Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Doujin Works - Completed review

What is it?

Inspired by her friend, a young woman decides she wants to make it big in the self-published doujinshi world. Besides the fact that she can't draw and that she knows nothing about otaku-culture, what can stop her?
What's good about it?
I found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed this! All the characters are likable, if not deep. The jokes come at you fast and often. The setting is the now-common, yet still enjoyable doujin publishing world. The comedic material is the now-common, yet still enjoyable otaku culture. There are 12 episodes, but since they're only 14 minutes long (including OP/ED), it feels like an OVA series and doesn't ask for much of a commitment.
What's bad about it?
The production values are below-average and the product looks unpolished at times. The story and characters are not plausible, though that doesn't necessarily hurt a comedy. The jokes are recycled to a certain extent.
Final Verdict
It took me a few episodes but I really got into this series. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it stays inside its confort zone. A large part of the comedy is sexual innuendos and misunderstandings, but that was funny and the series wasn't long enough for it to get old. In times like these where fansubbed light fare is hard to come by, it's so refreshing to get a great sample.
8.8/10

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Lovely Complex - Completed Review

I know this review was a long time coming, but better late then never.

What is it?

Two friends go through an extremely long series of events until they finally hook up.

What's good about it?

It's got its moments where its got a nice combo of comedy and tennage angst. It's a school romantic comedy anime, which almost guarantees I'll watch it (I know, I'm weak!). Most of the supporting characters range between good and adequate. I like the girl chasing the guy angle for a change.

What's bad about it?

Many times the main characters felt unlikable and brought their misery upon themselves. The guy tends to have this whining high voice when he gets angry which is quite annoying. Sometimes the jokes felt misplaced or recycled. The plot movement was a disaster. As do many of shows do, it creates challenges to the relationship that you don't really feel are credibly going to be dangerous. It took forever for them to finally start going out, during which you feel the show is just delaying the inevitable.

Final Verdict

As I often find in shoujo anime, the first episodes were the most enjoyable and the series progressively got worst, so much so that I put off the last three episodes for months (as those of you who were waiting on this review can attest). Still, it had its moments and I'm vulnerable to the genre.

7.3/10