As most of you may remember, in a previous post I wrote on the preferences and implications of Competitive blogging vs Cooperative blogging; but this was only in a holistic sense and not directed toward a more defined or personal level. With this post, taking a more micro approach, I wish to learn how my fellow bloggers feel about either blogging as a Team and/or Solitary. Speaking from personal experiences, I have learned from both sets and more than once, but that said, I can not decide which had a bigger impact on me.

My first experience trying to start an Anime Blog was years ago, possibly my second year in middle school if my memory serves me right. At that time in real life, I did have a group of friends that took a interest in the same pursuits, but it was to a lesser extent, and at the time, prompted me to take to the web to seek others and start a blog alone. Needlessly to say, that experience did not last long. I did have one or two unknown viewers and commentators every now and then, but overall, it was just different experience than it is now. I think what I wanted to realistically achieve was far from possible, but being younger you are always more ambitious to accomplish the impossible or at least biting off more than you chew. It just seemed so boring and tedious to the point I lost my interest, however, despite that failure it serves as a hallmark of sorts for my later comeback in more ways than one. It takes more than interest to run a blog and at least I knew that much.

Looking back to those days in retrospect, I think I rather like solitary blogging now. It is not the best choice of diction, since you are never truly alone in such a social activity, but having the freedom to control your own workshop, customize it as you like, choose the material, and move at your own pace is what I like best about working alone. With the foresight I have now and if I were to bestow it to my younger self back then, I undoubtedly might be around seven years old with my site, but I doubt it. I am glad I did not, if I did, I might not had the chance to be apart of the team side of ani-blogging.

Back into my first or second year of high school and also the same time I really came into discovering what I consider “true anime” to be is when I found the team aspect of blogging. Also back then, my writing skills and wit were sharper than they have become now (due to the lapse between colleges) however, I digress. Over this period of time, I was apart of many team blogs and names you may recognize (will not name them), but the last one, one I also helped co-found was the most rewarding and one that if I did not see; well, I would not be here today. At first, it was just two of us, but after facing many trials and keeping grounded with content and goals in mind, we eventually start off with a site that was literally nothing and transformed it in a year into a one with its own domain, a few new readers, and six staff members. It seems like I made a difference for a site and person I barely knew, but also someone that held the same interest and reflected that in the site itself, despite anything else. This is and always will be my favorite memory of the aspect and accomplishments when working as a team is at its best. It even motivated me to start my own experimental site and the same one you are on today after its own mock start up.

Granted, the team aspect is something I am not good at, I still learned a great deal from the endeavor and even helped me work in groups in real life more easier. I am by no means an introvert, but I have a natural apprehension of working in groups; which steams from negative notations I had back in middle school, but relieved to see that is not so bad. I rather like speaking with others, trying to coordinate ideas, and sort of the enjoy the camaraderie of doing so. That person depends on you as much as you do them, so mutual trust and communication is key. It is not that extreme for ani-blogging, but the same lessons apply. Sadly, I seem to do less teamwork these days, both in my personal affairs offline as well on, yet I at least attempt to participate in group Ani-blog projects for that nostalgia and fellowship facet.

Looking back to a post by Exilehero and Nopy’s response, they do make valid points to this end. In a way, we blog because we want to be heard, we want someone to listen. Whether you are working as a team or alone, speaking…examining anime and the visual subculture is just not a solitary activity as many believe, especially when blogging is the tool of choice. Even if you are alone in such hobby, you can also head to the web as a sanctuary of last restore and last find one soul if not more that will listen. Do I speak pure BS? Maybe. Am I truthful in what I mean? Of course. It is such a brilliant epiphany to make, but sometimes we do get lost in the original motivate for doing things. I know I do – however, again, I digress and just hate talking about myself…. What do you think? Are you fond of ani-blogging as a team, alone, or perhaps both? Do you see any inherent problems with the system you chosen, and if so (or even if not), what do prize about the aforementioned decision or see you could do to improve?
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Disclaimer

• I apologize ahead of time for any misunderstandings, but the title and body itself explains what the post is all about. What makes perfect sense to one person does not others and have to remember to try to simplify my writing and diction choice. I blame it on learning all the languages I have so far or in progress to. (That would be: Latin, French, some variation of Arabic, and also continuing learning Japanese.)

