Mao Chan DVD 1

There's a fine line between being something for kids and something that anyone can enjoy. Mao-Chan is the latter, being a show both you and your kids will enjoy.

Mao Chan: I will protect the peace of Japan! DVD 1 of 4
Originally by Ken Akamatsu, manga illustrated by RAN
Geneon/Pioneer, All ages

Mao-Chan is a 2nd grader whose grandfather is the Chief of Staff of the Ground Defense Force. She has been trained to become a valuable member of the force since she was born. When she turns eight, she, together with her friends Misora and Sylvia, form the elementary school self-defense team. Mao protects the land, Misora, the skies, and Sylvia, the sea. These pint-sized girls do their best to protect Japan from "cute" alien invaders.

At first, the premise might make you think of two things, the first being "Is this lolicon?" Well no, it isn't. The 2nd is "Wow, this is going to be stupid." Well, no, it isn't. It's a good comedy/magical girl/defend the Earth (well in this case Japan) story that the whole family can enjoy.

Story
I'll admit I wasn't taken in by the premise that much either. Just reading it made me say "Is this some cheap-shot at money making? What a dumb idea." The story follows the (attempts) Mao-chan makes at protecting Japan. Along the way, she gains fame for being such a young defender at just eight years old, has her friend Misora join the air defense force, and meets the sea-defence force girl Sylvie.

They defend Japan against all kinds of "cute" aliens, from bunnies to kittens to watterskippers. Actually, Japan is rarely in any real danger, so there's nothing to worry about. They just transform (which is nothing but a cosmetic change) and usually end up doing something like lecturing or firing one of their defense triangle to stop it. They don't really do any intense/violent battling, despite Mao-chan riding around on a huge tank that could easily take out a city. I'd give it a 3/5, because there isn't much of a story but it follows the girl's lives and attempts at defense. It does what it says on the box. Cute girls defend against cute aliens.

Characters
Take your pick. We've got your pink-haired main protagonist, your blue-haired best-friend of the protagonist, and the foreign, etiquette girl with brown hair that eventually teams up with the protagonist. They actually have personality, with Mao being the somewhat strong/clutzy leader, Misora being the stereotypical and caring BFF of Mao, and the polite foreigner Sylvie. They're nice, and have grown a little bit over the 7 episodes on this disc.

We've also got your side characters, with the three grandfathers (Mao's, Misora's, and Sylvie's) who dispute over who's eight-year-old daughter is the best. We've also got Yuriko, the student-council president who's actually an alien with an interesting backstorty, and her friend Chinami, the vice-president. We've also got Kagome, the colonel of the defense force, who has a thing for Mao's grandpa. Kagone bears a resembelce to Naru from Love Hina, another one of Akamatsu's works. The character design a bit above average, but they need to have more fleshed-out personalities. 4/5

Animation
The animation is standard quality, I've seen better and I've seen worse. It was consistent in this volume, with no drop in quality yet. I'm going to call it average. 3/5

Menus, Extras, Package, OP's and ED's
The menu stood out on this DVD, with a quick, 10 second introduction clip of "I'm Mao, and pledge to protect the peace of Japan!" Then the menu is Mao standing in the middle with 4 clovers on the bottom, with the standard Play/Scene Selection/Setup/Extras.

We've got the creditless OP as usual, and a blooper reel. Not much on extras for this volume. The OP and ED are both preformed by the somewhat famous Yui Horie, and are both excellent if you are a fan of her. The OP is All my love and the ED is It's my style.

This package stood out to me on the shelf because of the picture of Mao and the huge tank behind her. It comes with a reversible cover with some screencaps from the first 7 episodes included on this disc. The episodes are only about 7 or 8 minutes long, which is a good thing because if they ran any longer than that they might have become boring or stale. 4/5 Note: as of now, the DVD is out of print until Geneon find someone to re-distribute it. You can find used copies at Suncoast/FYE for cheap, though.

Dub/Sub
The English dub isn't half bad. They stay true to the script except for a few places, which is good. The only thing you'd miss out on by watching the dub is Sylvie's references to Love Hina. I'd say they did a good job on both the dub and the sub. 4/5

Total
3.6, or a B-. It's a good show for almost anyone. It's not too sweet which many say. It's supposed to be a light show for everyone. I'd watch a few episodes just because it's short and enjoyable. You don't have to put your mind to work thinking out complex plotlines or what's going to happen next.

It's not the next revolutionary anime and it isn't going to win an award, but hey, for 7.99 a DVD, it's worth it if you have the extra money and want to take a break from any serious stuff.

Rozen Maiden DVD 1

Rozen Maiden DVD 1: Doll House Limited Edition with box
Original Concept by PEACH-PIT
Geneon, 13+

"This is the story of one young boy who couldn't get along with his classmates and decided to drop out and never return...
This is the story of an exquisite doll who wished to one day become a normal human girl...
This is the story of one young boy and an exquisite doll and their adventures as they strive to help each other in overcoming their fears and the very real dangers of the Alice Game. However, in order to do that, they must overcome their distrust of each other."

Story
Jun is a hikikomori. He buys weird cursed and voodoo items online, and then when they arrive he mails them back before the grace period ends. One day, he receives a card asking To wind or not to wind. He circles to wind, figuring that it can't hurt him. Slipping it in his desk drawer, he goes to bed, only the next day to find a case containing a delicate doll that looks like a human girl...

And so starts Rozen Maiden. Many say it's similar in concept to Highlander, but I've never seen any of those movies/series so I can't really comment. Shinku, the doll that Jun finds, commands him to be her servant and protect her Rosa Mystica. The dolls play the Alice Game, in which the last doll surviving becomes the next Alice. 3/5 It's a unique idea, but it needs to be expanded on more and we need to learn more about the Alice Game.

Characters
In this volume, we meet Shinku, the 5th Rozen Maiden Doll, Hinaichigo, the 6th doll, and Suiseiseki, the 3rd doll. Shinku is very commanding of Jun, Hinaichigo is like that annoying little cousin who wants to play with you, and Suiseiseki is a timid, shy girl who is still warming up to Jun. We also meet Nori, Jun's over concerned sister.

Thoughts: Jun is portrayed more childish in the dub than in the sub. He says things like "This is going to be the bestests!" and acts very immature. Shinku is a very demanding little doll, and relies on Jun to move from room to room because of her lack of height to reach doorhandles. Hinaichigo is childish, and needs more attention. Suiseiseki is very, very timid, and needs to come out of her shell. Nori seems like she's there for comic relief sometimes, acting like a grown up. Their personalities are portrayed well in this volume, but they've still got room for growth. 4/5

Episodes
The first episode is just to introduce Shinku and how she came to be Jun's doll. The second episode is meeting Hinaichigo, and her becoming part of Jun's household. The third episode introduce Suigintou, but she is only on-screen for about 5 minutes. The forth, and final episode on this disc introduce Suiseiseki, who enters Jun's dream world.

Out of those four episodes, the 2nd and 4th shined the most. In the second, we see inside what's called the N-Field, where Hinaichigo has taken residence for a short time to battle Shinku. It's very bright and colorful, and the battle is animated greatly. It's very smooth and isn't stiff. The fourth episode is where we enter Jun's dream world, which is full of school items, ranging from study guides to flowers that talk and behave like Jun's classmates would. 5/5 for being interesting and symbolic.

Animation
As aforementioned, the animation is very good. Bright colors, and a nice rendering of the doll's antique looking clothing. The human characters are somewhat less detailed from the dolls, and sometimes look messy. But that's okay, because the one-and-a-half fight scenes we have make up for it. It's smooth, and isn't choppy. 4/5

Presentation
The DVD has nice packaging, with a reversible cover and a clear package. This particular DVD came in the limited edition box, which the rest of the series can be stored in. The box is red velvet on the outside, with two golden pictures of Shinku and Suigintou on the side of it. The DVD menu is standard Geneon, with a the cover image on the left and the functions on the right.

The dub was done good, other than Jun sounding younger than an 8th grader. It stayed very close to the JP script, some things were just phrased differently. 4/5 EP's 1-3 were watched in English, with EP 4 in JP to hear "Desu."

Extras, Opening and Closing
For extras, we have the creditless OP and ED, along with translated credits. We also have trailers.

The OP is performed by Ali Project, Kinjirareta Asobi, and is a nice song. The ED, Tomei Shelter, performed by refio + Haruka Shimotsuki, is a relaxing song that fits the mood of Rozen Maiden. It's a bit on the slow side, but it'd defiantly MP3 player worthy. 5/5

Overall
This DVD gets a 4.2, or an A-. It's a good, solid start to the series, but there's still more story to explore and character personalities to be fleshed out.

Original post here.