December 24th, 2015
3x3 Eyes Review
Anime Relations: 3x3 Eyes, 3x3 Eyes: Seima Densetsu
3x3 Eyes is an older anime I had intended to watch for quite some time.
I finally got to it. Eh.
This is more or less a 'grittier' magical girl anime masquerading as a monster girl/supernatural thriller.
It's a bit of a tough call, since there are so many elements to the construction. You'd think that would make it original (and it might have been when released), but unfortunately it doesn't make it 'good'.
The art style is very classic- except for mouths- the artist has seen fit to draw very detailed teeth in just most open mouths (compared to the rest of the features)- in mostly unattractive and grotesque poses. It's a little distracting. Yakumo 'not having eyes' most of the time is irritating too.
The sound is ok. The animation is standard for the time period, and some of the action sequences in the second half are even better- very smooth, and actually very cool.
This 7 ep story is broken into two arcs- the first is 4 eps isn't bad as i works up the story-- then more or less gives you a gaming 'try harder' ending (with no retry). The second 3 episode arc is the resolution, which... honestly- I don't have much good to say about.
Most of the episodes are trigger events you can't see coming- random nonsense, set in motion for no good reason except 'this would be cool', strung together to build a plot which should be easy to follow- because the heroes should loose. I'm not rooting for the bad guys mind you- it's just the author has so firmly given the villains the upper hand that they have no excuse except the good guys are supposed to win...
I won't tell you if they do- it's just one side has way more leverage throughout.
Now, it's not 'bad' mind you- but you more than likely will say to yourself 'why is (any character) so stupid?'. The author also 'almost kills' other characters in a way that shows off 'I'm not killing (fill in the blank)- they're just lucky- but that immortal guy- he can suffer a fatal injury almost every episode'.
(sigh) In any case, by ep 4 there is no excuse for the plot not to go the way of the 'bad guys'- so this becomes one of those 'how do they get lucky enough not to lose'/'the writer has to let them win' anime.
The last episode is chain-linked 'the heroes lose' events- it's quite irritating since nothing makes sense, or everything is transparent to everyone but the heroes.
Oh, and lengthy flashbacks, inappropriate exposition, and bullshit 'plot twists'-
Overacting villains
Yakumo's 'meat shield' technique
And memories... don't get me started...
So- 'should you watch this'?
If you like nice martial arts action sequences, the second arc has a few that are pretty nice.
Other than that- any thing you think you came for- you're probably not going to be satisfied...
I finally got to it. Eh.
This is more or less a 'grittier' magical girl anime masquerading as a monster girl/supernatural thriller.
It's a bit of a tough call, since there are so many elements to the construction. You'd think that would make it original (and it might have been when released), but unfortunately it doesn't make it 'good'.
The art style is very classic- except for mouths- the artist has seen fit to draw very detailed teeth in just most open mouths (compared to the rest of the features)- in mostly unattractive and grotesque poses. It's a little distracting. Yakumo 'not having eyes' most of the time is irritating too.
The sound is ok. The animation is standard for the time period, and some of the action sequences in the second half are even better- very smooth, and actually very cool.
This 7 ep story is broken into two arcs- the first is 4 eps isn't bad as i works up the story-- then more or less gives you a gaming 'try harder' ending (with no retry). The second 3 episode arc is the resolution, which... honestly- I don't have much good to say about.
Most of the episodes are trigger events you can't see coming- random nonsense, set in motion for no good reason except 'this would be cool', strung together to build a plot which should be easy to follow- because the heroes should loose. I'm not rooting for the bad guys mind you- it's just the author has so firmly given the villains the upper hand that they have no excuse except the good guys are supposed to win...
I won't tell you if they do- it's just one side has way more leverage throughout.
Now, it's not 'bad' mind you- but you more than likely will say to yourself 'why is (any character) so stupid?'. The author also 'almost kills' other characters in a way that shows off 'I'm not killing (fill in the blank)- they're just lucky- but that immortal guy- he can suffer a fatal injury almost every episode'.
(sigh) In any case, by ep 4 there is no excuse for the plot not to go the way of the 'bad guys'- so this becomes one of those 'how do they get lucky enough not to lose'/'the writer has to let them win' anime.
