Episode 327 – Like a Dragon’s Balls
The Anime Addicts do a live viewing of Dragon Ball Super and make fun of how bad it is! We also review the anime Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.
The Anime Addicts do a live viewing of Dragon Ball Super and make fun of how bad it is! We also review the anime Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.
Review: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
The Anime Addicts hosts are rejoined by Kimiko. She signs back on as a full time host. We start our Winter 2016 anime impressions, tackle some mailbags, and do a review of the anime Noragami Aragoto
Review: Noragami Aragoto
The Anime Addicts go through a very funny round of mailbags. We talk emotionally traumatizing anime, a bit of copyright law, the comparisons between Rakusai Kishi and Gakusen Toshi Asterisk and more! We also breakdown our personal top 10 lists for the 2015 calendar year.
We also review the anime Shimoneta…(too damn long).
Review: Shimoneta
The Anime Addicts discuss Japanese New Year’s Osechi, the top selling manga and anime DVDs of 2015, the Oculus Rift, and a train station in Japan that continues to operate or only one passenger.
We also review the anime Owari no Seraph!
Review: Owari no Seraph
You can vote in for your favorite anime in the 2015 Anime Oscars Voting HERE.
The Anime Addicts give a summary of the nominees for all of the different categories in our Anime Oscars award show. The catgories from the 5th Annual Anime Oscars Award Show are:
Best Original Series
Best Action/Adventure Anime
Best Romance Anime
Best Drama
Best Slice-of-Life Anime
Best Comedy Anime
Best Sports Anime
Best Mecha Anime
Best Actress (Best Female Character)
Best Actor (Best Male Character)
Best Score
Best Animation (Style and Quality)
Worst of 2015 (“Pooper Scooper Award”)
Best Anime of 2015
We also review the anime Charlotte.
Review: Charlotte
The Anime Addicts take you on a historical adventure as we do an overview of the history of Japan as seen in anime. We take you through the Sengoku period, the Tokugawa era, the Meiji restoration, and the more modern Showa and Heisei periods of Japan’s history.
We also review the anime Sound Euphonium.
Review: Hibike Euphonium
Mitsugi and Kazuo do recaps of the Dragon Ball Super series episodes 18 through 20. Dragon Ball Super continues to go through its comedic progressions as it heads into the beginning of the “Resurrection of Frieza” arc. Frieza is back and is out for revenge against Goku, Vegeta and the rest of our heroes on planet Earth. Hear the Anime Addicts discuss the continuation of the Dragon Ball Super series, one of our childhood favorites.
The Anime Addicts do selections of Winter 2016 impressions! We run down all 20 shows that we will cover. Kimiko also returns and applies her selections to the total. We also review the anime Gangsta.
To see a full list of shows we selected, please see text below:
**************SPOILERS BELOW*****************
Mitsugi’s Picks:
Macross Delta
Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation
Musaigen no Phantom World
Active Raid: Kidou Kyoshuushitsu Dai Hakkei
Reikenzan Hoshikuzu-tachi no Utage
Chiaki’s Picks:
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
Norn9: Norn + Nonet
Bubuki Buranki
Fairy Tale Zero
Luck & Logic
Kazuo’s Picks:
Ajin
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
Dagashi Kashi
Dimension W
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!
Kimiko’s Picks:
Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Divine Gate
Nijiiro Days
Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu
ANIME REVIEW – Gangsta.
Gangsta. is an anime about a crime ridden, sin city called Ergastulum. In this world, a pharmaceutical drug known as “Celebrer” has been known to cause severe physical defects in children whose parents use the drug during their conceived child’s fetal development. These defects often come in the form of enhanced physical abilities but a drastically reduced lifespan. This effect has given these affected individuals the nickname “Twilights”.
Among the crime and chaos of the city, two men, Nicolas, a samurai sword wielding “Twilight”, and Worick, together run a business of handling dirty jobs nobody else will touch. Meanwhile, a political uprising is occurring, the result of which is the slaughter of countless “Twilights”. Can Nicolas and Worick survive among Ergastulum’s increasing violent and bloody battlefield?
