Two-cent Anime Reviews: Get your money's worth!
For all that care...
Over the years, I have seen many different anime shows and movies, and
sometimes I feel compelled to spout my two cents worth about them.
Sometimes to praise, and sometimes to warn others. Mind
you, this page doesn't cover everything, and it probably never will,
due to the sheer amount of material
out there. This is generally stuff that I either sought after on
my
own, or just happened to stumble into the video room for.
This is mostly re-hash from my LiveJournal. If you've been
following that, then this is old news you you. If not, enjoy!
A testament to Attention Deficit Disorder and short attention spans in
general. Posted in almost no particular order, no preference,
with descriptions
that range from a one-sentence blurb to several paragraphs.
Sometimes
it's just to say if something rocks or sucks, or it may give advice on
how
to enjoy a certain show, or it could have an actual description of it.
If
an entry just has an opinionated blurb and you're still wondering what
in
hell it's about, then I'd suggest checking out AnimeNfo. As with anything
else, your mileage may vary.
Here's where I list shows that I added to
this
page. New additions will be at the bottom or at their respective
entries
until I think of a better way.
9/11/05: Updated the hell out of this page with a bunch of new stuff.
Yaiba:
Low budget as can be, but rather than take away the fun, it adds to it.
A
kid learning to be a samurai to fight an impending big bad guy, lotsa
laughs along the way.
Secret of Cerulean Sand:
So it's the 19th century Victorian England, and there's this young
girl born into a wealthy family that must own half of England. Based on
a Jules-Verne novel, it tried to be Miyazaki-esque, it really did. But
the
only one who can pull that off is Miyazaki himself.
Naaja:
Great, another "young girl on an adventure of a lifetime" gig. Main
character is 12 years old, but at least she doesn't look disturbingly
overdeveloped. Meanwhile there's a Tuxedo Mask-like character running
about, doing a Robin Hood schtick. Set in the same country and time
period as Secret of Cerulean Sand. Maybe the main characters of each
show will happen across each other? I don't know.
Machine Robo Rescue:
Ok, a bunch of 10-12 year old kids that can pilot some mostly-sentient
robots makes for a really long toy commercial. Obvious CG going on
there.
Scrapped Princess:
Princess on the run from a world that wants her dead. I can dig it.
Character design has a tried-but-true look to it; Studio Bones is using
what works. Looking forward to more.
Update 1: Yes, I know I mentioned it earlier. But it's on
my Priority List; I'm keeping current with what's out now. Plot looks
like
it shifted into a higher gear, with further hints that it's not in a
typical sword and sorcery world.
Update 2: The last five minutes of Scrapped Princess #15
almost made me scream. There is a huge backlog of anime for me to
watch, but when the latest episode of Scrapped Princess comes out, I
jump on it. Haven't
had this kind of fever for any particular show in YEARS. Maybe it's the
fact
that it's still being first-run aired, knowing while watching it that
there
isn't the rest of the show sitting nearby, neatly prepared in a handy
collection of tapes, dvds, LDs, .avi files, what have you. No, it's
just not here yet. Gotta wait a whole week for the next one to come out.
Update 3: After watching the whole series, what a wild
ride that's turned out to be. Won't go into any meaty details about it
here,
I'm just gonna say that I enjoyed watching it, will watch it again, and
will buy it when it comes out on DVD here. Don't know when that'll be,
but
I hope it happens and soon.
DNAngel:
Some kid with an alter ego as an angelic thief. Looks like
something worth investigating further. (Licensed: ADV)
Ninja Scroll TV series:
Like the movie, but not as bloody, cause it's going on tv. But
Jubei still kicks ass, and the supporting characters are no less freaky
than in the movie. (Released: Urban Vision)
Last Exile:
21st century technology in a 19th century setting. It looked like
it took a lot of inspiration from Final Fantasy games. Animation style
looks the same, too. (Released: Geneon)
Dear Boys:
Slam Dunk, but with the bishounen settings cranked way, WAY up. Just
what the world needs, more yaoi fodder. Although, it did inspire a new
Anime
Law: When fast techno music is playing in the background, the hero's
chances
of succeeding at his task increase astronomically.
Air Master:
Ok, the main character is a schoolgirl that's close to 7 feet tall. Ok,
I have no problem with that. She can kick ass by using her mastery of
gymnastics and air currents. No problem there either. But why the
two-foot kid who's constantly bawling her head off? Fighting opponents
who give speeches for (what feels like) days at a time? A girl who has
massive breasts providing the sole comedic effect? Why? WHY!?
Update: I have watched a second episode of this show.
Either my senses were completely burned out from the first
episode, or the show actually
improved. Reliable sources tell me the show gets much better, but
with
a zillion other shows in my viewing queue, and dead seeds for the
original
files, it's going to be awhile before I watch any more.
Sakigake! Cromartie High School:
This show is insane in a low-key way. A show about high-school
delinquents. A man that looks like Freddie Mercury, wearing a
moustache, pants and suspenders and nothing else, says nothing, and
goes around inside the school on horseback. A gorilla that can play the
guitar. A robot that everyone except for two
of the main characters sees as human. Prehensile mohawks. There are no
female characters (at least in the first three episodes) aside from
when the main character does an odd morph into Pyocola Analogue for
maybe 10 seconds.
I must watch more.
Update: Ok, there actually is a female character, but
she's one of the main character's mothers, and she's menacing enough to
keep the lot of them in line. And she's voiced by Megumi
Hayashibara, to boot.
Maburaho:
This show doesn't bother to try to hide the fact that it's a
fanservice/harem anime. Instead it advertises it on billboards along
the interstate. "Next exit: Food, Fuel, Fanservice". I'll be watching
this one, even though I
can see where it's going.
Update 1: Maburaho is something that grew on me whether I
planned it to or not. Originally the cast struck me as so obnoxious
that
I watched the first couple episodes hoping that someone would drop a
tanker
truck full of gasoline on them. Unfortunately, that sort of thing only
happens
in real life, and to those that warrant such actions the least. But
anyway,
the characters either mellowed, or something, they just didn't get on
my
nerves as much. (On the other hand, there is Love Hina... Where's the
Overfiend
when he's needed the most?)
