Saturday, March 31, 2012

HeartCatch Precure

After seeing the Suite Precure series, I naturally became curious in the franchise that was the Precure. In case you didn't know, the Precure series spans out to seven different series, each standing independently  of each other. After I saw Suite Precure, I decided to check out the series that came before it, Heartcatch PreCure. How did it compare to Suite Precure?

The story is basic: Hanasaki Tsubomi and her family have just moved the little town of Kibougahana, where Tsubomi's grandma resides. Soon after moving there, she starts to have dreams about Cure Moonlight being destroyed in order to protect the Heart Tree.  On a walk one day, tumbling out of the sky come Shypre and Coffret, two little fairies who protect the Heart Tree, the source of people's happiness in the world, and their description matches Tsubomi's dream. They then make her into a Precure in order to fight the Desertrian, a monster made from people's wilting Heart Flowers, due to negative feelings. Along with her best friend, Kuromi Erika, Cure Blossom and Cure Marine take charge and fight for the sake of people's heart flowers.

The plot for this anime is pretty decent for a fourty-nine episode mahou shoujo series. True, in every episode there was not character development, but it still was an enjoyable watch. Also, the story needed to move a bit better, and maybe need a bit more explaination, however, it also explained some stuff rather well.

The art for the anime was actually what drove me away from it when it first aired, I will admit. It looked sloppy, a bit odd, and washed out, but once I started watching, the art steadily grew on me. Each character was distinguishable, and well drawn and it wasn't washed out at all, just very, very bright. The expressions were also well ddrawn, and when they went into shock, it also showed the thick lines, and added well to the effect. The magical girl transformations were also well drawn, and colorful, and didn't take too long like they do in other magical girl anime, but they still could have cut down on the time it took.

As for the characters, the are either the strong point in the anime, or the weak point, depending on you point of view. They are the strong point due to the fact the main characters are well distinguished, and drive the plot well. However, the side characters are bland, and they maybe come up for one episode. The main cast is not with out its weak points: they are just too damn happy. The main cast fights against negative emotions with happiness, sure, but I do feel like they are just blindly fighting sometimes. For a while, their motives were questioned, but we never get a definite answer besides the whole"We are Precure. We are trying to do the world good. We will stop all negative emotions and depression because we are good!" speech.

Overall, I enjoyed this anime a lot, even to the point of marathoning it. As a mahou shoujou, it was refreshing and cute, and even a bit strange, however, it was a good watch.The art was stunning, and the opening and closing songs were catchy and cutesy and matched the tones of the anime very well. I would recommend this anime to anyone who loves mahou shoujou and/or just cutesy anime in general.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

High School DxD

As the winter season draws to a close, to bring in the new anime for the spring, I must say that this season was full of interesting anime, from teenage girls fighting each other in an alternate world, to the daily live's of high school boys. However, as interesting as those may sound, they were not the anime that caught my eye. The anime that caught my eye was the anime about a perverted boy and some devils, the ecchi anime known as High School DxD. 


 Ecchi anime have a reputation for having no story, but in the case of High School DxD, it actually had a story about a high school boy named Hyoudou Issei who meets a beautiful girl named Rias Gremory, who is a demon. He then becomes a demon and fights against fallen angels and exorcist along with Rias' other demon slaves.

The story premise is actually rather good in my opinion, with the demons being the good guys, although that is hardly new. However, it was still amusing because of the main character being human before being a demon. Also, it was amusing because the demons work similar to chess, with Rias being the "King" and each of her slaves being a chess piece, and each chess piece has certain powers, for example the rook is super strong, and the knight defies odds.

The art for this series was superb. Each of the characters were well drawn, and their assets were well noted. One thing I will give the company who aired it is the fact they didn't sensor it. It was boobs galore, with loads of fan service through out the fights. I will give them credit that they did not have boobs randomly pop out and  just did not over do the boobs, and they made the circumstances of which the boobs were shown believable. Along with that, everything was fluid, and well drawn, and actually very eye-catching.

