Category Archives: Weekly Anime Review

Review – My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute! 1

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Life with a sister is... unique.

I don’t get it. No matter how annoying, overrated and absolutely idiotic slice-of-life anime is, I keep coming back for more. With K-ON!! finally on the shelf, I found myself wanting another silly, frivolous show to fritter my time away. Preferably, I wanted one that was actually GOOD this time around–one that, unlike K-ON!!, wouldn’t fill me with an unspeakable hatred. And the result of my search was an anime with an absurdly long title: My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute!.

From the preview, this sister-love story looked fairly interesting: an anime with a tsundere who’s secretly an otaku. The episode mainly centers on the family and their characteristics. It also, of course, reveals Kirino’s secret of being an otaku, which she’s been hiding for some time because of embarrassment. She finally confesses to her brother, and he agrees to help her with any problems that may arise from her nerdiness.

Read into the review after the break. Continue reading →

Review: Iron Man 1

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Talk to the hand.

If you read my introduction to Iron Man, you might have noticed that I’m kind of a big fan. Couple my love of the comic-book Tony Stark with my desperate need to see something good after the disappointment of last season, and you get some fairly high expectations that Madhouse needed to live up to. Thankfully, that’s exactly what they did, but not quite in the ways I expected.

Instead of retelling Iron Man’s origin story, the first episode introduces us to Tony Stark when he’s a well-established superhero. Stark wants to build one of his famous arc reactors in Japan, which he claims will give the country unlimited, free energy. The Japanese public, however, is skeptical. Since the arc reactor is what powers Stark’s Iron Man armor, who’s to say he’s not trying to build an absurdly powerful weapon under the guise of philanthropy? So, Stark–the stereotypical wealthy American who revels in excess and the occasional vice–is forced to figure out how to get the Japanese to like him while trying to dodge the tough questions and charm the pants off of a spunky reporter named Nanami Ota.

And then the Iron Man Dio, Stark’s prototype for a mass-production armor, somehow goes out of control and starts blasting the landscape. All in all, not the best day he’s ever had.

It is, however, a darn good episode, and I’ll explain why after the jump.

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Review: Panty & Stocking 1

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Taste the PAINbow!

“Haters gonna hate, lovers gonna love.”

That’s what everybody’s been telling me about Panty & Stocking, and I’m sick of hearing it. Do we really have judge our anime in such absolutist terms? The K-ON! fandom had the exact same problem; they labelled anybody who did not instantly agree with their unconditional worship as a hater… or worse. Well, if you hold such an extreme opinion, about K-ON!, Panty & Stocking or any other anime, I’ve got a message for you.

YOU’RE WRONG.

Reality does not exist solely in shades of black and white. Panty & Stocking is not the second coming of the messiah, nor is it an abomination spawned from the depths of hell. It’s just another anime, rife with strengths and weaknesses of all kinds. In other words, it’s exactly like every other anime ever made. Sure, there are superficial differences in art style and writing, but this show really isn’t as incredibly revolutionary as you may have been lead to believe. I neither love nor hate it, and I’m hoping this review will help to deconstruct some of the absurd mythos the fans and anti-fans have constructed.

Panty & Stocking is centered around two girls, named (surprise!) Panty and Stocking. Although ostensibly sent from Heaven to defend Daten City from ghosts, these girls are actually lowlife layabouts who ignore their duties at every opportunity. Panty is a sex-addicted slut who beds every man she can get her hands on, and Stocking spends her time feeding her rampant addiction to sugary sweets. Only the machinations of the Reverend Garterbelt, their afro-sporting mentor/taskmaster, convinces this less-than-dynamic duo to actually fulfill their duties: slaying ghosts, collecting heaven coins and protecting the innocent people of Daten City.

The first episode is split up into two eleven-minute shorts, much like the American cartoons on which it was based. The first briefly introduces the main characters, who must fight against a massive sewer-dwelling ghost made of human feces. The second revolves around a speed demon/phallic metaphor ghost who leads the girls on a high-speed chase using a variety of vehicles. Both of these monsters are defeated with the help of special weapons: Panty’s panties turn into a gun called Backless, and Stockings stockings turn into an as-yet-unnamed sword.

Read more after the jump.

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Review: Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls 1

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Yagyuu Muneakira, Sanada Yukimura and Gotou Matabee.

At first glance, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls has a lot going against it. It’s based on a figure series which depicts various historical samurai as busty girls. It’s being animated by ARMS, who are responsible for such shows as Queen’s Blade and Ikkitousen. AT-X will be broadcasting an uncensored version, with plenty of nudity to go around. By all accounts, this should be another brainless fanservice-fest that only the really, really hardcore otaku will enjoy.

Or is it?

The old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” is applicable here. I actually watched the first episode of Samurai Girls and enjoyed it. Why? Well, despite the conclusions some of you have drawn from my HOTD hatred, I actually like fanservice-heavy shows. I’m a healthy, heterosexual guy in his mid-twenties… why WOULDN’T I enjoy staring at nubile samurai women parading around in skimpy outfits? What I don’t appreciate is when such shows tack on a paper-thin plot into which the writers put no thought or effort. Just because a show has bouncing boobs doesn’t mean the story has to suck!

And you know what? Samurai Girls actually has a decent story. It’s set in an alternate version of the present day, where the Tokugawa Shogunate still rules over a feudal Japan. The main protagonist, Yagyuu Muneakira, is tranferring to a military academy at the base of Mount Fuji. There he accidentally meets Sanada Yukimura and Gotou Matabee, two female samurai who are opposing the ruling Shogunate. After a nasty run-in with the school’s Shogun-endorsed militant student council, Yagyuu casts his lot with the rebels, setting the stage for a feudal battle of shifting loyalties in a high-school setting.

This intriguing story is only one aspect Samurai Girl‘s enjoyability. The tasteful fanservice, gorgeous art style and memorable character designs make this show is a visual treat, and the writing is serviceable enough that you won’t be bored out of your skull waiting for the next ecchi scene. Granted, there are still some big flaws… but this show has definately piqued my interest.

Find out more after the break.

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Review: Highschool of the Dead 9

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This is a guest post written by The Austin Critic. Check out his blog here!

I don’t get Highschool of the Dead. There are times when it’s trying to be a gritty zombie show, and other times when it’s a completely over-the-top, fanservice filled action show. For example, the previous episodes had scenes which featured realistic weapon handling and a few uses of strategy, giving me the impression that this was a realistic portrayal of the zombie apocalypse. The next minute however, the main characters suddenly gain the abilities of Schwarzenegger and start dodging bullets, using weaponry, driving CG military vehicles into hordes of zombies and plowing through countless undead with melee weapons. It also doesn’t help that the fanservice just stops any chance that anyone could take this show seriously. This episode was further proof that this series is having an identity crisis, as one minute it decides to show the mental conflicts that Saeko has gone through before and during this zombie apocalypse, only to completely discard this serious subject matter with fanservice.

Read more after the break.

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Review: K-ON!! 21

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ò_ó

Last week’s episode of K-ON!! had a rather solemn tone, making viewers teary-eyed as the HTT girls finished their final festival together. With this in mind, the next episode could have had any tone imaginable. It could have kept the serious, dramatic feel of the school festival, or shifted back to the lighthearted but ultimately pointless moe fluff that made this show so infamous.

Sad to say, they decided to go with the latter. It reminds me of a previous annoying filler episode a few weeks back. However, this episode was far more entertaining than that disaster, with the jokes being good and the interactions spot on. Of course, since I’m an evil hater critic who loathes all things good and pure, I still had some problems with it. My main complaint is that the episode doesn’t bring anything new or interesting to the table… just more predictable moeblobbery that fails to surprise anyone. With only five episodes remaining, can they really afford to be wasting time with this kind of filler?

Read more after the break. Continue reading →

Review: K-ON!! 20

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My God... it's full of stars!

Finally! This is the K-ON!! episode fans have been waiting for! With the last two episodes being possibly my favorites of the entire season thus far, I had rather high expectations for this one. Could it maintain the great character-based comedy that made the last two so enjoyable?

I heard this episode actually moved some people to tears, and it’s easy to see why. It was one of the best and most heartfelt episodes of the second season. However, its sluggish pacing kept it from being perfect. In particular, Yui’s long “thank you” monologue just drags on for what felt like hours. Despite this, the jokes were humorous, the music was excellent and the camaraderie between the girls was as entertaining as ever. Overall, a solid episode with a few minor flaws.

Read more in-depth after the break.

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Review: Highschool of the Dead 7

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lol BOOBIES!!!!!!

Let me tell you something about myself that you may not know: I don’t like living in a bubble. I tend to browse other anime forums and blogs, because I like seeing what other critics have to say about the shows I’m watching. Often times I’ll find at least one intelligently-stated point that I didn’t think of, which is always a fun experience for me. However, as I was looking over comments about Highschool of the Dead, I noticed that there tends to be a pattern in the backlash toward negative reviews. Some fans believe reviewers like me aren’t being fair to the show.

“Why are you judging it so harshly?” they ask. “It’s not supposed to be deep or meaningful or smart. It’s trying to be silly, flashy fun!”

And you know what? Maybe they have a point. Maybe I’m approaching the show all wrong. I mean, if its goal is to be shallow, pandering, inconsistent and misogynistic, then why should I criticize it for hitting the mark?

Truly, I have seen the light; and to celebrate my epiphany, I’m making this review an extra-special one. I’ve decided to put as much effort into it as the writers of Highschool of the Dead put into their show.

*ahem*

It’s stupid, it sucks, and I hate it.

…

What? You want to know why I don’t like HotD #7? You think what I wrote is far too brief and vague to be of any use at all as a review?

Well of course my review is shallow, boring and worthless. It’s supposed to be! Since I’ve clearly met my goals perfectly, it wouldn’t be fair to post negative opinions about it.

Suck it, critics!

Review: Occult Academy 5 & 6

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Just another ordinary day at Occult Academy.

As those of you who have been listening to the podcast know, my opinion of the recent Occult Academy episodes has been rather low. Episode 3 was just plain boring, and episode 4 completely derailed Fumiaki’s character, turning him into cowardly comic relief. Now, these two episodes weren’t BAD per se, but they also weren’t anywhere near as good as the first two. Seeing such a promising show fall from grace was painful, and I was starting to worry that Occult Academy would completely squander its potential just like So Ra No Wo To. Boy, am I glad to be wrong.

Episodes 5 and 6 were a complete turnaround. Thanks in large part to the strong writing, these episodes picked up the pace, un-derailed Fumiaki’s character, and rekindled my interest in the show. They even nailed the comedy, which was both hilarious and perfectly blended with the more serious aspects of the story. And, best of all, Mikaze got almost no screentime! Will wonders never cease?

Find out more after the break. Continue reading →

Review: K-ON!! 18 & 19

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Seven days...

After K-ON!! 17’s disappointment, I wasn’t holding out much hope for the next few episodes. I was expecting more mindless filler and pointless moeblob antics. Boy, was I in for a surprise. The episode 18 and 19 two-parter totally blew me away. I’d dare say these are my favorite episodes of the entire second season. It was an amazing feeling seeing this return to glory for the HTT girls, especially after the crap we’ve been fed the past few weeks. The jokes are great, the character interactions are spot-on and, for once, the show actually had a overarching plot. Oh, and the girls FINALLY practice too! Who knew K-ON!! could redeem itself so quickly?

Read more after the jump.

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