Gakkou Gurashi Review

The most accurate description I could come out with this anime: It's a 'moe-horror' anime. At first glance, and perhaps first few episodes, the story looks really light hearted considering what the setting is. But as you go on, stuff gets really grim later on. It's not your average high school adventure featuring cute girls doing cute thing. It's more than that.

Megurigaoka Private High School is a unique and lively place where Yuki Takeya enjoys her carefree life as a third-year high school student and member of the School Living Club. The club, consisting of the president Yuuri Wakasa, the athletic Kurumi Ebisuzawa, the mature junior Miki Naoki, the supervising teacher Megumi Sakura, and the club dog Taroumaru, prides itself on making the most of life at school. In reality, all is not as it seems—the real purpose of the School Living Club is to escape from the shocking and disturbing truth: the girls are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and have barricaded themselves inside the school as the sole survivors. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

The plot features a light-hearted exposition to introduce the characters in a cute and fun way. They does what you expect a normal high school student would do: studying, having field trip, going to pool, etc. But there's a catch. It's all a way to cope with the unsettling post-apocalyptic zombie infested world pretending it actually never happened, which actually makes the anime itself a psychological roller coaster ride. There’s a sense of self-awareness maintained in the writing throughout, whether it’s literally pointing to other works that it has drawn inspiration from such as the movie ‘I am Legend’ and the novels of Stephen King. It doesn't actually shy itself from giving hints here and there about important plot device, which unfortunately makes the story rather predictable. It does however raise a lot of questions, regarding how these girl actually did survive for god how long in the conveniently built school, which thankfully explained a little bit at the end. Speaking of the ending, it goes with an anime original ending; maybe a little bit unsettling for the manga readers but the bitter-sweet alternative end actually gives hope as to what will happen to the girl afterward.

There aren't that many characters in the anime itself so to speak; four members of the school living club, their supervisor teacher, and a pet dog. Oh, and a bunch of zombies. At first glance, each of them looks like a generic slice of life anime characters; the cheerful Yuki, the matured Yuuri, the energetic Kurumi, the cool yet stoic girl Miki and the clumsy but adorable Megu-nee. But as the story progress further, you could see that each of them had to dealt with some kind of inner mental conflict from being disillusioned, traumatic event from the past and the feeling of regret haunting them. It's more than what it meets the eyes. At one point, it is refreshing to see cutely animated girls facing unspeakable horrors. Your perspective really change after seeing the change in their facial expression, and how they actually react afterward. Since there are not that many cast, there are plenty of room for interactions between each character, albeit the character development only picked up later on.

The art and animation for this anime is really wonderful so to speak. It manages to balance out between a happy, vibrant tone and a much grim darker setting the story takes place in. The usage of beautiful colour pallete earlier in the story give you a really warm start, tricking your mind into believing that perhaps maybe it's fun to live in a school in a world like that. It all gets much darker slowly yet steadily with each episode. The animation is fluid with no issue at all. As for the music, I really enjoy how ironic the OP music is. The OP features a really happy and cheerful music, with equally happy animation sequences. But the OP song itself subtly changes to remind you the harsh reality that the girls actually faced (trust me, you don't want to skip the OP and note carefully at the subtle changes for each episode). The ED music are much slower, and melancholic at time. The first ED was really calming, representing a happier time for the girls and the second ED are much more melancholic fitting in well with how the story goes. The OST used are not bad, and mostly fits with the overall setting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime so much. The ride is really wild, from a happy fun start, to a gloomier tone halfway and finally a full-fledged crisis at the end. It really blows your expectation, from the first episode itself. It manages to deliver, and gives the viewer something really refreshing once in a while. Gakkou Gurashi really define what 'moe-horror' anime is.

Aquarion Evol: Best Out Of All Three (I guess?)

Foreword

Hey there, Wolvenciel here with the continuation of the Aquarion series review. I was supposed to post this earlier but I miscalculated my traveling distance. So there's that. Oh and my regular posting day would be Wednesday. Again. Sorry for being a bit late. On with the review

Concrete Plot

First of all let me say that Aquarion Evol is 12000 times better than Genesis of Aquarion (pun intended) in terms of everything especially the plot. It slowly tells you on how things happen and shows you interactions between the characters in the anime and how it improves over time. Its not like its predecessor where all they did was show the pilots' daily lives and the interaction between the characters seems forced all the way from the start to the end of the anime.

The anime also tells you at least SOMETHING about the characters. Their pasts, how they came to be there and little stuff like that. At least it gives you that small bit of explanation as to why the characters behave that way and not just expect you to magically know why they're like that and how they came to be at the academy.

Colorful Characters

The characters in Evol are also WAAAAAYYYY better than in Genesis. In Evol, each and every one of the pilots (except a select few) play at least some role in moving the story itself. There are some pilots who exist solely for comedy but hey at least you get a few laughs out of them, am I right? Plus, this time around all of the characters have their own weird personalities that are actually pretty explainable and realistic that you can relate to them to a certain extent.

Sure, Amata Sora (the main character) is a pretty generic beta male but his dumb and sincere nature just makes you want to give him a pat on the head and tell him to try harder. That being said, he's not really my favorite character. Mine would be Andy W. Hol. Even his name has some friggin pun to it. This idiot will keep you entertained throughout the whole anime with his weird antics and his wish of combining ( Gattai or joining together to form Aquarion) with a girl as he had never done that in his life. He always stick to Amata so you'll always see the dumb duo if you watch the anime.

P/S: I guess there's also a little hint of shounen ai in the anime (by hint I mean its plain bromance but hey people can fantasize ya know) so just don't get weirded out by this. There's even a fujoshi in the anime.

Hissatsus, Unions and Lazy Names

This is just like a special mention of sorts. I didn't mention this earlier but aside from having all those weird punny hissatsus, Aquarion Evol also have these awkward shouting when they combine. The interesting part is that each of the combine shouts is different for each Gattai (I don't know why I'm writing that in italics don't ask me).

There's also this weird lazy naming sense that kept me bothered throughout the anime. Sure the hissatsu songs had a pretty nice variation to them and they followed the mood of the story at the moment (a very good improvement compared to Genesis) but hey that doesn't mean you can get lazy in naming your mechs. I mean there's Aquarion Gepard and Aquarion Sparda. They combine and form Aquarion Geparda. I'm... *sigh*

Here are some of those weird shouts and hissatsus by the way:

Enter Fudo Zen Mk. II

Aaaaand as expected Fudo Zen comes again in this installment as yet another walking philosophical dictionary. He's also much more handsome now and spouts weirder shit than he did in Genesis. There's also this bat-shit insane and totally illogical plot twist regarding him later in the anime (you will not say that the plot twist is illogical if you didn't watch Genesis. I did. F**k me, huh)

Good Job Shoji Kawamori

All in all, I give the old man a thumbs up for this very huge leap that he made in Aquarion Evol. It has a decent plot, comedy, love stories(notice I said stories), tearjerking moments and most importantly awkwardly funny speeches that you just can't take seriously no matter how life-threatening the situation is. The songs are also great and it got stuck at the back of my head especially the first opening song (goddamnit its so damn catchy). I wouldn't say its a must watch but hey, its not so bad either.

Love Live! Sunshine!! Idol Project Gets TV Anime This Summer

Aqours group's 2nd single to ship on April 27

The live-streamed "Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours Niconico Live Extracurricular Activity ~First Heart-Pounding Live Broadcast!~" announced on Monday that a television anime adaptation of the Love Live! Sunshine!! project has been green-lit for this summer. The live stream also announced that a second single for the project's new nine-girl idol group Aqours will go on sale on April 27.

Lantis posted the full music video for "Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?" (Is Your Heart Sparkling?), the idols' first single which went on sale on October 7:

The Love Live! Sunshine!! project was first announced last February with a teaser image. The project's three key phrases are "Reader Participation," "Inspired by μ's," and "Seaside Town Setting." The group's name was chosen by fans by popular vote after Dengeki G's Magazine readers submitted possible names. After readers and fans cast 23,789 votes between June 1-11, Aqours won with 4,644 votes.

The project's characters and cast include:

Anju Inami as Chika Takami: Youngest of three sisters, a fan of μ's, and the leader of her school idol unit. Her family runs an inn, which boasts an open air bath with a view of the sea. A second year student.

Rikako Aida as Riko Sakurauchi: A second year who originally lived in Akihabara, Tokyo, but transferred to Uchiura. A plain girl, with a withdrawn personality. Good at art, and prefers the indoors. She became a school idol due to Chika's influence.

