Fortune Arterial Akai Yakusoku

Kohei Hasekura has transferred schools so many times due to his father's work that he has stopped trying to keep track of them all, so when he finally gets a choice of his own he opts for Shuchikan Academy, a boarding school out on a peripheral Japanese island that he had once briefly stayed at several years ago. There he meets a pair of girls he knew as a youth and quickly gets associated with several classmates, including the eccentric Student Council. Something odd happens when he comes into contact with vice-president Erika Sendo, however, which rattles her to the core and leaves Kohei perplexed. Much more disturbing for Kohei, though, is the discovery that a vampire may be on the prowl at school, and it's someone he's already met.

Yeah, this is yet another adult visual novel adaptation. It spends its first episode introducing the premise and all of the key players, with revelations in the prologue and at the end that vampires may be involved, and that's about all it does. Except for the vampire angle, everything which transpires here is rigidly formulaic, including a cast of girls (read: potential love interests) who could have been taken from almost any random visual novel or ero game. The same applies to the building and character designs, too, which look good but also absolutely typical for this type of series. The way vampirism is going to fit into the picture could be a bit intriguing and may serve as an initial hook, as these are vampires who apparently have no difficulty walking around in daylight, but this offering from developer August and producers ZEXCS and Feel has yet to show anything that will entice those who are not already fans of this style of series to keep watching.

Another day, another adult game, transformed into an anime. Eroge adaptations are now ubiquitous enough that they have to be treated like shonen action series: namely you have to start ignoring the broad outlines, since they're generally the same, and start enjoying the variation in details. Taken that way, Fortune Arterial isn't half bad. If you're into this sort of thing. The broad outline: Kouhei Hasekura has been moving all his life. He's never had a lasting friendship, much less a meaningful romance. Which is why he's happy to be moving to a new school, this one with a dorm. A dorm means no more moving. A dorm also means living with a slew of girls. There's student council vice-president Erika Sendou, who might be a vampire; possible nun-in-training Shiro Togi; twin childhood friends Haruna and Kanade Yuuki; and probably several more.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

In some strange alternate universe Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate is still alive and well. Served by their loyal samurai minions, they have fended off every evil aggressor that's tried to soil their country, including those pesky Americans. Their samurai class is so powerful and strong, the country has apparently never felt the need to develop modern firearms and artillery, even though they have Internet and digital cameras. Luckily, they are forever served by the perpetual reincarnations of dead warriors, like Yagyu Jubei, who shows up at the end of the episode in the form of a cute girl.

Our protagonist is Yagyu Muneakira, a samurai in a long, noble line of warriors who have served the shogunate for centuries. He's transferred to a new private school, but when he heads to the dojo, he's confronted with two naked girls. They're naked because that's what fanservice dictates, and because it has to launch a whole series of jokes about one girl's lack of breasts. From then on, all the stereotypes just pile up like bricks. There's a feisty girl who's self-conscious about her flat chest, her busty attendant who prefers the breezy feel of a fundoshi to pants, and some angry little glasses-wearing maid who has a serious lesbian crush on her boss.

And of course, there is copious amounts of fanservice. Except in Samurai Girls, they try so hard it's almost awkward. There's no reason for half the fanservice to exist, other than to milk in as much bare flesh as possible, lest the ravenous masses disapprove. But unlike your typical hot springs scenes or your accidental shower scenes, the nudity in this series doesn't happen organically. It's like someone went into the script and forced in naughty bits, like the part where the maid gives implied cunnilingus to the princess. Did it have to be there? No. Is it even titillating? Hardly. It's just awkward.

The visuals in Samurai Girls are gorgeous enough that it doesn't need fanservice to be appealing. The backgrounds are beautiful, occasionally resembling Chinese brush paintings or pencil sketches. The characters are outlined with heavy brushstrokes, creating a contrast that really makes them pop out of the flat surface. With that kind of artwork, it almost seems a waste to have a breast dripping into the corner of the screen, because it takes viewers out of the scene. Though to their credit, every time they want to hide a nipple or a crotch, they censor it with an ink splat. It's a cute touch for something that's otherwise unnecessary.

