Reviews – Page 6 – bluemist anime blog

Beyond the Clouds

Mere 320×179 screenshots can’t do this one justice. This anime movie is absolutely gorgeous. So many scenes look like lush CG to me, and the cinematic depiction of a wide sky with clouds rivals those of Kyoto Animation’s [Air->air-tv]. All this coming (mostly) from one man, Makoto Shinkai. He gained extreme popularity some time ago by releasing a one-man anime project, which turned out to be Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star). Yup, he did all those 24-or so minutes of animation all by himself on a Mac. He also does some short stuff, such as She and Her Cat and openings of various bishoujo games such as Wind –a breath of heart–. Now maybe with more staff and powerful computer hardware and software, he made this movie.

See that huge line among the clouds? That is a tall tower soaring across the sky. We follow the lives of three people. Two boys are attracted to this one girl, as well as their wanting to reach the tower by plane. And so they make a plane and made a promise, that the three of them will go to the tower. These characters live in a world where Japan is divided into the North and South, and much like North and South Korea, the divide has brought about intense pressure politically as well as technologically. The tower is at one regime, and the three characters are in another. Under the circumstances, will they fulfill their promise?

The plot thickens when the girl is having these strange dreams. Over time the characters were separated. One boy joins a research facility, and is also secretly in a terrorist faction aimed to stop the impending war of the two sides. The other boy continues on life in another city. The boys would know later that the girl they adored is in a coma for three years now. When fate brings the three together again, what will they do? Knowing that the girl’s sickness is related to the tower, will they finally fulfill the long-forgotten promise? To fly the plane in the sky to the tower?

Besides the love, friendship and promise story, there is a sci-fi element to the movie regarding the girl and the purpose of the tower. Apparently in this world, there are other parallel worlds, and somehow the tower is able to communicate with those parallel worlds, being able to replace the surroundings of the present world to those of the alternate world it connects to. The girl is also a vital part of the communication. All these science mumbo-jumbo veered me away from the main point of the story for a while, but it isn’t as annoying and confusing as some of those crap from other anime.

Again I say, the animation and art is absolutely amazing. Of course it’s a movie so it should be that way, but the backgrounds in particular look so superb it’s like playing a 2D Half-Life 2 with a very powerful computer. It even kicks bishoujo game CG out of the competition. Only recent Studio Ghibli movies are as beautiful. The angles of the shots are so cinematic, and the character design, though kinda simple, blends well into the picture. Gotta love those shadows, lens flares and other lighting and weather effects. Like Air, it is as if DVD-quality is not enough (need something higher than DVD resolutions, like HDTV) to store the quality of the work. And at last, after months of drought, I have found another soundtrack to remember. The music is absolutely amazing also, it mixes with the scenes very well, and the themes stick to my mind even now.

Of course, it has some shortcomings, such as the ending which may be left to multiple interpretations, the potential story points which have abrupt ends, and the slow drag of some parts of the movie. If this movie were shorter, it would have been a candidate for a classic. But these are mere nitpicks, and considering that this was (mostly) made by one man, that alone is quite a shocker. This movie is a definite must-watch.

Utaâˆ½Kata

I would regard Uta Kata to belong to the bishoujo-mahou-shoujo genre, much like Nanoha. Unlike Nanoha though, despite the radically colorful hair and beautiful Kiddy Grade-like animation, this series is dark. It’s kinda fun for some 1/2 of the series but turns real dark the next. So much for mahou shoujo.

So, basically Ichika is your regular girl in the puberty stage. Not a girl, not yet a woman. Suddenly Manatsu comes out from a mirror and into her life. Ichika was also given some kind of amulet where she utilizes the power of the Djinn… gods of the elements of sun, moon, earth, water, flame, heaven, wind, flower, lightning, darkness, sea, and mirror. At the same time she is experiencing many changes in her life, as she is in between childhood and adulthood. Well, guess what? This is all a test.

At the same time, she is experiencing seven virtues, and the equivalent seven sins of humanity. As if it mirrored itself, the events that used to be good was now inverted to bad. This seems to be a misleading concept. If the mirror reflects the exact same thing, why in Ichika’s case it reflects the reverse? The existence of Manatsu in her life somewhat fills the void. Manatsu is the ‘other side’ of Ichika, and from the very start of this fated summer, she has been there to look over, or guide her, into this test.

So, the test is experiencing the world. But for what reason? The real test is yet to come, which I will not spoil (as if I’ve not spoilt enough). In any case, the answers may surprise you, especially me. My interest in human behavior and philosophy sparked my interest in this anime. While not strong enough a material, it conveyed the point of the matter through random situations and character development. It’s a short series, but it could have been more.

Again, the animation is great. The art is from that Gatekeepers/Kiddy Grade guy, but a whole bunch of popular anime/manga artist kinda pitched in for the costume designs of Ichika. There are 12 mahou-shoujo costumes from 12 artists, conveying the 12 powers of the Djinn. Kinda like Cardcaptor Sakura? Nah. Anyway the music here is fine, but forgettable.

There will be an OVA for Uta Kata, so I figure this is not the end of it yet. As it says on the last scene… the seasons rotate. This has been Ichika’s unforgettable summer. Come to think of it, the whole series is an entire flashback…

Uta Kata OVA
Finally watched the OVA. Basically, it just tied up the loose ends of our ever-endearing yuri and yaoi couples, and how they are able to move on. This brings the stories of Ichika and friends to a happy closure.

What’s next? The mirror remains, and the test will go on, maybe targeting another youth in the verge of being adult. Uta Kata 2? Hopefully.

Genshiken

Genshiken

Again, this anime is about this group of guys composing of Genshiken (short for Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuukai [Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture]) club members. Frankly, they are ‘otakus’ and this is their life story. Yup. Them otakus like everything. Anime, manga, videogames, cosplay, models and toys, doujinshi, ero-games, blah blah blah. They also love [Kujibiki Unbalance->].

I was quite surprised that this anime is actually licensed, considering that this has a theme that Americans may not accept. In America, otakuism is like having a cool, elitist lifestyle, regarded as somewhat honorable. In Japan, being an otaku means being in your self-contained hobbyist world, without much social life, neglecting your physical appearance, and basically obsessed with your hobby. Moreover, many anime fans in America think otakuism in Japan is popular, meaning anime, games, and stuff like that are really popular in Japan. They think anime is mostly not for kids. Hell no in Japan. Maybe through this series they would be kinda surprised that the regular mass Japanese viewpoint is from the Genshiken character Saki, who is your typical Japanese girl forced to hang out with these otakus because her boyfriend is (sadly) also one.

Culture barriers are really complex at times. In America otaku are honored, in Japan otaku are oppressed. In other countries anime is cool, in Japan (where anime itself originates) anime is childish. Of course there are subsections to this kind of issue, but this is generally the case. In any case, Genshiken is somehow a generic mirror to the otaku society of Japan. They watch and discuss anime (mostly Kujibiki Unbalance), they play games (actual Guilty Gear footage is being used all the time), attend those doujinshi festivals, do mecha plastic models, and the ever-loved cosplay. The multitude of Japanese cultural (and otaku-cultural) references may alienate me, but generally this is a very fun watch.

[Genshiken OVA->]

Futakoi

From [Dengeki G’s->], which gave us the [Sister Princess->] and [Happy Lesson->] franchises, comes Futakoi. So, from sisters… to teachers… and now TWINS? With no less than 6 twins as characters, they will be built up much like virtual idols, having features at G’s Magazine, releasing multiple albums, merchandise, games, anime series, and maybe much more that I don’t know about (or wouldn’t want to).

The anime series focuses on introducing all of them, along with our usual dorky male lead always seen in similar harem anime series (they’re like a plague, really). The background story is about a town where mysteriously or coincidentally, many twins reside. There’s also a legend in the city involving twins, and a certain monument to remember that legend. We see the male lead returning to this homeland of his after some years, and meeting his childhood friends Kaoruko and Sumireko, who happens to be twins. Umm… promise twins, anime cliche just doubled. Of course there will be the cliched rivals as well, also twins. Add a handful more twins with levels of friendship and love towards our dorky male lead, and we get our typical harem anime, isn’t it?

Well, not exactly. While this really sounds typical, it’s fun. This anime is surprisingly well-paced. If you stuck with it beyond episode 4 you’ll be in for a treat. Character involvement, development, and actual plot moves up a notch with every episode that passes by. The main highlight is episode 12, with angst reaching [Kimi ga Nozomu Eien->] levels, and maybe beyond (well not too tragic). Of course, with a lot of twins vying for the love of a single person, it’s multiple times the expected angst. I didn’t see too much catfights within the twins themselves though, which was quite bummer, and thus made it lack realism a bit.

