This review doesn't include all the anime I've watched since last installment. I saw that the dubbed version of Steins;Gate was disappearing off the streaming sites, so I hurriedly bought it off of Amazon and watched it again. Then I watched two anime, Valvrave the Liberator and Date A Live, only to discover they were so new their second season hadn't come out yet, so I didn't include them in my list of anime series I have watched. Wait patiently...
Robotics;Notes—At first, the only reason I watched the show was because it had a semicolon in the title, like Steins;Gate or Chaos;HEAd. I figured it had to be good, although robotics doesn’t excite me. And notes? Musical notes or notes like you take in class? Boring. The summaries of the show didn’t sound exciting, either. High school robotics club works at building a giant, functioning robot. Yawn. I’m going to take this one slow, I thought. I can’t watch three or four episodes at a time like I usually do.
Then there was this conspiracy. A ghostly computer girl. A missing episode of a mecha anime and a missing director, who just happened to be one of the club member’s mother. Kai, the friend of club leader Aki, unlocks more and more secrets. Then the club’s robot collapses, falling on top of a member, nearly crushing him. Meanwhile, a friend of Kai’s marches over a cliff. And why is Aki’s beloved older sister distancing herself from her? I was up to my three or four episodes a night, whatever I could fit in. It was exciting now.
My philosophy was confirmed: If an anime has a semicolon in its title, be sure to watch it!
P.S.: The character of Frau is especially amusing. She’s a bisexual, semi-shut in with a perverted sense of humor and an impish smile. I found myself relating to her more than I would like to. To return a favor, she wanted a boy to pose naked for her. How many anime guys would I love to see naked, in spite of my Christian values?
P.P.S: Watch out for references to previous semicolon series Steins;Gate and Chaos;HEAd!
Oreshura—This is a harem show. I’ve watched some, but not all, of Tenchi Muyo, so I have some experience with harem anime, but not much. Place bets on your favorite girl; see who is chosen. I thought I’d keep an emotional distance and not pick any girl as the one I hoped would win, but it didn’t work out that way. I was still disappointed in the last episode. The girl our hero, Eita, chooses was at the bottom of my list of the one he should be with. Still, the other girls won’t give up, so that’s some consolation, I suppose. I think I’ll stay away from harem. True, I watched Ai Yori Aoshi, in which every girl loves the hero, but it was clear cut from the start who he loved, so I don’t think that necessarily counts as true harem.
These are the girls in Oreshura:
Masazu: Silver-haired, scheming Masazu has just returned to Japan from Sweden. Somehow she has gotten hold of Eita’s private notebook, and uses it to blackmail him. But there’s more than one side to her.
Chiwa: Short, underdeveloped Chiwa, also known as Chihuahua-chan, grew up with Eita and frequently eats supper with him. She hurt her hip a few years ago, and Eita has vowed to become a doctor so he can heal her.
Hime: A shy girl who believes she was Eita’s lover in a previous life. Eita calls his past self Burning Fighting Fighter; Hime calls herself Burnt Pudding Princess.
Ai: The tsundere of the group. Formerly an evil hall monitor who tried to shut Eita and the girls’ club down, she ends up warming up to them. She claims Eita agreed to marry her when they were toddlers.
There’s also Kaoru, Eita’s best friend, who is gay for him, but that’s just a little aside joke.
It helps if you read the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga before watching this (I didn’t), as there are a lot of references made to it. The show also makes references to a few anime and voice actresses—see the “trivia” section on Anime News Network’s encyclopedia page.
Vividred Operation—Akane Isshiki is the granddaughter of revolutionary scientist Kenjiro Isshiki. He is responsible for the Manifestation Engine, which solved the world’s energy problems and led it into a golden age. But he foresees a threat from alien beings called the Alone. Akane must be the leader of a team of four friends to do what the military can’t and fight the Alone. Along the way, an accident places Kenjiro’s soul into a stuffed otter (yes, you read that right). Also, the girls try to befriend a withdrawn peer named Rei, who unbeknownst to them would like to be their friend, but is being controlled by a crow with glowing eyes, a crow that tells her to help the Alone if she wants her devastated planet to be restored.
This would seem to fall into the “magical girl” genre, but all the girls’ powers are the result of science. That is to say, some kooky, perverted version of science unlike any of the science we know. And to think, it was all invented by Akane’s grandfather! He must be at least a little ecchi, coming up with a system that allows his granddaughter to merge with another girl, the catalyst being a kiss on the forehead. And the transformation scenes are just an excuse to show the girls in their underwear.
At first, I thought this show was stupid, and was glad one night when computer problems prevented me from watching the next episode. “Well, I’m gonna have to call my cousin to come over and fix my computer, but at least I don’t have to watch Vividred Operation!” But the show, emphasizing the power of friendship, won me over in the end. Best line: “Beat it, spokesbird!”
Robotics;Notes—At first, the only reason I watched the show was because it had a semicolon in the title, like Steins;Gate or Chaos;HEAd. I figured it had to be good, although robotics doesn’t excite me. And notes? Musical notes or notes like you take in class? Boring. The summaries of the show didn’t sound exciting, either. High school robotics club works at building a giant, functioning robot. Yawn. I’m going to take this one slow, I thought. I can’t watch three or four episodes at a time like I usually do.
Then there was this conspiracy. A ghostly computer girl. A missing episode of a mecha anime and a missing director, who just happened to be one of the club member’s mother. Kai, the friend of club leader Aki, unlocks more and more secrets. Then the club’s robot collapses, falling on top of a member, nearly crushing him. Meanwhile, a friend of Kai’s marches over a cliff. And why is Aki’s beloved older sister distancing herself from her? I was up to my three or four episodes a night, whatever I could fit in. It was exciting now.
My philosophy was confirmed: If an anime has a semicolon in its title, be sure to watch it!
P.S.: The character of Frau is especially amusing. She’s a bisexual, semi-shut in with a perverted sense of humor and an impish smile. I found myself relating to her more than I would like to. To return a favor, she wanted a boy to pose naked for her. How many anime guys would I love to see naked, in spite of my Christian values?
P.P.S: Watch out for references to previous semicolon series Steins;Gate and Chaos;HEAd!
Oreshura—This is a harem show. I’ve watched some, but not all, of Tenchi Muyo, so I have some experience with harem anime, but not much. Place bets on your favorite girl; see who is chosen. I thought I’d keep an emotional distance and not pick any girl as the one I hoped would win, but it didn’t work out that way. I was still disappointed in the last episode. The girl our hero, Eita, chooses was at the bottom of my list of the one he should be with. Still, the other girls won’t give up, so that’s some consolation, I suppose. I think I’ll stay away from harem. True, I watched Ai Yori Aoshi, in which every girl loves the hero, but it was clear cut from the start who he loved, so I don’t think that necessarily counts as true harem.
These are the girls in Oreshura:
Masazu: Silver-haired, scheming Masazu has just returned to Japan from Sweden. Somehow she has gotten hold of Eita’s private notebook, and uses it to blackmail him. But there’s more than one side to her.
Chiwa: Short, underdeveloped Chiwa, also known as Chihuahua-chan, grew up with Eita and frequently eats supper with him. She hurt her hip a few years ago, and Eita has vowed to become a doctor so he can heal her.
Hime: A shy girl who believes she was Eita’s lover in a previous life. Eita calls his past self Burning Fighting Fighter; Hime calls herself Burnt Pudding Princess.
Ai: The tsundere of the group. Formerly an evil hall monitor who tried to shut Eita and the girls’ club down, she ends up warming up to them. She claims Eita agreed to marry her when they were toddlers.
There’s also Kaoru, Eita’s best friend, who is gay for him, but that’s just a little aside joke.
It helps if you read the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga before watching this (I didn’t), as there are a lot of references made to it. The show also makes references to a few anime and voice actresses—see the “trivia” section on Anime News Network’s encyclopedia page.
Vividred Operation—Akane Isshiki is the granddaughter of revolutionary scientist Kenjiro Isshiki. He is responsible for the Manifestation Engine, which solved the world’s energy problems and led it into a golden age. But he foresees a threat from alien beings called the Alone. Akane must be the leader of a team of four friends to do what the military can’t and fight the Alone. Along the way, an accident places Kenjiro’s soul into a stuffed otter (yes, you read that right). Also, the girls try to befriend a withdrawn peer named Rei, who unbeknownst to them would like to be their friend, but is being controlled by a crow with glowing eyes, a crow that tells her to help the Alone if she wants her devastated planet to be restored.
This would seem to fall into the “magical girl” genre, but all the girls’ powers are the result of science. That is to say, some kooky, perverted version of science unlike any of the science we know. And to think, it was all invented by Akane’s grandfather! He must be at least a little ecchi, coming up with a system that allows his granddaughter to merge with another girl, the catalyst being a kiss on the forehead. And the transformation scenes are just an excuse to show the girls in their underwear.
At first, I thought this show was stupid, and was glad one night when computer problems prevented me from watching the next episode. “Well, I’m gonna have to call my cousin to come over and fix my computer, but at least I don’t have to watch Vividred Operation!” But the show, emphasizing the power of friendship, won me over in the end. Best line: “Beat it, spokesbird!”
