Dasher Reviews Anime!

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:04 pm

I've always wanted to make a board for random anime reviews and giving my thoughts about them, so here it is! ~~That and I'm a sad person with too much time on her hands.~~

I can't say how often I'll be posting at the start of a series, or in the middle, but I'll most definitely be posting my concluding thoughts. Spoilers abound~! If I drop a series, I'll post my thoughts on the series up to that point and why I dropped it.

Anyone can request that I do an anime review on a particular series, and if I've seen it, even a part of it, I'll give my thoughts on it as much as I remember it. (I might have to brush up and research a bit.) I specialize in yuri anime. :3

I doubt anyone's going to read this, but if you do, feel free to post or discuss! Onto the reviews!

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:04 pm

Anime: Shion no Ou

I would have posted a review for this anime after the first episode, but because I was so wrapped up in this series that I couldn't stop, so I'll have to report in halfway through. ^^;

First the premises: a young girl's, Shion's, parents were murdered right before her eyes when she's three years old and the only thing that can be traced of the murderer is a shogi (Japanese Chess) piece. Shion's been so traumatized by the experience so bad that she can't speak.

Anyway, time skip seven years later and she's surprisingly still partaking in shogi and is aiming to become a pro female kishi (professional shogi player). The whole series is about linking the murder
mystery, and trying to find out who the serial killer is, while we follow Shion through her shogi career. It's a dark series, so if you're going into this thinking it's Saki mixed in with some mystery aspects, you're sorely mistaken.

There are also two lesser main characters and while their stories are interesting, they're more tied into Shion's story. That and I don't want to give an interesting spoiler away for one of the side characters. =)

So! Skipping forward to the middle of the series and we pretty much already know who the killer is… or do we? The anime is 22 episodes long so how come the person is confronting Shion in the 12th episode? I think we're being lured into a false sense of security! Gyah~ This anime is suspenseful and I love it. <3 I'm eager to find out what happens next because I still have half the series to watch!

Till next time! =)

by MidnightPersona Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:05 pm

You should do Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And I will watch it with you when you do it. xD

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:14 pm

MidnightPersona wrote:You should do Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And I will watch it with you when you do it. xD

I regret giving you my Skype contact info. =______________________=

by MidnightPersona Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:14 pm

SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:You should do Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And I will watch it with you when you do it. xD

I regret giving you my Skype contact info. =______________________=

LIES AND DECEIT! You know you love me~ And it'll be fun!

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:18 pm

MidnightPersona wrote:
SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:You should do Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And I will watch it with you when you do it. xD

I regret giving you my Skype contact info. =______________________=

LIES AND DECEIT! You know you love me~ And it'll be fun!

Can we at least take many breaks and poke fun at it? ;_; I'm not good with magical girl anime at all.

I've only watched two episodes of StrikerS and that's it.

by MidnightPersona Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:22 pm

SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:
SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:You should do Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And I will watch it with you when you do it. xD

I regret giving you my Skype contact info. =______________________=

LIES AND DECEIT! You know you love me~ And it'll be fun!

Can we at least take many breaks and poke fun at it? ;_; I'm not good with magical girl anime at all.

I've only watched two episodes of StrikerS and that's it.

I've got season 1, season 2, season 3 (which is StrikerS), and The 1st movie and I wanna watch them with someone.

You're lucky day~ And you can review it for our Nanoha fans while yer at it! And I always pause to poke fun at stuff and/or fangirl.

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:33 pm

MidnightPersona wrote:I've got season 1, season 2, season 3 (which is StrikerS), and The 1st movie and I wanna watch them with someone.

You're lucky day~ And you can review it for our Nanoha fans while yer at it! And I always pause to poke fun at stuff and/or fangirl.

Complete with "Raven Vlog"? >_>;;

by MidnightPersona Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:34 pm

SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:I've got season 1, season 2, season 3 (which is StrikerS), and The 1st movie and I wanna watch them with someone.

You're lucky day~ And you can review it for our Nanoha fans while yer at it! And I always pause to poke fun at stuff and/or fangirl.

Complete with "Raven Vlog"? >_>;;

Yes, complete with Raven Vlog~ More audio than visual for us, though. And it shall be glorious! So much Nanoha will be had!

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:36 pm

MidnightPersona wrote:
SpiralDasher wrote:
MidnightPersona wrote:I've got season 1, season 2, season 3 (which is StrikerS), and The 1st movie and I wanna watch them with someone.

You're lucky day~ And you can review it for our Nanoha fans while yer at it! And I always pause to poke fun at stuff and/or fangirl.

Complete with "Raven Vlog"? >_>;;

Yes, complete with Raven Vlog~ More audio than visual for us, though. And it shall be glorious! So much Nanoha will be had!

Alright! Alright... I'll woman up and do this. ;_;/ Bring it!

by **SpiralDasher** Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:18 am

Anime: Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha

So I watched the first episode with Raven. I can't really say whether I got a good impression or not because it was over screen share and I got the screen every two seconds; I couldn't really make out the subtitles. Now, if I could remember how to spell and say Nanoha, talking about this serious will be that much simpler. DX I keep writing it: Nonoha, Nodoka (Saki's gf in Saki), and I actually said Navaho at one point…

I have a natural bias with magical girl anime, but I'm putting it off while watching this series because this is supposed to be a fun experience where I watch an anime series with a friend. And she allowed me to poke fun at it all I wanted while watching, so that helps.

We've only watched the first episode, and from what I did see, I got major Card Captor Sakura vibes (which, again, I didn't get far in.) The talking ferret, whose gender is yet to be determined, was cute. And as I thought, not a fan of watching the dress-up scene (but I'm like that with all magical girl anime, so I won't be commenting on it after this time.) I'm just thinking like, "What if she didn't want to sign the contract to fight the giant cat-blob?"

Nanoha: "Contract? Wait, I'm not really sure I want to-"
Ferret: "Too late; by the power of greyskull~!"

Concluding thoughts: everyone has the same flaring hairstyle! :3 (I can't give much of an opinion with only the first episode.)

---

Anime: Kampfer

So, I watched the whole series because I liked the manga. When I say whole series, I mean up to the point of they animated, because the episodes just seem to stop without a conclusion. I suppose that only makes sense, seeing as how the manga is still running, but usually anime will end it their own way to at least give us a conclusion. Kinda mixed feelings about that, but I finished it.

It's based around a guy that gets turned into a girl in order to fight other girls. He's an ordinary guy dragged into something bigger than all of us, and he can't control the devise that turns him from a girl to a guy and back. In fighting, he gets magical fire powers and saves his long-time crush form getting injured during a fight. The crush, who is the school's "uber cute" idol, falls for him and thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread. Awesome right? Wrong: she falls in love with his girl self while his guy self is ignored by his crush.

So he has to battle other fighters all the while trying to figure out how to get his crush to like his natural boy side and not his school-wide-adored girl side. Oh, and there's some guy-with-girls, plus girl-with-girls harem elements mixed in there.

Concluding thoughts: If you're not big on fanservice-y harem anime like me, read the manga. It has less blatant fanservice and focuses a little more (only a little more but it's noticeable) on the plot. I realize I'm not the target audience, but I work with what's given. ;P I liked it. ^^

"If you don't like harem anime that much, why did you read/watch it in the first place?"
"Because it has prominent yuri moments (the crush going after the lead's female counterpart, for instance) and even I feel like watching one once in a blue moon. ^^"

---

Anime: Kuttsukiboshi (Episode 2)

Spoiler'd just in case the review might offend someone; if you liked the series, I suggest not reading it. I get cynical when met with things I don't like and find, for lack of better word, stupid.

Spoiler:

by **Luu Sky Sapphire** Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:18 pm

Looking forward to a review of Nichijou in the near future. ;3

by **SpiralDasher** Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:58 am

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:Looking forward to a review of Nichijou in the near future. ;3

My reviews aren't so much reviews as they are thoughts on the anime. x_X Nichijou is hard to talk about, given its 4-koma nature, but I did my best.

---

Anime Movie: Summer Wars

Waaaaaatch iiiiiiiit.

A wonderful, touching story; many different styles of animation; likeable characters; and the premises and setting remind me a bit of the Digimon movie, but more focuses on the people instead of the avatars/creatures.

It's the story of a boy, Kenji, as he spends his summer at Natsuki's grandmother's house, the school idol. He happens to be a small maintenance worker for OZ, the online hub you can transport yourself to, the center of business and social interaction; imagine if the internet had a centralized hub- that's OZ.

