The Musical Otaku

Genre(s): Drama, Mecha, Alternate History, Supernatural

Objectionable content: Violence, blood, mild language, discreet nudity, magical powers(?), talk of overthrowing God

Plot summary: It has been one year since the failure of the Black Rebellion and the supposed death of Zero. Britannia has assigned Area 11 a “correctional education” status, where Elevens are made an example of by brute force, to try to prevent any further uprisings and suppress rebellious thoughts. 

Unsuspecting high school student, Lelouch, oblivious to his rebellious past as Zero, stumbles upon a scheme on his life and the life of another mysterious woman called C.C., who reveals to him his forgotten purpose and his true self. Destroying his assailants, and calling himself Zero once again, Lelouch sets out to finish what he started. 

Review: Before you read anymore, just know that this is the review for R2, which is the sequel to Code Geass. I write this with the belief that the reader(s) have already watched the first season of Code Geass.

For the longest time, I could not figure out whether I thought this anime was a complete trainwreck or complete genius. Finally I figured it out. In my opinion, it’s both.

Save a lot of time for when you decide to start watching, because the major plot twists, incredible cliffhangers at the end of every single episode, and fast pacing will never let you stop watching. (I finished this in less than a week, hehehe….) If you’re able to stop watching, or if this anime doesn’t catch your attention at all and is utterly boring to you…. That would be very surprising.

Yes, the pacing is fast. Yes, there’s a plot twist in almost every episode. Was it executed well? That’s a question I’ll let you decide, but in my opinion, it was. R2 also has much of the flashiness of it’s predecessor, which will probably make people who didn’t like the original Code Geass, detest R2.

The characters also were very interesting. Since the first season took care of introducing most of the cast, this season really developed the characters. Lelouch especially is a very interesting character this time round. There are times when you want to throw books at his head, and times when you think, “Huh, he actually made a very good choice.” Suzaku is another interesting character. His relationship with Lelouch is as stormy as the sea, but he is always loyal to what he thinks is right.

Your opinion of this anime may sway up or down with each plot twist (mine certainly did) but all in all, this Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 is a very interesting anime.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

So, I don’t think my next review will be on Fullmetal Panic. I think it’ll be on Code Geass. Because that anime has been on my watching list for MONTHS. And I FINALLY started watching it again. 

One thing I don’t understand. In Code Geass, there are these two guys. When they were little, they were best best friends. They got separated by life and lost touch with each other. They meet again when they’re in highschool. A few months after their reunion, THEY TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER. And no, I’m not talking about play fights that guys have when they like each other but don’t want to admit it. I’m not talking about wrestling. THEY TOOK GUNS. AND THEY POINTED THEM AT EACH OTHER’S HEADS. WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND DOES THAT?!?!

Sooooooo… I decided to start writing my morbid story about Acantha again. I stopped because I knew that there would be a lot of work involved in making the sixth chapter, and also because nobody was commenting on it, other than, “OMGOSH IT’S AWESOME.” 

Then, I went back on SWC after being gone for Lent, and found that three other people are waiting for the next chapter. (I’ve written three chapters) I can’t disappoint them…. :< So anyway, this is the second chapter. 

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Well, so far, nothing really has happened. :P It’s Easter, Lent is over, blah blah blah.

Hopefully I will get a couple more reviews up. I’m currently watching Fullmetal Panic, so my next review will probably be on that. (If I can stop watching Burn Notice, Doctor Who, Wildfire, and Lost…..>.>)

Oh, and American dramas are horrid but ADDICTING. O.O

Genre(s): Action, Black comedy, Dark fantasy, Supernatural, Shonen

Objectionable content: Violence, blood, black magic, demons, occultish themes, smoking weed, mature themes which may include but are not limited to shonen-ai, sexual language, and crossdressing

Plot summary: In Victorian-era Europe, a young boy loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive corporation, handling all business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His butler, Sebastian Michaelis, is extremely talented, his talents being surpassed only by his strength as a demon. 

The story follows the two along with Ciel’s other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel’s parent’s murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month after. 

Review: Oh. My. Friggin’. Gosh. This anime nearly blew my mind away. 

Let me just get the negative points out of the way so I can rant about the awesomeness of the positive points. There were three main reasons why I’m giving this anime a four star rating instead of a five star. 

The first reason is because the second half of Black Butler was filled with filler. (ironic…) At the end, I had a lot of questions, and they weren’t answered, leaving me confused and a bit unsatisfied. 

The second reason is because of a stupid character named Grelle Sutcliff. He is very very obviously gay, and I really do not see the point of putting him in this anime, except, maybe, for comedic reasons. He is stupid and girly. And he sticks around for the whole anime, and it looks like he’s going to be in the second season also. This anime is awesome. When he’s there, however…. meh. 

The third reason is because of the high amounts of objectionable content. There is nothing obviously yaoi, (except Grelle) but there’s enough yaoi feeling to make many Black Butler fans squee in excitement when something… interesting happens between Ciel and Sebastian. Also, Ciel crossdresses for one episode. That was just gross, in my opinion. Now, on to the positive points. 

Ciel Phatomhive. Thee most amazing boy I have ever seen, on TV or in real life. I can’t begin to explain why I think he’s amazing. His words, his actions, his smart decisions, it’s all so amazing. He just leaves me speechless. Although… his helplessness when Sebastian’s not around is pretty funny. Sebastian is also another character, though I wish he could have at least one flaw to make him more believable. Because he. Is. Perfect. Quite literally.

Even though it had a lot of filler, the story was still very dark and morbid. And I love dark and morbid stories. Devils, grim reapers, queens, mysterious disappearances… how much more awesome can it get?!

All in all, if you like dark, morbid stories, and you’re okay with all that objectionable content up there, then this is a good anime for you. 

Overall rating: 4/5 stars

Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural

Objectionable content: Violence, sexual language, perverted shots, offscreen nudity

Plot summary: Ayano is the heir to the house of Kannagi, a house with ties to the spirits of fire, whose members are all fire users. All except for her cousin, Kazuma. Because she defeated him in a duel for the right to Enraiha, a sword passed down in the Kannagi family, he was banished by his father from the Kannagi house in disgrace. 

Four years later, he has returned. He has changed his surname to Yagami. He has formed a contract with the Spirit of the Wind, and has become a very powerful wind user. 

Review: The plot. It doesn’t exist. The Stigma of the Wind (or Kaze no Stigma, as it’s popularly called) has arcs that last for one or two episodes. The longest arc comes at the end, but I still think they could have done more with it. Don’t expect very many cliffhangers. And at the end, they really tried hard to be very deep and stuff. And they utterly failed. 

Even though there was a wide variety of personalities in the characters, they were still pretty cliche. The impetuous fool of a heroine, (Ayano) the cold, cunning genius of a hero, (Kazuma) and the lolita who is cute but can get serious when need be. (Ren) However, it was still pretty fun watching them get along together. The relationship between Kazuma and Ayano is especially fun to watch. At the beginning, almost all of them are very shallow, but by the end, the producers succeed in developing them. The characters, I mean. The making of Ayano saddens me though. Nobody ever takes women seriously. Why can’t there be any female lead who’s cold, cunning, and a genius?! Why must it only be male leads who are like that?! Every single female lead is either as stupid as a sheep, or as clumsy as a hippo. Aherm…. Anyway….

There was one thing that really bothered me though. Nobody really cared when somebody died. The only time when killing was considered wrong was when somebody important to one of the three in the previous paragraph was killed. Then, and only then. Kazuma even killed a lot of people. I mean, they weren’t really people anymore, but still… 

This anime was pretty funny though. So if you like comedic animes that have lots of fighting with elemental magic, and very little blood, but lots of nonsense, with lots of predictability, this is for you. 

Overall rating: 3.5/5 stars

Watching Psych while doing school is definitely one of the worst ideas ever.