Infinite Stratos Anime review

Okay I actually have a legitimate excuse for publishing this late. I thought that i could publish from my phone, but I couldn't. I had no access to a computer. I know, this is a first, i just felt a bit guilty that I got a bunch of views last night without publishing anything.



 I myself don't really like harem anime all that much. I'm a huge fan of romance anime, and either the anime goes for the harem ending, in which case the anime ends where it started and I feel like my whole life is pointless, or the main character hooks up with another character I don't like, and I feel like punching the monitor through the screen. Really you go into a harem anime like you would a casino. You don't expect to hit jackpot, just to lose a lot. Not only that, but it seems most of the protagonists can be summed up in one word: default. Usually they have nothing special about them, except that they're usually all nice guys. I mean a rock would have a deeper back-story and character development than them. Yet the genre is  Okay, okay put your pitchforks down, I'll stop bashing on the genre and start reviewing.

Okay, okay, I.S. isn't only a harem anime. It does actually have a bit of marketing--- I mean mechs thrown into the mix as well. So a guy can pilot a flying suit of armor and happens to attract anything resembling a female in a ten mile radius.   Anyhow, he's the only guy who can fly said suit of armor and is therefore the only guy in an all girls Ironman academy. It is worth noting that this guy is a harem lead among harem leads. Not only does he have his own personal elite harem, but also the entire freaking school at his disposal. 



Plot-- Plot?! You expect me to have a section dedicated to plot in a harem anime?! 

Animation-- Okay so the animation is actually pretty good. Character models are appealing, and the back-rounds are detailed, if a little lacking in imagination. Now it's worth noting that relative to other anime of the same genre, Infinite Stratos has surprisingly good amount of frames per second outside of the action sequences. Actions aren't jarring, usually actions are fully animated, and it runs smoothly. The other attraction of the anime is the awesome action scenes. They're no short of amazing. Excellent cinematography, and nice mech designs lead to some really fun fights. Now this is only from my shotty memory (first season did come out in 2011) but I thought there were more tactics in the first season than in the second. I remember when Ichika fought Rin, he had to beat her using brains instead of brawn, unlike other episodes.

Sound- Voice acting is good on the whole. Yes each voice actress sounds cute and or distinctive, and yes the lead does play his role well, but no-one really stands out. All of the voice actresses are good. From other anime that they've been in this is plain to see, but they have no moments to truly. How can I put it, the voice actors are good, I'm sure. In fact I know that they're good, because some of the voice actors have been C.C, Rias, arpeggio of blue steel, Shiori, etc. Thing is, most of the voice actresses in the anime get almost no character development and have no chances to preform any kind of tear-jerking performances. Something really cool about this anime is that the endings and openings are actually sung by the actresses. Oh and in the ending theme, whichever character is closest to the main in the episode, is seen running next to him in the ending. It's not a huge thing, but it's a nice little touch. The soundtrack is largely good. Look, if there's a saxophone in your soundtrack, you know you're doing something right.

Characters--I would love to describe the characters to you, but I won't out of laziness. The characters are pretty static, so if you're expecting any kind of development, you came to the wrong anime. Actually you must be pretty desperate if you're searching for character development in a harem anime. The lead, Ichika is nothing special. He is so block-headed he might as well have been rendered in minecraft, and his personality is as dynamic as a rock. This isn't bad however, seeing as he does fulfill his purpose. With all the bashing i did to this anime, you'd think I would've hated this anime, well, nope. Despite all that it does wrong, it does do a few things right. Those few things it does right, it does really well. It has a great soundtrack, opening themes, animation and characters. Wait, wait wait, but you just said that the characters were static! You hypocrite! There is a legitimate reason why I liked the characters. Take a look at many of the harem anime that come out these days, and you'll find that they changed drastically from where they started. Highschool of the Dead, Freezing, and Highschool DXD are all examples of this pattern. What is this pattern? Fanservice.


Hold on, Infinite stratos has fanservice! Yes, that much is true, but what this anime has that the others don't is character interaction. The fun in a harem anime is watching the characters fight for the main characters. The way that they react when he favors one over the other, the way they all get back at the girl who spends the most time with the lead, it all adds to the comedic value. Meaningful romantic moments are usually non-existent until the last few episodes, so the situations that the lead finds himself in are the majority of the fun in the anime.The problem is that nowadays most harem anime focus less on character action, and competition, and more on fan-service. It is there, but fan-service plays a much steadier role in the comedy. The funniest moments in Infinite Stratos are seeing the girls form alliances, watching them become friends or enemies, and how they try to get the lead's attention. The only disadvantage to this, is that the harem isn't fully developed until around episode six or so.

