My TOP 5 Anime Reviewers/Vloggers

All right, time for me to do a Top 5 list! And for this list, these YouTubers need to be an anime vlogger that publishes reviews. So sorry, LeeandLie isn't on this list (but you should still subscribe to her channel). This list is based on how often they publish videos, how entertaining they are, and the quality of their videos in general. 

Before I start this list, I have 2 honorable mentions, YokuramaGameTalk and HappiLeeErin. These guys are great, but it's just the quality of their videos that puts them on the honorable mentions list. With that in mind, let's get started!

5: BlackCriticGuy

To be honest, this guy was a tie with Yokurama on this list. And I've been subscribed to him shorter than any other user on this list. But what puts him on this list is how often he publishes reviews and Top 10 lists. That, and he brings up more good points in his reviews. Plus, he publishes reviews for non-anime movies and TV shows too.

4: DarknessDragoonRose

Subscribing to him for reviews is only half of the story. Sure, he has the take-no-crap-from-anyone approach to his reviews, but he's also got about as many entertaining Top 10 lists as he does reviews. And those lists are GREAT, I will not lie.

3: Gigguk

Yes, yes, he's #3 on this list. And many of you may be asking, "WHYYYYYYYYY???". And here's my answer. Look at how often he publishes videos. Just look, okay. Yes, his videos are entertaining, heck, he's the most entertaining vlogger on this list! But it's just the lack of videos and the long wait between them that puts him at #3. 

2: BobSamurai

It seems being a big fan of shōnen anime classifies you as a "noob" or even a weeaboo in some people's minds. This is not the case with this guy. He publishes AT LEAST one video a week, does a weekly "otaku news" video every Tuesday, and he publishes some GREAT rants and discussion points that I haven't seen from any other user. He doesn't publish that many reviews, but he maintains his channel like a real blog regularly. 

And, of course, 1: GRArkada. This should be no surprise to anyone who is subscribed to him. He publishes reviews every week or every other week. His reviews bring up a lot of good points and are VERY accurate (almost scary accurate) and the quality of his work is AMAZING. Witty writing, interesting dialogue, and great organization easily puts him in the top spot on this list.

I suggest you subscribe to everyone mentioned on this list (Sorry to sound like a butt kisser), and comment who you think is the best reviewer on YouTube!

Cheers!

~Selena

Last Updated: 20 February 2014

Originally Published: 20 February 2014

Squeaky Clean Anime Review: School Rumble (Seasons 1&2+Extra Class OVA)

I've noticed there aren't that many reviews out there for high school slice-of-life comedies out there, and I can certainly see why. The genre itself is known for primarily attracting pandering male otakus with absolutely no life and a fetish for moe high school girls in short pleated skirts, rather than people looking for a laugh. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. But, as an anime reviewer, I feel that I must review every anime I have seen. It will give me practice, and if I ever say I don't like a particular anime, I have a structured review to back up my claim. Onward we go!

Genres: Romantic Comedy, School life, Slice-of-life

Synopsis:
School Rumble follows 16 year old Tenma Tsukamoto, a sweet but ditzy girl who's determined to share her feelings to the guy she has a crush on. Meanwhile, a delinquent with great drawing skills named Kenji Harima comes back to school for one purpose: to win the heart of Tenma. Thrown in a large cast of memorable friends and foes alike, some laughs, and every high school situation there is, and you've got one heck of a rumble! A School Rumble!
(Dang, I'm getting good at this!)


Story and Characters:

A noticeable aspect of this genre is, well, its lack of a solid plot. School Rumble is a SLICE OF LIFE anime. Yes, there are a few consecutive episodes where there's an obvious plot, such as when some of the girls are on the basketball team. But overall, the love triangle aspect is the main focus of the plot. With that in mind, however, most of the show is spent seeing everyone's antics to get the person they like to notice them. That and regular episodes you see in school life shows, such as beach episodes, ski trip episodes, school festival episodes, you get the idea. Sure, the plot can be entertaining, but it really has no substance. Overall, because there basically was no selling point for this anime, the only thing that kept me engaged was the hope/possibility of another moment of hilarity. The plot does develop some characters, such as Harima, Yakumo, and Eri, but overall, you don't need to pay too much attention to what's going on, unless it's a "mini-arc". However, you are going to need to keep track of the characters and relationships. Which brings me to my next point...

I was actually quite surprised to see that School Rumble's characters are actually likable. Heck, I think the characters are the best part of this anime! Yes, this anime does have a very large cast of characters, but it's the characters and their relationships that drive the story forward. I mean, there's a character (or a few) for every single high school student stereotype there is. You've got the pervy guys, the musicians, the jocks (both guys and girls) the rich kids, the nerds, the quiet ones, the sweet girls, the delinquents, THE LIST GOES ON. Chances are, you'll find one you like, one you can relate to, and one you'll dislike. And this anime did very well BALANCING the characters.

