Well, I mowed through three more anime. Also watched an anime movie, but I don't keep track or review those.
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero—How this gets a TV-14, I don’t know. It’s more for adult viewers. Well, actually, most of the mature humor concerns bras and panties and is pretty harmless, and they always censor nipples, but still there are a couple of (near) sex scenes that should make any parent think twice about letting his young anime fan watch this.
Oh, what is the show about, you ask? Akatsuke, our title rogue hero, has just conquered a Dark Lord and brings the Lord’s daughter, Miu, back to Earth with him, where they enroll in a special magic school. At first they have fun teenage adventures, but then Miu’s past catches up with her. Her home world wants her back, so they can execute her. Akatsuke, who is gallant in spite of being a pervert, of course must rescue her.
This show features plenty of fan service—more for the guys, of course, but there are some shots of Akatsuke shirtless or even naked—and my, does he have a fine body! The hero and heroine even have a lesbian friend who is once caught red-handed going at it with another girl. So some fan service for straight guys, straight girls, gay girls, and well…nothing for gay guys really.
The last episode, instead of winding things up, sets things up for another series. Ack, an Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero II? I don’t know if my guilty conscience can take it!
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic—I didn’t know. Was I ready for a series with characters named Aladdin and Sinbad? To me, Aladdin was a Disney character, and Sinbad was the hero of the 1990’s fantasy series The Adventures of Sinbad starring Zen Gesner. (Another main character of Magi is Alibaba, but another, previous Ali Baba wasn’t cemented in my head, like Disney’s Aladdin and Gesner’s Sinbad were.)
The story of Magi begins when a young man named Alibaba meets a kid named Aladdin. They go treasure hunting, free a slave girl named Morgiana, and set the course for a whole new world of adventures. Aladdin has his own djinn (genie), blue but in other ways totally unlike Robin Williams’ Genie. Alibaba has royal blood but a past in the slums. They take on empires, free kingdoms, and meet a fellow adventurer named Sinbad. The last story arc features so many characters and so many battles it’s a wonder it resolved itself in time for the final episode.
This new Aladdin is different enough from the Disney character to be considered a totally separate entity. The new Sinbad is even better looking than Zen Gesner—and Zen was quite the looker. Magi’s Sinbad is loonier than Gesner’s Sinbad, but at times he reminded me of him. I still stayed away from thinking of the two Sinbads as one and the same. So, what do you know, this town is big enough for two Aladdins and two Sinbads.
P.S.: Be alert for an episode called “Smile”. It has a really special, magical ending.
K—First of all, I must wonder, what’s with the title? K? Maybe it has something to do with the episode titles beginning with that letter. But no, they probably came up with the series name first, then the episode names. The most I can figure out is that K is for Kings. Kings in this show refers to mysterious men who secretly wield more power over Japan than the Prime Minister.
The plot begins when Shiro, a high school student, finds himself wanted by a street gang and a strange, armed loner. His name is Kuroh. Both the gang and Kuroh desire to kill Shiro for murdering someone dear to them. Shiro doesn’t remember killing anyone—but isn’t that him in the filmed evidence?
But all is not grim. At this time, Shiro actually makes a new friend—a cat-girl named Neko. Is she a cat that turns into a human or a human or turns into a cat? I think the former because she likes to run around naked. It’s Barbie doll nudity, though, so I didn’t mind. Maybe this is what earned the show a TV-MA, along with the skater boy, Yata, who likes to use the f-word at an average of once per episode. Personally, I found it a lot tamer than Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, which slinked by with a TV-14.
About halfway through the series, a, um, let’s say “new” character emerges. He is like a combination of Mary Poppins and a regeneration of Doctor Who. He adds a touch of whimsy to the show. Well, Neko does, too, but this new character adds even more. Otherwise, this show is a lot of intrigue and battle scenes and confusion. Sometimes trying to figure out what was going on threatened to give me a headache, so I just went along for the ride.
In the end, I’d say this show was (O)K.
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero—How this gets a TV-14, I don’t know. It’s more for adult viewers. Well, actually, most of the mature humor concerns bras and panties and is pretty harmless, and they always censor nipples, but still there are a couple of (near) sex scenes that should make any parent think twice about letting his young anime fan watch this.
Oh, what is the show about, you ask? Akatsuke, our title rogue hero, has just conquered a Dark Lord and brings the Lord’s daughter, Miu, back to Earth with him, where they enroll in a special magic school. At first they have fun teenage adventures, but then Miu’s past catches up with her. Her home world wants her back, so they can execute her. Akatsuke, who is gallant in spite of being a pervert, of course must rescue her.
This show features plenty of fan service—more for the guys, of course, but there are some shots of Akatsuke shirtless or even naked—and my, does he have a fine body! The hero and heroine even have a lesbian friend who is once caught red-handed going at it with another girl. So some fan service for straight guys, straight girls, gay girls, and well…nothing for gay guys really.
The last episode, instead of winding things up, sets things up for another series. Ack, an Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero II? I don’t know if my guilty conscience can take it!
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic—I didn’t know. Was I ready for a series with characters named Aladdin and Sinbad? To me, Aladdin was a Disney character, and Sinbad was the hero of the 1990’s fantasy series The Adventures of Sinbad starring Zen Gesner. (Another main character of Magi is Alibaba, but another, previous Ali Baba wasn’t cemented in my head, like Disney’s Aladdin and Gesner’s Sinbad were.)
The story of Magi begins when a young man named Alibaba meets a kid named Aladdin. They go treasure hunting, free a slave girl named Morgiana, and set the course for a whole new world of adventures. Aladdin has his own djinn (genie), blue but in other ways totally unlike Robin Williams’ Genie. Alibaba has royal blood but a past in the slums. They take on empires, free kingdoms, and meet a fellow adventurer named Sinbad. The last story arc features so many characters and so many battles it’s a wonder it resolved itself in time for the final episode.
This new Aladdin is different enough from the Disney character to be considered a totally separate entity. The new Sinbad is even better looking than Zen Gesner—and Zen was quite the looker. Magi’s Sinbad is loonier than Gesner’s Sinbad, but at times he reminded me of him. I still stayed away from thinking of the two Sinbads as one and the same. So, what do you know, this town is big enough for two Aladdins and two Sinbads.
P.S.: Be alert for an episode called “Smile”. It has a really special, magical ending.
K—First of all, I must wonder, what’s with the title? K? Maybe it has something to do with the episode titles beginning with that letter. But no, they probably came up with the series name first, then the episode names. The most I can figure out is that K is for Kings. Kings in this show refers to mysterious men who secretly wield more power over Japan than the Prime Minister.
The plot begins when Shiro, a high school student, finds himself wanted by a street gang and a strange, armed loner. His name is Kuroh. Both the gang and Kuroh desire to kill Shiro for murdering someone dear to them. Shiro doesn’t remember killing anyone—but isn’t that him in the filmed evidence?
But all is not grim. At this time, Shiro actually makes a new friend—a cat-girl named Neko. Is she a cat that turns into a human or a human or turns into a cat? I think the former because she likes to run around naked. It’s Barbie doll nudity, though, so I didn’t mind. Maybe this is what earned the show a TV-MA, along with the skater boy, Yata, who likes to use the f-word at an average of once per episode. Personally, I found it a lot tamer than Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, which slinked by with a TV-14.
About halfway through the series, a, um, let’s say “new” character emerges. He is like a combination of Mary Poppins and a regeneration of Doctor Who. He adds a touch of whimsy to the show. Well, Neko does, too, but this new character adds even more. Otherwise, this show is a lot of intrigue and battle scenes and confusion. Sometimes trying to figure out what was going on threatened to give me a headache, so I just went along for the ride.
In the end, I’d say this show was (O)K.