Romance-- You do not know how sick i am of the childhood friend characters. Not only are they in every anime, but they are often a staple part of the harem, while having a high chance of being the lead's choice. Houki is the official shipping. Why? Because she's the childhood friend! This is accentuated throughout the series. Not enough has happened with the romance for this section to be expanded upon.

So I forgot about the conclusion. All in all Infinite Stratos is a fun anime. It's not anything deep or meaningful but it has a good script most of the time, enjoyable, if static characters, and very well done animation. I recommend at least giving this anime a shot. 

You know somehow this review didn't turn out the way I wanted. Anyway thanks for reading, and as always a like or a follow is always appreciated. If you liked this review feel free to spread the word around, and I'll siya next time!

Go watch! (whatever number I'm at)

Here are some anime to watch! Ummm, i should have a review up of Infinite Stratos up tomorrow. All it needs is editing, and me not pressing the publish button before its done again. 


The World God Only Knows-- okay yes this is a harem anime, but it's really funny. At least for the first season. Moreover it actually gets touching in some places. If you're a gamer or into visual novels you'll like this show. It also has the added benefit of having a protagonist who doesn't have the personality of a rock!


Summer Wars--Fun for the whole family, and for Batman too. It's a fun movie with the same premise as Digimon Our War Game (directed by the same guy too). It's got a huge cast, and is a fun ride all the way through. 

While were on the topic of movies 

Akito the Exiled-- Well it's more Code Geass so, come on. Who is going to complain about that?  It's more centered on action this time around, but damn does it have good animation and an awesome soundtrack. When your battle OST is jazz, you're doing something right.

Re: Mirai Nikki Anime Review (edited and finished)

Now before I start I have to warn you that this anime has now become one of my favorite anime series in existence. So as I will try to keep it as objective as I can, but in all likely-hood this review could be summed up in one line; OMG GUYSH GO WAHTCH THIS ANIME! !!! !! !111!111 ! AMAZING IT"S SO GOOOOOOODDDDD 



For those of you who don't know what you're getting into, this is not a happy anime. The characters don't walk on streets of rainbows, nor do they live in a world seemingly without rape, murder, torture, or any other crime. This is the world of Mirai Nikki, a world of mindf****, higurashi level characters, and  one of the best, and most strange romances that I've seen in recent years. So there; I warned you. However this is an awesome anime, so I urge you to check it out, after following and liking this review of course.

 What is Mirai Nikki? Hmmmm...Battle Royale with cell phones. Alright! We're done here, moving on! No, in all seriousness, it's a survival game anime that revolves around cell phones. You have Shin- I mean Amano Yukiterru, a sad shut-in that the otaku inside all of us can relate to. He likes to keep a diary on his cell phone detailing every little thing around him. He has no friends, and spends all of his time writing diaries and speaking with imaginary friends. Yes, he is basically a complete and utter loser.  One day while talking to said imaginary friend, he gets entered into a survival game. The object of the game is to kill all of the other players in the game in order to become the god of time and space. Here's the twist, each person has a diary that can tell the user the future. Each diary is tailored for a certain purpose. One diary can give a series of escape routes, while another can tell the user exactly how to corner a victim in order to commit murder. Un/fortunetly for Yuuki, he gets his very own over-attached girlfriend, and so it begins.

Animation- The first thing you'll notice when coming into this anime is the crisp animation. It's really good animation, though a bit understated. Is it Attack on Titan level animation, flashing its massive budget in your face every chance it gets? Does it make you have eyegasms, like a starry eyed fan-girl in a Doctor Who store? Am I asking too many questions? No. Is it still good animation? Yes. Very much so. Animation does pick up when it needs to into said eyegasm levels when it needs to, making a clear distinction from the rest of the anime. This is especially true for the characters, which are a standout in the series. Each character looks unique and at the same time appealing. Not in a sexual way, more from a artist's standpoint. This style of animation is most apprarent with the eyes, which allow the characters to tap into their own higurashi faces. As for action...well it's sorta non-existent. Okay well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but there is not a lot of action in this series. Instead we get a series of mind games, where it's more about your intelligence and wit, and less about how constipated you can get while transforming into Jesus Yamato Saiyan 9000+ Uzumaki Shonnnen Jr. This is certainly one of the highlights of the series.

Plot-- Hmm well the plot. It kind of doesn't have one. The anime focuses more on characters and less on plot. Depending on your point of view this could be a good or bad thing. However I would argue that it is a good thing seeing as how the characters are the best part of the series. Eventually the series comes into a final plot arc, and it is in fact really good, but until then, it really is a series of monter-of-the-week style mind games. I guess something to be said about the plot is that it's unpredictable. Take the plot of something like Naruto, which is like the streets of New York. From one end, with enough foresight, you can see fairly far ahead. Everything is straightforward and organized. Mirai Nikki, on the other hand is like Boston. Screw organization, it goes where it wants. Nothing is straightforward, or black and white. While the anime is often dark and gritty to the point of being heavy enough to sink the titanic, it can also be lighthearted. Now normally i would tear into this, accusing it of ruining mood and atmosphere a la Freezing, but it doesn't. The anime smoothly transitions right back into the action without a hitch. For some reason people put up a bunch of clips on YouTube, so I can actually support this with evidence. 

Sound- Hmmm, you know a pictures worth a thousand words, but I can't really show you a picture and expect you to get how amazing the soundtrack is, so I'll just show you.

The ending theme and openings are amazing, aside from the fact that there are some really screwed up pronunciations of English words in the second opening. The OST never fail to set the mood. In fact some times they can be good to a fault, meaning that I would give more attention to the OST than the anime itself. Voice acting is fantastic across the board for the Japanese sub. Yes, Yukii is voiced by a girl, but she still plays him very, very, very well. More than anything each and every actor is emotional. There are none that I can think of that are cheesy, unless deliberately meant to be. As for Sub vs Dub, I'm sorry Dub fans, but sub wins this one. In dub voices are too old for their characters, and they screwed up Akise, one of the best characters in the series. Oh, and they're missing Yuno, who sounds both cute, ditzy and terrifying all at once. 


Characters-- The characters are the best and worst parts of the series, why? Hmm I'll get to that. How to describe the characters, hmm. Got it. Take the cast of Higurashi and then just give them cell phones that can tell the future. Oh and throw Shinji in too. In all seriousness, this anime has some of the best character designs of any anime in recent memory. Each and every character is filled out. They are not the card-board cut out, mass produced, mustache twirling bond villain we have been so used to seeing as of late. They all have their motivations, with each one being more interesting that the last. No character is boring, and most are actually likeable in some way or another. This is not like Fate Zero, where the protagonist is obscured, and the victor is not clear from the outset. We all know who is going to win, it's obvious from the start. At the same time, I did not favor a particular character over the other. Most of them have very good and interesting motivations for doing what they do. Even the most despicable character has a reasonable motivation for wanting to win the game. Now I said that they are also the worst part of the series, this is true. You see the rest of the series is so good that this is truly one of my only gripes with the anime. Characters can be inconsistent, and sometimes completely defy themselves to further the plot.

Yuuki-- yes, i feel the need to dedicate an entire paragraph explaining exactly why Yukii is a good character. Why? Well, the amount of hate surrounding him is as much as Makoto, Shinji, and Relena Peacecraft combined so... I personally think that he is one of the best characters in an anime. The difference between him and all of the other characters above is development. He gets it. Lots of it in fact. By the end of the series, he is a completely different person. I mean in the beginning he might as well be Shinji Ikari for all the good it does him. To be honest, I hated him from the start. At the same time, he was one of those realistic characters that you know is going to get development so i stuck with him. The actual development doesn't truly start until a good ways in, but he does have flashes of badassery where he taps into his inner Neo. So he's not Shinji, he's way better. He has fantastic character development, and becomes not only a bad-ass in actions but also in words and ideals. Okay were done here.

Yuno-- Without a doubt the best character of the show. She is not a yandere, she is the Yandere. Yuno is a psychotic girl, with a personality disorder as fractured as a house of mirrors and a dude with really bad luck, and mood swings that are so frequent, they're might as well have been a strobe light labeled Emotions, and a five years old with too much energy behind it. She is fascinating, and makes up most of the intrigue throughout the anime. She is always unpredictable, up until the very last episodes of the anime.


Romance-- Well the romance in this anime is...interesting. at first I really wasn't sure if i actually liked the pairing. Why? Well as much as i like crazy psychotic girls with bizarre hair colors, considering my time spent with Elfen Lied, and Higurashi, this was sort of weird. No, that's not doing it justice, it was freaking messed up. Yes, it was cool to see Yuno go super-saiyan whenever Yukii so much as bats an eyelash at her.

