Rewrite

Just finished Rewrite.

Length: 70-80 hours

Rating: 7/10

The ninth offering from visual novel giant Key, Rewrite was released in June 2011, with a fan disc called Harvest Festa released in July 2012.  After experiencing the excellence of Little Busters!, I was anxiously awaiting the full translation of this VN. 

Rewrite follows the traditional visual novel route.  There is a common route which branches off (hah, branches off.. sorry, Rewrite humor) into five routes centering on each of the girls.  After completing every character arc, another arc opens up (Moon), followed by the final arc (Terra). 

This is the first Key game where Itarou Hinoue fully took the reigns as project head and lead character designer.  To write the overall story, she enlisted the help of Romeo Tanaka, famous for his work on Cross†Channel.  Ryukishi07 (Higurashi/Umineko no naku Koro ni) and Yuto Tonokawa (Little Busters!) also provided routes.  The breakdown is as follows:

Overall/Kotori/Akane/Moon/Terra: Romeo Tanaka

Chihaya/Shizuru: Yuto Tonokawa

Lucia: Ryukishi07

The story takes place in Kazamatsuri City.  In a world where natural resources are shrinking by the second, Kazamatsuri is an experiment to try and make the world a little more eco-friendly.  Greenery is everywhere, and everything is recycled.  Kotarou has reached a point in his school life where he realizes that he has no close friends.  He's kept everyone at a comfortable distance.  In an effort to improve himself and make some lasting memories, he reforms the now defunct Occult Research Club.  Convincing a few of those around him to join, the club researches strange sightings and incidents in the Kazamatsuri area, which for some reason is rife with UMA (unidentified mysterious animal) sightings .

The problems I had with Rewrite's story really didn't become apparent until Terra.  The common arc is a pretty standard Key slice of life, followed by solid girl arcs.  As far as enjoyment, I loved Shizuru's arc.  I'm such a hopeless romantic, and Tonokawa has a way with writing sweet, uncomplicated stories that can pull on my heartstrings.  Shizuru's arc is heartbreaking and very melancholy, and Shizuru herself is such a sweetheart I couldn't help but love her.  Akane's route is also very well done.  Lucia, and Kotori's routes are great as well.  In my opinion, Chihaya's arc is definitely the weakest.  I had heard Ryukishi07 worked on this game, but I knew for certain about 20% through Lucia's arc that it was him writing the scenario.

Sweetheart.

In any case, by the time I reached about the first third of Terra, everything was getting way too convoluted.  The Terra route itself took me more than 14 hours to read in itself, and it drags on you.  There's so much going and you get a feeling that it was just thrown together at the end and it just didn't work.  I was extremely dissatisfied with the the final arc.  It was such a let-down, and is the determining factor for bringing my score down from an 8.

As I mentioned before, the character designs were by Itarou Hinoue.  While no one can deny that her artwork is unique, I definitely think they should have gone with Na-Ga (Little Busters!) again for this game.  While she's come a LONG way since AIR, Hinoue has a serious problem realizing perspective.  Her sprites look fine, but put anything at a distance, or put two characters together in a still scene and it all goes to hell.  She's still drawing noodle legs!

As expected, Key Sounds Label did another fantastic job with the music for Rewrite.  These games are known for their excellent soundtracks, and this game delivers in spades.  All of the tracks are done well, and I'm sure I'll be listening to this OST far into the future.  The opening songs "Philosophyz" by NanosizeMir and "Rewrite" by Psychic Lover were alright, but I didn't particularly like them.  The ending themes are the true gems of the vocal tracks.  "Love Letter" and "Itsuwaranai Kimi e," both by Nagi Yanagi are enough to get me teary-eyed.  "Watari no Uta" and "Canoe," both by Aoi Tada, are also two great ending songs.

The voice work deserves special mention.  Some big names worked on this VN, including Kitamura Eri (Akane) and Hanazawa Kana (Kagari).  Both give performances we'd expect from these veteran seiyuu.  However, I think the grand prize for voicework goes to Saito Chiwa (Kotori).  Kotori's route is so enjoyable simply because of how Saito voices her.  She has a very expressive voice dynamic, to say the least, and Kotori is such a great character that they mesh very well.

