Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Wow. Just wow.

I don’t think my opinion of an anime has ever changed so drastically within the space of a few episodes. Wow…

In the beginning I had high hopes for Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu. The concept alone was pretty interesting and with the right development could have been a compelling taken on school streaming and to a certain extent classism. The primary plot concerns the ranking of students by their academic ability into A-F sets, something commonplace in the UK, but apparently rare in Japan. Not that the lower sets receive additional support or supervision mind, just substantially less privileges. In the case of the bottom set, Class F, a run-down classroom, complete with old broken furniture (desks that later get replaced with cardboard boxes) and broken windows. Cos those conditions will really motivate students!  So, the students of Class F (all six of them) decide their going to challenge the system and “declare war” on the other sets. Honestly, I really like this pitch. If it had had an ounce more of thought or if it had followed actually through with this set up, then I would probably be singing a different tune right about now.

So, episode one, Class F declare war on Class E. And its goofy and silly and over the top, and they win. Huzzah! In episode two, a shocking twist of events, Class A declares war on Class F, and Class F lose! Oh well, didn’t expect them to complete their task by the second episode! And that that’s for eight straight episodes… I am dead serious. Apparently there’s a rule that the losing set cannot declare war for three months, so the main plot pretty much stops. Instead fuck all happens for eight episodes. Eight inane, grating episodes. Presumably this is supposed to pass for character development, but it’s so fucking derivative. There’s even a god-damn pool episode! This has fuck all to do with anything.

Onto the characters, they range from tolerable to fucking diabolical. The main character is a perpetual child and screeching moron. The love-interests are so underwhelming, and the fucking ninja-pervert….please die. Most of the jokes fall flat because they are the same one note repeated at nausea. Girl has flat chest, guy looks like girl, everyone has their own stalker, ninja-pervert takes a panty shot, and it’s a non-stop laugh riot! For all of five minutes. The fact remains that we’ve seen this format before and done better. And it wasn’t all that funny then either. The problem is that the characters are not invested. We as the audience are supposed to root for these characters, because they are the underdogs, because the system is unfair, and because they are treated badly. But that’s rarely shown because that is not what interests the writers. The protagonists are not crusading for equality. They just want the entitlements awarded to the higher sets. Without any of the work. They not only support the system, they want to benefit from it. And frankly, that’s not something I can get behind.

So… yeah I didn’t much enjoy this one.

Rating: 4/10

Kamisama no Memochou (Heaven’s Memo Pad)

Returning to Kamisama no Memochou after several months’ hiatus, was a tad surprising. Surprising in a good way, in that the anime had had any sort of lasting impression. That’s not to say that Heaven’s Memo Pad is by any means a bad or even an uninspired anime. Quite the opposite in fact. Especially consider the rather tired and overused premise it has to work with. Hmm, I wonder it that could be part of the problem. In short, I was not expecting Kamisama no Memochou to turn out to be good and memorable at the same time.

As mentioned prior, it’s the premise that is the shows ultimate chink in its armour. Moe-detective and generic-male assistant solve crimes! Oh and the moe-detective has an English name. And she’s supposed to be super adorable but it translates as arrogant and annoying. And the male is bland. And he has a love interest. Who is also bland. It’s insipid and it’s been done to death! Comparing this momentarily with its more recent predecessor Gosick, on the surface neither anime has differs substantially in terms of concept. But whereas Gosick puts very little thought into its individual mysteries, or developing the relationship between the two protagonists, instead opting to be entertaining as oppose to thought-provoking. Kamisama no Memochou takes the same premise and actually turns it into something good. And the title makes more sense than ‘Gosick’.

The series complies several murder mysteries (and a baseball game) into 12 episodes. The length of each mystery varies between two to four episodes. Each one is beautifully written and delivered, with an unexpected amount of substance attached. Perhaps the most heart-wrenchingly touching is the final story arc, since it centres on the attempted suicide of a pivotal cast member. And it doesn’t get an easy wrap-up. None of the mysteries do because some moments in life are just that complicated and joyless. And solving the mystery doesn’t change the course of events, ultimately it doesn’t rewrite the wrong. There are no easy answers and Kamisama no Memochou does an excellent job of phoning that in. In that, it is a thoroughly satisfying work of art.

