Anime Review No. 94 (Love, Chuunibyo and Other Delusions)

“The Power of Imagination”

Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions (2012 TV Series)

Director: Tatsuya Ishihara

Writer: Jukki Hanada

Studio: Kyoto Animation

So, here’s a show that I have waited about a year to talk about and almost didn’t. This is a show that I find to be something truly special. This is based on a recommendation of my esteemed colleague Ramo Zemog, who covered the series last year, and I must say thank you good sir. It is certainly a worthwhile recommendation. The show in question, if you couldn’t tell, is Love Chuunibyo and Other Delusions.

Love, Chuunibyo and Other Delusions, based on the light novels by Torako, is quite an interesting story. The core of the story revolves around the notion of Chuunibyo also known as 8th grader syndrome, a disease of the adolescent mind. Linked to delusions of grandeur, it involves individuals with very active imaginations to the point where the line between fantasy and reality are blurred. Center of focus is on Yuta Togashi, a young man who is a former chuunibyo ‘patient’ who is entering high school. He tries to get a new lease on his social life in high school but is haunted by his own embarrassing antics of his youthful past as the Dark Flame Master. One night he meets a mysterious girl with an eyepatch. Rikka Takanashi is a current chuunibyo patient who holds power via the Eye of the Wicked Lord Shingan. As it turns out, she lives in the apartment above his family’s with her older sister Toka. The show takes some wonderfully funny and dramatic turns throughout the 12 episode run as they find new friends and learn quite a lot from each other, as well engage in fantastical fights from another dimension.

What I love about this show is how well it handles characters. This features a wide range of characters, all more or less integral to the overall story. Be it the comical straight man Yuta, the kooky double act of Rikka and her middle school twin-tailed shorty minion Dekomori, Nibutani the popular girl or the adorable sleepyhead senpai Kumin Tsuyuri. Granted the focus is on the development of the relationship between Yuta and Rikka, but the show does explore the other character dynamics of the main group of characters in a nice, fun and refreshing way. And yet like most of the cast, we aren’t meant to feel sorry for them, but more as a point of relation. I do relate a lot of Yuta, as I did some quite silly things in my youth.  My favorite character in the show is Kumin Tsuyuri, the sleepyhead senpai. She is so kind and nice it is almost like she is a pure innocent hnng. My second favorite is Nibutani, the popular girl who has some secrets of her own and that’s mainly due to having known girls like that in high school.

Another aspect this show nails is the combination of serious drama and light-hearted school comedy. I love the variety of humor and slapstick present in the show, from the deadpan to LOL jokes its all here in abundance. The physical slapstick comedy is also quite enjoyable as some compilation videos on Youtube can attest to. Yuta’s various reaction faces are a treat to behold.

But then around the halfway point, as the story takes a quite serious and dramatic turn.I kind of did expect it, but it makes the show more interesting when it changes up the formula a bit. Not to spoil too much, let’s just say that the fun daydreaming is the result of some truly heartbreaking stuff. Seriously, the loose 2 parter near around the halfway mark is some of the most heartbreaking and emotional family drama I have seen in anime in a while. This leads to complications and sulking surely, but it ends with the sublime episode 12 which in my mind offers a very summation of the show while allowing for a continuation to occur. The core message I feel for this show is this: Live for yourself, and do the best you can in life now what difficulties and hardships befall and that is perfectly fine to dream a bit every now and then. There exists a strong theme of love and acceptance permeate the show which flowers in the finale, but how well you will have to check it out yourself. As an extra note, the OVA Special is probably the best Christmas special I have seen in an anime since Read or Die TV.

In terms animation production, this show rocks. Kyoto Animation (or KyoAni) is a top notch Japanese animation studio and it shows up in this entire production, so fluid and full of life and energy. KyoAni is one of the few recent  studios that hit a gold mine early (with Haruhi and Lucky Star among others) and thus has oodles and oodles of money to spend on their productions and it certainly shows.in Chuunibyo in yards and spades. The fantasy fight scenes are amazing and a sight to behold. The show is beautifully shot overall with nary a bad or sloppy shot/frame anywhere.

For music, both OP and ED songs are nice and worth a listen to. The soundtrack music by Nijine is also a highlight as well, complementing the action be it serious dramatic or the light-hearted funny, making for some nice well-done orchestral music.I’m a sucker for that and wish more anime would do with that more often.

Chuunibyo S1 OP       Chuunibyo S1 ED

Now onto the English Dub and I have to say it is  easily one of the best I’ve listened to in recent memory. No really, this dub alone shows just how far Sentai Filmworks has come since Clannad over 4 years ago in terms of dubbing. First off, great narration work by David Wald to bookend the show, nice touch there. This english boasts a near perfect cast. Leraldo Anzaldua as Yuta does a great job in the leading guy role nailing the youthful tone and energy of the character. Meg McDonald as Rikka, now this has been a bit interesting, She goes for a slightly different take on the character but it works, where she goes slightly deep for chuuni mode but then high-pitched cutesy voice when not. It is certainly a bit more theatrical and over dramatic than cutesy moe but it fits the character. I do like Meg McDonald and I feel that she’s a voice actress whose career is really taking off and I wish her the best of luck and very encouraging to see people of my generation (like her and Caitlynn French) getting into anime voice acting. Keep up the good work you two and others!

Maggie Flecknoe as Nibutani is really good and fitting for the character, always nice to hear her in dubs. Brittney Karbowski as Sanae Dekomori: Yeah, this was a role Brittney was destined to play and wasn’t surprised at all she landed this part as it is right up her alley (her performance reminding me of some of her earlier dub work like Himeko in Pani Poni or Ayu in Kanon 2006). The rest of cast is well done in terms of vocal performance, including Greg Ayres, Carli Mosier, Genevieve Simmons, Monica Rial, etc. Chuunibyo is the the latest dub done by recent ADR Director Emily Neves. She is a voice actress who has been working in Houston dubs since Clannad. She picked up some training in directing from Christopher Ayres while working on the Problem Children dub, which I have previously reviewed and then announced last summer that she got the full time ADR Director position-reason for that I will talk about in an upcoming review. Emily Neves has gone onto direct dubs for shows like Watamote, Rozen Maiden 2013, Dog and Scissors and Maid-Sama!. She clearly is an actor’s director and seems to go for getting the best performance out of the actors. Neves is able to handle the comedic aspects of the show as well as nail the emotional scenes, particularly in the latter half. The dub script done by Lainee Hooks, script writer for Watamote, Prisma Illya and Sunday without God dubs, is a nice and well-done mix of transliteral and adaptative without going too far in either direction as most dubs from Sentai have done in the past. In fact with 2014 and this year so far, Sentai is actually employing script writers (most of them employed voice actors like Josh Grelle, Clint Bickham, George Manley, Nancy Novotny) for their dubs instead of just having their directors handle that. A step in the right direction for them in my book.

The funny thing is that this show was destined for a standard release. When Sentai Filmworks planned to release Chuunibyo Season 1, they planned for a May 2014 release sub-only, no dub on both separate DVD and Blu Ray sets. However the KyoAni fanboys threw such a fit over the show not getting a dub (when other KyoAni shows Sentai picked up got dubs), that Sentai Filmworks changed their minds on that. Still releasing the sub-only DVD set for May, they announced plans to release the first season on a Limited Edition DVD/Blu Ray box set. Now I preordered the day it was available back in late August 2014, for the expected December release date. But then it got pushed forward to February 2015 due to some issues Sentai had with the licensor but I find that the wait was worth it. Here;s the video they put out about the box set, which can be brought fairly easily on RightStuf.  I can’t wait to get Season 2 (Heart Throb) when that comes out.

Chuunibyo Box set video

Chuunibyo is a great show overall, with a wonderful tale of youth trying to find their place in the world. It is a great production throughout and has a truly great English dub. I wholeheartedly recommend this show and encourage others to check it out.

Next time is Strawberry Panic. Til next time dear readers.

Anime Review No. 84 (Sound of the Sky)

Sound of the Sky

Director: Mamoru Kanbe

Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Now onto a show that isn’t only great, but I consider it an underrated gem of the decade thus far. That show is Sound of the Sky, or Sora no Woto. In some time fan in the future, private Kanata Sorami, a new recruit for the Helvetian army is being sent to her first military assignment. That being at the Clocktower Fortress, a far off fort on the edge of the frontier, near the frontier town Seize. Kanata is also a bugler, though her instrument playing needs a bit of work but she has the urge to improve. She was inspired by an encounter as a child by a mysterious blond bugler, whose identity is a mystery plot point throughout the show’s run. Although, the fortress is home of the 1121st platoon, though it is more like a squad given the small size of it. It has a varied cast of characters that get their own stories and time to develop/grow, be it the stern mentor Rio, the kind motherly Fillica, the bratty Kureha and the sleepy but stoic Noel.

Kanata is bliss (and also reminds me of some other character hmm)

Airing in January-March 2010, Sound of the Sky was the debut project of Anime no Chikara. This project, translated roughly to ‘The Power of Anime’, was a collaboration between TV Tokyo and Aniplex put together in 2009 as an effort to do original anime productions, free of ties to other works like manga, visual novels and video games. So, Aniplex tapped A-1 Pictures (their own animation studio) with the task of making these productions. The project unfortunately only did 3 shows in 2010, in back-to-back seasons: this, Night Raid 1931 and Occult Academy. No further word on this project, which is a bummer but then again A-1 Pictures is too busy making SAO because it is really necessary for the world.

Yeah Kanata, I don't know why A-1 has some done more SAO then more of this or Zvezda Plot

What is interesting in Sound of the Sky is the unique mash-up of genres. It is basically a Girls Club SoL show in a war zone setting. I like the intricate world building present here. Granted, much of it is based on early 20th century European style (buildings, uniform/clothing, culture, partially names etc). It has a local story focus with glimpses of a wider world. The story has a nice blend of soft light hearted SoL vignettes and serious war drama. In addition, there is quite a lot of legend and lore dispensed within this 13 episode show, the legend of the Flame Maidens and also how that ties into a past catastrophe that is hinted at, but never fully revealed. But that’s ok, since the mystery of the catastrophe is more interesting than the thing itself. This is also a quite solid series from start to finish, never dragging down or going too fast.

The only bit of the omake episode I am showing you xD

My favorite episodes of the show were episode 7.5, 8 and 13. Now while the show is 13 episodes, its technically 12 with 2 DVD exclusive episodes, which thankfully Right Stuf (through their Nozomi Entertainment licensing/distribution label) included in the DVD collection. I got to say its for the best as episode 7.5 is one of the most funny omake/OVA style episode I have seen for an anime yet. Episode 8 is a fine bottle episode, focusing in on one location and letting the situational story that takes place to drive the episode. I won’t spoil what that is, you will have to see for yourself. Finally episode 13 is a quite sublime series finale, hinting at a possible and natural extension for the story to go and yet I feel the story is complete as it is. That, in my mind, is the mark of a great show.

It was at this moment, I knew that this was something special

Sora No Woto OP

Music is a bit of a theme and the power of it in shaping or even improving our lives. The song ‘Amazing Grace’ is the constant song played during the course of the show, and I like that ties into the other themes present in the show, rather than ‘Ode to Joy’ which is plastered on a lot of anime, regardless of whether or not it makes sense (looking at you Gunslinger Girl). Anyway,the animation is quite solid overall but then again its A-1 Pictures they tend to go a good job on certain shows.Music is quite great with some nice sweeping orchestral moments coupled with gentle guitar strumming and haunting strings . If the OP animation looks a little similar to Elfen Lied, then yeah that is because Mamoru Kanbe directed this and Elfen Lied, hence the rather Klimt-esque art style. The upbeat energetic ED.is standard and often a nice respite from some of the more darker episodes.

Nozomi Entertainment’s release of Sound of the Sky is rather bare bones, just some character profiles, clean OP/ED and trailers. There’s an alternate episode 1 but when I watched it the only difference I noticed was that it included the OP. It is also sub-only, so I can’t really speak on the voice acting, but it is quite good. Right Stuf used to, back in the boom (as KO Beast and Kare Kano can attest) they would pick up shows and then farmed out the dubbing to other studios (mostly in New York and LA) as the company is based out in Iowa

Sound of the Sky is available from Nozomi Entertainment (once in 2011, thinpak in 2013). Of course, if you just want to watch it without buying, then don’t fret: It’s up on Youtube (Sound of the Sky episode list) for mostly free of cost. You got literally no excuse to check this out and watch it.

SO yeah, next time, who wants to go down the rabbit hole?

NO NOT THAT HOLE >.<

Til next time, dear readers.

Anime Review No. 82 (Yama no Susume)

Yama no Susume

Initial Airing: January 2-March 20 2013

Director: Yusuke Yamamoto (B Gata H Kei, Walkure Romanze)

Creator: Shiro (mangaka)

Studio: 8-Bit (Busou Shinki, Infinite Stratos, Tokyo Ravens, Walkure Romanze)

So, hi there this is the Eclectic Dude and today is my birthday. Also, this is the last review I am doing at my parents’ place. Suffice to say, I am to be gainfully employed starting next month and will be moving out finally on my own. So, I am taking a look at a short series from early last year, one that was somewhat overlooked, that being Yama no Susume.

Yama no Susume, or Encouragement of Climb, is about a gang of four high school girls and their adventures doing mountain ‘climbing’,  though its about hiking and camping in the outdoors. Not sure if thats a translation error or something but then again I suppose hiking is one way of climbing a mountain. The main reason I picked up this show was that hiking was a big part of my growing-up, as I was in the Cub and later Boy Scouts and lived at least nearby an area where the outdoors was still somewhat undisturbed. So watching this show was rather nostalgic for me. Of course, I go on the occasional hike or walk outside, but nothing to the extent I did back in the day. I am glad to be moving out to a place where perhaps I can pick up doing that on a more regular basis. Anyway, tangent done.