The last episode is chain-linked 'the heroes lose' events- it's quite irritating since nothing makes sense, or everything is transparent to everyone but the heroes.
Oh, and lengthy flashbacks, inappropriate exposition, and bullshit 'plot twists'-
Overacting villains
Yakumo's 'meat shield' technique
And memories... don't get me started...
So- 'should you watch this'?
If you like nice martial arts action sequences, the second arc has a few that are pretty nice.
Other than that- any thing you think you came for- you're probably not going to be satisfied...
Posted by bloggbigg | Dec 24, 2015 1:49 AM | 0 comments
December 23rd, 2015
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru Review
Anime Relations: Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru
This is quite good.
A well written detective anime (with actual clues and science & stuff) and relationship anime.
I suppose you could consider it an anime version of many forensic science series, but the evolving relationship between the two main characters gives it it's own quality- where that could be considered the focus as well if not for the 'strange hobby' of the two.
Check it out. You won't be disappointed.
A well written detective anime (with actual clues and science & stuff) and relationship anime.
I suppose you could consider it an anime version of many forensic science series, but the evolving relationship between the two main characters gives it it's own quality- where that could be considered the focus as well if not for the 'strange hobby' of the two.
Check it out. You won't be disappointed.
Posted by bloggbigg | Dec 23, 2015 4:45 PM | 0 comments
Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai Review
Anime Relations: Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai
This one's pretty simple. It's one of those 'developing team relationships' anime, with a little harem influence thrown in. If you're in it for the relationships/character development, it's more or less pretty good, up to around eps 11-12, which are more or less a 'finale' because it's the right time to have one.
The backstory of this one is pretty weak, and the villain factions (if you can keep track of them) are motivated by the most ridiculously illogical goals- but the major weakness of this anime is the 'power levels' for the various artifacts or abilities are pretty much nonsense. In particular the 'super sacrifice' needed for the final unlock on the artifacts in the last ep is pretty much rubbish.They're just as powerful as whatever seems appropriate for whatever conflict is currently dreamed up. That doesn't make it bad- just an easy way it could be better.
It's possible this series will get better over time, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.
The backstory of this one is pretty weak, and the villain factions (if you can keep track of them) are motivated by the most ridiculously illogical goals- but the major weakness of this anime is the 'power levels' for the various artifacts or abilities are pretty much nonsense. In particular the 'super sacrifice' needed for the final unlock on the artifacts in the last ep is pretty much rubbish.They're just as powerful as whatever seems appropriate for whatever conflict is currently dreamed up. That doesn't make it bad- just an easy way it could be better.
It's possible this series will get better over time, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.
Posted by bloggbigg | Dec 23, 2015 4:03 PM | 0 comments
December 10th, 2015
Chu Feng BEE (School Shock) Review (In Progress)
Anime Relations: Chu Feng: B.E.E
Alright, this is an odd one.
This is based on the Chines Manhua (Chu Feng/Young Bee)
Apparently this Chinese/Japanese collaboration is slow to release- further it seems the Chinese is released first, then the Japanese, which can make the English subs odd since they were possibly double translated (Ch->Jp->Eng).
Well, that only matters so much.
This story is that of an ordinary guy (our classic 'Null' protagonist) who gets swept up in conflict and intrigue having to do with high technology, engineered humans, and whatever the heck.The story's just 3 eps in at this point, so we're yet to see.
Anyway.
This is a pretty pretty standard, though a lot of the actions and reactions are a bit over-the-top.The protagonist in particular is a little dim & twitchy to say the least.
The animation is a bit skitchy- low FPS, and the lip-syncing doesn't match the voice acting- it syncs a tiny bit better to the Chinese version (which you're probably not watching a translation of) but it's definitely a'lazy compromise' of 'open-close, open-close' movement & nothing more. The Japanese version has Chinese subs (& the Chinese version has Chinese subs (Mandarin/Cantonese) so the eng gets clobbered on top of whichever). Either version of the voice acting is pretty good regardless.
It's also pretty bloody, though the blood is more 'messy/cartoony' than 'graphic'.
