Archive for the English Anime Category


Yuri Anime: Yuru Yuri Guest Review by C. Banana (English)

September 30th, 2011

One of the great joys for me as curator here at Okazu, is when our readers escalate into advocates and reviewers in their own right. It’s been my pleasure on multiple occasions to present to you reviews by readers who have decided to commit themselves to a higher level of engagement. Today’s Guest Review is especially wonderful, as it was written by long-time Okazu reader and commenter, C. Banana, someone whose views rarely match mine, but whose perspective I appreciate.  CB is writing about Yuru Yuri, a slice-of-life anime available legally and for free on Crunchyroll. As the first “Yuri” anime from Ichijinsha (publisher of Comic Yuri Hime magazine) this is a significant anime for Yuri fans. The story is a very understated “wacky adventures of four girls goofing off.”  As this was a series I myself did not enjoy, CB offered to step up and write a review for us.

Please welcome our newest Guest Reviewer with all the warmth I expect from the Okazu audience!

Ah, the Yuru Yuri anime series. By my own anecdotal evidence, this would seem to be the most polarizing series among Yuri fans. Considering that it seems to have beaten the polarization of Kannazuki no Miko, it’s quite an accomplishment. I seem to fit in between those who adore and those who despise the series as Yuru Yuri’s episodes for me, ranged between mediocre, alright, and pretty decent. I really didn’t have that strong a reaction to any of the episodes. The fanservice, while not something, I would seek out really didn’t bother me.

One good quality of Yuru Yuri is that while it is definitely in the moé slice-of-life comedy genre, it does mix it up enough to not feel like a rehash of others. In some episodes, it follows more of sitcom formula than a slice-of-life formula, and its wacky hijinks are played up more than in most other shows of the same ilk. Another thing is that some of the characters were allowed to have traits that escaped from moé templates. Also, while not as self-aware as their manga counterparts, the cast is certainly more self-aware than the characters of other moé series. Of course, for better or worse there’s also the fact that the Yuri fanservice is up a couple of notches compared to something like K-ON! or A-Channel.

The Yuri, as a whole in the series, is actually a notch higher than it was in the manga. More effort is put into the characters being portrayed as having genuine crushes rather than it being just some random Yuri gags. However, the sparse development in any of the relationships will definitely turn many Yuri fans off of the show. Himawari and Sakurako in particular would benefit from some character and relationship development rather than being stuck in their double tsundere gag.

Kyouko definitely steals the show for me. She got the most laughs with her suitably punchy and absurd theatrics. A lot of the time, you’ll be wondering why the other characters are friends with her since she’s really a big jerk (but admittedly that’s part of the joke). Kyouko’s character does underline the fact that the show places wacky hijinks as its highest priority. However, the humour taken overall can be a bit hit and miss. It’s not briskly paced enough to be a laugh riot and sometimes relies a bit too much on slapstick.

Overall, while the show has some good qualities going for it, it would need better comedic pacing and/or character development to get closer to being one of my favourite shows. The show definitely leaves itself open for having iterative seasons so if the show is reasonably successful, I’ll likely sign on to the next season to see if show builds on itself or stagnates. From my point of view, it could go either way.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 8

Overall – 7

Erica here. Thank you so much for the review of a series I wish I could like, but have never been able to. The superficiality of the comic doesn’t stand up to too much analysis, and any anime that included underwear gags in the first 10 minutes has already lost my attention. It is obvious that Ichijinsha is putting money and effort into promoting this series which both pleases and distresses me. I’m not seeing polarization in the fandom here, though. Mostly I’m seeing the same kind of ambiguous “it’s okay” that this review expresses. I’m in a minority (as always!) in feeling very negatively towards it.

Nonetheless, we should acknowledge that Crunchyroll did as decent a job as I’ve seen on the localization, and they have made it available as widely as they were allowed, so each of us can decide for ourselves what we think of it.

Once more, thank you to C. Banana and to all of our Okazu Guest Reviewers!





K-On! Anime, Volume 3 (English)

September 25th, 2011

(I apparently never watched or reviewed Volume 2 of this series. Woops. I’ll do that asap.)

Summer has arrived for the girls in K-ON!, Volume 3 and, with the arrival of new recruit Azusa, they get to relive all the same moments of their first summer together over again!

And then there’s wacky old Yui, who still knows nothing at all about her guitar. Hee Hee. And let’s never stop mentioning Mio’s underwear, shall we?

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the band goofing off, not practicing, playing ball on the beach, etc,etc, but storywise, you have to admit, it does look a lot like the same episodes over again at this point. The big difference is this time they get a band name at the end of it.

Once again, I did not watching the dub, as I never do, nor did I listen to the interview with Ritsu’s dub actress. I did watch the English dub version of “My Love is A Stapler,” which my wife and I both thought sounded like a high school girl singing a song, so A for verisimilitude, but C on sounding good.

The thing is, the characters hit me in the right places and regardless of how utterly stupid, repetitive, superficial or banal this series is, I’m going to love it. There is no objectivity in me. ^_^

By now you either like the series, or not. If you’re waiting for me to convince you, I got nothing. This series is a feel-good piece of fluff and not a deep philosphical look at the meaning of life. Or, it’s a deep philosophical look at the meaning of life and I don’t care.

Of this series I said once that it is, like Mugi’s treats, refreshment not nutrition. I stand by that. As a day-at-the-beach-with-cotton-candy-and-fireworks of an anime, it just hits the spot every once in a while. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – Seriously? It’s moe. The backgrounds are rendered with loving care and the characters are blob-faced. 5
Story – Either you like this kind of comedic hyper-realism or you don’t. This time, I like it – 7
Characters- Separately, they are all kind of annoying. As a team, they work for me – 8
Yuri – 0, see below
Service – 98%, because Mio’s underwear! and Yui hugging Azusa obviously means they have bodily-fluid filled sex, duh.

Overall – 8

Many, many thanks to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for sponsoring today’s review and making me whistle “Don’t Say Lazy” all day. ^_^





Sound of the Sky Anime, Disk 4 (English)

September 5th, 2011

Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuurrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh.

My deepest apologies to sponsor Okazu Superhero Eric P., and all of you who loved it, but repeated administrations of horrible obvious plot complications and utterly idiotic strategy and tactics cannot be swept away by repeated applications of “Amazing Grace.” This series was just absolutely, predictably, pandering and awful, IMHO. I know that so many of you liked it, but I just could not. Too many handwaves, way too many.

I did admire the writers desperately trying to make it make sense at the end, with Aisha’s version of the story about the Flame Maidens and I also thought that the voice actresses did a stellar job of speaking German cutely.

Ratings:

Art – Backgrounds – 9
Story – Auuughhhhhh!
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1 +1 for the obvious Noel x Aisha setup
Service – 5/5 split 5 for the actual creepy pervs and 5 for the sweet/cute obsessives

Overall – Stab, stab, stab

The Sound of the Sky boxset contest will go on a little longer, let’s say until the 20th of September, so check out the rules and send in your entry if you haven’t already!





Sound of the Sky Anime, Disk 3 (English)

August 29th, 2011

On the third disk of the Sound of the Sky box set we get short glimpses into several of the characters’ pasts, and a heap more through random expository scenes.

Filicia’s tragic past, ominous hints of Rio’s secret, Kureha’s history, even Claus’ past, all of these are laid out like cards in an attempt to draw us in deeper to the story and make us care about the characters. And it might have worked too, except…

…I have never watched an anime so bound and determined to make me dislike it.

There’s one deep episode, where we actually get some exposition of the war…followed by two episodes so utterly idiotic that there is no excuse for them, followed by a cliche’-ridden piece of tripe that anyone over 15 years old should be ashamed to have written.

Once again, I am being beaten with the fear so many anime studios have of *telling us an actual story.* It’s as if they cannot, will not and obviously do not feel comfortable with a female cast in a serious drama, and must relentlessly infantilize them so we can never, not for one second, take them seriously. I’m almost relieved at the egregious panty shots, because for a moment there I thought we were going to get some character development and obviously don’t want to get my hopes too high. Phew.

Yet again, we are confronted with the emotional manipulation of  “Amazing Grace.” Episode 9 of 12 and that and a few basic bugle calls are all we’ve heard, with the exception of Rio playing some extemporaneous jazz as a way of acting out.

I know that many of you enjoy this series and I swear, I’m trying to like it…but I’m finding it work to just *watch* it, much less enjoy it.

Three episodes to “get better.” It’s not impossible. As I said, I didn’t like the original Nanoha until episode 10, but what a bloody waste of talent, money and time this was. Instead of 9 amazing episodes, there was one-ish. That’s a pretty bad percentage in my book.

Ratings: When complete

I’m going to try and watch the last episodes soon, so we can wrap up the contest for a copy of the box set. Get your entry in before I write that final review!





Sound of the Sky Anime Disks 1 & 2 (English)

August 21st, 2011

As I approached the midpoint of Sound of the Sky, I conceded to myself that I am just never going to be the audience for anime like this.

I know so many of you really enjoy it – and I don’t hate it or anything. But, I cannot help thinking how it’s pretty much nothing more than a remake of Aria, with far, far worse character art.

To begin with, the story isn’t a story, as I said in my initial impressions. It’s a slice-of-life story, with a plot bunny, i.e, new girl wants to learn to play the bugle. In sports manga/anime series, we fill up the spaces of the series with the protagonist practicing and practicing until they drop, then dragging themselves upright and practicing some more.

In Aria, we spent a lot of time being driven around Neo-Venetia by the Undines-in-training as they practiced and practiced. By Episode 6 of Sound of the Sky, we have had exceedingly little practice of bugling going on. But we did have an episode where everyone dressed up like 1920s American gangsters! So, there’s the series’ priorities in a nutshell. I stand by my comment that this could have been set anywhere, at any time.

What Sound of the Sky is, is a character piece. Like K-ON!, the plot isn’t important, episode plots are the backdrop to character development. I have no doubt at all that we will learn Rio’s backstory, and Kanata will fulfill her dream to become the most awesome bugler ever, and therefore we will be filled with joy as her bugle’s song reaches the sky. But, as Episode 6, I still think that being clumsy, forgetful and clueless isn’t cute *at all” and so I really just don’t care much if she suddenly shows us awesome bugle-playing skills.

The war-torn country interests me, but we really know nothing about the war, or the people, or the countries involved. No effort has been put into world-building. That’s not a deal killer, but when once again contrasted with Aria, Sound of the Sky falls way short.

Let’s talk about why I keep comparing it with Aria. Both:

– series are about a cute, clumsy, personable girl who desires to become skilled in a specific, atypical skill.

– have settings based in a hierarchical, (but loosely run) organization.

– have the focus of each episode on, not the practice, but the people and situations encountered.

– series are targeted to male audiences, with primarily female casts.

– Felicia is Alicia. It’s really obvious that she’s meant to be.

The background art for Sound in the Sky is good, but the character art gives the phrase “moe blobs” a whole new level of meaning. This screencap isn’t even as bad as it got. There was a scene between Felicia and Rio as they stood in a hall talking in which they were both barely outlined. The fact that the background is rendered in detail makes the character art stand out as even worse than it would have with bad backgrounds. In a character-driven story like this, it seems silly to lovingly render the stairs, but barely draw in the main characters. I’m not watching this for the stairs.

All that having been said, I can see why there are fans of this series. Every character is likable, if you like that type of character. Felicia is the caring, laissez faire leader, Rio is the hypercompetent (read: slightly butchy) XO, Kureha is tsundere, Noel is the monotonal savant (I don’t know the fan-name for the type, feel free to let me know and I’ll edit this) and Kanata is the feckless genki type of protagonist otaku love so much.

I’m pretty swayed by character, usually, but these types seem assigned in a completely mercenary fashion, to fill the checklist, rather than to fulfill the needs of the story. The overwhelming feeling I get from Sound of the Sky is “story by committee” rather than a story from the heart.

Obviously, if you find moe and clueless, cheerful protagonists appealing, you’re very likely to enjoy this story. many people have told me that I won’t be disappointed at the end and others have told me I *might* not be disappointed. ^_^ I have very low expectations at the moment. Here’s why:

There is a movie from 1987 called Batteries Not Included. At the climax of the movie one of the alien robots – the very tiniest adorable little baby robot – dies. (I tried to find a video clip of this, so you could see how manipulative it was, but didn’t find one before I got bored and stopped.) The violins swell in the most manipulative music ever. The fact that the one song we’ve heard so far is Amazing Grace (which is a very beautiful and instantly manipulative composition,) means I can’t help but anticipate the end of this series will be much the same level of manipulative as Batteries Not Included. I hope, I really do, that I am completely wrong. If you want to tell me I’m wrong, feel free of course, but please do not post spoilers, thanks! ^_^

Technically, the visuals look very good on my computer screen. My TV is old and not widescreen-capable, so the visuals get cut off on the sides.) The sound is fine, I look forward to hearing music that is not trying to tug at my heart strings.

In any case, I can *completely* see why people like this series. I don’t yet, but I didn’t like Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha until episode 10, either. I’m willing to be convinced.

Ratings: After the series is completed.

Oh, hey, I forgot to talk about Yuri. Mostly because there isn’t any. Kureha has a selfish crush on Rio. That’s about it.

Again, my thanks to Okazu Superhero, Eric P. for his generosity and kindness in sponsoring this review, and here’s hoping that my final review of the series will be more glowing than this!