Episode Reviewed In:Episode 110 Alternate Titles: None Original Japanese Release Date: July 2002 Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes Summary: The story follows Robin Sena who is a “craft user” not to be mistaken with a witch. Craft users are raised by the Roman Cathloic Church to use their powers to hunt down witches. Witchcraft is a dormant trait which lies in human “seeds” when they awaken it drives a person, generally, to madness. Robin works for the STN-J a group which looks over seeds and hunts witches but through her work with them she begins to learn more about the witches she hunts and what her group really does. Review: I suppose I’ll start out by saying that Witch Hunter Robin is not an exceptional anime. It’s far from bad, and it’s downright entertaining most of the time, but it is hardly something which will merit acclaim, praise, or a second watch anytime soon. However, I am a huge fan of the occult and witchcraft so this series is right up my alley and tickles my supernatural bone. The series falls under the old routine of monster of the week for about the first half. In my opinion you can watch episodes 1 and 2, then skip 3-11 and pick the series back up there. Some of the episodes are interesting and the DO progressively let you in on secrets of the STN-J group but it is filler, no ifs-ands-or-butts on the matter. The plot doesn’t really take off until the halfway mark, where they then take the non-existent buildup and your now over-familiarity with the characters to progress what is the real plot. Being a fan of the occult I didn’t hate the filler, and some of it was amusing, but filler is filler, they likely could’ve condensed it down a fair bit. When the series does pick up, it really picks up and the plot moves quick. Not break-neck speed that makes you go “wooooah hold up!” but a good place that is enjoyable. The show is never riddled with action but has the pacing of a good mystery novel and uncovers things at a decent pace that makes it worth watching. The atmosphere of the show and animation style are just fantastic, and really carries it along. I’ve heard it described as “neo-goth” and I can see how it fits really well. The show almost has such a good atmosphere it feels like TV shows like Charmed (without the silly fluff of Charmed) here in America. The characters also make the show worth watching, from traditional clichés to people facing deep moral dilemmas. And the music is pretty solid too, I rocked out on my iPod for a while to it. Overall, I may be a little biased because I liked this show so much because of the themes it used and the questions it asked. But I really enjoyed it.
Hey all you anime addicts, I wanted to share something with all of you. I’m about to finish a course that will certify me to teach English as a second language and I’m thinking about finding a job in Japan. This would be a dream come true for me because I love Japanese culture. I been so busy with the course that I have not been able to write much, but I’ll be back soon with some new stuff once the course concludes. I just wanted to throw this out there and get everyone’s opinion about this. It would mean a lot if this podcast had someone in Japan that could go to things and make reports, and I would love to do that. Anyway that’s all for now, see you soon on the ustream chat and on here for some anime action.
Hey, Hey AAA! How is everyone doing today? This is your boy Z-ComiX here once again to take one anime aspect and covert each component of said anime theme and categorize in a fashion that reflects upon it’s greatness on an overall category in a descending numerical manner. In other words; let’s number stuff about anime I like!
With Thanksgiving coming up, there are a lot of things on your mind.Turkey, some pie, turkey, some stuffing, turkey… turkey. But let us not forget to be thankful people! So today on TOP 5, we will be discussing the Top 5 Things to be Thankful for in Anime! So every, please keep head inside the ride at all times to keep in from getting blow off in the process, because TOP5 is starting………… NOW!GO!
NUMBER 5
FANSUBS AND BAD DUBS
We all have our opinions about these guys, but lets face it; a lot of the people who watch anime watch it subbed off some site. Also, the really bad dubs that the older generation remembers may be horrible to watch and listen to, but we can all agree that they were some of the anime that helped get people introduced and subsequently addicted to the anime universe. So here’s to you Subbers and bad Dubbers; you may suck and sometimes be illegal, but we acknowledge your help in introducing and effecting the popularity of anime.
NUMBER 4
WESTERN ANIME DISTRIBUTORS
In Contrast to Number 5, I thank you US anime distributors. You guys put out LEGAL quality content that helps support the official companies and is enjoyable to watch. Companies like Funamation, Cruncyroll and Netflix are among the few who help in the cause to spread anime legally and for that I extend the Wishbone of awesomeness to you guys.
NUMBER 3
JAPAN!
If it wasn’t for this countries ability to produce the medium we enjoy, where would we be people? An alternate dimension where anime doesn’t exist and we are all stuck in a world where we all end up fighting an army of drunken-winged-monkeys and Justin Bieber as our overlord! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am not willing to end up in that world, so pray forJapanat the dinner table.
NUMBER 2
OSAUMU TEZUKA
Oh Godfather of Anime, of course I have you on this list! Thanks to you and your awesomess you were able to make such great works such as Astro Boy and Black Jack. And let us not forget to mention how Astro Boy was the first anime to come over toAmericaand basically launched the anime industry in the West! To you Tezuka, I will give you my pan of stuffing and the boat of gravy at my dinner table.
NUMBER 1
ANIME ADDICTS ANONYMOUS!
Yes, I would like to thank you AAA crew for making such a great website and community. Always trying to put out better content, you guys have made listening and writing here fun! But this Thanks is not just to our Hosts and Hostesses, this is a thank you to the community as well! Thanks to everyone on the forum, every listener and reader, you all make it fun and enjoyable to come to www.aaapodcast.com . you guys are always inviting to new members and I hope to keep coming back here for more fun. To you all I invite you all to my dinner table to enjoy a feast of awesome food and warm company! And yes, there will be Turkey and Stuffing by the pot-full.
SO, in summary, all hail the Church of Mistugi and all the anime under the rising sun. I hope everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving and remember to keep everyone in your prayers… and buy some swag at the AAA Store and visit the forum to drop off what you are thankful for this year! And remember, if you got time, 5 star this, thumbs it up, comment, do whatever to help support TOP5! Drop off any suggestions for a TOP 5 below!
Hello once again AAA, this is Folium bringing you fun and interesting news from all around the globe just for you wonderful otakus. So it has been a bit of a slow news week, but here we go!
First up in manga new mangas being announced this week, TAGRO will launch a comedy series called Ikigami-sama, a series about a girl and her experience with a god who is an old homeless man. Mika Kajiyama will launch a new manga this winter called Ore to Atashi no Kareshi-sama, a manga about a younger brother and older sister who decide to switch places. Narumi Kakinouchi will also release a romantic fantasy about a fairy who loves humans called Fairy Jewel.
Along with new manga and for those who can speak Japanese and like manga, Kyoto Seika University launched its new interactive manga site Mangaku November 1st. The site is designed to let users upload their own original amnga and allow others to recommend and comment on those works. The uploaded manga will also receive reviews from faculty at Kyoto Seika University. The goal of this website is to help out both new mangaka and raise awareness on the history and culture of manga.
Ahhh, Japan. We love you and hate you. Having started sale on November 11th the vitamin company Ateam will be launching “Moe Supli” or Moe Supplements. With three different supplement packets costing about $18.00 USD each packet will contain two trading cards with anthropomorphized pills that are now lovely moe characters. Remember kids, always take your vitamins, you never know what cute girl may come with them.Also carrying the moe theme, the Tohoku region of Japan now has its own character. Zunko, a character named after zunda mocha a specialty of the Tohoku region is an original character designed by SSS (a Japanese company. Zunko in now here as a copyright free character and part of an app on the android market that provides users with information on the Tohoku region and zunda mocha as Japan still recovers from the earthquake and tsunami. And finally now to get show off your anime love to your lover. Underwear (especially guys) is really popular this week with Madoka Magica boxers being announced, K-ON boxers and both ladies’ & mens’ socks, and even pink Ryou Saeba boxers from City Hunter. Now just to find those oppurtunities to show off these boxers…
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction for the use of parody only. Any data or events cited are most likely pure fabrication. Please read for enjoyment and the satirical viewpoint, not for facts.
It was released today that Ezra Miller, who was ask to play Tetsuo in the new, all-white Akira movie, has turned down the roll. It seems that the roll of Tetsuo has met much controversy as director Jaume Collet-Serra says he needs the all-Anglo-Saxon protestant cast of this movie to be a perfect representation of the source material in a localized format.
The original movie “Akira” was directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and was an animated movie based on a manga series. It is one of the shining stars of the Japanese animation community; the movie is considered one of the prime examples of an anime that has been both a gateway for new anime viewers as well as an impact those working in the field of animation. That is why Serra has been working to make sure the new “Akira” movie is a complete experience that will be more understandable for a western audience.
The first step Serra took was to change the entire location the movie takes place. Instead of taking place in the post-apocalyptic steam-punk world of Neo-Tokyo, the story will now take place in Neo-Manhattan, which we all know is the epicenter of all western future stories. Serra has also seen fit in his crusade to make the perfect western “Akira” to enlist the help of actor such as Garrett Hedlund, who is known for playing one of the white brothers in “Four Brothers” and Gary Oldman, who played the white commissioner in “Dark Knight.”
Serra has decided also to change few other things in the script to make it more relatable to an American audience. Instead of having the original names that were in the source material, names will be made more relatable such as John and Mary. He as also decided that it would be in the best interest of the movie’s success to call it “ALBERT” so that people are not turned off by the fact that it is based of a Japanese style animation.
Serra believes that the movie will be a success and may even start creating a larger market for western-styled Eastern movies. He thinks the adaptation will be as well accepted as the 1998 version of Godzilla that, coincidently also takes place inManhattan. If you are a fan of only western movies, I suggest you watch the new and improve “ALBERT.”
Romance is a genre or sub genre that I have come to appreciate over time, probably because it is the easiest way for me to connect to a character or characters emotionally and also because I love my drama. Drama in most anime tends to be a little over the top or melodramatic and while this may seem annoying at first, if done right it can be very moving.
As we all know by now Anime is a medium and most of its series are a mish-mash of all sorts of sub genres and if you are lucky you will get one with a good romantic sub plot. I wrote this article in order to examine and scrutinise how romance is portrayed in different kinds of anime and to possibly find out why some of them will bring you to tears and cripple you emotionally and why the others are just complete garbage. Just to make sure the views expressed are not completely subjective to my myself, I decided to bring three more opinions on board, 1 male and 2 female. I interviewed them all and they all had very interesting views on the subject.
The Chase or The Meal
That’s probably a horrible analogy for dating and being in an on-going relationship but bear with me. Most romance anime tends to tackle the dating or courtship aspect rather than the relationship building part. Personally, from a guys perspective, this is the most interesting and dramatic part of a relationship. Its easier for anime creators to carry the viewer along the protagonists story of trying to get to know the love interest and gradually befriending him/her before finally getting together, usually very dramatically at the end.
Super Korelle agrees with me, she said” I like stories about both courtship and about a relationship. With both you get to see the trails and errors the characters go through to be with each other and make what ever they have work. I find courtship to make for a better story line. Watching a character trying to get the person they like/love makes you (or at least me) more invested in the anime, praying and hoping they get them in the end.”
Kuuki also had a similar point of view, she said “I usually like the courtship better. Especially if the show is divided in two parts. I think it gives a greater liberty to the story to develop around the couple, the usual awkwardness and shyness of beginning romances. An established couple in a show centered exclusively around romance often becomes boring.”
Lvlln has a more apathetic view on the subject, he thinks “No preference. The vast majority are about courtship, though, so I’d like to see more good ones about an on-going relationship. That said, the reason the majority are about courtship is because courtship tends to be more fun to watch.”
So what is it exactly about the courtship route that keeps us coming back for more? The template is certainly over-used but the creators have found various ways to mix it up and make it refreshing for the viewers such as;
The Female Perspective
Take Kimi Ni Todoke for example, it’s a story about a socially awkward girl that slowly falls in love with the most popular boy at school. Sawako (the female lead) not only has to overcome her shyness but also find a suitable way to interact with Kazehaya (the popular boy) in order for him to regard her as a potential love interest. Needless to say it takes 2 full seasons to get some sort of final…closure but still the most interesting part of the story is trying to see just how Sawako will finally get to say she loves Kazehaya.
The female perspective may not necessarily be a groundbreaking form of story telling seeing as most shoujo titles are made this way. It’s the fact that Kimi Ni Todoke took ‘the chase’ approach rather than the relationship building one, Sawako never has a boyfriend in the entirety of the series, she doesn’t have to deal with commitment issues or anything of that sort, well not in the traditional way atleast.
The Love Web
By the way, they all hang out together
This has got to be my favourite aspect of romance in anime, rather than having the same old cliché love triangle some writers have decided to go all out and have created love webs. The best examples being Toradora! and Ano Hi Mita Hana No Namae Wo Boku Tach Wa Mada Shiranai (AKA Ano Hana)
I’ve talked about Toradora! and why I love it countless times so I’ll focus on Ano Hana on this article. In Ano Hana this group of friends has finally been reunited after drifting apart over the years because of the loss of Menma (The Loli lead) The reunion is not a sweet one because all these characters have gradually changed over time and some still hold grudges over things of the past. However, with the continuous passage of time and them spending more time with each other, old emotions buried deep within them start to come to the fold and drama ensues.
Again, they all hang out together
I think the fact that all these characters are friends makes the situation that little bit more dramatic, also add the fact that they have to overcome their old feelings of animosity towards each other before they could even come close to initiating a romantic conversation and you have Drama Gold. Again the main focus in this show was not the relationship building but watching as each character tries to woe the other, the chase.
