Grisaia No Kajitsu (The Fruit Of Grisaia) Review

"Hey Yuuji, what's it like to die?"

Ever since middle school, I've been particularly fond of psychologically damaged girls...Actually, I don't think that's the right way to start this review off. Let's try again. Ever since middle school, I have been being psychologically damaged by girls and...oh screw it, let's just do this thing.

Grisaia No Kajitsu (The Fruit of Grisaia) originally released as an adult visual novel in February 2011. Packed to the brim with with compelling flashbacks and story-driven action (And SEX), it quickly gained recognition and took off without a hitch. Being as successful as it was, Grisaia added two more additions to its franchise, those being Meikyuu and Rakuen. Needless to say, it has been speeding down a hill of publicity for it's unusually dark and twisted heroines, as well as it's protagonist (Yuuji Kazami) who is -- for lack of a better word -- a man on the edge without nothing to lose.

In Grisaia No Kajitsu, we become acquainted with Yuuji as he transfers out of a military/secret-service type gig and into a lavish high-school built to house mentally disturbed teenagers with a history of intense psychological trauma ranging from Aphasia to murderous tendencies. The catch is that the school is still relatively new and there are only five registered students (All female) at the moment. This first section of the trilogy serves as a method for viewers to become acquainted with those students and learn a bit about their pasts and how they wound up in a school so bizarre. However, things don't stay that simple and quickly become a bit more hectic as the pasts of those girls come back to haunt them.

This anime, at least on the surface, is more than just a bad-ass guy becoming acquainted with five disturbed adolescents. It is a tale set there to illustrate how different people deal with different traumas. Packed with revenge, twisted memories, and death, Grisaia immediately becomes a story that viewers will not want to separate themselves from. Allow me to break it up into a few key components to better illustrate this.

Music: 9/10
What sets the music of Grisaia apart from many other anime is, simply put, the range and diversity of it. Every song is immensely different from the former. Had it been constructed any other way, the show would topple down almost instantaneously. But Grisaia needs this varied collection of music, seeing as it deals with extremely varied feelings. Psychological trauma isn't a simplistic topic, and the way it is captured by different melodies in this soundtrack is near perfect. However, the music can become repetitious seeing as songs must be recycled once a previously-noted emotion becomes prevalent again. It's an unfortunate occurrence, but it doesn't deprecate the overall tone by that much.

Characters: 10/10
The character's in Grisaia No Kajitsu are easily the shining point of the series. And in the first episode of the show, each one is introduced in a well laid-out and timely-manner, not giving any single student the "Upper-hand" so-to-speak. What's great about Grisaia is that you meet every single character that matters in the first episode and don't have to deal with that rush that normally occurs when new characters show up halfway through the series. With everyone being introduced in the pilot, viewers continuously have time to grow attached to either a specific one or all of them in general (But Makina is mine so back off). The range of traumas you will encounter within these females will help grab hold of your interest and maybe even teach you a thing or two in the medical field. Another thing is that those traumas are presented in a way that doesn't necessarily make them look weak or insignificant. The fact that these girls were able to cope with situations so hopeless sets them up to be strong characters, much deeper and more complex than you'd typically encounter in the slice-of-life genre (Which this show somehow happens to fit into).

Art: 7/10
The art, being irrefutably the weakest part of the show, is at least somewhat decent. Tolerable would be a good way to put it, seeing as it doesn't distract you by any means, but it could have been done better. There is a noticeable drop in quality when compared side-by-side to its visual novel counterpart. This, in turn, left a few high-strung fans of the series upset and sprinting toward the forums on MyAnimeList to break their keyboards as they complain about why the show sucks. It really doesn't though. The art is on-par with anything else to come out of a non-major studio in Japan. One thing to be noted though, is that the art becomes somewhat...less good as the show goes on, making it look more rushed -- like it was done with less care than in the earlier episodes. All in all, it's not something to worry about and it doesn't take away from the overall feeling Grisaia No Kajitsu has to offer.

Story: 8/10
The story potentially could have been the shining part of Grisaia no Kajitsu had it been done correctly. But instead, it feels more like something written in simply to complement the characters, focusing more on flashbacks than the tasks at hand. The pacing of this show is ultimately what drags it down more than anything. Like I mentioned earlier, it gets off to a fantastic start and the playing-field is completely leveled for everyone immediately. But you'll notice as it progresses that the creators payed more attention to the characters they thought had better, more anime-style stories that would fit the production better. The playing-field was no longer leveled anymore. Some of the girls had just one or two episodes detailing their experiences, while some of the others had three or four. On the other hand, the story in the visual novel seems more fair and branches off into five different routes, giving you more time to understand just what is going (Or what went on) on in the lives of the girls. On top of this, there was one scenario near the end of the story where things just got a little too ridiculous. It's hard to get into it without spoiling anything, but there was a sequence of events that completely exuded all realism for a good 5-10 minutes, ultimately ruining the mood for me.

