Reviews!

[Prometheus]

I'd like to make this the go-to thread for anime reviews written here at The Sanctuary. I will continually edit in links to either the individual post in this thread, or review thread, in order to make them easy to find. PM me if I missed one.

• DearS, a brief review by Prometheus
• Sword Art Online, first impressions by Prometheus
• Detroit Metal City by Prometheus
• Midori Days by Prometheus
• Master of Martial Hearts by Prometheus
• Comic Party by Prometheus
• Green Green by Prometheus
• Kämpfer by BallsDeep69
• Ouran Highschool Host Club by BallsDeep69
• My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU by Prometheus
• I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying by Prometheus

[Prometheus]

Detroit Metal City

Probably one of the funniest anime I've seen, but that could just be my sick sense of humor.

Premise: Soichi wants nothing more than to play his Swedish style pop music, and live a fashionable life. He's one hell of a musician all right, in his alter-ego Johannes Krauser II, demon from hell, god of death metal on the indie scene.

At least half the disasters that Soichi finds himself in are completely his fault in the first place. Often because outside of his costume, he's a giant pussy, with no spine and a minimum of common sense. As much as he bitches about how he hates Krauser, is disgusted by the music, and terrified by his own fans (who seriously, are completely psychotic), he sure as hell has no hesitation switching personas to get himself out of trouble. I found this cognitive dissonance to be a great source of humor, though I'm not sure it was intended to be.

My biggest complaint is the lack of a real ending. Yeah, the series ended with his band, Detroit Metal City, taking their careers to a whole new level. But Soichi has made just enough progress in his personal life to indicate that he's capable of character development. And then we don't get to see that happen.

Additionally, the live action movie was more of a cartoon than the anime ever was, but it had Ozzy Osbourne, so I'm willing to let that slide.

[Prometheus]

Midori Days

Premise: Someone sure likes irony. Seiji Sawamura is a badass. He beats up entire gangs in order to protect the weak and innocent, but he's so scary he's become a social pariah. Especially with the ladies. One night he falls asleep complaining that he's destined to be stuck dating his right hand. When he wakes up, there's a puppet sized girl, Midori, stuck to his wrist, and she's utterly in love with him.

Early on, Seiji asks himself "Why does my hand have tits?" I am left asking that same question. For what is styled as a lighthearted comedy/romance, the random nudity is quite jarring.

While Midori Days isn't bad, most of what comes to mind is complaints, rather than praise. After Seiji rescues Takako from being dragged off campus and potentially raped (are there no cops?) she changes her mind about him and falls for him. Ok, I can buy that. She turns into a manipulative obsessive stalker? Not so much. That so many people meet Midori and just sort of accept the situation, though Seiji is terrified of being kidnapped, experimented on, and/or having Midori amputated. Well, one of those scenarios is more likely than the other. Though I do like how Seiji is kind of a dismissive dick to Shiori, the 10 year old neighbor girl who keeps hitting on him.

The more of this show that I watched, the less I liked both Seiji and Takako. Seiji is utterly insensitive towards Midori, dismissing her romantic feelings, and hitting on other girls in front of her. Takako is the worst kind of Tsundare, one minute trying to goad Seiji into peeking at her in the bath, the next walloping the crap out of him for trying to kiss her. Midori may be obnoxious with her blind affection for Seiji, but at least she's consistent and caring.

Overall impression, it's ok. Not really bad, though it has it's bad moments. Not really great, despite some good comedy, and a handful of touching scenes. It's ok, bordering on good, but not quite reaching it.

[Prometheus]

Master of Martial Hearts

I suffer, so you don't have to.

Premise: Fighting and tits. Not necessarily in that order. Second year student Aya Iseshima gets roped into a fighting tournament with other women. The purported prize is a magical jewel that can grant any wish. They proceed to punch each other so hard that their clothes explode. Based on the video game Zettai Shōgeki - Platonic Heart.


I saw an ad for this when it was new and thought, 'huh, looks interesting'. No. No it was not. Mostly. (More on that later.) It was not only uninteresting, it was just plain bad. Both bad and stupid. I feel ashamed for having watched this, and dumber for it as well. An excuse for fanservice, and little more.

Then, in the last 20 minutes or so, it's like someone completely different took over the writing. In the final confrontation, when the means and motivation for starting the whole tournament are being revealed, it was suddenly interesting. Not good, mind you, but interesting. If the whole thing had been as good as the last 20 minutes, they would have had an almost decent action/drama on their hands, as opposed to a mostly forgettable piece of garbage.

Overall impression, Do Not Watch. It is 2½ hours of your life you will not get back.


Additional notes: In preparation for this review I attempted to at least watch the first episode again. There was a little voice inside me that kept screaming I don't want to, which should have been heeded. Notice that I said attempted, I called it quits at the 12 minute mark. I don't know if it's actually worse upon the second watching, or if I just knew that there was no hope it would improve. I did realize that I quite liked the character designs, though the animation itself was uninspired.


