Carnival Phantasm Review

Title: Carnival Phantasm
Genre: Parody
Episodes: 4 (15 mins each)


Carnival Phantasm is an adaptation of the manga 'Take Moon' Type-Moon's Eri Takenashi, to celebrate Type-Moon's 10th Anniversary. The four part mini-series parodies Type-Moon's original works like Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime and more.


There is not much to say about this mini-anime, it's a small tribute to the fans who enjoyed Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night. I thought it was funny, but only because I had watched Type-Moon's original works.


Verdict: For fans only. You will have trouble understanding the humour and references if you weren't a fan of the original works (including VNs, Manga, and Anime). That being said, there are only four 15 minute episodes, and it would give audiences who haven't seen the original works a small insight into the multiple series it is parodying. 

Bakemonogatari Review

Title: Bakemonogatari (ghostory)
Genre: Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Episodes: 15
Director: Shinbo Akiyuki, Oishi Tatsuya
Production: SHAFT (Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Hidamari Sketch, Madoka Magic)


Bakemonogatari centres around a third year high school student, Araragi Koyomi, who is almost human again after briefly becoming a vampire. The story begins when a classmate, Senjougahara Hitagi, falls down the stairs into Araragi's arms, and he discovers that she weighs next to nothing in defiance of physics. Despite being threatened by her to keep away, Araragi offers his help, and leads her to Oshino Meme, a middle-aged man who lives in an abandoned cram school and who cured Araragi of vampirism.


Bakemonogatari can be summed up in one word— brilliant! At its heart it is a masterful deconstruction of the harem genre, but that is not the only thing that makes it a masterpiece. The characters are so 3-dimensional, despicable and yet, at the same time, likeable. They follow stereotypes of the genre and then twist and break them in surprising ways. The style is jaw dropping and engaging, my eyes were glued to the screen and often I had to rewind just to see a scene again, in case I missed something. The humour is complex and relies on many references of the genre(s). If you think your Japanese is good you will be seriously challenged by Bakemonogatari, some of the jokes and linguistic references just blew my mind. I could go on about how great Bakemonogatari is, but I'll just say, there is not a single thing I disliked about it.


Bakemonogatari is simply brilliant.


Interesting fact: Bakemonogatari 化物語 is a clever portmanteau utilising bakemono 化け物 (ghost, monster)  and monogatari 物語　(story).

Plot: 5/5
Bakemonogatari starts out as a generic harem plot (ie. one girl introduced after another, each vying for the main protagonists attention) but then adds a surprising twist for every girl, and an overarching twist at the end. The story flows very well and the plot unfolds smoothly, fleshing out each of the characters after each episode. The resolution at the end is also very satisfying.

Characters: 5/5
On the surface the characters that initially appear seem shallow and stereotypical of the genre, but as the story progresses all the characters in the series grow and change, showing different sides of their personalities and breaking harem stereotypes. Araragi Koyomi, the main protagonist, at first glance seems like your average harem lead, but by third episode you start seeing a darker side to his personality. This double sided personality trend is also evident in the first girl Araragi helps. Senjougahara Hitagi shows extreme tsundere behaviour in the first episode leaving you with the impression of a psycho bitch, but mellows out quickly in subsequent episodes and turning her into a very likeable character. This trend continues with the other girls, either displaying likeable or dislikeable personality traits and then flipping them around in subsequent episodes. In Bakemonogatari character and plot are tightly intertwined and develop in parallel, with story milestones completing at each girl arc and each minor resolution adding to the greater whole. Another interesting thing, which I see rarely in harem, is that the girls themselves have interlinking relationships which either help or interfere with main protagonist. Overall all the characters are well designed, likeable and despicable, and most of all— memorable. 

Music: 5/5
Like other harems, Bakemonogatari has multiple OP and ED, one for each girl, and they are all fantastic. Each song sets a good introduction for the character it is portraying and gives you a good idea of what to expect from the girl. Whether it be a catchy kaerimichi for Hachikuji Mayoi (pictured above on the left of Senjougahara) or a cute ren'ai circulation for Sengoku Nadeko, you instantly develop a good understanding of the character, even before you see them in the episode. Aside for the OP and ED music, the ambient music used were brilliant as well. It's difficult to explain, but when watching, the music always 'felt right'. In short, music was brilliant.

Animation: 4/5
You can tell that Bakemonogatari was made on a budget. Regardless, the animation you do see in between stills, long shots and landscapes is extremely well done. Bakemonogatari has its own distinct style and tells its story visually with some stunning scenes. Bakemonogatari is less of an anime than it is an animated graphic novel. Some people may not enjoy the style but I thought that it was very well done and fun to watch.

Style: 5/5
Bakemonogatari's style is unmistakable. As I mentioned, it uses many stylistic methods to achieve a distinct look. Whether it be stills or the cityscape at sundown, the look and feel is unique.

Theme: 5/5
Bakemonogatari is a story about ghosts, monsters and the supernatural. Araragi himself is a pseudo vampire with amazing regenerative abilities. In the story each girl is afflicted with by a certain ailment which links back to Japanese mythology. The crab that steals your weight, the monkeys paw that grants a wish, or the snake curse that strangles you slowly to death, are all coherent thematical elements of Bakemonogatari and pull the plot together with the characters.

Overall: 4.9/5
I can't say it enough, Bakemonogatari is brilliant. Fantastic characters, interesting plot, great music, coherent theme, and a distinctive style, which make Bakemonogatari one of my all time favourites, if not THE best harem ever made. You do have to remember it is a genre deconstruction, but honestly, totally up there with Ah! My Goddess and Love Hina.




Closing Comments:
Watch it now! Watch it again if you have already seen it. 

Infinite Stratos Review

Title: IS or Infinite Stratos 
Genre: Harem, Mecha, Comedy
Episodes: 12
Director: Yasuhito Kikuchi
Publisher: Media Factory

IS follows the story of Orimura Ichika, a 15 year old boy who can operate an IS armoured exoskeleton, which are usually only usable by women. After realizing the potential of creating a harem mecha comedy crossover, the Japanese Government sends him off to the prestigious Infinite Stratos Academy, an international academy where gifted IS pilots from all over the world are trained. 

Did I mention his sister is an instructor at the academy and two of his childhood friends are world renowned IS pilots, what are the odds? Plot aside I actually enjoyed IS, even though it was a bit short. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre and the animation is average, but the fanservice and comedy hijinks more than make up for it. If you enjoy harem and mecha, and don't mind a harem anime that sticks to the formula, IS is for you.

Plot:  2/5   
Boy meets girl, and another girl, and has a fight with a girl, and meets another girl. Very generic plot designed solely to accommodate the MC and the reason he is surrounded by beautiful girls. There is nothing remotely interesting about this story and is carried by solely by the cast of good characters.

Characters: 4/5

Tsundere - check, Reverse trap - check, Chinese girl - check, just tick all the boxes. Ichika, the main protagonist, is pretty dull when it comes to girls, but doesn't suffer Shinji syndrome and embraces his role as an IS pilot. He isn't a very deep character but fulfils his role without ruining the series. Houki, his childhood friend and sister to the famous scientist who invented the IS unit, is your typical tsundere and the primary love interest. Her motivations and personality are well outlined and she works well together with Ichika to pull the story along. The rest of the main cast are made up of the German girl, Laura Bodewig, who flies the most badass IS (German engineering is the best), Charlotte Dunois, the cute french reverse trap, Cecilia Alcott, the token British girl, and Lingyin Huang, the uninteresting Chinese girl (sorry, she is just a bad character). Overall, it was clever to play on nationality stereotypes and the characters definitely make up for the story.

Music: 1/5

Uninspiring and average. The opening and ending themes are also entirely forgettable. 

Animation: 3/5
Character animation is average and doesn't push any boundaries. It is by no means bad, but considering the production values, they could have been much better. In contrast, the animation and CGI battle scenes are well done and provide some pretty visuals. Nothing spectacular but not bad enough to poke your eyes out with forks. 

Style: 1/5

Seen one, seen 'em all. Put IS side by side with any other harem and you can barely tell them apart. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but studios should strive to innovate.

Theme: 4/5

Probably the best thing about the series. The IS exoskeletons were well designed and looked cool. It was also clever how they introduced the personal shield, so they could have open cockpits to show copious amounts of fanservice (aww yeah). Interestingly enough the pseudo-technical explanations were consistent throughout and never left you going "WTF?". If there was any reason to watch IS it would be for the IS designs themselves.

Overall: 2.5/5

If you enjoy harem and mecha, and have a bit of spare time, then give IS a shot. I was pretty harsh on my ratings but still enjoyed it. If you don't like it after the first episode you can go ahead and drop it, it doesn't get any more interesting and the story ends all too soon.



Closing comments:
Houki is the best girl.