Grisaia No Kajitsu is a show I'd recommend for either lovers of the darker-side of anime or entry-level viewers looking for something more "Adult" than shows like Dragonball Z or Naruto (Or anything else wrongly mistaken for what anime is as a whole). Grisaia does a sufficient job carrying itself to the end of season one and definitely leaves room for the story to improve in the two more seasons slated to come out for it. And even though the pacing can be a little rough, I'm sure you can enjoy the show just as much as I did.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Trinity Seven Review

A "Harem" is a magical word used to describe every straight male's ideal reality in which every single girl he comes in counter with wants to hop on his yaoi stick. The harem is typically courted by a dense male lead and at least five girls -- each with a different hair color than the others. This male lead will then become involved in at least three scenarios (Per episode) in which he accidentally touches one of these girls in one of their private areas and thus receives a slap in the face, followed by blushing and an occasional punch that defies the laws of physics and sends him skyrocketing across the galaxy. Trinity Seven is an atypical representation concerning this definition of "Harem".

Kasuga Arata (Only dude pictured above) isn't your typical dense "Omg I have no idea you want to bang me" protagonist. This is where a lot of the charm Trinity Seven has to offer comes into play. We meet him as the world he resides in is being torn to shreds, ultimately ending humanity. In his final moments, his cousin hands him a necklace/grimoire-thingy (Before falling into a crevice opening up in the world) which contains a magical entity that will allow him to essentially re-shape the world on a journey to find that cousin. However, in order to do that, he must become acquainted with the "Trinity Seven" which is the name given to the seven magus females that all want to swallow his mana.

But the cool thing about Trinity Seven is that it never really feels dull. It's predictable in a good way, which sounds weird at first -- but makes sense in context. You won't grow to hate the main character, which is a common flaw that harems typically encounter as they progress. This all culminates in one of the most surprisingly entertaining shows to come out of Fall 2014. In order to better illustrate this, let me break it up into a few key components.

Music: 8/10

Trinity Seven sports a soundtrack that is infused with hard-rock, techno, funk, and some sweet-ass bass lines. It's actually quite good when listening to it even out of context. The music never seems like it's "Just there". It serves as a good sidekick during fight scenes and allows the audience to keep their eyes fixed to the screen without feeling distracted or irritated by overly-obnoxious music typically prevalent in action-sequences. On top of this, the opening song is pretty damn catchy and becomes an essential part of every episode that almost anyone would look forward to.

Characters: 8/10

The best part of this show really lies within the characters. Each one carries their own distinct personality and complements the protagonist almost perfectly. In harems, another common problem is how viewers will basically choose one girl that they want the protagonist to end up with. This results in hate bubbling up for the other girls and eventually ends up on some message-board like /a/ where everyone argues about who is "Best girl". In Trinity Seven, it's actually pretty hard to decide who you want to "Win". To be perfectly honest, I still don't know which girl would make the best pairing with Arata. Maybe Mira. Or Lilith. I don't know, just let me keep Levi to myself. Anyway, it's this aspect that makes the characters enjoyable all-around. One thing I would have liked to see though, would be character development for anyone outside of Arata. Everyone seems kind of snug within their own niche, not ever changing from who they already are.

Art: 8/10

At first, I didn't know how I felt about the visuals that were put in front of me in Trinity Seven. Three episodes later, I adored it. There was just that period of "Mehhhh" time it took for me to feel it out. I felt the same way about Madoka Magica when I watched that, and now I think it's one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen. Trinity Seven shouldn't really be compared to Madoka outside of the "Girls with magical powers" thing, but you probably understand what I mean when I say you might not like it at first. Just give it some time. I promise. In addition to the general artwork, character designs were unique and impressive. It appeared as if the artists actually put love and care into each one, treating them more as actual characters than curious teenage girls waiting to be taken advantage of after meeting a boy for the first time. Each one was extremely different from the others (Apart from Lieselotte and Selina, but you know...twins) and I never got tired of seeing them.

Story: 8/10

Trinity Seven has a solid story. Is it great? No, not by any means. But it's more than you'll normally find in this genre. The protagonist actually has a goal that he is constantly moving toward. The side-characters try their best to aid him in this endeavor. It just works out. There are periods where things seem bleak, but those periods are then counteracted by others that seem hopeful. Each episode actually goes somewhere, which is a feat that so many shows struggle with nowadays. The series even ends on a note that will allow for another season or two if season one sells well enough. Hell, I might even pick up manga one day if I get bored enough. Once again, solid storytelling by writer, Kenji Saitou, and director, Hiroshi Nishikiori.

All in all, Trinity Seven is a very well-rounded harem/comedy with a few fight scenes thrown in for action and a story that actually goes somewhere. If you are a fan of fan-service, character design, or laughing, I would give it a try. It definitely surprised me and became an easy favorite for the year of 2014.

Overall Score: 8/10

Amagi Brilliant Park Review

"If you want to make people dream, you have to start by believing in that dream yourself"

Once every season, Kyoto Animation shows up and grabs the immediate attention of the entire otaku populous after announcing whatever they've been up to the past few months. Being one of the biggest and most successful animation companies in Japan, people tend to automatically just chalk down whatever they license and eagerly await it, expecting something great. But does KyoAni succeed with their latest addition, Amagi Brilliant Park? Can they truly amount to more than just their wonderfully crafted artwork?

Amagi Brilliant Park (Or Amaburi for short) follows Kanie Seiya, a narcissistic and self-centered (Wait. Kanie...Kanye...I see what you did there, KyoAni) high school student and former child-star, as he is recruited as the new manager for a failing theme park. However, this theme park is currently owned and operated by a group of people that come from the magical world of "Maple Land". The women are beautiful and the males all look like mascots for college football teams, which is personally my ideal picture of a magic kingdom.

Even though the story seems a little odd, it does quickly become alluring when you find out the princess of Maple Land and former manager of the park has a sickness that prevents her from aging and resets her memory once every year. And so Kanye West Seiya must bring in a total of 500,000 visitors in a six month period in order for the Maple Landers to keep the park. If he does not succeed, Princess Frailty will lose her magic powers contained within the park and ultimately die a tragic death.

Amagi Brilliant Park has its ups and downs (LIKE A ROLLER COASTER. HA) but it isn't by any means bad. I found myself looking forward to it every week, just as I normally do with Kyoto Animation's stuff. But this time I didn't have to fully invest myself in the story like I had to do with sthows like Hyouka, which worked on solving mysteries and building up relationships. So, lets delve deeper as I once again break this show apart, piece by piece, to better illustrate how I feel about it.

Music: 7/10

Just like every other normal person in the world, I love clapping. The opening song to Amagi Brilliant Park utilizes clapping. Twice. That's cool, I like that. And since Kyoto Animation created the opening, the clapping looks sweet. But I digress. The anime sounds just like you'd expect a show about a theme park to sound. The music is lively and cheerful, and at the same time it delivers hope. And with Amaburi's story, that is absolutely vital. Background music isn't repetitious at all and plays an essential part in making each scene seem full. But because the music wasn't outstanding and didn't play a part in changing the way people viewed the show, it wasn't perfect and definitely could have been improved upon.

Characters: 9/10

As far as characters go, Amaburi has a solid line-up. Kanie is quite different from the dense male leads you'll often find in anime today, and the rest of the cast is pretty solid as well. Sento Isuzu (Whose name I just found out comes from 50 Cent) does a great job in supporting Kanie's character throughout the duration of the show. And all of the mascot-men are there with extremely strong personalities to provide sufficient comic relief for the theme park. The thing is, even though the characters were very original and unique all across the board, the majority of them were ONLY there to serve as that comic relief I mentioned. It's great to be funny, but if that's your only personality trait in real life, you're probably going to have a hard time and you aren't a perfect character. I would have liked to see some more development in anyone apart from the leads, but it just didn't happen.

Art: 10/10

This was probably a given as soon as Kyoto Animation's name was put under the title, but Amagi Brilliant Park delivers some of the best artwork this year. Character designs were outrageous and easily memorable, and the theme park as a whole, even when it was decaying, was a sight for sore eyes. It's refreshing to see KyoAni constantly improving and not just taking advantage of their position in the industry and settling down in a "safe spot". They are constantly pushing themselves to create something better, and it has been succeeding. As a reference point, please direct your attention to the Ferris wheel above. Isn't that the best damn Ferris wheel you've ever seen in an anime? You're damn right it is. Amaburi has zero issues when it comes to appearance, and that is vital in keeping the audience's interest locked in.

Story: 6/10 

What's disappointing about the story line of this show is that they throw in a lot of information that seems like it's important, but is never mentioned again. The viewers never find out what exactly happened to cause Kanie's fallout of the entertainment industry. Sento's affections never get let out and ultimately become meaningless when you look at the bigger picture. And then Kanie goes off on this rant about how he is terrified of heights and wants to hide it from everyone but it plays no part in determining how you look at the story. And then there was the whole thing with how Kanie somehow ran into the princess when he was a child and now felt like he was destined to save her life. It just started to seem forced, like the writers wanted there to be a story when in all actuality the show was just there to be fun. The idea was good, but countless attempts to make it deeper than it should have been really ruined its legitimacy.

Amagi Brilliant Park is a solid show, but it could have been much better. You'll find that the driving force in bringing you back to the next episode falls completely on the characters and artwork. It's definitely enjoyable, but one of the weaker shows KyoAni has brought forth in recent years, which may be a direct result of them setting the bar too high for themselves. Watch this if you are either an avid fan of the studio or just looking to have a few laughs and wind down. There are better options out there, but Amaburi will suffice if you don't want to look for them.

Overall score: 7.5/10