IS: Infinite Stratos (Anime TV Series)

Hi, everyone this my second post for today, because I have enough time at hand so why not to post it right away. Okay, I’m watching IS recently and the anime itself is recently airing in TBS. Furthermore, I’m personally thinking this anime is quite good and recommend you to watch it in your 2011 anime airing schedule. Hmm, enough small talk and now let’s get to  business… chop-chop

IS (Infinite Stratos) (IS〈インフィニット・ストラトス〉, IS (Infinitto Sutoratosu)) is a Japanese light novel series by Izuru Yumizuru with illustrations provided by Okiura. As of December 2010, 6 volumes have been published by Media Factory under their MF Bunko J label. A manga adaptation by Kenji Akahoshi started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on May 27, 2010. An anime adaptation began broadcasting in Japan on January 7, 2011.

Story Plot

In the near future, a Japanese scientist engineers a powered exoskeleton called “Infinite Stratos” (IS). Possessing technology and combat capabilities far more advanced than any other weapon system, the IS threatens to destabilize the world. Faced with such an overpowering weapon, the nations of the world enact the “Alaska Treaty”, which states that IS will never be used for military combat and that existing IS technology must be equally distributed to all nations, to prevent any one nation for dominating the others. The introduction of the IS does however have a major effect on society. As IS can only be operated by women, the power balance between men and women is broken, with women coming to dominate society over men.

Ten years after the first IS were introduced, the world has entered a new age of peace. The peace is shattered, however, by an unexpected discovery. A 15 year old Japanese boy, named Ichika Orimura, is discovered to be capable of operating an IS. Realizing the potential, Ichika is forced by the Japanese government to attend the prestigious Infinite Stratos Academy, an international academy where IS pilots from all over the world are trained. Thus his busy school life surrounded by girls begins.

Anime

An anime adaptation for Infinite Stratos was first announced on June 21, 2010 and its official website opening on August 8, 2010.The adaptation will be directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi who also directed Macross Frontier with Eight Bit, who also handled Macross Frontier, animating the adaptation. The character designer and chief animation director of the anime will be Takeyasu Kurashima and the mecha designer will be Takeshi Takakura. The script will be handled by Atsuhiro Tomioka, Chinatsu Hōjō, and Fumihiko Shimo. Shimo will also be handling the series’ composition. The anime began airing in Japan on January 7, 2011 on TBS. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime in North America. The Anime Network will simulcast the series on their website. The first 3 episodes will premiere on January 23, 2011, followed with a new episode each week.

The anime’s soundtrack is composed by Hikaru Nanase. The opening theme song for the anime is “Straight Jet”, performed by Minami Kuribayashi. The ending theme song is “Super∞Stream”, with first episode version sung by Yōko Hikasa and the second and third episode version sung by Yōko Hikasa and Yukana. The CD single for “Straight Jet” will be released on January 26, 2011 and the CD single for “Super∞Stream” will be released on February 16, 2011. Both singles will be published under the Lantis label.

To Aru Majutsu No Index – Season 1 and Season 2 (Anime TV Series)

Hi, everyone it’s been awhile since my last update in this web; I’ve been busy working on college report and now I’ve made it sucessfully and got A, who-ho (cheer) and so I would like to contribute some update to this log right now. Okay, now we’ve reached year 2011 and we noticed there are a lot of interesting anime released and airing. Well, my favorite anime that I watched regulary right now are To Aru Majutsu No Index Season II and IS: Infinite Stratos, therefore I’ll write some post and download link about these anime as well and these anime are still ongoing so you could expect some development on these article. Okay shall we begin?

 

TV anime
Directed by	Hiroshi Nishikiori
Music by	Maiko Iuchi
Studio	J.C.Staff
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Network	MBS, tvk, Chiba TV, CBC, AT-X, Teletama
Original run	October 4, 2008 – March 19, 2009
Episodes	24 episodes

TV anime
Toaru Majutsu no Index II
Directed by	Hiroshi Nishikiori
Music by	Maiko Iuchi
Studio	J.C.Staff
Network	AT-X, Tokyo MX, Teletama, Chiba TV, MBS, tvk, CBC
Original run	October 8, 2010 – ongoing
Episodes	24 episodes

Toaru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録（インデックス）, Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu) translated as A Certain Magical Index of Prohibited Books and shortened to A Certain Magical Index, is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura; the series is published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The series was made into a manga, beginning serialization in May 2007, and a 24-episode anime which aired between October 2008 and March 2009. A second season of the anime was announced and began airing in Japan on October 8, 2010. A side story manga series, A Certain Scientific Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン）, Toaru Kagaku no Rērugan), began serialization in March 2007 and was later adapted into a 24-episode anime, which aired from October 2009 to March 2010 in Japan. An original video animation episode of Railgun was released on October 29, 2010. Funimation Entertainment has licensed the first anime season of Index and Railgun. Seven Seas Entertainment will begin releasing the Railgun manga in June 2011.

Story Plot

Toaru Majutsu no Index is set in Academy City, a technologically advanced Academic city located at western Tokyo which studies scientifically advanced superhuman students with powers, but is also set in a world where magic is real. Tōma Kamijō is a student in Academy City whose right hand, the Imagine Breaker, has the ability to negate any supernatural powers, but also his own luck. One day he finds a young girl hanging on his balcony railing named Index. She is a nun from Necessarius, a secret magic branch of the Church of England, and her mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum—103,000 forbidden magical books the Church has removed from circulation. His encounter with her leads him to meet others from the secret world of science and magic and an adventure with his friends where science and magic collide. Tōma’s unusual power places him at the center of conflicts relating magicians and science-based espers in Academy City. As Tōma tries to help and protect his friends, he learns the people he knows are not as they appear and begins to attract the attention of magicians and espers alike as they try to unravel the secrets of Academy City and Index.

The side-story, A Certain Scientific Railgun, focuses on Mikoto Misaka, an electromaster who is the third most powerful of the seven Level 5 espers in Academy City. Set before and during the events of the novels, the manga tells the adventures of Mikoto and her friends during that time period from their point of view, eventually coinciding with the events of the third novel. However, I’m not going to discuss this side-story more in this article although in fact, the side-series itself quite interesting.

Episode list

Sp: warning! This episode list contain spoiler and download link on To Aru Majutsu No Index II because it’s not yet lincensed in my region.

Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai

俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Romance
Light novel
Written by	Tsukasa Fushimi
Illustrated by	Hiro Kanzaki
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	August 10, 2008 – ongoing
Volumes	7
Manga
Written by	Tsukasa Fushimi
Illustrated by	Sakura Ikeda
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demogra phic	Seinen
Magazine	Dengeki G’s Magazine
Original run	March 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	3
TV anime
Directed by	Keiichiro Kawaguchi
Studio	AIC
Licensed by	Aniplex USA
Network	Tokyo MX, TV Saitama, Chiba TV, MBS
Original run	October 3, 2010 – December 19, 2010
Episodes	12
Game
Developer	Bandai Namco Games
Publisher	Bandai Namco Games
Genre	V isual novel
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	January 27, 2011

 

Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない, My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute), also known as Oreimo for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. The first volume was published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint in August 2008; as of November 2010, seven volumes have b een released. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakura Ikeda started serialization in the March 2009 issue of ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki G’s Magazine. A 13-episode anime adaptation produced b y AIC began airing in Japan in October 2010.

