Casual Otaku

Poyopoyo

Yeah, it’s been a while…but life got in the way of my anime/manga scouring *shrug*

I’m starting to think the making of three minute anime is becoming a “thing”. So far, based on the ones I’ve seen, I have to say “less is more!”

This show reminds me somewhat of Chi’s Sweet Home. That’s probably only because it’s about the crazy shenanigans of a stray cat that gets taken in by a quirky family. That seems like a lot, but the similarities end there.

I’m not 100% who this show is geared towards, but it doesn’t seem to be children.

This show is a comedy. From the constant reminders that Poyo is a freakishly round cat to the discovery of his love interest, this anime really is just fun to watch.

At least I enjoy it >_>

Oremio: My Little Sister Can’t be This Cute

What was I expecting from this anime? Especially with a title like that…

I was expecting some incest. That seemed kinda obvious. I was also expecting either a lot of fan service, or something that fell short of being an outright hentai. What I got was a pretty heartwarming story about familial love (no incest), being true to yourself, and finding friends who accept you.

Yeah…I had a serious “what the hell moment” once I realized that was the flavor of the anime. (good what the hell =3)

This anime is about an average high school boy and his average middle school little sister. They don’t get along. Until the boy finds out his sister is a seriously hard core otaku. Very hard core.

Randomness follows.

I wonder if non-Japanese people know this, but Japanese people do not let their anime freak flags fly. not usually anyway. When they do, they tend to get a nasty public image. This is a big part of the anime.

I’m not even sure if this anime was a comedy. It was definitely slice of life. There wasn’t any real romance to speak of. It was actually rather normal (situations, places, and people) considering the subject matter.

This was a brilliant anime. It was fun to watch without being preachy or too complex. There is a manga, but I don’t know squat about it. The anime is 12 episodes long, and the version I watched ended on the “Good End”. I dunno if there is a bad end.

Enjoy!

Wagnaria!: a.k.a Working!!

I’m not 100% sure of why the anime has a differnt name from the manga, but whatever. This is an outright comedy. It is very little of anything else, but the other little bits make it pretty solid too.

I love how the characters don’t really play off the weirdness that surrounds them as if it’s normal. They call each other out on what is not quite kosher anytime it gets out of hand. But they also seem to get used to all the oddities to some degree.

The main character is Takanashi. He’s got issues. But so do all of the other characters in this show. 

And this series has a lot of characters. Eight main characters and a few recurring roles. Every last character has a quirk, a dynamic, that just makes them awesome. Sometimes in a disturbing sort of way.

The anime is based off of the 4-koma manga. The namga has few volumes, and the anime follows it rather faithfully. The series is ongoing and anime is current in its second season and we are finally seeing some character developments.

Outlaw Star

How old am I? I actually remember this promo coming on sometimes while I was vegging out in front of the TV. I, however, did not watch this on Toonami when I was younger. I think I saw it a few years ago in all it’s unedited glory.

Long lived pre-caring about copyrights Youtube~

Anyway, I’m a huge space opera lover. Gimme anything with humans in space and a little cow-boyish/ bounty hunter-like shenanigans and I’ll be drooling. Throw in cat girls and assassins in kimonos and you’ll have me staring cross-eyed at my screen. It’s a sad looking combination -_-

The series is mostly focused on a guy named Gene and his messed up crew. Most episodes consists of them trying not to go completely broke by taking odd missions from whoever’ll pay. There’s also some mega important final conquest, but the promo pretty much spells everything out about the plot.

So here’s some important details. The English version cleans the anime up a hell of a lot. They even drew in clothes where none existed before. But honestly I don’t think they did much to alter the plot. Just note that the show seemed to fit in better on Adult Swim yet was also placed into Toonami. Another important note is that the manga is incomplete (I didn’t read it) but the anime does wrap up it’s story.

It’s 26 episodes long. Episode 23 does not exist in English… I think. It’s the hot springs episode and was considered too raunchy for the young and impressionable. It’s not. It’s just them mucking around at a hot spring (or maybe I’m desensitized to smut?). This is definitly an action series, but it does have a cute little romantical something creep in. And comedy. Always gotta stick in a laugh once in a while. Also it’s just fun to watch.

