Shugo Chara! Party Impressions

Since the new anime season started a while ago, I think it's about time I've gotten to impressions of the new shows. The only show I'm aboslutuley sure I'll blog is Kuuchuu Buranko (since it's awesome), and I'll follow a few shows (Shugo Chara Party, Kobato, Railgun) for a few episodes. Also, there will be quick impressions for shows I'm sampling later. Now onto today's post: Shugo Chara Party.I can confidently say I've enjoyed Shugo Chara. The first season was good, the second was a bit filler, and I've read the 6 volumes of the manga that's been out here in the US (volume 7 is still waiting for me at the store) and enjoyed them. What do I think about the third season, Party? Is it going to be a hit or has SC! hit it's expiration date?

The show starts off with some cosplayers as the main Charas, Ran, Miki, and Suu. Then we're greeted with a music video, which may or may not be related to the actual show. They do some talking, and then we're shown...Shugo Chara...Puchi. Well, Puchi Puchi if you want to be exact.

I'm not sure exactly what purpose Puchi serves. It's really cute, but...it seems a bit filler. And no, it's not part of any storyline or anything, it's just a cute little time killer. And I'm not sure if that's good or bad, because what goes on in it (I recall this one being about Dia having a flower and no one noticing it) is rather juvenile. I mean, it seems Shugo Chara is now aiming itself at really, really young kids.

And then halfway through the episode, we get to the actual anime. We're introduced to a new character, Rikka, who if I remember correctly, can communicate with X-eggs. She helps the guaridans when an X-egg is terrorizing the art room. I'm not sure what Rikka and her ability will add to the show, I just hope it doesn't lead to more filler.

At the end, we have our forutnes (don't pick Dia's she always gets a bad one!) and the three cosplayers calling out for a Dia, which will be a elementary/middle school girl who watches the show. Actually, I think most young girls in Japan are eligible to enter.

~Thoughts~
At the moment, I'm not sure exactly what Shugo Chara Party is going to do, since only nine minutes of it were actual animation. The music was good and Rikka has potential, but I'm not sure if that can take away from the out-of-place Puchi segments. Yeah, I know it's cute, but since this is an anime, I'd rather see more plot and magical-girl then little kids stuff. Not the Shugo Chara isn't for kids, but it's just so darn...kiddie.

I'll continue watching it, probably skipping the Puchi and just watching the animation part (with the fortunes and music at the end, of course.) For now, I'd give it a 5/10, I guess the younger your are the more you'd enjoy it. Am I getting to old for Shugo Chara, or is it aiming itself at a younger generation? Only time will tell.

Final Thoughts: Kyouran Kazoku Nikki

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (Frenzied Family Diary)
26 eps

Ah, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki. This is one of the animes that really got me into anime, even though it wasn't perfect.

Basically, it's about a family (consisting of a catgirl, regualr guy, abused daughter, jellyfish, lion, robot, girly guy, and a BDSM girl) coming together to attempt to stop the one of them who is the Child of Enka from destroying the world.

There's stuff in the plot department, but it's not really used. It's more filler (and by that, I mean it's the family thrown in weird situations) then plot. But that's not necsecarily a bad thing, because the characters are fun to watch.

Speaking of characters, they've got personality. Kyouka's the catgirl mother who constantly makes family-is-important speeches. Ouka is the poor normal guy thrown into this whole "operation cozy family" plot. Yuuka is the nine year old daugter, abused in her past family who morphed her into a solitude doll, a.k.a their punching bag so-to-speak. Hyokua is the robot, bursting with power but he still has to learn that it's not okay to hurt everyone. Gekka, the jellyfish is the deus-ex-machina, constantly reversing actions and turning out to be some kind of god. Ginka is the girly-guy, who acts gay but is most likley not judging by the end credits. And then we've got Chika, the once fanservice character turned into masochistic Ginka-lover. Oh, and don't forget the talking lion, who's aparently Teika the "Bister King", which has something to do with ruling over animals. I know I just described all of them in one or two words, but they're really fun to watch. I mean, how many times have you seen a family like this?

Oh, another thing that was great about this series was the music. It's all great. There is one OP sung by one of my favorite bands, Mosaic.Wav (OP's for Sumomomo, eroge). There are also eight ED songs, with one sung by each character. Here's the song titles in the order I liked them most.

Codename wa Lady X (Ginka)
Sekai de Ichiban Yabai Koi (Chika)
THE PITFALLS (Ouka)
Appare Henka Ja (Gekka)
Hen na Kami-sama shitteru yo? (Yuuka)
Kyōran Senki~Nichijō no Kamisama~ (Kyouka)
Boku wa Koushin Saremashita (Hyouka)
Wagahai wa Shougojuu de Aru ka? (Teika)

They're all pretty good. The voice actors really did a good job with the character's voices and the ED songs. We've got Tomatsu Haruka (Kannagi, Moe-tan), Sato Rina (Punie Chan/Dai Mahou Touge), Hiroki Yasumoto (Hetalia) ,Kana Hanazawa (Kobato, Bakemonogatari) and more.

In the end, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki was an awesome anime filled with so much potential. It's ending felt pretty blah though because nothing got resolved after 26 episodes. If you're looking to watch it, don't expect intense plots or anything, just have fun with the characters, music, and mile-a-minute comedy.

I personally loved it even though it lacked a lot, and maybe there will be a second season or an OVA in the future telling us who the real child of Enka is. Either way, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki will always be one of my favorite animes for being different.

Maria Holic 1-3

Maria Holic episodes 1-3
Genres: comedy, yuri, possibly romance in the future?
Production: SHAFT

Having absolutely no idea what Maria Holic was, I pretty much just started watching the series because of the awesome OP. Pretty much all I knew beforehand was that:

a) It's a trap!
b) The OP's title is nosbleed translated...

I knew this could be one of two things: a horribly crammed-together show or a blend of awesome. I think after the first three eps, it's leaning towards awesome.

So let's start off. There's a new girl, Kanako-san, who transfers to a missionary school. She's there because her parents met there, and hopefully she'll find her destined one. But what happens...when Kanako has a run in with Mariya, one of the prettiest girls in school? Kanako develops a crush on her...but is a bit confused when she gets hives from Mariya touching her. That only happens when a man touches her...

Mariya finds out that Kanako likes girls...so it's time to turn her into a slave in order to Mariya to not spread her secret of liking girls. But then we find out...Mariya is a dude. IT'S A TRAP. But no one knows except Mariya's maid and Kanako. So what's Kanako to do, being mentally and once-in-a-while physically tortured by a sadistic trap?

...I didn't have high expectations for Maria Holic, truthfully. I'm actually surprised I enjoyed it. I'm not exactly sure why, but every element seems to mesh together well in the series. I mean, any anime could throw together different personalities at a private school and create a generic comedy, but Maria Holic doesn't do that.

The first episode is the obligatory introduction episode, the second is the one where Kanako is getting used to school life, and the third is the one where she loses something important (in this case, Mariya's grandmother's rosary).

They're very entertaining, partially because of the characters and over-the-top expressions and reactions. It's very interesting, and I'm hoping the series keeps going at a good pace like it is now and doesn't run out of steam because it's only 12 episodes long.

The music adds to Maria Holic. The opening theme, Hanaji, is a very...energetic song. It's plesant to lisiten to because of Yuu Kobayashi doing the vocals and putting so much emotion into it. The ending theme, Kimi ni Mune Kyun, is a cover by the three main character's VA's. They're both nice, but the OP is the better of the two.

Even if you don't like yuri, I'd say give Maria Holic a shot because it's...different. I mean that in a good way, of course. It sort of had a Zetsubou Sensei feel to it, for some reason. I'll continue watching it and posting my thoughts here. =D

Maid-Sama! vol. 1

Maid-Sama! a.k.a. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! volume 1
Hiro Fujiwara
Tokyopop, 183 pp.

Maid-Sama is the story of Misaki (called Misa-chan here-on), one of the toughtest, most agressive females in an all-b0ys school that has recently gone co-ed. She's the student council president, and pretty much keeps everything in check at the school, making sure the boys look neat and the girls are treated nicely. But what happens when a boy, Usui, finds out that her afterschool job is working at a maid cafe?

And thus starts the shojo romantic-comedy Maid-Sama!. It's formula works for now, which consists of the spats between Usui and Misa-chan, but it seems like it might become a bit repetitive over time. I mean, how long can you drag on keeping a secret? It's going to get out sometime.

There's also an extra story called Transparent World in the back of the book, which takes up roughly 1/4th of the paperback. It's a cute lil' story about a boy that died but comes back as a transparent that only his crush and best friend can see.

The characters are probably one of the strong points of Maid-Sama. At first Misa-chan comes off as a tsundere, but it turns out she's not. She's just really, really aggressive and flips to cute at her job as a maid. Usui is the school's heartthrob, who's naturally turned down every girl who's asked him out and set his sights on Misa, even if it means keeping her maid job a secret. There's also a few side characters, including maid cafe costumers that attempt to kidnap Misa, the "Idiot Trio" who follow Misa around school, and the few girls in the school that Misa protects.

I'm going to be blunt about this: the quality of this manga is crap on Tokyopop's part. One of the first of many of their cheaper-paper manga, it disappointments. It's a pain to read, not unreadable, on darker and thinner paper that's a bit see through. The book's cover is weird feeling and not-sturdy. It isn't bonded well together either, you could bend it in half. Just saying, if you want this manga wait until TP does a reprint of it in better quality.

The art is decent, and adds a bit of life to what would otherwise be an average-shojo. The characters are drawn proportionate and there is little use of chibis. The maid outfits are drawn really nicely, down to every frill and detail.

Art: 4
Characters: 4
Quality: 1
Story: 3.5

Overall: Barely a 3. Probably bought down by TP's quality. If you want a grade for the series alone, I'd give it a B. It's really good, but the publisher could have done a better job on it. It's just a bit tiring with see-through paper and small text.

I'd recommend this to the shojo-crowd looking for something different. The first volume is good, but I'm predicting the series might get a bit formulatic over time. It's a breath of fresh air for those that have read lots of shojo and are looking for something new.

View: Disney gets Naruto Shippuden

So for those who haven't heard yet, Naruto Shippuden is coming to Disney XD. What do I think of that? I'm not exactaly sure if it's a good move for fans of the show, but I think it's going to be good for the business. Read on to hear the pros and cons!

First off, this is an excellent business move. Even though Naruto is pretty popular (from what I hear) it'll get more popular here on. I mean really, it's Disney. You know, those people who make the sitcoms and cartoons that your kids watch? Yeah, it's them. They're slowly (IMO) taking over the entertainment business. I mean they just bought Marvel, people. Now Naruto. What next, something huge like...cable companies? Maybe they won't get that far in the next few years, but look out people. The possibility exists for anything.

Sono-ni, this will get more kids into anime. Which I think is a good and bad thing. That means the US anime companies (Funimation, Sentai, and old Genon) will have lots of business. But you know why this is a bad thing too? Because maybe people will get the wrong idea if they see a hentai and think all anime is that. >< So more people could be against it.

Now onto the cons. This is an obvious one. Censoring. You all saw that coming, right? Yeah. I know that there is going to be some censoring (blood, language, ect.) but hey, this is Disney. And if you can't deal with that, go buy the uncut DVD's that are everywhere. But still, censoring is bad IMO. Even if it's stupid like Citramon (Digimon) or something extreme that ruins a show (Kodomo no Jikan). But than again Disney (from what I know) is aimed at kids, and I don't think people older than say, 12, watch Disney. So kids probably wouldn't even notice it.

So what do you think? Is this good? Bad? I can't really say at this point until I actually see what they do with Naruto. Even though I'm not really a fan of it because it's long and filler, I'll give it a chance. It could be great, it could suck.

Kamichama Karin Chu, vol. 1-3

Kamichama Karin Chu volumes 1-3
Koge-Donbo
Del Rey, somewhere in the 180-190 pp. range.

Ah, Kamichama Karin. I enjoyed this series when I was a bit younger. What made it so good? Was it the mix of magical girl and romance that made me borrow the manga numerous times of the library? Who knows, but all I know for sure is that the sequel thus far does not live up to the previous series.

After the events of Kamichama Karin Kazume, Karin's love intrest and future husband has returned from studying abroad. But what happens when Suzune, Karin and Kazune's child from the future is plopped on the doorstep needing them to get rid of the seeds of chaos? It's time to go into god mode. Karin uses the Chronos Clock to turn into a goddess while Kazune uses a ring to turn into a god. With the help of idol Jin and old friend Michi, can they stop the seeds of chaos before it is too late?

Typing that above summary makes Kamichama Karin Chu sound like it actually has an episodic magical girl formula. But prepare to be disappointed, because Chu is all about Karin's love triangle between Kazune, Jin, and Michi. The story is just light fluff and doesn't really help the series. Not much actual magical girl antics go on, other than the "Love Evolution" between Karin and Kazune which they use to "bond" and stop the seeds of chaos.

Some of the cast returns from the original series, like Mr. Glasses Man, Kazune, Himeka (mentioned), Michi, and (obviously) Karin. They've grown up a bit, but not in a good way. Karin has pretty much gone from hard times to spoiled brat with a choice of men. Kazune is his old self, switching between sexist and perv personality at the drop of a dime. There isn't much to say about Jin or Michi, other than they exist to be Karin's love interests.

That would be okay if the characters actually grew. Karin spends most of her time whining about Kazune, Jin is an idol in love with Karin and is Kazune's rival, and Michi...he doesn't get much screen time. He's usually the one left home stuck with Suzune. The characters don't really care about each other either, which makes the whole point of the series seem stupid because it's about love. It would help if they actually knew something about one another.

The art is the good point in the series. Koge-Donbo is know for her sugary, huge-eyed character designs. But even though that's great, more than half of every volume is filled with chibis. Really, if you're going to make such a mediocre series, you should put some work into the art to at least let readers have something pretty to look at to make them ignore the failing characters and story. Goodness.

Del Rey is wonderful with their publications, as always. Translation notes, a decent sturdy book, and high page count are staples for them.

Art: 2.5
Characters: 2
Quality: 4
Story:1.5

Overall: A 2.5 or D, but you were probably expecting that. Your mileage may vary with this one. I'd say if you're under 12 you'll get more enjoyment from this series than I did, But if you're older than that, it's not so great actually. So if you're looking for a better series (there are lots of them) check out the original Kamichama Karin series or the anime. It's better than this.

Full Metal Panic!, vol. 2

Full Metal Panic! volume 2
Written by Shouji Gatou, art by Retsu Tateo
ADV manga (defunct), 194 pp.

Full Metal Panic is not that hard of a series to jump into. All you need to know is that Sosuke is a undercover agent who's a student by day, Chidori is your not-so-average damsel in distress that kids look up to but don't necessarily want to be around. She's also got some hidden power that makes her a Whispered. Did I mention there were giant robots and lots of action? Read on to see what makes Full Metal Panic! a winner in my book.

The story starts out with Sosuke and his class flying to Okinawa on a field trip. But what happens when the plane is hijacked? We find out that one of the hijackers is Gauron, one of Sosuke's enemies that was supposedly dead. But why is the plane hijacked in the first place? Because everyone wants Chidori! She has the power that they want. But what happens when she's kidnapped and everything doesn't go according to plan? It's Sosuke to the rescue.

It sounds a bit confusing the way I typed things out, but it flows very well. There's a bit of romantic tension between Sosuke and Chidori, complicating this a bit. Even though I feel I missed a bit of something by not reading the first volume in the series, I'm intrigued by the plot. We've still got more to learn about Chidori's power and why it's so important.

The characters are good. Sosuke fits into the stereotypical hero. He's a bit quiet, but he's sort of badass when the time calls for it. Chidori is a Whispered. She seems a bit mysterious but she has her own personality that makes her someone to look up to. Gauron and his team of baddies fit the mold of menacing evil. There's also a whole class of side characters, but they don't do much.

The art is something to write home about. Maybe it's just because of me not reading lots of "action" stuff like this, but it's very good. The characters manage to look realistic while still being manga-ish. The mecha are well drawn along with their attacks and the few explosions in the book.

Quality-wise it's standard ADV. The paper is okay quality, it's a bit on the yellow side. The book's trim size is about two and one-half centimeters taller than regular manga, which will make it stand out on your shelf. If you're looking for comparison, it's the size of Yen Press's manhwa line. The translation was well-written, with no need for translation notes. The only thing that irked me was the occasional bolding of words, but I've seen that in a few of their other titles.

Art: 4.5
Characters: 4
Quality: 3.5
Story:4

Overall: 4. An A-. It's good. I'll hopefully be getting volume three when my friend loans it to me. It's a bit hard to find because ADV isn't publishing manga anymore, but they'd probably have it at the local Borders as long as they didn't pull the manga.

Credit: Jeff-chan for loaning me the volume for today's review.