Review of The Rolling Girls (2015)
Hello, everyone. It's time for a new review!
Just a few days ago I finished the first season of the serious anime Black Lagoon. While I felt the show was decent, it has a heavy story, making me not as excited for the following two seasons right away. I was looking for something lighter, with a good amount of comedy, so I selected a new anime series titled The Rolling Girls.
The Rolling Girls is the second anime of 2015 I've watched thus far. The first was Isuca (also archived in the May 2015 blogs), which I felt had potential, but also a fair amount of flaws, earning it an average score. The Rolling Girls, however, I found much more enjoyable.
In general, I like the art, the characters, and the upbeat tone of the series. My major complaint is that there is a lot of information crammed into any given episode, and that the series takes a serious switch in tone towards the end. In all, I think The Rolling Girls is fun, but it's far from perfect.
Story:
Okay, this is probably the first time I have ever written/and probably will write, that it took over half of the series for me to understand what's going on with the plot. It is also important to know that this anime is not meant to be taken seriously. I would also advise to give this show a fair chance before quitting less than halfway. I understand it's confusing at first (and even in the end some things are not explained), but I am overall satisfied by the end.
The first episode begins with little exposition explaining that a war took place that divided Japan into separate countries. Each of these new countries is protected by and/or governed by a Best--someone who has super powers, believed to have derived from magic heart-shaped stones that rain from the sky, created from a human's deep desire or passion. These powers can range from super strength to elemental manipulation, to the ability to make fantastic works of art. The Best is supported by a team that is referred to as the Rest.
The action begins rather rapidly in which one Best, Shigyou, starts a fight with Masami (Maccha Green as her superhero name) for control of her land. Through the use of a trick, Masami's team wins. In the second episode both fighters are critically injured after a battle and their stones stolen away.
In order to make herself useful Nozomi, the protagonist and close friend of Masami, offers to take her place as a peace broker. Nozomi teams up with three other girls: Chiaya, Ai, and Yukina, to travel via motorcycle to the various Japanese countries in attempts to act as peacemakers among their civil battles.
As payment for their help, they are promised the magic stones. Meanwhile, both Chiaya's mother, and another organization are trying to collect the stones for mysterious purposes.
The plot itself doesn't actually begin until the third episode. The first two episodes focus more on the two Bests Masami and Shigyou. While those episodes are interesting, I do like it better when the plot actually moves.
I would classify this anime as an adventure story in addition to a comedy. The premise is basically four girls on a journey to pretty much help out with whatever they can. It does have a lot of slice-of-life elements as far as the friendships are concerned. However, the fact that there are a lot of random magic moments keeps the audience reminded that this is still partially a fantasy story.
There is a blend of anime genres here. You have some adventure, some slice of life, tons of comedy, a good dose of magical girl, some shonen battle, a bit of fantasy, some random sci fi moments, and even a pinch of mecha in the last arc. After finishing the series I wonder if this was done intentionally to pay homage to the different styles of anime.
I do like the comedy used here. For one, the humor is clean. The comedy is based around the four main characters' distinct personalities. For one, there is a running gag about a character who is horrible with directions, and is constantly getting lost, yet denies it whenever questioned. Also the fact that the people who asked for help are expecting the heroic Masami, but are receiving four people who have no real skills or talents welcomes good humor.
If you try to take this show seriously, you're not going to like it. However, if you accept it as the light-hearted comedy that it's intended to be, you'll probably enjoy it.
Characters:
For the most part I found the characters to be likable. There's nothing you haven't seen before in anime, but that's not to say it's not a decent cast.
First up is the protagonist, Nozomi. She heavily admires, and is devoted to her city's Best, Masami. When she takes over as Masami's substitute on the road, she tries her hardest to do a job worthy of Masami's name. The problem is that often times Nozomi fails. Add that to the fact that she's working her hardest brings the comedy. Sadly, since she is the main character, compared to everyone else I do find her bland. She has no real personality for the majority of the series. There is some development as the show progresses, but I find everyone else more interesting than her.
Next up is Chiaya, the daughter of the group's president. Of the four mains, I find Chiaya to be the most likable. She is sweet, albeit naive due to her past of solitude. Her mother is overprotective and keeps Chiaya locked away from people except on special occasions when she is allowed to leave the house. All she wishes for is to have one great adventure with friends. When she is finally given that opportunity, she plans to enjoy it to the very last drop. Chiaya also has several quirks such as constantly taking pictures, and that animals tend to be naturally comfortable around her.
Next is the comic relief character of the show: Yukina. Yukina's main quirk is that she has no sense of direction. When she is first introduced it's mentioned that it took her three days to find a location that should have only taken her minutes to reach. Also, she desires to be an artist, but due to her unique way of drawing faces, her finished products often receive negative (however polite) reactions. She is also portrayed as being clueless, but she is always among the first to volunteer to help, and proves herself to be a good friend time and time again.
The last of the four main girls is Ai. She is portrayed as being selfish and unintentionally rude. Her main goal is to gain possession of one of the heart stones so that she can become a Best. She believes that she is a tough fighter despite having no talent or training, and repeatedly ends up embarrassing herself by instantly losing when starting a fight against a Best. Ai's main quirk is her endless appetite, which sometimes annoys her companions.
All four girls have their own personalities, and each of them add to the story and the comedy in their own way. While each of them fail to equal Masami, it is interesting to watch how they will solve the current problem at hand.
The next character is not a main, but still I find to be important, that is Momiyama. Momiyama works for Chiaya's mother, and he is assigned to collect the stones in addition to bringing Chiaya back home. One of the major subplots is the mystery behind Chiaya's mother not wanting her daughter to socialize. Momiyama acts as a foil for her mother, as being someone who does understand Chiaya, provides her with a motorcycle, and acts as a guardian for her by allowing her to enjoy this road trip instead of intervening the way his boss wants him to. I do like that he offers support for Chiaya. What more, Momiyama has quite a few awesome moments himself during his action scenes in which he resembles a secret agent.
Throughout the series the girls come in contact with a variety of characters in the various countries they visit. Probably the most notable would be Kaguya who is pretty much the only person who asked Nozomi to butt out. In my opinion she is the most developed of the minor characters, and even more so than the protagonist herself. I did enjoy Kaguya's inclusion in the final battle.
Other than Kaguya, I did enjoy the two episode arc that takes place in Kyoto. I do like the characters of Misa (the rocker) and Mamechiyo (geisha in training). Even the antagonist of that arc is likable and funny. I will admit that episodes seven and eight are my favorites, thanks in large parts to the side characters presented.
Art:
If there is one word I can use to describe the art style of The Rolling Girls it would be: colorful. There is such a good use of color in this anime. The characters' costumes, the settings, the attacks. Even the stones they are collecting are bright pink. The fight scenes use burst of colorful energy. One of my favorite moments of animation is in episode eight, where a fire punch takes out a rocket and creates a rainbow cloud. Some of the settings such as Tokyo and Kyoto have bright and distinct color. In the Tokyo arc, the colorful settings are a nice contrast to the black cloaks the characters wear.
The character designs are cute without being overly so that it distracts from the story. I do like that each character has their own style. Even the designs of the side characters reflect that specific culture. Of all the character designs I like Kukino's the most (the antagonist in episode eleven): the fact that she is dressed so cutesy and in pink despite her age and the demon name she is given.
The animation is great. This show has a lot of high energy which is matched with the animation. I love watching the fight scenes. Everything is so fluid with the movements, periodically followed by colorful energy waves. I like the animation of the motorcycle race in episode six. I like that there are some cute and funny facial expressions as is common in anime, but they're not exaggerated.
Music:
The opening theme song is cute and catchy. I think it is cute that the girls are singing the opening song as if they are a band giving a concert; it's just a nice and creative touch that matches the tone of the anime. The same can be said about the song itself: it's cheerful and upbeat.
I also like the song that is played during the concert in episode eight. In my opinion, it is one of the best moments in the series.
Other than that, I don't remember much else about the music in this show.
