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| 7. bluemist
I really don't know how to describe this. The quality of each
episode is so varied, almost seems like it should be reviewed as a separate anime
each. Let me iterate first that the theme of Boys Be is a regular high-school
romantic comedy. While something like Love Hina would focus on comedy,
this one focuses on romance. It tells the story of three guys and a bunch of girls,
with each one having a their own little dating and romantic encounters. The couple
having the most encounters is the characters Kyoichi and Chiharu, wherein their
relationship is like a roller coaster ride spread through the 13 episode series.
The rest of the characters actually have time to shine as some of the episodes
have focus on them, leaving no characterization to waste. Unfortunately, you may
find it a bit disorienting to watch the anime visually, not only because of its
fanservice shots coming out of nowhere, but because the episodes vary in art and
animation. The drawings are really good in some episodes, but in others, it seems
rushed and not in proportion. I don't like inconsistencies in the art, because
I feel like scrutinizing the drawing differences instead of enjoying the show.
The other technical points, like voice acting and music, are good enough. In the
same way, the quality of the stories are varied as well. I regard episode 8 of
Boys Be as one of my most favorite episodes in all of anime, and while
the other episodes pale in comparison, it's still watchable. All in all, Boys
Be is an average anime that you can watch once in a while. As for me, I won't
be watching it again anytime soon. |
| 6. Qian
Wan
...mad retarded should finish off the title well. The 13 episode
series revolve around love. Every episode there is a new type of relationship
that is supposed to make your heart feel all cozy. Unlike many of the similar
romance animes, BB concentrates on many characters with equal focus and
detail so there really is no 'main characters.' But whether that is a good thing
depends on the person. For me it was acceptable, the characters were developed
neatly and they all have their unique point of view. Although the series mainly
talk about relationships in a group of friends composed of three guys and three
girls, there are also many pretty girl guest appearances that will weave some
story with the "default" (you think of a better word...) characters.
But back to my point, the guys are really pretty retarded when it comes to girls.
Although they will all get their girls and live happily ever after blah blah blah
but there were many times that made me go "wow you ARE a insensitive poopdonkey."
Each episode supposedly flow with the last, but
since almost every episode tells its own little love secret, it is actually fair
enough to give each episode a total different rating. Some of the episodes were
very heartwarming, and made me rush out to get something for a girl, while some
other episodes tried to pull an Evangelion on me and made me slam my head
repeatedly on my desk. Despite what a lot of people think, this series in my opinion,
cannot be compared to other slow romance series such as To Heart and Love
Hina. Almost every episode (except 1-2) bring you results, and shows you how
a certain relationship turn out and skipping the usual 4-5 fall-in-love and 5-6
confession episodes many other series feature. Again, whether that is a good thing
depends on the viewer. Okay, now for the bad stuff.
The ending is oh my gosh ever so crappy. The twelfth episode introduced an intense
cliffhanger that the thirteenth episode did JACK to resolve. The 13th episode
featured a girl voiced by the famous seiyuu Hayashibara Megumi. Although
her voice talents supposedly gave a blessing to the new character, the point of
her existence in the very last episode of this romance series really doesn't strike
me. I tried to understand... I really did, heck I even tolerated the half naked
real-life girls who pop out for 10 seconds in each episode trying to seduce me
with their headless clips, but why the Hayashibara character suddenly pops
out at the last episode really made the entire series a piece of crap (even more
annoying than the Evangelion episodes.) Forgot to mention that the finale
cliffhanger was indeed resolved in the end... right after you finish the credits.
I sat through a heart pounding episode 12 so I can get 5 seconds of "my dear
lets forget everything from the last episode and continue to love each other"
after the credit cannot be tolerated. Somebody stop me from complaining endlessly
please. High: Some episodes are indeed romantic.
Girls are mostly good looking.
Low: Intended for romance fans ONLY.
Ending was garbage. Some episodes were pointless.
