.: i'm sure the view from heaven :.

Series: Jormungand: Perfect Order ( ヨルムンガンド PERFECT ORDER)
Episodes: 12
Year: 2012
Animation Production: White Fox

Official Synopsis: A ruthless arms dealer on a quixotic quest for world peace. A child soldier born into chaotic conflict. Their lives will intertwine as they journey together through the seedy underbelly of the world's arms market. ( - MAL ) 

Catie's Thoughts: An interesting series. Definitely a lot more real-world political than most anime. The least realistic thing about the entire series is Koko herself, and she takes a turn for the super-villainy late in the series with the reveal of what Jormungand actually is. The fascinating thing is, while her ultimate goal and plan is definitely something you would expect coming from a bad guy, it is never played out as such. In fact, her plan is put into motion at the very end of the series. 

Also, the treatment of the child soldier Jonah is interesting as well. He is treated exactly as that, a child, up to the point where they put a gun in his hands and point him at the enemy. At that point he becomes an equal, but as soon as the firefight is over they're back to treating him like a little kid. The characterization is something different, that's for sure.

Would I buy it? Possibly. It is definitely a breath of fresh air when you're watching back-to-back, high-school-uniform kids use psychic magic to blow each other up or complete fantasy anime. This series, a good chunk of it could be played out on regular network television, what with their proliferation of spy and crime shows.

 Series: Hakuouki Sekkaroku (薄桜鬼 雪華録)
 Episodes: 6
 Year: 2011
 Animation Production: Studio DEEN, Sentai Filmworks

 Official Summary: The protagonist, Yukimura Chizuru, is the daughter of a doctor who works in Edo. The father leaves Edo to work as a volunteer doctor and moves to Kyoto without his daughter. As time passes by, Chizuru starts worrying about losing contact with her father, so she decides to go to Kyoto in search of him. On the way, Chizuru is attacked by few criminals and witnesses a fight between an oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody and saving her, the Shinsengumi debate on what to do with Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for. So they decide to become Chizuru's protectors and help her look for her father (the doctor). Lots of events happen while she stays with the Shinsengumi, as they discover mysterious secrets and also fight against the Bakumatsu group. The story is overall romantic with a historical and political background. ( - MAL )

 Catie's Thoughts: Okay so, Hakuouki. This particular series is an OVA aside to the main storyline, mostly focusing on a single "mission" that Chizuru ends up getting involved in that has her infilitrating Shimabara as a geiko in order to eavesdrop on some loyalists. Most of the episodes examine the encounter from different angles, with certain events taking place in the foreground/background. It's pretty much just added fluff for the fans, of which there are plenty.

I am of two minds about Hakuouki. One is full of foam and fangirl flail, and the other just kinda sighs and mourns over the fact that there is a deeply woobified, prettyboy Hijikata. I have given up and just let the flail carry through, especially since Hijikata is voiced by Shinichiro Miki (Roy Mustang in FMA: Brotherhood), and Kondou is voiced by Ohkawa Toru (Roy Mustang in FMA '03). Things that fuck with my mind, 101: both Roys in the same scene. Often.

(Shinichiro Miki turning up doesn't ping my flail-dar because he is in everyfucking thing. Well, either him or Koyasu. No, it pings my flail-dar because he's playing motherfucking Hijikata Toshizou in epic long-haired prettyboy state with flowing kimono and hakama and purple eyes and then WHOOPS THERE'S THE OTHER ROY. My fangirl heart can't take it.)

Fortunately the OAV doesn't really divert in to the rakshasa storyline, which, while somewhat novel, adds a whole additional layer of oh my god what to the original series. It isn't dramatic and tragic enough to have a harem otome game set during the bakumatsu in the Shinsengumi, we've got to add actual oni to it as well! Spoiler alert: ROMANCE GAMES SET WITH THE SHINSENGUMI IN THE BAKUMATSU END BADLY. At least it wasn't sugar-coated, somewhat accurate despite the wtf-worthy supernatural bent, and kept true to several historical dates.

