Heaven's Lost Property Forte Anime Review

Heaven's Lost Property: Forte
Sora no Otoshimono Forte
Funimation
Complete Collection - 4 discs
300 mins. - 12 episodes
$39.98 (2014) Blu-Ray/DVD
$64.98 (2013) Blu-Ray
$59.98 (2013)
ISBN 704400058783
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Hisashi Saito
Studio - AIC

Synopsis: Tomoki Sakurai was a regular high school student living in a boring town who just wanted to enjoy a quiet existence.  All of that ended when he discovered the Angeloid named Ikaros one evening.  She fell from a place called the Synapse and became Tomoki's servant.  To make matters worse she was followed by another Angeloid named Nymph.  Both Angeloids now live and go to school with Tomoki.  There go his chances for any peace and quiet!

Ikaros attempts to get close to Tomoki...with disastrous results

The Angeloids can fly, are extremely durable, and each have special abilities.  In her former state Ikaros was a fearsome Angeloid called the Uranus Queen with highly destructive capabilities.  It appears her memories were suppressed from this time and her emotions are purposefully stunted.  Nymph is a walking supercomputer and has highly technical abilities (although she is much weaker physically than Ikaros).

Nymph laments the loss of her wings in the first season

Tomoki's friends help him deal with the Angeloids and their antics.  They include his next door neighbor Sohara (who has a secret crush on him), the eccentric Sugata who is head of the New World Discovery Club (he's pretty much the only member), and the sadistic student body president Mikako (her family are Yakuza).  Together they try to learn about the Angeloids and the Synapse while getting into outlandish situations.

Tomoki devises an ingenious system of peep holes - how long until he's caught?

Another Angeloid is sent to Earth to eliminate Tomoki!  Her name is Astraea and she is one of the strongest Angeloids, but woefully clumsy and not very bright.  She also has enormous boobs.  She remains on Earth and plots to somehow destroy Tomoki, but keeps hanging around his house to mooch food.  She gets sucked into all the goofiness happening in Tomoki's life including - Mikako's snowball battle girls vs. boys, Tomoki's panty robot pedal bicycle (don't ask), a mock game show to prove Tomoki is despised by all the girls at school, the forbidden eating of Ikaros' watermelons, Mikako's mock fishing contest where the 'fish' are busty girls who have been tied up, Tomoki's peeping network and more.

Astraea comes down from the Synapse to snuff Tomoki!

Another Angeloid is sent from the Synapse and she's a next-generation model called Chaos.  She is ultimately powerful, inadvertently evil, and emotionally still a child.  Will even the combined might of Ikaros, Nymph, and Astraea be enough to stop her?  The evil master of the Synapse will stop at nothing to destroy the rogue Angeloids and their 'master' Tomoki.

The Angeloids face the fearsome Chaos - the next generation of Angeloid!

Pros: Great animation and backgrounds, every episode ends with a different song/closing credits based on what happened in the episode, tons of comedy moments and funny situations, even more fan-service than the first season, some very small character development and plot reveals (particularly Nymph), Chaos is a suitably dark and scary nemesis for the Angeloids in this season

Tomoki pulls his best prank yet

Cons: Female characters are ridiculous and wear collars with chains on them, Ikaros has zero personality and usually just stares blankly at stuff, plot barely moves forward (not much revealed about the Synapse), Chaos is fairly annoying, a lot of really silly episodes

We learn very little about the evil master of the Synapse

Mike Tells It Straight: The first season of Heaven's Lost Property (reviewed here) started out as your typical harem anime and eventually won me over with its outlandish comedy situations.  I was impressed with the unique ending credits and songs for each episode.  It stood out as a decent show with good animation and the serious parts were mildly compelling.  Tomoki is an unrepentant horn-dog and the mystery of the Synapse was mildly compelling.

Sugata meets the mysterious Daedalus who built the Angeloids

This second season continued the tradition of unique ending credits and nice animation.  The show is all about the ecchi/fan-service and this theme grows exponentially.  Entire episodes seem to be dedicated to Tomoki's lecherous ways, ridiculous contests surrounding boobs, and Tomoki is often sporting a boner or completely naked (with little graphics covering his parts).  It's crazy!

Nymph runs a diagnostic on Ikaros after she falls ill

I wish the series spent a little less time on Tomoki's massive porn collection and focused more on the mystery of the Synapse.  We get some new information, but nothing on the actual master of the Angeloids.  This was a letdown along with the annoying childlike Angeloid, Chaos.  She would have been practically unbearable if it weren't for her sheer scary evilness!  The battle with her was pretty wicked and overall Heaven's Lost Property Forte was a zany show.  It kicks the fan-service (no explicit nudity just lots of groping) and comedy up a notch while sacrificing plot development.  Even more of a guilty pleasure than the first season ;)

Ikaros manifests her full powers as the Uranus Queen

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Heaven's Lost Property Season One Anime Review

Heaven's Lost Property Season One
Sora no Otoshimono
Funimation
Complete Collection - 5 discs
350 mins. - 14 episodes
$39.98 (2014) Blu-Ray
$64.98 (2011) Blu-Ray/DVD
ISBN 704400058844
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Hisashi Saito
Studio - AIC

Synopsis: One evening Tomoki Sakurai witnesses a strange object fall from the sky.  He's a regular high school student who lives in a small town and is perfectly happy with pursuing a quiet existence.  His life goes completely upside down when the object that fell from the sky turns out to be  a beautiful girl with wings!  Her name is Ikaros and she is an Angeloid fallen from the Synapse.  Making matters worse she declares herself Tomoki's servant and begins living with him.

Tomoki just wants to have a normal, quiet life

Poor Tomoki is stuck with Ikaros and has no idea what to do with her.  He's a typical horny teenager and she's a beautiful creature, but obviously not quite human!  He can't bring himself to lust after her.  She ends up going to school with him and it's a complete disaster.  Her wings stick out of the back of her clothing and people stare.  Tomoki just wants to have a normal, quiet existence and Ikaros is ruining his chances.

Tomoki recovers Ikaros after she falls to Earth

Ikaros has no memory or personality calling herself a 'pet-class' Angeloid yet she possesses incredible strength, endurance, and durability.  Tomoki confides in a small group of classmates who attempt to help him.  They include:

• Sohara Mitsuki - Tomoki's next door neighbor, the two were childhood friends, a bit of a tomboy, has a great rack, and is not shy about smacking Tomoki when he acts like a perv
• Eishiro Sugata - odd student who is head of the New World Discovery Club which has only one other member (Mikako), he is highly intelligent yet risks life and limb attempting to perfect a form of flight (usually hang-gliding)
• Mikako Satsukitane - student council president and childhood friend of Eishiro, she is the daughter of a crime family and actually pretty scary, her intentions are mostly self-serving as she enjoys tormenting people for her own amusement (who doesn't?)

Ikaros totally makes a scene at Tomoki's school and embarasses him

Later another Angeloid joins Ikaros to live with Tomoki and her name is Nymph.  She calls Ikaros an alpha-class Angeloid while Nymph herself is beta-class.  Through Nymph we learn of the Synapse and its cruel Master.  What is Ikaros true purpose and why did Nymph follow her to Earth?  Is the Synapse actually Heaven populated by Angels?  Tomoki just wants a mundane existence in his quiet town, but thanks to Ikaros his life will never be quiet again!

Sohara walks in on Tomoki...not doing anything perverted to Ikaros...

Pros: Great animation and backgrounds, every episode ends with a different theme song (seriously!) and animation based on what happened in the episode, neat character designs, some funny comedy moments, a ton of ecchi/fan-service (like practically all of it), underlying story of Ikaros being on Earth is eventually brought to the surface at the end, some character development

Ikaros loves watermelons!

Cons: Ridiculous female characters, Tomoki treats Ikaros like crap, plot is slow and slightly convoluted, Ikaros has no personality, ending episodes get pretty dark with Master's treatment of Nymph, too much super-deformed character scenes (like every time Tomoki acts like a pervert), never been a fan of anime where female characters wear collars

Tomoki seeks help from Mikako and Eishiro

Mike Tells It Straight: Yes, I wrote this series off as another cheesy harem anime after watching the first couple episodes.  It's very rare that I quit a series outright so I continued watching.  I found myself actually starting to enjoy the series due to the comedy (the fan-service wasn't too bad either).  Don't get me wrong, this series is all about fan-service and the female harem surrounding Tomoki, but the story becomes more engaging and the characters slightly more endearing by the end.

Nymph followed Ikaros down from the Synapse and enjoys eating junk food

The animation is great quality with nice backgrounds and interesting character designs.  There's an overuse of portraying the characters as super-deformed (SD) and cutesy for comedic effect.  It happens all the time and is a signature of the series.  I was very impressed that the ending theme song and animation changed on every episode!  That's a lot of extra cost and it was pretty cool.

The group goes swimming, from left: Ikaros, Nymph, Sohara, and Mikako

The fan-service is pretty obvious and this series reminded me of DearS.  That series had female 'slaves' with metal collars around their necks as well.  I'd say Heaven's Lost Property is slightly better, but that may only be due to the fact it's newer (using better technology).  The male lead in DearS (Takeya) was also a jerk to the female lead (Ren) which was a similar turn off to Tomoki's harsh treatment of Ikaros here.

Some very unfriendly Angeloids come down from the Synapse to retrieve Ikaros

I enjoyed the comedy and outlandish stories in this series.  The cast is pretty funny and Tomoki is a complete horn-dog.  They get up to some zany antics in every episode, but then things get a little more serious at the end.  Nymph's sharp wit is a great contrast to the befuddled Ikaros, but Nymph's origin is pretty sad.  The greater mystery of the Synapse was a nice complement to the overall comedy/fan-service (it almost validated the series, but not really).

Ikaros unleashes a hidden power!

If you like fan-service and comedy then this series will be a good watch.  I'm not a huge fan of harem anime because they tend to be boring and predictable.  Heaven's Lost Property doesn't completely escape this problem, but puts a fresh spin on old tropes and gives a little extra in the story department.  Nothing really new or exciting happens in this series to move the genre forward or push me to give it a high recommendation.  Just pure guilty pleasure.

Sohara is confronted by Tomoki's morning wood!

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Angel Beats! Anime Review

Angel Beats!
Enjeru Bitsu!
Sentai Filmworks
Complete Collection - 3 discs
350 mins. - 13 episodes
$59.98 (2011)
$69.98 (2011) Blu-Ray
ISBN 814131011114
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Seiji Kishi
Studio - P.A. Works

Synopsis: Yuzuru Otonashi wakes up without any memories at an unknown high school and is immediately thrown into a conflict involving a student group calling themselves the Afterlife Battlefront.  He meets their leader, Yuri (called Yurippe) Nakamura, and is recruited to join their fight against Angel.  He thinks they're crazy and talks to Angel to prove them wrong.  She stabs him through the heart and he dies again.  He wakes up fully healed a little while later and meets the rest of the Battlefront.  They all had tragic previous lives and found themselves in this strange afterlife world.

Otonoshi first appears in the afterlife world and meets Yurippe

Angel is the student body president at the school which is made up of two types of students - students with souls who had previous lives and NPCs (non-participating characters) without souls who act like regular high school students.  Angel has incredible powers of strength, distortion fields, creating weapons, and a host of others.  She keeps order in the school and is the Battlefront's chief opposition.

Otonoshi learns he cant die

Yurippe leads the Battlefront against Angel and runs special missions to rebel against the system.  Members have weapons like swords and guns to fight Angel, but she is an apparently invincible opponent.  The best they can hope is to distract her in order to carry out their missions.  They have a special rock band called Girls Dead Monster with a huge NPC following hold guerrilla concerts in the cafeteria.

