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| Nerima Daikon Brothers Vol 2 & Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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3.22.2008
6:55 AM | Link |
 This hilarious musical anime series is only twelve episodes long, so I rented both of these DVDs fairly quickly and finished it fast. Although it was still lots of fun, I have to admit that this show is much better in the earlier episodes, before you've heard the same song variations over and over. But aside from that, the second DVD includes tons of hilarity, while the third DVD tries to wrap it up with a really bizarre ending. Yukika the "gadget policewoman" really shines as her character is developed, and her crazy panda fetish is awesome (I always laugh out loud when she goes nuts and screams "Switch on!"). She also has a funny scene where she dresses up in a pink Darth Vader costume to go undercover! Most of the plots involve a complex parody of something or someone in Japanese pop culture (explained very well by the popup note subtitles), but there's even an episode with a deranged Michael Jackson look-alike (who sings a tender song about his dream amusement park, filled with random vocal interjections like "Ow!"). The ending is a huge spoof on former Prime Minister Koizumi, where he sends his lion troops to fight an army of pandas on the daikon field. It's totally bizarre, and I would have much rather seen the band just build their dome and fulfill their concert dream! Each DVD contains some excellent Japanese commentary tracks with the directory and voice actors, who are all enthusiastic and lively - really a joy to listen to! Shigeru Matsuzaki, the famous singer who plays Hideki, is a real firecracker with an amazing attitude. Be prepared to watch each episode three times - once normally, once with commentary, and once with the notes subtitles! Even though it went a little downhill towards the end, Nerima Daikon Brothers is still a series I wouldn't mind watching again someday - and singing along!
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| Death Note Vol 2 & Vol 3: 4 of 5 | |
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3.17.2008
9:44 PM | Link |
 I've recently rented both of the next Death Note DVDs, and I'm still enjoying watching this series a second time in Japanese, even though I'm currently watching the newer episodes on Cartoon Network. The Volume 2 DVD contains the genius plot to kill all of the FBI agents through Raye Penber, which is absolutely chilling, and then quickly moves on to Light's cruel manipulation of Raye's fiancee. In both of these plots, Light tells his victim he's Kira just before it's too late, which is pretty devastating! Light's character really reveals itself as a creepy combination of perfection and evil, which is part of what makes this series so fascinating! On Volume 3, L decides to confront Light by entering the same college, and they begin a high-tension relationship that can only be explained by long thought monologues. When I read the manga I expected this to be a big challenge for the anime, but they really pull it off well with some dramatic artwork! Misa Amane is finally introduced as the second Kira (and of course her voice is cute in the way only a Japanese's girl's voice can be!), but the real stand-out moment of this DVD is when the Shinigami Rem tells the story of the other Shinigami who loved Misa and gave himself to save her life - it's presented like a bittersweet fairy tale! Unfortunately, now I have to wait for future DVDs of this series to be released, but I'm definitely going to keep renting them until the show ends. I'm curious to find out if they plan on continuing the plot past the L story arc!
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| Nerima Daikon Brothers Vol 1 : 4 of 5 | |
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2.29.2008
7:47 AM | Link |
 I saw an episode of this series on a Newtype preview DVD, and it was so wacky that I actually remembered to put it in my Netflix queue, and I received the first DVD recently (apparently the next Death Note was unavailable!). This is one of the craziest anime series I've seen in a long time, but I have to say I thought it was fantastic! The main characters are Hideki, his cute cousin Mako, and Ichiro (oh, and there's a panda who follows them around, too!), who dream of being a popular band performing huge concerts. Unfortunately, they're poor, so they live next to their daikon field, apparently their only source of income, and somehow end up fighting against injustice in their town (though always hoping to steal a little cash along the way). But the real concept of the show is that every episode is a musical! That's right, each plot is wall-to-wall songs, and they are totally hilarious! There are several themes that are repeated often (with lyric alterations) - Mako's sexy song, the money-lender's song, a fight introduction song, and so on. It's too bizarre to believe, and it's so much fun to watch! Of course, this show is one of the biggest subtitle challenges ever attempted - it's really fast-paced (tons of quick lines that only appear on screen for a second), and on top of that, there's a second set of subtitles to explain all the cultural references and humor. The explanations are super-interesting, but you need to have the pause button ready at all times! As expected, there are lots of raunchy jokes and adult humor (in a funny, PG-13 style), and the plots on this first DVD are pretty good, involving everything from Korean pachinko parlors to sexy nurses in a scam hospital! I don't know how they can continue filling each episode with songs for the whole series, but I definitely intend to find out!
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| Death Note Vol 1 : 5 of 5 | |
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1.22.2008
6:19 PM | Link |
 Since I completely enjoyed reading the entire series of Death Note manga, I've been watching the anime on Cartoon Network and marveling at how well the story has been adapted to animation. But of course, I have a big problem with the English dubbing (Light's voice isn't too bad, but L's voice is horrendous), so I decided to rent the series on DVD as well. As I expected, it's so much cooler watching the series in Japanese - everything just has the right feel and emotion that I don't think a dub can ever capture. The story itself is just as fascinating as I remember, and I'm really enjoying seeing it unfold even though I know everything that's going to happen. The anime is able to grab the viewer in ways the manga couldn't, especially in interesting scenes like Ryuk's journey from the Shinigami world to the human world, or via some masterful montages (my favorite is when Light really gets going on writing names in the Death Note, with huge arm gestures and quick cuts to the suffering criminals that flow perfectly with the dramatic music!). The artwork is completely on-model compared to the manga, and often uses interesting camera moves and lighting that I know must be a pain to draw! In this volume I thought the exciting bus-jacking scene (where Light manages to get the name of the FBI agent Raye Penber) was well done, as well as the explanation of Light's trick hiding place for the Death Note. Overall, the series has really captured the same tone as the manga (and the cool opening and closing themes don't hurt the mood either), so I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
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| The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya / Vol 4 : 4 of 5 | |
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1.18.2008
6:53 AM | Link |
 This final DVD contains the last three episodes of this anime, which are by far the best of the entire series! Finally I can start to understand why this series started such a fan phenomenon, since these episodes have something to offer not only in humor and fun animation, but even show some inner feelings that have often been hidden for the rest of the story. The first plot on the DVD covers the school arts festival (which ties in with the very first episode's home video by the SOS Brigade), with all the expected elements (such as Mikuru in a maid cafe), but then shows Haruhi and Yuki filling in for a rock band with some absent members. The concert is fantastic - not only is the music great, but the animation both of the guitar playing and drumming is totally realistic (possibly rotoscoped!). This scene really shows Haruhi experiencing true joy, and it finally made me like her character! Next we have a fun video game duel with the computer club, which takes place mostly in the fantasy world of the game itself. There are hilarious Star Blazers references, and even a polka-dotted space ship for Mikuru, and this story reveals a nice side to Yuki as well. The final episode is really amazing, since after so many frenetic plots and situations, it completely slows down and covers a lazy winter day in a completely touching way. There are even moments where the camera will stay in a long shot for a full minute, just observing Yuki reading or Kyon napping. It was so minimalist that I completely loved it! There's also a cool bonus feature of Aya Hinano touring the Kyoto Animation studio, and seeing all the animators hard at work is pretty fascinating. Even though it took a while to grow on me, I enjoyed Haruhi enough to hope for another season, and at least I now understand what all the buzz has been about!
