What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Gdgd Fairies is a weekly anime television series featuring computer generated animation, starting in October 2011. Three magical fairies, pkpk, shrshr and krkr, sit around talking about the world and practicing their magic.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: pkpk, shrshr and krkr sit around and talk about waking up late, finding money in your pockets and life’s little joys. Later, they decide to hold an extreme bungee-jumping-bread-eating contest. Then they make fun of a baseball pitcher accosted by a giant chicken.

My Impressions: Does anyone remember the very first episode of Lucky Star when the girls were just sitting around a table talking about eating chocolate coronets for several minutes? The bulk of gdgd Fairies is *just like that*, with the characters sitting around talking about the most unusual of topics, coming to the most unlikely of conclusions. Especially the emotionless, demure krkr as she seems to always be trolling the other two nearly all the time.

You can’t take anything in gdgd Fairies seriously. At all. It’s like watching an inside joke for about fifteen minutes, either you “get it” or you don’t. It’s like some Japanese writers got stoned out of their gourd and decided to watch a Xavier: Renegade Angel marathon. Then decided to create a Japanese anime version, only with cute moe-style anime girls. The whole shebang seems almost designed to fit within the old Cartoon Network “Adult Swim” post-midnight block of programming.

The verdict:

I can’t really call this a “good” show or not, but I can definitely say it is different and you can never expect what is going to come next. The inanity of the bungee jumping contest makes no sense, and krkr breaking out in her non-voice-acting voice (that whole segment has to be unscripted) at the end. This show is just bananas, I tell you! Bananas!

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (February 12)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • If anyone posted an honest-to-god actual review of the second episode online in the past eight months, they’ve done a damn good job of hiding it from Google Search! No reviews at all! Except for mine!
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate/Zero, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter, gdgd Fairies

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain, Tamayura: Hitotose

    Coming up next: None – round 2 is over!

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Tamayura: Hitotose is a 12-part anime televisions series between October and December 2011, a sequel to the 2010 4-part Tamayura OVA series. After the death of her father, Fu moves back to her hometown after several years away. Taking up her father’s hobby of photography, she works to shake off her shyness and make new friends.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: After the flashback introductory episode, the series moves forward to the present day, after Fu has moved to the new town and started to fit in with her new friends. Fu has a sleepover with her new friends. They do girlie stuff. Nothing of significance happens. The end.

My Impressions: One of the genres of anime is the notion of the Iyashikei, or “healing anime”, and Tamayura fits that category to a tee. It’s all about the ridiculously-shy Fu as she makes new friends and moves on with her life after the death of her father, all through the magic of taking really bad photographs with dust spots on the lenses.

It’s all light and heart-warming and inoffensively fuzzy-wuzzy and all that crap, which is fine and dandy. But it’s also incredibly boring.

I’ve been down this road before, having watched the original four-part Original Video Animation of Tamayura last year, and this second episode fits right into the mold that was set earlier perfectly. Tamayura is a whole lot like the much more popular K-On, as it features a clique of four girls who spend their days doing not much of anything of significance, where the journey of their life through their friendship is more important that the destination itself. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but it does make for an unexciting show.

The verdict:

Since I know where this show is going (as in NOWHERE), might as well cut it short at this point. I don’t fault anyone else for watching this show, but I see no reason to keep watching a show that I consider inconsequential and boring.

Also, I really don’t think I could take one more episode where one of the four major characters communicates primarily by whistling. Talk about one of the most annoying character traits ever!

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 25)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “Tamayura is as gentle and pleasant as a morning breeze, and I do find the TV more engaging than the OVAs. But I confess, the whole affair is still a bit boring for me.” – Lost in America
  • “I’ll say it again…this show is so relaxing. The music’s always light and the mood is never too extreme.” – Marth’s Anime Blog
  • “From the sleepover, it seems that Fu has finally settled with her two new friends and childhood friend. Through her motivation to carry her father’s legacy on, she’ll improve and maybe surpass his skill. Even so, I look forward what lies ahead for these girls.” – Chikorita157
  • “Pretty slow paced, so if you don’t like episodes that kinda laze along, you may not like this series, but I think it’s a good pace for this show.” – Josh’s Anime Blog
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate/Zero, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain, Tamayura: Hitotose

    Coming up next: gdgd Fairies — then it’s on to Round Three (3rd episodes)