Pretty much everything about this anime's tone/execution is a bit cliche/slapstick. The vision of the future in this isn't very well realized- The present of the anime is future (2030) which is the 10 year aftermath of some war that ended in 2020 and was apparently won with the use of engineered/enhanced soldiers & advanced military tech (mecha- autonomous & maybe otherwise). Normal society seems to have no advances- audio cds are still around in 15 years as one example.
As for plot, this is yet another 'the villains have all the power/planning & the heroes are clueless/reactionary' anime- with a lot of villain monologging/craziness.
Casual faults aside (most anime make these 'mistakes'- and this author is new), it still does an ok job of presenting a story and it's characters. It's too early to tell for sure how much better (or not) this can get, but the storytelling does take a few unexpected turns in minor ways, so who knows how good it'll be overall?
It's worth taking a glance at.
This is based on the Chines Manhua (Chu Feng/Young Bee)
Apparently this Chinese/Japanese collaboration is slow to release- further it seems the Chinese is released first, then the Japanese, which can make the English subs odd since they were possibly double translated (Ch->Jp->Eng).
Well, that only matters so much.
This story is that of an ordinary guy (our classic 'Null' protagonist) who gets swept up in conflict and intrigue having to do with high technology, engineered humans, and whatever the heck.The story's just 3 eps in at this point, so we're yet to see.
Anyway.
This is a pretty pretty standard, though a lot of the actions and reactions are a bit over-the-top.The protagonist in particular is a little dim & twitchy to say the least.
The animation is a bit skitchy- low FPS, and the lip-syncing doesn't match the voice acting- it syncs a tiny bit better to the Chinese version (which you're probably not watching a translation of) but it's definitely a'lazy compromise' of 'open-close, open-close' movement & nothing more. The Japanese version has Chinese subs (& the Chinese version has Chinese subs (Mandarin/Cantonese) so the eng gets clobbered on top of whichever). Either version of the voice acting is pretty good regardless.
It's also pretty bloody, though the blood is more 'messy/cartoony' than 'graphic'.
Pretty much everything about this anime's tone/execution is a bit cliche/slapstick. The vision of the future in this isn't very well realized- The present of the anime is future (2030) which is the 10 year aftermath of some war that ended in 2020 and was apparently won with the use of engineered/enhanced soldiers & advanced military tech (mecha- autonomous & maybe otherwise). Normal society seems to have no advances- audio cds are still around in 15 years as one example.
As for plot, this is yet another 'the villains have all the power/planning & the heroes are clueless/reactionary' anime- with a lot of villain monologging/craziness.
Casual faults aside (most anime make these 'mistakes'- and this author is new), it still does an ok job of presenting a story and it's characters. It's too early to tell for sure how much better (or not) this can get, but the storytelling does take a few unexpected turns in minor ways, so who knows how good it'll be overall?
It's worth taking a glance at.
Posted by bloggbigg | Dec 10, 2015 8:17 PM | 0 comments
November 26th, 2015
Fushigi na Somera-chan Review [kinda]
Anime Relations: Fushigi na Somera-chan
I've been _not_ watching Fushigi na Somera-chan for a while. It just looked like cutesy...
It didn't look like my style of anime.
I got bored.
Episode 1 introduced me to it's random, 'wtf did I just watch?' plot construction, and was explicitly shown that blood and fatal injury meant nothing but a temporary setback and some shock value, and there was no 'martial arts' here in the traditional sense. After that, I went to ep 2 reluctantly, to see them immediately breaking the fourth wall, auditioning for characters & discussing their own production process.
Anyway, I watched 7 more- they're 2:45 min ea.
Some have more plot than others, but the characters still don't care, since they're all jerks..
The voice acting is good, the animation varies randomly in quality, but is mostly ok.
The ED song changes every episode & is usually the most amusing thing about it to be honest.
I suppose it grows on you a bit- but don't expect much.
It didn't look like my style of anime.
I got bored.
Episode 1 introduced me to it's random, 'wtf did I just watch?' plot construction, and was explicitly shown that blood and fatal injury meant nothing but a temporary setback and some shock value, and there was no 'martial arts' here in the traditional sense. After that, I went to ep 2 reluctantly, to see them immediately breaking the fourth wall, auditioning for characters & discussing their own production process.