At the same time, for the first half of the series the Romance is one sided. More than that it isn't really cute. Yuuki is really just using her as a tool to survive, and she is content with being that tool. Therefore, throughout most of the series i was more off-put by the romance rather than being enticed  by it.  That is not to say that the romance in the series is bad, in fact entirely the opposite. If you haven't noticed, I am someone who very much likes the romance genre. I have seen a lot of them, believe me. So trust me when I say that this is one of the best romance anime on the market. Is it as cute as something like Familiar of Zero? No. Even the cute parts of the romance are tainted by darkness.  I can't say more, but this anime has brought me to tears on multiple occasions. 

This paragraph may contain spoilers, read at your own risk!
Okay, so the elephant in the room is ready to trample my credibility as a reviewer, so i have to address it. The ending to this anime is sort of off. It's like the author wanted the anime to be emotional, without sacrificing the happy ending that we all want. Now this taps into what I said in my Oreimo review. The author is trying to be middle of the road, not wanting to pick sides in the matter. Now here's where I abandon all objectiveness and jump into my personal pod of praise. I loved the ending, the emotional part brought tears to my eyes, without sacrificing the happy ending I've come to know and love in romance anime. Dammit, even thinking about it is starting to make me tear up. Call me sappy, but the truth is the truth. I would rather have a poorly done happy ending, then a really well done sad ending. This is not a bad thing, it just shows how much I became attached to the characters. Oreimo's ending was made everything feel pointless, not only that but it was not happy for anyone. Now I just have to seal all of the anger and rage that is re-opening because of Oreimo, and re-focus on this. 


So, there you have it. If i used a rating system, I would give this a ten out of ten. The anime is complex, it isn't a freaking harem, it has one of the best and most unique romances out there, a fantastic soundtrack, and some of the best characters in anime. Now excuse me, while I go weep over the fact that i have no more Mirai Nikki to watch. As always, a like, and a follow are always appreciated. If you liked this review, feel free to share it with someone else. 


Author's note---- Yes this is a republication of an unfinished review that I have been working on since roughly the beginning of time(give or take a few years) Whenever I have a vacation, I always think "WOW IMMA HAVE SO MUCH TIME TO WORK ON MY BLOG! YAY!" What actually happens is another story. So there it is, sorry for the massive delay. 

Well this is embarrassing

So here I was looking at my blog, thinking about how I should actually write a review instead of procrastinating on other things, when I noticed I suddenly got a bunch of views. Sooooo, turns out I published an unfinished review. Crap. So, I am going to review Mirai Nikki, and the full review will be out soonish. Wow I can't believe I did that... 

Samurai Flameco ep 9, WTF?! part 2

 Spoiler Alert! This is a reaction, it has spoilers. Read at own risk. 

Oh my god. Holy Jesus. You know when I watched episode 7 a couple weeks ago, I was thinking "there is now way this could get any worse than it is now"  HA freaking ha . No this isn't funny. Do you want to know why? This anime was one of my favorite anime from fall lineup. Every single week I looked forward to seeing Samurai Flamenco. It had realism, good characters, the list goes on. Then a few weeks ago they came out with the seventh episode. You know it feels like at this point they have formed a giant middle finger with this anime. First they formed the middle finger with episode 7, then they shoved it into fan's faces with episode 8, and with episode 9, well you can see the GIF above.    I actually thought that i was beginning to actually like the Kamen Rider arc, and then this episode! I... Okay I need to actually explain myself so i don't sound like a raving madman (though I will undoubtedly still)

If you've read my Freezing review, you know I hate it when i receive mixed messages. Yes a show can be both horror and comedy, it is possible. Mirai Nikki for example, is genuinely funny at times. When it needs to be serious however, it can be, and it can do it really goddamn well. However! Samurai Flamenco is rushed. They're trying to add something to the whole Power Rangers formula. They're trying to make it deep, trying to add meaning. In other words they're taking something out of its target demographic. Power Ranger-type series are not supposed to be mature. They are supposed to be fun! That's it! Every last bit of this episode felt like they were trying to make this show mature. Everything from the ethics of killing monsters, to the superhero's role in society, felt forced.

