Video Premiere! Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong?

My first video premiere is here! Please watch my Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong? video where I diagnose the problems with the new series.

Anime Review of Golden Time

Each anime season I look forward to seeing new josei titles, only to be disappointed at the lack of josei series, routinely dismissing the adult female demographic. However, I get a little bit of solace from the fact that sometimes a seinen title will be in there that is just gender neutral enough to make it a worthwhile watch. Last anime season Golden Time finished airing, which was definitely a title that blurs the lines between seinen and josei as it has something to offer for the whole young adult demographic.

Below is my review of this little romantic anime!

Synopsis

 

Golden Time is centered around Tada Banri who is a freshmen in college, looking to survive the ups and downs of college life and romance. He meets Yanagisawa Mitsuo (Yana-san) and Kaga Kouko on his very first day, becoming entangled in a complicated love triangle. He meets other friends (old and new) at his new school who help him learn to deal with his past while attempting to make a future with someone new. This series is a Romance Drama with Slice of Life and Comedy elements.

Love Lab Review

Now that the summer anime season has finished I'm going to be reviewing all the shows I had been watching for the past few months. I've enjoyed them all a lot for different reasons, but I thought I'd start with Love Lab. A shoujo comedy with a sparkle of romance, this show was a lot of fun to watch and had me chuckling on multiple occasions. This is a spoiler free review, so if you're interested in checking this anime out, I'll be going over the good and the bad so continue reading!

Are You Watching Golden Time? Because You Should Be!

A little seinen series that has taken over my free time is Golden Time. I did a first impressions review here, but since the first couple episodes it has exceeded my expectations and become one of my favourite anime series of all time. Why may you ask? Well keep reading to find out!

Deep Character Development

This show will have you second guessing yourself, especially when it comes to what characteristics you find admirable in a character. There will be characters you like, some you don’t, but over time you’ll find yourself changing those opinions. It’s fantastic, and Golden Time does it so seamlessly, showing you how life is complicated for everyone; you’re going to sympathize with those you might have had a hard time sympathizing with earlier on. With some of the most interesting unique characters I’ve seen in a long time for a more mature anime, this show does it refreshingly well.

First Impressions of Space Dandy

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Cowboy Bebop, and it deserves the praise it has received. It had interesting plots, interesting characters, and one of the best soundtracks I've heard in an anime. Following the success of Cowboy Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe is directing Space Dandy, the goofy offbeat comedy. It is being released periodically in Japan almost simultaneously as in North America (through Cartoon Network). Luckily for myself I don't have to wait until the North American debut on January 4th for the English dub (since I prefer subs anyway), so I'm here to give my impression of the show! Keep reading for my thoughts.

Servant x Service Anime Review

Last season was full of great animes, and one of them was Servant x Service. By the mangaka that brought us Working!, Servant x Service is a more mature version of Working! featuring an older cast in a relatable workplace setting. Giving a little bit of comedy and a little bit of slice of life, it was an enjoyable watch each week. Keep reading if you want an in-depth review spoiler free! that looks at the highs and lows of the show.

Quick Synopsis

This is an office comedy. It stars a small cast of young adults (Lucy, Hasebe, Chihaya, Miyoshi, and Ichimiya) all with their own unique quirks. There's a bit of romance, but mostly office antics that keep the story moving at a steady pace until the end of its 13 episode run. Think of it as Japan's answer to The Office of England and North America. There will be characters that you look forward to watching, and some that irk you every time they're on screen. And of course it wouldn't be Japanese without a talking animal, which comes in the form of a stuffed bunny boss. They work in the social service sector, but the setting is really only a backdrop,

Genshiken Nidaime/Genshiken Second Generation Anime Review

Another series from this past anime season was Genshiken Nidaime, which picked up from the previous seasons titled Genshiken. It features an almost whole new cast, and follows the antics of the otaku club for another season. I enjoyed this show, but I certainly come from a bias that compares it to the original experience I had with the first 2 seasons of the show that aired back in 2004. So here is my review spoiler free.

Synopsis
Whether you’re familiar with Genshiken or not, this season introduces a largely whole new cast of characters, so those previously unfamiliar with the series can jump in. It’s about the The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, which basically breaks down to be a bunch of otakus obsessed with anime, video games, and cosplay. The old crew has graduated, with the only links left being Ohno and Sasahara’s girlfriend who is the new club president, Ogiue. Now the club is comprised mostly of “rotten girls” who are into BL (boy’s love) and are female otakus. The times have changed in Genshiken which used to be almost exclusively male club members, but the guys make re-appearances, with Madarame being the center of attention for a multitude of episodes. Although there’s a large cast, the story focuses mainly on the character development of cross-dresser Hato, and his attempts to be accepted by a group of women. Madarame helps Hato a lot in this regard, and Hato also helps Madarame back, and they end up learning a lot about themselves as they enter adulthood. The students banter back and forth, and get up to some pretty nerdy stuff, which is fun to see for any anime fan.

Chihayafuru Anime Review

I remember when this show first aired in the Fall Season of 2011. It’s been a while since then, and the show has had 2 seasons worth 50 episodes since. Despite centering around a traditional Japanese memory game called Caruta, it has quite the following from all cultures. It originally caught my eye because it falls under two specific categories, josei and poetry. That couldn’t appeal to me more! I began watching it as soon as it aired in October of that year. Now that its second season wrapped up at the end of June I believe it’s time I reviewed the anime. So let’s get on with it!

