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

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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

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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

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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

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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~