Anime Review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME: Perfect balance of exposition and plot development

Makoto Kanno is just your average teenager -- she lives with her family; she has friends; and she fails on school exams. But one day, on her way home, an accident makes her discover that she has acquired the power to leap through time. She takes advantage of this power in her family life, friendships, and school activities. But soon enough, she discovers that the effects of time travel is more complicated than she has thought.

What I really like about this story is that it presents the clichéd concept of time travel differently. Most time travel stories don’t even consider time travel its core concept. The concept is just there to add an impression of historical fiction. But The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a different case. All of the plot elements revolve around time travel.

Speaking of plot elements, this anime clearly knows how to establish them without appearing to be information dumping. They are interwoven with the actual plot development, meaning that they are presented while the main story is progressing. It makes the show a lot more fun to watch, because from the very start, something is actually happening, and it’s not just bombarding the viewers with boring exposition. In this sense, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is much better compared to Steins Gate.

What makes everything better, even suspenseful, is when these plot elements create a butterfly effect. One change through time travelling could have tremendous repercussions in future events.

But as much as I like the story, it’s not perfect. There are instances that I felt that it has been dragged out. There are plot elements that could have been removed and nothing would change in the overall story.

Aside from that, I also didn’t like that concept about Chiaki being from the future and everything else about that big reveal. It just spoils the magic for me. And the ending is a bit lacking as well, maybe because it has not much cathartic value, considering everything Makoto has been through.

I really like Makoto Kanno as a character. But this is biased -- I just like characters that are naive. I find it fun to see their good intentions result into tragedy. As for the other characters, there’s really nothing much to say, because this anime is mostly focused on Makoto. The only other character that has a fair share of screen time is Chiaki. I admit that their hints of a romantic relationship are interesting. They add to the seemingly plot-oriented nature of the story.

The art style is also unique. It’s not very detailed but not very bland too to appear uninspired. The music is not amazing, but I admit that there are soundtracks that deliver the emotions that the show wants to present.

Overall, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is of above average quality -- almost amazing, if not for the lacklustre ending. The story is very unique, and sometimes it could even be too hard to understand for those who are not very bright. It doesn’t take a genius to understand the story, but it does require some thinking to follow through.

But the best part of this story is not the story itself, but the lessons that are hidden between the lines. I recommend this anime to those who are not bored with anime that are not too flashy with action-packed sequences, and to those who believe that the true entertainment value of a great story is how the plot elements are interwoven to create suspense and drama.

            Additional Note: If you are interested in more time travel stories, you can check out Steins Gate. You can find my review of it here.

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Anime Review: Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou

GENEI WO KAKERU TAIYOU: Promising start, but that’s about it

Akari Taiyo dreams to be a fortune-teller, but her mother has always prevented her from pursuing such a career. Now that her mother is dead, no one can stop her from realizing her dream. She becomes an apprentice in a fortune-teller shop. Soon enough, she discovers that fortunetelling is more than meets the eye. And it takes a death of a cousin for her to realize that she has been drawn into a dangerous world.

I must admit that the story interests me. The idea of Tarot cards, Daemonia, and magic in general, has its appeals. What make it even darker are the video effects, eerie soundtracks, and blood. As for the story itself, I think it is executed very well. There is much progress in the overall plot and the development of the main character to keep things interesting. However, this good execution doesn’t last very long. It is consistent only up to episode 3.

Episodes 4 to 6 are so character-driven that they almost have zero development in the overall story. These episodes seem to be episodic, and the only reason why I can’t say that they’re filler is that they have been used to introduce certain plot elements, like Cerebrum, Ginka’s father, and Seira’s past – all of these could have been introduced by interweaving them to the overall story, and not by creating seemingly filler episodes.

Episodes 7 onwards, however, resume the development of the overall story. But unlike the first three episodes of the show, they are not executed very well. The ideas presented don’t seem to be well thought-out, and the philosophical insights are a bit forced and cheesy. The dark atmosphere, too, has almost been completely removed. The video effects, eerie soundtracks, and blood, are not as well-executed as the earlier episodes.

 In the later episodes, there are also hints that everything will turn out worse for the protagonists, but the last episodes just don’t deliver and everything actually turns out to be a happily ever after. The ending would have been fine if it wasn’t suggested in the later episodes that the worst is going down, but I guess that’s the writers’ way of catching the viewers off-guard by giving them the opposite of what they have suggested.

The girls of Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou

As for the characters, they are not that complicated. But each has its own unique characteristics and opinions that, sometimes, these opinions could even make them clash against each other -- which is always interesting. If there is something I don’t like about the characters, that’s their design.

The art style, in general, is not of my taste. It is too funky, and it doesn’t suit the story at all. It is obvious that the creators are trying to create a contradiction between the dark story and the cute art style, but I think it’s not done well.

Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou, more commonly known as Daybreak Illusion, holds such a promising start. It is just too bad that it hasn’t been able to keep it up until the end. It just went downhill from episode 4. Its attempt on adding a twist in the Mahou Shoujo subgenre is interesting, but I can’t help but think that it’s trying too hard to make it big like Madoka Magica. Overall, I still enjoyed this anime. But I could’ve enjoyed it more if the quality of the first episodes have been the quality of the later episodes.

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Anime Review: Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya

FATE/KALEID LINER PRISMA ILLYA: It’s fun to see the Fate characters in an entirely different story

Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya is an alternate universe spin-off of the Fate franchise. It features Illyasviel von Einzbern as a typical middle school student. Well, that seems to be the case, until a Kaleidostick chooses her as its new master, because its old master, Tohsaka Rin, has some attitude problems. Now that Illya has become a magical girl, she is tasked to collect the seven Class cards to return them to the wizard Zelretch, and Tohsaka Rin has no choice but to serve as her mentor.

I really appreciate how this anime has reconstructed the Fate universe in a way that would make it suitable for a Mahou Shoujo story, and how it utilized younger versions of characters from Fate/Stay Night to strengthen the magical impression. But looking at the story at a technical perspective, there’s not much to it. It’s just about Illya going around hunting for the Class cards. There are no subtle, interweaving plot points. It is very direct -- well, at least in the first four or five episodes.

The story does have its turns, and this is obvious in the second half of the series. I like how the second half has given room to add emotion to the plot. At this point, it is not just about Illya defeating one Class card to the next monotonously. The characters have also opened for character development.

Speaking of the characters, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya has interesting ones. They’re not complicated enough to deserve complex psychological analyses and such, but they are very fun characters with little conflicts in their heads to keep things interesting enough. A good example of this is Miyu, and how she cannot fly because she is too theoretical and lacking in imagination. This has been contradicted to Illya’s imaginative personality, which makes it quite easy for her to use magic. Rin, Luvia, and the talking Kaleidosticks are also very interesting. Their interactions and conflicts are nothing complicated and deep, but they sure are entertaining to see.

The music is nothing special, but it does deliver in communicating the emotions that the scenes require. As for the animation, there are certain sequences that look marvellous, particularly in the fighting sequences, but nothing too fancy that you could call groundbreaking -- just enough to deliver.

This anime is very entertaining, even though the plotline doesn’t have that much threads to weave. The genuinely comedic dialogue and actions help to counterbalance this flaw. However, I admit that there are more other flaws in the plot. There are instances that seem to be too random that they felt like a cop-out, like how Illya suddenly transforms into Archer and uses Excalibur.

Illya as Archer

But that’s alright, I wasn’t expecting a complicated story anyway. The fact that I see the Fate characters once again, even though not in the way they were in the original series, is a joy in itself.

But there are subtle hints in the ending that the Fate/Stay Night characters are not just the only characters that I’ll see in the next season. It appears that characters from Fate/Zero will be featured as well. I could be wrong, but I hope I’m not. Overall, I really enjoyed Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Seeing the characters from the Fate franchise interacting in an entirely different story is really entertaining, and sometimes even comedic. I’ll definitely watch the next seasons of this anime.

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Book Review: A House of Pomegranates

A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES: Unnecessary exposition could kill a story

A House of Pomegranates is another collection of short stories for children by Oscar Wilde. It contains The Young King, The Birthday of the Infanta, The Fisherman and his Soul, and The Star-Child.

I’ve said in my review of The Happy Prince and Other Tales, the other collection of Oscar Wilde, that I liked his simplistic yet lyrical writing voice. This style, however, is not used in A House of Pomegranates. The sentence structure and the words used in this collection are less fantastical. And the stories, in general, are much darker. But Oscar Wilde still utilized personification, and that still gives the stories a magical impression.

The most prominent difference between the two collections is their way to develop the plot. While The Happy Prince and Other Tales is straight to the point, and has goals that drive the stories to a specific direction, A House of Pomegranates goes on different directions, and that gives the tendency of my being disengaged from time to time.

The perfect examples of this disengaging storytelling are The Young King and The Birthday of the Infanta. The Young King bombards me with dreams. Even though they prove to be relevant to the overall message that the story wants to deliver, the storytelling doesn’t give me a reason why I should care. There is no conflict. The young king is just dreaming, and his dreams are symbolic. But then what? As for The Birthday of the Infanta, it plagues me with mindless exposition that turns out to be irrelevant to the plot. If that random establishing has been completely removed, I would have been more engaged to the story. But I do appreciate the messages of these stories, it just turns out that the way they are told is filled with extensive and unrelated exposition.

            The Fisherman and his Soul and The Star-Child, on the other hand, are told quite differently. The Fisherman and his Soul doesn’t tell me the colour of the fisherman’s boat, or how heavy his fishnet is. It actually tells me a story about a fisherman and a mermaid. But just as I am beginning to dash through its pages, the story slows down to fall victim to unnecessary descriptions as well. The Shadow’s stories could have been a lot shorter. Overall, The Fisherman and his Soul could have been twenty-two to twenty-five pages long -- that’s six to eight pages shorter -- if the random exposition in the Shadow’s stories is to be removed. Despite this flaw, this is my favourite story in the collection. It is very subtle. It is very open to analysis.

The most well paced story is The Star-Child. It has the same style of storytelling with the stories of The Happy Prince and Other Tales -- straightforward, and there is a goal that will move the story to a specific direction.

Overall, A House of Pomegranates is still an enjoyable read. The stories it contains have messages that are more subtle than their direct meanings. They’re stories you could call multilayered, stories where you should read between the lines. Some of them even have religious commentaries -- for better or worse. Yes, it is a collection less powerful compared to The Happy Prince and Other Tales, but it doesn’t mean that it is weak. After all, we’re talking about a short story collection by Oscar Wilde here, and there’s a reason why his works withstood the test of time.

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Book Review: The Happy Prince and Other Tales

THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES: A simple writing style goes a long way

The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of short stories for children by Oscar Wilde. It contains The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, and The Remarkable Rocket.

Among the many commendable things about this collection are the style and voice. Oscar Wilde uses the most basic of words to get his ideas across. He is very straight to the point, and what makes this approach even more powerful is the fact that the style is lyrical at the same time. The simplistic yet lyrical writing style gives this book a magical impression.

But this collection is not just for the entertainment of children. It could also be enjoyed by the adults. The stories, even though their premises seem to be too simplistic and childish, are actually metaphorical and allegorical -- much like the episodes of Alice in Wonderland. They have subtleties that could not be easily detected by children, and that’s where the adult audience come into play.

The Happy Prince, the story where the collection gets its name, is a clear example of this. At the outermost layer, it is just about a statue who pities the poor people of the city. He then decides to help them by making a swallow, which has been separated from its fellow birds, pluck his valuable statue materials out of himself, to give to the poor for pawning. But it doesn’t take a literary genius to realize that this story is about compassion, and that compassion always has its pay-offs in the end. What I really like about this story is that it doesn’t tell this to the audience blatantly. It is hidden between the lines.

This style is also employed in the other stories of the collection. The Nightingale and the Rose presents a subtle naivety on love and appreciation. It does this in such a romantic voice that this voice has come to contradict itself, giving an ironic notion.

