Rating: 8/10

Overall Series Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

Overll, the entire OAV series doesn’t impress me that much. This probably due to the poor plot linking between the four episodes, with episode 2 and 3 being rather wasteful, in my opinion. The story isn’t very strong, though I do see some elements of the Mai Otome manga in it. The animation and action are pretty high though, and this last episode by itself is quite enjoyable to watch. I think for me, I enjoyed seeing the reunion of Arika and Nina the most—sequels are always great to see old characters come together again. I guess that effect is what the animators tried to build on in episodes 2 and 3, though it ends up making the plot rather weak.

So after the edited version of Otome wa DO MY BEST Desho, playing as the ED (which fits amazingly well), we get to see a short commercial regarding a future Mai Otome series, Mai Otome S.ifr. This series will be a prequel to the Mai Otome series, so we’ll get to see Arika’s mother’s time and such, something which I will be looking forward to immensely. By the way, sifr in Arabic means zero apparently. Anyway, the length of this prequel is unknown, but it is presumed to be a three episode OAV series. There’s still that new Mai Hime series that’s supposedly going to come out soon, but I haven’t heard anything more about it…

Mai Otome S.ifr

Rating: 8/10 (It’s all Senna)

Impressions:

So after half a year, the DVD version of Memories of Nobody finally came out, followed by a speedy sub from Dattebayo. Of course, I downloaded it straight away and watched it the next day (since the absurd number of peers dwarfed the seeding ability of the few seeders, couple with my crap Australian internet, made the download extremely slow). I wasn’t planning on blogging it (well, certainly not screen capping it properly, since doing that for a movie is just stupid and time wasting), but I did decide to write a quick impression after a request from a commenter. I don’t have that much to say though, as being a side-plot movie, I’m not as ‘in touch’ with it as the series.

Compared with many other recent movies, the quality is not nearly as high, which is a slight disappointment. Seeing Naruto 3’s higher quality made me expect more from Bleach, though knowing the studio behind it, I guess I wasn’t that surprised. I think the main problem comes from the not so consistent facial animation. I did notice some of the faces to be quite off in certain instances. Apart from that and the general low quality (for a movie of course), there isn’t any other flaws I see (objectively though). If I talk subjectively, I can probably come up with a bit more. You ma have also noticed how I like writing the criticisms first in my posts.

Ok, now I’ll be speaking very subjectively. I don’t like the ending, but that’s solely due to the killing off of Senna, whom I fell in love with when the preview of the movie started airing, in place of the Bleach OP and ED animation sequences. It is quite obvious that all the movie characters would need to be ‘dealt’ with by the end of the movie, since otherwise it might make the series inconsistent. Meaning, if Senna stayed, it would be awkward that she never appears in the anime or manga. This is important for Bleach, as it is located in a pretty small world, whereas Naruto, for example, you can have the protagonists go to a random place and never go back again.

Right, now on to the fights. Sure, nice animation (at least compared to the normal ones in the series), though I felt that, by trying to get a large number of characters into the final fight, it doesn’t give a lasting impression. The individual battles are too short, but at least it shows that the captains and vice captains aren’t completely useless, as I’m beginning to think from the series and manga. Ichigo’s fight is pretty reminiscent of his fight with Byakuya, and again uses the cliché finishing move. Of course, I’m not complaining. I must say I loved the movie (due to Senna and my general love for Bleach), but of course it doesn’t mean I can’t express any negative views I have. =)

Senna, the new character around, and the main addition for the movie: yes, she has the best personality of all the female characters in Bleach. Which isn’t saying much actually, as there are hardly any female characters in Bleach. Let me name a few: Rukia, Orihime, Yoruichi, Matsumoto, Soi Fon etc. And I can hardly say that any of them have particularly good personalities. Rukia is not feminine at all, Orihime is too shy, Yoruichi doesn’t appear enough, Matsumoto is too anime-ish, and Soi Fon is too professional. Therefore, I think you’d be able to understand my thrill after seeing such a fun new (temporary) female addition to Bleach’s cast.

