Strange, huh? Ever since March, I've put on full blast any and every review I can think of, and was steadily in the double digits until last month. Never thought I'd keep going towards 2012 with this blog. Of course, there's still the vlog in progress that I still intend on making possible, and the Gamer Base Blog that has much less posts than this one. Seriously, thanks to all that has been with me through the lifespan of Seiko's Otaku Pad. When it was just Life of Seiko Wolf, I never even thought about doing this, but I ended up managing 2-3 different ones, and the one taking most of my time just happens to be this one.
It's been one hell of a trip, going to so far 183 anime posts in general, and the ride's not over as long as there's some being made. Of course there's other events as well, if I get a chance to go to them. Well, 2012 is rolling in, and with a possible job, I'm not sure how much events I'll venture to and review, but if it's anime, I'll be here as I always have. Stay true fans, anime lovers, and I'll see you next year!
- Seiko Wolf
2011/12/31
2011/12/29
CLXXXIII: "Digimon" (franchise)
Normally, I don't deal highly with mainstream anime. I'm going to make an exception today, brcause it suddenly came back to me out of the blue. Digimon is not similar to the co-existing Pokemon franchise, yet the friendship aspect is generally seen in both. Keep in mind, however, that there is no relation linking them together. Digimon serves as an acronym for Digital Monsters, much like how Pokemon is for Pocket Monsters.
Spanning 6 series, not all tales and characters are the same. The key principle here is that a group of kids team up with Digital Monsters (Digimon), one assigned to a human each. From then on, they are partners as they battle threats to both the Digital World as well as the real world. To help their partners, each human partner carries a "digivice", an article that assists their monster partners in battle, mainly "Digivolving", the evolution of a Digimon. However, at the end, they can return to base form. Feelings play a strong part in this process, and the stronger the feelings, the more powerful they become when digivolving (CORNY, I know, but I call them as it's shown.)
Like I said, this franchise spans 6 series as of now, so it's quite lengthy. Furthermore, as it progresses, the purposes of the digivices, the ways Digivolving happens, and the cast and story changes. As follows, we have:
Movies and games were also made under this name, though US diudn't see much in that aspect. The only well-known one would be 2000's Digimon: The Movie. Sadly, despite that it blended scenes from different movies released in Japan, it received negative responses. In addition, this essentially blended the heroes of Digimon Adventures and Digimon Adventures 02. The plot is made of 3 different scenarios: Eight Years Ago (before Digimon Adventure, in which Agumon first appears to a younger Tai and Kari), Four Years ago (when the team is formed, and it takes some time after their departure from the Digital World), and Present Day (following through the events of the new DigiDestined of Digimon Adventure 02.) It was composed of the three movies Digimon Adventure, Our War Game, and Hurricane Touchdown. Moreover, the movie introduces various other Digimon, at least two of which would appear in the animated series. The two in question would be Cherubimon and Omnimon, who would be seen in series 4 and 6 respectively.
Digimon is mainstream, and it's not necessarily a miss, but it's something I'm not crazy over. In its entirety, I say a 6 or 7 of 10 does it justice.
Spanning 6 series, not all tales and characters are the same. The key principle here is that a group of kids team up with Digital Monsters (Digimon), one assigned to a human each. From then on, they are partners as they battle threats to both the Digital World as well as the real world. To help their partners, each human partner carries a "digivice", an article that assists their monster partners in battle, mainly "Digivolving", the evolution of a Digimon. However, at the end, they can return to base form. Feelings play a strong part in this process, and the stronger the feelings, the more powerful they become when digivolving (CORNY, I know, but I call them as it's shown.)
Like I said, this franchise spans 6 series as of now, so it's quite lengthy. Furthermore, as it progresses, the purposes of the digivices, the ways Digivolving happens, and the cast and story changes. As follows, we have:
- Digimon Adventures: Simply called Digimon here in America, it premiered in 1999, a year after Pokemon debuted. Naturally, people thought Digimon was trying to be a knockoff of Pokemon, though this is obviously untrue. Even though it was considered merely a cartoon by some, for an anime it had a unique trait about it at the time (see below). The plot dealt with seven kids who enter the digital world while at summer camp. From that day, they become the DigiDestined, thrown into battle to save both the Digital World and theirs from evil. Assigned a digital beast (Digimon), they fight against the evil forces lurking about, assisted by Gennai and the digivices, which are essential (with their feelings) to invoke Digivolution.
[Unlike that of others released at the time, Digimon happened to be one of the very few anime that not much alteration, or "Americanizing" happened in terms of characters. While some titles undergone complete name changes in others, Digimon more or less retained the character names, despite that most of them were shortened. An example of this would be the sibling characters Taichi and Hikari, and Takeru. In the American version, they are shortened respectively to Tai, Kari, and T.K. However, common to the way anime was shown in the states, the title was simplified, and had its own set of soundtrack music that played in the title, ending, and inserts. Even the opening/ending tracks were different completely from the overseas counterpart.]
- Digimon Adventures 02: The successor to the first series, the plot had little difference, but the timeline is three years after the 1st series/season. Unlike how it was certain Digimon serving the antagonist role in the first series, the enemy is actually human, dubbed the Digimon Emperor, who enslaves and controls Digimon with black rings and Control Spires. This also makes Digivolving quite impossible by normal means. Though most of the previous team help out occasionally, their new lives in junior high prompts a new team to be formed. And it happens when three new characters, Davis, Yolei, and Cody, team up with DigiDestined veterans Kari and T.K. to make up a new generation of the team, armed with a new digivice known as D3.
- Digimon Tamers: Much like how it's received here, Digimon Tamers featured the namesake franchise as a card game, toy and anime franchise. However, when the monsters become real, three fans of the card game tame real Digimon themselves to combat them. Again, Digivolving is changed, and even abilities can be enhanced using the Card Swipe, known as Digimodify in the U.S. It even grew to the point where they could merge with their partners in one version of Digivolution, called Biomerge Digivolution. The show featured 3 main protagonists, while the main enemy is an AWOL program called D-Reaper. The series is darker in theme in comparison to the other two.
- Digimon Frontier: Another series significally different from others, Digimon Frontier also deals with the digital world, with 5 protagonists using Digimon Spirits, leading them to become Digimon themselves with use of their D-Tectors. The enemies this time are other legendary spirits led by Cherubimon, who plans to conquer the Digital World, and are after the heroes' spirits in the process! The series discards the Card Swipe aspect, showing off a new feature called Fractal Code Digitize, used as a means of purification against possessed Digimon.
- Digimon Savers/Digimon Data Squad: Called Digimon Data Squad in the U.S., it's the 5th series of the franchise, and a fresh take after a nearly four year haitus as a series. However, it bears no connection to the other four, making a different title in theme and art style. Another trait is that unlike the formers, it was aimed for more of family view as opposed to just children, aside from featuring, to date, the oldest set of main characters, the age range of them between teens to early 20s. This time around, they try to keep the Digital and the Real worlds separated, preventing others from knowing about its existence. However, there are still Digimon that cross over into the real world unofficially. To this end, the D.A.T.S. was formed, and escapee Agumon meets with 14 year old Marcus Damon, the undefeated ultimate fighter. After going at each other, they become on good terms with one another, and after many events, join up as part of DATS. Antagonists appear to be Digimon of God status, but there maybe yet another reason as to who may be behind it, which connects to Falcomon and his partner Keenan...
- Digimon Xros: The current series active right now, Digimon Xros is the only series not dubbed as of yet, even though via Crunchyroll, this series has seen airtime outside of Japan. Moreover, the series has 3 titles under its belt. The plot dealt with the Xros Wars, hence the title. The protagonists are known as Team Xros Heart, who are a considerable threat to Emperor Bagramon and his Bagra Army. Though, other problems follow soon after, leading to the current issue at hand where they must stop rampart Digimon and face off against rival hunters. The main head for all 3 titles is Taiki Kudo, who as with the majority of Digimon mains, have a partner and some form of a Digivice. In this instance, the device is called the Xros Loader, and his partner is Shoutmon.
Movies and games were also made under this name, though US diudn't see much in that aspect. The only well-known one would be 2000's Digimon: The Movie. Sadly, despite that it blended scenes from different movies released in Japan, it received negative responses. In addition, this essentially blended the heroes of Digimon Adventures and Digimon Adventures 02. The plot is made of 3 different scenarios: Eight Years Ago (before Digimon Adventure, in which Agumon first appears to a younger Tai and Kari), Four Years ago (when the team is formed, and it takes some time after their departure from the Digital World), and Present Day (following through the events of the new DigiDestined of Digimon Adventure 02.) It was composed of the three movies Digimon Adventure, Our War Game, and Hurricane Touchdown. Moreover, the movie introduces various other Digimon, at least two of which would appear in the animated series. The two in question would be Cherubimon and Omnimon, who would be seen in series 4 and 6 respectively.
Digimon is mainstream, and it's not necessarily a miss, but it's something I'm not crazy over. In its entirety, I say a 6 or 7 of 10 does it justice.
2011/12/25
CLXXXII: "You're Under Arrest!" series
You'll never believe this. A while back, I reviewed the series Ah! My Goddess, which was created by manga author Kosuke Fujishima. Well, even though this became his most famous piece, there was one before this, titled You're Under Arrest! (and yes, this is an actual title, feel free to do your own research.) It left me dumbfounded because, like many I have reviewed, I crossed this title by sheer chance, when I was just getting into anime. Seeing this was my 5th on the list, so I'm surprised at myself for waiting until THIS post to cover it.
The anime follows two female Tokyo Metropolitan Police Officers stationed at the fictional Bokuto Police Precint. Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa are the central characters, and throughout the series, we not only see the on-duty and off-duty lives of those two, but as well as other officers near them. Some could be slice of life, some could be humorous, but at the end of the day, it just shows how the Police are in and out of uniform.
You're Under Arrest! has a hefty sort of media under that name. The first OVA series, which lasted 4 episodes, came out in 1994, around the same time Ah! My Goddess had their last of their 1st OVAs put out. A year later, their 1st TV anime would start, lasting for 51 episodes. These two were licensed for US under AnimEigo. Next, a 21-episodes OVA series, You're Under Arrest! Specials, released in 1999, and there was also a movie out the same year, both of which was licensed under ADV Films, which is sadly inactive now. A second TV anime series, You're Under Arrest!: Fast & Furious, came out in 2001 and lasted for 26 episodes, though per usual, US didn't see it until a year or two later. A single OVA came out the following year titled You're Under Arrest!: No Mercy. Lastly, in 2008, the 3rd TV Anime You're Under Arrest!: Full Throttle released with 24 episodes. Save for the single OVA, the recently mentioned ones were licensed for US under Sentai Filmworks. Even though the licensing groups, directors (and perhaps cast) may differ, every You're Under Arrest! piece was made in Studio Deen.
There isn't much to expect from this series, but that's not saying it's terrible. Depending on the taste in anime, this may/may not bore some of you. I'm grading this a solid 7 of 10. It's unusual for me to see an anime that has police that's not intense, but heck, I can't hate this title worth anything.
The anime follows two female Tokyo Metropolitan Police Officers stationed at the fictional Bokuto Police Precint. Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa are the central characters, and throughout the series, we not only see the on-duty and off-duty lives of those two, but as well as other officers near them. Some could be slice of life, some could be humorous, but at the end of the day, it just shows how the Police are in and out of uniform.
You're Under Arrest! has a hefty sort of media under that name. The first OVA series, which lasted 4 episodes, came out in 1994, around the same time Ah! My Goddess had their last of their 1st OVAs put out. A year later, their 1st TV anime would start, lasting for 51 episodes. These two were licensed for US under AnimEigo. Next, a 21-episodes OVA series, You're Under Arrest! Specials, released in 1999, and there was also a movie out the same year, both of which was licensed under ADV Films, which is sadly inactive now. A second TV anime series, You're Under Arrest!: Fast & Furious, came out in 2001 and lasted for 26 episodes, though per usual, US didn't see it until a year or two later. A single OVA came out the following year titled You're Under Arrest!: No Mercy. Lastly, in 2008, the 3rd TV Anime You're Under Arrest!: Full Throttle released with 24 episodes. Save for the single OVA, the recently mentioned ones were licensed for US under Sentai Filmworks. Even though the licensing groups, directors (and perhaps cast) may differ, every You're Under Arrest! piece was made in Studio Deen.
There isn't much to expect from this series, but that's not saying it's terrible. Depending on the taste in anime, this may/may not bore some of you. I'm grading this a solid 7 of 10. It's unusual for me to see an anime that has police that's not intense, but heck, I can't hate this title worth anything.
2011/12/24
CLXXXI: "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" series
So far, my least favorite. First time hearing about them, I considered Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and its successor Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny the black sheep of the Gundam franchise. Over time, my feelings for it changed, but it didn't have the flair that I see in both the older titles and Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, which is the current anime out. It bounced from my most hated to the briefly liked in terms of anime in general.
In Gundam SEED, the story centers around young Coordinator Kira Yamato. In this timeline, there are 2 different people: the Natruals, people born and raised of Earth that live normally, and Coordinators, genetically altered humans that learn faster, and feature bodies that are quicker and stronger than normal. As with most media, he is a teen that is thrown into war when the antagonists ZAFT attack the colony he is on. Upon impulse, he pilots the Strike Gundam, and during his encounters, he ends up piloting the Gundam alongside the Earth Alliance, encountering foes like his childhood friend turned foe Athrun Zala. In Gundam SEED Destiny, the setting is two years after Gundam SEED's conclusion, and a third pilot joins the fray. Destiny follows the viewpoint of ZAFT soldier Shinn Asuka, though the regulars Kira and Athrun return as well. The war participants overall are the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, PLANT, Orb Alliance, and the terrorist group Blue Cosmos. What will be the fate of these 3 pilots?
Per usual, it features similarities seen in other Gundam media. The Coordinators introduced in SEED revisit the "different human" aspect featured since the original Gundam anime, which introduced Newtypes. In addition, the antagonist are seen with Z in their name, which carries on from other Gundam media: to name a few, the original Mobile Suit Gundam (Principality of Zeon), and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (OZ). There are many machines, on top of featuring more than a few Gundams. In fact, aside from it's political themes, it features the Gundam vs. Gundam concept, something also seen in Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which was released prior to SEED's development.
Gundam SEED lasts for 50 episodes, alongside an OVA. Gundam SEED Destiny also went for 50 episodes and an OVA. Two films, Gundam SEED: Special Edition and Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition, were compilation movies dealing with their namesake titles. Somewhat related, there was a 2 part animation dealing with the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray, as well as a 3 part net animation titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Stargazer. The C.E. stands for the universe's setting, called Cosmic Era. As with other titles to different Eras, SEED is exclusive to the Cosmic era timeline. Both anime were made in the Sunrise studio, licensed by Bandai Entertainment. Like the others, it saw merchandise dealing with the title, such as model kits and appearances in video games like Gundam Battle Assault and Dynasty Warriors Gundam, both of which are under Namco Bandai Games. Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, and Shinn Asuka are voiced respectively by Matt Hill, Samuel Vincent, and Matthew Erickson. Their voice roles are also done in the games by the same actors.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, as a whole, gains a 7 of 10, but must I choose to separate them, SEED Destiny retains the score, while the original SEED will get 6 of 10. I like the mechas, not so much the story, but I no longer dislike SEED as much as I did originally.
In Gundam SEED, the story centers around young Coordinator Kira Yamato. In this timeline, there are 2 different people: the Natruals, people born and raised of Earth that live normally, and Coordinators, genetically altered humans that learn faster, and feature bodies that are quicker and stronger than normal. As with most media, he is a teen that is thrown into war when the antagonists ZAFT attack the colony he is on. Upon impulse, he pilots the Strike Gundam, and during his encounters, he ends up piloting the Gundam alongside the Earth Alliance, encountering foes like his childhood friend turned foe Athrun Zala. In Gundam SEED Destiny, the setting is two years after Gundam SEED's conclusion, and a third pilot joins the fray. Destiny follows the viewpoint of ZAFT soldier Shinn Asuka, though the regulars Kira and Athrun return as well. The war participants overall are the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, PLANT, Orb Alliance, and the terrorist group Blue Cosmos. What will be the fate of these 3 pilots?
Per usual, it features similarities seen in other Gundam media. The Coordinators introduced in SEED revisit the "different human" aspect featured since the original Gundam anime, which introduced Newtypes. In addition, the antagonist are seen with Z in their name, which carries on from other Gundam media: to name a few, the original Mobile Suit Gundam (Principality of Zeon), and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (OZ). There are many machines, on top of featuring more than a few Gundams. In fact, aside from it's political themes, it features the Gundam vs. Gundam concept, something also seen in Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which was released prior to SEED's development.
Gundam SEED lasts for 50 episodes, alongside an OVA. Gundam SEED Destiny also went for 50 episodes and an OVA. Two films, Gundam SEED: Special Edition and Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition, were compilation movies dealing with their namesake titles. Somewhat related, there was a 2 part animation dealing with the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Astray, as well as a 3 part net animation titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Stargazer. The C.E. stands for the universe's setting, called Cosmic Era. As with other titles to different Eras, SEED is exclusive to the Cosmic era timeline. Both anime were made in the Sunrise studio, licensed by Bandai Entertainment. Like the others, it saw merchandise dealing with the title, such as model kits and appearances in video games like Gundam Battle Assault and Dynasty Warriors Gundam, both of which are under Namco Bandai Games. Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, and Shinn Asuka are voiced respectively by Matt Hill, Samuel Vincent, and Matthew Erickson. Their voice roles are also done in the games by the same actors.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, as a whole, gains a 7 of 10, but must I choose to separate them, SEED Destiny retains the score, while the original SEED will get 6 of 10. I like the mechas, not so much the story, but I no longer dislike SEED as much as I did originally.