Whether or not this series will end up being worth the time and energy may require a few more episodes to figure out. The premise of powerful warrior incarnates is a fun one, albeit not entirely original, and if they can chop up planes like in the opening sequences, it could provide some delightful action scenes. Now it's just a question of whether the show can move past these ridiculously trite stereotypes and focus more on the story.

episode 2 review :

In this alternate version of 21st century Japan, “master samurai” can only achieve their full super-powered potential by making a pact with the General, which means that they are, by default, under the direct control of the Tokugawa government. The newly-arrived Jubei demonstrate just such an overwhelming level of power, however, and only Muneakira's entreaties seem capable of staying her hand. Once the battle is over, however, the menacing Jubei becomes a sexy, amnesiac simpleton, however, and Princess Sen, who was childhood friends with Muneakira, is left to sort out the ensuing mess. While Yukimura and Hattori squabble, Muneakira wonders about the mysteries and potentially dark truths which might lay at the bottom of Jubei's identity.

As weighty as this synopsis may sound, the second episode is no less the sexy, samurai-themed harem romp that the first episode was. It starts with a pulse-pounding action sequence before retreating into more typical squabbling, interpersonal interactions, and lurid antics. None of this will disappoint anyone who's normally a fan of such fare; in fact, what it's trying to do it does very well. The traditional Japanese musical themes and a hyper-stylish art style which gives the impression that the whole series was animated on old scrolls lets this one challenge even Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt for the most distinctive-looking and sounding series of the season, and it doesn't shirk on the appealing character designs and fan service, either. The ink blots are still around for some self-censoring, though they also get used to transition between scenes. The nice animation is still around, too, and the writing even milks the material for a few laughs.The samurai style with two sword, she's very cute..:)

Basically, episode 2 merely confirms what episode 1 revealed: that this is the sharpest action and fan service-oriented title of the new season.

Watch Streaming episode at animedreaming.com

The World God Only Kows

There's something decidedly charming and refreshing about The World God Only Knows. It takes all the shonen romance genre tropes, complete with the headstrong girl who punches the male protagonist every time she's remotely embarrassed, but uses them in a quirky way. It even goes as far as to make fun of itself, pointing out genre clichés and showing audiences just how outlandish they can be.

It's just too cute! Too cute to be allowed! The World God Only Knows is the winner of this season's Better Than It Has Any Right To Be award, with its honest charm and good-natured ribbing of the odd social mores that have taken over Japan's visual arts and entertainment industry. The hero of this series, you see, is not an ordinary schoolboy who gets all the girls. It's a pathetically geeky schoolboy who gets all the girls ... in his dating-sim video games. (Philosophical question: if we're watching a 2-D show about a guy who plays games about 2-D girls, does that make the game characters technically 1-D?) This pathetic geek, Keima, fancies himself to be a Casanova-like God of Conquests—until a naïve demon named Elsie mistakes his reputation for the real thing. Due to this misunderstanding, Keima is tasked with conquering real girls in reallife in order to neutralize bad spirits ... or die trying.

Normally, this would result in some horrible cross-breed of clichés—except that the first episode plays it intentionally silly and lighthearted, knowing that taking it dead seriously would just look stupid. Keima, despite being an obvious jerk, somehow becomes endearing as he tries to apply romance-game logic to real life, and the payoff comes in the last few minutes when his ridiculous strategy actually works—with soaring romantic music and a perfectly paced climactic moment to boot. The gradual mood shift from geeky in-jokes and comical blunders to a heartwarming finish may not be a masterpiece-level feat of genius, but it creates surprising artistry out of mundane material. The changes in hue over the course of the episode—from bright afternoon to sunset to nighttime—also reflect this mood shift, the kind of subtle trick that most will miss but perceptive eyes will appreciate. Fluid gesture animation and a distinctive sense of character design also add to the visual appeal.

At first, I was concerned that Keima's mission might mean that he's inadvertently leading these girls on, only to leave them hanging in subsequent episodes, but if the first episode's any indication, he's just giving these girls the shoulder they need to lean on. The World God Only Knows may sound silly, but I'm willing to give this a few more episodes. It's cute and funny, and despite some of the overused gags, it's a new take on an old genre.

Watch streaming video at animedreaming.com or animeultima.tv