Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
And we have more romance now.
Tomo and Jun have been friends forever and act like a pair of real bros, but at some point Tomo is revealed to be a girl, the feelings between the two start growing into love as Tomo wants to be seen as a girl while Jun is conflicted with his feelings knowing that he can't ignore the fact that Tomo is a girl.
Backed up by Misuzu and best girl Carol, Tomo hopes to one day become a couple with Jun even if the path to femininity goes against her entire personality and feels more alienating than helping.
Misuzu's manipulation is very polarizing as you wonder if her advice and suggestions are actually helpful or she just gets a kick out of messing with people.
Carol is what saves the series from falling off the cliff, the only case of a Japanese and English dub actress being the same.
Tomo-Chan can be frustrating to watch as a romance series as all the shenanigans makes it seem like the romance will never have a payoff, something which I complained about in My Tiny Senpai, thankfully it does have a payoff.
The dub relies alot on Western slang which suits the series way better than others but can be distracting, Carol is perfect.
Final Verdict: A decent showing that could easily have failed but thankfully we never get to that stage thanks to mostly Carol for being the wholesome gremlin that she is.
Let's hear it for the boys!
Yuri Katsuki is a professional figure skater at the end of his rope having had a torrid season, not holding much hope for the next season, he pours his sorrows into a practice skate which goes viral online and brings champion Victor Nikiforov to Japan to coach the hapless Yuri, this angers another Yuri from Russia as the two compete for the finals of the mens figure skating with all the flare of the other male skaters joining them, can Yuri Katsuki unleash his inner eros to finally claim the championship gold?
It's about time we had a wholesome story of men that flows like a proper anime and isn't reliant on cheap yaoi to sell, it's allowed to blossom naturally between Yuri and Victor giving the story a deep passionate feel I've only seen in female sports anime, it also helps that the rest of the skaters have their own individual goals, personalities and stories and get enough time to shine as the second half of the anime treats each skate like an actual figure skating competition, this pairs nicely with one of anime's most impressive soundtracks.
The dub feels right out of hetalia but less stereotypical than hetalia.
Final Verdict: A beautiful story of male figure skating in an anime world where this sort of positive male casting is extremely rare.
Never have I been so disappointed in a season 2.
Continuing on from the previous season, Uzaki and Shinichi continue you their time in college but their feelings for one another are starting to get stronger with Uzaki suddenly realizing that Shinichi will graduate and leave her, suddenly making the bombastic back and forth of teasing becoming a little awkward with all the onlookers getting frustrated by the lack of progress which counts for us the viewers as well.
It's turned the series from a piece of fun to a boring slog desperate for a pay off, Shinichi's introverted tendencies allows him to pursue new hobbies and evolve as a character while Uzaki is suddenly vulnerable and equally in denial about the growing feelings developing making her usual schtick come off as more annoying than usual and it's affecting the viewer experience, again this makes the dub hard to watch knowing who voices Uzaki.
This is why the two season format fails, the best parts were all in part 1 and the gap between seasons kills the momentum so when season 2 does start it botches the start and fails to catch up, it only works for long runners like One Piece and Naruto.
Final Verdict: I'm bored and I'm losing interest which is a shame.
A lesson in character balance.
The Sakurada family look like a normal large family, which is what the King desires but with elections for a new King under way, the nine children who all have individual superpowers are all suitable candidates for the throne but with thousands of security cameras and unprecedented access to the nine siblings lives, each one will need to campaign in their own unique way.
Right off the back, I'm happy that there are males among the siblings, an all female cast would be insufferable in this setting especially with Akane's tendency to show her panties would force the story into ecchi territory, also appreciated is the more believable approach to subjects like romance and how it deals with childhood incidents and the fact that it flatout ignores the lure of incest despite having enough to play with to achieve that.
The powers are also balanced enough to not outright derail the story, my only real criticism is that the series doesn't give enough time for each character to shine, you forget that there are nine siblings when only six of them get any significant screen time.
The dub is passable and pretty standard for this era.
Final Verdict: A decent slice of life comedy with a healthy plot and decent characters even if not all of them get to shine.
To keep up with everything I've ever reviewed since the beginning I've produced a quick guide saying which Anime and Cartoons I've reviewed, a one line synopsis and now one line of good and bad.
Debutante Detective Corps
Five stupidly...
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