Flaws:
The last third of the anime changes its tone. Something I enjoyed about this show is the fact that it is so cheerful and comedic, but then it tries to be more serious in the last three episodes, which I won't say ruins it, but it's such a sharp turn. I've seen this done several times in anime (both seasons of Black Butler for instance) where the show is mostly comedy, then for a dramatic ending will change its tone so late in the series that it can be difficult to adjust to. For the most part the story had included drama, but presented it in a humorous manner, but the last third was a huge tone shift. However, before it dove in too deep, the mood returned to its earlier state again, so I won't deduct too much for this one.
Secondly, there is a major plot twist concerning one of the characters that seemed abrupt. There is only one brief allusion to this plot point earlier in the series, so quick that it is easy to miss. I even misinterpreted it the first time I saw it. I think that twist still works in favor of the story, so I'm not going to consider that a flaw in itself, just the way that it is suddenly presented without much foreshadowing.
Thirdly, I found the main antagonist of the story to be a major letdown. Even now as I'm reviewing, I'm not sure what her motive, or even her goals were. She is introduced about halfway through the series as another who has an interest in collecting the heart stones. I'm not sure of her reason for collecting those stones. It's never explained what she wants with so many, and her overall plan doesn't even include them. I just feel she fell victim to the "twelve episode--not enough time for development of character or plot" syndrome.
Lastly, on that same note, I do feel that the plot itself could have been expanded were it not for the limit of twelve episodes. Even an extention to sixteen or twenty could have made room for more development. I do like the ending, I feel it's one of my favorite endings in anime, but there could have been a little more in each arc instead of trying to cram the arc into two episodes. Trust me, there is a lot happening in each episode.
Conclusion:
In all, I found this anime to be enjoyable. I like the characters, the art and animation is wonderful, I found the comedy to be genuinely funny. The story, albeit odd at times, is original. I looked forward to watching the next episode when finishing the previous. I also like getting a good glimpse at many different aspects of Japanese culture throughout this series.
However, there is a lot happening in each episode that could have been resolved by allowing it to flow into additional episodes instead of containing it within an even twelve. Also, the tone shift, and major plot twist were too sudden for my liking.
Overall, I did enjoy The Rolling Girls. If I have some free time, I wouldn't mind watching the entirety of the series a second time. It's humor and story is not for everyone, but I still would recommend it.
The Rolling Girls: 7/10
Beverage: Green Tea
Friday, May 29, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Review of Zombie-Loan (2007)
Review of Zombie-Loan (2007)
Hey, everyone. It's time for a new review.
It seems that recently the zombie genre has gained a lot of popularity in the media, with shows such as The Walking Dead on TV, and movies like World War Z and Warm Bodies. In addition there are zombie parties, and artists depicting popular celebrities or characters as zombies.
I for one have never been a fan of the zombie subgenre of horror. I do like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland due to the fact that they are both comedies that include animated corpses. Even with the latter portraying zombies in a more intelligent fashion, the zombies of today resemble the classic types such as Night of the Living Dead. Well, there does seem to be a show that breaks zombie stereotypes, that being the anime series Zombie-Loan.
I first watched Zombie-Loan about five years ago in my college's anime club. I was surprised to see the zombie genre tackled in a different manner. For one, there are different types of zombies: some that have their own will, some that are more intelligent, and some that just haven't died properly and survive on basic animal instinct. Another difference is the fact that two of the main characters who happen to be zombies are well, attractive. Neither of them show any signs of decay, they still have basic human needs (eating and sleeping), and they have their own thoughts and feelings just like any normal human being. In fact, had it not been for them constantly discussing what they are, and their superhuman abilities, it's possible to forget they are the living dead.
Story:
The story of Zombie-Loan is quite creative, at least in terms of the horror genre, specifically zombies. For one, this is a zombie show that's not that scary. There are a few images of "classic zombies" that might frighten anyone who is opposed to that kind of stuff, but for the most part, the story is not focused on scaring the viewer.
The plot follows a shy and easily scared high school girl named Michiru. She is an orphan, who will inherit a large sum of money when she reaches legal age. Due to this her relatives keep her with the promise that they will receive half of the inheritance on that day. Despite this, they still despise having her in their house, and treat her unkindly. In addition her "friends" at school are verbally abusive and seem to enjoy tormenting her, treating her as their servant rather than an equal.
One day when retrieving the snacks during lunch period, she trips over an object that turns out to be Chika's right hand. Therefore she meets Chika and Shito, two teenage boys who are famous for having survived an accident several months back in which everyone else involved died. One of her acquaintances are curious as to why those boys are speaking to Michiru and she snatches Michiru's glasses from her face. In this moment it is revealed that Michiru has a special ability to see rings around a person's neck indicating how close they are to death. Since Chika and Shito both have black rings she believes they are maybe hours from death.
After nightfall Michiru follows the boys into the school cemetery to warn them about their condition. She sees them remove and exchange hands then summon weapons. Michiru then witnesses them kill a zombie dog.
The next day Michiru learns that Chika and Shito are in fact zombies who are borrowing life and will need to repay their loan within a year in order to regain their real lives. They earn the necessary money by hunting down and killing dangerous and/or illegal zombies, afterwards, they guide their souls into the afterlife. The boys believe Michiru's special ability will help them in their quest and decide to include her as a part of the team.
That is all just in the first episode. Right about now this story sounds pretty awesome. To be honest, I thought it was. Episodes one through six intrigued me, especially the plot twists in episodes five and six. Episode seven is pretty much a filler episode, but it was still enjoyable.
However, in episodes eight through eleven the plot took a sharp turn and the story went in a strange direction. I won't say that I found the latter half of Zombie-Loan to be boring, so much as confusing and straying too far from the original premise. What more, the new direction felt rushed, and wasn't fully explored, leaving quite a few unanswered questions. Not to mention there was a major reveal about a certain character that seemed to have come out of nowhere. I also felt that the ending was too abrupt. Perhaps this is better explained in the manga, or would be build upon in a non-existent second season, but as it stands I feel unsatisfied with the second half of the series.
Characters:
The characters in this story are decent, but I feel that only a few of them really stand out.
To begin with there is the main character, Michiru. She is shy and a pushover. She's okay, but there's nothing that makes her an incredible protagonist, she's actually kind of bland. In one of the last episodes it's revealed that she adores cute things, but other than that not much is given on her likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, immediate goals, hopes for the future, etc--she's just kind of there. What more she never shows much emotion on her subject of her deceased parents. Other than her special ability to see how close a person is to death, she is shown to have no other talents or ambitions. At the very least she does have some character development halfway through the show. In the first few episodes she is portrayed as easily scared and screams a lot. Of course that is a realistic human reaction to coming across a band of zombies. A little later on she does gather some courage and confidence, mostly when someone she cares about is threatened. Unfortunately, in the last third of the anime she seems to take a back seat to Chika and Shito, who get more screen time and overall attention. While she is not annoying (at least after she stops constantly screaming), she doesn't strike me as being interesting enough to make her a good protagonist.
Next, I'll move onto the two main zombies: Chika and Shito. I'm going to review them together due to the fact they are perfect foils of one another. For one, their appearances significantly contrast. I do think it is clever for the color associated with each character is the negative of the other: Chika's hair and clothing is mostly white while Shito's is primarily black. I won't necessarily say hate, but these two strongly dislike one another, however, due to a mistake they are forced to work together until their debts are paid, or they permanently die. If they spend any substantial amount of time apart, their right hands will rot, making their ability to hunt zombies near impossible. Beyond that while Shito may on the surface appear to be more polite, he is actually cold and distant due to his difficulty trusting others. On the reverse, Chika may come across as rude and complains a lot, but he is actually warmer and friendlier than his partner. I found Chika much easier to like than Shito.
Now onto the supporting characters. My favorite of the cast would have to be Koyomi. She is generally sweet and upbeat. What more, she has a second personality who goes by the name Yomi. Yomi has the ability to recall final moments of a late victim. Also she is proven to be a decent fighter as seen in episode five. She has a crush on Michiru which leads to the team using Michiru to awaken Yomi who prefers to stay dormant. As cool as Koyomi/Yomi may be, unfortunately she gets very little screen time after episode seven.
Among the others there is Bekko, or the Ferryman, who gives life loans to zombies. He wasn't given much time to develop in the anime. However, I'm very interested in learning more about him based on his last scene in episode eleven. There is also Yuuta, another zombie who has the ability to heal wounds. She has a morbid sense of humor, and while she doesn't get much screen time, she is amusing when she is on screen.
The antagonists are underdeveloped in my opinion. I don't know if it is due to the fact that there are so few episodes, and perhaps there is more depth in the manga (this is one manga that I will check out because I want answers to the many lingering questions). Each antagonist may have only two, maybe three if they're lucky, episodes to themselves. I feel that the fights with each antagonist ends too quickly, especially the one revealed in episode six--I felt that one was too anticlimactic. Overall, I feel that they're motives are never clear enough, or they don't make sense. What more I feel unsatisfied with the lack of use of the main villains of the series. They are introduced, have a little dialogue, and then do nothing else.
In short I find some of these characters okay, but other than Koyomi, and Chika for most of the time, I felt they were lacking.
Art:
The art style is decent. I especially like the design of the faces. The pink-haired golem in the last third has one of the most interesting face designs; I also like how much her innocence is displayed through her facial expressions. I also like the design of Michiru. As I mentioned before, the choice of having contrasting color schemes the two male leads is a good one.
For the most part the characters have physical variety. No two characters (well, except for the zombie extras) look alike. The one nitpick I have about character design, is that sometimes with certain angles, Chika's and Shito's bodies look weird. At times their limbs look exaggerated in length, almost out of proportion.
I like the dark, gothic feel of the setting. For instance the dormitory for special cases (such as Michiru, Koyomi, and the zombies) has a haunted house appearance. What more there is a school cemetery right outside that dorm. The same can be said about the abandoned and supposedly haunted inn that they visit for vacation in episode seven. While those designs may seem cliche were it used in a modern horror story, here I feel it adds to the atmosphere.
As for the animation, I have no complaints, but I wasn't blown away by it either. I do like the animation when a soul is released and guided into the afterlife. Also, some of the details of the battle scenes are fun to watch. It flows nicely and nothing looks out of place. However, there is nothing that stuck out as a defining moment of animation.
Music:
I hate the opening and ending songs used in Zombie-Loan. I'm actually a fan of metal and hard rock, and there have been times when that kind of music is an excellent choice ("Guren no Yumiya" in Attack on Titan and "What's Up People?" in Death Note to name two), but the two songs in Zombie-Loan were painful to listen to. I also feel that the songs don't match the tone, or the overall story. While there are plenty of serious moments, there is also a good bit of comedy. In my opinion the theme songs just don't fit.
Several times during a dramatic moment, or right before a cliffhanger ending to an episode, there would be an ominous choir piece. I like that song and I feel that it's eerie enough to fit the tone of the show. It's also vastly different from any of the other musical pieces in this series, making it stand out above the rest.
As for the remaining score, there's nothing much that stands out. It's not bad, as there's nothing apart from the opening and ending that I felt distracted from the show, it's just average.
Flaws:
I've already discussed a few flaws I found in this series, so I'll just recap my top three.
The first of the main problems I had was that the story starts out promising, but then the plot derails and goes off into a direction that makes it feel that this turn was out of the blue, or made up as it went.
I found less than a handful of the characters interesting enough, that they alone can't carry the weight of anyone else. Then there are some that makes me wonder why were the even included since they aren't properly expanded, or serve no purpose to the overall plot (ex: Chika's family). Had the show had more episodes, and allowed the characters to have further development I might not have this opinion. And again, perhaps the manga has the depth I'm looking for.
Lastly, and most importantly, I am unsatisfied with the ending. It's too abrupt that I don't even have time to feel anything before the curtain falls. There are too many questions I feel that are left unanswered. Perhaps a possible second season or the manga holds these answers, but as it stands, I am left wanting much more at the end of episode eleven.
Conclusion:
Zombie-Loan is an original show that had a lot of potential. It has some good characters, some that were less than average, and then some that were a waste of screen time. The art is pretty good: for the most part the character designs are interesting and the settings have their own unique charm.
I expected a lot more from the protagonist who pretty much became a secondary character by the end of the series. The focus is taken away from its main objective and replaced by a strange choice of plot points in the last few episodes. Also the ending is less than satisfying. I do hope there eventually will be a second season to clear some of that up.
I would recommend this anime as it is an entertaining watch. What more it's only eleven episodes, so it won't take long to view the entire series. However, this is a time in which I would recommend the manga over the anime to fill in a lot of holes in the show.
In all I would consider this show to be average.
Zombie-Loan: 6/10
Beverage: Monster Absolutely Zero
Hey, everyone. It's time for a new review.
It seems that recently the zombie genre has gained a lot of popularity in the media, with shows such as The Walking Dead on TV, and movies like World War Z and Warm Bodies. In addition there are zombie parties, and artists depicting popular celebrities or characters as zombies.
I for one have never been a fan of the zombie subgenre of horror. I do like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland due to the fact that they are both comedies that include animated corpses. Even with the latter portraying zombies in a more intelligent fashion, the zombies of today resemble the classic types such as Night of the Living Dead. Well, there does seem to be a show that breaks zombie stereotypes, that being the anime series Zombie-Loan.
I first watched Zombie-Loan about five years ago in my college's anime club. I was surprised to see the zombie genre tackled in a different manner. For one, there are different types of zombies: some that have their own will, some that are more intelligent, and some that just haven't died properly and survive on basic animal instinct. Another difference is the fact that two of the main characters who happen to be zombies are well, attractive. Neither of them show any signs of decay, they still have basic human needs (eating and sleeping), and they have their own thoughts and feelings just like any normal human being. In fact, had it not been for them constantly discussing what they are, and their superhuman abilities, it's possible to forget they are the living dead.
Story:
The story of Zombie-Loan is quite creative, at least in terms of the horror genre, specifically zombies. For one, this is a zombie show that's not that scary. There are a few images of "classic zombies" that might frighten anyone who is opposed to that kind of stuff, but for the most part, the story is not focused on scaring the viewer.
The plot follows a shy and easily scared high school girl named Michiru. She is an orphan, who will inherit a large sum of money when she reaches legal age. Due to this her relatives keep her with the promise that they will receive half of the inheritance on that day. Despite this, they still despise having her in their house, and treat her unkindly. In addition her "friends" at school are verbally abusive and seem to enjoy tormenting her, treating her as their servant rather than an equal.
One day when retrieving the snacks during lunch period, she trips over an object that turns out to be Chika's right hand. Therefore she meets Chika and Shito, two teenage boys who are famous for having survived an accident several months back in which everyone else involved died. One of her acquaintances are curious as to why those boys are speaking to Michiru and she snatches Michiru's glasses from her face. In this moment it is revealed that Michiru has a special ability to see rings around a person's neck indicating how close they are to death. Since Chika and Shito both have black rings she believes they are maybe hours from death.
After nightfall Michiru follows the boys into the school cemetery to warn them about their condition. She sees them remove and exchange hands then summon weapons. Michiru then witnesses them kill a zombie dog.
The next day Michiru learns that Chika and Shito are in fact zombies who are borrowing life and will need to repay their loan within a year in order to regain their real lives. They earn the necessary money by hunting down and killing dangerous and/or illegal zombies, afterwards, they guide their souls into the afterlife. The boys believe Michiru's special ability will help them in their quest and decide to include her as a part of the team.
That is all just in the first episode. Right about now this story sounds pretty awesome. To be honest, I thought it was. Episodes one through six intrigued me, especially the plot twists in episodes five and six. Episode seven is pretty much a filler episode, but it was still enjoyable.
However, in episodes eight through eleven the plot took a sharp turn and the story went in a strange direction. I won't say that I found the latter half of Zombie-Loan to be boring, so much as confusing and straying too far from the original premise. What more, the new direction felt rushed, and wasn't fully explored, leaving quite a few unanswered questions. Not to mention there was a major reveal about a certain character that seemed to have come out of nowhere. I also felt that the ending was too abrupt. Perhaps this is better explained in the manga, or would be build upon in a non-existent second season, but as it stands I feel unsatisfied with the second half of the series.
Characters:
The characters in this story are decent, but I feel that only a few of them really stand out.
To begin with there is the main character, Michiru. She is shy and a pushover. She's okay, but there's nothing that makes her an incredible protagonist, she's actually kind of bland. In one of the last episodes it's revealed that she adores cute things, but other than that not much is given on her likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, immediate goals, hopes for the future, etc--she's just kind of there. What more she never shows much emotion on her subject of her deceased parents. Other than her special ability to see how close a person is to death, she is shown to have no other talents or ambitions. At the very least she does have some character development halfway through the show. In the first few episodes she is portrayed as easily scared and screams a lot. Of course that is a realistic human reaction to coming across a band of zombies. A little later on she does gather some courage and confidence, mostly when someone she cares about is threatened. Unfortunately, in the last third of the anime she seems to take a back seat to Chika and Shito, who get more screen time and overall attention. While she is not annoying (at least after she stops constantly screaming), she doesn't strike me as being interesting enough to make her a good protagonist.
Next, I'll move onto the two main zombies: Chika and Shito. I'm going to review them together due to the fact they are perfect foils of one another. For one, their appearances significantly contrast. I do think it is clever for the color associated with each character is the negative of the other: Chika's hair and clothing is mostly white while Shito's is primarily black. I won't necessarily say hate, but these two strongly dislike one another, however, due to a mistake they are forced to work together until their debts are paid, or they permanently die. If they spend any substantial amount of time apart, their right hands will rot, making their ability to hunt zombies near impossible. Beyond that while Shito may on the surface appear to be more polite, he is actually cold and distant due to his difficulty trusting others. On the reverse, Chika may come across as rude and complains a lot, but he is actually warmer and friendlier than his partner. I found Chika much easier to like than Shito.
Now onto the supporting characters. My favorite of the cast would have to be Koyomi. She is generally sweet and upbeat. What more, she has a second personality who goes by the name Yomi. Yomi has the ability to recall final moments of a late victim. Also she is proven to be a decent fighter as seen in episode five. She has a crush on Michiru which leads to the team using Michiru to awaken Yomi who prefers to stay dormant. As cool as Koyomi/Yomi may be, unfortunately she gets very little screen time after episode seven.
Among the others there is Bekko, or the Ferryman, who gives life loans to zombies. He wasn't given much time to develop in the anime. However, I'm very interested in learning more about him based on his last scene in episode eleven. There is also Yuuta, another zombie who has the ability to heal wounds. She has a morbid sense of humor, and while she doesn't get much screen time, she is amusing when she is on screen.
The antagonists are underdeveloped in my opinion. I don't know if it is due to the fact that there are so few episodes, and perhaps there is more depth in the manga (this is one manga that I will check out because I want answers to the many lingering questions). Each antagonist may have only two, maybe three if they're lucky, episodes to themselves. I feel that the fights with each antagonist ends too quickly, especially the one revealed in episode six--I felt that one was too anticlimactic. Overall, I feel that they're motives are never clear enough, or they don't make sense. What more I feel unsatisfied with the lack of use of the main villains of the series. They are introduced, have a little dialogue, and then do nothing else.
In short I find some of these characters okay, but other than Koyomi, and Chika for most of the time, I felt they were lacking.
Art:
The art style is decent. I especially like the design of the faces. The pink-haired golem in the last third has one of the most interesting face designs; I also like how much her innocence is displayed through her facial expressions. I also like the design of Michiru. As I mentioned before, the choice of having contrasting color schemes the two male leads is a good one.
For the most part the characters have physical variety. No two characters (well, except for the zombie extras) look alike. The one nitpick I have about character design, is that sometimes with certain angles, Chika's and Shito's bodies look weird. At times their limbs look exaggerated in length, almost out of proportion.
I like the dark, gothic feel of the setting. For instance the dormitory for special cases (such as Michiru, Koyomi, and the zombies) has a haunted house appearance. What more there is a school cemetery right outside that dorm. The same can be said about the abandoned and supposedly haunted inn that they visit for vacation in episode seven. While those designs may seem cliche were it used in a modern horror story, here I feel it adds to the atmosphere.
As for the animation, I have no complaints, but I wasn't blown away by it either. I do like the animation when a soul is released and guided into the afterlife. Also, some of the details of the battle scenes are fun to watch. It flows nicely and nothing looks out of place. However, there is nothing that stuck out as a defining moment of animation.
Music:
I hate the opening and ending songs used in Zombie-Loan. I'm actually a fan of metal and hard rock, and there have been times when that kind of music is an excellent choice ("Guren no Yumiya" in Attack on Titan and "What's Up People?" in Death Note to name two), but the two songs in Zombie-Loan were painful to listen to. I also feel that the songs don't match the tone, or the overall story. While there are plenty of serious moments, there is also a good bit of comedy. In my opinion the theme songs just don't fit.
Several times during a dramatic moment, or right before a cliffhanger ending to an episode, there would be an ominous choir piece. I like that song and I feel that it's eerie enough to fit the tone of the show. It's also vastly different from any of the other musical pieces in this series, making it stand out above the rest.
As for the remaining score, there's nothing much that stands out. It's not bad, as there's nothing apart from the opening and ending that I felt distracted from the show, it's just average.
Flaws:
I've already discussed a few flaws I found in this series, so I'll just recap my top three.
The first of the main problems I had was that the story starts out promising, but then the plot derails and goes off into a direction that makes it feel that this turn was out of the blue, or made up as it went.
I found less than a handful of the characters interesting enough, that they alone can't carry the weight of anyone else. Then there are some that makes me wonder why were the even included since they aren't properly expanded, or serve no purpose to the overall plot (ex: Chika's family). Had the show had more episodes, and allowed the characters to have further development I might not have this opinion. And again, perhaps the manga has the depth I'm looking for.
Lastly, and most importantly, I am unsatisfied with the ending. It's too abrupt that I don't even have time to feel anything before the curtain falls. There are too many questions I feel that are left unanswered. Perhaps a possible second season or the manga holds these answers, but as it stands, I am left wanting much more at the end of episode eleven.
Conclusion:
Zombie-Loan is an original show that had a lot of potential. It has some good characters, some that were less than average, and then some that were a waste of screen time. The art is pretty good: for the most part the character designs are interesting and the settings have their own unique charm.
I expected a lot more from the protagonist who pretty much became a secondary character by the end of the series. The focus is taken away from its main objective and replaced by a strange choice of plot points in the last few episodes. Also the ending is less than satisfying. I do hope there eventually will be a second season to clear some of that up.
I would recommend this anime as it is an entertaining watch. What more it's only eleven episodes, so it won't take long to view the entire series. However, this is a time in which I would recommend the manga over the anime to fill in a lot of holes in the show.
In all I would consider this show to be average.
Zombie-Loan: 6/10
Beverage: Monster Absolutely Zero
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Review of Emma: A Victorian Romance (2005-2007)
Review of Emma: A Victorian Romance (2005-2007)
Hey, everyone. It's time for a new review.
Two days ago I finished the second season of Emma: A Victorian Romance. Even though they are classified as two separate entries, I will compose a single review for both.
If I had to pick one word to describe this anime, that word would be beautiful. The story is beautiful along with the art, the music, and the characters (I found only two unlikable characters in the whole series). Overall I found it enjoyable.
Story:
The story follows Emma, a polite maid in Victorian era, London, England. Kelly Stownar, the elderly woman Emma works for is a retired governess. One day they are visited by William Jones, a former student of Stownar's. William and Emma meet and eventually fall in love.
Everything seems wonderful, right? No. Both William's family and most of society are against them because William is of the gentry class, and Emma is a commoner. That and William's father has already arranged for William to court Eleanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount.
Through many events, other characters, and hardships both Emma and William work for a way to their happy ending.
