[Quick Review] From Up On Poppy Hill

Image copyright Studio Ghibli

Type: Manga Adpatation

Genres: Drama, Romance, Tragedy

Synopsis:A group of Yokohama teens look to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. 

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From Up On Poppy Hill came out in Japan during the year 2011, so I'm wondering why the English adaptation of the film is barely getting released about 2 years later? Well, today I finished watching the Japanese version and found my answer....

1) The film is boring and lacks that Ghibli magic (which seems to happen when Goro directs).

2) This film looks like a Ghibli film, but lacks that magical element even Ponyo and Arriety had (even though those are two of the weakest Ghibli films in my opinion after Tales from Earthsea).

3) The characters are all pretty plain and the story lacked any real villian other than a situation where the students had to fight to keep a precious club house from being torn down.

4) Even though the animation was good, it still lacked that shinyness older Ghibli films seemed to have (note Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky).  

5) The music was just ok. I haven't really heard any good music in a Ghibli film since well much older Ghibli films.\

Basically, From Up On Poppy Hill was made by Ghibli studio but in no way is a Ghibli film. Heck, Disney isn't even releasing the English version. Some studio called GKIDS is... 

 Review rating:

**

((waste your time only if you really need to))

[AOW] Sasami-san@Ganbaranai (2/10-16/2013)

Image copyright SHAFT

I can't really say I love this anime, but I don't particularly think I can recommend it to people who aren't lurkers on 4chan or who have been anime fans for a really long time. This anime is like a combination of Bakemonogatari and CHAOS;Head- the first is an anime that is pretty much all 4chan jokes and the second is a anime only few could really like (I am one of them, but I also really liked STEINS;Gate)... so Sasami-san@Ganbaranai really limits it's audience. I particularly can like this anime because I myself can relate to the whole "being an otaku" thing but the main character is more of a NEET and that is where I tune out. There are several anime out there like this already... so I am waiting for this one to be unique outside of the context it is a SHAFT anime so the animation will be pretty, and what I like to call "full of space".

Type: Novel Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Supernatural

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

The Japanese call them hikikomori—people who've become so withdrawn socially that they refuse to leave their homes for weeks and even months at a time. For Sasami Tsukuyomi, who's attempting to pass her first year of high school despite being a shut in, it's more than just a word. Fortunately though, she lives with her older brother Kamiomi, who just happens to be a teacher at the school Sasami is supposed to attend. Not to mention, her "Brother Surveillance Tool" which lets her view the outside world via her computer and will, theoretically, allow her to readjust to interfacing with people again. What it mainly does, however, is let her view her brother's interactions with the three very odd Yagami sisters, who inexplicably seem to have had their ages reversed and have various types of "interest" in Kamiomi. And then things start to get really weird... Magical powers? Everything turning into chocolate? Is life via the web warping Sasami's brain, or is it the universe that's going crazy?

[AOW] Little Busters! (1/27-2/2/2013)

Image copyright J.C.Staff

Not much that I can really say about Little Busters! other than I was really excited to start it when I saw that finally the one Key VN I've been waiting to get an anime adaptation had been green lit. I have to be honest though, I'm really just waiting for this anime to be finished before I start it because knowing Key's track record I'll want to marathon this shiz-nizz (and I'm slightly afraid the show will turn sad as like every Key anime does).

Type: Visual Novel Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, School, Tragedy

# of Episodes: 26

Synopsis:

The story of Little Busters! revolves around the main protagonist Naoe Riki, a young male high school student. When Riki was a child, his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. He was saved by a group of three young boys and one girl his age, who referred to themselves as the Little Busters, a group dedicated to fighting evil and preserving justice. The leader of the group was Natsume Kyousuke, who had a younger sister named Rin. The other two members were Inohara Masato and Miyazawa Kengo, who were rivals despite being friends. They took Riki out and played together with him during his time of need, making him the fifth Little Busters member. In time, Riki enjoyed playing with them, and his grief over his parents gradually faded away. Now, Riki and his friends are in their second year of high school, except for Kyousuke who is in his third year. They still hang out together, and enjoy their school life.

