Aria the Animation

Finished re-watching Aria the Animation.

I give it an 8/10.  I recently ordered the whole Aria trilogy on DVD from Right Stuf.  I got them all in from Amazon last week and I've been watching them.  Being that Aria the Origination is one of my top five favorite anime of all time, with the Aria trilogy probably being my favorite anime saga, I could no longer rely on my old, shitty .avi TV rips from 2005.  I had to step it up.  Although I'm not a fan of 4:3, this was the norm back then, and it can't be helped.  Still, the DVD versions are much cleaner.  I probably won't have any new anime to review for a while, so I'll review one of my favorites for you guys.

Story: Set on Mars (now called Aqua) in the distant future, Aria is the story of a girl, Akari, who is training to become an undine (gondolier) in the city of Neo-Venezia.  Akari is an employee of Aria Company, under the tutelage of the only other employee, the "Great Water Fairy" Alicia.  Alicia has a very laid-back and friendly approach to training.

Classy Ladies.

What I like about the story in Aria is that it's not over the top.  There's no fighting to speak of, hell there really isn't even any action.  Nearly every episode is about Akari and her friends struggling to become gondoliers, and along the way finding the little heartwarming moments that make an ordinary person's life magical ("No sappy lines allowed!!" ~Aika).  People in the future are no different from those living today.  They have the same worries as we do, the same troubles.  Being that Akari is such a positive, kind person, the everyday story makes it possible to see the world through her eyes, and it has a surprisingly warm effect.  The show has a good-natured humor that's very soothing.

Another thing I liked about the story is that we only see a small portion of Aqua, and much is left to the imagination.  Considered a paradise in the future, we see little hints dropped here and there that Aqua was a hell of a problem for people who terraformed it in the past.  Some episodes reflect on the blood, sweat, and tears that went into their paradise world.  Also, we're left to wonder what's happened to Earth (now called Manhome).  We get hints that something has changed it permanently, and it's unclear whether or not it's for the good.  At one point a tourist says something to the effect of "There are no gardens on Manhome."  I liked this ambiguous aspect of the details, because it promotes speculation.

Animation: Aria is animated very well for the time period.  I liked the character designs, which are very conservative.  There's no fanservice in this show to speak of, all of the characters are high-class ladies.  The settings, backdrops, and architecture in the anime are simply stunning, and add a lot to the atmosphere.  Some of the settings were story centerpieces, and all of them work very well.  There's a nice mix of old Venice and a few high-tech installations to remind you it's the future (a giant weather-generating island in the sky), and they mesh very well to bring Neo-Venezia to life.

Characters:  The characters in Aria are all wholesome individuals.  There's no treachery underfoot or bodies being discovered in the alleys.   The characters are simple, normal people.  This is one of the things I love about Aria.  You won't find anyone with super powers, insane killers, teen mecha pilots (well one guy drives an airspeeder and delivers packages..), mutants, or Gods.  Everyone has a believable character which is easy to relate to, and thus it's easier to get into the story.  The most strange characters you'll see are the cats.  You'll understand when you get there.

Voice Acting:  The voice work in Aria is good.  There aren't any scenes that get hammed-up, so there really isn't much to mention.  All of the cast give a good performance. 

Soundtrack:  Without a doubt my favorite album for any genre, including "normal" music.  The soundtrack is phenomenal.  Takeshi Senoo and Choro Club's score is something that has to be experienced, and fits so well with the anime that nothing else even comes close.  The addition of this wonderful music makes everyday moments in the anime especially moving, to the point of tears in some cases.  Eui Makino sings the opening song "Undine" and Round Table featuring Nino sings the ending song "Rainbow."  Both are great.  The song posted is a good example of the high standard that this anime has in the score department.  The song gets even better when Athena sings it in the second season.  Kawai Eri, who gives her singing voice to Athena, deserves special mention.  Such an amazing voice.

In the end, I would recommend Aria the Animation to anyone who likes slice of life anime.  The younger crowd might not like Aria because of its slow pace, but I found it charming.  If you liked Aria then you'd probably like Sketchbook ~full colors~. The atmosphere is similar, but Sketchbook isn't even on the same level.  You may also like Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, another slice of life in a "classic" setting which has a fantastic soundtrack.  I can't wait to get to Origination!

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka OF THE DEAD / Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai OVA

Wow, been a while since I last updated, been playing a lot of Dark Souls and watching the current anime season, so I haven't been watching a lot of stuff that can be completed quickly.  While we're on the subject of this season, I'd suggest checking out Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, Girls und Panzer, and Little Busters!  Anyway.

Recently finished Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD.

I give it a 5/10.  This is the second season of the Kore wa Zombie series, and continues the story where the first season left off.  Again, our zombie hero Ayumu fights off evil as a "masou shoujo," leading to a bunch of crossdressing jokes and LOL misunderstandings by his classmates, all the while surrounded by his growing harem of beautiful girls from the underworld.

Story:  There really isn't much of a story going on in the second season.  Every episode is filler.  The story wanders and before you know it, the final bad guy shows up but isn't confronted, leaving the show open for another season.  You'd think the show would end in a showdown, but ends up in a completely different direction and it's just a mess.  Kore wa Zombie was never something that would be applauded for its gripping, logical storyline, but this season took it a bit too far.  There isn't any point to it other than fanservice and jokes.  I was pretty much watching every episode just to get to the short Eu scenes after the credit roll.

Animation:  Like the first season, OF THE DEAD is animated by Studio DEEN.  It didn't hit me until I saw Kyouko's crazyface, which looks exactly like Sonozaki Shion's from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.  With DEEN, you shouldn't expect anything breathtaking, and OF THE DEAD is no exception.  The animation is pretty sloppy and is only barely passable.

Characters:  OF THE DEAD's characters run the gamut from necromancer to zombie to vampire ninja.  There's a huge female cast and there's at least a couple characters that anyone watching the show would enjoy.  One of the reasons I kept watching was because I liked specific characters more than I liked the storyline.  To say that Kore wa Zombie is character driven is an understatement.

SHE KNOWS.

Voice Acting:  The acting in this show is pretty good.

Soundtrack:  The score is okay, but nothing to get excited over.  The OP "*** Passionate" by Nomizu Iori (Haruna) and ED "Koi no Beginner Nan Desu (T_T)" by Yamaguchi Rie (Taeko) are both awesome, and their single albums are pretty good.  I really enjoyed their singles from the first season, which I still prefer to these, but they're both very catchy.

I would recommend Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD to anyone who saw and enjoyed the first season and doesn't mind fully character-driven anime.  I'd also recommend it to anyone who likes breast fanservice or masochists (Saraphim got a LOT of screen time, it seemed).  Personally, I stayed for Eu and Sarasvati, so take what you will from that.  If you liked this anime you'd probably like Highschool of the Dead, another zombie anime that focuses on action and a lot of fanservice.

I also finished the Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai OVA.

I give it a 7/10.  This is the 13th episode of the anime, and I think this episode shipped with the blu-rays or something.  The Neighbor's Club is at it again, and a bunch of outcasts that have difficulty making friends with normal people somehow form a semblance of a relationship with each other.

Story:  From what I can tell (I haven't read the light novel), this episode follows an unaired chapter from the manga.  The characters create a "relay novel," that is, a short story where everyone takes turns writing a story.  After one page, the author switches to the next character, and so on.  Based on what we know of the character's personalities, we know that this can't end well, but it'll end up funny for sure, and it is.  This was one of my favorite chapters from the manga, so I was glad to see it animated.  It fits well as an OVA and doesn't interfere with the rest of the story.

Poor Meat.

Animation:  AIC did a good job animating this show, but there's something that bugs me about it.  I think the outlines are done a bit heavy, but that's just personal preference.  I love the detail they put into lips, you don't see that often.  The colors are vibrant and every episode of this show is a visual treat.  Being that this is an OVA, you'd think that there would be more put into it as far as animation, but I didn't notice a difference between this and the TV series.

Characters:  I like all of the characters in this show.  None of them can relate to a normal person by any means.  In their efforts to find someone to share their lives with, they find each other.  I especially like Yozora and Sena, although I doubt Yozora and Meat will ever be candid enough with each other that they'd outwardly admit that they're slowly becoming close friends.

Meat confirmed for foot fetish.  Why is it always FEET?

Voice Acting:  The voice acting is pretty standard overall, but Rika's seiyuu, Fuken Misato, is amazing.  I don't know how she does her scenes without passing out.  Her nonsensical, frantically escalating description of Gundam doujins is... something that has to be seen and heard.  How did she voice Yin from Darker than Black?  It's totally different!  Also, a personal favorite, Hanazawa Kana, returns as Kodaka's chuuni little sister Kobato.

Soundtrack:  The soundtrack is decent.  The OP and ED are both annoying, but somehow grow on you, especially the OP "Zannenkei Rinjinbu (Hoshi Futatsu Han)."  Both it and the ED "Kimi wa Tomodachi" are sung by the cast members.

I would recommend Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai to anyone who likes comedies.  There's a LOT of video game, eroge, and anime references in this show too, so if you like that kind of stuff you'd like this anime for sure.  If you like this anime I'd recommend Seitokai no Ichizon, which has the same feel.