Past Anime Review: Maburaho

Posted by Onii-chan
May 19, 2012

New and excited to be here!!!!

So for my first review is going to start with this anime called Maburaho after a long and hard decision. I have other anime but I have decided to start with this one. Its all about a guy named Kazuki Shikimori and his magic.

A flashback of the past is shown at the beginning of this anime, when Kazuki Shikimori fufilled a promise to make snow using his magic in the middle of summer.

Our story begins in Aoi Academy, a prestigious magic school where magic has a certain limit before it is used up and you turn into ash. Kazuki Shikimori is a second year student that goes to this school, but only can use his magic 8 times. He doesn’t know that the power of his magic is great, until 3 beautiful girls start going after him.

Rin Kamishiro

Rin Kamishrio, a freshman and a sword wielder, receive a telepathic call from her family members to seek out Kazuki and marry him for the sake of her family as her mission.

Kuriko Kazetsubaki

Kuriko Kazetsubaki, a senior and a talisman holder, also receive a call, but though the phone so it won’t be intercepted, also goes after Kazuki and marries him too.

Yuna Miyama

Yuna Miyama, a second year transfer student to Aoi Academy and a water wielder is a friend from the past and Kazuki's wife in a symbolic kind of way, whom also goes after Kazuki because of what he did with her in the past.

Not only have these 3 beautiful girls gone after him but all of the other girls too, because of Kazuki's powerful genes. Dr. Akai explained Kazuki s family lineage and it consisted of 50 of the most powerful magicians in the world. So whoever gets married to Kazuki will have offspring with similar powers as him.

During all that time at school, Kazuki ends up using his magic and now is close to turning into ash.

Yunas memorable snowfall

His first magic use was to show snow again for the lost memory that he had forgotten of Yuna in the past and the promise that she made to him to have friends and to become his bride.

Yuna!!!! I'm going to save you

His second magic use was to rescue Yuna from a ghost named Elizabeth because they destroyed a splendid suit of armor, but Kuriko was the one who sent Elizabeth out of the abandoned manor and caused the manor to be destroyed. So Yuna was pulled into a vortex that Elizabeth created, and Kazuki used his magic to pull Yuna out, and in the meantime while he was trying to pull Yuna out the two dorms of the students become one. 

AHHHHHH!!!!!!

His third magic use was protecting Kuriko against two behemoths, a S-Rank summon which no magic could stop other than his. It all begins with his prophetic dreams that he has, about getting attacked in the near future. Dr. Akai was holding one of the beasts that he captured and the other was created by Kazuki's classmates. He stopped the beasts by screaming his heart out.

Ill save it for you Rin

His fourth magic use was to save a boxed lunch that Rin made for a senior that she liked who was leaving. It was a waste of his magic because Rin didn’t give it to him but in the end giving it to Kazuki as a thank you.

Mister Greatest Magician In The World

During his fifth magic use another character comes into this story. Chihaya Yamase, a childhood friend of Kazuki who ask him to ask his classmates to help out in the Aoi Festival at their play. He uses his magic during the play to stop the monster (which his own classmates made) and turn it into ice then snow and turned a bad play into a spectacular finish.

His sixth magic use was to kill another Yuna that Yuna had made herself. The bottle that Yuna opened up held pathogens of a magic retro virus which caused the person that opened it to lose their magic counts and turn into ash. This made the other Yuna to appear and have the oppose emotions that she had. So the person that Kazuki used his magic on was the Yuna that hated him.

Sorry I couldn't keep my promise

The seventh and eighth magic use was to save Yuna from the virus that she got from opening that bottle. The first time Kazuki tried to save her, it worked, or so we though. Darkness had spread and her spell counts were almost up, so the final decision that he made was to use his last magic use and save Yuna. It worked but now Kazuki was gone, or so we thought…

I thought I was dreaming,
but I am a ghost

Kazuki save me!!!!

I love you

Kazuki Shikimori turned into a ghost after using up his precious spell counts, and the only thing that can turn him back was this mysterious girl was Dr. Akai's little sister, Shino Akai. But she tries to capture Kazuki and turn him into a full pledge ghost. Yuna and Chihaya jumps in this vortex and something happens. His ashes start to return dut to them and now he is able to hold stuff.

Please smile for me Rin

Kuriko's turn was up, to return his ashes. But the problem is that she would not abandon her pride, and if Kuriko and Kazuki's hearts won’t align, Kazukis ashes won’t be restored. But at the stroke of midnight, Kurikos and Kazukis heart aligned in unity because Kuriko was honest with herself and loved him. So his ashes started to come back.

HUH??? Thats Yuna and Chihaya

Rins turn to restore ash was a tough one for her because Shino told her once restored, Kazuki will forget everything. So Rin was avoiding Kazuki. They went for a date suggested by Kuriko to restore his ashes but it didn’t go smoothly. During the date, Kazuki made a promise to Rin to keep on swinging her katana until he returns and another promise was made too. Rin runs away but returns because she gives in to Kazuki's determination, the second promise was her to smile because she was unhappy. Once she smiled, Kazukis ashes started to return but she was scared that he might forget everything, but in the end of course, he didn’t. :D

Every last bit of ash of Kazuki Shikimori was finally returned, or so we though. There was still one person’s ash that was still left, so Dr. Akai decides to find out who it was. All four girls go into Kazuki's heart to find out who it is and where they were, and finally they found it.

Are these Kazukis memories?

The stream of ashes splits into two, one for Yuna and one for Chihaya about Kazuki's past, making snow as a promise and to become his bride as little kids.

KAZUKI!!!!!!!

Will Yuna and Chihaya restore his ashes or will Shino turn Kazuki into a ghost?

I find this anime very nice because there’s a lot of passion going around and plus, its funny. I love how he uses his magic for each person. The art of this anime was nice, the effects of the magic use and how they show their emotions to Kazuki.

The theme was a general school-life one about using his magic sacrificially. It’s about sharing and understanding others, and how people feel for one another.

I loved this anime, it consisted of 24 episodes. Find out for yourself and see whether you'd like it as well!

Hint: School: A forgotten past, girl with wings, a fox, and a demon slayer.
Onii-chan
Edited by FayeA

Past Anime Review: Mayoi Neko Overrun!

May 19, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hi readers,


It's time for a past anime review, and this time I'll be reviewing an anime which I watched 2 years ago, Mayoi Neko Overrun!

Well, first things first, this IS an ECCHI anime. No doubt about that. As those who might know an infamous anime such as To-Love-Ru, this is the SAME mangaka who created it.

Our anime first begins in an ordinary bakery, of which we meet our main protagonist, Takumi Tsuzuki (Lucky ass), and Fumino Serizawa (Tsundere and hot main heroine) . Both of which have been working there for a long time, along with Takumi's guardian, Otome Tsuzuki.

Both being orphaned at a young age, Takumi forced himself out and found Otome, who decided to take care of him, while Fumino went under the care of a local church.

Chise Umenori

However, lately Otome hasn't been home, as that she does a huge amount of humanitarian acts, often those that would jeaprodize her life and are normally waaaaay too helpful at times. At school, we meet your typical loli Ojou-sama, Chise Umenomori, who treats Takumi like a dog (though she likes him), and pisses off Fumino almost all of the time.

The you have your loser pervert, Leyasu Kikuchi, and your dull but mature person, Daigoro Koya.

So yu wake de, your setting.

Ah, then suddenly Otome-san returns home, saying she had brought home a souvenir, a girl.

A GIRL? SHE BRINGS HOME A FULL SIZED, TEENAGE GIRL.

Nozomi Kiriya

Called Nozomi Kiriya, she was found by Otome-san at the train station. Having no one else to turn to, Otome-san decided to being her back home to be taken care of. Fortunately for us, this means that we have a young teenage boy and girl under the same roof.

She has a set of naturally shaped cat-eared hair, and doesn't talk much, sometimes saying Nya like a cat.

Worse thing is (Or best thing to some people), is SHE DOESN'T ACT AS HOW A GIRL SHOULD. She does not take things like *ahem* being nude in front of the 3 guys seriously, of which Fumino strictly taught her how to behave, and also she finds nothing wrong with sharing a hot spring bath with Takumi.

But the funny thing, is that she is good at everything that she does, be it baking cakes or at sports, and she does so calmly and without much effort.

Plot-wise, this anime takes the extreme. It does not have much plot development, but there is some plot with the story of the main characters. I think the main reason why each plot developed in an episode ends in that episode is because the director for Mayoi Neko Overrun! changes every episode (first time I heard of this). Near the very end of the anime though, there is a plot on Nozomi's history and life story and all that.

Theme-wise, the sense of belonging, family, friendship and working together are what makes this anime shine I guess. This anime focuses more on the theme expect rather than plot.


However, of course, expect you random ECCHI scenes and your usual school events. The group of main characters are always together doing wacky stuff and normally things that go out of hand, thanks to Umenonori.

Personally, as one of my first few animes I ever watched, I thought this was a completely normal thing for an anime, until my friend convinced me otherwise. Though I commend this anime for being successful in injecting humour in every episode and making my sides hurt, the direction of the anime is random and at most times, like a ship wandering off course quite badly.

OH YEAH, AND EPISODE 13. OMG WHY WAS THERE AN EPISODE 13, COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME. If you ever watch the anime just skip episode 13 OMG.

Main Characters

Mayoi Neko Overrun! aired in Spring 2010 from April 6 to June 29, 2010, with 12 episodes and a special. It was fansubbed by CXC, Doki, Mochi, Nuke, Ryuumaru, and m.3.3.w. It also comes out in manga form which I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND because it's has *ahem* some things that you shouldn't see.

Enjoy RES.
DarrenW
Edited by Tr3xus

Final Impressions: Inu X Boku SS

May 14, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hi!

EXAMS ARE OVER!!! But I'm still studying for the national exams at the end of the year.

It's me again, and I'm here to bring you guys the Final Impressions for an anime that has been on the waiting list for A LONG TIME.

Oops. The hint is wrong. This review came out first because I wanted to do it compared to the other.

I'm very sorry about this delay because I had to finish those Initial Impressions quickly first before I could get to today's review, "Inu X Boku SS"!!

So the story begins when Ririchiyo Shirakiin, an ojou-sama (rich girl), moves into the apartment complex Maison de Ayakashi. She has the standard character of an ojou-sama, obnoxious and full of pride, however, she's very soft inside, in the cute way.

Everything appears normal in the first few minutes of the first episode, just a girl moving into her new house, but then I find out what the 'SS' in the title means. SECRET SERVICE (Not to be confused with Amagami --> SS <--). Yes, this is no normal apartment complex, its one with PERSONAL SECRET AGENTS at your command.





Like every other normal person's, Ririchiyo says NO to her assigned agent, Soushi Miketsukami. However, the very same day, burglars break in and its then when she realizes another thing. EVERYONE in the apartment has SUPERNATURAL POWERS, specifically, those of demons of which are obtained through blood relation of inhertence. Because of that incident, Shirakiin, touched by Soushi's self-sacrifice, accepts Soushi as her agent.

Basically treated as the special-one since childhood, she has been neglected by her own parents, whom hate her as she manages to acquire that demon power, of which her sister did not get. She basically leads the life of loneliness and quite literally, that of those filled with servants and of no relationships, AT ALL.

Ririchiyo also expresses herself better through that of letters and written material, of which she has very bad socializing skills, as we observe from her sarcastic and rude tone. She does that naturally (Wow).

The story progresses, with the arranged fiance of Ririchyo, Kagerou, who is, in my opinion, very retarded ans spastic, often and always having loud outbursts and classifying everything under S&M (Sadist and Masochist)

Then a real plot develops, of something that happened way before. On Kagerou's return, she suddenly remembers her past, of which she exchanged written letters with him before. This brings up a romance story, between two people who exchanged letters a long time ago, and became lovers. I personally think this was an awesome story.

As the relationship between Ririchiyo and Soushi progresses, the plot makes it all the more obvious, that the two were made for each other.  But I shan't tell you the who lot because it'll spoil your fun.

SPARKLING

SPARKLING

You will get to find out more about Soushi's life, of which is similar to that of Ririchiyo and that of sadness and loneliness as well. Well, that is until Kagerou entered his life I guess.

RACOON DOG?

And I can't stand Zange Natsume, how the hell does he keep his lips so pointy??

Plot-wise, the plot really didn't appear until near the 2nd half of the anime, of which was well expressed over a few episodes, but eventually the climax was a SUUUUUPER LONG EXPLANATION by Soushi, which I felt was okay yeah, but a bit rushed.