The characters to me felt like they had so much potential because of the different types of characters, however, I do feel like this where the anime suffered the most. A lot of time was spent on boobs, and while it did provide for some laughs, I felt like the characters had so much potential, especially Asia and Rias. The other characters for this anime were flat, two-dementional, and barely memorable, which disappointed me great because I felt like they could have been developed a lot more, but instead they focused on Rias and her boobs, and Issei's fascination with the boobs of all women.

Despite all of its pitfalls, and some of the blandness, it still proved an interesting watch overall. I liked the premise, and although the execution failed on a few levels, it still proved interesting and managed to get its point across. I actually hope for a season two, with more of Issei's adventures, and maybe give the characters a bit more depth.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Hunger Games

There have been many movies based off books, such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and even the dreaded Twilight started off as books once. At the turn of every year, it seems that they claim one of these books would be the next big movie, the next big thing that get people talking, the thing that could sell millions. This year, the world has Hunger Games fever, with the release of the movie coming out today. With all the hype it received, I naturally became curious, and read the book, and was impressed, and then proceeded to see the movie. How did it do?

The premise for the story is actually an unique,but depressing one, to be honest. After a rebellion, a treaty stated that each District would offer up two tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen, for the Hunger Games, a televised survival fight between all of the contestants, and they fight each other to the death and the forces of nature, until one is deemed the victor. At the reaping, or selecting of the tributes, of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss' sister, Primrose is selected as tribute. Katniss steps in for her and becomes the first ever voluntary tribute. Along with Peeta Mallark, the boy tribute from her district, they head to the capitol to compete in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games.

The story its self is something unique to teen fiction now-a-days, due to the paranormal romance craze, so this brings something refreshing to the table. Granted, the story was not without its romance, but it played both a major role and a minor role; it was a huge factor in the games, but it did not overtake the story. The romance between Peeta and Katniss was cute, but it wasn't portrayed seriously nor adorably. I think they tried to add some romance between Katniss and Cinna in the movie that wasn't in the book, but little stuff I can forgive.

Along with adding little romance, the movie also added bits and pieces of additional information that was not in the novel, such as the Gamemakers controlling the terrain of the Arena that the contestants fought in, and the the hosts of the show adding in their commentary, elements that were not in the novel.

The acting for this movie was one of main things that irked me through out the movie. It was dry, flat, and awkward, at best. It had so many awkward silences, and the characters were just staring off into space. Peeta, although a "main" character did not really act, and was about as lively as a piece of cardboard. Katniss was a bit better, but she still came off flat. The rest of the cast was barely memorable in my opinion, except for Haymitch, who had to be one of the best actors in this cast, even though he was barely sober half the movie.

The other thing that bothered me was the musical score for the movie. Where I thought there should have been music to fill in for the awkward acting there was none. I come to the movies not for awkward silences between the characters; I come for good music and liveliness. The musical score was barely memorable either;it was almost dead and it could have been greatly improved.

I do blame one factor alone for the poor execution of the movie: the way the book was written. The book was written from the first person, so we experience everything that Katniss feels and sees when she sees it. While I love books told like that, in movie execution, it fails in my mind due to the fact that in the movie you have to show the whole world, not just from her point of view. When you broaden the field of vision, you loose some things that were evident in the novel, such as internal monologue, and explanations behind some of the things in this world. While they tried to do some explanations through the telecasters of the "show," it lost its effect and made the movie feel like an overall T.V. show, which was not the effect the book gave off.

Overall, I was not pleased with the movie, and I was expecting a lot more from the cast and the movie its self with all the hype it received. It received a lot of hype, saying it would be the next big thing; in my mind, it is not worth the hype. A decent movie overall, with nothing standing out about it besides the premise of the movie due the fact it is dark enough to grab someone's attention without them sayings a horror movie and it is aimed at mostly female teenagers, and it isn't Twilight or romance in general.


                                                  May the odds be ever in your favor 

Eiga Suite Precure: Torimodose! Kokoro no Tsunaku Kiseki no Melody!

It is no secret that I am a sucker for mahou shoujou anime, that is an accepted fact by now. When I saw that they came out with a Suite Precure movie, I couldn't help but to watch it because it looked like an interesting movie to be honest, and hopefully better than the other two anime movies I have watched.

To be honest, I was skeptical because it was a Precure Movie, and overall, the Precure series is not that strong plot wise, and even lacks some field in the characters department for the fact it is really aimed at kids. The movie was not all that different, though a bit more plot driven than the TV series.

The plot for the movie was solid enough for me to like, but yet loose enough to where kids can follow it. Major Land is being robbed of all music, causing Major Land and the real world to fall silent. It turns out that the queen is apparently taking the music away from Major Land and the Real world.  Hibiki, Kanade, Ako, and Ellen try to find the music while trying to prove the Queen's innocence.

The plot for this movie was pretty solid for a movie that was directed at children. It wasn't overly loose like in the Negima! Movie or suddenly pick up on the plot at the end like in the Sora no Otoshimono movie. It kept steady through out the movie, and it was well paced, I will admit. The plot held steady throughout the movie, and it wrapped up nicely at the end. The plot was easy to follow, and they kept the explanations short and simple, and they did not spend too much time on dialogue.

The characters for the movei were the same as in the TV series: mahou shoujo and trying to save the world with good music. As it being a movie, they did not make any considerable development character wise, but they were solid. Each one was distinguishable, of course, but I do feel
like the writers do favor Hibiki the most, and for obvious reasons.

The animation was solid, except with a few flaws here and there. The characters were well drawn, and each was distinguishable. Also, the enemy had an interesting design,though I think his final form was just a bit too cartoon-y for my tastes, but that beside the point,because over all the art was pleasing over all in my mind. The final form of the Precure was also beautiful to me in the fact that it glowed and was just overall pleasing.

The movie was overall pretty good, though there was one thing that bothered me: the light stick effect. At the beginning of the movie, Hummy, the Suite Precure Mascot, comes on screen with an announce ment saying when the Precure were in trouble, wave the light stick that had a light up music note in order to cheer on the Precure. While this was cute in the beginning, I did not expect them to actually enact that during the movie, with Hummy and the Fairy Tones saying Ganbare Ganbare, Precure (Go for it, or good luck Precure) with the fairy tones waving their own light stick that popped out of no where.

I will say that overall, I was pleased with the movie because it was right up my alley with the theme. The art was visually pleasing to me and the characters were well done, even though this was a movie that was supposed to be watched in between episodes. They did not recap the TV series, and they did not utterly butcher the characters, and that, my friends, is how a movie based on an anime series is supposed to be done.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Anime Movies: Good or Bad?

As you know, over the past month, I have seen quite a few anime movies, ranging from Secret World of Arriety to Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeikake no Angeloid, and while they all may vary, from source material, to quality of the movie, and while they all may be anime, I will admit, they are weak in varying degrees. From weak plots, to weak characters, anime movies still have a long ways to go in order to perfect these values.

In my mind, there are two types of anime movies: those based off series, and those that stand alone. They bring different attributes to the table movie wise, both story wise, and character wise, and even art wise. While I may prefer the movies that are stand alone movies, the ones based off an anime series also have their own charm.

First, we shall shall start with those based off an existing anime series. These movies in my mind are very weak, and could easily be pased off as an OVA, due to length of actual plot. While in the Negima! movie, they did use most of the time for the plot development, but it could have easily condensed the movie into an OVA due to the fact that most of it was just them discussing what might happen, and while it was a good showcase for the classmates, it still could have done with out the extra showcases. In the case of the Sora no Otoshimono movie, the actual plot was less than thirty minutes. The part that made me upset was the fact that the first half of the movie was just a recap from the stalker's point of view, and that the second half of the movie was so epic with the action and suspense, but I felt like a lot of stuff was left unexplained to the audience. The last movie I would like to put into consideration was the Suite Precure movie, which overall, was the best out of the three. It had the most solid plot out of the three movies, and it did not butcher the the characters or plot. The animation was fluid and clean. It had its flaws, yes, but compared to the train wrecks known as the Sora no Otoshimono Movie, or the Negima! Final Movie.

