snivets

I almost gave up on this one because of the characters' propensity for making long-winded speeches about Exodus/Genesis/time travel/twisting logic/bizarre Shakespeare references. Ultimately, I would consider Zetsuen no Tempest very, very average. The characterization is fairly strong, but the particulars of the world ending are annoying vague and feel contrived. Too much in the story exists because you know the author thought it was cool. Take it or leave it: it's not a drop-it-like-it's-hot show, but neither is it a must-watch show.

Btooom! is a lot like the move Saw. It is (yet another) video-games-become-real-life story, and the premise is that "bad people" are chosen by someone who knows them to get dumped on an island for a life-or-death survival game wherein everyone is armed with bombs. Except that Saw took the scenario to an uncomfortable extreme, thereby much more interestingly making a point. I'm not sure Btooom! even had a point to make. Story: Anyway, the story was weaksauce, containing no clear thematic direction, and coming to very little resolution at the end. We supposedly see the main character come to grips... See full review

I first encountered Busou Shinki when a Japanese friend (who loves mecha) brought me a Murmeltier as an omiyage from one of his visits. He said something like, "She had an eyepatch and a hat with cat ears, and was kind of gothic and cute, but also robot and weapons. She's like a cross between you and me!" You certainly could take this anime adapation of a game and toy line as a thinly disguised ecchi show watered down to be appropriate for "children" and pandering to doll-joint-loving-otaku by creating and perpetuating an image of women as dumb, weak, helpless because of their... See full review

Although I only gave it a slightly higher-than-average score, there's plenty to be entertained by here. Story: A high school girl, Marika, finds out that she has the chance to inherit her father's Letter of Marque and become a pirate aboard the pirate ship Bentenmaru. After accepting the position, she goes on various adventures, and the story basically takes place in a series of problem-arcs. One of the things I really liked about the arcs was that they alternated between her pirate life and its problems and her high school life and its problems. I thought that this set up made for a much more believable... See full review