Initial Impressions: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo / さくら荘のペットな彼女

Posted by DarrenW

Hey readers!

We got 631 likes on facebook! Yay! And with the end of our advertising campaign coming to a close, we hoped all those on Facebook liked our reviews! Thank you for supporting us!

omg... Its the same colour as our wallpaper. Sh....

And today, I will be introducing you the last anime on my list, "Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo / さくら荘のペットな彼女"!

Basically, before I say anything, I would like to say YES, this IS and ECCHI title, so those who don't like ecchi, LOOK AWAY NOW!

So yea, that is a scene from Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, your ordinary ECCHI series. So where does it begin?

It begins when we are introduced to your ordinary main protagonist, (Ah, yes, TYPICAL setting) Sorata Kanda. A second year student attending Suimei Academy (Suiko), living in Sakurosou, "A place for Sumei University for the Arts Affiliated High School's problem children." He tries, in a vague attempt, to be anything but un-ordinary.

Why? Well...

Because EVERYBODY ELSE IS CRAZZZY. Let's meet them shall we?

Misaki Kamiigusa

Resident 201. A very eccentric character, Misaki is possibly the most energetic and optimistic character I have ever seen in an anime. Commonly regarded as "alien", because of her unnatural powers and wacky ideas. However, she can appear normal at times, and loves Jin. She is reknowned for her ability to create animations for various anime corporations, and earns big bucks.

Chihiro Sengoku

An art teacher of Suiko, she is single and unmarried, and sufferering from what seems to be lazyness (unusual of a teacher). She often attempts to find men due to her unmarried status, even to the extent of being a mistress (WHAT).

Jin Mitaka


Actually one of the more normal residents so Sakurasou, Jin stays in room 103. Well known for making animation scripts for animes alongside Misaki. He often gives advice to Sorata so he's not so bad. But he is known to have dated hell-knows how many women, which makes him kind of a ladies man, in a bad way.

Ryunosuke Akasaka

Resident of room 102 and hikikomori, so you won't catch a glimpse of him in the physical form. He makes a communicative software called "maid", in which he uses to communicate to the rest of Sakurasou. Skilled at making software and hacking, he likes to invade on Sorata's privacy.

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And so, that's why Sorata wants to "escape from Sakurasou". But all that changes when somebody visits! Its our female protagonist, Mashiro Shiina, Chihiro's distant counsin. And so, Sorata is placed in charge of her.

But SHE'S IMPOSSIBLE to handle, (lack of common sense and any form of ideas on how to live) as illustrated by the pictures. Quiet and blunt, Shiina doesn't really care about anything much except fufilling her dream to draw a perfect manga.

Then Sorata discovers her history. The "Mashiro Shinna", worldwide reknowned talent in painting masterpieces since young. (Art pieces like those in museums). Sorata then discovers that he is the only odd one out. Everybody has talents unimaginable at their age, whereas he is just a common student.

What will Sorata do? What are his plans on the future? Will he still leave Sakurasou? What will happen at Sakurasou? Watch to find out!

Personally, I recommend Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, despite the fact it is ECCHI, because it is extremely good fun to watch. I split my sides so many times in one episode I lost count. The uncanny ability by this anime to evoke laughter certainly gets my recommendation. You will get a cheerful and happy mood from this anime. It just evokes laughter and a sense of family.

The art styles and musics used are pretty normal, though not fantastic. It has a good introduction and developing plot. I call romance, friendship, companionship, and comedy.

So yes, if you are confused about any ECCHI titles to watch, this is a good one!





Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is an Autumn 2012 anime, and it will have 24 episodes (Wow. Thats long). It is currently being fansubbed by Ahodomo-EveTaku, Hadena and Rori. It is also available on Crunchyroll as Simulcast (2 days late).

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA

Best Openings Autumn 2012

October 24, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hey Otakus!

Yes, its time again when we rank the opening and endings this season!

So for some weird reason my youtube started loading very slowly, so this review took quite some time to make. So here are the official ranking for OPs this Autumn.

As usual I have to remind you guys that we know that there are many many other openings out there, but we can only rank the ones we are watching.

This time I have to say, the ranking for 3 animes were super close. With a difference of only a few points. Also, Shin Sekai Yori is not ranked here because the OP for that anime doesn't exist. (No OP as of yet)

And due to copyright we might not show some OPs. (Sigh...) So do enjoy the openings we show! If there are any!

9th. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
Music: 3.8
Transitions, Effects & Animation: 1.3
Total: 5.1


Song: Sparkling Daydream by ZAQ

I honestly, liked this song very much. It has an awesome tune and rhythm to it, but watching it was a headache! Literally, I got a splitting headache from watching this opening. It was very fancy and nice and all, but due to the fact the transition was so flashy caused my head to hurt. To those who are prone to seizures, please avoid this OP!

