Review Mary and witch's flower

Note: unlike with most reviews I and reviewing this movie from watching it in my local theater. So I don't have normal screencaps of this movie,

Mary Smith is a girl who has just moved to the countryside and is bored out of her mind. The only other child in the village is a boy named Peter and the two are at loggerheads. She looks around the countryside she find a strange luminous flower. She find that this flower contains magical power including allowing her to fly on a broom that she finds. She flies to the magic school, Endor college but are the people that run the place as forthright as they first appear?

Mary and the witch's flower is a movie based on a book. It is also the first major outing by studio Ponoc, a studio which is formed from the ashes of the famous studio Ghibli. This movie is a family movie and thus there is nothing objectionable in this movie.

I found this movie to be a solid movie and there is little to complain about in this movie. I found the main character to be a solid protagonist and the rest of the cast to be decent as well. Even though this is a movie for kids I found the plot to be not insulting to my intelligence. Also the animation to this show to be wonderful.

Overall I found this to be a solid fantasy show

Rating the silver broomstick (Kiki's delivery service) for a very nice film staring a girl riding a broom

winter 2018 season preview part 2 Friday Fantasy

Fantasy is something that you can use for a lot of anime shows since the idea of stuff like magic allows for a lot variations. So it is little surprise that the three new anime show (all on crunchyroll) are fantasy shows of some type.

Toji no Miko

Giant monsters called Aratama plauge the land and the only effective countermeasure is special maidens who train with special swords. There is also a special school where these young women train to be monster hunters.

I found this show to a decent take on "the military is made of teenage girls"type of anime show. The characters are decent although I found there is a small mystery regarding Hiyori and what is her hidden agenda. There is some cg animation but I found it to be rather decent.

Record of Grancrest war

There is a world where the nobles half special crests that can fight chaos. However instead of the lords upholding peace they fight among themselves. The fist episode is about the alliance between the low level lord Theo and the mage Siluca.

This show looks like it could be an interesting fantasy show with a bunch of fantasy politics. It's hard to say how good the show will turn out but I found the first episode to be mildly promising.

Ito Junji collection

Ito Junji is a well known horror mangaka. This anime show is a collection of his short stories.

I wasn't that thrilled by the first episode. However I have a feeling that is was a case of the episode not taking full advantage of Ito's speciality, his ability to make unsettling imagery.

Review Alice and Zoroku

It is the Christmas review so I just had to

Sana appears to be just another young girl wandering around in the rain being chased by some government agents. But the truth is she is a runaway psychic ( whose powers are called the dreams of Alice) being with immense power. Well on the run she happens to run into an elderly florist by the name of Zoroku. The man decides to take sauna in and they begin living together.

Cute girls plotting destruction

Alice and zouroku is an anime adapted from a manga of the same name. Even though the manga is still ongoing the anime does manage to have a satisfactory ending to it. It is an interesting mix of action mystery and some slice-of-life elements causing it to be a bit hard to the classified men genre except for some violent scenes in episodes 4 & 5 there's little to be offended by in the show.

It's actually not as bad as you think

I found Alice to Zoroku to be an interesting mix of genres, being that the show has to much action in it to be a slice of life by any stretch of the imagination. However it's more laid back segments allow it to ground the characters and make the relationships more solid. However I found the show most interesting for having a child protagonist in a show with that much action while staying true to her character. 

Overall I found Alice to Zoroku to be an interesting and somewhat overlooked take on magical girl genre without much of the trope baggage.

Rating the Silver Diclonious (Elfin Lied)

Review Lord Vanadis and Marksman

Eleonora wants you

As a nobleman in the country of Brune Tigre followed his sovereign when it waged war on the country of Zhcted. Although he fought valiantly, his side was defeated and he was captured. He did manage to impress his captor, the powerful war maiden Eleonora, to the point that he managed to convince her to help him save his homeland. This is the beginning of their adventures together.

The question just had to be asked

Vanadis and lord Marksman is a twelve episode television show based off of a series of light novels. This show is set in fantasy world meaning that the show promises several sword fights, court intrigues but unfortunately no elves.Actually it is different from traditional western fantasy in that most of the main cast is supernaturally proficient in fighting.
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This show has a heavy helping of the fan-service. However the female characters of the show (namely the Vanadis) are all strong willed and self directed so I have a hard time calling this show sexist despite the fact that they run around in pretty much their underwear. The show is also has a fairly decent plot that doesn't get bogged down and also one that manages to end at a good stopping point.

Overall I found Vanadis and Lord Marksman to be a short and fun fantasy action show

Rating the bronze Mini Maya (Tenjo Tenge) for being a fun to watch action show with a decent amount of fan service.

Dog Days (season 3) review

come you will an excellent addition to my harem It has been some time since Shinku as well as his friends Nanami and Rebecca have been summoned to the fantasy realm of Flonargd to Perform as their nation's heroes and to meet up with their friends in the realm. Everything was going according to plan when Shinku and Nanami were struck by lightning as they were being summoned and thrown way off course.  What adventure awaits them in their new and unfamiliar location? Yes girls, there will always be slime monsters in this show I have always found Dog Days to be a delightful but rather vapid sort anime show. What I believe is make this show different from many other shows in that it has it's own strange id as to speak, as it is a fan service show that follows it's own script rather than try to ape other shows. As such Dogs may feel a bit weird and slightly inane at times but it's fun and fast paced at the same time. What this show needed a shota rabbit This third season of Dog Days is about as good as the previous two seasons of the show. There isn't any substantial war games in this season but the show makes up for it with   plentiful demon hunting episodes. There are a few more characters adding to the show's already ponderous cast. Overall I found the third season of dog days to be simple stupid fun, just like the rest of the franchise. Rating the bronze chainsaw (kore wa zombie) for being a delightful mixture of action and moe service

Review Atelier Escha and Logy

Slice of Life with occasional Golem fight

In a land which battles an encroaching desolation called the dusk there are special people who study the long lost technologies to make life better, they are called Alchemists. In a small frontier town called colseit Escha is an alchemist who dreams of exploring the ruins floating in the sky. Her life begins to change when another alchemist named Logy is assigned to the Colseit alchemist guild.

Trust me there are story reasons why she has a tail

Atelier Escha and Logy is a show based off a video game of the same name from the Atelier series. As for a genre classification the show is pretty much a slice of life show with copious fantasy elements. I am not familiar with the game so I can't make a comparison on the faithfulness of the show.

And that task involves staying in this thingy somehow.

I found this show is nice and charming and serviceable as a slice of life show. There is a decent amount of character development although some things could use some more closure. I found the show to be charming with most of the attention in the show paid to individual characters and with a mixed cast it felt a little less cloying than your usual “four girls doing nothing” show with just the barest amount of plot substance to it but not much.

Overall I found Escha and Logy to be just a simple diversion of a show.  

Rating the bronze Hadouken (Street Fighter II ) for being a decent anime show based off of a video game.

Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works

Some things never change

For ages magicians have fought in an contest called the Holy Grail Wars in which seven magicians each summon a heroic figure from history and fight to the death in order to summon the holy grail which can grant a wish. Shiro is a young man who has a bit of a hero complex who one night witnesses two people fighting and ends up entwined in the latest Holy Grail War when he ends up almost getting killed and summoning the servant Saber.

Berserker, complete with shoulder mounted loli

 Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works is a movie adaptation of one of the routes to the famous visual novel of the same name. As it tries to cram such a long story line into less than two hours of film time this movie is very fast paced and there was probably some stuff that was cut out to make for time. The movie probably is best watched if you have some familiarity with the Fate Stay Night franchise to understand all the details.

Shiro is so angry is practically besides himself

Although there is some character development in this movie they include all of the various servant battles so it isn't the focus of the movie. If you are looking for a bunch of nicely animated fights on the other hand unlimited blade works is what you are looking for. It's a bit better than calling it a mindless movie but It is best for it's fans and those looking for a bunch of action.

Rin Punch!

Overall I think this show is best for fans and those looking for some pretty pictures of fighting as anyone who remotely considers themselves a type moon fan

Rating the bronze sword on a string (ninja scroll) for being a delightful action packed movie to watch on just about any rainy day (and I live in western Washington so there are a lot of those).

review No game no life

Someone put Jojo in my moe anime.

Sora and Shiro are two NEETs (Japanese acronym meaning Not in Employment, Education or Training) who are a famous pair of game players known as blank. One day they are summoned to another world by the god of games, Tet. In this new world all the conflicts are decided by the outcome of a game. However this is also a world of magic; can Sora and Shiro prosper against foes that can use magic using only their wits?

To be fair Stephanie is pretty good even if she is a Steph

No game No life is a fantasy anime based off of a light novel. While there are several unremarkable shows that fit this description No game No life is hardly unremarkable. The main reason for this is the characters, while many anime shows have boring protagonists Sora especially is a dynamic and charismatic presence with complex plans that keep the show entertaining. Much of the story is based around preparation but even these episodes are fun to watch.

Even angels can be drooling otaku too!.

The animation style of this show is quite vivid and unique which fits a fantasy show well and is quite the visual treat.  There is also a fair but not an overwhelming amount of fan service in this show. The show also has a bunch of references to other anime shows (what do would you expect with those main characters?) but those are done concisely and are only a minor part of the show.

Overall I consider No game No life to be a really fun fantasy romp with fun to watch protagonists.

rating the silver heart of the cards (Yugioh) for being an enthralling game centered anime show.

Review Chaika the coffin Princess

Commercialism at it's finest

Toru was a younger saboteur who lost his meaning in life when the war was over. One day he comes across a strange woman named Chaika. After a fight with a scary unicorn Chaika decided to hire Tohru and his adopted sister Akari to journey with her to recover the remains of the dead emperor Gaz. However Gaz was an enemy of the current government and they oppose all connect

Cute, yet horrifying at the same time

Chaika, The coffin princess is a fantasy anime show with a decent helping of action as well as a bit of comedy to even things out. Although there are two seasons of the show this review only covers the first season. The fantasy component of the show is the kind that is filled with technological oddities such as magic guns and cars powered by magic that seems to be most common in anime.

Nekomimi on the male character, what madness is this

This show has some fan service but not enough that it overwhelms the show. Chaika herself has an odd way of speaking as she omits words from a sentence but I found her an interesting character nonetheless. I also found the character of Toru to be a likable protagonist but not much of a stand out character. There is also Akari who claims to be Toru's sister and is in love with him to some degree although that isn't overplayed either. There is also a sizable cast of side characters which flesh out the story nicely and provide conflict without always having to resort to black and white morality.

Overall even though I don't think it is a classic I found Chaika the coffin princess to be a fun fantasy action show.

Rating the bronze Parn (Record of Lodoss War) for being a decent and fun action fantasy romp

Review Log Horizon

Our hero, the villain in glasses

Elder Tale was just another MMORPG until one day when a new update to the game was supposed to take place the players of the game were placed inside the game for real and unable to escape it. Among the thousands of people stranded by this  event is Shiroe, a brilliant but reserved person and his companions Naotsugu and Akatsuki. As time wears on the situation slowly degrades as living in an MMORPG all the time isn't conductive having a civil society. Could Shiroe be the person who can figure out how to make a working society out of the chaos of a giant game gone haywire?

It wouldn't be a political show without bickering politicians

Log Horizon is a twenty five episode anime show with a second season coming in the fall of 2014. Even though this show has the well worn premise of being trapped in a video game I would warn you that this is a show that manages to take said premise and go in a direction not covered by it’s predecessors. Instead Log Horizon is a show that has a strong theme of society running through it. It also manages to pull off it’s philosophizing while remaining a mostly lighthearted (although it can be serious as well, usually around action segments of the show) and generally fun show.

This show contains nation building and ninja dressing

While this show is fairly unique and has good characters I would be remiss if it I didn’t mention that Log Horizon suffers from some really odd pacing problems. While this show is thoughtful in building conflicts for itself, there is a trade off in that much of the show is devoted to set up of said conflicts leaving it looking like it’s spinning it’s wheels for many episodes. 

Overall I found that Log Horizon is a good and unique show but it is a bit it requires some patience to really get the full effect of the show. 

Rating The silver Parn (Record of Lodoss War) for being one of the better and more thoughtful fantasy anime shows in recent years.

Review Outbreak company

 

One day the hardcore Otaku Shinichi Kanou took an online job interview that required a thorough knowledge of anime. Even though his employer is a bit evasive until Shinichi finds out that the job will require him to be transported to the fantasy empire of Eldant and become a missionary of otaku culture. Will Shinichi be able to navigate the foreign fantasy culture or will he succumb to his juvenile lusts and commit a fatal blunder?

 

Her loli highness is not pleased

Outbreak company is simple comedy show with fantasy and fan service elements. The show can be all over the map in terms of tone and theme as Outbreak company can switch from a boob joke to a discussion about discrimination without missing a beat. What makes this show worth watching is how no single element of the show really interferes with the other elements of the show.

 

Yeah she is the only one who knows what sexual harassment is

I would be somewhat hesitant to call Outbreak company a harem anime show although I would understand if someone else did. Most of the story centers around Shinichi, his half elf maid Myucel and the empress of Eldant Petralka with most other characters, male or female, being minor characters. I would also mention that the fan service in the show prevalent but not so overwhelming that it feels like a crutch. There are also several anime references but again this is more of a bonus than a crutch.

 

possibly the best anime maid of 2013

Make no mistake, Outbreak Company aims to be entertainment first and foremost. Think of it like a dessert that has some useful nutrients as well.

Berserk egg of the King movie one

Berserk egg of the King movie one

In an dark medieval world wracked by war there is a mercenary who goes by the name cats. He is a loner but also very powerful sword. One day after finishing a battle he catches the attention of a certain mercenary band called the band of the hawk. Even though he is manages to fend off several members its leader, Griffith, manages to defeat him in a single stroke. When Guts awakens from his injuries Griffith has enjoyed the band of the hawk. And so their story together begins.

Hey look at my creepy thing

Let me start this off by saying I am bit of a fan of the desert franchise. The us without saw the movie I was distinctively comparing it to both the television anime series and the manga of the same name. In this comparison this movie and I suspect the other two movies in the trilogy well, far short. Even though this movie hits most of the important points that is brought up in the material it covers it also feels like is quite rushed several spots.

Fantasy movies need castles

As for the movie itself is a decent enough target action movie is set in the medieval setting. I found the animation quite jarring especially the movie’s uses of computer animation for the larger fight scenes. In other spots the animation is decent. The music is reminiscent of the music in the television version of the anime as the same composer has returned to work his magic. 

Some say this series has some homoerotic subtext

Overall I found this to be a decent movie although if you really want the Berserk experience I suggest you watch the 90’s tv anime show or read the manga. 

Rating The bronze titan for being a decent but definitely not great  grimdark fantasy anime movie.

I was too harsh with Log Horizon

 

When I was reviewing the first episodes of nearly every anime show I watched the first episode of Log Horizon and pretty much panned it as a somewhat ripoff of Sword Art Online. It was not an uncommon opinion as the accusations of psuedo plagiarism are thrown about with wild abandon. However if you might guess I have watched the show further and am about to recant my old position. Although to lavish praise upon this show is still a bit premature things are looking up for the show.

 

The horror of cosplay

First of all Sword art Online isn't the best comparison to Log Horizon, Maoyuu is. It may seem a bit obvious given that they are both adaptations of novels by the same Author,  Mamare Touno. This is made all the more apparent in episodes five and six of Log Horizon as the show takes a turn into the social engineering that Maoyuu was so known for. My only real worry about Log Horizon at this point is the possibility that it gets too wrapped up with Shiro's grand plan to make the world a better place ignoring things such as character development and action.

