Outbreak Company Anime Review

A very late first impression due to my new computer however I intend to start doing reviews via youtube as it is easier to listen than read.

To watch this series you can stream it over on crunchyroll
http://www.crunchyroll.com

Or to add it to your lists to watch later
http://myanimelist.net

Reel Anime 2013 Review: Ghost in the Shell ARISE

Genres: Action

Production Studio: Production I.G

Staff:
Chief Director: Kazuchika Kise
Director: Atsushi Takeuchi, Masahiko Murata
Series Composition: Tow Ubukata
Screenplay: Tow Ubukata
Storyboard: Masahiko Murata, Shunsuke Tada
Music: Cornelius
Original creator: Masamune Shirow
Character Design: Kazuchika Kise
Art Director: Takaaki Mashiki, Yusuke Takeda
Animation Director: Takuya Saito, Tetsuya Nishio
Mechanical design: Takayuki Yanase
3D Director: Eiji Inomoto
Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
Director of Photography: Koji Tanaka
Art Setting: Hiroshi Kato, Naoki Arakawa
Editing: Junichi Uematsu

VA staff Sub
Kenichirou Matsuda as Batou
Maaya Sakamoto as Kusanagi Motoko
Tarusuke Shingaki as Togusa

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Ghost in the Shell ARISE was an anime by Production I.G responsible for the works such as Patlabor and the Ghost in the Shell series, The End of Evangelion, Blood: The Last Vampire, Blood+, xxxHolic, and FLCL and the recently reviewed Momo e no Tegami.

The story followed the major in the years before she joined Section 9 and follow her attempts to clear the name of her mentor from a mass conspiracy. The story was all I expected and more as it showed the creativity of Stand Alone Complex in the amazing high definition it deserved.

The animation was a testimony to its predecessor giving a modernised styling to classic character designs gave this movie a nostalgic feel. The backgrounds and action scenes were extremely well choreographed with the fluid motions of each character within the scene left me wanting more.

As the OVA was designed to be a boost for a lot of characters to be developed in more depth I cannot complain as its purpose was achieved flawlessly with amazing character portraits dealing into their psyche and sanity along with several realisations left you connected with the characters in a way Stand Alone Complex did not achieve and that was to the creators benefit.

The music to me was a massive part of ARISE with the Intro for Border 1: Ghost Pain by Keigo Oyamada being a catchy mix of techno and vocals to be the most simple song but brilliant at the same time. Other than Ghost Pain some other notable tracks included the song for the Closing for Border 1: Ghost Painじぶんがいない” being the most notable the rest were good but nowhere near as catchy as the Intro and the Closing

In summary the anime was a refreshing reboot to the franchise and if you can get past the constant Microsoft Surface shout outs as blatant advertising the anime is for the large majority of anime fans as it is a testimony to the creativity of Production I.G. and their full potential all this left me awarding Ghost in the Shell ARISE with the following scores

Story	7.1/10
Characters	8.1/10
Animation	8.6/10
Sound	7.9/10
Personal Enjoyment	8.7/10
Final Verdict	8.1/10

Leaving ARISE with a respectable 8.1/10 and a recommendation to buy when released if you enjoy the original series with a recommendation for Serial Experiments Lain and Evangelion if you enjoyed the OVA

~Ota~

Blog Update: Catch Up week

As the new season is in full swing I would like to use this week to follow the new season of anime and catch up on some older anime i will try and do a review over the weekend however I may not get the time

~Ota~

Reel Anime 2013 Review: Momo e no Tegami

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Magic

Ending Theme: "ウルワシマホロバ 〜美しき場所〜" by Yuko Hara

Production Studio: Production I.G

Staff:

Director: Hiroyuki Okiura

Script: Hiroyuki Okiura

Storyboard: Hiroyuki Okiura

Unit Director: Naoko Kusumi

Music: Mina Kubota

Original Concept: Hiroyuki Okiura

Character Design: Hiroyuki Okiura, Masashi Ando

Art Director: Hiroshi Ohno

Animation Director: Masashi Ando

Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi

Director of Photography: Koji Tanaka

Executive producer: Hiroyuki Ikeda, Kazuya Hamana, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Shigeru Watanabe

Producer: Arimasa Okada, Keiko Matsushita, Mariko Noguchi, Motoki Mukaichi

Assistant Animation Director: Akira Honma, Ei Inoue, Takeshi Honda

Deputy Animation Director: Toshiyuki Inoue

Editing: Junichi Uematsu

VA staff Sub

Karen Miyama as Momo Miyaura

Toshiyuki Nishida as Iwa

Yuka as Ikuko Miyaura

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

Momo e no Tegami was an anime by Production I.G responsible for the works such as Patlabor and the Ghost in the Shell series, The End of Evangelion, Blood: The Last Vampire, Blood+, xxxHolic, and FLCL just to name a few and are on my list of favourite animation studios with Kyoto Animation and Studio Bones therefore I went into the movie with high expectations so without any further ramblings my review of Momo e no Tegami.

