Review: Seikon no Qwaser (聖痕のクェイサー)

Posted by ranpha on 20th December 2010
Posted in: anime review. Tagged: , . 1 comment


The main title male protagonist, one of the two best characters in this anime, fully laden with cuteness from outside. But he has a dark pastime…

The last review for this year before I hightailed my way to Christmas and New Year celebrations would be for the partially censored version of Seikon no Qwaser (read: Blu-ray version). For obvious reasons that I will state below, I intentionally waited for the Blu-ray version of this high-priority title instead of watching the OTA version. Befitting the status of this post as the last review of the year 2010, this 2010 title will then compete with the current ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title holder K-On!!


And here he is, the enemy of women, violating any ample-breasted female whenever he can. Well, actually he won't spare flat-chested ones either. And probably old ones too. As long as you are a female, STAY AWAY FROM THIS TRAP!

Story:-
The unnamed local Japanese town (doesn’t seem to be Tokyo though) was terrorized by a mysterious serial killer whose targets belong to the ‘young and nubile girls’ demographic. Our main female protagonist, who incidentally belong to the said demographic, predictably was kidnapped by the said serial killer. But just as she was being violated by her kidnapper, the main title protagonist makes his grand entrance, procured some breast milks as a power up source and starts kicking ass.

The story in this anime is not the bestest you will ever see coming out from Japan, but at least it is not that blatantly obvious unlike the previous title reviewed in this blog. In fact, for the first half of this 24-episode title, the storyline developed nicely in a fast pacing as the main male protagonist defeats more enemies that are coming for his head. But after he lost his memories after winning a particularly difficult battle, the first weakness of this title was exposed as the anime suddenly take a turn for the worse, storywise.

The first thing that happened right after the memory loss is a filler episode, taking place in a hot spring bath inn (very original) which is used as a pretext to cure the said amnesia that turned the moody main male protagonist into a girly character. As expected, the said filler episode (episode 13) doesn’t do anything worthwhile in terms of story and characters developments whatsoever. So, what is worse than a filler episode that is basically not useful at all? That would be TWO OF THEM, and that what happened here in episode 14 too. Episode 14 is even worse than the preceding episode, and focused on a side character playing superheroes while the forgetful main protagonist still prances around with his girly self. But these two filler episodes are merely the signs of what to come next.

After the two filler episodes runs their course, the storyline doesn’t go back on track to normal as you can see it in the first half. Some weird character developments, such as for the natrium user for his fight with the (now recovering) main protagonist. His (the natrium user) relationship with his student, and the ambiguous battle with the main male protagonist are some elements of the arc that happened after the filler episodes that caused the plot to become murky. I have no definite idea of what happened in that battle; whether he intentionally loses to the main male protagonist, or the main protagonist has evolved so much that he can defeat an opponent two levels above him. Or both.

But the anime recovered somewhat after that below-par arc, and the finale of this anime is very well executed. Unlike The Sacred Blacksmith, the antagonist is merely unlucky instead of being stupid. An extra episode is also dedicated to finish off the ending on a high, tying up whatever necessary loose ends that should be tied up. But the ending is also structured to accommodate a second season, which incidentally has been confirmed in the course of watching this anime. There are still more materials in the first season (mostly revealed in the second half of this anime) and also some unanswered questions, that will make the viewers pining for a new season, myself included. The final scene in the final episode is a very good teaser, because it shows an unexpected character that shouldn’t be there alongside the main male protagonist in his new mission.

While the story of this anime revolves around a plot device that takes its form as a certain holy relic, the usage of another unrelated plot device (warning: an NSFW locked Wikipedia link) is definitely the biggest mainstay of this title. The usage of this particular plot device is the main reason why I waited for Blu-ray version of this anime, instead of watching the OTA version. I will definitely do the same too with the second season. This plot device served as of source of various toilet humor scenes, awkward moments and inappropriate scenes too that would not be seen in the OTA version. But after watching the Blu-ray version, the second weakness of this anime suddenly becomes more apparent, which I personally think shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

At the start of this review, I mentioned that I am reviewing the partially-censored version of this anime, sourced from the Blu-ray version itself. It is true that the usage of the aforementioned plot device above then allowed for excessive amount of frontal nudity and very suggestive scenes, made more apparent in the Blu-ray version. But my biggest beef with this Blu-ray version of this anime is,  while the ecchi scenes are now basically shown in its final glory, the violence scenes was instead still heavily watered down. So watered down the violence in this anime; the shounen anime The Sacred Blacksmith is probably more gory than this anime. Why is that, in the Blu-ray version for God’s sake, the blood’s tints were discolored (except when the main male protagonist made his 4th level sword), the final blows of any given battle scenes was only illustrated in silhouettes and gory scenes are shrouded in excessive grains?


If this is Higurashi, we will see no silhouettes, plenty of gallons of red blood, distorted faces in pain, dismembered limbs and some spilled out intestines too.

This anime should try and learn a lesson or two from the playbook of High School of the Dead, where ecchi scenes and gory violence comes hand-in-hand very nicely. This anime already got the ecchi scenes right (at least in Blu-ray version – no way I will watch the OTA version of this title), the violence should be improved, at least in the Blu-ray version. I am not going to watch the OTA version of the second season anyway…

Character developments in this anime are uneven all around. The main title male protagonist has the best, if maybe to-the-book, character development strategies in this anime, and to a lesser extent, his puppet-manipulating colleague too. The aforementioned natrium user above is understandably doesn’t do very well here, while the main female protagonist fared only a little bit better. Some references to other anime titles are made too, the most blatant ones is where the main protagonist is cosplaying, of all people,  the main female protagonist of the anime Kurogane no Linebarrels. And he is doing it very well too.


The main male protagonist colleague, also one of the best characters in this anime. That's understandable because these two characters are equally perverse and batshit crazy too.

Character Design:-
Character designs in this anime are excellent all around, and this is definitely necessary for female characters because of the extensive usage of that ‘plot device’. Black hairs are rare though in this anime taking place in modern Japan. A positive aspect for this anime.

Voice Acting:-
Unlike the solid characters designs, the voice acting gigs in this anime is pretty much uneven. The main male protagonist (whose manner of brusque speaking is eerily similar to a certain Excalibur character in Soul Eater) is one of the best characters in this regard, alongside his Maria and also the clumsy big-breasted friend of the main female protagonist. Meanwhile the main female protagonist is noted for being one of the worst offenders in this category inside this anime series.

Music:-
The music section of this anime is another part of this anime where it largely fails. Only the second OP theme is any good, while the OST and the rest of the OP/ED themes are below average.


Some nice camera angle deployed by the director there.

Animation/Direction:-
The animation quality in this anime is very good, even in fast-paced scenes. Choreography of action scenes is below average though, with simplistic battle techniques with absolutely no nuances at all. The director can be faulted for that two filler episodes and the writing of the arc after it, but is flawless for the rest of the anime.

Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. This anime still has plenty of room for improvements for the upcoming second season. Although I will definitely wait for the Blu-ray version instead of the OTA one. This entry marks the final post for this year, and I wish you all Happy Holidays in Christmas and New Year. The next review will be either for Katanagatari or Legend of Legendary Heroes, but that will have to wait until next year!


The usage of that 'plot device' allows for crazy scenes like this one. Oh BTW, the character at the right is not a mecha!

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Review: The Sacred Blacksmith (聖剣の刀鍛冶（ブラックスミス）)

Posted by ranpha on 5th December 2010
Posted in: anime review, STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!. Tagged: . 2 comments


The main female protagonist, also the best character of this anime.

December is traditionally a very slow month around these parts, mainly because my workload has increased as 2010 nears its end. Then there is also Left 4 Dead 2. And Christmas, And New Year. Therefore this review of the magical medieval anime The Sacred Blacksmith will be the first of two (highly likely) or three (less likely so) anime titles reviewed this month in this blog. A 2009 anime, it will then face the current ‘Anime of the Year 2009’ holder Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei for the title.


The main title male protagonist. Doesn't look so sacred now after a beating by the main female protagonist.

Story:-
In a fictional medieval world where demons are abound everywhere and magical swords has slender legs and great racks, our bumbling main female protagonist failed her first test as a knight when she has her ass kicked by a local town ruffian. Predictably, our brooding and slightly emotional main title male protagonist sweeps in to save her bacon. He then has to repeat that feat several times throughout the series as the main female protagonist rashly surged into other battles she cannot win with her atrocious swordsmanship.

The storyline in this anime is one of the most predictable I have ever seen for quite some time. The moment that white-haired guy appeared in the conference in episode 2, I thought to myself ,“Oh, snap!”. But surprisingly the storyline of this anime is quite light-hearted in essence, which caught me by surprise, because I do expect a mainstream shounen plot like the one in Märchen Awakens Romance, a relatively more serious title than this anime in nature.

The light-hearted storyline may have to do with the fact that this anime has pulled an Index and made the main female protagonist the most influential character in this anime rather than the main title male protagonist. The irresponsible and rash inept female protagonist, yet an idealistic and optimistic character is not only a source of many comedic moments throughout the series, but also involved in pivotal scenes such as the finale of the magic sword arc and the conference in the final arc. Meanwhile the main protagonist is only active in the first arc, while taking a back seat in the magical sword and the finale arcs, and completely missing in the third arc. This can be a good thing because the main male protagonist is a stoic emotional character, but then again it can also be bad because the storyline that matters actually revolves around him. While the main female protagonist is good at driving the storyline forward in a relatively straightforward way and with a good pacing, she will still need the main male protagonist to provide the story to begin with.

Another weakness of this anime is the inherently predictable ending. Actually, being predictable alone is not the reason why the ending really sucks, but more like of what happened in the ending arc. See the white-haired guy referenced in the second paragraph of this section above? Once he shows his true colors in time for the ending arc, he then loses the extremely winnable final battle because of some stupid decision making on his part. I have been screaming ‘Kill that stupid bitch and finish off the wounded hero’ as the main male protagonist V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y F-O-R-G-E-D the katana of doom. I’ve seen some stupid antagonists before, but this white-haired antagonist, with vacuum between his ears, easily ranks up as one of the most incompetent antagonists in anime history. He must make this website a mandatory reading (rule no.6 for example), if he ever come back in a second season.

Character development in this anime is uneven; the main female protagonist, which happens to be the best character in this anime, has the most expansive character development strategies, while the main male protagonist character developments is glacial in comparison. The ending mentioned above was set up for a second season though, although no news about it yet. I want to see an extension, mainly because there are many untapped potential in the general storyline, character developments and settings, plus I also want to see the return of that stooopid antagonist.


The main female protagonist shouldn't have had this katana of doom if the antagonist is not retarded.

Character Design:-
Character design in this anime is good, although maybe the designs are very common for its genre. The main female protagonist stands out for her ordinariness though. Black hairs are rare, but then again this anime is set up in a fictional medieval world.

Voice Acting:-
This anime has done very well in this regard. Voice acting for the 4 main recurring characters are excellent, with the blond helper and the main female protagonist being the outstanding characters in this regard. A positive aspect for this anime.

Music:-
Meanwhile, this anime totally failed at this section. The OST is sparse and basically unnoticeable, and the OP/ED themes are forgettable.

Animation/Direction:-
This anime uses the blurry animation techniques detailed in past anime titles reviewed under this category, in fast-paced battle scenes, therefore one point will be docked from the final evaluation. Apart from that, the animation quality in this anime is good, even in fast-paced scenes. Choreography in action scenes is just ordinary though. The directing in this anime is flawless, assuming that the director doesn’t write that stupid ending in the first place.

Conclusion:-
6 out of 10. Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is safe for another day, very comfortably even. You can see what anime I will review next by looking at the left-sidebar of this blog Facebook page.


I thought Engrish in recent anime titles in the past 2 or 3 years has already been eliminated…

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Review: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)

Posted by ranpha on 27th November 2010
Posted in: anime movies, anime review. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment


The two main protagonists.

The final episode of the legendary Japanese mangaka Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack OVA reviewed in the last entry of this blog features an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, where the main protagonist may or may not be putting a cave-dwelling mermaid under the knife while charging hundreds of millions of yen (to know the answer, watch that anime). Right after watching that episode, I then get an idea of watching another adaptation of that (in)famous fairy tale done by the legendary anime movie director Hayao Miyazaki in his newest movie titled Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Not only then I will be able to review another of his movies (this movie will be his third title reviewed in this blog) but more importantly, I can also compare and decide which one of the two titular figures in Japan’s anime history has the best implementation of that macabre fairy tale from the West.

This movie is a 2008 title, therefore its chances to dethrone the current ‘Anime of the Year 2008’ title holder One Outs is practically nil. Oh, and before you complain about the irrationality of comparing a movie (Ponyo) and an anime episode (Black Jack OVA episode 10), remember that this movie’s running time is just about 90 minutes, while that Black Jack episode runs a little bit under an hour. Did the extra 30 minutes that this movie has will then give an unfair advantage to it? Well, read on and find out then.


Her driving skills is on par with Fujiwara Takumi of Initial D. See how she drives fast as she ascends Mt. Akina while balancing the ice-cream on her son's hands from spilling over. A precursor of that awesome tsunami-car chasing scene.

Story:-

Click here for the goodies!

The hidden paragraph above (click the 'Show' button to reveal it) basically summarize the essence of the whole movie, therefore if you haven’t watched the movie yet, there are no surprises left in it for you. And this signifies the single major weakness this movie has: the extremely thin plot.

Unlike the previous Studio Ghibli movie I reviewed here before, the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, too little things are happening within this movie. No matter how smart I can be, even I will find it hard to summarize the storyline of Spirited Away, or episode 10 of Black Jack OVA for the matter, within a 111-word paragraph like the hidden paragraph above and still leave a reasonable clarity in it to act as a complete event-by-event spoiler that is good enough to describe the whole plot. There are simply more substance and events within the storylines of Spirited Away, and to a lesser extent, episode 10 of Black Jack OVA too. If he play his cards right, the director could probably reduce this movie’s length by 30 minutes, down to the Black Jack OVA episode 10’s length, and highly likely without losing anything. I bet that the director of Black Jack OVA, which is Osamu Dezaki, another anime movie director with skills that is not inferior to Hayao Miyazaki’s, would be able to condense it just like that.

Character developments also suffers because of the lack of a substantial storyline (remember, this movie is shounen, not slice-of-life). Only the fish has some semblance of what you can call character development while the main male protagonist and his mom (the only other characters with significant airtime) being pretty much static throughout the movie from the start until the end. But because of the aforementioned tsunami-car chasing scene, the main male protagonist’s mom is definitely the most interesting character in this movie, if not the best one.

But an upside of having a lot of airtime for such a thin story is that the presentation is going to be good if the director doesn’t screw it up. And yeah, Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t drop the ball in this regard. The pacing is excellent, on par to what you can see in Spirited Away and also Black Jack OVA. The flow of the storyline is smooth just like seas in this movie after the tsunami, and there are no problem with scene transitions either. The ending is unconventionally, well for Hayao Miyazaki  anyway, unpredictable, mainly because this movie’s ending is the complete opposite of what happened in the reference fairy tale. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is completely subjective though, although as a reference, the ending of the Little Mermaid adaptation in Black Jack OVA and the original is pretty much the same.

IMHO, between Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, and Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack OVA (directed by Osamu Dezaki) adaptations of the fairy tale The Little Mermaid, the one done by the latter is better mainly because it was the one that follows the source material more closely. It is true that both of them butchered the fairy tale for their own purposes (for example: you won’t see some quack unlicensed doctor extorting some penniless mermaid just to cure her arthritis in the original story), but when it comes to the ending (which is the defining moment of the original fairy tale), Black Jack OVA actually follows the source story unlike this movie that follows the completely different direction. Then again, even the Disney adaptation of the same fairy tale doesn’t dare to use the original ending…


Jesus's Ponyo's walking on water gigs is just a little bit less crazier than the main male protagonist mom's driving skills.

Character Design:-
The character design in this movie is pretty much similar to what you can see in Spirited Away, or Kiki's Delivery Service and Grave of the Fireflies. You know, the signature character designs from Studio Ghibli? Brown hairs are prevalent in this movie though. A positive aspect for this movie.

Voice Acting:-
Voice acting gigs in this movie is decent, with the two main protagonist being the best of them all. A positive aspect for this movie.

Music:-
The OST is very good, although maybe a little bit sparse. The ED theme doesn’t fare very well though.

Animation/Direction:-
This movie is definitely one of the most beautiful anime (movies or TV series) you will ever see (see the screenshot at the bottom). Very fluid animations even in the very fastest of scenes. Choreography in action scenes are excellent, and the directing is solid albeit a little bit conservative, and excels at least in presentation.

Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. The weakest Studio Ghibli movie reviewed here to date. Still a recommended watch though, at least for the beauty of this anime and also just to see that awesome tsunami-car chase scene.


There are plenty of beautiful sceneries and shots like the one above. The ones beneath the sea surface are outstanding. Especially in FullHD Blu-ray.

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