Opening Songs
OP 1 - Cobalt (TrySail)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Anemone (ClariS)

Genre:  Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction

Episodes: 13



Brilliance and awesomeness come from the most unexpected shows. Going into "Classroom Crisis" nobody expected a good show out of it, judging by the cover alone, you'd expect another average sci-fi high school premise that has been done a thousand and one times before. Well, its not wrong, but the way "Classroom Crisis" tackles its character development and story progression is just so well done. It may not be spot on perfect, but it does it well enough for viewers to be genuinely interested in most of the stuff that's going on in here, especially towards the end, where emotional tension kicks off to its fullest, maximum impact. "Classroom Crisis" is one of the gems of 2015, and one of the shows that I, along with many others, didn't expect to do this well. Well played, I was caught off guard, and I can certainly spread the love about "Classroom Crisis" for that. In a degrading genre and most importantly, in a year already filled with a ton of great shows, "Classroom Crisis" manages to stand above many others on its own, that's something we can compliment it for.



No high school show is complete without girls in swimsuits.


The opening theme is "Cobalt" by TrySail, an artist I never heard from before. That may be the case, but the song is actually pretty damn good, with a nice mixture of synths and great female vocals. I almost mistook it for a GOOD Fripside or ClariS song, which the former DID sing a theme for in this show as the ending. The opening theme would actually fit in something like "Railgun", and that's a great compliment. The ending theme is "Anemone" by ClariS, or, at this point, they would be the NEW ClariS. Its a good song, its faster than their previous contributions to shows like "Oreimo" or the "Monogatari" series, and I enjoyed it quite a fair bit, though "Cobalt" does outshine it as the opening theme.



Rating: 8.0/10



"Classroom Crisis" manages to hit its strongest points very, very well, which are character development on its main characters and story progression. Admittedly, the show starts off rather weak and a little bit uninteresting, which is why it doesn't score higher, though it does ramp up towards the end and finishes off strong in its last few episodes (extremely strong, mind you). Though the show has a rather large cast of characters for a 13 episode offering, it focuses solely on its important ones, leaving the others with less screen time, but just enough to make sure that they aren't ignored. To be completely fair, comedy isn't the show's strongest point, and while there are parts where you can get a chuckle or two out of some of the character's sheer ridiculousness, its not something you'll absolutely remember the show for. "Classroom Crisis" has plenty of character drama, and that's part of what makes some of the episodes so intense, despite the characters never truly being in any danger at all. By the end, you'll feel that they all have come a long way, and you'll grow attached to them.



The face of absolute bitterness.

Sera Kaito is a genius that developed some of the best acceleration engines out there for the rocket industry, which has been a massive deal ever since humanity started to colonize outside of Earth in into other planets. Intergalactic and space travel have become the norm, and Sera Kaito is one of the few geniuses that managed to impact the industry with his genius when he was young. Now at 23 years old, he supervises A-Tec, a special development division owned by the Kiryu corporation, one of the most powerful known corporations in the business. A-Tec is primarily run by a group of incredibly talented engineers, programmers and a test pilot under the supervision of Sera Kaito, who's sort of like a homeroom teacher to them. In A-Tec are also Iris and Mizuki, who's Kaito's younger sister, and also a fellow aspiring mechanic. They continue to shine brilliantly with their work, until they are bombarded with a surprise transfer student, who turns out to be Kiryu Nagisa, one of the potential inheritors of the Kiryu corporation. Of course, as part of the big head company, he's indicated as the boss of A-Tec, and he's going to start being a dick by cutting their budget plans by a large margin. How are A-Tec and Kaito going to turn things around?


"Classroom Crisis" is unfortunately one of those complete stories that probably won't get a sequel, so there's that. However, what's here is already good enough to prove to its competitors that it does a pretty good job. I'd recommend "Classroom Crisis" to anyone who's looking for a different sort of high school setting with really good character development and story.



Wednesday 24 February 2016

The Girl And Her Ghosts (Re-Kan review)



Opening Songs
OP 1 - Colorful Story (every♥ing)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Kesaran Pasaran (every♥ing)

Genre: Comedy, Supernatural

Episodes: 13



"Re-Kan!", probably not something that many people heard of. I can relate to that, its not a very high key release and from the looks of it, its just another high school slice of life show with a bunch of girls hanging around and having fun. You wouldn't be wrong, though "Re-Kan!"'s special selling point is that it mixes ghosts into its semi-colorful cast of characters. In a way, its trying to be special with that, but in my opinion, it doesn't really DO that much. It would have been just as entertaining if the ghosts in this show were just normal human beings, but I guess it doesn't matter all that much. The show is pretty entertaining, but I'd put it in the middle tier if anything, since it isn't really something that you'd wholeheartedly recommend or think of watching again in the foreseeable future. Its one of those shows you watch if you've got nothing to do to get a smile or chuckle out of yourself. "Re-Kan!" is a serviceable comedy/high school/slice of life show that plays it safe and is easy to like, but in that sense, it isn't very memorable.




