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Gate Recap
Gate is an anime based off the light novel of the same name written by Takumi Yanai and Illustrated by Daisuke Izuka
Kurojishi. The anime is directed Takahiko Kyogoku and ran through A-1 Pictures
Gate received an honorable mention on my most anticipated list. I think this might be a hidden gem.
Spoilers: Only minor spoilers dealing
with episode one.
Plot: A gate opens in Ginza, Japan. Monsters and soldiers come rushing out and attacking the citizens. The JSDF have way more advanced weaponry and fight back. Itami is an adult male who is on his way to a convention to buy items to fuel his fantasy addiction. That faithful day, the city is attacked and Itami helps save hundreds of lives. He is later promoted to second Lieutenant and is upon the soldiers that get sent into the gate to investigate the new world.
Characters: Itami is really the only main character explored, though we are introduced to two other soldiers, one who shares an interest in the fantasy world like Itami. Right now Itami is kind of forgettable as far as main characters go, but I think Ill really like Itami later on for some reason. In later episodes we will be introduced to mythical creatures like elves and such.
The World: Could be my favorite part. So far, episode one took place in Japan. The ending had soldiers going into the gate to see whats on the other side. And its the worst(and maybe the best) thing, it ended with the military just crossing over. so the audience caught just enough of a glimpse of the landscape in the distant and the charging number of forces the opposition had. The world seems like its going to be fleshed out very soon. Which, of course, has me excited.
Recap: Episode one is a set up episode. While there is action and character introduction, and some exposition, don’t expect anything too dramatic from this episode. I think this episode ended greatly and has a bright future. I still haven’t seen gangsta or God Eater, but this show went from an honorable mention of summer anime for me, to possibly my number two pick. Lets give it a closer look:
Action: Plenty. None of it important so far though. I am sure there will be more.
Romance: None that I recall. As we get introduced to later characters, we will see if anything blooms.
Story: Good so far. It sets up a new mystical world.
Characters: Not a strong point so far. I am not crazy about Itami but there is still a lot of time left for him to grow.
The World: The aspect I am most looking forward to. It should be fun to watch it develop.
Humor: Definitely not the funniest to me. But we’re about to be exposed to a world of new characters that could spice up the humor.
The Ending: Great ending! Maybe the best of any summer anime. It had me ready for episode 2 for sure.
Verdict: I have a feeling it is not for everyone. The characters so far aren’t that memorable and its not the funniest show, but the world seems like it has so much potential. Maybe I am over hyping it. I do believe it has to time to develop into a solid summer anime.
Charlotte Recap
Charlotte is a new summer anime written by Jun Maeda and directed by Yoshiyuki Asai and runs through P.A. Works Studio.
I gave Charlotte an honorable mention on my anticipation list of summer animes. I decided to give it a watch.
Spoilers: Much like Rokka, and probably most of these episode one reviews, there will not be any major spoilers involving the series but of course we will be recapping the events.
Plot: A boy named Yu Otosaka has a weird power, he can use Ino’s mind transfer jutsu for five seconds to take control of someone. What he does with this power vary, if its a girl, he will “check” them out, if its a guy, he will inflict pain on wrong doers, but the biggest emphasis they make is him using his powers to cheat on tests. Two agents of a very special school are sent to catch Yu in the act. They recruit him to join the school to help bust people who abuse their powers.
Setting: The setting is Hoshinoumi Academy, Xavier’s school for the gifted(Just kidding but same premise). We haven’t even seen the school, I assume we will see it by episode two. So far, the setting has been Yu’s school and Yu’s house. I can’t comment on the setting but I do want to see what this school has waiting.
Characters: While I think Yu’s sister will play a role in future episodes, I will just be looking at the three characters with super powers. First, Yu. Yu, as I mentioned, can take control of peoples mind for five seconds. There are two major catches to this power. For starters, he has to be able to see them. This limits who he can control. Secondly, he also inflicts damage to himself from hitting his head on varies objects. I do not feel strongly towards Yu. He is a liar and a cheat and designed to be that way. The ending did put him in a position to be more likable moving forward, but so far, I am not a fan. Next, Takajo. I liked Takajo. I feel he could fall into the role of comedic relief, but I think he will be a fun character. He moves super fast giving him the power to seemingly teleport but he cant control where he stops so he runs into a lot of things causing him to be hospitalized countless times. Lastly, Tomori. She has the power to hide herself from a single persons visual recognition. She was recording Yu and is the one to bust him as well. I like her personality. I think the three of them will blend into a real fun group down the road.