Angel may look like a regular student, but she has incredible powers

The purpose of the Battlefront is to rebel against God for giving them unfair lives before they died.  If they become too complacent and lose themselves in the afterlife school culture they will become obliterated, disappearing from this world.  Everyone in the Battlefront fights to avoid being obliterated.  Angel has a special knack for making people become obliterated and that is why the Battlefront fights her.

The Battlefront plan a new maneuver using a band concert as cover

What is the origin of this strange afterlife world and who is Angel?  Will Otonashi's memories trigger him to become obliterated?  What are the tragic stories of the members of Battlefront?  Does this artificial world have any limits to what can be done?  An opposing force besides Angel gathers its forces, but can the Battlefront take on two enemies at once?

Girls Dead Monster play a gig in the cafeteria

Pros: Great animation (particularly the backgrounds), good music especially the opening theme, likable characters, an interesting plot and unique ending, great fusion of different genres like music/school life/action/supernatural

The Battlefront have a mission in secret tunnels beneath the school

Cons: Ending wrapped up too nicely, some of the characters were annoying, highly religious types will dislike the references to God and Christ, series could have been longer to build up the finale, the whole Guild piece was kinda far-fetched, includes the OVA episode "Stairway to Heaven", doesn't include the alternate epilogue included with the original Japanese release

Otonoshi sits down and has lunch with Angel

Mike Tells It Straight: I found Angel Beats! to be an interesting genre-fusion with high production values. It had great music and included a rock band in the story, but I expected some musical element since the word 'beats' was in the title.  It combines elements of school life being based in a high school, action as the Battlefront fights Angel, music, comedy, mystery, and supernatural elements with the whole afterlife theme.

The Battlefront take on an army of Angels

At first I wasn't sure what to make of the series since it was so all over the place.  Angel seemed like a simple antagonist, but her story unfolds as the series progresses.  Otonashi seemed like a typical protagonist and nothing special, but similarly grows with each episode.  I can see why a lot of people give this series praise.  It's not typical and keeps you guessing at what will happen next.  The theme of being unfulfilled in your life and getting a second chance is really well done.

Hinata takes down Yui after she annoys him

Being a huge mix of different genres kind of dilutes the overall strength of the series (i.e. it doesn't do any one thing really well, but a lot of things fairly well).  The comedy offsets the serious moments to a point of taking away their impact.  I see this a lot in anime which is silly one minute and then switches to action the next.  The character designs were a bit simple too.  The ending was great and one of the best I've seen in a long time.  It was poignant and capped the whole series off.  I'm impressed since most anime endings are kind of unsatisfying.

A new enemy appears besides Angel!

It's too bad the series was only 13 episodes as I bet the writers could have brought more twists into the story.  On the other hand more episodes may have just unnecessarily dragged out the series.  I would recommend this show to folks looking for something different and with a little bit of everything mixed in.  It was a pleasant surprise and kept me interested to the end (btw, watch the ending credits of the last episode for an additional epilogue).

The members of the Afterlife Battlefront

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Aquarion Anime Review

Aquarion
Genesis of Aquarion also Sousei no Aquarion
Funimation
Complete Collection - 4 discs
650 mins. - 26 episodes
$29.98 (2010) S.A.V.E.
$69.98 (2009)
$59.98 (2008) Parts 1-2/ea.
ISBN 704400045790
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Shoji Kawamori
Studio - Satelight

Synopsis: 11 years ago a great catastrophe befell mankind as the Shadow Angels awakened from their 12,000-year slumber.  Before their sleep they ruled the planet from the city of Atlandia (the basis of the mythical lost city of Atlantis) and harvested humans for their life force, or prana.  Humans, called 'the wingless ones' by the Shadow Angels, were merely a source of sustenance and treated as livestock.  One of the Shadow Angels, called Apollonius, fell in love with a human woman, the warrior Celiane, and turned on his kind to free the humans from their oppressors.

Apollonius (red hair) falls in love with the human Celiane

The angel Toma loved Apollonius and was deeply betrayed by his rebellion.  He vows revenge and leads the Shadow Angels in a final harvest of humankind.  They attack cities using a harmonic song to entrance humans and collect them in massive harvest beasts to be deposited in the Shadow Angels' Tree of Life.  Their ultimate goal is to restart their species by feeding enough prana to the Tree.  Any resistance is crushed by cherubim soldiers, giant mecha with powerful weapons and abilities.

