Broken Anime

Broken Anime’s Breakdown, giving you our opinion of the top 10 anime of the season so far.

Obviously there’s still a lot left to go, and sadly we havn’t been able to see all of the anime that we would like to yet (examples: Macross and xxxHolic: Kei and others). But this is our list to give you guys a sort of sense of the good the bad and the awesome that Spring season 2008 has to offer.

“I can has award?”

This is a compilation of Ryo and Kazeryu’s (and a bit of Rho’s) lists of top 10 since the other two staff are too lazy to keep up with new anime. tsk tsk…

Ryo’s Review is in RED
Kazeryu’s Review is in BLUE
Rho’s Review is in GREEN

#10 - Allison to Lillia

Coming in at #10 and just barely making our list is Allison to Lillia.

Cheers: Say hello to the show with the least quirks I’ve seen all season. If you want a down to earth anime that I find to bring back memories of Miyazaki flying craft, then be my guest, Allison to Lillia may be the perfect choice for you.

There’s a good chance that there will be a good overall theme to this, but that’s just hypothesizing. While there are some iffy things going on (1 person isn’t enough to find a blanket) the setting provides the least amount of unrealistic scenes. No aliens, shape-shifting demons or insanely strong high school students here. While this limits the amount of things that can happen in the anime, it makes it much easier to find meaning in a character’s misfortune/success.

Jeers: Okay, I was excited for this show because I’m a big fan of the old school adventure-romance down to earth types of animes. (I mean I love my fanservice, but yeah…) These two are pretty cute and adventurous together… but that’s about it. Maybe it’s just my American attention span, but I found myself dozing off at a whole lot of nothing really quick. This one was on the bottom of my top 10, not because of the art, not because of the style, but simply because I was not entertained!

The aforementioned setting is nice, but right now they are cycling through characters far too quickly for there to be any sympathy or compassion for them. Also, now that their only clue to the treasure is gone, I can’t imagine how they’re going to go about finding it and after that how they’re going to stop the war between Israel and Pakistan

#9 - Itazura na Kiss

Next up is the romantic, or not so romantic, comedy Itazura na Kiss.

Cheers: Some pretty funny stuff. Although the romance side of this show isn’t the best thing since sliced bread, the comedy helps to make up for it. This show was higher on my list than 9th, but compiled together, it’s at pretty much where it deserves to be.

I enjoy romantic comedies, so this one is already watchable. What pushes this to the list would be the just-a-friend Kinnosuke thinking he still has a chance (Harima->Tsukamoto->TorimaruKarasuma) and Naomi’s mom that wants to hook them up (try making them sleep together. Unless your name is Rito Yuuki it should work)

Jeers: Naomi. He is definitely the main reason why this anime isn’t 10x better. He’s just such an asshole that it’s impossible to love him as a male protagonist. Even though I know, I know that he’s going to turn around and realize that he loves her in the end, it still doesn’t take back all of the elitist asshole things that he’s said so far.

As noted before Naomi = douchebag that should not be loved. This is almost like Gasai falling in love with Yukiteru (almost baseless) except without the axes and box cutters and homicidal personality (read:yandere). The huge jumps in time make me wonder how old they’re gonna be before they hook up.

#8 - Kamen no Maid Guy

Tired of your grandchildren living in a dump? Want to improve their lifestyle while at the same time protecting them from unknown assassins? Well in Kamen no Maid Guy, the Fujiwaras solve this problem by hiring probably the beefiest man that meido fans would never want to see in a maid suit. Well guess what…

Cheers: Now that I’ve watched more of this, I would have liked to stick it up higher on the list because this far surpasses the expectations of just a fanservice anime. In fact, it probably can become its own category. Combining a massive amount of oppai with one of the most manly (read:GAR) men to exist in anime has produced some amazing results, once of which is presented above.

Jeers: The art….ahh….ahhhh……the clothes and the body shape is alright, but the faces…it’s probably mostly the mouths being too close to the nose, but still it’s quite distracting.

#7 - Kanokon

Love your fanservice? Love your furries? Well Kanokon might just be your ticket.

Cheers: Fox-demon girl tries to get it on with a young and innocent high school student? I like it already. Wagging tails are always ftw in my book.

Human raping animals. And…..uhhhh….

MMMMM OPPAI

Jeers: The plot and artwork in the anime adaptation of Kanokon are shotty at best. Even though Chizuru is irresistible, it’s tough to overlook the rushed look of some scenes.

Monster hunters….where are they? Actually, we don’t need you. Please stay away from my Chizuru. kthxbai. The minor characters need more love. That is better consistency and 3D clothes.

Oh for Christ’s sake…This series already has so many holes and lack of any meaningful plot that it does not even deserve more than a paragraph of review. It took 5 episodes to even get to any kind of conflict/story (ep 5’s story about Chizuru not being able to be around her hobbit-sized sugar daddy did, admittedly, make me a bit sad though). Character and background art is mediocre at best. Kouta needs to man-up. Minor characters seem to be more random than helpful to making a storyline. Read the manga - though short, it at least has a wee bit of plot and character depth (perhaps in chizuru’s brother’s sister-complex).

#6 - To Love-Ru

A mysterious alien princess teleports into your bathtub? Naked? Please, oh please God? Well in the world of To Love-Ru ~Trouble~ it just may happen.

Cheers: Can we make Lala her own cheer? I know Kaze is all about Rito’s sister, but there’s just something special to me about a girl sneaking into your bed naked while you’re asleep. I’m not exactly sure what it is…(it’s because they’re not actually married yet. It’s like Sia saying that she supports polygamy)

The amazing plot, animation, and original personalities Lala Satalin Deviluke. Zastin is entertaining too….those silly aliens….

Jeers: Well, there isn’t much more to To Love-Ru than the fanservice, so if you’re like Rho and think that fan service is a wasteofspace, then To Love-Ru’s sexy alien comedy probably isn’t going to be for you.

Rito is worrying too much about a lowly earthling to jump the alien princess that sleeps naked with him. The morning glare when Lala’s stretching

#5 - Special A

Romance and Pro Wrestling combined like never before. Has their even been a “before”? Step into the lives of the top 7 students in the elite high school Hakusenkan in the romantic comedy Special A

Cheers: Now let’s see…what attracted me. I think it was the similiarities it had to Ouran… I don’t typically enjoy shoujo (copious amounts of pretty boys and BL), but this one has a bit of humor and lots of people doing impossible/weird/rich people things (kinda like Ouran).

Jeers: It’s not Ouran and that point is becoming more apparent with every episode. Hikari needs to realize that she is loved. The other 7 members of S.A. need some more screen time and background…they’re just there right now. Also this is made by GONZO, so I’m bracing for trainwreck…

#4 - Druaga no Tō ~the Aegis of URUK~

Did you ever want to be a hero (no not an hero, this is not turning into a page about emo rants)? Well you probably envisioned something a little more glorious than this RPG-esque adventure, Druaga no Tō.

Cheers: I’m an ex-hardcore gamer, been sober 2 months now >_<”, but the Tower of Druaga reminds me of everything I loved about games, especially RPGs. Some pretty hilarious stuff to watch out for in this show, don’t go away thinking that all it has to offer is RPG-style action scenes and cute girls.

Funny, with a healthy helping of excellent art and quality animation/effects, Druaga is already shaping out to be an interesting series. The intro sequence of the series is amazing - I love how CGI is smoothly implemented (adding such effects often is done lamely in many animes). Great character design too. You can tell effort was put into animating this series.

Jeers: The way they do fight scenes in this show is a little weird. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue to do more of the RPG-esque fighting (tank + healer + mage) or if it becomes more of a sword style.

#3 - Kure-nai

Being a bodyguard can be tough. It can be just as tough to be in charge of a seven year old girl, as Shinkurou well knows in Kure-nai.

Cheers: An original plot with some original themes. Although Kure-nai is lower on my list than #3, it’s pretty easy to see the reasons for it being so high when you watch it. The plot has tons of possibility and originality.

I’ve read some of the manga, and Murasaki being cute the characters’ stories (backgrounds) interested me enough to look into the anime. There are some touching moments, but it’s also interesting watching Murasaki’s actions contrast to Shinkurou’s…something like a class divide. The characters’ backgrounds also seem interesting.

Jeers: Possibility doesn’t always mean that it’s good. Kure-nai was one of my favorites coming into Spring 2008 season, but quickly fell off the charts. With not much progression after the first couple episodes, the less-than-amazing artwork had a hard time keeping my interests. This series does have potential though, and I feel it could either end up on the bottom or top of the season by the end depending on how it progresses.