As for the movies that are just stand alones, such as Secret World of Arrietty, they are slightly better in the presentation of the material, and the animation is a bit more fluid, however, the characters feel a bit underdeveloped. In the case of Arrietty, they characters just felt two-dementional and somethings just felt like they were unexplained. Also, the characters felt underdeveloped, but they do try to make the best of the time that they had in the movie to present the characters.

Overall, anime movies are either a hit or a miss for me. On one hand, I get to see a full length movie of anime, and the ones based off of series give me a full length movie with the characters I love. On the other hand, the anime movies based off of series tend to butcher to characters, and overall are just dry. The ones that stand alone are decent, but still have their flaws.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeikake no Angeloid

To be honest, ecchi series are almost a guilty pleasure for me sometimes. There is just something about it that just appeals to me. Maybe it's a lack of story that falls into comedy, or maybe that wide grin I get because I know that guys are enjoying the panty shots and boobs, in which I see those everyday no problem, or maybe it's because it's just senseless fun that helps me enjoy this so much. When I heard one of my favorite ecchi series was getting a movie, I couldn't help but to think that this was an advancement for the genre on a whole. However I think they took the steps in the wrong directions.

Our plot is almost non-existent, which in ecchi, not always a bad thing, but in this movie did not work at all. The first half of the movies was a recap of the first two seasons of the anime through the eyes of Sakurai Tomoki's stalker,Kazane Hiyori. The next part of the plot after the recap is her joining the club Tomoki is in, and her adventures there.

Where to begin on this train wreck of misfortune. The plot was weak, seeing as it was over half the movie recaping the first two seasons of the anime. While yes, it was good to have a refresher, I think they should have made the recap portion shorter, because if you skip the recap, you essentially have a thirty-five minute to a forty-five minute OVA, not an hour and a half movie.

The art for the movie was basically the same as the anime series, with Sakurai going chibi at random monets through out, and the weird censors. It was fluid, and clean. The characters were well designed, and they each were distinguishable.

In the characters department, I don't think they advanced that far for two reasons: one is the fact that yes, half the movie is recap, and that limits how much they could develop. Also, I don't think they could develop the characters too much because it's a movie, and they could not deviate too much from the source material aa the manga. I can respect this, but it still doesn't change the fact that the side characters hardly got any development, let alone screen time. I think they could have incorporated the side side characters more into the story. I wish Kazane's story was a bit more explained out, in which  I will not spoil anything, but they did a weak job on her character.

Overall, this movie was a let down. Not a good story or character development was present, nor did the characters do well overall. I would recommend this to the hard-core fans, and even then, this movie is a let down. The characters were weak, the plot was non existent, and this movie, honestly though I hate to admit it, since I'm very glad that an ecchi anime got a movie, but this could have easily worked as an OVA or maybe this arc could have been incorporated in the third season. What ever the case may be, I just honestly pray that the third season is better than the movie.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de

Sometime, we are all victims of circumstance, that is a fact of life. It seems in anime they are more often the victims than you would ever see in real life, but they are the victims non the less, and usually, they make the best of those circumstances. In the anime Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de, or They are My Noble Masters it is all about making the best of what you have, and the circumstances you were under to achieve that goal.

Our story is set up such that Uesugi Ren, and his sister, Hato, are wandering around, trying to make the best of what they have. They hardly have any money, and they wander in search of jobs and perhaps a real place to live because they are living out in a tent. They meet up the the prestigious Kuonji family, with Shinra, the genius conductor, Miyu, the loli and genius inventor, and Yume, the girl that no one notices, and then become employed  by the family to be a butler and maid respectively. Ren and his sister meet all the rest of the staff, and they have fun together with the Kuonji family, and Ren and his sister bond with the family and the staff.

