- Last OnlineNov 4, 2021 11:24 AM
- JoinedNov 20, 2011
No friend yet.
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Apr 10, 2019
While I'm not too familiar with previous Ultraman shows and content, the opening chapter of this show grabbed my attention with an interesting setup and style that managed to make up for the bland presentation. But as the show went on, the focus shifted on to the actual main character and things started to fall apart.
Story:
Fairly standard and about what you expect based on the setup. For a show like this it doesn't necessarily need to be much better.... provided the other elements are good which, sadly, isn't the case.
Art:
As some previous Netflix shows, this is basically entirely made using dated looking,
...
low framerate CGI. Several of the fights are well choreographed but that's not enough to overcome the fact this looks like a cutscene out of a videogame from several console generations ago. The abundance of aliasing (or jagged edges) in a lot of scenes is also extremely distracting.
Character:
This is where in my opinion the show falls apart. A lot of the focus is put on 2 characters (the usual male and female leads) who more than uninteresting are quite frankly unlikeable. There's one or two good ideas here in terms of their internal struggles, but they are executed so poorly that they come across as whiny and unreasonable.
The side cast at least is more interesting but ultimately feels wasted as it makes you wonder why we don't spend more time with these characters instead of the annoyingly generic and trope ridden protagonist
Overall:
I can't say I enjoyed watching this. Looking at the decent reception I kept watching in the hopes it would get better but for the most part it just got worse.
It's an ugly looking and unremarkable show that would have probably been straight up irrelevant if it wasn't for the Ultraman brand
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Apr 22, 2016
After hearing a ton of positive comments about this, it quickly went to the top of my watch list. Having now just finished the last episode I'm having some mixed feelings about the show.
At its core, Erased combines elements of time travel with a murder mystery to tell its story. And with an effective use of cliffhanger endings it ensures the viewer is allways kept eager to see the next chapter. Sadly, I found the time traver aspect of this tale to be way more compelling than the actual murder mystery, which results in a world and setting that I loved but a story
...
that I think could have been done better.
But let's start on a positive note. I loved the concept of the main characters mind going back in time to his child self. While not the main focus of the story, the show often reflects on your life as a kid from the point of view of an adult with the main character noticing things you often didn't think about as a kid, like how much our parents worked for us or how there probably was a reason why the lonely and quiet kid in your class was like that.
I didn't grow up in japan but some scenes combined with the great visual style of this show really gave me a feeling of nostalgia in a way that not many shows have.
But dissapointingly, the element that's supposed to glue all these aspects together and turn a setting into a story: The murder mystery, is utterly dissapointing.
The core element of any murder mystery is, well.... the mystery, and that's where Erased fails. The identity of the murderer is pretty obvious from very early on, and the writers never add anything to make you doubt yourself.
The problems begin before the big time jump even happens, by showing too much of the killer. While he isn't shown fully revealed, we end up seeing too much of a character that should have been little more than a figure in the shadows. Before we are even presented with the suspects we already know enough of how the killer looks to discard most of them. I don't want to try to sound clever, but as soon as the killer first appeared on screen in the past, I was already thinking "boy, he sure resembles the killer from the present day segments". At first I though it might be intentional: They give you a character designed for you to suspect him only to throw you a curved ball a few episodes later to shatter your theory... but that curved ball never comes.
Still, the animation and overall presentation are solid, I liked the characters and as already said I think some of the secondary elements of the story are really strong. It's an enjoyable show and at 12 episodes it won't take too much of your time. But if you are looking for a mystery, chances are the average detective conan episode will have you more covered than this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 14, 2014
Ajis is a rather new, and lesser known, manga that offers a good story, interesting characters and solid art.
As some other recent mangas, like Shingeki No Kyojin, it does have an overall "shounen" feeling to it but introducing elements of seinen like and increased use of gore and violence, antagonistic figures that go beyond "I want to rule the world because I am evil" and a reduced focus on the frequently used "friendship is power" theme.
Story:
As the preview on the site indicates, Ajin is about people that can't die.
They look and act like normal humans, and most of them don't even realize they are "ajins"
...
until the moment "die" for the first time.
So far, the main focus of the story has been to show that immortality in this case is not a blessing but rather a curse. Most people don't consider "ajins" to be human, they don't have human rights and as soon as one is found goverments from all around the world will hunt them down to capture them and use them as test subjects. As test subject they are victims of brutal experiments and constant torture, a fate that as immortal beings is almost worse than death.
