Video Game News: Persona 3 Movie Adaption

From Ishaan on Siliconera.com

After much waiting and speculation, the news has come out that the Persona 3 film will be released this year in Fall and will be titled Spring of Birth. In addition, another Promotional Video has been released, this time with more content. Here are a few things to take away from this announcement:

1. Makoto Yuki- The Protagonist's name, which was previously revealed as Minato Arisato in the unfinished manga adaptation of Persona 3, has been changed to Makoto Yuki for the movie adaptation. This doesn't really have much to do with the actual content of the movie, but I thought that it was an interesting move to change the previously established name.

2. Fuuka Yamagishi- The fact that Fuuka was billed as one of the main characters means that this movie will at least stretch to the second Full Moon Operation where Fuuka was rescued and introduced to the team. This in itself is interesting because from this pace, it can assumed that there will be around four movies, which is definitely exciting for Persona fans who want to see a faithful and well made adaption. This is a video game with tons of content, just in the main story without even mentioning all of the Social Link Events, so I think that they are making the right choice by stretching it out into more movies, likely one for each season of the year.  I would much rather wait longer for better content than to have it all released at once in a messy adaptation.

3. The New PV- Not much to say here except the animation looks good and exactly what I would expect from a movie. The look of the Dark Hour is appropriately dark and creepy, and Orpheus' appearance looks to have translated well to the movie. All in all, the production values seem good and this is a franchise that certainly deserves better treatment when it comes to adaptations.

The future certainly seems bright for the Persona franchise, with its successful releases of Persona 4: Golden and Persona 4: Arena lately. I am personally a huge fan of Persona 3 and 4, and I am definitely looking forward to watching and reviewing Persona 3: Spring of Birth this Fall!

Psycho Pass Review: Episode 1: Crime Coefficient

From Danny Choo on Flickr

Psycho Pass is a crime thriller set in the near future, in which the police force uses a system called Psycho Pass (hence the title) to measure various aspects of one's personality, including his or her Crime Coefficient, which is the probability that he or she will commit a crime. Those who are above a certain specified level are automatically labeled as criminals, and set apart from the rest of society.

And that was the extent of my knowledge going into this show, which is one of the more intriguing series out there, at least in my opinion. Oh, and the fact that it was written by Urobuchi Gen. That would certainly add to the overall appeal of this show to a newcomer. I will admit now that I loved Fate/Zero, although I was without the benefit of having knowledge of Fate/Stay Night, so admittedly, I had high hopes for Psycho Pass right off the bat.

The first episode starts off with an incredibly tense scene, with one of our main characters, Kougami Shinya facing off against Makishima Shougo. No explanation is given, but its an exciting scene nonetheless which ends with a smooth action scene and a stylish kill by Kougami, which reflects the kind of gritty and dark world that this show is planning on introducing us to.

After that, we are introduced to another of our main characters, Tsunemori Akane, who is fresh out of the CID(Criminal Investigation Department) Academy and is immediately thrust into her first case, which just so happens to occur during a rainstorm, and there, we have our anime!

Just off of the first few scenes, I instantly got reminded of the video game Heavy Rain, which included some futuristic elements juxtaposed with a crime thriller, set in front of a backdrop of constant rainstorms. And the idea of having a young and upcoming detective paired up with an older and jaded mentor is ubiquitous by now, but it is an useful way to explain the world of Psycho Pass, which does need some exposition to really understand.

This might have just been me, but I found that they sort of glided over the information at a speedy pace, which forced me to rewind a couple times to get a handle on some of the terms and such, but I also appreciated that they didn't waste too much time on explaining the various parts of the show, as it could have bogged down the pacing.

The look of the anime is dark, with lots of heavy colors and shadows that add to the experience. It looks and feels like a crime thriller should, which is rough and harsh, and I got that right off of the opening scene, so I have to give the show credit for nailing its look.

However, my main focus during the first episode was almost completely on the dialogue, as it was compelling and thought provoking. The fact that one's Psycho Pass could be affected not by just genetics, but also by stress and traumatic events was an interesting twist that could definitely present questions later on. Also, the question of whether or not people who have not even committed crimes yet should be punished for the possibility of their future actions was an interesting dilemma that left me with some serious questions about the morality of the actions of the characters, and of the whole Psycho Pass system as well.

Overall, Crime Coefficient was a strong start to Psycho Pass, with spot on visuals, dark atmosphere, and interesting dialogue that opened the door for future conflicts. I think that this show might not be for everyone, but for watchers who are looking for a show with serious substance and moral dilemmas, I think that one could do worse than Psycho Pass.

