Sunday, 12 April 2015

Anime Review Of Girls Und Panzer

Anime Review Of Girls Und Panzer

By : Kazane



Its a typical 1 cour anime that should have already secured a score of at most 5/10 by sticking to the basics (cute girls doing cute things plus slice of life - K-ON! anybody?) which in my opinion is playing it safe since there is an established market/sector devoted to this in the anime world. What really grabbed my interest was the idea to implement tanks into this show.
...And it worked out well.
Really well.

How anime is bringing in tourism : http://otakumode.com/sp/visit_japan/seichi-junrei/s002

The story starts with the MC (Main Character), Nishizumi Miho (Voiced by Fuchigami Mai), a new transfer student into Ooarai with no friends and is trying to make friends and fit into the new environment. Eventually what brought her and her band of friends together was surprisingly, tanks. In this fictional world, tankery or senshado is a club which students can join to enjoy tank battles with one another.

As typical as it can get, it turns out she transferred schools in the first place to run from (minor spoiler) her past trauma and from senshado but her destiny guided her to take up senshado once again. She must compete in a school competition style tank battle where she will encounter the final and most difficult hurdle to (minor spoiler) overcome her past trauma and obtain victory!

The tanks in this game are all based on real life counterparts which no one who have played World of Tanks will be unfamiliar with. All the game shooting and armour mechanics are all in this show as well although advanced tactics such as angling, sidescraping, hull down and reverse sidescraping aren't used. This anime will show you how tier V and below tanks will defeat tier VIII & IX TD and tier X heavy.

Chibi Art
Panzer 4 c
Ooarai Team Anglerfish Tier IV Medium Panzer IV Ausf. D
Panzer 38t
Ooarai Team Turtle Tier III Light Panzer38(t)
Stug3
Ooarai Team Hippo Tier V TD Stug III Ausf. G
Type89
Ooarai Team Duck Tier ? Medium Type 89B
Image01
Ooarai Team Rabbit Tier IV Medium M3 Lee
B1bis
Ooarai Team Mallard Tier IV Heavy Char B1 bis
Chi nu
Ooarai Team Anteater Tier V Medium Type 3 Chi-Nu
Tiger p
Ooarai Team Leopon Tier VII Heavy Tiger (P)

FINAL OPPONENTS KUROMORIMINE HIGHSCHOOL
Jagdpanzer
Kuromorimine Tier VI TD Jagdpanzer IV
Tiger 1
Kuromorimine Tier VII Heavy Tiger I
Jagdpanther
Kuromorimine Tier VII TD Jagdpanther
Elefant
Kuromorimine Tier VIII TD Elefant
Jagdtiger
Kuromorimine Tier IX TD Jagdtiger
Maus
Kuromorimine Tier X Heavy Maus


Basically, they are always outnumbered and face insurmountable odds yet they still win.
BTW

My Favourite Tank : Tier X Heavy IS 7


All in all go watch this show and try World Of Tanks if you haven't or if you are still on the fence.


MY FINAL SCORE : 8/10 (would be 9 if the anime was longer and if they incorporate the advance tactics as stated above)

Now excuse me,

PANZER VOR!

Please input your criticism below, you know you want to          >_<



Saturday, 11 April 2015

Quick First Impressions - Spring 2015 Anime

Yes, Spring is here again, and with Spring comes a line-up of new anime. So what are the hits this season? Read on.


Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru. Zoku
à First Season was pretty awesome, and the second season gives us more of the same. Same formula:
Hachiman’s shrewd and twisted look at the world + Yukinoshita’s kuudere + Yui’s genki = win
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING





Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViViD
à If you’ve watched the original Nanoha, A’s and StrikerS, you cannot afford to miss this. Besides being a heavy dose of nostalgia, it is back to the original mahou shoujo style, although they grow up when they transform (not really a spoiler). It’s sure is a treat getting another Nanoha series after EIGHT years!
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING



Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka
à Pretty standard harem fare, with a little ‘gamey’ twist. Nothing particularly worth noting. It’s decently interesting, I guess… so I’ll stick to it a while more.
Verdict: On The Fence (henceforth OTF)


Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu
à Only for true Haruhi (or spefically Nagato Yuki) fans. This is basically Haruhi minus all the supernatural themes and Haruhi wackiness (which were the only reasons Haruhi was worth watching). Although I liked Haruhi (except the Endless Eight… ugh) and the movie (the original Haruhi no Shoushitsu, not the Yuki one), I don’t especially fancy Yuki as a character (without her alien counterpart), so no thanks. If you liked Yuki though, look no further.
Verdict: DROPPED

Shokugeki no Souma
à A shounen battle manga. Just that, instead of battles, it’s about food – it’s a cooking battle anime! And food porn. Lots of it. I loved the premiere although it could be a little less liberal on the fanservice. This one is definitely on my list and quite likely to hit the Top 5.
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING


Kyoukai no Rinne
à I’ve got mixed feelings about the premiere. While it was decently interesting, the format seemed pretty uninspired. It relies heavily on the uke-tsukkomi combo, but doesn’t end up particularly funny. Still, Takahashi “Princess of Manga” Rumiko is one of the most famous mangaka around, having created Ranma ½ and Inuyasha among many others and if she’s anything that her crecedentials state, this one is worth a second look.
Verdict: OTF

