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My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection (anime review)

snafu-season-2Review provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection

Director: Kei Oikawa

Studio: feel.

Author: Shotaro Suga

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: October 18, 2016

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 13 episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Romance, School Life, Drama

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Haganai, Haganai: NEXT, Kokoro Connect, and Toradora!

The good, the bad, and the socially maladjusted are back!

Synopsis:

The stampede of recent events may have herded the awkward members of the Service Club into something closer to a real bonding, but the upcoming field trip to Kyoto threatens to reverse those tiny steps forward. Alongside a list of attractions to see, they will also be taking along a lot of emotional baggage, and helping others with their personal and romantic issues may just cause the entire luggage rack to collapse.

Between Hachiman’s growing realization of how much he can manipulate others, Yukino’s underlying battles with responsibility, and Yui’s shifting needs and insecurities, the tenuous thread that holds their relationship together is more fragile than ever. Even as the path ahead is strewn with psychological traps, the feelings that each of them refuse to acknowledge may end up being the true pitfall in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection.

Commentary:

I was so excited to hear that My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection was finally being released. I loved the first season and I was really looking forward to the conclusion that My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection would give the story. Boy was I wrong about that conclusion because Hachiman, Yukino, and Yui end up not talking about their feelings at all and instead shove them all to the side so they can just be friends. There was no plot progression, actually it crawled at a snail’s pace and never really went anywhere, and the characters did not change or develop at all.

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection starts off where the first season left off at the school festival and Hachiman’s behavior is explained to some degree. Then they all go off to Kyoto and that is where all the problems for our three main characters start. Hachiman decides to go off and change the outcome of one of the club’s projects and they did not care at all for how he handled it. Yukino’s older sister comes back into the story and just causes all sorts of trouble and eventually brings their mother into the picture because she is worried that Yukino is just copying her older sister and not becoming her own person. That situation is what forces Yukino to set her true feelings aside and it changed her personality. Yui is just too shy to say her true feelings and instead just wants everyone to be friends and get along. She knows that cannot happen but she still pushes for it every chance she gets.

The animation changed a bit from the first season but it still looks great. The colors are bright and lively and the backgrounds do not detract from the characters. The voice actors did a great job as always. The opening and closing animations were catchy and I found myself singing along with them within a few episodes.

Extras:

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations, a special animation, and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English subtitles as the only language option.

 

Overall Grade: B-

Even though I do not have much good to say about My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!: Complete Collection I did still enjoy it and I hope they decide to make a third season so that the story can be wrapped up. A girl can always wish, right?

Locodol (anime review)

locodolTitle: Locodol

Director: Munenori Nawa

Author: Kotaro Kosugi

Anime Writer: Yuniko Ayana

Studio: Feel

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: January 19th, 201

Format: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Idol, Slice of Life

Age Rating: PG

Overall Grade: B+

Synopsis: 

Some cities spend millions to draw in tourists, but a small town like Nagarekawa doesn’t have those resources. What it DOES have is Nanako, whose dream of becoming an idol singer is suddenly given life when she and fellow classmate Yukari are recruited by her uncle (who serves on the city council) to become local idols. That means performing at the openings of swimming pools and appearing on the smaller local TV stations, so it’s not the glamorous lifestyle one sees in the movies. But it is a way to help her city and neighbors while doing something she cares about. And when Nanako and Yukari are joined by a third classmate, the petite but athletic Yui, who takes on the task of appearing in costume as the town mascot, everything really comes together.

They may not be on the road to fame and fortune, but there’s plenty of fun to be found ahead as they become Locodols!

Comemntary:

Locodol is a wonderful entry anime for the younger viewer. It is light and happy. The only drawback is that it is only released with sub-titles. For myself and many fans this is not an issue but for the hunger viewer they will loose interest very fast having to read and miss the action going on around the text. I know that many people will take exception to this comment, but those who do don’t understand that a 10 years old might want to get involved in reading and watching at the same time but they quickly come to realize that they are missing something. In 2015 there were several title release that fell into this category and I hope that 2016 doesn’t miss the opportunity to find some new fans by spending a little more and providing a English dub. Of course I am sure that plenty of copies will sell to the Idol fans that love cute girls in happy series that just give you a smile
when you watch.

Overall Grade: B+

For Locodol the animation is average and honestly it gave me very similar feelings that K-On! did when it first released. I am not sure what it is about naive school girl anime, but the simple pleaser of watching something that doesn’t leave you sad or complexly disturbed is in itself a wonderful thing. I for one would love to see more anime produced that gives a smile rather than a bloody mess.

Locodol provides more than enough smiles and gives a peek into the world of a teenage girls who want to be idols and yet are somehow able to maintain a small town ego. I recommend this for all younger viewers who are looking for a positive series. I do get very tired of the bloody messes that keep getting pumped out, but then are are many silly series getting tossed out there too. So, if you are looking for a simple series that will just make you feel good by watching it then Locodol is for you.

Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection (anime review)

 Outbreak Companyreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection

Director: Kei Oikawa

Studio: Feel

Author: Naruhisa Arakawa

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U.S. Release Date: March 3, 2015

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Parody

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: The Ambition of Oda Nobuna and The Familiar of Zero

Being an Otaku is not just a hobby, it is a government sanctioned mission…

Synopsis:

It really is not surprising that Shinichi Kanou turned out to be a fan of comics and science fiction since his father writes novels and his mother illustrates erotic video games. But, instead of channeling his efforts into writing or illustration, he has instead become one of the world’s foremost experts on “moe,” with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things cute and adorable in every conceivable form of animation and media. This expertise explains Shinichi’s recruitment as an ambassador more moe to the Holy Erudanto Kingdom, a parallel world where things that previously only existed in anime actually exist! How will Shinichi react when de is dropped into a world with actual cute and adorable elf maids and dragons? How will the citizens of the Holy Erudanto Kingdom react to the world’s foremost experts on “moe?” But, why does the Japanese government feel the need to send someone to represent Japan’s moe interests? You will have to watch Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection and find out!

Commentary:

Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection is a light-hearted, silly and fun series that is very interesting to watch. The first few episodes are serious but it quickly becomes the daily life of Shinichi Kanou. Personally, I would have liked a bit more of the seriousness as the progress of the spread of anime and manga in the Holy Erudanto Kingdom is completely behind the scenes. Eventually we see it, but most of the time we only see soccer playing, the beach episode, making of movies, and such. The plot escalates quickly for the last two episodes and questions from the first few episodes are finally answered.

The characters in Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection were interesting to say the least. Myucel Foaran plays the role of a typical maid with the additions of elf ears and over the top politeness. She always puts the other characters above herself and her actions always speak louder than words. Myucel is able to make friends and her relationship with Shinichi is one of the most dynamic pairs of Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection. Shinichi sees her as a fantasy fulfillment at first as she refers to Shinichi as her master, however he does not abuse or treat her badly. Instead he befriends her as if she was a human being. Myucel is constantly trying to please Shinichi and apologizes for any behavior she interprets as misdeed. She was my favorite character and I really loved the elf ears. The Empress of the Holy Erudanto Empire is Petralka Anne Eldante III. She represents more of a spoiled child because she is a selfish, stubborn brat. She was very jealous of the relationship between Myucel and Shinichi and treats Myucel horribly because of it. By the end of the series though, Petralka learns from her mistakes and starts to treat Myucel with respect.

The art work was spot on. The Holy Erudanto Empire looked beautiful and the colors were amazing. The music was okay, but nothing stood out to me. The voice actors were alright. I thought that Petralka’s voice actress was really annoying but the rest did a good job at bringing the characters to life.

Extras:

Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection includes clean opening and clean closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection includes both English and Japanese with English subtitles as language options.

Overall Grade: C

I really wish Shinichi’s parents had been mentioned in the series. I only remember reading about them on the back of the box. That really bothered me and lowered the overall grade. Otherwise, Outbreak Company Blu-ray Complete Collection is a lighthearted series that would be good to watch in between some serious series.