The story was a captivating tale of a girl trying to discover the words left to her by her father, the idea itself is very compelling and the way the story is introduced left little substantial plot issues this for me was the major selling point as I.G spent the most part of seven years working on this project the animation felt nostalgic to a degree and it had the charms that a Ghibli film so readily displays

The animation as stated tied in with the style of story relating it to previous works of the similar genre and this aided in giving an atmosphere that shone throughout the movie as I constantly got drawn into the compelling and touching story due to the well animated scenes.

The characters of Momo e no Tegami were a credit to the director Hideaki Anno as they were enjoyable and for the most part entertaining however the character traits of Momo seemed to flip from being scared to death of these “goblins” to completely forgetting this fear moving on to the point where she not only can look at them without flipping hell itself to being able to threaten them to basically leave in a matter of 10 minutes which didn’t really do her any favours in my opinion.

The music was by Mina Kubota who is absolutely flawless in her execution of the sound track resembling her previous works like Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora and Aria the Origination music so as probably assumed I had no issues with the soundtrack as a whole with refreshing folk classical style resembling the music of studio ghibli works.

All in all the movie was a testimony to I.G for 7 years of hard work to create an amazing work of art with only minor characters leaving me to give it the following scores

Story	6.5/10
Characters	7.1/10
Animation	8.9/10
Sound	9.0/10
Personal Enjoyment	7.8/10
Final Verdict	7.8/10

This leaves me give it a recommendation to buy it when released.

~Ota~

Reel Anime 2013 Review: Kotonoha no Niwa

Genres: Drama, Romance

Ending Theme: "Rain" by Motohiro Hata

Production Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.

Staff:

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Screenplay: Makoto Shinkai

Storyboard: Makoto Shinkai

Unit Director: Makoto Shinkai

Music: Daisuke Kashiwa

Original creator: Makoto Shinkai

Character Design: Kenichi Tsuchiya

Art Director: Hiroshi Takiguchi

Animation Director: Kenichi Tsuchiya

Sound Director: Yō Yamada

Director of Photography: Makoto Shinkai

Producer: Noritaka Kawaguchi

VA staff Sub

Kana Hanazawa as Yukino

Miyu Irino as Takao

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

From the creators of anime such as Byousoku 5 Centimeter and Hoshi no Koe Makoto Shinkai has the art of tugging heart strings in his movies to create a magical on screen experience this was highly relevant in his latest movie Kotonoha no Niwa.

The story was all that you would expect from Makoto as it heavily resembles his previous works as it has a very touching theme covering love beyond typical standards and he portrays this theme well with a well structured story with enough time spent on each character as to give each of them a purpose.

The animation was the part that truly shined with the fluid and in depth colors gave the movie the more surreal feel with the animation at times looking completely realistic and to that I give the animators all the credit as it really couldn't have brought me into a state of complete connection to the film if the animation was second rate.

The characters were an essential part of the anime however I felt the lack of a reason why Takao ditches first period of school whenever it rains leaves confusion however it never seemed to ruin my enjoyment of this movie and the emotion I felt during the movie. The other character of importance Yukino in my belief made the relationship complete as she struggles with her feelings and the pressures from her own life make her the cornerstone of the movie.

The music brought an amazing amount of heart to the movie with an outstanding performance from Motohiro Hata with the song "Rain" being the number one played track on my Iphone since buying the soundtrack. the background music was a mix of orchestral and piano pieces that gave the movie the emotional feel the director wanted to convey,

Overall Kotonoha no Niwa was in my opinion the best anime screened at Reel Anime 2013 as its compelling story combined with relateable and likable characters and animation that leaves you wanting more I have evaluated all these factors to give Kotonoha no Niwa the following score

Story	9.1/10
Characters	8.9/10
Animation	9.8/10
Sound	8.9/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.6/10
Final Verdict	9.3/10

with my recommendation to buy when released to DVD by Madman Entertainment

~Ota~

Sticky Trigger Review: Ribbon No Kishi

Genres:  Adventure, Comedy

Opening Theme: "Ribbon No Kishi" by Yoko Maekawa

Ending Theme: "Ribbon No March" by Yoko Maekawa

Animation Studio: ----

Staff:
Director: Chikao Katsui, Kanji Akabori
Music: Isao Tomita
Original Character Design: Osamu Tezuka
Character Design: Kazuko Nakamura, Sadao Miyamoto
Art Director: Kazuko Nakamura, Sadao Miyamoto
Chief Animation Director: Kazuko Nakamura, Sadao Miyamoto
Animation Directors: Teruto Ueguchi, Toshio Nitta