It’s pretty obvious that with a female character like that around, things would get really sappy in the end, especially with the amazingly fast relationship development between Senna and Ichigo that’s bound to happen. Sigh, this makes me think that Tite Kubo definitely needs to work on his characters and put in some normal high school girls to complement Ichigo’s friendship group. And when I say normal, I don’t really mean normal, but fun and carefree in general, like Senna. Her strange ability to scatter leaves certainly makes it a lot more artistic, though it would have been nice if she actually gets involved more in the fights.

Story-wise, I guess this is a typical movie-oriented plot, based off a manga-originated anime series, so it’s not like I wasn’t expecting something like this, before even reading the summary. So all in all, I didn’t like the storyline that much, though it’s still nowhere close to being bad in any respect. This is also why I’m not looking forward to the next movie that much, mainly because there’s no cool new character to entice me. Again, this is probably why I don’t like the Naruto movies much (I’m comparing to them because they’re by the same studio). The best movies, IMO, are ones that are straight from a print source, and ones that aren’t branched from an existing series.

Alright, so I did end up saying quite a bit. I didn’t take many screen shots, since, as I stated above, taking one every minutes would be too much for me to handle. If you want to see more, you can visit my post on the preview of the movie, where I took a screen shot every second approximately. Well, you’ve probably already seen that post anyway. Do I recommend it? Yes if you watch Bleach. Definitely if you like Bleach. Yes if you only read the manga. No if you don’t know what Bleach is. Yes if you like hyperactive girls. Yes if you like shounen. And definitely not if you are a Bleachtard hater. =)

Rating: 9.3/10

Impressions:

As a standalone, this episode is pretty good, with the standard OAV-level of animation and the amount of action (plus Nao gets a lot of attention!) However, being a whole quarter of Mai Otome Zwei, the fact that it didn’t really develop the story much is a real shame, like last episode. It’s like a really good story starts unfolding, but comes to an untimely end halfway through. Because of this, I am very confused about everything that’s happened so far, and I can’t make sense of how a lot of things tie together. Not to mention it’s been quite a while since the first episode was released. The spa scene didn’t really help to advance the story either.

As a Mai Hime/Otome fan, I think Sunrise should’ve just made a sequel to Mai Otome in an anime format (though apparently they’re animating Mai Hime Destiny now – Gundam Seed Destiny anyone?) I don’t know how true this is either. Anyway, I hope we get to see Nina fight new episode, as Nao’s fight kind of disappointed me (aren’t the five pillars meant to be strong?) I also wonder how the OAV series will conclude with the final 30 minutes of the next episode (and it’s concerning how the preview has a picture of Arika getting her panties pulled down…)

Japanese Title: 時を�?��?�る少女
Medium: Movie
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Duration: 100 min
Producers: Kadokawa Shoten, Madhouse Studios
Official Site: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/tokikake/

Rating: 10/10

Impressions:

I found out about this show on Retsgip’s Anime Blog (of course from Darkshaunz’s post by the movie of the same title in English). At first, I had no idea what to make of it, as after typing the name in Tokyotosho, nothing came up. I thought perhaps Darkshaunz, knowing how he is, was pulling a prank. However, it soon became clear that the show was indeed real after browsing google and Wikipedia. Of course, after finding out about this and reading about how good it is, I just had to download for myself. After getting it from Tokyotosho, this time having used the Japanese name. And after watching it, I can say…it was AWESOME!!

Yes I know that’s somewhat of a childish way for me to put it, saying it’s ‘awesome’, but indeed it is. The quality is as expected of movie standards, but it’s the powerful plot, scripting and character development that made me fall in love with it. Not long ago, I watched the first third of 5cm Per Second, which astounded me with its sad story and spectacular quality. It’s similar this time as well, except the high quality is replaced by the character development. I was disappointed with the sad ending though, as throughout the movie I was hoping for everything to turn out nicely. If time travel can be such a simple thing, surely a happy ending was plausible…I guess not really.

