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- BirthdayJul 6, 1988
- LocationBrooklyn ,New York
- JoinedApr 18, 2007
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Mar 12, 2014
Before I start I want to say I'll try to be as fair as possible considering the amount of backlash Pupa has already gotten. That said most of the backlash is well deserved; now for the review. Where do I even begin on this one, I first heard of this show through an anime season chart and the synopsis and style seemed fairly interesting especially when compared to the droves of slice of life and moe shows the industry churns out. Unfortunately it was delayed and while that's unfortunate my anticipation, and I'm sure many others', was still present. Little did we know that we
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were anticipating something the like of which had never, or rarely, been seen....and believe me that was not a good thing.
When you first watch this show the first thing you'll notice is the length it's 4 minutes an episode which is already misleading as Deen had the gall to devote 1 minute to an OP and ED which cuts it down to 3 minutes. This format has worked for series' before, most notably Inferno Cop , but the glaring difference is that Inferno Cop never presented itself as anything more than comedy not meant to be taken seriously. Pupa takes itself all too seriously.
*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*
STORY - 4
The story focuses on Utsusu and Yume, a brother/sister pair who have had a rough, life this has left Utsusu with a guardian complex and Yume almost completely dependent on him. Nothing groundbreaking there, things get weird when Yume sees a butterfly and a weird witch-esque woman, transforms into a horrible monster and goes on a murderous rampage eating people, Utsusu arrives on the scene and despite better judgement finds his sister and miraculously accepts her as the monster, firmly believing that Yume is still in there somewhere...............she kills him.
Pupa opts to show and not tell, leaving the viewer to make connections and fill in plot points on their own. Something which has been done before but fortunately what Pupa does show us is absolutely useless at times. One episode is devoted to Yume feeding on Utsusu in a scene with incestuous overtones that are about as subtle as a brick to the face. We are told nothing important to the plot (other than onii-chan....seriously this is the only bit of dialogue in the episode) and are left feeling as if your times been wasted. For a something that lasts about the length of a song, that's quite a feat. Now don't get me wrong some episodes DO give us glimpses into what might be an interesting plot, but it's over just as you start getting hooked. If I could change one thing about this series it would be more time, at least 10 minutes per episode to give the audience something to sink it's teeth into......no pun intended.
ART - 2
The art isn't the worst I've seen but it certainly isn't the best, the colors look washed out and dull and the copious censoring(and there is a lot of it) leaves you looking at black or white screens more often than not. The animation is stiff, lifeless, and above all boring to look at, even for the gory or action scenes there are points where you're subjected to still shots with voices played while the camera pans over them. Corners cut? ABSOLUTELY!!!
SOUND - 3
Absolutely mediocre bordering on bad, the voice acting is generic. Most characters simply say things, no emotion or proper delivery behind them. The background music is just as bad, if an OST is ever released I wouldn't be surprised if the track listing went something like.:
2- Generic Sad Theme
3-Generic Tense Theme
4-Generic Action Theme
Its that bad. One saving grace is the Opening which reminds me of Another or Rozen Maiden; whenever I hear it I can't help but hum along. It's only 30 seconds but it's the best part of the show.
CHARACTER - 2
Laughable, there isn't any. Utsusu can be summed up with "Yume" and Yume can be summed up with Onii-chan." The supporting cast is equally dull but not for lack of trying, Maria (the witch lady) is at this point a generic ambiguous villain whose true motives will be revealed later (hopefully). Her sidekick Hotoki, in all 1 minute of his appearance has solidified himself as the 2nd most enjoyable character on the show (Yume and Utsusus mother being the most). Everyone else is faceless and unimportant.
ENJOYMENT - 3
I truly don't know why I continue watching, I really don't enjoy it. I feel like I'm being teased by this show.The hints of something interesting are quickly losing their mystique and I don't know how much longer I'll continue watching which is why I'm writing this review in hopes of shedding some light on what future viewers, if there are any, are in for.
OVERALL - 3
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 26, 2009
Doubt, on the surface, sounds amazingly interesting kids participating in a game of death, dying one by one and the killer is (surprise) one of them. It sounds reminiscent of series like Battle Royale, but where BR succeeds Doubt ultimately fails.
Storywise Doubt starts of as an enthralling thiller, it's paced very well and strikes a great balance between doling out enough info to keep the reader interested and keeping enough draped in mystery that you want to read more. And you will read more you will read and read and read up to the climax of the story but then it falls flat on
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it's face. Hard. Everything just unravels, twists and genre shifts galore; love triangles, sci fi, crime drama, it's like a grab bag of different genres that the author found cool but couldn't decide which to stick to so...."Why not toss em all in there." everything feels so tacked on it becomes absurd.
