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Erased

By: Robert Murphy

What would you do for one chance to travel through time and correct a mistake that you made in your past or change the future for the better by righting a terrible wrong? Well for some unknown reason Satoru Fujinuma posses this kind of ability where when tragedy strikes those around him he can travel backwards to moments before it happens and hopefully prevent what is about to occur. He dubs this ability revival and even though he generally feels disconnected from everyone and everything around him, he does everything in his power to help those in need. This becomes painstakingly more perilous however when a murderer from his long repressed childhood comes back and murders his mother, this sending him on the longest revival trip he has ever gone on to try and change not only his current future but the future of those around him as well.

Initially Satoru was a character that I thought would not prove to be an overall engaging one since I had seen his like so many times before. As the story progresses however viewers begin to see more and more as to why the present Satoru felt so separated from those around him. He was so lackadaisical and couldn't quite muster up the drive to do anything in his life, even with his true passion of manga writing, and there was just something missing from his life. Many people out there can probably relate and this ended up working in his favor in a lot of ways but when viewers meet his younger self it also adds some more depth to his character. Satoru's hero complex kicks into full swing once he sets himself on the path of protecting Kayo, a young girl in his class, who was the first victim in a series of murders in his home town. Satoru believes that she is the key to preventing everything in the current future and if he saves her then he saves his mother, his friends and himself from a horrible fate. 

Even before Satoru travels back in time and enters the body of his younger self, the story had major appeal going for it. The mystery as to who was causing all of these misfortunes in Satoru's present was a deeply engaging one as this person was one step ahead of him and absolutely everyone else in the story. Everyone was working against Satoru it seemed, except for a young girl by the name of Airi who believed in him and his innocents, but she too ends up getting caught in the cross hairs. Once in the past the situation is just as perilous as a young Satoru tries to piece together just who is responsible for the impending murders and tries to help Kayo and the other girls in the killer's sights. It becomes delightfully endearing as well seeing as Satoru and his friends are all young children attempting these grand feats of hiding out to protect Kayo. It's cute and you almost forget that Satoru is a thirty year old trapped inside of his younger self, that is until he stops to remind himself of this at a humorous moment of attraction he feels for Kayo.

After a pinnacle moment for the story, Satoru is left to clean up loose ends and try to ultimately make sure the killer will no longer prove to be a problem for anyone close to him. However, this proves to be the dragging moments for the show since the mystery itself is just about solved and in terms of viewership everything already seemed wrapped up. That being said the finale for the show was extremely satisfying to see as it shows how Satoru has come full circle as a character. He has been changed by all the experiences with his past life and he no longer feels the emptiness he once did. He wasn't pretending to have friends, he actually made them and they stood by him. He wasn't just trying to be a hero, he actually became one and felt as though he was just like his childhood hero that brought his friends together and fought evil. The future looked bright and it made the drag for the three preceding episodes feel worthwhile.  

There is a certain artstyle to series that captures all of the drama happening as well and it is truly beautiful. Satoru is shown the moments of an impending revival when a blue butterfly flies nearby and for those of you who have played Life is Strange it will ring remarkably similar, not that I'm knocking the show for this. Erased also cleverly use old time film reels to depict timelines of the situations at hand as well as use it to show moments of connection being severed/created during points of Satoru's revival. Outside of these factors, the animation itself is simply top notch, even though many points in Satoru's past take place in a cold winter setting it is brought to life with many bright colorful moments. A particular highlight in one episode show Kayo and Satoru traveling to a remote spot from his childhood, there are foxes that come and dance around them and other wonderful sights, but the best is when they reach a seemingly desolate tree that comes to life when they stand under it. The stars bring it to life like a massive Christmas tree and it truly shows the height of the shows animation prowess. 

The overall themes of the show go to some intense places such as child abuse, isolation, murder, loneliness and a whole lot more and it adds to the wholly engaging experience that is Erased. The series had an engaging presence right from the get go and despite a brief drag near the end, there was a solid presentation all the way through. This is capped off by wonderful themes, animation and not to mention one heck of an opening theme song for a show that will hit viewers on multiple levels.