The angel Toma vows revenge for being rejected by Apollonius

Conventional weapons are meaningless against the Shadow Angels and their incredible tools.  Only the Division of Earth Vitalization Advancement (DEAVA) has any success putting up a fight.  Their commander, Gen Fudou, discovered an ancient technology created by Apollonius and Celiane which allows humans to pilot three incredible flying machines, called Vectors.  The machines combine to form the giant fighting robot Aquarion which amplifies the souls of it's pilots.

Reika pilots Vector Luna and coordinates with Sirius and Glen

Each of the Vectors are distinct and form a different version of Aquarion when a different one is at the head:

1. Vector Luna forms Aquarion Luna - green, quick and agile, forms bow and arrow for long-range attacks, favorite Vector of Silvia de Alisia
2. Vector Mars forms Aquarion Mars - blue, very fast, forms a sword, has long legs to perform kicks, favorite Vector of Sirius de Alisia and Pierre Vieira
3. Vector Sol forms Solar Aquarion - red, the true form of Aquarion, a perfect balance of the three Vectors, can manifest "Solar Wings" on its back, mostly used for fighting attacks, 

Solar Aquarion battles a cherubim soldier

Only special individuals called Elements are able to pilot the Vectors.  The pilots' souls make up the final component to form Aquarion and the three must be in harmonic unison for a successful "merge".  The merge infuses the Elements and Vectors with immense power to fuel Aquarion.  Each Element feels the power boost as a euphoric (almost orgasmic) release.

The base for Aquarion complete with ancient ruins and a barrier field

The Elements are all teenagers from around the world who are trained to become pilots in the secret DEAVA base:

• Apollo is a street urchin discovered by DEAVA Elements Silvia and Pierre during a harvest by the Shadow Angels.  Apollo lived with a ragtag bunch of orphans who acted like a family before being entranced and abducted by a harvest beast.  He vows revenge and exhibits uncanny piloting abilities without any training to pilot Vector Sol.  He can even trigger the merge to Solar Aquarion.  It's thought Apollo is the reincarnated Apollonius.  His sense of smell is heightened and he seems almost feral at times.  
• Silvia de Alisia is the capricious daughter of a noble family and looks up to her brother Sirius.  She has the power of psychokinesis and is a skilled Vector pilot.  It's thought she is the reincarnation of Celiane and therefore will be in love with the reincarnation of Apollonius, but despises Apollo's low upbringing and crude manners.  
• Sirius de Alisia is the elder brother of Silvia and last heir of the noble Alisia family.  He is the epitome of refinement and culture.  An expert swordsman and the most skilled Vector pilot, Sirius appreciates elegance and immensely dislikes Apollo's constant sniffing.  Sirius is thought to be the reincarnation of Apollonius until Apollo shows up.  Sirius remains detached from the other Elements and eats all of his meals alone.  
• Pierre Vieira is a young soccer player from San Jose, Chile.  His entire soccer team was harvested and he hates the Shadow Angels.  He's one of the top Vector pilots, an insatiable ladies' man, and specializes in powerful kick attacks.  Despite being hot-blooded he displays surprising maturity when giving his friends advice.
• Reika Ko has incredibly bad luck and strong psychic abilities.  Despite her penchant for misfortune she is a top Vector pilot and one of the few people Sirius considers a friend.  
• Glen Anderson is friends with both Reika and Sirius.  He's a top Vector pilot as well, but suffers a grave injury during the mission when Apollo is discovered.    
• Jun Lee is a science nerd and otaku.  He is an unparalleled inventor and has the ability to sense how things work around him.  Although not very skilled at physical combat maneuvers he has a strong will and never gives up.  He is one of the rookie Elements new to the DEAVA team
• Tsugumi Rosenmeier is timid and another rookie Element along with Jun.  She loves old mechanics and Jun instantly finds an interest in her.  She passionately idolizes Reika and has a secret power which haunts her.  She is short with a surprisingly large and well-hidden bust.  
• Kurt and Chloe Klick are fraternal twins with a telepathic link.  They are ideal background support members, but also good Vector pilots.  Chloe is a target for Pierre's advances (she's a girl and breathing after all)
• Rena Rune is a mysterious, wheelchair-bound, and blind girl who apparently can read the auras of people.  She exhibits strange powers and a proclivity for drinking blood.  Combined with her pale complexion it is hinted she may be vampiric in nature.

The different forms and components of Aquarion - from top left and
clockwise Aquarion Mars, Solar Aquarion, Aquarion Luna, Vector
Luna, Vector Sol, and Vector Mars 

DEAVA and the Elements are challenged by the angel Toma with each successive battle posing a newly designed threat.  Commander Fudou acts as sage and mentor to the team giving them special training lessons to prepare for each new test.  Events are building to a crescendo which will determine the fate of the entire human race.  Can the stubborn Elements unify and energize Aquarion to save the day?

Apollo is thought to be the reincarnated Apollonius

Pros: Yoko Kanno does the soundtrack (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop), some good theme songs (particularly 2nd opening theme "Go Tight" and ending theme "Omna Magni"), Shoji Kawamori directs (Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross, Macross Plus), great visuals - mecha designs for the combining elements of Aquarion, character designs, backgrounds, Apollo reminded me of a young Wolverine from the X-Men (especially the constant sniffing), couple good plot twists at the end, doesn't take itself too seriously

Silvia experiences a particularly good 'merge'

Cons: Shadow Angels are bland villains, Cherubim Soldier mecha designs are boring, too many training episodes, story drags on for 3/4 of the series until the final few episodes, felt like a mash-up of a bunch of different shows (Evangelion, Rahxephon, Getter Robo), a lot of goofy episodes

Silvia, Apollo, and Sirius get fired up fighting the Shadow Angels

Mike Tells It Straight: Aquarion felt like a mash-up compilation of many different mecha shows.  It contains every stereotypical character and plot element of the giant robot genre.  Giant mecha piloted by angsty, young adults must save the human race from an evil alien force.  The rascally underdog hero Apollo, ice princess Silvia who is too good for everyone, pompous noble Sirius, and cryptic sage Fudou were all pretty standard.

Toma plots another attack with fellow angel Otoha

The combiner robot aspect with the Vectors creating different Aquarions was pretty cool.  All of the computer graphic elements of the mecha battles were top notch.  Kawamori is a master of mecha (having been involved with both Macross Plus and Escaflowne) and the Aquarion robot is impressively complicated.

Solar Aquarion gets ready to throw down!

The visuals and music were great, but I felt like this show fell a bit flat.  The heroes and villains weren't really bad ass enough at any point.  It had too many goofy training episodes.  I think they were meant to help us get attached to the characters, but felt formulaic and monster-of-the-week.  The theological angle with the angels has been done before in both Evangelion and Rahxephon.  Aquarion didn't bring anything new here except maybe Kawamori's environmental comment at the end with the Tree of Life.

Silvia, Apollo, and Sirius merge

Speaking of the ending, it felt rushed and I didn't really mind seeing a few characters bite the dust.  Guess it was a bit of redemption for some.  I get it Kawamori, you're making a homage to all the great vintage combiner mecha shows of the past, but not taking it too seriously because they were all a bit ridiculous after all.  Nice touch with the orgasmic merging and gimmick moves.  I can give Aquarion a fair recommendation for being a slick-looking mecha show with nice music.

Solar Aquarion powers up

The story was kind of a let-down with delusions of grandeur and mediocre pacing.  I expected more from it and usually really enjoy this type of show (giant robots smashing things and all).  A quasi-sequel was released called Aquarion Evol which stars a whole new cast of characters and some reincarnated versions of old ones.  It focuses more on comedy and fan-service, but answers some questions left by the first series.

Solar Aquarion manifests 'Solar Wings'

TO BUY and Recommendations: