My Fall Anime Guide

Another season means another batch of anime to watch, love, and lampoon. As always, there’s going to be anime that suck big ones and anime that everyone will love. I’m here to help you find anime that you’ll love so you won’t waste your time with another fanservice show.

Bakuman- The first anime I watched this Fall was the anime adaptation of Bakuman, originally created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the guys behind Death Note. The story starts with Moritaka Mashiroa, boy down in the dumps because he wants to draw manga, but because of what attempting to be a mangaka did to his uncle, he's decided to opt for a cushy, safe job in an office cubicle. This all changes when he encounters Akito Takagi, an optimistic classmate who loves manga as well and wishes to write manga one day. His art skills suck, though, so he offers to team up to become a great mangaka team. After initially declining, Moritaka accepts once the girl of dreams states her wishes to become a voice actress and she agrees to voice act in the anime adaptation of their manga. In a surprise twist, our main character actually asks her for her hand in marriage. She accepts, but she adds a very stupid condition to the agreement that I won't spoil here.

 The two main characters are certainly interesting enough, though Moritaka will annoy you at first with his very depressing outlook on life until he lightens up a little bit. What worries me is that the manga has a rather misogynist reputation, and the marriage proposal scene certainly hints at that. Still, I recommend checking this show out at least for the premise that will probably resonate with anyone who's wanted to write comics or any story at a young age.

 

Star Driver- Watch this show now! I should elaborate, of course, but I'm 3 episodes into this series and I'm already convinced that this will be the best anime this Fall. It's certainly got all the right credits to qualify. First of all, this show is made by Studio BONES, the guys who made great shows such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, and Darker Than Black. They're known for spending their animation budget well and creating top-notch animation, and that holds true for this show. Second of all, the story was penned by the guy who wrote for the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is one of the greatest allegorical anime ever written. The similarities between this show and Utena are astounding, and I might as well call Star Driver a gender bent Utena with giant robots, which is a compliment. Speaking of robots, the duels between the giant robots are simply spectacles that must be viewed. Even if you don't care for learning about the character's motivations, what the Order of the Glittering Stars is really after, or why the main character is as thin as twig, the robot fights will keep you hooked, unlike Utena's sword duels that were somewhat impressive but not impressive enough to hold the anime up on its own. Whether you're a fan of Utena or not, definitely check Star Driver out. You'll definitely find something in the show worth watching.

 

Soredemo Machi wa Matteiru- Now comedy is a very subjective thing. I'll admit that what I find funny will not be everyone's cup of tea, and that the comedy genre is definitely not my favorite. But I was surprised by the number of comedies that I found myself enjoying this season. I found four comedies that so far are actually witty and don't rely on too much fanservice to draw in viewers. Soredemo Machi wa Matteiru, or Soremachi as I will refer to it as to make it easier to remember, is my favorite comedy this Fall. Produced by Shaft -- not the Blaxploitation pop culture icon --, the story follows Hotori, a dim-witted high school girl who works at a Maid Cafe. You would think that a show revolving around maids, a common Japanese fetish, would lead to a lot of fanservice, but this is not the case so far. The cafe is rather small and consists of only 2 employees: Hotori and her boss, an old lady who recently changed the theme of the cafe to maids to stay hip with the current trends. The maid outfits are not provocative at all, and the first  episode makes some fun jokes about fanservice clichés such as how clumsy girls are supposedly cute. Another maid joins the cafe, bringing more zaniness to the main cast. The 3 maids work well together. Hotori is lazy and dumb with the occasional bright idea, the old lady is wise and snarky, and the new girl is hard-working and serious. 

The only major complaints I have are that Hotori's stupidity can be annoying sometimes, and the eye catches are too random for my tastes. I still say check this anime out if you want a decent deconstruction of maid tropes and the like.

 

The World God Only Knows- This was an anime that a lot of people were hyping up. Apparently the manga version is very popular. The premise is about this guy, Katsuragi, who has beaten and mastered every dating sim known to man. He knows everything about courting virtual women, but he holds no interest in real women. Hearing about his exploits as a dating god, a demon sends him a message challenging him to the ultimate dating game: real life. He accepts thinking that the message is just a hoax, but he ends up being forced to seduce and kiss various real women in order to catch the escaped souls from Hell inside of them. Think of Pokémon, but replace catching all Pokémon with catching women's hearts.

 I can see this show becoming formulaic fast, but for now it's an absolute joy. I'm sure that various nerds and otaku will be able to identify with our protagonist's preference for the virtual world over real life, and watching him be baffled at the fact that not all tropes apply to real life is glorious. The idea that someone obsessed with dating games might use that obsession to get acquire real women may be too unrealistic for some, but I say look past that and enjoy the humor.

