Love Live School Idol Project Season One Review

Season 2 Review

I never thought I would watch this anime. However, I can say that pretty much too any show I watch on a whim. Really if you follow a reviewer you can find out shows that they like. Do the shows the like effect what reviews they put out? I would like to say no, considering my top ten is nothing but shows that I am clearly bias for and know they have a lot of flaws. Still, when you find out a show that someone likes and watch it just to see what the show is like, it can be a wonderful thing. I think that is just one thing reviewers can do unintentionally, they do not have to review the show, just say they like it and that can be good enough. At the same time you cannot since it would put reviewers out of a job. But anyway, without further distraction and back story here is the Love Live review.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Review

This was not on my “to watch list” and the manga was not on my “to read list” any time soon. After seeing countless reviewers and other anime fans bring this up in some way or another. Some did not like it, with a majority rather enjoyed it. So I took a different approach to a show that has already been out and read the manga, which I really enjoyed. After reading and enjoy the manga chapters, which was well over a hundred and it only took about two days to read, I would think that the anime would be just as enjoyable as the manga. Well, was I right?

 

The Plot:

            The story begins as a young boy, Aladdin is traveling on his way. One day he runs into a young man named Alibaba. The two become quick friends and after an occasional mishap they need to whip the debt clean in order to avoid enslavement. To do this they dive into a dungeon, where it is then revealed that Aladdin is a Magi, a person who is meant to train great kings. Their adventures are it if they are together or apart. The story follows there adventures as they soon discover that there is much more going on as well.

 

The Characters:

Aladdin:  Is the Magi, although very young, he is very powerful when it comes to controlling Magoi and magic. Magoi is one thing that exists in everybody. Magi can control it within themselves and others. He is the youngest out of the main characters. At the start of the season he is ten years old, but by the end is around eleven.

 

Alibaba Saluja: He is Aladdin’s friend and King Candidate, the person that Magi train to be great kings. He alsoalready has royal status as the Third Prince of Balbadd Kingdom.  His djinn, is Amon a fire djinn, which he can then create a black sword of fire.

 

 

Morgiana: She was a former slave that Aladdin and Alibaba saved. She is of the Finalis Tribe of the Dark Continent (finalis has several different spellings and is different depending on the source for the name). Being of that tribe her hair and eyes are red (at least in the manga, the anime they are lighter and more pinkish) as well as being very strong compared to most people, this is more in the legs. She starts out a little quite, but when she is needed she can be very demanding and kind at times. She is very grateful to Aladdin and Alibaba for rescuing her and constantly wants to prove her worth to them.

 

Hakuryuu Ren: For starters although he arrives in the final quarter of the season, he is a main character later on in the series since his appearance. He is another King Candidate for Aladdin and is part of the Kou Empire. He has the djinn Zagan, which can heal wounds.

 

Everything Else:

            As I mentioned I read the manga for the series before actually watching it. I have only done this for a few series however this is for one that already aired, so it is a first. All the other times the anime was announced or before the anime was even announced. Going in I knew what was going to happen and knew what would happen at this point. At times when they made small changes it made things interesting. These were small and the reason they were not in the manga at the time was due to the knowledge not being known or the creator had not created it yet. This stuff would only be known if you read the manga beforehand, and in no way effects the series as a whole. At the same time there was the event that lead to the dungeon capturing at the end of the season the reason for going was a lot different compared to the manga, this was to give a way to cover the two arcs so the story would not remain unfinished if it was not to get another season as well as make it more of a grand scale battle like, instead of what it really was in the manga.

The music is one thing that I enjoy the background music is what I am trying to say. It is nice to get something different each time, unlike some series where it is just the opening or the same tune over and over. This is different with the music changing each time. There are not many series that I can remember when thinking about the background music at times, some are easily noticeable, while others you need to focus on to tell if there is a difference.

 

Good and Bad Points:

+ Sinbad’s first appearance was done well in the anime and stuck to how it was portrayed in the manga

– The Balbadd Arc is very long and can get boring

+ The Balbadd Arc introduces a lot of key information and characters

+ How magic is explained is different compared to most fantasy series in general

? Sinbad can steal the show sometimes (not really sure if that is a good or bad thing)

+ Jadar is a good foil to Aladdin

+ The characters age, six months passed before Balbadd arc and then six month passed after Balbadd arc

 

Final Score: 90/100

This is under the fantasy series, and this score was taken from the fact that the Blabadd arc although long, and at times a little boring, it did introduce a lot into the story that makes up for it. If you like fantasy based series and have not checked this series out, then give the first few episodes a try.

 

The series is licensed by Aniplex of America. It is free to streamed sub on Crunchyroll and dub on Hulu. I will be doing the second season for review sometime next month, as I finished reading the manga that the second season covers.

Ginatama Episodes 1-49 Review

Well, to put it simply enough I heard the news about it getting more episodes this April. At the same time I also heard that the first thirty or so episodes are fairly weak for the rest of the series. Since I started watching the series it only took my four days to watch the first fifty episodes, and I have not watched a series this fast before in a long time. I think it would be good to do a review, which might end up saying screw being a review since it might be bias, but I do not know until I am done. Also I would like to note that I will not do a review for the remainder of the series, maybe a discussion what I thought about it. Also on an unrelated note this will be graded similar to that of my last review in being a comedy and graded based off of that the most.

 

The Plot:

Before the series began aliens (also known as Amanto) came to the land and war struck out. With the aliens  power greatly over powering the samurai, Edo surrendered. The aliens then put out a sword ban. Now twenty years later, people live alongside the aliens. Gintoki a samurai when samurais are no longer needed does odd jobs and helps people in need.

 

The Characters:

 

Gintoki Sakata- the silver haired samurai and main protagonist of the series. He is lazy, and does nothing more than wants to read his Jump magazine, despite constantly questioning himself on the fact he is too old to read it. He is the head of the Odd Jobs.

Shinpachi Shimura- another main protagonist and is a teenager, who joins Gintoki as he sees him having the spirit of the samurai. His father was once a samurai and had a family dojo, which he and his older sister are trying to keep. He is also the straight man of this series, in other words the serious one.

 

Kagura- the female protagonist, although she looks human she belongs to the Yato Clan,   one of the strongest and more feared of the Amanto races. Although she is younger then Shinpachi, that does not really have anything to do with her amazing strength. Since she is of the Yato Clan she is weak to sunlight and carries an umbrella around at all times.

 

Sadaharu- sort of like the mascot for the series and is a large dog, well inugami which is a dog god. He is treated as a pet to the team. In the early episodes he has a tendency to bite the characters, although the habit disappears over time. In one episode when they can understand what he says, he has different feelings for each one of the characters.

 

Everything else:

This series, for starters is a long one. So before I recommend watching it, since I am going to at the end, if you do not have time to watch a series that is a little over 250 episodes, then do not watch it. Personally I was on vacation from school and could marathon 12 or more episodes a day.

This series, as what I have seen from fans, that the first 30 episodes are weak and the least funny of the series as a whole. Personally I was enjoying the series in the first 30 episodes and now that I am well into the 60 plus range I can see that they are the weakest. It does get a lot better, it is a subtle change, but once you notice it you notice it.

This series is self-contained, and really a lot of episodes could be skipped, but not all. There are occasional story arcs, which can really change it up from time to time. Compared to most long running shonen series, this one is clearly different from the rest.

 

Good and Bad Points:

– The first 30 episodes are a little weak compared the rest that season

+ The following 19 episodes really step it up in terms of comedy and development that partially make it up

+ Not all comedies can last long before going stale, this series I see not going stale any time soon and I will more than likely watch the series.

+ This gets a lot funnier over time.

+ Getting away with the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon joke on a shonen series that runs during the day time.

–  Some jokes in the earlier half can be hit and miss, more than likely this is because it does not translate well.

+ Hard to tell between filler and actual episodes, since both are equally funny. They could pull off a lot of filler if they wanted to, just not too much before it gets stale.

 

Score:

85/100 This is rated as a comedy series, and the score is mostly determined because of the first 30 episodes being weak compared to the rest.

 

As I said if you have the time, then watch the series. If you enjoy the first thirty episodes then I suggest keep watching, but if not then you will probably not like the rest. The series is only available in sub with no English dub out there, except for the movie oddly. It is available to watch on both Cruchyroll in its entirety as well as Hulu.

 

Reviews Grading System

Basic Rule

This was a long time coming, as in just two reviews. Any I wanted to make it clear for how I will be grading the reviews. For starters I look at the genre of it that plays a major role. For example, harems that have a lot of clichés would get minus points or comedies that have several episodes that are not that funny or are just not funny in general. It is things like that decide the grade. So a magical girl series would be graded differently from a harem series or a music series. So, besides the genre, and I mean the main genre that is apparent in the episodes the most. Date A Live had the harem genre. While When Super Natural Battles Became Commonplace was rated in comedy despite being in the harem genre, comedy was more relevant.

 

The Grade

This is just a basic number system, so the lowest medium and middle are known Anything in the middle of those will more than likely be seen a lot.

 

0/100 = Do not watch, just hope to forget it. (I doubt this will ever happen)

 

50/100 = Average, I would not recommend, but I might recommend

 

100/100 = Perfect (Again I doubt this will ever happen, with one exception)

 

Bonus Points and Minus Points

+ Living up to expectation

+ Worth the Hype to begin with

+ Different compared to most in that genre

+ Was a lot better then you originally thought it would

–  Did not live up to expectation

– Did not live up to Hype to begin with

– Generic and has a lot of clichés

– Seen it before countless times

– Was not worth the time in some cases

– The final episode ended on a cliffhanger and there is no word for a second season

I am sure there are more, but again this is just a basic.

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace Review

 

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace or sometimes known as Inou Battle Within Everyday Life is one of the shows that you would expect one thing at first glance, but get a lot more then what you originally looked for at a second glance.

To me, I never viewed super heroes and anime to go well together, I have not heard much about Tiger and Bunny. Although I am a huge fan of Marvel, I have not seen any of the anime, although I heard they were not the greatest. Then there is Samurai Flamenco, which personally just got worse and worse despite its excellent start. So, when I heard about When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace I was skeptical since it had the superhero aspect and also my weakness with it being a romantic comedy, I wanted to give it a shot, and it was worth it.

 

The Plot

For starters When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace is more of a slice of life series as well. The story focuses on Jurai Ando and the other Literature Club members as the one day discovered that they all somehow obtained superpowers and come to deal with those powers on a regular basis. Each character has their own fascinating ability that makes them unique, and each one has problems that they deal with as well. Throughout the twelve episodes it focuses on the group as well as individual characters on an episode to episode basis.

 

Characters:

Jurai Ando – He is the main character, and is known through the series to have eight grade syndrome, although what the syndrome is can be a little hard to explain, one who has seen Love Chunibyo and Other Delusions can get the idea how he can act at times. He is not just known for that. He is the one that gives all the characters names for their powers in English, including his own, Dark and Dark. His powers is a cold and useless black flame. (Male in the Background in picture above)

 

Tomoyo Kanzaki – She is one of the members of the club, who wants to be a light novel writer. Much like the other girls of the series, she develops feelings for Ando over time. Her powers are known as Closed Clock, where she can speed up, slow down, and stop time, although she has been known to use stop time the most. (She is the girl with red hair)

 

Hatoko Kushikawa – Again, another member of the club. She has been friends with Ando since childhood. Despite her air-headed-ness, she is a very caring member of the group. To put it simply enough like her and all the other girls, she likes Ando. Her powers are known as Over Element, in which she can control earth, water, fire, wind, and light. (silver haired girl with sweater)

 

Sayumi Takanashi – She is the Literature Club’s president.  At times she is seen to be very lady like and intelligent as well. Her powers are Root of Origin, where she can restore things to their original state, or return objects where they once were. (Black haired girl top right)

 

Chifuyu Himeki – She is a fourth grader, and the adviser of the club’s niece. Despite this she is still a member of the club member. Her powers are known as World Create, which she can basically create anything, space, matter, and stuff like that. (girl holding a squirrel)

 

Everything Else

 

When going into this series one would expect it is just another romcom or normal comedy. Yes, at times it can feel that way. The jokes are different from the norm as well at time and at other times it is just not that simple. This series does have its flaws here and there in the twelve episodes. One is episode eight, mostly because it is nothing but plot in a series that can sometimes feel like it has no plot. At the same time that episode sets up a lot for the series, including the finally. The twelve episodes play well when it comes to developing the characters, with each having a fair share of screen time. This was a series when I first started back in October not knowing what to expect. It was well worth watching it to the end and would easily be in the top ten series that aired this year, which is something I do not throw out lightly.

 

Overall Score 95/100 and a recommendation to watch.

 

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace is available to watch on Cruchyroll. For other series that are similar in a sense, Love Chunibyo and Other Delusions or another series that at first glance did not not look as good as it originally was Outbreak Company. Just because it relates to super powers is my story’s rough draft http://904thehero1.deviantart.com/gallery/45757562/Hero-Team-In-Training the final draft is on wattpad, which you have to be a member to see it, so yeah those are both things.

This is my second review, so I think I am going to stick with something like this in terms of future reviews. If there are any series anyone would recommend comments are always welcome.

 

Date A Live Review

           

 I have been into anime for almost three years now. During this time I have seen well over two hundred different series. So, I thought it might be time to start doing anime reviews. I have read the occasional review, and seeing I am currently a Professional Writing major, something like this I know I would enjoy. I get to combine two of my favorite things, so, with this first review, I decided to focus more on a series that does not have a lot of episodes, and one that I have already seen several times. The thought occurred to me to do at least my first few reviews on some of my favorite anime series. Fairy Tail, I concluded was just too long with over 200 episodes and counting, if anything I might do an arc based review once the current arc is over. A Certain Magical Index, although I have seen it sub and in dub, across both current seasons (since I am still one of those people hoping for season 3) there are 48 episodes. Since the last time I saw it was well over a year ago, I decided that too was not good. Without further ado, my first review will be on Date A Live the current 22 episode series.

            Since this is my first review, I wanted to do something I am familiar with so I can work out everything to make better reviews with other series. Now, I will be discussing Season One Sub and Dub in two different sections. Season Two will also get its own area. I will not cover the OVA from season one, and at the time of writing this Season Two’s OVA has yet to be released as well as the film.

             Date A Live, like most series has several categories it falls into. It is an anime that falls into the, Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy, Action, Harem (Wikipedia also mentions Magical Girl, which is kind of true as well, but the previously mentioned are the main) genre. If you like anything in those categories, you will be rather surprised with what this show could give you.

 

Season One Summary:

The first episode begins with a very brief summary of what happen thirty years ago when a spatial quake occurred. Now a spatial quake or sometimes spacequake depending, has an unknown origin and can occur at random times and can destroy anything in its way. Now skipping ahead thirty years, it has become apparent that spaceqakes have been only just started to appear again.

Then it introduces that main protagonist Shido Itsuka. As the first episode progresses, Shido asks his little sister Kotori, on what she wants to do to celebrate her birthday. This well, turns deadly later in the day during school when the spacequake alarm goes off and well, he discovers where she is. Out to go to save his sister he discovers the truth about Spacequakes, being caused by spirits. The first of many that he meets is Tohka Yatogami. Shido then wants to save her only to discover to do that she must fall for him to seal their powers,

Now, that is how it begins. The first season covers the Light Novel that it is based off of first 4 volumes. Episode 6 is a filler anime only episode, so that is about it.  In each arc it introduces a new Spirit that Shido must save, seeing he somehow has the power to seal their immense power. It is explained later, or at least theorized later, on how he has this ability. Now, since I do not want to drag on for all the detail going into what each episode is about.

 

Season 2:

Season Two, like how most arcs in Date A Live are, takes place about a month later after the events of season one for this new arc. The opening episode is primarily used as a way to reintroduce the characters and really anything about the series as well as open up a few secrets as well. If one were to rewatch it, they could easily catch the name being dropped of the second Spirit that is introduced in episode 5, but it is a very short second.

This season is a lot different from the first; it is only ten episodes and covers volumes 5 to 7. In season one, he dates them, some problem, saves the day, granted in the third story arc it does not happen, but if you watch or see the show you will know what happens. Season two is different. It gets rid of that. The first half is not one, but two spirits, which are one in the same. They are a little over competitive and well luck would have it target Shido to be the deciding factor on who wins. The two set out to conquer his heart. So, it is reversed, which is a nice change of pace. Then the second part happens. Let’s just say the other spirit this season is not into boys and with Shido being a boy, well it defiantly takes a different turn. I will not reveal what the last few episodes covers, since it is major spoilers, but it takes a much darker turn then one would think, especially compared to some of the lighter parts of the series.

 

 

The Characters: (I am only going to cover two, seeing that there is a lot to say about them)

Shido Itsuka:  He is the, well I guess at first seemingly average male harem lead that is at first glance, but although as the season and series for that matter progresses, unlike ninety present of the male leads in this genre, he is becomes a very strong character and is more focused on saving the people, rather than deciding or just is a natural perv like the other ninety percent, such as the main character in High School DXD and Rosario + Vampire (never mind about those series, especially my problems with the Rosario anime ruining the manga). He really changes a lot as the series progresses. At first he felt more dragged into it not wanting to see anyone get hurt. Come season two, well he is into the swing of things, and despite being put into awkward situations, he still is reliable, and willing to risk anything in order to keep the promises that he made.

 

Tohka Yatogami: She is the first spirit Shido meets. Well, where the other Spirits come and go, and make minor appearances in each arc or episode. She is the one guaranteed to be in each episode, although there is one other, but to avoid spoilers she will not be mentioned. At first she is rather cold, but once she warms up she is a very friendly person, this is after her powers are sealed. She is the one of two characters that is always caring about Shido, she even explains to him in season two how to use her weapon so if the problem ever arises she know he could be alright. She always knows Shido will be there for her, and is one of the driving forces that pushes and helps him save the other spirits.

 

 

Sub and Dub:

The overall quality for both, well, I saw sub about 3 times now and dub once. Personally the longer I watch anime I am leaning towards sub, just because 90 percent of what I watch just came out today, literally. Most people I have read in comments for the dub, well did not like the choice in some of the people. Personally I had that opinion too, that was until I watched it.  This is more for Tohka’s voice then anything. I am glad Funimation got away from their usual people, because it turned out a lot better than having the same people always. Although I am not one hundred percent sure when it comes to the voice actress for Tohka, this person has not done many roles before, about ten maybe. The voice takes time to get used to, that is if you saw the sub before. If you watch the dub, well then the voice will not seem weird. I am rather content with the voice cast for the English version, and I think some over others fit rather nicely.

 

Everything else:

Well that art is good, I love the faces that can be made sometimes when it comes to Shido, it looks how I would feel if I was in that situation. The theme is still in my head. What surprises me that season one has four different ending themes. I view that rather uncommon for a series that is only twelve episodes. The only other time I can think of that happening is in Riddle Story of the Devil. So the ending themes are fairly solid across both seasons.

Before I get to the final part. One thing that I really like about Date A Live, is how surprisingly little fan service there is compared to most series now a days in the harem genre. After episode 1, there is not that much and only shows itself at random points. Episode 6 and the OVA, are pretty much all fan service, episode 6 being anime only and OVA having no effect on the actual plot. Even then, a lot of the jokes and generic archetypes that would typically be found in this genre are very little, and very little at that. That is one of the main reasons why I enjoy it. It does not try to set itself in the same jokes that most anime in this genre do, or most anime do in general, and the characters are always changing to and actually have some character development, this is mostly in the main four characters, Shido, Tohka, Kotori, and Origami. Also, there is an over arcing mystery on what is going on that builds up more and more as the show progresses, which is also rare in this genre, normally everything is self-contained and nothing gets done some of the time and after a story arc ends things tend to reset, which is not the case here.

 

Final Judgment:

I am taking out the fact that I have put emotional value into this series, such as crying at the same thing each time, no matter how much I tell myself it is happening, or the jokes I always seem to laugh at. Anyway, since this is a harem genre focused at times I will judge it based on that, and based off other series as well that are in other genres. For being different, and really standing out compared to others as well as really not feeling at times like it is part of the harem genre, I give bonus points. In terms of plot at times it is alright, it changes it up each arc which is interesting. The story itself at times can get a little repetitive in terms of events that happen, in season one.

It is different compared to most series that I have seen in this genre, it does not have the same jokes, or character types (some of the time), which are a major boost for the series. They also set focus more on just a small group of characters out of the mainly female cast. So, a lot of what would normally be found in the harem genre would not be found here. I am not saying Date A Live is the next master piece and recommend you to buy it. It is good to check out if you tend to watch shows in this genre and want something different, so you are not always dealing with the same character different name or the same joke you saw in the last five shows. If you are unsure, just watch the first three episodes and judge for yourself.

Overall Score: 80/100

 

One series that I always seem to think about that is similar, in a very minor way. The World God Only Knows, if you liked Date A Live, and have not seen that show, maybe check it out.

 

Currently Date A Live licensed by Funimation is available for streaming for free legally (although I am uncertain about the dub seeing I bought the DVD, the OVAs are not available online legally) on both Funimation and Hulu.