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| Music Moments | |
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12.19.2007
8:46 AM | Link |
 It's time for five more mini music reviews, featuring a little Disney, a little Christmas, and some Jpop, of course! I'll start with Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland, which is an amazing soundtrack re-recording that's only available via iTunes. I never realized that Disney made these studio recreations, but the sound quality and arrangements are fantastic compared to the original movie score. I actually prefer Kathryn Beaumont's cute English voice over Darlene Gillespie's, but she did a fine job (I think she was the most talented classic Mouseketeer)!After finishing up every last episode of Sailor Moon recently, I really wanted to have all the cheesy songs in my collection, so I was happy to discover Sailor Moon Super Best, which includes all the themes and other numbers from all seasons of the show. Some of these are actually cool ballads in a retro kind of way, especially if you appreciate the 70's style horns and strings (so different from anime soundtracks today!). But most importantly, I'll always enjoy singing Moonlight Densetsu! Each year I always buy myself a new holiday album, and this year I was persuaded by an iTunes sale to get Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics, featuring all of the South Park characters butchering classic Christmas carols as well as other songs that simply set a new standard for holiday irreverence! This CD is totally hilarious if you have an extremely open-minded sense of humor, and I have to admit that I love singing along with everyone's favorite magical Christmas poo! Now on to Jpop! I had to buy Morning Musume's All Singles Complete collection, even though I already had all of these songs on other albums, just because the concept and packaging was so cool, and it's worth it to me to have all of these songs in order on a nice CD set (which has been playing in my car for weeks now!). The bonus DVD, where each member chooses their favorite concert performance, has some great older footage that I hadn't seen before, but why did so many of them have to pick Do It Now? Maybe they just like holding the microphones upside down for the rap! Finally, I really like Morning Musume's new single Mikan, even though it's a pretty big jump stylistically from their previous two singles, but I guess it's time for a peppy, anime theme-ish song. I definitely enjoy the lyrics and the cool little piano licks, as well as Reina's lines in the final chorus (I thought it was funny when she mentioned them on Five Stars!). The video is lots of fun, too, but I have to say that I'm not a fan of eye reflection effects, and the little squares on their eyeballs make everyone look like robots! Labels: anime, cds, disney, jpop, morning musume |
| The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya / Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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12.13.2007
7:33 AM | Link |
 The third DVD in this series went by even faster than the first two, since there are only three episodes! The first episode is almost too weird to be comprehensible, and was probably my least favorite so far. Haruhi designs the SOS Brigade logo, which somehow wakes-up another "thought entity" (or something that Yuki barely explains), and they end up having to battle with a monster version of the computer kid that Haruhi blackmailed earlier in the series. After that there's a two-part story where everyone takes a little vacation on a secluded island, which ends up turning into a murder mystery. The plot is pretty interesting, but it all boils down to trying to keep Haruhi from getting bored, since if she's bored she will think something into existence! Besides the typical "bikinis at the beach" anime scene, this story also featured a really weird technique for reenacting the murder - it was shot in live action and displayed with various filter effects, which looks cool, but still kind of jarring in the middle of the show. The bonus features include more footage of Aya Hinano (the voice of Haruhi), who is super-cute in her photo session and signing books for fans, but to tell the truth, I still have yet to see why this show has become so popular! So many people have declared this anime one of the best, but right now I don't see it. It's definitely fun and I enjoy it, but I'm not getting a huge emotional charge out of it or anything. Oh well, at least it's fun to keep up with the phenomenon, so bring on the next DVD (after Christmas, of course)!
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| Embarrassing reading | |
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12.08.2007
2:35 PM | Link |
 I'm really getting into holiday mode, which means relaxing a little more and enjoying things like reading! I've been catching up on some actual books lately, but of course I'm still reading manga, too. Besides the regular volumes I like, I'm still a faithful subscriber to Shojo Beat - my embarrassing little pleasure! Every month I enjoy finding what happens in all the stories (and I definitely skip over the girly beauty tips!) - I still haven't forgiven them for getting rid of Nana, but the current line-up is pretty good. The best by far is Honey & Clover, which always makes me laugh at the antics of these crazy art school characters, and I think Crimson Hero is pretty inspiring. I didn't like Vampire Knight at first, but it's starting to grow on me! I know that I'm supposed to be reading Shonen Jump since I'm a guy, but I can't help it if I'd rather read emotional stories instead of all that ninja crap! Now if I could only read it on a train, it would feel more like Japan - maybe when Austin light rail opens I'll have to give it a try!Talking about manga reminds me of anime, and I recently enjoyed the full-length Black Jack movie on the Sci-Fi Channel! Black Jack is one of Osamu Tezuka's characters that I'd like to know more about, but he's just barely been available in the US, so I was surprised this movie was on. The dub was terrible, of course, but the plot and the animation were pretty nice! I wish the movie was more about why Black Jack became a renegade surgeon and his relationship to Pinoko, but it was still cool to watch anyway. |
| The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya / Vol 2 : 3 of 5 | |
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11.30.2007
7:29 AM | Link |
 I hardly ever continue watching an anime series so quickly (I usually watch other things between volumes for variety), but Netflix was super-fast and these episodes are so short that it's been easy to breeze through this show during study breaks! These four episodes take a big turn from the last volume as the plot goes from weird to completely bizarre, and at the same time the situation gets more serious as Haruhi's "cosmic powers" are revealed. Somehow she actually creates reality with thought (unknowingly), so the fact that she's bored with everyday life means she might just end the universe to start up a new one! There's a nice Haruhi monologue where we get to see past her tough exterior for a moment, which leads nicely into a great episode where Haruhi and Kyon find themselves in another reality, and Kyon has to convince her to give the "real" reality another chance (with an unexpected kiss!). After all that drama, the other episodes lighten up with the SOS Brigade entering a baseball tournament, which is pretty hilarious since Yuki, the alien representative of the Thought Entity (yes, that's pretty weird), helps them win the game by changing the physical properties of the bat. There's some funny cheerleading from Mikuru in this episode, too! I should also mention that these DVDs have a lot of bonus material, the best of which is some Japanese-produced behind the scenes segments with the voice actors for the show. Watching the recording session for one of the show's songs was really interesting! Now that I can kind of see the tone of this series, I'm a little more into it than I was after watching Volume 1, so of course the next DVD will be on its way to me soon.
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| The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya / Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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11.26.2007
6:07 PM | Link |
 I've had this series in my Netflix queue from way back when I was still subscribing to Newtype. They were constantly gushing about what a great anime series this is, and it's definitely got a ton of attention online and everywhere else, so I'm glad I finally got the time to give it a try. Recently my taste has been leaning towards more serious anime and manga, but I have to say that Haruhi was pretty funny, so I'm definitely going to keep watching! I was really impressed by how the series begins, since the entire first episode is nothing more than a homemade film created by the characters (but it does reveal some interesting hints, in a way). In the next three episodes, Haruhi and all the members of her new SOS Brigade are introduced, and they are soon revealed to be exactly what Haruhi is devoted to finding: aliens, future people, and ESPers (psychics)! The only normal guy is Kyon (his nickname), and the story unfolds from his point of view, which is great since he's just as confused as the viewer! There are some really outrageous moments dealing with Haruhi's "handling" (literally) of Mikuru, the super-cute girl of the group, especially when she's forced to wear crazy outfits like a bunny suit! This entire DVD went by really fast - the episodes seem a little shorter than average, but it kind of helps the story move along. I'm worried that if they don't bring a little true emotion into all this craziness that I will get bored with the series, but for now I'm content to giggle and enjoy the hilarity!