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Hunter x Hunter is a weekly anime television series started in October 2011, based on a long-running shonen action/adventure manga series. In addition to over two dozen manga volumes, there was also an anime adaption in 1999 and extended OVA series in 2002; this is a brand-new series, not a sequel. Gon has always dreamed of growing up to become a “hunter”, one of the elite few who travel the world on dangerous missions to find rare creatures, items or people. At the age of 12, he decides to leave the island and follow in his legendary father’s footsteps to take the Hunter examination.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: The Hunter candidates arrive in town with instructions to head to a certain spot at the top of a hill for the actual examination. But along they way, the three of them are waylaid by and old lady who requires them to answer a riddle to pass. Later, they meet up with some shape-shifting creatures in the forest, which also turns out to be part of the test.

My Impressions: Keeping this very short, because I really don’t have much to say about this series at all. It really is following the path of a stereotypical shonen-action-adventure series, albeit a moderately decent one. We are still in the very early stages of defining the world they live, as well as the main characters and the trials they have to face, but given the history of how these type of shows go, I wonder if there will be enough “meat” in the story to keep me interested. Already it is definitely showing how it is aimed at a ten-year-old male audience with the storytelling style; while there is nothing wrong with that per se, it’s not the sort of thing that appeals to a crotchety old dude like myself.

The verdict:

I am guessing that the decision whether or not to continue watching Hunter x Hunter will rest largely on how interesting the characters become. Gon as the bright-eyed, naive, optimistic and talented main lead is fine enough; Kurapika remains somewhat of a mystery. However, Leorio is an unsufferable prick, I hated him immediately and nothing he has done changes my opinion. Only three main, recurring characters at this point, but now that we’re heading into the next scene, I’m sure we’ll get a whole new batch of regulars.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 21)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “Until we get to the real meat of the hunter exam, there’s not much to really say. Everything is going smoothly, and our characters are learning more about each other and growing to trust each other more. When the hunter exam does begin, though, I’m expecting a rather powerful change to the story at hand, and is something I’m really looking forward to.” – Emory Anime Club
  • “I certainly enjoyed the second episode just fine. This is an agreeably high-energy series, bright and loud and cheerful – though I know it gets darker as it goes along…The premise is pretty straightforward and easy to grasp, and not uninteresting. I don’t have anything to compare it to as I haven’t read the manga or seen the original series, bur so far I have nothing to complain about. At the same time, I’m somewhat hard-pressed to find too much to say about it.” – Lost in America
  • “This show certainly has charm. Just mentioning ‘Magical Beasts’ immediately gives off that adventurous feeling. Anyway, for me– they did a good enough job compressing 2 chapters an episode. It didn’t feel too rushed.” – Hachimitsu
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate/Zero, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain

    Coming up next: Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, or “I Don’t Have Many Friends”, is a 12-episode televised anime series between October and December 2011, based on a continuing light novel series. Kodaka recently transferred to a high school, but ends up being ostracized due to his appearance and a bad first impression. Until one day he comes across Yozora, who also is friendless, and decides to make a club for the express purpose of finding new friends.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: Yozora decides that the best way to form new friendship bonds is through video games. However, starting with a “monster hunter” role-playing type game, Kodaka discovers that Sena and Yozora are much more interested in playing against each other. Later, Sena brings in a “gal game”, and she ends up getting hooked.

My Impressions: Hm. Considering that Kodaka is the male lead of the series, in this episode he gets pushed back into barely a supporting background role as the two girls are practically at each others’ throats the entire time. This has suddenly turned into the Sena vs. Yozora Show.

More than that, you certainly can understand exactly why this series is titled “I Don’t Have Many Friends”, as the two girls have about as much social grace and personal amity as a sack of rocks. Very angry rocks. Socially inept, clueless rocks.

One might think, based on the initial set-up, that this series is going to devolve into Yet Another Tiresome Anime Harem Series. But after two episodes, I’m certainly not getting that impression. These girls have about zero sexual awareness, it seems, as Kodaka has about as much presence as wallpaper, most of the time. A love triangle seems to be one of the most distant of possibilities at this time.

At this point, I am sort of flummoxed as to exactly where this is all supposed to be heading. Given that this second episode was all about video games, and largely poking fun at people playing these sort of games, I wonder if it will run the gamut of otaku activities by having the girls (and guy) run through the gantlet of standard tropes? Or perhaps I’m overreaching, and this was just a way to further define the main characters and their personalities…so far. And by that I mean we only have three named characters, and if they just keep slinging verbal barbs back and forth repeatedly that will get tired fast. Please, time to throw in a new character or two, to sweeten the pot!

