Another week, another batch of anime reviews for you to peruse, beginning with a second look at Flowers of Evil. This is a show coming from the transitional period between DVD and Blu-ray, and it only got a UK DVD release. For my second viewing I imported the US Blu-ray, which is Region B compatible. It’s well worth it, as this teenage coming of age drama is outside the norm for anime, both in appearance and content. It’s an edgy, psychological drama, made by rotosoping live action to create the animation, and it is stunningly effective. Click on the review to read more. Today I learned that a live action version is in the works, scripted by none other than Mari Okada.
Next up is Stuart McLean’s review of Silver Spoon Series 1. It’s here I learned that some reviewers are more suited to certain material than others and vice versa. Silver Spoon is a teenage high school anime, although this high school is an agricultural college where they learn all about livestock and produce farming. It’s probably not a good idea to ask a vegetarian to review a show with the odd pixellated headless chicken. Thankfully Silver Spoon is a transcendental work from Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, and she treats the subject with the seriousness and accuracy it deserves, saving the humour for the characters. If you want to know where the food on your plate actually comes from, Silver Spoon is the anime to watch.
My journey through the anime world of Nisekoi continues, as I take a look at Nisekoi Season 2 Part 1. The second season is shorter than the first at just 12 episodes, so there’s not a lot of room to move the story on. You don’t find out which girl holds the key to Raku’s heart in this collection, but there are more than a few laughs. Nisekoi is a rom-com harem anime which does what it sets out to with style, even if it has been done before.
This Week I Have Been Mostly Rewatching...
Midori Days. Now this is an anime rom-com which does things a little different. In fact it has the kind of premise that rings alarm bells for some, and gets tabloid headlines on slow news days. Seiji is a delinquent with the kind of reputation that has left his love life in the starting blocks. His only solace is his right hand. Midori is a girl who has admired Seiji from afar, but has never been able to work up the courage to talk to him. Then one day, Seiji wakes up and where his right hand used to be is a little Midori. Midori’s body lies in an unexplained coma in her home, while Seiji and Midori are now closer than any romantic couple in history.
It doesn’t quite go where the dirtiest of minds might expect, although Midori Days is quite saucy at times. It’s actually pretty middling as a romantic comedy, although the characters and the premise work to give it an air of originality, while the show’s vintage means that it isn’t soaked in the tropes that turn modern rom-coms into a homogenous blandness. I certainly enjoy watching Midori Days a lot more. Here's my review of volume 1. Media Blasters released the show in the US in 2005, but the closest it got to us was a French language release from Beez across the channel. The Region 1 release is out of print now, but some copies are available from Amazon.com. Be wary though that you get genuine old stock, as in recent years, Media Blasters have resorted to issuing their DVD back catalogue on burn to order DVD-R.
Sentai Filmworks released the Blu-ray of Flowers of Evil in 2014 (MVM released it on DVD here). All the Anime released Silver Spoon on Blu-ray Collector’s Edition on June 3rd. Kazé Entertainment released Nisekoi Season 2 Part 1 on Blu-ray and DVD in 2017.
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