Weekly Challenge 2016: Week Two Summary

This Week’s Summary

Completed: 6

Dropped: 1

Unfinished: 2

Not Yet Watched: 3

Ave Rating: 3

Full Details

Name: Ichigo Mashimaro Release Date: Jul 2005 to Oct 2005
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life (12/12 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Name: Paniponi Dash! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Comedy, Parody, School (3/26 Episodes) Rating: ☆

Name: Sugar Sugar Rune Release Date: Jul 2005 to Jun 2006
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life (51/51 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Name: Kamichu! Release Date: Jun 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Supernatural (12/12 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Name: Gun x Sword Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Shounen (15/26 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆☆

Name: Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver Release Date: Aug 2005 to Feb 2006
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Shounen (26 Episodes)

Name: Suzuka Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sports (3/26 Episodes)  Rating: ☆☆☆

Name: Shuffle! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Jan 2006
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Magic, Romance, School, Seinen (24 Episodes)

Name: Patalliro Saiyuuki! Release Date: Jun 2005 to Nov 2005
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Shoujo, Shounen Ai (26/26 Episodes)  Rating: ☆☆☆

Name: Tide-Line Blue Tide-Line Blue Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Military, Shounen (12 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆

Name: Amaenaide yo!! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Supernatural (12/12 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆

Name: Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Magic, Romance (13 Episodes)

 

Ok no challenge for the next two weeks due to real life commitments but I will be back soon 🙂

Tide-Line Blue Review

Watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Completed Episodes: 12/12
Aired: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Producers: Bandai Visual, TV Asahi, Lantis
Studios: Telecom Animation Film

Tide-Line Blue is an original anime.
Bronze

This wasn’t  a bad anime per say. It just suffered from a few flaws. The world is falling apart and everyone is fighting each other for power. Pretty standard and guaranteed what would happen.

The anime is shown through about half a dozen points of views which made it hard to connect to any one side. The person we are most supposed to care about is a boy called Keel. Keel who was forced from his home by his twin brother and got separated from him. Teen, the twin, grew up on one side of the war and is mature and dependable. Keel was adopted by the leader of the other side and brought up with a silver spoon and doesn’t know how to anything but cheat and lie. Keel is also in love with a girl who has a baby at the beginning of the story.

The twins relationship is a strange one, partly because for most of the show. Keel hates Teen and because he’s now stuck with the people who brought Teen up, is constantly compared to him. I’m not sure about Teen’s feelings on Keel, except he makes it so Keel and Isla are under his father’s protection so I guess he has some feelings for him. When they finally reunite, they do start to get along, though. By the end of the show, they are friends. Not without a few fights, however.

As the story progresses I grew more interested but it was a very close start. The ending was good for the series. Seriously, though, Keel has no life skills. It’s amazing it lives through the show.

 

Gun X Sword Review

Watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Episodes: 15/26
Aired: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Producers: Studio Tulip
Studios: AIC A.S.T.A.

Gun x Sword is an original anime written by Hideyuki Kurata.

Silver – Not dropped but unfinished due to technical difficulties.

The first episode was good. Interesting idea and concept, if not a little common with animation considerably more modern than some of the other anime released at this time. In some ways, it’s a little sad that some animes are of a similar quality to this now. Even this was ahead of the time or some studios are not putting their money into this anymore.

In some ways, it’s a little sad that some animes are of a similar quality to this now. Even this was ahead of the time or some studios are not putting their money into this anymore. The effects in this are brilliant, as is the movement of the characters. They are fluid and the fight scenes are beautiful.

I have never watched cowboy bebop (which from the theme and genres I’d guess this anime was trying to be a predecessor from) but this anime reminded me of Yatterman and World Destruction Society at some points. The air of a world which is more technically advanced but still as chaotic and unruly as when it wasn’t. Oh and there is some idoit who is trying to change the world into their own world view.

Our group of mismatched heroes in this one are your a-typical mix of people who don’t quite fit in with the real world. Van’s an airhead who likes putting all the condiments he can on to a cheap dish and forgets his friends names easy, but he does have a heart. Wendy is more your typical serious anime girl and Carum is the knowledgeable wanderer in this scenario. Plus Joshua for comic relief and Pricilla to brighten up the show.

That all being said. There were occasions I was bored with the anime. It made me care for the characters but I had to take breaks regularly. It’s a bit heavy to just blast through all at once. I was getting into the arc again when… the site I was using apparently began having problems. For some reason, I could only see the first 5 mins of the episodes of Gun X Sword so unfortunately, I could not finish the series. Hopefully, when I have time in the future I will return to it.

