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Nov 10, 2016
Ever since Akiyuki Shinbo joined as director in 2005, Shaft has been on a rampage, pushing its avant grade cinematography (and head tilts) to the limits. And now that they've made a name for themselves (and the fact that they're all out of source material on the monogatari series), they have started to calm down. Compared to last year's Owarimonogatari (and the subsequent Kizumonogatari movies this year), they have a Slice of Life entry this fall season by the name of San-gatsu no Lion (or March comes in like a Lion). Based on a well received ongoing manga, the story revolves around Kiriyama Rei, a
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high schooler and a pro shogi player, living an independent life in a rather empty part of town. Having lived through a mountain of trouble as a child and not-so-good experiences at his foster family, the repressed emotions and lack of "love" (if you will) has made him depressed and lonely inside. The only thing he has left is his career as a shogi player, which, sadly, started with a lie. So, a life (and mental sanity maybe?) built on such a feeble foundation can only last so long. And so it all starts to crumble and he starts going into a downward spiral.
But fear not, all is not lost yet. Enter the three Kawamoto sisters. Having gone through some rough times themselves, they had one another to lean on, and so they live their modest lives full of happiness and laughter with the occasional sad reminiscing. And thankfully, they drag our protagonist into it, and it acts as a sliver of hope in his life. His interactions with them and the subtle changes they cause in his personality seem to be the main focus of the show.
Now, there are a few things to watch out for, if you're thinking of picking this up.
Number one is the drama, the kind of drama where there are lots of tragic flashbacks and broken, damaged characters. If you find characters wallowing in depression appalling, this might not be your cup of tea. Though I would say that the creators have put a lot of effort in Rei's backstory as it feels "legit" and in-sync with his character.
Second, is the game of Shogi. They say shogi is like chess, except that it's not (well it is, in essence, a strategy game). Compared to the 16 pieces per player in Chess, Shogi has 20 pieces; there is no queen, and two new pieces - silver general and gold general are in play. Even the board is different (its a 9x9 instead of an 8x8). Point is, if you don't know shogi, parts of the show involving it - like the surprised look on players when the opponent makes an interesting move (a shot of the board with all the pieces, a move, and cut to character's face), or analogies/metaphors relating to our main characters life, will probably make little to no sense (or won't have the desired effect).
Number three is Shaft. Now, I already said that they're trying to calm down, and they are, I mean, 5 episodes without a head tilt (Shinbo must be screaming in frustration, good thing Kenjirou is in charge), but, it's still Shaft. And I've seen some people complain about the artstyle. Thankfully, it all isn't as erratic as the monogatari series and I am fine with it. Heck I love how they keep the contrast when switching perspectives from the depressed MC to the cheerful sisters (love the color palette too, and the opening).
Conclusion. I like where this is going. I like that the main character is "damaged" damaged and not just damaged for plot's sake, his backstory really gets me. And I am interested in how far down he is going to fall before he gets over his past or if the past is going to come back to haunt him, either way, he will face it and that's what I'm looking forward to. Also, this is Shaft and I have hope that they aren't going to mess this up. But if they do, I'll update this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 23, 2015
"Cute girls doing cute things." I always cringe a little whenever I see those big eyed blobs of moe strike a pose and say something in their high pitched voice with a giant smile on their face. Makes me wanna bash their face in with a baseball bat (random Higurashi reference).
I had kind of a similar reaction when I watched the first 15 minutes of Gakkou Gurashi! A girl wakes up in her bed in school and starts walking around with her dog. She then proceeds to have breakfast in her club room with the club members and then goes to attend class like any
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other student would do. Apparently the Club's name is School Living Club and all the members live on the school premises and don't go home after school's over. Usual anime logic aside, it doesn't make much sense because first of all, no school authority will ever allow such a club to exist where you practically live at school. And then there's the dog. So, I tolerated that till the end of episode 1 and that's where the twist hit me the face. This pack of moe blobs is actually in a zombie apocalypse and the main character is delusional (I like how the hints were sprinkled around in the episode). Now this turns the whole moe routine on it's head. Instead of being cute/obnoxious, the whole thing becomes sad and pitiful. This excellent use of shock drew me into this anime.
