Rss

  • youtube

Archives for : Fantasy

The Familiar of Zero: Season One Complete Collection (anime review)

The Familiar of Zeroreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: The Familiar of Zero: Season One Complete Collection

Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki

Studio: J.C. Staff

Author: Noboru Yamaguchi

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U.S. Release Date: April 8, 2014

Format and Length: DVD / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, School, Harem

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Shakugan no Shana and Toradora!

Synopsis:

Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere’s name is so long and her spell-casting skills are so poor that everyone at the Tristain Academy of Magic just calls her “Louise the Zero”. Louise’s humiliation only increases during an important second-year test, where the other students summon up mythological creatures as their familiars, and she inexplicably summons a human named Saito, a totally normal teenage boy from Tokyo. Now she’s stuck with him and Saito’s stuck with the lousy life of being a familiar. Except, maybe there’s more going on than meets the eye, because Saito’s not prepared to accept the social inequities that Louise and other aristocrats consider the status quo, and he may not be quite as normal as everyone thinks. And the reason Louise is so bad at magic might just be that she has yet to figure out what she is good at. In fact, they might even have the makings of a great team… if they can learn to stand each other first, that is!

Commentary:

When first picking up The Familiar of Zero, at first glance it doesn’t look to be much more than a standard cliché love comedy, harem anime. It has all the usual suspects, and has kind of the same set up. The standard leads are the under-developed tsundere, the well endowed easy girl, the quiet bookworm that you know could kick butt if she has to, and the unsuspecting innocent girl. All these are old cliché character archetypes, all used over and over again, over many series. In all truth, these clichés hold pretty firm throughout the series. But it was not the cliché characters that made this series fun to watch, it was how well they were utilized. The first thing you will notice different from the status quo is the male lead. In most harem love comedies, the male lead is beta, shy, and socially inept, and we always wonder what the girls see in him. Saito does not properly fit that mold. He is hardly the mamma’s boy we expect. He’s a bit of a playboy, seems to have guts, and never backs down if he feels spited. Oh and he had no issues flirting with the ladies, a typical teenage boy, for once. Outside of that, the character development is a bit lacking. The story is based in a cliché setting, a school named Tristain Academy of Magic, seeming quite similar to a very popular children’s book about a boy wizard. You know the one. Of course this looks to be a standard middle ages european style setting. And the magic is based on basic elementals, nothing new here. But all the cliché stuff hardly detracts from the series. Its strengths are the character interactions and the comedy anyway. At first you will probably watch The Familiar of Zero with a bit of reluctance, but that will all vanish quickly as the story picks up.

Louise, a member of a high ranking noble family with a history of producing powerful mages, seems to be the odd ball of the family, having little to no magical ability. As a second year student, she must, as all the others must, summon a familiar, to be a lifetime companion. She is extremely worried, because she is so inept she couldn’t summon a hungry cat, standing in front of her with a piece of meat. As the others summon their familiars, she prays and cowers in fear, praying she will be able to summon anything. As she does, everyone watches in astonishment as she manages to summon a boy. A peasant boy. In a world where peasants basically are slaves to the nobility, can anything be more embarrassing than summoning a peasant boy? Anyway what is done is done, and she has to keep him. The rules forbid she do anything else. Saito, confused after being ripped from his world to this one, is quickly surprised when Louise seals the deal with a kiss. Saito is quite reluctant in his new role, as a familiar. He has no regard for the hierarchy that is in place, separating nobility from peasantry, and practically enslaving them. It does not help that Louise treats him like nothing more than a dog. Of course Saito seems to be completely useless, being a human and not a creature, he seems to have little to offer Louise as a familiar, until he insults a peer of Louise’s names Guiche, and does not back down from a challenge to duel him. The comedy quickly picks up and becomes the main stable of the show. The story line does have its good points, but at times you may find it predictable. But even so, you will laugh.

Extras:

The Familiar of Zero includes extended episode previews, Japanese promos, clean opening and closing animations and Sentai trailers as special features.

Overall Grade: A-

Even with all its clichés and predictability, The Familiar of Zero, is a well done comedy. Also a quick note to Sentai Filmworks, please release the seasons that follow this one unlike the last company that released this title. We beg you.

Humanity Has Declined: Complete Collection (anime review)

Humanity Has DeclinedTitle: Humanity Has Declined: Complete Collection

Director: Seiji Kishi

Studio: AIC

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Dec. 24th, 2013

Format: DVD / 12 Episodes / 300 minutes

Genre: Sci Fi, Comedy, Fantasy

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B

 

Synopsis: 

For years, declining birth rates have forced what’s left of the human race to cede more and more territory to other beings who have appeared to take advantage of the emptying ecological niche. Now, only a handful of humans remain among the remnants of civilization and Earth is dominated by faeries – tiny, ten-inch tall creatures of surprising intelligence.

