Potential New Anime - Sacred Seven (Episode 1)

Superhero-type anime seems to make it's way back lately in the anime industry. Heroman and the recent Tiger&Bunny is an example, and now this season, we have Sacred Seven.

Sacred Seven's first episode shows a modern Japan but with a more advanced technology. The vehicles and the giant mecha shows that. But what's more, it shows a hint of fantasy and magic, as the villains are large golem-like creatures that destroys the town.

Ruri Aiba, using her power

Our main character is Arma Tandoji, a cool and silent young man that bears a hidden power that makes him go berserk at times. Ruri Aiba is a rich girl who owns a special force, which in the first episode, seems to have the task to eliminate the monsters further dubbed as 'darkstones'. Ruri tries to recruit Arma throughout the first episode, as his power would make her job much easier and she possesses a stone that could help Arma control his power and the stone will transform into a high-tech battlesuit for Arma.

Arma with his newfound powers

The story looks fairly simple, but Sacred Seven's story always moves forward. The first episode is so intense and fast that one scene always moves to the next one in less than a minute. It keeps the viewer glued to their seats until the end of the episode. Also the story has not been fully revealed, so it might have a few twist that could further strengthen the story.

There are a couple of weird small details that bugged me while watching this, and that's the special force's uniform and members. They are all young woman dressed in a maid uniform. It feels a bit weird and reminds me a little of Star Driver, but doesn't reduce the enjoyment of watching this by much.

Battle is always intense and well-directed

The animation here is quite good. The art style is nothing special, but the action here is very intense, cool, and animated wonderfully by Sunrise. The opening animation is quite good, and the ending is yet to be seen.

The music is a good fit for the intense atmosphere, the timing were perfect and the transition looks smooth. What I need to note importantly is that the opening and ending song is courtesy of Yuki Kajiura, and is a good piece that matches this anime well. The opening song is 'Stone Cold' sung by Fiction Junction, and looks to be a piece that grows to be more enjoyable as I listened to it more than once.

Sacred Seven looks promising, and at the very least it is a very enjoyable action series with intense pace. The story so far looks simple but it might turn out to be better if an extra level of depth and some plot twist are added into it.

Potential New Anime - Usagi Drop (episode 1)

We've been bombarded with plenty slice-of-life anime this season. Usagi Drop is another entry, and the first episode shows that this will be a strong contender alongside Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. Based on a manga series of the same title, it tells the story of a 30-year old salaryman Daikichi who acts as a guardian of his grandfather's illegitimate 6 years old daughter, Rin.

Daikichi and Rin, the pair that define this show

The story is fairly simple, and based on the first episode, it will have the same main essence in it's plot as Ikoku, which centers around the dynamic between an eccentric duo. There are a couple of difference that could be noted about the main characters though. For a start, Daikichi is a mature 30 years old man, whilst claude is an immature young man. Secondly, Rin is a very childish and weird girl, while Yune is fairly mature at her age. The 2 pair has a different combination of personality and will surely bring different impact.

Story wise, Usagi Drop is more down to earth, set in modern japan, and strives for realism as much as possible, unlike Ikoku whose settings is more than a century old and has Paris as it's stage. Usagi Drop's story also flow more naturally and does not try to be overly dramatic unlike Ikoku. It tries to move the heart of the viewer with simple daily scenes and gestures, and it achieves just that in the first episode.

The first few minutes has a very unique and beautiful art style

The animation here is beautiful. The first few minutes has a very distinct and unique art style that looks beautiful. After the opening animation, the art style changed back to something a bit more generic, but still retain it's soft colors and shades. The animation style and direction is just amazing and matches the soft  and natural flow of Usagi Drop's story. The opening animation is quite unique and so does the ending animation. All in all, Production I.G. did a fine job animating the first episode, and I hope that doesn't change until the end of the series.

The music here is quite good, soft and soothing that matches the atmosphere of the anime. It's nothing really memorable but is good enough to fleshes out the scenes.

Usagi Drop's first episode shows a lot of potential but I will keep my final verdict until the show ends.

Potential New Anime - Ikoku Meiro no Croisée (episode 1)

We got tons of slice-of-life series this season, and Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is one of them. I was skeptical after watching the trailer as I thought this will just be another loli-moe anime, but after watching the first episode, it turns out to be a heartwarming anime with interesting characters.

Claude, our young  and talented blacksmith

Enter Claude, a blacksmith who specialize in metalcrafting, who owns a family business in Paris. One day, his grandfather came back from Japan and brought a young girl clad in a kimono. The girl, Yune, is destined to be a servant for the store, and is apparently a tradition that has been going on in Claude's family. Yune is an innocent, cute, and hardworking young girl, while Claude is a hotheaded young man who can be rough at times but does show a compassionate side every now and then. The first episode focuses on how the two met, and how the bond between them is formed.