8th: Little Busters!
Music: 3.5
Transitions, Effects & Animation: 2.3
Total: 5.8


Song: Little Busters! by Rita

Very nice tune. I like the vocals and beat. But the transition were a bit faint.

7th: Busou Shinki
Music: 3.3
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 2.6
Total: 5.9

[Video Removed]
Song: Install Dream by Kana Asumi, Minori Chihara, Kaori Mizuhashi, and Megumi Nakajima

I liked "Install Dream" to some extent, but mostly the OP was well done because of the transitions.

6th: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Music: 3.0
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 3.0
Total: 6.0


Song: Kimi ga Yume o Tsurete Kita by Takamori Natsumi, Nakatsu Mariko, ペットな彼女たち, Kayano Ai

All round a pretty decent opening. Cheerful mood going on which is quite nice. The song is nice because everyone is singing, I guess.

5th: Magi
Music: 3.5
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 3.0
Total: 6.5

[Video Removed]
Song: V.I.P.

A pretty nice song, especially since its been sung by a guy instead of the rest, which are all girls. Magi had a lot of things going on in the OP, so its quite nice.

4th: Sword Art Online [Opening 2]
Music: 4.0
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.0
Total: 8.0


Song: INNOCENCE by Eir Aoi

Awesome tune there, I really liked the song, thought the transitions were here and there, pretty good but not fantastic.

3rd: K
Music: 4.3
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.5
Total: 8.8


K Opening by Jomaur
Song: Kings by angela

I loved this OP, basically, it was very cool, with the Scepter 4 & Homura Clan members, but compared to the last 2, this one was just "very good". The transitions were cool psychedelic and very amazing, to be frank. Song was traditional and modern at the same time.

2nd: PSYCHO PASS
Music: 4.2
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.7
Total: 8.9


Song: Abnormalize by Ling Tosite Sigure

Going for the black and white, PSYCHO PASS's OP was definitely something. Though not a fan of the tune "Abnormalize", I loved the chorus tune. The transitions were amazing and badass, and I really liked it.

1st: BTOOOM!
Music: 4.5
Transitions: 4.6
Total: 9.1


Song: No Pain, no Game by nano

And YES, BTOOOM, by a margin, is the best OP this season, mainly because OF THAT SOUND. Yes, "No Pain, no Game" is currently my favourite tune. But that's only half of it. It was because the transitions and animations in this OP was so fast packed and matched the song so well, that I couldn't miss it. 1:17 is probably what sums it up.

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And there you have it. Yes it might be objective, but I really tried very hard by listening to each OP at least 10 times before I made judgement.

Congratulations BTOOOM!

DarrenW

Initial Impressions: PSYCHO - PASS / サイコパス

October 23, 2012
Posted by DarrenW & MedusaS

YES!

I've been waiting since the start of the season to review this!

So today MedusaS and I will be introducing a new Autumn 2012 anime to you guys, PSYCHO - PASS / サイコパス.

HUGE DISCLAIMER

[Information Provided by DarrenW]

I will keep this short, but interesting.

PSYCHO - PASS is set in the near future, where a city is run through psychology, yes, criminal enforcement through examining the mental state of the entire population. PSYCHO - PASS is a system whereby measures such a mental state.

Tsunemori 

And the story begins when we meet our main protagonist, Inspector Tsunemori Akane, who has just enetered the crime scene I mean her first day on the job at the "Public Safety Department"

Akane enters the Public Safety Department with exceeding qualifications as shown by Sibyl System (Another monitoring system)

And immediately, a big case arrives, and it becomes clear as to how enforcement is carried out. Enforcers, along with inspectors, comprise of people who have been identified as "latent criminals", where their "crime coefficient" (due to PSYCHO - PASS) is too incredibly high to remain in social order.

Then they roll out their tools for the job. "DOMINATORS", as they are called, is technologically infused gun, which has the ability to select individuals to target and to decide what degree of punishment should be carried out. (Computer + Gun BIG GUN)

Main Characters

Akane then meets her colleagues, who are a collection of possibly the most awesome individuals, all people with incredibly high criminal coefficients since young.

However, on the first case, Akane becomes mortified of what she sees. Justice has become unjust, with the system taking over man's judgement and dishing out the punishment itself.

There are flaws within the system. Does mankind truly need a system which measures the propensity of people to commit crimes? What will happen? Find out by watching this intense Sci-Fi thriller!

DarrenW

Immediately, once I started watching PSYCHO - PASS, I can tell you that I was immediately captivated by the action. The build up of suspense is very nicely done.

