Black Bullet Anime Review

The anime adaption of Black Bullet produced by Sentai Filmworks ran over 13 episodes from early April to late June this year. Sentai Filmworks has been responsible for anime of the likes of Another, Angel Beats, the upcoming Akame ga Kill and many other successful titles. The studio has poured some serious money into this anime, featuring a line up of award winning voice actors of the likes of Yuki Kaji (Eren form Attack on Titan) and many others. Black Bullet is a very enjoyable anime however it is fundamentally flawed with a confused target audience that inhibits it from being a real master piece of an anime.

Story

The story in Black Bullet revolves around an apocalypse type situation where the majority of the human race has been overrun by the monsters known as Gastrea. Humanitie’s only defence is varanium, a type of weaponizable metal and a race of genetically mutated young girls known as the cursed children. Black Bullet gets very brutal very quickly, deaths are frequent and children are no exception. At times it can be very confronting to see these children whom are submitted to brutal discrimination, physical abuse and inevitably sad ends.

Black Bullet tries to portray the darker sides of humanity into the series and it does this quite effectively. From discrimination, selfishness, hatred and revenge the show covers it all, however it doesn’t not blend well with the theme of cute littler girls. In short the story has excellent pacing, development, is simple and easy to understand while still being unpredictable, however it suffers from an identity crisis.

Characters 

Rentaro is the main character in Black Bullet and carries the show extremely well. He quickly distances himself from the typical harem protagonist that everyone is expecting, displaying a vey fatherly like attitude towards the cursed children. Rentaro is the base of all interactions, even more so than most protagonists. Side character to side character interaction is almost inexistent as the show is mostly focused from the first person perspective of Rentaro. This can be effective at times however sometimes it feels as though certain characters are simply not getting enough screen time for the audience to properly understand their actions.

Art and Animation

The art and animation in Black Bullet is generally very nice. General scenery and character designs are nice to look at, but on occasion the quality can drop in detail. The battle scenes however, are very, very good and consistently so, however, some of the movement animation of the monsters could be improved.

Music

The music in Black Bullet in generally well implemented into the show, however at times it felt that silence would have been better suited to some of the more dramatic scenes and the volume of the music during action scenes needed to be increased. The openings and endings of Black Bullet are also nice but nothing outstanding.

Conclusion

Overall I give Black Bullet a 7/10, perhaps I am being too critical but there are certain critical factors that conflict with what the show is trying to achieve. The series is well adapted with nice animation however a few inconsistencies prevent it from been taken to the next level. I would recommend this series to those who enjoy Senien but also enjoy a little light heartedness here and there. Black Bullet is a nice series that I generally enjoyed and I’m sure many others will as well.

-PandaSlayer

One Week Friends/Isshuukan Friends Review

One Week Friends is a 12 episode series that aired from early April to late June this year, adapted from the original manga written by Maccha Hazuki. The series has been received well by the general community, standing out from the hordes of school romance animes this season.

Story

The story for One Week Friends is very sweet but also very sad. It revolves around Kaori Fujimiya, a sweet girl who purposely remains distant and avoids making friends due to a memory issue she has resulting in her memories of her friends to be reset every week. The plot immediately makes you question what the extent of her memory problems are, keeping you questioning as her problem is discovered and changed as the story develops. The story is not always clear with the aspects of Fujimiya’s memory problem, which at times can get confusing but generally remains transparent and consistent.

One Week Friends is very sweet, all the main characters have a sense of innocence to but at the same time they understand pain and what it means to be selfless. Hase the main character, will often struggle emotionally with Fujimiya’s problem, as time after time all his hard work, efforts and feelings are completely forgotten. The story shows you that that Hase is still a relatable human being not a man with an iron will and that only with support from his best friend and others around him is he able to carry on. The story of One Week Friends is very sweet but understands the harsh reality and emotional toll that memory loss can have on those around them.

Characters

All of the characters in One Week Friends are generally very simple, yet they are also characters with a lot of depth. For the most part of the show Hase and Fujimiya carry the story by themselves, however the side characters are made of good use, often creating necessary conflicts so that the duo can move forward or simply acting as moral support for the main characters. The side characters are introduced on a steady rate, however I felt that Saki and a few other less relevant characters should have been introduced or given more depth earlier as they helped the carry the story very well once included.

Art and Animation 

One Week Friends has a simplistic and unique art style often with some really beautiful background scenery. Some people may love the art, others may find it  to simplistic. I personally really enjoyed it and felt it suited to the overall feel of the show.

Music

The music of the One Week Friends remained generally okay throughout the show, working reasonably well with the scenes. As the story progressed and the story become more intense the music became more relevant and quite effective. The opening and ending music of the show were also nice and well suited to the show.

