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Ebiten: The Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : April 19, 2014
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Ebiten: The Complete Collectionreview provided by Katie

Title: Ebiten: The Complete Collection

Director: Hideki Okamoto

Studio: AIC Classic

Author: Kira Inugami and SCA-ji

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 2

U.S. Release Date: April 1, 2014

Format and Length: DVD / 10 Episodes + OVA / 275 Minutes

Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Parody, Harem, School

Industry Age Rating: 17 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Maria Holic and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Sometimes friendship is all about chemistry! And sometimes chemistry is just about blowing stuff up!

Synopsis:

What do you get when you take one group of crazy fan girls with questionable grips on reality, toss out all rules of proper social behavior and mix them together in a basement with more twisted anime parodies and allusions than you can imagine? Besides a recipe for disaster, hilarity ensues when you meet the members of the Astronomical Club where mayhem rules and the wall between the real world and total fantasy crumbles at least once every five minutes.
Commentary:

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Or so the old adage says. Ebiten: The Complete Collection takes this concept and completely warps it to something that can only be described as beyond over the top. Parodies are hard to accomplish and are often done incorrectly, becoming nothing more than a mockery of what they intend to pay tribute to. For the most part this is not the case. The story revolves around the adventures of the members of the Ebisugawa High School “Asstronomy” Club. That’s their spelling, not mine. Gotta love Japanese wordplay jokes. It’s a small club that’s not really all that popular, has few members, no budget or funding, an absent teacher adviser, being shoved into a small room in the basement of the oldest part of the school, and has a club president who does not participate, and wants to disband the club for any reason she can find. But all that doesn’t discourage the members from their daily activities.

Ebiten: The Complete Collection’s story mostly revolves around Kyouko Todayama, the unofficial head of, and most outspoken member of the club. Her only check is Hasumi Ooba, club vice president, and she really only intervenes when Todayama goes too far. But that scale is full of blurry lines and undefined limits that nearly don’t exist. And with little adult supervision, since the teacher sponsor, Shouko Oomori is more interested in ‘pursuing’ her love life, and her lover for that matter, than doing her job, she leaves her cat Oomori Neko Sensei in charge, and of course, the cat rubberstamps everything with a “nyan”, the adventures get quite crazy. Followed by Rikei Hiromatsu, the quiet and obedient member with a strange fetish, Hakata Kanamori, the club’s ditzy cosplayer, manga and dojinshi collector, and easy target for jokes and fan service, and freshman member Itsuki Noya, the story revolves around the club’s atypical activities, which has little to do astronomy, minus a small reference from time to time. Throw in Izumiko, aka Elizabeth, an unexpected visitor from a different school, Yuka Iseda, the unsupportive club president, and member of the student council, and the poor unsuspecting man Shouko is stalking, and you get Ebiten: The Complete Collection.

Though the story is a bit off the wall, chaotic, changes from a bit from one episode to another, and kinda seems written as they went, there was lots of humor to be had. Of course the story line was second to the parodies, and had to change a little to match what they were doing a parody of. Each episode parodies a different anime, and some of the parodies followed the characters themselves. When watching it, I found myself more concerned with trying to figure out what they were doing a parody of, than how consistent the story line was. Ultimately I did find it difficult to pick out a few of the animes they were doing a parody of, because at least half of them never made it here, or are old and have been forgotten, having been out of print since the 90s. At one point I had to look it up online to find a few of them, but for some reason I enjoyed doing all that. Normally if you have to work to understand something, they are doing it wrong, but not in this case. I have to mention though that I am old enough to remember most of the older animes they parodied, so I did have that advantage, and it added even more enjoyment, remembering the early days of anime, before it was cool, mass produced, or easily obtained. Also I need to note that there was fan service, quite often just to have it, but it’s nothing really excessive or over done.

Extras:

Ebiten: The Complete Collection includes Heart Throb Hot Springs, Japanese commercials and promos, music videos, clean opening and closing animations, and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features.

Overall Grade: B

Ebiten: The Complete Collection will make you laugh with all the parodies they use in each episode. You have been warned.

Is This A Zombie? Combo Pack – Anime Classic (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 28, 2014
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Is This A Zombi?Title: Is this A Zombie? DVD/Blu-ray Complete Series – Anime Classics

Director: Takaomi Kanasaki

Studio: Studio Dean

U.S. Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment

U. S. Re-Release Date: March 25th, 2014

Format: DVD / Blu-ray / 12 episodes / OVA / 325 minutes

Genre: Comedy, Harem, Supernatural, Romance

Age Rating: TV MA

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Some guys have no luck; he’s got no pulse. That’s life for unfortunate, undead Ayumu. First, he was murdered by a serial killer. Total bummer. Then he was resurrected as a zombie by a cute little necromancer. That seemed pretty cool until she moved into his house, refused to speak, and forced his rotting carcass to do all the cooking. After that, a magical girl in a pretty pink dress used her matching chainsaw to chop his corpse in half.

