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Friday, December 19, 2014

Anime Hype: Reviews High School DxD New, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods, Patema Inverted, I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided

We've been a bit back-logged with anime, but have a bunch of reviews hitting you for your time off for the holidays or to catch up on in-between having to see your family. Damn your family, you just want to watch anime and they keep getting in the way.

-Fan Service

We didn't review Freezing Season 2.


High School DxD New, which already has a third season coming out in Japan, serves up to be another harem anime to drool over. The plot of perpetually perverted Issei continues with demon girls hanging off him at high school. He wields a Sacred Gear that holds a dragon, but he might not be the only one wielding such a powerful magical tool. The show has two things going for it: boobs and a re-visioned script. The actual story written by the Japanese has no place in such a perverted anime. 

G-d is dead. This is troubling news to characters who don't have much more than giant boobs to their personalities. Mixed in with that is a bizarre three-way war with Angels, Demons and Fallen Angels. There's a whole arc about the pretty boy Kiba being part of a secret project by the church to have wielders of Excalibur. You won't really care. This plot point allows for two more girls to be added to the show, Xenovia and Irina. Hot nuns of justice.

Back to boobs. The series knows what your looking for, boobs. Scenes enter the show for no reason other than, "We need boobs now!" You're into the show to see the racks of Rias Gremory, Asia Argento and Akeno Himejima. With the added new "nun" girls you have a nice harem of ladies to looks at. That with the great dialogue of Issei's school "friends" who sound like white kids trying to sound like rappers or who have been hit in the head; like Tracy Morgan now, make the show worth watching. Some of the writing and double entrees are so dirty they could fit into their own show and I wish they would.

A new creepy edition is a new member of the team. A little boy that looks so androgynous it's creepy to think what the original writer was intending to get out of his audience. Gasper Vladi, the mousy little vampire boy can control time and also likes to cross-dress. That's not going to win over any male fans just in it for the boobs.

For hokey and repetitive ideas Issei has a new rival of a White Dragon who seems to be stronger than him. Will he be able to fight him, for most of the story it's not even a concern of Issei's.

With a story so far-fetched only the Japanese could create it, the reason this show has been dubbed is for you to enjoy ladies taking of their clothes with dialogue written better than your average porno. When Issei or anyone else tries waxing philosophical it's time to fast forward. Fan service with another story that makes no sense.

-Dubbed and Subbed 

I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided
Fan Service Retail Fantasy

A hero's trouble mounts when the Evil Demon King is defeated. You think the heroes of the world would rejoice, but how will they pay their taxes? With no true evil to fight anymore our hero, Raul Chaser, has to get a retail job. He is then forced to be the superior to Demon King's daughter, Fino Bloodstone. Capt. Picard drives around in a carriage that looks like the Enterprise and feels up girls butts. Wait... what's happening? 

Mocking Japanese retail culture and mixing it with fantasy you have another harem anime with a zany idea about how to make a show. Raul works at a small retail store in town and one day is forced to be the superior of then new hire Fino Bloodstone. Along the story will learn what it means to work in retail in a store that has technology all based on magic. The general hi-jinks ensue of learning and understanding a new job with fan service entering every few seconds with camera shots of butts and boobs and awkward positions.

The story pick up with a few problems for Raul and Fino. A new mega retail store with better prices opens in town and other heroes who are out of work want Fino to take the position of Demon King... even though it would be more accurate she would be the Demon Queen. 

Why change the formula of a girl unaccustomed to the regular world so bath time hi-jink and other cliche moments can't be arrived at. You have your slime tentacles ans slime monsters and a cast of background characters who also get literally wrapped up in kinky situations.

For a harem anime the show goes out of it's way to really go into how retail works in Japan with apologies and thank you this and that every second. 

Moments made me laugh, like a fight between a demon and witch with a rice cooker or hoe naive Fino could be. It doesn't have the lasting power of other harem animes. It does have a strange background character of someone who looks like Capt. Picard who fondles ladies.

I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly is for those who want a slightly less dirty harem anime. There's still boobs and nudity, but a lot of Japanese retail learning. For what reason, I don't know, but they had to fill in episodes with something other than story.

-Subbed

Film 

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods (Extended Edition)

DBZ is back after a decade of any new films. Battle of the Gods keeps up the the signature humor of the series with action that brings the idea the CGI still isn't needed. We get a new type of blasphemous mode, God Mode, it's not just for video games anymore. Goku spouts a new color hairstyle and we all enjoy how much everyone hates him for being so inconsiderate,  Goku why you always gotta be fighting?

A god awakens, Beerus, god of destruction has been sleeping for years. He awakens to find someone worthy of battling him. Did I mention he looks like an Egyptian purple cat? He hears legend of the Super Saiyan God and the only Saiyans left are on Earth. Que are favorite DBZ fighters partying. They're enjoying Bulma's lavish birthday. She is the richest woman on the planet. Goku is off being Goku, training on King Kai's planet with a furious King Kai. Could you visit your friends on there birthdays Goku? Beerus shows up on King Kai's world looking for the legendary god and easily takes Goku out then heads to Earth. He vowss to destroy the planet if he doesn't find what he's looking for, a worthy fight.

Back on Earth the party is underway. Lord Pilaf, the very first major bad guy from Dragon Ball, comes back with his crew, as little kids though. DBZ humor never fails to make awkward situations hilarious. As Pilaf and his crew are given no thought, Lord Beerus is also not thought of as anybody special. They already have the mass murdering Majin-Buu, what's one more. We see all are DBZ fighters outclassed and having what looks like a really fun party. Before the big fight and Goku learning how to get an even higher power. This may lead to even bigger battles, with beings from other dimensions, fan boy squeal.

Battle of the Gods brings back everything you love about DBZ. Arguments over not enough fights in the film could be right. I did want some more action and the other fighters are useless at this point trying to even harm any of the new enemies. Majin Buu gets beat up like nothing.

Still the comments from Oolong and the DBZ crew are worth it for fans missing their one-liners about dying are how thick-headed Goku is.

Some of the new art style was saddening. Goku's got energy flames that look awful and the city scape rendered in CGI lacked the beautiful backgrounds from the series full of energy.

When fights do happen they are powerful pieces of action. Maybe some more dramatic backgrounds could have been decided on or some more entertaining martial arts moves. For the most part Goku kicked butt when he needed to.

The film is worth if for any fan of the series waiting forever for something new to coming out. It's just nice to hear Bulma complaining and all the screaming. "That's my women!," oh, Vegeta your the Prince of theater.

This release has the uncut version adding twenty more minutes from what you've seen in theaters, mostly comedy.

 -Dubbed and Subbed

Patema Inverted had a small release in theaters here in the US. A quaint film that could have been a short rather than a drawn out feature length film. Patema takes on the role of most anime heroine, being afraid of a world she doesn't know and then accepting that world. In her case her world is underground, but if she ever goes topside she'll float off the world and fall into the sky. This sounds like an 80's Disney cartoon it seems so horrible. If Patema, an inquisitive explorer, or any of her people go too far out of their underground they'll be swallowed up by the sky. A crisis caused by man led to this horrible outcome. However, topside people can walk around on the ground without fearing of entering the stratosphere.

Age, is one of those residents of the top side and is the first to meet Patema. His side of the world isn't really in the clouds. His society is an extreme bureaucracy, a demerit system exists and even looking away from a school lesson lessens you.

He and Patema soon start a childhood romance, holding on to her lets them both enjoy flight, which they'll need to escape from the evil clutches of his totalitarian government that captures Patema and plans to wipe out her people, seeing them as the descendants of those who caused the great cataclysm.

Patema and Age build a short relationship together with cute romantic moments and a very drawn out back story. They have a connection they don't realize and will eventually learn.

Some of the story is shockingly horrifying for a younger audience, like  Toy Story 3 everyone will be melted horrifying.

Animating people stuck upside down leads to some fun visuals and fights to look at on screen.

Patema could have worked with a shorter story and a less generic main villain with some better dialogue and more scenes with Patema and Age falling in or up love.

 -Dubbed and Subbed

Reviewer was given copies by publishers for review purposes.