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Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : December 6, 2014
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Category: Reviews

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space pirate mitoreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection

Director: Takashi Watanabe

Studio: Triangle Staff

Author: Fumihiko Shimo

U.S. Distributor: Nozomi, Lucky Penny

U.S. Release Date: November 4, 2014

Format and Length: DVD / 26 Episodes / 650 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Adventure

Industry Age Rating: 13 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Project A-ko

“Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!”

Synopsis:

Most teenage boys have enough trouble just dealing with the pressures of school and dating, but 15-year-old Aoi Mitsukuni’s life becomes exponentially more complicated when his mom returns from a long “business trip.” He discovers that not only is his beautiful mother actually an alien, but she’s the notorious Space Pirate Mito to boot! She’s known as the galaxy’s most dangerous pirate, a wanted criminal who destroys a dozen police space cruisers every day before breakfast. But all she really wants is to be called “Mom.” To make matters worse, Mitsuki the girl Aoi likes at school is actually a secret Galactic Patrol agent attempting to find and arrest his mother. However, the three of them end up saving the Universe! No one ever said being a teenager in love was easy!

Now a malevolent entity calling herself the true Queen of the Universe appears with enough power to destroy entire planets. Aoi must defend her new throne, but she needs Mutsuki’s help. Mutsuki must come to terms with her own feelings for Aoi so they can defend Earth together and become the galaxy’s first royal pair of queens. Will the Universe survive this epic fight? You will have to watch Space Pirate Mito and find out.

Commentary:

Commentary:

Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection is an odd series but is still enjoyable with its colorful art style and strange cast of characters. Just do not try to make too much sense of the plotline as you will severely hurt your brain. I liked the first season the best because it was not as crazy as the second season and it seemed that Aoi just had some issues with his mother. The second season seemed really out there because of the introduction of the First Queen, Hikari. She takes strange to a whole new level and her reign as queen can be described as an age of fear.

There was a good amount of character development between the two seasons. Aoi really grew as a character and it was interesting to watch how bizarre his alien biology was. Let’s just say that it will be an eye-opener when you watch the series. Mito is an absurdly youthful mother but only in appearance because she looks like an elementary school student if she takes off her Mail Suit; plus she is a space pirate. She also wears a giant waist ribbon that is so large that its tails have little bows on them.

Mito’s crew on her pirate ship is mostly animal’s that have human bodies and are able to function as humans. I lost it during the first episode because it was so funny but it also made me realize that this series would be better suited to a younger crowd. The story line is not hard to follow but it keeps your interest. The music was fun to listen it and the opening and closing animations were cute. I did feel that the space ships looked very “CG” but they did look awesome. The voice actors did a great job of bringing characters alive and jumping off the screen.

Extras:

Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations, TV commercials, promotional videos, a special bonus episode, and Lucky Penny trailers as special features. This series was released with English as a language option for the first 13 episodes and Japanese with English subtitles for the entire series.

Overall Grade: B-
I would have no problem showing this anime to my children once they reach third grade or so. I really feel this series is geared to children and I think they would enjoy it.

Lost Universe (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : August 18, 2014
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Lost UniverseReview provided by TJ

Title: Lost Universe

Director: Takashi Watanabe

Author: Hajime Kanzaka

U.S. Distributor: Nozomi/ Lucky Penny

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Format and Length: DVD; 26 ep; 650 min

Genre: Sci-Fi

Industry Age Rating: 13+

Overall Personal Rating: B

Similar Series: Cowboy Bebop, G Gundam

Synopsis:

Kane Blueriver is something called a Trouble Contractor. Something like a bounty hunter, he takes freelance jobs helping out either the police force, corporations, individuals, or anyone who is offering payment. His partner, Canal Volfield is also the A.I. System of his ship Swordbreaker and has an ability to project a hologram and give it mass so that she can interact with people. On one of his jobs, Kane runs into Millie Nocturne, a woman whose goal in life is to be the best in the universe at everything. Her favorite things to brag about are being the best shot in the universe and the best cook in the universe. Her current goal was to expose an blackmarket auction to become the best detective in the universe, however, once Kane shows up, his job interferes with hers thus screwing up all of her plans. She then decides to tag along on Swordbreaker using the excuse that he owes her for causing her to get fired.

As the story progresses, Kane, Millie, and Canal get targeted by the organization Nightmare whose goal is to destroy all the Lost Ships, of which Swordbreaker is one, to make their ultimate objective of spreading darkness across the universe that much easier. Once Nightmare starts focusing heavily on Kane, he puts his focus on them and puts his job as a Trouble Contractor to the side until he can destroy Nightmare once and for all.

Commentary:

Overall, Lost Universe was a good series. The characters are interesting, if not slightly gimmicky, and many of the episodes are fun to watch. The only complaint I have is that once the story gets focused on the conflict with Nightmare, it actually gets boring. The first 13 episodes are standalone episodes as Kane and crew take various jobs and have silly arguments among themselves. The comic relief is actually really good. The arguments between Canal and Millie are always silly and in one episode Canal’s hologram projection system malfunctions will hilarious results.

However, the second half of the series is when I just started losing interest. Once the conflict with Nightmare became the plot rather than Kane’s job as a Trouble Contractor, it became boring. After episode 13 it almost felt like I was watching a completely different series. The new plot was mediocre at best and left a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest question being what exactly were the Lost Ships. The series makes it seem like they were extremely rare and incredibly powerful ships. However, Kane and crew got into a battle with a Lost Ship at least once an episode, sometimes twice, which made it seem like they weren’t as extremely rare as the series would like to have it seem. And the only real difference that was noticeable between a Lost Ship and a normal vessel was that the Lost Ship had an advanced A.I. with its own consciousness and will.

One last thing that does need to be mentioned is the voice acting. Normally, personally, I have no problem with English voice acting. But it is bad in Lost Universe. I highly recommend watching this series subbed.

Overall Grade: B

Lost Universe starts off really well. The first half is very enjoyable and fun to watch. However, once it develops a focused plot, the quality just drops.

Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection

Posted by :Patches On : August 11, 2014
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Sengoku CollectionTitle: Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection

Director: Keiji Gotou

Studio: Brian’s Base

Author: Touko Machida

U.S. Distributor: Lucky Penny / Nozomi

U.S. Release Date: August 5, 2014

Format and Length: DVD / 26 Episodes / 650 Minutes

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Parody, Samurai

Industry Age Rating: 16 and up

Overall Personal Rating: C+

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Battle Girls: Time Paradox

Synopsis:

Oda Nobunaga is a feisty Warring States era general who is locked in a massive struggle to dominate the land, however, that all changes when a strange light sucks friend and foe alike into our era. But how will the Warring States era generals and their servants adapt to a strange land full of technology? Some will do better than others and become Idols or models while others are determined to go back to their own era. Japan and Feudal Japan will never be the same again when the generals are done wreaking havoc and collecting the “Secret Treasures.”

Commentary:

Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection once again brings us an all female cast for the Warring States era generals, but this time they are brought into the modern era. However, I wish that the story line would have meshed together a bit better. Each general had one or two episodes devoted to their adventures in the modern era. The only character that was in almost every episode was Nobunaga. I wish the other characters would have had some more screen time and more advancement of their character. Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection ended up feeling like a slice-of-life anime because the episodes are very loosely related to each other and they did not add much to the main story. The name of this series makes perfect sense after watching because it is basically a collection of all of the generals’ stories with no actual plot. You see hints of a story line in each episode, but for the most part there is none.

There were also some problems with the characters. Some of the characters are horribly written and have almost no relevance to their Feudal image that they should have either been left out of the story or shared an episode with another character. One of those characters would be Tsunehisa Amago, the general that came into our era as a four year old child. Her episode really threw me for a loop. However, some of the characters were well written and brought their episode to life. Some of those characters would include Masamune Date, Nobunaga Oda, and Ieyasu Tokugawa. I really enjoyed their episodes and their voice actors really brought their characters to life. Some of the episodes were awesome, most were okay, and a few were a chore to get through. There were also a large number of parodies in this series but most are Japanese-related media so the average viewer will probably not understand the references.

The art work quality seemed to change from episode to episode, however it did not take away any enjoyment from the series for me. I thought the opening and closing songs were catchy and cute. Every episode had different styles and artists for the music depending on the episode and parodies used in the episode. Be forewarned, there is a ton of fan-service in this series and I felt it took away from the episodes and was overdone.

Extras:

Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations and trailers as special features. This release only included Japanese with English subtitles as the language options.

Overall Grade: C+

Sengoku Collection DVD Complete Collection had so much potential but it was not executed well. This was still an okay series but at times it was tough to make it through an episode.

Princess Nine (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : April 12, 2014
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Princess NineTitle: Princess Nine

Director: Tomomi Mochizuki

Studio: Phoenix Entertainment

Distributor: Lucky Penny / Nozomi

Re-Release Date: April 1st, 2014 (Thin Pack)

Format: DVD / 26 Episodes / 650 minutes

Genre: Sports, Romance, Drama

Age Rating: 13 +

Overall Personal Rating: B

Similar Series: Cross Game

Synopsis:

In the male-dominated sport of baseball, one group of high school girls is about to turn the world upside down! Ryo Hayakawa, daughter of a legendary pitcher, has been chosen to lead the “Princesses,” Japan’s first-ever girl’s baseball team. They don’t want to play in a separate league – they’re taking on the boys at their own game. And their goal? None other than Koshien, the national high school baseball championship!

But for all the challenges they face on the field, the hardest battles are the ones fought behind the scenes. They’ll have to overcome prejudice, endure weeks of hard training, and work their way through romantic rivalries if they ever want a chance to make it to the top!

Commentary:

Princess Nine revival release on April 1st is perfect timing with opening day of our own baseball season. It is also a great to see how much has and has not changed in the world of equality. I realize that this anime is over 15 years old but much of what comes out regarding the continued separation of boys sports and girls sports still has meaning today.

Princess Nine is a rather classic approach to a series where you take a rather naive character who has an amazing talent and put her in a role that they are unsure about. As we are introduced to a full spectrum of characters and personas the lead begins to develop and once they find their own strength something happens to shake them to the bone. Then in a short period of time they must re-discover their own real strength and pull through the darkness. Princess Nine does a wonderful job of making this a simple yet impelling  high school love story with a several rivalries that end up being at the core of the entire plot.

Overall Grade: B

I realize that this series may look a little dates but if you can get past the visual aspects I think you will find a simple yet sublime story that both gives you a reason to cheer and also tugs at your heart strings and reminds of how powerful young love really is.

Aria The Natural Season 2 part 2 (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 23, 2014
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Aria The Natural part 2Title: Aria The Natural Season 2 part 2

Director: Jun’ichi Sato

Studio: Hal Film Maker

U. S. Distributor: Nozumi / Right Stuf

U. S. Re-Release Date: March 4th, 2014

Format: DVD / 13 Episode / 325 Minutes

Genre: Slice of Life, Sci Fi

Age Rating: 13+

Overall Personal Rating B+

Synopsis:

Akari, Aika and Alice continue to strive toward their goal of becoming Neo-Venezia’s top gondoliers. As their skills improve, they find themselves faced with new challenges. On their journey to become Primas, the girls will have to paint a palina, serve as hostesses at the Festa del Redentore, and even learn how to be brave in the face of a dangerous passenger!

Even with all the drama there is still time for friends and festivities. Will the girls be able to handle the added pressures that come with their trek toward becoming the successors to their teachers who are known as the 3 Fairy Gondoliers of Neo-Venezia?

Commentary:

As we work our way through these 13 episodes it becomes very clear that this series is not just about the friendships that these 3 young ladies have developed, but rather the bigger picture of what it means to become an adult. Of course, the fact that Neo-Venezia provides a very nurturing environment makes a big difference. Even so, there is plenty for them to learn and discover on their own.

For as much as I see the ease and beauty to this series I also see the limitation that it has placed upon itself. With such a soft and easy general appearance tied to a rather gentle grace that flows through all the episodes Aria provides a supportive environment that showcases the coming of age of these characters, but at the same time gloss over some of the confusion and distress that adolescence tend to struggle with. I do appreciate the way the address some of the questions and at the same time became a little less enamored with the way in which they were presented.

I can’t really say that this series is meant for that adolescent audience. The real audience is the pre-adolescent girl who is still somewhat dreamy and living in the world of happy wonderlands. This is not to say that others can’t enjoy this series, I think that most of us would love to live in a world just like Neo-Venezia. A world where all of the problems of just moving through life a simplified by just being in such a peaceful loving place.

Overall Grade: B+

Aria: The Natural part 2 is still a happy easy anime to watch. I can’t really discredit for giving us a picture of life in a world that most of us would enjoy having. I just think that it manages to make light of the coming of age for these young ladies. As a older viewer I like this easy escape form reality and I would guess that many younger viewers under the age to 10 just might find it romantic, but for those who are currently at the same age as the 3 protagonist I think it would be frustrating to watch. Anyway, I still like Aria and see it as a highly idealized world that I would love to live in.

Space Adventure Cobra part 1 ( anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 12, 2014
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Space Adventure Cobra part 1Title: Space Adventure Cobra part 1

Director: Osamu Dezaki

Studio: TMS Entertainment

U. S. Distributor: Nozomi / Lucky Penny

Original Run: Oct. 1082 – May, 1983

Re-Release Date: March 4th, 2014

Format: DVD / 15 Episodes / 375 minutes

Genre: Sci Fi, Space Opera, Action, Adventure

Age Rating: 16+

Overal Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Seeking reprieve from a painfully ordinary 9-to-5 existence, mild-mannered office worker Johnson visits the TM Corporation, a company that sells virtual dreams.

In Johnson’s dream adventure, he’s the notorious space pirate Cobra! Accompanied by his android partner Lady Armaroid, Cobra fights the lowlife scum of the Pirate Guild by day and saves sultry sirens of space by night. After the journey is over, events unfold that bring reality into focus. His experience wasn’t a dream at all – it was a reawakening of his buried past!

With the most feared weapon in the universe, the Psycho Gun, Cobra sets out into the galaxy in pursuit of love, fortune and fame!

Commentary:

Within the first 15 minutes I was sitting back and asking a simple question. Can you say Total Recall? Yes for those of us old enough or geeky enough to have see Total Recall I would have to say I now understand where the idea for the film came from. Cobra came out 8 years before The seminal Arnold the Govenator movie and much of the original premiss is the same. The only difference is that I can’t tell if Cobra will follow the same notion of questioning the reality of what happens in the series. Even with that heavy preconceived notion in my head I still kept going and ended up finding Cobra to be a fun ad very entertaining series.

I found the characters to have richer personalities and a much more solid plot line that the western live action film and of course the animated Cobra is a much better actor than “I’ll Be Back” Arnold ever was. All kidding aside, I found Space Adventure Cobra to be just that, a fun space adventure that lead us on a simple but entertaining getaway.

Overall Grade: B+

With older series that have been re-mastered and re-released it is often very hard for me to get past the dated animation, but in Space Adventure Cobra I only found that it took me a few episodes to get past the poorly or rather dated animation stylings of the early 1980’s. I found it easy to loose myself in the story and sit back enjoy the ride. I can’t say that the english dub is all that great, but again the age of the series sleeks volumes for what you should really expect to see and hear.

The concept and vision of the suture is what makes it stand out for me. Based on how fast we are moving I think it just might be very plausible to plug in very soon and experience an adventure while never leaving the couch. There is also that bizarre thought that someone could hide themselves in such a way that would allow them to discover a simple live without too much concern of giving themselves away. There are plenty of day that I would like to reinvent myself and at the same time forget about my past.

For all you Sci Fi lovers this one os for you and for all you wonderful people out there that know and have seen the original Total Recall this all I can say is that you better pick this up because I know you will be wanting to have one of those wow moments I had during the first episode. I can’t wait to find out if this is a dream or reality.

Blessing of the Campanella DVD Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 4, 2014
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Blessing of the CampanellaTitle: Blessing of the Campanella DVD Collection

Director: Shinji Ushiro

Writers: Koujirou Nakamaura and Saharu Amiyami

Studio: AIC

U. S. Distributor: Lucky Penny / Nozomi

U. S. Release Date: Feb. 4th, 2014

Format: DVD / 12 Episodes and 1 OVA / 300 Minutes

Genre: Harem, Romance, Magical Girls

Age Rating: 17+

Overall Personal Rating: B

 

Synopsis:

Leicester Maycraft leads a charmed life. His parents are nobility and he spends his days crafting inventions and questing alongside his friends in Clan Oasis. It also doesn’t hurt that every pretty girl in town is in love with him, including the Duke’s daughter, Carina Verriti. Life couldn’t possibly get any better. Until it does.

Energy from a supernatural meteor shower awakens the adorable automaton, Minette, who imprints on Leicester as her “papa”. Just like that, Leicester’s entourage of beautiful girls goes from flattering to ridiculous. Joined by Sacred Knight Chelsea Arcot and automaton artisan Agnes Boulange, Clan Oasis sets out to discover Minette’s origin.

But all work and no play isn’t exactly what these adventurers have in mind. They’ll get around to solving the mystery – when they’re not performing oddball quests or hanging out at the beach!

Commentary:

There are plenty of anime that started out as dating sims or visual novels and in the case of Blessings of the Campanella there is a big change from the game to the series. This light hearted story has some very adult topics or should I say story lines running through. The heaviest of which is the sexual over and undertones. It is a happy world that makes itself very appealing, but the visual approach of the series would be better suited for the younger female set rather than the indented audience of the 17+ male group. I guess that there are still plenty of guys that will enjoy this simple little harem series where the guy is quiet and the women / girls are all very attracted to him. At least he is able to have some normal guy thoughts rather than being oblivious to what going on around him. Even though the setting is not the same it gives more of an Ai Yori Aoshi approach to the harem where the main male characters really cares about one female. In this case we have Leicester who seems to be most attracted to just one of the young women, but he still is smart enough to let the other think he is up for grabs.

It is very possible that the game is more open to changing things around, in the anime I like it when there is less ambiguity in the lead male character. Blessing of the Campanella is a simple little series that makes you smile because it really doesn’t seem to have a bad bone in it. My only drawback is that because of the nudity it manages to shut out an entire segment of viewers that would probably love this series. That group is the 10 to 15 female age group. I would almost recommend remaking this just for that group.

Overall Grade: B

I enjoyed Blessing of the Campanella for the happy almost blissful stories that flowed and the peaceful animation style that went with it. Being an older man who doesn’t care for much nudity I had to see this aspect of the series as a failing, but I’m sure that the prospective focus group will really enjoy it for what it is. I didn’t find overly disturbing about the series and at the same time can’t say that I found anything really engaging about it either. It is a fun light series that most adults will find pleasing in a simplistic kind of way. Please don’t expect any deep plot lines or philosophical viewpoints here, this one is all about the relationships and how they all get along. So, if you are looking for a less graphic anime version of a dating sims and just want to be entertained then Blessing of the Campanella will be a great fit for you.