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Sep 29, 2016
Ange Vierge: Final Review
Ange Vierge is an anime very loosely associated with a Japanese TCG. At the time of this review, there's also some manga material available for those interested.
The idea behind AV is somewhat simple. There are 5 worlds, each that produces a fairly typecast sort of person. For example, the Black World has lots of dark atmosphere, wizards, vampires, etc. There is a fairy world, a human world, a cyborg world, and so on. At some point, these mirror earths starts being in danger of colliding, and its up to magical girls to save them
Story: 7
Around the time the 5 earths started
...
being in danger, girls with special abilities were discovered and treated like rock-stars. "Progress", is what they are called. They are basically girls with powers that could kick super ass and fly. "A drivers", another type of special girl, are girls who lead the teams of Progress from a command center, and link with girls from their squads to increase their powers.
These girls are assigned missions to fight weird Ourobouros, who kinda look like big black wangs. Between battles, they laze about naked and complain to each other or have soapy fights in the showers. There's also something over an over-plot concerning them sparring and fighting, as it releases energy back into the universe, which keeps the worlds from colliding somehow.
There's also an acceptable amount of Shonen-esque melodrama about getting stronger to be special.
So we have a few simple steps.
1. Take military girls, angel girls, robot girls, fairy girls, gothic girls, and angsty teen girls, throw them together and explain that they are all from different earths, and use them to form battle groups.
2. Give them a rank up system so there is a clear pecking order.
3. Make them naked a lot.
4. Once everyone settles in for a fan service Yuri fest with wiener monsters, you bring out the plot twists, when an event happens that turns the group on it's heads.
Art: 9
This has great art.
It's really nice to see all the different girl flavors blend together. The character designs are really good and the animation is solid. Usually, in a B list title like this, they draw you in with good art for a bit then slowly let the "sliding screens" take over. Not the case here. It's been solid every episode.
That said, in the first 2 episodes, Fan Service was everywhere, and they handled the censorship really poorly. It's the only reason I don't rate the art a 10, even though it has all the deep saturation, color palettes and softer lines I like in my anime.
Sounds: 8
Good music and VA. I have no complaints here. End song is great.
Characters: 7
So far, the characters are what they are on the surface. Robot girls are cool and calculating. Fairy girls are cute. Military-planet girls are hard-ass battle freaks. Black Magic girls are showy and sultry. Earth girls have determination and grit and plucky resolve.
There's a good relationship or two here and there, and the younger girls are attached to their Senpais in a neat way, each of them reflecting the unique relationships that likely occur on their home worlds.
Enjoyment: 7
The first episode was annoying because they were naked with boob-mist the entire damn episode. The second was much better and by the 4th you realize they are wasting no time setting up the end game already.
The show suffers from a bit of lazy writing. As of episode 6, the new plot direction is a bit predictable. It's still good to watch, as the animation is exciting and the va's are good. I don't think it's a bad premise, and it's certainly not the worst offering of 2016.
Overall. 7.2
It's good, because the art and slightly different take on a battle-tribe works. It's rating has increased slowly over the last two episodes. The show has a definitive ending, which is always nice.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 26, 2016
Kono Bijutsubu, or "This Art Club Has a Problem!"
When perusing the new stuff coming in 2016, I was really excited for this one. I'm a huge Chunibyou fan, and seeing the art was similar was pleasing.
Story: 6
It doesn't take much to draw a lot of Chuunibyou comparisons based on archetypes and character design. However, even though there's a girl with Chuni in Kono B, it's story is its own and no where as serious or life-defining, but instead is much more about a girl with a crush on a guy who only digs anime chicks.
It's very much "adventure of the day", with no intermixing
...
plot elements to bind the story, other than a girl crushing on a guy who likes waifus.
In some anime, there is basically 0 plot development. This is one of them. Where you start is where you end. If you like that sort of thing, where no one gets too heavy and it's all in good fun, you might be a fan.
I prefer a bit more of an unfolding story.
