Final Impressions: Usagi Drop / うさぎドロップ

September 22, 2011
Posted by MedusaS

Yes, here is your UNAGI DROP!

This anime just ended last WEEK.

Yes, it's the anime "Usagi Drop!" (Bunny Drop) (うさぎドロップ)

It starts with a dream... Literally. A silhouette of a small and tall person walking together...

A solemn occasion. A funeral is being held. Everyone in black suits, gathering around the coffin. They all mourn for the old man. But a girl is present at the funeral, that is nobody's child. A small girl with blonde hair stands next to a field of flowers...

Who is the small girl?

Oh. She's the illegitimate child of the old man.
HUH? SHE'S THE OLD MAN'S SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER?

AND YES, the story roughly begins like that. When 30 year old Daikichi Kawachi returns to his home, he discovers Rin Kaga, who's mum has ran away.
"She is an outsider!"
"She doesn't belong here!"
"Who will raise her up?"

And that was the final straw. Annoyed by their attitudes, he decides to take care of Rin HIMSELF.

And so the hardships of being a single parent begins. Leaving early from work, fetching Rin to the daycare centre, ending work late and fetching her back. Providing meals, schools and a place to stay for Rin.


Daikichi retires from his post in his job and transfers to another department. Oh the sacrifices. Still, he has to find out who is Rin's mum and why did she abandon her? From the old man's house, a modem appears, and a folded piece of paper in Rin's health booklet. What is going on?

After he discovers who Rin's mum actually is, he is disgusted by the amount of affection she actually feels for Rin, and proclaims he will take care of her for the rest of his life.

So the end of the series highlighted the transition of Daikichi from a single, self-centered individual, into a caring, selfless father for Rin, of which she has left her nursery and just started on her Elementary School journey.

Someone trying to be errr PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER?

She also makes some friends along the way, like Kouki-kun, who's mum Daikichi totally likes :)

Through the parent-teacher's meetings, she made friends with other parents and learns that there are actually no sacrifices when being a parent, of which they all enjoy life by just raising up their children.

Now from the look of the manga, it looks like this anime will cover the ENTIRE STORY of Rin growing up, BUT IT ISN'T. Well we though it was...

On a personal note, Usagi Drop excellently depicts the life of a Japanese Single-father of raising up a child in such current times. This anime had a very warm atmosphere to it, and it was funny whenever Daikichi freaked out for nothing, though I would expect the same reactions if you became a parent...

And I will do a category analysis. (sheesh DarrenW.)

Plotwise, Usagi Drop is quite original, FOR AN ANIME WITH THE CHILD GROWING UP IS RARE. Though there are other similar stories of children being outcasted during funerals, like, *cough* Yosuga no Sora *cough*



I would definitely agree its theme is the BEST! The heartwarming scenes of Daikichi and Rin are definitely must-watch! This sort of real-life situations are not common in animes!

And Rin is SO CUTE (errr. explains why DarrenW picked this anime... *whistle*whistle*). Certainly better than that other girl! And the funny thing is she's Daikichi's elder aunt, HAHAHA

If you are looking for humour, heartwarming anime with no ECCHI, then this is the anime for you. This anime is for all ages!

Usagi Drop premiered for Summer 2011 and had 11 episodes (sad though). It premiered from July 8 this year. If I'm not wrong, it also has been GREEN LIT. Yes, it's becoming a movie!

Though the anime ends here, you can always read the manga for the whole story!

It is fansubbed by Chihiro, Commie, Doki, Hatsuyuki, Oyatsu, and Taka. (wow a lot)

It has a very nice and catchy OP & ED, though i hope "high-high-high" does not mean the "high" in drugs. If you want spoilers go ahead and read the manga!



YES, THE NEXT REVIEW IS C L A N N A D

MedusaS
wwhcurrent@gmail.com

All Alone!!! & New Staff??

September 19 by MedusaS

Listen you lowlifes who will never amount to anything!

Yes, it is moi, MedusaS, and I'll be posting the "Usagi Drop", and the "Ikoku Meiro no Crosee" & Final Impressions soon...

For those die-hard "Hanasaku Iroha" fans, I'm SORRY, you have to wait till DarrenW gets back, because I don't know what it is at all. T_T

You want to know the real reason why I didn't post it yet? It's because I HAVEN'T WATCHED it to the last episode YET. Yes, due to mass workloads I have to handle IRL.

So stop complaining! :P
For now, just enjoy the reviews that have already been posted on WWHC

Oooh, and it looks like we might break even on hits this month compared with last month.

And it appears we will be having NEW STAFF SOON. Yes, I think one of their names is *KuroNeko* (haha, Ore no Imouto), and I'm not sure of the other one.

And I'm not really alone... Got FayeA here to keep me company.
And for the time being, work on this hint for the next review BY MOI:

Rearrange the letters [Romance]:

CANANDL

MedusaS
WWHCurrent@gmail.com

Final Impressions: Steins;Gate / シュタインズ・ゲート

September 15, 2012
Posted by DarrenW & MedusaS

*This anime is being reviewed again because of the revised score-structure.

Originally Posted On: September 15, 2011 (Woah... That's scary. We did not expect the dates to be the same)
By DarrenW & MedusaS 
  
El Psy Congroo!

Today me and MedusaS will be re-reviewing the final impressions for Steins;Gate! シュタインズ・ゲート
   

The famous sentence always mentioned. I'm going to talk about a new anime here, called "Steins;Gate". From the popular XBOX 360 and PC game by 5pb & Nitroplus, this new anime is sure to get viewers as well!

  
The world, is made up of an infinite number of world-lines, where there are differences in each one of them, of which through different actions and decisions, they divide.

Guy or Girl? Find OUT!!

Life in Akihabara (Otaku Heaven) starts off with Rintarō Okabe, the protagonist of Steins;Gate (Of course, he invented the name Steins;Gate), who claims to be a mad scientist (trust me, he really acts like one) and goes under the alias the MAD SCIENTIST Kyōma Hōōin!!. The female characters is Makise Kurisu, a neuroscience researcher and Mayuri Shiina, Rinataro's childhood friend. Also in the anime is Hashida Itaru, a "super hacker" in both hardware and software.

Things actually, don't go off to a good start. Honestly, i found the first episode very unappealing. (Probably explains why UTW Subs dropped the subs for the anime after the first episode only...).  The way it first ran about would probably deter anybody, due to the mad scientist/irrational thinking part.
   

HOWEVER, slowly, piece by piece, episode by episode, summing up to episode 24, IT FINALLY comes to light, the significane of episode 1. Makes you go OHHHHH! Thats how it happened.

Furthermore, don't be fooled! Normally high-plot animes are always like that, confusing. But after episode 1, it gets really good.

The main plot is about time-travel. Set in the summer of 2010, the story sets on the discovery of a microwave time machine, where the protagonist travels back and forth in time to alter what has happened in the future.

Okabe suddenly finds a girl, Makise Kurisu dead, murdered in a pool of blood, when he attends a conference regarding time travel in (the building u see above). He sends a text mesage to Daru saying the murder, and suddenly he realises... She is ALIVE.

The group suddenly realize that their microwave is actually able to send text messages INTO THE PAST (Called D-Mail) when a phone somehow interferes with the microwave when it runs. Whatever they send back into the past will have an adverse effect on the present! It becomes fun and they send message after message, to benefit everyone. 

A Cell-Phone changes, a boy becomes a girl, Akihabara's otaku vanishes (nooooooo!), and a dead person becomes alive. But there is to be a profound effect from the D-Mails! Mayuri suddenly dies, a mysterious organisation starts chasing everyone down, a time-traveller appears & the world is going to plunge into World War III! WHAT IS GOING ON? What will Okabe do now? Can he save the world from whatever chaos and make it to Steins;Gate ?!

DarrenW

Plot deserves a 10. Just peeling the story, part by part, was simply awe-strucking. As a novelist, the technique used was simply beautiful, where the ending becomes the start, and slowly you learn what lead up to the introduction. I also recommend you watch it twice to get an understanding of what's going on, unless you have super-god attention span. HAHA

Theme wise, this anime really illustrates time-travel, somehow they managed to fit in ECCHI, MOE and Romance. This anime is one of the most creative I have ever seen. Not only its presentation style, the different moods it managed to set, the different way it develops against all those conventional animes.

As a sci-fi anime, it definitely puts the theme of time travel back up again, right next to "Back To The Future". (It's really that good.) Personally I wasn't expecting anything great after watching episode 1, but after watching it bit by bit, it all starts to make sense, and the various factors put together, made to produce one amazing anime. Not a single episode after that was boring and I, for the first time, re-watched it twice.

MedusaS

Although I didn't watch the anime 3 times like DarrenW, I realised I had super-god attention span. haha

The anime certainly deserves a huge amount of credit, for the fact that I have never seen anything quite like it before. Sure, there were time travel animes, animes based on akihabara, but none on a scale quite like this.

Steins;Gate definitely makes it number one on MY LIST, for it was a truly mezmerizing anime to watch. You could feel the amount of work that has been put into it. Furthermore, what's Sci-Fi without explanations and theories? This anime certainly has that done to an amazing degree.

I also have to commend the music, Hacking to the Gate by Kanako Itou and Tokitsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku by Sakakibara Yui became my all time favourite OP & ED since I started watching anime.

COLLABORATIVE SCORE:

Steins;Gate was subbed by Commie, UTW, Steins;Sub and Doki.

Actually, after episode 8, Steins;Sub QUIT subbing the show! Haha. Honestly, just go to Commie to get the subs.

Divergence Meter

It has currently JUST ENDED. Steins;Gate has 24 episodes, premiering from April 6 to September 9 and will contain a Special, or OVA. It has also been announced that it has been "GREEN LIT", which means A STEINS;GATE MOVIE IS ON ITS WAY!

    
PS: Next review is on romance!
   
See you in the future!

DarrenW

MedusaS

Re-fitted & Edited by FayeA

Initial Impressions: Ao no Exorcist / 青の祓魔師

September 12, 2011
Posted by IAmBored

Hello everybody!!!!!!!!!!!! I’M BACK! (And might be gone for up to a month due to exams…. SO STRESSFUL!!!)

I don’t believe this! I’m actually watching an on-going anime!!!!

HAHAHA…. I would never have expected this!!!

Well… As I promised, this anime is about exorcists :D (I wanted to do D Gray man… But, well, this is more recent than that. I’ll do DGMsome day when I’m free…)

So… This is a nice anime. :D "Ao No Exorcist!" (AKA Blue Exorcist) (青の祓魔師) Let’s go!

Left: Rin, Right: Yukio

Warning: There is a bit of reference to the Bible, the characters inside and scriptures. So please just watch this anime with an open mind. :D There is also blood… AGAIN :D

What would happen if you know you are SATAN’S son? (I’d rather die!)

There are two worlds that are linked together like a mirror, our world, called Assiah, and the demon world, called Gehenna. 

Originally, no contact is supposed to occur between the two. (But if it is really true, then there’s no need for a story, since everything is so peaceful. XD)

Fatherly Love : Rin & Shiro (L > R)

The protagonist, Rin Okumura, found out about this true identity after his father, Father Shiro Fujimoto (Exorcist) told him that the things he saw are actually demons. He is the son of Satan the Devil and a human woman. His twin brother, Yukio Okumura, is a human though, since he is not strong enough to possess demon power. 

This is what happens when
you put them together :D

However, both of them are still technically, Satan’s sons.

Shiro Fujimoto died trying to protect Rin, and thus, Rin did what Shiro told him not to do: Pull the demon-slaying blade, Kurikara, from its scabbard. The blade sealed his demon powers, but once taken out, he will regain the powers and gain permanent features like fangs, pointed ears and a tail. Blue flame is seen as well when he draws the blade.

LOVE the Cat... NYAN!!
His name is Kuro.

At the funeral, he is approached by a man, (crazy man) by the name of Mephisto Pheles, who leads a group of exorcists. According to Mephisto, Rin only have three choices left: 1) Kill himself. 2) Let them kill him. 3) Kill them then escape. Rin then surpises them by coming out with a fourth option: Become an exorcist so that he can “KICK SATAN'S ASS” (quoted from Rin).

And so, his journey begins as he trained to become an exorcist in the True Cross Academy, where Mephisto is the headmaster. Thus the story continues….!

Anyways… Even though I hate ongoing animes, this is an anime that I would DEFINITELY watch :D

It’s so funny!!!! LOL!!! (BTW… I only watch comedy animes.)

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Shounen.

Plot: Very FUNNY :D But it’s serious at times. I cried when Rin’s father died. The amazing (and ridiculous) part of this anime is that Rin is a demon, but he is fighting demons??? What a hypocrite! But I like this type of weird animes! HAHA.

Ao no Exorcist is a Spring 2011 anime, and premiered on April 17th 2011, Now it has 21 episodes so far.

The first few minutes of the 1^st episode were horrible, but it is necessary and explained in the later part of the anime. (But it doesn’t mean I have to like it!). Well… What do you think?????? I’ll be doing final impressions once it’s ended… :D Hopefully not anytime soon since I LOVE IT!!!

Hint for next review: What does red liquid remind you of? (Completed anime)

PS: Hey~! Who loves BL anime or manga? Want me to review them???

HAHAHA :D

CYA in a month (I HOPE :P)

IAmBored (I am still, really bored)

wwhcurrent@gmail.com

Forgotten Final Impressions: The World God Only Knows II / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Dear Otakus,

Now I'm very sorry, but I completely forgot about my favorite anime. Oh dear...
(Yes, FayeA told me I had forgotten and so I'm doing this review before I prepare for exams...)

Yes, the final impressions for "The World God Only Knows II"! 神のみぞ知るセカイ

The NEW 1ST RANKED anime on WWHC, beating "To-Aru Majutsu no Index II".

Have to say, it wasn't a surprise when  in the last episode of "The World God Only Knows I" that they announced that a second season was to be premiered. Reading the manga, since chapter 1... where you have flying demons, a full-on otaku that turns into a "Capturing God" and conquers girls with loose souls, what can go wrong?

As the same plot follows Season 1, life centers around Katsuragi Keima, an "Otamegane"(Literal meaning of Glasses wearing Otaku), who is able to 'capture' almost any girl in his virtual games. But in real life he hates the "real world", and is extremely unpopular. After colliding with a demon called "Elsie", he unknowingly signed a contract to capture loose souls from hell. Unfortunately, he can't remove them physically, because they are stuck in the crevices in women's hearts. And the only way to remove the loose souls is through making love to them. Keima then uses his "Capturing Skills" in games, and turns into a lady's man.

In season 1, Keima conquered 4 girls, Ayumi, Mio, Kanon and Shiori.
Now, in Season 2, it will be Kusonoki Kasuga, Chihiro Kosaka and Jun Nagase.


I will not be like MedusaS and spill the spoilers for all of you...

Plot-wise, TWGOK has a relatively reasonable plot, in relation to why there are demons in the world and why Keima has to capture them. Delivery of the plot was also greatly done. Though more of the direct method of telling you what is going on, the plot isn't too complicated and you'll be able to understand a great deal of it. In one of the episodes, they even made 3 different perspectives so as you understood the epsidoe from all corners! How great is that?






Originality is PERFECT, because I have seen no other anime have a demon capture a human to conquer girls in which it will help save the universe. Though the theme might be romance, it isn't all like that! Keima, through his captures, will help the girls overcome their fears and worries, and after the conquest, the girls will grow up as new individuals.

The atmosphere is the BEST, because it involves the development of romance. There are some ECCHI scenes as well, I guess.

Well, if we go according to the manga,
I have to say the the anime follows it DAMN CLOSELY, not like those animes where only the name and characters remained the same, but the plot changed entirely.

And of course, TWGOK's plot allows for a third season, but if in the manga, there are 16 girls conquered, 4 to 5 seasons? Wow. Well, since a season 3 has not been confirmed, we will never know whether it will reach such a state.

If you like cute girls, chasing girls, 2d or 3d girls, love-sims, you will like this anime, but, if you are AN OTAKU, U WILL KNOW HOW IT MEANS TO BE KATSURAGI KEIMA. I personally sympathize with him. This anime makes us otakus PROUD to be who we are! (Though I don't play galges.)

You can get the fansubs from Chihiro (Same Name as one of the girls!), ColourMeSubbed, Commie or Sarasu-Subs. It has 12 episodes, and premiered from April 12 to June 28

Haqua looks very different in the anime than the manga. maybe it's the purple, or my eyes...

If you haven't seen Season 1, you ought to see it! (Explains a lot) Or you can see the first 2 minutes of episode 1...


The World God Only Knows #5 Official Preview Simul by CrunchyrollPromo

AND WWHC WILL HIT 5000 VIEWS SOON! CONGRATULATIONS!

DarrenW
wwhcurrent@gmail.com

Summer is ending...

DarrenW here again,

Dear Otakus,

I would love to post up more reviews of past animes, and since the summer season is ending soon, we at WWHC also would be posting the Final Impressions Anime Reviews.

Sadly, IAmBored and I are preparing for examinations soon, so I would not be available to post frequently. I guess you can leave the Usagi Drop and Steins;Gate reviews to MedusaS, since she watches it as well!

Medusa's reaction when she heard she will be the only author for the month.

She will also be doing the Initial Impressions Reviews for the Anime we picked for Autumn 2011!

When I get back in October, Hanasaku Iroha, Ikoku Meiro no Crosee and Mawaru Penguindrum reviews!

And now, some short messages from watching Mawaru Penguindrum!

What is scary? And why is he NAKED?

OH MY GAWD O_O_O_O

Why is everybody dead?

OH MY GAAAAAAWD X_X_X_X

Yes, and the transition video "ROCK OVER JAPAN" still keeps playing every episode, and there is also the introduction of "fabulous max!" which you readers should go and find out what that is!

DarrenW

wwhcurrent@gmail.com

Final Impressions: GOSICK / ゴシック

Hey all! This is DarrenW, and today I'll be doing the final review on a Spring 2011 Anime, Gosick! / ゴシック
I do apologize this review was delayed.

Gosick, (No IDEA why its called that, if you translate the Japanese name at the bottom, you get Gothic, not Gosick...) is an anime which is based in 1924, between World War I and II, in an imaginary country called Sauville, in the story, one of the stronger European Nations at the time.

ha....ha.....ha....ha....

Shrouded in mystery, folk tales, legends, myths an superstitions, Gosick is all about adventurous pursuits, which the main characters risk their lives in them.

The story starts in a school called St. Marguerite Academy, where a Japanese teen, Kujo Kazuya, moves into the school as a foreign student. The third son of an imperial soldier, he has issues about pride in his history. Someway or the other, he meets Victorique de Blois, who is always BORED, (Much like me really, melancholic...). Victorque posseses amazing detective skills, which she calls the "fountain of wisdom/sagacity (depends what your fansubber says!)". An outcast from his family and forever ridiculed as the "daughter of a murderer", she remains lonely, until the chanced meeting. Only these 2 are the main characters of the story, unlike those Harem stories where you have so many characters u lose count.

In the story, which i intend not to spoil for you, the two go around Sauville exploring superstition and mystery, where they end up learning a little more about Sauville's horrid and terrible past and deeds.

VERY RARELY do i get to see an anime based in the 1920s period, and one that has such AMAZING art. The detail is amazing and plot is well done. (I'm not saying its perfect, but it's very well drafted).

Still, even though I'm no Lolicon (Actually MedusaS calls me that everyday now...), Victorique is so CUTE, Oh my gosh, cutest looking female character, best EDs, and amazing plot and art! This has to be the perfect Anime!

Unfortunately though, after watching it to the end, it is what the general otaku public thinks of this anime, and I have to agree, the plot gets a bit boring after the halfway point. But, as a reviewer, I always vow to watch any anime to the end!

After the christmas party, the Gosick atmosphere suddenly changes very abruptly. No more warm cosy "library to outdoor" adventures. Everyone gets captured and placed into separate places.

However, I have to say the plot regarding the queen of Sauville Queen Coco is quite well drafted. And it does get teary near the end, as Victorique and Kujo gets separated for a long time, just like the prophecy by the village elder. And I have to admit, Albert de Blois is just MAD, MAD I tell you.

1, 2, 3, who died?

Then suddenly Japan plunges into a war, and Kazuya goes bald. Have to say he gets injured quite badly. Hahaha 0_o.

Oh, and the sad thing as well is that almost everybody DIES. (sorry for the spoiler...)

Who Is THAT?

But, there are certain things I will never understand. How does her hair turn white? How did the boat end up in Japan safely? How did Victorique even get there in the first place? How did Kujo survive the war? The last episode was very rushed...

Overall i still take the theme of perserverence & the "never-breaking" bonds of love are being displayed here. Awesome anime.

Happy Ending :D

You can get Gosick from ACT-SUB, Darksoul-Subs, Hatsuyuki-Tsuki, Static-Subs and Tokimeki Subs. Or you can do what i did: Download Episodes 1 to 13 with Derp Subs, then they DROPPED it, then go to Chihiro

Gosick has 24 episodes, and premiered from January 7 to July 2.
And it also has a light-novel series.

There were probable reasons why it was dropped, perhaps due to fragmented and broken plot structure during episodes 11 - 13. They did not have much of a meaning to what was going on, and only until episode 15 do you get the full "wow!" impact. What to do? Every anime must have an "omake" episode or 2!



DarrenW
wwhcurrent@gmail.com