Makoto is definitely an interesting character, and her personality is very believable for an anime construction. I never expected Chiaki to be important throughout the movie, but it turns out it was him who had caused everything. After getting through the initial confusion with the time travel and all, you immediately become familiarised with the characters, which will overall heighten your enjoyment of the amusing time leaping scenes. Well that’s certainly what happened with me. And of course, halfway in, the comedy becomes more of a drama as everything starts falling apart in Makoto’s world. It’s comedy and drama in one package!

I really don’t know what else to say, except to watch this movie. It’s based on a manga or something isn’t it? I would sure like to read that. The story sounds like it would make for an excellent novel as well. Ah well. Oh, I forgot about a summary, but I guess there should be a suitable one floating around on the internet (such as Darkshaunz’s post xD). But for a shorter one: Makoto is an average high school girl…(sound familiar?) until one day she finds that she is able to leap through time at will. With this new ability, she decides to have fun and solve a few problems along the way. But with this comes many consequences and tragedies as she soon finds out…

Rating: 9.3/10

Impressions:

Being a big fan of Mai Hime and Mai Otome, and a bigger fan of the Mai Otome manga, I, like many others I presume, have been eagerly anticipating the second episode in the Zwei OAV series. Overall, this second episode is actually a bit of a disappointment. Although not lacking in action and quality, it suffers from slow plot progression, especially as it is a four episode OAV. It seems like the final battle will probably begin next episode and end in the last episode. I was really hoping for more plot twists and extra development, with little subplots involving the various characters, but of course, what was I thinking? This isn’t a full fledged TV sequel…just a four episode OAV.

However, I am very excited nonetheless as this is more Mai Otome. Being one of my favourite shows of 2006, I can’t help it. The quality is also higher than the series as expected, and the action scenes this episode are pretty impressive. Also, the reappearances of several characters are also pleasing. One of my favourites, Nao, seems to have a role in the story (meaning, larger than many of the other characters’ roles). I also hope Arika gets her powers back soon, as she IS the spine of the show in my opinion, and I find her bubbly nature quite enjoyable to watch (although some might be annoyed by it).

The problem with this episode is quite apparently the lack of any story progression. A lot of time is spent on a rather useless bus jacking, which only manages to incorporate some well animated fighting and the revelation of another unknown Otome from last episode, Shinso-sama. If you recall, it seems the enemy can take on the shape of the Otome it touches, and perhaps gains their powers as well. Even though I enjoyed this episode for the action and even just for seeing more of the characters, if I think of this OAV as a whole, it becomes obvious that with four episodes, there is no time to waste on non-plot-progressive events.

Some confusion has arisen in regards to the transition between the last episode and this. Just to clarify, the last episode ends with Mashiro disappearing in a typhoon of sorts, along with the rest of the Black Valley. I guess it could be seen as a cliffhanger, though this episode doesn’t take it as such. I’m assuming it takes place a little after the events of last episode, as Arika is searching for Mashiro. Personally though, I would have preferred this episode to have continued from last episode directly, and show the aftermath, as well as what Garderobe and other important characters are planning on doing.

I guess the main thing everyone wants is to see their favourite characters in action again. Well, that’s certainly what I would like. This definitely includes Nao for me, though I really don’t have many others. I also hope the final showdown isn’t just a group battle, where no one gets extra attention. Arika definitely needs to kick some ass as well, as she doesn’t exactly do this in the previous episode. Same goes to Mai and Natsuki. In fact, I would like everyone to do some fighting, but as I pointed out earlier, this brings it to the problem of everyone participating in a group battle…Oh and by the way, I like the ED song this episode a lot better than the last.

Preview:

Next episode – #3
The start of the final battle?

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

Well, the first thing I should say is that that ‘virtual’ sex scene was quite unexpected. Perhaps it was used to emphasise a point, but I really see no point of it being in there anyway. This entire episode bored me severely somehow. I’m glad this will only be 4 episodes long, as it should be pretyt straight to the point. As of now, it still doesn’t seem like much has happened. I guess the show should end when vengeance is exacted. The little girl will probably get involved as well, with a whole bunch of other stuff yadda yadda yaddah~ Oh and another thing, for an OAV, the quality is pretty crap, especialy the CG, which is absolute shit! (I think I may have said otherwise in my first post, but oh well!)