Demographics
The courtship route is certainly interesting but it also has some glaring flaws, the most obvious being the age group it centers on. Dating or trying to get a boyfriend/girlfriend is a really big deal for adolescent teenagers and the idea of being in one is fantastically drawn out of proportion in their young minds (I know this because I was a victim of this terrible lie.) Writers capitalise on this and target most of their romance work to this demographic, which is why you get a lot of successful romance novels, like Twilight for example. The biggest problem that this trend brings is the fact that most romance stories will rarely focus upon on-going relationships or they will make them out to be a heavenly utopia which is not the case at all( shoujo is the worst offender when it comes to anime). It also means we rarely get to see romance stories focusing on grown adults.
“Teenage romance is interesting, but it’s very heavily represented in anime, so I’d like to see more of 20s-40s, prime ages when romance is a big deal.”
Romance is certainly a big deal after you lose those silly raging hormones, when you get older the whole dating thing gets old and you just wanna find your perfect match as quickly as possible so you can settle down.
“I would like romance anime to focus on the age group of 18-30 years old. I find a lot of anime to be with middle school or high school aged people. I am in the age group of 18-30 and would like to see more adult romance portrayed in anime. I have nothing against middle/high school romance anime, I would prefer to watch someone close to my age bracket going through the trails of love”
Most of those trials would deal with subjects young teenage minds might find hard to comprehend at first but are extremely vital, such as dealing with love after divorce or death of a spouse or having to quit your career in order to be a stay at home parent or even how to deal with relationships as a single parent.
“OLDER PEOPLE! I mean, I want less blooming high schoolers and more kickass older people. More stuff like Nana, more stuff like Usagi Drop. Please.”
Kuuki highlights some very good examples of anime that portray adult romance or atleast show it in a mature format. Both titles she mentioned are categorised as Josei, Josei is anime or manga meant to appeal to an older female audience, the adult version of Shoujo.
Josei
The romance side of things in Usagi Drop (the anime) is never in the foreground. However, it is executed so well that it engrains itself in the viewers minds. Daikichi the lead character is a 30 year old bachelor that decided to raise his 6 year old Aunt (watch the show its a long story) He is forced to demote himself at work in order to free up some time to care for Rin and also has to learn how to care for a child on the fly. His love interest is Rins’ best friends Mom Yukari, who is a 30 year old divorced single parent trying to raise a naughty 6 year old boy by herslf. Daikichis’ feelings are torn between trying to care for his adopted child and loving Yukari, he doesn’t know whether pursuing Yukari would be the right thing for him, Rin or Yukaris son. He has to gauge how each person involved would feel on top of that he is not even sure if the relationship would work out seeing as they are both strapped for time.
The amount of layers involved in that one relationship is so immense and you can see the struggle in both their eyes when they interact. Its love at its purest form, bittersweet.
Nana (which is my favourite manga by the way, you should all read it) deals with a college aged spunky female called Nana Komatsu. Nana decided to leave her parents home in order to live with her boyfriend in Tokyo. Nana starts off as a naive character with childish hopes and aspirations for her life such as being the perfect housewife for her future husband. Reality kicks in pretty quick as soon as she gets to Tokyo though, her boyfriend is still not capable of caring for her and she ends up having to live n her own and making ends meet.
The romance side of things get interesting when you realise that as a high schooler Nana was having an affair with a married man. Being young and naive she thought she had found true love when in truth she was only being used for body. This past continuously haunts Nana and how she perceives men in general. She believes that all men are as fickle as the wind and as long as she doesn’t satisfy any of their needs she will be left alone again just like that married man she was having an affair with did. And thats only half of what Nana deals with!
Harems
Whether you love them or love to hate them Harem anime will continue to be popular and will always remain a firm part of the anime industry. Some of the classics are harem titles like Tenchi Muyo and Love Hina for example. There have been some (and thats very few) exceptional Harems that have portrayed romance well but I think we can all agree that most of them are a horrible source for a sweet love story.
Kuuki had a lot to say on the subject.
” Hakuouki, which is a reverse harem anime suffers from the disease of the genre (the same reason why I can’t watch many harem anime), I can never believe how so many people fall in love or at the very least care that much for such a dull main character, so yeah it ruins the show. Its really hard for me to be able to believe in such a story if the main character is dull, sometimes we’re also presented with a harem where no real romantic conclusion is reached and we get the feeling everyone is in love with everyone.”
She gave examples of some of the Harem titles that just get to her.
“Kore wa Zombie desu ka? It’s the typical “everyone falls in love with the main character” type of story (and one of the rare I have finished) and while it is implied said main character is mostly in love with Yuu, it never is clearly established. In that aspect it wasn’t exactly representative of romance, but it had plot and it was funny so I managed to finish it.
