Student Review Contest #9

[Milkymagic]

Hello kiddies, I've got some amusement for you all today! The theme of this contest is...

Studio Gainax!

Start Date: November 1st (as of this post basically)
End Date: November 19th 11:59 PM CST (I'll be gone on the 15-18 for early Thanksgiving goodness).

Choose an anime from the well known studio and give out your opinion on it! I don't care if you like them or hate them, student reviews are all about the good stuff, and that's the various viewpoints AA members hold!

Here's some Gainax productions you could review:


The Wings of Honneamise
Gunbuster
Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water
Otaku no Video
Neon Genesis Evangelion
End of Evangelion
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
FLCL
Kare Kano
Mahoromatic
Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful
Gunbuster 2
He is My Master
Melody of Oblivion
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
Ebichu the Housekeeping Hamster (because I care!)

There's more, but that's just a sample list for the moment.

Rules

1. One entry per person.
2. Only completed anime can be reviewed.
3. Reviews that are posted after the two week deadline will be disqualified.
4. Entries are final. Once a review is posted no more editing is allowed, regardless of whether it is still before the deadline.
5. The winner chooses the next theme and hosts the next contest.
6. Reviews must involve at least a title, review, summary and grade.
7. The review and summary must be written by you.
8. No entering a review that has previously been entered in an Anime Academy lounge review contest.
9. Fully clarify your theme. Do not be vague or over restrictive.

Guidelines

1. While it is not mandatory, including series details such as title alternatives; genre; company; format; dates; highs and lows; screenshots and a captioned screenshot, are looked upon favourably.
2. The preferred word count is about 300-500 words, as per the Anime Academy main page.
3. Previously written reviews are allowed to be entered as long as they don't break rule #8.

Because I'm working on NaNo 2006 (what irony that I would finally get to use all that free time I've been having...), even though I stated the deadline above, don't hold it against me if I close a little late (though more than likely I'll probably be able to).

And if there's anything I missed on here, feel free to remind me (being this is my first hosting ever). Thank you everyone!

[L-sama]

Nice theme, Milky! Looks like this'll be a good conest. Congrats on the win once again as well! :)

[Milkymagic]

Nice theme, Milky! Looks like this'll be a good conest. Congrats on the win once again as well! :)

Thanks!

I'm hoping there will be plenty of interesting viewpoints on the studio's works, given they've released a lot of popular stuff.

[Shadowmage]

Question!

Can we do a "first look" of an anime instead of a full review? I have choice words for one of those titles.

[Blue Audio]

I submit this:

http://www.animeacademy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23658

[Milkymagic]

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion, a.k.a. Shinseiki Evangelion
Company: Gainax
Genre: Drama/Action
Format: 26 Episodes
Dates: 10/4/1995 to 3/28/1996

Synopsis: Ikari Shinji is fourteen years old, motherless, angsty, and most of all, lonely. When he is transferred from his teacher’s residence, where he dwelled for a number of years, to Tokyo-3, he is brought into a world of monsters (ironically called Angels) and man-piloted robots, the Evangelion. Shinji is way in over his head as he eventually realizes his own weaknesses as a human being. How will he deal with it?

Highs-----v
Story: Excellent and controversial!
Fights: Well choreographed and entertaining
Seiyuu: Hayashibara Megumi…need I say more?

Lows-----v
Ending: Terrible
Boobs: Pointless coverup of suck

Review: If my dad as much contempt for me as Gendo does Shinji, I’d be a whiny bitch too.

Evangelion is an anime which defies the common stereotypes and convention to take the viewer on a ride to the depths of the human psyche the limits of sanity. It is a roller coaster ride through the psychological disorders and subconscious self loathing deep within Anno Hideaki’s mind. Unfortunately, while Evangelion has excellent characters and an amazing story, it suffers from critical flaws which can be directly linked to budget concerns in the late stages of production. Nonetheless, Neon Genesis Evangelion is the anime that would revolutionize and redefine anime for the next 10 years.

Many futuristic mecha-based anime survive on the creative and awe inspiring design of their mechas; however, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a different kind of anime. While the mechas are certainly original and ‘cool,’ Eva does not survive on aesthetics alone. What separates Eva from 95% of all other mecha anime is its excellent story. Using the concept of god is not an entirely new idea; yet Eva takes religious symbolism and philosophy to new levels or depths, depending on your perspective.

But in order for the story to progress, the characters must be present. Throughout the series, each character grew and matured into a wholly new person; and while it is not easy to identify with a Gendo or a Fuyutsuki, most of the characters draw some basic empathy from the viewers. By the same token, the characters would not have been what they are without an excellent seiyuu. The voice crew never failed to bring out the soul of even the smallest side characters.

Sadly, most people beleive what stopped Evangelion from being truly great was that it went over budget; and they are correct, to an extent. Budget concerns led to excessive fan service which was indubitably used to draw viewers’ attention away from the massive suck that Eva was becoming. Rei, Asuka, and Misato’s nipple-less boobs grace the screen in one of the later episodes, along with a fish tank full of soulless naked Rei-clones. Though it was a huge contributor, the money issues are not what stopped Evangelion from being truly epic.

Truly, the worst part of Evangelion was the ending. It was so bad that (besides milking an already successful franchise to death) two additional endings were released after the series to quell viewers’ unrest. It invoked memories of Dragonball Z (you know, the episodes where nothing gets accomplished beyond, “Frieza! I am going to McKill you now!”).

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a great anime that could do without the excessive fan base (Kurier included). You will go from being on the edge of your seat during the mecha battles to being deep in thought throughout everything else. Whether you understand it or not, every anime fan must watch Evangelion even if it's only for the boobs.

Score:7/10

Consider it done!

Question!

Can we do a "first look" of an anime instead of a full review? I have choice words for one of those titles.

I only accept full reviews, which anime series were you thinking about? Just curious.

[C0MPL3X]

Milky, if you have a look at the original rules, not the modified ones in this thread, you'll see that blue audio can submit his review even if it was submitted 6 days ago or later.

[Milkymagic]

Milky, if you have a look at the original rules, not the modified ones in this thread, you'll see that blue audio can submit his review even if it was submitted 6 days ago or later.

I noticed, thanks.

Just can't be entered from a previous review contest is all.

[Mana]

I can't believe you didn't list Ebichu *sob* Were I not a professor now, I so would have made up a review for Ebichu to submit, in all of her glory.

[Milkymagic]

I can't believe you didn't list Ebichu *sob* Were I not a professor now, I so would have made up a review for Ebichu to submit, in all of her glory.

I've always wanted to see Ebichu, but that's definitely one allowed to be added!

Who knows? Maybe there will be a review for it!

[Shadowmage]

I only accept full reviews, which anime series were you thinking about? Just curious.

Something called Melody of Oblivion. Thank goodness the show has fallen into anime oblivion.

[Milkymagic]

Something called Melody of Oblivion. Thank goodness the show has fallen into anime oblivion.

I know how hard it is to finish an anime that sucks, I had to put much mental discipline into finishing the Ninja Scroll TV series just to review it.

But the rules state that only completed anime are to be reviewed sadly enough, unless I'm mistaken by the previous definition of "completed anime" to be anime that have not finished their full run in Japan, which I don't think is likely (I'm still trying to make sure I get all the rules down in this contest's tradition so I'll double check). But it would be a safe bet to go with something you've seen entirely until then, being the review would be smoothest in this fashion.

Unless you really want to put yourself through the rest of Melody of Oblivion, I wouldn't want you wasting any money over it!

I have also decided to post the original rules (being I didn't know they were consistent in the first six contests), just in case I'm violating the Student Review Contest's original integrity. Just want to be clear on that one.

[Two-twenty]

This is my old His and Her Circumstances review from a while ago, with a few improvements.

_______________________________________________

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/handh1.jpg
Don't. F***. With. YUKINO. MIYAZAWA!

Title: His and Her Circumstances, a.k.a. Kareshi Kanojo no jijou, a.k.a. Kare Kano
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Company: Gainax
Format: 26 episodes
Dates: 10/2/1998 to 3/26/1999

Miyazawa Yukino is the queen of vanity. She's a model student, popular, good at sports, good at studies, forever aiming for brilliance and perfection, yet appearances are oh so deceiving. The sole reason for all this effort rests in her drug-like craving for praise and admiration, and only her family are aware of her true shallow identity. Enter Souichirou Arima. Better than Yukino in every area that she excels in, she concludes that the only way to to redeem herself is to seek revenge, but what she didn't plan on was for love to rear its ugly head. -Summary by Two-twenty

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/handh2.jpg

Highs:
Possibly the wittiest anime you'll ever find; innovative and memorable characters; real romance; music.

Lows:
Everything will be reiterated at least once; lazy animation at times; ending?

Grade: 87%

Finding a genuinely good romantic comedy is difficult to say the least, which is why watching His and Her Circumstances was so very refreshing. What separates this anime from all the other generic rom-coms is its ability to break from cliché. No character is stock or black and white, instead it focuses on intelligent introspection into how they think and justify their actions. You'll be able to feel for them as at one point in your life you yourself would have been in love, jealous, frustrated or any other number of emotions so humanly expressed by the cast. By the end of the show you will no doubt have one character you either know in real life or sympathize with.

