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Gimban Kaleidoscope
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Animation - 6.7 |
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Sound - 7.5 |
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Story - 6.9 |
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Character - 7.3 |
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Value - 6.8 |
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Enjoyment - 7.9 |
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Average - 7.2 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| This anime is about figure skating. IT is a lot like the movie serendipity/some love story. It is not bad, but its not that good either. The only thing which is carrying this anime forward is the skating part. Everything else is cliche which is bad, since its a 12 episode anime and really everything could be told in 6 and told beautifly in it.
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Jonna |
2007-05-16 04:43:52 |
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| Average |
8.6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This anime was great i really enjoyed. :) The only bad thing was that ending.
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petran79 |
(2007-12-13 01:48:38) 2006-09-11 12:17:08 |
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| Average |
5.7 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| (Arienai and Conclave fansubs that were decent in quality despite every episode being 140 MB. It sums up how poor the animation and the background settings were. Though I wonder why was it necessary to add subtitles during the English dialogues. They werent that incomprehensible)
This is one of the good sports animes of 2005 and it is worth watching once. Since I havent read the novels (and why should I?) I cant compare the obviously superior characters and story of the novels with the anime.
First the good part (and the only one):The character that holds this anime together and kept my interest till the end was Tasutsa. Usually in other similar titles like Kaleido Star and Full Moon you have frail and weak protagonists that even till the final episode maintain that frailty, though they undergo some slight emotional change. Here on the other hand the main character has a strong will and guts and doesnt hesitate to quarrel with anyone, even at people the characters of the other shows wouldnt even think of raising a finger. I liked her when she argued with the reporters and her superiors, even if the odds were against here. She was really against the establishment, unlike her rivals. Such characters are seen rarely in shoujo titles. Too bad that her other rivals werent that well developed.
Also the story is interesting and never remains in one setting but changes constantly from the Japanese nationals and the criticisms of the reporters to the Winter Olympics in Torino. For 12 episodes they did remarkably well, thanks to the existing story of the novel.
There are twists and turns and a predictable though touching final episode.
The music during ice skating was well used and I also liked the jazz theme in the preview of every episode. OP and ED themes were the best parts of the anime.
Now the bad parts:
Animation. What kind of animation is this for a 2005 title about ice skating?! It totally ruined the anime. Too bad because from the OP theme I expected something better. But the scenes from the OP were used in the anime as well. We're talking about one of the cheapest animations ever. Compare that with the action packed ice skating sequences in the second season of Kaleido Star (yes that show has everything) to see how Ginban Kaleidoscope could have been better. The crowd during the ice skating performances makes shows like Pokemon and Megaman NT Warrior have vastly superior quality in crowd animation.
Character design is also static and hardly memorable.
The rest of the characters were VERY stereotypical and forgetable till the next anime you'll watch. Pete as a character wasnt impressive at all and he was boring. Had to do with the voice actor. The jokes wear thin fast too. The novel author has an obsession with Canadians. Canadian ghost and Canadian coach. If you like Canadians and would like to make the show deserve a perfect 10, you should have replaced Pete Pumps with Terence and Phillip from South Park!
As an introductory anime though to the non-mainstream sports this is a good choice. But as one reviewer below said, if you've seen Kaleido Star, Ginban Kaleidoscope will seem redundant, except in the main character.
But to me this is one of the many one time watch animes
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This is a first of its kind. A shoujo anime with ice-skating at its focus. Honestly, I had high hopes for the series, but didn't live up to all of my expectations. But there wasn't anything bad that would've deter my enjoyment towards this series. It was only okay in my opinion.
Animation was good at the start, but as the series goes on, you will notice that they will use stock footage for the skating programs. The background and character designs were okay, but it's still annoys me how the adults look very realistic while Tazusa and her younger friends look like typical anime characters. Also, typical of its genre is the feel and colors of the show are very bright and flashy. I also like how the leotards of the skaters match their overall personalites and preferences of color. (Tazusa's pink-purple combination look good and shows a very synchronized feel on it.)
Music was pretty average. The OP is catchy and upbeat by Yellow Generation. The ED was mellow and pretty generic at best. Not one of my faves. There is some BGM, but hardly memorable. The best music is probably the Black Jazz. Good use of wind instruments. I enjoyed it.
The story reminded me of Full Moon wo Sagashite, but on ice. The overall concept wasn't very original except for the ice-skating part. A girl dreams of becoming number one in the Olympics, different setting, same idea been overused in animes of similar genre. Yes, there are disappointments, rivalry, stresses, scandals and success that pertain the life of an athlete. Also, the interactions and relationships between his guardian/ghost, Pete Pumps, was good too. So the anime's plot only suffers from been there done that and also some unnecessary fillers.
Characters are mediocre at best. The story mainly aims on the life of main heroine, Sakurano Tazusa. The supporting characters are mostly there just to support her, wether negative or positive. Their past lives are barely explained only putting it as flashbacks. Pete is very unusual. Not very many Canadians could speak fluent Japanese and know its cultures fully. The reason is explained though so I won't spoil it for anyone.
If you want to see their adventures again, by all means, watch it again. I doubt there would be another season of this, but they could've made it a full season, but longevity would result to cuts in quality so I guess their format is logical. And for the ice-skating concept as well. As of now, this is probably the only show which it is the main focus of the drive of the plot so try to get it too.
If it weren't for the ice-skating idea, it wouldn't have had stood out as much, in myu opinion. In the end I enjoyed it. It was a sweet, short, but alas, forgettable series I've seen.
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I was born in Canada. I hate tomatoes. One of the main characters is in the same situaton as me. Therefore, this anime was brilliant.
...ha ha no, but this anime was really good. Not brilliant and going to be remembered by anyone significant in five years, but it is really good. Like any good sports game, you find yourself getting into the skating rounds, and catching your breath at Tazusa's poorly animated falls (she falls the same way like 15 times in the show, okay!). However, the characters are the highlight, being that Tazusa is a character I saw myself in (being that her pride is "higher than Mount Everest" and...mine is higher XD). Therefore, I am glad that there was wisely more time spent of Tazusa and Peet than the skating. Their relationship is heartbreaking, however I am really glad that it ended how it did. I was expecting there to be a cop out, but this show, in it's final moments, proved that it was better than it let on. Throughout, it was consistantly entertaining, but never really had that amazing factor, so the ending of excellence was a really big surprise. This anime is something that I personally will count among my mst enjoyed anime of all time - however, I feel many other will not enjoy this as much as I did. If you can laugh at the same tomato joke over and over, then you'll like this (I could, and did...)
On a personal note, it's fitting how I'm watching all these anime about doomed love, seeing how mine kind of was too*sigh* ...I'm starting to feel better, but not a lot...
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lauren. |
(2007-01-06 13:47:36) 2006-06-17 06:26:50 |
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| Average |
6.0 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| ***UPDATe I've also seen Kaleido Star in additions to full moon,which came before this anime (2003) and I must say it made me like this anime less cause ginban reminded me of kaleido star but not as good therefore lowering my enjoyment and whanot.
Like someone else said, if you lower your expectations enough you'll be able to enjoy it, it is only 12 episodes.
I would say if you've already seen Full moon wo asgashite and kaleido star there is no point watching this unless you really wanna watch something like those two, and you don't mind being disappointed a lot...
I would say it's an average anime, or maybe below that.
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Ridian |
(2006-04-04 23:36:27) 2006-03-25 14:05:43 |
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
3 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Ginban Kaleidoscope is not a first-impression anime. It looks like utter crap, has a lame plot foundation, and is host to an excruciatingly annoying main character -- within the first five minutes, I was ready to wipe the series from the face of my hard drive. I am a patient (masochistic?) man above all else, however, and I benevolently gave this shoestring-budget series another chance when it really didn't deserve one. I figured that, hey, if the series didn't get better then I could at least write a scathing review and spare others from wasting their time.
However, I was pleasantly surprised; beyond all hope, Ginban Kaleidoscope actually managed to be a pretty good series. It's not winning any awards, and it's not a turn-around upset champion for Best Series of 2005, but it really proved itself to be worth the time. Keep in mind that I'm not typically interested in sports anime because, more than most other genres, it tends to adhere to formula. It breaks down something like this: (name of protagonist), the dedicated but somewhat snotty (competitor in sporting event), is hellbent on getting to the (highest level tournament for sport) at (foreign location). Unfortunately, he/she will have to overcome the negative influence of (name of rival), the outside pressures of (insert other problem here), and must ultimately come to grips with (past tragedy here). And, sure enough, GK follows this to a tee. The very first thing we are treated to in this 12-episode anime is our heroine, Sakurano Tazusa, prancing around on the ice and bragging about how her beauty is worth some ludicrous sum of money. Tazusa is a candidate for Olympic skating, which comes as a surprise to us because she does an alarming amount of falling on her ass. Between her foul attitude and her apparent lack of skill to back it up, she strikes the viewer as a rather unlikeable person.
Then the plot takes a rather inorganic twist by taking a dead Canadian boy by the name of -- get this -- Pete Pumps and sticking his ghost inside of her for no apparent reason at all. This is where most of Ginban Kaleidoscope's comic relief comes from, and trust me, is it painful. There's a funny glimmer here and there, but for at least eight episodes it recycles the same painful gag of Pete saying something awkward, Tazusa snapping at him out loud to be quiet and then people staring awkwardly at her. Seriously, you'd think the dumb broad would learn to not vocalize her irritation, but no I guess then the anime wouldn't be FUNNY without that. In truth, if I were Tazusa's coach, I would have hospitalized her after Pete possessed her because she begins acting truly freaky. But I digress -- long story short, a lot of the comic relief in Ginban Kaleidoscope falls very short. It's kind of an uphill battle to get to the good stuff, and Tazusa's character doesn't really become bearable until episode 7 or 8...I can't remember which, but it's the episode where she lays the smackdown on the paparazzi. A neat little episodic plot.
Amazingly, GK does its drama pretty well. As loathe as I am to admit it, Tazusa grows into a pretty admirable character, and the rather one-dimensional Pete Pumps isn't half bad either. I'm not really sold on the chemistry between them, because, well, he's dead. And that's just creepy, folks. Other than that, the story is a pretty effective blend of friendship and determination. I'm getting sucked into the whole shounen cliche, but for Ginban Kaleidoscope to do that in 12 episodes is actually pretty impressive.
The big problem with Ginban Kaleidoscope is its animation. We almost never get to see Tazusa (or any of her competitors, in fact) truly skating because the budget is so intensely low. Ice skating is an inherently cool-looking sport, and it makes a great transition to anime, but unfortunately the only time we ever get to see Tazusa cut loose is her free program in the last episode. Through the rest of the anime, all we get are a couple of stock shots and then a collection of gaudy-looking stills. Even outside of the rink, the animation just looks like complete crap. Proportion issues, inconsistent character art, bad character and setting designs and overall sloppy animation make Ginban Kaleidoscope a rather unpleasant looking show. With a bigger budget, this anime would have been truly badass, but alas, it is relegated to mediocrity.
So while Ginban Kaleidoscope wasn't the best anime I've ever seen by a longshot, it wasn't the crapfest I was expecting either. Lower your standards appropriately and you might derive something from this series -- just don't expect it to be humor, a memorable plot or aesthetic brilliance. Oh yeah, and as is popular these days, there's even subtle America bashing too. Yay! GO USA!
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Ginban Kaleidoscope is truly a rare type of anime with a good mix of dialogue, character development, and extremely tense competitive moments, as well as some slight humor moments that truly offsets the tense moments well. Furthermore, I thought the actual skating performances were done pretty well, very energetic and carries across her feelings.
There are essentially two main parts to this anime. Well, two and half. 1) The developing relationship between Tazusa and Pete that helps Tazusa become more grown up 2) Tazusa's skating performances and 2.5) the interspersed humor moments that help relieve the otherwise would be serious moments with her. The chemistry between Tazusa and Pete is very heart warming. Not a romantic bond necessarily, but more of a nice motivating friendship bond that one can't forget.
At first it seemed too much like Midori no Hibi with Pete hounding Tazusa all the time, and all those weird awkward moments. But it doesn't have the weird pervsion jokes. Instead, for anyone that has has experience in competitions, especially sports ones, this anime truly is able to move you. The whole feeling of the pressure one develops before a competition, the interspersed moments, and the stress is all captured quite well here, more so than most other sports animes I've encountered.
In the end, despite the ice skating theme of this anime, I feel that anyone is able to appreciate the changes Tazusa goes through. From a hardcore, cocky, and sharp tongued teenager to more mature, confident, and life-loving person. She does not accomplish this all on her own, but through a series of those who back her despite all the trials and pitfalls, she gets back on her feet with a smile.
(Note, it is kind of cool that Japan won the Gold medal at Torino in women's free skate).
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Anjin-san |
(2006-03-03 04:02:53) 2006-03-02 10:29:15 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I generally don't like sports anime, but this was an OK watch, since it was short (12 eps) and had a female lead that has a bite to her. The ghost in the head idea has at least been done once before (HnG), but it worked fine here, as it did before.
Animation:
Perfectly allright for todays standards. I enjoyed the skating sequences they were well done and fairly close to real moves for the most part as far as I can tell. Since the budget probably wasn't up to it, I guess they had to limit their enthusiasm a bit, and use some recycled shots.
Sound:
Some nice music, I liked the ending theme and found my self listening to it throughout. As figureskating is connected to music as well, there were some good modern and classical pieces selected for the occasion.
Story:
Probably not the most original, but combined with the characters of the series, it made it work in a satisfactory manner. They also kept the fanservice to a mild level, which makes to take the series more seriously. The series has a few running gas involving the supporting cast, which makes for some good comedy.
Characters:
I liked Tasuza, she didn't let anyone pick her nose and really showed those who opposed her what she was made of. Many would say she was obnoxious, but I prefer that to weak female leads who have no backbone. Tasuza certainly had one.
Pete Pumps (what an odd english surname, but that's Japan for ya) was a nice sidekick for Tasuza, he was as confident as she was. The supporting cast was fine, I felt a bit sorry for Tasuzas classmate in the latter half of the series. You'll understand when you see it. :)
All in all, I feel it was worth the watch. I enjoyed watching it throughout, and that's coming from someone who doesn't generally like sports stuff.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Beware this anime 1/32 baked attempt at social commentary regarding the US.
That being said this was a cute series about a girl who literally has some one inside of her. Together with her erstwhile Canadian Ally will she be able to challenge Russia's dominance in the Women's Singles?
Actually it was quite good. Way better than Valley of the Wolves...
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This review is based on ten epsiodes...
Sakurano Tazusa is a Japanese figure skater aiming for a berth in the Torino 2006 Olympics. While competing in a qualifying tournament in Canada, she picks up a "hitchhiker". Well actually, she is possessed by the ghost of a 16 year old Canadian Pete Pumps.
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Caireen |
(2006-09-14 07:55:45) 2005-11-12 06:00:50 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| If you're looking for a light hearted romantic comedy with a sporting theme, then this is something you should try out.
It has a cast of very nice characters, a sweet and oft times very funny storyline.
I highly recommed this for fans of light romance, but don't bother if you're looking for a sports based drama!
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