Anime Sunday: Radiant Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m back with my thoughts on the first foreign made Manga series’s Anime Adaptation. It’s my Radiant Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot: The plot is pretty much standard Shonen fare, so it’s nothing spectacular. That being said, consider that a Frenchman makes the original source material and you might begin to see how it is noteworthy for how it sticks to the formula. Still this isn’t a really groundbreaking series in terms of story at least in this first episode. That may change in later episodes or in the original Manga but it wasn’t present in the first episode.

Characters: Seth is our main character and he’s pretty much the standard Shonen protagonist. Kid with big dreams and generally no real way to go about achieving them. The rest of the cast that was introduced in this episode isn’t too interesting either, but it’s not bad. It just didn’t hold my interest other than being noteworthy for the reasons stated above.

Art: The art is pretty well done, and while I haven’t watched later episodes if it sticks to this first episode’s level of quality it’ll be a good series in terms of art. That said it’s again nothing spectacular and not amazing like a ufotable production.

Music: The music is pretty standard Shonen, again. You’ll be noticing that this is a pattern, but once more it’s not particularly outstanding, nor is it particularly terrible.

Overall: Worth a watch for those who enjoy Shonen shows, but those who have little interest in them will find Radiant only interesting in what it could mean for future series.

For those who like: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama, Shonen Stories.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Pochi Kuro by Matsumoto Naoya

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Pochi Kuro by Matsumoto Naoya!

Plot Synopsis: A human girl falls into the demon realm and can’t seem to communicate with the local demon, Kuro, who found her. Humans are rare in the demon realm and many would love to eat a human…

Plot: The plot of this first chapter is pretty great, especially since Kuro and the girl can’t seem to communicate at all except through gestures. We never do get her name though in this chapter. I assume we’ll learn it later.

Characters: Kuro is a pretty hilarious male lead, as it’s pretty obvious he’s got no idea what to do when it comes to “cooking” a human. The girl is also pretty funny, although not being unable to understand her is a pit disappointing for us readers it does add to the humor of the chapter.

Art: The art is great as one would expect from a series that’s been published by Shueisha.

Overall: This looks to be an enjoyable and humorous series, definitely worth a read if you are looking for some laughs and a good plot.

For those who like: Fantasy, Drama, Romance?, Great Plot, Excellent Lead Characters, Fantastic Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Vector Ball by Raiku Makoto

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got a Quick Review for a rather interesting series. It’s Vector Ball by Raiku Makoto!

Plot Synopsis: After a series of bizarre incidents in his school, student Kometaki Okaka decided to investigate the cause of it. What he discovers will turn his world upside down…

Plot: The plot of this series is really out there. It is full of really odd gags, least of all being the belly hair song…. Yeah I really just wrote that. I was actually laughing my head off the entire time I was reading, but after finishing this first chapter I found out that the Mangaka axed the series by his own request after 44 chapters. So while I’m really intrigued by the series I don’t know if I’ll continue reading it.

Characters: The cast is just plain odd. I can’t stress how odd this series is. Kometaki was an interesting lead character, if really strange, but that can be said about every character. My favorite side character was Mouryou (spelling is probably wrong, but oh well).

Art: The art was great, it’s not got the high detail level of a Jump work, but it’s still quite good. And it fits this series perfectly.

Overall: If you don’t mind the series being axed prematurely and enjoy really oddball stories, you’ll love Vector Ball.

For those who like: Bizarre Things, Action, Comedy, Interesting Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Great Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or a series that ends abruptly.

Manga Monday: Black Torch by Takaki Tsuyoshi

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got another Quick Review, although this is a very new series. It’s Black Torch by Takaki Tsuyoshi!

Plot Synopsis: As a descendant of shinobi, Azuma Jirou has been learning ninja techniques his entire life. But in addition to that, Jirou also has the ability to talk to animals. One day when he rescues a strange black cat named Ragou, he learns that the world is filled with spirits called mononoke that can take the form of both people and animals…

Plot: The plot of this first chapter was pretty awesome, and while there were tropes aplenty I didn’t really mind them. That being said some will probably be less excited, but personally I think this might just become a great series in the future. I’ll probably hold off on reading the second (and latest chapter) until there are a lot more chapters to read.

Characters: Jirou is a pretty interesting main character, he’s a pretty slick young man who seems to have his stuff together pretty well, although he is a bit arrogant. Ragou on the other hand is pretty snarky, which was fun. I hope he keeps that quality as the series continues, as I always enjoy snark.

Art: The art is excellent, but given that this is a Shueisha publication I expected nothing less.

Overall: Giving this a go ahead, though with the warning that it’s only got two chapters thus far.

For those who like: Urban Fantasy, Ninjas, Supernatural, Action, Adventure, Drama, Great Plot, Excellent Characters, Awesome Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Buster Dress by Sadamatsu Ryuuichi

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got a Quick Review for you all. It’s Buster Dress by Sadamatsu Ryuuichi!

Plot Synopsis: At the end of the 22nd century, the human race has created a new colony called Second Earth. After a mysterious terrorist attack, a unit made up of Buster Dress, an incredibly intelligent A.I. mech, have been deployed to investigate. Aoi Haruto , along with his BDD-223 Gunhawk embark on a journey to solve this mystery.

Plot: The plot is pretty good, it’s a very interesting twist on the Boy becomes Giant Robot pilot trope, as Gunhawk is pretty much his only friend. The action wasn’t as intense as it might be in later chapters but what was present in this first chapter was pretty good.

Characters: We get introduced to Haruto and Gunhawk in this first chapter, but we also got to meet a couple other faces, including a young girl mechanic who obviously has a thing for Haruto. Frankly I liked her quite a bit, but we don’t even get to know her name.

Art: The artwork is amazing, if I didn’t know that it wasn’t I’d say it was published by Shueisha for the excellent quality.

Overall: This looks to be a pretty interesting series, give it a shot if you love Sci-Fi and/or Giant Robots.

For those who like: Sci-Fi, Mecha, Great Plot, Excellent Cast of Characters, Fantastic Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.