Art: 10
I love the Chuuni art style, and this copies it perfectly. In fact, a few of the characters could just be pallet swaps, to be honest. Still, this is my favorite type of color saturation / animation / art style. If you like softer and more colorful, this will do it for you. The last episodes animation is amazing.
Sound. 7
The opening score is kind of average. The end score is good but with weird visuals. The VA's are all great fits.
Character. 6
The teacher is cute. The boy is different. The main girl is crushing on the main boy. No one so far has any surprises or value other than whats on the surface. The more anime I watch, the more I prefer characters who are more than a trope. This so far is the shows only real shortcoming.
-The president, a sleepy character who loves naps
-Subaru, a love-oblivious kid who dislikes "3-d" women and spends his time drawing waifu.
- Mizuki, a generic-on-purpose protagonist who loves Subaru, but is ignored by him.
-Collete, a french student left behind by her parents. She's "the weird one." and basically Dekomori with a haircut.
A little later on, a new cast member appears, who shares many interests with Subaru, which annoys the crap out of Mizuki. She's also got 8th Grade Syndrome, refers to the "Black Flame Dragon", and is basically a bridge of concept between this show and Chuunibyou.
Sensei Yumeha is also a thing, but she's relegated to oppai fan-service.
Enjoyment. 8
It's a good "smiling" kind of a show and one you can enjoy. You -know- how most episodes will end, but it's nice to watch it happen and generally the things they try to make cute, are in fact very cute and it's pretty funny. I genuinely laugh about once or twice an episode.
Overall. 7.4
(Note, I weigh story and characters as double scores.)
Art Class is an anime worth watching for some and will be incredibly frustrating for others. The art is great even if the substance is thin, it's tropes we like watching over and over. It tries really hard to draw from other works, and ends up feeling like a weak copy.
It's a good production value kind of show, but it's very predictable and really nothing new from any other anime that's slice of life with an unrequited romance.
Pros and Cons
++: If you like the Chuunibyou art, you'll like this art.
+: Good for slice of life without a huge cast.
+: If you like low-drama.
+: Is generally pretty funny.
- - : If you want something thought provoking, like Chuunibyou.
- - -: If you are tired of tropes.
- -: 0 plot progression.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 16, 2016
Sono Hana - The sentimental yuri.
Okay, so anyone who has read more than one of my reviews know that I'm always in the search of the "Perfect Yuri." Something that combines character growth, a realistic pre-relationship, realistic dating phase, and realistic yuri-scenes that show both emotion and mutual satisfaction for the girls involved, not the sweaty male viewer fapping as he watches.
I'm not going to pretend that Sono Hana hits that mark, but it does some things really right.
Story: 5
This is porn. Even though it's light porn, it's still porn. There is no story other than about 5 minutes of flashback that implies
...
the girls weren't always friends. In fact, they weren't. These characters are apparently picked from a Voice Novel hentai game.
Art: 9
The best hentai character art I've seen in awhile. The lines are good and dark and the color pallet is suited well to the characters. There's no "sliding screens" of a scrunchy hentai face with a moan while they push a picture up and down. Every second is animated, and its done well.
Sound: 7
Standard fair. Both girls are voiced well. Music is average. There's a typical flowy water sound during all the sex, which is kind of comical when you realize it's there.
Characters: 8
Somehow, they gave both girls really strong personalities in 25 minutes of burying their faces in each others muffs and boobs. You get a strong sense of their relationship, who fills what role, and how much they care. It sounds tacky, but you really get the sense that these two girls are in love, even high school love specifically.
Further, the girls seem to want to please each other, not provide a show for the invisible audience. That really impressed me, which is something missing from a lot of Yuri. Sakura Trick, for example, failed at this. I say it a lot, but this is why we need more Yuri, for even the Yuri Ai producers to watch this and say, "This shit right there, that's good Yuri. We need to at least make sure our girls seem this much in it for each other."
Enjoyment: 8
It was good. Didn't even fap. Watched for the glow between the girls and was not disappointed.
