Arcane Reviews: Corpse Princess

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. So it's been awhile since I've seen a really heavy action packed anime with lots of blood and gore! You know, awesome stuff. So while I was searching for an anime to watch I came across this little gem right here. Now the question is; is it any good? Well my fellow readers I'll answer that question for you in today's review of, Corpse Princess. Or if you like the Japanese title better Shikabane Hime. Does it give you your fill of gory anime goodness or does it just decompose on the spot? Let's find out shall we?

Story:

The story here is pretty cool and is really interesting as well. The world that Corpse Princess sets up is that of a very grim and depressing one. In this world if a person dies with a huge amount of regret and sorrow they come back as these horrible creatures simply none as Shikabane. These monsters can't be killed by any human as they are already dead but that doesn't mean they can't be killed at all. You have these other group of Shikabane called, Shikabane Hime. They're different then the other Shikabane because they died but somehow kept their humanity. So you have the Shikabane Hime fighting off the corrupt dead from harming the world of the living. Now while this set up is really cool and open to a lot of possibilities for a really harsh and deeply character driven story it doesn't really do that. You do have character stories but they're side plots, the main plot here is pretty much just a former good guy is now evil so we must stop him. There's nothing wrong with that but personally it feels a little to simple for a concept with such a heavy emotional potential here. There's an episode that shows a Shikabane that was a mother that died in child birth, that's a great set up for some deep story telling and possible character development. To bad none of that happens. They reveal the Shikabane and then they just kill it off like it was nothing, then in the next episode they face a completely new Shikabane. That just seems like a huge missed opportunity for something that could have been really, really heavy and dramatic. But instead it was just a cool fight scene. That's it. But even then it was still enjoyable and fun to watch so it's not that bad.

Animation:

Animation in this show is top notch which is a little surprising to me. Why? Because this was done by Gainax. You know, the studio that completely blew their budget on Evangelion and then made the last two episodes with sketches and recycled animation. Okay I'm joking, but in all seriousness that anime moves very smoothly and looks very nice. Though I will say that sometimes it looks like they leave details out of the big fight scenes for characters so that animating said scenes are easier to do. I'm not the biggest fan of this style of animating I will not lie ans say that the action scenes weren't cool to see. They were in fact very fun to watch. So I really like the animation in this show and it was one of the biggest highlights in the show overall.

Music:

The second biggest highlight here though would have to be the music. The music in the show is just badass and insanely enjoyable to listen to and it set the mood incredibly well. The music was slow, creepy, and thrilling when the scene needed it to be and it was done so well. Then when an action-packed and crazy scene would start up the music would kick up into high gear and have a hard hitting background track to get your blood pumping. The music is just the right amount of awesome to get any fan of action or suspense ready and glued to their screen to see what'll happen next.

Characters:

Now this is kind of a mix bag for me. The characters aren't really bad at all in this show, hell a lot of them are really cool or fun characters to watch. But with that being said they just kind of fit in the little spot that they're signed to and don't really move forward from said spot until it's important to the plot. A good example would be with the main character of Ouri. He is shown as a kind hearted person who just wants to keep the people he loves safe. That's about all he really does in the show and nothing else until a big plot point happens. Then Ouri is given a bigger role and is made to be a lot more important to the plot. They even heavily imply a major personal feeling he has for one of the other characters. Now with all of this you'd think that he would have a big character change right? Well no, he doesn't. He just has a more active role in the plot but a side from that he pretty much stays the same. They also go pretty much nowhere with his feelings for that character. It's almost like they stay the same and don't really move on which isn't really horrible. Because they still are enjoyable characters that you like to watch they just feel like characters not people.

Nitpicks:

Okay I have two major nitpicks here. The first is with the main character Makina, she is the main shikabane hime that we follow. She's presented as an dual Uzi welding badass that no one can take on. Oh wait yes they do because she gets her ass kicked all of the time. I know you wanna try humanizing the character so that we can relate to them but it to a point when it looked like she was just fucking incompetent. She just gets her ass handed to her. I know she can't die so it's all cool but come. Shiki could kick this girl's ass and she's not even dead! Also my second nitpick is the lack of anyone explaining anything. Now by that I don't mean that the show is vague about it's plot or anything like that, they actually explain it to you, but they explain it to you and not the main fucking character! No one just talks like a normal human being instead everyone wants to tell only half truths and make assumptions. But they don't need to do that because we as the audience already know what's going on so it's frustrating as all hell to watch these assholes run around like fucking headless chickens! Just explain something damnit!

