Review The World God Only Knows The Goddesses arc

The World God only knows is a franchise that I am rather fond of and I wasn’t expecting a third season of this show but I can tell you this, I am very glad that it came out and if you get into this show at all, so should you.

You can get my arc animated, right?

Keima Katsuragi has been capturing the hearts of girls in order to release the evil spirits that hide in their hearts for quite some time now. One day Kanon, the classmate of his who also a famous idol, confesses his feelings for him. This is quite odd as even though he captured her heart long ago, when a heart is captured the girl should forget all about Keima. What’s more she gets attacked by some strange demons from hell and put into a coma. It is the start of a great change in Keima’s normal routine.

Keima being Keima

As one could probably expect given that this is the third season of a said anime series this anime season is something you need prior experience to understand this anime. There is some consternation that the material adapted skips a lot of manga material. However as someone who has seen the anime but not the manga I can say that you don’t need to see the manga to understand this season, even during the episodes that Yui and Tsukiyo (the characters whom have arcs in the manga material that was skipped) appear.

obligatory Haqua

What this makes this anime season really good is how it upsets the status quo for the anime. While the first half of the season is something of a greatest hits of the show; the second deals more with the consequences of Keima having to convince multiple girls to fall in love with him, namely a love triangle between Keima and two previous girls.  While the manga story goes onward I found the conclusion to this season to be something really special and well worth watching.

So many feels

As for my recommendation If you managed to make it through the second season (or even the first season, just watch episodes 3 through 7 and the Tenri Oav for the necessary information) you should watch this season. 

Rating  The silver Alabasta (One Piece) for being that really awesome arc of an anime that takes things to a whole new level.

Review Silver Spoon

Hachiken Yugo is new High school student who has chosen to go to a agricultural high school even though he went to a rather prestigious middle school in the big city. Hachiken is unused to living the lifestyle of a farmer even though almost all of the students there know of little else. The reason for his joining this school is a bit vague although he says he wants to stay there because it is a boarding school.

Bambi is going to be good eatin

Silver Spoon is a interesting show when you try to classify it in terms of genre. It is a drama although it is quite a bit of humor in the show. The two elements of the show work well together and complement each other.

That's some moe pig

In fact if there is one phrase that I can use to describe the positive quality of Silver Spoon is that it manages to find a good middle ground between two extremes. In essence this is a stranger in strange land type of story although it manages to respect both Hachiken’s experience and views and experience and viewers of the other characters who are more familiar with farm life.

Buddha teacher is part of your well balanced cast

This since of balance pervades other facets of the show as well. There is a good deal of character development but it never feels forced or heavy handed. Similarly there is a good amount of philosophical meat (and a good deal of this is about meat) thrown at the audience but it rarely if ever tells the audience what to think or feel.

Overall This is a thoughtful drama that is not only a well done piece of anime but it is something that I feel is very approachable as well which is a rarity for more thought provoking shows. I know this show is only halfway done (given that there is a second half to be shown in winter 2014) and there is still the fall season but I am seriously thinking about this show as show of the year.

Rating Gold spoon, I know what the show’s title is but it is so good I am bumping it up to a gold rating. 

Review King of Thorn

The main character and her sister

A long time ago I read the King of Thorne manga and thought that this would be a pretty decent movie it made into one.  Turns out my expectations were not entirely met when I actually saw the movie adaptation.

Things don't turn out so well for him. 

In the year 2012 the world is ravaged by a strange virus which turns people into stone. It is called the Medusa virus. Amid the panic a shadowy corporation called Venus gate has a plan to place 160 people into cryostasis in an old castle that has been converted into a laboratory until the disease can be cured. One of the people picked is a teenage Japanese girl by the name of Kasumi Ishiki. When they went to sleep they expected to wake up to a peaceful world where they would be toward not a strange version of the castle covered in vines and inhabited by monsters.