Good:

- Saturo's development as a character made him truly enjoyable

- An engaging story

- Tough to swallow themes that are handle very well

- Wonderfully animated

Bad:

- A bit of a drag near the end with the episodes feeling like they don't accomplish too much till the end

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10 

One Punch Man

By: Robert Murphy

Often one of my biggest gripes with people who love over powered characters in comic books and movies is that with all that power there has got to be no challenge in fighting crime and anytime they appear to be weak or beaten down it seems like a front to make the episode go longer. It's all so boring and I finally met a superhero who agrees with that fact, Saitama. 

This bald headed superhero is simply the world's strongest hero that has ever walked the face of the Earth and rather than take pride in this fact he is extremely agitated by his ability to simply one punch any and all problems that come his way. He didn't start out this way though, no he spent most of his days before becoming a hero as your average business man who hated his humdrum lifestyle until one night he risks his life to save a child from a monster attack. From that moment on he dedicated his life to becoming stronger and protecting those in danger. Through some strange turn of events however he was able to attain ungodly levels of strength, speed and ability by simply doing 100 squats, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and running 10 kms ever single day but the only physical thing that changed was he lost his hair.  

This outrageous turn of events turns out to be one of the running gags for the series that places a huge comedic satire on just how easy it is for some people to gain superhuman abilities. Heroes like Superman simply needed to come to Earth and he gained powers that rival anyone who challenges him or even Goku from Dragonball Z, he somehow had a power level that made people laugh at the mere sight of it but gained abilities through friendship and simple levels of strength and body training. When people start to hear about just how Saitama gains his abilities and sees what he does the proper responses are made by any and all who are around to hear it. That is until he one punches them all into none existence but it is great to see a show take shots at the typical hero mechanic of outlandishly strong heroes.

Now before everyone starts raising their eyebrows about the plot of the show I will say that Saitama isn't the only hero or protagonist for the show because while it is fun to see him sarcastically take down gigantic creatures at every turn, it would become rather dull for a series. Saitama's abilities eventually attract the attention of a young cyborg boy Genos who becomes so impressed by his abilities that he becomes his pupil hoping to gleam the secrets to his legendary strength. While Genos offers up some incredible scenes of his own through the use of his cybernetic enhancements he often used as the wide eyed optimist who believes that his master is something greater than he is. I'm not Saitama is a bad character, far from it actually especially later on when more of his true character shines through, but when you hear Genos spout off about his masters legendary greatness and see Saitama picking his nose right next to him you begin to see why it's funny that so many people love these overpowered and overplayed characters. 

That factor also proves to be a shining moment for One Punch Man. Various dramatic sequences for the story such as epic level boss fights, especially the final battle for the series, are beautifully animated and put together. The fights are all well choreographed as well making the abilities of Genos for example truly pop but then you have scenes of low quality placed right in the middle of the action to undercut the tension with great comedic exploits. These scene often happen with Saitama because he usually thinking about something else during fights or just generally unimpressed by his opponents power that he is placed in animation scene that look drawn in by pencil. While this contrast in art design may not work for some it is used rather uniquely here for plenty of comedic moments that make you realize that this isn't a series hero anime but still has the potential for it. 

The rest of the cast as I said further deepen the story or make it as deep as it could possibly become anyways. Saitama funny enough must rejoin the corporate ranks as heroes are apparently a dime a dozen in this world and they're all employed and ranked by the Hero Association. But the show doesn't simply show off the best of the best which are the S-Ranked members of the association, there is in fact an episode devoted to one C-Ranked member in particular Mumen Rider who is basically the type of man Saitama was when he first became a hero. So while the show makes fun of those epic level heroes there is a good deal of heart hidden beneath the sarcasm as well. 

The penultimate battle for One Punch Man does show case all of the exemplary S-Ranked members however who posses tremendous powers of their own, still paling in comparison to Saitama obviously. Nevertheless they all gain some showtime to demonstrate why they're the highest ranking members of the association and it once again showcases the shows ability for excellent fight scenes while leaving some intrigue to come in a following season.

