Although not familiar with any Nitroplus games firsthand, ever since I first ‘met’ Ignis I have loved their character designs, and so both curiosity and visual appeal drove me to see what Chaos;Head had to offer beyond its bizarrely punctuated title. And at first, it seemed like just the thing for me- a series where delusion and reality blended so seamlessly for our main character that you couldn’t be sure what was really happening and what was just his imagination. It was fascinating and compelling- and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

Unfortunately, instead of drawing me in further as the series progressed, Chaos;Head had quite the opposite effect. With a multitude of characters and an explosion of technobabble, the story changes from an intriguing mystery into a solid but not outstanding sci-fi/fantasy series- decent enough in its own right, but hardly delivering on its early promise.

As with so many 12-13 episode series, Chaos;Head has a few too many characters for its own good, with our hero predictably being surrounded by numerous beautiful girls. Fortunately, most of the characters are generally likeable- it’s just that we don’t have time to properly get to know them. What character development there is usually takes the form of ‘shocking’ plot-related revelations that mostly don’t come as a surprise at all.

Visually, Chaos;Head has far less to worry about- the basic character designs are aesthetically pleasing, whilst other details such as the “D-Swords” wielded by various characters are all very well done. Background music is generally solid, with a number of worthy tracks and an oddly catchy ending theme.

Final Thoughts

Although it didn’t live up to its early potential, Chaos;Head is still a decent enough series- if you like science-fiction with a hint of mystery and plenty of eye candy, it is definitely worth looking into.

Tier: Silver-

As a Dark Knight and the leader of the fabled Red Wings, Cecil has dedicated his entire life to serving the King of Baron- but when the king begins pursuing a policy of aggression against other nations, he begins to reconsider. Greater forces are at work in the world, and Cecil must reflect on both his loyalties and his true allies if he is to save the world itself from peril.

Back in the old days, I had tried to get on with Final Fantasy in its previous incarnations; first I had a go at the US SNES version and its laughably sanitised translation, and in due course I tried the PSOne remake, but I was never able to stick at it for long. With the release of a completely overhauled DS remake however, I was given another chance with the game- and this time I was going to see it through until the end.

The World of FF4: remade

In true Final Fantasy tradition, FF4 is a game about magical crystals and destined heroes saving the world from darkness; exactly what you would expect from the era. Originally released for SNES, FF4 was the first instalment in the series where characters actually had names and personalities (remakes aside), and although most Americans knew it as ‘FF2’ for years, it was nonetheless generally regarded with fondness. Fortunately, the remake preserves all that, but it also adds enough to draw in players both old and new to the game.

The core gameplay of FF4 is exactly as you would expect- as Cecil, you and your party run around different towns and dungeons fighting monsters and bosses via an ATB battle system. Moving the game to a dual screen layout has allowed for some changes; for example, on the field, the touch screen displays a map of the area, and as with Star Ocean 3, you can gain bonus items for completing 100% of each map. In battle, the party line-up, ATB and attack descriptions have all been moved to the lower screen; overall it ensures that the game never looks cluttered on the small screen, but there’s no real implementation of the touch screen technology (you can move around via the touch screen map, but generally it’s easier to use the D-pad).

The DS may be considered a lightweight and mainstream handheld, but one thing’s for sure- the difficulty of this game hasn’t been toned down. Spamming attack throughout the game is guaranteed not to work here, with even some normal enemies proving difficult enough to warrant developing specific strategies to deal with them. Loopholes have also been closed with regards to certain bosses, so that while there are still a few undead that can defeated by judicious use of Elixirs, most of the time you are actually going to have to think about what you’re doing. It can be challenging, but mainly in a refreshing way; battles are rarely pathetically easy or impossibly difficult, ensuring that the game never gets dull.

As well as retooling a few of the party’s unique abilities for this release, FF4 now adds an extra layer of customisability with its ‘Augments’ system. Augments are special items that bestow characters with new abilities- collect them all and you can mix and match, giving Cecil Yang’s Focus or adding Fusoya’s Bless to Rydia’s arsenal. Collecting the best Augments does require some strategic planning, but when you combine it with the ability to customise a character’s battle menu with their most used commands (imagining going straight to Cura from the top menu instead of scrolling through the White Magic menu), then you can create your own made-to-order fighting force.

Playable Characters

“You spoony bard!”

Despite the large number of playable characters in the game, FF4 is very particular about when you get to use them- basically the story determines which characters you have in your party at any time, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your final line up for the closing chapters of the game is Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia and Edge.

• Cecil (Dark Knight/Paladin): The main character, Cecil starts the game as a Dark Knight with the ability to enhance his attacks by sacrificing his own HP, but after a life-changing event, he becomes a holy Paladin. As with most main characters, Cecil is a strong swordsman who makes an excellent front-line attacker, whilst his noble Paladin nature means that he can take damage for other characters (he’ll do that automatically if they are in critical condition) and use a limited range of white magic.
• Kain (Dragoon): Cecil’s best friend (that is, when he isn’t under the influence of the enemy), Kain is the classic Dragoon- a lance user who does the most damage with his Jump attack. Launch him into the air and he’ll remain impervious to attacks until he comes crashing back down to earth, doing major damage in the process. Many recommend him for the front-line, but with only two slots in front I tend to keep him in back so that Edge can have the other front slot.
• Rosa (White Mage): Cecil’s girlfriend and the main obstacle in the way of HARD GAY bliss with Kain, Rosa is the typical healer- physically weak, but able to heal with powerful magic. She also has Holy magic in her arsenal, whilst her Pray ability now restores bother HP and MP- useful when you’ve drained her reserves through constant spell-casting.
• Rydia (Summoner): As well as having access to powerful summons (including a brand new one that you can customise and have fight in her place), Rydia is a dab hand with black magic, making her unsurpassed in the field of negative status effects and elemental damage. As a child, she also has white magic abilities, but she loses these later in the game.
• Tellah (Sage): An old man who manages to forget most of his magical abilities, regain them and then leave the party for good, Tellah makes for decent magical support, but his MP runs out too quickly. Useful while you have him, but not a character you miss when he’s gone.
• Edward (Bard): The spoony bard of the game’s most memorable line, Edward is a weakling whose special abilities include hiding from danger, but when he’s not protecting his own skin, his song skills can come in handy.
• Palom (Black Mage): Twin brother of Porom, Palom may not be able to keep his mouth shut, but fortunately he offers up some useful black magic support to Cecil during his quest to become a Paladin.
• Porom (White Mage): Palom’s twin sister, Porom is a master of white magic and can also Twincast magic with her brother. Like Palom, she is a useful support character but isn’t outstanding in the overall character line up.
• Yang (Monk): A master of fist-fighting techniques, Yang makes for a perfect front row attacker who can Focus to power up his attack, or damage an entire enemy party with his Kick. A worthy addition to any line up.
• Cid (Mechanic): In this incarnation, Cid is a large-lipped engineer with a bushy red beard who may be excellent with airships, but is generally average in battle. His one special feature is the fact that he can analyse enemy stats at no expense- basically a free Libra that you can abuse whilst he’s in your party.
• Edge (Ninja): A latecomer to the party, Edge is a ninja prince with an eye for the ladies. Typically swift and weak, he has a range of average physical and magical attacks, and makes for decent front line support.
• Fusoya (Lunarian): Another latecomer who only stays briefly, Fusoya is basically another sage, albeit with the special ability to Bless the party and thus slowly restore their MP. A useful character to fill out the numbers, but since his low defence leads to him often falling in battle, you won’t miss him once he leaves.

Extras

“Fat Chocobo!? Blasphemer! He is known here as the Godsbird.”

Although the core of the original game remains intact, there are some new features worth mentioning. For example, back in the original, a character called Namingway would periodically show up and offer to change your characters’ names. Now that the game has cut scenes with voice acting, changing names isn’t allowed, so instead Namingway travels the world, changing his name and purpose as he goes.

Also undergoing a change in function is Fat Chocobo; now that the restrictions on your inventory have been lifted, there is no need for him to be able to store items, so instead he performs a number of different tasks. As well as letting you look at the bestiary, rewatch events and listen to game music, Fat Chocobo lets you train and customise Rydia’s new custom summon, Whyt.

In the main game, Whyt can now be summoned like an Aeon to fight for Rydia, but in order to get him into a fit state for that, you’ll have to pay a visit to Fat Chocobo. The first order of business is to take Whyt’s featureless form and customise it with a simple Paint-style drawing function; this, like the Whyt training, is the only feature of the game where the stylus and touchscreen capabilities are actually needed.

Rather than training him directly, increasing Whyt’s stats is done by playing mini-games relating to the different playable characters. You can solve maths puzzles with Rydia, press the stylus down for set numbers of seconds with Rosa (the most boring of the mini-games), defeat goblins with Cecil, jump and avoid birds with Kain or attack and dodge enemies with Edge. The mini-games are mildly diverting, but since I never used Whyt in the game, I wasn’t too bothered about them.

Also added to the game are the by now obligatory New Game Plus option (although you can only play through three times before having to start a completely new game), and of course a couple of super-hard optional bosses to pit yourself against.

Story

Although Final Fantasy IV is a product of the era of destined warriors and magical crystals, it does a good job of rising above such simplicity with plenty of character development, a serving of drama and a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humour. FFIX fans in particular will find much to like about the world of FFIV.

Audiovisual

Visually, FFIV has been given a complete overhaul, abandoning the simplistic SNES sprites for a pseudo-3D look that is so appealing and cute that I wouldn’t be averse to seeing it used in a lot more remakes- and that’s coming from a big fan of sprites. The music is composed by Nobuo Uematsu, of course, with the usual range of familiar themes undergoing some improvement so that they don’t sound too tinny and outdated in their new home.

Final Thoughts

Final Fantasy IV has always been a solid entry into the series, but the polish given to this latest remake ensures that is both addictive and enjoyable even in this era of flashy graphics and complex battle systems. There’s no doubt that playing this is gaming time well spent- now let’s have remakes for FFV and VI as well.

Rita’s name has been cleared and her country saved, but she isn’t quite ready to settle down just yet. Instead, the intrepid princess decides to accompany her friends on a quest to track down the man who killed Tina’s parents- but along the way they will run into conspiracies, a love triangle and any number of trials that will test their friendship to the limit.

With the first season of Sisters of Wellber proving to be entirely average, I was expecting the second to offer more of the same bland inoffensiveness. Unfortunately, what I hadn’t counted on was that the series was now so practised at being dull that the second batch of thirteen episodes would be even more underwhelming than the first.

Whilst it was never anything to write home about, I at least felt able to pay attention to the plot of the first season, but this time around it seemed more lacklustre than ever. The bulk of the season meandered around with a pointless revenge story, but since that obviously wasn’t considered mind-numbing enough on its own, we were treated to yet more ‘fascinating’ plot elements. After inserting a painfully irritating love triangle involving Galahad, Rita and Tina (come on, we all know Rita and Tina are meant to be together!), the series tried to enliven itself with the kind of twist that you wish would end with the main characters shouting at each other on the Jeremy Kyle show. Unfortunately, the series opts for a more conventional finale, leaving you to wonder why you even bothered in the first place.

As before, the characters prove to be little to write home about; the main characters are just as uninteresting as they were before, whilst the antagonists (in particular the ‘final boss’) are little more than laughable. The most interesting bit of character development in the whole series is an episode detailing the origins of talking tank Cyrano de Bergerac, and even this is hardly worth taking the time to watch.

Visually, the animation quality is much the same as last season- decent enough, but nothing special. Background music is as forgettable as ever.

Final Thoughts

Average as it was, the original Sisters of Wellber was still just about watchable, which is more than can be said for this utterly bland second season. Even at the best times it struggled to keep my attention- even if you made it all the way through the first season, there is no reason to subject yourself to this.

Tier: Wood

With terrorist attacks continuing to plague Italy, the cyborg girls of Section 2 are needed more than ever- and through a mixture of conditioning and adolescent, they are more than willing to fight alongside their handlers. But even the enhanced abilities of a cyborg may not be enough to combat the likes of naturally gifted killer Pinocchio- especially as some of the older girls must confront their own mortality as their life spans run short.

As someone who ranks both the Gunslinger Girl manga and the first season of the anime amongst my all-time favourites, a continuation of the animated version seemed like an early Christmas present. Unfortunately, when it transpired that Studio Madhouse was handing over the reins to Artland, the warning bells began to go off- and unfortunately even my lowered expectations weren’t prepared for the awful reality.

Where the original series added colour, music and atmosphere to the material without compromising on the quality in any way, Il Teatrino was little more than an exercise in how to ruin good ingredients. Somehow forgetting everything they did for Mushishi, Artland threw away the depth and poignancy of the series, replacing it with something bland and shallow. In the manga, I cared for all the characters, but here I was barely motivated enough to watch them- it wasn’t just that I knew what was coming, it was all just handled so shoddily.

As if to add insult to injury, the series couldn’t manage to offer up a bit of eye candy to compensate for its many flaws in content. Instead, Il Teatrino is visually inferior to the first series, offering simplified character designs that are of average quality at best and an insult to the original anime at worst. Similarly, the wonderfully atmospheric background music of the first season has been replaced with generic anime themes that will impress no one.

