Thank you to everyone who has read my blog so far! I really appreciated every view I got and I had a ton of fun writing.
However, at least for now, I will no longer write here because I have been given the opportunity to write at SushiGoKart.net.
Please, if anyone has enjoyed my content, please go check it out!
Thanks again to anyone who has read this blog!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Aoi Sekai no Chushin de: Episode 1: The Hard Wars of Consume
Right off the bat, we witness the death of Til, who is the friend of our main character, named Gear (unusual, but memorable names) in a melodramatic sequence that set the tone for this show, which I assume is not to be taken too seriously, given its subject matter. I thought that this sequence was an appropriate satire to he overblown deaths and cliche back stories of most video game characters, which was a positive. After a generic title sequence that unfortunately disappointed me after the exquisiteness of Girlish Lover and the Oreshura title sequence in general, we are given a little bit of back story on the war, which has gone the way of the Ninteldo Empire for the most part, under the rule of Marcus, who is representative of Mario.
I won't give away too much of the rest of the story, but rest assured, it is every bit as generic as it sounds. Gear, being the equivalent of Sonic, is determined to help the Segua Empire win its war against the utterly ridiculous generals of the Ninteldo Empire. If there was a comparison I could make to accurately describe the scenario, it would be with Dynasty Warriors, which I was constantly reminded of throughout the show. From its overpowered and exaggerated personalities, especially of the Ninteldo side, and its hard rock soundtrack which has lulls in between fighting scenes, which sounds almost identical to something out of a Dynasty Warriors battle, I was immediately reminded of a video game.
Considering its source material, I thought that this was the correct feel for the show, which was a fairly entertaining piece of work, in a campy and over-the-top way that appealed to my sophomoric sense of humor. I understood that Aoi Sekai no Chushin de wasn't meant to be anything more than what it appeared to be initially, which was a shallow piece of action anime.
On the animation side, it isn't anything really special. The characters look good enough, with distinct appearances that ranged from acceptable to utterly generic. I was actually disappointed with the fact that Marcus had a far more unique character design than Gear did, which I thought should have been reversed. The colors are rather dull, and I can't shake the feeling that this anime came out much earlier than its 2013 release date would suggest.
As far as the dialogue and characterization goes, it won't win any awards soon, and I'll leave it at that. The dialogue is nothing more than some fodder for the plot to proceed, and there isn't much attention paid to consistent characterization. The most glaring example is Opal, which switches gears from being a strong independent female who does not want to rely on men and instead, her own strength, to a weak, submissive, and oddly perverted girl who falls for Gear the moment he defeats her. And that change isn't gradual, which I could understand more if it was revealed that she was covering up for some sort of insecurities with a tough demeanor or something along those lines. Instead, it is radical, occurring in a matter of minutes, and I was jarred by the sudden shift in personality.
Other than that, the rest of the characters are serviceable. Gear is not a particularly intriguing protagonist, and the rest of the cast is forgettable, except for Tejirof, a mercenary hired by the Segua Empire. However, given that his defining feature is his lechery and perverseness, I don't think that it's necessarily a positive for me to remember him (literally, his first line is, "Sorry I was late. I was busy pleasuring myself." Not the best way to greet your future coworkers). I will give him credit though. He does have a knack for finding a way to plug in a joke about poking his stick into something in basically every scene he is in, which I suppose is some sort of achievement on his end.
Overall, Aoi Sekai no Chushin de is nothing special, despite the interesting premise of a representation of the console wars. Unfortunately, it falls victim to poor writing and characterization, which ultimately drags it down from being anything more than a generic action anime with some ecchi moments. If you go into this show with an open mind and low expectations, there is some entertainment that can be found. But this show likely won't be getting any more views from me in the future.
Rating: 5.5/10.0
Aoi Sekai no Chushin de is not going to win any awards soon, but if you enjoy sex jokes and that sort of thing, then there is some value to be found. You just have to look closely.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Oreshura Review: Episode 13: Fin
Warning: This is a long post.
For those of you who have not watched the episodes in between, I will warn you now that this post contains SPOILERS!
This episodes starts right where the last one left off, with Eita (literally) crashing into Mana, who explains a little about Masuzu, and urges Eita to go find her, which leads to him running into the Oredere contest that Saeko introduced to the girls earlier. This sequence is complimented by a title sequence that is melded with the events of the episode, which means that the theme song Girlish Lover(which I am a huge fan of) is nowhere to be found, which is to be expected in this kind of episode, and is actually the right move, considering that this episode is noticeably less comedic than the rest of the series in general.
