Category: Review

Reviews on completed shows

Review

An Imouto a Day

Obligatory myface.jpg

Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki ja Nai n da kara ne!! is… well, first of all, it’s a mouthful to say. I’m not even sure if there’s a convenient nickname or acronym for it so I guess I’ll just have to refer to it as Oniichan.

More importantly, the series is – for lack of a better word – good. I can almost guarantee that it’s better than the image you have in mind of a stereotypical siscon ecchi series with pandering characters, lighthearted dialogue, and a touch of fanservice where it counts. Of course it has all of the above, but the mangaka does a few things to keep it fresh. It’s been a while since I’ve read something so thoroughly enjoyable, even though enjoying something like this feels as awkward as enjoying a low-budget harem anime. In fact, this may well be the only comedy/ecchi manga I’ve read that’s actually funny!

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

The Desires of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Noizi Ito]

I have a strange history with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I first watched the anime series shortly after it aired, but since I had only just started venturing beyond shounen and modern sci-fi/mecha at the time, I never really understood why I liked it. I memorized the Hare Hare Yukai lyrics and proudly gave the show a 10/10, but I couldn’t really point to one specific aspect of it and say “this is why this story is a masterpiece”.

Thankfully, that problem is now solved. I recently decided to go through the first of the nine published novels, and just as I expected, the memories from four years ago came back in a flash – except this time I’m not hindered by blind fandom.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Analysis

Megatokyo’s Meta: An Examination of Wish Fulfillment

You’ve probably heard of Megatokyo – the American 4-panel webcomic that evolved into a published manga series both in the English-speaking world and in Japan. I wasn’t around for its birth and rise to fame so I can’t comment specifically on the history, but Fred Gallagher already said that the story was never expected or intended to turn into what it is today (not unlike the history of 4chan). Despite the fact that Megatokyo‘s decade-long history comes with its fair share of awkward pacing and different visual styles, it’s more or less a mandatory read for OEL manga fans and people who enjoy meta anime like Genshiken.

The interesting thing about Megatokyo is that its plot can hardly stand on its own: without any cultural awareness on the reader’s part, the story is flat-out illogical. Luckily, this also means that it provides a surprisingly engrossing experience for readers who can relate to the protagonists and their bizarre journey through the zombie hordes and love triangles of Tokyo. There’s a reason why I like Megatokyo as much as I do, a reason why it trumps all of Japan’s anime-about-anime-fans in my eyes – its secret lies in the fact that the meta concepts are woven into nearly every aspect of the plot.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

Searching for the Full Moon: Magic and Fantasy in Shoujo

Suspension of disbelief is a tricky phenomenon. It isn’t always easy to willfully suspend one’s disbelief, especially not at the whim of the writer. It’s for reasons like this that the use of fantasy elements in otherwise realistic stories can be jarring. What does it take for a work of non-fantasy fiction to use fantasy to its advantage, and where do you draw the line between acceptable plot twists and flat-out deus ex machine?

Full Moon o Sagashite is a perfect example of fantasy in manga done right. As opposed to getting in the way of the plot, the magic weaves itself into the story, working itself into the symbols and plot devices. It provides thematic structure to an otherwise simplistic tale, and it makes the presentation that much more – you guessed it – magical.

(Note: this post is on the manga version of the story, which is apparently different from anime adaptation. Read with caution.)

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

The World God Only Knows and the Art of Love

Love is War, as they say. Fighting on the battlefield of love requires not only the guts and courage of a shounen hero, but also the level-headed tactical prowess of a military commander. Keima Katsuragi is one such warrior who, having distanced himself from the frailty of human emotion, fights with his life on the line against impossible odds. Armed only with his wit and intellect, he stands proudly as a one-man army against thousands of escaped spirits from Hell who hide within human hosts and absorb their energy. His dramatic tale of love and loss is one that has won the hearts of countless fans, including my own. It comes as no surprise that he will one day become the protagonist of his own anime series.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

Plot and Pacing in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

There has always been something about the shounen genre that pushed me away from it. This is partly due to some complicated gateway experiences, but for the most part it’s thanks to the tradition itself. Quite frankly, action is not something that I would normally go for, and it would take a masterfully animated fight scene from Kara no Kyoukai for me to justify watching a show solely for the action.

While my problem with the genre is an issue of personal taste rather than an objective complaint, I’ve been consistently amazed by Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood over the past year. I’ve delayed shows like To Aru Kagaku no Railgun and Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu to make room for FMA – a series that, theoretically, shouldn’t appeal to me in the first place. After almost 50 episodes of pondering, it occurred to me that Brotherhood strikes the most important element of the shounen genre with perfect precision, and that there’s a good reason behind my ability to watch a shounen without any stylish swordfights.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.