Black Butler Season 1 Review

Black Butler Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you. 

The review is only of Season 1 of Black Butler (or Kuroshitsuji if you go by the Japanese)

Also, this review will contain some heavy fangirling.

With that said, thank you and onto the review:

For as long as I can remember, dark storylines haven't been my cup of tea. Especially when they're related to horror, my least favorite genre of all time. And since last year, I have put up a guarded protection again this genre, not looking at Redbox's, and avoiding the DVD's of a department store. But I'll be honest, even though the storyline for this show looked pretty sad and violent, I knew there was going to be some sort of good in the series.

So, for almost 2 years. I began pondering to myself on when to watch it. And when one of my closest friends recommended it to me, I couldn't help but check it out, and see for myself.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like Tenchi Universe, this series changed me in some way. I can accept dark storylines, but comedy added in is always a good thing, Even if the subject was darker than what I'm used to. Like High School Of the Dead, (Which I haven't finished yet due to time and other shows) I can at least enjoy something that is somewhat horror.

Good news, this show isn't completely dark, there are actually some comedy moments in this show you're all going to know by the end of this review. But the show can become mysterious if it needs to.

Let's go on to the main story:

Story

The story begins when the titular character, the Earl Ciel Phantomhive, discovers his house in flames on his 10th birthday. While there, he also finds his parents murdered, and soon after this, he is captured by an unknown organization. While in there clutches, Ciel is subjected to multiple forms of torture for about a month, until the demon Sebastian appears, and asks Ciel to make a contract with him. This contract allows Sebastian, after taking revenge on the ones who murdered Ciel's parents, to devour his soul. This causes him to safely return to the Phantomhive mansion, where Ciel now serves as the Queen's Watchdog. While solving crimes in late 19th century London, Ciel is still looking for the murderers who took the lives of his parents.

This is the buildup leading to modern day, and to be honest, it's a lot of information to process. Not only did I feel bad for Ciel, but I was also compelled to help solve the mystery behind his parent's death. And I thought the anime did it rather well.

While the anime does add some arcs that weren't in the manga, and they manage to reveal the identity of the ones who murder Ciel's parents. (P.S. you won't expect it), they add some many plot twists that you can't help, but be shocked or possibly floored by on how the anime might actually steal your heart. (Then again, Grell does that in the character boat)

This anime was such a thrill ride because even I didn't expect to see about half of the plot twists come up before they even began. And I watched the first season before I started the manga, with the genius arc of Noah Ark's Circus. So all in all, this plot is going to leave you spinning on your heels, possibly craving more on this mysterious aspect on 19th century London.

Characters

The characters in Black Butler all are memorable, and some will stick to you like glue. Each character of black Butler is so intriguing, some aren't that hard to like. 

I'm going to start off with the demon butler, Sebastian. 

Sebastian is Ciel's butler, and therefore his bodyguard as well. Don't let the charming appearance wet your pants or anything. He has his demon form, and it's so terrifying, you don't get to see it come out. Which would have been cool, but oh wells.

As his butler, Sebastian remains close to Ciel's side, following his orders to the best of his ability. Most of the time when Ciel doesn't experience any illness, (this happens later on in the manga, but still) he often isn't the most concerned about his well-being, and sometimes teases him for enjoyment. But Sebastian is perhaps one of the best butlers I've ever seen, and I haven't seen a lot of them.

Though, when his demon traits, he is shown to be very ruthless, quite sadistic, and very manipulative to his opponents. So yeah, you don;t want to mess with him.

Sebastian is the titular character of the series, and is a interesting character. Well, for a demon perhaps. I like his loyalty to Ciel, and it's that bond that makes you wish that happened with your best friends. Okay, that's a little extreme. How about siblings?

Although, this bond could be targets of fanfics that I don't have the courage to read. I can do Grell, but *cough* getting off track here.

And Sebastian could still charm the pants off of every girl. I have another sense you know. Hotness levels abound!

Ciel's turn.

Ciel is a 13 year old Earl, which is like, a underdog to the queen. He has a very cold personality, mainly to due with his past. He is the head of the Funtom Company, which sells toys and candy (or should I call it sweets. It work here rather than in the English dub for Bleach).

After the whole incident with the cult ritual and what not, as well as making the contract with Sebastian, Ciel now conceals his right eye with a eye patch, which signifies his contract with Sebastian, also known as the  Faustian contract. He only undoes his eye-patch for baths, and for giving Sebasitan orders. this sequences are always so cool. Wah!

Ciel was a very complex character. I can't help, but feel sorry for not only what he felt in his past, but also for how it affects him now. He isn't all sugar and happiness, he is dead set on taking revenge. And won't let anyone get in his way. Okay, maybe not that much.

I don't think I can explain any more without giving major spoilers.

Now, onto the 2 most memorable characters for me. First, Undertaker:

The mysterious undertaker whose name is, well....., Undertaker. XD He lives in a funeral shop where he prepares corpses for the grave. He used to be a grim reaper, but that was long long ago, and is in fact not merely talked about until later in the manga.

He is a great source for information through-out the series, often giving very important clues, or providing some assistance in something Ciel is investigating. Though, this does come with a side effect. Undertaker won't spill unless he experiences true laughter.

Take out the tickling fingers everyone!

I think the main reason why I like Undertaker is due to the fact we don't know much about him. He is a antagonist later on in the manga, but for now, just settle into the aspect that everything is a crystal state, and your just wondering what the hell is this man to the story. Undertaker just also happens to provide some comedy, but not as much as Grell.

Shall we now talk about Grell? Give me a second so i don't pass out or anything. *breathes deeply* Okay, I'm ready.

AKLSJLSKJFLSDKJFL;SJ;LSAJL;SKJFLASKJF';SDJKF'F;SALFK;ASLKF;LKF;LSAJFLKSAJL;KSJAFLK;AJLF;D GRELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*hyperventilates*

Sorry guys, I tried. *takes deep breaths* Grell is just awesome, and like Ryoko, and Toshiro, and Noiz, and any single other favorite of mine, he needs fangirling.

Grell's first appearance was as the butler of Madam Red. After revealing his true identity, and YAY! big spoilers, he makes a few appearances through-out the show. But, that doesn't stop me from falling completely in love with him. While obsessing over Sebastian (or should I say, Sebas-chan), is often very flamboyant. and can be sadistic is certain situations. His red coat is from Madam Red when he..... big spoiler....., and he dons it for the rest of the series.

