Mirai Nikki / Future Diaries

Title: Mirai Nikki / Future Diaries

Episodes: 26 (complete)

Released: Oct 9, 2011

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama, Highschool, Thriller

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So this is one anime I use to show people how good the entire anime genre can be. I don't say this lightly. There are a handful of anime that have really stood out in my time and few have made me love, and hate the same people as often as Mirai Nikki did. If I had to sum it up, it'd be an underrated masterpiece. The sadistic story, the sudden plot twists and the expendable characters all make for an addictive watch. You won't need to force yourself to watch a few episodes to get into the swing of it.

The plot revolves around a young boy called Yuki, who is by all means, average. Until one day, his diary in his phone, starts generating entries ahead of time. Before long, the viewer is introduced to other diary owners, who all are getting future diary entries. The plot comes thick and fast as the entire thing devolves into alternating between an intriguing story and a bloody battle royal. Fans of fast paced action will feel right at home, and you'll be stuck guessing right up until the end how it all goes down.

While the story is amazing, and the action incredible, there is one place I found mildly lacklustre. Mirai Nikki's ending leans heavily to the paranormal towards the end. This intensely satisfying depiction of a battle between ugly humans in an imperfect world is derailed by the ending being, for me, a little too magical. While the unexplained definitely has a place, I feel the show used it as a crutch to carry it towards what could have been a mindblowing ending. Still though, 9/10 for me. 

Telek Reviews - Suisei no Gargantia

Title: Suisei no Gargantia 

Episodes: 10 (so far)

Released: April 7, 2013

Genre: Scifi, Action, Drama

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Suisei no Gargantia is promising. Possibly the most promising anime I've seen in a while. The beginning of the storyline drops you right in the heat of a conflict between humanity and an alien race. At a glance it's interesting but you know it's been done countless times before in SciFi. What sets this apart is that the plot segways back to primitive earth. The idea of a super power in primitive times is similiar to Hellsing where the lead character has unlimited destructive power and it's only artificial constraints holding him back.

While the series is still relatively fresh, the quality is amazing. High definition artwork, in a scifi setting can be mindblowing and that's exactly what Suisei no Gargantia is going for. While the depicted architecture is impractical and cumbersome, the artists really capture that sense of a long lost human race that has branched off. In some ways it's a vanilla "outsider adapts to new community" show but there's the real potential for an amazing plotline and character development.

One of the unique twists I found in this series was the dialogue. As our lead is from a very different branch of humanity, you would expect him not to speak the same language as the remaining humans. And he doesn't. The subbers over at Commie Subs do a fantastic job of keeping it feeling the same way it sounds. The basis is that when a person from a different viewpoint to the person your watching speaks, it is portrayed to the viewer as gibberish. This leads to some awesome miscommunications and some amazing thought provoking situations you can really relate to. My favourite being where the lead character kidnaps a girl for negotiation and his translator lets him know the girl has mentioned the sanctity of excrement and commented on his mothers sexual preferences. 

In summary, this show is leading us down one of two paths. I feel it will either be the best next gen anime or a huge disappointment. Either way I'm looking forward to where it takes us in the immediate future.

Telek Review: Dennō Coil

Title: Dennō Coil

Episodes: 28

Released: May 12, 2007 

Genre: Scifi, Drama, High School

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Trivia:

• Written and directed by one of the lead artists (Mitsuo Iso) on Anime such as: Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Perfect Blue and Ghost in the Shell.
• Japan Media Arts Festival awarded it an "Excellence Prize" along with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in 2007.
• The lead voice actor for Yuko (Fumiko Orikasa)  also voices Rukia Kuchiki from a little known anime called Bleach.

I don't quite know how to how to describe Dennou coil to the uninitiated. I first saw it at an SupaNova in Perth (screening in one of the theaters at the showgrounds). It was hot as hell and I sat down in one of the shitty plastic seats and was instantly captivated.

This show is unlike any other, in the same way Stein's Gate is unique and beautiful. The story follows a young girl called Yuko in the very near future. A technology not unlike google glass (augmented reality) has allowed children to interact with the world around them in unique ways. This covers everything from owning Tamagotchi like pets, to casting code based spells.

I usually dedicate a paragraph to how I feel the art style works in an anime. Dennou Coil has the luxury of being totally unique. The art style is solid for an Anime, but where it really shines is the glitch art. If you don't know what that is - check it out here. Glitch art is where an image has been manipulated to look like it's broken and it translates perfectly for a show based on an augmented reality.

The show features a host of loveable characters (for me a tossup between Yuko's younger sister who points at everything and shouts "POOP" and Yuko's grandmather called, fittingly, megagranny who makes a living off of selling illegal cyber-goods to midschoolers). They seem real, tangible and funny all at the same time. Though the show does touch on a few more serious issues like death, caring for sick loved ones, revenge, losing friends - it doesn't dwell on them.

If I had to describe watching Dennou Coil, I'd have to say it's like the difference between eating Cadbury and Lindt chocolate. Cadbury is good, but Lindt has layers of softness, sweetness and subtlety that you didn't even know you were missing out on until you had it. This makes it one of the better ones to introduce non-hardcore fans of Anime to, as it's a delightful show that doesn't cease to amaze in depth of character or animation style. 

This is one of the few shows I plan on watching again.

Telek Review: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Manga cover

Title: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Released: October 2012

Episodes: 25

Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Adventure, Drama

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The story centers around this Trio

For anyone that actually checks out previews (retrospectively, while doing research for this review, I have) - this show lives up to everything it promises. The amazingly fluid animation that translates so well into combat, the immersive storytelling and the amazing characters make this an already good watch.
For me, this series has a lot in common with Full Metal Alchemist (FMA). It tackles an adult's world with pure ideals (Elric anyone?) and delivers exceptionally on every front.

All the major players in the first season

I fell in love with the art almost instantly. I looked around for pictures of this on the net and they come across as unnecessarily effeminate (seriously, these were the most hardcore ones, the others are here). Stills of the anime translate poorly and it's really only in combat that the style shines - again reminiscent of FMA where the action scenes were AWESOME.

The introduction to the world and history is seamless and there's none of the shonky - explain-the-way-this-ability-works charts that have become all too familiar with Naruto. I love the way they feed you little bits at a time and you piece the clues together like a depraved story hungry nerd.

The story follows a young magi by the name of Aladdin. He uses his flying carpet and genie to assist his friends. Slowly he meets new friends (many of which are named after other famous heroes from 1000 nights) on his journey that help reveal the purpose of these ancient "Dungeons" and Aladdin's role among the new world. 

The slow immersion of the series is one of the things I really appreciated, and I think explaining too much would damage that process. 

All in all, I found this a very exciting watch. I think that if you warmed up to FMA easily, this is the Anime for you. I believe this series will only grow in popularity as more and more people want to see how our young Aladdin fairs at turning the tides of evil back.

Chris Reviews - Binbougami ga!

Title: Binbougami ga!

Episodes: 13

Released: July 2012

Genre: Comedy, Slapstick, Violence, Drama

Official Intro

Fan-Made AMV

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Now here is an anime that is almost never talked about, unfortunately so, because it is actualy a very enjoyable watch. The story begins with a young woman by the name of Sakura Ichiko, who just so happens to have un-natural levels of good fortune, so much so that it is upsetting the balance of fortune, and she is unintentionaly sucking all the good fortune from people around her.

This brings me to the second character, the antagonist of the series, a god of misfortune called Binbada Momiji, she has been sent to earth to restore the balance of furtune, by forcibly withdrawing Sakura's fortune. With a giant needle of all things. And so begins the fight to the death between Sakura and Binbada!

MOORTAL COMBAAT!

Not really, but it might as well have been, they have the typical over the top brawls that would outright kill a normal person, but hey, anime.

Surprisingly enough this action and comedy is occasionally broken up by some pretty serious stuff, mostly for plot and character development, but it is very well done, unfortunately these scenes are few and far between, it could have really used more.

Hang on, I thought this was a comedy...

Luckily the series knows what it wants to be, it is a comedy at heart and it nails it. It introduces some extra characters pretty early on including a perverted holy man, and a masochistic dog god. The interactions between these two are great.

There are a lot of references and parodies of other anime, including some of the greats like Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Naruto. I guarantee you the one piece one will at the very least put a giant grin on your face.

Ah, there's my comedy :D

Being only 12 episodes, this is a perfect weekend show, the dedicated can get through it in one sitting. I definitely recommend giving it a shot, it was one of the ones that surprised me, I went into it with low expectations and even the first episode had me hooked, it is actually pretty damn good.

Take a look at the Official Intro and the fan-made AMV I linked above if you are interested, I believe AMV's can give a good impression of what to expect from a series so I will try to find good ones where possible. This one is definitely not bad.

In summary, a very impressive and well done comedy, I enjoyed it greatly.