VA staff Sub
Yoshiko Ohta as Sapphire
Noriko Shindou as The Queen
Chieko Kitagawa as Plastic
Goro Naya as Lord Nylon
Kyoji Kobayashi as King
Masashi Amenomori as Duke Duralumin
Reiko Mutoh as Hekate
Ryusuke Shiomi as Devil Mephisto
Takako Sasuga as Twink

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

Ribbon no Kishki is a true classic along with Astro Boy and Marine Boy. Ribbon no Kishki was made in 1967 and directed by Chikao Katsui and Kanji Akabori the animation was done by Toshio Nitta who was responsible for works such as the animation for the anime Magic User's Club and key animation for Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. The story was a compelling tale of a young girl named Sapphire who was brought up as a boy to be a heir to the throne as only males can take that role.

The animation throughout was on par for the time it was released with repetitive background use and non fluid movements the animation by today’s standards would be considered below par however the animation being hand drawn is an amazing achievement for the team that created it. To put into perspective the movie Redline took 3 years to hand draw every frame and it only lasted an hour and a half.

The characters were belittled by the one main character Sapphire leaving a lot of development aspects that I believed still needed resolving. The voices of the characters were well voiced with Yoshiko Ohta as Sapphire and Noriko Shindou as “the queen” (going back to the lack of development to the point of not even having names) these parts in my opinion were the best out of a good bunch of VA staff.

The Music of Ribbon no Kishki was very simple with regal tunes as background however nothing was really standout as a track you would want to listen to as a standalone track. The opening Ribbon no Kishki was a nice piece and was accompanied by suited animation however again not something that stood out.

Overall the anime was a nice couple of hours over a couple of weeks and not marathon worthy however looking how the show withstood the test of time to be a show that still can be watched as an all time classic anime has me rewarding with the following scores

Story	7.8/10
Characters	6.2/10
Animation	7.3/10
Sound	8.7/10
Personal Enjoyment	7.4/10
Final Verdict	7.5/10

You can find my reviews for Sticky Trigger Entertainment here

Anime Review: Tari Tari

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Opening Theme: "Dreamer" by AiRI

Ending Theme: Shiokaze no Harmony" by Shirahamazaka High School Chorus Club

Animation Studio: P.A. Works

Staff:
Director: Masakazu Hashimoto
Music: Shiroh Hamaguchi
Original Character Design: tanu
Character Design: Kanami Sekiguchi
Art Director: Kazuki Higashiji
Chief Animation Director: Kanami Sekiguchi
Animation Directors:
Eriko Itō (eps 1, 8, 13)
Kanami Sekiguchi (ED)
Kayoko Nabeta (eps 3, 11)
Kousuke Kawazura (OP; eps 4, 10, 13)
Manamu Amazaki (eps 7, 13)
Mutsumi Sasaki (eps 2, 9)
Yurie Oohigashi (eps 6, 12)
Yuuko Yoshida (ep 5)

VA staff Sub
Asami Seto as Konatsu Miyamoto
Ayahi Takagaki as Wakana Sakai
Natsuki Hanae as Atsuhiro Maeda
Nobunaga Shimazaki as Taichi Tanaka
Saori Hayami as Sawa Okita

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

An anime that draws you in with a compelling story is a gift to any reviewer myself especially as the ending to any anime is the most important part of any anime series (looking at SAO :I) as it gives closure and a sense of accomplishment after completing it. So without further rambling my review of Tari Tari.

Tari Tari was about the struggles of Konatsu Miyamoto as she creates a choir club to go against the current choir club that had her excluded for an on stage mistake. She then recruits Wakana Sakai, Atsuhiro Maeda, Taichi Tanaka and Sawa Okita and merges two club ideas to form the Choir and sometimes Badminton club. this setting seemed to work to the shows advantage only letting it down in the last episode as I felt it needed an OVA to tie up all the ends as some characters needed a bit more development.

The characters gave an atmosphere to the anime that other anime lack as the characters were likable and this gave allot of leeway for the developers to hit you with emotional scenes when needed which is a quality that is lacking in a vast majority of anime released in the past few years.

The animation quality was to P.A, works a major credit the animation was solid hover the coloration at times felt lacking but overall the times where that occurred were mainly transition shots witch I cant really complain about but the best way to show quality is by giving examples.

For what its worth the animation was a triumph for P.A. as lead.

