people out cheat each other. Waiting to see the next episode of Kaiji is about one of the most agonizing thing in last six months, especially for the very last month of the pachinko showdown. It was filled with what  would call "expected surprises"--you know something going to happen, just not sure exactly how it's going to happen. This waiting and guessing game is the primary fuel of the excitements. Better yet, it even manages to throw one last curve ball when everything seems to be over.

Even though I was never fond of gambling, watching this reaffirms my position on never gamble, especially gamble games that is purely based on luck. It's something you'll never win. 

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 94 (Extremely dramatic)

Comedy: N/A

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 81 (Still takes a bit to get used to)

Sound/Music: 90 (Just as exciting)

Character: 88 (Overdramatic)

Plot: 96 (Twists and Turns)

Ending: 90 (Comradery and backstabbing)

Re-watch value: 40 (Won't be nearly as exciting)

Overall: 91 -  Intriguing
 
Recommendation: While it's not nearly as deep into logical analysis as season one, this psychological thriller is still just as exciting. If you could overlook the strange art style, this is one of the most exciting show of this season.

[Ended] Mayo Chiki: Cliche

Although it's extremely cliche, it's definitely one of the better cliche animes. Honestly, there really isn't much to say about this anime because it's just cliche after cliche. On top of that, despite the repeated hints, the invisible relationship tension among Kanade, Subaru, and Jirou never got to the bursting point, which, to me, is somewhat of a disappointment.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 75 (Cliche)

Comedy: 75 (Cliche)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 82 (Cute)

Sound/Music: 75 (Typical)

Character: 82 (Cliche)

Plot: 76 (Very cliche)

Ending: 70 (Not really)

Re-watch value: 20 (Not necessary)

Overall: 78 - It's Cliche 
 
Recommendation: This is one of those series that you watch once and forget about it. But if you want to skip it all together, you're not missing much either.

[Ended] Hanasaku Iroha: Life Unfolds, Page at a Time

While there are a lot of cliche elements in the story, each and every single character felt real and original. Throughout the series, you see not only the main heroine slowly mature, but also the life stories unfold slowly along the way. In fact, as the story progressed, less and less you're able to identify a single main character. Instead, the entire crew takes on the center stage as the main focus of the story.

I have to say, very much like Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, this is one of those series that you have to allow it to "grow" on you, because it's a very very light drama that you can only see and feel the passion when you are completely immersed in the world it created. 

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 90 (Somewhat dramatic)

Comedy: 89 (Few, but interesting)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 86 (Typical)

Sound/Music: 88 (Eh...)

Character: 99 (That's where this story shines)

Plot: 92 (Very well designed)

Ending: 92 (On a very good note)

Re-watch value: 60 (Maybe)

 
Overall: 90 - It's Life 
 
Recommendation: Like most slice of life anime, you have to understand and embrace what the story tries to tell you. Without that understanding, or attempting to understand them, you'll never be able to fully appreciate it. 

[Ended] Natsume Yuujinchou San: Lighter Than Usual

The story of Natsume Yuujinchou is slowly evolving. It has gone from single episodic stories of monsters that wanting to retrieve their name from book of friends to a semi-serialized short stories of Natsume's life. In fact, majority episodes of this third season has nothing to do with the book of friends itself. Still, what makes Natsume Yuujinchou so attractive was never lost: a series of short stories that are designed to be heart touching.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 92 (Light Drama)

Comedy: 89 (To certain extends)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 90 (Unique to its own)

Sound/Music: 93 (Great as usual)

Character: 91 (More in-depth development)

Plot: 86 (A bit lacking, but not bad)

Ending: 85 (More to come)

Re-watch value: 60 (Maybe)

Overall: 90 - The third installment is still as great 
 
Recommendation: In my opinion, you either love Natsume Yuujinchou or couldn't stand it, it's highly unlikely to feel anything in between.

[Ended] Ro-Kyu-Bu: Loli Paradise?

