Anime Couples

My Happy Marriage Anime Review

Anime, Anime Review / By

“My Happy Marriage” offers a refreshing twist on the classic Cinderella story, combining romance, fantasy, and drama into a heartfelt anime. The tale begins with our protagonist, a young woman forced into servitude by her stepmother after her mother’s death. Unlike her family, she lacks special powers, an attribute that adds to her subjugation.

Her life takes an unexpected turn when she’s sent to marry a man feared for his reputation. Upon arrival, she’s pleasantly surprised to find that he’s not only young and handsome but also gentle and understanding. The two begin a love story filled with warmth and affection. read more

windaria

Windaria Anime Movie Review

Anime, Anime Review, Drama, Fantasy, Featured, Film and Television, Review, Slice of Life, TV and Film / By

Title: Windaria

Alternative Title: Once Upon a Time

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Adventure

Release Date: 1986 (Japan initial release), 1992 (US, (VHS) first US release), 2004 (US re-release (DVD) with title change)

Where to Watch: I don’t support piracy here, but as a heads up, ALL of the “US Releases” of this film are very severely edited. And YES, that includes even the subtitled versions! I highly recommend that you watch the original Japanese version at least once before passing judgement on this beautiful movie. Of course, I grew up with the VHS in the 90s, and I STILL loved even the heavily edited dubbed version of the film way back then. Last year, I finally got the chance to watch the original Japanese version. A lot of content was cut from the English version, including significant amounts of story content. They change the order of certain scenes, remove most of the violence (and drugs and sex) and have completely re-written the script of the original film to better suit an American audience (where cartoons were (and still are) primarily intended for children). Also all of the music is different in both versions, although it’s very good in both versions as well. Still the overall theme and plot and moral of this heart breaking anime remains the same in both versions. That’s why I really recommend you to try to watch the original film – and then still go ahead and buy the English DVD or VHS to support the creators :). I’m not going to tell you where to find the original online, but you can find it if you look. And then you can purchase the Windaria North American DVD here.

Geeky: 3/5 The music is beautiful, but the artwork is very outdated (losing 1 point). Interestingly enough, the Japanese DVD includes 2 versions of the film, 1 being a “pilot film” where the animation and coloring style is different. (I have never seen this version). Despite the outdated artwork, the character designs are cute and memorable, I often think someone working on Pokemon drew inspiration (perhaps even subconsciously) for fan-favorite Eevee from the little pet squirrel/cat like creature in this film. The story is dark and full of action (and sex and drugs and gore in the original Japanese version). Therefore I feel this film would appeal to all geeks regardless of their genders. I’m removing one more point for the heavy handed editing of all of the US versions of this film. It’s been almost 15 years since the film has been brought to American audiences (for a 2nd time) – so perhaps some day we will see a company pick up the license for this film and do it justice with a more faithful English adaptation.

Sweetie: 5/5 – The story is soul crushingly sad. If you like sad anime, this is for you. Both versions of the film, even the mangled US version(s), still show the tender love stories of the central characters, and demonstrate the costs of war and greed. I happen to be a fan of sad love stories, and this particular anime reminds me of almost a Romeo and Juliet type of fairy tale, 2 lovers who can never be together, and 2 other lovers who have everything but still manage to mess everything up in the end. It’s also a story of regret, love, and greed. It imparts morals to the viewer, to value the love you have or else it may slip away. And that even if you are poor, if you have love, you can be happy. Or you can overlook the happiness you have right in front of you and only realize what you have once it has slipped away. The emotionally engaging story is also heightened by a fantastic music score which further draws the audience into the film.

Overall: 33/45 73% C “Good Anime for Girls”

Story: 9/10 – I removed a point again for the poor handling of every commercially available North American release of this film. Otherthan that small complaint, I give the story 10/10. Even the badly edited version. I loved the anime back in the 90s, and I still love it today. It’s a tale that withstands the tests of time. Universally relateable to anyone who has loved and lost.

The story of Windaria intertwines the fates of 2 very different couples. One couple is a princess and prince from neighboring kingdoms. As tensions mount between the kingdoms, and war seems inevitable… Can their love survive? The other couple lives in a small farming village caught between both warring nations. Their village has remained neutral for years, but as war descends around them, can that peace last? The people of the neutral village are poor, but live happy lives not knowing the tragedies of war, and protected by spirits who live in a giant tree. But can people be influenced to take a side when wealth and adventure knock on their door? How will the war change the lives of the people in this tiny village?

Everything is connected, and you cannot escape war. You can’t remain neutral. You must make a decision and take a risk. What will you risk? Will you risk your life? Your love? Your Home? And how will the war change you? Can you return to your old life after the war ends? Will there even be anything left to return to?

Windaria examines all of these heavy hearted deep thinking questions.

The setting of the story is also very intriguing. We have 2 nations at war. The haves and have nots. One kingdom has plenty of water and wealth and prosperity. They control the flow of water to the neighboring nations. The other nation does not feel they have enough water. They are not nearly as wealthy or powerful as their political neighbor. The lands between the two nations are full of magic and mystery. There is a river where people go crazy and see horrors which are merely reflections of their own fears and feelings, there is the giant magic tree which protects the neighboring farming village, and there’s the ghost ship which takes souls to the other side.

Interestingly enough, although the setting and time of this anime appear to be fantasy based, there is no magic or “fantasy”, instead we see a strange blend of technology in a fantasy world. Airplanes, motorbikes, guns, grenades, tanks, etc.

Characters: 7/10 – I’ll be honest here, it is REALLY hard to like the main character of this film. He is a giant D-bag. Not even gonna lie. You’re going to hate him. He rather have drunken sex and spend all day exploiting his power to get more drugs and wealth and concubines, than return to his girlfriend even after the war ends. It’s not until his own life is in danger that he flees and comes back to his village… or what’s left of it anyways. – Maybe at the end, he has a change of heart, but that doesn’t make up for what a huge D he is in the majority of the film.

The first 15-20 minutes of the film, they build this character and his love up to have this idealistic beautiful love. Everyone in the village recognizes the love between this pair. They are utterly adorable together. They have it all. But that’s not enough for our main character.

In stark contrast, his lady love waits patiently for his return, even when the rest of her village leaves and tries to get her to come to safety with them. This made me hate the main character even more. And when she forgives him for everything, that too amplifies my anger at this character.

But I suppose this is the point of the entire movie. It still isn’t easy to watch or to like, sympathize, or side with the supposed main character of the film.

Our other 2 main characters are considerably more likeable. They are victim of circumstance. They never get a choice in the events happening to them. They are bound by duty. They don’t get to choose a peaceful life of love – which puts into perspective even more, the stupidity of the main character for never realizing the happiness he had back in his own village.

The relationship of the prince and princess is doomed from the start, however, they often dare defy the duties and responsibilities forced upon them, and meet in secret anyways to profess their love and promise each other that one day they will be together. I have never really been 100% sure about the end of their relationship. I can’t tell if what she did was intentional or accidental like perhaps she was playfully chasing and playing with his gun / flirting around. Or if perhaps, she felt the weight of her duty, and decided to put her kingdom above her love and pull that trigger to once and for all, end the war. Either way, their relationship ends in spectacular Romeo and Juliet fashion.

 

There are a number of minor characters too with very intricate and detailed back stories, including a “crazy” woman who never talks to anyone as she waits for her love to return. Her love chose to become a captain of a ship taking souls to the other side. The captain cannot leave his ship for a specified number of years. (I believe it was 10 years? I can’t recall right now).

At the end of the film, we see that our main character wishes to become the captain of this ship to follow his lady love to the other side. (This is more clear in the Japanese version of the film). The crazy woman and main character both meet in the end (I think maybe the main character was contemplating jumping off the cliff) and he sees the crazy lady still there, waiting for her husband to return. So he resolves also to wait for his love as well. (although I’m pretty sure she can never come back – although a lot of Asian religions believe in reincarnation and so perhaps it is that which he is waiting for, or for his own life to end so then in the afterlife, they can be reunited.) This shows how much thought went into even the most minor of characters to make them have heavy plot focus.

Art: 2/5 – The artwork is dated, because this anime is from the 80s. On almost every website I’ve visited in the past, this anime has horrible reviews. I feel it’s not judged fairly and people are overlooking the beautiful love stories and tragedies and focusing solely on the artwork and animation quality. The character designs are still cute though, and some of the background environments are very pretty. But overall, I’d tend to agree the animation is not clean enough and the character styles are outdated by today’s standards. That still never detracts from my enjoyment of this film.

Music: 5/5 I love the music in Windaria. Both the Japanese and English tracks fit perfectly with the themes and scenes of the film. The music carries much emotion and helps tell the story, complementing the action scenes, and especially painfully highlighting the sad tragic scenes of the anime. I especially love the vocal tracks.

Voice Acting: 2/5 I really dislike both the original Japanese, and the English voice acting of most of the characters. I guess it’s typical for how old this anime is, but almost all of the performances were cringe-worthy. That’s even more reason why someone should pick this license back up and bring in a fresh English cast. The story is so good, and the performances here just do not do it justice at all.

Overall: 33/45 73% C “Good Anime for Girls”

Romance Anime on Sale at RightStuf International

Today (6/30/17) Only – 30 Romance Manga and Anime 30% Off at RightStuf International

Anime, Anime News, Books and Manga, Deals and Discounts, Featured, Film and Television, Manga, Manga News, News, Price Drop, Shoujo, Slice of Life, TV and Film / By

Romance Anime on Sale at RightStuf International today (6/30/17) only.

Click here to browse the sale: https://www.rightstufanime.com/sales-and-promos/One-Day-Sale

Titles Include (but not limited to) 5 Centimeters per Second, Your Lie in April, Hiiro no Kakera, Emma, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, Nisekoi, Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Playful Kiss, Boys over Flowers, and many other great romance titles.

 

Scum's Wish

Are the Relationships in Scum’s Wish Really So Bad?

1 Comment / Anime, Drama, Editorial, Featured, Film and Television, Manga, Opinion, Slice of Life, Spoilers, TV and Film / By

I recently discovered Scum’s Wish from an article describing the relationship between Mugi and Hanabi as abusive. While the anime begins with Mugi and Hanabi both in love with other people and only using each other to satisfy their physical desires, is there really anything inherently wrong with this? People have casual relationships all the time. Not all relationships are built around love.

Not only that, but, I think that love is a feeling that can grow over time. Hanabi and Mugi may not be in love just yet; but that doesn’t mean they won’t fall in love by the end of the anime or manga. There has been much foreshadowing already hinting at this possibility.

Could Hanabi and Mugi ever fall in love or have a happy ending?

Here are some clues that hint that they may be falling for eachother:

In Episode 1: Hanabi tells Mugi not to fall in love with her. Mugi tells her don’t worry, you’re not my type. And she tells him “Me Either” (you’re not my type either). This just seems to be setting a stage for them to fall in love by the end.

