page 3 of 7 « Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » 63 total items
Warning: Undefined array key "footer" in /var/www/minitokyo/www/html2/reviews.html on line 3Weskalia's Hidan no Aria Tv Review
Rated:
You hear it a lot, you watch it a lot, and you facepalm because of it a lot. It takes a while for the series' amusement at its own genre-pandering, trope-plundering ridiculousness to register, though. There's very little in the way of humor during the first episode, and the way it lunges from one cliche to the next, taking little care to properly connect them, makes it much easier to cringe at the towering derivation of it all than to laugh at it, much less laugh good-naturedly. Oh, and just to kill things a little more dead, the villains are both random and really, really annoying.
Some series fail because of a lack of anything fresh to work with; others fail because of deficiencies in execution. Aria the Scarlet Ammo squarely falls into the former category.
Tagged under Hidan no Aria | 4 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Noir Tv Review
Rated:
First in line of Bee Train's independent girls-with-guns project, Noir was a bit late of its time since the genre has been well-established before it first aired in 2001, but it was a big success for the studio that it was eventually followed by two spiritual successors. Its early blend of everyday life, light character development, and the occasional cool action typifies the girls-with-guns genre. But while the anime could get by on with that premise, it was an elegant tale about human nature that makes it stand out. In the process it offers an alternate meaning to the series' title and shows a superior example of a duo worth caring about, and the result is splendidly beautiful.
Tagged under Noir | 3 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Kamisama no Memo-chou Tv Review
Rated:
There's something almost careless about Kami-sama no Memo-chou. For all the labyrinthine coiling of its plot—which involves a self-proclaimed NEET detective, a missing debtor, an evil drug schemer, baseball match, rivalry gang—most of it comes about almost as a byproduct of the characters and the perverse romanticism of their lives. That's a sign of laziness; KamiMemo is not quite as crisp or intensely involved as its predecessors, partly because of a more casual style and partly because it will take much longer to get itself established. That fault cannot be explained away just by its shorter length than its predecessors, although that may, perhaps, indicate that twelve episodes is a running time just a bit too narrow for a series like this.
Tagged under Kamisama no Memo-chou | 2 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Dantalian no Shoka Tv Review
Rated:
Despite cramming twelve episodes onto a trip through post war Great Britain with some book huntings, the series shows a lot of potential to counter its weak points. Perhaps Dantalian didn't finish as strong as Gosick, the series does have its humorous moments, too, and its ending, which is somewhat open to interpretation, is anything but tame, leaving a long time for it to blossom into something deeper and more interesting. Dantalian still spins good enough, and elaborate enough, stories to hold a viewer's interest, offers a highly likeable female lead, looks sharp and delivers as every bit of entertainment value as it can. That can compensate for a lot of flaws.
Tagged under Dantalian no Shoka | 3 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's BLOOD-C Tv Review
Rated:
Which one is worse? A series that is mediocre from the start or one that looks promising then turns mediocre. Either way, both apply for Blood-C, too sloppily directed to succeed and too clunkily scripted to make for compelling drama, it does have the makings of a good, down and dirty exploitation series. While not everything was resolved in the end, the popularity boosts a movie, but even at that, it's not possible to cover all in a few minutes unlike Last Vampire which has the benefit of a 50-episode anime. And judging from the last episode, the movie would probably be about in a gigantic battle between good and evil as a lousy protagonist jumps into the belly of the beast. Call me bloodthirsty, but I'd rather watch something more creative with blood, sweat and tears.
Tagged under BLOOD-C | 7 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Catherine (Game) Game Review
Rated:
Waking up and finding yourself next to the most beautiful woman you've ever seen sounds like a dream comes true, but in Catherine, you'll find it's a walking nightmare. The simplicity sometimes grates in both fields, but there's no denying that Catherine's a novel break from the routines of the game industry. It has more to offer than its core, cynical gameplay and it's not the gameplay alone that makes it interesting. It's easy to get the wrong idea about the game at a glance, but it's hard to put it aside once you understand. There's no exaggerated saving the world premise here, just about one man figuring out just what he wants from the world.
Tagged under Catherine (Game) | 6 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's GrimGrimoire Game Review
Rated:
Indeed, GrimGrimoire's most notable contribution to the time travel genre is the way it winks and nods at everything that's come before. It'll take you a couple of hours to finish the game, but you can go back and review the story through its main menu bookcase. Yet even with the familiar plot, and pop cultural references, this is a story all its own, with likable characters that can't be found anywhere else and a number of wild, mind-bending twists that will leave viewers hooked. With a highly likable protagonist leading the way, this is an exciting and terrific gem waiting to be discovered; it may not be the most featured strategy game, but it's brimming with magical wonders.
Tagged under GrimGrimoire | 3 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Steins Gate Tv Review
Rated:
In theory, time travel has always been one of the strongest and most beneficial concepts, but practically speaking, not everything can have the amazing budget and loveable screenwriting of Back to the Future. Comprehensiveness in this respect has caused the longer of the previous 5pb. titles to drag at times, though, so the decision to focus on only a handful of cases may have been the lesser of two evils. The series makes up for that with intertwining storyline, unique characters, though, one which waits until the last few episodes to reveal the true meaning of the series' title.
Other than that, this is one of the most complete series of the year and also one of the best, and to think that there's still the movie adaptation to catch is incredible.
Tagged under Steins Gate | 10 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Fortune Arterial Tv Review
Rated:
Now Fortune Arterial is a terrible show, but not because of the idea - its current season also aired one of the most censored eroge anime, a guy traveled to his place from childhood and got stuck up in one of the worst harem, so let's not pretend that somehow this particular idea is any more or less boring than anything else in its genre. No, this show is awful because it's unbelievably poorly constructed and executed – this is one of the worst vampire element of any fiction ever come in existence. At least Yosuga no Sora has the benefit of pretty landscape and soothing music; this series can't even manage that much or perhaps, it aimed to become even more than what a school romance could be, which often fails.
And so the season's "Are They Even Trying?" award goes to ...
Tagged under Fortune Arterial | 6 comments | Read More »
Weskalia's Hanasaku Iroha Tv Review
Rated:
Hanasaku Iroha is a lovely series with lovely animation, lovely art, lovely music score and works in a lovely sentiment. It is simply a sweet, straight-up youth drama about a girl trying to make her way in a new and hostile environment armed only with her determination to change for the better. The story can be criticized as simple, though some plot twists, character developments and amazing storytelling will certainly give an interesting impeccability. It may not have the "wow" factor for a slice-of-life story, but in a way, the solid entry and execution make Hanasaku Iroha a touching story of growing up and establishes itself as one of the best series without any struggle. With a sweet smile, of course.
Tagged under Hanasaku Iroha | 4 comments | Read More »