Your nightmare but possibly Ron Paul's dreamland

 

There are some things in anime that seem rather stupid on first glance and only when you get further into a show does the reasoning become apparent. This of course applies to the resurrection scenario in Log Horizon. When I first saw it in episode two I thought it was an utterly stupid idea as it was something that drained the tension out of the show like few things could; for after all when the characters no longer have to fear death there is little dramatic tension to the show. However as the show progressed this helped with the show' main theme, asking if people just wake up when you kill them, what is the real consequence to murder, and thus facilitating Elder Tale's descent into a world of chaos and oppression.  

 

Attack on boars covered in vegetables

Currently Log Horizon is an interesting show that is finally starting to stand on it's own two feet. It manages to have some fairly interesting characters and possibly a good plot. It is hovering around a bronze rating or it maintains it's upward trend of quality I could see giving this show a silver rating. Hear is to being hopeful for this show.

Magic Knight Rayearth Overview part 3,

Where we left off last time our heroines were still questing for the spring of Eterna where they were hoping to find some Escudo. With nothing but a mascot creature who can only say the word Pu to guide them the going has been difficult but they have made it so far. Fortunately unlike real rpgs where if you get stuck you may have to search for hours before finding the correct way Magic Knight Rayearth refuses to be that boring even when it ventures into filler territory which it will do in this volume.

Fuu investigates a blue line

After yet another wandering monster fight this time involving a water monster that made the Magic Knights glow the trio arrives at what appears to be a glowing blue line hanging in mid air. While most people would have no idea what exactly that could mean Mokona climbs on a rock and instructs Hikaru, Umi and Fuu to do the same. From that vantage point they find that the blue line is in fact the spring of Eterna. Mokona then hops in and after some trepidation the girls do so as well.

I guess Cephiro has decorative jewels on everything

The three are separated and each find them facing something they love, Hikaru finds her dog Hikari, Umi finds her parents and Fuu (this is explained not to be extreme narcissism) herself. In each case the object of the Magic Knight's affections attacks their respective protagonist until a message from Princess Emeraude asks them "would those you love wish you harm?". At that point the Magic Knights retaliate with new spells revealing their adversaries to be pieces of Escudo. Since there is a couple of minutes of running time in the episode left Alcione attacks again informing our protagonists that the fight at the beginning of the episode was in fact a plot to poison the Magic Knights and that the poison should be kicking in just about now. Even brought to their knees the Magic Knights refuse to give up which causes their armor to grow which is the first occurrence of a very important principle in this show; character development equals leveling up your equipment. Needless to say the Magic Knights defeat her which is also the end of Zagato's patience with her.

Filler, the real silent killer

With Escudo in hand or rather neatly stored in their glove jewels where they also keep their weapons the Magic Knights return to Presea to have their weapons made. While in the manga (which I have read so I can reference differences between the two) the crafting of the weapons is a pretty minor event it would make for a pretty empty episode if something else wasn't added to it. As is the case when screen time needs to be filled a monster is sent in to do battle with the Magic Knights but this monster is different from those seen so far.

This monster is the summoned monster of Ascot the next in a series of mini-bosses in this show. In true magic girl mini-boss tradition he summons the monster, points in the direction he wants it to go (in this case Presea) and then decides to take a nap. The monster proves to be tougher than the previous ones as the spells and weapons of the Magic Knights do little more than make the thing evolve. The monster heads straight for Presea and when it rams the wall of the room she was in causing parts of the ceiling to fall on her. The rest of the episode is good news and bad news. The good news is that she finished making the weapons that the Magic Knights need not only to defeat this monster but also save Cephiro. The bad news is that she doesn't survive the ceiling collapsing. So with heavy hearts the Magic Knights bury Presea and vow to save Cephiro once again. Ascot also makes a vow of vengeance against the trio of girls that killed his precious friend.