In Episode 2: Mugi tells Hanabi “Not all happy things have a happy ending, but you still wouldn’t want to erase them from your memory, and that how should I say, makes you even more unhappy.” — Perhaps Mugi and Hanabi will not have their happy ending, but they will look back not with hatred for eachother, but fondness instead.

In Episode 3, Hanabi starts crying and says that she wants to try to love Mugi

In Episode 2, she gets very aggressive and possessive of Mugi when Moca tries to get close to him.

In Episode 2, Mugi encourages Hanabi to go make friends and gently strokes her hair. Hanabi thinks this is strange and comments that it’s almost like he’s her boyfriend.

In Episode 3, when being naughty together, she thinks Mugi and the act of pleasing Mugi is cute. Mugi also reluctantly here gives in to Hanabi. He feels guilty for thinking (dreaming in this case) of the other girls. He tries to avoid Hanabi’s advances at first. In the end he laments that he is just “destined to be used as a plaything for adolescents”. He doesn’t sound very happy about this. He is hurting too and wants a more affectionate and loving relationship – Granted at this point he still wants it with Akane. He even says he can’t believe he’s satisfied by Hanabi and wishes Akane would “punish” him for it.

In all of the episodes, Hanabi is concerned not only with her own pleasure, but also worried if she’s good enough for Mugi and concerned with pleasing him as well.

The lyrics to the opening song seem to be more about Hanabi X Mugi than Hanabi X Oniichan.

“If Fate existed, I’d like to say, “You’re the one I’m destined to be with”, But I feel those words will destroy what we have right now… so I can’t say them. Even when you’re near you seem so distant. This feeling goes in and out like the tide. I’ll give up. I’ll never give up. An endless game of flower fortune telling. If I’ve lost the key to my treasure box, I’ll embrace my brightest emotions, Hiding their faintly colored remains behind my sighs. When our eyes meet, don’t look away! See through this lie hidden within them. I’m a young playgirl, completely confused, so don’t say anything now. I’m in so much pain. I love you so much it’s frightening.”

If we analyze those lyrics…

“I feel those words will destroy what we have right now so I can’t say them.” This could refer to either Mugi or Oniichan. With Oniichan and Hanabi they’ve been such good friends for so long that she’s afraid of ruining their friendship. With Mugi and Hanabi, she’s afraid of losing their relationship, even if it is purely physical.

“Even when you’re near you seem so distant” – Once again this line could apply to either Mugi or Oniichan. But I think it applies more to Mugi. Oniichan still comes over to have dinner and hang out as a friend with Hanabi, and they’re close, perhaps even inappropriately so, having to remind each other that he is now her teacher and she’s his student, so they don’t really seem distant at all. Mugi on the other hand keeps his emotions and thoughts hidden away from Hanabi, and they are close physically, but he always imagines Hanabi to be Mei or Akane. He doesn’t embrace Hanabi as Hanabi. He therefore in my opinion is always distant, even when they’re intimately close.

But the most telling is the line at the end: “When our eyes meet, don’t look away!” (Don’t think about Akane or Mei) See through this lie. (Her lie that she doesn’t love Mugi). “I’m a young playgirl, completely confused, so don’t say anything now” (Don’t tell me you love me, because I don’t know who I love / I love both of them, hence being a “playgirl” or “confused.) (Also “playgirl” would apply directly to how naughty she is with Mugi. With Oniichan she doesn’t have that type of physical relationship).  And “I’m in so much pain. I love you so much it’s frightening.” This could apply to both Mugi or Oniichan, but when you watch the anime, who or what always makes Hanabi cry… It’s Mugi most of the time. Her relationship with Mugi is painful to her… in the beginning, it’s painful to her because she feels like she’s “cheating” on Oniichan… but as time goes on, and at the end of the most recent episode, she’s crying and says she wants to try to love Mugi.

For Hanabi, the chances of ever having a relationship with Oniichan are small because he is her teacher now, and it would create a scandal. For Mugi, although Akane does fool around secretly with her students, this would not be much better already than his relationship with Hanabi or his past with Mei. Akane isn’t ready to be serious about anyone, and yes, she does inappropriate things with the other students, but this is not love either.

At what point (if any) should you give up on someone that you love, knowing that it just can never work out? What if you began seeking comfort from someone else to help fill that loneliness? In the 2nd Episode of Scum’s Wish it’s hinted at what exactly will happen. Hanabi goes out with some girls from her class. One of the girls is dating 2 boys at once. Now she can’t choose because she loves both of them. Hanabi tells her if she doesn’t choose, she will end up alone. This very likely will be in parallel to what will happen to Hanabi. If she can’t give up her crush on Oniichan, but continues to keep dating Mugi, at some point, she will be in love with both of them. She will become stuck and unable to choose either of them, so she will be left alone.

So what do you think? Can Mugi and Hanabi ever fall in love? Will Hanabi or Mugi let go of their crush and find happiness with one another? Is their relationship really that wrong? I don’t feel that they will regret their relationship either way even if they don’t end up together in the end. I think that they will build enough fond memories together that the overall experience of the relationship will have more happy memories than sad ones despite how it may end.

The other article that I read points out that they could find comfort in other things/people. Which may be true, but I still don’t think that comforting each other through their hard time is really that bad. The original article that I read made it sound as if Hanabi and Mugi turn their backs on their friends and family and only turn to each other. This is not true. Mugi has Moca, Hanabi has Oniichan, her mom, and Ecchan. You also see both of them with other classmates, and it’s even stated in the description of the anime that they are both “Popular” and “well liked” at school. So I don’t think that if the relationship were to end that either of them would fall into a hopeless depression.