In the beginning episodes, they set out a lot that needed explaining and they’re biding their time with eps that don’t seem too related (ep5 for example). While these are nice, 13 episodes doesn’t allow much time for loitering around in the plot

#2 Soul Eater

Just another shinigami show? Not with all of the new aspects and creativity that Soul Eater brings to the table.

Cheers: So much that I could say here about how amazing the artwork, characters, action sequences and mixed-in comedy is in Soul Eater. Although I’ve seen plenty of the worn out Shinigami themed shows, this one definitely has some flare to it that I think more than one type of fan can enjoy.

BONES delivers! I would say the best parts about this are the eccentric set of personalities and the quality of the animation. This studio has worked on a fair amount of action shows, and they’ve gotten good at it.

jeers: The only really “negative” thing that I can think to say about Soul Eater is the question “can it stay fresh?” Another thing inherent in action/shinigami shows is to have a bunch of filler and to drag on, which makes me sick to my stomach.

100 souls means 100 bad guys means….what? Recycled characters? Wondering how they’re going to incorporate the final boss

#1 - Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

The continuation of the epic first series is finally here. Now make way for Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.

Cheers: Epic, intense, dramatic, action-filled and Bunny-girl Karen. All of these are some of the good reasons to love Code Geass R2. If you haven’t seen the first season, you officially suck and you should go watch it right now to cure your suckage. If you’re a fan of Death Note, then definitely check out Code Geass, that’s how I originally got into it. This series is the only one that I’m 100% sure is going to be a great watch for the entire season (considering they don’t screw us over with a bad ending) and strongly encourage everyone to give it a try. Since Kazeryu hasn’t seen it yet (bad), I had to convince him to put this at the top, and judging from other ratings, it’s not such an uncommon association.

Jeers: Not much to say here. Although I don’t necessarily agree, some people criticize Geass for being a Death Note clone and for having very feminine and slender character designs (the designs are done by CLAMP). I actually like both of these things, but I can see how this bothers some people. Sometimes it even bothers me with how feminine Lelouch is =_=” and not to mention I hate Suzaku.

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Conclusions:

That’s it for our midseason Spring 2008 Breakdown. It’s shaping up to be a very good season for anime, with a lot of different shows that are actually good.

This list was compiled from 3 of our staff’s opinions, and I think it’s obvious that not everyone is going to agree with it. It’s particularly hard when comparing two different genres to each other, which is where most of the personal bias comes into play.

So in turn, here are some separated honorable mentions:

• Best Action: Soul Eater / Soul Eater
• Best Adventure: Druaga no Tō / —
• Best Drama / Supsense: Code Geass R2 / uhh…Kurenai?
• Best Romance: Itazura na Kiss / Kanokon S.A
• Best Fanservice: To Love-Ru / ToLoveRU
• Best Furry: Blair from Soul Eater / Do not want
• Best Cosplay: Karen (Geass), Nozomu (Kanokon) / Bunny Girl Kallen!
• Best Comedy: Soul Eater or Druaga no Tō / Soul Eater, Kamen no Maid Guy
• Best Artwork: Soul Eater / ToLoveRU (Lala), Soul Eater (Best Animation)
• Favorite Male Character(s): Death the Kid (Soul Eater) / Black Star (Soul Eater), Kogarashi (Kamen no Maid Guy)
• Favorite Female Character(s): Lala (To Love-Ru), Karen (Geass), C.C. (Geass), Chizuru (Kanokon), Kaya (Druaga) / Houzuki Yuuko (Kurenai), Midarezaki Yuka/Himemiya Reiko (Kyouran Kazoku Nikki)
• Best OP/ED animation(s): Soul Eater, Druaga no Tō, To Love-Ru / Soul Eater’s OP, Kamen no Maid Guy’s ED, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki’s OP
• Best OP/ED song(s): “resonance” by T.M.Revolution (Soul Eater), “forever we can make it” by THYME (To Love-Ru), “O2″ by ORANGE RANGE (Geass), “Swinging” by Muramasa☆ (Druaga no Tō) / “forever we can make it”-Thyme (ToLoveRU), “Chōsai Kenbo Sengen”-MOSAIC.WAV (Kyouran Kazoku Nikki)

Check out our Breakdown at the end of the season to see more opinions when the season is over!
Note*** Hooray for our 1 month anniversary!