Nanaka Suwa as Kanan Matsuura: A third year who lives with and runs a diving store with her grandfather on a nearby island. She is childhood friends with Chika, and became a school idol to help her with her plans.

Arisa Komiya as Dia Kurosawa: A third-year girl hailing from a well-known local clan. Became student council president as a matter of course. Prideful and cool. In her profile, she mentions that Chika will regret putting her in her team, as she is not the kind of person who accepts defeat. The word Dia means "diamond" in the Japanese language.

Shuka Saitō as Yō Watanabe: A second-year student and high diver skilled enough to be on the national team. Likes business attire. Dreams of captaining her own ferry.

Aika Kobayashi as Yoshiko Tsushima: A first-year student who consistently has bad luck, so she thinks of herself as a demon, although she is very proud of this fact. A first-year student born in Numazu City. Hates mikan (citrus unshiu, a variation of orange.) She insists on being called "Johanne" instead of her real name, Yoshiko.

Kanako Takatsuki as Hanamaru Kunikida: A first-year student and daughter of a family that has taken care of a local shrine for generations. Good at singing, and a member of a local choir. Loves to read, and gets dizzy easily.

Aina Suzuki as Mari Ohara: A half-Japanese third-year girl whose Italy-based French father manages a chain of Italian-style hotels. She has a bright personality and moves at her own pace.

Ai Furihata as Ruby Kurosawa: A first year who's prone to crying, and has a phobia of men. Dia's younger sister. Sewing is her sole forte.

In 2010, the anime studio Sunrise, Lantis, and ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine launched the first Love Live! project as a self-described "ultimate user-participation project" that lets its fans vote on the future of the fictional idols. A series of music CDs and animated music videos then followed. The members of the first project announced in 2012 that a full anime series had been green-lit for the following year. The second season of the anime was announced in June 2013.

Crunchyroll streamed both seasons as they aired in Japan. NIS America announced in April that it will release the first and second seasons of the anime with an English dub.

The Love Live! The School Idol Movie film opened in Japan on June 13, and in theaters outside Japan starting in August. The film has earned a total of over 2.84 billion yen (about US$24.1 million). The film played in select cities in the United States on September 12. The film is also screening in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, and Indonesia.

Love Live!'s first idols, μ's, are selling their "final single" on March 2, and they will hold their "μ's Final Love Live!" concerts on March 31 and April 1. However, the group members denied that they are breaking up.

(Source: ANN, Via Yaraon!)

Non Non Biyori Repeat Review

Non Non Biyori is a very special anime. It's a simple anime, about children growing up in the countryside. Yet, it is one of the best slice of life ever; the one anime that envelop you with a special feeling the other couldn't.

The story take place at Asahigaoka, that might look like typical, boring countryside to most; however, no day in this village can ever be considered colorless thanks to five students of varying ages occupying the only class in the only school in town. The youngest student is first grader Renge Miyauchi, the perfect example of a typical, innocent child. Then there are the Koshigaya siblings consisting of the quiet ninth grader and elder brother Suguru, diminutive eighth grader Komari, and the mischievous seventh grader Natsumi, whose appearance may fool you at first thanks to her constantly emulating her more mature older sister. The recent arrival of Tokyo-raised fifth grader Hotaru Ichijou, who appears overdeveloped for her age and thus naturally holds an air of maturity, rounds out this lively and vibrant group of five classmates. Based on the manga penned and illustrated by Atto, Non Non Biyori chronicles the not-so-normal daily lives of this group of friends as they engage in their own brand of fun and frolic, and playfully struggle with the realities of living in a rural area. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

Non Non Biyori is a very light-hearted anime, with slow, relaxed pace. The second season itself doesn't feel like an actual continuity to the first season, but rather an extension that enriches the whole series. It does not follow an actual, linear plot; it's mainly episodic. However, it manages to do most other slice of life anime couldn't, to put enough content in the story. Each scene is very fulfilling to watch, from the simple act of walking to school to playing country games and so on. The simplistic nature of the anime itself is what makes it so charming. For someone who actually grows up in a village myself, I could easily relate to the anime. It brings back the sense of nostalgia, like having a secret fort, helping your family gathering foods in the orchard/ mountains, and resting at the small candy shop after going back from the school. Non Non Biyori has a new adventure waiting around every corner for the audience to join in on, bringing in new experiences as well as reliving special moments for each one.

The shows features four main characters. Renge, the youngest of them are the perfect example of a child. She is innocent, surprised even at the moat trivial thing, and can be rather spontaneous at time trying new things. She is in fact the most lovable character of the bunch; looking at her doing her thing is a very enjoyable sight. Next we have Komari, a child who tried her best looking mature despite her rather small stature. She is short despite being the oldest of the bunch, but as the story goes on, she can be dependable at time (and still looks childish). Her little sister, Natsumi is taller than Komari herself. She had a tomboyish personality, always eager to set sail for a new adventure and have a lots of fun. Finally we have Hotaru, a city-girl hanging out with the rest to learn something new about the life of the countryside. She looks very mature despite being the second youngest in the group and doesn't really 'drive' the story, but makes everything around her more enjoyable nevertheless. There is also a bunch of side characters that add more spices to the mix, completing the cast and adds more variation to the story making each scene be really refreshing.

The anime features a very good looking art and scenery. Each of them are shown in intricate details, from the flora and fauna to the country architecture; with photo-realistic image and vibrant colour. It is set to make you feel like you are in the countryside itself; beautiful and calming. Even during season changes, the color scheme subtly adapts to fit the tone and atmosphere of the cool welcome of autumn, and the bright appearance of the new year. The animation is smooth and above average, looks simplistic mostly but perfect for the relaxing pace of the anime. As for the music, the OP and ED deserve a praise for its happy and easygoing nature. The background sound used gives a country-like feels, perfect for the setting of the anime.

Overall this is probably the best slice of life anime the year had to offer. It has all the formulas this type of anime should have: fun, relaxing and refreshing. It is a step up from the previous season, and definitely worthy of another season (just in case). I highly recommend this anime. The story is simple but charming: 4 girls living in the countryside where nothing ever happens, yet it is a bliss.

Bikini Warriors Review

What happens when you gather up a bunch of hentai doujin artist and let them do the character design for a short anime with straight up random stuff and purely for fanservice? The result would be Bikini Warrior. I must admit, I do enjoy ecchi stuff sometimes. But if it's too much, I might as well go for sadpanda instead. Just like sweet stuff. It's good, but too much of it gives you diabetes.

Bikini Warriors tell a tale of a team of four brave women -- Fighter (also the daughter of a legendary warrior who saved the country in the past), Paladin, Mage, and Darkelf -- accept the quest of saving the world from destruction. In order to achieve the goal they have to barter with villagers and fight against numerous monsters in their sexy and scantily-clad bikinis. (Source: ANN)

True to their title, it's just a story of bikini clad females going about random adventure each episodes and making funs of video games tropes. It is clever since it's not just a pure fanservice anime, but a mix of fanservice and satire elements. People who enjoy playing RPG and understand most of the reference they make fun of will totally relate; the same type of bikini armor but the only difference is the higher Magic Defense rating, being able to take townspeople stuff without no consequences, starting your journey piss poor without any money, buying a rare stuff only to get it inside a dungeon later on, and many more. There is no connection whatsoever between each episodes; it's purely episodic. Most of the time they just focus on doing fanservices; tentacles, groping, nudity, you name it. It's excessive, since it doesn't really serve any function at all, other for you to ogle on them. Thankfully each episodes is only 3 minutes long, so it doesn't get into your nerve that much.

The characters design are really good, given that each of them are designed by different artists. Each of them looks really distinct from each other, from the energetic warrior, matured dark elf, beautiful paladin and cute mage. I don't really have any issue with their clothing whatsoever, since it's the whole point of the story itself. There is no character development, since the whole story is just random occurrence in between episodes. As such, the characters are rather forgettable.

The art and animation are surprisingly superb. The colour palette are vibrant, and the animation are decent. Each characters are drawn beautifully, and mostly suggestively. The only problem with this anime is the lack of music. There is no OP since it's a very short anime, and the ED/ credit music sounds like a random national anthem. The soundtrack are non-existent, probably because they focused too much on the art instead.

Bikini Warrior is a rather trashy fanservice anime, but it is fun to watch if you get the satire message they try to convey in every episodes. For people who frequently plays RPG, or just love boobs in general, it's a perfect way to waste your free time since it's a very short anime. Otherwise, avoid it at all cost.