Protagonists Narumi Fujishima and Alice are stereotypical sure, but not so rigid. Narumi is not the typical saintly male lead as often is portrayed. Naïve yes, but also all too human in some places, in particular the final storyline which deals a fair amount of crap his way. Alice probably gets the rawest deal as her character never truly grows. Still, she never crosses over to full on annoying and her powers of deduction remain consistent. She is smart but not omniscient. The remaining supporting cast do an outstanding job of being both contrived and interesting. They tend not to play on their stereotypes, offering layers and more dynamicity. Interestingly, while the cast as a whole is more subdued, they don’t come across as dull or one-dimensional. They come across as real people.

In all, Kamisama no Memochou is refreshing. It’s intelligently written and executed, the characters are well-rounded and likeable, and it is capable of producing genuine emotion (especially during the final storyline). It’s a pity that the show only made 12 episodes…

Rating: 8/10 

Yuruyuri – Review

In the medium of manga and anime, the term Yuri is implemented in material contained a lesbian context. Interestingly social attitudes towards homosexuality in Japan are (to put it politely) frowned upon, considering same-sex marriage/civil partnerships are not permitted under the law. But apparently twelve year old schoolgirls having lesbian fantasies are considered perfectly normal and not at all creepy. Not in the slightest. Go figure.

Typically the depiction of Yuri will tend to differ depending upon which gender the medium is primarily aimed at. Yuri aimed at a male audience will often play up the relationship for gratuitous purposes whereas Yuri aimed at a female audience will perform the opposite, downgrading the relationship to a natural platonic phase. And here is where Yuruyuri seemed to get its wires crossed. On the one hand the premise – four middle school students try to reform the tea ceremony club – has all the hallmarks of a watered down K-ON. The principle cast are bright, bubbly and shojo-ingly moe, complete with all the expected archetypes, Akari is the klutz, Kyoto is the lazy one, Yui is the straight-man and Chinatsu is the super-duper moe one. Did I say archetypes? I meant one-dimensional clichés. Nevertheless this done-to-death gimmick with stereotypical characters Yuruyuri is pedalling does appear relatively harmless. That is until the panty jokes begin.

Much like the recent A-Channel, another school girl, slice-of-life series, Yuruyuri could have been an interesting anime if not a decent one, had it even engaged remotely rather than relying on the lowest form of humour – panties, boobs and nosebleeds. The jokes are bad, repetitive and ultimately go nowhere. For example, one prevailing non-sexual gag is that Akari, the supposed main character leaves no lasting impression on the cast or the audience. Does anything actually become of this? Nope. Talk about wasting the potential of the one genuinely inventive joke. Not forgetting of course, how unsubtle the remaining sex jokes are. This is neither cute nor charming. This is disturbing, very, very disturbing. In the long run it raises the important question of which demographic Yuruyuri is primarily aimed at, young girls or older men? Presumably it’s the latter. This is fanservice, pure and simple.

Go watch K-ON! Or Lucky Star instead.

Rating: 4/10

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

Hana Saku Iroha - Review

Hana Saku Iroha was somewhat of a bumpy ride, producing varying reactions along the way. In the end it had a wonderfully well written arc that result in a solid and satisfying climax that shined over prior calamities. I think the main problem was that it was good at what it promised, a slice of life, coming of age, the daily on-goings of a traditional Japanese Inn and appallingly bad at the unexpected – the outlandish comedy and romance triangle.  In both these areas characters and situations didn’t feel natural and interrupted the general flow – for example the perverted writer who writes explicit porn involving the underage girls at the inn, when discovered he kidnaps Ohana and later attempts suicide. Giving him a job at the inn is obvious the workings of a rational, sane mind. Yet this character becomes the perverted comic relief for the remaining series. Despite the fact I can’t imagine any teenage girl finding this situation comfortable. 