Counterbalancing this, is an anime with one of the best senses of humour I've ever come across. Because these characters are so rich in depth, the chemistry between them is marvelous and it's not afraid to instantly explode into super-deformity, increasing the comedy ten-fold. One particular scene where Tsubasa, one of Yukino's classmates, brought on the maximum wrath of Yukino's anger had me laughing so hard I damn near cried. This anime is a lesson in extremes. It will grab you by the collar and effortlessly move you from pulse-intensive drama to super-deformed hilarity, all within the blink of an eye and never once feeling awkward or forced. Worth noting as well is the music. Whether it be an epic concerto or a subdued piano piece, it complemented each scene perfectly.

But here's where this anime really jerks you around. Just when you're fully enthralled, at the edge of your seat, with your diaphragm in your throat, it'll slap you with recap episodes and/or lazy, seemingly tentative animation. Every time you are presented with a new plot point, expect it to be reiterated. A lot. With recap episodes and a tendency to start off every other one by reminding you of everything that's happened up until that point, at least you're guaranteed to never be left behind. The episodes themselves sometimes utilize manga panel-like animation, even paper cut outs at one point. Instead of coming off as creative it unfortunately trips over the fine line between genius and cheap corner cutting. Pivotal moments in some character's relationships weren't done any justice by this (*cough* Tsubaki and Takefumi *cough*) and had me practically begging for it to be animated properly. Easily the most irritating part of this anime is the ending: basically there isn’t one. This really irks, because if you compare how far the story in the anime had advanced with the story in the manga, it wasn't that far away from a satisfactory conclusion. Perhaps if the recaps were omitted, it could've had time to finish the series properly, but alas, Gainax had run out of money. Again.

In spite of this, His and Her Circumstances is still one of my most highly recommended anime, because you'll be hard pressed to find one that's better content-wise. Most of its flaws come from its presentation. So, let these characters entertain you, feel for them, sympathize with them, grow attached to them, just try not to get too frustrated when all is said and done.

[Milkymagic]

Excellent, we officially have a competition!

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs His and Her Circumstances!

Hopefully there's more!

[L-sama]

Anime: FLCL aka Fooly Cooly aka Furi Kuri
Genre: Action/Comedy
Company: Gainax
Format: 6 OVA
Dates: 4/26/2000 to 3/16/2001

“Nothing exciting ever happens here.” That’s what Naota thinks of the town he lives in and of the people that live there, including himself. All of this changes in an instant when a vespa-riding woman plows into him on the way home and then proceeds to slam her guitar into his head. As if it could get any worse, a strange growth appears from his head. While all of this is happening, equally strange things begin to occur at the Medical Mechanica plant outside of town. What is the connection, and what does the mysterious vespa-woman have to do with all of this?
-Summary by L-sama

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m6/gundamfreak06/FLCL.jpg
That's hot...

Score: 94%

Highs: Simply amazing at every level
Lows: Will leave you scratching your head in bewilderment

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e63/flcl_man02/haruko5.jpg

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you mixed the frenetic pace and animation stylings of His and Her Circumstances with the subliminal messages and symbolism of Evangelion together in a 6 episode OVA? Well, my friends, here is your answer.

Right from OVA 1, I knew that this anime was something special. The art and animation varies from smooth and polished to crazy and gnarled in a heartbeat, yet it still keeps a certain level of artistic genius. Scenes are rendered in bright, vivid colors that draw the viewer right into the action. I also can’t say enough how much I love the soundtrack. The Pillows’ rocking tunes mixes and blends perfectly with every moment that appears on the screen. The ending theme, “Ride on Shooting Star”, is most certainly one of my all time favorite songs.

FLCL boasts one of the fastest moving stories around, and keeping up with it can be an issue at time. Just like Evangelion, this series is chock full of symbolism and underlying themes and will most likely leave viewers asking themselves, ‘What the hell just happened?’. If you can keep up, though, then you’re in for a treat. Gainax pulls no punches when parodying Japanese or American pop culture, be it Lupin III or our very own South Park. The seiyuu fit perfectly with their respective characters. I even have to say that this is one of the few anime out there that also has a great English dub as well, a feat that I thought only Cowboy Bebop could accomplish.

If you’ve seen the series already, watch it again and see what else you can find the second time around. If you haven’t, pick it up and join the fun. FLCL stands in a league of its own as an anime that has no bounds to what it can deliver to its viewers.

[Milkymagic]

Alright! We've got Sama on board!

Neon Genesis Evangelion
His and Her Circumstances
FLCL

The selection's getting very interesting!

I wonder how many others will be persued?