Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Hello and Welcome to my review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku!

Based on the webcomic/manga(manga being published by Ichijinsha in Japan and Kodansha Comics in the U.S.), Wotakoi is about two otaku working in the same office and their daily lives and budding relationship with each other and those around them.

So let’s start off with the good things about this show!

THE GOOD:

Each of the characters in Wotakoi all have really relatable qualities about them(especially if your an otaku). Narumi Momose is a Fujoshi who likes Otome Games and Idols, Hirotaka Nifuji is a game otaku who spends his free time(when not around friends) playing games(at the time of this anime, mostly Monster Hunter), Hanako Koyanagi is a Cosplay otaku(who normally cosplays male characters) who also plays games and reads yaoi manga and Taro Kabakura is a hero and bishojo otaku. If you’re an otaku of any kind you can understand the interests of each character and can understand the want to share your favorite things with other otaku.

The opening theme to Wotakoi is called “Fiction” by Sumika(also known for the I want to eat your Pancreas opening theme) and it’s quite the bop. It fits the show by showing how close Narumi, Hirotaka, Hanako and Taro are to one another, along with adding some cute dance moves from each of the characters. The lyrics to the song express that there are ups and downs in relationships but give you the reminder that while there are downs, the ups will always be more frequent. “In preparation for all the times you’ll feel down, Never forget to put tabs on your most exciting times.
Keep them as your treasures”.
(source: https://www.animesonglyrics.com/wotaku-ni-koi-wa-muzukashii/fiction)

It’s fairly obvious that the character interactions in a show like Wotakoi are the focal point of the show and it’s where the show really shines. The Seiyuu for this show really make each character stand out with their reactions and vocal inflections. Date Arisa-san(Emi Nanba in IM@S CG, Rumi in Punchline and Maril Cavendish in Little Witch Academia) really captures Narumi’s over the top reactions and vocal inflections when it comes to the more silly and emotional moments for her, Ito Kent-san(Michio Hazama in IM@S Side M, Shushin in Reikenzan and Soma Mizuno in the upcoming show Yubisaki kara no Honki no Netsujo) really capture’s Hirotaka well with the smoothness and baritone of his voice(much like a lot of Otome characters have). Sawashiro Miyuki-san(Saeko Busujima in Highschool of the Dead, Seo Yuzuki in Nozaki-kun and Mordred aka Saber of Red in Fate/Apocrypha to a name a few of her many roles) very much captures Hanako Koyanagi’s older senpai voice(very ara ara) and her experience in not only the relationship department but also the shared interest in boys love she has with Momose and Sugita Tomokazu-san(Kazuyoshi “Switch” Usui in Sket Dance, Joseph Joestar in JoJo’s Bizarre Advenure Battle Tendency arc and Yusuke Kitagawa in Persona 5 the animation just to name a few of his roles) captures Kabakura’s rough around the edges attitude and gruffness when it comes to angry vocal inflections, though there are times when Kabakura speaks calmly about his relationship with Koyanagi is when he truly shines through.

The ending theme to Wotakoi is “Kimi no Tonari” or “Next to You” by halca(also known for the S2 ED of the Ace Attorney anime and more recently the Kaguya-sama: Love is War ED!) and it’s beautifully performed! It shows the busy life of all four main characters through their daily office routines and coming together at the end of the day to unwind as friends and as couples. The lyrics express how similar people can be in relationships but still be awkward around one another which fit our main characters very well, “Right next to you is my comfortable place. We are a bit awkward pair. We are trying our best to step together. You are struggling. Like falling down a flight of stairs, let’s fall in love. We’ll play it by ear as we make our way together. We’ll be fine~”
source: https://www.animesonglyrics.com/wotaku-ni-koi-wa-muzukashii/kimi-no-tonari

The Bad: 

Like always, with a lot of good there is always some bad. So let’s go over the couple of bad things about Wotakoi(which aren’t about the show itself)

So in order to watch Wotakoi on a legal platform, you have to have Amazon prime(which is costly in and of itself). Though thankfully you can get a free 30 day trial to Amazon prime at first so you have plenty of time to watch this show for free during that time(only for new subscribers, not sponsored).

Another minor problem is that it’s so short! The anime for Wotakoi traverses 11 episodes(which is an episode shorter than the normal 12 episode run), thankfully the manga is out there both in hard copy and digital so if you want more, those options are available.

The Final Thought:

Wotakoi is a splendid look into the life of Otaku Office workers and their trials and tribulations of having a relationship with someone who enjoys the same things as you do. It’s a cute slice of life show with a basis of realism in the nature of humans in love with one another. The opening is a bop, the characters are relatable and are brought to life by a really fun cast of seiyuu and the ed is a charming wind down to every episode.

In my book Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku gets a 4.5/5 from me, Highly recommend it to those who enjoy a slice of life comedy or those who need a show that you can also understand on a real level.

 

Thank you for reading my review of Wotakoi! I’ll see you again next month with another Monthly Blog update, until next time!

Top 11 Summer Anime 2016!

Hello! Welcome to my review of the Top 11 anime from Summer 2016! Let’s get right into it shall we!

Number 11.

Hida Kizuna possesses the Heart Hybrid Gear ability, but it is not strong enough to make him important. His older sister calls him to transfer to a strategic defense school, where many of the students(many of which are girls) use their Heart Hybrid Gear to fight invaders from another world.

Masou Gakuen HxH is a show that uses it’s ecchi and comedy to it’s advantage. With the “fun” character interactions with Kizuna and the girls after his heart to the almost absurd moments of ecchi during the battle scenes, Masou Gakuen HxH may not be for everyone. Though it’s in the same vein as Infinite Straos(a harem that heavily relies on ecchi), it shouldn’t deter you from watching it at least once. I would recommend watching it uncensored as the censorship does take away quite a bit from the show that the story itself tries to add.

So with a balance of ecchi, comedy and character interaction, Masou Gakuen HxH gets a 7.5/10 from me.

Number 10.

One day, Naho Takamiya receives a letter written to herself from ten years in the future. The letter recites the exact events of the day, including the transfer of a new student into her class name Kakeru Naruse.

Based on the manga, Orange is the story of a group of friends going through the struggles of life both in and out of school. Character interaction is a huge focus in this show both during the present time and during the future portions of the show, especially with Naho and her group of friends and the objective that gets set before them in the present time. The story itself is beautifully well written and it really brings out the emotion that was set in the manga.

With good character interaction and a well written story, Orange gets an 8/10 from me!

Number 9.

Mahiru Shirota, a high school student who likes simple things and dislikes difficult things. One Day, he picks up a stray black cat and gives him the name Kuro. From this moment a contract between Mahiru and the servant-vampire Kuro, also known as “Sleepy Ash”, is formed.

Servamp, based on the manga, is a show based around Vampires and contracts that they make with their counter parts. Character interaction is definitely a big point to Servamp as it really lets you get a feel for who the characters are and what their about. The story itself is actually very good because it goes in depth into Kuro and the some of the other vampires who interact with him and Mahiru. Though it definitely flew under the radar during the summer season, it unfortunately didn’t get as much attention as it probably should have.

So with pretty good character interaction and a pretty good story, Servamp gets an 8/10 from me.

Number 8.

Dismissed as a hopeless lose by those around him, 27 year old Arata Kaizaki bounces around from one job to another after quitting his first company. His Existence takes a sharp turn when he meets Ryou Yoake, a member of the ReLife Research Institute, who offers Arata a way to change his life for the better.

ReLife is a great anime that brings up the question “What If?” What if you had the opportunity to go back and change your life for the better, would you take the opportunity or would you stay the same? ReLife answers these questions and more throughout the series. Throughout the show you really connect with Arata and his struggle as he tries to correct his life with help from Yoake.

With a pretty good story and really relatable characters ReLife gets an 8/10 from me!

Number 7

During Prohibition, the law held no power and the mafia ruled the town. The story takes place in Lawless, a town thriving on black market sales of illicitly brewed liquor.

That’s all I can really tell you about 91 Days, the story follows a boy named Avilio who returns to the town of Lawless after some horrific circumstances when he was younger forced him to leave. The story of 91 Days is an almost definite nod to mafia movies of old as it explores what Avilio went through from a young age to when he finally returns to Lawless. The character building is also a definite nod as well with how well written each character in the show is.

So with a really great story and really really great character building, 91 Days get an 8/10 from me!

Number 6

Hope’s Peak Academy is a special school. This school has two courses: The main course and the preparatory course. The 77th class of the main course is filled with students who not only have unique abilities, but unique personalities as well.

Danganronpa 3 Despair Arc is the prequel story to the Danganronpa franchise. Taking place before the first game and setting up the arcs for both the first and second game, we’re introduced to a cast of fun and weird characters from the second game as we’re given a chance to see how everything develops into the story we know.

A big part of the Despair Arc is the character interaction, watching how the characters interact with one another before the second game is an interesting experience. Also learning the fact that everyone knows each other before the second game really opens up a whole different aspect towards the game.

Another big part of the show is the story, for a prequel to a successful game the story links itself together nicely. It really helps set up how important each game is in the franchise.

With really great character interaction and really great story writing, Danganronpa 3 Despair Arc gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 5

The world was close to being destroyed by Ultimate Despair, who caused “The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History”. In order to save this world from the event’s chaos, The Future Foundation was formed.

So that’s all I can say about this part of the show without spoiling everything. The sequel to the first game, Danganronpa 3 Future Arc rounds out the story for the original series. It follows remaining three remaining members of the first Danganronpa game, Makoto Naegi, Kyoko Kirigiri and Aoi Asahina.

Like Despair Arc both the character interaction and the story writing are a huge portion of this show, especially with how the DR 1 characters interact with the others and how it mixes into the story through out the third arc.

So with really great interaction and really great story writing, Danganronpa 3 Future Arc gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 4

Since the passing of his wife, Kouhei Inuzuka has been caring for his young daughter Tsumugi to the best of his abilities. However, with his lack of culinary knowledge and busy job as a teacher, he is left relying on ready-made meals from convenience stores to feed the little girl. This is where Kotori Iida comes in, as one of Kouhei’s students she offers to cook and share delicious homemade meals with him and his daughter.

Amaama to Inazuma aka Sweetness and Lightning is an amazingly fun and light hearted series but it also gives a sense of realism as well. A very big portion of this show focuses on Kouhei raising his daughter Tsumugi and how real it can be. The slice of life aspect in this show stands out overall and mixes really well with the character interaction in the show.

With incredible writing, character interaction and an amazing seiyuu cast. Amaama to Inazuma gets an 8.5/10 from me.

Number 3

Suzukaze Aoba graduates from high school and joins a game company. The person who made Aoba’s favorite game as a grade-schooler is her senior at the company.

The proverbial Cute girl show of the season, New Game is a light hearted work place comedy that really focuses on it’s characters while they make a game and get to know each other through their trials and tribulations. Aoba getting to know all her co-workers is a very fun part of the show because we really get an understanding of why they’re working for the company and why they chose the career path that they did.

With really fun character interaction and a pretty cool story, New Game! gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 2

Shokugeki no Soma Season 2!

Food Wars Season 2 picks up where Season one left off and continues the competition between the students Tootsuki Culinary Academy and what takes place after that.

Our favorite group of chefs return as we get to see an incredible cooking competition between the students. Of course the biggest portion of Season 2 is the huge amount of character interaction that takes place, from Soma and the other students to the teachers and the Alumni, the seiyuu do a fantastic job of bringing each character to life and giving them a wide range of emotions. The continuing story is also amazingly well done and follows the manga to a tee, which is all the more fun.

With incredible character interaction and an amazing following of the manga, Shokugeki no Soma Season 2 gets a 9/10 from me!

And Now…

Number 1

A self-proclaimed normal girl, Chika Takami has never joined any clubs and lacks any notable talents. However, after a visit to Tokyo, she discovers where even a normal girl like her can shine-The World of School Idols. Inspired by former school idols μ’s, Chika is determined to start her own school idol club in here seaside hometown of Uranohosi Girl’s High School.

The new series in the Love Live franchise, we follow a whole new cast of characters as they try to become school idols. Obviously both character interaction and story writing is a huge focus of Love Live Sunshine but also how well drawn everything is also plays a big part of the show as well. Watching each girl interact with one another while getting to know them is special, it really lets us understand why each girl wants to become a school idol. The story is well paced as we get a chance to see the girls find their own identity as school idols(including finding their name for the group) and their place in the school idol world. The art(both character design and backgrounds) really stand out as through out the show we get a chance to see the beautiful sea side city that a majority of the show takes place along with a return to Tokyo!

With amazing character interaction, great story writing and beautiful character and background designs(bonus points for an amazing soundtrack), Love Live Sunshine gets a 9.5/10 from me!

And that’s my list for the Top 11 Summer Anime! What did you guys think?

Thank you guys so much for going through my list and reading it! Stay tuned for more by the way, I’ll be starting my Top anime from fall here soon.

Until next time,

This is Pervy Fatman,

I’ll see you on the Other Side!

 

Top 12 Spring Anime!

Hey all! Welcome to my review of the Top 12 Spring Anime!

Let’s get started shall we?

Number 12

For weeks, Atsushi Nakajima’s orphanage has been plagued by a mystical tiger that only he seems aware of. Suspected of being behind the strange incidents, the 18 year old is kicked out of the orphanage and left homeless and wandering through the city.

That is until Atsushi saves a rather eccentric named Osamu Dazai, it turns out that Osamu works for a supernatural detective agency along with a group of others.

Bungou Stray Dogs was quite the interesting show from the Spring season, with a pretty fun protagonist in Atsushi who you always find yourself rooting for, along with the very funny and comedic Osamu and the always by the book Doppo Kunikida, the mix of character interactions is the definite strong point of this show. The actual story of the show is pretty good as well, it brings a mystery aspect that really brings the show together.

With this combination of elements Bungou Stray Dogs gets an 8/10 from me.

Number 11.

OBJECTION!!

Since he was a child, Phoenix Wright’s(Ryuuichi Naruhodou) dream was to become a defense attorney, protecting the innocent when no one else would. However, when he takes on his first case under the guidance of his mentor Mia Fey(Chihiro Ayasato), he quickly realizes that the courtroom was a battlefield.

Ace Attorney the anime follows the first game to a tee, from the first case “The First Turnabout” to “Turnabout Goodbyes” so far. The voice cast has been nothing short of excellent and really bring life to the all the characters in the show. Also thanks to Crunchyroll that we have two different sets of subtitles for the show itself, one for the Japanese names and one for the Americanized names!

Along with the story line being the same, Ace Attorney gets an 8/10 from me!

Number 10.

Sakura Hane is a high school student who is a little bit of an airhead. On the way to her high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road on a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles and joins the motorcycle club at the school.

One of the three really fun moe shows from this season, Bakuon not only has cute girls doing cute things but along the way it teaches you a bit about motorcycles and everything as well. The interactions between all the girls is a big focal point to this show as it not only lets you get to know the girls but it also lets you know how much the girls enjoy the bikes they have. The art is definitely a fun part of the show as well, it’s a very unique style that TMS Entertainment has brought to us. Sort of reminiscent of Kamisama Hajimemashita with a little bit of Jitsu wa Watashi wa.

So with really fun character interactions, unique art style and a fun story. Bakuon!! gets an 8/10 from me.

Number 9.

Anne Happy centers around class 1-7 of Tennomifune Academy, where all the students with “bad karma” or misfortune seem to have been gathered. Hibari, who is a student in this class, meets the unlucky Hanako and the perennially unhealthy Botan. Together they try to turn their school life into a happy one.

The second of three moe shows from this season, Anne Happy is a really fun show that has cute girls doing cute things. Following the girls through out the series, you really root for them to find happiness in their school lives even though they have bad luck. Of course being taught by their teacher Kodaira-sensei(voice by Yumi Hara, same seiyuu as Takane from Idolm@ster) to give them that “extra push” is always entertaining. It also has one of the most catchy openings from this season as well that the main five girls sing, along with great comedic timing in each episode and a lot of adorable moments.

All of this wrapped together in one really cute and really fun moe show, Anne Happy gets an 8.5/10 from me.

Number 8.

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Well now you have…

Sophisticated, suave, sublime; all words that describe the handsome and perfect Sakamoto.

Sakamoto Desu Ga? or Haven’t You Heard I’m Sakamoto? is an anime about a particular student who happens to be Cool, Cooler, Coolest than every other student on campus. It follows Sakamoto as he makes his way through his school life surrounded by a cast of interesting characters including the other guys in his class that try to out do him and the girls that try to get with him. It’s a very humorous show that focuses on how just cool Sakamoto is, along with a very fun art style for the animation. Studio Deen did a fantastic job casting everyone for the characters as each seiyuu really brings the comedy to their characters.

With a very humorous story line, a fun art style and an excellent cast, Sakamoto Desu Ga? gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 7.

Because of a shift in tectonic plates around 100 years ago, Japan lost much of it’s area to submergence. To preserve Japan’s territories, coastal cities sprung up, one after the other. At the same time, Maritime Jobs were becoming more popular among women. The Blue Mermaids tasked with keeping the seas safe, had become every female students dream job. Akeno Misaki and Moeka China, childhood friends, enroll in a marine high school in Yokosuka along with other girls who want to become Blue Mermaids as well.

The third moe show from this season, High School Fleet aka Haifuri excels at not only having adorable characters but also a really fun story that can bring some really cool action scenes and great character development.

Along with a really interesting cast of characters, Haifuri really builds on them with great character development. Each girl definitely gets their chance to shine during the series and really show what their about. Like the Captain Akeno, you get a chance to understand why she wanted to become a Maritime Captain through out the series. While the show has great character development, it also has a pretty cool story. From our main group of girls(pictured above) being mistaken for a rouge ship to finding out there is some foul play involved with the other ship as well.

So with a really cool story and great character development, High School Fleet gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 6.

Katsuhira Agata is a quiet and reserved teenage boy whose sense of pain has all but vanished. His childhood friend, Chidori Takashiro, can only faintly remember the days before Katsuhira had lost his emotions. However, one day Katsuhira, Chidori, and four other teenagers are abducted and forced to join the Kizuna System as official “Kiznaivers”

The first of two Studio Trigger shows this season, Kiznaiver prides itself on not only a huge amount of character development but also a fantastic story. While Katsuhira may not have any emotions, that style blends very well with the other characters in the group. The caring attitude of Chidori, the goofy style of Nico, the overbearing personality of Tenga, the cold personality of Maki, the weird personality of Yuta and the masochist personality of Hisomu mesh so well together that it makes the story even better! The story itself is very well written with each character getting a backstory and helps the viewer understand each character better.

With an excellent amount of Character Development and an amazing well written story, Kiznaiver gets an 8.5/10 from me!

Number 5.

 

When Subaru Natsuki leaves the convenience store, the last thing he expects is to be wrenched from his everyday life and dropped into a Fantasy World.

That’s actually all I can tell you about Re:Zero without spoiling the story.

Re:Zero is a fantastic show with really cool fantasy elements but also an amazingly well written story and awesome characters! Re:Zero may seem like a light hearted fun show, when in all reality it has many twists and turns and it gets very dark very fast. The drastic change in both story pacing and theme is something that can catch even the most seasoned anime fan off guard. The characters are so well put together in this show as well, everything from how their written to design and voices really attaches you to each character in the show.

With an awesome story and amazingly well written characters, Re:Zero gets a 9/10 from me!

Number 4.

In a land blessed by nature’s bountiful beauty, bizarre things begin to take place. Makoto Kowata, is a professional witch. She left her home in Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live with her relatives in Aomori. This is where she begins her training as a Witch.

Flying Witch was one of the more calming shows this season, with all the craziness from the rest of the shows this season, Flying Witch was a big stand out. The art style was definitely a huge aspect of the show, with beautiful backgrounds and character designs. The character interaction is also a huge aspect of this show as well, Makoto interacting with her cousins, her sister and her cat Chito are all really fun to watch. The music also really helps set the scenes as well, it also gives it a very calming atmosphere.

With beautiful art design, awesome character interaction and a calming atmosphere, Flying Witch gets a 9/10 from me!

Number 3.

The appearance of “quirks”, newly discovered super powers, has been steadily increasing over the years, with 80 percent of humanity possessing various abilities. This leaves the remainder of the world completely powerless, Izuku Midoriya is one such individual.

Boku no Hero Academia or My Hero Academia was one of the big action packed shows from this season. The story while focusing on Midoriya mostly, really puts itself together by not only building up the main character but also the surrounding characters. While Midoriya is the main character, you really get a chance to know the other heroes in training and their teachers. It also boasts an amazing voice cast, each seiyuu really fit their characters and bring them to life. Especially Bakugo, Uraraka and Tsuyu, Bones studio really took their time picking the cast. The music of the show also really sets each scene, including the action scenes. It really gets you excited during each action scene during the show, which there are a lot of!

So with an amazing story based on an even more amazing manga, an amazing vocal cast and a really good music score, Boku no Hero Academia gets a 9/10 from me.

Number 2.

The year is 1999. Morioh, a normally quiet and peaceful town, has become a hotbed of strange activity. Jotaro Kujo heads to the town to meet Josuke Higashikata, along with the mild-mannered Koichi Hirose and boisterous Okuyasu Nijimura, the group dedicates themselves to investigating recent disappearances and other suspicious occurrences within Morioh.

Based on part 4 of the Jojo’s manga, Diamond is Unbreakable(or Diamond is not Crash depending on which version you’ve read) is a 1-1 adaptation of the manga. David Production has done it once again for the Jojo’s franchise, with a great art style to match the manga, a fantastic voice cast for the anime, really good music work to set the scenes and amazing character interaction. You can really tell that David Production took their time with the animation to DIU and made it something really special, each character blends into the scenery so well even the background characters blend in! While both Josuke and Koichi’s voice actors have changed from the game(All Star Battle), the new voice actors have done a fantastic job bringing their characters to life along with Daisuke Ono continuing his role as Jotaro and Wataru Takagi continuing his role as Okuyasu.

Much in the way of a Jojo’s anime, the interactions are a huge focal point of the show. With Josuke interacting with the enemy stand users, the serious moments of the show receive get a huge boost off of these interactions but also the comedic moments get a boost as well with Josuke, Koichi and Okuyasu interacting as well.

With all these working aspects of the show(which was well done by David Production), Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable gets a 9.5/10 from me!

AAAAAND now…

Number 1

Living an abnormal existence in Ogikubo, an intergalactic melting pot of humans and aliens, Luluco is a bubbly middle school girl who just wants to be normal.

The second of two Trigger Studios shows this season, Space Patrol Luluco or Uchuu Patrol Luluco is a fantastic short show that topped my list this season. It takes the best works of Trigger and compiles them into one seven minute and fifty second episode per week, with an amazing vocal cast and an awesome story line that includes amazing cameos from other trigger works. The seiyuu cast matches each character perfectly, with Mao Ichimichi playing the role of Luluco and really bringing her to life. Mayumi Shintani(voice of Jakuzure from Kill La Kill) playing the role of Midori(Luluco’s best friend), Junya Enoki playing the role of Nova(Luluco’s crush) and Tetsu Inada(voice of Ira Gamagoori in Kill La Kill) playing the role of Over Justice(head of the Ogikubo Space Patrol). Each an every cast member really brings their character to life. The story itself is really good as well, we follow Luluco on her adventure to bring justice to the universe but also we get to see her and her friends journey through the galaxy to different Trigger based planets as well.

