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Episode reviews: Allison and Lillia 03, xxxHolic Kei 03

Allison and Lillia 03

Allison and Will manage to successfully enter the military base and to find the old man that is kept prison. They think he is an enemy spy that holds some state secret. However Allison is a clever girl and manages to lure the soldiers away from the cell, giving the old man a chance to escape. Unfortunately the two get caught by a superior officer that Allison calls captain love letter since he confessed his love to her once. However they also manage to escape and they meet up with the old man in the underwater passage way which is a shortcut to the hangar. The man tells Will the location of the treasure and they borrow an airplane to head for the treasure. What they do not know is that the soldiers are on their tail.

The first half of this episode didn’t have a lot of action and the whole part on the military base I found a bit boring since I’m not really into military stuff. However the 2^nd half of the episode was excellent with a lot of action. I have the feeling that the story has only just begun.

xxxHolic Kei 03

There is panic when it turns out that Zashiki-warashi is kidnapped to somewhere far away. Her guardians ask for Yuuko’s help and Yuuko sends Watanuki and the pipe fox with them to save the girl. It turns out that the girl is kidnapped by the spider woman whose minion has taken Watanuki’s right eye. Watanuki has to learn a lesson the hard way before he can save Zashiki-warashi and to have any chance of getting his eye back.

This was the best episode out of the series so far! It’s the prefect ending of this arc. The lesson Watanuki needs to learn is a valuable one, and the interaction between the characters is very endearing. I am really impressed by the series so far and to be honest I like it better as the first series just now.

Review: Clannad

Story: 6.5
When I heard there was going to be another anime by the same makers a Kanon2006, I knew I wanted to watch this. And even though I think the story from Kanon was better, I wasn’t disappointed by this series, far from. Like Kanon, this series is build up in different arcs that focus on one character. Tomoya is the male lead and there are several female students in his surroundings who he somehow manages to become friends with. As he gets involved in their lives, he comes across as really helpful to aid these girls whenever he can. Each of these girls has their problems or insecurities to face and Tomoya lends a helping hand. The main story line which ties all the characters together is about Nagisa whose dream is to re-start the drama club at their school. There isn’t really going on much plot wise in this series since it is mostly the character development that makes this series interesting. It is a pity though that some characters didn’t get as much screen time as others and it left me wondering what could have been their motives.

Animation: 8
I am personally a huge fan of the animation style used in this series. I really like the big eyed girls and their hairdos. Because of the detailed backgrounds and the vivid colors this anime was a joy for the eye. I feel there isn’t much more to say about this point since I can’t really find anything bad about it.

Audio: 8
From all the songs of this series I like the one that closes up Fuuko’s arc the best, but the opening theme is also very beautiful. The rest of the soundtrack delivers a good quality of songs which I actually enjoy listen to on its own. The Dango theme sounds like a lullaby which is interwoven with the whole series. The voice actors also do excellent jobs on personalizing the characters and like the animation I really have nothing to complain about here.

Characters: 8
As stated before this series involves around Tomoya who does anything for others as long as he doesn’t have to go home. I really like his sarcastic character and I think it is one of the best male leads I have seen in a series. As with all Key adaptations, Clannad has a huge side cast. There are several girls that get in touch with Tomoya somehow. I do feel that there are a bit too many characters in Clannad because as mentioned before some characters didn’t get the screen time they deserved. However the characters that did are likable characters with interesting tales to follow.

I find Nagisa and Fuuko the most adorable characters of the bunch. Fuuko is just so damn cute and Nagisa’s shyness and awareness make her a very lovable heroine. Nagisa’s parents also deserve to be mentioned here. They are real nutters but such friendly people that you would almost wish it would be your parents, almost

Sunohara delivers the comical relief in this series and the fights between him and Tomoyo are brilliant. Another thing I found very comical was the way Tomoya teased Fuuko.

The character development is really good; especially the relationship between Tomoya and Nagisa is brilliantly dome. But also the bond between the characters as a group of friends is really nice to witness. All in all Clannad has a cast of memorable characters even though the number of characters was too much to give them all the attention they deserved.

Overall: 8
I would defiantly recommend it to anyone who liked the other Key adaptations. This one is more realistic then Kanon and Air however it still has the same quality and charm. I found it a good watch even though some things remain unexplained in the end.