Anyway, I watched 7 more- they're 2:45 min ea.
Some have more plot than others, but the characters still don't care, since they're all jerks..
The voice acting is good, the animation varies randomly in quality, but is mostly ok.
The ED song changes every episode & is usually the most amusing thing about it to be honest.
I suppose it grows on you a bit- but don't expect much.
Posted by bloggbigg | Nov 26, 2015 2:16 PM | 0 comments
November 21st, 2015
K, K:Missing Kings, K: Return of Kings (K2?) Review
Overview:
This is more or less a cleaned-up and modernized gang war anime. The various factions are color coded, because 'why not?'. Also, the gangs have power, and additionally are peacekeeping and 'nobility' for their 'turf'. Additionally, because conflict is needed, they're each self-involved and elitist asses.
For plot, The series would like you to believe that there is stuff going on and reasons for things, but it's pretty much all flashy action and 'pop-up events' with 'miracle' resolutions. There are some point of note- but for the most part interactions and events themselves are inspired by the attitudes and perceptions of the various faction self-biased members.
The animation and voice acting are good. Character development... not really.
The 'Colors"
Blue[4] 'Sceptre 4'- Act like police and styled after nobility carrying swords and following various protocol.
Red [3]- 'HOMRA'- Very like a ragtag gang. Not too bright & mafia-like,
(The 2 main players throughout)
Black/Grey[6]: Traditional swordsmen maybe? We meet 1 guy.
Colorless[7]:
Silver [1]: (S1 spoiler)
(movie)
Gold [2]: 'Usagi'- rabbit mask wearing incompetent ninja/slate maintainers.
Green [5]: 'Jungle' -tech suit wearing VR/cyber guys
? [n1-n5, g+, c]
K (Project K- series, 13 eps):
I watched this while ago, and don't remember much except the main character (spoiler- can't tell), and the 'Neko' character is OP & sexy. I do remember being really intrigued with the plot, watching it unfold, getting used to the characters, trying to determine the story's direction, then realizing this was just one of those 'shit happens' plot lines you're not able to predict because 'who knows what the author was thinking at the beginning of any particular episode?' There's a lot of jerk characters for whatever reason, and a few good characters who are then later ruined (sorry).
Despite that, it's still worth watching if you like action- but maybe not for any other reason.
K:Missing Kings (Movie):
(consider contents as potential spoilers for s1)
First, stuff happens while a very intrusive irritating credits sequence runs- yeah- that green display you're trying to make sense of are just movie credits- as many as there are, don't worry, there'll still be more at the end. Picking up a bit after the end of the first series, At the start of this the Red clan is effectively disbanded- and there's a plot from the green clan being acted on which centers around a gold Clan's infiltration & Anna's abilities... kinda. These and other unexplained and convoluted events lead to 'neat shit happening' (without purpose)' and 'people looking cool' (unnecessarily) for a large part of the run of the movie. Enjoy the action- Just don't try to make sense of it. if you are actually trying to follow what's going on- I'll save you the trouble-- Don't bother. Unless what you're watching is happening in a dream, it has only limited significance.
How's that for a plot?
Overall though, the 'Red vs Blue' prior arc has shifted to 'See how mean this Villain is?'- casting green as manipulative users with some unknown agenda and amoral means- pretty standard for Manga & derivatives...
KK, K:Return of King (series, 13 eps):
(consider contents as potential spoilers for s1/movie)
The overview for this one is the Green faction is trying to do a thing by irritating the other factions- which is supposedly a good plan somehow. Later they come up with an actual plan, which relied not at all on previous bullshit, but whatever. Many episodes are pretty bland, and plot points are all pretty tightly controlled despite them basically defying really simple logic or common sense. There's a lot of exposition and monologing too- mostly to 'legitimize' otherwise stupid developments. Because so much effort goes into advancing this awkward plot, the marginal character qualities (and further development) are sacrificed to promote situations that move things toward 'goal'- so if you liked a character before, they look the same, but don't act the same anymore.
They even dialed back the 'sexy' on the cat, trading it off for 'chibi' for some reason. I guess the torch of 'sexiness' was passed to Seri, whose breasts seem larger and bounce more than before.