The design of many parts of the anime, CGI and technological tools used, really impressed me (normally I don't really take notice). I want that personal room-service bot!!!

The setting and plot is simple and easy to infer almost immediately, delivered with ease as I would put it, so a lot of watchers won't feel lost and all. It has the potential (and I'm most certain) it will have a very elaborate and complex plot structure in the future. Something is about to happen! Initial impressions are very good. Serious and intense plot, good action scenes, good character developments.

The writer for PSYCHO - PASS (Gen Urobuchi) is the same writer for Fate/Zero.
Designs carried out by Nitro+ and produced through Productions I.G.?
Main character is voiced by Kana Hanazawa?
Ending Insert Song is sung by EGOIST?

Why are you still sitting there? This anime is a MUST - WATCH. Watch this NAO!!! (Editor: I hope this is not a typo)

MedusaS


Immediately I could tell this was no "ordinary" anime. Uh... not immediately actually, I had to see a few PVs first before I decided to add this to my watching list.

So I found PSYCHO - PASS AWESOME! I like Sci-Fi Thrillers very much. (Though from looking at my reviews its very hard to show that). PSYCHO - PASS embodied the human condition, psychology, culture, and many philosophical views, of which it is still a THRILLER.

It looked very realistic, so I appreciated it even more. Just hope out future ISN'T like this. I can't really say anything more because I don't know what to write?

All the characters look like they want to murder somebody (no wonder crime coefficient is so high), but they are all actually very nice people. Tomomi Masaoka deserves my respect.

I liked the OP and ED A LOT. EGOIST is one of my all time favorite artists (bought the album recently). Opening song was very creative and had a lot of interesting sounds to it.

Still though, I didn't understand why the PV I watched was so misleading.

Expecting awesome stuff I.G.! I don't want to be disappointed!

PSYCHO - PASS is an Autumn 2012 anime, which is produced by Production I.G. It aired on October 11 on Fuji TV's noitaminA block, and is also airs at the same time on Animax Singapore. It will have 22 episodes. It is fansubbed by Commie, and is also available on FUNimation as Simulcast.

Have fun!
DarrenW & MedusaS
Edited by FayeA

Initial Impressions: Busou Shinki / 武装神姫

October 20, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hey all!

It's me again, and before I bid thou adieu, I will be providing you with 2 initial impressions (Editor: Its actually 3, he forgot about the third one) that I have promised. Today, one of which called "Busou Shinki"! / 武装神姫

So what is Busou Shinki? To those who do not know (like myself), Busou Shinki is generally a subset of figurine culture, except for the fact that they aren't really figurines. What do I mean?

Well, each Shinki has a set of inter-changeable parts, where different battle armourments are able to be attached or swapped. Majority of these Shinkis were created by Konami, and it looks like a pretty decent and good fun to collect I guess.

But of course, that isn't what the anime is about? So what IS the anime about?

Well, for starters, the shinkis I described are REAL in the anime, able to roam around freely and have a concious thinking mind. (Possibly the dream of the collectors). Players who own Shinkis can send their own into battles with other owners, and win awards, etc.. blah blah blah fighting, killing, explosion.

But the owner introduced in the anime (Rihito), doesn't feel the same way. He prefers to let his Shinkis live a normal and carefree life, instead of getting blown up to pieces by battling with other Shinkis.

And here are the three main Shinkis we are introduced to:

Arnval. Rihito's childhood friend. Having owned Arnval since young, he shares fond memories with Arnval and Arnval also feels the same way. Generally the cheerful and smiling type, Arnval also helps around with the household work and carries a sense of responsibility.

Atlene

Cecillia Alcott

Atlene. Basically clumsy in nature, Atlene is mostly very blur and always stumbles over things. She also appears act very cute at times. However, what intrigued my interest was NOT that, but the fact SHE LOOKS LIKE CECILLIA ALCOTT (Editor: Infinite Stratos Character). I mean SERIOUSLY? They look so alike. Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue suit, the face.


And then we have Altines, the third Shinki owned by Rihito, whom many sources say is tsundere but I can't see that. Basically, she was the third Shinki owned by Rihito and she acts pretty much normally.

Then, upon moving back to his childhood home in Japan, Rihito gets a surprise, when he discovers a black chest. Upon opening it, he finds this:

Strarf, which is one of the brand new models of Shinkis currently available, of which recently won the Shinki competition recently.

And then thats where the plot falls apart. Yes, the setting is battling Shinkis, guns and robots, but where's the storyline?