One Punch Man is undoubtedly going to be one of those breakout shows for 2015 that will lead to many followers donning a yellow jumpsuit and red boots and gloves at many anime conventions to come. Still, the story lacks a good deal of depth to it so if you're looking for a more serious anime to watch then you have come to the wrong place. If you enjoy a good laugh however and mockery of traditional hero interpretations then you will find a winner with this bald headed beauty.  

Good:

- Exceptional animation

- Funny superhero satire

- Saitama's one punch exploits never get old

- Interesting world and characters

Bad:

- A shallow story

- The low quality moments used for comedy won't be for everyone

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Overlord

Robert Murphy


Going back to the first time that I had watched Sword Art Online I found that an anime about being trapped in a game was quite an interesting one since I have always been an avid game lover and the concept of virtual reality becoming actually reality quite excites me. Other shows have popped up and followed the same kind of logic and so one would think that the idea would become stagnant but Overlord takes a new approach to the story. 

Momonga was a member of an extremely prestigious guild from the MMORPG Yggdrasil and even though he was simply in charge of the guilds finances he was still a max level spell caster. Now the game is unfortunately going to see it's final day as the servers are being shut down and Momonga logs in for the final moments of the game but his fellow guild members have long since abandoned the game and all that they have earned after countless hours of playing. Something unprecedented happens once the clock strikes midnight and the game was suppose to shut down though, Yggdrasil was still online or at least in some fashion it was. All of the player made servants in the guild hall have been made real and Momonga has been transferred to entirely new world with new people and places but it is still a world where he retains all of his magical skills and power which makes him practically a God among it's inhabitants. 

Momonga or Ainz Ooal Gown is a character who takes over powered status and does it the right way. Normally you wouldn't like a character who can do anything and has no chink in his armor, it's boring, but in this case there are two reasons why it works. On the surface Ainz appears to be this menacing skeleton creature (Undead character class) who knows high level magic and has knowledge beyond that of anyone else in the world. Underneath the surface though there is a stressed out human character that freaks out when his second in command Albedo does things like confess her undying love for him. There are moments of inner monologue for his character throughout the story and while he remains calm and calculating in most of the crucial situations but he has quite a few moments of pure embarrassment with his female subordinates and remnants left from the days when the world was just a game.

His intelligence and raw power is the other key component to his appeal. Since the moment Momonga found himself trapped in this strange new world he calculated every move he made, testing what abilities he can still perform and setting out to explore the world in the hopes of concurring it for himself. Yes, Ainz is a bad guy and I often forgot this fact since he refrains from doing too many things that would be considered "evil" but everything he does is ultimately for his own gain. Anyone who is foolish enough to attack him learns quickly about his strength as casting 8th tier magic is nothing to him where the humans of this world cannot go past the 3rd tier. This leads to him outclassing just about everyone you see Ainz come across and while this world normally be dull the show shows off his power in a variety of different ways to make stellar action scenes and explore Yggdrasil's game mechanics.

The fights are often short but they are nonetheless a treat to behold while you're watching Overlord. Yggdrasil was a game unlike any other MMORPG that is out on the market today or at least to my knowledge it is, the players can create their own weapons using items, create their own home bases (Nazarick is the main base for the show and Ainz) and even create their own servants and most of these player created NPC's are our main cast members along with Ainz. This should give you some idea as to the magnitude of the fights that take place across the show, Ainz has God level magic at his disposal as well as former in-game items, weapons and all the power of Nazarick/his former companions, he isn't afraid to use it either. His subordinates are just as powerful too which made the final fight between Ainz and a turned Nazarick member, Shalltear, quite an interesting one to watch.

Outside of Ainz and the members of Nazarick though there is some work to be done. Overlord clearly has a rich world to be explored and near the end of the series the story began to unravel quite a bit of information about the people who live here. Ainz does his best to learn all he can but there are moments where we were strung along for very little reward such as Ainz's first quest to a nearby city where he joins an adventure guild. The characters he meets were interesting at first but are all thrown away later on and this happens more than once, you are introduced to a new character who seems important but is dropped before you get to know them. Later seasons may prove to pull the overall story together more coherently but for the time being it is a show all about the glorious Ainz Ooal Gown.

Overlord proves that you can still do something new with the trapped in a game style anime with what is presented here. With a more coherent overall story then things would have gone exceptionally well as I watched the series but it was still wonderful meeting Ainz and seeing the power he commands. His subordinates at Nazarick are just as exceptional to watch and it is hard to believe that these characters were technically all designed by video game players, now brought to life. 

Good:

- Ainz Ooal Gown is a fantastically overpowered monster

- Other Nazarick members like Albedo are great

- Yggdrasil is a world that would be spectacular to be trapped

Bad:

- Characters outside Ainz and Nazarick are interesting but get no screen time

- Story has potential but needs time to bring it together better

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10

So, I Can’t Play H! (Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai)

Zach Goodier

Ryosuke Kaga is a high schooler who lives as a social pariah due to his excessive perverted behavior, which he always lets out without any hesitation or filter. His only friend is a girl named Mina, who finds his behavior funny and honest. Ryosuke lives alone, since his father died and his mother conducts research abroad. His life takes a very unexpected turn when a girl appears outside his house, named Lisara Restor, who decides to form a contract with Ryosuke to use him as a source of energy for her powers. Lisara is a Death God, sent to our world in search of a being of great power to help in her quest. In order to help Lisara fuel her power, Ryosuke needs to build up energy, which just so happened to come from the things that make a person feel alive, in his case: being a pervert. What follows is a growing cast of female characters who meet up with Ryosuke and Lisara, and become involved in their quest in various ways. As you might have already figured out, this is a harem show. But there are a few little twists on the overused formula.

I tried to find a picture of Ryosuke not being a total pervert... impossible.

For the most part, I will just skip a lot of the description to say that the characters all fill the general harem spots. Lisara is more or less the “tsundere,” or the girl that pretends to loath Ryosuke, and feels insecure about her smaller bust (chalk up two harem clichés there). Mina is the childhood friend with the massive bust that has been trying to open up about her true affections for some time, but hasn’t. Quele is a relative of Lisara, who fills the role of the younger girl vying for Ryosuke’s affections alongside the big girls, and Iria is the vain seductress who uses her feminine charms to get what she wants, and has even made a career out of it. There is a villain, who reveals themselves midway through the series or so, and they do provide some interesting action and character drama, so that’s a plus.

It's ok, Lisara, I don't find some of this stuff amusing, myself.

So for the most part, it doesn’t seem that there’s all the much here to impress in terms of characters, but it’s the execution that sets this show apart from other harems, if only slightly. For one, they actually follow the logic through where Ryosuke has to make that choice that all harems avoid: who he truly has feelings for. I won’t spoil anything, since it does fit into the plot later on, so I’ll just move on to the other thing that helps the show out: the action.

I just try to force myself to believe that these outfits allow for more mobility, that's the only way to accept it as serious combat attire.

While the show isn’t action heavy, it does feature action segments where someone, usually Lisara, has to activate her powers to fight off monsters. Her outfit isn’t too bad, but they all serve as lust fuel for a mostly male audience. Still, the fights look pretty decent with elemental powers well animated to produce some great scenes. It’s just a shame that this series, like many other recent releases, places more focus on the comedic antics of a pervert in the middle of his own private harem rather than the world and powers surrounding it. One of the reasons why I got so into anime originally is the human element, the depth of character mixed with excellent visuals, and these recent series usually just throw that all out the window and just use excessive cleavage and panty shots to get their following, which is a shame.

It's a pity that so much of the lore and ideas brought up in the series are never really explored in any detail to create a richer world and characters.

Still, I did find the powers, and even a lot of the concepts that drive the plot forward to be interesting, even if they are never fully explored or explained. Ryosuke never really impresses all that much as a protagonist until the last few episodes, but Lisara does have some great character moments, if we go by the standard set by most recent shows. I would probably recommend this show as some light viewing for people who don’t really want to get overly invested in a darker, more serious story. There are more than a few entertaining moments in this series, but its over-reliance on sex appeal takes a potentially great action/fantasy story and turns it into a mostly typical harem series, a good one, but still ultimately a harem full of unrealistic and underdeveloped characters in a world that is just taken for granted rather than explored in a serious or meaningful way.

