Review Overhaul

I haven't been able to bring myself to keep updating the current shows I've been watching. In a few cases, I've stopped watching a show altogether (Heroic Age). Others, I have followed very closely (mostly lighter fare like Lucky Star, Seto no hanayome) but since these are mostly episodic by nature I don't feel inclined to review a plotless show. So what I will do is give you:
1- A first impression of different series (like those I have done so far)
2- A detailed review of the series once it ends (or the season ends). I mostly do this only for series I have watched but not talked about on this blog.
3-A weekly post of observations on the shows I follow that I wish to comment on.

The weekly post will cover plot development in story heavy series while commenting on trends I notice of the series I am watching.

Now the summer season has begun so I will be adding a few series to my plate:

Ookiku Furikabutte - looks to be a classic sports anime (in this case baseball)
Lovely Complex- school romance

Please look watch them - if that is what I instruct you upon having watched them myself.

Update: Reviews

Well, I suppose it's been a little while since my last review but I should be adding a handful in the next few days. So far, I like how the new reviews are coming around. Still I feel there's so room for improvement. I've considered going back to my old method of releasing one post a week commenting on all the shows I'm following, since I feel this new method makes me write a summary each time before I can comment, which is what I LIKE doing. For now I'll just stick with this system and scale back on the summarizing.



Here's some non-anime news your way. Those of you who know me know I bore you all to tears with my intense, raving adoration for the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Well a two-disk compilation of unreleased recording called NEW MOON was released by KILL ROCK STARS a week ago and it owns! Get it now!



Well, since I'm here I might as well review something. Hmmm...OK!



History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi:

What is it? Comedy about a weakling student who goes to train at a dojo of over-dedicated martial artists while being targeted by a notorious gang of martial artists.

What's good about it? Much of the supporting cast are funny character's like most of the Dojo lodgers, Kenichi's parents (who we don't see enough) and the busty blonde female lead, Myu.

What's bad about it? Kenichi is always whining about training or being a coward. Too many filler episodes- like going to the beach episode or worried teacher visits crazy dojo episode.

I don't have a really positive outlook on this series yet I'm still watching it at episode 20 so read into that what you will. The series isn't finished but I feel comfortable grading it at this point.

7.0/10

Seto No Hanayome 1-3

Yes, since I feel I don't have enough on my plate I'm picking up another series. Let's see how long this bout of initiative lasts.

Nagasumi is swimming in the ocean while on summer vacation and gets a leg cramp and starts drowning. However, he is saved by a KAWAII mermaid just before he passes out. He then learns that since the mermaid revealed herself in order to save him. He must marry her or die. After a series of events, he decides to accept the proposal (DUH). There is one hitch however. San-chan (mermaid's name) is from a Yakuza family under the sea and practically none of her family approve of the match. So while, San ands Nagasumi try to better know each other, Nagasumi keeps trying to evade attempts on his life.

While the premise is a little out there, this series is actually quite funny. Many of the side characters (Nagasumi's parent's, Masa, Maki) really shine while some are tired stereotypes (mainly San's Dad). I also think it's funny how they can incorporate a shark in scenes where they are on land. Go figure. It seems the setting of the show is changing since summer vacation is over, so it will be interesting to see how well the transition is made and if the introduction of new characters that is sure to follow will be as interesting. Let's stay tuned.

Heroic Age 4-5

AGE meets another Nodos and the two go at it. Meanwhile a huge battle takes place next to them. They fight to a standstill (the Nodos that is, the insects are destroyed by AGE) and everyone heads home.

Sorry for the less than enthusiastic summary there but I'm just not feeling this series right now. I can't put my finger on what's missing but I can't seem to get myself into it. The production values are there, so are the cool battles and mechas. Maybe it's the characters. I just don't care for any of the characters. The enemy nodos are boring, even the good guys aren't really interesting. Plus they fight insect minions that you never really feel are a threat. Maybe I don't care for the fact that the Nodos are just so insanely strong, like there's no parameters to follow. Maybe the whole mood is kinda dry and sterile and conversation is very empty. I'm just not feeling this right now. Oh well, maybe it'll get better.