"Dreamer" by AiRI

"Shiokaze no Harmony" by Shirahamazaka Koukou Gasshou-bu

As Tari Tari was an anime focused around music it was only natural that the quality of the sound track would have been the highest priority and it showed with amazing choral pieces and probably my favorite song of any OST "Kokoro no Senritsu" by Shirahamazaka Koukou Gasshou-bu as its melody just screams awesomeness. This is a soundtrack you can buy and listen to as the songs are unique and while the OST is small, it has allot of quality and that is what I prefer in an OST.

Overall I heavily enjoyed Tari Tari for its exceptional soundtrack and beautiful animation its only downfall was that it deserved an OVA which it never got but in the whole I have no real complaints, so with all considered I have awarded Tari Tari with the following scores for Story, Characters, Animation, Music and Personal Enjoyment.

Story	7.8/10
Characters	8.2/10
Animation	9.3/10
Sound	9.7/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.6/10
Final Verdict	8.9/10

Giving a recommendation to Buy it if you enjoy music anime, and for further recommendations I would recomend Love Live! School Idol Project, Natsuiro Kiseki

Tari Tari is available on Crunchyroll here

~Ota~

Anime Review: Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi

Genres: Mystery, Supernatural

Opening Theme: "Birth" by Eri Kitamura


Staff:
Director: Yuuji Kumazawa
Music: Hiromi Mizutani
Character Design: Shinichi Miyamae
Art Director: Junko Shimizu
Chief Animation Director: Shinichi Miyamae

VA staff Sub
Aki Toyosaki as Ai Astin
Daisuke Namikawa as Hampnie Hambart
Eiji Maruyama as Yūto
Eri Kitamura as Dee Enjy Stratmis
Keiji Fujiwara as Julie Sakuma Dolievich
Kouki Uchiyama as Alice Color
Mamiko Noto as Scar
Mikako Komatsu as Ulla Eulesse Hecmatika
Rina Satou as Hana
Tetsuya Kakihara as Kiriko Zubreska

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

What defines a good anime? that is always a question that is hard to answer but my responce would be an anime that has a story that immerses you in the world the anime is portraying, characters who connect with the viewer making them actually gain an emotional bond with the character, animation that is absolutely flawless and beautiful, and lastly sound track done by Mizutani Hiromi (My personal bias) all of which Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi contained. so without further ramblings my review of Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi.

The story was amazingly unique focusing on a girl named Ai Astin as she travels around a vast world where god has given up on humanity. the actual immersion you have to the story is focused on the premise of the open world that makes you suspenseful to what happens. however the anime ended a bit to abrupt not to its discredit as the ending was well timed i thought it at least deserved at least a bit more than a couple of lines (personal bias to Ai x Alice) Yuuji really new what he was doing in portraying what needed to be portrayed.

The characters were a definite highlight with the story heavily revolving around a number of characters that Ai met in her travels despite the usual decay in character development temporary characters have on the story Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi has developed each of them appropriately and this is impressive for only a 3-4 episode time frame for each character.

The animation was beautiful with brilliant fluent character designs with amazing detail given to the dark feel the world portrays with excellent tied in CGI the animation shown by this anime was easily the best I have seen come out of the latest season. Breaking all the animation down to give credit the backgrounds were done by J.C. Staff which have worked on shows like Ah! My Goddess, Birdy the Mighty Decode:02, Shakugan no Shana, and Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahō all having excellent animation. this is tied in with the impressive work by Madhouse Studios in leading animation production as they brought their experience from working on projects such as Btooom!, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

"Birth" by Eri Kitamura

The music in the OST was absolutely the best I have heard in a while as they contain a string of classical pieces that bring the depth of the world when on screen but can be easily enjoyed of screen as they each are musical serenades of perfection in and out of the anime.

Overall this anime was the best this season had to offer with amazing visuals and music and a story that immerses you deeply into the story. this anime had me on the edge of my seat and left me giving it the following score

Characters	9.8/10
Animation	9.9/10
Sound	9.7/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.9/10
Final Verdict	9.8/10

with a recommendation to buy it on release, it is rare for an anime that is this amazing to be released to the screens but when it does you feel privileged to have followed its journey over the entire season. if you enjoyed this anime my only recommendation would be Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World.

~Ota~

Anime Review: Tetsuwan Birdy Decode

Genres: Action, Science Fiction

Opening Theme: "Sora" by Hearts Grow


Staff:
Director: Kazuki Akane
Character Design: Ryo-timo
Art Director: Takeshi Satou
Chief Animation Director: Ryo-timo

VA staff Sub
Miyu Irino as Tsutomu Senkawa
Saeko Chiba as Birdy Cephon Altera
Kanae Itō as Natsumi Hayamiya

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

A childhood classic OVA remade for the new era of anime, I am writing this review as the original Birdy OVA was an anime that was part of my childhood Tetsuwan Birdy Decode was the A-1 Pictures 2008 remake of the series. after all that lets begin my review of Tetsuwan Birdy Decode.

