Monday, September 26, 2011

Twin Spica (First Manga Review!)

      SYNOPSIS
    Japans spaceflight program has been set back for over a decade due to the tragic failed attempt of there first manned space flight: The Lion. Aumi Kamogawa lost her mother during the Lion tragedy and has since then has been visited be a strange ghost named Mr.lion who fosters a love in space in little Aumi. Aumi soon begins to dream of space flight and the greet reaches of the cosmos, and with a little help from her friends the petite Aumi sets off on a journey to rech the final frontier.

STORY
     I have said is before and I will say it again, the most romantic seting is outerspace. There is just somthing about it that moves me. And if there is one manga that has moved me, its Twin Spica. From Vol.1 to Vol.8 and probably the last volumes (because I havn't read them yet) have moved me to the core. This may be one of the greatest if not the greatest mnaga I have ever read, and I have read a lot of classics mind you from Tezuka's The Phoenix to Otomo's Akira and I can tell you right here and know Kou Yaginuma (the mangaika and artist) is showing she can capture raw human emotion just as well as the legends on manga. I am not ashamed to say that I have litteral been moved to tears reading this amazing serise and have suggested it to anyone who loves a great manga. Twin Spica with its beautiful art and moving story proves there is such thing as a modern Tezuka.

OVERALL
While I cross my fingers for the anime to hit the west I'll continue to read and love Twin Spica!
5 out of 5

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Samurai 7

    SYNOPSIS
         Every year during harvest season, kana village is raided by wicked Nobuseri (bandits) for there rice and women. But the starving villagers have had enough and in desperation higher seven hungry ronin (Masterless Samurai)
to save  them from the wicked bandits. But there may be more to this war for rice than meets the eye.

STORY
         Samurai 7 plot may sound oddly familiar. You may be connecting its similarities to Disney's Bugs Life, maybe even the classic western the Magnificent Seven (and its many sequels and spinoffs), or you may have hit it at its source with Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. This is indeed the anime spin off to the academy award winning film of the same (but reversed) name. But Samurai 7 takes Kurosawa's epic master piece and puts in a steampunk sci-fi setting, adds a villain (the government), and makes some brave story alterations. One would think that such changes to a timeless classic would be a hard thing to pull off, but it really works! Samurai 7 still has the depth and character of its orgin point, but still manages to bring something new and exciting to the story without damaging or insulting the original film. Samurai 7 feels unique while still feeling classic. A must see for film buffs and anime alike. One of the greatest anime I've ever seen, period.

Production
        One episode of S7 costs around half a million dollars in production value, there were 26 episode in all. Now do the math. Gonzo really gave there all in samurai 7, creating not only a great story, but a great scenery as well. Toshifumi Takizawa ( director of Dirty Pair, Aura Battle Dunbine, and the Crusher Joe OVA's)  Directed Samurai 7, which seemed like an odd choice looking at his project history (which mostly comprised of old school mecha and super hero anime) but Takizawa shows he can direct more than just one genre by bringing S7 to life. The amazing character designs were designed by the duo of Hideki Hashimoto ( Who did design  work for Chrome Shelled Regios, Rental Magica, And Demonbane.) and Takuhito Kusanagi (who designed for Blue Submarine No.6, Both seasons of Tower Of Druaga, and Ghost Slayer Ayashi.) There dual work really shows with such amazing designs from the Samurai to even the random extra (which more often than not is major eye candy for the any viewer!). Mechanical design was pulled off by Veteran mecha designer Mokoto Kobayashi (Final Fantasy :Unlimited, Gundam ZZ, Space Battleship Yamato:Resurrection, Steamboy, and Venus Wars) who brings life to the amazing battleships and mecha of Samurai 7's universe. And with an amazing opining song by Nanase Aikawa and Ending theme by Rin, Samurai 7 show beauty both in story and design.

DUB
    This Dub couldn't be any better with leads  R. Bruce Elliot (Kambei), Sean Michael Teague (Katsushiro), Sonny Strait (Kyuzo), Bob Carter ( Gorobei), Christopher R. Sabat (Kikuchiyo), Duncan Brannan (Shichiroji), And Greg Ayres (Heihachi). Even the side cast is wonderful Colleen Clinkenbeard as the Lovely Kirara, J.Michael Tatum as Rikichi, and the always cute Luci Christian as Komachi. And it would be a crime not to mention Anthony Bowlings performance as the wicked Ukyo! A Terrific Dub for a Terrific series.

CONTENT
     Violence, Language, and two scenes (I Think it may have been just one thou.. ) of a women bathing ( the steam censors anything immodest ).

