Catch-Up Review: "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt"

I had heard about "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt" for the past few weeks from people referencing the show.  Because the names of the characters all reference some piece of underwear in some way, I thought that someone created a show with anthropomorphized underwear similar to what "Hetalia" did for countries.  My curiousity was further piqued when Funimation announced a few days before Anime Boston and on the day they launched their new beta site that they had picked it up.

So, of course, I had to check it out.

Reaction: Oh. My. Gosh.

If you have a demented, sick sense of humor, this is definitely the show for you.  Do you laugh at poop monsters?  This is your show.  Do you find "South Park" or "Drawn Together" funny in any way, shape or form?  Then this is definitely your show.

The basic plot goes like this -- Panty and Stocking Anarchy are fallen angels who are tasked to fight ghosts with the assistance of the priest Garterbelt.  Panty, the blonde who wants to live a superstar lifestyle, is obsessed with sex.  Stocking, the lolita goth and more responsible sister, is obsessed with sweets.  Garterbelt often gets mad at the sisters over their obsessions and the fact that they don't seem to care about their jobs.

The animation is very much influenced by American style of design, and actually uses several styles at different points.  When the angels transform, it's one style of animation. When the angels do different things, sometimes you don't know what kind of animation you're going to get (one episode had a scene done in South Park style).  And when the ghosts are defeated, it cuts to a live action papiere mache model getting blown up.

A lot of the situations involve Panty's obsession with sex, and the men's willingness to go along with it. This can get old after awhile, although I'm hoping that a second season won't focus so much on it.  In fact, a lot of the dialogue involves sex in some way or another, with different characters revealing different fetishes.

And the one thing I don't think I could really get used to -- the characters swearing in English.  That's right -- you'll be reading the subtitles, and all of a sudden you realize that what they are saying is VERY clearly in English and didn't really need to be subtitled.

Is the show funny?  It is if you have a dark sense of humor.  And it can get very, very dark at times with the humor.  It's definitely a show for adults.  There were times when I was watching the show that I couldn't believe what I was watching. But then it had some really funny parts in it.

You have been warned.

The show can currently be viewed on Crunchyroll.

Review: "Eden of the East: The King of Eden"

My Examiner review is here.

It's tough sometimes to expand on the Examiner site because they want us to not go too long with what we write.  But here I can go into a little more depth.

I've been a fan of "Eden of the East" since I watched it on Netflix a few weeks ago.  It's a great spy mystery/espionage/cultural commentary type of show that addresses several types of issues, including getting the audience to thinking about how they would improve their own nations.  It's a very universal theme.

On the animation -- very rarely do you see an anime that actually gets an American city right as far as locations and placement. They did an excellent job with not only drawing the landmarks the way they really look in New York City, but the signs are all also in English.  Gramatically correct English, too.

The end of the film definitely leaves you hanging and wanting more.  Not going to spoil it, but if you didn't know that there was a final film already out there you would be screaming at the screen, "That's IT?"

And I was disappointed that the "Air Communication" film was only available as a sub on the DVD.  Primarily because my stepkids, for the most part, won't watch subbed animes -- I wanted to at least give them a condensed version of the show so they could follow the film.

Overall, a definite pick it up title in the store if you're a fan of the show.

Reviews: "The World God Only Knows" and "Blue Exorcist"

These are more like season previews than actual reviews, but out of the shows I've seen so far online that are premiering, I'm liking so far how this season is turning out.

Warning: There are some spoilers

Let's start with a show that some of you may already be familiar with from last season.

If you've never seen it...shame on you! It's a comedy that breaks the fourth wall on occasion and also makes fun of the cliches of dating simulation games.

"The World God Only Knows" tells the story of a dating sim otaku named Keima Katsuragi.  He prefers his dating sim women over the real ones in his school, even going by the name "King of Conquests."  He gets what he thinks is an invitation to join in another game, but instead finds himself paired up with a chibi demon named Elsie who tells him he has a task -- to capture loose souls from the hearts of girls by "conquering" them.  Problem is, Keima has never actually "conquered" a girl in real life.  But if he doesn't, both he and Elsie could lose their lives.  So now he's forced to rely on what he knows from dating simulators to figure out how to "conquer" the girls and capture the loose souls.

The first season of the show was a fun ride.  Season 2 has started, and is promising more of the same.  The first arc focuses on a female karate club captain (who is now the only member thanks to the rest of her club quitting two days after she took the position) who is trying to conquer her own personal demon -- she secretly likes cute things.

It's already starting some of the fun humor that the first season had -- the first episode set the tone where we get a recap of what the show is about, then Keima comes into the frame and asks the audience, "Didn't you watch season one?"

Keep an eye out this season.  It's now simulcasting on Crunchyroll.

 

"Blue Exorcist."

Do we really need another shinigami-type show? Why, yes.  Yes, we do.

Rin lives with his twin brother Yukio and Father Fujimoto, the man he's called Dad for as long as he could remember.  In this first episode, Yukio is about to go to the Blue Cross Academy to study, while Rin is facing a possibility of going from job to job and not being able to do anything with his life.  That changes when he saves a little girl from a demon in a grocery store, and when he discovers that he has powers he never heard of, Fujimoto finally tells him the truth -- he's the son of the Devil.

From the preview for next week, I'm assuming that we discover Rin makes the decision to be an exorcist himself. Or else the title would be just silly.

The show actually has some good things going for it.  It has some great effects animation, the writing is sharp, and you really get into it.  I plan to keep watching.

The show is currently simulcasting on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Anime News Network.

Hulu Reviews: "Tiger and Bunny" and "Toriko"

This is not the "Tiger and Bunny" we are talking about...

 

 

 

Heh.  I had to use this picture...it was one of the first results you get when you look up "Tiger and Bunny" images.

Now this is what we are talking about....

Despite the unusual title, it's refreshing to see an original anime come out of Japan that wasn't based on a manga or light novel or another source.

So you're probably wondering what this is about.  Well, it looks like it could be a mecha show, but it's actually a superhero show. Well, more like a parody of a superhero show. And reality shows.  And corporate sponsorship. It's got heart, and some goofy stuff.  But it's one to watch.

In the world of "Tiger and Bunny," 45 years prior, the NEXT started emerging -- people with various superpowers. The most popular of these NEXT, all sponsored by different corporations, are competing on a reality show for the title of "King of the Heroes." The story follows Kotetsu Kobaragi, known as "Wild Tiger," who has a super strength power that only lasts for five minutes, and seems to cause more destruction than he does saving lives.  After the corporation he's sponsoring gets bought out, he not only gets a new suit but also a new partner -- the younger Barnaby Brooks, Jr., who also happens to have the same power that he does, but also has a lot of arrogance.  Neither one wants a new partner, but are forced together by the corporation, so now they have to learn to deal with it.

Now, as I noted in my review on Examiner.com, the idea of superheroes being sponsored by corporations is not a new concept.  If you've ever seen the film "Mystery Men," you know that they touched on the idea with Captain Amazing (the ever wonderful Greg Kinnear) under risk of losing his sponsorships because there hadn't been a major supervillain attacking the city in a long time. But in "Tiger and Bunny," they take the concept to a new level, with each superhero working for a different corporation, which is emblazoned on their costume somewhere.

The characters in "Tiger and Bunny" are fairly likeable.  You kind of feel bad for Kobaragi, especially when they get more into his home life -- he has a daughter who doesn't know that he's a superhero, and he just wants to do the right thing, but just can't seem to get there after so many years as a superhero. Barnaby, or "Bunny" as Kobaragi calls him in the second episode ("Because you hop around like a bunny and you've got bunny ears!"), we have a sense he has a dark past, which I'm sure we'll get more detail on in further episodes.

The animation is very much an American style -- you probably couldn't tell the difference between this show and any action animation for kids out there now.  And it works in the show's favor -- very well done CGI, and some great character designs.

If you haven't started watching this one yet, you can catch it on Hulu or Anime News Network. Episodes are posted on Saturdays.

The first episode of "Toriko" went up on FUNImation's website as well as Hulu last night after being announced earlier this week that the rights were acquired for the streaming from Toei Animation.

My impression based on the first episode? It's...goofy.

Nothing wrong with goofy. But I might have to watch a few more episodes before I make a final impression on the show.

I'm only vaguely familiar with the manga it's based on -- I've seen chapters featured in "Shonen Jump" on occassion (which reminds me -- I still have two back issues I have to catch up with). For those who aren't familiar with it, Toriko is a Gourmet Hunter -- he hunts down the best of gourmet ingredients in order to create his ultimate Full Course Meal.  In this first episode, he's hired to hunt down the gararagator for a gourmet party, but might have gotten in over his head.

The show is typical of a lot of shonen shows -- lots of action, and lots of jokes.  The premise opens itself up to that -- the idea of a muscle bound "Gourmet Hunter" is goofy (there's that word again).  And it doesn't take itself seriously in that regard.

What the first episode did was get me to want to watch more of it.  Which I intend to do -- along with a lot of the other anime I have on my list....sigh.  But at least I can watch at a different pace.

Episodes of "Toriko" are simulcast on Thursdays at 6pm PDT.

On Netflix: Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl

"Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl" is one of a number of Japanese gore filsm that became popular around the height of the movement, although this one has a bit of a lighter touch than previous films in the genre.  Based on the manga by Shingiku Uchida, the film is very gory, but it's also very, very silly.

The plot (what there is of it) involves a vampire named Monami who falls for the handsome Mizushima, who is already in a forced relationship with the vice-principal/science teacher's Lolita-dressing daughter, Keiko. After Monami turns Mizushima into a half-vampire, she kills Keiko during a fight.  But what no one knew was that Keiko's father was secretly a kabuki-dressing mad scientist who had the school nurse as his lab assistant, so he puts Keiko back together Frankenstein-style, and now it's the ultimate battle for Mizushika's affection, regardless of how he feels about the whole thing.

Like I said before, this movie is high on the gore factor, typical of this genre.  But it's also high on the goofiness, making fun of several different subcultures such as lolita and ganguro cultures.  Ther is also a group of girls who are participating in a wristcutting competition.

The budget on this film looks like it was done on a shoestring at times -- the blood doesn't look real most of the time.  But then that's part of the charm of this film. It allows you to laugh along with this film, because it definitely is not meant to be taken seriously at all.

If you are looking for something that's reminiscent of "Dead Alive," I highly recommend this one.

Review: Ramen Fighter Miki

Miki is a very active, boisterous 20 year old delivery girl working in her mother's shop. But everyday it seems like the same old routine.  Her mother gives her a delivery, and every day something gets in her way that prevents her from making the delivery proper, prompting her to fight.  Add to that her battle with the bakery shop girl rival Megumi, a just graduated college student named Kankuro who tries to fight Miki but doesn't understand why she doesn't remember his name, and the neighborhood mean dog Toshiyuki whom Miki is able to understand for some reason, and she leads a pretty busy life. On top of that, there is the local grocer named Akihiko who is addicted to the sensei show Super Space Battle Team Star Rangers, and a teacher named Ms. Katakana who unintentionally scares her students but manages to smile when she eats ramen.
And that is pretty much Ramen Fighter Miki.  But you're missing out if you pass this one by.

I'm sure we've all seen old Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry cartoons.  Well, this is the anime version of that.  The show is composed of two mini stories tied together with a common theme (for example, one episode starts with Miki trying to "expose" Megumi at her bakery in the first part, and in the second part Megumi goes to the ramen shop to find out why the shop is so busy at lunchtime every day). And although the show is violent, it's so cartoonish you can't take seriously -- no one seems to get seriously hurt despite the blows they take.
The show parodies a lot of different types of anime and films.  When characters encounter Ms. Katakama, for example, they see her initially as a vengeance spirit similar to that of the spirit in The Ring. You also have Akihiko's addiction to super sensei shows, similar to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  And the opening sequence can be seen as a parody of other fighting shows that feature characters on a "great quest."

The writing is pretty good on this one, with characters breaking the fourth wall on occassion.  The jokes are spot on in this show, and really highlight the silliness of everything going on around the characters.

The only problem I had was that this was only available as a subtitled show.  It would have been nice to have a dub, as well, so that I had a choice.

Overall, pick this one up when you see it on the shelves, or you can view it streaming at Hulu or Crunchyroll.

4.5/5

Review: Cowboy Bebop Remix

I received "Cowboy Bebop Remix" for Christmas this year from hubby, and thought I would get around to reviewing it today.  It was my first time really watching the show, so I didn't know what to expect from it.  But as I got farther along in the show it got me wondering why I never watched this on Adult Swim when it was on. (And from what I understand, it's still on -- this is one of those shows that Adult Swim shows on a regular basis in their lineup)

For anyone who might have never encountered "Cowboy Bebop" before, the majority of the show takes place in a 2071, some years after a hyperspace gate blew up the Moon and threatened the Earth with constant threats of asteroids falling down on them. Mars has become the hub of all activity, and with all the crime syndicates taking control of law enforcement it's up to bounty hunters, or "cowboys," to catch the bad guys, for a price.  The show tells the story of one group of bounty hunters on a ship called the Bebop and their numerous attempts to survive in this environment.

When "Cowboy Bebop" premiered on Adult Swim on its initial launch, it became one of the networks most popular shows. And it's no wonder.  The writing is spot on, and the characters are allowed to develop over the course of the series. Each character has their own past that they're keeping from each other, although it eventually comes out over the course of the show. And it also created one of the coolest characters in anime, Spike Siegel, who not only dresses impeccably but also has the American voice of Steven Blum, who voiced characters in shows such as Naruto and Samurai Champloo, and also voiced the computer TOM in the Toonami block on Cartoon Network.

For those who might not have picked up an earlier edition of this series on DVD, I highly recommend you do so now. The new sound mix makes the show sound fantastic.  The only issue I have with the DVDs is the sound disparity between the menu and the show.  When I put a disk in, I have to turn down the volume on the menu, then turn it back up when the show starts.  It also features "Session 0," a promotional behind the scenes video for the show, as well as several commentaries from American and Japanese voice actors as well as production crew.