And Sebastian isn't his only going after, but he seems to be attracted to other males to. And while still claiming himself to be lady, Hmm. choices, choices.

We could go on and argue about Grell's real gender, but that will take years and thousands of blog posts. In my belief, I think he is a male, because that is his actual gender. Please don't stir arguments.

With that said, Grell is with hands down, my favorite character from the series. He is hilarious, and really reminds me of some of the personality traits that Ryoko had in Tenchi Muyo. That aside, he'll be something you'll remember and probably won't forget anytime soon.

Other characters include the Phantomhive servants, Madam Red, a Chinese nobleman, and his "sister", a Indian prince and his butler, Lady Elizabeth, another grim reaper who Grell also loves, a Viscount, Scotland Yard detectives, lady Elizabeth's servant, the Queen, a angel with two personalities, a demon hound who can also turn into a human, and a businessman.

One character in the Scotland Yard does die in the series, before later on constantly getting mixed up and perhaps being one of the most confusing character in the anime adaption. But more on that later on in the third season review.

Some of the characters are anime only, but I think they all were good additions. I like how some of the personalities were developed, especially with the angel with a male and female counterpart. They made such good villains that I didn't expect.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by A-1 Pictures, who are also most known for the co-production of Fairy Tail, Uta No Prince Sama (the series with the fan-girling, So much fan-girling it's gotten three seasons.), and Blue Exorcist.

I've seen shows that have been done by A-1 Picutres, and I haven't been disappointed by them yet. The animation for this series was pretty good, giving very cool scenery to work with, and interesting character designs. I really liked how A-1 developed there city of London, and wonder if they traveled to the city themselves just to get extra research.

Each season improve animation quality, and it looks a lot better than it did it's first time around. So plus for improvement!

Sound

The score for this series was composed by Taku Iwasaki, who is most known for his scores of Gurren Lagann, Soul Eater, and Jormungand. 

The score for this series is a amazing example of one that can balance light hearted moments and the more creepy side of the scale. there are some amazing suspenseful tracks that could easily belong in a creepy setting. The happy, bubbly tracks do appear as well, and it's a perfect flesh of balance between these two.

The original Japanese was more convenient for me to watch on FUNimation's website, due to it all being free to watch, minus the English dub, which had only four episodes. I didn't mind which version I watched, but Japanese was more convenient. Pretty much, everyone pwned. Enough said.

The Enlgish dub did go the extra mile in adding English accents. This actually works in it's favor, unlike Infinite Stratos, where French and German accents were more forced. All of them are done with convenience, although Soma's accent (as he is from India) doesn't sound nearly as good as Patrick Seitz's attempt at the same feat.

Highlights in the original Japanese are EVERYONE! (Even the guest appearances)

Highlights in the English dub so far are J. Micheal Tatum, Brina Palencia, Monica Rial, R Bruce Elliott, Lydia Mackay, Jerry Jewell, Patrick Seitz, Cherami Leigh, Daniel Fredrick (like Whitney Rodgers, heavily underrated, and deserves more roles), Barry Yandell, John Swasey, Todd Haberkorn, Colleen Clinkenbeard, and Chuck Huber.

Verdict

This show is clearly under-rated alongside other supernatural shows which may offer worse storylines. This anime while compelling, is also a great thrill ride emotionally and physically, I feel that fans of supernatural, paranormal, and mystery animes will find themselves attached to this anime like a string.

If you don't have enough time to watch this show, you will be charmed by it's OVA's. Some of them give interesting back story, while the others are just mindless fun. 

This show has a reason for being one of my favorites. Not only does it have one of my favorite characters, but it gives such a depth that I had never experienced before. It will give you chills, laughter, and perhaps different emotions.

Score: 10/10

Positives:

Engaging story.

Fun characters.

Grell. :3

Fantastic soundtrack.

Well-done animation.

Negatives:

Might be too dark for some viewers.

How to Make a Successful Anime Series

How to Make a Successful Anime Series

Warning: This post will be heavily sarcastic, and is meant for comedy purposes. Please don't take this seriously, as I'm only doing this due to anime stereotypes that aggravate me to no end.

This post is inspired by a YA Midnight Reads post called How to Become a Bestselling YA Author. This makes me crack up every time I read it, and it is so true to all of the cliches in young adult fiction. Here's the post.

Are you guys ready? Let's go:

Hello boys and girls. Have you ever wanted to know why anime is so successful? It's because each series has unique balance, fun characters, and interesting plots. But that one question still lingers, how do you make it really successful, and cash in lots and lots on money?

Well, today I'm going to let you in on all of the secrets of anime, Each item I will talk about is essential to whatever genre you wish to write about. So let's go put on my teacher outfit, and start the show:

Ahh, much better.

First, why don't we talk about shonen. I mean, it's the most popular genre, correct?

You are exactly right. But here's some tricks of the trade.

First off, make sure your protagonist has spiky hair. Spiky hair is so in, and makes your main character look more sexy and badass than they should. Also, don't forget to make this spiky hair a really awesome color. Colors that have not been used before are blonde, pink, black, and orange. It'll make your character ooze with uniqueness, and has a classic vibe.

Better yet, I forgot the most important aspect to make this anime soar with success: Always make your main character a male. Females never work in these scenarios, and since this manga might attract more male fans anyway, why the heck not?

There may be more interesting characters other than the adventurous main teen, but why let that stop you? You've got thousands of characters to create, and more fanbases than normal sitcom creators get in their wallets. Making these characters have generic stereotypes works really well, and your characters might get tons and tons of fans portraying this character's sheer awesomeness. Even if this character is completely useless.

But along the way, you might need some romance to keep those fans cuddled up and smug. It's a necessity to make your main male fall in love with the most obvious love interest. Make her interesting, and always make sure she has some problem with her, such as daddy issues, or losing her magic powers. This makes your character more interesting, and it can relate to the fanbase easily.

Final thing you should keep in mind, make sure you shonen manga runs for as long as humanly possible. That way, more fans can get involved to the source material as fans throw it toward you, and you might as well jump on the bandwagon as well. Also, new arcs engage your readers, and make them connect with your interesting characters.