EXTRAS
      Textless Op and Ed songs, Character profiles, a commentary for episode 14, and several random episodes of Mr.Stain on Junk Alley (not that great of a bonus as it sounds).

OVERALL
  A modern classic, and a must buy for any anime fan. A worth adaptation of Kurosawa's legendary samurai epic.
5 out of 5


Monday, August 15, 2011

Sakura Wars (first OVA)

SYNOPSIS
    Its 1918 in Tokyo, Japan and all hell has broken lose LITERALLY!!! Demons are on the prowl looking for innocence to pounce upon! But have no fear, for with the help of 6 young actress and an ex-soldier now ticket taker, we may just be able to pull through. That is of course if they can work with each other with out fail in there mighty steam powered mecha!

STORY
     Sakura Wars is based off a extremely popular game series from japan that has 5 titles to its name, multiple spin-offs, and a horde of merchandise and followers. It is to this date one of the most successful games in Japan and made its creators and actors literally super stars. And then it came here.......sort of. You see the OVA is a prologue to the first game, so once episode 4 is over you play the game to find out how it ends (or one of 6 ways to how it ends since it is a date sim). But we don't have Sakura Taisen (that's the Japanese title FYI) all we have are pretty much every anime under the franchise (except Le Nouveau Paris, a epilogue to Sakura Taisen 3 and NewYork NY, an epilogue to the Sakura Taisen 5 which we have in the states......SO WHY DON'T WE HAVE THE OVA!?!). Now of course this dosn't ruin the ova, the storys fun and enjoyable, the animation is really nice (madhouse, nuff said) and though the anime characters are all your typical archtypes, they still manage to be crisp and fun to watch. But then episode 4 comes, and if you don't know Sakura wars, elements of this ova are going to completely fly over your head. Its like watching End Of Evangelion before watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, it just won't make since. ultimatly it falls under a cursed catogory of viewing, Fanboys only. As much as it pains me to put such a label on an OVA that I personaly find Highly enjoyabale (because I am a fanboy) but it is sadly the truth. Now is it the shows fault for being confusing, NO!!! It's confusing cuz no one had the brain's to say "hey maybe we should bring the game over to the states too, so the people can actually watch this anime and know what the hell is going on!!" So its the man's fault, pure and simple. So thank you man for screwing up the Sakura Wars Franchise for us all!

PRODUCTION
      Animated by the amazing Madhouse and directed by Takaaki Ishiyama, This peice truly shows its beauty in both animation and direction. And with music conducted by the amazing Kouhei Tanaka (Known for his scores on Angelic layer, all 5 Dirty Pair OVAs, Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 8th MS Team, All of the music for the One Piece franchise plus Sakura Taisen Franchie,  and Bastard!!) The music is truly one of the greatest highlights of Sakura Wars. That brings me to Chisa Yokoyoma's preformance for the OP song, which shows off Chisa's awsome voice and gives Sakura Taisen a nice epic feel with the battle anthem like Opening. Production get an A+ in my book!

DUB
     Oh......yeah....the dub. Well its got some okay preformances, then some not-as-good-as-INSERT-NAME-HERE-preformances, and that leads up to the group of WHY DID THEY GIVE THEM THAT VOICE!?!?! Preformances. the dub is not as bad as Sakura Taisen TV, but its not great. The only thing the dub really did right was give the certain characters the appropriate accents to where the character is from (the french girl sounded french, Russian chick sounded Russian, you get were I'm going with this) My suggestion, if you have the dvds watch it with subtitles.

CONTENT
     Violence and I guess if you hate shows with demons....um.....yeah there are demons in this show.

EXTRAS
    none...........except trailers.

OVERALL
     What would have been a great show turned into a confusing one, thanks to our friend marketing.
THANKS FOR FRACKING EVERYTHING MARKETING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 3/4 out of 5 if you dont know the franchise
4 out of 5 if you do ;)

Blue Gender

SYNOPSIS
       It is 2031, man kind has abandoned earth after being invaded by the insect like monster known as blue. But there are those still on earth fighting to keep what they call home, who are deemed unfiting by the masses in space. It is 2031, and one man will be awoken from his slumber to find the horrors of this new world, both from the blue, and man.