[AOW] Amnesia (1/13-19/2013)

After watching the two episodes that are out for Amnesia, I can tell I'm really going to like this anime. There's just something about anime, visual novels, manga that primarily have a medical theme. While the theme for this one is only really memory loss it's still right up my alley.

 Image  © Brain Base

Type: Visual Novel Adaptation

Genre(s): Shoujo, Romance, Fantasy

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

This story takes place in a fictional town, in a fictional country, in a fictional world. One morning, a young lady awakens to find that she has lost all her memories prior to that morning. Her life, her relationships, her very name—all gone. All that's left is a cell phone with numbers and names she doesn't recognize and Orion, a young boy that only she appears to be able to see. With Orion's guidance, she struggles to make sense of herself, a boyfriend she doesn't know and the thousand and one little things that make up a daily life. But with no memories left, the only alternative is to forge new ones, even if that means leaving old loves behind.

[AOW] X-Men TV (1/6-12/2013)

I should have watched the 4 Madhouse x Marvel anime (Iron Man, X-Men, Wolverine, Blade) when they came out originally, but a few episodes into X-Men and then my attempts to watch Wolverine just didn't feel right. While these two looked like anime, there just wasn't that feel anime usually gives me (and we were missing Steve Blum as the voice of Wolverine). Fast forward some time later and I see Walmart has been carrying the anime for less that $13 each (the full series none the less). That's a steal even for American cartoons. I did hold off for a while on buying them simply because I never felt that pull that I had to have them but today I decided why not, I have some spare cash for anime and X-Men as well as Wolverine have been staring at me for weeks on end. Maybe one day I'll get Iron Man (I saw one episode of it and it just felt wrong seeing Tony Stark animated all shiny) and I highly doubt I'll buy Blade because I was never a fan in the first place of the comics though I do like the movies.

 

 Image  © Madhouse

It's really weird seeing any of these Marvel comics being adapted into anime, but Madhouse is a perfect choice as an animation company considering a lot of their anime does have more of a western field than most studios (sans Sunrise of course). So far I am liking watching this one dubbed more than when I tried to watch it in Japanese. It's nice that Wolverine is voiced by Steve Blum... seeing as he doesn't do much anime work if any at all these days =/

Type: Western Comic Adaptation

Genre(s): Super Hero; Sci-fi; Action

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

The X-Men are a team of elite super-powered mutants gathered by Professor X to protect ordinary humans even as they are persecuted by them. In the wake of the death of one of their own, however, the team has stopped operations for a whole year. Then Professor X receives word of a mutant girl's mysterious disappearance in Japan. Sensing that something larger is afoot, he reassembles the team and sends them to investigate. They uncover a connection between her disappearance and an anti-mutant group known as the U-Men.

[SHT] Singing What Rider Who?!

What's up my milleniums? BlackWinged Magician is back with- this is not AR where the hell am I?

That's right, since AR closed down, things have been all over the place and it might have been the end of the BlackWing name! But Akiya, or now better known now as Reader Watcher Girl, has allowed to make her sight available to me so I can continue my favorite, segment-!

(for those who're new, just think of this as an insight into shows with men and women in spandex fighting rubber monsters? Get it? Got it? Good.)

Alright! It's been a while so let's dive into Kamen Rider Hibiki and oh God what is this?!

So I'm gonna skip the usual backstory exposition and all that cause quite frankly, I'm barely watching this... and I have no idea what the hell is going on... I'm serious this show is already giving me feels that are WEIRD and I've only watched up to episode 3. But let's just start at Episode 1.

Ok so we start out with the normal warning-

Oh God what've I gotten myself into...

For one, this one of the only Kamen Rider Series that I've seen that does not have an intro with lyrics (I understand that all Heisei Riders have intros with lyrics save for Hibiki). Personally, I think it makes the intro a little more epic in a way.

We then cut to a kid riding a bike through town while noises are being played rhythmically.

Singing what...

Why's everyone singing?

WHAT IS GOING ON?! Ok so from what I gather, people sing randomly and kanji just pops out throughout the episodes at random.... What is this Japanese High School Musical ft. Kamen Rider?!

Ok so we cut to Asumu(this kid I guess) and his mom on a boat. They're going to some island or something.

And some weird guy who sings about everything he sees, cool.

What.

Whose kid is this?

Hey, does this child belong to ANYONE?!

Ok so stupid baby is stupid and falls off the ledge but weird singy guy saves the day. Oh and you'll never guess this guys name. No really guess. His actual name is Hibiki, which cool/weird and slightly lazy. I don't know I guess there'll be an explanation later.

Who the hell are these two. Why does he sound like a she and why does she sound like a she. I'm not judging or anything I'm just really confused.

Gee, you think Hibiki's gimmick is singing about everything that happens around him? It's kind hard to tell at this point! *SARCASM*

And Hibiki has some pretty cute sidekicks, cool.

We see Hibiki take out a CD that turns into a bird.... just watch it. Ok so Asumu is annoyed by his family, as all prepubescent teens, and his mom's *cough*hot*cough* friend whisks him away to have fun in the mountains. I'm sure NOTHING wrong is gonna happen.

Well what'll you know, Hibiki is on the same trail as these two! What coinky-dink!

What spider webs what. Hot friend kidnapped, I don't- what is going on.

So they find hot lady friend and Hibiki makes Asumu stay with the hot unconscious lasy.... Ok.... And he goes off and transforms (WITHOUT saying Henshin I may add) and jumps around the woods for a bit. Oh and he kills the guy-I mean girl- I mean guy- I mean- what ever the hell that thing is.

Alright, so obviously this is NOT a normal Kamen Rider series. I mean, just imagine how confused I was when I was actually WATCHING this. It's VERY different and deviates HEAVILY from even the most basic Kamen Rider cliches. Hibiki doesn't even say henshin when he transforms, a staple of Kamen Rider's transformations. Also, they're not really Kamen Rider so much as Oni. You know, Japanese Ogres/Monsters? The series form what I understand is heavily based on traditional Japanese lore and music. Also, the series itself had a complete change in writers right in the middle... This is gonna be a fun one to watch. Overall though, it's just weird. Not to say it's bad or anything, it just feels like a Kamen Rider series and not at all at the same time. It deviates completely from the norms that the Kamen Rider series that came before it set, which is refreshing. But in a way, it deviates a little too much. It's still interesting, I'm interested enough to continue watching, it's just.... Watch it and you'll get. I will give it props though, for having one of the most BEAUTIFUL suit designs EVER in Kamen Rider. That counts for ALOT.

[AOW] Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (11/11-17/2012) [#69]

At the time when I started watching this anime, only 2 episodes were out. I specifically wanted to watch some romance anime that were almost like Kimi no Todoke but without all the bull shit bubbles and sparkle fillers that KnT was (and it's quite stupid to go two full seasons without so much as a confession!!!!!).

Image © Brains Base

I am really enjoying this anime. At first it had that ToraDora feel, but without the angry female lead and the male lead isn't really misunderstood due to angry looking eyes- he really is a trouble maker. There are a lot of feels in this anime, and I can see this as being one of my favorites if not my only favorite this anime season :3 Also, who doesn't love an anime where the title translates to "My Little Monster"?

Type: manga adaptation

Genre(s): comedy, drama, romance

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

Bookworm Shizuku Mizutani has few interests besides her grade and future career. Requested by her teacher, Mizutani brought handouts to Haru Yoshida, a boy who should have been seated next to her but was suspended due to injuring another student in a fight on the first day of school. Because of the favor, Yoshida now considers Mizutani a friend, and she also learns that Yoshida is in fact a very nice, gentle guy.

Shizuku Mizutani only one goal in life, to secure a lucrative career, and to that end she dedicates her life to studying to get good grades. She is bribed by her teacher to deliver homework handouts to Haru Yoshida, a boy who should have been seated next to her but was suspended due to injuring another student in a fight on the first day of school. Because of the favor, Yoshida now considers Mizutani a friend, and she also learns that Yoshida is in fact a very nice, gentle guy has no social skills and who is prone to violence at the drop of a hat. Mizutani has to decide if she will let Yoshida into her life to be friends, or perhaps more than friends.