Archive for the English Anime Category


Magic Knight Rayearth Anime Second Season, Disk 4 (English)

April 14th, 2012

I pride myself in watching anime without expectation and my ability to clearly, concisely separate my delusions and desires from what is actually happening on the screen. We all choose to interpret what we see differently, but sometimes the information we’re give is clearer than others. Sometimes the holes are so huge, it’s impossible for me to ignore them, regardless of what I want to be happening.

Which brings us, in an oblique way, to Magic Knight Rayearth, Volume 4 of the Second Season Complete Box Set.

In this volume Nova put a full-on passive-aggressive seduction of Hikaru because, as she says, she loves Hikaru. Well, okay, but a second earlier she told Hikaru that the reason she hated her was because Hikaru hates herself. So, having been given that piece of information, we have to conclude then that Hikaru also wants herself in a sexual way. Or, we can presume that Nova is making it up (and being inconsistent about it) or – and this is my best guess – no one told CLAMP that that made no sense.

In any case, Hiakru remembers for the 17,000th time all the people who are counting on her and manages to get her sword back and call Rayearth for the first time in a few volumes.

More interestingly Fuu defeats Princess Asuka by being calm and cool and smart and unflappable. Standing her ground when Asuka attempts to renege on a deal was a beautiful moment – as was the emotional reunion with Ferio.

Umi’s relegated to a back seat for this volume.

We do get a few moment’s with Eagle, but it looks Lantis is out of the question for him, now that we’ve been told so many times that Hikaru and Lantis are an item. Snoooze. And Debonair-sama laughs evilly for a bit.

Now that we’ve had the Nova gay moment, I doubt that I’ll review the last two volumes individually, but I’ll probably do a single wrap-up for the series as a whole. I really don’t dislike it, but it was dragging there a bit. If we can get back to the plot, I’ll be happier.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 4
Characters – 6
Yuri – 5, but bleah
LoserFanBoy – 3

Overall – 7





Magic Knight Rayearth Anime Second Season, Disk 3 (English)

April 9th, 2012

For those of you looking at the actual disks of the Second season set of Magic Knight Rayearth, this review is of the Disk labeled 7, as the disk numbering continued from the first season straight through the second.

Finally, at last, I encountered Nova and subsequently stare at many of you now with some concern that you see her as a “Yuri” character, and not just simply as insane. ^_^;;

But first, I should point out that the plot is now so deeply flawed and diluted that it was hard slogging through every episode of this disk, so Nova wasn’t the real problem.

If you recall, the plot as it was set up is that, now Pillar-less, Cephiro is in danger of being invaded by three other countries. Eagle of Autozam is the least annoying and in these episodes he also appears to be dying of tuberculosis so that his story is extra tragic. Hikaru suddenly develops a raging crush on Lantis out of nowhere and Umi is likewise assigned a pairing – we already knew about Fuu and Ferio from the first series. At least that one makes sense. Having given everyone something to lose, everyone loses everything, Hikaru is lost in her own thoughts, assailed by the monothematic Nova, while Umi and Fuu are captured by the other two countries who want Cephiro.

I was not thrilled to my core to learn that there were three more disks of this to wade through before resolution.

Okay, let’s look at Nova for a second. Really? Yuri…?  I don’t see it, sorry. I see someone who was created to be a monomaniac, self-absorbed and obsessive with one goal in mind – to emotionally torture and defeat Hikaru. The fact that she touches her a lot and goes on and on about how “cute” she is reads about as charming as a serial killer.

OTOH, I really like Fuu and Umi in the final episodes here, where split up they are forced to be the actual people they are, rather than Legendary Magic Knights.

So, yeah, just about halfway through this series, the plot becomes messy, but we’re about due for a breakthrough. The Magic Knights will be back in top form in just a bit.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 4
Characters – 6
Yuri – 3, if that’s what you call it
LoserFanBoy – 3

Overall – 7

I’m okay with Eagle and Geo, if Lantis doesn’t work out. ^_^





Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie Anime Dub Review (English)

March 23rd, 2012

Happy Guest Review Day! I know I have not yet reviewed the third box set of Revolutionary Girl Utena, much less the movie, but I will. I’ve just been a tad busy. In the meantime, here is a special Guest Review from Okazu Superhero Eric P. on, specifically, the dub of the Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie, since as you know, I do not watch dubs.

I hope you’ll all extend a welcoming hand to Eric, as always. Enjoy the review!

In my review for the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series’ dub, I pretty much summed it up as a dated mixed bag at best. I would so far as say that Nozomi/RightStuf should’ve made the 5.1 Japanese the DVD’s default language, as they’ve done with most of their bilingual releases, rather than having to go to ‘Setup’ to make it so. However, and most fortunately, the same would not be said for the movie’s dub. Even though it is the exact same cast as the TV series, the Revolutionary Girl Utena The Moviedub production is a considerably vast improvement.

A variety of reasons comes into play here. It may have had to do with the animation having more vibrant life to it, and thus there’s more vibrant life to the acting since there was more to play off of. They had an ADR director for the movie who was not the same as the guy who did the TV series, so no doubt that was a huge help. Perhaps it  helped even more that Kunihiko Ikuhara himself came to the studio and offered his feedback and personal direction on some key scenes.

One of the key reasons was that all the weak-link actors trimmed either to just a brief few lines or just brief mute appearances. For instance, the flat-voiced English Nanami just cameos as a short-lived moo-ing cow, so nothing grating there. But for those with high expectations, there can still be some nitpicks. Saionji’s voice can be considered the least good performance. And Miki still sounds older for his age for anyone who finds that bothersome, but the acting itself still isn’t bad and, since he’s supposed to be mature for his age it still works in its own way.

In the end, for all the TV series dub’s weaknesses, by comparison the dub for the movie is a much more solid effort. The overall cast complements and adds to the surrealistic atmosphere of the story, and the actors convey all the necessary feelings through their characters as much as they should. One of the best examples is the scene where Utena and Anthy are in bed together—I thought the mood was really right for that moment, and it’s consistently reflected in all their scenes together. All things considered, it still stands well today, and I would so far as believe it’s interchangeable with the Japanese track; I can watch this amazing and excellent movie in either language and still appreciate it on the same level. So, if you’re a dub fan or are at least open to dubs but shied away from watching the movie in English due to the TV dub’s mediocrity, there’s nothing to be afraid of here. Give it a try if you’re inclined.

Ratings:

Overall – Well done if not so far as being totally perfect. To heck with it, I give it a 9.5

Thank you Eric for the review. Well folks who’ve seen both -what do you think? Does the dub hold up as well as the original track? All opinions welcome in the comments.





Magic Knight Rayearth Anime Second Season, Disk 2 (English)

March 15th, 2012

For some reason, the Second season set of Magic Knight Rayearth is numbered as if it is the continuation of the first season, so the the individual disks are numbered 5,6 and 7. So this review is of the Disk labeled 6, just so you don’t get confused.

On Disk 6, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu set off to defeat the enemies that crowd Cephiro now that their Pillar is gone. Accompanying Hikaru is Lantis, Zagato’s younger brother. The three girls battle another giant robot in space and we meet our honorable foe – Eagle of Autozam. He tells us of the tragedy his planet faces if he doesn’t get the resources of Cephiro. More interestingly, we learn that he and Lantis were friends.

The girls run into multiple minions of Debonair-sama, our newest evil sorceress; among them is Halcyone, Zagato’s former minion. And, we meet Nova, the evil-twin-like character, whose power echoes Hikaru’s and whose one desire is to kill Hikaru – because, she says, she loves her.

There are two really excellent things about the battle being taken into space – way less of Puu, which can only be considered a victory for sanity, and Eagle and Lantis. Their backstory is by far the most interesting piece of the story yet to be told. I’m sorry to say that Nova remains, for me, an utter bore. However, if you like evil/alternate-twin Yuri, then maybe she will do it for you. My attention is rarely captured by monomania.

Fuu and Umi has been relegated to the position of Hikaru’s backup team, and the fight between Debonair and Cephiro (and every other country and Cephiro) takes a step back to let the battle between Hikaru and Nova become the plot driver. Hikaru suffers more hit points than her magic can handle and, as the disk comes to a close, she is bereft of sword, Ma-shin and confidence.

Obviously for Cephiro to survive, Hikaru will have to power up. And we still have one disk to go.

I find watching this series invokes a kind of nostalgia in me. Although I never really watched it the first time around, Media Blasters glowly yellow subtitles that always looked so old-school, are very much at home on this hand-drawn, no CGI to be seen, anime. It’s easy to get caught up in a fantasy where that was a purer time, but realistically, for the folks making the anime, the deadlines were just as tight and there was just as much – if not more – work to do. Also, wow are the body shapes on all the characters weirdly out of proportion. Any one one of the girls would be too thin to hold up a shoe, much less a sword. So, nostalgia be damned, in many ways the animation being put out now is a million times better than this. Just sayin’. Nonetheless, for family friendly anime – especially for girls who want to be the hero – this kind of thing can’t be beat.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4, but it’s all creepy
LoserFanBoy – 1

Overall – 7

My favorite disk so far, as Eagle loses it after Lantis confronts him. ^_^





Black Rock Shooter Anime ( ブラック★ロックシューター )

March 3rd, 2012

You know what you probably shouldn’t do? Watch 3 episodes of the Black Rock Shooter ( ブラック★ロックシューター ) anime in a row. Phew, that was depressing!

The short description of the Black Rock Shooter anime is that it is an extended version of the Black Rock Shooter OVA, with extended cast, as well.

Middle schooler Mato befriends the slightly aloof and obviously alienated Yomi, only to learn that Yomi is bound by guilt and manipulation to another girl, Kagari. Mato refuses to take no for an answer, and is able to befriend Yomi, despite all attempts to keep them apart.

In the game world that reflects their inner lives, Black Rock Shooter (Mato’s avatar) is able to free Dead Master (Yomi) by defeating Chariot (Kagari.) But their happiness is short-lived. Saya, an adult who is meant to be counseling the students in their school, is not-at-all-subtly manipulating them….and causing a great deal of emotional damage as she does. We don’t yet know why, but we can see that she knows perfectly well what she is doing.

The game world reflects the real world in that Black Rock Shooter continues to attempt to free Dead Master from her chains and her misery. Now that Chariot is gone, although Kagari is not, it appears that Black Gold Saw (who is clearly going to be Kohata, Mato’s sempai on the basketball team) and Strength (Mato’s childhood friend Yu, because duh~) will continue to oppose Black Rock Shooter in the game world.

Update: March 4, after watching episode 5. Kohata was no more than a minion. So, I agree that Saya is BGS, but I’m still holding on to Yu for Strength.

If you liked Madoka‘s “real” world/alternate world concept, you’ll find Black Rock Shooter a comfortable fit. The game world is an almost Jungian shared consciousness, where the rules are known, but not inviolable. The problem here of course is Saya. She’s pulling the strings for maximum angst and, as of yet, we don’t know why.

If I were to find a single complaint, it’s that the animation of the both “real” world and game world are not as high quality as I hoped, but I’m inclined to think that that is Nico Nico Douga’s fault, not the anime and that in Blu-Ray, the game scenes would be nausea-inducingly crisp. The subtitles are fine enough that if there are issues, I can’t think of any right now, so I’m inclined to say they are fine.

In the fine tradition of Nadesico characters from Shiroi Heya no Futari‘s Simone on, Yomi/Dead Master desperately needs rescuing – from herself, mostly. I’m content to wait it out and see if Mato/Black Rock Shooter can do it…and how.

Ratings:

Art – 6, but I bet when I see it in high def, that bumps up
Story – 7 ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH, so annoying……
Characters – 7
Yuri – 2, but all Yuri Goggles at the moment
Service – You know, it worries me that there’s someone out there who actually enjoys the idea of the emotional torture of 2-dimensional characters for itself

Overall – 7

Good, but oh god, Episode 4 was depressing…..