Story Plot

Kyōsuke Kōsaka, a normal seventeen-year-old high school student, has not gotten along with his younger sister Kirino in years. For longer than he can remember, Kirino has ignored his comings and goings and looked at him with spurning eyes. It seemed as if the relationship between Kyōsuke and his sister, now fourteen, would continue this way forever. One day however, Kyōsuke finds a DVD case of a magical girl anime entitled Hoshikuzu Witch Meruru (星くず☆うぃっちメルル, Stardust Witch Meruru) which had fallen in his house’s entrance way. To Kyōsuke’s surprise, inside the case is a hidden adult video game titled Imōto to Koishiyo! (妹と恋しよっ♪, Let’s Fall in Love with Little Sister!). Kyōsuke attempts to fish out the culprit who dropped the case by bringing up the topic of magical girl anime at the family dinner table. All that comes out is a strong negative reaction from his parents, especially his anti-otaku policeman father.

That night, Kirino bursts into Kyōsuke’s room and, in perhaps the first conversation she has initiated with him in years, says they “have things to talk about.” Kirino brings Kyōsuke to her room and shows him an extensive collection of moe anime and lolicon bishōjo games she has been collecting in secret.

 

Characters

Kōsaka family

Kyōsuke Kōsaka (高坂 京介, Kōsaka Kyōsuke)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

Kyōsuke is the 17-year-old main character of Oreimo. He has a distant relationship with his sister, feeling that this will never change. However, this suddenly changes when he finds one of her adult games and learns that she is an otaku. Through this, he tries to be a supportive older brother while realizing he himself knew very little about his sister, such as being almost flawless at school to working as a model. Later on he takes up more of his role as an older brother to her, and appears to be able to tell what she is thinking or really meaning to say despite her tsundere personality. Despite this, she is generally the dominant person in their relationship, with Kyōsuke being shown to be openly intimidated by her, only standing up to her in truly serious situations. Kyōsuke prefers to have a relatively peaceful and simple life despite the fact that the drama Kirino brings makes his life anything but peaceful. He also seems to enjoy drinking tea from a carton as he frequently has a glass of it when he gets home.

Kirino Kōsaka (高坂 桐乃, Kōsaka Kirino)

Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu

Kirino is Kyōsuke’s 14-year-old younger sister. She is mature for her age with a cold, tsundere-like personality. She has a strong “little sister” fetish and owns many adult games with older brother/little sister themes, which she got a job modeling to pay for. Despite this, she states she does not know why she started liking it, though it is suggested that she has a brother complex and is using the games as a surrogate to this. She often denies such feelings and believes the 2D and 3D worlds should be kept separate. Nevertheless, she is shown to be very frustrated when he is with, or shows interest, in other girls such as Manami who she accuses as being “all over” Kyōsuke. Likewise, she frequently forces Kyōsuke to spend time with her, whether it is playing games or taking her out, but denies that she actually enjoys the time they spend together. She uses the screen name Kiririn when with her otaku friends.

Daisuke Kōsaka (高坂 大介, Kōsaka Daisuke)

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki

He is Kirino and Kyōsuke’s domineering father. He is a high ranking officer in the police and has a no nonsense policy at home. He does not like the fact that Kirino is a model, but allows her to do so if she does well in school. He is severely against otaku, believing them to be a waste of a life, so when he finds out Kirino is one, he orders her to throw away everything otaku-related in her room. It is shown he truly does care for Kirino despite his gruff exterior, as he owns every article and picture of all her accomplishments.

Yoshino Kōsaka (高坂 佳乃, Kōsaka Yoshino)

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe

She is Kirino and Kyōsuke’s loving mother. She is aware of her daughter’s obsession, as she has referred to her as “my otaku daughter”.

Tamura family

Manami Tamura (田村 麻奈実, Tamura Manami)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō

Manami is Kyōsuke’s childhood friend who wears glasses. She is described as ‘plain’. She has a crush on Kyōsuke and blushes to his compliments. She becomes comically blind when she is not wearing her glasses and seems to sprout dog ears when complimented. Due to the time they spend together, the people around them assume they are dating. According to Kyōsuke, her speech patterns resemble that of a grandmother.

Iwao Tamura (田村 いわお, Tamura Iwao)

Iwao is Manami’s younger brother.

Others

Saori Makishima (槇島 沙織, Makishima Saori) / Saori Bajīna (沙織・バジーナ, Saori Bajīna)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame

Saori is the leader of the “Anime Girls Unite!” group on the Internet, who Kirino meets in a meet-up. She wears very thick glasses (shown as swirls). She is a fan of Gundam and is also a collector of their model kits. She gets along well with Kyōsuke and it is hinted she is from a wealthy family. As Kyōsuke says, Saori is drastically different from how she communicates through the Internet and through phone or speaking with her in person to which she seemingly switches to a refined and sophisticated persona. According to Kyōsuke in the light novels, she is dressed as a typical otaku from television but has the body of a supermodel.

Ruri Gokō (五更 瑠璃, Gokō Ruri) / Kuroneko (黒猫)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa

She is another otaku girl who lives near Kirino and often wears gothic lolita clothing based on a character from her favorite anime, even during hot weather. Due to both of their tsundere-type personalities she constantly clashes with Kirino when it comes to anything. However, Kuroneko does care for Kirino. Unlike Kirino who likes little sister-themed games, Kureneko enjoys teen-centered fantasy anime. She often mentions her “dark magic” within the anime, usually to Kirino or to Kyōsuke.

Ayase Aragaki (新垣 あやせ, Aragaki Ayase)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami

Kirino’s friend and classmate who works as a model alongside her and is also her best friend. Ayase is a friendly, nice, and refined lady, but becomes agitated and somewhat violent at the thought that she is being lied to, which she hates above all else. She tends to believe what she sees on the news. Therefore, she disapproves of anime and manga, calling it a disgusting hobby, especially eroge, due to the media portrayal that otaku will eventually become criminals.

HighSchool Of The Dead Anime

Airing Date : July 5, 2010 – September 20, 2010

Episodes : 12 Ep

Directed by	Tetsuro Araki
Written by	Yosuke Kuroda
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	Sentai Filmworks Madman Entertainment Manga Entertainment
Network	AT-X, TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, Sun TV
English network	Anime Network Madman Entertainment

Credits:

Review by StarCrossedAnime

Download Links by Anime-sensei

Compiled by Sprucefir

 

Story Summary

Takashi Komuro is a normal highschool boy, until an infection breaks out that turns people into zombie-like creatures. Along with his friends & the school nurse, they fight their way out and continue their journey to find out what exactly has happened to the world.

 

Screenshot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review

With High School of the Dead, you have to know and realize what it is before you start watching it. It’s a series that knows its priorities well: fanservice and zombie-bashing. You shouldn’t expect an innovative story here: it pretty much plays out like your regular zombie story. The characters are high schoolers, so expect a lot of whining. If you hate fanservice with passion, then don’t even bother with this show.

Beyond that, though, it really is quite good.

High School of the Dead doesn’t try to pretend to be anything more than what it is, but what it does, it does well. The production values are solid throughout the entire series, the action is solid (and quite creative at times) and especially the background art for this series is gorgeous. The characters in this series may start out a bit annoying, all of the lead characters have their flaws flaws that are explored throughout the series. There even is quite a bit of character development that, while nothing deep, does show the cast growing amidst the total zombie chaos that they’re in.

The biggest reason why I’m praising this series however is its atmosphere. Usually, fanservice series don’t really care about such a thing and are too busy with their uninspired antics, but High School of the Dead is different. Its atmosphere really draws you in, both during the action-packed parts and the quiet scenes in which the characters are simply waiting for the inevitable moment in which the zombies find them. The atmosphere is over the top when it needs to, but most importantly: it is also restrained when it needs to. This allows the characters, who may be quite simple, to show their best sides. It’s the atmosphere that really makes this series into more than just another action flick.

Don’t think that the execution is perfect, though. There still are the times here and there in which the fanservice takes over. There also are a few side characters who are trying way too hard to be evil or controversial, most notable that evil nazi teacher. He adds nothing to this series and only ends up being silly with how ridiculously over the top he tries to be. The zombies themselves also are really basic villains: they have no motivations, no origins, nothing. The only thing that is on their mind is “humans tasty; rawr”. Having said that, they are some very selective zombies. The creators tend to slow down time or make them oblivious, just for the sake of the plot. That’s a case of lazy scriptwriting!

Overall, High School of the Dead seems to be one of the most popular series of the past summer season, but don’t go in expecting a masterpiece. It’s simply a show to sit back with and enjoy the atmosphere and the zombie-bashing, and that is something that this series does really well, and you can see that the creators are having fun with this unpretentious horror-fest.

 

Download Links

Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05
Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10
Episode 11 | Episode 12

Music:
Opening 01 | Ending Album

Storytelling:	8/10 – Solid action, very good atmosphere, tons of fanservice.
Characters:	8/10 – Annoying, but the main characters are well portrayed and have well balanced flaws. The antagonists don’t, though.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Very solid, excellent background art, great animation during the fight scenes, solid soundtrack. Great EDs.
Setting:	7/10 – It’s zombies, and it’s pretty much your standard zombie storyline with some strange holes in the zombie-logic.

Directed by	Tetsuro Araki
Written by	Yosuke Kuroda
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	Sentai Filmworks Madman Entertainment Manga Entertainment
Network	AT-X, TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, Sun TV
English network	Anime Network Madman Entertainment

Clannad (TV)

synopsis:

Deliquent Okazaki Tomoya finds himself starting his final year in high school, with no hope for the future, no girlfriend, bad grades, and a strained relationship with his father. All seems lost, until the moment he meets Furukawa Nagisa. This girl brings forth hope, love, and family into Okazaki’s life that has been deprived of it. With Furukawa Nagisa, and his close friends Sunhara Youhei and Fujibayashi Kyou, we embark on a journey of dreams and wishes of a family who tries everything to protect their own…

Story & Characters

The TV version of Clannad, an adaptation of the game by Key (Visual Arts), combines all the plot lines one goes through in the game, and weaves them together into a storyline that has a complete balance of drama and comedy weaved like a quilt of realism. Each of the characters comes into the story with their own issues to dealt with. Even the main protagonist, Tomoya Okazaki, has his own excess baggage as he starts a new club including the bulk of the other characters in this show.
The main characters, who have a stock character quality, drive the presentation just like when you play the game itself. You’ve got your slapstick captain in Youhei Sunohara, who is a frequent victim to Tomoyo fixes of his perversion and advances. You have a little insertion of Fuko intervening every now and then, after her arc is complete, to spice the rest of the episodes up. You have your tsundere girl in Kyou Fujibayashi, and your shy, unassuming, yet emotional girl in Kotomi. There is also the athletically talented, but ruthlessly brutal, Tomoyo Sakagami. And the development of Tomoya’s character and the way he handles the situations of each of the female protagonists is key to the direction.
At the same time, the storyline is akin to gastronomical treasures of Europe: you savor it as you consume it. From Nagisa’s illness; to Fuko’s intentions to invite strangers to her sister’s wedding; to Kotomi mourning the loss of her parents…the background history of each character is studied in every episode, and viewers should pay close attention to the plot devices used to weave the threads around, as well as the overall relationship between Tomoya and Nagisa.

Rating: 9

Art

“So, who did the art and in-betweens, and what have you?”
“Kyoto Animation, sir.”
“Who did you say did it? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Kyoto Animation.”
“KyoAni? You mean the same crew that did your Haruhi Suzumiyas and Lucky Stars of the world?”
“Bingo.”
“Well! There you go.”

All side talk aside, Clannad’s biggest strengths lie in its art. The background scenes-from the streets, to the school rooms, to the shots of the sky during the day, afternoon, and night-are good use of pastels and colors to give a realistic feel to the mood of the story. Mention the words Kyoto Animation, and already it should be a rule to give the art review at least a 7.
KyoAni does not stray much from the original character designs and appearances in the game and the OVA. The hair designs have a sheer feel, and when the wind blows through (example is Kotomi Ichinose’s locks), it adds a mystique to each character’s charm. They sugar-coated things with the use of bright colors, but it’s a small scratch.
If you know how the facial expressions and tears are in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and even in Lucky Star, then the expressions in Clannad should look familiar. What I find interesting is the generous use of tears when the characters have pained looks on their faces. It’s an example of their vulnerability, and viewers can relate, one way or another, to what they have gone through.

Rating: 10

Sound

The Japanese cast for Clannad is a delectable blend of who’s who. For the main cast, you have Mai Nakahara (Mai Tokiha, My-Otome) doing the voice work for Nagisa Furukawa; Ai Nonaka (Kafuka Fura from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Konoka Konoe from Negima!) as Fuko Ibuki; Akemi Kanda (Asuna Kagurazaka from Negima!) as Ryou Fujibayashi; Ryo Hirohashi (Alice Carroll from Aria, Konata Izumi from the Lucky Star Radio Drama, Sora Naegino from Kaleido Star, etc.) as Kyou Fujibayashi; Houko Kuwashima (Maroon from Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Filia from Slayers Try, Sango from Inu-Yasha, etc.) as Tomoyo Sakagami; Mamiko Noto (Ana Coppola from Strawberry Marshmallow, Yukinari Sasaki from Girls Bravo, Aya Toujou from Ichigo 100%, Nodoka Miyazaki from Negima!, etc.) as Kotomi Ichinose; and Daisuke Sakaguchi (Shimira Shinpachi from Gintama) as Youhei Sunohara. For Yuuichi Nakamura, this would go down as one of his biggest roles yet, as Tomoya Okazaki. Among the secondary characters, the ubiquitous Yukari Tamura strikes again…as Youhei’s little sister Mei.

Another plus for Clannad is the choice of situational music. The trio of Jun Maeda, Magome Togoshi, and Shinji Orito create a soundtrack for Clannad that conveys a globe of moods: from the uplifting and spirited, to the melancholy and poignant. Of course, they are not new to creating soundtrack to similar works: all three have done the soundtrack for Air, and Orito also did work on Kanon.
On this soundtrack, there are pieces that match the characters’ personas. For Kotomi, you have a small chamber orchestra piece. For Tomoyo, you have one that emphasized her athletic prowess. For Fuko, you have a playful, cheerful, fun piece. The centerpiece of this soundtrack are the recurring background tracks in each episode.
The opening for Clannad is Megumeru ~cuckool mix 2007~, a remix of the song by eufonius. It’s a soft, easy listen. Dango Daikazoku (The Big Dango Family) by Chata is an ED that starts off light and playful, but then expands into a holistic, powerful, yet assertively mothely anthem. The use of gongs in this song and the backing chorus adds a finishing touch to an already memorable ED.

Rating: 9

Presentation

An anime that has excellent presentation is a memorable combination of solid art and visual detail, a complex storyline that requires careful direction, and a steadfast pair of voice acting and musical composition. Even if you have not played the game itself, the TV adaptation of Clannad would be a nice substitute, because in my book, it has all the qualities of excellent presentation.
Kyoto Animation did, as always, a superb job directing each path of the game into the show, and all the members, including Kazumi Ikeda and Fumihiko Shimo, who directed the story plot and the animation, respectively, have made it their intention to raise the bar once again after the success of their prior works. With an all-star cast, a winning soundtrack, and another potent art/story blend that pays deep respect to all the paths of the game, they are well on their way.
Clannad is a show that will make you think a lot about the value of life, and after watching the first episode, you will want to see the next one, and the one after that. Those who have played the game will want to see how the TV adaptation compares to the game. And those who haven’t are in for a complete treat of the entire concept of the game without any corners cut. It’s something that a lot of people will enjoy. I recommend it.

Rating: 10

Final Verdict

9.50 (excellent)

download links

Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05
Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10
Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15
Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20
Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24

review author : Hachiko

download links credits goes to anime-sensei.net

Happy blogging

Sprucefir

Baka To Test To Shoukanju

Introduction and Rating

anime review credits goes to strikezcoal from animecrunch

download link credits goes to anime-sensei.net

note : it said this anime was lincesed however it’s hasn’t lincesed yet in southeast asia region and so we still post the download link

Baka to Test to Shoukanju is a highschool semi-action rom-com centered on the events and actions of the students in class 2-F at Fumizuki Academy.

• Art: 9.25
• Animation: 9.5
• Music: 9.0
• Characters: 9.5
• Plot: 7.0
• Average: 8.8
• My Rating: 9.0

Plus (+) : The joke is hilarious enough and easy to understand and the effect of joke added with funny reaction and emotion that nicely put. At last, we found few parody from other anime as well.

Minus (-) : The story plot not developed to well and appears to be short and shallow. In addition, the ending of this story don’t have any impact.

Story

At Fumizuki Academy, rankings and standardized scores are everything. Students are divided into classes A to F according to the grades they receive on an initial standardized test—the best students being sent to class A and the worst to class F, as implied by the letters. The better the grade, the better the facilities and teachers. However, this school allows a peculiar opportunity for students to “trade up” by beating their fellow students in a battle of avatars. Who would be better to fight against the injustice of being labeled an idiot than the idiots themselves?!

Plot Summary

The only weakness this show has is that it suffers from unplanned second season syndrome. The original goal of the story was for the idiots of class F to show their worth by beating all of the other classes in ESB’s. ESB’s are battles in which the objective is for each class to take out the opposing class-representative’s avatar—which are summoned beasts. The winner of the ESB is allowed to do whatever they please with the loosing class’s assets. However, this plot point is quickly lost after the first two episodes and only reintroduced during the last few episodes. What happens in between is simply a series of comedic episodes introducing side plot elements related to the characters and their relationships with each other. Since a second season has already been planned, you can pretty much guess what happens. Assuming the second season is as good as the first and actually ties things up, and since the character side of the story was hilarious, I think I’ll let the sketchy ending slide in this instance—at least to the point where I won’t destroy the ratings completely.

Main Characters

1. Akahisa Yoshii – What fun is a rom-com without a love triangle focused on the main protagonist? In Baka to Test, Yoshii is that focal point and completely oblivious to the fact as well. He is also Fumizuki Academy’s #1 idiot. He even has a special punishment avatar because of this, which recoils on him and causes him the equivalent amount of pain that would be felt by him if he were in his avatar’s position. Nevertheless, his extreme stupidity makes him…useful
2. Mizuki Himegi – Another must in a love triangle is, of course, an innocent, busty pink hared genius, who is a complete ditz in home-economics. Himeji is completely infatuated with Yoshii but far too bashful to tell him directly. Furthermore, all of her indirect attempts to tell him fail miserably in a somewhat predictable, if not comedic, fashion—it’s the situational irony that makes it funny. Whether or not she will be able to confess is still to be seen
3. Minami Shimada – She’s flat. she’s dishonest. She’s a…pro-wrestler? Minami is the tsundere counterpart of the love triangle. She is also too embarrassed to admit her feelings to Yoshii directly, and often takes out her frustration on him when he is too dense to interpret her hints and subtle advances on him
4. Yuuji Sakamoto – Class representative, instigator of rebellion, and Yoshii’s best friend. Yuuji is actually quite smart, but feels that labeling people based on something as fickle as their grades is ridiculous. His plan is to improve his conditions—and subsequently the conditions of his friends in class F—by winning ESB’s through strategy
5. Shouka Kirishima – Childhood friend of Yuuji and the class representative of class A. Shouko has liked Yuuji since they were children, although her feelings are openly rejected by him. She frequently kidnaps him—conscious or not—in order to spend time with him and take him on dates. Despite this fact, Yuuji’s actions still seem to indicate that he may have feelings for her
6. Konta Tsuchiya – A voyeur armed with a camera. Konta uses his physical prowess, quick reflexes, and sharp eye to take snapshots of girls in their most embarrassing moments and at the most revealing angles possible. He especially likes to try to sneak a peek up Minami’s skirt when she has Yoshii locked in a finisher
7. Hideyoshi Kinoshita – It’s a boy. It’s a girl. It’s…no really, what is it? Hideyoshi is an effeminate male twin whom all the other male characters have an odd attraction to. His sister is in class A and occasionally makes an appearance to tell him not to embarrass her.

