[Anime] Spring Impressions: Sket Dance Ep. 1

When there’s trouble who do you call? At you would resort to the Academy Activity Support club, also known as the “Sket-dan”. This peculiar club consists of three members, Himeko, a girl with the ability to kick anyone’s butt, Switch, a guy who communicates via his laptop at all times using a speech synthesis software, and Bossun, the eccentric, over-achieving leader of the group. Sket-dan helps around the school from cleaning duties to uncovering mysteries. This unusual group of students takes their job so serious that even getting lunch is a life and death matter.

In this first episode of Sket Dance, the club tries to figure out who is dropping red paint onto innocent students. I find it odd that throughout the episode the story is not told through the eyes of any of the protagonist but rather Sugihara Teppei’s perspective. Teppei is a transfer student who gets roped into Sket-dan’s shenanigans for no reason at all. Even so, compared to Bossum, Himeko and Switch, Teppei is clearly a secondary character.

Wild personalities combined are what embody this series and I like it. It reminds me a lot of the SOS Brigade from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, only this anime is based on a less-fantastic world with some occasional "4th wall breaking". The three main characters have a dynamic that draws attention like moths to a flame. The animation is lively and entertaining and the vehicle used to tell the plot is so original you can not help but wonder what will be done in the next episode. Plus, Bossum was added to my “Want to Cosplay” list. Where can I get a hat like that?

Episode 1: The Academy SKETsSummary: Teppei just transferred into Kaimei Academy, and he's pressured to join the Sket-dan by his classmate, Bossun. Then, one day, Teppei is attacked by a mysterious masked paint chucker, "Paint Mask"!Company: TV TokyoRun Time: 24:20

Watch on CrunchyRoll: Here

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

Originally Posted on Anime Vice.com

[Anime] Spring Impressions: A Bridge to Starry Sky - Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi Ep. 1

That's a lot of Girls

Harems is not an anime genre I usually explore, which is why I am unsure if Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi can even be considered a harem with two male protagonists. Hoshino Kazuma and his younger brother Ayumu moved to the countryside for health reasons. They are staying at the Yorozuyo Inn where Yorozu Senka, the landlady, is in charge of their living arrangements. Kazuma and Ayuma's relationship is endearing especially since Kazuma is very protective of his younger brother. That's one of the aspects I enjoyed the most.

The main focus of this first episode is on Kazuma’s misfortune as nothing seems to work in his favor on the first day living at inn. He gets lost in the forest, he falls in the lake, gets accused of being a pervert, gets kicked in the face and what is a harem without the occasional “accidental” kiss?

Kazuma and Ayumu start school the next day and Kazuma is getting a few surprises on his first day. Like Hanasaku Iroha it seems like this anime is one of those stories that will be about the main character’s day-to-day life in a new environment. Unlike Hanasaku Iroha though, Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi fails to get me to care for these characters. Probably because there is so little interaction from such a large cast. I will continue watching this through since there were a lot of girls-- I mean characters, in the opening theme that were not introduced in this first episode…

Episode 1: If it's a Bear, Then it's OverSummary: Kazuma Hoshino moves to the beautiful countryside to take care of his little brother, Ayumu Hoshino. They ended up staying in a Japanese Inn that their father knows but not being accustomed to the streets of the countryside, they get lost on their way to the Japanese Inn. Moreover, Kazuma gets into a bit of mischief in the mountains...Being in an unfamiliar place, a woman appears before him.
Company: Marvelous Entertainment
Run Time: 24:59

Watch on Crunchy Roll: Here

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

Originally posted on Anime Vice.com

[Anime] Spring Impressions: Battle Girls - Time Paradox Ep. 1

Strictly speaking of the anime I have seen so far, Battle Girls seems to be the blatant fan-service provider for this anime season. The plot of the anime stands as a Magical Girl genre combined with a shounen-like pace. Hideyoshi is a girl who has the attention span of a pea and because of this she is failing at school. She decides to work harder in order to avoid summer classes but she steers clear of conventional methods like studying. When passing by a temple she decides to leave it to the gods and luck to pass the tests, but her clumsiness creates an awkward situation for her when she sees a woman inside the temple.

It seems like Hideyoshi is the type of character who was intended to be moe. Yet her laziness and clumsiness makes her, rather than moe, annoying. At the temple she witnesses some kind of ritual going on and her misstep sends her into the past. There she meets female historical figures that, according to her text books, are originally male. One of them even looks exactly like her friend Akerin. Believing they are cosplayers and failing to realize the time period she is in, Hideyoshi takes her present situation very lightly.

Oda Nobunaga, a war general, finds Hideyoshi interesting which is why she continues to provide sanctuary for her. What I fail to understand is why a 1500s war general would find such an oblivious girl fascinating? While I did like the opening sequence, the animation was unsuccessful at making an impression. It failed to hook my interest right away and I was not all that interested in this anime to begin with. Yet I want to continue watching because this episode had one of the best “What the--?” cliffhangers I have ever seen and I am a sucker for a good cliffhanger.

Episode 1: A Maiden TeleportedSummary: The Present Day. There's a middle school girl named Hideyoshino who loves fashion and cell phones. Her nickname at school is "Hideyoshi." Just before her exams, she realizes that her only hope is divine intervention, and goes to a shrine. There she is whisked away by a mysterious light...The next thing she knows, she is surrounded by female bandits who proceed to attack her! She is saved by a general with a gigantic sword. The general calls herself Oda Nobunaga...
Company: TV Tokyo
Run Time: 23:54

Watch on Crunchy Roll: Here

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

Anime and Manga Quick Picks - 05/17/11 & 05/24/11

Ghost on the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Vol. 1

Two weeks worth of anime and manga to cover so let's get started. Negima!'s 29th volume was released last week where Negi and friends head to a ball. If stereotypical magician fairy tale stories aren't enough for you then get this, the ball could mean a trap for Negi. I'm sure his harem cast won't stand for their beloved teacher to be captured. Kodnosha Comics is also releasing the first volume of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. "When a high-ranking government official is kidnapped, the Prime Minister must call in his top crime fighting force known as Section 9." The real mission is finding out who is behind the kidnapping and what are they after. Besides all of the magic and secret agent action we have an role-playing themed book out this week. King of RPGs' second volume is out this week and this New York Bestseller Series seem to know its RPG world very well.

Soul Eater

Going back to 1986, Project A-Ko was released last week on DVD. "It's the not-too-distant future, and a metropolis flourishes in the crash site of an alien spacecraft. A-ko, a teenager growing up in this city, enjoys the life of an ordinary schoolgirl... along with incredible superhuman strength! But her carefree days are numbered. Her school rival, B-ko, is not content to live in the shadows any longer. A-ko's superpowers and good fashion sense may not be a match for B-ko's evil genius and Mega-Powered Fighting Robots of Doom!".

FUNimation is dominant this week with the release of two great anime series. One of them is Samurai Champloo, the story about a reckless sword-slinger, a deadbeat ronin and a ditzy waitress who team together to get to the sunflower samurai. The problem is there are 99 ways to die between them and the scent they are following. Speaking of weird things, Parts one and two of Soul Eater have been compiled for you to buy in your choice of Blu-Ray or DVD.

You have two weeks of stuff to choose. What are your picks?

Full Release List

Hosada's Wars: Summer Wars VS Digimon: Our War Game

Mamoru Hosoda's latest anime masterwork, Summer Wars, came out in Blu-Ray and DVD recently. I thought this would make an excellent topic for this new article I call Hosada's Wars. 
    

Summer Wars/Our War Game Fan-Art

Any of you who watched the video review Tom and I recorded for AnimeVice.com know that I gave it a 4.5/5 rating. If you have not seen the video review, I suggest you go watch it before you continue reading. Watching the movie might also be ideal, since I will be relying on light spoilage. During the review, I heavily defended Digimon Adventure: Our War Game (Digimon: Bokura no War Game) as the original source for most of Summer Wars' plot. Most people are unaware of this, so I decided to show you a comparison of the "Hosoda Wars". 
 
The two movies I'm comparing, Summer Wars and Digimon: Our War Game, have a nine year difference and yet a lot of aspects are alike. The first thing I want to talk about is the setting. Digimon, a pre-established franchise, is already based off a digital world where the existence of these creatures called Digimon inhabit. Using the Internet as the setting for Digimon is not unexpected.Summer Wars, on the other hand, is set in a realistic present time setting where people use an advance section of the Internet called OZ. According to the movie, OZ is what social networking will be like in a couple of years. The users can create an avatar that can be used for entertainment, business, gaming, shopping, and even health purposes in Japan's day-to-day life. The look of the Internet and OZ is quite similar also:  

While digimon are separate entities than their human partners, their connection to the people in the "real world" is very similar to the avatars in Summer Wars' users. In both movies when the Internet connection resulted to be a problem to continue navigating the internet, the avatar and the digimon "powered down", even though the digimon have a will of their own.  
 
The main villain of both movies is a virus that wrecks havoc for the inter-webs. Digimon's antagonist is a virus/digimon hybrid called Infermon (named Diaboromon when digivolved) who is eating the internet's information that causes streetlights, cell phones, computers, and other electronic appliances to go haywire. Summer Wars' antagonist is not all that different. The virus is called Love Machine created to take over avatars and eat OZ's digital information as a weapons test drive. Since OZ is connected to pretty much everything, the malfunctions causes chaos for all of Japan. Both villains create impossible situations for the protagonist that not only create repercussions for the safety of the world but makes for a fascinating visual-intake of Internet battles.  

The reality of the situation is that while both villains cause chaos, nothing compares to the repercussions that lead to the climax. I guess it is my duty to call it out: Spoiler! The viruses end up sending a nuke (Our War Game)/satellite (Summer Wars) hurdling down to Earth, with the coordinates set for the protagonist's location. This is the moment in both movies when we worry for the safety of the characters even more as both villains set a countdown for impact.  

The final battle does also bare similarities in both movies. I won't give it away, but in both cases there is a point in the movie when the heroes seem helpless against their combatant. This is the Internet of course, and nothing is kept a secret in the World Wide Web. While this is happening, the rest of the world is watching through their electronic devices. In Our War Game, the overload of onlookers create for a perfect liability and an asset. The e-mails sent in favor of the heroes is brings enough strength to the table to defeat the villain. Summer Wars does not depart too much from this idea. Rather than using e-mails, the heroes are helped by the overload of user's avatars in favor of helping defeat Love Machine.
  

 Summer Wars/Our War Game Fan-Art

Let me make it clear, I am not saying that both movies are identical to each other. The plot of each one is taken into different directions while still maintaining the similar plot devices to move the story forward. The biggest difference between them is the large cast both hold. Digimon uses pre-established characters that people can not automatically jump in and understand. Summer Wars on the other hand, introduces a complete new cast of characters, all being developed in front of the viewers eyes. Digimon, having 50+ anime episodes that allowed the character development needed does not accomplish what Summer Wars establishes in a 90 minute film. 
  
Is one better than the other? I don't think so. These two movies are the result of an exceptional work of double vision. Nine years ago, Our War Game showcased the characters I know and love. From an outsider's perspective the movie alone would leave a lot to be desired for. As an addition to this large franchise this is the perfect fit. Summer Wars is a contemporary movie that, as we have mentioned before here on the site, would be the best way to introduce anyone to anime. In the end both of these fun-filled, action-packed family films carry that Hosoda stamp that are sure to ensure an exceptional entertainment experience. 

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey
Originally Posted on Anime Vice.com