Yuri!!! On Ice Anime Review

Yuri!!! on Ice Anime Review

1 Comment / Anime, Anime Review, Featured, Film and Television, Funny, Kawaii Cute, Review, Slice of Life / By

This past week I finally marathoned the anime that everyone’s been talking about. Yuri!!! On Ice won a ton of awards recently in Crunchyroll’s 2016 Anime awards. And not only that, but it’s been gaining unprecedented attention even from people who would not identify as Otaku or Anime fans, including actual real professional Olympic and Competitive Ice Skaters. The series is herald for its beautiful intricate artwork that perfectly captures the movements and expressions of professional ice skaters, as well as a fantastic musical score, and touching love story which stands apart from the rest since it features 2 LGBT males. It handles the relationship in a sweet and innocent and tasteful way, and shows a lot of depth and heart combined with suspense and drama as you watch and learn more about the characters inner most thoughts both on and off the ice.

Title: Yuri!!! On Ice

Release Date: October 2016

Genre: Slice of Life, Sports, Comedy, Romance

Length: Season 1 is 12 episodes. Season 2 has been announced but no date set yet

Studio: MAPPA and Funimation

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Geeky: 5/5 – The level of difficulty in animating this show is mind blowing. The characters’ movements on the ice feel so lifelike. The soundtrack is also amazing with very memorable opening and ending themes.

Sweetie: 4/5 – There is a lot of comedy, as well as a very heartwarming love story between the main character and his coach. There’s also a cute doggie <3 However, at times, especially later in the series the story can move a lttle too slowly.

Overall: 42/45 93% A “Excellent Anime For Girls”

Story: 8/10 Yuri has just returned home to Japan after several years of training abroad as a professional Ice Skater. He finished last place in last year’s “Grand Prix” (although he fails to realize that even placing among these 6 finalists is a feat worthy of being proud of.). He returns to Japan unable to face his fans, friends, or family, until a mysterious guest arrives!! It’s Yuri’s life-long idol, Viktor, a famous Russian Figure Skater whom Yuri has always looked up to. Viktor announces that he has taken time off from his professional skating career in order to become Yuri’s coach. During this time he will live side by side with Yuri and things begin to heat up both on and off the ice. I deducted a few points as there are some pacing issues at times and the large amount of “skater jargon” can distract (although it does add realism which is a big plus!)

Characters: 10/10 There are a number of rival figure skaters from around the world. When they hear news of Viktor’s semi-retirement in order to coach Yuri, they have mixed reactions of anger, jealousy, intrigue, disappointment, or amusement.

Viktor’s former coach takes a new skater on to train in Viktor’s absense, who just also happens to named Yuri. This “other” Yuri had been friends with Viktor and Viktor had promised to choregraph his senior skating debut performance. Viktor is rather forgetful however about promises… leaving Yuri to travel to Japan to confront Japanese Yuri and the forgetful Viktor which sets off a heated rivalry which will last all season.

The story follows both Yuris and several other side characters, along with their coaches, as they travel and perform and perfect their skating, leading up to a face off in yet another Grand Prix.

Not only does it focus on the excitement of watching who will advance to the tournament finale, but also on their life, friends, family, and personal relationships both on and off the ice.

Animation: 5/5 – The animation in this series is insane. It seems as if you’re watching real people, real professional figure skaters.

Music: 5/5 – Each skater’s performances are highlighted with unique music scores, just like a real figure skater. Most of these tracks are super catchy, and watching them skate to each track is almost like some weird “Fantasia on Ice” anime. Not only that, but the opening theme and ending theme are both catchy AF and super memorable, both because of the songs and also the animations. The ending theme uses an instagram or snapchat style photo feed and totally brought back feels of Prompto’s Photography skill in FFXV making it very timely and relevant. Both Yuri on Ice and also FFXV also focus on strong male-centric relationships/friendships. The opening theme of Yuri on Ice is in English which is a rare and nice touch, and the animation is done in a sketch-book style of the anime opening.

Voice Acting: 5/5 The Voice Acting is also nearly flawless. Yuri’s sweet innocent voice, Christopher and Viktor’s more sultry/mature voices, Yurio’s rough and aggressive voice, or JJ’s high energy and confident voice, they each highlight the characters’ emotions and energy levels.

I've Always Liked You - Confess Your Love Committee Anime Review

I’ve Always Liked You – Feature Length Slice of Life Shoujo Anime Movie Review

3 Comments / Anime, Anime Review, Drama, Featured, Film and Television, Kawaii Cute, Review, Shoujo, Shoujo, Slice of Life, TV and Film / By

Just finished watching “I’ve Always Liked You – Confess Your Love Committee” on Crunchyroll and had to immediately type up a review because that’s how much I enjoyed this anime. Everything about it was so relateable and the cute artwork and numerous vocal songs throughout made this just an amazingly memorable movie to watch.

I’ve been going through numerous tough times in my own relationships or lack there of, this year, breaking up with someone, trying to date other people, liking people that will never like me back, feeling awkward, nervous, excited, scared, sad, happy, overwhelmed at times even, or at times, just the reverse, dating people who liked me way more than I felt towards them.. So in that regard, I could relate to every single character and the overall theme of this anime in so many ways.

 

I think part of the reason we all love slice of life or romantic comedies is because it lets us escape into the lives of the characters, and have a happy ending, even if it’s not real, or not our own. We become attached to the characters, we care about what happens to them, and we want to see them be happy, because ultimately we feel that if they can achieve their dreams, then maybe there is hope for the rest of us after all.

Title: I’ve Always Liked You – Confess Your Love Committee

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Length: 64 minutes – 1 movie so far, reportedly with a sequel in the works for release later this year.

