Kannagi
Alternative titles:
Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens
かんなぎ (Japanese)
神薙 (Chinese (Taiwan))
Comedy
K-On! (Season 1)
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: April 2nd, 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 14 episodes
Summary:
Yui Hirasawa is a high school freshman and she needs a club to join. She discovers a club on the brink of extinction, the light music club. Yui joins the current members of the club Ritsu and Mio and later, Tsumugi and Azusa, as they save the club and become best friends.
Review:
K-On is a “moe” anime. There really isn’t much to it. Five girls get together after school and eat cake and have tea and occasionally, practice rock music. That’s about all there is to it. Like most “moe” shows, this one wastes many of its episodes on mindless content that is meant to serve one purpose, being cute. These episodes include school festivals, trips to the beach, and endless sessions of cake eating. So at this point you might wonder, “how does this show get a 4/5?” The show does have some good things going for it that make it likely, one of the best, if not the best “moe” show out there.
The show, aesthetically is very pleasing. First off, the music in the show is fantastic. Making it’s way to the top of Japanese pop charts, the opening and ending themes, “Cagayake! Girls” and “Don’t say “Lazy”, make the music very special. This not only because the songs are good but because the themes are performd by the seiyuu actresses themselves; Aki Toyosaki with Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Satou, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu. In addition to the music, the visuals are excellent as well. I think it’s a shame however that good production values get wasted on watching “moe” girls tripping all over themselves.
It was also nice watching the girls working towards their live performances together, something that is sorely lacking in the second season. As a musician, it was also quite interesting watching Yui trying to learn the guitar. So in the end, this is a pretty nice show that really does what it’s intended to do very well. In terms of a “moe” show it’s much more tolerable than most and because the characters are enjoyable and the music is great, it’s generally a show that can be recommended to most audiences.
[starrater]
Kuragehime
Alternate Titles: Jellyfish Princess, Princess Jellyfish
Original Japanese Release Date: Oct 2010
Episode Length/Run-time: 11 Episodes
Summary:
Tsukimi is a geeky girl who lives in Amizukan, an apartment complex that no men are allowed to enter, with other otaku, hikkimori, and NEETs. She has a deep love for jellyfish due to a memory of her late mother. One evening, when trying to save a jellyfish she recieves help from a beautiful girl, but this girl is a trap!
Review:
This is an anime that I was earnestly surprised at how much I enjoyed. The premise seemed a little cliché, nerdy people afraid of popular beautiful people. But the execution was awesome. I loved how the “ugly” people were, well, actually ugly. It wasn’t like a lot of series where the “ugly” ones were actually really beautiful all things considered, they were pretty homely in this one. But it worked with creating the realism of the seires.
There are two main points of conflict in the show. One with Tsukimi and her relationship not only with a boy but a cross-dressing, popular, beautiful, rich boy, and how she overcomes this within. The other conflict is the risk of the Amizukan being torn down to make room for new building projects in the city and the geeky girls loosing their home and safe-haven.
The pacing of this show is also really great, it moves well and progresses in a speedy but not hasty manner. Things seem realistic in how the emotions change from encounter to encounter.
At its core I’d say Kuragehime is a feel-good show which anyone who has ever felt slightly socially outcaste can enjoy. It was a show I enjoyed a large amount and really recommend as a worth-while watch.
[starrater]
A-Channel
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: Apr 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 12 Episodes
Summary:
Tooru who has just entered the same high school as her best best and childhood friend Run, who is now a second year, and Run’s friends Yuuko & Nagi in their daily lives.