Rating: 10/10

Impressions:

This is one of those shows that makes me want to screen shot each and every scene of the movie. The quality is so fucking good I died multiple times by looking at the backgrounds. And since the whole show is comprised of 99% backgrounds, you can estimate the number of times my heart failed. This show definitely does not disappoint, with quality that makes Kanon look like Yoakena in comparison, and a familiar yet fantastic story about distance, which is both super sweet and oh so sad. Unfortunately, the actual movie, with all three parts, won’t air in cinemas until next month, so I guess we will have to wait for a DVD to see the rest.

This show is about distance, as was the other show I have seen from the same creator: Voices of a Distant Star, which ends in complete and utterly painful sadness. But because of that, it’s an awesome show to watch. The drama is created by the increasing distance between two people with extremely strong bonds. Sadness is created by the fact that the distances continue growing, and will never shrink. It represents harsh reality, and not everything ends in happiness. The internal monologue allows the viewer to delve into Takaki’s character immediately, and because of this, so much more pain is felt during the hurtful moments.

One difference between Byosoku and Voices of a Distant Star is that this show is set in the recent past, while the other in the future (where travelling to lightyears away is fairly easy, and of course, being Japanese, there exists mecha). This show ends in an emotionally unsure way in my opinion. I’m sure many people will find the ending sweet, though I, as well as many others as well, found it extremely sad. I don’t know why, but the way the story and romance is presented makes the perhaps neutral ending the saddest thing I have ever seen. I don’t think anything will top this in that aspect, except another work from the same creator.

The first half made me think that Takaki would fail in reaching Akari in time, thus perhaps resulting in him never being able to see her again. It is heartwrenching to hear him explain the amount of time he spends waiting as the train is delayed. When it becomes apparent that Akari had actually waited for Takaki for hours, a momentary sense of relief and joy sweeps over, though it is obvious the two will not stay together forever. This is another thing that makes it so realistic and sad: no matter how hard you try, some things just can’t be overcome. Takaki and Akari write to each other and even manage to meet each other again, though it is inevitable that they will not be together forever.

The way that the show focuses on Takaki trying to meet up with Akari for the majority of the time, with the actual time spent toegther being rather short, displays how insignificant it is compared to everything else. Happiness is hard to come by, and perhaps takes a lot of effort to obtain. After such painful waiting on the train for hours, Takaki would meet Akari and spend a night together. However, in the end, it is just one day compared to the rest of their lives. Of course, they might meet again later in life, though it is most likely that they will go separate ways and in the end, forget about each other.

This show really is a must see! As I have already mentioned, the quality is outstanding and makes KyoAni productions cry, while the story is heartwrenching and touching at the same time. The monologue-storytelling effect is excellent in this case, and excellent use of colours, backgrounds and music accompany the sad story perfectly. If you haven’t seen this, then watch it now, or you’ll die a horrible and twisted death! (Just kidding!) Character design could be better, but this is one type of show where character design doesn’t matter. It’s all about the emotion (and for me, the scenery!) This truly deserves a 10/10.

Preview:

Next time:
The full 3-part movie will air in March in Japan…guess the DVDs will be some time away…

Rating: 8.8/10 (because Jun is love!)

Impressions:

JUN TURNS INTO A REAL GIRL! Darkshaunz will flip when he hears about this, though I think he already has…But if you’re after some Jun fanservice, you will be severely disappointed. There is like…none. Almost. I’m not sure about the difference Jun being a girl makes, other than the development of breasts and perhaps the less shame guys will feel for fapping to her. But like I said the OAV has almost no fanservice, so don’t get your hopes up. However, the episode is of course entirely about Jun, so that should be enough to make a lot of fanboys happy!

