SoniAni: Super Sonico the Animation Anime Review

SoniAni: Super Sonico the Animation Score: 8.00

INTRODUCTION & SYNOPSIS

Super Sonico the Animation is a light-hearted, kawaii, slice of life, comedy series spanning just 12 episodes that was released last year. The show surrounds around Super Sonico, basically depicting a year in her busy and fun life. Most episodes begin with her over sleeping, finally to be woken up by her six little kittens; she dashes off to University on her bike where she is a Marine Biology Major. After school, it's off to her part-time modeling gigs, where the photographers near always try to take advantage of Sonico's naivety, leaving her mysterious yet over-protective manager to have to step in. After that, she helps her out at her grandma's restaurant serving beers to the lively regulars. Finally, she ends the day with band practice because she is, of course, the lead singer and guitarist in First Astronomical Velocity with her two best friends. Wasn't kidding when I said busy right? Now throw events, helping others, and mishaps in the mix for a real whirlwind of a day!

PROS

This series really took me by surprise, as it was surprisingly quite enjoyable! Let me preface this by saying I typically find it difficult to enjoy a series with no romance. This series was straight up fluffy, slice of life, comedy with no romance, and it was still quite good! I also find it hard to get through series with fan service, and this show pushed it a little bit in that respect - yet it wasn't a road block for this series in my opinion! To me, this was easy-going entertainment. My favorite thing about this show was just watching it's super kawaii-ness.

The lifeline of the show is its interesting characters, and that's all you really have to go off of in an SL/comedy since there isn't a clear story line. Each one had a unique and dynamic personality that was never one-sided. Everyone had angles and more to them than an arch-type. Of course, there is the main character Sonico who is the cheery and fun type of girl. The show is seen through her eyes, and I did like her a lot. I found her to be very amiable; We definitely get to see her grow, which is great. Some stand-out side characters I will mention are Sonico's band mates, her manager, and the upperclassman who gave Sonico her guitar. Sonico's band mates are Suzu and Fury; Suzu is the super confident bassist and band founder who always looks out for Sonico and Fury, while Fury is the food-obsessed drummer always eating pork buns and providing comic relief. All three of them had great chemistry when together, especially in the zombie episode! Then, there is Sonico's manager Kitamura, who we never see the real face of, as he is always wearing a demon mask. I found him to be particularly funny and kind-hearted. His best moments being in the Okinawa episodes. I also really enjoyed the episode where Sonico receives her guitar, Daydream. She receives it from an upperclassman who is really cool and in to rock and roll. She gets Sonico to be who she is today and brings out her confidence. It was very heart-felt, and I think any guitar/ music fan would enjoy it. Also as honorable mentions, the few people Sonico meets throughout the episodes and helps have really interesting mini stories and personalities.

Last, let's talk animation; stellar. The colors were popping off the screen, but not too much so. The character designs were on point, and the intro and endings were great. Specifically, the endings, as they were quite unique. At the end of each show, it was a different full blown music video for one of Sonico's songs. Some of my favorites were when she was a giant walking through Tokyo, and the zombie apocalypse one! On that note, the music was really nice, and voice acting on par. I will note, if you watch the English Dub, her speaking voice isn't going to match her singing voice at all as they keep the music the same, sung in Japanese. I liked the music that way, so it didn't bother me, but just as a heads up.

CONS

As for the cons, there are only a few. First, I would have liked if there was more of a story-line, so that a season two could be feasible. Many of the episodes were quite random, lacking in backstory and connection. For example, there is one episode in which Sonico takes a "soul searching" journey with no real destination in mind, and it comes totally out of the blue. You're left confused, and it was honestly a pointless episode, which is really bad if the show is only 12 episodes long. Sometimes episodes came out of the blue in a good way, but not always. 

Additionally, there are a few cons with Super Sonico herself. For one, why does she sleep, bathe, and live every waking moment with head phones on? It makes no sense. I don't mind it; however, it would have been nice to be given an explanation. I think, it's because she is a vocaloid, but this is never determined; no one even seems to notice. The only other issue I think people may have with her is that her life, and she herself, are a unrealistic. I think that's part of what makes it fun though.

Lastly, because I am a die-hard romance fan, I was super disappointed that there was nothing between her and her manager Kitamura. I felt like there was something when he protected her in the Okinawa episode, but nothing ever resurfaces after that. Big let down.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All and all Soni-Ani: Super Sonico the Animation was quite the enjoyable anime. It especially impresses me because of it's genre. Thus, I have awarded it an 8 out of 10! If you like girly, fun shows, and are okay with no romance, then give this a watch! I hope that they make a season two!