Review:
I feel like this anime is supposed to be really funny, or, at least, a little funny. But the problem remains I found myself SO bored watching it. The characters are the normal funny formula, the young one, the bookish one, the ditz, the well-meaning screw-up, perhaps I’m jaded but it all just falls flat. The slice-of-life doesn’t really help either, because there’s no real conflict, or overarching plot, or real antagonist, just random stuff happening one thing after another. For example, there is an entire episode about sneaking into the school at night, and not even for a fun reason, they just forgot something. I had foolishly thought that there may be some semblance of a story or at least relationship building throughout the show, given the relationships at the beginning and the cute girl crush one of them had, but that was foolish thinking. The love just serves as a plot device to have one girl be all protective and have some slapstick humor as she punches people who get too close away. The style of the show is nothing to write home about either. Everything looks chili, even the adults are done in a very simplistic style… Though I suppose on the bright side they don’t look the same age as their students, so thats a pro for the show. But they have things like montages during stupid little songs, the budget is too low for a montage I tell you! Animate everything! I suppose this is one of those anime that you just have to be into to want to watch. If this is the kind of stuff you like, random acts of girl/Moe cuteness with little else than this really delivers. I suppose its not too Moe that non-Moe fans will not upchuck after a minute, but its still pretty solid Moe stuff left to right, up to down. The biggest thing I enjoyed personally was the opening, its a good song and good animation, otherwise I found myself dragging my bored feet through this show.
[starrater]
Chi’s New Address
Alternate Titles: Chi’s Sweet Home: Atarashii Ouchi, Chi’s Sweet Home: Chi’s New Address
Original Japanese Release Date: Mar 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 104 Episodes (3 minutes an episode)
Summary:
The lovable kitten Chi has moved with her family the Yamadas to a pet friendly home. Now Chi has a yard and lots of local animals to play with and can go outside as she pleases, no longer in hiding from the landlady.
Review:
There isn’t too much to say about this show, it is basically the same premise as the season before it with the aforementioned changes. That being said the changes breathe new life in the new possibilities of the neighbors pets and her freedom to go outside. Chi is still adorable, and cat owners and lovers alike will revel in her cat antics that are innocent and lovable. This show is very simple and the four minute episodes make it easy for a shot of cuteness whenever you need it. I don’t know what else to say really, its simple and perfect in what it is and does what it set out to do, be adorable. If youre studying Japanese try watching it without subs as the language is very simple it could be good practice. I laughed, I cried – really I did, and I squealed with delight at the cuteness of this show. It only gets a low score because I try to score critically, and no its not amazing, nor does it really have a plot. But, on a personal enjoyment level I love this show so much and on a personal scale its one of my favorite anime ever, easily a 5/5.
[starrater]
Motto to Love Ru -Trouble-
Alternate Titles: もっとTo LOVEる -とらぶる
Original Japanese Release Date: September 17, 2010
Episode Length/Run-time: 12
Summary:
Because this anime is so horrible, it’s easier for me to just give detailed description of what accounts for about 90% of this show.
Review:
First of all, the story is broken down into a series of shorts. Much like Azumanga
The show is about a girl named LALA who comes from a planet called Devilluke(she has a devil tail) she runs away because she is a princess and doesnt’ want to take part in an arranged marriage. This is not the first series of this(I don’t know how there is a sequel) and so some of the stuff doesnt make too much sense to me. Lala lives at a boy named Rito’s house and he’s the male “protagonist” even though he doesnt do much to fit the role. Weak, nervous, indecisive. This show also has some side characters in it that are from the old series. There is a blonde girl who can use her hair as weapons and apparently, for whatever reason she is an assassin from another planet and she is supposed to kill Rita althought I’m not sure why because from what I’ve seen he doesnt do too much to be deemed killable. The rest of the show is bs antics and panty shots, blushing, and slapstick comedy that isn’t funny. And of course, every single character in the show has a crush on Rito. And I mean they’re literally throwing their bodies on him but this show never has any kind of physical interaction of that kind. No kissing, no sex despite all the nudity, nothing.
Some scenes that make me want to kill myself:
- There is a guy named Zastin who comes from Devilluke to retrieve two other girls from the royal family who run away. There is also another girl in the school that Rita goes to that has a crush on him (somehow) and so they call him to the school so that she can confess. At the same time Lala has cooked Rita some bad bento with black smoke coming out of it. He’s watching the confession from the side of a building a bit away and up from behind Lala finds him and crams some of the food in her mouth. He gags and runs out from the building towards Zastin and the girl. He slams into the girl and she falls on him, ass up, and Zastin gets a shot of her panties and vag area. Then she gets mad and hits Rita and chases him. Ugg….
- It’s Valentine’s Day. Kotegawa a girl in Rito’s class is making him chocolate because she has a crush on him. So…she tries to give it to him but she gets nervous and ends up cussing him out. Later in the day, she tries again, and in the middle of it, another girl that is cute with green hair comes up and pounces on Rita and offers him chocolate out of her mouth (because this is apparently a harem) and he gets “scared” and turns to run in the other direction and runs into Kotegawa. She falls and he ends up with his head basically in her vag. Ugg…
- They’re at the beach. The watermelon they are trying to split turns into a monster and spits red “cum juice” on the girls and then they pose for the camera provoatively with all the stuff dripping off of them.
- Tentacle octopus breast enlarger…
[starrater]
Level E
Alternate Titles: レベルE
Original Japanese Release Date: January 10, 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 13
Summary:
There are millions of aliens on Earth, all sorts of aliens, but the Earthlings don’t know it. One such alien is the Prince of a planet known as Doguria. He is a very mischievous person who likes to make people do things for his own entertainment at their expense.
Review:
There are hundreds of alien species that co-exist with humans on Earth. They exist in all kinds; peaceful, aggressive, on the brink of extinction, etc… Everybody seems to be aware of this except for the humans. We don’t know about the aliens. This kid, Yakitaka, from Tokyo comes to a new school, Kisaragi high school, to play baseball (yay!). Hes kind of a touch guy. The kind of guy who was probably in a gang or at least somebody who wouldn’t take shit from people. When he arrives at his new dorm room there is a blonde guy in his room wearing his clothes. The man is named Prince. He claims to be an alien that crash landed recently nearby and that he lost his memories due to the crash. The presence of the space craft is confirmed by news reports since it was discovered. Some stuff happens, the alien runs off the check the space craft and gets hit by a car. He has blue blood. He rests after being hit and his body creates some kind of forcefield that causes all his wounds to heal and the cherry trees around him to bloom.
The next day, the alien goes and retrieves this device that displays the aliens pet. He is a fluidic organism from the planet Jacqueline Ess. Named Clive. It has a really amazin ability to mimic things. It’s really scary. I mean this thing looks like a giant, screaming, slug thing. In the second episode you learn that there are people from a laboratory associated with the government trying to find the alien. At the same time, people from Prince’s home planet land in Japan, searching for him as well. They stop by the home of another alien, a very violent race called Disclonian. They ask him for information before continuing on. The race of Disclonians have destroyed thousands of other races in the universe.
At the end of a very uneventful second episode, the aliens from Prince’s homeplanet find him and reveal that they were on the way to escorting him to a very important intergalactic conference when they lost him. The largest such conference in the universe. But there are biggest problems. At the end of the episode you learn that Prince almost killed somebody on the planet when trying to help a girl that they were harrassing and the victim was a Disclonian…this is likely certainly enough to start an intergalactic war. They thought they had killed him but the Disclonians go into an instinctual coma like state as a defense mechanism when they are about to be killed. Its called Thanatosis. the Disclonian wakes up and then escapes from Yakitakas dorm…
The character designs are very pleasing to me. They’re more mature looking and are reminiscent of older anime. Mature designs, normal colored hair.
[starrater]
Azumanga Daioh
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: April 8th, 2002
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
Cooking is so fun…cooking is so fun…now it’s time to take a break and see what we have done.
Review:
The best way to breakdown this anime’s story is to explain the characters. You have the child genius, Chiyo-chan who is about half the age of everybody else (And half the height), but shes twice as smart and of course cute, then there is Tomo Takino, the tom boy, who is always full of energy and also a total dimwit. She often copies homework on her friends and her energic personality adds a lot of spice to the series. The other key characters of the series include, Sakaki, Osaka and Yomi. Sakaki is a tall, sporty, girl who loves cats. The only problem is that the cats always seem to bite her! It is hilarious! Osaka is the awkward, really dumb girl who comes from Osaka and as a results shes a little backwards, including her southern accent!