Episode reviews: S. A 2, xxx Holic Kei 2, ToLoveRU 2, Allison and Lillia 2

Special A episode 2

I wonder why they feel the need to do introductions in every episode. I know it was like that in the manga too (every chapter that is) and I find it really annoying.

In this episode the SA class is challenged for a fight in pro-wrestling by the student council for a spot in SA. Hikari and Kei will be representing the SA class, however after the student council president has seen the two train he loses confidence. He and his team decide to play dirty and hoping they would get both of them injured. This fails but it leaves Kei so worried for Hikari that he starts a fight with her, so she wouldn’t participate. Stubborn as Hikari is, she doesn’t listen and the two of them end up being handcuffed just before the match by a dirty trick.

xxxHolic Kei episode 2

In search for a solution to fix Watanuki’s right eye, Doumeki is reading through old books his grandfather left. Watanuki drops by to bring Doumeki some dinner and decided to help. Watanuki then finds the book with the exact solution by accident, but just as Doumeki starts reading it, a bookworm comes out of a book Doumeki borrowed from Himawari, and starts eating the text from the ancient book. Watanuki manages to trap the creature when Yuuko and Mokona suddenly appear, saving the day. However the solution to recover Watanuki’s eye is lost in the progress.
The next day Watanuki finds out that there is a battle going on for his eye and if he won’t find a solution soon, his eye will be lost forever.

I really like this arc. The story is very strong and there is some instant action going on in the series. Also because the main characters are suffering rather then a client from Yuuko, it makes it more interesting and intense to follow. And in addition to all this, the interaction between the characters stays hilarious.

ToLoveRU - Trouble episode 2

Rito and Lala are now engaged according to the laws of Lala’s planet. However Rito actually likes Haruna but every time when he tries to clear things up between them, Rito gets interrupted by some random event. Things get even worse when Lala comes to school one day and Rito and her end up being chased by jealous classmates. They end up having to use Lala’s warp ring, however since it warps at random and only living flesh, they end up naked in a locker together and happen to be spotted by Haruna, making matter worse. Rito wants to stop the nonsense and tries if there is a way to cancel the engagement. However since Lala is a princes this isn’t an easy task. But then Rito learns of the cool off period.

So yeah, my first impressions seem to be right. I would describe it as an over the top comedy with a lot of fanservice. On the other hand I really find it humorous in spite of the fanservice. However I don’t expect the plot will deepen a lot. I’m still not sure if I will be watching all of it though.

Allison and Lillia episode 2

When the duo tries to rescue the kidnapped man, they run into some resistance. They end up busting the airplane they borrowed and they are now in the other country that is at war with their own. Will gets hurt in the progress and Allison carries him to what seems to be an abandoned house. However there is an old lady living there. She agrees to take care of the duo but she resents air force soldiers because the war has cost her 2 sons. However as she learns more about the whole background story she decides to aid the duo in more then one way.

I like where the story is going. It is serious but not too dark or violent. Still the animation bothers me some times. It is too bad they didn’t pay more attention to that aspect. If they did I think it could be the best series of this season. However as I see it now, this anime is worth watching for it’s interesting story alone.

Manga: Love*Com vol. 1

Story: 7
The manga is very similar to the anime (or the other way around, but I happen to watch the anime first) but it has some extra elements in the story the anime cut out. I feel that events are better explained in the manga and it all feels less rushed. The absurd humor still manages to get across to the reader. The height problems Risa and Otani face are funny and the way they tease each other with them is hilarious.

The whole school sees them as a couple except the both of them, who in spite of their similar characters don’t seem to get past the fact that a shrimp and a jumbo gal don’t match. They do however combine forces to get the attention from the persons they have a crush on. This doesn’t result in the results they have hoped for and somehow they manage to be the only ones in their friends group who don’t have a relationship, resulting even more in spending time together constantly. It appears to be the base of a solid friendship.

Art: 8.5
I wasn’t expecting too much because the anime went with a style that was rather unique but not really eye-catching, however I was glad the manga was much more stylish. The character design is much more detailed and cuter. It still has the weird facial expressions I loved about the anime, but it didn’t really have the overhand. A lot of time has been spent on designing the outfits of the characters who did wear all kind of different outfits for a change. It was a nice detail I liked because in most series characters seem to wear the same clothes all the time.

Characters: 7.5
Risa and Otani are really fun characters. They first dislike each other but after they join forces to go after their crushes, they start to appreciate each other more and they even become friends. This of course still doesn’t go without some insults or fights. I like the fact that they aren’t plain characters without weird quirks, it’s rather the opposite.

Chiharu and Suzuki are also playing a rather large part in this volume. Chiharu is Risa’s friend and Suzuki is a guy from another class that Otani becomes friends with. They are Risa’s and Otani’s crushes as well but sadly for them they end up being a couple together.

For a first volume there is a lot going on already and I liked that. The series is build on the characters more then on the plot, but with main characters such as Risa and Otani this isn’t a problem at all.

Overall: 8
Even though I recently watched the anime, the manga still managed to amuse me a lot. The over the top comedy between Risa and Otani is still very entertaining. The manga brings across that point as well as the anime does. The story follows along the same line still and therefore I should rate it the same as the anime. However since I really liked the stylish artwork much better then the animation the anime used, I rate this a bit higher.

Episode review: Allison and Lillia 1

Will is a genius student who is asked to help out during supplementary classes. While teaching lessons outside, an airplane crosses over and a blonde girl named Allison disembarks. Will and she are childhood friends but they don’t see each other often because Allison works as a pilot. They keep in touch with letters though. Now Allison had to run an errand close by and they spend this opportunity catching up. On the way back to Wills dorm, they encounter an old man who is famous for his made up story to impress the students. He asks for a lift home and Allison and Will stay over to drink some tea.

The old man admits that most of his stories are made up, however there is one story that holds truth and changes history as Will knows it. At that moment a suspicious looking guy comes to take the old man to city hall for some tax issues. Will and Allison find this odd and decide to follow the guy, eventually resulting in borrowing an aircraft and flying into the sky to rescue the abducted man.

All though the animation feels dated, I feel this series does have a story to tell, which is more then some other series airing this season offer. I hope the story will be interesting and if that is the case, I won’t mind the lesser quality of the animation.

Episode review: Kanokon 2

I thought the fanservice couldn’t get any worse, but this episode proved I was mistaken. It starts off with a very clingy Chizuru, tossing her boobs all over the place and especially in Kouta’s face. When Kouta tries to get away from Chizuru he meets another girl at a spare rib shop. The next day it seemed that the girl called Nozomu transfers into his class. She is also a spirit, but of a wolf family. Now the hunt for the affection from Kouta has begun.

Both girls are very clingy and this results in a major fanservice fest. It will show a battle of the boobies when Kouta is trying to take a bath, because the girls differ in opinion about the best breast size and when “poor” Kouta catches a cold and was brought to the schools infirmary; both girls manage to sneak in bed with him while sleeping. Of course this doesn’t go unnoticed by the class rep and Kouta’s reputation goes totally down the drain. Luckily this series has a great story to tell, or else it would be just a chain of random fanservice events. Oh wait… it IS a chain of random fanservice events.

episode review: Macross Frontier 1

Back when VCRs still existed, one of the first anime tapes I purchased was “Macross II”, a direct sequel to the original Macross/Robotech series from the 80s, of which I’ve sadly only seen a few episodes.

In the original series, the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross was an alien warship which had crashed to earth; with this odd intruder, mankind united under one rule and progressed rapidly due to the alien vessel’s advanced technology. Eventually the vessel is restored to its former status, just in time as its owners are about to arrive and they don’t look friendly..

That was the 80s though, and even though mankind was pretty much wiped out, all’s well that end’s well in the end. In Macross Frontier, space colonization has become a reality and humanity is spreading out across the galaxy.

The anime takes place at a military expedition fleet, with in the center of it a mobile space colony, basically a small floating world in space. Characters are introduced in a variety of forms, including waitresses, fighter pilots and military recruits. And a musical idol, which is a central theme in every Macross series, and a good excuse for a decent soundtrack.

But meanwhile an unknown alien force emerges out of nowhere and attacks as well, effectively breaking through the military’s defenses, as one of the enemy vessels bursts into the colony and starts blowing up. A Variable Fighter, a space fighter capable of transforming into a human-shaped robot, follows the enemy but its pilot gets killed, rather messily I might add, and a series of events places one of the recruits in the pilot’s seat, ending this episode with a cliffhanger…

I must say it has been a while since I’ve seen some Macross, but this episode definitely had the feel of the series of old, upgraded with new animation techniques, without needlessly throwing computer animations around. And I liked that. I wonder what episode two will bring…

Episode review: Mnemosyne 02 (warning: contains spoilers)

Well, after a most… special first episode, I decided to give Mnemosyne another try and watched the second episode. At worst I would’ve stopped halfway and wasted ten minutes of my life, at best I would’ve been amused and written a stunning article about it. The truth is somewhere in the middle: not quite a waste of time, I certainly was amused, it was far from the best anime I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to write an amusing article about it. Which is what you’re reading now. Just in case you hadn’t noticed.