The story followed closely with the original OVA for the first few episodes following Birdy chasing down Giga to earth. the story was enthralling bringing you into their world and putting you with the characters who were really the focus of the show which I found to be a refreshing touch to add to my enjoyment of this anime.

The characters were well developed with Tsutomu opening up to the reality of his situation being killed in the first episode he learns to live with Birdy having saved him from death. this situation of development worked in Birdys favor learning restraint and a more compassionate side towards Tsutomu and his feelings.

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

The animation was a highlight as shown by the two trailers for part one and two. The fight scenes being a spectacularly choreographed display that made you exited just to watch and experience the on screen eye popping awesomeness. the character design is absolutely amazing with shading and the dark setting merging well together with impressive backgrounds giving a great feel to this anime.

"Sora" by Hearts Grow

The music was a highlight with an excellent backing track with music bringing tension when needed and calmer moments when appropriate this is something I like in backing tracks however the tracks themselves were less noticeable than I would have liked however they did the job they were there for by supporting the story which is a great thing for a backing track to do.

Altogether Tetsuwan Birdy Decode was an anime I greatly enjoyed watching due to its amazing animation quality, story development and characters supported by an excellent backing track altogether giving it the  following rating and recommendation to BUY IT as it is reeeeeeeealy cheap in the US

Characters	9.6/10
Animation	9.3/10
Sound	9.1/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.8/10
Final Verdict	9.5/10

For further recommendations I would point you to the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS series and the 2008 anime Shikabane Hime

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is licensed by Funimation Entertainment in the US and Madman Entertainment

in Australia

For streaming you can stream it legally on Funimation's website

~Ota~

Anime Review: Kamisama Dolls

Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Supernatural

Opening Theme: "Fukanzen Nenshō" by Chiaki Ishikawa


Staff:
Director: Seiji Kishi
Character Design: Kazuaki Morita
Art Director: Ayumi Miyakoshi
Chief Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi

VA staff Sub
Ai Kayano as Hibino Shiba
Misato Fukuen as Utao Kuga
Nobuhiko Okamoto as Kyōhei Kuga

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

An anime that is entertaining as a result of its brilliant animation and excellent sounds that it allows the viewer to experience the world to its fullest. feeling the trials of each character through great story and perfect execution, to this extent Kamisama Dolls went above and beyond my expectations in its story, and Animation.

The Setting for Kamisama Dolls was based around a village in the mountains where gods are controlled by humans the grounds of the story follows a Man named Kyohei Kuga who used to control a god called Kukuri however decided to abandon his position. he now lives in Tokyo and gets drawn back into problems from his past. The story was amazing as it drew you in and gave you the attachment to the characters you needed.

The characters were were well handled with the back story for each character brought forward at the appropriate time being to the shows advantage, my only problem with the show was in its handling of  Kyōhei's character as his development seemed to grow but then never develop and that left me disappointed as I hoped his character would amount to more than letting the initiative be taken by the people around him.

The animation was a gem of Brains Base being the people who made Children Who Chase Lost Voices and Natsume's Book of Friends the animation backgrounds were the highlights with beautiful transitions between city and country backgrounds made for a treat to the eyes along with the amazing character designs the animation was perfect however the closer to the characters you got the  colors became simple and I felt that was cutting a corner to keep to budget and that took away from the animation

"Fukanzen Nenshō" by Chiaki Ishikawa

The Music of Kamisama Dolls was impressive with a strong folk feel this is great for matching the animation and themes displayed in this animation however I felt the music for the ending could have gotten a better ending sequence as the song has allot of amazing feelings attached by the ending of the show I personally would have enjoyed watching amazing animation while being immersed in the anime.

Overall Kamisama Dolls is an anime that has secured a place on my top 50 anime series that I have watched with amazing animation backgrounds accompanied by interesting characters and beautiful music with the only downside being the simplistic closeups and the mediocre ending (not to say it was bad it just would have been nice to see more) left me grading Kamisama Dolls with the following scores

Characters	9.1/10
Animation	8.3/10
Sound	9.4/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.8/10
Final Verdict	9.2/10

Giving Kamisama Dolls a recommendation to Buy It if you enjoy action orented comedy or stream it to experience the AWESOMENESS here. If you like this anime further recommendations would be Shinsekai yori and Bokurano

As of September 2013 Kamisama Dolls is licensed by the following companies

Australia - Madman Entertainment

NA - Sentai Filmworks

~Ota~

Anime Review: Rozen Maiden

Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Magic

Opening Theme: "Kinjirareta Asobi" by ALI PROJECT


Staff:
Chief Director: Kou Matsuo
Character Design: Kumi Ishii
Art Director: Chikako Shibata
Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka

VA staff Sub
Asami Sanada as Jun Sakurada
Noriko Rikimaru as Nori Sakurada
Miyuki Sawashiro as Shinku

Rie Tanaka as Suigintou

Rika Morinaga as Souseiseki

Sakura Nogawa as Hinaichigo

Natsuko Kuwatani as Suiseiseki

-----------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------

To an anime critic an ending is the most important part of any anime as it can express emotion in a thrilling climax or die slowly in a pit of nothing leaving plot holes and loose ends everywhere. The anime I have put to the chopping block today is the 2004 version of Rozen Maiden from Nomad Studios so without further ado the review of Rozen Maiden.