Pani Poni Dash

Watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Completed Episodes: 3/26
Aired: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Producers: Square Enix, Starchild Records, GANSIS
Studios: Shaft

Pani Poni Dash is a manga adaption originally by Hekiru Hikawa.

Stone

It’s bright, it colourful, it tries to put as many jokes as it physically can in each episode and I just didn’t like it. Classroom anime’s like these are 50/50 with me anywhere because of the format but adding in the parody element meant this was never going to be my favourite of this week’s anime.

Some people love these types of anime but the humour in this one fell flat on me and I didn’t particularly like the animation style either. So I gave up. I gave it three episodes but I just didn’t click with it. I liked the concepts that aliens were watching them. Plus it wasn’t just one class of characters to deal with but two.

Good luck if you like these types of anime but it’s not for me.

Ichigo Mashimaro Review

Watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Completed Episodes: 12
Aired: Jul 2005 to Oct 2005
Premiered: Summer 2005
Producers: TBS, Movic
Studios: Daume

Ichigo Mashimaro is a manga adaptation originally by Barasui.

Gold

This anime has been described as tooth-rotting sweetness. It’s an apt description. This is about five girls, one who is 20, smokes and is in university (Itou) and four who are still in primary school and are best friends. Itou watches over the four young girls and their antics which often breed trouble. The four girls have fairly distinct personalities which mesh together well.

It’s cute, well designed and the animation is well done. I’m actually quite curious about the manga now because of the story itself. They are just silly little skits but they are very entertaining. There is a standard on about going to a festival, but there are also ones about finding jobs and losing weight.

Miu, in particular, is a strange mix of adorable and annoying. She’s extremely energetic and random. Which basically means she gets into the most trouble and is often the centre of attention. She does have a soft side too and gets lonely on occasion when the others don’t cater to her madness. Doesn’t stop the watcher wanting to strangle the girl at times but meh.

One thing which is amusing is the use of cigarettes in the programme. Itou smokes and it is an ongoing thing that she needs a part time job to pay for them and borrows money off her sister. In some ways, it makes it more realistic because people do smoke but I can’t imagine it happening in modern anime.

So it’s cute, has a good plot line and has good animation. Plus I enjoyed it lots. So Gold.

Kamichu Review

Watched 11/2016

Kamisama de Chūgakusei

Type: TV
Completed Episodes: 12/12
Aired: Jun 2005 to Sep 2005
Producers: Aniplex
Studios: Brain’s Base, Production Reed

Kamichu is an original adaptation written by Tomonori Ochikoshi, Koji Masunari, and Hideyuki Kurata.

Gold

This is was a delight to watch. The main character Yurie is adorable and a real sweetheart who ultimately does her best in the new role she has found herself in. The show is heavily influenced by the Shinto believe that there is a good for everything in existence. One morning Yurie wakes up and knows she is a god. Not quite understanding or believing what has happened, she accidently summons a typhoon and from there her new life as a god begins. Alongside being a middle school student.

 

What’s really amusing is that everyone just accepts the fact she is a god and the first middle school student god. Not to mention teasesher mercilessly (in a good natured way). Kamichu is a hopelessly sweet anime which is hard to pin down in one genre. We have aliens, cats and boats from ww2 which all need Yurie’s help and she goes about it happily. With the occasional hitch in her own life.

She is still a mostly normal girl though and has to deal with her crush and trying to keep up in school. Her two friends are with her throughout her adventures, one who has grown up in a shrine and understands matters of the gods a little better than Yurie and another who unfortunately often ends up being possessed by gods to do their bidding. For example putting on a rock performance.

There is nothing which fazes these girls.

Music wise, it’s good. The opening song suits the anime well. The animation itself has its own flare which makes its unique. Not in a way which is bad, I actually really liked the anime style. It’s great to see a style where the characters actually more with a bit more freedom. The way the characters move really adds to the flavour of the anime.

I don’t quite think it makes my favourites but I certainly enjoyed the anime more than some I’ve been watching lately.

Patalliro Saiyuki Review

Watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Aired: Jun 2005 to Nov 2005
Producers: Magic Bus
Studios:Magic Bus

Patalliro Saiyuki is a spin-off of a manga by Mineo Maya.

Silver

This is basically one of the many manga retellings of the traditional Chinese story Journey to the West. With more comedy and a dose of shounen ai for good measure. Not that I mind that at all. The story is basically about a monk travelling to obtain Buddhist sacred texts in order to learn more of Buddha’s teaching. Along the way, he faces man trails and demons and ends up with a demon bodyguard who is a monkey. The monk is too divine and the bodyguard is too demon and during this journey they learn to respect each other.

