Fate/Zero

Thank God Saber was in it to make things beautiful

 
Genres: Action, (Dark) Fantasy, Supernatural, Thriller. Yea I agree with all of that. 


     Now you might be wondering, "where are the action shot!" Just realize though, there's a lot of action in parts, but they're widely separated by a lot more set up, story building (this is a prequel after all), and odd screwed up scenes.
Scenes such as:

1. Violent death, not limited to the affiliates of the Holy Grail War, but also innocent bystanders (mostly children). Trust me, the deaths are violent.
2. Twisted dialogue that explains the characters' dark and confused state of mind.
3. I guess you could call it, rituals, to become stronger. Especially with Caster and Kariya.
4. Weird obsession with tentacles...

     A promising story. It played just about all its cards right. Unlike Fate/Stay Night, the participants in this war, are all ready. There are many events occurring simultaneously with many unseen plot twists and red herring. I really don't see anything wrong with the story (besides it being so dark!), and it was worthy to be placed as the prequel of F/SN.

Ironic that even though so gruesome, it was written so beautifully.
"Emiya Kiritsugu had never sought the truth nor answer to things. To him, only the ‘situation’ had ever been worthy of concern."


How well it was written: 4.5/5 It's one hell of a story
Themes: This will be explained later in the review
Personal Opinion: Ambivalent


The After Thoughts are VERY lengthy. You can skip it and I'll have a picture (of Saber of course) after it all indicating they're over. And yes, there are some things that may be considered spoilers in the After Thoughts. Though I mostly try to keep them out, sometimes I need to use them to expand on the analysis. Yes, this is actually more of an analysis rather than a review. But again, After Thoughts is the most remarkable feedback from a critique. Raw, spoiled goodness. 

                                                     After Thoughts                                                 

SEASON 1

Episode 1:

• Wow, that actually explained a few questions I had. And it's really nice to see that among these lunatics there is someone who sacrifices himself for the unconditional love for his niece. 
• So far it's not as dark and crazy as I though it would be - or currently my mind is still screwed up from Unlimited Blade Works. 
• Looks like it's being set up very well, thank you 47 minute episode. 
• Saber is epic as always.

Episode 2:

• Well f*** , W,t-f. We now see why this is a horror. It was going good up until that crazy part too.
• Saber of course, is still a bad ass. 
• It's cool to see more back story on Kiritsugu, and it's a little bit sad - not sure yet what will happen to Ilya's mom, but we know the fate of the dad. How horrible this war is.

Episode 3:

• Alright, so we're presented with Tohosaka and Kirei's plan, which is quite thought through. 
• The way it shows previews is quite unique. 
• Looks like the battles will be from multiple perspectives this time, and I'm sure there will be even more intense action. 
• It seems like the masters of the 5th Holy Grail War were kind of people from here and there and hadn't really been at their strongest - kids, old preist, you know? As in this one we have masters who appear very prepared and ready to kill with strategic tactics and other interesting weaponry - guns! So now it's like we're promised with more action, more serious action, and different action. 
• My impression of this anime has changed quite a bit, in a very good way. Also as expected, the artwork has improved very much from F/SN. Unfortunately it's not as great as the movie quality, but it's still really good! And of course, Saber is epic.

Episode 4:

• The intro really shows us a lot. The end is pretty interesting as well, shows us a little about the heroic spirits in their prime. 
• Filler!? It shouldn't have taken that long to show all that in my opinion. 
• Seems like this is dragging on, how unfortunate. 
• And people thought that Lancer's death was regrettable? 
• At this moment it would be glorious in my opinion. I'm rooting for Saber, bi-atches. 
• So it looks like the comic relief is a duo this time, with King Iksandar and the Harry Potter kid. 
• Glad to know King Iksandar doesn't have the personality I thought he would.
•  This comic relief duo seems to fit in better than F/SN's comic relief. 
• We see a resemblance to the first series where there was caster always spying on the participants of the war, while here we have the assassins doing this. 
• Looks like Saber fell into some crap, what exactly are Kiritsugu and Maiya doing? 
• Here we're have what may be an honest 1v1v1 for our first time in this show. 
• Oh and I won't forget to mention, Saber is raw.

