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Monthly Archives: December 2006
Anime Review: I”s Pure - Score: 84.7%
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 – 1:30 pm
The Essentials
Name: I”s Pure
Genre:: Romance, Drama
Episodes: 6
Released: December 9, 2005 - June 23, 2006
Based On: I”s manga series by Masakazu Katsura
Director: Mamoru Kanbe
Produced By: Pierrot
US Distribution By: N/A
Major Japanese Cast
Ichitaka Seto: Katsuhito Nomura
Iori Yoshizuki: Shizuka Itou
Itsuki Akiba: Asuka Nakase
Yasuo Teratani: Nobuyuki Kobushi
Yuka Morisaki: Yuko Goto
Nami: Naoko Suzuki
Major English Cast
N/A
Scores
Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: N/A
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)
Total: 140/170 (82.4%)
Review
I”s Pure is about a boy named Ichitaka and his pursuit of the quintessential hot and popular school girl Iori and the bumps and detours he takes along the way, with the guidance, or often misguidance, of his friend Teratani. This series is the standard shy, somewhat-incompetent boy tries to get perfect girl anime series, though it does mix drama and comedy, and thus isn’t strictly either a romance-comedy or a romance-drama.
About 2/3 of the series is presented as flashbacks while Ichitaka and Teratani are waiting for Iori and another friend on Christmas eve two years after the story begins, but before Ichitaka has confessed to Iori. Each of the first four episodes are largely based on looking back at major events of Iori’s and Ichitaka’s relationship over the preceding two years. The final two episodes follow Iori and Ichitaka after the Christmas party that finally takes place at the end of the 4th episode.
Considering it’s only 6 episodes long, some might think that it lacks depth, but I think it does pretty good for a 6-episode OVA, with the story holding together pretty well. One can’t expect a lot of character development in such a short series, with the bulk of the character development reserved for Ichitaka, and some for Iori, with everyone else in the cast being actors that are primarily meant to advance the story. Even so, Ichitaka’s character developments are still pretty good.
The animation is pretty crisp, I thought, and while some of the background art might have been better for an OVA, I thought the character designs were excellent. The music is also pretty good, largely based on violin pieces.
This series is definitely heavy on romance, and as I said earlier, it is a mix between a drama and comedy (and mixes it very well), but those wanting just a romance comedy will probably find it a little too heavy. However, those who like a dose of drama with their romance will probably enjoy this show.
First Watched: January - September 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes
Anime DVD and Manga releases for December 12 - 18
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 – 2:26 pm
Anime DVDs
December 12, 2006
E’s Otherwise - Complete Collection
Elemental Gelade - Volume 4
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu - Complete Collection
Haré+Guu - Volume 7
Kodocha - Volume 10
Manga
December 12, 2006
Angel Sanctuary - Volume 17
Basara - Volume 21
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order - Volume 8
Beck - Volume 6
Boys Over Flowers - Volume 21
Excel Saga - Volume 15
Fruits Basket - Volume 15
Kare First Love - Volume 10
O-Parts Hunter - Volume 1
Rave Master - Volume 22
Sensual Phrase - Volume 17
December 13, 2006
Oh My Goddess! - Volume 25
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #2
Saturday, December 9, 2006 – 5:27 pm
You can download it directly from the following address (14.8 MB):
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode 2
You can download the rss file for the podcast here:
http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/podcast.rss
Also, I have re-reviewed the anime Oh! My Goddess OVA, changing it’s overall score from a 75% to a 78.9%
Also, my podcast is up on itunes. If you search for anime under podcasts, you should find it as Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast.
Anime DVD and Manga releases for December 5 - 11
Tuesday, December 5, 2006 – 7:26 pm
Anime DVDs
December 5, 2006
Eureka 7 - Volume 5
Full Moon - Volume 3
Hellsing Ultimate - Volume 1
Inu Yasha - Volume 49
Magic Knight Rayearth - World of Box Set
Naruto - Box Set 2
Trigun: Remix - Volume 5
Zatch Bell - Volume 7
Manga
December 5, 2006
Aishiteruze Baby - Volume 5
Baby & Me - Volume 3
Bleach - Volume 16
Busō Renkin - Volume 3
Crimson Hero - Volume 4
Eyeshield 21 - Volume 11
Flame of Recca - Volume 21
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - Volume 6
Naruto - Volume 12
Yu Yu Hakusho - Volume 11
Zombie Powder - Volume 2
Manga Review: Magic Knight Rayearth - Score: 84%
Monday, December 4, 2006 – 4:22 pm
The Essentials
Name: Magic Knight Rayearth, Magic Knight Rayearth II
Genre:: Fantasy, Adventure
Tankoubon: 6 (3 in each set)
Serialized In: Nakayoshi
Released: November, 1993 - April, 1996
Story & Art: CLAMP
Published By (Japan): Kodansha
Published By (US): TokyoPop
Scores
Story: 8/10 (x 3 = 24 pts)
Art: 9/10 (x 3 = 28 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Total: 84/100 (84%)
Review
Magic Knight Rayearth is one of CLAMP’s first manga series, and probably their first true breakthrough series. Three girls - Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are all visiting Tokyo Tower on school trips when they are suddenly transported to Cephiro - a completely different world. There, they are told that Princess Emeraude, who is imprisoned by the High Priest Zagato, has called for them - three girls from another world - to fulfil the legend of the Magic Knights.
In the first series, consisting of the first three volumes, the three must fight monsters and fight Zagato’s minions in order to save Princess Emeraude.
The the second half, the three, having been sent home after the first series, are mysteriously called back to Cephiro only to see what the consequences of their first trip have brought. This time they must defend Cephiro against invading forces from three of it’s neighbors, all of which want to become the new pillar of Cephiro.
Magic Knight Rayearth is a pretty quick read, since many of the pages are taken up by fighting, meaning a lot of SFX with little or no dialouge on some pages. The stories themselves are relatively short and sweet and probably would become overly redundent if it lasted much longer than it did without a broader storyline. The art is pretty good - the usual CLAMP quality, and the story is decent - I wasn’t overly excited by it, but it wasn’t boring either.
This manga is targeted more towrds teenage girls, though I think it can be enjoyed by others. TokyoPop has rated it Y (Youth Age 10+).
First Read: April - May 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes
Anime Review: Please Twins! - Score: 86%
Sunday, December 3, 2006 – 10:19 pm
The Essentials
Name: Please Twins, Onegai Twins
Genre:: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 12 TV, 1 OVA
Released: July 15, 2003 - October 14, 2003 (TV), April 23, 2004 (OVA)
Based On: Please Teacher anime
Director: Yasunori Ide
Produced By: Bandai Visual
US Distribution By: Bandai
Major Japanese Cast
Maiku Kamishiro: Daisuke Namikawa
Miina Miyafuji: Mai Nakahara
Karen Onodera: Ai Shimizu
Kousei Shimazaki: Kenichi Suzumura
Tsubaki Oribe: Michiko Neya
Ichigo Morino: Yukari Tamura
Mizuho Kazami: Kikuko Inoue
Marie: Tomoko Kaneda
Haruko Shidou: Ryoko Shintani
Matagu Shidou: Hiroaki Miura
Major English Cast
Maiku Kamishiro: Johnny Yong Bosch
Miina Miyafuji: Kari Wahlgren
Karen Onodera: Lara Jill Miller
Kousei Shimazaki: Crispin Freeman
Tsubaki Oribe: Jessica Straus
Ichigo Morino: Julie Anne Taylor
Mizuho Kazami: Bridget Hoffman
Marie: Sandy Fox
Haruko Shidou: Therese Nguyen
Matagu Shidou: Tony Schnur
Scores
Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 9/10 (x 2 = 18 pts)
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)
Total: 172/200 (86%)
Review
This is a series that is a sequal to, though mostly independent of, the series Please Teacher. This series is about a boy, Maiku, who rents a house that he saw on TV and that he has a picture of with himself and an unknown girl when he they were small. Soon after he moves there, two girls arrive at the house saying that they are his sister. The problem is that all three of them have a copy of a photograph with only two people in it.
One of the girls is Maiku’s sister and the other is not. But which? The three living together creates doubt and tension in all three of them that results in both drama and laughs. To add to it, Maiku’s sempai seems to have the hots for him, as well as his seemingly-gay classmate, leading to the two girls trying to stave of possible rivals to Maiku in the case that they aren’t his sister, while being fully aware that they could be his sister.
There is fanservice, but I wouldn’t call it blatant (as in, not consisting of huge bouncing boobs), though it does include “nippleness” nudity.
This is a pretty good anime with above average, though not great, animation, story, story, and music. This ranks among those anime thare are unique enough to be very enjoyable.
First Watched: April 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #1
Saturday, December 2, 2006 – 3:39 pm
Today I am starting a new feature as part of this blog: The Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast. Today I release Episode #1, which is mainly a welcome episode where I talk about the blog, but it also includes some anime news and upcoming anime and manga releases.
The first episode can be downloaded from here: Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #1
If you want to include the RSS feed of the podcast, you can access it here. The podcast is 25:47 long. The download is 17.7MB.
I’m also going to apply to have it included on iTunes, so look for it there after a few days (hopefully).
I hope you enjoy it!