Genre: Shoujo Slice of Life Romance Drama

Studio: Honeyworks

Release Date: October 4th 2016

Geeky: 0/5 – Nothing geeky here. Very predictable, basic slice of life, with typical anime tropes, complete fluff, no action, adventure, or scifi, and no complex plot, or themes, so unless you’re into over-the-top “cuteness” and/or “relationship drama” this is a show you’ll want to pass.

Sweetie: 5/5 – The theme really hit home. Unrequited love is something we all experience.  The cute artwork and pop music also make this anime very “sweet”.

Concept: 9/10 – This anime can jump around a bit, it tries to do a lot in a 64 minute timeframe. It would have worked better as a series. There’s really not a clear main character, with all of the characters getting pretty equal screentime and having equally complex relationship dilemmas. It is interesting how many vocal music tracks were used, more than I have ever seen in an anime feature length film before. This gave it a very “Disney” kind of feeling – you know how characters just burst into song. The songs help tell the story – and they’re good songs too. The lyrics to the songs hit home just as much as the character dialogue and story. Presentation values were very high, with excellent music, voice acting, and artwork. The writing, while extremely predictable, also felt extremely raw and real. All of the characters were likeable and relateable to anyone that’s ever struggled with their feelings.

Story: 8/10 – I love this anime because of the story, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. You know early on how this story will go, and what will happen. (Which I won’t reveal here). This doesn’t make it a bad anime by any means. Slice of life don’t really need mystery or suspense. What they need are characters that show significant growth and development. characters that draw you in, make you like them, care about them, and a central plot that draws from perhaps the author’s own experiences, or experiences that are very common to almost anyone from any walk of life – and this anime has all of those things.  The story does jump around quite a bit though and that can be distracting at times. The basic premise is there are 3 couples, the first are childhood friends who are both too afraid to confess their feelings. The next is a pair of relatively new friends/acquaintances who aren’t really sure of their feelings yet and are in limbo somewhere between friends and dating, and the final pair consist of a guy with unrequited feelings for a girl for many years, and the girl being inexperienced and never really thinking much about love. There’s also a few love rivals and other outlying characters and issues throughout the film.

Characters: 8/10 – The characters are likeable, relateable, and they gradually begin to experience growth and mature to where many of them eventually overcome the obstacles facing their relationships. Watching them awkwardly work through their feelings, struggle, and fail, or struggle, and overcome their hardships, these things endear them to us. The artwork for the characters is also quite nice and drawn in a very cute style. The voice acting is also cute. The characters exude a lot of charm and work well in a shoujo setting. However, I feel like more could have been done given more time. I think the series does a good job of making all of the characters “main characters”, but for example, some of the truly minor characters, such as Nacchan’s brother and Setoguchi’s sister, their relationship is not fully explored – although there is a scene at the end of the credits with Setoguchi’s sister holding a love letter – but I kinda wonder if that letter is perhaps for Yukki who ends up being the only “odd man out” — if that’s the case though then Nacchan’s bro would become the “odd man out”– and the blonde pigtailed girl gets barely any screentime – do we even get to know her name? — Perhaps all of these things will be revealed if there is a sequel later this year as rumored.

Artwork: 5/5 – Nacchan reminds a lot of Lovely Complex – which I reviewed here. There, I criticized the female lead’s physical appearance for not being very kawaii (although some of my readers in the comments section clearly disagree). — However, although Nacchan has the same hairstyle and haircolor, Nacchan’s hair is more “fluffy” and flattering. Her bun is actually really kawaii! Later in the movie you also get to see her with her hair down as well. — Her fashion sense though is very boyish and strange — but you also get to see her dressup and be feminine later on too. Showing how multifaceted she is, makes her seem more real, more relatable, and ultimately more kawaii. — The other characters are also equally kawaii – my favorite for “Kawaii”factor is definitely Akari. I also really like Yukki. I think he was equally cute with his long hair and more modest appearance (which is shown only briefly as a flashback). The way everyone’s eyes are drawn is super beautiful too.

Music: 5/5 – Really would like to give it more than 5 points, but to keep it a bit consistant with my other reviews, we’ll go with this. – Music plays a huge vital role in this anime. Reading the lyrics is really important, It helps convey the characters’ feelings and emotions. I’ve never ever seen an anime feature length film with so many vocal tracks. There’s at least 5 or 6 music tracks. The ending music also when the credits roll continues to tell a story and seems to forshadow even college or adult life with some clips and brief animations as well. (in these illustrations the characters seem more mature, their hair is much longer, one of them is wearing a suit, etc. ) It’s definitely worth watching the ending credits. Plus there is a very brief scene after the credits as well. Like I mentioned, the vast amount of vocal tracks in this anime really give it an almost Disney-esque feeling. It’s definitely a memorable experience and makes me want to buy the soundtrack!

Voice Acting 5/5 – I loved all the character’s voices, Nacchan’s voice sounds more tomboyish, while Akari has a very kawaii voice, and the other girl very soft spoken, all 3 of them are very distinct and instantly recognizable.

Overall: 45/55 82% “Very Good Anime for Girls”

Hatsukoi Monster Anime Review: First Love Monster

2 Comments / Anime, Anime Review, Comedy, Featured, Kawaii Cute, Review, Shoujo, Slice of Life / By

geeky

Title: Hatsukoi Monster

Alternate Title: First Love Monster

Genre: Romance / Comedy / Slice of Life / Shoujo

Length: 12 Episodes + OVA

Release Date: 2016

Where to Watch: Crunchyroll

Based on: Hatsukoi Monster manga by Akira Hiyoshimaru (which is still ongoing at time of this review).

