Thoughts

After spending the night with a certain woman, Koji leaves her before she wakes. Rina attends to her usual activities elsewhere. When Rikuo and Masaki enter the Eve cafe again, Nagi takes note of how often they have been coming. This makes her guess that they are skipping classes, but Rikuo proves her otherwise. While getting the boys’ drinks, Nagi suggests that there are plenty of people to talk to in the cafe if they desired to do so. Masaki states that he only wishes to know more about the cafe, not wanting any needless interaction, but the boys’ attentions are soon brought to Koji and Rina getting along together as usual. When Nagi returns to the boys, and seeing their interest in the couple, she invites Koji and Rina to sit with the two. Setoro suggests that Nagi not do unnecessary things when she returns to the counter, but she simply expresses her belief that things would be more lively this way.

The boys’ conversation with the couple is initially awkward, because of the lack of things to say among other things, but Rikuo eventually takes interest in Koji’s camera phone. While looking through its features, he brings up a screen with all the photos contained within it. When Rina sees a certain photo, one with Koji and the woman from the morning, she becomes somewhat angry. She simply tells Koji not to leave her alone, however, before leaving due to a reaction in her leg.

Rikuo spies on Rina a short distance away, soon learning that Rina has an injury in her leg. In an open injury, her robotic parts are revealed. By the time Rikuo is forced to reveal himself to Rina, he suggests that she should see a repair personnel. Because of the type of work she does though, and her need to follow her master’s orders to the best of her ability, she is unable to do this. When Rikuo expresses his worry about Koji’s pictures that Rina saw, she assures him and herself that Koji’s kindness will not change. Rina starts to return to everyone else, but before she does, Rikuo takes the chance to tell her about his experience with Sammy. Rikuo tells Rina to expresses her feelings, even if they are towards a human. When Rina wonders how he is able to say something like this, she and Rikuo himself realize that he has developed feelings of love.

Masaki meanwhile confronts Koji, and after seeing that he has no pictures with himself and Rina, he wonders if he is having an affair with a robot in secret. Koji denies this, but to Masaki’s shock, he soon reveals that he is a robot himself. Koji’s wish is to save his master, who looks very similar to Rina. Koji’s master would rather be attached to him than another human being, so Koji sought to learn from Rina to save her. Koji requests that Masaki would keep this complicated situation a secret from Rina, and by the time Rikuo and Rina return, Masaki implies his agreement.

In the following days, Rikuo and Masaki both become shocked after relaying the information they gathered to each other. As it was never said that Koji was Rina’s master, this meant that her master was actually an unknown VIP. Further more, both Koji and Rina saw their partner as a human being. With Nagi’s confirmation, Rikuo realizes that even the androids in the cafe cannot tell between humans and their own. While observing Koji and Rina despite this irony, Rikuo realizes that love between androids is very similar to that of humans’. When Rikuo returns home, he notices that Sammy has started to wear a pink band on her head. When Sammy wonders if this is to his tastes, RIkuo can only become embarrassed.

This episode was undoubtedly the most humorous. I found myself chuckling at Rikou’s perverted antics very often; his eyes always wandered to Rina’s chest no matter how many times he was warned by Masaki. When Masaki suddenly slapped Rikou out of ogling, I was cracking up. All the little comments being made by Setoro and Nagi also added to the element of comedy.

I was a little confused when Masaki and Rikou were trying to discern the difference between Rina, Koji, and Koji’s master. I was already puzzled as to how what each person was, android or human, and their fast paced explanation didn’t clarify things any better for me.

With all of these subplots being introduced, and the hint of even more appearing within the next act, I can only wonder if the story will really end within six episodes. Although this series appeared to be a simple sci-fi romance at the beginning, it’s definitely starting to look like there’s going to be much more under the surface. Rikuo’s developing feelings for Sammy through all the events still takes the cake for me though, and that’s easily what I’m looking forward to seeing the most by the end of the day.

Thoughts

Rikuo is still baffled at Sammy’s actions, but he is seemingly convinced that everything is normal when she begins her usual activities again. Not helping the situation, Naoko still insists that Rikuo is acting like a Dori-kei. At school later, Masaki reminds Rikuo of the three laws of robotics. He further suggests that they should check to see if Sammy is really following her usual duties, bringing the boys to the previously visited cafe once again. Rikuo is relieved after a quick look around the shop, but since Masaki reminds him that this may not be enough, the two boys go to a higher level of the cafe. Rikuo is alarmed when the young girl Chie appears behind him, but the two boys are then properly introduced to her and the older man named Shimei. After observing these two, and the couple Rina and Koji, Rikuo and Masaki recall how hard it is to tell whether people are human or robot in the cafe.

After ordering drinks, Masaki correctly guesses that Rikuo is worried about Sammy. He suggests that he wouldn’t know about such concerns, however, as he does not have a robot of his own. When Rikuo asks why, Masaki doesn’t answer. However, this makes him remember an event that happened to him as a child. When Akiko walks into the cafe, Rikuo takes the chance to ask her about what had happened earlier. Akiko simply reminds him of the rules of the cafe in response, however, and the two are then interrupted by the very active Chie. A man named Setoro meanwhile confronts Masaki about his concerns about the rules and the inside of the cafe. This conversation doesn’t last long, as he leaves soon after. Masaki attempts to follow him out, but he finds that the exit to the cafe will not open. Nagi explains that the door will not open immediately, as privacy is respected at the cafe. This doesn’t stop him from continuing to run out after a short while, however.

Sammy enters the cafe to order a usual drink, expressing her worries to Nagi. This is unknown to Rikuo, however, as he had lost his glasses earlier. While Rikuo discusses the secrets that Sammy is keeping from him with Akiko, Shimei brings up that everyone has some secrets that they will keep from others. This makes Rikuo realize that Sammy may have been doing this for his sake. Rikuo finally realizes that Nagi has been holding his glasses as well, but when he gets them back, he is shocked to find that Sammy is right in front of him. Sammy is just as shocked, running out in panic after Rikuo confirms her identity. Rikuo is of course unable to chase after her, and Nagi forces him to sit down with her afterwards. Nagi brings up that she is unsure of when Sammy first started coming to the cafe, recalling all of things she had eventually started talking to her about. Sammy had spoken about various things, including Rikuo, but it seemed like she was worried about something.

Masaki relays his negative results of his chase to Rikuo over the phone that night, and when Rikuo suggests that he will probably return to the cafe again, Masaki expresses his wish to accompany him. Rikuo takes the chance to mention how good the coffee has recently been to Sammy afterwards, but he finds it odd when she gives her usual response. Unknown to him, Sammy has put a smile on her face. Setoro reports his findings to a woman named Dr. Ashimori in the meantime, as she observes her tracking of robot movement throughout the city.

I was given a chance to actually get to know the characters a little better; both Rikou, his android, and the other androids and/or possible humans that frequent Time of Eve cafe.  Setoro, the one that was speaking to Masaki for a short while before leaving, seems like a sort of watchman over the cafe. If I recall, he was the one who was reading a book the last time Rikou and Masaki visited the cafe. Koji and Rina seem like a perfect couple; they’re always huddled together, but I’m sure they have their fair share of secrets. We’ll get to learn some of those secrets in the next episode, as the preview indicates.

I was also wondering if Shimei and Chie were human. They play the role really well, but then again, so do the rest of the “robots” at Time of Eve. But I can’t really imagine one owning a toddler android. The only thing they’re useful for at their age is . . . whining, food depletion, and sleep deprivation. I don’t think androids grow up either, so I’m pretty sure Chie, at least, is human.

The Sammy scene was by far the best part of the series so far. The climax of Act 02. The slow pause as dreadful realization creeped into both Rikou and Sammy, the realization of each other and they’re current location. Rikou’s sudden and swift movement of the hand that revealed that the girl with the ponytail was in fact Sammy. That part was epic. Loved it. I can’t wait to see how their delicate relationship develops.

And thanks to this series, lately, I’ve been paying more attention to backdrops and backgrounds in anime series. I guess I’ve been looking to see if they can top Time of Eve’s. So naturally, I noticed the subtle detail of the teapot towards the end. It looked so realistic. I was baffled. I didn’t know if that was a photograph or an animation! Props to the animators.

Thoughts

Following Kondo’s advice, Akira goes to track down the other Selecao members. He eventually manages to find Selecao’s No. V, Hajime Hiura who is an influential brain surgeon. Hiura at first suspects Akira to be the Supporter, the Selecao tasked to observe the other Selecao members and to punish them if they break any of the rules. After being assured Akira is not the Supporter, Hiura tells him about Selecao. It is an organization run by Mr. Outside, an enigmatic individual who chose twelve individuals, and gave them ten billion yen each with the condition to use the money to save Japan. If the Selecao members refuse, run out of money, or act in a manner unbecoming of a “messiah”, then they are to be eliminated by the Supporter. Shortly after Akira leaves, Hiura is murdered by the Supporter since he had run out of money. 

• What was that whole Johnny scene? Was that a part of Akira’s memories, which he forgot? Akira acted as if he was happy to see all his “Johnnies”, and in the next few seconds, he was calling the “Johnnies” useless bastards.
• I’m still confused about Ohsugi’s relation to Saki. Is he her boyfriend? Or does Uhsugi just have unrequitted love for Saki? Because Saki didn’t act as if she had a boyfriend around Akira; she kept saying she was still waiting for her prince.
• I did get my one confusion clarified though; Akira is the Supporter, not Juiz. So I guess this means that Akira gets to kill the other Selecao who have completely drained their balances on the Noblesse Oblige. But when Detective Kondo stole Akira’s Noblesse, Kondo mentioned that Akira’s life would end, and I’m assuming Kondo was talking about the “Supporter killing the Selecao” drift. And there’s proof that Akira hasn’t been spending his “money” for the sake of the nation, just for his own personal needs, but he hasn’t been killed by the Supporter yet. Because he is the Supporter. I think.

Kimi no Iru Machi is another masterpiece by the ingenious Seo Kouji. He knows how to create and convey the exact emotions he wants to. He can entangle the audience with simple bittersweet romantic plots like no other. And that’s precisely what got me to cling to this manga, and all his others. The manga’s beautiful, enchanting and awe-inspiring despite keeping an extremely close relation to reality. The story line is intoxicating. Both deep and unpredictable. The lead character, Haruto Kirishima starts out as a very annoying person, like most main characters in stories these days, but as the story progresses and the character develops he can be very amiable. The female lead, Yuzuki Eba is a mysterious and kind person. The character development in this is certainly something one can talk about for hours. The art’s just as gorgeous, as expected from Seo Kouji. His splendid art is very consistent throughtout this manga, and all his other manga, that I’ve gotten quite used to it. It’s a great series, so go and give it a read.

This manga is definitely one of the best I’ve read, even if there were a few negatives. Only Seo Kouji is capable of crafting a riveting story that will keep you wanting more, and in this work, that skill really shines. Until the series hits Volume 11, of course. Everything after that really went downhill for me. The tedious fussing and fighting between Yamato and Suzuka felt so boring and dragged out, I always found myself asleep with my face in the book. But Seo Kouji did redeem himself after loading the end with a lot of surprises. Suzuka was going to study abroad! After that,”Let’s get back together, Asahina!”, and lastly, ”That’s what happens when you don’t use a condom, baka!” I was really hooked. So Seo Kouji gets applause for the story.

The art was on a whole different level, at least in the second half of the series. I can’t find the words to describe, so I’ll stick to ‘amazing’. In the beginning of the series, Seo Kouji’s art style was pretty average. But later on, it became a lot . . . prettier. The characters seem more mature, like high schoolers, instead of elementary school students. I suspect Seo Kouji did this on purpose to show the change in the characters as they grew physically and in age. (I also noticed that Yamato’s hair became more and more flat, instead of spiky and messy.)

All in all, I had a swell time reading this masterpiece that deserves to be on the bookshelf next to Detective Conan. I guarantee that you will too.

I just wish as much time and effort had gone into the anime adaptation as the manga. This is why I hate anime from manga shows. There’s always a chance that the anime producers can completely butcher the manga’s greatness, and give the manga a bad appearance. This way, no one gets a chance to enjoy the manga, because the anime was so horrible.

Modern relationships come under scrutiny again in Korean director Jung Yoon Soo’s “Love Now” (also known by the equally appropriate title “Changing Partners”), a romantic comedy which revolves around life, love and infidelity. Boasting a top cast and promising a realistic look at the problems faced by people who have perhaps married unwisely, the film attempts to tell a bittersweet though amusing tale based around the fact that for many people, following their heart may not always be the easiest thing to do.

The set up is pretty familiar, following two married couples: rich lighting designer So Yeo and her workaholic husband Young Joon, and loudmouth fashion designer Yoo Na and her laidback man Min Jae. The two cross paths when Yoo Na is hired as a fashion consultant for Young Joon, and when So Yeo and Min Jae hook up during a chance meeting in Hong Kong. Sparks fly and the two naughty couples are soon flirting their way to a game of musical partners through such romantic activities as a drunken boxing match in a bar and a dreamlike barefoot run though the softly lit back streets of Hong Kong (always a lovely idea). Needless to say, complications ensue as the two affairs threaten to turn all of their lives upside down, with the question looming large as to who everyone will end up with by the time the credits roll.

Although “Love Now” is a film which styles itself as having something to say about modern relationships, it never tries to explore the subject in the same depth as for example Yoo Ha’s thought provoking “Marriage is a Crazy Thing”. To be fair, this isn’t too much of a criticism, and as a contemporary romantic comedy the film ticks all the right boxes and certainly does have more substance than many of its peers, although it would have benefited from a little more fleshing out of its characters. As things stand, the four are a fairly obvious bunch, painted in very broad strokes, with Jung content to rely on the odd subplot to provide insight, such as a suspiciously superfluous and underdeveloped blackmail thread involving Yoo Na’s unseen sister which only crops up as a rather obvious device for Young Joon to show his sensitive side and manliness at the same time. Still, for the genre, the film works well enough, mainly since the characters are all pretty likeable, and the viewer does get drawn into the plot, even if the ending is clearly signposted from the first frame.

It has to be said that the film would be a lot more romantic if it weren’t for the fact that all concerned are already married, and as such it breezes by with a casual lack of morals, even more so due to the fact that director Jung shows the two extra martial affairs developing in tandem, ensuring minimal feelings of viewer guilt. Similarly, the film only really tells one side of the story, focusing almost entirely on the excitement of new romance and never going into detail about the problems with the characters’ existing marriages. Whilst there is something to be said for encouraging people to follow their heart rather than languishing in loveless relationships, this does diffuse some of the potential dramatic tension, as the characters’ approaching indiscretions are blame free and never in any doubt. Indeed, the film gets more interesting after the first bouts of hanky panky, as the viewer waits to see just how long it will take them all to catch on to their respective spouse’s cheating ways. Entertainingly, this turns out to be very long indeed, despite the fact that their adultery is anything but subtle, involving constant text messaging, midnight phone calls, long, lingering glances, and inappropriate bathroom incidents.

“Love Now” is pretty frank for this kind of film, with a fair bit of sex and nudity, though Jung gives things a polished, glossy look and never lets the drama get too sleazy. This definitely gives the film a boost in terms of believability, and the tastefully shot scenes of coupling do add a certain air of realism and maturity. Probably its biggest flaw is that although well constructed, at nearly two hours the film is a little on the long side, and the middle section in particular tends to drag in places. However, Jung does manage to keep things moving along at a bright and breezy pace for the most part, and wisely injects a good amount of light-hearted humour into the proceedings. Although this prevents things from getting gloomy or too melodramatic, for which he certainly deserves praise, the increasingly contrived situations could perhaps have done with a little more in the way of laughs, especially the rather farcical denouement.

Even without this, “Love Now” is perfectly enjoyable, and is one of the better romantic comedies to have come from Korea over the last couple of years. Although it does represent to some extent a bit of a missed opportunity for more a more searching examination of modern morality, it certainly provides all that the genre fan could ask for and makes for enjoyable viewing.

Suzuka is an example of an absolute loss of good pastels. By this, I mean that those good colors that could shine up a nice anime in the future got thrown away in this bonfire of unnecessity.

This anime has what can be called the mother of all plotholes. The only apparent things you can get from the show is that the main character loves the best athlete in the school and that they fall in love. Plot advancement? What in the world does that mean? Not one sign of careful planning pops up in this thing as the plot ends up like pyrite: you hit it with a hammer and it separates into pieces going out every other way. If you can piece together anything in this, pat yourself on the back because you did better than me.

Artwork? This anime is like an explosion of wrong. They seem to oversize things that never really needed it (i.e. the sailor fuku collars, as they call them) and didn’t understand much else in the way of artwork. Except for the scenes with…fanservice. Just for that, and as a thank you gift for watching, you get your eyes speared out by the ending video, which took the Windows type “256-Color” format WAAAAYYY too seriously. It’s like you’re staring into a lavalamp or one of those spinning, multi-color disco wheels. A better video could have been drawn (like the opening) that didn’t scream at your eyes, but we aren’t THAT lucky. If you want to see the ending video, get a pair of sunglasses because you will need them.

The music isn’t all that bad and may be the only thing I really like about this anime. The composers put enough material into their work and allowed the singers to take over, creating masterpieces. The sad part was that it had to be THIS anime to get the soundtrack. If you turn down the TV’s brightness control so the screen is completely black, you’ll love the show. I wish I were kidding.

We also “lucked out” when we got the characters, who are mostly adapted from other characters. The main male lead, Yamato, laughs and acts like Final Fantasy X’s Tidus (not a good sign except for those who really liked him). Whenever he isn’t taking the form of Tidus, he’s the spending man who spends for his girlfriend. Shizuka (the main female lead, as far as the show clued into it) is ALMOST like Kirie from Girls BRAVO, what with the arguments and the yelling and talking down to Yamato, but unlike Kirie, snaps out of it just after you lose all caring for this series.
Everyone else is not as cliche and some even act so cool that THEY should be the lead characters. The voices are nothing really out-of-the-ordinary, but sound rather dull and as if the actors were tired to a certain degree.

Animation quality must have been thought of a bit here, considering that I wasn’t really disappointed by it, but it still couldn’t make up for the rest of the sewage this anime throws your way. The movement is smooth and clear while the environment reacts nicely.

The really bad part of this anime is that it must have been made with one intention…putting all objects in the Phallic Ultraverse in here. Umbrellas look suspicious. Objects supposed to be innocent stir up controversy. Everything doesn’t fit right.

Okay, let’s get started with this train-wreck now, shall we? School Days is another one of those hentai-game adaptations, but it’s a special one: the original game became notorious for a few of its rather bloody endings. Because of this, it’s become a fan favourite: you can’t go to any on-line anime-community where you won’t find tons of fans rambling about various death treats towards the main character. In the end though, this series became an utter failure.

Let’s start with about the only good point of this series: the male main character, Makoto. I know it’s ironic, but this guy actually finally deviates from some of the clichés that plague all of his colleagues, and most important of all: he’s realistic. It’s a sad thing, but in real life there are tons of idiots who just date girls without caring about any of them. You’ll love to hate this guy, and the things he does to all the poor girls in the series.

I wish I could say the same about the female characters though. The story is just so incredibly fixated on that bloody ending that it turns every single female character into a plot-device to get toward that ending. Actions are forced, characters conveniently run into each other, and most of them are a tad too often in too much angst, preventing them to connect with the viewers.

Still, at the halfway point, I would have actually considered School Days decent enough. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but the love-triangle that develops was interesting enough to make me keep watching. And then, as the series draws to its end, everything falls apart with some of the most forced and blatantly obvious plot twists I’ve ever seen. I won’t mention them for the sake of spoilers, but you should be able to guess their nature, with School Days being a hentai-game adaptation and all.

And then the setting! Seriously, it nearly looks like Makoto is in a school with only TWO GUYS in it. There is another guy (the so-called “rival” that you see in nearly every hentai-game adaptation) but he’s just good for one minor plot-twist and he just disappears afterwards without leaving any trace.

Seriously, if you were planning to watch this one: don’t. The scriptwriting and plot twists are just too forced and artificial to really form a connection, not to mention that 75% of all the scenes are incredibly annoying to watch, due to the characters being teenagers and all. While I admit that it could have been good, the scriptwriters just ruined it completely.

Notice in all the screens that Makoto almost always gets his way/gets it on/sleeps with a girl/makes out with a girl. Yep. That jackass is the character known as Makoto.

Really, how often do you run into a harem where it’s at least made plausible that every single female falls in love with the loser male lead? Junta, the main character, being shot by a bullet that turns him into a mega-playboy may sound a bit far-fetched, but it works surprisingly well in this series. It makes sure for a couple of hilarious situations, and the love-triangles that emerge from it are actually worth it. There are no fillers, and the creators know exactly how to use their time and keep things interesting, with a plot that continues to get pushed forward.

Unfortunately, there’s a rather large downside to DNA². The comedy is hilarious, the romance is rock-solid, but the action downright sucks. These action-scenes have a nasty tendency of getting in the way of what’s really important in this series, and the characters turn into super-saiyan wannabes with way too exaggerated power-ups. This anime especially falls flat on its face during the OVA that concludes this series. The comedy is entirely taken out, in favour of a more epic plot, but at the same time it also degrades into a boring cheese-fest, and the actual climax is downright disastrous. I could have tried to sugar-coat this, but you know when the creators are having a bad day when they’re reaching out to use the power of love as a plot device.

Nevertheless, DNA² is among the better shounen romantic comedies. The first half especially is really worth watching, and many of its current counterparts can learn a lot from this series; For example comedic timing, proper build-up, the avoidance of stereotypes, and a bit of wit.

Linebarrels of Iron is set up like your typical shounen mecha series, but it is actually much more (or less) than that and that’s not in a good way. The series stumbled out of the gates primarily because protagonist Kouichi emerged as an annoying, egoistical yet incapable character who apparently has no redeeming qualities. Kouichi’s arrogance and recklessness in the first few episodes made him very difficult to like, and I found myself hoping for someone to come along and teach Kouichi a lesson. Thankfully that happened in the third episode and after that Kouichi’s antics became easier to tolerate. He is still sometimes arrogant and reckless, but on many occasions his behaviour is played for laughs and he did managed to display some real heroics. Other than Kouichi, another questionable decision that stood out at the start of the series is the facial designs and animation of the characters. Perhaps this is a matter of personal taste, but the faces of many of the characters just didn’t look right from certain angles.

After Kouichi is humbled in the third episode, Linebarrels looked like it was on its way to being your average mecha series. The next few episodes were by no means great or even good, but it was tolerable and plausible enough (for your average mecha series) to watch. There were bits of random comedy being thrown in, which again weren’t great but nonetheless added some entertainment value. Just when it looks like Linebarrels was on the right track, all hell broke lose in episode 13 when JUDA’s ace pilot Moritsugu killed JUDA’s leader Ishigami and joined the bad guys. This betrayal basically came out of nowhere and there were no prior indication that Moritsugu was a traitor, but one can argue that a sudden betrayal may just be a plot device to introduce more drama and urgency to the storyline. Unfortunately, Moritsugu’s betrayal was just the beginning of whole slew of improbable events including multiple characters switching sides, characters coming back from the dead, and near the end it’s revealed that all the bad guys are actually working towards the same cause of the good guys and the two sides join forces to battle the real bad guys. So basically the story, especially the character statuses, became more and more ridiculous as the show went on, and the only reason I kept watching because there was no point dropping a series past the half-way mark; I have a weakness for mecha series; and also I was curious to see how much more ridiculous will the show become.

Moving on from all the senseless side-changing, the final battle in Linebarrels was a disappointment because it was poorly planned out, and the final boss was defeated rather unceremoniously. The battle was also filled with many clichés seen in superpower mecha series, including favorites such as all the supporting good guys voicing their support for the protagonist and sending him their energy for a big power-up. I concede that many mecha series utilize such setups in their big battles, but Gonzo went out of its way to make it obvious and cheesy.

That’s all for my rant about Linebarrels of Iron. Of course, not everything was terrible in Linebarrels. The CG action is passable and actually gets better as the series went on, and the mecha designs are quite interesting once examined closely. Despite some redeeming aspects, Linebarrels is easily the worst of the anime series that I’ve been following in the past half year, but one thing that Linebarrels should be given credit for is that it is certainly not a boring series. Instead, it is just really ridiculous and full of clichés. Perhaps the people who produced this series meant it as an off-beat parody to the typical boy-becomes-mecha-pilot shows, but I somehow failed to get that impression. If you managed to watch all 24 episodes like I did, it’s time to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.