Anime Round Up: November

November 9th, 2011

The Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya and Nyoron! Churuya-san Collection 2
Released: 31 October 2011 on DVD by Manga Entertainment

Following on from the release of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 back in July, which included frustratingly only part one of both The Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya and Nyoron! Churuya-san we now have part two.

This is actually two different show on one disc as episodes are only a few minutes each but they pack a lot of comedy goodness in such a short time.

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya is the first series a twisted take on the main series, the characters are presented in chibi forms (little versions of themselves) Haruhi is crazier than ever doing everything from hosting a cooking show (complete with noodles that require 5 hours of cooking) to catching Santa, Yuki is now an ero-game addict (adult games) and Mikuru is a clueless as ever but has a lion teddy now.

Nyoron! Churuya-san is the second series and follow Tsuruya (a minor character from the main series) in her quest for smoked cheese of all things in a range of off beat setting including an 8-bit RPG parody, these shorts were originally a fan drawn 4-panel parody manga and due to its success, was animated.

Admittedly the humour maybe an acquired taste due to the general wackiness of it all if you get it though it’s a real laugh a minute show with the random meter turned all the way up, ripped off stuffed inside a fish and beaten with spoons, the only down point comes with the series short running time at just under seventy minutes for £18 is a bit steep. (4 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Rideback: The Complete Series
Director: Atsushi Takahashi / Studio: Madhouse
Released 31 October on DVD by Manga Entertainment

You’re going to have trust me on this one. Because Rideback is something of a surprise, if only because its ridiculous plot belies how good this little series can be.

With a fictional near-future setting, Rideback introduces us to Rin Ogata, the daughter of a famous ballet dancer who ends her career after suffering a disastrous injury on the stage. But while attending school, she stumbles upon a rideback, a crossbreed motorbike-come-mecha. Rin discovers her fine poise, balance and dancing, developed for years at the ballet, give her unprecedented ability as a rideback driver. Yes. This is ballet meets mecha. But there is more to the rideback scene than fast thrills; they are part of the growing conflict between the ruling military regime and a revolutionary faction. Quickly developing an affinity to her machine, Rin finds herself caught up in this conflict and forced to consider her political allegiances.

Rideback is a nice package of slick animation and a good story which balances brooding tension and light-hearted humour. Admittedly, the character and world design is generic, with only the titular Rideback standing out as a unique design. The characters, both in terms of look and personality, seem strictly pulled off the shelf at trope-mart. But, as usual, Madhouse does a great job of capturing the speed and thrill of using a rideback; conveyed in a mixture of smoking tires, gravity-defying jumps and sweat off the riders’ brow.

The plot is a also nice surprise, with a sophistication that aims at, but doesn’t quite reach, the political machinations of the Patlabor films. Sadly, the soundtrack is a disappointment, failing to provide any really memorable moments. Nevertheless, with some great chase sequences and a nicely twisting plot, Rideback is a good distraction for the winter. (3.5 out of 5)

Words > Adam Gaudry

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Released: 7 November 2011 on DVD by Manga Entertainment
Director: Yasuhiro Takemoto

A bumper month for fans of all things Haruhi this month, in addition to the excellent The Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya & Nyoron! Churuya-san Collection 2 with have the long awaited movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (main image).

In the build up to Christmas Haruhi has her plans set out for a party including obligatory embarrassing costume for long suffering Mikuru, however the next day Kyon wakes up in a world where Haruhi never existed, without Haruhi’s godlike influence the SOS brigade never formed and the outlandish origins of the characters (Aliens ESP users and time travelers) never came to be either, with Yuki being the most changed,

The movie’s concept in excellent and fantastically written if a little drawn out (running around the three hour mark) as the focus shifts a way from Haruhi’s general mayhem and focuses on Kyon and as the film progress the absence of Haruhi really brings out what his relationship with Haruhi really means to him.

With excellent The Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya & Nyoron! Churuya-san Collection 2 and this both out Haruhi is back on form after the slightly disappointing endless eight of season two, elevating Haruhi back to its status of one of the best anime shows of recent years. (4.5 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 7
Director: Hayato Date / Studio: Studio Pierrot
Released 7 November on DVD by Manga Entertainment

For more details of Naruto Shippuden visit our July roundup.

Breaking away from the ‘filler’ story arc which largely featured in volume 6 of Naruto Shippuden, this installment sees the series return to Masashi Kishimoto’s manga for plotting. It’s all the better for it, as the familiar villains of Shippuden, the Akatsuki, return for a battle to the death with several of Naruto’s comrades.

Nearly all of the dozen episodes here cover the fighting between the Hidden Leaf ninja and two Akatsuki members, as Naruto continues his training. But despite being centered around one or two battles, an impressive amount of character development happens, showing again why Naruto can be distinguished from the tedious slugfests of the Dragonball series. The animation is largely decent too, with fluid fight scenes, and less of the frame-saving tricks Studio Pierrot sometimes uses when it’s cutting corners. While part of an ongoing series, this box set manages to contain one main plotline which gives a satisfying closure by the time you reach the end. (3.5 out of 5)

Words > Adam Gaudry

Ikki Tousen: Dragon Dynasty Collection
Released: 7 November 2011 on DVD by MVM
Director: Koichi Ohata

Ikki Tousen (known as Battle Vixens for the first series) bounces back onto dvd this month with the complete collection for series two containing all 12 episodes spread over three discs collectively known as Dragon’s Destiny.

Loosely based on Luo Guanzhong’s classic historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (the source material for a whole bunch of different things from John Woo’s master piece Red Cliff to Dynasty Warriors) the spirit of the warriors continues on in modern Japan, as the rival high schools battle for dominance doomed to relive the fate of their spirit encased in their ear rings.

It all sounds deadly serious and at times it is, this being Ikki Tousen however the fan service is piled on heavily, bone crunching fight scenes and evil speeches are interspersed at every opportunity with underwear flashing and bouncing chests

Also included is the six episode Ikki Tousen OVA, Big Battle At Red Cliffs Hot Spring…. well almost, the BBFC seems to objected to the first episode and while the episode is present on the disc watching it only results in the opening to the show followed by a text screen saying “Cuts made in line with BBFC Guidelines” the episode in question is pure fan service including a small girl and with no artistic or plot reason to back it up cuts were made.

Ikki Tousen is a high power and high kicking (in a short skirt) show with a surprising depth at times and more underwear than you thought possible at other times, whether the cuts will put off completionists is debatable but even with the cuts Dragon’s destiny is worth a watch for action fans or just to see a rather unique spin on the Romance of the three kingdoms. (3.5 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Redline
Director: Takeshi Koike / Studio: Madhouse
Released14 November on DVD and Bluray by Manga Entertainment

(4.5 out of 5) See our main review for our thoughts on this excellent futuristic racing anime.

K-On Vol 2
Released: 14 November 2011 on DVD by Manga Entertainment
Director: Naoko Yamada

Continuing along the light hearted adventures of the light music club (see the August round up for details on the first season) as they rehearse for a performance at the school festival, so wrapped up in the preparations they forget the small detail of actually registering as a club, which requires them to appoint a teacher as club advisor, a quick bit of digging by the girls reveals Ms Yamanaka has a big secret worthy of some blackmail , this volume also sees Yui losing her voice and a touching Christmas episode.

Being a slice of life show that’s about as tense as it gets, but it makes up for it in bundles of character and good natured humour, we learn a lot more about Yui in this volume particulary her relationship with her younger but more mature sister Ui who has just moved up to the same high school.

K-on’s appeal lies in its lovable characters it’s hard to complain about any of them, the art style is crisp and colourful really complimenting the shows general feel, the music is energetic and further adds to the show’s charm, especially when you find yourself humming them long after watching the show, slice of life anime fans are in for a real treat. (3.5 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Samurai Girls
Released: 21 November 2011 on DVD by Manga Entertainment

If Ikki Tousen takes its cues from Romance of the three Kingdoms brought into modern day then Samurai Girls takes it’s from the Sengoku period of Japanese history.

The story takes place in Japan in the early 21st century, in an alternate reality where the Tokugawa Shogunate (The eventual winners of the Sengoku battles) has remained in power far beyond their real historical reign.

Yagyu Muneakira is a high school student who rebels against the oppressive student council with the help of girls who’ve had the names of famous samurai heroes passed on to them, most notably a girl named Jubei Yagyu who literally descends from the sky nude, directly into the arms of Muneakira, after kissing him she turns into a fearsome warrior, destroying the enemy but is snapped back to an innocent girl at the sound of Muneakira’s voice.

Like fellow genre stable mate Ikki Tousen it has buckets of fan service at every turn mixed with over the top fight scenes and harem-like comedic moments, but what really separates it is the art style, which features at times an ink splash effect and traditional Japanese ink and wash painting style.

While the art style is far more unique than the writing, it’s still competent enough to be enjoyable and hold you to the shows end, the characters are all reasonably well designed even if it took a while to get used to Yukimura Sanada being a fifthteen year old girl after years of playing Samurai Warriors games. (3 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Tags: anime, Atsushi Takahashi, Ikki Tousen, K-On!, Madhouse, Manga Entertainment, MVM, Naruto Shippuden, Rideback, Samurai Girls, Studio Pierrot, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, The Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya and Nyoron! Churuya-san