First Impressions: Hourou Musuko and Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?

Hourou Musuko.
A boy wants to be a girl; a girl wants to be a boy & they’re good friends.

Anime is no stranger to cross-dressing or gender confused characters, through more often then not, the character has already established their gender-identity and this is not the major focal point. It’s rare for an anime to address the issue of transsexuality in such a progressive and sensitive manner, one that doesn’t just accept cross-dressing as an eccentric characteristic, but tactfully draws the subject into an ordinary, realistic environment involving normal, day to day people. Wandering Son does precisely this, and it is so beautifully crafted. The animation has a dreamy watercolours style that seems almost surreal and it’s absolutely enchanting. That being said, as an opening it felt a little muddled. It seemed like a lot had already happened, that the audience was joining the story half way through rather than at the beginning. Still the story is easy to follow so that’s not a massive problem. In all, I’m very excited with Wandering Son, even it promises to be more of a coming of age than a slice of life programme, which means its probably going to be a tear jerker.

Rating: 9/10

Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?

Undead Tweenboy is a magnetic for magical women and soon his house becomes a harem.

At first glance “Is this a Zombie?” seems to be peddling the standard harem material. You’ve got the bit-of-a-drip male lead living by himself one minute, and then suddenly bombarded with a horde of antagonistic women the next. Unfortunately for Ayumu Aikawa he isn’t lucky enough to exist in the type of harem where all the girls are aggressively into the male lead. On top of that, the first two episodes feel very claustrophobic. There is too much happening with far too little explanation, almost like a series of events taking place without an actual purpose. The characters could have been brought together much better. Still the sub-plot that Aikawa is plotting revenge on his killer is intriguing and if developed well could do wonders to improve the shows initial rating.

Rating: 5/10

First Impressions: Beelzebub and Gosick

Beelzebub

One dimensional delinquent gets a crash course in parenting.

This isn’t funny. At all. Bad form, considering this is supposed to be a comedy. There’s pretty much nothing likeable about the main character, he’s just a douchebag, surrounded by a bunch of thugs. No wonder the punch line to most gags is a brawl. Hilarious, I’m sure. Enter the demon baby. Not in the least bit cute, very annoying and really needs to be wearing a nappy. Not interested. Surely if the opening is this bad, the rest of the series can only pick up.

Initial Rating: 3/10

Gosick

Creepy-chan living doll solves blatantly obvious mysteries while male sidekick acts as personal skivvy.

Despite an underwhelming start, I still have high hopes for Gosick, probably because I’ve been channelling European-gothic vibes akin to Rozen Maiden. Leading lady Victorique does a splendid, haughty Shinku impression while Kazuya has the vanilla sidekick down to an art form, with the exception that Jun is more of a brat. Kazuya on the other hand has been designed to fit the noble, white-knight archetype complete with flashbacks reminded him of his duty to serve and protect. In short, he is a doormat. And pulled the short straw in terms of character design, take into account the guy with the hair! Ridiculous enough for two characters, I suppose. As for the plot, it’s a little ropey to say the least. Victorique and Kazuya meet under very tenuous circumstances, there’s no real direction other then the plot requires it. The first mystery is solved fairly quickly and isn’t much of a testament to Victorique’s powers of deduction or actual skill. It’s just obvious. The second mystery seems to have the same problem as well. On top of that Victorique is more like a child psychic than a detective, she just happens to know the correct answer all the time. Still, she is so adorable!

Initial rating: 6/10

Mitsudomoe Review

Mitsudomoe is probably something you won't expect to like at first. The fine line, low brow comedy of mixing pre-pubescent children with adult themes and sexual humour is more than enough to repel even the most liberal-minded viewer. Granted there are awkward moments aplenty but on the whole Mitsudomoe manages to balance itself reasonably well. Even if most of the jokes do not aim higher than the gutter.

What Mitsudomoe does highlight wonderfully is a core fact of life - kids DO know about sex. They do make tasteless sex jokes, they do lie about their knowledge amongst their peers and they do express sexual curiosity, albeit very naive. One problem I do have with this premise is that it has the potential to be pioneering, considering that the primary cast are female, thereby acknowledging a basic truth - boys and girls are equally inquisitive and yet it agonizingly falls back in line with the objectification of women under the male gaze motif. Even more disappointingly, its the young girls themselves that are preoccupied with the female physic - Hitoha regularly reads porn in class while Futaba has a vivid and disturbing obsession with breasts. Sequentially its hard not to feel a little cheated.

