Ikoku Meiro no Croisee - Review

Taken out of context, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee or Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth is a perfectly charming historical adaption of life during the second half of the nineteenth century. The anime explores cross-culturalism in a manner which is both reverential but also understated. While Ikoku Meiro no Croisee never explicitly crosses the border into racism, it does however paint a rather rose tinted view of the time period, especially considering that racial prejudices were rife during the era – i.e. Social Darwinism.

However the strength of the anime is in its characters, succeeding in a cast that are dynamic and also endearing to behold. Despite the primary emphasis on Yune, she is a relatively unremarkable character. Her concept is one that is often overused in the depiction of Japanese girls in which ‘cute’ and ‘doll-like’ are the only conceivable traits. Fortunately Yune is a little more refined and well-rounded than most and her character is surprisingly well suited. Nevertheless when compared with the scope of the cast, Yune feels flat and one-dimensional, almost an object rather than a person.

On the other hand, the male protagonist Claude is an adept straight-man with a fleshed out backstory and plenty of personal development within a relatively short amount of time. Significantly Alice provides the right balance of annoyance and fangirlism to make for intriguing melodrama. While Oscar and Camille are excellent secondary characters, each adding a sense of stability and insight into the complex constrain of society.

Still when put into context, the plot of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee really falls apart. A young girl travels to the other side of the world with a complete stranger so that she can work as a maid in his grandson’s poorly performing business. The immediate question is why? Was this a regular occurrence at the time? Amusingly Camille points out that Claude knows very little about Yune, not her family status, not her age, nothing. The crushingly disappointing aspect of this series is that it never addresses who Yune is. We never learn why she wanted to come to France, if she did at all. We never learn how she and Oscar met. We never learn how a young Japanese girl became fluent in French. In fact the only thing we ever learn about Yune’s backstory is that she has an older sister who went blind. Granted this is a pretty touching and elegantly told but it makes even less sense. Why would Yune leave her blind sister (of whom she feels responsible for) alone while she runs off to Paris for an unspecified amount of time?

This is the only real flaw of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. It demands the temporary suspension of reality in that the audience only focus on the moment. If you do, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee offers a heart-warming, slice-of-life tale with a beautiful cultural twist. Just don’t ask it too elaborate…

Rating: 8/10 

For fans of: Gosick, Rozen Maiden, Hourou Musuko

Dantalian no Shoka - Review

I have to admit, this one was a bit of a doozie.

Dantalian no Shoka or alternatively Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian (The Mystic Archives of Dantalian) is certainly a peculiar one. At a mere twelve episodes the series is pretty easy-going and fits nice and tidily into the Victorian/Edwardian mystery niche that the Japanese are so fond of. On the other hand, it’s lazy and unsubstantial. It seems to almost pander to said niche rather than seeking expansion or development. And there are plenty of animes that handle this cliché better and manage to have a resolution.

Set in England after the First World War, Hugh “Huey” Antony Disward (voiced by none other than the black butler himself, Daisuke One) inherits his grandfather’s massive estate and underage demon/doll/library-girl, Dalian as well. The plot focuses on the duo as they recover phantom books, objects which offer the reader non-specific magic powers. As an episodic series, Dantalian no Shoka is entertaining enough, through the initial premise – Dalian is a library – is never actually explored or explained. It’s just accepted. Much like Huey and his new role through he really has no obligation to. And yet at no point does Huey display any resistance nor does he ever question Dalian regarding her origins or how her powers work. He just accepts it, which is not how a normal human being would behaviour but there you go. This is a prime example of poor character construction. Sure Huey can get shot in the stomach, bleed out, get up and carry Dalian as he jumps out of window then run away from a pack of hungry zombies but ultimately does that give him a personality? Nope. It just makes him a bland, one dimensional hero archetype. Needless to say Dalian’s character or lack thereof isn’t any better.

Admittedly Dantalian no Shoka reminds me a lot of Gosick – same time period, same moe-girl and older guy couple, same preliminary mystery premise, same sleek animation. It actually surprised me that the two were not made by the same company. Ironically what wore thin with Gosick is what gives Dantalian no Shoka its strength and vice versa. For example whereas Gosick didn’t work as an episodic series and the bigger picture was much more interesting, it’s quite the reverse for Dantalian no Shoka, which seemed content to shoehorn something resembling a main storyline very last minute and I do mean last episode last minute. The effect was pretty disastrous. It felt rushed, half-hearted and completely unintended, like the producers had planned for a longer run but ended up stopping mid-point just as something new and exciting was occurring. Ultimately this pulled the series down.

Rating: 6 /10

For fans of: Black Butler, Gosick, Rozen Maiden 

Gintama 203 – [Wartirine/Warti/Wartise]

Since Gintama is fairly long and fairly random, I will probably resort to blog only selective episodes depending on how much free time I have. Let me start by saying, wowie episode 203 was amazing! In true Gintama fashion this two part arc kicked off the new season at full throttle!

Whereas episode 202 re-introduced the Odd Jobs trio momentarily, this time the focus was on Gintama ‘other half’ – the Shinsengumi. Not longer the police force of Edo, now an empire ruled by the appropriately named Jerkaiser, Okita. Personally I didn’t like the berserk Yamazaki, or find Okita nearly sadistic enough and didn’t believe for a second that that was the real Hijikata. Nevertheless once the insanity was blown up a notch, I was on the floor with laughter and I kid you not.

To be honest I didn’t fathom several of the plot twists, namely that Shinpachi was infected and Gintoki wasn’t. Which I probably should have, if you think back to the eyebrow zombie turning everyone into old men episode in which Gintoki is immune because he is already a useless old man, it stands to reason that he would be immune to an ambition parasite. In short Gin is invincible. At least that’s how I see it.

Verdict: Good.

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