The best and the worst of the animation, side by side

King of thorn is a straight up action movie with monster horror elements. Even though the main character is a teenage girl with no combat ability most of the movie centers around either fighting or running away from monsters. The finding this mostly facilitated by Owen one of her fellow patients who appears to be a convicted criminal but has an interesting past. Even though the main character is definitely over her head I find her still somewhat compelling as she gives the movie  the chance to be something other than a brainless monster bashing flick.

The guy that does most of the action stuff in this movie

Even though this is an action movie and one does not generally watch such movies looking for deep characterization I found the character serviceable. The pacing of the movie is decent as well although the first 20 minutes is mostly set up. Animation is a bit iffy at times as it seems so fluctuate between being very good at doing still shots and backgrounds but often degrading into jarring CG animation for action scenes.

Overall I find this to be decent movie best suited for rental like many action movies but not thing really more than that.

Rating The bronze Tetsuo cape (Akira) or being a decent action scifi movie adaptation of manga. 

I am on Taskforce MOE

  This is the first of what I can only hope is several appearances on other blogs, podcasts and websites. Yay for me. What you will hear in this link is me having a conversation with the dashing and dapper Timeenforceranubis about the topic of moe. You can listen to the conversation here

You can also hear and read more of Timeenforceranubis thoughts on the SLC anime tab on the blog roll.

Just another anime podcast and what they taught me about Love (Lab)

Just as a note they don't like Dog and Scissors, just dog marriages.

   I usually don’t talk about other blogs and podcasts but I think I might start now. In the past few weeks I have found a new anime podcast that I enjoy listening to. As you can probably guess It is just another anime podcast. It is a weekly podcast where the hosts talk about the anime of the week and a little about the news.

    What I really like about this podcast is that it feels rather energetic and you can feel that the people talking really enjoy anime (even though they are very willing to savage a show they don’t like) and enjoy talking to each other. Even though there has been some shakeup in show’s cast in recent episodes this feels like a podcast that still feels like it is going strong. Just as a note they will talk about sexual topics and use course language although they don’t feel compelled to constantly swear.

     What has really caused me to make this post is how I have just recently picked up the show Love Lab and how I can mostly attribute this to this podcast. While you will have to wait for a while to hear my complete thoughts I am thinking of giving it a silver rating so far. Even though I don’t always agree with the hosts I enjoy their opinions and one of these days I will get around to watching Joshiraku. 

You can listen to it at http://justanotheranimepodcast.com/

Old Moe, Old Shojo An Introduction to Ashita no Nadja

    

    As an aspiring anime scholar (really nothing more than a blogger with pretentions of wit) I have long since studied the phenomenon of moe in anime and have tried to better understand it. While looking at the history of the annual most moe character contest, call Saimoe I saw in the year 2004 the winner was a character from a show called Ashita no Nadja. After watching the first five episodes of said show I have come to some interesting conclusions.

     First it should be noted that Ashita no Nadja is a shojo anime, or in laymen's terms, a show for girls. While such distinctions can be a bit hard to pin down I believe that this correct. First is that the fact that this anime had a two volume companion manga that ran in Nakayoshi, which is a manga compilation definitely aimed at girls. The piece of evidence is shown in the opening animation; about at the minute mark the titular character flies past a veritable field of handsome would-be male love interests. In moe shows aimed at men, such as K On or Girls Und Panzer, actual men are virtually absent.

            As what this show is about, Ashita no Nadja is the story of Nadja Applefield, a cute girl who lives in an orphanage in Early twentieth century England. She is about to turn thirteen years old which means she has to start looking for a job. However one day a mysterious package appears for Nadja, which contains a brooch and a trunk but more importantly the news that her mother might still be alive somewhere. That night a couple of thieves appear at the orphanage looking for Nadja's stuff and accidentally set fire to the place.

            As she is worried about what will happen to the rest of the orphans if she stays at the orphanage so she hits the streets a couple of weeks early. She is unable to find work until she happens upon a band of traveling performers and impresses them with her dancing skills. Unknown to Nadja she is in fact the heir to a noble house and the brooch she received is the proof of her lineage.

