Tag Archives: anime review

Anime Review: The Vision of Escaflowne

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High school student Hitomi is transported from Earth to the magical world of Gaea, where she meets boy prince Van Fanel, and is caught up in his quest to unite the countries of Gaea against the ominous Zaibach empire. On the way, she discovers a hidden ability and strives to unravel layers of mystery surrounding Van, his past, and the giant machine known as Escaflowne.

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When you take an idea that by itself is nothing new in the medium of entertainment it can be challenge to build on that idea in a way to make a quality show and not just be run of the mill. While the basic premise of Escaflowne a high school girl being sent to another world is not new by any stretch of the imagination, it does show that by putting in the effort to develop on the basic idea and adding in some different genre concepts without doing it half assed you can have an excellent series that is enjoyable to watch.

So what makes Escaflowne so enjoyable? Well there are lots of things that make Escaflowne as enjoyable as a series. The first one is the cast of the series. These are not just two dimensional stock characters that have standard motives, no the cast members feel like real people and by the end of the series you can feel for all of them. The show does give off the “these are going to be standard characters” vibe early on but with some very strong character development through the series but the end they characters become more than they are when we first meet them. The one aspect of the character development that needs to be mentioned is the strength of the female characters in the show. Instead of just existing to provide fanservice for the viewers or just be stuck to stereotypical roles the females characters are in fact quite strong as characters. In fact I am going to go out in a limb here and say that the fact that we have a strong female lead character and the few females supporting characters are also so strong is that if the writer of the show made these females weak, the whole show itself would have been ruined completely by this.

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Choose my next review

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Okay readers I have a few ideas for what I want to review next, but I cannot make up my mind at all. So I decided it is time again for you guys to pick what I should review next. Below are the choices for stuff I would like to review. I have done this numerous times before but I am making a slight change with this. Along with the choices below I am also going to include an area for write in answer there. This is not going to be a free choice to put anything down there are a few rules with this. First it cannot be a show that I have already reviewed. Two, no rare OOP titles (I do not have that kind of money to track down those titles). Third, streaming titles are allowed HOWEVER they must be shows that appear on a legal streaming site (TAN, CR, Hulu, Funimation, Crackle, etc). Fourth, no super long shows*.  If you want to make a suggestion for what I should watch next you can either put the answer in the choice other or you can add it to the comments section of this post in a format similar to this:

Show: XYZ, it is currently streaming on DEF.

*Disclaimer: I do have the right to reject the majority vote if there is no realistic way for me to review the title in question (for example the sequel to a show that I have no watched, or something that would take too long for me to review like One Piece or Naruto)

The poll will run for one week starting tonight and will end May 19th at 6:00 PM EST.

Update: So it is a little late for the update but the polls are closed.  Since it was a tie between Blue Drop and Escaflowne I will review both titles.

Anime Review: Listen to me Girls, I am Your Father episode 7-12

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Review:

Did you enjoy the bits of drama that were given in the first half of this series? If you did and wanted more drama then your prayers have been answered with the second half of this series. The drama dial has been turned up in this half of the series and in turn as a result this is where this show shines its brightest. These last six episodes are the strongest the series has to offer and with all that goes on in these episodes it is not hard to see why they are the strongest.

These six episodes which can be split into three separate arcs do several things, one is starts to take the show away from the light heart moments along with the otaku targeting aspects and gives the show a more realistic touch. Second and possibly the most important aspect is that we get some good old fashion character development for most of the main cast members.

The strongest episodes are easily seven and eight, along with eleven and twelve. These four episodes are hit with the drama hammer the hardest compared to episode nine and ten which while still have their share of drama serve more as a character focused episodes. These two episodes while they are not bad at all do not quite have the punch as the episodes before and the episodes after it.

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Review: Listen to Me Girls, I am your father episodes 1-6

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College student Yūta Segawa is suddenly given custody of his older sister’s three daughters, aged 14, 10, and 3. They’re now stuck living together in a 10 square meter apartment. Meanwhile Raika, the object of his affection, has a fondness of cuteness, and his unexpected arrivals may finally offer an opportunity for them to get together.

Review:

The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” would be best used to describe the first six episodes of Listen to Me Girls, I am your Father! The picture used in this review would probably give you the impression that this show was full of lolis (okay so two of the girls are lolis), fanservice hijinks, and some good old otaku pandering. In a shocking sense this is not completely true here with episodes 1 thru 6.

What we get here in the first six episodes is focusing on the plot instead of just going head first with otaku jokes and fun sight gags. The big focus on these episodes is going from the world the girls and the Yῡta live in normally to this brand new world that they suddenly forced into. This is where the series has its biggest strength. While the show could have easily taken the route is focus solely on the hardcore fanbase the show decides to bit a both here and it works would well here. The show features aspects that will please those who enjoy hardcore otaku elements (lolis, moe) in their shows and those that want more focus on plot and less on otaku subjects.

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Anime review: Redline

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“The race of your life” 

Redline: the biggest and most deadly racing tournament in the universe. Only held once every five years, everyone wants to stake their claim to fame – including JP, a reckless daredevil driver oblivious to speed limits with his ultra-customized car. Meanwhile, organized crime and militaristic governments want to leverage the race to their own ends. Amongst the other elite rival drivers in the tournament, JP falls for the alluring Sonoshee – but will she prove his undoing, or can a high-speed romance survive a mass destruction race?

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Plot:

As of a fan of auto racing (it is right up there with anime and video games for me) watching Redline is a no brainer.  It is no surprise to hear that it got a lot of praise all over the internet.  So is the show worth all of the hype it gets, or does it just blow up on the starting line?  The short answer to this question is yes it is worth all the hype it gets.  Of course, the short answer is not going to work here so let me get to the longer reason why this is awesome.

What makes Redline so great is that has such broad range appeal to all types of anime fans.  From the hardest of hardcore, to the newest fans just getting into anime there is something for just about every type of fan to like in Redline.  Even those not into anime would be able to enjoy what Redline brings to the table.  There is no otaku pandering, no “check list” material, and no meta references that you have to be some super anime fan to understand.  It is just over the top excitement when the racing happens and it would not be as enjoyable any other way.

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