Upon waking up this morning i decided to add a new series to my list of shows to review, after careful deliberation so I  decided upon Ano Natsu de Matteru and took a look at episodes 1 and 2. As far as first impressions go i suppose i can give it an A, maybe its just because i had just woken up and the light comical nature of it suit my mood perfectly, or it really was that good, im really not sure, all I know is that I liked it. What else is that it didn’t take much out of me, there were no intricate plot twists that i had to wrap my mind over or super actiony scenes which got me pumped up, it left me with a sort of mushishi afterfeel.

Over the two episodes this is what i got from it, the story more or less revolves around Kaito Kirishima  a first year at high school and Ichika Takatsuki an alien whose spaceship crash landed on earth injuring him in the process, As she is not used to life on earth she often seems to act weird and is continuously correcting herself. Due to her having nowhere to stay Kaito invites her to stay at his house and she meets his sister who agrees to let her to stay as long as she wishes.

Unfortunately, due to the injury caused by the crashlanding Kaito suffers from some sort of skin mutation (top image) which supposedly can only be cured/reversed by being embraced by Ichika (cant say we didn’t see that coming). (more…)

Clocking in at a mere four episodes and an OVA, “Magical Play” is another in a long line of Magic Girl shows (like “Sasami” and “The Familiar of Zero”), but we have dual stories going on (actually, we have several story lines, but they are all kept nicely apart), although, as with much in life, they cross and intersect.

The main story involves Padudu (that’s the one wearing the fish. It is not a fish costume, it is a fish, Uokichi, kind of like her familiar). She wants to become a real Magical Girl on Earth (she comes from the land Sea Heaven) and to this end, she needs to gather 20 Flower Stars. These are earned by doing tournament battles with other magical girls. When you get the 20 stars (and have filled up your card), you may then proceed to the next level.

Sadly, when you wear a fish, you are subject to all kind of problems, such as being grabbed by a large hungry eagle who wishes to dine on you, which is how the show opens. Padudu manages to break free, but then plummets to the town below.

In the town, a tournament is being held and Pipin (that is the one on the far left) has just defeated another magical girl. However, before she can claim her prize, Padudu crashes upon her, knocks her out and Padudu gets awarded the Flower Star. Pipin spends the rest of her time trying to wrest the star back from Padudu. (more…)

Ah yes, another show i decided to see this season would be Amagami SS+ (Plus), now as far as first impressions go, the first 10 or so seconds got me thinking… AWESOME! I knew it was gonna be a continuation with each of the characters from the last season but i like how they are taking this XD. Sadly, soon enough that bubble is popped as he was only just dreaming (don’t you hate when that happens?).

Anyways the last season revolved around the founders festival or something like that right? so i was wondering if this one would be the same, outlining the possible developments with each possible pair in a set amount of time, hmmmm that format kinda leaves the possibility of Amagami SS++ and Amagami SS+++ until we have at the end the couples being old on a wheelchairs as Amagami SS(59+). Later on in episode 1 i realized i was right yup yup, i believe this one is going to revolve around the student council elections.

Okay, now is where this is starting to get really good, up for student council elections are (more…)

I got in a bit of a tiff over this one. It bills itself as six episodes, but the episodes are about 45 minutes long, so, technically, it is a 12-run show. But there is no intermission and it’s not a movie, so it goes down as six parts, making it short run. (I get into odd arguments.)

This is a very good looking show for an alternate universe approach. It is a 2005 idea of a 1930s approach to the future (in this case, the year 2000), but you have funny little quirks. We have hover cars, but radio is still king. It’s futuristic, but with an Art Deco feel.  The maiden voyage of a new train brings out all the media, but none of them have video cameras. And, most importantly, science can overcome any and all of man’s ills.

The world is under attack by a strange alien race, bent on world domination (stop me if you’ve heard this before, OK?) But the human race is confused and perplexed, not knowing what any of this is all about or what it ultimately means.

From out of the mists of confusion steps Billy Kimura. Boy genius and heir to the Kimura Industries conglomerate, he thinks he has a grip on what is going down. But he has a rival. The equally smart, equally annoying, equally arrogant Penny Carter. He graduated from MIT at age 11 but is nowhere near as financially well off as Billy.

Aside from them playing a version of “Can You Top This?” all the time as to who is smarter, they are both in love with Lotta Brest (I am NOT kidding; that is her name. Too bad Emely, Lotta’s tutor, isn’t named that. Emely certain has what Lotta wants.)

Together, these three have to piece together the puzzle that will allow them to defeat the space aliens, who will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams at the demise of humans! (Insert organ sting here).

(more…)

Yeah, OK. I usually try to lull you in to reading my review, kind of disguising until the end as to whether I liked it or not. For this one, I’ll save you the time: I no longer like “Fairy Tail”. I have abandoned the show.

Now, I gave it a good damn run: 60 shows (“Case Closed” has taken me for longer at 130 and I still watch that. I would have watched “Inuyasha” and “Ranma ½” more, but foul circumstances took them away from me. And I am still working through “Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood” but that ends at 51). But I felt it treated me badly, like other long-format shows.

So, what got to me? It’s just that it took me that long to see the repetitive nature of the overall show. I had read the first five manga and really liked what I read (since I check them out of the library, someone borrowed Books Six through Eleven forever, so I had to give up. And I don’t read manga on the internet). When I heard they had done the show, I watched it with eager anticipation, but I started to notice a trend.

The Evil Folks show up. The Good Guys arrive on the scene, but are soon put to flight. The Good Guys regroup and through some personal effort, defeat the Bad Guys and send them packing. Then, we have beers all around for a Job Well Done. The next day, (more…)

There are several music animes out there (with “Nana” and “Beck” coming to mind first), but what about a musical anime, where the characters burst into song for no apparent reason. It may be that “Nerima Daikon Brothers” could be that first one. For your information:

Nerima – a ward inTokyo.
Daikon – the famous ‘white radish’.
Brothers – Well, brothers in arms.

It tells the story of Hideki (the big guy in the middle). Sure, he’s merely a daikon farmer, but he has dreams, big dreams and they do not involve farming implements. One day, he’ll build the world-famous Daikon Dome and his little entourage will play to packed houses of screaming, frenzied fans every night, rockin’ the house with some rockin’ music. But, until that time, he farms and rehearses every chance he gets, as they have a makeshift stage in the field. The neighbors do not take kindly to those musical intrusions, and hurl both bottles and epithets to get them to shut up.

The band consists of Hideki, his brother Ichiro and cousin Mako (plus some random pandas; don’t ask). Any resemblance to the “Blues Brothers” is strictly intentional. Alas and alackaday, big dreams cost big bucks and our little singing trio are badly skint in that area. In fact, Ichiro has a real job working at a host club, where not only is he a most popular draw, he also comes across a lot of help and information. Too bad they are spending most of their time fending off rapacious agents, devious psychics, duplicitous nurses and questionable auditions.

Adding to their woes, whatever money they are able to obtain is quickly siphoned off to repair for damages incurred during their latest escapades or balance off a massive debt imposed on them so they at least pull even. No one said being an overnight star was easy. (more…)

There are some show titles that are going to draw your interest immediately.
“Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt”. Yeah, I gotta check that one out.
“My Sensitive Pornograph”. Whoops! I backed the wrong pony on this one!
“Chu-Bra!!”. I wonder if it is about undergarments……

Well, yes, it is. It tells the story of Nayu Hayama (the bespectacled one), a middle school student who is having some problems with her undergarments to the point of it being a wardrobe malfunction. Since the underwear in question is rather adult in nature, two curious students, Yako Jingūji (the brunette) and Haruka Shiraishi (the pink one) wonder if there is ‘something more’ going on, especially when a much older man comes up to Nayu to ask her questions.

We come to learn that she is a caliber of ‘beta tester’ for underwear. In fact, she is so enamored with underwear, she has made it her life’s ambition to be the greatest undergarment designer in the world, following in the footsteps of her famous (but dead) grandmother. Her aim is to make undergarments that are both pretty and designed to do what they are meant to do. (more…)