Anime review: "Genshiken Nidaime"

I have watched the original first few seasons of "Genshiken" six years ago. I forgot much of it, but I remember it was one of my favorite anime in that time. When I saw a new season is coming up, I was of course very interested and watched it as soon as I got the opportunity.

"Genshiken Nidaime" takes a year after the last part. All original cast has a role in this one, but more focus is those still in college and formally in Genshiken (Ogiue, Ohno, Sue, Kuchiki) and three new characters Hato, Yajima and Yoshitake. In the first episode it turns out that all member of the new Genshiken, except Kuchiki, are girls in love it BL (boy love), or "rotten girls"...

There is no point in going deeply in the plot of "Genshiken Nidaime" because it is not a series with real plot. "Genshiken" was always focused more on daily or school life of characters and their relationship. The difference between the previous seasons and this one is that here there is a big focus on subjects like boy love, cross-dressing and similar. "Genshiken" always touched similar topics, but not in such way. It didn't bothered me, but nor did I find it very compelling. There was a lot of talk about bullying and accepting different people.

A big focus is put on relationship between the new character Hato and Madarame, and his obsession with Kasukabe. There is a good scene and resolution between her and Madarame that I think all the old fans will like. I am sidestepping talking much about the character because there are few surprises and I don't want to reveal any spoilers.

As I said, I don't remember much about the original, but I think that visually it was even better than this one. "Genshiken Nidaime" has unattractive design and animation. Voice acting was good, but there was no other attractive music. I think the production was poor. Also, I don't remember the original having so much fanservice.

For conclusion... If you haven't watched the original "Genhiken" and you like daily life and otaku anime, you definitely need to watch it. As for "Genshiken Nidaime", it is for the fans who wants the continuity and they will find it good. But I think that even the most avid fans will find it poorer that the original.

Anime review: "Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica"

"Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica", or "Madoka Magica" hereafter, is not a show I would usually be attracted to, at least considering the style of its animation and its cover-picture on AniDB. Therefore, I pretty much unintentionally avoided it two years ago when it came out. I also avoided it the year later when it got several awards for the pass year... But after watching other high-rated anime, "Madoka Magica" kept jumping out on first places and getting nice reviews, so I finally decided to give it a try.

As I said, "Madoka Magica" at first looks as a typical shoujo action anime with magical girls (mahou shoujo): cute flat-chested and silly/clumsy protagonist, cute uniforms, lots of pink, lace and winking.... Setting include middle-school girls who enter a contract with some kind of cute-cat-look-a-like demon who gives them magical powers and a free-wish while they in return have to fight evil "witches" (nightmares) who attack innocent men and women...

Well, while it certainly has elements of mahou shoujo anime and it looks like one, "Madoka Magica" hides a big surprise for its viewers: it is actually a very powerful seinen tragedy! While it is a bit angsty toward end, that is to be expected of such anime, and the complete reversal of expectations negates any negative experience...

As you noticed, I am trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can. But I just can't avoid talking about the main villain... First, you really don't expect her to be a villain, especially considering her looks. Secondly, he is really a psychological masterpiece! It is scary how good she is at being passive-aggressive and manipulative toward an innocent girl... I am fan of grittiness, but there are some lines you just don't cross...

As I said, it is really a tragedy - it becomes evident after all that Mami's happy talk. And definitely it is seinen: the more Homura tries to do what is right, the worse it gets.

Other remarking sides of this anime are the visual side and the music. The music is very good, including a song by Kalafina. The show has nice vibrant colors, which together with intense music and the action at the beginning, made me like this anime instantly. As I said, design of character is typically shoujo, but this you just have to accept. Things change when they enter the "witch domain", where it looks like some kind of patchwork and it is very interesting. There are 12 episodes totally.

All in all, "Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica" was a pretty good surprise, but a kind of that I would recommend mostly to those who like seinen, and potentially josei anime. I hope those will forgive me my little misdirection in review and be thankful for it later.

Anime review: "Bakuman", third season

Few days ago I finished watching third and last season of "Bakuman", adapted from manga about drawing manga.

This season continues "Bakuman" plot where it left in previous season. Mashiro and Takagi have finally made a manga they are satisfied with (PCP - Perfect Crime Party) and they struggle to make it better not to lose their place in Shounen Jack. They have not lost their dream of getting an anime adaptation, so Mashiro can marry his love Miho (a condition set in middle school). Takagi is supported by his wife Kaya (also met in middle school), while two of them compete against other manga-artist present in Shounen Jack, most of them familiar from previous seasons, but with some additions.

This season if a bit different from previous two (if I remember correctly) by being more episodic - there are several arcs that are almost independent between them (especially Nanaime's). But by and large, there are no much changes from first and second seasons, so if you are a fan of "Bakuman", you will be more that satisfied with it.

I cannot be sure because I haven't read manga, but it feels a bit rushed in places, like they had to squeeze too much material in it. But at least the pace is good and there is no dragging... Ending is as expected, but very solid. And I like how it is clearly showed that Mashiro and Takagi won't lose their motivation, even though they fulfilled their dreams. It is interesting how the author succeeded in having an shounen battle-anime feel when the story couldn't be less apart from such.

Characters stay the best part of "Bakuman". As I said, there are no many new additions, but we got to know older ones much more, and there are some changes in their relationships. Niizuma, who is on one hand very funny, improbable and exaggerated character, is shown to be very dedicated and consistent. I like how Hiramaru gets more serious, even though he is still hilarious - and Joshida makes him a great pairing. Also, we got a bit of romance, spread throughout the anime. Rest of the characters are also solid (Fukuda, Aoki, etc.).

It was very nice to see some modern mobile phones, and android references, too. But that can be expected since this anime was finished a year ago and is set in present.

The worst part of "Bakuman" is really bad and old-looking style of characters and drawings. Thankfully, this is character- and story-driven anime, so it doesn't matter much. Interesting how we have very poor art, but it becomes good (or at least more detailed) when it comes to manga they are drawing. Voice acting and music is solid, but nothing to praise much. There are 25 episodes in total.

In short, "Bakuman" continues with style and spirit of previous seasons, so if you liked it before, you will like it here also. I would recommend this series to everybody who likes otaku-stuff and daily-life anime, and fans of "Genshiken".

Anime review: "Hyouge Mono"

I don't really remember how or when it started, but I know that I have been eagerly waiting for this show to be subbed for months, maybe even more than a year. I always had a liking for historical-based items (be it books, movies or anime) and "Hyouge Mono" looked like one. On the other hand, I had some similar expectations from "Sengoku Basara" (which disappointed me very, very much) and even more so from "Souten Kouro" (which took a completely different direction than I expected). But "Hyouge Mono" fitted those expectations perfectly: a complex and deeply historical anime with a bunch of characters and realistic details.