Moonlight Mile 3-6

After saving a coworker/buddy by relaying him a crazy rescue plan, Goro is selected as a crewmember of the first Japanese shuttle launch. His hopes are dashed however, when a test launch blows the engine. That launch being indefinitely delayed, Goro signs up for a Russian launch of a shuttle that has had problems in the past. Nevertheless, all goes according to plan and Goro is dropped off at the International Space Spation and becomes one of it's newest members. Still, he longs to be part of a voyage to the moon.

After surviving through a tough spell in the desert, Lostman is finally chosen to become a shuttle pilot in the ISA, though he finds himself frustrated with his slow progress. Still, he keeps impressing his superiors, while keeping tabs on Goro's progress.

I've really enjoyed this series so far. The side characters are all interesting and unique. Sure the show oozes of Testosterone, what with Goro and Lostman continously getting laid by various women and the huge amount of bravado stunts they pull, but that's part of the fun. The show is still pretty focused on Goro's path so far, having devoted only one episode to Lostman (along with brief appearances in the other episodes), so we get the idea that Goro will be our main protaganist throughout.

Goro(middle) at the ISS

Overdrive 1-3

So far this show is pretty boring. It's the story of a student (forget his name) who has always had a crush on his classmate Fukazawa. She is a member of the cycling club so he decides to join, but since he doesn't even know how to ride a bike, she has to go through all the basics with him.

Character development is prominent so far, yet flawed in many ways. The main character (let's call him Goro) seems inconsistent in his actions, so its hard to decide what kind of person he is. I also don't get why Fukazawa is wasting her time with such an awkward, spineless bumbling spaz. From the opening scene in episode 1, it's clear Shinozaki (I just remembered his name) later goes on to lead the Tour de France. But right now, it's hard to see what his redeeming features are.

Hopefully, this anime will profit from a change of focus when they start concentrating on the bike racing instead of the character development, which is just not working for me.

Lucky Star 1-3

Wow! Easily my favorite show of a great anime season. It starts out with possibly the best OP ever. The show is basically a bunch of high school girls chatting and playing games and stuff. Kinda like Azumanga Daioh, except edgier. Some of the jokes are hit and miss but the pace is so fast you are kept in the flow and never lose interest. What is also great is the subject matter: manga, anime, video games - much of it initiated by the star character Konata, female otoku. For example, in episode three, both Sakigake! Cromartie High and Pani Poni Dash are referenced and ED, a different karaoke song sung by one of the girls each episode, is a rendition of the ED from FMP ~Fumoffu~ by Konata-chan. Definitely a must see in my book, so watch it! NOW!!!

Claymore 1-4

Claymore is your basic generic shounen anime except with a female lead, which is definitely a plus. Anyways, Claymores are half-demon, half-human mercenaries that kill full demons by request, oh and Claymores are all girls. They are still generally feared and hated by the public though. Anyways, this chronicles Clare & her cook/sidekick, Raki. Both characters aren't very endearing(Raki is downright annoying), but the animation is nice and the fight scenes are decent so this gets a passing grade from me.



By the end of episode four, Raki somehow stops Clare from becoming a Youma(btw Youma are demons), a fate that is inevitable to Claymores, thus removing the need for her to kill herself and make this a very short series. What was that all about? If they don't explain the phenomenon, or if the reason she was able to revert is because he opened her heart or some corny trash like that, I will feel extremely disguted and will quickly be reduced to moking this series on a weekly basis. For now though, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.








