Absolute Duo Anime Review

Absolute Duo:
Information:
Other Names: アブソリュート・デュオ
Studio: 8-Bit
Writer: Takamitsu Kōno
Director: Atsushi Nakayama
Music: Atsushi Hirasawa
Type: Light Novel Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 24 min per ep approx.
Genres: Action, Ecchi, Romance, School, Harem, Supernatural
Rating: R+
Air Dates: 4 January 2015 - 22 March 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Trinity Seven & Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance.

Synopsis:
The story begins with Blaze—a weapon that is the manifestation of a human's soul. Tooru Kokonoe happens to be qualified for this, but for some reason his Blaze is not a weapon, but a shield. Moreover, he enrolled in a school that teaches combat skills, and thanks to the school's Duo partner system, he ends up living with a beautiful silver-haired girl.

Warning: This anime contains nudity, profanity and violence.

Review:
To start of first I will begin by talking about the setting which can only be described as a school where students are trained to fight using supernatural powers (Blazes), which you know has been done many times before so don't expect anything different from the usual, with that in respect let's move on the story. The story can also be dumbed down to a standard ecchi harem that has a supernatural twist where the main character wins battles using the power of friendship and similar things while being oblivious to the girls growing feelings around him; the standard stuff, as it follows main character Tooru and main heroine Julie on there quest to become powerful and take revenge upon those that hurt there families which is also left in the dark quite a lot and the reason for that person hurting them is never explained or brought to light in any shape or form. While also on the same note as predictability along the way they'll meet many friends both guys and girls; with the guys barely appearing or having sceentime and the girls becoming part of an ever growing harem, eventually leading to a predictable ending that just screams out: 'Read the Light Novel'. Overall its average and a really predictable harem story and nothing else.

The characters well also follow a predictable route with a lot of archetypes found amongst them which does leave quite a varied cast which is a good thing as the designs of the characters are simply wonderful however, there are far too many identifiable anime archetypes that make the show feel less unique and more like 'just another hare', featuring character like the 'the never losing protagonist', the quiet girl with no emotions, the shy girl with he boobs, the tomboy and so on. This overall makes the show predictable and care less for the characters.

The animation can be described only in a few words as mediocre, as it wasn't bad but neither anything special, however fight scenes are well animated except for the bits that go into 3D animation which can be somewhat distracting.

On the other hand, the soundtrack was great and was mixed in well with all scenes, in which the best I must say is the music for fight scenes mixed in with the good animation featuring a mix of tracks; this made them feel exciting and more fun to watch. The opening was pretty good but not amazing featuring some great rock sung by Konomi Suzuki; which also gets you pumped up and ready for the show.

Overall if your looking for a fun harem show with some exciting ecchi with some light entertainment and fun comedy, this is the show for you; however expect anything else you'll be disappointed.

Final Verdict:
Story/Setting: 5
Characters: 5
Animation: 5
Sound: 8

Final Score: 5.7/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad

 1- 1.9= Unwatchable

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Anime Series Review

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Information:
Other Names: Your Lie in April &  四月は君の嘘
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Writer: Takao Yoshioka
Director: Kyōhei Ishiguro
Music: Masaru Yokoyama
Type: TV Series, Manga Adaptation
Length: 22 Episodes, 22mins approx. per episode
Genres: Drama, Music, Romance, School, Shounen
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 10 October 2014 - 20 March 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Nodame Cantabile & Nagi no Asukara

Synopsis:
Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kosei hasn't touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kosei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kosei was used to.

Review:
The story follows Arima Kousei as he tries to once again play the piano again after two years since he lost the ability to hear the notes on the piano after his mother died; but all this changed after he met a mysterious girl playing the violin in the park. The story focuses heavily on character growth through drama, comedy and romance which sounds quite basic and has been done thousands of times however Your Lie in April pulls of this feat in such an amazing way that it feels new with some actual drama that is heart pulling and will leave you wanting more and more through out the series while the romance isn't a heavy focus it adds a nice addition to the series with some real tear jerking moments as well as moments that actually made me cry, however there was not that much focus on the main romance which could have been developed more as it spent quite a lot of time on the other characters feelings rather than the main girl which was a bit disappointing. But in the end I can happy summarize it as a great story with good pacing and a satisfying ending.

Now the within the characters of the story there are quite a few, not as many as long shows (50+ eps) but there are still quite a few, however for now I will focus on the main stars of the show; starting will main male character Kousei who can be summarized at first glance as a quiet fourteen year old middle schooler, however there is a lot more to him than that with some interesting qualities concerning his past as well as his development over the series in which I must say was pulled off extremely well; which can also be said for be main female character Koari who serves as Kousei's reason to take back up the piano mainly by force which leads to some comical scenes between the two, however Koari does have quite a huge focus in the plot and gets amazing development but not Kousei but still it makes her character stand out, especially by the end of the series.

The next two characters I will be speaking about are Tsubaki and Watari, in which we will start of first with Tsubaki who just like the previous two gets a great amount of development through out the series mainly in the romance department however aside from she doesn't just much else besides playing the classic tomboy childhood friend who will never abandon Kousei which sounds kind of cliché but it doesn't make the series bad; so moving on lastly there is Watari now I'm sure what exactly he does aside from being the typical loud, popular, womanizing best friend that is seen a lot in anime and he doesn't well really any development at all which kind of sad as I would have liked to see him fleshed out more.

Finally we have the supporting characters who do serve a good purpose with most being the supports that help the main characters develop and change over the course of the series as well as most of the supports having interesting personalities and don't serve as wasted sceentime.


Next the animation is simply outstanding with nice fluid animation that makes every heart wrenching, dramatic moment feel alive and helps express it to it's fullest. However there some scenes mainly the comical ones where it swaps to this chibi or maybe a simple like animation that won't be for everyone and frankly it could have done without, however it does not ruin the experience well at least for me.


At lastly the sound.. oh the music is simply amazing with some well orchestra sound pieces that are both great in the show and outside when listening to them on their own and are truly some of reasons why some of more dramatic scenes had such a great impact. The opening of the show are great as well with Hikaru nara preformed by goose house being the first with gets you ready for the show with some great sounds that are delightful and fresh sounding, which can also be said for the second opening Nanairo Symphony by Coala Mode that while as well is a great song, however is just not as good as the first opening and I don't really know why.

Overall Your Lie in April is must watch for anyone seeking some of the best of 2014 as well as sweet romantic drama with some great music.

Final Verdict:
Story: 9
Characters: 9
Animation: 9
Sound: 10

End Score: 9.2/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad
 1- 1.9= Unwatchable