For a videogame based anime that doesn't suck, see my upcoming review of Comic Party!

[Prometheus]

Comic Party
Ever wondered what it's like to be involved in the world of dojinshi (amateur comics)?

Premise: Kazuki Sendo is a talented artist and a mediocre student, and leads an uneventful life. Then Taishi Kuhonbutsu essentially drags him and his friend Mizuki Takase to a dojinshi expo and spot sale. While Kazuki eventually becomes enraptured with the phenomenon, Mizuki is repulsed. This drives a wedge between them as Taishi encourages Kazuki to draw his own dojinshi, and get deeper involved in the community. New student, and established dojinshi artist Yuu Inagawa provides a slightly saner form of guidance.

This was a lot of fun. It's obvious that the writer truly has an appreciation for dojinshi, and the associated otaku community, without ignoring some of the creepier members (embodied in the characters known only as Vertical Guy and Horizontal Guy).

Although Comic Party stated life as a dating sim, there is barely a whiff of romance anywhere in the anime adaptation. Perhaps some of the subtext in a couple of the Mizuki scenes would qualify, but really that's it. This legacy is still visible in that Kazuki does end up surrounded by attractive female companions, it doesn't feel forced, rather a natural consequence of stepping foot into a new and welcoming community. Ok, there are some contrived coincidences, but fewer than I'm used to seeing in other works.

Taishi is the main driver of much of the humor. His hyperactive antics drag a somewhat unwilling Kazuki along is his wake, which leads to such adventures as working part time in a cosplay cage, apparently a vital part of his education. While Taishi at first seems like he is absolutely taking advantage of Kazuki's good nature, he genuinely cares for his friend, and believes that manipulating Kazuki is in both their best interests. That interest being in making them both internationally famous for their dojinshi. Fortunately, some of his more bizarre acts make a little more sense in context, helpfully provided by the Translator's Notes sections on the DVD.

Drama comes from the growing conflict between Kazuki and Mizuki, his childhood friend. While their interests diverge, the struggle to maintain their friendship becomes a major plot point. This is not helped by the fact that Kazuki grows more and more obsessed with drawing and attempting to sell his dojinshi, while Mizuki not only does not respect this, she has open contempt for it. Drama also derives from Kazuki's obsession itself. Greed and ego begin to take their toll on his work, and it backlashes spectacularly, at least in his own eyes.

I probably enjoyed this one well out of proportion to it's actual quality. It helps that amateur comics are a global phenomenon, and I've known people in the community. They are often just as odd as the characters portrayed. With the exception of some of Taishi's antics, it just felt like a (mostly) believable experience.

If you don't have any interest at all in dojinshi, you may want to give this one a pass. It gets downright obsessive at times. Some of the jokes, and a number of the references will also fall flat without the Translator's Notes and the insert booklets in the DVDs. The number of references to other works (often, but not exclusively by the same studio) is just staggering, but rarely comes to the forefront. Otherwise, have at it. It's funny, sweet, and a bit strange, but good strange.

I'd rate it good to pretty good. It's not great, it knows that it's not, and doesn't try to be.

Final notes: The bonus story was phenomenally bad, even for an all just a dream plot. Nearly all of the humor that didn't involve mocking anime tropes was in the first segment. The rest has too many cringeworthy moments to count.

[Prometheus]

Green Green

This one is not even deserving of a proper review, it gets a paragraph, and a rude one. I went in expecting a halfway decent filthy comedy. I got neither comedy nor halfway decent. The writers seemed to think that stupid fan-service could be balanced with awful fan-disservice, under the assumption that sickening the viewers equals funny. I'm sure words exist to describe how much I hated this series, but they are not in any language I know. It is so terrible that when one of the jokes would actually land, I honestly felt bad about myself for laughing.

[BallsDeep69]

Kämpfer

A half-decent anime, Kämpfer blends harem and fan service into one. A "gender-swapper" anime, not to be confused with "gender bender", about a you.g Senou Natsuru waking up and discovering he turned into a girl. Mainly just came back for the giggles, as the plot sometimes felt like the whole freaking plot was teenage girls going up to Senou-san and trying to seduce him. Most of the time I was like, "What? Has this guy got a chocolate covered cock or something? The fuck has he got all these girls after him?" Then, to top it all off, all the girls in his school are lesbians. So, at the end of the series, I turned my iPad off, closed my eyes and tried to erase the memories of the anime. The End.

