review – Page 2 – bluemist anime blog

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora

6 episodes, 24 minutes, impossibly short. Packs a lot of punch though.

Translated as “looking up at the half-moon”, Hantsuki the animation came from a series of written novels, detailing a love story between two patients in a hospital. The guy, Yuuichi, is hospitalized because of hepatitis, which I think isn’t too serious. The girl, Rika, has a certain heart problem that seems oh too serious, something that she may not be able to survive from. Classic setup just like the multitude of hospital dramas we see on every other medium of entertainment. Somehow having characters in life or death situations in the hospital strikes so hard on us viewers (blame ER?), much more when added this innocent and endearing love story.

I do admit that the short length of the anime might not hook you up in terms of character development, but somehow Hantsuki pulls it off quite nicely. The episodes were very well paced, umm, except for that seriously weird masked man friend of Yuuichi. The humor seems out of place sometimes, and there were some subplots that I think should have not been included or focused on too much. Plus there’s the issue of the ED sequence, a picture of Yuuichi and Rika getting married, which gives either false hope or an unhealthy teaser for the ending.

And finally I have an issue about the ending that left me disappointed. Nope, it’s not about how it ended, but how it was ‘built up’ during the first minutes of the last episode. I was so thrilled, already overly emotional because they kept hiding what went on with Rika, so it must be a big shocker. But then the reveal came, and I wasn’t shocked at all. Maybe I think like a girl in that situation (watch the anime and see the explanation of Nurse Akiko). It was as if I was hoping for something else but the real ending was a very expected thing. Anti-climactic. I hope you got my drift.

The character designs get quite wobbly all throughout the anime, but no one can deny the cuteness of Rika. OP/ED are fine, and the background music soothes a lot. I also can imagine a much better pace if the anime were twice the length. Those 6 episodes summarized a 5-volume novel long series of light novels. Surely lots of details are missed. The story’s not over too, there is yet another volume of Hantsuki. I really hope there is an OVA or something.

All in all… umm… since this is a very short anime, try using up a bit of your time to watch Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora. It’s not a waste of time if I may say so. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about this one, so don’t expect much. But it’s quite nice also, so please do give it a try.

Okay, I’m going half-moon on that one.

REC

REC

9 episodes, 12 minutes, impossibly short. Packs a lot of punch though.

Based on a manga of the same name, REC is a story about a guy and a girl who gets to live in one roof because of some circumstances. Fumihiko, 26, is a worker at a local sweets company, brainstorming ideas for promotion of goods. Aka, 20, is a newbie seiyuu (voice actress), loves Audrey Hepburn movies and likes to quote movie dialogue all the time. They get to live in one roof, but still confused as to what is exactly their relationship, they aren’t a couple after all. They get to work together for a snacks promotion in need of a seiyuu. Eventually they get closer, but reality kicks in, as their own respective careers either sway up or down. How will they handle the ups and downs of work, and the ups and downs of their own romance?

An anime about a budding seiyuu! I’ve seen anime about j-idols, singers and stuff like that, but never about a seiyuu until now. REC totally landed my interest, and the red-haired cutie Aka is a plus! While I can’t relate to her obsession for the late great Audrey Hepburn’s works, the way she modulates her voice when making a movie quote gets a 10 out of 10 in originality. We also see a bit of focus on the seiyuu scene, which is somewhat the same thing we see in the j-idol or music scene. Of course, voice acting is not just about anime, it’s as comprehensive as dubbing gets. From movies to commercials to even bishoujo games, seiyuu are there to lend their voices and spice things up. Er… I was rather surprised that they’d even deal with the bishoujo game seiyuu topic, quite boldly I must say (heck, a mosaic of a p****! and a sample dialogue of an H anime even!!).

Anyway, not even inconsistent animation can cover-up the cuteness of Aka. Must be due to her seiyuu… I mean, the real-life seiyuu who voices Aka. She is Kanako Sakai, and I must say, she’s rather cute herself too. She seems to be a budding seiyuu and actress too, having only REC and Magikano in her anime belt, along with made-for-DVD dramas, TV and radio programs, and a PS2 game. I wish her luck.

