Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.

Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.

Fire Force Review

This isn't going to end well.

In a world torn up by flames, it's survivors of the Great Cataclysm are constantly at risk of spontaneous combustion turning would be victims into infernals, monstrous looking demons of fire, to combat this, several organisations form the Fire Force, a group of individuals made up of a mix of Fire Fighters and Pyrokinesis wielders, focussing on Company 8 of the Fire Force, we have Shinra, a hero wannabe known as the Devil's footprint for his fire feet who is out to discover the circumstances behind his mother's death and brother's disappearance as it becomes clear that one or more groups within are behind the spontaneous combustion incidents.
This is by the same creator as Soul Eater and is implied to be in the same universe as well, the nature of how the subject of fire is used can create some disturbing, horrific moments considering that no one in universe is safe especially when it becomes apparent what the actual cause is, so the setting really creates a high stakes environment and the blue coats of the Fire Force are the best uniforms in all shonen anime beating out Naruto's jackets and Bleach's robes.
But as a Shonen series, it's weak in execution as it can really make the use of fire seem painfully dull and uninspired as Shinra alone is basically a fighter with rocket shoes as a main power and the personality to match, Sanji can do that without Pyrokinesis while other prominent fire users like Ace and Natsu are much better wielders in Shonen anime, even ninja in Naruto use it better.
I hate using this term because Soul Eater was much better made and it's a term that gets thrown around on Twitter too much but Fire Force is painfully mid.
I would've appreciated it alot more if it were all Fire Fighters without Pyrokinesis as it ups the risk factor and gives more weight to the struggles, it could improve later but I'm not confident beyond season 1.
Dub maybe okay but expect some familiar casting.
Final Verdict: A painfully mid shonen with a good setting and the potential to do better if it went a different direction than what season 1 offered.

The Girl From Phantasia Review

A quick crappy anime from the earliest days of ADVFilms.

Akihiro finds an interesting rug on his walkabouts which he decides to take home in the hopes of impressing class mate Miyuki. Mistaking a back handed comment as benevolence, a pink haired girl emerges from the rug called Malon and immediately declares undying love for the hapless twerp as in a space of a few minutes manages to ruin Akihiro's date with Miyuki, magically convince Akihiro's mother that she is his cousin and get kicked out of the house for using magic to manipulate everything in her favour.
Malon is from Phantasia, a place we never see as the budget only allowed us to stare at Japan, an exile named Roll chases after Malon to eliminate her but Malon refuses to fight back as she has no free will of her own to ignore Akihiro's comments, it takes two of Malon's friends to get Akihiro to take back his comments to save Malon's life and what will start as a relationship if the series was actually picked up, it obviously wasn't since this is a sad rip off of Urusei Yatsura but instead of the lead being the godmother of tsunderes, she is a pathetic naive door mat to an ass hole who will dump her for a better model; I'm with Roll on this one, probably would've ended better if he burned the rug.
I don't even want to think about this being a dub.
Final Verdict: A clone of a better anime with no redeeming qualities.

Banished From The Hero's Party Review

The full title is Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, but I'm not writing that in the title.

In a world where divine blessings decide your path in life, the heroes party is formed to eliminate the Demon Lord, but the sage of the group banishes Gideon for being a liability despite his sister Ruti being the hero.
Changing his name to Red and settling down in the countryside opening an apothecary and later being joined by Princess Rizlet "Rit" in a very believable loving romance, but among the quiet is a drug problem threatening to disrupt Red's new found peace.
I don't think an overarching plot of drugs and backstabbing is really necessary, I'm here for the romance between Red and Rit, probably the most adorable couple in all of anime and proof that romance in anime isn't dead.
I can quite easily ignore the more serious elements just to watch Red and Rit buy a bed together, it's very much a bare bones budget fantasy anime otherwise.
Dub is serviceable at least, Ruti especially is unexpectedly hilarious when she bitch slaps Ares in a very bloody manner.
Final Verdict: A stale fantasy series with a beautiful romance within the tired plot of fantasy tropes.

April Updates

There are some more reviews due with Sakura Wars, Dr Stone and Fire Force to name some highlights to look out for.
WTF am I playing returns with new games
Victory Script is on a temporary hiatus
Fantasy Zone will feature a Toriyama special and a mystery article
Not much else to mention we'll have to see.

Anime Review Quick Guide

To keep up with everything I've ever reviewed since the beginning I've produced a quick guide saying which Anime and Cartoons I've reviewed, a one line synopsis and now one line of good and bad. Debutante Detective Corps Five stupidly...

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