With the awesome voice cast along with a really awesome story, Space Patrol Luluco gets a 9.5/10 from me!

That was my top 12 anime from Spring Season, hope you enjoyed it! Any way thanks for reading all the way through this and until next time

This is Pervy Fatman, I’ll see you on the other side!

Winter 2016 anime! My Top 9

Hello and welcome to my review of my top 9 anime from Winter 2016!

Let’s jump right in shall we.

Number 9.

Active Raid is one of the shows that has been flying under the radar this season as not many people have been watching it. The story is based around Asami Kazari who is an Assistant Inspector and her joining a group called the Mobile Assault Division or more commonly known as “The Eighth”, her assignment is to restore the image of the Armored Police Force. Eventually they end up facing a group of people called “Logos” who are trying to cause mayhem throughout Japan by using every day people and the machines known as Willwears.

While the show itself has an interesting story, a very good art style(reminiscent of Clamp animation and a bit of Code Geass) and really cool CG animation for the Willwears, it suffers from a slow pacing through each episode and a poorly formed villain.

All together though this show is still worth the watch as all the good elements out weigh the bad and with that this show gets a 7.5/10 from me.

 

Number 8.

Schwarzesmarken(or the prequel to Muv Luv) the German word for “Black Marks”. The Show is set in the 1980’s in an alternate time line version of East Germany, it follows the East German Army’s 666th TSF Squadron. They specialize in Unconventional Tactics using advanced Technology to fight Beings of extraterrestrial origin or the BETA. The BETA are a fearsome unpredictable enemy that seem dead set on destroying the human race and taking earth and it’s resources for themselves.

Schwarzesmarken has some great points to it, the action sequences are very well done and wonderfully violent. The Mechs that are used are hand drawn as opposed to CG, which makes them stand out against the dark background and bloody war that occurs in the show.

Though it does suffer quite a bit from quite a few problems. The story slows down severely when a battle is not occurring and has suffered from a side story that almost brought down the actual story itself. The characters aren’t very well put together and can come across as boring. While it’s not necessarily required, it helps a lot if you’ve seen the original Muv Luv series to get a better feel for the setting and time frame in the show.

While there are plenty of good things about this show, the bad things in Schwarzesmarken drag down the show a lot. So overall this show gets a 7.5/10 from me.

 

Number 7.

In Musaigen no Phantom World, Phantoms, beings that blur the line between illusion and reality, wander around right under the noses of unsuspecting humans. The origins of Phantoms are mysterious and few can see them, until a research facility bombing spreads a virus that grants the ability to. Humans with special powers or “Phantom Hunters” are tasked with sealing the trouble making phantoms.

Phantom World follows Haruhiko Ichijo and his rambunctious team Mai Kawakami who are at the bottom of the Phantom Hunter ladder at Hosea Academy. In order to become stronger they recruit new teammates and develop new powers.

Phantom World has its good moments as well as a handful of bad as well. The good moments consist of some very funny humor between the characters and some very interesting story arcs, while the bad side consists of a bad arc about one character(who was actually a really interesting character until said arc) and some moments to where things completely went off track for the show.

All together though, Musaigen no Phantom World was a pretty good show all around. So it gets an 8/10 from me.

Number 6.

Kazuma Satoru, a high school student, gamer and shut-in, died on an average day walking home from school, performing the one heroic act of his life. He reawakens in the afterlife where he meets a “beautiful” but rude girl by the name of Aqua, who claims to be a goddess that guides the youth whose lives got cut short. She offers Kazuma a choice: go to heaven or get sent to another world to defeat the Demon King.

Konosuba is a fun little show that bases itself around its Comedy and Fantasy aspect, the comedy stems from the interactions between the characters. Whether it be Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin or Darkness, the situations and conversations the characters have is a huge strong point for the show. The Fantasy aspect stems from the “battle” sequences, now I say “battle” but it’s more so just Kazuma and his group stumbling around to defeat enemies.

Though unfortunately the show itself suffers from only having a 10 episode season which made the pacing to the show go a little bit fast. That, fortunately, is the only down side of the show, as the rest of the show itself is still very good. All together with its hilarious comedy and pretty cool fantasy aspect, KonoSuba gets an 8/10 from me!

Number 5.

The Students of Class 3-E return for their second semester. Following the exploits on the island during summer vacation, they continue to set their sights on their slippery teacher Koro-sensei. They have more to worry about than just their teacher, however, as enemy assassins, both old and new, are out to get Koro-sensei as well. They also have to worry about their rivals in Class A as well as the Fearsome Principal of Kunugigaoka Junior High.

The Continuation of the first season of Asssination Classroom, S2 brings more fun from Koro-Sensei and his group of students. From trying to pair Irina and Karasuma to battling the Class A students for supremacy of the school, we’re treated to a fun portion of the anime as well as getting to know the students back stories this time around!

Really the only down side of season 2 is that it’s going to end along with the manga and that’s it. The second season has proven itself as the better of the two seasons, as it has brought more story and a lot more fun to the table. All together Assassination Classroom S2 8.5/10 from me!

Number 4.

Some time has passed since humanity drove back the invading forces from what is known as the  “Special Region”. Since then, a bustling town has formed inside the protective walls of the SDF Basecamp. After Japan’s extreme show of force in destroying the Kingdom’s forces during the second battle, commerce and diplomacy between Japan and the native people flows naturally.

However, there are some in the kingdom that still don’t trust Japan, viewing them as a threat bent on taking over.

GATE S2 follows our fearless hero Itami Youji as he(as well as others) try to maintain and bring peace between both Japan and “Special Region”. We of course get a lot of answers to questions left off in the first season, but it also leaves us with even more questions from this season. We get a lot of new characters as well that add something to the story, especially to the hugely important political side.

We also get a big new villain in Prince Zozal(Pina’s Brother) and his servants, which he becomes a huge plot point during the show itself.

GATE S2 was nothing short of awesome, The story always kept me intrigued and the character interactions got even better this season. How they wrote every character this season was amazing, with Itami struggling to help others(Tuka, Pina, Lelei etc), Zozal being a really really good bad guy(enough to make you hate him with a passion), along with all the other characters you meet this season.

GATE S2 was an amazing follow-up to the first season and I look forward to S3 hopefully. Overall GATE S2 gets a 9/10 from me!

Number 3.

Meet Galko. Tall, buxom and Fashionable. She’s seen as popular and a bit of a party girl. Although she can be sharp-tongued, she’s a good person. Her close friends Otako(who is Galko’s polar opposite) and Ojou(an airhead from a Rich Family) round out the Trio.

Oshiete! Galko-chan is a short anime about the daily lives and humorous discussions the girls have and various myths about Girl’s bodies.

Galko-chan is a super funny and super endearing, with the character interactions being a very strong point of the show. For a show that runs Seven Minutes and Fifty Seconds, the animation is very good and the story telling is fantastic. From learning about who each girl is, to the funny situations involving the myths behind a girl’s body. Galko was the short show to watch from the Winter Season, it definitely set a precedent for short shows this year.

Overall, Oshiete! Galko-chan gets a 9/10 from me!

Number 2.

In the countryside stands a sweet shop run by the Shikada family for nine generations: Shikada Dagashi. However, despite his father’s pleas, Kokonotsu Shikada, an aspiring manga artist, adamantly refuses to inherit the family business. That may change however, with the arrival of the eccentric Hotaru Shidare. Hotaru is in search of Kokonotsu’s Father to bring him back to work for her family’s company, Shidare Corporation, a world-famous sweets manufacturer. While he refuses at first, he states that he will change his mind if Hotaru can convince Kokonotsu to take over the family shop.

Dagashi Kashi is a fun show with a lot of humor and it has it in spades. Along with being the Third show in the Winter Waifu War, Dagashi Kashi brings a varied sense of humor along with a bit of education for the common Japanese Dagashi Candy or snack food. By having both of these elements mixed together along with fantastic character interaction, Dagashi Kashi gets a 9/10 from me

and my Number 1 of the Winter season!

