Tides

Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, or Majikoi for short, is a visual novel that is, quite simply, one of the most charming visual novels ever written. It centers on a group of childhood friends living in an bustling city populated by the descendants of warriors. It features a huge and colorful cast of characters, each with their own distinct personality and moments to shine. Utilizing a unique blend of genres including romance, action and drama, it creates something completely new the likes of which has never really been seen before.

That last part is key – never been seen before. The "harem" genre is a popular subset of anime and manga that focuses on a typically male protagonist and the multiple women whose affections he earns. It's a genre that, thankfully, doesn't take itself very seriously most of the time, but it's still awash with the same tropes, character types and storylines. Majikoi not only averts these cliches, but makes something different by building on them and specifically pointing them out. Here I talk about all the ways Majikoi differentiates itself from typical harem and ecchi tropes and storylines, and, hopefully, convince you to give it a good read.

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The successor to the Naruto series, Boruto will focus on the children of the genin's from Naruto. The children were introduced in the final chapters of Naruto. In the Boruto movie we learn more about their abilities, personalities and relationships. This new generation appears to have inherited their parents personalities, but they have surpassed their parents abilities.

The first chapter of the series retells much of what happened in the movie. Boruto dislikes his father (Naruto) due to the responsibilities bestowed upon the Hokage. He resents him and has developed some anger issues as a result. Boruto quickly comes across as a more complex character than his father was. However, unlike his father Boruto has both his parents and a sibling.

It is made clear in a flash-forward that Naruto dies at some point in this series and I wonder what effect this had on Boruto. The other genin introduced are interesting. Sarada, the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura. She possess the Sharingan and her mother strength. Interestingly, she seems to have developed a desire to become Hokage. Boruto on the other hand seems to despise the position. However, he seems to have taken a liking to Sasuke.

I personally love Chocho, the daughter of Choji. She has a fun personality and is hilarious. She may end up being a secondary character, but I hope they show more of her. The art of this series will require some getting use to. I haven't decided whether I like it or not. Views on art can vary, but personally I find it very important. However, the art should improve, which tends to happen with manga artist.

Rating: 4/5

→ Full review (on Otaku Orbit)

Another Mecha series from the BONES library. I really did enjoy this show when it came out and it seemed to get a lot attention on the initial release but sadly it doesn't seem like it is being remembered fondly by anime fans. The series came out in 2010 but didn't get nearly the attention it deserved, mainly because its released had to be pushed back thanks to Bandai Entertainment having to close their doors in America.

Was there room for more from this series? Probably not. It's pretty self contained. The Cybodies and the four Shrine Maidens are heavily tied to the island. It's not like they can discover another island and start all over again. It would essentially just be a repeat of what we had already seen.

While researching for this review I took the time to look up the movie. I never got around to watching the movie so I was curious if it had any new content or helped to give the show the proper ending I thought it deserved. No, sadly its just a compilation movie, one where appreantly they didn't take the time to add any new scenes to it. A good complication movie needs some new scenes. You knew this BONES when you made Rahxephon but forgot it when you got around to Star Driver. Why did you do it?

Rating: B/A

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

There are countless anime series out there, and it can sometimes be hard to decide which ones to try and which ones not to. On top of that, there are always going to be anime that you know are supposed to be good, but that you just aren’t sure whether or not to give time to. This week, I embraced both two series that fit into that category for me, and did so completely by accident.

In order to make use of my Crunchyroll membership, I decided that it was time to try some new shows. To do this, I set myself some simple rules: I would pick two shows completely at random, if the series picked have more than one season then I start with season, and I make a real effort to watch the first episode of both, regardless of what series I get. The aim was to them post my thoughts on both shows, then set them in a face-to-face battle over multiple categories to decide which one I preferred.

In my first foray into taking a ‘Crunchyroll of the dice’, the two random series turned out to be ones that I knew of, but had intentionally avoided for various reasons: Love Live! School Idol Project and Sword Art Online. Did either win me over? Which did I prefer? Read on, and find out!

