The World God Only Knows

And today, we're talking about one of my all-time favorite anime/manga series. Bleach? Much as I am a fan of it, no. Fate/Zero? I've talked about it to no end and I've already made a post about it, so no. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi? Nope. This is a romantic comedy of all things. Normally, this is the territory of women and girls (not saying that guys can't enjoy it - I'm only saying it's usually girls and women), but it uses its elements so well and so originally that it has become an extremely unique series in its own right.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you: The World God Only Knows.

Our hero, the devil he's made a contract with... and his targets.

The protagonist, Keima Katsuragi, hits quite close to home for a good deal of readers. He's an absolute otaku who plays games rather than do anything else, prefers the 2D world to the 3D (the real) world, anti-social, you name it, he's got it. As for what his otaku specialization is... (yes, some otaku like or specialize in certain aspects than others), his is dating sim games. And he's good at them. REALLY good. So good, he is known online as 'The God of Capturing'. That being said, all his crushes are 2D video game girls, with special mention going to a girl named Yokkyun, a 2D girl that he's almost literally head over heels for, while 3D girls repulse him. But one day, he gets a message on his PFP (PSP) challenging him to capture another girl. Keima, being the proud God he is, accepts.

And in doing so, inadvertently signs a deal with a devil to help capture evil spirits. Um... okay.

This is our ever-so-scary devil. Fear her.

So the premise is this: Keima has been contracted by Elsie (the devil above) to flush out and capture evil spirits. Said evil spirits take residence in the gaps in girls' hearts, caused by things like depression, self-esteem issues, jealousy, etc. It must be girls since they give birth to children, which is their method of reincarnating. In order to force them out, those gaps must be filled. There are various tactics to do so, but the most risky yet effective method is... love. Naturally, Keima wants out of his deal immediately... only to find out that both he and Elsee have collars that take their heads if either of them back out. And so begins their wacky adventures of capturing evil spirits, making girls happier one female at a time.

The very first target, Ayumi - a track star who will inadvertently plow into you if you're not careful.

Every arc is a new girl, picked out by Elsee's detector (the skull decoration in her hair). Each girl of the arc has a different background, attitudes, etc etc, all of them unique. And each one almost more or less conforms to certain stereotypes that harem or romantic comedy anime have. There's the really, really shy type, the tsundere, the tomboy, etc etc. Keima has to tailor his strategies and tactics for each girl, factoring in not only their personalities, but their history, environment, and even the effects of other people around them. His strategies always have the same justification (Apparently, it works in dating sim games) but hey, they work! This gives the plots a lot of variety that one simply doesn't see in a lot of romantic comedy genres these days.

The cast of characters is kept to a relatively low number at the beginning chapters, each arc focusing more or less on only Keima, Elsee, and the girl of the arc. This works extremely well for this series, as it allows for a great deal of character development for all concerned in the arc. Later on, a number of former capture targets reappear, but the cast never feels stifling or overwhelming. Each girl has a lot of personality and backstory thanks to each of them having a full arc to flesh out their character development. The supporting characters never feel needless or unnecessary, as they contribute to the plot of the arc (or overall) as much as Keima or Elsee.

These are all Keima's capture targets. Eat your heart out, Ichika!

While all in all a very great manga/anime to read/watch, it does suffer a few flaws from time to time. The cliches here, despite being used well, fly thick and fast. There is a reason why Keima's strategies work despite being based on games. The series at times feel like a popularity contest, with the more popular characters reappearing as supporting characters or even having important parts of the plot while the less interesting ones fall by the wayside and are only given a summary mention. That said, perhaps it was written in such a way that the ones who would become supporting characters would be more popular than the ones who wouldn't. If Tamaki Wakaki had planned that, he is a character developing genius. One last nag is Elsee. She remains a near-constant ditz because that's her charm, but as a trade-off, a lot of outright character development is sacrificed, making it either very subtle or at times non-existent. Perhaps because of that, when something serious comes up, she's usually just shooed out before she can do anything.

Let's be honest - if my assistant fangirls over fire trucks, I'd shoo her out of anything serious too.

That being said, I pretty much had to nitpick in order to find the flaws. If those are the only nitpicks I have, then there's very little to complain about the series. It's definitely not for the action junkies who only like watching flashy fight scenes and explosions, but it's a quirky romantic comedy that will probably have you burst out laughing more than once and charmed by the romance which develops at a believable pace. I highly recommend anyone to watch it - yes, even the action junkies. This series was my first real introduction to the romantic comedy genre in manga, and I have not regretted it.

So watch it or read it. GOD COMMANDS YOU.

Fate/Zero

Sorry for the long wait, ladies and gents. I've just been procrastinating and thinking about what else to write. So then I thought, why not write about a new anime series I've gotten addicted to?

Every bit as epic as it looks.

That's right, everyone, it's Fate/Zero, the prologue of the original Fate/Stay Night visual novel done by TYPE Moon. Done by a production company called ufotable, it is definitely one of the higher quality series out there - and considering how many awesome ones I've seen, that's saying something! I'm already highly recommending you readers to watch it, but hey, read on anyway so you know what you're dealing with.

Now then, a bit of background info - Every couple hundred years or so (or less - I was never very clear on that...), the Holy Grail manifests. It shall grant one wish to a person it deems strong enough to use it. How does it decide? The Holy Grail War. Seven magi (or magicians, if you couldn't tell) summon Servants - exceptionally powerful familiars - to fight for them. There are seven classes of Servants: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Of course, just being powerful familiars/magical beings wouldn't be enough for such a war - each Servant is someone from the distant past. A mythological hero or an infamous historical figure? Perhaps both? Believe me, some of the identities of these Servants are... mind-boggling to say the least.

Lancer vs. Saber. The former is badass and popular. The latter is badass, cute, and a cash cow.

Now then, for those of you who have been trying to count the cast, we have seven Masters (the magi who summoned the Servants and 'control' them) and seven Servants. That puts it at fourteen already. However, we also have a couple side characters as well, bumping the count up to perhaps twenty or so. It's a small cast. It's perhaps a bit... disorienting for those who are used to ginormous casts in their anime (I'm looking at you, Naruto), but this is one of the series' biggest strengths. With the lower cast, more time is given to focus on their character development, to allow you to form bonds and attachments to characters, as well as genuine hatred for other characters for who they are rather than just their character.

The action... oh man, there's not much I can say about the action. It's just pure AWESOME. The choreography of the fights are very well done, with each combatant feeling like they're very well-trained in their fighting styles instead of just whaling away wildly. Also, it helps a huge deal that the fights are actually strategically thought out instead of the standard 'throw signature move and pray that it works.' It helps that each magus (singular for 'magi') and Servant has somewhat limited abilities, powerful as they are, and they have to make do to best counter their opponent(s). These fights aren't awesome because they're flashy (though some of them certainly are) - they're awesome because they feel much like actual fights where there are actual stakes on the line instead of just plot armor. Anyone and everyone can get hurt - or even killed. And the fight scenes remind you heavily of that fact.

This guy can't even talk. He only knows how to wreck your sh**.

As for the story, the premise sounds simple enough - summon Servants, kill them and their respective Masters, last one standing get the Grail. Hey, it's a war, did you expect anything else? However, the story is soon made deeper and more complex by the intricate relationships the characters have with one another, their personalities playing no small part. The main character, Kiritsugu Emiya, is a very cold, pragmatic believer of justice. He essentially is Batman if he had absolutely no reservations on sacrificing the few for the many - or killing those whom he deemed a threat to justice. He's a very well-designed character, strong in many areas yet he has very profound, noticeable flaws. The main character of the Fate/Stay Night series, Shirou, was criticized for being bland, cliched, what have you. Seems like TYPE Moon listened to their fans.

Kiritsugu's nickname? 'The Magus Killer.'

Another thing about the story is that the focus is all about the war and character dynamics, in between all the action. There are no filler arcs, no tangents or whatnot that has plagued mainstream anime to no end. Everything that happens in the story stays. It's very short as a result - twenty-five episodes total. But that's a good length - it doesn't outstay its welcome, and it can keep its focus on what's really important instead of burning itself out after god-knows-how-many episodes. It starts off impactful and it stays impactful until the very end. 

Oh, another thing, for those of you expecting pure action, maybe a bit of drama mixed in between, then you might get a bit more of the latter than you'd expect. The storyline is very grim and dark, the whole series being VERY much grey vs. black morality or even at times black vs. black. There is also a lot of information conveyed throughout the series - if you watch only the fight scenes and don't try to listen to the story, you'll get lost very quickly. These characters aren't just characters - they're people. They all have their strengths that support them and flaws that drag them down. Even the Servants, some of whom are legendary heroes, aren't infallible. Heck, some of the Servants are arguably carrying some of the biggest emotional packages around!

The best of intentions can lead to the worst of outcomes...

Yeah, the series is dark... almost a bit too dark. It's kind of depressing to watch when you factor in the story and all the characters, and it just keeps hitting you in the gut over and over with the whole 'this war is f***ing hell' message. But honestly, it could have toned it down a little bit. Once you get hit with the grimness and dark tone of the series over and over again, honestly, you start getting numb to it. I mean, yeah, there are a lot of scenes you're going to cry over (no, really), but I think if it wasn't played or done too often, it would've had much more of an impact each time.

That being said, I can't think of many cons for this anime. If you want my personal opinion, I say go watch it. If you want to judge for yourself... well, here's a small excerpt from the first episode that should give you a clue on the tone of the series. Watch it and ask yourself whether you should or not. You'll probably agree with me. >_> XD

Starting off: RWBY

Aaand I'm making a post practically a few minutes after my intro. I'm funny that way. *shrugs*

I'm sure no few of you have heard of Monty Oum's latest work, RWBY. For those of you who need a bit of background, Monty Oum is an amateur animator who became famous thanks to his Dead Fantasy series - a series of 3D animated videos of the girls from the Final Fantasy series and the Dead or Alive series fighting one another. The videos were fanservice in many ways - many saw their favorite characters from either series participate and kick massive amounts of ass... and it helps that the girls themselves have been rather well-known for being fetish fuel. I mean, Dead or Alive. Come on, people. Luckily, aside from having the hottest girls in each series join in, the perverseness is very much a secondary thing, with the gravity-defying, flashy, Advent-Children-style action taking place foremost. The videos - and Monty Oum himself - rapidly gained popularity, enough that Rooster Teeth, a company infamous for its web series like Red and Blue, hired him to do their own series: RWBY.

Cute and badass. At the same time. There's gotta be a law against that.

The series centers around its four girls, whose first name initials make up the name: Ruby Rose (pictured above), Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. Each girl has their own color code to - and for the sake of avoiding the title of 'Captain Obvious', I'll leave it to you guys to figure out. The backstory is that most of mankind has been wiped out by the creatures of Grimm, and to counteract them, the survivors of humankind have formed the Hunters/Huntresses, people specifically trained to combat the creatures of Grimm. And surprise surprise, our four protagonists have been inducted into the elite Beacon's Academy to start off their adventure.

Now then, to start off with, the action doesn't disappoint - which is certainly helped by Monty Oum's addiction to putting guns (or gun motifs, same thing) on EVERY FRICKIN' WEAPON. Here's just a sample - and I repeat, a SAMPLE - of just how said guns are used on the weapons.

Yes, it's a gun-scythe. Yes, it's awesome. Yes, it would never work in real life. Yes, f*** reality.

Now, if it was just a pure action series like Dead Fantasy was, just having awesome fight scenes would be great. However, it's not all action - there's actually a storyline, in case the backstory I gave didn't already tell you. This is where RWBY starts suffering a bit. On a technical level, while the animations for the fights are absolutely top notch, the animations for the characters doing normal things is... a bit choppy and sometimes just plain novice-like. Obviously, most of the work was put in the fight scenes. Graphics are simplistic, but I don't suppose that can be helped. The 'extras' aren't even fully rendered - they're just black silhouettes. Although a bit lazy, this makes it REALLY handy to tell the main/supporting cast.

Tell me this doesn't SCREAM 'Hogwarts'.

Also, this series has anime cliches coming out of the wazoo. I mean, take your pick, it's probably there. The hyperactive, cheerful girl being paired with the cold and calculating one, the quiet, bookish type with the loud, boisterous bruiser, the whole school itself, good cop, bad cop, etc, etc, etc. The voice acting itself definitely isn't spectacular - but then, it's not like they brought in Michelle Ruff or Stephanie Sheh to do them. It's currently in debate whether this is a very professional amateur work or a very amateurish professional work.

That said, even with these flaws, RWBY does quite a few things right. We expected over-the-top action from Monty Oum and delivers it to us on a silver platter. The characters, despite being cookie cut-out cliches, are developed and written well enough that one can genuinely like the characters for their various quirks and oddities. There are also a good deal of funny moments too, helped by the main character, Ruby, being such a ditz. The designs for the weapons, characters, and the setting are very well done, and that aside, the series is just beginning (despite being 10 episodes in at this time of writing). Who knows how much it'll develop in the future?

So, in conclusion, if you're looking for character-focused, heavy narrative... don't expect to find much of that here. On the other hand, if you're looking for lighthearted comedy and/or insane action that essentially gives physics the middle finger, RWBY is the series for you.