Would I buy it? I seriously cannot decide. On one hand, I liked it. On the other hand, I can go off on tangent-rants for days. Ultimately probably yes because I have a horrible soft spot for the Shinsengumi despite myself.

Series: Gintama' Enchousen (銀魂' 延長戦)
Episodes: 13
Year: 2012
Animation Production: Sunrise, TV Tokyo, Aniplex

Official Summary: Sakata Gintoki, Kagura, and Shinpachi Shimura continue to scrape a living as freelance jack-of-all-trades at Edo while amidst the several odd humans and aliens that inhabit the peculiar metropolis.  ( - MAL )

Catie's Thoughts: I somehow doubt that this is the last we'll see of Gintama, not even bothering to include the movie that's coming out in July. It's just that type of show. Gintama is really hit and miss with me sometimes, certain arcs I adore, other ones I'm just kind of like "...really?" The gags are always a mile a minute, although occasionally they drag a joke out far, far too long - but that's just another type of humor that may not be for everyone.

Suffice it to say, however, that I will certainly be watching the movie, and if any more Gintama makes an appearance I'll certainly be watching that as well.

Would I buy it? ..honestly probably not, there are far more shows I'd rather rewatch. But I would probably pick up the movie(s) on DVD, if anything, because I do really like the show, I just don't need to own the regular seasons. (I feel this way about Bleach and, to an extent, Inuyasha.)

Series: Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de (蒼い世界の中心で)
Episodes: 3
Year: 2012
Animation Production: 5th Avenue

Official Summary: In the battle for supremacy in Consume (Console) continent between parodical Segua (Sega) Kingdom and Ninteldo (Nintendo) Empire, the light-footed Gear (Sonic) appeared to defend his kingdom from the threat of Ninteldo's powerful emperor, Marcus (Mario). ( -ANN )

Catie's Thoughts: What a bizarre little OVA. It is so stupidly stereotypical shounen fantasy there isn't a single novel thing about it - unless you take the fact that every character is either an anthropomorphized video game or a gijinka of a character in a video game. Which that really does not excuse how laughably bad this anime is, but it is fairly unique. 

I guess some fun could be had trying to figure out who is what game when you are not outright told, but as I don't know all that much about classic video games, it just led to confusion on my part. 

Would I buy it? Absolutely not. I was bored with it, I watched the series hoping for some novelty but by the end of it I was just glad it was over. I suppose it holds some worth to people who are either fans of the manga, or fans of classic video games who like the parody aspect, but I am so over it.

 Series: Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman (幕末義人伝 浪漫)
Episodes: 12
Year: 2013
Animation Studio: TMS Entertainment

Official Summary: The stage is the close of the Edo period, an age when, not unlike our own time, both natural and man-made disasters left chaos in their wake. Manjiro makes a living helping the people of the troubled capital city, but behind the scenes, he also works in secret to take back precious belongings stolen from the people by unjust political powers and conspiratorial menaces. The people call him "Get-backer Roman."

Catie's Thoughts: Oh, Monkey Punch. This series feels very much like a one-off Lupin AU with weirdly anachronistic tech and the villain being Matthew Perry. No, not that one. (Commodore Matthew Perry, who kept singing "My Old Kentucky Home" in horribly mangled, fully racist English.) This show was bizarre - not necessarily in a GOOD way - and it felt very much like an '90's anime with updated production values. I'm not even sure what happened in the last two episodes, and I WATCHED them. I think Perry turned in to some sort of Terminator mech thing. I dunno. I don't know what I was expecting. Also the busty geisha Fujiko-expy wears a Catwoman outfit. With the ears even. And no other explanation as to why. I think that sums up the show completely.

Would I buy it? Hell no. No interest in watching it again either, it was just a vague, wtf-worthy footnote in my history of anime-watching.

 Title: Fairy Tail: Houou no Miko (FAIRY TAIL 鳳凰の巫女)
Year: 2012
Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures

Official Summary: The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Éclair who appears before Fairy Tail, the world's most notorious wizard's guild. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Phoenix Stones somewhere. The stones may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue. ( -MAL ) 

Catie's Thoughts: I love it. I love Fairy Tail. Coherency, what's that? Okay, so this movie is fairly predictable because it is a summer movie based on a very popular, long-running shounen series, but that doesn't mean it bothers to pull its punches. Lucy is probably one of my favorite heroines right now, and the friendship she tries to build with Eclair is adorable and heartbreaking, because this story had one inevitable conclusion.

