Review: Chocotto Sister (ちょこッとSister)

Posted by ranpha on 3rd April 2008
Posted in: Anime of the Year 2006 title holder, anime review - reposted, perfect score. Tagged: . Leave a Comment


Choco and her brother.

In the last review, Asatte no Houkou makes history by becoming the first anime that managed to wrest the Best Anime of 2006 title from Kiba the TV Animation. Unfortunately for Asatte no Houkou, its reign lasted only for a few days because Chocotto Sister, an anime that I am about to wrote a mini-review today, have now snatched the award away from it. Read on to see why.


She may be clueless like Kasuga ‘Osaka’ Ayumu, but she sure comes up with good ideas once in a while.

Story:-
Kawagoe Haruma has always wanted a little sister when he was still a kid. When his mom has a miscarriage that kills the unborn little sister of his, he makes a prayer to Santa Claus so that his mom will be well and also asks for a little sister for Christmas. Well, as we all know that Santa is a jerk, Haruma only gets his wish many years later…

Disclaimer: I read the manga first before watching the anime, and save from some alterations and minor omissions, the anime largely follows the manga. This slice-of-life title has a very good storyline, but this is not the only reason why this anime excels and managed to get the Best Anime of 2006 award.

Apart from the storyline, the other reason why this anime is so good is the immense strength and appeal of the main character, Choco. In more ways than one, she really reminded me of Kasuga Ayumu in Azumanga Daioh, especially in mannerisms, although Choco is probably not as clueless as her. The strength of her character helps propels the series up to a height this series may not be able to attain if she isn’t present.

Character developments are done very well for most of the residents of the Tsubaki Apartment and this helps the story (which revolves around the interactions between Choco, her brother and the rest of the apartment dwellers). The story flows as naturally as possible, and here, a visit to the hot springs actually makes sense unlike the one in Nagasarete Airantou. The ending is excellent, and I will not have any complaint about that.


Unfortunately, she can also say things that can get the FBI to get all over you.

Character Design:-
This anime has your typical anime character design seen in other titles. Brown is the new black, and you can see big eyes, impossible body shapes and large boobs too. This do not mean this anime has a bad character design though.


A scene that will not be out-of-place in hentai videos.

Voice acting:-
Voice acting in this anime is good in general, with Choco being the best of the bunch by a mile. The difference between her and the others are so great it is really unbelievable, and they (the rest of the characters cast) are not that bad either. Her voice actress has done a very good job in turning Choco from the manga I have read into a great living character on screen.


Lots of that police line ribbon here.

Music:-
A positive point of this anime, the OST is decent and both OP/ED themes are great. Nothing more I can say about that.


One of the screw-ups by the director. This scene happened on Valentine Day, and the class has been postponed for nearly a year!

Animation/Direction:-
Animation quality is probably the weak point of this anime. The animation in this anime can be not-so-fluid in certain places, and for god sake, this anime has little notable fast-paced scenes due to its nature. Meanwhile, the directing is decent, or at least I think it is supposed to be.


One of the gory scenes in the last episode. One of them will die, and you should know who.

Conclusion:-
10 out of 10, joining Capeta, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Neon Genesis Evangelion and also Nodame Cantabile who has managed to score a perfect score in this blog. At last, a 2006 anime that gets one. And as mentioned above, also snared the Best Anime of 2006 title from the unfortunate Asatte no Houkou.


Choco’s last moments…

Shortlink: http://wp.me/prgSo-1V

Review: Asatte no Houkou (あさっての方向。)

Posted by ranpha on 28th March 2008
Posted in: anime review - reposted, Former Anime of the Year 2006 title holder. Tagged: . Leave a Comment




Their life in hell is just about to start.

Today is a momentous day in the short history of this blog, with the event of my mini-review of Asatte no Houkou anime. Read on to know why. As this is a 2006 anime, it will compete with Kiba the TV Animation for the Best Anime in 2006 title.


The physical disadvantage quickly manifests itself for our formerly-tall snobby lady.

Story:-
A snot-nosed kid and a snobby lady inadvertently swapped ages, and their life turned into chaotic hell. They don’t even try to get back to normal as they adjusted to their new forms, especially with dealing with their skeptical family and friends. And that’s basically is the story muahahahaha.

Sure, sure the synopsis is oversimplified, and yeah the story is not exactly a masterpiece, but it has charm, which is something I do not really expect from this title. The story is still pretty good, which gives this anime a boost.

Character developments are done well, albeit maybe a bit lacking in certain places. Speaking of that, the two main characters are excellent and really drive the anime forward. They injected life into this series and actually the major source of what makes this series appealing to me in the first place. I started every episode in anticipation to see what each one of them will do next.

It really helps that there are no single episode here that are wasted, with each dedicated in advancing the story or doing character developments or even both. The ending is also done very well, although I do not really like it. Not too long with only a dozen episodes, the anime did not have any weakness in this aspect.


So, what did a graduate from a certain university in Boston, Massachusetts do when trapped in a 12-year old body, in summer vacation?

Character Design:-
In general, character design in this anime is well done. Not many black hairs here, and the snot-nosed kid older brother looks suspiciously like a hentai anime character.


The answer is NOTHING! Especially if she has to…

Voice acting:-
The snot-nosed kid has some dodgy voice acting early in the series, and the director probably has whipped her into shape because she improves as the series goes on. Anyway, voice acting here is good, without any outstanding characters.

Music:-
This anime has excellent OST and OP theme, but not the ED theme. That insert song at the second half of the anime is also great. A positive point of this anime.


…babysit a 24-year old crybaby that started everything in the first place. Truly my fave character here.

Animation/Direction:-
Like the voice of the snot-nosed kid, the animation is dodgy too in the early part of the series, in certain scenes. As with her voice, it also improved as the series goes on. No action or fast-paced scenes in slice-of-life anime thus no comment on choreography. The directing is good, especially at controlling the flow of the story very well.


The daddy is at the left, mommy at the center and the child at the right. Don’t be alarmed by the size ‘abnormality’ here. Do not call the FBI.

Conclusion:-
9 out of 10. And for the first time in the history of this blog, doing what the likes of Haruhi Suzumiya cannot do, this anime dethroned Kiba the TV Animation to become my Best Anime of the Year 2006. Unlike Nodame Cantabile, this anime should be easier to be beaten, with the only problem is that I seems not be able to find any good 2006 anime that deserved a perfect score. If only Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a 2006 anime…


I forgot why I took this screenshot, so here is the filler caption.

Shortlink: http://wp.me/prgSo-1U

Review: DiGi Charat (デ ジ キャラット) + Panyo Panyo (ぱにょぱにょ デ・ジ・キャラット)

Posted by ranpha on 26th March 2008
Posted in: anime review - reposted. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment


My favorite character in this series. My long-time character image in LowYat.Net forum.

Di Gi Charat is one of those anime I have always wanted to watch, but I have no willpower to get it. In a sheer coincidence, I managed to get it without having to spend time trawling around the tubes, and here is the review for it and also for the prequel Panyo Panyo.

Story:-
Three interplanetary aliens lands in Akihabara, Tokyo and was forced to work in one of the shops there, violating child labor rules. Even in slavery, the main character dreams of becoming a great idol and she works towards that end while working as a cashier at Akihabara. Meanwhile in the prequel, the same main character is still trapped at her home planet, doing whatever she wants.

The original Di Gi Charat is awesome (enough to get at least 9 points), but the prequel is not. The main character Dejiko is different in some certain (but important) ways in both titles. I watched the TV series first before the prequel, and I really miss the cynical but awesome Dejiko in Akihabara as I watched the prequel even more. The prequel may be longer, but cleary inferior. Maybe this is the result of over commercialisation?

Dejiko in Akihabara also has that freestyle storytelling mode you can see in Galaxy Angel or the latter half of Haruhi Suzumiya, and this allows this anime to appeal to a wider audience. This is better than the story-laden prequel that main fits as a morning-slot title aimed at younger audiences like elementary school students. The audience has to be that, or else how else you can explain the excessive singing in that prequel?

Character developments are more evident in the prequel than the Akihabara version, but that’s to be expected. The story in the prequel as a whole is average, but considering the probable target audience, it may also have to be expected.

Anyway, the Dejiko, Puchiko and Usada Utada Hikaru in Akihabara version are awesome, but less so in the prequel. Maybe I should consider looking for the remake of the TV series and see whether it is better or not.


Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, what did you do not like?

Character Design:-
It is very well done, although seems to be dumbed down in the prequel. As the main characters are aliens from outer space, I will excuse the lack of black hairs here.

Voice acting:-
A positive point for this series, at least for the Akihabara version. Voice acting in this series is awesome, especially for Dejiko, Puchiko and Utada Hikaru. These three really stands out. It was diluted somewhat in the prequel, but I still think they are very good.

Music:-
For Dejiko in Akihabara, only the Party Night insert in episode 15 is of any good, because the OP/ED themes and OST is almost non-existent. The OST in the prequel is decent, but not so the OP/ED themes.

Animation/Direction:-
Both have decent animation, especially the prequel. Fast-paced scenes do not seem to be affected by low frame-rates, but choreography is average. And so is the directing for both titles good but not the best.

Conclusion:-
If I only watched Dejiko in Akihabara, it would got at least 9, but coupled with the prequel, it loses 2 points, so 7 out of 10 it will be.


Unfortunately, she is being dumbed down in the prequel, so no screenshots from there.

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