At this point I should also warn you that this bit is definitely going to contain spoilers, because, well, it can hardly be avoided; all the juicy parts are spoiler parts.

The episode picks up some time after where the first episode left off: Main character Rin and her assistant Mimi still have their detective agency, and Maeno has joined their agency as well; of course he only gets the smaller assignments like finding lost people and pets, because, well, quite frankly he wouldn’t be able to stand up to a geriatric pink spraydyed poodle if his life depended on it, let alone tackle the japanese Mafia.

Rin’s latest assignment at first seems to revolve around a missing stamp, a very rare one, while Maeno is busy finding a young girl’s lost brother, with the girl herself convinced that her brother flew out the window because he’s an angel.

Of course before Rin can accept her new assignment, there has to be some fan service in the form of lesbian touchy-touchy between the two ladies. Now this normally wouldn’t be such a problem, if not for the fact that, just like in last episode, Mimi still looks like a 12 year old.

The plot thickens when everybody involved with the stamp ends up hospitalized or dead. At this point Rin’s two talents also become quite clear again: her talent for being shot, burnt, blown up or stabbed – and her talent to revive from any injury.

At some point Maeno’s quest for the missing brother and Rin’s assignment cross over, as the missing brother seems to have a grudge against the same people Rin’s dealing with. And while Maeno is working hard trying to figure everything out, Rin is on the other side of town, obtaining her information while having sex with her female informant. Woo!

Near the end of the episode Rin’s mysterious talent is explained: both she –and little Mimi as well, which is as good an excuse for any 12-year-old girl to be not 12 but simply look like it- swallowed some spores from an enormous tree that most people seem unable to notice, and in turn have become immortal. Unfortunately, the missing angel has the same origin: when a male somebody swallows one of these spores, he becomes an Angel.

We then learn that Angels kill the immortal women, but not after having sex with them, and that the women are unable to resist; at this point I checked the anime description online to make sure I wasn’t viewing hentai. And continued watching until the end. I don’t have to tell you who died and who did not, eh?

Episode review: Soul eater 1

Maka attends the Shinigami technical school for weapon meisters. She and her partner Soul need to collect 99 human souls and 1 witch soul in order for Soul to turn into a Death Scythe. In this episode they are about to catch the witch soul, but this witch is a clever one with several mischievous tricks on her sleeve. When they finally manage to take her soul, she reveals that she actually is a cat with a huge amount of magic power. This results for Maka and Soul to start all over again.

The first thing that I noticed was the unique alternative style of animation. It kind of reminded me at nightmare before Christmas in anime style. As far as the story goes, the name would intend something more serious and violent then it actually is. There is some blood in it and several action scenes; however there is plenty of comedy as well. The characters go from comical to plain absurd. I’m not totally sure if I will watch all of it, but at least it impressed me enough to stick around some more.

Since I couldn’t decide which screenie to post, here are some extras:

Episode review: Vampire knight 1

When Yuki was 5 years old, she was attacked by a vampire at night and saved by another. She was brought to Cross Academy where the chairman adopted her. A few years later the chairman took a boy, Zero, in whose family was killed by bad vampires. The Cross Academy isn’t any Academy, since it is the chairman’s dream to see vampires and humans co-exist next to each other, the school is attended by students at day and night. The Vampires that are attending the school have to live on capsules that should prevent them from needed human blood and the day and night classes are strictly separated. Yuki and Zero are in charge of patrolling and make sure that the rules are followed. Everything seems fine on the outside but things aren’t as peaceful as they look and not everyone is what it seems.

This was an interesting first episode. A proper introduction to the story is given without being boring and it just delves in by setting a certain atmosphere. There are things brooding under the surface and I am curious how things will develop. I used to say that I’m not into the vampire genre, however it seems this will be the 2^nd vampire series I will be watching in a rather short time.