Overall: 7
It's still just porn, even really sweet and sensual porn. If this had been episode 7 or 8 of a series dedicated to these girls and their relationship, it would be "Best Yuri."
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 6, 2016
Sasameki Koto is incomplete as an anime. I know there are manga chapters that wrap it up, but I'm not surprised this never received the second season it was obviously planning to use to wrap things up nicely.
Story. 5
S.K. is a Yuri romance, meaning, many of the characters and love displayed is lesbian in nature. Yuri has a very small representation in anime, and only a small amount of it is really anything worth watching.
The concept is a good one. Girl A is a lesbian, and she likes cute lesbians, as a matter of preference. Girl B is a lesbian, but only for Girl
...
A. Girl A is oblivious, and goes out of her way to point out how ill-suited Girl B is for her, often in casual conversation.
The story revolves around Girl B trying to win the love of Girl A.
----SPOILER-----
At some point, we assume she succeeds. Without any real turning event, reason, or explanation, Girl A starts becoming very timid about Girl B, and shyly in love. This sounds nice, but it's such a sudden flip without explaining WHY Girl B suddenly became her type, you start wondering what you missed.
Now add in a Lesbian Club, a boy who cross-dresses like a Boku no Pico reject to win the affection of Girl B, some loli-con, and a nii-san complex, and suddenly you fill out the itinerary of the shows remaining episodes.
Art. 7
The character designs are good. They do a good job of making Girl B fairly plain looking most of the time, then highlight her pretty features when she relaxes. The animation uses lots of stills screens, crayola backgrounds, and bodies without faces or detail, but since it's not really a chibi-friendly tale or setting, it looks bad rather than cute most of the time.
Sound. 6
There's a obnoxious piano score that's almost always present, and it overpowers a lot of the subtle action in the screen. A few voices are really bad, and a few are really good.
Characters. 6
Usually Yuri's strongest points are characters that you want to see succeed. In this case, there's a giant alpha-yuri that is a mary-sue, a loli-yuri that's her girlfriend and the "sassy one", a couple of side characters that only needed one episode to explain them, not multiples like they got, and the main pairing.
The problem is that no one ever confesses, or even makes a subtle overture to explain their feelings, other than alpha x loli. You never get the feeling it's love, and not bicurious crushes.
Enjoyment. 6
The pacing was pretty horrible. The first 6 episodes made me almost quit. The next 4 were okay, then a strange last second curve ball and horrible ending. I hear the manga ties things up, but even though I'm a completionist I might skip it. I liked things better once they formed the Team Yuri, but even that made me start wondering why they chose that as a thing in episode 7/13.
Overall: 5
I say this a lot. This show is exactly why we need MORE Yuri, so shows like this get exposed for their issues and future writers can learn from it.
Too often, the plot becomes, "Lets see if these lesbians ever hook up." But in this case, they don't. Even worse, there's no actual portrayal of a good relationship in this anime. AlphaxLoli try to be the stable relationship, but even they just poke fun at stereotypes in an anime that is supposed to be a realistic portrait of a lesbian couple.
It's not very good.
If you want to see yuri relationships. Skip this.
If you want to see some yearning and a lot of stuttering. See this.
If you want any kind of heavy petting or physical love. Skip this.
If you want to see a little character growth, pay attention to Girl B.
The show ends without resolving anything. So there's that too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 20, 2016
Sakura Trick: The reason we need more Yuri.
Sakura trick is a fan-service Yuri-light anime that focuses on the developing relationship between two girls, Haruka and Yu. Over the course of the series, the girls make the decision to make their relationship special and apart from that of their new friends by sealing it with a kiss.
This of course, leads to petting, lots of kissing, and some suspicion from Yu's older sister as to the nature of their relationship.
Story.
The good and bad thing about this show is that there is only very light story over-reach. This means each episode has the girls dealing with
...
an outside factor in a lesbian relationship without any lesbian role-models. The downside is that some episodes feel really flat, and very one-shot in theme and design.
While the Yuri feels only slightly exist, and the story makes you feel generally happy for the two girls, there are parts of the anime that fall short, because no other relationships are really explored very thoroughly.
The story basically sums up as: "Girls who are lesbians kiss a lot. Also have Lesbian pals."
Art.
The art is a mixed bag. The character designs are pretty basic. A couple supports break away from the mold, as does Haruka, being taller and less glamorous than is typical, but I've seen about 20 Yu carbon copies in my limited anime experience.
Worse, there are times when the animation gets still frame, and all you do is slide up the sketch of the girls knee -> thigh -> skirt -> boobs, as if this were an anime dating game.
The fan service is non-stop, and was overall a detraction.
Sound.
The sound was fine, the songs okay, the VA was decent, the main problem is too much dialogue devolved into high pitched "anime girl whines", that sounded more like a horde of cats singing than a girl being embarrassed.
Characters.
This is where I was disappointed. Haruka was a good character. She had insecurities, jealousy, and a number of okay points, but the rest of the crew were just flat. You knew about 20 seconds of exposition dialogue about each, and that was it.
Enjoyment.
Okay. So like I said earlier, this is why we need more Yuri. Whether it's a dedicated series, yuri characters, or whatever, the fact that there is so little of it is why Sakura Trick gets gobbled up and seen by Yurifans.
It's a weak offering, but without many competitors, it's used as a "Yuri Classic" example. If ST had stronger characters, real conflict, and a more engaging story that tried to talk about the struggles of young lesbians without models to base their relationships on, it would have been amazing. Instead, we get a fan-service fest that goes out of it's way to lock two young girls in rooms alone as possible so they can suck face and be bashful it.
It's things like ST that keep the genre from being taken seriously. Anyone who decides to dip into the Yuri world and sees this is going to assume all yuri-ai is nothing but moe-fests with whimpering teenagers who are drawn as pedo-bait protagonists with mush for brains.
**semi spoiler**
The worst part was at the end, when it's all said and done, and a scene happens where the characters who have talked about how they are special to each other all series long suddenly come to the epiphany that they have no idea what love is and they'd rather not talk about it, because they are special friends, not girlfriends.
Really?
Overall.
I grudgingly give a 6. There were enough moments to make me smile, but end the end, all I could think was "This.. this could have been so much more."
Pros and Cons
+ Real Yuri. The girls are in a relationship from the start.
+ Good use of color and visual technique, when not in dating sim mode.
+ Cute, if standard, character designs.
+ If you want moe moe moe, this is your show.
+ If you need fan service every 30 seconds, your in luck.
- Real Yuri Action, No Yuri feels. The longer the show goes, the less it feels like two girls in love and the more if feels like bi-curious besties who are young with no sense.
- The fanservice is more intrusive than I like. I don't care about screens full of uniform boobs, it's what the minds and hearts behind those boobs are doing that I desire to experience.
- No real depth to anything. Whats offered on the surface is what you expect everywhere.
- Watches at times like a dating sim. 10 second screen freeze and slides of girls giggling and doing nothing else.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 15, 2016
Shiki - The long boring road.
Shiki is an anime about vampires. You know this right from the get-go, as the intro pretty much lets you in on that right off the bat. Unfortunately, the anime is a long slog towards the subject matter, and it's a fairly mediocre production except episodes 19-21. The ending is pretty meh.
Story.
The problem I have with Shiki is that it is too long. It has a good story, but tries to pretend that you don't know it's an anime about vampires, and spends 10 episodes pretending that it's about a "epidemic" of Anemia, which isn't even a thing.
A lot
...
of time is spent on random 1 shot characters who stop going to work, get tired, then "mysteriously' die. While I like big character rosters, there isn't really a main character in Shiki, so it's hard to know what you should be focusing on.
Art.
The visual styles are pretty different. They do a few things I don't like, for example large stiff hair that defies all nature, even for anime. The eyes of all the vampires switch from being large charcoal scribbes to LED red light rings, so there's hardly any suspense wondering who is who.
They do some good things too. There's a lot of color, they spend extra animation time on important scenes, and some character designs are pretty good and varied. Not much moe here, except for 1 or 2 exceptions.
Sound.
The sounds and music were okay after the opening and ending songs switched midway through. The voice acting was good, especially on some characters. On the flip side, when it was poor, it was very poor. This anime introduced me to my new most hated voice (and drawn) character in anime, so there's that.
Characters.
There are a ton, but no one really has a focused story. You get random scenes of random characters, and some are very powerful. A doctor comes to grips with realizing that his wifes been bitten, and he hasn't had a single vampire to study. A little girl fails to grow old because of the affliction, and struggles with her relationship with god. A monk questions how far he values life, all life, including those of the risen.
In spite of some great character pieces, some times you can't help but feel like your wasting time onscreen with some random people who really don't affect anything in the story, and not to set up a following scene either.
Enjoyment.
4 is decent, and that's the best word for this. If it were 12 episodes, I might not have disliked as much of it as I did. There were moments I thought, "Finally! It's gotten good!" , then realized it was happening on episode 19.
There were times I caught myself skipping 5 minute chunks of screen time waiting for the plot to continue and to get out of old lady rice-cake's inn where her dog was sad at her sick husband.
Then the ending, which did tie up most things, was unfulfilling. Every character decision and resolution basically turn out to be for nothing, and things continue on much how they began. Unlike well written "here it all starts again" endings, this one executes poorly.
Overall.
The anime -was- okay. Decent, or good. I suppose I should rate it somewhere between a 5 and 6, but there were parts I liked. I would prefer this as a novel, as opposed to a manga or an anime.
If you like.
-Vampires who aren't really superhuman, and are more human than not.
-Lots of information about lots of characters without a real focus on any one.
-"Skinny-body" art style with "spiral loopy hair".
-Slow burn plots.
-Light fighting. (Seriously, there's violence, but maybe only 10 punches thrown.)
-"Is it evil if I have no choice" moral quandaries.
This anime might be for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 12, 2016
Yuki Yuna is a Hero.
Not as dark as Madoka, and it's animation is only slightly less enjoyable, but man. I wish there were ".5's" allowed in ranking these shows. I feel a 7 is too low and an 8 is too high.
Story.
This show.. it's a slow burn. I was waiting for the "Madoka Episode 3", and it never came until way later. In it's own right, it was a thought provoking dark turn, and more traditional in a sense of Mahou Shojou.
I fear this show loses a lot of people while it's pretending to be sailor moon, when they read reviews that told them
...
it was dark in the first place.
The premise of the anime is that "god" and his allies constructed a wall, and constantly keeps a team of girls on watch, to repel evil creatures called Vectors.
As the girls continue to transform, they get more power. In turn, each time they use this power, they lose something precious. What exactly that is, isn't apparent till later, but its a pretty genuine feeling of sacrifice as these girls do what they can against an enemy they can't hope to defeat.
Art.
Pretty polished. There are some moments of derp face from a distance and some minor proportion distortion, but it's regularly good stuff and well animated.
Sound.
The battle track is good and the voice acting is good too.
Characters.
I feel like I really got to know these girls, One of the girls, Kirin, who is presented as the "expert fighter" of the group.. she's awesome. She has a super freakout that compares to Asuka's meltdown in Evangelion.
Fu, the team leader, expresses a great range of emotions, both in voice and in art. Yuna is kind of boring, sort of a non-factor in her own story, until the end.
Enjoyment.
Loved the series.
I'm learning that there's a lot out there in anime to enjoy besides genre staples. It's also an interesting look at Japanese culture to see the themes prevalent in each group.
