C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control Review

Here’s to another show that caught my fancy whilst browsing the random spaces of the internet ^_^ Its official title is C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, or [C] for short. Aired in Japan between April and June 2011, it really is an interesting piece since it’s the first of its kind I’ve encountered. The central theme revolves around the differing perspectives of economists, financial analysts and businessmen alike, where money is power and the economy’s condition is everything. People have also been calling this one as ‘Economics The Anime’ Lol.

Plot: 19-year old Kimimaro Yoga is a scholarship student at Heisei University of Economics. His goal in life is simple – to have an ordinary job as a public servant earning just enough money to sustain a home, wife and children. This is probably because he was orphaned at a very young age, and has lived by himself ever since. He currently works two job shifts at the same time earning just enough for his basic needs. You can say he’s a total half glass empty guy.

He couldn’t even go out with his friends to drink even if he wanted to, and always just orders the cheapest food in the school’s cafeteria. One day, whilst studying all night for an upcoming exam, he gets visited by a strange Chesire Cat-like person named Masakaki, claiming that he works at Midas Bank and that Kimimaro has been randomly selected for an entrepreneurial position that was just vacated.

Masakaki explaining to a dumbfounded Yoga: “To put it in words you can understand – you tender us your future and with that as collateral, we lend you money. And we would like you to use that in the Financial District. We ask for nothing more. Also, by future, we mean your future – your possibilities.”

Earning money with the risk of having your life shortened? Any person in their right mind would never accept such an offer. And of course Kimimaro declined. That night though, he checked his bank account and discovered a deposit of 500,000 yen from an unknown source.

Kemonozume Review

Kemonozume has a different opener for each episode that portrays the main setting, but one that’s completely unrelated to the story. Please watch this short clip that completely drove me and my friends into watching this awesome anime:

Literally meaning ‘Beast Claw‘, Kemonozume is probably one of the rarest shows I’ve come across that’s pretty heavy on gore, sex and bodily mutilation mixed altogether with the usual conflicting recipes of love, lust and hate. The animation aesthetics that compensates just indicate how messed up the story is. So if you’re not too weak on the stomach and actually have plans on watching it even after that trailer, then you’re in for a treat!

Plot: Since ancient times, two lovers disobeyed the will of the Gods and were punished by being turned into evil spirits that could only survive on human flesh. Their descendants intermingled with humans while assuming human form, and now quietly lives amongst them. A secret group called the Kifuken (Ogre-Sealing Sword) was established to stop these Flesh Eaters and their terror to mankind. The two groups continued to fight for generations.

The latest heir to the Kifuken and one of the most skilled swordsmen at the time, Toshihiko Momota, closed off his life to live and die by the sword – until he met Yuka Kamitsuki, who is actually a shokujinki (Flesh Eater). I guess you know where this is going. A typical Romeo and Juliet scenario taken to the extreme? Yes, and not quite.

Working`!! Season 2 Pre-airing

The first episode of Working`!! (yes, season 2 with the `) gets pre-aired in Japan in 720p. The link is below. I seriously can’t wait for this season’s fun ramblings at the restaurant of Wagnaria!

Haven’t watched the first season? Click here to learn more about Working!! / Wagnaria! and their awesome crew!

Download Working’!! Episode 1 (Pre-airing) at NyaaTorrents

Working!! Review

Finally, a comedic slice-of-life anime that completely does away with the traditional and cliché high school life! I first found out about Working!! (Wagnaria in the US) after looking up Neregate’s list of upcoming anime for the fall of 2011 – the amusing plot review bundled along with the list captured me instantly. I guess that is mainly because of how this show’s atypical characters aging from 16-28, all with their own distinct weirdness in life, try to blend in with the rest of the crew to make their restaurant working the way it should. Though such attempts would always end in hilarious confrontations.  Season 2 is yet to be out, so be sure to watch the 13 episodes of season one first!

Plot: Everything starts out at the family restaurant Wagnaria, where 17-year old yet elementary student-looking Poplar Taneshima is asked by branch manager Kyouko Shirafuji to look for a new part-timer since they have been understaffed lately. Upon asking classmates, friends and eventually strangers around town, Taneshima stumbles upon our main guy Souta Takanashi and asks him if he wants the job.

Thinking that the petite girl in front of him is an elementary student, he asked if she was lost and even volunteered to accompany her to the police station – until Taneshima shows her high school ID which in fact revealed her to be his senior in school. Loving all things cute, small and 12-year old below, Takanashi agreed to work as a part-timer purely for Taneshima’s sake. He didn’t know what was waiting for him in Wagnaria.

On his first day, Takanashi learned the basics on how to do his job properly. That of course included meeting the other staff of Wagnaria, which he initially thought of as nice and hardworking people.

It didn’t take awhile day to shatter those first impressions – branch manager Kyouko eats away the restaurant’s food supply and barely does any work, Taneshima is always made fun of because of her height, chef Satou always smokes and has anger management problems, chef Souma awfully knows a lot about the other staff and uses that knowledge as leverage, floor chief Todoroki always carries a katana in her waist and Inami is an androphobe who punches any guy that comes near her by reflex. Takanashi is not exempted from this circle of weirdness either, since he’s labeled as a lolicon by the others due to his unusual liking to anything cute, small, weak and 12-year old below (Taneshima being an exemption).

Time of Eve Review

I really love watching shows portraying what technology and people’s lifestyles would be like in the future. Mainly those that deliberately think outside of the box, but still puts effort in justifying the concepts that would still make them sit within the boundaries of logic and reason – therefore persuading the viewers that the circumstances in that anime have a slight possibility happening in the real world. Time of Eve, or Eve no Jikan, is one of the best I’ve seen so far.

Plot: “In the future, probably Japan. Robots have long seen practical use, and this is the era just after the common deployment of androids.” quoted the introduction at the beginning of the show. Androids have already been a commodity to the community, where they help the human population with work, household chores, preparing meals, shopping, directing traffic and other trivial work. Since they literally look alike, You can simply distinguish androids from humans by their status ring (or halo) above their heads. Having taken for granted androids his entire life, Rikuo Sakisaka notices his android’s strange actions upon checking its recent movement records. It seems it frequently goes to an unknown area in which he doesn’t command it to and gets the phrase “Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?” along with the records.

He asks his friend and classmate Masakazu Masaki to help him investigate. By following the GPS coordinates, they were able to find a suspicious steel door in an empty alley. When they got in, they discovered a secret cafe which goes by the name Time of Eve. In front of the entrance stands a digital board that states the cafe’s only rule: “In this shop, there is no discrimination between humans and robots. Customers, please cooperate. Obey the rule and have a fun time.”

Ano Hana Review

Ano Hana is just how people generally refer to it, but the show’s official name is really Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai which translates to “We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day.” Yeah, I think that’s the longest anime title currently on record. Lol. It’s last episode just aired last June 24 so I guess I’d write about it while the intense emotional impact it had on me was still fresh – and I doubt it’s going to get away anytime soon. All thanks to the Zone/Scandal ending song Secret Base (10 Years After ver.) covered by our three leading ladies.

Plot: Jinta Yadomi, a reclusive high school student on the verge of dropping out, starts hallucinating his dead childhood friend Menma and considers it a mental ailment due to stress and the summer heat. Unable to ignore her any longer, he decides to humor his ‘stress’. On the first episode, they would incidentally meet their other childhood friends Anaru, Yukiatsu, Tsuruko and Poppo while walking around town. Jintan tells Menma how they have drifted apart and changed after the years, and are now indifferent with each other.

Menma then says she appeared because she wants a wish to be granted, but doesn’t have any idea what it is – only that the five of them must be present for it to be fulfilled. Jintan, remembering his childhood memories having no closure at all, decides to bring back their group together and make Menma’s wish come true.