Ero-cat is best cat.


Both themes used in the show are sang by every♥ing, a fictional group consisting of the seiyuus of the girls in the show. The opening theme is "Colorful Story", which is a simple happy-go-lucky song that pretty much sets the theme of the show. The ending theme is "Keseran Pasaran", which acts more like a cute-sy dance theme, which works as an ending song. I like it better.



Rating: 7.0/10



If I had to describe "Re-Kan!", I'd say that its "okay". Its decent in almost every aspect but if you told me to comment on something amazing on it, I probably wouldn't be able to. Its consistent in the way that its okay, there are some moments that are better than others, but not by much. Almost every episode has Hibiki dealing with the matters of some ghosts that'll eventually become part of the main cast, which grows quite steadily as the show progresses. Her friends then usually become acquianted with the ghosts that they cannot see all so quickly, and then they go along with their everyday lives. Character variety isn't fantastic, most of them are pretty much bland stereotypes that you've seen before, but at least they pull it off decently well. I enjoy the animation style, though there are times where it isn't consistent. The comedy is average, but when it comes to a school life anime, it probably has every damned, cliche event that's usually present in other similar shows (Cultural festival, summer swimsuit episodes, you name it), so that's kind of a plus.



Welcome to the ghost party!


Amami Hibiki is a regular high school girl who can see ghosts. Wee, surprise! Upon her enrollment into high school, she's afraid that her special talent/nature will make all the other students in school avoid her, like the way she's always been in previous schools. Because she's always managed to be able to see and talk with ghosts, she always wanted to help them, but to others, she's pretty much just a silly delusional high school girl. On her first day to school, she once again, is pestered by ghosts, and is picked up upon by another fellow freshman, by the name of Narumi. Narumi quickly becomes annoyed with Hibiki's special ability, but continues to follow her around. To Hibiki's surprise, her new friends quickly grew accustomed to her seeing the ghosts, and she quickly became the center of attention. Despite having human friends now though, she continuously helps around with ghosts, which is now a lot more fun and encouraging with new friends trying to help her out too.


"Re-Kan!" is a simple show that'll satisfy you if you intend to run through it for the sake of fun, that's pretty much all that it is. Its a very easy show to digest that doesn't offer too much outside of what its supposed to, without anything too special about it as well. Maybe on Halloween you want to watch something simple that isn't scary, this would be it.

Friday 19 February 2016

Top 5 Badass Villains (Anime) 19/2/2016

Spoilers for the following anime:


Assassination Classroom
Parasyte 
The Idolm@ster Cinderlla Girls 
Akatsuki No Youna 
Cross Ange 



She doesn't use guns, but you get the picture.


5. Executive Director Mishiro
From: The Idolm@ster: Cinderlla Girls


It's been awhile since our last villain post, but we'll start today's post with Executive Director Mishiro, something..someone that breaks the "Idolm@ster" tradition.


The "Idolm@ster" franchise never truly had anything that represents itself as a villain...ever. Sure, there were rivals, and yeah, president Kuro was kind of a dick in the original "Idolm@ster" anime, but he had too little screen time to be truly called a "villain" in any sense. Executive director Mishiro here isn't a proper "villain" as well...but hot damn is she one hell of a f**king BITCH! So much so that you just want to slap her upside down.


Director Mishiro believes that for 346 production to truly shine, she wants to reform the entire freaking company, and she intends to do so 100%, fully. All of the idols in the company were to also go through that change, and she believes that the best way for the idols to truly shine in the spotlight, is to let her dissolve their current projects and all take part in projects made specifically by her. She intends to destroy bonds and relationships that make the current idols what they are-even going as far as to destroying their characters to rebrand them as a whole. From a company standpoint, she's doing what she believes is best, but its cruel and unrespectful towards the idols and it makes her look like a freaking bitch.



He's not to f**k around with.



4. Gotou
From: Parasyte - The Maxim-


Next up on our list today is Gotou from "Parasyte", the godly parasite alien bastard who just doesn't effin die.