The theme of romance is well expressed, and I particularly like this love story because it's very touching. I have never really felt this romance theme ever since I watched "CLANNAD" and "Angel Beats!" last year. It was also logical and not over the top as what I would have expected, and is decent.

LESBIAN

GAY

CUTE. IT'S OK

Art is good, no choppy messes and the majority of the scenes are well detailed. Many of the female characters are actually quite cute.

The atmosphere is warm, with most of the workers in the apartment complex giving the sense of friendship and unity. Not one character in the anime was actually NORMAL.

Climax scene was not at all climatic, though there was real fighting but thanks to Kagerou it was ALL OKAY AT THE END?

Personally I would like to commend that the anime managed something original and gave a good lasting impression at the end of it. Though I was not very impressed with the amount of action, since it WAS an anime with the main characters possesing supernatural powers after all. The use of the supernatural appeared to be just an aid to help the plot and atmosphere for the romance along. Sigh...

Inu x Boku SS has 12 episodes, and premiered on January 12th, along with the Winter 2011 season. It has actually finished a long time ago, but due to delays on my part, this review is super late. It is being fansubbed by EveTaku, Hadena, Commie and Zenyaku. There is also a manga with 6 volumes.



Hint: "I want to find out!!"

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA

Initial Impressions: Upotte!!

May 12, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Woah. Very late with this review.

Sorry readers. I was busy tending to my collection of OP & ED videos, changing them from 360p to the HD 720p. Yes I collect anime OP and EDs as a habit. Hope I'm not alone on this.

Anyway, today I will be doing a new review on an anime all about guns, Upotte!!

Our story begins in Seishou Academy, which our 4 main characters attend. But, littered in the hallways, are warning signs, "Keep your safety on!" and "Keep your chamber empty." Also, all the students are named after famous rifles, like G3, Fal, or 14.

What? What gives at this school? Well, the main reason is because this ISN'T your normal school. Yes, this is a school, where they teach students how to use... RIFLES, of which they themselves are rifles. I believe the correct term to use here is anthropomorphism.

Our main characters have been given names such as:

FNC, a rifle that was introduced by a manufacturer in Belgium in the late 1970s.

16, also known as the M16A4 assault rifle produced by America.

L, otherwise known as the SA80 or L85A2, a rifle made by the United Kingdom, which had a checkered history and was defective to some extent.

And Sig, a swiss SG 550 rifle which has the ability to shoot far distances with great accuracy and precision.

Main Characters

Shocked Sensei

Anyway, this is what our arriving character, Genkoku-sensei, a new teacher hired for the job, will find out eventually. Thinking that he got hired for an ordinary academy, he has no idea what's going to happen to him. Well, until he gets fired at. He has the natural ability to produce a perfect pose for firing rifles, but when he shoots, his aim is always way off. He gets shot at by FNC twice, of which he survived both incidents. (LUCKY)

So far, the anime, until episode 3, features the main characters, as well as the other guns from the other schools in the academy, such as the battle rifle class: Fal (FN FAL), 14, (M14) G3 (G3A3) . There's quite a lot to go through. Since then, they have introduced what the guns actually are, and it begins to become something like a documentary at certain times, but of course, other than that, your normal schoolgirl anime plot and theme holds on.

Training

 Personally, I find this anime interesting because I'm not a gun fan, so this anime provides some good insight to the different parts of rifles, especially with the narrator being so specific about it. Art is really awesome because to be able to reproduce the image of the gun in the anime takes some degree of skill, of course unless it was a computer CGI image.

The theme is your usual real-life schoolgirl genre, which includes some humour and action (Well duh it's a show about guns). Since gun-wielding schoolgirls (Angel Beats!, Hidan no Aria) are in demand recently, it deserves a look.

Upotte!! premiered on April 8, 2012 (LONG TIME), and currently has 5 episodes to date, I think, and it will have only 10 episodes with one special. It is currently fansubbed by Commie ONLY. Wow that's surprising. It also has a manga version which has 4 volumes and was released in 2009.

Enjoy learning about rifles!

Hint: Stray cats and ECCHI
DarrenW
Edited by Tr3xus