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Air Gear
Status/Info: Got interested in the dubbed, then went to find the subs... For some reason the dubbed showed all the nudity while the subs I found had a cartoon crow in front of everyone's crotch/breast... I hear the manga is better. Go read it.Review: I can so see this sport in the future. Air Trecks- motorized roller blades that can have the rider "flying" through rooftops, jumping over buildings, etc, etc... It's all very flashy with plenty of cool stunts and tournaments to uphold pride and bet team emblems on the line, but it also touches the mysteriousness of the 8 Kings, childhood crushes, and of course, the kid prodigy that comes out of nowhere to kick everyone's arses. Of course the series ended in the middle of the manga somewhere, but overall it was decent. Plenty of nude girls flashing this and that in just about every inappropriate situations, along with humorous flashes from the guys (See, it's funny when guys are butt naked, but sexual if girls are naked- Society is like that.) as well. The character design is nice and there's one hot guy for every 2 or 3 hot girl (With a bonus homosexual or two and Shounen-Ai situations in the series. First Akito's Kiss, then that Time Controlling guy, and let's not forget Akito/Agito's brother always looking as if he wants to strip his jacket and more off in every scene he's in...) so it sounds normal for Shounen. ^^
Rating: 8.3
Air TV
Status/Info: 13 Episode Series and originally a Visual Novel.Review: The story starts off slow, but there is a definite plot to it. If you can hold out to the end, it's worth the seemingly long wait. The art is fantastic and the opening song is very catchy, so it shouldn't be that hard. Yukito Kunisaki is on a journey to find a girl with wings, like the one his mother had told him about as a child. Along the way he settles in a small town to earn some money, when he finds himself befriending a strange girl named Misuzu. He is invited to stay with her as he continues his adventure in search of the girl who flies freely in the sky. There are three arcs that surround the series, so do pay attention to the time. The 1000th summer... A bittersweet tale...
Rating: 8.3
Akira
Status/Info: 1988's ¥1,100,000,000 124 minute movie. Classic, baby...Review: In a time when lip movement just went up and down with barely any facial expression, Akira became a mile-stone for animation with its expressive facial movements and lip-synched movements of the mouth and sound. (The Japanese voice actors' performance were recorded first, THEN the animation was based after it- the opposite of what is usually done.) A true classic, but at the same time known for being extremely confusing, violent, and covering touchy subjects such as ethics, youth delinquencies, and social unrest. The story is about Kaneda and Tetsuo, childhood friends who live in Neo-Tokyo in the year 2019, thirty-one years after the mysterious explosion that destroyed the original city. They are part of a youth bike gang which Kaneda leads, and during a fight with another gang, they run into a mysterious boy who happened to be an escaped government project. As armed soldiers come to retrieve the boy, Tetsuo is taken away as well. In a government hospital, they find dormant psychic abilities hidden in Tetsuo (much like the ones the boy possessed) and begin a series of tests on him to awaken his powers. Tetsuo eventually escapes the hospital, and upon returning to his friends, he begins to see disturbing illusions (his own guts spilling out of him, etc) and the name "Akira" keeps repeating in his head. Then with the awakening of his psychic powers, he brings to light his inferiority complex of living in Kaneda's shadow and begins wreaking havoc to bring down everything that once looked down on him. The story goes on to how such an unstoppable force destroys half the city and how Tetsuo slowly kills off everything close to him, but in the end, this story is about the strength/importance of friendship and ethics of science. Akira ends up being the original child psychic that destroyed Tokyo years ago, with nothing left of him but his remains (brain, spinal chord, maybe an arm and a leg?) which have gone through every scientific testing known to man to explain what had happen. The three other children the government had possessed were fellow tests subjects, un-aged, but extremely wrinkled. Akira's presences still remained and were still all-powerful, but unlike the manga they did not destroy the city and rule, but instead went into another dimension of some sort. The problem with this movie was that there were too many topics thrown in together in too short of a time. While the manga continued far beyond the movie (which had been made before the manga ended), the movie ended abruptly and felt incomplete. Regardless, this film is still a powerful classic that makes you think, much like its other "cyberpunk" descendants- Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiment Lain, etc.
Rating: 9.5
Angel Sanctuary
Status/Info: Watched the 3 unfinished anime movies and manga is out.Review: The anime slaughtered the story. I mean it... READ THE MANGAS. The anime just tried to highlight all the important parts, and basically made an inconsistent, rushed feeling that is just sickening. It's like watching a clip show that will send you into more confusion. Animation was great and hey, Kira is cute and all, but he prefers black leather over a crappy green trench coat Mr. Chief Character Design...
-__-
Rating: 8.0
Angelic Layer
Status/Info: Watched the dubbed series on Demand.Review: Wait... I remember now... THIS is why I don't like the Shoujo genre in general. -_- Very girly, kiddy, and oh so aggravating. If I had control of a moving doll, I'd kick Misaki's butt in that game. I have heart of the cards AND I believe in myself! -_- Okay and I'm sorry, but any game that involves "dress your own doll shaped like a woman with perfect features" would DEFINITELY have more guys playing. Not only do they fight, cause destruction in the Layer, can cosplay any fantasy girl (or the occasional guy), but you get cool visors too! The series was about a 12 year old girl named Misaki Suzuhara who enters the world of the game Angelic Layer, where electronical dolls called Angels fight each other in competitions. Inspired to win after arriving in Tokyo to see a beautiful white Angel fight in the city's giant screen, the noob wins tournament after tournament. (To my dismay and horror.) Through the tournament, she reunites with her mother who had abandoned her for almost a decade in search for a cure for her now paralyzed legs. Apparently, the Angelic Layer game started first as a research facility to manufacture mechanical limbs for the disabled. Along with the crazy, but brilliant researcher Ichiro Mihara (Who I swear sexually abuses his subordinate Ogata by having him "penaltied" every time he fails to do something. The methods of punishments however, are questionable... Octopus in pants, tied to the ground to bake in the sun, naming a doll after Ogata and then threatening to sleep with it every might...?) they are considered the mother and father of Angelic Layer. It is also no surprise that Ichiro has feeling for Misaki's mother...
Rating: 7.3
Appleseed
Status/Info: Computer Animated movie created in 2004.Review: Even though it's computer animated, it's still "anime" so here it is. ^^ A decent story, based off the graphic novels of Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell). So if you like GITS, you'll like this movie. The computer animation was okay for its time, but the thing to notice is its screenplay, especially its camera angles. The story is about the aftermath of a global war, where in the last city of Olympus, contains a flourishing population of half humans and half Bioroids- advanced human clones that do not reproduce and have emotions such as love, hate, and anger suppressed, under the watch of the super computer brain, Gaia. Their primary roles for existence is to balance and help maintain and preserve the human specie, since they do not possess urges to kill, hate, envy, and other traits that causes humans to kill. However, human terrorists within the military attempt a coup to regain control of the government that is made up of mostly Bioroids and computers, thus causing confusion for our heroine, Deunan Knute. Battling on the outskirts of the city even after the global war ended, she is taken into the city to lead the government’s E.S.W.A.T team with her former boyfriend who is now 75% machine. Somehow she is connected with a mysterious data called Appleseed, which is connected to the future of all Bioroids and the race of mankind itself…
Rating: 8.6
Area 88
Status/Info: 12 episodes of old-school fighter pilot mercenaries.Review: A young pilot named Shin Kazama is tricked into signing a three year contract by a jealous and competitive childhood friend, landing him in Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Determined to earn $1.5 million dollars to buy his way out and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises in rank amongst the other pilots of Area 88. Filled with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or like his fellow mercenaries, for the sheer excitement of battle. The music to this series is fantastic and upbeat, while the story is painful and depressing. A perfect combination for another "Rise of a prodigy that kicks everyone's ass," sort of show.
Rating: 8.8
Basilisk
Status/Info: Also known as Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls with a movie adaptation called Shinobi: Heart Under Blade.Review: The story tells of two feuding shinobi clans under a temporary peace treaty suddenly gone to war again when the shogan decides to use the two clans as a way to decide his successor. Each side chooses ten warriors and fight to the death to gain the support of the Tokugawa government for the next thousand years. It is a bloody, action-packed anime with lots of swords, beheading, hair, naked bodies, and of course, love- as the two main characters are the new leaders of their clans, once engaged, but unfortunately, destined to kill each other like their respective grandmother/grandfather. Even though you can probably guess the ending from the beginning, you can't help but watch each character go, one by one, in the most gruesome or humiliating way. You really can't fall in love with one character since there isn't enough time to build much character development on them. Even the main characters are kind of blah, although you can see their plight. It's basically a Romeo and Juliet story gone shinobi style with cool abilities and more breasts.
Rating: 8.6
Beyblades
Status/Info: Watched most of Season One, and some of Season Two. Animation changes drastically between them.Review: Who knew spinning tops could save a drowning child/take over the world? I'd say people with Bit Beasts are cheaters since the poor kids with regular supermarket bought tops would get chewed up too easily. But hey, if there's an army of kids out there getting paid to play with tops all day, sign me up too!
Rating: 7.5
Big O
Status/Info: Watched all of Season One when it aired on Toonami/Cartoon Network (US) but missed Season Two.Review: The series starts off slooooooooow and basically attempts that mysterious shadowy past approach... And fails for the most part. Basically uninteresting, however the last five episodes did finally spark my attention- in which ended the series only to be discontinued in Japan. Years later, they decided to make a second series for American fans, and I hear they failed at that too. Somehow this big mecha series with a one-dimensional character proved uninteresting.
Rating: 7.3
Bleach
Status/Info: Still airing in Japan with manga being produced as well. (Manga is ahead of anime.)Review: Story is about Shinigamis (death gods) mixed with slapstick comedy, hysterical disfigured forms and great for all viewers, but targets the male audience more. Seriously something there for everyone though. Includes cute guys and girls with erm, great assets, as well as blood and awesome fight scenes. Music is awesome as well. Still watching this anime as it becomes available for downloads. The story revolves around 15 year old Ichigo Kurosaki, made representative Shinigami after he somehow took all the powers of the Shinigami Rukia in an attempt to protect her and his family. When he's not battling lost souls called Hollows, he's fighting one captain classed Shinigami after another who wish to test his powers and limits. Many battles await him as he discovers his spirit pressure influences and passes to those around him... And that he's not the only one of his kind...
Rating: 9.1 / Bleach: Memories of Nobody - 6.5
Blood : The Last Vampire
Status/Info: Movie, whose events prequel Blood+ (2000)Review: Forty-eight minutes long with no answers to your questions. While its visuals are impressive at times (but CG just totally awkward at others), the cast displayed a monotone and flat performance, with the exception of Saya's Japanese voice. Most of it was in Japanese with subtitles and the English spoken while the character was in America sounded even more unexpressive. Much too short to develop the character or even tell us more than her name, the movie felt more like a single episode to what should have been longer series. (Watch Blood+) The story takes place before the Vietnam War, in which a secret organization working outside of any country's jurisdiction is fighting blood-sucking creatures called Teropterids. A young girl named Saya seems to be their best weapon against these creatures. Wielding a sword and possessing super-human strength, she is briefly mentioned as "The Last Original", thus being the only hope for the human world against these creatures. These creatures have the ability to take human forms so Saya goes undercover in a high school in order to investigate the possibilities of Teropterids hiding in a nearby military base. The movie ends as suddenly as it begins, somehow hinting the fact that Saya is not human and in fact a Vampire of some sort, as a photograph of her from the 1800's is shown at the end of the movie. Like I said over and over again, much too short to be fully appreciated.
Rating: 7.95
Blood+
Status/Info: First series I'd seen entirely on YOUTUBE. I smell copyright issues, but it's the consumer's benefit so who gives a hoot. ^^; This series is a continuation of the OVA Blood the Last Vampire.Review: First some spoilers... OMFG, NATHAN IS ALIVE SOMEHOW AFTER GETTING SLICED IN HALF WITH SAYA'S BLOOD WHILE TOTALLY GORGEOUS SOLOMON DIES?! WTF?!. Okay now that that's over... First a summary: Saya Otonashi seems like a normal high school girl that lacks memory of events prior the one year she spent as the adopted daughter of George Miyagusuku, along with her brothers Kai and Riku Miyagusuku, but in reality, she is a Chiropteran queen- responsible for the release of Diva and the plague of rampaging blood-sucking Chiropteran monsters that have appeared in time outside the history books for centuries. She and her twin sister Diva were born from an extinct mummified creature found by Joel Goldschmidt in 1833, who raised Saya as a normal girl while treated Diva as a caged lab rat. Upon Diva's mistaken release by Saya, Joel was killed, thus leading to his descendents to form the Red Shield and track down Diva, using Saya as their last hope and weapon as the twins' blood are lethal to each other and cause the blood and body of Chiropteran and Chevaliers (Chiropteran servants created by sharing their blood to humans) alike to crystallize and break. Hagi, a boy introduced to Saya to discover her reproductive abilities grew up with her and became her Chevalier when he fell off a cliff and she attempted to save his life by sharing her blood, which she had known to easily heal her own wounds and prevented her from aging. After rediscovering her past events and slaughters, she continues the war with her twin sister and her Chevaliers Amshel, Solomon, James, Nathan, and Carl. (The reason Saya has only ONE Chevalier becomes more obvious at the end of the series. I do remember myself screaming at her to get more though. XD Apparently, she doesn't like the ideas of stopping time for humans and cherishes their mortal lives.) It starts off slow, but this 50 episode series really gets hot later on. It all builds up to great character development and sick twists. For example Riku's death didn't hit me until the afterthought. (Probably because I read spoilers.) Once again, Solomon was gorgeous and his love for Saya being thrown away like that was a waste. I don't understand why he didn't tell her he got hit though. Kai, who annoyed the hell out of me with his realized uselessness grew on me at the end when he became useful and realized his love for Saya may have been more than just brotherly love. And Hagi... Every girl's dream. A reserved and obedient hunk that promises to protect you for all eternity... Sorry Kai, they were made for each other. ^^
Rating: 9.35
Blue Gender
Status/Info: I watched this series as it aired on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network (US)Review: Yes we humans are a plague. Good story to it though I must say some of the animation was a bit off in terms of proportion. For some reason I bursted out laughing when the girl got squished by a giant bug so suddenly... @_@ I'm just evil like that. Nice twist to the story and full of insane people. (Tony- squeeeee! ...... ) For some reason however, it lacked something.. the "umph" that would make me rate it as a really, really good series... So big mechs to crush big bugs, who are trying to wipe out human population... ^^;
Rating: 8.0
Blue Submarine 6
Status/Info: Watched it as it aired on Toonami(US)Review: Pretty freaky and makes you think. Once again, the human race and its civilizations are depicted as the evil of the world. The computerizing with the animations was a bit rough at times, but it was an okay anime.