Gotou is one badass old man. This guy is so buff that he has 8 freaking pacs. Anyway, Gotou takes on the identity of the man who houses multiple parasites within him. He first comes off as a goofy, possessed fella by the name of Miki, who didn't seem like he'd be a treat at all, but when he truly shows his colors when he's backed into a corner, there was nothing the parasite extermination squad could do.


This guy excels on a level of badassery, in a show where simple gunshots can kill someone, this guy simply deflects/absorbs the bullets that are impaled into his body. He can survive explosions, he can take on multiple squads of special armed forces MEANT to defeat the parasites by himself. With multiple parasites inside him, Gotou is the mastermind that binds and commands all of them together. By bending these different parasites all under one mind, the single entity known as Gotou is simply a nasty and horrifying being to face. Its unfortunate that he got so easily put down by Shinichi towards the end, but that's what plot armor on the protagonist is for.



Eh, he'll kill your daddy too if he has to.


3. Su Won
From: Akatsuki No Yona


3rd on our list today is Su Won from "Akatsuki No Yona", who probably doesn't seem like much on first class, but let's be honest, we all hate this asshole.


Su Won might seem like the typical firewood to fuel a simple and straightforward story of revenge...but he's more than that. Su Won, being the cousin and first love interest for innocent little Yona, is a backstabbing, cunning son of a bitch that deserves to die 10 times over. Over the course of the 24 episode anime, he probably appears for less than 3-4 full episodes, and I already hate him this much, this shows how much of an ass Su Won can be.


For one, Su Won first kills Yona's father, the renowned "kind king", in order to take over as king himself. Then he tried to kill Yona to further solidify his ownership to the throne, but of course, that was all thwarted when Hak saved the day. However, he still managed to get a stranglehold on the throne and managed his position as King of the kingdom. For that, he pretty much betrayed the trust of Hak and played with the feelings of Yona, who pretty much changed into a fearsome woman after what happened to her. Even so, when she eventually runs into Su Won later into the story, her feelings for him still linger, so she cannot do anything to him, and this guy simply brushes her away. The worst kind of reaction to the ex-princess who lost everything to him, Su-Won simply leaves Yona to dry. Hopefully, in an eventual second season, we see Hak or maybe even Yona kill him.



The most fabulous ones are always the most f**ked up.


2. Embryo
From: Cross Ange


Taking 2nd place today is another asshole that people will remember for quite awhile, of course, its Embryo from "Cross Ange".


While certainly not as cunning as Su Won, Embryo is on another level when it comes to being an asshole pimp bastard. Embryo, being the magical creator of the world, has re-written man kind and its ally races so many times that he has grown rather bored of it. With the world where discrimination against the nora exists so heavily, Embryo made it that way as part of his formula, and insists that it is a complete necessity to truly make the human race perfect. Then, he discovered Ange.


Being his "ideal love interest", Embryo looks at Ange in an absolutely disgusting manner. While he simply just wants him for his wife on paper, its just so wrong for him to say that simply because he is the almighty god that forsees the world. Sure, he managed to woo and manipulate the feelings of many women to get them to his side (he practically has a harem that he can choose to play around with and have sex with at will), because of that, he thinks that he can just magically poof Ange over to his side as well. Of course, he tries many methods to bring her over...including breaking her mind and giving her mental, sexual torture, but they all fail, thankfully. In the end it all boils down to him being a spoiled, grown ass man who just can't stand not having what he wants, but his methods make him a complete bastard.



He's a man who loves his dolls.


1. Asano Gakuho
From: Assassination Classroom


Number 1 on today's list is Asano Gakuho, the manipulative and downright scumbag of a principal. He's even voiced by Sho Hayami, for f**k's sake.


This guy, this f**king guy. I actually thought Takaoka, while a completely hate-able character, didn't stand a chance against this guy when it comes to sheer villainous tyranny. While others plot to destroy the world or cheat their way to the top, Gakuho doesn't think of any of them. In fact, he's already at the top, and he's aiming for an elitist run for his school, seeing as he's the principal, he'll do anything to have the exam results of his students to always be at the top. For that to happen though, he needs to keep a certain class in check.