At this point, I would hazard to say that the amount of enjoyment you would get out of this is directly tied into how much you are steeped in the anime/gaming/otaku culture already. They’re clearly aiming for the anime-insular audience, which is fine, but it does limit the possible appeal to an already clearly-defined pool of potential viewers. I would say that if you enjoyed “OreImo” (which, much to my shock, I did) or “Genshiken”, then this is right up your alley.

The verdict:

At this point, I’m not sure whether I like this series or not. I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed the first episode; but the second episode leaves me wondering where this all heading. However, I must admit that I was largely entertained throughout. And that’s a good sign.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 14)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “As of now, this series seems to be strongly oriented towards more hardcore otaku in general. The comedy relies upon your familiarity with otaku culture, so for those that aren’t too keenly aware of such, this episode won’t hold quite the same level of impact. If you do understand it though, it’s pretty darn funny.” – Emory Anime Club
  • “I can certainly say that I enjoyed the second episode of Haganai much more than the first. This was more in line with what I was expecting – a lot of sass, a little sex, and some very funny dialogue…While it was at times wildly entertaining there’s not a lot of specific moments I can pick out as genius. Rather, the overall experience of watching the episode worked because the dialogue was really sharp.” – Lost in America
  • “Though they have done quite a good job in adapting, I feel the anime isn’t portraying the comedy as efficiently as the manga does; being hesitant whether or not a wide audience would find certain scenes ‘comedic’. If you’re one of those who’ve decided to knock off Boku Tomo I’d suggest you to give the manga a try first.” – Sekijitsu
  • “I must say that I watched this episode with a stupidly wide grin plastered across my face, while sitting on a train in London bound for Oxford, and with people facing me in the seat across. But Haganai really pulled out all the stops in the second episode with a torrent of blatant references, parodies and spoofs. Of games, no less.” – How I Met Your Otaku
  • “I have a feeling that inevitably, Yozora and Sena’s fighting will become a means by which they show affection for one another, following the “even though they fight, deep down they are friends” sort of scenario…The two are more similar than they care to admit, or perhaps even recognize at this point in the show. However, it is clear the constant arguing leaves space for the two to develop into genuine friends, a desire the girls also have in common.” – AniMaybe
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate/Zero, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain

    Coming up next: Hunter x Hunter, Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Fate/Zero is a 13-episode televised anime series starting between October and December 2011, a prequel to the popular Fate/Stay Night franchise from Type Moon. The story is set ten years before the events of the Fate/Stay Night series, during the fourth Holy Grail War. Seven different warriors are chosen to be teamed up with legendary Heroes to obtain the greatest prize: The Holy Grai, where they battle until one victor remains.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: Waver talks with his servant, Rider (Alexander the Great), who is less interested in the upcoming battle than with his place in history and conquering the modern world. Saber reconsiders her opinion of her master, Kiritsugu. A serial killer summons a demon, who turns out to be Bluebeard, the final contestant. With all the players in place, the battle begins.

My Impressions: I came into this episode fully prepared to dismiss it completely and give it a definitive thumbs-down. After all, I have been less than kind (to put it charitably) with everything else related to this series in the past.

And yet, this second episode (which was really an extension of the hour-long snoozefest introductory episode)…I did not hate. Not that there was anything special; it was nothing more than filling out the cast.

Perhaps because between now and when I watched the first episode, I actually listened to someone accurately describe what the whole grand storyline was about. Hence, I was not immediately lost in the complicated, unexplained storyline anymore. This was not something that was done when I watched the Unlimited Blade Works movie. This was not something that was done when I watched the first part of the Fate/Stay Night TV Reproduction (as a recap/compilation series, it certainly was a failure at what it was supposed to do). And it was not something that was done in the first episode of Fate/Zero — or, if it was, then I was so achingly bored out of my gourd that I couldn’t tell and didn’t care.

My lack of understand of the series may be a product of my bass-ackwards way of sampling it (first the movie, then the Reproduction, then the Fate/Zero series). If instead I had picked up Fate/Stay Night with the first episode like everyone else, I might not be in this sorry state. Or perhaps the writers are just awful at their job of explaining the big picture, and get so lost in the details that they don’t allow for an entry point for new viewers. It says something about the ability of the writers and producers of this series that I am much more able to get a handle of the big picture after a ten minute fan review from some minor podcast blog, than I am from watching over four hours (so far) of Fate-related shows.

