Something something excuse, something something update

Right, so the whole one review a week things is ridiculous, can't do it. It means finishing a review a week, which makes me rush through series, which colors my opinion somewhat. I'll shoot for two weeks, but I'm doing ACT prep all this month so who knows.

Also, why do I keep getting massive influxes of Russian viewers? Is someone teaching a class over there labeled 'how not to do a blog?' 

You should read Double Arts!

Not gonna lie, I'm really only doing this because I don't have an anime to review this week. Houkago no Pleiades was supposed to be my Friday night, but then I fell asleep and the cycle repeated itself with Saturday. Right now I'm about twenty minutes—my being awake fueled only by a pint of coffee and Six Times The Passion Of An Ordinary Flamenco. Though I am serious when I say you should read Double Arts.

Written by Naoshi Komi, or the guy who does Nisekoi, Double Arts ran for around 25 chapters before ending prematurely presumably due to lack of sales. The series is premised on a land where an unknown disease is running rampant. People called sisters are able to absorb the disease for a limited time at the cost of running down their lives. After a healing, a sister named Elle is about to succumb to the infection when a young man grabs her hand, halting her death. From there, the manga takes on a swashbuckling adventure tone, as the two try to make their way to church headquarters. In order to overcome the ridiculously overpowered enemy that i coming after them, the two will have to learn how to fight while staying in contact constantly.

I'd love to go further, but to emphasize how last-minute this was: I read this manga like two years ago. It is really good though, with some good world building, an intriguing premise and heaps of unrealized potential. Maybe after Komi's done with Nisekoi he'll come back to this, but if wishes were horses the second season of Zvezda would've been announced by now.

Dealy^2

Not that you didn't see this coming. I'm going to delay this review until next weekend, because otherwise I'm going to be publishing an underdeveloped review that would really just waste a reader's time. Please forgive me.

Update sorta thing

Hello! So I'm going to try to do something of a reboot of this blog, hopefully making this a weekly thing. Of course, I'm not so productive that I'd hammer out an actual schedule, but I'm hoping to do a review a week. Perhaps some weeks I'll do more discussion like things a la Gundam Seed Destiny and the Military Industrial Complex.  My marathon of Hunter X Hunter has kind of left me with a short stock of anime to review, but expect a review of GARO:Honoo no Kokuin or GARO: The Animation either Saturday or Sunday. Thank you for reading this, and I hope to see you on Saturday or Sunday!

Thoughts on the ending of Aldnoah Zero

I may or may not do a full review on this, but I'd like to address a few things about the ending. I've seen a lot of people trashing this ending, saying that it ruined the show. Honestly I can see why. The climax was low stakes, no-one freaking died (spoilers), and most importantly Asseylum not only didn't chose Inaho as her flagship, but married a guy introduced a literal two episodes prior. I agree that from a viewer's perspective it wasn't the climax I was hoping for, but I think that it made sense in terms of where the story was going. The moment Asseylum made her speech Slaine knew he had lost control over the orbital knights. Even if he managed to survive the battle his forces would be weakened so severely, he would never be able to maintain this 'new empire'. At this point his dream would do more harm than good. So he wants to die. Where's the best place to die—on the battlefield. That's what the stakes were to me—akin to wanting to go out with a bang. I think it's an interesting way to end the series, on an anti-climax rather than a grand finale. As for the whole no-one died, yeah not going to argue with anyone there. While not realistic, perhaps, I didn't mind it so much. It would have been equally as unrealistic to have everyone lose all plot armor at the end. For me, it's a problem the series as a whole had, not a problem relegated to the ending. 

I'm going to dedicate a whole paragraph to this one because I think this is the one most people have a problem with. First off let's address Asseylum's decision to marry whatisface. I strongly disagree that this move makes the show bad. In fact I would argue that Asseylum's choice is a step in the right direction. Here's why: Throughout the majority of the series I felt that princess Asseylum was just that—a princess. She was always in need of rescue, and felt like that sort of peace loving Marina Ismail we've all seen before. I never really cared about her honestly (maybe this is why I don't care so much about the shipping falling through). This decision changed my view of her as a side character/ plot device into an integral part of the show. Her decision to marry to someone she doesn't love in order to maintain her ideals shows the strength of her conviction. She really transformed from a princess into an empress; from a tool used by other to someone who takes control of their own destiny.

I think it's important to distinguish a bad ending from a non-ideal ending. The ideal ending would've had Slaine sticking to his guns the entire time, with Asseylum riding out with Inaho to try to talk some sense into him while the orbital knights destroyed the Earth. Slaine would've realized he was wrong just before the killing blow, but it would be too late. Without a leader, the orbital knights would have stopped fighting, Inaho and Asseylum would've gotten married, happy ever after. While a much more satisfying ending for many, I would argue that an ending similar to the one I've described wouldn't be better than the one we got (not worse necessarily, but not better)

Whatever the case, I think that the ending made more of an impact on me than it would have otherwise. While I can't say I was left satisfied (ultimately I would have preferred above ending because I'm a sappy-mc-sap-sap who loves endings sweet enough to cause instant diabetes) I can say that it was an ending that fit the profile of Gen Urobuchi. 