I rate this one less than the first series, since it it takes too long to make no sense and does it awkwardly with force oversights. Just remember for ep 8 how big the slates are, and that blue has a butt-load of helicopters.
Just sayin'
This is more or less a cleaned-up and modernized gang war anime. The various factions are color coded, because 'why not?'. Also, the gangs have power, and additionally are peacekeeping and 'nobility' for their 'turf'. Additionally, because conflict is needed, they're each self-involved and elitist asses.
For plot, The series would like you to believe that there is stuff going on and reasons for things, but it's pretty much all flashy action and 'pop-up events' with 'miracle' resolutions. There are some point of note- but for the most part interactions and events themselves are inspired by the attitudes and perceptions of the various faction self-biased members.
The animation and voice acting are good. Character development... not really.
The 'Colors"
Blue[4] 'Sceptre 4'- Act like police and styled after nobility carrying swords and following various protocol.
Red [3]- 'HOMRA'- Very like a ragtag gang. Not too bright & mafia-like,
(The 2 main players throughout)
Black/Grey[6]: Traditional swordsmen maybe? We meet 1 guy.
Colorless[7]:
Silver [1]: (S1 spoiler)
(movie)
Gold [2]: 'Usagi'- rabbit mask wearing incompetent ninja/slate maintainers.
Green [5]: 'Jungle' -tech suit wearing VR/cyber guys
? [n1-n5, g+, c]
K (Project K- series, 13 eps):
I watched this while ago, and don't remember much except the main character (spoiler- can't tell), and the 'Neko' character is OP & sexy. I do remember being really intrigued with the plot, watching it unfold, getting used to the characters, trying to determine the story's direction, then realizing this was just one of those 'shit happens' plot lines you're not able to predict because 'who knows what the author was thinking at the beginning of any particular episode?' There's a lot of jerk characters for whatever reason, and a few good characters who are then later ruined (sorry).
Despite that, it's still worth watching if you like action- but maybe not for any other reason.
K:Missing Kings (Movie):
(consider contents as potential spoilers for s1)
First, stuff happens while a very intrusive irritating credits sequence runs- yeah- that green display you're trying to make sense of are just movie credits- as many as there are, don't worry, there'll still be more at the end. Picking up a bit after the end of the first series, At the start of this the Red clan is effectively disbanded- and there's a plot from the green clan being acted on which centers around a gold Clan's infiltration & Anna's abilities... kinda. These and other unexplained and convoluted events lead to 'neat shit happening' (without purpose)' and 'people looking cool' (unnecessarily) for a large part of the run of the movie. Enjoy the action- Just don't try to make sense of it. if you are actually trying to follow what's going on- I'll save you the trouble-- Don't bother. Unless what you're watching is happening in a dream, it has only limited significance.
How's that for a plot?
Overall though, the 'Red vs Blue' prior arc has shifted to 'See how mean this Villain is?'- casting green as manipulative users with some unknown agenda and amoral means- pretty standard for Manga & derivatives...
KK, K:Return of King (series, 13 eps):
(consider contents as potential spoilers for s1/movie)
The overview for this one is the Green faction is trying to do a thing by irritating the other factions- which is supposedly a good plan somehow. Later they come up with an actual plan, which relied not at all on previous bullshit, but whatever. Many episodes are pretty bland, and plot points are all pretty tightly controlled despite them basically defying really simple logic or common sense. There's a lot of exposition and monologing too- mostly to 'legitimize' otherwise stupid developments. Because so much effort goes into advancing this awkward plot, the marginal character qualities (and further development) are sacrificed to promote situations that move things toward 'goal'- so if you liked a character before, they look the same, but don't act the same anymore.
They even dialed back the 'sexy' on the cat, trading it off for 'chibi' for some reason. I guess the torch of 'sexiness' was passed to Seri, whose breasts seem larger and bounce more than before.
I rate this one less than the first series, since it it takes too long to make no sense and does it awkwardly with force oversights. Just remember for ep 8 how big the slates are, and that blue has a butt-load of helicopters.
Just sayin'
Posted by bloggbigg | Nov 21, 2015 9:20 PM | 0 comments