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Spring Anime 2013 |OT -7| My Giant CG Pony Can't Possibly Read This Much Baudelaire
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So a little while back I posted my enormous backlog which was loaded with a bunch of must-watch stuff. I got bored earlier and took a look at it again.
Here's the post. I later amended it to include Princess Tutu, Escaflowne, and Kids on the Slope.
The funny thing is, among all of these shows in my backlog from nearly two months ago, I only started a grand total of three of these shows. One was Black Lagoon, which I still need to watch further but I really did not care for the first two episodes. Another is You're Under Arrest, which I've also only seen two episodes of but plan to watch more. And the last is Princess Tutu, which I just started this past weekend.
And in that time, I've started and completed Futari wa Pretty Cure and Usagi Drop, watched iDOLM@STER and Utena (though I had already started those two), and started Spice and Wolf.
So...I guess I've really just drifted around and gone away from my backlog a lot, but I'm generally happy with the way things have gone. Though I do still have that massive backlog I need to take care of.
Here's the post. I later amended it to include Princess Tutu, Escaflowne, and Kids on the Slope.
The funny thing is, among all of these shows in my backlog from nearly two months ago, I only started a grand total of three of these shows. One was Black Lagoon, which I still need to watch further but I really did not care for the first two episodes. Another is You're Under Arrest, which I've also only seen two episodes of but plan to watch more. And the last is Princess Tutu, which I just started this past weekend.
And in that time, I've started and completed Futari wa Pretty Cure and Usagi Drop, watched iDOLM@STER and Utena (though I had already started those two), and started Spice and Wolf.
So...I guess I've really just drifted around and gone away from my backlog a lot, but I'm generally happy with the way things have gone. Though I do still have that massive backlog I need to take care of.
Strike Witches - 10
Miyafuji's stubborness just put her (and now her friends) in some deep shit. Oh and OTP of the show. (nsfw)
Miyafuji's stubborness just put her (and now her friends) in some deep shit. Oh and OTP of the show. (nsfw)
Canis lupus
Member
This is from Mononoke:
Why did merchants have a lower status than peasants?
Why did merchants have a lower status than peasants?
The backlog is just a handy "shows I will eventually watch" list. The best experiences are spontaneous, those you get and watch immediately because the thing appealed to you in that particular moment.
dakkumauji
Member
Naruto SD 51
That was a fun last episode. They clearly went all out, burn themselves out, went all out again and finished it up with a decent skit.
This was a fun series to watch. Takes the whole world and fun of Naruto and removes the whole seriousness of it. Some skits did dragged but with (51x2) skits to do, it was bound for some of them to not be as funny as others.
I look forward to Yamato SD next week!
That was a fun last episode. They clearly went all out, burn themselves out, went all out again and finished it up with a decent skit.
This was a fun series to watch. Takes the whole world and fun of Naruto and removes the whole seriousness of it. Some skits did dragged but with (51x2) skits to do, it was bound for some of them to not be as funny as others.
I look forward to Yamato SD next week!
;_;
Why don't you just join the Kyoani hate train. It's simple, yet effective. It doesn't even requite that much effort.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Because they didn't do anything that was considered productive to society. Samurai, Farmers, and Artisans (to a lesser extent) all provided labor that was productive for society as a whole while the Merchants did not.
At least thats what I think I remember from my younger days as a high schooler.
Well you're right on one thing. It's pretty damn fucking easy to hate on Tamako Market because its terrible.
The magic of fiction! :-D
Yep, but what if the airplanes on that universe are really piloted by boys as we speculated?
Or maybe girls, after all... and with Luftwaffe uniforms it makes for a good combination!
A Black Falcon
Member
Someone in the chat requested it (maybe), so I decided to post my Senran Kagura reviews. First though I greatly expanded the episodes 1-3 part from one shortish paragraph to seven paragraphs, some long. Yeah, that kind of length is part of why I stopped writing these in the first place... 
Senran Kagura 1-3 - Based on the 3DS and Vita games that haven't come out here yet (but we might get one in the future, here's hoping, for the 3DS game particularly -- the Vita one is a Musou-alike, and I don't like that genre as much), and the mangas that spin off of that, comes an anime based on this fanservice-heavy fighting ninja girls series. I've read some of a couple of the mangas, and they're alright, so I wanted to see this... and yes, it's just as expected. Overall, I like it; yes, it's silly junk, but it's fun silly junk. Senran Kagura has good and evil sides. On each side, there are five (all-female; male ninja students need not apply, they're not needed) ninja students, a teacher (male for the good side, female for the evil side), and one more older male figure (the male headmaster on the evil side, and an older master ninja (and one of the characters' grandfather) on the good side.). The first episodes are almost entirely focused on the good side, but as I've now watched the whole series, below I'll talk about what I think of all of them. First though, the first three episodes.
As far as the characters go though, I really like that even though there are some male characters, such, their teacher and a grandfather, but there's no creepy teacher-student romance here; the series is about action, occasional drama, and comedy, not any kind of romance. That's good. The grandfather is mildly perverted, but doesn't do anything beyond regularly giving the girls fat rolls to eat (the reference is obvious, but it's only that, nothing else). And I like that the series has so many strong female characters. Yes, it's all super fanservicey, but they are strong and never need to be rescued by guys, which is great. The first three episodes really show very little of the Snake Girls's side, though, which was unfortunate. Fortunately you do see more of the villains' perspective in the future; the Snake Girls School girls may be on the wrong side, but they are good, interesting characters too. It takes a while in the anime before they're seen in any depth. Still, overall, it's what I thought it would be. Considering that this anime is a spinoff of a fanservicey beat 'em up videogame series, it's not too bad. It's not GREAT, certainly, but for its genre, it's good.
Senran Kagura ep. 1 - In this episode, we first meet the characters. We also meet the first evil character, Homura; at first she seems normal, but we later learn her true affiliation. The good team has been sent to stop some delinquent students, but once there they realize that the "students" are puppets sent there by some unknown evil ninja (
Senran Kagura 1-3 - Based on the 3DS and Vita games that haven't come out here yet (but we might get one in the future, here's hoping, for the 3DS game particularly -- the Vita one is a Musou-alike, and I don't like that genre as much), and the mangas that spin off of that, comes an anime based on this fanservice-heavy fighting ninja girls series. I've read some of a couple of the mangas, and they're alright, so I wanted to see this... and yes, it's just as expected. Overall, I like it; yes, it's silly junk, but it's fun silly junk. Senran Kagura has good and evil sides. On each side, there are five (all-female; male ninja students need not apply, they're not needed) ninja students, a teacher (male for the good side, female for the evil side), and one more older male figure (the male headmaster on the evil side, and an older master ninja (and one of the characters' grandfather) on the good side.). The first episodes are almost entirely focused on the good side, but as I've now watched the whole series, below I'll talk about what I think of all of them. First though, the first three episodes.
As far as the characters go though, I really like that even though there are some male characters, such, their teacher and a grandfather, but there's no creepy teacher-student romance here; the series is about action, occasional drama, and comedy, not any kind of romance. That's good. The grandfather is mildly perverted, but doesn't do anything beyond regularly giving the girls fat rolls to eat (the reference is obvious, but it's only that, nothing else). And I like that the series has so many strong female characters. Yes, it's all super fanservicey, but they are strong and never need to be rescued by guys, which is great. The first three episodes really show very little of the Snake Girls's side, though, which was unfortunate. Fortunately you do see more of the villains' perspective in the future; the Snake Girls School girls may be on the wrong side, but they are good, interesting characters too. It takes a while in the anime before they're seen in any depth. Still, overall, it's what I thought it would be. Considering that this anime is a spinoff of a fanservicey beat 'em up videogame series, it's not too bad. It's not GREAT, certainly, but for its genre, it's good.
Senran Kagura ep. 1 - In this episode, we first meet the characters. We also meet the first evil character, Homura; at first she seems normal, but we later learn her true affiliation. The good team has been sent to stop some delinquent students, but once there they realize that the "students" are puppets sent there by some unknown evil ninja (
Haruka[/spoiler). It's a decent start to the series.
Senran Kagura ep. 2 - This is the first training episode. Here we see the good teams' training grounds, and Asuka and Hibari's struggles to summon their guardian animal spirits. They also have to work on their shinobi forms; you see, each character has a special shinobi costume they can switch to at any time. These are armor even if they look like fanservicey junk. If the armor is knocked off though, they're down to just a bikini, and then are vulnerable. Yeah, this anime is a bit less fanservicey than I think the games are -- they're never wearing less than bikinis, even if that bikini top has to magically appear from out of nowhere as it does for Katsuragi, and there is no normal underwear, just bikinis. I'm fine with this; the show is plenty fanservicey as it is. Oh, and at the end of the episode, they get attacked by the villains again. It's Yomi vs. Asuka and Ikaruga. Also Hanzou makes his first appearance this episode.
Senran Kagura ep. 3 - This is an Ikaruga-centric episode. The episode starts with the battle from the last episode (Yomi vs. Ikaruga) concluding... and the good side doesn't fare too well. But as with the first episode, it's not a real attack, just a feint. That's lucky for Ikaruga. Later in the episode, we learn about Ikaruga's home life. She is from a very rich family, of course, but also has a brother. He resents her because he's older and considers himself the true heir, so he steals her sword. The family gave it to her because she is a natural ninja while he is not, though, so she has to go get it back. After getting some guidance from Hanzou, she
Overall it's a good episode. As usual in this franchise the story is somewhat simple, but it's a competent, well-done simple. I like its style, mostly.
Now, character descriptions, and my opinions. The first thing to remember is that each good and evil character make a pair, and the characters usually interact, and fight, in their usual pairs. Kiriya is the good side's teacher. He is a somewhat older ninja, and likes to do things like disappear in smoke bombs. The first character, and the "main character" I guess even though this is mostly an ensemble show, is Asuka. A freshman, she starts the series very weak, and only got here because her grandfather was a great ninja. She's got the most ground to make up over the course of the series, but does get better over time. She's a somewhat generic character, but isn't bad. Next, Ikaruga. She's a senior and the daughter of a rich family, she has a sword and a reserved attitude. We learn more about her as the series goes along, and she's a good character. Katsuragi is also a senior, and is Ikaruga's friend and opposite: she's very passionate, both about groping the other girls (except for Hibari), and about wanting to fight and win her fights. She's also got the most exposing super-form (an open shirt... how it stays in place, only the animators know. ). She might be my favorite of the good characters; it's either her or Yagyuu I think. Hibari is the most cutesey and weakest of the five. She has some strong mental powers, but her combat ability is low, and she's not very smart, either. She's my least favorite of them, though it is nice when she actually manages to be useful, which she does a few times in the series. Lastly, Yagyuu is the strongest of these five, and the most naturally skilled. She has an eyepatch, definitely not an anime-girl trait I like, but apart from that is a great character. She also has an umbrella for a weapon, and has very strong feelings for Hibari. We learn the reason partway through the series; it's because Yagyuu has a tragic past. It took a while before she got along with Katsuragi and Ikaruga, because of her natural ability, but now she does.
As for the evil Snake Girls' side... they all have tragic pasts, but that kind of background does make for an easier fall to the wrong side. The evil teacher is Rin. She has history with Kiriya, and is an okay, if somewhat cliche, character. Homura is the leader. She's a strong fighter and uses many swords, and seems redeemable, but unfortunately has committed to the side of evil for reasons we learn near the end. She is paired with Asuka, and Asuka keeps trying to make friends with her. She's a bit more interesting than Asuka... it's too bad she's evil. Next is Yomi. Yomi grew up very poor, so she's matched with rich Ikaruga. Despite her upbringing, she can act like a "princess" character type. She uses a large sword, and really, REALLY loves bean sprouts. She talks about them all the time. It's kind of amusing. Next, Hikage. She was trained as a soldier, so she was taught to ignore and surpress her emotions. As a result, she's largely emotionless, and is paired with emotional and passionate Katsuragi. They make a great pair, the two just completely bounce off of eachother without either understanding the others' viewpoint, which helps make their conversations interesting. She's also quite strong. Next, Haruka. She's weird even by this show's standards, and doesn't have much of a focus on a tragic past, unlike the other Snake Girls' characters. She might be here because she really wants to be, I'm not sure. She's paired with Hibari, though Hibari being Hibari, Haruka is far stronger of course. She has a strong fascination with Hibari, though, something which Yagyuu does not like to see. And last, Mirai. She's the only flat-chested girl of the bunch (and wears goth-loli fashion over a school swimsuit for her shinobi outfit, too), but like her pair Yagyuu, has an eyepatch and an umbrella for a weapon. She keeps guns in her clothing and umbrella, though, and uses those as her real weapon. She's probably the weakest of the Snake Girls characters, but is an okay character with some understandable motivations, once we learn them later in the season. Her past is a bit less tragic than some of her teammates', but still it was enough for her. Overall Homura is probably my favorite of the evil team, followed by the others.
Senran Kagura 4-8 - Watched through ep. 8 now. I know I mentioned eps 4-5 briefly, but how about I expand on that... it's a good show, and I quite like it.
Senran Kagura 4 - This episode was a training episode, though not one of the more successful ones. The first half was a beach episode, mixed with training, but the second half started off something I'll talk about near the bottom of this post, Kiriya and his history with Suzune. Read that spoilered part for more on that. Also, the villains attack, and do well; the heroines will need to improve a lot before they can match their opponents.
5-6 - Here, the Snake Girls School girls attack the goodguys, and the battle got heated. It became a set of 1-on-1 battles, with each pair of similar girls in a separate battle arena thing. Unfortunately, the good guys lost four of the five matches; only Yagyuu won. Of course, she won quite easily, but the other four... well, Hibari lost badly, as expected; Asuka did better but still was losing when the battles ended (because Yagyuu had won and that destabilized the other arenas since they were linked and that one villain girl went unconscious); Katsuragi tried, but lost; and Ikaruga hadn't lost yet, but was losing when time ran out. So yeah, they have a ways to go. I like the matchups, though. Katsuragi and her rival Hikage make a great contrast, for instance, since Katsuragi is so hot-blooded (and perverted) and does everything on feelings, while Hikage almost never shows any emotions at all, and doesn't understand why Katsuragi acts as she does at all. Asuka/Homura also makes for a good matchup, as Asuka keeps trying to understand why Homura is evil, and to convince her that friendship is a good thing... I wish her luck, that Snake Girls' school trains out any such cooperative thoughts.
Senran Kagura ep. 7 - In this episode, the (good team) girls spend some time training, because they need to improve, that's for sure. They have to climb a mountain, and split up as they climb. Several pair up along the way -- and of course it's the expected ones, Katsuragi and Ikaruga on the one hand and Hibari and Yagyuu on the other, with Asuka alone. Shockingly, Hibari actually
Yes, it happens. I was stunned too, who'd ever expect Hibari to actually
In the end, they meet a new character, Daidouji. She's a woman who has refused to graduate for reasons as yet unexplained, so she's a 20-something technically still in highschool. The girls all fight her, and lose, but Asuka is declared the winner because she tried the hardest. Asuka sort of is the main character here, so that's not unexpected, but still, good episode overall. All of the characters get a bit stronger, and we see more of their relationships too.
Senran Kagura ep. 8 - This episode is a flashback episode, where we see Katsuragi and Ikaruga's first year at school when they originally met. Unsurprisingly, they didn't get along at first... Katsuragi kept trying to make friends (in her own way), but Ikaruga just found it annoying, and kept ignoring her. That annoyed Katsuragi in return. It was nice to see the backstory here. Interestingly, Ikaruga used to have shorter hair... she's been growing it out for a few years now. Also, was Ikaruga's attack there in that first battle of theirs the inspiration for Katsuragi's open-center battle costume? Could be! Later in the episode, we see the second year, where Asuka joined. She started out even more pathetic than she was at the beginning of the series, impressively. She's come a long way. Then at the end, the current year started, and Yagyuu and Hibari joined. Yagyuu didn't get along with the others at first... understandable, when she's actually really competent, unlike the rest of them. "Why should I clean the dojo? I don't want to follow that seniority thing when I'm better than any of you", to paraphrase... yeah, agreed there.
Oh, one last thing, Since episode four or so, there has been a central plot thread about the teachers of the good and evil school's ninja classes. See, the good teacher, Kiriya,
It's an interesting plot thread, and adds a good layer to the series.
Senran Kagura ep. 2 - This is the first training episode. Here we see the good teams' training grounds, and Asuka and Hibari's struggles to summon their guardian animal spirits. They also have to work on their shinobi forms; you see, each character has a special shinobi costume they can switch to at any time. These are armor even if they look like fanservicey junk. If the armor is knocked off though, they're down to just a bikini, and then are vulnerable. Yeah, this anime is a bit less fanservicey than I think the games are -- they're never wearing less than bikinis, even if that bikini top has to magically appear from out of nowhere as it does for Katsuragi, and there is no normal underwear, just bikinis. I'm fine with this; the show is plenty fanservicey as it is. Oh, and at the end of the episode, they get attacked by the villains again. It's Yomi vs. Asuka and Ikaruga. Also Hanzou makes his first appearance this episode.
Senran Kagura ep. 3 - This is an Ikaruga-centric episode. The episode starts with the battle from the last episode (Yomi vs. Ikaruga) concluding... and the good side doesn't fare too well. But as with the first episode, it's not a real attack, just a feint. That's lucky for Ikaruga. Later in the episode, we learn about Ikaruga's home life. She is from a very rich family, of course, but also has a brother. He resents her because he's older and considers himself the true heir, so he steals her sword. The family gave it to her because she is a natural ninja while he is not, though, so she has to go get it back. After getting some guidance from Hanzou, she
convinces her brother to give up getting the sword back by showing her ability. He'll have to do other things; he is good at things, just not at being a ninja.
Now, character descriptions, and my opinions. The first thing to remember is that each good and evil character make a pair, and the characters usually interact, and fight, in their usual pairs. Kiriya is the good side's teacher. He is a somewhat older ninja, and likes to do things like disappear in smoke bombs. The first character, and the "main character" I guess even though this is mostly an ensemble show, is Asuka. A freshman, she starts the series very weak, and only got here because her grandfather was a great ninja. She's got the most ground to make up over the course of the series, but does get better over time. She's a somewhat generic character, but isn't bad. Next, Ikaruga. She's a senior and the daughter of a rich family, she has a sword and a reserved attitude. We learn more about her as the series goes along, and she's a good character. Katsuragi is also a senior, and is Ikaruga's friend and opposite: she's very passionate, both about groping the other girls (except for Hibari), and about wanting to fight and win her fights. She's also got the most exposing super-form (an open shirt... how it stays in place, only the animators know.
). She might be my favorite of the good characters; it's either her or Yagyuu I think. Hibari is the most cutesey and weakest of the five. She has some strong mental powers, but her combat ability is low, and she's not very smart, either. She's my least favorite of them, though it is nice when she actually manages to be useful, which she does a few times in the series. Lastly, Yagyuu is the strongest of these five, and the most naturally skilled. She has an eyepatch, definitely not an anime-girl trait I like, but apart from that is a great character. She also has an umbrella for a weapon, and has very strong feelings for Hibari. We learn the reason partway through the series; it's because Yagyuu has a tragic past. It took a while before she got along with Katsuragi and Ikaruga, because of her natural ability, but now she does.As for the evil Snake Girls' side... they all have tragic pasts, but that kind of background does make for an easier fall to the wrong side. The evil teacher is Rin. She has history with Kiriya, and is an okay, if somewhat cliche, character. Homura is the leader. She's a strong fighter and uses many swords, and seems redeemable, but unfortunately has committed to the side of evil for reasons we learn near the end. She is paired with Asuka, and Asuka keeps trying to make friends with her. She's a bit more interesting than Asuka... it's too bad she's evil. Next is Yomi. Yomi grew up very poor, so she's matched with rich Ikaruga. Despite her upbringing, she can act like a "princess" character type. She uses a large sword, and really, REALLY loves bean sprouts. She talks about them all the time. It's kind of amusing. Next, Hikage. She was trained as a soldier, so she was taught to ignore and surpress her emotions. As a result, she's largely emotionless, and is paired with emotional and passionate Katsuragi. They make a great pair, the two just completely bounce off of eachother without either understanding the others' viewpoint, which helps make their conversations interesting. She's also quite strong. Next, Haruka. She's weird even by this show's standards, and doesn't have much of a focus on a tragic past, unlike the other Snake Girls' characters. She might be here because she really wants to be, I'm not sure. She's paired with Hibari, though Hibari being Hibari, Haruka is far stronger of course. She has a strong fascination with Hibari, though, something which Yagyuu does not like to see. And last, Mirai. She's the only flat-chested girl of the bunch (and wears goth-loli fashion over a school swimsuit for her shinobi outfit, too), but like her pair Yagyuu, has an eyepatch and an umbrella for a weapon. She keeps guns in her clothing and umbrella, though, and uses those as her real weapon. She's probably the weakest of the Snake Girls characters, but is an okay character with some understandable motivations, once we learn them later in the season. Her past is a bit less tragic than some of her teammates', but still it was enough for her. Overall Homura is probably my favorite of the evil team, followed by the others.
Senran Kagura 4-8 - Watched through ep. 8 now. I know I mentioned eps 4-5 briefly, but how about I expand on that... it's a good show, and I quite like it.
Senran Kagura 4 - This episode was a training episode, though not one of the more successful ones. The first half was a beach episode, mixed with training, but the second half started off something I'll talk about near the bottom of this post, Kiriya and his history with Suzune. Read that spoilered part for more on that. Also, the villains attack, and do well; the heroines will need to improve a lot before they can match their opponents.
5-6 - Here, the Snake Girls School girls attack the goodguys, and the battle got heated. It became a set of 1-on-1 battles, with each pair of similar girls in a separate battle arena thing. Unfortunately, the good guys lost four of the five matches; only Yagyuu won. Of course, she won quite easily, but the other four... well, Hibari lost badly, as expected; Asuka did better but still was losing when the battles ended (because Yagyuu had won and that destabilized the other arenas since they were linked and that one villain girl went unconscious); Katsuragi tried, but lost; and Ikaruga hadn't lost yet, but was losing when time ran out. So yeah, they have a ways to go. I like the matchups, though. Katsuragi and her rival Hikage make a great contrast, for instance, since Katsuragi is so hot-blooded (and perverted) and does everything on feelings, while Hikage almost never shows any emotions at all, and doesn't understand why Katsuragi acts as she does at all. Asuka/Homura also makes for a good matchup, as Asuka keeps trying to understand why Homura is evil, and to convince her that friendship is a good thing... I wish her luck, that Snake Girls' school trains out any such cooperative thoughts.
Senran Kagura ep. 7 - In this episode, the (good team) girls spend some time training, because they need to improve, that's for sure. They have to climb a mountain, and split up as they climb. Several pair up along the way -- and of course it's the expected ones, Katsuragi and Ikaruga on the one hand and Hibari and Yagyuu on the other, with Asuka alone. Shockingly, Hibari actually
saves Yagyuu once!
be useful?
Senran Kagura ep. 8 - This episode is a flashback episode, where we see Katsuragi and Ikaruga's first year at school when they originally met. Unsurprisingly, they didn't get along at first... Katsuragi kept trying to make friends (in her own way), but Ikaruga just found it annoying, and kept ignoring her. That annoyed Katsuragi in return. It was nice to see the backstory here. Interestingly, Ikaruga used to have shorter hair... she's been growing it out for a few years now. Also, was Ikaruga's attack there in that first battle of theirs the inspiration for Katsuragi's open-center battle costume? Could be! Later in the episode, we see the second year, where Asuka joined. She started out even more pathetic than she was at the beginning of the series, impressively. She's come a long way. Then at the end, the current year started, and Yagyuu and Hibari joined. Yagyuu didn't get along with the others at first... understandable, when she's actually really competent, unlike the rest of them. "Why should I clean the dojo? I don't want to follow that seniority thing when I'm better than any of you", to paraphrase... yeah, agreed there.
Oh, one last thing, Since episode four or so, there has been a central plot thread about the teachers of the good and evil school's ninja classes. See, the good teacher, Kiriya,
actually was the evil teacher, Suzune,'s teacher back when she was in school not too many years ago. However, she went on a dangerous mission, and "died". He thought her dead, but now we know that actually she switched over to the evil side. He's deeply in denial, though, and after spending a lot of time thinking that she was dead despite evidence to the contrary, now has moved on to "well I guess I need to save her from them" or something. Poor guy, he just doesn't want to believe that this girl he taught and who kept saying that she wanted to be the greatest super-ninja could possibly have gone bad... but she did, and his denial has made the enemy's task a little easier. I wonder when he'll have to deal with the truth...
A Black Falcon
Member
Senran Kagura 9-12 (End) - It's over already? I hope it gets a second season sometime, because overall this anime was pretty good for its genre. It's a bit too cliche, but otherwise, this is a surprisingly decently good series. Of these fanservice-heavy action series, this is one of the best ones I've seen. That is a statement qualified by "for its genre", of course, and that's a big qualification (it's a mediocre genre, for sure), but it is true. These four episodes tell a continuing story, but I'll separate the episodes anyway.
Senran Kagura ep. 9 - In this episode, Haruka's plans from several episodes ago come to fruition, and Hibari is mind-controlled into stealing the light ninja scroll, which Haruka then takes. Hibari decides to go on her own to Serpent Academy to try to get it back. Given that we're talking about Hibari here, the series' least intelligent character, it's not exactly the most well-thought-through plan... but regardless, this episode finally gives us a good look at Serpent Academy, and has some definite character-building for the five evil Serpent Academy ninja girls (Haruka, Homura, Yomi, Mirai, Suzune, and their teacher Rin). The other good ninjas are very worried for Hibari, of course, and Yagyuu runs off to chase her down. The other three manage to stop her though. Also, Kiriya finally is forced to admit for sure that
I've liked the Kiriya/Rin story arc ever since it was introduced, and this moment was long in coming. It must have been hard for Kiriya, but it had to happen eventually.
Senran Kagura ep. 10 - This episode continues the plot from episode 9, as Hibari explores around Serpent Academy while pretending to now be a convert to evil. By now it's clear that the Serpent girls are decent people, in their off time at least; the five of them have a good (if unrecognized by them) relationship, and it's unfortunate that they were brought over to the side of evil, because they're all decent, sympathetic characters, except for the stuff they do during missions. Meanwhile, the other four good ninjas prepare for the necessary rescue mission, and set off to rescue Hibari. Rin and her master, the Serpent Academy's leader Dougen, plot, and Dougen does some cruel things to his students.
Oh Hibari, did you actually think you were fooling anyone? And as for Rin... well, no we know: Dougen is the real lead villain. Jerk.
Senran Kagura ep. 11 - In this episode, the good ninja girls, having reached Serpent Academy, start fighting with the evil team. Each of the four pair off with one of the girls, in the same usual pairings they always have -- so it's Katsuragi and Yomi, Yagyuu and Mirai, Ikaruga and Yomi, and Asuka and Homura. They go into ninja fields to begin fighting. The good team have improved since the last time, though, and make a better showing of them this time. But before the fights get too far, Hibari uses her strong telepathy powers (she can do that well, if not much of anything else) to tell all four of her friends about the magic that has been applied to the Serpent Academy girls, and what will happen if they lose. And it's here that the series' final theme begins to be shown so strongly: Friendship is strength! All four good ninjas get a big power-boost of righteous rage when they hear about what will happen to their enemies if they are defeated. This is understandable, but the show definitely goes into the cheesy here, and stays that way to the end. As Katsuragi says, I think in ep. 12, though,
It's just one of those ways that good is better than evil, this philosophical divide. So, the good ninjas
Something else important in episodes 10 through 12 is that we learn more about the backstories of the five Shadow Academy girls. As you'd expect, all of them have tragic pasts. Several of the good team girls have sad backstories as well (Ikaruga and Yagyuu, most notably), but on the evil side, all five do. THey may all be cliche, but it's well presented, and it definitely helps you identify with the characters. Learning the stories affects the characters realistically, too -- Yomi, for instance, has her feelings all mixed up when Ikaruga tells her
It's hard for Yomi to continue hating and resenting Ikaruga after hearing that. And we learn about the other ones too. Homura (backstory shown in ep. 12) was betrayed by someone she trusted (which is why she can't trust Asuka or anyone else), Mirai (I think this one was in ep. 10) wants people to not ignore her so much, and seemingly emotionless Hikage is confused by how passionate Katsuragi is about everything
. It is a lot of tragic pasts, but it works from a storytelling perspective for such people to be ones more easily lured to the dark side.
Senran Kagura ep. 12 - I already covered some of this episode above, but overall, this episode mostly just finishes off the conflicts and situations set up before. It's a decent series conclusion, though it leaves plenty of room open for a sequel. That's a good thing, more of this series would be great. The episode starts with the battles between the two teams of students continuing, as the good ninjas look for the central room. Yagyuu rescues Hibari, and they team up to use their super moves to escape Haruka and Mirai. It's a pretty funny scene, good stuff! (A giant bunny riding an even larger squid... :lol) The others break off their fights, but Homura's not so easily avoided, so Asuka and Homura, the two "main characters" of their teams, continue fighting under Dougen's secret gaze. Finally, he reveals himself, and his evil plans.
It was great to see the two teams
, and the fights are reasonably well done as well, even if the theme is really cheesy. But no, it's not over yet.
Meanwhile, also, Daidouji and Kiriya find Rin, and the three of them have a standoff. We finally learn Rin's motivations:
After seeing the two teams of girls team up to fight Dougen, Rin realizes her mistake, and admits to Kiriya that what he said here was right. Then, Dougen's full threats are revealed, and the schoolgirls just aren't strong enough to stop him. He
Senran Kagura ep. 9 - In this episode, Haruka's plans from several episodes ago come to fruition, and Hibari is mind-controlled into stealing the light ninja scroll, which Haruka then takes. Hibari decides to go on her own to Serpent Academy to try to get it back. Given that we're talking about Hibari here, the series' least intelligent character, it's not exactly the most well-thought-through plan... but regardless, this episode finally gives us a good look at Serpent Academy, and has some definite character-building for the five evil Serpent Academy ninja girls (Haruka, Homura, Yomi, Mirai, Suzune, and their teacher Rin). The other good ninjas are very worried for Hibari, of course, and Yagyuu runs off to chase her down. The other three manage to stop her though. Also, Kiriya finally is forced to admit for sure that
Rin, who used to be his student, is alive and is the Serpent Academy girls' teacher. Rin appears before him, and gives him a map for how to get to Serpent Academy, for reasons of her own.
Senran Kagura ep. 10 - This episode continues the plot from episode 9, as Hibari explores around Serpent Academy while pretending to now be a convert to evil. By now it's clear that the Serpent girls are decent people, in their off time at least; the five of them have a good (if unrecognized by them) relationship, and it's unfortunate that they were brought over to the side of evil, because they're all decent, sympathetic characters, except for the stuff they do during missions. Meanwhile, the other four good ninjas prepare for the necessary rescue mission, and set off to rescue Hibari. Rin and her master, the Serpent Academy's leader Dougen, plot, and Dougen does some cruel things to his students.
Specifically, Dougen says that if any of them lose, he will activate a special magic he's applied to all Serpent Academy students which will kill them. So yeah, fail and die. Naturally, as they are evil, they don't complain about this, and just think that they'll win anyway. It seems that unfortunately, he's done a good job of brainwashing them in the ways of evil. Dougen also gets angry at Rin for what she did in the previous episode, and wants her out of the way so he can set off his own plots (which are, as the above suggests, more evil than hers are), so Rin, and Hibari who naturally got found out, get locked up in cells.
And as for Rin... well, no we know: Dougen is the real lead villain. Jerk.Senran Kagura ep. 11 - In this episode, the good ninja girls, having reached Serpent Academy, start fighting with the evil team. Each of the four pair off with one of the girls, in the same usual pairings they always have -- so it's Katsuragi and Yomi, Yagyuu and Mirai, Ikaruga and Yomi, and Asuka and Homura. They go into ninja fields to begin fighting. The good team have improved since the last time, though, and make a better showing of them this time. But before the fights get too far, Hibari uses her strong telepathy powers (she can do that well, if not much of anything else) to tell all four of her friends about the magic that has been applied to the Serpent Academy girls, and what will happen if they lose. And it's here that the series' final theme begins to be shown so strongly: Friendship is strength! All four good ninjas get a big power-boost of righteous rage when they hear about what will happen to their enemies if they are defeated. This is understandable, but the show definitely goes into the cheesy here, and stays that way to the end. As Katsuragi says, I think in ep. 12, though,
It's one thing if you die in battle, that happens to ninjas sometimes, but to be murdered just because you lost? That's wrong!
decide to escape the battles and try to find Dougen, so they can end this without killing their enemies, who they really don't want to have to kill if they don't have to.
Something else important in episodes 10 through 12 is that we learn more about the backstories of the five Shadow Academy girls. As you'd expect, all of them have tragic pasts. Several of the good team girls have sad backstories as well (Ikaruga and Yagyuu, most notably), but on the evil side, all five do. THey may all be cliche, but it's well presented, and it definitely helps you identify with the characters. Learning the stories affects the characters realistically, too -- Yomi, for instance, has her feelings all mixed up when Ikaruga tells her
that she was adopted by her family just because she has strong ninja magic powers (while the blood heir, her brother now, does not; see the earlier episode where he appears) and that she'd trade all of her wealth and fortune in an instant for the kind of love that Yomi's (poor, starving, now dead) parents gave her while they were alive.
and starts to have some stronger feelings of her own, though she doesn't understand them
This scene was pretty good stuff.
Senran Kagura ep. 12 - I already covered some of this episode above, but overall, this episode mostly just finishes off the conflicts and situations set up before. It's a decent series conclusion, though it leaves plenty of room open for a sequel. That's a good thing, more of this series would be great. The episode starts with the battles between the two teams of students continuing, as the good ninjas look for the central room. Yagyuu rescues Hibari, and they team up to use their super moves to escape Haruka and Mirai. It's a pretty funny scene, good stuff! (A giant bunny riding an even larger squid... :lol) The others break off their fights, but Homura's not so easily avoided, so Asuka and Homura, the two "main characters" of their teams, continue fighting under Dougen's secret gaze. Finally, he reveals himself, and his evil plans.
He wants to use the good and evil ninja scrolls together to take over both sides and become the ultimate, most powerful Ninja. Naturally his students are unnecessary for this, so he plans to kill them off. Homura's angry that he plans to betray the evil side and take over it all himself, so she, and her friends once everyone catches up, team up with the goodguys to defeat Dougen. The Snake Academy girls finally begin realizing that they do have friends: eachother. He pulls Asuka and Homura into a barrier alone, but they get assistance from their friends through Hibari's telepathic powers, and force him to flee.
together
Meanwhile, also, Daidouji and Kiriya find Rin, and the three of them have a standoff. We finally learn Rin's motivations:
After failing that mission which almost killed her, she decided that it happened because evil is stronger than good, so she became an evil ninja. Her plan to prove that she is the greatest super ninja, as she always wanted to be, is to train a team of evil ninjas who beat his team of good ninjas. That will prove she's right. However, Dougen's plans interrupted hers, so it doesn't finish. Also, though, Kiriya explains why it was a flawed idea from the start: what's really strongest isn't good or evil, but the power of friendship. Rin's problem (this is not stated in the series, but it's easy to guess) was that she didn't have enough friends, while her five, and the good five, have friends to work with, and this gives them strength.
After seeing the two teams of girls team up to fight Dougen, Rin realizes her mistake, and admits to Kiriya that what he said here was right. Then, Dougen's full threats are revealed, and the schoolgirls just aren't strong enough to stop him. He
sets off bombs that will destroy Serpent Academy, so the five Serpent girls run off to rescue their classmates from the building/spoiler]. Rin takes action and
Anyway, mission accomplished, the good ninjas go home, though in Kiriya and Daidouji's cases, it is with heavy hearts.
Overall, I was a little surprised by that one twist at the end (with Rin), but otherwise it's all as expected, and the messaging about how friendship is so important and strong or powerful gets kind of silly after a while. It's more than a bit heavyhanded. Still, overall, it's a decent ending to a good show. I like the characters a lot, and the story is decently good enough to do. The art is decently good too, and the fight scenes mostly well done (I don't explain them in detail, but they are mostly good. The Asuka-Homura-Dougen bit's good, for instance, and I really liked touches like how in the team battle
during the fight... they're becoming more friendly. It's good to see. The ending, as I said before, finishes the series' plot, but leaves ground open for a sequel -- the evil girls are still out there, somewhere, and likely will cause trouble again sometime in the future. They may be personally nice, but in terms of actions, they're still committed to the wrong side. I hope that we see more of them, preferably in anime form, though it'd also be cool to see the games brought over as well (the 3DS ones particularly). It's a character-driven show, and I like the characters, so I like the show and want more of it.
sacrifices herself, jumping off of the building with Dougen into the flames to stop him before he can escape and cause more chaos while he tries to take over the world of ninjas. She is presumably dead now, but we didn't see the body, so I won't take that as a definite thing, that's for sure. And Daidouji still hasn't fought Rin... you can't let that end with that plotline incomplete, can you? Hopefully S2 brings her back somehow, though I do think that she deserves to be punished in some way for helping to influence these girls to the side of evil.
Overall, I was a little surprised by that one twist at the end (with Rin), but otherwise it's all as expected, and the messaging about how friendship is so important and strong or powerful gets kind of silly after a while. It's more than a bit heavyhanded. Still, overall, it's a decent ending to a good show. I like the characters a lot, and the story is decently good enough to do. The art is decently good too, and the fight scenes mostly well done (I don't explain them in detail, but they are mostly good. The Asuka-Homura-Dougen bit's good, for instance, and I really liked touches like how in the team battle
Yagyuu and Mirai use eachothers' umbrellas
The ending, as I said before, finishes the series' plot, but leaves ground open for a sequel -- the evil girls are still out there, somewhere, and likely will cause trouble again sometime in the future. They may be personally nice, but in terms of actions, they're still committed to the wrong side. I hope that we see more of them, preferably in anime form, though it'd also be cool to see the games brought over as well (the 3DS ones particularly). It's a character-driven show, and I like the characters, so I like the show and want more of it.darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Man I don't even have to watch Senran Kagura now that I've experienced that rocket gif and a wall of ABF.
Canis lupus
Member
But they were selling stuff which the people of other status' needed. Were merchants looked down upon for having that job?
Hellsing321
Member
Now we just need Mac to respond to ABF's review and we got a stew going!
ZachDeKoromaru
Banned
I Ctrl+F'd "boobs" and "butts" which yielded zero results. I want to know how that is possible.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Yes the other folks did business with them for those things (and thus merchants made bank) but were still looked down upon because they weren't Samurai, because they weren't growing food crops, they weren't making goods used in every day life etc.
Somebody who knows way more about this stuff could elaborate but I'm pretty sure thats the gist of it x_x.
Hellsing321
Member
Its more that greed and acquiring money was seen as dirty or dishonest. Not that they didn't provide useful things for society.
A Black Falcon
Member
He promised to try watching the series, to as to prove me wrong when I said that it was a decent series with a competent story, so you could get your wish... we'll see.
It's fairly self-evident that the series is full of that. And anyway, that alone would not keep me watching if the show was terrible. It's the good, likeable characters, solid (if cliche) writing, and good pace that did that.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Okay, I'll wait. I thought it had already premiered.
chickdigger802
Banned
Boobs are great. But I would have ass avatar if I can get confirmation of no ban, or link of Someone else with a similar avatar.
Are skirts in Japan uniforms really as short as anime? Never been to a school that requires uniforms and the private schools around here have girls wear pants
Are skirts in Japan uniforms really as short as anime? Never been to a school that requires uniforms and the private schools around here have girls wear pants
Canis lupus
Member
Ah, was that the case in the west too? I feel that it wasn't.
ABF sure took his time writing that review!
A Black Falcon
Member
I wrote the episodes 4-8 parts several weeks ago, I just hadn't posted it on GAF. I just wrote the rest (1-3 and 9-12) today, after watching episode 12 last night.
I'm pretty sure that real Japanese school uniform skirts are a lot longer than the ones in anime.Boobs are great. But I would have ass avatar if I can get confirmation of no ban, or link of Someone else with a similar avatar.
Are skirts in Japan uniforms really as short as anime? Never been to a school that requires uniforms and the private schools around here have girls wear pants
It's beautiful.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Nice, I think mines is still on the ups truck.
No answer to my Eva DVD question? =(
ZachDeKoromaru
Banned
It's either with each other or alone after the series ends. Minorin apparently swings that way too but it's not like it was confirmed.
Last I checked, the NA license had expired but people thought Funi might eventually pick up the TV series since they have the Rebuild stuff.
I'm sure SDBurton would join that ship.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
I love you ABF.
PdotMichael
Banned
Well, Erika is pilot of a Focke-Achgelis Fa 223, so it would be crazy to think that flying planes is not another way to turn girls into Yamato Nadeshikos.
Canis lupus
Member
Why don't these ever release where I live.
I wish I had the energy to write lengthy reviews. :/
Dedication Through Light
Member
Senyuu 12
Foyfoy! Foyfoy, so glad to see but not in that state. After next week, guess Ill also miss Senyuu.
Foyfoy! Foyfoy, so glad to see but not in that state. After next week, guess Ill also miss Senyuu.
Welcome back ABF.
I've got that and it's pretty much the same as the JP remasters. I think there's a holiday version that includes the extras so if you want to see Tiffany Grants creepy as hell Asuka shrine then you'll probably wanna pick that up. Also, don't bother hunting down the US version of EoE as that's not only been OOP for ages now but it's also a pretty shit quality release with tons of video quality issues, a shame about that as the DVD menu's pretty amazing but you can catch that on YouTube so *shrug*.
Canis lupus
Member
Why are the episodes of this show so exceptionally short?
R_thanatos
Member
Grandfather is actually VERY perverted in the games.
I don't think this anime is a spin-off.
There is plenty more to tell in the sengan kagura world and i'd love to see more of it animated.
Those flashbacks weren't long but they did the job. the fact that they were a entity like the 5 main girls is also what made them enjoyable to watch ..since we got a proper vilain in the end.
I'm actually glad they ended on that note and i'm very happy on what they did ..you can get hyped whever they annonce another season or oav because i'll be great.
Well you're plenty right
.
That's clue enough that you're on the right track.
And i agree ..what make sengan kagura fun is the characters ..they make the show and you love or hate some of them and the overall production values make this a show that is not hard to watch.
since they found no bodies under the castle
That's clue enough that you're on the right track.
Overall, I was a little surprised by that one twist at the end (with Rin), but otherwise it's all as expected, and the messaging about how friendship is so important and strong or powerful gets kind of silly after a while. It's more than a bit heavyhanded. Still, overall, it's a decent ending to a good show. I like the characters a lot, and the story is decently good enough to do. The art is decently good too, and the fight scenes mostly well done (I don't explain them in detail, but they are mostly good. The Asuka-Homura-Dougen bit's good, for instance, and I really liked touches like how in the team battleduring the fight... they're becoming more friendly. It's good to see.Yagyuu and Mirai use eachothers' umbrellas
And i agree ..what make sengan kagura fun is the characters ..they make the show and you love or hate some of them and the overall production values make this a show that is not hard to watch.
1. I made the wall of shame! And had a thousand less posts than cajunator!
2. Is Valrave any good? I don't care about Majestic Prince ATM because I don't need anymore Hiraiface in my life, but if Valrave is good I'll check it out.
GAOGAIGAR 32
HOLY CRAP WHEN DID THIS SHOW GET SO SERIOUS? Seeing Gai all bandaged up and in the middle of an existential quandary was freaking DARK. Like, seriously, the way GaoGaiGar was carted into the Amaterasu like a busted up rag doll was depressing. This is GAOGAIGAR, you know, the HERO who saved the world three episodes back and seemed more or less invincible?
If the Zondar were scary things in your childhood, the Primevals are bound to be some kind of alien horror feeding off of darker fears still. Pagliaccio is already creeping me out. HANG IN THERE, GAI!
2. Is Valrave any good? I don't care about Majestic Prince ATM because I don't need anymore Hiraiface in my life, but if Valrave is good I'll check it out.
GAOGAIGAR 32
HOLY CRAP WHEN DID THIS SHOW GET SO SERIOUS? Seeing Gai all bandaged up and in the middle of an existential quandary was freaking DARK. Like, seriously, the way GaoGaiGar was carted into the Amaterasu like a busted up rag doll was depressing. This is GAOGAIGAR, you know, the HERO who saved the world three episodes back and seemed more or less invincible?
If the Zondar were scary things in your childhood, the Primevals are bound to be some kind of alien horror feeding off of darker fears still. Pagliaccio is already creeping me out. HANG IN THERE, GAI!
Girls Und Pasta
♪ Enter Enter Michelin Star
We got to cook for the best
By putting our culinary skills to the test.
I said baby
Enter Enter Michelin Star
To make the best food in the world baby
We're in kitchen
To impress Michelin
Don't forget the seasoning. ♪
♪ Enter Enter Michelin Star
We got to cook for the best
By putting our culinary skills to the test.
I said baby
Enter Enter Michelin Star
To make the best food in the world baby
We're in kitchen
To impress Michelin
Don't forget the seasoning. ♪
Thanks! Yeah, the holiday version is actually the same price as the normal version now. I kinda like the look of the platinum ones better though so hmm. Choices!
dakkumauji
Member
Part of the new fad of 5 minutes episodes.
Works well for this show and leaves you with wanting more. So much more.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
- Status