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Jul 11
Sora no Woto [Review]
Note: Strictly opinion based.
I enjoyed Sora no Woto from the beginning. I followed it from episode one, waiting each week for a new episode to be released. Yet, about half-way through, I was led away from the series and didn't go back for a long while. I'm glad that I eventually decided to finish this anime as it was well worth the watch. There's a lot of meaning and power to be found in between the cute and casual scenes.
"I'm sure that there is no meaning in this world... But isn't that great? That means you can find your own." - Felicia
Story
It is a time of war between Helvetia and Rome. The world is decayed and abused. Dolphins and other creatures of the sea have become extinct. Most advanced technology has been lost to the public. And yet there remains hope in the town of Seize. Here the 1121st Platoon of the Helvetian Army is stationed. It is a unit of five lively young women; five maidens. Sorami Kanata is the newest arrival. The story begins with her journey to Seize to become the platoon's bugler. While talented in recognizing sounds her ability to actually play the bugle is rather lacking. Kanata must become a soldier, a member of the 1121st Platoon, find her place, and overcome her inability to play the bugle.
The plot of Sora no Woto (aka Sounds of the Sky) heavily revolves around music, particularly a version of the song "Amazing Grace", yet in such a way that it is discreet. The importance and impact of this element is spread across the twelve episodes in such a way that you don't fully realize it's true necessity in the series until the very end.
The focus of the story is on both the everyday challenges of the five main characters and the raging war that must be stopped. Backgrounds become clear, progress is made, and a twist or two revealed. Overall, it is an interesting and fun story with emphasis on war, teamwork, and overcoming issues big and small.
Characters
I don't remember disliking a single character from this series, aside from the nasty Colonel Hopkins. Simply because he's mean and nasty. As far as realistic personalities go... eh, I dunno. But the characters are lovable and have good hearts but are not entirely flawless either. Rio's past makes her uncharacteristically bitter at one point, which I believe is a sign of depth and personality.
The side characters also add a little spice to the story.
The Five Maidens
- Sorami Kanata is one of the five heroines, a struggling bugler with a happy outlook. However, she doubts herself.
- Heideman Filicia is the oldest and also the 2nd Lt. of the Platoon. Known for her kindness and one of my favorite characters.
- Kazumiya Rio, an experienced soldier and admirable sempai with a past.
- Kannagi Noël is the quiet and sleepy mechanic of the 1121st Platoon. She is more comfortable around machines than she is people. One of the more interesting characters.
- Suminoya Kureha, at first, is a more 'hmph' character. I don't know how else to describe her. Overbearing and rambunctious, perhaps? She takes pride in her line of work.
And then, of course, there is the Roman soldier Aisha Aldola. She brought a smile to my face towards the end of the series. A testament to how war doesn't have to control you; that language barriers and an 'enemy' status can't stop friendship.
Music & Opening/Ending
I absolutely love the opening and ending themes of Sora no Woto. "Hikari no Sensritsu" is the title of the opening done by Kalafina. It holds so much emotion and depth, even if I can't understand the lyrics without looking them up. Simply beautiful. However I didn't really like the opening artwork. I can appreciate it, but am not crazy about it. The ending, "Girls be Ambitious", is full of life and, well, ambition. Unlike the opening I thoroughly enjoyed both watching and listening to it.
The use of the song "Amazing Grace" from beginning to end was clever. It was interesting to see how its importance affected and drove the series.
The soundtrack itself is a mix of soft/calming melodies and epic pieces that make me want to dance. Loving "Ciel Bleu" and the energetic passion put into it. I'd happily listen to some of these songs outside of the anime.
Art
There's something different about how the characters are drawn. I really want to say it's the hair, but I honestly can't be sure of what it is. Either way, I like the style. The characters are cute and drawn proportionately, each with their own structure. The town and landscape was beautiful despite the apocalyptic nature of the world. I'm not sure if 'grungy' is the word I'm looking for, but I feel it had a grungy appeal.
Final note? It's found a place under the "Memorable" category for me. I love the story told from beginning to end and find that the characters are a fun cast. What's more is the history and use of myth. The way the platoon is portrayed as the Maidens that appeared long ago (explained in the anime) is highly intriguing. I loved the first episode, primarily because of the scene with Rio acting as a Maiden during Seize's festival. Absolutely beautiful, as is the entire series. If you've not seen it, I recommend it.Gallery
Jul 10
Kanamemo [Review]
Note: Strictly opinion based.
For me, Kanamemo was a fun anime. It didn't do anything revolutionary, it wasn't deeply touching, nor was there much of a plot. But it was fun! Sometimes it's nice to relax with an anime that can just be enjoyed for the heck of it. Kanamemo was that series. The characters and the scenarios, for the most part, were amusing.
Story
There was a story? Kanamemo begins, without preamble, with Nakamachi Kana's grandmother dieing. Or rather, she's already dead. Kana, being thirteen, is now left without any sort of guardian. And this is where the real 'story' begins. She flees from home, completely avoiding any sort of fostering system Japan might have, and searches for a live-in-job. By the end of episode one Kana has found a job at Fuhshin Shinbun amongst a cast of fun and lively newspaper delivery girls and their scary 'deputy', Amano Saki.
Grasping at straws here, I'd say the story is about growth and friendship. Kana is young, she's without family, and is afraid she is inadequate. She can't even ride a bike. Throughout the series she grows and finds her place. That's giving it a lot of credit, though. In reality the anime is actually about perversion and silly antics mixed in with newspaper delivery. The plot is pretty lacking, but the anime does well to make up for this.
Characters
Who needs a plot when you have this kind of absurd cast? The characters in Kanamemo are what makes the series. They are the plot. Their personality, actions, and reactions were what kept me watching. While each is unique in regard to one another no one personality is anything new to the anime realm. If you're looking for really deep characters I wouldn't look to Kanamemo as the cast is very rarely serious or faced with life altering issues. This reason is why the series is simply something fun to watch. The most devastating part of the anime is the absence of Kana's family. Which, to me, wasn't very devastating at all given the way it was approached.
Nishida Haruka and Amano Saki are probably my favorite characters. Haruka, whom is frequently drunk and has an obsession with cute young girls, really added to the enjoyment of the anime. In the real world I'd most likely avoid that sort of person, but when put into an anime its amusing and acceptable. She tends to grope and touch Kana and Saki (an elementary student) in a completely inappropriate way. I'm not usually a fan of ecchi. However, I find I don't mind how the ecchi-ness was done in Kanamemo. It frequently appeared, mostly when Haruka was around, but it was... tasteful? If even possible. Truly, it could be taken as offensive, given a college student is feeling up young girls, but it's anime. It only seems natural.
The Yuri Couple
Ignoring Haruka, Kanamemo features a Yuri couple. I'm not going to lie, I came across this anime during my search for shoujo-ai series. Kitaoka Yume and Minami Yuuki by no means take the spotlight. But they've got a special place in Kanamemo from the start. I found their relationship to be rather cute, especially with Yuuki being obsessed over her lover. My favorite YumexYuuki scene is when they get a cold together and Yuuki eludes to Yume being exhausted after resting with her. Also, Kujiin Mika seems to have a crush on Kana <3
Is Kanamemo worth the watch? Yes, but only if you're looking for a light and fun comedy/slice-of-life. If you want something deep, powerful, and meaningful... steer clear. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this series. Of course, I tend to accept an anime for what it is, not what I wish it were. Kanamemo is fun.Gallery
Jul 10
Aoi Hana [Review]
Note: Strictly opinion based.
How much did I like Aoi Hana? A lot. I think there is one perfect word to define this anime. And that word is 'beautiful'. I feel that Aoi Hana was a beautiful story from beginning to end. As far as anime go the characters, the story, and the style was very real. For what it was, I loved it.
Story
What was the story here? In a way, it is hard to define. There was no real 'goal', no 'protect the world' objective, no evil threat, or anything of the sort. Aoi Hana is definitely a slice-of-life anime. The story, essentially, is about life, love, friendship, and about the trials of being a teenager. No dramatic anime-style plot was required to make this series great.
The story follows Fumi Manjome, a quiet high school girl that is quick to cry. She just moved back to her hometown after being years away and, by a twist of fate, meets up with her childhood friend, Akira (Achan) Okudaira. Their close friendship is rekindled and together they go through the ups and downs of high school and life. Throughout the story many questions about love and sexual orientation are posed. "Who was your first love?" Above all, the story focuses on the depth of Fumi and Achan's friendship.
All-in-all, the story was lovely. I don't like rating things with numbers or stars, so let's just say 'lovely' is uber awesome.
Characters
I found that the character's had depth and stayed true to their personalities. At the same time they were dynamic. At least Fumi Manjome was. I felt she had grown a little stronger and more true to herself as the story progressed. The way she spoke up to Yasuko Sugimoto and turned her down towards the end was... satisfying, although I quite liked Yasuko. And at the end when she finally realized her first love. That was great.
Other characters made for a fun and interesting cast. I particularly liked Kyoko Ikumi. At first glance I thought she looked devious, like she'd be up to no good throughout the whole series. But Kyoko was one of the nicest, most loving, and open characters. I expected her to despise Fumi, and yet she did not.
Music & Opening/Ending
This is one of the few series I watched the opening theme for every single episode. Usually I'll skip it after the first couple times hearing/watching it. Yet, I loved the opening theme, both the music and the liveliness of it. It, much like the entire series, was beautiful. I looked forward to watching Fumi and Achan dance every time I started a new episode. As for the ending theme, I wasn't so crazy about it. Of course, it was very pretty and enjoyable, but I skipped it after seeing it once.
The music, in general, was very soothing and fitting to the anime. There was always one song that tricked me into thinking it was about to launch into some soft melody from The Legend of Zelda games. While pleasant and pretty I would not care to listen to the soundtrack outside of the anime, aside from the opening theme Aoi Hana.
Art
The style in which Aoi Hana was drawn is the sort of style I love. Realistic, well proportioned, and absolutely beautiful. The scenery, particularly the town, was amazing. There were, however, a couple scenes that had a stillness to them which I did not like. I felt that they needed a bit more movement or life. Otherwise I was extremely pleased with the art and how each character was drawn. Did I mention it was beautiful?
Overall Aoi Hana has become a memorable anime for me. I enjoyed it very much, nearly every aspect of it. The lack of typical anime antics (superhuman speed, chibi moments, crazy-impossible-actions, random nosebleeds, etc) was refreshing. What's more is how love was portrayed in this series. Call me weird, but I find that 'love' is superficial and sickening in that the word is so overused and misused (in my opinion). Fortunately, this series managed to capture a truer essence of love. A certain pure quality. The love between friends especially. I was very pleased to see Yasuko question her 'love' for Fumi, to truly think about it.
Above all else I thought the ending was perfect. I don't even long for a second season, although I'd gladly watch one. But, what more needs to be said? When Fumi finally realized her true first love, as I hoped she would, I became satisfied.Gallery
9:54 AM Jul 30