In the end, I would recommend Rewrite, but only as far as the girl arcs and Moon, which are definitely worth a look.  Only completionists should look much further than that.  You may not like the ending.  This was definitely weaker than their last outing, and I hope they bring it up a notch for their next game.

"I'm just one small human.  I did what little I could to live.  That's all."

Strike Witches: The Movie

Just watched Strike Witches: The Movie.
Genre: Action, Ecchi, Military
Rating: 7/10

Warning: Strike Witches 2 spoilers ahead.

The Strike Witches movie takes place a bit after the events of the second season.  Miyafuji has returned to Fuso and is studying to become a doctor.  Of course, the war against the Neuroi is far from over, and once again Miyafuji gets mixed in with the members of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing as they single-handedly tackle the threat.  Even without her magic, Miyafuji is determined to help out by doing things her own way.

The most notable new character is Hattori Shizuka, who acts as the "new guy" in the series.  Her personality is similar to that of Sakamoto, but much younger and inexperienced.  Her character helps introduce new viewers to a bit of the Strike Witches universe, and serves as the rule-touter in place of Sakamoto, who is absent for most of the movie.  Another new character, Heidemarie W. Schnaufer, serves as a Karsland night fighter.  Being that I have a soft spot for the radar-using witches (see: Sanya), I liked Heidemarie a lot.

I was hoping there would be some expansion on the lore of the Strike Witches universe, and we got a little bit of a glimpse of other units and their witches.  We were able to see some of the Romagnan and Orussian units, but once again the Liberian units are pretty much nonexistant.  Surely Yeager isn't the only notable Liberian!  We had plenty of aces!  What about the rest of the 357th?

The story for the Strike Witches movie is nothing new to anime movies.  That is to say, it's pretty cliche and follows the same formula that any action movie made in Japan has followed for the past umpteen billion years.  But, that's not to say that it was a bad movie at all.  The animation is very nice and there's a lot of small details that were very enjoyable.  I really liked the scene where Barkhorn changed out the barrels on her MG-42s.  There's even a scene depicting a Tiger platoon!  The air combat is very entertaining, though I wouldn't put it on the same level as the Nanoha movie.

"Detecting strong yuri waves coming in from 11 o'clock."

Going into this movie you should have an idea of what Strike Witches is like, but if not, expect lots of panty and ass fanservice.  This is the famous "girls without pants" anime, after all.  Also, you don't even need to be wearing goggles to see the yuri overtones in this one.  I expected Perrine to climax and fall out of the sky when Sakamoto finally showed up.

I find it interesting that the Japanese include the battleship Yamato in so much of their fiction.  Even in Strike Witches, which centers primarily on WWII flying aces, the Yamato plays a role in every season, including this movie.  There's no doubt that the Yamato-class represented the most powerful and massive battleships ever developed.  However, the service records of the vessels are nothing more than footnotes in history.  Their contribution to the Japanese war effort was minimal, and each of the two operational ships, Yamato and Musashi, were sunk by American aircraft.

In conclusion, I would recommend anyone who likes action anime to check out the Strike Witches movie.  It'd certainly help to watch the series first, though, since the movie doesn't provide much backstory other than "these are the witches, these are the bad guys."  If you liked this movie I'd definitely recommend the Nanoha movie (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie FIRST).  With that movie, though, it isn't necessary to have knowledge of the Nanoha universe.  You can jump right in!

Cross†Channel

Just finished Cross†Channel.

Genre: Eroge, Post-Apocalyptic, Psychological

Length: 20-30 hours

I give it an 8/10.  Cross†Channel is an eroge by Flying Shine, written by Romeo Tanaka.  The game was released on PC in 2003, with a PS2 edition in 2004.  A PSP version was released in 2010, followed by an Xbox 360 version in 2011.  I had read a lot of praise about this game, and was lucky enough to find it at a used game store in Akihabara that I just happened to stumble across the last time I was there.  At ¥7,800, the game isn't cheap even today, but I'm glad I picked it up.

Actually, allow me to digress a little and share a story.  I walked into the store and asked the guy at the counter about the game.  He didn't understand me so I asked for some paper and a pencil.  On the paper I drew the stylized logo from the box and showed him.  His face lit up and immediately led me into the bowels of the store, where they had a single copy of the game.  He said "Ahh.. Japanese PC only.."  I laughed and assured him that it was okay.  Those of us that read these things have ways around that, obviously.

Anyway, on to the review.

Cross†Channel takes place in a city where only eight people live.  After an ill-fated weekend camping trip in the mountains, Taichi (our hero), and the other members of the radio broadcasting club return to an empty city.  The streets, stores, and homes are absent, yet lack any evidence of conflict or panic.  The people have simply disappeared.  The characters must come to terms with the fact that the world has essentially ended.  To some, this is a crushing reality, but to Taichi, it's like his dreams have come true.  With no responsibility and no one to reign him in, he's free to do whatever he desires.  The bulk of the game occurs at Gunjou Institute, which Taichi and the club members attend.  The Institute is a high school for young people who are unable to adapt to life in normal society, due to physical or mental problems.

Best girl.

Reading Cross†Channel was extremely enjoyable.  The author has such a way with words that many  scenes in the game are immensely thought-provoking.  Settings are enriched by the vivid flow of a colorful (if somewhat unusual) use of language.   Human social interactions are the main focus of this game.  The main character, Taichi, is a severely unsettled individual.  Due to trauma experienced when he was a child, Taichi completely closed his heart.  Putting up a wall around himself, he quickly finds that he's very adept at manipulating people by simply reacting to others.  He lives only to satisfy his selfish, shallow desires.  He toys with the emotions of those around him and uses them for his own amusement.  This cycle leaves him completely empty and his self-loathing becomes so intense that finally he reaches a breaking point.  In a devastated world of only eight people, Taichi becomes aware of the necessity of human relationships, and struggles desperately to repair the void he's left between himself and his classmates.

The artwork and OST in Cross†Channel are very lackluster, in my opinion.  However, the characters are extremely complex.  I loved this game because its characters are so well-written.  While each member of Gunjou Institute is unbalanced in some way, they're very human.

Cross†Channel was an extremely confusing game to complete for me.  Instead of having girls that you pursue, the game follows a mostly linear plot (getting the girls along the way), but you must make exact choices or you'll be stuck forever in a loop at week three, and there wasn't any feeling of "I should choose this," while playing the game.  The correct answers seem completely random.  Because of this, I would say that a walkthrough is required for this game.  Also, the "skip" function skips unread text as well as already read text.  This is infuriating when you're trying to repeat certain parts of the game.

This is an eroge and definitely not for all ages.  Some of the situations are downright disturbing, going to show just how base of a creature Taichi can be.  Though I suppose you could use the skip function to get past the H scenes, there's no way to skip them outright.  If you're not into that, or can't ignore it, be warned.

"I don't mind caring about people for my own sake.  So that tomorrow, I can become just a little bit better.  I still have friends.  To build up a relationship is also to cover the heart in wounds.  It's a painful thing, not beautiful at all.  I thought that people needed other people.  That is why.. I believe there are still people somewhere listening to this broadcast." 

Nekomonogatari/Porco Rosso

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been playing the heroine routes in Rewrite.  After finishing them all, I can't wait for the next (and last) patch from Amaterasu Translations.  I can't comment too much on the game, since the wrap-up tends to completely change the reader's perception.  But once it's done, I'll have a full write-up!  ❤Shizuru!

I recently finished Nekomonogatari!
Genre: Supernatural, Psychological, Comedy

I give it a 7/10.  Nekomonogatari is the prequel to SHAFT's acclaimed anime Bakemonogatari.  This four episode anime contains the events surrounding Hanekawa shortly before the beginning of the first season, to be specific, the Black Hanekawa incident.

Story:  Anyone familiar with the previous Bake- and Nisemonogatari anime will find the story a welcome addition to the wordy series.  After all, Araragi and Hanekawa were hinted at having some kind of prior relationship way back during Bakemonogatari.  We knew the basics of what happened, but the backstory is finally revealed.  This series stays true to its siblings, in that the story is presented almost exhaustively with long, and sometimes extremely tedious, dialogue.  Some thought-provoking points are offered, but for the sake of brevity, this anime could have been cut in half and still presented the same amount of information.  Nekomonogatari and Nisemonogatari could almost be considered to be polar opposites, story-wise, and a theme of "family" (among others) rings fairly loudly with both of them, so perhaps it's appropriate that this anime followed Nise-.

Animation:  SHAFT again brings their style of animation to this series.  While the actual animation is very nice, there are sometimes minutes between any real movement outside of mouths and blinking.  Much of the content of this anime is contained in still shots which house the immense amount of dialogue this series feels the need to present.  The animation is interesting and almost always over-the-top, making me think of an animated live-action play.  There's much homage to other anime styles spliced in there as well, and you'll see the design and animation change often to accentuate a scene.

It's "SYMBOLISM!"

There's a lot of fanservice in this show, which is fine and all, but let's not overanalyze it.  Black Hanekawa walks around almost naked, which "refined gentlemen" of the fanbase might argue is a symbol of her naked feelings or something.  But let's face it, it's fanservice.  Something has to make those blocks of dialogue easier to swallow, and a sexy catgirl wearing black low-rise panties definitely helps.

Characters:  The characters for this series are complex and believable.  Hanekawa, being the focus of Nekomonogatari, gets the most attention, and it's refreshing to see her as more than just a perfect class rep.  What I enjoyed most was a conversation between Araragi and his sisters about love.  Tsukihi, his girly sister, carries on a 10 minute conversation with him debating what is and isn't love.  Karen, definitely the least girly of the sisters, sums it up in a couple of sentences, resulting in a hearty laugh from myself.

Also, there's a great Shinobu moment!  Queen of loli vampires.

I would recommend Nekomonogatari to anyone who enjoys this series.  Since this is a prequel, I would say that it's safe to watch this first, but you'll definitely miss some of the symbology that will be obvious after watching Nisemonogatari.  Also, you'll completely in the dark on the relationship between Araragi, Oshino, and Shinobu, and the backstory about what Araragi actually is.  Actually, do yourself a favor and just watch it starting with Bakemonogatari.

I also finished Porco Rosso.
Genre:  Adventure, Historical, Romance, Comedy

I give it a 9/10.  Porco Rosso follows the adventures of a WWI seaplane ace-turned mercenary in the Adriatic during the 1930s.

Story: Porco flies his custom seaplane as a mercenary, often the bane of the local air pirates.  Porco has enraged them to such a point that they hire Curtiss, an ace seaplane mercenary from America, to bring Porco down.  Though the story certainly isn't groundbreaking, and there aren't any complex, unexpected plot twists, Porco Rosso does what so many Ghibli films does so well: tell a simple, endearing story with a little magic that all ages can enjoy.

Animation:  If you're a fan of aviation or animation in general, this movie is a must-see.  Being a Ghibli film from 1992, you'll get the very best that cel animation can offer.  Every acrobatic maneuver, every background character, has a movement and a uniqueness all their own.  No expense is spared, and Porco Rosso still stands up to scrutiny to this day.  Some of the animated scenes are really amazing, especially the duels between Porco and Curtiss. 

Characters:  Ghibli always has an excellent cast of characters.  The main character and focus, Porco is the vision of a grizzled, wizened ace pilot whose finest hour has long past.  The times are changing, and he remains unchanged.  At some point his legend must end.  Curtiss is a young upstart who is determined to make a name for himself, but despite him being "the bad guy," it's impossible to really hate him.  He's pretty much the embodiment of what you'd expect from a young pilot.

Soundtrack:  The soundtrack is great.  It really brings the setting to life.  It definitely has a feel that fits the timeline very well.

I would recommend Porco Rosso to anyone.  This is truly a movie anyone can enjoy.