When I started Project 1000, There are types of anime I was not expecting and 12 Sai Chicchana Mune No Tokimeki is one of them.
Shortened to the title Age 12, it follows the school lives of a class of 12 year old kids as they contemplate the next stage of their lives a.k.a puberty.
The focus is on the two young couples Hanabi x Takao and Yui x Hiyama as they discover evolving feelings of romance in an environment of immature boys and girls.
I knew full well this anime was not made for me and the fact that I've not been in a classroom for 15 years is not helping, if I was to base it on it's own merits it's cute but clearly missed the point of 12 year olds but that's not a fair assessment, so I want to present this to the viewers. I want to ask anyone who has recently finished school or have a young sibling aged 12 or even a teacher of that age group, how much of this is Bull Shit?
I ask because I'm too old to know what 21st Century borns do in school now, to make this review fair and make an honest recommendation, I'm asking if the content of this anime is accurate or a load of crap.
Final Verdict: I think it misses the point on the subject matter but I'm also not the right person to ask, so I present it to the reader to ask if this is worth anyone's time?
Took a week but NieA 7 is ready to go.
This slice of life comedy/drama revolves around the lives of cram student Mayuko, freeloader alien NieA and the residents of Enohana.
Mayuko is a poor student who can barely afford a decent meal who lives in the upstairs of an old bathhouse, along with NieA a freeloader alien obsessed with food and building UFOs from junk.
In this world, aliens have made contact and are already living among humans with some aliens becoming living stereotypes of certain cultures in order to better understand human culture, notably the crazy Indian shopkeeper; aliens in this world are identified by their antennae, the better quality antennae the higher on the hierarchy you are, however NieA lacks an antennae making her an under 7, a term used to describe low class aliens.
A typical day in Enohana is Mayuko dealing with the daily shenanigans of the locals along with NieA, then after episode 6 we deal with six episodes of depression as we witness a full cycle of Mayuko's social anxiety before normal service resumes on the last episode, nothing is resolved, no questions are answered and you'll be asking for alot of time back.
Not to say it's bad, you do learn alot about mental illness and how narrow minded society can be in dealing with these problems, but the first half made this out to be a gag comedy and to sit through the second half was like reading a newspaper after watching Looney Tunes. You forget why you laughed and are suddenly feeling depressed over whoever died that day or whatever crappy thing the government does next. It's not so much a mood whiplash rather a mood kick to the balls.
Saw the sub and heard NieA's voice and was glad not to have seen the dub.
Final Verdict: Being honest you wouldn't lose anything by stopping after six episodes of the anime, unless you're into social commentary on anxiety, discrimination and stereotyping you're better off skipping the second half of the series.
I think it's safe to assume my last few reviews have covered remakes so here's another one.
In 2040, robots called boomers have taken over most basic jobs but some start going rogue and causing problems with the AD Police stuck for answers, a vigilante group of women in mechanical hard suits come in and destroy the boomers.
After witnessing such an event, Linna Yamazaki seeks out the vigilantes known as the Knight Sabers in a bid to join them and put an end to the rogue boomer problem.
This version doesn't deviate too much from the original 80s version in terms of story but the art style is well updated to reflect the cyberpunk setting of the world. It also gives the characters more dimensions than their 80s counterparts, even characters traditionally not well liked get a well deserved upgrade, this is especially true for everyone who isn't Priss who was always an awesome character in the 80s original but her edgy upgrade in this is strangely welcome despite the reputation of so called Edgelords of the era.
Dub is solid and way better than those in the original.
If I had to compare them directly, I always felt the original was more fun and the situation of the day was always a compelling watch; Tokyo 2040 while the design is much better and more art appropriate for the setting it does lose itself in the lore and can drag in the middle especially when were forced to deal with Sylia's brother.
Final Verdict: Tokyo 2040 is better made, better with it's characters, has a setting that works for it's cyberpunk aesthetic and is better voice acted, it just let itself down a bit on story.
I'm almost finished with NieA 7, so in the meantime, lets look at Cutey Honey Flash.
Honey Kisaragi is a normal high school student, all this changes when Panther Claw kidnap her father, to fight Panther Claw her father leaves her a device to transform into Cutey Honey, like all previous shows prior, Honey uses a selection of disguises including classics like reporter and biker to new ones like nurse and bride.
Fundamentally the story hasn't changed but there are some notable differences.
Other than the already mentioned new disguises, there's a rival Cutey Honey named Misty and Honey herself is the first human incarnation in the franchise, the other noticeable feature is the animation which is very Sailor Moonish, not surprising as this replaced Sailor Moon when it finished it's broadcast and much of the staff jumped onto Cutey Honey Flash.
The show is beautiful to look at and it truly feels like a proper Mahou Shoujo production unlike it's more violent predecessors, but saying that it also feels like a much safer version as it takes far less risks but that can be down to taste more than weakness of the show.
No dub but having seen previous dubs of older shows it would work well.
Final Verdict: Of the Cutey Honey shows, this is argubly the most beautiful, it takes less risks than the much older shows but hardly a criticism as it works just as well as them.
Lets go back to the 80s with Fashion Lala.
Miho is a young girl who dreams of being a fashion designer, but when her father has to go travelling, she's left with her aunt who takes advantage of her and makes her do deliveries and chores for her dress shop. When the Mayor announces a Disco Queen contest, Miho designs a dress for her cousin only for it to be destroyed by her aunt, meanwhile the Mayor's delinquent son aims to destroy the Disco Queen event as a statement against his more scrupulous acts.
As everything descends into chaos, two small dinosaurs appear before Miho and transform her into Fashion Lala, in order to end the chaos.
So yeah it's a Cinderella story but it got all 80s on us and threw in some conflict which actually feels strangely relevant today considering how often people protest.
Fashion Lala herself in her transformed 16 year old form can be best described as a Barbie doll with a more believable body type, the fact that she wants to be a fashion designer which by default is Barbie's job hasn't gone unnoticed.
For an 80s production, it's very high quality and the big final dance number is easily one of Anime's finest moments and I would take this over the series it eventually became, Fancy Lala.
No dub unless Fancy Lala gets re-licensced with extra content.
Final Verdict: It's concept and place in history is interesting to read about and apart from getting a bit 80s on occasion, it's a solid OVA.
