- anime - animation anime children enjoyed kon monster music rats review shin sekai yori supernatural tv

As promised my next anime review will be on Shin Sekai Yori or, From the New World.

I am in absolute awe of this novel-turned anime and am currently scrabbling to find out when an English translation of the text would be available. For now I’ll have to make do with just having this gem of an anime. Unlike in my KnK review, I will not be fangirling over the clarity and sophistication of the animation – though SSY is beautiful in its own way. While the anime comes second in visual astuteness, it makes up for it through its unique and compelling storyline. Days after I finished the anime I feel like I am walking through a haze, wistfully daydreaming about giant mole rats and telekinetic teenagers while humming the anime’s addictive main theme.

Story:

10/10

Books are the best. In an era dominated by otome romances and standardized supernatural stories – I am looking at you, Diabolik Lovers – you can tell when a story was written with the purpose of being thought provoking. Wedged between reels of mindless shonens and sickly shojos, SSY reminds you that anime can have a plot; that the medium has more to offer than gravity-defying breasts and ridiculous action sequences.

Set 1000 years into the future, the show follows six children, Saki, Satoru, Maria, Mamoru, Shun, and Reiko, who have been raised in one of the tranquil yet antiquated prefectures that resemble rural Japan today. Despite a millennium between modern day and Yusuke Kishi’s future utopia, it appears civilization has digressed back to a pre-industrial state. Their world is now a rural one; engulfed by trees and rivers with only a couple of hundred families (if that!) located in any one village. It’s a setting that would make the Romantics swoon. The big change? All the humans we see today have mad superpowers. Everyone has varying degrees of telekinesis, which is carefully controlled and monitored by the benevolent town’s ethics and security councils.

Despite the idyllic setting there is something amiss. As children, Saki and her friends hear rumors of terrifying cats that steal you away in the night, and while no one has ever confirmed these findings, it doesn’t change the fact that every so often children and adults go missing. As they grow, they encounter more and more discrepancies until one faithful day they encounter an item that allows them to realize the true nature of their world, and the long, bloody history that shadows it.

What unfolds is an incredibly intricate plot that thickens like good gravy. What begins as a tale about the adventures of some psychic children soon develops an adjacent story concerning creatures called, Monster Rats: colonies of Mole Rat humanoids that live beyond the towns in sprawling hoards that are fond of feudal disputes, but live to serve their overpowered neighbors; their ‘psychic’ masters. As the rats rage war against each other around them, the children return to school to resume their training, equipped with the terrible knowledge that their society is founded on secretive and deceptive principles, of which the Monster Rats play a crucial role in.

That’s all I am going to talk about in terms of the overarching plot for now. It’s too deep to try and write about in a review, and part of the fun of this particular anime is that the story leaves you guessing; there are so many aspects at work that you never know what’s going to happen next. What I will say is that my thumbs up goes to the characters and plot creation. The characters are loveable and believable, and their interpersonal chemistry makes what happens in the plot so much more tragic and compelling. Throughout it all there is never any clear distinction of who is in the wrong, and as the children stumble through their adolescence, it becomes obvious that they are living in a world of strife and cannot trust anyone outside their circle. Even the plight of the lowly Monster Rats is compelling. As they wage war on each other, and bicker over territory and expanding their colonies, their bestial natures resonate with that of primitive humans; and as the children develop, so do their embryonic ways and existence. They evolve, much to the horror of their ‘benign’ masters.

Go watch it so I can rave about the show with someone! The first six episodes are bizarre, but it only gets better from there. The last episode left me quite teary for characters I did not think I would come to care for so deeply.

Animation:

7/10

At times it’s a 9, at others, 7. A-1 Pictures weren't very consistent with the level of detail they displayed in their animation. Overall it was delicious, and Masashi Ishihama did well employing a few beautifully drawn scenes that leave an impression in your mind. It may not be a KnK with animation, but on the whole SSY mastered its limited budget and produced an artful show speckled with memorable shots and scenes.

Music:

8/10

The main theme is addictive. Kage No Denshouka Daiichibu, the main theme, has been stuck in my head for 3 weeks now. There is a lot of repetition in the show, but I think that really adds to the growing tension and ambiance of the anime: the melodic and someone sad New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak that plays at the end of each school day becomes sinister; the tantalizing Kage No Denshouka Daiichibu intensifies as the anime develops and the sacrifices of the characters become intrinsic to it. It’s nice music. Not on par with Cowboy Bebop, but definitely pleasing to the ear.

Dislikes:

At times the random decrease in animation quality is irritating. (Nitpicking here).

… Yep! That’s it! Go treat yourself by watching this amazing show.

- anime - anime animes bishi bishounen free! free! eternal summer high school iwatobi japan japanese mokoto nanase prince of tennis review rin slice of life sports swim club

Free! Is back! Pubescent girls everywhere, rejoice! The second season of the immensely popular light novel by Kōji Ōji returns with Kyoto Animation and aired this July, but I am just getting into it presently.

For those of you that are new to the concept (or curious boys that are not willing to test their sexuality against these Adonis-like Bishi swimmers), the anime carries on from Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club, a story concerning four best friends united by their passion for swimming. When Rin – a dazzling red head with pointy teeth and one of the four ‘nakama’– returns after abandoning his friends in Iwatobi for an elite boarding school swim school in Australia, their dreams of a happy reunion are cut short by the fact that Rin is no longer the boy they used to know. The now sixteen year old shows himself to be a somewhat aggressive and immensely competitive swimmer dead set on being the greatest pokemon master swimmer Japan has ever seen, and appears to give very little weight to friendship and the importance of sportsmanship. His main rival – and once upon a time best friend, Nanase – poses a threat to this ideal, being perhaps the ‘epitome’ of the best swimmer and unchallenged in the water, despite his minimal efforts towards training. Rin is determined to beat him, and despite accomplishing this very early in the series, is unable to fill the void by attaining his ultimate goal. Free! goes onto examine the importance of friendship and meaningful motivation, weighing Rin’s ruthless, tunnel-vision ambitions against the pure and modest attempts by the Iwatobi crew, who believe that attaining success as a team is a far more gratifying accomplishment. After watching his old friends training meticulously for the relay race at the Prefectural Tournament, Rin gradually comes to remember what he had lost by becoming a solo swimmer, and eventually remedies his relationship with Nanase and co by the end of the series. Basically there’s a lot of ‘doing your best’, the importance of friendship, and serious sports, which if any of you have seen Prince of Tennis, can probably picture what kind of anime Free! Is like.

Free! Eternal Summer continues on this note, with Nanase and Makoto returning as 3^rd year upperclassmen, making this their last chance at making it to regionals as the Iwatobi Highschool team. For progenies like Rin and Nanase, it’s also a crucial time in their swimming career; a chance to be scouted by a university and take their swimming talents to the next level.

To be honest, I was quite surprised they managed introduce something deeper than the turbulent friendship problems which acted as Free!’s overarching theme and plot in the first season. Given that the friendship between Rin and Iwatobi was mended, I thought this anime had run out of viable plotlines. The happy ending killed my ideas for any follow ups. But then I remembered. Final year of high school. What could be better for a slice-of-life anime with super beautiful athletes who have been friends since time immemorial, having to deal with growing up and consequently, growing apart? Perfect.  Bring on the tiny swimming shorts and tears.

You know, just in swim shorts all the time.

Now there have only been 8 episodes so far, but what the anime has shown is that friendship remains centerfold in the show, and rather than focusing on the Iwatobi versus Samezuka rivalry, the series looks inwards into the happenings of each school’s swim club, highlighting the troubles between Samezuka’s friendship group and Iwatobi’s. This is something I prefer. While the anime did go through the trouble of having two different school lives, this season feels a bit more exclusive; like Samezuka doesn’t only exist to cover Rin’s storyline. There’s a lot more depth and intricacy added to the Samezuka plot now that Rin has to handle a new role as captain of the swimming team, alongside the return of his old school friend, Sousuke, who seems to embody all of Rin’s old ideals and beliefs about solo-swimming.  Conversely there’s the Iwatobi crew, whose main ulterior dispute aside from their upcoming bid for nationals, is what to do after high school. While Nanase has it made as a professional swimmer, he’s locked into his ‘free’ mentality where he doesn’t do anything that might go against his laidback principles. 

Similarly, Mokoto has to find a career path that might not involve Nanase, who has been his partner in crime since forever. Aside from all the muscles and tech-swim talk, it makes for an interesting underlying plot.

Overall, the anime is something I don’t really think about. It’s pretty: the boys are pretty, the animation is pretty, the water is pretty, the storyline is basic and the dialogue is eighty percent name-calling: (ie: Nanase: says something deep and meaningful about water. Mokoto: -glittery eyes- Haru…) This is just artwork pornography; a delightful reminder that art is better than reality. Sometimes it’s painful watching the script writers shove in their moments of deep and meaningful dialogue – which always ends up with the aforementioned glittery eyes and characters responding by repeating each other’s names, but I deal with it because there’s muscles and colours, and the drawing style is absolutely appealing. The times I really enjoy the anime is when it retraces its comedic routes and capitalizes on the fact that this is a girl’s show for ladies wanting to watch unbelievably ripped swimmers all day. Gou is a great reminder of that causal motive, and the show repeatedly returns to her fixation with muscles to stress this point, making it appear self-aware which in turn makes the serious moments easier to stomach.

LOL. Alright, the fan-service is pretty good. 

If you’re into bishi-boys (who isn’t?!) and taking serious swim-talk with a pinch of salt, Free! Is a lighthearted, pleasant experience, and this season comes with hotter guys and even more passion-filled discourse over swimming. For anyone who gets a bit soft when they see friends pulling through tough situations, and secretly thinks ganbatte is the best motto ever, Free! Eternal Summer is waiting for you.  

- anime - anime animes cute knk Kyōkai no Kanata review

Kyōkai no Kanata or, Beyond the Boundary is an anime I have been meaning to review for some time.

Let me begin by saying that I thought I was done with the anime scene for good. I started work, steered clear of attaching myself to any series and spent my free time playing video games. Old favourites like Bleach had lost their spark – years ago in fact, but for nostalgia’s sake I continued to trudge through the manga whenever the sentimental urge griped me. To boot, I had no ideawhat to watch. Since the genesis of my anime days I’ve filed away at the extensive repertoire of recommended classics and favourites, occasionally stumbling onto something new and interesting. Inevitably it came to an end, and I was sure my long and fruitful anime days were finally over.

Until I found this.

Based on the light novel, Beyond the Boundary by Nagomu Torii and adapted by Kyoto Animation (responsible for producingK’on, Tamako Market, Hyoka and Free!), maps the exploits of second year Akihito Kanbara and the new first year transfer student, Mirai Kuriyama. A Slice of Life spiced with a supernatural overtones, it’s a short but sweet show with 12 episodes that leaves you aching for more.

To order my thoughts I’ll divide my review into parts.

Story:

9/10

It’s a romantic, supernatural adventure that tries to differentiate itself from the mass of other anime that fall into those categories. Considering how saturated the market is with yokai (demons), fire-foxes and other tropes of Japanese mythology, it’s nice to see a plot that steps outside the box with things called youmu; said to be the physical materialization of human animosity such as negative emotions including hatred, jealousy and malice. These little devils can exist in a myriad of shapes and sizes and can even take human shape. As the embodiment of human negativity, as long as humans exist so do the youmu. Thankfully, there will always be a group to fight them – the Spirit World Warriors. The name’s cheesy, but they are quite an interesting bunch. The anime is sensible enough not to get too in-depth with their exegesis of these guardians, and leaves much of this mysterious group to imagination and interpretation of the viewers. What you are told is that there are certain families who are top dog in the business, and that killing youmu generates income. Yep, they drop youmu stones which can be traded for dosh, making this a very profitable business if you’re good enough!

As you can imagine, being the good guys we follow characters based around the Spirit Warriors: Akihito, a rare youmu-Spirit Warrior half-blood with the gift of immortality and a penchant for girls in glasses; the Nase siblings who are part of the governing Spirit W. Warrior family in these parts; and Mirai, a newcomer with the unique ability to turn her own blood into offensive or defensive weapons. The last of her clan, her existence is frowned upon by other Spirit Warrior families who consider her existence an infringement on normality (doesn’t help much with the whole, confidence thing). Struggling to overcome these insecurities and to make her own way in their magical world, she is befriended by Akihito and co, and learns what it means to be a Spirit Warrior in these parts – the good and the bad.

Now I don’t want to give away too much. Because there are only 12 episodes the anime snowballs after establishing the premises. What I can say is that a heartwarming friendship and romance develops – one that I would rate on the FFX scale (for me it is the pinnacle of cute). The characters are individually well designed and executed; inviting you to engage in their believable and empathetic storylines regardless of whether they are protagonist or antagonist.  Furthermore, it tackles the slice of life genre with archetypal, jovial tones, but when it gets down to the serious stuff it brings to the table something mature and relatable. Just go watch it. You’ll be able to get it done in a day!

Animation:

10/10

Look at it! Need I say more? I got hooked at making GIFs for these which is harder than it looks. Most anime run on a limited frame-rate: if you break it down into frames, you’d see that there wasn’t much movement between one action to the next. In KnK there’s tons. Each gesture takes four times the amount of frames to render, and while it might be a pain to edit into a short GIF, it’s a marvel to watch. Kyoto Animation has always pushed for higher quality anime, with Free! being a prime example of their ingenuity, vision and standard. With KnK it is the same if not better. Not only is it beautifully drawn, animated and coloured, the angles and shots themselves are well executed and add so much meaning and depth to certain scenes.

Another accolade I don’t give often is that the fight scenes are amazing. Many an anime suffers from what I would describe as the Michael Bay syndrome; hard to follow and disguised by shitty frames that serve only to take you from point a to b. Even classics like Cowboy Bebop fall into that trap from time to time. Since Samurai Champloo, I have been waiting for an anime that takes its time illustrating fights, and KnK does this so very well. So if you are interested in seeing insane, anime brawls with magical creatures, this is your show.

Music:

I think it is good. If I am honest, I can’t even remember the OP and ED. I would take that as a good sign, considering it was not bad enough for me to need to comment on it, but not memorable enough for it to detract from the amazing storyline and animation. Daisy, the arrangement for the last episode was sweet, but like I said it wasn’t particularly extraordinary for me.

Dislikes:

Anime is like this shouldn’t just be 12 episodes long. That’s just cruel. Too cruel.

Highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in a fun, romantic tale.

Next anime review will be Shinsekai Yori.