Reaction: Ao Haru Ride – Episode 4

Okay, I’m sold. I originally had no interest in this anime but now 4 episodes later, I’m sucked in.

Something I can’t BELIEVE I didn’t notice about Ao Haru Ride is the fact the opening song was written by Honey Works. I knew I loved the opening the first time I heard it, but I didn’t realize it was composed by one of my most favorite Vocaloid producing units! The rhythm and sounds were familiar, but I never made the connection until now. As a die-hard Vocaloid fan, this was SUCH a great surprise. 🙂

 I can’t believe I even missed the nod towards Honey Works’s mascot!!

Well, jumping into the episode, we’re thrown into a fast-paced story line. The beginning scenes were really fun to watch Kou and Futuba running around trying to get to their destination. Overall, the episode was just a blast to watch.

 (Notice that Murao is blushing)

LOVE TRIANGLE SPOTTED!

I’ve always loved friendly love triangles. They’re SO much fun. Especially when you root for either couple. Thumbs up to you, Ao Haru Ride.

Yuri is still my favorite character.

This just made her character even better. It’s usually painfully obvious when characters have alter egos, but I didn’t see it coming with Yuri AT ALL. More points to you, Ao Haru Ride!

I cringed during this scene, however. Have you ever noticed that main characters in shoujos always fall in love with the male love interest because he’s better than her at something? (More often than not, everything.) Ao Haru Ride still hasn’t escaped the cliche shoujo anime zone, but its certainly gotten better.

DO THE SPIDERMAN KISS. DO IT.

 Futuba makes her move!

Jokes aside, his part definitely surprised me. I feel like the romance is moving a lot faster than it should be.

Lady, you just KISSED his head. Stop. If Futuba ends up being a tsundere you can just kill me now. I DETEST tsunderes.

The side ships are starting to appear! I think that was my favorite part about this episode. The fact they’re establishing other couples now.

Okay….fine. I’ll admit it. I’m kind of getting on board with the romance now. Just a little bit.

Or maybe not. STOP THE TSUNDERE. STOP IT. Ao Haru Ride can still escape and keep out the tsundere relationships. I have no desire to watch Futuba turn into some immature, emotionally unstable character who’ll become violent at the drop of a hat. 

(Sorry for the throw up of pictures.)

Anyways, this episode was definitely the best one so far. It’s amazing how much I’ve come to enjoy watching this series. But I swear if Futuba continues to push away her emotions, I’m done. The whole “What are these feelings I have? Is it love? No. I can’t possibly love him!” trope has always pissed me off. It’s fine to a REALISTIC extent, but when they go overboard for most of the season, I end up wanting to shoot the girl. Luckily, when Futuba holds her feelings back, it’s understandable. But the fact she boldly makes a move on Kou and tells herself she doesn’t have feelings for him is nothing but a bad attempt at trying to create drama.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

The love triangle and the new side ships!

Tune in next time for a look at episode 5! 🙂

Reaction: Barakamon – Episode 4

Because of last week’s episode I was pretty hesitant of this week’s….

But thank GOODNESS I worried for nothing! Episode 4 definitely brought back the same feelings I had the first time I checked out Barakamon. Laughs for everyone!

This episode was so much fun to watch! I just couldn’t help smiling!

I’m actually SUPER allergic to cats myself so Seishuu’s reaction to them made me laugh at how relatable it was. (But unlike him, I’ve always preferred dogs ❤ )

Naru and Hina both appeared in this episode for a large majority too, which already made this episode FAR more enjoyable than last week’s.

This episode was just tons of fun! Which is exactly what I expect from Barakamon. I’m glad this series got back on its feet after episode 3 was such a flop.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

Being an actual episode of Barakamon. Unlike whatever that mess of an episode was last week…

Glad to see it got back to its hilarious, fun roots. Hopefully next week’s will be just as good.

Reaction: Gun Gale Online – Episode 4

Considering the fact I barely woke up and haven’t eaten anything to start up the snarky part of my brain, this post won’t be as sarcastic or angry as the previous ones.

But I will say, HOLY CRAP WE’RE ACTUALLY IN AN MMO GAISE. OMG. IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING. It’s called Sword Art ONLINE for a reason. I don’t know wtf has been happening for the last 3 episodes. Oh right. We were establishing the awesomeness of Kirito’s next heremette. (aka Sinon.)

Anyways, the episode starts off and Kirito is giving his idiotic speech about how he’s “99% sure DEASU GUNNU is a myth”. Stop. DEASU GUNNU is a FACT. It’s whether or not he can kill people that’s the myth. But who cares about dialogue in an anime about pandering? I mean action. Action. It’s funny because Kirito talks about how he can’t believe video games can kill people in real life. Remember the incident concerning, oh, 10,000 people just last year? How many died again? Shut your hole, Kirito.

WHAAAATTTT?! Kirito’s avatar in game is female?! What a shocker considering the promos and opening NEVER revealed this! Wow! Screw you, A-1 pictures. SAO is bad as it is but the way they revealed everything makes it even worse. Actually, it’s kind of funny. Not “haha” funny, but funny as in A-1 pictures just shoved a stick up SAO’s mighty arse.

Talk about pathetic. Kirito’s portrayal of being a girl is to apparently act woefully cheerful and cutesy. Because that’s just how all girls are, ya know? This scene made me slightly die inside.

I’m pretty sure SAO has now fulfilled every single wish fulfilling fetish there ever was. Tentacle rape? Check. Girls with giant boobs? Check. Girls with nice butts? Check. Crotch shots? Check. Girl with glasses? Check. Lolis? Check. Incest? Check. Groping nurses? Check. The only thing missing is the crossdress fetish. Wait…CHECK!

Wow. Apparently it wasn’t enough that every girl immediately fell in love with Kirito without him trying. Now even GUYS have to hit on him too. Because he’s just that desirable, right? All hail the Gary Mary Sue!

I can’t even stress how stupid Kirito’s female avatar is. The fact that it was random just gives more proof that Kawahara doesn’t know anything about MMOs. He’s probably never even played one before! Everyone knows one of the best things about MMOs is the fact you can customize your character. Your in-game self is designed how YOU want it to look. Who the F*CK came up with the idea of random customization? I would be pissed off if I was given an avatar to look like this gap-toothed ding dong:

I’m not the only one who thought of Moliere from Atlantis during this scene, am I?

If default designs were based on pure luck…no. Just no.

It’s funny because everyone in SAO acts like pretending to be a female online is uncommon. (If it looks female it MUST be female!!!!!) No one would DARE pretend to be the opposite gender ONLINE! That’s ridiculous!

Also, WHY does Kirito bother to hide he’s a male? Why? Don’t give me the “he’s undercover” bull either. If entering that BOB tournament as a noob doesn’t already seem suspicious, then I don’t know what is.

So Kirito and his new BFF/haremette go shopping! And that’s…pretty much the entirety of the episode. No, really. And since Kirito doesn’t have enough money for weapons, he decides to gamble and play a minigame to get money. (By the way, why didn’t the people who hired him GIVE him an account? You know. One that’s already tricked out with the best weapons, plenty of money, etc.?)

Again, projecting the path of bullets COMPLETELY defeats the purpose of FPS.

 

Everyone acts like it’s SUCH a difficult game so that it’ll look that much more impressive when Kirito beats it on his first try. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS. 

(OMG Digital Jesus is just TOO COOL.)

Of course there are swords in this world too! Why wouldn’t there be? Kirito wouldn’t be Kirito WITHOUT a super special sword! He also buys a handgun and I’m going to guess that he’ll be able to duel wield his weapons. Which will be some super special skill that only Kirito has. Because Kirito is just so super specially special. News flash – if you can deflect bullets with the light saber, why doesn’t anyone use them?!  Probably because Kirito will be the only one that can do that. He’s the best after all. Plus 100 Gary Stu points to team Kirito!

