Black Bullet Review

If mankind was in a crisis, where we had to defend our lives at any time, against alien-like creatures, what would our main defense be? Most likely walls, artillery, and experienced soldiers. But when the threat is a parasitic virus, that infects the host, and turns them into large, insect-like creatures, the threat becomes more dangerous. The virus could destroy mankind from the inside-out, inside walls, where escape is impossible. When said virus, has contaminated a large number of young girls, who are living with the virus, are the only hope to save humanity, drawing back means certain defeat. In the world of Black Bullet, city regions are surrounded with immense walls, made of Varanium, called Monoliths. Varanium is the only metal capable of defeating the Gastrea virus, and is humanity’s only defense from the Gastrea outside of the area. In this world, it’s a game of staying alive, or being a victim of the plague.

The world of Black Bullet is set in the year 2021, with a scenario where humanity has been forced into a reality where a parasitic virus has the ability to destroy entire regions from the inside out. Humanity is decimated by the virus, and soon, children born with the Gastrea virus develop superhuman abilities, but are shunned by the population, branded as “monsters” for being different. These children, only young girls, are called the “Cursed Children”. The government proceeds to make use of the girls’ supernatural abilities, and teams each girl with a Promoter; a social officer trained to lead the cursed children. These pairs, made of a Promoter and an Initiator, (the Cursed Children), are used to fight against the Gastrea, and prevent the developed forms of the virus from destroying mankind. Ten years after the epidemic started, high school student, and Promoter, Rentaro Satomi, and his Initiator, Enju Aihara, are thrust into the front lines of humanity’s fight against the Gastrea. The story begins when Rentaro is sent to investigate the scene of an accident, where the roof is leaking blood into the apartment below. Upon opening the door to the apartment above, he is confronted by a masked man, confessing that he indeed killed the two men behind them, and escapes after answering a suspicious phone call. This masked man becomes the main target for investigation, along with cases of the Gastrea virus within the Tokyo Area. Through the series, the story starts feeling extremely rushed, and the pacing is inconsistent, making you wish that they would slow down, and explain the more important moments of the series. This pacing leaves large plot holes at the end of the series, and for a 13 episode series, leaves much to cover. A second season is needed, but is nowhere in sight as of now.

Our main protagonists, Rentaro Satomi, and Enju Aihara, are one of the many Promoter/Initiator pairs. Rentaro is a kind, and caring person, who treats everyone as being equal, and hates seeing the Cursed Children being abused by the rest of society just for being different. As a child, Rentaro was orphaned, and lost his right leg, right arm, and left eye, in an attempt to save Kisara Tendo, his childhood friend. He was saved by Sumire’s “New Human Creation Plan”, which replaced his lost limbs and eye with artificial ones made of varanium, making him one of the mechanical soldiers made to fight Gastrea. Enju is Rentaro’s ten year old Initiator. She is kind, friendly, and cannot stand to see other girls like her being abused or mistreated because of the Gastrea blood running through their veins. Enju cannot hold grudges easily, and prefers to give her enemies a second chance if she can see the good inside of them. As Enju is one of the Cursed Children, the virus steadily keeps corroding her body, soon reaching the point where she will be taken by the virus, and turned into a Gastrea. Because of this, many Cursed Children live life to its fullest, and do not trust humans, in fear that they will only kill them due to their Gastrea blood. At first, Enju held onto these same emotions, attacking Rentaro when she was assigned as his Initiator, but eventually starting to trust humans, and become more comfortable with working for the Tendo Civil Security Corporation with Rentaro. The pair get along well, and are constantly on their toes for a larger mission, to get promoted to a higher rank. They are both crafty, and can get out of tight situations efficiently, as seen in battles with multiple Gastrea. As for side characters, they do not receive too much character development, and again, the length of the series does not help. Main character development is done well, yet more is to be desired.