STORY
       If there is one novel I could take on a dessert island, It would be Fahrenhiet 451. I love totalitarianism in a sci-fi setting. Its not like I am into anarchy or anything, I just find the idea of a moralless society driven by a "perfect rule system" intriguing. Blue Gender presents its self as a Starship Troopers Esq show, big alien bugs, mecha, blood, sci-fi. But as the show progresses It shows itself as somthing more deeper than the typical big aliens bigger guns scenerio. Our Hero Yuji is a sleeper ( someone who has the B-cell disease, and is put under chryogenic stasis till a cure is found)
who is awakend by a group of soldiers, incuding the lovely Marlene.  Though it plays out as  save the world by extermination ( didn't see that coming) We also see the moral issuses that have unfolded on society in such post apocolyptic times. From simple acts of compassion to the complicated area of Love, this show goes to great depths exploring the human mind and how drastic changes can morph ones look on such basic concepts of social interaction. For instance (I will be bringing this up in content as well JSYK!) sexuality becomes a kind of past time for humanity. As Marlene puts it towards Yuji who is shocked to find Marlene not devestated by a soldiers death who only a night before was intament with, She looks a at Yuji and states that no one knows when one will die so why not give them at least a little pleasure before they meet the end (that is not a direct quote by the way).
This of couse is brought up later, but this is not the only social issue discussed in Blue Gender, to put it simply think 1984 if it had giant bugs. In every since of the word blue gender is one thing, classic.

PRODUCTION
      Brought together by the famous Production AIC (Anime International Company) legendary for the works Megazone 23, Bubblegum Crisis, Ah! My Goddess, Silent Mobius, And El Hazard. They pull off together quite an amazing peice. Though animation tends to get a bit sloppy from time to time with some choppy and some times odd movement, This ultiamtly dosn't ruin the animation in a whole. With music brillantly conducted by Kuniaki Haishima (who also composed the scores for shows such as Alien Nine, Legend of Himiko, Macross Zero, and Monster, to name a few), the score for Blue Gender really sets the mood for the action (and some time the horror) of this epic serise. All in all Production is pulled together quite nicely.

DUB
      Eric Vale and Laura Bailey shine as the lead roles of Yuji and Marlene, and Jerry Jewel proves once again he is the ultimate psycho for anime (The Dennis Hopper of anime if I may be so bold). Another glowing preformance is that of Sean Schemmel as Rick, who really shows his range proving he can be more than just DBZ's goofy Goku! A very well dubbed serise that show the dramatic talents of these wonderful voice actors!

CONTENT
       Super violent and bloody, language, sexual content, and nudity. This may say 15+ but this is somthing I would only show to a 17+ audiance, this show is an animated R movie. Now luckly the sexual content/nudity is only apparent in 4 or 5 episodes and does not go to the element of porny and in one instance is used to show the disgusting lack of morals mankind now practices. Language is pretty much everything except F, and The Violence/gore is very heavy depending on the episode and scene. Oh minor note the ending songs video has Marlene walking in a pool of water naked, which I think is about the only pointless fan-service you can find in the show, so if you want to not roll your eyes press the skip button.

EXTRAS
A commentary with Eric Vale, Laura Baliey, and Chris Sabat on episode one, Cast bios, music videos, select music tracks, Image and sketch gallerys, and Funimation trailers.

OVERALL
A epic adult sci-fi that gives a look at not only the decay of earth but the decay of ourselves as a socity, a must see for any sci-fi junky!
4 2/4 out of 5

Friday, August 12, 2011

Cyborg 009

SYNOPSIS
     A young man wakes up and finds himself in a strange room, and a smal voice in his head telling him to escape. He finds 8 others waiting for him on the outside, all with unique gifts, all with mysterious pasts, all affected by Black Ghost. They are no longer who they used to be, they are half man, half machine, Cyborgs.

STORY
     Only 8 out 51 episodes of this amazing series came to the US, and I bang my head against the wall every time I think about that fact. Cyborg 009 is a series showcase of a golden era of manga. When it reflected a sorta Super hero image, shounen is much different now, and  not altogether a bad thing but at the same time not altogether a good thing either. Its an element that has slowly died out, the element of child like wonder. Now most Shounen manga have gone for an element of realism, or the "beat em up" genre that Fist Of the North Star and Dragon Ball Z belong too. But Im getting off topic.
Cyborg 009 is th3 3rd anime rendition of Shotaro Ishinomori's legendary manga. It contains the amazing tales of 9 Cyborgs gifted with amazing gifts fighting evil, sounds like a simplistic story right? Wrong. Though dressed in a "Tezukian" (Im sooooooo coining that phrase!) Sci-fi backdrop, It shows raw human emotion and struggles found in such gripping shows as FMA and Macross. Now I'm not saying 009 is a Bosom brother to these shows, but it shares a emotional link to the more down o earth serise while still retaining a youthful, classic design. Now is it worth the watch, being only 8 released episodes, with no ending for an American audiance? Heck yes!!! This is one you have to see at least once, to get the feel of such a beautiful and clssic serise. I highly suggest it! (plus if you leave in Australia, you could just watch the whole serise since they got it, AND WE DIDNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

PRODUCTION
       Avex Entertainment andJapan Vistec are responsible for this piece, now mind you this about when cel animation was dropped and we adopted the whole "EVERYTHING MUST BE DIGITAL!!"
state of mind. Now if you have ever seen an early digital only anime, such as Saiyuki or Rune Soldier, you may know how odd and sometimes choppy the animation can get. Luckly, this choppyness rarely shows on any of the released episodes of 009. Thou there are a few times were one can look at the animation and go "man, they really haven't mastered there programs yet." but this isn't so bad as to affect the show. The Music is awsome with both OP and ED preformed by J-Trance group GLOBE.
And with faithful directing by Masayuki Akebi ( who is a 009 veteran since he directed the '79 serise)
this show really pulls together nicely.

DUB
    The dub is altogether so-so, some preformances abit over the top but there are a good amount of gems in this serise. Joshua Seth (of Digimon fame) plays a great hero as 009, Kirk Thornton plays the the hot headed and big nosed 002, And Dorothy Elias-Fahn gives a terrific preformance as 003. and I would hate not to mention Richard Epcar as the haunting leader of black ghost, Skull!

CONTENT
     Nothing really to worry about except violenec and maybe a little language.

EXTRAS
       Sadly nothing really, except trailers and some weblinks (weblinks?!)

OVERALL
Though Toonami fans ignored the serise wanting a more  "DBZ" like serise, Cyborg 009 is a diamond in the rough of the toonami a block, a must see!
3 2/4 out of 5


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Hetalia: Axis Powers

SYNOPSIS
       History has taken turn for the crazy as WWII is being fought by stereotypes with quirky anime humor.

STORY
       I like history, so going into this series I was sure I would fall in love with its humorous take on WWII. Wrong, so very very wrong. Now don't miss understand me, It's not like I watched one episode and puked a lung, I gave it more than half a season. And slowly but surely I saw something that I can only describe as one word: Mindless. Sure it is taking actual events from history, but what destroys this series is the humor. Its so over the top, so insane, that anything else going on is white noise. Half the time I had to rewind, or ask my girlfriend sitting next to me "what?". Now I have watched crazy shows before, with zany humor and stereotypical anime antics, but they were half an hour long. This is like watching an edited version of Negima!?, with all the serious parts cut so all you have is the random crazy stuff. A show driven only on spontaneous jokes, even if based on facts, won't work. Another problem I have is some of the jokes content. I'm sorry but I really don't find racial jokes that funny, especially not ones that go ON and ON through out a serise. And even though Germany does represent Nazi Germany, the anti-semitic jokes aren't funny. I guess the show would be less funny if some character representing the jewissh people stood up and talked about there suffering under germany. This show's problem now that I think about it, is that its being to light hearted on serise matters. This really happend, this is not a joke, somethings aren't funny even when joked about.
I think war, rascism, and a world in fear is not somthing to be taken lightly even if it only happend 70+ years ago.

PRODUCTION
       The animation okay, I mean its not supposed to be amazing since the web comic was drawn in a simple design. The opening is the chant like Tunes you find in old school shows, which isn't a bad thing. Studio Deen did a good job in remaing faithful to the origonal work, the serise is almost identical to the comic. The bgm's are forgettable and goofy, so I suggest just buying the character albums and stay away from the origional soundtrack.

DUB
      There are such terrific dub actors in this serise, yet looking at the preformances all of them are over the top and seem the same. If someone plays audio of two character from this show and then asks me who vocies who, I would probably say Chris Cason for both of them (by the way, this is a joke)
I felt no unique direction from any of preformance from this serise. The dub felt very bland, which was disapointing since several of my favorite actors preformed in Hetalia.

CONTENT
       Language and as I mentioned before racial sterotypes and rascist remarks. and there is so much of this in fact that its rated TV-MA. So not suggested for the innocent.

EXTRAS
        A lot of Commentaries, and Trailers.

OVERALL
        What was a great Idea, turned into a mindless, rascist, and sadly popular serise.
1 3/4 out of 5

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Baccano!

SYNOPSIS
     It Is 1930 and 1931, random events, random people (unusual but random). But as the wheels turn and time shows not all events are as unconnected as they seem. Some deal with the devil, and others are along for the ride, unknowingly a cog in the clock of immortalty. Baccano follows a group of individuals who have been affected by a stormy night in 1711.