Episode 5:

• Interesting opening. 
• I mean, Iskandar doesn't seem like a bad guy. 
• Saber for some reason has that "Unforgivable!" Japanese attitude, though she's still a bad ass. And w/e with the lancer dude.
• Wow, four masters, then five! Also there's assassin but that's doing nothing. 
• Just thinking that there are multiple assassins sounds kind of cheap, and it kind of annoys me. Sounds like they're going to be like grunts - not hard to kill, by my god there are loads of them.
• I was thinking holy ****ing ****, when the beserker was delfecting the noble phantasms of Gilgamesh.Though it does seem like Gilgamesh isn't as powerful on this series as he was in F/SN - where with the snap of a finger, you too can be pierced through the torso!
• Wow beserker is insane, and I don't like the computer animation. 
• Of course though, Saber will have to fight him, even after crippled from the fight earlier.
• Oh! That's why people like him (Lancer)! Now I like him. 
• Oh **** that Blond haired Wesker wanna-be.
• Well ****, why does Saber always seem to get screwed over like this? 
• Wow, Saber is a loyal badass, and that's one of the many reasons I love her. 
• ****ing Rider, well, we'll see how this
• plays out. Though at the same time Rider seems to be a quite wise and appreciative of who his master should be and is. At least he seems to be a good guy with fair intentions. 
• Oh God why; Caster is crazy as always, and he's obsessed with Saber.

Episode 6:

• The car animation looks lame. 
• The transition from the last episode to this one is a bit odd. 
• Creepy appearance by Caster - I can only wonder what will happen. 
• I see it does an extra good job with the intro by showing many different settings. 
• That episode seemed really short. 
• A lot of dialogue that I wasn't too interested in to be honest. 
• This is kind of setting up something, I suppose... Well anyway, F/SN was slow to start up as well, I'll continue to give this a chance - it has potential. Though I still don't like the dark aspects and child murder of this. 
• But in the end I know we can all agree, Saber is mega awesome.

Episode 7:

• What's with all the child murder?
• Totally ridiculous. But I figured that Lancer would be the one to arrive, and of course save Saber, and this
• is probably where he dies.
• And um, didn't blondy also have traps in his hotel? Hypocrite.
• Really? Force fields? Some of the cheapest and most unentertaining crap.
• Ok, Kiritsugu's magic was pretty awesome.
• Petty tricks? Coming from the guy with a force field?
• Dang cliff hanger, a good one though, I'll give it that.
• This episode was, kind of cheesy. It didn't seem to have that much in it.
• Pretty much this episode gave it negative points. Not a good one.

Episode 8:

• Yea... that did some explaining... but as much as I love the characters I'm rooting for getting their asses kicked, I'm not enjoying this.
• This episode and the last better be preparation episodes, or episodes that set up some awesome that's going to happen.
• I call bs on Kirei's steel claws of rage. That's just... not realistic tbh.
• The animation of that spirit bird was lame, but I don't think the attack was lame.
• Anyway, this anime is going to have to step it up if it wants me to even review it.

Episode 9:

• I like how this motif plays back in with the masters being able to dream and see the servants past. Looks like we're being set up to better understand and therefore admire Lancer more. and of course he's a heroic spirit, so he's going to have an epic story - at least he better!
• Looks like this crazy ass war is full of blood thirsty lunatics.
• Ah, looks like Lancer is also a true knight. This is very respectable. I greatly admire loyalty.
• Positive atmosphere from Rider as always. I'm starting to really like that guy.
• It seems as though Waver is maturing/developing as well.
• Wow, Rider is more badass then I expected.
• See, now that's a good episode. Thank you Fate/Zero, getting back on track.
• Also, good to know Tohsaka will be in the next one. "Rin's Adventure" sounds exciting.

Episode 10:

• Gem magic, I actually think that's really cool.
• Tohsaka is shown as really top notch in the visual novel and F/SN, so we can't call her some kind of lucky fake, she's actually
• quite talented.
• Looks like the crazy bug guy is nice, but it seems limited to his familiy.
• I really enjoyed this episode. It filled in quite a bit.
• And of course, as we all know, Rin is awesome.

Episode 11:

• This episode is making me laugh. When we think about it, it's honestly ridiculous.
• Three kings who are supposed to be enemies, just drinking wine in the garden of a
• semi destroyed castle, sitting on the ground.
• Wow, poor Saber, -20 points on her morality. Damn...
• Both Saber and Rider made some good points. I actually agree more with Saber, but she makes it seem like she actually is a slave to her country.
• Though I would really like to punch Rider in the face for saying what he did about Saber.
• I just realized as well, that Saber just seems to have it really tough, from what she had
• to go through in her life, but at the same time, with that attitude, she was probably putting
• a lot of it on herself. However, Saber is really a beautiful person.