The soundtrack for Black Bullet was done by Shiro Sagisu, a composer known for the soundtracks of Magi, and the Evangelion franchise. The pieces in the soundtrack are done well, and fit the tone of the series well. Nothing was too jarring, and the little electronic that there was in the series complimented the futuristic atmosphere of Black Bullet perfectly. As for the dubs, the Japanese dub worked well to portray the personalities of the characters, and of course, Yuki Kaji as Rentaro brings images of characters of other series, but this added to the effect of his character. No English dub has been announced yet, may not be done, due to being licensed by Sentai Filmworks. As for openings and endings, the opening, black bullet, by Fripside, fit the series perfectly, and was upbeat to get you hyped for the show. The ending, Tokohana, by Nagi Yanagi, fit well, and left something to expect for the next episode. Overall, the music fit nicely with the series.

The animation for Black Bullet was done by Kinema Citrus, known for works such as Code:Breaker, and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. The studio has not done too many series, but the animation for Black Bullet was done extremely well. Action scenes were smooth, and CG in the series was not jarring, and blended in nicely with the rest of the animation. Character designs were done well, and used a large variety of shades and highlights with each character. Backgrounds looked great, and complimented the action and characters nicely.

Overall, Black Bullet is an enjoyable and action-packed series, however has large flaws in the story and characters departments, that would be hopefully fixed if the show ends up getting a second season. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters, and my personal enjoyment, Black Bullet receives an overall score of 8.58 out of 10, and a recommendation to stream rather than buy. As enjoyable as the series is, the major flaws cannot be overlooked, thus giving it a recommendation to stream the show. Black Bullet is available for legal streaming on Crunchyroll, and will soon have DVD and Blu-Ray releases from Sentai Filmworks.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami

No Game No Life Review

Through the Otaku community, a large percentage falls under the “avid gamer” category. Some of these gamers do nothing other than play video games, watch anime, and read manga, and have their lives existing mainly online. This usually leads to series of health, and social problems, as well as in some cases, light sensitivity, mainly caused by the overuse of games in the MMORPG genre. Games in the MMORPG genre today, such as League of Legends, or World of Warcraft, all have some sort of hook, bringing gamers back for more, time and time again to defeat the newest level boss, or to plan several hour long raids for that one power up they have always wanted. If everything in the world was decided by games, the whole way we view the world would be completely different, wouldn’t it? Need a new king for the country? No problem. Just hold a poker tournament, to find the best player in the kingdom. The story of No Game No Life, revolves around this concept of the world being your game board, yours to conquer if you are strategic and cunning.

The story of No Game No Life starts off with our two protagonists, the master gamer sibling duo, Sora and Shiro. The pair has never lost a game, except to each other, and are so skilled, they can control two MMORPG avatars each, simultaneously, and defeat the entire gaming community, and become known as “blank”, due to their usernames being left blank. As the two spend their days doing nothing but playing games, they receive an anonymous email, challenging them to a game of chess. The duo conquer the game, and are sent to the gaming world, known as Disboard, the Boardtop World, by its One True God, Tet. Once there, the duo discover that everything in Disboard is solved by a game, which must abide by the 10 pledges, and they were sent to save the weakest of the 16 races of Disboard known as Imanity. Imanity has no access to magic, unlike the other 15 races, making them powerless without a way to defeat other races through games. Sora and Shiro discover a gaming tournament to decide the next ruler of Imanity, and decide to participate, challenging the one who has beaten all the rest, Kurami Zell, and beat her. Shiro and Sora become the King and Queen of Imanity, with their goal becoming to defeat all 16 races, to challenge the One True God, Tet, so the pair can become the gods of Disboard. Although the series is only 12 episodes long, and only has one story arc, the ending of the series keeps it open for next seasons, which will probably not be produced, due to the series seeming like advertisement for the original material, with a “read the light novel” type ending.