2011/12/23
CLXXX: "s-CRY-ed"
Such an odd name for an anime, s-CRY-ed is another title I waited forever to finally review. Bearing likeness to both Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Marvel's X-men, it has people with freakish powers and discrimination left and right. But let's get to the core of what this title's about.
s-CRY-ed deals with people that can use Alters, which is power deformed, reshaped, and crystalized at the users will. Originally, it was only a special few that bore such a trait, but over time, their numbers began to rise, causing human life to be inferior to Alter users. Even so, this doesn't happen without its perks, and the setting of s-CRY-ed is proof of that. In the anime, even amongst Alters, there is some form of segregation, that of which is between HOLY, which is a subsidiary of HOLD that does missions to bring justice to renegade Alters, as well as to maintain government operations, and their opposition the Native Alters, those who wish for nothing to do with HOLD, some of which exhibiting resentment towards them. The plot device here is stemmed from a rivalry between a specific character from each side. From the Native Alters, we have the protagonist Kazuma. Not much people know he's an alter user, and as HOLY finds out, he's their biggest issue to deal with. Armed with an Altered fist and a brash temper, he is perceived as a troublemaker, but is shown to have a caring side, especially when he does what he has to support himself and Kanami Yuta, the little girl he lives with. On the other, there's HOLY's strongest user, Ryuho Tairen, alongside his humanoid alter Zetsuei. Having his mother slain by an alter user, his personality has become cold, determined to find and punish that user. After Kazuma escapes HOLY, he develops a rivalry with him, as he is the only person to face Ryuho and not lose to him instantly. Their fight evolves to merely besting one another as opposed to a mere sense of duty as the story progresses, but that's not to say there aren't times they see eye-to-eye.
Not entirely extensive plotwise, the anime runs for 26 episodes in length, being featured on Adult Swim. Like Gundam and Dirty Pair, it was created in the Sunrise studio, and its original run before its localization dates back to 2001. It is licensed for US under Bandai Entertainment. In the middle of its anime run, a 5 volume manga was also produced, ending in 2002, and licensed by Tokyopop, who is now no longer active in the US for now. Kazuma is voiced by Steven Jay Blum, who took over as the voice of Toonami's host TOM in September 2000. Ryuho is voiced by Jason Spisak, who voiced Kiyo of Zatch Bell!, and Geo Stelar of the short-lived anime Mega Man Star Force, made from the namesake game series.
s-CRY-ed was eye catching enough, but to me pales in comparison to other works created and licensed by the same people. Even so, I think a 7 of 10 deems pretty fair for this title.
s-CRY-ed deals with people that can use Alters, which is power deformed, reshaped, and crystalized at the users will. Originally, it was only a special few that bore such a trait, but over time, their numbers began to rise, causing human life to be inferior to Alter users. Even so, this doesn't happen without its perks, and the setting of s-CRY-ed is proof of that. In the anime, even amongst Alters, there is some form of segregation, that of which is between HOLY, which is a subsidiary of HOLD that does missions to bring justice to renegade Alters, as well as to maintain government operations, and their opposition the Native Alters, those who wish for nothing to do with HOLD, some of which exhibiting resentment towards them. The plot device here is stemmed from a rivalry between a specific character from each side. From the Native Alters, we have the protagonist Kazuma. Not much people know he's an alter user, and as HOLY finds out, he's their biggest issue to deal with. Armed with an Altered fist and a brash temper, he is perceived as a troublemaker, but is shown to have a caring side, especially when he does what he has to support himself and Kanami Yuta, the little girl he lives with. On the other, there's HOLY's strongest user, Ryuho Tairen, alongside his humanoid alter Zetsuei. Having his mother slain by an alter user, his personality has become cold, determined to find and punish that user. After Kazuma escapes HOLY, he develops a rivalry with him, as he is the only person to face Ryuho and not lose to him instantly. Their fight evolves to merely besting one another as opposed to a mere sense of duty as the story progresses, but that's not to say there aren't times they see eye-to-eye.
Not entirely extensive plotwise, the anime runs for 26 episodes in length, being featured on Adult Swim. Like Gundam and Dirty Pair, it was created in the Sunrise studio, and its original run before its localization dates back to 2001. It is licensed for US under Bandai Entertainment. In the middle of its anime run, a 5 volume manga was also produced, ending in 2002, and licensed by Tokyopop, who is now no longer active in the US for now. Kazuma is voiced by Steven Jay Blum, who took over as the voice of Toonami's host TOM in September 2000. Ryuho is voiced by Jason Spisak, who voiced Kiyo of Zatch Bell!, and Geo Stelar of the short-lived anime Mega Man Star Force, made from the namesake game series.
s-CRY-ed was eye catching enough, but to me pales in comparison to other works created and licensed by the same people. Even so, I think a 7 of 10 deems pretty fair for this title.
CLXXIX: "Blue Gender"
I never thought I'd be speaking about this title. Blue Gender is another post-apocalyptic anime that has its touch of romance and horror. Imagine traits from Alien being animated into a piece where life on Earth has literally gone to hell... The end results pretty much resembles what the world of Blue Gender is like.
As it begins, Yuji Kaido is one of the few humans diagnosed with having B-Cells in their bodies. Deemed incurable, he, along with others like him, was put in suspended animation until a cure was at last found. The time of this was Earth year 2009. In 2031, he wakes up to a horrific time. Earth as he knew it was gone, its terrains overrun by a insect-like species called "Blue". The life he knew faded and gone, he has fear in his heart. Encountering one, he meets Marlene Angel of Second Earth, whose emotions were shut-in, becoming a cold soldier as she terminates the Blue. Over time however, though warfare, Marlene's emotions starts to unravel and Yuji becomes more hardened as a soldier, the two of them forming a bond with one another. However, while things between them happens, they still have the Blue to worry about, especailly when the plot takes a turn for the worst...
Blue Gender lasts for 26 episodes, created in AIC animation studio. A compilation movie, Blue Gender: The Warrior, was also dune under AIC, with redone scenes and an alternate ending, due to the latter 1/3 of the series original arc being removed. Both are under the Funimation label for US release. Originally, this title was to be featured in Cartoon Network's Toonami block, but instead saw its way on their Adult Swim action block. Because of their intent, all graphic violence, nudity and sex scenes were omitted. It was also shown in UK under Sci-Fi Channel (which are all known as SyFy currently). Funimation as well featured this anime, though chances are that they were more lenient on content, having shown it in a specific time period. The original run for this was back in October 1999 - March 2000. Marlene is voiced by Laura Bailey, while Yuji is voiced by Eric Vale.
Blue Gender is a piece that has futuristic warfare featuring mechas, aliens, and a space colony. In all, the romance between them seems to be as prominent as the hell they go through with the Blue, and I grade this an 8 of 10 overall.
As it begins, Yuji Kaido is one of the few humans diagnosed with having B-Cells in their bodies. Deemed incurable, he, along with others like him, was put in suspended animation until a cure was at last found. The time of this was Earth year 2009. In 2031, he wakes up to a horrific time. Earth as he knew it was gone, its terrains overrun by a insect-like species called "Blue". The life he knew faded and gone, he has fear in his heart. Encountering one, he meets Marlene Angel of Second Earth, whose emotions were shut-in, becoming a cold soldier as she terminates the Blue. Over time however, though warfare, Marlene's emotions starts to unravel and Yuji becomes more hardened as a soldier, the two of them forming a bond with one another. However, while things between them happens, they still have the Blue to worry about, especailly when the plot takes a turn for the worst...
Blue Gender lasts for 26 episodes, created in AIC animation studio. A compilation movie, Blue Gender: The Warrior, was also dune under AIC, with redone scenes and an alternate ending, due to the latter 1/3 of the series original arc being removed. Both are under the Funimation label for US release. Originally, this title was to be featured in Cartoon Network's Toonami block, but instead saw its way on their Adult Swim action block. Because of their intent, all graphic violence, nudity and sex scenes were omitted. It was also shown in UK under Sci-Fi Channel (which are all known as SyFy currently). Funimation as well featured this anime, though chances are that they were more lenient on content, having shown it in a specific time period. The original run for this was back in October 1999 - March 2000. Marlene is voiced by Laura Bailey, while Yuji is voiced by Eric Vale.
Blue Gender is a piece that has futuristic warfare featuring mechas, aliens, and a space colony. In all, the romance between them seems to be as prominent as the hell they go through with the Blue, and I grade this an 8 of 10 overall.
CLXXVIII: "Kodocha"
It goes without saying that voice actor Laura Bailey has been in a number of anime and gaming works. That said, whenever I see her name or hear her voice, the anime Kodocha instantly comes to mind for some reason. Don't get me wrong, her name is in a lot of things, but Kodocha felt kind of special to me.
Kodocha centers on the life of the 11 year-old child star Sana Kurata. Plot wise, there isn't any deep dwelling story, but it is a dramatic, yet romantic comedy. Trying to balance her career and school life, she faces problems like any other person, one of which happening to be Akito Hayama, who terrorizes teachers he doesn't like. Yet, he has his own backstory, a painful one at that. While trying to put up with him, Sana becomes closer with Akito. Amidst the chaos that occurs in school, the zaniness of her acting and personal life and the scenarios of those close to her, we follow the both of them as they mature through the series.
Before I move on to the anime, the manga was written by one person, Miho Obana, who also wrote Deep Clear, which crosses this title with another one of her works Honey Bitter. As of now, the manga is no longer in print, formerly under Tokyopop before they lost the license in 2006. Around this time, Funimation released the anime under their license for the US, even featuring it on Funimation Channel. The original run for this was back in April of 1996, ending the run March of 1998. In total, there are 102 episodes, which is quite lengthy, but only the first half of the series was actally dubbed, leaving the others in a limbo as to whether or not they'll be dubbed as well, all of which were made under Studio Gallop and NAS. An opening wasn't used in the Funi dubbed product, due to complications with the boy band Tokio, their name being omitted from even the Japanese episodes and replaced by XXXXXX and their name silenced out. In addition, save that the actual footage was retained, the premier 2 dubbed episodes removed references to Rei being her pimp (people would doubtlessly blow a gasket had they heard/seen that in the anime.) Had it not been hinted enough, Sana is voiced by Laura Bailey, and it came back to me when I heard her voice Omochao and Blaze the Cat in the recently released game Sonic Generations, though she has done other works such as Marlene Angel of Blue Gender and Keiko Yakamura of Yu-Yu Hakusho. Jerry Jewell, who has voiced Kyo Sohma of Fruits Basket and Kaworu Nagisa of the Rebuild of Evangelion films, voices Akito.
Kodocha is touching, yet wacky altogether. And enjoyable for my preferences. 7 of 10, close to 8, will be my call for this anime, and someday, I hope that the latter half also gets dubbed at some point.
Kodocha centers on the life of the 11 year-old child star Sana Kurata. Plot wise, there isn't any deep dwelling story, but it is a dramatic, yet romantic comedy. Trying to balance her career and school life, she faces problems like any other person, one of which happening to be Akito Hayama, who terrorizes teachers he doesn't like. Yet, he has his own backstory, a painful one at that. While trying to put up with him, Sana becomes closer with Akito. Amidst the chaos that occurs in school, the zaniness of her acting and personal life and the scenarios of those close to her, we follow the both of them as they mature through the series.
Before I move on to the anime, the manga was written by one person, Miho Obana, who also wrote Deep Clear, which crosses this title with another one of her works Honey Bitter. As of now, the manga is no longer in print, formerly under Tokyopop before they lost the license in 2006. Around this time, Funimation released the anime under their license for the US, even featuring it on Funimation Channel. The original run for this was back in April of 1996, ending the run March of 1998. In total, there are 102 episodes, which is quite lengthy, but only the first half of the series was actally dubbed, leaving the others in a limbo as to whether or not they'll be dubbed as well, all of which were made under Studio Gallop and NAS. An opening wasn't used in the Funi dubbed product, due to complications with the boy band Tokio, their name being omitted from even the Japanese episodes and replaced by XXXXXX and their name silenced out. In addition, save that the actual footage was retained, the premier 2 dubbed episodes removed references to Rei being her pimp (people would doubtlessly blow a gasket had they heard/seen that in the anime.) Had it not been hinted enough, Sana is voiced by Laura Bailey, and it came back to me when I heard her voice Omochao and Blaze the Cat in the recently released game Sonic Generations, though she has done other works such as Marlene Angel of Blue Gender and Keiko Yakamura of Yu-Yu Hakusho. Jerry Jewell, who has voiced Kyo Sohma of Fruits Basket and Kaworu Nagisa of the Rebuild of Evangelion films, voices Akito.
Kodocha is touching, yet wacky altogether. And enjoyable for my preferences. 7 of 10, close to 8, will be my call for this anime, and someday, I hope that the latter half also gets dubbed at some point.
2011/11/09
CLXXVII: "Soul Eater"
I'm not making up the title. Soul Eater is another anime that was adapted from a manga of the same name, published by Square Enix and created by Atsushi Okubo. Wasn't into it at first, but the titular character kind of grew on me with his personality, so as with any title, I hung on for the ride. With anime, games, and two different manga, this series was another that, more or less, fell onto my lap.
The main story is set in the fictional Death City, the location of it being Nevada in the U.S. (hence why they sometimes call it Death Vegas?) The Death Weapon Meister Academy, or DWMA, is a facility where students undergo training, half of them are Weapon Meisters, and the other are actual human weapons. The story centers on a group composed of 3 teams, but the main two happen to be the titular Soul Eater, and his meister Maka Albarn. The two but heads often, but ultimately, they are the best of partners who look out for each other for better or worse. Alongside them are two other solid pairs. One of them is the ninja Black Star (who reminded me a little of Naruto when I first saw him, in fact may rival him) alongside his partner Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. The other happens to be a team of three technically, starting with Death the Kid. Always striving for perfect symmetry, he is the son of Death himself, who happens to be the head of DWMA. As his son, he can choose not to attend, but for his own reasons does so anyway. Keeping in line with his symmetrical disorder, the Thompson sisters Liz and Patty serve him well as his human weapons. While it starts out as a normal routine to make the Death Scythe, fit for Death to wield, it escalates to more serious matters early onward when more characters appear. Maka and Soul must have each others' backs to deal with it all.
The anime lasts for 51 episodes, running between April 2008 to March 2009 originally. It is dubbed under, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment, also premiering on their channel. This product was also done in the studio Bones. Like others, the anime deviates from the manga, but heavily when DWMA battles Arachnaphobia for the first time. In addition, another manga, Soul Eater Not!, serves as the side story, where as three other freshmen: the weapon Tsumugi Harodori, and meisters Meme and Anya are the central characters. The Not! portion of the title is an acronym meaning Normally Overcome Target, which is a non-combat class to control the powers and overcome matters to live normally, in opposition to the combative practices of the EAT (Extremely Advanced Talent) classes seen in the main story. And with Sid not a zombie and antagonist Medusa Gorgon being the nurse, it's safe to guess that it most likely precedes the main events of Soul Eater. Maka and Soul are voiced respectively by Laura Baily and Micah Solusod.
Soul Eater caught me off guard, and I liked it. The score here will be 8 of 10, though the plot devices were mundane in some areas. Still, nothing displeased me about this title.
The main story is set in the fictional Death City, the location of it being Nevada in the U.S. (hence why they sometimes call it Death Vegas?) The Death Weapon Meister Academy, or DWMA, is a facility where students undergo training, half of them are Weapon Meisters, and the other are actual human weapons. The story centers on a group composed of 3 teams, but the main two happen to be the titular Soul Eater, and his meister Maka Albarn. The two but heads often, but ultimately, they are the best of partners who look out for each other for better or worse. Alongside them are two other solid pairs. One of them is the ninja Black Star (who reminded me a little of Naruto when I first saw him, in fact may rival him) alongside his partner Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. The other happens to be a team of three technically, starting with Death the Kid. Always striving for perfect symmetry, he is the son of Death himself, who happens to be the head of DWMA. As his son, he can choose not to attend, but for his own reasons does so anyway. Keeping in line with his symmetrical disorder, the Thompson sisters Liz and Patty serve him well as his human weapons. While it starts out as a normal routine to make the Death Scythe, fit for Death to wield, it escalates to more serious matters early onward when more characters appear. Maka and Soul must have each others' backs to deal with it all.
The anime lasts for 51 episodes, running between April 2008 to March 2009 originally. It is dubbed under, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment, also premiering on their channel. This product was also done in the studio Bones. Like others, the anime deviates from the manga, but heavily when DWMA battles Arachnaphobia for the first time. In addition, another manga, Soul Eater Not!, serves as the side story, where as three other freshmen: the weapon Tsumugi Harodori, and meisters Meme and Anya are the central characters. The Not! portion of the title is an acronym meaning Normally Overcome Target, which is a non-combat class to control the powers and overcome matters to live normally, in opposition to the combative practices of the EAT (Extremely Advanced Talent) classes seen in the main story. And with Sid not a zombie and antagonist Medusa Gorgon being the nurse, it's safe to guess that it most likely precedes the main events of Soul Eater. Maka and Soul are voiced respectively by Laura Baily and Micah Solusod.