Almost picked to be Japan's Math Olympiad to compete with other countries, he's good with solving long (think like ~2000 digets) sequences of numbers. One night while spending the night at Natsuki's grandmother's house, he receives an email with a number sequence to solve, and to take his mind off of troubles, he solves it… and apparently lets loose a virus that takes over OZ, thus causing chaos in the real world. For fear of spoiling anything else, I'll stop there.

Concluding thoughts: I highly recommend at least watching it! =D

---

Quick shout-out: The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi

Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko! Ryoko!

-cough-

I might be slightly obsessed… but! my favorite character came back for this movie and I was jaaaazzed! <3 She even has a yandere scene with yuri-goggle subtext! I squee'd in happiness! RyokoxNagato! <3

---

Anime: Nichijou

I'm only on episode eight, but for me, this is the type of anime where I have to take watching it slow and spaced out, or else I'll lose interest in it. It plays out much like a 4-koma would if put into animated form. The episodes skip around, focusing from one group of people to the next, showing blips of their not-so-normal lives (despite what the title of the anime might lead you to believe).

It's. Friggin'. Hilarious. But only if you have a certain type of humor. It's like Pani Poni Dash! with a bit less sarcasm and randomness. (That's the best way I can come up with it to describe it.)
The reason I'm doing a review now (aside from the fact that Luu asked me) is because it follows the type of storyline that jumps around so I can't really give my thoughts on the story. I've already met all the characters and it's hard to describe them because they each have their own random quirks. (Mai, you sarcastic bitch. <3)

What I can say is that if I were to choose a character that's most similar to me personality-wise, it's easily Yuuko Aioi… x-x

Oh, and I have both openings on my iPod. I'm a big fan of Hyadain, the person who created the openings for the anime, and was ecstatic to learn he did music for an anime. (And this anime makes for fantastically funny amvs! <3)

Concluding thoughts: Selamat pagi! ^u^/

by **Luu Sky Sapphire** Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:55 am

XD Hearing Selamat pagi! makes me remember how far I've come with my Indonesian studies. I can now have a full conversation with my girlfriend in her language. Thanks for the short review, Dash!

Yukariko

: Umm...um...may Our Lord Bless you bless you, keep you and make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

by **depression76** Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:24 am

SpiralDasher wrote:Concluding thoughts: Selamat pagi! ^u^/

*spurts water*

You speak...? :affraid:

That took my attention xD

by **SpiralDasher** Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:10 am

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote: : Umm...um...may Our Lord Bless you bless you, keep you and make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

Yuka-chan, kawaii~ <333 -snuggles- >w<~

And no prob, Luu!

Next up, Madoka Magica! (And maybe some Black Rock Shooter if I finish it soon.)

depression76 wrote:
SpiralDasher wrote:Concluding thoughts: Selamat pagi! ^u^/

*spurts water*

You speak...? :affraid:

That took my attention xD

Lol!! Unfortunately that's the only phrase I know. But it's amazing the things you can learn in anime:

by **Luu Sky Sapphire** Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:34 pm

OMG, you're gonna do Madoka next? Brave yourselves people! Episode 3 is the turning point of the series, Dash either loves it or hates it. o_o

Black Rock Shooter <3333

by **SpiralDasher** Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:11 am

Anime: Black Rock Shooter (TV)

It got confusing, I won't lie. There were parts where I didn't know what was going on, so I just watched for the story. I got the symbolism, it just didn't flow as well as it could have.

The color and styling in the anime, I've found it's an either "you love it or hate it" kind of situation, and for me, it just works. I love the settings and drawing style, and I'm glad something like this came out for something other than the typical boyxgirl sci-fi romance, or whatever. But in there lies another thing I loved about the series: your yuri goggles didn't have to be on tight at all, the subtext; while not a shoujo-ai anime, was based around the deep relationship of several girls/women and how much they cared for one another. I wouldn't be quick to just start shipping people, but it was a nice change from the usual relationships we're used to seeing.

The characters made this series. While none of them were overly in depth or had anything that set them apart from other series, this anime was based around relationships between characters, so it was good to see substance to them. I liked all of the "other selves," but some of the reality characters annoyed me or seemed bland. Kind of chilling to see them act/become insane though. o-o

I. LOVED. the. fights. <3 That's the reason I watched this show in the first place, for the fights and "alternate world persons'" character designs! They all look so cool (not a fan of Death Master's look though). (Yomi looked better without glasses. =/) Yuri genre needs more stuff like this, action-packed and just downright awesome.

Concluding thoughts: I really liked the OVA. I have watched it a couple times, and thanks for the magic of the internet, I now own it. The TV show however… let's just say watching it once was good enough.

--

Anime: Ben-To

The concept is funny, all-out brawls in order to obtain on-sale bento boxes. The protagonist accidentally stumbles upon one of these brawls while reaching for an on sale bento box and within seconds get pummeled into unconsciousness. He has no money to buy regular priced food or cook for himself, so he decides to join in on these battles built on honor, respect and hunger: this is Ben-To.

As I continued to watch, I actually got invested in all of the characters and their backstories. You'd think this would be a whacky anime, given what I've already said, but there are some deep connections and situations that get established as you watch- I just flipped form one episode to the next. Oh, and the anime has a lesbian kaichou. Can't go wrong with a lesbian kaichou.

Lastly: dat music. <3 The music that plays during the fights is enough to get anyone pumped and ready for action. Which is good, because Ben-To has tons of it.

Concluding thoughts: I recommend watching it if you're looking for something that's both fun and serious at the same time, mixed it with a ton of good action.

--

Anime: Madoka Puella Magica … or whatever the shortened form is. @_@

Oh, it's alright, Mami. This review is nothing to loose your head over. <3 (I love Mami. She's my favorite character. -snuggles teh Mami-)

I honestly didn't think I'd like it. Boy was I wrong- after having finished it yesterday, I'm looking for any way to vent my newly-found fangirl for this show (so if anyone has a place where I can continuously fangirl with someone over it, please tell me!)

I think I like it… because it defies what a magical girl anime is (and it didn't spend forever with cutesy life lessons or five minutes to change clothes). I tend to like magical girl if it doesn't play out like the usual magical girl. Examples are this show and Mai Hime- both are magical girl, but they're both so much more than that. They're deep and have dark, more complex sides to them. When I first started Puella Magica, I thought I was going to be watching a magical girl anime on an acid trip, and that's what ended up happening… until the twist in episode three, then the twist in episode eight, and finally the twist in episode ten. It was a wonderful, almost morbid twist on the usual magical girl anime and it was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end.

All of that, however, is not the main reason why I like this series. No, it's because the main character wasn't in any way special up until the end. True, she was the key person in the series, but she wasn't a magical girl (in this timeline) up until the last episode. There's something so appealing about the "every person" witnessing and trying to understand something so much greater than themselves… and still trying to overcome it any way they can. Example is when Madoka tries to break the witch's control over Hitomi- she didn't resort to using magic, and she knew it was impossible for anyone else but a magical girl to destroy a witch, but she still tried. I love stories about the everyday person accomplishing unimaginable feats by using their own strength and wisdom. It's my favorite type of story and I'm glad I finally gave in to watching this little gem. ^^

To finish, I just want to mention how good the music is in this anime. I'm not one to notice music in anime, and if I do, it's because it's loud and/or fast-paced. No, this music, all of it, was just good. Luckily a friend of mine had all the music so she could send it over to me on Skype. <3

Ships: Madoka/Homura; Kyouko/Sayaka =)

Concluding thoughts: I look forward to watching the three movies that are coming out for this series. ^^

Mami~ –squishhuggles- <3~

by **Luu Sky Sapphire** Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:36 pm

SpiralDasher wrote:Oh, it's alright, Mami. This review is nothing to loose your head over. <3 (I love Mami. She's my favorite character. -snuggles teh Mami-)

I honestly didn't think I'd like it. Boy was I wrong- after having finished it yesterday, I'm looking for any way to vent my newly-found fangirl for this show (so if anyone has a place where I can continuously fangirl with someone over it, please tell me!)

https://ltahime.forumotion.com/t722p80-mahou-shoujo-madokamagica

^ I should bump it myself. XD The thread was made BEFORE I watched the series. Mami and Homura are easily the best characters in the series, btw. Mami is a hero. ;_;

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