Final Impressions: Arcana Famiglia

Posted by IAmBored
November 11, 2012

Hello people :)

This is a comedy-action anime.

La storia della Arcana Famiglia (アルカナ・ファミリア) Arcana Famiglia, Italian for "The Story of the Arcane Family")



The story is starts in Regalo Islands, an island that specializes in trading. There is an organisation called Arcana Famiglia, which is some sort of like a police force in the area. They protect the island from threats, within and outside the island. So they patrol in groups to protect the island and maintain peace within.

Sumire - Mama

There is a 'Papa' (Mondo), who is the head of the family, and a 'Mama' (Sumire) who is his wife, and also the judge of the family. They are like the father and mother figure in the family. They are also the parents of the only female protagonist in this story, Felicita. Go watch it to know how to pronounce it... Trust me, at least 50% will pronounce it wrong the first time they see her name. Me included.


So this family is different from others as each of the members have a contact with Arcana cards  (Something like the tarot cards). They each have a special power and they have the mark of the card somewhere on their body. Everyone has a different spot on their body.

The family

The anime starts with the Papa's birthday!!! He announces that there will be a Arcana Duello among the Arcana users to choose his successor. The winner of the duel will not only win the "Papa" seat, he also gets a wish and his daughter's hand in marriage. Of course the ojousama (lady, as called by many of the members in the family) is furious and refuses to let her future be controlled by her father. As such, she decides to train and participate in this competition as well, so as to choose her own future.

Together with Nova, who is her cousin and childhood friend, and Liberta, who is also her childhood friend, they set out to win the duel with a common goal: To win the duel and not let Felicita get married. As such, they encounter quite a number of challenges and they grew stronger after facing each one.

Pace - Mr-I-love-l...y

Other minor characters include Luca, the attendant for Felicita. Pace, who is a big eater with huge strength. Debito, the guy who always calls Felicita "Bambina", which means little girl. Dante, the bald guy with enormous guns and lastly, Jolly, who appears to be the antagonist. I am still a little perplexed by him...





The Bad:

1) TOO SHORT!!! MAKE A SEQUEL YOU PRODUCERS!!! YOU CALL THAT FIGHTING???

2) *cough* Errr... The humor in the anime is either pun, or someone gets beaten up in a funny way... And it is not exactly the HAHAHA kind which I like...

3) Well, this anime has the potential to become a really good fighting anime like hitman reborn, but something was screwed up halfway...

4) The characters were not exactly well developed, there are like little stories per episode to show their lives before they join the arcana, and how they trained their powers etc but...

5) The little romance that the producers put in the anime is interesting but pathetic.... Come on, how many more triangle loves do we need? Cliché...

6) Awkward conversations...

7) WHAT THE F... I have nothing else to add.

LOL

The Good:

1) The graphics are really nice :) Good animations.

2) The soundtrack...?

3) -________-

FINALLY!!!!

So basically, it is a total let down. I was really expecting an awesome anime. But what do you expect from an anime that is without a manga? This anime originated from a game for PSP with the same title. So basically the producers like dug into their brains to make a pathetic storyline. Ok maybe it is not that pathetic, but its focus is like, lop-sided. The first episode already mentions that there will be a duel, so one would expect it to immediately focus on the preparations or the emotions for the upcoming battle etc...

BUT NOOOOO, we have to deal with the emotional crap of the characters' sad past and random awkward stuff that took up more than 70% of the entire series. Then everything else was squeezed into the final few episodes. COME ON...Its not like there are a load of episodes for you to squeeze everything into...

The shortest duel ever

All in all it was a stupid anime that I am never going to watch again rather reasonable anime for its lack of manga to back the plot. If there is a sequel I may consider watching it, but I would probably wait for it to finish serializing before watching it.

O_O

For those of you out there who are considering watching this, if you hate any of the points I mentioned before, then don't bother watching... SERIOUSLY. I am never a person to discourage people from watching an anime, yet you will always find an exception somewhere somehow. Otherwise, I do wish that those who are going to watch this anime keep an open mind about this anime, and do remember that however awesome the beginning is, it is going to go downhill very fast... To those who are looking forward to waste a bit of time, I do welcome you to watch this anime :). It is quite a fun piece of work to watch if you do not have high expectations.

I have no words to describe how disappointed I am...

*sigh*

Producers who are seeing this don't sue me. I am giving my honest opinion about the anime. I am not paid to do this...

"La storia della Arcana Famiglia" debut on 1st July 2012 and is fan-subbed by Commie, HorribleSubs, NyanTaku & Hatsuyuki. The anime ended on 16th September 2012 with only 12 episodes. It ended quite early... :(



I used a lot of "..." today. It represents my lack of vocabulary to express my inner thoughts.

IAmBored
Edited by Tr3xus

Initial Impressions: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo / さくら荘のペットな彼女

Posted by DarrenW

Hey readers!

We got 631 likes on facebook! Yay! And with the end of our advertising campaign coming to a close, we hoped all those on Facebook liked our reviews! Thank you for supporting us!

omg... Its the same colour as our wallpaper. Sh....

And today, I will be introducing you the last anime on my list, "Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo / さくら荘のペットな彼女"!

Basically, before I say anything, I would like to say YES, this IS and ECCHI title, so those who don't like ecchi, LOOK AWAY NOW!

So yea, that is a scene from Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, your ordinary ECCHI series. So where does it begin?

It begins when we are introduced to your ordinary main protagonist, (Ah, yes, TYPICAL setting) Sorata Kanda. A second year student attending Suimei Academy (Suiko), living in Sakurosou, "A place for Sumei University for the Arts Affiliated High School's problem children." He tries, in a vague attempt, to be anything but un-ordinary.

Why? Well...

Because EVERYBODY ELSE IS CRAZZZY. Let's meet them shall we?

Misaki Kamiigusa

Resident 201. A very eccentric character, Misaki is possibly the most energetic and optimistic character I have ever seen in an anime. Commonly regarded as "alien", because of her unnatural powers and wacky ideas. However, she can appear normal at times, and loves Jin. She is reknowned for her ability to create animations for various anime corporations, and earns big bucks.

Chihiro Sengoku

An art teacher of Suiko, she is single and unmarried, and sufferering from what seems to be lazyness (unusual of a teacher). She often attempts to find men due to her unmarried status, even to the extent of being a mistress (WHAT).

Jin Mitaka


Actually one of the more normal residents so Sakurasou, Jin stays in room 103. Well known for making animation scripts for animes alongside Misaki. He often gives advice to Sorata so he's not so bad. But he is known to have dated hell-knows how many women, which makes him kind of a ladies man, in a bad way.

Ryunosuke Akasaka

Resident of room 102 and hikikomori, so you won't catch a glimpse of him in the physical form. He makes a communicative software called "maid", in which he uses to communicate to the rest of Sakurasou. Skilled at making software and hacking, he likes to invade on Sorata's privacy.

--------------------

And so, that's why Sorata wants to "escape from Sakurasou". But all that changes when somebody visits! Its our female protagonist, Mashiro Shiina, Chihiro's distant counsin. And so, Sorata is placed in charge of her.

But SHE'S IMPOSSIBLE to handle, (lack of common sense and any form of ideas on how to live) as illustrated by the pictures. Quiet and blunt, Shiina doesn't really care about anything much except fufilling her dream to draw a perfect manga.

Then Sorata discovers her history. The "Mashiro Shinna", worldwide reknowned talent in painting masterpieces since young. (Art pieces like those in museums). Sorata then discovers that he is the only odd one out. Everybody has talents unimaginable at their age, whereas he is just a common student.

What will Sorata do? What are his plans on the future? Will he still leave Sakurasou? What will happen at Sakurasou? Watch to find out!

