Review: Lovely Complex (TV)

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 24
Vintage: 2007-04-07 to 2007-09-29
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of life
Animation Production: Toei Animation

Source: Anime News Network

Kansai-ben. Good old kansai-ben. The inherently funny dialect that some of the funniest human beings on Earth speak. I’d love to end my review here, but then you wouldn’t really know why I think Lovely Complex is good enough to be on your watchlist.

Lovely Complex tells the story of Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi, both freshmen at Maido High School. There’s nothing out of the ordinary between these students other than the fact that Koizumi Risa happens to be 170cm tall, and therefore she’s taller than most guys. Ootani Atsushi, on the other hand is only 156cm tall, so he’s about the same height as most girls. They each have a “complex” about their height and it’ll cause problems for both of them as you can surely expect.

A new school year begins for Koizumi so she is all fired up hoping to find a boyfriend. As is typical of this type of shoujo, girl’s are depressed when they’re single and begin high school so they desperately seek companionship. This is precisely when she ends up confronting her seemingly destined rival at life, Ootani. They constantly fight and bicker and never fail to mention things that usually lead to jabs at their difference in height. You won’t exactly know why they fight so much intially, it just happens. However, Otani sees an opportunity to use his “enemy” Koizumi to his own benefit, while at the same time letting Koizumi have her way with perk for herself. You wouldn’t expect this kind of truce in the middle of a battlefield at school, but when there’s something to gain, I suppose it’s worth it. Things quickly backfire on them both (don’t they always?) and they’re back to square one, each being single. Yet again, as fate would seem, they both have very aggressive and competitive personalities so, crazily enough, they decide to make a competition to see who gets a girlfriend/boyfriend first.

The fun starts when Koizumi and Ootani become closer “friends” than they think while everyone else around them perceive them as a couple. They are constantly together or thinking about bumping into each other, and are commonly referred to as the All Hanshin Kyojin comedy duo. Their hobbies are all too similar, they like the same food, heck they even like the same music by Umibouzu, a rapper in the anime. Things are a little too perfect when they’re together even though they actively deny any affection towards each other because of their height.

If there’s a shoujo cliché you can think of, it’s in here in some form. That said, it doesn’t detract from the show since the delivery is spot on every time taking into account it’s little bits of originality with the comedy. It’s one thing to follow a story about a couple falling in love, but another to follow an incredibly unorthodox couple that just somehow seems so right for each other, are funny as hell together, but just can’t shake the embarrassment of being seen together!
If you’re like me and can’t get enough kansai-ben these days and need a good laugh and a bit of joy, you need to add this to your list of shows to watch! You’ll definitely be laughing throughout the entire thing, and the classic happy ending is a well done payoff to remember. If you’re a fan of shoujo you should definitely try this one out. It’s a refreshing new twist on high school love comedy with 100% concentrated fun. Say it with me! Nande ya nen?!

Review: Ouran Koukou Host Club (TV)

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 2006-04-04 to 2006-09-26
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Animation Production: BONES

Source: Anime News Network

Ouran Koukou Host Club is one peculiar shoujo to say the least. A fair warning should be said about this show though, which is, it’s a real shoujo. Hardly any aspect of this show can overlap with any other tastes, so unless you’re prepared to be wrapped in male eye candy with some comedy romance drama, you should rethink your decision to watch this show.

Now with that out of the way, Ouran Koukou Host Club tells the story of a first year student named Fujioka Haruhi at the Ouran Academy for the rich and the elite. This student is quiet and very reserved, in part because this person does not have any affluent characteristics at all. As such, this student is known as the special scholarship student that got into this super-rich school entirely on academic strengths and no other merits.

On a regular day in high school, the student in question tries to find a quiet place to study and strolls into a music room that doesn’t seem to be in use. Much to this student’s surprise, the music room hides the presence of a peculiar group of people — the Ouran Koukou Host Club. These people did not quite expect to see Haruhi walk into their lair so nonchalantly. Just like every good story, Haruhi ends up in a bind and is “trapped” (yes, I meant it) in the world of the Ouran Koukou Host Club to pay off a debt of several million yen for a tiny accident in the music room.

Because Haruhi can’t even afford the school uniform’s exuberant price, the little accident in the music room is no joke. The payment for the trouble caused ends up being Haruhi’s torment of having to form part of the Ouran Koukou Host Club. Haruhi’s duties start out as lowly errands, but soon “he”… or should I say “she”… becomes a real host. I’ll let you find out about this legendary trap’s real story on your own.

The Host Club is simply a group of guys that for an hour or two a day, dedicate their after school time to entertaining women with their innermost desires. They’re also some of the most powerful sons of the super rich socioeconomic world, and as such they are both rich and handsome. They speak directly to the hearts of women with soft and enchanting words. They whisper delicately into their ears and wash away their qualms and take them away to their dreamlands. In other words, the Host Club is a club these guys made for women to come by, drink tea, and marvel at them. Add a ton of “moe” fetishes that they play out to further reach these young maiden’s hearts -and- pockets, and you have the Host Club. Give or take a few details of course, that you’ll have to find out on your own if you’re interested.

The Host Club itself is fairly complete, although, once again, it’s not necessary to “get” all the little details. What I’m referring to is the nuances of shoujo and female oriented manga that tends to go to “other” extremes you wouldn’t understand if you’re used to shounen stuff. I’m not going to try to sound like an expert, because I’m far from one, but if you know the difference between an uke and a seme, you’ll probably find this show more refreshing than most from your “usual” material.

Even if you’re not into the homoerotic gags early on, the show will stem away from most of that later and can be tolerable for those of us that don’t really like that kind of stuff. In the end, I stuck with the show because it was incredibly funny almost consistently. There’s tons of comedy acts and the mix of characters seem to pull it off well. They break the 4th wall from time to time by making fun of us commoners a lot. Rich school anime is never complete without pauper life being subject to ridicule for the littlest of things, and it’s pretty good throughout. There’s also some banana slips… maybe a little too many banana slips!

The show makes fun of, but also makes use of a lot of moe fetishes too. It’s good that you don’t have to be into the moe to enjoy the scenes, since after some long winded explanation, some other character will break the ice and bring the show back to its goofy self.

The ending is quite nice, although it’s of the fairly generic -yet- expected happy kind. If you’re feeling experimental, or just want to get to know the cutest reverse trap in the history of anime, I wholeheartedly recommend Ouran Koukou Host Club. It can’t get much more shoujo and funny than this. The few heartwarming scenes can’t be ignored either, especially in the presence of one fine trap!

Review: Nodame Cantabile (TV)

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 23
Vintage: 2007-01-11 to 2007-06-28
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Animation Production: J.C. Staff
Music: Nodame Orchestra
Music Collaboration: EPIC Record Japan
Music Production: Fuji Pacific Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment

Source: Anime News Network

Close your eyes for a moment. Picture yourself in an auditorim. Listen to the void of the hall as it prepares to engulf you with the waves of aural enchantment. As it begins, you are instantly drawn in. The first note is enough, as you resonate strongly with the bold introduction. The intensity binds you with a chord and hits you repeatedly. Then it continues on to a strong -yet- delicate heart-piercing arpeggio. The force is enveloped by the emerging sound of the orchestra. How strangely, through the hollows, glows this piano introduction like a dull red morning light! Into the deepest gorge it flows, scenting abysses in their night. There vapor rises: here the orchestra sweeps, now like a fragile thread it creeps, now like a colored fountain it plays. Here the vast length of a piano passage winds its way, in a hundred veins, down the vales, and all at once, it swept you away to a golden world!

Nodame Cantabile is just like the first paragraph of this review, hard to picture but a beautiful experience. There’s many layers of intriguing things to find in this unconventional yet amazing shoujo. Nodame Cantabile is strictly a show about classical music and how a very special group of people end up living and experiencing it in ways that many of us may never have the opportunity to do so. If you’re put off by classical music, don’t worry. I was put off at the beginning and now I’m a fan of Rachmaninov!

Nodame Cantabile is a true shoujo at heart, and the main female character is named Noda Megumi. Noda Megumi likes to be called Nodame for short for some reason, hence the name of the show. She’s a piano major at a conservatory in Tokyo called Momogaoka College of Music. Together in the lime light with Nodame is Chiaki Shinichi. He’s the perfectionist number one piano major at the same conservatory where Nodame studies. He is not only gifted with musical talent, he is also gifted (or cursed, however you look at it) with looks that make all the ladies fall for him.

Although the show is called Nodame Cantabile, much of the focus is on Chiaki and his turmoils towards success. This makes sense in a shoujo, since his appearance, skills, and personality is the eye candy. Nodame does get developed a bit later on, but it was a little surprising how quickly Nodame’s spotlight disappeared in the beginning. She’s always a part of the show in some form or another, so my comments about her participation might be a bit moot.

As for the premise, it’s fairly simple. Chiaki, being a son of a famous pianist, was able to travel to Europe as a child and experience some of the world’s greatest musical performers on stage. He was smitten since then and he vowed to return to Europe one day to become Vierra-sensei’s student and become a conductor like him. He played the piano and violin early on as a child, and wished to hone his skills and become a conductor proficient in piano, that can also play the violin! The problem is that Chiaki soon developed a fear of flying -and- a fear of sailing ever since two seemingly cursed events formed his paranoias. He’s now a grown man, yet he’s emotionally trapped in Japan and cannot reach the outside world to fulfill his childhood dream.

As his world continues to fall apart to the point where he even considers quitting music and just getting a typical salaryman job, he meets up with the strangest girl on the planet — Noda Megumi. Noda Megumi, Nodame for short, is just weird. I won’t list her peculiarities, since it’s part of her charm, but for now just picture the the weirdest girl you know. Now take that image and multiply it by 100, that’s Nodame.

As strange as she is, Nodame was able to get Chiaki back into caring about music and working towards his goals without depending on studying overseas. A bit of luck and help from the outside brings Nodame, Chiaki, and a ton of hard-working students at the Momogaoka College of Music in contact with a very special foreigner. As you can expect, it boils down to Chiaki not being able to go see the world, so with the help of Nodame and a little luck, he brought the world to him. There’s plenty more to discover in Nodame Cantabile, especially since the story takes on a new direction after one of the best high points in the story. Chiaki’s goals take on a new direction, and Nodame takes the talent that Chiaki saw in her and puts them to the test. All of this unfolds in interesting ways all the way till the end.

Nodame Cantabile is exceptionally funny along the way, yet it takes pauses to exemplify the rich serious tone when it needs to. There are a few high points in this show that are just beautiful, and although it’s always a known classical piece, for me it was always a scene of musical discovery and appreciation for yet another work of art so pure that I never took the time to appreciate. You will be tempted to watch the high points of the show at least more than once, given how much of an impact they create. Very few shows can make me want to watch them over and over, but this one did.

The end of Nodame Cantabile is an open ending that won’t exactly compare to the shows other high points, but it does deliver a solid reaffirmation of closure and new beginnings for all of the characters. The unsolved mysteries are pointed out in manga-style shorts that are both informational, witty, and out-right funny. This show won’t make you do anything drastic like get your friends to play instruments so you can conduct an orchestra, or make you change your major to piano, but it will open your eyes to some really beautiful music if you make the effort to appreciate it.

Hidden within the magic of music is a very comical romance story that will definitely hold your interest. It’s amazing how well things are so obvious to some characters, while others remain completely oblivious — or at least want to be. The way things unfold bit by bit until the end will at least give you a few laughs in between the music and the rest of the insanely good gags.

If you need any more convincing, piano, violin, oboe, cello, -heck- an entire orchestra is to Nodame Cantabile as guitar is to BECK. Maybe rock music as a whole to NANA. You can even throw in Hirano Aya’s performance in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu if you want to stretch it a bit. If you were swayed by fictional character performances in these anime shows, Nodame Cantabile is yet another experience you shouldn’t miss. The bond between the viewer, the characters as performers, and the music has only been achieved at this level in very few instances like these.

Review: Initial D: First Stage (TV)

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 1998-04-18 to 1998-11-28
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shounen, Slice of Life, Sports (Auto Racing)
Animation Production: Studio Gallop

Source: Anime News Network

I’ll be honest right from the outset. Initial D is praised by a lot of people for being a very good anime. That is far from the truth when you consider the major shortcomings that plague Initial D’s storyline. However, even with the terrible story Initial D is the anime that made cars and drifting cool.

The animation in Initial D is mostly cheap 3D car renders that don’t look that great, even for the time when the show first aired. The character designs are terrible, especially what are supposed to be women, which look ugly as hell. The “slice of life” in between the main attraction, the racing, is stale and forgettable. There’s some things to learn about the characters, but it’s all just fluff and not necessarily all that meaningful.

So if Initial D is so terrible why do so many people like it? Well, even though it does a lot of things very poorly it does one thing so well that you tend forgive the shortcomings of everything else while expecting to see some of the best drift racing anime can offer.

Initial D is all about car racing. Not only that, Initial D’s races have an effect on people, whether you’re a car buff or not. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening while the cars are being driven, but of course the animators make it all look so simple. Using heel-toe and clutch throws, changing gears at the precise moment, and steering and counter–steering in and out of corners performing the best high-speed drifts can be really very fun to watch. It’s very much about the skill of the driver and not about how flashy the ricer looks. Drifting is a lot more than showing off a car take on a corner with style, it can truly allow for a fluid high-speed motion through a corner that a grip technique would not be able to catch up with, especially on a downhill race.

In addition to all of the over-the-top drift action, Initial D has yet another layer of immersion — the soundtrack. As stupid as it sounds, cars and the super crazy EUROBEAT genre are the ingredients for making one of the most exciting racing anime you’ll ever see. Even if you’re not into the genre of music, the way the action and the songs are choreographed together alongside the sound effects of skidding tires and roaring engines really gets your heart pumping. By the end of the show you will probably want to start a EUROBEAT collection for your own driving. It’s great concentration music for racing games too.

It’s amazing how this simple mix can produce so many goosebumps and make you restless at every corner. The commentary during the races helps a lot too since it’s always over-the-top and over exaggerated but it flows well and builds anticipation for the next feat. A race that is supposed to last a few minutes may drag on for two or three episodes, but you’re not bored as long as they keep throwing new music and build the tension.

So while the characters unnaturally speak to each other to explain technical details about a race in a way that makes them seem overly condescending, when they do it in the middle of a race with the formula in place for high tension, you’ll get pulled in no matter how corny it is.

When you’re done with Initial D, you’re done with the races pretty much. You won’t remember who or what really happened, heck you may not remember any character’s name, but you sure as hell will remember drifting and EUROBEAT. Initial D’s story is forgettable, but the racing is down right a classic. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone who’s seen Initial D is suddenly a better driver too — or not.

“No one sleep in Tokyo,” “Tokyo is on fire!” “Running in the 90’s,” “Night of Fire,” are just a few of the lines you may get stuck in your head after watching this show. Even if it can be considered a very long music video, this anime delivers all kinds of exciting moments when at the top of its game.

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Ending:

Review: Great Teacher Onizuka (TV)

Running time: 27 minutes
Number of episodes: 43
Vintage: 1999-06-30 to 2000-09-24
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shounen, Slice of Life
Production: Studio Pierrot, SPE Visual

Source: Anime News Network

Teaching can be a lot more work than just rattling on and causing a room full of 40 people to fall asleep, but only if you make it so. You don’t necessarily need to sugarcoat the description and portray it as a sacred profession, but there’s definitely many ways of interpreting it. However, when you strip away all of the fancy words, it’s still a nine to five job (or rather seven to four) with the added benefit of long paid vacations.

Great Teacher Onizuka is the very manifestation of a special kind of teacher, one that understands the passion in a different way and believes in bonds with the students exemplifying the teacher-student boundaries of respect and mutual need. It’s less about the separation between figures such as a master and his pupils, but instead the relationship between person to person in a given classroom. The classroom is a unit, the teacher is a unit, and together they are yet another unit. There’s certain unwritten rules that keep the two together but also keep them apart. Onizuka basically takes everything that’s important about “street smarts” and puts it in the classroom. The classroom flourishes thanks to his interpretation of what it is to be a teacher that goes beyond a perfect cookie-cutter role model and more like a simple-minded human being susceptible to mistakes just like any other person is.

The first episode is very good at putting you right into the action, which is strange when you consider this is supposed to be about a school teacher. The first few scenes summarize the main character, Onizuka Eikichi, in two very different acts. First one shows his abhorrent perversion for high school girls, as seen when he’s looking up a few girls’ skirts and the other is his badass strength and violent character when he kicks the shit out of two guys that tried to rob him. Then it just hits you, this very person you see doing these lewd and cruel acts is aiming to become the greatest teacher in Japan.

Skipping over the nonsense, you learn right away that Onizuka is finally a student-teacher filling in a temporary position at a private school. He’s assigned a problematic classroom that is full of “low lives,” that make it difficult to teach. Onizuka’s first attempt at taming the class backfired because he’s split between his duty and responsibility as a teacher and his inner rage wanting to kick some disobedient student ass. The classroom turns on him when a group of students and a seemingly innocent high school girl frame him into doing something a teacher should never do. Onizuka just loses his temper and makes their nightmares come true using his background as a gangster. As miraculously as it seems, the students that were once riled up and disobedient became docile and hardworking, contrary to what Onizuka thought would happen.

A special case develops involving the girl that was part of the original set up to force Onizuka to quit his job. Onizuka learns of what’s been bothering her at home and he uses what he knows best to solve the problem. At the end of the short period Onizuka spends at the school as a student-teacher he befriends the most problematic classroom that sees him off in tears, and the girl that he helped offers something special to Onizuka which he correctly describes as “Great!’

The real deal starts after the introductory episode, because as easy as it was for Onizuka to tame a classroom full of dimwit punks and wannabe gangsters, Onizuka faces yet another problematic classroom that has caused all kinds of traumatic experiences for every teacher that has attempted to teach there. The striking difference is that class 3-4 is full of genius scheming middle school students.

You don’t really expect a teacher that can bench-press 150Kg (330lb) to be all that great at teaching social studies, much less able to outwit a classroom full of really smart kids that can do a lot of harm. It may have worked the first time because he fought fire with fire, but now he’s faced with a silent enemy. However, in Onizuka’s crazy and roundabout way he makes them little by little into his friends. The rest of the characters get taken in by Onizuka’s pace and it’ll soon turn into less of a war against the teacher and more about “what stupid shit is Onizuka gonna do today?” As the show progresses characters will change and new characters will be added in to tally up a considerable roster of main characters. It can feel a little predictable as characters “turn over to the dark side,” but there’s always a twist involved that fluffs the experience and makes it worthwhile.

To be honest the show’s main plot isn’t that magnificent but there is a lot to appreciate. Most story bits will reset themselves after being told, making the show less gritty and much more laid back. The way the show is designed I don’t really see it as a bad thing since there’s not much to dwell on once it’s fixed. Basically this means that every episode is self-contained and what may have been the focus point of one episode doesn’t necessarily carry on in the next episode. Some of the situations that are put together are pretty good, others are much less believable, and others are just way out there, but in general the story delivers. GTO is remembered by most of its fans as a very good experience and it certainly was good for its time. I’d honestly say it has legs making it worthwhile to watch by those who missed out.

On the down side, the end of the show happens too quickly and doesn’t really reach any kind of conclusion, thus breaking the overall experience. The anime is supposed to have covered up to volume 14 of the manga, with its own added twists and variations to separate it from the source material. Although GTO is a great show to watch, the end is so lacking that anyone that is truly enamored with the characters and wants a real ending would need to continue reading the manga from volume 15 onwards. Conversely, you might consider starting over from the beginning of the manga and re-digest it all. For some this is fine, but I’m a firm believer in a solid ending for an anime and GTO unfortunately does not have one.

As always with the big successes, even with the rushed ending GTO was popular at the time it came out for many good reasons that I am still able to pick up on and enjoy. There’s very good reasons to be a GTO fan indeed. It’s not going to change your views on teachers or education as a whole, but it’s offbeat enough to carry you through a good deal of crazy school drama coupled with some laughs and smiles all the way through.

Props go to all my previous and future teachers and professors; a few of you did and still do care about more than one’s classroom performance.

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Ending:

Review: Eureka SeveN (TV)

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 50
Vintage: 2005-04-17 to 2006-04-02
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Romance, Science Fiction, Shounen
Animation Production: BONES
Production: Bandai Entertainment, MBS, Project Eureka

Source: Anime News Network

“Don’t ask for it; go win it on your own. Do that and you’ll succeed.” Truer words were never spoken by characters in this anime that reflect the real reception that Eureka SeveN has garnered. As many of you know, Neon Genesis Evangelion has become a staple in mecha anime and is largely acclaimed for its influence and success in the anime industry. Eureka SeveN, on the other hand, may be one the more recent mecha anime to cultivate and evolve beyond the Evangelion formula allowing it to present us a very special blend of mecha storytelling.

The story begins when the main character, Renton Thurston, a 14 year old kid, is stuck in a fairly boring and crappy town. His father was a hero that conducted advanced scientific research but he died in a strange event that changed the world. Consequently, his sister went on a journey because of what happened to their father and Renton hasn’t seen her since. Thus, for a very long time Renton has been stuck in Bellforest with his grandfather, Axel Thurston, who’s a top notch mechanic. Renton spends his time trying to learn to ride trapar waves with his ref board, a sport that became popular due to the changes the world endured after what Renton’s father helped create. He also idolizes Holland, a so-called genius at ref boarding who’s also in charge of ‘Gekko State,’ a rebel group that is against the military. Renton and the rest of fans get their information by reading, Ray=Out, a magazine that anonymously publishes the things that Holland and his ‘Gekko State’ accomplish.

Soon enough circumstances will take Renton out of Bellforest and onto a journey that will not only change his life but the rest of the world too. One day he meets a very special girl named Eureka who’s a member of Gekko State. As the story unfolds Eureka and Renton will grow and become entangled in a series of events that lead to the very end where their choices are what will make or break the very existence of humanity. Eureka and Renton eventually develop a mutual need for each other and that goes beyond any responsibility to the rest of the world. They bond on many levels emotionally and try their hardest to close the gap that keeps them apart in an effort to fulfill not only their desires, but the desires of the entire planet.

The comparison to Evangelion isn’t necessarily a comparison on a structural level of its narrative, but rather the breath and scope of the storytelling. Eureka SeveN actually leaves behind the mecha to a secondary position and focuses more on the characters in a way that’s easy to understand. The mecha are only a means to an end, but the people are the reason behind that end. There’s plenty of abstract scenes with confusing interpretations, but unlike Evangelion you can understand what’s going on without getting a headache. At its core it’s still about kids finding their way into the cockpit of a giant mecha, but the way the rest is told and constructed is refreshingly different and simpler in comparison to Evangelion.

Eureka SeveN is riddled with all kinds of inspiration from sea life and part of that makes the show special. Rather than mush together a bunch of similes, the inspiration goes a step further and integrates into the overall presentation and story. Trapar waves, ref boarding, sky fish, and more. These things may be foreign to you, but once you watch the show and understand their meaning you’ll soon understand that Eureka SeveN mimics a vast ocean in the air and goes even further in the second half of the story.

The length of an anime can really hurt it if there is not a balance between the episodes and the amount of plot. Thankfully, Eureka SeveN is not too long and not too short either. The first season takes a plot device and expands it until an end is reached, or rather, a change that begins the next season which expands even further and develops a new angle from which to view and understand Eureka SeveN. This means the characters will change and grow on the show revealing more about themselves and tearing apart the veil of mystery in the beginning all the way until the loose but effective end.

The end of Eureka SeveN is subtle but complete in its own way. Hopefully there’s something in the works to flesh out the ending, but what was used is effective. In contrast to Evangelion, the end will not make your head hurt since it’s a little more explicit about what is going on and how the characters feel. However, there’s no denying that for those of us that enjoyed Eureka SeveN until the end it would of been nice to have the show leave a bigger footprint in history rather than take it a little safe. Whether there’s an OAV, a movie, or even a sequel planned to expand the story, a fairly complete narrative was paved on a path towards a pleasant conclusion.

If there is an anime that can be compared on equal footing to Evangelion this is it. It’s longer and may drag on a few times, but in the end it can stand almost as empowering and compelling as Evangelion.

Review: Koi Kaze (TV)

Running time: 23 minutes
Number of episodes: 13
Vintage: 2004-04-01 to 2004-06-17
Age rating: Mature (May contain sex, drugs, and extreme graphic violence)
Genres: Drama, Psychological, Romance, Slice of Life
Animation Production: A.C.G.T.
Broadcaster: KIDS STATION, TV Asahi
Music Production: Lantis
Production: Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc., Geneon Entertainment, Inc., Rondo Robe, TV Asahi

Source: Anime News Network

Koi Kaze takes a journey into the mindset of two people very much in love but torn by the exterior pressures that they must face if their love should ever be the way they wish it to be. Before even trying to lay out the storyline, it’s important to warn you what you’re up against. Koi Kaze tells a gritty tale of two siblings who fall in love without knowing they were siblings when they meet several years after separating. They are then are smitten by the crime of forbidden love and work hard to suppress these feelings they have while trying to live a normal life together. I don’t necessarily condone incest in real life, but after witnessing the way things unfold in Koi Kaze as a fiction story, you can’t help but blind yourself to certain parts of this equation because of how true and meaningful the feelings these two people have towards each other are.

The main characters are Saeki Koushiro and Kohinata Nanoka. Koushiro is a 27 year old man that lives his life as a regular salaryman. He has never once in his life been truly affectionate about something or someone which has lead to his current slump. His girlfriend breaks up with him because she doesn’t feel like Koushiro really has feelings for her. Koushiro isn’t surprised by her actions because he himself doubts what he truly feels about her and lets her go easily.

One day on his way to work, Koushiro notices a cute 15 year old high school girl named Nanoka on the same train with him. The girl suddenly gets off the train once it reached a stop, but in the middle of pushing her way out she drops her I.D. card. Koushiro quickly fumbles through the chaos, picks it up, and gets off the train so that he can give it back. He calls out to her and she turns around to face him. In the midst of their confrontation sakura leaves blow right past them and in the few seconds it lasts they are in a profound sudden rush of emotion. They part ways with a smile once the good deed was done. As fate would have it, they meet again the next day when the same girl is passing by Koushro’s workplace by coincidence just as he’s about to leave. Koushiro received some tickets to an amusement park and he decides to give them to Nanoka. Nanoka happens to need to kill some time while waiting for someone so she decides to go with Koushiro. Thus, they end up taking a quick innocent date at the park. While they spend time at the park they slowly open up to each other and say the things that have been bothering them in their lives to cool off. The quality of the voice acting and the detail in the music helps transmit the emergent sensations that these two people feel and how they connect while being together at the park.

When the day is finally over and they are about to part their separate ways, a much older man yells at them from a distance. This man happens to be their father, Saeki Zensou. He’s happy that they are together and jokes around since he’s convinced they knew they were siblings and that’s how they ended up together. Obviously, Koushiro and Nanoka are really surprised by this and the path down a bumpy road begins from here.

Rather than focus only on the pure emotions these characters feel, the show instead takes a more direct path down the reality of two people in love. It’s not always about how they felt when they first met, or the beautiful things they may say, but the gritty truth that they just can’t be apart. In real life the layers of desire, emotion, and temptation all unfold in humanly ways, thus real life is not beautifully scripted like in a sugar coated fiction love story. In those stories characters say what they mean with certain levels of eloquence and confidence while also doing the right things that trigger the beauty of their profuse love; this doesn’t happen in Koi Kaze for the most part and instead we get to see a more rough yet truer transmission of feelings and emotion. The fact that people make mistakes and let their emotions get the best of them is not an understatement and it is well presented here.

While the show is very powerful and delivers an emotional drive of taboo love, once it ends it’s a little less explicit. I must say the end of Koi Kaze employs a level subtlety that’s very effective but may require re-watching to fully understand it. It won’t change your views on the subject matter at hand, but once you pick up on the details you’ll be able to piece it together and create your own conclusion. I really enjoyed Koi Kaze despite the shortcomings of assimilating a scenario of blood related siblings falling in love. The music and the voice acting helped elevate the delivery of quality on the whole package. If you can swallow the premise and accept the consequences, you will most likely enjoy Koi Kaze.

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Review: Bokura ga Ita (TV)

Running time: 26 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 2006-07-03
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Animation Production: Artland
Production: Marvelous Entertainment, Pony Canyon, Shogakukan Productions Co., Ltd.

Source: Anime News Network

For those of us that don’t really care we’ll get swept into the pace of any particularly good anime regardless of what type of audience it’s intended for. Bokura ga Ita, being an excellent shoujo anime, is a good example of this. The heartwarming love between a regular girl and a regular guy in high school can be as effective on guys as it is on girls. For this reason Bokura ga Ita becomes one of the better shoujo anime I’ve been able to like from start to finish.

One of the first things I need to mention about Bokura ga Ita is its animation, which frankly, is a disaster. The reason is simply because it hardly animates. In addition to that the art has a striking style that has that “love it or hate it” vibe. As the scenes unfold in video form, much of the intentions of the pages in the manga are retained. In other words, when you’re watching Bokura ga Ita it’s almost like flipping through volumes of manga with voice-overs, sound effects, and music instead of reading. To be honest I don’t have a problem with this because it’s still effective at what it wants to do most, but many people take lack of animation seriously. It can be a barrier when trying to get sucked in the show, but if you can look past it there’s lots to be enjoyed.

The story starts off with Nanami Takahashi who one day begins her first year of high school. She’s hopeful of a good thorough experience even though she’s completely new and has no friends yet. She successfully mingles with a few people and learns that a really popular guy is in her class. The guy is Yano Motoharu, known for his striking personality and his handsome features which turn him into a chick magnet. Little did Takahashi know that she would meet Motoharu for the first time in the hallway and know exactly who he was without him ever telling her his name.

Typical as it may be, as time goes by Takahashi is involved in things that put her in direct proximity to Motoharu constantly. Her strange ways of thinking and pursuing things has her thinking and obsessing over Motoharu until there’s finally a path paved for them to walk across together. Rather than cling to each other like everyday companions, Motoharu and Takashi take things a little more seriously and truly devote themselves in heart and soul to reach happiness together. However, as in most shoujo anime, there’s lots of cracks on their path they’ll constantly trip over. Motoharu himself carries with him a burden of overwhelming proportions that completely changed his life. Although he’s perceived as calm, cool, and collected in most other peoples’ eyes, he’s actually surrounded by guilt and sorrow of an event long ago. This eventually reaches Takahashi who, being the way she is, ends up creating a turmoil of mixed feelings that hinder progress of a beautiful relationship. It’s one of those “love hurts” situations caused by uncontrollable circumstances that become like unbreakable thorns in their feelings. As much as you’ll agree with one side, the other side has an equally compelling argument that throws you off balance. I certainly applaud the story because sometimes you can’t help but feel torn between what’s right and what’s wrong.

Although the story revolves around Takahashi and Motoharu, there’s plenty to go around. There’s also Yamamoto Yuri, an old acquaintance from Motoharu’s middle school who is in Takahashi and Motoharu’s class. Then there’s Motoharu’s best friend since 6th grade, Masafumi Takeuchi, whom also takes part in the story. Typical things will happen with this mix of characters if you want to take a few guesses, but as a shoujo drama it is to be expected. However, it’s the way things unfold that counts and I have no complaints as far as originality and execution are concerned. The love between the characters is genuine, an attribute I consider very important. There’s no doubt that these characters are in love and their feelings are communicated in happiness and in suffering.

The end of Bokura ga Ita is satisfactory in my view, but there’s no doubt that there could have been much much more. The good news is that the manga ends almost exactly the same as the anime, and there’s more story coming since the manga is still being serialized. If the manga continues to be as engrossing as it has been continuing 3 years after the end of Bokura ga Ita, I’d love a new anime season with a more fleshed out end. Since Bokura ga Ita is such a popular shoujo manga among girls in japan, I’d be willing to bet on the certainty that there is demand and interest to continue the TV series in the future. For those of you on the fence still, it’s great! Go watch it!

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Review: Berserk (TV)

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 25
Vintage: 1997-10-07 to 1998-03-31
Age rating: Mature (May contain sex, drugs, and extreme graphic violence)
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Shounen, Supernatural
Animation: Oriental Light and Magic
Broadcaster: NTV
Production: Oriental Light and Magic, VAP

Source: Anime News Network

Berserk has a fitting name because it has some crazy characters that just dedicate themselves to killing men in battle. The first episode starts off with a bad-ass swordsman who wields a giant sword. Things get out of control and before you know it you’ll be watching him take out enemies with superb skill. Once you get to the second episode everything changes drastically and you’ll be introduced to this man’s past life and how he got to where he was in the first episode. The show continues telling the past story up until the very end where the big twist is fleshed out.

The swordsman in question is Guts, a badass by nature with the skill and trade of killing men with his sword. His life was burdened by hardships and chaos so he was forced into becoming stronger to survive. He makes a name for himself by defeating countless enemies on the battlefield regardless of the disadvantages he may face.

One day he finds himself in a dangerous situation when a group of men try to kill him and steal the money he had just received as payment for his services as a mercenary. Little did they know they would not be able to take him on. However, the group’s leader, Griffith, defends his men and ends up wounding Guts. He finds Guts’ fighting skill to be useful so he takes him into his custody. The group that Guts encountered is known across the kingdom has the Band of the Hawk. Griffith, leader of the Hawks, impressed by Guts’ talent in combat makes him join his mercenary army after a fierce one on one battle. Guts becomes a comrade and little by little eases his way into the trust of everyone in the group.

Within the Band of the Hawks the members learn to strive together in the hardships of battle. Every victory is pieced together by everyone, but of course the participation of Guts, Caska, Griffith, and a few other high ranking members is crucial. For these men — and woman — who are destined to be low lives with not much of a future, being led by Griffith towards a much greater goal is a gratifying experience. They live and breathe battle because it is their nature, but they are content to fight for the will of their leader.

Griffith is a man that seems to glow with omnipotent power while performing his actions. He is overwhelmed by a desire to obtain it all, henceforth he wants his own kingdom. From the depths of the commoner’s world he wishes to rise up to the peak of success and he is willing to do anything and everything he can to fulfill his dream. Guts, his partner and good friend, is a large part of realizing that obsession and he is able to continue and reach higher and higher because of the support of his subordinates.

Guts has a very striking attribute which is his huge sword, a key aspect of what makes him a badass character. If you’re like me you might be reminded of Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII or Sanosuke’s Zanbatou from Rurouni Kenshin. His sword isn’t as thick as the Buster Sword or the Zanbatou, but it’s still very long and heavy. It ties in well with the skills and finesse of the characters which are a little on the realistic side, although stamina and endurance are grossly exaggerated. Much like other medieval stories, a one hit strike is all it takes to down your opponent. There’s nothing but the speed, strength, and angle of an attack with no exaggerated skill-sets. I’m not disappointed by this type of combat, but some of you may want a bit more names to remember for each attack.

When I consider everything, Berserk does a good job of delivering powerful thought-provoking revelations from the characters. The key characters are driven by personal desires while interacting with each other solely based on those desires. In addition, the battles and tactics in Berserk are fun to watch, but they are not quite as exciting as scenes in more modern anime. However, for such an old show I must applaud the overall effort.

The end of the anime is a huge twist from the rest of the show. It ties into the first episode which you won’t understand when you watch it the first time, but after watching the end you can rewatch the first episode and you’ll understand what’s going on. A little investigation revealed that Berserk was planned as a 26 episode anime, but financial trouble cut it to 25 which is too bad.

Berserk doesn’t win me over for any specific creative aspects, but it’s a good overall combination of violence, romance, and typical tough guy shounen drama. If you watch it and you’re interested in the story you’ll need to find the manga to get the rest of it because the anime cuts off right at a huge turning point. The way it ends is effective enough to stand on its own as a dark event with little to no hope, but I can’t help but feel cheated. It’s still a good adventure show though, and deserves to be watched.

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Review: Hana Yori Dango (TV)

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 51
Vintage: 1996-09-08 to 1997-08-31
Age rating: Older Children (May contain mild bad language, bloodless violence)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Production: Toei Animation
Broadcaster: Asahi Broadcasting (ABC)

Source: Anime News Network

Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) is a fairly old but solid romance story. The first thing that I noticed when I started watching it was how similar it looked to Marmalade Boy, a series that I dropped months ago. I did a little research and I finally got the answer when I found out Yoshihiko Umakoshi was the character designer and animation director for both Marmalade Boy and Hana Yori Dango. They are both shoujo series that deal with female leads fighting the turmoils of love with other male characters. I dropped Marmalade Boy because it dragged on and on about little things, so the show became too long to enjoy. There were too many love interests and crushes that it didn’t move me at all, plus the filling content was redundant and off course. Hana Yori Dango fixes a lot of the problems I had with Marmalade Boy by being shorter and more focused on true and meaningful love and romance. It’s also a fairly original school anime romance story, unlike Marmalade Boy that didn’t do anything special beyond the school yard setting.

The story begins with Makino Tsukushi, a regular girl going to school at Eitoku Gakuen, a super rich school where high class students attend. She miraculously got accepted, so her parents, as poor as they are, work hard to send her to such a extravagant school for her to have a better future. While at Eitoku she has lived in the shadows by not generating any attention to herself, a striking difference from her lively middle school school days. At Eitoku there is a group of 4 male students known as the F4, short for Flower 4. They are the richest and most powerful heirs to giant corporations who use their power and influence to reign havoc upon their school. Even the teachers are afraid of them because of what they can do. They cut class repeatedly and are not even forced to wear the school uniform because they do as they please.

One day Tsukushi finds her way in their path when she tries to help her only friend being bullied by the F4. She unwillingly breaks her silence and is immediately noticed by the F4, so now they turn their sights to Tsukushi. They force a group of guys to go after Tsukushi and she is cornered. One of the members of the F4, Hanazawa Rui, is different from the rest, and Tsukushi finds comfort in being at Eitoku when for some reason Rui saves her from being bullied. Tsukushi gains confidence and fends off the F4 with her wild and violent personality, something unheard of at Eitoku. Even though they fight and growl at each other, Tsukushi eventually ends up getting closer and closer to the F4 because she is different from all of the cookie-cutter gold-digging girls at Eitoku. They take notice of her unique view of life and this gives fruit to the overall romance story. It’s a bumpy road with lots of triumphs and defeats, but in the end the path leads to a better place.

The conclusion to this anime lacked enough power to fully satisfy me, but nonetheless it ends well. I was rooting for the pair that got together all along so I’m glad it ended the way I wanted it to end. If you’re into shoujo this is a pretty good one that’s serious and takes you deep into the minds of the characters. It doesn’t fall flat on its face by trying to appease to childish crushes and instead goes right into more deep passionate feelings. For such an old show it does a good job of providing a solid romance story with a concentrated group of meaningful characters with real feelings and thoughts. Not bad at all. It has its faults but it’s worth a watch if you need some old but enjoyable shoujo.

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Review: NHK ni Youkoso! (TV)

Running time: 24 minutes
Number of episodes: 24
Vintage: 2006-07-09 to 2006-12-17
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Psychological, Romance, Slice of Life
Animation Production: GONZO

Source: Anime News Network

Strange. Weird. Odd. Peculiar. These are words you’ll likely use to describe NHK ni Youkoso! (Welcome to the NHK!) when you first start watching it. It immediately takes you into the mind of Tatsuhiro Satou, a 22 year old hikikomori. Being a hikikomori Satou is self restrained and is not able to handle society. His anxiety locks him in his one-room apartment and he can’t leave without feeling remorse and pressure from the outside world. This condition forced him to drop out of college and live off allowance from his parents. This situation also makes him a NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) and thus his life revolves around him and the things in his room. His TV, computer, and air conditioner are the only things that allow him to live a comfortable life in seclusion.

To top things off, Satou believes there’s a large conspiracy of epic proportions behind all of his mishaps in life. He calls the sinister secret organization after him the N.H.K., Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai, or “The Japanese Hikikomori Association.” (It’s pretty obvious this is a parody of the Japanese TV station N.H.K. for mass producing otaku’s) Thanks to this he’s conflicted and confused in his head which leads him to sleep 16 hours a day at irregular hours. All of this is happens while in total isolation from the rest of the world. There’s no doubt you’ll quickly agree that something isn’t right about Satou and his behavior, yet you may find similarities between yourself and Satou.

One day a cute high school girl arrives at his door accompanied by an older woman. The woman seems to do soliciting from neighbors to become aware of social problems and join some kind of religious group. The woman tries to get Satou interested in a booklet that has an article on the very problem he is experiencing. He quickly denies being a hikikomori or a NEET, but reflexively blurts out the truth in the process. Surprisingly, the cute girl just smiles at him. His hikikomori state of mind throws him into a turmoil of confusion and he decides he’s going to try to get a job. He thinks the neighborhood is aware of his situation, so getting a job and going to work for a while should be able to fool them. Shaved, clean cut, bathed, and armed with his resume, he sets off to a nearby manga cafe called Comic Break that is looking for part-time employees. Shockingly, he meets the same cute girl he met before at the shop and finds out she’s working there. He instantly gets nervous the moment he makes eye contact and makes a quick attempt to leave the shop. In the process of leaving he drops his resume on the floor.

Back at his apartment Satou is even more troubled and burdened by his luck of meeting the one girl that exemplified the type of person he wanted to fool by getting the job in the first place. After a while Satou hears the doorbell ring again but this time he doesn’t answer. When he finally decides to look through his door’s peek hole he notices the girl from the shop showed up at his apartment. She dropped off his resume with a note on the back that said to meet her at a park by 9PM that night. Satou always goes to that park to relax because its the only place besides his apartment where he can be alone and think. He has trouble deciding if he’s going to go to the park or not, since he would of gone whether or not he got the invitation, but he eventually ends up at the park anyway. Surely enough, the girl is there and she welcomes Satou into her project that she assures him will cure his hikikomori way of life.

From here on the project to cure Satou begins, for better or for worse. The adventures and misadventures of Satou, Misaki, and a few other characters have many interesting developments. Although the show alludes to being about hikikomori and NEET’s, it will soon introduce new characters and new social problems. Everyone in this show has some kind of issue and it’s explored in interesting ways. The journey is long but hard earned, and many surprises are sure to be revealed.

Watching NHK ni Youkoso! is undoubtedly a unique and refreshing experience. Many of us who enjoy anime can admit to being a little secluded at times, and some of us are also on the extreme of being real hikikomori. To keep up with most of the anime that is pumped out of Japan we need a lot of free time. I’ve had the experience of being a NEET and staying at home for months, which has lead to the creation of this blog. This is one of the reasons I instantly related to this show. Those of you who live more vivid and social lives and watch anime more casually may not notice anything that will grab your attention at first, but later on there’s plenty of diversified content you may find interesting.

The very core of NHK ni Youkoso! is all about troubled youth and their perception of the world. The most enjoyable aspect of it is seeing how these problem ridden people cope with each other and the rest of society. Because of their similarities you’ll find the characters form special bonds within their small circle of friends, and in a special case this allows for the strongest human emotion to flourish. Watching everything unfold in NHK ni Youkoso! is most of the fun, so I don’t want to give away too much, but I’m sure you’ll eventually agree that NHK ni Youkoso! is an interesting concept that hides a very special romance story. The real cure to a hikikomori state is found somewhere between these very strong feelings the characters develop. In retrospect, this show serves as a good lesson to us all who suffer from some kind of social anxiety.

Unfortunately, I did not find the conclusion to the show to be fulfilling enough, especially after such a grand beginning. However, if there is ever a case where the journey is better than the destination, this is one such example. I really enjoyed the story and how most of it unfolds, especially since I could find some way to relate to many of the characters’ troubles. Too bad it gets derailed several times, but at least it doesn’t lose its quality of storytelling. If you’re a passionate anime fan who’s had your share of lonely time, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and you should too.

Thanks Zaitou for the recommendation; you’re spot on as always!

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Review: Kamisama Kazoku (TV)

Running time: half hour
Number of episodes: 13
Vintage: 2006-05-18
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Animation Production: Toei Animation

Source: Anime News Network

Kamisama Kazoku or God’s Girlfriend, is exactly what you make of it based on its name alone. It stars Samatarou, the son of God who is the lucky guy with whom Tenko is in love. Tenko is an angel sent from Heaven to look over and protect Samatarou in the real world.

The basic premise to this entire show is that God and his family have settled on Earth in order for Samatarou to live a normal human life. The whole idea is for Samtarau to learn how humans behave and interact so that he can have the experience he needs to become God after his father steps down. His mother is a Goddess and so are his two sisters, and they help out from time to time. Tenko lives under the same roof as Samatarou, and although they are very close, Samatarou looks at Tenko as just another sister in the house.

One day a new girl arrives at school and Samatarou falls in love for the first time. Now that he’s on Earth he is completely human so it just happened by chance. This is when Tenko realizes she isn’t going to have Samatarou all for herself and things get a little out of hand. Tenko ends up in a turmoil when Kumiko, the new girl, ends up hanging out with Samatarou and Tenko feels alienated. From here on end the story starts revolving around the slow build up of romance between these characters.

This show is definitely funny, and I’m sure you’ll laugh at least once or twice, but most of the show carries itself with the heartwarming romance that will develop between the main characters. One of the more original aspects of the show is Tenko’s jealously. She gets jealous very easily and they visualize it extremely well with steam bursting out from her head like a tea kettle with boiling water. I really liked that little touch. It helps balance the comedic nature of the jealously with a very subdued yet mature tone.

There are two very different arcs in the anime that don’t really explain how they interconnect very well, but they are individually quite well performed. This in essence makes Kamisama Kazoku have two different endings, although you might not notice it at first. The first “ending” was very touching, while the second actual ending of the show was less of a compelling experience, but it was worth watching nonetheless.

The show paces itself well, especially since it encapsulates two separate story arcs in a very entertaining fashion in only 13 episodes, so you won’t really run into a dull moment. For a very quick and entertaining romance show this is surely worth trying.