I honestly didn’t expect that much from Studio DEEN when I saw a small synopsis of this show. The small image I saw at the time wasn’t a very good indicator of the style either. Boy was I wrong. The show boasts a strong and solid first episode that is done well enough to let you know if you’re going to like the rest of it. Unfortunately, it was a very low key episode, reminiscent of a talking heads episode from either Steins;Gate or the monogatari series (Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari). It is not as heady and rapid fire as Nisemonogatari, and not sci-fi like Steins;Gate. Instead it treads lightly with a dead atmosphere. It’s reinforced by it’s OP/ED, which I think manage to capture the mood well enough that they don’t sound completely unrelated to the series.

It’s three episodes in, and with that standard metric of three episodes per impression, this one left a quiet, but strong one. The third episode alone leaves with a cliffhanger for all those who love unresolved conflicts. However, all I see happening is character drama and maybe some undead drama. Should you watch it? Well, it’s hard to say. If anything, it’s not a moe blob anime, and nor is it a big-boobed, ecchi anime. (I say this with a screencap of a well endowed character cradling her breasts.) It’s the other zombie anime to watch this season aside from Kore wa zombie desu ka? of the Dead. Sankarea the manga is somehow described as a humor series as well from various places, but I’m not sure what to expect. It’s definitely not going to be wacky humor, which will kill any mood and atmosphere it’s already got going for it. If you’ve read the manga beforehand… well, all of your kind always complain about adaptation issues anyways.

And it’s Studio DEEN. Come on, I’ve got the right to be a little skeptical.

I really do hate it when the intro and outro music don’t fit the anime. Obviously subjective, but dammit, being immersed is the only way I can get through an episode without laughing at points where I shouldn’t. Sankarea very much avoids this pitfall.

-maserbeam

(It’s so cute!)

Hello everyone, I’m The Xenomorph, your new contributer, I’m your typical everyday xenomorph otaku that likes his anime with a great premise, and not some series made for the sake of fan service, a.k.a no moe blobs for the sake of moe blobs (I eat them). I’m also a strong advocate for the preservation of the male character in the modern anime (tired of these all female driven casts, sometimes you need a man’s touch). My video games are all about the story, if it isnt at least twenty hours, it better be as fun as hell (Monster Hunter) or a masterpiece. But in all honesty if you give me something different I’ll watch it and I’ll give a cool collected response. I may be called The Xenomorph but that doesn’t mean I’ll bite your head off (unless your Mami).

Now you may be wondering why I, your everyday xenomorph drone, would want to write about anime and video games?  Well I say good question! To be honest its my biggest hobby, outside of trading cards, and I think that after all the anime I have watched I can make some valid points about the story, motifs, characters, etc. I think my greatest attribute is that I started my anime life in the 90′s and have experienced the transition to what anime is today and I think I can give great insight on the pros and cons in what this new generation has become and where it is heading. In all reality that’s really what I want to do with my articles: to compare the old generation to the new; I want to get my beliefs out there and see who agrees with me. Same goes for video games, the days of the rpg of my childhood and this new generation that is so fps and competitive gameplay focused. Bottom line I got some opinions and I’d love to share them.

Hmmm….what you want to know why I call myself Xenomorph? Well I’ll tell you, back in the day of my childhood I was tramatized and at the same time facisnated by these adorable majestic creatures; as a result I have been a fan of the dark, the mysterious, the creepy and above all the badass. I want to share these concepts with my reader. Xenomorphs fascinate and scare me, I want my readers to know my fear…to know my intrigue.

My first post is coming soon……..

-The Xenomorph

Would you like your mug to contain coffee coffee?!

There should be some kind of metric for humor. Or at least some way of better convincing someone they should be laughing at something. But this isn’t a post about that. Nichijou is finally legal at the ripe episode of 18, and what do we get? The Embarrassment of Yuuko Aioi. Jesus Butt-fondling Christ I had a haddock. Because fish is all your references must point to when talking about anime, since it’s from the land of Japan. I laughed very hard during Yuuko’s train ride of mistakes. It wasn’t a derail unfortunately, but the destination was ultimately kind of boring. One of the few times where I really didn’t feel the vibe it was going for. Mai in the knight get-up trying to troll Yuuko into going trick or treating made me sad.

More importantly, the image I’m using made me reminisce for the days I actively drew stuff for fun. I had a character with snake pupil eyes, and whenever she entered her higher form of strength and concentration, her pupils would rotate to a horizontal position. Very obvious symbolism of the “unlocking of powers” type of character development. Man, I sucked at character design.

There was also one time where I had a dream that a cop pulled me over to ask me, “You know I pulled you over, right?” To which I would reply affirmatively. The policeman nods in agreement and returns to his patrol car and zooms off to find someone else to pull over. I woke up at that point and wondered what it meant. It meant that I would eat bread in 5 minutes. Yuuko’s dream in the last segment was easily better than mine. (Not that I was ever implying my dreams are awesome, because they’re not. They are disappointingly bland.)

See the ratings for the episode.

-maserbeam

I guess I should post something before the day is over. Have a picture of Ookami-san and her buddies eating a pizza.

-maserbeam

If you are a returning user, or have read several pages of this site, you’ll have noticed a new rating system (along with a silly new graphic) instead of the moentgen system. I tried to come off as scientific as possible with the radiation stuff, but I realized that was just me being an idiot after playing way too much of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. So instead of measuring a fake amount of radiation, I went with Planes and Pants.

Rating systems are for the birds.

-maserbeam