The main two characters in No Game No Life are Sora and Shiro, the sibling gamer pair. As well as being completely obsessed with gaming to a point of doing nothing other than gaming, they often stay up days on end, becoming extremely sleep deprived, eating nothing but the occasional instant ramen, or other convenience store snacks. The pair also are inseparable, not being able to be out of range of sight of one another without falling into an almost catatonic state. Shiro is the younger and smarter of the pair, being extremely quiet and shy. She possesses an almost supernatural intelligence, can speak 18 languages fluently, has beaten a grandmaster chess program twenty times in a row, and claims chess is no different than Tic-Tac-Toe. Shiro learns at an amazing pace, learning Imanity’s language in 15 minutes, accurately, and is incredibly skilled in First Person Shooters, as she is able to predict the trajectory of bullets in the game. Although she is almost superhuman, she is incredibly logical, and scientific, which leads her to have trouble with the human aspects of the game. If her opponent makes an unpredictable move to throw her off, she relies on her brother, Sora, to advise her when their opponent is leading them into a trap. Sora is the older brother, and is extremely outgoing, and confident when playing games, though has a hard time without Shiro in a more logical game, as he relies on instincts and body language analyzation. He is superior with war and romance games, and is not as intelligent as his sister, but is able to compensate for that with his observation abilities. Sora is the negotiator of the two, being cunning and a trickster often, to find the opponent’s weaknesses and to defeat them using them. Through the story, entertaining side characters such as Stephanie Dola, (the king’s granddaughter), Kurami Zell, and Jibril the Flugel. Good character development for the two main characters was provided, yet more character development for the side characters would have been nice.

The soundtrack for No Game No Life was composed by Shinji Hosoe, a video game soundtrack composer, who is known for works such as the Fate/Extra, and Tekken 6 soundtracks. For the theme of the series, the soundtrack works nicely, sticking to the gaming theme. The music is mainly electronic, with vocals here and there, but it worked well, and is great background music when playing any game, or getting hyped for a sports match. As for the dub, there is no English dub at the moment, but the Japanese dub was done well, matching the character’s personalities with the voice actors nicely. The ending, Oracion, was sung by Ai Kayano, the voice actor for Shiro, and worked well. The opening, This Game, by Suzuki Konomi was upbeat and fit the series well.

The animation for the series was done by Madhouse, known for Photo Kano, and Black Lagoon. The series was extremely well animated, with the computer graphics being incorporated nicely into the scenes, not being jarring in the least. The colours chosen for the series were incredibly bright, allowing the series to have a more light and fluffy tone, with fantasy elements through out. The character designs are nothing to complain about, as they were all fun to see, and had interesting colours chosen for each character, sometimes with multi coloured eyes and bright clothing. Games were animated especially well, adding more suspense to the series, as it kept surprising you with better and better animation and effects. The opening and ending were enjoyable to watch, and the animation was on par with the rest of the series.

Overall, No Game No Life is a fun and lighthearted series, being entertaining and comedic through the entire season. Despite the flaws, No Game No Life is sure to channel your inner gamer to the screen and try and play along with the characters at some points. Although the series points viewers towards the source material, it is still enjoyable on its own, and is worth watching. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters, and my personal enjoyment, No Game No Life receives an overall score of 8.68 out of 10, with a recommendation to stream rather than buy. Yes, the series is enjoyable, and a worthwhile piece of entertainment, but the plot holes can make the series frustrating if you do not have access to the source material.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami

No. 6 Review

Recently, there has been a trend through the science fiction genre. This trend is the idea of a Utopian society. A perfect world, where everyone is happy, no matter what. Many see this as a possible place where people are happy just because there is free food. That isn’t a Utopian society. By definition, a Utopia is a place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government and social conditions. This place, with free food is just a nice place to live. Various versions of a failing Utopian society have topped up the previous one, each seeming more and more realistic by the year. When this idea of a Utopia is picked apart piece by piece to reveal the inner mechanics, it is not always what you expect. In the city of No. 6, this is the case. With the government being in control of the people of the society, and allegiance pledged to the government meaning your safety, not everything is what you would expect it to be. As one citizen of the city discovers; Utopia is not perfect.

Story

The city of No. 6 is classified as a perfect city, with perfect vegetation, and a very organized way of carrying out tasks in daily life. There is no threat to anyone in the city, and the city’s protection is given to those who pledge allegiance to the city. However, it seems that something is hidden from the people, something that the government does not want the citizens knowing. The story of No. 6 starts on Shion’s birthday. Shion is a student in the city’s gifted program, and an elite member of society. Everything goes by smoothly for Shion, until he decides to open his window on his rainy birthday. He screams into the rain, to let out his feelings, not noticing an injured boy sneak in through the open window. Shion becomes fond of the boy, treats his wound, and discovers his name is Nezumi. Shion is then stripped of his privileges as a citizen of No. 6 and is forced to live in Lost Town, on the suburbs of No. 6. Shion since then worked for the city, until he was suspected of murder, and about to be taken to a correctional facility, when Nezumi intervened and took Shion outside of No. 6, to the Western District. From there, Nezumi and Shion try and uncover the mysteries of No. 6, to save Shion’s childhood friend, Safu, from being kidnapped by the government, and to protect the city from the parasite bees, responsible for the mysterious deaths in the city.

Characters

Shion is a kind and gentle person, oblivious at first to what actually went on in the city of No. 6. He has an incredible IQ, the cause of him getting into the gifted program, however he is a bit of a daydreamer, and is insecure about many things. After being taken to the Western District by Nezumi, he developed the signs of being infected with the parasite bee, and survives the infection thanks to Nezumi extracting the pupa of the bee from his neck in time. Due to the infection, Shion’s eyes turned red, hair white, and a long red scar, coiled around his body appeared as side effects of the infection. Although Shion has a very protective and gentle personality, he does not hesitate to use violence to protect someone. Next we have Nezumi. His personality is rude and irritable on the outside, and is a very sarcastic and theatrical individual. He rarely shows kindness towards others, yet protects them nonetheless. Although he has no formal education, he is incredibly smart, and has understanding of technology advanced enough to build functioning robots following instructions, despite learning most of what he knows from experience and books. Though introduced as a criminal with a “live for yourself” type of attitude, his feelings soften through the series, making him a more likable character overall. Conflicts between the two characters are well thought out, and they are usually about one denying something is not true, but the other trying to convince them that it is. Character development is well done through the series, mainly focusing on the two main characters, yet still adding some character development for Inukashi, and other side characters.

Sound

The soundtrack for the series was done by Keiichi Suzuki, known for soundtracks for Earthbound, and Mother 1 and 2. The tone of the music fits the series’ ups and downs well, and reflects emotions felt by the characters nicely. The opening and ending of the series worked well, and were enjoyable to listen to, and as far as the soundtrack goes, all of the pieces work extremely well for relaxing background music, and are listenable without visual accompaniment. Two noteworthy pieces on the soundtrack were Kaze no Requiem, and Kirameku Mono Tachi, both sung by Yoshimasa Hosoya, the Japanese voice actor for Nezumi. As far as the dubs go, they were both enjoyable to listen to, and Yuki Kaji as Shion fit fairly well.

Animation

The animation for the series was done by Studio Bones, known for works such as Fullmetal Alchemist, and Soul Eater, and is well done through the series. There were no jarring moments at all, and the small bits of CG that they did use, were incorporated nicely through the series. The opening was done especially well, and worked with the song, Spell by Lama, well. As far as character designs go, they were easy on the eyes, and were not clunky or awkward at all. As a matter of fact, the animation was very smooth consistently. The colour palettes chosen for the show worked well for the theme, and fit the tone well.

Final Thoughts

Overall, No. 6 is an enjoyable science fiction series, only 11 episodes long. Although there are some questions at the end of the series which would be better answered, the journey through the series was an entertaining one. With likeable characters, fluid animation, and relaxing background tracks, No. 6 is a solid series. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters and my personal enjoyment, No. 6 receives an overall score of 8.59 out of 10, and a recommendation to stream rather than buy. If the series went on slightly longer to fill the plot holes, the series would be worth buying, but at the moment, with no second season announced, it’s safer to stream the series. At this time, No. 6 is available to stream from Crunchyroll, and has been given DVD and Blu-Ray releases from Sentai Filmworks.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami

Ao no Exorcist Review

Lifetime goals can be hard to find for yourself, especially when you have no idea where to start. Some people spend their entire lives trying to find that one profession they are passionate about, or a purpose for them to fulfill, but never find it. Others have that already decided for them, such as being heir to a company or throne, an arranged marriage, or something decided by parents. Knowing what your purpose is can make your life easier, however for some people, it can make their lives miserable as well. If you absolutely despise your fate, would you accept it, or try and carve a different path for yourself? In this particular case, two unfortunate boys have been cursed with being sons of Satan, and are despised everywhere they go, not knowing why.