(L-R): Hinata, Yukimura, Kokona

Now onto the characters, which is your somewhat typical moe girl stereotypes, but have enough dimension to at least be distinguishable. First there’s Yukimura Aoi, the shy and cute one who was once into hiking but a childhood incident scarred her for life and she developed acrophobia. Fortunately, Hinata the genki girl and old friend of Aoi from grade school, helps her out of her fear of heights and to grow an appreciation for the outdoors again. In the course of the show, the two meet two other girls: Kaede Saito, a megane babe who’s a big time camper and Kokona, the young and ditzy cutie of the group.

At least she didnt take a arrow to the....no no not going to finish that xD

This leads into the story, which is one of the strong points of the show. Granted, each episode is 3 minutes with 30 sec ending song (episode 12 has an extra minute). In other words, it took me just under an hour to watch the entire series. So, one would expect a short series to be just random stuff with no cohesion, right? Not so with Yama no Susume, as there is a semblance of a overarching storyline over the series of shortened length episodes. The whole show is rather economical, at least in terms of character and plot.

The animation is cheap and adequate enough for a short series. There exists some quite Impressive background art work of the outdoors and the full-on mountain vistas.

Ooooh pretty backdrop

But you know what, that’s alright, because it was a nice breeze to watch. Its a good-natured, light-hearted, soothing slightly educational SoL (slice of life) show. Also, I am highlighting  this show in preparation of the second season, coming out in July 9. And the good news-its 24 episodes long, each episode being 15 minutes. That fact alone soothes my soul and I can’t wait for the second season. Let the climb continue!

Yesh the Internet, our grand saviour!!!

Yama no Susume is available (legally) through Crunchyroll, not only for free but with no ads woot. Here’s the link for it: CR Link to Encouragement of Climb Watch it and enjoy!

I shall be doing a blip for the tip jar page around 4th of July weekend and then resume with reviews starting August 3rd. See you then!

Anime Review No. 81 (Summer Wars)

“You Gotta Work for an Answer”

Summer Wars

2009 movie

Studio-Madhouse, Director-Mamoru Hosoda, Writer-Satoko Okudera

Well, time for another movie review and this time I figured it’d be something popular. If you watched Toonami last December, they air a few movies, including Akira (which I saw fully for the first time) and Trigun: Badlands Rumble. Of course, the one that caught my attention was, well, Summer Wars.

The story is focused on our main character, Kenji Kosio, a typical nerdy high school guy who works for Oz as a part-time coder. Oz is well like a VR cyberspace hub where communications, government He gets roped in by a older female student Natsuki to come with her to a family reunion event (her grandmother’s birthday) as her pretend boyfriend. So, basically, the initial premise reeks of a plot from a family rom-com. He meets several family members, including the tenacious grandmother Sakae Jinnouchi, jealous cousin Shota, the shut-in cousin Kazuma and various others mostly fitting typical Japanese family types.

Sakae is best granny 

However, trouble comes round in the form of Wabisuke, the black sheep of the family. Natsuki is a little too friendly with her uncle, which is irksome a bit, but doesn’t detract from the movie that much. However, Kenji gets a code that he works out but that ends up causing havoc to erupt in the Oz system with him framed as the mastermind. But the actual culprit is the Love Machine, very much a rogue computer program. So, now Kenji is facing a double dilemma as he must try to clear his name along with saving Oz and avoid getting outed as a fake by Natsuki’s family.

Now, there is quite a lot to like about this movie, starting with the characters. Very standard for anime, but given enough dimension to make us care about them. Kenji and Natsuki are the typical young protagonists and a lot of the family seems like the kind of people one would find in family dramas. Though I will note a few here. Wabisuke might at first be the black sheep who shows up unexpected but he ends up playing quite a larger part in the story. But, the one character I got to admire is the grandmother Sakae. She’s a tenacious but strong-willed older lady and perhaps one of my favorite elderly characters in anime. She’s the one who brings everyone to deal with the problems faced and strive to succeed. But what happens to the grandmother (not spoiling it) is perhaps the emotional high moment for the movie. It unites the family to the common cause. I watched Summer Wars with a friend of mine one time, who had lost his dad recently and got to say he was nearly in tears at that as I was. I too have lost some relatives as well and so it does get to me on a personal level.  

And so the dominoes fall...

Now, I won’t harp on the story too much since well its basically what happened if you took the internet battle sequence from the Digimon movie, and combine into a animated family J-drama. No surprise on the similarities since the Digimon Movie and this one are directed by the same guy, Mamoru Hosoda. Except its more substantive and integral to the movie. It has also some neat commentary on how the interconnectivity of the world via web and internet is a double edged sword, in that it can bring us together quicker in times of crisis or relaxation but also can be used to inflict misery to a lot of people as the movie attests. It also touches on the importance of family in the modern era  I wish that they did more with that, but considering the time length I am glad that these ideas were brought in and used. That, and the finale is pure spectacle which while pretty to look at however its rather inexplicable at points even 'deus ex machinia'.

Excellently executed fight scenes I must say

Now then the animation, which is stellar across the board. It’s fluid, dynamic and full of life and energy. Being a movie its got naturally high production values as expected. Not as high as Ghibli film, but close enough in terms of overall quality. If the character designs might seem a bit 90s Gainax, that due to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (character design work for Nadia, Evangelion, FLCL, Gunbuster/Diebuster, etc) handled that.There is also a wide range and variety of facial expressions; in fact, the movie is worth watching just for that. Music is utterly fantastic, again very Ghibli-esque. Almost like this movie’s trying to ape Ghibli….. oh wait, heh, that’s for another time….moving on then.

DAT FACE haha >.<

Now, the original japanese language track has been best described by a colleague of mine as ‘a bunch of J-drama actors doing J-drama acting’ so I whole-heartily recommend the dub That’s not hard, since its a Funimation dub, so its top-notch effort here as usual. Mike McFarland and Patrick Seitz handled the direction and writing for the dub and they are a great team. They help to bring out strong and well-acted performances from just everybody involved. Summer Wars boast a veritable list of who-whos of Funi dub actors with a few Houston actors thrown in for the bit parts. Special mention goes to Michael Sinterniklaas as Kenji, Brina Palencia as Natsuki who are very good in the main roles. J Michael Tatum is at his best arguably with Wabisuke, pouring in his own snideness and charm into the part. But Pam Dougherty as Grandma Sakae is overall best and just about steals the entire movie well while her character is in the movie.

Overall, Summer Wars is a good ‘popcorn movie’; great for a watch with friends and a bunch of good fun. There are some flashes of brilliance with a few of the ideas it plays around with, but still a good time to be had.

Anime Review No. 74-Ef a tale of melodies

"I am dead to the world's tumult,
And I rest in a quiet realm!
I live alone in my heaven,
In my love and in my song!"

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Gustav Mahler Ruckert Lieder, 1901

Ef: a tale of melodies

Fall 2008 TV Series

Studio Shaft, Director-Shin Oonuma, Writer: Katsuhito Takayama

You, know its an interesting tale of how I got this series. Well, last summer, I went to a local anime convention for a day. While there, I saw a few vendors selling some anime and took a look. One that caught my eye was Ef: a tale of memories on sale by a significant bargain. Also, I saw Ef: a tale of melodies as well, right next to it. At first I picked up the first season, then later that day I decided 'what the heck?' and pick up the second season as well. For that, I am entirely grateful as the second season is exceptional.

First off, I shall talk about the setting a bit. There are two towns named Otowa: one in Japan, one in Austraila. One was afflicted by an earthquake, we are not shown only through brief flashes. Essentially, there are twin cities on opposite sides of the globe: same climates and time zones but different seasons naturally. I only bring this up as it seems a bit confusing in the context of the story, hence why you should re-watch this show at least once. Though, to be fair, I do like the little touches they add into the setting for the sake of world building.

Anyway, the story with Season 2 is rather similar in structure to Season 1, with the multi-tier story lines following different characters. However, whereas Season 1 took place entirely in the relative present, Season 2 takes place in both the relative present and past. Story A involves Yuu Himura (the weary priest) and Yuuko Amamiya (the mysterious nun) and the relationship and life they shared back in high school. They both knew each other, though at first both were hesistant. But, due to situations, Yuu becomes becomes a protector for Yuuko. There is also a love triangle of sorts between Yuu, Yuuko and Nagi Hirono, making it similar to Hiro's story in Season 1 but certainly a bit more complex. For one thing, there is an antagonist, an obstacle to their relationship, which happens to be Amamiya-sensei, the school's art teacher and Yuuko's adoptive brother/adult figure. It turns out he isn't such an upstanding guy, as one episode midway through certainly demonstrates. Granted, Yuu is no saint either and that leads into something that I quite like about this series: it has a very grey but human sense of characters. There exist no heroes or villains, just human characters living out to the best of their abilities. Anyway, Yuu and Yuuko do fall in love yet tragedy strikes again and that's what shapes Yuu in the present. Granted, the Ef series is fraught with emotional and pyschological drama, even angst at moments, but it doesn't wallow in. It knows the pit, doesn't spend any time more then necessary in digging down the pit, but rather seeks a way out of the pit.

Story B, meanwhile, focuses on Shuichi Kuze and Mizuki Hayama in the present. Kuze is a friend of Renji's and Yuu's, a world known violinist though a bit of a playboy/womanizer. Mizuki is a friend of Kei Shindou and cousin of Renji and is your typical perky and happy high school girl. This story is striking similar to Renji's from Season 1 but gender-flipped in that the girl meets a guy with a tragic secret and wonders on whether to help or not. Except, things are not so clear. Kuze is basically a lost cause, he views life as a calculated risk, one that he is not willing to continue with. Yeah, I got to say Kuze is really the only character I can actually relate to in any fashion. Luckily, with support of his friends Nagi Hirono and Yuu along with Mizuki, Kuze seeks to live life to the fullest even if it will be short-lived. I must say it is very life-affirming and positive, even in the midst of the darkness that life sometimes run into.

This in turns leads to another strong theme that runs in the show; the notion of unconditional love as being the most brutal and honest form of love there is. It is certainly not 'Love conquers all' mentality akin to many romance stories but more along the lines of 'Love helps us out when in despair or trouble.' Where it be Yuu loving and accepting Yuuko for who she is or Kuze realizing it helps to have a loved one there to hold and comfort you at your worst hour, that is what this series basically boils down to.

Sidestory elements include the characters from Season 1 as they come back on occasion. It shows how the characters from Season 1 have grown and gone about their lives. A masterstroke, in my opinion, was to have the Shindou sisters reunited, which was a heartwarming moment of 'DAWW'. In the end, its Yuuko that ties everyone in the series together, a beacon of hope to all of humanity. The final episode is one of the best I have seen, with it all's right with the world mood and ends on scene so tremendous that it defies commentary but so full of emotions it brought me literally to tears.

Much like the first season, the dialogue is rather lyrical and poetic. Animation is scenery and atmosphere, pervading the series all out. At times it verges on the line between the stock standard and the experimental. For instance, use of sepia-toned film stock to the animation for the flashbacks is a nice touch. A single melody by solo violin dominates the BGM for this series: a sad late romantic style solo, reflecting the show in tone and mood, to say nothing else about the rest of the music which is just as good as in the first season, if not better. Finally, the opening songs for both seasons are both excellent and a rare example of engrish done right.

Lastly, the English dub is utterly fantastic, even more so this season. Granted, this season the main cast has mostly veteran voice talent behind the mic (David Matranga, Illich Guardiolla, Allison Keith, Hillary Haag, etc) delivering some truly excellent performances. Even the newer talent (like Carli Mosier and Josh Grelle) manage to stay their own with the veterans. Josh Grelle, voicing Amamiya-sensei, does an excellent job and should be taken notice as the guy got some impressive range.

Overall, the Ef series is a fantastic entry in terms of visual novel adaptations, certainly better then some of the Key adaptations. I also consider a masterpiece of romantic drama, when it comes to anime anyway, with interesting and strong characters alongside a nuanced, multilayer story. A solid effort in nearly every section of production, be it animation, sound design, voice acting, etc.

So, what's up next on the platter for me? Well, its an anime movie, certainly one involving roses, lesbians and a mind-screwing finale where love does indeed conquer all......

'Til next time readers.....

Anime Review No. 73 Ef a tale of memories

"We have all forgot more than we remember."

Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Ef: a tale of memories

Fall 2007 TV Series

Studio Shaft, Director: Shin Oonuma, Writer-Katsuhito Takayama

Well, it's February again and that means time for looking at romance-oriented shows. Way back in 2012, I took a look at several shows with the primary focus being relationships (Oh My Goddess, Legend of the Labyrinth, My Dear Marie). Last year, I took a look at Kare Kano, an ultimately great show containing both romantic comedy and drama and yet somewhat underrated. But, is there a 21^st century equivalent in anime when it comes to romantic comedy and drama? And what if this show was handed to the great experimentalists at Studio Shaft, under guidance by their grand guru of postmodernism? Well, I believe that I found that: The Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two series. For this and the next review, I will be covering both seasons of this series. First, off Ef: a tale of memories, which begs the question: What's this show about?

Well, that's a bit of a tough task. See, this is one of the first shows that I have looked at with multiple storylines/narratives. At a basic level, it is about the lives and relationships surrounding a group of high school students and young people in a town called Otowa. But, instead of dividing the series' run of 12 episodes in half focusing on one story at a time, it focuses each episode as a somewhat even split of focus of the stories. I think this works well as the show makes you pay attention to what is doing.

The first season has 2 stories, intersecting into each other and weaving in and out. Story A concerns the love triangle between Hiro and the two girls who love him: Miyako and Kei Shindou. Hiro is a manga artist who, one Christmas, runs into Miyako, a perky and care-free girl but with a hidden fear and the two start a relationship. However, he has to deal with Kei, the female childhood friend/tomboy who is a bit jealous and unwilling to move on. In addition he must overcome his own indecision regarding his life, you know as most teenagers do and can attest to.