As for the romance section, the Minko-Trohu-Ohana triangle is expectedly, but even so the latter part appears almost out of nowhere. It certainly doesn’t come across as a genuine love interest, more or less like a plot device to create tension between Minko and Ohana. It does serve one good purpose, with Minko unjustly on the war path with Ohana; the ever-annoying Ohana is given a sympathetic light and thus becomes more endearing. As for Ohana, the primary protagonist the series did a fantastic job overall of making an overtly optimistic teenager, likable and compelling. In context this is a girl who quite literally has her life turned upside down and placed into a familiar environment, but what makes her relatable is the moment she begins to challenge her mother in favour of the inn. This is when Ohana stops being the archetypal heroine and becomes an average teenager.

 Rating: 7/10 

A Channel & DOTSO Review

A Channel - Review

A show about the daily lives of four school girls might not seem very interesting on paper but in practice it’s moderately successful. This is because the anime focuses efficiently on the protagonists and on developing them as distinctive but not radically difference individuals. Of course this is not without flaws. Run, the resident cute airhead is borderline retarded. This is demonstrated numerous times but the clearest example is the instance in which Run nearly falls out of a three-story window whilst waving at her friend. That’s just natural selection surely? Or the time when she forgets to put on her underwear and flashes her friend, I mean how does this girl function in the real world? Evidently the creators are incapable of decipher between naïve and dumb. Another problem takes the form of not knowing who the target audience is. On the one hand the non-threatening female characters and their mini-escapades into the joys of friendship and growing up would suggest primarily young girls are the intended mark. Yet the often uncomfortable and somewhat sexualisation of their cuteness (take the underwear episode or the teacher with a crush on Run’s forehead) would suggest an older male demographic. Fortunately these are few and far between. In short if you want an enjoyable, simplistic, non-challenging anime to pass the time, A Channel delivers.

Rating: 5/10

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko – Review

With a name like Electromagnetic Wave Woman and Adolescent Man, you know this is going to be awesome right? With a premise of a young girl who is a self-proclaimed, futon-wearing alien, having been missing for half a year and later recovered floating in the sea; this isn’t going to be a chore to seat through. Well you’d be wrong on both accounts. DOTSO is just another cute-but-somehow-inept-female meets boy-void-of-personality. Rather than utilize the premise to its full potential, the anime prefers to exploit Erin’s backstory merely as a device to make her childlike and helpless, thus dependent on her male cousin. But perhaps the most insulting part is that we never learn what did happen to Erin, not even ambiguously. It’s never addressed, which renders the entire premise utterly pointless. The writers could have substituted a less outlandish backdrop – Erin was bullied at school and thus became a shut in, you could still have exactly the storylines. If fact that would make people’s reactions to her more convincing. Presumably the knowledge of her disappearance/reappearance was well known, any person with common sense would determine that the girl is suffering amnesia due to some form of trauma and take that into account before treating her like a social leper. Oh no, Erin generally fears returning to school and has trouble finding employment because people find her ‘weird’. Why? Erin wraps a futon around herself. Why? Because she is mental/emotionally traumatised! Why? Because she was missing for half a year! Or the brain-dead mother who doesn’t see fit to put her daughter in therapy, apparently she thinks Erin is going through a fad. Or maybe she is waiting for some generic male relation to come in save the day with optimism! And how does this marvellous series end? With an entire episode dedicated to a baseball game, which our hero is absent from as he has been sent on a random quest to locate the father of one of his miscellaneous friends. A filler episode! It ends on a filler episode. No, the entire series is a filler episode.

Rating: 4/10

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-Tachi wa Mada Shiranai Review

Animes like We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day, neatly nicknamed Anohana for short, are rare to come by. Wrapping up this month after a mere eleven perennial episodes, Anohana is fairly short but definitely sweet, remaining on the mark for the entirely of its run. It was smooth sailing for the most part with a couple of hiccups along the way, in particular the melodramatic minor characters, however strong planning and execution gave the show a greater purpose, more compelling then the sum of its parts.

