So yea, I’m gonna need a break there to catch my breath after watching that one.

I vant to be…alone

(more…)

Who Knew?

OK, better start from the beginning.

Did you do something with your hair?

(more…)

Remember that show about the boy that transforms into a girl and battles other girls with either magic, guns or swords, and the mysterious Moderators who arranged those fight?  Well neither do the writers, and frankly, that’s turning out awesome.

THE CAKE IS A LIE!
(more…)

Kampfer has managed to rise just above the level of stupid I expected for a show of this type. There is much less fan service than one would expect, and hints of a plot behind all the random violence. I think what struck me most is the way they treat the gender bending protagonist. Rather than being a guy taking advantage of his situation, circumstances have him spend most of his time as a girl, and he actually plays the part. Lucky for him, all Japanese school girls are lesbians.

You read that right.

Not a Y chromazone in the house

Episode 2 sets up this situation, when the student council president, Shizuru, is revealed as the first enemy Kampfer.  This is the first sign that the story can rise above the depth of stupid I expected, as we start delving into the fact that no one really knows what the Kampfers are.

Hey, a plot point!

They still fall back on cliche personalities, though.

Tsundere is Japanese for Bitch

Now on to Episode 3.  This show confirms what every guy always suspected. Put a gaggle of females in an all girls school, and the need for testosterone drops to nil. This is revealed thanks to a flimsy excuse by the student council president to enroll Natsuru as a girl on the all girls side. The twist here is Natsuru is not so good at maintaining his transformation, and thus, hi-jinks ensue.

This is making me blush

I should point out there is no fighting in this episode, at least not with guns or swords.  Instead, this is developing into a first for me – an all girl harem show (so much for swearing off yuri).  First you have Sakura’s hot, hot pursuit of Natsuru.

What is she trying to say here?

Then Akane stakes her claim, though I’m still not clear if she is after girl Natsuru or boy Natsuru.

Subtile

What makes all this overt sexuality work is the fact that Natsuru sets records for densest anime character of all time.  Where talking white dwarf levels of stupidity here.

What was your first clue?

Shizuru’s solution to this is to start the rumor that Natsuru is already dating…Natsuru?

The question is not Why, but HOW!

Apparently breeders are no fun, and he quickly looses the interest of most of girls, but not Sakura.  She challenges Natsuru for the affections of Natsuru.  That’s right – Natsuru is his own rival.

Love square with three people?

Oh the psychology papers I could write about this show. There is always a slight lesbian undertone in any female ensemble cast, going all the way back to Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon. Sometimes it’s implied, sometimes explicit, but in this case, it’s completely played for laughs. I suspect once the joke wears out we will be on to new things, like the love square between Sakura, Natsuru, Natsuru, and Akane. And we still have one more Kampfer to go, I’m guessing another red to balance out the sides.

Kampfer.  Concept – girls transform into battle mode and fight each other for reasons they are not entirely clear of.  Potential – high.  Execution – WTF?

Let me explain.  This is not a good show.  And yet, if they keep it dumb, there is some serious potential.  First, I like the team concept, even though the same team keeps attacking each other for no apparent reason.  Next, transforming into a Kampfer can transform not only your appearance and abilities, but personality as well.  Akane is an example of that.

Where does the hair band go?

Of course, sometimes it’s a little more extreme…

Not exactly cross-dressing…

The only thing that could make this show any better is lesbians…

CHECK!

But as for plot or logic, there we enter stupid territory.  Why are they fighting each other if they’re on the same team?  Why does no one have a clue why their fighting, yet off they go?  Obviously, this is not a thinking type show.  Bring on the dumb!

I didn’t blog about episode 2 of the new season because it didn’t seem like there was much there. Summer memories, slice of life, all pretty cliche stuff before the new school year. I have had my faith restored in Haruhi, however, as we again see nothing is as it seems. As Kyon observes:

First clue – you’re in this anime

(more…)

Today we will take a look at two fairly different animes that have a common element.  While it’s true that Moe girls is pretty much an element of every anime these days, what makes these two shows unique is that is about all they have going for them.  The first is the oddly named Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!! This falls into the dumb girl in cute outfit category, something they willfully promote.

I give them props for totally avoiding the transformation sequence with this McGuffin

The other is Sea Story, a more lighthearted story of sea folk mingling with their Earthbound counterparts.  One issue I noticed – they’re not really merfolk.

Legs?  You’re going get a letter from Hans Frickin Christian Anderson.

(more…)

I didn’t blog about episode 2 of the new season because it didn’t seem like there was much there. Summer memories, slice of life, all pretty cliche stuff before the new school year. I have had my faith restored in Haruhi, however, as we again see nothing is as it seems. As Kyon observes:

First clue – you’re in this anime

(more…)

I didn’t blog about episode 2 of the new season because it didn’t seem like there was much there. Summer memories, slice of life, all pretty cliche stuff before the new school year. I have had my faith restored in Haruhi, however, as we again see nothing is as it seems. As Kyon observes:

First clue – you’re in this anime

(more…)

I’m stuck without my home computer, so I am going to have to do a text based review of this, the triumphant return to the Haruhi world.  Adjust your reading glasses and…begin!

This episode picks up right along with the old season.  It could even be part of the old season, which, considering the time bending design of the release of the first season, could in fact be the case (OK, I actually read that the first and second season are concurrent, we’ll see if that holds up).  Best of all, this is one of my favorite type of episodes, a time travel episode!  And not because that means it’s a Mikuru-centric episode.  Despite the popularity of the female cast members, my favorite character remains Kyon, and every episode is Kyon-centric.  I love the fact that Kyon is the calm in the midst of the Harhui storm, taking whatever comes along in stride.  Need him to travel back in time three years?  Sure, why not?  Need him to sleep in a room while you adjust time/space around him?  He’s there.  Need him to walk a random road and help the first person he sees?  He’s on it.  I love that Kyon maintains a sharp mind and wit while anyone else would have the screaming heebee jeebees by this point. 

The plot is fairly simple.  Haruhi is uncharacistically excited about Tamabana, a Japanese holiday where you hang wishes on trees for the gods to read (I think – look it up).  Haruhi puts her own twist on it, concluding that the two gods that answer Tamabana prays reside on two distant stars, 16 and 25 light years away.  Thus the wishes must be for events to take place 16 or 25 years in the future.  Just a normal day in the SOS brigade.

After Haruhi takes off seeming disappointed that the gods didn’t personally come by to answer her pray, Mikuru takes Kyon three years into the past for no reason she is willing to share.  As usual, Kyon is all “sure, why not” and goes along, only to be KOed for the trip so he doesn’t learn any time travel secrets.  Mikuru then gets the KO treatment as grown-up Mikuru (from Season 1) asks Kyon to head down the road and help the first person he comes across.  This is, of course, a middle school aged Haruhi breaking into her middle school at night.  Kyon is forced to help her create the chalk alien message she became famous for (again, see Season 1).  At the same time, he ends up suggesting to an impressionable Harhui that the high school he attends may in fact have aliens, time travelers, and espers (but no sliders – whatever that is). 

I’ll skip over the filler “we’re stuck in the past, oh noes!” storyline and return to the present. Here we dissect the meaning of the trip. Kyon points out that his meeting of Haruhi may have influenced her decision to attend their high school, thus violating the prevailing theory of causality yadda yadda yadda whatever. This also leads to the fact that Haruhi admits loving Tanabana because of a pleasant memory she had during that holiday, once again re-enforcing the importance of Kyon in her world (there is no indication she realizes that middle school stalker Kyon and this Kyon are the same person). Finally, to drive the point home, Kyon plays chess with Itsuki rather than the normal go. Itsuki points out that the queen is the most powerful piece on the board. Not said is that despite this, the king is the most important piece. That, I feel, is the central theme of the show, is that even if Haruhi is a god, she is uncontrollable and unstable without Kyon, even if he doesn’t realize it. I’m hoping this season explores why.