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| Appleseed / Limited Collector's Edition : 4 of 5 | |
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9.17.2007
12:37 PM | Link |
 I've had this DVD in my pile waiting to be watched for so long it's scary! I bought it soon after it was released, since there was so much hype about it, and now I understand why - Appleseed is a seriously cool movie! The process used to make this film is fascinating, since it's actually the first completely 3D modeled CGI film from Japan, and it truly has an amazing look. I always knew the environments were 3D models, but I never knew that the characters themselves were all modeled as well, and mostly animated via motion capture (including some interesting lip-sync facial techniques). Because this is still an anime, they chose to render the characters with 2D flat shading (which is why I was confused!), and this gives the film really amazing style. All of this is presented on an excellent Japanese documentary included in the set, along with lots of other great bonus material. The story itself is packed with action in an awesome futuristic setting, with the basic plot concerning artificial humans called bioroids and the rift in human society because of their existence. The main characters Deunan and Briareos (who is a cyborg) undergo great development in the story, but Hitomi the bioroid is my favorite because she's just too cute. The soundtrack is fantastic, full of modernistic rock songs, and I really appreciate the fact that the camera angles used are very tasteful (since they can often get too crazy in a CGI film). Appleseed is an incredible movie and definitely a milestone in both anime and CGI animation in general!
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| Sailor Moon Movie Collection : 4 of 5 | |
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8.19.2007
7:14 AM | Link |
 There are three Sailor Moon movies (each going along with a particular season of the show), and I actually rented each of these way back in 2000, but since I bought this semi-bootleg set quite a while ago, I decided to watch them again just to finish off my recent marathon! Each movie is barely over an hour, but they all have nice stories with a little more character insight than an average episode of the show. Sailor Moon R reveals some of Mamoru's childhood with a flower-loving alien, and Sailor Moon S (my favorite of the three) focuses on Luna the cat, who falls in love with an astronomer. The story sounds crazy, but it's really emotional and touching (especially when she gets her wish to become human just for a moment!). Sailor Moon Super S has a pretty weird plot about stealing children to power a black hole (focusing on Chibi-Moon just like the same season of the series), but at least the rest of the Sailor Soldiers appear (I like their cool attacks, especially Sailor Pluto's "Dead Scream"). Now that I've watched all of these again, I'm actually getting the urge to take on the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon all over again! Tasukete!Labels: anime, dvds, sailor moon |
| Sailor Stars : 4 of 5 | |
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8.09.2007
7:43 AM | Link |
 I've finally finished watching every episode of Sailor Stars, the 5th season of Sailor Moon, and it only took me a year since I finished Sailor Moon Super S! This season was particularly fun and interesting, and now that I've seen it I can understand why it was never released in the US market, since the story involves lots of gender-bending. The plot is still a great one, though, starting off with a mini-arc about another encounter with their old enemy Queen Neherenia (quickly resolved in about six episodes), and next switching into the main story involving the new villain Lady Galaxia and the new heroes, the Sailor Starlights (who are actually girl Sailor Soldiers, but turn into boy pop idols when they aren't fighting enemies!). The best element of the story is that Mamoru is out of the picture most of the time, so Usagi gets to have a tentative, uncomfortable, and sweet romance with Seiya, one of the Starlights. Their scenes together are really emotional, even if we know all along that Usagi and Mamoru will end up together in the end. The middle of the series gets into a typical Sailor Moon formula (an enemy tries to steal a Star Seed from someone, which turns them into a monster, which the Sailor Soldiers defeat), but I kind of like the repetitive consistency. It's great to see all of the Sailor Solders together (even Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn), and of course, the crazy attack names get better and better - Sailor Moon's main attack is now "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" and one of the Starlights attacks with "Star Gentle Uterus!" (I swear I am not making this up!). So now I've seen all the Sailor Moon there is to see (though I'm going to watch the three movies again since I bought that set, too), and I'm still a fan!Labels: anime, dvds, sailor moon |
| Astro Boy 1980s Japanese opening theme | |
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7.28.2007
12:28 PM | Link |
 Lately I have been watching a ton of Astro Boy (already four episodes today!), since I realy want to finish this DVD set before I move on to other things to watch. The show is really fantastic, as I've said before, and it's kind of cool absorbing each episode one after another, since you can really watch the characters grow and see all kinds of connections. There are so many great stories, such as the Greatest Robot in the World saga, all of the Atlas episodes, and even some guest appearances by other Tezuka characters, such as Black Jack and Princess Knight! Of course, now I've heard the theme song a billion times, but strangely enough, I couldn't find the actual Japanese lyrics with translation on the web, so I just did my own. I tend to translate more literally than poetically, since it helps me learn vocabulary, and it's amazing how even a simple song like this can contain idiomatic phrases and things. By the way, Astro's "real" name in Japanese translates to Mighty Atom. So, here's the Astro Boy opening theme from the 1980s anime!Japanese sora wo koete ra ra ra hoshi no kanata yukuzo atomu jetto no kagiri kokoro yasashii ra ra ra kagaku no ko juuman bariki da tetsuwan atomu mimi wo sumase ra ra ra me wo mihare sou da atomu yudan wo suruna kokoro tadashi ra ra ra kagaku no ko nanatsu no iryoku sa tetsuwan atomu English Passing through the sky, la la la Far off in the stars Go, Atom (Astro), To the limit of your jets! His heart is kind He's a child of science He has 100,000 horsepower Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) Listen carefully, la la la Be amazed! That's Atom (Astro) Don't be unprepared His heart is just He's a child of science He has seven powers Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) |
| Astro Boy Complete Collection : 5 of 5 | |
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7.20.2007
12:24 PM | Link |
 I've only watched about a fourth of this series so far, but since it's eight DVDs long I decided I should go ahead and write about it! Since I really love Astro Boy, I want to see all three animated series eventually, and I really enjoyed the most recent one, so I was happy to snag this set at a discount price. This is the second of the three series, broadcast in Japan in the 80s in color, and it was Osamu Tezuka's (the creator of Astro) favorite. In fact, he actually wrote all the scripts for the series, which is wonderful since the stories closely follow the original manga (even complete subplots like the heartwarming Robio & Robiette)! The animation is colorful though quite simple, but every now and then features some incredible space ship or robot designs, and of course the characters are completely true to Tezuka's artwork (then often even do the funny walk with outstretched legs that Tezuka fans will recognize right away!). The music has lots of cheesy 80s synth sounds, but the opening and closing theme songs are fantastic (and I hum the all the time, since I haven't found the Japanese lyrics yet). It's so cool to see Astro being built and coming to life for the first time, as well as the introduction of Astro's robot parents and cute sister Uran. Seeing these shows in the original Japanese is great, and I love hearing the cute things that Astro says when he fights (plus he's pretty handy with his "ass-guns" that you definitely never saw in the US!). So far this is just about as perfect as an Astro Boy cartoon can get, and I'm certainly going to enjoy watching the rest of the series!