Information

Title: B Gata H Kei (Also called: B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time)
Episodes: 12
Producer: Hal Film Maker (Licensed by Funimation)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi
Recommended/Similar Titles: Kiss X Sis, 30-sai no Hoken Taiiku, Seitokai Yakuindomo
Review Source Medium: DVD (Funimation’s Official Dual Audio Release) 

Synopsis (Via MAL/ANN Edited)

Yamada is a high school student, and a virgin, who aspires to have 100 casual sex partners. Despite this, she soon finds herself targeting and pursuing only one boy: Kosuda Takashi, a fellow virgin, whom she believes will help ease the transition to more experienced partners. There’s only one small problem, Yamada doesn’t know anything about sex or the ancient art of seduction, meaning her quest to conquer Kosuda will be a difficult one.

Review

If you think girls can not be perverted as guys you clearly never meet Yamada or seen B Gata H Kei, a sweet (yet ecchi filled) romantic romp that turns the notation on its head. Embarking on a harrowing journey to lose her virginity, Yamada soon choices her first victim, Kosuda (a typical indecisive male) and from there, hilarity and all else ensues. B Gata H Kei is nothing special story wise, but does manage to hold its audience with other wise typical events and of course, Yamada’s own boisterous personality to seduce Kosuda at every turn as well as those around her. It is laden with misunderstandings, dirty jokes, and more sexual allusions you can stake a stick at, but still holds a mystique all its own. Not sure what the mystique exactly is, but it is there. Since it is derived from its 4-korma manga adaption, B Gata H Kei is broken into smaller segments and much akin to its source material – these small sections are present; which helps the transitions stay nice and smooth and moreover, allows it to be flexible as Yamada interacts with her friends, blissfully unaware pseudo made rivals, and the even more unaware, Kosuda. Simply put, you can enjoy the story as it plays out over its many random events, vignettes, and situations.

The cast of B Gata H Kei is probably the most interesting item on the docket and one that adds to the humor and one of its best selling features. Putting aside Yamada and Kosuda, there are also Yamada’s clique of gal pals including her closest well-endowed friend Takeshita (nicknamed F-shita due to her cup size), her sister Chika, and pseudo rivals Kyoka Kanejou (who has a brother complex) and Kosuda’s childhood meganne friend, Mayu Miyano. Adding in the other plethora of supporting roles, it is no denying how well they all mesh together and interact to create that natural charm the show seems to have. The respective voice actors for both the English and Japanese track are also nicely chosen – but sometimes in the episodes the jokes are edited to make coherent sense in the English track as it would in the Japanese track. Overall, 85% of the English track, dialogue, and subtitles sync up to the Japanese track, so you are not missing out on much other than the voices. Actors include: Yukari Tamura / Brittney Karbowski (Yamada), Yui Horie / Cherami Leigh (Miharu Takeshita), Atsushi Abe / Scott Freeman (Takashi Kosuda), and Kana Hanazawa / Jad Saxton (Mayu Miyano) for the Japanese and English side respectively just to name a few.

Hal Film Maker is the animation studio for the series and one that has done excellent work with adapting the manga’s art style into its current shape and form. If you seen their previous projects like Aria the Animation, Tamayura, or Kemeko DX; then the quality is of about the same in a reminiscent sense. The other aesthetic of music is about average and nothing that unique, but pleasant to say the least. Yuusuke Yamamoto is responsible for the shows progression as director and best know for his oversight in series like: Sora no Manimani, Welcome to the N.H.K, and Night Wizard; which is also a Hal Film Maker project. He is assisted by the script writer Kazuyuki Fudeyasu while his counterpart Jamie Marchi (also an English Voice actress for Funimation Licensed works) does the transitional script for the English side under Funimation.

