matt hackmann - web developer - artist - nerd

Well, here is the final installment of the 2010 anime review. Sadly, my bros are now college students and, given the have homework and what have you, you're left with mostly just my reviews. But, there it is.

Angel Beats

Angel Beats is a venture from many of the staff of Key, creators of Kanon, Air and Clannad. It follows the souls of a group of high school students who have died and are trapped in a sort of limbo, trying to find peace with their previous lives.

Matt - I'm a sucker for all things Key, so it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed Angel Beats. It has a good cast of characters and an interesting premise, with moments that can swing from plain ridiculous - any episode where they go to the Guild - to absolutely depressing - Yuri's back story comes to mind. The animation is top notch and the show has it's fair share of good songs, too (my favorite would be the closer, Brave Song). I look forward to an NA release. - 8/10

Alright, here we are at round two of the Super Hackmann Bros. "Shit we watched in 2010" anime review. It's a little shorter today as we were all down with the sickness at various points last week, but rest assured more is to come.

Dai Mahou Touge (Magical Witch Punie-chan)

The story revolves around a young girl named Tanaka Punie who is princess of Magical Land. In order for her to become queen, however, she must become a transfer student in a Japanese high school. Crazy hi-jinks ensue.

Matt

Unfortunately, while this show has plenty of crazy moments, nothing ever really lived up to the clip that inspired me to watch it. The show itself is a successor of sorts to Bokusatsu Tenshi, but never comes close in terms of production or entertainment value. It feels like it's trying to do the same type of thing, but just doesn't have the good writing and characters that Bokusatsu Tenshi does. - 5/10

Jeff

I have even less to say about this. 7/10

Chris

Wow, this show is weird. It shows an anthropomorphic potato peeling itself, which is a testament to just how weird it is. Unfortunately, this weirdness isn't enough to make the four episode series very funny.

The first episode is great, maintaining its comic energy throughout, but once the second episode comes around it's already losing momentum. That's not to say that the final three episodes are bad, because they do contain some genuinely funny moments, but between those moments of win it rarely becomes more than mild entertainment.

For a short series though, you could do worse. 6/10

Follow the break to read the rest

We are at, again, the end of another year. As I am wont to do, I watched anime again and I am here to review it for you, my fine reading populace. However, my anime watchings is not something I do alone with a bucket of Haagan Daas in hand. I watch it while downing manly drinks and filling myself with sugar in the company of a couple of my many brothers. So, this year, I'm turning this series of reviews into a family affair. Since they missed out last year, we'll also be touching on some stuff I've already reviewed. Enjoy!

Outlaw Star

Synopsis

Another entry in a long line of 90s space westerns. Gene Starwind and Jim Hawkings are the purveyors of a business that handles various odd jobs (think Han Solo). Through one of these jobs, they find themselves with a highly advanced spaceship which leads to many a crazy space adventure.

Matt

I do not have many kind words for Outlaw Star. The largest problem with this show was the plot, They set things up for something large and arcing in the first couple episodes, but then dropped it until the last two. Everything in between is useless filler that doesn't do anything for the plot or characters. Adding to that, the dub was bad and the visuals were inconsistent at best. At least it had one good closer song. 2/10

Jeff

Don't watch this shit, dude. Most of time it's going nowhere, and when it is moving foreward, it only does so in small steps that are completely outweighed by the amount of useless drivel that serves only to bore or annoy you. -?/10. No, I do not think my score is harsh.

Chris

Outlaw Star? More like Outhouse Stall.

I can't count how many times this show promised something more and then turned around and kicked me in the balls. Throw in some super annoying characters and crappy character designs and you have one of the worst shows ever made, not even taking into consideration the beach episode(in a sci-fi show?) which scarred my eyes in ways razor blades and nails never could.

I'll give it a point for the accurate physics on that prison planet, though. 1/10

See our other reviews after the break.