While it's a nice take on immortality I honestly feel this more of a "pessimistic look" on not being able to die rather than a "realistic" look at the issue.
The story shows that before finding out about their power most ajin act as normal humans, they are born, have families, friends and a normal life, it's even said that most of them are not even violent or dangerous even after finding out they are Ajin. Yet we are supposed to believe that no one really feels bad about them and all agree that they are not humans and shouldn't be treated as one. At one point it's even shown that something like 0.0001% of the japanese population seem to be "ajin supporters".
Art:
The art is actually quite good. The overall quality of characters and backgrounds is great and the actions scenes in particular are drawn with a good ammount of detail.
Characters:
The main character feels rather generic but the supporting cast is interesting. The manga is still in early stages so it's hard to talk about character development, but the world is filled with interesting characters of various or unclear motivations that seem to fall on a moral grey zone.
Enjoyment
So far it has been a blast. The story is fun and combines mystery, action and a touch of drama in a world filled with interesting characters. I hardly could finish one chapter without having to start the next one right away
Overall 8/10.
This is showing great promise. like other recent titles it finds a good balance between supernatural, action, drama and mystery all while being presented with a tone that feels a bit more serious and mature than your average shonen manga.
The concept of immortality being a curse is not exactly new and there a few elements I think are not very consisten about the world and how people react to "Ajins". But nothing bad enough to keep me from recommending this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 2, 2013
Code Breaker is a very typical if not just generic shonen anime following the story of Code:Breakers, people with special powers that are used by the goverment to kill criminals that for one reason or the other are untouchable by regular authorities
Story:
The story stars off a bit slow but sets some good foundations of the world the story takes place in, and who the Code:Breakers are. Sadly there are a bit too many filler scenes (and chapters) that would be expected from a Anime that will have 50+ chapter, but with only 13 Code:Breaker is on the short side and spends too much time developing
...
characters and locations (like the highschool) that end up having no relevance to the main story.
As for the rest, it's fairly entertaining and does pick up towards the end but never really leaves the generic side of anime story or setting.
Also be warned that it's open ended with a clear indication to a sequel, but I guess that will depend on how popular it is and how well it is recieved.
Art:
The art and animation are quite average for a weekly Anime. Not look too bad but nothing stands out and some of the CGI effects used on some powers look a bit cheap and ugly. The animation is fine for the most part although some fights feel a bit underwhelming.
Sound:
Nothing to complain here. The OST does not stand out but fits good enough with the mood and style of Code Breaker and personally I found the voice acting solid.
Character:
My biggest complain with Code Breaker is in this area as I really found the mian female character to be really, really annoying. She seems to have little relevance to the story, has absolutely no evolution and for the most part seems to be there only annoy the viewers.
Because of some traumatic event in her past (which is never revealed ,BTW) she seems to be obssesed with protecting people and not letting anyone get hurt... and in a story about people with powers that KILL criminals this is a bad thing as we have to hear her screen and complain about this every single episode. What is worse is that the story makes a good point as to why this criminals have to die, the story makes focus on explaining that they can't be arrested or captured by regular authorities and it also shows them off as evil, sadistic people that deserve to die... yet many of the chapters are filled by scenes of the "heroine" talking to Ogami, the main character, about how he can't kill people and how it's wrong. And yeah, it also doesen't help that half here lines in the 13 episodes are repedely screaming Ogami's Name (and I really whish I would be exagerating... but I'm not).
Enjoyment:
Even with all generic story and annoying characer, I have to say that it's still fairly entertaining show.... just aproach it as something to sit back and relax for 20 minutes.
OVerall Score 6
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 21, 2012
I won't waste time reviewing Dragonball because it think that by now most people know it and already have their own opinion about it.
I'll just focus on Kai and the changes it has
Story 10/10.
Ok, so the story in dragonball has never been really complex or deep, but it's still fun to watch.
In my opinion, the biggest improovement Kai has over DBZ is that all the anoying fillers are gone and now the story goes, mostly, acording to the manga. No more eternal power charging, no more eternal "he is so strong" internal monologues a no more feeling that nothing really happened in the last 10
...
chapters. Yeah there are some fun filler missing, like when goku and picolo go to the driving school, but in the end what is gained with the exclusion of the filler is far more than what is lost.
I've read here that the story got cut out, that's not true, they just cut out all the filler that made the original Dragonball anime a pain to whatch for the poeple that have read the original manga.
Art 5/10.
The art in dragonball has allways been decent considering the times when it was released. But just as the new opening makes you believe at first, this could have been a real remake but the only thing we get here are the exact same animation but on a higher resolution, that's all.
Sound 9/10.
The audio has been remade and sounds great. After finishing KAI I watched some episodes of the original anime and the difference was clear.
I also liked some of the aditions to the soundtrack, though not all of them.
Enjoyment 10/10.
At least to this date, this is the best way to watch dragonball.
If you are a newcomer to the world of dragonball you will be able to see the story and fights just as Toriyama made them in the original manga.
If you already saw the original anime or manga you will be able to go throught this all time classic once again without having to be tortured by the neverending fillers.
Overall 8/10.
It's good, but it could have been so much more.
I really would have loved to see a real remake with the kind of animation that we get in the opening of kai.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 5, 2012
This will be a review about the whole 6 OVAS.
Story 7/10
Once again we are faced with a somewhat generic Story. In a world where everyone is able to control quartz (and they call it magic) there is a boy who was born without this ability, yet he comes across a special kind of golem (the mechas of this world) which only he can controll and will soon be a key piece in a war between two nations.
Despite beeing quite generic I found the story to be entretaining and at the end of every OVA I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen in
...
the next one.
I'd recomment aproaching this as a "watch for fun" kind of story rather than something that will blow you away.
Art 9/10
Not bad though as far as characters design goes they are also on the generic side. I liked the design for the golems and also the kind of wepons they used, they seemed to stay true to their name (Golems) rather than just beeing another bunch of generic mechas.
The animation is fluid and looks great in HD, the battle scenes are frequent and exciting..
Sound 10/10
Great voice acting and an outstanding sountrack that uses some great original scores and also some great licensed scores.
Characters 6/10.
With a generic story it was obvious there would also be some generic characters. The easy life boy who comes into war but tries not to kill anyone at first until he is forced to do so to protect his life, the childhood friends who years later find themselves on oposite armies during the war, the cold and calculating bad guy, etc. They are all to be found here, yet they still manage to be likable.
The only thing that really bothered me is the fact that some characters seem to get a lot of focus on the first 2 chapters but then are completely forgotten for the rest of the OVAS.
Enjoyment 9/10
It may be a somewhat generic story with a bunch of somewhat generic characters, but it's still a very enjoyable OVA copilation.
The fighting scenes are great and really well animated and there seems to be a good balance between Story and Action yet the focus remains on the action. By the end of each OVA you don't really care if the story is generic but you are rather excited to see the next one.
Overall 8/10
It's not a masterpiece, but I think it was well worth my time. The final OVA was a bit underwhelming with too much of the story left unexplained and a feeling that the overall story was far from over (which makes sanse if you consider the manga this is based on is still not finished) and the final battle could have been a bit more epic and it just didn't feel as good as some of the other battles.
Still, this are some really great OVAS I found by chance and I find them to be great for anyone looking for som fun and well animation mecha show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Nov 20, 2011
First of all sorry for the bad english. Anyway.
After watching 7 episodes I can firmly say thay I'm really enjoying it. The story and characters are not the most original ones there is more than one elements of guitly crown you have already seen a 100 times in other anime shows, but it manages to get a unique personality and it constantly has me waiting for the next episode:
Story 8/10
The story is nod bad, most chapters have a good mix of action and story/character development and it also manges to bring some great epic moments filled with tension. It's not perfect though, the setting is
...
one we have seen countless times and so are most characters, specially the main character which is quite predictable and quite generic (the tipical high school guy who joins some conflic and isn't sure if he is doing the right thing and doesen't want anyone to get hurt and all that).
Still the plot is interesting and it onlys get better with each episode so even though we have seen a lot of other shows that are like this one it still manages to feel new.
Art 10/10.
For a weekly show (and not a movie or OVA) the animation is outstanding, it's one of those shows that are great to see in HD. Everything looks sharp, the animations is well donde and the action is also well animated.
Sound 10/10.
Good voice acting and a great soundtrack that fits every moment perfectly
Character 7/10
As I have already said, most of the characters are quite generic and we have seen them countless times. Still most of them are not unidimensional like in other similar plots and there seems to be a good development.
Enjoyment: 9/10
It started off a bit weak, but it has rapidly become one of my favorite weekly shows. The mix of story and action make it so that most (recent) chapters never feel slow and it also hasn't had any filler chapters, no to mention they allways manage to end each chapter in a way that leaves you waiting for the next one
Overall 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