Take a typical female sports anime, reduce the age of the characters by 10, you have the formula for Ro-Kyu-Bu. Almost half of the show are devoted to fan service--not just any fan service, loli fan service. In my opinion, it just make it so much more tasteless. But, there's no reason to dislike cute things, so I'm not going to ding them on that.

The layout of the story extremely formulaic, you can almost predict outcome of every single game, even how it would unfold. With that said, however, it's definitely not a bad anime: all characters are very well developed, and there is no lack of excitement even though the plot is completely formulaic. If you are into cute stuff like this, you might still like it.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 77 (Formula Drama)

Comedy: 81 (To certain extends)

Action: 80 (Loli basketball)

Art/Animation: 80 (Loli)

Sound/Music: 80 (Not bad)

Character: 87 (Good development)

Plot: 74 (Highly predictable)

Ending: 80 (You can see that coming)

Re-watch value: 20 (Are you lolicon?)

Overall: 78 -  Lolicon
 
Recommendation: If you're a big lolicon fan, this is like your paradise. If you like formula sports anime, you probably would like this as well. Otherwise, if your queue isn't too long, it'll be an interesting one to watch. 

[Ended] Uta no Prince Sama Maji Love 1000%: Reverse Harem 1000%

Uta no Prince Sama is a very very very typical reverse harem anime. In fact, its dating sim game origin can be seen clearly throughout the series. But, since reverse harem anime is such a rare breed,  when you do spot one, it tends to be much higher quality than its counter part (harem animes, that is).

Being a music themed and reverse harem anime at the same time, you just can't help to remember the best (possibly the only till now) reverse harem music themed anime of all time, Kiniro no Corda: Primo Passo. In fact, as I mentioned in previous posts, the early part of the series literally felt like an reincarnation of Kiniro no Corda.

While the reverse harem may be its rise to fame, it also ultimately became one of its pitfalls: being a short season in the reverse harem realm, the focus of the story is almost entirely on the princes. The main heroin was only barely touched in terms of character development. You can argue the emphasis of the story is really on the harem princes, but as the central role that supposed to tie everything in, the presence of Nanami felt extremely weak. I think it has more to do with the length of the series--if it were a long series, they probably could have done a much better job than this.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 82 (Reverse Harem Drama)

Comedy: 81 (For the little it had, it was pretty good)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 78 (Nanami's creepy eyes...)

Sound/Music: 90 (I do like their songs)

Character: 82 (All developed well except Nanami)

Plot: 80 (Typical reverse harem)

Ending: 80 (...)

Re-watch value: 20 (I wouldn't)

Overall: 81 -  Reverse Harem Musical
 
Recommendation: On one hand, I think it's a decent reverse harem story that is done relatively well. On the other hand, it really offers nothing beyond that. So, it's really a tough call whether I would recommend this.

[Ended] Kamisama no Memochou: The Darker Side of Student Detective

The series started off feeling like just another Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi or Sket Dance where a group of amature student detective/freelancer helps out other people however they can. But soon, you'd realize that Kamisama no Memochou is not nearly as simple or, more importantly, as innocent as the previous two.

While the moral it tries present doesn't have a particular negative ring to it, the presentation it chose, however, is somewhat perturbingly dark and twisted. I think the author actually intended to use this story to indirectly reflect upon the problems exists in the current society, in a very clear and blatant manner. That's something I can always appreciate.

The whole NEET concept Alice was trying to pass to the audience towards the end was interesting, but I just don't think it's likely that majority of NEETs fall under that description. But again, I never lived in Japan, and completely unaware of current situation of their social environment, so I could be completely wrong about that.