As Azumanga Daioh is based after a manga, the series is broken down into short 3-5 minute episodes that stitch together seemlessly to form a story, an often times random story. This anime is incredibly random, from a floating cat that is apparently Chiyo’s father to crazy occurances in the classroom, Azumanga is one of the most random and as a result one of the funniest animes out there. It is a total classic. In addition, the humor in Azumanga Daioh, continually hits the nail on the head, unlike some other anime which fall flat over and over again.
I truly recommend Azumanga Daioh to people of any gender, of any age. It is a classic comedy that is timeless and as a result, it shouldn’t be missed by anybody and deserves a place on everybody’s anime shelf. Display it proudly.
[starrater]
Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 8 Episodes
Summary:
The continued antics of the Marui Triplets. Futaba is the tomboyish one, Hitoha is the quiet pervert, and Mitsuba the self-proclaimed princess employ their antics and wreak havoc in a comical manner on everything around them.
Review:
The second season of Mitsudomoe follows much the way of the first season. Each episode is broken into two, generally three, vignettes that follow a slice of life of the Marui triplets. While there is a lose overall story of their day to day lives and the passing of time represented by seasons and events there is no overarching plot with a set beginning, middle, climax, resolution, and end.
In this way though, Mitsudomoe is one of the most fantastic pick up and go shows you can find. Each episode goes from garnering a sincere chuckle to side-splitting hilarity. While I expected the antics to get tired and boring, after all there’s only so many jokes about a girl being a perv (right?), they never got to that point. Somehow the writers continued to find ways to make the content new and fresh while still being funny. No small feat, I assure you.
The animation or music is nothing to swoon over, but that’s clearly not the point of this series. Pouring money into a high animation budget would’ve likely detracted from the home-grown silly that the slightly cartoonish style produces.
You can completely watch this season without seeing the first. But why would you want to? Sure it’s not chronological but you may as well start a good thing from the beginning. However, if you do decide to pick this one up in the middle the only thing you may not understand (and the only thing I didn’t really like) is the first episode. The first episode is a mock TV show referenced throughout the series called the Gachi Rangers (much like the power rangers). This episode seemed less funny and out of place, but it hardly detracted from the overall quality of the show.
On a humor scale, this anime easily gets a 5/5.
However, I try to score like a critic, and since it doesn’t really have a plot it’s bumped down to a 3/5 on an overall scale. Bur seriously, if you like funny you do not want to miss this one.
[starrater]
Bamboo Blade
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: 2007
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
Toraji is a high school Kendo teacher makes a bet with his friend who is also a kendo teacher that if Toraji can assemble a team which defeats his team then he will give Toraji free meals at a sushi restraunt for a whole year. Now Toraji is focused on finding girls to join the club, driven by the need for food. In doing so an unlikely group of girls with their share of quirks are assembled for the kendo team.
Review:
The best way to describe this anime is a harem with no romance. It’s one guy, a lazy dude bringing a bunch of girls together for food, bringing a bunch of girls together. And even though it’s about a sport it doesn’t seem to be the focal point of the series. The relationship is really what’s important between character to character.
This anime is not really about the kendo, don’t walk into it expecting to learn something about kendo. The Kendo does go through the motions but it’s not really focused on the actual action. It’s focused on the mental aspects of the game and less on the movements.
As far as plot it’s hard to describe, being a heavy slice of life anime. The kendo doesn’t come up all that often surprisingly, and trying to get the team together is most of the anime. Most of the footage is on the girls lives and their day to day lives. It really attempts to be a slice-of-life anime despite having the sports persona.
It’s enjoyable, yet average.
Reviewed by Neokage from the Otaku Momentum Podcast
[starrater]