Yune, the cute little Japanese girl

The impression I have from the first episode is that the story will revolve around the dynamic between the pair and that the bond they share will be the driving power of the whole series. Now, the first episode does the job flawlessly. It gives a light introduction on the main characters, fleshes them out, and put a bit of drama inside that works quite well to set up the stage for the next episode. The pacing might be a bit slow, but it flows perfectly well.

Now the setting, is very fresh and beautiful. 19th century Paris is drawn beautifully here, and is a suitable stage for the story to ensue. The setting is also the main element that differentiate this anime from other series of the same type such as Kure-Nai and Usagi Drop (which is another contender for this genre this season). Instead of Japan, they use Paris, and that gives a fresh and pleasant feeling to the viewers.

The music in the episode is also wonderful. The soft tones and slow music blends well with the pacing, and enhance the feeling obtained from each of the scenes. The opening song is soft and a bit cheerful but the opening animation fits quite well with it. The ending song has a slow and mellow tone, and is a calming and soothing piece that fits the anime, and will probably grow as we hear it more and more.

The beautiful overlook of 19th century Paris

The animation here is quite good. The characters are well drawn, and the most amazing thing here is the background, as all the buildings, the streets and the town in general is drawn beautifully. The scenes are animated well and I can only hope for a constant animation quality throughout the whole series.

Now, my only worry is that the series will insert useless fillers in the middle, or maybe, the story will not really move forward. Anime of the same genre suffers from these fallbacks most of the times, and I can only hope that the story in this anime will always try to move forward and gives a proper closure by the end.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is a promising new series that I will try to follow this season on top of other great shows. The first episodes shows some promising sign and it looks to be a fun and worthwhile series to follow. But whether it will turn out to be an epic series, or whether it will be a sluggish and pointless drama that goes nowhere is yet to be seen.

Gosick Review

I was a huge fan of BONES animes. They produced wonderful and epic titles such as RahXephon, Eureka 7, Scrapped Princess, and Fullmetal Alchemist, and that is the main reason why I chose to stick with this 24-episode series.

And I'm glad I did.

Now, Gosick is not a perfect or flawless series. For a series produced by BONES, this show sure has a lot of flaws. Gosick is an adaptation of a light novel with the same title, set in a fictional European Country in the year of 1924. There are 2 main characters, Kazuya Kujo and Victorique de Blois. Both shares a relationship similar to how Holmes and Wattson from the famous Sherlock Holmes detective novel series, and the story basically revolves around the two of them, with the little Victorique playing the role of the smart Holmes, and Kujo as Wattson.

Victorique, our Loli-moe Sherlock Holmes

Story-wise, Gosick is not a story of mystery as what I initially thought it would be. I came to watch this series expecting a 'Case-Closed' like series, but the mysteries and tricks inside Gosick is nothing as delicate as that. Some of the case are too obvious and too easy to solve even without a Victorique-esque  mind. There are times when I could see the conclusion to the mystery far before all the evidence have been discovered. But after a few episodes in, I realize that the main focus of Gosick is actually the bond between Kujo and Victorique. Each episode focuses on the two, showing how their relationship is formed, and strengthened, and this is where Gosick spent it's time the most: build-ups for the finale. The mystery is just there as a plot device.

A 20-ish episode series is different with a 11-13 episode series. They have the luxury of time, one that a 11-13 episode series didn't have. A 11-13 episode series has to deliver by each episode, with each episode having to move the story further even if just a little, whilst 20-ish episode series usually spent it's first half on build-ups, which will hopefully give more impact upon the viewer when watching the later half. And this is where Gosick's first flaw is: bad management of the first half of the series.

The pacing of the first half of Gosick is all over the place. They put on a format of mini-arcs consisting of cases that Victorique has to solve alongside Kujo, with some of those arcs serves no purpose and some uses up too much time to conclude. But it's not that the first half is completely useless, without it, the second half wouldn't be as enjoyable, and some of the earlier episodes does give some background stories to the existing characters and does move the story forward.

Gosick is also heavy with politics, especially in the second half of the story. Battle of power between rulers, corruption, lies, and deceit filled the entire second half of the series, and thus, it requires some imaginative mind and a bit of thinking to discern the story completely. This, in my opinion, is another plus point for Gosick. It's been a while since I saw a series that focuses on Politics that is carefully thought. The imaginative and beautiful setting of old Europe also helps in keeping the interest of the viewers, and is a suitable stage for the political war to ensue. The politics could, on the other hand, be a minus point for viewers who aims for a lighter entertainment as some of the dialogues in Gosick is a bit heavy and requires some focus and a bit of thought to digest.

The final 4 episodes of Gosick is where Gosick truly shines. It is executed well, and has a lot of twist and is full of suspense as each of the mysteries is finally unraveled. It also shows a great deal of character development, especially for Kujo and Victorique. But what I like best is the final episode, especially the epilogue. Gosick actually dedicated half of it's last episode to give a proper closure to the entire series, and a heartwarming one at that.

The characters in Gosick is also another flaw that I could easily pick from early on. The only characters that is given a proper thought and development are Kujo and Victorique. Most of other characters such as Avril, the teacher, Sophie, and many others is not properly developed, and most of the served no purpose. Some of them really annoyed you to no end while some of them you could care less.

The teacherhas a generic and non-distinctive personality, and serves no purpose at all

 But not all is lost, Kujo and Victorique is developed quite well throughout the entire 24 episode, and that's a relief as this series focuses and revolves around the two. Kujo does start as a wimpy and spineless guy, but as the series end, he becomes more composed and refined. Victorique starts as a cold and heartless girl, but her facial expression gradually softens as is her emotions. Some other characters such as Brian Roscoe and Grevil, are also used quite well as they becomes the key that move the plot deeper and deeper.

Victorique and Kujo, the Duo that define and move this Anime series

The Music in gosick is quite good. The background music is used quite well, and builds the atmosphere of the series for the viewers. Most of them are not memorable though aside from the opening song 'Destin Histoire' by Yoshiki Lisa. But I have to admit, most of the songs are used quite well, and fits the scene, and the transition between one song to another is quite smooth.

The Animation is pretty good, as expected of BONES. The opening animation is quite unique and artistic, and is upon one of the best anime opening of the season. There are quite a few drop in quality as the series went in. For example in episode 19, Cordelia's dance scene could've use a better animation as the movement is very clunky and distorted at times.

The Seiyuus in the series that are quite remarkable are the voice actor of Victorique (Aoi Yuki, a 19 year old who breathe life into Murasaki in Kure-nai and Madoka) and Miyu Irino who voiced Kujo, who has done a remarkable job in voicing Jintan in this season's best Anime series AnoHana, and Kou from Cross Game. Both has given personality into the characters they're voicing, showing how they actually feel and bringing out the emotions of the characters well.

In the end, Gosick is far from perfect. There are times when I'm tempted to drop this series, but by the time I reached the final quarter of the series, I'm glad I didn't. Gosick's story revolves around the bond between 2 people, and it shows that wonderfully. It does have a slow start, but the pace picks up at the later half and ends with a good, complete, and heartwarming epilogue. Gosick's story is not exactly perfect, there are a couple of loopholes in the story but that didn't hinder the enjoyment of watching this series by much. I wouldn't recommend this to people who wouldn't  want to use their brain to digest the plot and dialogue so that the story actually make sense. But for people who does like to do just that, and is tired of watching anime with the same generic stereotype linear story, then give Gosick a try. It's mixture of politics, mysteries, and drama will keep you entertained. Gosick is an anime series that is full of flaw, but is enjoyable and worthy of your attention.


Score:
Story: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Animation: 7.5/10
Music: 7.5/10
Final Verdict:7.5/10

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai Review

We Still Don't Know the name of the flower we saw that day

The first few minutes of AnoHana gives the impression that this will just be another generic moe anime, a genre that has been plaguing the anime industry for the past decade now, but turns out, AnoHana is nothing generic at all, it is an enticing and epic original show that is so full of beauty and wonders.

AnoHana tells the story of Jinta, a teenage shut-in who is definitely troubled. One summer day, his long-time dead childhood friend, Honma Meiko, appeared before him, asking to have her wish fulfilled. Meiko (or Menma, her nickname) and Jinta was childhood friends 10 years ago, where they always play around in a group of 6. One Day, Menma died, leaving the others to grow apart and troubled. As the years went by, distance grows between the group of friends as they stop contacting one another, and over the course of 11 episodes, they try to fulfil Menma's wish whilst trying to regain their lost friendship once again.

Menma, the moe and loli heroine

The story seems to be a pretty simple slice-of-life anime at a glance, but deep down, AnoHana contains a deep and compelling story. Mari Okada did a wonderful job in writing the script for this show, a surprise as she did a lot of other shows at the same time during the past year, such as Hanasaku Iroha, Wandering Son, and Gosick. The dialogues are great and not dull, the story flows wonderfully as each episodes always drives the story further.  The story keeps moving forward during the course of 11 episodes and ended with a good conclusion, one that will leave the viewers feeling satisfied.

What I like about this anime is how every episode always unravels new information, giving the element of surprise  and suspense for the viewers, leaving them to want more. The pacing is near-perfect, as each moment is used wonderfully to develop each characters. Each moments in the anime is well-depicted, and will draw us in.

AnoHana is a tear-jerker, but unlike my other favourite drama animes such as Air, Clannad or Kanon, which is all made by Key and Jun Maeda, the story lacks complexity or huge plot twist. But AnoHana does not need all that as it shows that simple story that executed well could drain the viewers' tearduct.

The cast as childhood friends

The characters are original, and lovable. The 6 main characters all have a distinctive design, and each plays a pivotal role in bringing the story to its conclusion. Aside from the main characters, the side characters all also have a distinct and original design, with each of them plays an important supporting role. This is rare in present-day anime, as some of them only focuses on the main character, not bothering to  focus on the side characters. I can see how the creators spent time in creating these characters, and they have succeed, as AnoHana's main strength came from its lovable casts.

AnoHana's Cast

Each characters are easy to relate to, and each is developed throughly. What I like best about AnoHana is how each character is portrayed, how we can see deep into their minds, and how we could feel the raw emotion coming out from each of them. Each character struggles with each of their own trouble, and each shows different  reaction and emotion, all that is portrayed with perfection in this anime. Moreover, each of the character's development affected one another, making the casts a perfect mix of personality. We can see that deep beneath everyone's exterior, a complex and distraught minds exist, and that element of psychology is what drives AnoHana to be the best show this season.

The music in the anime are simple, but works wonders in this series. Each of the piece blended perfectly with each scene, picturing each moments with perfection, and helps in the build-up of the viewer's emotions. Each song is timed perfectly with each scene, and the transition between each score to another is very smooth. The ending song is a remake of ZONE's famous song - Secret Base, now sung by all the female seiyuu of the anime, and the song is a perfect match for the anime, as the song is used with wonderful timing in important scenes. The opening song, Aoi Shiori by Galileo Galilei, is simple but will grow on you after a couple of episodes in. The music is not all memorable, unlike the pieces made by Jun Maeda for each Key visual novels or games, but each of them works well to create the atmosphere when watching the series.

Tomatsu Haruka did a great job voicing the fragile Anaru

The seiyuus did a great job in voicing each characters. Tomatsu Haruka, in particular, did a perfect job in portraying Anaru, as Anaru's fragile emotion is depicted wonderfully in each scene. She is definitely my favourite seiyuu of the season, as she also did a wonderful job in voicing Msyu in C, which airs at the same time as AnoHana does.  

The Animation here is very good and beautiful, with no still frames found in each and every episode. The town is portrayed wonderfully, and I cannot find any distorted faces or badly drawn frames in each episodes. There's only a couple of blank faces when the camera shoots from far away, but that occurs only once or twice and is barely noticeable. Each of the movement of the characters are very smooth, even their hairs flows and waves naturally. A-1 pictures did a top-notch job in animating this series.

Now, AnoHana is epic and wonderful, but it comes a bit short to gain a perfect score. AnoHana does have a small flaw, which is the number of episodes it has. In my opinion, AnoHana could work better as a 13-episode series rather than an 11-episode series. There are times when I see that some part of the story is rushed and is too condensed. AnoHana is a Noitamina Anime though, so it has to be either 11 or 22 episodes long. The flaw is nothing big, as AnoHana concludes wonderfully in the end, leaving no questions unanswered. There are a few small plot holes that requires the viewer's own imagination as it is left unanswered until the end of the show, but that is something normal in every show and does not hinder the viewer from truly enjoying the show.

All in all, AnoHana is an epic series that I definitely recommend both anime fans and non-fans alike to watch. The story is simple, yet enticing. Each of the characters are lovable, and is brought to life by the voice actors. The animation is nothing short of beautiful, and the music blended well with the scenes, creating several epic moments that truly fill the viewers full of emotions. Saying that this is the best show that came from the 1st half of 2011 is no exaggeration, and it is quite a feat considering this year, we are bombarded with lots of high-quality anime such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Steins;Gate and Hanasaku Iroha. AnoHana truly brought the drama-anime industry to a whole new level. The series  portrays both the human emotions  and also each of the relationship of the character well. It portrays the effect of time to people's relation wonderfully and shows that a simple story, when executed well, could make you feel.

Score:

Story:9.5/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Music: 9/10

Animation: 10/10

Final Verdict: 9.5/10