The verdict:

Either way, I am thinking that I may not have given the series a fair shake, and really should give it a few episodes to see how it works out. Now that I understand the whole back-story of the Grail Wars, who the warriors are (in terms of resurrected heroes from the past), and all that. Mind you, at this point nothing has really happened, they’ve only really put the chess pieces on the board and made the first move. I’m not so much as giving the series a thumbs-up at this point, rather keeping my mind open. Hopefully something interesting will happen to maintain my interest, because if they just keep with the long-winded expositional scenes, I’ll just get bored fast.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 13)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “I can’t knock anything about the series so far – production-wise it’s flawless, with great visuals and a terrific cast. The sense is that Urobuchi has created a pretty powerful and epic story here, somewhat reminding me of a modern dark fantasy with a sort of “Game of Thrones” feel to it. With GoT, it was also mostly admiration for me in the first few episodes – and then the emotional buy-in kicked in once all the facts were established, and the show became something great. Hopefully Fate/Zero will follow that same path for me.” – Lost in America
  • “Fate/Zero doesn’t miss a beat as the build-up and exposition continues on in this second episode. It maintained the same pacing as the hour-long premiere and was just as epic too. Compared to Fate/stay night, there’s been a lot less emphasis on Saber and it sometimes feels like there’s no “main” protagonist at all, which as unusual as it may sound, is actually one of the reasons why I’m enjoying this prequel as much as I am.” – Random Curiosity
  • “Most was much better than the first episode. Waver was one of the few parts in the first hour-long tedious affair that wasn’t terrible, and the first 10 minutes were all spent on him and Iskander arguing between conquering the world or fighting the Grail War. UFOTable did a decent job actually giving Kiritsugu a bit of personality besides “standing there stoically” with his interactions with Ilya too. Assassin dodging Adobe After-Effects at the end was rather corny looking, but hey… actual movement showing his agility and skill instead of just telling us about it. It’s a bloody Christmas miracle.” – Tenka Seiha
  • “This was a really cool episode, and even better than the first, now that most of the explanation is out of the way. But man, does this show really like horror stuff; first the worms, now the kid? I won’t complain though, at least something’s taking itself seriously these days.” – The Notaku Blog
  • “To wrap things up quickly, Fate/Zero is proceeding along at a good pace, and the dynamic between Uryuu and Caster is one of many interesting devices presented to the audience. As long as it isn’t pushed aside and left to fester until it’s needed for the plot, I have a feeling their relationship will be one of the highpoints in anime for the year, regardless of how much they’re actually developed.” – Shinde Iie
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate/Zero

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain

    Coming up next: Boku Ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter, Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing is a 23-episode anime television series airing between October 2011 and March 2012, a sequel to the popular Last Exile anime series from 2003. Fam, the Silver Wing is a new story set in the same setting as the original series, following the adventures of Fam and Giselle, two vanship pirates and members of the Sky Pirates who rescue to princesses after war unexpectedly breaks out between warring kingdoms.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: Princess Liliana allies with the Sky Pirates to battle the encroaching Turan army, while her younger sister Millia heads back to the capital with Fam and Giselle. Liliana’s surprise attack fails, and she is taken aboard the Ades flagship. Millia tries to rescue her sister with the skilled help of Fam and Giselle, but upon reaching the bridge of the ship, the Ades captain Luscinia explains his true motives for his attack. Luscinia utters one of the Mysteria, bringing down one of the Exile ‘moons’ in orbit around Earth, utterly destroying the Turan kingdom.

My Impressions: In a relatively weak Fall anime season, I’m leaning towards Last Exile as potentially the most interesting series of the season..

They throw a whole lot into just two episodes — far too much to easily digest in just one sitting, and some parts that just leave me wondering “what the fuck just happened there?” — such as when Liliana is possessed with light, and one of the orbiting moons responds by raining death from above. One thing is for sure: this series cannot be accused of not Thinking Big.

There are certain times when it is clear that the production staff are trying to show off, such as when the sky is filled with hundreds of floating ships in the sky, and the battle is in full swing. But the element of ‘visual spectacle’ means nothing if there isn’t a story to back it up in the end (see my condemnation of Guilty Crown, for example). Luckily, it seems that Last Exile may actually have that complicated, interesting story to match up with the artwork and animation.

The first Last Exile series a decade ago had an extremely rich and textured setting, and it seems that the second series may be equally as detailed. So far we have only touched a small tip of this fantastical world, and I’m left wondering how much more will be revealed in the episodes ahead.

The only true wildcard at this point is the main characters themselves. Well, notably Fam, but also her co-conspirator Giselle and the rest of the cast. At this point the story itself is overshadowing any sort of serious character development, so I don’t really have a feel for Fam as a character, or anyone else for that matter. All except for Dio — but that is because he’s the lone (so far) holdover from the last series, and thankfully in this second episode he comes across as a calm and measured ally rather than the prickish, puckish ass from before.

The verdict:

Before Fam the Silver Wing debuted, there was a great deal of trepidation among the fan community whether or not it would hold up compared to the seminal work. Everyone wants to compare the second series based on the first — and it’s hard to measure up to something that gosh-wowed the anime world the first time around. As near as I can tell, reaction to Fam the Silver Wing remains a mixed bag — but from my own personal perspective, I’ve come away largely impressed after the first two episodes. Haven’t been bored once.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 13)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “The second episode is an improvement over the first episode and it delivers the big, loud and easy action in a decent way. Since the series doesn’t feel like sharing at this moment it’s difficult to really sympathize with what’s going on since that’s simply unclear. Therefore what this series needs now are quiet moments to develop and deepen the stuff that were introduced in the beginning two episodes.” – Otakuness
  • “Now this is more like it! It seems that the fears of excessive fanservice were misplaced.” – Draggle’s Anime Blog
  • “My impres­sions for the first epis­ode of Last Exile were largely the same as they were for Guilty Crown. Looks hella pretty, room for the plot to improve, please add some depth to these char­ac­ters. Guilty Crown took this advice on board, tied them up, stuck them in the boot of its car and drove it off a cliff. Did Last Exile fol­low in its sui­cidal tire tracks? Nope, some­how Gonzo have gone 2 epis­odes without screw­ing everything up.” – The Cart Driver
  • “While Last Exile can’t match up to Guilty Crown in visuals, it certainly has a lot going for it in that department. The actually CG doesn’t exactly look amazing, but the way in which it’s used in the dogfights in the air are pretty cool. There’s definitely one thing for sure; Gonzo isn’t holding your hand and babywalking you through the beginning of the story. We get an immediate introduction to an all out war between two opposing sides, and oh man, was it a sight to see.” – Emory Anime Club
  • “It was a nicely action packed episode. It helps that this series is much more plot driven which is something I always look for. I am just waiting for more of the plot to unfold to give it a more definite thumbs up, it is still too early; There is lots of room to screw up still. At least they are doing a good job mixing in CG into the art style. I am really liking that small touch.” – Clanrain
  • “It’s still too early to write “Fam” off as “The Phantom Menace”. All it really has to do is step back and give us some time with the characters and a reason to care about them – sounds easy, right?…I suspect the answer won’t be apparent for a few more weeks at the very least, but no one will be rooting harder than me for it to happen.” – Lost in America
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain

    Coming up next: Fate Zero, Boku Ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter, Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is an original 25-episode anime television series between October 2011 and April 2012, airing on NHK Educational Network. Kaito is a master at his high school at solving all kinds of puzzles. Along with his assistant Nonoha, he discovers a massive “unsolvable” puzzle near his school, and ends up battling the mysterious “Puzzle of God” for his very life.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: Kaito, using his ‘special powers’ solves the underground maze puzzle and saves himself and Nonoha. The next day at school, he meets up with another annoying puzzle solver known as Gammon. When Kaito is called to solve another “Puzzle of God” puzzle, Gammon butts into the action. Trapped in a life-size version of the ‘parking cars’ game, Kaito once again saves the day.

My Impressions: Everything that I found distasteful about the first episode, I find equally as distasteful in the second episode.

One thing that makes Phi-Brain so unenjoyable is Kaito himself, who is definitely in the competition for the most insufferable and dislikable character of the year. As hard-headed as a mule, always yelling, always frowning, lashing out at everyone about everything — I wonder why the hell Nonoha would stick around that jerk. Then again, she hasn’t proven to be exactly the smartest girl on the short bus, herself. (And the overbearing, brash, braggart Gammon who apparently is being introduced as one of Kaito’s rivals — not exactly an improvement in character over Kaito. Hate him, too.)

Also, for a show that is about puzzles, I remain underwhelmed. While I cannot say that I am a fan of the American movie series “National Treasure”, at least they get the idea of these huge, cryptic secret-society puzzles *right*, with tension and excitement and honest-to-god mystery. In this second episode we have our protagonists facing off against a bwa-ha-hah-eeeeeevil-style-minor-level-boss-bad-guy in a…wait for it…real life parking car game. For those unaware, it’s the kind of game where various cars are ‘parked’ on a sealed grid, and you have to slide them back and forth until you are able to slide the key car through the exit. So, this relatively easy little puzzle is the best they can do?

The verdict:

In the beginning, I wanted to like Phi-Brain, and the rough concept is kind of intriguing. It’s a shame that they decided to lead it off with the most disagreeable character I’ve come across in a long time, and dumb it down too much. Cool concept, terrible execution.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 12)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “The show itself is not terrible but the over-the-top reactions of the characters with their awe-filled voices does get on my nerves and destroys the show.” – Otakuness
  • “Despite the puzzles being a little easy so far (my favourite one was the morse code one, and that was barely even a puzzle), at least the show makes the puzzles seem tense. Characters sweat like mad, the music ramps up, and the villain starts laughing evilly. It really is a world where if you can solve a puzzle, you can rule the world. Can’t wait to see how lulzy things get when they try and solve that DIVINE PUZZLE to become closer to God ppffftttt. Well, if you’re gonna do puzzles in a shounen anime, might as well go all the way! This show is corny as hell, but I kind of like that sort of thing.” – Metanorn
  • “Yeah, it’s generic shounen shit — NOW WITH PUZZLE SOLVING! — but it’s also pretty harmless shit. And I think that counts for something. In a medium where twincest, incest, loli fetishism, etc. is the norm, Phi Brain deserves another look.” – Moe Sucks
  • “I still have no idea if this show will be good or not. The episode was entertaining, but I feel like there were just too many things that could go wrong with this title.” – Angry Anime Bitches
  • “So yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous at first glance. Look a bit longer, and it’s still silly. But if you’re willing to accept the absurdity of the premise and just roll with it, there’s some enjoyment to be had.” – The Anti-Otaku
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown, Phi-Brain

    Coming up next: Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate Zero, Boku Ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter, Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies

What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Guilty Crown is an original 22-episode anime television series aired between October 2011 and March 2012 as part of the Noitamina time slot. In the future, Japan has been decimated by a virus, and is now occupied by a heavy-handed military international organization. Shu is little more than an ordinary high school student until he meets a member of the resistance organization Funeral Parlor, and in the heat of battle is bestowed a mysterious power that allows him to extract weapons from other peoples’ bodies.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the picture in full size in a new window:

Very Quick Episode Summary: After a strategic retreat following battling the government forces, Shu is confronted by the rebel leader, who is disgruntled because the genome virus that infected Shu was intended for him. The “Big Bad Government Baddies” target a group of civilians to draw out the Undertakers, and it works. But they soon learn they have bit off a bit more than they can chew when Shu breaks out his special powers and totally pwns them. When invited to join the Undertakers, Shu turns them down flat, wanting instead to return to his own, boring life.

My Impressions: I want to believe.

I mean, I really want to believe in Guilty Crown, because it truly is a gorgeous show, with stunning visuals and top-notch animation. However, no amount of gobsmackingly purty pictures on the computer screen can offset an otherwise subpar story or unbelievable plot.

In the first two episodes there were just so many times when I wanted to smack my forehead at their stupidity, or pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh in mock frustration. To be fair, the idea of an outrageous or unbelievable story by itself is nothing to complain about — I think I could comfortably say that more than half of all basic story concepts in the world of anime these days defies reality. I guess it really depends upon the tone and timber of the story itself, and how the characters react in their own little made-up universe that matters. And Guilty Crown is…well…guilty of far too many transgressions that I cannot abide.

Yet it is so very easy to get caught up in the visual spectacle of it all, and just drink in the eye candy while you are watching. It is only afterward when I’m trying to tease out the plot and story that I realize just how much of a piece of shit Guilty Crown truly is. It was last week when I was listening to an audio podcast where someone reviewed the first few episodes, in which they accurately described the outline of the story in about ten minutes — and it all sounded so ridiculous and derivative and cliched.

I hate the listless, uninterested-and-uninteresting main character who is playing the avoidant anti-hero (could he be any more unsympathetic?). I positively loathed the new eeeeeevil bad-guy gubmint character they introduced this character who seems to be chaotically evil for no logical reason. The cute girlie character, Inori, really is cute beyond belief…but has about as much personality as a knot of wood. I hate the gobblety-gook science of being able to reach into teenagers and pull out a “Void” weapon — which would be utterly silly except it is compounded silliness because this is a variation of something that has been done before. Same with the bwa-ha-ha-evil! authoritarian government oppressing the poor Japanese public, with a small rag-tag group of rebels in opposition…where have we seen that before?. And I hate mecha…period.

And that’s just for starters. I could go on. I won’t. Guilty Crown is oh-so-pretty to watch, but previous experience has proven that the bloom wears off the rose after a few episodes, and unless there is an actual worthwhile story behind the visuals, it gets wearying very fast. And with a scheduled 22 episodes for the series, I figured I better cut it off at this point. I fear that if I watch it episode-by-episode, watch it with a critical eye and try to detangle the story and plot, by prefrontal cortex will eventually leap out of my forehead and strangle me in defiance.

The verdict:

I think the one moment where I determined that “Yeah, this is shit” was in the middle of the battle when the cute, underaged little cat-eared girl in the skin-tight outfit was doing her Dance Dance Revolution routine in her virtual reality set-up that remotely controls one of the battlesuits/mecha/Endlaves/whatever. And in the middle of the swirling melange of lights, she uses a tap of her butt to close one of the open holographic windows. Uhhhh…yeah. Thank you, World of Anime, for forever etching that memory into my mind.

I might return to Guilty Crown at some indefinite point in the future, but not to watch it with any serious thought. More like on Netflix if it comes out dubbed in English, so that I can sort-of watch it in the background when I’m only paying attention to the television screen 20% of the time, and typing away on my computer 80% of the time. Dubbed anime where I can turn by brain off makes for great background noise/entertainment.

For more information:

• My earlier reviews of the series:
  • Episode 1 (January 7)
• Info resources:
  • My Anime List
  • Anime News Network
  • AniDB
  • Wikipedia

  Sampling of Online Reviews:

  • “It looks like I’ll have to seriously re-adjust my expectations for this series. As of now, the one standout category for Guilty Crown is it’s production quality. The animation quality maintained it’s high standards from last week, and looked absolutely gorgeous. The story, on the other hand, does still feel a bit lackluster.” – Emory Anime Club
  • “GOD. DAMMIT!! Stop being some fucking generic, lame-ass, shonen filled, re-hashed, Geass rip-off!!!! For the love of Christ please don’t waste the tools you have. I really want to try to like this show, and I have hopes that it will at least attempt to try to make it’s story better than what it seems like it will be. You don’t have to follow the same tropes as everything else, you don’t have to remake Code Geass, you don’t have to fuck this up.” – The Notaku Blog
  • “You know, like the main character is bland, and the series has one cliché after another. Guy meets girl with special power, and now she’s in his high school class. By the way, he has a window seat! Quite frankly, I don’t even care…The psychopathic character is the second biggest attention grabber, followed by the mysterious girl. So you see, even if the main lead is bland, the show still offers enough entertainment to go around. Besides, he has time to improve.” – Meeping Anime
  • “Well, that was a very suspense- and action-filled episode. We got guns, mechs, swords, and girls screaming in pleasurable agony. I get that the series is aiming for eradicating the evil empire aimed in making those who are less privileged suffer but I can’t seem to find the middle ground in all this. What is the turning point in all this?…Overall. This episode is breathtaking. It takes no stops to deliver the action it wanted. Action, suspense is what came into me in this. So I don’t have any qualms on this one.” – The Dere Moe Project
  • “The second episode didn’t change much about the overall impression of disappointment hovering over this series. The concentration on action in this episode showed what each episode should look like to make this at least a decent action-shounen-series. But the ending of the second episode instead made sure that the bad stereotypes not yet covered by this series also get mentioned in the next episode surely.” – Otakuness
    

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    ROUND TWO (Second Episode) RESULTS FOR THE FALL 2011 SHOWS:

    Thumbs-up for Round Two: Un-Go, Chibi Devi, Bakuman Season 2, Mirai Nikki, Shinryaku Ika Musume Episode 2, Ben-To, Chihayafuru

    Thumbs-down for Round Two: Working Season 2, Guilty Crown

    Coming up next: Phi-Brain, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing, Fate Zero, Boku Ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Hunter x Hunter, Tamayura Hitotose, gdgd Fairies