Reviews « Cornell Japanese Animation Society

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Capcom Booth @ NYCC

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 – CJAS, Culture, Reviews, Video Games

As soon as someone entered the southern show floor, they would be greeted with the massive Capcom booth, home to heavily advertised Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 demo stations. While the majority were there to play either the aforementioned UMvC3 or Street Fighter X Tekken, I went to check out two new properties they will release next year: Dragon’s Dogma and Asura’s Wrath.

The first up was Asura’s Wrath, a beat-’em-up developed by CyberConnect2 (known for their work on the .hack franchise) for the XBox 360 and PS3. There were two different demos set up at the booth detailing what appeared to be two different boss battles from the game. As I waited in line to play, I examined the two different scenarios, one on the moon, and the other against what appeared to be a large flying beast. My turn finally came; it was time to kick some demigod ass. (more…)

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Mid-Semester Showing Survey

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 – Anime Reviews, CJAS, Reviews

Shockingly, the semester is already at its halfway point, so it’s about time to talk about what’s been going on in showing. For each show we’re watching, I’ll be summarizing the premise, discussing the plot up to this point, and then adding my own thoughts about the series. As always, plot can and does equal spoilers, so make sure to skip over plot sections where you don’t want to know just yet. We’re watching a lot of great shows this semester, so many of these come with strong recommendations.

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Mid-Semester Anime Review – Spring 2011

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 – Reviews

Spring Break has come and gone, which means another half-year of Showing is already behind us. So, one more time, I’ll be looking back on what we’ve already seen, so you can catch up, check that you’re on the same page, or just decide if you’re interested in the series. For each show, I’ll summarize the premise, quickly go over the plot, and then provide my own thoughts. Be warned, plot summaries will probably contain spoilers.

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Review: Kuroshitsuji (“Black Butler”)

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 – Anime Reviews, Manga Reviews, Reviews

Welcome and good evening again, ladies and gentlemen! Our series this time Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), originally released as a manga in Square Enix’s Monthly G Fantasy in 2006 by Toboso Yana. It has since proven popular enough to warrant a two-season anime adaptation, a spin-off video game, two well-scored stage musicals, and an impressive doujin community. For this review, however, I’d prefer to focus on the manga and anime.

Clearly, this will not be a objectionable program.

Although the two differ in execution, the basic premise remains the same between them: In manor house outside of London, the demon Sebastian Michaelis serves as Earl Ciel Phantomhive’s loyal butler. The two have a contract: In exchange for Ciel’s soul, Sebastian serves as his retainer until the Young Master kills those who slew his parents and sold him on the black market. The Earl, though only twelve when the series opens, is already a captain of industry and a favored subject of Queen Victoria. He lives a double life: By day, he works as the head of the Funtom Toy Company; by night, he serves the Queen as her agent in the London underworld, assisted at all times by Sebastian, who performs his duties with impeccable skill.

What’s the overall result? Well, for me that’s a bit of a tricky question. As of this writing, Black Butler is my “fanboy” series; it’s the kind of thing I like for far fewer reasons than I should because the series happens to hit enough of my favorite story and character elements (Ciel, for example) it its execution. So, bear in mind that my view on things is likely more forgiving of Black Butler than I would normally be. That said… (more…)

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Mid-Semester Anime Roundup

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 – Anime Reviews, Other Articles, Reviews

It’s Fall Break now, which means that this semester’s Showing is already halfway over. So I’ve put together this handy little article for those of you who might have missed the first half of Showing, who think they might forget what’s going on over Fall Break, or who want to waste a few minutes on the internet. For each of the shows we’ve watched thus far, I’ve assembled a description of the series, a summary of the plot, and a quick review of what I’ve thought about it so far. Plot summaries will almost certainly contain spoilers, so if you want to watch the series for yourself, you may want to skip these.

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Fall 2009: In Review

Sunday, January 24th, 2010 – Anime Reviews, CJAS, Reviews

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Good to see you all again! Although I can’t really speak much from experience, I must stay that I was thoroughly impressed by the lineup this past semester. Showing was a real event this time around, and I’d like to take a few moments to take a quick look back on it.

Series Reviews:

Genshiken –

Our starter for this semester was one I had not seen since I was in high school. At the time, I was rather amused with it, but after re-watching the first season, I found that the series hasn’t held up as well as I had thought. Let me be clear: It’s not a bad series; I don’t think so, anyway. But whenever Genshiken’s not poking a good-natured elbow in the ribs of hardcore anime fans, the overall result is disappointing. The humor tends to be awkwardly spaced; whole episodes can go by with scarcely a slice of wit to hold interest, relying instead on the (mostly bland) antics of local basket-case Madarame to keep the whole thing from grinding to a halt. Add to that rather generic BGM and character design, and what’s left is a series So Okay, It’s Average. You could do worse than this dull little piece of work, but you could do much better as well.

Wolf’s Rain –

Ain't he pretty?

I must admit, I was pretty skeptical about this series. Just looking at the character designs made me shudder; I like bishounen as much as the next fan, but I didn’t walk in expecting much in the way of, well, anything else. Thankfully, Wolf’s Rain does not disappoint. It has its issues, mind you; the plot moves at the pace of cheap pancake syrup and the dialogue can sometimes suffer as a result. But thus far, it’s been nothing short of a treat to watch. The backgrounds and character animation are, as expected, fantastic, with real eye for detail and cohesion. And the music! Man, Kanno-sensei should really go make an album or something. If she does stuff like this for a show… Ah, I digress. Anyway, if this series can overcome its pacing problems and deliver its already unique story already, then it’s well on its way to becoming a favorite of mine. (more…)

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Anime Review: Zero no Tsukaima

Friday, September 18th, 2009 – Anime Reviews

Last semester, CJAS screened the first season of one of the more popular shounen-harem series in recent years: Zero no Tsukaima, a.k.a. The Familiar of Zero. Originally a series of light novels from Japan, the series (still in serialization as of this writing) proved popular enough to warrant an anime adaptation and an additional retelling as a manga.

It is the story of a student-mage of noble background, Louise, who unintentionally summons a teenage boy from Japan named Saito into her world of magic, mystery, and fan service to act as her familiar. All is not sunshine and roses for our hero Saito, however, as his new mistress treats him no better than a dog, and only softens as time goes on. As he struggles to make a living for himself under the furious eye of Louise, there is action, adventure, and even the budding of romance for our happy couple-to-be!

Sounds like a fun anime if I ever heard one, no? Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but I beg to differ. Zero left a bitter, bitter taste in my mouth, that special flavor that only comes from good, old-fashioned bad writing and an unhealthy abundance of wasted potential. Be afraid, ladies and gentlemen. Be very afraid.

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Kyoukai no Rinne: “So you say Shinigami are the ‘in’ thing now?” says Rumiko Takahashi

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 – Manga Reviews

The cover of the first chapter

As some of you may know, I am a rabid Inu-Yasha fangirl, which led me by extension to become a general fan of its author, Rumiko Takahashi. As such, when I found out Takahashi was starting a new series, there was no question about whether I would read it. The subject this time: wacky hijinks involving shinigami and a high-school girl with the power to see spirits.

The main character (a girl by the name of Mamiya Sakura) has been able to see spirits ever since an incident that occurred when she was a little girl. This becomes of interest when she meets Rokudo Rinne, a red-headed transfer student who, oh yeah, she first sees while no one else can. This is because Rinne is a shinigami (“death deity”), in possession of a haori that allows him to take spirit form and allows spirits to take solid form. Rinne is also totally, destitutely, broke-ass poor due to various circumstances involving a wacky and flippant grandmother and something about a mackerel. Sakura, due to her ability to see spirits and apparent inability to keep her nose to herself, ends up helping Rinne in his shinigami duties. These apparently include squatting in abandoned buildings, fleecing students for bread money and chasing off giant undead Chihuahuas.

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