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| Re-watching favorites | |
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4.26.2007
7:26 AM | Link |
 I know, I know - I have so much stuff I want to watch that I couldn't possibly re-watch things I've already seen, right? Well, a while back ADV Films had a really great DVD sale going on, so I ended up buying complete sets (for practically nothing!) of a couple anime series that I really enjoyed the first time around! I've been watching an episode here and there, and I've been enjoying them all over again. I've already re-finished Chance Pop Session, which I still think has a cute soap-opera style plot, and I'm well on my way into Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, which quenches my thirst for science fiction coolness. After I bought these sets, I realized that I should really own the entire Chobits, so I picked that up from Overstock.com (I think it's going out of print soon, if it hasn't already), and now it's waiting for me, too. While I'm talking about watching things, I also checked out another movie via Amazon Unbox - I missed Jet Li's Fearless in the theater, so it was nice to watch it at home. Truthfully, I wasn't really moved by the plot, but the action was cool, although I didn't watch it closely enough for me to really review it!Labels: anime |
| Gatchaman / Collection 9 : 5 of 5 | |
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11.27.2006
11:26 PM | Link |
 I can't believe I've finished all 105 episodes of this anime classic - it seems like I was only just recently excited about buying the first DVD set, and now I have nine of them on my shelf! I was filled with anticipation when I started the first disc, but then I was surprised that these episodes didn't really lead up to the big ending - they were the typical plots that could have fit anywhere in the series (but still great!). But the second disc delivered completely, quickly getting into Joe's tragic health problem, the big mystery secret behind the identity of Berg Katse, and the ultimate Galactor plot (orchestrated by Leader X, double-crossing Katse!) to destroy the world! Along the way there's plenty of emotion for everyone, even though a couple of the episodes are a little goofy (especially when Galactor tries to convince Ken that he's awakened 20 years in the future). You've got to love a mecha with a name like Grape Bomber, and there's also a cool giant catfish to battle, too! The bonus disc has some interesting material on the various releases of the series in Japan, as well as a great list of the various Science Ninja techniques, but also has a real snooze-fest with the American voice actors, who just bore me to tears (sorry, ADV!). Gatchaman has been so much fun to watch - nothing else can capture the drama and excitement of 70s anime for me!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 8 : 4 of 5 | |
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11.06.2006
12:03 PM | Link |
 I can't believe that this epic anime series is almost over - there's only one more Gatchaman collection to go! I really enjoyed this set of episodes, since the plots seem to be getting more dramatic leading up to what I hope to be a spectacular finale. The biggest edge-of-your-seat action occurs when Galactor actually succeeds in a full-scale attack on the Crescent Coral Base, eventually leaving the Science Ninja Team homeless! This story takes a few episodes to complete, and each one was full of excitement. The Berg Katse mystery is almost revealed, too - I actually don't know what the big secret is, but I'm pretty sure he's a shape-shifter of some kind (I know I could dig up the answer somewhere, but it's more fun waiting to find out!). There are plenty of emotional episodes in this set, too - Ken is getting more and more discouraged with life in general since Galactor always comes back, and Jinpei has a cute first-love romance (with a surprising accidental shower peeking scene), but realizes that as long as he's a Science Ninja, there's no room for anyone in his life (poor Jinpei). The coolest mecha this time around could be the giant crayfish (giant claws!), or possibly the line of cop cars that form into a huge Mothra-looking caterpillar. Overall, this was an amazing set, and all of the episodes flew by - I can't wait to get my hands on Collection 9 (but then I will be sad when it's over)!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 6 : 2 of 5 | |
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10.12.2006
6:43 PM | Link |
 All good things must come to an end, and thankfully, that even includes meaningless anime series like Girls Bravo! This last volume has four episodes instead of the usual three, but it only increases the feeling that a plot has been tacked on the end of an otherwise pointless show. The first episode focuses on Koyomi and her father, and we learn that her parents were a Seiren/Earth couple just like Yukinari and Miharu seem destined to be. Next, Yukinari finally is "cured" of the hives he gets around women, but Miharu gets a little sad, since she used to be the only one who didn't cause Yukinari's condition. This episode has some fun scenes of Miharu buying gifts for everyone, which makes for some sentimental moments after she's kidnapped and taken back to Seiren (gasp!). So after tons of episodes just goofing around, we finally hear the backstory about a plot to make Seiren "male-free", and Miharu is captured because she has the power to open a gateway to Earth (using the bathtub, if you'll remember way back from the first DVD when this show was interesting!). Everyone in the gang, including Fukuyama and his bodyguards, goes to Seiren so Yukinari can rescue Miharu, and then the show just ends. There's no resolution to the Kirie love triangle or anything, which is really disappointing. I'm definitely looking forward to brief anime break before jumping into something more substantial!
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| Maburaho Vol 7 : 2 of 5 | |
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9.28.2006
10:31 PM | Link |
 I can remember when I first got hooked on this series after reading about it in Newtype, and the first DVDs were really entertaining and fun. Then about halfway through the entire feel of the show changed (thanks to the "Kazuki becomes a ghost" plotline), and it was all downhill from there. This final DVD eventually wraps up the mission to restore Kazuki to his human form, but the whole thing was pretty disappointing to me - I'm just glad it's over now so I can move on to other series! The DVD begins with focusing on Rin, since she has to restore her portion of Kazuki's ashes, but she's scared because she has heard that Kazuki will lose his memories when he regains his body. Finally, it seems like he's back (with memories intact), but suddenly collapses, and it turns out that Yuna and Chihaya (his childhood friend) still have a little to restore (they find this out by traveling inside his memories, which was one of the stupidest sequences of this whole series). At first they can't agree on what to do, but since this is the last episode they finally do fully restore Kazuki's humanity. Of course, there's no memory loss - instead there is an awful epilogue where we see that when Kazuki came back, he split into a bunch of clones! I don't think I've ever seen such a dumb ending. Even the mystery of the strange landlady is poorly releaved and fairly uninteresting. Oh well, I had a good time with the first half of the series, but I don't recommend starting it if you feel compelled to completion like me!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 7 : 4 of 5 | |
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9.25.2006
6:37 PM | Link |
 Wow, my Gatchaman DVD collection is really growing, and since I've been buying these in the special box sets, they are looking really sweet on my shelf. As usual, the bonus DVD isn't much to get excited about (although this time there are some fun tracks of Gatchaman themes in Italian and Dutch!), but it's definitely worth it for the amazing Alex Ross art on the boxes. The episodes in this collection are really heating up, and the battle with Galactor is getting more serious all the time. Just because Jun the Swan loses her shoe during a fight, Galactor's scientists are able to figure out how the Science Ninja Team's "bird style" transformation works, and they use this to develop detectors, weapons, and even to discover the location of the secret underwater Crescent Coral Base! There's a really dramatic attack, but thankfully we learn that the base has rockets so it can just move to another underwater location. Character-wise, Joe the Condor unlocks some hidden memories and learns he's the child of Galactor parents (actually rescued as a boy by Dr. Nambu), and Ryu the Owl (the only non-orphan) has to save his dad from an ocean attack without revealing his Science Ninja Team identity. As always, there are plenty of cool and hilarious mecha, this time including a giant peacock, an underground burrowing beetle, and a massive prawn. I'm all set for the next collection, and still having fun singing the Gatchaman theme!
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| Whisper of the Heart : 5 of 5 | |
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9.17.2006
10:11 PM | Link |
 I'm still working my way through the Disney DVD releases of Studio Ghibli's masterpieces, and recently I watched Whisper of the Heart for the first time. This is simply one of the most beautiful films I've seen, not only from an animation standpoint, but also because the plot is so wonderful. There's also such a nostalgic feeling about the way life in Japan is portrayed, that it makes me miss being there even though I've only been in the country for about 30 days of my entire life! The story (which loosely ties together with The Cat Returns, since they both feature the cat figurine called "The Baron") is about a girl named Shizuku, addicted to fantasy books, who keeps seeing the same boy's name on the library cards of the books she enjoys. There's a little budding romance, some excellent life advice about doing what you believe in, and an ending that had my tears really rolling! The backgrounds in this movie are nothing short of spectacular - detailed city scenes, beautiful landscapes, and even the small apartment Shizuku's family lives in, all just make you want to be there. There's are so many animation details, too, such as bugs flying around streetlights at night, and tons of subtle blushing in the characters' faces when they're embarrassed - I just can't imagine the work that went into making this film. I can definitely say this is now one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, and I'll certainly be returning to watch it again from time to time!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 5 : 3 of 5 | |
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9.06.2006
11:32 PM | Link |
 I can do it - I can finish this series if I stick with it! There are better series waiting for me to watch! As much as I'm ready to put Girls Bravo behind me, I actually enjoyed this DVD, much more than the last couple, actually. The first episode has the girls getting a part-time job to pay for all the damage they've done to Yukinari's house. As you would expect, they end up as models at a cosplay event, and they convince Yukinari that they need another member, so they dress him up as a girl and call him Yukina! Guess who (Fukuyama, of course) gets the hots for Yukina, and all kinds of craziness ensues. The next episode may win for the most out-loud Mikey laughs! Since everyone is home bored, Fukuyama (they should have just called the series Fukuyama Bravo) comes over to challenge everyone to a kind of hentai Mah Jong - all of the tiles have bizarre titles (you can guess), and there's plenty of silly penalties for losing. The third episode is mostly a kind of alternate story where the girls play cat burglars, except they call themselves the Phantom Rabbits. The plot is kind of cool, with Fukuyama as a "good guy" and Yukinari as a villain. The last episode involves Miharu's sister making a visit to Earth from Seiren and causing trouble at the school's culture festival, which was kind of boring. This DVD was definitely worth watching to fill in some empty spots during my four-day weekend, and the fact that I did get some good laughs gives it some merit.
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| Maburaho Vol 6 : 3 of 5 | |
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8.23.2006
10:02 PM | Link |
 I'm really ready to start some new anime series, but I've got to finish up the ones I'm watching! Maburaho started off really fun, but I haven't been totally interested since Kazuki used up all his magic and became a ghost. Finally in this volume, he starts to regain some of his body - it turns out that Yuna, Kuriko, Rin (plus another former girlfriend) all have some of his ashes, which they begin to learn how to restore to him. Of course, it can only be done through emotional moments, but thank goodness now Kazuki can touch things and eat (I was really getting tired of the ghost thing!). The first episode finishes up the Kyoto school trip (which is kind of fun since I got to see anime representations of many place I have actually been to!), and the next episode is the inevitable "flashback" clips episode (I don't know why anime series always have that episode, but I guess I just have to deal with it). The third episode involves Kuriko trying to restore her portion of the ashes, and it's kind of nice to see a tender side of her character. Her rich family throws a huge Cinderella party, so she has to try to make the restoration before midnight. I guess this was a pretty decent volume (definitely better than Vol 5), but unfortunately the preview of the next DVD looked pretty silly. Oh well, I'll be finished with the series soon!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 4 : 2 of 5 | |
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8.11.2006
7:39 PM | Link |
 Sometimes I wish I had the power to stop watching a series once I get started. It's not that I dislike Girls Bravo, but there are so many better series that I could be watching instead! This is by far the goofiest show I have kept watching, but at least it seems to go by quickly (and of course, I do laugh a lot!). I just wish there were those tender, emotional moments to balance out the silliness (and when that balance is correct, that's when anime rocks). Anyway, this disc is filled with so much fan service that it doesn't really have an impact - cartoon nudity is only funny when it's surprising, and in this show it just happens all the time! The first episode is about a girls' fighting match setup by Fukuyama (who is showing up way too much in the series for my taste) that ends up in a crazy mud wrestling match, and the next episode is about Yukinari and Miharu's date that goes wonky because Miharu gets some advice from the wrong source (yes, Fukuyama again). The best episode is about some minor characters - a crazy classmate who calls himself Mamo Ranger tries to clean up the school and gets tutored by Fukuyama's militant maid. The last episode features Tomoka, who is my least favorite main character, but it was still pretty good. Anyway, there are only two more volumes to go - I can make it to the end!
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| Sailor Moon Super S : 3 of 5 | |
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8.06.2006
11:56 AM | Link |
 It's a major anime accomplishment to finish an entire season of Sailor Moon, so I'm glad to say I've completed watching all 39 episodes of Sailor Moon Super S (which is technically the fourth season)! You may remember that I was obsessed with trying to buy the DVD set, since I wanted the official US release, but I just broke down and bought a nice cheap import set (I don't know if it's officially licensed, but I don't care - the quality is great and the English subtitles are fine). This season always gets bad reviews because it's too "cute" (which is hard to do when you're talking about Sailor Moon), and I can understand what they mean, since most of the stories focus on Sailor Chibi Moon and her magical horse friend Pegasus. I still enjoyed the series, though, even though the traditional final exciting episodes where everything gets serious weren't really that dramatic - everything had a little too much fantasy for me. There are two main sets of villains, the Amazon Trio and the Amazoness Quartet, and they seek out people with "beautiful dreams", because Pegasus is hiding inside someone's dream. Every battle ends with Pegasus showing up, which gives the Sailor Soldiers the power to transform with new special powers (and the new attacks are pretty cool). The little kitty Diana is part of the show, too, and she's the future offspring of Luna and Artemis, much the way Chibiusa is the daughter of Usagi and Mamoru - doesn't that make perfect sense? It was fun to watch all the episodes, even though the first three seasons were much better. I just feel compelled to watch them all - on to the fifth season!Labels: anime, dvds, sailor moon |
| Full Metal Panic Fumoffu Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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7.10.2006
11:31 PM | Link |
 Full Metal Panic was such a great anime because it had a wonderful balance of drama and humor, switching between exciting battle scenes and silly high school semi-romantic situations. Fumoffu focuses entirely on the antics, telling short stories that supposedly happened while Sousuke was undercover as a high school student to protect Kaname, and so far it's a lot of fun! I actually saw the first episode on my very first NewType sampler DVD, but at that time I hadn't watched the original Full Metal Panic, so I had to see all of it to appreciate this show. I'm glad I did, because now Fumoffu is twice as funny, and it's cool that it fills in the cracks and shows more of the daily craziness (as well as more of the developing feelings between Kaname and Sousuke). Some of the episodes are divided into two short stories, with simple plots like Sousuke blowing up his locker when someone puts a love letter in it, or a high-speed chase to get Kaname's homework turned in on time. The funniest scenes are when Sousuke pulls a gun since he just has no concept that carrying a gun isn't normal (since a military childhood is all he knows) - he even shoots up a video game screen because he runs out of ammo in the game! I hope some of the future episodes focus on Kaname's friends, and hopefully some of Sousuke's fellow soldiers, too (I'm sure they will get Tessa in somehow). Fumoffu is a cool idea for a series, so I'm going to enjoy it!
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| Genshiken Vol 3 : 4 of 5 | |
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6.28.2006
10:39 PM | Link |
 Since I couldn't find Volume 3 available to rent, I just decided to buy the box set of Genshiken, since I liked the series so much - I'm sure I will watch it all again sometime! It was good to see the final four episodes, but it's really disappointing that they didn't make more - it even seems like the anime staff was a little surprised, since the final episode really struggles to wrap it up somehow (but at least I still have the continuing manga to keep me going). The first episode on this DVD is really great - nothing much happens except for Madarame being uncomfortably left alone with Kasukabe, and just watching how inept he is with other people is hilarious! There's a great flashback to his high school days, and it's really funny when they show how he tries to handle a situation through the "interface" of a dating sim game. The character insight is perfect, and that's what makes this anime so cool (especially for those of us who can relate!). There's a funny episode where we get to see Sasahara's sister again, who tries to become otaku just to get the attention of Kousaka, but she doesn't have the stamina for Comic Fest. The last two episodes involve the accidental fire and the near break-up of the group, but things finally work out and Sasahara, who is kind of the hero of the show, becomes the new chairman. The bonus Kujibiki Unbalance episode isn't too eventful, but it's pretty clever how they constructed a "next-to-last" plot for this pretend show!
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| Pom Poko : 3 of 5 | |
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6.26.2006
5:20 PM | Link |
 I'm still working my way through my Studio Ghibli DVDs, and now I've finally seen Pom Poko, the story of tanuki versus the humans. The tanuki is a "raccoon dog" that lives in Japan, and is the subject of lots of folklore regarding shape-shifting and, um, their huge testicles. Yes, it's true, and that's what makes it amazing that Disney released this DVD (of course, they changed "scrotum" to "pouch" in the dub, which is even sillier), but there are really only a few scenes where this special power is featured. The plot is about an urban development site outside of Tokyo that starts to threaten the tanuki and where they live, so they train to improve their shape-shifting powers (even enlisting the help of shape-shifting masters from Shikoku) to scare the humans away. They stage a huge parade they call "Operation Goblin", but unfortunately they mostly entertain people rather then scare them (and a theme park developer takes credit for the show!). The animation is spectacular as expected, and I love the way the tanuki are presented in three styles (realistic, anthropomorphic, and cartoon). All of the various shape-shifting stunts are really magical and amazing, and it's fun to see them disguised as humans walking around town (but always sipping energy drinks to keep up their concentration)! This film is filled with Japanese culture, too, not only in the various songs and legends, but all of their various transformations have a story behind them. Unfortunately, none of the individual characters were strong enough to get me emotionally involved, but I still loved this beautiful movie!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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6.22.2006
11:35 PM | Link |
 Maybe A-Kon got me a little more anime-crazed, but I've been stepping up my anime viewing recently - I think I just want to finish the series I'm currently watching since there are so many more I want to try! So, even though Girls Bravo isn't really a fantastic show, it's still good enough to finish and pretty fun to watch, so I want to keep renting it. The third volume starts off nicely with an uncharacteristic episode focusing on Risa. Tomoka (a character I don't really like) transforms her weird little blob pet Ebi into a little girl, which reminds Risa of her childhood when she first learned magic to bring a doll to life since she was lonely. Definitely crazy, but still pretty touching in the flashback moments! After that is the inevitable hot springs adventure, with the kind of fan service this show is semi-famous for - it's all done with a "fun" attitude, but I don't think I've seen so many cartoon boobs in a single episode before! Of course, the Fukuyamas own the hot springs, so there's a crazy ping-pong challenge to contend with. Finally there's a pretty funny body-switch story (thanks to Risa's magic, once again) - there are some great gags that really made me laugh in this episode. Unfortunately, Miharu really doesn't do much on this entire DVD, and she's supposed to be the heroine! I have no idea how this story will end up, but at least Girls Bravo is a quick-watching series that's good for a few moments of mindless fun.
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| Genshiken Vol 2 : 4 of 5 | |
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6.13.2006
10:45 PM | Link |
 There are some anime series that I like to watch in small doses, one episode at a time, and then there are others that I want to take in completely all at once. Genshiken is definitely an all-at-once show - it has the right balance of hilarity and characterization to keep me totally interested for several episodes straight! This second volume was probably even better than the first, and I really liked how it had several "expanded" scenes that weren't as detailed in the manga (which really makes me want to start taking in both the anime and manga for other shows). There's an amazing drinking party to welcome new members to the club (Ohno is such a funny drunk), plus a long sequence about model building that really adds to the drama when Saki accidently breaks one of the completed projects! I also loved Saki's idea to get Kohsaka's attention through video games, and the wall scroll scene at the station with Sasahara's sister is priceless. Once again, the little "bonus" scenes after the end credits of each episode are fantastic (and such a great way to keep the flavor of the manga). The Kujibiki Unbalance "fake" episode is really cool - I laughed so hard during the karaoke scene (you have to see it to believe it). For some reason, Netflix doesn't have Volume 3 of this series, so I may buy the whole set so I can finish it!
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| Thousands strong at A-Kon | |
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6.11.2006
10:41 PM | Link |
 I'm home from my weekend at A-Kon 17 in Dallas, and it was fun and crazy! There were around 12,000 attendees this year, which seems to be reaching the limit of the hotel/convention space, and definitely has an effect on the efficiency of things. The major events like concerts were always around an hour late, since it took so long to cram everyone in the main auditorium! But I don't want to be a complainer - I still had a great time! Here are my highlights:
 View photos: A-Kon 17
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| My Neighbor Totoro : 5 of 5 | |
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6.07.2006
11:04 PM | Link |
 I'm still catching up with my last round of Miyazaki DVD purchases (though there are still more I haven't bought yet!), so I had the pleasure of watching My Neighbor Totoro again! This is one of the first anime films I remember watching, and I even bought it on VHS (wow, I can barely remember those big black boxes). Of course, I wanted to get it on DVD, but it was only available in a full-screen edition for so long, so it was wonderful news that Disney finally released it in wide-screen as part of their agreement with Studio Ghibli. It was fantastic watching it again and reliving the magic of childhood that the story portrays so well! The plot is so simple, yet watching these girls play together and live their simple country life is so wonderful (it reminded me a little of Tokushima from my last trip to Japan). I think it's cool that my level of Japanese is about the same as Mei (a 4-year old), so I think I had her dialogue down. I really appreciated the Cat Bus ride this time - it's such a bizarre concept, yet thinking about actually experiencing it is pretty exciting! It's really interesting to see such a perfect movie animated completely old-school (in the late 80s) with no CGI - the level of detail is incredible. The bonus features are pretty dismal (and there's no way I would watch the new dub - I couldn't deal with how Dakota Fanning says "Totoro"), but I'm just thankful to be able to watch this movie again on DVD!
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| Sakura Diaries Vols 1 & 2 : 4 of 5 | |
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6.05.2006
7:20 PM | Link |
 I rented this series years ago from Netflix, but since I enjoyed it so much and found it for such a cheap price on Overstock.com, I decided to buy it and enjoy it again (I've been curious about the famous uncensored version). It was wonderful to watch this show a second time, and I think I enjoyed it even more, and I was even able to appreciate the unsatisfying ending a little more. The story is a nice love triangle between Touma, a cram school student living in Tokyo, Urara, his high-school student cousin who is desperately in love with him, and Mieko, a beautiful college student that Touma falls for. There are several other roles as well, but not too many that things get too complicated, and one of the great things about the plot is that every character gets a chance to show something about their personality and even change it for the better. There's a lot of wisdom and interesting life commentary wrapped up in this story, but you have to look past (or simply enjoy) a lot of fan service to get to it. I love it when the characters who seem to have their lives together realize that Touma, with all his faults, is actually living life to the fullest! My favorite scene is when Touma kisses Urara in the rain - the words she says to him are simply magical (and tear producing!). This is an older anime, with simple animation and cheesy music, but I can't help being a fan of the story - I watched all twelve episodes almost completely back to back!
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| Tokyo Godfathers : 4 of 5 | |
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5.30.2006
10:23 PM | Link |
 I'm definitely a fan of Satoshi Kon, since I really enjoyed his work in Millennium Actress and other films, and I'm impressed with his ideas of how animation can be used effectively. Tokyo Godfathers is a fantastic story that could have easily been told in live action, yet seeing it through animation brings a certain quality that actually makes the plot seem more real! It's about a trio of homeless people, including a middle-aged bum, a kind transvestite, and a teenage runaway. On Christmas night, they find an abandoned baby, and decide to care for it while they search Tokyo for the child's mother. As they go on this strange quest, they actually become a kind of family and grow closer. The characterization is incredible, and the film's pacing is perfect - there's just enough time given to present a backstory for each person, so we realize that each of them is running from past mistakes (and each of them will find their way back to their past in the end!). The backgrounds are masterpieces of detailed artwork, showing all sides of Tokyo, from gleaming lights in the cold air to back alleys full of trash. The character animation is quite realistic, with just enough cartoon-esque emotions to add to the occasional outburst. The last third of the story is filled with some amazing reunions, and even though they are half-expected, they still happen in unexpected ways. Satoshi Kon is an incredible storyteller, and seeing this movie makes me want to explore his other work!
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| Howl's Moving Castle : 5 of 5 | |
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5.25.2006
11:29 PM | Link |
 I have a bad habit of buying new DVDs when they're released, and then taking forever to actually watch them! Unfortunately, that's the case with the last batch of Disney-released Miyazaki films, but now I've finally managed to enjoy Howl's Moving Castle again (I was definitely inspired to watch it after enjoying Princess Mononoke so much recently). I really loved this movie at the theater, but after watching it again on DVD I can honestly say I understand it much more. The plot is definitely semi-complex in places, and the pacing isn't even (it starts off leisurely and speeds up drastically at the end), but taking the time to watch it at home with no distractions definitely helped me appreciate what's going on. I love how the movie begins in a pseudo-European world, with no explanation or backstory, and you can instantly accept the setting. Suddenly, Sophie is walking on air with Howl, escaping from evil blob men, and it's all animated so convincingly that it feels real! I love Miyazaki's choices in animation - the movement of the castle is shown in detail, which becomes so believable on its huge bird-like legs, but then for the transformation of Sophie to an old woman, he has it happen off screen (which makes it more mysterious, in a way). The DVD has a great segment where Miyazaki comes to Pixar to visit John Lassater, and he talks a bit at the screening of the English dub to Pixar employees. As usual, I haven't watched the dub, but I'm thankful that Studio Ghibli has allowed Disney to release these masterpieces in the US!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 6 : 4 of 5 | |
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5.19.2006
10:35 PM | Link |
 Another twelve episodes of Gatchaman full of fun and action, and I'm still loving the show (and now that I've finally caught up with the ADV Films release schedule, I have longer to wait for the next volume!). It seems like every set has at least one truly stand-out episode, and this time the God Phoenix (the Science Ninja Team's fighter, with four mini-mechas for the team members) is finally destroyed! It's a pretty dramatic moment, but of course, the International Science Organization builds a new one, so the Phoenix rises from the ashes - this time with more weapons! (It's pretty amazing that all this time they had no weapons except those wimpy bird missiles that never did any damage, no matter how much Joe wanted to fire them.) Another big moment is when they find out that Berg Katse isn't the real leader of Galactor - now they know about Leader X! The usual hilarious moments are here for your enjoyment, too, including a fight against baseball warriors, a fashion show staring Jun, and a big battle on roller skates, featuring the exciting ninja skating "bird whip" technique! There are some particularly gruesome deaths on this set, too, mainly in the brain stealing episode - I'm sure those scenes never made it into Battle of the Planets in the US. The bonus disc is the same old thing, and the voice actor interview is completely annoying this time, but I still like buying these sets for the cool art on the sleeve box. I can't wait to continue the saga!
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| Genshiken Vol 1 : 4 of 5 | |
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5.13.2006
6:31 PM | Link |
 I've been reading the Genshiken manga from the beginning (six volumes so far), but I wasn't sure how I would react to the anime. Even though most anime are based on popular manga, this is the first time I've read one and then watched the other, so I didn't know if it would be weird already knowing the story and so on. I'm happy to say that I love the anime, and it's even better seeing the manga characters come to life, and hearing voices that seem to match the ones I've been imagining while I read! Genshiken is about a school club that focuses on anime, manga, and video games, so it's basically the story of some otaku banding together to support each other. The whole thing really has a great attitude of having the determination to live life as you want, and to be proud of it, which is a geek's dream, if you ask me. The anime is very true to the manga, and actually includes the make-believe anime that the characters in the story are fans of (an anime inside an anime), called Kujibiki Unbalance (there's actually an entire episode with a theme song and everything as a bonus feature on the DVD). I really like how the story is focusing on Sasahara, especially the use of his internal dialogue, as he struggles to accept the Genshiken as his friends and "people". The segments with Kousaka and Saki are fantastic, and they include some hilarious narration as Saki keeps getting romantically snubbed when Kousaka needs to be at the next big otaku event. The story, animation, and voice work are all there, so I'm definitely excited about watching this entire series!