Soul Eater caught me off guard, and I liked it. The score here will be 8 of 10, though the plot devices were mundane in some areas. Still, nothing displeased me about this title.
CLXXVI: "Ouran High School Host Club"
I didn't think the name Haruhi was that common, but it turns out that I was misled a litlte, as that name appears in other anime as well, one of which is Ouran High School Host Club. Ever since I heard of it, I was curious, but started to like it when I actually sat down and watched it.
Ouran Private Academy is a school unlike any other. For starters, it runs from the standard Kindergarten to 12th grade curriculum, and even caters to the university level. In addition, it contains students that seemed to come from esteemed backgrounds, mostly those from wealthy families. Graded A to D classes, these students are classified based on their background. The Ouran High School Host Club, thought up by A-Class Tamaki Suou, not only consists of all A-Class students, but its members seems to be the top of their respective classes. As expected, they all come from the wealthiest of families... save for one.
The premier focal character in question is Haruhi Fujioka, who, unlike other students, doesn't come from a rich, wealthy background, instead from a poor family. However, thanks to a scholarship, this person is able to attend Ouran High as a special A-Class student. At first glance, Haruhi isn't much to look at, sporting the book nerd attire effortlessly. When a vase gets broken, a pricey 8,000,000 yen/ $80,000.00 vase at that, Haruhi is forced to join the Host Club as a means of paying it back. Set with a number of requests to gain, Haruhi has to work tenaciously to pay it off. Thanks to an incident however, the truth comes out: under that ambiguous appearance, Haruhi is actually a girl. All it's members, save for Tamaki, knew initially, and having him discover this came as a shocker. Keeping this a secret, Haruhi is still part of the Host Club regardless until her debt is repaid. Only comedy ensues in the process within and outside the Ouran Host Club.
OHSHC runs for 26 episodes, but is also accompanied by a TV Drama series that has 11 episodes, and a live-action film. The anime was created in the studio Bones back in 2006, licensed by Funimation for U.S. release. It even appeared on their channel. The series is nothing beyond a romantic comedy, which is nice, because, at least to my knowledge, it doesn't have any off-the-wall content (well, a few...) It does have it's few moments of busting the fourth wall, but that isn't a bad thing per say (unless it's repetitive...) Haruhi Fujioka is voiced by Caitlin Glass in the dub, who voiced Chachamaru and Chisame in Negima! and Maya in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series (Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0)
Ouran High School Host Club is entertaining at best, though who the series may appeal to varies (though it feels like it's aimed for a female audience.) I honestly say that as far as romantic comedies go, this easily gets a 9 of 10. Even if I don't find anything worth laughing at, I can say that this title is up there on my list.
Ouran Private Academy is a school unlike any other. For starters, it runs from the standard Kindergarten to 12th grade curriculum, and even caters to the university level. In addition, it contains students that seemed to come from esteemed backgrounds, mostly those from wealthy families. Graded A to D classes, these students are classified based on their background. The Ouran High School Host Club, thought up by A-Class Tamaki Suou, not only consists of all A-Class students, but its members seems to be the top of their respective classes. As expected, they all come from the wealthiest of families... save for one.
The premier focal character in question is Haruhi Fujioka, who, unlike other students, doesn't come from a rich, wealthy background, instead from a poor family. However, thanks to a scholarship, this person is able to attend Ouran High as a special A-Class student. At first glance, Haruhi isn't much to look at, sporting the book nerd attire effortlessly. When a vase gets broken, a pricey 8,000,000 yen/ $80,000.00 vase at that, Haruhi is forced to join the Host Club as a means of paying it back. Set with a number of requests to gain, Haruhi has to work tenaciously to pay it off. Thanks to an incident however, the truth comes out: under that ambiguous appearance, Haruhi is actually a girl. All it's members, save for Tamaki, knew initially, and having him discover this came as a shocker. Keeping this a secret, Haruhi is still part of the Host Club regardless until her debt is repaid. Only comedy ensues in the process within and outside the Ouran Host Club.
OHSHC runs for 26 episodes, but is also accompanied by a TV Drama series that has 11 episodes, and a live-action film. The anime was created in the studio Bones back in 2006, licensed by Funimation for U.S. release. It even appeared on their channel. The series is nothing beyond a romantic comedy, which is nice, because, at least to my knowledge, it doesn't have any off-the-wall content (well, a few...) It does have it's few moments of busting the fourth wall, but that isn't a bad thing per say (unless it's repetitive...) Haruhi Fujioka is voiced by Caitlin Glass in the dub, who voiced Chachamaru and Chisame in Negima! and Maya in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series (Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0)
Ouran High School Host Club is entertaining at best, though who the series may appeal to varies (though it feels like it's aimed for a female audience.) I honestly say that as far as romantic comedies go, this easily gets a 9 of 10. Even if I don't find anything worth laughing at, I can say that this title is up there on my list.
2011/11/08
CLXXV: "Ojousama wa H ga Osuki: The Animation"
I know, I haven't updated in a while, but I do have other matters to tend to as of late (such as dodging my birthday.) In any case, another title came across to me, and like how it was for post 140 for I Don't Love My Brother At All!!, I came across the title Ojousama wa H ga Osuki: The Animation, which is based off an original h-manga of the same name that I found via Fakku. That said, it's a no-brainer that unlike the aforementioned anime of post 140, this title IS a hentai, and to my knowledge, is void of any incest. Foe those wondering, while it's not official, it somewhat translates to My Lady Is Crazy About Making Love (well, that's one of what it translates to.) Again, unsure about it's legal English name, if there ever was one, but that's a guess in regards to it.
Typical of some hentai, there's no point in seeking out any meaningful plots, as this title seems to lack any, well, anything to make a storyline out of. However, for what I can gather, the main female roles, Tamaki and Leila, appear to be sisters. And wealthy ones, at that! Yeah, hence the title, they appear to be mistresses, and the way they act, it REALLY shows. On the male side, we have Yuusuke, who is Leila's servant/toy, and Tatsuya, a commoner dating Tamaki. Aside from the sex they have with their respective partners, they appear to have something between them, sort of like a sibling rivalry of some sort, which is normal. But as with any hentai, it's basically sex, sex, and more sex. (shrugs) Of course, when it gets down into the act, it's more than just them.
The animation only lasts for 2 episodes, and when seeing this while looking at the h-manga made by Bosshi, it's more or less accurate chapter-wise, but with some added scenarios. The quality of it is almost dead on between the two, as the imagery in the animation looks almost completely like it's manga counterpart. Bosshi, who is the manga artist, had another work that was animated as well, which was also based of the manga of the same title, but lasted a tad longer. This OAV series was made last year, with its run finished, despite that there is much more to the manga in terms of characters and story. No English voice is there at all, so unless you understand Japanese dialogue, subbed is your way to understand what's going on (not that it's really necessary...)
Ojousama wa H ga Osuki is lacking in the length department, but in terms of adapted hentai, this is the first one I have seen that was transitioned almost perfectly into animation, even though a title preceded this one. With due respect, I'll give it an 8 of 10.
Typical of some hentai, there's no point in seeking out any meaningful plots, as this title seems to lack any, well, anything to make a storyline out of. However, for what I can gather, the main female roles, Tamaki and Leila, appear to be sisters. And wealthy ones, at that! Yeah, hence the title, they appear to be mistresses, and the way they act, it REALLY shows. On the male side, we have Yuusuke, who is Leila's servant/toy, and Tatsuya, a commoner dating Tamaki. Aside from the sex they have with their respective partners, they appear to have something between them, sort of like a sibling rivalry of some sort, which is normal. But as with any hentai, it's basically sex, sex, and more sex. (shrugs) Of course, when it gets down into the act, it's more than just them.
The animation only lasts for 2 episodes, and when seeing this while looking at the h-manga made by Bosshi, it's more or less accurate chapter-wise, but with some added scenarios. The quality of it is almost dead on between the two, as the imagery in the animation looks almost completely like it's manga counterpart. Bosshi, who is the manga artist, had another work that was animated as well, which was also based of the manga of the same title, but lasted a tad longer. This OAV series was made last year, with its run finished, despite that there is much more to the manga in terms of characters and story. No English voice is there at all, so unless you understand Japanese dialogue, subbed is your way to understand what's going on (not that it's really necessary...)
Ojousama wa H ga Osuki is lacking in the length department, but in terms of adapted hentai, this is the first one I have seen that was transitioned almost perfectly into animation, even though a title preceded this one. With due respect, I'll give it an 8 of 10.
2011/10/29
CLXXIV: "Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike"
Once more, we have anime that is set as a legit part of a game's storyline. We visited this scenario before in post 22 covering Devil May Cry. This time, it's the game Tales of Vesperia, another game created by Namco Bandai games, and it has a prequel anime film called Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike.
Obviously, it tells the events prior to the game's setting, but more so in the past of the protagonists. Continuity is in question, and it isn't entirely clear exactly when this takes place, but supposedly, this is 10 years after the Great War (the game goes into detail as to what the war dealt with.) The story kicks off as the previous Emperor passes away in the Imperial Capital of Zaphias. People use the substance known as aer for day to day living, be it for mere handwork or for defensive purposes. When gathered, large amount of aer is concentrated in a crystallized form known as Apatheia, which people use in inventions known as blastia. Whether to fight off monsters, or to protect the town, Apatheia is used and cores are made, to be used in various blastia, more commonly for Barrier Blastia to fend off monsters from the outside. Even with all of this, and save that there has been no heir prior to the Emperor's death, Zaphias' Imperial Knights still perform their duties of defending the people outside the towns.
Childhood friends Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo (both protagonists of the game) are seen as new recruits of the Imperial Knights, fed up with the treatment they were forced to endure within their home, Zaphias' Lower Quarter, thus, wanted to change and uphold the laws from within. With new characters known altogether as the Niren Corps, Yuri and Flynn, alongside the puppy Repede, encounter many trials and tribulations of being a knight (with a conflict that revisits somewhat in-game.) Aside from those three, we also see other characters known from the games: the mage Rita Mordio, Princess Estellise, and the mysterious old man Raven. Protagonists omitted were Judith, Karol Capel, and the PS3-exclusive Patty Fleur. The movie tells of the many conflicts as an Imperial Knight, which leads to his resentment towards being one in the game.
Nearly 2 hours in length, the animation was done in studio Production I.G., also responsible for the animated scenes in game. For now, it's a Japanese release under Kadokawa Pictures, which came out in 2009, a year after the Xbox 360 game was released in both Japan and US. While it's unknown if it'll be dubbed at all, Funimation has gained the license for the animated movie, with release rumored to be sometime in 2012, but this isn't confirmed quite yet. While the concern of continuity was posed before, it poses more of a concern with the Japan exclusive PlayStation 3 game, released the same year. But judging by the dialogue involved within the game, ToV: The First Strike bears some relevance to the game storyline, mainly into Yuri/Flynn's character development.
I enjoyed it, but found it's conflict (late in the film) all too familiar with the game's, save for numerous factors. In any case, ToV: The First Strike gets a 7 of 10 from me, and while I am quite the fan of the game, I was a bit disappointed with the prequel film, for it didn't amaze me much as far as the protagonists' pasts. Still, to be 1 of 4 animated adaptions of the Tales game series, I was pleased.
Obviously, it tells the events prior to the game's setting, but more so in the past of the protagonists. Continuity is in question, and it isn't entirely clear exactly when this takes place, but supposedly, this is 10 years after the Great War (the game goes into detail as to what the war dealt with.) The story kicks off as the previous Emperor passes away in the Imperial Capital of Zaphias. People use the substance known as aer for day to day living, be it for mere handwork or for defensive purposes. When gathered, large amount of aer is concentrated in a crystallized form known as Apatheia, which people use in inventions known as blastia. Whether to fight off monsters, or to protect the town, Apatheia is used and cores are made, to be used in various blastia, more commonly for Barrier Blastia to fend off monsters from the outside. Even with all of this, and save that there has been no heir prior to the Emperor's death, Zaphias' Imperial Knights still perform their duties of defending the people outside the towns.
Childhood friends Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo (both protagonists of the game) are seen as new recruits of the Imperial Knights, fed up with the treatment they were forced to endure within their home, Zaphias' Lower Quarter, thus, wanted to change and uphold the laws from within. With new characters known altogether as the Niren Corps, Yuri and Flynn, alongside the puppy Repede, encounter many trials and tribulations of being a knight (with a conflict that revisits somewhat in-game.) Aside from those three, we also see other characters known from the games: the mage Rita Mordio, Princess Estellise, and the mysterious old man Raven. Protagonists omitted were Judith, Karol Capel, and the PS3-exclusive Patty Fleur. The movie tells of the many conflicts as an Imperial Knight, which leads to his resentment towards being one in the game.
Nearly 2 hours in length, the animation was done in studio Production I.G., also responsible for the animated scenes in game. For now, it's a Japanese release under Kadokawa Pictures, which came out in 2009, a year after the Xbox 360 game was released in both Japan and US. While it's unknown if it'll be dubbed at all, Funimation has gained the license for the animated movie, with release rumored to be sometime in 2012, but this isn't confirmed quite yet. While the concern of continuity was posed before, it poses more of a concern with the Japan exclusive PlayStation 3 game, released the same year. But judging by the dialogue involved within the game, ToV: The First Strike bears some relevance to the game storyline, mainly into Yuri/Flynn's character development.
I enjoyed it, but found it's conflict (late in the film) all too familiar with the game's, save for numerous factors. In any case, ToV: The First Strike gets a 7 of 10 from me, and while I am quite the fan of the game, I was a bit disappointed with the prequel film, for it didn't amaze me much as far as the protagonists' pasts. Still, to be 1 of 4 animated adaptions of the Tales game series, I was pleased.
1st Impressions: "Mobile Suit Gundam AGE"
Breaking my normal routine once more, I'm introducing a new post called 1st Impressions: mainly to give a POV regarding a newly launched title. To start, I'll use the premiered anime Mobile Suit Gundam AGE.
For the most part, people have blasted this, mainly because it involves a young boy as the protagonist and pilot. Not to restate what others have said before me, but this isn't the first Gundam piece to do so, if people even bothered to look at Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (which was surprisingly darker than expected.) Even so, released still footage and trailers have received what I would like to call pre-release criticism by most of the Gundam fanbase, granted that half of those haven't seen any other works aside from what was shown here, which I would list, but that's not my goal this time.
It isn't popular as of yet (positively popular, anyway), but little by little, we're seeing this anime kick off, mostly online thanks to Gundam.info and whoever streams the episodes. I checked it out, and frankly... I don't see what the huge deal is. The surmise is that it takes place in an entirely new century, in standard tradition, we'll call this the Advance Generation, or A.G. Era, the main story kicking off in the year A.G. 108. Thanks to an attack on the space colony Ovan by the UE (unknown enemy), young Flit Asuno loses his mother in the midst of the destruction, watching her as she is buried under the burning rubble. He is handed the AGE Device, and within it he finds the blueprints for the infamous robot that has quelled conflicts time and again - the mobile suit called Gundam. Using these blueprints, and the several years of his engineering studies, just as the UE attacks Nora, he completes it: Gundam AGE-1.
Oddly enough, this is perhaps the first Gundam title that has a storyline based on generations, with young Flit being the first to pilot AGE-1 Normal. In addition, another first is that this particular title was done in part with game developer Level-5, who worked on a game of the franchise prior to AGE's concept. The character design heavily differs from past titles, which is noticeable when compared to the previous titles that released, those being Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. As of now, there are only 3 episodes, and being the newborn series that it is, there is no English cast, let alone any plans for US licensing as of yet. As a Gundam fan, I was kinda worried when this was announced, but I was pleased when I actually saw the episode, but kept hearing remarks about it possibly being kiddy, based mostly on the design. Hard to agree with, considering we see the demise of someone close to him in the first episode (which has been a common thing since the original Mobile Suit Gundam.)
Maybe I'm calling it too quick, but I don't see anything wrong with it for the most part. In fact, I'm waiting until they kick it to the second generation of the protagonist, that alone has me curious about the series. I can't say it's a hit, but as of now, I'm not disappointed. That's all for my first take.
For the most part, people have blasted this, mainly because it involves a young boy as the protagonist and pilot. Not to restate what others have said before me, but this isn't the first Gundam piece to do so, if people even bothered to look at Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (which was surprisingly darker than expected.) Even so, released still footage and trailers have received what I would like to call pre-release criticism by most of the Gundam fanbase, granted that half of those haven't seen any other works aside from what was shown here, which I would list, but that's not my goal this time.
It isn't popular as of yet (positively popular, anyway), but little by little, we're seeing this anime kick off, mostly online thanks to Gundam.info and whoever streams the episodes. I checked it out, and frankly... I don't see what the huge deal is. The surmise is that it takes place in an entirely new century, in standard tradition, we'll call this the Advance Generation, or A.G. Era, the main story kicking off in the year A.G. 108. Thanks to an attack on the space colony Ovan by the UE (unknown enemy), young Flit Asuno loses his mother in the midst of the destruction, watching her as she is buried under the burning rubble. He is handed the AGE Device, and within it he finds the blueprints for the infamous robot that has quelled conflicts time and again - the mobile suit called Gundam. Using these blueprints, and the several years of his engineering studies, just as the UE attacks Nora, he completes it: Gundam AGE-1.