It should be warned that this anime is slow paced. While it may seem dragging at times, I feel that the slower pace works better for this kind of story. For one, it gives the audience time to get to know the characters, and two, it makes the romance more believable when it takes time, Since this anime is supposed to be a historical slice of life, I like that it does take time for the story to get there, rather than having it happen too quick.
Also, I think it's fair to say that I find this anime to be more character focused than plot driven.
Characters:
This is my favorite part of the anime. I just love most of the characters in the series. There are only two I shook my head at, but everyone else is amazing. For the sake of time, I'm only going to touch on a few of the major ones.
To begin with: Emma. She is probably one of my favorite anime protagonists (and that's not something I can say often). Emma is kind, humble, polite, hard-working, and never once complains. Several times we see the other servants mumble a complaint, but Emma mostly keeps a cheery outlook. She stands firmly by what she believes. She is also considerate of others' feelings, as seen in the first episode of the second season by the incident with Nanette--it took a lot of kindness to do what she did when anybody else would have done the exact opposite.
Next up is the lead male: William Jones. He is the kind of guy who thinks with his heart rather than his brain. While that may be excellent several times, especially when it comes to Emma, resulting in romantic delights, other times it was shown to have caused him trouble (mostly with Eleanor). I have to admit, despite how kind William is, for the most part I found him to be immature and selfish; it wasn't until the last fourth of the second season, when he undergoes serious character development that I was able to truly respect him.
On that note, I had the same opinion about Richard Jones (William's father). At first he comes across as traditional and austere, but he too had some growth in the last few episodes of the second season. What he says to Viscount Campbell in that last episode has to be one of my favorite comebacks ever.
Now onto Eleanor Campbell. While she may be the antagonist, as both she and Emma are interested in the same man, she is not a villain. I want to thank the anime for not portraying her as such. In fact there are no villains in this story, just people. Eleanor is shown as being a nice girl who never has anything mean to say about anyone. She is seen as being kind to her maid, is well-mannered, and is trying her hardest to make her relationship with William work. I found her to be a likable character.
Of course the person to thank for the story all together is Kelly Stownar. Were it not for her, William and Emma would have never been introduced. She is a kind woman who practically took Emma in. She views Emma as family rather than a subordinate. Episode eleven shows in detail why Emma loves her so much. Even though the primary focus of the story is on the romance, I also liked watching Emma and Kelly's interactions throughout.
Now onto minor characters that I will give a brief mention. First is Hakim, an Indian prince and friend to William. He acts as William's confidant, and beyond the party boy he may seem to be, he proves himself to be a good friend and offers sound advice to William throughout the series. Next is Hans, a servant who is introduced in the second season, and the competition for Emma's affection. He may seem grumpy at first, but it's interesting to watch how he shows his love for Emma, and how much it differs from William's. And lastly is Grace Jones, the eldest Jones sister. She acts as a mother figure to her younger siblings. She is given a fair amount of screen time, and is my favorite of the Jones children.
While most of the characters are likable, there are two I just couldn't. The lesser of the two is William's kid sister Vivian. She is a spoiled brat who expects the world to bow to her. She is also extremely rude, especially for a girl of that time period. She is particularly rude to Emma when the latter comes to visit. Vivian also runs off at the mouth way too much. They worry too much about William embarrassing the family, when they should be focused on Vivian's mouth as the source of family humiliation. The second is the Viscount Campbell. He despises anyone beneath him. He has such a condescending personality, such as throwing away the glove that he used to shake hands with Richard, or blaming Eleanor for something awful that may ruin their family's reputation, that wasn't her fault. His older daughter, Monica, is obviously aware of her father's character, and loathes him for it. I just found him difficult to like.
I spent a lot of time on the characters and there are so many more who deserve a mention, but for the sake of the review I need to move on. In short, I love the characters in this anime.
Art:
The art is beautiful. The character designs are pretty, the backgrounds are gorgeous, the colors and lighting look nice.
First of all, the character designs here are different from your typical anime. For one the people are designed to look like real people while still keeping an anime charm. There are no bold hair colors, exaggerated facial expressions, chibis, random changes in animation, moeness, or anything else often seen in many anime series. The facial expressions match what you would see in real life. The faces themselves may look a little odd at first, mainly because it's different from what I'm used to.
This is later Victorian, so the fashion is not exactly my favorite from the era, but it's still pretty. There is a flashback scene to an earlier decade, so I did get to see a more preferred style of clothing for a brief moment. To be honest, I'm glad that the creators were careful to make it as accurate as possible. I will get to that topic a little later.
The locations are beautiful. I like the details of London streets: the market, the carriages, etc, especially when compared to the countryside later in the series. The houses are ornate and fun to look at. Even the shop that William frequents has its own unique atmosphere, All the details makes it feel like you're there in that time period with the characters.
The animation, however, is not the best. At times it feels like there could be more. Of course this could go back to the pace of the show. As for the faces, I would have liked to see more display of emotions from the characters. The voice acting is superb, but sometimes the animation itself feels like its lacking, due to want of movement.
Historical Accuracy:
The historical accuracy is another plus this anime had. This is the second anime I have watched that takes place in the Victorian Era. The first was Black Butler, so there are some obvious comparisons between the two. It's no stretch to say Emma: A Victorian Romance is much closer to the time period compared to something like Black Butler, which is more of a fantasy, While Black Butler had several anachronisms, Emma: A Victorian Romance is a good representation of the time presented.
I like that the characters are limited by whatever technology they had at the time. For instance, all correspondence was done via letter. Also, other than Hakim, they don't have the luxury of cars and have to get by with a carriage (if the character can afford it [one of the coolest scenes was watching Emma chase after and jump on a horse-drawn bus]), a train, or on foot. It's also interesting to get a glimpse at how firetrucks worked during that time.
There are also the social formalities of the time presented here, such as when Richard scolds William for blowing off a meeting with a client. There is also an episode that shows how having to attend all these functions to uphold society took its toll on a more introverted character. In addition, all the characters are referred to by title, and while that is something that is common in subbed anime, it's especially important for this setting.
I also like how important the Crystal Palace, an actual building that was constructed during the Victorian era, is to the story. It was a place where everybody gathered, so I like how it is crucial to four major plot points in this anime.
I already mentioned how accurate the clothing is during the art portion of this review, but I want to touch a little more on that one. The clothes worn in this anime look like replicas of actual Victorian clothing, not just stylized ones that might be seen in Black Butler. I also like the depictions of costume for the different classes. Even when the servants dress up for outings, or parties their clothes are still less elaborate than the ones worn by the wealthier families.
Since the Victorian era was a time of prized propriety, as portrayed when Eleanor complains of how exposed she feels in a modest bathing suit, this anime includes very little fan service, something I'm happy about. In fact, the first season had none (unless you count the corset tightening scene). However, there are two very short scenes in the second season with a bit of nudity, but it's not excessive, or detracting from the plot, so I'm not annoyed with it. While there may be a few underwear shots in the second season, it's only their undress, so you'll only see the character in a corset and petticoat.
Another thing I wish to mention is that there is no break from the time period. There are no pop culture references, or anything done that takes this story out of its setting for an attempt at humor, or to wink at the audience. Everything feels like it is in place. Even though William wants to do something that is unheard of in their social standing, he still has to work around the obstacles of his time, along with adhering to the potential consequences dangling above him (such as his family possibly being tossed out of society).
In all, it looks like the creators put in extra effort to make this story as accurate to the time period as possible. Even in the credits, there is someone whose entire job is historical accuracy. For me, it makes it more enjoyable to watch a period piece without having to worry about ridiculous attempts at modernizing something.
Music:
The opening and ending songs to this anime are beautiful. Something special about the songs used here is that there are no lyrics. Each opening and ending is strictly instrumental. The opening song is the same in both seasons, but a different version of the song is played in the second one. I do like the first ending better with the playful, upbeat song that sounds like something you would hear on a Victorian street, carnival, or marketplace.
In addition, lovely instrumental pieces are played throughout the show. It makes sense as there were no catchy pop songs at the time, once again adding to the overall experience of this series. Even Tasha's song, the only piece of vocal music in this anime is a traditional rhyme set to a melody.