But humanity’s importance isn’t over quite yet, as young Watashi learns as she makes the decision to return to her hometown and assume her grandfather’s position as an arbitrator between the races. Unfortunately, the job isn’t going to be anywhere near as simple as she expected, and it’s going to take wisdom far beyond her years to achieve her most important mission. It’s not about how often you fall and fail, it’s about how often you get back up and try again, and the human race still has a lot left to accomplish.

Commentary:

Humanity Has Declined is the newest entry into the U. S. releases of strange and somewhat incomprehensable anime. It starts out rather innocent and unassuming, but it doesn’t take long before it take a turn to the weird and wild side. One other notable is that the lead character’s name is not revealed. Watashi stands for “I” and sometimes she is referred to as Ms. Sweets by the Fairies, but we do not know what her true name is and in many ways it is refreshing because it is not important to the series.

The animation styling sets up a happy light image that beguiles the viewer into thinking that the series is relatively inviting. It doesn’t take long before we are treated to a talking loaf of bread that tears itself apart and invites the humans to eat it. The edge to this scene is that there is a red liquid that squirts out giving the appearance of a violent end to the loaf of bread. This is not the only instance of a overtly strange scene and the seres becomes rather absurd from time to time.

The voice acting also gives the viewer the impression that this is a series aimed at the younger viewer and this too becomes rather disturbing from time to time. Even though this series is only subtitled it does not detract from its bizarre nature and in fact it helps maintain the mystique. The voice actors do a fine job of helping all of these slightly odd characters come to life and with their light approach to the characters helps the series keep the viewer off balance. The soundtrack is nothing to get too excited about, but I did think the closing song was above average and the lyrics manage to capture the odd nature of Humanity Has Declined.

Overall Grade: B

There is a lot about this Humanity Has Declined that should have propelled it to the top of the charts, but it has its flaws that keep in the middle of the pack. Even though I found the series fun and entertaining there were too many flat points were the story seemed to fall apart. This weakness may have been intentional in order to make to over the top strangeness even more extravagant, but in the end it just brings the series down. I really appreciated the fact that the names of the characters was secondary and the most personal name we get is Grandfather the rest are all based on description or nicknames. This stands out as not just a tool of the writer but a genuine effort to make the story stand on its own. The one thing I wished for was more of of an exploration into who the Fairies are and what has brought humanity to this point, but all in all it is still a lot of fun and for those who are fans of the strange anime this one is for you. Go for it I think you will be very pleased.

One Piece Season Five Voyage Four (anime review)

One Piece season 5 part 4One Piece Season Five Voyage Four

Director: Hiroaki Miyamoto

Original Creator: Eiichiro Oda

U. S. Distributor: FUNimation

U. S. Release Dates: Dec. 3rd, 2013

Format: DVD / 12 Episodes / 300 minutes

Genre: Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Shonen

Age Rating: TV14

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

Luffy pours his heart and soul into the battle to keep his nakama together!

The assault on Enies Lobby reaches a boiling point as Spandam drags Robin towards the towering Gates of Justice! Zoro’s demonic nine-sword fighting style sets the stage for a blistering barrage of heroic attacks as the Straw Hats inch ever closer to a joyous reunion with their captured crewmate. The showdown between Luffy and Lucci rages out of control against a backdrop of devastating destruction thanks to Spandam’s Buster Call.

While the rubber-man trades blows with the most powerful assassin of CP9, his mates need help from below to avoid a watery grave. Explosions rock the horizon, Luffy’s giant attack sends him down for the count, and the unexpected return of an old friend represents the last glimmer of hope for our heroes!

Commentary:

As with most of these series that just go on forever it is sometimes hard to move the story forward when they get stuck in battles that are bogged down in the battle of the best. With Luffy and Lucci stuck in a battle that doesn’t look like either one can win the episodes feel like they are just beginning to sink in the mud of overwriting the series. Oda does manage to save this volume by getting them out of this dilemma. The only problem is that with the story taking so long to save Robin it becomes way to easy to toss in a large amount of irrelevant  stuff that not only drags the series down but also makes it hard to stick with.

The one saving grace about this group is that Luffy is indestructible and he proves it here. The battles are a lot of fun and when Usopp steps in to save the day for Robin it is wonderful to hear is goofy announcer voice come to life. There are also plenty of other fine moments in these 12 episodes that will keep you laughing and watching with amazement as this strangely addictive series moves thought its paces.

Overall Grade: B-

The thing about One Piece and voyage four is that it provides some movement and does so without too much of the dreaded flashbacks. I often feel like the one great failure in these long series is that they feel like they need to regurgitate the past for every major and minor character that we come in contact with and One Piece is not afraid to hold back in that area. Some times it is great to understand what someones motivations are but all to often these flashbacks are just filler and real waist of time. Ok, now we are on the final tread of this arc and maybe just maybe voyage 5 will bring it home.