Oddly enough, this is perhaps the first Gundam title that has a storyline based on generations, with young Flit being the first to pilot AGE-1 Normal. In addition, another first is that this particular title was done in part with game developer Level-5, who worked on a game of the franchise prior to AGE's concept. The character design heavily differs from past titles, which is noticeable when compared to the previous titles that released, those being Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. As of now, there are only 3 episodes, and being the newborn series that it is, there is no English cast, let alone any plans for US licensing as of yet. As a Gundam fan, I was kinda worried when this was announced, but I was pleased when I actually saw the episode, but kept hearing remarks about it possibly being kiddy, based mostly on the design. Hard to agree with, considering we see the demise of someone close to him in the first episode (which has been a common thing since the original Mobile Suit Gundam.)
Maybe I'm calling it too quick, but I don't see anything wrong with it for the most part. In fact, I'm waiting until they kick it to the second generation of the protagonist, that alone has me curious about the series. I can't say it's a hit, but as of now, I'm not disappointed. That's all for my first take.
2011/10/23
CLXXIII: "Mortal Kombat: Legacy"
Branching off from what I normally do, I'm going to talk about a miniseries I managed to catch via the Youtube page of Machinima. You may have heard of it, the title is Mortal Kombat: Legacy. This idea was actually derived from the short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, and showed promise for a re-imagined live-action piece, something that hasn't been done since New Line Cinema's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997 (around the time Midway was still active, who had the MK label). While Warner Bros. and affiliate New Line Cinema didn't back the film originally, supposedly, they gave Legacy's director, Kevin Tancharoen, the go-ahead to direct a larger feature in the future.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy has no linear story, and the episodes are more character specific at best, involving Sonya, Jax, Stryker, Cyrax, Sektor, and some others, roughly a fraction of the characters of the franchise, with some original characters involved, with one of the creators, Ed Boon, also taking part. Each episode deals with at least one of the characters involved, not branching into a set storyline like the two movies. It was also a more realistic approach to the MK universe, though in sense features the main story. The episodes were short however, given the little length allowed in a standard Youtube account. Despite this, a second season is proposed, production set to begin sometime next year, with possible inclusions of characters like Kabal and Goro (though details of the latter need to be sorted out.) It was said that as with the movies, it will carry on the plot of the 10th torunament as with the games, but they won't try to include every single Kombatant, something that MK: Annihilation attempted.
There are a total of 9 episodes, and despite the shortness of each, they'll be seeing a home release to DVD and Blu-Ray, though the episodes are still very much present under Machinima's Youtube page. The second season of this is trying to see an outlet for television, but little is known beyond this regarding the show's platform. Involved with this production are Warner Bros. and their subsidiary game company NetherRealm Studios (which was formerly WB Games Chicago, and before that Midway Games Chicago), who created the 2011 reboot game Mortal Kombat (still called MK9 by players.) For something done solely in US soil, this received high praise as a webseries.
In lieu of the original adaptions from the MK universe, it remains to be the better adaption of Mortal Kombat as to date, and scores 8 of 10 from me. Here's hoping that the rumored film, as well as the second season, lives up to the reception of Legacy's first season.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy has no linear story, and the episodes are more character specific at best, involving Sonya, Jax, Stryker, Cyrax, Sektor, and some others, roughly a fraction of the characters of the franchise, with some original characters involved, with one of the creators, Ed Boon, also taking part. Each episode deals with at least one of the characters involved, not branching into a set storyline like the two movies. It was also a more realistic approach to the MK universe, though in sense features the main story. The episodes were short however, given the little length allowed in a standard Youtube account. Despite this, a second season is proposed, production set to begin sometime next year, with possible inclusions of characters like Kabal and Goro (though details of the latter need to be sorted out.) It was said that as with the movies, it will carry on the plot of the 10th torunament as with the games, but they won't try to include every single Kombatant, something that MK: Annihilation attempted.
There are a total of 9 episodes, and despite the shortness of each, they'll be seeing a home release to DVD and Blu-Ray, though the episodes are still very much present under Machinima's Youtube page. The second season of this is trying to see an outlet for television, but little is known beyond this regarding the show's platform. Involved with this production are Warner Bros. and their subsidiary game company NetherRealm Studios (which was formerly WB Games Chicago, and before that Midway Games Chicago), who created the 2011 reboot game Mortal Kombat (still called MK9 by players.) For something done solely in US soil, this received high praise as a webseries.
In lieu of the original adaptions from the MK universe, it remains to be the better adaption of Mortal Kombat as to date, and scores 8 of 10 from me. Here's hoping that the rumored film, as well as the second season, lives up to the reception of Legacy's first season.
CLXXII: "Super Street Fighter IV OVA"
Once more, like in the previous post, Capcom has a knack for building much publicity over their products. Not taking jabs at Yoshinori Ono, the producer of the Street Fighter IV series and soon to come Street Fighter X Tekken, but this is clearly what people think in regards to spinoff games, OVAs and stuff. Despite this, they continue with Super Street Fighter IV, and much like in post 87 covering Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind, there was, to my surprise, an OVA attached to the upgrade as well.
Shorter in length as the sibling OVA before it, you would expect that it lacks any key additions. Well, a bit of a heads up before we get into that. Between Street Fighter IV to Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (the latest entry), the story changed quite a bit, with the addition of new and returning characters from the franchise: some significant, others just to be there, I guess. Canon-wise, it's hard to say if SSFIV really means anything. I mean, SFIV is the preceding chapter to the Street Fighter III series, and even with the inclusion of characters Yun, Yang, Ibuki, Dudley (all from SFIII: New Generation), and Makoto (from SFIII Third Strike: Fight for the Future), it's very doubtful that their placement in SFIV bears any significance storywise, and somewhat doesn't show in the SFIII games.
That said, along with the game's story, the OVA has a different tale to tell also. While the mainstay antagonists are Shadowloo's S.I.N. Organization and it's leader Seth, there appears a new antagonist, who makes her debut in the game as well. Carrying a Feng Shui Engine in her left eye (akin to Seth's Tanden engine in his torso) the Korean fighter Juri Han causes torment for her former allies, who defected from S.I.N. Doing so, however, endangered the lives of many, all to display the power of the small engine, which was still in the prototype stage. Encountering her was Chun-Li, who didn't last too long against her, and would have been killed, had Juri not spotted Cammy White and Guile approaching. After seeing the damage Chun-Li sustained, the two set out to the conglomerate Sonsa, Juri's next target. Under orders from Seth, she proceeds to beat the pulp out of Bison's brainwashed dolls (remember Juli and Juni from Street Fighter Alpha, anyone?), which upsets the former Killer Bee Cammy, having been one of them herself, and Guile gets in on the action as well. Just who is this Juri Han? Is she merely a pawn of Seth's, or is she hiding other motives like that eye of hers?
The animation itself isn't very long. Someone who voiced their thought on the matter called it a 30+ minute animation with what looks as if merely 10 minutes of work was placed on it. To add to this, it had fewer characters involved, with Ryu, Sakura, and Ken Masters in particular being absent. That aside, the team that created The Ties That Bind, and the animated/still cutscenes for each character in all 3 games worked on this title and this was the last animation that bore Keiji Inafune's name as the executive producer, due to him leaving Capcom afterwards. Studio 4°C and Tatsunoko were absent from this OVA, with production done by Capcom and Gonzo Studio, who did titles like Basilisk and New Fist of the North Star. Officially, it doesn't bear a surname like it's sibling OVA, and wasn't released officially for the US, at least not to my knowledge. I could only assume that in regions like Asia, it was another bonus downloadable that came with SSFIV Collector's Edition, as opposed to a separate disc when SFIV was first released here in the states. Given that bit of info, it's safe to say that the cast of the Japanese language of the game took part, with additional voices for various characters, among which Juli and Juni being voiced by Sachiko Kojima and Haruka Kimura respectively. Needless to say, there was no English VAs for this piece at all, since it wasn't released for here, let alone dubbed.
While it is short, it served its purpose just like its sibling: as a backstory to the game's plot, though essentially there isn't THAT much of a difference in transition between the games. I'll say a 6 or 7 of 10, since it was made as a teaser to the game, save for it being shorter than the former.
Shorter in length as the sibling OVA before it, you would expect that it lacks any key additions. Well, a bit of a heads up before we get into that. Between Street Fighter IV to Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (the latest entry), the story changed quite a bit, with the addition of new and returning characters from the franchise: some significant, others just to be there, I guess. Canon-wise, it's hard to say if SSFIV really means anything. I mean, SFIV is the preceding chapter to the Street Fighter III series, and even with the inclusion of characters Yun, Yang, Ibuki, Dudley (all from SFIII: New Generation), and Makoto (from SFIII Third Strike: Fight for the Future), it's very doubtful that their placement in SFIV bears any significance storywise, and somewhat doesn't show in the SFIII games.
That said, along with the game's story, the OVA has a different tale to tell also. While the mainstay antagonists are Shadowloo's S.I.N. Organization and it's leader Seth, there appears a new antagonist, who makes her debut in the game as well. Carrying a Feng Shui Engine in her left eye (akin to Seth's Tanden engine in his torso) the Korean fighter Juri Han causes torment for her former allies, who defected from S.I.N. Doing so, however, endangered the lives of many, all to display the power of the small engine, which was still in the prototype stage. Encountering her was Chun-Li, who didn't last too long against her, and would have been killed, had Juri not spotted Cammy White and Guile approaching. After seeing the damage Chun-Li sustained, the two set out to the conglomerate Sonsa, Juri's next target. Under orders from Seth, she proceeds to beat the pulp out of Bison's brainwashed dolls (remember Juli and Juni from Street Fighter Alpha, anyone?), which upsets the former Killer Bee Cammy, having been one of them herself, and Guile gets in on the action as well. Just who is this Juri Han? Is she merely a pawn of Seth's, or is she hiding other motives like that eye of hers?
The animation itself isn't very long. Someone who voiced their thought on the matter called it a 30+ minute animation with what looks as if merely 10 minutes of work was placed on it. To add to this, it had fewer characters involved, with Ryu, Sakura, and Ken Masters in particular being absent. That aside, the team that created The Ties That Bind, and the animated/still cutscenes for each character in all 3 games worked on this title and this was the last animation that bore Keiji Inafune's name as the executive producer, due to him leaving Capcom afterwards. Studio 4°C and Tatsunoko were absent from this OVA, with production done by Capcom and Gonzo Studio, who did titles like Basilisk and New Fist of the North Star. Officially, it doesn't bear a surname like it's sibling OVA, and wasn't released officially for the US, at least not to my knowledge. I could only assume that in regions like Asia, it was another bonus downloadable that came with SSFIV Collector's Edition, as opposed to a separate disc when SFIV was first released here in the states. Given that bit of info, it's safe to say that the cast of the Japanese language of the game took part, with additional voices for various characters, among which Juli and Juni being voiced by Sachiko Kojima and Haruka Kimura respectively. Needless to say, there was no English VAs for this piece at all, since it wasn't released for here, let alone dubbed.
While it is short, it served its purpose just like its sibling: as a backstory to the game's plot, though essentially there isn't THAT much of a difference in transition between the games. I'll say a 6 or 7 of 10, since it was made as a teaser to the game, save for it being shorter than the former.
2011/10/15
CLXXI: "Mahoromatic" series
Oh wow, combat android and maid. Of course, there were titles of the like, while not exactly the same in theme. An example of this is Steel Angel Kurumi, a series I have long reviewed over. Mahoromatic is sort of like that, but plotwise, essentially different.
Mahoro appears to be a normal maid... right. In all seriousness, she's a combat android from a secret organization Vesper, who retired from working on the frontlines to carry out the last of her days as a maid. This is something proven very early as she handles some robbers on the bus, the same one that Suguru Misato just happens to be on. Later, after making herself unannounced in his yard, she tells Suguru about herself, and later becomes his maid. Of course, this sudden change doesn't sit well initially with some people, among which a few of his classmates and his teacher who is after him (wait, what!?) Already alone, Mahoro's arrival seems to bring a spark in Suguru's life, even though they have something in common: the death of a certain man. It's enough that life becomes hectic for Suguru, especially with Mahoro and his teacher Saori Shikijo butting heads, but when her enemies reveal themselves, she must be ready to take arms once more and fight for her life... while she's at risk of losing that peaceful life, and her time is dwindling!
From first glance, I thought the anime would be on the sugary side, but watching just from episode 1 alone, I was off. While it is peaceful and warm in setting, the action picks up when the antagonists reveal themselves. It still has its comedic moments, and it is also a harem anime, so it has its 'moments' here and there. It also contains nudity in some areas, so if it's not your thing, or if you're too young, don't bother looking. Together, the anime in general is "standard length", as it runs for 26 episodes in all. Separately, they aren't much. Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden lasts for 12 episodes, with the succeeding Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful featuring 14 episodes. Studios Gainax and Shaft worked on these titles, licensed for US and Canada under Sentai Filmworks. It is also old, dating back to 2001 during its original run of the first anime, and 2002 of the latter anime. But as it is a tragic drama, you can expect some serious moments. The endings are different, and while I say this all the time, this is a case where it can be somewhat similar in result, but the fate of the characters differ. I will say, though, that this title does follow through somewhat to its manga counterpart, but with a few situations taking place there and not in the anime (and vice versa). Mahoro is voiced by Bridget Hoffman in the dub, while Suguru is voiced by Derek Stephen Prince (who, in another harem anime Love Hina, voices Keitaro Urushima), with Wendee Lee providing the voice of him as a child.
Once more, the ending displeased me, as it was a bittersweet one, but overall, I say an 8 of 10 for Mahoromatic, which is ironic because this is how I felt about Witchblade (which is a much more serious anime), the one I FIRST reviewed... Oh well, until next time!
Mahoro appears to be a normal maid... right. In all seriousness, she's a combat android from a secret organization Vesper, who retired from working on the frontlines to carry out the last of her days as a maid. This is something proven very early as she handles some robbers on the bus, the same one that Suguru Misato just happens to be on. Later, after making herself unannounced in his yard, she tells Suguru about herself, and later becomes his maid. Of course, this sudden change doesn't sit well initially with some people, among which a few of his classmates and his teacher who is after him (wait, what!?) Already alone, Mahoro's arrival seems to bring a spark in Suguru's life, even though they have something in common: the death of a certain man. It's enough that life becomes hectic for Suguru, especially with Mahoro and his teacher Saori Shikijo butting heads, but when her enemies reveal themselves, she must be ready to take arms once more and fight for her life... while she's at risk of losing that peaceful life, and her time is dwindling!
From first glance, I thought the anime would be on the sugary side, but watching just from episode 1 alone, I was off. While it is peaceful and warm in setting, the action picks up when the antagonists reveal themselves. It still has its comedic moments, and it is also a harem anime, so it has its 'moments' here and there. It also contains nudity in some areas, so if it's not your thing, or if you're too young, don't bother looking. Together, the anime in general is "standard length", as it runs for 26 episodes in all. Separately, they aren't much. Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden lasts for 12 episodes, with the succeeding Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful featuring 14 episodes. Studios Gainax and Shaft worked on these titles, licensed for US and Canada under Sentai Filmworks. It is also old, dating back to 2001 during its original run of the first anime, and 2002 of the latter anime. But as it is a tragic drama, you can expect some serious moments. The endings are different, and while I say this all the time, this is a case where it can be somewhat similar in result, but the fate of the characters differ. I will say, though, that this title does follow through somewhat to its manga counterpart, but with a few situations taking place there and not in the anime (and vice versa). Mahoro is voiced by Bridget Hoffman in the dub, while Suguru is voiced by Derek Stephen Prince (who, in another harem anime Love Hina, voices Keitaro Urushima), with Wendee Lee providing the voice of him as a child.
Once more, the ending displeased me, as it was a bittersweet one, but overall, I say an 8 of 10 for Mahoromatic, which is ironic because this is how I felt about Witchblade (which is a much more serious anime), the one I FIRST reviewed... Oh well, until next time!
2011/10/14
CLXX: "Desert Punk"
Some anime deals with a post apocalyptic setting, and the setting for Desert Punk seems to fit the bill. A title filled with action and weird western traits, this anime is surely not for the younger crowd, thanks in particular to one character...
A nuclear attack reduced the once lavish Japan into a burning desert, where humans that remain struggle to survive. The Great Kanto Desert keeps on its grounds many guys with guns, working for profit or just for their humor. Among these individuals is the protagonist of the story, Kanta Mizuno. He is a 17 year old member of the Handyman Guild, and he is rather openly perverse when it comes to women, especially those with huge boobs. To top it off, he has a crude mouth, never afraid to say something in the witty and smartass category to whoever he speaks to. Despite this flaw, among some others, he is highly skilled. He is recognized as the Demon of the Desert: the legendary Desert Punk. The anime follows his exploits: from his encounters with Junko, his acquiring of an apprentice, and the many antics that ensue with his friends and foes alike.
Desert Punk is definitely a title you should keep away from the young, as it is filled with crude talk, and mature content. The anime series is 24 episodes long, and was shown here in the US under Starz Edge, which you NEEDED a subscription of Starz to get. It was also shown on the Russian network 2x2, which did do English voices, but unless you were somehow lucky enough to get such a channel, there is no way for you to get it by normal cable box means. It's original run started in October of 2004, ending March of the following year, with Funimation licensing it for US and Canada. Common to Funimation licensing, the anime featured voices that you have heard before, in a different way, but still. Keeping with that transition, we have Kanta voiced by Eric Vale (the voice of Yuki Sohma of Fruits Basket and Teen/Adult Trunks of both Dragon Ball Z and DBZ Kai), and Kosuna by Luci Christian (who also did the character Honey of Ouran High School Host Club, as well as Full Metal Panic's Kaname Chidori and One Piece's Nami)
Desert Punk is absurdly humorous, and crudely watchable. I could only grade this a 7 of 10, while I laugh my ass to the dialogue, some situations I just wouldn't feel okay watching with the little ones.
