anime review: sakurasou no pet na kanojo

sakurasou no pet na kanojo is an anime about a bunch of looney people in a looney bin. at least that what Kanda Sorata would say.

actually this anime is all about self discovery and working hard to reach your goal.

the plot:
kanda sorata had always wanted to escape the looney bin known as Sakurasou, the home for problem children of Suimei High of Gift Affliated. he was kicked out the regular dorm because he kept a pet. but all his hope was crushed when he was assigned on 'Mashiro Duty', in which he need to feed her, clean her and dress her.  to make matter worse, mashiro is not a cat that he tends to pick up. mashiro is a real life, 16 years old girl that was super hot yet super clueless. all her life she only paint that she didn't know to do anything else.

other than mashiro, there are also few other residents in sakurasou who in kanda sorata's words are alien, ghost, and maharaja.

the story follows Sorata's attempts to become a game maker at the same time trying to live under the pressure of the talents around him. he  was disappointed a few times and blames his lacks of talent.

this story also revolves around the daily lives of the residents os sakurasou, their mischief and their effort together in making something they like.

the characters:
kanda sorata- the only sane person in Sakurasou (in his words). Sorata was the kind of boy who didn't know what to do with his life. when he figured out what he wanted to do, he always failed. he lives under the pressure of those talented people around him, especially mashiro, who in his eyes didn't have to work hard and always lucky in anything she does.




Kamiigusa misaki- the alien of sakurasou. she was gifted in animation and even had an anime that was a huge hit under her belt. she is always full of energy and crazy ideas. she is always in love with her childhood friend to the point of doing inappropriate and crazy things so that he would notice her.

Shiina Mashiro- the pet of sakurasou. she didn't know to do anything else other that painting hence how the 'mashiro duty' was created. someone always had to wake her up, take her to the bath, choose her clothes for the day, give her food and leave her when she started doing her wor. she is already a popular painter in england before moving to Japan to draw manga. shiina was a bit of a kuudere, and have the craziest one liner.




Mitaka Jin- the maharaja. he had a bunch of girlfriends and always spend the night with them. ironically he is the one that misaka love. it was later revealed that he too loves misaka but too afraid to lose her. he wanted to keep her at his side, pure forever. he  wrote  the script for misaka's anime but his scripts was not so good. something that always ticked him off. he wanted to be somebody that can stand next to misaka not just some average person, hence he decided to move to Osaka because the university there had better writing programs.

akasaka ryuunusuke- the ghost/shut-in. ryuusuke was rarely shown in fact we were only know him in the middle of the series. he laways comunicated via mail with the help of maid-chain, the autoresponder he developed himself. he is a computer programmer and was afraid of women. despite that, he was blunt and honest in his words that it sometimes hurt others. despite being a shut-in, he was shown as someone who was good at dealing with peoples, albeit rarely shown.

aoyama nanami- the other only sane person in sakurasou. she moved to sakurasou because of the cheaper fare. she wants to be a seiyuu and had worked hard since then. she was the other talent-less person in sakurasou that need to work hard to achieve her goal. nanami secretly has feeling for kanda however always backpedaled when she had a chance to confess. this is because she can see the other person who love Kanda  and needs him.



the music:
the openinga nd ending song was catchy yet fit the themes perfectly. however it wasn't part of my favourite, maybe because it was more of a pop-song. however there are a few background music that fit perfectly into the scenes.

the arts:
this anime is about a bunch of kids with special talents in arts, thus there are few art pieces in this that was simply amazing. on the overall view, the art was somewhat what we usually see in anime thus it has nothing special to write home about. don't get me wrong, it was all nice and beautiful yet it was what we always seen, it was kinda boring.

anime review: lucky star

well, lucky star is a comedy anime revolving the lives of four girls Uzumi Konata, Takara Miyuki and the twins Hiiragi Kagami and Hiiragi tsukasa.
it was so funny because it reflects on our everyday life in a much more relaxed manner and we can relate to them.

the plot:
plot? what plot? there is no actual plot in this anime, just a bunch of randomness. however it seemed to be that it ranged from their second year to third year in high school.

the setting:
the anime took place in various setting such as their school, homes, workplace (konata), and their town. in general it was based on the city of Kasukabe in Saitama prefecture.

the characters:
the main characters are those four mentioned above. despite being best friends they are very different from one another.

Konata: a self proclaimed otaku. she was raised by her father after the death of her mother. she is quite smart in a way but very lazy especially in studies. she is short and underdeveloped, often mistaken as middle schooler. Konata was exposed to manga, game and anime at a very younger age thanks to her father influence. she works part time in a cosplay cafe and cosplays the character Haruhi Suzumiya (which is interesting because konata and haruhi share the same seiyuu, Aya Hirano).


