Review - Charlotte First Half (1-6)

P.A. Works is back with Key in tow.  Charlotte, like 2010's Angel Beats, is an original animation project made by these collaborating companies.  Shows backed by Key are always massively hyped and do well commercially, so we will find out if it is well earned!

Now we know he isn't afraid of the goods!

Yuu Otosaka is handsome narcissistic dude who, somehow, has developed a super power: projecting his consciousness into another person's body for five seconds.  Nao, the driving force of the plot, recruits Yuu in order to take advantage of his abilities while rounding up others just like him; teenagers who develop and take advantage of their super powers.  She is quite a complex girl who is cheerful one second and somber the next due to a rough childhood and lack of trust in other people.  Maybe that's why her ability allows her to make herself invisible to one target?  Yusa, the shoehorned airhead moe idol and Jojiro, Nao's right hand man in the student council, mostly have served as comedic relief.  I do actually like Yusa, however, because of her super power: she can lend her body to wandering spirits.  So far, though, only the soul of her deceased elder sister takes possession of it, which is when Yusa's character comes to life with a complete 180 in personality and a violent temper.  Jojiro's power allows him to move at a very high rate of speed, which usually leads to him getting injured because he has no brakes.  These four make up the student council and together track down individuals with special abilities.  Finally, the character that is so sweet she will literally raise your blood pressure, Yuu's little sister Ayumi.  Ultra energetic and super cute, it was obvious she would be the one who would trigger the series' turning point in episode six.  Not really anything out of the ordinary in terms of the main cast, they are a likable bunch with distinct personality quirks that make them fun to watch interact with each other.

The main cast from left to right: Nao, Yusa, Yuu, Jojiro

The first episode was incredibly entertaining, probably the most out of any first episode in the Summer season.  Funny pretty much from start to finish, it set the bar pretty high for me right out of the gate.  Unfortunately, as the show progressed it sort of boiled down into a supernatural slice-of-life, complete with Yuu having had join the student council at the school he was forced to relocate to due to his special abilities.  I have no idea why, but I didn't see that coming!  For some reason, I got the impression this show would play out sort of like Toaru Majutsu no Index; superpower battles between the good and the not-so-good, except, instead of sub-par J.C. Staff animation, superior and beautiful P.A. Works visuals.  Obviously I did not get what I had hoped for, but that's alright, the show is still very nice and has some massive potential that may or may not be unlocked going into the second half.  This being Key, you know these characters will have to suffer through some emotional stuff, which gives the show a tough job in having to balance the tone from scene to scene and episode to episode.  It's sort of all over the place to be honest, especially when you consider the end goal of the show is to stimulate your tear ducts a little bit.  The characters are well written, though, which is a plus because who wants to watch an anime whose characters are bad?  One gripe I do have, however, is that Yuu seems to have lost that self-absorbed attitude after the first episode, which is pretty disappointing to me, as it made him stand out a lot more.

Ayumi being adorable.

Due to the slice-of-life aspects Charlotte has developed, it was sure to take a sudden turn into darkness at some point.  The aforementioned episode six was that point, leaving us with a nail-biting cliffhanger and tons of uncertainty; not only for the characters involved in the accident, but for the show itself.  Will it revert back to target-of-the-week with superpower hijinks after moving past the most recent event?  Who was it that was trapped and presumably severely injured by the collapse of the school building?  This show can pull off something good if it doesn't lose itself in RomCom mode from here on out.  Maybe these scientists that turned Nao's brother into a lunatic will show up disguised as rescue workers and take Ayumi away, forcing the student council to plot a rescue mission?  That sounds pretty cool, considering the kidnappers will probably have a few goons with super powers to throw at them.  We'll have our answer come Sunday.

Would you let her record you?

The voice cast is great, especially Ayane Sakura as Nao.  I have become a big fan of her talent over the last year or so.  The opening theme, performed by Lia, is easily my favorite out of all the others this season.  So if you are on board for some silly SOL-turned-angst-in-the-blink-of-an-eye action, you should definitely give Charlotte a try!


First half gets a 7/10 from me.

Cheers!

Purple Crab

Figures I have preordered before year's end!

 So far, I have 4 scales pre-ordered to round out the remaining months of the year.  There are one or two that I might add before then, but for now, this is it.  I am a HUGE To LOVE-Ru fan, so I am at the point where any scale figure manufactured by the top tier companies is instantly getting ordered.  

1/6 Haruna Sairenji by MAX Factory

1/7 Yui Kotegawa by Alter

 Here we have 1/6 Haruna Sairenji by MAX Factory and 1/7 Yui Kotegawa by Alter, both from To LOVE-ru.  Haruna's clothing is taken from an official TLR artbook called Venus.  There have been two other scales made with the same lingerie-style clothing as Haruna: Momo Deviluke and Mea Kurosaki, both 1/6 scale and made by MAX Factory.  I have both of them too!  They will continue this trend in 2015 as they have already announced Nana Deviluke is next in line to be made.

 Alter is advancing their To LOVE-Ru support with Yui after two successful launches of two different figures of Mikan Yuuki, both of which I also have.  Unfortunately, Yui is 1/7 scale and therefore will not be the same size as MAX Factory's Venus scales, but that doesn't bother me as much as it does some other people. Yui's price tag is also somewhat hefty considering her size, but she is my favorite girl from TLR so there is no way I am passing her up!

 Both scales look picture perfect!  If you'd like to see more images, here are some useful links:

MAX Factory's Haruna Sairenji :: Alter's Yui Kotegawa

 Moving right along!  Next we have two scales from the very popular anime Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru, which I will henceforth be referring to as Oregairu because typing that more than once SUCKS!

1/8 Yui Yuigahama by Kotobukiya

1/8 Yukino Yukinoshita by Kotobukiya

 Pretty, aren't they?  Yui and Yukino were announced out of thin air by manufacturer Kotobukiya; they had no prototype out and the company hadn't even so much as hinted at their release.  Although they are standard sized 1/8 scales and are in rather uninteresting poses, it's the simple things that matter!  They are well made, as are all other scales by Kotobukiya, and they have a quiet, peaceful sort of allure to them.  Lots of people were waiting for these two beauties to get a proper figure release, and Kotobukiya delivered big time.  Their prices are reasonable too.  Not to mention...

HENSHIN!

 Yep, they were made to be posed together on the same base!  Very, very nice Kotobukiya.  Oregairu fans should get their hands on these!

If you'd like to see more images of Yui and Yukino, here are some useful links:

1/8 Yui Yuigahama by Kotobukiya :: 1/8 Yukino Yukinoshita by Kotobukiya

Does anyone else plan on getting any of these?  Do you collect figures at all?  If so, which ones do you have?  Which ones are you looking forward to?  What characters do you want a scale of?  LET ME KNOW in the comments or on Facebook!

'Til next time!

Purple Crab

Review - Go! Princess Precure First Half (1-25)

It's only fitting that I make Precure my first review.  My friend and I are currently obsessed with everything about it.  In this post, I will refer to Go! Princess Precure as GoPri just to save the lifespan of my keys a little bit.  Additionally, I'd like to note that this review does contain spoilers!  You've been warned!

For those of you who are unaware of the basics of Precure, the plot outline usually goes like this:  Magic fairies are sent from a magical kingdom that has been overrun by a great evil to the real world where they are charged with finding new Precures to help fight against said evil.  This also usually involves having to save a prince or princess, having to collect several objects, acquiring several power upgrades, a mid-season climax (also known as THE HAPPENING) and the ending resolution, which is always a happy one.

Now, this is the 6th season of Precure I have watched, and somehow, the show felt like something completely new.  Usually, these anime made specifically for kids - little girls, in this case - are very formulaic, they do not stray too much from the bread-and-butter recipe for success.  A good example would be something like Pokemon (also targeted towards children), where the same villains show up every episode and get zapped into space.  GoPri, of course, still has the monster of the week foundation, however, the antics of the villains I feel are what helped this stay so fresh for it's first six months.  Not to say that the Precure themselves aren't great, of course.

Villains Shut (left) and Twilight (right)

Episodes one through ten go by like a blur as you are getting to know the new Precures, the fairies, the villains and the setting.  With fluid and frequent action scenes, decent-looking CGI, menacing monster designs and likable leads, GoPri delivered right from the get-go for me.  Haruka, Minami and Kirara, the three new Cures complement each other very well personality-wise.  Haruka (Cure Flora) is a silly, childish and dimwitted girl who dreams of becoming the "flower princess", a character from a picture book she first read as a child.  Minami (Cure Mermaid) is more of an older sister, very gentle and understanding, but stern and demanding when she needs to be.  Kirara (Cure Twinkle) is an adult-like go-getter following in the footsteps of her mother, a world-famous fashion model.

From right to left: Kirara, Haruka, and Minami.

From episodes eleven through nineteen, the action keeps coming, fluid as ever. Frequent fistfights between the Zetsuborgs and Cures still surprise with how well they are animated all-around.  We see the introduction of a new villain, Twilight, and get to learn more about the Hope Kingdom and the story behind it's downfall.  The Precure attain some new special moves as well due to the increasing strength of the Zetsubogs.  Twilight really was the curve ball in this chunk of episodes that made them excel from typical Precure fare.  Her interactions with the Cures and her villainous comrades entertain time and time again.  Episode eighteen was particularly noteworthy, in which Twilight has a very emotional encounter with Cure Flora, resulting in a verbal and physical battle.  We also get to see more antics from the fairies, Pafu and Aroma, aside from the standard sidekick roles they serve.