Personally, I recommend Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, despite the fact it is ECCHI, because it is extremely good fun to watch. I split my sides so many times in one episode I lost count. The uncanny ability by this anime to evoke laughter certainly gets my recommendation. You will get a cheerful and happy mood from this anime. It just evokes laughter and a sense of family.

The art styles and musics used are pretty normal, though not fantastic. It has a good introduction and developing plot. I call romance, friendship, companionship, and comedy.

So yes, if you are confused about any ECCHI titles to watch, this is a good one!





Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is an Autumn 2012 anime, and it will have 24 episodes (Wow. Thats long). It is currently being fansubbed by Ahodomo-EveTaku, Hadena and Rori. It is also available on Crunchyroll as Simulcast (2 days late).

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA

Best Openings Autumn 2012

October 24, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hey Otakus!

Yes, its time again when we rank the opening and endings this season!

So for some weird reason my youtube started loading very slowly, so this review took quite some time to make. So here are the official ranking for OPs this Autumn.

As usual I have to remind you guys that we know that there are many many other openings out there, but we can only rank the ones we are watching.

This time I have to say, the ranking for 3 animes were super close. With a difference of only a few points. Also, Shin Sekai Yori is not ranked here because the OP for that anime doesn't exist. (No OP as of yet)

And due to copyright we might not show some OPs. (Sigh...) So do enjoy the openings we show! If there are any!

9th. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
Music: 3.8
Transitions, Effects & Animation: 1.3
Total: 5.1


Song: Sparkling Daydream by ZAQ

I honestly, liked this song very much. It has an awesome tune and rhythm to it, but watching it was a headache! Literally, I got a splitting headache from watching this opening. It was very fancy and nice and all, but due to the fact the transition was so flashy caused my head to hurt. To those who are prone to seizures, please avoid this OP!

8th: Little Busters!
Music: 3.5
Transitions, Effects & Animation: 2.3
Total: 5.8


Song: Little Busters! by Rita

Very nice tune. I like the vocals and beat. But the transition were a bit faint.

7th: Busou Shinki
Music: 3.3
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 2.6
Total: 5.9

[Video Removed]
Song: Install Dream by Kana Asumi, Minori Chihara, Kaori Mizuhashi, and Megumi Nakajima

I liked "Install Dream" to some extent, but mostly the OP was well done because of the transitions.

6th: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Music: 3.0
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 3.0
Total: 6.0


Song: Kimi ga Yume o Tsurete Kita by Takamori Natsumi, Nakatsu Mariko, ペットな彼女たち, Kayano Ai

All round a pretty decent opening. Cheerful mood going on which is quite nice. The song is nice because everyone is singing, I guess.

5th: Magi
Music: 3.5
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 3.0
Total: 6.5

[Video Removed]
Song: V.I.P.

A pretty nice song, especially since its been sung by a guy instead of the rest, which are all girls. Magi had a lot of things going on in the OP, so its quite nice.

4th: Sword Art Online [Opening 2]
Music: 4.0
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.0
Total: 8.0


Song: INNOCENCE by Eir Aoi

Awesome tune there, I really liked the song, thought the transitions were here and there, pretty good but not fantastic.

3rd: K
Music: 4.3
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.5
Total: 8.8


K Opening by Jomaur
Song: Kings by angela

I loved this OP, basically, it was very cool, with the Scepter 4 & Homura Clan members, but compared to the last 2, this one was just "very good". The transitions were cool psychedelic and very amazing, to be frank. Song was traditional and modern at the same time.

2nd: PSYCHO PASS
Music: 4.2
Transitions, Effects & Animations: 4.7
Total: 8.9


Song: Abnormalize by Ling Tosite Sigure

Going for the black and white, PSYCHO PASS's OP was definitely something. Though not a fan of the tune "Abnormalize", I loved the chorus tune. The transitions were amazing and badass, and I really liked it.

1st: BTOOOM!
Music: 4.5
Transitions: 4.6
Total: 9.1


Song: No Pain, no Game by nano

And YES, BTOOOM, by a margin, is the best OP this season, mainly because OF THAT SOUND. Yes, "No Pain, no Game" is currently my favourite tune. But that's only half of it. It was because the transitions and animations in this OP was so fast packed and matched the song so well, that I couldn't miss it. 1:17 is probably what sums it up.

-------------

And there you have it. Yes it might be objective, but I really tried very hard by listening to each OP at least 10 times before I made judgement.

Congratulations BTOOOM!

DarrenW

Initial Impressions: PSYCHO - PASS / サイコパス

October 23, 2012
Posted by DarrenW & MedusaS

YES!

I've been waiting since the start of the season to review this!

So today MedusaS and I will be introducing a new Autumn 2012 anime to you guys, PSYCHO - PASS / サイコパス.

HUGE DISCLAIMER

[Information Provided by DarrenW]

I will keep this short, but interesting.

PSYCHO - PASS is set in the near future, where a city is run through psychology, yes, criminal enforcement through examining the mental state of the entire population. PSYCHO - PASS is a system whereby measures such a mental state.

Tsunemori 

And the story begins when we meet our main protagonist, Inspector Tsunemori Akane, who has just enetered the crime scene I mean her first day on the job at the "Public Safety Department"

Akane enters the Public Safety Department with exceeding qualifications as shown by Sibyl System (Another monitoring system)

And immediately, a big case arrives, and it becomes clear as to how enforcement is carried out. Enforcers, along with inspectors, comprise of people who have been identified as "latent criminals", where their "crime coefficient" (due to PSYCHO - PASS) is too incredibly high to remain in social order.

Then they roll out their tools for the job. "DOMINATORS", as they are called, is technologically infused gun, which has the ability to select individuals to target and to decide what degree of punishment should be carried out. (Computer + Gun BIG GUN)

Main Characters

Akane then meets her colleagues, who are a collection of possibly the most awesome individuals, all people with incredibly high criminal coefficients since young.

However, on the first case, Akane becomes mortified of what she sees. Justice has become unjust, with the system taking over man's judgement and dishing out the punishment itself.

There are flaws within the system. Does mankind truly need a system which measures the propensity of people to commit crimes? What will happen? Find out by watching this intense Sci-Fi thriller!

DarrenW

Immediately, once I started watching PSYCHO - PASS, I can tell you that I was immediately captivated by the action. The build up of suspense is very nicely done.

The design of many parts of the anime, CGI and technological tools used, really impressed me (normally I don't really take notice). I want that personal room-service bot!!!

The setting and plot is simple and easy to infer almost immediately, delivered with ease as I would put it, so a lot of watchers won't feel lost and all. It has the potential (and I'm most certain) it will have a very elaborate and complex plot structure in the future. Something is about to happen! Initial impressions are very good. Serious and intense plot, good action scenes, good character developments.

The writer for PSYCHO - PASS (Gen Urobuchi) is the same writer for Fate/Zero.
Designs carried out by Nitro+ and produced through Productions I.G.?
Main character is voiced by Kana Hanazawa?
Ending Insert Song is sung by EGOIST?

Why are you still sitting there? This anime is a MUST - WATCH. Watch this NAO!!! (Editor: I hope this is not a typo)

MedusaS


Immediately I could tell this was no "ordinary" anime. Uh... not immediately actually, I had to see a few PVs first before I decided to add this to my watching list.

So I found PSYCHO - PASS AWESOME! I like Sci-Fi Thrillers very much. (Though from looking at my reviews its very hard to show that). PSYCHO - PASS embodied the human condition, psychology, culture, and many philosophical views, of which it is still a THRILLER.

It looked very realistic, so I appreciated it even more. Just hope out future ISN'T like this. I can't really say anything more because I don't know what to write?

All the characters look like they want to murder somebody (no wonder crime coefficient is so high), but they are all actually very nice people. Tomomi Masaoka deserves my respect.

I liked the OP and ED A LOT. EGOIST is one of my all time favorite artists (bought the album recently). Opening song was very creative and had a lot of interesting sounds to it.

Still though, I didn't understand why the PV I watched was so misleading.

Expecting awesome stuff I.G.! I don't want to be disappointed!

PSYCHO - PASS is an Autumn 2012 anime, which is produced by Production I.G. It aired on October 11 on Fuji TV's noitaminA block, and is also airs at the same time on Animax Singapore. It will have 22 episodes. It is fansubbed by Commie, and is also available on FUNimation as Simulcast.

Have fun!
DarrenW & MedusaS
Edited by FayeA

Initial Impressions: Busou Shinki / 武装神姫

October 20, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hey all!

It's me again, and before I bid thou adieu, I will be providing you with 2 initial impressions (Editor: Its actually 3, he forgot about the third one) that I have promised. Today, one of which called "Busou Shinki"! / 武装神姫

So what is Busou Shinki? To those who do not know (like myself), Busou Shinki is generally a subset of figurine culture, except for the fact that they aren't really figurines. What do I mean?

Well, each Shinki has a set of inter-changeable parts, where different battle armourments are able to be attached or swapped. Majority of these Shinkis were created by Konami, and it looks like a pretty decent and good fun to collect I guess.

But of course, that isn't what the anime is about? So what IS the anime about?

Well, for starters, the shinkis I described are REAL in the anime, able to roam around freely and have a concious thinking mind. (Possibly the dream of the collectors). Players who own Shinkis can send their own into battles with other owners, and win awards, etc.. blah blah blah fighting, killing, explosion.

But the owner introduced in the anime (Rihito), doesn't feel the same way. He prefers to let his Shinkis live a normal and carefree life, instead of getting blown up to pieces by battling with other Shinkis.

And here are the three main Shinkis we are introduced to:

Arnval. Rihito's childhood friend. Having owned Arnval since young, he shares fond memories with Arnval and Arnval also feels the same way. Generally the cheerful and smiling type, Arnval also helps around with the household work and carries a sense of responsibility.

Atlene

Cecillia Alcott

Atlene. Basically clumsy in nature, Atlene is mostly very blur and always stumbles over things. She also appears act very cute at times. However, what intrigued my interest was NOT that, but the fact SHE LOOKS LIKE CECILLIA ALCOTT (Editor: Infinite Stratos Character). I mean SERIOUSLY? They look so alike. Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue suit, the face.


And then we have Altines, the third Shinki owned by Rihito, whom many sources say is tsundere but I can't see that. Basically, she was the third Shinki owned by Rihito and she acts pretty much normally.

Then, upon moving back to his childhood home in Japan, Rihito gets a surprise, when he discovers a black chest. Upon opening it, he finds this:

Strarf, which is one of the brand new models of Shinkis currently available, of which recently won the Shinki competition recently.

And then thats where the plot falls apart. Yes, the setting is battling Shinkis, guns and robots, but where's the storyline?

Well, to give you a picture of what's going on in this anime:

1) The Shinkis help Rihito move in using their powers. Household chores. (Ep 1)
2) The Shinkis help Rihito cook a celebratory meal. Cooking. (Ep 2)

Looks like shhhhh------reding of cardboard!!!

Of course, at episode 3, it appears that the plot has finally picked up, but you should see it for yourself.

Personally, I find this anime to be "meh", because of the setting and plot. It's like Infinite Stratos all oer again, except now with smaller characters (literally). The battle scenes look very intense and amazing, but like all mecha animes interest level drops after seeing explosions, noises and blur fighting scenes for 5 whole minutes.

Of course, I like this anime for its other things, like a creative storyline, and no harem (PLEASE no harem). Of course, the outfits are ecchi, so expect lots of that.

It will appeal to people in age-groups between 15 and 17? I guess so, and figurine collectors. Its a good promotional method for the Busou Shinki figure series.

Busou Shinki premiered on Oct 4, and is currently being fansubbed by Commie and Hadena. It will have 12 episodes, and is produced by 8bit. You can also find it on Anime on Demand and The Anime Network (4 Days Late)

The OP and ED. Nah.

Have fun watching battles (or many other stuff)!

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA

Past Anime Review: La Corda d'Oro: Primo Passo

Posted by IAmBored
October 18, 2012

I am back! ....
I should remember to finish my reviews after I start writing them.... :( This review has been in draft for I don't know how long...... HAHA :D

Yeah so today is another music based anime.... :)

 La Corda d'Oro: Primo Passo (金色のコルダ Kin'iro no Koruda)

Hino and Lili

To know this story, you have to know about the school. The school, Seiso Academy, has a history. The founder went overseas to appreciate music and there, he saved a fairy, who repaid him by granting his wish of founding a music school. The statue in front of the school is modeled after the fairy that the founder saved.

The Seiso Academy has two sections. The first one is the General Education section, where the 'normal students' attend. They are differentiated by their black uniform. The other section is the Music section, where the musically talented students attend. (Duh...) They are differentiated by their white uniform. So some of the students from the Music section has some sort of a superiority complex, where they view themselves better than the 'normal students'. This perception has led to a few plot development.

I bet I can form a rainbow with their hair

The emo one

The fairy that was saved by the founder is called Lili. He cannot be seen by everybody. This is portrayed at the beginning of the anime where Lili asked why nobody can hear him. So enter the protagonist, a girl named Kahoko Hino. She is a 2nd year student in the General Education student. She is a very passionate and kind-hearted girl, she is also quite blunt. She was a normal student until she met Lili. Apparently, only those with a pure musical heart can see and hear Lili. Since it has been quite some time that someone had since him, Lili was extremely excited and rang the school bell using his magic, signifying that the upcoming music competition will be held in the school and not elsewhere.Through all this, Hino was freaked out. She later found out that she is to participate in the music competition too even though she has no music background and didn't enter her name. The reason is because she can see Lili that is why she needs to enter the competition. Hino confronts Lili afterwards. But Lili used his charms and tears to 'persuade' Hino not to drop out of the competition. At the same time, Lili also gave Hino a magical violin. The violin can be played by anyone, as long as they us their heart to play. So then Hino enters the competition. There were other competitors, and Hino was the only one who was in the General Education section. (Of course later she wasn't the only one.... Watch yourself to know who :D) Yeah, and the story goes on and you know the plot, a few one-sided love stories and a rude and cold guy usually appears... Then... LOVE! Yeah, pretty much predictable. (I just realized I talked too much on the plot.... Oh well...)

idk what they're doing

So my impressions: 

Shimizu - One of the competitors

1) Awesome music!!! :D There is a lot of different instruments, violin, cello, flute, piano etc. So you can hear different classical music from different instruments! As I come from a musical background, classical music usually interests me, especially piano music.

2) The plot development is rather fast paced, since the contest is separated into parts, and the anime brought through these periods rather quickly. Though, there are some characters that need more development.

3) Rather cute and funny at times, but a little dry at other points. So much so that I want to throw my shoe at the screen so that they will hurry up and get to the more exciting points.

All in all, a rather cheerful (though a little sad at times) kind of anime. This anime is quite cute at times too. Although I wouldn't really promote this anime to those who have no interest in classical music, as they will probably fall asleep halfway through. There are a lot of mentions of composers and their pieces. So this would probably be more interesting to those who want to increase some of their knowledge in the field of classical music.

There is a second season of this anime, called La Corda D'Oro: Second Passo. But it is only two episodes and ends with a cliffhanger!!! :( And it is mainly to promote the video game, so I didn't really watch it in detail as I am unsure whether there is going to be more episodes (though I highly doubt so.....)

Primo Passo debuted on 1st October 2006 and has 26 episodes.
Enjoy!!!! :D

Hint for next review: Mafia related! :))

IAmBored
Edited by Tr3xus