Well, to give you a picture of what's going on in this anime:

1) The Shinkis help Rihito move in using their powers. Household chores. (Ep 1)
2) The Shinkis help Rihito cook a celebratory meal. Cooking. (Ep 2)

Looks like shhhhh------reding of cardboard!!!

Of course, at episode 3, it appears that the plot has finally picked up, but you should see it for yourself.

Personally, I find this anime to be "meh", because of the setting and plot. It's like Infinite Stratos all oer again, except now with smaller characters (literally). The battle scenes look very intense and amazing, but like all mecha animes interest level drops after seeing explosions, noises and blur fighting scenes for 5 whole minutes.

Of course, I like this anime for its other things, like a creative storyline, and no harem (PLEASE no harem). Of course, the outfits are ecchi, so expect lots of that.

It will appeal to people in age-groups between 15 and 17? I guess so, and figurine collectors. Its a good promotional method for the Busou Shinki figure series.

Busou Shinki premiered on Oct 4, and is currently being fansubbed by Commie and Hadena. It will have 12 episodes, and is produced by 8bit. You can also find it on Anime on Demand and The Anime Network (4 Days Late)

The OP and ED. Nah.

Have fun watching battles (or many other stuff)!

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA

Initial Impressions: K

Posted by DarrenW
October 16, 2012


HEY READERS!

oKay now, it is I, DarrenW, and today I will be bringing the first anime of many, for the new season of Autumn 2012.

So the anime I'll be introducing to you guys today is called "K", yes, an anime with a SINGLE LETTER as the name of the show. How awesome is that?

So what's the anime about? Well, it all begins in Tokyo (Japan), where two factions are at bitter ends with one another. The first faction is called "Scepter 4", it is lead by their leader Reisi Munakuta (Blue King),

Scepter 4

Homura Clan

The other faction is called the "Homura Clan", and is lead by leader Mikoto Suoh (Red King). The two factions dress differently, and operate differently as well.

The story begins when the Homura Clan attacks a hotel, in the attempt of finding someone. Who? Well, let's just say "murderer" for starters. Scepter 4 then appears, confronting the clan, of which they escape.

But thats just the introduction. We haven't even met our main protagonist yet! Meet Yashiro Isana, a white-haired boy who attends high-school under the profile of a foreign student. Having a happy attitude and relaxed feel of things, life is generally good.

Well, what I meant to say was good, FOR A BRIEF MOMENT TILL EVERYBODY WANTS TO KILL YOU.

Yes, for some unknown reason, Yashiro is suddenly attacked out of nowhere by a member of the Homura Clan, as well as Kuro Yatagomi (Black Cat). It then becomes clear to us. The innocent looking Yashiro is the murderer they were looking for. In a short recorded video, Yashiro was seen shooting the cameraman, in cold blood, at point blank range. The guy, known as the "Colourless King", wears a smile while murdering his victim.

Yeah... that's the development so far. Yashiro manages to escape, but Black Cat keeps catching up with him. Then the MOST AWESOME/RETARDED/WEIRD/AMAZING thing happened:

How indecent!

The cute neko (cat) with Yashiro all this while, TURNS INTO A NAKED GIRL. My mind literally exploded at that moment. Even Black Cat couldn't look! Hahahaha.


With some mystic powers, neko is able transform into human, and also, transform the environment around her, helping Yashiro escape! But the chase only becomes longer, as Black Dog is able to chase up to them.

In the end, the three just give up, as they are overwhelmed from tiredness. Suffering from starvation, Black Dog offers to cook everyone breakfast. WHAT? WH... WHAT SORT OF CUTCHASE SUDDENLY STOPS HALFWAY AND THE CHARACTERS BREAK FOR BREAKFAST. WHY ARE THEY EATING BREAKFAST TOGETHER??!!

WHAT THE

Argh.

Anyway, I found K to be very interesting. Firstly, K used a new type of presentation style, which I found very interesting cause I never seen it before. It's called fisheye lens. Music and art styles are unique, and invoke a kind of 21st Century Hipster / New Age sort of atmosphere.

Secondly, it looks like its going to be an action-packed anime with a lot of intense plot lines and relationships. C'mon! The whole of sceptre 4 are holding katanas, Homura Clan all have magic powers.

Yea, I have a very good impression about this show, but man, the ecchi is terrible! Aw...

The OP, is also amazing, on the levels with BTOOOM!'s one. I have to see the best one yet. ED was okay, but it was just Neko appearing the whole time, naked...

REWARD

K is an Autumn 2012 anime, which premiered on October 4th, and it will have, unfortunately, only 13 episodes. (Those 13 episodes better be awesome). K is also the feature anime (Besides Mahou Shoujo Madoka) for "Anime Festival Asia 2012", and will be promoted during the fair's duration. It is currently fansubbed by Anime-Koi, Asenshi, Commie, Doki, Hatsuyuki, Shini-Subs, and is available on Viz Media and Anime On Demand.