Sinon and Kirito apparently lost track of time and now only have a few minutes before they can sign up for BOB. In every online game with tournaments I’ve ever played, a public message would be sent to every player reminding them to sign up. This was just laughable. It was just an excuse to make Kirito look super amazing because he can ride a motorcycle.

You’re forgetting he’s Digital Jesus, Sinon. He can do anything.

Oh so THAT’S why Kirito has a motorbike in real life! So he can ride on one in a video game!!! Here’s a thought – If no one can ride those bikes, WHY IS IT POSSIBLE TO RENT THEM?! Also, the thought of an MMO without teleportation devices makes my soul cringe.

Do you know how many quests require you to do things in different areas? This is so stupid. Again, Kawahara knows nothing about video games. NOTHING.

To sum it up, everything in this episode should’ve happened in either the 1st or 2nd episode. But nooooo. We had to first establish how awesome Sinon was and throw a pity party for her at the same time.

I can’t. It’s only getting worse. But how much worse can it get? That is the true question.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

The design of the city. Because cyberpunk.

Well…I lied about this post not being sarcastic. I guess even without my morning glass of orange juice I can still be snarky. Join me next week for another look into the world of Harem Fetishes Online!

Grave of the Fireflies

• Characters: 2  /3
• Story: 3  /3
• Enjoyment: 1  /2
• Art: 1  /1
• Animation: 1  /1

Overall Score: 8/10

Grave of the Fireflies in one word: Powerful.

The story is about a young boy named Seita who passes away shortly after the end of World War II. His spirit looks back at his experiences during the war as he struggled through various hardships…

I love Studio Ghibli films to death. But, surprisingly, I’d never seen Grave of the Fireflies until recently. I had no idea what it was about before watching it, and wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t do any research on the film prior.

Immediately I realized I was about to watch something that would have me crying at the end. And yep. I was.

The characters, the story, the animation…it’s everything I expected from a Ghibli film, but completely different from any other I’d seen. I fell in love with both Seita and his sister, Setsuko. Their bond, their struggles, their laughter, their love for each other…I was completely sucked into the story because of them.

As always the case with Studio Ghibli, the characters were very realistic and well written. But what captured me about Grave of the Fireflies was definitely the story.

I can’t believe how many people bash this movie and say it “demonizes Americans” when it absolutely DOESN’T. The point of the story is not to show how horrible us Americans were – or anyone for that matter. It was to show the devastating effects war has in general while also telling a story that tugs at your heartstrings. There was a comment on the site where I was watching the movie where the person called this movie laughable. That they couldn’t feel sympathy for the characters because they were Japanese, America’s enemies during WWII. How pig-headed do you have to be to say something like that? I understand that in war, you do what you have to do. But it doesn’t change the fact that war is ugly for everyone. And the fact he couldn’t sympathize with Seita or Setsuko, war victims, is lost on me.

This movie is definitely, er…depressing. Like….very depressing. Yet it’s so powerful that it’s ultimately a masterpiece. I’ve said this before, but the best kind of writing is something that makes you feel. Something that can move an audience and bring out emotion. Grave of the Fireflies brought tears to my eyes and made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut. (In a good way, if that’s possible) I felt so much watching this movie; it’s such an enthralling tale.

And of course, as expected of a Studio Ghibli film, the animation was SUPERB. The hand-drawn, smooth movements characters have never cease to impress me.

You can call the art style of Grave of the Fireflies outdated if you want. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s done not only very well, but makes it a classic anime movie. 

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So to sum it up:

Pros: It’s powerful. Definitely a classic anime movie. The characters, story, atmosphere – everything is done brilliantly. It’s a very deep, enthralling tale. For something that came out in 1988, the art and animation are both top quality.

Cons: It’s rather depressing. Kind of like someone beat up your emotions and left them to rot…

Worth watching? If you can handle an anime with deeper, more mature themes… If you can handle being handed a masterpiece at the expense of having your feelings ripped to shreds… Grave of the Fireflies is exactly what you want. It’s a beautiful, compelling, and gripping story that WILL get you to tear up. Plus, it’s a Ghibli film which automatically makes it a top-notch anime movie.

 

Reaction: Zankyou no Terror – Episode 3

I feel like the only reason everyone has been going nuts over this anime is because it gives off such a Death Note kind of vibe. I don’t know what it is about Zankyou no Terror, but I have a tendency to zone out while watching it.

It took me a bit longer to finish watching this week’s episode because of how many times I had to rewind and re-read the subs. Before I knew it, the episode was over and I could hardly recall anything that happened. Maybe I’m losing interest, maybe my attention span depletes once I hit the play button….whatever it is, I always find myself zoning out.

 

To be honest, I’m really only interested in Shibasaki. He’s somehow ended up becoming my favorite character. Probably because he’s the only thing keeping this series even remotely interesting for me….

 (Maybe it’s because he kind of reminds me of Dr. Ozaki from Shiki.)

This series does a great job at trying to keep it as realistic as possible (regardless of the fact they play the “teenagers can do anything” trope). But whenever Lisa’s mom appears, I can’t help but feel it loses its believability in those moments.

Aaaaaand STILL waiting to see how Lisa’s character has any importance to the story.

I just don’t really know what I WANT from this series. A psychological thriller? Something with more action? More mystery? I’m just waiting for something to happen that’ll actually strike my interest. For now this series is nothing more than a mind numbing experience to pass the time with.

I guess what I’m waiting for is something that’ll make me go “No way!” or “Aha!”. That’s why I keep coming back every week. I’m just waiting around hopefully for SOMETHING….And I really want that something to come soon…

The “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

Shibasaki.

I guess I’ll check out episode 4 next week….

 

 

 

Reaction: Tokyo Ghoul – Episode 4

Well…compared to last week’s episode…this one was rather….meh.

Let’s talk characters.

First off, I absolutely detest characters like Tsukiyama Shuu. The fact he even exists kills me inside. I don’t dislike him for anything he does in the story – he makes a good antagonist. It’s his personality that makes me gag.

I kind of wish Touka was the main character. It was sad how she barely showed up this episode. And the few minutes she did were some of the most interesting moments of the episode.

 Meanwhile, Hinami and her mother didn’t even show up in this episode at all. I wonder what happened to them anyways…

Overall, the episode just felt INCREDIBLY rushed. One second they’re at the coffee shop, now Kaneki is sparring with some dude whose name I won’t bother to remember, now there’s a shower scene, and now….wait, what the heck is going on?

Carnival Corpse? I thought this was Tokyo Ghoul not Deadman Wonderland…

Seriously, why in the world was Kaneki there in the first place? He’s so incredibly gullible, I couldn’t even feel sorry for him. That was just pathetic. I heard that in the manga he went to the ghoul restaurant to learn more about Rize’s death. Why they decided to keep out such an important fact is lost to me.

“He didn’t seem like all that bad a person.” You mean like how Rize didn’t seem like all that bad a person? Okay then.To put it bluntly, Kaneki only frustrated me this episode. I can’t believe how stupid and gullible he is even after EVERYTHING that has happened to him. The lack of character development is strong with this one.

This episode was mediocre at best. While it kept my interest till the end, I couldn’t believe how rushed it was. And the fact they left out important information and didn’t care to cover up plot holes annoys me beyond all reason.

and the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to….

Touka

Because why not?

Hopefully next week’s episode won’t be as pathetic…

Daily Lives of High School Boys

• Characters: 3  /3
• Story: 3  /3
• Enjoyment: 2  /2
• Art: 0  /1
• Animation: 0  /1

Overall Score: 8/10

I finished Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou) the day I started it, but my internet connection was messed up, so I couldn’t write a review.

First off, writing a review for a comedy is obviously different from reviewing something like, oh, Angel Beats!. So, even though I gave Daily Lives a higher score, it’s in a different category entirely. The two can’t be compared because they’re so DIFFERENT. So with that out of the way, let’s get started.

Daily Lives of High School Boys is about exactly what it’s called. Can’t get any simpler than that. It’s comprised of short stories rather than a linear plot.The entire anime is nothing but short, simple, hilarious, rollicking stories. It’s probably the funniest anime I’ve ever seen. 

Pretty much every character in this show is hilarious. The conversations and childish antics they partake in is the center of Daily Lives. Not to mention all the characters are completely likable/lovable! The thought of a comedy centered around high school boys definitely sounded interesting to me. I stress “boys” because school comedies seem to always be centered around high school girls for some reason. Lucky Star, Nichijou, Azumanga Daioh, etc. But one about boys? At first I expected an anime with lots of video games and trying to pick up girls. And while there was a conversation or two about both, Daily Lives had SO much to offer! Something I was really surprised about was the fact that there are actually a LOT of girls in this anime too. Regardless of the fact the main characters attend an all boys school. In an anime like Lucky Star where the characters even go to a coed school, I’m pretty sure there was a maximum of 2 males in the entire show. (It doesn’t count if they’re just characters in the background.) There’s even a short at the end of every episode called High School Girls are Funky! Just because of that, Daily Lives brought something totally new to the table!

I really had to pause the video a couple times because I was laughing so hard! While there were some jokes I normally wouldn’t laugh at in any other anime, Daily Lives gets away with it because of how ridiculous it KNOWS it is. It’s been a while since I could just shut off the “critic” part of my brain, sit down, and just watch something without ever making a snide remark!

 

Even without a plot, Daily Lives managed to become one of my favorite anime. I enjoyed every second of it because I never stopped laughing!

While the art and animation isn’t the best by any means, that doesn’t take away from the show at all. It’s too funny to just NOT enjoy!

While Daily Lives portrays pretty much every female character as treating males like monsters or lower beings, it’s only to give way to funny moments. Rather than coming off as misogynistic, it seemed like the opposite, in fact. It felt a lot more along the lines of “girl power!”.

And the males were all completely lovable as well. There’s even a scene where one of them rants on how guilty he was when he accidentally saw up a girl’s skirt. I feel like it’s rare in anime to find males who act like gentlemen without being either overly flamboyant, prince-like, or shy. Daily Lives breaks the norm once again.

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So to sum it up:

Pros: It’s HYSTERICAL. You will be entertained to the very end. There is not one story that didn’t at least make me smile. Not one. The characters are all memorable and lovable – even though it’s not necessary to remember their names!

Cons: The art/animation is under average. (But this definitely doesn’t take away from the anime AT ALL.)

Worth watching? If you like slice of life comedies, this is probably the best one you will ever find. (It’s definitely my favorite.) If you want to watch something that will have you on the floor laughing, Daily Lives is DEFINITELY worth checking out!

 

Daily Lives of High School Boys Directory

First Thoughts (Episode 1)

Review – Daily Lives of High School Boys

First Thoughts: Daily Lives of High School Boys

I’ve been looking for a good comedy anime and Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou) MORE than delivers!

I can’t stop laughing! It’s so funny I had to pause the episodes a couple times!

I love it. There’s really nothing more to say.

I’ve only seen the first episode and it’s already becoming one of my favorite anime. That’s REALLY saying something. I will definitely be writing a review of this in the future! XD

Reaction: Ao Haru Ride – Episode 3

Well, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Ao Haru Ride actually seems to only be going up. It’s interesting how a series I really had absolutely no interest in is getting better, while my favorite anime this season (Barakamon) is going downhill.

While the romance is still as cliche as it gets, the anime is starting to get pretty fun to watch. Not because of the romance, but because of the characters.

I’m loving the side characters so far. I hope Ao Haru Ride gives them plenty of attention instead of keeping the spotlight solely on the main couple.

As I said, the romance still feels very cliched and forced, but I’ll admit that there WAS a cute moment in this episode.

I honestly wish Kou had kept his previous personality. His and Futuba’s past relationship is far more interesting than how they are now.

Overall, the episode was surprisingly decent. It’s still far from NOT being a generic high school shoujo, but it’s definitely improved since the first episode. Still, the romance is incredibly unconvincing and I’m FAR more interested in the side characters than anything else.

I’ll bite. Onto episode 4!

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

The 3 side characters, Murao, Kominato, and Makita