chronodekar's Blog

Anime Relations: World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin

When I heard that a game was made of this anime (or was the anime a spin-off from the game?) I knew I wanted to watch it.

"Sands of Destruction" takes place in a world filled with beast-men, who rule over humans and treat them as slaves. This is a very light-hearted anime (as far as brutality goes) and really fun to watch.

The beast-men are a varied lot. You've got cats, dragons, elephants ... in fact, I think just about any animal is included. While the basic premise is of the beasts "enslaving" the humans, the actual show doesn't show much of it. So far, they've got 2 whole episodes where the beasts and humans are living together in harmony. The only references to "en-slavery" is when a character is having a flash-back.


The heroine, Morte, seems to have her share of problems with the concept, supposedly having a 'dark' past with beast-men and all that. Although, she doesn't look like it, eh?


The 'hero' (better word would be 'coward' ) of the group, Kyrie is a nice cheerful guy who doesn't seem to get down no matter what the situation. He's stupid and panics real easy, but if once he starts something, he sees it through to the finish.


And then we have Toppy. The final member of our group of heros. In fact, he calls himself a big 'hero'. (And hates being called a small bear) But, he fights well and acts as the groups common-sense when needed.

All-in-all I like the show. Why it's called "World Destruction" here on MAL, I don't know, but the show brings a smile to my face. And that's what counts.

(^_^)

Anime Relations: Kujibiki♥Unbalance

As far as harems go, THIS one is different from what I normally hear of. Surprisingly, at the end, there is no conclusion. Sure, there is the obligatory crisis the hero goes through, but considering the pacing and soft tone of the series, I didn't feel it.

That's not to say this isn't enjoyable. There are plenty of enjoyable moments with this one, but this is not one I'm going to actively recommend to anyone.

A time-pass. That's really the best way to describe this one. Also, you'll have to stomach some really unconventional ... situations. But fortunately, they don't last too long.

Did I say how I liked the OP theme song? That and then ending song. Those might be the only things worth remembering about this show. Also, the lead heroine, "Tokino Akiyama", her english voice actor does a wonderful job of bringing out that dtiz or air-head feel. Who is she? Hmm.. the bio says, "Veronica Taylor". I think I'll search up on what else she's done.

Talent like that, I don't see often.

Anime Relations: Kujibiki♥Unbalance

This turned out to be a surprise for me as well. I was searching around when I found this one. "Another harem" is what I thought. (And in many ways, I was right. This is ONLY 1 male character so far, 4 episodes. Well, that's not very accurate, there is a bit of dialog from 2 other males, but they last barely 5 mins, and I don't think it counts.)

But, in spite of that cheesy plot, I find myself enjoying this. Why? It must be the opening theme song. Here,



I'm a bit of a sucker for soft tunes like this. So, I found myself watching the first episode. At least, it's not as bad as SOME others. (Aquarian Age comes to mind). Its full of ridiculous over the top impossible scenarios that might make some people sick.

I mean, there is a girl in the show, that literally jumps onto the hero's chest (in just her underwear ...). Ok, I can manage that. She lives with him. That too I can put up with. Heck, it's got to be possible in some parts of the world, right? But, wait. There's more. She is a teacher in his school. There's nothing wrong with that. With the exception of the jumping, the plot is a cut-copy-paste from Please Teacher (or Onegai Teacher) and that was a nice anime. No, what sets my alarm bells into hyper drive is that she is his SISTER !!@!@!

...

Who wrote this script ?! Fortunately, she doesn't get too much screen time, so I can manage. (And also, the hero has other partners for that kind of thing)

What I find funny about this series is the supporting cast. Particularly a certain mad-scientist in the School Council. But, I'll leave that for another post.

Anime Relations: Slayers, Slayers Next, Slayers Try

This is a series that is just FUN. There is no better way to describe it. The story is about a sorceress named "Lina Inverse" and her companion "Gourry Gabriev" as they travel around the world in search of fun and adventure.

Lina is a money grubber. She's selfish, thin, (do NOT make fun of her chest) and easily temperable. Gourry is a swordmaster .. of questionable intellegence. But, the 2 of them grow feelings for each other.

Just because I said that don't think this is a mushy anime. Nothing farther from the truth! Sure, there is a bit of fluff, but it's soo light, you could even pass it off as a joke. I finished this series quite some time back.

Since then, I've been busy with reading fanfiction. If you're not into it, give it a shot. You'll be surprised with some of the penmanship skills some fans have!

Anime Relations: xxxHOLiC

I finished the first season of xxxHOLiC a few days ago. It's a really nice anime. No world-threatening plots here, but, a good, enjoyably paced story.

It's the story about a boy called Watanuki Kimihiro who can see spirits. You can say it's his "power". But it's not just limited to seeing spirits. He acts as a kind of magnet to them, and they chase and cling onto him (the evil spirits) - something that's very uncomfortable.

One day while running from them, he finds Yuuko's shop. It's a shop that grants people wishes. According to the shop owner, Yuuko Ichihara, if you able to enter the shop, that means you have something you want/need very badly. The service is not free however. You must pay for your wish with something of equal value. The concept is very similar to what was seen in Full Metal Alchemist, but here, by "equal value" Yuuko refers to how much the customer consider's the transactions worth.

You can see this in instances where, for helping Doumeki out, he pays her with his grandfathers watch. And for coming up with an idea for Himawari, she pays with a bottle of champagne.

In Watanuki's case, in exchange for not having the spirits cling onto him, he pays by working at Yuuko's shop. The anime is about the adventures & situations he gets into while working there.

I especially like the parts with Zashiki-warashi (a spirit girl) who has a crush on Watanuki. He knows it too and has never rejected her. (Although, Watanuki himself has a crush on Himawari, who is oblivious to it and sees him as a friend) Personally, I think Zashiki and Watanuki make a nice pairing. (^_^)

Anime Relations: xxxHOLiC

I'm not really even sure why this got my attention. I'm watching Slayers Next now, and I was planning to finish that first before moving to another anime, but ... well, xxxHolic just caught my attention. Perhaps it's because of the art style ? It's not exactly what I would call main-stream now is it?

I've just started the series and my favorite episode so far is the one where Watanuki meets the foxes for the first time. That little fox was just too cute! And the dialog there, it was just sweet!

Sure, some may say that there wasn't anything of a story and they would be right. I think that episode is more along a "slice-of-life" thing. (For that matter, the anime may be that as well? - I'll need to check up on what genres it's classified in)