Rating: 8.5/10.0

This episode is ultimately what it is: an introduction to the characters and the setting, which it did a passable job of doing. However, it did go above and beyond the normal introduction with some strong dialogue and visuals, which reminds me somewhat of Fate/Zero's opening, which I enjoyed for the same reasons. 

Oreshura Review: Episode 1: The Start of My High School Life is a Battleground

From Danny Choo on Flickr

Ah, Oreshura. This show is the perfect victim for most unassuming viewers, including me. When I first saw the description for this show, the first thought that ran through my mind was, "Oh great, another harem show." There definitely is no shortage of those, that's for sure.

However, there is something about this show that is just, well, better than most.

Here's the rundown. After a misleading intro, we meet our main character, Kidou Eita, or Burning Fighting Fighter, as he sometimes refers to himself. But not before a theme song that somehow manages to be insanely catchy and always brings a smile to my face. And I suppose that's the first thing to say about this show. It always brings a smile to my face, which is essential for a romantic comedy series. It has to be funny, which it consistently is, with jokes that aren't just overblown cliche scenes.

But back to the main plot. Kidou Eita is a high school student whose only goal is to get into medical school by spending his time with studying instead of wasting it with girls, such as his neighbor, Harusaki Chiwa, who he sees in a sisterly sort of way (As for her perspective of him, you can guess from the fact that this is a harem show).

Enter Natsukawa Masuzu, the school beauty who just so happens to have the same idea of love as Eita does . She's tired of getting confessions all the time, so what's her solution? To find a fake boyfriend of course! And it just so happens that Eita is the perfect target, with his anti love ways and the fact that Masuzu has everything she needs to blackmail him with.

And with that, we have the premise of our show!

All right, I know the premise doesn't sound like much more than some generic harem fodder, and that's essentially what it is. It doesn't really try to do anything particularly innovative with the genre, but what it does set out to do is to entertain, and it does it well, especially whenever Masuzu takes advantage of her ownership of Eita's private notebook, which has some hilarious material within.

The look of the show is warm, with bright colors everywhere that are just pleasing to the eye. Honestly, I just love looking at the show, with smooth character designs and an overall relaxing feel to the whole show. Also, the choppy character designs that pop up whenever Masuzu reads out of Eita's notebook are perfect in contrast to the normally fluid animation that this show possesses, reflecting the "roughness" of Burning Fighting Fighter.

The characters are likable for the most part, the animation is smooth and pleasant, and the comedy is there. Beyond that, this show is easy to get into and watch. There isn't a huge amount of thinking involved when watching this show, and I appreciated that I could just put it on and enjoy the show without having to examine every little detail. This show is aimed strictly to entertain, and it succeeds in doing so.

I really think that anyone could enjoy this show, as long as they come in with tempered expectations. This show isn't going to do anything new or innovative, but what it will do is bring a smile to your face, and I think there's something admirable about a show that knows exactly what it's going to do and does it well.

Episode Rating: 8.0/10.0 (Good)

This episode does what it's meant to, which is introduce the main characters and let us get a feel for them, and it does it in an enjoyable way, if not particularly unique. 

Introduction

Let me start with a little story. When I first started watching anime seriously, I heard about a series called Ouran Highschool Host Club. At first, I wasn't interested. I mean, come on, it seemed so stupid and looked like it lacked any sort of lasting appeal for me. Still, I was intrigued and I decided to read some of the more positive reviews of it, still not entirely convinced by the posts I read.

But, despite my misgivings, I gave it a try, and surprisingly, I found that I really enjoyed it. In fact, I didn't end up finishing the series once, but three times, over the course of three years. Now, I use it as a benchmark for all other romantic comedy anime series I watch now. 

And then came Highschool DxD. Once again, I initially brushed it off as just another harem series with nothing new to offer. But, remembering the moral of my initial viewing of Ouran Highschool Host Club, I gave it a try as well, and found that I really enjoyed it. Once again, I was proven wrong.

I devoured all of the episodes within a week, and I even began reading the light novels, eager for more contact. I even began writing fanfiction about it, which most of you probably read initially before coming to this blog, so you know exactly how much I enjoy that series. 

It just goes to show, you can never tell a great series just from a few screenshots and a description. So, that's why I created this blog, to try and shed light on some series that I think people should really give a shot. 

-SCD