MERRY CHRISTMAS

Anyways, so I hope all you people have a Merry Christmas.

Mine hasn't been so merry thus far. I woke up with excruciating pain across my lower back and as I exited my room for my wake up cup of tea I discovered that my Mother, who has gone to her friends for Christmas day, had left the gas on when it hadn't worked because the canister had frozen. So, now defrosted, THE WHOLE FUCKING HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH GAS. No morning tea for me. OTL On the plus side though, I got to order some hot shit on eBay, so fuck it, I'm in a good mood.

Halo

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Have a nice one.

Fucktards.

I picked up, let's see... one, two, three, four, five, six... seven animes during the course of the past few weeks since Fall season started. One is a holdover from Summer 2009 season, but I'll include it here anyway just from its sheer awesomeness.


Aoi Bungaku Series - 5 episodes in of 12 - I had been looking forward to this series ever since I first heard of it. It looked dark, it looked deep, and it looked just like my type of thing. I must admit, while overall it had the right feel and right aesthetics, I slowly began to grow bored of the first arc, simply because it went on for so long. It covered a number of years in four episodes, with what seemed to be a new woman for the UMC to marry in each episode, which got extremely confusing. In a story like this, trying to do so much in so little time, especially with only one episode a week, makes the story extremely difficult to follow. The overall message of the story is great, though. Dark. Just what I like. The second arc just began, and at first, the art style seemed to be done by a completely different person. Then, I began to notice subtleties - symbolism, multi-layered artistic designs in the background, etc. And as the story progressed, I started enjoying it more than the first arc. Odd, right?
Rating: 8/10


Darker Than Black - Ryuusei no Gemini - 5 episodes in of 12 - I thoroughly enjoyed the first series. Well, okay, that's not quite true. I attempted to thoroughly enjoy the first series, and ended up liking a few of the many arcs. Episodic series have never sat right with me, but when each of the arcs are brought together as a whole, then I have a huge "OHHHH" moment and everything is okay again. That's how the first season was. I found the ending to be perfect after the disappointment that was the first, say, 18 episodes. I went into the sequel expecting the same sort of feel and format, even though the series is half the length. What I wasn't expecting is an entirely new cast of characters. Though, I must admit, Suou has grown on me a LOT. However, it doesn't feel like the series is going anywhere. And I still miss some of the old characters. Though to say which ones would be a spoiler.
Rating: 7/10


Kampfer (with two dots over the A) - 6 episodes out of 12 - Nothing is happening in this series but blatant ripoffs, comedic throws, and completely unecessary fanservice. That being said, I'm actually finding myself enjoying it. Natsuru as a girl is really hot, and I have a thing for Student Council Presidents (Shizuru, Mitsuru, Hisa, etc). Oh, and let's not forget the shoujo-ai. I mean, Natsuru as a girl... is a girl to me. Looks like a girl, kinda acts like a girl, totally is a girl. So shoujo-ai. I totally support girl!Natsuru x Everyone.
Rating: 7/10
(Reality calls, actual rating: 8/10 no more lying for respect calidynd)


Sasameki Koto - 5 episodes out of 13 - This is completely slice-of-life. But it's cute, really. I'm loving the characters. Sumika and Ushio are both adorable and fantastic, and then the supporting cast is rather fleshed out as well, which isn't something that can be said about all animes. The comedy is also adorable, albeit slightly over the top. I do have a major complaint about this anime, though, and that is that the series doesn't take itself seriously enough now that we've gotten into it. The first ep was exactly what I was hoping for in the series, starting out as an urequited love story with a twist - that both girls are actually gay. Then we went comedy and I'm sitting here waiting for the plot to kick back in.
Rating: 8/10


Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra - 6 out of 26 episodes - I was actually expecting this to be the most promising series of everything I was going to watch this season. There was a lot of information out about it before it began, Ali Project was working on it, the preliminary art looked detailed, the synopsis looked really dark, etc. And then the first episode was a huge let down. As was the second. And the third. Then the fourth came around and everything got kicked up a notch. As it is now, the series is seeming extremely inconsistent, and I have NO idea where it's going. That's not a good thing this far into the series. Also, I really don't have any strong feelings of like towards any of the characters except Noloty, who is such a minor character that it's really not enough to get me through the series. Seriously, Hamyuts Meseta, drop that sewing shit and take that fucking bow out of your hair, because I know you're bad-ass, mmmkay?
Rating: 7/10


Toaru Kagaku no Railgun - 6 out of 24 episodes - This series is so different from Toaru Majutsu no Index that it's really amazing to me that they exist. I'm assuming they're made by the same people and everything, too. Wow. Anyway, I loved Toaru Majutsu no Index, was one of apparently like 10% of people that watched it that liked it. I mean, parts of it were thrown together and kind of dumb, and I really thought Touma was a bit of an idiot, and really, Index, why aren't you a little more intelligent? My favourite characters were always Kuroko and Misaka, which means Railgun is perfect for me. Kind of. It seems to be mostly comedy at this point, and also episodic. There are hints of future plots and stuff, but not enough to really satisfy me. There's a light novel that's apparently really plot-heavy that it's based off of, and so far, there is actually quite a bit of stuff just made up to make the series more amusing. Amusing is nice, but really, I want a plot. Or just more shoujo-ai, one of the two.
Rating: 9/10


Umineko no Naku Koro ni - 19 out of 26 episodes - Just... omg. I love it. So much.
Initially Umineko comes off as just as dark and brooding (and confusing) as is it's predecessor, Higurashi, also with the same comedic slur. Once you look past the similarities, though, you find a whole new (and obviously superior) show. The characters are deeper, the plot evolves more fluidly, the character designs are more mature and there are rules (yes, rules). While, individually, the characters aren't quite as endearing as with it's predecessor (well, except maybe Maria) the cast as a whole makes a much better unit and a much more complete setting. Not to mention the frequent introduction of new characters to keep things fresh. Where Higurashi was the King, Umineko is the Queen of the chess board and it can (and will) go anywhere. This includes some truly gruesome scenes and some truly dark humor. If you're squeamish, don't touch it. If you like an engaging, challenging show that will make you laugh, scream, shout and maybe even cry. Look no further. Flip the chess board and give this one a try.
Rating: 10/10


Definitely recommend:
Kampfer
Sasameki Koto
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
UMINEKO NO NAKU KORO NI (always remember, your capslock is like non-verbal shouting and is relevant when recomminding THIS anime)


Everything else is pretty good, but research a bit about it first.


-- calidynd

Officially fucked with by Halo (because YES, I do like to ruin everything)




Mamiko Noto: Once (but she's in like 10 others that are currently airing, so it's okay)

I ordered the limited edition single and... it hasn’t arrived yet. Then again, it’s kinda not even released yet. But WAAAAAAH.


So, anyway, here’s my review of the CD first, then the DVD when I get it. So as of the first part, I will not discuss the music video at all.


Before I begin, let me say something: This is a *very* odd single, and the songs are strange even for Kajiura-sama. It was not what I was expecting at all, personally. Before listening to it, the rumors stated that the title song, progressive, was a rock-type song featuring Hikaru, and that the B-side, Utsukushisa was a beautiful ballad that Kajiura-sama wasn’t sure she should have released at all. The first one sounded promising, the second did not.


I was rather surprised when I listened to it.


1) progressive - 5:46 - 7/10
This is much more of a pop song than I was expecting. However, the violin work is superb and takes the focus a bit away from the more poppish elements, which is nice. The song features Hikaru for the most part, and Keiko takes a few lines here and there to even it out. Wakana is mostly harmony and Kajiurago. In this way, it reminded me at first of my second favourite Kalafina song, Mata Kaze ga Tsuyokunatta. However, at a deeper glance, the song is very different. I like the Kajiurago and any part sung by Wakana the best, such as the part at the end. The way her voice at the end mixed with the guitar and the violin sounded very dark to me. This is a huge contrast to the upbeat verse and chorus. The one thing that bothers me about this song is that it doesn’t seem to flow well from one part to the next. I love the verse, but it doesn’t fit with the chorus, and I love the chorus, but it doesn’t fit with the bridge, that sort of thing. I think it might be more of an issue with the arrangement than the overall composition, though. Anyway, the choral stuff in Kajiurago is amazing. Have I said that yet?


2) Utsukushisa - 4:53 - 10/10
Just... love. Seriously.
I wasn’t expecting to love this song as much as I did. Even as I was listening, I wasn’t quite impressed at first. Wakana’s singing over the piano really didn’t make a huge impression on me, but then the song seemed to speed up a bit, more orchestral elements and percussion were added and I... began to feel what I always do when I listen to a track that really moves me. Songs like ARIA, gloria, Houseki, all of these cause me to feel an unexplainable melancholy that I thrive on. So even without having dissected the song fully, I knew it was going to be a song I would love. For the specifics... the melody is simple, yet haunting. The harmonies are brilliant. The song gets more and more complex as it continues, eventually adding a full Kajiurago chorus and electric guitar and it just lifts and is fantastic. I can’t really describe it in words. It’s amazing.


3) progressive ~instrumental~ - 5:41
Ummm, wtf, it’s a different length? Anyway, it’s an instrumental, I’m probably going to have to cover progressive just because I have this instrumental to sing on top of. Oh well.


My thoughts?
I love this single, but not for the reasons I was expecting to love it. That’s good, though. Music shouldn’t be too predictable. And this single was hardly predictable. Anyway, Utsukushisa scored a place as my third favourite Kalafina song ever.


Overall rating = 8, because I can’t force myself to listen to the instrumental of progressive when I hardly know the original, so it gets a 7 too.


Keiko, I love yooooooooou!!!! Sing more on the next single, please?




- calidynd


Halo officially couldn't be bothered to fuck with this.

(Not really the title screen, there isn't an OP, but this is the title of the individual arc)


Aoi Bungaku was not originally on my list of animes I was going to follow this season, and I can't figure out why. The day I discovered it, I went nuts - it looked dark, detailed, and deep. And I got really really excited about it. The episode aired 9 days ago, and I patiently sat around waiting for subs from a group from their RSS feed. And in the end, I ended up finding it on some site, hardsubbed as an avi. Quite disappointing. But I will do my best to convey this anime even with the subs.




This is UMC.

Set in what seems to be around WWII, UMC is going to be part of a revolution against the government. The ecomony and, well, life in general is going to shit. One thing I really really like about this anime is the art style, as it really portrays this depressing situation very well. Instead of blue, we get black. Instead of red, we get brown. Everything is in a shade of some neutral color, and in the rare case that we do get something that's supposed to be bright and flashy, it's instead painted dull. During flashbacks, things are a dull yellow. It just... fits.




She's a prostitute whose husband left her.

There's really not much to say about this series. It's dark. It's depressing. The anime as a whole is covering 6 literary works, so it's not going to all flow all nice between episodes, and giving away the plot of this episode is probably giving away the plot of the entire first arc, as it's probably going to be like... two episodes.




Symbolism is all over the place, too. Nice touch.


Art is awesome, music is so-so, plot is slow and not very engaging. Ending montage was MADE OF WIN. I also loved dialogue awesomeness like this:
UMC: I'm ashamed.
Prostitute: Of what?
UMC: For being alive.
Prostitute: Me too.


Rating: 8/10, room for improvement throughout the arcs, as they'll be pretty separate.


-calidynd


Fucked with by Halo



Mamiko Noto: no

Fuck that, it was terrible. It was dire. I REFUSE to screencap it and I plainly and simply will not take the time to give it alt. text.

It was bad. It made no sense, it was full of bad jokes, it was a failure at it's main attraction (shoujo-ai), it couldn't carry a story atc for more than two episodes, it SWITCHED ARCS mid-fucking-episode, it only had ONE character that didn't annoy the shit out of me (Hazuki - Thank fuck for you, you're the only thing that saved me from suicide) and the ending was a complete and utter disaster.

I've watched better fucking Hentai.

Overall: 3 (By a hairs breadth I almost gave it a two)

Halo


Mamiko Noto: Yes

Welcome one and all to the worst fucking review you've ever seen. Why is this? Because it's... Halo and calidynd's first joint review!


Sasameki Koto is the first anime that we both found independently and decided to pick up. We were both expecting a simple shoujo-ai anime with in a high school setting. What we were not expecting was the quality of the animation and the depth of the characters. The two important characters that this anime revolves around are Murasame Sumika and Kazana Ushio.




Sumika is tall, dark, and handsome.



Ushio is OMG TOO CUUUUUUTE.


Basically, the plot is this: Sumika is secretly in love with Ushio. However, Ushio only likes KAWAII girls. This is very apparent in the first episode, where we see Ushio crushing on senpai.




Senpai doesn't actually have a name, but she's cute, so it's okay.


We loved the first scene of this episode, because Ushio's question of "Why can't girls like girls?" sparked the fire of yuri love in both of us. Unlike most yuri or shoujo-ai anime, we are made blatantly aware from the start (either by actual dialogue or actions) that both Sumika and Ushio are gay. This is a good contrast to animes like Strawberry Panic and Kannazuki no Miko, where the feelings seem to develop with no real recognition until things comes to a head.




I want to know why girls can't like girls toooooo!


While we find out Ushio's feelings fairly early on during the lunchtime scenes, Sumika's feelings only start to become apparent as the episode goes on. These come in scenes like the library scene where she has this... how should I put this?



STALKER MOMENT!


It's during this stalker moment that Sumika learns who it is that Ushio actually likes. At this point, the main plot of this episode comes to a head, and Sumika tells Ushio that it's never going to work. This is another refreshing aspect of this anime, that Sumika is enough of a realist to understand that this situation is going to end badly, "like it always does". This leads to a bit of a falling out between the two friends.




Her hair is long a pretty. Prettyyyy.


In an awful twist of fate, it turns out Sumika is actually correct in her assumptions. Not only does senpai not return Ushio's feelings, but the boy that senpai likes is actually crushing on Ushio as well, causing a huge unresolvable love triangle.



This leads to some UNDUE RESENTMENT.


Sumika finds Ushio in tears after senpai rejects her with some harsh and hateful words. While she was there to comfort Ushio at that moment in the library, the true reconciliation came later, as they were walking home. After a sweet reconciliation containing a sad, "I told you so," they were back to being friends again.




Can they kiss now too?


All in all, with the exception of the dismal (slow and boring) OP, this was a genuinely enjoyable experience. Not only did we get a cute (although at times somewhat depressing) story of love and friendship, we also got a very realistic, and pretty, take on these themes.


Halo's rating: 9/10
calidynd's rating: 9/10


Resounding: 9/10


FYI: For the first ep, there's actually an option that's NOT Crunchyroll lameness like Horriblesubs. Go find it. It's worth it.


Total time to write this review: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Average time for single person review: 25 minutes


- Halo & calidynd


Mamiko Noto: No

I'm pretty god damned excited, I just found out that Funimation licensed Mnemosyne for NA release. That means I can buy the thing officially subbed and put it in my DVD collection.

At this rate, I'll be able to buy all of my favourite anime's legally licensed. Man, that will be awesome. Now if only someone would license the KnK movies. Well... to be honest I have those anyway. As you all know. Haha.

Halo.

Follow me back to 2004 for a moment and let's look at one of this weeks curiosities. Midori no Hibi.

Midori no Hibi. The basic premise of this show is... well, it's basic. Guy wakes up with a cute girl for a right hand. I know right? That's what I thought to. Follow me for a minute here, it's not as dumb as it seems.

Seiji Sawamura is your average high-school hooligan. He's a loner who likes to beat people up. At least this is what some people would have you believe.

Trash talk is always easy when you have no idea what you're talking about.

The truth of the matter is that, yes, Seiji is a complete bad-ass but no, he doesn't just like to show off his brute strength in order to impress and no, he doesn't just beat up on people to make himself feel good. Seiji is a nice guy, he protects people when they need help. Sadly though, this isn't how the world sees Seiji. They just know about his demon right hand and how good it is at pulverising people. No-one ever mentioned how it only pulverises ass-holes who like to beat on people for their own fun. This has led poor Seiji to a small problem. Every girl he asks out is afraid of him.

Mad Dog Kawamura. Don't beat up his friends.



All Seiji wants is a nice girl friend to spend his time with.

Enter Midori. Midori is the girl that has been crushing on Seiji from afar since middle-school. She knows that he only fights to protect. She understands that all he really wants is to help people and she knows that he has a good heart. Imagine her surprise (and also excitement) when she woke up one day next to him, albeit as his new right hand. Now this turn of events isn't just strange, it's a serious issue.
Being as it is that Seiji has spent most of his life beating back the bullies he has a fair share of enemies to fight off from day to day. How can he do that without his right hand?

This is Midori. She made quite the entrance.

Of course Seiji isn't completely a loner. He does have one friend. An underclassman who looks up to him and sees him as the protector he really is. Unfortunately for him, being friends with someone who likes to beat back the bilge can get you into your fair share of sticky situations.

This poor guy doesn't have the best of luck.

All of this being said. While it might sound a little weird, having a cute girl on your right arm can lead to some funny moments, like trying to hide your whatthefuckohmyfuckinggodwhatisthatness from the rest of the world. It can also lead to some strangely romantic moments.

Whoever thought that a monorail station bench could seem sweet?

All in all, Midori no Hibi, contrary to my preconceptions, seems to actually be a fairly decent anime. It has a seriously whacked out basis but it's well executed and it has some deeper plot points like Seiji's wish to be understood and the general shitty demeanour of humans which come through pretty well from the first moment. Even if you don't think that the plot points are worth following, there is the occasional interesting fight scene and some nudity to quell your boredom. In the end, Midori no Hibi seems to be a decent anime and definitely worth the once over.

Even Seiji has a good side.

Animation: 9

Plot:7

Voice Acting: 8

Soundtrack: Umm?

Overall: 8

Halo


Mamiko Noto: No

I decided to pick up another anime. Actually, that's not quite true. Halo and I were going through animes, he thought it looked interesting, I said the general consensus was that it was crap, and then offered to test it out. So, Halo, this is my opinion of Kampfer with two dots over the A.


First of all, as everyone knows, I like dark stuff, I like depressing stuff, and I like people killing each other. So, the summary of Kampfer with two dots over the A suggested that there would be lots of hot girls fighting other hot girls. I was SO excited about this premise. Seriously, girls with guns, swords, and magic, yayyyyyeness. So excited.


And then the first scene was a blue-haired hot girl fighting a red-haired not as hot (but still pretty hot) girl.



She has red hair. And a gun. And it's pointed at me. Mmmmmmm.


So, yeah. I was happy. Very very happy. And I was hoping that the series would stay this awesome, because seriously? Awesome. So awesome.


And then the OP.


And I thought I was gonna die.


But, okay, you know, sometimes the OPs suck and the series is still good. Like Mai-HiME or something, right? So I sighed and kept watching.


Unfortunate for me.




This guy? see him? Yeah. He's the hot girl I was talking about.


Okay, so maybe I can live with this. He's a hot girl like half the time, right? And he/she's voiced by Marina Inoue and Houseki is awesome (though Keiko is more awesome singing it).



And then this guy starts talking to him.


Uhhh, a doll whose intestines are spilling out? With blood down it's mouth? How is this supposed to be cute? At all? Seriously?


Anyway, doll explains that UMC is a Kampfer with two dots over the A, and that when his bulky blue bracelet of ugliness glows, he will transform into a hot girl. And then he'll fight other hot girls, who are also Kampfers with two dots over the A.


Hmmm. I see.


Anyway, there are like four fight scenes, but only one has the awesome transformation scene:




Look, she's HOT now!


Anyway.


Fight, fight, fight, be annoyed that she's a guy now, fight, fight, more annoying, fight, fight, laugh at him not know how to use the restroom, fight, fight...


Yeah, that's about it.


I took more screencaps, but I can't bring myself to talk anymore. No. Just no.


That being said, hot girls fighting other hot girls? Fuck yeah, I'm watching the rest!


Overall score - 6/10, flat for the whole series, probably.



-calidynd

Addendum of Awesome (Read: Halo decided to stick his nose where it doesn't belong)

The real issue with Kämpfer, from our lovely reviewer's point of view, is it's lack of darkness. As you guys may have noticed there is a rather solid split, for the most part, in the type of anime's we review (not the type we WATCH, the type we REVIEW). Kämpfer is my kind of anime. It's full of comedy and hot girls. In fact, it's seeming to me, after ep 1 to be kind of like a fake shoujo-ai harem piece. Sadly for all you readers out there, calidynd doesn't LIKE male protagonists. So allow me to evaluate Kämpfer from my point of view.

As the fair and beautiful calidynd has said, this show does have it's dumb point but on the whole, however, it's not as devastatingly sickening as you've been led to believe.

The animation is beautiful and the character designs are really good. The voice acting, for the most part, is on the good side (let's ignore Mr. Intestines tiger: Whoever thought that up was some kind of retard.) The plot isn't as fail as you might think, the main point thus far does seem to be how a teenage boy has to come to grips with becoming a teenage girl, not of his own will.
I won't go on for an hour since you already had your screenshots and full review but let's just say I'm rating it a 7.5. That means worth the watch, unless you hate comedy, then look the other way.

Halo

/Addendum of Awesome

Re:Addendum

Pervy ED is pervy... mmmmmmmmm... laced up maid outfiiiiiit.


Re: to Halos Addendum of Awesome:
Death Note has a male protagonist. It's my 4th favourite animes ever. Hot girls are generally more awesome, though.

-calidynd


Mamiko Noto: Yes

Jump Back to 2007 with me for a moment and we'll have a look at the sequel to one of my favourite anime series' Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

So, if you're reading this review and you've never seen Higurashi, go back and watch Higurashi and stop being a moron, you're going to get spoiled otherwise. Higurashi Kai sets us in the world representing almost every arc of the original series. In this world all of the various occurrences we witnessed in Higurashi appear to have come true. The town has been cordoned off for over 20 years and it's only now that a voice from the (two episode) past comes back to take us through things.

Rememeber me? I'm that investigator from the kidnapping case.

Of course one of the few who we'd expect to be a returning character in this situation is also the cuddly/evil (depending on which iteration you believe) Officer Ooishi to help us through things.

Domo!

The shell of Hinamizawa is a sad and desolate picture that barely outlines what the town once was as they tour it in search of possible answers as to what really happened there. The old swamp has been filled in with concrete in order to "prevent volcanic gasses escaping".

This used to bubble and froth, now it just gathers a layer of dirt.

Everything in town is in a state of detrimental disrepair and leaves no real evidence of what truly happened here though it seems that the effect of volcanic gasses would have caused all kind of things not present here.

Sad, sad falling apart hospital.

At one time this school house was bustling with children of all ages.

Of course Rena (Shoujo A: get it?) 25 years later is still as pretty as ever and is the only remaining survivor of the Hinamizawa incident. Even with her help, the question of what exactly happened with the town seems as though it may remain eternally unanswered and the truth will rot away with the dirty husk of it's past.

Just the same scared little girl as she always was.

On the whole episode one of Higurashi Kai answers a lot of questions and poses yet more and in such a way that you will undoubtedly come back next episode with a lust for knowledge. If there's one feeling that ep 1 will leave you with here, it's that Higurashi no Naku Koro ni really did have a story holding it all together and over time we might find out just what it actually is. As an episode alone it doesn't really leave much room for a follow up but I get the feeling this is just a lead in to something much stranger.
As a side note the animation style might not suit everyone but any returning fans of Higurashi won't be let down by any loss of quality and the OP single, while it may take a few listens, is definitely a good one as well. Overall, for the start of a sequel, I was not unimpressed. I look forward to more of this.

Animation: 8

Plot: 8

Voice Acting: 8

Soundtrack: 8

Overall: A good solid 8

Halo


Mamiko Noto: No

The third of my four animes I'm starting this season. I knew that this was the second season for Darker than Black, so I made a point of watching the first season and the OVA last month. It was okay, a little too episodic for me, but I did like the basic idea behind the plot, and a few of the arcs were really fantastic, like the one where Hei infiltrated Pandora. But for the most part, it seemed rather disjointed until everything culminated at the end.