Poppo, Anaru, Menma, Jintan, Tsuruko, Yukiatsu

Coming Soon: The All New Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira!

The anime production company Frontier Works announced in their official Twitter account that a new OVA series, Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira, is going to launch to mark the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni horror franchise’s 10th anniversary. There will be 4 new episodes in this OVA.

Of course, the original creators Ryukishi07 and 07th expansion produced the story while having Toshifumi Kawase again supervise the scripts. Hideki Tachibana will be the new director. I hope he won’t stray far off from the Higurashi feel. That is – killer lolis!

Based from Wikia:

The first volume will adapt the original software’s Batsukoishi-hen storyline, while the remaining volumes will have all-new original stories. There will be limited edition volumes with deluxe bonus extras, as well as regular edition volumes.

Gintama Review

It’s been awhile! My 4-day stay at the hospital was a real drag. But hey, I’m back and ready to share with you yet another show you should never ever even think of missing, ever – make way for Gintama!

Background: Year 18xx at Edo when Samurai were still prominent, things take a sudden turn when a group of aliens called the Amanto try to conquer Earth while the Samurai try to defend it. At the latter’s defeat, the Amanto engaged in a piece treaty and placed a ban on carrying swords in public – leading to the decline of Samurai and their usefulness to society.

Technology, however, boosted all the way up to the point where humans are able to use flying cars, laser guns, surf the internet and play MMORPG with other avatars from other planets, whatever your modern/fictional sorts may. The general look would be mixing Kenshin Himura’s old Edo with today’s world with a hint of your inordinate science-fiction spice.

Plot: We follow the life of silver-haired Sakata Gintoki, a Samurai-turned-freelancer who runs Odd Jobs Gin along with his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura. Odd Jobs is where our three heroes take up any kind of job as long as they’ll get paid and in turn, be able to pay their rent. Despite that though, Gin-san keeps his Bushido standing high so bending his principles is out of the question.

Full Metal Panic! Review

Ever since high school, I just randomly had the OP and ED themes of Full Metal Panic! in my mp3 player, though I really never got to watch the series. Until just a few months ago (after reading a blogger’s top-5 funniest anime), I opted watching its second season – Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. Next thing I know I was curious about the other two seasons and got hooked up on them as well!

Plot: With the constant advancement of global terrorism, a secret multinational organization dubbed ‘Mithril‘ was formed – a group composed of highly trained and specialized mercenaries equipped with the latest and most advanced technology up to date. The show features the Mithril constituents of TDD-1: Tuatha De Danaan, a mobile submarine base commanded by Teletha Testarossa. In a parallel universe of our 1998 – where the cold war is yet to end, is where the story begins.

The origin of such sophisticated equipment used by Mithril came from people called “Whispered“, human data-banks of the mysterious “Black Technology.” To keep a certain Whispered named Kaname Chidori from enemy hands, Mithril assigns Sousuke Sagara, a 17-year old sergeant of TDD-1, to enroll in Chidori’s high school and protect her by all means. Unfortunately, with Sousuke having experienced nothing but guerilla combat since childhood, troubles to fitting in a normal non-war society are bound to arise.

Shingetsutan Tsukihime Review

I was taken by Kara No Kyoukai so much, I had to know about the guys who made it. That’s when I came across Type-Moon’s other works, including Shingetsutan Tsukihime.

I’m no fan of vampires and bloodsuckers – I even considered dropping the show after knowing there were such characters! But no sir, I gave it a shot and I’m glad I did as this heavily heartrending piece is well justified. Don’t expect cheesy lines nor ridiculous abs here!

Originally a Japanese eroge dōjin visual novel game, the immense reception it acquired paved this first-born of Type-Moon its very own anime adaptation – not to mention the financial resources for their future projects such as Melty Blood, Canaan, Kara No Kyoukai and Fate/Stay Night.