Art and Animation:

As I had mentioned before, the high school slice-of-life genre in anime is known for having a very generic, moe/bishōjo style of art. While I can clearly see this in School Rumble, this is a 2004 anime, so the art is is a bit, well, flat. It's not sloppy, though. I mean, some of the character's faces looked like they were just taken from a paper drawing to the anime. It looked really flat. The coloring looks sub-par as well. It's not terrible, but it's just not great. 

I think the animation is almost as unremarkable as the art is. But it does have its moments. The animations shines best in purely comedic scenes. The fast motions, exaggerated expressions, and the "lovey-dovey" backgrounds in some scenes make those moments much more enjoyable and comedic. Overall, the animation did set the mood for the scenes very well.

Voice and Music:
The first thing I will say about this dub is that it's another SFF (Standard Funimation Fare) dub. You've got the all-star cast as the main characters, with a few lesser known voices scattered around. Again, this does not mean the dub is bad, it's just got recycled voice actors in it. Heck, if you want to watch this anime, I suggest the dub over the sub. The script writing is great, the casting is great, and dubs feel much more natural for comedies, in my opinion. But the fact that this is average in Funimation standards, I'm going to have to lower the score for this dub.

The soundtrack is also what you'd expect from an anime like this. It's lighthearted, sweet, fun, and does set the mood pretty well. The first opening is really catchy, and made me want to dance in a circle. (I actually did, a few times.) But both the second opening, as well as the 2 ending themes just couldn't live up to that first opening, in my opinion.

Execution and My Enjoyment:
First of all, I would like to say a slice-of-life comedy SHOULD NOT BE 54 EPISODES unless it's REALLY good. (And we all know how often THAT happens.) Heck, SOUL EATER, a SHONEN anime is shorter than this anime! As a slice-of-life comedy, this anime delivers fine. But a big problem I have with this anime is that it HAS NO SELLING POINT. Many other slice-of-life comedies have this one thing that sets them apart from the crowd, such as Baka and Test, Negima, Azumanga Daioh, and WataMote. I understand that this anime tried to put everything slice-of-life related in it's run, but it should not take THAT long to tell a story that barely exists. 

And it's because if this long run that this anime was kind of tedious to watch. I started this anime in May 2012 and JUST finished it last month. Sure, there are worse shows in the slice-of-life genre (*cough cough Lucky Star*), but seriously, I thought this anime was a massive time sponge, and I really didn't take anything away from the show. Overall, this show was entertaining at some points, but was mostly boring.

The Score:

Averaging all the values for the categories listed above, I give School Rumble a 5.575/10 and wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, unless you have a LOT of time to kill. Seriously, there's GOT to be something more worthwhile to watch instead of this.

Story: 5.3           Characters: 7.8

Art: 4.1               Animation: 4.9

Voice: 7.8           Music: 6.0

Execution: 4.2    My Enjoyment: 4.5

For similar anime, I suggest Baka and Test, another school life anime that's much more creative, and still has great characters. The other suggestion is the much higher rated school life anime, Toradora.

NEXT REVIEW: In honor of the US release of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, I will review the movie Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.

Cheers!
~Selena

Last Updated: 16 April 2014
Originally Published: 17 February 2014

Convention Photos!!!

On Saturday, I went to Anime Milwaukee 2014!!! It was AMAZING. I tried Pocky for the first time, and to be honest, it wasn't as good as everyone said it would be. But it was still good. But back to my main point, I have a few photos I would like to share! (These photos might not be visible on a PC, I took them and posted them with my iPhone) 

Justin Rojas from Funimation at an industry panel.

(Left to right) Patrick Seitz, Bryce Papenbrook, and Kyle Hebert in a panel called "Sword Art Offline". 

Just a Soul Eater cosplay meetup.

All this stuff I got for FREE. And I got the con book autographed by Justin Rojas! If you can't see the picture, I got a Wolf Children poster (FANTASTIC movie, BTW), postcard of A Certain Magical Index (This will do nicely as a small poster), Kamisama Kiss valentine card (I'm a sucker for shōjo manga/anime), and FOUR FREE BUTTONS. I am ADDICTED to buttons. One is a Funimation button from Rojas' panel, two are promo buttons for Otakon, and one is a promo button for a con called RamenCon.

