Tag: comedy

Dog Days anime review

Official story: In the land of Fronaldo, the Republic of Biscotti has been aggressively attacked by the Lion Kingdom of Galette. Facing potential defeat, Princess Millhiore summons a hero who can save the country. What she gets is Izumi Shinku, a middle-school boy from Japan. Awaiting him in Fronaldo is the task of becoming hero enough to defeat his enemies while learning the peculiar rules of battle in this strange new world.

Cheerful, upbeat series about a boy who gets pulled into another world where he becomes their hero. He then helps them in a “war” against a rival kingdom. A war where nobody dies or even gets seriously hurt, and where everyone celebrates with a concert at the end. Apart from one encounter with a monster the series is light-hearted to the point of absurdity, and at only 13 episodes it’s over long before it has a change to grate on you.

There seems to be room for a sequel, but I don’t need one. They’ll only mess it up somehow anyway. At the end of Dog Days the world of Fronaldo has been saved, Shinku (the protagonist) has gotten lots of experience, and in theory he can go back again within 3 months. That’s enough for me.

I need more series like this. Stuff that makes me feel good inside and leaves a good taste when it’s all over.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! anime review

After watching what I could stomach of Darker than Black, I wanted to try something a little more lighthearted. I often download stuff at random, but this time I read the description and it sounded funny: Italian hitman who looks like baby trains Japanese high schooler to become Mafia leader. What could possibly go wrong?

I watched 10 episodes of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! before giving up, but I won’t say anything went “wrong” with it. More like something was right, so they took that something and reused it over and over again, thereby flogging it to death.

Basically each episode was like the one before it. The same things happened, the characters had the same reactions to it, it ended the same way, on to the next. Tsuna acts like a flabbergasted moron, Reborn is all-wise and all-knowing, Lambo is cute but annoying, Haru is also cute and also annoying, Kyoko is cute and clueless, Yamaguchi is an idiot who thinks everything is a game, etc, etc. You can tell what’s going to come out of everyone’s mouth before they even open it.

I found the first episode or two pretty funny, seeing all the crazy things Tsuna would get up to after being shot with the Dying Will bullet. But after that it was just “Bullet of the Day” ad nauseam, and Tsuna didn’t seem to be getting any brighter or more likable. Also I hate manipulative know-it-alls like Reborn. That smug bastard just pissed me off, episode after episode. If the two main characters suck so hard, there’s very little a series can do to redeem itself.

I hear eventually there’ll be some tournament-style fighting and some time travelling, and nothing could be less appealing to me, so I figured I’d quit while I was ahead. At least I laughed my head off at the Organ Block, so that’s worth something.

Sgt Frog volume 1 manga review

I get bored at the salon a lot, so I’ve taken to bringing my own literature. Last week it was Sgt Frog volume 1.

Keroro, the frog sergeant in question, is an alien who comes to Earth as a scout in readiness for the invasion of the Earth. By chance he ends up in the Hinata family house where he is quickly captured. When a hilarious misunderstanding leaves him and his platoon stranded on Earth, Keroro is left to fend for himself as he best knows how…which means slaving for the Hinata household as their unpaid housekeeper!

Sounds like a sad tale, but it’s actually quite hilarious, mostly due to Keroro’s charm and upbeat attitude. Far from a shrinking violet he’s a tough-talking, mischievously insubordinate, choleric and has a crazy love for building Gundam models. Part of the humor comes from the disjointed fact that he’s an alien frog and yet loves modern things like iMacs and manga.

The human component is the Hinata family: Natsumi the bossy older sis, Fuyuki the easygoing little brother and their mother Aki. Personally I’m always more interested in the activities of the frog team, but the humans provide a good foil for their personalities to bounce off. It wouldn’t be the same manga without them.

Volume 1 starts Keroro’s abandonment on Earth. He later finds his subordinate Tamama (soooo cuuuuuuuute) who is living with Fuyuki’s classmate Momoka. The end of the volume introduces Moa, a.k.a. Angol Mois, the Lord of Destruction… currently disguised as a 14 year old girl who called Keroro “Uncle”. I can’t wait for volume 2!