Review MM! 9

I've been watching MM! for several weeks now, and I am impressed that the show has not gone stale by now. The writers continue to bring in good ideas, which is good for a show with the kind of idea that they're going with, that idea being a show about trying to cure a masochist.

MM! tells us the story of Tarou Sado, a “hella masochist”, Mio Isurugi, a girl with a god complex, and Yuuno Arashiko, an androphobe. It also relates their activies in the Second Volunteering Club, whose sponsor is, amusingly enough, a sadist. The fact that these three are even in the same room together is a bit frightening, because the androphobe might kill the masochist, who'd creep out the god complex girl. No matter, on with the review!

It's finally time for the school festival, filled with fun and games, but with some twists and character development thrown in. Seems the writers decided to switch it up and focus on developing Mio Isurugi a bit, which isn't a bad thing. We have a threatening letter from an unknown entity, which the Second Volunteering Club, namely Tarou and Mio, decide to investigate.

The nice thing about this show is the many different options the writers have. One option, which we've already seen quite a bit, is the mindless comedy centered around Tarou's masochism. Another option, which we've seen a couple times, is the character-centric episodes that provide most of the character development. This time we got a character episode, focused on one of the other girls, Mio Isurugi. I wasn't exactly laughing this time around, but that's expected, given the focus on Mio, rather than the masochist. It was very well-written, as usual, and the interesting plot twist of the threatening letter kept me interested, though it was a bit easy to figure out. The change of pace to a character episode was a welcome relief from the M comedy of the last few episodes Mio's character-centric episode reveals that she is, in fact, afraid of cats, and cannot go to a maid cafè filled with cats as a result of said fear, which I found rather amusing. But aside from Mio, it was a standard-fare school festival episode with nothing special happening, aside from Tarou's incestuous family trying to win a date with him.

Overall, I'd say this one was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. With no redeeming events other than the character development, it was average for the series. However, this is not an episode to skip, by any means. It's worth watching for the psuedo-date between Tarou and Mio.

Plot Advancement: 3.5/5
Comedy: 2/5
Episode Plot: 4.5/5
Character Development: 5/5

Overall: 4/5

Winter 2011 Season Preview

Well, fall season's already almost over. Guess time flies when you're actually watching anime, eh? Of course, the end of fall means winter season's right around the corner. Let's see what's in store for the holidays!

Winter seems to be a mix of new shows and continuing shows. Among the continuing shows are Kimi ni Todoke (2nd season), Suite Precure (8th season in the franchise), and Mitsudomoe (2nd season). New shows include Beelzebub, Is This A Zombie?. OVAs and Specials include Queen's Blade, and MM!: SS!, a set of 6 DVD specials that I had considered watching initially, but given the recent developments, or lack thereof, in the MM! anime, I will not be watching them.

Wandering Son, looking at the description, looks rather interesting. A feminine boy sits next to a boyish girl. Sounds like a comedy to me, so I'll add it tentatively. Another interesting (for me, at least) show is Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, a magical girl anime about a girl who can grant wishes. Hmmm... Animated by Studio SHAFT...

Speaking of Crunchyroll, I'll wait to see what they pick up. After all, they have 3 of the 4 shows I'm watching this fall.

I have Dirty Pair Flash coming on VHS by the new year. I'm likely to review it, so stay tuned!

Otaku in Review
Winter 2011 chart

Review: Shinryaku! Ika Musume 5-8

An excellent source of entertainment this fall season has been Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Invasion! Squid Girl). A show with a lot of potential, Ika Musume is finally starting to address its weaknesses, namely making use of the supporting cast. This, among other things, are a few of the things I pointed out in my last review.

As always, this show has no real plot outside of Ika's backstory, so I'm not taking that into consideration. This is, after all, a gag series, so plot isn't exactly a priority. This set of episodes certainly emphasized character development, as we see Ika learning a bit more about the human world, with less emphasis being placed on her "invasion". As mentioned earlier, the supporting cast was integrated into the comedy a bit more than early on. My hopes are that they'll become closer to being main characters while staying supporting.

Despite the use of the supporting cast, the show is still pretty Ika-centric. I'd like for the show to move away from that, but with 4 episodes left, I'm not counting on it. The characters still feel kinda stereotypical, and the episode plots are easily deducted. However, it's getting better. Just a little bit more!



Overall, the show is improving, especially in the character development department, which isn't usually present in a gag anime. Character dev aside, the jokes feel fresh, which is a bit of a surprise, since this is a half-season show. I'm not counting on a second season, but I am finishing this one, no question.

Plot: N/A
Characters: 4/5
Episode story: 3/5
Comedy: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

F**king Reviews: How Do They Work?

I guess I should have explain the review system before posting my first review. Basically the reviews will follow this format:

I. Franchise Intro
II. Episode/OVA Plot Summary
III. Positive Points
IV. Negative Points
V. Overall Thoughts and Rating

The ratings will be on a 5-point scale, in increments of .5, rather than .25 as I had been doing. This way, it can be better equated to a 10-point scale of most sites.

On top of this, I'll roll out a new segment soon: Retro Reviews. In this segment, I'll pick out a retro series, as in from the 80s and 90s, watch a few episodes and proceed as usual with the review.

I hope this provided the readers with a little insight as to what goes into a review of a series. See you next time!

Review: Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia

As a followup to my previous Dirty Pair review, I present Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia. This particular OVA covers the Lovely Angels' first mission. They are instructed to find a murderer while searching for a missing girl, aptly named Missinie. While better than the previous OVA, it still left much to be desired.



One of the first things I noticed was that the mood was not quite as dark as Flight 005 Conspiracy was, but it was still rather serious. Yuri was noticeably more serious, almost out of character, but she also had a more action-centric role than usual. As always, the original seiyuu reprised their roles for these OVAs, which is much-appreciated, I'm sure, by many fans.

I felt that the seriousness of the OVA distracted me from the plot a bit. Dirty Pair shouldn't be this serious, although it was quite a bit more lighthearted than the previous OVA. However, the plot was neither rushed, nor dragged along, with convincing plot twists to keep me interested. Additionally, the plot was very hard to read.

The visuals were pleasing, living up to the crisp animation quality of the series. This OVA was a bit more fearless about pushing the limits of the characters' bodies, going so far as to, at least to me, imply that Kei dreamed about getting tentacle raped, a scene I found rather disturbing. However, one scene rarely hurts the image of an entire feature.



Overall, the feature was definitely better than Flight 005 Conspiracy, addressing most everything I mentioned in my review of that OVA. The way Yuri was portrayed (very serious, and a bit of an action girl) made me wonder what happened after that mission that made her so girly. Crisp animation, deep dialogue, and Mughi actually being useful (sort of) made for a good watch. I would recommend this OVA to even casual Dirty Pair fans. I give this one a 4 out of 5.

Review: Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy

Among one of my current favorites right now is the Dirty Pair franchise. Despite what the name may make you think of, it is NOT a porno. Instead, it's an 80s sci-fi cop-buddy anime. In particular, it follows the story of Kei and Yuri, 2 "Trouble Consultants" for the World Work and Welfare Association, or 3WA for short. Kei and Yuri will get the job done, though they have a knack for creating mass collateral damage.

The Dirty Pair franchise consists of a 24-episode TV series, several OVAs, and a full-length movie. This review is on one of the OVAs, Flight 005 Conspiracy. One of the first things I noticed about this particular OVA was the darker tone of the feature. Having only seen part of the TV series, this threw me off. Instead of the light-hearted comedy and action from the TV series, a noticeably darker motif was present.

Flight 005, a space liner, is mysteriously destroyed, apparently killing 300 passengers and 10 crew members. Naturally, the 3WA is called in to investigate, sending the Lovely Angels, better known by their nickname, the Dirty Pair. There's a twist, though. At the same time, Kei and Yuri must investigate a scientist gone missing. Can the Dirty Pa- er, Lovely Angels handles 2 cases at once?

I can't say I loved this particular installment in the franchise. While it had the action (and property damage) that I've come to expect, it was far too dark and serious to be worth re-watching. Also, the OVA spent far too much time getting Kei and Yuri into place to advance the plot along. Overall, though, the animation was decent (for 1990, anyway.), and the original voice actors came back for this one.

Taking everything into consideration, I'd rate this a 3.25/5. As I mentioned, too dark and serious to merit rewatching. As much as I like Dirty Pair, this was likely the low point for the franchise. At least, before Dirty Pair Flash. Makes me wonder what to expect from Affair of Nolandia...