 

Kuragehime- The noitaminA block has presented some of my favorite shows this year: Tatami Galaxy, House of Five Leaves, and Shiki. The shows shown on the block are stylistically and written differently from most anime, and Kuragehime continues that trend. Kuragehime focuses on Tsukimi, a girl obsessed with jellyfish who bunks with other female nerds who are obsessed with stuff such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms or dolls. Together, they call themselves “The Nunz” (sic), and they despise stylish hipsters. It’s nice to see an anime that focuses on nerds who are obsessed with things besides anime, manga, or video games, and female nerds to boot. This is not a show that shows a bunch of women to sexualize them, but instead draws very homely and almost realistic looking women. I say almost because this show has a unique art style that helps it stand out from the rest of the crop.

The first episode focuses on our heroine’s encounter with a stylish “princess”, the kind of person that she used to idolize as a child before she became a fujoshi, which literally means “rotten girl” and is an offensive term used to describe female otaku. She ends up bringing this beautiful woman back to her apartment, despite the rest of her friends obviously not being pleased with this. At the end, we discover that this lady is not quite a lady, but I won’t spoil the end for you. Watch this anime if you want to watch something extremely different from the rest of the anime crop this fall, and please check out the rest of the noitaminA anime if you like this one.

 

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt- I felt dirty just watching this. From the title you might infer that this is a porn title, but it’s not. The anime focuses on two angels named Panty and Stocking who were sent to Earth to battle monsters, and they can’t return to Heaven until they’ve collected enough tokens held by the monsters. The plot’s simple enough, but this show is just full of shit. No, really. The first episode is literally overflowing with poo, because the first monster is made of crap. But the poo monster is not the problem. The problem is that Panty is obsessed with sex, constantly beds every man that she comes across, and constantly makes jokes about sex. Stocking is a Goth obsessed with sugar, and she’s more tolerable than Panty but she’s given much less screen time than Panty. Garterbelt, the black priest who tells the angels what to do, is the only likable character, but he’s not on screen enough to save the show. The unique animation style is the only thing saving this show. Japan basically made its own Nickelodeon show. The characters all have that angular and cartoony style that many Americans are used to. It’s good that Japan is willing to try new styles, but when the main protagonists aren’t very likable and you’re showing minute-long scenes of them taking a dump, you’re not going to get many fans. There will be people who don’t mind the extreme toilet and sex humor, of course, but this anime is definitely not for those wanting likable protagonists and more intelligent humor.

Squid Girl- Now this is more like it. A squid girl, a humanoid girl with tentacle hair and other squid abilities, has had enough with humanity polluting the ocean, so she’s decided to conquer the world to fix this problem. Unfortunately, she finds out that conquering 6 billion people might be too hard, so she ends up working for a beach side restaurant. The ridiculous premise reminds me of Sgt. Frog, another great anime comedy, and like Sgt. Frog, the concept of a weird creature constantly trying to conquer the world and constantly failing at it continues to evoke laughs.  The titular Squid Girl is naïve but likable, even though she’s kind of a villain protagonist. You can pity her because no one takes her world domination plans seriously and because she’s not monstrous in the slightest. It's silly and cute enough to work. This is another good comedy that’s on this fall, and comedy fans should definitely be eating this stuff up.

That’s all the anime I’ve seen this fall. Go check out this anime if you’re interested, and comment on my preview, please.

EXP Con Day 1

Well, it was actually Day 2, but I wasn't at the con yesterday so it was Day 1 for me, and there wasn't much interesting going on yesterday anyway.

So this was my first Con. I had little money, no outfit, and I was starving the entire day, but I had a wonderful time. The people at the convention were very nice, and they all had great costumes. I particularly liked some of the Soul Eater cosplays that were prevalent at the con, and the free hugs were lovely. There was a cool game room with some Brawl and SSF4 tournaments going on. I didn't participate in the tournaments, but I played some Brawl matches and kicked everyone's ass with Samus. There was a sweet dealership room, and if I had the money to spend, I would so own these cool Vash and Wolfwood figures, but I just bought what I could: a Revolutionary Girl Utena poster and a mask that'll I use in a Halloween costume (you might find out more about that later).

