Chu-Bra: The Anime: The Review

Recently, I've been kidnapped coerced happily recruited into our friendly review family. There’s a slight problem. Namely, I’m a complete idiot when it comes to anime, manga, and everything Japanese. I haven’t seen more than two or three episodes of an anime since middle school when I watched Dragonball Z. For some reason, someone thought it would be a brilliant idea to bring me in anyway, for an “outsider’s perspective”. I think they were desperate.

The fuck is this Mongolian cartoon shit?

Out of sadism In an attempt to give me the experience I require to properly review further works, they've asked me to review Chu-Bra. Already sore from the day’s previous punishments, I was strapped to a chair and left to silently weep, blood drying on my face while the video played.

ON A RELATED NOTE, I HAVE $5000 CASH AND APPROVE OF THE POLICE. JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.

Driven half an inch from the precipice of total mental collapse, I painfully nudged the "Play" button with my shattered toe, knowing the consequences of refusal.

Oh god, the beatings...

I came in with extremely low expectations. My kidnappers benefactors? Giving me something I'd like to see? Doubtful. An anime about a middle school girls' underwear club? Even worse. I didn't understand how a show centered around that could possibly be worth watching. In some ways it filled those expectations, in some ways it didn't. At this point I'd like to say it was better than the absurdly low bar I set for it when first watching it, but that also isn't saying much. Overall, mixed opinion. I can say one thing for sure though: this show can be a little bizarre.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Our protagonist, Nayu Hayama, tests underwear. Her brother, left to take care of her following her parents' deaths in a tragic accident (oh god orphan cliche), supports them both with a job designing underwear. Taking after her grandmother, Nayu is obsessed with underwear and determined to fight against people's perceptions of it as something dirty. Instead, she sees it as a thing of beauty, just as one might see expensive shoes, a sports car, or a well-designed house. This leads her into wacky hijinks as people mistake her innocent hobby with something more. First a pariah because the school is convinced she wears fancy underwear to either attract older, wealthier men or because she's an outright prostitute, the gossip and wrong conclusions continue from there.

7th grader? Prostitute? WHAT?

Nayu, after initial opposition from incredulous, conservative teachers, begins an underwear club. While at first she struggles to gain members, she eventually makes a breakthrough, gathering enough students to keep it going. Nayu helps young girls in the club, doing things like helping them learn their bra size, instructing them on how to put a bra on properly, and teaching them how to know if their bras are improperly placed. Outside of the club she lends her aid to her friends, designing a bra for Yako that doesn't slip off her undeveloped chest, for example.

The first and one of the most pervasive elements of this show is fan service. Lots and lots of fan service. In the intro, in the ending, everywhere in between. The creators can't let the characters do so much as walk down the hall without an upskirt before moving up to their faces. While I'm not prudish enough to discredit a show just based on that, it does start to get a little irksome after a while. Yes. We get it. They're girls. They have underwear and that underwear covers up fun things. Great. You don't need to have a shot of it every single time you change scenes. There's occasional fan service, and then there's excess. This show fell into the latter category, which seemed to detract from other elements.

To some extent, this struck me as a conflict of audiences. The fan service is clearly an attempt to reach out towards a teenage male demographic. Give a glimpse of some bras, flash some panties, have the girls grope each other a bit, and in a few cases show bare boobs, exactly what you'd expect a stereotypical teenage guy to love. At the same time, it seems to have contradictory subject matter. Early examples include Haruka's harassment by her grade's boys over her large chest and Yako self-consciousness about her comparative flatness, things one would hardly expect the same viewers to care about. Combined with some educational statements about bras and how to use them, Chu-Bra seems to simultaneously reach in completely opposite directions. Some gender neutral comedy is thrown in the mix in an attempt to tie them both together.

Ultimately, this effort to merge audiences falls short of its intended effect. As a guy, I couldn't sympathize with the characters as much as I otherwise would have. That is, I understood their situations and why it would make them feel bad. But I'm not a woman. I've never had woman-only problems. Without that personal connection it doesn't have the same effect it might have on, say, an adolescent girl. At the same time, I'm beyond the point where fan service really does anything for me. If I wanted to see boobs that badly, I have plenty of other avenues.

My porn library has a vast selection.

The one thing left, comedy wasn't enough to truly endear me to the show. Some of it was really bland. A few jokes were genuinely funny. Even when I thought it was humorous, I never found it enough to make me laugh out loud. As a whole, the humor failed to truly capture my attention. There were some funny moments, but it didn't seem to justify my spending the time to watch it.

While it had a few good things going for it, I couldn't help but be disinterested. Some of the elements seemed to directly clash, and the positives weren't strong enough to redeem the show. I can't say I enjoyed Chu-Bra, but I also can't say it was painfully bad. But you know what I would enjoy? Getting out of this basement. Please help.

Score: 5/10





They're watching me even now.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Aegis Figma

I obtained this figma through a seller on ebay in June when I started collecting figmas last year. I learned not to buy figures off of ebay and discovered better sites. But still this was a great purchase for the price I paid for it. At the time she wasn't sold out at places like ami ami and Hobbie Link Japan. So being the hardcore Persona 3 fan that I am I had to own this badass android for my growing Figma collection. I decided to look for it on ebay for a lower price then it was originally sold for.

Sculpting: Very nice sculpting overall. I love the touches done to her hair and legs. You can barely see the joints on this figma because she is a robot and it looks natural. 8/10

Painting: This is also another one of her strong points. No missing areas without paint. I love the gold paint and how it seems to sparkle. Her legs are painted smoothly to give her a look accurate to how she is shown in Persona 3. 9/10

Posing: This is the real issue I have with this figure. Her hands don't stay in the sockets all the time. I can't get her head off like I should be able to. Also it's hard to do some of the poses that were shown off in the release pictures. I'm not sure why, but the gold parts on her legs don't extend out as far as in official photos on the box. Basically, I can't sit her down super well.

7/10

Base: Regular figma base. What more can I say? 9/10

Packaging: The box was a little ruined when I got it but that was due to poor shipping on someone from ebay's behalf. The box is really pretty and nice though. 8/10

Enjoyment: Besides the posing problems I have, overall I loved this figure. She comes with a bunch of different hands, machine guns that attach to both arms, her 'Rocket Punch' arm, three different faces with unique facial expressions (blank stare, smiling, and a determined) pegs for her feet so she can stand on her own, the basic figma stand, and a neat little bag to to hold the figure for when you are traveling. There is a space at the bottom of each bag to write Aegis on it so I can remember what bag she belongs in. 9/10

Overall score: 8.3/10

I hope you enjoyed my first figure review! I'll be reviewing many of the other figures I own.

The theme to Jaws plays during this post

It's hard to find good hiding spots

Cloud hiding, praying they won't force him to appear in Dirge of Cerberus (but to no avail)

this post is stupid

Kuragehime Opening - Chatmonchy

Well, first let me say that if it weren’t for fatalefromage, I would never have tried this wonderful wonderful show out. (Btw, I’ve rated this a 10 out of 10...) Since it’s already been reviewed, I thought I would take a stab at reviewing the opening for this show.

This OP is probably one of my favorite anime openings ever. From the music to the animation, I can think of nothing more fitting for this feel good light hearted show. The opening theme, by the well known group Chatmonchy, is a very bright and moving treat of music. It starts with Eriko Hashimoto singing and playing guitar with a very lighthearted lyrics while on screen the main characters are introduced. As the song leaves the exposition, the characters appropriately move with the beat towards the viewer. Overall this is a very playful, colorful moment that I classify as my favorite moment of the opening.

The next scene, as Akiko Fukuoka and Kumiko Takahashi come in stronger on bass and drums respectively, comes as a pleasant surprise. I must say I was not expecting the Star Wars parody, but it was very fun to watch.

The next parody is Singing in the Rain, which happens to be one of my favorite movies, and is definitely in my top 3 favorite musicals. The fact that one of my new favorite anime is parodying it was what essentially got me excited for the real show to show me what it could do...

Next, comes a little Disney magic, with a Mary Poppins parody.

Then a scene on the train parodies an old American early1970s movie, Emporer of the North Pole.  It's actually more popular in Japan than it is here, surprisingly enough. More info on it here.

The next scene is a parody from an old 80’s movie from China entitled God of Gamblers.

James Bond comes next, parodying the classic gun barrel sequence.

Then next allusion is actually an uncommonly known double allusion. Mayaya shows up wearing the yellow jump suit which is mostly known from it’s appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s classic cult hit Kill Bill. However, that is actually a reference to a Bruce Lee film called Game of Death.

The parodies then go to the wedding scene from The Graduate.

At the end of all this, the main character Tsugumi walks into the light, holding hands with many jellyfish who are all shaped like her favorite one named Clara, an obvious parody of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Waking up, as if from a dream, the song repeats its opening sequence, creating a refreshing repeat to close the song. As Tsugumi looks out her open window we see the residence house with all the characters and in a playful pink text Kuregahime. The end of the opening is so catchy and perfect that I believe it makes a great segue into the show itself.

The overall animation of the opening is the same as the show with no artistic differences. Though usually I frown on it, taking the parodies and presenting the characters in said parodies, it actually makes sense since it shows the characters in a different light like it should.

The music, like I said is a perfect match. Chatmonchy is a easy going light rock type sound that perfectly matches the half comedy half romance that is Jellyfish Princess.

Luckily, this show got an early license and US fans will soon be able to purchase the show from Funimation. But, if you are unwilling to wait, or are too poor too buy it, it’s available to stream at Funimation’s website and on Youtube and Hulu. Check it out if you want a fantastic quick show that’ll knock you off your feet.

To Download the track for the opening go here

Soundtrack Spotlight - Megaman X5

Soundtrack Spotlight

#001: Megaman X5

This is an article for remembering. Remembering games, remembering playing games, and remembering being absorbed into the world of a game. To me, the most effective way this can be done is with the music. Music holds the entire foundation of a games atmosphere in place. When you listen to video game music, it's more than just the music. It's like hearing an old lullaby or melody from a music box. It puts you back to a place and frame of mind you used to be in. The purpose of this article will be varied, between sharing my own experiences and memories of games and their atmosphere and music, or telling about soundtracks that maybe got forgotten or overlooked for one reason or another.

I am Mega Man, here's my Mega-plan...You die!

Everybody knows Mega Man. It's a series that has been going strong since 1987 and has seen countless sequels, series, spin-offs, and what-have-yous. Classic video game enthusiasts and video game music savants will talk about games like Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X and their soundtracks until they're blue in the face. Mega Man 2 in particular has had countless remixes and re-imaginings of it's tunes, and if you can't recognize this tune immediately, you can hardly be called a gamer, let a lone a fan of video game music.

But while I have nothing but love for those games and their music, and the awesome remixes Capcom and others have come up with, it gets tiring after awhile. Mega Man has long, long history and an extensive lines of games, but they tend to get overshadowed by the towering behemoth of Mega Man 2 and Wily Stage 1. The other soundtracks get left behind, and don't get nearly as much attention as they deserve, and as you go further into the series, the more true this becomes.

Mega Man X5 was meant to be the end of the X series, and to pave the way for the handheld Mega Man Zero series. That wouldn't end up being the case, as later X6 would be made without any involvement from series artist/producer Keiji Inafune and end up being one of the poorest entries in the series, but at the time, I thought it was for the most part, a satisfying closure.

X5 tries to do a lot, and, well...For every thing it did right it fell short in more than few ways. Taking a step back from the fast paced sort of gameplay the X series had been known for, X5 feels more like a pure platformer in the vein of the original NES series. You even fight a Shadow version of the famous “Devil” series of bosses that have frequently appeared in the series.

One of the lamer things about the game is, for whatever reason, the mavericks names were all changed into some increasingly cheesy Guns N' Roses puns. I mean, at first its tolerable, “Grizzly Slash” isn't bad, but beyond that...

At least Mega Man X6 wasn't as bad as Chinese Democracy.

But, this isn't a review of the video game so much as its soundtrack, so I won't go into the gritty details. Mega Man X5 has a pretty awesome soundtrack and some real standouts that contend with even some of the most classic tunes in their quality. The soundtrack was composed and arranged by Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, and Takuya Miyawaki.

The opening theme is an awesome song. Fans of the series will recognize it as a mix of two fairly famous songs from games passed, namely the tracks Variable X from Mega Man X and the song that plays when you've acquired a new weapon in Mega Man 3. The songs blend together well, and it foreshadows the way in which Mega Man X5 calls back to previous games.

Duff McWhalen is as awesome as a name gets. Speaking of, Duff McWhalen's stage music is yet another callback to a previous game, Mega Man X3. Well, it's less of a call back than just a straight up remix of Bubble Crab's stage, but it's still pretty cool. Originally he had his own unique music, but it was scrapped for one reason or another. For comparison, here are the two songs: [Duff McWhalen / Bubble Crab]

My personal favorite track for a maverick's stage is Axle the Red's (who originally had the much-cooler name of Spike Rosered) stage, “Into the Jungle!”. Video game music to me stand out most when it really puts you into the environment, and this song completely encompasses Axle the Red and his level. “You're in the jungle, baby. You're gonna die.”

Before I get to the coup de grâce of this article (or the coop de grace if you're Zero in X4), I'll just go over a couple of other songs I especially enjoyed. I dug the boss fight theme a lot, it just had this sort of quality to it that I can't explain exactly. A dimension to it that just makes it kind of weird and intense. It reminds me sort of Ground Scaravich's stage from X6 (a terribly designed level, but it had cool aesthetics and music) on a lesser scale. Some kind of robotic ethereal feel. Another standout theme to me is Dynamo's music. He's a complete pushover and fighting him is a complete joke, but damn is that a song.

The fight between X and Zero had been a long time coming, and not only is it the best song in the game, but arguably the best song in the entire X series. The inappropriate overuse of the word 'epic' annoys me to no end, but this song is what the word describes, and epitomizes the feeling of a “final” (at the time) fight. It's not the final boss fight of the game, but it's an intense battle theme that to me also as a feeling of closure, like this will be the last encounter. Shame Zero is so damn easy to beat, though. It's a lot more fun when you're Zero fighting X.

If only the fight were more like this...

With that, I've said all I have to say about Mega Man X5 without getting into an actual review of the game itself. It's definitely worth playing, though. My next article will be entry number 9 on my top favorite composers list, and sometime in the future I'll do another edition of this. Take easy, gang.