            The Selfish Giant, on the other hand, is the story that least employed the layered writing style. Its lesson of being nice to your neighbours is pretty straightforward. But it doesn’t mean that this story is bad. It’s just weaker compared to the others.

The Devoted Friend resumes the trend of a layered writing style. It presents contradicting ideas about the true meaning of friendship. I must admit that The Miller has successfully annoyed me, and there are instances that I have become annoyed at the protagonist -- Little Hans -- as well, because of his naivety. I also find the ending witty.

As for The Remarkable Rocket, I couldn’t say that it is an amazing story, but it does have its fair share of ideas to share. It has presented the negative consequences of being too self-centred.

Overall, The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection that I will always see as marketed for both children and adults. The seemingly simplistic and fantastical stories it contain are more than what meet the eyes. The writing style and premises make the collection appear childish, and the subtleties contained in the stories make it appear mature. It is a contradiction -- and it is one that is done effectively by a writing genius.

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Book Review: Alice in Wonderland

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Book Review: Green Tea

GREEN TEA: Effective use of limited perspective

Green Tea tells the story of Rev. Mr. Jennings, but uses another character as a perspective. Dr. Martin Hesselius, a German Physician, gains the acquaintance of Rev. Mr. Jennings, and on certain occasions, he notices certain peculiarities in him. The doctor speculates that something sinister is bothering the churchman. His speculations prove to be true, when Mr. Jennings approaches him for a professional consultation. However, the cause of the churchman’s condition turns out to be something not scientific, but a supernatural force.

The first thing that gets my attention is Le Fanu’s writing style. It is very gothic. It gives the story a dark undertone. Considering that this is a classic piece, the writing is not plagued with adverbs -- or at least not as much as other classical works. The story is just well written, and the voice is very formal.

The story takes a while to establish itself, so it could be a little slow for those who are not used to reading classics. But again, comparing it to other classic pieces, the pacing is fine. What I really like about this story is the fact that its perspective is not the character experiencing the haunting. It gives a sense of mystery to the supernatural agency. It leaves a lot of room for the imagination.

But it should also be noted that leaving too much room for the readers’ imagination has the tendency to give an uninspired impression to the story. But this is not the case for Green Tea. The haunting is still presented to the readers. Rev. Mr. Jennings has narrated it, but not in too much detail that could spoil the mysterious experience.

Aside from that, the climax of the story is somewhat hidden to the readers -- and this is actually a good thing. As I said earlier, the minimal perspective of Dr. Martin Hesselius leaves room for the imagination.

In terms of characterization, there is not much to be said, because the story is plot-oriented. The driving force is the mystery that shrouds the seemingly supernatural case. But I admit that Dr. Martin Hesselius and Rev. Mr. Jennings are interesting characters. They have contradicting ideologies. The doctor believes that the case is purely scientific, but he is open-minded enough to give consideration to the churchman’s belief that the case involves a supernatural agency. In a subtle way, they present a clash of science and religion.

Overall, Green Tea is a well-written story. The writing style and voice are gothic and formal, too formal in some occasions, actually. But this style has intensified the horrific sequences. The descriptions are not cheesy, and are in fact effective on giving a scare. But what I like the most in the style is the minimal perspective. This is one of the cases that this style has been exploited to the fullest. I recommend this book to those who enjoy classic horror and gothic, and not to those who have short attention spans.

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First Impression: Magi: The Kingdom of Magic

MAGI: THE KINGDOM OF MAGIC: I have mixed feelings for this

The Kingdom of Magic directly continues the story of The Labyrinth of Magic. After clearing Zagan’s dungeon, Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu returns to the city. Amidst the celebration, Aladdin decides to take on a journey on his own, to hone his magical skills and knowledge. At the same time, there seems to be looming dangers in Magnostadt, and Sinbad begins his move to accomplish his own political ends.

The pilot episode is either good or bad, depending on how you see things. For me, it’s both. What makes it good is the fact that it expands the world of Magi, which is already huge, some more. I’m introduced to new characters and places, and this makes the experience even more intriguing, because it means that I have a lot to look forward to. Also, my interest has been captured by the opening sequence, wherein I see Aladdin in the middle of a decisive battle, in medias res style. It suggests a very climactic story.

But as I said, I have mixed feelings for this pilot episode. That opening sequence, as much as I find it intriguing, is unnecessary. Yes, it does give me something to look forward to, but I think the presentation is overdone -- it contains some spoilers.

Another bad thing about this pilot episode is its lack of plot development. It’s just composed of character interactions that serve as exposition and foreshadowing. I could tolerate a few of them, but if the whole episode is nothing but chatting, I couldn’t help but be disengaged. A story should have a hook in the first episode, something that would make me stick to the story. But it seems that The Kingdom of Magic doesn’t understand that.

The characterization also has good and bad traits. The good thing is that it seems that the story is giving back the focus to Aladdin, who is a little neglected in the last episodes of The Labyrinth of Magic to give room for Alibaba. Another good thing is the developing relationship of Alibaba and Princess Kougyoku Ren.

I’m also glad that Sinbad is being established as a character that has the potential to turn into an antagonist. It gives me something to look forward to. But the bad thing about the characterization -- well okay, it’s not technically bad, just an opinion -- is the fact that the main characters will be separated again.

As for the animation and music, there really is nothing that could be said. They’re basically the same from last season. I’d expect the same chibi moments and the magical action sequences, and nothing much on the soundtracks embedded in these scenes.

Overall, I think the pilot episode is pretty mediocre. It lacks plot elements that could attach the viewers to the story. However, like last season, the world of Magi is very intriguing, and it is enough to draw more viewers. But a great series requires more than just an amazing world. It also needs an amazing story. Magi, as an overall anime title, has that story. But it seems to be having a problem with storytelling, just like last season. I’ll still be watching The Kingdom of Magic, however, and give it a chance, expecting that the storytelling would turn out better.

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First Impression: Coppelion

COPPELION: Very promising start, let’s see if it keeps up

A meltdown of a nuclear power plant renders Tokyo inhabitable, or at least, that’s what the authorities think. Baffled by a distress signal from the heart of the city, the Self Defense forces dispatch a special unit called Coppelion to search for unlikely survivors. Coppelion, even though it is composed only of three high school girls, is very much trusted by the authorities. After all, it is not called a special unit for nothing.

            Desolated cities, with vines and mosses all over their buildings and bridges, are the perfect places for post-apocalyptic stories. Coppelion has utilized this fact to the fullest. The emptiness of the cities and the superb animation has set a dark tone and an air of mystery to the art style.

            Speaking of art style -- yes, Coppelion has its own unique touch, but I can’t say that it’s perfect. The characters are outlined with a black stroke, prominently separating them from the background. This style could be compared to that of Shingeki no Kyojin, but at least in Shingeki no Kyojin, the strokes are not bold enough to completely isolate the characters. In Coppelion, the characters are outlined so thickly that they would almost pop-out of the scene, instead of blending in the background. But other than this flaw, the animation and style of this anime is just gorgeous.

            The story is not yet fully expanded. In fact, there is not much plot development in the first episode. It’s mostly just about the Coppelion girls -- Ibara, Aoi, and Taeko --talking and walking around the city, looking for survivors. But I’ve been fully committed in watching the show. The dark atmosphere, air of mystery, and sense of danger, have captured me so much that even though there isn’t much development in the plot, I feel obliged to continue.

The presentation of plot elements, however, has counterbalanced the lack of plot development. Many questions have been imposed to keep my interest in the overall story.

            As for the characters, I think they blend well together. Ibara is the strong-willed, rowdy one. She acts as the leader. Taeko is the quiet one, and the story suggests, though not blatantly, that she is the brains of the group. Aoi, on the other hand, is the source of upbeat emotions to balance everything out. No minor or recurring characters have been introduced yet, so I can’t really say if the overall characterization of Coppelion will be good. But as of now, it is fair. There’s a lot of room for development.

Another thing I like about this anime is how it utilizes effective musical scoring. Most of the time, there is no soundtrack embedded in the scene, giving the scene a more mysterious and darker undertone. The minimal use of music gives the impression that something sinister is about to happen. But as for the soundtracks themselves, they are not that outstanding. So it’s still a good thing that they are not used that much.

The amazing setting, mysterious story, fair characters, and good musical scoring, when all combined, make Coppelion a very promising anime title. So far, it is of above average quality. The only threat that will keep it from becoming a great series is the direction of the story. But the direction is fine so far, but it definitely has the potential to go to unwanted directions. As long as it keeps up in going to the right direction, then Coppelion could be one of the top titles of Fall 2013.

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Book Review: The Sandman Vol.6, Fables and Reflections

THE SANDMAN VOL. 6, FABLES AND REFLECTIONS: Another episodic volume -- for better or worse

Fables and Reflections features nine remarkable tales, in which the Lord of Dreams is directly or indirectly concerned. They involve iconic characters from the mists of the past to the different pantheons of gods, giving these characters a Sandman spin-off.

It is almost unnecessary to say that these stories are not relevant to the overall story of Sandman. They are more of stand-alone tales. As much as they are similar to the tales of Dream Country -- as stand-alone tales -- they are, at the same time, very different. The stories from Dream Country have much more plot development, and their foundations are much more established to the Sandman mythos. The stories of Fables and Reflections, on the other hand, focus more on historical fiction, which renders them kind of disengaging, because they give the impression that their storylines are not at all significant, or not directly adhere to, the Sandman mythos.

            Three Septembers and a January features Joshua Norton. Thermidor is set in the French Revolution. August features August I of the Empire, and Soft Places, Marco Polo. I find these stories somewhat disengaging because they don’t have much plot development. Thermidor seems to be the only story that has something going on. The others are merely stories inside stories, meaning that they solely focus on dialogue instead of advancing the action. I admit, however, that all of them have their fair share of subtlety. After all, these are Sandman stories we’re talking about. I just felt that they have less magic compared to the other stories.

However, there is one historical fiction story that stands out above the others. It is called Ramadan. Even though it doesn’t have much plot development, like the other historical fiction stories of the volume, it has an air of mystery and magic that drives the story forward. This is a personal favourite.

            But Fables and Reflections also has stories that don’t focus on historical fiction. It has The Hunt, which tells the story of a lone wolf; Orpheus, which introduces the son of Dream; and The Parliament of Rooks, a story about mysteries. The Hunt, even though its storytelling is like that of the historical fiction stories -- a story within a story -- is still engaging because there is actual plot development. As for Orpheus, it is the story in the volume that I enjoyed the most. The reason for this is that it seems to be the most relevant in the overall story of Sandman; and, it features Destruction, the prodigal Endless, for the first time. The Parliament of Rooks is the weakest in this group, but it doesn’t mean that it is bad. The stories contained in this story are also interesting, and there is subtlety in the closing lines.

The characters of this volume are also quite interesting. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see August and Marco Polo have their own Sandman spin-off? Yes, it is interesting to see these familiar characters from history, but as I said earlier, their stories are not strong enough because they don’t have much development. Perhaps the most important part of the characterization is the introduction of Orpheus and Destruction. They seem to be relevant to the grand scheme of things.

Overall, Fables and Reflections is still an enjoyable read. The writing style lives up to the Sandman franchise, though I admit that it is much weaker compared to the other volumes. It becomes even more apparent because A Game of You, the previous volume, is such a strong volume in terms of the writing. But this doesn’t mean that it’s a bad volume. The others are just so great that my expectations have skyrocketed. After all, we’re talking about one of the most successful and influential comic books in history.

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Book Review: The Sandman Vol. 2, The Doll’s House

Book Review: The Sandman Vol. 3, Dream Country

Book Review: The Sandman Vol. 4, Season of Mists

Book Review: The Sandman Vol. 5, A Game of You

Book Review: The Sandman Vol. 7, Brief Lives

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