Hope Kingdom fairies Aroma (left) and Pafu (right)

Episodes twenty through twenty-two were THE HAPPENING!  A very exciting sequence of events takes place, resulting in the addition of a new Cure!  The atmosphere in these few episodes turns very dark, as it usually does during the mid-season climax.  We see more interaction with the arch evil, Dyspear, and her desperation to keep Twilight under her control.  The fights here, surprisingly, failed to impress me and don't hold a candle to some of the throw-downs earlier in the series.  This climax was more for major plot advancement and emotional turmoil from the entire cast rather than flashy fistfights.  Dyspear is truly a menacing presence on-screen and I can't quite remember any of the other Precure seasons I've watched having such a visually frightening villain.  I wonder if little girls in Japan are scared of her?

Dyspear is very scary-looking!

So the climax has come and gone, and starting from episode twenty-three we resume the usual agenda of gathering the remaining Dress-up Keys in order to break the dark spell that has been cast on the Hope Kingdom.  We now have an additional member on the good side, however, as Twilight has broken free from the mind control Dyspear had placed on her and is now known as Towa (Cure Scarlet).  Some hilarity ensues as Towa is not at all aware of how things work back in the real world, resulting in the heroine trio and the fairies having to show her the ropes of living amongst normal people.  Haruka, Mnami, and Kirara do a great job welcoming Towa to the squad, as they are often genuinely trying to cheer her up since she seems to have lost her sense of self.  Towa slowly warms up to them, though is still apprehensive and afraid that Dyspear will return for her.

Towa is such a rebel.

Well, that just about wraps up the first half of Go! Princess Precure.  I feel like this is going to be the best season yet, though some enthusiasts may disagree with me in favor of Heartcatch Precure.  The pacing is snappy, leaving only one or two episodes to drag through.  The Cures are great, the villains are quirky and fun to watch fail.  The action scenes are well done for the most part and there isn't too much special spam a la Doki Doki Precure.  The voice acting is top-notch with a cast that includes both new talents and seasoned veterans, with my particular praise going to Miyuki Sawashiro.  I absolutely love her!  The opening theme, is, in my opinion, pretty atrocious.  The ending theme, however, is pleasant and catchy.  It really gets you ready for the next episode.

Overall, I give the first half of GoPri an 8.5/10, or an 8 on MAL's rating scale.  It's pretty great!

Until next time!  Cheers!

Purple Crab

Summer 2015 Anime - What am I watching?

The summer 2015 anime season has been in full swing for about six weeks now but I figured this would be the best place to start the blog off.  From here, I will do episode reviews, full series reviews, complain, shower praise and anything else you can thing of regarding these titles.  I usually give everything that airs a fair shot to prove itself worthy of being watched, so these titles are the ones that I have chosen to continue watching.  If something is not on here, I am not watching it for one reason or another.  I can explain why in detail either in the comments or on Facebook if you want to ask!  So enough of my blabbering, here is my list:

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 
Arslan Senki 
Baby Steps 2nd Season
Charlotte 
Durarara!!x2 Second Arc 
Gangsta. 
Gatchaman Crowds Insight 
Go! Princess Precure 
Miss Monochrome The Animation 2
Non Non Biyori Repeat
Okusama ga Seitokaichou!
Ore Monogatari!!
Rokka no Yuusha
Shokugeki no Souma
To LOVE-ru Darkness 2nd
Ushio to Tora
Working!!! (Season 3)

I don't think I forgot anything, but if I did, I will edit the list.

"You dropped MonMusu and Overlord?  Time to fight!"

A fair bit of these are either sequels or carryovers from Spring season.  I guess that means I wasn't a big fan of Summer's grand debut titles?  Either way, please let me know what you think of any of these shows!  Which show from Summer is YOUR favorite?  Which one did you like the least?  Stay tuned for more!

Cheers.

Purple Crab

Introduction

Hello, world! My name is Brian and I am a huge anime fan!  So much so that I wish to share my experiences with everyone, be it anime, card games, video games, related purchases I make, and so on.  My goal is to create a cross-platform, all-purpose, enjoyable social media web of the things I love.  If you just so happen to like some of the same things I do, won't you stick around and become part of my network?  I will follow up this post with another shortly just to get the ball rolling for me.  Here we go!

At the top of the left sidebar you will find several other social media sites and profiles of mine that you can check out!  Please do not hesitate to add/friend request/follow me on any of those platforms!

At the top of the right sidebar you will find several websites which I frequent regularly.  These websites will often relate to some of my posts, so if your interest is piqued after reading one of my posts, please have a look at those links!

You'll join my network, won't you?  For Tsukihi?

Cheers!

Purple Crab