On the off off off chance that you're reading this, Gen, if you do the same thing to a series I really care about *cough* Psycho-Pass *cough* I'll cry...really hard...so don't do that. 

Side note—anyone else think the reason why Inaho is like the Mr Universe of anime is because he's autistic? 

Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please share, like, or/and follow! Hope to see you again!

Gundam Seed Destiny and The Military Industrial Complex

Saying something like 'I actually kind of liked Gundam Seed Destiny' in the Gundam community is kind of akin to sieg heiling while simultaneously drinking orphan's tears from a cup made from the polished bones of one-month-old puppies, or alternatively claiming the U.C. continuity is overrated. I sort of feel like this anime gets a bit more of a bad rap than it deserves. Destiny is not a great series, in fact I'd be willing to concede that it's not even a good series, but with the amount of flak I've seen it getting, you'd think that this has a whiny self-righteous teenage edgy mcmopes-a-lot as a secondary protagonist and a main protagonist who would've ascended into the skies to become our lord  and savoir, but failed because the nails couldn't pierce his plot armor*.  Seriously— the series boasts more flashbacks than Memento, recycles animations like I joke about Call of Duty, and simultaneously boasts one of the best and worst villains I've seen in anime...and they're the same person... With that said—the recycled clips themselves are well-animated, it has a fantastic soundtrack, and has valuable commentary on one of the roots of war.

Are you on the edge of your seats? Don't be. Expect this to be drier than an evaporated glass of Merlot. Oh, and you've had a decade to watch this, so no complaining about spoilers. To give you a bit of of shallow context—the military industrial complex refers to the arms industry. They supply a country with everything from tanks to jets, to battleships. Basically they make weapons of war. So what happens when there is no war? Demand on their products decreases. What creates demand? You've got one guess. The influence of the military industrial complex on politics and war is well documented. Eisenhower himself warned the public of the dangers that the military industrial complex could potentially have on the course of American history in his final speech as president. To boil it down to the basics:

1. The Primary goal of any corporation in a free market based economy is to turn a profit 
2. The military industrial complex does make money as countries update their military and buy the latest technology, but not nearly as much as when a country is at war and a constant stream of weapons is needed to fight.
3. Using lobbyists, corporations fund politicians in order to allow them to be elected to various positions in the government. Thus, corporations have a degree of influence on the decisions a politician makes. Pass that bill limiting the funding of the military and in a couple years you might find yourself facing an opponent with much better funds and, coincidentally, a bit more sympathy toward the repeal of said bill.
4. This factors in to a politicians decisions in deciding whether or not to go to war. It's not that this is the deciding factor of war. The influence of the military industrial complex has on war is making it more likely that the politician will go to war than if the MIC wasn't involved. 

Destiny presents a future where the MIC is the primary influence on whether or not a country (or in this case a planet) will go to war. Hidden inside the radical anti-coordinator (term for genetically engineered people who live in Space Colonies) group Blue Cosmos, an inner circle of various parts of the MIC gather in order to push the possibility of war into the certainty of war. After taking advantage of an opportunity to create a war, Logos finds itself pitted against Chairman Durandal, a man who understands the complexities of the system of war and potential profits made from it. His solution to the issue of profiting off of war is to directly target Logos bases of operation and high ranking officials.

The angst...

You may be asking, justifiably, 'how will this help?' Violence will just lead to more violence, just destroying the MIC won't solve the problem. Exactly—which is why Durandal has to pull the weed out by its roots; anything else will allow it to grow back stronger than ever. Can you guess what's about to happen? I mean you shouldn't. The series has to find some way to make the good guys the good guys and in keeping with its 'there are no right sides in war,' bullshit it decides to make the Chairman's solution be a Brave New World style way of genetically engineering everybody to have one skill and only one skill thus they will never have the ambition or aptitude to pull anything like a war off ever again and uuuuugghhhhh. Here are a few reasons why this would suck;

1. It makes everyone coordinators, means that ZAFT would have to forcibly make everyone a coordinator. Not only might this lead to another war, but also creates more resentment than ever and is the equivalent of what Blue Cosmos was trying to do to coordinators.
2. Obvious moral issues.
3. Power in numbers, you might make someone great at piloting a mobile suit, and other that suck piloting wise, but enough in numbers can overwhelm a really good...actually never-mind—this is Gundam we're talking about. 
4. Probably increases tension between classes more than it would otherwise; makes rebellion more likely.
5. An enforced caste system determined entirely by birth without any room for class movement. 
6. There is a much easier system to implement that would solve the whole MIC problem.

What is that other method? Nationalizing the MIC. Assuming you haven't left in a fit of capitalist outrage, let me explain. What Durandal wants to discourage is the use of war as a way to earn profit. Nationalizing the Military Industrial Complex means that it is no longer profiting from war. No-one is paid to buy arms, therefore the only way to profit from war is to fight a war where winning the war would yield enormous economic advantage (Natural resources, eliminating a rival, etc). It's not that nationalizing the MIC would eliminate war altogether, but it does eradicate a factor making war more likely.