I have no gripes with the art, the character designs aren't particularly amazing and I feel that's why they work so well with the story. What wins points is the scenery and use of shading, the artist sets an amazing mood. Without the scenery the story wouldn't be as interesting as it was.
Characterwise there was much to be desired for certain people and the exact opposite for others. Shoveling on small factoids that other characters mention in passing is not good development. Certain characters receive the shaft so hard it hurts *coughEijicough*. The sad thing about Doubt is that the absurd twists might have worked if they were spread across the cast instead of concentrated on the same 2 or 3 characters.
There were some bright spots in the cast though. One being the main character who is so annoyingly naive that he does an amazing job of moving the story forward. He's basically a bicycle, very little is noteworthy about a bike but when it does what is intended...Whoo! The other bright spot is odd since it's only a mask, the rabbit mask is haunting, it gives the killer a face. Just like the main character it does what it needs to, it puts a mindless killing machine in the same room as normal teens. Cliche but it works.
Enjoyment. I truly don't know what to say...it was like watching a parade balloon, it starts off so vibrant engaging and beautiful, your brain can't comprehend its parade balloony goodness. Then....gradually it starts to deflate you try to hammer in the initial awe you had to convince yourself that it will work out. The balloon twists, jerks, sticks out some colorful pieces, and wheezes; struggling to keep itself afloat but then it all goes out in a small puff; and in the end thats all Doubt amounts to. Take this all with a grain of salt if you must but please if you leave this review with anything I want it to be this: go into doubt with exactly what the title says...Doubt. Go in doubting that it will be as good as it sets itself up to be.
Overall 7/10 if only for what could have been.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 23, 2009
First off this is an odd show in the sense that it's set in an MMORPG but there are next to no action scenes; this show, understandably, gets a lot of flak for this reason. Most go in expecting World of Warcraft:The Animation and come out with a bad taste in their mouths, a simple synopsis read would've saved them the trouble of watching the whole thing expecting and then giving it an undeserved bad rap even though the show delivers on all the promises it makes.
Storywise .hack//SIGN isn't spectacular it follows the adventures of Tsukasa, a Wavemaster who is unable to log out
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of the World MMO, gets caught up in a huge scandal that comes to involve nearly every character in the World.
The art wasn't the best, in my opinion of course, the design just rubbed me the wrong way at times the characters seem flat and have an odd "fish-eyed" look about them, Tsukasa in particular seems to look in different directions at times.
The music is beautiful, simple as that. I don't know what more to say.
To me the characters are the shows main draw they all receive their fair share of development and through the course of the show it steadily paints a picture of who the players are behind their characters. Intricate details help give them depth and make them as human as possible. Personal favorites are Crim and Sora, the former which deserved much more screentime and the latter whom, despite his annoying manner, the reason for which is explained, you can't help but love whenever he appears. Despite all the enjoyable characters there are some who I despise and shall remain nameless...Subaru.
I thoroughly enjoyed this show, yes it has it's lowpoints where everything seems to creep to a halt, but then there are the highpoints which are amazing. Scenes that evoke powerful emotions, scenes that would make this series a masterpiece (if it weren't for the series shortcomings.)
Overall 7/10 you won't be disappointed if you know what you're getting yourself into.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 26, 2009
I honestly don't know where to start on School Days, it isn't a bad show, far from it. It just seemed to completely miss the mark of what it was aiming for in my opinion. But enough with introductions this is a review...
Storywise the show has many faults, as do most series based off of visual novels. Initially it's about every high school boys dream of getting a girlfriend and having regular sex; and the story does stay true to this for the first few episodes and throws in some romance triangles to spice things up. It's when triangles become tetrahedrons and the creators attempt
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to shove in what was originally a game with many different routes into 12 episodes that I started getting annoyed. The middle of the series is a cesspool of idiocy and the show lumbers along until you get to the ending that sort of makes up for the it but is equally stupid if only for the characters.
The art isn't bad nor is it amazing, it's exactly what you'd expect from a series like this. Makoto is quite plain and has pretty much no defining characteristics, he does however give the viewer a good amount of comedy with the faces he pulls. The girls on the other hand of course have many more defining characteristics large eyes, supple breasts and various moe features plastered onto them, don't go in expecting anything amazing.
I have no gripes with the music at all, in fact it's probably the strongest point of the show. The series makes use of many vocal tracks that blend well with the scenes they accompany and also clue you into what you should be feeling... some scenes got no emotional rise out of me other than raucous laughter. The opening and ending themes are quite nice a stark contrast to the penultimate mood of the show.
Now on to the characters, this is what I've been waiting for. The characters are idiots I refused to believe that anyone could be so stupid even in a cartoon. The main characters in particular are lacking in the brain power department.