All in all, short but totally sweet. It’s an interesting story about careers and relationships. While short, REC delivers at a steady pace, no dull moment at all. I really wished it could be longer though. Oh well, a new OVA episode would be underway quite soon. Need more anime like this. Anime about seiyuu, that is.

Kyou no Go no Ni

Today in Class 5-2

Today in Class 5-2 is a 5-episode OVA about… this boring male lead Ryouta getting in a lot of “embarrassing situations” with the girls of Class 5-2.

The end.

Okay fine, it is based on a collection of one-shot chapters forming a volume of manga. Nothing particularly unique to note, except it may be the most direct-to-the-cliched-point anime in the harem genre. No flashy stories about the characters, no convoluted plot twists, just straight head-on “embarrasing situations” with the girls. Note the quotes, you know what I’m talking about here.

Fanservice.

Not that it’s a bad thing though. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll definitely dig this. Animation is great and the girls are hawt. Not bad at all.

Coverage: Episode 1

1st Period: Wiggle Wiggle

2nd Period: Collarbones

3rd Period: Undefeated

4th Period: Memory (Scale)

5th Period: Sneak Attack

To Heart 2

I was thinking all the while that To Heart 2 will be really good, considering that [Comic Party Revolution->], the other anime franchise of [Aquaplus->leaf-aquaplus], turned out rather well. But then the IMO horror that is [~Remember my Memories~->to-heart-remember-my-memories] still looms. That series not only had inconsistent animation, but a pace and story that I didn’t enjoy too much. This time, To Heart 2 more or less had the same problems, but not enough to call it a bad anime… or maybe… I’m biased?

I played the [game->toheart2], and featured it rather heavily, so there may be some personal biases of mine that will lead to the anime counterpart getting a more positive review from me. For one, I really love the mix of the all-new characters this time. The energetic [childhood friend->To Heart 2: Episode 1], the mature [onee-sama->To Heart 2: Episode 2], the soft-spoken [iincho->To Heart 2: Episode 3], the annoying [challenge girl->To Heart 2: Episode 4], the scheming [club president->To Heart 2: Episode 5], the weird [girl from outer space->To Heart 2: Episode 6], twins with [different->To Heart 2: Episode 8] [personalities->To Heart 2: Episode 9], and the ever-required [maid robot->To Heart 2: Episode 10]. While this cast sounds extremely cliche, the difference is in the moe~ factor. The To Heart 2 characters have the same cuteness vibe that made the original [To Heart->] so popular. The lead male character is also an improvement over other similar series. Takaaki is neither a Bakayuki or a Junichi, but if you ask me… he acts kinda gayish.

Now I’m gonna try to remove my bias. Technically, To Heart 2 the anime is created for existing and upcoming fans of the original game. Its premiere in the fall season of 2005 would coincide with the much-anticipated PC version of the game (it was originally on Playstation 2), [To Heart 2: XRATED->]. That said, and because you, my primary audience, is of the english-speaking anime community, many of you guys may be alienated when watching this anime. It is as if it pits you immediately into the events assuming you already know the game, or know of the first To Heart. Unfortunately, many of us can’t play the game because of the language barrier, and so some may not be able to enjoy it too much. Add up the fact that there are 9 featured girls in mere 13 episodes, and that makes them even less memorable.

Aside from the dilemma from non-fans of the To Heart 2 game, even the fans themselves are complaining. What they saw in the anime were very diluted, modified and condensed versions of each girl’s story. What took them about 5-10 hours to complete in the game, the anime finished in 1 or 2 episodes. The conversion quality left so much pain, as it wasn’t to the level that they expected. The most significant alteration to the original was the watering-down of the drama. The original To Heart 2 stories were heartwarming tearjerkers. Compared to that, the To Heart 2 anime stories seemed lifeless.

Couple that with inconsistent animation, incomplete stories, and confusing [timeline->toheart2-timeline], the anime is disaster on rails. Thankfully it had some nice bits here and there. For the fans, they have seen the To Heart 2 girls [interact->To Heart 2: Episode 7] with [each other->To Heart 2: Episode 11] like never before, because in the game they barely even know each other. Also, having all the original seiyuu in check for the anime makes it pleasant-sounding. Music is forgettable but not annoying, and the OP/ED is quite good.