 This is all the stuff I bought. A keychain of Ed Elric from FMA(B), a Super Mario Bros. wallet, and four buttons. One says "Team Edward" and has Ed Elric's face on it (I love FMA), a Hetalia button that says "I'm the Hero!" with an American flag in the background, one says "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" on it (Doctor Who) and one has the Deathly Hallows symbol on it from the Harry Potter series. 

My full button collection. The safety pin ones at the top were swaps from Girl Scout camp. Sorry if you can't read what some of the buttons say. 

And lastly, here's something I found on iFunny for you guys. 

Sorry! No photo of me in cosplay! But I was Emmy Altava from the Professor Layton series. And I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures from the con.

I'm hoping for my Eternal Diva review to come out around the 28th, but it might come out a little later than that.

Cheers!

~Selena

Squeaky Clean Anime Review: Sword Art Online

It seems to me that Sword Art Online is the anime review supposedly, to best reflect what kind of anime fan the reviewer is. All the "classy, refined" anime fans bash the story and characters to bits, while less "classy and refined" fans are a bit easier on the show, even praising it. And I know I will disappoint some of you with this review. Anyways, let’s get to the good stuff!

Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance, Harem (?)

Synopsis: 

In the year 2022, 10,000 gamers are trapped in a virtual reality MMO and are told that the only escape is to beat the 100 levels of the game. Another added kick is that you only have one life. If you die in the game, you die in real life. Among these gamers is a 16 year old boy named Kirito, who was one of the Beta testers of the game. He is a "solo player", until he meets a girl named Asuna. 

Story and Characters:

Get ready, ‘cause this is gonna be long.

At the beginning of this show, Sword Art Online looked full of promise, setting the backdrop for an epic story of survival, with drama, action and hardships. While this was proven somewhat false, I don’t think I hated it as much as more “mature” anime fans. There were moments when my jaw dropped, honestly. But one of the biggest surprises for me while watching this show was that the “Aincrad” arc lasted for only the first 14 episodes. The other 11 are spent on the “Alfheim” arc, the one with the fairies. This is part of the reason why many expectations were not met with this anime. Now, normally, it isn't a good thing when a show tries to be something it’s not. A good example of this is the second season of Baka and Test. But I guess SAO was supposed to be a mix of a bunch of elements that didn't PERFECTLY work out, but I didn't mind as much as others might have. One of the biggest factors against the plot, according to other reviews, is the romance. Sure it did go a bit overboard, but I'm not saying it was 100% trash. How you interpret the story is largely based on what kind of person/anime fan you are (This is the biggest point I'm trying to make in this review). That's not to say I didn't have my gripes with the romance in SAO. The harem was not necessary at all, the incest-ish relationship between Kirito and his cousin-who's-like-a-sister may be off-putting for some, and Yui’s infatuation with "Daddy" seemed a bit over the top. But I thought if they toned down, or cut out some of the above, focused on the relationship between Kirito and Asuna, and didn't make their romance as forced or rushed, the story probably would have been a LOT better. Other things one might complain about are the plot holes, or lack of character development, or such. But these didn't seem to bother me so much. Again, I may not be the most “mature” reviewer out there, so it’s up to you how seriously you want to take this review. I noticed in a few scenes, Kirito would be near defeat, but would think of Asuna and suddenly get 2 times stronger. This happens in a lot of shōnen anime, and I can say, this does not happen in real life, at least not for me. I've tested it out during a few arm wrestling matches. (Sorry for the side note, there) Lastly, Sword Art Online actually had a satisfying ending to me! I really did feel a sense of closure during the final 2 episodes. And it could have ended a lot worse!

Okay, onto the characters. Kirito (or Kazuto) is your typical gamer guy who happens to be a boss at VRMMORPG and picking up chicks by doing very little. Overall, he showed little development during the story; heck, pretty much EVERYONE showed little development as characters. One particular moment that shows this is the World Tree Battle. The whole time, I thought something like, “He’s fighting out of love, and that’s what gives him strength? That’s kind of cliché.” Seriously, it was. Next, we have Asuna, who started off as stoic and a strong fighter, just like Kirito, but quickly dropped this image and became a tsundere who has little sense of decency and self-power (I need to think of a better word for here). I mean, WHAT KIND OF GIRL TAKES OFF HER CLOTHES IN FRONT OF A GUY SHE BARELY KNEW?!? Even if it is a virtual world, that was totally not cool. Overall, Asuna seemed to be overly feminine, with her too-good-to-be-true cooking skills, her choice of clothes, and that tentacle rape scene in one of the last few episodes. The rest of the ladies in Kirito's harem were one-dimensional, and I have NO IDEA what they were thinking. Silica? I could NOT believe she would be going to the same HIGH SCHOOL that Kirito went to. SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE'S 8. Lisbeth? YOUR IDEA OF ROMANCE IS WROOOOOOOONGGGG. And his cousin, Suguha (Leafa)? INCEST IS WRONG. GET RID OF YOUR BROTHER COMPLEX, KAZUTO IS NOT THAT SPECIAL. Now, the character I thought actually developed the most was Klein. He was funny, a strong fighter, and seemed like he would be an awesome guy to hang out with. He is probably the best character in this show. So, in general, do not expect to watch this anime for the characters.

Art and Animation:

I will be one to agree that the art and animation is VERY nice. The scenery, the characters, and the whole MMO aspect made this anime look FANTASTIC. Heck, even the FOOD looked great! The art style is mixed of a traditional, 2000’s anime, with a “modern moe” 2010’s look. (This article explains what I’m talking about: http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/10/08/manga-and-anime-my-how-youve-changed/)

The animation is great, but it shines the best in the boss battle scenes. The action is fluid, virtual sparks are flying, and the action isn't so "cut-up" that it becomes un-watchable. (If you've seen a lot of shōnen anime like I have, you know what I mean.)
Sorry this section isn't very detailed, but I don't want this review to be TOO long, especially looking at the previous category. And, just look at the art to see what I'm talking about. Seriously, it's great. 

Voice and Music:

As this dub was done by Aniplex of America, my hopes weren't too high for this dub. When I first heard the dub trailer, I really couldn't see their reasoning behind their casting choices. Eventually, you get used to this dub, but it may seem worse than it actually is, because SO MANY people watched this subbed while is was streaming on Crunchyroll and got adjusted to the original voices. I don't think the dub is terrible, but I wish Aniplex could have done a better job, considering how much hype was surrounding this series while it aired. It's not TOO over-acted, but I can see that the actors worked hard on this. 

Like the art, many people (including myself) also say the music is one of the high points of this anime. I could feel the chills coming when I heard the boss battle theme in the second episode. The first opening theme slowly, but surely grew on me (until they changed it at about the halfway point.) but overall, the opening and ending themes really suited the anime, and added to the experience. On the other side of the epic, orchestral themes are the quaint, sweet pieces that adds to the stunning artwork. I actually think the artwork and music kind of enhance each other. 

Execution and My Enjoyment:

Sword Art Online has such a strong premise, but it did fall short of what it was "supposed" to do. It did deliver romance, but definitely not in the best way. The characters were the low point of the show. The action was stunning, as was the music. And again, I just wish Aniplex put more work into this dub.  

Do I say this is the BEST ANIME EVER? Of course not! But was this worth the watch? Yes! Overall, Sword Art Online did disappoint me a bit, but it was interesting, and I did enjoy this anime. This isn't the type of anime to completely delve yourself into, but is enjoyable, to varying degrees. How much YOU enjoy this anime really depends on what kind of person/anime fan you are (The only reason I'm saying this a lot is so people don't pounce on this review). 

The Score:

Averaging the 8 categories listed above, I give Sword Art Online a 7.0875/10 (My NEW rating system) and would recommend this to anyone who appreciates great art, action, and music. 

Story: 5.5     Characters: 4.7

Art: 8.8       Animation: 8.75

Voice (Dub): 5.5      Music: 8.95

Execution: 6.5     My Enjoyment: 8.0

For similar anime (I was really tired of this question all over the internet last year) there is Accel World, who’s creator is also Reki Kawahara and deals with a futuristic, virtual world. The other suggestion is the new anime from Fall 2013, Log Horizon.

DANG, that was a long review! Hope you guys appreciate it; it took me a month to write this! If you like my blog, please follow me or drop a comment! I appreciate all my readers! I would also appreciate comments on how my reviews or this blog could be better!

Cheers!

~Selena

NEXT REVIEW: School Rumble Seasons 1&2 + Extra Class OVA

Last Updated: 8 April 2014
Originally Published: 30 Jan 2014

  

(Possibly) A New Name! \(*o*)/

Okay, so after I just posted that (long) blog update, I came up with a great idea! I MIGHT want to rename this blog Squeaky Clean's anime blog or something like that. Why?

1.) Squeaky Clean can be abbreviated as SC, which are also my initials. Perfect!
2.) This was based off a 3rd grade nickname I had.
3.) There is NO cussing in my posts. NONE! So if I ever do video reviews (very unlikely) you are free to watch them in the same room as your family members.
4.) The name is unique. Just what I needed!

The name of this actual blog and it's URL will remain the same.
This isn't a 100% guarantee YET, but I think this is a really good idea! What do you think?

Cheers,
~SC