Mushi-Shi
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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…
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Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s
Alternate Titles: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s
Original Japanese Release Date: October 1st, 2005
Episode Length/Run-time: 13
Summary:
Nanoha and Fate must battle against a group of Velka Knights, who seek to fill the pages of the Book of Darkness, a Lost Logia, with stolen magic powers. The story begins when the Velka Knights attempt to steal Nanoha’s power to write the pages of the Book of Darkness.
Review:
Nanoha A’s takes place a few months after the events of the original Nanoha series. I wouldn’t say that you cannot watch Nanoha A’s without seeing the first season, because other than the characters, they are barely connected, but you might enjoy it more. Fate Festarossa, a magical girl, once foe, turned friend of Nanoha’s is being put up for trial by the Space/Time Administration for the crimes she committed in the first series. Fate sought to collect the Lost Logia, which are lost artifacts of horrible power that are very dangerous.
She is reunited with Nanoha after she is locked in battle against a group of “Velka-Type Knights”. Fate and Yuuno, and others rush to Nanoha’s side just as she is about to get killed by Vita, one of the Knights. In the end a giant battle royale occurs which makes the first two episodes of this series rather epic.
The knights seek to capture the power of Nanoha in their “Book of Darkness”, another Lost Logia. This book has the power to steal magical essence and the knights want to fill it’s pages with magic. Because Nanoha is so powerful, they seek her specifically becasue they feel she will feel a lot of pages. Of course, the Space/Time Bureau knows about the book as well and they want to seal it away.
This is kind of the DBZ of Magical girl anime. A lot of magical girl anime has romance and drama spilled in there (sailor moon) but this series is more about badass shounen style fight scenes, only with magical girls. For example, Nanoha’s Divine Buster is more like a massive KameHameHa than anything else. The battles are so much better. Those of you that have seen the first series will recall that the final battle between Nanoha and Fate is the best battle from the first series. Most of the battles from A’s are better than that one. The Vita-Knights all have a unique fighting style and it makes for incredible action. Some of the best or maybe THE best from the magical girl genre.
All of the magical characters, have weapons that are somewhat sentient. they can, to a limited extent be talked to and typically announce their attacks when they use them. When Nanoha uses her Divine Buster, or when Vita loads a “Cartridge” it’s typically announced by the weapon.
Aesthetically, the battles are better. The animation and colors appear more appealing and crisp. The soundtrack is still filled with amazing songs by Mizuki Nana, you’ve been hearing the music all throughout this review.
As is the case with many magical girl anime, there is a bit of a lolicon aspect to the show. Nanoha is only around nine years old in this series and in her magical girl transformation, she does get kinda naked, however there is no real explicit nudity. The same is true for Fate, however these are the only two magical transformations you see in the series and you only see them once each, unlike other series such as Star Driver, which make you watch the same boring transformation, four minutes an episode, you see a total of 3 minutes of transformations for the entire series.
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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.
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Magic Knight Rayearth
Alternate Titles: Rayearth
Original Japanese Release Date: 1994
Episode Length/Run-time: 20 Episodes
Summary:
Three junior high girls: Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Umi, and Hououji Fuu, meet at a school trip to Tokyo Tower. Suddenly, a bright light envelops them and they find themselves transported to the fantasy land of Cephiro. Princess Emeraude brought them there to save the land from the evil High Priest Zagato. With the guidance of Guru Clef, and the help of their new mascot the bouncy, rabbit-like, uber-cute Mokona, they are sent on a journey to become the Magic Knights in order to save the princess, and the land.
Review:
Alright, as always it’s time to get the specifics out of the way. Magic Knight Rayearth is a 20 episode series which came out in Fall of 1994 and ran through to 1995. It was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha based off an original manga by CLAMP which was three volumes running from 1993-1995. There IS a follow-up manga and series to Magic Knight Rayearth, aptly titled Magic Knight Rayearth 2, but I am not reviewing that because I have not seen it. Makes sense, right? Both the manga and the series have been licensed in America, so if you want to get your hands on it, it should be pretty easy.
This series is hailed for following the first arc of the manga relatively closely. Which should be pleasing to many manga fans out there.
This anime feels like an RPG come to life on a screen. If Lodos war was D&D Rayearth is the spitting image of every JRPG fans game. Cephiro is a fantasy world full of large crystals, flying fish (literally, flying), gryphons, mages, and of course magical girls. The characters are as equally cliché as the world. Fuu is the quiet shy girl with glasses, Umi the entitled rich girl who seems to initially care only about getting home in time for her fencing tournament, and the spunky tomboy Hikaru.
So, yeah, the series starts out exactly as it looks. The girls learn of their powers, get into some battles, and fall into some clichés along the way. But it becomes significantly more than that. As is CLAMP’s style often times the series is full of forlorn love, taboo relationships and heartache. If you’re a girl, this addition really helps make the series IMHO.
The major con of this series is the animation. Where the character designs seem enchanting and different in the manga they just seem jarring and odd. Their faces are angular and odd looking and their eyes take the “big eyed anime character” to a whole new extreme. The animation is also poor, even by 1990s standards, the low frame rate makes the action sequences (something many Shojo series lack) clunky and odd. This is barely excusable just because these action series serve more to provide a catalyst for the emotional storm brewing in the series than a flashy soiree. Music is average, about what you’d expect.
What is best about this series is the ending. Magic Knight has a fantastic, unexpected, and emotional ending that you REALLY do not see coming. This series is the exact opposite of what we normally talk about, good series that end up bad. This series starts out with you expecting a little, and it ends up giving you a lot.
Overall, it’s a shojo magical girl anime, so there’s really so much you can expect . But generally people looking for the high-budget action sequences are going to stay away from this anyways. On a magical girl show scale, I’d give it a 4+. But this isn’t a magical girl only review site, so overall it gets a 3.5, slightly above average.
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Mahoromatic Tadaima Okaeri
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 2 episodes
Summary:
After the war between the aliens “Saint” and the earth two combat robots (Minawa-chan and Mahoro-san) are allowed to live normal lives as “maids” due to their excellent service. They live with Suguru Misato and have a bunch of fun experiences such as opening a maid cafe. However, in the middle of this they are attacked by robots.
Review:
This is a sequel to the harem anime Mahoromatic Automatic Maid. Which at is core is basically a harem anime but it does have some substance to it because they show how long she has left at the end of each episode. This anime is a special that’s an addition to this original series.
The first half of this anime is cute and fluffy. As the two maids are learning how to be better maids for their school festival. Randomly they are attacked because of who they are and someone wants their technology. Of course Mahoro steps in and saves the day.
That’s about it, it’s simple and not wonderful and filled with cliches. But it’s just a follow-up special so for what it is it doesn’t do a bad job.
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Macross Frontier
Alternate Titles: マクロスＦ<フロンティア
Original Japanese Release Date: December 23rd, 2003
Episode Length/Run-time: 25
Summary:
Macross frontier is the first direct sequel to the original Macross series and Macross 7 series. It takes place after the war with the Zentradi has ended and humanity of on a campaign to spread the culture of humankind all throughout the galaxy. To do this they utilize a fleet aptly named, Macross Frontier. The story follows pilot Alto Saotome, and pop idols Ranka Lee and Sheryl Nome.
Review:
Some will say that this is the first good Macross series since the original. I’ll leave that statement up to the individual viewer but I’ll just say that Macross Frontier is a good anime. It’s a very character driven series and it should have been obvious right from the opening theme that the focus is on the two girls, Ranka and Sheryl. Also, seeing as the opening theme is called “Triangular” it might have been a red flag this anime is going to have a love triangle in it, which it does. The female voices are done by two pop stars, one new and one not so new. Megumi Nakajima voices Ranka Lee and Sheryl is done by May’n. These two make a great pairing and quite honestly, the music in Macross Frontier is some of the best I’ve ever seen from an anime. If you take the music out, this is a very average series, but with it, it’s exceptional. The songs “Triangular”, “Lion”, “Northern Cross”, “Infinity”, and the rest are simply great songs. Oh yea, let’s not forget there is a male in this show as well…Alto is an alright male lead as well but he has ups and downs. First of all, he is super pretty, so all the bishounen fangirls (and boys) will love it. But he really has this issue when it comes to selecting which of the two girls (both of which are too good for him) he wants to be with. This gets old fast and I found it really trite and annoying.
The plotline is kind of what you’d expect from Macross. An alien race known as the Vajra are attacking mankind and its up to Alto to save Ranka and the rest. Of course the power of music is involved as well, as it usually is in the Macross series. The anime gets off the a quick start right from the get go with a Vajra attack and while the pacing slows down considerably (and grinds to a halt) at times in the middle, I enjoyed the “start with a bang” attitude that the series has.
All in all, it’s a must watch for anybody who is a fan of Jpop music and of course, for those of you who love the Macross series. This one likely won’t disappoint.
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Mujin Wakusei Survive
Alternate Titles: Uninhabited Planet Survive
Original Japanese Release Date: October 16th, 2003
Episode Length/Run-time: 52
Summary:
A group of children are supposed to be on a school field trip, however due to an accident the end up stranged on an uninhabited planet filled with monsters and other dangers. Can Luna and her friends survive and make their way one?
Review:
This is a show that I rather enjoyed. Wanting a show with a unique storyline and feel I found one in what might be one of the only anime out there about a desperate survival situation. I had similar thoughts about Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 which might be the only anime about an earthquake.
