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Freezing: Vibration season 2 (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 29, 2015
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Category: Reviews

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Freezing VibrationTitle: Freezing: Vibration season 2

Director: Takashi Watanabe

Studio: A.C.G.T.

U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment

U. S. Release Date: April 21st, 2015

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

Genre: Seinen, Drama, Supernatural, Sci Fi, Fan Service

Age Rating: TV MA

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

Satellizer el Bridget and some of the most powerful – and desirable – Pandoras in the world are summoned to a secret base in the wilds of Alaska. These gorgeous warriors arrive primed for battle, but they soon discover the true purpose for their presence: to assist the clandestine Chevalier organization in forging a new breed of soldier – E-Pandoras!

Once normal girls, these eager beauties volunteered to have their bodies genetically enhanced in order to join the fight against the deadly alien invaders plaguing the planet. But there’s more to becoming a superhuman battle vixen than tattered uniforms and sultry slugfests. Rumors of heinous experimentation haunt the E-Pandora project, and only Satellizer and her loyal companion Kazuya can unravel the mystery before it’s too late!

Commentary:

There are long string of sexy girl battle anime and most of them fall apart pretty quick. The first season of Freezing may have help some promise for season 2 and amazing enough there is something here that manages to rise above the bouncing boobs, just barely. The great failure of these series is that they aim to entertain just one thin section of the anime fan base and many of those young men between 16 and 25 will be getting in line to pickup their copy of this wild series. Being a little older than that and liking my women to be 3d and flesh and flood would not make me one of the army of fans running to the nearest store to get this action packed series.

I thought the plot was stimulating enough to stand on its own and at the same time found the nude women rather distracting, plus every scene seemed to be more focused on boobies or panty shots. If there would have been less of this silliness it is very possible that Freezing Vibration could have become a classic along the lines of Claymore. I’m not here to discount the power of fan service, there can be opportune times to use sex or sexuality to give more power to the story and for some reason anime has a hard time understanding a solid balance.

Overall Garde: B-

If it weren’t for a solid story line I would have write Freezing off as just another bouncing booby show that is there to prove that the understanding of the human anatomy continues to elude all too many animators. I does continue to re-enforce the age old complaint about anime and manga and that is that it is created by too many men who use this medium as their idealized world.

If you prefer real bodies and a world that is more interested in the problems at hand then freezing is not for you. If you prefer your world to be full of buxom women who would rather not wear cloths then you need to rush out and get in line for the release of Freezing Vibration!

Tiger and Bunny vol. 4 (manga review)

Posted by :Patches On : February 24, 2014
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Category: Reviews

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Tiger & Bunny vol 4Title: Tiger and Bunny vol. 4

Art By: Mizuki Sakakibara

Planning / Original Story: Sunrise

Script: Masafumi Nishida

Character Development: Masakazu Katsura

U. S. Distributor: Viz Media

U. S. Release Date: Feb. 11th, 2014

Format: Manga, 184 pages

Genre: Sci Fi, Super Hero, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Seinen

Age Rating: T for teen

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

The heroes face down the deranged NEXT killer, Lunatic. Lunatic’s vigilantism has the city on edge, and the heroes find themselves having to convince everyone that NEXT are working for the good of Stern Bild City. Lunatic is in the wrong, but there is much more to the madman than anyone knows.

All the while we find Origami, Tiger and Bunny asked to visit Origami and Bunny’s alma mater. This sends Origami into a real funk and makes him question his entire existence as a hero. Tiger is quick to be supportive and is also put on the spot by the students to judge their powers. Of course they all have very strange powers and it forces him to come up with powerful idea for them. All of his enthusiasm from Tiger  and Bunny just listening ends up helping  Origami out and giving him something that he has needed for a long time.

Bunny is still charging forward looking of anything or anyone connected to Ouroboros and when he gets the chance to confront Lunatic he learns something he would have never expected. Does Bunny get any closer to discovering the truth and will Origami become a Hero who is interested in being in the forefront rather the side line?

Commentary:

As much as I like the Tiger & Bunny anime, I must say that it is a much better story in manga form. I don’t typically have that reaction, but in the case of this series there is something more personal about these heroes that is not caught in the animation format. I get a much better sense of who these characters really are by the emotional essence of their personas thought the print media. I think that when animated everything moves rather fast and some of the nuances are lost. Most of the time voice acting is able to bring the character to life and portray the emotional aspects of the character, but for  Tiger and Bunny I see it the other way. It may also be this volume that brings that to the forefront because of Origami’s personal struggle.

This volume also is a great example of the difference between Japanese graphic novels and American Graphic Novels. In most American hero stories there might be some emotional issue that the characters are dealing with but they tend to be rather dark and depressing. In Tiger & Bunny and many other super hero style manga the personal issues tend to be somewhat more mundane or even something that most of the readers can connect with. There seems to be a real empathy for the reader that we just don’t get with many American stories. I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen, but most of the time the personal trauma’s are much more melodramatic and supercharges.  They just don’t spotlight a young mans lack of self confidence because he is having a hard believing in himself.

Overall Grade: B+

Tiger & Bunny is a many layered series that reaches across the ocean to try and blend with the west’s superhero genre and at the same time add that very eastern touch to the story. For all american comic and graphic arts fans I would seriously recommend Tiger & Bunny. I might not be as dark as the new generation heroes on our side of the pacific, but it does provide a great picture of a group of heroes that still have to live their lives just like everyone else.  Don’t be afraid to give it a try!

Kokoro Connect The Complete TV Series (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : November 9, 2013
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Category: Reviews

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Kokoro ConnectTitle: Kokoro Connect The Complete TV Series

Director: Shinya Kawamo

Studio: Silver Link

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Oct. 22nd, 2013

Format: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Supernatural, Coming of Age, Romance, Drama, Seinen

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Grade: A

 

Synopsis:

The five members of the Cultural Study group that meets in class 401 have spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes. But they’re about to learn that there’s a huge difference between thinking about it and literally BEING in someone else’s shoes! That’s exactly what happens when, suddenly and inexplicably, they each find themselves inside the body of the girl – or boy – next door!

What happens next? Well, besides bringing a whole new meaning to the term “exchange student” and the to-be-expected freaked-out runs to the bathroom, it’s not hard to do the math: take one wrestling geek, the resident cool girl, the class clown, the popular chick and one sultry maid of mystery, scramble thoroughly and divide, and you can bet that pretty soon they’ll be answering ALL of the questions they never wanted to know about the opposite sex in ways they never anticipated!

Commentary:

I always cringe a little when I hear that a show is about people swapping bodies. Kokoro Connect only made me cringe because it is so good and how it manages to hit some genuine nerves with respect to the human condition. I have not felt this strong about a series since AnoHana made to our market. Kokoro Connect goes straight for that dynamic of exploring our relationships and our own frailties.

The animation style reminds me of the simplistic intimacy the K-ON! delivers or many of the other straight forward slice of life series. The one major difference is the solid development of the characters and the superb writing that brings the series to life. Each one of these students have a plenty of experiences that have helped form who they are, but they are just discovering the people they have become and how to move forward. Each are full and rich with plenty to say and it is very easy to become sympathetic toward them and their world.

The one thing that hit me the hardest was the honesty that came from the writing and exposed itself through these characters. This is where it made me cringe because of the way that they allow these characters to expose themselves and the things that they confess. There are things said that I can honestly say I would never expect to hear from anyone, but seeing it in this format makes those comments seem even more honest and revealing.

Overall Grade: A

Kokoro Connect is not for everyone and because of some of the conversations that happen I would say that it should really be rated 16 +. That doesn’t take away from the quality of the series and in fact adds to its overall attractiveness. Don’t expect this to be a sexy romp through adolescence, but rather a honest view of humans at this age and the things that make us who we are. There is one area that the Japanese are great at and they are coming of age stories that tug at our heart strings and Kokoro Connect hits a home run and just made it on to my to ten of 2013 releases. Be sure to check this one out.

Similar Anime:

AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day, K-ON! , Tari Tari and Hanasaku Iroha are all in line with Kokoro Connect. AnoHana does explore the aspects of relationships and the dark secrets that we all hold back from each other. K-On!, Hanasaku Iroha and Tari Tari follow a much simpler format of exploration of coming of age but they still deal directly with how we discover how to maintain relationships with those close to us as we age and life becomes more complicated. There are plenty of other series that take on relationships and if you want to feel something other than just a punch of adrenaline then you should be sure to pick one of these series up.