Macross Delta
Alternate Titles: Macross Δ
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Music
Hibike Euphonium
Alternate Titles: Sound Euphonium!
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Your Lie in April
Alternate Titles: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
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Wake Up Girls
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AKB0048
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Piano no Mori
Alternative titles:
The Piano Forest
The Perfect World of Kai
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K-On! (Season 1)
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: April 2nd, 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 14 episodes
Summary:
Yui Hirasawa is a high school freshman and she needs a club to join. She discovers a club on the brink of extinction, the light music club. Yui joins the current members of the club Ritsu and Mio and later, Tsumugi and Azusa, as they save the club and become best friends.
Review:
K-On is a “moe” anime. There really isn’t much to it. Five girls get together after school and eat cake and have tea and occasionally, practice rock music. That’s about all there is to it. Like most “moe” shows, this one wastes many of its episodes on mindless content that is meant to serve one purpose, being cute. These episodes include school festivals, trips to the beach, and endless sessions of cake eating. So at this point you might wonder, “how does this show get a 4/5?” The show does have some good things going for it that make it likely, one of the best, if not the best “moe” show out there.
The show, aesthetically is very pleasing. First off, the music in the show is fantastic. Making it’s way to the top of Japanese pop charts, the opening and ending themes, “Cagayake! Girls” and “Don’t say “Lazy”, make the music very special. This not only because the songs are good but because the themes are performd by the seiyuu actresses themselves; Aki Toyosaki with Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Satou, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu. In addition to the music, the visuals are excellent as well. I think it’s a shame however that good production values get wasted on watching “moe” girls tripping all over themselves.
It was also nice watching the girls working towards their live performances together, something that is sorely lacking in the second season. As a musician, it was also quite interesting watching Yui trying to learn the guitar. So in the end, this is a pretty nice show that really does what it’s intended to do very well. In terms of a “moe” show it’s much more tolerable than most and because the characters are enjoyable and the music is great, it’s generally a show that can be recommended to most audiences.
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BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
Alternate Titles: ベック (Japanese)
Original Japanese Release Date: 2004-10-06
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
Tanaka Yukio is your average 14 year old boy, and he knows it. Everything about his life is average from school to home and back, and it’s because of this that he begins to yearn for something more, a purpose and dream to follow. That’s when he meets Ryuusuke, and all at once his life starts to change. He starts learning how to play guitar, winds up in Ryuusuke’s band, learns what it means to strive for something, desire it more than anything else in the world. And that’s not even counting what Ryuusuke’s sister Maho brings to the table.
Review:
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad is a masterpiece, hands down. Not only does it take something as simple and powerful as music and break it down in a way that’s almost commendable, but it follows the journey of someone everyone can relate to, a normal, everyday someone experiencing that power for the first time. Music can be a difficult thing to express well in anime, easily brushed off on the one hand or taken too seriously and leaving the viewer feeling intimidated on the other. BECK manages to show the passion in both musician and music while still staying connected to the very real, very present theme that it takes more than just that passion to make it big. It takes hard work and more than your fair share of failures. The characters all learn it in their own way, and grow from it in a way that’s very genuine and awe inspiring to behold. And while the animation style is a little old looking and can be hard to get used to at first, it is easily ignored for that very reason. The characters make themselves real, unusual animation style or not; you love them because of who they are, not the way they’re drawn.
But, as expected, the beauty is in the music, both audibly and visually, the melody and rhythms getting under your skin while each note or guitar riff is intricately drawn out well enough that it looks almost like you’re really watching it being played. Whether you’re subbed or dubbed, the music is bad ass and powerful, pumped full of a certain rock and roll something that makes you want to listen to it all on repeat for days. And even after, it lingers. Though, for reference, if you ARE watching it subbed, much of the music is in Engrish, so be prepared. And the dub for BECK is fantastically done, but it’s only fair to mention that much of what makes this anime great is lost in communication. Which is ironic considering that one of the main themes of BECK is just that: miscommunication/language barriers and how music can overcome it.
This anime is one of the best, possibly THE best in my opinion. Or at the very least, my favorite. It handles delicate teenage issues with a realistically harsh care while still managing to make what could have been a very dry slice of life continuously enthralling, inspiring, and amusing. The characters become friends you can learn from and relate to, while the situations become ones you root for and cry for. All and all, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad is worth no less than a 5/5.
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Macross Frontier
Alternate Titles: マクロスＦ<フロンティア
Original Japanese Release Date: December 23rd, 2003
Episode Length/Run-time: 25
Summary:
Macross frontier is the first direct sequel to the original Macross series and Macross 7 series. It takes place after the war with the Zentradi has ended and humanity of on a campaign to spread the culture of humankind all throughout the galaxy. To do this they utilize a fleet aptly named, Macross Frontier. The story follows pilot Alto Saotome, and pop idols Ranka Lee and Sheryl Nome.
