snivets

It really doesn't get much better than this. Makoto Shinkai has knocked this one out of the park--every time I watch one of his movies, I wonder if his art can get any better. Hold on to your hats, because somehow, every time, he manages to produce a work of quality that completely overshadows his earlier works. And that, my friends, is no easy task. *Spoiler Alert* Story: Keeping it simple, the story is a bittersweet romantic tale of a boy who meets a stranger in the park on rainy mornings, when it is his rule to skip first period. He has a dream to become a shoemaker; she drinks beer, eats... See full review

This is Ghibli the way I like it best, sans weird fantasy monsters (I'm looking at you, Ponyo), and heavy on the historical slice-of-life, which always rates high in my book. Story: I liked the story. I've seen some complaining that the drama wasn't dramatic. I guess if you're over-focusing on the romantic drama, that's true. "OMG we're siblings but we're in love?! Ooops, just a misunderstanding," is admittedly not anything revolutionary, however, I would argue that because Shun's adoption occurred on account of historical events, it's not as fluffy as it would seem. Remember how the adults... See full review

An otherwise boring high school boy, Kasuga, is tempted by the left-behind gym clothes of his crush. Startled by a noise as he picks them up, he runs off, only to find that he has inadvertantly stolen them. Terrified, he hides them at home. Shortly thereafter, he finds out that Nakamura, a rebellious member of his class, saw him steal them. Using his secret as leverage, she blackmails him into a "contract," though what it is or what she wants remains ambiguous until the end of the series. Story: Basically involves Nakamura continuing to be a busybody, Kasuga trying to normally date the girl... See full review

Shinsekai Yori really surprised me by developing some pretty heavy themes throughout the last two seasons. If you're a sci-fi fan, read on. Story: Set in a utopian/dystopian future (depending which species you belong to, I suppose), it is about a girl named Saki growing up, being confronted with problems of her society's own creation, and then piecing together the truth of her people's history while solving the various issues that crop up. The issues start small and ramp up, and the foreshadowing and doomsy, creepy vibe seeps into every nook and cranny of the story as it progresses. The storyline is... See full review

What seems like a simple movie about a trio of homeless people trying to return a baby to its mother is actually a very complex piece of work with layers of meaning. Story: The story is characteristically Satoshi Kon, in that it hops, skips, and jumps through unrelated elements. I find that his style of storytelling adds the realism of chaos and points out the humor of coincidence in the unorganized nature of the plot. However, the random events also serve to unravel the facades that our characters have built up, and we come to discover their pasts, as well as see them wrestle with their ghosts in... See full review

I love all things steampunk, so I borrowed Steamboy from the public library recently. Story: The plot had all the elements of a good plot: multiple characters whose actions collided in an exciting and suspenseful way, excellent pacing wherein no scene felt unnecessary or unnecessarily long, and the situation kept getting worse and worse until the climax, which was, admittedly, rather vague. Furthermore, the plot managed to incorporate complex themes, framed through the characters and their struggles with each other because of their beliefs about science and society. And managed to do so without long... See full review

If I had to use one word to describe this anime, it would be, "Delightful." Story: Uchouten Kazoku did a great job of showing rather than telling its story. It has a "chaotic comedy" appeal which is underscored by sad and serious moments. The story has an intricacy that reminded me of Baccano!, although the genre is completely different. Lots of characters, interacting at various points throughout the story, gradually revealing a bigger story. It does well with bringing up past events by focusing on the parts of the past that are relevant to the story without using drawn-out... See full review

This installment of Oto na Joshi no Anime time brings us 3 episodes and 3 stories, each about a Japanese woman and her life. We are shown a day or two in the life of each one, and watch her interact with the people around her, while we listen to her thoughts, which are often different from what she says and does. Through each story, we touch on social issues, all of which are of pressing concern for contemporary Japan and particularly women. Story: Fabulously done, the stories follow each woman through her daily life. We are shown how their life seems normal, and as the episode develops, we find out that... See full review

What a great little show! This is slice of life at its absolute best, a portrait of a Japanese family who runs a small business during the 1960's. I'm a huge fan of accurate period shows of any kind, but this one really does justice to the times. Story: Episodic, with all of the stories referencing the time period. Three-wheeled trucks, tension between hand-made and machine-made industries, black TV giving way to color, old radios, memories of the war, the Olympics, baseball. Additionally, the episodes each show some kind of strain or tension being placed on the family and showcases how they deal with it... See full review