But the main reason I came to EXP Con was for the panels and guests. Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario from Super Mario Bros., was an extremely nice person. Imagine if Mario had no mustache, no Italian accent, no plumber outfit, and white hair and you would get Charles. He really does match up well with Mario's adventurous and fun-loving character. He got some weird questions at the panel such as "Is Waluigi gay?" or "Do an impression of Mario as a pimp" (the latter was asked by someone dressed as Mario as a pimp), but he was sweet and answered all of the questions well (no, he didn't do the pimp impression, but only because he values Mario's character that much).

The other big name I was there for was Chris Sabat, whom most of you know as Vegeta and Kuwabara from Dragon Ball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho. Here's a useful tip: Don't ask him to say "IT'S OVER 9000!". He gets asked that all the time and he normally won't do it unless you do something embarrassing for him. He was a blast to listen to, and now I want a sitcom where Vegeta and Armstrong are roommates. No, you're not getting any context for that. =P

Chris also hosted Dubbing panel, where he would take an episode of Dragon Ball Z Kai and have fans dub over certain lines and then mix them into the episode. Most of the fans weren't that good, but we got to hear some funny voices and a few decent ones as well. Plus, Chris plays the funniest Baby Goku ever. WAH!

So I'm definitely going back tomorrow. I might post what happens tomorrow as well, but I won't be there as long as today so don't expect much.

Nerima Daikon Brothers Review

Shinichiro Watanabe is an interesting anime director. He’s the man responsible for strange, surreal works such as Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemi, but he’s probably more memorable for as “Nabeshin”, the nickname that most people know him by and the name of his character in all of his shows. Despite this Mary Sue-ish trait of his, I can proudly say that he is a great director, but I can only say that two of his anime are really great: the aforementioned Excel Saga and the subject of today’s review, Nerima Daikon Brothers.

Yes, he really looks like that.

Nerima Daikon Brothers is a unique anime, even by Nabeshin standards. It has the usual weirdness and surrealism of his best-known work, but it’s also a musical comedy, and I cannot really compare this anime to anything else because of this. If there’s another musical comedy anime out there, please alert me to it, because quite frankly there needs to be more of them if they can be this good.

The show is mostly episodic and each episode follows a very basic formula: the Nerima Daikon Brothers are wronged by the villain of the week in some way, the Bros sing some songs, the Bros defeat the villain with the help of Nabeshin’s rentals, Bros take villain's money in hopes of using it to get out of debt and build a concert dome, and then the Bros lose that money. Rinse and repeat. Despite the predictable formula in every episode, you’ll still find yourself amused and bewildered by the strange things going on in Nerima, such as the aliens, the heat seeking butt plugs, the Inspector Gadget and Michael Jackson parodies, the panda and fishcake fetishes, and the lion-esque Prime Minister. There’s also a lot of sexual humor in the show, with examples such as the phallic nature of daikons and the previously mentioned heat-seeking enema. Those of you who can’t handle lots of sexual humor might want to be cautious about this show because it doesn’t really hold back on the sex jokes.

As for the brothers themselves, they’re not flat characters, but their personalities aren’t too hard to sum up. Hideki is the boisterous old-fashioned leader of the group who drives the group’s dream of having their own concert dome on their daikon farm (a daikon is basically an Asian radish, by the way). He’s also not too bright, and not knowing simple things like the fact that marrying your cousin is legal in Japan really show this. Speaking of the cousin he wants to marry, Mako is the token female of the group from the countryside who wants to be rich and famous at whatever cost. Finally, there’s Ichiro, the soft-spoken moe host who seems to be the voice of reason many times, and even he’s weird with his love for Pandaikon, the group’s pet panda. Later on, a character named Yukika (the Inspector Gadget parody) becomes a regular member on the show, but she’s more of a rival of the Bros. until the end, as she doesn’t really approve of their criminal antics due to being an officer of the law in all.

Now for the main meat and potatoes of the series: the witty and catchy music and lyrics. The show is able to switch between talking and singing without weirding out the viewers too much, provided that the rest of the show doesn’t weird them out, which is important in any musical. You’ll often find yourself singing along with the songs because they are that catchy, and the sing-along option on the DVDs certainly helps. As for the voices delivering the music, the English voice actors do a great job, as do the English writers. Translating Japanese into English and making it make sense to English speakers is one thing, but to top that off with translating a Japanese song without screwing with the actual music is a hefty task. Yes, the lyrics in the English version are significantly different, but they have to be to translate properly, and the writers do a good job of keeping the original spirit of songs intact. If it bothers you, the Japanese voices are should suffice, but you miss out on hearing Greg Ayre’s, Luci Christian’s, and Chris Patton’s great voices.