So the show gets serious points for being unique but what else does it do well? The show has a very nice cast of characters. The situations in which the characters are placed really do a great job of developing these characters personalities but also revealing their “true colors”. Certain characters the start out as the weaker, more timid of the group develop into strong people and even leaders. It reminds me a bit of Spirited Away in this way. The back stories of the characters are also fairly good for some characters however, I would have liked to see certain other characters receive more back stories than they did. I guess it’s understandable considering there are 8 or 9 total characters in the group.
Continuing on with the characters, they are some of the most resourceful kids I have ever seen. I mean they use practically ever possible piece of their crashed spacecraft in order to build shelter, fix electronics, hunt, and just about everything else you could imagine them doing for survival.
One of the problems with the show is that the pacing is a bit slow. In the beginning it is alright because the situation is fresh and new but as the story continues, they just throw one impossible situation after another. Also, after they started introducing the alien technology I found the quality of the show dip a little bit. It was at this point that the show really revealed itself as a show geared at children. There are certain reasons for this but for the sake of no spoilers, I shall not reveal them here.
All in all, its a recommendable anime. It’s unique feel and interesting execution alone makes it worthwhile, particularly so if you have the patience to finish it.
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Alternate Titles: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu
Original Japanese Release Date: 2006
Episode Length/Run-time: 14 ( 24 mins ea. )
Summary:
On the first day of school, a gorgeous girl named Haruhi Suzumiya abruptly introduces herself as not interested in normal humans. Instead, she demands that all aliens, time travelers, sliders, and ESPers join her. Appearing to be super weird, no one talks to her besides a boy named Kyon who sits in front of her. After she joins and quits all the other school clubs, he inadvertently gives her the idea of starting her own school club, the Save our World by Overloading it with Fun Suzumiya Haruhi’s Brigade (shortened to SOS Brigade), and is forced to join along with several others.
Review:
The first word that comes to mind is, “Wow.” To begin, the story starts with a boring boy named Kyon, who before entering school was interested in meeting aliens, time travelers, sliders, and ESPers. Seeing as how that didnt happen, he entered school, and his boring life began. Until a hot babe named Haruhi entered school, who was only interested in meeting aliens, time travelers, sliders, and yes, ESPers. He talks to her, and gets dragged into a bunch of stuff that he didnt initially desire, such as the formation of the SOS Brigade.
This anime was wild to say the least. A girl named Asahina Mikuru is recruited into the SOS Brigade, and is used by Haruhi for multiple purposes, including advertising and molestation. Other characters which are also in the categories of “time travelers, aliens, ESPers, and sliders” are also unknowingly recruited into the SOS brigade to monitor Haruhi.
They decided to do a few arcs of the story together, which can get a little confusing. That kind of annoyed me, seeing as how the story is already crazy enough without jumbling it up and putting the episodes out of order. I never was a fan of that.
All in all, this anime is hilarious, and definitely is a must see for anyone who hasnt already. The animation is fantastic, but the music was very pop-like.
The comedy of this series most often comes from Kyon’s narration of each episode, as well as from what hes thinking. The sarcasm and irritation that spews forth from him is more often than not hilarious, at his misfortune.
All in all, I liked it a lot. Chances are you will too.
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Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Alternate Titles: Magical Shopping Street Abenobashi,
Original Japanese Release Date: 2002
Episode Length/Run-time: 13 episodes
Summary:
Sasshi has grown up in the Shopping Arcade Abenobashi for all of his life at his family’s bath house. However, due to urban modernization projects the bath house was torn down, and the rest of the shopping arcade is next. To make matters worse Arumi, his best friend, is leaving for Hokkaido with her family. As everything is happening around them something mysterious occurs transporting them into alternate realities of their shopping arcade.
Review:
Abenobashi is made by studio Gainax, but don’t be fooled by this, the ending is not in crayon.
It is basically Gainax’s rendition of the anime parody genre. Think Excel Saga but with little kids instead (and not nearly as funny). The problem with the jokes are that they are sometimes too pop-culture or Gainax specific that they can be lost as easily as they are found entertaining.
The characters of the story range from tolerable to loveable with a relatively generic cast. Clueless yet well-meaning boy, more responsible best friend, girl with large breasts who is slightly ditzy, and of course multiple other sub-characters who always fill convenient rolls within the plot.
The animation is Gainax’s style, not as polished as other features but that might lend to why it has an ending. The music is average to bad but it isn’t anything terrible compared to the series.
Abenobashi’s ending is kind of “whaaaaa?” but it somehow works along with the rest of the cracked-out-ness that is going on with the rest of the show. It’s kind of like the twisted love-child of FLCL and Excel Saga.
Overall, it’s not very “good” from a technical standpoint, but it’s good at what it does which is be funny. Slightly specific jokes aside everyone finds something to laugh at in this series.
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