As for others, I’d say MajiKoi? I’ve only watched a few episodes but it was boring and the main character was oblivious to everyone apart from his sister, very weak on the romance part, very heavy on the fanservice. Not exactly my cup of tea either.”
Surprisingly, there were some good examples.
“Kore wa Zombie desu ka? It’s the typical “everyone falls in love with the main character” type of story (and one of the rare I have finished) and while it is implied said main character is mostly in love with Yuu, it never is clearly established. In that aspect it wasn’t exactly representative of romance, but it had plot and it was funny so I managed to finish it.
As for others, I’d say MajiKoi? I’ve only watched a few episodes but it was boring and the main character was oblivious to everyone apart from his sister, very weak on the romance part, very heavy on the fanservice. Not exactly my cup of tea either.”
Surprisingly, there were some good examples.
“Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai( The World god Only Knows). It’s essentially a harem anime but Keima never falls in love and the girls who do forget afterwards, it’s an endless repetition of the conquest on a different character everytime, Keima has a strong personality and it never gets boring.
Strangely enough, I’d say Hakuouki too was a nice harem anime, mostly because it reaches a clear conclusion and because of the setting during Edo period. Lastly, I’m not very knowledgeable in the genre but Bakemonogatari would count right? Once again we reach a clear conclusion and the story doesn’t revolve exclusively around the romance.”
I enjoyed both Kami Nomi and Bakemonogatari, but Lvlln explains why Bakemonogatari is an exceptional ‘harem’ a lot better than I do.
“The romance between Hitagi and Koyomi made for one of the greatest single episodes of all time, but the show overall was not about their romance. There was a considerable amount of character growth for Hitagi, we saw her open up her softer side, using the romance to help her get over the traumatic experience during middle school of almost getting raped. For Koyomi, it was learning what it means to be a lover, that is, that there is nothing special in it, it’s enough just to be yourself and to be there for her.”
Bakemonogatari
So how do you feel about Harems in general?
“Harems tend to dehumanize the girls, turning them into a set of features instead of a whole person. Hard to have a good romance when one half of the relationship isn’t a full person.”
I would personally recommend any of the Key titles if you are looking for a good harem, both Clannad and Kanon are sweet stories filled with comedy and tragedy but they both still suffer from ‘the disease of the genre’ as Kuuki so subtly puts it.
Fanservice In Romance
I think the biggest problem with harems is that they are a manifestation of male (sometimes females) imaginations. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by beautiful girls all doting on you? Most harem titles are targeted at men and because of this they usually have a lot of fanservice, the distasteful kind. I find that this draws me away from the potentially good love story and it puts me off the show entirely. I asked the panel if they felt the same.
“Not necessarily, if it doesn’t feel forced (well, fanservice feels mostly forced but accidents happen) Take Bakuman for example, it has a few examples of fanservice but it doesn’t hurt the sweetness of the romance backstory the slightest bit (and that is helped by the presence of two couples too). And to be honest, romance or not, a normal human would look at the person he’s in love with, he’d look for the fanservice opportunities. We can’t really avoid it. I’d rather have fanservice in a romance anime where it would look more or less natural than random fanservice in the middle of something that has nothing to do with it (case in hand : Guilty Crown)”
Taking a bit of a stab at Guilty Crown there, but I do agree with the point she raises about lovers being physically attracted to each other. Having good looks is a major factor when it comes to picking a partner but I suppose this is a hard thing to portray in anime because nearly everyone looks amazing most of the time.
“In my opinion fanservice does hurt a sweet romantic story for me. One moment the characters are having a sweet moment together and next thing you know pantie shot or the girl loses their swim top in the pool. Sweet moment ruined in a matter of seconds. Don’t get me wrong fanservice is good, just not in a sweet romantic story.”
Lvlln is on the other side of the fence with this one.
“I haven’t seen any romance anime with distasteful fanservice yet. B Gata H Kei had fanservice in spades, but it only made the series better.”
B Gata H Kei really, how?
“Yamada’s attempt to seduce that Takahashi was the whole point of the show. The development was in Yamada and Takahashi learning what it means to be in a relationship and how to start a physical relationship”
On the topic of fanservice, I always wondered why it was always rare to see sex scenes in most romantic anime. I mean even day time soap operas have them. I liked how Nana dealt with their scenes, it made sense to have them shown and was certainly not just inserted (no pun intended) for fanservice purposes. It would be great to see more titles adopt this formula.
“Yes. Handled in a mature, realistic fashion as in Tsukihime. No need for porn-type sex scenes as in Yosuga no Sora.”
“Yes I would like to see more. It doesn’t have to be shown them going to climax, maybe just the beginnings of sex and move on to them waking up the next morning. I would also like it to be tasteful done and not full of fanservice.”
“Mmmh yes? Then again, I’m a huge perv so I guess it’s only natural. Now you mention it, it’s true it’s rare, it often happens or is heavily suggested in BL anime, there was a few in Paradise Kiss but it’s a very rare occurence.”
Paradise Kiss being another Aii Yazawa (Nana) manga which I should get to reading soon.
Boys Love
Kuuki brings up the topic of Boys Love to mind, I’m certainly not an expert on Yaoi but its pretty obvious that most of them deal with romance. I recall a huge uproar in the fandom last season when two titles aired concurrently, those titles were Yuru Yuri and No.6. Yuru Yuri was a show that was clearly meant to have Yuri it said so in the title, fans rejoiced, who doesn’t like watching lesbians right? But the response for No.6 which was a sci-fi show with implied yaoi got mixed reactions. I recall a tweet I saw on twitter stating ” You wouldn’t like Yuru Yuri so much if it was called Yuru Yaoi” and unfortunately I had to agree with that.
I had preconceived conceptions of Boys Love anime, being about men, I thought they would tackle the difficulties of being homosexual in an environment that still isn’t fully accepting of that while trying to deal with their romantic emotions for each other. Also the fact that BL is targeted at females I always thought they were a little more mature in their execution.
The sad truth is they are the exact opposite, characters fall in love with each other for no real reason whatsoever and the amount of times characters are quite honestly raped is almost comical. I asked the girls whether they thought this was natural or fantasy.
“I don’t know if you can call it natural, nor fantastical either, I think it depends on the author. While it can feel forced, and just plain unrealistic (well, it’s not like some shojo are much more realistic either so I guess I can forgive them) there are also some very good pieces. The thing with BL is that most manga are really short, it gives less time to develop a story and characters and most authors have to deal with that, it doesn’t always work very well, especially when you work with characters very different from each other.
But from a female point of view who’s reading pretty much every genre so I can compare, BL is special, it lets the girl who reads it stay out of the story, we’re not represented in it, it has nothing to do with us, so they can do whatever they want we don’t really care about it being realistic or not. It’s just enjoying a story for what it is, no pressure to find the prince charming or anything.”
So It’s basically a female fantasy…
“I have only watched one Boys Love anime and they portrayed romance in a bit of a natural but leaning towards the fantastical, if that makes any sense.”
Uhhh….okay I guess. So what would be some good BL titles?
“I don’t read many BL (to be honest I don’t even like the genre) and BL anime is rare, a good one is even rarer, but I’ll answer anyway. When talking about manga I’ll say Acid Town, because, while the BL is present it’s really toned down (for now at least) it’s mostly a story about criminals in a dangerous city and such. As for anime, I think I’ll say Antique Bakery because it’s sweet (in a lot of ways), and not only about love stories either.”
“I have only watched one Boys Love anime,that is Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. I like how it is not two main characters that are being shown. They have a few characters going through different story lines. It just doesn’t focus on romance it has some comedic moments with characters, which is a nice balance with the romance.”
Favourite Romance Recommendations
I think anime with the best character development can mostly be found or is created with the aid of romance which is why I like the genre so much. Even shounen shows like Naruto or even Bleach add that element to make the series a little bit more deep. A lot of titles have been mentioned in this article already but I asked my panel to name a few titles that they would consider their favourites,
Lvlln chose;
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
The show was rather subtle about this, as much of it were episodics about various antics the SOS Brigade got into, but everything always kept going back to the feelings Haruhi and Kyon had for each other, and their journey to acknowledging their feelings for the first time. The climax of the show came only when both Kyon and Haruhi were forced to be honest about their feelings. The show was directed and paced well and pulled off the non-chronology meta game flawlessly, using it to slowly reveal to us the romantic plot.
Tsukihime
Less subtle than Melancholy, the romance in Tsukihime developed slowly as Shiki and Arcueid spent time together trying to hunt down the vampire in town. Their relationship developed organically, and though relatively fast by many standards (the show took place in under 10 days, IIRC), none of it felt forced. It is one of the few romantic anime to actually have sex, and it was important for the plot, not at all exploitative.
Super Korelle picked;
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
It had good character development, a good story line. It had its sweet romantic moments, as well as it’s funny moments. It also had a happy ending for the two main characters. Must be the romantic in me, but I like my romantic anime to have a happy ending. It’s nice to see a happy ending after the characters go through something.
Kuuki chose;
Arakawa Under the Bridge
Arakawa Under the Bridge probably, because Ric’s love for Nino is adorable and Nino’s love for Ric is sweet, in a very weird way. The story is funny and not only about them either, even though romance has quite a huge part in it. Billy and his girlfriend are wonderful in their devotion for each other. Maria and Sister are such an unlikely couple that it makes them perfect for each other. P-Ko’s love for the mayor is so innocent and he’s so oblivious to it all that they’re really interesting to watch.
And my pick, heh well I think you should all get to watch;
Lovely Complex
Probably the best shoujo title out there, the lead characters is designed to look like an average high school girl, she does not have super model looks but is still cute. Her insecurities about her physical features deter her from pursuing her love interest but she slowly overcomes this and confesses to the boy and this is when the show really starts. Its got great comedic moments and some sad ones, it even has a few love triangles along the way. You should definetly give it a go.
Special thanks to Kuuki, Lvlln and Super Korelle for participating in this, you can follow them on twitter by clicking on their icons and read their blogs as well.
Entering the contest takes only minutes and is 100% TOTALLY FREE!!! I encourage you to get your friends involved so we can make this contest extra fun this year! Click on the link on either the top of the bottom of this post, go to the page and click “Predict It!”. If you need to make an account on BracketMaker, it is free, safe and easy! Please join us and help us make this fun! In the past we have had 30-40 entries. I want there to be many more this year!
***If you have any questions about this contest, how it was created, or the entry process, please PM Mitsugi on our forum.***
This is a 64 day, single elimination tournament where anime characters from the 1990’s and 2000’s, will battle it out to represent their respective decades to determine which decade is superior in anime history. These characters were nominated by our forum members, over the past weeks, and tournament seeding was determined based on voting frequency. Characters who received a greater number of nominations, received stronger seeding.
Also, to throw in an extra element of fun, 2 forum members and 2 podcast hosts have been entered into the contest as the 16th seeds. These forum members are Guts Matrix and Canadaman. The Podcast Hosts are Chiaki and Roukou. Congratulations!
The matches will begin as a poll on the main websites top page. There will be one poll per day, starting on January 7th, until the event is concluded. Website visitors will vote in the poll for their favorite character, the character with the most votes moves on. The character with less votes is eliminated. There will be pictures included on the poll to show the characters involved. Last time we did this, Chiaki made all the pictures and they were quite nice.
These matches will be predicted by YOU, in your quest to be the winner of this contest. Predictions are done in the style of the NCAA March Madness Men’s Basketball Tournament and points are awarded for correct predictions. The person with the highest point total at the end of the tournament wins the contest.
What do you get if you win the contest? How about a 1000 piece anime puzzle, unopened, purchased in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, by Mitsugi and Chiaki. We selected it, with love, for you.
Here are the relevant dates of the contest:
Relevant Dates: Signup Deadline: January 5th, 2011 Tournament Start: January 7th, 2012 Tournament End: March, 9th, 2012
So, back again at this I see. I should really see some sort of therapist or go to an AA meeting because these lonely drunken Friday nights are starting to take their toll on me I think. So, there I was, on a booze binge of picking something random from my VHS collection and chucking it into the VCR player, when the minute that Play button gets hit, my mind starts to go out on me once again. When I came too, I see myself in the middle of some sort of psychic battle between two space guys shooting lights out of there hands, with one man in a black space suit sporting a pencil drawn moustache shooting blue beams from his fist at the other man in blue spiky hair and a white space suit teleporting around to avoid the ongoing attack, as both parties duke it out on a random chuck of rock in space. The man in white gets the upper hand by getting behind the man in black and putting a psychic sleeper hold on the man or something. As I look in awe at the battle, which looked like something out of a rock concert light show, the man in white comes over to where I am and orders me in his space cruiser to take me over to the Galaxy Patrol HQ. On the trip there, he begins to tell his story of hunting down the worst of the espers in the known galaxy, to protect and serve as a Cosmo Police officer. His name, is Justy Kaizard… and I realize another journey has begun for me… again.
This time I am going to tackle the 1985 OVA of Cosmo Police Justy. To sum up, this is just another “popcorn” anime to spend 45 minutes of your time on, it’s not grand in any scale, but in some ways enjoyable to watch. So, let’s gear up and learn to teleport, as we psychically dive into this OVA world.
Cosmo Police Justy starts off with a space battle between two parties with our main man in blue Justy, blocking the attacks by a guy who has a black space suit on with some hoses hooked up and the deadliest of pencil moustaches at his arsenal. Justy is able to get the upper hand by getting behind the man and grabbing his shoulders, which somehow… knocks him out, or kills him… not sure? But, that’s not important, because we get a basic verbal back story of Justy Kaizard, a “hunter” for the Galaxy Patrol System Cosmo Police, who goes after the worst of “esper” criminals in the galaxy. Espers in this show are beings who are able to fly in space with no helmet on, teleport and shoot light from their hands, as well as deflect lights too. We then get to some city in space, somewhere, where we see a group of people who want to take on Justy to end his string of arrest. Back at the Galaxy Patrol HQ planet (I guess), we get to meet the “adopted” sister of Justy, a completely dumb and ditzy redhead by the name of Astalis. To point out the facial expressions of this character in pretty much most of this show, she has the same two, dumb and “whaa?” We then get a random flashback of Justy fighting a man by the name of Magnum Vega, a wanted esper criminal, that Justy is able to take down with a powerful enough psychic blast to obliterate him in one shot. We then hear the cries of a child who is a younger version of Astalis, who is crying for her father Magnum. As Justy’s partner Bolba is holding her back, the flashback ends there, and Justy and Astalis decide to head back home. Back at home, Justy and his “other sister” Jelna, talk about Astalis condition in dealing with her being adopted by Justy after the events of the battle between him and Magnum. Then, we get another flashback of the mournful Astalis crying over her fathers lower half of his body, as she vows for revenge for her fathers death at Justy by saying “when I get older and bigger”… which, happens. Yea, who would have thought as a kid you can say to yourself “ I wanna be big and kill you” and within seconds actually happens. With the change taking in effect, she grows into the body of a teen girl, as pieces of rock around them start to crumble. We then see her in a rage mode and about to attack Justy when… the flashback ends again with current day Astalis running to Justy because she is in the mood to “go for a walk” like she is a dog of some kind.
"Gee Justy, whadda wanna do tonight, NARF!!!!"
While this is going on, we get scene from the bad guy esper in the beginning and his crew hijack a space shuttle. There reason for their actions, which is to get the daughter of Magnum Vega being their only request. While this is going on, we see Astalis having a difficult time trying to walk on a 4 foot wide platform that anyone with two working feet can do with no problem. While we see this display of special ed, Justy gets a call to report to HQ and tells Astalis to go on home. Once at HQ, Jusy is given his next assignment regarding the terrorist demands to hand over Astalis. This triggers yet ANOTHER FLASHBACK to Astalis literally stabbing Justy with a sword made of light in his chest, which then goes back to the current scene with Justy taking the mission, while bringing along Astalis with him. Once they reach the shuttle, Justy decides to send off Astalis to the shuttle with the security of him parking his butt in the cockpit and stating “holler if you need me” in a sense. But while in space, the villian esper is able to telepathically communicate with Astalis by using matter in space to play back Justy killing her father, which then triggers her to go all Hulk mode and shreds her helmet and space suit off her body. So then we get to the point of this show that, there must be freaking air in space, because guess what, she is completely fine. Justy sees this, and… goes out in space without a helmet on also. With the fate of the shuttle and Justy love to protect his adopted sister, how will Justy get out of this mess? That is something you will have to find out for your own.
So yea, that is our halfway point of describing Cosmo Police Justy for you guys. There are some things I do like about this as in the visuals and of course the ultra 80’s ending theme. The esper battles kinda reminds me a bit from Zone of the Enders how you can use Zero Shift to move your Runner around and get behind enemies like how Justy does with the espers he has to take down. Also, there is a reason why Astalis is so… handicap in the head which was caused by her having a mature body but the mind of a child, which they do show and you can tell off the bat why she acts that way. It’s got some dumb stuff, and the beginning is a bit slow, but it does pick up at the end for the final battle. There is very little story other than Justy fighting other espers and having a mentally challenged Astalis. I gotta tell you, her dumbness will get the better of you.
So yea, if you wanna check this out, be my guest, its over at Anime Classic Reviews as a Laserdisc rip. If you enjoyed this review, you can check out my blog over at Anime of Yesteryear. Till next time folks!!!
I got a message stating that I should talk about some of the characters from Soul Eater (because I didn’t really get to them in my review) so you know what I did? Just that. At the request of MarcumVIDEOS1, here is a talk on some of the characters of Soul Eater. Keep the requests coming, you wonderful viewers, you.
I go back in time to 2010 to review Katanagatari. Spoiler: IT’S AWESOME! Expect more from me this week. Still looking for requests too. They can be about whatever you want.
Episode Reviewed In: Episode 110 
