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Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons-The Complete Second Season (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 2, 2015
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Category: Reviews

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Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moonsreview provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons-The Complete Second Season

Director: Yuu Kou

Studio: J.C. Staff

Author: Noboru Yamaguchi

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: March 10, 2015

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

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

Industry Age Rating: 14 and up

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Familiar of Zero, The, Toradora!, and Shakugan no Shana

Synopsis:

Louise the Zero and Saito are back in Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons. However Saito has distinguished himself as a hero with Louise has started to get a handle on her Void magic. Saito is also Louise’s familiar of his own free will, but has that made any difference in their “professional” relationship?

Let’s just say that their relationship could be a ride at Six Flags because it is so full of ups and downs such as that perfect romantic moment and messy explosions. However, that does not mean they are not ready to spring into action the moment Queen Henrietta is kidnapped. With this new war brewing, will they be able to find a way to work together that does not end up with Saito getting the wrong end of Louise’s magic wand? Or will Louise still end up hurting the one person besides her family that she cares about? You will have to watch Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons and find out for yourself.

Commentary:

I really believe that the Tristain Academy of Magic needs to invest in bomb squad, or build things much, much stronger. Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons continues where season one left off, however this season seems to be more aimed at character development. There are still parts that are very easily predicted but they are occasional. The plot mainly focused on the relationship between Saito and Louise, the ongoing war with Albion, and Agnes’ story.

Agnes is the Captain of the Tristain musketeers in service of Henrietta. She is a military woman who loves her discipline. She hates Mages, especially fire Mages, with a vengeance. Apparently fire Mages burned her village to the ground when she was a child and she is the only survivor. Most of the episodes for this season focus on this and Agnes getting her revenge on the Mages who burned her village to the ground.

The relationship between Saito and Louise is interesting to say the least. Saito is his same perverted self and Louise does not put up with it at all. She seems to instantly know when he has a perverted thought and makes him pay for it. You would think he would eventually learn, but he does not. The character development has much more depth in this season with a few new characters and significantly more family back story for both new and old characters alike. We also meet the rest of Louise’s family and I fully believe that they might be the cause for her magic being like it is.

The art was just as beautiful as the first season. The backgrounds were very colorful and the characters were drawn well. The voice actors did an amazing job and you really connect with the characters thanks to them. The opening and closing animations were well done and the music was catchy. There is quite a bit of fan-service as Saito is a pervert, but there really is not anything too over the top.

Extras:

Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons-The Complete Second Season 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: A-

I truly enjoyed watching Familiar of Zero, The: Knight of the Twin Moons and I cannot wait for the third season to be released by Sentai Filmworks. I would recommend the entire Familiar of Zero series to anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre.

Uta no Prince Sama Season 2

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

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uta no Prince Sama 2Title: Uta no Prince Sama Season 2 (maji LOVE 200%)

Director: Yuu Kou & Yuki Ukai

Music: Elements Garden

Studio: A-1 Picutres

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Aug. 26th, 2014

Formt: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Age Rating: TV 14

Genre: Romance, Harem, Idol, Comedy

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

After the amazing high note that capped the first season, would it be fair to expect Haruka and her hunky harem of beautiful boy singers to be able to top themselves? What if they had a little more help? Yes, believe it or not, now there are even more gorgeous guys lining up for the attention of the song-mistress!

Fortunately, since she’s moved into the dorms Haruka’s available for even more music making. Only now StArish has some real competition, as the new golden-throated warblers from the Senior Master Course make it their job to show the first six what it really takes to become a J-Pop star. And what about that mysterious seventh member of StArish? He’s back as well in his own catty fashion! But does he plan to take Haruka to fantasyland? Will the boys get kicked to the street if they can’t stay in sync? And will Haruka stay composed and keep composing when the sophomore slump hits her writing?

Commentary:

Uta no Prince Sama season 2 surely takes of where season one began. With it being based on a visual novel / game it clearly carries with it the personality of a product make for the female early to mid teem market. Pop music with the heavy sexual and romantic overtones that only romantic daydreaming young ladies might enjoy. It was decently made for my market (middle age male). With that in mind I tried to approach this series with the mindset of someone who would really enjoy it and be looking for this kind of action. The character development does help make the boys somewhat more romantic and provides a personality for everyone to latch on to. The role of Haruka on the other hand comes across a little flat and more than just naive, she is exceptionally dim from time to time. I not sure it is just that she is so wrapped up in her single minded goal of becoming a great composer or rather it was the intent of the creators to make her this way as to not interfere with the fans attachments to the boys. No matter what the cause I really found Haruka to be a though away character which made the series somewhat lack luster for me.

It is very obvious that the music and the boys are at the center of things and yes the music was really the star. I can see why the series found its place and how it built a fan base. The music is catchy and rather sappy which make for great pop hits. LOVE 2000% is just as silly a sentiment as the purely romantic ideal that love will concur all. It is at the core of all of the tween pop hits that have every made it the chart toping hits. I know, I know, the music in uta no Prince Sama are not chart topers and will never be, but the ideal projected by the series is 1000% percent correct. It is all about the heart when it come to a highly romantically inclined young woman.

Overall Grade: B-

I have to hand it to the thought processes put into the series and the effort put toward creating the music, but I still came out of this feeling a little disappointed. I get that this series is really about the tween culture and their love of pop idol music, but I also felt like there was too much played on and Haruka’s character was really left in the dirt to rent for herself. Maybe just maybe, if I was a 12 year old girl dreaming of becoming a great composer of boy band music I would find this a home run, but alas I am not and find it hard to stand up and applaud uta no Prince Sama for its efforts.  Anyway, don’t take my word for it, you can always check it out for yourself. You just might find me wrong.