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This movie was good. Even thought I gave it a B , know this grade is more reflective of comparing it to other Studio Ghibli movies. Thought its good its not at the level of Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. Not bad just not a masterpiece when compared to these other works.

This film was also the first movie by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who was previously just in charge of Key Animation. He definitely brought his A game to the production and I sincerely hope he has no difficulty finding projects in the future.

Sadly, the movie didn't perform well enough to save studio Ghibli. Shame as it was a good film. It just didn't get enough attention in either America or Japan. Why? No idea really? When this film opened it didn't have any competition for the animated features at the box office. It's not like Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance took that much of its audience.

I did forget to mention the English voice cast in the review. They really did a great job, especially Bridgit Mendler as Arriety. It would be great if she was able to come back to voice other Studio Ghibli movies in the future except for right now there are no other film coming from the studio.

Rating: B+/A

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

America has a love/hate relationship with the Super Robot. Sure it latched onto Voltron and the different Megazords in the Power Ranger Franchise but for the most part we seem to give most other "Super Robot with an Ultimate Attack to finish the monster" shows a cold shoulder. That's really too bad because there are a lot of good shows out there who follow this formula. Gaogaigar is one of them which not only deserves people's attention but should be required viewing for all giant robot fans.

Sure there are a lot of fans out there who are over the top in love with this show but that's all this show has really, hardcore fans and nothing else. Just looking for pictures to put into the review for it, all I really found was a a few screenshots and endless pictures of toys. This show should have an insane amount of fan attention and love but nope, all it has is people who sing its praises and those who avoided it. This gives it a worse reputation than shows which fall into the "worst" categories because shows with terrible reviews at least get discussed openly but with a "Love it or leave it" show, those who pick leave it never give it a second thought.

Also, the theme song is incredible catchy.

Rating: B+/A

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

With the release of Digimon Adventure Tri, the Digimon franchise has begun to pick up some steam again. While the quality of this new run has been high, the previous seasons had more than their fair share of high quality moments.

Herein, we look at a small handful of Digimon's best moments from Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Adventure Tri. By not shying away from topics that are not commonly associated with Western children's shows, we are able to see the characters develop through some tough moments, both physically and emotionally.

Tailmon and Wizarmon's relationship in the first two seasons gave us a truly heartbreaking moment in the first series of the franchise, then upped ante to revisit the story again in the second. When season three rolled around, we were thrown into a far ahrsher reality where bonds were tested (such as in the case of Ruki and Remamon) and evil acts did not always lead to an easy redemption. Now, with the original cast back together for Adventure Tri, the characters are older, and their burden is heavier, with the possibility of death being an obstacle to overcome.

These are among my favourite moments in a wonderful franchise. What are yours?

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The ideas of that long time fan debate of either subbed anime being better than dubbed anime or vise versa is one that gets argued a lot. However there are several sides and people have their preferences. Despite this there is a way to look at both sides of a subbed perceptive and a dubbed perceptive equally giving the positives and negatives of both.

While it is true that people may have a one sided view of the subject matter it is best to still go in with an open mind and willing to look at both sides of the story instead of just what is preferred. We are all fans of the same subject material after all.

There will always be anime series that are better in dubbed over subbed. There will always be anime series that are better in subbed than dubbed. Each have their own side that has a say in the medium as a whole. Dub can be more for introducing while sub can be more for the fans who want to see the newer anime before they get a dub or series that might never get a dub. Both sides are discussed in an equal way to promote each other.

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When I started my "Retelling" month I hoped I would find a film which wasn't so great so I could set a standard of what not to do when doing a summary movie. Luckily for me, there was an anime I watched which definitely didn't succeed and instead came off a bit awkward. This is Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows, a film so bad you want to rewatch the entire 52 episode TV series in an attempt to remember what made the series so good in the first place.

The biggest problem is how they decided to recast the crew of the Gekkostate. Making them the antagonists and the main force which is standing against Renton and Eureka feels out of place compared to how loving and supporting they were in the TV series. To nail in the point they had become evil, they created a scene of two characters assaulting Eureka which felt immensely uncomfortable.