A nuclear attack reduced the once lavish Japan into a burning desert, where humans that remain struggle to survive. The Great Kanto Desert keeps on its grounds many guys with guns, working for profit or just for their humor. Among these individuals is the protagonist of the story, Kanta Mizuno. He is a 17 year old member of the Handyman Guild, and he is rather openly perverse when it comes to women, especially those with huge boobs. To top it off, he has a crude mouth, never afraid to say something in the witty and smartass category to whoever he speaks to. Despite this flaw, among some others, he is highly skilled. He is recognized as the Demon of the Desert: the legendary Desert Punk. The anime follows his exploits: from his encounters with Junko, his acquiring of an apprentice, and the many antics that ensue with his friends and foes alike.
Desert Punk is definitely a title you should keep away from the young, as it is filled with crude talk, and mature content. The anime series is 24 episodes long, and was shown here in the US under Starz Edge, which you NEEDED a subscription of Starz to get. It was also shown on the Russian network 2x2, which did do English voices, but unless you were somehow lucky enough to get such a channel, there is no way for you to get it by normal cable box means. It's original run started in October of 2004, ending March of the following year, with Funimation licensing it for US and Canada. Common to Funimation licensing, the anime featured voices that you have heard before, in a different way, but still. Keeping with that transition, we have Kanta voiced by Eric Vale (the voice of Yuki Sohma of Fruits Basket and Teen/Adult Trunks of both Dragon Ball Z and DBZ Kai), and Kosuna by Luci Christian (who also did the character Honey of Ouran High School Host Club, as well as Full Metal Panic's Kaname Chidori and One Piece's Nami)
Desert Punk is absurdly humorous, and crudely watchable. I could only grade this a 7 of 10, while I laugh my ass to the dialogue, some situations I just wouldn't feel okay watching with the little ones.
2011/10/12
CLXIX: "Venus Versus Virus"
Perhaps the least spoken of anime wise, Venus Versus Virus is a title I waited for, but strangely didn't become as big a name as I would expect. In fact, this series is rarely looked back on at all (which makes me kinda sad). Anyway, here's the backdrop on this particular title.
While the opening scene is perceived as something to come, the anime centers on two girls: Sumiere Takahana and Lucia Nanashi. Upon discovering Lucia's secret, she soon finds herself as a part of the Venus Vanguard, an organization that's devoted to hunting down demons called "Virus", and this organization is led by her adoptive father Nanashi. While hunting them down, they try to seek the roots of these creatures. In the course of doing so, Lucia learns that Sumiere, once initially not much help to her, is a great asset, thanks to a power that awakens once shot by a Vaccine Bullet. Stepping in Berserker Mode, she becomes a living Anti-Virus, but because of this, she is indiscriminate in who she attacks, harming friend and foe alike. Lucia has a few secrets as well, one of which being her left eye. The two must cooperate in hunting down the Viruses, as well as crushing the origin behind them.
Venus Versus Virus is a Fantasy and Action title, featuring a yuri element. Not my place to say, but a trait normally found in hentai, namely yaoi and yuri, aren't often seen as a genre of a televised anime. That's not to say that it never happens, but this is one of the handful of titles I've seen where this is specifically mentioned. This was stated in a magazine prior to the release of the anime. Speaking of that, the anime is a short one relatively, lasting 12 episodes. It was made in Studio Hibari, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment. This series saw TV airing on Anime Network, and I found this title back then through their On-Demand service under Comcast/Xfinity. The series began, and ended, during the first quarter of 2007. Common to most, the 8 volume manga had more to it storywise, and showed different sides of characters from the anime, the biggest of changes coming from Lucia, who still had a battle-hardened nature, only opening very little in the anime itself. In the manga, she is shown to exhibit more emotions. The voice of Lucia is done by Joanne Bonasso, who voiced Mama in the Halo Legends OAV (based on the popular Microsoft Xbox series Halo.) Sumiere is voiced by Natalie Arneson. Both of them voice acted together on the anime Kanon as well, with Bonasso voicing Akiko Minase, and Arneson voicing Sayuri Kurata.
I'm not going to be "that fanboy" and say that it's great, but I was somewhat pleased. I grade Venus Versus Virus a 7 of 10 in an estimate. It's regrettable that there isn't anymore to the series, beyond the short anime, the manga, and the drama CD, but like I said: this title wasn't deemed as popular as others.
While the opening scene is perceived as something to come, the anime centers on two girls: Sumiere Takahana and Lucia Nanashi. Upon discovering Lucia's secret, she soon finds herself as a part of the Venus Vanguard, an organization that's devoted to hunting down demons called "Virus", and this organization is led by her adoptive father Nanashi. While hunting them down, they try to seek the roots of these creatures. In the course of doing so, Lucia learns that Sumiere, once initially not much help to her, is a great asset, thanks to a power that awakens once shot by a Vaccine Bullet. Stepping in Berserker Mode, she becomes a living Anti-Virus, but because of this, she is indiscriminate in who she attacks, harming friend and foe alike. Lucia has a few secrets as well, one of which being her left eye. The two must cooperate in hunting down the Viruses, as well as crushing the origin behind them.
Venus Versus Virus is a Fantasy and Action title, featuring a yuri element. Not my place to say, but a trait normally found in hentai, namely yaoi and yuri, aren't often seen as a genre of a televised anime. That's not to say that it never happens, but this is one of the handful of titles I've seen where this is specifically mentioned. This was stated in a magazine prior to the release of the anime. Speaking of that, the anime is a short one relatively, lasting 12 episodes. It was made in Studio Hibari, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment. This series saw TV airing on Anime Network, and I found this title back then through their On-Demand service under Comcast/Xfinity. The series began, and ended, during the first quarter of 2007. Common to most, the 8 volume manga had more to it storywise, and showed different sides of characters from the anime, the biggest of changes coming from Lucia, who still had a battle-hardened nature, only opening very little in the anime itself. In the manga, she is shown to exhibit more emotions. The voice of Lucia is done by Joanne Bonasso, who voiced Mama in the Halo Legends OAV (based on the popular Microsoft Xbox series Halo.) Sumiere is voiced by Natalie Arneson. Both of them voice acted together on the anime Kanon as well, with Bonasso voicing Akiko Minase, and Arneson voicing Sayuri Kurata.
I'm not going to be "that fanboy" and say that it's great, but I was somewhat pleased. I grade Venus Versus Virus a 7 of 10 in an estimate. It's regrettable that there isn't anymore to the series, beyond the short anime, the manga, and the drama CD, but like I said: this title wasn't deemed as popular as others.
CLXVIII: "Lupin the 3rd"
An oldie, but a memorable title somewhat. Lupin the 3rd followed the exploits of a famous thief and womanizer, accompanied by a beautiful femme fatale, a sharpshooter that smokes, and a lethal swordsman, and sought after by a famous, yet clumsy Interpol inspector. Spanning movies, anime, manga, and even a crossover or two, who knew that Monkey Punch's well dressed expert thief would come so far? On a related note, Maurice Leblanc created a novel series dealing with the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin, and, hence the title, this particular anime deals with his grandson.
The anime, as I said follows the exploits of a band of thieves, and they're pretty damn good too. The leader of this outfit is Arsene Lupin III, who is the most wanted thief. However, he's not your common brand thief: when stealing, he makes it announced that he'll do so to whoever's owning or guarding them, and he's generally successful in that aspect. At times, however, he may foil the plans of more serious crimes, showing that he has some honor as a thief to uphold. He's never alone in his works, and he is assisted by his closest ally: a skilled marksman and chain smoker named Daiskue Jigen. Occasionally helping him, but much less often, is Goemon Ishikawa XIII, whose blade is said to cut just about anything. With him being the 13th generation of the renegade samurai, his skills as a swordsman isn't for show, and he is flashy, yet efficient, in whatever he cuts down. Even with him being loyal to Lupin, the master thief still annoys him with his antics from time to time. The last member to appear is Fujiko Mine, Lupin's love interest. While his infatuation with women is seen as Lupin's weakness, this is especially true whenever she's around. She is perhaps the only one to rival Lupin in her skills in thievery and disguise. For her own interest, she can be seen working for, or against him given the situation. She is usually forgiven for double crossing him, but she is the one making off with most, or ALL of the loot when the job is done. Even so, she does care for him in some way.
However, there are people after them as well during their exploits, and one of them will always be Inspector Koichi Zenigata, and he has a bit of a history in chasing around Lupin (though he is never truly successful in capturing him.) He is usually the one seen getting hurt a lot for comedic reasons, but despite their initial meeting, he does hold some form of respect for him, which is why he never go as far as to kill the mastermind. Even with his bitterness, they are shown at times to be on much friendlier terms, though on his part, he is rather reluctant to exhibit this, unlike Lupin. If he and the police aren't after him, other thieves are, and usually with the intent to do away with him. Lupin has his hands full, and hopefully with his crew and even Zenigata helping him at times, he might just survive!
The anime is indeed a lengthy series, broken up into 3 parts. Lupin III Part I had 23 episodes made. This is the shortest of the trio. The longest one happens to be Lupin III Part II, which had 155 episodes made. Concluding this is Lupin III Part III, which had only 50 episodes, which is 1/3 of its previous series. All made in the TMS studio, the only one licensed was Lupin III Part II, and this was done by Geneon Entertainment. This one featured him in his signature red jacket. Also, contrary to most media, it has all the key players assembled in the initial episode, in which they know each other personally. Aside from this, there were films made, one of which is more like a predecessor to Part I, rightfully addressed as the Pilot Film, but due to budget issues, this film was never released in theaters, and was later packaged as part of Lupin III's Secret Files. In addition there were two versions of this, but this, too, is most likely not licensed. There was another title that spoke of the origins of how they met, titled Lupin III Episode 0, which was a TV special. Again, not licensed under US, this wasn't dubbed either, but it was told through Jigen's perspective on how they first came together. Fujiko and Lupin are after an artifact for their own reasons, while Jigen, part of the Mafia then, guarding it. Goemon is after ancestral treasure, and Zenigata is pursuing after Fujiko, as a Japanese police officer back then. This special shows how they first met, and what became the trigger to Zenigata starting his relentless pursuit against Lupin.
There were plenty of theatrical films made as well, as well as a TV specials. One of those I've mentioned before is Lupin III vs. Detective Conan, a movie where Lupin and co. cross paths with the young, but tenacious Conan Edogawa of the Detective Conan/Case Closed series. Adding to his fame are, of course, manga, OVAs and video games, the last title seeing US soil thus far being Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King, which faced mixed reviews overall. While licensed in US, this series was dubbed by various companies, three of which being Streamline Pictures, Funimation Entertainment and Pioneer Entertainment. The titular thief is voiced by:
The anime, as I said follows the exploits of a band of thieves, and they're pretty damn good too. The leader of this outfit is Arsene Lupin III, who is the most wanted thief. However, he's not your common brand thief: when stealing, he makes it announced that he'll do so to whoever's owning or guarding them, and he's generally successful in that aspect. At times, however, he may foil the plans of more serious crimes, showing that he has some honor as a thief to uphold. He's never alone in his works, and he is assisted by his closest ally: a skilled marksman and chain smoker named Daiskue Jigen. Occasionally helping him, but much less often, is Goemon Ishikawa XIII, whose blade is said to cut just about anything. With him being the 13th generation of the renegade samurai, his skills as a swordsman isn't for show, and he is flashy, yet efficient, in whatever he cuts down. Even with him being loyal to Lupin, the master thief still annoys him with his antics from time to time. The last member to appear is Fujiko Mine, Lupin's love interest. While his infatuation with women is seen as Lupin's weakness, this is especially true whenever she's around. She is perhaps the only one to rival Lupin in her skills in thievery and disguise. For her own interest, she can be seen working for, or against him given the situation. She is usually forgiven for double crossing him, but she is the one making off with most, or ALL of the loot when the job is done. Even so, she does care for him in some way.
However, there are people after them as well during their exploits, and one of them will always be Inspector Koichi Zenigata, and he has a bit of a history in chasing around Lupin (though he is never truly successful in capturing him.) He is usually the one seen getting hurt a lot for comedic reasons, but despite their initial meeting, he does hold some form of respect for him, which is why he never go as far as to kill the mastermind. Even with his bitterness, they are shown at times to be on much friendlier terms, though on his part, he is rather reluctant to exhibit this, unlike Lupin. If he and the police aren't after him, other thieves are, and usually with the intent to do away with him. Lupin has his hands full, and hopefully with his crew and even Zenigata helping him at times, he might just survive!
The anime is indeed a lengthy series, broken up into 3 parts. Lupin III Part I had 23 episodes made. This is the shortest of the trio. The longest one happens to be Lupin III Part II, which had 155 episodes made. Concluding this is Lupin III Part III, which had only 50 episodes, which is 1/3 of its previous series. All made in the TMS studio, the only one licensed was Lupin III Part II, and this was done by Geneon Entertainment. This one featured him in his signature red jacket. Also, contrary to most media, it has all the key players assembled in the initial episode, in which they know each other personally. Aside from this, there were films made, one of which is more like a predecessor to Part I, rightfully addressed as the Pilot Film, but due to budget issues, this film was never released in theaters, and was later packaged as part of Lupin III's Secret Files. In addition there were two versions of this, but this, too, is most likely not licensed. There was another title that spoke of the origins of how they met, titled Lupin III Episode 0, which was a TV special. Again, not licensed under US, this wasn't dubbed either, but it was told through Jigen's perspective on how they first came together. Fujiko and Lupin are after an artifact for their own reasons, while Jigen, part of the Mafia then, guarding it. Goemon is after ancestral treasure, and Zenigata is pursuing after Fujiko, as a Japanese police officer back then. This special shows how they first met, and what became the trigger to Zenigata starting his relentless pursuit against Lupin.
There were plenty of theatrical films made as well, as well as a TV specials. One of those I've mentioned before is Lupin III vs. Detective Conan, a movie where Lupin and co. cross paths with the young, but tenacious Conan Edogawa of the Detective Conan/Case Closed series. Adding to his fame are, of course, manga, OVAs and video games, the last title seeing US soil thus far being Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King, which faced mixed reviews overall. While licensed in US, this series was dubbed by various companies, three of which being Streamline Pictures, Funimation Entertainment and Pioneer Entertainment. The titular thief is voiced by:
- Under Streamline Pictures: Bob Bergen
- Under Funimation Entertainment: Sonny Strait (voice of One Piece's Usopp and Dragon Ball Z's Krillin)
- Under Pioneer Entertainment: Tony Oliver (voice of Vandread's Hibiki Tokai and Tenchi Muyo GXP's Seina Yamada)
2011/10/09
CLXVII: "Suzuka"
I spoke of this earlier when I reviewed Peach Girl, but Suzuka deals with the similar concept, but with a different setting and different flow of problems. Unlike Peach Girl, this title has a more sporty theme to it, something that titles like The Prince of Tennis and Hajime no Ippo feature heavily.
Suzuka centers on Yamato Akitsuki, a boy who moved from a rural prefecture to the big city in Tokyo, and Suzuka Asahina, the titular character and his next door neighbor. Falling in love with her, he decided to join the track team in hopes that he would impress her, with Suzuka herself being a skilled high jumper. Through the course of this however, he soon discovers his talent as a sprinter, with potential to become the top runner of the 100-yard dash. However, mixing romance and sports isn't easy, and with his log-time perverted friend Yasunobu Hattori, as well as other girls fitting in the picture, tension standing between Yamato and Suzuka builds up pretty fast. Will he ever get his feelings for her reciprocated? He has to worry about this while trying to carry out his school, sport and social life.
Aside from the change in plot, and the difference in characters, it shares a few traits seen in Peach Girl. In fact, with the addition of sports, it's the exact same genre as the other. Also made in Studio Comet, this anime lasts for 26 episodes, premiering on the second half of 2005, which is interesting given that Peach Girl was shown on the first half of the same year. Likewise, it was also licensed under Funimation Entertainemt, and was featured on their channel, it's time slot not that far from Peach Girl's. Aside from the exploits of the track and field team, it had the same dose of romantic comedy/drama, making it another close to home, and somewhat emotional, anime title. Yamato is voiced by Todd Haberkorn in the Dub, with Suzuka voiced by Leah Clark.
Suzuka is another anime that just didn't click like most do, yet, I still give it a bit more fanfare that of Peach Girl, giving it an 8 of 10. Even with that, I do comment it for being a breath of fresh air from the usual zany, chaotic anime.
Suzuka centers on Yamato Akitsuki, a boy who moved from a rural prefecture to the big city in Tokyo, and Suzuka Asahina, the titular character and his next door neighbor. Falling in love with her, he decided to join the track team in hopes that he would impress her, with Suzuka herself being a skilled high jumper. Through the course of this however, he soon discovers his talent as a sprinter, with potential to become the top runner of the 100-yard dash. However, mixing romance and sports isn't easy, and with his log-time perverted friend Yasunobu Hattori, as well as other girls fitting in the picture, tension standing between Yamato and Suzuka builds up pretty fast. Will he ever get his feelings for her reciprocated? He has to worry about this while trying to carry out his school, sport and social life.
Aside from the change in plot, and the difference in characters, it shares a few traits seen in Peach Girl. In fact, with the addition of sports, it's the exact same genre as the other. Also made in Studio Comet, this anime lasts for 26 episodes, premiering on the second half of 2005, which is interesting given that Peach Girl was shown on the first half of the same year. Likewise, it was also licensed under Funimation Entertainemt, and was featured on their channel, it's time slot not that far from Peach Girl's. Aside from the exploits of the track and field team, it had the same dose of romantic comedy/drama, making it another close to home, and somewhat emotional, anime title. Yamato is voiced by Todd Haberkorn in the Dub, with Suzuka voiced by Leah Clark.
Suzuka is another anime that just didn't click like most do, yet, I still give it a bit more fanfare that of Peach Girl, giving it an 8 of 10. Even with that, I do comment it for being a breath of fresh air from the usual zany, chaotic anime.
CLXVI: "Peach Girl"
Let's see... there are titles that I watch sometimes, and even after watching the entire series, just doesn't have me all that interested. Then again, half of those aren't even meant for my eyes, when I think about it. Peach Girl is definitely on that roster, but I'm not bashing the title, it's just wasn't something that wowed me.
Peach Girl deals with Momo Adachi. I suspect those who have actually seen the show perceived her as a Ganguro, because of her tanned skin. Well, to clear up all assumptions, she is a tan girl, but not for that reason. Anyway, the anime centers on her little love triangle between two boys she falls for: Kazuya Toujigamori, or Toji: the guy she loved for many years, and Kairi Okayasu, who has this disdainful reputation of being a playboy, but is actually carefree, yet perceptive. Adding fuel to the fire is Sae Kashiwagi, who's like a complete opposite to Momo in terms of skin and nature. Amidst rumors and the love conflict between the two guys, Momo has a tough school life ahead, even more so because of her unique skin tone.
The TV anime went for 25 episodes, aired in 2005 overseas. Studio Comet created the anime and it was Funimation Entertainment that licensed it, even appearing for a while on their channel here in the US. Full of comedy, romance and drama, this isn't the usual anime filled with over the top antics and hilarity. Watching this, it felt like someone taking the typical love troubles of high school and animating it, which they did a good job of doing. Sadly, I just wasn't into it, yet I still managed to complete the title regardless. Though different, I watched the anime Suzuka alongside this, and felt that they were, in some way, similar. But I digress. The titular character Momo (the name translating to peach), is voiced by Kate Oxley in the English dub. If you're into the romantic dramas, or are somehow entertained by how anime portray normal school life, this title is up your ally, I guess.
Like I said, it didn't click to me, but I'll give recognition where its due, and give about 7 of 10 for Peach Girl. It's a little too lacking for my tastes, but hell, anime has its variety as well.
Peach Girl deals with Momo Adachi. I suspect those who have actually seen the show perceived her as a Ganguro, because of her tanned skin. Well, to clear up all assumptions, she is a tan girl, but not for that reason. Anyway, the anime centers on her little love triangle between two boys she falls for: Kazuya Toujigamori, or Toji: the guy she loved for many years, and Kairi Okayasu, who has this disdainful reputation of being a playboy, but is actually carefree, yet perceptive. Adding fuel to the fire is Sae Kashiwagi, who's like a complete opposite to Momo in terms of skin and nature. Amidst rumors and the love conflict between the two guys, Momo has a tough school life ahead, even more so because of her unique skin tone.
The TV anime went for 25 episodes, aired in 2005 overseas. Studio Comet created the anime and it was Funimation Entertainment that licensed it, even appearing for a while on their channel here in the US. Full of comedy, romance and drama, this isn't the usual anime filled with over the top antics and hilarity. Watching this, it felt like someone taking the typical love troubles of high school and animating it, which they did a good job of doing. Sadly, I just wasn't into it, yet I still managed to complete the title regardless. Though different, I watched the anime Suzuka alongside this, and felt that they were, in some way, similar. But I digress. The titular character Momo (the name translating to peach), is voiced by Kate Oxley in the English dub. If you're into the romantic dramas, or are somehow entertained by how anime portray normal school life, this title is up your ally, I guess.
Like I said, it didn't click to me, but I'll give recognition where its due, and give about 7 of 10 for Peach Girl. It's a little too lacking for my tastes, but hell, anime has its variety as well.
A break from reviews
Hey, me again, and this isn't a review or event post. No, this is more like a heads up for general in anime. Now the batch this time around has me excited, for good reasons.
For starters, in case you didn't know, the new anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will be premiering a week from now on CW, I forget the toon block it's on, but it'll be next Saturday. For a while, Konami has made and released the new cards for the trading card game, back when Zexal was still in Japan. I can't wait to see what they do with this series.
Speaking of long overdue titles, one that I have reviewed back in post CXVIII, named Rosario + Vampire, is seeing a Region 1 Dub release, thanks to Funimation. It's been backed up for a while, but some time ago, they did make an official dub trailer. Skeptical as to whether this is going to be put on TV, but it's enough to know that it will be on DVD and Blu-Ray, and it'll be for both seasons, if I read correctly. While some thought that it would release around Halloween (which would be ironically fitting, given the characters involved), that doesn't appear to be the case. No, we're looking at a late 2011 release, December to be precise, so chances are this will make a great gift to fans of the anime.
Another rising title is one of the Gundam franchise. I had a feeling they might, but I never thought that Bandai would be so eager to do so, nor did I suspect Sunrise, who makes the anime, to hatch a new title at us. Being a fan of the Gundam franchise in general, I was kinda excited when I heard talk of Gundam AGE. I thought that it would be a joke at first, and one thought it would be equal to the SD Gundam series, but as I seen recently, it's not the case. And frankly, I'm itching to see where it goes, because like G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (which I've yet to cover), it has it's uniqueness that strays from the rest, but I'll let you find out what that is. I will say though that it takes elements from other titles (like the recent Gundam 00) and is developed by the gaming studio Level 5, which you may have heard of in games like Dragon Quest VIII. People are bashing on it already, even though Episode 1 never surfaced yet (who does that!?), but I personally am glad that even after 30 years, Sunrise throws another title to show.
Next, though I can't say I'm as excited for this as I am for the other 3, Hetalia is coming a month before Rosario + Vampire, also under Funimation. After hearing the terror behind its fanbase, I was reluctant to even look at the subbed episodes. Officially, it's called Hetalia: Axis Powers, but I heard talk that the title may change to Hetalia: World Series, but that maybe because the third season onward went by that name. Not how I would expect one would mix the history of the world with anime, but the show itself isn't awful. And if they're talking about characters with accents in the dub, I can't wait to see how they pull that off.
There are others that are coming soon too, but only a few of them seem to interest me, frankly. More titles I'm looking forward to are Fate/Zero (the prequel to Fate/Stay Night), Shakugan no Shana III, and though this may come back to bite me in the ass, Chibi Devil! As usual, if I watch them successfully, I'll post my take on it with any need-to-know info as time passes. For now, this concludes my little break from reviews. Until the next title comes, otaku!
For starters, in case you didn't know, the new anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will be premiering a week from now on CW, I forget the toon block it's on, but it'll be next Saturday. For a while, Konami has made and released the new cards for the trading card game, back when Zexal was still in Japan. I can't wait to see what they do with this series.
Speaking of long overdue titles, one that I have reviewed back in post CXVIII, named Rosario + Vampire, is seeing a Region 1 Dub release, thanks to Funimation. It's been backed up for a while, but some time ago, they did make an official dub trailer. Skeptical as to whether this is going to be put on TV, but it's enough to know that it will be on DVD and Blu-Ray, and it'll be for both seasons, if I read correctly. While some thought that it would release around Halloween (which would be ironically fitting, given the characters involved), that doesn't appear to be the case. No, we're looking at a late 2011 release, December to be precise, so chances are this will make a great gift to fans of the anime.
Another rising title is one of the Gundam franchise. I had a feeling they might, but I never thought that Bandai would be so eager to do so, nor did I suspect Sunrise, who makes the anime, to hatch a new title at us. Being a fan of the Gundam franchise in general, I was kinda excited when I heard talk of Gundam AGE. I thought that it would be a joke at first, and one thought it would be equal to the SD Gundam series, but as I seen recently, it's not the case. And frankly, I'm itching to see where it goes, because like G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (which I've yet to cover), it has it's uniqueness that strays from the rest, but I'll let you find out what that is. I will say though that it takes elements from other titles (like the recent Gundam 00) and is developed by the gaming studio Level 5, which you may have heard of in games like Dragon Quest VIII. People are bashing on it already, even though Episode 1 never surfaced yet (who does that!?), but I personally am glad that even after 30 years, Sunrise throws another title to show.
Next, though I can't say I'm as excited for this as I am for the other 3, Hetalia is coming a month before Rosario + Vampire, also under Funimation. After hearing the terror behind its fanbase, I was reluctant to even look at the subbed episodes. Officially, it's called Hetalia: Axis Powers, but I heard talk that the title may change to Hetalia: World Series, but that maybe because the third season onward went by that name. Not how I would expect one would mix the history of the world with anime, but the show itself isn't awful. And if they're talking about characters with accents in the dub, I can't wait to see how they pull that off.
There are others that are coming soon too, but only a few of them seem to interest me, frankly. More titles I'm looking forward to are Fate/Zero (the prequel to Fate/Stay Night), Shakugan no Shana III, and though this may come back to bite me in the ass, Chibi Devil! As usual, if I watch them successfully, I'll post my take on it with any need-to-know info as time passes. For now, this concludes my little break from reviews. Until the next title comes, otaku!
2011/10/02
CLXV: "Working!!"
I am not kidding on the title. It is as it says, Working!! deals with, well, work. Well, to be more precise, it deals with the workplace of unusual employees in the Wagnaria family restaurant. Another title that, to me, came from outta nowhere, starting as a 4koma, then a Square Enix manga, and now an anime.
A slice of life comedy, there isn't much plot to it, when you look back on that fact. The anime deals with Sota Takanashi, a 16 year-old high school student who is hired as a new recruit to the Wagnaria restaurant, after running into the slightly older, but shorter Popura Taneshima. From then on he meets, and works alongside a rather unique group of people, while living his life normally. Well, that's all there is to say about it mostly, as it follows pretty much the lives of those working in Wagnaria, as well as the comedic antics that ensues.
Spawning 13 episodes, it was made in A-1 Pictures, and licensed by NIS America for US distribution, but under the title Wagnaria!! The title is recent, completed only a year ago, but it's second season, Working'!! (with an apostrophe, in case you didn't see it) is currently being planned out. As it is a young title, there isn't English voices yet, at least not in record, but with NIS licensing it, that is doubtful for now. Watching this anime, you'll see a lot of personalities, from the androphobic to the yakuza-like personality (that is Kyoko).
If you're not a fan of the slice of life genre, then this probably isn't for you. But in perspective, Working!! or Wagnaria!! gets a 7 of 10.
A slice of life comedy, there isn't much plot to it, when you look back on that fact. The anime deals with Sota Takanashi, a 16 year-old high school student who is hired as a new recruit to the Wagnaria restaurant, after running into the slightly older, but shorter Popura Taneshima. From then on he meets, and works alongside a rather unique group of people, while living his life normally. Well, that's all there is to say about it mostly, as it follows pretty much the lives of those working in Wagnaria, as well as the comedic antics that ensues.
Spawning 13 episodes, it was made in A-1 Pictures, and licensed by NIS America for US distribution, but under the title Wagnaria!! The title is recent, completed only a year ago, but it's second season, Working'!! (with an apostrophe, in case you didn't see it) is currently being planned out. As it is a young title, there isn't English voices yet, at least not in record, but with NIS licensing it, that is doubtful for now. Watching this anime, you'll see a lot of personalities, from the androphobic to the yakuza-like personality (that is Kyoko).
If you're not a fan of the slice of life genre, then this probably isn't for you. But in perspective, Working!! or Wagnaria!! gets a 7 of 10.
CLXIV: "Dirty Pair"
I almost can't believe myself for not covering this before (and I thought I did, actually), but Dirty Pair is not as dirty as the title suggests. In fact, how that name even came to be is a bit humorous... mainly because of what they do.
The world of Dirty Pair is set in the future, between years 2138-2143, to be exact, and humanity has migrated across thousands of star systems in space. To serve the regulator role, the World Welfare Works Association, commonly referenced as WWWA or 3WA, assists the United Galactica Federation (UG) in handling conflicts of the planetary scale, for profit. Their means of assistance is sending agents from 3WA, who go by the titles trouble consultants. Consultants that solves crimes and mysteries are from the Criminal Investigations section, and our protagonists just happens to come from this very section.
The titular duo consists of Trouble Consultant Team 234: Kei and Yuri, code named Lovely Angels. However, almost every mission they go on doesn't end up with "lovely" results. Though they succeed in their work, almost all of them end in disaster, which is there the title comes in: due to leaving destruction in their work, they are nicknamed the Dirty Pair, a name they resent very much. In addition, they also quarrel with each other from time to time, but they remain partners through the thick of it all.
The series is vast in a sense, spawning comics, manga, light novels and anime. The anime of Dirty Pair was made in the Sunrise studio, much like the Gundam metaseries. While dubbed by different companies such as ADV and Streamline Pictures, all works were licensed for US under Nozomi Entertainment, the product division formerly know as The Right Stuf International. The TV anime ran for 24 episodes, with the addition of 2 more episodes in the VHS release. An OVA, titled Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia, was made in 1985, with the film Dirty Pair: Project Eden done the following year. In the years 1988-1989, an OVA series was made, lasting 10 episodes. Succeeding this was the 1990 OVA Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy. Lastly, in 1994, the final entry Dirty Pair Flash was made, featuring a different take on the characters and plot. The major changes involved the designs, outfits and behaviors of Kei and Yuri, for they quarreled much frequent in comparison to the original anime, aside from wearing new and separate attire. In the original versions, they wore basically the same type of uniform, only sporting different colors, and this outfit appeared in an episode of Dirty Pair Flash, worn by someone else in the flashback of the character Iris.
Starting from the same time as the first OVA series, an original English manga was made called The Dirty Pair, published for US under Eclipse Comics and Dark Horse Comics, and generally dealt with the same characters. Kei and Yuri went by different voices dub wise, as Kei's voices were done by Lara Cody under Streamline, and Pamela Lauer under ADV. Likewise, Yuri was done by Wendee Lee under Streamline, and originally by Jessica Cavello under ADV, with Allison Sumrall replacing her. The dubbing for Dirty Pair Flash was also ADV's doing, with Kim Seiver as Yuri, and Sue Uli as Kei.
Dirty Pair is an oldie, but I loved it more or less. Trying to find all of it in English, however, will be a chore. In general, I call it an 8 of 10, and stands as one of my favorites in anime.
The world of Dirty Pair is set in the future, between years 2138-2143, to be exact, and humanity has migrated across thousands of star systems in space. To serve the regulator role, the World Welfare Works Association, commonly referenced as WWWA or 3WA, assists the United Galactica Federation (UG) in handling conflicts of the planetary scale, for profit. Their means of assistance is sending agents from 3WA, who go by the titles trouble consultants. Consultants that solves crimes and mysteries are from the Criminal Investigations section, and our protagonists just happens to come from this very section.
The titular duo consists of Trouble Consultant Team 234: Kei and Yuri, code named Lovely Angels. However, almost every mission they go on doesn't end up with "lovely" results. Though they succeed in their work, almost all of them end in disaster, which is there the title comes in: due to leaving destruction in their work, they are nicknamed the Dirty Pair, a name they resent very much. In addition, they also quarrel with each other from time to time, but they remain partners through the thick of it all.
The series is vast in a sense, spawning comics, manga, light novels and anime. The anime of Dirty Pair was made in the Sunrise studio, much like the Gundam metaseries. While dubbed by different companies such as ADV and Streamline Pictures, all works were licensed for US under Nozomi Entertainment, the product division formerly know as The Right Stuf International. The TV anime ran for 24 episodes, with the addition of 2 more episodes in the VHS release. An OVA, titled Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia, was made in 1985, with the film Dirty Pair: Project Eden done the following year. In the years 1988-1989, an OVA series was made, lasting 10 episodes. Succeeding this was the 1990 OVA Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy. Lastly, in 1994, the final entry Dirty Pair Flash was made, featuring a different take on the characters and plot. The major changes involved the designs, outfits and behaviors of Kei and Yuri, for they quarreled much frequent in comparison to the original anime, aside from wearing new and separate attire. In the original versions, they wore basically the same type of uniform, only sporting different colors, and this outfit appeared in an episode of Dirty Pair Flash, worn by someone else in the flashback of the character Iris.
Starting from the same time as the first OVA series, an original English manga was made called The Dirty Pair, published for US under Eclipse Comics and Dark Horse Comics, and generally dealt with the same characters. Kei and Yuri went by different voices dub wise, as Kei's voices were done by Lara Cody under Streamline, and Pamela Lauer under ADV. Likewise, Yuri was done by Wendee Lee under Streamline, and originally by Jessica Cavello under ADV, with Allison Sumrall replacing her. The dubbing for Dirty Pair Flash was also ADV's doing, with Kim Seiver as Yuri, and Sue Uli as Kei.
Dirty Pair is an oldie, but I loved it more or less. Trying to find all of it in English, however, will be a chore. In general, I call it an 8 of 10, and stands as one of my favorites in anime.
CLXIII: "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team"
Frankly we see for the majority of the Universal Century timeline Newtypes as the central characters for the story. Yet again branching from it comes Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, an OVA series set before, according to the timeline, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, even though production wise, this is succeeded by the popular Gundam Wing. This OVA series also deals with the One Year War period, viewed in the perspective of the average soldier.
You can say that the plot deals with star corssed lovers, and the story of 08th MS Team is a Gundam series take on Romeo and Juliet. Ensign Shiro Amada is the newly appointed commander of the titular unit under the Earth Federation Army. He is sent to Southeast Asia to assist in a guerrilla war against Zeon forces, who has on their side an experimental mobile suit and its pilot Aina Sahalin, someone Shiro knows thanks to a resuce in space. Realizing who the pilot is, Shiro is reluctant to fight her, which prompts the Earth Federation to arrest him for treason. Given one final chance, he must make a painful choice: lose to Zeon and not kill her, or side with the Earth Federation and lose someone important to him.
Created in the Sunrise studio, this OVA series featured 12 episodes in total, but only 11 were televised on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, with the final episode, an epilogue episode, included in the DVD release with the others. In addition, a compilation film Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Miller's Report featured a new character, investigator Alice Miller, and the story more or less focuses on the court martial of Shiro Amada for his actions towards the enemy. While it had additional footage, it also borrowed those of the OAV episodes to use as evidence against him. While this scenario isn't exactly unique (since the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a similar scenario, which was repeated), it showed the follies of personal feelings affecting a soldier's judgement during war. Shiro Amada is voiced by Steve Staley in English, while Aina Sahalin is voiced by Emilie Brown. As such, the machines would be featured in games like Gundam Battle Assault and Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo, and even Gunpla models were made afterwards. This series would also premier the Ground Combat Gundam, a model rarely seen in the Gundam universe in general.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team gets a 7 of 10 from me, mainly because it was a fairly decent take from their usual works, though it does prove once more that romance and war don't go well hand in hand.
You can say that the plot deals with star corssed lovers, and the story of 08th MS Team is a Gundam series take on Romeo and Juliet. Ensign Shiro Amada is the newly appointed commander of the titular unit under the Earth Federation Army. He is sent to Southeast Asia to assist in a guerrilla war against Zeon forces, who has on their side an experimental mobile suit and its pilot Aina Sahalin, someone Shiro knows thanks to a resuce in space. Realizing who the pilot is, Shiro is reluctant to fight her, which prompts the Earth Federation to arrest him for treason. Given one final chance, he must make a painful choice: lose to Zeon and not kill her, or side with the Earth Federation and lose someone important to him.
Created in the Sunrise studio, this OVA series featured 12 episodes in total, but only 11 were televised on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, with the final episode, an epilogue episode, included in the DVD release with the others. In addition, a compilation film Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Miller's Report featured a new character, investigator Alice Miller, and the story more or less focuses on the court martial of Shiro Amada for his actions towards the enemy. While it had additional footage, it also borrowed those of the OAV episodes to use as evidence against him. While this scenario isn't exactly unique (since the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a similar scenario, which was repeated), it showed the follies of personal feelings affecting a soldier's judgement during war. Shiro Amada is voiced by Steve Staley in English, while Aina Sahalin is voiced by Emilie Brown. As such, the machines would be featured in games like Gundam Battle Assault and Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo, and even Gunpla models were made afterwards. This series would also premier the Ground Combat Gundam, a model rarely seen in the Gundam universe in general.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team gets a 7 of 10 from me, mainly because it was a fairly decent take from their usual works, though it does prove once more that romance and war don't go well hand in hand.
2011/10/01
CLXII: "Abenobashi"
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi was another odd one for me to look at. I remember seeing this years ago, and until now, had no words to describe it. The context of the anime seemed so absurd back then, but then again, it was back when I was actually sane as a common human (According to a good friend, being an anime fan = insanity.)
Anyway, Abenobashi has a bit of a background, but to save time and strength (and because I'm lazy), I'll jump straight into the plot at hand. The anime deals with childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi, and the title is actually the name of a commercial district in Osaka, where the story takes place. Through an accident, they find themselves in a sword and scorcery world, something akin to perhaps Dungeons and Dragons or Tower of Duraga. While they try to return home, they experience other worlds, most likely manifested through the otaku interest of Sasshi. Their quest is that of a bildungsroman at best, as it shows the growth of the protagonist, due to him unwilling to return home. All I can say is: strange, strange, strange...
Abenobashi saw TV airings via the channel G4, a channel that originally had video games as a focal point. Created in the Gainax and Madhouse studios, it was licensed for US by ADV, which is no longer active. The series itself isn't all that lengthy in general, lasting only 13 episodes, which ran from April to June 2002, the manga beginning and ending the same year. Sasshi is voiced by Luci Christian in the dub, while Arumi is voiced by Jessica Boone.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is an adventurous comedy dealing with the supernatrual. Still trying to butt heads with it, I'll say a 6 of 10, maybe 7.
Anyway, Abenobashi has a bit of a background, but to save time and strength (and because I'm lazy), I'll jump straight into the plot at hand. The anime deals with childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi, and the title is actually the name of a commercial district in Osaka, where the story takes place. Through an accident, they find themselves in a sword and scorcery world, something akin to perhaps Dungeons and Dragons or Tower of Duraga. While they try to return home, they experience other worlds, most likely manifested through the otaku interest of Sasshi. Their quest is that of a bildungsroman at best, as it shows the growth of the protagonist, due to him unwilling to return home. All I can say is: strange, strange, strange...
Abenobashi saw TV airings via the channel G4, a channel that originally had video games as a focal point. Created in the Gainax and Madhouse studios, it was licensed for US by ADV, which is no longer active. The series itself isn't all that lengthy in general, lasting only 13 episodes, which ran from April to June 2002, the manga beginning and ending the same year. Sasshi is voiced by Luci Christian in the dub, while Arumi is voiced by Jessica Boone.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is an adventurous comedy dealing with the supernatrual. Still trying to butt heads with it, I'll say a 6 of 10, maybe 7.
CLXI: "Girls Bravo"
Oh boy. A title that has fanservice as its major trait, Girls Bravo is a title not meant for young ones. Another harem anime, don't be surprised if you see any wackiness with the characters throughout the series.
Yukinari Sasaki is a boy short for his age, with a girlish face and weak physique to boot. His biggest dilemma is this: thanks to being frequently bullied by girls at a young age, Yukinari has this condition where his fear of women causes rashes upon contact. Thanks to a misunderstanding involving Kirie Kojima, he gets knocked into a different world called Seiren, where the population of males is less that 10% (meaning is pretty scarce!!) He meets in this world Miharu Sena Kanaka, and probably thanks to her being from Seiren, she is the only girl he doesn't get a reaction from upon contact. After a rather dangerous encounter (whereas other Seiren residents chased him), he is transported back to Earth, alongside Miharu, and she must stay with them in the meantime. However, with characters like the perverted and rich Kazuharu Fukuyama, and other girls after him, this life comes with its troubles, for sure.
Full of ecchi, and full of gaggers, I say this anime is wild, even for harem standards. Originally 11 episodes, 13 more were made as the second season. Created in studio AIC, it was originally a title licensed under Geneon Entertainment for US release, but was another title picked up by Funimation in 2010, confirmed by a posting on Twitter by Funimation Entertainment. The content is more of the soft, but raunchy side of things, featuring it's tidbit of naughtiness, perhaps more of which than normally seen in harem titles. And while the infamous fansubs try to censor most of it, it got it's Ages 17+ rating for a reason: almost every episode, you can expect to find someone nude, even during the opening sequence. The lecherous behavior of Fukuyama just adds to it, among other things in the title. Yuri Lowenthal voices Yukinari, while Michelle Ruff provides the voice for Miharu in the English dub, which is pretty much with very little censor, in case you're wondering.
Girls Bravo is like "the pervert's anime", in a sense. Still, I'll say an 8 of 10 will do for this title.
Yukinari Sasaki is a boy short for his age, with a girlish face and weak physique to boot. His biggest dilemma is this: thanks to being frequently bullied by girls at a young age, Yukinari has this condition where his fear of women causes rashes upon contact. Thanks to a misunderstanding involving Kirie Kojima, he gets knocked into a different world called Seiren, where the population of males is less that 10% (meaning is pretty scarce!!) He meets in this world Miharu Sena Kanaka, and probably thanks to her being from Seiren, she is the only girl he doesn't get a reaction from upon contact. After a rather dangerous encounter (whereas other Seiren residents chased him), he is transported back to Earth, alongside Miharu, and she must stay with them in the meantime. However, with characters like the perverted and rich Kazuharu Fukuyama, and other girls after him, this life comes with its troubles, for sure.
Full of ecchi, and full of gaggers, I say this anime is wild, even for harem standards. Originally 11 episodes, 13 more were made as the second season. Created in studio AIC, it was originally a title licensed under Geneon Entertainment for US release, but was another title picked up by Funimation in 2010, confirmed by a posting on Twitter by Funimation Entertainment. The content is more of the soft, but raunchy side of things, featuring it's tidbit of naughtiness, perhaps more of which than normally seen in harem titles. And while the infamous fansubs try to censor most of it, it got it's Ages 17+ rating for a reason: almost every episode, you can expect to find someone nude, even during the opening sequence. The lecherous behavior of Fukuyama just adds to it, among other things in the title. Yuri Lowenthal voices Yukinari, while Michelle Ruff provides the voice for Miharu in the English dub, which is pretty much with very little censor, in case you're wondering.
Girls Bravo is like "the pervert's anime", in a sense. Still, I'll say an 8 of 10 will do for this title.
2011/09/27
CLX: "FLCL"
Another one that qualifies as one of the shortest anime out there to date, FLCL, or Fooly Cooly, is a sleeper that was surprisingly eyecatching. A comedy dealing with a kid acting too mature for his own age, a space pirate that rides a Vespa scooter, and a robot praised as some form of God... this anime was surreal, but worth the buzz.
FLCL revolves around Naota Nandaba, who acts all nonchalant and mature, despite being only 12 years old. His mundane life in Masabe comes to a halt when a woman riding a yellow Vespa scooter runs him over, on top of performing CPR and hitting him AGAIN with a vintage guitar. Nicknamed the Vespa Woman, Haruhara Haruko is a space pirate, who decides to move in as their house maid. Though typical of space pirates, she has another motive, for she seeks Atomsk. To fulfill her duty, she uses Naota in a bizarre way: despite having a small head, he has this uncanny trait of having anything pulled from it, be it a guitar, a robot, or whatever it may be. His seemingly uninteresting life will be taken for a ride.
Again, a short anime, this one lasts only 6 episodes, and was shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Funimation licensed this rather brief anime series for the US, and generally, the music score of the series is pretty much centered on rock from start to finish (not that I have anything against it, it's kinda pleasing to hear, imo.) Every episode seems to have a certain mechanical menace emerging, with Naota serving as a portal for them to come through. Aside from this, there are random scenes involved as well, some of which taking a comic element. Much like Evangelion, FLCL was done in part with Star Child Records, and was made in the studios of Gainax and Production I.G., both of which having a hand in Neon Genesis Evangelion as well: Gainax behind the series, and Production I.G. with the film Evangelion: Death and Rebirth. Naota is voiced by Barbara Goodson, and Haruko is voiced by Kari Wahlgren in the dub.
FLCL is, like I said before, one of the shortest series around, but entertaining nonetheless. I say a solid 7 of 10 in my book goes to this title.
FLCL revolves around Naota Nandaba, who acts all nonchalant and mature, despite being only 12 years old. His mundane life in Masabe comes to a halt when a woman riding a yellow Vespa scooter runs him over, on top of performing CPR and hitting him AGAIN with a vintage guitar. Nicknamed the Vespa Woman, Haruhara Haruko is a space pirate, who decides to move in as their house maid. Though typical of space pirates, she has another motive, for she seeks Atomsk. To fulfill her duty, she uses Naota in a bizarre way: despite having a small head, he has this uncanny trait of having anything pulled from it, be it a guitar, a robot, or whatever it may be. His seemingly uninteresting life will be taken for a ride.
Again, a short anime, this one lasts only 6 episodes, and was shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Funimation licensed this rather brief anime series for the US, and generally, the music score of the series is pretty much centered on rock from start to finish (not that I have anything against it, it's kinda pleasing to hear, imo.) Every episode seems to have a certain mechanical menace emerging, with Naota serving as a portal for them to come through. Aside from this, there are random scenes involved as well, some of which taking a comic element. Much like Evangelion, FLCL was done in part with Star Child Records, and was made in the studios of Gainax and Production I.G., both of which having a hand in Neon Genesis Evangelion as well: Gainax behind the series, and Production I.G. with the film Evangelion: Death and Rebirth. Naota is voiced by Barbara Goodson, and Haruko is voiced by Kari Wahlgren in the dub.
FLCL is, like I said before, one of the shortest series around, but entertaining nonetheless. I say a solid 7 of 10 in my book goes to this title.
2011/09/22
CLIX: "MM!"
Okay, I'm at a loss here. You remember like many posts back, I literally degraded Colorful in post XII (12)? Turns out there's another anime of the sort, though this doesn't resort to perverted vignettes. No, in a sense, the anime MM! is beyond perverted than that.
For what I can gather, Taro Sado is a masochist (yeah, didn't expect this coming so soon, did ya?) Tagging alongside his male buddy Tatsukichi Hayama, he attends high school as normal when something interesting happens. For the first time, he actually falls in love with a girl... well someone cross-dressed as a girl. However, to properly confess to "her", he must find a way to be cured of his masochism. To this end, he is told to go, by his friend, to the Second Volunteering Club for help. He meets the self-proclaimed God, Mio Isurugi and the distant Arashiko Yuno. From there the hilarity (or catastrophe, pending on how you see things) ensues...
Let me just say that as an anime blogger, if I had seen this title back when I started, this would have made me quit anime. That said, compared to other perverted anime and hentai, I have to say that an animation dealing with a masochist is a first for me. MM! is a short one, lasting only 12 episodes, and it was made in studio AT-X, licensed by Sentai Filmworks for US, but it is subbed only. This title was made just last year, finished before 2011, yet the manga, which has been active since 2008, is still ongoing. As far as anime type, it seems to be your typical romantic comedy and harem, plus ecchi, so fanservice is probably here-and-there in the anime. Though saying this now would mean nothing, but this one isn't meant for young viewers to see, unless you like comical situations involving Taro's fetish, among other things. To add, this title references other anime as well, some of which are dead giveaways.
I almost wanted to drag this down grade-wise as far as I did Colorful, but the air about it feels different from the other that I can't bring myself to do it. Even so, it's a title that didn't entertain me very much. I'm guessing a 5.9 of 10 should settle for MM!
For what I can gather, Taro Sado is a masochist (yeah, didn't expect this coming so soon, did ya?) Tagging alongside his male buddy Tatsukichi Hayama, he attends high school as normal when something interesting happens. For the first time, he actually falls in love with a girl... well someone cross-dressed as a girl. However, to properly confess to "her", he must find a way to be cured of his masochism. To this end, he is told to go, by his friend, to the Second Volunteering Club for help. He meets the self-proclaimed God, Mio Isurugi and the distant Arashiko Yuno. From there the hilarity (or catastrophe, pending on how you see things) ensues...
Let me just say that as an anime blogger, if I had seen this title back when I started, this would have made me quit anime. That said, compared to other perverted anime and hentai, I have to say that an animation dealing with a masochist is a first for me. MM! is a short one, lasting only 12 episodes, and it was made in studio AT-X, licensed by Sentai Filmworks for US, but it is subbed only. This title was made just last year, finished before 2011, yet the manga, which has been active since 2008, is still ongoing. As far as anime type, it seems to be your typical romantic comedy and harem, plus ecchi, so fanservice is probably here-and-there in the anime. Though saying this now would mean nothing, but this one isn't meant for young viewers to see, unless you like comical situations involving Taro's fetish, among other things. To add, this title references other anime as well, some of which are dead giveaways.
I almost wanted to drag this down grade-wise as far as I did Colorful, but the air about it feels different from the other that I can't bring myself to do it. Even so, it's a title that didn't entertain me very much. I'm guessing a 5.9 of 10 should settle for MM!
CLVIII: "Neon Genesis Evangelion"
What is there to say about Neon Genesis Evangelion? From an otaku's perspective, a lot, seeing as how this mere TV anime spawned other media based on it. Some recognize the anime as a failed result in merging two different religions, on top of blending it in an apocalyptic mecha. Even so, it found its fans.
After the Second Impact in the year 2000, the continent of Antarctica was badly damaged, and nearly half of the human population were wiped out. In the year 2015, life seems to continue as normal in what's left of the world... if it wasn't for a small yet major problem. Areas like Tokyo-3 is in a bind, thanks to malevolent beings called Angels, hellbent on wiping out humanity. With powers unknown to common man (like the AT Field), the United Nations (UN) seems to be powerless to stop them. The planet is doomed, or at least it would be. The people of NERV HQ, led by Commander Gendou Ikari, fights these beings in ways the UN can't, making them the last defense for planet Earth.
Called by Gendou after 3 long years, the protagonist Shinji Ikari is Gendou's son. Bitter at him for reasons explained later, he reluctantly becomes the pilot of the humanoid titan Evangelion Unit 01. As the story progresses, he encounters different Angels, and interacts with his allies, namely Captain Misato Kisaragi, and fellow "Children" pilots Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami. However, while he deals with haqnds-on combat with his Eva, he must also deal with his mental problems as well, should he wish to maintain control of (and understand) Eva 01.
The TV anime originally ran for 26 episodes, licensed for US under AEsir Holdings. Succeeding the 1996 anime were 2 movies: Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, and The End of Evangelion. People weren't thrilled with the original conclusion to the series, which was mainly why these two were conceived. After that, as well as tax issues Gainax dealt with, it was proposed years later that another series, called Rebuild of Evangelion, would be made. It was planned that 4 movies would be the series: the first 3 being a retelling of the anime, and the last featuring a new ending. So far, only 2 has been released from this series: Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, and Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance. Originally, they planned for all 4 to be out in 2007 and 2008, but only Eva 1.0 released in 2007, and Eva 2.0 released in 2009. As of now, the 3rd film is in progress. However, there are some differences in the movies that weren't originally there. For starters, as with nearly half of anime titles released in this period, Rebuild of Evangelion features 3D CG Animation. To add, and this is perhaps the main difference, it involves new scenes and characters, among which is Mari Illustrious Makinami And even Asuka features a different last name in the films (from Sohryu to Shikinami). The storyline of the first film is faithful at best, with designs for Rebuild striking a solid, but altered resemblance to the original. The changes happens in the second film, as the story is altered somewhat. Rebuild of Evangelion, at least the first 2 movies, have been dubbed already, licensed for US under Funimation. In all dub works, Shinji Ikari is voiced by Spike Spencer. In fact, his voice is one of the few that were unchanged in all Evangelion dub media, the other two being Asuka's (Tiffany Grant) and Misato's (Allison Keith).
Neon Genesis Evangelion was a mind trip in general, but not an awful one, just... hard to get at times. While the ending failed to meet my fancy, it became a name well known in the anime world for a reason, so in all, I say that the original series gets 7.8 of 10, while Rebuild of Evangelion, for the time being, gets 8.1 of 10. I can only wait to see how they end the series this time.
After the Second Impact in the year 2000, the continent of Antarctica was badly damaged, and nearly half of the human population were wiped out. In the year 2015, life seems to continue as normal in what's left of the world... if it wasn't for a small yet major problem. Areas like Tokyo-3 is in a bind, thanks to malevolent beings called Angels, hellbent on wiping out humanity. With powers unknown to common man (like the AT Field), the United Nations (UN) seems to be powerless to stop them. The planet is doomed, or at least it would be. The people of NERV HQ, led by Commander Gendou Ikari, fights these beings in ways the UN can't, making them the last defense for planet Earth.
Called by Gendou after 3 long years, the protagonist Shinji Ikari is Gendou's son. Bitter at him for reasons explained later, he reluctantly becomes the pilot of the humanoid titan Evangelion Unit 01. As the story progresses, he encounters different Angels, and interacts with his allies, namely Captain Misato Kisaragi, and fellow "Children" pilots Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami. However, while he deals with haqnds-on combat with his Eva, he must also deal with his mental problems as well, should he wish to maintain control of (and understand) Eva 01.
The TV anime originally ran for 26 episodes, licensed for US under AEsir Holdings. Succeeding the 1996 anime were 2 movies: Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, and The End of Evangelion. People weren't thrilled with the original conclusion to the series, which was mainly why these two were conceived. After that, as well as tax issues Gainax dealt with, it was proposed years later that another series, called Rebuild of Evangelion, would be made. It was planned that 4 movies would be the series: the first 3 being a retelling of the anime, and the last featuring a new ending. So far, only 2 has been released from this series: Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, and Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance. Originally, they planned for all 4 to be out in 2007 and 2008, but only Eva 1.0 released in 2007, and Eva 2.0 released in 2009. As of now, the 3rd film is in progress. However, there are some differences in the movies that weren't originally there. For starters, as with nearly half of anime titles released in this period, Rebuild of Evangelion features 3D CG Animation. To add, and this is perhaps the main difference, it involves new scenes and characters, among which is Mari Illustrious Makinami And even Asuka features a different last name in the films (from Sohryu to Shikinami). The storyline of the first film is faithful at best, with designs for Rebuild striking a solid, but altered resemblance to the original. The changes happens in the second film, as the story is altered somewhat. Rebuild of Evangelion, at least the first 2 movies, have been dubbed already, licensed for US under Funimation. In all dub works, Shinji Ikari is voiced by Spike Spencer. In fact, his voice is one of the few that were unchanged in all Evangelion dub media, the other two being Asuka's (Tiffany Grant) and Misato's (Allison Keith).
Neon Genesis Evangelion was a mind trip in general, but not an awful one, just... hard to get at times. While the ending failed to meet my fancy, it became a name well known in the anime world for a reason, so in all, I say that the original series gets 7.8 of 10, while Rebuild of Evangelion, for the time being, gets 8.1 of 10. I can only wait to see how they end the series this time.
2011/09/18
CLVII: "Pumpkin Scissors"
For the longest time, I thought that Pumpkin Scissors was an odd name to give to an anime dealing with war, crazed destroyers and blue lanterns. Turns out that there is a reason for that name: it's because of the platoon, who are the anime's main group.
Pumpkin Scissors hones in on a military group by the same name. Their purpose is to aid in the war relief effort across the empire, called officially the Imperial Army Section III. The titular name came from one of its officers, supposedly as a metaphor for their work. In regards to it, however, Pumpkin Scissors are usually berated and ridiculed by everyone: by the thieves they are to hunt down, by the army they serve under, and even by the citizens of the Empire. This changes, however, when a soldier with a shady past joins their ranks. A kind giant, Randel Oland is warm and welcoming, and is well mannered with his allies. Nobody would expect that a mysterious lantern could bring such a drastic change to his demeanor. Armed with a mere anti-tank gun "Door Knocker" and many scars, the kind Oland becomes fatally fearless and when he sees an enemy, he'll see to his termination! There is more to him then meets the eye, as they look into the Invisible 9, while bigger plot awakes... a plot that may very well shake the Imperial Army from within!!
Pumpkin Scissors lasts for 24 episodes, licensed for US by Funimation. For a long while, I was reluctant to watch, but by chance saw it and was drawn in. Granted that I see war-related material often, but Pumpkin Scissors stood out to me, as the seemingly 'little guys' of the Army are the main heroes. Of all the characters, Randel is voiced by Adam Dudley, and Alice L. Malvin, the female main protagonist and the one who suggested the name, is by Kaytha Coker in the English Dub. A running gag happens in the anime: in part to Randel being constantly hospitalized, an recurring scenario happens when they request a urine sample from him. Ultimately, the gag is finding a suitable container that's also unbreakable (granted that Randel is a giant, I think the gag is NEARLY self-explanatory.)
A grade of 7.6 of 10 for Pumpkin Scissors. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be interested, but in a way, I'm glad I did look at it on a whim back then.
CLVI: "Jungle de Ikou!"
This is another title I crossed hairs with, found the same time as Maze: The Mega Burst Space. Called Jungle de Ikou!, it is one of the shortest series I came across thus far, found also via Anime Selects On Demand. Chances are it may be a bit costly, but all episodes are available in DVD, thankfully in an English language for those not fluent in Japanese.
Long ago, the spirit of flowers, fertility, and reproduction sacrificed her body to cease the attacks done by the spirit of wood and destruction. Years later in the year 2009, an archeologist comes across a peculiar statuette, unaware that the spirit, Ongo, was sealed in it. He gave this as a gift to his daughter, Natsumi Rokudo, and some time after, she inadvertently breaks this seal, releasing Ongo, who is a pigmy like creature. In addition, she has encountered the earth spirit Ahem, who gives her a necklace and teaches her a tribal dance (albeit a perverted one). When performed, Natsumi becomes the fertility spirit Mii, and therefore has her powers to use at her disposal.
A fanservice anime, this is suggestive, not in the same sense as Golden Boy. In fact, if I had to say so, it's worse in therms of suggestive content. The series is MUCH shorter than most of what I have covered (excluding hentai), lasting only 3 episodes. As I said, this is another one found in the Anime Selects On Demand, around the same time as when I found Maze. In English, the central characters Mii and Natsumi are both voiced by Melissa Fahn, and Eri Sendai provided both their Japanese voices.
A short series, hard for me to truly grade, but I think Jungle de Ikou! wasn't something to be really crazy over. To that, I'll give a 6.5 of 10.
Long ago, the spirit of flowers, fertility, and reproduction sacrificed her body to cease the attacks done by the spirit of wood and destruction. Years later in the year 2009, an archeologist comes across a peculiar statuette, unaware that the spirit, Ongo, was sealed in it. He gave this as a gift to his daughter, Natsumi Rokudo, and some time after, she inadvertently breaks this seal, releasing Ongo, who is a pigmy like creature. In addition, she has encountered the earth spirit Ahem, who gives her a necklace and teaches her a tribal dance (albeit a perverted one). When performed, Natsumi becomes the fertility spirit Mii, and therefore has her powers to use at her disposal.
A fanservice anime, this is suggestive, not in the same sense as Golden Boy. In fact, if I had to say so, it's worse in therms of suggestive content. The series is MUCH shorter than most of what I have covered (excluding hentai), lasting only 3 episodes. As I said, this is another one found in the Anime Selects On Demand, around the same time as when I found Maze. In English, the central characters Mii and Natsumi are both voiced by Melissa Fahn, and Eri Sendai provided both their Japanese voices.
A short series, hard for me to truly grade, but I think Jungle de Ikou! wasn't something to be really crazy over. To that, I'll give a 6.5 of 10.
2011/09/17
CLV: "Maze: The Mega Burst Space"
Another title that seemed to be an odd mix at the time, Maze: The Mega Burst Space dealt with action, fantasy, war, and taboo. Like others such as Birdy the Mighty, this anime dealt with two individuals sharing a body... though not in the way I had hoped...
A woman wakes up to find her room a mess, as well as her memory. All she can recall is that she is known as Maze, and is flown from her own world to one vastly different. She meets a princess named Mill, who is trying to reclaim her rightful spot on the throne. Aside from meeting fellow adventurers, she learns that she possess magical powers, as well as an unforeseen problem: perhaps as a backlash from a taboo in her own time, she is female during the day, and a rather perverse, but powerful man at night!! Bumping heads with his/herself, Maze is going to have to get along with her alterego, as well as Maze's allies, should she ever want to return to the world she knew.
Starting out as a single OVA, it expanded to a TV series, and a movie was made as the sequel to that. The anime and OVA was licensed by Central Park Media, with the tv anime lasting 25 episodes. You can say that an element was grabbed from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with the house falling and another world scenario. It was a frequent entry on Comcast's/Xfinity's Anime Selects On Demand (which is how I even heard of it.) The anime is for both Japanese and English languages.
Maze: The Mega Burst Space left me speechless years ago, but in a way, I can accept it for what it is, so I'm calling a 7.2 of 10.
A woman wakes up to find her room a mess, as well as her memory. All she can recall is that she is known as Maze, and is flown from her own world to one vastly different. She meets a princess named Mill, who is trying to reclaim her rightful spot on the throne. Aside from meeting fellow adventurers, she learns that she possess magical powers, as well as an unforeseen problem: perhaps as a backlash from a taboo in her own time, she is female during the day, and a rather perverse, but powerful man at night!! Bumping heads with his/herself, Maze is going to have to get along with her alterego, as well as Maze's allies, should she ever want to return to the world she knew.
Starting out as a single OVA, it expanded to a TV series, and a movie was made as the sequel to that. The anime and OVA was licensed by Central Park Media, with the tv anime lasting 25 episodes. You can say that an element was grabbed from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with the house falling and another world scenario. It was a frequent entry on Comcast's/Xfinity's Anime Selects On Demand (which is how I even heard of it.) The anime is for both Japanese and English languages.
Maze: The Mega Burst Space left me speechless years ago, but in a way, I can accept it for what it is, so I'm calling a 7.2 of 10.
2011/09/16
CLIV: "Mai-HiME/My-Otome" series
Another multi-review this time around!! Mai-HiME, sometimes called My-HiME, is an anime series that has comedy, drama, fantasy, and... sentai. I kid you not: this is a sentai-type anime, that deals with girls with powers, called HiMEs, which is a backronym meaning Highly-advanced Material Equip. There's a spinoff to this as well, featuring the same characters and similar story concept called My-Otome.
Mai Tokiha is the central character of the anime My-HiME, and perhaps titular as well. A student, she and her younger brother Takumi take a boat ride to Fuka Gakuen, financially supported to take schooling there. However, things take a turn for the strange when they find a girl drowned in the water. She is saved, yet this girl, Mikoto Minagi, and Mai are attacked by another classmate Natsuki Kuga. Arriving, she gains knowledge that she is a HiME, summoned here by the Mashino Kazahana, the young chairwoman of Fuka Gakuen. She informs Mai that she, rather her and other HiMEs are needed to fight beings called Orphans, and each HiME, as she soon finds out, has a Child to fight alongside with, which is a beast they summon. Should they lose their Child, they lose their powers... as well as something else dear to them. Mai must fight Orphans and another organization after them, while dealing with her own troubles.
In My-Otome, Arika Yumemiya searches for her mother, who is somewhere on planet Earl, filled with immigrants from Earth. Old Technology survived in the form of Nanomachines, and with this, virgin females can become Meister Otomes, who serves the royalty of various kingdoms. However, intercourse with men can render these nanomachines weak, causing one to become powerless and immune to any further injection. Arika becomes a student of Garderobe Academy, and the series goes through not only her progress, but also follows machinations for those desiring the said technology for themselves, and the battles that takes place due to this reason.
The animation, My-HiME, is 26 episodes long. The spinoff series My-Otome also had 26 episodes, and it also had has yuri in it. In addition, a 4 episode OVA series My-Otome Zwei succeeded this, and a 3 episode anime OVA titled My-Otome 0-S.ifr was also created as the prequel. For the most part, they're all licensed for US under Bandai Entertainment, and save for the OVA prequel, has English voices as well as Japanese voices. Supporting the spinoff quality is that characters from My-HiME are seen as characters of My-Otome. In the vice-versa scenario, Arika is seen as a character cameo, a short one, in one of My-HiME's episodes, in addition to a joke trailer.
Once more, the differences between the anime and manga are heavy. In My-Hime, one major difference is the fate in which their child is defeated. In the anime, should that occur, they lose their powers as well as something precious to them, which is essentially their reason to fight. This isn't the case in the manga, as they only lose what is the Key to that Child. Their powers as a HiME are retained, and even a new Key can be found to summon their Child. Even more that their powers remain should the HiME star vanish, another trait that isn't true in the anime. In My-Otome's case, one of the characters, Mashiro Blan de Windbloom, is actually male, as opposed to a female in the anime, and the storyline for the manga is an alternate telling of it overall.
I didn't expect this particular series to cross paths with me, but still, 8.1 of 10 should do it for both, since I found them appealing enough to interest me.
Mai Tokiha is the central character of the anime My-HiME, and perhaps titular as well. A student, she and her younger brother Takumi take a boat ride to Fuka Gakuen, financially supported to take schooling there. However, things take a turn for the strange when they find a girl drowned in the water. She is saved, yet this girl, Mikoto Minagi, and Mai are attacked by another classmate Natsuki Kuga. Arriving, she gains knowledge that she is a HiME, summoned here by the Mashino Kazahana, the young chairwoman of Fuka Gakuen. She informs Mai that she, rather her and other HiMEs are needed to fight beings called Orphans, and each HiME, as she soon finds out, has a Child to fight alongside with, which is a beast they summon. Should they lose their Child, they lose their powers... as well as something else dear to them. Mai must fight Orphans and another organization after them, while dealing with her own troubles.
In My-Otome, Arika Yumemiya searches for her mother, who is somewhere on planet Earl, filled with immigrants from Earth. Old Technology survived in the form of Nanomachines, and with this, virgin females can become Meister Otomes, who serves the royalty of various kingdoms. However, intercourse with men can render these nanomachines weak, causing one to become powerless and immune to any further injection. Arika becomes a student of Garderobe Academy, and the series goes through not only her progress, but also follows machinations for those desiring the said technology for themselves, and the battles that takes place due to this reason.
The animation, My-HiME, is 26 episodes long. The spinoff series My-Otome also had 26 episodes, and it also had has yuri in it. In addition, a 4 episode OVA series My-Otome Zwei succeeded this, and a 3 episode anime OVA titled My-Otome 0-S.ifr was also created as the prequel. For the most part, they're all licensed for US under Bandai Entertainment, and save for the OVA prequel, has English voices as well as Japanese voices. Supporting the spinoff quality is that characters from My-HiME are seen as characters of My-Otome. In the vice-versa scenario, Arika is seen as a character cameo, a short one, in one of My-HiME's episodes, in addition to a joke trailer.
Once more, the differences between the anime and manga are heavy. In My-Hime, one major difference is the fate in which their child is defeated. In the anime, should that occur, they lose their powers as well as something precious to them, which is essentially their reason to fight. This isn't the case in the manga, as they only lose what is the Key to that Child. Their powers as a HiME are retained, and even a new Key can be found to summon their Child. Even more that their powers remain should the HiME star vanish, another trait that isn't true in the anime. In My-Otome's case, one of the characters, Mashiro Blan de Windbloom, is actually male, as opposed to a female in the anime, and the storyline for the manga is an alternate telling of it overall.
I didn't expect this particular series to cross paths with me, but still, 8.1 of 10 should do it for both, since I found them appealing enough to interest me.
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