Hey doods and peeps, welcome to another episode of The G-Views. A man known as Eric Bischoff once wrote a book titled, “Controversy Creates Cash”. That title’s meaning couldn’t be more evident than in the following anime. The show I highly consider one of the most controversial this year. This is Koyoukai Senjou no Horizon.
WARNING! The following review contains a lot more rambling and personal opinions than usual. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hello and welcome to the G-Views, where creativity is respected and Dokuro-chan is rejected. I have an inexplicable fascination with Aoi Yuki’s voice…moving right along from that awkward intro, let’s check out GOSICK, which is a really sad wordplay of the word Gothic imo.
Hello and welcome to G-Views, where SoL reigns supreme, moe is respected and Dokuro-chan sucks poopie. Here we go again with another segment of CinAnime. this time we tackle a popular show here on animeforum, Fate/Stay Night and its movie: UBW.
Genres: action, drama, fantasy, romance, supernatural
Themes: harem, martial arts, war
Objectionable content: Significant (bloody violence and/or swearing and/or nudity)
Number of episodes: 24, TV Reproduction: 2
G-Rating: 8/10
Plot Summary: Shirou Emiya lost his parents in a fire when he was young and was later adopted by a sorcerer by the name of Kiritsugu Emiya. Although he was full of admiration for his adopted father and yearns to become an ally of justice, Shirou has limited powers and was unable to become a strong sorcerer like his father. That is until one fateful day, he was drawn into the Holy Grail War and had to summon a female “Servant” known as Saber in order to protect himself. It turns out that the Holy Grail War involves a series of battles among powerful sorcerers to fight for the possession of a relic that will grant one’s wishes, the Holy Grail. There are altogether seven “Masters” who can summon their respective “Servants” from different classes known as Saber, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Lancer, Caster and Assassin. These “Servants” have to hide their names in order not to reveal their weaknesses to the enemies. The story revolves around Shirou and his entanglement in the Holy Grail War.
The pacing of the show is just right. It takes the time to tell the viewer the necessary details and only excluding other unanswered questions for the Visual Novel the show is based on. For the masters and servants who do get some development, it’s acceptable for the most part (except Shirou, who sucks.) The basic plot plays like an elimination tournament where the closer the remaining competitors get to the Holy Grail, the more we learn about the truth behind the tournament and its “host” of sorts. There aren’t that many surprises and twists, but the cool part arises when we find out the true identity of some of the Servants (Not all of them are revealed in the anime). There aren’t that many morals to learn in this one, but by the end, you will find out which characters you do like and which you don’t.
Also the action scenes are pretty epic in terms of fights. I never get tired of seeing Archer vs Berserker or Saber vs anyone. The fights are that good. The drama involved depends on how the viewer perceives those moments. Some will take them more heavily than others. the flashbacks didn’t explain all that much, but it provided enough info to explain some things, not all though.
Skipping character bios let’s just go with the following mini descriptions.
Shirou Emiya: I don’t like this guy one bit (accursed space monkey). Anti-feminist, generic, harem lead, uninteresting, not amusing, run of the mill guy with thee ability to trace metal and create blades. His power is cool, but not him. The fact that he’s sort of part of a harem is even lamer. Oh well, at least it’s clear which one of the ladies he’s after.
Rin Tohsaka: now here’s someone more interesting than Shirou. Not quite a badass, but she’s spunky, boastful, confident, smart, cute, bisexual, skilled, uses magic marbles of doom, Shadow gun, and can powerbomb a giant (she can’t but that would have been so cool to see her lift Berserker) Too bad Luviagelits never made an appearance in the anime series.
Saber: The definition of female badassery on the show. Awesome battlecry, cool armor, wields a legendary blade, fights till the end, cool hairstyle, nice body, strict, honorable and cunning. That’s why it greatly pissed me off what they did to her later on in the show. WHAT…THE…HELL?! Sure she remained a badass, but her personality had a major shift that kinda ruined her epicness for a while, but it came back quickly so I’m glad the stupidity didn’t last long.
Sakura and Rider: Not much to say other than I can’t get enough of either of them, even though Rider doesn’t get much screen time or given much depth in this anime (The Visual Novels fix that though.). Sadly they’re not a servant/master pair on the show either. Poo.
Caster and her master: Let’s just say that these two had the most interesting relationship aside from Rin and Archer. I felt more emotion for Caster and the guy whose name I can’t remember (He just doesn’t mention his name often). Plus, she’s a cool villain, unlike Lancer who’s one-dimensional and cliche in terms of villains” standards. Even Berserker who mostly roars has more personality than Lancer in my opinion. At least Lancer kicks butt in the PS2 fighting game.
Ilya Ilyasviel: Token evil loli who gets bonus points for dressing in Purple Russian clothing and having creepy red eyes. Not much else to say about her. She’s a decent villain while the spotlight shines on her. However, her role takes a sharp turn upward in importance later on. An obvious extra cool factor is that she’s Berserker’s master.
Archer: Epitome of badass males on the show. Too bad his time in the anime was short, but it was indeed unforgettable. Plus his duds are wicked awesome. There’s really not much else I can say to describe him. He’s one of those see to believe type characters. Also, there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.
I’ll leave the rest of the characters up to the fans to discover what they’re like. The character interaction differs between the ones involved. It ranges from slightly sympathetic to touching.
The music: Love the 1st OP and ED. The other set isn’t bad either. The rest of the BG music fits with the show’s theme. No complaints about the soundtrack.
The animation is just right in my eyes. nothing too extravagant and nothing bad either. I don’t know if it does the VN’s CG pics justice but the style looks good enough for me.
Oh, and about the TV Reproduction, consider it a short summary of the entire anime series in two OVAs, with some bonus scenes not seen on the show. If you don’t want to watch 24 episodes, try taking the short route.
In conclusion, expect many cool things form this show as you’re watching. Ask any FSN fan and they’ll tell you the exact same thing.
Now for the Feature Presentation: UBW.
Genres: action, fantasy
Objectionable content: Significant (bloody violence and/or swearing and/or nudity)
Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes.
G-Rating: 8.5/10
Plot Summary: Taking a turn from the first Saber ‘route’ of the Fate/Stay Night game, this movie represents the route of Tohsaka Rin’s ‘route’ and what would have happened.
First of all, awesome start by posting the now legendary UBW incantation.
Next, it’s the same story with an alternate route and some big changes which include:
-Caster being twice as evil.
-Caster’s true identity revealed to non VN players.
-An appearance by Saber Lily…sort of.
-A heel turn and a face turn at the same time.
-An unholy alliance.
-Ten times more violent and ten times bloodier. Twice the action. Not nearly as intense as Hokuto no Ken or Riki-Oh, but close enough thanks to one…certain…FATALITY! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNG! Basically they increased the epicness of the action scenes in the anime by tenfold. the fights are that much better in the movie.
-Archer’s true identity revealed to non VN players.
-Questionable switching of roles in terms of who is the butt kicker. Why they did this I have no idea. A questionable decision as far as I’m concerned, but I admit that it was a surprise.
-Ooh, pretty CG effects.
-Same final boss.
-I’m sorry, but even if you try to make this punk a badass, it still won’t change my mind of him. He still sucks, though he did perform admirably. I’ll give him bonus points for becoming stronger at least.
-Sorry, but the climax…that’s BS …BS I tell you…total…UNDENIABLE…B…S!
So yeah, this movie had plenty of unexpected surprises, so it was quite a thrill ride. It is a much darker and more violent route compared to the default route.
The animation was most impressive indeed. A few coloring tweaks, such as Shirou’s hair color during sunsets, but I suppose they were intentional. I can’t tell though. In any case I was impressed by most of it.
The music was superb as expected from this show. Compared to the anime, it was more intense here.
The characters: So many changes. Some were impressive, others pissed me off big time. I won’t go into full details.
In conclusion, this movie was certainly a surprise to me. I didn’t expect it to be this epic. It was a complete route change from the original anime. For that, I highly recommend this movie to any FSN fan who hasn’t seen it yet.
Hello and welcome to G-Views, where SoL reigns supreme, moe is respected and Dokuro-chan sucks poopie.
ECCHIMANIA: Welcome to Ecchimania, a new segment on the G-Views where I’ll review the sexiest and ecchiest action anime that I’ve seen in my career as an animeniac. So sit back and enjoy as we begin with the anime that inspired this segment: Ikkitousen.
What can I say about Ikkitousen? for one thing, it introduced me to the sexiest drawn anime female in the history of anime: Kan-U Unchou. This show could possibly be one of the guiltiest pleasures for action/ecchi anime fans. Again, it all depends on your tastes, but I’ll explain more as we continue with the G-View.
Related anime:
Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny (TV) (sequel)
Ikkitousen: Great Guardians (TV) (sequel)
Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor (TV) (sequel)
Alternative title:
-Battle Vixens
-”Bakunyu” Hyper-Battle Ikki Tousen
-Strength of a Thousand
Genres: action, adventure, comedy, tournament,
Themes: bishoujo, ecchi, fanservice, historical, martial arts, school, war, yuri
Number of episodes: 12 each season + multiple 5 minute specials for each season.
G-Ratings:
8/10 for season 1
8/10 for season 2
6/10 for season 3
7/10 for season 4
Objectionable content: Intense (graphic depictions of sex, drug use, bloodshed, nudity, especially in seasons 3 and 4)
Plot Summary: Seven schools are constantly ‘at war’ with each other, and the students within – both male and female – have become skilled fighters and constantly battle with rival schools. Their lives and fates are guided by strange jewels that contain the spirits and destinies of warriors from the Sangokushi period. One girl, Sonsaku Hakufu, has recently moved to Japan and is apparently destined to unite the schools as her counterpart united seven countries long ago. But, like all heroes, there is a darker side to her fate, and as always there is a constant struggle by those around her to break the chains of their own destinies and make their own lives.
Like my previous Hidamari Sketch Trilogy review, I’ll be reviewing all 4 current seasons of Ikkitousen as a whole. To better explain the concept of Ikkitousen, it is 1 of the 2 anime that I’m aware of that uses this concept. Basically, you take the legendary “Three Kingdoms Period” of Ancient China. Check out Wiki to learn more, since there are many forms of media retelling those epic ages of war in China. Now as for this anime, it takes all the most famous names during that era and tells the tale of all of these characters being reincarnated as high school students, the stronger ones mostly being female. The main plot of the series remains the same, except each season has a different storyline or event. There are many characters who make appearances throughout the season, some having large roles, while others are killed off in less than 2 minutes. It’s tiresome to highlight each one, so I’ll just continue with each season’s presentation.
Being an Action/Ecchi type anime, you can already tell that their primary form of entertainment is extreme fanservice. I’m not kidding. In almost every single match involving women, one way or another their clothing WILL BE TRON TO SHREDS! Of course since this is a PG-13 or R rated anime (you be the judge), the upper body and legs will be the most shown. the lower body, as always will be off camera or the panties will remain intact for obvious reasons.
My thoughts for each and every season as you noticed from my G-Raitngs, are mixed, for good reasons.
-Evaluating the quality and amount in each season is the easiest part to evaluate: The 1st season wins hands down. If you’re looking for some awesome fights, then the 1st season is where you’ll get it. The 2nd season has less action, but the story is good enough to keep it interesting. The 3rd and 4th seasons on the other hand….both suffer in different ways. The 3rd season BARELY has any fight sequences, while the story itself is the worst in the series and the 4th season has a decent story, but it suffers from weak presentation and WAY too short fights. It has many, but most of them are very short.
-The music also varies. Once again my favorite is from the 1st season. The other seasons are hit and miss.
-Heck, even the fanservice level itself varies for each season. The winner is season 3 on this one. Even though considered the worst season in the series, it does compensate by having the best fanservice of all seasons. The 1st half of the season could be considered pure fanservice, while the 2nd half tries to focus on the story, but as mentioned earlier, it’s terrible.
-The characters: As mentioned earlier, there are far too many to talk about, so to keep it short, I’ll talk about the development of my favorite character on the show, Kan-U Unchou.
Since her debut in season 1, Kan-U already had an intimidating aura surrounding her and you could tell just by looking at her that’s she’s no pushover. Of all the schools who had multiple fighters representing their school, Kan-U was the ONLY entrant from her school, Seito Academy. In her debut match, you could see just how badass and awesome this babe is, beating 2 very powerful opponents in a row, WITH A BROKEN ARM! She later decided to drop out of the competition. However, that one match solidified her as the most badass character on the show. As the seasons continued, her badassery continued to emanate gracefully. However, for some inexplicable reason, the writers decided o weaken her from her past glory. Sure, she’s still very powerful, but she seems to get beaten and captured often, though she does come out on top later. Another thing Kan-U had become famous, besides the confirmation that she’s a lesbian (It does my heart good saying that), it’s her constant “heel” turns. Although there are good reasons for her to temporarily join the darkside, she does this often, only to turn back to a “face” later on.
The point of this little story is that each character goes through changes in each sequel, some positive and others negative. Keep this very important fact in mind if you choose to watch this series. So yeah, character development is also mixed in this series.
Final Verdict: If you’re an action/ecchi fan, I highly recommend giving the 1st season a go. You can later decide whether you wish to continue watching the other seasons or not. I’m still a loyal fan of this series, so if there are plans for a 5th season, you know I’ll be there to give the first impression
This could be my toughest review yet, because there’s so much to tell, so much to explain, so much to talk about without spoiling anything and STILL be able to convince my readers of how much of a Masterpiece this anime is. Yes, you heard me, this is the 2nd anime that I’m labeling as a masterpiece.
Genres: drama, romance, science fiction
Themes: gender switch, religion, shoujo-ai, war, yuri
Number of episodes: 26
G-Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary: In the world of Daikuuriku, everyone is born female, and chooses which sex they wish to become at age 17. In this world, the peaceful theocracy of Simulacrum is guarded by magical flying machines called “Simoun”, which can only be piloted by young girls who haven’t chosen a sex yet. The Simoun can activate a magical power known as “Ri Maajon” that can destroy large numbers of enemies at once. When the industrialized nation of Argentum decides that it needs to invade Simulacrum to acquire the secret of the Simoun, war breaks out, drawing the Simoun “Sibyllae” (priestesses who fly the Simoun) into a lopsided battle. Because the war is raging, the Sibyllae are granted an exemption from choosing a permanent sex for as long as they’re willing to keep flying. Aaeru, a determined young Sibylla with a mysterious past, and Neviril, the leader of Chor Tempest, Simulacrum’s most elite Simoun squadron, must lead their fellow priestesses through conflict both within their ranks and in the sky.
Simoun. It is the one of the finest examples of anime I have ever witnessed, and certainly one of the most overall superior anime series with yuri as a major element. It is a story of breathtaking artistry and power, depth and maturity. The life breathed into the characters, their circumstances, their relationships…the story, the setting, the themes, the moods, the artwork. It is superior in all ways. The final episode broke my heart. The final scene is one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
The hallmark of a truly immersive fantasy is when you feel as though you’re just getting a glance at something much deeper…that you are hearing only one narrative among countless others which will never be told. Simoun makes an art of creating this feeling.
It never compromises, and it never panders. There are times when Simoun will give you what you want, but it will never be in quite the way you expected, nor will it ever be done in the way you might wish for the most. With a very few exceptions, this show is not interested in crowd-pleasing.
In attempting to avoid specific details and spoilers in these write-ups, never have I felt more constrained than I do now. There is so much I wish I could address, pages and pages of speculation, interpretation, and observation that I could write about the characters, their relationships, the setting, the mechanics of their world, the society of it, its past and future, and so on and on. Initially, I had planned to simply write until I ran out of things to say, but I’ve managed to exert reason over passion, with difficulty. Perhaps one day, if and when in-depth discussion of Simoun reignites on these boards, I will be able to have my say, but not now, and not here.
I will say this however, and those who have seen the show will understand me well:
Simoun leaves us with so many unanswered questions. The hallmark of a truly captivating enigma is when you feel as though if you contemplated it just a little longer, a little harder, you could pierce the veil and gain some true insight into the heart of the mysteries. Simoun makes an art of creating this feeling.
Certain logistical matters aside however, the lack of answers is not a failing of the show’s storytelling, but far more intentional. As with Haibane Renmei, we’re not supposed to know the answers. Like the characters themselves, we only get glimpses of what the truth might be.
This anime will also tackle in its own, the journey of a teenager into adulthood. Trust me, the rite of passage here is an incredibly difficult decision to make when each girl has to go to into the spring and have their gender determined based on their thoughts and feelings. The sacrifice that these girls will make. The step into adulthood, where everything that you treasured in your youth, all the good times, bonds shared together with everyone, will either be gone or never be the same again. It’s hard to explain, so you’ll have to watch in order to understand what I mean.
I’ll tell you all this much: If you truly wish to experience something new and unique, THIS SHOW IS ADDICTIVE! At least it was to me. Trust me, you won’t be able to skip one episode and stay contempt, because it will continue to lure you in over and over again. You can’t stop wanting more. On the other hand, there’s so much to sink in, that you’ll want to take your time and appreciate this glorious work of art, one episode at a time. It’s up to you.
Oh, if you have homophobia or can’t get into yuri, my bad.
Also, there’s an easy cure for those who may have issues with the gender bending logic in the circle of life in this anime’s universe. All you have to do is…remember that even though the decision of which gender you wish to become in this world requires a LOT of thinking, keep in mind that the male species serves one purpose and one purpose only: Continuing the life span of the human race.
All seriousness aside, that is their primary purpose in this anime.
Phew, this was tough. Hopefully my message came through. This anime deserves recognition. There will be characters you’ll both like and dislike, yet like again later. There will be good times and bad times. This show will leave you thinking for a while.
That’s it, I’ve tried my best with this one. Whether the rest of you will watch or not, is up to you.