Update 2: Maburaho ep. #24: Having followed this closely
for the past several months, and despite ADV picking up the license for
this, I was still able to continue downloading and watching it,
grabbing the untranslated episodes, figuring I knew enough about the
series to follow along, then
getting the version put out by a shadow sub group. So, the other day
the
last episode comes out in raw form, and rather wait for the subbed
version,
I watch it anyway. Even with what teensy bit of Japanese that I could
muster
and my pre-existing knowledge of the show, all I can say is OMGWTF! Now
I
hope the subbed version comes out soon. (Licensed: ADV)
Bottle Fairy:
This show has a cuteness level that can make some people throw up.
After watching 5 episodes of them, I have determined that I am not one
of
them. In fact, I survived the entire series easily.
Planetes:
Trashmen in space. It didn't grab me right away like Scrapped Princess
did, but it's holding ground in the "evaluation" stack. The manga
offers
more storyline in the beginning, which piques my interest.
Ocha-ken:
Cute doggie things that look like they snuck off the set of Blue's
Clues, they have tea leaves for ears. Each episode is about how
to
enjoy simple things in life.
Ikkitousen:
Just in case there weren't enough panty shots in anime, this show
does it's damndest to make up for a void that doesn't exist. Looking
forward
to more. Nothing like using a fighting-show premise to justify
high
leg kicks to display panties. (Licensed: Geneon)
Momoiro Sisters:
A series of shorts about a pair of sisters. The art style is
cute/shoujo, but the subject matter is very ecchi. Very funny too. And
at times, heartwarming as well.
Tweeny Witches:
I remember when this concept came around before, under the flag of
"Harry Potter." At least the core of it. This is about a girl that is
"magically transported" to a different world, where magic is real, and
witches roam
freely, or something like that. Since this girl has been interested in
magic
long beforehand, it doesn't take much to convince her to become a
witch.
Very curious style, short episodes, and a general "what the hell, why
not"
attitude on my part contribute to me continuing on this. Nice little
gem
from Studio 4C.
Pugyuru:
This was... this was messed up on so many levels. Not in the low-key
Cromartie messed up, or the over the top Bobobo style, or "that's just
plain WRONG" that serves as the base of Midori no Hibi. This is surreal
in it's own special dream-logic way. A girl comes home to find that her
parents have gone on
a cruise of indefinite time frame, and have arranged for a maid to
assist
with cleaning. What shows up at the door can be best described as a
cupie
doll, the kind that were typically won at carnivals. About a foot tall,
and
aside from a human face with a perpetual smile, is built like a liver
fluke
(and hence needs no clothes), floats easily, and.... this. Yeah.
Usagichan de Cue!:
I'm sure that back in it's day, in 2001/2002, it could have competed in
the Fanservice Nationals and arguably finished on top, with two of the
main characters having bunny and cat features, and anything female for
that matter had a propensity for much bouncing as well as wasting as
little chances as possible for panty flashes. Granted, since the advent
of Eiken, it's all a
moot point, but Usagichan de Cue! can still hold its own in terms of
fanservice enjoyability. Unfortunately, they were planning to make a
total of three episodes
and only two of them ever happened. Current information indicates that
the
animation studio went out of business or something like it.
Update 1: Lawdy, lawdy! Looks like the third episode was
actually made! Found the raw thanks to Hongfire, now it's just a matter
of waiting for someone to get off their lazy butt and subtitle it.
Sensei no Ojikan:
This could be considered a companion piece to Azumanga Daioh. Close
enough to say if you enjoyed one, you'll like the other, but different
enough to be their own. It's about a high school class with quirky
individuals, including the teacher who must suffer from the same
age-stopping disorder as the producer in Smash Hit!. She's in her late
20s and looks like Chiyo-chan could beat her up. I wonder if this is
the beginning of a "well into the age of consent but still looks like
jailbait" wave of character design. (Kinda like Ichigo Morino from the
Onegai series. But different.)
Melody of Oblivion:
Here's an anime I'd like to classify as too aloof for its own good.
Something about a modern-day war that happened between humans and
monsters, and then there's what appears to be a peaceful time, but the
monsters are still lurking around looking for sacrifices. One of them
rides on top of a
bus that grows legs and horns like a bull. I can't even begin to
pretend to
imagine where this show is headed.
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette:
I'm going to admit up front that the whole EGL thing never really
was my cup of tea, which meant I almost passed this by. I'm glad
I didn't. Last year someone posted a preview for this, which
meant that if worst came to worst, I'd have to delete the few megabytes
that took me maybe five minutes to download and that would be
that. Well I went and watched the preview and thought, "Hey,
that looks really cool!" So when it finally came around, I wasted no
time
in getting it and watching it. Running close to 40 minutes an episode,
it takes
advantage
of OVA status. Some dude is in an antique business with his uncle and
gets
a shipment of 18th century French stuff. Within is a glass with funky
colors,
and upon touching it, he can see the past of the title character, not
unlike
a psychedelic View-Master. The first 2/3 of the episode went along with
the preview. And then it got weird. And then there were big floating
eyeballs,
giant skulls, and blood everywhere. And then one of the main characters
morphed into a demon. And then I almost crapped my pants, not just
because
of sheer weirdness, but because it was also starting to make sense. One
of
the last lines in the first episode (which I'm not about to divulge, so
as not
to
spoil it for everyone) really ties it all together. I got the DVD, and
so should you.
Aishiteruze Baby:
Since it's very new, the only reference material I could find was the
Japanese website. From there, I must say that I had my doubts. However,
curiosity
got the better of me, and upon viewing the actual show, those doubts
were
thankfully dispelled. The gist of the show is that a high school romeo
is
suddenly forced to take care of his 5 year old cousin. Social
impossibilities
aside, if you dig shoujo style anime, you'll dig this. My
Pervert-o-Matic
detection system was completely quiet through this show, to the point
that
I had to make sure it was actually working. On the other hand, my
WAFF-meter
was at DefCon 5 the whole time. For the sake of comparison, some
Miyazaki
movies would look bitter and disgruntled. If I continue to follow on
with
this one, it's gonna have to be in very small doses.
