Da Capo

[therik]

Okay, that should all be fixed, more or less. Turns out you were right about 'irenic', as the OED bears you out. Good old authoritative documents :).

I've kept in a small number of the adverbs that I liked, but most of them have hit the wayside now. I'll post the review on Saturday if nothing else comes up before then.

Edit: Now I'm going to eat pizza and watch Majokko Tsukune Chan. :)

[rockenroll4life]

^_^;; Sorry that I was harsh. I tend to do that if I see reviews that I don't completely agree with.

Originally Posted by therik

I've seen a pretty decent amount of romantic-based anime (admittedly not as many as you), and found Da Capo to be the very worst of those I'd seen. I acknowledge that different people enjoy different things, but, unfortunately, I can't write everyone else's opinion in my review. In fact, I can't write anyone else's opinion.

Hehe. I guess this is probably where we differ, where as you've seen a decent amount of better anime your opinion of D.C. is fairly lower. As for me I've seen a good amount of bad romantic anime (Baby Love, Peach Girl, Sister Princess, _Summer, etc.), and a good amount of good romantic anime. So with that I have it rated higher because of all the stuff that was worse then it. So I can understand why you gave it a lower score. "When all you've seen is gold and you see silver its just not going to compare. Though once you've seen bronze silver starts looking good." This is something I've learned as I've watch more and more anime. I originally watched D.C. a couple years ago and then I though it was one of the best shows out. Though as time has gone by I slowly lower my rating on it. Its much the same with some bad anime, over time of seeing worse ones and their rating goes up.

EDIT: With how opinionated I can be I should just start writing reviews myself. XD

[therik]

Originally Posted by rockenroll4life

^_^;; Sorry that I was harsh. I tend to do that if I see reviews that I don't completely agree with.

Absolutely not. If you have an opinion, by God, speak it!

EDIT: With how opinionated I can be I should just start writing reviews myself. XD

Funnily enough, I was thinking earlier that I would absolutely love for someone to do a positive review of D.C. (and To Love-Ru too, for that matter) to stand alongside mine. Although I do take great delight in penning negative reviews (more of a writer thing...), I feel a certain guilt, knowing that I'm effectively telling everyone who reads it not to watch the anime. If I knew that there'd be an alternative opinion available too, that would alleviate any culpability.

It's useful to hear the good and the bad in a review. The trouble I had, was that there wasn't enough that I enjoyed for me to write a balanced review, so if someone else expressed the good bits in their own review, then we would have balance.

Just an idea anyway :)

[rockenroll4life]

Haha, alright. Well since I have D.C. on hand I might write a review for it as well. Though if I plan on writing on I think I'm going to make a breakdown outline for myself that can be used with any review I write, something like 10 points I can check with on an anime for each category, for example sound (Did the voices match the characters, Did the music fit the moods during the anime, etc.). Would make for an easy checklist so this and future reviews would be rated what I believe to be fair.

As for To-Love Ru, I won't write a review for that. Though I enjoyed it I don't think it had any really amazing quality to it and probably deserves a somewhat low-ish score. Though a lot of time I try to take reviews with a grain of salt. I've seen many of movies/anime/games that were given poor reviews that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[VivisQueen]

Originally Posted by rockenroll4life

EDIT: With how opinionated I can be I should just start writing reviews myself. XD

Yes, you should. The more diverse the opinions around, the better.

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by VivisQueen

Yes, you should. The more diverse the opinions around, the better.

Then you run into my opinions and a police state looks pretty nice.

[VivisQueen]

Originally Posted by purplemo

Then you run into my opinions and a police state looks pretty nice.

Naturally, my statement implied every opinion except for yours. Yours don't make sense and frighten people. Stop it.

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by VivisQueen

Naturally, my statement implied every opinion except for yours. Yours don't make sense and frighten people. Stop it.

See if I make you any more rec lists . . .

[VivisQueen]

Lol. You're sweet when you're angry. ^_^

[rockenroll4life]

EDIT: Alright I incorporated both of your corrections to my review.


Story – 6.5/10

Welcome to Hatsunejima, an island known for its never-wilting Sakura trees. Much like the traditional harem or school based anime, many of the same story elements are kept intact. Amongst these we find the trip to the beach ending in fireworks to the school festival and even a trip to the movies.

Even though this anime has a lot of the usual traits that normal school romances have, there are some defining features that set it apart from the rest of the anime in its genre. What sets Da Capo apart from other anime in its genre are inclusions of many fascinating magical elements, allowing a cat to turn human and even a girl to be able to read minds, as well as the never-wilting Sakura trees.

The anime has a very lighthearted and comforting feel to it as you learn more and more about the characters. Though even with this joyful mood you can feel jealousy slice the air from time to time. Despite the fun nature and comedic value of the show the real story commences two thirds of the way through when the atmosphere quickly takes a turn. A much darker feeling sets in and the true feelings of the main characters step forward giving rise to questions that the viewer wants answered.

One flaw that I did find with Da Capo story was the introduction of side stories that began appearing at episode eight. These brief five minute segments appeared at the beginning or end of episodes eight to twenty one and were there to help you get to know the side characters. Even with these good intentions a majority of the side stories did not help to further the story in any way and seemed more of a nuisance then a help.

Animation – 6/10

The art style and animation are fitting considering its 2003 release and are on par with those of the majority of anime of the same time period. Character wise, there’s nothing new to be found here, and the detail quality of characters is even poor at times. Environmentally the anime is very pleasing, showing beautiful scenery of Sakura trees in full bloom, falling petals and clouds passing by. But even with these beautiful environments nothing really stands out animation wise and its average at best, if not lower, because of lack of details on some parts of character details.

Sound - 10/10

When it comes to sound in Da Capo, the attention to music and the mood of the scenes are astounding. Many of the moods and emotions in the series are represented through sound, and all are soothing and pleasant to listen to. During cheerful scenes, a more upbeat, idle type music plays, leaving you sometimes humming along to the tune and in the darker more emotional scenes you are given a more sad orchestral sound which touches the heart and evokes emotion.

Music aside the voices of the character are on point with how you would imagine them to sound. Ranging from Moe Mizukoshi, a very polite but dim-witted girl whose voice emphasizes this by its slow paced nature, to Miharu Amakase, an energetic girl who acts much like a little puppy, whose voice is higher-pitched and filled with energy much like a child voice.

Characters - 6.5/10

Da Capo offers a fairly unique cast of characters that differ from other anime in its genre. Robots, cat girls and even mind readers make an appearance that helps keep the mood of the show light-hearted and give the viewer an enjoyable experience. Much like the voices, the characters fit into the series and do not feel awkward or out of place. Even with the characters being unique to the anime you don’t feel very attached to them, with the exception of the 3 main protagonists. This lack of connection to the characters is what makes it a good anime instead of a great anime.

Overall – 7/10

When it comes down to it, this show is far better than the majority of anime in its genre but still falls short of being called great. With the lack of connection to some characters it makes you wonder if it would have been far better if it was more focused on the story and main characters. As is the case with a lot of shows this one is probably more of a hit or miss as of whether people will enjoy it or not. On an ending note, even with this series no being considered truly great it is still worth the watch if you are a fan of the comedic school romance genre, a fan of Shuffle and Key’s works, or just searching for something light-hearted.

~rock