Overall:

To wrap up this review I guess I'll say that this isn't a bad show. It's not the best show ever but it does have some good things in here that people can enjoy. Like I said before I like the show, I had fun with it but it won't leave a lasting impression on me. It's just an okay show that some may like. I recommend it but only a not highly. Just if you're looking for something fun to kill some time.

Arcane Reviews gives Corpse Princess a 7 out of 10.

You can watch"Corpse Princess" on:

Funimation (Sub and Dub)

Hulu (Sub and Dub)    

Arcane Reviews: Squid Girl

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. Sorry about being MIA for a little bit. I needed a bit of a break from anime but now I'm back and ready to watch all the anime! So now for today I decided to take on an all comedy anime. I know about three weeks ago I reviewed an all comedy anime and I pretty much hated it. So I decided to watch another to see if that show was just bad or if I just don't like those types of shows. I guess there's nothing left to do then just get on with the review. So now I present to you my review for, Squid Girl. Is it any good? Well let's find out shall we?

Story:

So they story here is pretty silly. You young humanoid squid creature named Squid Girl. Clever. She comes up to the surface to take over the world and make the human race pay polluting the sea. Until she and the other people she comes in contact with realizes that she's the only sea creature that has come up to the surface and she has no army what-so-ever. Also she doesn't know jack-shit about the human world so she has no idea what to even take over to begin with. Hell her first major concurring point is a Goddamn beach side restaurant. You know what, I can't even say that she concur it because she the two owners out smart her! Needless to say that she's kind of an idiot. The show plays off the fact that our main character Squid Girl has no clue about the surface world and in all honesty. The show is pretty damn funny. The comedy of this show is actually pretty clever. They don't go for the easiest joke that you see coming, instead they do go the extra mile to try and go for jokes that you don't see coming right off the bat. This does show that the writers do have an idea of what real comedy is and they are trying to make a genuinely funny show, and for the most part they do. I was surprised with what did and I came out of the show really liking it. It was a lot of fun and a show like this that's all I ask for.

Animation:

Now for the most part I have to say the animation is pretty good here. The sporadic and frantic movement of the characters are done very well by then level of the animation that's done here. All the characters are crazy and as you would expect they have some crazy movements and none of it looks cheap or it looks like they were cutting corners. The animation is done very well here and I am very happy to say that it really brought out the characters personalities even more. Also the setting is done very nicely to, seeing as how the setting is a beach and all. The areas that they put in the show look nice and it gives you a very summer like feeling which is perfect because this show is taking place around spring and summer. So the animation is solid here, no doubt about it.

Music:

So the music here is pretty bland to say the least. Now I don't mean that music is bad or hard to listen to but it was just nothing special at all. The music is just boring and it did nothing for any of the funny moments in the show. Well I will say that in two episodes that the music did stand out and the music was good but that's only because in these episodes, more importantly one episode in particular, there's almost no dialog at all. The music just didn't click with me at all and I don't that anyone would really remember any of the tracks if they watched it. Sadly the music is not anything to write home about. Nothing here to get your interest.

Characters:

Now this show does something that I think is pretty hard to do. This show doesn't have any unlikable characters, yeah I'm being serious here. None of the characters here are bad to the point of being hated. The way that there set up and presented is just as a character who has a certain trait and they just have fun with what they do with them. You Squid Girl who is very ignorant to the world of man and she just messes up a lot but it never goes to the point of being annoying. She actually comes off as genuine in her curiosity of something and when a funny incident happens it makes it all the more funny because she's just lost about what's going on. All of the other characters are fun to watch too and lend there own style of silliness into the mix. The cast of characters are fun and I enjoyed all of them.

Nitpicks:

I really didn't have any real nitpicks to talk about to be honest. I anything it's that I know that this style of comedy isn't for everyone and I can see some people not really meshing well with it too much. aside from that I have nothing else to add here.

Overall:

Well I think it's safe to say that this show is pretty good. I had a lot of fun with it and I really enjoyed watching the whole series. Now at the time of me writing this I just figured out that there is indeed a season two. I didn't know this and I don't want to push off the review anymore then I already have so just consider this review for just the first season. Will I ever review season 2? Maybe sometime later but for now I most likely won't. But if it's any good as this season I will be most happy when it comes time to review it.

Arcane Reviews gives Squid Girl an 8 out of 10.

You can watch "Squid Girl" on:

Crunchyroll (Sub only with 1st and 2nd Season)

Netflicks (Sub and Dub with 1st Season only)

Hulu (Dub only and first 10 eps only) 

        

                 

Arcane Reviews: Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. Seeing as how I had to sit through a whole bunch of crap last week I figured I treat myself a bit and watch an anime that I've been meaning to check out for a while now. Back in the Spring of 2011 there was a little anime that was gathering some attention from a lot of regular seasonal viewers, especially those that are fans of romance. That anime being the very one I'm going to take a look at today. So now I present to you my review for, Anohana: The Flower That We Saw That Day. Is this anime really as good as some say? Well let's find out shall we?

Story:

We follow Jintan, a young man who is just about a complete shut in. He doesn't really go outside much, he doesn't have a lot of friends, and he's pretty much given up on going to school. All within good reasons though as we figure out that when Jintan was younger a very close friend of his unfortunately passed away. That friend's name being, Menma. Since then he's been living a pretty pathetic life. However things change when he starts seeing the ghost of Menma. Even more odd is that she can actually have physical connect with everything and everyone but no one can see or here her, all except Jintan. Jintan believes that he's just suffering from some sort of hallucination until the spirit of Menma very much shows that she is very much real by bothering our main character, which in all honesty is pretty funny to watch. Menma suggests that she most likely came back because she had a wish that she was never able to grant and that she'll need not only Jintan but his old group of friends that him and Menma use to hang out with. So that's pretty much the plot. Jintan has to reunite with all of his old friends so they can send off their deceased and let her rest in peace. So all I have to say is that this show anime's story is pretty damn good. The plot isn't just about sending Menma off, you also have the whole side plot of Jintan and his friends coming back together and rekindling that old flame that brought them together when they were younger. It's a really nice story and bring you back to a simpler time in our lives when we didn't have to worry about all the drama that we do now. But that's not to say that it's skips on the whole growing up aspect as it does say that growing up is a very important point in our lives that we have to face. But it also tells to never forget about our fondest childhood memories. As you would expect the anime is also very romance heavy and it's pretty damn cute. The two lead characters, Jintan and Menma, are very cute together and their romance comes off as a very sincere relationship. So the story and romance here is very good and is told in a very heart touching and mature way that in no way tries to goat the audience into feeling a specific way. They earn all of the strong emotional moments and earn all of the tears that will be shed when watching this show. Unlike other shows that completely try to manipulate the audience into feeling sad at the expense of completely pulling a love confession out of nowhere and braking the entire show with a huge ass gaping plot hole at the end. I'm looking at you Angel Beats!

Animation:

Animation here is very nice. Simple as that. The animation is clean and very pretty to look at and all of the expressions that the characters convey on their faces are done very well. If there is one thing that I loved though was how the tears looked when someone cried. In a lot of anime you'll have a character just drop a few tears and it's mostly goes down in a simple pattern, simple as that. Well in this show the tears actually looked messy. They would go in different patterns on the face and the character's noses would start to run as well so you'll see some mucus coming down along with the tears. Just like how an actual person's face while crying. Also the tears would get fucking everywhere. I mean they would go all over the place whenever a character would start to move around a lot. They would fall all over their face and leave stains and shit. The tears here where they're own character in this show. It's great and I really liked the animation. Also those tears should get a damn Oscar. I don't care if the show's three years, make happen.

Music:

The music here is sadly a bit of a let down. Now when I say that it doesn't mean that the music here was bad. But it was pretty forgettable. The music did a good job at setting the tone in the show but I really didn't feel like it had much of an impact in the overall emotional factor in the anime's more serious and dramatic moments. Now to be fair whenever these moments would occur the anime did use silence a lot which in my opinion actually made the scene a lot stronger. But on that same note whenever they did decide to have music accompany any of the major scenes it would go unnoticed because you got so used to the silence that you kinda start ignoring the music in the back. Also the music itself just didn't have that lasting appeal to it to really gain any type of recantation. At least from me anyway. Though I will say that the opening theme is a great song and sets the tone perfectly when it comes to the show. It's really good compared to the show's music.

Characters:

Now as you would expect this show has a pretty big cast. Thankfully the cast is really good. Well kind of. As mentioned before the two leading roles are perfect, Menma and Jinta are really well developed characters and I feel like they themselves are just great characters. You also have the rest of the friends like the big goof that everyone loves named Poppo. he is a big guy that just loves being around the people that he loves. He's funny energetic and always puts a smile on my face. You also have Anaru and Tsuruko, the two other female characters. I really liked them because they have a lot of emotional baggage on them and they get a lot of screen time to fully flesh out their personal problems. They, just like Jintan and Menma, have very well done character development and come off as pretty real individuals. I really liked them and they where enjoyable to watch. However the other side characters didn't get a lot of screen time like Menma's parents and little brother as well as Jintan's father, who is likable but barely gets any screen time to really develop as a character. Oh I know what you're saying "Arcane, isn't there a sixth character in the main cast of friends that you didn't mention?" and yes, you are right. I didn't mention the character of Yukiatsu. Why? Well you see it's simple.