Now that it's been remastered...yeah can't think of a joke for this one

So there you go. If you liked this, like it. Sharing is also great, and commenting is even better. I promise I'll make something funnier next time...and maybe before the turn of the century.
 *Actually he just skipped the 'lord and savior' and became God. 

Net Neutrality

No, this is not a post about anime, though I have something about Tokyo Ghoul in the works. I just wanted to bring attention to an issue that I feel is important and affects more people than you might think. I encourage you to watch this video to educate yourself, or if you already understand the issue share the link with others.

The video description has links to other articles that can tell you even more about the issue which I encourage you to take a look at.

It's only three minutes

Quick Update

Now that I've got your attention...

Hey guys, how's summer going? Just want to put out a little update. Now that all of my school stuff is over, I'm planning to be a little bit more focused on reviewing stuff and putting out content for you guys...or at least until the steam summer sale started up... 

Anyhow, just want to let you know about a few things. First, I'm going to be starting up a video review channel. Yes, for the first time ever, you can listen to the melodious sound of my adolescent voice as it cracks with the same frequency as your phone. 

Here's how it'll work. I'll still be writing text based reviews, but as often as I can I'll be re-doing some of the reviews in video format. I'll upload a link to the channel and the review when I finish it. 

That said, expect a review of No Game, No Life within the next two or three days. Assuming I can learn how to edit audio and video in a week, the video review should be out in a week and a half. 

Also for the most part I don't think I'm going to be daily. Weekly seems to be a better goal for where I'm at right now, so, if everything goes according to plan, I'll have something for you ever Saturday/ Sunday night.

Well that's it. Thanks for reading as always. If you're new, feel free to scroll down and see whether you like what I write or not. If you do, likes, favorites, and follows are really nice and always appreciated. Hope to see you again!

My thoughts on Captain Earth

Captain Earth is an anime done by one of the best anime studios behind original (non-adaptations) projects. Studio Bones, aside from doing some excellent adaptations, has created some of the most innovative and fresh anime out there. From the comic-like Heroman, to the intriguing Darker than Black, to my one of my all time favorites, Eureka 7, Bones has always created series that felt fresh. Everything they've brought to the table has been excellent (if a bit confusing).


Yet Captain Earth just...isn't. Bones has set the standard for original anime. It has proven time and time again that a stand-alone can be just as good, if not better than one adapted from a manga/light novel/ whatever. They set the bar for themselves with some of the best anime ever to air on American or Japanese television. 

Let's start with what the anime does right—the animation. The animation is amazing. Hands down the best looking show spring season. The work poured into this shows everywhere. From the fantastic fight scenes, to the attention of detail poured into electronics, the anime is pure eye-candy. Despite any of the flaws I'll get into later, I'd say that it's worth watching for this alone. 
The other thing it does very well is the pacing. While I have more than a few quips about the plot, the pacing of the anime is done very well. It really does feel like an adventure, a wild goose chase that spans the entire globe. It manages to make the mood and tone of every episode feel fresh, while still keeping the momentum of the plot going. This is where Bones has shown that it has grown in its storytelling ability. Eureka 7 had a slow start, and while I think that the first 10 episodes were central to making the anime what it it was, they could've had a little bit more plot injected into them to keep us going. Darker than Black was able to give its series an episodic feel, having plot points that were able to resolve themselves in a reasonable time, but because of this forced viewers to continuously relate to characters more complicated than a physics textbook. 

Wait...does that mech have—

 Captain Earth manages to strike a happy balance, with each episode having its own plot arc, and still managing to give enough plot to make the viewer aware that the bad guys aren't just taking a day off to let our heroes dick around for a bit. 

If you believe this show to be god's gift to anime, stop reading here. This is where all of my criticism begins. Keep in mind as you read this, that I do not hate this anime. Yet because I have seen what the studio can do, I'm prepared to judge it a little harsher than, say, Studio Arms. 

Let's start with the plot. It's not that it's bad, again, just that it's convoluted. I'll get into why this is in the next paragraph, but before I do, I need to point out a few things with the structure of the plot. The whole plot is, for lack of better word, basic. When you get down to it, it's a bunch of aliens who want to destroy Earth. Yet the anime doesn't want us to know this. To hide this they throw a bunch of confusing vocabulary to make you think that the anime is more complex than it really is. 

Flawed it may be, but it's like Miley Cyrus that way. Even if it does everything else wrong at least it looks...nevermind

Speaking of which, the damn vocabulary in this anime. You see while I was busying myself complaining about how confusing the first episode of Mekaku City actors was, my friend pointed out that Captain Earth was just as, if not more confusing. I called bull. Why? Because I had seen other anime Bones had done. They were all confusing, but that was okay. You didn't need to know what most of the terms were in the anime because they were concepts. It's the difference between a missile and the Tea Party. No, trust me, it'll make sense. You don't need to know what the difference between a cruise missile and an atomic bomb is. You don't need to know the difference in mechanics to understand that they blow things up. Rather you need to have a basic understanding of what the Tea Party is and what it stands for to make its implausible actions seem slightly less implausible. 

