Hayate no Gotoku! Heaven Is a Place on Earth

   With 2 anime seasons before it, the popular Hayate manga series gets its 3rd animated project in the form of this movie titled "Heaven is a Place on Earth". This time around studio manglobe is in charge of production where JC Staff had handled season 2, and Synergy SP handled season 1. How will manglobe's shot at this franchise fare in comparison with its previous entries?

    To start with this is NOT an adaptation of any chapters from the manga, the story for this movie is completely anime original and it is supposed to be set a couple of months AFTER the point the manga is currently on when I wrote this. This means that in terms of timeline, the movie's plot is pretty far away from where the anime ended on season 2. However the story introduced for this movie is one that does not heavily rely on knowledge of the currently non animated parts of the manga so any fans of the series who has already watched the first 2 seasons of the anime can sit back and enjoy this movie fully. For those that do read the manga however, you will definitely find a couple of extra surprises along the way.

The opening song is very catchy and it fits the series well but for me, it is the ED song by fripside that really takes the cake. Anyone familiar with fripside would enjoy this song as its their usual style. The voice acting continues being a strong point in the series with a high tier list of names on it. I found Kugimiya Rie's performance as Nagi this time around to be a bit better than in the TV series as well.

For anyone that enjoys this series there is no reason why you should not watch this movie, everything that makes Hayate enjoyable is present here and I believe manglobe did the series justice here. Whenever a 3rd TV season of the series comes, if they announce manglobe as the studio in charge, I will not worry because I now know that the franchise is in good hands. 

Hayate's grandmother watching over Nagi and him before the ending.

Luka finally appeared in Hayate no Gotoku!

  

Fate/Prototype

   Know that Fate/Prototype; before Fate/Stay Night was around as we know it, the creator Kinoko Nasu had many prior thoughts of what FSN could be like. As a teen in high school this was actually the original concept he came up with before they where entirely reworked for the Visual Novel.

   The Fate/Prototype is the original version of Fate/Stay Night (FSN) before it was completely redone into the FSN Visual Novel as it is today. Substantial changes were made to the script and characters to get the FSN Visual Novel underway. So with that being said all the original characters, and concepts return to before they were either changed completely or altered in some way or another (for instance Saber being a male instead of female). As of now it is still left in an unfinished state, and that no more adaptions other than this 12 minute OVA will be made.

   Once again Type-Moon’s artwork and animation skills are top notch. The character designs are very nice clean, and concise. The backgrounds are very spectacular especially with the city given a more realistic layout and feel. There isn’t as much CGI this time around though, but there is some(as with the Noble Phantasms). The color palate is also great as usual with bright colors being brilliant and dark colors being deep. Everything just looks pretty wonderful. 

   I highly recommend people who are fans of the Fate Franchise to watch Fate/Prototype to see where it all started from. It fascinated me on how much things changed, and it should also do the same for other fans. So just watch it, and see how interesting it can be.

Saber battles off with Gilgamesh at the railway station.

This time, the masters are all females as well as the servants are all males.

Asa Made Jugyou Chu!

   According to Akiyoshi Ohta, whom is the original creator of this manga has decided that it will be made into animated series. Hiromitsu Kanazawa has been selected as the director and confirmed that it will only be produced as an OVA.

   If you looking for something that's just plain old erotic and very well *hard boner* giving, then search no further as this anime OVA is what you been searching for. Sort of cliche part of the main character(Yuuki) living in a all girls dorm and cross dressing to hide the fact he's a girl, but this is a twist where he's attending a regular coed school but he has a very well *horny and accidental thinking perverted things* teacher as a dorm mate (lucky duck)
well see how he manages it in a 1 episode OVA. Wished there were more.

The female teacher Ayana Kakinozaka, who has to watch over Yuuki.

Hentai?! Nope, just a fan-service for the audiences.

Holy Knight OVA 1 & 2

   As for the story, it is quite short. I mean, there's only 2 episodes and like I said before, less than an hour of animation footage. Luckily though, the animation is performed well as with most recent series although not extravagant or too artistic. Yet, it does bring out the eerie atmosphere and gothic style. There are also comedic scenes that depicts some of the lighter mood of the story mixed in with some romantic art.

    The music and sound of this OVA is quite interesting. The OP song Maaya Uchida performs bears the same name as this OVA but more importantly depicts the lyrics of the story. "This cursed fate of mine, is a stigma that can't be erased" is heard near the end of the song because it is a curse that both protagonists must endure, a curse passed down throughout generations. Also noticeable, is the ED song of the series "Nobodyknows" by 16th Labo. To be honest, it is epic. I actually listened to it several times and is quite catchy.

    Overall, my enjoyment of the series is just so-so. With only 2 episodes based off a manga, it's quite rushed. Not only that but the ending is a bit ambiguous. It is understandable that an OVA is not supposed to cover the entire story but it just seems to not to fit together overall. But yet, there is some holy hope in this series. The art, music, and characters style are appealing and those comedic scenes does occasionally spawn a few laughter. And of course being tagged as an "ecchi" series, expect fan service but as in manga, this series is being tagged as "Hentai" category due to it contains too much nude scenes and so on. Ultimately though, this OVA has potential. But this time around, it just seems so-so.

A scene where Lilith embraces Shinta.

The characters were nicely drawn according to the manga.

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled

   First off, it isn't a anime series. It's a short OVA series that takes place in a different place while at a slightly different time.

   I watched episode one of the OVA series for Akito the Exiled and it really brings back some memories about the old Code Geass R1 & R2 which took me around two weeks to finish them! So far there is no Lelouch and I don't think there will be. They did show Suzaku, though. As well as some hinting at some "flash backs" with C2 in the preview for the next OVA episode.

   The plot was engaging right from the start and the various key character threads were introduced seamlessly. Gradually the personality clues and plot hints draw you deeper into the story and desperately make you want to know more while still giving you a good feel of who these characters are essentially which makes it like the old Code Geass.

   The discordant classical BGM was an interesting albeit nontraditional choice but I feel it suites the actual OVA better then the previews and gives Boukoku no Akito its own special tone. Overall, what i can say is that it is a great first installment and I can’t wait for the next part to see what's going to happen.

The allied unit left behind on the European warfront which they're searching.

Some familiar faces from Code Geass R1 & R2 return in the scene.

Guilty Crown: Lost Christmas

   Well, just in case anyone was about to forget about it, Guilty Crown returns with this 11-minute OVA after a season and a half after its finale. The short is essentially an extended teaser to the VN Guilty Crown: Lost Christmas by Nitro+, and hence explains very little about the premise. The bulk of the content in terms of the “plot” are in the trailers instead, and frankly, Lost Christmas is what the original should have been.

   The original Guilty Crown was all about the heavy-handed, flashy sequences, with little to no subtlety in the way events were carried out. Lost Christmas is still flashy, but its tone is a lot more serious and there is an almost pseudo-philosophical air that pervades the dialogue, which tries to provoke some deep thoughts regarding the state of the world. I won’t say it succeeded entirely, but the atmosphere and mood it sets is on a different level than the uneven tone and strange dramatics of GC the series.   

   In a funny way, I think GC benefits from being an 11-minute short that isn’t really charged with doing anything but looking pretty and whetting the appetite, because those were things it was always pretty good at.  It was when a larger story and character development came into the picture that things went off the rails.  “Lost Xmas” is light as a feather, but it looks and sounds great – the usual high-quality I.G. animation with the series’ usual excellent art direction, and a really lovely ED to tie a bow on the whole thing.  It might serve to remind you painfully of what might have been, but if have any affection for Guilty Crown in spite of its flaws you’ll probably enjoy Lost Christmas.  

Scroog's releasing the void inside Carol.

Carol constitutes every bit of the eye candy Inori was.

Fate/Stay Night - Unlimited Blade Works

 

 
   I've followed Fate/Stay Night through the visual novel and Fate/Zero sequel, so I had no difficulty following this, -- it kept me in fangasm! The animation, color and shadow was as bold and beautiful as the VN artwork, and far superior to the previous anime, and the powerful music expertly finished the work. These are all the features that kept me involved in the only Visual Novel I've ever completely read, and this was just as satisfying.

   The romance between Shirou and Rin was unfortunately overshadowed by the clash between Shirou and Archer -- but it's Archer, so I can't complain (got GAR?) Punches were pulled with Ilya, toning down her scene which still managed to remain appropriately disturbing (enough to leave even Ilya-haters in shock.)

   However I was occasionally distracted by how confused someone would be if not familiar with Fate/Stay Night, or who had only watched the anime. It's still engaging to watch, but so much of the meaning was sped past or glossed over that it would leave most bewildered through it. It was also littered with continuity nods that would please the fans but be lost on the unversed viewer.

A scene where archer states that he & Shirou are not the same person.

Shirou replicates the same blades as Archer.