Luckily, the necromancer’s powers of resurrection trumped those of the chainsaw chick, so instead of dying (again), Ayumu became the world’s first magical girl zombie. There’s also a voluptuous vampire ninja who thinks zombie boy’s a pervert – and a hideous crayfish demon who wants to devour him. Confused? All you gotta know is this: zombies, frilly dresses, demons, and moe chainsaws. Pink. It’s the new dead.

Commentary:

Being added to the Anime Classic line at Funimation doesn’t happen for every series, in fact very few make it.  Is This a Zombie? is one of those titles that deserves to be amounts those other titles that have been designated Anime Classics if for no other reason than it is one of the funniest harem animus out there. It is also one of the more unique harem titles released in North America.

The entire premiss is rather silly, but for what it is there are plenty of laughs. The real strength of the series lies in the characters. Even thought everyone is presented early on and somewhat full developed there is a rather absurd quality to each one of them that makes it all work. Silly as it may be once you get past the concept and allow the series just play out in its own way things fall into place and the humor is able to shine through. I can see why it is popular with the male audience and even see how some of the female fandom would get into it, but I think that taking a little off the sexual innuendo out of the series could have made it even more popular with the under 17 crowd.

Overall Grade: B+

If you have never see Is This a Zombie? this re-release is your chance to pick it up at a reasonable price. So, if you are in the mood for a funny perverted supernatural harem that makes fun of everything including itself then Is This a Zombi? is for you.

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.

MM! The Complete Collection (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : February 8, 2014
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MM!review provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: MM! The Complete Collection

Director: Tsuyoshi Nagasawa

Studio: Xebec

Author: Akinari Matsuno

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23

U.S. Release Date: February 11, 2014

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

Genre: Comedy, Romance, School, Ecchi, Harem, Parody

Industry Age Rating: TV-MA 17 and older

Overall Personal Rating: C-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Okami-San and Her Seven Companions, Mayo Chiki! and Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends

 

Synopsis:

Taro Sado has a problem. He just realized that he actually likes being made miserable and knowing that only makes him more miserable. Then it turns into a viscous cycle. Desperate to break the cycle, Taro volunteers for a special club where he can hopefully work through his issues, but he soon discovers that the other members have equally complex issues to deal with. There is the club president who believes herself to be a god, a girl who is terrified of men, an adult who forces other people to perform cosplay, and a compulsive cross-dresser. Will Taro be able to get over is problem or will it take over his life?

Commentary:

MM! The Complete Collection is a strange anime to say the least. The main character, Taro Sado, is a hard core masochist. He seeks the help of a club called the Second Voluntary club to help him turn back into a normal person. However, the club president is a sadistic girl named Mio Isurugi, who believes she is a god. She loves to hurt him and he loves the pain. That is basically the entire plot of the series bar a few episodes in the beginning that had some romantic feeling.

The plot was interesting and funny until they began parodying older animes. Then the storyline got silly, and not in a good way. They used the parody to fill in spots of the plot that were dragging along. I know I counted at least three animes that were parodied. Of the three, I recognized two off the bat and thought they were not used in the right way. But that is neither here nor there. Then they decided to have Taro’s mother and sister try to have an intimate relationship with him and that was just not right. At least Taro tried to run away or yell at them each time they tried to start something. Things got very interesting when Arashiko Yuno showed up at his house one day because his mother and his sister were very jealous and hilarity ensued.

The character development was nonexistent in MM! The Complete Collection. The characters seem very one dimensional and only have one interesting quality, their “complex” issue that they each have. Mio Isurugi is the president of the Second Voluntary club and is a sadist. She also believes she is a God and is also afraid of kittens. Arashiko Yuno is Taro’s classmate and she is afraid of men. She will attack any men who touch her and whenever Taro touches her, he is assaulted and he loves it. Michiru Onigawara is the school nurse who loves to make people dress up and perform cosplay and take pictures of it. She is a sister figure to Mio. Finally, we have the compulsive cross-dresser Tatsukichi Hayama who is also Taro’s closest friend. Sadly, each character does not grow or change any during the series.

I think I would have enjoyed MM! The Complete Collection more if Taro had learned to control his hard core masochism or if any of the other characters changed at all. There was a lot of fan-service because of the cosplaying that was used to torture Taro. The opening theme kept my interest but I found the ending theme boring. If you like fan-service heavy animes that are of the harem genre then you will probably love MM! The Complete Collection.

Extras:

MM! The Complete Collection includes commentary with voice actors, Japanese promo and TV spot, DVD commercials, 10 short stories, clean opening and closing animation, and Sentai Filmworks / Section 23 trailers as special features.

Overall Grade: C-

MM! The Complete Collection is a good anime for what it is however; I usually like romantic or harem animes that have a better plot line and more character development. If you are strictly seeking a perverted comedy then I suggest you watch this, but if you want comedy with some romance and other things then watch either of the animes suggested below.

“In The Radius”:

I recommend the following animes: Okami-San and Her Seven Companions, Mayo Chiki! and Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends. Haganai is has a similar plot line, however it was better written and much more enjoyable.