Tag: from RPG.net

Comic Party

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

After an inspirational trip to Comiket, a group of high-school friends decides to start producing doujinshi.

Characters

Kazuki, our protagonist… although given how much he’s yanked around during the first episode, that’s being a bit charitable. At first he’s sceptical about the whole comiket/doujinshi thing, but he does get taken in by the enthusiasm of those he meets there. Has an art background.

Mizuki, his cliché tsundere childhood friend. Absolutely hates Comiket, but given how she gets trampled over twice before being dragged offscreen for most of the episode, I give her some slack.

Taishi, their “friend” who dragged them to Comiket in the first place, and spearheads the doujinshi project. He’s prone to Gratuitous English, loud speeches, and narration. Very, very annoying.

Inagawa is an already active doujinshi artist that Kazuki meets at Comiket. They quickly hit it off, and she’s the main reason he starts enjoying it a bit. She’s from Kansai (with the inevitable accent and paper fan), but thanks to the power of plot convenience she transfers into everyone else’s high school at the end of the first episode.

There are a few other characters that look like they’ll be recurring – a clumsy girl lugging packages around, and the head of Comiket security. Neither gets much development yet, though.

Production Values

Very, very cheap. The animation is subpar, and this really looks like a product of the 90s. The terrible background music doesn’t help.

Overall Impression

Well, Genshiken this is not. This is broad comedy with barely a hint of subtlety (I do like the notion that the “elevator school” setting allows those people to screw around without care for their studies). It’s quite hard to get attached to any of the caricatures calling themselves characters, as they spend most of their screentime screeching annoyingly.

There’s a bizarre dream sequence before the opening credits where Kazuki finds himself in a typical school harem setup (without realizing it), with everyone mistaking him for the protagonist. While it did raise more of a smile than the rest of the episode combined, I fail to see what the point was.

Bottom line : it’s not nearly as funny as it wants to be. Maybe it improves later on, but I don’t care.

Because Mizuki getting trampled over never gets old !
Because Mizuki getting trampled over never gets old !

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 2.

Digimon Tamers

(51 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Digimon is just another fad cardgame… or is it ? There’s an awful lot of critters wandering around in the edges of the city, fighting harsh battles for unknown reasons.

Characters

Takato is our standard-issue kid protagonist. He somehow stumbles on a bizarre Digimon card that transforms his card player into something else entirely… which eventually creates a whole new critter from his handwritten designs. He thinks it’s AWESOME… until the critter starts spouting fire at the scenery. Oops…

There are a couple other kids running around separately that can “see” the critters while they’re moving around digitally… An aloof girl and a technophile boy. They obviously know quite a bit about what’s happening, but they barely get a couple of lines each so far.

There’s also a shadowy organization that secretly monitors the critters for whatever purposes. Their apparent leader is always compulsively clutching on some object I can’t see.

Production Values

Average. The CG sequences are a bit clunky but perfectly serviceable.

Overall Impression

Much better than I expected from a cardgame tie-in. This is the one season that’s actually any good, right ? It’s pretty good at building a foreboding atmosphere, and the conspiracy angle looks promising. There’s nothing particularly irritating, the product placement is reasonable, and I’m positively intrigued on where this is going.

I could see myself adding it to my popcorn “to-watch” list in the near future.

I don't think store-bought cardplayers are supposed to scan random notebooks on their own, are they ?
I don’t think store-bought cardplayers are supposed to scan random notebooks on their own, are they ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001.

Angelic Layer

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

In the future, the latest Serious Business fad is a combat through hi-tech dolls sport called “Angelic Layer”. Cue start of your standard battle series. But since we’re adapting a CLAMP manga, all the fighters (and their dolls) seem to be female.

Characters

Misaki, our 12-year-old ingenue protagonist, fresh off the countryside and new to the whole thing. It’s heavily implied that her long-estranged mother (whom she hasn’t seen since kindergarten) is the current Angelic Layer champion. She was brought up by her grandparents, but has come to Tokyo to live with…

Shoko, her aunt. But don’t call her that, or she’ll agressively point out she’s still in her twenties. It’s obvious she doesn’t approve of her sister’s behaviour regarding Misaki.

There’s a quirky scientist dude (introducing himself as “Icchan”) stalking Misaki at the train station, and helping her buy her own Angelic Layer doll (you can apparently buy them at your local mart). He’s kinda creepy, to be honest, although the charitable view is that he’s betting on her to be a future champion (he knows about her mother). He does get hauled off by the cops halfway through the episode, as a store clerk did find him quite creepy too.

