"Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne" (Anime) Episodes 3-10 Thoughts

After ten episodes I finally know what Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne really is. It's not a good anime BUT an extremely cute one (so a s#!tty one right...?).

Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne I think would be considered the generic harem anime of the season due to the fact that nothing really happens...ever. The only thing that I can tell you what this show is trying to accomplish is that there are four girls (two extremely cute ones and three others that I could care less about) trying to get with our main character Akito. They go through the typical “Going shopping” and “Shower” scenes that are in EVERY other harem anime. There just really isn’t any plot twists or hang on…any plot whatsoever.

But hey characters can save a show…right? I actually like Akito because unlike a lot of male protagonists in harems, he has likeable qualities. He is neither a perve, sex crazy adolescent teenager nor the polar opposite super shy but strangely likeable to every girl everywhere. He is simply a guy who lives with his sister and childhood friends while attending high school. He has sexual desires but he doesn’t want to lose “it” to just any girl. He isn’t the best male lead I have ever seen but a solid one that I can bear with. The female cast is however a mixed bag. We have five main female leads introduced by episode seven that compete for Akito's affection, Akiko the annoying (but too cute) sister, Anastasia the mischievous (and WAY too cute) instigator, Arashi the assertive s!ut, Haruome the…I don’t know what…(boyish looking girl?), and Arisa who is quite annoying and little. The only characters that I have even a lick of liking towards are Anastasia and Akiko. Anastasia is extremely cute and is always trying to get Akito to say inappropriate things. She is by far the one with the hardest time controlling the inner struggle of how to deal with her feelings towards Akito. The other female character, Akiko is Akito’s sister (I’m sure they will pull an “Oh she is actually his cousin/half-sister/adopted sister” crap to try to make it ok for incest -___-). She is madly in love with Akiko and no it is not the brother sister type love; it’s the type of love that apparently Japan loves to throw into anime…Unlike most of the world I don’t particularly mind a brother and sister getting married since in our past it happened quite often. Inbreeding to an extent can produce dangerous results but it has been scientifically proven that these odds are very slim. Even with this thinking though, the love that Akiko supposedly has for Akito seems very forced. She is also quite annoying as every scene I see her in makes me want to duct tape her mouth shut BUT she way too cute for her own good. The things she goes through trying to get Akito’s affection is remarkable and impossible not to find adorable. I wouldn’t mind having a sister like Akiko to be honest…Anyways the point is that minus these two characters, the rest in my opinion are s#!t. The other characters just do not appeal to me physically or ideologically; they are just boring and/or generic. 

How could you not find this cute!?

or this?!

So there’s no plot and pretty crappy characters…well the animation and sound are bound to be amazing by today’s standards right…? WRONG well kind of…There are many scenes where the animation is quite good such as the one-on-one scenes between Akito and the various female cast. The character models are where some of the…let’s call it quality control seems to slip a little bit. I don’t know if it is just lazy animation or a lack of a needed budget but some of the scenes sport some bad character models. Whether it is the hair, facial expressions, or just how the shot is well…shot, something always seems to be off. It’s like the characters could look better but they just don’t…IT may be just that I have become excessively picky with animation since technology has helped animation tremendously but I feel as if this anime is not getting the amount of work it deserves. The females are still very stunning in most scenes it just seems as if the quality doesn’t hold through all the episodes. Sound wise the voice actors have done a decent job expressing their characters. Even though Akiko and Arashi are very annoying (multiplied by their voice actors), the voice actors pull their personalities off quite well. The sound track however is extremely generic…Both the openings/closings and the music during the show are just not noteworthy. It is barely passable. 

Most of the scenes are like this; they are shooting for a comedic effect with the style of animation but it just isn't done very well.

So let me get this straight…there is no plot to be found, crappy characters, inconsistent animation, and passable audio qualities? Why the hell would I watch this then!? Well that’s a tough question to answer. It seems that many animation studios think that today’s audience just wants cute, high school shows rather than the thought provoking, action orientated, or deep romance anime we have seen in the past (Steins;Gate, Death Note, Fate/Zero (actually pretty recent), Rec, ext.). Maybe they think we are easy to please, I don’t know but I have to say one thing about this show; it’s decent. It’s extremely cute, funny in a lot of parts, and at certain moments rewarding. The character interactions are enjoyable to watch and each episode does not feel like it is dragging. Overall it’s an average show with some cute characters; is that not good enough for you?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN CUTE CANNOT CARRY A SHOW!!?

"Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo" Thoughts So Far (Episodes 1-8)

Before this current anime season kicked off, my first glances at the synopsis’s of the shows were actually kind of negative. The only shows that struck me as something to watch out for was Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun and the continuation of Sword Art Online. Everything else looked like it would be generic, stale, and boring. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo in particular was a show that early on I decided to not watch due to my initial thoughts. However after some time passed, I began reading all over the internet how the quirky and likeable cast along with the beautiful visuals was turning Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo into one of the must watch shows. Seeing how I was already caught up on my other anime, I decided to add Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo to my regular watching schedule.

The first episodes are no different than any other slice of life type show; we spend most of the time introducing all the major characters that we will see interact with each other for the coming episodes. The main focus of the show is put on Sorata and his every day teenage struggles. Kanda is portrayed as a typical high school boy who has no idea what his ambitions might be. To make this worse, the dormitory he lives in is full of other teenagers that are all very well known in their field of choice. We have the computer genius Ryuunosuke (not the murder crazy guy from Fate/Zero), anime creator Misaki, writer Jin, and world renowned artist Mashiro. All of these characters have unusually remarkable talents and have already secured their place in society well after they graduate high school. This is one thing that I like about the show, it is very easy to connect and be brought down to Sorata’s level of understanding. He was just like I was in high school, absolutely clueless on what I wanted to take up as a trade. To make things worse all of his roommates are a little off (you know, weird). Misaki and Mashiro are a little too comfortable with themselves (or maybe just oblivious to modern society’s rules) so they walk about almost stark naked and Jin spends his nights with multiple mistresses. This is where the show puts it main focus on for the first six or so episodes; trying to get Sorata out of this building. The only reason he remains living in the building is because of the cats that he has picked up around town. The dormitory on campus does not allow pets so over the course of the first couple episodes he tries to find homes for his pets. Nanami, a work-a-holic who has a crush on Sorata, eventually helps Sorata start looking for homes for the cats because she feels that ever second he spends living around the rest of the cast is more time for him to become just as weird as them. Everything was going as planned until Sorata became exposed to Mashiro. Mashiro like I stated before is a child prodigy when it comes to art. While she is extremely skilled in drawing, she lacks all the common sense that a high school girl should have. Sorata finds himself preparing her laundry, meals, and pretty much everything else you can think of. This is the real focus of the show; the growing bond between Sorata and Mashiro. Sorata at first resents Mashiro due to the fact that she can pretty much do anything she puts her mind towards with little to no effort. Over the course of a couple episodes however, he finds that this resentment is actually admiration in disguise. He begins to become more and more interested in Mashiro to a point where he actually does not mind living with a bunch of weirdoes. He also in the process picks up computer game designing as a possible profession thanks to some help from Ryuunosuke.

That lengthy summary basically catches you up to speed on what is going on. After these past eight episodes, I feel very connected and attracted to the show. I actually want to see how things develop between Sorata and Mashiro but at the same time I also want to see something flourish between Sorata and Nanami. Also it’s not only the character development that has me hooked but the visuals the show sports. Everything is very bright, colorful, and defined. You might find this a little weird but I love the way the eyes are drawn in this show. They are very inviting and match very well with the character’s facial expressions. When they become surprised, you see the eyes contract in unison with the facial expressions. All of the characters are stunning in their own ways and this is quantified by the voice actors’ performances.

Each character’s voice actor seems to match their respective character very well. They are able to express their character's emotions very well as shown in many scenes such as when Misaki has a mini breakdown when seeing Jin and Mashiro having their date.

This show doesn’t feel fake or generic at all and in fact feels strangely mature for a slice of life high school anime. Sorata deals with real problems that kids his age have to face. Figuring out what you want to do in life is extremely hard for most of us. I was hooked on this show after episode four and wish in a weird way I didn’t pick it up until it finished airing. Every week I strain myself waiting for the next episode to come out. If you are looking for a relaxed yet somewhat deep slice of life show to watch, I strongly recommend Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo to you. It definitely caught me off guard and blew away my expectations. 

