On the face of it, B Gata H Kei has a throughly lamentable premise, one sure to invoke a slow shaking of the head, perhaps only piquing one's interest to understand if it is really as misogynistic as it sounds. It isn't, but still squirms awkwardly around the core premise of a libidinous fifteen year old girl aiming to one day have a hundred sexual partners. The chance to switch-up the lustful male archetype is thoroughly squandered by a protagonist who is overly aggressive and nigh-on unlikable and is coupled with a boy whose potato-like features bely his incapability to connect with anyone but his exhibitionist sister and doe-eyed neighbour. This is apart from the uncomfortable celebration of a newly adolescent girl seeking out sexual gratification and the messages about relationships this underpins.
an angry, air-headed ditz with a fuck-everything attitude but prudish sensibilities, who is chasing a friendless boy who would lose a personality contest with a radiator
Yamada is looking for a someone to take her virginity. Not just anyone however, her mild body dysmorphia regarding her genitals and her rampant imagination have so far prevented her from even having a boyfriend despite her idol good looks. When she bumps into Takashi in a book store, she decides he, a virgin like herself, is the ideal person to start her on her quest for a hundred sexual partners. Takashi of course is entirely oblivious to her overtures and Yamada's often misconstrued advances cause more confusion than copulation. Seeking advice from her friend Miharu, she continually seeks to trick or trap Takashi into having sex with her while simultaneously being thoroughly naive to the concepts and her burgeoning feelings for the dense object of her lust.
America has never been best represented in anime, usually portrayed with horrific stereotypes or laughable inaccuracies; on the face of it then, comic luminary Stan Lee and production studio BONES would seem like strange bedfellows. But the unimaginatively titled joint-project Heroman demonstrates that while an entertaining series was never in question, whether the two party's strengths will marry together is still up for debate. Three episodes is never enough for BONES to reveal anything other than the most cursory information, however what's here doesn't even have a scent of nuance. Instead, this is a brash, straightforward romp devoid of subtlety, more akin to the sleepy brainlessness of Saturday morning cartoons than the studio's usual fare.
fighting against the affable idiocy shown in the protagonists and dispensing with common sense
Adolescent Joey Jones doesn't have it easy: he is frequently pushed around by a brawny jock and has to work a part-time job in a dingy café to provide for his diminutive grandmother. The only silver lining for him is the jock's lively sister, Lina, who has taken an interest in him and the wild-haired cripple Psy who despite his weakness, remains a true friend. A stray extra-terrestrial lightning bolt changes his fortunes when it strikes a recently repaired toy robot which transforms into the autonomous, battle-ready Heroman. The lightning however was just a precursor to an invasion by alien creatures - Earth's defences useless against them and only Heroman is able to match their terrifying strength. As the mothership settles in Center City, the battle against their incursion seems to have only just begun.
After breaking free from Yoko Kanno over three years ago, Everywhere is Maaya Sakamoto's new compilation album that brings together fifteen years of vocal work including some of the most iconic theme tunes to some of the most influential anime and a variety of TV and radio shows.
With only one new track on the two CD release, for some it may seem a hard sell for tracks that are available on all of her other albums; however with such a stunning track list, it reads more like a "best of" than simply an anniversary collection. There is a definite split with the tracks: many of them having been featured as anime, TV and radio themes whereas the others are simply memorable or notable works from her six full albums, two single collections and two "concept" albums. The media tie-ins intrinsically link the songs to an emotional theme that echoes the productions they were attached to; they also represent touchstones in the timeline from Maaya's entrance as Hitomi in the Vision of Escaflowne to both the musical and vocal powerhouse she is now. On the other hand, the original tracks anchor the collection to her previous releases and remain more personal to listeners, tied to whatever event or period within their life when they first experienced them.
Watching the latest series of Ikkitousen, with the absurd subtitle of Xtreme Xecutor, is like viewing a relic of the past. Series focused on both fighting and fanservice have long since surpassed it in terms of what can be offered: whether that's titillation or solid action, the first three episodes contain much of what characterised the first three series. Primarily an adaptation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic (of which there is a self-titled, more straight faced series airing within the same season) with some lacklustre combat and ludicrously proportioned girls losing their clothing at the slightest opportunity. Next to nothing has changed from the preceding series, so like slipping into an old set of clothes, there is comfort in the familiar but also lamentation at their threadbare state.
this is a series concerned with curvaceous ladies and their disrobing antics
Mostly ignoring the resolute waste of time that was Great Guardians, the schools are enjoying a time of relative peace after the battle which took place at the climax of Dragon Destiny. That is until a spunky young lass appears attempting to make trouble for some fatal grievance her brother-cum-guardian suffered at the hand of the nefarious Sousou. After a selection of tepid duels, some involving baked goods, she is put in her place and only barely manages to escape; she is picked up by Ryuubei stumbling blindly in the rain and taken to Seito. The girl, Bachou, begs to be trained at the school until a misguided excursion with Ryuubei leads to an intervention by the interminably ditsy Hakufu. Now begging to be trained by Hakufu, an imperial decree is delivered with word of a new fighting tournament, issued by someone claiming to be the Emperor Kentei.
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.
The opening moments of Shiguri are divisive: after a montage of lingering, abstract motions, a retainer prostrates himself before his lord and, in slick, gory detail, fatally offers his intestines up to enforce the severity of his request. What follows in the succeeding episodes is often harrowing, frequently disgusting, but never gratuitous - a meditation on the consequences of violence, set within a fiercely feudal system where the sword is the highest form of law. Coming from the same director as the exquisite Texhnolyze and the same studio as Aoi Bungaku, the subdued and graceful viciousness of the story is accompanied by visuals that are as dark as they are breathtaking. The whole then is a deeply affecting series that challenges many tropes common to the samurai genre and proves there is still a place for a poised and measured storytelling style.
raw and primal, as far from top-knots and toffs as possible
When a local lord calls a tournament, two visibly deformed swordsmen enter the arena: one missing his left arm, the other is blind and limping. The pair share a chequered history as two of the last practitioners of the Kogan style of swordplay. Named after Kogan Iwamoto, who after a faux pas concerning his polydactylism cost him a high ranking position, set up the school. Seigen Irako joined when Gennosuke Fujiki was still an assistant instructor, and after only a year came to rival him in proficiency. Both men vie for the position of successor to the Kogan style, and for the affections of Kogan's daughter, Mie; Seigen's hubris however will be his undoing as the school is unforgiving of slights against them and the punishment meted out will surpass mere cruelty. Revenge however, is just as ruthless.