Uta no Prince Sama – Serious Love 1000% Anime Review

Uta no Prince Sama – Serious Love 1000% Score: 7.0

INTRODUCTION & SYNOPSIS

Uta no Prince Sama was announced to have a 4^th season recently, so I figured it must be a pretty good reverse harem to get so many seasons! So, I watched the first season over the weekend and will give you my thoughts. I think it is a good reverse harem/ shoujo; it’s poppy and fun. The animation is bright and great for both romance and comedy elements of the story. However, the story line wasn’t at all what I was expecting from the title! I was expecting to see some Princes and a Princess, but wasn’t too disappointed to find out it was about students in a school for Pop Idols & Composers. The concept is interesting enough, though the story line be somewhat typical and unimaginative.

A young girl with striking yellow eyes has played the piano since a young age with her Grandmother. One day, she visits the busy streets of Tokyo; distressed and disheveled from all of the noise, a single voice seemingly calls out to her from the mega-tron above - Hayato. The famous Idol sings so beautifully, that she is touched and determined to compose music for him one day. Now college age, she decides to take a chance, and apply to a prestigious Idol & Composer school to fulfill this dream. Although she is late to her admissions test, several handsome young Idol-to-be’s plead her case to the guards, as they saw her helping a young girl on her way. With such a noble reason for her tardiness, she gains access, passes the test, and her new life begins!

PROS

The first thing I noticed, in a positive light, about this anime was the animation. It’s very bright and poppy, which fits the theme and premise perfectly. Then, it throws in comic relief animation changes for good measure. Additionally, the setting sucks you in; they were very smart about this. Since this is a shoujo, they clearly play on the fact that most girls dream about being near idols and going to fancy schools. Once they’ve established the brilliant dreamland, they suck you in further with quirky and fun characters. Typically, in a reverse harem or even a standard harem, the main character has a very typical personality, while in contrast, all of the counterparts she meets are very lively and unique – Uta no Price Sama is no exception. The guys all have dynamic personalities that draw you to them. For example, one of them loves cute things and drinking tea, but when you remove his glasses he turns in to a hardcore rage monster! In addition, side characters, such as the President of the school, also have fun and unique characteristics. The President has a very boisterous and slapstick personality, and they also had a teacher who is a cross-dressing popular idol. All of this made for an entertaining environment.

The show had a light-hearted feel about it that made for easy viewing and a good casual watch. They built bonds with each of the characters well, and I truly did feel like they were all good friends. By the end, you do care about the well-being of the characters, which says good things for the character development. Lastly, the opening and ending themes were well-done and catchy.

CONS

One of the major cons that I have for this show is the music. I know, I just said I liked the opening and ending themes! They were good, but as you would imagine from a show about Idols and composers, there was a lot more to the musical score than that. Sometimes the music was boring or unlikable, which is not good for a show revolving around musical performances. There were times that I felt “wowed” by the animated performances, but more often than not, it was lack luster.

Another con for me kind of starts to spill over to the second season (which I have only seen 3 episodes of) so I can't count it too much towards the total score. However, towards the end of season 1, a magical god of music “Cecil” appears to Haruka in a dream-like state. It was weird, and didn’t fit with the show in my opinion. I could forgive it, except he ends up becoming a main character in season 2… and I really just don't like him. I’ll leave it at that.

Lastly, I was disappointed in the fact that Haruka doesn’t pick a guy. I have no idea if she does in later seasons (I hope so!), but there was this point where you really thought she would have to make a choice (I was rooting for Hayato or the red haired guy whose name I forget) and she just doesn’t. Instead it’s a happy dream-land, I pick all of you, kind of end. What’s worse, this is a game based anime. In the game, you would pick someone, so I feel like she should have to in the anime. This happened in brothers conflict as well, which irritated me so much!

FINAL THOUGHTS

All in all, I did enjoy myself when watching Uta no Prince Sama. Additionally, I have to think about the fact that this may be intended for a younger audience, which explains most of its downfalls. Therefore I have awarded Uta no Prince Sama – Serious Love 1000% a score of 7 out 10! Not bad at all really, but you would get the most enjoyment, I think, if you are a younger girl who fangirls over idols. (: