Review: Hakuouki (薄桜鬼)

Posted by ranpha on 2nd August 2010
Posted in: anime review. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment


The confused main female protagonist.

The audition to select the first winner of the ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title reached the halfway point with my review of the first season of Hakuouki, an anime set up in the days of the Bakufu era, just like Blade of the Immortal etc. But unlike the latter, the former already have a second season lined up and ready to go later this year. Japan, why is that many decent but unfinished anime series out there doesn’t get an extension?

Story:-
A cross-dressing girl went to Kyoto to look for her missing father, but in double-quick time she has to run away from bad people. Suddenly, her pursuers were ambushed by some creepy uniformed monsters that craves for blood, and the pursuers were killed on the spot. The monsters then tried to sink their fangs upon the helpless main female protagonist but another ambush happened and the monsters were killed, also on the spot. The main female protagonist sighed in relief after being saved by some kindred spirits, only to realize that her saviors also wears the same uniform as the monsters’. She fainted in terror and the newly-anointed bad guys brought her back to their female-less headquarters so that they can do ‘this’ and ‘that’ to her…

Imagine that you combine Peacemaker Kurogane (a very similar anime to this one – I watched it before this blog started) and  La Corda D’Oro ~primo passo~, and you will get this reverse-harem title. There are no Western classical music in this anime, but more importantly, the main female protagonist is not an emo unlike her counterpart in  La Corda D’Oro. She is seriously incompetent though, but not an emo that I want to strangle to death. And there are no overt romance too, how on earth did that happened I have no idea.

The story itself is quite decent, and portrayed the events of that era from the eyes of the main female protagonist. This anime is definitely more accurate historically (not fully though) than Peacemaker Kurogane. But to not cause this anime turning into a History Channel documentary, the writers decided to put some supernatural stuff in so that academically-challenged viewers will not drop this anime en masse. In the ending, the writers even made the main male protagonist drink something that his counterpart in the real world definitely hasn’t done. That ending sets up the second season nicely, but I will not be surprised if the writers ditched the history books aside and steer the second season into the realm of fiction.


Yet another time jump…

The presentation of this anime is very unique in the fact that it uses the time-jump literary device extensively. In fact, I dare say that this anime has more time-jumps in it than the previous 30 anime titles reviewed here combined. The time jumps varies in length, from weeks to months at a time, but all-in-all, this is why this anime main storyline stretches between 2 or 3 years timeframe. The numerous time jumps, the portrayal of the historical events of the era (complete with narration by the main female protagonist) and the lack of flashbacks are what lends the aura of a documentary upon this anime series.

The usage of the time jumps does has drastic consequences upon character developments in this anime. Omitting the main female protagonist, you can divide the Shinsengumi members into two groups; one consists of members who have drunk the ‘something’ essence I have mentioned above, and another group that consists of those who aren’t. The members of the latter group practically has stagnant character developments, from the start of the anime until the end. The member of the former group doesn’t fare better, but the virtue of having drunk the said ‘something’ mean that they are involved more in the supernatural sub-plot. No best characters in this anime.

For the main female protagonist, which I presume doesn’t exist in the real Shinsengumi of yore, she quickly forgot her mission of finding her father right after she laid her eyes upon the handsome Shinsengumi dudes, and as of the finale episode, her father is nowhere to be seen.


Ignoring seppuku threats, the main female protagonist and her minions doing things that they shouldn't do.

Character Design:-
Another reason why I claimed that this anime is similar to La Corda D’Oro ~primo passo~ is that their character design are similar. Plenty of handsome guys in here (the real Shinsengumi members would be rolling in their graves if they see their portrayal in this anime) and has the lowest amount of female characters that this anime can get away with. Not surprisingly really considering the demographic of the game this anime is based from. A positive aspect for this anime.

Voice Acting:-
This anime is actually losing out to La Corda D’Oro in this aspect. Voice acting in this anime are just average overall, but the main female protagonist is quite good at performing her dual role of being a weak and stupendous character, and also being Sir David Attenborough the narrator in this anime.

Music:-
The OST is decent but not more, while the OP/ED themes are forgettable.

Animation/Direction:-
This anime is placed under a rare situation in this aspect because while its fast-paced scenes are animated without any issues (but not the best), normal scenes are riddled with jerky and abrupt changes of movements (just like Powerpuff Girls Z). There are some lazy animation too like in the screenshot below. Choreography is just average, which is a pity because there are plenty of katana battles in here. The director has done his job very well, especially with managing those time-jumps and also some very good camera works.

Oh BTW, this anime doesn’t have the nauseating animation technique too, just like Nodame Cantabile Finale. Another good decision from the director. I hope the next 5 anime reviewed here will also be the same.


Lazy animation efforts here. Can you spot it?

Conclusion:-
8 out of 10. We now have a clear front-runner for the ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title. If this anime can survive the challenge from the participants of the second half of the audition, naturally this anime will be featured at the sidebar of this blog. I have a feeling that the first winner of ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ will not have a perfect score.

So what’s next? You have to wait…….

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Review: Nodame Cantabile Finale (のだめカンタービレ フィナーレ)

Posted by ranpha on 29th July 2010
Posted in: anime review. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment


Classical music orchestra is Serious Business!

As mentioned in the last review, Nodame Cantabile Finale is the fourth 2010 anime title reviewed here for the ongoing ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ audition. This anime is chosen specifically because I’m tired of seeing an application of a certain animation technique. Does this 2010 title utilized it just like the what the three other previous audition participant had? Or maybe should I worry about something far more important? Like the storyline, for example?


The two main protagonists of this anime, also the best of them all.

Story:-
After all the events in the preceding two seasons of this series, the two main protagonists are still doing their things in Europe. The main male protagonist conducts more orchestras while the main title female protagonist plays more piano. 13 episodes and plenty of omitted manga materials later, this anime ends, for good.

As a recap, in the first season, about 9 or 10 manga volume worth of materials was spread in 24 episodes with very minor omissions. The first season is so good it held the ‘Anime of the Year 2007’ title for more than two years, beating many illustrious challengers such as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Kaiji before being deposed recently by Bokurano.

For the second season, about 6 or 7 manga volume worth of materials were crammed into a pithy 12 episodes, with a little bit more omissions that in the first season. This has two effects; first the pacing of the second season is faster than in the first, way faster. Secondly, the fast pacing combined with the various omissions from the reference manga caused the storyline to be disjointed, therefore unable to develop and flow smoothly. The biggest problem that the second season has is not the quality of the storyline (the manga is excellent, one of the best I have ever read) but the method of adaptation and its presentation.

And for the third season reviewed here, few things has changed. The episode count is still limited at 12 (13 if the non-canon episode is also counted) and whatever manga material that is still left unaired are crammed into them. But this time, the director slowed down the pacing by removing huge amounts of very important plots. The most striking example is the story arc that sees the main title female protagonist meeting with the main male protagonist’s father, who is also a pianist just like her. This directorial maneuvering helps improve the pacing and the development of the remaining storyline, at the cost of quality.

This sir, is not acceptable.

Regardless of the fast pacing and somewhat incoherent plot flow that plagued the second season, its story is still good and awesome. That’s why the second season scored 8 out of 10, which is a respectable score around this part. Even the previous 3 participants of the currently running ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ audition doesn’t score that high. The sacrifice of storyline quality for a better presentation IMO is not worth it. For those who doesn’t read the manga and only watched the anime, the improvement in presentation should be worth it though because the remaining plot-lines that survived the wrath of the director were executed and storied very well. The solid yet awesome ending is a good example of it.

Character developments continues very well in this third season, but if the arc about the main male protagonist’s father is not completely omitted, could have been better. That missing arc would have helped advanced the main male protagonist even further. The saner pacing in this final season also helps the developments of other dwellers in Nodame’s apartment. The best characters remains the two main protagonist of course.


Barging into the shower while the main male protagonist is still inside is our heroine's specialty.

Character Design:-
My comments from the first season still applies. They are as excellent as ever and a positive aspect for this anime.

Voice Acting:-
My comments from the first and second season still applies too here. In other words, a positive point for this anime.

Music:-
The music in the third season has recovered from the minor blip that happened in the second season. The OP theme and OST are great as usual, and the ED theme is the best song theme that this series could ever have. A positive point for this anime.

Animation/Direction:-
While Mr. Director Chiaki Kon is definitely a destroyer of franchises, at least he is sane enough to not use that abhorrent blurry animation technique I have mentioned in the previous three consecutive reviews before this one. Animation in this anime is still as slick as ever, with virtually no fast-scenes and choreography that I can comment on whatsoever. That is probably why Mr. Director doesn’t use it in this anime.

Mr. Director really dropped the ball with his decision to omit major story arcs out from the final season of this series. He would have done better if he just stick to repeat what he has done in the second season, if following the footsteps of the director of the first season (not Chiaki Kon) is too hard for him. But then again, not using the animation technique that I hate is very good decision too.

Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. Currently the best anime reviewed in the audition to date, despite the fact that both Arakawa Under The Bridge and Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu also scored the same amount of points. 6 anime titles left to review…


Attempts by the main male protagonist to do the same doesn't work though.

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Review: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (バカとテストと召喚獣)

Posted by ranpha on 26th July 2010
Posted in: anime review, STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW!, The Scream Painting spoof in anime. Tagged: . Leave a Comment


The main protagonist and his SLR-toting sidekick. Both of them are perverted and are the best characters in this anime.

The third review in the audition to choose the first winner of the ‘Anime of the Year 2010’ title will be for Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, which on the surface is very similar to the previous anime reviewed here Mayoi Neko Overrun!, therefore comparisons between these two 2010 anime titles is inevitable.


A fair description of his classmates, and to a lesser extent, his schoolmates too.

Story:-
Due to unforeseen circumstances with a busty naïve maiden during the placement exam that took place at the start of the school year, our dumb-ass main protagonist was assigned into the 2nd year F(ail) class. There he meets again with the said maiden and predictably, he fell in love with her. But the class also consists of many dumbasses just like him, and they are of little help when it comes to the school’s unique event: Examination Summoning Battle or ESB (abbreviated this way from now on), which can be used to raise the class’ status.

This anime starts very strongly with its very unique and seemingly promising storyline, up until maybe 3 or 4 episodes. When the whole class was banned for 3 months from participating in the ESB event, this anime started to peter out slowly towards the ending. Then the two-phase ending arc starts at episode 11 and this anime accelerates full-throttle onwards and downwards into the chasm of mediocrity.

The ending of this anime is even worse than the crappy ending Mayoi Neko Overrun! has. It was even more retarded than the main protagonist himself. Despite the regression that happened after this anime’s strong start, the pacing of this anime is pretty much spotless before the ending. Then this anime do the reverse of what Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone has done: sharply increasing the pacing of the presentation dramatically by cramming more ESB events in the ending arc (more ESB events than the previous 10 episodes combined). Plus, the final ESB event is very stupidly retardedly and maddeningly predictable. You can see how it will end from a million miles away, and if you don’t, then the main protagonist is smarter than you.

Whoever wrote the ending is either running out of ideas or purposely tried to insult the viewers’ intelligence. I suspect it was the latter. I really do. Honest! And it doesn’t even provide a smooth transition towards the already-announced second season!

While the general storyline itself is just average (albeit a little bit better than the one in Mayoi Neko Overrun!), some of the subplots are great. This anime is a better harem and comedy than Mayoi Neko Overrun, but similarly crap in romance department. Some of the potential relationships in this anime are not pursued in more detail though, such as the relationship between the main protagonist and his Class A boyfriend (picture below). This anime needs more episodes, and I hope the second season will provide more of them so that the various subplots can be explored more.


The main protagonist's boyfriend!

The low episode count combined with larger characters cast than Mayoi Neko Overrun! ensures that character developments are less than optimal than it should be. This anime is a case where the rate of development is proportionate to the amount of airtime that a character got, with some exceptions. One of the best characters in this anime is the main protagonist, which is a given due to his airtime. But an exception should be given to another interesting character in this anime, which is the camera-toting pervert. He is simply awesome (like the silent handphone-toting character in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series) even with far less focus on his character.

This anime also made references to other anime/manga/TV shows/games ranging from Gundam to Dragon Quest. Of course, it wasn’t as much as the rapid-fire Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series though.


Yet another The Scream painting spoof in Japanese anime.

Character Design:-
Character designs in this anime is excellent, especially for its non-female characters. It is not to say that female character designs are bad (they are better than the ones in Initial D or Hayate no Gotoku for instance) but the male character designs are on another level. One glaring exception is the main protagonist, but I will overlook this one because the others are awesome. That bishounen character who has a twin sister in Class A is definitely the best of them all, overly so. A positive aspect for this anime. Better than Mayoi Neko Overrun! and even Arakawa Under The Crazy Bridge.

And I’ll even ignore that severe lack of black hairs in this anime too. Bishies trap is awesome!


Above is our hot-blooded main protagonist favorite food that he likes to 'eat'.

Voice Acting:-
In general, voice acting in this anime is good but not great, better than Mayoi Neko Overrun! too. There are no outstanding voice acting gig(s) in this anime, and in this part, this anime is inferior to Mayoi Neko Overrun!

Music:-
A complete opposite compared to Mayoi Neko Overrun!, only the 2nd ED theme is not good. Everything else, from the OST all the way to the 1st OP/ED themes are good. A positive aspect for this anime.


Epilepsy Attack! Japan need to stop using this regressive animation technique sharpish! Did all 2010 titles uses this technique?

Animation/Direction:-
I’m slapping the STOP THAT BLURRY ANIMATION TECHNIQUE NOW! tag and docked one point from this anime’s final score. Click on that category link and scroll down to previous reviews under this category to see why this category exists. This technique are only used in fast-paced scenes though, just like Mayoi Neko Overrun and unlike Arakawa Under The Bridge.

Meanwhile, animation quality in this anime is good, even in fast-paced scenes (ignoring the said technique above). Choreography in this anime is just average though. The directing, while not perfect, do experiment with some rarely-used presentation methods.


A storytelling technique more common in the Western world literature than in Japanese manga/anime.

Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. The next anime that will will be reviewed is the long-delayed final season of Nodame Cantabile. I particularly choose this one hoping that the aforementioned animation technique above is not present in it. The first two installments doesn’t have it, therefore I’m praying that the third one is also the same.


The unbreakable friendship between these two like-minded best characters in this anime is the cornerstone of the storyline.

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