The OP and ED sequences suggest that Misaki is going to make some friends at her school and start going into tournaments, but we’re not there yet.

Production Values

It’s a Bones series, so it was bound to look at least good (although this is one of their lesser efforts). I’ve always found their work polished but a bit artistically sterile, and they certainly seem to overpower the CLAMP influence here.

Overall Impression

It’s a battle anime. It’d have a hard time convincing me to continue watching it on any day.

Now, it does quite a lot to sell me on Misaki as a character, and her broken family background does hold some interest. The creepy scientist at least makes the exposition a bit less clunky than usual, and there’s a genuine sense of wonder about the whole Angelic Layer system. It certainly sounds like a fun toy.

But, at the end of the day, it’s a battle anime. Certainly above average, but it’s obvious the series will continue into the obligatory tournaments, with our underdog prodigy quickly moving up the ranks (thanks to her deep connection with her doll) until a cathartic reunion battle with her mother. I feel like I’ve already watched the whole series, and thus I can’t bring myself to really care.

Still, points for trying.

Misaki fascinated by her new toy.
Misaki fascinated by her new toy.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001.

Run=Dim

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The year 2052. The world is still recoiling from a huge disaster at the end of the 20th century that wiped out most major cities. A terrorist faction has taken over a space station and threatens Japan with it. The government takes the “wait and see” approach, so the independent paramilitary organization known as “Jesas” (sic) sends in their manned mecha to recover it in a bid to get themselves established. They completely bungle it, but never fear : their new generation of mecha pilots, kids with prescience superpowers, are nearly ready !

Characters

Kazuto, our generic male lead. You know the type : when he falls off his bike, he manages to land watching under a girl’s skirt.

Kanna, our generic female lead. You know the type : she goes changing into the men’s locker room by mistake, and never acknowledges she did anything wrong.

There are six other new pilots, but they don’t show any personality so far. They all attend a briefing given by your typical hard-ass instructor, who has no patience for Kazuto and Kanna’s antics, and is of course voiced by Jouji Nakata. He’s mostly there to deliver exposition.

The Jesas organization is lead by generic council of vagueness, with one woman objecting to nearly everything the others say ; this is presumably supposed to make her look better than her scheming cynical colleagues, but she just comes off as irritating.

The terrorists’ only character of interest is a slightly creepy mecha pilot who annihilates his opponents without breaking a sweat.

Production Values

Oh, dear. Where do I start ?

This series is entirely computer-generated. And it looks terrible. The backgrounds are okay, if the “empty streets of Mainframe” look is what they were going for (after all, the setting is post-apocalyptic). But the characters look horrible, a bizarre cross of semi-realism and traditional anime designs, and their body language being all out of whack doesn’t help them getting out of the uncanny valley.

It doesn’t help that the directing is amazingly incompetent, with long shots where nothing happens and pregnant pauses that only underline the artificiality of these robotic characters. Every third shot has a sweeping camera movement that was presumably meant to show off the smoothness of the animation, but the fixed speed of motion makes it look like someone’s fallen asleep.

Overall impression

This does have some (unintended) comedy value, but the novelty wears off after a while. Mostly, it’s boring, and the cliché antics of our two leads don’t help. There are some major failures of storytelling (I’m still unsure of the sequence of events between Jesas’s first attack of the space station and the various scenes with our protagonists), and it’s just ugly to look at.

You might want to watch an episode to have a good laugh ; but otherwise, avoid it.

Doesn't this give him even more of a show ?
Doesn’t this give him even more of a show ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001.

Winter 2011 capsules

A few words on the first episode of the second season of Kimi ni Todoke… Well, it’s actually “Episode 0”, for an obvious reason : it’s a recap of the first season.

Now, there was a truly awful recap episode in the middle of the first season, bringing nothing new to the table and saddled with a tedious and downright bizarre Greek chorus. But this is different : after all, it’s been nearly a year since I watched all this, so I don’t mind the plot refresher.

And moreover, the whole thing is from the point of view of Ume “Kurumi” Kurumizawa, Sawako’s unlucky bitchy rival for Kazehaya’s affections. While I don’t think we learn anything new here, it’s a nice change from Sawako’s viewpoint. And I admit I loved the gag around Kurumi’s Death Note.

On the other hand, there is the slight issue that Kurumi’s such an egotist that we barely get any insight into any of the other characters… and moreover, it completely skips the whole Chizuru/Ryuu thing, in which she had no involvement. But presumably all this is going to be covered in the series proper if needed.