Midori no Hibi:
Alright, who came up with this idea, and why? Masturbatory overtones
aside, it's about a boy that wants a girlfriend, and ends up with one,
as his right hand. Mostly because the girl wished to "be by his side"
or something like that. Very odd concept, to be sure, but with
reasonable execution. Then
again, it's ideas like this that remind me of why I watch anime in the
first
place. I don't think anyone other than the Japanese could come up with
something like this.
Ugly and Beautiful World:
Gainax's latest offering. Character design has "Mahoromatic" plastered
all over it. Not sure what's going on, but it looks cool, even though
the
plot is probably gonna need half the series in order to finally wake
up.
This looks like a series to keep an eye on so far.
Madlax:
Ok then. Here we have a show with a cute female lead, action from the
word go, lots and lots of guns, explosions, and haunting music that
won't leave your head. YES. Plot be damned! A must-see for anyone
that's ever wished
for something halfway between Noir and Tomb Raider.
Interlude:
This is another one where the only reference I went by was the
original Japanese website, so I thought, ok, I'll check it out. Then a
day or two
later, I watched it. The result? This show kicks ass. It has some goofy
elements scattered through the show thanks mostly to the lead girl with
more genkiness and stereotypical traits than should be allowed, but at
the same time will mess with your head. Secret projects, strange
monsters, and shadows running around on their own. Next episode, please!
Smash Hit!:
A fanservice anime about what goes on behind the scenes of another
anime, specifically Cosprayers. Main character is the producer who
looks
like she stopped aging when she was 12, and is about all the trials and
tribulations she faces in the process of making a show.
Tenjou Tenge:
I swear that this came off the same assembly line as Ikkitousen.
More fighting and fanservice. In other good news, one of the characters
is named Bob, and he appears to exhibit inherent Bobness. That was
probably the biggest influence in my decision to watch this. It's about
damn time that we Bobs get represented in anime! (Licensed:
Geneon)
Maria-sama ga Miteru:
This made Utena look like a sausage party. Jeez. I wasn't sure if I
could make it through one episode without watching my nuts shrivel up
and fall off.
Mezzo DSA:
High octane fun! Comedic improbability! Umetsu's designs! This
one's a keeper. It's the TV series of the Mezzo Forte OVA, which has
some elements that can only be found in an OVA. However, the series
stands well enough, if not better, on its own without the hardcore sex
scenes. Anyway, there's a bunch of things that make this worth
watching, such as Mikura's wild takes, wanton use of guns and
explosives, and completely impossible situations
with even more impossible solutions. (Licensed: ADV)
Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo:
Ok... Now, I've seen some crazy anime before. But damn... Whoever
made this was on some serious drugs. Imagine an anime version of Johnny
Bravo
in a Fist of the North Star setting, using his nose hairs like whips to
protect innocent people from getting their hair taken. After watching
this, I had to watch 5 episodes of Popotan for something more normal.
Yeah. If I tried to describe Bobobo any further, I'd... Oh, I don't
know what I'd do. I'm
not even gonna bother trying any further. I just want to see the next
episode.
Mahoromatic:
Former battle android turned civilian, in order to last 400 more
days instead of about 40. Becomes a maid to a kid that she feels she
owes something to, for reasons revealed in the show. I'll easily
confess to liking this show enough to buy all the DVDs of.
(Released: Pioneer/Geneon)
Mahoromatic season 2 (Something More Beautiful):
Watched the entirety of it in one sitting. The first two thirds was
mostly goofing off and fanservice, and the last third was plot. The
ending itself was quite moving. Even though Mahoro was an android in a
cartoon, she was more human than many other anime characters, as well
as a few contestants on reality tv shows. This is also one of the
few anime shows where
I'll buy the soundtrack because of the background music.
(Released: Pioneer/Geneon)
Gunslinger Girl:
Some young children are rescued from near-death, modified, and
trained to be assassins. Gritty, violent series that I'm quite
interested in seeing how it all turns out.
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!:
I confess that I haven't seen the original series, so I've put off
watching this. However, at a recent anime club meeting, it was shown.
Oh,
it was hilarious. From what I could tell, I didn't really need to see
the
whole first series to understand Fumoffu. (Licensed: ADV)
Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken:
Rumiko Takahashi's style shows even more maturity in comparison to
Inu Yasha, without losing some of the wackiness. As for the storyline,
I
have no idea where it came from, where it's going, or where it's even
trying
to go. So, I'm not even going to try to describe it. But, I figure that
if they're going to make only 4 episodes of it, I can watch the whole
thing
and not get so lost that I can't find my way back.
Gokusen:
It appears to have been made with a recipe. Start with Great
Teacher Onizuka's concept, make the main character a woman, and give
her yakuza
connections. Why someone that ranks relatively high in the yakuza would
like to become a teacher (aside from using that as a front to recruit
new
members or a legitimate method to go straight) is beyond me. But, it
has
watchability, so I continue with it. (Licensed: Media
Blasters)
Da Capo:
I've watched a grand total of two episodes of it so far, and still
continued to download the rest of it. There's a trend going on in Japan
where they'll take hentai manga and games, and make non-hentai anime
out
of them. It's not unlike how Xuxa went from being a porn star to host
of
a kid's show. Of course, who knows how many of those children that she
entertained,
she helped inspire to create in the first place? On that note, Disney
needs
to "branch out", if you know what I mean. Like making baby toys and
supplies,
to complement faulty birth control products. That would be the perfect
business.
Perpetual employment. But I digress. (See also: Kanon, Popotan,
Variable
Geo, Sister Princess)
Saishuu Heiki Kanojo (She the Ultimate Weapon):
It only took one episode to really pull me in on this one. After
watching the first couple episodes, I could tell it was steering hard
for a tragic ending. What if your high-school sweetheart was turned
into the military's ultimate weapon? Could life go on as always? And
how would that affect the prom?
Update: This must have had the most depressing ending I've
ever seen in an anime, surpassing the bleak despair of "Now and Then,
Here
and There", which at least had a bit of HOPE at the end. Oh,
don't
get me wrong, it was still a great series. But when after episode
10,
the fansubber put in a warning that the show was going to take an
emotional
nosedive for the last three episodes, that says a lot. Anyway,
this
is in the "Bob Approves!" pile. (Released: VIZ)
Now and Then, Here and There:
This is one of those things that if you start watching it while in a
good mood, it can make that good mood go away. It's dark, gritty,
violent, and doesn't play favorites in who gets killed. This made
"End of Evangelion" look like "Sesame Street". But, it doesn't
shove apocalyptic prophecy onto you, and the last episode makes it all
worthwhile. (Released: CPM)
Pita Ten:
Ultra-cute, sugary, mindless fun. It has a mild numbing effect on
the mind, but in a harmless way and still fun to watch. A clutzy
angel in training decides to live next door to a young boy, despite the
boy's
wishes. Has one of the most addictive giggles I've ever heard from an
anime
character. This show needs to be commercially released, and the manga
is
already available here. Watch Saikano and then Pita Ten in the
same
sitting, and interesting things will happen to your head, ala Fist of
the
North Star style!
Kanon:
Now, I've never played the game for this, in fact, I was only vaguely
aware there was a game. But I saw it on the AUSA video schedule
one year, so I asked for it, since I was doing staff stuff during the
showing times. So I watched it, and enjoyed it! Found out
the game it was based on was hentai, but the anime itself wasn't.
Not sure how that works. Anyway, a quick description is
"sad girls in the snow." Not really
serious, not too lighthearted. Yuiichi visits his aunt and cousin, and
memories
flood back to him. Complete with a bittersweet ending, which I
shall
say no more of so as not to spoil.
Popotan:
Here's another H-game/General Audience anime jobs. Looking at
some of the characters in the anime, I have to ask if I ever want to
see screenshots
of the game. But I managed to get ahold of the music from both
versions,
and it all rocks. The anime itself is best enjoyed with most
cerebral
functions turned down low or off altogether.
Variable Geo:
Years and years ago, when DVD was not yet in full bloom but instead
having just sprouted out of the ground, LD still had some weight to it.
A
lot of weight. Shipping those things was expensive, especially
straight from Japan. But I digress. Anyway, since my friend
Eric had
bought an LD player, I naturally wanted to get some LDs. So at
Katsucon
in '99, my friends and I bought a bunch of them, including the original
Variable Geo OVAs. Before Ikkitousen! Before Tenjou Tenge!
This
anime had fightin' and fanservicin'. But, there were games
released
based on that premise that had so much more than fanservice. With
my
luck, the versions of the games that I ended up with didn't have all
the
nudity that other versions (such as the venerable PCEngine) had.
Now
there's a new Variable Geo series that just came out (or is about to
come
out), with more ecchiness than before! Possibly worth
investigating.
(Released: ADV)
Eiken:
When it comes to Eiken, there are people that haven't seen it, and
people that have. And of the people that have seen it, there are those
that run
away from it scarred for life, and then there are... the believers. Of
all
the anime that I've seen, I've never seen anything with as much
fanservice
as Eiken. Blatant, relentless, unrepenting, unflinching. It looks like
it
was made to parody all the fanservice/harem anime out there, but in
doing
so, has topped them all. So what does this show feature? A spectacular
slow-motion sequence involving noodles and a complete disregard for the
law of gravity (a scene that took several minutes to set up), which is
only exceeded by
the Water Slide event, complete with a seemingly infinite quantity of
yogurt, and the most sexual innuendo an anime could ever hope to pack
into the scant few minutes that this scene lasts, yet without any
direct nudity. I can't even begin to imagine what the second episode
would contain, or why they
were allowed to make a second episode at all.
As for the plot? Yes, there is one, although not much of one. Densuke
Mifune, newly transferred to the school and perhaps the dullest boy in
the world
(of course), is drafted into the Eiken Club because of his pure
averageness.
The Eiken Club comprises almost entirely girls (of course) and they all
have
huge knockers (of course!) except for one, and that's only because
she's
in second grade, and this second grader is one of those technical
geniuses
that can design/build/repair anything (of course). So, Densuke falls
for
one of the members of this club, after falling on her (of course),
landing
his hands on breasts that were likely viewed as prototypes for the
landers
for the Mars rovers but deemed too large to be feasible (of course).
Fanservice
ensues. Whatever's been done before, has been overdone here. There is
nothing
more I can say (of course). The first time I watched it, I knew I was
in
trouble when the fansubber put in a blurb about milk.
Half an hour later, I am temporarily catatonic, my eyes unfocused and
moving independently of each other, (possibly a side effect from
attempting to
track multiple jiggling) but I'm still able to maintain some coherent
thoughts, steering my frame towards the fridge not unlike a crippled
bomber in a WWII movie, with an overwhelming craving for dairy products
of any kind. My survival relied heavily on my already high tolerance
for fanservice. When I finally regained control of my senses, I
realized that others had to see this. I
would not force anyone, they would view it of their own free will. And
of
those that watched it, most of them inadvertantly became believers as
well.
Will I watch it again? Absolutely. I've already lost count of how many
times
I've seen it, and I can see myself watching it many more times. One
could
say it's a perverted, animated form of the "Ring" curse, but I won't
pursue
that angle. That would be just plain weird.
Update: Episode 2
continues with the Ultra Game, right after the infamous Yogurt
Slide(tm). (BEST ANIME SCENE EVER.) Kirika continues to use Densuke's
head as a resting place for her boobs while doing suggestive acts with
bananas, Komoe continues to run in place doing strange things, Yuriko
continues to do everything short of ripping Densuke's clothes off and
screwing him, Chiharu continues to mope, and Densuke just continues to
live with it all. This episode, has Densuke wearing a girl's school
swimsuit, which is complicated by Yuriko trying to give him an
erection. Eiken being what it is, the second episode has a few things
the first episode didn't have. Such as maids, eels, and phallic 12"
chocolate popsicles. Yep, this is one I wasted no time in
buying. And the fun part is knowing that the manga has so much
more.
There are people that have seen Eiken and were quite vocal in their
dislike for it, but those people are forgetting something
important: In Eiken, fanservice isn't the theme, but the
punchline.
Hanaukyo Maid-tai:
Here I'm talking about the original version of the show.
Taro, a boy who lost his parents, is invited to his grandfather's
place to live. Well, the old man's long since cut out to go live
on a tropical island, but he's a good sport and has left his mansion to
Taro. That mansion includes an army of about a thousand maids,
who hold nothing back in order to give Taro just about every kind of
comfort imaginable. Fanservice? Of course. Then
again, if Taro were a few years older with puberty going into full
swing, it would have left "fanservice" and shot directly
into "hentai." This is harem anime, with dozens of girls hanging
on
Taro, yearning for attention, waiting to do his bidding, no questions
asked.
This is maid fetish anime, with girls of all kinds of
personalities
and builds wearing maid outfits. This is one of my all-time
favorites.
Update: There is now a second Hanaukyo series, called La
Verite, but I watched one episode to verify reports that it was
basically the SAME SHOW, as if the studio was saying, "We liked making
this series so much,
we're making it again!" It doesn't pick up where the other one
left
off, it just... starts over. There's some differences, but
overall, it's the same. There is a strong rumor that it's
licensed for the
US, fueled by the listing of Geneon USA in the credits. Maybe
they
wanted to remake it? (I think so. See my extended opinion
of
this further down.)
Naruto:
About a kid named Naruto, who's a ninja in training. Neat show.
Some people may compare it with Dragonball, and others will beat
them senseless for making that comparison.
Chobits:
I may have seen two episodes of this, and stopped because I'm
afraid it's going to trigger some bizarre Lolita complex. Are you
kidding? Have
you SEEN how much Chobits doujinshi is out there? I know Chii is
non-organic, but damn. The least her creators could have done was make
her... not so... compact? Ok, enough of that rant. Onto another.
(Released: Geneon)
Love Hina:
This was fun for the first couple episodes, then it irritated me.
Was it the artwork? No, the artwork is great. Voice acting? No, they're
a pretty talented bunch. Yui Horie is awesome. Music? Nope,
lotsa good music coming from that show. (thanks to Ritsuko Okazaki,
R.I.P.) So what
is it? I think it has to do with the fact that the characters have
absolutely no development and the story goes NOWHERE. So there.
(Released: Bandai)
Macross Zero:
I saw only one episode of this, looks mighty promising.
Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex:
This is some good watching. The art style looks more like the
original manga than the movie did, but it goes off on it's own
story-wise. (Licensed: Bandai)
Argentosoma:
I would consider this to be the refried beans of anime. It's
edible, yet everything in it's been cooked up before. (Released:
Bandai)
Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai:
Gainax poking fun, as usual. A real hoot to watch.
(Released: ADV)
Excel Saga:
Recently finished watching this. Believe it or not, there's one
episode that's almost serious! There's a few jokes and gags thrown in,
but most
of them are pushed aside for some actual storyline. Then it goes back
to
being goofy. (Released: ADV)
Nurse Witch Komugi-chan:
For Tenchi Muyo, there is Magical Project S, and for Soultaker
there is Nurse Witch Komugi-chan. Yep, the nurse with the humongous
hypodermic
needle got her own show, and a magical girl show at that. It's crazy,
and
I live for crazy shows like that. (Released: ADV)
Gad Guard:
Saw a couple episodes, still need another sample to make a good
decision. It's like a dark Pokemon, or Medabots, or something. I don't
really know. It looks like something that might be worth continuing on,
it might not.
Eh, I'll wait till it shows up on Cartoon Network or something
like
that. If it gets edited there, oh well. (Licensed:
Geneon)
Wandaba Style:
Another nutty show to my liking. Rich kid is convinced that man
never really went to the moon, so he's looking for different ways to
accomplish this. Not unlike how Pinky and the Brain would try to take
over the world, except here the kid's using a washed-up pop group as
guinea pigs. (Licensed: ADV)
Sister Princess:
From what I've seen, it's about a guy who discovers that suddenly
he has 12 sisters that fawned over him. Initially this does not sit
well with him, and for good reason. Then he discovers that only
one of them
really is his sister, he just has to figure out which one. One of the
captions
says something along the lines of "If you suddenly had 12 sisters, what
do you think?" I think I'd shit my pants, that's what. Anyway, it's got
fun music, good voice acting, the characters are likable, albeit overly
nice, but it's another one where the plot/storyline goes nowhere. Kinda
brain-dead, really. But for anyone looking for brain-dead stuff to
watch,
have at it. Helluva time downloading any of it, yet I can't bring
myself
to justify buying even the HK bootleg DVDs of it. ADV licensed
this
thing. They'll license anything these days, I suppose. This
is the show that made me swear that I'd never again be surprised when
something
gets licensed, no matter how much it looks like it won't. On top
of
that, this non-H anime was based on a video game, an H-game to be
precise.
(Licensed: ADV)
Shingetsutan Tsukihime:
This is a show about vampires. It's based on an H-game made
by non-pros, which makes it all the more impressive. A success
story
for the little guy. Anyway, while I only saw one episode, it
still
looks cool enough to keep going with. Problem is, I hear the
ending
is disappointing, since the original storyline goes past the anime.
(Licensed:
Geneon)
Dogtato-kun:
It's a dog! It's a potato! It's an unholy union of both!
This show is based on animal/vegetable crossbreeds. The
fact that this
is technically a kids' show implies that the Japanese aren't worried
about
needing to send their kids to therapy later on in life.
Apparently
from the same studio as Pugyuru and Panda-Z, which explains a lot.
I
genuinely need to see more of this.
Update: Got to episode 6, which concluded the first
two-parter
of the series. Something about a cave of sound bubbles, and the
wrong
things were said about the wrong characters, and heard by the wrong
characters.
Now, this little drama was over and done with in two episodes,
which
are each only three and a half minutes long, so that means start to
finish
in under seven minutes. I'm genuinely impressed. Most other
series
would have dragged that out for 350 years. Bonus points for
Dogtato-kun!
And Croconion rules!
Hanaukyo Maid Tai La Verite:
I had decided to make this it's own entry, for after I watched more of
it,
I came to the conclusion that while it is a remake of the original, it
does
go off on its own direction. The original series was a dedicated
purpose
show, made exclusively to pander to those with a maid fetish (including
me). The story
was weak, but no one expected otherwise. On the other hand, there
is
La Verite.
It was of no surprise that Geneon did indeed have it licensed from the
get-go,
and upon watching several more episodes of the show itself, it was of
no
surprise that they co-produced it, because I discovered that they did
things
that only they could get away with. More on that in a few
minutes.
