Now a show that started as a joke.
Future Domino City has changed drastically with a clear divide between rich and poor, as the series begins, resident jerk ass Jack Atlas defeats his friend Yusei and takes his Stardust Dragon, moving up in the world and leaving Yusei in the slums of Satelite. In this future, duels are fought on duel runners, a type of futuristic motorcycle with duels taking place on race circuits and roads hence the card games on motorcycles tagline created by LittleKuriboh. As Yusei fights his way into Neo Domino City, it soon becomes apparent that he may have a connection with a mysterious Crimson Dragon which starts attracting attention from various enemy factions.
It's a silly premise with more edge than it deserves but it surprisingly works. Gone is the power of friendship and heart of the cards, gone is the goofball protagonist turned badass duelist, the theme here is, "I'm getting my Dragon back by any means necessary"
Okay 4kids couldn't keep their influence away but it feels like they took a step back to allow the series to play out as intended. There's plenty to like and is on par in quality with the Yugi Muto era.
The sub wil always be superior but the dub was at least good and cast perfectly even if Jack Atlas' accent is somewhat suspect.
Final Verdict: I like this version of Yu-Gi-Oh, it gives it's edgy full colour palette the right setting without feeling dated or trying too hard, this despite sounding like an absolute joke.
Next up, a rare Shonen Jump title.
Domori Elementary School is constantly plagued by strange phenomenon, everything from vengeful spirits to malevolent yokai; enter Meisuke "Nube" Nueno, a teacher with a demonic hand with the power to stop all the evil plaguing the school.
You might think this title is a throw away from the 90s but it's surprisingly popular, spawning live action versions along with full tv series, movie and ovas, it's largely the most underrated among Shonen Jump and made school mystery a popular genre. I compare it favourably to titles like Haunted Junction and Ghost Stories as it features similar setups and doesn't take itself too seriously, heck this series could be easily adapted to be like Ghost Stories who was infamously dubbed like an abridged series.
I got some fun out of it and it shows genuine creativity in it's designs and characters, no dub, but there is a persistent memory that the ova or movie was dubbed in the UK but I have not seen it. I have only seen the ova but it's plot is monster of the week so there's no continuous plot to speak of so you watch one episode you've seen them all.
Final Verdict: Horribly underrated, Hell Teacher Nube deserves more appreciation. It's funny, creative and a great watch.
This should be a fairly straightforward review.
It feels like a normal episode as Sakura captures the arrow card but things start getting strange when Sakura wins a trip to Hong Kong.
During her trip, she keeps getting dreams of being hypnotized into being killed.
Warned of this dangerous premonition by Syaoran's mother, Sakura has to be guarded only for her to get hypnotized and drawn into another dimension by the sorceress Madoushi who mistakes her power for Clow Reeds.
Madoushi blames Clow Reed for ruining her life and demands he come in exchange for Sakura's friends not aware that he died, so the remainder of the film is Sakura and co surviving Madoushi's onslaught.
This is just an extended episode and not a very good one, Madoushi can be menacing but ultimately one dimensional, it relies way too much on premonitions which were always the weakest parts of the franchise and the English dub messed up the narrative to try and give Madoushi sympathy which doesn't work.
Overall it's not worth the extra run time of a standard episode.
Final Verdict: It's a weak extended Cardcaptors episode made worst by the dub which I usually find bad anyway, Madoushi isn't a strong enough written villain to be in the franchise.
Next up, a lesson in how not to make a romance series.
Keiichi Morisato is a college freshman who in an attempt to get takeout food, inadvertently calls the Goddess hotline which summons the Goddess Belldandy, thinking this is all a joke he makes the wish to have Belldandy stay with him, only for it to work.
Forced to move to a Buddhist temple, (because it's a male only dorm) Belldandy and Keiichi live out the series as a couple all the while Belldandy's sisters Urd and Skuld get drawn in to the temple as extra roommates all the while a force tries to separate Belldandy and Keiichi.
This OVA hasn't aged well and you can pin point a number of issues as to why this is the case.
Keiichi isn't a terrible protagonist when compared to others in the same position and a number of people would respond in the same way if their wish granter was Belldandy but apart from hobbies he's really dull.
And then there's Belldandy, the legendary 90s waifu and she's ten times worst. She has no personality beyond extreme kindness, she's like a Stepford wife, even when she is forced to fight she really doesn't do anything, finally her powers aren't clearly defined, yes a goddess can do anything but there has to be a guideline within their universe as to what these deities are capable of for world building and the OVA has no time to do this.
It would take over a decade to start from scratch with a TV series but the damage is kind of done. The story is weak, the characters are boring, only Urd and Skuld will get a laugh and the voice dub acting is weak but not terrible.
It's saving grace is the animation which is detailed and beautiful, something I wish they kept for the 00s tv series.
Final Verdict: It's a weak romance story who's only sin is failing to give it's characters a personality and Belldandy is basically the perfect waifu until you develop taste.
Time for another review, this time Dennou Coil.
In the not too distant future, Augmented Reality has started becoming mainstream, with the city of Daikoku designed to be half real and half virtual.
When Yuko moves to this mysterious city with her family, her virtual pet gets infected with a mysterious virus which starts her on a path of mystery and intrigue as she and other children in a group led by her grandmother investigate the true nature of Augmented Reality technology and how these events link to the disappearance of children in these virtual worlds.
This is definitely the most interesting concept I've seen for a while, especially when the technology for Augmented Reality is now close enough for this anime to exist in reality, so it comes off as a cautionary tale of what happens when you push that technology too far, like driverless cars in Ex-Driver or any anime where you get stuck in an online game like Log Horizon or Dot Hack.
Dennou Coil's only real issue is it's art style, the colour palette makes it really hard to tell the difference between real and virtual, also the world building does take time to establish but the payoff is worth it.
Not seen the dub, I assume it to be passable.
Final Verdict: A solid idea with decent execution, worth the time if you are prepared to watch the slow world building but the payoff is at least worth sticking with.