As for my own feelings, B Gata H Kei is the type of series that I rarely take notice of, but pleasantly surprised to watch it. Needlessly to say, I enjoyed it and have little to criticize it on more than praise. Yamada is not the only perverted female in Anime I am fond of, but must say that her persistent (if not annoying) personality struck a chord with me and found to her to be irresistibly likeable as well as many of the other characters. I am also impressed about Funimation’s release, which is of great quality both in the packaging and presentation and well worth the price of admission. Even though I did not purchase the Bluray/DVD combo, the DVD release itself I purchased is still of exceptional quality. The audio quality is also kept in tact when switching between the tracks and great that I did not have to adjust my audio like I regular have to with their releases (Heaven’s Lost Property aka: Sora no Otoshimono for example). I tip my to Funimation for the quality release.

To conclude, B Gata H Kei is nothing more than what it appears to be and is pleasant for those that do not mind a little whimsical and ludicrous (ecchi as well) fun. If you have the time and the fortitude to enjoy seeing a female behave in a socially unacceptable way opposed to guys, then B Gata H Kei is probably well worth the time (especially if you enjoyed the stylings of Seitokai Yakuindomo). With great characters, nice animation and artwork, and a whimsical premise stocked full of common anime tropes of the ecchi variety, B Gata H Kei is undoubtedly enjoyable and probably among few of its kind to present it. I still have no idea what charm the series hold, but who cares really cares as long as it is enjoyable, right?
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Conclusion

Pros: Humorous premise and story, excellent voice acting from both tracks, very nice animation and artwork, quality release from Funimation, true to manga adaption.

Cons: Minor inconsistencies and jokes arranged between the audio tracks.

Note: This a repost from my old site. Only small edits and changes have been made, however, much of the content remains the same.

Among a handful of well-received animation studios and towering titans such as: Ufotable, Production I.G, and Sunrise – SHAFT has made itself indelibly known with its signature trademarks and nearly otherworldly behavior. Tilting of the head, dramatic panning shots, and eerier phantom writing on spaces once blank along with other techniques are qualities that make SHAFT known, but this odd and yet ethereal beauty is something more. This imperfection with a astute eye for detail and respect toward design is SHAFT’s every own Wabi Sabi: An aesthetic that allowed the productions of this studio to blossom as well as itself. It is a natural staple of East, Japan in particular, and has curled its away into all aspects of life. Anime included.

To briefly explain, Wabi Sabi is the aesthetic exemplified in natural materials and methods to contrast the dichotomy of that which is treasured for its antiquity/aging (Wabi) and that to find beauty, serenity, and qualities in life (Sabi) that echoes things such as asymmetry, economy, simplicity, etc. Much like the Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) which are treasured for their fleeting beauty in Japan – SHAFT studios exemplifies the same with its somewhat estrange style that always radiates a natural and serene feel, but ready to shift its mask at any given moment. To be more concrete but brief, their are many excellent examples that highlight this perfectly. For the sake of simplicity, the following relativity express the gist of the bare-bones.

Arakawa Under The Bridge, is one example that juxtaposes a denpsan (see notes) society of strange and backwater denizens, yet still manages to present a visual beauty of sorts in its twisted society that might be a mockery of our own. Needless to say, the very same formula of dysfunction but retention of majesty is also found in Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, although it is more of a ode to the oddness of adolescents – yet the beauty of experiences and growing up. Despite the exuberant birth of these series by the original writer, the animation studio, SHAFT in this case, seems to almost echo the Wabi Sabi of the production itself – both its visual splendider but also pure dream-like structure are intact. While their is more too add about these two productions, I will leave it to the audiences own discovers.

Even though SHAFT is not the only studio to play with the idea of Wabi Sabi, I still feel from all the productions that I seen that it is the most noticeable. I would even say that in many fashions that blowing things out of proportion is the especially of this studio, but all the more that attributes to the values and principles of the Wabi Sabi edict. Hopefully, this Synergy will continue to keep its alive not only within the domain of SHAFT studios, but to Anime as a complete enigmatic entity. It is truly the marriage of the best worlds possible.

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Notes

• Wabi Sabi is a traditional aspect of Japanese desired beauty and perfection, much equivalent to the Western search. Today, since the word is not easily defined it is attributed to all aspects of life; especially those of Buddhism, but also to tea ceremonies, Ikebana or flower arrangement, haiku and Japanese literature composition, and many more.

• Denpsan is hard term to define, but roughly equivalent to the expression “Grandeur of Disillusions”. You believe you are something that you are really not. (Ex: The residences of Arakawa Under the Bridge). It can also refer to something or someone that is weird.

• Extra reading from fellow blogger, Overlord-G in: Basic Steps To Creating A SHAFT clone

Preface

Well, I have to thank Kai for coming up with this project idea, since time management is something I like to speak about and have done so in the past various times and in various ways. For the most part, this will be brief and general overview, yet does encompass previous post I have written. Again, this will general and short, so do not expect anything exciting or readable. Last chance to turn back now or forever be disappointed and regret wasting time reading....

Introduction

To start, yes, I am a college student and college is indeed meant to keep you busy with work. After wasting time trying to obtain a worthless sheet of paper I have taken loans out for in hopes for a bigger return; I would not have it any other way. That said, I think I do an alright job balancing my life between school, hobbies, and other miscellaneous items. I make adjustment where I need to for the sake of school and other obligations, take time out when I need to, and try to get the most out of the day as humanly possible. Sometimes I succeed and other times I fail, but whatever the case, time management has absolutely become a cornerstone in my everyday life.

School & Other Obligations

Classes changes semester by semester, so I do not have a set schedule for it. I usually try to get all my classes in the morning and some noon time, so the rest of the day I can relax and work. So far, especially this semester, I would say this system works for me.  Sadly, this semester I do have classes online (two), which could be a positive, but due to the difficulty level I rather would like to have them offline; since I fear I might have to retake them. That said, my study habits and use of time have pretty much become refined no matter my schedule (after transferring two times to two different institutions you learn a lot).

Other obligations are tough to define, since I have other things to do once I get home or that require attention. Most are centered around my family, that has me out and about, but that alone requires me to be flexible to begin with. In my household, there is no such thing as “taking it easy”. I do have free-time for myself, but when living at home with my mom, dad, and sister (brother has a place of his own) it always seems like something comes up.Baby-sitting my nieces, taking my sister to some function…etc, etc.

Another obligation might be my decision to head to the Air Force soon, but that might not come until I graduate or mid-school term. If it decide to initiate this mid-school (like I plan) none of what I written would probably be relative to me at all. As for the reason, well..that is another story all together and has nothing to do with this post….

Leisure

Most of my leisure time takes place on my computer with activities such as: surfing the net, blogging, reading manga, articles, and watching anime. Most of these activities take place on the weekends; which more than enough time, but sometimes I do make room for it during slow weekdays when I have worked ahead toward my targeted goal. I usually start my weekends early in the morning and end them late in the night, so I am sure I will have nothing else to regret and be able to work through the week. In this regard, I do not have much else going for me as far as sedentary hobbies, since I stopped playing video games as I used too. I do have non-sedentary hobbies such as: golf, fishing, archery, gardening, reading, and others – but rarely are those accessible and sometimes sacrificed to my other obligations. Unlike most people that hang out with friends, I do little of that due to time. I do have a girlfriend and friends, but just finding the time is difficult. I am very lucky to have patient and understanding people in my life; but they are just as busy as I am most of the time, so that helps.

Conclusion

I can not complain much about my life, but I do feel somewhat unsatisfied and empty when I think about how much time I really do have in a day to use. It might just be apprehension about getting older, but I have come to realization that no matter how much time I try to save I will always come up short and should even try to maximize it by rushing. I think blogging has helped me come to this epiphany, not only by being a therapeutic stress reliever, but also putting emphasis on using time to turn a blank page into a work of art by whatever means. In addition, being able to talk with others – making connections has also been of help by sharing ideas and expressing them. I will admit that I am not the best with expressing myself, but taking time out for myself doing this is certainly helpful. Well, before I ramble on any further; this ends my spiel and will be returning back to my regular interesting work.

Note: This a repost from my old blog. Due to my dissatisfaction, poor authoritative take, and other issues this editorial will be up for a revision in the future. 

To be honest, I am not a picky person. As much as I like watching a visual masterpiece I do not exactly think any less of the series if it is standard definition. I am fairly adaptive and appreciative to watch a series that is 360 or 480p (just referring to the definition of quality) as I would be if it were 720p or 1080p. It is not an absolute nail in the coffin (so to speak) to determine if I watch a series and if it is, I feel that is a serious limiter. However, some people may disagree with me. So does quality actual matter?

I can not speak for everyone, but again, I feel that it is not a necessary more than it is a luxury. I can remember fairly well when I used to watch series by means of streaming it or even to going farther back when the old CRT television was the in the thing. I certainly did not mind back then if the quality was superb (nor did I have a choice in the matter), so it actually does not hinder my experience today as well. Admittedly, I have moved on from streaming (with a better net connection than it was five years ago) and enjoying a more higher level of quality, but not necessarily a higher quality viewing experience. For me, anyway, the quality does not decide that. If anything, that falls on the elements in question (story, writing, characters, art/animation, themes, music, etc) that make up the series. All the same, I still enjoy viewing new and older series in standard definition.

However, this merely falls to the viewers perspective and necessarily does not echo or meant to echo anyone else’s personal stand point. Yet, to emphasize on the latest point I also do think quality also refers to the content as well as it does to the actually visual presentation. I know if the story is bad or if the characters do not represent any factors of change as the show wish to impose on the viewer; it can be aesthetically pleasing as it can get, but still is not enough to cover those glaring weakness. The same goes for enjoyable or ecchi themed titles (slice-of-life, comedy genres), if they do not represent anything that gives a different viewing experience or plain enjoyable past the bland innuendos and other stale devices the quality in how it looks will not change much. Being presentable and actually looking the part goes both ways and not in the same vein.

I might be prudent in some respects, but overall I think that is another ounce that begs thought to be given to when watching or deciding to whether or not watch a series. It certainly breeds different worlds and something to consider also if watching series in higher quality in necessarily worth it. What do you think?
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Notes

• I do not think DVD’s are quite out of style or obsolete either to spare another discussion. Some computers (expect for older variants) can handle Blu-ray, but I rather watch a Blu-ray on the system it was intended for. Although, in another few years another “new” thing will be out and best to stick with what you know, until it is necessary to switch over (unavailability). Again, just a personal opinion, since everyone can not afford or feel like cashing out for the latest thing. This is not a BD vs DVD debate.

• Do not confusion quality with the actually key trait of art and animation. That is on a different spectrum.

• As aforementioned above, due to my displeasure with this articles over “quality” it will be revised in the future.

A somewhat brief examination of environment, the types, and if it has bearing on the content Anime bloggers produce.

Note: This a rewrite of a previous post with slightly more detail on the subject matter.

Picking up Anime Blogging as a hobby is undoubtedly the best thing I could of ever did for myself and thanks to it, I have began to see it in a different light than I have previously. My ideas even seem easier to synthesize (expect lacking polishing), but with that said, I am still not free from some of the basic constraints which does tend to make the quality of my work suffer. It could be a number of various reasons, but instead of trying to pick them out among things like: time, energy, interest, state of mind, etc – I do believe it could center around a bigger culprit: Environment. Who is to say that the experiences that we have and the lives that we lead do not play a key factor? Could something like habits – the way you live even affect the quality of work you can produce or the way you choose to do it…? Getting slightly ahead of myself, so think I will explain the two different type of “environments”.