Now, I want to like this, but Story A is rather weak, though it has a great payoff so it is certainly worth it. It is a little awkward at times, mainly due to it wavering between nice high school slice of life and romantic melodrama moments. Plus, it doesn't help that Miyako is roughly unrelatable and annoying at moments, though I want to relate to her sad back story. It culminates in the second half of episode 7, which has to go down as one of most harrowing and ultimately depressing moment I have seen in an anime, the closest I get to feeling sorry for Miyako's plight. Add to that the animation becomes so stark that the bleakness of the sequence is magnified tenfold emotionally. Of course, Kei and Hiro aren't exactly saints either; Kei is stubborn and obsessive to the point of being a bitch, and Hiro is so indecisive that I wanted to yell out 'Oh come on guy do something. Pick an option and stick with it!' at certain points. Maybe that's because I find myself still like Hiro, or at least once was me. Luckily, it ends on a happy ending for all, even Kei who hooks up with Hiro's friend Kyosuke which I find a nice touch. Love triangle stories typically end with the couple met and the other jilted and alone, so Ef gets some kudos in that department.

Story B, meanwhile, is by far better to Story A. It concerns Renji, a young man who meets Chihiro Shindou, a young, shy and meek girl with an eye patch (which turned into a thing, who knows why). But, she holds a hidden sadness due to a particular condition. Both of them are aspiring novelists and with that seek to write a novel together. In the process, the relationship develop despite the hardships and obstacles. Of course, the novel ends up being a subtle autobiographical piece about Chihiro. I feel for Chihiro and Renji as it is very heartwarming and saddening at the same time. Chihiro is essentially the link between the two stories, with a childhood incident as the pivot point; No further spoilers on that. Suffice to say, a happy ending is afforded to them because they struggle. There is also some neat commentary on the nature and process of storytelling thrown in for good measure.

A side-story involving Kyosuke, Hiro's school chum and member in the Photography/Film Club. It is mildly interesting, but only because it is tied slightly to Story A and in ways mirrors that story. Kyosuke deals with indecision, and interacts with Hiro and Kei in different respects.

There are some supporting characters: The weary priest and the mysterious nun (more on them in next series), Mizuki (Kei's female friend more on her later) and the rather frank Shuichi Kuze (family friend to Renji more on him later) and Renji's mom. I said more on them later as they form the main cast of Season 2, so details on that to be discussed in that review. I will say that the mysterious nun in Story A and the Priest in Story B have rather similar mentor roles to the main cast and it is hinted at that the two know/knew each other. Again, more on that later.

Theme of memory prevades the show, be it Chihiro and the retention of memory or Miyako and her slipping out from Hiro's memory. Other themes include regret and loss and how one moves on from it, in both the healthly and not so healthly methods.

The animation is top-notch Studio Shaft work here. Shin Oonuma directed this, but with Akiyuki Shinbo as supervisor, his trademarks are all over the place. Be it use of text on screen, abstract backgrounds, or the studio's personalized head tilt, it works on an experimental level in places to compensate for the low budget, but its look gorgeous nonetheless. Presentation and content are congruent is what I am saying. In fact, Artsy and symbol-heavy is the best word to describe the animation. At moments, it seems akin to a more polished version of Gainax's Kare Kano adaptation from the late '90s. For example, Chihiro's chains preventing her from leaving her state of being along with the second half of episode 7 with the way Miyako's desperation is presented. Music is very good and suitable to the mood, filled with lots of soft strings and piano music, much of it ambient yet tinged with melancholy and sadness.

Now onto the English dub, which is a selling point that Sentai Filmworks added to the DVD set. And good thing too, as it is the easily the most definitive dub from Sentai Filmworks. Chris Ayres directed and wrote this and it is packed to the brim with talented voice talent. For this season at least, voice actors/actresses such as Greg Ayres, Clint Bickham, Luci Christian, Monical Rial and Brittney Karbowski are in it and all are doing what have to be the best performances they have done ever. As stated before in my reviews for Bodacious Space Pirates and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, I like Chris Ayres as ADR Director; he's one of my favorites working today for anime dubs. Chris Ayres brings two essential things when it comes to english dubs: pitch-perfect casting combined with strong vocal performances and writing. This show, along Bodacious Space Pirates, helped me to watch more Sentai Filmworks releases.

Overall, the first season of the Ef series is good, but miss the mark at points at being great. Granted, its got a decent story and characters, fitted within an excellent visual presentation with a very good English dub. But, it is with the second season that it starts to get great maybe even a masterpiece. Thus, that will be the subject of my next review: Ef, a tale of melodies.


Til next time, dear readers.

Anime Review No. 69-Momo The God Girl of Death

"It's the end but the moment has been prepared for."
Momo the God Girl of Death: Shinigami no Ballad
2006 OVA, 6 episodes
Studio-Group TAC, Director-Tomomi Mochizuki, Writer-Reiko Yoshida



Hello, I am the Eclectic Dude.....and I rock the plaid. But in all seriousness, this entry is touching on a subject that is heady, that being death. Its a subject that over the centuries has been dealt in various ways and methods, from the Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, to the Divine Comedy of Dante, to Picasso's Guernica, to Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch, to images from the past century of death and destruction (pick one there's aplenty).


Thus, anime certainly is not exempt from dwelling on the topic of death. Though it is mostly focused on character deaths, which can range from emotionally impactful (a certain death scene in Madoka) to dull and vacuous (I'm looking at you SAO!). Yet, there aren't that many shows in the anime genre that deal with death in any particular and constructive way. However, Momo the God Girl of Death is one of those series.


Momo the Girl God of Death is basically a short anthology series involving the titular Momo and her lively cat-bat assistant Daniel as they help people out with death, either by avoiding death or dealing with the wishes/regrets of people in relation to their lost loved ones. But, she does it with a gentle and kind heart, seeming more like an angel then a grim reaper (scythe notwithstanding).


So, what about this makes it special? Well, it being a loose anthology, you can easily just watch the episodes in any real order, as there is not much continuity. As such, this feels like a patchwork of vignettes stitched together with really the only connection being Momo and Daniel. Only episodes 3 and 6 are really any good standout in those terms. Episode 3 deals with a young man Kantaro going out on a treasure hunt based off a map left by game-loving grandfather, involving his female classmate Tomato (no seriously that's her name) to come with. What he finds there is not quite the kind of treasure one would expect. Episode 6 deals with Momo and Daniel consoling a recently dead spirit of schoolgirl Sakura. Watching Momo pointing out to Sakura how her family and friends are while at times moving forward with their lives, still take time to remember her. Of course, the twist at the end is quite a surprise at least to me. The messages presented here are not that different from the obvious ones brought out in other works on death. All told, they are rather simplistic in terms of story and characters, but is it attached to stunning visuals, right?


Well, unfortunately, the presentation is rather bland and dull. Then again, the show on the whole is mellow and calm for the most part, so it fits. The animation is done by the now defunct Group TAC, which went out of business in 2010 and as such it looks utterly generic. Heck, even the music is generic, light music with scarcely a memorable tune in it at all.  It is at least barely competent, but it doesn't stand too much, even from 2006. Which leads into my next question: Why did this get released?


The answer is Maiden Japan, a label linked with Switchblade Pictures, which in turn falls under the umbrella of Section 23 Films. Maiden Japan was founded by former ADV co-founder Matt Greenfield back in 2010 and their express purpose seems to be releasing really niche anime titles. I mean seriously, look at their catalog (Maiden Japan Catalog). I haven't heard of any of these, though Papillon Rose looks particularly interesting....anyway.

So yeah, and not only does this release come over here, but also with an English dub track. Niche titles, at least in this day and age, often don’t get a dub or if they do, it tends to be a re-release done several years later (Punie-chan as an example). So, what about the English dub?

Well, the English dub for this show is the second title Maiden Japan has released with a dub, the another being Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 this past spring. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a rather patchy and uneven Sentai Filmworks dub (mix of veteran ADV actors and newer talent that they got). Whether or not that has to do with the 2 ADR Directors working on it (Joey Goubeaud/Jason Grundy), large but multitasking cast, or some questionable issues in pronunciation or vocal performances ("shinigomi in lieu of shinigami"/use of reaper in text) is a point for debate certainly. Personally, I just think any problem with the dub is in relation to the rather lackluster source material. When it works, it is very mellow and slow, much like the show itself. There are some highlights to be fair: Jessica Boone as Momo and Nancy Novotny as Daniel deliver great performances overall. In fact, the overall quality improves a bit over the course of the 6 episodes, but not by much. Episode 3 has in my humble opinion the best performances of the dub: Brittney Karbowski, Chris Patton and John Swasey putting in some great performances, at least in comparison to the rest of the dub.


So, why did I choose to review this series? Well, I had have my brushes with death in the past, one in particular from 5 years ago. I ended up in hospital for a weekend after having a week of excessive lethargy and other things. Well, it turned out I had developed diabetes, type I to be precise (so yes, my pancreas is on strike). My blood sugar was so high at that point that the nurse told me any higher, and I would be dead from coma. I was like ‘wow, that’s scary’. In fact, I would dare say that was my ultimate turning point in my life, whereupon I no longer took stuff for granted and strive to live life to the fullest, which of course is one of the primary messages of Momo the God Girl of Death. In the end, it’s a reassuring comfort when I watch it. Not too great, but not too bad: it is just there, decent and competent show that touches on the heady subject of death.

Info on Releases:
Released by Maiden Japan in June 2013
3 novels published by Seven Seas Entertainment back in 2008
So, what’s next for me? Well, the last review for this year is over another release by Maiden Japan, luckily its much more memorable and what I’m sure will be a treat for old school anime fans:

Trailer for Next Time's Review

Thanks to wiifermadness for uploading this.

Later, good readers….