The plot for this anime seems at first like a ecchi harem with no plot. While the first part may be partially true, the plot in my mind is Ren bonding with his masters, and coming from rags and bouncing from place to place, to being employed and having a home. The plot once we get past the hiring stage may be a slice of life adventure, it works for the anime, because while the big stuff may be important, its also the little small stuff that makes people laugh also counts.

The cast was well developed, and with each episode you get to learn a little bit more about each of the familiy memebers and staff. Our main character, Ren, and his Sister, Mihato, are the most bland looking, but I do guess that was in an attempt to make the members of the staff and the Kuonji family to stand out. Our masters are varied in appearance and personality. For example, we have the genius conductor, Kuoji Shinra, ad the genius loli inventor, Miyu, and last, but certainly not least, Yume, the pink haired girl no one notices. The staff s just a color, for example, Natose is almost super human in the way she handles balls of energy to hurl at the enemy, or Benisu, who is also somewhat super strong, but weaker compared to the rest of the staff. Then we have the staff head, Colonel, who is super strong, and he watches over Ren, along with the rest of the staff.

I think that the way the anime was presented was actually pretty good. Granted, they made jokes that only anime fans would get, and even then, I truly only got one or two of the jokes, I still enjoyed the anime to the fullest. From references to Death Note, to D. Gray Man, and a whole slew of other anime references, some of which I did not get, I still enjoyed the references.

The art for this series was mediocre, but still fluid. Of course there were a few scenes that had criss-crossed eyes, and sloppy art, but the up close images of the characters were excellent. The characters were well designed and each one was distinguishable.

Overall, this series was pretty good. There were a few moments I had to classify as simply W.T.F moments and made me laugh. I recommend this series to just about anyone looking for a laugh and a good time. The characters were well made, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

John Carter

Though I am not a science fiction fan, I will admit that it does have its appeals. When I heard about John Carter, at first I will admit, I was skeptical, due to the fact it looked like an Avatar rip-off. However, that may not be the case with this movie, though it does bear a striking resemblance to several other movies that I have seen.

Our story begins with Edgar inheriting his uncle's, John Carter, journal that was left to him after Carter's death. The journal then explains in great detail about John's adventures about a mysterious world and how he got there. He was a confederate soldier in 1861, and got held hostage by the Union to fight for them, and though he refuses, he does try to make peace. While negotiations go wrong, he then finds a cave of gold, and there a man just pops out of nowhere, and John shoots him, and when he grabs the medalion, he is transported to a mysterious world caled Barsoom, which we learn later is Mars. Due to lower gravitational pull on Mars than there is on Earth, he can jump to extraordinary heights, and he is hailed as one of the strongest by the local aliens, the Tharks. While on Mars, he tries to stop the marriage between Dejah Thoris, and Sab Than, the tyranical prince of Zondanga, the state warring with Helium, the state of which Dejah Thoris is from. All the while, he is still looking for a way back home.

I'll be the first to admit, I thought that this was going to be like Avatar, though once the movie started I had Cowboys and Aliens in mind, due the fact it was set in the Midwest at first, and there were going to be aliens, however, once he got to Mars, it reminded me of something that you would see in Star Wars or Avatar, though the planet in this case was not as colorful as Pandora. However, the movie had its own charm and flare to it. The technology was handled well, along with the design of the city and the world its self.

The characters in my mind were a bit developed in the right and wrong places. John Carter was a bit bland in my mind, though being a Confederate soldier and the people on the planet were not that well defined. In fact, at a point, only John Carter, the Thern, and the princess were distinguishable. The Tharks all looked the same, to tell the truth, and even though they made four arms look plausible, it still looked a bit weird in my mind. The Thern was another character that I think needs to be explained a bit more, and the theory of how the people and animals got on the planet should have been explained more.