That being said, once Mitsudomoe steps away from the wearisome and repetitive boobies and panties gags, there is a thoroughly entertaining slice of life show. The idealistic, new teacher Yabechi, is faced with three triplet troublemakers, the Marui sisters; Mitsuba the mean spirited and slightly sadistic elder sibling, Futaba, the deranged, freakishly strong and freakishly destructive middle child and Hitoha, the quiet, socially outcasted loner, simply dubbed youngest-san. Not to mention a diverse and well developed supporting cast of classmates. Farcical circumstances are principally derived from misunderstandings between these characters, of which can be quite witty and imaginative, when the writers put their minds to it!

Overall, Mitsudomoe is a decent effort, it does demonstrate a varied range of comedy styles, vulgar double-entendres and innuendos aside, there is enough well constructed humour to prevent this show from falling precariously into realms of smut. Yet what this show needs, what I'm confident it is capable of, is to really refine itself, so that clumsy boob gags do not become relied upon to provide a laugh. However, Mitsudomoe does improve as the show goes on, which is good because it does need time to grow on the audience.

Rating: 6/10

Shrinryaki! Ika Musume Review

Given the opening platform of Shrinryaki! Ika Musume (Squid Girl), the environmental awareness theme is surprisingly less prominent than anticipated. Rather it serves as a humorous backdrop for the series title and showcase character, an unwavering, adorable human girl shaped squid, known simply as Squid Girl. In effect, Shrinryaki! Ika-Musume is a light-hearted comedy which focuses keenly on the depiction and antics of a squid out of water. Overall, this is a genuinely funny show.

Squid Girl's appeal is in her nativity, she persistently demonstrates limited knowledge of humanity - believing the population is only 1000, and its customs - not understanding the significance of a birthday celebration, to exhibiting childlike fascination towards everyday tools such as umbrellas. Coupled with a string of weird and wonderfully squiddie powers, which present for outlandish yet destructive situations, its pretty clear that Squid Girl's original plan for world domination won't amount to much by the end of episode one. Instead we are treated to generous amounts of action, brandish under a lavish, imaginative concept. A scenario so bizarre, no one need question it.

Each episode is separated into three morsel bite size slices, steadily introducing a supporting cast of whimsical characters who reoccur throughout the series. Some good, some strenuously unspectacular. Eriko Aizawa strikes up a reluctant relationship with Squid Girl as her bothersome kid sister archetype, which feels both genuine and provides some touching moments. Whereas local stalker Sanae's unhinged, masochistic obsession with (lets face it) a squid, quickly becomes repetitive and stale. However when compared to the American scientists/three stooges team, who are just plain annoying, suddenly all is forgiven. Still, there were a few characters that when under the radar, the lifeguard, Gorō Arashiyama for example, that could have benefited from being a little more polished.

Ultimately Shrinryaki! Ika Musume wraps itself up with a substandard finale, one that just seems pointless and plumb inconsequential to the story overall, other then just reconfirming what the audience have already worked out for themselves. Nevertheless a poor ending does little to damper the undeviating levels of easy going amusement that this show specializes in. Its this lively, fresh and absolutely adorable approach that encourage the viewer to simply switch off, sit back and enjoy. 100% aquatic gold.

Rating: 7/10

Otome Youkai Zakuro - Review

Some animes are so perfectly charming that it can make finding fault difficult, a mere challenge in most cases, yet Otome Youkai Zakuro (Demon Maiden Zakuro) seems to have emerged unscathed. The only real criticism I can provide is that the series doesn't expand upon the half-spirit element into an entirely new dimension, then again, I'm not convinced this is necessarily a bad thing. The shows foundations are solid, the story is thoroughly engaging and the lead characters are all amiable. If its not broken, don't fix it. In a nutshell.

Set during the Meiji era of an alternative reality Japan, where humans and spirits coexist, the newly formed Ministry of Spirits Affairs is devised to deal with subsequence clashes between the two. Officers Agemaki, Riken and Ganryu are partnered with half-spirit girls, Zakuro, Susukihotaru, and twins Bonbori and Hozuki respectively. Primary protagonists Zakuro and Agemaki's partnership soaks up most of the limelight, as the pair progress through stages of initial dislike/distrust to understanding and friendship. In hindsight their relationship seems the most healthy, especially when compared to the laid out on a plate romances of the other couples.