  

Conclusion 

One Week Friends is a different take on the usual slice of life romance. The story remained the centre point of the show throughout and was very engaging to watch. Overall One Week Friends was just very enjoyable. I recommend this to people who have enjoyed the likes of Hyouka or Clannad that deals with some sort of emotional struggle or hindrance to people lives. I give this series an 8/10 a great watch and one of the best of this season.

-PandaSlayer

Bleach Chapter 587 – The Headless Star 6 Review

Although we have known for quite some time now that Uryu has sided with the Sternritters for Ichigo this is still a big deal and Kubo really tried to emphasize that this chapter as Ichigo continued to demand answers from Uryu but in the end came up empty. The ‘Light’ that Juha uses promptly takes him, Uryu and his right hand man right up into the sky and leaving behind a colossal explosion. Orihime saves Ichigo from his own stupidity and tackles/shield him from the explosion.

Kubo brought back the humour in this chapter along with the original characters, and personally I really enjoyed it. Seeing Chad throw Ichigo around like he was nothing and straight into a pile of rubble and quickly snapping Ichigo out of self pity.

Ichigo was never really the intelligent type, so with the help of Chad’s wisdom he makes up his mind that he’s going to kick Uryu’s ass regardless if he had a good reason to switch sides or not, funny how he didn’t do the same to Orihime in the Arrancar arc, although that may have been classified as Waifu abuse.

Enter Urahara and with him, the most interesting thing that happended in the chapter. Realising that they need to get back to the soul palace immediately Urahara says “Shall I get you a ticket to Reioukuu? Although it might take some time”…. This could mean many things since Urahara has always been such a mysterious character. The first is that Urahara has a natural way of getting into the soul palace similar to how he does with Hueco Mundo. His words ‘get you a ticket’ could infer that he has connections with the soul palace but also may not have the best relationship with these connections. It’s also worth mentioning that Ichigo didn’t really seem fazed by what Urahara said meaning that Ichigo either learning of this relationship before, or is just not surprised that Urahara is capable of such a task.

Kubo continues to pile on the comedy in the rest of this chapter as Rukia and Renji emerge from the rubble, showing themselves to be undamaged. Bazz-B appears and Renji and him instantly engage a battle of words and fists. From this point of the chapter to the end, the dialogue increased for the humour and it was honestly quite hilarious and good to see that Kubo can still write effective comedy back into serious moments. Things like Renji blushing after Bazz-B complemented on his eyebrows and a badass Sternritter getting personal about his hair cut was simply hilarious.

Bazz-B instantly goes to burning finger four creating a huge explosion, however I really don’t think this will be enough to take Renji down. We are most likely at the beginning of a 1v1 or 2v1 fight with Renji (and Rukia) and Bazz-B, which will most likely reveal more of Bazz-B’s power and fighting potential.

The chapter ends with Juha and friends all arriving at the soul palace, which I was honestly surprised about. It gives perspective as to how powerful Juha really is if he is confided at taking on the whole zero division and the soul king almost by himself. I give this chapter an 8/10 it was good, but in a different way this time, more old Bleach humour and bring back the original cast.

-PandaSlayer

One-Punch Man Manga Review

One-Punch Man is a Seinen manga adapted from the original web series ONE and has been re-drawn professionally by Yusuke Murata. The series One-Punch Man is one of the most unique series’ I’ve ever read. The series is released on a fortnightly/monthly schedule and is currently being printed in English by Viz Media.

Story

Everything about the show seems to be Seinen from the dark, hard lined and serious looking characters to the mass death and psychological warfare. The one thing that does not fit in with this story however, is the main character. Saitama is a slim built man wearing a superhero outfit more cliché than Superman’s and is generally disinterested with the world. What makes him special is that he finishes every single fight with one punch, no matter if its a thug on the street or a sea demon the size of a skyscraper. The story expands incredibly fast once he meets Genos the cyborg and together they decide to enlist as ‘official’ heroes of the world.

Although a significant part of the series is dark and serious the series is also quite comedic. The main character is misunderstood by almost everyone with nearly everyone underestimating him due to his appearance. The comedy is integrated well into the story, often pulling the focus away from the story when things start to get dark for a quick laugh.

 

Characters

There are many stand out characters in One-Punch Man that allow for effective comedy and an effective plot developments in the story. Saitama is a very simple character, he is most likely the most powerful being on earth, and everyone including himself does not know why. He isn’t very intelligent but has a strong sense of justice and just really wants to find someone he can fight on equal terms with. Saitama’s character is very original and an overall well constructed character, but in a different way to traditional main characters. Genos is a strong side character that has clear intensions, a strong sense of justice, a badass character design and the upmost respect for Saitama. Genos is frequently used as a plot device to bring perspective back into the story and is a generally relatable character.