Story

In a world with two realms, Assiah, and Gehenna, each the human’s and demon’s realms respectively, conflicts between the two worlds are frequent, and it’s up to exorcists to keep the demons at bay. Ao no Exorcist, or Blue Exorcist is the story of Rin Okumura, and his struggles of being Satan’s son. Despite Yukio being Rin’s brother, he appears to have not inherited Satan’s signature blue flames, or any demonic features. The two brothers live in a monastery with Shiro, the head priest, who has cared for them their entire lives. After an attack to the monastery by stray demons, Rin is given the katana Kurikara, warned to never unsheathe the blade, as it seals the demonic power inside of him. During the attack, Shiro is possessed by Satan himself, and dies shortly after, while Rin is disobedient and unsheathes the blade. The monastery is in ruins, and the two brothers are sent to the True Cross Academy, where Rin is to study to become an exorcist, and for Yukio to hone his abilities as an exorcist. While there, Rin discovers his goal to become the Paladin; the exorcist more powerful than any other. However there’s one problem; Rin is a demon, and exorcists are trained to defeat demons. This causes many conflicts involving his identity, and who he is willing to be. To his dismay, the teacher in charge of Rin’s small class is none other than his brother. Along the way, the duo becomes closer to their students and classmates through their journey to become better exorcists, and increasingly stronger enemies. The story of Ao no Exorcist is a fun journey through all entertaining 25 episodes, and little time is wasted through filler episodes, covering the major plot holes well.

Characters

The main character, Rin Okumura, is a 15 year old boy, and son of Satan along with his brother Yukio. Rin is protective of people close to him, but can sometimes make rash decisions when under pressure. These sometimes include getting into fights frequently, or bringing unnecessary violence into the picture. His forte is not studying, as he does not pay attention in class, or shouts phrases wrong by trying his best guess. Although Rin is disrespectful towards Yukio during lessons, he genuinely cares about Yukio, and will protect him in any situation. Rin had experience being excluded as a child, due to his violent habits, and would often get branded as a demon, despite no one knowing he is Satan’s son. His appearance shows some demonic features, including slightly pointed ears, and prominent canine teeth. After using Kurikara for the first time, he gained a black, fur-tufted tail. When Rin unsheathes Kurikara, his demonic features become more prominent, and he becomes surrounded in the blue flames sealed in the blade. Next we have Yukio Okumura, Rin’s younger brother. Most characters believe that Rin is the younger brother due to Yukio’s mature attitude, and experience as an exorcist. Yukio is usually quiet and calm, but his darker side emerges during personality clashes with Rin. He is a Middle-First Class exorcist, and became one long before Rin, mainly to protect him if anything went wrong, or he couldn’t control his powers. Yukio is one of the teachers at the True Cross Academy, and is an acquaintance of Shura Kirigakure, an Upper-First Class exorcist responsible for Rin. Yukio had sworn to protect Rin as a child, due to him not showing any signs of inheriting Satan’s powers, yet shows some features later on in the series. He was bitten by Rin as a child, enabling him to see the demons which would be otherwise invisible to humans without a mashou, or wound inflicted by a demon.

Sound

The soundtrack for Ao no Exorcist was done by Hiroyuki Sawano, known for works such as the soundtracks for Guilty Crown and Attack on Titan. The soundtrack is dramatic, and filled with intense orchestra and choir filled instrumentals, fitting the scenes and tone of the series perfectly. The tracks on the soundtrack are able to be listened to without any visual accompaniment, which is a bonus for the OST. Special mention to the track Me and Creed. Both openings, Core Pride by Uverworld, and In My World by ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D fit well with the series, and reflect the tone of the show. The dubs were done well, no jarring or cringe-worthy performances by any voice actors. The doubling of voices during the Satan possession scenes were done well, and were able to portray each character individually, but still form a different identity with the two.