Overall though, maybe it will be just the fans who will enjoy an anime like To Heart 2. Anyway, the best episode to watch is the [12th one->To Heart 2: Episode 12], and I can say you could even see it standalone (not watching the other eps). Continue it with the [last one->To Heart 2: Episode 13 (Final)] for the open-ended conclusion, and you have the 2-episode Konomi OVA. That’s my recommendation if you don’t want to waste time. There are many other bishoujo-game based anime better than this (Stripey has a nice top 20 list). My other recommendation is to play the game somehow. You’ll feel the moe~ factor better over there.

Da Capo Second Season

It’s always hard to have a sophomore outing. It always gets compared to the first. The entire Da Capo game franchise seemed to escape itself away from this dilemma, by bombarding the audience with all things Da Capo. With the possibly annoying array of versions, revisions, sidestories, and fandisks of the [Da Capo games->Circus] alone, coupled with multiple manga and anime serializations, comparing each is no use. Just enjoy the Da Capo mythos. But in case of the anime versions, we need to look at the [first season->da-capo] as reference to Da Capo Second Season, because it is not a version or revision of the original, it is a sequel.

With DCPS ending, the Da Capo anime has now become the longest running anime franchise of the bishoujo game genre. 52 episodes of fun with rainbow-colored hair and cute girls. Each season had its own unique share of positive and negative traits, but overall a worthy watch, especially if you had been looking through your mountain pile of Da Capo games. And the heat rises further, as Da Capo Second Season adds more girls into the already crowded fray of multiple hair colors and different personalities. You’re really bound to like at least one of them. The main guy actually has a literal change of character art in the new season, but who cares about the guy anyway?

Ironically, one new main character didn’t actually come from the games. Aisia, a new girl with mysterious powers, was derived from a manga serialization called Da Capo Second Graduation. The other new characters came from the Da Capo Plus Situation game. Some DCPS characters actually didn’t make the cut, one is really missing, one remains a cameo, and another one… hmm… let’s just say that ~~she~~ is there but not really.

The story carries over from the first season, two years later. The mysterious power within the cherry blossoms are gone, main girls Nemu and Sakura are abroad, and all seems certain that [Kotori->da-capo-kotori-shirakawa] (arguably one of the most favorable Da Capo girls) will take the limelight and shine. One problem though, Aisia steals the limelight more often than not, plus with (ooh spoiler) Nemu and Sakura returning once again, it is now a whole new battle for the love of this one boring male lead.

I hope to fully put the entire season in perspective, but really, everything that happens in Da Capo Second Season involves Aisia. I hope I was correct in saying that. Even when there were episodes that feature the other new characters, Aisia plays a vital part in each of their stories. This I think is where the second season is weak as compared to the first. There is little room for character development or focus for all the other girls. While you may argue that some have already developed (because of the first season), for an anime of the bishoujo genre, characters are more important than plot. I would have preferred more Mako episodes myself. Along with character development, Aisia was granted the key to open the door of the main plot of the second season. What convenience, Aisia gets all the attention. As I said, viewers may think that this season is all about Aisia AND Kotori (as implied in the OP sequence), but it turns out that Kotori stays to be coincidential rather than central to the plot.

In any case, Da Capo Second Season as a story is an excellent follow-up to the first Da Capo. It raises a lot of questions to the conclusion of the first season, and answers them one-by-one. The first season’s ending did have some logical and moral faults, and I was glad that DCSS transcended beyond the original content toward a more “true” conclusion this time around. But with Aisia getting more screentime, I figured that they never needed a entire length of 26 episodes in order to explain the point. If anything, I really hoped that more focus should have been dealt on the new DCPS girls and Kotori herself. It doesn’t need to be this focused on Aisia alone. I admit, Aisia rocks, but alienating fans of all the other Da Capo girls… a no-no.