Review: Gangsta
“Slice of life” is a genre of anime that has truly taken off over the last ten years. It’s grown from something one might see a couple of times a year to a veritable multi series per season affair. Yet, it seems like many of these “slice of life” anime tend to fall flat and often settle for being middling entertainment for those longing for days gone by. My Love Story! is a series that from the outset busts out of the typical mold and delivers to fans of the genre something for which they’ve been waiting a long time; a series with compelling characters and a story written as well as its comedy.
Takeo and Yamato Celebrate Sunakawa’s Birthday.
My Love Story! is propelled by an all-star cast of studio and production talent. Beginning with the famed Studio Madhouse (Death Note, Hajime no Ippo, Parasyte) and continuing with prolific director Morio Asaka (Aoi Bungaku, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chihayafuru, Chobits, Nana), there is no shortage of talent in the My Love Story! stable. On a side note, it remains to see how profitable the series will be as a lot of Madhouse’s properties have not generated stellar revenue in the Japanese market.
My Love Story! is the tale of high school student Gouda Takeo. As if something out of the anime Slam Dunk, Takeo is a giant among his other high school classmates, often earning him deep respect among those in the male demographic. But while Takeo may be a dominating physical presence, this has not granted him any points with the opposite sex. Every girl Takeo has ever fallen for has not returned his affection and instead gravitated their affection to Takeo’s relationship-disinterested best friend, Sunakawa. Takeo’s bad luck changes one day when he rescues a girl, Yamato, from a train groper (“Chikan”).
Yamato Falls Victim to a Train Groper
The events that follow change Takeo’s relationship track record forever as Yamato immediately falls for his cool personality and heroic spirit. After many meetings in the park and a cute exchange in which Yamato accidentally confesses her love in front of Takeo, the two become a couple by only episode three of the anime. Fans of the genre can breathe easy as this series is quite refreshing compared to more typical, slow to develop, anime romances (e.g. Ao Haru Ride, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Kim ni Todoke)
The relationship dynamic between these two is adorable. Yamato being a very small Japanese girl looks like a tiny child next to Takeo and the disparity in their size and personality allows the writers to play off of them in a way that is in a word, “cute”, and often funny. Eventually even the other girl’s that attend Yamato’s school also realize Takeo’s cool appeal as they quietly investigate why exactly Yamato loves Takeo so much.
Takeo Salutes the Fans in My Love Story’s Opening Video
So where is the conflict in the story? The majority of this comes in the form of potential obstacles to Takeo and Yamato’s relationship. These often surface in the form of quickly resolved “love triangles” that pop up in 2-3 episode story arcs. This might seem obnoxious and cliche to some viewers but the writers truly did a nice job navigating the story through these relationship complications. One might find it ironic however that a story that was initially about a man who has no feminine sex appeal drives this story to its conclusion as women flock to him one after another. Despite this, the anime does not devolve into a harem anime as Takeo gently dispatches each woman’s feelings in a manly fashion.
As is the case with many anime, My Love Story! feels a little slow in the middle. The story started and ended strong but those finding themselves disinterested with a particular story arc might struggle to wade through that section of content. My Love Story! could easily have been a 13 episode anime and might have been the better for it. To this end, the anime is not meant for those wanting a fast paced or action packed series.
As far as the music and animation are concerned they are both pleasantly delivered to the viewer. The character designs are very well executed; Takeo has large facial features to match his overall enormous physique and Yamato is all around as cute as is needed to create stark contrast against her significant other. The animation isn’t stellar but is about as good as needed for a “slice of life” anime without any real “action beats”. The music was smooth and enjoyable, right down to the theme song, “Miraikei Answer”, performed by Trustrick.
Takeo Uses Sunakawa for Kissing Practice
All in all, My Love Story! is a must watch anime for all fans of the romance comedy or “slice of life” genre. Everything from the story and the comedy, to the character designs were all comfortably within the good to very good range. Its cute witty charm makes this a contender among the top anime series of 2015.
[starrater]
Mitsugi sits down with Jason Moody, creator of the Iota Soul project. This project aims to support worldwide orphans through the creation of an interactive manga. Check it out!