Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.

Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.

Battle Athletes Victory Restart Review

A legacy that didn't live up to the original.

An intergalactic sports tournament for women will decide the fate of the Solar System with the winner being declared the Cosmo Queen with the planet they represent gaining control of the solar system.
Kanata Akehoshi grows up to become an athlete with dreams of emulating her grandmother's achievements and the hope of helping Eva, a young girl she met in her youth, with rivals from all walks of life, Kanata will have her work cut out for her to take the title especially with conspiracies, sabotage, amnesia and terrorism to deal with.
This is a difficult show to really get into especially when this is a very loose sequel to the original, heavily implied and confirmed that Kanata's grandmother is Akari Kanzaki the lead from the original 90s anime, but while the 90s anime is very silly with minor hints of a semi serious plot, Restart is a mostly serious plot with minor hints of comedy.
The plot takes itself way too seriously with elements more suited to Gundam like the civil war on the Moon and even having Jeff as a charismatic detective does little to take away from the fact that this anime is a needless melodramatic mess that takes away the sporting side of this anime, it's a slog to get through.
Not seen the dub but prefer the sub.
Final Verdict: It's a poor sequel to an anime that has it's foundations in being a comedy so without it, it's just a melodramatic mess way out of it's narrative depth.

Isekai Quartet Review

This will be an interesting anime to review.

In the four Isekai worlds of Konosuba, Saga of Tanya the Evil, Re:Zero and Overlord, a mysterious button sends the casts of all these anime to a school setting, with no way back until they show that they can live a school life, the colourful cast unite in many of the typical scenarios associated with a school comedy.
A series like this is what's known as an SD omake, or super deformed omake referring to the cute designs of a normally vibrant mostly serious cast of characters.
The original quartet is later joined by the Shield Hero and the Overpowered Hero from season 2 onwards.
The combination of casts mix surprisingly well with the Isekai'd protagonists trading stories of how they ended up in their worlds, other than Konosuba and maybe the Overpowered Hero the other shows are more straightforward originally, Tanya the Evil is probably even more serious, so bringing them all into a comedy world does give you a unique perspective of each world's cast.
Surprisingly it's Tanya the Evil that comes out as the breakout character from the show which will probably make that actual anime harder to watch.
I won't rate the dub as I've not seen all these shows separately to offer that perspective.
Final Verdict: Not much to say really, it's just a gag comedy that passes the time between bigger anime.

My Dress-Up Darling Review

I can see why this series resonated with so many Otaku.

Wakana Gojo loves Hina Dolls, he makes them with his grandfather in a workshop but he becomes very reclusive after an incident when he was child when a young girl scolded him for liking such a feminine interest.
In a home economics classroom, social gyaru Marin Kitagawa finds out that Gojo can sew and asks him if he would make her a cosplay of Marin's favourite character Shizuku from a H-Game, after tireless work, Gojo succeeds in making the cosplay beginning a beautiful relationship between himself and Marin.
I've always hated how this anime begins with the little girl being a little bitch as I don't think Gojo ever needed to be put in that scenario to become a recluse when not having parents would've been enough, needless to say, when the anime gets underway proper, we are treated to one of the best love stories in recent anime history, it says alot about how much we've moved on from tsunderes when we can have our leading lady be equally as goofy as the lead male and have a relationship that's actually believable, Marin is a little too good at being the ideal waifu but at no point did I feel the story had to pull gimmicks to push forward.
Not seen the dub but I suspect if the dialogue is anything to go by from Marin there would be alot of moments where American terms would be used to give her a more exaggerated Gyaru personality, I still prefer sub.
Final Verdict: A beautiful love story that progresses like how a proper relationship should, with Marin being far too good a character to be believed at times but it never pulls gimmicks to push the story making all the lewd moments look all the more wholesome.

Do It Yourself Review

Wholesome anime is wholesome.

Miku and Serufu are best friends even if they attend different schools, Serufu is extremely clumsy while Miku frequently bemoans her friend for her constant injuries.
In a moment of curiosity, Serufu finds an old shed belonging to the DIY club and it's sole member Rei Yasaku, with new fascination and a hope to recreate memories with her best friend, Serufu joins the DIY club.
Joined by the shy Takumi, the energetic Kokoro and the young genius Juliet known as Jobko, the club sets out to build a treehouse.
This series will give you instant memories of K-On especially when Serufu is the lead character, wholesome is definitely the order of the day as each episode is a nice relaxing time with added lessons on basic DIY techniques, where it stands out from K-On is Jobko, the young American girl who steals the show and adds character to the anime. A couple of story elements that gets pushed aside very quickly, the lack of members in the club never really creates a crisis and the age of technology in the background of the DIY club while symbolic to show technology can never replace the art of building with your own hands, but the technology aspect quickly takes a backseat the longer the series goes on.
There is no dub to speak of but it's another series where you can predict the cast.
Final Verdict: Do it Yourself is a wholesome anime with a relaxed atmosphere that never gets tiring, while the story tends to forget it has plot points it more than makes the difference up with it's art style and colourful cast.

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss Review

There appears to be a sub-genre of Villainess anime lately.

The anime opens with a girl passing away from terminal cancer, clutching a handheld games console playing her favourite otome game, Regalia of Saints.
Said girl awakens in the world of Regalia of Saints having been rejected by Prince Cedric at the Ball.
She is Aileen, the game's Villainess; using her knowledge of the game, she decides to manipulate events in her favour starting by falling in love with the Demon Lord Claude, initially to avoid her own demise at his hands, the love for Claude becomes genuine as she learns about his side of the game; the whole plot shifts through three scenarios preventing everything from betrayal, sabotage and outright murder, Aileen will do anything to save Claude, but it soon becomes clear that she's not the only one who knows how the game works.
A true costume drama with all the trials and tribulations of many a trashy romance novel with all the fabulous fashion that comes with it, Villainess finds a good mix of a very well written main character in a world that doesn't give her an easy time with a twist very few saw coming.
It's a nice balance that's worth sitting through but there are one too many subplots and the cast could shed at least five or six characters that add nothing to the plot but distraction.
Not seen the dub but there are certain actors I expect in certain roles and I'm proved right so it's average.
Final Verdict: It could use with shedding a few pounds but it's hardly a deal breaker and the main character is definitely worth cheering for to the point where you forget it's an Isekai.