"Hyouge Mono" is set on the eve of Sengoku period in Japan, starting somewhere in last years of rule of Oda Nobunaga. In the anime we follow the important events in Japan's history for next ten years, including the wars, politics and cultural life. This is seen primary from the eyes of Furuta Sasuke, who starts as a lowly vassal to Oda Nobunaga. What differentiates Furuta from bunch of other warriors and vassals is that he is actually more of an aesthete than a warrior. But to enjoy life of an aesthete, one needs to have money. Luckily for him, aesthetes, especially those interested in the way of tea, are on the rise in this time...

Sengoku period is a very turbulent time for Japan, a time of constant warring before final unification of Japan. Of course, such times gave rise to many popular warriors and leaders, like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu (to name the most prominent). And as such, it is a ripe pool of ideas for anime.

There are several obvious and important aspects that make this anime different from your usual one. First one is that Furuta is in no way the main character - the show doesn't actually have one. Furuta is only the means through which we follow the events, plot and other characters. He is not even an important man, especially at the beginning of the show, and he has to bend toward the will of others. In the end, he is just a conveniently placed close to important people with small influence on the events. This is a somewhat common occurrence in books (let's only mention Guy Gavriel Kay, who use it all the time), but I don't remember seeing it in anime much (maybe in few josei anime). Actually, there is even less focus of Furuta in later parts of anime.

Secondly, it cannot be said that this anime has a plot in classical sense. We are suddenly immersed in an ongoing world full of events, we follow it for some time (10 years and 39 episodes) and then we leave it without the feel on conclusion you have when some show is finished. At one time, somewhere around 25th episode, I have made a note "totally don't know where the plot is going", because I expected first part to be the introduction and second the real revelation of the story, but I was wrong.

And third, the biggest difference is the level of historical accuracy and details. In my 200+ anime that I have watched, I don't remember ever watching such anime. I can't say that I am a student of Japanese history, since most that I know about it came from common knowledge, anime, Wikipedia and articles on Internet and magazines. There is even a warning at the start of every episode that this is a work of fiction. But on the other hand, every character, important event and even things and concepts can be found on Wikipedia or other online encyclopedia. Yes, a lots of events, or better said, reasons behind events are made more dramatic or romantic (not in sense of love), but nevertheless, the amount of accurate historical details is astounding. Interesting, characters even speak with slightly archaic speech, and subtitles that I had reflected that.

Of course, the theme of anime is strange also: the Japanese tea ceremony. I never encountered this before, and I thought it to be completely fabricated. I was very surprised when I went to Wikipedia and found out that it isn't. This gives the anime a somewhat slow and serious, but at the same time funny aspect. Furuta's tea-obsession looks ridiculous from our perspective, but I see it was a serious business at the time. There is a lot of details about tea ceremonies and talk about elegance and aesthetics. If there is a message that this anime wants to convey, then it is something like: "Always do your best in everything, but never fret about it - be elegant and relaxed". This is evident for Furuta's character that is, as I said, obsessed, pretentious and overeager to become famous as aesthete, even contrary to his sincere liking of the way of tea. Later he grows much and becomes more relaxed and enjoys the tea and beauty for itself.

This brings us to another topic: characters. There is really a bunch of them and it takes time to become familiar with them (especially since lot of them change - this is war, after all). It helps if you are familiar with the Sengoku period. They change appearance, clothes, hairstyles. But more important, they really change during the anime. Furuta, Rikyu, Hashiba - at the end, they are very different people from those who they were when we met them. I even like them more in the second part of the show, when they are more mature and relaxed...

Even though "Hyouge Mono" is a serious and historical anime, there is really a lot of humor. A lots of it steam from Furuta's obsession for art pieces, and the faces he makes (I was delightful to see that Troll-face in episode 16, during the shrimp-mongering dance). Also, it is funny when someone pricks his bubble of self-importance. But it is interesting that there is some humor that is not intended toward viewer (so that we laugh at characters), but it is more the humor between the characters so the viewer can laugh with them (like when Furuta steals the tea-jar lid). On the other hand, it is easily to forget that this funny little man is actually a warrior and veteran but we are reminded of that on few occasions.

The ending was really something. It was a slow rise during few episodes to a glorious culmination - a powerful and emotional ending. It was delighted to see that mange that anime is based upon is still ongoing - which means I can hope for eventual sequel.

I was a bit disappointed by Date Masamune's appearance and mannerism, who looks like he escaped from "Sengoku Basara". On the other hand, he was very funny, and in the end did fit with the rest of characters.

Animation and colors in nothing over the top, but it is very good. Design of characters and care for details (I mention clothes and hairstyles) are on the other hand superb. As is the voice-acting.

It's been a long time since I gave some anime 10 on AniDB (I gave them all around when I was younger), but "Hyouge Mono" definitely deserves it: complex and detailed, historically based with realistic characters, no good guys, no main character, almost a slice-of-life in turbulent times - this really an unique seinen anime. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be deservedly appreciated because it will be too hard for majority of viewers. But if you consider yourself a fan of seinen or historical anime, give this a try.

Anime review: "Nazo no Kanojo X"

I regularly (once a month or so) browse AniDB calendar to see prospective candidates for watching and add them to my wishlist. So when I need to pick some anime, I go to my wishlist, filter it to show only finished series and then choose one that looks the best. AniDB allows choosing a priority for watching, red, yellow and green, so I usually first add them as yellow and later upgrade or downgrade them depending on rates and reviews. Such was the case with "Nazo no Kanojo X" (or "Mysterious Girlfriend X"). I first added it, and them my interest started dropping when I saw the ugly front-cover picture and bad rates. But somehow reading the short reviews on its AniDB page persuaded me to give it a chance, since there wasn't any other series I was really interested in.

"Nazo no Kanojo X" starts... Well, both usually and strange. Main character is Tsubaki Akira, a normal second-year high-school boy. He is quite ordinary, without girlfriend, although he would like to have one. At the beginning of the second year, a new transfer student is introduced, Urabe Mikoto, and is placed on seat next to Tsubaki. He initially tries to be friendly to the new girl, but she turns out to be a strange and quiet loner, ignoring Tsubaki and literally everybody else in class, spending all free time sleeping at her seat. After the first shock, Tsubaki gets used to this and she just melts to the background of class. Until one day! Returning suddenly one day to the classroom, Tsubaki finds her sleeping later, and after waking her up, she notices a pool of drool left on her table. Tsubaki, being a horny teenage boy, disturbed by noticing how pretty actually Urabe is, decides to lick her drool. He feels shocked and ashamed by his behavior, but forgets about it soon. Next day he has a strange dream about her, and few days later he gets a fever and has to stay at home. He is surprised when Urabe visits him after school, uncovers his licking of her drool, and tells him that from now on he is addicted to her drool and that they now share a bond....