STORY
       I Loved this show. This may be one of the most clever and well written anime series I have ever seen. With a terrific cast of characters set in a wonderful take on Depression era New York. This really threw a bone to the history buff in me. But at the same time this is probably one of the most violent and grisly series I've seen to date, going up there with Akira, Rin, and Elfen Lied. The show has been described as complicated but once you get the hang of the shows settings its not really that complicated. This show most surprising quality is that even though being a super violent and dark series, it manages to have some of the most unique and heart warming  characters in anime. This is one of those shows that after watching just sticks with you and never lets go. A must watch for anyone looking for a dark and seedy mystery, fun adventure, or even both.

PRODUCTION
      The animation is two words: breath taking. No repeating animation, no choppy movements, just fluid clean animation that breaths life into its characters. Studio Brain's Base is the masterminds behind the artistic glow of Baccano, Never heard of them? They are the ones behind such series as Durarara!!, Spice and Wolf II, and Shin Getter Robo (shout out to the old school meca fans!!) The music is just as spectacular with a jazz infused soundtrack and a killer opening song by Paradise Lunch.
Spearheaded By Director Takahiro Omori (of Hell Girl Fame) this series packs a punch in every way.

DUB
       J. Michael Tatum and Catlin Glass ARE Issac and Miria, They pull off these characters so flawlessly it makes you think they were made for those roles. I have rarely fallen head over heels in love with such a dynamic duo, at least not since Ed and Al of FMA.  But along side Tatum and Glass is another equally shining voice Bryan Massey, who plays the raving mad Ladd Russo who is so crazy and sadistic you just LOVE to hate him. Bryan's performance puts me in that unique position as a viewer were I know this guy is evil as evil gets and I should loath this guy but his just to wild and crazed to not enjoy him. Its the same problem I have with Batman's Joker. Of course this show has many more great preformances from actors like R. Bruce Elliot as Szilard Quates, Jerry Jewel as Claire Stanfield, Colleen Clinkenbeard as Nice Holystone, Brina Palencia as Enni,and Sean Hennigan as Maiza Avaro.

CONTENT
 The serise as I said before is VERY violent to the point were I was suprised. This is a show that is TV-MA for violence and language. No f-bombs but the mafia pretty much use everyother word in the book. Not for children or the squimish.

EXTRAS
     Commentaries with the english crew and cast, Textless songs, and the Funimation Trailers.

OVERALL
     A gem of a anime serise, a must watch for any who love somthing beyond the sterotypical! In numbers: 4.25/5

    

Monday, June 27, 2011

Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt

Synopsis       If  you didn't know better, a title like that would scream porn, h-content, H-E-N-T-A-I, with a capital H and a Capital I (snicker! That Rhymes!) But fear not, this is not your nerdy older brothers hentai titke stashed neatly in the bottom of his bed, This is but Gainax newest comedic anime. Where Angels Panty and Stocking are lead by the priest Garter belt, to slay ghost for coins to redeem themselves back into heaven. (pause) Okay (sigh) its a little perverted. But let me explain better.....

Story
       Imagine if Powerpuff Girls had a baby with FLCL, on acid. You may just picture the craziness that is PSG. For Years I thought Nothing could in japan could be closer to the adult swim generation of cartoons ( Robot Chicken, Sealab 2021, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, etc.) than Fooly Cooly. I was dead wrong. PSG not only carries the same wicked humor of Seth Greens brain child Robot Chicken, at times it even goes one step further in its insanity. I would cup my hands to my mouth often, looking at my girlfriend chuckling "that's so wrong!!!"  It is a series driven on this new breed of American comedy cartoons. And I'm Postive, once in the U.S. it will be a hit with the Adult Swim youth such as myself.

Production         
           Funny Story: Gainax animation team was on a business vacation of sorts, and after many a drink and a bit to much goofing PSG was born. Thats right, this entire show was born from a drunk Gainax, let that soak in for a sec. But once you watch the show, this fact becomes quite evident. The writeing is more bizare than FLCL and thats quite a feat. The animtion is almost Craig McCracken meets Rodney Greenblat. And as in FLCL the animation style changes with each homage it makes towards whatever genre or franchise it chooses to spoof next. The Music is killer with a mix of hip-hop and rave beats by multiple talented artists. Gainax proves once again they are the kings of anime comedy, and anime wired.

Dub
       Though Funimation has officialy bought PSG there is no Dub as of yet.

Content
        NO CHILD OR PERSON WHO IS EASILY OFFENDED SHOULD SEE THIS SHOW.
If you can't watch anything on the adult swim line, there is no way you could watch PSG without slapping the person next to you. Its humor is that of (as I said before) Robot Chicken, only one step further. I can't begin to stress that this show is NOT for everyone. The Humor is in one word MATURE. Watch a couple nights of Adult Swim, and if your ready, come watch some PSG.