      

Ashita no Nadja is currently not available in the United States and given the age of the show it is doubtful that it will ever be licensed in English speaking countries. I feel unable to give a detailed review of the show but the following sentences should suffice for a short one. Ashita no Nadja looks like it will be a good show but not a great show. The most important hook this show has is that it is something rather different than just about any anime available in that it is a female focused anime that is neither a magical girl show or some sort of romance (at least yet). If you have time to spare in your watching schedule and an open mind you might just enjoy this show.

Review Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas aka Yoshinaga-san'chi no Gargoyle

Thinking about it and maybe a bit of an odd bird by reviewing the show. After all Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas is a show I'm pretty much expecting that of you really were thinking of seeing and really isn't much more than mediocre site really can claim this as a gym and or make some rage filled hate review of it.

One of the main characters jump kicking the other 

 Review Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas is the story of a somewhat ordinary family consisting of a rather tomboyish girl named Futaba (In fact I think about an episode or two passed before I realized she was a girl) her slightly feminine older brother Kazumi and their two parents. One day Futaba  wins a strange stone statue in the local lottery. Much to everyone's surprise this statue can talk and move about (although it is never mobile in the animation) for it is an alchemical creation called gargoyle or Gar kun for short.

A phantom thief riding a robot, just like most slice of life shows

If I would have to give this show a genre classification I would call it a slice of life show with a hefty side of comedy. However this isn't a normal slice of life show as the titular character gargoyle is only the first of many supernatural elements that inhabit this show. In reality there is also a splash of action in this show although I wouldn't really call this should show in action show. Except for a couple of episodes that pick up from the previous episode and a finale which brings a lot of dangling elements together the show is mostly episodic.

Futaba and her friends

As it is a mostly a slice of life show perhaps the most important thing is the characters. Gargoyle to start off with is this stalwart defender of this show's characters and even if he doesn't have the most complex of personalities he is an honorable sword and therefore quite likable. This is contrasted with the other main character for top may be a bit of local pretty girl but as it turns out she is no usually do the right thing and therefore he can really cater. Many of the other characters have less of a presence or only there for a couple of episodes but they make an interesting mix as well.

Overall I consider this a decent show not a great show but something you might not pass up if for some weird reason you ever get the chance to watch this.

 Rating The bronze Onsakumaru (Shinobu 2x2) for being a decent show that I watch almost entirely to Hear Norio Wakamoto.

Mid season review Fantasista Doll

Well I don't want to commit myself to the arduous schedule of being an episode blogger I feel the need to talk about some of the shows I've watched. I was thinking the first show I should talk about is Fantatista Doll one of the shows I've been watching this season. I'll be honest in saying that it isn't one that shows that I have seen recently or overall but I can say is an interesting show.

Girl is Panzer

Fantatista Doll Stars Uzume Uno the prototypical normal schoolgirl who one day happens upon some amazing powers just like in most Anime in this case being a magical cell phone which allows her to summon five girls to fight for her. Most of the show so far has centered on either Uzume and her new magical friends called dolls fighting the villain of the week or Uzume bonding with said magical friends.

Almost every magical girl show has some sort of team attack. I think it is a rule or something.

To be honest I don't think this is a really good show and if I would have to rate it right now I would hover around either a bronze or tin rating. However I'm not watching the show entirely for the quality but for how the ID very idea of the show place out. When I first saw the show I was suddenly intrigued in the fact that it was a show that attempts to look like it is a show for girls while in fact is aimed at the male audience.

Somehow I don't think she would make it into a normal magical girl show.

This show has a strange amount of fan service as there is it not enough to properly label it as a fan service (and the fan service is definitely aimed at guys) show but there's definitely too much to really call it a show designed for girls. Other than that this show tries to emulate a straightforward magical girl show and for the most part does so. I would probably say that I am more intrigued about the idea of the show than its actual execution. However I find the show mildly amusing and therefore I will probably stick with it until the end.