Anime, Manga, Video Games & More, For Today's Generation
Posts tagged sentai filmworks
Otaku in Review Podcast – The Crunchyroll Special
Jun 26th
This episode we present a special in-depth review of all the ups and downs of Crunchyroll. Although the site is clearly the leader in the anime streaming business, it still has a lot of issues to iron out, which we go into detail about. See also: Crunchyroll’s Premium Subscription: Why You Should.
Anime Review: Samurai Harem (Asu no Yoichi)
May 14th
Samurai Harem… with a title like that you might be thinking “Another harem anime? No thanks!”
Well, yeah… this is another harem anime. The staple and arguably overused tropes are present in this series – everything from the main character walking in on a girl changing to him “accidentally” pushing in on a girl’s chest. Even though we’ve seen these jokes plenty of times before, they somehow still manage to be funny, and this show is no exception. Toss this in with some damn good character designs, and you have what will make this show worth all your while.
Samurai Harem tells the story of a young boy named Yoichi. Despite living in the modern-day world, he grew up secluded from civilization and has spent his whole life practicing with his father to one day become a samurai. Because of this, he lacks common social skills and is vastly unfamiliar with modern technology. After completing his samurai training, Yoichi moves to the city into a house occupied by the four Ikaruga sisters. You can see where this is going.
Otaku in Review Podcast: Zero no Something Sensai
Mar 26th
Scott and I discuss Zero no Tsukaima, Sora no Woto, Final Fantasy XIII, the Clannad dub, and upcoming anime conventions. Not much in terms of news this week, but we still had plenty to talk about. Check back next week where I’ll give my thoughts of I-Con 29 and Scott and I will talk more about the upcoming Anime Boston!
Revisiting the Sub vs. Dub Debate
Mar 19th
Buy Toradora! You don't wanna make Taiga angry.
When I last touched this topic, I was still very angry and bitter at companies like Sentai Filmworks and Bandai for not dubbing anime titles that I personally felt deserved a dub (specifically Clannad, Hayate the Combat Butler, Kannagi, and some others). To me, it looked like these companies just “didn’t care anymore” and “weren’t listening to their fans.”
Truth be told, I’ve never really been a big fan of dubs. There are many dubs that I absolutely abhor. However, there are many out there who love dubs, and hate the fact that companies are steering away from them. The problem with this is that many of these people will openly state their refusal to buy a series simply because there’s no dub. Which brings me to…
Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 2: Episodes 14-26)
Mar 12th
See also:
Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 1: Episodes 1-13)
In my review of Collection 1 of Tears to Tiara, I praised the series for having an excellent, albeit cliché, fantasy setting/plot with a diverse array of characters. These qualities continue to express themselves in Sentai Filmworks’ release of Collection 2 of the series. Containing the final 13 episodes, this release is one that fantasy fans will not want to miss out on, especially those who enjoyed Collection 1.
The second half of Tears to Tiara starts out with a bang: a castle siege scene that spans across five episodes. It’s hard to imagine how the producers managed to keep a good pace with it spanning across this many episodes, but they did a great job of it. The battle is exciting, full of plenty of explosions, swordfights, and even some good plot development.
Clannad: It's About Love, Life, and Sadness
Feb 1st
One challenge faced by many directors and producers today is the need to immerse viewers in their creations. By “taking the viewer away” to a world where they can almost feel what the characters are feeling, they can create a deep emotional response from viewers which in turn makes for some outstanding entertainment. Recently I decided to watch Clannad and Clannad After Story (hereby referred to simply as “Clannad“). Never before has a story moved me in such a way that this series did.
Clannad, based on a visual novel developed by KEY (Air, Kanon, Little Busters), initially looks like a typical high school harem. Any images or synopses you may see of the series will easily give one that impression. However, there’s so much more to the series that one will not realize without actually watching it. Clannad is about love. It’s about life. And it’s about sadness.
Anime Review: Hidamari Sketch
Jan 28th
The slice-of-life is certainly an interesting genre of anime. It’s hard to believe that a show about normal people living out their normal everyday lives could be interesting, but some titles manage to pull it off. Hidamari Sketch is a great example of a title that doesn’t have much of a plot but still delivers some great entertainment. The show is about four girls (surprise, surprise) attending an art school, and that’s about it. While there really is no plot, this show is all about three things: presentation, comedy, and characters.
The presentation: You may be familiar with SHAFT’s art style from other titles such as Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Bakemonogatari. It’s certainly a unique style that employs the use of colorful designs and patterns to create an almost surreal-like feeling. While the series itself is anything but surreal, Hidamari‘s style of presentation certainly makes it a piece of art that’s enjoyable to just simply look at, even if one does not find other aspects of the show interesting. If you appreciate good art, you will appreciate this series.
Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 1: Episodes 1-13)
Jan 7th
See also:
Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 2: Episodes 14-26)
From the moment I played my first Final Fantasy game I immediately became a big fan of the fantasy genre. Ranging from video games to books to TV shows, fantasy is something I’ve always loved. Tears to Tiara is no exception to this rule. While it hits a few bumps in the road, it is overall a well-made and immersive fantasy tale.
Like most fantasy stories, Tears to Tiara takes place in a medieval-like setting. There are knights, wizards, demons, elves… name a fantasy cliché, and it’s here. Don’t let that turn you off, though. The clichés are part of the reason why I enjoyed this series so much. One could say that they’re tired of seeing these things in fantasy stories, but to me, these things are what define fantasy.
Anime Review: To Love-Ru (Collection 1: Episodes 1-13)
Dec 29th
When Sentai Filmworks first announced that they would be distributing To Love-Ru (also known as Trouble or Toraburu), at first I was indifferent about it. I had heard of the show before, but I never really thought about it being worth my time because it just looked like another typical ecchi series. I couldn’t have been any more wrong about this. Shortly after the license announcement, Scott VonSchilling of The Anime Almanac started to rave about the wonders of To Love-Ru. So, I decided to give the series a try. I’m very glad I did.
The story revolves around Rito, our perverted male lead character. He’s been unable to confess his love to his classmate Haruna, the love of his life. One day while Rito is taking a bath, a completely naked girl appears out of nowhere. It is soon discovered that Lala, the mysterious girl, is actually an alien from outer space. Shortly after, Rito accidentally (and hilariously) enters into a marriage contract with Lala. Yes, in the anime world, people can even get engaged by accident. However, Rito is not interested in Lala, for he wants Haruna, the girl of his dreams. And that’s the plot. Don’t enter into this series expecting a story, or you will be disappointed. Just enjoy it for what it is: an ecchi harem comedy. And a hysterical one at that.