After a remarkably candid confession from Chiwa, which fits into her more straightforward character, Eita meets with Hime, who gives a confession of her own and leads to Ai getting disqualified from the contest, which is a nostalgic scene that reminds us exactly how far the characters have come since the start of the series.
And then, comes the most memorable ten minutes of this entire series, which starts with Masuzu going onto the stage and stating that Eita has broken up with her, a reference to the previous episode when she "released" Eita from their agreement. In response, Eita walks up onstage to convince her otherwise, leading to a surprisingly touching exchange during which we see Masuzu truly lower her walls for the first time in the series, revealing her own feelings of inadequacy, which have been hinted at all series.
Eita then makes a surprisingly bold move of admitting that he loves Masuzu, with quick cuts to the other girls that make you realize exactly how much weight Eita's choices have, because in choosing Masuzu, which is a decision that most series would not make and gave me more respect for Oreshura, he is truly doing damage to the other girls. Added to the power of his confession is the type of self-deprecating rhetoric he uses, which really reflects the kind of conflicting and confusing feelings that they have for each other. I thought that the choice of dialogue was really strong, and accurately fit into the characterization of both Masuzu and Eita.
In addition, Masuzu admits that, despite hating Eita early on, she has grown to have conflicting feelings for him, leading to a heartfelt and emotional kiss between them, leading up to a quick shot of the other girls once more, again reminding us of just how important Eita's confession was to the status of the collective relationships he has built up over the course of the entire series.
Then the episode cuts to the next morning, where Masuzu and Eita are in bed and she delivers one of the finest lines I have ever heard by telling Eita, upon embracing him and acting like a true girlfriend that, "When I do this, I feel like I'm rotting from the inside out. But if I am to rot and return to the earth with you, then maybe that won't be so bad, after all."
Just the way that Masuzu words it, after she seems that she is fully accepting of her feelings and lowering her walls for a small moment, makes you realize that their romance is not perfect by any means. But in the end, it doesn't matter, because neither of them are interested in perfection, being the fake people that they are. They are the outcasts, the pariahs, the untouchables, in their own distinct ways. And perhaps, that is the exact reason why they deliver one of the most intimate and moving moments of the entire series.
Following that, Saeko tells Eita that he must get rid of the harem, unless he wants to incite conflict. And, to his credit, he tries, failing horribly in the process, with a particularly memorable moment with Ai that is a bit ridiculous and draws you a bit out of the moment, but is enjoyable nonetheless . And after a particularly honest and well executed confession by Chiwa, the series is left ending ambiguously with Chiwa and Masuzu staring each other down, hopefully hinting to a second season, although nothing is official yet. And immediately following is a quick run through of the events of the series and some new material, all set to my new favorite anime ost, Girlish Lover, and like that, Oreshura is over, for the time being.
SPOILERS END HERE
If you couldn't tell from my rant above, I really enjoyed Oreshura. It started off auspiciously enough, looking like it would be an enjoyable series to have a few chuckles with. However, over the course of the last thirteen episodes, it really grew on me, and I found that by the end, I genuinely cared about the characters and where the plot was going.
Oreshura was not just another harem series, as it shook off boring and predictable fan-service for a well executed and interesting plot, that really kept me locked in for every episode, wondering about what was going to happen next. It wasn't really anything particularly inventive or different, but it was a well made product on the technical side, with consistently good animation and voice acting that was right in line with the characters they were portraying.
Beyond that, Oreshura touched me emotionally, and I found that, upon finishing this series, I felt a certain emptiness that only an engaging series could evoke. I felt a similar feeling at the conclusion of Ouran Highschool Host Club, Code Geass, and Fate/Zero, to give you an idea of exactly how attached I became to this series over time. Now, that's not to say that Oreshura is on the same level as these shows, but the fact that I could even be reminded of such accomplished series is a compliment of the highest order.
As I said initially, I think that Oreshura is a great series that anyone can get into for a few laughs, but also, with the final few episodes, it has the ability to really draw out some emotion that elevates it from being more than just another harem show. Overall, I think that this was a great series that anyone can really get into and enjoy for a well made romantic comedy show that has an interesting medium between hilarious and touching moments.
Rating: 9.5/10.0
This episode was an extremely satisfying and worthy conclusion to an well made and interesting series that I really enjoyed.
Series Rating: 9.0/10.0
With consistently strong elements in every episode, Oreshura has been quite the enjoyable ride. It consistently goes above and beyond the normal conventions of a harem series and admittedly grew on me as time went on. It is definitely a series that I would recommend to everyone.
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