You can purchase the first 3 volumes (at time of this review) on Amazon in English:

Geeky:  2/5 – No action here, but a lot of comedy. It’s also pretty heavy on romance though, so if Rom-coms aren’t your thing, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Sweetie:  3/5 – Kaho’s character is perhaps the worst defined within this series and the most boring, despite being the main character, and a female lead who we witness the story through. Her relationship also never grows nor do the characters experience any significant growth or development. However, this is a cute, innocent, heart warming anime. The characters are likable, and the art style is kawaii. The blend of romance and comedy make this Slice of Life a fun one to watch, but if you’re expecting a serious and strong love story, the plot here falls short of that.

Overall: 42/55 76% C “Good Anime For Girls”

Concept: 8/10 Hatsukoi Monster focuses on a romantic relationship between the female lead, Kaho, whom is 15 years old, and Kanade, who is a fifth grader. Just like with the education system in the United States, fifth graders in Japan are between 10 and 11 years old. Kanade (and many of his friends) look much older, but their actions give way to just how young they truly are. Since both the anime and the manga are currently in production still at time of this review, who knows how it will end. I speculate that they’ll jump time forward at some point. There are some people who are “grossed out” or “weirded out” by the age gap. But it’s only a 5 year age difference. I’ve dated as much as 8 years older or younger than me, but the difference is, I’m in my 30s, not in my teens lol. But the point I’m trying to make is that, by time the couple (Kaho and Kanade) enter college, this is no longer weird or creepy. Plenty of people have relationships in this age range. AND Kaho is just a child still herself even in the current time-line. It’s not THAT creepy.  In fact, I applaud it for daring to do something different from most highschool anime romantic comedies. The characters in Hatsukoi Monster are charming, funny, innocent, and pure. And it’s rare to see an anime or manga with an older woman dating a younger guy.

Each episode features conflicts which arise as a result of the age gap between the couple. There’s a lot of tension, misunderstandings, and mistakes made by both Kaho and Kanade. For both of them it is their first love, hence the title of this anime. They both need to mature a lot if their relationship is to survive. Luckily they have help from various people in their apartment complex who try to help them smooth things over, or conversely, provoke them to be more honest about their feelings.

It’s largely a comedy anime while the romance takes a back seat to the childish antics of Kanade and his gang. If you like comedy anime with a hint of romance, and don’t mind drama, cliffhangers, and relationship tension being thrown at you each week then you will really enjoy Hatsukoi Monster. Some of the jokes and humor are pretty low-brow but what do you expect from a cast consisting mostly of 10 year olds? A lot of the jokes and humor get reused each week too, especially the pranks that Kanade and his friends like to play (which in true 10 year old fashion, they find equally hilarious no matter how many times they pull the same stunt).

Story: 7/10 Kaho has lived a sheltered life of privilege and never been exposed to the realities of the outside world. Wanting to experience life for herself, she moves into an apartment complex known as the Kasumi House. On her way to her new home, Kaho almost gets into an accident. Kanade saves her and proceeds to chew her out for not watching where she is going. No one has ever raised their voice or spoken frankly to Kaho. This, plus Kanade’s cool demeanor and good looks cause Kaho to fall in love at first sight. Only later does she discover that the two of them will be living together from now on, and that Kanade is actually the 10 year old son of her apartment manager.

This is a Slice of Life anime, each episode focusing on another day in the Kasumi House. Kanade and his friends play tag, go to school, participate in sports events, culture festivals, or study for exams. While it shows us a lot of sweet, funny, or touching moments with Kanade and his friends, it falls short of showing us much backstory about Kaho, the supposed main character in this whole mess. Everything is told from Kaho’s perspective, so it would’ve been nice to see her school life, and more of her family life. As for friends, she doesn’t have any from being sheltered, but it would’ve been nice to see her grow and mature and make friends on her own (Aside from those at the Kasumi House of course). It’s almost as if Kaho exists in a bubble and her sole purpose is to chase after Kanade.

Since there’s only 1 or 2 episodes left at time of this review, my main complaint is that the story just never really seems to go anywhere. Each week is the same, with breaking up and making up, and similar antics and mischief. The couple never grows or really gets over their misunderstandings or able to handle their emotions.

Characters: 9/10 Almost all of the characters, except for Kaho herself, have really interesting personalities and back stories, though some are way over the top and eccentric. Kanade’s friends each represent some common roles we’ve seen in other anime, but they take it to extremes at times which just highlights the comedic nature of this anime.

For example, Taga is your typical tsundere. (hard on the outside but with a soft spot for certain things). His soft spot is Kanade whom he says reminds him of himself when he was that age. He is excessively rude to Kaho (possibly because he loves her). He calls her Breadcrumb girl and Garbage Girl, he intentionally does things to make Kaho cry in front of Kanade, which provoke’s Kanade’s protective instincts and sometimes helps them repair their relationship as a result of Taga playing badguy to let Kanade come “save the princess”.

Nagasawa is an Otaku, he has an obsession with a crossplaying young idol by the name of Renren who bares a striking resemblence to one of Kanade’s friends. As a result he usually tricks them into playing dressup and fantasizing about his idol. His room is full of dolls, toys, posters, books, CDs, movies, and costumes surrounding his fandom.

Shinohara is a very shy and frail character who also has a crush on Kaho, however, he is unable to overcome his fears or be honest about his feelings.

Kaz, Gin, and Tom make up the 3 main friends of Kanade and are featured prominently in each episode. Gin and Tom are both similar to Kanade, they look much taller and older than their mental state and actual age. Kaz on the other hand looks very small and young even for his age, but despite that, he acts as the voice of reason among the group.

Kaho’s brother makes an appearance later in the series, and is obsessed to the point where he’s almost actually in love with Kaho. Another similar character, but a female version of him, lives in the Kasumi House, and she is equally obsessed with Kanade’s father.

Shugo is Kanade’s father who has been raising Kanade as a single dad since his wife (Kanade’s mother) passed away when Kanade was small.

Artwork: 5/5 – I love all the character designs, they are really super cute and colorful. Each character looks unique and distinctive.

Music: 5/5 The opening and ending themes are very memorable and catchy. The opening theme is more Pop feeling, while the ending theme is definitely more Rock inspired. The background music throughout is also really well done. Most of the music throughout is fast paced which seems to fit the energy and enthusiasm of Kanade and his friends.

Voice Acting: 3/5 – While some of the characters such as Kanade, Kaho, Kaz, Taga, and Shinohara are almost perfectly cast, I have some issues with some of the other actors. Namely Gin and Tom, who both sound much older than Kanade and much too old for 5th graders, even if their voices have already dropped, they just don’t sound even like high schoolers, but instead like much older men. Overall, all of the actors delivered emotional and exciting performances that (for the most part) fit their characters well.

Overall: 42/55 76% C “Good Anime For Girls”

Kodocha, Child's Toy, Anime, Review, Anime Review, 90s Anime, Retro Anime, Comedy Anime, Romance Anime, Family Anime, Slice of Life, Slice of Life Anime, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy Anime, Elementary School, Middle School, School Girl, School Life, Child Star, Children Stars, Anime about making movies, Anime about acting, Anime about modeling, Anime Couple, Anime Relationship, Anime Couples, Anime Relationships, Funny Anime, Old Anime, Obscure Anime

Kodocha Child’s Toy Anime Review

1 Comment / Anime, Anime Review, Drama, Review, Slice of Life / By

Title: Kodocha

Alternate Title: Child’s Toy

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Slice of Life / Drama

Studio: Studio Gallop, NAS

Length: 102 Episodes

Release Date: 1996

Based Upon: “Kodomo no Omocha” manga by Miho Obana

Where to Buy: Amazon.com/Kodocha.. – This is a pretty old and rare / obscure series. At time of writing, there’s only 2 copies of the Kodocha Season 1 DVD box set available – for about $45. I’d encourage you to snap them up now, rather than later, as it will become harder and harder to find as time goes on. The Season 2 Kodocha DVD boxset is even more rare, with only 1 copy for $135 at time of this review.

Overall: 30/35 86% B “Very Good Anime For Girls”

Story: 10/10 The story in Kodocha is very unique. I can’t think of any other anime that 1.) Deal with child stars or 2.) Focus on a romantic relationship in elementary and middle school (most romantic comedies are set in highschools or universities). The main story centers around an elementary student named Sana who is a child star, she does acting, modeling, and singing for movies, tv series, and commercials. It’s about how she balances her work with her school, family, and personal life. Of course being famous gets you sometimes unwanted attention, such is the case for the main love interest, who comes from a broken home and troubled past. He is jealous of Sana’s “perfect” life and innocent child-like qualities. But it’s also her youth, exuberrance, and innocence that draws him to her. Like most little elementary boys, he doesn’t know what to do about his feelings towards Sana, which leads to him teasing or picking on and bullying her. Because of his actions, Sana of course hates him in the beginning. But over the course of the series, she too begins to have feelings for him as well. The first half of the anime focuses on their time spent together in Elementary school, while the second season continues on through middle school.

Characters: 10/10 In addition to our two young love birds, there’s a slew of really quirky, unique, outlandish characters. For example, Sana’s mother is very eccentric; she is an author and often late with her deadlines sneaking around trying to avoid her publisher who’s pressuring her for her next release. Sana’s mama hires a manager to help her daughter’s young career. Sana is confused by this since she is so young and she tells everyone that her incredibly handsome manager is actually her boyfriend or even her pimp (because she is aware that her parents pay him to spend time with her.) Besides just helping in her career, he often chauffers her to and from school and to and from her modeling and acting appointments. He also cares a lot for Sana and treats her as a good friend. Although all of the characters are eccentric, they are very warm and heart felt and endearing too and a good deal of time is spent focusing on character interaction, back story, and development.

Voice Acting: 2/5 I didn’t really enjoy some of the voices in this anime, I found them to be rather grating on my nerves at times. I understand they were doing their best to sound cute or child like… I just really found some of the voices to be like nails on a chalk board at times 🙁 Not all of the voices are that bad, but a few definitely stand out as being over dramatic or just their tone of voice put me on edge at times.

Music: 5/5 The music is really as zany/crazy as all the characters in this show. Most is very youthful, energetic, fast paced, featuring a lot of tracks which are more along the lines of JRap and JHiphop (if that’s even a thing) as opposed to “pop” or “ballad” like arrangements. This works well however for this series as it gives it a young feeling to match the setting and energy of the anime – It also differentiated itself in this choice of music which is definitely a departure from other 90s anime themes.

Art: 3/5 As far as 90s anime goes, this artwork is not too bad. I find the character designs to be cute, and even cleaner looking than many of their 90s counterparts in other similar series. Still of course, the animation techniques look dated by today’s standards as the anime is now 20 years old!

Overall: 30/35 86% B “Very Good Anime For Girls”

Nodame Cantabile Anime Review

Nodame Cantabile Anime Review

Anime, Anime Review, Drama, Featured, Film and Television, Review, Shoujo, Slice of Life, TV and Film / By

While sick last week, I marathoned my way through the first season of the anime version of Nodame Cantabile, a cute shoujo romantic-comedy anime about a young man (Chiaki) who wants to become a conductor. He encounters a girl who plays the piano with so much energy that it sounds as if she is singing. Her nickname is Nodame. Hence we get the title, Nodame Cantabile. A Cantabile is a musical term to describe instrumental music which emulates the sound of human voices singing. It literally means “to play (an instrument) as if singing”.

Interestingly, enough, the characters and events in this anime are based partially (although I’m sure exaggerated to a degree) on real life acquaintances and friends of the Mangaka who wrote the manga on which the anime is based.

 

My favorite thing about the anime however, is definitely the music. If you love classical music, you’ll enjoy this. Not only that, but the opening and ending themes are so damn catchy. I think the ending theme used in the first half of the series is maybe my favorite ending theme from any anime of all time.

Title: Nodama Cantabile

Length: 24 Episodes in season 1, 11 episodes in season 2, 11 episodes in season 3 for a total of 46 episodes.

Publisher: J.C. Staff

Release Date: January 2007 – 2010

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Slice of Life, Musical, Shoujo

Story: 8/10 I think the story, at times, suffers from some pacing issues. It can really drag and feel a bit dry even despite an abundance of comedic moments, and since it is a much longer series than similar anime (such as Your Lie in April), it can feel like a chore at times to make it through the whole thing. However, with that out of the way, I will say, that the story also is very unique. I’ve never seen an anime about someone who wants to become a conductor before. I also think it’s sweet and cute in a way (though Chiaki’s Tsundere personality definitely will not appeal to everyone). The end of season 1 is one of the most memorable scenes I have ever seen – Not to spoil anything, but when you get to the end, the scene with the taxi and cellphones. I really thought it was a very heart moving moment. You’ll see what I mean <3.

Characters: 6/10 Although Chiaki is your typical Tsundere style character, the relationship dynamics play out almost in the same way as Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Which I reviewed over here) and I enjoyed that sort of “pet and master” like dynamic. Some people may take offense to these sorts of anime as it puts the main female lead in an extremely submissive “puppydog” role. But I’m no feminist, so it doesn’t really bother me. I think it’s cute that both of the girls need to be taken care of and follow their crush around like a dog. lol. Over the course of Nodame Cantabile, Chiaki does warm up to her, and we see that he tries to rationalize and deny his love for Nodame throughout most of the first season. He is hard on her at times because he wants to encourage her in his own way, to do better, and to follow her dreams. The supporting cast is really very good too – some of them are very funny such as the timpani player, and others are interesting from a backstory standpoint such as Chiaki’s ex. I think more could have been done to create more tension and relationship drama (disclaimer I’m only one season in with 2 more seasons to go). Such as Chiaki’s ex girlfriend not wanting to give him up; or the concert master’s dependency on Nodame, (however he develops a relationship later on with another member of the orchestra who is able to become a cute little side couple). There was a brief rival also that was in love with Nodame in the later half of season 1, but they resolve that conflict quickly within 2-3 episodes also. Well deep down we all know she belongs with Chiaki anyways; but I think it would have been interesting to ramp up the tension a bit more. Some of the episodes feel pretty “dry” because they focus on realistic things like music competitions and rehearsals and the introduction of some more drama maybe would have helped spice things up a bit; however, the tensions and conflicts are often too quickly resolved, and we’re back to just Nodame chasing Chiaki again. Character development is good, especially for Chiaki, we see him go from being a very strict conductor and music teacher, to becoming able to appreciate the unique sound of each member of his orchestra, and to respect their differences. We also see him become more honest about his feelings towards Nodame. I expect that Nodame will grow more independent in later seasons in order to grow as a character and pursue her own dreams without such dependency on Chiaki; but once again I’ve only seen season 1 so can only grade my review on my own experiences thus far.

Music: 5/5 Possibly the best music score ever in an anime. I thought about grading this on a 10 point scale, but to keep it in line with other reviews I’ve done on the site for anime, I’ve kept it a 5 scale. I think, in a series about music, that the music really plays a big role. They used real symphonies to record the classical music, and the opening and ending themes are super catchy and among my favorites from any anime I’ve seen.

Voice Acting: (Disclaimer: I was sick all week (to the point I couldn’t even raise my head off the pillow) and so I watched the first season as a dub. I will eventually come back and give a score for Voice Acting when I watch season 2 and 3 which I will watch as subbed, as it’s intended to be. I won’t even bother grading the Voice Acting of the dub at this point, because dubs suck lol. Seriously, all the voices sounded the same, and why do they make everyone sound like an Alvin the Chipmunk reject? (especially the girls).)

Artwork: 3/5 For being a relatively newer anime (mid-late 2000s) with the most recent season only 5 years old, I expected more from this anime graphically speaking. I think the animation work is really well done, as it shows in detail, finger work, playing various instruments, the body (and hair flowing) movements in time with the music, and great facial expressions as well. But just the “quality” or “design” of the artwork itself, it feels very “dated”. I was shocked when researching this post to see this series is only 5 years old. It feels like an “early 90s” anime, in terms of character designs, backgrounds, colors, lineart, techniques, etc used.

Overall: 22/30 73% “Good Anime for Girls”

If You Liked Nodame Cantabile, You’ll Also Like: Nana, Fullmoon Wo Sagashite, Beck Mongolian Chop Squad, Pop Chance Session, White Album, Your Lie in April, and Love Live School Idol Festival