Now onto the next genre of discussion, harems. Harems are perhaps the most cash flow you might possibly get in a anime. So let's talk about all of the essentials to make yours unique and refreshing.

First, make sure your main male is completely blank, or better yet, a pervert. Perverts in harem have actually been taking a decline lately, so it's in your best interest to go that route.

Also make sure your male has some special snowflake quirk of his that makes all girls lust after him. Make him absolutely nothing until he learns or gets this magic power to provide more interest in whatever your writing about, and you can get cries of joy from fans.

Love interests are always a plus. in fact, make your harem as big as possible, More than 5 girls is at least enough, and maybe some day, when a new organization comes down and crap, you can have EVEN MORE! Make sure that you also make the first girl he ever meets/first to learn about his "magical" power/the one who brought him back to life completely FLAWLESS. Make her have no flaws, and don't even develop her past at all. This puts her in a more positive light, and perhaps all of the other girls will see this too.

Oh, don't forget the rivalries. A harem, or shounen for that fact, wouldn't be good without one. Make sure these characters have a quality in common, but also have opposite abilities. Even if your characters start fighting about nothing once in a while, viewers will still have something to look forward to, even if the show is perfect otherwise.

Now, perhaps one of the most important aspects on your show is fanservice. Make sure to show your girls in harems or fanservice without their tops at least twice every episode. Make sure your guys react with nosebleeds, or whatever you wish to decide. It's reasonable to show a girls panties at least a thousand times in the first episode alone, but make sure to keep it gradually equal throughout the season (or seasons if you make more, Besides, fans will thank you later)

If you do manage to show girls and guys shirtless, make sure to show nipples of only girls. Guys don't have them really in anime, they're non-existent. If a girls top rips off, show them there in a epic fight scene. This will get more thumbs up, and perhaps more appreciation for your genre.

For anime guys, you fangirls out there know what to do. Make sure all of your guys have a six-pack. In fact, make all of them ooze with sex appeal so strong, you might make girls pass out in mass by hotness levels alone. If not, there's always yaoi fanfiction, where six-packs and hotness are always welcome. But, it's vital to at least have something hot or sexy about the guys. I mean, what else can you expect?

Shower scenes for girls just happen to be on your checklist for top ways of fanservice. Guys are completely non-existent in this regard, so just have them seductively strip or whatever. Hotness levels will go up, and more money will follow. Also expect your fans beg for another 10 seasons of this particular show. Even if the formula gets tiresome, and the same main ideas get repeated OVER and OVER, fans won't even care. They'll just be throwing roses in the air because you made them HAPPY! (plays song)

These main elements will make you strive with success, and have a lot to look forward to if you really wanted some success. Side elements that you must do right.

Horror: Make sure you add as much blood and gore as possible. Who cares if your victims are the only interesting characters. Each death makes your clueless lead stronger.

BL: Nudity is forbidden here. Just show your guys shirtless, and develop there romance so fast that it will only take 2 OVA episodes to do so.

I could talk about more subjects, but sadly we're out of time. Thank you all so much for joining me today, and I hope you can prove a successful career out there.

Do any of you agree with some of the anime tropes I talked about here? Are there some I managed to forget, or ones you also want to bring up?

Would you guys like to see more comedy posts? Please let me know.

Nyan Koi Review

Nyan Koi Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you. 

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

My opinion on cats is on the fence. While I do think they're super cute, and that I like seeing them, I don't normally like approaching them, because a pretty white kitty scratched me at a shelter when I was young. And since then. I've been a little wary.

This anime has been floating around in the Youtube atmosphere because of the twin sequence with the tails and cat ears has appeared in who knows how many MEP's. When looking at the show on it's own, this looked like a unique harem, and I was looking forward to watching it.

When my local library ordered it from a request I filled, I was super ecstatic, and even convinced a friend to watch it with me. And man, this anime flew by. But then again, 2 episodes nearly per night is extraordinary. XD

This anime is a super light comedy that I'm sure will have people chuckling in there seats, and possibly get intrigued (or creeped out) due to it's storyline. But even though it isn't perfect, I found things to enjoy when I watched it.

Story

The story all begins with Junpei Kosaka, a second year high school student. He has always not liked cats due to him getting sever allergies from them, which mainly involves sneezing. This backfires to him because his childhood friend and secret crush, Kaede Mizuno, adore cats, and can be seen at the park once a week, accidentally scaring the cats because she's a bit TOO cuddly to them.

After school one day, while listening to the show's theme song via headphones. (Breaks the fourth wall!) Junpei kicks a soda can and accidentally breaks the local cat jizo statue. A week later, he can now understand cat's conversations, what they say, etc. It's CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZY!

According to an old legend, Junpei must now grant 100 wishes to cats. However, if he can't do this within a set period of time, Junpei will turn into a cat himself, and will most likely die because of his own allergy weakness.

As you can see, the story might sound a little freaky, but it also tries to make this act as hilarious as possible, which it does do well. 

The best part of the story is when the breaking of the jizo statue is found out towards the end of the series, and when Kaede wonders why Junpei seemingly "talks" to cats, causing the jizo statue to become pissed as hell as Garfield would be on a Monday. Thus giving Junpei cat features until becoming a cat for about two minutes before being saved by Kaede who re-questions her thoughts.

With all due accord, I think the story does have unique elements to it that make it quite charming. However, people who think some unique elements are over-rated, might not find some enjoyment in this.

Characters

The characters in Nyan Koi are all lovable in there own way. I didn't really find any bad characters at all, and there's a interesting part to each character.

Junpei's up first:

Junpei's unique quality that holds him apart from other harem protagonists is that he has a constant allergy to cats. Although, majority of his friends, and his mom and sister (his dad's never around) LOVE cats. and with the whole cat deity being broken, Junpei's gotten the worst strain of bad luck ever.

The curse has very simple rules: Preform all of the requests, or turn into a cat. If you let anyone find out about the curse, not only will the curse activate more for you, but the person who suspects or knows of the curse will get more bad luck from them.

So yeah, the whole system is complicated.

Wait, did I forget that Junpei's family owned a cat?

Nyamsus is the cat who gives Junpei the requests of other cats, The other cats know her pretty well, since they see her as an older sister figure. While Nyamsus does care for Junpei, she rarely shows it. for example, in one episode where she locks him outside to gain ownership of the living room, causing Junpei to get a cold, later on having Kanako to take care of him. Ouch

Junpei is quite interesting if you mix in the whole mysterious cat curse, But overall, he isn't the most unique male protagonist ever.