It's sadly always going to be compared to Madoka, and I think that's unfortunate. I enjoyed this series on it's own two feet, really. There are scenes here as strong as any in Madoka, with thought out conflict and resolution that really make you wonder how much these girls can take. The writers failed however, to engage the same long-term plot investment that Madoka had.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 12, 2016
Clannad: After Story.
Sometimes, we just like to be sad. We know something will make us sad, but we watch it anyways. There are times when I feel like the whole point of Afterstory was to see how sad it could make me, rather than character development and natural storytelling that may have induced one emotion or another.
Then I re-watch an episode, and I can't be sure. The anime is either a very genuine ending chapter on the story of some characters we met in Clannad, and a wonderful and heart touching send off to their tales, or a very successful hallmark card that's meant
...
to squeeze a tear.
Story.
The storytelling in C:AS is really good. It took a route I did not expect right away, and instead of post-highschool drama, people got jobs and got married. It is honest in real-life and it's roots, and I appreciate that, and well as the bold moves the story takes. No one is perfect. Everyone has a weakness, as well as strengths. It's a great read or watch.
Art.
The art is better in C: AS. Great work, probably to accompany a bigger budget.
Sound.
Still too few songs and some unremarkable patches of voice acting here and there. Nothing bad. Nothing special.
Characters.
MUCH. BETTER. We get away from weak moe-bots and meet girls with spines and people with real lives. The development here is great. I wanted more out of a certain young child, but it was good stuff.
Enjoyment.
A GREAT experience.
Overall.
This is a wonderful piece, that didn't do what I wanted it to do, but that's okay also. I really liked the story telling and the plots involved, and how we get away from single episode conflicts that were heavy in Clannad.
There's also a sub-plot that reaches over everything else that can be hard to follow, which is why I went 8 instead of a 9.
I consider this one that every all-rounder anime fan should watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 12, 2016
Clannad.
I'll be one of a jillion people to review this anime, so take with a grain of salt. Some people think this and it's successor are some of the greatest pieces of animation ever to leave Japan. It's good, but it has problems.
Story.
The story to Clannad really doesn't develop for awhile. Basically you have a lazy deadbeat, who is a pretty good guy, and he stumbles across a shy, but cute girl. They are friends, meet other cute girls, all of whom usually crush on someone for awhile, get sad, and then things go on.
There is something of an overarching story
...
that has a ephemeral feel to it, which is the only reason I made it through the first slog.
Then Fuka happened. Holy crap, Fuka's story was really good. I feel like it should have been the final arc, not the first, and is the only reason I didn't rate this dating sim as a 5 or lower.
Art.
Every character is stemmed from some guys hentai art. They are all decent, but like, on purpose moe. A few standouts are there, but other than hair and eyecolor, they could all be blank slates.
Sound.
Three songs. One for feels, one for opening, one for closing. The voice acting isn't as good as it could be.
Characters.
Again, waaaay too much moe. Sunohara is an awesome character, so is his sister, even though she's only one or two porno lines away from a hentai. There are a few gems, but you can see the director/writer making the transition from having a universe where the women are cumdumpsters waiting for dicks and tentacles, and a universe where they are important and have thoughts and opinions. It improves a lot, but the beginning was rough.
Enjoyment.
I did like the series, just not as much as some. YMMV.
Overall.
7: This isn't a bad score or a bad anime, but if you want comedy and harem, many do it better. If you want feels, skip this one and move to the second series, "After Story." Seriously, the only thing you won't get is Fuka. Or watch Anohana, or Angel Beats, or a lot of other emotional rides. Watch this one two, but it's a stepping stone for the directing team.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 6, 2016
KnJ: Houkago is a collection of 1 offs along the subject matter of the first series.
It's good stuff, but not quite the same as the source material. There's good bits that weave in and out of the main story, and a final volume where Rin talks to Mimi and Kuro, her best friends, about her meeting with her teacher as "two adults would meet", but all in all don't feel like you must hunt these down if you enjoyed KnJ.
Knowing that none of it was really relevant to the story took some mood away, but if you must have more KnJ, absorb these
...
like everything else!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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