The storyline focused on the complex relationship between five childhood friends who have drifted apart three years prior after the death of their sixth member, Meiko ‘Menma’ Honma. The primary protagonist, Jinta ‘Jintan’ Yadomi, the group’s former leader, now social recluse, is the only person able to see or communicate with Menma of whom he initially dismisses as a hallucination, a manifestation of his guilt. The relationship between Jintan and ghost girl Menma is both moe-humorous and deeply troubled at the same time, as Jintan struggles to come to terms with the supernatural return of his former friend. In essence Anohana is a coming-of-age drama, which has its characters enthralled with typical teenage dilemmas such as unrequited crushes, depleting friendship circles and social alienation, all the while having to deal with significant childhood trauma.

Anohana not only crafts great chemistry between Jintan and Menma, but also amongst the other four side characters, Anaru, Tsuruko, Yukiatsu and Poppo. The characterization is nothing short of wonderful, each teenager depiction is detailed and trendsetting, while primarily consisting of angst-ridden teenagers, and none come across as annoying, whiny or vastly unlikable. I’m almost impressed. This has to be a first. A primary strength of Anohana is that each character faces their own brand of grief which transpires into very different reactions. It explores the many ways that grief can be felt or expressed through physical escapism, falling in with the wrong crowd to irrational feelings of jealousy and resentment.

Nevertheless this tactic is not without its flaws. Whereas some characters are subtle and realistic in their anguish, others are overplayed. None more so then cross-dressing Yukiatsu, who’s youthful love for Menma drives him to impersonate her, white dress and all. You’ve seriously got to question how sincerely a child can not only comprehend an intricate emotion such as love but also hold a flame indisputably for three years. On the other hand Tsuruko was severely downplayed, while she remained the most ‘together’ member of the group, I couldn’t help but find her primary reason – the unreciprocated crush aspect, rather disappointing since it was already relevant to Anaru.

As a whole Anohana is a fine example of how well simplicity and innovation can bounce off each other under firm direction. The anime might have ended with one of the more emotionally charged climaxes this season, but it didn’t come as wholly unexpected, given the flow of the series. Reconciliation of the group was the ultimate goal, despite the obvious the series reframed from becoming sloppy or derived, and managed to pull of a touching and exceptional finale. Excellent series and highly recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10

Hana Saku Iroha - 06 & 07

To be honest, I haven’t got a lot to say about either episode. They’re certainly not as bad as others have been and yet Hana Saku Iroha seems to have hit a lacklustre patch. It is becoming more prominent that the Inn not doing well and the love triangle between already rivals Ohana and Minko will be major themes later on, something of which I’m looking forward to. Unfortunately this does little to improve the shows current predicament and the simple truth that 7 episodes in and it’s starting to go stale. I’m not sure how the story is going to be able to stretch to 26 episodes…

Verdict: Average

Hana Saku Iroha 05 - Tearful Chef Romance

Initially I thought Minko must have come from a background different to Ohana, one that had led her to be resentful of her new roommate. That was the only reason I could surmise for Minko’s abrasive attitude. As it happens this is not the case, the worse crime her parents committed was to put their foot down against their daughters request to drop out of high school, yet they seem more then willing to let Minko pursue her chef dream by working and living at the inn. You would have thought Minko might have sympathised with Ohana, after all her mother basically pawned her off. In all Minko still hasn’t managed to redeem herself, I can’t stand her personality.

The major dilemma was a fairly obvious mistake and it was a little surprising to see how quickly everyone lapped it up despite only circumstantial evidence. In essence the plot suffered the same problem as episode three only no where near as drastic. It was unable to resolve the current situation without blowing it out of proportion, escalating in Ohana acting like an ass. Well on her own head be it, all anyone had to do was simply ask Tohru, nothing taxing.

Verdict: Fine

Hana Saku Iroha -04 Grey Heron Rapsody

A very welcomed return to form after the sheer silliness of last week’s episode. Though this episode did end on a discovery, through not as dramatic, I certainly hope it can be resolved without resorting to the innfolk having to mad chase someone down.

The story moves into a new environment, one we all knew was coming as Ohana begins to attend the local school alongside Minko and Nako. Here Ohana is able to glimpse Minko outside her job and basically she is the same stick-up-her-butt bitch as she is at home. This however seems to make her the coolest girl in the class. Apparently bitchiness is considered cool in Japan, go figure. I feel as through I’m done giving Minko the benefit of the doubt, she is an obnoxious character, one who might find Ohana annoying, but has little valid reason to continuous treat her coldly. After all she did get bitchslapped by her own Grandmother after trying to defend Minko. The last week she was kidnapped and held hostage by a peedo. I mean, Minko give the girl a break already!

On track, Ohana is immediately bombarded with Minko’s fanboys only to be saved by Yuina, the daughter of the rival inn’s owners. Yuina seems the friendly, happy-go-lucky type, a completely opposite to Minko’s character, who now appear to be love rivals, so it will be interesting to see whether Ohana gets caught in the crossfire. The romance element between Minko and Tohru came as bit of a surprise, through it probably shouldn’t have. Minko has a one sided, school girl crush on her primary male handler. Ohana puts two and two together and while attempting to speak to Minko gets strangled for all her efforts. Yeah, Minko, this is probably why you don’t have any friends…

Verdict: Good

Hana Saku Iroha 03 – Balut

After the previous episode ended on a very sudden and dramatic high, I was all set to applaud Hana Saku Iroha for its brilliant delivery and creativity. Regrettably I can no longer do so. It’s almost as if the writing staff wanted to end on something quite shocking but didn’t have the balls to carry suit in the next episode. If the premise had been taken even half seriously, episode three would have been a tough act to follow. Instead they went for some light-hearted romp.

Ohana finds herself taken hostage and tied bondage style by the potential rapist/paedophile novelist of whom porn she stumbled upon at the end of the last episode. However as it transpires he is neither, just a failed writer trying to put together a porn novel in order to pay his bill. Ohana gets a case of Stockholm syndrome and decides to read his sex story about her and the other hostesses. Seriously did this child get dropped on the head repeatedly? Last week I discussed how genuine I felt her character was, this week Ohana relapsed.

Does it end there? Does it feck! As if this situation wasn’t bad enough, the creepy novelist attempts to make a quick get away after being discovered, only to have the inns entire staff in hot pursue. Hang about hasn’t the old battleaxe spend most of her screen time banging on about the importance of customer service? I mean, who is supposed to be running the inn? Or is this guy the only customer they have? Is this why they need his money so badly? As it happens, no, they don’t. Once they have the creepy freeloader cornered, he immediately threatens suicide and the inn staff respond with a little powwow, ultimately letting him out of his debt. Excuse me Madam Manager, did you miss the part where this geezer kidnapped your own grandchild?

Then they all proceed to have a group meal. Screw the paying, law-abiding customers.

Verdict: Average/borderline stupid

Hana Saku Iroha - 02 Vengeance is a Staff Meal

The drama continues at a surprisingly fast pace as Ohana’s good natured, can do spirit gets a complete overhaul, through no fault of her own, as we are treated to another glimpse of bad parenting. Trust is obviously going to be a strong theme throughout Hanasaku Iroha, starting with Ohana as she vows to be more willing to rely on others. By recognizing that its main character has faults, the show crafts a complex heroine, as oppose to an unrealistically pure one.

The relationship between Ohana and Minko took a step towards their enviable friendship. As nothing she does seems to be right, Ohana obviously reached her limits with Minko, taking her out verbally and physically. As for her sense of revenge, well its’ pure genius!

The cliff-hanger ending was without a doubt something unexpected. I never thought that Hanasaku Iroha would put Ohana in that level of peril, especially so early on in the series. Hanasaku continues to impress me with its wonderful sense of timing and fantastic delivery. Seriously, keep it coming!