Good:

-Fairly interesting ideas and world.

-Some decent action.

-A couple of strong character moments that make them slightly buyable.

Bad:

-Never fully explores its own story or lore to an extent that really satisfies.

-Typical overuse of sex appeal as fan-service to distract from some weak characters.

Scully Rating: 6 out of 10

In the News: Dragon Ball Returns

Sean Dibble

So guys its finally happening and my childhood dreams are finally coming true. This is the year that we will be getting a new Dragon Ball series entitled Dragon Ball Super and it will be released this July in Japan. Only time will tell if and when it will be English subbed or dubbed, but this news has all of us Dragon Ball fan boys happy. The series will take place a few years after the defeat of Majin Buu. The director and studio that animated the Freiza Saga of Dragon Ball Z are the ones that are in charge of this new series so I have very high hopes for this series and just want to thank Shenron for granting my wish of a new Dragon Ball series.

Naruto 700: Naruto Uzumaki!!

By: Robert Murphy 

Link to the manga here

Well, it's finally here everyone, after fifteen years of chapters Naruto has come to it's final pages and it's enough to bring anyone down. I happened to have started the show when I was about thirteen years old and it was probably the first thing I had defined as an anime in my mind, even though DBZ and others came before it. I'm really going to miss these chapters but I have no doubt that we haven't seen the last of the Naruto world. This chapter is a fitting farewell for the series and it jumps quite a few years into the future. We see the Leaf Village doing well once more and we also get to see the new faces of the people we've known for years. But also some new faces are here too, that's right our favorite ninja have been busy making the next generation and the pairings/faces are something to be seen. Some you could see coming from miles away but it's still fun to see them finally brought to life, but I won't spoil any of that for you all. I hope you all enjoy these last pages as much as I did, goodbye Naruto Uzumaki!!

Another

By: Robert Murphy 

I have never been a super huge fan of the horror genre, if I was a character in a game I would have the weakest constitution in the group but never the less it doesn't stop me from playing a scary game or watching a scary show. Another though doesn't start right out into the shock or the gore aspects of the horror genre but rather it strives to give you the chills and unnerves you to your core with it's story. We follow a young student named Sakakibara Kouichi who just moved back to the town of his birth for school while his father is away on business. And while everything appears to be normal in this town, his class and the town have some secrets hidden just underneath the surface and Kouichi, just like a stereotypical horror movie character, keeps asking questions until he finds out just what is going on in his new home. 

From the very first episode of the show things are a little bit eerie and unnerving as it flashes images of creepily designed dolls every so often as if to try to place subliminal messages into your brain that this show is going to be a little off it's rocker. This was a little off putting at first as it seemed to be so out of place and not at all relevant to what is going on but you can never judge an anime before it's finished and so I kept going. Happily, I was rewarded for waiting it out as the pieces started to come together in the story but Another was trying too hard to put in some horror cliches that just didn't quite fit in. The horror aspects that did work for the show are when the cliches disappear and you get to watch the story unfold and Kouichi starts to figure out just what's happening around him. All the characters in Kouichi's class move about shadily and you can tell there is something right beneath the surface of each one of them. When this breaks out it is truly a shocking scene just for the pure dread that some of the characters will exude and they really have every right to do so as many of them and their families begin to die.

Now I apologize if my first paragraph may have led you to believe that there isn't any gore in Another, no this isn't the case because once the deaths start to occur in the show they can be pretty gruesome. The very first death in the show had me at a loss for words just for the ridiculousness behind it, it's was deliberately meant to be far-fetched and the writers wanted something unique that came off as corny. Other deaths are fairly standard things that we've all seen before but are exceedingly drawn out such as the replay moment over and over when a young nurse dies in an elevator collapse, her head is shown repeatedly hitting the floor and splattering blood in every direction like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. Stuff of this nature happens constantly throughout the show and while at first it was somewhat of a draw it quickly became a predictable part of Another. 

The sad part of all this is that the show had some intriguing aspects working for it but decided to make itself into another cheap horror flick about teenagers being murdered one by one. As I said before, Another starts out trying to give you the chills as Kouichi strives to find out the secret behind his class and eventually the secret to why they're all dying around him. It's an intriguing mystery to be honest and it had me hooked right up till the end because it's an idea that I just have never seen before. Kouichi's class is almost like there own select part of the school, they have their own rules and their own way of doing things and while this is no big news when you see how proper and advanced most Japanese schools are, this was still something unique. 

In the end, if Another had avoided using so many tired cliches that I have been numb to over the years, it would have been a much better show. The creepy angles that the show was going for worked for the story that I was watching but then things go all Miley Cyrus and crashes through with a big drawn out death scene with abnormal amounts of gore. There is a solid story buried underneath the rubble but it's not enough to save Another entirely. 

Good:

- A solid idea for a mystery and suspense story

- The dynamic of the kids in the classroom is something unique 

Bad:

- A gross amount of horror movie cliches

- Drawn out death scenes with an overabundance of gore and blood 

- Some of the deaths were just ridiculous and stupid to think about 

Scully Rating: 5.0 out of 10 

Bestamvsofalltime ▪ Madness AMV [Edited by Kami]

Zach Goodier

No manga updates as of this time, so here's an AMV to bide the time.  Since we haven't heard any news about the manga being off for the week, we're hoping it's just late, and we'll try to have it out tomorrow.

I'm rather conservative in my love for dubstep, but in this case, I really found it enjoyable.  The music was nice and mellow, and didn't bombard my ears like some dubstep music feels like for me.  The main draw, though, was the quality of the editing done to sync up the scene transitions and lip movements with the lyrics.  One of the reasons I subscribed to Bestamvsofalltime was that I knew that their AMVs went above and beyond the normal effort that goes into creating AMVs.  That isn't to knock the regular editors out there, but these AMVs are generally of a completely different level of quality and effort.  The time that must have been put into these is substantial, especially considering they don't get a paycheck for doing it.  This is a form of art, without a doubt, and seeing some of the masters at work never ceases to amaze me.

Towa no Quon

By: Robert Murphy

Do you ever wish that you could unlock a power hidden within side of you, with all your might you wish you could have the power to change things and make a difference? Well that is exactly what the people known as Attractors wished for and they found an ability within themselves that they could use to change things, once they learned to control it that is. Some of these people have incredibly dangerous powers and strengths and due to this a secret organization has begun to seek them out and eliminate them. Custos is the name of this shady group and they have vast resources to aid them in their efforts to kill every last Attractor, including enhanced cyborgs known as WTOC. A particular Attractor won't allow this to go on, his name is Quon and although he doesn't look it he is a very old and is determined to protect every last Attractor to repent for his past.   

The story centers mainly around Quon, a man a who will do anything for his fellow Attractors often pushing himself too far in the effort to save people from Custos as he's the only one able to fight with his powers. The other issue being that many of the Attractors that you will see throughout the show are young kids who have unlocked their abilities due to some sort of trauma. As I said these kids want to have the power to stand up against people or do something to stop bad people in their lives and it awakens their abilities but it is very dangerous when it first happens and until they learn to control their powers they can cause a lot of damage. This is where Quon and his friends come into help keep all of the Attractors safe from harm hidden in their theme park sanctuary. The whole thing gives off a very X:Men type feel to it where Quon like Professor X keeps all of the mutant children under their care safe from harm. It isn't a blatant rip off of the story though and is very much an idea that fans of the series know works. 

Right from the first scene in the show you see just what Towa no Quon is all about, it is great to watch a scene unfold for how well it is put together and just how unreal the action scenes can be. Quon's transformation from boy to beast is something that unlocks his hidden strengths and abilities, his tremendous strength, speed and fighting skills make even the cyborgs at Custos think about their chances and that a 5 on 1 fight. All action scenes are fluid and sleek and great to watch, my only issue is I wish that there were more fighting Attractors in the show. Each of the main Attractors though that Quon works with do have their own ability that helps out in a pinch but it's mainly backup for Quon when he needs it. The powers though of Attractors are all unique, some have telepathy, some can talk to animals, some can hack computers with handy little prob creatures, it's all appealing to see when they come out. The fact that they mainly serve to help out when needed does make them all very forgettable characters though and it weakens the plot a little bit. 

What you have with a show like Towa no Quon is a very serviceable action series with so many good action scenes to see along with a compelling story to keep you going. It does have an obvious formula to it with the good guy Quon trying to make up for his past and a bad guy who reeks of cliche villain right from the start. But this is overlooked by all that is offered by the show as each episode had me more enthralled than the last. I wish there was more appealing characters other than Quon too, when you get down to it he really is one of the main and worthwhile character that you spend your time watching while the rest stand by when called. All in all though I was pleased with what I recieved from Towa no Quon since it was a show I'd never heard of before and chose to give it a shot on a whim and was rewarded in the end. 

Good:

- Amazing action scenes throughout the show

- Very appealing story that continued to get better as the show went on 

- Attractors all had unique and cool abilities to witness

Bad:

- I wish that the other characters were more appealing and became stronger but they didn't

- Quon becomes the main show runner and you need a little bit more to carry a show

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10  

The World God Only Knows (Season 1 & 2)

By: Robert Murphy 

Have you ever been overly braggy about your exceptional video game skills before? Well Keima Katsuragi has the skills that no one can match when it comes to the world of dating sim games because that's all he plays day in and day out, during class, while in the tub, you name it. Keima finds ordinary girls far too complicated and hate how they do not behave the way they do in his games, they're far too irrational and don't follow the simple in game formulas he loves so much. But on an average day while he's responding to emails, he receives a challenge to put his skills a "Conquest God" to the test. All of a sudden Keima finds himself chasing down real life girls with nothing but his past gaming skills to aid him and the demon Elsie de Lute Irma who must find lost souls that escaped hell and embedded themselves in young girls hearts. In order to expel these lost soul Keima must make every girl he finds them in fall in love with him or failing that kiss him, a heavy task for this nerdy kid but God does he give all of the other nerds hope. 

Now I am not one for a harem or a romance type anime usually and right away it looked like that was exactly what The World God Only Knows was going to be like and I wasn't wrong. However, while the show is a heavily based romance anime I couldn't help but finding myself enjoying and not dreading it like all the rest. It's hard to put into words just exactly why the show works so well, Keima is a bit of a genius when it comes to his games and it may not come up much but he's also pretty solid school work as well. He is a LeLouche Vi Britannia type character, if LeLouche focused on the many girls that he was surrounded by and not about getting revenge. As a character Keima embodies exactly the kind of attitude I find so appealing, a sarcastic and passive like look to the rest of the world but deep down he has a big heart when it comes to all the girls he must have fall in love with him. His partner Elsie however does wear on me a little bit from time to time, she is funny and is clearly meant for comic relief but just goes too far. Her heart is definitely in the right place though and I have to admit I have seen a lot worse when it comes to side kick characters like Elsie (Moka from Rosario + Vampire for example). 

If you're all wondering why I typically don't like this type of show, it's because of the guy character being a shy and or lack luster lead character but I already addressed this and then there are the girls who are usually blank slates with one characteristic to them but the show also has an answer for this too. Each girl that Keima must set out after gets their own arc of a few episodes where we get to learn a little bit about each one of them and their characteristics. There is a reason why these lost souls have chosen to inhabit each girl, their is something about them, an emptiness or hurting in their hearts that the souls inhabit and the love Keima gives them replaces that feeling of inadequacy they had before. This was all very well done in my opinion but an issue did arise in the first season where I wasn't fond of one of the girls and her story carried on for 4 to 5 episodes. This can be a problem with the show because if you aren't a fan of one of the girls, her story can last awhile and vise versa if you really like a girl she is immediately forgotten for the new one. 

When all is said and done though, I have really enjoyed The World God Only Knows, the first season did have a boring filler episode and a girl I wasn't too fond of but you can't win them all. The second season though is where things definitely picked up it's game with more integral stories and getting more into other demons like Elsie and her world. As far as romance shows goes the show is a massive step in the right direction and it avoided all the elements of a bad anime romance such as up-skirt shots and needless girl panting/moaning at any little sex thing. 

Good:

- Solid lead character, Keima is a passive aggressive nerd and I loved his character

- A romance anime that doesn't fall for any of the cheap tricks like up-skirt shots 

- Good pacing and gives time to know each girl Keima must get to fall in love with him

Bad:

- Elsie wore on my nerves but overall she could have been much worse

- Some of the girls are more interesting than others 

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10 

AMV - SIGKILL 720p

Zach Goodier

Been a while since we shared some AMV awesomeness, but here you are.  We're working on reviews, and I'm hoping to have a couple lined up for this week, but until then, you'll all just have to make do.  As a fan of anime and Lindsey Stirling, on top of this good editing job, I enjoyed this AMV quite a bit.  So relax, enjoy, and come on back later this week for some new reviews.

Zetma

By: Robert Murphy

It had been awhile since I sat down to watch any type of anime and I frankly felt that that was wrong and so I set out to find a new one to watch and found Zetman. The show is something that gets many of it's ideas from the noble act of being a hero and wanting to help those in need. This is a great idea on paper and something to wish about as a child but sadly we all grow up and realize that this can't happen, unless you were born or rather created with the power to do so. The main story follows Jin Kanzaki who has incredible strength and abilities hidden inside of him which were meant for the use in destroying creatures called EVOL. EVOL are monstrous creatures that were created for humanities amusement as they fought each other to the death, that is until they achieved consciousness and tried to blend with regular society. While this seems okay, what will it hurt if they just want to be left alone, well not all EVOL stay so nice and they return to the creatures they were and it's up to Zetman or Zet to stop them.  

As I started Zetman, I was really intrigued by the overall setup to the story as it unfolded. Not only does Jin fight to protect humanity but he also befriends a man named Kouga who wants to do the same just like the heroes he's watched in anime and just like a favorite hero of mine, Batman, he has the money to do it. However, the two end up facing down different paths in their pursuit of whats right and end up become enemies rather than friends. While it all sounds like it'd get interesting and fun to watch, it really ends up being the opposite. Kouga is a childish character who really is just looking to be admired like the characters in his shows, he isn't doing it for anyone but himself and is often jealous of Jin for his abilities. Jin himself was initially interesting for me but the confusion behind his story bothered me, he becomes a very muddled character with too much conflicting ideals being thrown on him and you as you watch the show. 

The other major issue to come from Zetman is how it progresses you through the story. The show is based of a manga like many other anime to come before it and in the books you get much more of the story that is left out here in the show. Episodes connect to each other in the flimsiest of ways and where one minute Jin is a young boy fighting crime with his young friend and the next he's working for a shady organization that's trying to stop the rouge EVOL. The story is very much all over the place and once you think you've gotten a grasp on the situation it jumps away from you again. For a twelve episode series, it has a lot going on and not enough time to explain itself, maybe if it had taken a step back to tell the story right and not rush you through it it could have been better. 

The action of the show is somewhat solid, although many of the EVOL are very unoriginal in the forms that they come in where most are just a lizard man looking creature or a shrimp monster. All of the fighting reminds me a lot of Casshern Sins and in fact Zet reminds me quite a bit of the main character from the series in the way he transforms and fights. Kouga himself later gets a unique outfit that makes me think back to Tiger and Bunny and he often acts like one of the characters from the show always professing about justice and it really gets old super quick. 

In the end, Zetman is a very sub par show when you look at the following that the manga has acquired and was probably a big let down for them. The setup as I said led me to believe that there really could have been solid potential for Zetman as a show but it just doesn't follow through with any of it. Many characters end up just getting dropped and their a plenty of plot holes that are just very jarring to the narrative in the story. I would that maybe a second season could straighten things out for the show but with how badly the first part did I won't hold my breathe.

Good:

- Decent action scenes

- Had a good setup but doesn't follow through

Bad:

- The story is very poor

- Massive plot holes and time skips that jar the viewer

- There's no sense of rhyme or reason to what you're watching

- Kouga and Jin start out solid but end up very muddled characters

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10