The new OP & ED are nothing to write home about, and certainly less epic than the originals. I did get a chuckle out of the implication of Ayane/Pin in the OP, though.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 4.

I’m not going to do a full review of the Supernatural – The Animation series of OVAs, but here are my thoughts on the first episode : it’s perfectly okay, but I’m not sure I’m going to keep watching. You can really see the “standard American TV series” setup (two brothers on a road trip investigating weird stuff in a new location each episode). The two leads have good chemistry, it’s got a decent sense of style, and it’s pretty good at what it does (paranormal thriller). On the other hand, the open-endedness of the premise (it adapts “the first two seasons of the TV show”, plus various original stuff) makes it clear there’ll be no real resolution in those OVAs.

Still, if I was more interested in the genre, I’d probably give it more of a chance, but I’m already watching too much stuff.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 28.

OVA CHECK !

I’m horribly late as is on most of this stuff, so I’ll keep it brief.

Hen Zemi #1 (of 2) (“Abnormal Physiology Seminar”) is a prelude (or whatever) to a full TV series airing next spring. The premise is that a normal college girl attends a special course about “sexual perversion” (for credit, I presume), and gets tons of ludicrously embarrassing assignments from it. And that’s without going into the six other weirdoes attending the class or the very creepy teacher supervising it.

It’s actually better than it sounds – the fanservice could be much worse, Kana Hanazawa is as adorable as ever as the lead, and I’m all for a series that doesn’t demonize bizarre sexual quirks as long as they’re consensual (in other words, it’s miles better than MM!).

The problem is that it’s “nearly funny”, which doesn’t quite cut it. I did smile here and there, but that’s it. It may yet improve, so I’ll try getting the other OVA (out within a couple of weeks) and keep an open mind for the TV series, but I’m not too optimistic.

Mirai Nikki (“Future Diary”) is a 9-minute-long trailer testing waters for a potential future series. The gimmick is that our high school protagonist finds on his cell phone a detailed diary of his next 90 days (given by enigmatic paranormal entities). Various other people were given the same thing, and the whole thing is a game, won by the last person standing.

On these grounds, I’m sold. It’s an interesting premise, the atmosphere is built appropriately (it definitely feels very creepy), and I loved how dysfunctionally the relationship with the obligatory love-interest-with-a-diary-too started off. This reminds me of the best aspects of Death Note, although it’s different enough to be its own thing.

Yuri Seijin Naoko-san (“Lesbian Citizen Naoko-san”) is a 6-minute-long adaptation of a gag manga about… I’m not sure, actually. An sarcastic alien maid stalking a high-school girl and sniffing the skirts of any passing girl because she claims that’s the only way to get good reception from the stars. Also, she can randomly summon trains in the middle of a little street.

This is a very baffling short indeed. The key thing, though, is that it’s not funny at all, and that’s what kills it for me.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: Matsuri #1 (of 2) is a bridge OVA before a proper second season next summer. It’s basically the same as ever, with a “cultural festival” backdrop to riff on the usual recurring jokes. It’s good fun, and I loved the multiple endings, but don’t bother with this unless you watched and liked the first season.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 29.

Suite Precure

What’s it about ?

The baddies are trying to replace the Melody of Happiness with the Melody of Sorrow, but the good guys in charged stalled them by dispersing the notes of the Melody. It’s up to two random schoolgirls to save the day !

Characters

Our heroines, Hibiki the slightly tomboyish sports player and Kanade the honor student/sweet-maker. They have a long history together, but they’ve been squabbling over petty matters for quite a while. Interestingly, it’s Kanade who has the worst temper of the two, although they’re both good at saying the wrong thing and regretting it later. Those two have great chemistry in the relatively little screentime they get.

The good guys consist of Queen Exposition Aphrodite, who seems to vaguely rule over stuff, and the cat-thing Hummy, who’s dumb as a sack of hammers.

The bad guys consist of evil lord Mephisto (so camp I have trouble taking him seriously as a threat), a trio of singing henchmen that are already horribly irritating despite barely getting three lines in the whole episode, and finally Siren, Hummy’s evil counterpart (who can actually transform into a girl). Unlike everyone else in the last two paragraphs, I actually like Siren, as she sounds like the only competent and intelligent person among all those morons. That’s charisma for you.

Production Values

Not very good, I fear. Side characters appear lifeless when they don’t speak, and the Big Bad’s design is so ridiculous it’s laughable.