Half of the problem lies in the fact that there is supposed to be political intrigue. Politics is hard enough to follow with an understanding of the parties involved! What is Salty Dog? What is Macbeth Enterprises? What is Global? What the f*ck is a high density libido charge? It doesn't help that they're all named after things from Shakespeare. While what Eureka 7 by making everything in their anime a musical or surfer reference (the generic term for a mech is named after a freaking amplifier) this just...isn't as witty. What was so great about that style of doing things in Eureka Seven was that it was so ridiculous. Who in there right mind could take an anime that is a giant tribute to surfing and music seriously? Yet it worked. We were able to take it seriously and still appreciate all of the references. Allusions to Shakespeare are overdone! Musical and surfer references aren't! Bones already did one giant Shakespeare allusion with Blast of Tempest, we don't need more! It just feels like they're trying to make it out to be smarter than it actually is with all these allusions!

Yeah! You use that High-density Libido...Why, Bones?! Why?!

The other half of the problems I have with this anime would be the characters. Without a doubt there have been worse. Yet being having slightly better character development than your average harem anime isn't good enough for Bones!

In all seriousness, I have to give them some credit; the side characters are interesting. Bones has always been great at giving the little guys some screen time, and it's no different with Captain Earth. They don't just feel like red shirts, they feel like...people. Sure they're not as three dimensional as Hei or Holland, but they don't have to be. They're side characters. Yet they're fun and likeable. They get ample characterization.

The same cannot be said for the main characters. While Teppei seems to be interesting, everyone else seems to be stuck on a two demensional plane. Daichi, the main main character, is your typical goody-two shoes. Hana is fills the roles of ms. moe, the tanned/black girl and comes in a close second for ms. fanservice with one of the villains. Akari is the quirky comic relief computer geek, who thinks she's a magical girl. 

Pandering? Why, whatever do you mean?

The villains share sort of the same fate. They're motivation is survival, and they're justification is that they're higher beings than the humans they feed upon. That's lazy, Bones. Really lazy. Just give us alien Nazis! At least that would be funny! Dewey Novac's motivations were interesting, if warped, and Darker than Black never really had a clear right or wrong. They're justification for their actions is riddled with holes, and doesn't provoke any kind of food for thought of any kind. The villains don't even try to justify their positions with their own twisted philosophy. Not like General Zaroff, or the Joker. They're better just cause.

Aside from the main duo, other villains pop up as part of the planetary gears (I have no idea what it means either). They all have a singular thing wrong with their lives, or to put it simply; they're one dimensional. One girl lives only for speed, another for the sole purpose of being recognized. They all are so singular minded, that they're boring. Rightfully so; each only gets an episode dedicated to them, and only half of that has them getting screen time. 

This is where the pacing fails. This anime should've been 50 episodes in the same way Awakening of the Trailblazer should've been gundam 00 season 3. It doesn't have time to develop characters, or lengthen plot arcs. I remember people complaining about the absence of actual mechs in Eureka 7, but that was the beauty of it. Why is Gundam better than any of the many other mech anime out there? Is it because of the mechs? No! Eureka 7 put characters and plot above action. It's fifty episodes helped to draw out the characters, to give each of them personalities. It gave them time to have the soccer match, to have the prank episode on Renton, to have episode surrounding the farmer and his wife. Did these add anything to the plot? Did they provide the action we were hoping for? Nope, but they gave the characters depth and made us more attached to them. 

Captain Earth doesn't have the time to do this. It can't stop and smell the roses, it's too busy trying to get where it wants to go.

I'd say it's worth watching, though. Even with all its flaws, it is fun. It has great animation, and good enough world building so that I care about the different terms. Who knows, maybe they'll pull a fast one. Maybe all of my complaints will be resolved. Hell, I still thought Eureka was only slightly above average at episode 10, maybe it'll blow me away next week. I have hope that Bones will provide.

Thanks for reading, as always. It's much appreciated, as are follows, likes and whatnot. Hope to see you again!

What you actually thought I'd come out with the Kill La Kill review on time?

Okay, I will have the Kill La Kill review out tonight...it just won't be until about 11:30 or so. Sorry about that, but unfortunately I have some semblance of a life outside of blogging and anime. 

Anyhow, if you're willing to wait, I'll see you in a couple hours! If not, hope to see you tomorrow!

Kill La Kill Episode 24 Short Reaction

After twenty-four episodes, Kill La Kill has finally ended. I was tied between either doing a review of this, or trying a review of Golden Time, but I think this'll come first. 

So it's a reaction, so spoilers, duh.

Overall the episode was one long epic mess. It was crazy! How the hell did they have all of that in 24 minutes? The pacing is amazing for this episode! It genuinely feels the way a climax should; ramping up every little aspect of the show, giving every little character their bit of screen time. I'm sorry guys, but as far as finales go, I like this one even more than Gurren Lagann.