And the good thing about Gakkou Gurashi! is that they know HOW to transition between these dark and light atmospheres. The problem comes in with the story and pacing of the anime. While they spend plenty of time fleshing out their characters by providing all of them with their own separate backstories, the main plot remains at a standstill up until the very end. And that makes me a little frustrated because I'm dying to know how this bunch of school girls are going to make it out of that school building? Will they wait till they are cornered or they're gonna take the initiative? And all of this isn't answered till the last couple episodes. Instead, what I get is more of that cute moe routine with more twists thrown in, which makes the middle portion of the anime slightly boring and frustrating. So, you do need a little bit of patience to chew through that part.
As for the ending of the show, it is definitely interesting but they seemed to have forced the emotional atmosphere there. It's still good but it could have been better.
Now, what Gakkou Gurashi! did great was how it dealt with it's characters. As I said before, they provide ample amount of backstories (interesting backstories) to all of their characters (except Wakasa Yuuri) so they're all fleshed out. The fact that Yuki is delusional adds a lot to all the characters around her and how they behave (imagine the psychological pressure). Of course, Yuki herself isn't always clueless either, she often tends to avoid or play dumb whenever the club members try to 'confront' her. This is depicted very well by how they do her expressions at those times (how it shows up on her face). The same goes for all the other characters. They don't stick to a certain character trope and play it throughout the show. They all help each other and contribute in whatever way they can. What I didn't like about them was how none of them seemed to be worried about their families. And since the anime does not give us any other information about the outside world, we don't know any better than the characters themselves.
The good thing here is that the characters question things around them which would have normally been labelled as mere coincidences. Like how the school has all the supplies and everything conveniently available. How the zombies seem to follow a certain pattern according to their previous lifestyle. On top of that, they don't go full hollywood mode and start killing zombies as if they were eagerly waiting for a zombie apocalypse to happen. They are a bunch of kids in school and they act like it. Though they can be surprisingly rational at times. With the exception of Yuuri (and maybe Taroumaru), all the characters did their part well for the kind of situation they were in (backstories and all).
Compared to all the production messes during the summer season (Manglobe going bankrupt, ufotable messing up God Eater, Rokka no Yuusha's terrible fight sequences and CG, not to mention DBZ super), I'd say the animation quality was nice. At least it was consistent throughout the show. The characters are fluid, the backgrounds are pretty. There is a nice balance between the light and dark tones and they handle the atmospheres well during those transitions. What I especially like is the subtle changes they made into the opening of the show as the plot progressed and several major plot twists were revealed. The ending sequence was okay. As for the soundtrack, I'd say the usual - "It was there, it was nice but not good enough for me to go out of my way to look for it".
So, Gakkou Gurashi! is a nice show and quite a different take on the whole Zombie Apocalypse scenario. Sure, it doesn't show you the shrewd ugliness of mankind or how the laws of physics change when it comes to boobie mechanics, but does give you an interesting scenario to think about. One that is isolated from the ugliness that humans would show in case of such scenario but at the same time close to being a realistic (and human) depiction of how a bunch of highschool girls would deal with such a situation. It is a bit idealistic and could get a little frustrating at times, I'm just glad that anime tried something like this. So give this a shot, but go in with an open mind.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 12, 2015
Charlotte was one of the most hyped shows of the 2015 summer season with Jun Maeda (from Angel Beats, Clannad and other Key works) running the show. The story is about a bunch of teenagers who seem to have developed supernatural powers. These powers fade out once the bearer becomes an adult. So, these kids need to hide their powers so that they don't get captured by the so called 'bad' people and end up as lab rats. And for that purpose, a school is setup and our main cast is a part of the student council of that school where they track down these
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'special' kids and tell them to either stop using their powers or enroll them in their school to protect them.
Now, the concept here is quite imaginative, especially how every ability is flawed in a way, which creates a lot of space for some strategic play. But sadly, the anime does not capitalise on that potential and instead sticks to the usual Jun Maeda routine involving the silver haired female lead with a tragic backstory and the 'special' baseball match. Still, it all remains fine and they stick with an episodic format for about 4-5 episodes, which is indeed fun to watch. And the show gets even better after they introduce that little dark twist. But this is where the show fails really hard. After that twist, the scale of the story changes in a ridiculous way and everything goes haywire. And then the last episode just takes a massive dump over eveything and the series wraps up in the most ridiculous way possible. To put it in perspective, it is like if Naruto wrapped up the whole great ninja war in a couple of episodes (no fillers). Simply put, the show had a promising start, which was carried nicely halfway, but everything after that is just a catastrophe.
