Tiger & Bunny, 2011 - anime

Title: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: action, comedy, mystery, (b)romance
Length: 25 episodes
Format: anime

Oh boy. Where do I start? It was the title that got me. I was wondering what sort of show could have a name that cheesy and initially thought it would be full of tiny characters with overly cute features, or something having to do with animals and life lessons. Instead, I got the brain child of the Power Rangers, Marvel and DC, and every other western superhero/mutant-based comic or show that's out there.

T&B is littered with western comic book superhero influences, including but not limited to The Avengers, TMNT, X-Men, and Batman. But unlike our normal western superhero drama, T&B puts a twist on the classic by giving it a sports-like atmosphere. We don't just have superheros or people with superpowers, they're contracted to major multimillionaire companies, sponsored by popular consumer products like Pepsi and Bandai. They compete with each other to earn the most points by capturing criminals and saving citizens.

I must say, the game spin caught me off guard, as well as the full blown CG that's used on the characters' costumes. More often than not I shy away from such obvious shows of CG because I don't like how it meshes well with the 2D art that's notorious in anime/cartoons. I prefer to have CG being used as cinematography aids rather than key factors in the show.

However, I managed to put my prejudice aside for this show. After getting past my initial shock and discomfort, I found I didn't really mind it because of the type of action scenes the characters engage in. For those who share the same discomfort as me, I think you'll be able to enjoy this show anyway.

Of course, to enjoy this show, you have to first be familiar with western superheros. Not just Superman and Batman, but even the other branches as well. The organizations and the affiliations. You don't have to be a major geek to understand it all, but it helps to be familiar with the main trademarks and characters of each series.

It is this knowledge that will help you pick up the cues that are peppered all throughout the show. Characters in T&B have been designed with one or more western super' in mind. To give you a hint, one of Wild Tiger's handy gadgets is reminiscent of Spiderman's web. I could tell you more, but some key factors are spoilers. I'm sure if you watch you'll see what I mean.

Now, apart from the homage to western comic book heroes, the show if very lively and dramatic, touching on almost every major genre. You've got a bit of action, a bit of adventure, a bit of family drama, friendship drama, mystery, and romance -- though that one takes a backseat to the action and drama.

I added bromance to the genre because this show deals heavily on the partnership of Wild Tiger and Barnaby/Bunny. They have a partnership that begins in adversity and grows into something powerful and indestructible at the end. Their teamwork and trust helps them to overcome obstacles both in the crime fighting world and on a personal level. They are a dynamic duo.

If you want to have a few laughs and indulge in something that brings you back to your childhood days of fantasizing about Superman and Wonderwoman and whatnot, I think this series is right for you. It's fun and suitable for various types of audiences.

Overall: 4 out of 5

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

Title: Grimspace
Author: Ann Aguirre
Format: book

It's been a long time since I've delved into the sci-fi genre, and this book will be my first reintroduction. That said, I'm no expert on the standards, so I'll be going into this virgin. As someone who's rather new to this field, I say it's been a spectacular ride. 

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is the characterization. I've read books where main couple doesn't really tug at my heartstrings enough. Either they're lacking some element in their personality that makes them seem very 2-dimensional, or the chemistry between character A and character B just doesn't mesh well to me. 

Jax and March are a peculiar couple, but I found their relationship to be entertaining to watch. They're quick witted, both have issues to deal with, and both have messed up personalities that somehow make them quite compatible with each other. It helps that the roles they play on the ship help them to connect in a way that very few can replicate. 

Speaking of ship, the scenes where Jax is plugged in and navigating grimspace were quite interesting. There are various ways that grimspace can be interpreted, and part of me thinks it hearkens back to Star Trek and warp speed travel. All that's missing is the presence of aliens.

Oh wait, no it's not. You can't have sci-fi without some aliens, especially not when space travel is involved. Though there isn't a lot of introduction to what other creatures live out there in the galaxy, we do get to see some hint that there are more than just humans roaming space when Jax and Co. face a few life-threatening challenges. Bugs seem to be the theme for the aliens in this book, as I have yet to see something mammalian show up. I'm hoping that will change in the next book of this series. 

Another things I'd like to see is a bit more stuff getting done for the team's mission. Grimspace definitely felt like nothing more than an introduction to the characters, world, and life that Jax and her team live. There were a lot of side trips and sidetracking involved in this book, and -- in part -- it felt random and unsatisfying. Nothing got done -- except for people, but that's a completely different matter. I hope that more of the mission gets tackled in the next book because I felt like I only got a taste. A tease. An awful tease. 

At least Jax was entertaining to be with. Her point of view on things run against the grain more often than not. Her personality makes her likable, as she's full of snark and wit and sarcasm. She also has a head full of crazy ideas, which can sometimes work out of her favor when she overthinks things, but also lead her to the right conclusions when the going gets rough. 

I'm sure Jax will continue to be entertaining as she and the crew continue on their journey. I'm interested to see how this will go because the ending left many questions unanswered. 

Overall: 4 out of 5

Noblesse: Season One by Son Jae Ho

Title: Noblesse (Season 1)

Author: Son Jae Ho

Format: webcomic

My brain's a little muddled, but let's see how well I can do this. To start, Noblesse originally is a Korean webcomic. Manhwa, if you prefer. Since then, it's progressed quite well, and I believe the creators have published the story into volumes. (Don't quote me on that.) 

Noblesse is a complex story that revolves not necessarily on one protagonist, but a group of them. We first meet the core of the "group" within the first few pages of the first chapter: Rai. His name doesn't get revealed until a little later, by which we as the audience finds out that "Rai" is more like his nickname, bestowed upon him by three Korean high school students who are right away added to our protagonist bunch. 

Though the story does seem to center around the school environment at first, as Rai explores a world he has -- until now -- been oblivious to, it is not really a high school based story. Noblesse doesn't focus on classes or school drama, etc. that's often seen in Japanese manga/anime. In fact, the school is merely a starting point and neutral meeting ground for some of the series' main characters to come together. 

Speaking of characters, another person to add to the bunch is the handsome principal: Frankenstein. Franky is the loyal servant of Rai, who has a mysterious past that whispers of the immense power he holds. For years upon years, Franky has been looking for Rai, uncertain of what happened to him after he disappeared from their mutual home. 

While there are many questions about what happened and why Rai was missing, very few get answered as events take a dramatic turn. Of course, if you have protagonists, you have to have antagonists. For Season one (which happens to consist of 92 chapters total), these villains come in pairs, in two waves. 

We learn a little bit more about the world that these characters live in and get a hint of the powers that they hide from the public, human eye, as supernatural people come to cause havoc. The first pair, who only go by code names M-21 and M-24, seem to be searching for something. There is suspicion that they're looking for Rai. 

This spells trouble, not just for Rai and Franky, but also those who they associate with. The innocent will always get dragged into dangerous situations whether they like it or not, and the unfortunate coincidence of their acquaintance with Rai and Franky lead the three high school students (Yoona, Ikhan, and Shinwoo) to become victims of circumstance. 

When the three students get into trouble, Rai and Franky take a step forward to save them. The battles and confrontations that take place as the students run into trouble again and again give light to the powers that Rai and Franky have, making it clear they are anything but normal humans. If humans at all. 

Noblesse is full of action and fighting scenes that raise the tension with every progressive chapter that takes place. As a webcomic, it's expected that scenes will take a while to finish, but if you're reading the season all at once, it's hard to notice. 

The colors and dramatic actions that are drawn out are wonderful to stare at. The artists do a fantastic job using a blend of lights and darks to represent day and night, as well as adding a unique flare to certain powers. The lines are very delicate as well, precise and detailed with every frame that is drawn and colored. 

Despite the comic being full of pretty people, masculinity is not lost on the men, and the women are not overly sparkly or beautified. Take, for example, Franky. He's very pretty for a man. Long flowing blond hair and a perfect smile worth plastering on a poster. But even though he's got a pretty face, he has nasty secret that makes his personality very twisted. I wish I could say more, but that would be spoiling. 

I have to say, my favorite character in Season One is Frankenstein. He's complex and very dark. He has many layers and wears many faces. At times, you can't help but laugh at him. At other times, you want to take a step back and shudder at the things he can do and the things he says. 

Season One barely scratches at the surface of this universe. It's a fairly good setup and introduction to what Noblesse will be like later on down the road, and leave the reader curious and hungry for more. More knowledge, more action, just simply more more more. I give it two thumbs up. 

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

Inu x Boku SS, 2012 - anime

Title: Inu x Boku SS
Genre: shounen, fantasy, romance
Length: 12 episodes
Format: anime

I recently found this while avoiding a day of studying for a test. I know, I'm so responsible. But! My irresponsibility has shown me something new. I have never seen an anime like this before, so I wasn't too sure how I would like it. I tend to stray away from art where the female character looks like she belongs in junior high or lower. 

After watching the whole thing, I'm not disappointed in the outcome. A bit weirded out, and feeling peculiar, but let me explain why... 

First, let's start with the premise. Inu x Boku takes place in modern day and centers around a young girl who is fifteen years old. She is moving into an apartment complex with a reputation for employing bodyguards for the residents and being of supernatural taint. This is Ririchiyo. She has a round, pretty face, but her attitude is cold and her eyes even colder when you try to talk to her. But on the inside, she's awkward and clumsy at handling social situations, so that often leads to her lashing out when she doesn't mean to. 

That's where her bodyguard, who is a polar opposite of her, comes in. Upon arriving at the apartment, otherwise known as Ayakashi Mansion, she meets the man who is meant to be her bodyguard: Soushi. Soushi is devoted to a fault and perfectly selfless when it comes to meeting Ririchiyo's needs. He has no problem expressing his opinion, no matter how embarrassing it may be, least of all when it comes to the subject of Ririchiyo. 

Together, they make an awkward pair, and the comedic way they interact certainly deserves some laughs. Ririchiyo simply doesn't know what to do with Soushi most of the time, though she learns to accept his obsessions with time. 

A lot of this series is about meeting the people that Ririchiyo comes to live with, and her developing relationship with her bodyguard. It's cute to see her stumble and try to open up to certain situations that the rest of us as an audience would find so normal and easy to do. Especially in terms of love, we get to see how naive she is on the subject, and how she goes about dealing with it in the most evasive of manners. 

But let's not forget that this is a shounen series. Despite the cuteness, despite the lovey-dovey romance, despite having a girl as the main protagonist, we can't forget there are certain elements that make this series fit under the masculine title of "shounen." 

There is a level of perverseness in certain key side characters that make me wonder about their sanity. There's a woman who's borderline fetish/lesbian, a S&M fanatic, and a crossdresser/transvestite. The first two especially may give the audience reason to pause upon first seeing them because of their baud opinions about sexual subjects. The crossdresser is the least conspicuous of the three, which can be considered a nice contrast to the other extreme of abnormality. 

Then again, nothing of this show is normal. Each character in the story has their faults that are used to bring out a level of comedy in the show. One that should certainly be noted is Soushi's obsession with being Ririchiyo's bodyguard. Loyal though he is, he's overly emotional and often gets weepy whenever Ririchiyo has to leave his side to attend school or otherwise.

I don't think I've ever seen a male character in a shounen series cry so much. I don't think I've ever seen one have that many sparkles float around his head so often either. Part of me wonders if this really is a shounen series, but that's the label I've found it as, so I'm willing to extend my belief that it belongs there.

Now, aside from Soushi making me want to erase all those dang sparkles that sprout around his head, let me talk a bit about the plot. Yes, there is one, underneath all that nonsense. Aside from the subtle ways in which Ririchiyo develops friendship with some of the other residents at the complex, she also develops a relationship with Soushi. This relationship is a particularly sticky and complicated one, when you manage to ignore all the sparkly, comedic parts.

Soushi plays an important role in Ririchiyo's life, not simply as a bodyguard, but as a figure of influence. Soushi is a bit complex underneath that happy, selfless personality. He has his own dark thorns, which are part of the reason why his dedication to Ririchiyo is so significant. The truth about him is a bit surprising, especially when taking into consideration his nature. The things that are hinted that he's done are rather extreme. To think he was exposed so young to the darker parts of the world helps the audience understand why he is the way he is today.

I think the creators of the story could have gone a little more in-depth about the past, and maybe tossed around the sequence of events in the series to make it a bit more coherent. I enjoyed the comedy, but while I was watching, I felt like I was missing a few key elements that would have really pulled me into the story and connected with the characters.

If I had to say, without spending a few more episodes getting a little serious, this series lacks something that could have made it more 3-dimensional. It doesn't cover all the bases that would make for an excellent show, so I can't really say I'm overly impressed or fascinated by it. Nevermind that the premise wasn't especially original, I think it could have used a little extra something to help fill in some cracks that could have made up for the lack of episodes.

Would I watch this again? Possibly, but not solely out of adoration for it. It's a fun, simple series to watch from time to time, but I don't find myself especially obsessed about it. Anyone can watch it, if they're looking for a quick laugh and want to crack at other people's faults and perversions. Oh yes, I did mention the perversions, right?

Another reason why this series can probably be considered shounen is the constant molestation of girl characters - Ririchiyo especially - throughout the series. Seeing a girl with that frame, that age, being molested like that was a bit of a turn-off for me. I don't mind perversity in general, don't get me wrong, but when paired with that certain type of art, I prefer to avoid it.

In any case, this series is just something fun to watch and pass the time as I had. I'm sure there are people who will better enjoy it than me, but as someone who likes a little less crying and less sparkling in my men, and more frame to my girls, I'll just say this isn't for everyone.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5