Episode 12: No comments of importance. I suppose this is just a setting up episode.

Epsiode 13:

• I like how Shirou wasn't the only person to ever have that dream stuff involved. It's cool to see it happen in this prequel to multiple participants.
• Funny and ironic how most of the little conversation Caster and his mater are having. It has truth in it yet it's hypocritical. Though there are lessons to learn from it. It seems like a satire. "God never punishes humans." right. "He simply toys with them" wrong. We can kind of call it symbolic as well. Ok whoa, this is just going way into things. I'm a bit impressed, though I wouldn't be surprised if it became twisted. "But he loves screams, blood and despair just as much!" Yup, called it.
• I have a feeling that Rider will spend all the money. Oh yea! So he is Alexander the Great!? So yea that did make sense about the "Territory split into three" It's just his name here confused me.
• So is this where Lancer dies!? Or is it seasons two and they're... just really.. fast...
• Cool leap of faith.
• Perhaps Saber being called Jean of Arc may be symbolic. And what the hell is up with the tentacles?
• Also it doesn't seem like Saber's injured arm is much of a problem. Maybe that will be put into play a little sooner? But I don't like that it really didn't seem to do much except for that one episode, but still no.
• Lmfao at how it ended. Of course I wasn't laughing that much, but the ridiculous of it was just so high. Happy that I know a little bit of these mythologies and tales already though.

SEASON 2

Episode 14:

• When Fate/Zero gets serious, and there's no filler crap, it can really show us its true colors. Good episode. It redeemed itself. Of course the flying throne was a bit much, but hey, who doesn't love a good dog fight? *cough cough* Strike Witches!
• There are a lot of characters that have introduced a good background and kept it up well. Now we can really feel that there are many events going on at once for many diverse reasons. 
• Also it looked like there was more symbolism in this. 
• It looks like the Matou family has a theme of being crazy. 
• Also Sakura and Rin at a few scenes are seen with similar hair colors.

Connection made! There's a count down after each episode. It continues from the last, but what does it count down to? I'm not sure, but I do know it's counting to "zero".

Episode 15: N/A

Episode 16:

• Wow, these people really like to survive.
• Oh man, I'm not the type who's into mass murder or unnecessary gore by any gores (just read my unrated UBW review)
• but this is actually going somewhere. Finally!? Looks like the bitches are getting into so action, and freaks are getting owned.
• Lancer's bossin' it up.
• Fight's about to start: Well, Lancer's a goner. No matter how cool he is (because chivalry is cool), Saber's just too awesome.
• Saber, you impress me yet.
• KIRITSUGU!@#$%!@^$#
• Holy ****! Allow me to rephrase that, Holy-what-the-****ing-hell-****!@#$%? DEMON EYES@$#%@#$ I'll never look at Lancer the same again! Gah!! I've lost respect for him after that curse.
• Saw that coming by the way. An' evore-bodi die~ Getting a little too much like UBW
• Good point Kiritsugu. Oh and Kiritsugu, humanity HAS infact recognized this truth, they just cherish and bask in it. That or, maybe those aren't to be considered humans?
• Yes good point Saber. Hate begets hate. Kiritsugu is trying to save the world the wrong way.
• You're wrong Kiritsugu! And that's why you failed!
• Oh damn. This is getting... I'm not sure :/
• I'd have to say how things are looking, this won't beat F/SN.

Episode 17:

• It was to be expected. Explains what it's supposed to, during this informational prequel episode.

Episode 18:

• ****ing ****, zombies!
• Well, there's horror for ya. This explains quite a bit about Kiritsugu's past. It's kind of... really strange...

Episode 19:

• There's a lot of crap that has to do with fire huh? Both Shirou and his father's homes were destroyed that way. 
• No but seriously, that kind of scared me <--(doesn't like horror stories).
• WTF! How many times can I say wtf in one day? 
• I used to be really interested in zombie shivic, though not as much now. Never to the point where I would talk about strategies of a zombie apocalypse though, I'd never want that.
• Anyway, I can't argue that this wasn't written well, but the themes are inverted, and personally, it's kind of harsh. 
• I'm not very surprised that the woman smiled though. And of course, we can see that Kiritsugu, is a very, very troubled man. 
• Pain begets pain. Many people learning through suffering, and as Kiritsugu said in F/SN, he learned too late (or so he thought). However, it's never too late for anyone of us.

Episode 20:

• Set up, a little informative.

Episode 21:

• Where will your greed lead you?
• Remember, when you don't see the guys face, then it can't be him.
• yay for corruption!
• Well it started off with Saber-badass action. Then went to ****ed up scenes. That's Fate/Zero for you?
• This anime is really messed up. It's no wonder it's already ranked 8th on myanimelist.com.

Episode 22:

• I'm just glad I didn't read the manga. 
• It'll be sad when Rider loses.
• Looks like it's building up a lot of feelings now. With Waver, his pseudograndparents, Rider, Irisviel  and  Illyasviel, Kiritsugu and Kirei. 
• Just a lot getting ready for the crazy fight to the death. Should have seen this madness coming. 
• Well I guess I'm only really waiting for the end now. Got so far, I'm going to finish it. This'll probably be the best part too. Well it better be. The review for this isn't looking really good though.

Episode 23:

• As I said before, these should be the best episodes. It's currently living up to that expectation. Let's see it have a good ending. 

Episode 24:

• IMPRESSIVE IMPRESSIVE! ASDFG#$^#%YAW$&%&IOAY*&_$%&*NQ%#*Q$%

• The action was very good. And I've found that there IS a theme in this, and an extremely important lesson to learn. Something that people may not understand, but that's ridiculous because it's spelt out. So this all came together and is falling together better than I thought it would have. 

• I can't can't can't can't CAN'T stand the darkness of the anime. I truly can't, and really don't like it for that reason. There are many parts of it that were way too prolix and could have been cut out to show this theme much simplier, but for most of the people today, this is the only way to get a chance for them to listen. I'm not referring to this episode (since it's now my favorite, as the second to last usually is for some reason), but throughout the entire anime. My opinion on this one is pretty much "IMPRESSIVE IMPRESSIVE! ASDFG#$^#%YAW$&%&IOAY*&_$%&*NQ%#*Q$%."

• Shirou's voice at the end! I knew we'd see him at the final episode. 

• So I feel like occasionally I rate episodes. Some of these on Fate/Zero I really didn't like. I then thought of the rating for this one. Earlier today, before even watching this episode, I thought, "Fate/Zero is about an 8 in my personal category, why the hell is it so dark anyway." Well, after watching this episode, it's gone up to a 9 on personal rating! *party horn* This episode personally earned a 10 in my opinion. This will be the third anime to receive a 9 in my opinion. But then again, there's still the last episode. And no sorry, it can't go up to a 10.

• And before someone talks about me liking the dark parts of this episode, don't even. There's a lesson from all this, and the point where this is at, it's unfortunately necessary. It's supposed to show the true colors and have you reflect. It's twisted and perverted. It's gold as a story to learn from for those with stone hearts. 

And once more,      

• IMPRESSIVE IMPRESSIVE! ASDFG#$^#%YAW$&%&IOAY*&_$%&*NQ%#*Q$%

Episode 25:

• The first half didn't follow exactly what I thought it would. As in it didn't have the similar ending fight to which we saw in F/SN which was a bit of a let down. 
• Everything was set properly in place at the end. It gave appropriate feedback in informing us what happened. However there's still a question it didn't answer. How did Shinji show up inthe Matou household?
• Kariya died in peace. Sakura was, well a little creepy but that's to be expected. Also I can see why Rin ended up the way she did - so desiring to be perfect.
• Saber's dream wasn't a poor one. She was not a bad ruler. It is the fault of others why they ended up the way they were. 
• Shirou's response to inherit the role of becoming a Hero from Kiritsugu was seen in a different perspective this time. And instead of a starting point, it was a conclusion. Kiritsugu died in peace.
• A fairly happy ending for most. This episode did a very adequate job. I cannot really say it impressed me, but it certainly didn't screw up.
• Kirei is so evil. 

