Reviews – Page 5 – bluemist anime blog

Futakoi Alternative

[Futakoi->] was ok, but it seemed that the fans were not quite impressed with the first series. After all, Futakoi is a huge franchise of Dengeki G’s, composed of magazine features, albums, merchandise, and games. Having loved the CG illustrations of Futakoi, they seem to be disappointed with the bland look of the first series. Now, Futakoi Alternative, the second anime series based on the franchise, aims to make disappointed fans believe in the power of the anime medium again. Are they successful?

Futakoi Alternative started off EXPLOSIVE! True to the concept of Alternative, the 6 twins of Futakoi now hold a powerful arsenal of military apparel in the opening sequence. How about that? These are moe~ girls with guns and firepower! Episode 1 was equally powerful, as it pits now featured twins Souju and Sara with this guy named Rentarou in a whole lot of action-packed mess. Really, it was a fast-paced, kick-aaa episode, with high-class animation quality no less. For fans, it is a dream come true already. But the greatness never stops there. While not as action-packed as the first and last few episodes, the middle episodes feature yet another Alternative, dramedy.

The episodes fully describe these three characters, from the main viewpoint of Rentarou. The main theme of this series is “the three of us”, in which Rentarou, Sara and Souju face trials of everyday life as being the three of them, together. Sometimes funny, sometimes filled with sadness, they continually try to survive their everydays. The character development of these three are SO detailed, you might think Gainax helped ufotable in making this anime. Also, Futakoi Alternative seems to hit on anything anime culture had in store, including its [own->futagozuka] and some popular [anime->squid-no-jutsu]. Even Onsokumaru (some yellow ball character in ufotable’s 2×2 Shinobuden) is there in cameos. And as I mentioned, the numerous [Gainax->ufotable-and-gainax] references that seem too good to be true (even a Human Instrumentality Project parody was part of the plot).

This anime also has an incredibly interesting slew of new characters aside from our Futakoi girls. The whole town is filled with interesting people. The craziest policeman in an anime, as well as a generic fat sidekick, then a baker girl, a biker sidekick of Rentarou, a seemingly yakuza leader with a metal arm, and his gang of thugs really colorize this weird but peaceful town of Nikotama. Even a polar bear appears sometimes, and of course the main enemy which is the squid. Wait, are we missing the twins yet? [Kira/Yura->gothloli] and [Lulu/Lala->futagozuka] are the twins with secondary focus in this anime, while Kaoruko/Sumireko, Ai/Mai, and Ui/Koi were seen only in a few. While they have short appearances, theirs are quite meaningful in a variety of levels.

As episodes unfold, “the three of them” are starting to break up because something big is going to happen after Sara and Souju’s 16th birthday. This results in high levels of drama, where the three try to define what really is their relationship to each other. Rentarou, being the immature poor guy who only lived in the shadows of his legendary father, struggling through the everydays with the twins, is often in this monologue. This in effect develops him greatly as a character. This kind of character development is so detailed it’s rare, more so considering he is a male character. Normally we loathe all those dorky male leads in bishoujo animes right? Well well well, this time there’s something to like in this particular one at least.

Having action, comedy and drama in one package requires lots of creative styles, and Futakoi Alternative did not disappoint. From the consistent animation, each variety of [music->musical-surprise], and creative direction. Futakoi Alternative reeks of quality. Never thought something so “alternative” could be so good, and considering the cross-genre boundaries broken by this anime, I’ll be excited to think that anime shows may be getting more innovative these days. We need more anime like this.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Mahou Sensei Negima

Mahou Sensei Negima!

I first heard about Mahou Sensei Negima because of my Love Hina hype back in my early anime days. Back then, Love Hina was one of my favorites, and so having this Ken Akamatsu guy doing another new manga serialization is quite a treat.

31 girls? Whoa! 31 girls! When I heard about Negima having 31 girls, I was thinking the guy is really crazy. I mean, are 7+ girls, Love Hina-style not enough? Furthermore, in the midst of the Harry Potter movie craze, main character Negi is being hyped as a HP-ish magician, hmm… a shounen series eh? And so, put extreme harem and shounen together, I didn’t think it was going to be good at all. I forcefully read the first chapter, and I was not impressed at first. Anyway since it was a new serialization at that time, I figure I skip this first, and get back to it when more volumes or chapters are available.

I ate my words that time. Upon announcement of the anime, I went back to reading the manga… and I was so hooked! I went totally ballistic, it is a great manga series! Words can’t express the happiness I had at that time, eating 50+ chapters (up to the Kyoto arc) all in one go, collecting wallpapers, music, etc. I expected the anime to be the main dish. Watching the two initial introduction videos, I was literally stunned! Familiar seiyuu, masterful animation, and staying true to its manga roots, I was thinking Negima anime is bound to be a success, maybe more so than the huge (but in the end crappy) anime that was Love Hina.

Alas, a disappointment.