Nitpicks:

Yukiatsu is a fucking asshole. He is a sympathetic and you do see the reason to his motives. He is not a poorly developed or written character. He is however very unlikable. He is a complete dick through out the show and I just couldn't stand him. He's rude, he's cocky, he's insensitive to other people's feelings, and he is a pretty sick person. I won't say how but he does do some sick stuff. He's just an awful person and someone I would never want to be around. But like I said he's written well and you get to see and eventually understand why he is the way that he is. He's stick a fucking prick but you know at least you understand now. Also the ending got a little silly. I won't spoil anything but I will say that in the lead up to the climax of the show everyone just starts to do revelations and it's a bit silly really. The scene starts off great and all but eventually everyone just starts revealing things back and forth that I actually cracked up at a part that wasn't supposed to be funny. I felt kinda bad laughing at that.

Overall:

So to close up this review I'll make things pretty clear. Anohana is a great anime. I has a wonderful story, a great cast of characters, for the most part, and an ending that might just leave you in tears. Not gonna lie I cried for ten minutes straight after the show ended. Now I just lost my man card. Dammit. But in all seriousness it's a great show you I highly recommend it.

Arcane Reviews gives Anohana: The Flower We Say that Day a 9 out of 10. 

You can watch "Anohana: The Flower We Say That Day" on:

Crunchyroll (Sub Only)

Hulu (Sub Only)     

Arcane Reviews: Mitsudomoe

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you another anime review. Seeing as how I've been watching a huge amount of serious story driven I decided to give myself a little break and watch a purely comedy based anime that a friend recommended. As you can see this review is up very late due to the fact that this has almost driven me insane and I needed a few days to really think about this show as well as cool off before reviewing it. But mow that I have taken a few days to think to myself I feel that I can properly review this show. So now I present to my review of, Mitsudomoe. Is it actually funny or is just stale raunchy humor? Well let's find out shall we?

Story:
Just to start off the show has almost no plot at all. Now this isn't a negative seeing as how not all comedy based anime need an over arcing story. Just a personal favorite of mine, Carnival Phantasm, the show's main purpose is to set up character traits to be used for later comedic reasons and all of the characters that are important so you know just how they mesh with one another so then when a funny scene happens you know more or less how characters will react. It's all normal very basic set up for a comedy show, but this is where the biggest flaw comes in for this show. The joke are very hit or miss. Some of the show's comedy is very much raunchy and felled to the brim physical humor. This can either make a particular scene funny or flat out uncomfortable. There literally no middle ground. It's either funny or not. This type of set up can make the show a bit of a chore to sit through actually. I never fell like I'm doing work when I watch anime for this blog but for the first time I actually did. I was just sitting there watching episodes and saying to myself "I gotta finished because I have to review it." and the show didn't help when it's comedy fell flat on it's ass. This show just didn't works most of the time, it still had it's moments but holy crap they were far and few in between.

Animation:
Now the animation here is actually quite nice. Nothing really note worthy but I will say that the characters look nice and the animation was very smooth through out the show. Also when ever the show would have to get crazy with a situation and a lot of frantic movement was involved the animation did actually set it up and it was a very nice change of pace. The studio behind this was Bridge who in all honesty I've never heard of, but if I can say anything about them is that they don't cut corners when it comes to the animation of their anime as Mistudomoe is a very well animated series.

Music:
The music hear was also quite nice. I assume that it's was stock music because a lot was very generic but it was never awful to listen to. In found that the music helped make some scenes funny even when the scene itself didn't have much to work with in the overall comedic tone it was going. In other words they push the joke too far. The opening song is also a guilty pleasure of mine as I find myself enjoying it very much and the ending song is very nice and sweet to listen too. Even though it doesn't match with the show at all. But overall the show had some nice music.

Characters:
The characters here are pretty much what you'd expect for a comedy show. All of the characters are just a stereotype or they have a specific character trait, like the pervert or the overly obsessed girl. They are all just pieces to be put into a proper place in which comedy will insure. So with that being said I really didn't like a lot of these character, I wanted to kill them. A lot of the characters here are just fucking annoying to listen too and I really didn't care for what most of them had to say. In had only two characters that I really liked but the main focus would always be on the one that I hate so once again that made the show unenjoyable for me to watch. So yeah the characters here are not very fun to watch.

Nitpicks:
Now this is my biggest problem with the show. All of the characters, say for a few of the teachers, are underage. They're in 6th grade. Does this stop the show from doing panty jokes? The big fat no. The show is just engrossed almost nothing but panty jokes and other vulgar humor. Now the problem hear is that this show centers around little girls so when they focus around their unmentionables the show gets a little weird to watch. Even more so is when it looks like a joke is going one way then out of nowhere they but out another panty joke because that's the only thing they can apparently come up with! So not only did this show fell like work watching but it also made me feel like police were going to break down my door for watching child porn!

Overall:
In conclusion I really didn't care for this show, The animation was nice and the music was cool to listen too but the characters were annoying and the comedy didn't mesh well with me. No I know that there are some people who would like this kind of show but for me I wasn't feeling it at all. So I really recommended passing this show up and watch something else.

Arcane Reviews gives Mistudomoe a 4 out of 10.

You can watch "Mistudomoe" on:
Crunchyroll (Sub only)          

Arcane Reviews: Blue Submarine No. 6

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. This is gonna be a tough review, now that I mean that this anime won't be so easy for me to completely nail down like all of my other reviews. There is a blurred area in this anime that has actually been able to split the anime community quite a bit. You have people that love it but at the same time you have people who just don't like this show. It's not everyday that I watch an anime that can just split me up as much as this anime has and I feel that it'll be quite tricky to review this. But enough of all that, let's dive right into this show shall?

Story:

This anime takes place in a post-apocalyptic like world in which most of the earth's land has been covered by water. Not only is half of the world covered in water but you also has a mad scientist named Zorndyke who created a type of hybrid species that is both aquatic animal and human. Zorndyke created these creatures and is the cause of the flooded world that we see and just about all of the remaining humans see him as a terrorist and rightfully so. This is where we meet our protagonists, Tetsu Hayami, a former elite cadet at the Naval Academy. We see that Tetsu is just about sulking around in his little crappy apartment until he's called back into action to which he reluctantly agrees to. That's pretty much all I can say about the show without flat out spoiling everything for you guys but in all honesty, I wouldn't know how to summarize this show even if I did start spoiling it. The story to this show can be very clunky at times. The show starts off as a simple stop the bad guy story, then it shift to an almost environmental message, then it goes into a kinda romance, then it stops to a "are we really the bad guys?!" kinda plot. What I'm trying to say is that the show tries to tackle a lot of plot lines as well as driving home a some-what serious message but the main problem is that it's handling too many story elements and the show simply isn't long enough to give them that proper care they deserve. The show presents all of these plot lines and even ties them up but they never really feel finished or even give you a sense of closure. But even in saying all of that the show actually has some guts to follow these specific story elements and they never do them badly either. Sure they aren't as emotional fulfilling as they should be but they aren't handled awfully either. The show is pretty much smack right down in the middle when it comes to it's story it really is hard to complement it as well as completely bash it as well.

Animation:

Well I'll be damned if I didn't say that the animation kicks ass here. The character designs aren't super amazing but are pretty cool and the creature designs are very creative and where fun to see. Also all of the big action scenes were badass and animated extremely well. So the animation here was awesome. For the most part. You see while the traditional animation was really good you also had CGI as well and it was fucking horrendous. Now this show was made in the 90's so I can forgive the CGI a little bit, that is until I see a giant CGI whale that's talking to our main character and the show expect me to take it completely seriously. The that's when it starts to bother me. Yeah the animation is only half good because of the aged CGI and the top notch animation. Maybe it won't bother you but to me and many other people I couldn't help but be distracted.

Music:

At least I can praise this! Yup the music was really good in this show. It's a very jazz heavy soundtrack but I feel that it was able to convey all of the emotions that had to be showed through the musical expression. The show also used a lot of just normal background noises like animals in the water or seagulls flying through the air to really immerse you into the world of Blue Sub 6. So the music is pretty damn good and I always enjoy listening ti it from time to time.

Characters:

Now this another thing that bothers me about Blue Sub 6. None of it's characters are very interesting. In fact a lot of them are pretty boring to be honest. Testu never really develops beyond his normal angry and just not caring self. Until at the very end he's apparently a completely different person and understands both humans and water monsters and wants both sides live in peace. But the problem here is that you don't feel as though that character change is believable because the show doesn't really bring Tetsu up to where you can see the change of heart naturally happen. he just kinda has a change of heart because it's convenient to the plot. None of the other characters are worth mentioning simply because they don't develop much past the role they're given. None of these characters feel like people they just feel like caricatures of what people are supposed to be like. So I really didn't connect with these characters at all and that's pretty sad when your story takes place in the water apocalypse.

Nitpicks:

My one big nitpick here is pretty much how the show tries o presents the villains here. At first they show us that they are evil and we should hate them but as the show continues they try to change this. They try to makes us feel sympathy for these creatures. Now say for like tow of them I feel no sympathy in the slightest for these monsters, they tried to kill us! Now it would makes sense if we threaten them in some way first but no, the show flat out says that they attacked the humans first and caused the world to be flooded. Zorndyke even gave them the order to attack all of the humans, they're fucking evil! I'm not gonna feel bad for some asshole who through the first punch! Fuck that guy!

Overall:

I guess I can say that Blue Sub 6 is a mixed bag for me. The show has a lot of good but also a lot of bad. It has it's high moments but also it's low moments. The thing I can say is that you need to watch the show yourself to really see if you like personally. Do I regret watching it? No. Do I personally recommend it? Not really. I did like the show to an extent but it also had a lot of problems that hindered my enjoyment. I'd watch and see for yourself if you think it's good or not.

Arcane Reviewer gives Blue Submarine No. 6 a 5 out of 10.

You can watch "Blue Submarine No. 6" on

Hulu (Dub only)           

Arcane Reviews: Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà Vu

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. Looks we're aren't quite done with Steins;Gate just yet huh? That's right ladies, peoples, and animals Steins;Gate falls under the small category of anime that have actually gotten a movie sequel. Not a lot of anime can say that they have this with the only ones that come to mind is Anohana, Evangelion, and Madoka Magica. Yeah that's a pretty small list. Now before I start the review I'm gonna have to set up how this review will be a little different. Now since this is a movie I will review in the same style that I reviewed the other anime movies during Movie Month. Except I will include Nitpicks here seeing as how this is a continuation of the show as appose to a one-shot movie. So without further or due I give you my review for the follow up to 2011's smash hit, Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà Vu. Does it do the show any justice? Well let's find out shall we?

Story:

So the set up of this film is pretty interesting. The film takes one year after the events of the show and just about everything is fine. No one has to worry about SERN or a time machine or anything. Everyone is safe and at peace, that is until Okabe starts seeing things. He starts to see images and events that took place in all of the other world lines he was in during the events of the show. So much so that it does start to effect him in a way no one could have predicted, he is slowly disappointing from existence. Que the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya jokes here. Not only that but due to his disappearance all of his friends have now just suddenly forgotten about him, all except one, Kuirsu Makise. Being the only one who can remember him, Kurisu takes it apon her self to try and get Okabe back into existence. Now I really like this set up because it's kind of the same story that was in the anime but instead of Okabe going through hell to safe someone he loves it the opposite person, Kurisu. The movie is very much Kurisu's movie as she is the one we focus on the most. While Okabe and the others do make appearances they are not as showcased nearly as much as Kurisu is. Simply put she is the star of this movie which isn't a bad thing. The story is set up rather nicely and it did move at a very smooth pace. It took it's time to really get you invested into Kurisu's mindset and let see just exactly what she's going through mentally. The movie is very much a character study of Kurisu with the over arcing Okabe disappearance plot line left floating around in the background, but is none the less very important to the character heavy plot line of Kurisu. This is a very interesting way to follow up on the events in the anime seeing as how Okabe was very much the main focus of the show and Kurisu being a very important side character. But it's switched up to Kurisu being the main focu of the story and Okabe just being a very important side character. It's an interesting way to go but I thought it was done very well.

Music:

Holy crap was the music heavy here. Now I said in my review for the show that the music wasn't used a lot but when it was it was really damn good. The music was used to set the mood in any given scene perfectly. But in the movie it's a little bit different. While the movie does the same thing, in which it uses it's music at certain times in the movie, but I'll be damned if they didn't step it up a notch. The music is just so damn dramatic and sometimes heart breaking to listen to. It has a very melancholic theme going on which goes hand-in-hand with most of the very heavy and dramatic scenes. Not only does this give the scenes more of an impact but it also just makes the scenes feel that more important due to the gravity set around the scene thanks to the music. The tracks here were used greatly and the tracks themselves can be both saddening and sometimes in a little bit scary. Long story short the music was awesome,

Characters:

Now this is gonna be a little weird to talk about because like I said early the movie really just focuses on one person, Kurisu. All the other side characters do have screen time and play a part in the film but the parts and screen time are both small. Okabe does have the most screen time out of all the side characters and does play a very large part of the film but's mainly do the fact that the film is set up around his disappearance. Plus he is in fact absent through most of the film. The movie is squarely about Kurisu as a character as well as her relationship with Okabe. Does this mean that the film weak? Actually not at all. The film's strongest attribute is the Kurisu and all of the development she has over the course of the movie. She is fleshed out even more then she was in the show and that's mainly because the film is more focused around her as apposed to a whole cast. The film does an amazing job at making you feel every emotion and every misfortune that she faces during the course of the film. Also the relationship between Kurisu and Okabe is further developed in this film and in all honesty it's pretty freaking great. You get why Kurisu is going through so much hell in the movie from the interactions that she has with Okabe earlier in the movie. They do legitimately feel like a couple that don't really know where they stand at in the beginning the movie but when Okabe finally disappears they share the most tender and loving moment that I have ever seen in an anime. It may not be the best moment but I'll be damn if it wasn't among the best. The movie is really dependent on whether or not you enjoyed the relationship between Kurisu and Okabe, if you did then this movie is just for you. If you didn't then I think you I thin might want to look elsewhere.

Voice Acting:

Now this is gonna be pretty damn short. Mainly due to the fact that this movie is all in Japanese and shock of all shocks I can't speak Japanese. So I'll just comment on how good I thought the acting was just from the emotion I could grasp that was being put into the movie. The voice acting for the most part seemed very good. All of the voice actors did a very good job with what they were given, like I said the movie wasn't centered around the whole cast. But in saying that I will say that one person did stand out and you all know who it is. Asami Imai, the voice of Kurisu Makise. This lady was fucking amazing! She did a fantastic job conveying all of the emotions that her character was going through to the point where I was almost physically able to feel her pain, that's how good she was and I can't even understand what the hell she's saying! She was just fantastic. I also give credit to Mamoru Miyano who was the voice of Okabe. He did a good job at portraying a very tired and beat down Okabe but the real star of the show was Asami and she just killed it.

Nitpicks:

Now while I have been praising the show I have to be honest there is something that does bother me about the film. That being that the film even exists. Now don't get me wrong the film is good but if you look at it from a different point of view it doesn't have to exist. The show ended very well, no loose ends that needed to be tied and nothing that really needed to be brought up again. Hell even the ending for Okabe and Kurisu was wrapped up very nicely. Then the OVA went even further to re-wrap the fucking ending and give it to us again and it was fine. So if you look at it this way, this movie marks the THIRD ending to the series! Why? Now once again I'll say that the movie is great and I loved it. But it really didn't need to happen. I am glad that it did though.

Overall:

To end this review the movie is awesome and any fan of the show should by all means check it out. To everyone else watch the show then check the film out. You might like it.

Arcane Reviews gives Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà Vu an 8 out of 10.

You can watch "Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà Vu" on:

No site is available for legal streaming. Apologies.   

Arcane Reviews: Steins;Gate

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new, albeit late, anime review. Yeah sorry about that guys but I was a little busy this week. Also I may have been playing a little too much Metal Gear, but anyway! Today's review is gonna be a fun one indeed. Now as you may know I do like to dabble into visual novels from time to time. Now while a lot of visual novels can be really good the same can only barely be said about their anime adaptation. Like books, novels, games, and manga, visual novels usually have a pretty crappy track record when it's adapted into anime, say for a few exceptions. This is where we meet up with today's anime. Developed by 5pb Inc. and Nitroplus, Steins;Gate is a time traveling epic that was released in Japan in 2009. The novel was meet with a huge amount of positive feed back and has since gain a huge fan following. Then an animation studio known as White Fox got the licences to make an anime of the novel. The anime would drop in the spring of 2011 but the with the known reputation of visual novel adaptations the question was whether or not the anime would be good. Well that's why I'm here so let's find out shall we?

Story:
The story follows our main character, Rintaro Okabe or as he likes to be called, Hooin Kyoma! A self-proclaimed mad scientist who is in charge of his very own laboratory. The Future Gadget Laboratory! A lab that is pretty much just him and two of his friends in a shitty little apartment. Yup. So Okabe along with his friends conduct many experiments. The one they seem to be working on the most is a microwave that they set up to do something or what not. Is pretty much just turns bananas into jello so nothing really ground breaking there. That is until Okabe figures out that he may have just made the discovery of a lifetime. IN messing around with this microwave he ends up discovering that he and his friends have actually made the world's very first time machine! So the rest of the show follows Okabe and his whole crew messing around with the time machine and trying to perfect it. Now if your saying that this sounds like a slice-of-life anime then you're completely right, to an extend. Steins;Gate does have a very heavy focus on a slice-of-life feel to it except that time travel is involved as well. But do not be fooled as the show does loose this feeling to it half way through the show and then takes on a very big and epic time traveling story. Really the slice-of-life in the first half always hit me as a way to develop the cast of characters that this show has. In which case that is good because Steins;Gate does have a pretty big cast. But is the second half any good? Well actually I'd say that this half is the high point of the show. This is where the show's writing really starts to shine. This is also where everything gets really dramatic and crazy as all hell. I am a sucker for crazy over the top stories and I am please to say that Steins;Gate handled it's story very well by taking it's time and fleshing out very peace of character development as well as plot development that is important to the overall story. But what makes this story even better is that is is also a romance. Yup, a romance. As you can guess the visual novel had a couple of female characters that you can romance so the show also has the romantic aspect to it as well. My god this was a really good romance. The love interest to Okabe is one of his fellow lab members Kurisu Makise, an actual scientist who ends up joining Okabe's little band of misfits. I'll go into their characters later but I'll say that they are handled really well in the story. The romance comes off as heart warming and pretty damn cute to boot. To ends this I'll just say that the story is top notch  and I love it! Both as a romantic story and a time traveling story.

Animation:
So on the technical side of things this show does a damn fine job. Characters designs look really good and are really true to original designs from the original novel. The designs are very simple but pleasing to the eyes. But along with the unique designs comes the very strange art style of the show. The art style is very plane and a lot of the colors are very washed out. Now some may feel that this a negative but I would have to disagree and say that the art style does do a great job in two departments. One, it does make the show seem a little more realistic with the environments. Places and back drops that don't have an array colors in reality don't have any in the show as well which for me was able to immerse me into the show even more. Two, when a scene need to emphasizes a dramatic moment the animation will sometimes loose it's shit and it's glorious. These scenes show off that White Fox is very good at delivering very important scenes through a visual mean which is very good seeing as how this is an animated show. It also shows that White Fox is wise when using it's budget, unlike other studios I know. So I am very happy to say that animation here is a very good strength to the show's overall quality.

Music:
Music here is badass. Now music is on the very same boat with the animation. The music will be very simple and sometimes non-existent. It's only when the scene calls for a big dramatic peace of music does the show's soundtrack shine and oh my does it shine. The music is just perfect at setting up the atmosphere, tone, and feeling in a certain scene or even in a character's emotional status at the time. I completely just immerses you into the character's position and their thoughts as the scene is going on and it's just so fucking good! So music here is damn good and I loved it to death.

Characters:
You know with a plot this crazy you'd think that it would be easy to over look a character or two. Or hell just not really develop greatly so you can have more time getting the time traveling side of the story fleshed out. But I am very happy to say that this isn't the case at all. Every main and side character gets some screen time and gets fully developed with in the story. You really do get attached to all of these characters and they come off as real people. While some of them do have a certain character trait that we see in anime all the time they still come as human because of all the time you spend with these characters. Okabe is by far one of my favorite characters in anime. He is not only a very likable character but he goes through so much growth through out the show and it's not only great to see but at points it's also heart breaking to witness. He is by every account not the same person we see in the beginning of the show to the end of the show. He comes off as someone who has grow from what has happened to him and he's not the only one too. Kurisu is another character that gets a lot of development as the show goes along and she stands as one of my favorite female characters in anime. But what makes these characters so damn good is the interaction between on another. Kurisu and Okabe have hands down some of the best on screen chemistry in an anime. They play off each other so well that by the time it comes to to romantic aspect of the show it's completely believable that these characters have fallen in love with each other. But that's not to say that these characters are the only ones to work well of each other as the whole cast do interact with one another and do in fact work well together. All of the characters are handled with some much care that in the end it was great to see most of them have a completed character arc that ends with their personas fully fleshed out.

Nitpicks:
Now as good as this show is I will say that I do have two little complaints about it. One being that towards the end it kind of feels like most of the female cast is in love with Okabe, it's kinda silly really. Now it's understandable seeing as how you could romance multiple different characters in the visual novel. So the show does shows this a bit in the later half and it comes off as a bit silly. Also, without giving any spoilers, a character is introduced at the end of the show and is apparently the main cause of all the characters problems in the show. Now while I didn't mind the show having a pseudo villain at the end t was just a bit weird seeing how this character kinda did nothing through out the entire show. They were kinda non-existent really so it was just a little bit weird in the end but that's all that bothered me really.

Overall:
So in conclusion I will say that Steins;Gate is a really good show that you should watch. It would be a crime if you don't because this is one the the many anime that show off just how good anime can be at showing off story telling in an animated medium. It's a fantastic piece of story telling and you really should miss it.

Arcane Reviews gives Steins;Gate a 9.5 out of 10.

You can watch "Steins;Gate" on:
Funimation (Dub and Sub)