Just as tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma is sent back several minutes before the event occurs. The 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon to save many a life.

However, when wrongly accused of murdering somebody close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past, but this time to 1988. 18 years in the past…

And literally that is all I can summarize for Boku dake ga Inai Machi without spoiling the rest. Erased was the Diamond in the rough for the Winter season, being that it shined brightly among all the other shows from this season. With a unique art style, story and amazing character interaction, Erased takes all this and wraps it up in an amazing story where you find yourself cheering for the Protagonist from beginning to end and eventually absolutely hating the Antagonists.

This is the show that I will recommend time and again for those that want to know what the best anime from this year were. This will definitely be one show that I’ll be picking up when it hits shelves here in the states…

All together Boku dake ga Inai Machi gets a 9.5/10 from me!

That was my Winter Anime 2016 list! What’d you think? Did I miss any out? Tell me in the comments.

Until the next time,

This is Pervy Fatman, I’ll see you on the Other Side!

Pervy’s Summer Anime 2015 review!

Hey there! Welcome to my review of the anime from the Summer 2015 season.

I’ll be reviewing everything that I watched from Summer and giving each anime a rating at the end of each review.

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.

Our first up…

(Studio: Feel)

Bikini Warriors is an anime about a group of four women who are supposed to be “heroes” but struggle to be such and fail in many comedic ways. Clocking in at 12 episodes at 5 minutes a piece this show is set in an RPG style world where beautiful “bountiful” adventures form parties to challenge a demon king for the right to rule the land.

The Four Characters Dark Elf(Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi) , Fighter(Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa), Mage(Voiced by: Ai Kakuma) and Paladin(Voiced by: Kana Ueda) are the ones to take on the task of saving the world. In order to reach their goal they barter with villagers and fight numerous monsters all the while dressed in sexy and scantily clad bikinis.

The show itself is in particular an okay show, it can be very random and if your not fond of episodes revolving around heroines that end up in ecchi situations then Bikini Warriors may not be for you. Though of course if you actually like that sort of thing, then Bikini Warriors is for you.

All together, Bikini Warriors ecchiness works for and against it. It works for a show that has bumbling protagonist that get caught in a “Monster” Trap almost every time they fight a monster. It works against it because it becomes the plot of a few episodes and can get out of hand when it does. But with the story/character interaction being the main fun of the show it can balance itself out.

So for me Bikini Warriors gets a 6/10

(Studio: A-1 Pictures)

The continuation of the first season, Cinderella Girls season 2 continues on from the first season but with a new amount of drama.

A Woman name Mishiro is assigned as the new general executive producer for 346 productions and begins to change things. For better or worse is still to be seen unfortunately.

The pacing of season 2 is a bit off from the pacing of season 1 and it slows the show to an almost crawl unfortunately. If you liked the first season then the second season might turn you off because of the slow pacing. The story itself is definitely dragged down by the pacing as well especially with how many girls the show has to focus on.

Unfortunately the drama side to the show is also big enough to throw the show way out of proportion, the most of drama stems from the “struggle” of being an idol and from the new general executive producer trying to break up all the other small groups in order to form one big super group.

All together, Cinderella Girls season 2 has been a lot more slower than season 1 and the character development is the saving grace for season 2 unfortunately. With the unfortunate pacing and slow building story/character development Cinderella Girls season 2 gets a 6/10 from me.

(Studio: Satelight)

After the Frontier incident, everyone who knew the circumstances believed the Noise where gone but a new conflict arises. A group wielding mysterious technology stands in the way of Hibiki and the other girls. The Symphogear users are forced into another difficult fight and in this situation of extreme disparity, the battle for the song that will end the world begins…

Symphogear GX continues on from the second season with a brand new evil arising to the forefront to destroy the world using alchemy. Controlled by the girl named Carol Malus Dienheim who has created Autoscorers(living dolls) that are able to summon what are known as “Alca-Noise”(a hybrid of Alchemy and Noise creatures, they are able to destroy Symphogears) and are tasked with protecting Carol as she tries to fulfill her dream of destroying the world with Alchemy.

Through the progression of the season the Symphogear users fight this new evil and learn that it will take a lot more than just the regular Symphogears to beat Carol and her Autoscorers, thus with the creation of the “Ignite Module”(created by Carol’s sister/alter ego/other memories? Elfnine) a new hope is born.

Like the other Symphogear seasons the music plays a huge roll in the show by setting up scenes for battle sequences and high emotional moments. Also like the other seasons character development is a high mark in the show, with the continual growing up of all the Symphogear users(i.e. Hibiki, Chris etc.) it plays as one of the shows strong points. The Battle sequences are also a huge huge portion of this season as well, each sequence is done with great detail that really stands out.

All together, with a fairly good story combined with great music, character development and well done Battle Sequences, Symphogear GX is definitely the stand out amongst the three seasons of Symphogear.

Symphogear GX gets an 8/10 from me!

(studio: Manglobe)

In a city known as Ergastulum, a shady ville filled with made men and petty thieves, whores on the make and cops on the take, there are some deeds too dirty for even its jaded inhabitants to touch. Enter Nic and Worrick, they are known as “Handymen” and they take care of the jobs no one else will handle. After becoming a witness to the slaughter that the Handymen commit, they take in Alex who they refuse to silence.

At first glance Gangsta gave off a very Black Lagoon vibe with it’s character design and right off the bat violence. But it’s actually very far from Black Lagoon, Gangsta hits just below that standard. Though it can be very slow paced sometimes, it’s constant character development of everyone in Ergastulum makes the show a great deal more interesting. From learning about Nic, Worrick and Alex’s backgrounds to learning about what “Tags” and “Twilights” are, Gangasta takes its combined effort of story telling mixed with character develop, violence and slow pacing to make a pretty good anime all together!

With all this, Gangsta gets an 8/10 from me!

(Studio: Seven)

Izumi Hayato is running to be Student Council President but when a beautiful girl swings in promising the liberalization of love while flinging condoms into the audience. The newly elected student council president Ui Wakana invites herself over to Izumi’s where she promptly announces that she will become Izumi’s wife because of a drunken agreement between their parents when they where only three.

Okusama ga Seitokachiou is a romantic comedy with many R+ moments during its 8 minute per episode run time. With the definite brewing romance between Ui and Izumi mixing with the comedic timing of the sometimes “ecchi” situations they’re caught in makes Okusama a fun show. Of course the only take away from this show is the fact that Izumi somewhat capitalizes on Ui’s constant sexual advances but not completely. It almost feels like those moments don’t fit the shows atmosphere. But beyond that the show itself is very well put together with its unique premise/art style.

All together, Okusama ga Seitokaichou gets an 8/10 from me!

(Studio: Lerche)

Several murder cases take place at a middle school and a genius detective in Kogorou Akechi comes to investigate, there he meets a boy named Yoshio Kobayashi who takes an interest in Akechi and volunteers to be his assistant.

Ranpo Kitan was something a little bit different from the normal anime out there, with it’s mix of murder mystery/dark humor it stands out from the rest this season. The murders are very unique in each case during the anime, with the first dealing with using human body parts as furniture, the show builds itself off the tense atmosphere but also the dark comedy adds on to the aspect of the show as well.

All together Ranpo Kitan mixes mystery/dark humor/good storytelling and fun character interaction for something a little bit different and pretty cool. Ranpo Kitan gets an 8/10 from me.

(Studio: A-1 Pictures)

Working!!! or Working Season 3 is the continuation of our favorite group of restaurant workers!

The third season continues to explore the relationships of everyone in Wagnaria and still keeps its fun humor and comedic timing. With Minami and Takanashi along with Satou and Yachiyo being the main focus for relationships, they finally tie up quite a lot of loose ends in this season. There is also a huge focus on both Yamada with her family and Takanashi with his family, both of which where quite interesting!

With the loose ends being tied up and Working keeping its same really fun humor, Working Season 3 gets an 8/10 from me!

(Studio: Liden Films, Sanzigen)

Miss Monochrome Season 2 is the continuation of the Miss Monochrome story. Clocking in at 13 episodes at 8 minutes apiece, Miss Monochrome S2 is about Miss Monochrome’s continuing adventure to become a popular idol. For those that don’t know Miss Monochrome seeks to become as popular as the forever seventeen idol Kikuko.

With it’s fun comedy combined with positive character interaction, Miss Monochrome gets an 8/10 from me!

(Studio: J.C. Staff)

Hachimitsu Private Academy, a storied all-girls boarding school on the outskirts in Tokyo, for the new school year, boys are being allowed to enroll. But only five boys make the cut, Kiyoshi, Gakuto, Shingo, Joe and Andre are the lucky few. Unfortunately they don’t know the shocking fate that awaits them.

Prison School uses the combination of Comedy, Violence, Drama and Character Interaction to it’s advantage. With the interactions between the boys(and the constant misunderstandings), the underground student council and the other students, Prison School adds more and more to the story as it goes through it’s story. The mix of Comedy, Violence and Drama may be strange to some but under the guidance of J.C. Staff, it actually works really well. It does stay faithful to the manga as well for those who have read the manga.

With a great story that has a mix of comedy, violence and drama matched with great character interaction. Prison School gets an 8.5/10 from me.

(Studio: A-1 Pictures)

In August 20XX, a portal to a parallel world known as the “Gate” appears in Ginza, Tokyo. Monsters and Troops poured out of the portal turning Ginza into a bloody inferno. The Japan Ground-Self Defense Force took action and pushed the fantasy creatures back to the Gate. To Facilitate negotiations and prepare for future fights, the JGSDF dispatched the Third Reconnaissance Team to the “Special Region” at the other side of the Gate.

Gate is an action adventure fantasy anime with little bit of comedy mixed in. One of the big draws to Gate is the action, with the Modern Military moving into a fantasy land where Swords, Bow and Arrows and Lances are the weapons of choice, it leads to some really fun battle seens with the JSDF vs. the opposing forces. The other is the character interaction, with people from a more modern era meeting people who are used to Knights, Princesses and Dragons makes quite an interesting time.

You also get to learn quite a lot about how things work for both sides of the board in Gate. The politics of both sides are quite interesting, though sometimes it can play against the show itself with the pacing of the discussions.

So with everything that happens in and out of the show, Gate gets an 8.5/10 from me. I look forward to the second half in the Winter Season!

(Studio: P.A. Works)

An original story from the creator of Angel Beats and Clannad(Jun Maeda), Charlotte is an anime about the supernatural lives of teenagers and the price they pay for being special.

Charlotte is one of the sleeper anime from this season, it takes quite a few twists and turns through out the show that make the story super exciting. The main character Yuu Otosaka is very well written character, from learning how to use his power to almost losing his mind later, his character interactions with the rest of the cast are one of the huge focal points for Charlotte.

With a well written story, fantastic character interaction and great pacing, Charlotte gets an 8.5/10 from me!

(Studio: TMS Entertainment)

Meet, Kuromine Asahi, he has a problem…he can’t lie! He has a crush on the popular girl in his school named Shiragami Youko. One day on his way home, he learns a secret about his crush…so now he has to keep her secret or she’ll be taken away from school.

Jitsu wa is a romantic comedy with a monster twist, that makes it just a bit different from rest. Not only does it have a monster aspect but it also has an abundance of comedy, an eventual harem twist, fantastic character interaction and a really well built story.

The comedy aspect plays to the monster twist with having to hide everyone’s secrets and the many ecchi moments between Asahi and the other girls which plays into the eventual harem setting as well with each girl developing their own feelings for Asahi. It also builds towards the character interaction as well when each girl talks to Asahi and we learn about each of them individually and from there it works into the story with the pacing of the relationships between characters.

So with everything working into each other we get Jitsu wa Watashi wa one of the sleeper hits from this season, it gets an 8.5/10 from me!

That was 17-6! Are you ready for the top 5? because here we go!

(Studio: Dogakobo)

Umaru Doma is a renowned beautiful 16 year old girl in town, living with her older brother Taihei. She may act like the perfect sister with a kind heart, intellegence and popularity but when she’s at home she turns into a layabout who enjoys sleeping, gaming, watching tv, eating junk food and drinking cola. In essence she becomes a Himouto!

Himouto Umaru-chan is the perfect mix of comedy and slice of life, with Umaru’s antics and shenanigans with her older brother Taihei and her interactions between herself and her classmates Ebina, Kirie and Tachibana.

The comedy aspect comes from her constant disagreements between Umaru and her Brother when she’s in “Himouto” mode and her having to hide her Himouto self from her classmates. The Slice of Life aspect comes from when she interacts with each of her classmates, when she’s her normal self with Ebina, when she’s her Himouto self with Kirie and when she hides her identity but still has fun with Tachibana.

With the perfect mix of Comedy and Slice of Life Himouto Umaru-chan can be considered comedy of the season and with that it gets a 9/10 from me!

(Studio: J.C. Staff)

Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai

Sixteen years after the “Law for Public Order and Morals in Healthy Child-Raising” banned everything that was considered lewd, Tanukichi Okuma enrolls in the country’s leading public morals school where he meets Ayame Kajou the leader of Anti-Societal Organization(SOX) and gets blackmailed into joining. He ends up taking part in obscene acts of terrorism against the student council president Anna, who he has a crush on.

Shimoneta is the perfect mix of Comedy and Ecchi, With Tanukichi constantly coming to terms with the insane amounts of lewdness that surrounds him in SOX and his avoidance of the Crazy president in Anna and with Ayame’s foul sense of humor, Otome’s lewd drawings and battling different lewd enemies.

Shimoneta is something new and unique to anime with it’s lewd sense of comedy and very fun ecchi, also with one of the best OP/ED combos of the season Shimoneta gets a 9/10 from me!

(Studio: Tatsunoko Productions)

A year has passed since the “Tachikawa Incident” in Summer 2015. CROWDS, the system that turns mentality of humans into physical form has spread among the public. The Prime Minister backs the plan but not everyone agrees with his policy. However, peace is threatened by the mysterious organization “VAPE”, calling the Gatchaman to action once more, including their newest member, the impulsive Tsubasa Misudachi.

Insight is the continuation of the Gatchaman Crowds franchise, New problems arise for the Gatchaman with new enemies and new inner problems. With the organization VAPE causing problems along with the arrival of new member Tsubasa and Gelsadra an alien from a different world.

Insight combines action, sci-fi, great writing and really good animation to make an amazing second season. The action was stepped up to another level for Insight, with the battles between CROWDS and VAPE, Gatchaman and VAPE and eventually Gatchaman and Geldsadra. The action is definitely on the level of a Sentai show with season 2. The Sci-Fi definitely stems from the addition of Gelsadra the alien and the problems that stem from him trying to bring everyone together as one.

With all these thing thrown together, Gatchaman Crowds Insight makes a fantastic season 2 and it gets a 9/10 from me.

(Studio: Gonzo)

Futaba Ichinose is a rookie seiyuu taking her first steps into the world of professional voice acting! She may be unsure of herself, but Futaba is ready to make it as a professional seiyuu. She meets Ichigo Moesaki, an actress who won’t stop until she’s an idol seiyuu who not only acts but also sings and dances. They are joined by Rin Kohana who is already a seasoned professional who made her debut at the age of 5, who has a middle school life while working as a professional seiyuu.