As I watched the final episode of Silver Spoon, a single word came to mind to describe this anime. "Thoughtful." But also thought-provoking. Brief Summary: A "smart kid" who has trouble fitting in at his traditional middle school is encouraged by a teacher to apply to an agricultural high school. Once there, he learns a lot about how food is produced, as well as learning how to make friends. Themes: Making friends, business realities, the difficulties of being in the agricultural industry, how food is made, the value of hard work, the value of struggling with large moral issues (for... See full review

I keep waiting for a confession, but Chihayafuru 2 is a big huge tease. The focus, as in the first season, was on the competitive karuta aspect--making it more or less a sports show--with just enough hints of developing relationships between characters to string you along and leave you wanting more. Gah! Story: Chihayafuru's story is typical of any other sports show, highlighting aspects of training and spending a lot of time battling weird opponents. The only distinguishing feature (and the feature that puts it solidly in the shoujo category) is the romance, but it's so light it's barely... See full review

It has been quite a while since I've enjoyed a show quite this much. Story: Socially awkward Yuki moves to Enoshima, where the hyper alien Haru appears in his life and keeps bothering him to learn how to fish. But then we discover that there is another alien being in the ocean whose power threatens to overtake Enoshima and possibly all of Japan during a typhoon. It was a fairly solid coming-of-age story; the whole point was Yuki's growth, and the whole fishing up JFX thing was the vehicle through which Yuki developed as a human being. Haru, if you know how to take a hint, is clearly on a mission from the... See full review

This slow-paced slice-of-life is not for everyone. Its atmosphere is subdued and subtle, yet elegant and meaningful.  **Spoilers to follow** Story: Sora goes to Tokyo for a month-long mage certification course, and along the way she makes friends, meets people, and, through the tasks assigned by her clients, digs into tough questions about the Meaning of Life. Like: should a person who is hired to do a job do merely the job assigned them, or should they do their best to help their client, despite being outside of their job description? Along with that, what is the price of simply going along with... See full review

As shorts go, this one was pretty good. It managed, through a very small amount of action, to hint at a much bigger plot. The animation quality was high, and it very succesfully left me wanting much much more.

This is a preliminary explanation of why this show is so awesome; I promise to do an edit/real review when it's over. (Edit: See below) As a literary nerd, the game of karuta has long delighted me. If you like poetry, literature, love stories, or Japanese history check this anime out right now! Do it! If you want to read the poems as the show airs, skip the online wikis. My suggestion is Peter McMillan's highly acclaimed One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each; he's a poet as well as a scholar and does an excellent job with the translation and notes. The book is very readable, and jam-packed with background... See full review

Despite the fact that KyoAni never intended for Free! to be anything more than a 30-second studio promo, I think they did an excellent and interesting expansion of the original clip. After the attention it got online they'd've been dumb not to take advantage of what was clearly a potential market--but it's still great to see a studio delivering such a grand product purely because the fans asked for it. Brief Summary: Childhood friends Haru, Nagisa, and Makoto realize that their other childhood friend, Rin, is back from Australia. Rin doesn't seem to want to relive their glory days of swimming... See full review

My first impression of Psycho-pass was that someone was trying to recreate Death Note. It gew on me, however, and I've ultimately decided that it is a quietly good show which really tears into questions of morality and society. Good Points -Really meaty themes: justice, controlling society, morality, good vs evil, etc. -Never crosses over into cliches. -Beautiful atmosphere, really fits the themes. -Intriguing characters who wrestle with holding a complicated position in society/the story. -Interesting end which was believable, resolved and yet didn't resolve. Good balance. Bad Points -Some... See full review

I watched 10 minutes of this movie and decided it was showing more or less the same events as the TV series, and didn't feel like watching it again. I liked the TV series a lot (and I'd encourage you to check out my review of it) but suspect I would prefer the show to the movie. Either way, it's worth your time.

I'll admit to being a pretty big sucker for shoujo, but what really endeared Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun to me was Shizuku's startled reaction, the one where her pigtails stood straight up in the air, as well as Haru's hilariously random behavior. Even better, I think this show is an example of Shoujo Done Right, and is free from a couple obnoxious tropes I will mention later. Story: Lighter on plot and heavier on character development, although it wasn't the huge or meaningful type of development; mostly just looking at the difference between Shizuku in episodes 1 and 12. I thought event sequences/timing were... See full review

Before I begin my review, I'd like to ask for a moment of silence as we mourn the loss of the original animation style. ***************   Thank you. Story: Who watches Moyashimon for the plot? Point being, the plot has never claimed to be amibitious; it's a simple slice of life. But there's nothing bad about it, and sequels can be tough to pull off. It moves forward in small arcs, wherein problems arise and are solved. There's some silly light humor, we never spend too much time in flashback land, and moving the second half's setting to France was a fun twist. Animation: I really wanted to... See full review

Despite appearances to the contrary (particularly the OVA, which made me very very nervous), this anime was anything but typical, and even enjoyable. Unless you take it at face value, which I would encourage you not to do. I'm not quite sure why--maybe due to quality banter, timing of gags, use of irony, nontypical reactions/endings to episodes--but the series added up to more than the sum of its individual parts, which, when dissected on their own, seem fairly normal/boring/pandering/weak/bad. But it's a great show, so let me tell you why I like it.