This one really isn't worth watching even for the most hardcore fans of the series. Even if there are diehards out there who insist they need to see it, remember the series also has an incredible average sequel series which can be watched. Save your energy for trying to tackle that show instead.

Rating: C-/A

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

When Yuri Kuma Arashi first aired, it at first seemed to starkly deviate from what most Ikuhara fans had been expecting. The series was blatant, flashy and lesbian sexuality was presented in full force. The series quickly became a polarizing topic within the community. On one hand, the series was typically Ikuhara, all the ideas and themes that he had presented in the past appeared in full. On the other hand, Yuri Kuma Arashi was loud, the sexuality was blatant, and the series did not run as long as any of his previous works. The result of which was the adverse reaction many fans had towards the series labelling it pretentious fan service. While on the other hand, many Ikuhara fans were left feeling disenchanted by this latest title.

While it is true that Yuri Kuma Arashi deviates from Ikuhara’s previous works, the shift is only skin deep. At its core, the series remains fundamentally Ikuhara. One of the core themes Yuri Kuma Arashi tackles is the issue of social labelling and its consequences. Labels are prominently used in the series to demonstrate that they are a product of misunderstanding, ignorance and fear of other societies and cultures. However, the belief and further application of said labels perpetuate the same sentiments in a cycle which continues discord between two different societies. Yuri Kuma Arashi’s message demonstrates this idea through the use of the example of the conflict between bears and humans. The series acts as a deterrent to the ignorance and fear which begin the cycle and instead suggests love, compassion and an open ear are the solution.

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Ever since it first arrived on the anime scene, Boku Dake ga Inai Machi aka ERASED has taken the community by storm. A little more than halfway through the series and it's already regarded as one of the greatest anime in years. Which makes sense because it has a lot of positives that make up anime: good animation, intriguing premise, and dynamic direction. It seems like the noitamina that fans wanted back after a recent string of mediocrity over the last year or so.

But there's no getting around the fact that ERASED is an emotionally manipulative drama. This is not a negative or a positive in of itself because all good/bad dramas set out to force the viewer to feel something. What matters is how said feels occur and ERASED has made both good and bad choices in regards to its execution. Whether or not this will pay off in the end remains to be seen, but recently there's been more bad than good. The amount of focus in regards to one of the girls has gotten ridiculous considering there have been other victims as well, and prevalent problems that were easily dismissed at first have started to become impossible to ignore.

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Part of a running series of examples of anime as an art form. Previous articles have established that anime has the ability to produce art; the question then becomes what sort of anime can be constituted as artistic. Baccano! is an artistic anime for a myriad of reasons. Its use of of neo-noir narrative techniques and editing helps build mystery while simultaneously creating a personality in the show that fits its title of "ruckus." Rather than creating confusion, it serves to weave its own meta-narrative of the events of a group of immortals over four major time periods. This becomes no small feat as almost two dozen characters are introduced in the show, often sharing time periods and plot-lines. Throughout all this, the editing serves to maintain control over the situation, dishing out information in small doses rather than large portions. This creates a sort of logic puzzle where the beginning and end of the narratives for the majority of the characters are known early on, and the remaining episodes are how the actions of the characters lead to their inevitable conclusions. Because of this, Baccano! succeeds in developing a narrative much to the effect of Guy Richie's "Snatch" or Quentin Tarantino's filmography.

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There's this stereotype commonly associated with the teenager. They're at this age where they become rambunctious and rebellious, and it becomes this struggle between parent and progeny characterized by whether or not the latter will be properly disciplined by the former before it's too late for them to integrate in and contribute to society. Underlying the assumptions behind this stereotype is that the teenager is completely in the wrong. In response to this stereotype is another stereotypical conflict of the underdog teenager being oppressed by the authoritarian parent.

Sasami Tsukuyomi is in her teenage rebellious streak as well, having rejected her mother's expectations, run away from home, and becoming and becoming an otaku. Like perhaps many teenagers in the real world, Sasami is at the crossroads of adolescence, suspended between the world of past (embodied in Sasami's mother) and present (lived through Sasami herself), trying to find a lifestyle that suits her temperament as a girl from a traditional family who has grown up in more liberating new age. Opposite of a functionalist scenario of the mother successfully reeling in the daughter, or the conflict scene of a daughter successfully rejecting the mother, is a negotiation between social obligation and individual freedom.

Through its negotiation between the expectations of Sasami's mother Sasami's own experiences for a lifestyle, a set of values, and a (nevertheless Shinto influenced) spirituality that works for Sasami, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai is a show made for the traditionally raised Japanese youth of the new age.

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From communities on MyAnimeList and Reddit to self-hosted blogs, anime viewers often turn to a number of stock phrases and judgements when 'reviewing' the shows they watch. It has too much 'forced drama'. It's too 'edgy'. Or, perhaps most frequent of all, it should have had another cour.

But when it comes to the desire for a show to have had its story stretched over twice as many episodes – to give the characters 'more time to grow', for instance (which implies that no movie character grows enough) – can we really argue that we would have enjoyed twice as much of a show that didn't impress us with just one cour? And, alongside that, shouldn't we rather be asking the show to be shorter, cutting out its unfulfilling content so that the story focuses on what the writer and studio have been competent with? Perhaps then we would end up with stories as cleverly paced as Eve no Jikan's original ONA run (which kept viewers hooked within the massive gaps between the release of the show's mostly smaller-than-average episodes), or comedies as instantly fulfilling as the currently-airing short Ojisan to Marshmallow.

Drawing on a number of philosophies that clash with the thinking behind the 'it should have been 24 episodes' bandwagon, it becomes clear that asking for double the length – expecting a canvas twice the size to cater to the artist's needs and treating a single cour as a canvas too small – is an escape from criticism, not an exercise in it.

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Where the first season of Nisekoi succeeded in taking an unoriginal set up and creating an endearingly sweet comedy around it, the second season was tasked with providing an adequate follow-up. One problem with following a popular show is the possibility of having to make a choice between risking stagnation by continuing on the same line or switching things up a bit and risking alienation instead. Nisekoi season two takes a strange middle ground on this by playing things out in much the same way that it always has while attempting to add new elements to the already strong mix.

New characters abound with three new faces joining up with the main cast, but the result of this is rather mixed. Given that the episode count for this season is almost half that of the first season, the newbies taking centre stage (as they should) for their introductions should ideally have been done to further the main storyline, but instead we end up with some detours and distractions from the overall plot. That said, the series continues to provide some good humour, and Hana, the workaholic mother of leading lady Chitoge is a fantastic addition to the cast. The voice cast puts in another stellar performance and both Raku and Chitoge are given some growth by the season’s end, meaning things end on a high.

With the mix of pros and cons though, how does the series compare to the first?

Rating: 4/5

→ Full review (on Matt Doyle Media)

There are many reasons that different anime series succeed or fail, and this can have a great bearing on whether we get to see more than one season of each show. For every run-away success, and every hit that you just can’t see the appeal of, you can guarantee that there will be at least one series that you love even though it was ratings failure. The problem then becomes that you would just love to see a second or third season, but it never materializes.

Successes such as Spice and Wolf were certainly more than worthy of another run, but with the source material having finished, there can be little hope now of the world being revisited. Then of course, there’s those older series such Gunsmith Cats that never really had a fair shake of the stick to begin with but had material that was perfectly suitable for adaption.

Meanwhile, the current market is full of lesser known series. Dogs: Bullets and Carnage saw an anime adaption of its original four one shots, but the ever growing storyline has yet to appear outside the manga. By now, it would be natural to doubt that we’ll see the rest reach the screen. Traversely, there is still hope for some others. D-Frag! Continues its popular madcap ways in ‘Monthly Comic Alive’ and the recent OVA could well be a hint at a further run.

But which shows did you think deserved more time on screen?