"Katanagatari" Anime Review

Katanagatari is an anime that I have had to watch a couple times in order to fully pull my thoughts together. The first time I watched it I was very interested in the relationship between Shichika and Togame but the ending left a very bad taste in my mouth. After recently finishing it for the third time however, I have a revitalized liking to the show because after carefully deducting the plot, I am at peace with the ending.

Story: 8.8/10

A basic run down of the plot is that Togame (a self-proclaimed strategist) travels to hire Shichika in order to help her collect the twelve deviant blades that were left behind in the previous war. Unlike typical anime that have a runtime of around twenty minutes per episode, Katanagatari runs about fifty minutes per episode. When it first started airing, it only provided one episode per month so this pacing really made it a unique experience that both worked well and hindered the plot and sequence of events. Just a fair warning if you do not like excessive dialogue and the typical “I’m going to name all my attacks and tell you exactly what is on my mind at all times” speeches then steer far away from this anime. The very clever and witty dialogue between all the characters never gets boring or excessive in my opinion but to someone who is used to watching very cut up and short scenes, they might begin to lose focus. Everything about this anime feels like it’s continuously flowing on and never stopping or backtracking. Also the way each episode feels like a self-contained story focusing on one sword per episode is an example of how the runtime helped the anime feel more enjoyable. With all that screen time however there are some issues that affected me personally. While most of the dialogue is enjoyable and relevant to the story, in the earlier episodes there is quite a lot of rambling that honestly I think was put in to fill up some time. Also the real eureka moment where everything falls into place and you receive all the pieces of the puzzle doesn’t start formulating until around the ninth or so episode so while the earlier on episodes are entertaining on their own, I felt a little left out of the picture. These two negatives are the only reason I gave this anime less than a ten on the story section; it is a very well written story that’s ending will pull on your heart strings and also feel very rewarding for sitting through.

Animation: 8.7/10

A first glance at the animation will make you think it looks “cheap” and “plain” and you are completely right in a sense. The animation style is very simplistic but yet at the same time very unique and beautiful. The backgrounds, character models, and fight scenes are all very quality work. It is also apparent that as the show progresses, the animation quality does in tandem. It still retains its style and presence but we see better reflections, more color depth, and much more fluid fight scenes. Each character we run into looks very refined and unique. The anime tradition of including obscure camera angles of certain lady parts comes into play in the later episodes but it is by no means ecchi. Overall it starts out a very unique looking anime and by the last episode, it blossomed into a truly beautiful work of art. It’s just too hard to score it higher when compared to other great looking anime (Fate/Zero, Nisemonogatari, Redline, ext).

Sound: 9/10

I have to say that from a total music geek’s perspective, Katanagatari COMPLETELY caught me off guard. While most people will watch this anime and not really notice the score backing the show, it was very apparent to me from the beginning that the music not only set the moods perfectly but also as standalone musical tracks sounded great. The anime offers a very diverse offering of music ranging from pop and synth heavy parts to some of the best orchestral arrangements I have heard in a show. The music in the last episode really impressed me to a point that during my previous watch I grabbed my guitar and starting playing while watching the show. Not only is the music well done but also the voice acting of the Japanese staff. Since this anime relies on long drawn out conversations as a means to introduce different plot devices, it is very key to have voice actors that can bring out their character’s personalities and quirks. Each character in this anime was voiced very well and was distinctive from everyone else. I felt like this show really nailed all the acoustical elements needed for any form of film.

Characters: 8.2/10

For a show that introduces a lot of characters, I felt as if most of them were given ample amounts of time to have decent character development presented. There were essentially three “factions” in this anime; Togame and Shichika, the Maniwa Corps (a faction of ninja that broke away from the government), and Princess Hitei and her servant Emonzaemon (there is also another character that acts on his/her own accord but I don't want to ruin the surprise). All three of these groups play major roles of who controls what swords and information. While some of their intentions are not shown until very late into the show, you could honestly side with any of them. There really wasn’t a “bad guy” presented until the very late stages of the show. Each group had rational reasoning for their actions so you felt more inclined to their cause. Another thing that I really like about the characters in this anime was how the Maniwa Corps was represented by different animals. Each member was symbolized by a different animal and their techniques mostly resembled their animal counterpart. Overall each main character performed very well and had a lasting impression on me. There were however some characters (mostly the Maniwa Corps members that had almost no screen time and a couple of the sword owners) that really did nothing for me. They just had no awe inspiring personality and in some cases were left out almost completely. One BIG example was the swordsmen Hakuhei Sabi who took the sword made out of glass. His character was described in such a way that made him sound like the most badass sword fighting character in recent anime history and when the episode came that they would fight him, I was completely stoked...except that they didn’t show it AT ALL. So that I don’t want to spoil what really happened during that episode but as for the fight between Shichika and Hakuhei, they just skip over it entirely and in the final minutes of that particular episode they briefly go over the fight and just say how close and amazing it was. But they never show it; it really pissed me off.