Remarks

Op/Ed

The opening for Baka to Test is great. The music is synthesized and upbeat and the animation synchs up with it perfectly. Even the credits appear and disappear with the music. Each of the main characters’ avatars appears on-screen quickly and then either run or bounce/fall off the screen. Each of the main characters gives a quick cameo on-beat to the song and then pose as if they are about to take a picture, while colorful boxes, matching their hair and eye color, spin in front of a blank and white background. White is the predominate color throughout the entire opening. Apparently the animators wanted to make 100% sure that all of the attention goes to whatever the focus of the screen is. Using the white background also allowed them to splash on various bright colors and graphics and make the whole intro bubbly and bright. What is meant by “Perfect Area Complete” I’m still not sure, but I have to admit, the opening is very catchy.

In complete contrast to the opening, the predominate color in the ending is black. Even the English words displayed in the background are mostly black on color print. The bubbly music from the opening is also replaced by a rebellious rock song. It may be a moot point to mention that the ending features only the boys, as if to play on the fact that males at high school age are rebellious. Altogether, the entire thing works. In fact, it’s one of the few endings that I’ve found myself listening to repetitively.

As a side note: the opening singer is a female, the ending singer is a male. Seriously, I think they were just trying to make the intro and ending as different as possible.

Art

The art in Baka to Test is very well done—to the point where it’s hard to find even a single line out of place. This may be due to the fact that most of the art is CG. This allows the animators a great amount of leeway. As opposed to a single standard, the art in Baka to Test often flips between the overly dramatic black and white shaded art, to a bubbly pink comic book look, to whatever else the current situation calls for. The animators especially liked to use conspicuous CG in order to focus attention on certain aspects of a character—especially the females—or of a scene. I wasn’t a big fan of this at the beginning, since I was originally of the belief that the best CG is seamless, but over time I’ve come to appreciate this innovative and unfamiliar style.

Music

Similar to the art, the music in Baka to Test is highly variable. From a mellow Hawaiian tone to a hectic or battle tone, the music is always appropriate to set the tone for the given situation. This is one of the few soundtracks I find myself wanting to download…speaking of which. That aside, the music isn’t the only thing you’ll find yourself hearing. Many of the scenes call for sound effects or a narrator, both of which really give the anime a unique feel.

Overview

Baka to Test is one of the most unique rom-coms that I have ever seen. The combinations of appropriate sound effects, music, and eye-catching CG, along with the solid art help to create a great and hilarious anime. It is one of the few where I have laughed so hard that I was forced to pause it in order not to miss anything. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a good comedy.

P.S. I only found the two guys hugging in Angel Beats! awkward because it was the main character who was hugging the current big bad, and this happened immediately after the main character witnessed the aftermath of his friends’ massacre at the hands of that very person. Not that I disagree with Andrew’s point, but I don’t want anyone thinking I hate gay people or anything stupid like that. Anyway, I was seriously disappointed that Angel didn’t get to have at least one round with him before we were forced to listen to his pathetic sob story. Blah blah blah sad childhood…Seriously? And this excuses him for all the shit he pulled? Whatever…I’ll let it slide—mainly because the episode preceding this one was amazing—but they better not pull something like that again…

Download Link:

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 1

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 2

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 3

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 4

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 5

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 6

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 7

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 8

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 9

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 10

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 11

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 12

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu – episode 13

Happy blogging every one

Timothy Van Djaja

s.p don’t forget to post comment and feedback