Mini Anime Review - Sword Art Online II (Arc One)

The long anticipated return to the SAO/Accel World universe, SAO II takes place 5 months after arc two and goes a long way in an attempt to fix the problems of the previous series; with a single romance interest yet again, this time found in new girl Sinon, but being written as a strong confident woman who don't need no man, much like Asuna. However she is given an awesome back story that makes her far more interesting than every other character in Sword Art to this date.

Kirito is also a lady-man now, for unjustified reasons. 

This series manages to fix a lot of problems that SAO Arc 2 had; it actual;y shows Kirito having mental issues relating to playing an MMO again, it returns the element of threat, it removes the creepy romance aspects (Sinon and Kirito being much more flirty but less romantic, playing better seeing as he has a girlfriend), it also makes Kirito a fair bit more likable. 

He acts like a total dick at points, which makes his character more likable somehow, rather than the perfect harem king of the previous season. While this is sudden in the anime he is shown to be more like this in the manga, yet another thing the anime missed out that was a good point. He even goes as far as to introduce his new romance to the other other harem members in the final episode, where he shows her off and basically makes his own girlfriend jealous. 

The animation is great throughout, as is the soundtrack, and apart from a few main character invincibility moments from Kirito the show is far more interesting that Arc two and arguably Arc one of the original series.There is also a black Avatar Aang at one point for some reason.

Rating - 

Looks - 4.2/5

Sound -4.5/5

Plot - 3.2/5

Characters - 3/5

Overall - 14.9/20

Mini Anime Review - .Hack//Sign

The Classic trapped in an MMO anime; watching it after seeing such series as Log Horizon or SAO tackle the subject creates an appreciation for the quality of this story type.

It has strong animation, while not being as breathtaking as some moments from newer anime it is consistently good through out. It's story is fairly focused, maintaining viewer interest; however there are some cases of bad filler in the center of this 28 episode series, for example the protagonist attempting to take care of a pig for 3 days and failing miserably. 

The Music is very pleasing, if not a bit repetitive at times, the voices are also well performed with no real annoyances springing to mind after having finished the series.

The characters, while not the most interesting ever, are very well used to support the plot and the protagonist in their issues. It was also pleasing to see a disabled character being a strong major character through out, as well as a love interest ( later to be revealed as a homosexual love interest, +10 points for diversity).

Overall a very fun anime, of all the MMO anime I have seen it has presented the least offensive flaws; while it may not have the amazing highs that moments of Sword Art has, it's lowest points are miles above it.

Rating - 

Looks - 3.9/5
Sound -3.6/5
Plot - 4.1/5
Characters - 2.9/5
Overall - 14.5/20

Mini Anime Review - Persona 4 The Animation

This awesome anime is a close retelling of the video game Persona 4's plot, fully voiced by the same cast as the game, with some pleasing tweaks and changes to make this a somewhat new experience.

Taking place in the small town of Inaba where several murders have occurred, the protagonist Yu and his friends attempt to save potential victims and solve the case. 

However they are being killed in super natural ways, with each being forced into a dimension inside their television sets, where their emotions take the form of monsters that should you reject will turn and kill them. 

The main team each eventually accept their shadows and as a result this allows them to use them in battle, being thence known as a Persona.

Yu's depiction is very very good, as despite making him fairly quiet, as he is in the game, they give him many scenes where his dry humor is used to great effect. The rest of the group are very fleshed out, especially during the meeting of their personas, where we gain real insight as to their motives.

The characters are truly the high point of the show.

Between the dark visions in the television world and the murder investigation the show has a lot of amusing slice of life scenes that lighten up the show, keeping it from becoming stale.

The animation is of a very high level, and all the music is great, just as in the video games themselves, with both of the openings being very good, the second being my particular stand out.

Rating - 
Looks -3.9/5
Sound -4.1/5
Plot - 3.5/5
Characters 4.5/5
Overall - 16/20

Mini Cartoon Review - Avatar Legend Of Korra: Book 3 Change

As another amazing season of Korra comes to an end I feel the need to do a small review of it. Korra is the avatar following Aang for those who don't know, and whilst her three books have been a fair bit darker than the original cartoon they have their silly moments which can sometimes clash harshly with the desired tone.

This book is much more similar to the original as Team Avatar are moving around the earth nation in search of air benders, a long dead nation that the events of season two has been brought back in the form of countless non-benders becoming controllers of the air.


Rather than a third water based villain the newest evil comes in the form of the Red Lotus cult, a group not too dissimilar to Team Avatar, comprising of a bender of each element, as well as two sub bending specialists a Lava and Combustion bender. They are very lethal and use their power to achieve many of their goals, overpowering nearly every obstacle and their leader Zaheer even air bending the air out of the lungs of the Earth Queen herself till death.

The old gang return, and with Korra now carrying Aang's old glider and Bolin picking new earth bending techniques  they are more powerful than before. Sadly due to the tentacle monster destroying all of Korra's past lives in season two she can no longer ask older avatars for guidance. Mako is less important in this arc, however its not annoying as he is still a useful fighter.

Most of the humor comes from Bolin and Bumi, and this is a highlight of the show, being well written and seemingly less of a distraction than some in the previous two books.

The visuals are as good as ever, making it one of the best looking cartoons around, and the soundtrack is very emotional and helps make much of the action feel more realistic and intense.

Overall a massive recommendation, and personally it is the most enjoyable of the Korra seasons so far.

Rating - 
Looks -4.6/5
Sound -4.4/5
Plot - 4.3/5
Characters 4.2/5
Overall - 17.5/20

Mini Anime Review - Death Note

It's good, not really my thing

Rating - 
Looks - 4.05/5
Sound -4.95/5
Plot - 3.97/5
Characters -4.03 /5
Overall - 17/20

Mini Anime Review - Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

My all time highest held anime is a constant battle between Gurren Lagaan and this piece of art, that is Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood; finally I think I have made my choice. Taking place in the state of Amestris in an amazing world where the magical skill of alchemy, a scientific art based upon the ideal of equivalent exchange, is used by many military powerhouses, and all serve the Führer King Bradly. This is a world of monsters, science, robot prosthetic limbs and conspiracy.

Our story follows the life of the young Elric brothers, and their never ending series of misfortunes and strife caused by alchemy and the betrayal of those around them. 

After the death of their mother the boys attempted to revive her using alchemy, a taboo for all who know the craft. This attempt showed both the secrets of alchemy, however the God of Truth in exchange takes Alphonse's entire body and Ed's leg. In order to prevent Al's death, Ed sacrifices his arm to bind Al to a suit of armor eternally. 


The titular Full Metal Alchemist is the older of the two brothers, Edward. He is a headstrong, hot headed young man and is easily annoyed, especially when making reference to his short height. However over the 64 episodes we know him the foolishness almost entirely goes with amazing speed. You never find him annoying, In my opinion, as you tend to always see his point of view, and he never acts selfishly, even when the selfish option may regain his missing limbs.

His younger brother Alphonse is still searching for a way to return to his body, however does not complain too much, which makes this anime's characters stand out, none are very bitchy; bad shit happens to every character at some point, and they just get on with it.  His growth as a person is massive in the later half of the show, and this allows you to truly appreciate his terrible life in this state.

There are no characters in this master piece that annoy you, from the adorable May Chang, to the bombastic Armstrong family, everyone bounces well off each other and you feel true emotions with the situations they face each and every episode.
My particular stand-outs are the wonderful Major Hughes and Ling Yao, for their excellent character designs, development and great voice acting.

This shows visuals are stunning, it's openings are amazing (apart from 2 which is average) and i have never spent so much time on a single anime listening to the soundtrack. The first opening may be my favorite anime opening of all time. 

Both the English dub and the Japanese are stellar, however I personally prefer the English version, due to the cast being near spotless.



Rating - 
Looks - 5/5
Sound -4.5/5
Plot - 5/5
Characters - 5/5
Overall - 19.5/20

Mini Anime Review - Sword Art Online (Arc Two)

Now for the fun. The massive stain on the SAO series that is arc 2.This arc takes place in the sequel to SAO Named ALfheim Online, where Kirito has discovered that Asuna's character had been taken after the end of arc 1, as opposed to reawakening in her body like the others. Exactly how she was kept in I don't know, I understand the new owner of the system wants her to stay inside but how did he actually trap her in the first place? Oh well the plot is too important for details we must move on!
Now you may ask why would anyone ever go into another video game after being trapped in one for an entire year? Keep asking yourself as it still isn't addressed in this show, maybe kids just love reopening massive mental scars and throwing themselves in harms way. 

Of course you could say he is driven by love and that allowed him to overcome his fear ... but even at the end of the season they keep playing. In fact even more Ex-SAO survivors join in the "fun" of immersing themselves in an MMO they know a madman had influence over .... because remember how fun it was last time? 

Anyway this world is less grounded, and contains magic and fairy folk in, to mix things up a bit, as well as bringing a very nasty garish colour scheme which seems to give each race a colour and beat you round the head with it till you remember which race is which.

And this massive division between each race is more annoying than interesting, the division of land makes Kirito's journey feel like a pain as the land is all owned by enemies, rather than the world of Sword Art where it felt truly open to explore. 

This arc also has no feelings of fear or concern for the characters, as it is a basic video game, with re-spawn points and player killing being fine, this leads to the fights in AFO being very forgettable, as the only cost was a few more hours of flying. However watching a few more hours of this arc is a fate worse than death so maybe it is even more tense for the viewer than arc one.

Now remember the tonne of 1 episode love interests in arc one? Did you hate the new girls distracting you from the plot? Then Fear No More! This arc we take away all the one episode romances ...... and make one big long even more pointless love interest, if you hate 5 girls distracting him for a second then you will love our single busty distraction much more! 

AND TO MAKE THIS FORCED LOVE TRIANGLE BETTER .... IT'S HIS SISTER! Wait isn't that bad? Oh no don't worry, she only thinks she is his sister ..... does that make her worse or him? Oh well.

So if the incest put you off the arc, don't worry Asuna gets a lot more of an active role this time! Oh wait ... she is locked away in the castle waiting for Mario to save her, sorry I mean Kirito. And that isn't a metaphor, she literally gets locked in a fucking bird cage. Does she escape I hear you ask? does she show any of her bad ass  fighting skills from the first arc?

Well ... she does escape. And then gets assaulted sexually  by tentacle slugs. Yeah. That happened.

BACK TO KIRITO

Mary Stu comes back with double the BS power, this time he is just a basic character and still over powers every guy he meets, for no raisin! This arc he decided to be Cloud Strife and borrowed the buster sword. I will admit, I did enjoy the way he wrecks a guy with a knife in real life towards the end, and shockingly he isn't the worst part of this arc. However the bullshit love triangle takes away a lot of the genuinely fun parts of the show.

I do enjoy the reunion, and it is pleasing to see Kirito show some actual positive emotions, to someone other than the arc one loli or anyone in the harem.

The soundtrack of this show is not as good as Arc one, and looks a lot worse than Arc one, all in all avoid it entirely. Yui comes back though, so i can still give 0.5 for characters.


Rating - 
Looks - 3/5
Sound -3/5
Plot - 0.5/5
Characters - 0.5/5
Overall - 7/20