The side characters in One-Punch Man are generally well constructed however the author has a habit of introducing many characters but not really including any of them for enough time and therefore many of the characters can seem very similar and shallow at times.

Art

The artwork of One-Punch Man is very good and not just in terms of nice looking pages. The artist effectively uses the art to transition between highly detailed battle scenes into comedic side jokes that you may not necessarily pick up on in the original. The attention to detail in both character design and most backgrounds is very impressive which is most likely the reason for the slow releases.

Conclusion

One-Punch Man is a relatively short manga that is based on a highly successful web comic with terrific art and is overall a great manga to read. The series never takes itself too seriously and you never feel like you are being overwhelmed with to much content despite the heavy narrative content on occasion. I give the series a 9/10, a good short series I would recommend to anyone that is in their mid-teens or older and enjoys a seriously, but not too serious story

-PandaSlayer

Mangaka san to Assistant-san to - Review

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san is a 12 episode animated adaption from the completed manga series by Sentai Filmworks. Each episode of the show is 12 minutes long made up of a collection of small segments, similar to The Daily Lives of High School Boys or Seitokai Yakuindomo.

Story

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san is first a foremost a comedy, the general premise is the story of a manga artist and his harem of female assistants, editor etc. This isn’t at all original, but in practice this doesn’t hinder the show. Romance may be apart of the show, however it is not it's strength nor it’s focus. Aito the main character is a pervert and spends his days either drawing manga or hitting on his main assistant Ashisu or who ever else decides to come over. The short, sharp style of the jokes plays well with the different characters and make for very light hearted entertainment. The majority of the series is a collection of separate scenes with no real development and focusing on humour, nevertheless at times there are extended situations that pack character development and general plot development into the show.

Characters 

The characters in Mangaka-san to Assistant-san are all very entertaining and diverse enough to keep situations largely unpredictable. Aito is a very simple character, he is a pervert that is very caring in his own way, however his attempts at being caring can often be misunderstood. Ashisu and the rest of the side characters are surprisingly well written for a comedy. At first manly of them seem to be very simple characters, yet as the series develops lots of back story is shown in the series that makes you care more about the character. Considering that the entire length of the series is around 144 minutes, this is quite impressive.

Art and Animation

The art and animation is honestly nothing special, the art is drawn nicely and gives the series an identity and the animation is nice and colourful. The animators would often have a freeze frame style moment highlighting different reactions to a situation, each character has their own colour and although it is a small detail, it was effective in emphasising the reaction of characters.

Music 

The music in the series is similar to the art and animation in that it is not really anything special, but not bad either. The opening and ending had a nice sound track and the background music was often used effectively.

Conclusion 

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san is an enjoyable little series that is about as light hearted as they come. The show is constantly funny without you really having to pay much attention and it is all packed into a 12 minutes episode meaning that you don’t really have to set much time aside to enjoy the show. I give the show a 7.5/10 a nice enjoyable series that is not a must watch, but is still a worthwhile experience.

-PandaSlayer

No Game No Life Review

No Game No Life has been one of the more popular animes of this season and for good reason. The series ran over 12 episodes, adapted from a light novel series with the same title by Mad House Studios. Many were initially worried that the storyline was perhaps a title too similar to Sword Art Online, however it proved itself to be an entirely different show trying to achieve an entirely different purpose.

Story

The story for NGNL initially appears quite simple, however as the series progresses it becomes clear it is much more complicated than that. Sora and his little sister Shiro are professional gamers and all round shut ins from society. They have a negative attitude towards the world and yet are extremely close to each other as brother and sister. The pair are accidently sucked into a game world by a man the only know as ‘god’ of this game world and so their story beings. The key part of this world is all conflict, growth and almost everything else has to be settled with a game. Both Sora and Shiro are geniuses in almost everything; Sora in particular is very knowledgeable in battle strategy and general function of games and gambling alike. The story of NGNL revolves around intense mental battles between different individuals/association in order to progress the story.

The story is overall quite satisfying. The introductions of new characters, situations, sudden unexpected developments and a good slice of comedy keep the story constantly entertaining and interesting.

Characters

The main characters in NGNL are very well written, however the sub characters can leave a little to be desired. Sora and Shiro are the two main characters of the show and are both interesting in their own respect. Sora has a distinctive character than combines the attitude and brains of a strategist with the humour and likeable idiot character. Shiro is equally smart if not smarter than her brother, however she remains silent throughout most of the series distinguishing herself from Sora in many ways.