All in all, NDB is a wonderful little gem. If you’ve liked Nabeshin’s past works, definitely buy this. If not, still give it a look, as it’s probably a more tolerable blend of weird than anything else he’s directed, and because the show is very different from most other anime out there, it’s definitely something to keep in mind if you want something other than the typical moe or harem shows that have been suffocating anime in recent years.

My review of Sasameki Koto (originally posted 7/19/10 on D2Brigade.net)

This anime was interesting experiment for me. Not only was this the first time I watched an anime with the intent of analyzing and reviewing it, but this was also my first true exposure to Girl’s Love, or shoujo-ai, anime. Being a novice in this genre may or may not be a hindrance in this review, but I hope that's not the case. Anyway, onto the anime itself.

Sasameki Koto was a 13 episode GL romantic comedy broadcast in Japan last fall. The main focus of the anime is on the main character Sumika’s hard crush on her best friend, Ushio. Sumika is unfortunately unable to come out about her feelings to Ushio despite their closeness, and no one, at first, is aware of her even being a lesbian. Her friend, Ushio, however, is much more open about her lesbianism and is constantly talking about how she wants to find a cute girl to date. Ushio’s taste in girls leads to a big dilemma in Sumika’s chase for her affections. Ushio only likes cute girls, and Sumika does not fit her description of cute. Sumika is tall (by Japanese standards), athletic, and one of the smartest students in school, but her overwhelming scholarly success and strength do not fit Ushio’s high standards. Like most romance stories, most of the dramatic tension revolves around whether or not these two friends will finally get together or not.

Sasameki Koto is pretty dramatic, slow, and melancholy series. The first episode is definitely the saddest of the bunch, and the more tear-prone viewers might shed a tear near the end of the episode. The rest of the series never feels quite as sad or dramatic, but it has its moments. Once we’re introduced to the rest of the cast, the show starts to take a more slice of life approach in its story. The rest of the cast adds more interest to an anime that feels like it drags at times, but they also feel more like comic relief than integral characters. After meeting our two main characters, we’re introduced to Kiyori, the only straight girl in the group of 7 mains. She really adds nothing to the plot other than some comic relief, but she’s rarely on-screen anyway. Next, we have Akemiya, the only male in the group who’s shy and easily pushed around. Other than that, his two main defining traits are his crush on Sumika and his cross-dressing habits (more on that later). We’re then introduced to the lesbian couple of Tomoe and Miyako. Tomoe is responsible for getting the main cast together to form a Girl’s Club for the school (Akemiya gets dragged in as his female persona much to his chagrin). She’s the most outgoing member of the group and might even be more mature than Sumika, but she and Miyako aren’t given enough focus. Miyako is probably the least developed main character in the show next to Kiyori. Her personality never really expands beyond being cute, but bratty and almost manipulative. Finally, we have Aoi, who arrives late in the story but is given enough screentime in her debut to make up for it. She’s a yuri fangirl who is totally obsessed with the yuri novels written by a certain author, but she has little friends as a result of that.

The atmosphere of this show is melancholy as I said before. The music in the show consists of soft piano pieces that really set the tone for the show. The show moves at a pretty slow pace, and you will sometimes wish the show would hurry along, but once again is really fits the tone this show is aiming for. You really get to see the emotion going on between all of the characters because of this, and I think it really works. This show is a romantic comedy, however, so there are moments in the show that are a little silly and less emotional, but most of them are appreciated for being a quick change of pace. Trust me, you will laugh hard at Miyako’s one liner in the pool episode (that episode as a whole is probably the best in the whole show, IMO).

The animation is nothing to praise. It’s pretty simple and it works, but nothing about it really sticks out about it. I will say that this is a pretty pleasant looking anime. Despite some obvious short cuts (some of the extras don’t even have faces), you will generally not be too distracted by them to care.
If this show had a major flaw besides its sometimes too slow pace, it’s the fact that the series doesn’t really end. It sort of just stops. It seems like the animators were waiting for a second season, because the manga this show was based on is still going. It’s a shame, really, because the ride to the end is a real treat, and to see it stop the way it did was almost heartbreaking.
Here are my final thoughts. If you’re looking for an anime that focuses on good high school romantic drama with the occasional funny moments, and you want to see a show focusing on lesbians in a romantic manner, then I recommend checking this anime out. If you can’t deal with a slow pace or don’t like seeing an anime without a true ending, then skip it. I personally enjoyed this show, and my experience with these kinds of shows is limited, so hopefully that says a lot about this show’s quality.
This anime has not been licensed outside of Japan yet. You can watch it all legally on Crunchyroll with subtitles, and I recommend that site for viewing it. Remember to support the anime industry, and thank you for reading this first review of mine.