Another problem I have with this movie is repetition in jokes and even actions. John always tries repeatedly to escape from the people who have captured him, and it always it the same attempt: jumping or brute force. Also, the Tharks, they keep calling him "Virginia" because he introduces him self from being from there, and they fail to get that is not his name. While I find a bit humorous, as being from Virginia, and nothing brings me greater joy than to hear my home state mentioned in a movie, they over did it. Just call him "John Carter" and leave it at that. They also seem to repeat a lot on the fact that he can jump super high, even exaggerating it a bit much.

The scenery in the movie, I will give credit to being actually pretty good. The IMAX made it better, but they do need to work on distance lighting and getting everything in focus to make it 3D. (Turn up aperture!!) There was definitely depth to the picture, and there were layers to the scenes, i.e. the characters stood out from the background, but it just felt lacking in the 3D aspect. Granted, it didn't make me sick like Avatar did, but the motion scenes felt like they were not that compatible with the 3D.

A minor note I would like to bring up is the fact that Disney made the film. While I still associate Disney handling animated films, such as The Little Mermaid, or Snow White, they also produced Pirates of the Carribean. I do think this is one of their weaker films, but it still a good attempt at a sci-fi film.

Overall, for science fiction fans, this is probably going to be one of the biggest films of the year, besides Iron Sky. I think Disney did a good job handling the film overall. Though I do smell sequels to this film if does does well enough, because I feel like they did not explain all that much about Mars or the people on it. Hopefully, this film can get the sequels needed for explanation, though that could potentially ruin it I have to admit. SO, have fun on Mars, and take an adventure.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Lorax

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not"~Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss's works are classic to many people, from books like Green Eggs and Ham to The Cat in the Hat. These books have a charm to them that no other person can replicate, and also makes them an amusing read. The rhyme scheme and unique art make is all that more fun to read. Most of these works are very hard to adapt properly. When I heard the studio who made Despicable Me was going to adapt Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, I could not help but to get excited, due the fact I absolutely loved Despicable Me. So, how does it fair off in my mind?

The plot is a simple one, I will admit. It follows the story of a young boy named Ted, who lives in a town where there is no nature; everything is synthetic and artificial. His romantic interest, Audrey, starts to tell him how she wants to see a real tree, and inspired to try and gain her love, he goes on a quest to get a tree.

To be quite honest, I actually hated this movie. The plot was so ridiculous that it made me cry. Yes, I do understand that they have never seen real trees, and this girl wants to see one, but the consequences of him trying to get the tree were quite ridiculous. Also, the one person who can tell him how to get a tree, the Once-ler, makes him jump through hoops in order to get the tree. I guess they needed to fill up about another forty-five minutes discussing why the trees were gone.

The music in this movie actually comes in two parts. On one hand, I could not stand the musical numbers about how great having fake stuff is, to how bad can cutting down all the trees be. I feel like they copied The Muppets in this style, and they imitated it badly. However, the background music was well done, fitting the mood for each scene, and some of it admittedly had me tapping my foot in rhythm to it. However, the background music does not make a movie, but the musical numbers can kill it in the first five minutes.

The animation was well done in the sceneries aspect. They were well done, vibrant, and fit the upbeat mood of the movie very well.   The character designs were well done, and they also blended well with the back ground. However, I did go see this in 3D (not IMAX), and I feel like although I could tell the levels of depth, the 3D really did not work for me. It seemed to be lacking, but since it is not IMAX, I will give it some lee-way.

Character wise, this movie was a let down. The characters were cookie cutter characters in my mind, and they were easily forgotten. Ted was this kid who would do anything for the girl he loves, which is not that original. Also, his dialogue is not that good either, between (failed) pick up likes and screaming, he doesn't contribute much. Then we have Audrey, the idealistic girl who wants the world to be perfect, and really doesn't contribute to her cause. We have the bad guy, Mr. O'Hare, the guy who sells people fresh air because the real air quality is that bad, but as always, he is only out for money. The Once-ler and the Lorax had to be the most interesting, and even then, they are kind of flat.

The voice acting in this movie was alright. I do not like Zac Efron as Ted, because he turns Ted into this flat, high school boy, who only knows how to do crappy pick up lines, and they are poorly executed at best. Taylor Swift did an alright job at Audrey, but still, she felt like she was awkward, and it just felt wrong to be honest. The rest of the cast did well, and the Lorax's voice did fit him, and they did well with execution. Now, if we could work on the two main characters....

The message that the movie incorporated in it was a common message that is popping up over and over again in movies: Protect the environment. While yes, I do agree that we need to take care of it, I think the movie industry is going overboard with this message. This movie is perfect example, because they exploited it in the wrong way. The Once-ler destroyed the trees for a stupid, useless scarf-thing. I think if they are going to propaganda saving the environment and not ruin it because of human actions, I think they could have done it a bit better. Since this is a kids movie, I guess they just wanted to make sure kids understood it, and could act on not destroying the trees, however, they must be assuming their audience is a bunch of dimwits.

Overall, unless you were a little kid, I would not recommend this movie to anyone but little kids, or unless you were super keen on saving the environment, and even then, it's a terrible movie.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Mahou Sensei Negima! Anime Final

When I first got into anime and manga, one of the first titles I actually got into was Mahou Sensei Negima!? After a disappointing T.V. series run by the producing company Xebec (It still does not exist in my mind) and an excellent run of multiple OVA series, the anime movie conclusion was a film I had been long anticipating since it came out. After it finally got subbed, I immediately watched this film, and let me admit, it was not at all what I was expecting.

The story picks up where Mou Hitotsu no Sekai left off. Asuna is safe and sound, and everyone returns to the school, happy and safe. When they get back, they start planning for the graduation ceremony. because they are in their last year of middle school. However, Negi is told that he has to pick one girl to make a permanent Pactio with one of the girls, and all the other girls would loose their memories. As Negi struggles to make his decision, Mars start hurdling towards Earth.


The plot for this movie is one of the weakest plots I have ever seen in a movie, American or Japanese. I know that it is a "sequel" to the OVA, but you would think that they would end this movie better instead of focusing on the slice of life part of it. Honestly,this could have been a regular T.V. Anime and I think that the plot could not have changed a bit, and it still would have worked.

Besides the plot, I have two major problems with this movie. One is the fact yes, the girls will loose their memories if Negi does not pick them, but some of the girls are magical to begin with, so why were they so worried? Also, a good chunk of the class did not have a pactio with Negi anyways, so why are they still trying to compete for his affection? But why people like Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Natsumi and Chahamaru are worried confuses me. Asuna is the Imperial Twilight Princess, Konoka is a healing mage, Setsuna has a Pactio with Konoka, Natsumi has a pactio with Kotarou,and Chachamaru runs off magic, and if I'm not mistaken has a "doll pactio" with Evangeline, just to name a few, given that half the class is magical anyways, so they would not loose their memories because of Negi.

The other problem I have with the movie is why is Mars hurdling towards Earth? Yes, it does provide the only bit of action for the movie, and yes it does help provide the solution for Negi's big problem, but in my mind, it just doesn't make any sense.

Animation for this movie was inferior to the OVA's. True, while the OVA's had a bigger budget, but the animation for the movie was just off. It still kept true to the manga, like for colors of hair, and looks, but it was lower grade quality. I think that they could have down way better, especially since the fans (such as my self) were waiting for this, and waiting to see an awesome grade movie. One animation point I will give, however, was when then girls used their patio, which came across mahou shoujo like, and it wasn't just boring instantaneous.

Overall, I think this movie was a let down for fans of the manga. It copped out big time on the solution to Negi's problem, and the plot was not that good too boot. If they're going to make a movie about Negima, please, don't glaze over the Negi vs. Fate fight, and please make a better plot and better animation. All of the anime series concerning Negima! have been failures in mind, and the movie is no different.