In this version as well as a monkey demon we have a cat demon who seduces the monk and normal crowd which appears in this tale. The episodes are only 10 mins long as well.

This anime was actually really fun. It wasn’t brilliant but it was certainly fun to watch and a lot easier to watch than some anime’s I’ve been watching recently. The plot was well done and very funny while mostly keeping to the originals plot ideas.

The animation could be better. It not actually bad but the manga was started in 1978 and so the character designs are extremely old. This gives the show a dated look which makes it worse than it actually is. The music is pretty good but there are little to no effects. It’s clearly animated in a traditional style too. Not an anime to watch for art style for sure.

One thing I quite enjoyed about the story was the narrator. He was an amusing addition to the story to explain the things that weren’t necessarily obvious or known in the story.

Beautiful or not I do think this anime is worth a look at and for that I give it a silver.

Amaenaide Yo! Review

watched 11/2016

Type: TV
Episodes: 12/12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Studios: Studio Deen

Amaenaideyo is a manga adaption originally by Sogabe Toshinori.

Bronze.

It’s alright. It has its moments when its funny bit for the most point it’s just a standard ecchi show from this period of time. The boy is 16 and is your standard pervert (aka a normal 16-year-old boy) who lives with a bunch of girls as he trains to become a monk. Why? Um. Well, I guess its a family thing? Either way.

The basic premise of this show is Ikku is a pretty weak monk and as little spiritual power  but when he sees the girls naked he turns into a super-monk and can exercise any demon. I assume because to a horny teenage boy there is no purer feeling that seeing a girl’s breasts.

The situation skits themselves are pretty standard situations for high schoolers to be in, monks in training or not. Still, they are entertaining enough. The ecchi moments are easy to spot. There are no missed opportunities here, if there is a chance, the show will make a point to empathise the girl’s boobs or pantie shots. Some of the girls care more about it than normal and will punish Ikku for making any comments.Or just being there when they are angry. He gets beaten up a lot just for being the man in the group.

Poor bloke. It’s one of the trends in ecchi anime I’m kind of glad has become less common in recent years. Aka, the ‘pervert’ being beaten up for anything which happens (even when unrelated to him) because he’s a pervert. It’s one thing when he’s actually doing something perverted or making a perverted comment but another when he’s simply in the room when one of the girls is pissed.

I guess these animes were targeted at masochists who dreamt of living in a harem and getting beaten up by the girls. Not really a healthy message to send young boys while I appreciate the fact these women are strong and independent from men. Partly in this anime because they are nuns and have sworn off relationships but meh.

Once thing which did pleasantly surprise me was the ending. For one thing, there was an actual story and plot there in a show that was mostly one show stories. It was impressive given the genre. Even if it was still a fairly ecchi premise in itself.

 

Weekly Challenge 2016 Week Two: Summer 2005 Anime

A slightly different topic to the original weekly challenge. Unlike last time I’m going to try to watch anime ‘seasons’ as well as animes from particular studios. These will beginning from summer 2005 as this is the year I started watching anime. Seasons will not be counted unless I have already watched the proceeding seasons and I will only be watching anime with a rating more than 6.5  on MyAnime. I won’t get through them all but it will hopefully help me discover some gems I’ve missed through the years.

 

Name: Ichigo Mashimaro Release Date: Jul 2005 to Oct 2005
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life (12 Episodes)

Name: Paniponi Dash! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Comedy, Parody, School (26 Episodes)

Name: Sugar Sugar Rune Release Date: Jul 2005 to Jun 2006
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life (51 Episodes) Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Name: Kamichu! Release Date: Jun 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Supernatural (12 Episodes)

Name: Gun x Sword Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Shounen (26 Episodes)

Name: Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver Release Date: Aug 2005 to Feb 2006
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Shounen (26 Episodes)

Name: Suzuka Release Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2005
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sports (26 Episodes)

Name: Shuffle! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Jan 2006
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Magic, Romance, School, Seinen (24 Episodes)

Name: Patalliro Saiyuuki! Release Date: Jun 2005 to Nov 2005
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Shoujo, Shounen Ai (26 Episodes)

Name: Tide-Line Blue Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Military, Shounen (12 Episodes)

Name: Amaenaide yo!! Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Supernatural (12 Episodes)

Name: Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo Release Date: Jul 2005 to Sep 2005
Genre: Magic, Romance (13 Episodes)