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Synopsis:
Don't you hate it when people annoy the hell out of you just because they are there. Any little thing that they do just pisses you off to no end. This is how Haruhi Fujioka was feeling, just looking for a place to study and not even the library was quiet enough for her. She decides to head up a few floors in the prestigious Ouran Academy, which she's a student at, and comes across Music Room 3 which she assumes is unoccupied. However, upon entering, Haruhi discovers that Music Room 3 is home to the Ouran High School Host Club. A group of pretty, flashy, frivolous guys that provide a service to the school's female population by scheduling time to spend with them engaging in light conversation, serving gourmet coffee, tea, and sweets, even... acting out romantic banter that only exists in romance novels. But, because of Haruhi's tomboy-ish and unkept exterior, the group of pretty-boys mistake her for a male that's interested in the Club's services. Club president Tamaki Suoh is somewhat interested in the visitor and Haruhi is instantaneously bombarded with questions from the group as to why she came to Music Room 3 (all the while they still think she's a guy). But the interrogation quickly comes to an end when Haruhi accidentally knocks over a vase valued at $80,000. So in order to pay off the debt, the Club agrees that Haruhi mush join them as another host for the ladies of Ouran Academy. Only problem is that once they find out he is actually a she, they must keep it a secret amongst themselves as Haruhi is an instant favorite with the girls after they clean her up a little bit to look like one of the guys.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 26
Review:
Ouran High School Host Club is the harem style anime that puts a new spin on things by being a reverse harem. Instead of the usual one guy being surrounded by a bunch of good looking women, this time it's one girl being surrounded by a group of (ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this..) good looking guys. And I gotta admit, Ouran High School Host Club manages to pull this off quite well to some degree. The only thing is that this anime wants to be a random and off-the-wall style comedy presenting some crazy situations and backwards stylized characters that most of the anime community isn't used to seeing and this is the series' high point. The big downside though is that the comedy routine that it's put with isn't all that funny as it had alot of potential it's just that the direction that it went with didn't seem to trust in it's own hilarity. In other words, the show constantly tried to drive every point of its jokes and puns home by repeating the punchline numerous times or using an over abundance of exaggerated facial expressions.
Another aspect that did damage to the series was giving each character a level of complexity that you mostly see in almost every type of anime genre, except comedy. It might have been different had all the episodes that were dedicated to delving into someone's past was presented with hilarity but instead a rather unexpected amount of drama was used making things boring, uninteresting, and even garnishing feelings of negativity towards some of the "fabulous men". I'll commend Ouran High School Host Club for trying to be different in the realm of romantic comedy but it tried too hard to force it's rarely used backwards storytelling upon the audience hoping to get some laughs but received nothing but a mere sigh instead.
A new twist on a plot that has been used time and time again, Ouran High School Host Club went a little over the top trying to appeal to the audience. This show managed to get a good laugh out of me every now and then but not enough to make it a great randomized comedy that it could have been. Ouran High School Host Club is a series that should have stopped trying to make the show presentable to the audience and instead trusted in itself making for a less scripted and more random comedy that would have come across better by making you laugh without trying to explain everything.
Ouran High School Host Club (opening)
Recommendation: |Below Average|
*Note - This series is loaded with typos courtesy of FUNimation so if you're a subtitle viewer, you might want to rent it first to see if something like that is even acceptable.
Synopsis:
Fuu is a simple girl with a simple life working day in and day out at a local tea house earning her way through life like any other person. However, she does get the occasional disruptive customer and when a band of ruffians enters her shop Fuu tries to keep her composure but starts to quickly lose it when the gang of brutes won't stop harassing her. However, when Fuu goes to take an order from a lone man, named Mugen, sitting in the corner he makes her an offer to take care of the group of hooligans bothering her in exchange for free food. Initially... she declines saying she can handle them but because of a little clumsiness on Fuu's part, the annoying customer who happens to be the son of the local magistrate threatens to remove one of Fuu's fingers in exchange for poor service. In a fit of panic, Fuu yells out she'll give the mystery man one hundred dumplings in exchange for saving her. Mugen then springs into action and quickly disposes of the troublesome group but also manages to inadvertently cross swords with another lone samurai in the shop named Jin who seem to be equally matched in fighting skill. This, of course, raises Mugen's excitement to the point that the two end up destroying the tea shop in the process of fighting one another in a stale-mate. Fuu, both outraged and intrigued by the turn of events that took place plus being out of a job now forces Mugen and Jin to take responsibility for their actions and accompany her on a journey she has never has had the courage to begin... until now. With the lucky toss of a coin, Mugen and Jin regrettably agree to join Fuu on her search to find "the samurai that smells like sunflowers".
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 26
Review:
In a bizarre effort to combine modern urban street references and styling with and ancient Japanese Edo period (look it up) set pieces that makes for one unique presentation that, oddly enough, seem to flow quite well together. Samurai Champloo wants to tell a tale of Japan's ancient history while not boring the viewing audience and at the same time capture the attention of a younger generation. It does this by fueling action sequences with hip-hop music and fighting styles that are reminiscent of both more modern breakdancing and age old samurai techniques. This is what makes Samurai Champloo interesting in the fact that you're being taught somewhat of a history lesson at the same time you're watching some great action sequences while following our small band of misfits trekking across ancient Japan. While this is going on the show slowly but surely dips into Mugen, Jin, and Fuu's past giving you just little bit of background story on how they got where they are and why they act they way they do. From Mugen's gruff devil may care attack first and ask questions later attitude to Jin's calm and cautious approach to any situation all actually plays a huge and interesting part in the overall story. And while the total buildup to the finale keeps you hanging on from episode to episode when the overall truth reveals itself you are more than likely going to feel somewhat let down as when it's all said and done the main scope of the plot comes across as... lame.
The animation is solid and the action is tight and it even has a couple of episode dedicated to do nothing more than make you laugh, Samurai Champloo's method of combining a little modern day urban styling with Japan's ancient history is truly unique in it's own way. It's just too bad that main climax to it all is kind of a let down, Samurai Champloo definitely deserves attention but it will quickly wear off once the final closing credits have rolled.
Samurai Champloo (opening)
Recommendation: |Above Average|
Synopsis:
Academy City, a city west of Tokyo that is made up mostly of schools and institutions that consists of mainly students, as the name suggests. But, the unique thing about this place is that it's only inhabitants are magic users, psychics, and espers... well, just about anyone with supernatural powers. But Academy City is not without it's share of "normal people" also, one of which is Toma Kamijo, who apparently has nothing special about him... except for his constant string of bad luck that accompanies the ability to negate any magic whatsoever with his right arm with nothing more than a mere touch. For him, if something can go wrong... it will. So it comes as no surprise to him when he finds a young girl who introduces herself as Index, or rather Index Librorum Prohibitorum, hanging from his balcony railing exhausted and hungry who does nothing more than bite him mistaking his hand of assistance for a meal. Toma takes her into his dorm room and offers her a meal which she gratefully accepts and explains, while eating, that she is a young nun from Necessarius... the Church of Necessary Evil which is a branch of the Church of England. Index also goes on to tell Toma that her mind contains the very library of the church and it's 103,000 grimoires of knowledge that other opposing forces seek to obtain. Not wanting to involve Toma any further, Index thanks him for the hospitality and leaves just as mysteriously as she arrived but only to show up the next day at his doorstep in a bloody nearly unconscious mess unable to explain what happened to her. Toma then decides to help this strange girl, who has decided to make him part of her life, recover and also oppose the anyone who would bring her harm by taking them on by himself no matter what the cost. For once, Toma's bad luck is about to work for him instead of against him.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24
Review:
Unlike the title of the series would imply, To Aru Majutsu no Index doesn't always focus on Index all the time nor is she the predominant character of the series even if she is undeniably cute and brightens any situation just with her presence. Instead, this series takes it's time to point your attention to everyone in the show and dedicates one or two episodes to that one specific person. This is how To Aru Majutsu no Index manages to separate itself from most anime of the action/fantasy genre. Along with this different style of characterization, the strange and curious city upon where everyone resides is also a mystery in itself with almost everyone having some sort of strange power or the different religious factions that are present but, overall, how all of this is regulated in the large metropolis known as Academy City. I found myself not only interested in how everyone's presence is reflected differently but also wanting to know more about the city itself. This is kind of rare for me because my main focus tends to be how the main plot coincides with the characters themselves but it's a rare occasion when the mystery of the geographical location itself also mixes into the overall picture. Not only are we getting an in depth look at all of our protagonists but also a few of the shows antagonists as well showing another side to them that wasn't present upon their first appearance and thus showing you that it is possible to balance out an intriguing plot along with heavy character presentation making for one seemingly complicated anime that really isn't all that hard to follow if you just listen (or in my case, read) what everyone is saying.
Action and magic mixed in with a little science fiction and a hint of mystery makes for one enjoyable anime that's not afraid to try point the audiences focus on more than just on the main characters that reside in the strange metropolis of the future. But, when you look at the overall scope of things you can see how everyone is somehow connected to our main hero, Toma, and this is all done in a subtle yet amazing fashion. Put this type of presentation with great looking animation it only heightens the overall affect it has on the viewer to press on through the episodes to the point where you'll almost be saddened when the last set of credits roll.
To Aru Majutsu no Index (opening)Recommendation: |High|
Synopsis:
Working hard his entire life to support his loser parents who haven't worked a day in their life, Hayate Ayasaki still manages to go through life with a smile on his face. However, when Hayate is fired from his most recent job for being underage he discovers that his parents took his final paycheck and abandoned him. But they did leave Hayate with a parting gift, a debt of 156,804,000 yen to the Yakuza (about $1,507,295). Since Hayate doesn't have a dime to his name he makes a break for it before Yakuza can collect and with Hayate's lifetime of hard labor he seems to have developed inhuman strength and speed when needed. Down on his luck and out in the streets Hayate decides to turn to a life of crime and his first job he decided on is kidnapping when he sees a wealthy looking young girl, Nagi Sanzen'in, trying to operate a vending machine thinking that he would hold her for ransom and repay his debts with the money he gets or at least go to jail and have a roof over his head. Unfortunately Hayate is unable to be the ruthless criminal and fumbles over his words and tells Nagi that he wants "to take her away" and she mistakes this as a confession of love. Before Hayate can make a ransom request Nagi is then counter-kidnapped by the Yakuza and not about to let his meal-ticket get away Hayate ends up rescuing Nagi after a fight with the thugs... but afterwords Hayate is broken, beaten, bruised, and laying in the snow. Nagi says Hayate can have whatever he wants and before he passes out he asks for a job. The next day he wakes up in huge mansion and is told he is now Nagi's new butler.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 52
Review:
Simply put, Hayate no Gotoku is 52 episodes about... nothing. And it's a fun time from beginning to end as it doesn't try to be complicated or pursue some long string of events. Hayate no Gotoku keeps everything on the simplistic level which makes it very easy to enjoy with anyone of any age and also does an excellent job of explaining it's humor as it tends to parody a number of shows and other anime series. Each episode will either focus on something mundane in everyday life or dedicate the episode to rotating around one single person as there are quite a few but fleshes out each character very well in that you'll know everything about everyone by the time the series is over. If you're looking for a show that everyone will enjoy without being childish or overly complex then check out Hayate the Combat Butler, it truly is a blast to watch.
I gotta confess, this was one hell of a great time to watch despite it's lengthy series of episodes as I found myself laughing my ass off on more than one occasion. I think it's mainly because I really didn't have to think to find it funny and the show doesn't use slap-stick all that often to be comical. The only problem that some may have is that Hayate no Gotoku tends to parody alot of other anime and if you're not familiar with alot of anime you may find yourself lost on some of the one-liners or visual mockery but it's not enough to keep you from liking what you're seeing. So yeah, this also gets one of my highest recommendations... give it a try if you want to enjoy something for what it is.
Hayate: The Combat Butler (opening)
Hayate: The Combat Butler (closing)
Recommendation: |Very High|
*Note - I have read that Hayate: The Combat Butler is currently being broadcast on select stations with a dubbed voice track. The DVDs however do not, not, NOT, contain an English dub track... subtitles only. So Bandai... THANK YOU!!! Usually an English dubbed track serves nothing more than to drive up the price, delay the release, and has about as much enthusiasm as listening to an automated phone answering service. Bandai did an excellent job with no typographical errors (so far), translating all onscreen text, and even translating the background conversations that coincide with the main dialog... I am VERY pleased with Bandai's release. The only downside is that they didn't use honorifics in the translation which has sort of become staple nowadays with anime subtitles but, not a big deal. So for those of you who are whining and bitching that there is no English dubbed track on the DVD release, please... do yourself a favor and go fall of a steep cliff into a bunch of jagged rocks and then we'll call the Whaambulance to come pick you up and ship your sorry ass off to Weenie-Hut General. kthxbai.