People complained about the lack of Jun in the anime. Well, this is the answer to that; Jun turning into a girl. The events that lead up to this are rather…dumb, such as four mages of the show, Haruhi, Anri, Ibuki and Shinya all happen to cast spells at once, which all somehow go towards the exact same place and fusing together before hitting Jun, which turns her into a girl. But the crap story doesn’t matter, since it’s all about Jun. She’s probably the favourite character of many fans because of her fun personality, and generally because she’s cuter than the other girls. And also, I’m pretty sure something like this happens in the game…

Basically, after Jun turns into a girl, the whole school falls for her, regardless of the gender. Apparently, the magic that hit her also made her attractiveness over 9000. It must have somehow caused her to radiate some kind of universal pheromone that everyone is attracted to. Except Yuuma that is. Apparently, Yuuma, being near the magic, is also affected. After Jun manages to solve the problem of thousands of horny guys looking for a kiss (and more likely more), we find out that Yuuma has developed breasts, lost his manhood and gained the superior attractiveness that Jun has before him. And yes, that’s the end.

Not only is Jun attractive, her personality makes it really fun to watch her. She is what I would consider the most normal, believe it or not. Out of all the girls I know in real life, I can say not many have the characteristics a lot of anime girls have, such as overt shyness, tsundere-ness, or girls who completely shutdown when they are near the guy they like. Jun is just too easy going, and that’s what makes her great. And yeah I know I’ve been calling Jun a ‘her’ for a while now, but it makes it sound a lot better…Anyway, this OAV greatly makes up for the lack of Jun in the anime. The quality is noticeably higher, but still pretty shit lol.

Rating: 9.8/10

Overall Series Rating: 9.7/10

Impressions:

Man, now I’m sad. Not because this series has a mediocre ending or anything, but because it’s just so good in my opinion, that it’s quite hard knowing there won’t be any more for who knows how long. Perhaps never even. Stratos 4 has turned out to be one of my all time favourite shows, and it’s pretty disheartening to see it finish. As for this final episode though, I feel that it doesn’t have enough closure. There are still many things to resolve, such as Miharu and Sako’s daughter. The relationship between Karin and her…brother(?) also remain uncertain. Perhaps if there were more episodes, another conspiracy could develop regarding the parasite infections and using it to better or worsen the world. Apart from that though, the crisis-averted ending is a nice conclusion to this sort of series anyway, so I’m content with that. Overall though, I feel that the three new meteor sweepers didn’t get enough character development. I guess though, being an OAV, there wasn’t much time to include an episode that doesn’t advance the plot.

Speaking of that, over the course of Statos 4 Advance, there is no single, dominant plot which the show follows. It does make up for this by making al the small missions exciting and enjoyable though. I had been hoping from the start that these 6 (or what became episodes would be one continuous story, with a nice climax in the second to last and last episodes. Although that did not happen, it was highly enjoyable none-the-less. Maybe, just maybe, there will be another OAV…Oh and if you’re curious, when I say this show is one of my favourites, I mean I like it more than any of the fall season shows including Kanon, Death Note and Code Geass. By far. I wouldn’t put this in my top 5, but it’s in my top 10 definitely. I’d also like to mention that this series is not a mecha, which may put a lot of people off. The original television series starts of rather slowly, and I did find myself rather bored of the first half of the show. However, if there is ever a sequel, you’ll know which series is at the top of my priority to-watch list.

Rating: 8.3/10

Impressions:

LOL my god I am so sorely disappointed at this OAV. I’m not saying it’s not a good episode, but I can’t believe there’s like no Shana and Yuuji. It should have been Yuuji x Shana x Yoshida (even though I absolutely despise Yoshida and her Twin Towers). Still, overall it was quite enjoyable, though it would be much better if it is actually part of the series. That way, it would act as a character development episode for one of the more minor characters, Ogata (which sounds like oba-san to me lol). I must say though, as Shakugan no Shana is my fourth all-time favourite anime (after Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach and Suzumiya Haruhi in that order), just watching the OP excited me. I sort of re-fell in love with the show after hearing the first 2 seconds of the OP. And I should also mention the altered ED with stills of Ogata instead of Shana; quite nicely done I must say. Well anyway, if you’re a fan of Shakugan no Shana, you must watch this. Also, if you like fanservice, you will be disappointed because there’s not much. Wilhelmina and Margery make short appearances too. I was hoping this would be an action OAV, but then I guess it wouldn’t really work if it’s placed after episode 13 chronologically. I guess I’ll have to wait for the movies for some real Shakugan no Shana goodness.