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The Spice and Wolf franchise is highly regarded within the community, and for good reason. The premise, characters and the adventures they experience were all fresh ideas when the light novel premiered in 2006 and when the anime series first began airing in 2007. Now with the series being nearly a decade old, it still attracts a large and growing fan base despite the fact that the series’ first aired nearly a so long ago. The question as to why this series is so popular to this day is the point of this review. We must ask ourselves which aspects of the series keep endearing fans after nearly a decade. Why is the tale of a merchant and wolf deity travelling through a medieval landscape so endearing to the viewer? Is it the romance? The Economics? Or is it the well-constructed world of the series?

The reasons are many fold. Our protagonists, Holo and Lawrence, are both well-constructed characters that we can not only associate with, but also feel empathy for. The world of Spice and Wolf is filled with depth, has an important impact on the story and is highly relatable to the viewer. And of course, the relationship between Holo and Lawrence forms not only the key pillar of the series, but its main attraction. The relationship between the two protagonists is well-developed, believable and their interactions are incredibly witty and well written. Overall, Spice and Wolf is an incredibly distinctive series in relation to the rest of the anime industry and still stands as a popular gem due to its uniqueness and well-presented characters and world.

Rating: A/A

→ Full review (on CoffeeHipster)

Josei Kosei (High School Girl) culture has been a powerful cultural trend in Japan for decades now. However, recent attention the trend has been receiving is revealing a darker under belly of JK culture and related business that were previously hidden underneath the thin veneer of innocence, cuteness and untouched beauty. Recent crack downs and a rise in awareness are revealing an industry which has been used as a front for under aged prostitution, sex trafficking the abuse of young women. However, we must ask ourselves as to why this trend was allowed to develop and go on at a nearly neglected by the collective Japanese awareness for so long.

The answer is that josei kosei is part of a bigger trend of the sexualisation of youth, especially young girls, in Japanese pop culture. There are many factors which contribute to this issue, amongst which is the otaku community and the anime industry. In anime, manga and related video games within the realm of otaku culture, young girls are made out to represent a youth, innocence and cuteness, but are paradoxically sexualized to a demeaning degree. Animated or not, an increasing level of indecency towards women has become an accepted norm in otaku culture. As a community, we have to come together and ask ourselves some difficult questions in order to find the answers as to how otaku culture came to this point and what direction we would like to go in the future in regards to this matter.

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Danmachi is an action/adventure/romance/comedy series that take a whole new spin off of the RPG-styled anime, as to the characters it is not a videogame, but their every day life. Each element that you see in a RPG-series such as dungeons, statuses, monsters, drop items, magic, and skills are all a part of this series. Throughout the novel, they do an excellent job of explaining the purpose of each respective element in the story.

The novel's point of view constantly shifts between a first-person view by the protagonist, Bell Cranel, first-person views of the other characters, and even a third-person view to give the most detail about the world to the viewer. This helps enhance the overall storytelling of the series as it gives the reader an idea of the mentality of various characters throughout the story and gives the reader a more personal connect to each character. This aspect is surprisingly rare in light novel series as most of them purely focus on a third-person point of view which does vary in usefulness from time to time.

The series has its share of rich laugh out loud comedy and epic moments that could leave anyone in true suspense as this wild ride of a novel has only just begun.

Rating: 4.5/5

→ Full review (on Nippon Valley)

There is the strength that S-Class Hero Genos yearns for, the strength of ultimate physical destruction. C-Class Hero Mumen Rider possesses none of this type of strength. Riding into a fight with a monster he realizes he has no chance alone surviving from, let alone prevailing in, he charges. He charges, and charges, and charges.

This One Punch Man character's struggles is not unlike Paranoia Agent character Misae Ikari. She faces down her own demented foe, one she can't physically run away from even if she wanted to.

Heroes require strength. But do they necessarily require the physical kind? Perhaps superheroes do, but people like Mumen Rider has only the strength and utility of an average individual with a foot-powered bike. If he saves someone while losing his life in the process, or sacrifices himself in the attempt to, does that make him, or anyone like him, ineligible to being called a hero? Because he didn't have the physical strength to manage it all? Is this something that something our consciences can stomach? Perhaps the strength we roundly require of our heroes isn't the physical kind exactly, though it might be convenient if our heroes were physically tough. Perhaps its fortitude then?

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