Have fun watching K, oKay? (Omg I just face-palmed myself for saying that)

DarrenW
Edited by Tr3xus

Initial Impressions: BTOOOM! / ブトゥーム!

Posted by DarrenW & MedusaS
October 16, 2012

(Information provided by DarrenW)

BTOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The title of the anime I will be reviewing today! (Alt Title: ブトゥーム!)

Yes, WHY "BTOOOM!" as a title? Well, because we're dealing with bombs in this anime!

The countdown begins when we meet our main character, Ryoko Sakamoto, who is a 22 year old male, who has no job nor lifestyle, except for one; gaming.

Yes, he spends all day playing his favourite game. What game? You guessed it, "BTOOOM!". A tactical rpg arena fighting game, BTOOOM! is a game where players are only allowed to use a variety of bombs to eliminate their opponents, where after defeating them, they gain reputation and gain ranks.

And this is where Ryoko comes in. One of the best players in the world, he manages to make it into the top 10 ranks, after winning 20 consecutive matches.

That's all fine and dandy, but he has become so obsessed with the game that he has neglected any connections he has to the real world.

Suddenly, his normal routine (sitting in his gaming seat playing BTOOOM!) is abruptly halted, and he wakes up, hanging from parachute caught in a tree in a tropical rainforest.

Ryoko Sakamoto

WHAT?

Ryoko realised that he had been hit in the head, quite badly at that, and has lost some of his memory, including how he got there.

Finding no way out, he suddenly finds some form of civilization, but the guy simply throws a small beeping object at him.

What is it? Is it... A BOMB!! WHAT??!!!

Yea, so he has been sucked into playing BTOOOM! "REAL-LIFE EDITION", where players now play with their own bodies, and blow each other up to smithereens, in an attempt to survive and win the game.

Peace & Quiet & Death

Some rationale behind how they ended up playing the game: It is rumoured that the company which created BTOOOM! paid 100, 000 yen, (1, 500 SGD, 1, 250 USD) to people who would indicate to them who they wanted to be removed off the face of the Earth. Hence, it is most likely the players here have formed some sort of hate between society, and have been selected for removal.

Well... That's it really. That's the main development of the anime. There are a lot of other stuff but we will not tell you guys! (Spoilers)

DarrenW

Personally, I like games that feature RPGs, because I, quite some time ago, was an avid MMORPG player. But of course, this doesn't really count, because it's actually just some guys with bombs in their bags.

It has a similar style to Sword Art Online, but in SAO, the game becomes reality. In BTOOOM!, reality becomes the game. (Gameception!)

But of course, I find this anime particularly outstanding because there isn;t only one theme running which is the survival, kill or be killed theme, but the reason why they were playing the real BTOOOM!. Somehow, one way or another, they have been rejects of society, and the rationale behind it is compelling. This is not unusual. Rather, it is common in society. We do have people like this, and some of the stories shown do happen in real life.

But for now, that seems a lot of expectations are in for this anime. So I do hope it becomes awesome! XD

Another thing I WOULD like to say is that BTOOOM! has the most BADASS OPENING that I have seen so far. I mean, seriously, the music used simply gives off eargasms. (Of course, I hear PSYCHO-PASS has a very good one as well, watching soon!) What is the song? Well, its "No pain, No Game" by nano (Single is available)

Main Female Protagonist.

MedusaS

AWESOME START. The plot looks like its been well planned, not a minute wasted.

The transition used is good. It explains why the players are here and what sort of feelings they have when they go into battle.

A lot of gore / blood going on when some players are killed. Meh, I've seen worse.

The idea of having a game integrated into real life has brings to light some REAL THINGS TO BE AFRAID OF. For eg, if you play a game on your computer, you don't really give a shit because you're not going to die if you get hit by monsters or other players! But the game comes to you and it becomes your life, it isn't so simple anymore.

Something like SAO actually... But military style! (With fat guys and weird people...)

I like BTOOOM! because it has an original plot and structure (Except for that RAPE SCENE).

The OP is AWESOME. I LIKE THAT SOUND. I mean C'MON, drums, electric guitar, synthesizers AND piano?

BTOOOM! better not disappoint me!

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BTOOOM! is an Autumn 2012 anime, and will have 12 episodes. It is produced by MADHouse, and is currently at episode 2. It is being fansubbed by Commie and FFF. It also available on Crunchyroll on Simulcast.


DarrenW
MedusaS
Edited by FayeA