Psychic Academy 4/10

A show that came free with the first volume of the manga. How could I go wrong? So very wrong.

This show follows the age old tradition of CG scanned and coloured shows with it's blinding array of clashing colours and unnatural pans over still shots. I hate this early CG stuff and it bugs the hell out of me. Trouble Chocolate, Lost Universe, and Saber Marionette J to X come to mind as other examples. The character designs are OK but inconsistent, I enjoy the large breasts and provocative outfits of the girls but not their hideous expressions when the quality takes a dive. I'm torn. The VA's were nothing special and the music was somewhat forgettable. These 24 episodes came out in 2002 but only run 9 minutes each.

The story here is actually a premise I usually enjoy. The world now is the home of certain people who have become psychics. The main character Shiomi has late blooming powers and has just been transferred to the Psychic Academy. Once there he reunites with his childhood friend Orina, a girl with a large rack and provocative wardrobe. He also meets a angry loner girl named Mew, also with a large rack and provocative wardrobe.

The series runs 24 15 min episodes and is mainly about Shiomi's life at school and ends before any real plot gets going. We do learn that while Shiomi is going out with Orina, he has a strange connection with Mew and we get a bit of a love triangle going.

The show isn't bad it just doesn't go anywhere. The manga (which I've mostly read a this point) actually goes somewhere and I suppose if you're a fan of the manga you'd like this show as an interesting perspective on the first few volumes if you can forgive the crappy quality. Recommended for big fans of the manga.

Avenger 7/10

It's a grim future...again. Humanity has been relegated to a lonely outpost on a desolate planet...again. The populace has become sterile...again. From the ashes rises a hero...again.

Avenger is a newer show so on the technical side this series is of a higher quality , as it should be being as it aired in 2003. The character designs are really great and the backgrounds and character art are consistent throughout all 13 episodes. The music is OK overall and the VA's do the standard great job.

Earth was destroyed 10 or so years ago but not before Mars was colonized 40 years previous to that. Around that time the humans on Mars ceased having children due to some unknown reason. To replace the missing children people have created androids in their image for another unknown reason. I believe it's so the writers can have a convenient plot device.

The story starts with a young woman named Layla who travels with a little girl(?) android named Nei. Layla is a gladiator who is to compete in a tournament between the Mars city states in order to determine how the limited Martian resources are to be divided up. This tournament is again never really explained and is probably advertised as "The Ultimate Plot Advancement Tournament of Champions". Because of this Layla is a highly trained fighter who is very adept at dispatching the black cloaked little girl androids sent to kidnap Nei on a regular basis. (Once again the trauma of the destruction of Earth has cost humanity their ability to use projectile weapons.) Nei is seemingly a very advanced android and they meet up with an android repair guy named Speedy who joins them on their travels after meeting. He either comes along because..well..he just does, I suppose it's because Layla and Nei really don't talk much.

The plot kind of meanders around a bit to start. We learn early on that Nei isn't just an android but she's a little girl(?), how she ended up with Layla is never explained. The people running Mars want Nei in order to preform the standard tossing of the little girl(?) into a large glowing tank of green water and running tests. They first batch of shows involve the group running from the authorities after being forced into the cities in search of food.

We also learn some of the backstory about Mars. There are these immortals who run Mars who came from Earth back in the day. 10 years ago they shot down an escape ship from Earth when it showed up looking for help. It turns out Layla was the only survivor who was rescued by the immortal guy, Cross, who disagreed with the rest of the rulers and went out to live in the desert. Cross trained Layla to fight for revenge, then berates her later in the series for living for revenge. What a jerk!

Also, when the Earth was destroyed alot of people went into stasis on the moon. Then the moon went to Mars. When it arrived at Mars it caused havoc, kind of like when Megatron brought Cybertron to Earth. The people on Earth are waking up at the time the story takes place but we never see them, never find out why they slept, never find out what their plans are, never know why the immortals are so pissed at them and of course never find out HOW THEY MOVED THE MOON!

If you can get past the insane premise and HUGE plot holes this show is pretty great. It's basically about Layla trying to protect the one thing she cares about and making a choice to fight for that and not revenge. I also liked watching each show waiting for the revelation as to Nei's true nature because you never know what kind of weird twist they're going to put in. I recommend this show but it's not as well thought out as say Saber Marionette J even though it shares alot of the same ideas.

Star Ocean EX 2/10

Oh man! This show really crashed and burned. It was like a train wreck. So sad.

Based on Star Ocean 2: Second Story for Playstation, I had such high hopes. The game was a little weak in the story department but the amazing music, visuals and interesting character designs made up for it. The music was especially memorable and I was looking forward to more of the same goodness in Star Ocean EX.

BZZZZT! WRONGO ZENITH27ERINO!

Dang.

Starting with the visuals, the small bright spot in this series is the retention of the basic character designs from the game and the nice colours. The problems start right away with the inconsistent animation quality and lack of any great effects in post-production. The backgrounds are sub-standard but since the story rarely goes anywhere interesting this isn't a real problem. The great symphonic music from the game is completely absent here and replaced with boring and uninspired generic synth crappiness. The OP theme is annoying but the ED theme isn't entirely a waste of time listening to. The VA's are average and I have no real complaints there. These 26 episodes aired back in 2001 and I'd like to go back to that time and slap the creators around a bit.

The plot goes something like this. Claude is a crewmember on a spaceship with his father as captain. They go down to a planet and Claude is accidentally teleported to a planet and marooned there. He meets Rena, a girl who believes Claude to be the legendary hero destined to save the world. The world is in trouble from the Sorcery Globe on the next continent over and it's creating monsters and wreaking havoc on the populace. Claude and Rena set out to save the world with and meet various characters on the way who join them on their journey. They ultimately get to the Sorcery Globe and..I won't spoil the ending.

This is a rather short plot summary but that's about all that happens. The other characters are thrown in and there are so many of them they don't get any real growth or plot involvement going. The game had all these characters but you were forced to choose 7 or so out of the 12 or so available. Star Ocean EX attempts to cram everyone in, to the detriment of the story. It's almost like the first and last couple episodes are simply framing for a bunch of filler. Also the ending of the series was atrocious. The game has multiple endings depending on the relationships between the characters established during play. The show's story ends before the game's story ends. What!? YOU HAD 30+ ENDINGS TO CHOOSE FROM AND PICKED NONE OF THEM!!!??? CRIPES!

With the somewhat crappy production quality, bad writing and retarded ending I can't recommend this show to anyone other then fans of the game. Not-recommended.

Eiken 6/10

This show doesn't just cross the line between good and bad taste, it sprays plain yogurt on it in a very suggestive manner but like Thrills gum, you get used to it.

This 2 episode OAV set is pretty recent so the whole thing looks and sounds really good overall. The character designs are great but a little on the creepy side with the ENORMOUS BREASTS most of them have. I mean HUGE! The animation quality is really good throughout and everything is extremely colourful but not too overdone. The backgrounds are good and the VA's were about average except for the green haired teacher who's whiny tone drove me nuts and the little sister Yuriko who's voice made me laugh. The music was alright and nothing really stood out, bad or good. The 2 episodes of Eiken jiggled onto home video back in2003.

The story here is pretty thin. This kid named Densuke has enrolled in the gigantic Zashono Academy to attend high school. He is quickly roped into joining the school Eiken club after falling on (and accidentally fondling) the shy (and busty) Chiharu. The question must now be asked, what is the Eiken club exactly? Well we never really know. Densuke is the only guy in the club, the rest of the members are all rather well-endowed in the hooters department, and they enter club competitions that make up the bulk of the 2 episodes. It seems the club is rather exclusive buy WHY?

The plot mainly focuses on Densuke pining over Chiharu and the harassment he undergoes by Chiharu's little sister who has a thing for our hero. Each episode ends with the Eiken club competing in a somewhat perverted competition involving things like sucking frozen bananas, swimming through a pool filled with eels (yes, THAT happens), and of course sliding as a team down a water slide filled with yogurt or chocolate sauce. Of course the rest of the show is filled with jiggling, bouncing, and suggestive situations but oddly very little nudity. Oh well.

This show is a little disturbing at first with the truly heroic level of fan-service but you'll get used to it by the second episode. Recommended...if you're into that sort of thing. Heh heh.