I do have one complaint, it barely detracted from the experience, but I have to say it anyway. Why the hell didn't Ryouko fall in front instead of Senketsu?! She's freaking invincible, and her regenerative abilities could heal her in time. Okay, I actually answered my own question; Senketsu was already being torn apart, he took the fall in order to save Ryouko some pain.

So here's my other question; why did Senketsu have to die in the first place? The show's over, and with such an abrupt death, it's hard to squeeze any character development out. Why not freaking give a happy ending to your characters for once, Trigger? In Gurren Lagann, the love interest died under similar circumstances, in Panty and Stocking, the bad guys just win, and here one of the best characters of this show up and dies. And don't even get me started on Evangelion---because I haven't seen all of it, so it would be hard to rant. I just found it pointless; hell if life fibers come to the planet again, they really will be screwed. 

Thanks for reading, in any case. To be honest I think Kill La Kill earns most of its hype, and I'm kinda pumped tp review it now. So hope to see you tomorrow. Till next time!

Hamatora ep 11 reaction-More plot holes than Swiss Cheese

Whaaaaaat?! What the hell? Okay, Okay SPOILERS incoming.

I might need to re-think adding this as one of my favorites of the Winter season

Really though, you freaking had the villain right there! Sorry I forgot to give context. So Nice finds Moral and brings him to their hideout. He learns that Moral is behind the whole scheme and that he killed Art. Is Nice surprised by this? Hell no! That would ruin his bad boy image, right? So then Nice decides that he knows what to do with Moral, but wait, we haven't fulfilled our quota of pretentious monologs yet! So instead of, I dunno restraining him or something, Nice decides to Debate with him, allowing Moral to wrap a razor wire around cat-girl's neck. He then says that if they move, he will kill her. Okay, what? This makes no sense! He himself can't move! A; In order to move he would have to loosen the wire. It's basic physics! If he didn't, the wire would slit her throat! I suppose the logical thing would be that the ring would be able to reel out wire as he moves, but then he could only go so far as the door. Plus, he doesn't have super-strength, so after a while the wire would go limp. Nice can move at the speed of sound! Wait for him to leave the room, then jump him! 

Yes, the cheese looks like Inception, compared to this crap.

Does anyone else find it funny how all of the non-innate holders lose all sense of moral as soon as they gain power? Guys, if you're trying to rip-off X-men, at least do it right. It makes sense that normals fear minimum holders, because as a race, we've proven time and again that we do nothing but fear what we don't understand. On the other hand, just because they face discrimination, all minimum holders become psychopaths? No. No that is not cool. African Americans, Chinese, Native Americans, these are all groups of people who we're discriminated against. Did they lose all morality? Did they become unempathetic? No! Some may have, but the majority didn't. Yet here, it seems only those in Hamatora are able to keep their cool. 

Finally we get to Takahiro. That purple dude. Just when everything seems A-ok, Moral kills him. First-off, he kills him from his apartment. Why even escape? The hell was the point if you're going to go to the most obvious place you could possibly go? Are you even trying? Oh and Nice's reaction is priceless. He gets angry, and swears revenge against Moral. That's right; he kills a classmate of yours, a person you've known for years, and you show no emotion. He kills a guy you've known for what? A month or two? And suddenly you're in a rage? What? I really feel bad for Art.

Top Twelve Anime of the winter season that you should be watching (and in all likelihood are) Part Two

Jesus, ok, Time for a serious apology. For the past few weeks, I've been a bit--okay a lot flaky (that doesn't make sense grammatically does it) Anyway I wanted to apologize, and say that I'm going to try o redouble my efforts in pumping these posts out.





8) Nobunaga the Fool-- From the guys who brought you Nobunaga taking over the Pokemon Realm, and the creator of history geek travels back in time to hook up with a gender bended Nobunaga, comes a concept slightly more serious than Nobunaga as a gun. Meet Nobunaga the Fool. Join Nobunaga, looking nothing like the real Nobunaga, and his merry band of equally inaccurate looking historical figures, as they battle in mechs in a weird sci-fi world that makes about as much sense as... it makes as much sense as a historical steampunk alternate universe mech epic anime can.

But really what's good about this series? Animation for one thing. Mech designs seem kind simple at first but as they get more regalia (would explain what that is, but my guess is as good as yours) they become more and more complex. They have some nice spins on them that make them look synonymous with a certain culture while not looking as silly as well...

Yes Netherland, be proud!

For such a weird concept it takes itself pretty seriously. Normally i would bash this, but the plot is pretty good. It isn't End of Evangelion, but it's damn close. It's so damn confusing, nothing is explained, and no backstory is given on the world itself. I mean it's nice that it isn't explained as if you're a five year old with a butterfly's attention span, but come on guys. Just a little bit of context is great. In any case, if you're looking for one of those grand war mech anime akin to Code Geass, or Gundam, look no further. At the very least, it'll entertain. 