Final Word: Want
to see an unfunny Saved by the Bell anime version? Romance lovers rejoice,
rest remorse. |
| 5. Iodine
High school romances are a dime-a-dozen, but few anime have
bothered to actually play it straight. Boys Be is one of the rarities,
an anthology series that charts out the relationships that develop amongst a group
of high school classmates over the course of one year, using no elaborate setups
or supernatural silliness. Our central couple consists of the reticent artist,
Kyoichi, and his tomboy girlfriend Chiharu, who have by far the most complicated
and eventful courtship of their friends. Other stories involve a jock misunderstanding
a spontaneous encounter, and a nifty spin on the old matchmaker plot. The stories
are all strictly romantic, never going much farther than the initial confessions
of love, but the writing and characterization are good enough to pull them all
off without resorting to the theatrics that most other romance anime indulge in.
The viewpoint isn't biased towards either the guys or the girls, resulting in
a nice narrative balance between both groups. There are some weaker episodes in
the mix, but these are usually more mediocre than outright bad. The
tone of the show is fairly realistic, and the visuals match, with OAV quality
designs and animation. While the opening and ending sequences might be an initial
turnoff with their flowery graphics and bad J-pop songs, the series itself is
thankfully more restrained. The atmosphere of the show and the attitudes of its
characters really set it apart from all the rest. It's nice to know there's a
good, thoughtful romance anime out there that can be charming and genuinely touching
without drowning in its own sentimentality. For both the guys and the girls, this
is definitely a title to watch out for. |
| 4. Olmanek
I admit, even though I hate this series, I laughed a lot of
the way through it, I watched it at the little anime club I belong too down at
the university. This series had some of the most profound quotes out there "The
library has lots of books" and one piece of extremely low brow subbing "Manager
cum mule" spelt like that. The ad breaks are filled with bikini clad girls
and half naked ones which felt totally irrelevant to the series, because the series
is so disturbingly wholesome, also there was some footage of cats, and the fellow
sitting next to me had the courage to say in a loud voice "That's some nice
pussy". I don't think I've ever encountered a more plainly lost and confused
series, there was a brief moment, in the later stages of the series, where I think
I would have said this was one of the best series ever made, one of the characters
wakes up from a dream which if I recall correctly was about the end of the world,
he goes to the window, pulls open his curtains, and a giant black orb which keep
growing and destroying everything in its way appears which quickly destroys his
house, a camera shot from outer space immediately follows, and the black orb destroys
the world, then they held the darkness for a few moment. Now, I thought that was
how they were going to end the series, which, I honestly believe, would be the
best ending possible for that series, utterly random and unexplained destruction
of the world! However it turns out it was only a dream. If you enjoy being cynical,
and can enjoy some low brow humour which is quite apparent, and can handle the
sterile boring events, you'll like watching this series, but only once, if you
watch it again, well, if anyone has ever watched Tango & Cash
for a second time they'll understand.
|
| 2. Cross
Scars 
Boys Be most closely resembles a series like To Heart.
There's the typical Japanese High School setting and there's also a similar 'new
cute girl per episode' style in the way the series runs on. However Boys Be
focuses around a larger permanent cast and this gives it more scope and depth
than To Heart achieved. The episodic nature
of the first few episodes of Boys Be does seem to lack much depth to it
but once they're out the way and the characters are all well established the series
picks up. Although the episodic nature continues throughout, with few episodes
directly following on from one another, the series is still successful at building
up the relationships between the characters and in a down to earth romance series
like Boys Be the characters and how they develop are the most important
thing as there aren't any big battles scenes or such to get excited about. It
may take a few episodes to get past the 'new cute girl per episode' format of
Boys Be but once into it the characters grow on you and it's genuinely
interesting to see how they all end up, as their relationships aren't all as straightforward
as one might expect. If you've seen To Heart
then you'll know a lot of what to expect from Boys Be. It's a similar series
with a likeable cast and it's touching to see how it all pans out. |
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