Posted in First Impressions, Maouyu, Winter season - 2013

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – 01

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Maoyu

Opening Theme:

“Mukaikaze (向かい風; Headwind)” by YOHKO

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Ending Theme:
“Unknown Vision” by Akino Arai

Being one of the few shows that I gave a good rating in the winter preview, I was excited jumping in to this. I must admit that I’m not well versed with the source material, but the premise and the promo was hooking enough to spark an interest. Besides, a show set in a fictious historical world where demons and humans are present could have major potential, if done right. With 12 episodes ahead, this will be an interesting journey!

We’re introduced to the backstory right of the bat. Set in a world where a war is taking place between humans and demons, Yuusha (Hero in Japanese) is humanity’s biggest hope against the threat. He decides to invade the castle of the King of Demons, and vanquish him and thereby, end the war.
Much to his surprise however, he finds out that the King isn’t a king at all, but a Queen, Maou, catching Yuusha totally of guard. It was hilarious to see how non-threatening and nice she was, totally confusing Yuusha, who had prepared for the battle of his life.

After a bit of fanservice, Maou is quick to point out that she had waited, like she was expecting him, and that she has a proposal for him. We learn that the war between the demons and the humans is a necessary evil. The humans are dependant of the war, since they are being funded by the central nations, which seem to be nations that are composed of high society.

They in turn are in need of security, and by funding the war, the human world are able to benefit economically.. Now that I think about it, you could say that the war is a job, and without it, the humans are doomed, as they have no other source of income. Essentially, what this means is that if the war would end, then a civil war within the human world would start instead.

It’s interesting that an end to the war will lead to worse consequences, so it’s no wonder why all parties involved want this to go on.
Even though this show has comedy and a bit of fan service, the dark aspects of it are present. Economics, war and fatigue were all present themes in the middle ages, so it’s nice to see how they’re incorporating that into this show, even if it has comical elements.

After showing Yuusha a vision of hers, Maou explains that she wants to begin a journey towards what lies beyond the war. I thought it was a little vague. ”Where exactly is this? Some sort of hill?” I remember asking. She tries to convince him to follow along her on this journey, and explains bluntly that she wants him for herself so he can follow along.  Yuusha, realising that this could be an alternative way to see what lies beyond the war, decides to follow along. It’s a bit vague what it all means, but I guess we’ll find out.

Maoyu is certainly an interesting show. With a mix of comedy, fan service and romance along with the exposition about the economics and the war, it’s certainly unique experience. The dark undertones are interesting, even though this show seem light hearted on the surface. The economics reminded me of Spice and Wolf, and I really enjoyed that part. Hopefully, all the fluff won’t come in the way of that.

Production wise, this is top notch. ARMS have done a stellar job on this. The animation’s crisp and clean, and the colors are relaxing to look at. Now, let’s hope that they won’t go overboard with the fanservice., but this is ARMS, so who knows?
The cast is excellent as well. We have Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch: Code Geass) as Yuusha, and the lovely Ami Koshimizu as Maou (Holo: Spice and Wolf, Kallen: Code Geass). As for the music, I didn’t think much of the OP / ED, but the OST was pretty rad.

Anyway, in case you’re wondering, I’ll be covering this show. Already looking forward to the next episode. I guess we’ll be introduced to new characters, and learn more about those we saw briefly in this one. Even though the fan service was a bit over the top, the stellar production, the excellent voice work and the hooking premise makes up for it, so with that said, this is a show to watch this season.

Preview:

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Posted in First Impressions

mangirl! – 01

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Well, that went by fast. I didn’t know that we’d have so many short shows this season. I honestly didn’t even realise that this one was one until I began watching. Anyway, since I gave this one an inconclusive rating in the winter preview, I thought I’d give it a proper viewing.The animation was certainly good, but I felt that the 3-minute format made the episode feel awfully rushed and in a hurry to pack as much as it possibly could within 3 minutes. I liked the idea though of starting up a manga company though.

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Anyway, if you’re in for a light hearted, 3 minute comedy, then you should give mangirl! a go (Still, dat name!). I think I’ll be watching it just for the sake of it, and if the coming episdes get better, I’d love to cover it.

Posted in Reviews

Review: Steins;Gate

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I must confess, I actually stopped watching anime a couple of years ago. It wasn’t really a conscious decision, but school and other activities just happened to get in the way, and the interest I once had slowly faded away. Fortunately, my once dear love reignited not  not too long ago after deciding to watch a couple of anime movies I hadn’t seen in a long time.

After researching for new shows that passed during my inactive time, I happened to stumble on this show. The premise seemed pretty wacky at first glance, but the critically acclaim and success the show had garnered made me curious, so I just knew that I had to check this one out.

Story

Steins;Gate is a show is about Okabe Rintarou, a crazy, delusional scientist from Akihabara who happens to have a strong obsession with time travel. One day, a bizarre sequence of events takes place, where Okabe experiences that the flow of time has been altered. Together with his assembled team of lab members (which mostly just consists of his friends, really) he decides to investigate further, along with his lab members who are forced along this crazy ride.

 The team initially consists of Itaru, the lazy friend but skilled hacker, the lovely and cute mascot Mayuri, and the super intelligent, but always suspicious of our mad scientist, Kurisu Makise. They accidently develop a way to send messages through time using a microwave. As you can imagine, this of course leads to a lot of crazy things happening.

With the paranoid and self proclaimed mad scientist who refers to himself as “Houin Kyouma”, Okabe Rintarou (Okarin for short) must not only find a way to further evolve the recent discovery, but must also evade the international scientific organization known as SERN, who he belives conspire against him and his team because of their groundbreaking discovery.

Background

The show is an adaption of the visual novel from 2009, developed by 5pb , who are also known for Chaos;Head and Robotic;Notes. A movie and a direct sequel to the anime , titled Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu, will be released in theaters in spring of 2013. The cast and the creative staff from will be return.

Mayuri: Tu~tu~ruuu, Okarin~!

Impression

It’s been a while since I’ve had so much fun watching an anime as Steins;Gate. The humor is top notch in this show. With Okarin being the lunatic that he is, with his witty comments and deranged world view, it adds such a fun and exciting atmosphere to the show which makes it such a fun watch. The quirkiness and fun element make this show stand out in a very unique way. The voice acting is really good. Mamoru Miyano plays Okitabe Rintarou with such fluidity and skill that is rare to achieve. Kana Hanazawa performance as Mayuri is none other than breath taking, playing the innocent and pure part with such ease.

Asami Imai stars as Kurisu Makise, and we have the veteran Tomokazu Seki playing as Itaru, both of whom playing their parts exceptionally well. The delivery and the chemistry between the actors makes the charcters feel alive, and they’ve certainly succeeded in capturing that magic that gives the characters and the show such a depth. The screenplay and the direction is excellent as well. The creative direction and the performance together really feels like a fresh breeze in the warmest of summers.

Along with Okarin, the supporting cast are in general all different from each other and have their own unique personality and sets of reasons for being dragged along with Okarin to a dangerous, but equally exciting journey through space and time against a super agency. As the story progresses, great becomes good, good becomes bad, and bad becomes worse for our characters, and we’re catapulted into a disarray of uncertainty that leaves us craving for more.

Steins;Gate is a show for everyone who wants to have a good time, and who is looking for that special something that is just vastly different from many of the shows we’re accustomed to. It’s rare to have a show as unique and engaging at the same time, and it will most definitely leave a smile on your face when you watch it. It’s no wonder why it’s considered the best show of 2011, and one of the best shows to ever be animated.

Story - Excellent and captivating story. The build up and pacing is executed smoothly. 10
Characters – The delivery and the chemistry between the actors are top notch 10
Animation – The animation is good and fluid 8
OST: The music is very good. The OST brings the show to life and gives it character 8
Final score 90

Verdict: Excellent

That is all.

El Psy congroo

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The story

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Hello all, and welcome to the grand opening of my new blog, animental! Let me tell you a little about myself. My introduction to anime was in 2005, when I first stumbled on a show called Elfen Lied (which I’m sure many of you are know of).

From that moment I was hooked, and watched tons of anime series and movies, and like many of you, my interest in the country of Japan grew. These past few years however, because of personal commitments,  I became inactive and hadn’t watched anime for some time. Fortunately now though, I’m back on track, and I’ve decided to blog about the medium we all love. The blog will be anime centered, but will have posts about Japan as well, and ocassionaly about asian cinema / culture.

If you’d like to see anything special, let me know. Now, I’m currently watching the following series: Steins;gate The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Neo Genesis Evangelion So that’s a mix of super old to pretty recent stuff. I’ve also been watching a ton of movies which I’ll cover here as well.

The plan is that I’ll be picking up new shows after that (Either the winter season, or spring). If it’s the latter, I’ll be making a preview of what there is to come. If there’s anything you’d like to see on the blog, let me know in the comments below. I wish you all a happy new year! :)