Animation

The animation for the series was done by A-1 Pictures, known for Sword Art Online, and Black Butler, and is well done and consistent through the series. Budget looks like it wasn’t a problem, with the effects for the action scenes, and slight CG for the Gehenna gate used, not being too jarring or clunky. The character designs were done well, and reflected the character’s personalities through the series. Slight character design adjustments were done for the more demonic characters, which adds to the charm of the characters as a whole.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Ao no Exorcist is an enjoyable, action-packed and comedic series with whimsical characters and an interesting plot line. Although the story does drag on in some places, there weren’t any episodes worthy of dubbing as complete filler, or not worth watching. Although plot lines similar to this exist in other series, it was different enough to not be a complete copy of other series, and gave a refreshing twist to the genre as a whole. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters, and my personal enjoyment, Ao no Exorcist, or Blue Exorcist receives an overall score of 8.8 out of 10, with a recommendation to buy rather than stream. Ao no Exorcist is available for legal streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation’s website, and Canadian Netflix, and has DVD and Blu-Ray releases from Funimation.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Review

We all have that one person we know, who is a bit different. Most of us also had that phase in our life when we thought everything existed, and was possible. That feeling doesn’t go away for some people. When on the first day of high school, a girl in your class stands up and introduces herself in a peculiar way, asking that espers, time travellers, and aliens notify her of their existence, you start to wonder if they are serious or not. Most people would try to make their best first impression in high school, others would try to stay calm and cool, remaining good students in the process. Not this particular girl however. She’s a troublemaker, a rebel, who enjoys humiliating the student council and the school system. Clearly anything but normal. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya takes you through the high school life of Kyon, his bizarre

classmate, Haruhi Suzumiya.

Story

As explained previously, our story starts on the first day of school, when Haruhi Suzumiya introduces herself in a peculiar way. Kyon does not think much of this at first, but soon is thrust into Haruhi’s own SOS Brigade: a club with no purpose, an odd assortment of members, functioning in the literature club room with one member. What follows is the recruitment of various students, all of which are peculiar in their own way. To the surprise of Kyon, all the recruited members meet Haruhi’s requirements, as they are espers, time travellers and aliens. This makes Kyon the only human member of the SOS brigade, since Haruhi is the unknowing god of the universe. According to the other members, god must not know she is god, and be kept entertained, or the universe will fall under chaos. Yet in this case, Haruhi, our god, cannot be kept entertained by television or a puppet theatre. Haruhi has a twisted standard for entertainment, preferring to humiliate others, and accomplish odd or impossible tasks. And so the adventures of the SOS Brigade begin, each being more far-fetched than the last, still keeping the viewer entertained and glued to the screen, waiting for god’s next move. As the episodes for the series were released out of order, the viewer needs to pay attention to what is happening, as some subtle hints give you information on what is to come. However, if you want to watch the series in chronological order, that’s also acceptable. As for filler and extra episodes, the infamous Endless Eight takes the cake, as eight episodes in the series are almost identical, just with different camera angles and slightly different clothing. This is part of the time loop in the latter half of the first season, as the characters are stuck in a 2 week time loop without realizing it.

Characters

As explained previously, our main character, Haruhi Suzumiya, is a bit out of the ordinary. To start the series, she had shoulder-length hair, with a different hairstyle each day, depending on the day of the week. After a conversation with Kyon about her hair, she cut it to around her shoulders. As Haruhi is the god of the universe, she is able to create a closed space, which acts as a new world when being entertained, to avoid harming the real-life world. Haruhi often has ridiculous requests, such as wanting to advertise with a fellow club member in bunny girl suits, and blackmailing the computer club to get a computer for their own clubroom. Next we have our point of view, and narrator, Kyon. As far as main protagonists go, he is one of the least interesting characters in anime. With little to no care for anything, and having a flat and uninteresting personality, he is a good person to have viewers in the point of view of, but nothing else. When a character’s personality is about as interesting as a brick, it’s either for the viewer to put their own feelings into the character, or the production staff did that deliberately to anger viewers. Next is our time traveller, Mikuru Asahina. Mikuru is your typical fanservice girl, with tons of moe shoved into her personality. Innocent, shy, and submissive to Haruhi’s orders. Of course she’s someone Haruhi would pick on. Mikuru is always falling victim to Haruhi’s entertainment needs. From being a bunny girl advertiser, to being blackmail material for the computer club’s reputation, Mikuru has experience with all of it. Our next character is the alien, Yuki Nagato. Yuki is the kuudere of the series. Cold, silent, and doesn’t show her emotions. As well as being the literature club’s only remaining member, she later falls into the SOS Brigade, even if the only things she does are read and write at an amazing pace. Yuki also has a very computer-like way of thinking, making you wonder what her home planet is like, for her to have such an apparent high intelligence. Finally, we have our esper, Itsuki Koizumi. Itsuki is a “mysterious transfer student”, in the eyes of Haruhi, a perfect match for the SOS Brigade. He is polite, and uses expressive hand gestures when speaking. Itsuki is smiling most of the time, and urges Kyon do the same, to please and entertain Haruhi. Character development is through the series, and can be slightly confusing at times if you are watching the series in release order, but main characters had good back stories, and were enjoyable and entertaining.

