Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!: A Review

Throughout the anime industry, there are many short lived anime series that would normally last around twelve episodes, and there are some that are kinda bad and those that are pretty good. Of course, what short lived series that I will discuss in this review is one that I believe in my opinion as a pretty good series: Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! Yes, that is the title of the show itself.

Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! is a twelve episode anime adaptation of the light novel series of the same name written by Tomohiro Matsu and illustrated by Yuka Nakajima, and it is based around the story of Yuuta Segawa, a first year university student, who takes the responsibility of taking care of his three nieces after his older sister and brother in law go missing after a plane crash (it's presumed that they were killed in the crash in the point of view of the anime) in his one room apartment. Throughout the series, Yuuta gets multiple jobs during the Summer break to make enough money, so he could take care of all three girls and himself. In a way, the series is kinda like Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop in its English translation) in a way of how a relative ends up taking the responsibility of parenting the children of either a missing or deceased loved one, but tends to keep moments of comedy within the series.

Of course, we can't forget about the characters and what they are like throughout the series, but even though there are other interesting characters in the anime, I think it will be better if I just focused on the main characters just like what I did for the Mad Bull 34 review. First, there's Yuuta, who is voiced by Wataru Hatano (Fairy Tail), and he is our main protagonist of the series. He is introduced in the first episode starting out his first year of college, and he soon gets a call from his older sister, Yuri, to come and visit her family once in a while. But, as soon as his Summer break begins, his sister invites him to watch her children while she goes on a long business trip with her husband, but when the airplane crashes and a grave decision of splitting their daughters apart to live with different relatives comes around, Yuuta takes action to look after his nieces so they could stay together. Throughout the series, Yuuta is seen as a young man who cares for all three of his nieces, and even swears to keep them together no matter what. Next, there is the fourteen year old Sora, who is voiced by Sumire Uesaka, and she is the oldest of his three nieces. She is not blood related to Yuuta, but she cares so much about him. Actually, she has a crush on him, but calls him "big brother" instead of "uncle." She is also very short tempered, but shy. Then, there is the middle child, the ten year old Miu, who is voiced by Eri Kitamura (Blood+). She mostly refers Yuuta as "uncle" even though they are not blood related, and tends to have a crush on older boys. She is very polite and caring, but whenever Sora is trying to cook, she does her best to make sure she doesn't burn any of the food. Finally, there is the three year old Hina, and she is voiced by Hiromi Igarashi. Unlike Sora and Miu, she is blood related to Yuuta, and she's Yuri's only daughter. She is very energetic, and she's also a fan of an anime known as Luna Luna Seven. Due to her young age, she mispronounces certain words, but the characters know what she is actually trying to say while trying to correct her.

In my opinion, Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! is actually pretty good even though I have never read any of the light novels (of course they are only available in Japan), and I found it comical and entertaining. The first three episodes actually sets up the story while the rest of the series goes through how Yuuta and his nieces go through each day, and without spoiling anything, the finale is actually pretty dramatic but very light in tone for it to still be enjoyable. I highly recommend this anime, but I have to say that you would have to be thirteen or older due to some of the jokes not being suitable for younger children. The twelve episode anime, including the OVA, is available to seen online on Crunchyroll, or purchased on DVD from Sentai Filmworks. However, there is no English dub of the series, so the only version that can be seen is the Japanese version with English subtitles.

Written by Nolan Schmidt

Mad Bull 34 (OVA): A Review

There is many anime adaptations that have been well known of being based of manga created by legendary writers, but one in particular that I can think of is none other than Mad Bull 34.

Mad Bull 34 is a four episode original video animation (also known as OVA) series based off of the manga of the same name written by the legendary Koike Kazuo (the writer of Lady Snowblood and the famous Lone Wolf and Cub series) and illustrated by Inoue Noriyoshi, and it is about two cops who aims to stop the most violent (and messed up) crimes in the streets of New York City. In my opinion, it is one of the best OVAs I seen (even though it is only four episodes long), but it does have its extreme sides when it comes to its over the top portrayal of violence, and the extreme amount of sexual content from nudity to the sex scenes involving one of the major character (which I will get to in a little bit). The series itself does show crime at its darkest when it comes to rape scenes and brutal murder that even make the content very disturbing. However, even with its dark and gritty content, Mad Bull 34 does have its humorous moments, and they tend to be very over the top as well. Of course, it is one of the few anime OVA series that has a bit of recognition here in the states, due to its VHS release back in the mid-1990s by Manga Entertainment with their own English dub. The dub isn't really that great, but its enjoyable when it comes to the performance of the two main characters.

Our two major characters seen throughout the series are John "Sleepy" Estes (who also goes by the nickname, "Mad Bull") and Daizaburo "Eddie" Ban, and I have to say that without these two characters, the series probably wouldn't be that interesting. Sleepy, who is voiced by Akio Ōtsuka (Ghost in the Shell) in the Japanese version and Allan Wenger in the English version, is a tall, tough cop who also runs a prostitution ring in the 34th precinct of the New York Police Department. He is probably one of the most predicable character in the series, but also one of the strongest since he is able to walk away from a bomb explosion in the second episode and have the strength to lift a tank in the third. But, whenever he sees a criminal takes somebody hostage or a scumbag try to rape the next woman on the street, he tends to give his own amount of justice by killing them right away. However, he is a man with a big heart, since he cares a lot for some of the important people in his life. One of these people that he cares for (and also the other major character) is Daizaburo, who is voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto (Initial D) in the Japanese version and Alan Marriott (Bob the Builder) in the English version, and he is Sleepy's newly recruited partner. Throughout the series, the Japanese-American police officer tends to be very caring of his over the top partner, and he's also the comedy relief at certain moments of each episode. At first, he was very embarrassed to have Sleepy as a partner due to his actions of killing the criminals they catch, but he accepts this due to Sleepy's knowledge of the crimes done in his particular area of New York.

Also in the series is the beautiful Perrine Valley, voiced by Gara Takashima (Cowboy Bebop, Ninja Scroll) in the Japanese version and Lisa Ross in the English version, a police lieutenant who is in the same police precinct as Sleepy and Daizaburo, and she is also the woman that Daizaburo is in love with. She is introduced in the second episode, and tends to be around our two main characters at very important moments in the series.

Don't worry. They're only grenades attached to his pubic hair. WHAT?

The OVA series itself, as I explained before, is only four episodes long, and each episode is roughly 45 to 50 minutes long. Now, it's practically normal for an OVA episode to be that long, but in some parts of the episodes, the story is a bit too drawn out for explanation that should of been seen more visually instead of discussed by each character in a long monologue. However, there are comical scenes that are pretty hilarious that are in some of the longest scenes that involves multiple amounts of gunfire and violence, like the moment when Sleepy reveals that he has multiple hand grenades carefully attached to each pubic hair and starts throwing them at each small group of mobsters below. But, does each episode have to contain multiple scenes of Sleepy randomly having sex with a woman? I get that this is series that was only released to the home video market and sex scenes are allowed to be seen, but come on? Well, at least its not shown in complete explicit detail like some of the adult aimed OVA series that are created every now and then, and its a good thing this isn't a full out pornographic hentai series either. Of course, I do have to say that even though the violence is over the top, but there some violent moments that are pretty awesome, like the subway fight between Sleepy and a man named Curtis, who killed one of the women that a part of Sleepy's prostitution ring, which becomes pretty intense at the moment when Sleepy is about to be killed, but ends with Curtis being decapitated and his helper being shot multiple times (along with half of his head being blown away from the other side).

Here is the scene right here (Warning! Please note that the scene does contain strong language and graphic over the top violence. Viewer Discretion is Advised!):

Even though many anime fans call Mad Bull 34 a really bad anime, I still think it has something to it, because the OVA series itself tells a decent story of the vice in New York City in a graphic animated style. The main characters are enjoyable to watch, even though Sleepy becomes insane during the intense moments of the show (except the final moments of the fourth episode where he becomes a very serious character). But, you are probably asking me if I recommend this OVA series, and the answer I have to say is yes. Even though it has its flaws, I highly recommend this to those who like gritty anime that contains a lot of over the top moments. Of course, I have to advise that you have to be seventeen or older to watch it, because this series is definitely not for children.

The series itself is currently available on DVD from Discotek Media, and it contains both the original Japanese audio and the old English dub created by Manga Entertainment.

Written by Nolan Schmidt 

Welcome! A Brief Introduction to Team AnimeManga!

Hello, and welcome to the new Ultimate Anime and Manga Blog presented by Team AnimeManga! You may be thinking to yourself, "What is Team AnimeManga?" The answer is simple. Team AnimeManga is a new blog-collaboration team that brings you the best in writing topics involving both Japanese anime and manga, and many of the posts created on this blog will come into many topic in particular: reviews, analysis, news, and opinions as well.

Many of the posts will also cover the multiple genres and animation styles of each anime show, and the design concepts and story ideas of the most popular manga out there like One Piece and Naruto. There will also be discussions based on how even collaborations with video games and visual novels make an impact to the anime and manga industry that is well known in Japan, and is famous around the world.

Even though there may be discussions based on many of the most popular series, please note that many of the ones that will be mentioned (or discussed) in the blog may not be suitable for all viewer, especially when there is a review or analysis posted on this very blog. Yet, we will try to aim this blog to be read by any anime and/or manga fan (from the avid and hardcore fans to the one who are just beginning to become fans).

Hopefully you will enjoy this blog, and be able to experience a whole new way to enjoy anime and manga whenever a new article is posted.

Written by Nolan Schmidt