Would I Buy It? Yes yes yes yes yes yes.

Series: Accel World EX (アクセル・ワールド EX)
Episodes: 2

Official Summary: OVA bundled with the Accel World simulation and action games. The Blu-ray OVA discs came with the PS3 limited edition versions and the DVD with the PSP limited edition versions.

The project was split into two PSP and PS3 titles, and one episode was released with each game:
#EX01: Reverberation;Zankyou (bundled with Stage:01 Ginyoku no Kakusei)
#EX02: Vacation;Onsen (bundled with Stage:02 Kasoku no Chouten) (- MAL)

Catie's Thoughts: Just a simple little pair of OVAs that tie in to the greater universe of Accel World. They're nice in that they take place outside the main storyline so you get a bit of slice-of-life with the characters who may or may not have been in conflict in the main story. One of the two episodes, as indicated above, is that classic "Onsen" trope episode, which I've gone through the many stages of "bored now" all the way back around to "hahaha, onsen!" Whatever floats your boat.

Would I buy it? Likely these episodes would come paired with the main series if it gets an R1 release. I enjoyed Accel World as a next-gen .hack, I would probably buy the series if I found it on sale, or at the right price. Rewatch value for me is low, though.

 Series: Elfen Lied (エルフェンリート)
Episodes: 13 + OVA
Year: 2004
Animation Studio: ARMS

So, Elfen Lied. The edgy series that everyone was talking about when it first came out. I never got around to watching it when it was originally released, for various reasons - so I finally sat down to give it a try. There is a lot of hype for this show, a lot. 

Altogether it is a good show. Thematically it's interesting, and by halfway through I did want to see its resolution and see where it went. There are a lot of unanswered questions though, but they are not necessarily relevant to the story presented. There are a lot of common anime tropes lurking beneath the surface, all waiting to be subverted, but I found them slightly off-putting. The problem is anime as an art and as a storytelling medium has evolved quickly, and what was edgy and groundbreaking just shy of ten years ago would barely blip on the radar today.

Nudity and gratuitous violence is the poison of the day - and while some of it served the story, a lot of it just felt pointless. 

It is a fascinating anime, but truthfully I was bored to tears by the first three episodes; things did not really start to grab my attention until the fifth episode. I wouldn't steer people away from it as long as they knew what they were getting into, but it's not flying to the top of my recommendations list, either.

 Title:
 Title: BTOOOM! (ブトゥーム)
 Episodes: 12
 Year: 2012
 Studio: Madhouse

I think BTOOOM! summed up in in five words or less is "Hunger Games meets Kaiji." The premise is fairly simple - people who are sold out by their friends or family are sent to the island to take place in a grisly match to the death which is televised to certain viewers. The game is BTOOOM! - a highly popular FPS/MMO that uses "BIMs" - bombs of many different types - to kill.

It's an interesting show. I figured it would be a fairly substandard ride, but the first episode piqued my interest enough to keep at it. The main character is a NEET, who also happens to be one of the top ten BTOOOM players in the world. There are a wide variety of people on the island that they must fight against, as well as many other hidden dangers, including vicious komodo dragons that emerge at night.

By the time I got to the end of the show I was sad, I wanted there to be more of it. There are some fairly gross fanservice bits - the Himiko's boobs seem to be separately animated despite her bra, for instance - but I also found her character and backstory to be a lot more intriguing than at first glance. 

I enjoyed the series, I kinda hope it gets a second season because near the end more characters were introduced without much resolution. It almost seemed as if they were expecting a slate of 26 episodes and round about episode 10 the animators were told to wrap it up in two episodes. That's a fairly common issue these days, that there's a lot of slow buildup and the story rather abruptly draws to a close - but truthfully I'd rather a rush to the finish than to have a series dragged on and on and on with the threat of filler. (If I never have to live through Bleach again it will be too soon.)