Rating: 8.4
Candidate for Goddess
Status/Info: Watched it as it aired on Cartoon Network. 12 episodes long and discontinued in Japan. Too Bad.Review: The series was cut short and discontinued, probably because it resembled too many other mecha shows, primarily Evangelion. Still, it was cute and quite funny while it lasted.
Rating: 8.2
Cardcaptor Sakura
Status/Info: Watched it as it aired in the US. Obviously edit-happy freaks ruined some parts of the real story and threw out some episodes.Review: Basically a girl's show. Cute with a sweet romance between what... 12 year olds? But seriously too cute to hate with a cool story to it. Hey I own the Clow Cards and I'd NEVER turn them any other color... Yue and Kero kick butt though ^^ And hell, Sakura's brother Tori and Yue/Julian are GAY, get over it. American/Canadian editors feel that American/Canadian kids are too fragile to handle what the Japanese kids handle huh? Also note that the name changes were pretty drastic from their original Japanese names. Americans couldn't handle the pronunciation when it first aired in the US/Canada as well as the cultural thing...
Rating: 8.7
Chobits
Status/Info: Nothing like mindless Shoujo that tries to tell a deep story...Review: Nothing like watching an 18 year old freshman in college squirm about his virginity and nose-bleeding over magazines. Funny anime of the awkward stages in life as well as that cutesy pink fluff that I'm known to hate so much. Cute for the girls, and a little something for the guys ^_~ They even try to add a deep chain of events and mystery, but it just drags over a cheaply illustrated book with bunnies in jumpsuits...
Rating: 8.3
Chrno Crusade
Status/Info: 24 EpisodesReview: What I find mildly amusing and satisfying about this series is the fact that it started off as a light-hearted slapstick comedy, but ended in such a sad and heart-wrenching way. The character development on the main characters are flawless and the entire series was paced in such a nice way. I definitely recommend this series to any anime fan in search of great animation, great story, demons, gun fights, magic, and of course, love and friendship. The series follows the story of a nun named Rosette Christopher and her demon partner Chrno, in their search for Rosette's brother Joshua- who was taken away by a demon associate of Chrno's, a powerful demon named Aion. During their search, they battle numerous other demons and begin to discover the reasons why Aion needs Joshua. Slowly but surely, Chrno is forced to confront his past and sacrifice everything once again to save the ones he loves. Prepare yourself for a beautiful journey with a sad ending...
Rating: 9.45
Claymore
Status/Info: 26 Episode Series. Contains blood, gore, and brief nudity.Review: If you're looking for a fresh new anime with an amazing storyline that will blow your mind out, this isn't the one. However, if you're looking for something to fun to watch, containing big swords, buckets of blood, tight white outfits, and blonde half-demons, this is your show. The story starts off with the murder and devouring of a human boy named Raki's family, and his meeting with a Claymore- a female half human and half Yoma warrior, sworn to defend the human race. As he travels around with her, he gradually learns more about her past and slowly the story shows why this Claymore named Clare, decided to become a "silver-eyed witch"- feared by humans and Yoma alike. Then the usual overkilled storyline of revenge and slaughter ensues, ending in a predicted, unfinished way. And there you have it. An anime to watch, just so that you can say you watched it. Great for those who like action, not so great for the rest of the family- especially young, untainted eyes...
Rating: 8.5
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Status/Info: 25 episode cliff-hanger with a sequel of some sort to follow shortly.Review: In the future, Japan is conquered by the Brittanian Empire and renamed "Area 11" which causes much unrest and hatred towards the empire from the "Elevens". When seventeen year old Lelouch Lamperouge accidentally finds a mysterious girl named C.C. and receives the power of the "Geass", he joins and leads a group of terrorists as the mysterious masked "Zero" to attempt to bring down the Brittanian Empire and carry out his revenge against the Brittanian Royal Family that betrayed he and his sister and mother long ago... What sparked my interest to watch this series was the fact that Lelouch's character had been frequently compared to Death Note's Kira/Light. While this story is still incomplete, this anime is sure to entertain you and once again question what "Justice" exactly is...
Rating: 9.4
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Status/Info: 25 episode conclusion to the first season.Review: The struggle between The Black Knights and the rest of the world continues as Lelouch battles his friends, family, and ultimately, himself... You would think the continuation would be just as fantastic as the first part, but no... It dragged, went off in weird tangents and somehow things got rushed in the end. In general, the plot skewed off elsewhere and left you wondering who was the real villain and why some people were still alive after getting stabbed, shot, or blown up so many times. Although it had its share of sad moments here and there, for the most part, character development was better than the actual storyline. I wouldn't say the ending was epic, but it did bring a wave of emotions, although some people will feel no sense of closure. In all, fans of this series will experience much aggravation and disappointment in this conclusion, followed by a small wave of sadness and disbelief.
Rating: 8.8
Cooking Master Boy
Status/Info: Don't ask questions, just go with me on this one... Saw most of this anime in Chinese... Don't ask.Review: Who knew the culinary field was such a dangerous place? This show contains celestial pots and pans, talking food, evil cults and lots of blood spilled- and they aren't all from the meat about to be cooked. I don't know what kept me watching it, but one thing is for sure- The show did nothing to help me improve my cooking...
Rating: 7.3
Cowboy Bebop
Status/Info: Watched it as it aired on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network. Even though they warn about the content and air at late hours, you can bet the editors cut out a whole crapload of stuff. That's no fun... I've also seen the Movie as well- IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM! (subbed).Review: Sporadic it may seem at first, but damn- this is one of the best action sequences you will find. Made to surpass Hollywood movie camera angles and a hell lot more excitng. What got me was that in the movie, Spike was nearly invincible seeing as he was strangled, bleeding, and thrown into the water from high heights and lived. However, the series ends with Spike dieing after a gun versus sword fight. (???) Very dramatic though with doves flying everywhere from out of nowhere. Some still refuse to believe that he's died ^^;
Rating: Series- 9.5 / Movie- 9.3
Cyborg 009
Status/Info: Saw it as it aired on Toonami (US)Review: Yes crappy animation, but for some reason I got hooked to it as it progressed. Might have been the fact that the voice characters caught me (that Digimon Tai kid...) or the fact that there was nothing else to watch at the time...
Rating: 7.75
Dai-Guard
Status/Info: Anime Network On Demand (US)Review: What... The ...Hell? This thing started and ended like it never happened. You know how you hate series with good storylines but have bad character development? Well this series has none of that. As a matter of fact, it's the TOTAL OPPOSITE. There were 26 episodes of somewhat decent character development then BAM! It ended. I was waiting for the next episode to air after watching episode 26 to realize it had already ended. WTF? A rip-off of the Evangelion series with aliens called Heterodynes attacking people until three office workers from the 21st Century Security Corporation pilot the Dai- Guard, a rather crappy and bulky looking giant robot and attempt to save the world while managing their office jobs... Once again, great character development, but no story whatsoever. I mean the damn thing ended with the aliens still attacking and the three of them promising a more harmonious relationship with each other for a better future.... WHAT THE HELL?!
Rating: 6.5
Darker than BLACK
Status/Info: 25 Episodes and Licensed. (US)Review: After the mysterious appearance of a strange and chaotic area called Hell's Gate in Tokyo ten years ago, the natural stars at night disappeared, to be replaced with fake stars that represent an individual being called a Contractor. Contractors, humans with special abilities appear, unbeknownst to the public, are relatively emotionless (though this does not seem to appear so in the series- AT ALL.) and act solely on rational decisions, making them perfect weapons to use as spies and agents. Strangely true to its name, Contractors must also make a "payment" (obsessive compulsive activities) after using their powers, such as lining up stones in a square, singing, breaking fingers, drinking beer, smoking, singing a song, etc. Multiple secret organizations rise to uncover the mystery and power of Hell's Gate, after the sudden disappearance of Heaven's Gate in South America five years ago, (wiping out a 1500 KM radius around it). The story focuses on a strange Contractor called Hei, also known as the Black Death/Black Shinigami. Working for a powerful syndicate, he and his partners Yin, the emotionless medium "Doll", Mao, a contractor who lost his body and resides in a cat, and Huang, the only true human in the group, slowly uncover the true reasons to the tragedy of Heaven's Gate. What made this relatively pointless show enjoyable was the fact that although Hei is supposed to be emotionless (which he isn't), we the audience get to see his surprisingly funny nature and odd-ball sort of persona. As if eating 50 bowls of noodles in one meal isn't cute enough, this guy is actually in search of his missing younger sister. If that doesn't make you go "Awwww...", I don't know what will. Besides that and a few somewhat entertaining battles, this series was more laid back than it should be, making things seem mysterious when it was just pointless to start with.
Rating: 7.9
Death Note
Status/Info: The first time a series has surpassed its manga original...Review: I was skeptical about watching this series at first, because I had read the manga and disliked its ending and pacing after the first half... To my delight, the oddly numbered 37 episode series showed how an anime can in fact be better than its manga counterpart- by dropping out all the long, dragging parts and adding special light saber effects on simple movements such as writing in a book. And of course, by changing the ending slightly- so that there is the same outcome, only it is approached in a much more classier, non-uncharacteristic way... The story is about an intelligent young man named Light Yagami, who possesses an extreme sense of justice after he finds a "Death Note" that was dropped onto earth by a Soul Reaper. In the attempt to eradicate crime and all evil, Light uses the powers of the Death Note by writing the names of all the criminal he sees on TV, killing them. This starts an international investigation and begins one of the most exhilarating cat and mouse chase between two men who have very different views of what "Justice" is. (Light Yagami vs one who calls himself L) This story explores how power can corrupt and other moral values. If you want to entertain yourself in an intelligent way, YOU MUST SEE THIS SERIES!
Rating: 9.8
Digimon
Status/Info: I watched all of Season 1,2,3, and parts of 4 as they aired in the US and Canadian channels.Review: Season One was cute, Two was slightly weak, Three was just mind-blowing with the storyline and Four was too weird for me with the kids becoming digimons themselves. My favorite being season Three, I think the plot was a lot deeper than most little kids would understand. I'm thinking the creators wanted to either re-target their audience or go along with their ageing audience. I'd take Digimon over Pokemon any day.
Rating: Season 1- 8.5 / Season 2- 7.8 / Season 3- 9.0 / Season 4- 7.6
DN Angel
Status/Info: I had access to the entire series, but after watching the first 3 episodes, I found that it wasn't for me. 14 year old cutesy love didn't do it for me... And yes I saw the last episodes- I told you I had access to the entire series...Review: Too cute and one dimensional in my point of view. Animation was stunning however, and that kept me going for a good 5 episodes. The plot was blah with the usual cute kid gets cute girls with his alter-ego being the older cute dude.
Rating: 8.0
Dragon Ball/Z/GT
Status/Info: Can't believe I'm reviewing this? It IS anime you know. Seen mostly through crappily editted American/Canadian channels, but some through their original Japanese form with subtitles and in Chinese too!Review: Based on the Chinese legend of Journey to the West (You know that Monkey King thing with the monk...), this anime basically repeats itself over and over again, using the same excuses, relatively the same moves, but different animators. The animation gets better and better thoughout the individual series. One question remains... WHY WON'T GOKU JUST DIE?! AND STAY THAT WAY?! Even after his death his freakin name lives on in his great,great grandson... Argued to be the most action-packed series in anime... To the US audience especially...And the editors just suck with their softened language and attempts to hide the nudity. I mean Gohan had his clothes blown off him just to have a fully-grown pine tree shrunken down to size to cover his privates... In the middle of a desert.. After they blew up their surroundings... How the hell did a pine tree survive???
Rating: For all series an average of 8.6
Elemental Gelade
Status/Info: 26 episodes of mind-numbing dribble.Review: What made this series fail is not only the fact that its plot was unoriginal and boring, but also a sense that its creation had not asked for more than just mediocre way to pass time. The story is about an amateur sky pirate named Cou Van Giruet, and his quest to bring this mysterious girl named Reverie (Ren) Metherlence to Edel Garden- where "Edel Raids" (beings with amazing powers, such as Ren herself) roam free. Of course there is the usual damsel in distress, cocky attitudes of the main character rising to his purpose, and of course- hundreds of nameless individuals that get beat up/blown away just because the main characters are on the screen. If this show enlightens you somehow, then you probably have the intellect of an 8 year old child who still dreams of princesses and ponies.
Rating: 5.6
Elfen Lied
Status/Info: Watched the 13 episodes and 14th parady episode (which is supposed to take place in between the series) subbed.Review: This series contained a LOT of blood, rolling heads, amputated limbs and naked girls. Can one ask for more? The story is about a virus that gives humans horns, red hair and eyes, and "vectors" (extended invisible hands that can reach from two meters to eleven meters and can split your head open or squish your body like a tomato.) that is spreading throughout places in Japan after the awakening of the first female diclonius. The first female diclonius named Lucy (who is seen as a new Eve to mankind) escapes a secret facility that captures and controls dicloniuses for their own purposes. She is shot in the head before escaping and develops a bubbly Chobit like (Nyuu instead of Chii…) split personality. By a chance encounter, she meets up with a young man named Kouta with a forgotten dark past he had shared with Lucy. Because Lucy goes Nyuu in and out, she is unable to communicate with him about the past, although both of them feel they know each other. The bloodiness of this series is shocking at first, but then you sort of get used to it and expect anyone that is standing still to just split open at any given second. I felt the ending was a bit incomplete with the organization still being intact and all and I also felt really bad for Director Kurama and his daughter. Heart wrenching ending you can say with plenty of blood. The only thing that bugged me was that Nana continued to live, even though she’d had been spared death three times in this series.