Review:
Some will say that this is the first good Macross series since the original. I’ll leave that statement up to the individual viewer but I’ll just say that Macross Frontier is a good anime. It’s a very character driven series and it should have been obvious right from the opening theme that the focus is on the two girls, Ranka and Sheryl. Also, seeing as the opening theme is called “Triangular” it might have been a red flag this anime is going to have a love triangle in it, which it does. The female voices are done by two pop stars, one new and one not so new. Megumi Nakajima voices Ranka Lee and Sheryl is done by May’n. These two make a great pairing and quite honestly, the music in Macross Frontier is some of the best I’ve ever seen from an anime. If you take the music out, this is a very average series, but with it, it’s exceptional. The songs “Triangular”, “Lion”, “Northern Cross”, “Infinity”, and the rest are simply great songs. Oh yea, let’s not forget there is a male in this show as well…Alto is an alright male lead as well but he has ups and downs. First of all, he is super pretty, so all the bishounen fangirls (and boys) will love it. But he really has this issue when it comes to selecting which of the two girls (both of which are too good for him) he wants to be with. This gets old fast and I found it really trite and annoying.
The plotline is kind of what you’d expect from Macross. An alien race known as the Vajra are attacking mankind and its up to Alto to save Ranka and the rest. Of course the power of music is involved as well, as it usually is in the Macross series. The anime gets off the a quick start right from the get go with a Vajra attack and while the pacing slows down considerably (and grinds to a halt) at times in the middle, I enjoyed the “start with a bang” attitude that the series has.
All in all, it’s a must watch for anybody who is a fan of Jpop music and of course, for those of you who love the Macross series. This one likely won’t disappoint.
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Full Moon Wo Sagashite
Episode Reviewed In: Episode 46
Alternate Titles: Fullmoon, Furumyu, Looking for the Fullmoon
Original Japanese Release Date: 2002
Episode Length/Run-time: 52 ( 30 mins ea. )
Summary:
Kouyama Mitsuki, a 12 year old girl, is diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the throat. She made a promise to the boy shes loves that she would one day become a singer, however her illness made this impossible. Two angels of death, Takuto and Meroko, appear to tell her she only has 1 year left to live. With a bit of divine intervention and a boost of motivation, Mitsuki begins her quest to become a professional singer so she can be reunited with Eichi before her time left runs out.
Review:
If you dont like animes that make you super depressed throughout them, dont watch this anime. This anime is sad enough to make even the manliest of men sob like an infant with a tooth ache. But yet, its fantastic. This anime proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
At first glance, the anime seems kind of monotonous. A 12 year old that wants to sing but has cancer. Right… but wait, she gets turned into a 16 year old singer by 2 Shinigami (gods of death)… The series acknowledges right away that the lead character is going to die in a year. By doing this, the plot may seem to some rather dreary. But upon watching it, its discovered that the creators incorporate enough happy moments to balance out the severely, horrifyingly depressing, parts.
The 3 main characters aren’t anything special at first. Meroko is a shinigami with a pure heart, and bunny ears, whereas Takuto is a pretty-boy shinigami with a belly shirt. However, as the story moves on, the chemistry between these 3 becomes heart warming. The two shinigami help provide some comic relief, such as when Meroko continually announces her burning love for Takuto, who obviously is not interested. When you throw in Mitsuki, a bit of jealousy, and Meroko’s bunny ears and top hat, one can’t help but laugh at the sometimes heated conversations that occur between the three. These moments help keep the viewer engaged enough to not have the “Mitsuki is going to die” plot line push them away. One thing I loved about these characters is the degree of development that goes into them as the story progresses. They dont stay the same as many other characters in other animes do, which helps keep this anime interesting and pulling the viewer back for more. You won’t be able to put this anime down once you’ve picked it up. Unfortunately, its going to leave you sobbing and so depressed you may actually soil yourself while your curled up in the fetal position unable to move. Best have a stock of tissues on hand.
The music in this show is really one of the captivating aspects of it. As Mitsuki grasps hold of her singing career as the artist “Full Moon”, she sings three songs, “Myself”, “Eternal Snow”, and “Love Chronicle” throughout the show. One would think they might get old, but their emotional links to the series somehow keeps them heart-wrenching and fresh. As the story progresses, and she makes her way to performing her final concert, you’ll find Mitsuki instilling feelings of emptiness and love in you, both at the same time. A very odd feeling I must say.
Unfortunately, the character design and artwork are fairely generic, but the character development makes them work. The animation is good as well, but nothing spectacular.
If you want to feel real emotional ties to characters that will actually leave you with what Mitsugi and I call “Post Anime Depression” (PAD), this is the anime to watch. This is one of my favorites, and easily earns its 4.5.
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