Immediate environment is the exact space where you are and the place where you are at the most when you write. Whether it be the comfort of your own room or your favorite cafe, the immediate environment “usually” can dictate what kind of quality of work you will produce. I say usually due to many people being able to do their best under any types of conditions while others of us (myself included sometimes) are conditioned or need a specific mold to work in, but not limited to. For example, I can say that I am very conformable with writing Anime reviews, but for a post of this manner, I have to stay focus and most of the time recline in my bed where I can muse and mediate on everything that I write or think of. It is just difficult to a degree doing it at my desk opposed to a place where I am naturally at ease. With that said, the immediate environment can also be said to be “constructed” to the person’s preferences and taste; more simply put, it is a place that we can control most of the time. This would be in regards to things like cleanliness, natural noise (tv, radio, etc), lighting, and other minuet things. Their are more nuances and the like to this rule, but the listed paints the gist of what I mean.

As for the second, personal environment, it is just what it sounds like: All the factors that personally involve you and how they relate toward you. To name a few of these traits it would be things like: lifestyle habits, personality, time, demographically setting, etc. This is probably one of the most flighty aspects when it comes to blogging, since it deals with things you have little to no control over or usually have a hard time trying to control. So for example, if you live in the city opposed to someone that lives in country; the level of work you will produce will differ from that other individual. However, do not misunderstand me – by no means do I mean that one is better than the other or can produce better post. That is not what I mean at all, but simply mean that lifestyle habits and ways of life – perspectives of personal environments lead different people from different walks of life and lifestyles to produce material how they see fit. Simply put (again), diversity of lifestyles grant diversity of material produced. Since a majority of us lead different lives and time effects us in different ways, whether we hold jobs, go to school, both, or whatever – inspiration, ideas, etc can strike us at different moments and the settings we are in affect this.

To put this all into perspective and terms easier to understand I will use myself as an example. This is just a general outline:

“Leaving out a few bits of information (for the sake of simplicity)  I see myself as average twenty-one year old currently making my way through college to earn my degree. While my schedule is flexible and work load fairly rigorous, I still have free time during the weekends to write – where my immediate environment is kept semi-clean and neat. I have minor distractions and my personal environment outside my home (neighborhood) is moderately quiet and peaceful.”

Even though this is not a very fine tuned example of what I mean, if you think about what I have written and how it relates to you adding in things like writing style, your analysis skills (are you more macro or micro or both), time management skills, other hobbies, etc – it will make more sense than you can imagine.

The terms immediate and personal environment are terms I sort of coined and came up with myself, so maybe they are not the correct or best way to tackle the subject I mediated upon, but does bring up food for thought so speak. After all, Anime blogs and the people behind them are not homogeneously alike – we all are different. With different personalities, ways of thinking, ways of living, and other factors to minuet to mention them all, it is somewhat proof to the diversity of content Anime blogs come up with. In many ways, it might be the “environment” that helps or hindrances the writer – yet, I might be over thinking…again.

Well, get all the laugh and giggle outs? Even though the title is parodying popular comedy (probably Highschool Of The Dead, too) that is indeed the slated title for the equally hilarious occult themed series, Kore Wa Zombie Desu ka. At the moment, their is no apparent concrete information on the series, but a few previews and trailers promoting the second season have been appearing. Two the latest trailers can be seen below.

For the most part, everything remains unchanged for this season which means: Studio Deen is still the primary animation studio, Kanasaki is still the director, and most of the previous staff members, key animation leaders, and other slots are reprized by who they once were. Even though I am not too keen on the light novel material, I do suspect that we might not be in for much a story opposed to the predecessor, since all those ends were closed at the end of the series, but the series does have a bit too go on with the appearance of a new character during the end of the series (Episode 11) which hopefully bridge things together. Oh well, as long as I get more Yuki, Sarasvati, and Taeko I will be pleased. You can expect to see this sometime April of this year.

Note: This review is just a repost from my previous site. Nothing has been changed.

Information

Title: Time Of Eve – Eve no Jikan
Episodes: 1 (1 hr and 46 minute duration)
Producer: : Studio Rikka, Directions, Code, Trick Block
Genre: Sci-fi, slice-of-life,
Recommended/Similar Titles: Pale Cocoon, Mizu no Kotoba, Ghost In The Shell, Chobits, Kowarekake no Orgel
Review Source: Bluray Copy (1080p)

Synopsis

The future, probably Japan. Robots have long been put into practical use, and androids have just come into use.

Influenced by the Robot Ethics Committee, it’s become common sense for people to treat androids like household appliances. Their appearance – indistinguishable from humans except for the ring over each android’s head – has led some people to empathize unnecessarily with androids. Known as “android-holics”, such people have become a social problem. Rikuo, a high school student, has been taught from childhood that androids are not to be viewed as humans, and has always used them as convenient tools. One day Rikuo discovers some strange data in the behavior records of his family’s household android, Sammy. Rikuo and his friend Masaki trace Sammy’s movements, only to discover a mysterious café that features a house rule that “humans and robots are to be treated the same”…

REVIEW

Time Of Eve is no means an end all to be all movie on the concepts balancing humanity, robots, and androids; the meaning of what it is to be human – yet to that end, brilliantly shines with its concepts in the most illuminating of fashions. The storyline itself is rather simple, Rikuo, a high school student has been living his day to day life with the idea set of how androids are supposed to conduct themselves, but when he notice something amiss with his own household android, Sammy – he and his friend, Masaki make the discover that most androids secretly head to a cafe that only has one rule “That humans and androids are to be treated the same.” It is quite a weird premise, but by far, one that gets the most mileage out of anything else in the same vein. Speaking purely based on construction at the moment, the writing and execution for Time Of Eve is both fluid and smooth; not too fast, but also not to slow to make it boring or drab to an extent. In addition, while it does try to convey a more interpersonal and solid atmosphere reflected in the writing, Time Of Eve is certainly not afraid to insert its own comedy slapstick into the mix that can be seen throughout the movie in various places. It is handled with resistant and respect with regards to the more emotional scenes, but all in the spirit of fun and helping break up the story’s more denser sections to keep things preceding. However, with that said, the constructional part is not the noteworthy end, but more of a supporting piece. The characters and the overall themes are the main course to this meal.

As with any character driven piece, Time of Eve has both interesting, but also dynamic characterization from its cast. Whether it can be attributed to the voice cast, writing, or any other combination is debatable, but they just seem to take on a life of their own. The robot and android characters in particular are the most pivotal of round characters; seemingly human, but not really until are inside the cafe – yet only to be treated as servants and devices in the human world. Surprisingly, that steadfast rule inside the cafe is for both human and machine to be treated equally, but the human law of robotics is a interference and the other side of this duality that they must follow at all times. This not so tangible concept and more are continuously juxtaposed throughout the film and an excellent one that both speaks volumes and personal truths as Rikuo and Masaki interact and hear the stories of the other androids and visitors that make themselves to this cafe seemed untouched by time or prejudiced. The film also holds up a very real mirror to how humanity acts, both in its positive aspects (shown by the android cast), but also the negative aspects (represented in some the androids an dhuman characters with regards to the Ethic committee and faceless characters). So we have attractive brista Nagi, foster parent Shimei, lovers Koji and Rina, along with others that highlight these aspects aforementioned inside and out.

Art and animation wise, the film is anything else than impressive which is also a quality that attributes to the atmosphere and not just the visual portion. Needless to say, the animation does not exactly do anything thought worthy or playful, but the artwork itself does set the tone in the atmospheric department, usually balancing the animation with its CG scenes to create stunning visuals. Studio Rikka does not include any trademark tricks and signatures like Shaft with its word and background play or rather easy to spot in the crowd like Production I.G or Bones, but it does overall take into the account how well it can provide the viewer with a generally enjoyable viewing experience that appeals both the eyes and mind. Sadly, the other aesthetic production of music seems to wavier quite a bit, with only a limited array of tracks, but not necessarily anything of importance or will be noticed when taking in what the story has to offer. To top it all off, the voice acting cast is easily recognizable and well diverse with such names like: Rina Satou (known as Misaka Mikoto from the To Aru series), Rie Tanaka (Chi from Chobits, Maria from Hayate, etc), and Kenji Nojima (Shiki from Carnvial Phantasm and Keisaku from Shakugan No Shana) just to name a few.

As for my own personal viewing experience, I found Time Of Eve to be both a refreshing watch as well as very emotionally intelligent. Admittedly, at first, it did not seem like it, more than often not seeming to go anywhere within the first fifteen minutes, but with an open-mind and moderate expectations, the hour and forty-six minutes seemed to fly by and I was deeply locked into the story. For me especially, it was definitely one of those films that resonated with me and provided a interesting exchange of ideas that were lingering in the back of my mind, but soon brought forward like a criminal awaiting his/her sentence from the judge. I was quite mystified by the ambiguous ending, but it leave a feeling for wanting more. It is certainly a film I would likely recommended to anyone, regardlessly of preference and one that does try to probe the deepest recesses of the mind in ways that can not be explained. It would be a disgrace just to label the show as merely “interesting” or “amazing”. It does have a few flaws in place, but not enough of them or seriously critical to effect my experience in a negative fashion.

If you enjoy shows like Ghost In Shell or even like Chobits, then the Time Of Eve is something that is definitely well-worth the time to see. For that matter, if you enjoy anything with the emphasis of the human condition, robotics, or futuristic material as the subject, then this should be more than average to wet your appetite. With both a mix of all sorts of emotions and affections thrown in, the mood should be enough to suit any fan, but you are a person that is looking for a more homogeneous nature throughout or not exactly accustomed or enjoy anything of the cultured vein, than this will probably not suit you. However as aforementioned, regardless of the taste, I would freely recommend Time Of Eve as just an interesting story if nothing else that is worth every bit of time it has to offer. Might be helpful to give it a chance if you have not.

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Conclusion

Pros: Solid story, interesting concepts and characterization, impressive animation quality, strong writing

Cons: Limited soundtrack, ambiguous ending without proper closure, questionable or weak beginning

Upotte is probably one of the more interesting series I am looking forward to watching for the Spring 2012 season and for every obvious reasons. Those reasons of course being cute girls with guns doing absolutely laughable things, but well…enough said. Here is the basic vague outline of the synopsis:

“A teacher is looking for a school by the name of Seishou Academy, as he is a new transfer teacher for that school. Seishou Academy is known for having students with excellent marksmanship. However, he gets lost along the way and decides to look for someone who knows where the school is at a summer festival. He encounters a girl at a shooting range and finds her marksmanship skills to be professional. The girl tells the new teacher that she is an assault rifle, not a student. Her name is FNC and is an assault rifle of Seishou Academy.

The new teacher attends school the next day to find students, including FNC, practicing shooting M16s and realizes that he has come to an unbelievable school. How will his experience be at Seishou Academy?”

While thankfully it will seem to be following the manga (like it has another choice), I was a little dismayed to find out that the series will only be long the lines of a ONA, but hopefully, once the appointed time has arrived their will be more concerete information to say so. Their were a lot of rumors circulating beforehand like on the animation and team, but most of information has been revealed. As for the animation studio it will be and confirmed to be by XEBEC, the same studio that has been involved in Hen Zemi,Kyou no Go no Ni, and Ladies Verse Butlers. XEBEC was trying to deny having anything to do with the project, but they told of themselves during a interview in Freshline magazine. Silly XEBEC. The exact team members for the project still remain debatable.

Original creator, Kitsune Tennouji (also creator for Eden’s Bowy and Orfina) has been confirmed to set in with the studio overseeing it along with Takao Kato (director for Rockman Exe, Pandora Hearts, Bakuretsu Hunters and more), so that itself has set confirmed that the director and creator will be closely working together. It was rather strange that Tennouji was reported using his Twitter account to deny that the project had any link to Kyou No Go No Ni’s team (another rumor) – maybe due to how well-received (or explicit in subtext) and many of the previous records of the team members. However, I will stop before I get too ahead of myself on that matter. Anyway, I have high hopes for Upotte! and looking forward to the mayhem unfold.

Information (MAL)