So it starts out, same as the original, the characters make their
introductions
(plus one or two new ones for this series), same names and roles as in
the
original (except the "physical care" triplets get a new set of names
but
that's it), and for the most part, even the seiyuu are the same.
There's
notably less fanservice in this than the original, but it still holds
it's
ground. Then it does something different. It starts giving
some
of the characters background. It adds in a storyline. Such
as
Ikuyo, the somewhat klutzy, glasses-wearing technical chief. She
gets
a kick out of pulling Taro's leg by telling him outrageous lies (which
he
learns to see through quickly), and at the beginning of episode 5, the
viewer
discovers that she's an avid doujinshi artist. In the original,
she
was just... klutzy. Ryuuka, in the original was simply
Taro's
rival. In this, she's ordered by the head of her family to marry
Taro
if she is to become the head of her family someday. Cliche, but
it's
a start. Plus they made her more of a deadpan psycho, which
really
adds to the fun, such as when she decides to try her hand at cooking,
and
does so with a flamethrower.
As I was saying, the turning point for me was episode 5, in which Ikuyo
drags
the main cast to Comiket to sell her doujinshi, and gets the others to
do
cosplaying as very familiar characters. This is where Geneon
comes
in. The characters are all in other shows that Geneon either made
or
has the rights to, so they can get away with it. (Mariel dressed
up
as Chii, that was awesome. Consider that both are voiced by the
same
seiyuu, Tanaka Rie.) And what they had Taro dressed up as had me
rolling on the floor.
And so, I hereby place this series in my "wait for DVD release" bin.
(on DVD:
Geneon)
Samurai Champloo:
Or, as I like to call it sometimes, "Rurouni Bebop". Well, it IS from
the same director as Bebop. Put them together, set the timeframe to a
couple decades before Kenshin, throw in a hip-hop soundtrack and
swordfights each episode, and voila! A most palatable viewing
experience. As a bonus, it has Ayako Kawasumi as the main girl, who
semi-convinces two swordsmen to join her in a quest to search for a
samurai that smells like sunflowers. I'm gonna need to watch more.
Love Love?:
Ok, for something that I only saw a couple episodes of, I have a lot to
say, starting with this: WTF. First there was Cosprayers, which had
nice designs but a concept that made me roll my eyes (you know
something is wrong when something makes ME roll my eyes) then along
came the behind-the-scenes-of-Cosprayers show Smash Hit! which made it
worthwhile, and now this. Set more in the same world as Smash Hit! and
Cosprayers, it focuses on a high-schooler who somehow gets picked to be
the cameraman for Cosprayers and at school has to be classmates with
the five main actresses. The fansub group has low expectations for
this, signified by the disclaimer of "Do not watch if you are sane" and
the parodized ending theme song. Since I don't consider myself a sane
man, I went ahead and watched two episodes worth.
This anime did a wonderful job of insulting and shaming me in many
ways, especially with the one scene where one of the obviously
underaged girls stuffs the main character (and herself) into a locker
and says something along the lines of "Don't try anything funny, I know
what men really want." Ok, how about some bottles of Woodchuck and a
plate of buffalo wings NOW, wench? God damn it. Granted, this isn't the
worst anime that I've ever held my eyes open for and sat through, a
position so far still held by a hentai POS called "Advancer Tina",
which I saw at a convention about 70,000 years ago and made me curl
into a ball and whimper like a kicked puppy afterwards. But still,
having seen only three episodes out of eight (not including 4 OVA), I
have a hunch that "Love Love?" may be vying for that title. Or maybe
it'll pull a Maburaho and completely redeem itself before halfway
through, but I seriously doubt it'll happen here. It's morbid curiosity
that's pulling me through this one.
Girls Bravo:
Yet another pseudo-male character with some strange allergy to girls,
like some psychosomatic cooties. Then again, considering the girls in
this particular anime don't have much going for them, I'd want to be
allergic to them too. On the other hand, the kid doesn't do a damn
thing for himself. I'm just wondering when his nuts are finally gonna
drop. Hell, he can borrow mine if need be. I got about 5 minutes into
this and got fed up with it. Maybe I'll try again later.
2nd attempt: About a week later, after watching a bunch of episodes of
Samurai Champloo which got me in a good mood, I decided to give this
another go. I hadn't bothered to delete it from my hard drive just yet
for some mysterious reason. So into the playlist it went! And the
results?
I wish I could cry, but I think too many of my brain cells evaporated
to accomodate that function. This is Mad Cow Disease in animated form.
Getting to the heart of the matter, our understandably gynophobic hero
falls into the bathtub and is transported to a magical world. Miharu,
(who has relatively large breasts) the first girl who sees him, is
instantly smitten with him, and he doesn't come down with a crazy rash
at her touch. (Did anyone NOT see that coming? Anyone? Don't worry, if
you didn't, I'm only going to ridicule you for the rest of your life
over that. Nothing serious.) As he finds out, less than a tenth of the
population is male, so there's a real run on guys, moreso than Furbies
or Playstation 2's when they first came out. In fact, wars sometimes
even break out over anyone with a Y chromosome. (Dammit, it's the man's
job to start wars!) So they're running around trying to get to a hiding
place, because everyone wants a piece of the action, including Miharu's
sister, Maharu (who has even bigger breasts). Now, what puzzles me, is
that even though he's suddenly in a world full of women that wish to
care for him and cater to his every need, he still takes a ton of
physical abuse (albeit accidentally). And then, AND THEN, HE WANTS TO
GO BACK to where everyone is making a conscious effort to treat him
like shit. GRAAAHHHH!!! On second thought, I won't lend him my nutsack,
no matter how much he needs one. The scenes where Miharu takes off her
clothes would've numbed the pain enough to justify watching this, but
it's cleverly covered up by water mist from her bathtub, which must be
boiling, because that's a helluva lot of water vapor. I know the
DVD release of this removes all that steam (that must have come
straight from the core of a nuclear reactor), but I don't think watching it on DVD is going to make this any less painful. This show needs... This show needs Onizuka, Croconion, and any Gundam
robot to show up. They'll straighten up the entire cast of this mess.
And when they're done, they can go onto Love Love? next. I don't think
I'll watch the next one, unless I'm feeling rather masochistic, or
being punished for something. This show hurt me on several levels.
DearS:
I can tell this is turning out to be a fantastic new season of anime,
with such luminaires as Love Love?, Girls Bravo, and now this. At
least this doesn't make my brain cower in a corner. Anyway, the
plot/storyline/whatever the hell they're trying to call it. I think
I've seen something like this before. Didn't CLAMP come up with a
similar idea awhile ago and call it Chobits? Except here instead of
robots, they're using aliens. Really hot aliens that crash-landed on
earth, and since they can't call home or fix their ship, they're
calling this planet their new home. And the crowds go wild for them! So
the main character, Takeya, suddenly finds one, and she's about as
overt as possible in making it clear that she wants to live with him.
However, this guy must have recently watched a marathon session of "V",
so he's more than a little suspicious about the aliens, especially the
one that wants to live with him. The whole "too good to be true" bit,
y'know? This makes him one of the most sane anime characters ever.
Meanwhile, there's the teacher at school who must have trouble getting
laid for some reason. She hits on her students without any success,
strips in class (the students are completely jaded by this, as
evidenced by their requests for her to put her clothes on, despite
being a hottie herself) and for English class, she makes them translate
lurid romance stories. Formula: Chobits + Alien Nation (remember that
show?) + more fanservice = DearS. This certainly isn't the brightest
light bulb that one could install into your viewing fixture, but it
does have Under17 doing the opening theme song, and it does have much
more to offer than the two shows I mentioned previously.
Okusama wa Joshikosei (My wife is a
high-schooler):
Reaction upon seeing title: what
Reaction upon seeing opening credits: what
If anything, the main character is cute, and voiced by Ayako Kawasumi.
That's worth a point or two. But! I'm probably getting too bitter,
cynical, and generally callous about happy-sappy romance, in this
instance where a young couple gets married but still hasn't done the
wild thing because of something pointless. If I had a wife like that,
I'd have her in bed as soon as the wedding dress came off. A wife is a
wife, and marriage is marriage. As soon as she says "I do", the only
thing the in-laws can do is back off. Again, I ramble. Eh, I don't
think this anime is for me. I got about halfway through one episode,
and even then I needed to watch it in small doses. I'm probably gonna
stick to something like School Rumble (goofiness) or Kore ga Watashi no
Goshujin-sama (mindless fanservice) or... Dokuro-chan!
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan:
Going in line with one of the laws of anime that state that the human
body contains no less than 12 gallons of blood and under high pressure,
this is a splatter fest. While not as gory as other anime, it certainly
is one of the most graphic, with decapitations, arterial sprays,
crushed skulls, brain matter flying every which way... Oh, did I
mention that this is a comedy? About a boy named Sakura, who is
supposedly going to do something to violate the laws of nature 20 years
from now, so angels are sent to prevent that! By killing him, of
course. Ironically enough, Dokuro, the angel that decides to alter
his future so that he doesn't create a youth formula preventing women
from aging past 12, is the one that constantly kills Sakura (and repeatedly brings him back to life). It is fun to watch, and the opening theme is
catchy, and Dokuro-chan is cute.
Ah Megamisama (TV series):
Being a TV series now, I guess they took that as an opportunity to
stretch things out more. But did we really need a whole episode just to
look at Keiichi's world before he met Belldandy? Nevertheless, I'm
putting this in my download menu.
Magister Negi Magi:
Negi Springfield is anime's newest and youngest pimp. "You got Love
Hina in my Harry Potter!" "You got Harry Potter in my Love Hina!" I
didn't care much for Love Hina, but this looks like a worthy candidate
for my bandwidth, and possibly my money when the DVDs come out.
Air:
Much like Kanon ("Sad girls in the snow"), this takes an episode or two to get warmed up. Yukito is on a journey, to find the girl on the other side of the sky. His travels take him to a small seaside town, where he meets Misuzu, a girl with a mysterious affliction.
There's a lot more going on here than I can possibly put into a summary, but after watching the whole series, OVAs, and movie, it all makes a lot more sense, and I must say I quite enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it to folks that enjoy something that's actually cerebral. Music is fantastic as well.
Movie: This is a retelling of the series, although it gets a bit too dramatic in places. It's good for an alternate angle approach, though.
OVAs: These, on the other hand, focus more on Kana's escape from the palace, and aside from a couple serious spots, bring to mind the Three Stooges instead.
Starship Operators:
This one didn't do much for me. Character designs aren't as bad as I
thought they'd be, but they talk for about half an episode, then get on
a big CG spaceship, and then blow something up. That's it. I'll give it
another chance, but it better use it wisely.
Venture Brothers:
Ok, I know that this isn't anime at all. But you know how it goes:
You're watching an anime that's completely insane, laughing your ass
off the whole time, not believing what you just saw, and when it's
done, you're asking yourself, "Why can't we make that sort of thing
here in the US?" We did before, and Venture Brothers shows that we
still can. A scientist with two sons and a secret-agent-for-hire. Add
in some butterfly aliens, a woman with a masculine voice to generate a
strange love triangle, and general non-stop hilarity. The most recent
episode is about a yard sale and lemonade stand gone horribly wrong.
It's awesome on so many levels.
Ichigeki Sachuu! Hoihoi-san:
Here's another of the short attention span variety, the ten minute
types. In fact, I bet it'll take you longer to read this review
than it would for you to watch the anime itself. In the future,
insecticides have no effect! The only solution for pest control is
little robots designed to hunt down pests. Such as Hoihoi. This could
work as another mini-series, but everything points to this being a
one-shot. Yes, a one-shot that's only ten minutes long. I know budgets
for anime can be tight, but this is ridiculous! Anyway, I hope they
come to their senses and make more of this. I also hear there's a PS2
game, so that has some promise.
Final Approach:
This was based on an H-game, right? Someone please tell me it is. This
one addresses Japan's declining childbirth rate. It starts off with a
girl parachuting directly through a boy's window and declaring that
they will wed. Since he's 17 and undoubtedly with other things on his
mind than marriage, and visibly annoyed at someone crashing into his
place and otherwise wrecking everything in the process, he's less than
pleased about the matter. Then suddenly a bunch of men in black suits
come in and fix everything. Then Shizuka sticks bunny ears on her
fiance, but if Ryo tries to take them off, they'll explode. He does so
eventually anyway, and fortunately for his sake they take a couple
seconds to detonate. She then explains that a super-computer picked him
as her ideal husband. So, Shizuka's completely clueless, Ryo's
irritated, and Ryo's sister Akane is generally overwhelmed. And at
random, the characters go into SD mode. However, Ryo's insistence on
not having anything to do with Shizuka is a bit of a concern. I know
it's just an anime and all, but dang. What kind of situation is he in
where he can bluntly turn down girls like that? Anyway, this is a nice
little psycho anime we have here, and I had fun watching it.
School Rumble:
Just what the world needs! More anime in a school setting! The good
news is, this is one worth watching. This looks like it has some of the
school-time antics from Azumanga Daioh, and character design tidbits
from Mahoromatic (including Mahoro's prehensile hair shoots). It's
about Tenma's attempts to confess to a guy she really likes after
finally working up the guts to do so, but gets foiled every time she
tries. Then there's the school delinquent Harima Kenji that tries to
confess his love to Tenma, but he gets foiled each time as well. It's
nothing over the top, focusing more on the comedy of errors, although
the brief Initial D sequence was a treat. The show as a whole is
intentionally stupid, which makes sense since all the characters are in
high school. And high schoolers have an entirely different set of
priorities and ways of handling problems which seem rather mindless to
adults that have been done with high school for well over a
decade. At the same time, most of us that have been through high
school while no longer agreeing with the mindsets, do understand how they
work. The writers for this have done their homework, and I
greatly enjoyed the entire series.
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase:
So far just watched the commercial blurb for it. Something about a
vampire girl that tried to make a servant out of some kid that she
calls big brother but didn't quite succeed. Looks rori as hell, but I'm
willing to give an episode or two a watch. I was wrong in that
prediction for Aishiteruze Baby, and hopefully I'll be wrong for this
as well.
Yakitate Ja-Pan:
All I saw was the CM promo. This is an anime about making bread. With
that in mind, I think I want to go cry now. And yet, I will invariably
download at least one episode of this.
Interlude:
This show rocked. I'm not sure what in hell happened, but it rocked.
I'm willing to watch it several times again to figure it out. It
doesn't explain everything outright, it just lays out the clues and
leaves the viewer to put all the pieces together. It's cool that way.
Gives my noggin something to nosh on. Gets the braingears spinning,
y'know? Anyway, from what I can tell, there's alternate worlds going on
because of something called the Pandora Project, and if you know the
story behind Pandora's Box (not the anime store in the DC/Baltimore
area), that in itself is a big clue. Here's another one for the "get
the DVD" stack.
Kannazuki no Miko:
Frankly, I hadn't heard of this until very recently, and would have
likely passed it by, but at the recommendation of reputable sources, I
decided to go ahead with watching this. Here goes. Well how about that?
Here's another one that rocks my socks. It starts off mild, then
halfway through all hell breaks loose with giant robots and demons and
full-time solar eclipses and all sorts of cool stuff and Kotoko singing
the ending theme song and that's just the first episode. And
halfway through the series is one hell of a twist that dropped my jaw.
Uta-kata:
I don't know what to make of this one. I think one episode isn't quite
enough of a sample for this. It didn't really grab me, but didn't push
me away either. For all I know, this might be the Next Big Thing, or it
might not be. Character design smacks of Kiddy Grade. This one goes
something like this: School girl looks into haunted mirror and sees
someone else inside, who then comes out of the mirror and moves in with
school girl. This has a little bit of fanservice, with a couple panty
shots here and there, but it's not enough fanservice to keep me
watching for that purpose, and too much for this particular show. I
know, I know, you're thinking, "Bob saying a couple panty shots is too
much fanservice!?" No, what I'm saying is, if a show is going to
include fanservice, don't just throw it in for the sake of it when it's
not really needed, and if it is thrown in, don't do it in a half-assed
manner. There's nothing like half-assed fanservice to really drag
something down. It's like eating a cheeseburger with perfectly prepared
meat on a fresh bun, but the cheese itself is funky. Throws everything
off. But I digress.
Combustible Campus Guardress:
I've known about this one for awhile now, seeing it way back at
Katsucon '96. Back then it was rather new (it originally came out in
'94: a two-year delay back then was acceptable), and it rocked, and it
still does. It looks dated and a little rough compared to modern shows,
but it packed a lot of worthy material into its four episodes, complete
with a catchy ending theme song. Action, comedy, a bit of romance, and
an ending that's both entirely unexpected and fulfilling, this show is
a good way to spend two hours.
Azusa Will Help!:
In the future, a lack of baseball players has led to the acceptance of
"sports robots." A down-on-hard-times high school baseball team with a
non-stop losing streak is about to be disbanded because one of the
members quit. So they look into getting a sports robot to fill in the
gap, but all they can afford is a used maid robot, Azusa, who doesn't
know anything about baseball, but is eager to learn. Will her battery
hold a charge long enough to play a full game of baseball? I've never
been a fan of sports anime or sports in general, but I found this sweet
little one-shot quite charming and entertaining, even heartwarming
towards the end. Granted, it has a lot of stereotype elements in it,
such as the grandfather/coach that doesn't like robots, and the bottom
of the barrel status of the team itself, but it made for a fun 50
PG-rated minutes. I wouldn't mind this becoming a regular series.
2x2 Shinobuden:
Ninjas! Ninjas are (almost) always cool. Shinobu, a young
ninja-in-training, has to complete a task as part of her training. The
least impossible option is to go around and steal underwear for her
master, so the first episode is some silly mild ecchi-ness. Especially
the part where she sneaks into Kaede's room, and tries an invisibility
move which she thinks is working, when it's not. The whole show has
that "we have a plot, but we'd rather not worry about silly things like
that, because we're too busy having fun with whatever it is we're
doing."
Shadow:
This one is partway between Ninja Scroll and La Blue Girl. It has
all the crazy action and violence that made Ninja Scroll famous, but
with more nudity and graphic sex scenes. But not quite the
over-the-top sexual themes of La Blue Girl, lacking the demons with
giant peckers the size of telephone poles. I've seen two episodes
so far, and I'm digging it.
More to come later.
back to main