Well, this is not the strangest premise of romance anime I have ever heard. Just going through my list on AniDB ("Bakuman", "Itazura na Kiss", "Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou", "NHK ni Youkoso!"... And I will not even start with those based on dating-sims) reveals Japanese fondness of bizarre reasons for coupling two persons, but "Nazo no Kanojo X" definitely has one of the more nauseating - drool. But if you are not very squeamish, don't be thwarted by this seemingly disgusting premise, because "Nazo no Kanojo X" is one of better anime I have watched this year and is definitely underrated. Although this sounds like a recipe for ecchi anime, it is not: this is a seinen romantic comedy. There is some fan-service (panties shots, boing-boing), but nothing over the top; girls are sometimes shown naked, but their bodies are without features, only silhouettes. I just realized that this anime is very similar to "Nisemonogatari": even though there is a lot (and in "Nisemonogatari", a really lot) of sexual innuendo, this is not a primary point of this anime. If you are watching either of this anime for fan-service or arousal, you are completely missing their points. There is also a noticeable supernatural streak in here, although it is taken for granted. Any yes, the show justifies its name ("Mysterious Girlfriend"), because there is a lot to reveal yet about Urabe.

"Nazo no Kanojo" is definitely a seinen anime. Although there is a lot of blushing, nosebleeds, and drooling, as you could expect from anime romance comedy, it is the characters that make this a real seinen anime. By this I mean that they are not one-dimensional and perfect: they are bizarre, but they are also realistic. I know that this sounds like two opposites, but if you are a fan of anime, you know what I mean. For example, Harima from "School Rumble" if unrealistic idiot (I don't mean this derisive, he is one of my favorite character ever); Tsubaki on the other hand is quite realistic idiot. He is a naive/innocent/goffy like a teenage boy that he actually is. Urabe, who is on one side completely bizarre character, on the other hand is reasonable and multifaceted character, which is able to recognize the flaws in others and her, but she is also able to accept them as part of people. Tsubaki is the main character and we see the story mostly from his POV and hear his thoughts, but there is lots of Urabe POV's and inner observations. Both of them are strangely shy. Except them, there is only few other characters in series and they are the usual one-dimensional (but funny) anime characters.

Jokes in the anime are good, and they are not of laugh-out-loud type and more focus is put one romance than comedy. And of course, all is all mixed with this strange topic of sharing drool (and not by kissing).

At the beginning, I was almost put off be "old-school" design of characters, something that I connect with older anime like "Akira" or "Golden Boy", but I soon get used to it. "Nazo no Kanojo X" actually has a pretty good animation, design of characters and vivid colors, which is especially seen in Tsubaki's dreams, which are very imaginative and impressive. The show has pretty good sounds and background music. Two other things I appreciate: people wear different clothes and even though at first it looks like Tsubaki lives alone with his sister, it is later shown that this is not true. There are 13 episodes in series and there is an additional OVA, which is actually a regular episode. Manga is still on-going and I hope that there will be a second season some time in future.

In conclusion, "Nazo no Kanojo X" is definitely an underrated anime, but I can understand this because it belongs to not the most popular category and has an off-putting element. But if you are into more serious romance comedy (like "Lovely Complex" or "Bakemonogatari") and are not particularly nauseous, I would recommend not to skip this anime.

Anime review: "Moyashimon"

As I already said, I think this is a poor anime year. I am not really sure how I found this anime, since it is from 2007 and it doesn't have some great rating, but as I didn't have anything else to watch, I decided to give it a try.

"Moyashimon" is based on interesting idea, and when you read its short description on AniDB, you can get a completely wrong idea about it. Nominally, the story is about a boy named Sawaki who can actually see microbes: not as they look when you look at them with microscope, but as a kind cute little "monsters" who communicate with him. He is just entering Agricultural college with his childhood Kei, and both of them are conscripted by famous (but little wacky) professor Itsuki and his attractive assistant Hasegawa, to help them in their research.

Well, although all this has its place in this anime, at the same time this is a slapstick comedy about college life, sake and growing up, including a lot of sexual innuendo and fan-service moments. There is even few episodes where microbe don't even appear (The Spring Festival). Every episode starts with the recap of the previous one, there is normal OP and ED, and at the end there is a short educational movie about bacteria, so the real action last even less than in normal anime. You are right to ask how all this stuff fits in 11 short episodes. The answer is that it doesn't! The anime doesn't really have an ending and all this feels more like an introduction than a real season. Considering that there is a second season of anime and that manga is still ongoing, this is maybe even true. Another problem is the non-existing over-all plot; there is few threads started, but they are strangely left unfinished and unexplained.

On the other hand, anime is full of good jokes and interesting characters. Well, humor is actually pretty individual thing: if you find "being picked as the lucky student to perform cow's ovaries examination" funny, you could like this anime. As I said, there is lot of sexual jokes, but nothing really crass. Characters are one-dimensional and unreal, but they work well together. "Moyashimon" has a strong educational streak about microbes, which you either like or hate.

One of the weaker points of this anime is the design of characters. Few of them are designed purely slapstick, but even those who are drawn "real" are very unimaginative and... Ugly is a bit too strong word, but non-pretty. Colors are also pretty bland, which is a big negative point for me. On the other hand, a big positive point is that people change clothes regularly. I really can't say anything, being positive or negative, about the sound and music.

All in all, "Moyashimon" is good anime, with some interesting setting and good jokes, definitely is not a hit series, owing to its lack of proper story or direction. Even if you find this interesting, I would recommend looking for a review of second season before starting with the first one.

Anime review: "The Flower We Saw That Day"

Sometime around last weekend I finished watching "The Flower We Saw That Day" (or "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai"). I really don't know how I missed noticing this anime before, nor do I really remember how I found it - I am usually more organized about this things. Before watching, I had a vague impression of being something similar to "Hachimitsu to Clover".

So, "The Flower We Saw That Day" is a story about a formal group of friends, told mainly from the story of Yadomi Jinta (or Jintan for friends). When they were little, Jintan, Anaru, Jukiatsu, Tsuruko, Poppo and Menma were best friends, a group called "Super Peace Busters". But after an accident where Menma lost her life made the group grow apart. But life got even worse for Jintan: soon after he lost her mother due to illness, which turned him into hikikomori, not going to school and rarely leaving his house. But one hot day of summer, looking as she would look if she was alive, Menma appears in his house visible only to him, and asks him to fulfill her wish. A wish that will need him to reform the former group - which will not prove easy...