Rating: 8.85
Ergo Proxy
Status/Info: 23 Episode Bummer.Review: This series became a real disappointment to me. I first noticed this around episode 5 however. Anyway, the story was dragged, lacked any sense and tried to incorporate a suspenseful and mysterious feel to it but failed… REALLY BADLY. It first talks about a dome called Romdeau whose inhabitants are brainless worker ants in a society where the government dictates their every way of life in exchange for total peace and safety, in contrast to the dying planet’s harsh terrains outside the dome. You’d have the same freaking brainwashing service announcement on public display and audio all the time: “Fellow citizens, do your part and make waste. Life is easier when you lighten your load.” In this fake paradise, humans are accompanied by androids named Autoraves with personal companions called Entourages. (Usually Entourages are for the working elite.) Our story surrounds our leading lady, Real Mayar, inspector from the Citizen Information Bureau and granddaughter of the Councilor/leader of Romdeau. She is extremely bored with her perfect way of life and wishes something exciting would happen, as she openly expresses this to her Entourage Iggy by telling it straight to his AI face. As she is studying the series of murders committed by berserk autoraves infected with Cogito Virus which allows the autoraves to become aware of themselves (their first reaction when infected is to kneel down, clasp their hands together, stair into the sky and sort of pray…), she is confronted with the mysterious monster-like being called a Proxy, which overturns Romdeaus delicate and peaceful way of life. (It’s sort of funny how people still walk in a straight line like nothing’s happening when the person next to them just got their head splattered against a wall or escalator. Things spin out of control as a man named Vincent Law is somehow connected and framed with all of this, forcing him to leave Romdeau and in her suspicion of a government conspiracy, Real follows him. What made this all stupid was that the adventure never made it to a climax, the suspense wasn’t all that suspenseful and the ending didn’t explain anything and tried to instead, use a lot of hystorical, mythical and even biblical references that made no sense or made the series better as a whole.Cradle and the Ark? Daedalus and Icarus’ wings? OMFG this series unique art and style had such potential, but they ruined it with STUPID STUPID plot that tried too hard to be like Ghost in the Shell. I was bored out of my mind after the first three episodes, but regained some interest when Iggy exploded and cursed at Real for living and begged for forgiveness at the same time. That was a little freaky. Yet overall, I’d suggest you NOT waste your money to buy this on DVD when it comes out November 2006.
Rating: 7.6
Eureka 7
Status/Info: Although I do like Johnny Yong Bosch and his Power Rangers days, I watched this in Japanese with subtitles because only then can you get the full grasp of the anime experience.Review: Rarely do you find a 50 episode series that keeps you on the seat from beginning to end with little to no plotholes and/or disappointments. Not only does this series have style, great animation, diverse characters that you find you love in a short time, and an intensely deep plot with a dash of love, but it's also got mechs... MECHS! People compare this series to Evangelion (come on, in the mech world it's compared to Eva or Gundam) but I found it by far more enjoyable than Eva with its colorful characters and great development. Some have said it moved a little slow in the first 10 episodes or so, but I felt it was needed. The entire surfing in the air and mechs with boards just blew me away. So did Doggie-Niisan (Moondoggie) and Holland's awesome orange boxers. XD I heart Dominic closely too. The poor boy kept getting abused by the one he admired. So basically it's about a 14 year old kid named Renton Thurston, son of the military researcher that supoosedly saved the word in the mysterious phenomenon named "Summer of Love." He joins the Gekko State, led by his reffing idol Holland Novak, and his crew of mercenaries against the government in attempt to unite humans and Coralians (unseen beings that also inhabit the world) together with the legendary Nirvash and its original pilot (And love interest to Renton), the mysterious Eureka.
Rating: 9.65
Fafner
Status/Info: Movie and series out. Not available in US to my knowledge. Read the movie and is currently seeing the series.Review: Woot! More mechas and hey, this one is animated by the guys of Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny! Only difference is, most of the characters have that line thing above the cheeks- mostly drawn when a character is blushing (only it's light brown not red) or has been beaten up. So what is with the blush 24/7 thing???? Great story and animation and OMG... People have compared it to the Gundam series????
Rating: 8.8
FAKE
Status/Info: I've read some of the mangas and saw the few animated forms of it available. Geez, I'd like to thank my friend Liz for making me buy her the manga for her Bday gift, thus forcing me to flip through the pages, thus introducing me to the world of YAOI and Shounen-ai... You heard me... If you don't like GuyxGuy stuff, don't read any more. I'm warning you...Review: Story is cute, sweet, and funny. Two cops in NYC. Read the mangas.. That's all I've got to say. Mangas in my opinion are always better and more descriptive, and funnier too in terms of all the little things they can write/draw in one little space. Mostly just kissing in the anime, but not much. Only in the last manga did they do it. And in the world of yaoi mangas, I would only give a 6 out of 10 in terms of explicit content. Everything is just blurry. ^^;
Rating: 7.8
Fate/Stay Night
Status/Info: Downloads... Lot's of famous Japanese voice actors casted in this series based off a Hentai game.Review: Okay... First off, I'd like to say: WTF?! This well animated, well orchestrated series went NOWHERE. I was awaiting the climax to this crap story until the very end and still didn't rise over a plateau set out from the beginning. Not only was the character developement slow and pointless (The main character did NOT change from beginning to end.), but there was almost no peak of interest whatsoever. All it contained were half assed fights that didn't entertain any hardcore action fan, skimpy dressed girls that hug and blush at each other for no reason, and oh, let's not forget the single guy in a household full of girls such as his neighbors, rival, worst enemy and teacher thing... -_- Perhaps the most irritating of all was the fact that historical character such as Hercules (Which was pronounced Herecles), Gilgamesh and King Arthur (Who, btw is a WOMAN in this series. Never explained why KING ARTHUR was reincarnated as a woman or why he/she kept referring himself/herself as a woman in the past as well, while acknowledging the fact that kings can only be MALES...) were totally distorted. King Arthur died to his bastard son and was not a woman. -_- Why did no one question the fact that KING ARTHUR WAS A WOMAN?! *pants* Okay, so this series is about a kid named Emiya Shirou (First name Shirou) who is dragged into this war for the Holy Grail somehow since he's a half assed magician with undeveloped powers. His "Servant" is Saber (King Arthur in drag), the strongest out of the seven servant types. They try and defeat all the other Master and Servants while forming allies, and blah blah, nude scene and girls being kidnapped wear tight black leather. -_- Well I shouldn't expect anymore from a hentai related game... Oh and I'd just like to point out that certain Servants were absolutely worthless despite having a semi "lead" role *cough* Archer *cough* and died off pitifully while boring character such as Saber lived on one too many battles... I don't see why this series is such a big hit... *Sees a bunch of boys drooling over FSN Doujinshis* Oh wait, nevermind... Like I said.. Good animation and great music... Really, really, really bad plot with no climax. I want to fail this series and give it a 5 or 6 but... For the good animation and music... [EDIT] Oh crap. After finding out a few more spoilers outside the anime but based on the GAMES... -_- I find the series more... Sensible so I get to up it a notch. Bascially the execution of this series was poor, but original story is good... Damn you crappy writers...[/EDIT]
Rating: 8.0
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Status/Info: This isn't anime but it IS a Japanese product so...Review: When I first saw this movie, I realized it had NOTHING to do with the Final Fantasy games... Even if I had never played one. That part confused the heck out of me before I was able to accept that movies didn't have to have anything to do with its original high money rolling name to make another million. Anyway, it was another movie based on humans being a plague and the planet fighting back, blah blah... When in doubt, humans are to blame. Mother Earth rejects you because you kill her other children in mass genocides. End of story.
Rating: 8.2
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Status/Info: This isn't anime but it IS a Japanese product so...Review: I've never played the game. From all the criticisms and praises I've heard/read about it, this is how I feel. If it can make a person who has NEVER played the game WANT TO play the game and visit dozens of sites to read character bios on the game's character and storyline, then it IS a good movie. Sure it confused the heck out of me at first, but I caught up. And after I read the basic backgrounds of the game after watching it the first time- I watched it again... The following day. People have complained that Cloud can't jump that high, or the story didn't really develop anything... The counter to that from what I've read is that the team purposely wanted Cloud to be more incredible than ever to simply MAKE IT LOOK COOL. Oh come on. You can take it that a guy's hair can stand up that high without using gel, but can't imagine him jumping up 300 feet into the air? It's just a FUN MOVIE... And stories that end perfectly such as the game's shouldn't be deveoped and ruined right? Sure his character may have disappointed some for being so depressed, but it did make him cute... *shrugs* Besides. The music and art alone is enough to satisfy almost any customer.
Rating: 9.5
Final Fantasy VII Last Order
Status/Info: Sadly the U.S edition of the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children DVD did not come with this 30 minute OVA (OAV) that the Japanese edition had. YAY FOR DOWNLOADS! XDReview: Were you confused watching the Advent Children movie? How do you think I felt, having never played the game or missing out on this short OVA? Well, luckily I my brother looked it up and enlightened me that something did happen before the Advent Children movie. Basically Cloud is a useless sack of potato and Zack is forced to drag him around and save his ass every three seconds as Cloud sits there and drools in his depression. You see parts of the game I'm told (since I didn't play the game) in which Sephiroth takes Jenova's head and Zack confronts and fights him. There's a little briefing of what's going on, but just barely so that people who didn't play the game would sort of understand. Then you get to cry/scream for your money back as Zack gets sniped in the head, taking the bullet for Cloud. Okay I just ruined it for you. Enjoy the Advent Children movie now! ^^ My rating is based on my love for the art, Zack's hotness, and Cloud's cuteness being all useless and pampered by Zack, wrapped up in a blanket. (Makes cooing sounds and thinks of obvious yaoi and Doujinshi art that pops into mind...) Oh and yes, while the Advent Children movie was NOT animated, THIS WAS. (Thus making it to my Anime Review Section. ^^)
Rating: 8.7
Flame of Recca
Status/Info: I have read some of the mangas and seen all of the episodes. Once again, manga is so much more enjoyable.Review: Wannabe shinobi kid finds out he IS in fact a shinobi sent through time with the ability to control a Flame- Which in fact happens to be 8 Fire Dragons. Now for the usual Yu Yu Hakasho-like tournaments... *yawn. So basically every element known to man and then some, turned into relics which kick butt.
Rating: 8.6
Fruits Basket
Status/Info: I watched this through downloads- subbed and dubbed. Dubbed voices were okay, but preferred subbed. Anime covers up the manga's 6th book or something. Some fillers along the way, but for the most part good.Review: Well here’s one of those animes I had watched a part of then dropped in fear that it would be too girly and such. I’m glad I went back to it, I’ll admit. This show is rather hysterical, although I can’t say I’ m too into the story with the mushy stuff. In reality, I don’t give a rat’s ass (hehe) who Tohru ends up with. If you must know, I like Kyo better than Yuki, not because he’s too girly or anything (you know how I feel about yaoi and gay guys X3 ) but just because I do. The story is about the Souma family who are cursed with 12 of them becoming the selected animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by the opposite sex. The anime is cut short and raving fans were really looking for another season. Personally I didn’t think the ending was a cliffhanger or anything.. Although I AM aware of future events in the manga and I must say SHIGURE.. BAAAAAAD DOGGY ^^; My favorite characters were Shigure (the 27 year old adorable pervert), Hatori (the cool emotionless babe- half bind too! (Hakkai???)) and Hatsuharu- the gorgeous kid with the split personalities. Seriously though, his alter, “Black Haru” isn’t nearly as destructive as Kagura and her bipolar disease. I mean come on she can kick his ass and Kyo’s together any day. Only difference is that maybe Kagura feels embarrassment in front of strangers and only beats up Kyo (as showed in the supermarket with Kyo) when she’s bipolar, while Haru-kun could care less when, where and whose ass he kicks. I don’t want to spoil any more fun for future manga readers, but definitely pick up the manga if you want to continue the story. You don’t get to meet all 12 zodiacs in the series, which is sad. Also I’d like to say that Uo and Hanajima seem like the types of friends I’d hang out with… Gang members and gothic psychics lol…
Rating: 8.95
Full Metal Panic
Status/Info: Downloaded dubs/subs. (Depending what I wanted to turn on that sitting.)Review: Well first off, the dubbing wasn't too bad but not perfect. The voice actors worked fairly well with the anime, and I had no problem watching most of it dubbed. I had a problem at times with the lack of music in the background in certain important scenes however. Also the storyline tries to focus or accomplish too many things, therefore leaving me confused on whether this series was supposed to be a comedy or serious mecha show or both. It's transition was what messed it up. One episode it was a boring, slightly comedic and pointless filler and the next episode it would get serious again and lead to what seemed like another important arc for such a short series. Character development was good, but the minor supporting characters seem almost useless once the series ends. By the end of the short series, I had forgotten that this anime started off goofy and bubbly. The end sort of created a dramatic rise, then just went into a plateau to nothingness. But now I'm just complaining too much, because this anime had some great mecha fights and the main story was pretty good. The thing is that I wished they had focused more on what the Whispers were rather than shove it all at you in the end. Also what was with the "I love you Kashim" by Gauron at the end? That was an awkward gay moment there... Was he just toying with Sousuke or did he just blurt out that remark before he self destructed just to sicken Sousuke even more? So yes this anime is all about action, comedy, mecha and a touch of romance.
Rating: 8.45
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
Status/Info: Although the original Fullmetal Panic series has some comedy scenes in it, it is NOTHING close to this series. Too funny to be real actually...Review: HYSTERICAL. For all you US anime fans out there that don't have access to downloading, imagine Hiro Yui of Gundam Wing only no mecha, but brings enough firearms to school that it can be compared to the Matrix scene in the office building. He detonated a locker containing a love note thinking someone tampered with his stuff... That's classic.... (puts on the cute voice) FUMOFFUUUUUUUUU! (no idea what that means..)
Rating: 8.7
Fullmetal Alchemist
Status/Info: I saw this series a year before it came out in the US through downloading the subs, which I so prefer over crappy American/Canadian editors and their sometimes crappy voice actors. (Though I must say for this series, I'm quite impressed with their choices.)Review: When an anime makes your heart wrench in its end, you know it's good. A funny, and at the same time dark anime that truly deserves to be rated as one of the best out there. However- what the hell kind of ending is that?!?! Crappy ending that leads to nowhere, too many un-answered questions and I swear Ed had a wooden arm at the end. Prosthetic arm in the time he was sent back? Hell no... And a dragon??? Too rushed I feel the ending was and lacking the sense it followed beforehand.
Rating: 9.55
Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala
Status/Info: First saw it as a download of a really bad ripped version of it secretly being filmed in Japan's theatre. So weird angles, muffled voices, but decent translations printed across the screen at all times. Also this movie is reviewed seperately from the original series because I can. ^^ BE PREPARED FOR MAJOR SPOILERS!Review: Oh what a tragedy. This was one of those rare animes where I wanted a perfect sappy ending where everyone gets together and lives together and basically Ed returns to Al’s world okay?! But did we get that? Noo… We got a slow developing crappy excuse for an ending that left me more angry than happy or sad. Basically The Nazis are going to have an uprising in Ed’s world and a small group decides the gate is to be opened to Shambala, some mystical place of legend and power, when in reality it is just Ed’s home world where Al is waiting. The gates open on both sides because somehow the world that can’t use alchemy CAN use alchemy with the help of Envy the dragon and Ed’s dad sacrificing himself, and on the other side, Gluttony the freak show worm thing and Wrath, the sacrificial, “To mommy I go,” boy… What the hell? Since when did NO ALCHEMY become “A Little Incomplete Alchemy” and what the hell gave writers the idea that Uranium came from a place based on alchemy rather than “the world of technology”? And furthermore, Ed had the guts and brains to not want to bring a war over to his home world in exchange for his passage there, but his wise old father would? At least Al took some good lessons from Izumi before she passed, and created his own style of arrays and “detachable soul transfer” technique… The grand meeting of the brothers and Winry was sooo bad and short and so not what I expected… (Teary, laughter, etc.) Even given the circumstances, all Al did was go, “Brother!” No hugs, no sympathy, nothing.. Only Winry’s welcome and “Let’s get down to business” face. (Some evil woman crossed over with an army of metal armors shaped like Al’s old armor body.) However the fact that some woman who has never even seen an array before can produce a whole crapload, and on top of that, master them easily to produce firepower that burdens BOTH Elric brothers, ALL of Central, and hell, even Mustang?! He could have lit the antagonist (Evil woman wanted to destroy Ed’s world once she crossed over and realized it was truly not Shambala) fifteen times with his eyes closed and saved the day twice, but nooooo, we get some fight that resembled Greed and Ed’s fight- same skills, moves and what…? The woman can fight?! Wasn’t she only shooting pistols earlier and now she can dodge metal flying at her face and produce arrays like it’s elementary school work? The worst was the ending. Boy how I hated it… *SPOILER* And they live happily ever after….. IN THE OTHER WORLD?! What the heck?! All you had to do to prevent crossing of worlds was destroy ONE gate Ed, not two- ONE. Because of that Ed went back over after his short return, leaving Winry and everything he had dreamed of seeing again in the past two years. Sure your mom and teacher’s dead, but your potential girlfriend, her family, your teacher’s widowed husband, and all your friends at Central have no attachment to you? And what’s worse he was going to leave Al there… Al, being the great little brother he is, jumped back with him, thus both being stuck in our world forever. Good job guys. You’re about to go through WWII and the Holocaust from where they lived- GERMANY. Yes you go find that bomb they brought over from the OTHER world… Bad development with a very disappointing ending. The only heart wrenching part was when Wrath sacrificed himself and we got to watch his automail arms rip apart and when the OTHER Alphonse from our world sacrificed himself to get Ed back over… Only in VAIN since Ed came back.. What the hell… So many bad plotholes and did not live up to the series AT ALL... -_-
Rating: 7.3
Fushigi Yuugi (The Mysterious Play)
Status/Info: I watched part of this anime when I was like 15 in Hong Kong. It was in Japanese with Chinese subtitles. What did it do for me? Absolutely nothing. Next I watched a few episodes of it at a friend's house. Jap with subs. Then rewatched the entire series on CD from another friend- Japanese with English subtitles.Review: Yup a show for girls. We never get sick of a group of guys do we? Very funny and touching at times though. Yes one of those will make you cry/spit out ice cream from laughter shows. The ending is one of those "Awwww.. Perfect ending" ones... It'd been better if Tamahome wasn't reincarnated and "transferred." But yeah got to please to cheering fans... Also they make you unable to hate Nakago at the last minute don't they? Good series and I sort of had those ending to a good anime stomach churns.
Rating: 9.2
G Force (Gatchaman)
Status/Info: Old school stuff. Thank the old Cartoon Network. (US)Review: Weird poses and suits. You've got a yoyo and some 10+ year old kid and then you have one with a gun. Do they even try to be fair? A duck.. Of all the birds of prey in the world, you have a duck... Geez it hunts bread people...Sexist really... -_- Oh but awesome plane though.
Rating: 7.8
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Status/Info: Downloaded sub. Retelling of the French story, The Count of Monte Cristo- Freaky futuristic anime style!Review: I can't decide if I would had enjoyed this series more if I wasn't already familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo story through the movie. Anyway, it tells it from a different point of view, different time period and begins the story in the setting 2/3 into the story of the original plot. That is, the Count/Edmond Dantes meets up with the main character- Albert who is the son of the friend who betrayed him and had him imprisoned for a crime he did not commit for 10 years. It's an interesting point of view and the animation was so visually confusing and strange at first with all the patterns moving across the screen, but you'd get used to it and kind of stare in awe at all the designs to the ships and stuff. Anyway, they had slight changes to the story with added characters, for example since it was told in Albert's view, we got to meet his close knit group of friends and get a taste of aristocratic snobs. I felt there were hintings of gay pairings between Albert and his best friend Franz (And the added blushes of every meeting between the Count and Albert didn't help...), but after his death I realized he was just a genuine friend. I cried. The death was so unfair and really added tot he plot. What had me a bit confused/annoyed at the end was the fact that Albert was not Dante's son. In the original story, I could swear he was. (It's been a while.) And that could also add to the weird blushing sense that in the times they met, they were actually sharing father and son moments even if it was all part of a plot for the Count's revenge. A little slow at first, but in the end quite captivating and a fine retelling of a classic story. Just add futuristic gadgets and a vampire/demon and you're all set. ^^
Rating: 9.4
Genshiken
Status/Info: Downloads are fun...Review: Ok so if you ever wanted a third point of view of your freakish anime obsessions, this series is the one to watch. It's an anime about the unhealthy obsession to anime LOL. It's done in a rather creative and a little bit humorous way, but I prefer animes with a REAL story to it LMAO. Watch this if you want to ever laugh at yourself and your anime buddies. ^^;
Rating: 7.8
Get Backers
Status/Info: I finished this series around June 2004. Manga available- Though slightly differs from anime. (Don't they all?) Manga has more male fans with the guys in the manga harassing the women left and right and the anime serves as eye candy for girls.Review: "Their initials are G and B." Ginji and Ban are always poor and hungry no matter how big the reward for their services is. Somehow, they just can't keep the money they've earned. They are professional at getting things that were stolen back, whether it's a keychain, someone's memory, a child, or a priceless statue. Using their unique powers, we find that their dark past is more interesting than their present jobs. This anime starts off slow at first, but towards the middle of the series, we see the coolest fights and conflicts kick off. The anime is hysterically funny with its SD forms and slapstick comedy all the way through though- even in the darker moments. I managed to Bishie Ginji-kun (preferably in his SD/Chibi form or his super HOT Ratei (Lightning/Thunder God) mode ^^ I'd say this anime is directed towards female fans mostly, because of the lineup of cute guys but it does contain the traditional female with huge breasts. Oh and yes I do believe Ginji and Ban were straight, but as the series went on, I swore they had the hots for each other- Especially in the last scene where Ginji rests his head on Ban's shoulder. Kazuki (one of the "prettiest" guys you will ever see) and Jubei though- definitely cute together and gay. Toshiki, move the hell out of the way!
Rating: 8.7
Ghost in the Shell
Status/Info: Ground-breaking cyber-punk.Review: An anime that questions the definition of a human and its soul. Once humans can exist outside their natural bodies, are they any different from Artificial Intelligent beings? The first GIS movie was ground-breaking in its ideas and philosophies. SAC- Confusing and weird until the last 5 episodes which proved to be one hell of a rollercoaster thrill ride. AWESOME. It's 2nd Act was the continuation and wasn't as thrilling but was a bit more emotional. TACHIKOMA!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! The Innocence movie kept to the plot, but was relatively weak compared to a full series. Solid State Society however, was fantastic in continuing the story with Togusa as the new leader, two years after the Major had left section 9.
Rating: 9.2 / SAC- 9.8 / SAC 2nd Act - 9.2 / Innocence- 8.3 / Solid State Society- 9.0
Grave of the Fireflies
Status/Info: Movie on the aftermath of the bombings of Japan in WWII. Strangely, it was aired simultaneously with "My Neighbor Totoro" which is a total opposite in terms of mood.Review: This anime film made my mother respect anime. Because she cried for it. And so did Chaos Phoenix. Very moving and so depressing with lots of gross depictions of flesh getting torn, trashed, and decomposed. The victims of war.
Rating: 9.8
Gravitation
Status/Info: Saw this in Japanese subbed in English. SHOUNEN-AI or YAOI (not really...)Review: First off, this series can't be considered yaoi because all they show is kissing. And even then the kisses are like little third grader pecks. I'm not sure how much the mangas show, but the series only implies that they get physical in bed, but never show anything past hugs and pecks. I don't see what the attraction is between Yuki and Shuichi and their meeting and the path to their relationship is sort of weak. So you have this kid gawking at you, therefore you know he's attracted to and therefore you can kiss him? Don't think so. The character development is okay and pretty funny, but most of the series, the two love birds are apart and fighting. I wouldn't exactly rank them as one of my favorite couples seeing how the whole thing barely makes sense. Not sure how the manga had them meet and develop, but I'm assuming like all other mangas, it's way better than the series. Also... Mr. K.. The BEST gun-slinging manager in the world... And their poor overstressed ex-manager Sakano-san... Hysterical guy...
Rating: 6.4
Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)
Status/Info: 43 Episodes.Review: Although this series is highly perverted, you can't help but explode in laughter at the slapstick comedy and OD of "in your face humor." Rarely do I laugh at jokes in animes, much less 80% of the series, but this old school anime takes the cake. Eikichi Onizuka is an obnoxious 22 year old perverted bachelor - and proud of it... Except for the bachelor part. Formerly a bike gang leader, Onizuka decides he wants to be the world's greatest teacher to mold the minds of young people and most important of all, surround himself with young high school girls in short skirts. Through unconventional methods, which the staff of the school are quick to notice, Onizuka rehabilitates the "troubled" students which have caused chaos for teachers before him - regaining their trust in teachers and adults, bringing people together, and more importantly, making school fun again.
Rating: 9.1
GUNDAM SERIES
All Gundam series to be listed below in order of UC time and on. (Because most people just call it Gundam rather than Mobile Suit or New Report, etc...)Mobile Suit Gundam
Status/Info: Released in the 1970s. That's right folks. The ORIGINAL mecha show and so if you have not watched this series, YOU ARE NOT A GUNDAM FAN. Wing Gundam and so on, totally blemish the Gundam name. This show was not meant to be a fangirl show, but a show on politics and real war situations containing real conflicts, blood, and not so many cute boyband pilots.Review: Nothing expected from the original series. Crappy animation but storyline and mask fetish is followed by the rest of the series. Also the family member/girlfriend/boyfriend on the opposing side is a common theme. Intro to Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, when before the had his cool hair. And I sided with the Federation because the Zeons didn't have beam technology yet. And Zakus look like crap in my opinion. Zaku III are the exceptions....(not in this series) Though the Zeon flag and Nazi like salute are cooler than the.. what do the Feddies do again????
Rating: 9.2
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Status/Info: Although this series was released AFTER the conflict had already been resolved with the end of the Neo Zeon War, it fits in quite nicely describing Earth's battles. I saw this on Cartoon Network, but read the FINAL ending to it, since CN didn't broadcast that part.Review: Better animated given its later release date of course. This series focused more on land battles, rather than the ones in space. Viewers that had just experienced Gundam Wing were mortified that the main character was not a demi-god with an original Gundam, but instead a regular human with regular abilities, with a mass produced Gundam, and actually BLEEDS and loses a limb at the end. What a pity....
Rating: 9.3
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War
Status/Info: Three 26 minute episodes that tells a part of the One Year War battle with the Federation vs. Zeon and is the prequel of Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079.Review: "The year is Universial Century 0079. Oliver May is a technical officer in the Zeon 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit, in charge of testing new military technology. Stationed in the Jotunheim, a civilian transport ship that was converted into military use, Oliver must head into battle and experience the One Year War, only this time from the perspective of a weapon tester who struggles to make an impact on an evolving war during changing times." - Anime News Network. I can't sum it up any better than that, so it's been copy and pasted from Anime News Network. Though not as powerful as its sequel, this first look at a first person view from the Zeon side almost makes me feel bad for the Zeon... ALMOST...
Rating: 7.8
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079 (OAV)
Status/Info: Three 26 minute episodes that tells a part of the One Year War battle with the Federation vs. Zeon and is the sequel of Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War short movies.Review: "Lieutenant Oliver May and the 603 Technical Division Unit aboard the Jotunheim continue testing and evaluating experimental weapons to aid the Zeon war effort against the Federation Forces. At the end of each experiment, the tale of the trials and tribulations faced by the weapon and its test pilot adds a small chapter to the long history of the One Year War." - Anime News Network. I can't sum it up any better than that, so it's been copy and pasted from Anime News Network. All I have to say is that this mini mini series, containing a mere 3 episodes was more powerful to me than the Seed and Seed Destiny episodes combined. Realism and raw human emotions play through this entirely CGed series unlike the played out god-like boybands I always complain about. Each episode leads up the the development of the Zeon's Big Rang- thus supporting my love for the Feddies and their superior Beam Weapon Technology. *shakes head* Zeons and their toy guns. It's like the Industrial North versus the Agricultural South of the American Civil War. A romantic lost cause... Ah well.
Rating: 9.7
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in a Pocket
Status/Info: Short mini series with only 6 episodes. Viewed from Cartoon Network.Review: Seriously one of the best parts of the Zeon versus Earth Federation conflict. And it's so short! The ending makes your heart wrench. Seriously if six episodes is this powerful, that means it is REALLY good. Any non-fan would want to watch more after watching this. And hey, the Gundam pilot is a female that isn't just backup or completely useless, but rather skillful. Plus she basically turns her puppy-love crush into a pile of hamburgers so yeah.... Good fight. One death makes all the difference in the world... Unlike Wing Gundam...
Rating: 9.8
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Status/Info: Saw this when Cartoon Network aired it. There's a movie version of it which highlights the main points, but it changes a little in terms of the relationships between the characters. Series is better.Review: Pretty much the continuation of the Zeon vs. Feddie war. Actually this series brings about the Titans- the fascist group that forms from the Earth Federation. The RX-78GP-01 Zephyranthes and RX-78GP-02 Physalis are two pretty well known Gundams. RX-78GP-03 Dendrobium Orchis is just HUGE and really packs a lot of fire-power... Even bigger than SEED's Meteor systems...
Rating: 8.7
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Status/Info: Read the entire series and knows its ending, but decided to watch the anime anyway.Review: Argued to be the best series and definitely one of the darkest ones. Tomino was depressed at the time... And I could feel it. It was hard to get used to the really old-school and basic animation at first, but THIS is the reason why Gundam is great. I felt my heart wrenching for characters that aren't bishies, but REAL heros. The storyline and philosophy in this series is excellent. It's the goal that all other series try to manipulate and fail horribly at. The timing and way characters come and go went perfectly, and the ending was so full of blood and tears, leaving no character left unscarred. Even Kamille, though left alive, is left mentally crippled.