Story: Kodaka, a transfer student, shows up at a... See full review

This anime is reeeeeally Japanese and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. It has layers and layers of meaningful levels, is full of references to parts of Japanese culture that the average international viewer wouldn't usually know about (including myself--I could often tell there was a reference without knowing exactly what it implied), and it bases much of its humor off kanji and wordplay. If you watch Joshiraku and all you giggle at are the girls' antics, you're probably missing half of it. Story: Not rated because there really isn't one, just a series of sketches. Animation: Pretty... See full review

There were a lot of things about this short that I liked, and I think it would make an awesome TV series or movie, especially since the end sort of left me hanging. Story: The story shows us a few events in the life of Mako. First, we see her discussing college entrance exams with her friend at a robot-run restaurant. Then, an app, which her father has been working to develop, warns them of an earthquake. Immediately following the quake, Mako receives a phone call that her father has had a heart attack. When she gets to the hospital, she finds out that he only has five years left to live because of a... See full review

This is a very typical KyoAni piece. It is light and enjoyable, fairly average with just enough quirks (aka talking bird) to be interesting. The premise is completely silly, and if you take it seriously, you are doing it wrong. Haters gonna hate, but there's really nothing bad about Tamako Market. Recommended for K-On! fans, and fans of other light slice-of-lifes.

Marie & Gali is about a young girl who finds herself transported into Galihabara, a magical land where famous scientists of days past are alive and thriving. She meets Galileo, Madame Curie, and others, learning about science in order to go home. Story: The story provides a frame for Marie to learn about some scientific principle or another. Usually involving a ridiculous problem which must be solved, the comedy manages to be both clever and stupidly slapstick. Don't watch this one for a complex plot. Animation: I gave this a slightly higher score because I love love love Pet and Marie's character... See full review

This is a cool show I watched a loooong time ago, and for some reason today I discovered that it wasn't on my AP list. The following review content is edited from a review I wrote on Crunchyroll. I would like to start by mentioning the fact that I find Japanese history to be convoluted and generally boring, involving rice, taxes and land laws. This show, much like any other historically-based show, made me wish that I had paid a little bit more attention to my History of Japanese Civilization class because I would find it much easier to follow. You probably haven't heard of this show because it is one... See full review

As far as two episode romance OVAs go, this one was not bad. Story: It was fairly typical. Girl moves to remote town. Boy falls in love with girl. They go out. She has to go back to Tokyo. Well--that's the basic back story, which we get flashbacks to during the "real" story, which is that boy is on a school trip to Tokyo and is trying to meet up with girl. Unusual for an OVA, there's a lot of meat in the story here, including boy's previous romance with another girl from the same small town, as well as main girl's family issues. What could've been melodramatic (a la True Tears) wasn't, instead... See full review

What a cute short! I really enjoyed Tonari no Seki-kun! Seki-kun sits next to Yokoi in class. She always notices him playing around (and the ridiculous games he invents are dee-lightful), and thinks she should be scolding him...but then she gets sucked into his games and ends up being just as distracted as him. So, yeah, hilarious. And not long enough to become annoying. If you like shorts and comedy, this one will be a solid choice.

Suki-tte Ii na Yo is a very simple shoujo anime with a mellow and realistic setting. A lot of people compare it to Kimi ni Todoke because of the very similar premise for both shows, but by the end, I felt that KnT took an entirely different direction, focusing on the chase, rather than the post-formation relationship dynamics. Also the side characters are completely different and make the atmosphere completely different, but I digress. Story:  A basic story about a shy, plain girl with no friends, Mei, and a popular boy, Yamato, who fall in love with each other, Suki-tte Ii na Yo has a very... See full review

Oh dearie me. It's time to review Madoka... Story: Decent. Well-paced. Thick on the drama. Interesting in that Madoka didn't make the choice to become a Mahou Shoujo until the very end. "Shit got real after Mami died?" I guess, but not really. The story didn't really captivate me the way it seems to have captivated Everyone Else. It had some holes; Homura fulfilled that obnoxious trope of "plot twist in the form of a single character knowing everything all along." The ending was obnoxiously vaguely complex and had too much use of psuedo-physics with weird religious... See full review