In basis, this anime is a melodramatic story about group of young people, mixed with daily life and romance categories. So yes, it is pretty much similar to "Hachimitsu to Clover", probably the top-most reference in such type of anime. I was hooked up from the first episode, which is very dynamic and strange at first. One difference is that it is a bit more focused on male audience - or maybe it would be better to say that it is less focused on women audience - making this a seinen anime. The second difference is much more important - it involves super-natural element, character of Menma. Anime plays pretty well with this concept - is it really Menma's ghost that only Jintan can see, or is it just his stress, as he tends to believe. I really like this this game, so I was very disappointed when they revealed the truth around the middle of the show. There is a lot of drama and revelations, which are mostly not easily predictable.


Anime jumps regularly between the present and the past, a time of childhood of "Super Peace Busters". All characters are pretty well developed, the main six and few supportive. I really like when they invest in making characters wear different sets of clothes!! Also, it is obvious that they have a life out of scope of plot - they have part-time jobs, hobbies...  


Animation is pretty good and detailed, and I once again compliment of design of characters, and especially their clothes. Voices were also good, but I can't say I remembered much of OP and ED songs. There are 11 episodes, which is perfect - they would probably become over-dramatic if they stretched it to more episodes. This way episodes stay very intense. Also, ending is left somewhat undecided, which makes you wish for another episode telling what happened after - but I don't think there is a room for sequel.


"The Flower We Saw That Day" is an anime for the fans of "Hachimitsu to Clover" or for those who liked "Clannad" or "Ef - a Tale of Memories" and now want something more serious. It has a nice plot, interesting and deep characters, a bit of supernatural and tragedy. It is not the best in genre, but I don't think it will disappoint anybody who is a fan of such anime - at the contrary!

Anime review: "Fate/Zero" 2012

Last week I finished watching "Fate/Zero (2012)". I don't think there was any real reason to split this in two seasons because it directly continues first, unfinished season that ends in cliffhanger. These two should be watched together, as one anime with 25 episodes - even the numbers of episodes confirm this.

(some cool picture I accidentally found)

As I said in my first review, it is a fighting anime featuring a contest for Holy Grail between 7 pairs of Masters and Servants. It includes magic associations and mages, Church, legendary and real heroes (Gilgamesh, Alexander the Great, "King Arthur"), mercenaries with guns, and many other elements. The premise is simple, but plot is complex (for an anime) and fast, full of convoluted plans, and it is interesting to follow.

This second part of "Fate/Zero" anime is much more intense than the first one, and it actually contains some real fights between Servants - all fights in first part ended in draw or were interrupted. I already said that it is much faster than first, and it is also much more violent and crueler. I was surprised several times with what happened to characters, especially with Emiya Kiritsugu in his recollections. Characters are the same and there are no new additions, but we learn more about history of few of them. I was very pleased and surprised with the ending - also, I found the scene with nude Gilgamesh quite hilarious.


This part finally explains the connection between "Fate/Zero" and "Fate/Stay Night", but you can learn even more from Wikipedia article. I also caught some references to "Kara no Kyoukai".


Anime retains high visual and audio standards set by first part and are really good. I was impressed how CGI was inoffensive (I usually hate when they use CGI of generate large number of doll-like soldiers...).


All in all, everything good I said about first part, stays good in second or gets even better. "Fate/Zero" (both parts) is one of best fighting anime I watched, a superb dark fantasy set in contemporary setting and combined with much violence and action, all packed in impressive animation - as its over-9.00 AniDB rating proves.

Manga review: "Black Lagoon"

Last week I've been reading "Black Lagoon" manga. I quite liked first two season of the anime when I watched it few years ago. And I liked "Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail" few months ago. It was then when I decided to read manga.

"Black Lagoon" is a girls-with-guns action manga, one of the popular ones. Its main characters are the crew of small boat named "Black Lagoon" stationed in Roanapur - imagined city in south-east Asia, a criminal den full of criminal organizations, prostitutes, where everybody carries a gun. Despite all this violence, Roanapur has some romantic appeal, mostly thanks to the feeling the nevertheless how low all these people are, there are some things that are just not done. You know, honor between thieves (and murderers, torturers, terrorists...) - even though this notion will be broken from time to time. Crew is led by Dutch, an ex-soldier that is respected for his cool head. Benny is their specialist for hacking, communication, technical stuff and so on. And then there is Revy "Two Hands", hot-headed girls with two guns and knowledge how to use them. After some problems with their last job (they do mostly courier jobs for other organizations), they are joined by Rock (main characters), an average Japanese salary-man that gets abandoned by his company in tough situation.

The plot consists of episodes that last several chapters (or episodes in the anime adaptation), and it deal mostly with members of different organizations in Roanapur: Hotel Moscow (Russian ex-soldiers), Triads, Mafia, Church of Violence, South-American Cartels, etc. Or with their targets and enemies. Of course, dynamic between crew members plays a lot of importance in this series, and especially between Revy and Rock.

This is a seinen manga with shounen realization. Meaning that while action and desing and abilities of characters are typically shounen (gunfights that destroy building, killers with chainsaws, unstoppable killer-maids...), plot and characters are seinen. There is lots of angst and emotional pain with these people. I wouldn't say that plot is very complex, but it has some clever tricks and occasional surprises that reveal nicely developed setting. The atmosphere is quite dark and there is a lot violence - quite appalling violence, sometimes.

The above description can be applied on both manga and anime. But while I really like anime, reading manga was a mistake. Not that manga is bad, but it has no advantage over anime. Anime was kept completely accurate to the manga, so there was nothing new for me to find out. What worse, I somehow mistakenly understood that manga continues the story after anime, which was not true - at this point there are only few chapters that happen after the events in anime. And anime looks 10 times better because it adds colors. The art in manga was OK, but nothing impressive, which cannot be said for anime. Also, the audio side in anime was done perfectly.

Also, the scanlations I have read were not very good - I often found the conversation confusing.

Up till now, every time I've read manga that the anime I already watched ("Berserk", "Claymore", "Gantz", "Shigurui", "Hellsing"...) was adapted from, I enjoyed it. This time this wasn't the case. So, my recommendation is that if you want to familiarize to "Black Lagoon", you should better skip the manga and go straight for anime. Anime I would recommend to everybody who likes seinen action anime, especially to those who like it dark and violent. If you watched it already, there is no reason for you to read manga.

Anime review: "Nisemonogatari"

Huh, I just checked, it was more than two years since I have watched "Bakemonogatari". I thought I was last year... Anyway, "Bakemonogatari" - one of my favorite anime. I was, of course, thrilled when I read that a sequel, "Nisemonogatari", is coming out. But, recently, just few weeks ago, I read a discussion on AniDB where people compared BMG and NMG, and many complained that the latter was too much ecchi?!?! I didn't like this, but I hoped for the best.

Now, after finally watching "Nisemonogatari", I must say I that this is one strange anime, even stranger that "Bakemonogatari", and I am not sure I can express my opinion of it coherently. Actually, I am not really sure even what my full opinion is. But on the other hand, let it be noted that I enjoyed it very much and I gave it 9 out of 10 on AniDB.

Anyway, in topic there are no much differences between BMG and NMG. We still follow Araragi Koyomi helping different people (well, girls), overcome their problems connected to supernatural creatures from Japanese and other mythology. As before, this anime consist 95% of talking, whether in dialog or monolog. It is like BMG just took a hiatus from airing and now continued. It has two cases/stories, both involving Koyomi's sisters, Karen and Tsukihi. And this time, difference between real and fake makes a large deal. Thus the name: Bakemonogatari = Ghost Story; Nisemonogatari = Story about pretending (or something close).

As with BMG, where we were plunged into setting without much explanation who is who and what happened previously (and some things obviously did happen before), some events have happened between BMG and NBM that are often referenced but not really explained. Oshino is gone somewhere and Shinobu plays a much, much larger role (and a great one). From one side, I hate not knowing what is going on here, but on the other hand, I really like this way of delivering information - here are the references and you pick what you can. It really entices me to watch new sequels just to find more references, although I will probably end up with more questions than answers (kind of like "Malazan Book of the Fallen"). What I should have done was to watch BMG again before I started watching this sequel, although this is not guarantee that my sense of confusion would me weaker.

So, you are now probably wondering where the strange part is. Well, I am pretty much sure that "Bakemonogatari" didn't revolve around sex as much as "Nisemonogatari". And while my memory regarding this can be somewhat faulty, I am positive that it didn't include any incest. Well, this is not hentai and there is no real incest, but innuendo is quite strong. And not only incest, anime plays with other fetishes like lolicon and harem. There is also lots of fanservice. But all this doesn't feel like ecchi anime, but more like the anime mock it. I am not really sure how to explain this. Also, I presume that this all would sound strange to someone not into anime, so don't even try to tackle this anime if you are a beginner.

There are few things I would like to highlight. First, I would like to see more of Senjougahara. I found her character fascinating in first season - this time she felt much subdued. On the other hand, Shinobu, who played a marginal role in BMG, was the top character for me this time. And I especially liked the ending...

There is not really much I can say in conclusion. Even if you loved "Bakemonogatari", there is no guarantee that you will like "Nisemonogatari" (contrary is true - if you hated BMG, you will hate NMG, too). High quality is still here, just that it have taken some new, strange routes - only for those with acquired taste.

Some time later...

Well, it turns out I was wrong: there are people who hated BMG, and liked NMG. I just read the recommendations on AniDB page of "Nisemonogatari" and there are no two opinions alike. Some hate it because it's too much like BMG; others love it because of it. Some love it because it's not like BMG; others hate it because of it?! To some it's too ecchi, to other it's not enough... As I said, a strange anime.

Anime review: "Steins Gate"

I noticed "Steins Gate" several times while searching for anime I could watch, but I didn't like the the fact that it was adapted from dating-sim, and I thought the premise too goofy (something about micro-wave and time-machines). Also, I wrongly understood that there was no overall story, but that it was episodic anime. But few weeks ago I didn't have anything else to watch and somewhere on AnimeNewsNetwork read something about "Steins Gate being the best anime of the season", so I decided to give it a try after all. And it was bingo!

Main character, one Okabe Rintarou, is an idiot, plainly said. He is an almost grown man, constantly wearing a lab-coat and hangs in some room he calls his laboratory with two his friends (male hacker Daru and female childhood friend Mayuri) where they "invent" useless and usually not-working gadgets. More so, he calls himself Houin Kyoma, a mad scientist and next evil overlord. When he is in public, he constantly talks to his turned-off mobile phone, pretending he is chased by some Organization and fantasying improbable scenarios. But what happens when one of his crazy theories turns out to be the truth, and a fixed-up microwave in their apartment is really a time-machine?

"Steins Gate" starts quite slow and nothing much happens in first couple of episodes, but after that it turns in one of the best time-travelling works I ever watched. Sure, if you are a moderate science-fan, you will be able to find holes and inconsistencies in their theories. But if you are able to go with the flow, you will find this a great anime about consequences implications of time travel. I really liked how they used modern and popular references, like CERN and LHC. What differentiates this anime from similar is that they really explore the implications of time traveling, not just as a instrument of plot, but from psychological and philosophical side - what happens to time-lines he travels from, how many times can someone watch the same bad thing happens, how lonely is to meet persons again and again when they have no recollections of you, and so on. This is a kind of animated mix of "Groundhog Day" and "Conspiracy Theory"

Story is quite good, fast and it changes several times. After initial slow start, you get several fun episodes where they discover abilities of their time-machine and here start the twists. Surprisingly, episodes after 10th become quite dark and serious, not something what I would expect at the start. My worst part of the anime was three or four episodes toward the end (where Okabe has to cancel the effects of his actions) - they are too much like dating-sim and not much happens. But ending itself, two last episodes, is simply great.

Of course, all characters are good, but Okabe is quite something. You just have to love his way of speaking - pretentious rambling, making up funny names for others (and usually guessing the right spot), his "mad scientist" laugh... On the other hand, during the course of anime he proves himself surprisingly grown up, serious and caring. But fear not, he doesn't lose his goofiness. He is the primary generator of humor and are quite many funny scenes. Most of the other characters (except Daru and one other guy) are of course young girls - this was made after dating-sim after all. They are not so much developed as Okabe and they are typical characters you would expect from such anime, but this doesn't mean they are bad - on the contrary.

Visual side of the anime is good, but nothing impressive. I did like the voices of characters, especially Okabe's.

In the end, I just want to say that you must not think less of "Steins Gate" for being adapted from dating-sim - it is one full-blooded seinen anime, with great plot and character development, suitable for anybody. Consider it especially if you like harder sci-fi.

Anime review: "Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail"

I have had "Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail" in wish-list since it came out more than half a year ago, but I couldn't find a decent sub to watch it. I finally watched it for almost two weeks ago, now, but didn't have the time to write the review.

I find it very difficult to write this post. First, this is a OVA with five episode, 35 minutes each - not even a full season. Second, it is a third season - those who watched first two will know what to expect, and those who didn't should first watch these two. Third, I watched the second season quite some time ago (four years, ago! I just realized!), so I can't say I remember all the details of plot. Anyway, I intend to keep this short...