The story of Chihayafuru (appropriately titled after its protagonist) follows a second year high school student named Chihaya. She and her two childhood friends Taichi and Arata  bonded over playing Caruta together. But as they got older, Arata moved away and their friendship was severed for many years. Luckily what brought them together in the first place ultimately brought them together again. The story of their friendship however is not exactly the main focus, the story focuses mainly on the culture that surrounds Caruta, for high school students as well as those looking to play on a national scale. The story of the three friends takes a back seat as often practicing, tournaments and Caruta culture is what keeps the story moving forward. Chihaya creates a Caruta club for her high school and so opens up the cast of characters to her teammates as well as other students from other schools. We get to learn the inner workings of different types of characters, their mentality towards the sport and their thoughts as they play the game. There’s a lot to this anime and that’s a strong point. They offer so many perspectives that you can get wrapped up in all the little details pretty quickly.

Review of Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon)

For any josei anime fan I’d recommend this anime in a heartbeat. It’s got day-to-day life, romance and friendship, as well as some great music! If you’ve watched Nodame Cantabile don’t miss this anime, you will love it! That aside, let’s get into the review…
We’re introduced to Kaoru, the typical nerdy quiet high school kid. He’s had trouble making and keeping friends in the past so he’s hesitant to get to know anyone. You know what’s coming for him, of course he meets an eccentric schoolmate named Sentaro who loves playing drums and causing trouble. The two are opposites, but in this scenario opposites attract and they soon become friends. What brings them together you might ask? Music. Jazz music. This anime is set in the 1960’s when jazz was a popular and unconventional style of music (especially in Japan). Music and hardship push this show along as their friendship meets a head at the end of their high school careers. With romantic interests like their shared friend Ritsuko, it has all the elements of a daily life drama that also has a fulfilling and optimistic message. The show has a solid foundation that makes for an enjoyable series. It has a realistic tone that makes the story feel real, and for those out of high school, it’ll make you remember how you felt about friends and love all those years ago.



My favourite aspect of the show has to be the friends Sentaro and Kaoru, how they change and become men, breaking down their walls and having a friendship that’s so believable you feel like you’ve met someone like them before. I  personally enjoyed the character of Sentaro over the character of Kaoru, although the two were necessary together. Sentaro takes on a lot of responsibility towards his family, and lashes out in bursts of violence because of how he interprets protecting those he cares about. I love how he changes, although the more serious he gets, the more tragic he becomes. He’s very relatable for those who take on more responsibility than they should because they protect those they care about. Kaoru on the other hand is analytical and pensive, but as the show progresses he relaxes and fills out into the man he wants to be. Although I don’t personally grapple with the problems Kaoru faced throughout the show, I feel like he’s the best kind of best friend character, he’s loyal and kind, and becomes someone any girl could imagine herself being with. Speaking of girls, I unfortunately did not enjoy the character of Ritsuko. She played more of the girl there for the relationship dynamic than anything else. This would make you believe this show is more geared towards young men, I would however disagree because the story is relatable no matter the gender. I wish her character had more development or at least more personality than the sweet girl next door. Her failings aside, the two best friends make up for any lack of character development on Ritsuko’s part.

Review of No. 6

The last season for anime (spring 2013) was generally unappealing so I found myself turning to the list of anime from the Noitamina timeslot for a good watch. They’ve offered many greats like Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, Nodame Cantabile, Princess Jellyfish, Eden of the East, Kids on the Slope (all of which I will be reviewing in the future for those curious). The title appealed to me as it is set in a dystopian future divided by the haves and have-nots. Unfortunately for the haves who get to live in the seemingly perfect city No. 6 (for which the anime is named after), there is a tight grip over laws and what is allowed to be said. I think this is a great setting as we’ve encountered it many times within the past years (like the communist fear era during the Cold War) and frankly this still goes on in many countries. It’s a real fear that when it comes to powerhouses like the government, we ultimately have no control over our lives. This setting makes for a believable future and it’s great to see the characters (who only have good intentions) deal with this obstacle. For those curious, it seems to have a very similar set-up to the movie Elysium so those who are excited for that movie should check out this anime as well.

Without spoiling too much I want to go over the highlights of this anime briefly. In the first episode we are introduced to the two main protagonists Sion and Nezumi (referred to in the sub as Rat). Sion is your typical goody-two shoes boy who gets straight A’s is nice to everyone, naive but genuine and is overall a really nice good guy. Enter Nezumi. Like his name suggests he is a behind the shadows kind of guy who runs about the town without drawing too much attention to himself. He’s escaping the law when he enters Sion’s bedroom late one night. At this point Sion breaks the very strict laws by keeping Nezumi safe against the government for the night. Nezumi is dark and hesitant to trust anyone. Sion is bright and naive, allowing a total stranger into his bedroom (and this stranger broke in himself). The two play off each other very nicely. This of course gives Sion a shitstorm of problems but Nezumi returns later on to return the favor. The show continues with the two’s budding relationship in exile along with their struggle to reunite Sion with his mother and his lifelong friend Safu.