Sound

The soundtrack for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was done by Satoru Kosaki, known for works such as the soundtracks for Lucky Star and Oreimo. For being a slice of life, and supernatural show, the soundtrack works well, and has a large variety of tracks for the length of the show’s two seasons. The soundtrack is good background music, and the tone of the music fits the upbeat and light tone of the show. The first opening, Bouken Desho Desho? by Aya Hirano, describes the series perfectly, and is great on its own. As for the dubs, both capture the personalities of the characters perfectly, from Haruhi’s eccentric personality, to Yuki’s silent one.

Animation

The animation for the series was done by Kyoto Animation, known for other works such as Air, and Kanon. For its time, the animation is well done, and hasn’t aged very much since then. After Kyoto Animation did K-On, they did the second season of Haruhi, which incorporated some of the new character design features, courtesy of the K-On phase. The opening and ending animations fit the series well, and the first ending animation of the series, featuring the main characters dancing, became a huge hit. This dance later became part of many other Kyoto Animation shows, and a staple of the time. Nothing took away from the series in terms of animation, so no problems there.

Final Thoughts

Overall, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a fun and entertaining series to watch, but be prepared for things to happen out of the ordinary. Characters are likable, and well developed, (except for the soulless Kyon), the dubs are well done, and the animation has stood up for its time. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters, and my personal enjoyment, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya receives an overall score of 8.4 out of 10, with a recommendation to buy the series rather than streaming it. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is available for legal streaming on Crunchyroll, however it is in release order, so if you want to watch the series in chronological order, you’ll need to jump from the first to second season repeatedly. As for buying options, the series will be available from Funimation in DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami

Tokyo Ghoul Review

If an accident made you no longer human, would you accept it? Being no longer human has now become a popular concept in stories around the world, yet we don’t fully grasp what the consequences would be. Imagine yourself as a college student, on a date with the person of your dreams, only to be half turned into a species whose diet consists of human flesh, where to survive you need to think about who will survive, and who will die by your hands. How would you cope with such a thing? Most people would be scared out of their minds, and die from insanity and starvation. But others will accept who they are, and live life to its fullest. In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, human-eating carnivores called ghouls live intertwined in society, being almost unrecognisable against the human population. One student’s world, is turned inside out, and become the tragedy that is, Tokyo Ghoul.

Story

The story of Tokyo Ghoul revolves around our main protagonist, Ken Kaneki. Kaneki is your typical college student, when he goes on a date with the book-lover, Rize Kamishiro, only to discover that Rize is in fact, a ghoul. However, plans backfire, and Rize is seen die under a fallen construction beam after a building collapsed. With major injuries dealt from Rize and the falling debris, Kaneki goes through several organ transplants, several of which were originally from Rize’s body. After the organ transplants, Kaneki discovers that he is no longer human, and that the transplants gave him a ghoul’s abilities, and characteristics, one of which being a ghoul’s need to consume human flesh. He soon discovers a community of ghouls at his local coffee shop, Anteiku, where they help him get accustomed and accept his new life. With the Commission of Counter Ghoul, or CCG hunting them down, it’s only a matter of time before the Ghouls start to strike back. Anteiku is home to a multitude of ghouls, one of which being Touka Kirishima. She is helpful towards Kaneki with his troubles, and forming his identity as a ghoul. Ghouls have mainly human-like features, in addition to their kakugan, or their eyes turning black and red, and kagune, a ghoul’s predatory organ, serving as weapons or claws.