In this third instance of "Black Lagoon" we are dealing with only "one case". Roberta, maid of now dead drug-lord Lovelace from Venezuela is coming to Roanapur to exact her revenge. Since Roberta is most deadly person ever to come to Roanapur, a place already full with deadly people, this agitates current powers in the city: ex-Soviet criminal syndicate, Chinese Triada, Italian Mafia, Columbian Cartel, and everybody else. To this boiling cauldron comes young Garcia Lovelace, son of previous head of familly, to ask Rock, the most un-deadly person in the whole city, to stop Roberta...

"Black Lagoon" tries to win the audience with several highlights: great colors, animation and design of characters (especially women, who are mostly young, beautiful and big-breasted), intense action both, gritty and sometimes shocking humor. This is classical example of the genre "girls with guns" But its biggest advantage in my opinion is the "honor between crooks" concept, You know, blood-crazy killers, drug-dealers and smugglers who would probably sell their mother, who nevertheless subject to some unwritten honor code or greater good - in this case their home-city of Roanapur.

This "season" follows the tone of the second one - more serious and darker that the first one, which was mostly flamboyant action. Story is quite good, although in the end it becomes a bit too convoluted. It involves many of the characters from previous instances. I am not sure, but I think there is some gap between this one and last episodes. Also, I would like to see what relationship between Rock and Revy will come to.

Serious continues being visual and audio impressive as before. I especially liked the ending "song", which was a great version of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".

All in all, "Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail" is a solid continuation of a good series. Those who liked first two seasons, especially the second, will pretty much like this one. And those who haven't should watch one of the classics. If anything, this season persuaded me to read the manga in near future.

Anime review: "Baccano!"

I usually don't do rewatches of anime, but it's been a very long time since I watched it, and I read something about additional episodes, so I decided to give a go. Additionally, it is relatively short (13 episodes without additions) so it was perfect to do something while waiting for my copy of "The Wise Man's Fear" to arrive. I was satisfied with the rewatch, but definitely not these three extra episodes I watched. I will first give a review of original anime, while these "new" episodes will be in separately paragraph.

Best comparison I could come up was that "Baccano!" is the "Pulp Fiction" of anime, happening in time of Prohibition and being even more complicated to watch. Why complicated, you ask? Because it is happening simultaneously in three years (1930, 1931 and 1932), often without distinct separation between them (there are years showing at change of scene in first episodes, but they got rare later), with a big cast and extravagant characters. Central story (year 1931) is the travel of the "Flying Pussyfoot", a transcontinental train arriving for New York. Second story (year 1930) explaining the meeting of some characters, happening in New York. Third story (year 1932) is just a resolution, showing some consequences of of previous events. Take note, these three stories are shown simultaneously, so we know the ending practically from the beginning. But do not be fooled by this: it is very surprising, unpredictable and exceptional anime. I would hate to spoil the revelation of its story for you. Let's just number who does it involves: several confronted gangster and Mafia groups, newspaper agency with informational network that infiltrates high and low, young girls trying to save his (undeserving) older brother, unbelieving duo of klutzy thieves, immortal alchemists older of that 200 years, homunculus, group of kids that steals from Mafia and make bombs, group of sadistic killers led by a man that wants to violently kill whole world (especially those who think they are untouchable), group of people trying to save their immortal leader from government that wants to do tests on him, a man who "know" that he is center of the world, a Rail Traces (a monster that eats trains)...

Plot will at turns looks completely incomprehensible, especially at first. Even though I watched this anime once before, first two episodes were very confusing. But soon you will realize that everything fits into place perfectly. Of course, you will not be able to understand everything, but that is intentionally. It is one of those shows that leave you with myriad of questions and begging for more. As for characters, they are even more flamboyant than the plot. Most of them are criminals, murders and psychopaths, people you wouldn't like to meet at the dark street, but they are extremely likable. The show doesn't have main character/s; instead, you could found yourself a favorite group and root for them, or just simply hope that everyone will see the end alive.

Word of caution, this anime is extreme in one more aspect: violence. And it is very explicit in it, so expect to see blood and bones in large amount. There is even one scene where one of the characters bites off another one's fingers...

About three additional episodes: DO NOT WATCH THEM! Especially if this is your first time watching, because it will ruin the feeling of "Baccano!" for you. Plot is left unfinished with original 13 episodes, but this is how it was intended and it works great that way. Adding these few episodes that explain what happened later and why only badly tries to explain things that are better left to one's imagination. It feels totally cheap: cheap storytelling, cheap animation, cheap design, cheap ending. True, there are few interesting facts to learn here, but I would survive without them. I was especially offended with the way the mauled Vino; they completely ruined my picture of him. New characters are generic and only a cheap imitations of original. So again, do no watch any episodes after 13!

When I was reviewing "Durarara!!", I mentioned that it was written by the same author as "Baccano!", meaning it as a compliment. So the reverse is also true. If you liked "Durarara!!", you should will PROBABLY like "Baccano!", too. It is darker, more violent and more complicated, but the two share the same spirit. "Baccano!" is not anime for everybody, but if you like noir, complicated plots, extravagance and seinen, and don't mind violence for violence's sake, you could like it. But it's definitely worth of try.

Anime review: "Shiki"

After more than three months of forced rest from anime, I watched a new anime, called "Shiki". It was one of the hits of last year, some mystery with vampires, so I was looking forward to watching it. In the end, I was satisfied, although with some reservations.

I will start with the reservations. "Shiki" is a vampire anime, it is clearly from the second episode or so. And it brings absolutely nothing new to the concept! Not one shred of originality (except one detail, revealed in the later parts). It follows all those naive tropes that have been know since original "Dracula", present in books and shows (yeah, I am talking about "Buffy") for century or something like that. I will abstain of revealing them to avoid spoilers. In most cases I would stop watching or reading a work so low on originality very early... Anyway, anime takes place in (big) secluded village (or combination of villages) where nothing interesting ever happens. In first episode we meet Megumi, who is not satisfied with this situation, and who daydreams about escaping to big city, preferably with Natsuno, a boy recently arrived from a big city. Things are looking brighter as they have some mysterious rich family settling in. Suddenly, Megumi is found in the woods, with amnesia and signs of anemia. But things don't stop here; next you know, anemia is spreading and local doctor Toshio don't know what to do...

Second thing that come is mind is design of characters. It looks like mix between shounen action anime (on trail of "Bleach" or "Sengoku Basara") and dating sims (e.g. "Clannad"). You can guess people's roles after few seconds of watching. For instance, main character is manly, tall, silent guy in his fifteenth year (coincidely, this description can be applied to second main character, except the difference in years). And for God's sake, that guy has wolf ears on top of his head!!! And I am not even starting with the look of that Kirishiki guy... Vampires all have bad complexion, black eyes with red pupils and long canines... I mean, a little subtlety. Also, most female characters have big breasts and there is some fanservice, just to know what to expect.

Also, after few episodes you get a complete revelation of bad guys, so the mystery part is not very subtle, also.

So why watch this anime, you ask? I can't quite explain it why, but "Shiki" really has good atmosphere, unexpectedly considering all these objections. I watched first four or five episodes in on sitting, on windy evening/night, and turning the lights off before going to sleep wasn't exactly a comfy decision. Even though characters are so clichéd, you nevertheless root for them.

And never mind that some things get explained very early; there are still many things to ponder about. Especially when the view starts to shift to the other set of characters. At the beginning I didn't expect to see any alternating POVs. Ending is quite surprising; I didn't believe they would take it to such extreme. Especially the conclusion of main character and one of main villains... What a bang!

So, all these objections from the start are just some unique quirks of this anime, nothing to really complain about.

On the other hand, there is one serious question/objection that you are able to raise after watching the whole anime: I don't get the moral of this story? I mean, it is questionable does it have any. Position of victims changes from one side of characters to their complete opposites, but without any explanations, redemption or anything similar. I like when characters are grey, but this is not the case; in here black and white just changes the places. On the other hand, it does leave you thinking about it. Why would someone deserve a punishment and why would there been need for effort before redemption? If the authors were aiming at this, they hit the bull's-eye, but I suspect that this was just a side-effect of unclear intentions...

In the end, "Shiki" is good vampire/mystery anime, although not much more than that. I did enjoy it much, and it has good grades at AniDB, so I recommend it to all who like these type of anime. On the other hand, I you never watch it, you won't miss any masterpiece.

A final note: the end is pretty inconclusive. In fact, the end practically begs for sequel, so don't be surprised if one comes out.

Anime review: "Katanagatari"

I´ve noticed "Katanagatari" on AniDB calendar quite early, few months before it started to air. One look at the picture and I judged it a shounen anime for young kids and forgot about it. I browse the calendar quite regularly, so I once noticed two things: unusually high rating (over 8.5 at that time) and that is belongs to seinen category. But it really piqued my interest when I found out it is made by the same author that made "Bakemonogatari", Nishio Ishin.

"Katanagatari" is a surprising anime in many aspects. First a word of warning. This anime has a strong front of shounen anime, even though it is not. And if you watch it as shounen, it is not very good. Judging by comments over the Internet, to some people this anime just didn't sat right. Be of an open mind and watch two-or three episodes before dismissing it.

I won't go deep into the plot. At the beginning of "Katanagatari", an army strategist Togame arrives to an isolated island. This island is a home of last successor of Kyotoryou, a peculiar sword-style that uses no swords at all. He was a savior and a hero in the last rebellion against Shogunate some twenty years ago; he ended exiled on the island because Shogun started to consider him a threat. Instead of him, Togame finds his children Schichika and Nanami. Togame needs help of Kyotoryou to find twelve legendary swords made by Shikizaki Kiki, legendary swords of the Sengoku era. Swords have divine characteristics attributed to them and whoever collects them could present a threat to Shogunate. So Togame decided to preemptively collect them. Her previous helpers, ninja-village of Maniwa and samurai Sabi Hakuhei, both betrayed her when got a possession (or in a possession) of the swords. Although reluctant at the beginning, after being attacked by one Maniwa squad-head, Schichika decides to help Togame, while leaving Nanami of the island (she has weak constitution). This is the main plot; it stays the same one throughout the anime, but it changes many layers. I was thrilled with the plot because it was very surprising. And not in that wild way when author just throw concepts and events... Many things are nicely forshadowed and indicated. So, the plot gets the best grades!

As I said, at first look, anime looks very shounen, like something for younger kids. Animation is very simplified and childish: use of chibi-animation; characters from Naruto look like designed for some seinen drama compared to these ones. Maniwa-corp's members all look like half-human, half-animals; Togame is short girl with three-meter long white hair and Schichika a tall boy wearing only long pants... But I liked it at first sight. For some people, it just rubs the wrong way. The world-building was also very good; I especially liked special skills of Maniwa-corps and of the owners of the swords.

Characters are the best point of "Katanagatari"! At first, you expected to be one-dimensional and cliché. And they are most of the time. But every now and then, they will surprise you by their actual depth. Not revealing too much spoilers, let's just consider Schichika. He is a sword, with no feelings or remorse, killing everyone and anyone at Togame's request. He obeys Togame just because he decided she is appropriate person to command him. But, he is conscious of all this and questions his actions during the course of the show. But, contrary to shounen anime, he doesn't just decided "This is bad! I have to stop killing people". He thinks "Why is killing bad? Is it really wrong of me to use Togame as excuse for my actions? Maybe this is enough as a reason for an existence: being a sword for my owner?" and so on. This is just one example of philosophical questions analyzed in "Katanagatari". Most of the characters ask such questions about their motivations and morality. There was a strange variation of a love story between Togame/Schichika and it really had a unexpected course. Definitely not a shounen, this anime.

"Katanagatari" have some more faces. Humor is an important part of the series. It is achieved mostly partly through dialog, especially between Togame and Shichika.Partly it is done in overall design of the show: it is plainly ridiculous. Also, there are also puns and ecchi scenes, which were done very well. Even though this is a fighting anime, action is really simple and unimportant. Schichika has like seven moves and he shows them in first two episodes. But this is not a bother; action is second here to everything else.

Now, a bitter-sweet point: the fourth episode. If you don't like this episode, you will not like this whole series. This is the best episode of the show and has some really great author-solutions. I will not reveal anything, but after watching it you will be surprised, angry, delighted and scared, trust me! Be prepared to revelation of probably the best evil-character of the year! Even though, its real evilness is very questionable. The bad side of this is the fact that crescendo of the show is somewhere in the middle. And after it follows two somewhat weak episodes. They are not bad, but they are not on the level of those before it. Last few episodes are again good. And the end.... It is something special. I never saw that coming...

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that every episode lasts 50 minutes, so this is actually long as normal 24-episode anime.

My final words about "Katanagatari" are: try it! If you don't like it, I can understand it. But this is one of the best anime of the last year, and people how can appreciate it will be delighted by it. I could talk much more about it, but I wouldn't like to reveal anything, because each surprise (and there are many of them) is worth of it.

Anime review: "Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror"

I stumbled across this anime few times before, but first time I seriously considered watching it was after watching "Mononoke". AniDB article about it claimed it shared one of the characters. It is relatively short (11 episodes), so I watched it last week, between "Daggerspell" and "Stonewielder" (post about it will be next).

"Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror" is 2006 anime adapting three Japanese classic horror stories. The three are completely different in setting and style, even in animation, so I will describe each of them separately.

