Hataraku Maou-Sama

In the recent anime season, there was an anime circling around my social circles for it's opening, plot, and overall goodness. Although I saw it on the airing list at the beginning of the season,I thought it was going ot be some dumb slice of life show,but how I was wrong. When me and my friend started watching this show,we had a ball watching it.

The story follows the Dark Lord Satan and his subordinate Alsiel going to the human world fleeing from the Hero Emilia. The Hero Emilia, follows them to the human world they try and make a living as normal people. The Dark Lord Satan, who goes by the name Maou Sadou works at McDonalds equivalent and his partner,Alsiel, who goes by Ashiya Shirou is a stay home person. Emilia, who goes by Yusa Emi works at a call center. Although they try and lead normal lives, Emilia tries and eliminate the Dark Lord Satan. However, things are not as black and white such as evil vs good or hero vs villain.

I will admit when I first read the synopsis I wasn't that impressed. The set up was just Satan gets a part time job while trying to get back home. What finally got me on board was people talking about this anime and I realized that it was a clever comedy. Yes, the story centers around him mainly trying to get back home,but what made it worth while was the comedy wrapped up in it.

The characters them selves were stereotypes, but they were well done. Sadao is your typical main character and Ashiya is your typical side kick(sometimes wife-y as my friend calls him). Emi falls into the the tsundere roll.  And last,and probably my least favorite, Chiho is the typical flat character but big boobed to try and crush on Sadao. The characters were lovable but sometimes they seemed kinda flat.

The art for the series is good, but not stellar. It is fluid, the characters well drawn except I did not like the design of Chiho. I know that she supposed to be the big boobed character but her design could have been better. The fight scenes were animated decently as well as the slice of life scenes.

Overall, I love this series. Only thing that makes me sad is that I actually can't make a drinking game of it. It's a great slice of life with a hand medling in super natural as well. I would recommend this to anyone that looking for a good anime to watch or to kill time.

Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan

Bread is a staple of life for most parts of the world. It can feed many, it can give us energy in order to carry out everyday tasks, and it can even make someones day. However, baking the bread might become a coping mechanism into order to deal with certain illnesses, such as lost memories. In the case of Shining Hearts: Shiwase no Pan, bread and the making of it becomes an escape for Rick and his fellow companions in the bread shop.

The story was proposed to be about Kaguya, a young girl who washed up on shore with no memories, and Rick and his fellow companions find her and take her in. They go about their regular duties, keeping an eye on Kaguya, making bread for her, and those in the community. However, as it turns out, Kaguya is no the first person to wash up on shore with no memories, and the quest to find the answers begins.

Sounds epic, right? Wrong. The story is actually more about Rick and his companions, Airy, Neris, and Amile, making bread for those around them, and when it seems there is any break through behind the characters or the story, they just go back to making bread. If they stuck more to the mystery to why so many people washed up on shore, with no memories, then this anime would be epic. Instead, they brush off that and just focus on making people happy with bread. 

The characters were very weak for an nime that tried to focus on the characters. Rick had so much potential to be a great "harem lead," but they pushed him to the side, and when he could have shone, they didn't really do anything with it. The girls at the shop were so bland that they didn't even have a stereotype such as a tsundere or library girl, they were just there. Kaguya was proposed to be the center piece of the anime, but she was relegated to a minor roe. Xiao Mei was almost this shows saving grace, but she was pushed to the side once again.

The art and music was the best part of this anime to be honest. The art was fluid, and the characters were artistically distinguishable, but only artistically. The backgrounds were also well designed, and everything was vibrant in color. The opening theme was slow, and made me feel like the theme of lost memories could be prevalent, but it was also mello and relaxing. The end theme was actually pretty good, even though it was about baking bread. It had an upbeat tune, and very, very catchy.

Overall, I say avoid this anime like the plague unless you just want to watch making bread and them making people happy. It has a lot of potential, but the execution of it is poor. I do realize it is based off a game, but even then, they could have done a lot more with this anime.  

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.

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.