This is one set of DVDs that I highly recommend you pick up.

5/5 stars

Review: Ikki Tousen

Oh, dear...what to say about this one...

Well, some facts about "Ikki Tousen." It's based on a manga, which seems almost a given in anime these days.  The show was broadcast in 2003 in Japan, and has had three additional seasons since its premiere.  I don't know who's watching this in Japan that would justify the additional seasons, but wow.

Anyway, the concept of the show is this: rival high schools are fighitng each other for dominance. Because of this, each school has their own set of fighters to defend the school.  Hakufu Sonsuru enters the picture, and doesn't realize that her destiny is to unite the schools in peace.  "Helping" her in this (a very loose term) is her rich cousin Kouyou Shuuyu, who is determined to protect her but instead becomes a punching bag each time he tries to "protect" her.

And that is pretty much the show.

I should probably save the most obvious problem of the show for later, so let's start with the writing.  What little story there is takes its plot very, very loosely from the Chinese Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Each character and story is supposed to be representative of that.  But it's just inane. The character development is sorely lacking in this show -- you can pretty much interchange any character in the story and it won't make a lick of difference to what's going on onscreen. Any character development would come from Hakufu, but it goes from "I'm a stupid character with big boobs who has no clue how the world works" to "I'm a stupid character with big boobs but I have a DESTINY!"

The voice acting in the English dub is terrible.  Which is sad because looking up some of the actors they've done some good work.  I don't blame the actors in this case so much as dealing with some inane dialogue and trying to take it as seriously as they can, but having it sound really, really stupid because of it.

The background music for the show is actually pretty decent. However, the opening theme for the show has this kind of techno/rap feel to it that doesn't quite fit the show.

The animation for the show also leaves something to be desired. The action scenes, of which there are numerous, aren't very ACTIVE.  You'll get a still shot suggesting movement, the characters attacking each other, then one character will go into detail what he's doing to the other character.  Um, aren't we supposed to see that?  If you're going to paralyze someone, shouldn't you show us how you're doing it instead of going into ridiculous detail on what you are doing to the other character? It ends up being a series of still shots with suggested action, making for a not so exciting fight.

In fact, it's almost like they blew the entire show's budget on the animation of the women's boobs.  Which is the elephant in the review and I didn't want to get into until last.

The fanservice.  The purpose of "fanservice" is to service fans. But you know how if you get too much of a good thing it can actually make you sick?  Well, that's what we have here.  According to Anime News Network's review of the first DVD release, there were 41 panty shots in the first episode alone. Ick. And the women wear skirts to school that are short enough to allow for that many panty shots.

On top of that, it's laughably ridiculous how easily the women's clothes rip and tear during a fight.  A slight breeze would cause a rip in the clothing. And it always seems to tear at very strategic places. The boobs on all the women are so huge that you can't help but wonder how they keep themselves upright at any point during the show.

Overall, avoid this one.  It's bad.  Really bad.

1 out of 5 stars.

Check out the mini-review at Examiner.com.

Review: The World God Only Knows

This is a show that sounds like it might be some metaphysical, deep drama from the title. You wouldn't think a video game comedy. But that's what we have. And it's actually pretty good.

Keima Katsuragi is not a typical 17 year old boy.  Hes super smart, and has an interest in girls.  However, the girls he's interested in are the 2D kind found in dating simulation games. On the internet, he's known as the "God of Conquests."  He answers a mysterious e-mail one day, thinking that he was being invited to play another game.  However, when a 300 year old childlike demon named Elise shows up telling him that he signed a contract to conquer real women in order to capture loose souls in their hearts, he tells her that there was a mistake -- he'd never "conquered" a real life girl before.  But because the consequences for breaking the contract are great, Keima goes along with helping Elise, using his knowledge of dating sims to guide him on their quest.

For a premise like that, it sounds rather weak.  But the writing in this show is pretty quick.  Parodying the conventions of the dating sim is nothing new (Excel Saga did it in one episode), but the writers play with all the conventions and the different types of girls you see in these games.

I will say that Keima is a hard character to like, at least at this point in the show (a second season is set to air in April). He's a bit full of himself a good portion of the time.  But he shows in his conquest of the girls that he does have a caring side.  And he's well-written -- his arrogance just adds to the charm of the character when he makes his conquests.  I like Elsie better, because despite the fact that she's a demon she's got some moe characteristics to her that make you want to watch her.  You feel bad for her when Keima constantly insults her.

Overall, The World God Only Knows is one to catch.  You can find it right now online at crunchyroll.com.