Final Thoughts

Before this series came along, I would have sworn that it was impossible to ruin something as good as Gunslinger Girl, but Artland have proven themselves more than able for the task. A disappointing addition to an otherwise strong franchise, this is one anime that should probably be put to one side- it may not be the worst series out there, but its very existence sullies the good name of Gunslinger Girl.

Tier: Wood+

Suzuki Sora is an apprentice mage who has come to Tokyo to finish her training. Together with her fellow apprentices, she must learn to hone her skills, deal with clients and provide all the services that are expected of a licensed mage. Becoming a professional is no easy task, however, and Sora has many lessons to learn- without ever losing her pure heart and idealistic outlook.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the tranquil beauty of the original Someday’s Dreamers and its manga-only sequel Spellbound, I was very much looking forward to Natsu no Sora- especially as the first chapter of the manga had seemed entirely promising. Unfortunately, instead of having my expectations fulfilled, I was to find myself in for a disappointment so great that it would forever sour the franchise in my mind.

Although I usually leave commenting on the visuals until later, this time around I must make an exception- because the first and most important deficiency in this series is the lack of Kumichi Yoshizuki’s beautiful watercolour style artwork. Instead, we are fobbed off with bland and generic character designs coupled with backdrops that only look good because they are slightly photoshopped photographs of real landscapes. If I wanted to look at landscapes, I’d go directly to an image gallery, not start watching an anime!

Of course, such things could be tolerated if the series had something to offer in the way of content, but unfortunately it falls down here as well. The entire series is an exercise in blandness, presenting episodes so dull that it is an effort of will just to pay attention to them. Not only is the pace excruciatingly slow and constantly punctuated by the aforementioned landscape scenes, but the story never really goes anywhere. Throughout the early episodes, we are so numbed by the lack of progression and Sora’s irritating idealism that by the time the ‘shock twist’ is revealed towards the end of the series, it comes across as pathetically stupid rather than something to care about.

Unsurprisingly, the characters are equally insipid- so much so that it is hard to remember their names, let alone care about them. From the idealistic lead and disaffected potential love interests to friends and rivals, everyone is drawn from standard anime types, and none of them develops beyond those one-dimensional briefs.

Final Thoughts

Instead of being the beautiful and gentle series I hoped for, Natsu no Sora took bland inoffensiveness to new extremes, resulting in something that was painful at worst, and provoked only indifference in its better moments. If you want to see what Someday’s Dreamers should be about, try the original series or the manga, not this watered-down version.

Tier: Wood

(long time readers will have seen this paragraph before)

Kino is a traveller who journeys from country to country on her talking motorcycle Hermes; by her own rules, she must stay in one place no more than three days, but whilst there, she makes an effort to see everything it has to offer. Join Kino and Hermes as they turn up all the weird and wonderful things to be seen across the world.

The novel

Having thoroughly enjoyed the Kino’s Journey anime, Tokyopop’s release of the first novel was a welcome addition to my collection; yes, I was slightly concerned about how good the translation would be, but even so the series was worth taking the risk for.

Fortunately, despite my worry that it would read like it was written by teenagers, Tokyopop have done a surprisingly good job with the localisation, resulting in something that flows well and is easy to read without seeming juvenile. And of course, there is nothing to worry about as far as actual content is concerned- although this novel has nothing to offer that wasn’t in the anime, but nonetheless the stories are thought-provoking enough that it is well worth revisiting them in printed form. Admittedly, the order of the chapters has been altered, but since this merely puts Kino’s origins at the beginning of the novel, it is hardly a terrible change.

Unfortunately, having whetted my appetite for more novels and original content, Tokyopop have failed to release any further novels in the series, leaving me in a painful limbo. It’s a shame, because if the licensing issues could be resolved, I would be one of the first in line to pick up subsequent volumes.

When Keiichirou Tachibana chucks in a well paid job to become the proprietor of a patisserie, it seems an unlikely move for a man who doesn’t even like sweets that much. Still, his new life is far from uneventful, thanks to his new employees- a chief patissier so gay that he’s been fired from all his jobs for making even straight men fall in love with him, an ex-boxer with a sweet tooth and an overly devoted family friend. But does Tachibana’s sudden desire to deal in confectionaries have something to do with the fact that he was once kidnapped by a man with a strange predilection for delicious cakes?

Despite its obvious HARD GAY reputation, I initially regarded Antique Bakery with an optimistic eye; maybe it would be like the cake version of Bartender, with troubled customers coming in each week to find their perfect cake. The result combination of delicious confections and human drama could only be a recipe for a success, couldn’t it? Well, maybe it could have been if the series had gone down that route- but unfortunately, it didn’t.

Instead, what we get is something so ridiculously HARD GAY that it’s hard to believe even the producers took it seriously- in fact, all I needed to do to parody each episode was just relate almost exactly what happened. From gay baker Ono’s fear of anything lacking a Y chromosome to family friend Chikage’s overzealous devotion to Tachibana, everything is completely over the top- and worst of all, nothing really happens. Yes, there is an attempt at a main plot in which Tachibana tries to use his cake shop to track down the cake-obsessed man who kidnapped him as a child, but the whole thing is so utterly stupid that it is hardly worth classing as a plot at all.

Similarly, the characters, whilst unintentionally amusing, are largely a case of wasted potential. Despite having points where depth or development could be explored (such as ex-boxer Eiji having to give up his career or risk losing his sight), each of the main characters is portrayed one dimensionally, leading to a quartet of the uptight STRAIGHT man, the openly HARD GAY guy, the overeager novice and the stoic sidekick. The supporting cast is even less substantial, with the few other named characters proving forgettable at best and irritating at worst.

Visually, Antique Bakery sticks to a pale, pastel style that suits the series, although its greatest accomplishment is the paper cut out style opening and jigsaw ending. Background music is inoffensive and forgettable.

Final Thoughts

I don’t know what it was intending to achieve, but ultimately all Antique Bakery managed was to be an over the top HARD GAY-fest that was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps the original manga held more promise, but this adaptation certainly didn’t have much of genuine value to offer.

Tier: Wood+

When Soichi Negishi vowed to make it big in the music scene, he’d imagined a peaceful and intellectual career emulating his Swedish pop heroes- but unfortunately, things don’t always go to plan. Playing guitar at street corners is all very well, but when it comes to making money, Negishi has to rely on his other job as lead singer of heavy metal group Detroit Metal City. Playing the role of Krauser- a demon from hell who claims to have started his life by raping and killing his parents- goes against everything Negishi believes in, but somehow this sweet and gentle young man just can’t walk away from the nightmare he created.

At first glance, Detroit Metal City sounds like exactly the kind of series not to bother with- aside from the fact that I don’t like heavy metal, Krauser himself sounds like exactly the kind of puerile and unpleasant character that should be locked away in a deep, dark place and never spoken of again. To my surprise, however, the content is handled in such a way that, whilst it certainly isn’t the kind of thing you’d want to show to your grandmother (or indeed anyone except close friends and fellow anime fans), it is actually entirely hilarious. And in case you’re worried, no one gets raped or killed in the making of it.

The humour in Detroit Metal City arises from the mismatch between Krauser and the ‘real’ Negishi, one that causes him all sorts of mishaps. Whether it’s an attempt to do good that backfires, or an inadvertent slip into his Krauser personality, Negishi is always the centre of some escalating situation- and it invariably proves to be thoroughly entertaining.

As with most comedy series, Detroit Metal City is more about getting in the jokes rather than developing the characters, but there is no doubt that there are plenty of memorable personalities, from the masochist who plays a whipped ‘capitalist pig’ onstage for DMC to the fearsome group manager who only wants the kind of sick extremes that get her ‘wet’. Of course, Negishi/Krauser remains the centre of the show, but it is only through his interactions with all these extreme personalities that the series really takes shape.

Visually, Detroit Metal City sticks with a simplistic look that will hardly win any aesthetic prizes, but which suits the nature of the series well. As someone who isn’t a fan of either Swedish pop or death metal, the music alone does little for me, but as the central theme of the series, it performs its function admirably.

Final Thoughts

Against all the odds, Detroit Metal City emerges from a potentially gratuitous and unappealing premise to deliver something completely hilarious. As long as your sensibilities can cope with some crudeness and bad language, you’ll have a whale of a time watching this one.

Tier: Gold-

The first season of Nodame Cantabile was a bit of a mixed bag for me- I liked the main characters and the flashes of potential, but at the same time the off-kilter humour and wacky supporting cast held only limited appeal. Still, by the time season two came around, I had read ahead in the manga, meaning that whilst I knew exactly what was coming, I also found that the series had grown on me.

Content-wise, there is little to fault in this season, which sees Chiaki and Nodame thrown into a new environment where they must level up their skills in order to keep up with the competition. At the bare bones level, it’s the old Shonen Jump formula, but the strength of this series has always been in taking that formula and making it fresh and interesting. This isn’t about watching generic stereotypes undergo training and tournament arcs- instead we see likable, fleshed-out characters grow and develop. For Nodame, this means gaining technical knowledge without losing her individual style, whilst Chiaki must deal with the logistical nightmare of restoring a failing orchestra. And of course, as always, there are the trials and tribulations of all the supporting cast to add a little spice to the proceedings.

As always, central to the story is the relationship between Chiaki and Nodame, which continues to develop here. Although the core state of Nodame adoring her cold ‘senpai’ remains, in this series we see Chiaki begin to express his feelings a little more, whilst in an interesting reversal there are times when Nodame is too busy with her music to come and see him. Although it is still hard to imagine a full-blown, completely reciprocated relationship between them, it is still interesting to take note of the way Chiaki has come to expect Nodame to always be there, and to miss her instead of being relieved when she isn’t around.

As with Hikaru no Go, Nodame Cantabile is a series where supporting characters come and go, continually getting left behind as the leads move on. This season, the vast majority of Chiaki and Nodame’s friends from Japan take a backseat as a whole new set of European characters take their place. Fortunately, there are plenty of memorable faces both old and new, such as “gloomy” Kuroki or Tanya, a Russian girl who seems more interested in landing a man than perfecting her piano; in fact, overall the retooled supporting cast is more likable and less irritatingly ‘wacky’ than it was last season, so even though you can’t help feeling those left behind have their stories to tell, overall it makes for an improvement.

Visually, Nodame season two sticks with the simple yet well-executed “Honey and Clover” look, although the irritatingly fake CG hands remain an issue. Background music is forgettable, although the classical pieces used in the series are well played and always worth listening to- one advantage the animated version has over the original manga.

Final Thoughts

Like the first season, the Paris arc of Nodame Cantabile sticks closely to the manga, and with both versions having gone through the settling-in phase, they each show a distinct improvement. If you liked season one, then you’ll definitely be up for this, and the good news is that with a third season on its way, there’s plenty more goodness to come.

Tier: Silver

On the Spooner Continent, those who master sorcery find it all too easy to abuse their powers; but luckily for the common people, someone is on their side- the Sorcerer Hunters. Carrot, Tira, Chocolate, Marron and Gateau are warriors dedicated to eradicating evil sorcerers, but with Carrot more interested in chasing skirts, the rest of the team often have their hands full making sure that he toes the line before they can even turn their attention to all those rogue magic-users.

In the hunt for more old-school shenanigans in the style of Slayers, it was inevitable that my path would cross with Sorcerer Hunters, a series based along similar lines. Having seen the confusingly character-filled OVA some time before, I was ready to delve into the world of Sorcerer Hunters in more detail- but sadly, even with 26 episodes to work with, the whole thing remained rather shallow.

That’s not to say that the series wasn’t entertaining enough in its own way, but unfortunately there’s only so far you can go with the same old formula; Carrot chases the girl-of-the-week, the others investigate an evil sorcerer, and the whole thing ends with a stock animation showdown- and of course there’s even a final boss thrown in for good measure. To be fair, this is about what you’d expect from a 90’s fantasy series, but still it feels as if some vital ingredient is missing- some spark of depth or development in just a single episode that would have given the whole thing more meaning. Perhaps it’s just an effect of so much of the original manga story having been left out, but the series certainly needed a little extra seasoning.

Similarly, the characters are fairly standard; there’s Carrot, skirt chaser and general loser with hidden powers; quiet sister Tira and loud sister Chocolate, both with dominatrix alter egos; bishounen Marron and the bland warrior type Gateau. They’re all likable enough, but like the series itself they lack the depth needed to truly connect with them- and certainly there’s no one here who could claim to be as memorable as the great Lina Inverse. Similarly, the supporting characters are generally a bland and unremarkable lot.

Visually, Sorcerer Hunters relies on Keiji Goto of Nadesico and Kiddy Grade fame to bring us his usual range of beautiful and distinctive character designs- although unfortunately the girls’ original dominatrix outfits were deemed too risqué for TV and toned down for all but the last episode. The animation itself is typical 90’s budgets fare, whilst the background music is largely unremarkable.

Final Thoughts

Although it proves to be a good old-fashioned fantasy romp, Sorcerer Hunters TV is not a particularly memorable series, instead sticking to its formula to the exclusion of anything in the way of character development. Treat it as throwaway entertainment, but don’t expect anything more.

Tier: Bronze-