Let's go to Kaede:

Okay seriously, she charms me just with character design alone. ISN'T SHE ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kaede has been friends with Junpei since his childhood, however doesn't know of his feelings to her. However, she later develops feelings for him over time. She is on the school's track team, and is also pretty smart. not to mention cute, but I think I've already gone over that. XD

Despite having a love for cats, she can't own one, due to her family already being bundled up with four dogs to take care of. She bought a cat when she was young, but couldn't keep it. (This cat is Nyamsus)

So when cats see her now, they either bolt because of the dog scent, Or if she picks them up, and gets WAYYYYYY too excited about them whilst cuddling, and leaves some of the neighborhood's cats scarred for life. Until Junpei convinces her otherwise.

Being on the track team, she can easily outrun a lot of people. and on two occasions, runs away from Junpei after mistaking when he yells at Nyamsus and Tama that it takes to her. Both of these moments are icing on the cake in the funny moments department.

Besides this, Kaede seems like a very friendly person, and some people in real life who just die to be her boyfriend. For me, she'd seem like a really close friend.

 Kanako's turn:

Kanako was another one of Junpei's childhood friends, but they became feuding after Kanako misinterpreted Junpei after she got him a gift, in which he was giving it to another female classmate, when he was actually showing it to her. This feud has led up to the point of high school, which they later re-kindle there friendship.

At first, Kanako hides behind makeup, a look known as manba. However, she later ditches this makeup because of, like  I said earlier, she's friends with Junpei again. 

Since then, while Kanako and Junpei still have the occasional bicker or two, she still manages to have feelings for him. She also is pretty persistent, often forcing Junpei to buy food for her. Oh, childhood memories. *sighs*

Kanako, you got spunk, and in a alternate universe, I'm pretty sure Junpei will date you. Right now, let's focus on the good times of just having your friendship back, kay?

TWINZIE TIME!

Akari and Kotone are the daughters (and are twins, with Kotone being older) of a local monk that the temple actually has the jizo statue that Junpei broke. Even though they both know that Junpei is cursed, they don't become affected, due to having anti-magic abilities.

Unlike Takeru and Tsukito who were close to being opposites, these girls are. And they're probably the best examples of anime twins I've seen since I started anime. 

When first seeing Akari and Kotone separately, Junpei accidentally mistakes them for the same person, even though viewers (myself included) will notice that there is a difference. While they both have blonde hair, Kotone's is a shade darker. And they each have the opposite color of bows, with Kotone's being black, and Akari's being white.

There personalities can be summed up in at least a couple sentences: Kotone does have a sweet outward demeanor, but is mainly interested in Junpei because of his constant misfortunes, and is somewhat of a stalker. Well, she did write a fantasy journal about him.

Akari is a tsundere, as she had a hard time trying to communicate with people at a young age. Thus causing her awkwardness around other people. She is also a bit possessive over her twin, as Kotone seems to have no problem communicating with Junpei. Like her sister, she also harbors some feelings with Junpei, but tries to conceal her feelings more.

The twins are some of the most entertaining characters in the show, and I liked seeing them on screen every time they appeared. I love how the twins connect with the series, and in one episode of the series, you get to see there magic powers  And those were pretty cool.

Other characters include Kaede's senior (part of the main harem), the monk, the third-year college student who's a mail carrier, the monk's cat, Nagi's cat who in Japanese, speaks in a Kansai dialect, the twin's cat, and a cat who's a bit over-weight who threatened to run away from home because his owner wanted to put him on a diet. There are also other cats that Junpei helped from around the neighborhood.

All of the main characters are very interesting, and Nagi actually adds a lot of humor into the show. Some of the cats are entertaining, some of them aren't that memorable.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by AIC, who are also famous for the Tenchi Muyo franchise, Haganai, and Heaven's Lost Property.

The animation isn't on the top list to win any awards anytime soon, But it does well with what it manages, giving great character designs because of this.

I did like what AIC did, but it isn't jaw-drooping.

Sound

The score was composed by Manabu Miwa and Shingenobu Okawa. Miwa is most famous for Little Busters and Yosuga No Sora, while Okawa is most famous for Miss Monochrome and Tayutama.

While it does provide some interesting tracks, and has some good upbeat ones to go along with funny moments, the score isn't as memorable as the rest of the series. Music wise, the opening sung by Yui Sakakibara is very heart-felt, and I found myself singing along to it every single episode. It was super fun to look forward to, and it's such a fun little treat to dance to. The ending, which is sung by Asami Imai, who some might remember from the anime Steins Gate, sings a very relaxed ending that's very smoothing. It may not be memorable to everyone, but I did have some sort of liking to it.

The original Japanese is very fun, and you can tell that the seiyuus enjoyed there roles to some extent. On the other side, the English dub of this show is leaning towards being good to being complete and utter s**t.

The dub keeps all of the honorifics, which makes everything sound a bit too forced and sometimes awkward. And the dub cast doesn't do as well with the material. Also agitating for me was the choice to have the twins be voiced by separate voice actors, This might not bother some people as much, but I still find it extremely confusing. 

So, just go watch the sub. The dub will involve more cringing.

Highlights of the original Japanese are Shintaro Asanuma, Ryoko Shirashi, Yu Kobayashi, Haruka Tomatsu, Rina Sato, Atsuko Tanaka, Jun Fukuyama (as both characters he voices), Koji Yusa, and Yukari Fukui.

Highlights in the English dub so far are Maggie Flecknoe, Emily Neves, Andrew Love, Monica Rial, and Jay Hickman.

Verdict

This show is cute and cuddly, and if you're a harem fan, I recommend it to you. It may not be anything cool, like girls from space, but it's a nice way to balance your time when you have no clue which anime to watch next.

One more point: If you don't like cats, this is not for you.

Score: 9/10

Positives:

Cool and original story.

Unique characters.

The variant personalities of the cats.

Great Japanese dub.

Negatives:

Score not as memorable.

Disappointing English dub.

As this is my 10th review, next up will be a special post. Stay tuned!

Infinite Stratos Review

Infinite Stratos Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

This show has been on my mind, and in my head ever since Laura was in a Top Model cycle that one of my friends had. (Well, it was his fourth). My friend played clips of the English dub on ITunes, Fast forward 6 months later, and I'm cracking up to Hollow Of Dawn's review of the show. 2 months later, his reaction videos to Season 2, and it's upcoming review in February also made me laugh so hard until my sides started hurting. 

So Season 2 wasn't on my To Watch list, Season 1 still was, and now it was my turn to try and find a time where I could watch it.

The time finally came after I dropped Date A Live 2, I wanted another robotic show, perhaps with some more interesting aspects. So then, it was finally time for this show to make its way into my watching limelight. And overall, I kind of liked it.

The show does provide interesting characters, and a good story. However, if you came to the series specifically looking for robots, you are going to be disappointed.

The show mainly amps up to 11 in it's harem aspects, and doesn't truly shine with the IS's until the battles step into first base. All of this, concluded with a FANTASTIC musical score, great animation, and a somewhat engaging side story line, I can find even the lowest of harem fans might find something good in this series.

Story

In the future (not sure how many years), an inventor named Tabane Shinonono invents a machine known as the IS, or Infinite Stratos. This machine possess more technology and combat than anything else in the world, resulting in common fear from the public of it's danger. Thus, some of the countries team up to create the Alaska Treaty, stating that the IS will never be used for military combat, and that the technology must be distributed equally between all nations. (Score!) This also creates a new dominance in society, letting women triumph over men, as women are the only one who can use this machine.

However, this changes 10 years later when Ichika Orimura activates the machine during a entrance exam. This leads to the Japanese government shipping him off to IS Academy, believing they have solid gold on there hands. Though, Ichika must deal with the fact that he's the only male in the entire academy, so it's a big gigantic harem, well at least until you meet the main love interests.

So what's the main part of the story you ask?

The harem.

WHUT? But what about the IS and its development on how it came it be?

Yeah, that basically isn't developed as much, as it seems the writer wanted to just over-empathize the harem aspect of this series as much as possible.

And that's a bit disappointing, since the backstory sound so promising. Oh, and it isn't even explained in the show, besides the creation of it. Other than that, zero zilch.

We do get some interesting fight scenes between IS's, and we also get some possibly of some controlled unites. However, the show doesn't know when to explore this set territory, causing for some weakened plot elements, and overall disappointment.

But still, other elements don't overall downgrade the show. Let's talk about a plus:

Characters

The characters in Infinite Stratos all range from somewhat unique to cliched stereotypes. However, maybe through all of this, the creative aspects will shine?

Let's start off with Ichika, our main protagonist:

Ichika is a first year student at the academy, and is perhaps a miracle worker because he's the only male at the school. Well, at least, according to the girls. Beside that, Ichika is the younger brother of a IS prodigy, his big sister named Chifuyu, who also happens to be his teacher. Ouch, awkward.

When he was young, he was captured by Phantom Task during a competition that Chifuyu was in ,forcing her to drop out to find him, which she does successfully. This makes him regret about a strong enough younger brother, and you'll see this story is connected to another character, but more on that later.

As he is the first male IS pilot EVAR, he has a great reputation with the ladies who feel that it's necessary to get to know him ASAP. Although, his personality is as dense as a brick, leading to him saying something stupid, causing that girl to get made at him. (Mainly Houki if this happens) However, he has some kindness to him, as he often will go on to achieve great lengths to protect others

While Ichika is perhaps another ordinary male protagonist, he does have some qualities that help him out in my opinion. For one, he doesn't mean to be an asshole, so I put accidental before it. Also, he seems to drift between each girl, not knowing who he will choose. Hmm, I wonder who?

Houki's up next:

Without her back-story, Houki is the typical anime tsundere. The one who constantly acts cold, admits to liking said main character in private, and often results in hitting or punching him when she gets mad.

Houki is the younger sister of the inventor of the IS, and blames her sister for Ichika's and her separation, because she was dropped from a kendo tournament that if she won, she could date Ichika. Wow, dating at a young age isn't pretty. But the reason why she had to drop was because that IS was introduced to the world.

Of course, this doesn't stop admitting to herself that she likes Ichika for that long, but she never admits to his face. When he normally doesn't take her sentences seriously, she often gets mad at him. But then again, shouldn't that be obvious by now?

So yeah, typical tsundere, yada yada. I like Houki, but her typical tsundere box cut-outs defer her from being the best character in the show.

Good news, she's the only bad character.

Cecilia's turn:

Do you see this? We have our first international girl to talk about.

Cecilia Alcott is the Representative from the United Kingdom, and like the others, is a first year at the IS Academy. She is a bit posh, and swears on her life to never marry a weak man. At first seeing Ichika, she doesn't seem to like him, due to him being dense, and that he has nothing to offer.

She then challenges him to a duel for class representative, and she wins due to Ichika having a technicality, though later cedes this position to him. During the fight, she develops feelings for him, thinking that now he is a true man.

So basically, it went from: "OHMYGOSHIHATEYOUSOMUCH!" to:

Wow, that accelerated pretty fast.

One of the main reasons why I like Cecilia so much is that she adds a bit of humor into the show. Her funny moments often brighten up the show, and I found myself chuckling every single time these came on. I also like her voice because it has a nice airy tone to it that sort of wrapped around my finger. I understand that some people would find her voice annoying, but that for me would go to Ikki Tousen,

Next is Lingyin:

Lingyin is the representative from China, and is the class representative in her own class. Oh, and she is another one of Ichika's childhood friends. Long ago, she asked him to make a promise that he will eat all of the sweet & sour pork that she makes when she is a better cook. However, when Ichika re-hears this promise, he doesn't take it that Lingyin has been in love with him since childhood has well. Gee, who would have thought?

Lingyin is more interesting than Houki surely because she has a better personality. She isn't a stock cut-out, but actually does tend to have a personality of her own, with a few yandere qualities. However, she isn't the most interesting character in the anime, though her rivalry with Houki is reasonable, as they were Ichika's childhood friends.

Now onto Charles or Charlotte:

Charlotte is the IS representative from France, and at first enters the school as another male IS pilot named Charles. The reason behind this is because her father wanted her to spy on him to get more information on why he can pilot a IS. Eventually, one they are roomed up because they're "both guys", Ichika eventually discovers her real gender, not if every single time he toke his shirt embarrassed her enough to catch onto.

After Charlotte tells Ichika about her father's mission and the real reason why she is at the academy, Ichika swears to protect her, and when Charlotte brings up leaving the academy because Ichika discovered her gender, Ichika tells her to stay, and not to worry about what happens at home. Thus the main reason why Charlotte falls in love with him, and this works well.

Charlotte isn't a signature shy character, and her actual gender identity is a good plot twist in some sorts, although might be a bit obvious. She then later conjures the bravery to confirm her actual gender in Episode 8. thus re-introducing herself.

The best news is...... Charlotte didn't start off liking/hating Ichika. GASP

Other than that, I can see several people liking Charlotte due to her personality, and her overall charm and stability.

Last girl up, Laura Bodewig:

And thus goes my award to best girl, as Laura clearly is the best character in the series. But then again, that's my opinion.

Laura is actually a creation of human DNA, and the name given to her is actually a codename. She served in the German IS force, which she is the captain of. She also holds Chifuyu is a high regard, due to her helping out when she was still new, and thanks her for the person she is today. However, she can say the complete opposite for Ichika, because Chifuyu had to abandon the competition that she was in (back in Ichika's storyline) to go rescue him. She feels that Ichika makes Chifuyu a completely different person, thus, the reason why she transfers into the IS academy to plot her revenge.

But during the tournament that takes place in Episode 8, in which she struggles to defeat Ichika and Charlotte with Houki, her inner VT-System plays into action. This cause her powers to go berserk, thus getting covered in a Inter-IS, which basically models and has the same abilities as Chifuyu does. During in which Ichika rescues her, Laura soon realizes what his older sister sees in him, thus letting her heart flutter away, and be Ichika's wife.

On this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfW9vTAmh9s

Her mis-understanding of the Japanese culture thus causes Ichika to be her bride.

So once again, we go from "OMGIHATEYOU!" to:

This is much better than Cecillia's however.

One of the main reasons I like Laura is due to the fact that she has this hidden strength that I like about her. she isn't necessarily reckless when she first appears, and her hatred towards Ichika is very clear. When she starts to have feelings towards Ichika, it isn't forced, and later seems to blend in somewhat well, as all of them have the same way.

Let's just see if her personality is screwed over in season 2,

Other characters include Ichika's older sister, the substitute teacher, the inventor of the IS, Ichika's best friend, and his younger sister.

Some of the side characters don't necessarily get development, such as Ichika's friend. and I find that reasonable, his sister doesn't need to get caught up in the harem anyway. But since we don't really get a villain, I'm drawing lots for Tabane as the main antagonist. *cough*

Animation

The animation was done by studio 8-Bit, who is also known for animating the Macross Frontier movie, teaming up with Statelight for Aquarion Evol, and Tokyo Ravens.

The IS all look very modern and slick, and the character designs all seem to be very well polished, and don't look cluttered with extra baggage.

The animation isn't jaw-dropping amazing, but the machines do look pretty cool. But then again, this anime isn't trying to push any boundaries. I still do like the animation though, but then again, I like it every series.

Sound

The score for this series was composed by Masumi Ito, who goes under the pen name of Hikaru Nanase, who has also composed scores for animes such as Chrono Cursade, Scrapped Princess, and Canaan.

OHMYGOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This score was just............UGH! 

From some of the light bouncy tracks, to the more heavy battle music, you can tell how much effort was poured into the score, and how much it makes the anime better in some regards. Sometimes a score can be memorable, but not have that extra kick. This series though, does, and has it soar with such flair that it's enjoyable on all regards.

The opening for this series was sung by Minami Kuribayashi, who before hand, did sing one of my favorite openings for the  Devil Is A Part Timer. This opening packs as much punch as the first, leading me and perhaps future viewers bobbing there heads up and now, jamming to the music. The ending, which is first sung by Yoko Hikasa, and then joined by all of the other girls in Ichika's harem party, is a bit cheesy. But really, it might be better just to hear this as a separate version. Marina Inoue! *sparkly eyes*

The show's original Japanese isn't a jump start waiting for awards, but I did have a fun time watching it, as the actors did put enough effort into there characters to make each likable. The English so far on the other hand, is a mixed bag.

Over the use of accents in English dubs, I'm fine with it. In Black Butler it didn't really bother me. (Minus the Making Of OVA, where it's HEAVILY inconsistent) The accents for Cecillia and Laura are done well, besides Laura's name getting a bit too heavy pronunciation. Charlotte's on the other hand, isn't as good, and sounds a bit too forced.

Also, the quality between different character's lines is a bit inconsistent. For example, when I hear the conversation between Ichika and Laura in Episode 7, I can tell there's a slight difference in quality. and without headphones too.

Finally, let's talk about the OVERUSE of voice actors from the main cast as background characters. I understand this can happen in every anime, and in Bleach, I don't think it's a serious problem. (Though, I have noticed two situations in which characters of the same voice actor are talking to each other, or fighting one another) But when you use Britney Karbowski for FOUR DIFFERENT BACKGROUND VOICES IN EPISODE 2 ALONE, you know that some people are going to notice.

Highlights in the original Japanese are Koki Uchiyama, Yukana, Asami Shimoda, Kana Hanazawa, Marina Inoue, Megumi Toyoguchi, Noriko Shitaya, and Yukari Tamura.

Highlights in the English dub so far are Josh Grelle, Brittney Karbowski, Hillary Haag, Tiffany Grant, and Luci Christian.

Verdict

All in all, I did like this show. But on the other hand, there were some problems that I just couldn't help but talk about.

If your looking for a anime with some cool robots and lots of action, you might need to look further. But however, if you're looking for a harem, or trying to find some way to cure your boredom on a Saturday night, look no further.

I recommend this show to fans of harems, and who might see some of there favorite seiyuus get into play.

Score: 7/10

Positives:

Unique story.

Characters aren't too annoying.

Good animation.

AMAZING score.

Negatives:

Show doesn't develop IS's enough.

Majority of Houki's personality.

At some parts, show doesn't push itself as much as it could have.

English dub issues.

Date A Live Review

Date A Live Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you.

Also, a section of this review will be dedicated to talking about my reaction to Date A Live 2. So please don't get confused when I jump over to that section.

With that said, thank you and onto the review:

During the spring, besides watching Karneval, I was interested in starting other anime after finishing it, or something to watch alongside it. This show caught my eye after finding it on the June release schedule on FUNimation's website, and it came out on the same day as Karneval. And when the English cast reveal came out, I was interested in perhaps starting. So one Saturday afternoon, on April 12th, I was getting very bored. So, I decided to pick up this show.

While this show did provide a interesting story, and some interesting characters, the show never seems to fully impress, leaning toward the negative side with its uneven pacing, a somewhat stereotypical lead, and a character who doesn't really do anything but fill the gap. Though, if you look pass all the bad qualities, you'll find something likable.

Let's start off with one of my favorite parts to this anime:

Story

30 years prior to the story, the world was struck by a weird disaster called a spacial quake, killing at least 150 million people in the Eurasia area. Now, these types of disasters are becoming wide known through-out the world, and no one knows what they're caused by.

Shido Itsuka is a typical high school boy (sigh, not these again), and he isn't the most well-viewed kid in school. After running outside during a quake to make sure his sister isn't harmed, since she was waiting at a restaurant and all, he encounters a mysterious girl known by the name Princess. After a attack goes on between her and one of his classmates in a robotic suit. Then, he is rescued by the ship Fraxinus, and later finds out that his little sister Kotori is the head captain of this said ship.

Kotori explains to Shido that Princess is in fact a spirit, and they are the reason why the spacial quakes are happening. They have a goal to try and save the spirits, unlike the rivals AST, who think that the only good way to get rid of spirits is to kill them. Meanwhile, Shido is discovered to have a mysterious power that can seal a spirit's power, so they don't cause mass destruction. However, he must do this with a kiss. As more spirits appear in the world without ringing the alarm, and more mysteries pop up, what will happen to Shido?

I thought the story for this anime was mainly well executed. I liked getting to know more about the spirits, and having all of this mystery surrounding them, and the AST. Shido's power was a bit weird at first, because it's hard to know where he keeps all of that power in the first place. But the spirits all managed to play some role in the story, which works out well in most cases.

HOWEVER, there are some issues in regards to the plot that had me kind of scratching my head afterwards, mainly with the plot progression.

This is partly screwed up because it takes a couple episodes for characters other than our main leads to show up. And also, the.........................plot.....................moves.........................so.......................slow.............................ly. It takes 4 episodes for Yoshino to appear before being tossed to the side, Because since she's SOOOO young, you can't let her be the love rival, correct?

Also, my favorite spirit Kurumi doesn't appear until episode 7, and after in which she reveals her plans to Origami (who?), you realize the show only has 5 episode left.

So, does she get development?

Well yes, in a mere rushed 3 and a half episodes, she does.

Characters:

The characters in Date A Live are very diverse when it comes to personality. However, some of them can involve "OHMYGODTHISCHARACTERISSOAWESOMEKSLFJLAKSJFLSKJDLSAKJFLSAK!" to "What in hell's name where they thinking?"

Let's start off with our main protagonist Shido:

Without his interesting power that can cause him to seal spirit's powers, Shido is just basically your typical main male protagonist. and everyone knows just how much we love those, much like all of those clueless female protagonists in paranormal romances.

Shido's power in this series actually came from Kotori 5 years ago, after he rescued her, and sealed away her recently given powers after accidentally starting a fire a killing Origami's parents. (Who?) Thus after that, Kotori was taken in by Shido, and has actually taken good care for her, as well as himself, since he was abandoned by his parents when he was young. He also has a biological sister, but she's the weakest character. More later.

The only thing interesting about Shido is his power, and the fact how he protective of Kotori. Besides that, he isn't really memorable, and is probably one of my least favorite protagonists. NEXT!

Let's go to Tohka, or her spirit name, Princess:

When she first arrived on Earth, she mistook Shido to be someone who would kill her. In episode 2, Shido convinces her otherwise, and later after giving her the name Tohka, and going out on a date with her, she then gains his trust, and therefore falls in love with him.

Tohka is probably the most naive spirit in the human world, often confused on how things work. But besides this, she does have a sense of feelngs for Shido, often getting mad when Shido meets a girl, and gets a bit too close for her tastes, or misinterprets a scenario, which she does quite a lot. She later develops a rivalry towards Shido with Origami. (Who?) But after learning that Yoshino is a spirit like herself, she then manages to support Shido in the cause, and manages to fight in a few battles.

Tohka is my second favorite spirit, due to the fact that she just has this sense of innocence in her. I love her curiosity, and her strength for Shido not to die is very believable. There are ways that this type of character could go wrong in a anime, but Tohka makes it work.

Now onto Origami. (Who?) The reason as to why I put those next to Origami's name is due to the fact that she's just not that memorable in the show for me. Besides some of her stalker techniques and her back-story, that was all that was interesting. Besides that, I just felt she was a generic one note robot who rarely seemed to have any emotion, and her stalking Shido as a bit
unsettling, though there was some funny moments.

Let's talk about Shido's adoptive sister, Kotori:

Kotori was a spirit five years prior to the story, and was saved by Shido before he took her in. Though, there are no memories of this event until Shido seals Kotori's power again during her fight with Origami. Her spirit's name goes by Ifrit, and can't handle her spirit powers long before she goes out of control, becoming insane. During thse time lapses, she doesn't remember what happens as well, due to the powers consuming her.

That aside, Kotori is 14 years old, and is shown to be another little sister cliche so bad you might feel as if you want to bash your head in. However later on in the first episode, she is found out to be the captain of the ship Fraxinus, and has a more bratty, and bossy type of personality. This was really funny to figure out, and her captain side was shown more in the series, which was a relief, since I enjoyed this personality a whole lot more.

In fact, the reason for this switch is actually due to her ribbons on her pigtails. When they're white, she becomes the cute, and irritating little sister. When they're black, she becomes the more arrogant, bossy captain. But once again, you're going to see the black ribbons a whole lot more. Another signature trait of hers is to have a Chupa Chups lollipop in her mouth. Yay, merchandise!

Kotori is a example of the typical younger sister stereotype broken just by her ribbons alone. If your reaction goes from this:

 To this:

Then that's called a winner.

Now onto the next spirit, Yoshino:

Yoshino is a spirit that looks like a young girl, and is perceived to be around Kotori's age. Her name is Hermit, and like every single little girl character, is perhaps the apple of the ye in a sea of ADORABLE anime characters.

However, what sets her apart is the hand puppet on her left hand named Yoshinon, who perhaps made the show's entertainment much more interesting. Let's be honest, who doesn't want a talking puppet on your hand? Without even you having to do a thing.

Yoshino is a very shy spirit, that when the AST first attacks her in episode 4, she doesn't respond at first. However, when she loses Yoshinon, she feels a bit of a emptiness in her, simply because Yoshinon is her main confinement.

Yoshinon is the opposite of Yoshino, as she is constantly peppy, and makes some of the best remarks of the show. She is a rabbit, with a eye-patch over her right eye. 

Yoshino may seem like the stereotypical shy little girl stereotype of anime, but Yoshinon made her a new character entirely. I really like how the creator of this series gave her this unqiue half of her personality, and hope in more works he does, breaks other walls.

I would talk about Kurumi here, but she's more entertaining kept secret, because you will be blown away by how many twists she had. So instead, why don't we talk about my least favorite character, Mana:

Mana is supposed to be a secondary lieutenant of the AST, and comes from a branch in England. She is supposed to be Shido's actual sister, but doesn't have any proof besides a picture. She is also supposed to be a strong fighter, which is why she came into Japan. Of course you wouldn't be able to guess that just by seeing in her action. Why? BECAUSE SHE IS F**KING USELESS!

*sighs* Trust me, this is going to take a while. And this girl is the level of the angriest Toshiro face I've found. But still, it scares the complete jeepers out of me. So this Kagami face is a bit better.

I thought she'd add a rivalry to Kotori to see which sister he liked more. NOPE! I thought she would be a great asset to fighting off the spirits. NOPE! I thought we could find out more about her past, and why she was separated from Shido. NOPE! All she ever does is kill Kurumi two times, but since Kurumi can go back in time to retrieve new clones, it's rendered to have to kill her over and over.

Oh, and in volume 6 of the light novels (which they've already adapted into the anime), she dies. SHE FREAKING DIES! I know she died from effects of the operation that they put on her, but C'MON! SHE WAS ONLY THERE FOR 4 EPISODES BEFORE SHE'S IN THE F**KING HOSPITAL. THAT'S RIGHT, F**KING 4! SHE IS PROVEN TO BE ABSOLUTELY USELESS, AND THEN SHE LATER DIES! AND SHE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING! BEST SOLDIER FROM ENGLAND? BULLS**T!

*breathes* Okay, I'm good. But still, this character could have been done so much better. Boy was I wrong.

Other characters include Kotori's dating experts, the head of the AST. Shido's friend from school, and three gossip girls known as Ay, Mei, and Mii. The three girls are proven to be respectably hilarious, especially in the English dub. One even has a signature catch-phrase.

Out of the dating team, you will most likely find Reine and Kyouhei the most memorable. And Shido's friend might be too. But it's all in where you think humor is displayed the best.

Animation

The animation for the series was done by AIC PLUS +, which is a division of the anime company AIC. They are most known for the Tenchi Muyo franchise, Cat Planet Cuties, and Haganai. 

The animation for this series is very good, from the character designs, for the powers, and heck, even the settings are given a little glam. It may not be the best animation from AIC, but it's still a bit better than Haganai.

Ghee, I never have any complaints for animation, do I? XD

Sound

The score for this series was composed by Go Sakabe, which this series is actually his first time he's ever composed anything for a series besides openings. Majority of his tracks are interesting, but this one takes the cake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvfnOYQt-IM

UGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The opening for this series is sung by a group called Sweet Arms, who is composed of some of the seiyuus from the show. This opening is a epic thrill ride, getting you pumped for another episode. I felt myself getting encouraged after every airing of this opening passed, making my experience more enjoyable. The three main ending themes, all sung by Iori Nomizu, are all mediocre at best, and aren't something you would give a award too.

The show's original Japanese is a breeze to go through, mostly because all of the seiyuus give there best performances to try and fit there characters. Some of them pay off more than others, but it works for the main cast.

Meanwhile, the English dub so far is a mixed bag. The quality is not FUNimation's best, but overall, we did manage to receive a lot of great performances despite this. But one of the most argued things that I've seen about the dub is the voice of Tohka. Michelle Roja's voice is a bit deeper then Marina Inoue's, especially during her naive and curious moments. I compare her voice to Steve Staley's as Toshiro, as I found both a bit too deep, and too mature for there characters. However, Michelle Rojas manages to work this to her advantage, making Tohka in my opinion, appear more wise and possibly mature than the Japanese.

Highlights in the Japanese include Nobunaga Shimazaki (Yes fangirls, he has other roles besides Haruka Nanase), Marina Inoue, Misuzu Togashi, Ayana Taketatsu, Asami Sanada, Iori Nomizu (Yoshinon only), Aya Endo, and Takehito Koyasu.

Highlights so far in the English dub are Josh Grelle (pwns like always), Michelle Rojas, Bryn Apprill, Alexis Tipton (also pwns like always), Tia Ballard, Barrett Nash, Jamie Marchi, Leah Clark, and Monica Rial.

Verdict

Despite Date A Live's faults, the show does manage to keep people interested by it's unique plot, and somewhat interesting cast. The show managed to keep my interest, and I was looking forward to Season 2. Until I started watching it:

 I could only watch the Yamai spirits work out their issues before I put it on hold, and then eventually dropped it. Season 2 looks as if my problems with the plot pacing, and Mana's weak ass character development won't be fixed AT. ALL. And the fact that Tohka gets captured episode 6, and then gets rescued in episode 10 because of Miki? 

There's a reason why I rated the second season lower than Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians. While that at least has some re-watchability, this didn't. And this frustrates me, because I liked season 1.

But that aside, this show does have some good qualities that I can see some people enjoying. But if you liked the first season, I ask you not to even see season 2. it might leave you dissapointed.

I recommend this show to harem lovers who want a cool sc-fi and harem mix, but don't want too much fanservice.

Score: 7/10 (minus .5 if you count season 2)

Positives:

Cool story.

Intriguing characters.

Great animation.

Voice work on both might impress you.

Negatives:

Plot progression moves too slowly.

Mana is worthless as f**k.

Some characters are heavily under-developed.

Season 2 isn't as good, in fact, is worse in some regards.