A scene where Clare almost chops Raki's head off

Moonlight Mile 1-2

Two mountain climbers buddies, an American nicknamed "Lostman" and a Japanese guy named Goro, have conquered all the major mountains and have now decided to become astronauts. As luck would have it, a superpotent energy source has just been discovered on the moon so the space industry is in a boom. Lostman becomes a navy pilot in the hope of becoming a shuttle pilot while Goro joins a construction company that is subsequently awarded a contract on the moon. After showing off his skills in the company for a few years, Goro is given the spot on the moon construction mission. Meanwhile, countries in the middle-east, realizing their oil will soon be obsolete, prepare to launch a last-ditch war in the Persian Gulf, which is where Lostman's unit is presently located.

This series is much better than I expected. Character development is very well done and the supporting cast is interesting in itself. So far the story has been almost exclusively centered around Goro, so I'm wondering if, now that Goro has been selected to go to space, the focus is shifted to his American counterpart, or if the show will continue to follow Goro and leave Lostman's progress a mystery until later when they meet again. I'm looking forward to future episodes!

Gigantic Formula 1-3

Different countries begin to duel each other in mechas. The losing countries must help the winner as they try to conquer the world. This is all done to appease the wrath of those mechas and prevent a second apocalypse incident. Anyways, our story follows the Japanese country's 13 year old mecha pilot and his translator (She conveys the will of the mecha. I think the mecha's name is Shusano). The anime starts off with the Chinese mecha attacking Japan. Japan nevertheless wins the duel and China is forced to join Japan. Episode 3 ends with Russia, intimidated by the Japan-China alliance, challenging Japan to a duel.

So far, this show has been pretty decent. The focus has been almost entirely on the politics and history of mecha duels so far, so hopefully the character development and actual action start to pick up in the next few episodes. Kinda wondering if the pilot has a thing for the translator(who appears to be slightly older than him) or if it was just an initial infatuation.

Nagasarete Airantou 1-3

Classic Harem setting involving a guy getting stranded onto a isolated island populated a only women. Every woman on the island is interested in getting him to marry them, and since they are insanely strong, he is at the mercy of their whims. For some reason, the women all seem to be trained as ninjas. This is pretty brainless writing in terms of a story. I'll probably only include my observations as we go along because there is no story at all here to update.

This is it for tonight, I may add a few more reviews in the next few days. If not, see you next week.

Sola 1-3

Sola is a slice of life anime that is eerily similar to Kanon (2006), a great show itself. So far the show revolves around a guy who likes to photograph the sky (lame). He meets a mysterious girl one day and eventually learns she is some kind of immortal nightwalking entity. He decides to hide her in his house (he has no parents) since some equally mysterious goatee guy is trying to kill her. Meanwhile, our lead male has a depressing little sister living in the hospital an a childhood friend who comes to cook his meals and walk to school with as the other mean characters in this show. So far, the show has been kind of disappointing. The story is moving very slowly and the characters have been kind of bland. Still, I'm expecting the show to pick up and predict it might be a must-see by the time it's over.

I'll take this opportunity to review Kanon (2006) which, for some reason, I neglected to do a month or so ago when I watched it.

Kanon (2006)- Slice of life drama. Features several story arcs featuring the lead male and different girls in a small winter town. Characters are interesting, features great dialogue and intriguing supernatural elements. A must see. 9.2/10

Scene from Kanon, featuring some of the main characters.

Heroic Age 1-3

Heroic Age is a space mecha, though the story is a little out there. The universe is made up of different tribes, vying for universal supremecy. Unlike other shows like this, there isn't a "War is Hell" message behind the story. Every tribe is voluntarily participating in this contest of strength, answering the challenge of a superior golden tribe that has since left the galaxy. Anyway, our story follows the Human tribe which is considered the weakest of the main players. The tribe finds their God-warrior, one of the five remnants of the Hero tribe, which has the control over a mecha like creature. The other 4 heros are all part of the frontrunning silver tribe. The humans' hero, Age, has lived a life of solitude on an unoccupied planet and has no experience socializing with other humans. The first three episodes pretty much involve the crew of a human ship trying to tame his wild ways between him kicking the ass of enemy minions. By the end of episode 3, it is clear the other 4 heros are planning how to attack him so we can expect some hero vs. hero action in the coming weeks.