The main story arc turns up quite quickly, blending smoothly in between the numerous filler plots and background stories of the main characters that allow for some splendid and detailed growth before leading to an almost natural conclusion. From beginning to end, the simple charm of Otome Youkai Zakuro is the shows strongest allure and rightfully so. I've been bewitched and I guarantee you will be too!

Rating: 8.5/10

Shiki - Review

My last encounter with the vampire genre left a lot to be desired. Apprehension aside, I gave Shiki (Corpse Demon) a shot in the dark after hearing nothing but praise. And it paid off. In one disturbingly gritty stroke, the vampire genre has been resurrected, more ghoulish than ever before.

Shiki is set in a small, deserted location, the village of Sotobamura, with 1300 residents approximately. The initial sense of isolation is low key, yet enough to put the viewer on guard. Each episode becomes increasingly rhythmic with suspense, as the vampiric grasp over the community steadily tightens. Nevertheless the majority remain blissfully unaware of the threat despite the rapid surge of unexpected deaths. Just sheer genius. But of course this doesn't last. Mob rule quickly descends once the truth is revealed, its absolutely chilling to watch the nice, neat, normal characters clinically introduced throughout the series turn on family members and friends alike. Ruthless and brutal anarchy at its finest.

In addition I really liked Shiki's unprecedented portrayal of vampires. First of all, it was pot luck as whether victims would decay or rise again. This was a superb idea. It was such a simple yet fresh twist that played perfectly into the notion that death doesn't discriminate as cited by head vampire, Sunako. Secondly the diversity between newly turned vampires was remarkable. Most embraced their new identities with a cruel glee while others tried desperately to fight against it. In many ways Shiki is every bit a tragedy as it is a horror.

Its worth mentioning that the true intention of Sunako is not to massacre the village but to create a safe and secluded haven for her kind. It is this childish innocence that makes Sunako want to be accepted rather then hated which redeems her character as a tragic heroine rather than a straightforward monster.

As a whole, Shiki is relentlessly good. It literally never misses a beat. Severely recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10

Kimi ni Todoke Review

In anticipation of the upcoming live action featuring Miura Haruma (Bloody Monday/Gokusen 3) as the male lead, I decided to sit down and watch the original anime. Typically I'm not a fan of romantic comedies especially concerning a teenage cast, they tend to be consistently monotonous. Boy meets girl, despite having little to no chemistry they fall in love and spend a sluggish amount of time getting together. The old 'will they/won't they?' chestnut gets frustratingly drawn out during a course of illogical events and irrational actions. In essence Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me to You) is more interesting then it should be, since it doesn't deviate from what is expected.

The story focuses on heroine Sawako, a introverted loner, cruelly nicknamed Sadako "the girl from the Ring" as tediously pointed out over and over again, a seemingly laughable premise, until we learn how her shyness is construed as gloom by her classmates, leading to her social exclusion. Though this actually renders the character as identifiable and we are quickly able to regard her with fondness. Howbeit the tendency for Sawako's personality to go overboard is all too frequent, she is often portrayed as too innocent, too native and ultimately too nice, especially when compared to the average fifteen year old girl. Still, Sawako is likeable, which is the main thing.

Enter the love interest, popular heartthrob Kazehaya, who starts paying Sawako attention. Problem is, there is no logical reason for him to do so. Its a minor plot hole, but one commonplace in romantic comedies. Kazehaya encourages Sawako to communicate her feelings in order to make friends just because he is [i]that[/i] nice a guy, seems far fetched. Rather Kazehaya behaves according to how the plot needs him too in order to move along. On top of that, Kazehaya doesn't come across as particularly interested, genuinely a nice guy, but that's about it. I have no clue why other girls want him so badly other than it accommodates the plot.

The enviable Sawado/Kazehaya hook up drags on for 25 long episodes, which *spoiler* doesn't happen. Its slightly disappointing that they don't as much as kiss in those last fleeting moments, the progression of their relationship is so slow that I'd be surprise if they are onto holding hands by the middle of season two. However the series did capture the searing jealous and manipulative nature of the school girl crush quite nicely. Love rival Kurumei was delightfully wicked in her endeavours, crushing the competition in her single minded attempt to gain Kazehaya's affection. Its a shame this sub-plot wasn't carried on to the end of the series.

Still, I'm actually looking forward to season two.

6/10

Mini 2010 report

Favourite Anime: Occult Academy

Favourite Male Character: Seishin Muroi (Shiki)

Favourite Female Character : Maya Kumashiro (Occult Academy)

Favourite Couple:

Yes, obligatory fangirl moment.