Review: Infinite Stratos

So last week I finished the mecha show, Infinity Stratos. Before I say anything on this anime more specifically, I should probably point out that I'm not a big fan of the mecha genre. I get why big robots with swords and guns and all other manner of exciting and explosive weapons is attractive to a lot of people, but it's not something that has really ever overly interested me - animated or otherwise. Regardless, I decided I'd give Infinity Stratos a go given some of the positive reviews I'd read, plus I'm a big fan of both Brittney Karbowski and Josh Grelle.

Background:

The back drop to Infinity Stratos goes something like this. A few years ago a type of human controllable robot was developed call the Infinity Stratos, or IS for short. Along with their only be around 350 of these robots, the biggest restriction of these machines was that they can only be controlled by women. Our story takes a boy, Ichika, the brother of pretty much the best IS pilot ever, who turns out to be the only guy that can control an IS. We join the world when he starts at the IS training school in Japan.

Plot:

Infinity Stratos is unashamedly a harem show and before I say anything on how well that works, if you don't like harems, then don't watch this.

No escaping the fact that this is a harem.

After discovering he can use an IS, Ichika joins the IS academy where he meets various people (all love interests), saving them from various bad guys and each other. I can't say there is anything really unique about the plot line, although it does seem reasonably well paced and each character plays their part in the story well, even if it is a little rushed.

Character Development:
Besides Ichika himself there are essentially six other people we need to worry about in terms of development. His various love interests you can see above, who each have a varying degree of significance to the story, but all have a moment in the spotlight. The other character is his sister, who appears to be the schools most revered teacher and generally most badass IS pilot. With only 12 episodes developing each of the characters in any depth was always going to be quite difficult and it goes without saying that you don't know all that much about any of them.

Although some people might say this isn't an issue given that the focus is on Ichika and as a result his interactions with each of the individuals act as a periphery factor, I would be more inclined to say that if you're going to involve characters so much in the 'lore' of a story, you need to develop them. In my opinion, IS really does suffer as a result.

Sound, Artwork and Animation:
The artwork in Infinity Stratos is really crisp, and it stands out particularly well in the many action scenes that frequent the anime. The sound is fittingly epic given the action, over-the-top nature of the show, though it isn't anything to shout about in the grand scheme of things.

Favourite Episode:
8: Find Out My Mind
Choosing a favourite episode for this series was quite difficult given that most of the episodes follow similar plot lines. I went for episode 8 because it brings everything the show does well together in one episode. All five of the main female characters are involved, without them falling over Ichika backwards too much. The action scenes are probably the best of the whole series and we're offered up the biggest sort of plot twist the show can offer.

Overall:
As I said when I started this review, loving this anime was always going to be a long shot given that I'm not a big fan of mecha. And I don't. Don't get me wrong, it does a lot of things very well: the artwork is very good and the action scenes are animated very well. Ichika isn't the worst main ever written and Josh Grelle does do fit his character very well. However, there are problems, and unfortunately it comes primarily from the plot.

The girls love Ichika too much simply because he is a boy. Despite having no training, he is by far the strongest IS pilot. And finally, and probably most obviously, he is the only boy and at no stage are we given an explanation as to why.

Who knows, we might find out in the second season, but it won't be at the top of my list for things to watch soon.

Top 5 Anime so far

It occurred to me that if you have been reading this you might be wondering what I'm basing all of my reviews and idea on upon so far, so I thought I'd fill you in on my top 5 for enjoyment. According to My Anime List so far I have watched just 20 different series, plus 1 OVA and 3 specials.

#5: A Certain Scientific Railgun S (Season 2)

As you will have seen from my recent review, I really enjoyed the second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun. I thought the character development was really good and that it used the previous season to really add to the overall quality of the production. The focus on the main character was also really good and made me more invested in the series as a whole. On a less deep level, the action scenes were frequent and fantastically well done summing up the stellar artwork and animation throughout.

Mikoto Misaka attacking the vending machine: well there's an idea?

#4: Clannad: After Story

In truth, this series should probably be higher on this list. I really appreciate that the overall production and emotional response this anime inspires is incredible. More specifically, this was worth watching for the amount of times I thought I'd got over the worst of the emotional shock, the show hit me again with something even worse until the very biggest emotional earthquake at the end of the show. It was great to see the characters, who are fantastic, go beyond high school and get real lives and have real problems happen to them. Without making this too much of a review, I will say that I'm not entirely sure how well I thought the supernatural element of the show worked but that really is a debatable point.

So much sadness.

#3: Angel Beats

Angel Beats was the anime that really got me started on watching lots of series quickly. Watching the English dub, I really enjoyed the voice acting and music. There were some really funny moments which fitted in well with the fundamentally serious and difficult storyline that was the bedrock of the anime. Yuri is also possibly (in competition with #2's lead), my favourite female character in any anime - it was just a disappointment that there wasn't a bit more time to develop her clearly very interesting character. Angel Beats comes above Clannad in my list because of the meaning it has for me in getting me really interested in anime. Why does it not come higher then given the sentimentality I have towards it? Two reasons really: firstly it was too short, I felt that there were several back stories that could have been developed much more in 24 episodes and secondly; the love story that most people seem to think worked very well should have had more time through the anime to develop - being one of the key parts of the show, it should have definitely had more building time.

Kanade and Yuri. They're great, like really great... right?

#2. Mirai Nikki (Future Diary)

Before I say anything about Future Diary, I think I should point out that I know it has a lot of problems. It's not that original, there are some pretty big plot holes towards the end and actually the whole of premise of selecting the next god of space and time by seeing who can kill 11 other people is frankly crazy. That said this list isn't about overall objective quality, I'm going for what I enjoyed the most and Mirai Nikki is right up there. There are of course many reasons why which I will explain more when I do a review of this show, but essentially it can be summed up in one word. Yuno. After watching a 10 hours or so of anime, she is without doubt the craziest and possibly scariest lead I've yet to see, but I can't help but love her. Maybe call me mad, but I often felt myself feel really sorry for her; despite her psychopathic tendencies she did love Yuki, and I couldn't fault her for that. With that in mind, the degree level history student knows he could write a whole essay on Yuno's character, but that can probably wait for another day.

Yuno. She's as crazy as they come, but I love her all the same.

#1. Guilty Crown

Please keep reading my blog after this. I understand that a lot of people don't like Guilty Crown. They don't like Shu as a main character or they thought the ending was awful. Personally, I couldn't see the problem with the ending at all (really, I'm not going to try and pretend that I can) and if I was going to have a problem with a character it would be with Guy, not Shu, who's development was, at time, questionable. The first and most obvious reason to love Guilty Crown is the way it looks: the artwork is incredible and the action scenes are animated to a spectacularly high level. Another reason I loved the anime so much was Shu - as I mentioned above he received a lot of criticism for various reasons but I felt that his progression from powerless, shy school child to authoritarian ruler was very well done and made a lot of sense given the background of the show. Finally, I really enjoyed the overall premise of the show, the love story was strong without being overpowering and the post apocalyptic setting worked well for terrorist/reluctant leader aspects of the show. You don't have to love it, but I really did.

The conflict within Shu might just be the best part of Guilty Crown.

Thanks for reading this one and though I'm sure you don't agree at least you can see where some of my opinions are coming from in my reviews. I've just finished watching the first season of Infinity Stratos, so look out for the review of that one in the next few days!

Review: Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S (A Certain Scientific Railgun S) Season 2

Back on Tuesday I finished watching the second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun. In my review of the first season I said that, though this was essentially a spin-off of A Certain Magical Index, it would not matter if you chose to watch Railgun first. After watching season two, though I still think it would be possible to watch Railgun first, I feel that by watching Index beforehand you'll appreciate the events that occur in this season of Railgun a lot more.

Background:
On the whole, the background is pretty similar to how it was in the first season. The main characters from the first season return, however, there is a much stronger focus on Misaka, particularly through the first sixteen episodes.

Plot:
The second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun is split into two main arcs, the first, lasting sixteen episodes, runs at a parallel to the Sister arc from A Certain Magical Index. The second arc, known to those who explore this internet as the Silent Party arc, lasts eight episodes to conclude the season. I'm not going to get into the business of comparing seasons too much, but it has to be said that the pacing, for the first arc at the very least, was much improved on the opening of the first season. Misaka is faced with an overall problem that is broken up well over the course of the arc. This is also the time when Toma really makes his main cameo performance in Railgun which I felt really added something a bit different to the feel of the anime without turning it into an over the top shonen wrecking ball. It is worth noting however, if you have watched Index and are expecting something new this won't do as much for you - despite extra insights and events that we didn't see before, this is still essentially the same story being retold by Misaka and her friends.

Toma making an appearance in Railgun S

The second and final arc of the season is also very well done, though the story does feel a little as if it has been tagged on after the long first arc. This storyline feels much more like the first season with all four girls taking a much more central role as Misaka decides to open up about the problems she uncovers. It was also good to see some of the side characters develop a little more, getting more involved in the plot. Though, some might see this a diversion and essentially a set of filler episodes, I think there is definitely a lot of value in the last eight episodes, even if they aren't as spectacular as the first sixteen.

Character Development:
For those of you who read my review on the first season of Railgun, you'll remember how I criticised the slow start to the anime. However, it is here in season 2 that we really see the time put into character building pay off. Though it is Misaka who dominates much of the first two thirds of the season, I never felt disconnected from the other main characters who I'd got to know really well in the first season.

The focus on Misaka in this season is, in my opinion, almost certainly the best aspect of the anime. When I heard about a girl that could control electricity and magnetism at the start of Index, I really wanted to know more about her and see some really good action scenes that depended upon her - and wow did I see it. Avoiding spoilers, the moral conundrum that Misaka faces really lets you into her character, explaining not just the strong level 5 that she is well known for across Academy City, but also her childish nature that I can't help but love.

Sound, Artwork and Animation:
There is a noticeable change in the artwork in season 2. It's that bit sharper and more vivid than before. The new strength of colour really added to my experience of the battle scenes between Misaka and her various opponents which are animated to the same high standard as in the first season. The sound is once again very good, though don't expect anything different as it seems the producer/director wanted to stick to exactly the same format of music as the first season.

Toma proves his resolve to Misaka through total idiocy. That's Toma.

Favourite Episode:
Episode 14, The Promise. There were times in Index where I felt I'd had too much of Toma, but his cameo in the mid part of the season worked really well in helping to bring out Misaka's character to the full. This episode is somehow packed full of emotion, character building and action sequences and is pretty much perfect.

Overall:
I really enjoyed the second season of Railgun. Not only was the artwork sharper, but on the whole the plot was more engaging as well. The focus on Misaka as strong female character, while showing off her weaknesses is executed very well and gives a whole new dimension to the whole Index/Railgun world. The only thing that really lets this down is despite it's strengths, the final third does feel like an add on which is very noticeable after the incredibly strong Sister's Arc. Regardless, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this season of anime.

In defence of the English Dub

The quality of the storyline in anime seems to vary considerably with some shows having a real depth to them, while others appear as if they have been thrown together overnight. Either way, the quality of any show can only be portrayed through the actors and in the case of anime, voice actors.

In Japan there are around 130 voice acting schools with over 60% of global animation output originating from the country making the talent a very big business. A trawl through any internet forum will almost always confirm the greatness Japanese voice actors and thus, a general preference to watching shows with English subtitles rather than dubbed with English voice actors.

Personally, even before I started watching anime, I have found watching foreign language films and shows difficult, primarily because of having to read and watch at the same time. A basic difficulty that I have been told becomes easier with practice. It would seem watching anime in 'sub' is the done thing, particularly with Japanese shows.

I'm not however ashamed to say that I have watched most shows in the English dub. At first it wasn't because I didn't enjoy it, I just didn't find a reason to stop watching the English versions that I had started with in the first place. After watching a couple of anime (Guilty Crown and Mirai Nikki come to mind), I watched a couple of OVA/specials in subbed that hadn't been given the funding for a dubbed version. I can't say I was disappointed with these versions or that I thought the voice acting was disappointing, more that because of my lack of understanding of the Japanese language, I just didn't appreciate the skill the actors had compared to their American counterparts. Thinking about it now I think it was probably down to the fact that I couldn't pick up slight vocal ticks and emphasis on particular words that gives emotion to what's being said in a language I don't understand and through reading words on a screen.

Akise is clearly emotional here, but in Mirai Nikki: Redial I could listen to any upset Japanese actor and it wouldn't make a difference with these subtitles

More recently, I watched the second season in the Little Busters! series, Little Busters! Refrain with subtitles. On this occasion I enjoyed the sub a lot more, but I'm not sure if that was because I was already invested in the story and as a result didn't mind so much about the way in which the story was conveyed so long as I knew what the story was. Regardless of the reasoning here, I can't say this swayed me to start watching anything else in sub.

Watching Little Busters in sub didn't persuade me to do the same with other shows

Of course, I appreciate there are some really good reasons as to why you might want to avoid English dubbed anime series. Some of the translations of Japanese phrases are questionable at best - even I, as a fun of dubbed shows question the origin of the word 'troglodyte' in A Certain Scientific Railgun (which I reviewed in my last post). One other problem you might have is the small amount of exceptional American voice actors: this links back to the idea that the Japanese voice acting community is far superior than any other.

Seeing as this is a defence of dub though, I should probably point out my counter arguments. There's no denying that in some places the translation of the Japanese language is a bit odd, but really, how can anyone possibly suggest that because words are written down in English and not spoken in English the translation will be better. Furthermore, I can't say I've watched every worthwhile anime series that's been dubbed, but there's a good amount that has been dubbed to a very high standard. As for the point about the lack of class American voice actors I would say that although there are less actors in the industry, there talent is not therefore automatically diminished or lesser somehow. In fact there are some very good English speaking voice actors out there who convey characters just as well as any emotionless subtitles could.

It's not that I hate subbed anime. In fact I'm sure when I've watched more and more I will end watching newer stuff that comes out in the Japanese sub - however, I will always go back and watch the dub if it is released. In one sentence, why? Simply, I feel the emotion from the English, and though I don't for a second doubt the talent of Japanese voice actors, I just don't get that in the subbed versions.

Review: Toaru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) Season 1

So as promised here is my first real post and it is a review of the first series of A Certain Scientific Railgun.

Firstly, it is worth pointing out that Railgun is the spin-off to A Certain Magical Index and as such should probably be watched after the two seasons of that anime. That said, though there is a significant plot cross over, you probably wont be disappointed by watching Railgun first.

Background:
A Certain Scientific Railgun is based in a futuristic city called Academy City. The city is full of students called espers: young people with varying levels of scientific power. Railgun focuses on the third ranked of only seven level five espers, Mikoto Misaka, and her friends.

Plot:
The plot is split into two distinct sections which both roughly take up half of the season each. The first half can be described as a mix of filler and character building. We might argue that really none of this first half is essential to the story but by incorporating it into the series you develop a real connection to the characters when things really start to happen later on. It's also worth saying that the start of the anime of is genuinely very funny: from the nuances of Uiharu and Saten to Kuroko's infatuation with Mikoto.

'Railgun' Mikoto Misaka

In the second half of the season the action really gets going. There are some really good scenes showing off Mikoto's power that is talked so much about early on, mixed in with some really emotional dialogue based problems that gives the anime some much needed depth. One of the best aspects of the second half is just how much depth is drawn from the character building that often seemed so pointless at the beginning.

Character Development:
Each of the four main characters have clear roles that are developed very well. Though they can be split into two distinct groups, at no point did I find myself thinking that two of the characters were fulfilling the same role. Mikoto as a main is particularly well written and though her motives can almost always been seen to be good, I felt the writers had subtly given her character enough of the problems you would expect to be associated with being the third most powerful esper to really good effect.

Doctor 'Heaven Canceler'

Besides the main characters, most of the characters are written fairly well. Despite his relatively small amount of screen time, I felt particular credit should go to the writing of the doctor, 'Heaven Canceler'. As in the parent story, A Certain Magical Index, the doctor's purpose was never really given away but allowed for speculation as to his role from the very first time we met him.

Sound, Artwork and Animation:
The sound for the anime works very well throughout, with particular mention going to the Big Spider/Skill Out arc for some really emotional background overtures. On a personal level, I also really enjoyed the first opening, Only My Railgun. The artwork is pretty good, though it has to be said that some of the character work good be slightly better. That said, I am looking for flaws and on the whole it's not something that detracts from the overall quality. The animation is also very good, particularly in Mikoto's action scenes.

Overall:
A very good season that benefits from some really good character development and a strong story that really develops in the second half. Though the lack of plot in the first half does detract from overall season. The background really lends itself to the scientific, esper story line. The humour really adds to the overall story and doesn't ever feel tiresome.