The only thing that I really liked, was how the dynamic between Yu and Tomori was developing around that little twist, but then what happened afterwards just completely wiped it all off, ruining it for me. And because of that, the romance later on came off as really awkward and forced drama. The main character did get developed because of the enormous amount of screen time, but all the supposed good bits which really mattered (the psychological aspects from using abilities) were rushed at the very end. I will say that out of all the characters, his character was the most human considering how he wasn't always playing the goodie two shoes stereotype. He abused his abilities, learned a lesson from that, and when he got insanely powerful, his conviction did waver for a second. As for the other characters, no one was really relatable/memorable/good, in fact, majority of the characters were there for the sake of comedy and the punchlines and had no emotional impact whatsoever. I really think they should have handled Tomori's character better because the dynamic between her and Yu could have blossomed really well. But sadly, it ended up being a disappointment.
As for the production, P.A. Works has done a fine job. The animation and sound were both above average. They weren't phenomenal but I can at least call them good, especially the soundtrack. I liked some of the songs in the anime. The opening and ending sequences were meh/okay. I watched them once and skipped them afterwards.
Overall, Charlotte started off nicely with promise and it did carry that momentum halfway, but at the end, it turned into a giant clusterfuck. They could have better handled the situation if the series were 3-4 episodes longer. They could have done a better job with their romance pair and the characters that way but they didn't. So, in the end, the show becomes this weird awkward mess which just makes you wonder why they squandered all their potential like that. The show isn't that annoying at all, but the fuck up is just so obvious and so stupid that it is really hard to stop yourself from raging (which is why there are so many rants cum reviews here). So with that little warning, go try it if you want to, but be ready for all the frustration at the end.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 7, 2015
Hmmm... How to open up a review on Haibane Renmei?
I thought a lot about it but I just couldn't write anything besides "Do you wanna see a smoking Angel?". So, here is an analogy which I think is the best explanation of the show.
Fairy Tales. Yes, those stories your parents or grandparents used to tell you when you were little. Or you would read them up in a book. "Once upon a time, in a world far far away, there lived..." that's how they started. We are given an introduction to the world. Then, there would be a hero or heroine and he or she
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would go on a physical or a spiritual journey in that world. There would be some ups and downs and there would be a happy ending with a lesson and the end. Haibane Renmei is set up kind of like a fairy tale.
We are introduced to these mysterious creatures called Haibane. They look just like human beings except that they have a set of small wings and a glowing halo above their heads. The Haibane are born from a cocoon that starts from the size of a dandelion puff. They can be born as a kid or as an adolescent. While in that cocoon, they have a dream and what they experience in that dream determines their name afterwards. Their wings grow within two or three days after they are born and the Halo on their head is given to them by their fellow Haibane. They live in an abandoned building named Old Home on the outskirts of this town named Gile which is inhabited by humans. The town is surrounded by these giant walls. The Haibane or the humans are not allowed to go outside these walls for some reason. They can only use things that humans do not need. So, they wear used clothes from thrift shops and live in an abandoned building. The Haibane are not allowed to use the human currency i.e., money. Instead, they use the Haibane Notebook of the Haibane Renmei. Haibane Renmei is an organisation that takes care of the Haibane.
All Haibane are born with an amnesia. They don't remember who they are, where they are from, or why they are born as a Haibane. The only thing they have is that dream they had in the cocoon. The story follows Rakka, who dreamt of falling from the sky (hence the name), as she goes around spending her new life as a Haibane.