Verdict: Very Good.

Hourou Musuko Review

Typically transgender anime characters are stereotyped as flamboyant, usually for comedic effect and in many cases blurring the line with homosexuality – think Grell Sutcliff (Kuroshitsuji). Few take it upon themselves to be serious and to address the issue of growing up in the wrong body with a degree of understanding and maturity. This is what makes Wandering Son magnificent. It explores transsexuality with such remarkable sensitivity and progression in an altogether realistic environment.

The show focused mainly on the dilemma of the male protagonist, Nitori Shuichi, through has two female cross-dressers (Chizuru Sarashina and Yoshino Takatsuki) as well. This dramatically demonstrates the blatant inequality in our modern patriarchal society, in that it is acceptable for females to wear male uniform to a public school without reprimand, however when reversed, a male student wearing a convincing sailor uniform has their parents called in immediately. Nitori even mentions the unfairness that only he was taken out of the school. And only he receives the ‘gay’ tag.

Which brings me onto another thing I admire, Wandering Son, very neatly separates transsexuality from homosexuality. The anime begins midway through the manga, leaving the cast to allude to prior events including a love triangle between Nitori, Takatsuki and another girl, Saori Chiba, which has led to friction between the two girls on the part of the rejected Chiba. In addition Nitori develops feelings for his sister’s friend, Anna, of whom he dates for a while. The romance element is genuinely touching, at the same time relationships are portrayed as complicated and messy, with friendships strained and individuals resentful. Isn’t this just a part of growing up? Needless to say, this is an authentic representation of the bitter truths adolescents face.

Wandering Son is a very slow paced show, even for only eleven episodes. However none manage to become needlessly padded. The storytelling flows from start to finish evenly with absolutely no hick ups. This is planning and writing at its finest. It’s convincing, complex and subtle. On the other hand, the animation is a different issue. At first I found it very creative and detailed, but after the series ended, I wasn’t as fond of it. I guess I just don’t care for the aesthetic, it felt a bit wishy-washy to me but I’m sure that just a personal preference.

In all, Wandering Son is nothing short of excellent. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Kimi ni Todoke 2 Review

The second season of Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You/Reaching You, depending on translation) is approximately half the length but definitely twice as comprehensive. Rather than another seemingly endless saga supposedly will they/won’t they but more accurately ‘do they even have feelings for each other?’, Kimi ni Todoke 2 sets itself a clear direction, to resolve the main romance in a timely fashion.

With this task in mind, the show was able develop the main characters much more thoroughly, in particular Kazehaya, who came across as far less wooden this time around. The inclusion of a rival for Sawako’s affections seemed to work wonders, almost shaking Kazehaya into a reaction, but ultimately clarifying his position beyond simple friendship, something which the first season was slightly ambiguous towards. Now the only obstacle standing between Sawako and Kazehaya are quite literally themselves and their perpetual refuse to address their feelings. Of course a constant string of misunderstandings doesn’t help matters. This approach requires as much patience as its predecessor. Even so, it’s much more worthwhile since it recognises that relationships are gradual and often confusing, outright rejecting the overused love-at-first-sight concept.

That being said, Kimi ni Todoke is nothing neither new nor imaginative. It is simply an in depth exploration of two well rounded teenagers who will inevitably fall in love. It may not be novel, but it’s certainly focused, which again is a step up from season one. Presumably this is why this season went with twelve episodes over twenty-five, a much more compact and on target run, without being clogged down by useless filler. The show does provide a nice view of everyday school life, emphasising study groups, after school gatherings and celebrating festivals. It’s quaint, enjoyable and nicely animated, summing the anime up as a whole. Without a doubt the sequel is a wonderful improvement.

Rating: 7/10

Hana Yori Dango

Boys over Flowers probably doesn’t need an introduction, it’s a pretty popular live action with Jun Heartthrob Matsumoto, with a sequel and a movie to boot. Not to mention an equally as good Korean remake. The less said about the Taiwanese attempt the better.