Kagami: she is the older twin of the Hiiragi twins. she is in a different class from the others yet always seemed to be in tier class. kagami is smart and level headed. she was quick thinker and love to read light novel. it was obvious from the anime that she was the total opposite of Konata. in a demanding situation, she can acts as a leader, showing her good leadership side. konata always teased her for being lonely, which shows how Konata can see past her appearance.


miyuki: miyuki was full of moe. she is like the walking talking encyclopedia in the group. she is so polite yet clumsy, a trait that added to her moeness. often become the target of Konata sexual pranks, yet she is clueless about it.

tsukasa: kagami's twin sister. tsukasa was totally different from kagami. she is quite slow academically yet very good at house chores. even if she was quite slow, tsukasa was shown to works diligently on her studies (but what she understands is all wrong). tsukasa was also a bit of an airhead always lost the conversation between kagami and Konata.

there are also lots of others characters that were introduced throughout the anime but these four is the main characters so i'll just review them.


the art:
i called this kinda art as the lazy animator art. they didn't focus too much on the detail. despite that, it makes the anime looks much more relaxed, which fits the anime perfectly.

opening/ending song:
the opening song is the catchy Motteke sera fuku. honestly i like is so much that i never skip it, unlike other animes. but the ending theme was a different story. at first it was of the girls singing in a karaoke room  which only the door on dislpay, later we will see a live action of minoru shiraishi singing all bunch of songs in an off pitch version with funny dance moves and all. it was so funny and at the same time pathetic.

anime review: ano natsu de matteru

i watched this anime last night and to be honest i was totally disappointed. sharing the same director with AnoHAna and Toradora, i had high expectation for this anime, but i found it quite bland. to be honest, i watched this because i need a little feels. but throughout the anime i didn't had any feels ride. no. none. nada. empty. zero.

but i can't base this anime just because it didn't make me cry. here are some reviews of it:

the plot:
the plot what somewhat quite similar to most romance anime lately. a girl in a spacecraft crashed on earth and ended up living with the male protagonist? this was done multiple times that it was quite expected. however this time it is not the usual harem in which all the girls want that one boy, which make it much more bearable. it all began when the Kirishima Kaito decide to make a movie. with the help of his friends (Tetsurou, Mio, Ichika and Kanna)  and a scheming-chibi senior. here the plot started to revolve around those characters and slowly each and every characters' secrets and feelings were revealed. however in the romantic department between Ichika and kaito was quite rushed (confessing at second episode?) but it was smoothed down on the later episodes.



the setting:
natsu yasumi (summer holidays). usually, the summer holidays scene was added purely for the sake of fanservice but this anime use the whole summer holidays as setting thus escape the usually new-school-term anime stereotypes. because of the summer setting, we can see the characters wear and use different kind of clothes so it was much more colourful.


the characters:
the characters were developed quite nicely. however, it was obvious who had a crush on who even in the first episode. and it ticked me off because out of all the possible couples, only one make it official.


the art:
thanks to the summer holidays setting, the art of this anime was colourful and bright. however, JC Staff was one of the best animator so it was quite expected. in short, the art was nice and managed to really brings out the mood.

music:
the opening and ending of the anime was okay but i really wanted to complaint about the background music on the emotional scenes. it was just not there. i believe sometimes we cried at some scenes because of the background music but in this anime the background music failed quite badly.


all in all, it was indeed a good anime. i am just pissed because it failed to make me cry. maybe i need find the mood and watch it again. maybe i need to really understand the whole if-i'm-gone-we-will-never-meet-again and i-live-in-the-other-galaxy ideas to get the feels.
highly recommend this to those who into romance anime

anime review: mahou shoujo madoka magica

mahou shoujo means magical girl in japanesse. and  there are lots of mahou shoujo anime out there such as Sailormoon, wedding peach, magical girl lyrical nanoha and so on. all focusing on cute/kawaii, super nice girl fighting evil using their magical powers and win each time.  so what is the difference between Madoka Magica and other mahou shoujo anime?

well, let me put it in order according to my opinion

plot:

at the earlier episode we were introduced to madoka and her simple life, friends and family and a new transfer student, Akemi Homura. later she and her friend, Miki sayaka rescued Kyubey and he offers he to become magical girl by a contract. sound simple right? but no. in the later episodes, the harsh reality of being a magical girl is revealed. the life and death and the deeper meaning of the contract. you see to become a magical girl, you need to form a contract with Kyubey and in exchage he will grant any wish the girl wanted. here we will understand that magical girl did not fight to fight witches but they really are fighting for their wishes. even if the wish somewhat come true but they have to pay dearly for it so that the balance of the world is maintained. deeper into the story, you will figure out Homura's intention on killing Kyubey and stopping Madoka from performing the contract with him.

the plot was very intense and have you hooked to it to the very end. and even the ending leave you wish for more.

the art

in anime, the art is what make it distinctive. in madoka magica, at first i thought it used what i called as lazy-animator-style. if was kinda thing that you see in Shin Chan and Lucky Star. even so, it was properly done with the futuristic elements (the world the creator imagine in ten years to come).

but the animator sure blows my mind away during the fighting scene. usually the magical girl will fight the witch in the barrier of labyrinth the witch created. here the art was simply stunning. it was something you would see in an art museum. it really added the chilling effect and also making the whole scene different that usual fighting scenes in anime. 