The way Gakuho THINKS is as such: sacrifice the weak to maintain the strong. His method for maintaining such a tight grip on making his students the best is simple, he makes sure one class is at the VERY bottom of the standings, and makes that class the example for the rest of the students to NOT fall to. Its made in such a way that this sacrificial class, the E class, is so ridiculously horrible that their results are insanely bad, and that they are even isolated from the proper school. They are the laughing stock of the entire student body, and they are constantly ridiculed to no end. All so that the other students would study hard, and always think that they don't want to end up in class E. Honestly, that's just a dick move.

Sunday 14 February 2016

Psycho Play (Psycho Pass Movie review)



Opening Songs
OP 1 - Who What Who Want (Ling Tosite Sigure)


Ending Songs
ED 1 - A Beast Without A Name (EGOIST)

Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Psychological, Thriller

Episodes: 1



More "Psycho Pass" is always a good thing. I enjoyed the shit out of the first season of "Psycho Pass", and while I thought it was a downgrade, season 2 was still pretty enjoyable to watch by itself. Now with the movie, which advertised the returned of Kogami, it was time to get hyped once again to enter the shoes of Tsunemori Akane. this time entering the realm of southeast asia to deal with some fishy business with the top brass over there. ...Its still a good movie, but I'll say this much: unless they pull off a villain that's at least on the level of Kamui, let alone touching the soles of Makishima, "Psycho Pass" is a lot less endearing to watch. The movie does stray somewhat from the core "Psycho Pass" routes, but more importantly, it lacks a powerful villain that packs the charm, charisma or intimidating aura of the previous franchise bad boy representative. "Psycho Pass" does show its age, and that unless they come up with something fantastic, its going to be a lot less charming than its supposed to be.



Oh man, Akane as the new section head is just sexy as hell.


It wouldn't be "Psycho Pass" without Ling Tosite Sigure, and of course, he sings the opening theme for the movie, which is "Who What Who Want". As usual, it sparks the feeling of death and mind f*ckery, which fits perfectly for the "Psycho Pass" franchise. Its not as good as "Enigmatic Feeling", which is still my favorite Ling Tosite Sigure song to date, but its certainly better than "Abnormalize", which is incredibly overrated in my opinion. The ending theme is just "A Beast Without A Name" by EGOIST, while its still one of EGOIST's best songs, its the ending theme in season 1, nothing new here.



Rating: 7.5/10



While the movie DOES continue the "Psycho Pass" story, I feel that it wasn't nearly as interesting as the past 2 seasons. Since its only a 90 minute movie at best instead of the usual season long run of 11+ episodes, there isn't much to work with here that can be long or endearing enough. Since the main point of this movie is to appeal to the fans by bringing Kogami back, the movie does do a pretty good job in that aspect alone. Otherwise, the rest of the movie is pretty standard at best, it might not even be as interesting by normal "Psycho Pass" standards. No obligatory mind f**ks, no mind blowing villainous schemes, no insane plan to completely f**k with the system (what's present in the movie is severely underwhelming), that's almost everything that makes "Psycho Pass" incredibly satisfying to watch. There are things that the movie does accomplish quite well though. For one: Kogami's return is great and we get to see more of that character. The movie also focuses a lot on its action sequences these time around, there's a lot of fighting and gun play, which hasn't really been the focus of "Psycho Pass", but its still nice to see. Also, since the movie focuses a lot on Akane, we get to see how she's changed as a character, so there's that.



Akane has never had good relationships with anything Cybil related.


Following the events of "Psycho Pass" II, Akane and her division continue to work for the bureau as part of their star team. A recent smuggling event has Akane and her team going against a group of terrorists with proper, real life guns, instead of dominators. In their world of futuristic Japan, that is unheard of. Of course, these enemies all have insanely high Psycho Pass values, so they are easily dispatched, however, this raises some suspicions within the higher ups. Following the investigation and tracking down the origin of these men shows some photos from southeast Asia, and one of them even shows a man that looks to be the spitting image of Kogami Shinya, Akane's old mentor/enforcer that left Japan as a fugitive after the events of season 1. After getting permission, Akane leaves for this country to not only investigate the events of the terrorists further, but also to track down Kogami, and see with her own eyes if everything is real.


I'm not sure if "Psycho Pass" is going to keep going as a franchise, but with the way the movie ended, its very well possible, though the probability of Kogami making future appearances is going to vary quite heavily. To me, while the movie was pretty good, "Psycho Pass" is at its best when it makes full blown seasons of at least 12 episodes or more, the movie doesn't really DO much. Still, this is a good watch for fans of the franchise, that I won't deny.



Opening Songs
OP 1 - Hello, World! (Bump Of Chicken)

Ending Songs 
ED 1 - Sugar Song to Bitter Step (UNISON SQUARE GARDEN)

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural, Science Fiction

Episodes: 12



Honestly, this one caught me off guard. "Blood Blockade Battlefront", or "Kekkai Sensen" is a show that I definitely did not expect in 2015. In a year that's already showering in masterpieces and awesome shows, we get another one in "Blood Blockade Battlefront". I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I watched this one, but the first episode had me hooked onto its amazing art style and brilliant animation in its action scenes. The show looks downright BEAUTIFUL, one of the most well animated shows of the year, and most possibly in a long time. EASILY, I could very easily recommend this one based on how well its animated and how beautiful it looks alone. As for similarities...there isn't quite something like "Blood Blockade Battlefront", you just have to watch it yourself to find out. It reminds me A LITTLE bit of "Baccano", but the themes for the 2 shows aren't even close. "Blood Blockade Battlefront" is one of the most well received shows of 2015 for a reason.



Welcome to Libra, the home of all ass kicking badasses.

Probably sporting some of the best themes of the year, "Blood Blockade Battlefront" is rocking out on all fronts. The opening theme is "Hello, World!" by Bump Of Chicken. Freaking, Bump Of Chicken, I haven't heard from these guys in YEARS, and they bust out something THIS badass?! "Hello, World!" isn't heavy, it isn't a fast song, yet its so...intellectual and catchy. The light jazz only serves to amp up its badass factor. The winner however, is the ending theme, "Sugar Song to Bitter Step" by UNISON SQUARE GARDEN. If we're talking catchy, this song here takes the cake, hands down. Its very jazzy with amazing vocals and an incredibly catchy tune, I just can't help but bop my head to it every time it plays.



Rating: 8.0/10



Despite how much I'd like to praise this show to the heavens and make love with it....its still NOT something that I would recommend to everyone. Yes, "Blood Blockade Battlefront" is a great show that excels on many fronts, but it has some flaws. For one, the show, while having great battle scenes as its strongest point, doesn't rely on it a lot at all, and some of the episodes rely on its humor to carry the episodes through. Don't get me wrong the show IS DAMNED FUNNY at its best, but it feels so incredibly wasted at those times. Plus, the story is pretty much all over the place. Not much is explained and you're thrown into the heat of things right off the bat with the show expecting you to know what's what and who's who. Also, there isn't much progression in the story, it pretty much feels like a bunch of small random arcs thrown together to make it a complete show, with a little bit of an indecisive closure towards the end. However, when all is said and done the show is incredibly fun to watch, and looks amazing to boot, with great characters, art direction and animation.



Tell me you didn't think this was awesome.

Leonardo Watch is just an average photographing loving young man who visited New York City with his family. He is very close with his sister Michella, and often takes pictures of her. However, the gate to the underworld opened and an otherworldly omnipresent being presented itself before Leonardo with...less than good intentions. Michella opted for the being to "take from her" instead of harming her brother, and with that, Michella's sight was stolen, and Leonardo was given the all seeing eyes of God as a supernatural ability. Fast forward 3 years, now New York City, known as Hellsalem's Lot, is a living ground for humans and otherworldly creatures alike. They learn to coexist with one another, and here's Leo, working as a photographer hoping to look for a way to cure his sister. He meets up with the people of Libra, a group of all-powerful powerhouses that serve as the "crime watch" of Hellsalem's Lot, hoping that they can help him in any way. He is accepted almost immediately because of his power, and right off the bat, he is thrown into the fray. So begins his new life at Libra as an almost ordinary boy among some of the strongest people in the world.


"Blood Blockade Battlefront" is strictly a show that you watch for fun, in that sense, the show is pretty f**king amazing. If you try to nitpick and watch the show too seriously, trying to look for an amazing storytelling experience, you won't go far, in fact, you'll get lost really easily. Its still one of my favorite shows of the year, and I can see why people like it. 


Today we drop it down with music exclusively from....the "Pokemon" game franchise. Despite it being f**king "Pokemon", the thing that everyone played during their childhood, the games actually do have some AMAZING songs to back them up. Much like many other RPGs, the battle themes decide the flow of a certain battle, and the battles in "Pokemon" can be really intense because of certain themes.



