Samurai Harem

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: smack your head and shake it in shame funny
Notable Features: awkward teens, martial arts
Language: Japanese
Length: 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Good


"I meant to confess to your sister!" - Wassan

Yoichi is a young man who has been training on a mountain for most of his life. He's been home school and kept away from the city. So, he is sent tot he city to be with his cousins as a way to expand his horizons and train in a different environment. As soon as he arrives in town, however, he manages to get himself into misunderstanding and subsequent trouble. Like many harem anime, this series involves and awkward boy cast and beautiful, smart, violent ladies. There are four cousins, two in high school, one in middle school and a younger one. Of the four, the oldest is the smart, pretty one everyone is in love with. Ibuki is super nice and popular. The second daughter, Ayame is a traditional tsundere character - basically mean but with a good heart. The third daughter is a manga artist with a fun attitude and the youngest is adorable.

The one thing that gets them all is the social awkwardness that leads everyone to think Yoichi is a bit of a perv. Every other episode he manages to fall into some girl's chest or lap. The confrontational part of the story comes from a secret guy, and his sister, constantly sending assassins after Yoichi for no apparent reason. It is a vehicle every other episode to add conflict to move the story along. Despite the fact that the group has been successful in fending off the attacks, no one understands the reason motivation of the villain!

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It was cute. There wasn't a whole lot of plot in the story. There were some parts of the story that just seemed unnecessary, but as it was a high school harem anime, I don't think it really mattered. It's not really the type of series you hang around for because you can't handle not knowing what is going to happen next. I did find some enjoyment out of it. Unlike some of the recent awkward boy series, this one referenced naughtiness without any nudity at all - in a good way. I also appreciated the additional of the little sister. Nothing untoward happens to her (which is good) but she's just so freakin' cute! It also appears that she might be a good cook!

The assassins are great! Well, they're terrible which makes them great. I just wish there was a little more lead in to the whole bad guy motivation thing. There were some real hints, but not until episode 9 - given that there are only 12 it was a little late. I would've been happy with  more action/fight scenes. Either way, it was good. It's a nice rainy day anime, really. You can sit through a few episodes without blinking an eye, and still have a nice little amount of enjoyment out of it. If that's something you're looking for on that rainy day, I would recommend it.

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Next Week!: Next week I'll be in Chicago for Anime Central (ACEN). I'm super excited. This does mean, however, that I won't be posting a blog post on Thursday. I will post a review of the convention the following Thursday. SO EXCITED!!

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: Adventure
Age Appropriate: Any age, really
Emotional Response: Excited in a kid way
Notable Features: adventure, action, friendship, elemental magic
Language: English
Length: 3 seasons, 61 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great!

"Shush chatty monkey." - Sokka

Aang is a young boy trapped in a block of ice. Katara and Sokka find him while floating around in the water. Finding him and setting him free sets off a complete 3 season series of action and adventure. The three teens live in a world where people have elemental magic, separated into kingdoms of people will like abilities. Katara and Sokka are from a water tribe, and Katara has inherited the ability to manipulate water. With the arrival of Aang in their lives, Katara uses his need to find more about himself as the escape she needs from her set destiny. There is no way that Sokka would let her leave without him and so the trio goes off on a mission to learn more about Aang.

There is trouble, however. Aang is an Avatar - one of the chosen few who are reincarnated over and over with powerful abilities that stretch over all elemental boundaries. His job is to bring balance back to the land and there is a huge obstacle in his way. The Fire Kingdom is ruled by a tyrant who wants Aang out of his way, or within his power. So, now the three are looking for more clues into Aang destiny while working hard to avoid capture by the Fire Kingdom. Their journey takes them through the Air, Water and Earth kingdoms, meeting new people and obstacles along the way. The plot becomes a coming-of-age story coupled with saving the world.

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I love it! I'm not always a fan of younger age range animated series. This one was a lot of fun. I'd seen a few episodes of the original when it was on Nickelodeon but it wasn't until it showed up on Netflix that I sat down and watched the whole thing through. Seriously, I watched the whole thing through, in great big gulps (bites?). The characters are really compelling, and the little mini-romances are adorable. It's also really kid friendly. I mean, come on, it was aired on Nickelodeon.

Aang and the gang include a flying lemur and an air buffalo! I want both, kinda. The buffalo might be hard to care for, though. Aang does a bunch of air tricks too that I wish I could manage. I would also like to be able to use those tricks to fly. It completely brought out the kid in me. I highly recommend it - especially if you want something to watch with the younger crown. Don't let it stop you if you don't!

There was only one negative about the franchise. The movie. It was so awful I wanted to cry and rage at how the ruined the story. Don't see it. After you finish this sentence, just pretend it doesn't exist.

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Let's try some more!: Samurai Harem

Campione!

Genre: Action/Adventure
Age Appropriate: Teen+
Emotional Response: Excited followed by disappointed
Notable Features: gods, magic, fan service
Language: Japanese
Length: 11 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Disappointing

"I'm his wife!" - pretty much all of the girls

Godou is a young man who is sent on a delivery run by his grandfather. With nothing better to do, Godou goes out to return something to his grandfather's acquaintance and ends up falling into a bizarre world of girls, swords and gods. After running into a swordmaster girl, Erica Blandelli, and managing to defeat a strange god, he is now the Campione. His new job is to defeat evil gods as the show up in the world, attempting to take power for themselves. Through his defeat of Verethragna, a Persian diety, his new status of campione comes with special abilities to help his cause. Each of these abilities is gained through different means and they all are attributed to 10 different representations.

In this harem adventure, Godou collects young ladies interested in fighting the good fight. They all have different personalities and different motivations, but they have one thing in common. They all fall for Godou. This is completely despite his awkward fumbles of accidental impropriety. The series ends with a cliffhanger as to where the group will go next (but it appears the manga keeps going).

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There is a good reason that the series ends in a cliffhanger. It didn't get enough viewership to bother with a second season. I was really excited when I first started watching. If there was anything I was into when I was younger, that wasn't vampires!, it was mythology. You can blame TV for that one (yay Hercules!). I did jump into mythology quite quickly and it carried all the way through high school ancient history. So, when I found this anime, I was really curious about how it was going to work out.

I was sorely disappointed. I don't usually expect a lot out of a harem anime. I've seen a number of really engaging ones that simply use the awkward boy/pretty girl thing as a good comedic vehicle. This one had so much potential! For me, it fell short. Basically, I don't recommend it. I was sad when it was cancelled, but only because I hoped it would find a way to redeem itself. I may consider giving the manga a chance though. I suppose it's possible that it could be better in print.

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Kid fun!: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Loveless

Genre: Sci-Fi-ish? Shonen Ai? I have no idea
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: Interested but confused
Notable Features: magic, tragedy, coming of age, yaoi/shonen ai
Language: Japanese
Length: 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

"I don't really understand what's going on at all." - Ritsuka

Ritsuka has a very complicated past. Two year previously, Ritsuka turned into a different personality. It happened due to the gruesome murder of his brother, Seimei. Now, he's started at a new middle school, but has no tolerance for people. He's become a bit separate from everyone, and desperately tries to hide his pain. The story becomes wildy more complicated with the addition of his brother's "Fighter," Soubi.

In the battles between Fighter/Sacrifice duos, there is one person who fights for the other, using magic  instilled in words. The Sacrifice takes the physical pain and damage of the fights. Those duos share a "real" name. Soubi insists that he's Ristuka's fighter, despite Ritsuka's complete ignorance about the things happening around him. It seems that Soubi was actually sent by Seimei, to follow Ritsuka as his fighter. Ritsuka doesn't know what to do in the situation and is more hurt by learning that his real name is "Loveless" versus his brother's "Beloved."In between all of this confusion, it appears that Soubi might be a bit in love with Rituska despite their huge age gap. He promises Ritsuka that he'd so anything for him, except give him the answers he's looking for. The questions always remains, at least for Ritsuka, whether or not this love has more to do with Soubi's actual feelings or feelings instilled by Seimei.One of Ritsuka's most difficult battles is deciding who to trust in this his search for his brother's killer.

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Loveless is actually pretty good, and sad. There are definitely a few comedic bits here and there, and they're certainly needed. The only drawback is how much you may be turned off by Soubi's love for Ritsuka. On that level, Soubi seems to recognize that it's a little bit wrong, never does anything about it - and it's questionable about it being "love" or "affection," - and his roommate gives him no end of grief about it.  It didn't bother me too much, because nothing ever really happens, but I've heard it's bothered others. Enh.

I like this anime. I kinda wish there was more of it, but the manga was sadly short as well. I just think there was room for more character development in there. However, since I feel the same about the manga series, I imagine that it has more to do with following the series more closely than anything else. I really want Ritsuka to find all of the answers that he's looking for, and have a more satisfactory ending. I guess we can't all get what we want, though. I'd hesitantly recommend this. I should say, there is a number of people I would definitely recommend this too, because I understand they're appreciation of other shonen-ai/yaoi/weird stuff. Everyone else might find some interest in the idea of going outside their comfort zone, but I'm not sure how I might present it. This is one of those anime that I've seen multiple times, but I have to be in the mood for it - hence "pretty good."

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Next up: Campione!

Attack on Titan

Genre: Action/Drama
Age Appropriate: Teen+ (a bit gruesome)
Emotional Response: Noooooooooo!
Notable Features: creepy pseudo-human looking evil titans, humans
Language: Japanese
Length: 25 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Definitely

"I'm a human being!" - Eren

Eren Yeager watched as a large, creepy Titan picked up his mother and ate her. The Titans have been the enemy of humankind for over 100 years, and they've managed a minutely peaceful existence by building huge walls with cities around the gates. After nearly 100 years, a new Colossal Titan has torn down Wall Maria and opened the way for a new wave. With the town destroyed, the few remaining survivors run to Wall Rose and hope to find some safety there. It only lasts a little while, and the Titans have advanced to a new level, breaching a new wall.

Together with his friends, Eren swears to defeat and kill the Titans to avenge the deaths around him. He joins the recruits for the military teams, and enters 3 years of training, hoping to join the Scout squads in ventures out into the unsafe zones. He makes more friends, and loses more friends, in his quest to find answers about himself, the Titans and how to save what is left of humankind when all is said and done. Each step of the way, there are huge complications with the characters and a staggering death toll in soldiers and civilians. Eren & Co. might be their only hope. There are new variants of Titans, something very odd is happening to Eren's body and every soldier's life hangs on his ability to fly through the trees (almost like Spiderman).

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This isn't in my Top 10, like SAO, but it's up there with emotional craziness. Actually, I think Attack on Titan is a much harder story on one's emotions. There is so much more tragedy and pain involved. There was some hope and normality to save people's sanity in SAO, and there is none of that in this anime. I had a hard time consuming it quickly, and the people I watched it with were pretty gung-ho about the whole thing. It's really well done, and I agree that it's excellent story-wise, but it was brutal and bloody. One friend likened it to Game of Thrones in that regard and I don't think he was wrong about that.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wouldn't for-sure hate it - basically someone only looking for fluffly stuff. This has no fluffy stuff or much humor. Most of the humor is fairly dark - and half of it is probably around the potato-loving character, Sasha. My only other recommendations is to avoid pushing yourself, and don't watch it right before bedtime. The Titans are this odd mix of blank, stumbling, ginormous baby, sexless, mindless people eating machines and it seems that the smallest ones are probably 5 meters tall. It's disturbing. The best part? Eren closing the door slowing on a bad guy (human bad guy). Heh.

Also, by the end of the season I had a crush on Captain Levi. Go figure.