Sayaka in witch form

kyoko's reflection on her past

the first time being in a barrier

the setting

the time setting was set to be a few years in the future. there are lots of futuristic devices in this anime yet when we look at it we didn't feel awkward, meaning that the creator managed to add the futuristic devices without making it feel like we were watching Sci-fi anime. 

the characters:

in my opinion, the characters were developed wonderfully. we were introduced from one character to another. the character development goes in sync with the plot so well that as long as we understand the plot, we will understand the character and vice-versa.

the ending:

the ending of this anime is somewhat unexpected. it left we with tears in my eyes. it was a beautiful yet tragic ending. it was totally different from any normal mahou shoujo anime i have ever watched. 

overall:

mahou shoujo madoka magica really blew my mind away. i put it on a hold for so many time and when i started watching it i seemed to be cannot stop. it was a much see for anyone who wanted to have a fresh view on anime.

mahou shoujo

anime review: elfen lied

elfen lied (meaning elf song in germany)

"we capture them, experimented with them them kill them and they are the monster?"
 

the anime begin with a bloodbath of a girl, escaping from the institution that held her captive. a sniper tried to kill her by shooting straight to the back of her head but missed and the girl fell into the sea.
in another part of the town, two cousins found a clueless girl who incapable of speech except for "nyu". they took her in out of pity and a sense of humanity. and that was when all the weird thing started happening and "nyu" was the center of it. what is the goverment are hiding. who are those people that start showing up at their doorstep and what is a forgotten past that seemed to slowly resurfaced?

elfen lied focus more on the mistreating of the beings that was different from normal humankind. a diclonoids, born with two horns and telekinetic ability were considered bloodthirsty monsters and should be eliminated. it was no different from real life where we tend to judge those who are different from us.

were the diclonoids really a bloodthirsty murderer or the 'normal' human treatment that make them snap? that is what the creator was trying to imply in the anime. other than that the anime also focus on child abuse and psychological trauma that ones may suffer after a shocking incident.

the art is so beautiful and it fit the anime perfectly. the opening song especially add a sense of chill towards its listener and the ending song seemed to soothe down the shock we experience throughout the anime. the plot and story-line was easier to understand with not too much character, giving us the understand the situation more. the difference between Nyu and Lucy give us a chance to expect what would happen (and to tell the truth, my heart always beating fast when i saw Lucy)

i recommend this anime to those who like gore anime because gore is the largest portion of the anime with a little mix of romance, social situation and action.

anime review: toradora

TORADORA!  and the amin characters

toradora is a cute romantic comedy anime. the story revolves around aisaka taiga and takasu syuuji who live next to each other.

ryuuji, despite his appearance like a yankee is actually is a soft hearted boy who loves cooking and cleaning. he has a crush on a classmate called minori. taiga on the other hand, live alone after the fall out with her parents. a certain love letter accident brought them together where ryuuji promise to help taiga confess to her crush, kitamura. however, it kitamura rejected taiga so but taiga hold out to her promise and help ryuuji confess to minorin even by that time she has feelings for ryuuji, despite her attempt to hide it.

minorin was well aware of taiga's feeling for ryuuji and even though she also like ryuuji, she rejected him even before he had a chance to confess. in her (minorin) words, "i can grab my own happiness but if ryuuji leave taiga now, she'll lose all hope in life". this refer to taiga's dependent on ryuuji in her life such as preparing food and cleaning. ryuuji also give taiga a little feeling belonging and family, the feeling that taiga's had long lost due to her conflict with her family.

taiga's tears

the clashing of character between ryuuji (soft-hearted kind boy) and taiga (brutal mini tiger/tsundere) is so hilarious. it was kind of a refreshing anime where in here viewer can relate to their life. the plot was also well written and it was hard not to root for taiga. other than ryuuji and taiga's relationship, there is also a dash of school-life added to it making it much more cuter yet balanced between love and life. i highly recommend this for those who love romantic comedy.

palmtop tiger kick!!!

trivia:
TORA DORA
is a combination of both ryuuji and taiga's name
tora means tiger in Japanese and it refers to taiga's nick name "palmtop tiger/ palmtop taiga" and dora is the first two syllable of japanese  way of saying dragon (doragon) which is ryuuji's name (ryu=dragon)

anime review: another

the story began with he gossiping of two students about a student called misaki who was dead 26 years ago and how his classmates of class 3-3 won't accept it and pretending that the misaki is still alive and among them.
26 years later, a boy moved into the school and met misaki mei, an aloof girl who in his opinion was beautiful. but no other person notices her. it was as if he was the only one can see her, or is he? follow his as he unravel the mystery of the girl, the school and more importantly the cursed class of 3-3.

misaki mei and sakakibara at the hospital

class 3-3

misaki's abnormal eye

kill...

...or be killed

mass murder ala battle royale

it was so good that i feel bad if i give a spoiler away.
if you're a fan of mystery thriller, i guess this one is for you.
and i love it. i think it has great story-line but i do think the end was a bit rushed. the minor characters were also underdeveloped but i guess that adds to the mystery of it all.
i really recommend this to those who love horror/mystery/thriller  genre. and even if you are a fan of gore, there are lots of blood splashing and bone cracking scene in this.