Well, it's been a week

I can honestly say I've watched most episodes of all the series mentionned previously. After watching them, I've decided that instead of 1 blog a week updating you on every show, I would review a batch of episodes of a particular show. So every week I will review 3 episodes of 3 different shows in seperate posts. The next week, I would review 3 episodes of some other shows and so on. I put in 3 episodes per post but that figure is likely to be arbitrary based on story arcs and my mood, mostly my mood. Here goes nothing!

An uncharacteristicely ambitious plan

Hello anime-lovers,

I've just decided I'll switch back to a more week by week review of ongoing shows I'll attempt to take on a very large number of new shows which include : Hayate no Gotoku!, Heroic Age, Hidamari Sketch!, Gigantic Formula, Lucky star, Manabi Straight!, Moonlight Mile, Nagarasete Airantou, Nodame Cantabile, Overdrive, Romeo x Juliet, Sola, Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou Tou and the OVA Murder Princess.

Now I know what you're all thinking, "you can barely manage a post a month, you really expect us to believe you actually think you can manage a weekly review of over a dozen new shows. You must really think we're fucking guilible retards."

Well, while I'll admit straight up it will be hard for me to manage a consistent weekly post, my laziness concerning this blog should in no way be misinterpreted as a deficiency in the amount of anime I watch. I'll tell you right now, I watch more anime than you or anyone you know. There you go. Plus, some of those series are likely to be dropped or delayed by fansub groups or I might find some of those series unwatchable- which I would convey to you to hilarious results- and drop them myself. That should weed out a few of those titles and hopefully make this a manageable task.

I'll try watching some episodes of ALL those series this week and get back to you with some idea of how this project will look like next week.

'Til next time, this was Fefifofum, you fucking guilible retards.

Let's keep the reviews rolling...

Erementar Gerad- A story about humans and power-possessing beings that merge with them to form contracts. Characters range from boring to annoying and the story is so bland a spider on the wall is more entertaining. 5.0/10

Ghost hunt - A band of supernatural investigators perform a gambit of missions which include battling ghosts and destroying curses. Characters include a shrine priestess, a buddhist monk, a catholic priest and a psychic but the protagonists are a high school girl and a narcissistic genius (appropriatly nicknamed "Naru"). Lots of fun with some interesting cases. One of the best shows of last season. 9.0/10

Ouran Host Club- Solid comedy about a club of high school hosts that fall for a female student that they force to cross-dress so that she can join their club. She learns about the difficulties of the elite while they learn about instant coffee. Great cast of characters. 8.5/10

Busou Renkin- Warriors imbued with the power of alchemy battle monsters also imbued with those same powers. An above-par fighting anime that was funnier than expected on the occasions it cared to attempt some humor. 7.5/10

There will be more next week as I try to ressurrect the Top Ten. Stay tuned!

P.S. For those of you that care, I like Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, Nashville, Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and New York's (Rangers) chances of advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. BTW, that's hockey, for those of you forming the ignorant masses.

Those of you who thought this blog was dead are only partly right

Though I haven't given up on this blog yet, many may believe the amount of new posts I input do not warrant me calling this an active blog. To those people I say : you are absolutely right. So lets move on.

I'm so insanely far behind in my reviews that I'll forget about the top ten for now and give you one liner reviews with a 1 to 10 rating.

Pani Poni Dash- If Azumanga Daioh and Cromartie High had a love child, on acid, this would be it. Crazy random alien fueled schoolgirl comedy that is well worth the ride, even if you don't get three quarters of the japanese pop culture references (and you won't!). 9.0/10

The Mars Daybreak- Cool protaganist character in a futuristic underwater mecha adventure. Slightly annoying supporting characters but a decent story with a cop-out ending. 8.0/10

Major (Seasons 1 through 3)- MVP baseball prodigy chooses the road less traveled amd thus creates major challenges for himself. Classic sports themed anime, you either hate it or love it. I love it. 8.0/10

Black Blood Brothers- Vampire brothers travel to a tension-filled city and try to prevent a vampire terrorist attack. Features lots of flashbacks and backstory into a way too condensed 12 episode series. Wasn't any good anyways. 6.0/10

Texhnolyze- Futuristic grim setting, with a deranged artificial-limbs imbued antihero. Mafia ruled city is faced with warring factions and backroom brokers trying to take advantage of the situation. Cool at times, lame at others. 7.5/10

Vandread (Seasons one and two)- Incredibly annoying stereotypes battle evil in a spaceship with mecha fighters. Really lame and unnecessary. 4.5/10

I'll leave the rest till next time. Keep watching!

Top Ten Anime of All Time (Compromise)

I know its been a while so I'll get straight to business. I had plans to make the Top Ten Anime a well researched and detailed process but I have nowhere near enough willpower to take on such a project and the longer I wait, the less I feel like doing it. So I'll give you ONE reason why you should watch, ONE reason why I loved it and ONE flaw I've found with the series and we'll see how many I can do in one sitting.

#10 FLCL: I loved it because: It was one of my first attempts at fansubbed anime and for that I will always cherish it.
You may be turned off by: The sometimes grainy and raw animation. The pace is sometimes too fast and it is short at 6 episodes.
You will love it because: It is an exciting, futuristic, creative, high-octane adventure on crack.

#9 Samurai Shamploo: I loved it because: It is a hip-hop infused edo-period samurai tale with interesting characters.
You may be turned off by: The fact that it doesn't compare to it's predecessor (cowboy bebop) and the female lead can be annoying at times.
You will love it because: It features kick-ass sword fights, kick-ass vilains and some pretty kick-ass cinematography. All around kick-ass series. Kick-ass.

Well I'm bushed right now so we'll leave the top ten at that for today. Since last couple of seasons have been below average fare, I've been watching some series from a couple of years back. Mainly I've watched Pani Poni Dash!, Texhnolyze, The Mars Daybreak, Vandread andThe Third. (Yes, my neglect of this blog does not mean I've neglected my anime). I'll start my reviews for those next time so stay tuned. Also, I've noticed I haven't made a post on my other blog in almost four months so I am dissolving it effective immediately. The only way this will affect this blog is that you will now be subject to any non-anime related post I may whimsically throw at you. Fear not, if my other blog is any indication, those are far and few between. Till next time,

Fefifofum

2007 already feels like a year to forget. I think 2009 will be the money year.

Welcome back, laughably small group of loyal followers. If you feel it's been a while and that I must have been lazy (which would be right), keep in mind that fansub groups also tend to take it easy this time of the year, which would have left me with little material. That could be considered a copout though.

Anyways, lets start with the finale of what were my 2 favorite currently airing series (sob). Heading into the final stretch with our female lead on her way towards a breakdown. At their final session, Misaki tries to entice Satou into a relationship of convenience where they would promise to never leave each other. Satou is suitably freaked out and runs away, breaking off their relationship. When he gets back home, Satou finds out his parents are cutting him off and he eventually must drive himself to work to live, which he eventually does. Misaki, always the ardent observer, comes to the conclusion that even a loser hikokomori like Satou doesn't need her and she attempts suicide which she fails. This finally culminates to a dramatic cliffside final episode where the characters come to a mutual understanding, of sorts.

I personally loved the final arc. It featured a ton of philosophy about the human condition, God and society. It had tons of character development on both sides, especially Misaki, who had been partly veiled in mystery until now. It featured the kind of conclusion I love, where the future isn't spelt out but the characters cannot return to the condition they had until now live, because they have changed and too much has happened and been said to be able to return to formalities.
Though this may not be obvious since the show ends with the familiar scene of Misaki cooking Satou a meal, it cannot mean what it once did. Misaki can longer consider Satou as her patient and though no agreement is verbally reached, the relationship must be considered as one must less platonic as the former. All in all, a great series, with funny episodes and memorable characters. 10/10

Black Lagoon ended on what I consider an anticlimatic note. Though the final episode featured a showdown between Revy and the sword-totting mafioso, it left me wanting more. More of a confrontation with Balalaika, more relationship development between our main duo and more of a high paced, destruction filled killzone. Though, the series leaves the door wide open to a third season that could fulfill some of these elements that I found lacking, I won't be holding my breath since it seems, the writers are weary of messing with the current situation. Still a great series driven by its fun characters. 8.5/10 (Black Lagoon season 1 : 9.5/10)

Now that these series have ended, you would think I would pick up some new ones. However, that is not currently the case. I rarely follow a series when it first starts because I dislike following it on a week to week basis because I tend to forget some details from previous episodes, which makes attachment difficult. I will almost always wait till the series is at least halfway through before watching it. That way I can watch many episodes in sucession and make a better analysis of its characters and plot development.

One example of this Akagi, a series I downloaded in a batch and watched in its entirety during the holidays. Anyways, the series features a Mahjong playing genius who plays Yakuza Reps for money and a challenge. The series was ok, and I wont delve very much into it. The main character was too perfect for my taste, never making a wrong move and always being the tricking others, without ever losing his cool. Where's the suspence in that?

Well, I'm kind of tired so I'll leave it at that for now and update the other series next time. Expect additional posts soon.

The final stretch...

A number of shows are nearing their conclusions, so let's focus in on them for the moment:

Welcome to the NHK is developing its final arc with a more narrowed look into Misaki. We get more insight into why she feels she needs to support Satou. Her necessity to feel useful is what is charging her tutelage of our protaganist. As she believes he no longer needs her, she is nearing a breakdown of sorts. Meanwhile, Satou feels the Kaoru departure and his high school sempai's nearing marriage is significantly isolating him and he worries that Misaki's tantrems are a sign his hikokomori lifestyle has caught back up with him. At this point, Misaki and Satou are the only two characters left dangling out there so a permanent relationship of sorts seems in the works. But I've been wrong before.

After a slow start to their season with average fare plotlines, the current Black Lagoon arc(and what seems like the last one) is shaping into possibly the best one so far, first season included. It is happening in Rock's homecountry of Japan and features just two of the crew members, the always entertaining Rock and Levy duet. Rock is hired as a translator by Rapongi's Russian Mob Queen Balalaika as she tries to cut into the Yakuza pie. As a mob war breaks out in Tokyo, Rock and his bodyguard, Revy, appear headed on a epic conflict with a sword wielding exterminator, loyal only to his clan's teenage heiress. This is averted, however, when our protaganists team up with the samurai to recover this clan leader. Now, an even more epic battle seems in the works between our heroes and the ruthless Balalaika. I'm drooling already.

Finally, Bokura ga ita is also in the final stretch. I have to admit, this series, which I was hooked on at first, has seen my patience wane with it's patheticly unchanging situations and lack of believability when it comes to perceived threats to the main couple's relationship. It appears that both our heroes are now facing their last trial with suitor's appearing for both Yano and his female counterpart. Apparently, Take is now serious about making a move. YAWN. I can already see him resigning himself to the good guy role yet again. 'nough said!

Inukami looks like it has set up Kaoru as the bad guy that the series will set on. Truckloads of angst and selfdoubt are certainties in the final stretch.

Elsewhere, I cant bring myself to watch Bleach lately so im not going to force it. I'll stockpile the episodes and watch them all in one sitting when I'm in the mood.

Oh, Tokimeki Memorial has taken a turn for the better, after discovering I hate the main female character, Amamiya, I find myself rooting for the clumsy, stubborn, volleyball player, though I'm not opposed to a push from the outside by timid, busty, swimming team member. Both of these characters are making their moves while Amamiya is obviously confused about how she felt about the accidental confession. God I hope she becomes a lesbian so she can leave this love triangle.

Well, that's it, see you next week...maybe,...I'll try...but dont hold your breath...I mean... Sigh