Another
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A
Ano Natsu de Matte Iru
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Appleseed
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Air
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AKB0048
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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.
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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.
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Aquarion
Alternate Titles: Genesis of Aquarion, 創聖のアクエリオン (Japanese)
Original Japanese Release Date: 2005-04-04
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
Humanity suddenly finds itself battling a dangerous foe called the “Snow Angels”—mystical beings that, for the last twelve thousand years, have lied dormant—who are kidnapping earth’s populace to drain their “prana” or vital energy. Those with certain abilities have banded together to fight using “vector machines,” robotic weapons that can merge as one to create the ultimate machine, “Aquarion.” The story mainly follows a teenager named Apollo who shows unbridled and untapped power, leading many to believe he is the reincarnation of Apolonius, a fallen angel who, during the last war, fought against his own kind to protect humanity.
Review:
A lot about this anime was handled very well. It maintained a decent balance between humor and seriousness while still holding true to a plot that could have been either completely overplayed or disappointingly under developed. The characters were likable and relatable, their back stories—of those who received them— seemed thought out and generally well placed within the time frame. A certain amount of filler was present, but not enough to take away from the plot, even the filler holding a semblance of progress in and of itself. All and all, it moved fluidly and with enough action and presence that moments of boredom were a rarity.
The animation style was gorgeous to behold. Which makes sense considering that it came from many of the same brilliant animators that did Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Outside of the slightly CGI altered “vector machine” fight scenes, the animation itself was detailed and crisp, giving life to the well thought out character designs. And the music is equally as breathtaking, composed by the untouchable Yoko Kanno, her ability to mold to any style adding a touch of uniqueness and depth to each moment.
While it felt as though there could have been more details elaborated upon here and there, Aquarion did a good job of making sure all the big questions were hit upon and the main plot accomplished. It did well for itself to end where it did, the anime settling into the finale rather than running head first or tripping accidentally into it. From beginning to end, flaws and all, it was a joy to watch and deserves a 4.5/5.
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Asura Cryin’
Alternate Titles: アスラクライン
Original Japanese Release Date: April 2nd, 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 13 Episodes
Summary:
Tomo is a normal high school kid with a ghost friend. One day he receives a package from his brother which leads him down the path of controling the Asura Cryin’, a huge mech that can be summoned at will to do battle.
Review:
This anime is has a lot of issues that makes it suck. I’ll let them here. First of all the characters are piss poor. Tomo and Misao are about as generic as it gets. Misao, the ghost friend of Tomo, could have been a good character except they just couldn’t resist making her a braindead moe ghost. *sigh*. The story is pretty stupid and later decays into a series of battles and ambushes that gets really dull before long. There are some things with the plot that should have raised some red flags with the characters early on but the characters just fail too hard to even come remotely close to being realistic. For example, Tomo’s brother went abroad to study with the “Royal Dark Society.” Wow. Red flag anybody?
The bottom line is that I’m not going to write 250 more words to tell you this anime sucks. Stay far away from it. You’ll be a happier person in the end. Go watch Escaflowne.
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Arc the Lad
Alternate Titles: アークザラッド
Original Japanese Release Date: April 5th, 1999
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
Based after the Playstation RPG Arc the Lad Collections, this anime follows the story of Arc and Elf as they battle to take down the secret organization White House which is striving to research how to transform people into mutated killing machines known as Chimera.
Review:
I watched this anime back in the day because the Playstation game is quite good and one of my favorites. It follows largely the exact same story as the game but isn’t nearly as good. The story takes place in a semi-futuristic, somewhat cliche RPG setting, filled with airships, magic, monsters and adventure. The characters also ooze RPG as there is a beastmaster, a couple swordsmen, mages, airship pilots, ninjas etc…
The characters in the anime aren’t nearly as good as the game. Pretty much only Elk gets a solid backstory, which is thankful because he is at the crux of the story driven drama in the series. He is the source of the dramatic climax in the middle of the series. I remember seeing the scene I am referencing. I was sleeping in my dorm room in college and just sat straight up in bed, awoken from sleep because the scene was so intense. Good stuff. It’s a shame though that the other characters don’t get much focus, especially Arc and Lieze, since they DO have backstory, it’s just not presented in this format. Also, in the anime, Arc is so ridiculously overpowered that he really takes the tension out of situations that could be otherwise treacherous.
The animation and art in the show is very average. It’s watchable but for a show that is essentially full of fighting, I don’t really feel like the show has adequate animation. The character designs were more agreeable than the animation. They did a decent job, compared to the game. One area that the show really lacks aesthetically is the music. This anime has a terrible opening video to accompany the classic theme song from the game. Sad day.
All in all, Arc the Lad is a watchable anime series. Especially if you played the game or if you like RPG style settings. If you enjoyed Tears to Tiara, or Record of Lodoss War, you might have a better chance of enjoying this series. Just don’t let the anime reflect poorly on the game, it’s much better.
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