Camera angles low, skirts short, females buxom and bath scenes aplenty, Ladies versus Butlers never forgets to pepper each episode with some pointless nudity or contrived situation aimed at keeping the chronically distracted engaged. Odd then that it routinely forgets its own premise, most of its own rules and the chest size of many of its cast. Moving away from the cringe inducing antics of Kanokon, the series guides the noseless female protagonists through a variety of light-hearted storylines, culminating in a predictable and tedious love triangle with the vacuous male lead. To its credit though, not once does it stray from the cheerful light humour that it competently achieves.
memorable more for playing fast and loose with human anatomy than ever
Akiharu's first day at Hakureiryou academy is fraught with misunderstandings - chased across campus by one of the schools top students, Selnia Iori Flameheart, he is only saved by his childhood classmate, Tomomi Saikyou. His training to become a butler is subsequently beset with problems as he is dragged from one situation to another by the snooty, devious and arrogant members of the school which run the gamut from a princess with a penchant for magical girl anime to a mute foreigner with an overzealous bodyguard to a confused transvestite. As Akiharu becomes more well known, his admirers begin to increase and it isn't long before he has a bevy of blossoming young ladies inexplicably smitten with him, much to his chagrin.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
Something happens at episode seven of Sora no Woto: what seemed like a placid mongrel dog suddenly bared its teeth. Brief and unexpected, it gives the animal a presence it hid so well previously. Rarely does it show them again and in the series' brief run of twelve episodes the dog remains serene and predictable - the bite never comes despite ample opportunity. Contrary to earlier predictions based upon the first three episodes, the series meanders but never succumbs to the obvious and though it may leave more loose threads than is justifiable it most importantly has a heart, a feature lacking in so many other series.
Facial features are wont to wander and only the unflattering military garb prevents the same happening to limbs and other body parts
In the distant past, a disaster befell the Earth and much of the knowledge of technology was lost along with much of population and fauna. After joining the Helvetian army as a bugler and assigned to the 1121st Platoon, Kanata must adjust to the slow paced lifestyle of the remote border town of Seize and her comrade's idiosyncrasies, all while improving her bugling skills. Her misadventures include the exploration of a haunted, ramshackle school, an impromptu training exercise as well as rescuing children from a vicious typhoon. Her squad mates include the precocious Kureha, the solemn technical genius Noel, the big sister Rio and their whimsical leader Filicia; over the course of the series they rebuild of the multipedal tank: Takemikazuchi while their pasts are revealed and motivations explored.
Following up the critically acclaimed and astoundingly brilliant The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was never going to be an easy prospect but with a timbre shift sure to cement Mamoru Hosoda's role as a world-class director, Summer Wars proves to be a worthy successor both creatively and aesthetically. Taking the fluidity Madhouse gifted his previous film with, the animation is dialled up until innumerable characters are all raucously moving at once - breathing, laughing, talking and living on screen. Pomp and flair help avoid the stereotypes that so often go with virtual-world stories and though it still degenerates into a touch typing marathon, the excitable charm it displays throughout elevates it from the standard, tepid blockbuster fare.
a blend of virtual worlds, rogue AIs, questionable mathematics and enforced time limits
Photo by xahldera and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0
Taking place in Glasgow in the week leading up to the Glasgow Film Festival, the premiere was preceded by the airing of the first movie in the Rebuild series: Evangelion 1.0. Bookended by an informative talk by Emily Fussell of the BBFC, and an introduction by the effusive Jonathan Clements. Kicking off a series of animated shenanigans dubbed "Scotland Loves Animation" and succeeding the Scottish anime convention "Auchinawa", Scotland and Glasgow in particular is becoming one of the prime places to catch anime and Japanese goings on.
Beginning shortly before half three in the afternoon, tickets had been purchased online for the double bill and sold out in short order. The line for entering the cinema stretched out of the building and it was immediately obvious by the dress of the patrons what they were queuing for. After a short wait and filing into the surprisingly spacious cinema one of the Glasgow Film Theatre, the proceedings were kicked off by Emily Fussell, a media classifier for the BBFC, with a talk focusing on the tribulations in classifying anime for release in the UK.
There is a spacious fifty minutes to each episode of Katanagatari - enough time for sweeping, epic tales befitting of the peculiar art style and setting within feudal Japan. Disappointing then that each episode has enough content for ten minutes which is written for twenty four then stretched torturously out to fifty. Utilising every possible means to extend and protract results in great swathes of time dedicated to ceaseless banter between the two protagonists. The script may be sharp enough to prevent abject boredom and the characters just shy of caricatures, but like the recent Bakemonogatari, this isn't enough to hide deficiencies in key areas such as storyline and pacing.
this is one of the purest interpretations of what some view as the anime ethos
Based upon a light novel series, Katanagatari follows the reclusive martial-artist Shichika Yasuri and the white haired strategist Togame as they search for twelve legendary swords forged by the master craftsman Shikizaki Kiki. After travelling to the island where Shichika has stayed all of his life, Togame explains her predicament and manages to enlist his help after one of the twelve sword's current owners attacked, endangering both her life and that of Shichika's sister. Journeying to Kyoto then to Inaba (now Tottori Prefecture) they track down the second sword, wielded by an proud swordsman still clinging to his ancestor's legacy. Despite Shichika's naivete, he and Togame begin to bond through their tribulations and a reticent respect for each other's role and specialities is born.