Recap: Awesome anime. Definitely worth the first viewing. The first half was great, adventure packed, and hilarious. It kind of slows down after the first half. It ties up some loose ends such as Yu and his love interest and Yu and his sister moving. Lets break it down by categories:
Action: Did not rely on action to carry it. The most action is Yu getting beat up by Tomori.
Romance: I was actual interested in Yu and Yumi. Unfortunately, they killed it off so we will see if Tomori and Yu become something.
Story: I’ve already made the joke that this is X men with less powerful mutants, but that is what it seems to be. I’m into it nonetheless though.
Characters: A fun bunch so far and will only add more characters once we get to the school.
The world: Cannot comment on the world too much. I like the ideas of kids with super power but the world leaves a lot to figure out later.
Humor: The strongest point of this anime is the humor. Its not as funny as Amagi Brilliant Park, but it definitely will have you laughing.
The ending: Sadly, the ending was just a clean-up session. The meat of the show is in the middle. But the beginning was good enough to leave me still hyped for episode two
Verdict: A definite watch if you’re into a comedy about kids with super powers.
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers
Summer anime is here and I am so happy! Now I will not be reviewing these summer animes like other ones(such as my food war review). This means I will not rate them on a scale of 1-10, but rather how much I was into it and if im interested in continuing onward. So without further ado, our look at Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers
Rokka: Braves of the Six is an anime based off a light novel and manga both written by Ishio Yamagata, light novel is illustrated by Miyagi and the manga is illustrated by Kei Toru. The anime is ran through Passione Studio and is directed by Takeo Takahasi.
So earlier I ranked this anime number 4 on my watch list this summer.
Spoilers: Some stuff does indeed happen in the first episode that obviously affects the future episodes. Spoilers will just pertain to the episode but will not ruin the series moving onward.
Plot: So, the first episode has a chunk of exposition which is expected. The legend goes that a demon god awoken and started killing vast numbers of people. The god of fate summons the Brave Six to fight the Demon God. It is noted that this has happened two other times in the past. In present day, fiends begin showing up and killing the former braves. The characters have reason to believe the demon god will awaken again during the year. Instead of waiting for the Brave Six to be announced, one man tries to earn his spot. That brings us to the beginning of episode one.
Characters: So far we have only been introduced to two of the six, so those will be the only two characters I write about.
First up, Adlet Mayer. He is the self-proclaimed “World’s Strongest Man”. He interrupts a very important fight and demands that both fighters now fight him. He wins, but is thrown in a dungeon. Later, the goddess of fate elects him to be one of the brave six. This is where we meet our second Brave- Nashetania Loei Piena Augustra. She is more of a spellcaster, as opposed to Adlets brute gimmicks. She bust him out of the dungeon and not much more is learned of her other than those two big things. So we’re left not knowing entirely too much about this generation of braves right now. The episode does end with them riding off to meet up with the others.
Setting: The setting is set in a fantasy-like world full of magic, demons, and questery spirited people. I do not believe it gives a set time period, though a get a fairly old vibe from the dungeon, the fact they use horseback, and even the art displayed in the show I dont believe is a modern style. But I cant be certain, of course.
Recap: A pleasant start to my summer anime watching. I have watched some other ones, so I can say this one wasn’t my favorite, but as far as me watching episode two, I will probably definitely watch it. I am interested in meeting the four remaining braves as well as the fiends and the demon god. I’ll shortly break down more specific categories
Action: Okay. Definitely see this part improving has the series goes on
Romance: None that I could detect so far.
Story: Interesting enough to make me want to see what happens next
Characters: The only one we’ve explored so far is Adlet and even that wasn’t extensive
The World: Pretty average fantasy world so far, has potential to be flushed out more.
Humor: Definitely not the funniest, but it has its moments.
Verdict: Has Potential to be very good.
Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma Review(Episode 1-12)
This weekend I decided to watch Food Wars, an anime based on the manga of the same name written by Yuto Tsukuda. The anime is directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani and ran through the J.C. Staff Studio.
Spoilers: Minor to no Spoilers throughout.
Plot: The plot is very simple. Soma, a young fifteen year old, is the second chef at a diner of two chefs. It is his dad’s diner and they have a father-son rivalry. It is lead on that his dad is a world class chef, but Soma says he does not know much of his dad’s history as a chef. Towards the end of episode one, his dad tells him he is shutting down the diner to go stay with a friend and is shipping Soma off to culinary school. His dad tells him if he cant make it here, he wont have a chance of surpassing him. And thus, were off. Soma hopes to be the be the number one chef at a school full of kids who think money and school will make them the top chef.
Setting: The setting is one of the top culinary schools in the world, Totsuki. If you graduate here, youre almost guaranteed a gig as a chef. It is layered like a regular school, there is their equivalent of middle and high school(Soma went to a formal middle school, so he comments it as interfering with his food studies). Most of the kids here lack what Soma brings, serving actually customers, or as the kids call it “serving on the first line of cooking”. At this school there is a council that is second in command only to the the head of the school himself. This council decides on pressing matters like where the budget is spent. None of the teachers are allowed to challenge the councils rule. The kids on the council are the schools top ten chefs.(At this point in the series weve only been introduced to two). You can challenge their ruling by challenging them to a Shokugeki, which is normally one on one chef-offs. Theyre really entertaining and most of the drama centers around these events.
Characters: Probably my favorite part of this Anime are the characters. When I first started watching, I wasnt expecting to get attached to any of them, by the sixth or so episode I was really into them. My favorite without a doubt so far is Soma. He falls into the cliche “I want to be the best” stereotype of anime characters, but it works because he is not really the most interesting character but is one of the few likable ones so you want him to win. Plus, he is a chef. This is his life goal. It makes sense he would want to be the best. Cooking is his art, so I am all for him being super hyped to be the best chef. The first few episodes fall into a repetitive trap of using the same formula. A character doubts Soma and he uses his awesome cooking powers to beat them. Most of the villains are not likeable, such Nakiri or Mito. But as the series go on some the rivals become some of the cooler characters, such as Takumi or Shinomiya who are foils of Soma to a degree.
Pros: I watched it for two reasons. First, I wanted a change of pace from the beat em ups I have been watching. Second, I thought it would be funny to watch sense I am hopeless at making stuff outside of a pb&j sandwich or a bowl of cereal. But what I found was a truly hilarious and priceless anime. Soma is one of my favorite main characters I have seen in an anime. It replaces fighting scenes with cook offs and has very interesting characters as well as solid humor. A really cool bonus, is if you are someone like me who doesnt know the first thing about cooking, the show breaks everything down for you, explains why some foods go together, what the affects of foods are, etc. I found this awesome and handy! Plus the manga, Ive heard, includes the recipes they use in the series. Pretty cool.
Con: We couldnt go this whole review without talking about fan service. It’s there, and theres a bunch of it. I read comments and it seems the extremeness of it did make it uneasy to watch for many. I, myself, found it weird at first because it seemed all over the place. Just be prepared when people eat good food. Though these intense scenes are used to show how powerful food is on the senses, it might make some of the conservative watchers uncomfortable. Fret not, it calms down later on but I’d be lying if I said it went away entirely.
Score: 8.75. Short reason why: You ever watched an anime that was so good you transformed into a cabbage-like superhero?! This series is awesome and oddly poetic at times. Definitely go see for yourself because there is a lot more I wanted to say but could not quite put into words.
Manga Monday- Deadman Wonderland Vol1 Review
I went to the book store last week and picked out a few mangas. The first one was Deadman Wonderland Vol 1. This book is written by Jinsei Kataoka and illustrated by Kazuma Kondou. Vol 1 was released in Japan in 2007 and came to the states in 2010.
Plot: Ten years ago an earthquake hit japan and sank about one third of the mainland. There is only one prison left in area and it is know as Deadman Wonderland, a very fitting title. The main story starts with Ganta, the main character, in school with his friends. Ganta looks out to see a figure and then suddenly the figure appears in the room. The figure, named the Red Man, kills everyone except Ganta. He shoots him with a red crystal. When Ganta looks around he smells blood and sees everyone of his classmates dead. He is the sole surviver. He than is sentenced to Deadman Wonderland on Death Row. Which we find, technically everyone there is on death row but I will explain that later. Upon arriving to the prison Ganta slowly learns the twisted rules DW has. He also learns that he must compete in intense life or death challenges to earn CPs, the currency here. He meets too fellow Deadmen, Shiro and Yo. There is a link between Shiro and Ganta. They were friends when they were little, but outside of maybe two brief flashbacks, this substory line has not been developed yet. The red crystal seems to give Ganta powers to launch projectiles when he feels his life is endanger.