Despite this, I really enjoyed the run. Character animation looks more consistent, the background music again memorable, and excellent songs again coming from no other than [Yui Horie->horie-yui] (Kotori) and yozuca* and rino/CooRie.

If anything, this may be the real time to close the huge Da Capo franchise. Onwards to DC II perhaps? I think it has already proven its point, each character strong enough to remain a bishoujo anime icon. If you can stomach the barrage of Aisia-only goodness, Da Capo Second Season is a worthy watch.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature

Ichigo Mashimaro

Ichigo Mashimaro

Azumanga Daioh seems oh too influential an anime nowadays. It seems like a main reference whenever a new slice-of-life comedy anime comes along. And then whenever that anime doesn’t live up to expectations, labels of “Azumanga Daioh ripoff” are placed. Many slice-of-life comedy animes have come and go since then, and only a few stand out not to be another anime’s ripoff. One of them is Ichigo Mashimaro.

With the original manga currently running in the moe~filled magazine called Dengeki Daioh (where Azumanga Daioh also ran), Ichigo Mashimaro is a ~~story~~ non-story of four cute young girls and a slightly older female teenager… Period. That’s it folks… bye!

Er…

Basically there is no main plot to talk about. Ichigo Mashimaro is about five girls doing the usual stuff in life. What stands out here though is in the basis of characterization. The five girls all have their own unique traits that make them cute not only physically. Nobue, the eldest of the five, acts as the nee-san of the group… but smokes cigars and has a penchant for anything cute (like cosplay, and also the four girls themselves). Chika, Nobue’s sister, seemingly has nothing special, but she acts as the sarcastic girl whenever everyone does something weird. Ana, the foreigner, has more Japanese speech and cultural knowledge than even her Japanese friends, but her English is surprisingly poor. Matsuri, the meganekko, is a soft-spoken girl who is slow in so many things but actually speaks better English than Ana. And Miu, the main troublemaker of the group, is… Miu. Nobody can completely describe Miu and the inner workings of her mind, but at least enjoy her [punchlines here->miu-chan-punch].

As you can see, their characteristics look bland on paper, but you have to see the anime to appreciate it. When they are mixed up, seemingly simple stories and events in life will be interesting, and very, very hilarious! Nobue usually commands the order of things, but sometimes gives in whenever it is rather “cute”. Chika acts almost the same except that she focuses on stopping her best friend Miu on doing crazy antics, because she’s the only one who can. Ana, being an extremely unique foreigner, gets center of attention especially when she talks about specific Japanese stuff even most Japanese don’t know. Matsuri always falls victim to the clutches of Nobue’s fancy for kawaii and Miu’s round of weirdness. And Miu is the center of all things weird in this anime series.

It’s 12 episodes of pure fun. The character design is of a unique style that actually succeeds in being cute (and loli). Animation is constant all throughout. The pacing of this anime, while intricately slice-of-life, never gets boring even when it goes slow. A unique thing about this anime is that there are only a select few parts where background music is played. Most of the time, it’s completely silent, which allows a viewer to focus more on the visuals and dialogue exchange of the characters. It’s very effective in bringing out that original flavor from the manga. And when the background music kicks in, it is quite memorable too.

For a character-based anime like Ichigo Mashimaro, it is important to have excellent voices to flesh out the characters. The anime succeeds by a longshot. This is for me one of the best voice work in any anime series of 2005! It is not just because all these five seiyuu are big superstars in the anime industry, but their voice fits the character with extreme precision. I was one who initially thought Ana’s was miscast but it turned out more than fine afterwards. They were able to portray each character in ways that one could not think of any other alternative.

Kawasumi Ayako (Matsuri)
Orikasa Fumiko (Miu)
Nabatame Hitomi (Nobue)
Noto Mamiko (Ana)
[Chiba Saeko->] (Chika)

As it now stands, Ichigo Mashimaro is one great treat. Fun and funny on so many levels, not to mention loli-cute. Ichigo Mashimaro should be laid into the same pedestal along with Azumanga Daioh, as an anime that redefines the slice-of-life comedy genre.

