This week Valvrave has begin to get serious. Especially with the death of twin tails above, marking the first civilian casualty. (Admittedly I wasn’t sure if that actually happened at first.) I just don’t want the show to lose its camp and unapologetic stupidity, as that is its main appeal for me.

We also finally got a hint as to the identity of the pink-haired twin tail girl shown in the ending sequence. L-Elf’s sister? (oh gosh, incest..?) Or high aristocrat girl whom he probably failed to protect and that’s when he gained the resolve to be a killing machine.

Also, we switched to the second ending theme already? So there are going to be four ending themes total then? This second song isn’t even that great. Especially as a follow up to Angela’s Boku Janai. I’m quite a fan of that song. Ah, disappointment.

Also, the opening scene. Two-hundred year time skip. Rukino has fully embraced her mecha battling girl persona. What promise? To Haruto most likely? Still don’t care about her.

The student council president has enormous tits and is also god.

Based on a shounen battle manga by NisiOisn, the author/creator of Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari. This is vastly different from both aforementioned works, and not in a good way either. This was awful.

Medaka Box’s plot is simple: a flawless high school girl with gargantuan boobs is the student council president and she solves problems in the school. “Solve problems” is also usually synonymous for “beating the shit out of people.” The humor is not funny at all, and the entire cast has overly simplistic characterization and are just annoying in general.

The animation was average at best, don’t remember what the music sounded like…the art style was fine. Not great, but not hideous either. Medaka Box was really annoying and unentertaining.

• Story – D – Stupid and not funny.
• Characters – F – Bland and annoying.
• Art – C+ – Not bad looking, not very well animated.
• Music – F
• Enjoyment – D-
• Overall – D-

Recommendations: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

Name: Gonzo

Founded in: 1992

Most well received works: Full Metal Panic!, Gankutsuou, Last Exile, Welcome to the NHK!

Most popular works: Afro Samurai, Full Metal Panic!, Hellsing, Kaze no Stigma, Rosario + Vampire (both seasons), Seto no Hanayome, Strike Witches, Welcome to the NHK!

Other recognizable works: Basilisk, Bokurano, Chrono Crusade, Romeo x Juliet, Saki

Known for: their fall from grace, lots of sci-fi series

Objective Analysis: Oh, Gonzo. They were once capable of great things. They animated a wide variety of genres. While they, of course, varied in quality, most of them were very good. But then they fell into massive debt and began churning out almost nothing but stupid otaku-aimed and fanservice shows starting in 2008. However, with 2011’s Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing, Gonzo has shown signs of possible redemption.

Subjective Analysis: Overall, I’d say I’m a Gonzo fan. But old Gonzo, not lame Gonzo. Two of their shows are in my Top 30. Even before the debt, all of their shows varied in quality, though I end up liking most of them. I hope they can climb back up the quality ladder soon. But judging from what they’ve been up to this year, it seems that they’re regressing again.

O, great Eren in Heaven. Your mighty word has stirred my soul! And now a miracle has occurred! Thou hast bestowed unto me a titan to slaughter other titans! I am now slightly exalted! Words do not describe my gratitude, dear love brother. Although, I’m still Mikasa and would’ve been able to handle it.

Now rise! Bear your weapons proudly! Show no fear! With the radiant sun and my memory of my very special brother as my beacon, I will lead these poor souls into battle; For I am Mikasa, the obnoxiously co-dependent adopted sister Apostle of Eren.

With this episode, it’s clear that Rukino is the antithesis of Shouko. Shouko is selfless and cheerful, Rukino is driven by her ambitions and doesn’t give a shit about anyone else. Obviously she will develop feelings, legitimate feelings, for Haruto somewhere along the line. I don’t care about any of the main three to actually care about the love triangle or the shipping wars yet.

Again, fame is clearly going to play a large role here. But I’m sure the public already sees Rukino and Haruto as some dream team mecha duo. Poor Shouko.

Also, not sure if I can ever eat pocky without thinking of it as a penis again…fuck you, Saki.

I ship these two hard.

1. Kings - The opening theme of last year’s anime K. It’s a pretty good song. I think the melody of the verses are superior to the chorus’. Not really sure what to say about this song honestly…
2. Boku Janai – Valvrave the Liberator’s first ending theme. Easily my favorite song on the album. I love the constantly changing rhythm of all of the ‘boku/zero janai’s. The men’s ominous chanting in the background also gives it a very epic sound. Damn good song.
3. So sweet memories – At first I thought I wasn’t going to like this song since its first few seconds are rather smooth jazz sounding. I hate smooth jazz. But then it turned into a mid-tempo pop song and I felt better. It’s actually a song that I can imagine being on a Mizuki Nana record.
4. Remember me – This starts off as slow and quiet, but soon picks up the tempo and turns into an intimate sounding samba. I love the Spanish guitar and the orchestra during the music break is beautiful. A very good track.
5. Inochi – Here we go, the first ballad on the album. I never seem to really like J-Pop ballads. Atsuko sounded like she was singing through her mask in the beginning, and it makes her voice sound a bit nasally. The melody itself is really boring, and the fact that the track is over six minutes long also doesn’t help. Pass.
6. Kyoukaisen Set me free – Ah, this is better. Back into upbeat pop/rock territory. Atsuko goes up to a D# in the chorus so it’s nice to hear some range. The song gives off a very enthusiastic energy and I like it.
7. The Lights of Heroes – Another boring pop/rock track. I found the chorus to be dull and slightly annoying. Nothing really special about the instrumentals either. Pass.
8. This is my wish – Oh dear, another ballad. I don’t know what Atsuko is doing with her voice, or what they did to it, but I don’t like the way it sounds. The harmonies on the two of the high notes in the chorus are super dissonant and it sounds disgusting. I have a feeling I just need to stay away from this duo’s slower tracks. Pass.
9. Always Suki da yo – Oh god. Speaking of things that Atsuko shouldn’t be doing with her voice, oh Jesus, the verses….they’re painful to listen to. I need to avoid Angela’s happy anime songs, too. Pass.
10. Itsuka no Zero Kara – Alas, the crappy streak continues. The chorus is really awful. It sounds like a stereotypical anime song with a slower tempo. The rest of the song isn’t too bad, but it’s another one I’m not fond of.
11. -Requiem of Red- – Finally bringing an end to the crappy streak!! This one starts off very slow and melancholy. There’s precious quality to it. It beings to sound like a holy prayer once the background chanting kicks in. (Well duh, Myna. It is a requiem.) A very nice song, but it feels sort of out of place on the album.
12. To be with U! – Ending things with yet another power pop/rock song. I think that Atsuko really enjoyed singing this. This is definitely one of the only good pop songs on the album. While still nothing too noteworthy, it’s a pretty good choice to end the album with.

For my first Angela album ever, I was not as impressed as I hoped I would be. All of Zero’s songs were rather hit and miss. And unfortunately it was about half and half. Though of all of Angel’s music that I’ve heard, which mainly comprise of anime songs, all of their stuff is hit or miss. Ah well. Definitely some good stuff on here, though.

]]> http://somethingeternal.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/angela-zero/feed/ 0 myna5194 angela - Zero http://somethingeternal.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/anime-mirai-2013/ http://somethingeternal.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/anime-mirai-2013/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:18 +0000 myna http://somethingeternal.wordpress.com/?p=3235 ]]>

I don’t know what the hell happened to Ryo, and I have no patience anymore, so here’s the Anime Mirai post.

Arve Rezzle

The worst of the bunch. Handled by Zexcs, Arve Rezzle is a sci-fi involving futuristic technology and people’s souls being digitized and then being returned back into the wrong bodies. The boring male protagonist’s younger sister fell victim to that and someone else’s soul is in her big bosomed body. This felt more like a prologue than anything. The story literally went nowhere. There was some hints of incest and the siblings got attacked by a Mysterious Stranger and then that was it. Also the animation was pretty bad. Skip this.

Death Billiards

This one was great until the last seven minutes or so. The premise is that two guys, a younger adult and an old man, die at the same time. So they are forced to play a game of billiards in order to decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. I really enjoyed the storytelling, and the animation was beautiful. But the subtlety went out the window when the young guy had a meltdown and it was just painful to listen to. The ending was very ambiguous, too. Despite the crappy last few minutes, Death Billiards was definitely a good short overall. Watch this.

Little Witch Academia

The one with the most hype behind it, and also my favorite. Little Witch Academia is the tried and true story of the clumsy Mudblood witch prevailing and saving the day. The premise is the least original of all the Anime Mirai offerings, but its enthusiastic and bouncy animation and energy made it the most likable. It’s also easily the most entertaining one. What a wonderful first official animation work for Studio Trigger. Watch this.

A group of strange children seek out a young orphan girl.

The first few episodes of Fantastic Children are a bit bewildering and strange, and the pacing is also rather slow. It didn’t succeeded in sparking my interest, but initially failed to hold my attention. Once I completed the first half, I was totally hooked.

Fantastic Children has a vast amount of components to its story: romance, science fiction, reincarnation, adventure, which all work amazingly well together to tell an epic and touching story. No spoilers, but the anime had an absolutely amazing plot twist at the end which shattered the previous predictability it had foreshadowed. It was brilliant.

Although it was a wonderful show, I can’t ignore the fact that I think the art is unattractive and the animation is a bit third rate. To partially make up for it, the soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. It utilizes a vast array of instruments and the songs are a joy to listen to. The opening and ending themes are also gorgeous.

Fantastic Children is a vastly unappreciated anime and deserves to be watched.

• Story – A – A great combination of common story elements.
• Characters – B – All had distinct characteristics, though never grew too attached to them.
• Art – D – Ugly and not very well animated.
• Music – A – A great soundtrack with beautiful opening and ending themes.
• Enjoyment – B+ – Took a few episodes, but I couldn’t stop watching it once I really got into it.
• Overall – A-

Recommendations: Castle in the Sky, Last Exile, Now and Then Here and There

Every main cast member in Utena can fit into one or two of the following fairy tale archetypes: princess, witch, and prince. Utena herself clearly matches up with both princess and prince, but I wanted to try and put her in perspective with the witch.

This is specifically limited to the Student Council Arc only.

The Student Council Arc serves many purposes for Utena’s story: The audience is able to adjust to to the absurd beauty of Ohtori Academy, we get to know our heroine a bit, and also get acquainted with 90% of the cast. Through the first round of duels, we skim the surface of the Student Council members’  characters and learn their motivations for participating in the battles. What’s important to note here that almost every episode’s focus for this arc is not on Utena our protagonist. The spotlight is almost always given to the character that she will duel. (Emphasis on Miki, Juri, and Nanami.) Because of this shift, those characters who are actually antagonists get to enjoy the temporary pleasure of being protagonists. This is where the main point of this article comes in.

If those Student Council members are protagonists for their episodes, technically speaking, this would make Utena the antagonist. Let’s compare Utena to the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. In the latter, many brave young men attempt to break through the massive briars surrounding the castle, but fail to do so. This obviously translates to Utena as the duelists attempting to win Anthy. Now shifting the comparison to Disney’s well established rendition, this would subsequently make Utena Maleficent. Utena is the one who wields the magical and powerful Sword of Dios. Not to mention that Dios’ spirit helps her out in some tight spots. Like the iconic villain, Utena is the one who holds all the cards, the one who prevents ‘princes’ from reaching the princess. They’re the ones who are testing those who seek something eternal.

Utena’s position as the witch is further emphasized by her, at this point, lack of a legitimate motivation for engaging in the duels. Think about it: some girl who happens to be good with a sword just happens to start participating in these duels and manages to effortlessly win all of them. And she doesn’t have a purpose for doing so. It’s like someone who does not intend to pursue or have a passion for acting getting the lead role in a play.

The fact that Utena’s character can be applied to all three of the anime’s main fairy tale archetypes goes to show how fantastic of a character she really is. It makes me love her and Utena even more.

I knew I wasn’t going to like this episode. I’m way ahead in the manga and knew that this was going to be an extremely Mikasa-centric episode. Guys, she is such a boring character to watch. I don’t understand.

Another annoying part of this episode is Armin. Well, that kid has always been rather irritating. But it’s mainly because he only has two real emotions, which are self pity and being scared shitless. Eren also has the problem of having about two emotions, and Mikasa has the issue of having no emotions at all. Well, except in the flashback. It actually felt satisfying to watch her suffer.