"Yotsuya Ghost Story" is based on "Yotsuya Kaidan", Japanese most famous ghost story (at least according to Wikipedia). It is a tragical story about Iemon and Oiwa. Iemon is a ronin who wants to marry Oiwa, despite opposition from her father. He slays him and then uses his death as a mortar for his marriage, claiming he will help Oiwa as a husband to revenge her father. Everything is well for some time, but slowly Iemon's true face starts to show. He finally abandons Oiwa for richer and younger woman, who poisons Oiwa. This is the start of tragedy where everyone connected to two of them will end dead. Iemon refuses to admit any guilt and slowly sinks into madness, seeing Oiwa everywhere. There is also a parallel tragic story, about Osuda and Yomoschichi, which is interwoven with the first plot.

Story is interesting but not especially original. Probably you even saw it or parts of it, since it was adapted and partly used numerous times. It is not really scary also. Animation is decent, although looking older than 2006. Most interesting details it the way it is represented: story is narrated by the "original" author of the story, who claims he was inspired by Oiwa's ghost to write it. He also claims that the story is cursed and everybody who takes part in screening, acting or writing it ends dead.

"The Legend of Tenshu" is completely different kind of story. It is a love story between Himekawa Zusho-no-Suke, a young falconer, and Tomi-Hime, ruler of Forgoten Gods, kind of powerful and scary demons that feed with human flesh. This a complete mini-anime and I am wondering why is haven't been expanded to full-sized anime. It even has comedy-relief characters. Story is interesting and tense; there is action, comedy, romance... Again, animation is a bit weak, and design of characters could have been more original. But story is definitely good.

Last, "Bakeneko" is a star of this collection. It features the medicine-seller from "Mononoke" in one more exorcism adventure. Or better to say, this is the original story, that was later extended to whole series. It has original animation, original characters and great story. I loved it. This was only really scary story; not in visuals, but in setting and style. For those who didn't watch "Mononoke"; don't be put off by seemingly archaic animation. Definitely a recommendation!

My next post will be about "Stonewielder" by Ian C. Esslemont.

Anime review: "House of Five Leaves"

After finishing "Towers of Midnight", I decided to take a short break of reading. I have read four books in a row and while I like reading better than anime or movies and TV series, I can't read all the time. One reason is that I don't have money for buying more than one or two books per month. And even though my private library counts more than sixty books now, that is not enough unless I want to reread half my books every year. Second reason is more important: I tend to neglect everything else when I am reading books I really like. So combining work, PhD and multiple hobbies gets hard sometimes.

Anyway, after ToM, I started watching "House of Five Leaves". I have been waiting long for this anime, since last spring. I haven't watched a good samurai anime for long time. In the end, it turned out this is not a samurai anime, not in the way most consider as such. It's true; there are samurai in this series. Also, it's true that there is swords-fighting here and talk about honor and samurai code... Just not in the way I would expect it. But nevertheless, this is one of better anime I watched this year.

Masa is a young ronin staying in Edo. He comes from province and he is totally unsuitable for samurai; he is shy and unimposing, which results in him being easily pushed around. By coincidence, Masa gets employed by member of criminal group called House of Five Leaves. The group is composed of four somewhat peculiar people and is centered on charismatic young(ish) man Yaichi. Yaichi gets intrigued by Masa's straightforwardness and innocence and invites him to join them, just for fun of it. Rest of anime consist of Masa's deciding to join or not while he explore past and motives or other members, but especially Yaichi's.

As I said, there IS swords-fighting here; I think there are three fights: one is off-screen and two consist of two or three moves. This is very infuriating, because it is implied on beginning (and orally confirmed later) that Masa is "unparalleled with his swordsmanship". Well, I don't actually object this, but I would have liked being able to see it. There is talk about honor and samurai code, but it consists of Masa musing whether he should join House of Five Leaves or not. He comes to see that these are actually good people (well, in some degree), but they are doing bad thinks and he is not sure can he incorporate being a professional kidnapper in his system of honor.

Personalities, pasts and motives of other members are gradually revealed by smaller arcs where they get in trouble and Masa tries to help them (and vice versa). Yaichi's story is implied throughout the series and finally revealed in last few episodes. Setting is historical and I would say mostly accurate: medieval Edo, wages in rice, whore-houses... Important motive in series is adopted children in richer houses. Main strength of anime is character-growth and unexpected turns this anime takes (I really didn't expect most of this anime).

Anime features very original animation. First two episodes I thought that characters are quite ugly, but now that I finished it, I get used to this design. Although I think that character are intentionally done a bit rougher in the beginning, just of the effect. I can't say anything on music and sound effects, but I am pretty sure they are decent.

In summary, "House of Five Leaves" is one very good short (only 12 episodes) anime with historical setting. It includes a bit of action, lots of mystery and anticipation, but mostly concentrates on exploring its eccentric characters. Definitely a treat for all seinen fans.

Anime review: Box of Goblins

After giving up on "K-On!!" I switched to "Box of Goblins". It is a 2008 anime which I had in my wishlist for some time, but never gave it much thought. I decided to watch it because I wanted something serious and short. It turned out this was a big score!

It's hard to define "Box of Goblins". In first episode we are introduced to two high-school girls. One, Kanako, is a captivating and popular, while other, Yoriko, is not. But for some reason Kanako befriends Yoriko, and so Yoriko starts to practically worship her. There is a lot of talk about reincarnation, past lives and future and so on. It gave me completely different fell of the anime than I expected. Then, a crime happens and Kanako ends up almost dead. This is where the action starts.

Show is quite a mix. It starts with philosophical mussing of a teenage girl, but then changes to a detective story. Then to supernatural mystery based on Japanese mythology. And then again to science fiction action... But it does so in such a great way that all feels natural. Show is broken in different POVs and in between we have slices of history (probably imagined, but looking realistic) that gives it a feel of real-life story. It has a resemblance to "Aoi Bungaku" series, because it happens in first half of 20th century (after WWII, which is important) and has that creepy mood, dark tones and surreal scenes. But it also has something of a Frankenstein novel (you will see why if you bear till the end).

We have a moderately large cast of some dozen important characters. What is peculiar that some of the main character got introduced only after half of the show. All characters are interesting. For some we get a nice characterization, realized from one side by inner monologue and from other by psychology analyze by others. While other character are just shown from the outside and we don't know anything of their history or motives. I hope for more series revolving around these characters, because two of them (exorcist and private detective) have great potential. I just checked Wikipedia: anime is based on a novel, and there is a series of novels by same author (Kyogoku Natsuhiko) with one of them a main character.

Visually, it's quite strong and realistic. The same is true for audio. And it has to be pretty good for me to notice it.

Anyway, I'm quite surprised that this "Box of Goblins" is not more famous. Although, first episode can be something of a turn-off, but after second and third, you should be already hooked up on this great fantasy-SF mystery-history mix. Definitely an anime for all fans of seinen and mystery shows.