Now lets look at something completely different, time to look at a crappy gag comedy in Kill Me Baby.
Sonya is a world class assassin, Yasuna is an idiotic naive student, Agiri is a laid back ninja, no one cares about the unused character. Together an average day of school is Yasuna deliberately annoying Sonya, Sonya reacting by causing grievous bodily harm to her, and Agiri watching in the background or sometimes pulling rubbish ninja tricks, this is all 13 episodes in a nutshell and nothing else to write about plot wise; while I didn't expect much out of a series that was originally a 4-Koma comic, this is really all there is to know.
As this is a gag comedy, one based around slapstick, is it funny? Not if there's only one joke in the whole show.
I'm serious, there is no other joke other than Yasuna annoys Sonya, Sonya nearly kills her and Agiri just jumps in every now and again, even with the different scenarios they try to concoct it really doesn't change the feel of the show.
There wasn't any faith in this show whatsoever and even the dubbing team felt that way with no attempt at lip syncing and while the dub actors did try to make the most of it you can tell a couple of them just wanted the show to end by the simple tone of sarcasm from Agiri in particular.
Slapstick only works based on the reactions of the people involved, it doesn't work when there is too much dialogue breaking apart the punchline, for example if Tom & Jerry were talking during their classic chase scenes it would ruin the moments of hilarious reactions when Tom gets hurt, the pioneers of the art form come from silent films such as ones done by Charlie Chaplin, while not entirely devoid of sound and dialogue in this day and age, you can still make the art form work if the reactions of it's characters work well, however it needs more than just a simple bonk on the head to be successful and can easily out stay it's welcome which is what happened in this anime. 25 Minutes of the same slapstick just gets stale and I had to put up with 13 episodes of it while an average Tom & Jerry short is 5 Minutes making it easier to digest and every episode is fresh with new material, Kill Me Baby doesn't have any other material; in fact from my viewpoint, Yasuna is the type of person I'd rather not associate with and much of Sonya's reactions are justified as she continuously tries to annoy her with the most random crap to ever cross her mind and in the end, that just makes her a jerk.
Final Verdict: One joke comedy anime that fails to hold the attention of any normal human being, you see one third of an episode then you've pretty much seen the whole series, nothing changes, the characters are annoying and I feel this is less a comedy, more trolling because I feel that's what Yasuna is doing to me while watching this.
Time to have a look at an anime with a huge reputation for frequently being the best anime ever made. It's time for Cowboy Bebop.
Spike is a Bounty Hunter, he makes his living capturing wanted criminals for the pursuit of money in order to live on, he does this with a former cop and partner named Jet who owns the ship known as the Bebop. Later they are joined by a dog named Ein who possesses a unique brain packed with data, a thief named Faye Valentine who desperately seeks answers on her past and a genius eccentric hacker named Ed.
Each episode has a focus on a particular villain who is more often than not the target for the Bebop crew however occasionally between breather episodes we sometimes dive into the backgrounds of the characters themselves and discover the reasons behind their existence with the most depth saved for Spike as he attempts to keep a distance on the Syndicate he used to work for.
Cowboy Bebop is a perfect Sci-Fi show, it picks it's moments of drama, it chooses the right moments to be comical and its most serious moments can leave an everlasting impression. All the characters including episode characters are treated with respect in their design, not one character comes off as especially bad nor does anyone take too much away from the spectacle on screen, every little detail is done well and being only 26 episodes long, makes sure that it doesn't out stay it's welcome despite having the setup and potential to do more episodes, all rounded off with the perfect ending.
The dub voice acting is top notch from an era where it was starting to become more professional and I would go as far as saying that its far better in English than Japanese and has one of the best soundtracks in anime history.
There is one fatal flaw the show has but not so much when it was released in 1998 but more to do with the era were in now. It shows it's age. Well the anime is 18 years old at time of writing but much of it's content is not as well represented in this current era than it was then. Space Dandy is the closest relative of this show in the modern era which is done by the exact same director, yet there's no other current anime series in this genre other than Space Dandy who can capture the same feel as Cowboy Bebop.
Final Verdict: I often get skeptical when a show is frequently number 1 on any top ten list but with Cowboy Bebop I actually agree that it deserves it's popularity and is one of the most well respected anime of all time, only a hand full of others can claim the same kind of respect, it's only issue is that it's more or less forgotten in this current era through no fault of it's own.
Like any other reasonable adult in this day and age, I hold down a job, but what are the best jobs to have in anime? Well lets find out with this new Top Ten List.
Oh I'm not going to do a worst list because everyone knows that the worst job in Anime is a Soldier.
Honorable Mentions
Maids & Butlers: Has a tendency to deviate from the core principles of the whole maid thing, being a Butler also has the same issue. Best shown in Black Butler, Hayate the Combat Butler and He is My Master.
Yakuza/Mafia Member: A Yakuza in an anime is not as scary as the real thing but that's because everyone of these people seem to have an attractive daughter who gets involved in marriage. Best shown in My Bride is a Mermaid, Nisekoi and Arcana Famiglia
Scientist: The pursuit of Science is always a challenge especially in a world where that kind of stuff is everywhere but needless to say it's a respectful profession even if it does have it's evil side. Best shown in Steins Gate, Elfen Lied and within reason Neon Genesis Evangelion.
10. Medical Doctor or Nurse
Someone has to fix Shonen Jump heroes and their unbelievable injuries, while in other cases you have the hands that can save anyone from death. Best shown in Blackjack with honorable mentions to the unseen doctors and nurses who actually have to heal Shonen Heroes.
9. Shrine Maiden
Guaranteed a Shrine Maiden has played a role in some sort of anime, those spirits can do some damage, and in other cases they are your most trusted allies. Best shown in Shaman King along with equal roles in spiritualism and I recommend any other series that has a Shrine Maiden as it's lead or main cast character.
8. Police Officer
The best thing about being a Police Officer is that you can get away with collateral damage, you can even be a specialist police officer with your own mecha and special weapons. Best shown in AD Police, Patlabor and Burn Up Franchise, Dirty Pair Franchise also gets a tentative nod for being similar to a future Interpol.
7. Weapon Smith
If you've ever seen an iconic weapon on screen, then someone has to have made it at some point. Alucard's guns, Gourry's Sword of Light, Son Goku's Extendable Pole, Guts' Dragon Slayer Sword, pretty much every weapon has a name attached to it and you've got some pretty sick weapons on display. Best shown in The Sacred Blacksmith & Berserk but any fantasy anime can qualify if it has an awesome weapon.
6. Idol Singer
It's a popular job for all aspiring young girls as Idol Singing pretty much makes up the core of shojo anime and is still insanely popular along with number 5 on this list. Best shown in Super Sonico and all Mainstream Idol shows and honorable mention to Vocaloid.
5. Fashion Designer
All those amazing costumes need a designer, they don't make themselves. Any Magical Girl show, Idol show, in fact pretty much any anime with awesome clothing will have a designer behind them. Best shown in Fancy Lala, Aikatsu and PriPara for specific stuff but general rule any anime with awesome clothing counts and lets not forget Kill La Kill.
4. Chef
Food is big business in Japan and attached to every food anime is a quest to make the tastiest food around, remember that Food Wars is literally Food Porn and don't get me started on the solar hands that can make the legendary breads. Best shown in Yakitate Japan, Food Wars and Toriko.
3. Toy Shop Owner
Is your product a Beyblade, a set of trading cards, a Bakugan or even a fighting toy robot or doll? Chances are your either a billionaire or paying off tons of legal fees for all the injured children. Best shown in Angelic Layer, Medabots, Beyblade and pretty much any anime with a children's toy.
2. Teacher
If you are in the teaching profession, you get away with a lot of things and even in the worst schools you still get students to listen, watch an episode of Kill La Kill or Tenjo Tenge and see how much the students get away with murder yet still take lessons. Saying that being a teacher has it's perks as well, you can even qualify as early as 10 years old, attractive teachers tend to get closer to their students, literally and even Gym Teachers can raise world beating sports teams. Best shown in Great Teacher Onizuka, Happy Lesson and Onegai Teacher, quick mention to most school anime with named teachers, sports anime that start in school and any teacher brave enough to teach students who can probably kill them with one punch.
1. Engineer
But the only thing that can top being a teacher is being an Engineer, you don't get much thanks for it unless you are named specifically but guarantee that the marvel that you brought into the world has saved more lives than anything regular armed forces can come up with. Every Giant Robot, Every Space Battle Ship, Every Human Like Robot has an Engineer attached to it. Best shown in Gundam, most Mecha and Sci Fi Anime along with anyone who has built such a realistic robot.
Reviews have been generally slow lately, it's just me struggling with a bad spell of writers block and some really bad moments of stress, but lets see if I can restore the balance with my review for No Game No Life.
Sora and his younger step sister Shiro are master gamers under the persona [Blank], they have dominated the world of games and are undefeated at everything they play. One day they defeat the God of Games at Chess who comes from an alternate world called Disboard where games decide pretty much everything as opposed to war. Seeing an opportunity to remain undefeated, Sora & Shiro attempt to defeat all 16 races of Disboard and beat god once and for all.
The concept of the story is interesting, as every game is played on a grand scale that relatively normal games get turned into epic battles of life and death, while that's nothing new to the genre the difference between this series and say Yu-Gi-Oh, is Sora & Shiro solve every game with the same sort of logic and process as Sherlock Holmes solving all his cases, the intelligence and lengths the characters go to in order to win is astonishing and makes for a great spectacle well backed up by the art style, it's not so much the victory it's how it's done especially when you think that nothing else has been tried or Sora & Shiro look like they can't win then they pull it off in such a remarkable fashion that you do feel smarter for watching it and the fact that it ends on 12 episodes just makes you want more.
There are some moments which make it seem too close to a harem series and you can kind of tell that some of the so called fan service is forced but it doesn't really take much away from the main spectacle. And while most characters are well made, I could do with seeing far less of Stephanie Dola, yes she's important to the story and yes she provides some of the most useful information to the protagonists but also spends a great deal of her screen time whining which compared to the other negative parts is more distracting. Also the fact that Sora & Shiro are Hikikomori (A shut in who doesn't socialize or even leave the house) doesn't seem to factor in the show some what and the fact that they are running a kingdom and taking on god under the observation of the whole world and not concerned about being the center of attention is rather jarring, but it's just a nit pick.
Dub is pretty good and can sometimes be a benefit to the series as some of the more intricate details are better explained rather than read.
Final Verdict: No Game No Life can make even the most mundane of games epic and you only hope they make more episodes to see where they take things next, I wouldn't say it's for everyone, there are moments that may not suit certain audiences and some character tolerances are needed but No Game No Life is an anime worth watching.
Now my second review tonight is a retro classic from 1995 it's Ruin Explorers.
Ruin Explorers does exactly what it says on the tin, they are Explorers of Ruins, and on today's cast of characters we have Fam & Ihrie, a catgirl wiccan sorceress known for spiritual based spells and an appropriately dressed female swordsman/sorceress. The rivals are Rasha & Miguel, another sorceress along with a swordsman who can actually backup his manly boasting. For good measure we have a greedy merchant named Galuff and his dog Gil, and for plot sake we have the lost Prince Lyle who hopes to slay the evil sorcerer Ruguduroll.
The plot itself isn't anything spectacular, Fam & Ihrie seek the Ultimate Power which should make their dreams comes true if they manage to find all the pieces relating to the secret including a mirror, a sword and a small statue that proves royalty, however they stumble along with their rivals onto Lyle's quest to slay Ruguduroll who is also after the ultimate power so the heroes decide to help out the Prince.
I won't pull any punches, the writing is lazy and having only four episodes to work with is no excuse, there are plenty of moments that made me cringe and question why certain plot points aren't used. There's a moment in the last two episodes where it's discovered that Ihrie's magic can actually harm Ruguduroll but isn't actually used to defeat him, so only really serves to highlight Ihrie's curse of turning into a mouse when she uses magic. In fact the only character who is used properly is Miguel, the rest are either underused or like Fam who is a pathetic excuse for a sorceress; Sylphiel from Slayers is more useful than her and she's the definition of dead weight party member.
The dub is tolerable to a certain extend so I would choose sub instead.
There's a lot of things which can be taken as positive, the character designs are good, the setting is good and the potential is endless but it's lazy writing refuses to take advantage of any of these and reduces this series to dead weight status.
Final Verdict: The anime is too lazily written to be any kind of success which is a pity because it had a lot to work with and it just chose to ignore it's own potential and just stuck with something that really comes across as weak for a fantasy show considering it's main rival is Slayers.