The Story was interesting with Rozen Maiden expressing a relatively new theme into an anime market giving rise to anime with more lolita themes with most inspiration going back to Rozen Maiden as it has set a bench mark for lolita anime today. The story is set around Jun a Hikikomori obsessed with the supernatural through following up on an internet rumor came across the Rozen Maiden Doll Shinku who is fighting in a death match called the Alice games. The only problem I had with the series was a large amount of plot holes that were never filled for the ending which left me disappointed as I enjoy a nice open ending with all the loose ends tied up making me want a new season. Rozen Maiden didn't achieve that ending leaving me a bit disappointed.

The characters of Rozen Maiden were all very unique with mannerisms that made you either love the character or hate the character, for example my favorite character Suiseiseki has a personality that had a bigger impact on me than say Jun which is not a bad thing it gives every viewer a character they enjoy which I thought was a nice touch.

The animation quality was a highlight bringing the best of Studio Nomad being their premiere anime folowed by anime such as Hime-sama Goyōjin, Kyōran Kazoku Nikki, Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahō, Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai and this season with Kitakubu Katsudō Kiroku however these anime never displayed the animation quality of the Rozen Maiden series.

"Kinjirareta Asobi" by ALI PROJECT

The music was amazing bringing classical piano but unfortunately using it to the point by the end of the series the background music starts to sound repetitive as the number of tracks on the OST wasn't that large leaving a bit to be desired. the opening was the highlight for the musical aspect with ALI PROJECT giving a great performance.

Overall Rozen Maiden is an anime that gave me allot of hours of entertainment with amazing characters and animation however with a story that ended prematurely had me grade Rozen Maiden with the following scores 

Characters	9.0/10
Animation	9.7/10
Sound	8.8/10
Personal Enjoyment	7.3/10
Final Verdict	8.7/10

Giving Rozen Maiden a recommendation to Buy It as it is a true quality anime bypassing the plot holes. If you like this anime further recommendations would be Vampire Knight and the 2010/11 anime Gosick

As of August 2013 Rozen Maiden is licensed by the following companies

Australia - Madman Entertainment

NA - Sentai Filmworks

UK - MVM Films

You can also watch Rozen Maiden via crunchyroll's free streaming service here

~Ota~

Season View: Autumn 2013

To those people who follow anime series on release I believe it is important to know what you are watching. In this post I will explain and discuss the new season and point out trends in genre and other aspects from recent seasons.

The new anime revealed so far can be found via the link here

For the person looking at this list and saying it is just a bunch of anime with no connection I would like to say there has been a heavy change in the genre of anime released. Take for example the the season of winter 2012/2013 with shows that have a very "moe" trend with shows like Love Live! School Idol Project, Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru and Tamako Market. This trend was outed the next season with more dark shows with Devil Survivor 2 The Animation, Shingeki no Kyojin, and Aku no Hana this continued in the current season while slowly dropping the "moe" elements in place of either action, shojou, horror or fan service. I believe that is the trend we are going to see in the Autumn Season with shows like pupa, and Diabolik Lovers this however is also bringing forward a large amount of school comedy series and lighter animated action shows.

All in all the new season is shaping up extremely well and the OVA's are looking good I will do a few first impressions 3-4 episodes in to the new season.

~Ota~

Anime Review: Angel Beats!

Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural

Opening Theme: "My Soul, Your Beats!" by Lia (1-3 and 5-12) performed by LiSA (4)

Staff: 

Director: Seiji Kishi

Character Design: Katsuzo Hirata

Art Director: Kazuki Higashiji

Chief Animation Director: Katsuzo Hirata

VA staff Sub

Yuri Nakamura voiced by Harumi Sakurai
Yuzuru Otonashi  voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya
Kanade Tachibana voiced by Kana Hanazawa

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I believe anime is a world of its own bringing the viewer into the show and immersing the viewer in what the show has to offer. I felt this anime solidified my confidence in that rule with its Characters, Animation and Sound quality in which I want to share my thoughts in my review of Angel Beats!

The characters were the reason why the show felt unique each of the different characters brought something different to the table. The characters really lacked much development apart from the main characters of Yuri and Yuzuru with a bit of back story given to Yui during episode 10 this I thought was a let down when  looking at the series as a whole. in all the characters were unique and individual and this was to the shows benefit giving an appealing reason to watch to find out what happens to each of the characters.

Katsuzo Hirata out did himself with angel beats having a magnificent display of backgrounds in deep colour and characters that were created to match with intense action scenes animated with perfect quality bringing me to call his work a masterpiece. together the combination made an anime that gave a feel to match the mood that the anime was portraying.

Opening 1: My Soul, Your Beats! by Lia

Opening 2: My Soul, Your Beats! by LiSA

The music was a mix of pop and background that gave a lot of the emotion and set the mood along with music from GDM with LiSA's lead during the majority of the anime with the best moment being the fight scene mixing animation, music and great directing into one scene. Also giving great props to changing openings as it adds a mood to the anime that is unique to every episode to the extent of completely different animation and music for episode 4 for the introduction of Yui

Overall the emotions I felt while watching angel beats will last a life time I would love to give the anime a perfect 10 however the imperfections in characters and the short air time of 13 episodes (while it needed to have 24-25 eps as the ending felt rushed) left me disappointed with the ending so without further ado my judgement of Angel Beats! is as follows

Characters	8.4/10
Animation	9.5/10
Sound	9.2/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.7/10
Final Verdict	9.2/10

Giving a final recommendation to buy it while directing people who liked it to shows like Air and Clannad

As of August 2013 Angel Beats is licensed by the following companies

Australia - Siren Visual

NA - Sentai Filmworks

UK - Manga Entertainment

You can also watch Angel Beats! via crunchyroll's free streaming service here

~Ota~

Anime Review: Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai

Genres: drama, romance, supernatural

Opening Theme: "Aoi Shiori" by Galileo Galilei

Opening Theme (2013 re-release): "Circle Game" by Galileo Galilei

Staff:
Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai
Character Design: Masayoshi Tanaka
Art Director: Takayoshi Fukushima
Chief Animation Director: Masayoshi Tanaka

VA staff Sub
Ai Kayano as Menma
Haruka Tomatsu as Anaru
Miyu Irino as Jintan
Saori Hayami as Tsuruko
Takahiro Sakurai as Yukiatsu
Takayuki Kondou as Poppo

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Usualy my reviews go on tangents regarding staff and studios related to the anime so for readers convenience you can now find a bit of info on the show above so with that in mind time to begin my review of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai or in English Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. I will be dissecting it based on Characters, Animation, Sound and Personal Enjoyment

The characters of Anohana were memorable which weighed heavily to the shows benefit allowing to give a complete connection to the pain each character feels which to me made the show that much more emotional. My one rule regarding characters is they need to stand out and capture the audience this was never more true with each of the main characters coping in different ways to their regrets and emotions this left me wanting more.

The animation was 13 episodes of gold with brilliant backgrounds with serene colors to amazing character design with great credit to  A-1 Pictures for their amazing work as always matching the mood the anime set perfectly I make primary note of A-1 as their style is very prominent as they have always had a unique animation style which I continue to enjoy.


"Circle Game" by Galileo Galilei: Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2013)


"青い栞" by Galileo Galilei: Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011)



 "Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ by Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Saori Hayami

The Music to Anohana was well suited with beautiful orchestral music and beautiful vocals were really amazing which is what gave the anime the amazing emotional attachment. Miyu Irino portrayed the role of Jinta perfectly using his experience from roles such as Daisuke from D.N.Angel and Akito from Code Geass other great performances were from Haruka Tomatsu and Ai Kayano both giving a level of emotion to their characters that I found to be very deep.

This anime was one of the few anime that has ever brought me to tears with its delightful characters, stunning animation, and Impressive music that left me wanting more of what this anime gave therefore my results are the following

Characters	8.9/10
Animation	8.3/10
Sound	8.6/10
Personal Enjoyment	9.3/10
Final Verdict	8.7/10

This final verdict to be a big BUY NOW as of when this review was conducted (August, 2013) the licencing belongs to the following companies

America - NIS America
Australia- Hanabee

you can also legally stream anohana on crunchyroll here

If you liked Anohana then other recommendations would be Ano Natsu de Matteru and Clannad

~Ota~

First Impression: Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu

Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu focuses on the story of Yura Yamato a first year high school student who is invited to join C³ Stella Women's Academy's survival game club. The other members of the club are Karila Hatsuse the second year ace of the group, she specializes the SOCOM Mk23, Yachiyo Hinata a first year long range specialist, Sonora Kashima a third year who specializes in using dual desert eagle handguns, Rento Kirishima probably my favorite character of the group she is a first year and specializes with the AK47, finaly Honoka Mutsu a second year who is the group tactician.