Gym Leader Themes





Song: Battle! Gym Leader (Kanto & Johto)
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Hiromi Sato


Pretty much every gym leader theme from the B&W 2 remix pool is freaking godlike, except for the Hoenn one. Out of the remixes, I feel that Johto's and Kanto's were the absolute best ones, especially Johto's gym leader theme.Up to date, I feel that its still the most suspenseful gym leader theme, and the theme that spells" you're going to get f**ked" like no other. Seriously though, these guys were no joke in the World Tournament, and I could NOT stand Claire and her f**king team of overpowered dragons. As for the Kanto gym leader theme, instead of being suspenseful, its more energetic, with also a tinge of danger added in there, which is great.







Song: Battle! Gym Leader (Sinnoh)
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Hitomi Sato


This one is catchy as f**k. I'll say it, Sinnoh is my least favorite region, but its gym leader battle theme is just beyond epic. The entire theme gives off a feel which makes you feel that every one of its gym leaders that you battle is a god on his/her own level. Tension is extremely high throughout the entire song, which makes it even more epic, you feel like you're always on your toes, if you don't focus for a single second, you lose. Easily the most intimidating of all the gym leader themes in the Pokemon games.







Song: Battle! Gym Leader
From: Pokemon X & Y
Artist: Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Hitomi Sato, Junichi Masuda


I must say that they went really ham with X&Y's soundtrack. While I didn't like it at first and felt that the overall theme of the soundtrack itself did not fit Pokemon, I grew to like it. Hell, I grew to LOVE it. Eventually, Kalos's gym leader theme became the sickest shit and I couldn't stop listening to it. I just could not stop headbanging to the awesome techno rave. The only unfortunate thing is that the actual gym leaders themselves are probably the easiest gym leaders in Pokemon history. *Sigh*, a great theme needs awesome gym leaders to go alongside it! 




Elite Four Themes





Song: Battle! Elite Four 
From: Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki


Hoenn is my second favorite region, and while the gym leader theme wasn't one of my favorites, the elite four theme knocked everything out of the park for me. While its NOT the best elite four theme IMO, it sounds so powerful and intimidating...EXACTLY how an elite four theme should sound like (IMO, many of the elite four themes sound bland). The ORAS remix only made it sound better by amplifying the bass and trumpets, turning it into a music where you fight these 4 gods to the death before you face the champion.








Song: Battle! Elite Four
From: Pokemon X & Y
Artist: Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Hitomi Sato, Junichi Masuda


If I liked the gym leader theme in X&Y, its only natural that I'd fall in love with the Elite Four theme as well. Unfortunately, they were all pushovers other than Siebold, but whatever. The entire theme has such a great tempo to it as you battle against your opponents, it makes you FEEL like the odds are stacked against you, FOR THE ENTIRE THEME. That, just feels amazing, then for the final few seconds of it, it gives you the hope that you can turn the fight around. The way the song works is just so good....unfortunately though, as I mentioned earlier, its probably going to be the Elite Four on the receiving end of the pain instead of you. *Sigh*







Song: Vs. Elite Four
From: Pokemon Black & White/Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Hiromi Sato


If there was any elite four theme that'd take the cake for being the best...its this one. My absolute FAVORITE elite four group and theme goes to the BW team....just look at them! I love them all design wise, but the way that their typings all counter one another is so smart! Anyway, if there was a definition of a fight to the death with fast and unrelenting music, this is it. I always feel so f**king pumped when I battle against them with this theme in the background. The rematches...OH THE REMATCHES, that's where this theme turns on and kicks in with full throttle.



Champion Themes


No Cynthia's theme, since I've already mentioned it before in another post. My decision still stands, her theme is THE best champion theme of ALL TIME, nothing can change my mind until a new champion theme that's better comes up (which I doubt will ever happen).







Song: Battle! Champion Iris
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Hiromi Sato


This is another song I grew to like. I didn't quite enjoy it too much at first. Sure, its a fun song, but this is supposed to be a CHAMPION theme! However....the champion is Iris. Come on, she's like, a little princess girl with BIG ASS DRAGONS. The theme is completely out of place, but with the battle stage background being all space like and Iris being all bubbly the whole time, I couldn't help but bop along to the song. And the song DOES have its epic moments, during the very fast paced segments, it almost sounds like she's going to beat your ass into the ground. She wasn't exactly easy too, her Haxorus was complete BS if you weren't prepared for Focus Sash + Dragon Dance.







Song: Battle! Champion
From: Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki


Steven may not be the toughest champion, but let's be honest, his theme kicks ass. Like, SO MUCH ASS. They didn't change it too much int he remake, and I'm happy that they didn't. This is a classic, how the guy that helped you so much throughout the entire game turns out to be champion. Amazing. Anyway, the song pretty much spells a close and tight battle between 2 extremely powerful individuals. Instead of feeling overpowered by your foe, Steven's theme makes it sound like the 2 of you are going head to head as equals of great strength, and for that, I love this theme.






Song: Vs Lance/Red
From: Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver
Artist: Junichi Masuda


Lance was just a faggot with a ton of Dragonites, nothing much there. We all know that this theme is for Red, who's probably the biggest badass in Pokemon history. The HG/SS arrangement was just my favorite one among all the officials releases of this theme. Its a slow, epic theme between 2 player characters that happened in a cannonical setting, THIS should happen more dammit (I was halfway expecting to face either Hilbert or Hilda in BW2)! This song just oozes with awesomeness, and the battle between Gold and Red will never be forgotten. Come on, a level 88 f**king Pikachu. What, the, f**k. If there were a Pokemon battle with leveling power spikes, this would be it.






Song: Battle! Champion (Kanto)
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artitst: Junichi Masuda


I may be the only one here, but the 2nd most badass champion theme (out of Cytnhia's theme) belongs to Blue/Green/Gary/douche/scumbag... or whatever you want to call him....oak. This guy...this...f**king...guy. His theme sounds like its just belittling you to no f**king end! Considering his character, I think its freaking amazing and very fitting of him. There are so many high beats and trumpets, portraying this high and mighty asshole that thinks you are beneath him. Kicking the snot out of him is satisfying, but boy is he one hell of a tough customer! There's a reason why this theme is reused in X&Y as the multiplayer champion battle theme, because it's that f**king good!




Other Great Themes






Song: Vs.Rival
From: Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
Artist: Junichi Masuda


While I didn't really like Silver as a rival, I have to admit that he has one of the sweetest rival themes in the series. This shit gets you PUMPED. In a way, he's a lot like Blue/Green, he's an asshole. As an asshole, he looks down on you, and this theme makes it sound like you're battling someone who's on an equal standing with you, but it a lot more determined in crushing you than you are crushing him. While Blue/Green's theme made it sound like he was belittling you, Silver's Rival theme sounded like he thinks he's already won, and he wants you to know that he's coming to sodomize you. Fortunately, he's one of the tougher rivals around, I like that.





Song: Battle! Rival Hugh
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda


Probably one of the only 2 likable rivals (the other being Wally, and no I do not consider Cheren/Bianca/Serena or any of the fools in X & Y to be rivals) in the Pokemon games in my opinion. It felt like Hugh got my back the entire game, and I genuinely liked him as a character, he had drive, he had a goal, he didn't just want to be the best, he had to be good for a reason. Let's be honest here, until Wally's new theme got released in ORAS, he held the best rival theme bar none. This shit is so upbeat, epic and awesome. During the entire theme, it felt like Hugh didn't want to lose, and you were on the back foot. While Hugh's battles weren't particularly hard except for his post game fight, it was still great battling him every time to listen to this.







Song: Battle! Wally
From: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki


I am speechless. I never thought they'd pull it off, a heavy rock/metal theme for Pokemon. And for all characters, they did it for Wally. F**KING WALLY, the wimpiest, the pitiful kid in all of Pokemon history! This bugger's so sad that you'd need to feel for him no matter what! No matter, you get to face in the most epic, badass fashion possible, right before the elite four, and while he wasn't as tough as his original gen 3 counterpart, his theme is so freaking badass. Its epic beyond all proportion, he is like, the last boss before the elite four. Despite being a handicapped, weak little kid, you respect him because he started off so pathetically weak, but here he is, standing right before you, getting to this point before YOU did. This theme tells the story of a kid who turns into a man, and its f**king amazing.





Song: Battle! PWT Finals
From: Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Artist: Junichi Masuda


As an avid player of BW2's PWT, I cannot express my love for the entire thing. It was so frustratingly tough, yet satisfying. The few times I made it to the finals, the game just has to get me even more pumped up by playing this theme. Its just so majestically good, it feels amazing just having a final stand against the god you are now facing. WHOEVER you fight, EVERYONE is a tough opponent in the PWT, and since you can lose ANYTIME, this music is perfect for having a tight, close battle as the crowd cheers both sides on. Its like you're living the fight in an anime, and you feel that nothing in the world can stop you. Win or lose, you fought your hardest, and you know it. This is THE theme that submerges you in complete immersion of the PWT, and I effin love it.






Song: Battle! Zinnia
From: Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Artist: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki


How...how do they do it? Every time I think Pokemon music can't get any better, these guys prove me wrong ALL the time. Hands down, Zinnia's battle theme is the best Pokemon battle music...there is just no contest. I mean, this is the song of ages, I'D SAY IT EVEN TOPS CYNTHIA'S THEME. This sounds like the final boss theme of a Pokemon game, I'd be totally cool with it if Zinnia was the champion and this was the theme that played at the very final battle of the game, that'd be so f**king awesome! The music sounds like you're battling a god of sorts, and you're going to get completely demolished by one of the more powerful trainers that ever existed. I'd assume that's how Zinnia was supposed to be portrayed, but come on...she's too easy! At least give her a rematch with Red's or Barry's level of power!





Opening Songs
OP 1 - Saikōsoku Fall in Love (Sora Amamiya, Ari Ozawa, Natsuki Aikawa, Haruka Yamazaki, Mayuka Nomura)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Hey! Smith!! (Smith With MON)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Supernatural

Episodes: 12



Regular harems aren't enough anymore. That sentence must have been what the author of "Monster Musume" thought of before he started writing and illustrating the story. That sentence...might just save us all from the mundane normality of everyday harem romcoms that flood the already harem jam packed seasons of anime that we get from time to time. The amount of romance/comedy harems we get nowadays is pretty insane, and the thing is: most of them don't try to be different or deviate from the formula that much. Honestly, "Monster Musume" doesn't try to be too different from a writing/story standpoint, but when it comes to its characters, you've never quite seen a harem like it. Introducing the concept of a regular harems but with monster girls as its main heroines, "Monster Musume" ends up being one of the most insane guilty pleasures of the year....at least for me. With brilliant amounts of fan service and wildly varied subspecies of monster girls with different personalities...what's not to like? I haven't been particularly impressed by fan service heavy romcoms in quite awhile...this might be the one to bring me back.




Convenient cencoring...


The opening theme is "Saikosoku Fall In Love" by the 5 seiyuus of the 5 main heroines in the show. As the name suggests, its a fast cute-sy song that features all of the 5 heroines trying to sound as cute as they can. Its honestly a pretty bland song since its been done better in many other shows before it. The ending theme, "Hey! Smith!!" is pretty much the same thing, this time with another set of seiyuus for another set of girls from the show, though in the ending theme's case, its at least a little bit more "sexy" and has more of a dance track feel to it, which is pretty cool.



Rating: 8.0/10



I'll be honest when I say that this is indeed one of my favorite guilty pleasures of the year. I enjoyed "Monster Musume" a lot more than I should have, but you know, I don't regret watching it, not at all. Its silly, its pervertic, but most importantly, its so fun to watch. Its a lot like "To Love Ru", its pointless, senseless and shameless, but there are also no regrets going in. "Monster Musume" introduces a ton of interesting and unique characters that aren't quite like anything you've seen in other harems. Of course, they're monster girls, and they come in so many different shapes and sizes that its ridiculous. Its because they're so distinctively unique in their appearance that they have their own unique sets of problems, preferences, and personality disorders...unlike normal girls in other shows with their own stereotypical personalities, its quite interesting, to see these girls based on generic monster types interact with a generic harem main character. Fan service is pretty grope-ish but if you're okay with that, its actually damned good. Its decently funny when it needs to be, and the show progressively introduces new monster/girl types, which is what it does best.



Death for a snake lady's boobies? ...Sure, I'll take it.


Kimihito is a regular salary man in an age where monsters blend in with human society. Because of the exchange program being introduced to the monsters, some of them will have to live with humans in their homes, with the humans being hosts for them. As a host, Kimihito houses a lamia known as Mia, who is crazily in love with him. Being a host, he is bound by a certain set of rules and regulations, he is also constantly being visited by his adviser, a woman by the name of Smith. Because Smith's job is to constantly find hosts for new monsters, and Kimihito is one of the most exploitable of her clients, she constantly dumps new monster girls for him to host. Add on to the other girls that Kimihito accidentally picks up on his daily adventures outside, and before he knew it, he started having a crap ton of different monster species living in his home, each with their own sets of requirements and demands. Thus begins the life of his own monster harem, and boy, things aren't going to look pretty for him.



"Monster Musume" is probably one of the most interesting harems in a long time. The concept of monster girls is just so crazy and interesting, plus, the way that everything was executed was done so extremely well. I sincerely hope we'll be getting more of "Monster Musume", because normal harems...may not be enough for me anymore.