So, what was I expecting based on the first season?
- Lots of action scenes
- A dark OP
- Strange powers and obiesences
- Weak episode plot.

And what did I get?

Meet Suou, a pink haired girl who refers to herself with masculine pronouns. She likes photography. And two years ago, she witnessed a tragic accident.

OH NOES!

Anyway, her brother, who also has pink hair, was severely injured and thus we don't see him all that much. Even their dad is like, "Don't talk to him so much!" Whatever. Instead, we focus on Suou. She likes photography.

Suou likes cute girls, huh? (Oh, why isn't there more yuri in anime?)

WHERE IS HEI?
WHERE IS YIN?

Okay, so I saw April in the beginning, she's cool, her seiyuu did Aozaki Touko in Kara no Kyoukai. She mentions July, that's another character I know.

But what I was NOT getting into was a school series about Suou, who in the beginning witnesses this annoying guy confess to this not-as-annoying girl and they are all happy and blushing and sickeningly cute. And then she goes and takes pictures of everything, such as when they're cleaning up the school and when they're eating ice cream, etc.

ENOUGH WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHY, SUOU!

Then again, maybe I'm asking too much from the first 8 minutes?

I was wondering where the hell the series was going for the entire first half. And then I realized, as Suou was talking to Shion - Shion is a Contractor.

Now things start begin to start making sense.

Next scene:

Cute Girl is a contractor, perhaps?

So now I understand why the series is focusing on Suou - her twin brother is a Contractor, and now one of her classmates is one, too. Therefore, she's linked to not one, but TWO contractors. That must be enough to obtain UMC status in a Darker than Black anime.

And now I understand the school romance story before - because Cute Girl was the one that was confessed to. Now, since she's a Contractor, she doesn't care.

Anyway, rest of the ep is good. Hei appeared near the end, and I'm guessing Yin will appear before too long, so the series will probably be pretty good.

He DODGED A BULLET omg that was cool. Except now he has to eat another hamburger HAHAHA.

The other thing? WHAT THE HELL is up with the cheesy music? It's seriously puke-worthy.

Overall rating - 7/10 with room for improvement if they don't use such cheesy starters, haha.


--calidynd

Officially fucked with by Halo.


Mamiko Noto: No

Someone tell me. What is the benefit of blowing a hole in the moon with a 2 ton kinetic bomb?

What can that possibly do other than satisfy some random scientist's curiosity?

Science will be the downfall of humanity before it's our evolution...

Halo.

 

This is the second of the 4 series I decided to pick up this season, and actually the one I was the most excited about. Then I learned that it was a side story, and had to speed through Toaru Majutsu no Index so that I could watch it. But Toaru Majutsu no Index is actually a really really really good series so I was really glad that I was able to find out about it. And so, I was really excited for Toaru Kagaku no Rail Gun.

Before I begin, I'll just share what I was expecting based on Toaru Majutsu no Index:

- Amazing OP
- Amazing fight scenes
- Great techno-style sountrack
- What's-her-face going "ONEESAMA" to Misaka every two seconds
- Misaka being really cool and electrocuting lots of stuff
- Thorough discussion of religious and scientific topics - like how there was that conversation in ep 12 of Index about Schrodinger's Cat.

So, was it everything I was hoping for?

Um. WHOA.

I mean, it's not like really deep and there's not much of a plot yet, but seriously? Really entertaining. Only a slight bit short of amazing.

First of all, I was excited since Misaka was hands down my favourite character in Toaru Majutsu no Index. She's totally kick-ass and really cool and supposed to be the main character in Toaru Kagaku no Rail Gun. And then the episode started and I saw this:

Kuroko, can you call me 'Oneesama'?

Shirai Kuroko replaced Misaka Mikoto as my favourite character in this scene. And then as the series went on, I was treated to gems like this because of her.

Fake yuri!

I'm not sure if Kuroko is just being silly, but she seriously runs around calling Misaka 'Oneesama' every two seconds and likes to glomp, too. It's hilarious. I love it. And then there was this awesome scene where she was groping Misaka in the shower and it was like OMG. It was seriously like 30 seconds, and it was SO funny.

We also have these two girls, but I really don't care about them much.

The one behind then declared "pink with blue dots" or something.

So far, it appeared to be a schoolgirl comedy with fake yuri and okay, that's fine I guess, but that's not why I decided to watch this show. (Actually, yes it is, but then I watched Toaru Majutsu no Index and raised my expectations a bit higher.) So, as it continued on and the main four girls were hanging out at a crepe shop in order to get free frog keychains, something went BOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

You know what this means? MISAKA TO SAVE THE DAY WOOHOO!

But first, Kuroko gets her share of awesomeness. You know, I swear she has an accent. I can't figure it out. She doesn't say 'watashi', she says like 'watakushi' or something. It's really really cuuuuute though. There's something with her 's's too. I can't figure it out. But it sounds like she's going "Onee-shama" sometimes. It's also really cuuuute. Um, was I talking about something?

Oh yeah.

Nameless villian for the sake of making our characters look awesome - OOOOOH FIRE!

Anway, after Kuroko's share of awesomeness, we get a really really super cool fight scene with lots of cool effects and camera angles and I really couldn't take a good screencap because of that. But anyway, basically, Misaka is amazing. Really. Like whoa.

Why, yes, Misaka is awesome.

Anyway, so basically this anime looks awesome so far. Like really awesome. I am so excited for the next ep tonight! *happy dance*

My only complaint?

WHY WAS THE OP AT THE END OF THE EP? (That... was the OP, right?)

Overall ep score - 9/10, with a guarantee that the rest of the series will be AWESOME.


--calidynd

Officially fucked with by Halo.


Mamiko Noto: No

Kiss x Sis. It's an anime. It has people in it.

This... is a place every man wants to be.

Okay okay, so I have your attention now, right? Kiss x Sis is a bit of a strange anime. In short, one can describe it as "as close to to hentai as an anime can be" but that's not all there is to it. It DOES have a plot and quite an amusing one too.

This is one of the very first sights that Kiss x Sis will greet you with... hmm.

The story focuses around a school boy about to graduate and his two identical twin sisters. Keita (pictured above with aforementioned sisters) is faced with the charming every day problem of not being related to his sisters by blood. Now of course, being a boy of morals, it troubles him that both sisters seem to be sexually attracted to him in the most loving (and lustful) of ways.

The "romantic" moments are often met with the cutesy adornment of comic style written sound effects.

This not being the worst of matters. Keita also has to deal with the unusual and, to him, unhealthy attitude of his parents as they spent much of their time urging Keita to choose a girl and get down and dirty with her (just so long as it doesn't affect his studies).

No blood relation here Keita. Get to it!

As if Keita's moral conscience isn't enough, it only makes things worse that both of his sisters are constantly spurring one another to vie for his attentions since, of course, only one of them can have him.

Only for you Keita.

I can't let her win.

While this may lead to some rather hilarious moments, it also causes Keita still more trouble and strife as he attempts to come to grips with the idea being so forcefully pushed upon him by those around him.

Those are Keita's pants. STOP WEARING KEITA'S PANTS... so I can have them instead.

On the whole Kiss x Sis might seem like a cheap excuse for some near hentai and some almost incest but, if you can get past the rather graphic "romance", there is actually a very amusing comedy behind it and it's good fun. The art quality is also very high and, well, if you're a guy, (or a lady of the lesbian persuasion) the girls are smoking hot. I wouldn't recommend this anime for everybody because some people are sad and consider almost incest as a terrible terrible thing and because some others just don't like heavy ecchi. However, if you like a little bit of fun and have a fondness for anime girls. You can look forward to much enjoyment from Kiss x Sis.

What do you do when your sister is climbing all over your morning wood?

Animation: 10

Plot: 6

Voice Acting: 8

Soundtrack: What Soundtrack?

Overall: 8

Halo


Mamiko Noto: No