Harry Potter can't be entirely to blame for the continuing creation of series based upon a school for adolescent magicians, but Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou borrows a lot more from the ubiquitous boy wizard than can be easily overlooked. Thankfully the pilfering doesn't last beyond the opening ten minutes, from there the first three episodes are a maelstrom of raunchiness, magic, humour and insanity culminating in a one-versus-hundreds battle royale. Where the series will go from there is up for speculation as it ably demonstrates that, for better or worse, it is willing to discard common sense and narrative coherency to keep the humour flowing, the naughtiness frequent and pace quick.
taking place after transforming a slavering demon dog into an adorable puppy and the seductive Fujiko lounging around in her frilly underwear
Akuto certainly hasn't had an easy upbringing: left on a set of church steps when only a baby, he was brought up by the resident priests before swotting up and joining the Constant Academy for Magical Arts as a transfer student. On the train there he meets a fellow student, Junko Hattori, and become fast friends; that is until the prognosticating medical check-up demon predicts that Akuto would go on to become a much feared Demon King. Striking abject fear into the student body, he desperately tries to assure his peers that his intentions are far from demonic, however Junko is less than pleased with what she perceives as his deception and rebels against him. Akuto not only has to survive her onslaught but also the devious machinations of Fujiko Etou, the deadpan wit of the android Korone and the ebullient affections of Akuto's childhood friend, Keena Soga. In all probability he may not live long enough to see himself become the infamous Demon King.
If the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when Mikoto launches the titular railgun for the first time, no further evidence will be needed to understand that Toaru Kagaku no Railgun is a breed apart. Even when a large part of it is peppy storyline is fruitless meandering, the climaxes of the two main narratives tickle all the right areas of the brain for those looking for something different from the magically imbued children genre. The series is funny without using fan-service, touching without being saccharine and poignant without being overbearing - a grab-bag of amusing antics with a smattering of potent character-lead drama and, contrary to the title, maintains a pleasant disregard towards science.
Fast, brutal and free of the pace-killing monologues which are so often interspersed, these fights are the crowning achievements
Set in the same modernist city as its predecessor, Toaru Majutusu no Index (A Certain Magical Index), Academy city's primary form of law enforcement is the volunteer service, "Judgement". A key member of the 7th District's branch is Kuroko Shirai, a skilled teleport user who also happens to be the room mate of Mikoto Misaka, one of only a few fifth level ability users in the city. When an urban legend of a method to artificially increase one's ability level turns into fact, the number of petty crimes within the city's multitude of districts increases; more worrying however is the torpid state users fall into after limited use. A lugubrious researcher could be involved with the dissemination of the "Level Upper", but it is only the tip of a larger plot though, one which could well tear apart Academy city and those who reside within it.
"Don't burn, be moe" is how Kara no Kyoukai: Oblivion Recorder starts, the stop-motion vignette ufotable are known for as adorable as ever. It's an inauspicious message for a series which so far has staunchly avoided anime tropes, but unfortunately the new protagonist Azaka is every bit as vivacious and animated as the slang suggests, and it can't help but seep into the rest of the film. Making sporadic cameos throughout the other movies, it was a foregone conclusion that she would eventually move into a lead role, this does not automatically imbue her with any of the qualities one expects from Kara no Kyoukai and her pronounced lack of them is key to the film's drastic shift in tone.
Action is now a prismatic eruption, colour spewing from magic and faeries with complete disregard for scene comprehension
Taking place in a Christian boarding school somewhere in Japan, Azaka has been ordered by Touko to look into reports of faeries causing unrest on campus. Shiki is brought on to combat the visually ephemeral creatures, however this only antagonises Azaka who sees her as a competitor for the affections of Mikiya. A recent suicide by one of the students of the school raises suspicions, especially when her classmates are unable to recall anything about the incident or the girl in question. A teacher who resembles Mikiya catches Shiki's attention, but it transpires a student is behind both the faeries and the stolen memories; Azaka confronts the student, pleading for them to stop while Shiki faces a powerful sorcerer known as God's Word who seems to be the architect of the entire affair.
This is the movie that Kara no Kyoukai has been building up to. This is the movie that propels the series from brilliant to astounding. This is one of the best anime movies ever created. It starts with a stark black and white divided screen, the name of the film emblazoned across it, and is followed by a chaotic medley of scenes before settling in with, what seems at first blush, a more traditional narrative. However nothing about Paradox Spiral (Paradox Paradigm the officially translated title) is traditional as it twists different threads together in a story that covers time, death, family, gender and the perception of self in a way that is enchantingly cohesive and utterly enthralling.
it permeates the fibre of the film defining its structure, guiding its antagonists and adorning incidental but important props throughout
Set chronologically after the first film, Overlooking View, it is roughly divided into three interwoven stories. The first has Shiki meet up with Tomoe, a teenager who believes he has murdered his parents despite mounting evidence to the contrary. The second focuses on Mikiya and Touko as they investigate an apartment building that Touko apparently had a hand in constructing. The third and final arc binds the previous two together with a face-off against two powerful sorcerers that play fast and loose with the sanctity of human life and the governing laws of the universe. Surpassing even the previous film's fantasy quotient, Paradox Spiral is the most involved and unfettered indulgence in the fundamentals of the Kara no Kyoukai universe yet and manages to weave them flawlessly into a greater exploration of some less travelled topics.
Casting Aya Hirano as the lead character is not the worst thing that Fairy Tail does, but it comes close. Her voice is so identifiable and her status so confoundingly overwhelming that it overshadows many of the other more accomplished actors such as Rie Kugimiya (Alphonse from Fullmetal Alchemist) and Tetsuya Kakihara (Simon from Gurren Lagann). The worst thing Fairy Tail does however is through a concerted and continuous effort, wringing all aspects of originality from itself; one would have a more rewarding experience staring at a beige rug than watching the first three episodes.
poor characters can't be rectified by multiplying the number of them
Lucy is a seventeen year old wizard whose uselessness is matched only by her peppiness. No back story is given to her, no parents or family members mentioned, a blank canvas to scrawl childlike motives on in crayon. Living in a world where every gawping twit can buy magically imbued items, she of course wants to join a most notorious and powerful guild, the titular Fairy Tail. After being duped onto a boat and subsequently kidnapped, she is saved by a powerful but sloppy member of the guild, Natsu, and by the end of the first episode she is unceremoniously inducted into the supposedly elitist group. The following two have her run errands for the group. Hilarity ensues.