Overall: 8.7/10

This show has gotten to a point where when new anime watchers ask what they should dive into first, I usually recommend this one first. It is just such a unique watching experience that I have never felt before. While I wish the plot was more prominent in the beginning and that some of the characters were explored a little more, this anime did more than offer an interesting adventure; it crafted a unique tale that had the best sense of growth that I have seen in recent anime. The ending ties up a very interesting plot that honestly caught me off guard. This anime has all the action, fighting, and beautiful set pieces you would expect from a high quality studio that made other great anime such as Steins;Gate. White Fox did an amazing job and I hope one day you will take the time to watch these brilliant twelve one hour episodes.

"Kamisama Hajimemashita" (Anime) Episodes 1-3 thoughts

Kamisama Hajimemashita is part of a genera of anime that I usually stray away from because it has never really appealed to me in the past. This genera, shoujo is made for and directed towards young women so why in the hell would I bother with it? So what happened within the first three episodes that caused me to feel so strongly about this anime?

Well first is the amazing animation. With shows like Fate/Zero and Nisemonogatari pushing such amazing quality of animation, one might think that nothing would come close to topping them. Kamisama Hajimemashita so far has itself coming very close to the visual appeal of Nisemonogatari for two main reasons:

1. They both share a somewhat abstract way of presenting scenes. Examples of what I mean are how the close up shots transition and how the overall uniqueness of the animation sets it apart from other shows.
2. They both share amazing lighting techniques. It seems as if every possible frame of animation is lit brilliantly.

The animation is just...wow. TMS Entertainment is really outdoing themselves; I hope they can keep the quality up throughout the entire season.

So back to the weird part...a shoujo...Why would an adult male like myself chose to like a show that is directed for women? The strange thing is that I find the main character very interesting. Nanami is left with literally nothing in the first minutes of the show's beginning but she continues on. After becoming one of the gods, she at first denies her responsibilities but once she finds out how much she (the god) means to the people that put their trust in her hands, she tries her hardest to make their wishes come true. She is a very strong lead and is by no means a pushover. Her servant Tomoe is at the moment, bearable. I do not like him but I also do not loath him; his personality is very off putting but since his views do not match up with Nanami's it provides some good chemistry.

I can already tell from the openings that more male characters are going to be introduced so the show is bound to turn into a romantic comedy with the men fighting over Nanami. I'm not really looking forward to that but god...I could sit through all that crap in order to enjoy that beautiful animation.

Anime Currently Watching (August 2012)

After finishing Kannagi, Fate/Zero, and Fate/Stay Night, I feel pretty drained out but there are still some great airing and completed anime that I am watching which are:

1. Kaze no Stigma Ep. 15 of 24 Stalled
2. Shakugan no Shana Ep. 1 of 24 Dropped
3. Kokoro Connect Ep. 7 of ?
4. Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! Ep. 7 of ?
5. Yuru Yuri (season 2) Ep. 6 of ?
6. Tari Tari Ep. 7 of ? 
7. Sword Art Online Ep. 8 of ?
8. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita Ep. 6 of ?

Personally I am close to stalling on Kaze no Stigma due to the fact that I just haven't had the urge to sit down and watch it. I am so ready for the new episode of Kono Naka ni Hitori and also looking forward to watching Shakugan no Shana which I have heard from many people is a pretty well done anime. I also picked up Tari Tari (which is currently airing) because after watching the first episode, the characters and flow of the anime remind me so much of Hana-Saku Iroha (which was a decent anime IMO).