Extras
         There is a wonderfuly funny OVA on PSG but since there is no real region 1 release I can't say as to what the DVD will contain.

Overall
        Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is Funny, Crude, Epic, Cute, Moe, Immature, and in numbers
4.75/5

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

NOEIN (To Your Other Self)

SYNOPSIS       Yu and Haruka are childhood friends who have been there for each other no matter what. But both now live in broken homes and Yu suffers from the pressures of cram study due his controlling mother. Yu fears his losing his mind and wishes to run away with Haruka. But forces from a different time and space have entered into there world, and they want Haruka.

STORY
       I grew up watching re-runs of Star Trek TOS and TNG, I couldn't get enough of it. One of the most over used plot points in Star Trek lore is alternate universes or dimensions. Noien's whole storyline is built around quantum physics, specifically the multi-worlds theory first conceived by Hugh Everett in 1957. This is possibly one of the coolest and most well constructed story lines I've seen in an anime serise. It's a Star Trek episode, expanded into a much larger scale. Elements of The multi-worlds theory are anialyzed in much greater detail the 24 episodes of noien than in a 45 minute episode of Star Trek. Character development is also amazingly will detailed, with twists and turns that few anime can or even try to pull off. Noien is a magnificent accomplishment in Japanese story telling.

PRODUCTION
       Starlight studio is not a widely well known animation studio (heck I didn't know who they were till I wiki'ed them!) They were the animators for Heat Guy J, Hellsing Ultimate, and Baldr Force EXE. These were all amazingly well animated shows, Noien is no exception. Noien is unique, its animation style is so different from your typical "narutard" anime. Its characters move, talk, fight, and breathe like no other anime does, And man do they fight different! The fight scenes are so fluid and unique in there animation that it had me on the edge of my seat every time (no joke). From music to art this series has few if any production flaws.

DUB
       The Dub has a wonderful cast spear headed by the wonderful talents of Crispin Freeman and Yuri Lowenthal. Certain performances begin at a painfully silly tone, such as Lara Cody's Miho and Bryce Papenbrook's Isami, but surprisingly this grows onto you in a odd sort of way. Melissa Fahn shines yet again vocally giving life to are heroine Haruka. another note worthy performance is Mona Marshall and Ellyn Stern as the mothers of our two heroes, and lest we forget Eddie Frierson who brings life to the wicked Atori!

CONTENT
       Except for violence and language, this show is altogether a pretty clean 13 Up series. Now I would leave it at that but the DVDs do contain Easter eggs with very harsh language (everything up to F) but these are only on the hidden blooper reels ( of course I found them quite easily).

EXTRAS
       some great behind the scenes features, an on location with the actors and director, and any anime with a blooper reel on its dvd is all right with me! and some wimpy image galleries were shoved in on each DVD. Noein also has some cool alternate opening/ending videos and of course the trailer gallery!

OVERALL
4 1/2 out of 5

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Negima!

SYNOPSIS
      Negi Springfield is a 10 year old wizard with a bright future ahead of him. Theres just one little thing he has to do before setting off as a full fledged wizard, teach at Mahora academy. Negi soon finds this teaching job maybe more than he can chew when its an all girls school and the students of 2-A may just be the most diverse (and deadly) group Negi has come across, Magic may not be enough to save little Negi!

STORY
     This is a very simple plot, one boy a bunch of girls, one roof, mayhem (kinda sounds like a Ken Akamatsu story, oh wait, IT IS!) but the simplicity of Negima is ultimately its charm. Though yes, all most all of the episodes are on the verge of predictable, the charming and unique cast of girls, ghosts, robots, ninjas, mad scientists, vampires, and other unique characters rescue the show from the pits of dull and boring. The shocking twist and sweet ending are what really set this apart from most harem anime. While most comedic harem anime stay on the constant beat of joke after joke and gag after gag, negima has a shocking sadness and happy resolution that makes it more than just "another harem anime". Negima is a wonderful treat!

Production
       Negima's animation is simple, thats it in a nut shell. It's nothing flashy, fancy, or fantastic, just simple. Now I'm not saying its bad animation, It's just not great, its okay, but I think the simplistic animation really sets the tone for the story. So its sort of fitting in a way. As for music the bouncy opening songs and BGM's are wonderfuly fitting for Negima.

DUB
       Greg Ayres shines as Negi Springfield giving him a very convincing welsh accent. As for the class, outstanding voice talent as Luci Christian, Monica Rial, Brina Palencia, Catlin Glass, Jamie Marchi, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Trina Nishimura, Carrie Savage, Laura Bailey, Clarine Harp, and Leah Clark bring the Class 2-A to life ( note: thats not even all the actresses!). Other note worthy preformances are Chris Cason as the allways funny Camo, Mark Stoddard as the cool Takamichi, and the always awsome Christopher Sabat as the devil (vegeta = satan?)

CONTENT
       except for some minor fanservice (swimsuits, some bathing sences, and Negi sneezing Asuna's clothes off) this show is all togther really clean except for a rather dark plot twist that involves the devil and a twisted deal (can't.....spoil......details!!). Also some parents may find the constant use of magic and spell casting not sutible for there younger children.

EXTRAS
       This has some awsome extras! A funny blooper reel, 3 commentaries, editor notes, and of course a clean opening/ending and a collection of trailers.

OVERALL
      3 3/4 out of 5

Thursday, April 28, 2011

FLCL (aka Fooly Cooly, aka Furi Kuri)

SYNOPSIS
      Naota is a young, jaded, and bored individual. He constantly gripes about his hometown and its stale condition saying "nothing ever happens here". His home life is odd to say the least with a lecherous ex-journalist father, a baseball coaching and bakery running grandfather, an american baseball star older brother, and a chain smoking "girlfriend" whos his brother ex-girlfriend. His reptative life looks as if it will never end, until he is mowed down by a guiter wielding, vespa riding, alien bomb shell named Haruko Haruhara.

STORY
       In its 6 episodes FLCL only shows anything close to a story in the last 2 episodes. And even then the story is simple and ridiculous, in short aliens want to make us stupid and Haruko is in search of a super being.
Most of the twists and turns in this wild OVA are so out of no where its as if they were pulling all of the plot points out of thin air. Character development is also on the weak side except for one character, our hero Naota. Through out all 6 episodes imagery is used (comedic or strange) as a metaphor for the changes in a teens life. This imagery starts from  almost the beginning with Haruko smashing her guitar into Naota's skull living a curious bump on his head, this symbolizes the sudden arrival of the pubescent years on a young man and even the blemishes one receives in such years, the pyscial changes one endures. This symbolizim even dwells into emotional changes, and the fight to become a man when all you reallly wnat is to stay a child. In the end it all comes down to that, will Naota choose this responsobillity as a grown man or will he want to hang on to his innocence for the last fleeting years of simply being a kid.

PRODUCTION
     Gainax and Production I.G, bring FLCL to life. Animating it full of vibrant colors and quick paced motion. It also tends to change style each episode paying homage to diffrent animator and art forms. The music is killer, being composed and preformed by The Pilllows. The Music alone whould make this a serise worth    watching as it probably is the most rocking anime soundtrack out there with awsome tracks like "Ride On Shooting Star" "Last Dinosuar" "I Think I Can" and "Blue Drive Monster" to name a few.

DUB
    Now if this were anyother serise I probably would not give high marks for this goofy and cartoonish dub, But this is FLCL. Kari Wahlgren shines as Haruko, giving her a wierd and wacky personalty but still can be serious when the script calls for it. Dave Mallow is terrific as the serious but stupid Amarao really playing it cool until somthing odd happens. Two other great player were the always terrific Melissa Fahn (Ninamori) and vetran voice actress Barbara Goodson (Naota) who both put humor and a hint of sadness in there character that gave this serise a human feel.

CONTENT
   there is language, violence, and some slight nudity but the real issue parents will find with this serise is the over the top sexual humor. Through out the show there is non-stop jokes involving all sorts of lued material that is not for any young ears. There is also a scene of highly sexual activity, there is no nudity but it is very VERY suggestive (my friends and I call it the electric message scene).

EXTRAS
This is surprising for a Bandai/Fuimation dvd to come with so much extra goodies! Multiple audio Commentaries, english outtakes, Music videos and other treats buy the pillows, and of course opening/ending textless and trailers.

OVERALL
4 out of 5

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tower of Druaga (The Aegis + Sword of Uruk)

SYNOPSIS
      Based on the arcade franchise of the same name, this fantasy series follows Jil who has been kicked out of his half-brother Neeba's Climber party. Desperate to get to the top of the tower and defeat the evil Druaga, Jil finds himself partnered with the beautiful oracle Kaaya, valliant Spear woman Ahmey, lazy mage Melt, and perky retainer Coopa. Together the band of heroes climb to the top to kill the evil god and claim a legendary treasure, but there may just be more to this adventure than meets the eye.

STORY
     This is probably the most epic anime serise I've seen since Fullmetal Alchemist, it also is the funniest as well.
Druaga begins with a dream episode, were Jil is knocked out and fantasyzing about his grand adventure climbing the tower. This episode alone cracks me up, the comedic timing and fooly-cooly like randomness makes the beginning a great start. Now the first season all in all is tons of filler, which would turn me off instantly. but this my friends is good filler (yes there is such a thing). Every filler episode has tons of laughs and tounge in cheek pop culture refrences that few could watch this and not find this serise entertaining.
     But it starts to pace itself once we reach episode 6,(which don't fret it's still funny) this show pulls somthing off that very few shows can, Build characters through comedy and define them in tragedy. Druaga is a wonderful example of excellent chracer development, making us fall in love with characters through light hearted adventures and feel for them in epic quests, season one pulls off the perfect combonation of funny and epic all in 13 episodes.
       Season 2 continues were season one lets off (which was a exciteing twist). Though has its momments of humor, season 2 does not have the same comedic jolt as season one, but this is actually quite fitting. New characters are introduced, though some are not quite as memorable as others ( While Uragon and Henaro are wonderful Gremica and Nakia are forgetable)
       But were season two lacks in humor and in minor character development it makes up in story OH HOW IT MAKES UP IN STORY! the story for season 2 is nothing more than brilliant and epic, a tale that feels like somthing from Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. and I wont spoil anything but the ending is wonderful.

PRODUCTION
     The animation is nothing short of astounding, of course it is Gonzo so why wouldn't be? The movements and expressions on each charcter is fluid and alive, and gives off a warmth that shows rarely have. The Music is quite impressive with sounds similar to any epic fantasy film, though some tracks were a little over used.
And least we forget the super fun opening songs and there even more energetic opening animation, which had me grining every time it came up.

DUB
       This dub had an incredible cast spear headed by the wonderful Leah Clark (who played Kai) . Todd Haberkorn shines yet again as the quirky hero and does a great job doing so. Teh comedic timing of Monica Rial and Chuck Huber as Coopa and Melt was brilliant to say the least, and Chuck Huber really brought Melt a element of sadness in a later episodes that showed Melt as more than just a plucky comic relief. Travis Willingham plays it cool (as allways) with Neeba. and two wonderful noteable proformances from Josh Grelle as Young Gil and Brittney Karbowski as Henaro.

CONTENT
       There was quite a bit of fanservice, but was always censored by steam or ironic turn if events (episode 5)  But season 2 has 3 scenes were ther was no steam or irony were nudity was shown. Language was about as heavy as any TV-14 show, nothing to bad but there was still language present. Violence and blood are throughout the show, but its about as violent as what you see in an episode of DBZ. There are a few suggestive jokes and events, one involving Fatina in episode 1, were she is groped by Roppers ( aka tentacle monsters) in a VERY sexual way ( though I must admit the male memmbers of the group made this scene VERY funny)  there is also a scene that I would like to mention, after Kaaya begins to defend her beliefs in her gods which Neeba has only but hatred for, Neeba pushs Kaaya down while he is shirt-less and asks is it the gods will for this, implying would the gods want me to rape you, though he dosn't it still is a pretty edgey scene for younger eyes.

EXTRAS
This had a collection of wonderful extras. Season one Comes with an OVA and a super funny commentary with Todd Haberkorn, Monica Rial, and Chuck Huber. Season Two has a serise walk-through with some intresting history about the druaga franchise, a commercial for some promo dish at a resturant inspired by Melts's favorite dish, and a commentary with Trina Nishimura, Lia Clark, and Jamie Marchi. and Of course bothe seasons of clean Opening/Ending animation and a collection of trailers.

OVERALL
4 1/2  Out of 5

So this is how I run my ship.....

Hi, for a 2+ years I have built a very large anime collection, and have wanted to do a otaku review series foe quite some time. My girlfriend Zizi  just started a blog and this got me thinking, HEY! I could do that! So here's how its gonna work, and I will demonstrate with the sections.

SYNOPSIS
A basic outline of the story

STORY
I say what I like and didn't like about the overall story and character development

PRODUCTION
I review the technical like and dislikes I found in the animation, music, etc.

DUB
How good did the english translater do and what I thought about the cast

CONTENT
This is mainly for parents, I point out elements with in the anime that are questionable for younger viewers

EXTRAS
My opinion of the extra features on the DVD ( though some times I will not review extras since some of my shows are on VHS)

OVERALL
I will grade each title on a 1-5 star scale

so there you go, I hope you find my review helpful!