Setting: The setting so far has been my favorite part of the series. The prison uses the money it raises to help rebuild Japan. All the prisoners have a lethal poison in them which they must eat a piece of candy to neutralize. The candy has the antidote in it. The candy is sold at high prices throughout the prison. So if they want to live, they must compete in challenges to earn CP. Ganta gets a taste of one of the events, the dog race, which forces the players to try to make it to the end of the race alive. I am really looking forward to learning all the ends and out of the prisons as well as seeing all the challenges it holds.
Characters: I like most of the characters so far. Ganta is pretty cool and is only getting cooler as the series goes on. Shiro is a nice mystery that I cant wait to see explored. Yo is not my favorite character and hasnt done too much, but Vol 1 ends with me believing he will play a much bigger role for later Vols. Some other characters worth mentioning are Makina, a the chief guard of DW, she is pretty legit.
Score: I am giving vol 1 an 8. It did what I want a manga to do, not make me want to put it down. You will really pull for Ganta who is making the best of his situation and you will be dying to learn more about the characters and the prison itself. It definitely has me ready to go buy vol 2. I recommend giving it a try and seeing if you like it too.
DareDevil Netflix Review
Daredevil on Netflix will be the topic of review today. There may be some spoilers but not any major ones.
For Starters: This is an origin story. This means you do not have to know anything about Daredevil to get into this series.
Highlights: What makes this Daredevil work is they can say and do whatever they want. I feel like this Daredevil would not exist in the movies. It is gritty, it is dark, it is violent, and all these elements work. I feel like it is a nice mix between the darkness of Batman and the adult violence and themes of Deadpool. The next thing I love about this Daredevil is the characters: Matt Murdock and Kingpin in particular. When Kingpin starts showing up the show gets really interesting. The action is fantastic and is what keeps you watching. Probably the best action scenes I have seen from a live action show ever. They are great. Episode 3 is a great example of this!
The Drawbacks: Okay, so I loved this Daredevil but it had its flaws. Namely, FOGGY NELSON. For me, he is biggest nuisance in the Marvel Universe. I am not the biggest reader of Daredevil comics but I have a handful of the old 60’s adventure and my feelings are the same. I havent seen a version of him I can stand. His only role in the show is just to take time away from Matt/Daredevil. Now do not get me wrong, when he is on scene with Matt, the duo are actually quiet funny. A good example of this is the flashback of them in college. If he is on scene with Karen or literally anyone else, it will make you want to just take a nap until Matt is back on screen, seriously. The first few episodes are watch Matt/Daredevil beat up baddies then flip to watch Foggy desperately try to get Karen to like him.The tip of the annoyance Iceberg is when Foggy gets mad at Matt and acts like Matt’s upset lover for like three episodes.
Favorite Episode: Episode 8 A shadow in the glass, and episode 7 Stick. These episodes have to be compared side by side, because they both provide insight to Matt’s,Episode 7, and Fisk, episode 8, back story. In episode 7, Stick comes along and trains Matt. This is such a huge turning point in the series because we see how Matt becomes Daredevil. Stick teaches Matt that sight is a distraction and that his blindness is not a curse. This is the building block for what makes Matt Matt. In episode 8, we see Fisk as a child. We see his family interactions, and they are not pleasant. We see the event that makes Fisk a heartless loner. These two events are what separates two men who are plagued by despair, pain, and hurt. After these episodes, the show just feels so real. The battle between Matt and Fisk is a lot bigger than rivalry and has a lot at stake.
Favorite Character: Not so much a shocker here, Matt/Daredevil. With Kingpin as a super close 2nd.
Least Favorite Episode: Episode 10 Nelson vs Murdock. I hate to put this as my least favorite episode. The series as a whole is very solid and does not even really have a weak episode. The episode just showcases some of the series weaker points. Those weak points being Foggy Nelson doing entirely too much, Ben Urich trying to win his own Netflix spin-off series, etc. This episode still has one of my favorite scenes: A flashback to my two favorite Avocados of Law.
Least Favorite Character: Foggy Nelson
Score: I am giving it an 8.5 for these reasons-Awesome action meets great characters, But, Foggy nelson interrupts the flow, it felt a little long to be an origin arc, and lastly I feel like the next season will be so crazy good. Season one is awesome and a definite must see, but I think the netflix series will keep getting better.
Da_Hubbz 