[BallsDeep69]

Ouran Highschool Host Club

A very good series for people who watch anime, this one is about a girl named Haruhi, who comes from a very poor family and is on a scholarship to the prestigious Ouran Academy. While trying to find a place to study, she stumbles into the Host Club, a group of handsome young boys who for all intents and purposes, seduce young women from the school. With her ratty, short hair, the Host Club mistakes her for a gay male. Long story short, she breaks a vase, she's in debt and the hilariousness unfolds.
Very funny, recommended and.... strange.

[Prometheus]

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

Original title: My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected

A loner and a beautiful girl are forced to socialize with each other. They do not fall in love.

Our protagonist, Hachiman Hikigaya, is sarcastic, solitary, and kind of a dick. His guidance councilor, in an attempt to help/punish him makes him join the Service Club, where he is expected to help anyone who asks for it. The other member of the club is the beautiful and intelligent Yukino Yukinoshita, who considers herself superior to all those around her. Defying the general formula, they do not come to a mutual understanding and eventually fall in love. They rather dislike each other, in fact. Rounding out the main trio is Yui Yuigahama, a chipper and friendly girl who really does just want to help, and is a stark personality contrast to the other two. Much of the humor in this series comes from a flat refusal to follow along with the standard romantic comedy cliches. Also the snark. So much snark.

This anime is a welcome relief from from the cookie cutter romantic comedies that are out there. Most of the rom-com themes are brought up, often explicitly, and immediately defied or twisted into an unfamiliar form. You would expect a cynical loner to be confronted with situations that pull him out of his shell and help him make friends. Hikigaya, however, genuinely likes being left to himself. Rather than being socially clueless like you would expect his type of character to be, he's actually rather astute. He just plain does not like associating with people. He is also genera savvy enough to actively avoid romantic comedy cliches.

Of course, most of Hikigaya's problems are of his own making. He deliberately irritates his school counselor by writing essays condemning society, or poking at her age and marital status. When Yuigahama started being friendlier to him, he pushed her away assuming that she was being extra nice because she felt guilty over an earlier incident. More than once he's let himself be branded a villain for the sake of others. Kukinoshita is no better, herself. Her ego tends to get her into situations where she too prideful to ask for help, even if she needs it.

The relationship between Hikigaya and Yukinoshita is also a refreshing break from the expected. Over the course of the season they have progressed from outright contempt for each other to a mutual dislike, even as they develop a sliver of mutual respect as well. Of course, they are more alike than either would ever admit. A good example would be when they were shopping together for a gift, when Yukinoshita asked Hikigaya for his opinion of her choice, he says that the recipient would prefer something "more filly and stupid looking." Yukinoshita decides this is harsh but accurate.

Of course, there are other things to enjoy in this show too. For all his aloofness, Hikigaya is still a guy, and is known to admire the female form, but gets mad at himself for not controlling himself better. And then there are the plans he makes while trying to help people. Often times they are downright sociopathic, though effective. More often than not he gets his club members to go along with them too. A great running gag revolves around Saika Totsuka, and just how feminine he looks. Everyone seems to initially assume that he is a girl. Hikigaya seems especially attracted to him, and keeps having to remind himself that Totsuka is a guy. Though by not throwing Hina Ebina, resident yaoi fangirl, into the mix, the writer missed a golden opportunity for comedy.

All in all, it is one of my favorites of the past few years, and I am quite eager for the second season, sometime in 2015.

I will wrap it up with this poignant Hikigaya quote.

Hachiman Hikigaya: "I hate nice girls. If they so much as say hello, it stays on my mind. If they return my texts, my heart races. The day one calls me, I know I'll look at my call history and grin. But I know that's just them being nice. People who are nice to me are also nice to everyone else. I almost end up forgetting that. If the truth is cruel, then lies must be kind. That's why kindness is a lie. I gave up on always expecting it, always mistaking it, and even hoping for it. Someone who's worked hard at being alone doesn't fall for the same trick twice. I'm a veteran at this. I'm the best there is when it comes to losing. That's why I'll always... hate nice girls."

[Prometheus]

I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying

A woman and her otaku husband have very brief adventures.

Based on the manga of the same name, this one is delivered in very fast-paced 3 minute episodes.

Hajime is a full-blown, gone-round-the-bend otaku. His wife, Kaoru... is not. Despite their differences, they clearly love each other stupid. Kaoru even puts up with Hajime's brother, Mayotama. He draws yaoi and wears a dress, that's really all you need to know about him to get started.

It isn't every day that you see an anime featuring adults in a real relationship. It's even rarer that it's used as a basis for rapid-fire humor. There are more laughs packed into those 3 minutes than many shows can do in 22. It's all over the map from good natured cracks at otaku to Kaoru being an interesting drunk. It can take a really heartwarming scene, and immediately turn it around into a dig at another character.

There isn't much else I can say at this point that won't include massive spoilers. It is currently 9 episodes into it's first season, and is utterly funny as hell. Take a half hour and watch them all, you're not likely to regret it.

Watch it on Cruncyroll here.