Posted by GameDemon in Spring Anime 2013

Danball Senki Wars

I would like to apologize beforehand if my review isn’t very accurate this time. I watched the first episode and a few episodes of Danball Senki and Danball Senki W. neither of one those really interested me. Danball Senki was very average and still the best out of these three.

The artwork hasn’t changed much. A lot of overrated action and boring-looking mechs. Those mechs, which are an essential part of this show, could use a lot more work. They look dull and make the action seem kind of dull too.

I must admit that the story seemed interesting though. The second season (if I’m allowed to call it that?) was kind of disappointing, but this seems like it has a bit of promise. I don’t think it’ll surpass Danball Senki though.

Whether I recommend this or not depends on several things. Have you seen the first two seasons? Well, try out Danball Senki if you haven’t. You might not like it, plus you wouldn’t be fully caught up if you suddenly started to watch Danball Senki Wars. The rest kind of depends on whether or not you like mechs.

Plot Summary: Year 2055, 4 years after the events in Danball Senki W. LBXs have become the world’s largest hobby, big enough for pro leagues to be established, and people to make their entire living off being an LBX player. 14-year-old Arata is a new transfer student at Kamui Daimon Integrated Academy on Kamui Island, near Japan. Known to be the most prestigious institution in the world for raising LBX players and mechanics, entrance to the academy requires an extremely competitive hurdle of being the champion of at least 3 official tournaments. Along with other members of his platoon, they face rivals and delve into the secrets lurking within the academy.

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Posted by GameDemon in Spring Anime 2013

Kakumeiki Valvrave

Is this a new series or did I watch a Gundam Seed remake? The start was almost a complete rip-off from Gundam Seed. Is it really that hard to come up with something original? One has a lot more possibilities with these types of stories, so why?

It’s a good thing that the mech, Valvrave (if that’s actually the mech’s name), looked pretty awesome. The artwork will definitely lead the way. You can clearly tell that they put a lot of time in creating that mech, but I’m not so sure about the rest.

The story is pretty interesting, although that’s probably because it looks a lot like Gundam Seed. I liked the part where Haruto had to give up his humanity to become something else, something that’s capable of protecting his friends and family.

It’s difficult to recommend this one. On one hand I enjoyed watching it, but on the other I cannot help but feel that they got the idea from Gundam Seed. It just looks too much alike. No doubt that mech fans will eat this up, so I definitely recommend this to all mech fans. It’s quite strange that this show already has a second season coming.

Plot Summary: True Calendar (T.C.) 71 – A new age where 70% of the human population lives in space thanks to the development of “Dyson Sphere”, a city in space.

The world is divided into two main powers: The Dorssia Military Pact Federation, a power which grew out of a military alliance, and the Atlantic Rim United States (ARUS), which grew in power as it expanded its trade agreements. The minor nation of JIOR has declared neutrality between these two forces and maintains its peace through economic prosperity.

Within the JIOR’s Sphere, Haruto Tokishima lived an ordinary life as a high school student in the division known as “Module 77″—until the Dorssian military begins their sudden invasion!

But the whole world will be shaken when Haruto meets the mysterious humanoid weapon, Valvrave!

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Posted by GameDemon in Spring Anime 2013

Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince

Yeah… They messed up. I really think they messed up with this one. The balance is completely off. Am I supposed to sit back and be amazed? Am I supposed to get an adrenaline rush? Am I supposed to laugh at the strange element of comedy? I honestly can’t tell.

The artwork in itself isn’t that bad. The mechs look top-notch and the explosions all over the place are not to be laughed at. It’s the characters that’s the problem here. The characters themselves look pretty good actually, but it’s their expressions sometimes that mess things up.

I don’t know if it’s the story that’s lacking or if it’s the characters’ expressions, but something doesn’t seem right. It’s like they’re constantly trying to switch between comedy and sci-fi action. It does not work. You can’t build up a serious story with serious battles when most of the characters are continuously messing around like this.

Mech fans will probably watch this nonetheless. I’m not that big a fan of giant robots and intergalactic warfare, but I’m quite a big fan of the Gundam series, so I might give this show a shot. You really need to give the first two episodes a try before you consider dropping this, because things might change soon for all we know.

Plot Summary: In the latter half of 21st century, humans leave the Earth and begin to live in space. In order to adapt to the environment in space and deal with the hostile aliens in Jupiter, genetically engineered children called “Princes” are artificially raised and trained to be pilots of armed robots “AHSMB (Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device). This is a story about one of the teenage “Princes”, Hitachi O Izuru, who studies in an academic city Grandzehle.

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Posted by GameDemon in Spring Anime 2013

Date A Live

Hey now, what’s this? This isn’t so bad at all. Actually, it was rather nice. I thought that it was going to be one of those cheesy shows with a lot of expectable panty flashes. But no, there’s actually a lot more to it than that, luckily.

The show started off with this annoying little sister that kept her little brother from getting a few more minutes of sleep. A panty flash here, a giggle over there and a high-pitched “Oniiii-chaaan!” pretty much everywhere. Yep, that’s Date A Live! Not bad at all, especially if you factor in the fact that it was only a pre-aired episode. The high definition version should prove to be even better.

The artwork in itself is pretty good, but I think it’s the story that will keep me from dropping this. There’s nothing better than an interesting story, and yes, this is definitely interesting. Cute girls falling from the sky that destroy cities in the blink of an eye? Interesting!

I most certainly recommend this. It’s a good watch if you consider how many crappy shows have been airing lately. This winter has been quite dramatic if you ask me, so I think we could use something like this. I bet most mecha and sci-fi fans will love this one.

Plot Summary: Thirty years before a strange phenomena called a “spacequake” devastated the center of Eurasia, claiming the lives of at least 150 million people. Since then, smaller spacequakes plague the world on a irregular basis. Shidō Itsuka, a seemingly ordinary high schooler comes across a mysterious girl at the ground zero of a spacequake and learns from his sister Kotori she is one of the “Spirits” who are the real cause of the spacequakes that occur when they manifest themselves in the world. He also learns that Kotori is the captain of the airship Ratatoskr and recruits him to make use of his mysterious ability to seal the Spirits’ powers and stop them from being a threat to mankind. However, there is a catch: to seal a Spirit, he must make her fall in love with him.

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Posted by GameDemon in Fall Anime 2012

Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter

Now this was very impressive. To think that one show could disappoint me this much. Seriously, did the creator(s) even try? The anime’s image seemed serious and filled with action, especially if you saw the pre-released content. I thought that I was watching an entirely different show, and that the subgroup had made a small mistake with the filename, but no…

The artwork is not biggest problem here. The characters actually look pretty good, the background is detailed and the cars look good too. So yeah, quality is not the problem here. It’s the character expressions that suck. It’s all so childish and dramatic that it makes me want to gauge my eyes out. It makes Pokémon look like an adult’s cartoon.

The story isn’t that impressive either. It’s not that interesting and certainly not original. Let’s face it; cars transforming into robots is absolutely nothing new. A young boy that comes in contact with one of those cars is nothing new. We’ve had something like this for years now, it’s called Transformers.

I most definitely don’t recommend this. It’s childish, uninteresting and not all that original. I can’t see myself watching this with a smile on my face, so how could I possibly recommend this? Better luck next time.

Plot Summary: In 21st century Japan, cars with artificial intelligence for increased safety, known as “A.I. cars,” have revolutionized the car industry. Special schools teaching children driving A.I. cars have been established. One day, Kakeru Todoroki, a fifth grader of Arcadia Academy, was summoned by the school principal and given an A.I. car “to save the humanity by chosen drivers like you.” The car, however, is not just a car but also a transforming robot known as “Gyrozetter.”

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