The OP and ED aren’t very catchy, which is kinda disappointing in a music-themed series. And the ED’s gimmick of having CG models of the girls dance in rhythm slides deep into uncanny valley – it’s even more disturbing than the Heartcatch version.

Overall Impression

You know, this ain’t so bad. It was a somewhat ballsy move to have the first half of the episode devoted to the overall plot and the two heroines only introduced later on (especially as the overall plot is pretty crap, let’s be honest). But it’s the little things that make it work : Hibiki and Kanade feel like “real” lapsed friends, and Siren’s a promising mini-boss.

The lack of scope of the main plot is worrying, and I’m not sure about the setting (everyone seems to be living in the same partly-magical world, which makes me wonder about the “routine” episodes). But I’m probably keep following it for a few more episodes to get a better sense of it.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 27.

Afterschool Pleiades (Houkago no Pleiades)

(6-minute-long webisodes, although since they’re released 4 at a time it’s a lot like a standard 24-minute episode)

What’s it about ?

Magic-powered schoolgirls battle against a wrong-headed prettyboy for fragments of an interstellar drive.

Characters

Subaru, our naive newcomer viewpoint character. A bit slow on the uptake, but not too annoying. Seems naturally gifted for this, to the point of randomly stumbling into the hammer-space rooms where all this stuff is happening (which surprises everyone else). The fourth episode gives a decent reason why.

Aoi, Subaru’s “friend” and de facto leader of the girls (technically the “Club President” is the alien blob whose spaceship they are trying to recover the engine’s pieces for, but she seems more or less in charge). Very reluctant to bringing Subaru into all this stuff she had hidden from her, but you know how these things go.

The three other girls don’t rise above stereotypes : there’s a monotone one dressing in witch’s clothes for some reason, a kind one and an energetic one.

Minato, the guy, was hit by a fragment (or is it an actual star ?) two years ago and hasn’t been right in the head ever since. He wants to gather the engine pieces for his own purposes. Which makes him the de facto baddie.

Production Values

It looks more or less okay, but there are some bits of limited animation here and there that jumped to my eyes. No OP ; the ED is inoffensive fluff playing to production sketches.

Overall Impression

WTF ?

I have to hand it to GAINAX : they find new ways to troll every day. This time, it’s not so much the actual contents of the show (a by-the-numbers magical girl series), than the announcement that this is a co-production with SUBARU, of all people. I have absolutely no clue why, apart from the protagonist sharing the company’s name, and the logo briefly appearing at the start. If there’s any product placement here, I completely missed it.

Anyway, taken at face value, it’s a very generic show without much to recommend to it. The setting is slightly puzzling, but that’s it. I can’t find any clue only whether these four episodes are it all, or if there’s any more planned. I know I won’t bother to seek it out.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 25.

Fractale

What’s it about ?

Several centuries in the future, most humans have linked themselves into the Matrix Fractale system, which seems like a cross between Second Life and Big Brother. Except we can see the weird avatars in the real world. This seems mostly an excuse for everyone to spend their idle lives isolated.

Characters

Clain, our teenage protagonist. He’s a vintage enthusiast (hey, look, a 64GB SD card !), and lives by himself in the middle of nowhere (although his parents regularly chime in through their avatars).

Phryne, a mysterious girl who suddenly shows up on a flying bike pursued by goons on a blimp. Crain rescues and hides her. It’s strongly implied she’s some sort of time-traveller.

The goons are a couple of MIBs led a small girl. Frankly, they act more like Team Rocket than competent government agents, and I really doubt they’ve actually got any actual official authority.

Another girl shows up at then end, but it’s too early to get a handle on her.

Production Values

My, this is gorgeous. They’ve obviously got some budget, and it shows. On the other hand, I don’t like the soundtrack : it often feels very poorly integrated with the action (a fanfare-ish number during quiet dialogue scenes ? WTF ?).

The OP takes the Fractale theme at heart and produces some wonderfully psychedelic visuals. The ED’s a nice melancholic piece.

Overall Impression

Well, this is certainly different from anything else in this season. It’s bursting at the seems with intriguing world-building, and it’s obvious a lot of thought was put into the setting. I’ve yet to fully understand it, to be honest. But it’s pulsing with earnestness, and I can admire that.

On the other hand, I’m not so sure about the characters. I’m not fond of Yuu Kobayashi voicing protagonists (they always feel flat, as opposed to when she does supporting characters), and the goons feel slightly out of place, like coming from a different show. But that’s probably the point, and they were by far the funniest thing in the episode anyway.

I’m really intrigued by this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 16.

Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko)

Disclaimer : I’ve read the manga.

What’s it about ?

A boy who’d rather be a girl. A girl who’d rather be a boy. But the onset of puberty might ruin it all…

Characters

Suichi Nitori, our main character. He’s been experimenting with dressing as a girl for years, and by now he’s wandering in the streets alone in full drag. He describes himself as “wishy-washy”, and that’s pretty accurate.

Yoshino Takatsuki, his accomplice in crossdressing. They used to go on “dates” in the city (with her as a boy and him as a girl), but things have been awkward ever since he confessed to her and she refused.

Chizuru Sarashina, a bold girl who shows up in a male uniform for the first day of middle school just for the heck of it. She immediately becomes a role model for Yoshino.

Saori Chiba, a very jealous girl who has a thing for Suichi. Also an avid church-goer.

Maho Nitori, Suichi’s sister. Has started a modelling career, and is thus a bit annoyed that he’s using her best clothes when she’s not looking. But she’s not that hostile to his hobby. (Heck, they both started modelling together, although he has since dropped out.)

And TONS of other characters, like Suichi’s bespectacled sidekick, his and Yoshino’s adult transsexual friend, Maho’s model friend who has a thing for Suichi… But they barely get to do anything in this episode.

Production Values

It looks very pretty, with a gorgeous-looking watercolor look that extends to the characters. The classical score completes the “artsy” tone.

The OP is very bizarre : a fancy CG type for the credits over shots of the school… but it’s completely empty, devoid of any human beings. Are they planning to fill it with characters as the series goes ? The song’s nothing special. Meanwhile, the ED has a nice moody song that contrasts with minimalistic animation.

Overall Impression

Oh, dear. What were they thinking ?

If you’re feeling completely lost, like you’re joining this series halfway through… Well, you’re not entirely wrong, considering this adapts the start of Volume FIVE of the manga. As a result, there’s heaps of backstory alluded to, and major story beats are told rather than shown. Also, tons of supporting characters are barely introduced. I can’t help but wonder what somebody completely new to the series would understand of it.

But on the other hand, this episode does try to fit in lots of awkward exposition, to the detriment of its actual story. This is supposed to be Chizuru’s big entrance, and it feels like a complete afterthought. Urgh. It’s only in the second half that it starts finding its footing, when Suichi’s moody wandering through the city finally gets the space it needs to breathe (and I loved the wonderfully awkward end to the episode).

I’m sure that once this series gets a bit more underway, it will become much better. The source material is remarkable, after all. But the sudden jump midway into the story is sure to alienate most non-fans, which ain’t good for a series with such a difficult subject matter. I really can’t understand it : why not relate Suichi & Yoshino’s relationship from the start ? This is just baffling.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 16.

Is this a Zombie ? (Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka ?)

What’s it about ?

Our ordinary high school student protagonist stopped being ordinary a month ago, when he was murdered by a serial killer. Fortunately, he’s been resurrected as some sort of zombie and can continue investigating. Not that his search goes anywhere, considering all the weirdness he encounters.

Characters

Aikawa, our protagonist. Surprisingly laid back about the whole zombie thing, although since it gives him super-strength and the ability to recover from any injury, it’s somewhat understandable (he does have problems with sunlight, though). Mistakes any girl he meets for a tsundere, which means that he misinterprets abuse (tsun) for affection (dere).

Eucliwood Hellscythe, the Necromancer who revived him. Has been staying at his home doing nothing ever since. Communicates only through her notebook.

Haruna-chan, a chainsaw-wielding magical girl he crashes into midway through the episode. Comes from a magical world to exterminate various creatures (that gives her “points”), and thus a bit confused by modern technology (i.e., cell phones). Dear gods she’s annoying, especially since she spends half the episode either flashing her panties or downright naked. (Seriously, she first appears crotch-first.)

Production Values

Very average, as you’d expect from Studio DEEN. The OP’s a thing of beauty, but marred by a terrible song. The ED’s a nice joke.

Overall Impression

More than a bit mixed. Aikawa’s an awesome protagonist whose condition is fodder for tons of fun jokes, the comedic timing is pretty good, I like the very weird setting… But Haruna-chan is a black hole of terribleness that saps my enjoyment of the show whenever she’s onscreen. (On the other hand, it’s true the final scene wouldn’t work as well without the constant fanservice around her.)

I’ll probably continue watching though, hoping Haruna-chan becomes less obnoxious after awhile.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2010-2011 – Page 13.