Denpa Kyoushi
à The premise was pretty interesting, but the execution leaves much to be desired. For that reason, I felt that the premiere fell pretty flat. The comedy was not funny at all, and the major conflict in the episode felt hollow and contrived. The conflict resolution could have been handled better too. The central premise is still intriguing, but my list this season is too huge already.
Verdict: DROPPED

Owari no Seraph
à If you thought Akame ga Kill was rough, having main characters getting killed off throughout the series, how about EVERY CHARACTER except the main character dying in the FREAKIN’ FIRST EPISODE. They made every character likable with a small character arc and then killed them off brutally. It’s still immensely enjoyable though.
Verdict: WATCHING



Gunslinger Stratos
à I didn’t really get what was happening throughout the episode. Basically some blue-haired guy and some pink haired chick are in a world where they teach combat in schools, and they they somehow get teleported into a world where people start blasting each other with guns. Yeah, pretty wacky to be sure. Decent animation, but it needs more than that to keep me watching.
Verdict: DROPPED

Plastic Memories
à A pretty interesting slice-of-life where the MC collects androids at the end of their service life. Heartwarming, cute and aesthetically pleasing. As usual not everyone can appreciate SOL, although I think there will be a lot more drama and introspection before we’re done.
Verdict: WATCHING

Fate/Stay Night UBW
à Best anime of the season. Guaranteed. ‘Nuff said.
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING











Kekkai Sensen
à I saw lots of flashing lights and destruction, but I didn’t really understand anything. The first episode was a complete mess, but I believe the studio meant for us to feel this way. I’m not particularly thrilled about this first episode, and it was confusing as hell, and I’m not sure whether I can take any more nonsense. Attention span is tight this season but I’ll give it another episode or two before deciding.
Verdict: OTF


Arslan Senki
à The introductory episode was a solid one, building up the main character for the rest of the series. The first episode wasn’t very exciting but it’s safe to say that it will soon pick up steam. I like the way they are building up the story and the first episode established the MC pretty well, so I’m excited to see where this goes from here. It’s not terribly original but so far I like what I’m seeing.
Verdict: WATCHING



Baby Steps 2
à One of my favourite sports anime return, and as usual it’s all about the journey and not the destination. It’s the most faithful manga adaptations I’ve seen for a while and if it continues the momentum into the second season, it will definitely do well.
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING




Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku
à Ridiculous from start to finish. The story (or lack of) is pathetic and the main character is extremely annoying. Worse still, they don’t even colour background characters. For the sake of your sanity, DON’T WATCH THIS.
Verdict: DROPPED

Hibike! Euphonium
à The reincarnation of K-ON? On the surface, the fact that it’s about another four girls playing music alongside the standard SOL sequences should sound the alert. But the first episode makes it clear that it’s a whole different species than K-ON. Firstly, the music is orchestral. Secondly, there is none of that SOL antics that permeated through the whole two seasons of K-ON. Thirdly, the characters (or at least the main lead) shows a lot more depth than the frankly one-dimensional characters of K-ON. There are similarities (well this IS slice of life), but this looks like a solid show. I’ll be catching up on this, to be sure.
Verdict: WATCHING


Ore Monogatari!!
à This is a pretty sweet rom-com revolving around a misunderstood ‘gentle giant’ whose crushes flock to his bishounen best friend. But upon saving a girl from a groper on a train, his chances start improving. This was a pretty enjoyable premiere, touching, sweet without being saccharine and subtly touching upon delicate themes. To be fair, it isn’t exactly novel, but what elevates the show from the rest is perhaps how relatable the cast seems to be. Romance series aren’t one of my favourites, but this one looks to be pretty good.
Verdict: WATCHING


Spring 2015 looks to be a pretty strong season indeed. With a bunch of sequels and a whole lot of new series, Spring gives us a breath of fresh air to dispel the stench of mediocrity that plagued the Winter season. With most of the Winter season ending after one cour, we start the Spring season on a relatively clean slate and I'm excited to see what else is in store!

Friday, 10 April 2015

Origins of the Closet Otakus

Otakus in Singapore? What? They are non-existent! 

Despite Singapore's infinitesimal land size, it might surprise you that Singapore has one of the highest number of otakus as a percentage of total population in the world, or at least in Asia.

Yup. I know. They're virtually non-existent in real life.

Well, apart from those overt anime fanatics that attend every anime convention and purchase copious amounts of merchandise, Singapore has a second breed of otakus - the closet otaku.

Closet otakus may not be especially vocal or explicit in their obsession on anime and everything Japanese, but make no mistake, they are as passionate about their hobby as those so-called 'real otakus'.

Closet otakus, rejoice! You are not alone in Singapore.

Welcome to Confessions of a Closet Otaku in Singapore!

Welcome to Confessions of a Closet Otaku in Singapore!

This blog is dedicated to anime, manga and virtually anything Japanese. It was also catalogue some of the few high-key anime events that will happen in Singapore.

Anime Lovers Rejoice!
Manga Lovers Rejoice!
Japanophiles Rejoice!

Most of all, all you Closet Otakus, Rejoice!