~sigh~ I miss Toonami now T-T

Hanamaru Kindergarten: Japanese Rugrats

That was actually the top comment on the video. I have no choice but to agree (and give credit to sailoreris for typing it =P)

There is something awesome about really little kids. You can put them in almost any situation and have it remain cute. Apparently if you also put it in an anime you can induce a bit of visual diabetes from the sweetness overload.

This anime is cute. I can’t really think of too many other word that fit better. Actually, I found myself profoundly embarrassed by how into this anime I managed to get.

Even though it’s set in a kindergarten the main story revolves around a romance. And I’ll leave it at that. (Gotta love Japan)

There are three main kid characters and two main adults, but their interactions with their classmates and coworkers is what really pulls the story along. Also, like most anime I love, every character has something that makes them them, whether it be cosplaying or semi-erotic thoughts of bubble baths. You can watch to figure out who that’s in reference to.

I can understand how this anime isn’t for everyone. It’s slice of life, but it’s also set in a place where the majority of people are below six years of age. It never gets that raunchy, but it does like to play around and therefore is still fun to watch.

There’s a manga. I never read it so I can’t tell you about any differences. The anime is a nice short 12 episodes (the last one is neat in it’s own way). Also each episode has it’s own ending theme which are worth watching too. This is an all around good anime for those looking for a unique anime experience (and possibly a reason to actually procreate…on purpose O_O).

Inukami: Another Look

Uhg, school is…annoying. Can’t bust out reviews (previews??) the way I want to, but here’s another shot at Inukami.

This gave me a giggle. Not so sure about the song choice but meh. It grows on ya (sorta).

As always Kudos to the creators of the AMV! 

My Bride is a Mermaid

Sometimes the intro’s of anime speak pretty well for them don’t cha think? Well anyway I was too lazy to actually look for anything better >_>

I almost didn’t watch this one because it truly had the look of turning into something stupid. For the most part I was right. There is no other way to describe most of the scenarios in this series other than stupid. But I kinda think of it like a dog (mine specifically). Yeah it’s dumb and I have no idea what to make of it at times, but it makes me laugh so I end up loving it anyway.

The story revolves around a boy named Nagasumi and a girl named Sun. In an effort to avoid dying the two must become husband and wife. Sun’s father having no love for any man that would take his daughter away proceedes to completly infiltrate Nagasumi’s life with his crew in tow.

Did I mention that the mermaids seem to be gangsters? And I absolutely loved the fact that Sun’s best friend is a bipolar conch with a machine gun.

This somehow get’s described as a harem though like most harem anime I’ve seen the main guy only has eyes for one girl. Sun is pretty dang devoted to being Nagasumi’s wife. He in return is pretty devoted to not getting killed by any of the Seto clan in the event that their marriage doesn’t work out.

Rounding it up, the anime is 26 episodes long. It’s a nice short roll in anime hay for those looking for some fun. It has a manga by the name of Seto no Hanayome that I have never read. The manga has sixteen volumes so sounds like there’s quite a bit of reading there.

The series is one of those just-for-kicks deals. It’s not groundbreaking or anything, but it is good enough to rise to the top of some anime lists.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Finding the plot is half the fun!

I used the AMV up there because for some reason it’s actually a pretty good representation of the anime…somehow.

This is a school life anime with so many twist and turns sometimes I actually did forget the kids were on “club activities”. This anime was literally fun to watch, but I almost stopped on the first episode, which is episode 00, since nothing was making sense. But that’s why it’s good to give things a second chance. Sometime you get rewarded.

This is a “WTF?!?” series, no doubt. A lot of episodes will have you scratching your head until the end when everything becomes clear (By end I mean the end of a season). Actually I feel like this series tried to fit in every out-there happening that the writers could think of. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya actually managed to mix sci-fi and the supernatuaral into one deliciously blended soup. They even managed to toss in a fair amount of cosplay.

And this is still the only anime I’ve seen where there are actually two ways to go about watching the episodes. I went for the broadcast order, since I didn’t know it went any other way. But since I feel the episode order was an actual plot element you can go searching for the other method on your own. (But watch the broadcast order!)

This anime has five main characters. Five characters that have their own personalities and likable qualities. This becomes a remarkable part of the series when you realize that the narrator (Kyon) and the namesake of the show (Haruhi) have by far the most speaking parts. Koizumi is kept rather mysterious throughout and getting a single word out of Yuki is pretty spectacular. And for some reason Mikuru’s most profound parts happen when she is…half asleep.

I’m not doing this anime justice, but I can’t even begin to touch on the complexities of it without giving away a bunch of plot point.

The anime has two seasons spread out over 28 episodes. All I can say is that you should watch every episode, and just be wary of “Endoresu Eito.” (hehe romanji) It’s not hard to miss plot elements in this anime. But that “A ha!!” moment at the end is always worth it.

Oh post note! This series was made by the same people who made Lucky Star. I just thought that was funny.

Ranma 1/2: The best of both worlds :3 (sorta)

This anime was fun to watch, even though most of the time the scenarios could only be described as a “hot mess”. I love anime where randomness seems to appear for the sake of randomness. The thing about that is that most anime that do this tend to chuck a main plot out the window. I mean it’s kind of hard to have a good story going while literally creating physics bending mayhem. Sometimes I’d sit through an episode just to wonder what Takahashi was smoking when she thought it up (I laughed anyway). Ranma 1/2 keeps the chaos flowing while having romance as the main plot point. Romance and some sweet fighting action. I’ll let the AMV speak on the latter aspect.

I think the title comes from the fact that the main character tends to turn into a rather cute girl if doused with cold water. He turns back to being a boy when he gets drenched in hot water, but it becomes obvious pretty early on that turning into a girl is much much easier than regaining his manhood. (>_>) All of his similarly cursed costars learn this lesson too.

I do not consider this show a gender bender. Not really. I mean it is, but Ranma tends to be Ranma even if he does grow a pair of boobs. The only times he behaves like a girls, in girl form, is if he can troll his friends or get something for free. Otherwise it’s just a boy with boobs…who happens to look very girly. (Okay fine. It’s a gender bender).

There are a lot of characters in this series. They appear all throughout and pop out and in as some omniscient overseeing entity sees fit. Somehow all the random characters turned the series into a double harem. Or at least a lot of overlapping love…shapes. But even with the whole cast popping in and out each character manages to stand out. They all have really out there personalities. It’s hard to forget them even if their appearance/ role was short lived.

The series is loooooooong. The anime is not that long. 161 episodes, plus a 13 episode OVA and a bunch of random movies. The manga on the other hand is 38 volumes long (36 in English). It’s rather old now, but it’s still good. Yeah a lot of chapters feel like filler, but it’s awkward when you skip some and realize a volume later that it actually had something to do with the plot -_-

Witchblade: A masterpiece in disguise

This anime is pretty much one of the reasons I turn no anime down on first sight. This series was brilliance wrapped in an overtly ecchi potential.

I tend to avoid shows where they seem to selling the main characters boobs more than an actual plot line. And if you see any preview for this series you’re gonna get a face full of jiggle (one way or another). I’m glad I decided to dive into this. It ended being one of the few anime I actually had to sit back and think about after all was said and done.

The story revolves around the main character Masane, and her daughter Rihoko, who are both trying to eek out a life after some major something devastated their homeland. I can’t say anything at all more than that. I feel like anymore would kill some major plot points.

I loved the relationships Masane managed to forge during the time in this series. She had some profound effect on every character she came into contact with. And the reversal of her role with her six year old daughter was just brilliant. This one character’s design had me enthralled throughout the whole series.

And as can be seen in the brilliant little AMV up there, there is quite a bit of action in this series. It’s fast paced. But not in the Bleach fashion where we normal folk aren’t privy to every hit or swipe. You get to see just about how every wound is made and watch the blood flow like honey. (honey…?)

The story was just beautiful. Masane is one of those characters that has to go down in anime history just for being so freaking dynamic and, well, lovable. The story had some seriously break-your-heart cute/touching/tragic moments along with some seriously funny trips into the “orly?” realm.

I was greatly disappointed that the anime was only 26 episodes long, but I also think that that was for the best. Some of the best anime out there hardly ever break 30 episodes total. The ending I’ll admit is bitter sweet, but if it had ended any other way it would never have struck the cord with me that it managed to.

I dunno what else to say. This anime was awesome. And it’s short. It’s also got scantily clad laddies cutting each other up with pointy objects, but maybe I’m the only one that’s a selling point for? >_>