The TV series was shrouded in horrible stock market animation levels. One episode may not look like another, and inconsistent [character->negima-sakuga-tracker-asuna-version] [art->negima-sakuga-tracker-yue-version] annoyed me to the core. Moreover, the colors of their hair, it’s like basic and neon. I was asking “WHY” all over the internet. Why did XEBEC, the same company who did the excellent introduction videos, change the look of the TV anime? Why is each episode radically different from others? Why did they arrange and mix up events from the manga?

On the flip side however, the strength of the manga content still shines through. I anticipate watching the latest Negima episode every week, more so than similar current anime series. As I said, the Negima manga RULES, and even though the fanservice is toned to nothingness, the rest of the story and events stayed true. My hopes of having better animation came to fruition little by little, as the latter half of the series had some great animation moments, and the upcoming DVD releases will feature remastered versions of the horrible episodes.

The latter half, however (again), became ridiculed with speculation. Fillers, and extreme story rearrangements are abound, but nevertheless it is still as good as it gets. One highlight is the ghost girl Sayo episode, one of the best episodes in the anime. But, here we go to the Kyoto arc, a massive 20+ chapter spectacle in the manga, now reduced to 2 episodes. How about that? From an outsider viewpoint (someone who hasn’t read the Kyoto arc), it was an excellent, action-packed 2 episodes. For fans, it is a disservice.

The alternative story leading to the anime’s ending is a given, knowing that the manga still isn’t finished. While it is quite a SHOCKER, it isn’t too strong to make a good conclusion. Seeing that, I guess the varying animation quality levels, coupled with multiple staff changes including staff and directors really hurt the entire series’ coherence. It’s a shame really, considering that the rest of the Negima franchise is doing so well. I was astounded at the huge number of singles and drama cds related to Negima, and even some of them sell well enough to rank in the Oricon music sales charts. I guess the PS2 and GBA games are doing well too, but I haven’t played them too much because I can’t understand the gameplay. The PS2 game was quite nice though. I should mention all the great seiyuu devoting time and effort for all their voice work in those multiple mediums. And of course, the manga has a huge following because of its awesome quality, both in drawing and story. Ken Akamatsu is quite smart.

Anyway, I can talk legions more text specifying all the different emotions that this series (manga, anime, music, games) had brought to me, but I have to stop at some point. (I thank myself by the way for not reacting on EACH of the 31 girls) In any case, Mahou Sensei Negima the anime is still a worthy watch, despite the flaws. But be sure to check out the manga too. Besides, where else can you get more than 31 beautiful girls, and a great shounen-style story progression, all in one package? Look no further.

Continue reading Mahou Sensei Negima

D.C. ~Da Capo~

Back in its time, Da Capo was one of those animes that probably instigated the new wave, a sudden outburst of the popularity of bishoujo games being converted into anime. The game was made by a company named [Circus->], and I can only imagine how big the Da Capo franchise is to them. With already 7 games (maybe more) composed of rehashes, fandisks, after stories and console versions, Da Capo is huge on the games front. Not to mention all those singles, drama cds, and manga serializations. Da Capo is as big as any [Dengeki G’s->] series such as [Futakoi->].

The anime is equally big. This is the very first bishoujo game based anime series that ever had a full season run of 26 episodes. And with 26 more on the way on its second season this summer 2005, it will very well be the biggest bishoujo game based anime franchise in history. Well that’s saying much, but how does it fair really?

Da Capo is not too bad, but it had its share of little faults here and there. For the first 7 episodes, the main episode is actually short in length, in favor of having a music video of a girl’s seiyuu after each episode. Those music videos were average, some horrible, but nonetheless a part of the Da Capo fandom. I have no complaints here, some seiyuu were [popular->horie-yui] and cute anyway. Many other episodes have a side story part focusing on a character or number of characters, which eats up the main episode’s time as well. While some of those side stories are interesting, others are just annoying. The recurrent figure in these side stories is a certain mysterious cat guy, but it never adds any coherence to the side stories nor does it add up to the main Da Capo story at all. Furthermore, there are two recap episodes in this anime. So much for 26 episodes you think?

Well, the latter half is where this series shines. The tone slowly changes from filler-comedy to pure classic drama involving the magic of the sakura tree. The characters in Da Capo actually live in a town where a mysterious power exists within the cherry blossoms. Because of this, our characters actually have some sort of magical affinity as a result. For example, one of the girls can actually read people’s minds, while another girl is actually a cat transformed in human form. These unique but weird traits haunt them somehow throughout this series, and is where the dramatic parts explode into. I tell you, the drama here is powerful, and that is definitely a treat.

And my favorite girl? Mako! She rocks!

Of course, getting the good stuff like this requires you to go through 15 or so episodes of comedic and mindless filler, but the result will not leave you disappointed. Try out Da Capo. You may be disappointed with some parts, but in general I hope you will like it eventually. Besides, the second season is up for you to anticipate as well.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Comic Party Revolution

After [To Heart->], bishoujo game company [Leaf/Aquaplus->leaf-aquaplus] made [Comic Party->]. It was a moderate success, and for good reason. It is about a generally positive outlook on the realities of Japanese otaku culture, through a bishoujo game, and the main focus of course is doujinshi.

As some of you know, doujinshi is basically “fan comics” made by fans for fans. They are usually of the ero nature, and is visibly seen whenever there are anime and comic conventions. They also usually parody or purposely base their material on existing popular anime, manga, or game series. The Comic Party game and anime series highlights a group of individuals who are into these kinds of stuff, as well as give a viewpoint on how outsiders think about them.

The first Comic Party anime was a simple story about this guy named Kazuki and his entry into the world of doujinshi. Part of it is because he likes drawing, the other part is because of his friend Taishi’s plans for world domination. The bishoujos of the game are featured somehow, but the anime is mostly Kazuki’s viewpoint and story. Dunno if this had gone well with Comic Party fans, although I liked it quite a bit.

Now, can you believe that Comic Party Revolution was originally a 2-episode OVA? For some reason (maybe sales went well, or maybe fans crave for more), Comic Party Revolution had gone extended to 3 episodes… and then 4… and then now an entire 13-episode TV series run! Isn’t that amazing? Whether fan approval or sales made Aquaplus deliver a half-season worth of Comic Party, it’s all good for me! Why?

First, the animation is great! All the girls look beautiful and are consistently animated. Very, very unlike the horrible variety of [To Heart ~Forget my Memories~->to-heart-remember-my-memories]. Also, because of its doujinshi nature, there are bound to be parodies and spoofs right? Comic Party Revolution has LOTS of them! Everything from basic doujinshi and cosplaying to even entire episodes devoted to parodying numerous anime, manga, games, and other Japanese culture stuff! Wanna see a [Cardcaptor Sakura->cardmaster-peach] parody? Wanna see To Heart 2’s [Konomi Yuzuhara->konomi-cameo] before the anime comes? How about an entire episode dedicated to baseball and [tennis->princess-of-tennis] TV parodies? Want a direct reference to Gundam [SEED->seed-mode] again? Or maybe delve into [action->metal-gear-aya] and horror? Everything gets [mixed up->cardmaster-peach-vs-princess-of-tennis]! What’s more, each character gets her own time to shine! There are entire sequences or episodes dedicated to an specific character, so fans of each girl would definitely be delighted. Comic Party Revolution may not be too story based as opposed to the first series, but it’s definitely a “very entertaining show”. That’s what matters most.

This anime has one of the most stylish opening sequences I have seen from this genre. Also, the OP/ED songs are so great I have been anticipating them since over two years ago! (it only did get released during the 2005 TV series). The music may be forgettable but it complements each scene just right.

If you crave for a funnier, more colorful and slightly more positive version of [Genshiken->], Comic Party Revolution is the anime for you. Don’t forget to get the original Comic Party anime too, and try to play the game if you can. I can say that this is my personal favorite out of all the current series ending this season. Everything in this series has gone just right, I’m really, really satisfied with what Aquaplus has done this time (a better To Heart and more Comic Party please!!!). Oh, did I see a “To Be Continued?” sign at the end? I HOPE SO! I hope you watch and enjoy it, too.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~

Great characters and even greater supporting characters grace this beautifully animated, well paced, and funny series involving a group of people in the Narutaki apartments.

Nope, don’t mistake it for another of those apartment harem shows where the guy gets to hit on all his neighbor girls. Don’t mistake it either for that similarly named average anime of 2003 called Maburaho. Mahoraba is, simply put, nice. You got a slice-of-life comedy starring our usual dorky male lead (but with a bit of backbone at least) named Shiratori. He’s moving to an apartment near the city because he’s taking his art class there. And so he goes to Narutaki-sou, a seemingly classic provincial inn, very different from the rest of the concrete metro jungle. The inn itself is like a self-contained park, with lush greens and nice atmosphere.

While it seems like heaven to live in, the people who live there make Shiratori’s everydays a living hell. A megane drunkard, a camera touting freak, an incompetent mother and hardworking daughter, and an old puppeteer round up the rowdy comedic crew. They give Shiratori trouble in many ways, including the seemingly routine beer and slumber party every night. The only saving grace is Narutaki’s apartment manager, Kozue, the main girl in this series. She’s kind, sweet, and extremely cute. Kozue-chan has some addiction to umeboshi (pickled plum) as well. Shiratori and Kozue serve as the main pair of the series. Unfortunately, Shiratori still has trouble, because Kozue-chan has some sort of multiple personality sickness! Everytime she gets surprised, he transforms into either one of 4 alternate personalities. A rowdy punk gal, a cute kid, a cosplay addict, and a quiet magician. After some time though, she transforms back to normal kind Kozue-chan. Aside from the already excellent main cast, the supporting cast shines. They are as interesting as the main ones, and maybe even more, if only they had adequate screentime. One particular character, a voodoo freak girl, gives me a laugh every time, especially when she does the “curse me more” bits.

The animation is perfect for its theme, and the music is great too. The pace is really slice-of-life, with the necessary comedic parts and some occassional drama. The story is rather coherent, although some may want more when it comes to the ending (but don’t we all). The anime producers did some of its creative freedom especially near the end, because its original manga series is ongoing, but it never feels forced. All in all Mahoraba is a very recommended watch if you want some kind of warm, fuzzy, and funny heartful days feeling in your anime.

Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru

Koi Kaze not enough? Enjoy the dangerous world of incest with Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru.

Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru is a one-shot OVA based on a shoujo manga of the same title. It tells the story of a taboo incestual relationship of brother Yori and sister Iku. Yori is the first to break down. He starts to keep secrets and ignore Iku, and yet sometimes he’s being too overprotective of her, even fighting someone in class who made her embarrased. Iku wonders why she’s being mistreated lately. One night, Yori confesses to Iku, and of course rejection is abound, because it is indeed weird. Yori even realizes it himself, that this is wrong, but he can’t stop his feelings towards his sister. He does a lot of things to make himself go the right path somehow, by planning to go to a faraway college to stay away from Iku, and even trying to have a normal relationship with another girlfriend. By this time, Iku herself is starting to waver her own feelings. She starts to become jealous of Yori and his girlfriend, and so she also developed feelings towards her brother.

Treading into dangerous territory eh? These are the kinds of stories that are very interesting to me because a person like me could barely understand the emotional pains of having this feeling. This is the kind of storytelling that makes the [onii-chan complex->w-wish] seem light-hearted. Deep inside, the pain of an impossible relationship exists within the lovers involved. Yup, Yori and Iku, despite their extreme intimacy, continually remind themselves that this is wrong. Towards the end, they still try to find ways to move on and forget their impossible love somehow (through separation), and yet we still see a tease, because somehow it’s very hard to let go.

There are scenes of intimacy in this anime, but nothing too graphic. The animation and color tone reminds me of Marimite, the atmosphere similar to fellow incest-themed anime Koi Kaze. This is well-animated and well-paced, staying true to many scenes in early volumes of the manga. Of course, other events are omitted. In the manga Yori and Iku are extremely intimate, they express it almost anywhere. I wonder when they’ll be caught…

Anyway, I recommend you watch this with an open mind. In the real world people may be guilty of this, but while society abhors this, do not be discriminative. Love is really more complicated than we think.

Update: It’s going to be a live-action movie! Boku wa Imouto Ni Koi Wo Suru the movie will be starred by Jun Matsumoto (of Gokusen/Hana Yori Dango fame) and one hawt babe Nana Eikura, a magazine model. Nice, I hope to catch it soon.

To Heart ~Remember my Memories~

I love the [To Heart->] anime. I love that anime so much, that I really wished nothing will get wrong about the new series which is called To Heart ~Remember my Memories~.

Alas, I was wrong.

Being an anime-only fan of To Heart, I can already expect that I may not deserve to say bad things about To Heart ~Remember my Memories~ (hereby named as To Heart R for clarity), clearly because I haven’t even played the entire game nor understood it fully. For the bishoujo game players, To Heart R is a big treat. They get to see the new stories that happen after the original game. To Heart R is not a direct sequel of To Heart, and because of this, I am trying hard to separate them.

Technically, it’s an absolute shame. The art and animation levels are more of a stock market from the first 2/3 of this series. Sometimes good, sometimes horrible. I know that the producers of this anime are trying to make an accurate art rendition of To Heart using the original game’s character designs, and that’s fine with me. However, the massive and radical differences of the designs between each episode really make me sick. The same character in ep. 1 may not ever look the same in other episodes. Thankfully, the latter part of the series have gotten it right, which makes you wonder why they didn’t do it that way from the first time through. Yup, even before Mahou Sensei Negima, anime like To Heart R is already suffering from varying sakuga levels.

The story is, for me, something up for debate. On one hand, it was nice that they had a full forward story approach, as opposed to the filler-ish nature of the first series. On the other hand, one can argue that the series has been too focused on Multi. Multi’s plotlines run deep through every single episode of To Heart R, in that you may think they are really leaving Akari behind, despite her being the main girl. For fans of the iconic HMX-12 robot, To Heart R is a dream come true. For non-fans of Multi, To Heart R became too unfair to the other characters.

The biggest complaint I had with To Heart R is of one character itself, and that’s Hiroyuki. This is really the biggest disappointment that made me want to ask if his attitude is really that way in the original game. To Heart R’s Hiroyuki is the most insensitive, indecisive, and inconsistent bishoujo male lead I’ve ever seen. It’s an extreme reverse to To Heart’s Hiroyuki, the bored but kind male lead. There is a reason for the girls to love Hiroyuki of the original To Heart, because he is really kind and helpful to all of them. To Heart R’s Hiroyuki, yea sure he’s kind too, but I really can’t see it that way. For one, his “cruelty level” to a person is proportional to how close the person is to him. It means that he is somewhat mean to Masashi and Shiho, and to the worst extent, he is really mean to Akari. He is also hot-headed, and shouts a lot, especially when things don’t go his way. He is impolite to the elders he talks to throughout this series.

I really wonder how the To Heart R Hiroyuki made 3 girls in love with him. Yes folks, 3 people confessed to him in this series, as opposed to 0 in the first. And I really hate how he handled their broken hearts. We all know Akari is the main girl, and Hiroyuki is destined to be with Akari. But those 2 other poor girls got the no answer while Hiroyuki is still confused about his priorities, and Akari is being jealous. Therefore, the 2 busted girls didn’t have the chance to to make themselves worthy of Hiroyuki’s affection at all.

I want to say something good this time about To Heart R. Well, the OP and ED are really good. The OP reminds me of classic bishoujo game music, while the ED is a new rendition of a popular To Heart song. There are also multiple cameos of characters from the new bishoujo game To Heart 2, which I liked very much. The voice cast is almost the same as the first series, which is one of the best ingredient of this anime. Back in 1999, many of those seiyuu are already relatively popular. In 2004, the same seiyuu cast made To Heart R one of the most spectacular lineup of voice talents in recent history. I never thought I could see [Yui Horie->horie-yui] and Ayako Kawasumi together in an anime again.

I really want to say many more things about To Heart R, but you may be bored about this absolutely biased rant. Sorry that I am biased towards the original To Heart anime, but that’s my true and honest opinion. To Heart R is actually an ok anime, but because of so many reasons, I can’t find myself to liking it.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan

Pi pi ru pi ru pi ru pi pi ru pi….

Meet Dokuro-chan. She’s an angel… who carries a bat with spikes called Excaliborg (something like that). Therefore, she is Beat-to-death Angel Dokuro-chan (translation of the title). The main point of this anime? Beat this one guy to death.

The poor guy is named Sakura. Yup even boys can be named C kura. Dokuro-chan is actually an angel sent on a mission to kil, Sakura, but she always would fail to really kill him because she likes him. Dokuro-chan always beats him to death, and yet brings him back to life afterwards with her “pi pi ru pi ru pi ru pi pi ru pi”. Well then that it basically… The reason why Heaven wants Sakura killed is because it is forseen that in the future he will discover how to be young forever. Sakura, apparently, is a lolikon, so he wants a world of loli. So heaven don’t like that ok?

Bah, who cares about the plot? What we have here is over-the-top, fast, and crazy anime comedy. What if you mix something like Jungle Guu and Elfen Lied? Or maybe mahou shoujo with bloodbath? Yup your dreams come true with this anime. Plus you have all the sexy loli you’ve been looking for (I’ve been looking for? hehe). The animation is really good, varied, and crazy. Some anime producers really have some kind of imagination in pulling this off. Of course, the beat-to-death part gets old as fast as the guy that’s always dying in South Park, but still the other stuff are funny.

Anyway this is some anime. As if still not pushing the boundaries, there are still stuff left censored, like the extreme bloody beat-to-death parts, which are replaced by an on-screen advertisement to buy the DVD. So, people would buy the DVD and see the real uncensored score in those scenes. Despite some of those censorship, this is still bloddier as… well… any other anime out there. The seiyuu starring in this are surprisingly recognizable, and the OP is very very “pi pi ru pi ru pi ru pi pi ru pi”-catchy. So what are you waiting for? Anime like this is rare.

Episode 1-2:
So some setting ups in these first episodes. How Dokuro-chan is introduced to Sakura-kun’s class. The funny thing is, the class weirdly accepts all those crazy stuff as normal! We got a classmate who suddenly disappeared from her seat, and a class president who turns into a monkey!

On the second episode, Sabato-chan is introduced. She is out to kill Sakura-kun because Dokuro-chan can’t do it. We also learn about Sakura’s lolikon drive here.

Episode 3-4
Episode 3 is not too much about the main characters because it is about this meganekko Chiyuri-chan who likes a fellow male classmate, and so Sakura and Shizuki work together to try to bring them close in a study session. Well, Dokuro-chan is also there to fool around, but after knowing of their plans, she also agreed to help… somehow.

The fourth episode deals with Sakura and Shizuki’s movie date! Yea! Until… Dokuro-chan came and mess things up again. And what’s worse… Sabato appeared in the movie! All the violent chaos ensues while Shizuki eventually left the cinemas… Sakura-kun… baka!

Episode 5-6
These episodes are about a certain class field trip in the woods. First part is the one with the school mizugi! Shizuki-chan and Dokuro-chan mizugi… school swimsuits banzai! Hehe ok, then Sakura-kun gets more punishment not only by Dokuro-chan, but by his double-crossing classmates. He was forced to eat some poisonous curry. Poor lolicon guy.

The second part includes the much required kimodameshi (test of courage). Dokuro-chan wants to pair with Sakura so she turns another classmate into a dog (it’s dog vs. monkey now). During the game, a classmate says Shizuki-chan is lost, so Sakura is off to find her. He finds her, then some sounds scared them off a bit, but it’s just the wandering Sabato-chan.

Episode 7-8
Last episodes, but they’re kinda weak. It’s all about Dokuro-chan’s little sister, Zakuro, and she’s come to take her sister back to the future. Very typical farewell episode, and since it’s typical, you might guess right what happens at the end. You know, being a bit dramatic doesn’t fit too much in this anime, although the usual comedic and bloddy parts were there. I watched the TV version though so there were a hell lot of censorship. Maybe this would be more enjoyable when uncensored.

Anyway all-in-all, it’s been a bit of a fun ride, after all the anime is only four regular episodes long. Towards the end it got kinda boring, but the energy remains the same. Funny, fast, moe-cute, and heck of a bloddy anime this is. Weird combination, but well it worked.

Sentimental Journey

Sentimental Journey

12 girls, 12 stories, 12 episodes. Sentimental Journey takes you to a journey through many parts of Japan, seeing many ways of life and love through the experiences of these 12 girls.

Sentimental Journey is a series of 12 separate stories, and one of the only things that are similar to each is the presence of “the guy”. This guy, we don’t know his name, nor we see his eyes, and he seldom speaks. We are not even sure if it’s the same guy each episode. We just know that “the guy” is a certain love interest of each girl, and some events or circumstances made him to separate with the girl. The presence of this guy serves as a girl’s memoir of a lost love, and in a way it plays along with the story at hand. If you ask me, it is a revolutionary concept at a time when harem anime is about to go boom.

This is also one of the very first ren’ai simulation games to ever have an anime series. The original game is called Sentimental Grafitti, and its concept is kinda interesting too. So you still have a slew of girls, but from the very start, they are already in love with you! So the object of the bishoujo game is to make one of them happy, and all others sad! Cool! Apparently, Sentimental Journey comes in as a sort of prequel to the game, because we see “the guy” touching each girl’s lives as a memoir. Whew, but when you think about it, how did this ONE guy make 12 moving trips to different locations in Japan, and make a girl in each location fall in love with him? Amazing! He’s like the king of all romance anime!

The visuals may be quite old, but heck it’s so classy in style, it’s oh too appealing. All the girls have beauty, not only in looks, but in voices, featuring seiyuu that I don’t quite recognize (probably because I’m too young for this old anime). Each episode is very appealing on its own. Each one is so interesting, you’d regret the recent anime for losing the quality of old ones like these. And to think that each girl’s story happens in just one episode means that the anime is extremely well-paced. I wished every episode would never end, because I liked each girl and each story. Sentimental Journey is an absolute treasure that sadly didn’t stand the test of time. I don’t think many would remember or even watch an anime this old. I could only hope that you guys could have journeyed through this at least once.

– Akira likes playing violin.
– Akira fell in love with a transfer student.
– Akira played the violin for him.
– The student went away.
– Akira lost her will to play the violin.
– Guy from Austria tries to convince her to play again.
– Eventually, she realizes that she likes playing the violin after all.
– Akira got over the transfer student, so she plays violin again.

– Chie is a band leader.
– She doesn’t like love songs because some guy hurt her once.
– A band member, Ryu, seems to have other plans.
– Chie tries to intervene with his personal life, but it turned into an argument.
– Chie thinks that she is breaking the band apart because of her own selfishness (the no-love song part).
– Chie tried to quit the band and ran her motorcycle away, Ryu chased but they got into a minor accident.
– Afterwards the truth was revealed that Ryu actually just wants to turn pro and couldn’t say it to her.
– At a gig, Chie rewards Ryu by letting the band play a love song.

– An older girl named Kotone met a traveller girl named Yuu on a long train ride.
– Kotone doesn’t believe in pure love (being in a bad relationship), while Yuu believes.
– Kotone follows Yuu in her journey because she wants to know what pure love is.
– Yuu tells her love story, meeting this guy who likes watching meteor showers at a certain far place.
– The guy promised Yuu to see it together again, but he moved somewhere.
– Despite the incoming tropical storm (they may not see the meteor showers due to the clouds), Yuu is still determined to go to the place to see the meteor showers.
– They reached the place, and it continues to rain.
– By extreme coincidence, the eye of the storm was there, just in time for the meteor showers to appear before them.
– The girls parted ways, and Kotone finally felt a bit happy about her life.

– Manami is a sick girl in the hospital.
– Manami thought she was going to die because she overheard her doctor’s conversation.
– Manami tries to write more poems to reach 100 before her time is up.
– Manami hopes her words would reach a guy she likes.
– Manami is slowly losing hope that she can finish the poems.
– Thankfully, the final results of her health say that she is actually a healthy girl. Her parents were just too worried about her to the point that she was taken to the hospital.
– She is okay now, writing for more poems and wanting to be a novelist someday.

– Kaho and Kyoko are friends and are both runners for a school team, and an oncoming championship event is nearby.
– Kaho wanted her grandma to cook them a special okonomiyaki (a Japanese version of a pizza or pancake) if they win a race.
– Kaho likes this certain runner guy, and she would have wanted to hand the baton to him in an actual relay race, but the guy moved away.
– Kaho keeps a baton memento as remembrance of her love and prays over it everyday.
– Kyoko tells Kaho that their family is transferring to a faraway town, so she becomes Kyoko’s coach.
– Kyoko notices that Kaho is not handing the baton particularly well.
– Kaho helps Kyoko pack things for the transfer.
– Outside, Kyoko told Kaho to forget about the guy so that she can concentrate on the relay, and this became a petty fight between the two.
– The next day, Kyoko called up and said sorry, and that they are already leaving by train that morning.
– Kaho and her grandma drove up to the station, carrying a special okonomiyaki.
– Kaho ran to the station, and just in time to hand over baton-style the okonomiyaki to Kyoko aboard a running train.

– Wakana is a priestess in training.
– Wakana is troubled by certain memories, specifically of one guy she liked from way back. She calls them her earthly desires.
– Wakana is also troubled about life and love, in which why people still love and remember people even when knowing that love may end someday.
– She goes to a nearby monk to seek help. The monk explains stuff, predominantly about life, love, and memories.
– The monk says that it all depends on her whether to see these earthly desires as a source of strength or a source of weakness.
– He tells a story about two best friends who loved the same woman, but chose the guy who was more truthful to her. The important thing is to be true to yourself.
– Wakana is finally enlightened, and it is revealed that the monk is actually the losing guy in the story.

– When Rurika was young, she and another boy was cleaning up at school, when she accidentally broke a fossil, and the boy said they should apologize tomorrow.
– Rurika was scared and didn’t go to school for a while, but afterwards she discovered that the boy apologized for the breaking himself, and that the boy moved away afterwards.
– Rurika promises not to lie again.
– Rurika was working at a store in place of her twin brother Masahiro, when suddenly a girl named Kasumi handed her a love letter, which was supposed to be for Masahiro.
– Rurika called up Kasumi, pretending to be Masahiro, for a date, but Masahiro has a real date himself.
– Rurika, dressed as a guy, had gone to the date on the theme park with Kasumi.
– After some time, Kasumi realized the lie, and Rurika apologized. Kasumi forgave her and said that it was like dating a virtual Masahiro.

– Tazaki (a talent manager) and Oki (director of a beauty pageant) has differing opinions about the current teen girls in Japan.
– Tazaki believes that any girl can be a sophisticated lady through proper training, but Oki doesn’t believe so.
– Oki challenged Tazaki into a bet, to turn a certain girl named Asuka into a lady, and join his contest.
– Asuka is pretty hard to train into sophistication, because she is a sort of a modern klutzy Japanese girl, but Tazaki almost succeeded anyway.
– Asuka, however, didn’t show up in the contest.
– Tazaki and Oki met again, saying that Tazaki won the bet, he wonders how, and so Oki told about Asuka.
– Long ago Asuka had promised to see a movie with a boy she liked, but she got sick so she didn’t go, and shortly after the boy moved away.
– Knowing a rerun of the same movie and hearing of a radio message that she thought was from the boy, Asuka had gone to the theater waiting for the boy for a whole day, but he never appeared. What she did that day was lady-like.
– This was why Asuka never showed up in the contest, and so Asuka ‘sophistically’ apologized to Tazaki, and promises to have another try at show business someday.

– Miyuki helps in their family’s kimono shop, she likes kimonos.
– Miyuki visits a certain old man who draws kimono designs, she likes his kimono designs.
– One day Miyuki’s grandfather decided to set up an arranged marriage for her, but later declined because Miyuki was very against it.
– Nevertheless, her mother set it up so she could meet the guy that she was supposed to see for the arranged marriage.
– The guy (Kaoru) was quite a klutz, and also was not ready for those arranged marriage and stuff, but couldn’t tell his parents.
– Miyuki tells Kaoru a story how she got into kimonos.
– She wore one in a kimono event, when a guy classmate saw her and says she’s beautiful in that kimono.
– Miyuki and Kaoru see the old man throwing his kimono designs to the river.
– The old man says that though he still likes drawing designs, he’s falling back into the times (the computer age allows computer-aided designs), and it’s time to let it go.
– Miyuki and Kaoru parted ways, and Kaoru also had the courage to call the arranged marriage off.

– Emiru goes to an old school building about to be demolished, and is trying to find a ramune bottle.
– Emiru has some sort of third eye, and is being chased by illusions from the ghost of the building.
– The ghost of the building apparently wants her body, but she refuses and continually runs.
– She finally found a room with a magic circle, which is very memorable to her, thanks to the ramune bottle which also has a spirit.
– Back when she was young, Emiru is quite weird because of her special abilities.
– Emiru met this transfer student, and they become close friends, playing at that one old school building room.
– The boy draws a the magic circle, and they found a ramune bottle.
– One day, the boy said that he was transferring away, and so he left a message in a bottle using the ramune as a time capsule.
– Back to the present, where Emiru is being lured by the building’s ghost again, and the ramune’s spirit can’t help and communicate with her.
– The building’s ghost wants her body so that it will live on even after the demolition, but Emiru said that the building will still live on through their memories.
– The building’s ghost was touched and didn’t haunt Emiru anymore.
– Emiru decided not to open the ramune bottle yet.

– It’s school festival time.
– Taeko likes shoujo manga.
– Chigusa likes Tetsuro, who is Taeko’s close friend.
– Taeko tries to bridge Chigusa to Tetsuro by teaching few things through shoujo manga.
– Taeko learns from her mother that Tetsuro is actually moving away.
– Taeko convinces Chigusa to knit a sweater for Tetsuro and confess before it’s too late.
– Taeko remembers her experience with a guy she liked, where she wasn’t able to confess her feelings before he moved away.
– Chigusa misinterprets Taeko’s closeness to Tetsuro, thinking that he likes Taeko.
– Taeko believed it for a while.
– At the day of the transfer, we discover that it is all a misunderstanding.
– Tetsuro actually likes Chigusa, and that he is actually just moving elsewhere nearby, and not transferring school either.
– All is well for Tetsuro and Chigusa, and Taeko wonders if spring will come for her…

– Honoka is afraid of boys and love relationships, but has a father-complex.
– She always has dates with her own father, and writes him letters everyday, still having to place it in a postbox.
– A postman always watches her drop the letter into the box.
– One day, Honoka’s friend finds one of those letters, tries to talk to Honoka that this is unnatural, and she must overcome her fear towards boys.
– Honoka stopped dropping letters into the postbox, and then the postman offered to play imaginary boyfriend for her.
– Honoka actually liked a certain boy from way back, but he had since transferred away. She asks herself if that boy is special to her.
– Honoka overhears a rumor about her father having a relationship with his assistant.
– It was a misunderstanding, because Honoka’s father just asked for advice on how to handle her as a daughter growing up.
– Honoka also had a talk with her friend, and she finally agrees about being open to boys and relationships.
– By that time, she stops writing her father letters, and rejected the offer of the postman. She will then try to write letters to the one she liked in the past.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Air TV

Air

The days which are wrapped in the scene of summer and to pass gently
An encounter with the girls repeated in the sunlight
Summer continues to where as well
She is waiting in the air…

One of the best bishoujo game based anime ever made. And for good reason.

Made by [Key->], which also made [Kanon->] (a historical landmark in bishoujo games), Air continues on the tradition of a visual novel, where the player makes some game choices, and the rest is reading and enjoying the visuals and sound. Air is one of the most popular bishoujo game titles. In fact, it’s one of the longest during its time, and gamers are pulled into this world with magnificent settings, lovable characters and incredibly good storytelling. The original concept and story of this title is very dramatic. People who don’t know too much about bishoujo games would immediately classify them as adult-only games (because of certain content), but as I’ve said so many times, some of their stories can even rival those of actual literary novels. Air wins because of its intricate character development and storytelling. Basically, to see is to believe, so I won’t even spoil one bit of the story to you. Besides, you’ll probably be initially attracted to it anyway because of the incredible visuals.

And hell are the visuals so incredible. DVD format is seemingly not enough because the original HDTV broadcasts of this anime are really crisp and amazing. CG-like visuals, backgrounds, and character animation that pays attention to detail. And the simple beauty of all the characters really shine in this anime. It’s one of the best animations to come out on TV, that even OVAs and movies are having a hard time to compete with. What’s better is that there is no noticeable quality loss in any episode. This anime helped Kyoto Animation’s reputation as a powerful animation company in terms of having that wow-factor.

And not only the visuals, the direction of this anime is superb. Usually animators are having a hard time translating a game like this into anime. One reason is that some games have too many multiple paths and endings. Furthermore, to compress an entire visual novel into 13-26 episodes is a hard job. I guess it’s kinda lucky that Air’s story in the game takes a little bit more linear approach. The animators capitalized on that, and in effect, the anime stayed very true to its original game roots. It’s like having a direct manga-to-anime translation, only that it is a game-to-anime one. Fans are quite happy with that, especially when you have amazingly nice scenes to animate. Air has so many funny, happy and dramatic scenes that lifted all of human emotions.

The music is the same. This is quite a surprise, mostly because it wasn’t done before. Air the anime uses the original game soundtrack, and nothing else. It further recreates the feel of the game that way. The songs here, which are made by I’ve Sound, are some of the best I have heard from them, and it clearly complements the story through its lyrics. The seiyuu are composed of some prolific ones and some of my favorites. They make the characters come to life with their excellent voice acting.

The only thing bad about this is that it has to end someday, and seemingly 13 episodes (and 2 more upcoming in a few months) are not enough. But if you had watched it, it would be one of eternal memories. How good is Air? Well, let’s compare it to the real, actual air. It’s there, you breathe it, but you take it for granted. Like that, Air is one anime that may probably be ignored by some, but is actually something special.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature