Anime:
Hunter x Hunter
Natsume Yuujinchou
Sora no Woto
Books/Manga:
The Fires of Heaven
Video Games:
Mass Effect
Visual Novels:
Kira Kira (Japanese)
Shadows of Pygmalion
If you especially want a review of one of these then let me know. I don’t review everything I play.
The Geek Clinic 
Oh, you reading A Simple Survey? Still not sure if I want to write a review for that myself, but I’ll be interested to see what you think of it :p
I though a lot of the short stories were very interesting, though overall I can only call it average. The idea of choosing your route based on your rankings is cool but because the routes were so short it didn’t have very much impact IMO.
I’m reading the second one now, “A Simple Monitoring” and at the moment I think it’s the better of the two. Have you read that one?
Finished it, lol.
The problem with the short stories is that a number of them (especially the serious ones) always end just when they are starting to be interesting, despite having an interesting enough of a concept. In contrast, most of the short stories in A Simple Monitoring’s short stories are mostly psychological-survival types, victor and defeat will usually be made clear by the end of each short story – which means there’s better conclusive points.
The “true routes” do indeed feel a bit too short. It’s creativity is top-notch but the structure I admit it’s a bit poor. Since there are so many short stories, the “true route” was forced to shorten, what’s more, it’s broken down into several one’s, so each one gets an even shorter length.
A Simple Monitoring addressed this issue though, but it’s “interaction” system is quite complex, though it does oddly fits since the “true route” is nothing short of “absurd”.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. All of the short stories in the first novel end on a cliffhanger that could easily be continued, meaning that the stories in A Simple Monitoring are just that much more satisfying.
I look forward to the true route then XD I wonder whether the “Simple” light novel series would work as visual novels? I’d probably give them a shot if the true routes at least were a little more fleshed out.
Gonna do a F/Z review?
I actually had a Type-Moon special planned for when I was doing my Weekly Ramblings that was going to include Fate/Zero and Carnival Phantasm. Since i’m rewatching it I may attempt to do a review but I can’t make any promises. What I can tell you is that I would give it at least a 9/10 and possibly higher.
Okay, fair enough ^^
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.
I watched the anime because Arkada said it was the best adaptation of a VN he had watched, so I assume he had tried both.
I’m wanting another opinion.
It’s third on that Youtube playlist.
I haven’t watched the anime myself but after reading a little over half of Higurashi/Kai I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the anime was better. The anime sounds a lot more gruesome for one thing; nothing that has happened in the VN has lived up to what i’ve been told by others who have only seen the anime. The VN also has HUGE periods where nothing at all happens at the start of each chapter, making it a bit of a slog at times as well. The exciting bits are very exciting but few and far between, so I would hope that the anime would smooth that out a bit.
In short: While I can’t say much about the anime, the visual novel is average so far. Both seasons of the anime have similar ratings to the one given in that video on MAL though, so chances are it’s decent.
That’s why I wanted another opinion as even with the gruesomeness and formulaic structure of the anime I still found it a bit ‘Meh’ when comparing it to how this reviewer hypes it up (though in general does very good quality and extensive video reviews). You would’ve had to go through a fair bit of anime before I’d even think of recommending it.
I’m a little sad to hear that because Higurashi has a lot of potential that only seems to be realized in very short sections. I still plan on finishing it, though, as it’s not bad enough to drop. We’ll see if I ever get around to the anime >.<
Steins;Gate, Anime or Visual Novel, either one they’re both REALLY good.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/ratings-anime.php?top50=best_bayesian
http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php
http://www.fasttopten.com/list/top-ten-anime-to-watch-in-2011
http://randomc.net/image/Miscellaneous/Best%20of%20Anime%202011/Readers%20Choice%20Favorite%20Anime%202011%20Results.html
There are more but I think this made my point pretty clear.
Both Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate are on my list. I plan to play the visual novels before watching the anime.
Wow… Grisaia no Kajitsu. That one has a bit of a reputation, don’t read it with your girlfriend around I can say that much, it’s NSFW. I’ve been told it’s very much a closed circle H-harem but maybe that’s what the doctor ordered after the tense feel of C;H.
An Anime of it is coming out in October as well.
I hear about Grisaia no Kajitsu often enough that I’ve decided I need to have an opinion on it, and you’re completely right in saying that I needed something lighthearted after Chaos;Head. A palate-cleanser before I dive into Steins;Gate, I guess.
That’s the spirit! ;D
You might not wanna go too far into heroine routes if you’re looking for something lighthearted. Although I only read Makina’s and half of Ama-nee’s, they get… dark. The comedy in the common route and the start of the routes is pretty spot-on, though. And the characters are pretty lovable. But it’s looooong…. I narrowed down the character routes to do, but even then I completely ran out of steam by Ama-nee’s….
Dark is good ^_^ Wait, what?
No, seriously. Comedy can only hold me so far, so i’m looking forward to when things get serious.
That’s good. Just thought I should warn you if you think it’s gonna be a fully light-hearted journey before Steins;Gate. I suspect it’ll go something like light -> dark -> light -> dark with the two of them.
I have to agree on this. Though I only read the Manga until Ch,12 (Mitchiru’s Route) their past is indeed dark. Especially Amane. Ergg I can’t take that image off my mind!
can you give a review on ‘tenchi muyo-war on geminar’ ?…cause i’m thinking of watching it but don’t know if it will be a good one….
Sure thing, i’ll watch it next after Valvrave. Might take a while before the review gets posted as i’ll be overseas for two months, but an initial check makes it seem like a pretty decent series.
thnx…:-)
Review written!
If you throw me an email (under the About -> Contact/Follow Me tab) I will send you an early copy =)
Durarara has a pretty unique style. The type that will confuse you at first but will gradually make sense as the story progress…
Each episode is narrated by a certain character in the series. They will offer their thoughts on the current situation or hint on upcoming conflicts and give some insight on the main characters hidden secrets
There are a lot of interesting characters with their own quirks and secrets that is fun to watch
Hope you enjoy the series!
I watch it dub thought…..
It’s a very similar style to Baccano (which makes sense, considering the writer), had a fantastic dub, though I ended up going subs with Durarara.
I enjoyed the start of the show and the first major climax (with the Dollars meetup) but the Saika arc that came after that lost me a little and i’m currently trying to decide whether to continue or not. I can understand a headless horseman (Dullahan) with semi-magical powers, and I can understand a man that’s ridiculously strong because he has no internal limiters, but a sword that corrupts minds by inspiring them to convey their love by killing….well, I have a little trouble wrapping my head around that, which in turn limited my engagement with the arc
The show had some good moments, but given that the later seasons all have lower ratings than the first, I’m not sure whether I should keep watching or not.
The only way for a sword to tell you that it love’s you is by cutting you…Yeah its weird,but most of the show is.hehe…
The first season ended with most of the main character’s resume their normal lives or come to terms with past regrets. Most secrets are reviled to the viewer as well The next seasons will be made by a different studio so there are some minor change in the art. (I hardly notice it)
Ending the series here is fine. I won’t recommend the next seasons if you think you missed something or got lost in its unique style of story telling. Because the next seasons are even more confusing with its new set of characters, whom will create some conflicts, and yes there all weird. Some Russian assassin’s, a biker gang,a serial killer,a crazy chick and the return of the blue square’s. Even the daughter of a yakuza boss seems to have a tick, in a cute way…= D
Any way, I’ve finished the series now and I’m quite satisfied with its ending, everything seems to be resolved well. Then again that’s just me…:)
The storytelling style is fine, and I enjoyed watching the separate threads converging as they approached their conclusion, but sometimes you can tell a series just isn’t for you and I get that vibe from Durarara. That said, I haven’t given up on it completely; i’ve had another friend push me to continue so I might just take a break and come back to it in a while.
My feelings toward the series are similar to Baccano in that I can appreciate the storytelling and why other people enjoy the series without feeling engaged myself. If the rest of the series manages to change my opinion i’ll probably write a review =)