Final scoreboard:

Drama: 91 (Very dramatic)

Comedy: 85 (For the little it had, it was pretty good)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 84 (Typical)

Sound/Music: 88 (Average)

Character: 92 (The main ones are well done, but sidekicks are still 2-D)

Plot: 94 (Dark and twisted)

Ending: 93 (Well built climax)

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

Overall: 91 -  Perturbingly Blatant
 
Recommendation: Personally, I really like this blatantly straightforward approach this story took. But I'm not sure other people would see it the same way. But if you like a darker version of slice of life anime, you definitely don't want to miss this. It's a bit stretch, but I think I'll hand it

Drama of the season for July 2011 Season

[Ended] Nekogami Yaoyorozu: Not Much in It

Honestly, I think the only reason I stuck around for this series is the fact my no.1 favorite voice actress, Haruka Tomatsu (戸松遥) plays the lead role. In fact, hearing her voice is actually soothing enough to allow me to overlook all the short comings of the series while I'm watching it. However, that does not mean I'll just blindly give it a high score on everything, because as I see it, there really isn't anything exceptional (or even above average) worth mentioning in this anime. So, let me waste no time and proceed to the scoreboard.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 71 (Little bit)

Comedy: 70 (More fart jokes than anything else)

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 74 (Simple)

Sound/Music: 82 (I like the ending song)

Character: 77 (Interesting, but no depth)

Plot: N/A

Ending: 70 (Not really)

Re-watch value: 20 (No need to)

Overall: 72 -  You are not missing anything
 
Recommendation: Basically, unless you're a fan of Haruka Tomatsu (戸松遥), I'd say you should go ahead skip it.

[Ended] Ikoku Meiro no Croisee: Nice and Slow

Many animes, in order for you to like it, you have to allow it to "grow" on you. Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is one of them. I may feel a bit slow and uneventful, but it if you allow it to "grow" on you, you'd start to appreciate the story more and more especially when you get a bit attached to the characters.

The core of the story is about how a girl would deal with culture shock in an age that global travel is not that common yet. In the process, she not only have her own feeling dealt with, she also reached out and helped out those surround her that are facing difficult issues.

The bottom line is, this is one of those "feel good" stories that there's almost nothing but calm water. Even though there are some melancholic moments from time to time, for the most part, the story is designed to make you feel good and happy. There really isn't any of a plot to speak of. But, like I said, if you allow it to grow on you, you'll still like this plotless story.


Final scoreboard:

Drama: 80 (Very calm drama)

Comedy: N/A

Action: N/A

Art/Animation: 88 (Cute)

Sound/Music: 82 (Calming)

Character: 87 (Let it grow on you)

Plot: N/A

Ending: 80 (Somewhat closure)

Re-watch value: 40 (It'll be a drag)

Overall: 84 -  Nice and Slow
 
Recommendation: If you're in need of a general "feel good" story, this probably provides it, given that you'd allow it grow on you slowly.

[Ended] Sacred Seven: Bad Guys, They're always Illogical

One of the most common and convenient plot device many anime tend to use is the "forgetful people" technique. We have seen this countless time even in great series such as Kanon and Clannad. Still, it feels a bit lame when it's revealed.

One thing bothers me a lot about stories like this is that even though the bad guy supposedly is fighting against the ultimate power to gain the ultimate power, not once has he considered that there is a chance he might actually lose. I mean, seriously, if you don't have the ultimate power, and fighting someone who does, wouldn't you at least consider there might be a chance you're not going win?!

Put that aside, Sacred Seven is a very typical hack and slash -ish anime. It has more or less everything a typical hack and slash anime has. While it's interesting from time to time, I don't think it worth the 5 hours I invested in it.

Final scoreboard:

Drama: 81 (Super-powered dramas)

Comedy: N/A

Action: 80 (Eh...)

Art/Animation: 84 (Typical)

Sound/Music: 88 (Not bad)

Character: 80 (Kind of interesting)

Plot: 78 (Stereotypical)

Ending: 80 (Very predictable)

Re-watch value: 30 (There is no need)

Overall: 80 - B- 
 
Recommendation: If you ask me, I'd say it's not worth your time. But if you really have too much free time, this is also not the worst thing from this season.