Rating: 9.5
Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam
Status/Info: Haven't seen this series and don't plan to yet. Read the whole thing. Comedy for Gundam? No thanks, unless it's the original SD...Review: First half makes me want to skip it, but the second half is okay. Kamille wakes up from the coma from Zeta Gundam... That's my highlight.
Rating: No rating for shows I read all of.
Char's Counterattack
Status/Info: The finale to the Neo Zeon war conflict. And the game for Playstation rocks! ^^ Saw this from a download.Review: I was stunned by this ending. First of all, I seriously wanted to smack Bright's first child. The idiot caused a chain reaction to occur, but his actions just wanted to make me execute him, despite his age. Second, Char looked hot in this series. Funny isn't it? Not the best animations in the world, but it's a lot better from when it first began. And hell, his hair got so much cooler despite his weird salmon/beige/pink/fish colored space-suit. Third, Char is one crazy bastard. His reasoning for dropping a nice big meteor (Axis-what is that thing considered? A rock...) on earth is beyond me but whatever. It always ends with a rock/colony being dropped on Earth. And finally, this is one of the best endings one can think up of. EVERYONE JUST DIES... Well.. Not everyone.. Just the important people. ^^
Rating: 9.7
Mobile Suit Gundam F91
Status/Info: Originally made to be a 52 episode series, but instead made into one cramped movie. Saw the movie through downloads.Review: Interesting new concepts and weird effects with the Gundams, but hey.... I'm open to change. Pretty boring though in my opinion. Too short and no development. Well it WAS to be a series....
Rating: 7.8
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
Status/Info: Read the whole thing and watched like 1/4 of it through downloads.Review: The first time I saw a Gundam break down to multiple parts. (Seed Destiny is next.) The weird helicoptor thing on the suit's arm was also.. weird. And hey, the mask fetish has been replaced with a cloth to block out sand!
Rating: 9.0
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Status/Info: Watched on Carton Network (US). Sadly.Review: The American/Canadian editting slaughtered the original series. First of all, it is the GOD GUNDAM... Not Burning- GOD. Yes.. GOD FINGERS..... DEVIL GUNDAM.. etc... Weird rubber suits and fighting styles... This a serious series? Ya, at the end...
Rating: 8.1
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz
Status/Info: Watched on Cartoon Network (US) Ugh...Review: Well this is the series that brought Gundam to America by storm. I mean there were others before it, but it seems the boyband effect caught the attention of both guys and girls in America. First of all, Gundams are expensive and are not blown up just to be rebuilt. Second- One of the boys should have died to make the series believable. Seriously they are demi-gods. One dimentional characters with no real purpose. Duo is the only real character it seems. But hey, I can bash GW all I want, it's still super popular and I still bishied Quatre at the age of 13... (The whitest, blondest, blue/green-eyed Arabian kid I've ever seen.) What.. He's super cute...And I believe he and Trowa are gay for each other. Kawaii........ ^^ So cool mech designs but unbelievable with a weak plot. The movie- It seems only Trowa has grown a bit (being only 1 cm taller than the rest of the boys...Uh.. formal shoes?) and the rest of them although assumed to be 16, still have their girlish bodies. And yeah, Wufei in shorts...
Rating: 8.6 / Endless Waltz- 8.65
After War Gundam X
Status/Info: Read on MAHQReview: Hmmm... No ratings for shows I read all of...
Rating: ??
Turn A Gundam
Status/Info: Turn A is actually an upside-down A... Read on all on MAHQ and saw half the series- the first half and then the ending to skip ahead ^^;Review: So much drama... Not following the traditional Gundam design feel. Victorian styled atmosphere and basically different from all other Gundam series I've seen. The plot is really good and moves along in such a weird, calm pace. It's great how they try to connect all the Gundam series together with the "Dark History."
Rating: 9.0
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
Status/Info: I saw this series a year before it came out in America through downloads. Great huh?Review: I did not like Kira. I still don't. Cries too much and he killed Nicole. How can you kill someone whose last words were, "Mother...My piano..."? Plus the Blitz Gundam kicked butt. For that series, I only liked Athrun, but that was later thrown out in series two. Basically the ending was rushed a bit I feel, but overall an okay series even though it is, once again, a boyband thing. Everything after Wing was.... Started off slow and got good in what... the last 10 episodes?
Rating: 8.8
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
Status/Info: Finished in Japan and licensed by the US. Watched it through downloads. Clearly this series is a political statement about America's actions in the past conflicts. It'd be a great series if it didn't copy the U.C series in terms of plot and mobile suit designs. Fukada ripped off the U.C series so badly, it's not even funny... Plus this one series spits out more Gundam models than then ten other series combined. Cheap attempts to earn money.Review: I seriously thought this series would kick butt considering the large amount of blood spilled in the first 3 minutes of the series. After that it got ridiculously slow with really weak Athrun developments. He's become an indecisive idiot that just carries the name of a defected war hero. Kira became a Jesus-figure and surprisingly, the new main character Shinn has like 1/3 the screen time Athrun does in the beginning. The only character I'm beginning to notice is Lacus-sama. Smart girl. Her evil clone Meer/Mia should stop jumping around and flaunting her breasts and just DIE. Oh and Cagalli- I'm so ashamed of your weaknesses now. You've adopted Kira's cry-baby role. Then ending was stupid and abrupt again, only to be finished off in a 46 minute PLUS episode extending episode 50, which still came out but was still relatively weak. Shinn's resolution was out of character and pathetic and all the metaphors spoken by the characters to justify or explain a point just SUCKED. But hey, this series' music ROX!
Rating: 8.45
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed C.E.73: Stargazer
Status/Info: Three 18 minute episodes with new characters inserted in the Seed timeline.Review: Other than to redeem the Seed title, I really didn't see a point of making these three shortened episodes... There's supposed to be a manga out for it soon so I suppose that's why. Basically it takes place during the fall of Junius Seven in which the ideals of Patrick Zala catalysts the hate for Coordinators amongst the Naturals yet again. Sven Cal Bayan, pilot of the GAT-X105E Strike Noir, and the Phantom Pain attack strategic points amongst Coordinator territory, killing Coordinator soldiers and civilians. You learn bits and pieces of how his hate for them develops, but as expected, this 45 minute spree does nothing but introduce. On the other side, Coordinator Selene McGriff and her development of the Stargazer, a mobile suit built with the purpose of the exploration of space with Artificial Intelligence Technology, is also introduced. Her fate is somehow entwined with Sven's and then the thing ends abruptly, only to be continued in the manga. This short encounter did indeed redeem the Seed name, unfortunately it was so underdeveloped due to its time that I can't say anymore. Overall, bloody, interesting, and hopefully will continue to go somewhere.
Rating: 8.6
Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Status/Info: The series was split into two seasons and had a major time skip, but will be written as one series.Review: By far one of the better Gundam series since the introduction of the boyband types. (Wing, Seed, etc.) Although the series catered to the eyes and screaming fangirls/fanboys, it definitely contained the old school Gundam feel, in that the storyline was strong and anyone was susceptible of dying at any moment. (After a brief character development moment first of course - it makes the hit much harder to cope.) This is most apparent with the death of one of the main characters, although he is replaced by his twin. Still, the two characters are very different in their own ways, making the death still feel authentic. In the year 2307 A.D., social unrest continues as 3 Orbital Elevators, each controlled by one of the three major governments of the world, stand as monuments of prestige and dominance. A mysterious organization called Celestial Beings, equipped with mobile suits called Gundam suddenly appear- declaring the use of military force on any country that wages war- no matter what the cause. And thus the Gundam Meisters Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tieria Erde become the world's enemy- with the goal to eradicate war with war... The second season (time skip) covers the events after four years and ends the conflict once and for all... Until the movie of course. Great series with a mix of drama, action, romance, politics and shiny mechas.
Rating: 9.75
Gungrave
Status/Info: 26 episodes of action-packed, heart wrenching, gun-slinging mafia fun...Review: A beautiful drama of friendship, love, betrayal, rise to power, and puppet zombies. The story is about a passive but well-built young man named Brandon Heat's life as another punk thief with his best friend Harry McDowel, and their goals to rise above the slums. When their friends are murdered in another gang related quarrel, they join the biggest mafia syndicate called Millennion to pursue their dreams and follow Brandon's crush, Maria. Viewers then watch as the two grow in age, rise in power, and eventually turn on each other for the sake of loyalty/power. Brandon is killed but is then resurrected from the dead in an experimental project to reanimate the dead to use as zombie slaves. He is renamed "Beyond the Grave" and ensues his revenge on his former best friend, over a decade after his death. What I liked about this series is that it really went into depth with the character developments and although this storyline is over-killed, the outcome was rather enjoyable. What I found slightly disappointing was that after the climax towards the end of the series, it slowed down drastically to further develop the character developments. (Necessary but still disappointing.) But in general, this is a great series to watch if you like guns, hats, and the silent types.
Rating: 8.7
.Hack//Sign and .Hack//Legend of the Twilight
Status/Info: Saw some of .hack//Sign on Cartoon Network (US) and .hack//Legend of the Twilight as well as reading some of the mangas to it.Review: Pretty slow development but really pretty. Definitely prefer the mangas over the animes. Great idea and interesting storyline, as slow as it was.
Rating: .hack//Sign- 8.0 / .hack//Legend of the Twilight- 8.1
Hamtaro
Status/Info: If it's from Japan and animated, it's ANIME....... Cartoon Network (US)Review: For some reason the opening song they have for this show in the US is addicting. And way too cute. It's fun watching them scurry around, eat sunflower seeds and so on. Reminds me of my dead guinea pigs.
Rating: 7.0
Hellsing
Status/Info: Downloaded this series and finished it in April 2005. Cut down to a short series since Japanese fans were probably not interested in the Catholic Church and Queens. Only 13 episodes long. Read the Manga.Review: I hope they make a season two for American fans- which is what they did for Big O. Because the ending for this shortened series is rushed, leaves too many loose ends, and basically had bad character developments. INCOMPLETE is the word. Too bad.
Rating: 8.3
Howl's Moving Castle
Status/Info: Another one of Hayao Miyazaki's works that confuses the bageezus out of me, but keeps me entertained at the same time.Review: There is NO PLOT. Get over it. There's awesome and almost FLAWLESS character development but absolutely NO PLOT whatsoever. What amazes me is how he entrances us in simple little things like watching a flame attempt to keep itself from falling off a small piece of wood, or watching a blade of grass sway... Little movements and a keen insight to what makes our brains go DING! Are you confused? So am I...
Rating: 8.4
Hunter X Hunter & OVAs
Satus/Info: Finished series on June 10 2005. Watching OVAsReview: This show first reminded me of two things- Yu Yu Hakasho and Naruto. The tournament styles were too familiar and as for the Naruto part, I believe Naruto may have ripped some stuff off of this anime during the Chuunin Exam section. The first half of this anime followed the kiddy show that followed the YYH sequences, but then in the last 10 episodes, the anime almost switches main character and theme! It suddenly turns darker and creates almost a story of its own. Comparing the last ten episodes to the first 50+, I can see almost no connection. The ending leaves too many weird openings and hell, I even switched favorite characters for the show... Wanna see a cool anime? Watch the last 10 episodes of this series.... @_@ Seriously the last episodes kick butt but the first 50 was sort of a snore... The first OVA is a continuation of the series and is only 8 episodes long. Still not as cool as the last 10 episodes of the series, nor does it end anything. The second OVA sort of completes the Kurapica as the main character role thing, and moves back to Gon and Killua. Once again not as action packed, but the new Greed Island game concepts are fantastic. It's like RPG card games or something. I still think Kurapica's story had more edge and interesting fields to it, and seeing as he's still on one more mission, I'm sure it won't be the last we'll see of him. Leorio's got the worst of luck. He's still basically the weakest one!
Rating: Series- 8.65 / OVA 1- 8.3 / OVA 2- 8.45
Inu Yasha
Status/Info: Airing in America. Quite popular isn't it?Review: Oy... The first 30 episodes sums up the rest of the 150+.... Girl meets cute half-demon, loses jewel pieces, gains a few pieces, loses them again, attack of some more stuff, slapstick comedy and repeats.... I don't know how this lasts more than 50 episodes but yes be prepared for one looooong ride....
Rating: 8.0
Jigoku Shoujo
Status/Info: You have to see it subbed to appreciate its authenticity.Review: Another series that should have just made an OVA. The fact that it's 26 episodes long just dragged it. It tells the story of Enma Ai and her subordinates, who ferries people to Hell by making a pact with them after they pull the red string off a straw doll (Who is in fact one of her three subordinates). People who seek revenge can access her website at midnight and write the name of the person they want to kill. If Ai, the Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) accepts the request, she hands you a doll with the warning that when you pull the string that TWO GRAVES are dug- that is, if you send someone to hell, you will have a branded mark on your chest that promises your place in Hell with eternal suffering after you die. The idea is cool and Ai's past was messed up, but what killed the series is the dragged episodes of the many different people's reason for revenge. There was the "Kill the veterinarian because he killed my dog", "pull the string because your best fried/former enemy said to", "You killed my best friend so I'm going to send you to Hell", "I hate my life and you said you did too so let's just die", etc... Some of the reasons were reasonable, some were just plain garbage. Most of the people that made this deal were under the age of 15. What the hell? You can't get a second chance to send someone to Hell, so to waste your chance at the age of 13 or something just because your dog died... Or even better- be pressured into pulling the string just to see what happens. Retarded. I don't know why my brother likes this series so much. It gets props for the art and the original psych you get in the first two episodes though. >_>
Rating: 8.0
Kannazuki no Miko
Status/Info: My brother made me watch this 12 episode series because he agreed to watch RahXephon...Review: Sock’em-Bop’em Robots + Lesbian Chicks = Win. That about sums up this series. Between the poor character development and half-assed attempt to keep clothes from popping out a boob, this anime is not the least bit mentally stimulating. Notice I said mentally, and not physically- because I can pretty much guess why a lot of teenage males would think this is the best thing to ever hit the air. It tells of the responsibilities two priestesses must endure to save the world from the Orochi, and their daily struggles as high schoolers and awkward friends/lovers. While the story seemed like it came from the mind of an 8 year old, the music and visuals were great. I find that the two main female characters' relationship should have been better developed, but at least it ended with the right tone.
Rating: 6.7
Karas (OAV)
Status/Info: Six half hour sections.Review: I am still rather disappointed with the amount of wasted minutes to focus on useless things such as spinning ornaments, blinking lights, etc. While the movie tries to put on some kind of mysterious feel, its result is a dragged out story with the potential to give seizures to its audience due to its flashy, stretched out battles. The story starts off with the old Karas being defeated and killed by the evil ex-Karas with the goal to destroy the world and remake it in his own vision. Strange events then occur in the city of Shijuku, where victim's body fluids are drained from them, always leaving one survivor to witness. Demon-like machines that take the form of humans are responsible, sent from the evil ex-Karas. When all hope seems lost for humanity, a new Karas appears after awakening from his coma. Along with this hope is another mysterious person- one who fights the demon machines, but is in fact a one who refuses to transform and feed on humans himself...
Rating: 7.9
King of Bandits Jing
Status/Info: Saw this dubbed on Anime On Demand Channel. ^^Review: This 13 episode series has no real plot to it, but you get the point... Just by the title. Jing, a bandit that steals things really, really well... Well, it's a fun, though short series and could have been really great if it were better developed. Almost makes me want to pick up the manga. ^^ Hmmm, he's cute, witty, and a good fighter. Freaky characters in some episodes though and strange art, but very catchy theme songs.
Rating: 8.0
Last Exile
Status/Info: Saw this through downloads.Review: Seriously this anime is an art. Stimulating storyline and perfect ending. No complaints at all. Except for the fact that everyone I liked died. Like I said perfect ^^; Fantasy Adventure that'll take you for a spin. A boy named Claus and his best friend Lavie go on an adventure to protect a young girl they rescue from the Guild. Joining the crew of the legendary ship Silvana, they battle in the skies for freedom and water.
Rating: 9.5
Le Chevalier D'Eon
Status/Info: Real historical figures and semi-accurate events to create this fantasy/horror story set in Versailles on the Eve of the French Revolution. (A man by the name of D'Eon de Beaumont actually did exist during the time of King Louis XV and actually did go to Russia as a woman. Look up history. It's actually very interesting since D'Eon de Beaumont did have to dress up like a woman more than half his life to serve as an ambassador and to keep peace between the countries. Too bad rumors of him being a hermaphrodite spread- having his identity as a woman proven wrong only at his death, which drove George III to madness until death. XD Something about his wife...)Review: D'Eon de Beaumont, knight of France and member of the secret police, finds his sister's corpse floating in a coffin down the Seine River, with the words "Psalms" written on its lid. In the journey to search for the reason of his sister's death/murder, he uncovers the mysteries of the Psalm of the Royal Family with the aid of three other companions, and of course- his sister's vengeful soul, which possesses his body. Magic, zombies, blood, sword fights, and cross-dressing fills this rather enchanting series. Although its animation is a bit weird at times- the way the character's facial expression don't flow, the sword fight scenes are always spetacular and shiny. What got me hooked to the series was its plot twists every so often, keeping me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, the end felt kind of rushed and everything just piled together, although the ending was quite a surprise, and actually tried to fit itself comfortably in history itself. Let's not forget the other reason I watched this series: D'Eon cross-dressing and on the verge of getting glomped by his dead sister's former boyfriends of some sort always kept my eyes glued to the screen to see if any sort of fanservice would happen. But sadly no, the story stuck to its focus and kept us fangirls all crying for more when Maximilien Robespierre almost touched D'Eon... Ah geez, Lia and Maximilien end up being half-brother/sisters, making D'Eon his half-brother...?! *flips through my list of Yaoi Mangas* Hmmm, I DO have some incest but... Anyway, the series started out great, kept me on the edge of my seat, but unfortunately blew its ending with the timing. Oh well.
Rating: 9.4
LOVELESS
Status/Info: Saw this through downloads. 12 episodes of Shoounen-Ai with an underaged kid!Review: I was skeptical to watch this series at first, considering the fact that there was an under aged kid and a 20+ year old involved, (I like my pairs older and legal), but I found I liked the character development and storyline surrounding the 12 year old boy. He has a pretty messed up life with an interesting plot, however, the series ends abruptly and leaves off with a pretty bad ending. The story is kind of weird with battles of some sorts between two teams of “Fighters” and their “Sacrifice”. The reason for these battles and their origins are not mentioned, nor are any of the mysterious characters controlling the whole thing developed. Soubi, the Fighter is absolutely gorgeous XD. Also the system where virgins have cat ears and a tail is ingenious. When they lose their virginity, they fall off... You know who’s been a bad kitty if they walk into school one day with no ears and tail haha…
Rating: 8.1
Macross Plus (OAV)
Status/Info: Saw this dubbed. Boy do I hate dubs... Four forty minute OAVs.Review: This is one of those cases where based on the title and series name, you expect a lot since its predecessor delivered ground-breaking experiences. Since it’s a bunch of OAVs, you can’t expect a lot of character development to go on, however the plot itself seemed dragged while the key moments ended up being very anti-climatic. The story is about a reckless test pilot named Isamu who is at a constant feud with his former childhood friend and rival, Guld for a military project. When their fellow childhood friend Myung comes into the picture as the producer to the Virturoid Idol Sharon Apple, things about the past start reveal themselves. If you’re in the mood for an angsty love triangle and interesting hypnotic music, you can give this classic name a try. Otherwise, you’re not missing much.
Rating: 7.9
Medabots
Status/Info: Yes I saw this on Fox during its airing time in the US.Review: I was actually quite entertained by the voice actors, especially Metabee's and thought the show was pretty good. Weird rubber suits, but hey it works... Simply animated with an interesting plot.
Rating: 8.1
Monster Rancher
Status/Info: Yes I saw this on Fox during its airing time in the US.Review: I really enjoyed this show as a kid and would sing the opening theme song (English version) all the time... Plus I love Mochi. ^^ I mean the pink thing and the ice cream lol. Ganki was a funny kid and Tiger of the Wind had Zechs Marquise's sexy voice and shoots lightning. That was enough to win a spot in my heart at the age of 13.
Rating: 8.1
My Neighbor Totoro
Status/Info: Dubbed on Cartoon Network.Review: Okay, so besides heightening my imagination for cat-buses and learning tree growing techniques, this fun-filled movie did nothing for me. It was released the same time as Grave of the Fireflies- two total polar oppisties. Probably just created to lighten the mood a bit after watching that movie.
Rating: 8.0
Naruto
Status/Info: Fillers ruin this series. Thank goodness for mangas...Review: How can one story go on for 220 episodes and still stay remotely interesting? Naruto does the job quite well enough for a hundred episodes or so. I'm not saying every episode is a Blockbuster hit, but the story runs along smoothly and there's a character for everyone. Targets mainly the male audience, but there's almost an equal amount of female viewers. Just watch out for the sexist views haha... So basically this story is about shinobis, demons, ramen noodles, and kickbutt action. And contains my 3rd Bishie... KAKASHI SENSEI! Enough said. However, please note that fillers to this series are amazingly long-winded, boring, stupid and a waste of time, thus lowering the rating to this series overall. (Watch out for Naruto Shippuuden. It's the sequel and the 2.5 year time skip. You are to pretend the fillers never happened. -_-) The movies were just really bad plots with amazing DBZ kamehamha waves and shiny objects. But Sakura is surprisingly more useful in the first movie and Gaara was shining in his glory in the second.
Rating: 9.0 / Movie 1- 6.5 / Movie 2- 6.9
Naruto Shippuuden
Status/Info: After 100 episodes of pure fillers, they bring you a 2.5 time skip. Currently airing in Japan.Review: After 220 Episodes (100 of them being fillers) of Naruto, we enter a 2.5 years time skip to Naruto Shippuuden! Check out Naruto's quest to find Sasuke and his attempt to defeat the organization known as the Akatsuki!. The series is not yet rated since it is still in progress, but the first Shippuden movie (4th Naruto movie) is just like the others, only less content with more dragged on parts and finally, a Spirit Bomb instead of a Kamehameha wave.
Rating: ?? / Movie 4- 7.5
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Status/Info: I saw this anime series through downloads.Review: So this is the legendary Evangelion... I wasn't too thrilled about it. Different storyline from most other mecha series of its time and definitely took realism into its designs and storyline. I just prefer the Gundam series for some reason... Oh yeah and crappy "easy-way-out" kind of ending no? Make it all a dream why don't you... Almost incomplete and made all the build-up go nowhere. The "Director's Edition" Ending was the result of death threats to him by the fans. I will consider the original ending as his true intention always, thus the series loses points for that crappy ending. -_-
Rating: 8.8
Noir
Status/Info: Downloads dubbed...Review: What can I say about this series? 26 episodes that could have been told in like 5. Or make a movie out of it. Basically it's slow, weak, and barely kept me entertained. It lacks blood. I mean they've killed over 50 people in that show with bullets, knives, neck ties and so on, but not ONE drop of blood from their enemies. And the little scene they do show with blood seems artificial. The ending is weak as Mirielle WAS the weakest link- thus she should have died. Also they try to incorporate a philosophy that doesn't make too much sense. And when in hell can a woman in a mini skirt and heels do all that rolling? Boy, the guys she killed sure died happy...
Rating: 7.0
Ouran High School Host Club
Status/Info: Watching it with many different subbers is pretty annoying...Review: Wow, with that kind of ending, you know there's GOT TO be another season and that there's more to the story. Or at least we'd hope so. :/ (The manga continues while the series ends at episode 26.) This series is about a middle-class girl named Haruhi who attends the high school of the super-wealthy elites through scholarship. She isn't even able to afford a uniform and dresses in sort of a ragged way, and added with her short haircut, she is easily mistaken as a boy. That's where the fun comes in. While looking for a quiet place to study, she enters the unused third music room and encounters the Host Club- A bunch of good looking, super-wealthy boys that entertain girls (or guys... anyone that is a "customer" and pays...XD) with extravagant costumes, tea parties, food, their awesome looks, etc. Haruhi accidentally breaks a 8 million yen vase and is forced to pay the debt as a host. One by one they find out she's a girl by the end of the first episode, but by then it's too late- Haruhi has already accepted the job to entertain other girls as a boy! This show made me laugh out loud so many times, which I haven't done in a while. Each episode shows how the relationship between the boys and Haruhi grow as they keep their secret while have fun with the fact that they have their very own "pet/toy/daughter" in the club to spice things up. Each guy is different in their own way and is super cute/hot! There's the Cute Lolita Type, the Cool Type, the Silent and Wild Type, The Prince Charming Type, and probably the most hilarious duo, the Twin Brothers With The Hots For Each Other Type. (All an act of course. They get a kick out of seeing girls swoon over them while they stroke each other's face. XD) Watch this if you want to laugh your socks off as these seemingly snobby elite idiots learn what the life of "commoners" are like through Haruhi and her instant coffee mix! Don't expect a satisfactory ending though. It's one of the "neutral" ones. ^^ Oh and my favorite if you're interested: Kyouya. Glasses, cool, and the "shadow king." ^_~ That about does it for me. ^^
Rating: 9.45
Outlaw Star
Status/Info: Watched this as it aired on Toonami in the US.Review: Another space cowboy theme. (Only other western themed animes known to me are Cowboy Beebop and Trigun) It was fun while it lasted, but lacked a kind of "umph." I totally fell for Harry and his pink bow in his hair, hehe. He and Malfina looked cool at the end.
Rating: 8.5
Paradise Kiss
Status/Info: Twelve episode adaption to a five volume manga.Review: A true shoujo story with a bittersweet ending. It is the story of a typical high school senior in Japan named Yukari Hayasaka, whom although as much as she tries, fails to be an above average student- to her mother's disappointment. Yukari only lives to reach her mother's expectations and has very little goals or dreams of her own, other than her crush on the top student of her year named Hiroyuki Tokumori. One day, she is spotted in the streets by Arashi Nagase (a spiked blonde punk-rocker with an assortment of piercings on this face that range from rings to safety pins) who starts to praise her beauty, scaring Yukari and causing her to faint in front of Daisuke "Isabella" Yamamoto (a man who wishes he were born a woman and dresses like so). Yukari wakes up in a studio and meets a pink-haired bubbly Miwako Sakurada, who along with Arashi and Isabella, explains that they are seniors to a fashion school in need of a model for the school's fashion show. Yukari declines at first, but then meets George Koizumi, the leader to the group and Paradise Kiss (ParaKiss) brand and begins to fall for his looks, charms, and eventually, the world of love and fashion. What made this story so powerful was the fact that the character development of Yukari seemed effortless and perfect. Viewers get to watch a confused teenager slowly find who she is, lose her virginity, fall in love only to be hurt, and basically grow up in a few short episodes. Yukari's bittersweet parting with George as he pursues his career is one of those very rare non-happy endings. To leave with a happier note, in the manga Yukari marries Hiroyuki, who is probably better for her anyway, as George has been described as a bisexual that is unable to make a woman happy. Their relationship had way too much turbulence.
Rating: 8.9
Peace Maker Kurogane (Peacemaker)
Status/Info: 24 EpisodesReview: Sadly, this anime has a lot of plot holes and no closure whatsoever. I felt its first half dragged a bit too long with nonsense that could have been cut out. The second half however, had better animation and we started to see a glimpse of a storyline. Too bad it ended shortly after. The story tells of Tetsunosuke Ichimura and his older brother Tatsunosuke, who both join the Shinsengumi to gather more information on the assassination of their parents. However, in order to overcome his fear of the past and seek revenge, Tetsunosuke learns that he has to become a demon to kill in this era of social unrest. A bit too much horseplay with a weak plot. If you can last till the final episodes where the art gets better and the fight scenes get good, you might enjoy this semi-decent series that has bits and pieces of touching moments every blue moon. It gets points for being a GONZO production - known for its good animation, and the one death scene that moved me.
Rating: 8.0
Pokemon
Status/Info: We all know what this is right? Well anime is anime...Review: Uhhh.. Watch me get flamed for this.... I will rate all the series and movies together on the average. Because frankly it is getting weaker and weaker. Anything now can be a Pokemon, as well as sticks, tree shrubs, coconuts, and more.. And their names just suck. I should have stopped watching at the Johto Leagues...
Rating: 8.35
Prince of Tennis
Status/Info: Saw this series sporadically (1-20,35-55, 70-79, 85-120, 150-153...something like that) as I got bored along the way. I mean 178 episodes of watching Junior High School kids play tennis....Review: Another kid prodigy out to take over the world by storm.... Seen it a thousand times already... But this is a show for girls to drool over guys that I could swear are in High School at least... 14 year olds my butt... What do guys get out of this show? I have no idea, but they seem to like it too... Do you get to learn any real tennis info and famous names? You betcha....
Rating: 8.45
Princess Mononoke
Status/Info: I saw this in so many forms, I've forgotten my original.. In Chinese, in Japanese with English subs, in Japanese with Chinese subs.. so on... Waaaay back when it first came out.Review: Fantasy taken to another level. Wolf lovers will enjoy this show. Strange yet comfortably enjoyable. Lots of blood and once again depicts human civilizations as the plague of the world.
Rating: 9.1
Rahxephon
Status/Info: Saw this dubbed from downloads. I must say the voice actors did an amazing job, as I have compared it to the Japanese version as well.Review: Why was this series compared to Evangelion? Sure it had the same weird complex invader elements, but I enjoyed this series a LOT better. First off, the plot was twisted and pretty fresh. Unlike Evangelion, it had a steady and very good character development. Twenty six episodes wasn't too short nor long- just perfect. Basically the story surrounds a boy named Ayato Kamina and his ability to pilot the Rahxephon against the world he thought he knew and grew up in. It so happens that his world was under the control of an alien race called Mu's who sought to "tune" the planet. (As in destroy it and rebuild it in their vision.) What's twisted is that this boy is born a human but is in fact a Mulian. The twisted ending with the true identity of the girl he keeps envisioning in his paintings (found AFTER the last episode's credits), his past, and who he's related to was just awesome. Not to mention that this 17 year old kid was pretty hot all curled up naked in a fetal position... Did I say that out loud? ^^; Oh and there's enough blood (both red and blue...), angel-like mech fights, action, and awesome deaths spread throughout the series. I felt sad when Souchi disintegrated, and remember going, "Awww.. He was cute too..." Only thing was that like Evangelion (I know I said I didn't like to compare), it had a freaky ending, which I believe there are alternates for (like Evangelion). Fortunately the ending wrapped things up and made more sense than you know what. I actually didn't mind the whole rebirth thing, as Ayato "tuned the world" and basically recreated time and space... Oops, SPOILER... And if you really look into it, this whole series was one big love story... But with mechs... and freaky harmonic humming music.
Rating: 9.45
Ranma 1/2
Status/Info: Read the manga first and then decided to watch the Ranma movie... Then decided to never pick it up anymore...Review: READ THE MANGA... I can't stress how much better the mangas are usually compared to the manga. The movie sucked big time by the way. I found myself fast-fowarding until I decided to just give up altogether. Really funny manga.. Yes this is an anime review...
Rating: 8.0
Read Or Die the Movie
Status/Info: Saw it as Cartoon Network's Adult Swim aired it. (US)Review: I think the english voice actors tried to exercise their new ability to swear to a level where it felt uncomfortable to say it. Or they just suck at it. The story itself was interesting enough and well thought out. Once again, dubbing kills another anime...
Rating: 9.0
Ronin Warriors
Status/Info: I wonder how many of you caught this on Cartoon Network (US) when it aired.Review: Oldies but goodies? I seriously did enjoy this anime. I was what.. in my last years of junior high through freshman year of high school... All those samurai outfits with different colors and elemental abilities.. Pretty cool. Of course the bad guys get the crappier outfits and sub-elements like "Illusion" and "Poison". What the hell is that about?
Rating: 8.55
Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X
Status/Info: Seen on Cartoon Network (US) and dubbed movie of Samurai X Reflections.Review: This by far, is the anime with the worst editors. One second there's blood streaming down one's ear, next frame it's gone, to only re-appear again in the next second. Plus I love the sound of dripping blood and the viewers get to stare at a blank floor with a weird shadow on it. It's worse than DBZ's attempt to hide the privates of naked Gohan with a fully-grown pine tree shrunken down to cover the spot in the middle of a desert. The movie was the past, present and future/end of Kenshin's life. Yes, his past is so full of blood, being married at such a young age.. We get to see the origins of the scar as well as its disappearance in his final attonement. Really sad how he left his family behind.. I feel so bad for their son...The Last Samurai... The ending made my stomach wrench for a good 2 days.
Rating: Series- 9.0 / Movie- 9.5
Sailor Moon (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon)
Status/INfo: The US was so slow to bring animes such as these ancient fossils into the country. Saw most of it through Toonami(US) and know of the rest through words..Review: Cute series but repeats itself. Yes I'm talking about the original Sailor Moon through the Sailor Stars (where guys turn into girls- guess why America stopped airing the series.) I can't believe they made Uranus and Neptune "cousins". We were and still unable to cope with what Japanese kids have grown up with for generations. They are lesbians people- NOT cousins.
Rating: For all series overall- 8.4
Sakura Wars
Status/Info: Saw this in Chinese dubbing I believe. And then some with English subbing.Review: Girls of almost every stereotyped social group (missing the goth/rocker or antisocial person) who pilot pint sized mechas. Is this a show for girls to unite for the common cause of women's rights or for guys to drool over an assortment of girls? (And hey, throw a few mechas in it since they're here..) Your guess is as good as mine.
Rating: 8.2
Saiyuki Series and Movie
Status/Info: Seen most of Gensoumaden Saiyuki, all of Saiyuki Reload, and beginning of Saiyuki Reload Gunlock. Also reading the Saiyuki Gaiden which are their past lives and origins. Story based on Chinese Story, The Journey to the West with the whole Monkey King thing with the traveling monk. Also the movie Saiyuki Requiem was seen as well.Review: Definitely aimed for girls as the manga but not so much the anime suggests shounen-ai between some of the characters. However the anime is pretty neutral I guess and is quite entertaining for male viewers as well. Enough blood, darkness and crazy people/youkai. But based on gut instincts and the fact that the creator is female... Plus a pretty-faced monk with a silver revolver? The monk is most unholy ^_~ The movie was nice and dark and squeezes in some new character in their timeline. I love it when they do that... The animation gets better and better as the series progresses. Each of them have their own pasts and I most certainly made Hakkai my 4th Bishie ^^; The dude is wickedly crazy (slaughters 1000 demons with a kitchen knife and becomes a demon himself) and mentally unstable as he puts on his nice-guy and polite attitude on most of the time. He killed for his sister/lover people. The anime forgets to mention that. Oh and yes, they are most attractive when they are full of wounds and bleeding all over... They don't seem to die easily despite being wounded so much so that they throw up blood (Saiyuki Reload) Stop trying to entertain us with their devilish good looks and finish the missions already!!! They're not even halfway to India yet?!
Rating: Gensoumaden Saiyuki-9.1 / Saiyuki Reload- 8.5 / Saiyuki Reload Gunlock- 8.45 / Gensoumaden Saiyuki Movie- Requiem-9.1
Samurai 7
Status/Info: 26 Episodes.Review: Very rarely do I encounter an anime series that manages its plot's time and flow so well. The series neither dragged its story, nor did it rush its ending. I found however, its character development to be a bit weak and could not find myself to really like a single character... This is odd considering all the raging hormones going off in the series itself, and the amount of loveable characters. I was hoping for there to be more development between the girl and her crush (boy this one will shock you), but alas... The story tells of a young water priestess who is in search of samurai warriors to help protect her village from being oppressed and pillaged by large machine samurai, whom all strayed from their path after the great war. During the recruitment and battles to defend her village, there is of course romance, swords slashing, missiles flying, arrows piercing, and buildings crumbling. If you'd like to experience a science fiction spin in feudal Japan's samurai days, this is the series for you.
Rating: 8.6
Samurai Champloo
Status/Info: Finished series May 2005. Downloading the series and listening to their original voices is so much better. I hate Dubs...For the most part...Review: So after watching this I made a list of things and episodes the english editors would cross out... First, all the bad things they say about the Western folks, white folks, and so on.. Next, the entire pointless episode (until the last 2 minutes of the episode) about this one gay Dutch officer with the desire to explore Japan for a partner. Then maybe edit some of the parts about beating the Americans in baseball and all the profanity used, including the already-blurred middle finger... Then the weird episode on getting high on LSD or something that made the episode weird. Then I thought to myself, "What a weird random anime that resembles a Fooly Cooly version of Rurouni Kenshin.." Then the last 4 episodes ended so bloody, abrupt, and dark, it wasn't even funny anymore. Awesome fight scenes with plenty of blood... Disappointed with the ending though. Rapping in Japanese during the feudal ages anyone?
Rating: 8.9
Scryed
Status/Info: Finished the series before Cartoon Network (US) finished airing it. DOWNLOADSReview: Not the greatest anime in the world. Kind of one dimensional with a good plot at hand, but not successfully executed. Lacks "umph" or something. The series is about a phenomenon that causes the birth of Alter Users, who each have special powers. They are discriminated against, feared, and hated, unless they join this government organization called HOLY. You can guess where it goes from there. What I never understood was why Kazuma and Ryuhou felt they needed to fight each other. The reason to the rivalry was rather weak and feeds on the male pride I guess. I must not understand that much about it or something… “Grr... You made me look like an ass. Now I will rip your head open…” @_@ ??????? (Not actual dialogue of course…)
Rating: 8.2
Serial Experiments Lain
Status/Info: Downloaded the entire series. Watched it.Review: What do computers have to do with God? Strange mix and even stranger anime series. Rather slow, confusing and plain weird. Begins and ends that way. Want to get all messed up mentally? Watch this series on your spare time.
Rating: 8.15
Shakugan no Shana
Status/Info: The first time my brother introduced something worth watching.Review: While I absolutely detest lolis and annoying little school girl scenarios, this 24 episode anime series proved worth watching- a first for one of my brother's series... It's pretty action-packed and while I don't care for the small character developments, the idea of the story is fantastic- just not fully able to bloom in 24 episodes. (Look out for season two!) Sakai Yuuji lives in what he believes is an ordinary city in Japan, but finds out in an instant that there is more than meets the eye. When a giant "Rinne" sent by a "Guze no Tomogara" causes his world to suddenly freeze and devour the people who had suddenly turned into blue flames, a young girl saves him, wielding a long sword, long black coat with red eyes and red hair. She is called a "Flame Haze"- one who hunts the "Guze no Tomogara" and balances the world. And that's when Yuuji finds out that his current existence is merely a "Torch"- temporary replacement for the already "real" dead Yuuji. Shocked by this sudden revelation, Yuuji does something unlike any other Torches the girl has encountered and given the truth- he does not cling onto the last pieces of his existence and instead worries about the people that knew him and the city itself. Moved and confused by this, the girl- who Yuuji names "Shana" after her sword- continues to fight the "Guze no Tomogara" and all other threats to the city with the help of Yuuji and other Flame Hazes. As you can probably imagine, the girl who has no emotions, blah blah, learns she is falling in love with the already dead boy- whom at first she views as merely a Torch waiting to disappear (Torches disappear in time, merely acting as a temporary replacement for the dead so that the world doesn't crumble from the sudden impact of losing an existence in an instant due to attacks.), but at the same time knows very well that he is a special "Mistes"- that is, a Torch with a special ability. What luck that his Torch ability is the ability to regenerate its power at midnight so that his Torch can never fully disappear if not destroyed...
Rating: 9.0
Soul Eater
Status/Info 51 Episodes of action, comedy and fun.Review: In a Shinigami Weapons School, weapon meisters and their human weapons must collect the souls of ninety-nine evil humans and one witch in order to create a powerful Death Scythe. The story follows three groups of young meisters and their partners/human weapons as they battle monsters and their constant set-backs. Done by Studio Bones and Square Enix, you are guaranteed high quality visuals for this action-packed remake of its manga counterpart. The intense action added with the hysterical hi-jinx really makes for an exciting and must-see show. Too bad the ending was disappointing and rushed, like most manga remakes...
Rating: 9.4
Soul Hunter
Status/Info Saw part of this series in Chinese dubbing. Story based on Chinese legends.Review: Fantasy and comedy. And a guy with a stick riding on a floating hippo! Quite enjoyable- sadly I left off on one of the more dramatic parts of the series.
Rating: 8.4
Spirited Away
Status/Info: Saw this in Japanese subbed English, Chinese, and Chinese subbed English back when it first came out.Review: Interesting and a bit disturbing as usual, Mr. Hayao Miyazaki. What is the plot to this story? You can tell me what happens, but what IS the plot? And they live happily ever after. A weird version of Alice in Wonderland.
Rating: 8.6
STEAMBOY
Status/Info: Same director as the movie Akira.Review: The visuals- Absolutely astonishing. The story - It will touch your heart. My beef- There's no "umph" to it. This is one of those anime movies where you will just acknowledge the fact that you saw it, but nothing more. It takes place in Victorian England, though slightly more science-fiction. A boy acquires a metal ball containing a new form of energy and must use it to fight eveil, saves lives, and most importantly, redeem his family name.
Rating: 8.6
Strait Jacket
Status/Info: 78 minute OAV.Review: In a world where magic and technology coexist together, human-demon mutations become a result of exposure to the use of sorcery. Tactical Sorcerists who use this magic to fight these monsters are nicknamed "Strait Jackets" for their risk of becoming monsters themselves. An unlicensed sorcerist named Reiot Stainbarg uses his Mold (armor) to fight these monsters while searching for redemption to the sins of his past. My impression - Bloody, overdose on the ripped body parts and lacks a real plot. For a short OAV though, it had its nice flashy moments. I wish there was a real plot though, since there would have been plenty of eye candy to go with it...
Rating: 8.0
Tekken the Movie
Status/Info: Downloaded dubbed in English... Tekken I and II characters.Review: Did I enjoy seeing one of my favorite fighting game's characters fight on a deserted island overrun by machine dinosaurs? Meh... They changed the color of the hair to a few of the characters, made a pretty weak storyline surrounding the search for the Doctor to help the little girl Jack is always with and ending up in Hiatchi's tournament.. And the main characters were Lei and Jun (yay!) Were there any really awesome fight scenes that I couldn't simulate on the Tekken games? Nope. And guess what? I could have done better. Kazuya looked crappy and young Jin looked like a mini version of that crappiness.
Rating: 6.7
Tekkonkinkreet (movie)
Status/Info: 2 hour long movie.Review: Two orphans named Black and White rule the city of Treasure Town, chasing and beating away unwanted Yakuza and foreign entrepreneurs. However, it is up to the gentle nature of White to save Black from his own destructive nature. While the animation of the production is simply stunning (details of movement, etc.) I found the movie lacking a real plot. Perhaps it is that this plot has been overkilled for years now, but I didn't find the moral of the story a least bit interesting. You will have to take some time getting used to the strange character design.
Rating: 8.0
Tenchi Muyo/Universe/in Tokyo/Movie In Love
Status/Info: Saw the series on Cartoon Network (US) and the movie subbed in English.Review: I would first like to say, that the amount of editing for the editors must have been fun... This anime clearly aims for nosebleeds from the guys. What, am I wrong? The first two series were pretty cool and I didn't mind the way they re-met each other... The last one though was pretty weak and rather a snore. The movie was great, because we got to see Tenchi's mother... Who happens to be 10x more powerful than he is. It's a shame she passed away. Because believe it or not, Tenchi's dad was quite a cutie in his younger years ^^;
Rating: Tenchi Muyo- 8.75 / Universe- 8.8 / Tokyo- 7.4 / In Love- 9.0
Tenjho Tenge
Status/Info: 24 Episodes of "Burst Out Of Your Clothes" fun...Review: The Oh! Great studio is known for its excess of cleavage- this series being no different. If you're not watching clothes getting blown off in a middle of a fight, then you're seeing someone lose blood by the gallons. The series cuts short on the manga, feeling completely rushed and incomplete. From the middle of this series, you start to forget the main character of this story ever existed, due to the fact that flashbacks take over. When they finally come back, the series is already over. The story first starts off following a delinquent named Souchirou Nagi, who arrives at Toudou Academy thinking he can rule the school. He soon finds out that the entire school consists of martial artists (after getting his butt kicked within seconds) and ends up joining one of the strongest groups- the Jyuukenbu. As he trains to get stronger, he learns about the conflict and dark history between his group and the Enforcement Group- the ruling body of the school.
Rating: 7.5
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Status/Info: 98 Minute Award-Wining Movie.Review: A girl discovers she can leap through time after a strange experience in her high school lab room. With this new ability, she can easily redo the events on the "bad days" she has. However, there are consequences to every action taken, and sometimes benefiting yourself can mean hurting others. A touching tale of responsibility and love, and how no matter what you do to try and change an event, the end result will end up the same.
Rating: 9.0
Trigun
Status/Info: Saw it through Cartoon Network's Adult Swim (US)Review: Pretty funny stuff, although when I first watched it dubbed in English, I immediately spotted the noob voice actor. I later found out he was Johnny Yong Bosch who coincidentally was my favorite Power Ranger. That's right- the Green/Black Ranger from the Ninja series... So he was too old for Power Rangers but decided to make it to the big time through anime. Great choice! Now I like him more ^^ Anyways, this series had great potential but really messed up its ending. Very anti-climatic and lead to nowhere. Also left too may questions open. Was it because of time or budget issues? I'll have to look that up.
Rating: 8.65
Trinity Blood
Status/Info: Downloaded this great series.Review: The creators of this series are the same as those of the anime Hellsing. With that said, you can conclude that the animation and initial story is great, but is guaranteed to have a disappointing and rushed ending. Lacking if you may call it. This series was almost a carbon copy of Hellsing and Trigun put together in terms of plot and characteristics of main characters. Abel Nightroad (Vash the Stampede) is a 900 year old Krusnik (Vampire that feeds on vampires only) that survived after the Armageddon on Earth. Basically four people: Cain, Abel (Cain's twin brother), Seth and Lilith were the test subject for colonizing Mars (Red Mars project) and their genes were modified and their intelligence was increased. Decades later, the Red Mars babies and a number of humans were living on Martian colonies. Then they were infected with a strain of bacteria and gained super-speed and bloodlust and evolved into vampire-like beings/Methuselah. Because the four of them had advanced genes they were the only ones able to control the infection, causing their strain of bacteria to be different and having them turn into Krusnik life-forms at will with the help of nanomachines. Cain, being the first to become a Krusnik, kills Lilith and sends Abel into a wave of emotions, and promises to protect humans. (Funny because he has no problem killing the Methuselah/vampires.) Does this not sound like Knives and Vash? So Father Abel Nightroad is in an eternal struggle with his twin brother Cain and searching to destroy him, while trying to keep the peace between the Empire (Run by the Methuselah) and humans while working for AX, an organization of the Vatican under Cardinal Cathrina Sforza. I got to say, the Vatican creating a hot looking robot named Tres (Father Tres lol) nicknamed Gunslinger was just too unbearable. He’s so damn hot! XD This series has tons of hot bishies to just drool and die over. Unfortunately, the action never reaches a climax, as once the fights end, it kind of leaves you hanging and going, “That’s it? WTF?!” Overall, I think they should have made this series longer and have a better ending. Otherwise VERY enjoyable for guys and girls with beautiful gothic/orchestra music.
Rating: 8.9
Utawarerumono
Status/Info: 26 Episodes of epic fun or snore fest?Review: I can't believe my brother said this was a good series. First off, the plot was nowhere in sight, the development of the story was weak, even after the main point of the story was being told in the last few episodes, and finally, the characters are so one-dimensional with no development, it wasn't even funny. Besides the stereotypical character types of all shapes, sex, and sizes, you have the useless supporting characters that do absolutely nothing- especially Yuzuha. Am I to believe that without Eruruu's grandmother treatment for her, Oboro would have never met Hakuoro? Her relationship with my least favorite character, the annoying Aruruu (who strikes me as an annoying dimwit for some reason) is also another thing that wasn't needed in the story. The whole, "two gods that pull the strings to humanity" was horribly pulled off and didn't even make an entrance until the 25th out of 26 episodes. Watch the series. Tell me if you feel any presence of higher power in their lives. Absolutely none... And the whole iceman/Armageddon thing was stupid as well. Unexplained, lacks development, lacks a proper storyline, and waste of my breathing time is what I would use to sum up this series. Not to mention cheap computer graphics out of the blue every once in a while. With not so outstanding art, the only thing left keeping this series from being a 0/10 is its music. In case you want to see this series and know what it's about, it starts off as a man who is later named Hakuoro is found wounded and without memories of his past. He leads the peasant village in a rebellion to end the corrupt emperor that rules their lands and eventually takes the place as emperor himself. Then epic/snore fest adventure continues to ensue as he continues to see beastly images of what is supposed to be his past. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzz... One last thought- Eruruu is then Hakuoro's descendant of some sort isn't she? What are the chances that the same exact specimen as #3510 acquired that ring by fate? They ruined a perfectly interesting plot that could have been told so much better in so many other different ways.
Rating: 5.8
Vampire Hunter D
Status/info: Downloaded the subbed version. Released in 1985.Review: Boy this plot is overplayed. You know, the half vampire, half human plot. But yes very bloody but rushed a bit. Plot holes? Not really but they could have spent a few more minutes in the movie to develop the Ray character and tell more about the freaky talking hand. Also the ending revealed that D might have been some sort of prince. I wish they had said a little bit more about that.
Rating: 8.5
Visions of Escaflowne
Status/Info: I watched it as it aired on WB or something... And I don't believe they ever finished the series, so I read the ending to it, as well as read the movie.Review: Well the anime targeted the girls with the whole love triangle thing, and the movie targeted the guys with the whole, blood spilling at everyone's feet thing. But hey, I liked them both... Is this considered mecha? Not one control panel in sight...
Rating: 8.5
Voltron
Status/Info: Hoho.. I bet you're chuckling now. Classic I know. Just be glad I'm NOT doing Speed Racer ^_~ (hums the opening song). I grew up with Voltron in both English and Japanese subbed English. UNCUT!Review: Even as a child I knew something was up the way they killed off the original blue dude (the one the princess replaces) as I watched the English version. Upon rewatching the episode in Japanese, it was the first time I realized how much the editors hacked away. Also it was confusing at first how the leader piloted a black lion but had a red suit while one of the other dude had a red lion, but a black suit.. It's known that the leader always wear red but..... Oh and the more recent (American/Canadian?) computerized version where they do match the suits to the lions just sucks. I have a friend who had an original METAL Voltron model as a kid but treated it like crap so it was destroyed. FOOL! THINK OF HOW MUCH IT'S WORTH ON EBAY NOW!
Rating: 8.3
Witch Hunter Robin
Status/Info: Saw it on Adult Swim (US)Review: Serene and moved at an okay pace. The end was kind of blah. Let's settle everything by hiding. You would want Amon and Robin to get together, but it would sort of feel like a set up relationship. Get over it. Amon hates having to socialize. He should meet Hiro Yui and have a field day by staring down each other. (Or up in Hiro's case since he's 15/16 and 5'2..(152cm)) ROFL
Rating: 8.4
Witchblade
Status/Info: 24 episode adaptation of the popular American comic.Review: I wanted to like this series so bad. The art was good (as expected from GONZO) and the female empowerment thing was at hand, however it lacked a decent plot, fluidity, and worst of all, contained way too much in your face fanservice. In case you forgot the main character was female, her breasts would basically bounce around in front of you as she spoke and/or fought. The dragging of 3/4 of the entire series bored the living bageezes out of me as I feared for a rushed ending. Luckily, that didn't take place, because absolutely nothing happened, other than cheap sparkles and an attempt to make it seem like they actually had a plot. The story is about a woman named Masane Amaha who was found with a baby and wielding the legendary Witchblade after a disaster struck 22nd-Century Japan, causing all of her memory to be erased. Thought to be the mother of the child, Masane raises the child through their many economic challenges, until Masane is offered a job to fight off monsters that have been causing women to disappear - using the Witchblade to transform herself into a powerful human weapon...
Rating: 7.4
Wolf's Rain
Status/Info: Saw most of it on Adult Swim (US) but then downloaded the end of it because I just happened to miss it. So it was subbed in English and so much more meaningful.Review: Too slow a pace for me, but pretty touching. I'll admit Toboe's death was really painful- so much so the writers decided that the following deaths would be quick, swift, and pointless. The rest of them died in such stupid and non-touching ways. Maybe if they lingered on a little longer I would have felt something... Nah... Then they were reborn once again... Oh that's just cheating now....
Rating: 8.75
X (TV)
Status/Info: Downloads. This series is the whole Seven Angels of Earth versus the Seven Seals of Heaven thing..Review: This series starts off slow at first, but then it becomes clear why. So that we can get to know over 14 characters in 24 episodes. And grow an attachment to them? Not really, unless you spot someone you like. Otherwise it's pretty one dimensional and is up to the audience to expand on each character's personality.. Plus the reason given to fight each other is sort of weak. But hey, it's cool and bloody...
Rating: 8.75
Yami no Matsuei (Descendents of Darkness)
Status/Info: Watched this through downloads subbed. Shounen-Ai/Yaoi- (??) Maybe in the manga, but not the anime.Review: Chick flick about Shinigamis, serial killers and guys on the edge of glomping each other every other scene. It doesn't have to make sense, it's all just eye candy ^_~. I actually prefer the Tsuzuki and Muraki coupling over the TsuzukixHisoka. I'm not sure about the manga, but the anime makes them seem so distant. I can't believe they sensored kissing with stupid rose petals and flames... 0_o Rated TV7 yaoi man...
Rating: 7.6
You're Under Arrest
Status/Info: Watched this through downloads subbed. Also in Japanese which confused the heck out of me.Review: Two policewomen- One a soft-spoken mechanic and the other with a loud kickbutt personality. No, literally, "I will kick your butt" personality. Most of the time they're giving out traffic tickets and impounding cars, otherwise they're stopping bank robbers by throwing fish at them. A pretty funny anime with the prettiest cross-dresser in all of time.
Rating: 7.5
Yu Gi Oh
Status/Info: Yes....... WB.....Review: This is another example of anime turned into kiddish children's cartoon. Sorry to tell you this kids, but there is no "Heart of the Cards..." And the power of friendship isn't that powerful. And the "Shadow Realm" is a place I call the bottom of a cliff. This show was originally more violent and not so much of a kid's show. Oh yes- card games made cool. No longer are card-players geeks. They're just as cool as the guys playing with tops and taking over the world. (Yes I play Magic The Gathering...)
Rating: 8.2
Yu Yu Hakusho
Status/Info: Saw most of it through Toonami (US) and read the ending to the rest of it because I'm too impatient to wait for the US to dub it all.Review: Yes famous for its tournaments. And more tournaments. It seems all these kids ever do is go to tournaments to get their butts kicked... But it's all for saving the world. Don't forget that.
Rating: 8.7
Zoids and Zoids Chaotic Century
Status/Info: Saw these on Cartoon Network (US) when they aired.Review: First season was funny and cool. Nice battles and great all the way through. Second season was a snore until the second half of the series. Then it went somewhere. And then it ended.
Rating: Zoids- 9.1 / Zoids Chaotic Century- 8.0
Zombie Loan
Status/Info: 13 Episode Series.Review: Much too short to develop a full story in depth, but from what was seen, this series had been paced well and showed promise. The end is another one of those cliff hangers that would have to be continued in its manga counterpart. The story tells of a high school girl named Michiru Kita who has the "Shinigami Eyes." With it, she can see the rings on people's neck that develops when they are close to death. Once the ring turns pitch black, the Grim Reaper finds you and kills you. Two of her classmates Shito Tachibana and Chika Akatsuki have black rings, yet they are still alive! Having died once, the two boys are in a contract that allows them to live on as zombies with will under the Z Loan Office. Once they pay their debt, they can have their lives back. After saving Michiru's life, she agrees to help them pay off their loan using her abilities. Let the hunt for illegal zombies begin!
Rating: 8.25
Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i
Status/Info: Bootleg DVDs have HORRIBLE subbing...Review: Not your typical mecha anime in which the main character is a hot piece of… Something for you to drool over unlike most mecha boyband/girl animes. James Links is a 49 year old, rugged space transporter returning to Earth to reunite with his estranged children on his daughter’s birthday, when things get complicated as he is framed for murdering the inspectors aboard his ship during the voyage. James had unknowingly agreed to transport the highly-advanced Orbital Frame “Dolores,” which was being targeted by a group of people on Mars to use as a way to destroy the inhabitants of the Earth. His children Noel and Leon become wanted by the authorities as well and the adventure to assure Dolores (who is connected to the Links family as she was created by Jame’s wife) does not fall into the hands of the Earth or Mars and to stop their rivaling conflict that had been going on for decades ensues. This series is a continuation of Zone of the Enders: Idolo OVA which I did not see, but something along the lines of humans from Earth vs Mars going to war and hating each other over stupid differences causes Mars to create the first Orbital Frames and wanting independence from the Earth (stupid since they are the source of natural resources) along with the supposed death of Radium Lavans, the pilot to the first Orbital Frame, Idolo. Funny enough, Dolores (Isis is her real name) was made from the wrecks of Idolo and has an uncanny resemblance to it. And yes Radium did not die, (Ruined that part for you) but he did become a psycho bastard with more fueled hatred for the earth and an imaginary dead girlfriend. Doesn’t help that Dolores was named after his dead girlfriend… Anyway, I felt the character development of James was sort of incomplete and not as moving as Dolores’ who apparently is a machine with a better personality/AI than the other casts. Although she is a hardcore fighting machine, she’s PINK and has the personality of a ditzy teenager and falls in love with her pilot. The first time I’ve seen a mech series in which the mech has a real personality and voice and better character development than the pilot. The end was really touching although I was hoping for Noel, but mostly Leon to die to jazz things up… *shrugs* I like it when cute characters die… XD Anyway, Dolores got fat in the end, right after some tearful departing words and song. If you like mechs and hate typical boyband pilots and prefer a man’s man of a pilot with 5 o' clock shadow, this is your 26 episode series. ^^
Rating: 9.35