I will say this before I continue I was terribly wrong I did the one thing that a reviewer should never do and blanket a show based on the director this being Masayoshi Kawajiri who's only other work was background design for Dantalian no Shoka which was by no means bad exept with little directing experience i felt this would be a second rate show, oh how wrong I was. The animation screamed Studio GAINAX and the production quality was nothing less then what I would expect from Pony Canyon

The OST was done by Kotaro Nakagawa who did music from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Hayate the Combat Butler, Zettai Karen Children (OVA), and Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited - Hyōbu Kyōsuke. The opening was also amazing with the VA voiced aspects along with the changing openings made it a sight to behold.

The characters were enjoyable and added a feel to the anime that is hard to find in the current anime listings. Along with the characters the story was very entertaining keeping me watching till the next episode and still wanting more.

All together a good anime with great staff and a entertaining story that will leave you wanting to watch more Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu is available to watch for american viewers on Crunchyroll with a recommendation to watch it now.

~Ota~

Anime Review: RWBY

I have been recently drawn into the conversation of Anime definition and before you say "Ota this isn't an anime" you are absolutely right however with the rising attention given and some calling it an anime I thought to review it as such giving it a fair and honest review.

RWBY is a show from the makers of Red vs Blue and has recently gathered a large fan base. The PV's were a set of four videos for each of the colors that make the name

"Red" Trailer

"White" Trailer

"Black" Trailer

"Yellow" Trailer

Characters

The characters of RWBY have been in a way to resemble an anime styling this means the designs looked amazing, however the flaws lay within the lack of connection to the main characters, it can all be explained through character development which RWBY severely lacked.

Animation

The animation quality was perfect in the modeling however the motion is very broken for pronounced movement this subtracted from the overall viewing

Story

The elements of the story were amazing and it kept me very entertained and left me wanting to see more however the episode length made each episode lack content which left you immersed but droped off before the episode really got going leaving the viewers waiting.

Final Review

The show had its good bits and it's flaws to match that's why when grading I wanted to give it more however my own personal entertainment could only factor in so much therefore without further continuation

I rate it //drum roll// a total of 6.1/10

~Ota~

Game Watch: Madoka Magica Online

I decided to take a look over this game as I have always been a big fan of the Magica series with Madoka being my favorite I will give you a quick outline of the game and the stuff you can do.

Level Completion

Level up

Boss Fight

Witch Maze

Game Play

The Game is based of the Madoka Magica anime with direct reference to Kazumi Magica in game you play a magical girl that is part of the Madoka story line putting you at the Walpurgis Night event you then follow the story by completing mazes and finding cards and characters to form your team. The game play is addictive and very enjoyable with praise going to the boss fights, while they are uncontrolled turn based battles you can overlook it and sit back to picture yourself in the fight against the witches.

Difficulty

The Difficulty curb is not that high you must know some Japanese as the help tips are not translated but you should be able to pick up the controls relatively easy *reminder to enter the maze on the left on the quest screen as that is the tutorial quest* if you don't realize this you get stuck with a lv7 boss (not fun to beat when you are lv1)

Enjoyment

  Overall I gained a lot of enjoyment and will continue to play, if you want to join and play you will need to be able to understand a bit of Japanese otherwise the wiki has a translated story script page

To join  the community sign up here

~Ota~

Free! First Impressions

Free! is an anime that was originally a short 39 second PV from Kyoto animation on improvements to animation quality in regards to water however thanks  to tumbler Kyoto decided to make it into an anime

The story revolves around Haruka  Nanase a high school student with a love for water to  the point of obsession and his time in the Iwatobi Swim club. The show covers his relations with Matsuoka Rin a childhood friend and rival due to past events the other members of the swim team are Hazuki Nagisa, Ryuugazaki Rei, and Tachibana Makoto all guys with feminine names. The team itself is managed by Rin's sister Gou a girl with a male name as they try to start the swim club

 

Tachibana Makoto

Hazuki Nagisa

Ryuugazaki Rei

Haruka  Nanase

 Overall the anime was not bad the animation quality screamed Kyoto Animation, the characters have their moments the only thing that could have made the show infinitely better is if the company had made all the mains female as that is the type of characters Kyoto is used to working with. The fact Kyoto attempted this is by no means bad, the many fans that are part of the free fandom is enough to say Kyoto has done a good job.

In conclusion the animation quality was amazing, the characters were enjoyable and if you get past the man service it has an entertaining story all together a good anime to those who are loyal to Kyoto animation

~Ota~

Under Construction...

Watch this space - blog in progress :)

In the meantime, check out our website at qutanimemanga.com :)

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