new anime reviews
Apr 14, 2008 in anime
When I am not programming and learning 3D applications sometimes I just need a break and enjoy watching anime. From time to time I like to check out new Anime, additionally I like to see anime that is based on manga and even wrote a system to view differences in anime/manga side by side.
Lately some/many of the shows I like to watch have entered into ‘filler-hell’ (Naruto, Bleach etc) and I am poking around looking for new ones to watch. Usually how I do this is look on th torrent sites and collect a bunch of episode #1’s, or ones which are below about 15 episodes that are easy to catch up on so I can bail out on before I watch 200 episodes and have it piddle out on after suffering through a year of fillers in hopes they will save it.
Some of the new anime that have come out this spring are pretty good, a lot are pretty bad (some so bad I don’t get past the first ten minutes)
Here are a few new ones that I will offer my personal reviews of. My reviewing methods are really not like other reviewers. My method is to start off with a beginning value (this is the same way that spamassassin works in classification of spam) which I would call “the perfect anime” and then as some of the crap and garbage that hoses so many animes creep their way in I shave off ‘points’. Some elements of an anime might be “anime killers” for me personally, so for instance, on a one to ten scale, an anime that is about “giant robots, mecha or revolves around or features them” I would consider that an ‘anime killer’ and stop watching. That particular theme, mecha, I consider a -5.0 (or -4 depending) which in my idea of scale anything -4 or over is a killer. Other killers are pure Otaku jerk-fest panty-raid anime and tentacle sex anime. I am just not interested in watching that. Some things like the phrases “mana, chakra or other mystery power words”, “just a normal high school student” and “entrance exams” are minor negatives while “Shinigami” or “vampires / vampire themed characters and/or creatures featured in the anime” is a -3.5 for me, almost a killer, but can be saved. I have a few bonus point items that I like, which are “amazing artwork and look and feel of the anime as a whole” (Dennou Coil would fit into this category) or “true originality in spite of cheeseball super powers” (Darker than black) etc.
What would I consider near ‘perfect’ anime? I would have to say, Lain (serial experiments), Cowboy Bebop, Dennou Coil, and similar ones. If enjoy those, you will appreciate my tastes.
I want to set up this system in ajax so you can select various items that bug or don’t bug you and watch as animes are removed/added to the list in various order though my list is not complete.
Anyway, on with my reviews, first impressions are everything, so I am just reviewing episode one of the following animes.
GHOST HOUND Episode 1 : Score 8.1 of 10
Ghost hound episode one has some good potential. The sub I found had perfect 3d audio (left and right was awesome in my headphones) and the quality and ‘feel’ of the anime was perfect. It is based in a school setting and this set up episode has me interested in continuing to watch. It *really* has the feel of the anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, which I found fascinating as an anime, as it is probably the only one that has ever actually affected my sleep, it seriously it throws you for such a loop.
I was intrigued from the beginning of this anime to see what going to happen next and the first ep only had hints at special powers, mostly what we see is a ghost/spirit. I was happy that things don’t enter the world of absolute insanity with flying around and swinging huge swords or a secret club of kids with powers, you can actually have time and connect with the characters and develop interest in what is going on with them.
Ghost hound is almost like an alternate Kure Nai (which I review next) in that both of these do not features demons, monsters, special mana-powers or other such wild stuff (not that I don’t enjoy that at times, but I do like to see creativity in true storytelling without having to fall back on old cliches of anime to fuel the story arc).
In this episode we are introduced to the assumed protagonist and several other characters and “situations” that we may be dealing with in coming episodes. In a short amount of time we come to understand that the protagonist is narcoleptic and when he falls asleep he goes on a sort of astral projection and can see some of his current surroundings and the people around him. One neighbor girl was able to see him during one of his projections which is naturally curious. This ‘ability’ seems to stem from a traumatic event that happened when he was younger. It appears from some interestingly well done flashbacks that he was kidnapped, and is undergoing counseling for.
After all the introductions and firm understanding of his place in the world and at his school we are finally teased with the ‘namesake’ ghost at the end, though not through our protagonists eyes. There is some suspicion raised with some new people who have showed up in his small home town, a new student who acts odd and his counselor was abruptly replaced and wants access to the ‘dreams’ that he has recorded when he wakes on a cassette tape.
Kure Nai Episode 1 : Score 8.6 of 10
Sometimes I watch an anime and feel like I am watching a story that is human and believable, that perhaps it was taken from the pages of a book or was a story that inspired a movie. A story that has the feel of ‘life’ in it, that maybe it was not all made up.
Kure nai gives you this feeling, there is nothing really remarkable about any of the characters, but none of them “act” like you would expect them to in an anime. Many of these characters actually surprise you and kind of turn the ideas you would initially have (and the anime ‘lets’ you have) on their heads. This ‘twist’ make you get the feeling you are not watching just another anime, you are watching something new and interesting.
Kure Nai is perhaps my favorite new anime so far, I am now downloading episode 2 so I can find out what happens next.
The basic idea (without spoilers) is that “something” has happened and a young girl has been removed from her extremely wealthy family and placed in the care of a person who hires people to do certain “jobs” around the city that people pay for such as stopping vandals for a shop owner, or stopping a stalker for a client, and our one young and inexperienced school boy who is under the wing of this person is charged with taking care of this girl. You would expect this to end up in antics and head-bonking cheese anime style with nosebleeds, pantie-shots, and little sweat drops and stuff but this story never bothers with elements so trite and from the looks, and depth of the characters, I doubt they ever will take this story there. It is touching and human, and the way the ‘feel’ of the anime is and the quality of it, I think this one will be a good one to follow if you enjoy anime for real stories and not just crazy swords and ninja-powers.
EDIT: After watching episode 2, I would probably bump up the rating on this anime, it just gets better and more interesting. Maintains the story, which is human and real and sets up some movement into the arc of the series. It reminds me somewhat of darker than black in the way it treats some aspects of the story and characters. If you have watched DTB then you know this is a good thing.
Soul Eater 1 : Score 5.2 of 10
Watching this show there are some things that I just want to start screaming about, but the production quality in some of the shots is just top notch and I cannot just toss it out the window. There is also no pretension about being serious in these portions of the anime. I also have read a good deal of the manga for this so I knew what I was expecting and it is just a funny romp that almost makes fun of a lot of the genre all while throwing around some western sterotypes out and doing a few things that are original.
The basics are that in episode one we are introduced to Maka and Soul Eater. Soul eater is a young constant drooling boy who is also a scythe that maka wields to do their work for the “shinigami-sama” (which would be a huge negative but because of the way it is portrayed is almost a poke at Bleach) is too funny.
I swear this anime was inspired by A nightmare before christmas with all the various little areas and scenes of the “death city” and the “hook cemetary” etc. It is a fun romp worth the effort if you are looking for a non-serious anime that is just fun to watch, actually pretty fun, not to mention the future episodes will just continue the fun with Blackstar and Kid coming in the next two episodes.
I wish I could rate this higher, but it really hits some points for me that get close to making me not want to watch it .. ever, but it has some saving graces.
Rosario + vampire : Score 1.9 of 10
Sometimes I will read a summary on some anime news sites and be interested and then kind of disappointed with an anime. This is “sort of” one of those cases and is reminding me of why I have the “vampire” rule about anime and avoiding any “jampire” anime (that is MY term for it.. I COINED IT).
The idea that got me to download the first ten eps before watching was the base idea that the young protagonist is accidentally placed into a private school for “monsters” instead of the private school he was supposed to be assigned to. While there he must hide the fact that is actually human or be eaten all the while maintaining a best friend a girl who is actually a vampire but has a seal to keep her true nature from coming out or if so she turns into a suddenly older badass (which is funny cause i am not sure why she would need to go to school). There is some real meat here they could work with to make some seriously fun storytelling. I will be honest and say that so far it is just slightly better than average for some random otaku pantie-shot spew’ime. I will probably finish out these eps in hopes they figure it out but the story so far is not compelling and is making slow headway into actually gaining my interest in why I care that he can remove the seal or why he was not detected coming into the school.. My guess is that it will turn out he does indeed have some “monster” in him or something, but will I really care at all then, doubtful. Might as well watch “Love-hina” or something if I wanted the story thus far.
EDIT: watching episode two of this like being dropped in a boys middle school creative writing class where the subject is alternative sexuality and humor. I am not sure I want to waste more time on this.
Allison & Lillia : Score 7.9 of 10
This particular anime was not exactly what I was expecting. In holds the promise of a grand story and high adventure for sure. The sounds production is excellent, the art production is good, not the flash of some of the new ones, but still excellent. The beginning reminds me of Last exile in that you have an alternate world country with familiar tech from about 40 years ago and the country is split between two warring nations in a ceaseless war. At the start of this adventure we have the typical class genius who gets a visit from an old friend who is the typical fly-girl who thumbs her nose at the establishment she works for (in this case the military). The two meet up with the typical “seer” in this case the old man who tells them a fantastic tale about a treasure which could end the ages-long war and then is swiftly abducted in front of them and whisked away. Our heroes naturally make chase and that is the first episode. However, the methods used were somewhat done before, they still approached them in kind of unique ways leaving much open and witha great promise for a large and expansive adventure ahead. The classic formula is the main reason I knocked some points off this anime, as everything else is set up perfect and it seems this will be one to watch.
Macross frontier : Score 5 of 10
Oh god why did there have to be Mechs in this anime! They are not needed and it is like they threw them in for the fans. Luckily it seems that from this first episode that they are NOT the main focus of this anime, which is the only saving grace I can give this otherwise amazing work. The sound quality is excellent, the animation and chase scenes are some of/if not perhaps the best I have seen. The computer overlay work is great, really I have only two major issues with this anime and one is the mecha (which are actually transformer mecha and in the context of this anime I suppose could make sense) and the other is the gratuitous ’singing’ scene they managed to work into it, though it did seem to fit so it is excusable.
The base premise here is that mankind has gone out exploring space in huge grouped fleets with “city” vessels which have huge cities inside them. They are being chased off and on by some creatures which for some reason (unknown to us) want to destroy them. (bsg’ish … anyone?). In the beginning we are introduced to the female heroine of our story who is about to go see a concert by a super famous singer. We are also introduced to our heroes who are aerial acrobatics experts in flight suits who do a special part of the singers show (they are loosely connected to the military it seems) our young girl tries to get around the line and stumbles into the acrobats and they meet and she offers them some food at her restaurant etc etc the show starts and there is some drama, meanwhile out in space the alien baddies decide to attack the city and manage to get through. The concert is evacuated and our young girl is stranded in front of the alien creature. In swoops our hero who jumps into the flight weapon of the leader of the squad the alien just destroyed and then it cuts to the end. From the preview the next episode is a chase scene.
Normally due to the fact there is a mech in this I would toss it, however I think this is a damn good anime and the mechs are not the focus so I might be able to deal with those parts. If however this turns into another “mech” show where the government decides to give a 14 year old kid a billion dollar mech to trash the countryside I will stop watching right then and there.
xxxHolic : Score 3.4 of 10
First off, and I should get this out of the way, the xxx portion does not refer to porn or anything like that. On first inspection I watched this and went WTF?!? There is one of those little pikachu things in it and I *HATE* those things. Then there is the whole girl crush/head bonk little sweat thing with the cut-scenes of huge grins in silly drawing style. *slash* .. *slash* go points on my rating scale. Then we get into the story, though there is not much yet, and it is mildly amusing.
If you have seen Mr. Magoos wonder emporium (the movie) then you can understand ‘kind of’ what the setup here is. Our main protagonist helps out a ’shop’ which as it turns out is run by a mysterious lady who lifts curses and grants wishes. However, the wishes she grants seem to always have side effects that people would not comprehend until later, so they are sort of a learning device. This entire first episode revolves around the protagonists friend who gets a curse placed on him by a spider which closes his eye, so he decided to help his friend out and so swapped seeing in his right eye to lift his friends curse. A lot of talking and antics in the shop later we get to where his friend is trying to counter the counter curse because his father happened to be a shaman of some type. The preview of the next one looks like much of the same, I might watch it but overall I do not think this is an anime that I will be watching. Pikachu thing.. pfft