Suzuka

Suzuka

Of the entirely vast array of romance-themed anime series, only a few stand out in my memory. Why? It’s because most of them are harem in nature, meaning ALL the girls like the male lead. I don’t usually like that kind of anime. It reduces the chance of a story progression to happen, and all episodes will become mere fillers for character development. On the other hand, progressive anime series have plots that really ‘move’, and are very enticing to watch because you want to know what happens next. It’s somewhat the same way why some people love regular soap operas on TV. Certain progressive romance anime series like Kimi ga Nozomu Eien are very appealing to my tastes. And that’s why this next progressive romance anime, Suzuka, makes such an impact as a series that somehow deviates from the cliched world of harem anime.

Based on a manga, we have a seemingly typical setup of a harem series in Suzuka. Our main character Yamato has just arrived to stay in an apartment, where he would live with a girl next door, aptly named Suzuka. Then we have the usual array of supporting girl cast, including a shy type, a younger sister type and her mother, a drunkard, a meganekko, a teen idol, and a fellow cool beauty. We also have an array of supporting male characters to annoy them, including the ever-required perverted male best friend.

Sounds typical so far? Okay, let’s go to the differences. First up, behind the romance plot is a background of shounen-type high-school athletics theme. Suzuka is on high jump, while Yamato eventually joins track and field. They practice their sports and compete in inter-school tournaments. This sub-theme gains secondary focus, and makes for some interesting plot devices for the romance part. Secondly, not all girls like the male lead. Whew, this is a very refreshing counterprogramming (cough*[Da Capo->da-capo-second-season]*cough), if you get tired of those kind of harem anime. And lastly, the most important of all, is story progression.

The plot of the Suzuka anime literally ‘moves’. Nothing stands still. You see characters developing, relationships changing, rivalries starting, etc. It won’t even take the entire length of the series just to make anything happen. In Suzuka, something happens in every episode. While some may still argue otherwise (the anime did drag near the end of it), don’t you think it is already non-cliche because of the continually moving story? It was a wonderful experience to watch an anime that is more story-based.

Because of the story, character development is affected by the plot dynamics. You may end up liking a character at one point, and hating him/her at another. This human aspect makes the anime more realistic than most series. That does not mean the characters have no special characteristics. Suzuka, for one, is the ever-loved (or ever-hated) Ice Queen and Denial Queen. Her cold and sarcastic attitude towards Yamato makes her oh so cool and cute! I like girl next door types, and Suzuka really rocks in that department. Also, it does not mean that the characters don’t grow up either. Honoka-chan, the shy girl type, will shed her shyness away, and unbelievably even take center stage at some point. Watch the series to find out how.

The only caveat is the radically changing animation quality. Arrgh, the Negima curse remains. Thankfully, it doesn’t annoy me too often, because the plot is really engaging. At some point in the series, I didn’t notice or even care whether the characters look kinda off or poorly animated. It’s that good. The background music doesn’t stand out too much, but isn’t an annoyance either. There are some good tracks though. The OP (Start Line) sounds kinda 80’s, which is good. I didn’t like the first ED (Aoi Field) too much, but the second one (Kimi no Koto) is now an instant classic in my playlist.

All in all, this is a highly recommended watch. If you are tired of fillers, Suzuka is a refreshing progressive change. IMO one of the best of its genre, which is saying much already, if it even belongs to one. Everything else is cookie-cutter, but this one takes a shape all its own.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s

Still nothing lyrical about it, but it was a nice ride.

This series which was a spinoff to a Triangle Heart game has just started to live a life all its own. With all new character additions, and a plot that is just as exciting, Nanoha’s world is getting more vibrant. This new season begins some time after the first ([Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha->]). Nanoha and Fate have since become very close friends, and with the backing of the Asura crew, we see more focus on the workings of the Time-Space Administration, rather on delving on just Nanoha.

This makes it seem as if the first series was an introduction to our main character, and then the second series expands on the idea by making it more of a team effort. Yup, Nanoha has her new friends and allies join her. Or rather, Nanoha joins the crew in yet another mission. Well, they need lots of magic firepower after all, because the new enemies are quite plentiful too. A certain book called the Book of Darkness is bound to cause havoc around the magical dimensions again, and it needs to be stopped. The knights who protect the book is composed of three hawt girls and a familiar. The master who is supposed to control the book is actually this frail but cute girl named Hayate. Despite Hayate being the master of an evil book, she is this kind and sweet girl who tends to the knights, and even consider them as “friends” instead of slaves.

See a pattern again? Yup, in almost the same story setup, the enemies in Nanoha A’s are given more than enough backstory to make it seem that they will also be powerful allies in the end. In the first series, some enemies become friends, and so this will not be a big surprise the second time around. We know that cute Hayate and the gang would eventually be on Nanoha’s side, so all the viewers need to do is enjoy the ride on how they get there.

It does have its usual share of plot twists and stuff like that, but the best thing about this new season are the fight scenes. Yup, this is an age in which even young witches use brute force ([moetan->] quote). The Nanoha series have lots of surprisingly awesome action scenes. Nanoha A’s has tons more of them, but eventually it withers off as the plot starts to thicken. Near the end of the series, it becomes some boring firepower festival, in which all the characters show off their uber-magical powers. Heck, it even becomes videogame RPG style, with magic spells being blown to the enemy one after the other (there’s even a healing spell lol). Well that’s just a nitpick, as Nanoha A’s boasts awesome animation in some of the other fight scenes.

Animation runs quite consistent, which is a great plus. Fanservice becomes a minimum for this second series, which is good considering I was quite annoyed with it in the first series.. The OP is quite laughable to me, because it reminded me of certain Gundam Seed opening sequences. Heck, I can even replace the Nanoha A’s OP song for a Gundam OP (try it on Invoke, it fits too well) and laugh out loud. The other music are quite nice too.

The very end of the anime came as a disappointment, not because of anything bad, but because it may have closed the possibility of yet another season to come. Of course, it’s not final, but I really hope the Nanoha series continue. This is one sequel that is up on par with its original counterpart, and it’s kinda rare to see that kind of consistency. Yup, it still has me screaming ‘sequel!’ at the end. Cheers for more Nanoha!

Ojamajo Doremi Naisho!

Ojamajo Doremi Naisho!

Ahh… Ojamajo Doremi. Of all the anime in the world, this is for me the most elusive anime that I may never, ever completely enjoy. With no less than 200 episodes, most of it already lost in time, someone like me living in the remotest of areas would consider getting an episode of this a monumental effort. Since this kind of anime is rarely a fansubbing favorite, only a few subs of Ojamajo Doremi exist (thanks to those fansubbers btw). And since this series is quite old already, I cannot find anything else, not even raws. But no, nothing is gonna stop me from continually searching for my most elusive anime ever. Unknown to many, Ojamajo Doremi is one of (if not) the longest mahou shoujo (magical girl) anime series ever. And despite its seemingly unpopular status outside of Japan, I can consider this one of the best anime ever made… even with the limited number of episodes I watched.

An excellent example of this would be the latest season, called Ojamajo Doremi Naisho. For a little background info, there are five seasons of Ojamajo Doremi. The first four seasons ran for almost a year each (50+ episodes), and the latest season ran for 13 episodes. While it is the latest season, Naisho’s timeline actually runs between the third and fourth seasons. Not that it matters though, because what Ojamajo Doremi offers is not a big plot… but a “big heart”.

Oh my, where do I start? For first-time watchers, they may be skeptical on picking this up because it runs in the middle of a series, but Ojamajo Doremi as a whole excels in full-fledged characterization. Watch one episode of Ojamajo Doremi Naisho, and you more or less get to know about each main character already. Watch another, and you see one of the characters being fleshed out further. Watch yet another, and you enjoy so much of Ojamajo Doremi overall because of its appealing characters. Character development is an immense factor in the success of this anime. And not only those main characters (the pretty witches) get their development, but various supporting characters as well.