I love it when a show tries to have a plot, I really do. Especially when said plot involves Nobunaga, Jeane d' Arc, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Need I say more? It has Leonardo Da Vinci as an engineer and some sort of fortune teller!



7) Nisekoi-- What do you get when you get when you cross Shaft with a generic romance anime? You get Shaft making a generic romance anime.

There would be a funny video here, but instead there's a link, because blogger problems

Okay, Okay. It's not really generic. Aside from the fact that it looks like you just walked into the Japanese Louve, it's actually pretty refreshing. I mean, I love the Monogatari series, but I can't really blaze through the episodes like I can with this. Why? Well for one thing the cameraman went to go train in the Guiana highlands, and has now returned with a slightly longer attention-span, that allows him to stay at an angle for more than a millisecond. Don't worry though, they're are still plenty of Shaft Head tilts to go around. Characters aren't the most interesting in the world, but they're pretty fun. What's my favorite part about the anime though? Chitoge Kirisaki. She's actually a freaking tsundere! She isn't one of those fall-in-love-at-first-sight tsunderes we see everywhere nowadays, she legitimately is unsure of whether or not she likes the main character or not! Aside from that the anime features Yuki Kaji playing the pervert best friend, what a surprise. Some of you might know him for his role as Eren from AoT, while the rest of you know him as Issei from Highschool DXD, and I know him as Yoto from Henneko. Anyhow, the anime is pretty funny, on top of being a visual spectacle with an interesting concept and a cool little mystery.

6) Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren

Bet ya didn't expect this to be here. No really though, most of the reason that I like this show is that I have someone else to talk about it (and really when i say talk I mean fanboy over). I mean the reason that this blog started was so that I could express my opinions of shows, because no-one else watches the shows I watch. But enough about me, what do you like about me? 

                                             Yeah sorry for the audio, but you do get to see the awesome animation!

Okay jokes aside, this show is not just a moe slice of life. What surprised me most about was actually the fact that A-- there's a boy in a club of girls, and it's not a harem B---The Romance wasn't a love triangle (Episode 9 guys) C--It had some serious character development and approached a topic in a way I didn't think possible. In other words it made shit up Kaiki Style. The reason why the show isn't higher on this list is because, well...it hasn't gotten to the level that the first season did. So far there's a lot of nice romance going on here, but not much else. Animation is fantastic, and fight scenes are campy while still touting eye-popping visuals, girls are still so moe that even the most hardcore 90s fan would begrudgingly grit there teeth while saying 'Kawaii- Desu'. maybe it'll get even better, who knows? 

But really, if you don't daaawww right here, I'm convinced you're a serial killer

That's it this time around. You guys disagree or agree? By the way did you guys here that Durarara is getting a second season? Unlike the Half Life three posts that haunt my existence, this is actually real! Now come on Kyotoani! Just freaking announce that one anime that really needs a third season! Anyhow, thanks for reading, and with any luck I'll see you tomorrow...when I publish my next post. That got creepy for a second there.

Top Twelve anime of the winter season that you should be watching (13-14) Part One

Overall I'd say that the winter season has been pretty bountiful. I can't really think of an anime this season that didn't leave a strong impression on me after the first episode. Whether it be confusion, anger, or laughter m, my first impressions of the season were strong. But which ones have improved; which ones have held up?



There are a few rules to this; The anime has to be made during the winter season of 2013-2014. There's going to be one exception for that, but we'll get there when we get there

11) Hamatora 

Quick Synopsis--Minumum holders are people born into this world who have a gift. The story follows a cast of characters who've formed a detective agency called Hamatora. Together, they solve mysteries, kick ass, and screw around like no tomorrow, all while being strung about by a silly little thing called plot.

Quicker synopsis; It's like watching Darker than Black while high

Does this deserve to be here? I dunno. This show ain't Samurai Flamenco, where I can go from loving it, to hating it, to loving it again in a matter of seconds. At the same time I think it's one of those shows that you'll love or hate...unless your me. Why is it good though? Well the animation for one. Granted the fight scenes look like the animator was the tripping, animation quality is top-notch. Characters have a lot of intrigue; it's cool how they're given an air of intrigue rather than cross sectioned as most anime characters. They aren't developed, but the series is young so, who knows? So why is this not higher on the list. Tone and plot. Episodes can get damn preachy, as characters tap into the inner Jesus Yamatos and deliver will-crushing speeches that leave their former opponents sobbing in a pool of unbreakable logic and insoluble black and white. Now I can't give away spoilers here, but the tone can get damn muddled. At one point something happens. Something very brutal, very shocking, and pretty powerful. The end of the episode the anime had grasped my full attention. The next episode started a re-cap, which was fine, it reestablished the tone, before diving into a beach episode. A beach episode? Really?! Not only that, but the beach episode also has some sappy undertone that's about as subtle as killing someone with a fish. Overall though it's well worth watching.

No, I don't know what they're smoking, and yes, I want some too.

