"Sword Art Online" (Anime) Episode 13 thoughts

WARNING: BOLD AND HIGHLIGHTED TEXT ARE SPOILERS SO MOUSE OVER AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. I HAVE WARNED YOU

The latest Sword Art Online episode finally was subbed and released for our viewing pleasures. This episode starts back on pace with the main story line but for some reason really cuts some corners. One thing that I am starting to notice is that the episodes seem to go by very fast which I feel is a good and bad thing at the same time. While this usually means that you enjoy the series so much that things just pass by faster, in this case I think they are just skipping too much content. The whole event with the fisherman was cut down to almost no more than ten minutes. Also, the final fifteen minutes has us already at the lead up to the final battle of SAO (the game not the story). While it has been thirteen episodes, I feel like the show is really in a mad dash to finish for whatever reason. I really do hope that they plan on continuing onto what happens outside the game of SAO and into ALO (the game that Kirito jumps into after the events of SAO). This episode did do something that I felt the others were lacking which was include a lot of fight scenes. The scene with the floor boss looks like its going to showcase a lot of very fluid and amazing visuals. The anime just keeps pushing and pushing on all fronts with the amazing visuals. All I can say is that the next episode(s) should be very interesting to see especially to the viewers who have not read the light novel series.

"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" (Anime) Final Thoughts

Well with episode twelve concluding this season (in all honesty hopefully the series), I can finally let out everything I have been wanting to say about the show. I can tell you right off the bat that I am pretty pissed that it was so easy to see who would be the girl in question and how uneventful the ending would be. I kept hoping for something to completely blindside me and catch me off guard but what I got instead was a generic harem that looks good (hey just like Campione! -___-).

 So I really, really, really wanted to like this show because underneath all the crap it gives, there are some characters that I really liked and wanted to see more of. In case you did not know, the show revolves around Shougo who is to become the head of his deceased father's company. In order to do so however he must complete a guideline set forth by his father. This guideline demands that Shougo must attend a certain high school, attract a mate, and marry before taking his spot as the head of the company (what an awesome dad). I didn't have a problem with this premise at all; in fact I thought just by hearing that first it could be an interesting harem. Where the show goes wrong is when they introduce the issue he must face; someone at his school that he might fall in love with may be his ill legitimate sister. So he is going to school in order to get som-...err I mean find a soul mate and this said sole mate may be his sister...awkward.

So the show does shine in certain areas. For one thing I was really digging the animation style. Everything appeared to be very lightly colored and there were many reflections used on clothing, items, and hair. Each character's model was very detailed and looked stunning. Another great part of the show was the ambient soundtrack used in the backgrounds of the scenes. While it is something usually overlooked, it really started to grow on me throughout the entire season. Both the animation and sound really helped (and tried to pull this mess out of the water) make the show somewhat watchable.

So cons; EXTREMELY PREDICTABLE, long drawn out episodes with no point, some generic characters, and crappy pacing. The show was by far the easiest thing to predict what was going to happen. I kid you not by episode four I could honestly tell you which one the sister was. Next con was the content of each episode. While some were actually interesting and fun to watch, by the middle of the season we start to see some episodes where not a lot is going on and I kind of felt like they were just throwing in long pointless conversations in order to get to that twenty minute mark. This season could of span to ten episodes if not for some of the really pointless scenes. Next was something that honestly didn't bother me too much; some generic characters. You had your typical elitist that thinks everything is entitled to her (Rinka) and the typical airhead that seems stoned out of her freaking mind (Mana) but other than those two, the rest of the cast (no matter how generic) were given enough character development that I actually cared for them even if I had seen them in like twenty other anime. Lastly the pacing was very off towards the end of the show. Like I stated before some episodes felt like just pointless conversations over and over again in the middle episodes. By episode ten however the show makes a mad dash to fit in content so that we could have a suitable ending. I didn't understand why they did not just spread some of the content out a little more so that the ending didn't seem so clusterf***ed.

I know how you feel bro; it's hard understanding why you would lose sleep when you have two girls sleeping w/ you -___-

No matter how many times I try to analyze this show, the negatives just always out weigh the positives. While the show is impressive to look and listen to, the predictable plot, long pointless conversations, and lack of give-a-s***conflicts just made me wish I had directed my attention to some other shows instead. I won't recommend it but if you are out of options you can give it a try. I feel though that it will not stick after a couple weeks as it is a very forgettable show.

"Campione!" (Anime) Final Thoughts

One anime I picked up pretty late into the season was Campione!. I didn't dedicate any posts to it because my watching schedule for it was so sporadic at times. What ended up happening was I watched the first couple episodes the first night then just recently I did a marathon (while waiting for swtor to update patch 1.4 -___-) to finish off the remaining episodes. What started out with some potential unfortunately sizzled into a super generic harem with a generic protagonist that cannot make up his mind on who he wants to stick it in with.

Oh look another harem...haven't seen that a million times -__-

Our main character Godou at first glance isn't so bad. He is a normal person in the beginning of this story on a mission to return a stone tablet that has been in his family's history. When he meets Erica however, everything changes drastically in his life. Godou essentially becomes one of these beings that are in charge of keeping order in the world. Where the anime starts to venture into the generic harem scene is how his "powers" are awaken. It just so happens that he "has" to make out with what ever female warrior/priest/whoever is around to awaken his "super finishing move thingies". I guess this wouldn't be so bad if at least one of the female leads were somewhat interesting. The other main characters Liliana and Yuri are just stereotypical in their roles as, the introvert who has never had a cell phone but of course falls madly in love with our main character and the reserved but totally horny warrior that just needed to be forced into a situation to realize that she totally wants your d***. All of these characters do not really give or show any reason why they would want to marry our main character Godou except for the fact that they just do. This is bad storytelling and when you have an uneventful plot it makes it very hard to find any way to enjoy such a show.

Oh you didn't hear? That's how all the cool kids relay information these days

Redeeming qualities are the animation and sound. The animation is actually quite good as the fight scenes are very fluid and keep a great level of detail. The "power up" scenes are also done very well so if you are just in this for the babes and make out scenes well there you go. The voice actors are all recording fairly well and I actually like all of the voice actors in general. The music is by no means a masterpiece of a score but it fits well whiten the anime.

Yes...kill him so no one else can waste their time on this s***

With lackluster characters and plot, the great sounding and looking anime Campione! just didn't catch for me. I wanted to like it because the first episode showed promise but hey I have gotten very accustomed to not getting my hopes up with today's anime. With a new season of anime starting to air soon hopefully something great will catch my eye. Overall I say avoid this one unless there isn't anything else to watch. A very forgetful anime if you ask me.

Yes I'm sorry too that I let your innocence drag me into wasting 12 episodes

"Yuru Yuri (Season 2)" thoughts (up to episode 7)

So a show that I haven't talked about in a long, long time is Yuru Yuri. Unlike Sword Art Online and Kokoro Connect which I watch each new episode as soon as it is available, I feel as if I can watch Yuru Yuri at my own pace without losing anything in the long run. After thinking about what I was going to write in this post, I find myself having a hard time trying to think of any negatives about this season of Yuru Yuri.

So pretty much every episode so far has followed what the previous season did which is have some random chain of events occur in each episode; usually followed by hilarious and cute scenes. The overall charm of Yuru Yuri is still here and each character like before has their own unique characteristics. Chinatsu is still snappy and the overall cute one of the bunch, Kyouko is the tomboy always causing scenes, Yui is the quite and collected one of the bunch, and Akari is still Akari. The social interactions between the characters are as hilarious and adorable as ever; there are some parts that I would even say are more well done than its first season ever accomplished.

The animation is pretty well done; scenes are drawn very well and the transition parts flow quite nicely. The characters all look great making all the cast almost too adorable for their own good. Sound is also spot on so far. Each character's voice actor really knows how to transfer emotion into the final product that we see in each episode. The best part, the comedy, is largely intact and is as funny as ever. Each episode spawns it's own chain of events that usually entails many funny scenes. Even the side characters play a huge roll in the comedy (much more than the first season in my opinion).

I wish I had more to say but there really isn't anything else I can elaborate on at the moment. The show is great; no other way to describe it. If you are looking for an anime that you can watch at your own pace then check out Yuru Yuri (season one first).

"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" thoughts (up to episode 11)

 So when I first started watching this anime I was genuinely enjoying it because although it didn't possess a groundbreaking plot it had very likable characters and I liked the direction the anime was moving. When episode eleven rolled on by however, I really had to think about why I was still bothering to watch this anime. What started out as a somewhat interesting romantic comedy based around a harem setting is quickly unfolding to become one of the most boring, generic, and predictable anime I have seen in recent years.

So starting out with the good points that this anime still has, we have great animation. While it is not mind blowingly great, it's color scheme is very pleasant to look at. All the characters have literally "shining" looks thanks to some reflections on their bodies, clothes, and hair. It's not just the main cast that looks great; even the extras that we see on the side lines are pretty well developed. The voice acting is also pretty good. Normally I get pretty annoyed with a character that plays as the always mad and whines a lot but I haven't found myself hating Miyabi yet. The characters may have their cliche roles but I still like the whole cast. I could honestly be happy with whoever Shougo ends up with.

Unfortunately that is all the positives I have...on to the negatives! The show has become mind numbingly predictable. It started at around episode three and continued all the way until the present release of episode eleven. Being predictable is not always a bad thing in an anime such as this one but when it gets to a point where I can literally plan out the episode in my head...and it comes out to be very similar to what happens, then s*** gets real and s*** gets boring. I mean every time we focus on a new girl or someone is introduced it is so obvious what their intentions are and if they are true to their personality. Also not a lot happens in each episode. Yes each episode is like twenty whatever minutes long but I feel like way too much time is wasted in every scene on non important items.

Ugh I am really hoping this anime makes a huge rebound and has a very awesome ending because at the rate it is going, I find myself giving it average remarks. With such great animation, I just see how this anime could get so boring so quickly.

September update

So shame on me for not updating this blog as much as I usually do. Due to school and some unforeseen issues that came up, I have been away for too long so brace yourself for some updates on some anime I am watching as well as a review or two.

Real Talk: "Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! S" Visual Novel first impressions

So recently I have been very lazy with my updates on the anime I am currently watching and it is all because of one thing; Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai S which is the sequel to the previous visual novel game made by Minatosoft. This game takes place directly after the previous installment and continues the story with the choice to pick up right off with some of the cast from the previous game or try your luck with some of the new characters. Right off the bat I will tell you that this is an adult game but I really do not play it for those intentions. Believe me or not the real gold in this game is how great the story is crafted and the sheer amount of content for each route. I can guarantee you that you will spend way more than fifty hours if you try to play all the routes. Please keep in mind that I have not played every single route in the game.

So positives first starting with the huge amount of content. The amount of content is just mind boggling because each route takes quite a long time to complete if you are not skipping a lot of the text. The routes I have played so far are all so well done that I can honestly say that your enjoyment will be entirely up to how much you like the heroin you are seeking. Next on the list of positives are the well written characters. We have the returning cast from the previous plus some new additions that help keep things fresh. Out of the new characters my favorites were Tsubame Matsunaga due to her mischievous attitude and Benkei Musashiou because she was so laid back and by far the most fun to converse with. The routes that I have completed so far are Kokoro’s, Kazuko’s (my favorite character from the previous game), Iyo’s (side route), Monshiro’s, and Tsubame’s. Besides a couple quirks in some of the stories I really enjoyed each one. The character development was very well done and I enjoy seeing how different characters lives played out if I took a different route with one of the other characters. The only character I had an issue with was Monshiro’s route because she is well…a lolicon’s delight and well…I am not at all into that stuff. I liked the interactions with her but when it came to the adult stuff it was quite awkward.  Another small issue I had was that Benkei did not have a dedicate route to follow. I was honestly quite surprised that nothing was unlocked to do some story line with her. 

Next positive is the amazing visuals of the game. This time around Minatosoft included a number of CG scenes that help show some of the action stuff going on in the beginning of the game. The overall quality of the CG scenes is pretty good but do not last more than 20 seconds each. It is overall a nice addition but by no means necessary. The artwork is where this game really shines. Everything is drawn so well and the transitions between scenes flow quite nicely. Compared to the previous game it is a slight improvement which is hard to believe due to the fact that both games are by far the prettiest visual novels I have ever seen. Overall, a very beautiful game.

Sound is also a huge plus because the entire returning cast has their original voice actors so the continuity stays intact. It might just be because I love the way Japanese sounds but all the voices match their character fairly well. Each scene is enjoying and soothing to listen to. Great sounding game in my honest opinion.

So now on to the negatives that I have encountered so far (which is not that many). I already touched upon that Benkei does not have a dedicated route. I was pretty pissed off when I went through so many times picking different options to conversations hoping that some side route would at least unlock. Alas despite my efforts, I was able to get past this because all of the routes were enjoyable. One small complaint I have with the game is that although there still is a ton of content, when playing it might feel less than the previous game. My reasoning behind this is that where this game has more characters than the previous, the previous game feels longer because each route in that game had much more content than a route in this game. I felt that in this game some of the routes almost felt rushed towards the end. It was like “Ok you have gotten to know your character time to **** and oh game is over thanks for playing!” What I am trying to get at is that each route is set up well and you get plenty of character development but once you get to a certain point in the story, there seems to be a mad dash to the finish. 

Despite these issues however I fully enjoyed the routes that I played through. I cannot really give it a grade or score since I have not fully completed the game but what I can do is recommend it to anyone that plays these types of games. Like I stated before I am not a huge fan of the adult material but the character development is just so well done all across the board that it is still worth playing the game even if you are new to visual novels.

Real Talk: "Wakfu" Season One

In my quest to find new exciting anime to watch, I stumbled across something great that looks like a typical anime...but is french. Wakfu is a show that follows our rag tag team of heroes mainly focusing on the super child Yugo and his quest to meet his real father. Not only is Wakfu a very popular french cartoon, it has spawned a turn based MMORPG that takes place in the realm of Wakfu ten years before the anime. There is also a manga adaptation to the show as well.

So what makes the show so great? The most predominant characteristic of the show is the unique and beautiful animation style. While the scenes are not as crisp as say Nisemonogatari, it is still very clear, vibrant, and beautiful. Its actually pretty hard to explain why it is done so well so here are a couple screen shots:

And a video:

So not only is the show brilliant to look at, it also sounds very appealing to me. Now it might just be because I love the French language so much but the characteristics and vocal mannerisms of the voice actors are very easy on the ears. The characters range from a headstrong but good kid, a smelly and mysterious old man, a sassy and needy princess, a reserved bodyguard, and a goofy womanizer. This cast however really work well with each other and you really get a sense of the adventure because everything clicks so well between everyone. By the end of the first couple episodes, our little group of heroes are off on their quest and I was more than happy to come along.

Overall why I liked this show so much was that even though the plot seem to...well disappear in the middle, I still hung around because I could not wait to see what trouble the gang would get into next. The animation is by far one of the greatest things I have ever seen in a long running show, and the clarity of the French voice actors is something to behold. I cannot wait to move onto the next season so that I can see what other troubles and adventures the team gets themselves into. I won't lie to you; it is a major pain to find this show on the internet at the moment. You might have to risk doing some illegal streaming to get a hold of the episodes so please when it becomes readily available, please support the staff by buying a copy. This show is a MUST WATCH so make sure you do not miss out on it.

Anime Currently Watching (September 2012)

Another month rolls on by and all of the summer anime are coming very close to their completion. Here is what I am watching at the moment:

1. Kokoro Connect Ep. 12 of ?
2. Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! Ep. 12 of ? Finished!
3. Yuru Yuri (season 2) Ep. 7 of ?
4. Tari Tari Ep. 8 of ? 
5. Sword Art Online Ep. 13 of ?
6. Accel World Ep. 15 of ? Stalled
7. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita Ep. 6 of ? 
8. Campione! Ep. 13 of ? Finished!

I recently started watching Campione! which I have heard many diverse things about. Sword Art Online is finally getting to the good stuff, Yuru Yuri is still funny as hell, Kokoro Connect and Tari Tari are unfortunately starting to lose it's charm with me, Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! is uhhh interesting kind of still,and Jinrui wa Suitani Shimashita still has that wtf charm.