Next I come to the characters. First up Hazama, who has gone from all around nice guy, to arrogant, uppity asshole, in about one episode. Did i miss something? Was there some crazy time loop? Am I in Steins;Gate or something? Oh right this isn't here for any actual reason this is just here for MELODRAMA! They have to put some stress on Goto and Hazama's relationship, so when Goto comes to save the day, the writers can say "Hey Wasn't that touching! Wow its so freaking amazing isn't it! Bet you didn't see that coming!" Maybe if they had tried to make it a bit more subtle it would have worked, but it feels like it's there, because why not?  Of course they're going to make an ass out of me and not do that, but i don't care.

Next up! That little rich Idol! Okay first off, stop! If you are trying to make a scene horrifying, make it really serious, do not flash boobs at me. I mean this girl has been tortured for hours, you want to make it horrifying right?  Not to mention the whole damsel in distress thing is as old as the hills. if you want to break the whole power-rangers formula, then isn't this first on the hit list?


The henchmen! If this anime wasn't trying so hard to take itself seriously i would be praising this scene. Instead for the entire scene my hand was planted on my face in a face-palm that Picard would have been proud of. Okay you want to add in some commentary about how henchmen aren't really henchmen, but are they're own people too? Okay well the fact that they have gag-balls in their mouths really doesn't help things. Next how the hell does this bring any perspective? Yes, you believe in evil just as much as anyone else. They might has well have replaced the entire speech with a picture of a cheese block, because in all of the cheesy speeches I've heard in my short life, I have never heard one this nonsensical and cheesy. This is as bad as People Die when they are killed! Believing in evil? What?! No! These henchmen are tools, right down to the core. I hope to god that the reason King Torture is doing all of this is because he believes in evil. The humor in this show has never been the highlight. Yes there are times where i cracked a smile, but there are so many more anime that do it better. The recent My Mental Choice, has me laughing my ass off, unlike this! This anime can get me to crack a smile. It can. Yet, they seem to think of the comedy as a central pillar to the series. The fact of the matter is that they are desperately trying to cater to the fans of the kick-ass arc with this humor, while still trying to be dark and edgy in this Kamen Rider arc.

Yes you guys are villain's in you own right! Regardless of the fact that you're wearing a gag-ball and collar!

Moving on to Inventor guy! How the hell am I supposed to take this seriously? What? So in broad daylight this guy is going to make a final stand? Why the hell didn't he call the freaking police? Or forget that ! They're fighting on the side of a road! why doesn't someone else call the police! I mean it's not like the torture tools have any weapons or anything. All they have are their fists! the police could take care of that!


 Now i couldn't finish this rant without including the slime-ball reporter guy, whom is a freaking asshole! Okay, I'm not mad at him for being a traitor, I'm fine with that, i didn't like him anyway! What I do care about is the way he was convinced! Forget the gag-ball guy speech, this one's even worse. Okay the guy is willing to be tortured for hours without giving up Flamenco Diamond. He gets stabbed, put in a spike cage, whipped, etc, but that doesn't convince him. No what convinces him, is not morals, not some grand argument about the nature of evil, not societal commentary, but entertainment. I swear to god, the convincing argument is that if the scumbag reporter gives in, he will be entertained. Okay it's not as bad as I making it out to be, but still, it's a really crummy argument. Oh and here they try to throw a plot twist at us, the reporter guy has been a spy the entire time! he's been working with King Torture all along! Maybe that's surprising, but i really didn't care. Maybe if it had been the martial arts teacher guy, but not the reporter guy. Hell we've seen him in maybe ten scenes, tops. There is not hint of anyone working with king torture, no thought of any information leak. In fact from what I've seen, there was no reason for Torture to need his help. it's not like he did anything with the information other than to get that Diamond girl. The twist felt out of place. Like they were trying to get a shock out of the audience, just because they felt like it. Not only that but once again, this scene strays from the whole Power Rangers thing. It gets really dark really fast. I was more surprised that they had that scene in there, than the actual twist itself. 



Overall the episode felt rushed. They were trying to fit too many things into a short span of time. let me list it out: Tension between Hazama and Goto, Hazama character development, Inventor dude development/ death scene, torture scenes, Idea that henchmen are just as important as the main villain/ have their own goals and feelings, major plot developments, time-skips (lots of monsters defeated in interval?), idea that monsters are not just monsters, but somethings that are being forced to do evil work. Twenty minutes and three episodes is not enough to warrant all of the themes that are going on here.

I'm sorry for two things. Okay first the ridiculous delay here, that was waaay to long and i apologize. The other thing is if you like this show. These are my opinions and I will stick by them. There are people who like this kind of stuff however and i respect that.

Anyhow, thanks for reading! Likes, Follows and whatnot are always appreciated, and I'll see you next time.