The animation is as bishoujo as it gets, although just a faint interpretation of the uber-amazing character illustrations and CGs that I have seen in scans of G’s Magazine. Like Sister Princess, animations are fine, but illustrations… superb. You’ll have to find them yourself because I won’t give any links, but I tell you it’s a worthy find. The OP seemingly doesn’t fit the series at first listen, one might even think it’s similar to RahXephon’s OP (well that’s my impression of it), but generally ok. The ED is fine too, and the rest of the BGM is quite forgettable but complements nonetheless.

The end is, as expected, not complete. Remember that this is a Dengeki G’s series, so they must milk the cash cow further otherwise Futakoi wouldn’t be called a franchise. The next Futakoi anime series, [Futakoi Alternative->], focuses on Souju and Sara. Nice… anyway I hope that there would be a continuation of this first Futakoi anime.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha

Nothing lyrical about it, but it was a nice ride.

Starring some characters from the Triangle Heart game and OVA, this anime series focuses on Nanoha, a normal girl who has some extraordinary magic. By virtue of chance a guy from another dimension named Yuuno has ventured into her world (but for the meantime he is a ferret), and needed her help in gathering Jewel Seeds, some kind of magical items that may bring danger into their worlds. Eventually she will meet up with another magical girl, Fate, who is also after the Jewel Seeds for some unknown reason. As rivals, they will clash and fight together, but Nanoha (being the good girl she is) would try to open this girl’s heart, and try to be friends with her.

Many have compared Nanoha to Cardcaptor Sakura, but I won’t make that comparison here. After all, this is technically not a full-fledged mahou shoujo (magical girl) anime series. First of all, this series is a spinoff from an existing ‘bishoujo game’, which for the most part is aimed at guys, rather than shoujo anime which is aimed at girls. I therefore regarded Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha as a “bishoujo-mahou-shoujo” series, a magical girl series aimed for guys.

Most of the time, anime stuff aimed for guys usually have the dreaded disease known as fanservice. And worse, considering its bishoujo gaming origins, it’s expected that the anime might have lots of them. Yup, Nanoha may have those (err it’s hard to type these) nekkid transformation sequences, onsen episodes, and under-the-skirt shots, but those immediately took a backseat after a few episodes, as the plot focuses on the two magical girl rivals.

Nanoha is very determined to know why Fate is collecting the Jewel Seeds, and when we would finally know that Fate is not all that bad, Nanoha tries to protect Fate and be her friend. The characterization of these two girls are very detailed. What’s more, even the minor characters are very likeable. I liked it when one of Nanoha’s friends gave her the cold shoulder at some point, because Nanoha is not telling her troubles to them (she can’t tell them she’s a magical girl). The friend only did it because she likes Nanoha very much, and she’s frustrated because she can’t do anything for her, since Nanoha won’t tell her problems to her friend. It was very well presented, and was one of the most heartwarming stories of friendship I have ever seen in an anime. Another one I liked was about Arf. Being Fate’s sidekick in collecting the Jewel Seeds, she likes Fate very much, and always wants to protect her against all odds. Because Fate’s reasons for collecting the Jewel Seeds were so shallow and useless, and is only hurting herself in the process, Arf thinks of Fate selflessly, and tries to put sense into Fate’s life, and make her smile somewhat.

For a 13-episode series, this is a very admirable work. Great characterization and plot, coupled with absolutely amazing animation and battle sequences (to see is to believe), Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha has something special going for it. The OP/ED and music were also great. It’s really full of emotion, and I almost shed a tear in this one (rare for something like a bishoujo series). It actually transcends its own typical genre cliches, and has me screaming ‘sequel!’ at the end. Cheers for more Nanoha!

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Natsuiro no Sunadokei

One day a brave American company called Hirameki International released a one-of-a-kind bishoujo game in the US. Why one of a kind? Because it doesn’t have any adult content, which is rare, (if not non-existent) in this kind of market. Almost all bishoujo games released in English has adult content, and so I’m quite surprised to see this DVD game (readily played on DVD players) in the US market. The game is called Hourglass of Summer (Natsuiro no Sunadokei). I saw its anime counterpart quite recently, and this is what I have to say.

Yes, this is also from Princess Soft, the company behind [W ~Wish~->] and [Final Approach->], both of which has gotten an anime conversion as well. It has a nice premise. Boy likes girl, but then one day the boy wakes up one morning realizing that he has “skipped time”, and that the girl of his dreams has been dead by an accident! What the hell is going on? And so with the help of a certain ‘time traveler’ girl, he travels back in time to try to change the fate of the girl he loves.

For one, the designs are absolutely beautiful, but both the CG and animation are kinda quirky in that part. Sometimes I see weird character designs, but other times it’s quite bearable. The pace of the anime is okay, but this 2-episode OVA never really took off too much in the first episode, while the second was quite good. It would have been better so see more episodes though, because there are too many characters that lost screentime because of the limited episode count. They would have been quite nice characters too…

Natsuiro no Sunadokei is one of those games that I can actually play because there is an English conversion, courtesy of [Hirameki International->]! It is very rare that semi-popular titles like this get ported over to English, because most English bishoujo games are those unpopular adult-focused ones. The US bishoujo licensors dare not to tap into the really popular bishoujo games (such as those from Key and Leaf) quite yet. But I hope Hourglass of Summer is a step in that direction. Now I’m off to find the game!

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

W ~Wish~

In bishoujo/ren’ai gaming, one of the primary themes that are ‘almost always’ present is what I call the dreaded “onii-chan complex” (brother complex). Because you play the role of the male lead in bishoujo games, there is bound to be at least one female character that either:

1. is your imouto (little sister)
2. is your imouto and living with you but seems to be adopted/not blood related
3. is not your imouto but is used to calling you onii-chan

Yes, you are onii-chan. She likes you because you are her brother (of some sort). This type of bishoujo character is rather popular, no wait, ‘very’ popular. Even to the point that some games of this kind had featured ALL female characters as your little sisters (I think you would know which). In anime conversions, we have seen many onii-chan complexed characters like Akane of [Final Approach->] (Type 1), Nemu of [Da Capo->] (Type 2), and Akane of [Kiminozo->kimi-ga-nozomu-eien] (Type 3).

Okay, with that aside, I’ll talk about W ~Wish~ now.

Um… er…

…

What else is there to say except this is an onii-chan complex anime? And seemingly the only plot would be… is your imouto Type 1 or Type 2? Blood related or not? The main guy has the trauma of losing his parents in an accident. Having a bit of amnesia, he would never know whether this girl who called him ‘onii-chan’ (Senna) is really his ‘imouto’. But they live together for years after that accident anyway. So the story starts from here. Plus another girl (Haruhi) is claiming to be her onii-chan too? What’s going on? And Senna, seems to be hiding something, and is too overprotective lately…

Having little comedy and being more or less a drama, W ~Wish~ is a simple show, for now at least. Maybe when more plot is revealed it might be getting more interesting, especially when the question (who’s the real imouto) remains. Maybe the title itself would provide a clue. For now, Final Approach may be the better Princess Hour anime, but W ~Wish~ complements it nicely nonetheless. Need more episodes!

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Final Approach

Welcome to Rizelmine ren’ai style.

Final Approach starts with sudden infiltration of Ryo and Akane’s house by this… person in a jump suit. The person undresses and… a girl with a kimono? Then this girl named Shizuka started talking the classic cliche` of: “I’ll be your fiance`”! Chaos ensues.

Well, unlike Rizelmine which basically is just a secret government project of a robot wife for no apparent purpose, Final Approach made up a ‘purpose’ for the sudden forced marriage thing. The population seems to be dropping (in real life, it will NEVER happen in Japan), and so they need to enforce arranged marriages to ensure the longetivity of human civilization.

BUT WHO CARES ABOUT ALL THAT CRAP ANYWAY?

What matters in Final Approach? Yes, the bishoujos of course. Based on a Princess Soft bishoujo game, and part of the Princess Hour anime showing ([W ~Wish~->] is the other one) (oh, the two shows aren’t worth one hour BTW), Final Approach is a 15-min 13-episode format which basically tells the perils of suddenly having an annoying fiance`. So no mind-boggling plot for at least most of the episode run.

The thing that had me locked into this is the drawing. Possibly my favorite kind of bishoujo drawing has been featured in Final Approach. All of them are so darn cute they’d kill me of heart attack (just joking). And the chibi-style moments add a plus factor. Of course, the male lead look just like any other male lead of this genre, and moreover, acts just like any other male lead of this genre, so who cares about him. I get 5 cute girls anyway, so…

But the cutest? Ojo! (Emiho Mutsu)

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Kita he – Diamond Dust Drops

Kita he – Diamond Dust Drops

What is diamond dust?

This is the boring definition (taken from wikipedia.org). Diamond dusts are near ground level ice clouds. It is a meteorological phenomenon where microscopic ice crystals form in midair without the need for a seed. This phenomenon can only happen at temperatures at or below water’s dynamic arrest point of -39Â°C, much lower than its freezing point of 0Â°C.

So let’s see how the Japanese interpret to such a phenomenon. They say (or at least the Kita he anime and games say), someone who has seen diamond dust would have his/her dreams come true. Also, when a couple sees diamond dust together, they can find eternal happiness. Very hopeful and romantic, isn’t it?

Kita he – Diamond Dust Drops is an anime based on… hmm… actually I haven’t found much info on this. For one, I don’t know if I can still call this a ren’ai simulation console game or bishoujo game. Some sources say it is called a ‘travelling game’, in which you, the player, travel across some scenic spots and destinations in Japan. Along with that, the usual bishoujo game dynamics come into play. A travelling game? That’s quite nice. The player would travel and see pictures of real-life places, while hearing the story of some girl characters along the way. Kinda like an interactive travel guide isn’t it?

Okay, I was initially turned off because the game CG art of the Kita he games isn’t my cup of tea. The anime also embraces the art, but in a way that’s not quite as weird as the game CG. The anime setup: There are six girls. Each of them has a story, in which five of the girls have two episodes, one girl has only one. Unlike typical bishoujo game to anime conversions, there is no male lead/player viewpoint here. These are different girls in separate stories in separate settings. I don’t wanna spoil each girl’s story too much, but I can assure you that this is prime storytelling.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Popotan

Popotan

My…

On the surface it may be just a very boring bishoujo game-based anime full of nekkid bodies of the megane-ko onee-chan, a spunky girl-next-door, and a Komugi-chan-type cute little girl. Oh, also add in a cool/quiet Maid-san and a white pet-creature. Yup, Popotan addresses the needs of almost any type of moe~ complexed boys. On the surface you might find nothing but skin skin skin. It’s the most fanservice-ful anime around, but with very little ecchi to complement that. But despite all the ‘naked truths’ in the surface, I am impressed with the story structure.

The three sisters, a maid, and a pet travel across time and space… along with their house. They go to stay on that specific area for a few days, then ‘magically’ disappear again to another time and/or place. The main dilemma? They meet people, make friends with them, but because they are always ‘travelling’, they leave their newfound friends behind too quickly. Aside from that dilemma, they are trying to search for ‘someone’ as they travel, and they ask the ‘popotan’ (popotan~=tanpopo=dandelions) if the person is in that particular area. Yup, they can talk to flowers, and they also have some magical powers but they were never used too much in the anime. Anyway, the plot thickens when they start returning to the places they’ve already been to, but in a future time. The friends who were left behind, what would be their reaction to their abysmal return? And when they find that ‘person’, can they find the answers they were looking for? All of these combine to provide a very coherent plot full of drama. Yup, behind all the comedy lies beautiful drama. If Kokoro Library were ecchi it would be Popotan. That’s saying how nice the execution of this anime is.

The screencaps show only one of the sisters, Mai (the sisters together are ridiculously named Ai, Mai, and Mii, ring a bell?), because she’s the only one worth mentioning. She has the best personality in this anime, and she has the best stories (not to mention multiple episode counts dedicated to her). I like spunky girl-next-door types in anime (Mako from Da Capo also comes into mind), because they feature a more realistic female character viewpoint. Many other anime girls are very stereotyped and cliche.

So in summary, you would be in for a pleasant surprise when you watch Popotan. It is not as shallow an anime as you may think in the surface.

ANIMEME ALERT!
The opening video of this anime included a rather cute dance by Mai and Mii, which spawned the [Caramelldansen->http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/archives/animeme-caramelldansen/] meme.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature