Rss

Archives for : Harem

The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : September 3, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The-Comic-Artist-and-His-Assistantsreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection

Director: Takeshi Furuta

Studio: Showgate

Author: Aki Itami

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: September 15, 2015

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes + 6 OVA’s / 205 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Slice of Life

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Kill Me Baby!

The term NSFW was invented to describe this guy.

Synopsis:

Perversion, lechery, and a lack of respect for the feelings of others are all qualities that would normally look really bad on a resume, however for Yuki Aito they are the fundamentals of his art. His art is good enough that managing editor Mihari Otosuna will put up with a lot, including panicked panty runs, barrages of breast jokes, and other even lower-brow forms of self-amusement that Yuki wallows in.

However, when the continuing carnal crudity causes Yuki to fall behind schedule, Mihari is forced to bring in a team of assistants for him. But those assistants are of the young and attractive female type so that schedule will be going right out the window. Will Yuki’s assistants be able to fight him off and keep him on schedule? You will have to watch The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection and see.
Commentary:

The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection is set up in a very interesting way as each of the twelve episodes are less than fourteen minutes long and the OVA episodes are less than eight minutes long. Each episode consists of three to four mini-stories that revolve around one of the assistants and their day with Yuki. There is a large amount of fan-service in each episode and Yuki also cross-dresses in a couple of episodes.

The assistants really made the show enjoyable. Sahoto Ashisu has a high tolerance for Yuki and is his main assistant. This means she takes the brunt of Yuki’s perverted actions. She aspires to be a manga artist herself and when she is not working for Yuki she attends art classes. Mihari Otosuna is Yuki’s editor and is also the tsundere of the series. She is very focused on her work as an editor and is also tolerant of Yuki’s perversions. Fuwa Rinna is Yuki’s fan-girl. She took the assistant job when she had no experience and basically agrees to go along with whatever Yuki wants her to do. She must really like him because he can come up with some crazy ideas. Finally we meet Kuroi Sena. She is somewhat sadistic and proud but she also has a soft spot for cute things. She is also known as “Super Assistant!” in the manga world. She is usually the one to put Yuki in his place and sometimes she has to us a whip to do so.

The animation was normal. Nothing really stood out as amazing but everything looked good. The voice actors were chosen well and added to the characters. Personally, I believe that this series was given the wrong age rating. I think it should be a rating of 16 and up with all of the ecchi scenes. But that is just my opinion.

Extras:

The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations, Japanese promos, episode 12 closing karaoke version, and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English subtitles as the only language option.

Overall Grade: C

The Comic Artist and His Assistants: The Complete Collection is interesting to say the least. However, that is not a good thing this time. If you enjoy the ecchi genre then you will probably like this series.

Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : August 15, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete CollectionReview provided by Andrew and Katie

Title: Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection

Director: Keiichirou Kawaguchi

Studio: SynergySP

Author: Kenjiro Hata

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23 Films

U.S. Release Date: August 18, 2015

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 52 Episodes / 1300 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Harem, Action, Parody

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: The Familiar of Zero and Student Council’s Discretion

Synopsis:

Could Hayate Ayasaki’s life get any unluckier? Because his unemployed parents are good-for-nothings who waste what money they have on gambling, Hayate had to start working at a young age to help out his family. Although such experience has made him inhumanly fast and tough and skilled at things boys aren’t normally skilled at, it has also left him in an awkward position, as his parents have racked up such a huge gambling debt that they have sold Hayate to the yakuza for the value of his organs. Desperate to pay off the 156,804,000 yen debt before he’s converted into black market organ parts, Hayate strikes on the idea of kidnapping oddball heiress Nagi Sanzenin. Unbelievably, however, even that goes wrong and not only does he end up not kidnapping her, he rescues her from other kidnappers. (Apparently this happens to her all the time.)

But maybe, just maybe, there might be a tiny, dim light at the end of the very dark tunnel of Hayate’s existence, and the skills that Hayate’s had to develop to stay alive will pay off. Because Nagi needs a butler/bodyguard and Hayate could just fit the bill. But he will have to survive the on-the-job training first. Fate can be a harsh mistress, but Hayate may have just signed up with an even harsher one!

Commentary:

Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection is a hilarious rom-com that is full of parodies from well-known shounen series. They also include many parodies Japanese television culture jokes along with references to famous idols and random television shows. Luckily, they give some background information at the top of the screen whenever this happens so you can fully understand the joke. The romance part of the rom-com is pretty one-sided for this season, but I believe it will eventually even out.

With Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection being mainly a comedy series, it does not have a strong storyline. However, the vibrant characters make up for it. Each character has their own interesting personality which gives equal balance between characters. There are a ton of different characters in this series, almost too many and they do not have much development happen. I almost wish they would have made fewer characters and had more development for them. But, that is why three other seasons have been released. Nagi has to be my most favorite and lease favorite character of the series. She is the tsundere character of the series and basically acts like a spoiled brat to get whatever she wants. However, she is adorable when thinking about Hayate. Nagi is also your basic shut-in teenager who would rather read manga, watch anime, and play games than go to school. Luckily for her, she is really smart so that does not affect her grades.

The animation was pretty and the colors were very vivid. The voice actors did a great job and you will probably recognize many of them from other series. There was not a lot of fan-service and when it appeared, it was well done and tasteful.

Extras:

Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English subtitles as the only language option.

Overall Grade: B-

Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection is quite a long series, but the comedy makes it very easy to watch. Parts of it reminded me of Excel Saga and that made me laugh for a long time. If you enjoy comedies with a little bit of romance added in then I recommend Hayate the Combat Butler: Season One Complete Collection.

No Game No Life (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : July 4, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No-Game-No-LifeTitle: No Game No Life Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Director: Atsuko Ishizuka

Writer: Jukki Hanada

Studio: Madhouse

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: July 28th. 2015

Format: Blu-ray / 300 minutes/ 12 Episodes

Genre: Gaming, Harem, Comedy, Drama

Age Rating: TV MA

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

On the internet, they’re legends: the tag-team duo known as BLANK, famed for their incredible game-playing skills. In the real world, however, the lives of 18 year old Sora and his 11 year old stepsister Shiro have been spiraling out of control. Now existing as shut-ins, they rarely leave their house and are unable to be separated without suffering panic attacks. Games, for them, are the safest retreat from reality. Until they win a chess match against a mysterious opponent known as Tet and find themselves pulled into a game bigger than any they could have ever imagined.

Now, in a world where the outcome of games determines the fates of both civilizations and species, they must defend Humanity in the ultimate challenge, vying against a host of otherworldly competitors for the right to rule them all! But if they fail, it means slavery or destruction for all mankind. No pressure, of course! Can two misfits who can barely handle their own lives somehow rise to the occasion and save the human race?

Commentary:

Oh no not another stuck in the game anime! Yep, that’s right it’s a mother story where the main characters get stuck in a game world. Can you say .hack, Sword Art Online and Log Horizon just to name a few already showing the way? I was already regretting watching No Game No Life before I hit play and the first episode left me feeling like I was right. I started off so self assured and pretentious that I really didn’t want to keep going. Well, to say the least I managed to stomach a few more episodes and found that my disillusionment was all mistaken. The series managed to do something I would have never expected, it ended up being good.

No Game No Life takes the stuck in the game concept and adds onto the smart player roll developed in Log Horizon and thorns it on its ear with Sora and Shiro. They seem to understand the game better than anyone else and things unfold in unexpected ways. This plot device helps save the show and take it to a level that both entertains and gives rise to questions about the series itself. I’m not trying to say that they intentionally write in gaps of understanding, but because of the way the series progresses it becomes clear that there were simple basics overlooked to make it all work.

Overall Grade: B-

No Game No Life is an interesting series that takes the genre to another level. It is just too bad that there are so many aspects of the series that slow it down or just derail it from time to time. The fact that the concepts are so strong should have lent it to not having to rely on fan service or moe, but these elements tend to stay rather close to the core of the series. There is also the artistic palate that disrupts the flow and visual aesthetics of the series. I found the overwhelming amount of blue and pink to be oppressive and distracting. In the first few episodes I found myself wanting to walk away because of the visual and conceptual aspects of the series. I have to say that the writing saved it from a rather gruesome death.

There is plenty to dislike about this little series, but in the end I found a fondness for it that I can only call baffling at best. For all you gamers out there who need some sex-appeal in your life then you just might find this series worth the time to watch 12 episodes. For all you fan service / moe fans you should be sold by the cover and I doubt if you will be disappointed. So, check it out and if you are not sure about the series you should wait until the 4 or 5th episode before you turn if off. I have a feeling that you will end up sticking around to find out how it ends. I know I am still wondering that myself.

Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties-Season 4 (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : June 25, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hayate-the-Combat-Butler-Cutiesreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties-Season 4

Director: Kenjiro Hata

Studio: Manglobe

Author: Shinichi Inotsume

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: June 23, 2015

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

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Harem, Parody

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C+

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Amagami SS and Hayate the Combat Butler: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

Synopsis:

Hayate and Nagi are back for Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties and Hayate is back to saving the day. He nurses everyone through an illness, retrieves an embarrassing video before it hits the internet, and returns stolen money; and that is just normal day-to-day life for Hayate. However, as awesome and competent as Hayate may seem, there is actually one thing he is not particularly good at-noticing when pretty girls are attracted to him. But that will not stop the young ladies from trying to catch his eye, even as the art of domestic service becomes inexplicably intertwined with the martial arts?

Commentary:

Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties was a great series up until the last two episodes. The first ten episodes each focused on one or two of the main girls of the series, a-la Amagami SS. I thought this was a good thing as it led to character background being given and character development as they worked through whatever problem was in the episode. The last two episodes really belonged with the previous season, Hayate the Combat Butler: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, as it was an alternate ending to that series. Yes, it did also add to Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties plot but it also took away from the story as a whole.

In some of the character specific episodes we are also introduced to some new characters but they are not well introduced so unless you have read the manga you will probably be lost. If there is a Season 5 I hope they give those characters some background. Each character specific episode can stand alone except for the first as it reintroduces everyone in case you have forgotten anyone. Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties had a lot of funny moments that will have you laughing and there was also some romance but it was only from the girls as Hayate is still clueless. I think my favorite episode was the Maria one because we finally learn about her past and find out that she is very young but very smart.

The animation was very cute and drawn well. The voice actors were spot on as always and I could not imagine anyone else voicing these characters. The opening and closing songs were J-Pop like and were catchy. There was a bit of fan-service but nothing over the top. Also there was a couple of episodes with Hayate cross-dressing so be warned.

Extras:

Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties included clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with only one language option, Japanese with English Subtitles.

Overall Grade: C+

Hayate the Combat Butler: Cuties is a cute series and would have a higher grade if the last two episodes were not included in this season. Overall, I recommend this season over Hayate the Combat Butler: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You because you get to know the characters better.

The Familiar of Zero F (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : June 18, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The-Familiar-of-Zero-F-Season-4review by Katie and Andrew

Title: The Familiar of Zero F (Season 4)

Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki

Studio: J.C. Staff

Author: Noboru Hamaguchi

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: May 12, 2015 and July 14, 2015

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

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

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: The Familiar of Zero and The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons
Synopsis:
The Familiar of Zero F concludes the story. Are Saito and Louise ready to take their relationship to the next level? Sadly, that answer will have to wait yet again as they must save Halkeginia once again. However, this time the mission requires them to use Louise’s Void Magic along with the other Void Mages they have found. Betrayals, reversals, and the inevitable side trip to the hot springs lie ahead as the evil forces plot away and dysfunctional relationships get even more dysfunctional. You could say they put the “fun” in dysfunctional. Plus many things go Boom for only vaguely justifiable reasons!

Commentary:

I absolutely loved that there was a conclusion to this series. It does not leave anything open to questions and gives you the conclusion that you want if you love rom-coms. Louise finally matures enough to see that Saito loves her above all the other girls and she finally stops being so insecure. We also get the token Hot Springs episode. Lots of fan-service to be had and Louise does things that made me cry but then you see why she did them. But some things did not make sense, such as how Saito can be the familiar of two mages or how he can steal a fighter jet in 2 seconds flat and get back to Halkeginia. All the characters come back for the final season to save Halkeginia from destruction and we even meet the “Pope.” Henrietta finally began acting like a queen near the end of the series and she also matured. The battle scenes were well done and the music went with the scenes perfectly. The opening and closing songs were okay but I really liked the ones from the first season the best. The voice actors did an amazing job and made the series enjoyable.

Overall Grade: B
Overall, I have enjoyed watching the entire The Familiar of Zero series. However, I felt the fan-service was overdone. I also thought the disciplining of Saito was over-the-top but I also know that is how Louise is. I still recommend this series for anyone looking for a good Fantasy series with some rom-com added in.

The World Only God Knows OVA Collection

Posted by :Patches On : May 30, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The World Only God Knows OVAsTitle: The World Only God Knows OVA Collection

Director: Shigehito Takayanag first 3 and Satoshi Ōsedo for Magical Star Kanon 100%

Writer: Hideyuki Kurata

Studio: Manglobe

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Format: Blu-ray / 4 OVAs / 100 minutes

Genre: Harem, Romantic Comedy, Gaming Parody

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Grade: B-

Synopsis:

Get ready to rock, roll and duck deadly spells all night as Dating Game master (and now real-life romance wizard) Keima Katsuragi and his spirit-hunting partner Elsie are dragged kicking and screaming into their wildest set of adventures yet. Things get off on a strange foot when Chihiro convinces Elsie, Ayumi and Miyako to form a band. Unfortunately, they’re really not very good and their quest to get rehearsal space from the school somehow escalates into a challenge to score perfect 100s on their English tests.

After coaching them through that, Keima should have earned a peaceful vacation, but instead of spending the time playing dating games, his plans are seriously derailed by a forgotten childhood friend, a rogue team of Hunters, and some very nasty cases of possession by evil spirits. Finally, the magic goes from dark to light when the only thing that can save idol singer Kanon’s fans is for her to become a REAL magical girl!

Commentary:

One thing I have learned over the years is not to expect much from OVAs. As for The World God Only Knows OVAs I can say that I found them to be both disappointing and pleasing. On the dissapointing side of things I thought 2 of the OVAs were simple through away episodes that didn’t really catch the essence of the series but on the two that dealt with Tenri and Diana proved to be both entertaining and helpful with back story that is key in the Goddess season.

The other two OVAs were a simply there for a quick smile at best. At worst they added nothing to the story and made a few of the characters look a little silly. I’m always amazed when I see OVA’s come out I hope and pray that they wrap things up but more often than not they just give us nothing but a laugh if we are lucky.

Overall Grade: B-

After being such a fan of The World God Only Knows and having these OVAs tossed out there am reminded that anime is more of a business than an art form and the reality is that they are trying to make a profit. I can’t be to saddened by this release because there is some material in the group that is relevant to the series. I also see the other OVAs as simple comic relief and nothing more.

If you are a serious fan of The World God Only Knows then this set is something that you will want to own. If you aren’t then I would say look else were for your entertainment.

Tokyo Ravens season one part 2 (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : May 22, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tokyo Ravens 1 part 2Title: Tokyo Ravens season one part 2

Director: Takaomi Kansaki

Creator: Kohei Azano (Light Novel)

Anime Writer: Hideyuki Kurata

Studio: 8-Bit

U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment

U. S. Release Date: June 16th, 2015

Format: DVD / Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 minutes

Genre: Supernatural, Action, Adventure, Romance, Harem

Age Rating: TV 14

Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

As Harutora and Natsume navigate the treacherous hallways of Onmyo Academy, alliances shift and their magical powers evolve. Accompanied on their journey by the half-ogre, Touji, and the foxlike spirit, Kon, Harutora and Natsume seek to unravel the mysteries plaguing the academy.

Adversaries become allies and shocking secrets are revealed when dark forces launch a violent attack on the school. Through it all, Harutora honors his vow to stand bravely by Natsume’s side no matter what evil they may face. But when the powerful Raven Coat unleashes Harutora’s demonic side, he finds his hands stained with innocent blood – and his soul tempted by a taboo ritual that could forever change the fate of our world!

Commentary:

With all of the action and clarification regarding our main characters things get very interesting in the second part of season one. Tokyo Ravens takes the strange an slightly goofy story line and gives it a very serious edge. There is also some wonderful character development that at time is slow to develop but when it does makes all the difference. The harem aspects to the series get more blurred and the action, adventure part of the series takes off.

With everything that happens I becomes hard to tell if they are fighting the right battle or not. This only last for a short time and things become very clear who the dad guys really are. There is also a clarity regarding our hero’s that not only makes sense, but I suspected it from the beginning and am glad to see it played out that way.

Overall Grade: A-

With everything that happens in this next set of 12 episodes I think that this series has the opportunity to take on a genuine air of a classic drama. That might be too much for it to handle and if I have learned anything about anime writers it is that if they have the opportunity to ruin a good series they will.

I’m not sure of Tokyo Ravens will get the interest it deserves but if Funimation was smart they would have packages  with only two releases, season 1 & season 2 rather than 4 releases. And with season two not set yet it will make it even harder to keep up any interest.

I for one will be looking forward to season two. I want to know what happened and find out more about Harutora and Natsume. So, Funimation bring it on.

Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : May 12, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Seasonreview provided by Katie

Title: Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season

Director: Kenichi Imaizumi

Studio: AIC

Author: Reiko Yoshida

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: May 26, 2015

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 10 Episodes + 1 OVA / 275 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Parody, School, Harem

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C+

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Student Council’s Discretion

Synopsis:

Sure, sometimes you have to think outside the box, but Hekiyo Academy’s Student Council may go a step further and rewrite their entire universe! At least, that’s what could happen as the second season gets underway and the Council decides that their anime might need a little spicing up. Should they introduce new characters? Add a boy’s-love subplot? Or should they just continue to do what worked previously and spend most of their time chattering between themselves while working towards odd goals that might turn out to have been a little misguided in retrospect?
The answer is “yes” to all of the above and more: class barriers and the fourth wall come tumbling down as a supporting character literally takes up the challenge of moving up to main character status. The plot thickens with the mystery of a missing cake. The boundaries of love between step-siblings get pushed just a few steps beyond what’s socially comfortable and of course there just has to be a hot springs episode. Join 5 student council members in search of an author as the storyline runs amok!

Commentary:

The second season of Student Council’s Discretion continues where the first season left off… No, not really. It’s still a bit crazy and episodic, but that’s about it. In Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season, it changes a bit. They still have the standard banter over the white table, in a large room that seems filled with junk. Mafuyu still fantasizes about BL and video games too much. Chizuru is still an evil dominatrix and is overprotective and manipulating of Kurimu, Minatsu still kicks butt, and Kurimu is still the grade school high school girl. And of course Ken Sugisaki is still the pervert who wants a harem. It’s still as random, story less and episodic as ever. What makes this season different? It’s not the same pointlessness of its predecessor, but rather it now focuses more on the developing relationships of everyone else to Sugisaki.

Uncharacteristically, the new season begins on a more serious note, the background story of our male protagonist. This back story was necessary to understand the warped ways of our perverted hero, and how he got to be the hentai loving, harem craving, will do anything for a girl, kind of guy. Mainly the story does focus more on him at this point forwards. Not to say that the other characters are neglected and forgotten. They continue to develop well, and more importantly, their relationships also blossom. Some fans will be happy to see this, others will not. It depends all on the focus you want the story to take. The comedy is there still, but is seemed to fall a little flat at times. A few of the downfalls includes how slow this season starts. When you have so few episodes, it’s not a good thing to take half of them to get back on a roll again, and it never quite reached the level of the first season. Another thing that was missing was the countless number of references and parodies of other animes, found in the original, were very much lacking in the second season. Most of the time they seemed to just parody themselves instead. One of the things that made the first season so endearing was the well played parodies. Also there are a lot more ‘serious moments’, when all joking is cast aside for some serious development. These dramatic interludes are a change from the norm, but I’m not sure yet how well received they will be. I think they had a hard time changing gears from funny to serious, and sometimes the drama just was not executed well. The first season relied more on comedy and character dynamics to entertain, and it worked quite well. Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season failed to find this same dynamic, injecting drama into a place that it’s hard to make work right. Even with the addition of new characters, it was unable to recapture its previous glory. That being said, if you are a fan of the first season, this one is worth watching. Just don’t expect the same level of entertainment you got from the first season.

There were some changes for the better. The animation was crisper and more detailed this time around. Yet again though, your scenery is mostly limited to the council room, and school. If you are good at picking up on voice actors, you will notice that a couple of cast changes from the first season. Another thing they did do that caught my interest was the ever changing ending animations. I do get tired of the same old closing credits that recycle thru nearly all series. I often find myself hitting that skip button to get passed it after the second or third time, unless the music was something special, which more time than not, it won’t be. The different ending themes helped to keep my interest enough that I did not skip them.

Extras:

Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season includes clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. Student Council’s Discretion Level 2: The Complete Second Season has Japanese with English Subtitles as the only language option.

Overall Grade: C+

All in all, Student Council’s Discretion Level 2 is a cute series and if you enjoyed the first season then I recommend this one.

D-Frag!: The Complete Series (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : April 29, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,

D-Frag!Title: D-Frag!: The Complete Series

Director: Seiki Sugawara

Written By: Tomoya Haruno (Original Story), Makoto Ueze (Anime)

Studio: Brain’s Base

U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment

U. S. Release Date: April 28th, 2015

Format: DVD/Blu-ray/ 12 Episodes/ 300 minutes

Genre: Comedy, Harem, Seinen

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Kazama is a wannabe delinquent on a mission to rule the school, but a run-in with the cray cray cuties of the Game Creation Club derails his plan for power. Instead of conquering Fujou Academy with his fists, Kazama is plunged into a hilariously-twisted world where pain is the name of the game.

Ruled by the adorable underground boss Roka, the Game Creation Club is comprised of pretty psychopaths who enjoy snacking, setting things on fire, burying adversaries up to their necks, and tazing the ???? out of anyone who stands in their way! As Roka vies for ultimate control of the school club scene, Kazama scrambles to maintain his sanity and survive the whacked out games these girls play. There’s no escaping the Game Creation Club!

Commentary:

D-Frag! started off with a real dud for me. I was thinking how painful it will be to sit through 12 episodes of some rather base humor that looked to be going nowhere. It wasn’t funny, it was sad the way they introduced the characters and it felt like a bad derivative of some many other comedy anime that I just cringed. Although after the first few episodes I began to see the writing begin to come together and provide a few solid laughs and hit home on some rather quirky personalities that are always present in large group settings. Even if I do feel like they tended to go for the hyper caricature of a couple main personalities. Things did manage to come together and I thought the comedy is what saved the series.

Of course the plot was all over the place and tended to meander in the woods from time to time. I had a feeling that the writing was more concerned with the punchlines rather than have a plot that took us somewhere. I know that it is a honest genre option to stick with absurdity when it comes to following a plot line, but in the case of D-Frag! I don’t think it was intentional.

Overall Grade: B+

There is plenty to praise about D-Frag! and the animation itself was very nice. Brain’s Base proved why they are getting more and more work over the last 13 years. It is clear and clean with a color pallet to match the tone of the series. It would have been very easy to lean toward a fan service profile with the series but they didn’t. Of course there is the obligatory young lady who is well endowed, but it was the exception rather than the rule and because it wasn’t the focus to the story it help make some of the humor more viable.

D-Frag! gave me grave concern at the beginning thinking that it was another silly series that missed the boat when it could have been a very funny series, but instead it ended up making laugh out loud enough to praise it for the simplicity of where it takes us. I would have like to see the plot be a little bit tighter, but the laughs took me where I really needed to go.

If you are looking for a series that is all about the funny and doesn’t seem to need to turn to mean spirited pranks to make it funny, then I can say with certainty that you will enjoy D-Frag!

Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : April 12, 2015
0

Category: Reviews

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection season 3review provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection

Director: Masashi Kudo

Studio: T.V. Tokyo

Author: Kenjiro Hata

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: April 28, 2015

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

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Parody and Harem

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Amagami SS

“Don’t lump me, Sanzenin Nagi, with your typical otaku. Whether it’s a video game, anime or manga, I’ll only rate it after I’ve played, watched, or read the entire thing! Even though I might initially think, ‘Whoa, talk about a total letdown!’ ”

Synopsis:

Hayate Ayasaki’s life has never been easy, though after being sold to Yakuza who want to harvest your organs to pay off your parents’ debts it’s hard to imagine things sinking much lower. However, since becoming employed as the butler/bodyguard for the spoiled, cold hearted teenage heiress Nagi Sanzenin, Haytate’s misery has been primarily focused around Nagi’s insecurity, laziness and the frequent attempts by various parties to kidnap her (with the occasional scheme cooked up by her Grandfather on the side).

When a new and unexpected relative arrives without warning and issues concerning Nagi’s long dead father and his belongings rear their ugly head, Hayate finds himself thrust even further into the deep, dark, messy drama of the Sanzenin clan’s personal affairs. But that is only the beginning of his troubles, as somehow aliens, haunted swords, an untrustworthy kitten and even a cross-dressing curse are thrown into the mix as well. Will Hayate fight his way through these epic complications? Or will his undoing come at a substantial cost?

Commentary:

Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection is the third season of the Hayate The Combat Butler franchise however, it is an original concept and is not directly based on the manga. The episodes are labeled as nights, such as first night, second night and so on. The first six episodes were filler episodes and the last six were where all the action and actual plot took place. They tried to give all of Nagi’s background in the first six episodes when they could have condensed it into three episodes so the actual plot and story line would not have seemed so rushed.

Nagi Sanzenin is a spoiled and lazy tsundere character, even more so than the first season. She makes unreasonable demands on Hayate and gets herself into trouble as always. She would rather watch the newest anime series and play the newest games instead of going to school. I really believe she would be happy to just do that every day and never leave the house, living a NEET lifestyle. Hayate, her butler, and Maria, her maid, try and make her understand that she must go to school but it mostly falls on deaf ears. Rui Tsugumi appears out of nowhere claiming to be Nagi’s little sister but in reality she is just looking for the Sanzenin family fortune, the Black Camellia. Rui is also a tsundere-type character and specializes in martial arts. She is also the comic relief character, and is picked on heavily for the entire series, which is understandable, she was a pretty bad character, whose only purpose seems to be to bring even more ‘moe loli tsundere’ to this series, which not only is unnecessary, but makes her a waste and very forgettable. Another issue was Maria, who seemed very dimwitted (see the vent scene) and was very dull and almost drone like. Most of the characters seemed that way towards the end.

Another thing was the art. I still have not gotten over that actually. In the original series, it was pretty decent, and full of color. In this one, it lacked the same. Hayate seems to have changed genders and looks more feminine than ever. Everyone else was designed with the same head with different hair colors and styles. It was even worse than the original. The backgrounds even seemed more dull and lifeless than ever. I guess in the end Nagi was right, “Whoa, talk about a total letdown!”

Extras:

Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English subtitles as the only language option.

Overall Grade: C

All in all, Hayate The Combat Butler-Can’t Take My Eyes Off You: Complete Collection is more of a standalone series instead of a third season. It is an interesting harem though, if you enjoy the harem genre.