Unfortunately the anime falls into the latter category. Granted it was made in 1996, the production is terrible, the characters look tragically dated and the only available version I could find was the God awful English dub. If the plot wasn’t so naff, it would be easy to forgive these faults as simple victims of circumstances, but wowzier it’s bad! I mean Rui is an attempted rapist and Shizuka is flattered? I am so relieved that the live action took liberty with the script and Korean simply copied and pasted. Because I doubt I’d own a copy of DVD if it had stuck to the original plot.

Soranowoto Review

Soranowoto (Sound of the Skies) is a relatively quiet anime, not what one would expect from a war drama. Lavish action is rare aside from the occasional flashback sequences, even then physical conflict is held at arms length from the viewer. The purpose is obviously not to glamorise warfare, but to focus on the devastation it brings. While Soranowoto presents a crisp concept, it simply lacks pragmatism, its daring but it doesn't fully commit, and as such the end result falls rather flat. That being said, Soranowoto is not without its charm. As a slice of life show, it’s pretty superb.

Set in post-war Europe, in the country of Helvetia, speculated to be either France or Switzerland, through the precise location is never specified. Their enemy is equally perplexing, known only as the Romans and ruled by an Emperor, yet their mother tongue is German. This almost feels parallel to the allies and axis division of the Second World War. Interestingly the surroundings are akin to war-torn Europe, were it not for the advanced military technology, the reasoning seems to be excessive war has regressed all other forms. Soranowoto triumphs in crafting a world of its own, a rich, multi-layered universe, ingeniously sophisticated and intriguing, it’s really no surprise that so much of the series is spent exploring it.

And this is where the first problem occurs. The pace for the first half of the show is slow and light-hearted, focusing predominately on the main character, Kanata as she and the viewer are introduced to her new life. From a slice of life perspective, this is wonderfully told and genuinely entertaining. The mood then quickly shifts as the imminent threat of war becomes the main theme in the last couple of episodes. Not entirely unexpected, but not quite as impressive as it could have been. Not to mention too much is crammed into the final episode, that the conclusion ultimately seems far fetched and thus disappointing. In all, a capable show, it just seems to miss the mark.

And then there’s the issue of the main heroine, Sorami Kanata, an entirely improbable and unbelievable protagonist for a military-themed drama. First of all, she is too young, I mean what half-baked army is this country running when you allow underage children to enlist? Secondly she blatantly has received no formal training, she doesn’t even know how to fire a gun, and again, this is the army, isn’t it? Furthermore her motivation to sign up leaves a lot to be desired. In Helvetia, music is reserved exclusively for the military and Kanata really wants to learn to play the trumpet. It’s a fool proof plan, except for the little fact that her country is a war! Finally Kanata herself, her nativity, her over enthusiastic personality is completely unsuited for her occupation, a soldier. That being said, her comrades aren’t much better in this regard. When they are finally involved with direct conflict, they prefer to protect an injured enemy and commit treason. Albeit very noble, but not very convincing.

Unfortunately Soranowoto does have more interesting characters, the sleepy genius Noël Kannagi, for example. It’s just too bad that her development is reduced to a few measly freak-out scenes during the final episode. Rio Kazumiya is another overlooked character, her back story as the illegitimate heir to the throne is ripe with potential yet the instance it seems to be going anywhere, Rio is whisked away to the off screen peace talks. And then returns with some flimsy excuse. A waste of a perfectly good character.

Despite its faults, Soranowoto is still worth the watch. The production is incredibly smooth and stylish, while not groundbreaking. It’s certainly a cut above the average anime. The slice of life drama is dazzling, taken outside of their context, the main characters work splendidly together on par with any other inside the box friendship unit, notably K-ON! Still while the overall concept is certainly imaginative, the end product doesn’t quite fulfil the brief. Good but had the potential to be great.

Rating: 7/10

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

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

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