Conclusion:
This is one of my favorite anime series thus far. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. The series is clean: I think there is only one swear word in the whole twenty four episodes, and the art is beautiful to look at. However, due to its slow pace and some complicated social structure, it may not be best suited for kids, but I think teenagers or older might enjoy it.
If you want an animated look at the Victorian era, this is a good choice. If you want a sweet, realistic romance, this is a good one to check out. If you just want something that's different from most anime, this is a good recommendation.
Emma: A Victorian Romance: 8/10
Emma: A Victorian Romance Second Act: 9/10
Music: Whitney Houston
Beverage: Fruit Water Black Raspberry
Hey, everyone. It's time for a new review.
Two days ago I finished the second season of Emma: A Victorian Romance. Even though they are classified as two separate entries, I will compose a single review for both.
If I had to pick one word to describe this anime, that word would be beautiful. The story is beautiful along with the art, the music, and the characters (I found only two unlikable characters in the whole series). Overall I found it enjoyable.
Story:
The story follows Emma, a polite maid in Victorian era, London, England. Kelly Stownar, the elderly woman Emma works for is a retired governess. One day they are visited by William Jones, a former student of Stownar's. William and Emma meet and eventually fall in love.
Everything seems wonderful, right? No. Both William's family and most of society are against them because William is of the gentry class, and Emma is a commoner. That and William's father has already arranged for William to court Eleanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount.
Through many events, other characters, and hardships both Emma and William work for a way to their happy ending.
It should be warned that this anime is slow paced. While it may seem dragging at times, I feel that the slower pace works better for this kind of story. For one, it gives the audience time to get to know the characters, and two, it makes the romance more believable when it takes time, Since this anime is supposed to be a historical slice of life, I like that it does take time for the story to get there, rather than having it happen too quick.
Also, I think it's fair to say that I find this anime to be more character focused than plot driven.
Characters:
This is my favorite part of the anime. I just love most of the characters in the series. There are only two I shook my head at, but everyone else is amazing. For the sake of time, I'm only going to touch on a few of the major ones.
To begin with: Emma. She is probably one of my favorite anime protagonists (and that's not something I can say often). Emma is kind, humble, polite, hard-working, and never once complains. Several times we see the other servants mumble a complaint, but Emma mostly keeps a cheery outlook. She stands firmly by what she believes. She is also considerate of others' feelings, as seen in the first episode of the second season by the incident with Nanette--it took a lot of kindness to do what she did when anybody else would have done the exact opposite.
Next up is the lead male: William Jones. He is the kind of guy who thinks with his heart rather than his brain. While that may be excellent several times, especially when it comes to Emma, resulting in romantic delights, other times it was shown to have caused him trouble (mostly with Eleanor). I have to admit, despite how kind William is, for the most part I found him to be immature and selfish; it wasn't until the last fourth of the second season, when he undergoes serious character development that I was able to truly respect him.
On that note, I had the same opinion about Richard Jones (William's father). At first he comes across as traditional and austere, but he too had some growth in the last few episodes of the second season. What he says to Viscount Campbell in that last episode has to be one of my favorite comebacks ever.
Now onto Eleanor Campbell. While she may be the antagonist, as both she and Emma are interested in the same man, she is not a villain. I want to thank the anime for not portraying her as such. In fact there are no villains in this story, just people. Eleanor is shown as being a nice girl who never has anything mean to say about anyone. She is seen as being kind to her maid, is well-mannered, and is trying her hardest to make her relationship with William work. I found her to be a likable character.
Of course the person to thank for the story all together is Kelly Stownar. Were it not for her, William and Emma would have never been introduced. She is a kind woman who practically took Emma in. She views Emma as family rather than a subordinate. Episode eleven shows in detail why Emma loves her so much. Even though the primary focus of the story is on the romance, I also liked watching Emma and Kelly's interactions throughout.
Now onto minor characters that I will give a brief mention. First is Hakim, an Indian prince and friend to William. He acts as William's confidant, and beyond the party boy he may seem to be, he proves himself to be a good friend and offers sound advice to William throughout the series. Next is Hans, a servant who is introduced in the second season, and the competition for Emma's affection. He may seem grumpy at first, but it's interesting to watch how he shows his love for Emma, and how much it differs from William's. And lastly is Grace Jones, the eldest Jones sister. She acts as a mother figure to her younger siblings. She is given a fair amount of screen time, and is my favorite of the Jones children.
While most of the characters are likable, there are two I just couldn't. The lesser of the two is William's kid sister Vivian. She is a spoiled brat who expects the world to bow to her. She is also extremely rude, especially for a girl of that time period. She is particularly rude to Emma when the latter comes to visit. Vivian also runs off at the mouth way too much. They worry too much about William embarrassing the family, when they should be focused on Vivian's mouth as the source of family humiliation. The second is the Viscount Campbell. He despises anyone beneath him. He has such a condescending personality, such as throwing away the glove that he used to shake hands with Richard, or blaming Eleanor for something awful that may ruin their family's reputation, that wasn't her fault. His older daughter, Monica, is obviously aware of her father's character, and loathes him for it. I just found him difficult to like.
I spent a lot of time on the characters and there are so many more who deserve a mention, but for the sake of the review I need to move on. In short, I love the characters in this anime.
Art:
The art is beautiful. The character designs are pretty, the backgrounds are gorgeous, the colors and lighting look nice.
First of all, the character designs here are different from your typical anime. For one the people are designed to look like real people while still keeping an anime charm. There are no bold hair colors, exaggerated facial expressions, chibis, random changes in animation, moeness, or anything else often seen in many anime series. The facial expressions match what you would see in real life. The faces themselves may look a little odd at first, mainly because it's different from what I'm used to.
This is later Victorian, so the fashion is not exactly my favorite from the era, but it's still pretty. There is a flashback scene to an earlier decade, so I did get to see a more preferred style of clothing for a brief moment. To be honest, I'm glad that the creators were careful to make it as accurate as possible. I will get to that topic a little later.
The locations are beautiful. I like the details of London streets: the market, the carriages, etc, especially when compared to the countryside later in the series. The houses are ornate and fun to look at. Even the shop that William frequents has its own unique atmosphere, All the details makes it feel like you're there in that time period with the characters.
The animation, however, is not the best. At times it feels like there could be more. Of course this could go back to the pace of the show. As for the faces, I would have liked to see more display of emotions from the characters. The voice acting is superb, but sometimes the animation itself feels like its lacking, due to want of movement.
Historical Accuracy:
The historical accuracy is another plus this anime had. This is the second anime I have watched that takes place in the Victorian Era. The first was Black Butler, so there are some obvious comparisons between the two. It's no stretch to say Emma: A Victorian Romance is much closer to the time period compared to something like Black Butler, which is more of a fantasy, While Black Butler had several anachronisms, Emma: A Victorian Romance is a good representation of the time presented.
I like that the characters are limited by whatever technology they had at the time. For instance, all correspondence was done via letter. Also, other than Hakim, they don't have the luxury of cars and have to get by with a carriage (if the character can afford it [one of the coolest scenes was watching Emma chase after and jump on a horse-drawn bus]), a train, or on foot. It's also interesting to get a glimpse at how firetrucks worked during that time.
There are also the social formalities of the time presented here, such as when Richard scolds William for blowing off a meeting with a client. There is also an episode that shows how having to attend all these functions to uphold society took its toll on a more introverted character. In addition, all the characters are referred to by title, and while that is something that is common in subbed anime, it's especially important for this setting.
I also like how important the Crystal Palace, an actual building that was constructed during the Victorian era, is to the story. It was a place where everybody gathered, so I like how it is crucial to four major plot points in this anime.
I already mentioned how accurate the clothing is during the art portion of this review, but I want to touch a little more on that one. The clothes worn in this anime look like replicas of actual Victorian clothing, not just stylized ones that might be seen in Black Butler. I also like the depictions of costume for the different classes. Even when the servants dress up for outings, or parties their clothes are still less elaborate than the ones worn by the wealthier families.
Since the Victorian era was a time of prized propriety, as portrayed when Eleanor complains of how exposed she feels in a modest bathing suit, this anime includes very little fan service, something I'm happy about. In fact, the first season had none (unless you count the corset tightening scene). However, there are two very short scenes in the second season with a bit of nudity, but it's not excessive, or detracting from the plot, so I'm not annoyed with it. While there may be a few underwear shots in the second season, it's only their undress, so you'll only see the character in a corset and petticoat.
Another thing I wish to mention is that there is no break from the time period. There are no pop culture references, or anything done that takes this story out of its setting for an attempt at humor, or to wink at the audience. Everything feels like it is in place. Even though William wants to do something that is unheard of in their social standing, he still has to work around the obstacles of his time, along with adhering to the potential consequences dangling above him (such as his family possibly being tossed out of society).
In all, it looks like the creators put in extra effort to make this story as accurate to the time period as possible. Even in the credits, there is someone whose entire job is historical accuracy. For me, it makes it more enjoyable to watch a period piece without having to worry about ridiculous attempts at modernizing something.
Music:
The opening and ending songs to this anime are beautiful. Something special about the songs used here is that there are no lyrics. Each opening and ending is strictly instrumental. The opening song is the same in both seasons, but a different version of the song is played in the second one. I do like the first ending better with the playful, upbeat song that sounds like something you would hear on a Victorian street, carnival, or marketplace.
In addition, lovely instrumental pieces are played throughout the show. It makes sense as there were no catchy pop songs at the time, once again adding to the overall experience of this series. Even Tasha's song, the only piece of vocal music in this anime is a traditional rhyme set to a melody.
Conclusion:
This is one of my favorite anime series thus far. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. The series is clean: I think there is only one swear word in the whole twenty four episodes, and the art is beautiful to look at. However, due to its slow pace and some complicated social structure, it may not be best suited for kids, but I think teenagers or older might enjoy it.
If you want an animated look at the Victorian era, this is a good choice. If you want a sweet, realistic romance, this is a good one to check out. If you just want something that's different from most anime, this is a good recommendation.
Emma: A Victorian Romance: 8/10
Emma: A Victorian Romance Second Act: 9/10
Music: Whitney Houston
Beverage: Fruit Water Black Raspberry
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Review of Isuca (2015)
Review of Isuca (2015)
Hello, everyone, it's time for a new review.
I just started this new anime yesterday by the name of Isuca. From what I read on MyAnimeList, the show sounded interesting. For the most part I found it entertaining to watch, although I wouldn't rank it in my top anime. What more, the series is only ten episodes long, so it took little time to complete this one.
The story follows a high school boy named Shinichirou who is rescued one evening from a monster by a mysterious archer. The next day he runs into that very hero, one of his schoolmates, Sakuya. Shinichirou was on the scene during one of Sakuya's battles, and he attempts to aid her, and through that assistance, it is discovered that he has a special ability of passing on spiritual energy to anyone he kisses. What more, it is revealed that Shinichirou also has the ability to discover a spirit, or mage's true name. Needing money, Shinichirou takes on a job as the maid and cook for Sakuya, in addition to helping her with her responsibilities of sealing away specters who want to kill humans for their life force.
The first thing I have to say about the plot, is that it is pretty interesting. While it may have a few magical girl cliches, I still think it's original enough to stand on its own. The plot is easy to follow. The antagonist is powerful, without being over the top. There is also the subplot of the two teenage relatives--Sakuya and Suseri--competing for the title of the family's leader. The story alone makes the show worth a viewing.
The story gets high points for me, however, when it comes to the characters, I find several of them to be lacking.
I find the character of Shinichirou to be your basic, average high school male that anime fans have seen hundreds of times. He's nice and polite, but he's awkward around the women who desire him, and due to misunderstandings is often called a pervert by Sakuya. I find him to be too much of a pushover when it comes to Sakuya, and I'm surprised he didn't end up leaving Sakuya halfway through due to how awful she treats him. On the other hand, he proves himself to have lots of courage when it comes to battle, with how quick he is to put himself in danger, and sacrifice his life force to rescue his teammates. While he may be cliche, I still think he's likable enough to carry his weight in this series.
Now onto the number one problem I had with this show, and that is the lead female: Sakuya. I find it difficult to like or support Sakuya. She's currently the head of the Shimazu family, who hunts down specters, and she's trying to prove to them that she's the right candidate for the job. While I can understand she's under a lot of stress, her personality is so awful, I just can't root for her. She treats Shinichirou horribly, so much as to never even pay him for his services, as well as resort to physical violence for things that aren't even his fault. She is stubborn, selfish, and rarely shows any gratitude for anything anyone does for her--even small things, such as complaining about the stew and demanding that Shinichirou remake it for her. She's so quick to lash out at people that I just view her as an immature brat who isn't cut out to be the leader.
Tamako, the cat demon, has to be my favorite character in the series. I love how close she is with Shinichirou based on how he saved her life, and the fact that he unintentionally became her master. She is brave, which makes her useful in a few fights (at times even more useful than Sakuya), and willing to help out her friends at the cost of her own life. She also provides a few moments of comic relief.
And finally, there is Suseri. I find her to be more likable than Sakuya, but even she doesn't strike me as leader potential due to her recklessness. While she may come across as cold at first, she's not harsh like Sakuya. Her desire for wanting Shinichirou is initially based on his magical abilities, I do like their progressing relationship. Over time I believe that her love for him is sincere. I also believe that the two of them have better chemistry than Shinichirou and Sakuya. What more, she seems to be the only character in the series who undergoes some sort of character development.
Now onto the main antagonist of the anime, and that is the title character: Isuca. As mentioned before, she is a powerful mage, and I like how difficult it is for the good guys to fight her. However, her motive is not really clear. She explains that she hates Sakuya and her family, but never gives much of a reason for it. Also, her character has no redeeming qualities; she strikes me as being pure evil, at times just for the fun of it. Not to mention she has that cliche villain laugh. While she may be a decent adversary, the depth of her character lacks heavily. Perhaps this is something that is better explained in the manga, or will be explored if ever there is a second season, but as of now I find her to be a flat character.
There are also several minor characters that add nothing to the story and are given screen time for reasons I cannot comprehend. The most annoying of these would be Shinichirou's classmate and friend who is only there to stare at and talk about females. The teacher and I suppose family member, Nadeshiko, is also without purpose for the most part. It feels that she is mainly there for exposition. I know giving a decent amount of screen time to useless minor characters is a staple in many anime, but I still feel they're a waste of time.
The highlight of the show in my opinion are the fight scenes. For the most part I find them entertaining to watch. However, the moves can be repetitive, especially from Suseri who uses the same attack over and over again. I think the best one is in episode four when the katana possesses Sakuya and she is forced to attack Shinichirou. I just like the suspense of that fight. I also would have liked to have seen more sword fighting from Shinichirou as the series progressed.
I also like that the battles are not easy for the characters. In the major battle of the first episode, it took three characters to fight the specter. It's rare for Sakuya's attacks to work the first time (I think it may have happened once in the whole series). If the fights are too easy it makes it uninteresting for the audience. I think this anime did good with keeping the fights long enough to be interesting, while short enough to keep attention from fading.
In addition to this being a magical and action anime, it is also heavy with the ecchi. As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I don't like ecchi for the sake of ecchi, which unfortunately this show is. There are numerous unnecessary moments when clothing is torn off of characters during fights, or that infamous scene in the locker room with the rat demon in episode two. In regards to the first one, I find it ridiculous because after the fight in the first episode Sakuya sports no severe bruises/scrapes/scratches, and her hair is still neat, yet it's her clothes that are tattered; or the instance in a later episode in which the snake specter's poison burns off Tamako's clothes, but there is no actual damage to her person. Not only do I find that to be unnecessary fan service, but also unrealistic given the conditions. Then of course there are the many times that Shinichirou falls on a character, or accidentally ends up in a compromising position which leads to unfair abuse (slapping, being labeled as a pervert, etc) from Sakuya due to her embarrassment. This is not the first time I've seen this done in anime: I didn't find it funny before, and I still don't find it funny now. My opinion remains that if your story is good enough, you don't need useless ecchi to sell it.
The art is standard: it's not bad, but there's nothing about it that stands out either. The characters themselves look like typical anime characters. The only exception is the lead male, who just looks plain. There is nothing bold, or special about the color schemes used. Even the specters look like monsters shown in countless anime before.
There is nothing special about the music. There are no songs that stand out, nor are there any that I find annoying, in fact I hardly even paid attention to the background score. So as far as the soundtrack goes, I find it slightly below average.
In conclusion, I find the story to be interesting, however the ending is unsatisfying. If there is a sequel I will definitely check it out to fulfill my curiosity. The characters have little development, and this is another anime in which I find the protagonist too annoying to like. Fortunately for her, but not for the anime, the antagonist is also lacking in character development. There are some interesting fight scenes and plot twists. The art is neither good nor bad, just basic. In all, that's actually how I would classify the series: average. I think it's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do, but it's nothing spectacular.
Isuca: 6/10
Music: Anime openings
Beverage: Acai Berry Storm Mio
Hello, everyone, it's time for a new review.
I just started this new anime yesterday by the name of Isuca. From what I read on MyAnimeList, the show sounded interesting. For the most part I found it entertaining to watch, although I wouldn't rank it in my top anime. What more, the series is only ten episodes long, so it took little time to complete this one.
The story follows a high school boy named Shinichirou who is rescued one evening from a monster by a mysterious archer. The next day he runs into that very hero, one of his schoolmates, Sakuya. Shinichirou was on the scene during one of Sakuya's battles, and he attempts to aid her, and through that assistance, it is discovered that he has a special ability of passing on spiritual energy to anyone he kisses. What more, it is revealed that Shinichirou also has the ability to discover a spirit, or mage's true name. Needing money, Shinichirou takes on a job as the maid and cook for Sakuya, in addition to helping her with her responsibilities of sealing away specters who want to kill humans for their life force.
The first thing I have to say about the plot, is that it is pretty interesting. While it may have a few magical girl cliches, I still think it's original enough to stand on its own. The plot is easy to follow. The antagonist is powerful, without being over the top. There is also the subplot of the two teenage relatives--Sakuya and Suseri--competing for the title of the family's leader. The story alone makes the show worth a viewing.
The story gets high points for me, however, when it comes to the characters, I find several of them to be lacking.
I find the character of Shinichirou to be your basic, average high school male that anime fans have seen hundreds of times. He's nice and polite, but he's awkward around the women who desire him, and due to misunderstandings is often called a pervert by Sakuya. I find him to be too much of a pushover when it comes to Sakuya, and I'm surprised he didn't end up leaving Sakuya halfway through due to how awful she treats him. On the other hand, he proves himself to have lots of courage when it comes to battle, with how quick he is to put himself in danger, and sacrifice his life force to rescue his teammates. While he may be cliche, I still think he's likable enough to carry his weight in this series.
Now onto the number one problem I had with this show, and that is the lead female: Sakuya. I find it difficult to like or support Sakuya. She's currently the head of the Shimazu family, who hunts down specters, and she's trying to prove to them that she's the right candidate for the job. While I can understand she's under a lot of stress, her personality is so awful, I just can't root for her. She treats Shinichirou horribly, so much as to never even pay him for his services, as well as resort to physical violence for things that aren't even his fault. She is stubborn, selfish, and rarely shows any gratitude for anything anyone does for her--even small things, such as complaining about the stew and demanding that Shinichirou remake it for her. She's so quick to lash out at people that I just view her as an immature brat who isn't cut out to be the leader.
Tamako, the cat demon, has to be my favorite character in the series. I love how close she is with Shinichirou based on how he saved her life, and the fact that he unintentionally became her master. She is brave, which makes her useful in a few fights (at times even more useful than Sakuya), and willing to help out her friends at the cost of her own life. She also provides a few moments of comic relief.
And finally, there is Suseri. I find her to be more likable than Sakuya, but even she doesn't strike me as leader potential due to her recklessness. While she may come across as cold at first, she's not harsh like Sakuya. Her desire for wanting Shinichirou is initially based on his magical abilities, I do like their progressing relationship. Over time I believe that her love for him is sincere. I also believe that the two of them have better chemistry than Shinichirou and Sakuya. What more, she seems to be the only character in the series who undergoes some sort of character development.
Now onto the main antagonist of the anime, and that is the title character: Isuca. As mentioned before, she is a powerful mage, and I like how difficult it is for the good guys to fight her. However, her motive is not really clear. She explains that she hates Sakuya and her family, but never gives much of a reason for it. Also, her character has no redeeming qualities; she strikes me as being pure evil, at times just for the fun of it. Not to mention she has that cliche villain laugh. While she may be a decent adversary, the depth of her character lacks heavily. Perhaps this is something that is better explained in the manga, or will be explored if ever there is a second season, but as of now I find her to be a flat character.
There are also several minor characters that add nothing to the story and are given screen time for reasons I cannot comprehend. The most annoying of these would be Shinichirou's classmate and friend who is only there to stare at and talk about females. The teacher and I suppose family member, Nadeshiko, is also without purpose for the most part. It feels that she is mainly there for exposition. I know giving a decent amount of screen time to useless minor characters is a staple in many anime, but I still feel they're a waste of time.
The highlight of the show in my opinion are the fight scenes. For the most part I find them entertaining to watch. However, the moves can be repetitive, especially from Suseri who uses the same attack over and over again. I think the best one is in episode four when the katana possesses Sakuya and she is forced to attack Shinichirou. I just like the suspense of that fight. I also would have liked to have seen more sword fighting from Shinichirou as the series progressed.
I also like that the battles are not easy for the characters. In the major battle of the first episode, it took three characters to fight the specter. It's rare for Sakuya's attacks to work the first time (I think it may have happened once in the whole series). If the fights are too easy it makes it uninteresting for the audience. I think this anime did good with keeping the fights long enough to be interesting, while short enough to keep attention from fading.
In addition to this being a magical and action anime, it is also heavy with the ecchi. As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I don't like ecchi for the sake of ecchi, which unfortunately this show is. There are numerous unnecessary moments when clothing is torn off of characters during fights, or that infamous scene in the locker room with the rat demon in episode two. In regards to the first one, I find it ridiculous because after the fight in the first episode Sakuya sports no severe bruises/scrapes/scratches, and her hair is still neat, yet it's her clothes that are tattered; or the instance in a later episode in which the snake specter's poison burns off Tamako's clothes, but there is no actual damage to her person. Not only do I find that to be unnecessary fan service, but also unrealistic given the conditions. Then of course there are the many times that Shinichirou falls on a character, or accidentally ends up in a compromising position which leads to unfair abuse (slapping, being labeled as a pervert, etc) from Sakuya due to her embarrassment. This is not the first time I've seen this done in anime: I didn't find it funny before, and I still don't find it funny now. My opinion remains that if your story is good enough, you don't need useless ecchi to sell it.
The art is standard: it's not bad, but there's nothing about it that stands out either. The characters themselves look like typical anime characters. The only exception is the lead male, who just looks plain. There is nothing bold, or special about the color schemes used. Even the specters look like monsters shown in countless anime before.
There is nothing special about the music. There are no songs that stand out, nor are there any that I find annoying, in fact I hardly even paid attention to the background score. So as far as the soundtrack goes, I find it slightly below average.
In conclusion, I find the story to be interesting, however the ending is unsatisfying. If there is a sequel I will definitely check it out to fulfill my curiosity. The characters have little development, and this is another anime in which I find the protagonist too annoying to like. Fortunately for her, but not for the anime, the antagonist is also lacking in character development. There are some interesting fight scenes and plot twists. The art is neither good nor bad, just basic. In all, that's actually how I would classify the series: average. I think it's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do, but it's nothing spectacular.
Isuca: 6/10
Music: Anime openings
Beverage: Acai Berry Storm Mio
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