Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos「REVIEW」

I finally had a chance to watch the much anticipated addition to the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series about 8 months after its theatrical release in Japan. I met Vic Mignogna the other day at Supanova and he was so lovely and signed the movie poster for me. The way he speaks is so cute and he's such a lovely person and I fangirled and yeah it was totally awesome. I haven't actually seen the dub yet but I'm sure it's great as all the FMA dubs are.

As a fan of the original series, I was quite excited and it wasn't something that I could miss. I was hoping for something that I would love as much as the TV series. However, I was sadly disappointed and as much as I wish it was good, it simply isn't. This review assumes you've seen the TV series.

Firstly, I'll start off with arguably the most important part of any movie, the storyline. If it doesn't have a story, what's the point? The Sacred Star of Milos has a straightforward and well comprehensible but it felt recycled. That was the biggest letdown. I was hoping for something a little more than your average plot twists and drama but after watching it just felt like I watched FMAB all over again in condensed form. That's not to say it was terrible or anything, I just felt they could've done a little (or a lot) more with the movie than what they did.

What they did do was re-use the whole seeking the Philosopher's stone for one's selfish desire thing and thinking it's some almighty, all-powerful creation until the secret behind it is realised. Then we have the standard torn reaction and the whole family drama etc etc etc. It all sounds very dramatic but it's rather mediocre. It's like a general formula that could be in the continuation of an already successful franchise, where a compromise is found between the effort put in and the quality of the end result. It's something I feel like I've seen only too many times.

Another thing I didn't quite like about this movie was that we didn't get to see much of the characters that were in the series so it just became something like same story, different characters. The new characters aren't exactly interesting either. This isn't completely negative though. I did like the fact that they were from Creta and the fact that the movie was set in Table City, the border between Amestris and Creta. If they ever took up the idea of the war between Amestris and Creta in a new series or something, I'd definitely be there.

The audiovisuals were a positive part of the movie though. Visually, it was a bit different from the series. The colours in the movie were a lot bolder and brighter, and everything was sharper. The action sequences were great. The soundtrack was fantastic as always.

Overall, while the writing was sloppy, it wasn't completely bad. The setting was great, despite being underdeveloped and audiovisuals lived up to what I expected. While I do say that the story isn't great, it wasn't something I consciously thought about while I was watching. It was only when it came to an end that I realised it could've been far better, so definitely give this a watch if you're a fan of the series as I am.

Score: 6/10

Kore wa Zombie desu ka? OF THE DEAD: First Impression

This is a direct follow on from the first series so I think no introduction is required. The first episode does that for you, with a quick reintroduction of what the first series was about, ie the interesting cast.

This season takes everything that was awesome about the first season and puts it all together. It's hilarious. All the original characters are back with a few new cool additions. The only thing that irks me is it's so short! With only 10 episodes, I'm curious as to what they are doing with this series. What I definitely know is, if you loved the first series, you will surely love this. I don't know how I managed to catch onto a series like this since I'm generally not a comedy kinda girl.

Quick character reintroductions aside, the first episode gets right into it with all the hilarious jokes all over again. Everything is so silly and exaggerated, and I can't help but laugh. I'm definitely going to be enjoying this series.

Accel World: Preview + First Impression

Title: Accel World
Type: TV Series
Episodes: 24
Producer: Sunrise
Genre: Action, Romance, Sci-Fi
Airing: April 07, 2012

Synopsis
The year is 2046. Haruyuki Arita is a young boy who finds himself on the lowest social rungs of his school. Ashamed of his miserable life, Haruyuki can only cope by indulging in virtual games. But that all changes when Kuroyukihime, the most popular girl in school, introduces him to a mysterious program called Brain Burst and a virtual reality called the Accel World.


PV




Pre-thoughts
I never really watch PVs. I usually just skim over the chart a couple of times and whatever catches my eye then I'll watch it. I actually did watch the PV for this and I loved the character design for Kuroyukihime so... I was sold on this series. Sunrise have also done a lot of series that I like so there's also that.

First Impression
I love the concept of this show. Futuristic world with fancy technology, male lead with an inferiority complex noticed by the most popular girl in school, multiplayer fighting game, add a jealous girl into the mix and voilà! It just feels like a super mindless but fun show to watch. I like Kuroyukihime's character. She's rather interesting and I can't wait to find out what the story is actually all about. And... nice art is nice. Everything is so ~pretty~. Extremely appealing to the eye. I like that.

Hiiro no Kakera: Preview + First Impression

Title: Hiiro no Kakera
Type: TV Series
Episodes: 26
Producer: Studio Deen
Genre: Romance,
Airing: April 01, 2012

Synopsis:
Based on otome game of the same name.

The protagonist is a teenage girl (Tamaki) who revisits a small village, she remembers from her childhood and gets caught up in her family's history and supernatural dangers surrounding it.While walking along the hillsides waiting for the person who her grandmother sent to fetch Tamaki to the village, Tamaki comes across a small, white round object with sticks for limbs and talks. It runs off soon after, with Tamaki chasing after it. Soon Tamaki finds herself in a place where ‘it doesn’t feel like the world I came from’. She gets attacked by three slime creatures, and a male comes charging in to save her - by clamping his hands around her body and mouth and telling her to be quiet.


PV


Pre-thoughts
REVERSE HAREM? SIGN ME UP. That was literally the only thing I thought of before deciding I would watch this. I really don't mind the idea of watching a heroine surrounded by a bunch of bishounen, no matter how cliche it can possibly be.

First Impression
Studio Deen is still lame but the artwork by Kazuki Yone is pretty awesome. If you're not watching this though, what are you doing with your life? 100% made for a young female audience. It's too early to tell whether this show is going to be more plot or romance orientated by I'm hoping for the romance side since otome games aren't exactly popular for their revolutionary storylines. The pacing feels a little slow at the moment. Studio Deen seems to be going for a more mysterious atmosphere to the show. Hopefully it balances well with the lighter moments. 26 episodes seems a little long but again it's too early to tell. Either way, I'm pretty sure when this ends, I'll say I liked it. Reverse harem never fails me!

Phi Brain, Brave 10, Another Final Impressions

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle
In retrospect, it really is like Yu-Gi-Oh! with puzzles. That's not to say it was bad at all. It got really boring in the middle but it picked up in the last 5 or so episodes. In short, I liked it enough for me to want to pick up season 2. Although, you can tell how much of an impression it left by how much I have to say here...

Another
Sometimes it was good, other times it was bad. I don't think I liked the ending very much and overall I never got the appeal of this series. It did look amazing but it was just boring. It felt like a waste of time for me.






Brave 10
Not going to lie, I loved this series. I will never turn down reverse harem. EVER. I like the generic characters and I liked the silly plot. It was the only show I looked forward to every week and I would watch it again if I had the time. It was totally awesome.

Guilty Crown Final Impressions

If you haven't heard already, this is my theory on how they wrote Guilty Crown. They forgot they had to limit the series to 22 episodes so they kept writing and writing, not sure on where they were supposed to be heading. Then suddenly they realised that they only had a few episodes left to end the series and they thought 'oh crap' and wrote the end of the series. I don't think I've seen a worse progressing series in my life. It kind of reminds me of a Korean drama where it goes up and up but then jumps of a cliff, except with this they were skiing down a slope and jumped off a cliff. I've just had it in for this series from the beginning for no apparent reason but I must say, the art and soundtrack was absolutely amazing. It was truly a spectacle to look at but still not really something I'd recommend. Full review coming. I have a lot to say about this.

Black Rock Shooter Final Impressions

I didn't feel it was a particularly amazing way to end a long awaited series but I did feel like it did it's job. It didn't end with a bang but everything was tied together nicely in the end. It was that kind of typical predictable happy ending but not the kind that makes you want to head-desk because it was that corny. It was okay. I liked it. I found myself smiling a little to myself at the end... That was a bit weird but other than that no problems with the ending in my book. Overall, I found the series interesting enough. It was a bit melodramatic but it was a good expansion of the OVA so if you liked that, I'd recommend this. The art was the best part. Review soon~