Edit:
Saw a promotion for Sword Art Online while on Crunchyroll and thought about giving it a try. Ended up watching all the available episodes and now I'm hooked :D

Edit 2:
Holy crap watched one episode of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita and was completely hooked.

Top 25 anime (IMO)

Here is a list of my current favorite anime:

1. Fate/Zero
2. Aria the Animation
3. Steins;Gate
4. Usagi Drop
5. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo
6. Dragon Ball
7. Spice and Wolf
8. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
9. Bakemonogatari
10. Aria the Natural
11. Nodame Cantabile
12. Amagami SS
13. Major Season 1
14. Rec
15. Yuru Yuri
16. Prince of Tennis
17. Aria the Origination
18. Ouran High School Host Club
19. Nisemonogatari
20. Amagami SS+
21. Saiunkoku Monogatari
22. Working!!
23. Oh! Edo Rocket
24. Fate/stay night
25. Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko

"Fate/Zero" Anime Review

***This is a spoiler free review***

Fate/Zero was an anime like many others I put off watching due to some preconceived notions that it wasn’t worth my time. The first reason being that most people say that Fate/Stay Night (its successor) was a poorly done show. After recently seeing a review for Fate/Zero, my interest was piqued so I thought what the hell one episode won’t hurt. What I learned thirteen episodes later was that it would secure a spot at the top of my all-time favorite anime list.

Story (7/10):
I’m not going to lie, the flow of the plot and the plot in general are one of the few issues with this anime. Essentially the story revolves around finding and obtaining the Holy Grail. The Grail itself chooses seven mages and those seven mages summon a servant (usually a historical figure) that will fight for them in order to receive the grail. The issues are that the first episode (a forty-five minute episode) is entirely a, “Hey here is this guy oh and don’t forget about this women” type of thing. You are bombarded with backstory for the main characters in the anime. Second issue is that for this first season the plot doesn’t move very much after the initial episodes. After a while it just seems like filler content until around episode ten. Last issue is that from my perspective it was painfully obvious that this whole season was meant only to set up for the following season. Like my previous point stated, the show doesn’t move on very much and as soon as it’s over it seems like it has just started ramping up. Don’t get me wrong I still enjoyed the story I just wished they cut out some content.

Animation (9.5/10):
The show’s overall animation is quite astounding to behold. The things that struck out to me the most were the very unique lighting during the fight scenes as well as how detailed the character models were. Each character model was stunning to see over and over again throughout the entire anime. Also even though each of the servants were from different time periods, they all had a unique way of presenting themselves that I felt was pretty awesome. Overall I think this is one of the best looking anime I have seen (second to Nisemonogatari).

Sound (9.5/10):
Another great aspect of this anime was the sound that accompanied all the episodes. Voice acting was astounding as well as the background music. Each character’s emotions had a pretty well matched arrangement of music that seemed to fit in every situation. In the fight scenes you hear some pretty awesome choir arrangements that seem to be present in every action fighting anime. So yeah thumbs up to the staff on creating such a great sounding anime.

Characters (9/10):

It’s tough to put a number grade on the characters because while there are a couple great and memorial characters, there were a few that either did not have thought provoking motives or were just not enjoyable to see. Rider, Saber, Lancer, and Waver were all very well written characters that when on screen, stole your attention whether you wanted to or not. Rider (biased off of Alexander the Great) was by far my favorite character because he not only assessed each situation for the audience, but also because he was always cheerful and upbeat. The characters that really dragged the show down however, were Kirei, Kiritsugu, Assassin, and Ryuunosuke for various reasons. Some had no real motive that made me want to like or hate them (Kirei and Ryuunosuke) while others just turned out to really ruin my expectations (Kiritsugu and Assassin). Overall however, this anime’s characters will grow on you and will more than likely stick with you to remember later on.

Overall (8.8/10)
This anime really surprised me; after watching the first couple episodes I just could not stop watching it. It consumed me so much that I ended up watching all of it in one sitting (something I haven’t done since the first three arcs of Bleach). The idea surrounding the grail, the amazing visuals and fight scenes, the great sounding arrangements and voice overs, and above all rememberable characters made this anime one of the best that I have seen in my entire life. If you are looking for an epic adventure anime that won’t take up too much of your time, look no further because here it is.