Where to find it; Crunchyroll


10) Witchcraft Works

Quick synopsis; It's about witches. Okay, okay. It's about a guy at a school, who is thrown into a world of magical and mystery after being attacked by those rabbits from that Rayman spinoff. He also becomes a princess. You'll see...

Quicker synopsis; scroll down a bit.

Now for those of you who are shaking your moniter yelling 'why the hell is this 11' I have a confession. Forgive me, guys, for I have sinned. The reason why this show isn't higher on the list is not because I think it doesn't deserve it, but because I kinda haven't watched much of it. In my defense, I have a ton of anime on my list of things to watch. Witchcraft Works is one of them, but it just hasn't reeled me in as some of the other anime on this list have. It hasn't developed much of a plot, with witches coming to the school to try to nab some of the main character's 'white stuff'...yeah you have fun interpreting that. What I have seen has impressed me, though. First is the fact that said main character is weak, has a really powerful thing inside him, is being chased by things that want that thing, and is constantly in need of protection by a girl who's hair turns red when powered up and is known for her wielding of flames. What an original...oh wait.

But honestly reminding me of Shakugan no Shana is not a bad thing. Especially because it's one of my favorite anime out there. Animation is great as long as you aren't a stickler for CGI. Let me just say that whoever does the camerawork deserves a medal. Script is decent, you won't be getting to many laughs, but it has it's moments. I can't tell where the characters are going, but I think it's in the right direction. It's definitely worth seeing, if only for the visuals.
Where to watch; Crunchyroll


9) Oneechan Ga Kita!-- You know, it's times like this where I reflect on my life. I'm really recommending an anime called My Older Sister Came!... Or at least that's what I would say, if I didn't feel absolutely convinced that this show is awesome. It's a short anime with each episode being about three minutes long. What can I say? It's animation is stylish, comedy is pretty damn good for something packed into a three minute time span, hell it even has some cute moments too. my line with anime is that the only thing you're wasting by trying an anime is your time, and dammit this is worth three minutes of your day. Oh and did I mention that the ending theme is sung by the same voice actress who played Yuuki in Mirai Nikki?

Where to watch; Once again, Crunchyroll

Engaged to the unidentified ep 6 reaction

 
Why? Why do I like this show so much?! I honestly have no clue. By all accounts this is average! There has been minimal development, if you can even call it that, animation is nothing special, sound design is solid but nothing special. The whole thing is just a generic Romantic Comedy, so why do I like it so much?! 

Search for Engaged to the Unidentified, find Greed; Google Logic

Sorry I just had to get that out. There are probably reasons why I like this show so much, or at least I'll make up some that sound intelligent. Anyhow, I'm going to publish a Chuunibyou impression thing tomorrow. Would've updated today, but it still needs a bit of editing.

Go watch!

What? A review? With my procrastination? So once again it's 2014. I mean I really don't need to be repeating this, it's been like a month... So what other great anime are out there?

Hamatora-- An anime smelling of sweet nostalgia is not something that I find to be very common these days. Especially when said anime has the words 'the animation' attached to it. In fairness this anime is not even adpated from something. It was planned from the start; a mixed media project. In any case, the anime breaks it up a bit by having almost no fanservice, a compelling plot, a good old getbackers/ darker than black story, and the most psychedelic action sequences I've seen in an anime.

 Noragami--

A god, a cat, and a katana walk into a bar. Noragami in a nutshell. Not only does this anime have one of the weirdest concepts I've ever seen (broken only by sodas that can transform into girls) it also is just awesome. It's a lot of fun. Animation is smooth, script isn't the best, but Hiroshi Kamiya (voice of ararararararararararararagi, Izaya, and the one most of you would know Levi) definitely makes up for that. He plays the role of Yato, the flamboyant god working to become famous by making a shrine out of 5 yen donations. It also helps that Yuki Kaji is in here. Admittedly I've only seen three episodes, but this anime is looking promising.

Engaged to the unidentified-- I actually have no clue idea what to make of this anime. It's not blowing away, but it's strangely addicting. I really want to know what's going to happen next. It's got me reallyintrigued and I don't really know why. It's a funny show, not My Mental Choice, but still funny. Characters are fun to watch, though not fleshed out enough as of yet for me to truly pass judgment. Okay whatever, it's fun! You'll enjoy it! I'll save everything else for when I review it!

Discussion about casual anime fans

Hey guys, unfortunately I'm not here to review any anime in particular, but more to talk about both casual anime fans as well as some pretentious idiots with a bunch of equally pretentious anime stuck up their asses. So yeah, if you want to look at stuff more about anime and less about discussion, go the next page/scroll down. So in case you didn't notice, this is purely opinion.

So this is a discussion segment. Gather round kids, and pull up your stools, because we're going to have a freaking chat. This rant was originally instigated by a youtuber by the name of Green Eye, who claimed that anyone who watches Attack On Titan, is a casual anime fan. I then asked this youtuber to see if Gigguk, a very influential and popular anime review, was a casual simply for watching AoT. They said yes. You can't hear it, but I'm screaming right now. I'm not even going to go into how stupid this argument is. Here is the link in case you want to follow the discussion. (look under the video anime in 2013) Gotta say at this point I'm pretty sure that this person is a troll, but whatever.

I'm here to address something I find really damn stupid in the anime community. This is the idea that popular anime are only designated for casual viewers. Now for those of you not familiar with the term, casual refers to a person who watches anime without frequency. They are people who skim the surface, not delving into the depths of anime.

Casual fans have developed a bit of a bad reputation among the anime community. More often than not casual fans do not have much experience in anime. So for instance, if a casual anime fan saw something like Naruto, they may call it the best anime ever. Most anime fans, including me, would disagree with this. Naruto is not a bad show, but it isn't the best the anime industry has to offer. Fate/Zero, Monster, or Cowboy Bebop, are just a few critically acclaimed anime that are considered by many to be leagues ahead of something like Naruto. In the end there is a multitude of anime that are more complicated, have a better plot, better action, and most of all don't take over 500 episodes to tell their story. Even among the more concise anime, like Sword Art Online, casual anime fans have the tendency to boost the credibility of an anime through sheer numbers.

Are Casual anime fans a bad thing though? I don't think so. In the end, you just have to be on the lookout for over-hyped anime. While sometimes casuals can do things that really get on my nerves, such as promoting the KiritoxAsuna pairing as the best paring of 2012, generally I'm okay with them. In the end theirs is a positive benefit. First off, casual anime fans help the industry. The sheer amount of casual anime fans out there helps to keep the industry alive.Why the hell is Naruto at the top of Crunchyoll's charts? It is most likely because the majority of the fan base re casuals. I could be mistaken, but I don't think I am.

The second reason why they're good, is because they show promise to stop being casual fans, and delve into the deeper depths of anime. Let's face it; anime is not exactly the easiest thing to get into. the crazy plots, the nonsensical characters, it's all a bit much. Especially at a young age. Casual fans get to sink into the lighter stuff and get comfortable with it before diving into the more hardcore stuff.

Because, let's face it, anime can get pretty crazy

So why is it so bad to be called a casual, if they're in fact a positive influence on the anime community. They're are a few reasons, for why this is the case. Seeing as casual fans by definition do not have a lot of experience, generally undermines your opinion. Think about it like this, would you expect a ten year old who only played call of duty to give an accurate representation of how good the game is? Of course not! If you only know one thing, and you enjoy that one thing, then to you it's the best thing ever! Same with anime. Obviously you still have your opinion, but its weight is undermined with the label of casual.

Replace Naruto, with any anime that another living soul knows about, and you'll get what I'm talking about.

 So we come to the topic of this discussion. To sum up, casual fans are a good thing. While they do have some cons, in general, they're pros far outweigh they're cons. It's not a bad thing to be called a casual anime fan, if you're a casual anime fan. It just means that you're inexperienced, not that you'll stay that way forever. When you really are into the community and involved with it, then it becomes an insult.

Now we come to the other side of the coin. The pretentious assholes, who believe that any anime that is popular is automatically casual. The difference between these guys and casuals, is that while casual anime fans have an excuse, these guys, do not. Now, there are some people who consider a popular anime to be crap for their own reasons. There are people who think Attack on Titan is a horrible series. These people can articulate their points, saying that its a gore fest, with either predictable deaths, or not enough development to make you care for the characters before they die. While I may disagree, I respect their opinion. But, when anyone blows off anyone who watches a show, just because it's popular, I cannot respect them. Another anime where this happened was Sword Art Online, where the same incident happened. Now if you've read my review (which is right below this one) you'd know that while I thought it was overrated, I genuinely liked the show. Now, I don't want to call myself a hardcore anime fan, because I'm not that involved in the anime community, but I'm certainly not a casual anime fan. I mean after watching something like Wincest the show or Buddha and Jesus as roommates, I can safely say I'm not casual. Yet, just because I liked Sword Art Online, it means my opinions aren't valid?! No! This is something that needs to stop. Not every hardcore anime fan is like this, but there are enough out there, so that I get freaking annoyed.

I was looking for an image for casual anime fans, and I found this...How is this casual? This is one of the most inaccessible anime I've ever watched! What 'casual' fan would watch a show where the entirety is just talking combined with a camera that has the attention of a butterfly?

Take an anime like SAO for instance. A casual fan of the show, may defend it to death despite it's numerous flaws, not admitting that there is anything wrong with it (oh, have I had a bunch of these discussions). At the same time a pretentious asshole, would rip the show to shreds, without recognizing any of the things it does right. I recently read an article on a site called Seventh Style detailing the good and bad anime of 2013. I don't want to delve too deep into it, but let's just say that I have more fingers than the amount of positive things they have to say. I'm not saying that these guys who run the site are the pretentious assholes I'm writing about, but it sure gave that impression from the article I read.

I could go into more stuff on the matter, but i think I've stirred up enough controversy for today. If you enjoyed or agreed with this, leaving a like, follow, or spreading the word, are all things that would be cool.