Anime-ic review
I've been so busy with school these days that I haven't been able to write an anime/manga review in a while. So here's my current take on Clannad, Hayate no Gotoku, Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations and xXxHOLiC Kei. (spoilers)
Clannad (8/10)
Clannad on the whole was okay. Each episode I would have given like 9 out of 10 because every episode was really good. Just the storyline wasn't done too well. It was a harem anime, but it felt more shoujou than harem. Like, from the start you could tell that Tomoya was gonna get with Nagisa and when it's like that, I can't understand how people can speculate another ending. I mean, it was so obvious! And then, there was the fact that Fuuko's and Kotomi's arcs were too stretched, so Kyou and Tomoyo's arcs were pretty much combined into one, and that arc only went for 3 or 4 episodes. Nagisa just really got the beginning, one episode stories and then the end. If I compared it to Kanon, then I'd say Kanon was much better structured.
I must say that I enjoyed the anime better than the movie (though the movie did make me cry like 5 times), cos in the movie, Tomoya 1) looked ugly and 2) seemed to only fall in love with Nagisa when he listened to her play. In the anime, he was falling in love with her anyway (if I sound like I'm contradicting the first paragraph, I never said I was against Tomoya falling in love with Nagisa, only that it was obvious from the start).
In general, I really like Clannad. It's one of those heartwarming ones that you just want to grab all the characters and snuggle them. They were pretty well developed (except maybe Kyou, but she kinda annoyed me anyway) and the art was just fantastic. Um... last comments? Enjoyable, very enjoyable, but the structure was what brought down the whole thing.
Hayate no Gotoku (9/10)
To start, hurray for children's anime! Hayate no Gotoku is heaps funny! And somehow, the fact that Hayate sounded like a girl did not bother me in the slightest. I couldn't get half the references, but what I could get was hilarious. I have to say, I really like that Hayate didn't get with any girls in the end. It kinda shows that maybe romance isn't what's necessary for everyone, even when you have like 4 girls after you. And then, a NagixHayate pairing just... won't work in my mind, then all the other pairings wouldn't work cos Nagi would kill the other girls.
The last episode was something of a cross between a minor letdown and a YAY episode. I was expecting something better different from the Turkey trip for the last episode, but it linked perfectly to the end theme (which I happen to be in love with). Considering I had to watch the raws and I can't read Japanese, when the characters spoke Turkish with Japanese subtitles I was like "oh... great.... thanks..." >_< It doesn't matter, I enjoyed it anyway.
Overall I really really loved Hayate. Just cos it was so stupid, making a mockery of everything. (reminded me of Ouran a bit) It was a really cute shounen that I could imagine all the guys loving and all of the girls going "squee" over nothing. I just wish the manga would hurry up and be scanlated so I can read what happens!
Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations (9.5/10)
I'd give this 10 out of 10 if the first episode wasn't so slow. I mean, the second and third episodes were so great that I was just drooling in delight, but the first episode was a tad slow. It gets really good marks as a form of bias since the Tokyo arc is my fave TRC arc. But everything was great anyway. The animation was so much better than the series and the fact that there was blood was so much better (is still pissed at Beetrain for turning Kuro's dad to stone before killing him). I'm also really glad that the voices were the same, cos I did love the voices, just not the anime itself.
Kamui.... just *drool* so hot. And he was the voice of Tamaki in Ouran. I remember watching TTR and then going "OMG! why do I recognise that voic--- TAMAKI!!!" Then I went and watched the whole of Ouran (idiocy, I know) But back to TTR. The storyline was really intense (thanks to the manga) and I was on the edge of my seat for so much of it!
I didn't think it'd be that great, cos it was the people who made the movie. Not saying that the movie was bad, cos it wasn't, just it pulled away from the story so much I was like "wtf????" But God I was mistaken. It was excellent! Honestly! One of the best I've watched in a long time!!!
xxxHOLiC Kei
I can't give this a rating cos I haven't seen it, but it's going to be my season's anime. (I've decided to cut down anime intake to one per season, which I can survive on) Hurry up and scanlate it please~!!!
Clannad (8/10)
Clannad on the whole was okay. Each episode I would have given like 9 out of 10 because every episode was really good. Just the storyline wasn't done too well. It was a harem anime, but it felt more shoujou than harem. Like, from the start you could tell that Tomoya was gonna get with Nagisa and when it's like that, I can't understand how people can speculate another ending. I mean, it was so obvious! And then, there was the fact that Fuuko's and Kotomi's arcs were too stretched, so Kyou and Tomoyo's arcs were pretty much combined into one, and that arc only went for 3 or 4 episodes. Nagisa just really got the beginning, one episode stories and then the end. If I compared it to Kanon, then I'd say Kanon was much better structured.
I must say that I enjoyed the anime better than the movie (though the movie did make me cry like 5 times), cos in the movie, Tomoya 1) looked ugly and 2) seemed to only fall in love with Nagisa when he listened to her play. In the anime, he was falling in love with her anyway (if I sound like I'm contradicting the first paragraph, I never said I was against Tomoya falling in love with Nagisa, only that it was obvious from the start).
In general, I really like Clannad. It's one of those heartwarming ones that you just want to grab all the characters and snuggle them. They were pretty well developed (except maybe Kyou, but she kinda annoyed me anyway) and the art was just fantastic. Um... last comments? Enjoyable, very enjoyable, but the structure was what brought down the whole thing.
Hayate no Gotoku (9/10)
To start, hurray for children's anime! Hayate no Gotoku is heaps funny! And somehow, the fact that Hayate sounded like a girl did not bother me in the slightest. I couldn't get half the references, but what I could get was hilarious. I have to say, I really like that Hayate didn't get with any girls in the end. It kinda shows that maybe romance isn't what's necessary for everyone, even when you have like 4 girls after you. And then, a NagixHayate pairing just... won't work in my mind, then all the other pairings wouldn't work cos Nagi would kill the other girls.
The last episode was something of a cross between a minor letdown and a YAY episode. I was expecting something better different from the Turkey trip for the last episode, but it linked perfectly to the end theme (which I happen to be in love with). Considering I had to watch the raws and I can't read Japanese, when the characters spoke Turkish with Japanese subtitles I was like "oh... great.... thanks..." >_< It doesn't matter, I enjoyed it anyway.
Overall I really really loved Hayate. Just cos it was so stupid, making a mockery of everything. (reminded me of Ouran a bit) It was a really cute shounen that I could imagine all the guys loving and all of the girls going "squee" over nothing. I just wish the manga would hurry up and be scanlated so I can read what happens!
Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations (9.5/10)
I'd give this 10 out of 10 if the first episode wasn't so slow. I mean, the second and third episodes were so great that I was just drooling in delight, but the first episode was a tad slow. It gets really good marks as a form of bias since the Tokyo arc is my fave TRC arc. But everything was great anyway. The animation was so much better than the series and the fact that there was blood was so much better (is still pissed at Beetrain for turning Kuro's dad to stone before killing him). I'm also really glad that the voices were the same, cos I did love the voices, just not the anime itself.
Kamui.... just *drool* so hot. And he was the voice of Tamaki in Ouran. I remember watching TTR and then going "OMG! why do I recognise that voic--- TAMAKI!!!" Then I went and watched the whole of Ouran (idiocy, I know) But back to TTR. The storyline was really intense (thanks to the manga) and I was on the edge of my seat for so much of it!
I didn't think it'd be that great, cos it was the people who made the movie. Not saying that the movie was bad, cos it wasn't, just it pulled away from the story so much I was like "wtf????" But God I was mistaken. It was excellent! Honestly! One of the best I've watched in a long time!!!
xxxHOLiC Kei
I can't give this a rating cos I haven't seen it, but it's going to be my season's anime. (I've decided to cut down anime intake to one per season, which I can survive on) Hurry up and scanlate it please~!!!