Following in the footsteps of the behind the scenes anime Shirobako, Sore ga Seiyuu shows what it’s like for a new voice actor to go through the steps to become a professional voice actor. While Seiyu’s Life can be labeled as a comedy and a slice of life, there are some also serious aspects to the story as well. Between the three girls, they have some funny moments with Futaba’s bumbling and Ichigo’s chuuni side. Though again the serious aspect of the show stems from the ups and downs of being a Seiyuu, with Futaba worrying about her getting work, Ichigo struggling to become popular and Rin trying to balance her school life and her work life.

With all the aspects of a Seiyuu’s life mixed together in this great anime, Sore ga Seiyuu gets a 9/10 from me.

AND MY NUMBER ONE ANIME FROM SUMMER!

(Studio: Lerche)

Monsters-they’re real and they want to date us! Three years ago, the world learned that mythical creatures like Harpies, Centaurs and all manner of fabulous creatures are not merely fiction; They are flesh and blood! Thanks to the “Cultural Exchange between Species Act”, these once mythical creatures have assimilated into society or at least they’re trying to.

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou or Everyday life of Monster Girls is based of the manga of the same name by Okayado. It follows Kurusu Kimihito who has been “inducted” into the exchange program, his world gets turned upside down when he meets Miia the Lamia, Papi the Harpy, Cerea the Centaur, Suu the Slime, Mero the Mermaid and Rachnera the Spider.

MonMus is a mix of comedy, ecchi, harem and romance…all with Monster Girls. The comedy aspect definitely stems from all the girls trying to get Kimihito to fall in love with them, which can lead to some hilarious moments where the girls end up hurting Kimihito while trying to prove their love. Of course that does lead to some great ecchi moments as the girls try to claim Kimihito as their official mate, which is funny because MonMus did originally start as a doujin series. Both the Harem and the Romance come from the multiple girls who join Kimihito in his house and end up falling in love with him when they see a more gentle and caring side.

With everything mixing together and with the anime staying true to the manga, Monster Musume gets a 10/10 from me. The only show to get a 10/10 from me this season.

So that’s it! that was my top anime from Summer 2015! I hope you enjoyed reading through this and hopefully this influences you to maybe watch some of the shows listed!

So until next this this is Pervy Fatman,

I’ll See You on the Other Side.

Straight Outta Otonokizaka! The Love Live School Idol Review!

Welcome to my review of my favorite idol anime Love Live! Quick warning, since I’m doing season 1 and 2 there will be some spoilers but if you haven’t seen the show and your reading the review then what are you doing?

Let’s get right to it shall we?

The Story follows Honoka Kousaka a young girl who attends Otonokizaka High School which is on the verge of closing down due to low enrollment of students. After a visit to UTX High School home of school idols A-Rise, Honoka hatches a plan of her own to become a school idol to help her school attract new people to enroll.

This is where Honoka begins her journey in recruiting the many members of the school idol group that would soon be.

From the start Love Live may not exactly pull you in right off the bat, but that’s more of the charm of the show. As you progress with the show through season 1, you slowly get more and more interested in the story behind the girls in μ’s. You learn about each of the girls in the group one by one and slowly start to understand why each of them join the group. In they’re own various ways each girl finds a place in your heart.

Through out season 1 we watch as μ’s is formed from just the original three(Honoka, Umi and Kotori) to the full nine(adding in Rin, Hanayo, Nico, Maki, Eli and Nozomi). It’s quite the journey for each girl to join μ’s though, with Umi struggling with her stage fright, Hanayo trying to overcome her shyness, Rin not wanting to be laughed at for being a tomboy, Maki with her dislike of pop music, Nico trying to get over her first try as an idol, Eli trying to push past her past as a ballerina and wanting nothing more than to keep the school running and Nozomi also wanting to keep the school running but also wanting Eli to be true to herself.

At the beginning the very first song(Start:Dash, which was “secretly” written by Maki) which was performed by Honoka, Umi and Kotori, you can tell the girls have a huge passion to keep their school open for future generations. The second song(Korekara no Someday) brought in the passion of Rin, Hanayo, Maki and Nico and also brought more popularity to the group known as μ’s. It’s after this that they learn of Love Live, the idol competition to end all Idol Competitions. Thus with the recruitment of both Eli and Nozomi the girls start practicing to become better idols all around and put on a huge performance during their schools “Open Campus” to attract more people to go to their school. With the performance of Bokura no Live Kimi to no Life, μ’s starts moving up the popularity rankings! After learning that they’re well on their way to performing at the Love Live Idol festival the girls start working on making themselves better as idols and as we move forward they decide to put on a show for the school festival. Enter one of my favorite songs in No Brand Girls, but with a heavy work load comes an unfortunate incident. After much drama and a lot of emotions the girls almost fade apart but with forgiveness and one last try the girls come back to perform the first song of the show Start:Dash together.

With Love Live there are a lot of factors that play for/against the show.

One of the big factors that make the show what it is, is definitely the music. The upbeat pop style of the music is definitely the main reason that draws the attention of the viewer.

Though one of the factors that works against it is the fact that a heavy amount of drama happens towards the end of the show may throw off the viewers quite a bit because it happens so unexpectedly.

The story itself is definitely one of the stronger points of the show as well because of how well it’s written and how well it intertwines with the characters interactions with one another.

Speaking of character interactions, they too play a vital part in the production of the show, as the girls interact with one another you get vested into who they are as a person and what their personality is like. Each girl as their own personality to them as you learn about them one by one.

All of this combined makes for one hell of an idol show known as Love Live School Idol Project season 1!…………………

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Not only am I reviewing season 1! but this will be combined with season 2!

With Honoka’s stirring rendition of how she became Student Council President and failing at her very first speech in front of the whole school, I welcome you to Love Live School Idol Project Season 2!

Picking up from where we left off in season 1, we quickly find out that many a thing has changed. From the fact that Otonokizaka will stay open and the fact that Honoka, Umi and Kotori are the new Student Council, also there’s a Second Love Live looming on the horizon!

That’s right the girls in μ’s have a second chance  to compete in Love Live! But the real question is whether they should do so or not. There is also the looming factor of the third years(Eli, Nico and Nozomi) graduating to add to the many factors.

Soon the discussion is had and μ’s becomes more determined than ever to win Love Live!

Of course we start out with Maki, Umi and Kotori in a slump because it had been so long since they had worked on anything related to music.  So they split into three groups(which are BiBi, Printemps and Lilly White for fans of the side groups) to work on Lyrics, Music and Costumes respectively. With all the work put in together, we’re lead to the very first song Yume no Tobira. The Gauntlet is then thrown by A-Rise after saying that “they wouldn’t lose” in the upcoming Preliminary stages.

Shortly there after Honoka, Umi and Kotori take the 2nd years school trip to the beach while everyone else prepares for a fashion show performance. During the preparation we find out that Rin is still worried about her wearing a dress, but with a convincing talk from Eli, Nozomi, Hanayo and Nico she agrees to dawn the wedding dress costume while the others dawn Tuxedos leading us into the Love Wing Bell performance.

With the return of the 2nd Years from their school trip, the girls get together to try and decide on how their going to have more “Impact” when they face A-Rise. They go through various different ways of having more “Impact” by dressing up in clothes from the different clubs around school to changing personalities by wearing each others training clothes to dressing up as a certain “Black and White face paint rock group”. They eventually dawn their Halloween costumes for heir “Dancing Stars on Me” performance during the Halloween parade.

After having a bit of fun with the “Weight Issues” episode, the group decides that they should perform a new song at the Love Live Preliminary. With a suggestion of a love song from Nozomi the group begins to struggle having little experience in the matter. After learning about Nozomi’s back story and what her wish really was, Maki and Eli gather the other members to help the with writing a song and get lyrical inspiration from the snow that they see.

This leads us into their performance of Snow Halation and win over A-Rise in the Preliminaries. After realizing that their fans were the reason behind their driving force, they come up with a catchphrase in “A Story Achieved Together”

Both Yukiho(Honoka’s sister) and Alisa(Eli’s sister) join the school and decide to form their own group. Though after a day of visiting everyone’s favorite places, the members of μ’s end up at the beach and decide that after their last performance μ’s would disband in a tearful moment.

The group has one last practice at school the night before Love Live to stay together until their last performance which leads us to their performance of Kira Kira Sensation which the fans loved so much that they did an Encore performance which comes full circle because it’s Bokura wa Ima no Naka de(which is the Opening theme of season 1). This leads them to Victory!

Soon after the graduation ceremony for the third years happens and with a tearful rendition of Aishiteru Banzai, the show comes to a close with the performance of the song Happy Maker…or it should have because it’s right as the girls are saying their goodbyes to Eli, Nozomi and Nico when Hanayo gets an unexpected text message with “Big News” prompting everyone to run back to the club room…

Now this is where I would start the review of the movie, but I’d rather everyone go out and watch the movie so I don’t spoil anything. Trust me when I say that if you loved the show then the movie is definitely worth seeing, I know I saw it twice already.

Here our my thoughts on season 2

It’s quite the emotional roller coaster from Season 1, but it worked so well with the story in Season 2 that it pushed it into a whole different standing. Everything connected point for point, from the story to the music and even to the character interactions. Though it’s tough to choose, Season 2 is better than Season 1 on all accounts but that’s not to take away from Season 1 because with out the progression in Season 1 we wouldn’t have gotten Season 2.

It’s in my humble opinion that if there’s one idol show to watch before all the others, it’s definitely Love Live School Idol Project!

So that’s it for my review of both Love Live Season 1 and 2!

I hope you guys liked it, I went back and rewatched both Season 1 and 2 for this and after seeing the movie Twice in one day it inspired me to come back and finish this review out. There’s nothing quite like seeing a movie with your fellow Livers and sharing in the emotions that it brought out.

So until my next anime review, This Is Pervy Fatman

I’ll See You On The Other Side!

ASCHENTE! [ ] Never Loses…The No Game No Life Review!

Welcome to my review of No Game No Life!

More recently Sentai Filmworks released the DVD, Blu-Ray, and Collectors Edition for this show and I managed to grab the Collectors Edition for the sweet price of $77.99. So sit back and enjoy my review of what I consider to be the best anime from 2014 No Game, No Life.

Let’s start with some of the goodies you get with the Collectors Edition!

You get a really sweet double-sided poster

Various post cards…some that are lewd to 😉

A sweet set of stickers!

A neat little character card and a set of rules that include what number your set was(I got 588!)

And, one of my favorite things from the goodies, A set of playing cards that have the characters on them!

Not bad right?! One of the many reasons to own the collectors edition of No Game No Life. Now that we have the goodies out of the way, let’s get to the actual show!

Enter The Game..

Enter Sora and Shiro, a brother and sister gaming god duo that go by the online name of [   ] or Blank. They live a life of Game, Eat, Game, Sleep, Game, Game, Game. They get their first challenge when they receive an email saying “Have you two siblings ever felt like you where born into the wrong world?” What appears is a simple chess game and yet the way Sora explains it makes it very complicated indeed. What seems like hours later they finally beat the person who sent them the email, but he sends them another email stating “Excellent Work. If you’re that good at games…Isn’t the world a tough place for you to live? What do you two think of your world? Is it fun? Is it easy to live in?”

Another email comes in “If there were a world where everything was decided by straightforward games…A world atop a board, one where the rules and goal were clear, what would you think about that”. Sora responds in kind with “If there’s a world like that, then we were born into the wrong world.”

The Story:

The Story in No Game, No Life is very very creative and it uses the vivid imagination of Yuu Kamiya and stellar animation from Madhouse studios to bring it to life. The addition of adding in mythical creatures such as Elves, Flugel or Angels and Werebeasts only add to the fun of the story. The fact that it’s set in a world where there is no violence and no war and a set of rules known as The Ten Pledges has to be followed makes it all the more interesting. The character interactions are a main focal point of the show and drawn you in to get you hooked on the characters themselves, like the interactions between Sora and Shiro the step-siblings or the interaction between the siblings and Steph or Jibril the Flugel. Each interaction brings a lot of fun to the table, especially when Steph has her freak out moments.

and speaking of the characters!

The Voice Cast:

With the Blu-Ray/DVD set comes both the Japanese and the English dub audio

let’s start with the Japanese first

Sora is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka who has also voiced Lubbock in Akame ga Kill, Aoba Watase in Buddy Complex, Kantoku in Denki-gai, Tomoya Aki in Saenai Heroine, Sorata Kanda in Pet Girl of Sakurasou, Souma Yukihira in Shokugeki no Souma(Food Wars) and Kirito in Sword Art Online.

Shiro is voiced by Ai Kayano who has also voiced Meiko(Menma)Honma in AnoHana, Hana Mutou in Captain Earth, Saori Takebe in Girls Und Panzer, Inori Yuzuriha in Guilty Crown, Mayaka Ibara in Hyouka, Hibino Shiba in Kamisama Dolls, Mogana Kikaijima in Medaka Box, Chisaki Hiradaira in Nagi no Asukara, Muginami in Rinne no Lagrange, Utaha Kasumigaoka in Saenai Heroine, Mashiro Shiina in Pet Girl of Sakurasou and Lucy Yamagami in Servant x Service.

Stephanie Dola(Steph!) is voiced by Yoko Hikasa who has also voiced Erica Blandelli in Campione!, Kyouko Kirigiri in Danganronpa, Kei Kugimiya in Majestic Prince, Miu Ousawa in Rouge Hero of Aesthetica, Emi Yusa in Hataraku Maou-sama, Rias Gremory in High School DxD, Houki Shinonono in Infinite Stratos, Mio Akiyama in K-On, Kyouko Sonan in Kenzan Robo Daimidaler, Seraphim in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?, Diana Cavendish in Little Witch Academia and Shino Amakusa in Seitokai Yakuindomo.

Jibril the Flugel is voiced by Yukari Tamura (Yukari Tamura’s other roles in anime.)

Izuna Hatsuse is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro (Miyuki Sawashiro’s other roles in anime)

Tet is voiced by Rie Kugimiya (Rie Kugimiya’s other roles in anime)

Kurami Zell is voiced by Yuka Iguchi (Yuka Iguchi’s other roles in anime)

and now for the dub cast!

Sora is voiced by Scott Gibbs who is relatively new to the voice acting scene, he voices Oda Nobunaga in Nobunaga the Fool

Shiro is voiced by Caitlynn French who has also voiced Hana Isuzu in the dub of Girls Und Panzer, Ai in the dub of Sunday without God, Mio Nishizono in the dub of Little Busters and Kanna Makino in the dub of Tamako Market

Stephanie Dola is voiced by Sara Ornelas who is also relatively new, she voices Sui Nemuri in Chuunibyou S2 and Elbia Hanaiman in Outbreak Company.

Jibril the Flugel is voiced by Amelia Fischer who is a relatively new voice actress

Izuna Hatsuse is voiced by Kira-Vincent Davis (List of Kira Vincent Davis roles)

Tet is voiced by Shannon Emerick (List of Shannon Emerick roles)

Kurami Zell is voiced by Kara Greenberg (List of Kara Greenberg roles)

whew! that was a lot of work!

Both the Japanese and English cast bring their own unique way of bringing No Game, No Life to life. The varied differences are huge to, while the anime itself still has all the references to other anime(I.E. Jojo’s, Doraemon etc etc) but the dub goes right over them. It’s expected because a lot of the references are from other companies but that’s the charm of having the Japanese as well as the dub on the same disc.

After watching both the Sub and Dub of this show I can conclusively say that the unique charm of No Game No Life is something special that we can share with the future generations on what a good anime is. All together I hope we get a Season 2 out of this due to the light novels, because if it’s one anime that truly deserves its No Game No Life.

Here’s the portion where you normally see a rating on anime..not the case here. This is a Great Anime period. Watch it if you want or don’t, it’s up to you to decide.

Until then this is PervyFatman,

See You On The Other Side.