Now for a genre that doesn't age well.
Translated as "If I see you in my Dreams" Yume De Aetara is about two star crossed lovers, Salaryman Masuo and Kindergarten teacher Nagisa; both are 20 something virgins with a lack of experience to match but they do manage to fall for each other only for an endless run of misunderstandings to constantly drive them apart usually created by their friends or love rivals.
This feels like the prototype for Love Hina but instead Masuo is even wimpier and Nagisa is a wilting flower who would break from a sneeze, it's painful to watch especially when most of the conflict comes from Nagisa being way too quick to judge; as bad as Naru was in Love Hina at the very least she has a personality that's memorable.
This type of romance narrative is better suited to younger characters, not 20 something adults; in this format, both characters come across as kind of pathetic which is of the detriment to the love rivals who have stronger personalities as well as the comic relief characters for the same reasons.
Dub is underwhelming and to be honest if you saw the OVA, the TV series will be more of the same barely changing plots.
Final Verdict: Maybe I'm just bitter on love stories now but I kinda expect more effort from romance anime. A fanfic writer could do a better job of making a romance anime than Yume De Aetara, even if it's themselves making out with the characters.
At least this thriller is better.
Police Detective Ross Sylibus is transferring to Mars to begin a new part of his life following the death of his partner at the hands of an android. Androids in this universe were fundamental in the terraforming of Mars and already the world is prospering with the 2nd Generation of Androids.
Back to the plot, Ross is given a new partner in Naomi Armitage and already they have to investigate a murder case of a popular Country Singer, but a shocking discovery is made when said singer turns out to be an android; the culprit later reveals the existence of a third generation of androids simply known as thirds who are so life like that they can pass for humans, to complicate things Naomi is one as well. Now Ross and Naomi must stop the murders of other thirds and solve the mystery of why these androids are being targeted.
After Spiral left me feeling bitter, Armitage left me with a better written story to digest, it features great aesthetics and a deep cast of characters led by Naomi and Ross who have great chemistry, it plays on all the strengths of the cyberpunk world and plays all the right notes in achieving it's desired ending.
The dub goes the extra mile by hiring big talent, especially in the Poly Matrix feature that re-tells the story in a smaller format.
Both the short series and Poly Matrix have their advantages, the plot is easier to follow in the tv series but the movie benefits from better animation and voice talent. Dual Matrix I've not seen which acts as the sequel, may review that another day.
Final Verdict: A good anime with a good eye for cyberpunk, I say try the movie first and if you want to know more try the TV series.
Warning - Rant incoming.
Ayumu has a brilliant mind but his older brother Kiyotaka was even more incredible leading Ayumu to be introverted and self doubting, this gets worst when Kiyotaka goes missing when he investigated the Blade Children.
But when murders start happening around Ayumu relating to the Blade Children, Ayumu becomes intent on solving the mystery behind Kiyotaka and the Blade Children aided by enigmatic reporter Hiyono, but the Blade Children are keen to test Ayumu to see if he really is the one to save them.
I'm going to just say it, this is the worst anime of the 00s. How I judge bad is dependent on a few factors, and Spiral falls under, competent anime trying way too hard. The problem is, the Blade Children are shown to be twisted freaks of nature who aren't afraid to murder just to hide their secret but the way they challenge Ayumu breaks one of the fundamental rules of mystery thrillers which is the payoff. Spiral fails at this by making it clear way too early that Kiyotaka is pulling the strings, hardly a spoiler as it's made obvious as early as the first 7 episodes that he is, so they resort to an insulting twist near the end that ruins any integrity the story had left. What makes it worst is that Ayumu frequently lampshades the fact that the Blade Children are trying way too hard to challenge him to these games of death when a handgun could do the job much quicker.
It's a pity really as it started so well and it is impressive how Ayumu gets round some of the challenges but it's undermined by the fact that his brother is an ass hole for setting all this up, I feel sorry for Madoka.
Dub is fine, Ayumu and Hiyono were the best of an otherwise regular bunch of voice talents.
Final Verdict: A poorly written mystery that insults the viewer the more it goes on.
Few more to run this week, let's do this.
Sora Naegino dreams of one day being on the Kaleido stage, a circus inspired by the real life French Canadian Cirque De Soleil.
Now she is old enough, she auditions to join the troupe but a series of unfortunate events hamper her on the way to the top. Betrayals, comedy, reluctant performers, bitchy rivals, tears and copious amounts of drama bombs all take place on the Kaleido stage under the fortunes and predictions of the Spirit of the Stage.
Drama bomb is definitely the right term for this, while spectacularly animated and choreographed to a high degree, every episode comes with it's own drama which can either make you cry or really feel sorry for Sora. A lot of people are really mean spirited with some people being easier to forgive than others, May Wong being the worst offender who really pushes all the buttons for worst character.
While the dub is well done it suffers from being a bit melodramatic however some moments can really be phenomenally performed by the voice cast.
Final Verdict: Probably the most spectacular looking anime but it's easily hampered by soap opera plots that get too heavy on the drama bombs.
Okay, now for something that doesn't suit the manga artist.
Earth is under attack from cute aliens that resemble stuffed toys. Worried that fighting them with the usual tanks and guns would make Earth look like bullys, Earth's Defence Force seniors turn to their Granddaughters by making them magical girls. Mao, Misora and Sylvia make up the Ground Self Defence Force defending Japan from Land, Air and Sea; led by long suffering Colonel and obvious Naru lookalike Kagome.
Ken Akamatsu seems the least likeliest manga artist to do this kind of show and yet, he did and at least learned some restraint considering his history.
Mao-Chan plays with the magical girl trope well, it understands how ridiculous the premise can be and plays with it by using the military theme to it's advantage but the anime like much of Akamatsu's work is plagued by cheap animation and bizarre choices in dubbing.
While I've not seen the dub personally it does share a few directions from Love Hina which was already hit and miss mostly miss.
It's weird to say this but Mao-Chan is actually Akamatsu's best work.
Love Hina has aged poorly.
Negima is baffling.
Itsudatte My Santa is WTF.
A.I Love You rips off Ah My Goddess.
And the less said about UQ Holder the better.
Mao-Chan despite being a parody feels unique and disspells the myth that Akamatsu can only do ecchi by being heartwarming and silly further exhibited by the three main girls especially Sylvia.
Final Verdict: A surprisingly well rounded parody only let down by cheap animation.