Side Note: If you can find the special chibi episodes, they are totally worth it! Heehee.

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Disturbing in a different way: Loveless

So, I Can't Play H?

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Older teen+
Emotional Response: Amused and mildly interested
Notable Features: grim reapers, pervs, fan service
Language: Japanese
Length: 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Okay

"The size of your breasts isn't important. It's the warmth generated by what's behind them." - Ryosuke

So, I Can't Play H! is all about the perviness. Ryosuke is a young man in high school known for his unabashed love for the female body. He has one great friend, Mina, who loves him despite his awkward inability to keep his thoughts to himself. Even though he's a huge pervert, he also has a good heart and would never do anything (aside from his bizarre commentary) to ever hurt a girl. The whole things goes to hell when he meets a woman outside of his house, who wants him for his energy.

Lisara is a young woman who has come to Earth in search of a person with awesome soul powers that she can use for herself. Until she finds that person, she needs a temporary contract for power with someone, and Ryosuke was the most immediate person when she was in need. Now she's a bit stuck with him until she meets her goal. The story is all about his new found acceptance of how awesome him perviness, his perverted powers that put Lisara above the others and their budding friendships.

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So, I Can't Play H? was a simple series about a pseudo-demonic girl who stumbles on a perv boy and decides to use him for her benefit and ends up in more hot water than she was anticipating. Much like most harem anime, there is a lot of fan services everywhere but slightly better with conveniently placed smoke/steam/beams of light. There were some pretty funny moments, and I didn't hate it or anything, but I would only call it okay.

I never really cared too much about the characters. It was a pretty standard plot line for any harem anime and I didn't see anything special. The only different thing was the almost unique way they tried to spin the main characters perviness. I would say that it couldn't quite pull it off, especially when considering Heaven's Lost Property. So, it was okay. ::shrug::

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CHOMP: Attack on Titan

Diabolik Lovers

Genre: Horror 
Age Appropriate: Older Teens+
Emotional Response: confused fascination? 
Notable Features: vampires, reverse harem, evil
Language: Japanese
Length: 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty good (kinda)

"I wanted to punish you." - Kanato

Diabolik Lovers follow a young lady who has somehow been misled into a mansion full of vampires. Her understanding and reality are very far apart. Despite the varied levels of attractiveness and fascination with each of the male characters, each has one thing in common. These are not the nice vampires that are popular today. Yui spends some part of each episode attempting to learn each of the vampire brothers but it seems as though all of her efforts end in futility. Each of the vampires also have something specific to their personalities outside of their clearly different appearance. They all seems to have some sort of horrific personality twist that is often seen in reverse harem anime, but twisted in some way. The series works through Yui's attempted, scary relationships with each and discovering where she really fits into the scheme of things.

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I have no idea how I feel about this anime. On the one hand, I generally like reverse harem anime. On top of that, I've been a vampire freak for most of my life. One would think that between the anime geekiness, vampire geekiness and reverse harem geekiness, this would be perfect for me and yet I'm left somewhat confused and unsatisfied. It completely reminds me of Amnesia, in that way. Actually, it reminds me of Amnesia in a lot of ways. Both of them seem to have this quiet horrifying experience wrapped up in them, but also a weird fascinating quality that makes me want to finish them regardless. I think that's why I don't know what to feel here. I couldn't decide if I to kill them all, or hope they ended better than they began.

Of course, that also puts me in a conflicted position about how to rate this anime. I've put down "pretty good" because that's true. Whatever else I might be feeling, I have to admit that I certainly feel something, and that is usually a good mark of an effective story. So, it was certainly well done. I just don't know how to recommend this to someone. I guess, if you're into that kinda thing, this is a pretty good series. I know that I'm certainly interested. I also still retain my vampiric enjoyment (especially since none of these guys sparkle, ew). So, yeah I would recommend it - just to very specific people.

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What just happened?: So, I Can't Play H?