Uh oh, you messed with the wrong bad ass

                                                   ORIGINALITY                                                   


     Alright so on my post with Fate/Stay Night I basically said it wasn't all that original. To be honest you can't really say it's anymore original than it was previously; However, the whole object and plot to this anime really does trump most other action&supernatural animes. Depending on how many animes you've already seen and which ones they were can really change your perspective or idea on how original it is. So take from this what you want. I'm here to point you in the right direction, but you have to do the rest yourself. I'm not going to TEACH you opinions, that makes as much sense as voting for Palin. 

                                                        THEMES                                                      

Hhhhaaaaaa! 

     No really. The theme is based off of Heroism just like Fate/Stay Night. We learn a lesson by watching Kiritsugu and his idea of how to "save everyone." You see his path, his problems, and the outcome. Very valuable, especially for the people on today. You should try to take as much as you  can from Episode 24.

     Position, rank, title, class, also has its turn in this this anime. Actually, in does in more depth than Fate/Stay Night. Since the perspectives are from almost all the characters (and there are plenty) in this anime. Also choices, goals and ambitions. 

    There's a lot of symbolism in this anime as well. Especially when it comes to lighting. Maybe it's worth looking into. *hint hint nudge nudge*

Some good advice here. There's a bit more throughout the anime, but don't expect a lot. 

   

Quit drooling over Saber and read the advice!

     Besides that, everything else is more like small advice, or an infinite amount of monkeys bashing an infinite amount of type writers (yes, they will recreate all the literature man has ever written). A lot of the logic seems twisted but has its good points. After all, this anime is horribly dark. 

                                                        FEELINGS                                                     

You might say "Where's the Motif's category!?" But do you really care? 

     This anime is dark and it builds up a lot of characters and gives some of the background; so you'll probably get attached to a few. Though if you're really into dark, you may have a rock covering over your heart, and laugh at pain rather than feeling sorry for it. That's why I try to just avoid this insanity. *cough cough* Unlimited Blade Works!

     So if you come in thinking "There's going to be so much awesome action!" You're really missing the majority of it. That's why I'm not putting in action pictures and stressing the rest. Though the battles are more intense than F/SN because the people in this war, were prepared, had loads of tricky s***, and then some. 

     You can watch this anime you want with whatever mind set, but just try to at least learn something from it, and don't deepen yourself in unconsciousness by extolling over the blood.

     In my opinion. Sakura was the most screwed over. But don't worry, you'll have loads of people to choose from, on who you think had the most dejecting or mind twisting experience.

     Then you wonder, are their good feelings from this anime? Well, wait until the end and see. You should know by now that it's like a gigantic failure, and the people who have to compete in the next one, were all screwed thanks to this one. 

                             Plot Development/Execution                           

     *Says in best Irish accent* It did a fine job! A fine job indeed!
Building up to what we learned through F/SN, creating new characters and identities. People seem to grow, or eventually reach their demise. As the plot progresses so does the intensity, until we're ultimately brought back to square one - F/SN.

     Episode 24 (best imo) was basically the climax of the anime. A little before that, and after was able to complete everything that should have been. All was adequately performed with few questions left unanswered, Matou business. 

^Anyone else thinking the same thing? o_o

     There are two episodes that help give us even more insight, and that give an explanation to certain somethings and play a roll before and after those episodes. Odd huh?

     In the end most characters were nicely created and some destroyed. Where it was leading was not rushed at all. Fate/Zero took its sweet old time as a prequel and went on elaborate with dialogue describing transitions and the further development of a few certain people. 

     Really I can't say much else besides it did a good job. If you don't believe me because there's not enough backup, then I ask you: Would you prefer I spoil the whole anime? Just watch it if you're interested and don't believe me. This shouldn't be the most important factor of watching it or not - you know how it's going to end.

                                               RECOMMENDATION                                          

  

I should actually say requirements firstly. WATCH FATE/STAY NIGHT BEFORE EVEN CONSIDERING THIS!!

Do you like Dark animes? (Masochist/Sadist!!) 

Did you like Fate/Stay Night? <-- That's me!

Do you have a crazy obsession over Saber!? <-- That's me!

If you said yes to any of these, keep reading. To even watching this you should like at least one of those. 

よし！ Here we go! 

Fail: Unoriginal soundtrack/takes away from the mood.
Fair: Original soundtrack/it was appropriate to the mood.
Excellent: Unique Soundtrack/Builds strongly to the mood, definitely increasing its watching value.
---

Action: 10/10

Okay, don't assume it's just 10/10 like that. There are so many other factors that led it there. It also partially was excused for the times where its all talk and no fighting because it's a prequel. And don't worry, that crap's not filler. 

As I said before, where's a good anime without the matrix?

Fanservice: N/A 

I actually cannot remember any fanservice. And of course that shouldn't be your main priority. Otherwise you should just read the messed up manga - yes, there are p**** monsters. *barf* The closest to fanservice here, is like, oh god no. Forget I said that! 

Originality: I've actually decided not to rate this one. Whatever you got from Fate/Stay Night, use that as a reference. You probably won't see this on the recommendations for a while after this post.

Soundtracks: Excellent 

As much as I didn't like a few of them, they helped send shivers down your spine (I don't even know why you'd want that) and make the action scenes that much better.

Values: 2/10
Besides what you could get from certain characters and a little bit of their wisdom, it lacked much. 

Predictability/Kairos: 7.5/10

C'mon! It's a prequel! It did really good for terms of a prequel, but I can't say it was crazy unpredictable because we knew how it was going to end. If it stood on its own, the score would be higher.

Prequel Resolution: N/A

What's to say? This was the build up.

War Resolution: 8/10

Basically how the war came to a close. Or, how it was finishing up.

Kiritsugu's Resolution: 10/10

Humor: 6/10

It's ranked so high, because you'll get more for what you asked, and it's actually incorporated correctly. This isn't the same scale as a Comedy though. If this were a comedy, the score would have been very low. Don't think it's ranked this way because you'll be laughing all the time. That's just horrible. Another thing to note is that the comic relief, appeared as a duo this time around, and actually did a better job incorporating the comedy (at the appropriate moments). 

Ignore this picture when taking into account the dark aspects

    This anime is very dark, and quite gruesome. Luckily it's not as horrid as Unlimited Blade Works *barfs* or the manga for Fate/Zero. So if you do not like dark anime, you'll be really hard pressed on the decision to watch this. Personally I felt that it could answer some questions I had from Fate/Stay Night. Seriously, I watched this and I'm the kind of guy who loves upbeat and bright anime, but don't think it didn't have its effects. 
     Fate/Stay Night is one of my favorite animes. It's like tied for 2nd. And the reason I watched Fate/Stay Night in the first place was because I thought Saber was cute -t hough that's not why it's tied for 2nd ;P. So if your situation is similar to mine, you'll probably be quite ambivalent after watching it. So really think about what you like more. 
     If you're fine with Dark, I don't really have much more to say. In fact, I've said just about everything I wanted to. THIS ANIME IS REALLY DARK! 

Thanks for reading and look forward to more on Saber. 

All comments and emails will be greatly appreciated!

You can contact me at TreuCritique@yahoo.com

EXTRAS:

Art Style: It did a very good job and was quite appealing.
OP/ED: Second OP seemed really abstract and symbolic. I liked the music though to The first OP the best. Then the others weren't that great imo. Although the videos to them were pretty interesting. 
Personal Opinion: Well I watched it. I guess it was worth it, now that it's over and I have all this info. I'm going against the majority and giving this an 8 on my personal score.
Saber = win
The dark aspect really brought it down in my opinion. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoaiWe-SNsM

OP 1 (Oath Sign)

ED 1 (Memoria) Apparently there's a Madrin dub to this o_O

OP 2 (To The Beginning)

ED 2 (Sakikana)

Minami-ke

I can't believe you actually expect me to write something about a picture like this!

The genres are: Comedy, Slice of Life

I learned of this anime and decided to watch it through another one of my crazy manners. Though my first thoughts were actually "It's a slice of life, but where's the comedy." But they didn't remain that way. As time went on I actually found it to be funnier. And well, this is really a Slice of Life fan's kind of show. Me preferring comedy, had a different intention to watch. So a word of advice: Watch as a fan of Slice of Life. Comedy comes second. Though this may be biased. And as I said, I found it to be really funny in later episodes. If you watch it as Slice of Life over Comedy, you'll probably get more enjoyment out of it.


I actually found out that this anime was ranked in the top 10 for most wanting to be continued, and that the score on Myanimelist.com was quite high. Now I don't like to determine an anime through those means, but it's a good way to see the public's general opinion on it. Personally my opinions differed. If you had also never heard about this anime until you did through some crazy method, you'll probably see this in a different light, than others who have high expectations. Don't have expectations!!!


But did I get my buck out of this one? Yes. 


After Thoughts
.
My after thoughts weren't very in depth this time around, but you can see how my opinion  gradually changes over time.


Episode 3:

• Had its moments. Kind of annoyed me at points.

Episode 4:

• Ok yea, that was funny.

Episode 7:

• Nonimiya-kun and sensei are funny. So far, this anime is about a 4 or a 5 out of 10.

Episode 8:

• They do a very good job with height differences in this anime.

• Cute.

• Oh geeze, "God-like skill" that just reminds me of when Yukko was being hit in the head with a book by her teacher in Nichijou and when Tomo-chan kept saying the same thing over and over to Yumi in Azumanga Daioh.

• They actually use legit animal noises instead of some weirdo seiyuu.

• Looks like Hosaka is actually a pretty kind guy. His fantasies are actually funny this time.

• This was a good episode. One of the best I've seen so far. Cute, funny and incorporated true feelings. It's leaning on 5 out of 10 on the path it's currently taking. Also happy to know that there are 2 more seasons.

• I still don't like Chiaki, but maybe she'll grow on me... I don't think so.

Episode 9:

• Sooo sneaky!! XD!!! <-- Always unintentionally supporting the middle child ;)

• And wow, this is somehow getting better and better!? 終わりはいいです！

• I think it's at a 6 now.

Episode 10:

• OMG XD Trap meets reverse trap!! I used to always wonder if this situation would ever happen when in real life.

• Oh wow, when did Minami-ke become awesome!? XD

• Alright, I'm actually laughing quite a bit.

• I get what's going to happen! 

• No, I'm seriously impressed. I have the feeling this is one of those exponential growth animes. I actually originally started off with finding absolutely no humor in it at all. Now since there's so much going on, it's getting to be quite something.

• I really admire the adding of characters with totally unique identities, yet aren't all to be simply labeled or categorized. 

• It's definitely at a 6 now!

Episode 11:

• LOVE TRIANGLE!! Oh I should have seen this disaster coming.

• The common Anime fall. Damn Haruka. Haha. 

• Of course...

• If I've ever seen a Slice of Life Story, this would be it. It's very linear, and just impressive to be honest. 

• Looks like there's a little something for everyone.

• Whenever the anime highlights Kana, it seems like she tries to make things revolve around her, though when it's the grandsceme of things, we can really see that she's not the biggest attraction, and she her trying again to be.

• Now that it seems I understand the intentions of this anime, it's hard to put it down to a 6 for what it does. Maybe it'll be a 7.

Episode 12: It seems like yesterday was its peak. Though it really jumped in score because of the past few episodes, it kind of fell back to what it was. Overall it's not average, but it's not great. Looks like I misunderstood the intentions. But does it deserve a 6 or a 7 for what it does? 


Episode 13: 

• Good job with the episode one scene redo! XD

• o_o Omg wtf lol. 

• A-ha-ha! A-ha-ha! A-ha-ha-ha haaaa!

• Master. Of. Slice of Life.

• kore wa watashi no da 

• Was able to finish off true Slice of Life style.

Examine
They do a good job with background acitivity. 
Focus on characters more - This anime does a good job adding a lot of other characters. It doesn't just throw them in, and they all seem to have dynamic personalities. For example, the calm one can get excited, and isn't ALWAYS calm, but just appears calm.


So the anime is good at giving parts to different characters to help give us insight to what they're like. Just enough to know their average personality, but they aren't all developed much. But really, this is Slice of Life, who's growing? There attitudes pretty much stay the same. 
Minami-ke = The Minami Family.


Originality



To be honest. There's nothing out of the ordinary. It's got all the aspects of Slice of Life. But, this anime seems to be, out of all Slice of Life I've seen, the master. There is no specific focus on anything singular of course, and the characters we know in the anime, don't constantly play big roles. Sometimes, they only come in for a brief Slice of Life chapter; whether they're part of the act, only get a few words in, or are just in the background. It's so casual, there are no favorites played. It's able to range through the diversity of main, supporting and minor characters. 


Some examples in that order:

Main

Supporting

Minor

C-c-c-c-combo breaker!

Also, before someone says something about there being no guys in the anime assumed from the pictures above: There's actually a guy in one of the pictures ;P


With the stereotyped characters, they aren't emphasized. Except Kana, who is continually  called an idiot by her younger sister. Examples arent'y given and situations aren't regularly highlighted to support the personalities of the characters. You learn what stereotype they might be from their actions.

They live a pretty normal life. The problems are average, I mean, really average. It's not even that odd average problem we face once a week. It's like daily average. But that's what makes this anime even more original. 
And there's also an interesting mix when the sisters' friends come over to visit, it's quite different from ordinary for anime and life.


Also don't worry. It doesn't have most of the typical crap in school animes. That's a check. 

General Dicussion

What can I say? You can learn a lot of usual things to help you get through the common day with Slice of Life. Though maybe not a whole lot from Minami-ke (and probably not a whole lot from Kana. Except for that if you're a moron, you better keep your mouth shut). I kid. So it doesn't specifically focus on any one thing. Just try to interpret anything you might see as advice, in whatever way helps you.

                              Worded through Kana's half processed reasoning. Not bad though.

With its humor, it doesn't just set everything up in one episode, it prepares ahead of time. What it created before, stays the same. It's very linear so you'll see some jokes or ideas become more developed. 

• Ninomiya-kun! Sensei! 

• I can't wear that! I'm too manly!

• He's the bad ass.

 This is a face you'll get used to seeing

Don't worry, there's a beach episode

That faucet is way too thin!!

Where's a good anime without the use of the matrix?

Recommendation


Like I've said before, either you like Slice of Life or you don't. If you're a real fan of Slice of Life, this is the master, the supreme! 


---
There are some categories that I consider biased, so I've decided to go with a three rating system on those specific categories. 

Fail: Unoriginal soundtrack/takes away from the mood.
Fair: Original soundtrack/it was appropriate to the mood.
Excellent: Unique Soundtrack/Builds strongly to the mood, definitely increasing its watching value.
---


Action: N/A
Besides Kana getting punched, there's none. 


Characters: 9/10 (Amazing)

So I decided to add another category. This one represents the use of, diversity and introduction of characters. The more characters, the better chance it has at getting a higher score. And also vice versa. Though Minami-ke was a success, with many characters with their own unique or average backgrounds. I also once again want to comment on the height differences. Many animes don't really make much a difference of the heights, but Minami-ke did the best, I have actually ever seen.

Fanservice: 5/10 (Average)
Really it's nothing comparable to most, but it definitely has fanservice!

Humor: 7/10 (Good)

This really depends on your humor. As stated before, this is more Slice of Life than Comedy. However, there are a lot of Slice of Life aspects which may be seen as funny. So it depends on your taste. I gave it a 7/10 on a scale of how much I laughed. So the score could only go up. At points, I'm sure we can all agree it really spikes in comedy.

Originality: 6.5/10 (Above Average+)
Why is it above average? Well if it were average, it probably would have had parents in it. And only had the point of view of a few people unfrequently. Also it'd have that typical anime crap of school life. You might know what I mean. If not, just trust me. Other than that, it's normal.
And I know, most people look for very original anime. But that shouldn't always be the main focus, or you'd almost never watch anime.


Predictability/Kairos: 7/10 (Good)
When there's a funny situation, you wonder what's going to happen. At first you're not quite on the edge of your chair, but that are some unexpected and sneaky situations. A little into some scenarios though you may be able to tell what's going to happen. Along with timing, it did quite a good job. Usually I look for where it does poorly in timing, but here there wasn't much of it! \(^o^)/



Soundtrack: Fair


Stress: 1/10 (Virtually None)
This didn't revolve around school much, and there never really seemed to be any chores. Yay! Low Stress!


Values: 2/10 (Low) 
Well I guess there really isn't that much to draw from this.


I think you've heard and seen enough by now. If you can't decide whether to watch it not, then just give it a go. I don't really see this anime as something you'd be disappointed over if you watched it without expectations. In fact, you may be just as surprised as I was as it drew nearer to the end. 


You can contact me at TreuCritique@yahoo.com

EXTRAS:

OP: This is how I found the anime! Though an OP remix. Also the visual for the OP is pretty cool. The chiba versions of the people give you an idea of the numerous characters in the show.

ED: A basic Slice of Life ED.

Personal Opinion: 

I actually didn't see this anime as good as most people have, but it was still enjoyable and worth watching nonetheless.

OP

For some reason the volume is really low on this video.

ED

Creditless, also the volume is fine on this one :)

Look forward to more posts on Minami-ke!