First there's Makoto Itou, the main character, initially a likeable character simply trying to catch the eye of the object of his affection quickly proves to be a disgustingly fickle shell of a human. It doesn't stop there though he evolves into an arrogant twat garnering so much hatred from the audience that, I feel, there was no way the story could end any differently than it did. Although in his defense the other characters in the show did mold his personality into what it became.
Second, Sekai Saionji who is possibly my least favorite character in the show. She is painted in an innocent light for most of the series but near the end all her disgusting qualities rear their ugly head. Manipulative, selfish, sly, and at one point she is apparently has selective amnesia. She is initially the driving force behind Makoto and Kotonohas relationship, helping Makoto when he stumbles and apologizing for him; but it all too quickly becomes apparent exactly what she aims to accomplish. Even though she does have troublesome circumstances surrounding her throughout the series I can't feel anything but contempt for her.
Finally Kotonoha Katsura who, all things considered, is the victim of all of the happenings in the show. Hated by her peers and forced to be the pawn in Sekai and Makotos game she suffers through the show. My main gripe with her is that despite having the truth of what is going on around her bludgeoned into her face, and uterus, repeatedly she vehemently refuses to believe them. Her defiance leads to insanity and her insanity leads to spoilers.
The rest of the characters are as detestable as the the main ones. Lust addled goons led by their nether regions rather than logic. I was hard pressed to find a likable character and even when I found one she was barely involved in the series. I guess the characters would have to be hated to make the ending as effective as it was but I found the attempts trying to make them likable insulting.
Did I enjoy it? Oh god yes, few series have made me laugh as hard as this one particularly when the characters have sex only to lament it and do it again repeatedly like a small mammal only capable of remembering 2 things at once.
1- I like Makoto
2-I must have sex with him
-at this point 1 is forgotten
3-Makoto is a bad guy
-but suddenly!!!
1-I like Makoto?
-3 is completely forgotten
2-SEX WITH MAKOTO!!!!
I've clenched my fist in anger, and laughed myself sore at the characters in this show. The series though initially meant to be some form of tragedy only ended up making me laugh and I enjoy laughter. The ending alone is enough reason to watch this show.
Overall like I stated before it's not a bad show...just very different from what it intends. It isn't a deep and introspective look at human emotions since most characters only have 2. On the other hand it isn't a high school romance because that would imply that there is romance beyond lust.
The only thing I can recommend is to watch the show for yourself and see what you take from it because it isn't enough to read a review about it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 30, 2007
Every once in a while a series comes along that, for lack of a better word, owns the competition. Ladies and gentlemen that series is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, do not let the lengthy name intimidate you or the seemingly cartoonish style put you off because this show is worth it and you'd sorely regret not experiencing this gem of a series. In a world where the majority considers mediocre shows such as Naruto to be masterpieces, we often overlook shows that so sorely deserve our attention and they end up just passing us by. I'm writing this review in hopes it will divert
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your attention away from shouting bankai as you imitate Ichigo and open your eyes to this series.
Story wise Gurren Lagann shows us exactly what an anime should be, a seemingly simple story of a young men forced to stay in a world against their will delves into gripping story of man vs fate, man vs man, and man vs self. The story itself doesn't drag on and on for episodes on end trying to solve what could be done in one it is, in short, paced perfectly. Also it is impossible to be lost or confused in this series as you are constantly given just enough information to understand what is going on but it holds back enough to keep you interested.
The art is easy on the eyes though it does have a choppy feel at times it isn't so bad that you can't make out what is going on. Chalk it up to production expenses, since there are a lot of action scenes.
The musical score was obviously well thought out, it matches the mood of the scene and doesn't interfere with the story at all it remains where it should be...the backround. It also incorporates many genres as well it's a mix of hip hop, contemporary, rock, even opera so you should find a few pieces that are similar to your taste in music.
The characters are done extremely well, they are developed nicely and convey emotions quite well, you can literally feel their plight. Also their emotional depth doesn't consist of a bad childhood, and crying when the world doesn't bend to their will. The are a wide range of characters, and as well so you're bound to find one that interests you . A word of warning, this isn't a cutesy series where all semi important characters are protected by an anti-death shield so don't expect your favorite characters to have happy endings.
The enjoyment factor should be apparent in the way I've written so far, just in case you are slow this is an extremely enjoyable show, it has quite a bit of slapstick as well as non-slapstick comedy. The battle scenes are intense and fast paced be they in mecha or hand to hand.
Overall this is a series that you shouldn't let pass you by, so please if only for a second turn away from Naruto and Bleach (take a deep breath buddy, they'll be there when you turn back) and give Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann a chance you won't regret it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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