The side characters in NGNL are not necessarily bad, but can often lack the depth. Each side character represents an important role in Sora’s plans and all remain relevant to some degree, however at times they feel very one dimensional. Considering the amazing amount of depth and development that is put into Sora and Shiro’s characters, it seems like many of them are ignored once a new character is introduced or a plot point is passed. In saying this, part of this issue is due to the 12 episode limit for the first season which left only so much time to do so many things and will no doubt build on this issue next season.

Art and Animation

Madhouse has never been one for poor animation and NGNL is certainly no exception. The character designs are nice and the scenery is amazingly detailed at times. The animation makes heavy use of filtering the overall colour either pink or blue colours improving the scenes overall.

Music

Music has been used reasonably effectively in this series tying in well with the older medieval style scenery. The music really stood out when used in battle scenes, it increased the intensity of the scenes dramatically and showed that NGNL is not just relying on voice acting to highlight plot developments in scenes.

Conclusion

No Game No Life is a slice of life that is a little bit different and in a good way. The plot is simple, relatable and it has a good line up of characters to match. It is not flawless, however it is a series with a lot of potential and in the hands of Mad House, little can go wrong. I give this series an 8/10, a great series that is well worth your time.

Bleach Chapter 586 Review

So the good guys are being overwhelmed by the bad guys, so Ichigo comes to help, but the bad guys get straight out of there leaving Ichigo to do…. what exactly? Commence the Bleach Chapter 586 review!

Before I start going on about Uryu I’ll keep this review in order of the chapter itself and talk about the Soul Reaper vs Sternritter clash. As I mentioned last week, the Sternritter seem to have a bit of an ego problem. This was nicely dealt with when Rukia quickly dissipated Bazz B’s full on attack. In a very ironic move, ‘the Zombie’ shows herself  to be the brains of the operation, as she tells everyone to go Vollstandig immediately or else Ichigo is going to get away.

At this point everyone is charging at everyone and shit is about to be real. This is pretty much where this issue ended and we move onto the main interest of this chapter.

Todays chapter really created a lot more questions than it answered. The main question being, what is Uryu’s game? Uryu has been apart of the base group for a long time now and the first thing you would think is that Uryu’s agenda is either one of two things.

1. Uryu is pretending to be a bad guy, going undercover until the last second where he back stabs the big boss
2. Uryu has found a significant reason why he must destroy the soul reapers, e.g. Juha has a good cause, Soul Reapers did some messed up stuff to Quincies and Uryu wants revenge.

Personally I don’t think it is either of these things for the simple reason that Kubo never likes to keep things simple. Look at any arc in Bleach, everything will look simple and then it will be turned on it’s head at least once or twice, with everything perfectly falling into place. 

In order for Uryu to pose some sort of significant rivalry to Ichigo, he needs have power that is on par with Ichigo’s, which is quite realistic given power that was given to him by Juha. We also have to remember that because Uryu was the only Quincy alive, he had no idea how to develop his power. All the training he did was self improvised, and being trained by the Quincy god would help him to develop his power significantly.

Upon the continuation of Ichigo’s charge Uryu seemed to want to make a point to Ichigo by deliberately stopping Ichigo himself. The one thing I found hard to ignore was just how sad Uryu and Ichigo looked. I think to a degree Ichigo expected Uryu to try and find out more about his people, even if he found himself fighting against the people he cares about. If I remember correctly back in the Arrancar arc he stated: "my only goal is to protect my pride as a Quincy, my friends and the human race, everything else is a matter of similar interests". Take it or leave it, but Uryu is a pretty headstrong guy and I don’t think he would just abandon his words and values too quickly.

Uryu’s words “you cannot defeat his majesty” seemed to be words of protection, warning and assistance all at the same time. It is a strange situation and I don’t think we’re going to have the answer anytime soon. Enter Chad and Oriheme. Oriheme now showing 30% more boobs than ever before and Chad has now become so massive that he can’t find shirts that fit anymore. On a serious note, it seems that the both of them have been powered up, especially Oriheme. She can now project her power a significant distance away very quickly and the shield itself is much stronger and larger than before. Chad it seems, has just become more massive in general and now looks 30 years old, which I'm sure is not just for show. Oriheme and Chad share a similar situation to Uryu, their powers have never been developed by people who had the same powers themselves. Their powers are hollow based so they no doubt had some useful training in Hueco Mundo which helped to develop there powers and maximise their potential.

Next week we could be seeing some interesting developments going down. With Oriheme and Chad coming back we could be seeing Urahara and possibly Grimjow finally, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I give this chapter a 7/10, kept me interested, fantastic art as always, a bit light on content as always but satisfying none the less.

- PandaSlayer

Nisekoi Review

The Nisekoi manga has been a popular addition to Shounen for years now, with 127 chapters to date. Chapters 1-50 have been adapted into 20 episode season covering almost two seasons. Even before the anime adaption was announced the sales for Nisekoi were doing very well. 

Nisekoi has several reasons for its success. It's most noticeable is that it lacks any kind of clear flaw overall. The series also makes use of multiple genre’s and character types and subsequently appeals to many different audiences.

Story

The main story of Nisekoi revolves around Raku the main character who wears a locket around his neck where ever he goes. Raku believes the locket will only open to the key belonging to a girl he made a promise with as child, the problem is that he has no idea who the girl is. 

The story grows to be more complex as the story progresses and there are quite a few times where perspective the of the situation is changed to add more depth to the show. Raku’s mystery only increases as the series progresses, even as he discovers more about his past and his friends that may have been apart of it. The way the story contracts and expands is what keeps Nisekoi interesting and the storyline from falling into typical story lines.

It is rare for a romance to feature such originality and a well written plot and although on occasion it can be predictable or feature many romance cliché’s but these moments are few and far between and don’t effect the overall quality of the story.

Characters 

The characters in Nisekoi are just as important if not of even more importance than the story in the series. By introducing different character types like the clueless yet thoughtful male, the confused tsunade, the shy girl, the loveable stalker, possibly gender confused individual and other character types. The story can take a regular situation and make it extremely hilarious very quickly. The side characters are also very important, often providing much needed movement to the plot and exaggerating the hilarity even further than it was initially (I’m looking at you Shuu).

Art and Animation

The art and animation is very unique for a romance series and is adapted almost perfectly for the manga’s art style. The animation style plays a tremendously effective role in over dramatizing the hilarity of the show without it feeling predictable, too frequent or ineffective. The character design is often very impressive, facial details and movements are visible and impressive to see.

Music

There is nothing particularly special about the music in Nisekoi apart from the fantastic opening and endings in the show. A nice feature that was included was the voice actor’s for new characters would sing the ending song in a staggered format.

Conclusion

Nisekoi is a fantastic series in both manga and anime adaption alike. The story and characters are unique, interesting  and don’t grow to be boring and predictable as the series progresses. I would recommend Nisekoi to anyone that really just wants to laugh their ass off and have a good time, with a bit of romance thrown in and a story to keep them curious.

-PandaSlayer

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru/ Oregiru review

The base story of Oregiru is very simple and slightly unoriginal, yet it develops into a rather unexpected gem as the story progresses. The anime has been adapted from an ongoing light novel series sharing the same name. A second season is currently in production and will mostly likely air later this year, however a date has not been announced.

Story and Characters*

The story revolves around an antisocial loner named Hikigaya Hachiman. Hachiman is soon forced by a strong willed teacher into an unusual club designed to help others. The club only has one other member, Yukino. At this point you might be thinking, yes another typical romance, but you would be wrong, very wrong. Both Hachiman and Yukino have a significant lack of social skills and have developed natural defence strategies to prevent themselves being hurt by others, which only causes them more loneliness. The story also introduces another character named Yui. Yui appears socially knowledgeable on the surface but we soon learn that her social happiness is mostly hollow. The series really shows you the darkness, the pain and the happiness that is experienced in social ranking systems in a way that not many anime's do. The show is more focused on those with problems unconsciously working together and helping each other, than it is about romance. While romance is a focus in the story, interaction between these well written character is what makes Oregiru unique and well worth the watch.

Art and Animation

The art and animation in Oregiru is really nothing spectacular but it does have it’s own unique style. The colour, particularly in the backgrounds is vibrant and pleasing to see. The facial details can sometimes leave much to be desired, however this is mostly likely done deliberately to emphasis the blandness of the character’s personalities. The animation as a whole is a little bit above average, there are some scenes where it is impressive and there are others particularly in the classroom that can be rather average.

Music

There isn’t really much to say about music due to its generally narrative based plot, however when used, it is used quite well. The background music never overpowers the scene and the openings and endings are quite enjoyable as well.

Conclusion 

Overall Oregiru is a very enjoyable anime. It is rare to find a slice of life that will make you think about the actions of the characters and to understand their motive. At the same time it is not too content heavy, it can still be a sit down and relax type of show and I enjoyed doing just that. I give this series an 8/10, not perfect but it had enough to keep me very interest and eager for the second season.

*Note I have chosen to combine the story and characters for this review as they are heavily intertwined.

- PandaSlayer