The strongest part of Naisho (and any other Ojamajo Doremi season for that matter) is how endearingly heartwarming each episode is. Even if each episode you watch has a different story and features different characters, they make it oh so memorable. Each story, no matter how frantic or comedic or depressing, is very very good. Ojamajo Doremi Naisho has a specific theme, in which they delve on some characters’ “secrets” (hence Naisho). Well I wouldn’t say some should really be considered big secrets, but these stories feature many events from the past, and how they learn from those events.

Remember that this is a mahou shoujo series, and yet it veers away often from magic being central to a story. It extends its moral values to more than just using magic to do something special. Sometimes I imagine that this anime can veer away from magic completely, because it is all about our life. All the happiness, sadness, complications, and simplicity of life, being channeled through various heartwarming stories.

This series particularly has a interestingly dramatic theme to it despite the relative fun. Some stories even end up with some of the characters crying. Moreover, seemingly mature themes like the life’s complexities, and even death, is being dealt with. It is something you really won’t expect from a mahou shoujo series, plus considering this is an anime aimed for kids. It is rare that an anime of this kind can be this moving. It’s easy to make viewers laugh and awe, but it is hard to make them cry. And yet Ojamajo Doremi can do that, and more. Because it mirrors our lives, viewers can relate, reflect, and learn. Entertainment that transcends beyond entertainment.

I won’t talk about the cute characters and animation, the memorable music and songs, or how the voice acting fared. It is enough for me to say that Ojamajo Doremi Naisho entertained me to the brim, sky is beyond the limit. It is enough for you to know that I highly recommend this anime, whether dubbed, subbed, or otherwise. It will be remembered forever in my heart. I’d love to watch it all over again (I don’t usually repeat anime I already watched, so this is a rare exception). Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going treasure hunting for more Ojamajo Doremi.

Air Movie

Air

It’s kinda hard to make an opinion when there are two versions of the same anime. Air, originally from a bishoujo game by [Key->], was to be made into two separate anime. One is a [TV series->air-tv], and the other is a movie. They have the same storyline to render, which is from the game. The TV version did a very straightforward approach, following the events of the game rather faithfully. This movie version took a different step, and in my opinion, it is a step that may have alienated the fans of the game.

Since a movie can only have extremely limited playtime as opposed to a television series, I guess the producers of the movie have some big problems to contend with. First and foremost, how can you compress an entire visual novel game into less than two hours of movie playtime? A daunting task. As a result, many stories were not told. Characters were also not used. Another problem, cutting corners will make the whole thing less cohesive, meaning that the material may not be as strong as it were before. So I think many themes were changed as well.

Specifically, secondary characters like Kano, Minagi and Michiru were not used, and were only seen in cameos. The story deviated a bit from their original source material, in terms of focusing more on the relationship of Yukito and Misuzu, rather than the mother-child theme of Misuzu and Haruko. This love relationship is mirrored by the ancient tale of Ryuuya and Kanna. The result is a movie that delivers a parallelism of the present events to past events. On that note, I think it did well overall.

However, the little things did annoy me a lot in this movie. First of all, it tries to be funny when it’s not supposed to be. I’m quite surprised everytime SD (superdeformed) style animation appears out of the blue. This takes away the general feel of the movie. It is supposed to be a mix of drama and comedy, but I didn’t think they did mix it well. Even near the climax, where it was supposed to be serious, they showed a short comedic scene… why?

Another gripe is the random animation styles. They tried to make this similar to an art film. Radical cinematography, watercolor painted scenes, random fading, multiple camera angles, and a whole lot of other effects which I may have missed. Frankly, they are there to annoy rather than to complement the contents of the movie.

Despite my annoyances, the movie is rather good overall. Animation is excellent in average. The backgrounds are drawn with artistic value. The music are remixed versions of the great Air soundtrack. And the voice actors delivered nice performances. The flow of the story, taking away the comedic parts that don’t fit, is endearing, mostly because the parallelism of the present and past stories blend well.

Maybe I’m disappointed with this movie because of the excellence that the TV series has brought to us. So I think we have to give credit to the producers of the movie who tried their best despite having the odds against them. I don’t know about making anime, but to make it basic, how do you fit a novel into a movie anyway? Even movie critics and fans complain when some novel is being made into a movie.

This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature