♥ Chan-Chan's Anime Blog ♥

Tiger & Bunny movie 1: The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:22:00 +0000

The Beginning is the first installment of Tiger & Bunny movie. The second movie will only be shown in Oct next year. Sigh... it's gonna be a long wait. I quite enjoyed the anime series and unexpectedly, I enjoyed the movie more. I'm definitely going to watch the second movie next year.

Story: (8/10) – Good
Since around 60% of the movie are recaps of the first few episodes of the anime series (shown from a new perspective), even if one has not watched the anime series before, I believe one should be able to enjoy it without feeling lost. The new content is quite interesting too.

Characters: (8/10) – Good
The new villain character is not as badass nor mysterious as Lunatic but his power is quite interesting and creative.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The animation is really good, as expected of Sunrise.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
I really like the Ending theme. Though I've only heard it once during the movie, it left a big impression on me.

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
I like the new depiction of the first few episodes of the anime and it was awesome watching it on big screen in high quality animation.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Like the anime series, the movie too has a good mix of humor, action and drama. It's definitely worth the money and time to watch.

Fairy Tail movie: Houno no Miko

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:47:00 +0000

I was excited to know that 3 anime movies are showing in my local theaters. Out of the 3, I've watched 2 - Tiger & Bunny and Fairy Tail. I'm still deciding whether to go and watch the Naruto movie. Hmm... should I? Anyway, I shall talk about Fairy Tail movie first.

Personally I really like Tiger & Bunny movie but I can't say the same about Fairy Tail movie. Since I watched Tiger & Bunny movie first and Fairy Tail movie a week later, the high quality of Tiger & Bunny animation makes Fairy Tail pale in comparison.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Eclair who appears before Lucy. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Phoenix Stones somewhere. The stones may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue.

Frankly, I'm not impressed with the story. Since Mashima Hiro sensei is involved in the story writing, I was expecting more out of it. I felt that he's trying to create a grand finale but disappointingly, not only did it not look grand, it actually felt boring. I was not very touched by the ending too.

Characters: (7/10) – Fairly Good
There's nothing special about the new characters. The villains are also not very impressionable. Among all the characters (including the main cast), I'm most amused by Erza in the movie. (*Spoiler Alert! She actually wants to be a bride badly! LOL) Anyway, there's TOO MUCH of Lucy and that's a big turn off for me.

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I'm more used to the animation in the anime series. The animation in the movie feels a little off and the quality is just average. The new character designs are ok, except for the yellow bird. It's not cute and it's like a Tweety Bird ripoff.

Music: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Frankly, I can't quite remember the themes but the impression I had wasn't too bad.

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
To be frank, I regretted watching the movie. It was a waste of money in my opinion.

Overall: (6/10) – Fair
Given the quality of the story and animation, it felt more like an anime filler than a movie.

Kuroko no Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:35:00 +0000

What's the hype behind Kuroko no Basket? I'm not saying this because I don't like Kuroko no Basket. In fact, I like it but I still don't get the hype. The characters may be really cool but I think the plot is too predictable, the power-ups are too ridiculous (particularly for Kuroko) and the action is getting more and more unreal (referring to the manga). I'm a big sports anime/manga fan so I'm really particular about it. I hate it when the story has references to real life players or setting but yet the moves performed by its characters are no where near realistic.

I expected the anime to end after the Aomine vs Kise match and I'm glad it did. I really like the inter-high arc and I also find the unrealistic basketball moves and hawk eye/eagle eye thingy acceptable but the action just keeps getting more and more ridiculous in the winter cup tournament arc (manga).

Sigh... My feelings for Kuroko no Basket manga is really mixed now. At this rate, it may have more unreal action than Tenipuri. Many fans are hoping for a second season. Though I don't quite like the ongoing winter cup tournament arc, I do want to see Murasakibara and Shiba in action (mixed feelings) -.-

Story: (8/10) – Good
The Teiko Middle School Basketball Team: The class that produced three perfect seasons in a row, with five once-in-a generation players, called "The Miracle Generation". However there was another player who all of them respected... A legendary 6th player.

An up-and-coming power player, Kagami Taiga, is just back from America. When he enters Seirin High School, he meets the super-ordinary boy, Kuroko Tetsuya. Kagami is shocked to find that Kuroko isn't good at basketball, in fact, he's bad! And he's so plain that he's has very little presence. But Kuroko's plainness allows him pass the ball around without the other team noticing him, and he's none other than the sixth member of the Miracle Generation.

Kuroko makes a pact with Kagami to defeat the other members of the Miracle Generation, who are now playing basketball at different schools. A battle of light (Kagami) and shadow (Kuroko) begins!

I personally like the inter-high arc. The finale, Aomine vs Kise, was really cool but it's sad to see Kise lose to Aomine. The match-ups between Kagami and Kise, Midorima and Aomine were interesting too.

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
The characters are what I like best about Kuroko no Basket. Even though their basketball moves are getting more and more super unreal, their looks and personalities are really cool!

Favorite Characters:

Kise - So cool and cute!!

Aomine - He looked so cute and innocent in my middle school and now he looks really badass! Love the gap!!

Kiyoshi - We actually only get to see more of his coolness after the inter-high arc in the manga. He's a really nice senpai!!

Kasamatsu - He's such a great captain!

Kagami - His stupidness reminds me a little of Sakuragi from Slam Dunk. He also has great jumping power like Sakuragi. Frankly, Sakuragi is much more charismatic as a main character but Kagami is pretty cool and cute too.

Midorima - Disregarding his super unreal 3-pointer shooting rate, he's a really cute tsundere.

Takao - He makes a really nice combination with Midorima.

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The art and character designs are really cool whereas the animation's just average.

Music: (8/10) – Good
I like the Opening themes and find them very apt. The Ending themes did not leave much impression on me.

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
The interaction between the different characters is a joy to watch.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
If you are not as fussy as me about sports anime, you may love Kuroko no Basket. It has action (unrealistic), humor and likable characters.

Sket Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:40:00 +0000

It's sad to see Sket Dance end but knowing that it's Gintama that's taking over its time slot, I can't help to be happy! It would be perfect if it's Shirokuma cafe that has ended and we have Sket Dance and Gintama back to back.

I was hoping that the last episode will be on the graduation of the third year students but sadly it's not. It turned out to be a series of small stories with the purpose of bringing out all the characters. Even though it felt a little rushed, it's a pretty heartwarming last episode.

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
At Kaimei High School, the Sket Dance was organized to help students with problems big or small. Most of the time, though, they hang out in their club room, bored, with only a few trivial problems floating in every once in a while. In spite of this, they still throw all their energy into solving the worries of their school mates.

Helping people in need is the motto of Sket Dance and also the running theme of the series. Sket Dance has many comedic moments and some touching stories. Not all the jokes are funny but there are some really funny ones.

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
Despite Sket Dance's school setting, it has an interesting cast of characters.

My favorite characters:

Switch - Ikemen otaku!! I love his stupid inventions!

Bossun - He has a really cute personality!

Tsubaki - He's also really cute, especially when he's angry!

Agata - I felt sad when he retired from Student Council. I love his laid back nature!

Katou - He looks damn cool!! It's sad that the anime has to end shortly after his introduction.

Dante - GACKT!!!!!!!!

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The art and character designs are nice whereas the animation's just average. The animation did get better over time.

Music: (8/10) – Good
Some of the themes are nice but some are just average. My favorite song from Sket Dance is neither an Opening theme nor Ending theme. It's Dante's (JardiN's) song "Iki toshi ikeru subete ni tsugu". If you haven't heard it, listen to it here.

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
I enjoyed almost all the episodes. I personally really like the Sket Dance vs Student Council moments, GintamaXSket Dance, Roman's shoujo antics and Dante's (Gackt!!) visual kei antics.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Initially, the tempo of the anime wasn't very good but it got better over time. It's a must watch for all who likes school life comedies.

Area no Kishi

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:56:00 +0000

Area no Kishi refers to the striker. Football has been gaining popularity in Japan over the years and even though Japan has done pretty well in the recent Olympics and the World Cup 2 years ago, Japan football is more well known for its defense than its offense. Japan has good defenders and midfielders but the strikers lack finishing touch. I guess the purpose of this anime is to motivate japanese strikers to shoot more and score more goals.

Anyway, I'm very surprised that Area no Kishi ended at episode 37. Why end at episode 37 - the middle of the winter tournament arc? They should either have ended right after the inter high arc or finish the winter tournament arc.

Story: (8/10) – Good
Area no Kishi tells the stories of middle and high school students as they grow up through their soccer clubs, compete in national tournaments, and strive for world titles. Main character Kakeru, his respected elder brother Suguru, and childhood friend Nana, along with all the teammates, rivals from other schools, and world class soccer players around him radiate their own brilliant light as they face adolescence with all their strength.

Area no Kishi reminds me a little of Major. Like Major, Area no Kishi started off with the death of a character and that helped to push the main character forward.

Character: (8/10) – Good
The main character, Kakeru, is a striker who is not exactly proficient in dribbling but does his job (scoring goals) well. At the beginning, he's really wimpy and negative and he only got better after his brother's death (v.v) Even though he's more confident and positive now, I still don't quite like him. He only looks cool when his brother "possessed" him.

I have no issue with the heroine, Nana, but I don't quite like the idea of introducing Nadeshiko Japan (Japan's women football team) into the story. It's boring and the character called Mai (supposedly one of the idols of Nadeshiko Japan) is freaking irritating. I also find the commentators from the different schools, in particular Enoshima High School, really noisy and their commentaries are not interesting.

There are many schools introduced in the series and other than Enoshima High School, I really like Touei High School and it's captain!

My favorite characters:

Asuka from Yoin - He looks really cool and cute! He has great leadership skills too!

Onimaru from Yoin- He's cute too and he forms a great combination with Asuka.

Oda from Enoshima - I love his serious nature! I enjoy watching his quarrels with Araki too.

Araki from Enoshima - It's amazing how he can lose and gain weight within short periods of time (almost unreal). Araki, please don't get fat again!

Suguro - As much as I understand how important it is for him to die in the story, it's still sad to see him die.

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The art is quite nice and fits the story but I can't say the same for the animation. The animation for the football moves looks quite awkward at times.

Music: (8/10) – Good
There's only one theme throughout the entire series and it's quite a nice song for a sports anime.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
The football matches are interesting enough for me to disregard the awful commentary. I also enjoy the interactions between the different characters.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Overall, I quite enjoy watching Area no Kishi. Though I'm not very impressed with the supernatural theme (Suguro possessing Kakeru (?)), I like the football action and love the characters, in particular the side characters.

Hakuouki Remeiroku

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:41:00 +0000

Hakuouki Remeiroku is the prequel of the first 2 series. It shows what Shinsengumi was like before it became officially known as Shinsengumi.

In Hakuouki Remeiroku, the main character is a guy (yea!! No Chizuru!!) and no, Hakuouki did not turn into a BL game. It's still an otome game.

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The year is 1863 and as Japan's long festering wounds of political discord erupt into violent waves of street clashes and murder, the Tokugawa Shogunate sends a new force of masterless samurai called the Roshigumi to the aid of the Aizu forces in Kyoto. However the new "police" are anything but a cohesive force and assassination has already split them into two opposing factions. The stronger is led by the brutal Serizawa Kamo and the lesser by the more honorable but less assertive Kondo Isami. It is into this pack of wolves that Ibuki Ryunosuke is dragged by the rabid Serizawa. Forced to be a virtual slave by blood debt, he hates the samurai and everything they stand for. But as he sees how the other half of the samurai live, he begins to believe that there may still be a chance, for both himself and Japan.

Before Shinsengumi was known as Shinsengumi, it was known as Roshigumi and other than Kondo, there were another leader in the group. His name was Serizawa and he was the reason why Roshigumi had a bad reputation. The prequel also shows how the whole Rasetsu saga started.

I like the prequel as it shows the past of some of the characters like Hijikata, Souji, Saitou and Kondo.

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
The prequel does not focus on Hijikata as heavily as the first 2 series. It shows more of the other characters, in particular Souji, Saitou, Heisuke, Harada and Shinpachi.

The main character also has some really nice interaction with the Shinsengumi characters.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The male characters are really drawn very beautifully. The animation is also well done.

Music: (8/10) – Good
The themes are nice and fit the mood of the series but not as nice as that of the 2nd series.

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
Without Chizuru, Hakuouki is indeed much more enjoyable to watch.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
It's really nice too see the young Shinsengumi in action and a healthy, cheeky (and slightly sadistic) Souji!!

Hakuouki Hekketsuroku

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:02:00 +0000

I have finally found time and mood to watch Hakuouki Hekketsuroku, the second series of Hakuouki! I really wanted to watch the prequel, Hakuouki Remeiroku, as I heard there's no Chizuru in it and so I decided that I have to finish watching Hakuouki Hekketsuroku first before I watch the prequel.

It's been some time since I finished watching the first Hakuouki. Chizuru is still as irritating as ever!!! If only Hakuouki is not an otome game. Even without Chizuru, the story would have progressed very well.

Anyway, like the first series, Hakuouki Hekketsuroku follows the events that happened to Shinsengumi in history. The second series covered more events and thus, sadly, we have to see the deaths of some characters.

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The Edo Era has ended after 260 years of history and the Meiji Era begins. However, bitter strife still continues between the soldiers of the new government and former Tokugawa retainers. This is the stage in which the surviving members of the Shinsengumi find themselves upon their return to Edo following their defeat at Tobafushimi.

As mentioned, the story mainly follows the history. The main difference is of course the existence of Rasetsu and Chizuru. I personally don't quite like the concept of Rasetsu but well Rasetsu is less irritating than Chizuru.

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
The male characters are still as cool as ever. Though it's sad to see Hijikata, Souji, Sanosuke, Heisuke, Kondo and Sannan die, since Hakuouki follows the history of Shinsengumi quite closely, their deaths are inevitable. As for characters like Hajime and Shinpachi, according to history, they survived so it's safe to assume that they have survived in Hakuouki too.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The art is without doubt very pretty and the animation did it justice.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
I love the themes, in particular the Ending theme, "Akane Sora ni Negau" By MAO. It's a very nice romantic song.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
For the second half of the series, I cried in almost all the episodes. Even though I knew who would be dying, it's really sad to see them die. Also, if Chizuru is not around, I would definitely have enjoyed the series more!

Overall: (8/10) – Good
I'm a fan of Shinsengumi and it's really nice to learn about its history. The male characters in Hakuouki are really cool but it's sad that the female lead character is damn annoying. The romance at the end was redundant in my opinion. Frankly, the only character I can see having a love relationship with Chizuru is Heisuke. But well, in order to show the whole history of Shinsengumi, Hijikata's love route was being shown instead.

Binbougami ga!

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 14:21:00 +0000

Frankly, Binbougami ga! is one series I wouldn't have watched if I haven't known that it's made by the same people who made Gintama! Though this is not the kind of series I usually watch and I hate the fan service (for male viewers), I don't regret watching as it's actually quite fun watching the characters doing silly things.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
At the expense of the people and things around her, Sakura has absorbed so much "happiness energy" that she has caused an energy imbalance in the world. In order to return balance to the world, Binbougami (Poverty God) Momiji sets out to take away Sakura's ability to absorb this energy. Will Momiji be able to put a stop to Sakura's absorbing abilities, or will Binbougami succumb to her happiness?

I seriously do not like the story concept. But well, since this is a comedy series, I shouldn't take the story too seriously even though I really don't like the premise of the story! As a comedy series, it's pretty funny and the characters are quite unpredictable.

Character: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The male characters in Binbougami ga! are either perverts or masochists. The only decent one is Tsuwabuki. As for the female characters, most of them are really bitchy and the only exception is Ranmaru, who is really cool.

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
It seems like the mangaka makes more effort in designing the female characters than the male characters. (v.v) Female character designs are pretty nice but male character designs are just average. On the other hand, animation is really good.

Music: (8/10) – Good
Very catchy Opening and Ending themes.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
I enjoyed the second half of the series better than the first half. My favorite parody is the Prince of Tennis parody in episode 9. Binbougami ga!'s tennis is as unreal as the one in Prince of Tennis! ^^

Overall: (8/10) – Good
I wouldn't say all the jokes are funny but there are enough funny ones to keep me entertained. The weird antics of the characters and the parodies make Binbougami ga! fun to watch.

La Storia della Arcana Famiglia

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 11:02:00 +0000

La Storia della Arcana Famiglia is yet another anime adapted from an otome game (why are there so many recently??!). The appeal of otome games is that there are many good looking guys to drool at. However, more than often, the female lead is simply a damsel in distress and that's a big turn off for me.

Like the other otome games, La Storia della Arcana Famiglia too has its own a good looking cast of male characters. As for the the female lead, she's ok... I guess.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
The Arcana Famiglia is a powerful organization that keeps the peace on the trading island of Regalo. The most unique trait of this prestigious "family" is their mastery of the Arcana - mystical powers derived from tarot cards. The current leader of the Arcana Famiglia, Mondo, wishes to choose a successor through a tournament called the Arcana Duello, and as an added incentive, the winner will take the hand of Mondo's daughter, Felicita. However, two young men among the family, impetuous Liberta and serious-minded Nova, are more interested in protecting Felicita's freedom than letting her be someone's trophy wife.

The mafia theme and of course the cast of male characters were what attracted me to La Storia della Arcana Famiglia initially. Since I wasn't expecting this anime to have much plot, I was pleasantly surprised that it actually had one. Even though it wasn't an interesting one, it was decent enough to give some of the characters some development.

Character: (8/10) – Good
The male characters all look really cool, but the sad thing is that, other than Nova and Liberta (and the female lead, Felicita), the other characters get hardly any development. The good thing is that we did get a peep into the past of all the male characters.

Nova and Liberta, being the 2 main male lead characters, get the most character development. As for Felicita, she's pretty cool throughout most part of the series. However, I can't quite stand her indecisiveness at the end.

I like all the male characters. My top 2 favorites are:

Luca - He's so adorable!!

Liberta - I love his hot-blooded nature!

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
I have no complaints about the character designs. The characters and their outfits are really cool. The animation, on the other hand, is average.

Music: (6/10) – Fair
The Opening theme is pretty catchy and suits the mood of the anime. As for the Ending theme, it's sung by the seiyuu of Liberta and Nova (Fukuyama Jun and Yonaga Tsubasa). All I can say is... I like seiyuu's voice acting but I can't say the same about singing.

Enjoyment: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I wasn't expecting much when I started watching La Storia della Arcana Famiglia and it turned out to be more enjoyable than I thought.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I'm not a fan of otome game anime series but I will usually still try to watch them anyway because I wanna see what the male characters are like. I'm not sure how otome gamers view this series but for me, I think it's entertaining enough for me to finish watching it.

Kimi to Boku 2

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:07:00 +0000

A continuation of Kimi to Boku.

I wonder if it's my imagination but I thought that the pacing for the second season is slower than that of the first. But nonetheless, I still enjoy most of the episodes in Kimi to Boku 2, in particular the first few and last few episodes.

Story: (8/10) – Good
This season focuses a bit more on romance than the first. I don't really mind the romance parts, even though I'm not a fan of romance. However, some episodes, like the one featuring Shun's brother and his girlfriend, are really weird and awkward to watch. (maybe it's just me who thinks this way)

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
The character who gets the most development this season is definitely Chizuru. There's quite a few episodes on him and Masaki. Though I don't quite like Masaki, it's nice to see the other side of Chizuru. He's cute (sometimes annoying) when he's loud and active but he's even cuter when he's thinking about Merri.

Shun is still very much a cherry boy (lol). His reaction to his brother's kiss is amusing. He's too pure and I doubt there's any 17 year old boy out there who's purer than him. He's perhaps purer than most girls.

Yukki had his first part time job experience. As expected, he screwed it up and his brother had to cover for him. In that sense, he hasn't mature much. However, even though it's subtle, he's becoming more sensitive to other people. The best example is that he's actually the first one to realize Chizuru's love for Masaki. I don't think that Yuta has realized that yet.

Yuta is the most mature and sensitive among the five. The episode on the twin's quarrel was quite interesting and showed another side of Yuta. He may appear mature but even he does quarrel with his brother over the silliest thing.

It must be tiring being Kaname. He has to deal with Yukki and Chizuru's daily teasing, his mother's son-complex and unrequited loves.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
I just caught up with the manga and I seriously think that the anime staff has done well in making the art look prettier.

Music: (8/10) – Good
I love the Opening theme but find the Ending theme bland. I still prefer first season's themes.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
I probably will enjoy it much more if the pacing is slightly faster.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Though this is not a series that will make one go 'wow', Kimi to Boku has it's own unique appeal. The characters are endearing and the story never fails to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Recorder and Randsell

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:35:00 +0000

26 3-minute episodes about a chibi 18 year old girl and her overly tall and mature looking 11 year old little brother. The concept is pretty interesting but it got repetitive after a few episodes. Thank goodness each episode is only 3 minutes long.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
Recorder and Randsell focuses more on characters than plot. There's hardly any plot but there are recurring gags of sister being mistaken as a kid and brother being mistaken as a pervert and getting caught by the police. It's quite funny at the start but after a while, it gets old.

Characters: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The characters are quite interesting but I have no particular favorites.

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Art is ok and so is the animation.

Music: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Catchy theme which fits the mood of the series well.

Enjoyment: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Since each episode is only 3 minutes, I decided to give it a shot. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would be.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Not a must watch but I think it's good for passing time.

Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:28:00 +0000

GTO!! I first got to know about it through the drama featuring Sorimachi. It was great and I went on to read the manga and then the anime. Though I like the drama but I must say the manga and anime (especially the manga) were much better than the drama!!

Recently, I saw news on GTO drama again. There's a remake and it features Akira from EXILE as Onizuka. The first episode was aired a few days ago but I haven't watched it yet. I have mixed feelings regarding this news. In my heart, Onizuka = Sorimachi in real life, so it's weird to see someone else acting as Onizuka. The same applies to characters like Uchiyamada and Murai.

Anyway, enough about the drama. Let's talk about the anime. Recently, I just finished reading the latest side story of the GTO manga, GTO: Shonan 14 days. It's pretty good and it made me read the manga and watch the anime again. Even though the anime was made more than 10 years ago, it still stands as one of my favorites. With GTO: Shonan 14 Days completed and a new side story manga featuring Ryuuji ongoing, I hope to see new anime projects on GTO.

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
Onizuka is a reformed biker gang leader who has his sights set on an honorable new ambition: to become the world's greatest teacher... for the purpose of meeting sexy high school girls. Okay, so he's mostly reformed.

However, strict administrators and a class of ruthless delinquents stand between Onizuka and his goal and they will use any means, however illegal or low, to drive the new teacher away. Perfect, because Onizuka's methods won't be found in any teaching manual.

The problems faced by the students and teachers in Japan are well portrayed in GTO and are probably still relevant today. Though it's almost impossible for a person like Onizuka to become a teacher in real life, it's really interesting to see the chemistry between Onizuka and his students, who are from completely different backgrounds as his.

Characters: (9/10) – Very Good
Since the first time I came across GTO, I've always wished I had a teacher like Onizuka. Onizuka reminds me of Sakuragi from Slam Dunk. They are both physically strong and very stupid. However, Onizuka is more badass and manly in my opinion. If you have only read or watched GTO and want to know more about Onizuka's past, you should read Bad Company and Shonan Jun'ai Gumi or watch Shonan Jun'au Gumi OVA (5 episodes). You will learn more about the Onibaku combination (Onizuka and Ryuuji).

My favorite character is obviously Onizuka. Other than Onizuka, I also like:

Kikuchi - he's smart and yet not nerdy. Perfect megane kun!

Murai - cutest mother complex guy!

Cresta - LOL I'm always looking forward how it's going to be destroyed. Poor Cresta! Poor Uchiyamada!

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The art in the manga is definitely much better than the anime's. The animation may seem outdated but well, it's made more than 10 years ago.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
The first GTO Opening theme is by L'Arc en Ciel and I love it. I like the first Ending and the second Opening themes too.

Enjoyment: (10/10) – Awesome
I had a very good time revisiting GTO.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
GTO is an anime with humor, action and drama all in one. If you are a shounen fan, I'm sure you will love GTO 'cos it's GREAT!

Tsuritama

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Tsuritama is an anime about fishing!

When I first read that, my reaction was =.= However, when I saw the word "alien" in the synopsis and the promotional picture of the four male characters, I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did. ^^

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
Three words can sum up the series - Fishing, Friendship and Alien.

The setting of the story is Enoshima. From the anime, it looks really beautiful and I will like to go there in my next visit to Japan (hopefully soon).

The first half of the series was very light-hearted and I felt happy watching it. However, the second half suddenly turned serious. The plot started to progress very fast and I couldn't help but to be drawn into the story.

Characters: (9/10) – Very Good
Ah... I really love the characters. The four male characters all have unique personality and are very likable. Also, side characters like Keito baachan and the ship captain are very nice and charming.

Favorite characters:

Yuki - his hanya face is too funny! I can relate very well to his nervousness as I tend to get nervous easily too. I love his character development the most.

Haru - he's too cute!! If only there are really such cute aliens...

Natsuki - I love his cool personality. It's nice seeing him having quite a bit of character development too.

Akira - "Duck" I love the way he shouts it. LOL I also love his duck, Tapioca. So cute!!

Keito - she's such a sweet granny!!

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The art style is very unique and pretty. I love the way the background is colored! Really pretty! The animation is also beautifully done.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
I love the Opening theme. It always put a smile in my face. Whenever I watched it, I felt like dancing to the Enoshima dance but well.. I didn't as I can't dance for nuts. The Ending theme is very nice too. It has a relaxing feel.

Enjoyment: (10/10) – Awesome
Tsuritama is definitely my favorite spring 2012 anime. I enjoyed every bits of it.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
Fishing might sound boring to some but I'm sure you will change your thinking, like I did, after watching Tsuritama.

Medaka Box

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:51:00 +0000

Medaka Box is yet another JUMP anime about the student council and helping people. In some way, it's kind of similar to Sket Dance. But for the most part of it, they are quite different.

I usually don't watch anime with super big boobs female as the main character. But since Medaka Box is a JUMP anime and only has 12 episodes, I decided to give it a shot. Frankly, it's very mediocre.

A second season has been confirmed. I'm not sure if I'll be watching it. I guess it depends on my mood then. From what I've heard, following the plot, the second season should be more interesting.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
When newly elected Student Council President Kurokami Medaka institutes her idea for a suggestion box where people can submit problems that need to be solved, she's expecting things like rescuing lost puppies and giving advice. What she and her best friend Hitoyoshi find instead, however, are the first hints of an unbelievable secret, and their school, Hakoniwa Academy, and Medaka herself are somehow at the very center of the growing maelstrom! As what seemed like an innocent past time turns into a dangerous game, Medaka and her recruits to the Student Council discover new depths to both themselves and their own unexpected abilities. And then things get really out of control!

As expected, the series somehow turned into a battle anime in the last few episodes. Since Medaka is the only one from the student council fighting, it gets boring after a while. Also, I hate the fact that the series is overly focused on Medaka and I'm sick of Hitoyoshi's narration about how good she is. =.= Even though Medaka didn't appear in the last episode, half of the episode was dedicated to talking about how great she is. That's really too much!!

Character: (6/10) – Fair
Japanese often use blood type to predict personality. In Medaka Box, ALL the characters who are introduced so far have AB blood type. People with AB blood type are known to be creative but they can be hard to read too. Unfortunately, even with so many ABs gathering together, I don't find the characters very interesting. The most interesting and mysterious character so far is perhaps Shiranui. With the appearance of Akune senpai, I thought the rivalry between Hitoyoshi and Akune senpai would bring sparks to the series and make it more interesting. Unfortunately, the rivalry was a very short lived one. =.=

Art/Animation: (6/10) – Fair
The art is not to my liking. The guys are too muscular and the girls are too well-endowed. The animation is not too bad though.

Music: (6/10) – Fair
I don't think the themes suit the anime at all and they are not my cup of tea.

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
Medaka Box is not funny nor exciting. It has a lot of pointless fan service too and unfortunately, the fan service is not very appealing to me, mainly due to the art style.

Overall: (6/10) – Fair
There are many other more interesting series out there about school life. I don't think I'll recommend this to anyone.

Tiger & Bunny

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I actually finished watching Tiger & Bunny quite some time ago. I had no intention to watch it as the character designs did not appeal to me at all. But since there's so much hype around it, I decided to watch for myself if it's really worth the hype. I watched it with very high expectations (due to the hype), so I must say Tiger & Bunny didn't exactly live up to it but overall, I do think it's a pretty good series with an interesting plot.

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
Sternbild City is home to people called "Next," who use their special abilities to protect the people as superheroes. These heroes solve cases and save lives so that they can wear sponsor logos or acquire "hero points." Their activities are documented on the popular program "Hero TV," which picks the "King of Heroes" in a yearly ranking. The veteran hero Wild Tiger has always preferred to work alone, but now he's been assigned the rookie Barnaby Brooks Jr., who has a different perspective on being a superhero.

I'm not fascinated with the whole "commercial" hero concept. When I was a kid, I wasn't a marvel superheroes' fan either. Thank goodness, Tiger & Bunny is much more than a series about heroes. The whole plot surrounding the mysterious criminal syndicate Ouroboros is very well thought out and executed. I look forward to finding out more about it in the upcoming movie. The good news is that the movie will be shown in my country, Singapore! ^^ (source: hero radio)

Characters: (9/10) – Very Good
Tiger & Bunny has an interesting cast of characters. I like the fact that even though the main characters are supposed to be heroes, they are actually very human and they also face human problems like you and me.

Favorite character:

Tiger - what a manly guy and a good father he is! I don't like his beard though.

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The "americanized" art style is not my cup of tea but the animation is very good.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
Great choice of Opening and Ending themes.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
There are some very good moments but some are just average. I especially enjoyed the last few episodes of the series.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Tiger & Bunny has a good mix of humor, action and drama. Even though I am not as excited as most of the other fans, I do understand why the others get so into Tiger & Bunny. It's an interesting series and it's well worth the time to watch!

Bakuman 2

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Sun, 27 May 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Bakuman manga has finally ended!! \(^.^)/ I'm probably one of the few people who feel glad that it has ended and did not drag on. Frankly, I'm quite sick of the very lame romance and the focus on rankings. If rankings truly matter that much, manga like Nurarihyon no Mago and Hunter X Hunter would have long been cancelled. They are not because they sell well, especially Hunter X Hunter. Ultimately, sale volumes still matters more than ranking as it's the best indicator of popularity.

Anyway, I managed to finish Bakuman 2. I skipped through most of the romance parts so I actually managed to finish it quite fast. There are a couple of reasons why I hate the romance in Bakuman. First, It's lame. It's even more lame than most of the fairy tales I've read when I was a kid. Second, without romance, the main characters most probably wouldn't be drawing manga. In my opinion, they are probably more passionate about their girls than manga =.= (especially Saikou).

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The second season focuses a lot more on the relationship between the mangaka and their editors. I find the one between Ashirogi Muto and their 2 different editors the most boring and the one between Hiramaru and his editor the most interesting. Ashirogi Muto and their editors are constantly talking about rankings and it seriously gets on my nerves. Also I hate how Ashirogi Muto didn't stand firm to their belief and started drawing a gag manga (seriously, Shuujin has no sense to write gag), but to only drop it just because of Eiji's challenge. How can they drop a manga just like that? If they don't love that manga, why start it in the first place? They shouldn't even give in to that stupid editor in the first place. In the end, why are they drawing manga for? Because they love it? Because they want to be ranked Number 1? Because Saikou can't bloody wait for his manga to be turned into an anime so that he can get married? I think it's more of the second and third reasons. I know they do love manga but they are just more obsessed with being ranked Number 1 and with romance.

Characters: (6/10) – Fair
The main and all the female characters are a pain to watch but side characters like Eiji, Fukuda, Hiramaru and Yoshida made this series bearable to watch. I notice one thing about female characters in Death Note and Bakuman (both by Ouba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi combination). They all lack personalities and are most of them dis-likable. I really hate how easily influenced they are. A classic example is Shuujin's wife, Miyoshi. She started out as a karate girl but became really submissive after they started dating. Can't she get a life of her own?!

As for the main characters, I have ranted enough about them so I think I shall not say more.

In the season, I like Hiramura and Yoshida combination the best. I love how Yoshida is always tying to manipulate Hiramuru to get him to draw manga. It's amusing to watch them.

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The art is mostly good except for scenes where they show their derpy faces. The derpy faces are neither cute nor pretty. It's really ugly!!

Music: (8/10) – Good
The Opening and Ending themes are catchy. The only thing I can't stand is the Ending themes sequences. -.-

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
The only moments I enjoyed are the moments are the ones with Hiramaru, Yoshida, Eiji and Fukuda. Sadly, that only makes up less than 10% of the series.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I still think this series is over-rated. I can't bring myself to like this series at all.

Review for Season 1.

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000

(T_T) Natsume Yuujinchou Shi has ended and this looks like it's going to be the last season of Natsume Yuujinchou (v.v). I really hope that there will be another season.

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
Typical of Natsume Yuujinchou, this season too had many touching, sweet and heartwarming episodes. I especially love the last 2 episodes. Throughout the last episode, I was crying really hard, not only because I was sad to see chibi Natsume crying, but also because it was the last episode and I felt really touched with the way Natsume has grown and matured throughout the series. It was very heart-wrenching to see what chibi Natsume had to go through when he was a little kid.

Characters: (9/10) – Very Good
I really love the character development of Natsume. I also love his relationships and interactions with the Fujiwara couple, Nyanko sensei, friends, old acquaintances and youkai.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The artwork for the anime is as beautiful as ever. The animation is also very fluid.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
The Opening and Ending themes remind me of that of Season 2. The Opening theme is catchy and the Ending theme is soothing. Love it!~

Enjoyment: (10/10) – Awesome
Watching Natsume Yuujinchou always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I enjoyed all the episodes, in particular the last 2 episodes, this season.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
I have been raving about Natsume Yuujinchou since Season 1. After 4 seasons, I'm still raving about it. This shows how much I like Natsume Yuujinchou and how good it is.

Reviews of Seasons 1, 2 and 3.

Mirai Nikki

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:55:00 +0000

Yandere is a Japanese term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence. The main heroine in Mirai Nikki is a yandere. As awesome as she may seem at first, she became a pain to watch after a while. And it doesn't help that the story mainly revolves around her and her love target.

Given how the story started and how the plot moved, I was hoping for a spectacular ~~and gruesome~~ ending. Unfortunately, the ending is totally different and surprised me in a bad way. I've been told by many friends that I'm heartless just because I tend to hate happy endings. Frankly, it's not that I hate happy endings but many happy endings I've watched felt forced and unrealistic. I prefer endings which are realistic to the setting of the story. Whether is it a happy ending or sad ending, I like it so long as it flows with the plot. Mirai Nikki is a series with a surprisingly happy ending and frankly, I hate it.

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The story is supposed to be about how 12 future diary holders battle out one another to achieve the status of God. It was what it was supposed to be for the most part of the series and I quite enjoyed the plot twists, even though many of the twists didn't quite make sense. However, the last few episodes focused more on the immature romance between the 2 main characters. One is a wimp who can't do anything on his own and the other is a yandere stalker who is a b*tch (even after watching the last episode, there's no feelings of sympathy.).

*Spoiler Alert! I always think that it's very lame to bring back dead characters using parallel worlds. In order to display Yuno's craziness and 'love' for Yukki, most of the characters are killed by her. And to make the viewers sympathize with her, we are brought to a parallel world with a younger and purer her, and all the characters she killed are still alive. In my opinion, that's a very forced happy ending. I've read the manga ending and I was disappointed that it's much worse than the anime ending. Actually, the only difference is that the anime left out the last chapter in the manga. I think that's a good thing as I hated that ending even more than the anime ending. Seriously, neither Yukiteru nor Yuno deserves a happy ending. *Spoiler Alert! My first impression after seeing Yukiteru as a God is... 'I wouldn't want such an emo guy as a God'. Anyway, it's creepy to hear Yuno's voice at the end, but I'm glad they didn't show what happened after that. That happy ending in the manga is really disgusting.

Character: (8/10) – Good
I seriously hate yandere. They are quite fun to watch initially but I get sick of their crazy antics after a while. I hate Yuno, not only because she's a yandere but also for what she did in episode 22. I also hate wimpy characters and recently there seem to be more and more of such characters. =.= Yukiteru is also one such typical wimpy character. He's cowardly and depends on his girl to do all the dirty work. =.=||

Favorite characters:

Akise Aru - he's cool, intelligent and rational. The only thing he did wrong is to like Yukiteru and being too soft with that yandere.

Uryuu Minene - she's cool and I like how she lectures Yukiteru.

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The art and character designs are good. The animation is decent too.

Music: (8/10) – Good
The song choices are good and fit the theme; though not may cup of tea.

Enjoyment: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I enjoyed most part of the series but it started going downhill for me after episode 22.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Despite not liking the main characters, I decided to continue watching because the story seemed interesting. After watching everything, I wouldn't say I regretted watching as it was quite entertaining for the most part but I was hoping for something better.

Persona 4

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:20:00 +0000

I never intended to watch Persona 4 as I'm not a gamer (so I did not understand the reason behind the hype) and the character designs and art did not appeal much to me. But... one day, I felt a little bored and decided to give it a shot. After watching it, I wouldn't say I fully understand the hype but I did enjoy watching the series.

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The first episode was really confusing for me. The way the main character, Narukami Yuu suddenly gained a new power is still a puzzle to me. But well, I reminded myself this is an adaption of a game series and tried not to dwell too much into it. The last few episodes of the anime revealed most of the mysteries but there are still some questionable points for non-gamers like me. The real last episode will be bundled with the blu-ray disc. I'm looking forward to watching it.

Character: (8/10) – Good
Yuu wasn't very interesting initially but his character grows on me after some time. The other main characters, except Rika, were also likable. It's very interesting to see the main characters facing their shadows (their other selves). All of us have a part of us which we do not wish to face or for others to see. However, there are definitely times in life which we have to face it. Denying it or running away from it is not a solution and I think that's the message Persona 4 is trying to tell us. It's also nice to see their friendship deepens even after seeing one another's ugly side.

Favorite characters:

Yuu - he looks cool and is expressionless most of the time. I like the gap between his reactions/behavior and his looks.

Yousuke - he's a very kind and helpful character. I find him very adorable!

Art/Animation: (6/10) – Fair
The art is not very appealing and the animation is not very good too.

Music: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The Opening and Ending themes have a modern feel to it and that suits the feel of the anime.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
Since I watched it with little expectations, surprisingly I enjoyed Persona 4. There are enough action, humour and drama to keep me entertained.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I heard that Persona 4 anime is very faithful to the game plot so I guess that's a good thing for the fans. Even though I didn't play Persona 4 game, I find the series and characters interesting too.

Steins;Gate

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:20:00 +0000

I didn't watch Steins;Gate last year as it looked like a harem series. Well, I was not exactly wrong about that but Steins;Gate is much more than that. The story is intriguing and the main character is a Mad scientist!! What more can one ask for?!

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
Steins;Gate is set in the summer of 2010, approximately one year after the events that took place in Chaos;Head, in Akihabara. Steins;Gate is about a group of friends who have customized their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN, who has been doing their own research on time travel, tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.

It's never easy to write a story about time travel as when one travels to the past and he will definitely attempt to change something and the future will be affected by that. It's not easy to explain that cause and effect but Steins;Gate has done it splendidly (and Reborn had failed spectacularly).

Character: (9/10) – Very Good
The characters are quite unique and the female characters are mostly not too irritating (only a few are).

Favorite character:

Okabe - Mad Scientist FTW!!

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
Hmm... All the girls look pretty and cute... BUT... none of the guys can be considered ikemen (v.v) this is so unfair -.- but... that aside.. the animation is pretty good.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
I enjoyed the Opening and Ending themes. Really nice choice of songs.

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
Time travel is almost everyone's dream and this is an often used theme in anime. Steins;Gate has done a good job and I had a good time watching it.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
I watched it with high expectations as it was raved by some bloggers as being the best anime in 2011. I wouldn't go so far to say that it's the best but it's definitely a good series and is very worth watching!

Another

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Another is not the kind of anime I'll usually watch as I'm not into horror stuffs. But since my friend recommended it to me, I decided to give it a shot. The first few episodes were indeed spooky and I actually didn't dare to watch it at night. (v.v) The atmosphere and the dolls (I really hate dolls and have always find them freaky) really scared me a little. As a horror series, i think that the first 10 episodes were great but unfortunately, the same can't be said about the last 2 episodes. There were many deaths in this series but they were all meaningful... until the random killings in the last few episodes make Another looks like a Final destination ripoff. From what I heard, the novel and the manga are quite different from the anime. I haven't had the time nor mood to read it but will probably do so one day as I'm quite curious about the differences.

Story: (8/10) – Good
26 years ago, in a third-year classroom of a middle school, there was a student named Misaki. As an honors student who was also good at sports, he was popular with her classmates. When he suddenly died, his classmates decided to carry on as if he was still alive until graduation. Then, in the spring of 1998, a boy named Sakakibara Kouichi transfers to the class, and he grows suspicious of the fearful atmosphere in that classroom. In particular, there is an aloof girl named Mei Misaki who wears an eyepatch and is always alone drawing pictures.

The premise of the story is interesting but yet full of questionable points.

The main question I have in my mind after watching Another is "Who is behind the revival of the undead?" There must be someone or something behind it! They can't just simply brush it off by saying that it's a natural phenomenon since there's nothing very natural about it. I'm also pretty disturbed by the fact that there seems to be no real solution to the problem. It's sad that the next third class will have to go through the same sh*t all over again. Seriously, if such things really do happen in real life, I'm sure that the school would have closed down by now. But well, the author is coming out with sequels and spin-offs so we can only hope for him to give us more insights to the Another phenomenon.

Character: (8/10) – Good
Frankly, I was pretty shocked by who the 'Another' one was, but on hindsight, it kind of made sense. If only there's a proper explanation for the presence of the 'Another'.

There are many characters in Another but many died before they even made an impact. The main character is Sakakibara. There's nothing very special about him except that he got to witness most of the deaths.

Another main character is Misaki Mei. Many feel that she's a cool character. I did feel the same way too but now I feel that many deaths could have been avoided if only she had revealed earlier who the undead was. The ending might have been better if she had revealed it earlier.

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
The bloody death scenes were animated well... I think. Frankly, I didn't pay too much attention to it as I don't enjoy watching bloody scenes. The art style is nice and pretty and surprisingly suits the mood of the story.

Music: (8/10) – Good
The Opening and Ending themes bring out the atmosphere of the anime very well.

Enjoyment: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Overall, I think Another was quite entertaining. Since my threshold for horror series is very low, Another did manage to scare me a little (especially the first few episodes). I'm not sure if horror fans feel the same way too though. One thing I didn't enjoy was the random and crazy killings in the last couple of episodes. It took away the mysterious and horror vibe.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
If you like horror series, I think Another is worth a try. I wouldn't say the ending is satisfying but it did surprise me a little. If you want to watch this series, remember... never to read the spoilers. It will most definitely take away half the enjoyment of watching it.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:57:00 +0000

This series reminds me a little of Kimi to Boku as its main characters are high school boys too but well.. they are different in many ways. Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou shows us a lot more the idiotic and immature sides of high school boys (and girls). I was from an all-girls school so I could more or less relate to the things that happened in the series. Since Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is also by Sunrise and the director was in charge of Gintama, I can't help but feel the Gintama vibes when watching Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou... but personally, I think Gintama is alot funnier.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
Tadakuni, Hidenori and Yoshitake are students at the all-boys academy, Sanada North High School. This is a tale about just that—their daily lives as students. Winning the basketball tournament? Finding true love? You won't find any of that here. Whether it's sparking random arguments while hanging out with friends, meeting that one weird co-worker at a part-time job, or even letting imaginations run wild on a windy afternoon, we've all experienced the show's ordinary but true-to-life themes at one point or another.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is somewhat exaggerated but it reminds people of the idiotic things that happened during high school days.

Character: (8/10) – Good
3 main characters - one hardly appears in the second half of the anime (Tadakuni), the other is a megane who always seems to have some weird encounters (Hidenori) and the last is a blond who does stupid things with the megane (Yoshitake). Other than these three, there are many interesting characters in Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. There are also some irritating ones (most of the female characters).

Favorite characters:

Hidenori - he does really stupid and hilarious things!

Motoharu - looks like a gangster but is really a nice guy..

President - love his bluntness and idiocy.

Art/Animation: (6/10) – Fair
Art is not not my cup of tea. The animation is also average... But well, we can't expect much from an anime about daily lives.

Music: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The Opening theme is catchy and the Ending theme is quite cute and interesting.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
I had a good time watching. It didn't make me go LOL but it does make me smile and laugh. This series also reminds me how carefree and fun my high school days were. ^^

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is light-hearted and fun to watch. The character designs are not exactly appealing but the strong personalities of the characters more than make up for it.

New Prince of Tennis - mada mada dane!

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Seriously, I have never intended to watch New Prince of Tennis as I wasn't all that impressed with the first series of Prince of Tennis and with what I've read in the manga (I dropped it a long time ago). But since, there's only 13 episodes, I decided to give it a shot. Other than more bishounen, there's nothing new and fresh at all. The only episode I enjoyed was the episode where Echizen and pals sneaked into the training camp to steal alcohol.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
Middle school boys (Echizen and friends) vs High school boys. Does that excite you? It certainly doesn't excite me. To me, it's just a cheap way to let the middle school boys continue playing together and for new bishounen to be introduced. I'm totally cool about the new characters but I think time needs to flow faster in the Prince of Tennis world. In case you haven't realized it, since the very start of Prince of Tennis, only less than 1 year has passed =.= but, so many things have happened (Seidou won the championship, Tezuka went for rehabilitation and came back, team mates went to visit him, Echizen played in US Open and etc). It felt as if at least 5 years must have passed. Can so many things happened in less than 1 year? Why can't Konomi sensei just let Tezuka and friends graduate and introduce new characters that way? Why must he be so insistent on Echizen being a middle school year 1 student? He should seriously let his characters grow up! Or rather, I want to see an older version of the characters.

Character: (6/10) – Fair
Old characters are the same... Not much character development, maybe except for Kaidou and Hiyoshi as they were supposed to have learned something from their respective captains. The 'loser' group also went through tough training to get stronger. But from what I see, they only became stronger physically but nothing else has changed.

Most of the new side characters (mainly the High school boys) are being portrayed rather negatively. They were either too arrogant or childish. Is this just to make the middle school boys look like the good guys and the high school students look like the bad guys?? -.-!!

There are some new cool characters but they had too little appearance to make any impact.

One of the new characters, Tokugawa Kazuya

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The animation seems a little better than its predecessor's.

Music: (6/10) – Fair
I don't think the themes suit the anime at all and they are not my cup of tea.

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
As mentioned, the only episode I truly enjoyed was the episode where Echizen and pals sneaked into the training camp to steal alcohol. Other than that, the rest are bland.

Overall: (6/10) – Fair
I wasn't all that impressed with the first season but I think the first series is better and more entertaining.

Beelzebub

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Aye.. Frankly, I'm quite shocked that Beelzebub has ended. After many episodes of fillers, just when it looked like it's going to start a new arc, it ended! =.=! I think the anime started too early. If the anime had started later, it will definitely have less fillers and will most likely last longer.

Story: (6/10) – Fair
The story follows the "strongest juvenile delinquent", Oga Tatsumi, a first year in "Ishiyama High" the school for delinquents. One day while sleeping next to a river he sees a man floating down it, he pulls him to shore and the man splits in half revealing a baby boy. This boy is the son of the demon king and he has been chosen as the one to raise it with the baby's demon maid Hilda. The story follows his life with the baby and at the delinquent school.

Beelzebub is fundamentally a gag manga/anime so its lack of plot doesn't bother me. However, what really bothers me is the fillers!! Not only did they not contribute to the plot, they are NOT funny at all!!

Character: (8/10) – Good
Beelzebub has quite a number of interesting characters and I enjoy their interaction with one another. Though Baby Beelzebub is the main character, I don't really find him that cute. In fact, i find him irritating at times. I find Baby Kouta much cuter.

Though Beelzebub has many strong and cool characters, my favorite character is Furuichi! I find him really funny! I also pity him at times as he always gets teased by the big ossan and gets bullied by Oga and others.

Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
There's nothing to boast about in this department. The art is not exactly pretty but it's decent and easy on the eyes. The animation quality is also average.

Music: (6/10) – Fair
I don't find the Opening and Ending themes, in particular the Ending themes, very appealing. Whether they suit the anime or not.. well I guess that's subjective.

Enjoyment: (7/10) – Fairly Good
When it's supposed to be funny, it's funny enough to put a smile on my face, though not enough to make me LOL. However, most of the time (especially the fillers), it's not funny at all.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
If only the anime had started later, we'll most likely get a better adaption of the manga... one with fewer fillers.

Guilty Crown

noreply@blogger.com (Chan-Chan) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:41:00 +0000

Guilty Crown is a noitamina anime and I had high expectations for it. I had high expectations not only because it's a noitamina anime, but also because it was in the hands of the staff of Death Note and Code Geass. Unfortunately, Guilty Crown is no where near the standard set by Death Note and Code Geass. But well... though it totally didn't meet up to expectations, it wasn't half bad... I guess (trying not to be too harsh).

Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The story takes place in Tokyo in 2039. After the outbreak of the unidentified virus "Lost Christmas" in 2029, Japan has been under the control of a multinational organization called GHQ. Ouma Shu is a 17-year-old boy who gains a psychic power in his right hand. He can use the power "Ability of King" to extract tools or weapons from his friends. He has been avoiding making trouble for others but his life changes when he meets a girl named Yuzuriha Inori, a member of a resistance guerrilla group called "Undertaker", whose members pilot mecha weapons to fight against the government.

The idea behind the story is pretty good but the execution is lackluster. There are quite a few twists in the story but they are no surprises at all. In fact, some are quite cliche.

Character: (5/10) – Poor
I don't think I've ever given such a low score for "character" but I think Guilty Crown deserves it. In Guilty Crown, there are more dis-likable characters than likable characters. In fact, I find none of the characters likable.

Also, I seriously hate weak, wimpy and cowardly main characters. No matter how strong they become, I can't bring myself to like such characters. In Guilty Crown, the main character, Shuu is one such character. Not only is he weak, wimpy and cowardly, his main motivation to become strong is because of a girl (super lame in my opinion). Same goes for the main antagonist, Gai. He's pretty cool and strong but his motivation is also a girl! =.=

Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good
One if the redeeming points of Guilty Crown is the art and animation. The quality of the animation is really top-notch and character designs are pretty cool too.

Music: (8/10) – Good
Another redeeming point of Guilty Crown is the music. The 2 songs played throughout the series are quite nice, even though I was expecting more songs to be played.

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
The animation is good and the story is average, but the characters make the series not very enjoyable to watch.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
If the characters were more appealing (personality wise) and the story was more well thought out, I would most likely have enjoyed this series a little more.