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Wanginator

  • Joined Oct 17, 2007
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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Dec 21, 2010

The Suzumiya Haruhi series has been one that has consistently scored high marks on my personal scale when it comes to quality. Given, while I have friends that assert that the light novels are 100% better, I find both seasons of the anime, to say nothing of this movie, to be plenty satisfying. That being said, you'll get the most out of this movie if you've watched both seasons of the anime, though watching just the first season is also sufficient. At this point I would write a hefty-lengthed review on what makes the movie good, but that would probably kill it, and it's been said quite enough already... See full review

?/10 story
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?/10 characters
10/10 overall

Happy Lesson

Dec 10, 2010

For all intents and purposes, Happy Lesson (as well as the sequels that came after it) was mildly enjoyable. The comedy was there, some dramatic aspects were there, and every character had some kind of backstory that was touched on at some point, however ridiculous some of them were. Admittedly though, something about the nature of this particular "harem" rubbed me the wrong way. While the females of this series don't fit the cookie cutter mold of how girls should behave in a "normal" harem, in the end a harem is still a harem, and the series inevitably throws subtle cues at the viewer... See full review

?/10 story
?/10 animation
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5/10 overall

Grenadier

Dec 10, 2010

Take Trigun, swap out about 75% of the "cool" factor and 50% of the drama factor, and replace it with ecchi and fanservice (and perhaps a touch more comedy that stems from the ecchi), and in a nutshell you have Grenadier. For viewers who haven't watched Trigun, all this means basically is that it's all but impossible to not notice the fanservice (I mean, it's a key element in how Rushyuna reloads her gun o_o). This is not to say that any of the other factors I mentioned above are absent from the series. The drama in the storyline is not totally lighthearted, and there are a fair few moments... See full review

?/10 story
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6.5/10 overall

Megane na Kanojo

Dec 10, 2010

It's more appropriate, I think, to consider Megane na Kanojo as 4 separate entities rather than one series. While each episode deals with romance, comedy, and girls with glasses, the premise of each story is slightly different, as are the circumstances surrounding each girl and her respective romantic interest. Given that each episode is only about 13 minutes long, the series does a remarkable job of making each character likeable, and allowing the viewer some sense of being able to relate to them. On the other hand, don't come in expecting super-incredible character development shoved in the time frame of... See full review

?/10 story
?/10 animation
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7/10 overall

Eien no Aseria: Spirit of Eternity Sword

Nov 11, 2010

To put it bluntly, the OVA doesn't do the game justice (if you haven't played it, go find a copy of the non-18+ version and play it right now! Do it!). Part of this is understandable; the OVA appears to serve as an introduction to the plot only, but even in doing that, it falls short. There are too many key details left out, and the processional of events is slightly different as well. Game aside, the OVA is very weak even as a stand-alone animation. Viewers who have never played the game and never intend to will have no grasp of.... anything. To these viewers, all they'll see is some people pulled... See full review

?/10 story
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3/10 overall

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works Movie

Oct 3, 2010

Disclaimer here: if you have not played the visual novel OR watched the anime series, I suggest you put this one off, or otherwise subtract like 5 from the score I've given. To put it bluntly, the movie expects and assumes that the viewer has some background knowledge of Fate/stay night's story. Most importantly, knowledge of the first two nights of the story are vital in understanding what is going on. For the anime series, this would encompass watching the first 3 episodes, as the movie chooses to forsake all the early development stuff, instead jumping straight to where the storyline branches off after a... See full review

?/10 story
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8/10 overall

Seitokai Yakuindomo

Sep 30, 2010

As far as the enjoyment I got out of the series myself, I give it a 7 out of 10. Now that being said, there are several things one should know about Seitokai Yakuindomo before they add it to their list of anime series to watch.Let's start with the obvious; THIS SERIES IS NOT FOR KIDS!!! Now, I gave it a 7 out of 10, but depending on your moral, ethical, religious beliefs, etc, you may give it more or less than I did. What I mean by this is that the humor involved is.... well, absolutely not for children. In fact, I'd even say 18+ only. Sure, there are no explicit scenes of.... stuff I will choose not to... See full review

?/10 story
?/10 animation
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7/10 overall

Okami-san & Her Seven Companions

Sep 27, 2010

I swear, I've always considered myself to have strong ears for picking out particular voice actors and the like, but this series definitely solidified that belief. I've never sat through any series and been able to identify the number of voices as I did in this one, and the fact that so many of the voice actors I love and enjoy were able to portray the characters so well.... eh, well, I'm rambling, so I'll stop.To start with, Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi is quite possibly the most balanced blend of comedy and drama that I've viewed and watched to date (the only other contestant being Seitokai no... See full review

?/10 story
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7.5/10 overall

Denpa Teki na Kanojo

Sep 22, 2010

At the time of writing this, I'm still hopeful that the last installment of the three-part OVA will come out sometime this year, though at this point I've kind of gotten tired of waiting and am beginning to direct my attention to other series on my waiting list. Even so, I have good faith that when the 3rd episode does come out, that it will be of similar, if not better quality as the first two, so as such I will go ahead and write out my thoughts on the first two episodes. Edit: Boo, apparently it was only 2 episodes long. What a let-down. But it's still good. To start with, in case you didn't... See full review

?/10 story
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8.5/10 overall

Angel Beats!

Aug 26, 2010

There is so much to this series that my brain can't quite wrap itself around, and usually that's a bad thing for an anime. But this is different. By the end of the anime, I was left with so many positive, juicy, warm and fuzzy emotions that I can't even begin to list them all. I think part of it was my compassion for the main characters and their respective pasts, and an equal part of it was the way those characters overcame their problems by the end of the series. By the end of the series I was nearly in tears, and I'm not going to try to explain why, because I simply can't with words alone.The unfortunate... See full review

?/10 story
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8/10 overall

Highschool of the Dead

Aug 25, 2010

As the series is incomplete, I will refrain from making any terribly in-depth judgments on its quality for now. But based on what I've seen so far, the series has a number of things going in its favor. The main character is one I am fond of, and while his backstory hasn't been developed fully yet, he transcends the stereotypical protagonist that all the girls seem to be attracted to for no apparent reason. He adheres to his principles and sticks with them through the episodes so far, which is one of the things I like about him. As far as the action sequences and the horror element, there are plenty of... See full review

?/10 story
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6.5/10 overall

A Certain Scientific Railgun

Mar 26, 2010

To be sure, this series doesn't quite hold a candle to its predecessor. The series isn't chunked into obvious arcs like the first series, there are more filler episodes, and the overall feel of the series is more like a magical girl/villain-of-the-week genre than anything else. That being said, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun will still be an enjoyable series to watch for those that liked To Aru Majutsu no Index. A few familiar characters make a reappearance, some of them constant, others brief. The main attraction will be seeing a different story told in the same location that the first story took place. Fans of... See full review

?/10 story
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6.5/10 overall

Ragnarok: The Animation

Mar 25, 2010

Players of Ragnarok Online, you may be able to add 2 or 3 to the rating I have given just because you'll actually have some understanding of what's going on, and you'll find some of the references to the actual game humorous. I myself am a former RO-player, so I actually managed to get some enjoyment out of this series. To the rest of you all who know nothing about the game, I strongly advise you to find another series to look at. There are two main reasons for this.Number one, the characters. I certainly appreciate and respect the noticeable differences in personalities between the characters, which is... See full review

?/10 story
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3.5/10 overall

Kowarekake no Orgel

Feb 3, 2010

As the OVA is only half an hour long, it's hard to make any really elaborate descriptions regarding its quality. To start, the OVA mainly focuses on two characters and their day-to-day life and activities, to the exclusion of everything else. The OVA barely touches on other details, but it doesn't need to, as the goal of the OVA is to develop the two character sufficiently in half an hour. At the same time, it makes a point not to explicitly depict any of their backgrounds or histories, instead choosing to give the viewer just barely enough information for them to make a reasonable guess as to each of the... See full review

?/10 story
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7.5/10 overall

Kannagi

Jan 9, 2010

Contrary to what some may think from reading the synopsis, there is actually less plot involved in Kannagi than you think. While there is a loose underlying theme and storyline, the bulk of the series focuses on comedy and humor, with just a touch of drama added in here and there. This is by no means a negative aspect of Kannagi, as it still finds its niche as your standard comedy flick with characters that you can attach to; they're developed sufficiently, though perhaps not to the extent seen in many drama animes out there. And while there are a few moments in the anime that can mislead the viewer's... See full review

?/10 story
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6.5/10 overall

11eyes

Jan 5, 2010

A little while back, I remember questioning my taste in anime series, especially my apparently subconscious attraction to adaptations from visual novels and dating sims (Yes, unconscious. A good number of them I didn't realize were adapted from such until I looked it up). Even worse was that the bulk of them were pretty decent to me, so one has to wonder at some point if oneself is some sort of pervert for liking a particular genre. After watching 11eyes though, I take some comfort in the fact that as of now, not all of them are enjoyable. Now, in all fairness, I have not played the visual novel version of... See full review

?/10 story
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5.5/10 overall

Fate/stay night

Jan 1, 2010

If there's one thing that I respect about anime that's been adapted from any sort of visual novel/dating sim/choose-your-own-adventure type deal, it's the fact that more often than not, they have to try to take key plot elements from all the routes of said novel or sim, and meld them all into one single often-times chronological beginning-to-end storyline. A number of series out there do this remarkably well. Anyone who's watched the Clannad and Kanon anime AND played the games will note how accurately the backgrounds of each of the characters were portrayed, usually with no particular character's backstory... See full review

?/10 story
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7.5/10 overall

The Sacred Blacksmith

Dec 31, 2009

If there's anything I hate in an anime series, whether it's adapted from a manga or light novel or whatever, it's a villain that totally has the power to crush the protagonists, but ends up failing because they're overconfident. While I certainly wasn't completely put off by the ending, the notion that the sole reason for the main characters' success and victory was the villain deciding to stand there and mock them before getting schooled... I dunno, that doesn't sit well with me, and it's unfortunate that many movies and shows out there use a similar approach in creating an ending. Ah, but enough of me... See full review

?/10 story
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6.5/10 overall

Umineko: When They Cry

Dec 29, 2009

First off let me say that I am likely going to update this review at some point. I know one should usually try to keep an unbiased perspective when reviewing something, but I guess this was unavoidable. I watched all the Higurashi animations, and though I never played the games, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. So of course, seeing as how Umineko no Naku Koro ni comes from the same line of storytelling, understandably I desperately wanted to like the series. In the end, this was not possible, and I don't know whether that's because I'm stupid and have a hard time wrapping my mind around some of the... See full review

?/10 story
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8/10 overall

Student Council's Discretion

Dec 26, 2009

Seitokai no Ichizon is another of those series adapted from light novels into anime, which was one of the reasons that attracted me to it in the first place. It revolves around the daily activities of a group of students that make up the Student Council at a particular school (By the way, the group consists of 4 girls and 1 guy).  Though I'll admit I had some assumptions as to what kind of anime it would play out to be, I was pleasantly surprised in a few areas.If I had to cut Seitokai no Ichizon into portions based on the tags associated as of this date, I'd say it's (roughly) 30% Parody/Comedy, 30%... See full review

?/10 story
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7/10 overall