The whole concept of the show is very unique, imaginative and interesting. The way the show portrays its world makes it seem very realistic. There is a tremendous amount of effort put into the construction of this world. Like how the Haibane can't talk to the Toga or even little things like they make covers for their wings to keep them from cold in the winter or how Rakka slowly gets used to accepting the wings as a part of her body. The whole story is contained in this isolated world surrounded by giant, impenetrable walls and the anime absolutely refuses to give us any clue as to what lies outside this world. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered and it will bother you. But the main part of the story does not depend on any of those missing pieces. Also, I believe that leaving those questions unanswered makes it more realistic. I mean, we don't know a lot things in our own real world. Just like us humans, the Haibane don't know who they really are or why they exist. Or like how the world the Haibane can observe is limited by those walls in the same way we can't observe anything beyond the observable universe (in principle. I don't want a scientific debate, so lets leave it at that.)
The show is paced very well. There is this natural flow that is maintained from the beginning to the end. It never seems too slow or rushed. The story progresses in a swift manner while the characters develop like a blooming flower. The show gets a bit dark sometimes but isn't overloaded with philosophy or goes deep into the psychological realm. Instead, it gives this warm and serene feeling most of the time. So if you are into fast paced action stories, you are not going to like it. It ends on a happy note with the message of acceptance and moving on. Though the meanings depend on ones own interpretation.
The animation of the show blends perfectly with the realistic world the story presents. There are no big round shiny eyes or light reflecting off of character's body. The Halos and the wings are not glorified. The character designs are realistic and the expressions are done nicely. Since, the Haibane can only use things that humans do not need, the animation has this old worn out look in its environment. This blends in perfectly with the soundtracks. The soundtracks consist of beautiful, calm music with several violin, piano and harmonica pieces. These pieces are played in moderate volume in the background and aren't distracting. The opening and ending are worth listening to on their own. I loved the music in this show.
This was something unique and quite an interesting experience. It is nothing flashy like a firework or puzzling like a rubik's cube. Rather, it is like watching a sunset on an evening; calm and beautiful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 11, 2015
Looking at the "Romance" under genre must make you think something like "...ah! Lemme guess. Another highschool RomCom". But I will be there saying "Yes. But no."
You see Lovely Complex IS a highschool RomCom but it is quite different from your usual usual RomCom. I will explain why as I go on.
The setting is the usual -- Highschool, one boy, one girl, they fall in love. But you will see the difference right away from episode one as the characters are introduced to you. See, unlike a normal love story where the guy is always taller than the girl, here, the roles are reversed. The
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girl is much taller than the boy. This unconventional match-up brings a new factor to the table --- the complexes that the characters experience because of their height. For example, a girlfriend taller than you might hurt your "manly pride" (Bullshit! I know) or tall girls aren't usually cute or it is awkward if you're trying to kiss your girl and you can't even reach her. These complexes do play a certain role as the love story progresses and are dealt with nicely which is good to watch.
So on their first day, Risa and Otani are branded as the "All-Hanshin Kyoujin" because they are always acting like a comedy duo, always fighting. They're always bickering and clawing at each other. At one time Risa even punches Otani in the face. They don't hold back to include the height difference in the name calling. All this goes on for a while until Risa realises that she has fallen for Otani. But Otani is really dense, he doesn't really see her that way and thinks its just part of their usual comedy routine. The chase from here on out is a nice ride.
Almost all the humour from the show comes from the two main characters as they call each other names while making weird faces. This makes this show overflowing with energy as the voice actors have done a great job with the timing. This is complimented by the art style as the faces those two make while fighting are pretty weird-looking but at the same time, hilarious. The soundtrack keeps up with the energy of the show and I liked the first opening sequence. Also, the energetic openings are complimented by the subtle endings. The show really made me laugh hard at times, so even if you don't like the romance, I am sure this will leave you laughing your ass off.
Unlike your usual boy meets girl, they both fall madly in love, there is a confession, the end ; its a nice chase here which doesn't end at the first confession as the girl gets rejected at first (it happens early on) but she doesn't give up till the end as there is little to no romantic response from the guy most of the time (he is THAT dense). Hell, the guy thought she was joking when she confessed the first time. This dense character of his really annoyed me at times and I wanted to punch him in the face. But all is forgotten when the story concludes itself as there isn't a sudden realisation of the love but it grows nice and slow.
All in all, this was a one of a kind love comedy show and I had a good time laughing my ass off at the comedy scenes all the while enjoying some cute moments as Risa tries to woo Otani. The show does not go deep into the "feels" side and I like that they kept it that way.
It left its own little print in my heart.
Enjoy!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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