Characters

Kaneki is a college freshman, and is a gentle and optimistic individual most of the time. He struggles to cope with his ghoul characteristics at first, but learns to accept them, and live life as a ghoul. With Kaneki being a half-ghoul, he only has one kakugan, which he covers with a medical eyepatch to avoid being classified as a ghoul and hunted by the CCG. He also has Rize’s kagune, due to the organ transplant, sometimes getting him compared to Rize. For protection, Kaneki wears a black gimp mask, with a lipless grin, to avoid being identified in ghoul form. Kaneki is a literature enthusiast, is not very athletic, and scrawny for his age, however he still has a strong will, and is able to fight well when he needs to, due to Yomo teaching him how to fight. Due to his one kakugan, he is often referred to as a one-eyed ghoul, which are more powerful than normal ghouls. Next we have Touka Kirishima, one of the ghouls at Anteiku. Touka has a slightly rash attitude, coming from being hardworking with a ghoul and human identity. She met Kaneki when he was struggling to eat for the first time, and helped him through his troubles as a ghoul. Touka is caring, calm and helpful most of the time, though sometimes being cold towards others such as Nishiki and Tsukiyama due to past experiences with them. She has an Ukaku type kagune, and is seen with a white rabbit mask, a pink wig, and a long black cloak during battle, earning her the nickname, “Rabbit”, with the CCG. Touka tries hard to blend into society, for example, eating human food when her friends offer some, but sometimes getting sick later as a result, and is the type of person you would not guess is a ghoul, due to her being a cute worker at Anteiku, as described by Kaneki’s friend Hideyoshi Nagachika. Of course, in the CCG, there is the ghoul-hunting duo, Kureo Mado, and Koutarou Amon. They are both determined to catch the ghouls and capture their kagune, however, Amon shows some curiosity towards the ghouls through the series, after investigating them for some time. Mado on the other hand, has a great amount of experience, and wants to defeat and eradicate the ghouls at all costs. There are many more side characters, including other members of Anteiku, other CCG members, and humans through the story.

Sound

The soundtrack for the series was done by Yutaka Yamada, known for composing the soundtrack for the drama Marumo no Okite with Hiroyuki Sawano. The pre-released tracks, and the music through the series is well done, and fits the tone well. Although only two of the tracks in the OST, the opening and ending have been released, they all fit the series well, and reflect characters through the music. With the promise of a second season in January 2015, the OST may be released after the 2nd season is over, but no release date has been confirmed as of now. Special mentions to the opening Unravel, by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, as the lyrics and music fit the main character, Kaneki perfectly. The instrumentals were dramatic and great to listen to with the violin, and are good background music for studying or reading manga.

Animation

The animation for the series was done by Studio Perriot, known for works such as Tegami Bachi, Naruto and Bleach. Although the animation was not the best out there, it worked well for the series as a whole, and was not jarring in the least. No surprise CG monsters this time around. The character designs were well done, however if there was more detailing done with the characters, (ex. gradients), that would have helped. The backgrounds were well done, and the animation for the opening reflected the show well. Several art pieces looked similar to the manga, which ended up adding to the beauty of the series in the endings, and layouts placed at the end of most episodes were nice to see. The short animation sequences at the end of some episodes were fun to watch, and they provided a possible scenario for the characters, as a nice way to tell viewers to wait for the next episode the following week.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Tokyo Ghoul is a great anime to watch, mainly for the story and characters. Although the story felt slightly rushed near the end of the short 12 episode series, it is enjoyable, and with a second season announced for January 2015, there are high hopes for the sequel. Nothing hindered the series too badly, and it is a solid series through out. So, considering the categories of sound, animation, story, characters, and my personal enjoyment, the summer 2014 anime Tokyo Ghoul receives an overall score of 9.08 out of 10 and a recommendation to buy rather than stream. The series is available for legal streaming on Funimation’s website, with DVD and Blu-Ray releases to come soon.

And that’s a wrap up, thank you for reading. Reviews will be posted daily through the month of November, so stay tuned!

-Takami