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| Princess Mononoke : 5 of 5 | |
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5.12.2006
7:56 PM | Link |
 Just like tons of American fans of Miyazaki, the first of his films that I saw was Princess Mononoke, and it blew me away. I can still remember seeing it in the theater and being so impressed! Since then, I've seen all the Studio Ghibli productions that I can, and I've bought almost everything on DVD, but for some reason, I had never bought Princess Mononoke! The other day I got talking about it at work, and that really stirred up my interest again, so I ordered it right away (pretty cheap on Overstock.com). I can't believe I waited so long to buy it - it's such an amazing movie! I had forgotten most of the plot, but I remembered several scenes shot for shot. The characters are really interesting, especially San and Ashitaka, of course (and I love how they both stay true to themselves, avoiding the obvious possible romance ending). I think the women working at the iron works are funny - I love the scene where Ashitaka works the bellows for them. There's not enough positive ways to praise the animation (with only a hint of CG!), but I have to say the Yakul has the most convincing animal movement of just about any movie I've seen. The pacing of the story is amazing, too - it has several highs and lows, but always keeps building the excitement to keep things moving forward. I'm so glad that I finally own the DVD and got to watch this movie again!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 2 : 2 of 5 | |
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5.04.2006
11:13 PM | Link |
 I kind of feel like I'm wasting my time with this series, but then something really funny will happen and I'll remember why I'm watching it! I also hate starting something without finishing it, so I guess I'll keep renting this show. Following the usual formula for harem anime, these episodes introduce a few more girls to hang out and bug poor Yukinari. Koyomi is kind of a cop from Seiren (the land of women that's somehow accessible through pools of water, such as bathtubs), and she's sent by Miharu's older sister to bring her back. It's kind of sad when Miharu actually does go back (temporarily), and there are some nice little musical interludes with no dialog, just semi-romantic montage (which was a great break from the usual craziness of the show). The next new girl is Tomo, because these shows always have a baby girl, too. She's in some funny scenes where everyone tries to act super kawaii in order to get a man (their mission is to bring one back for Miharu's sister on Seiren), because they all do some cosplay and attract some real winners (who are definite fans of Tomo's youth). The last episode is totally goofy - Miharu drinks some booze that somehow creates clones of her, and they threaten to eat every scrap of food in town. It's almost too silly to be funny! As long as I space this show out with some better, meatier anime, I think I'll survive this series!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 5 : 5 of 5 | |
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5.02.2006
10:56 PM | Link |
 This is another incredible DVD set of original Gatchaman episodes, taking the series up through episode 60 - this is a long series, and I'm loving all of it! This set definitely deserves my top rating, since it gets deeper into the characters than anything previously, mainly in an incredible three-part tale that finally reveals the secret of Red Impulse (which I had figured out anyway). Galactor's scheme is pretty incredible, involving the Van Allen Belt of asteroids and devastating destruction, which prompts Red Impulse, after he finally reveals to Ken that he's his father, to make the ultimate sacrifice to safe Earth. It's pretty dramatic, and it's interesting to see how Ken's character changes after his father's death - he becomes really bitter (of course), and it takes several more episodes for him to calm down! There's also an unrelated dramatic scene where Jun freaks out because her childhood friend has turned evil, and Joe has to slap her to snap her out of it - totally unexpected! Don't worry, there's definitely some of the usual humor to go along with the serious stuff. There's actually a huge mecha Buddha in one episode (a nice match for the mecha Jesus that was in a previous set!), and there are some funny scenes with Jun playing guitar in a band, plus a quick shower scene for Ryu (yikes!). The combination of action, adventure, humor, and real emotional development is what makes Gatchaman so compelling - I'm so glad there are so many more episodes to come!
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| Maburaho Vol 5 : 3 of 5 | |
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3.14.2006
10:59 PM | Link |
 Even though this series isn't what I'd call spectacular, I'm still keeping up with it - it's a little easier since I'm watching it as it's released, so I have to wait between volumes. It's an entirely different show now that Kazuki has become a ghost. He still goes to school with the girls and tries to live a "normal" life, so he has to concentrate to hold things in the real world, and the only thing he can really eat is cotton candy (which Yuna happily makes for him). Since the main plot doesn't seem to be going anywhere in this volume, these three episodes focus on other characters. First there's a story about Kuriko - she's suspected of being conned by a guy who wants to marry her for her family's money, and there's some fun scenes where Elizabeth (the little girl ghost who follows them around) feels jealous, since she kind of thinks of Kuriko as her mother (I think!). Next is a funny episode where it seems like Nakamaru, the brash kid in class, is the possessor of the most magical genes, so the class goes crazy waiting on him hand and foot. The best scene is when he makes all the guys in class dress as henchmen and all the girls wear bunny outfits! The last episode focuses on Rin and a battle with a family rival, but it ends with an interesting scene where another girl who knows Kazuki shows up and everyone starts collapsing for some reason. Maybe the next volume will be more exciting!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 4 : 4 of 5 | |
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3.13.2006
6:17 PM | Link |
 I'm enjoying Gatchaman more than any other anime I've been watching lately! I'm a total fan now - I even took the opening and closing theme song lyrics to my tutoring session so we could analyze them! This box set has another 12 episodes, which I think ends up about half-way through the series, and I'm in for the long haul. I was really happy to see the return of Red Impulse, the jet fighter team that sometimes helps out the Science Ninja Team, and finally the big secret (which I predicted) about Ken's long lost father is revealed (at least in a conversation with Dr. Nambu). There's a great two-parter (which are always cool in Gatchaman) about Jigokiller flowers, and one of them actually swallows Jun! The team has to roast a field of these flowers, and they think they have killed her - Jinpei, who thinks of Jun as his big sister, is devastated, and there's all kinds of deep characterization going on, since everyone on the team is an orphan, but they all deal with it in different ways. Some cool monsters this time are Renzilla (who looks a lot like Rodan), and a bunch of cool mecha-dinosaurs. Katse gets into the action, too - he disguises himself as a woman (it seems he's very in touch with his feminine side!) to hijack a plane, and of course, he can switch back into his normal pointy-eared self in about two seconds. The bonus discs are getting a little boring for me, since they mainly focus on the American voice actors now, but I still like buying these box sets anyway, and Collection 5 is on the way!
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| Girls Bravo Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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2.17.2006
6:24 PM | Link |
 Since I've finished up some of the series I've been renting, I decided to try something fairly new, and I've read lots of comments about how funny Girls Bravo is, along with lots of warnings about excessive fan service! Well, the warnings are definitely justified - there's no mistaking the intention of a series that starts out with a completely naked girl in the very first scene! I have to say, though, that they try to keep an innocent feel to most of the nudity, since Miharu is an alien from another dimension who doesn't know any better, of course. The story is 100% harem, but with a few differences, the main one being that the main character Yukinari truly has no interest in girls, since he's actually terrified of them! They go through a few flashbacks to develop this, but it's still kind of a bummer to feel for a guy who wants nothing more than to get out of his current situation (but I have feeling he'll learn to enjoy it). Besides Miharu, who comes to Earth through a kind of portal in Yukinari's bathtub, there's his cute next door neighbor and a black magic witch girl after him. The witch is actually the sister of the big womanizer at their high school, who is totally perverted (and quite hilarious). So there you have it - I'm sure there are more girls on the way in Volume 2 (but I doubt they will ever top Miharu's first encounter with bananas!). This is definitely not high-art anime, but it's really funny, and I can use some non-stop laughing now and then!
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| Full Metal Panic Vol 7 : 3 of 5 | |
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2.15.2006
10:37 PM | Link |
 I can't believe I've already finished this series! It seems like I just started watching it, even though that was ages ago (with so many things to watch and read, it takes me a while to rent a whole set). Unfortunately, when the show ends, it feels like the characters have only just begun - there's plenty of development across the whole series, but I feel like there so much more I want to know about them. Still, these final episodes definitely deliver in the excitement department! Gauron has taken over the computer of the massive submarine De Danaan, so Tessa and Kaname must work together to regain control. We finally get to see Kaname use her full potential as a "Whispered", since she essentially becomes one with the sub's artificial intelligence. Of course, there's finally a last showdown between Sosuke and Gauron, fighting all over the sub (and on top of it) in a massive mecha battle! It's a really fantastic fight with an awesome ending technique, but afterwards there's not enough closing resolution for me, even though we get to see Sosuke and Kaname spent a quiet moment together. I wanted to see more about the love triangle with Tessa! Well, maybe that's explored more in Full Metal Panic Fumoffu - I'll have to find out, of course. Full Metal Panic has been a blast to watch from end to end - it's definitely a classy series that any anime fan can enjoy!
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| Gatchaman / Collection 3 : 4 of 5 | |
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2.02.2006
10:10 PM | Link |
 Gatchaman just keeps getting better, and I'm becoming more and more of a fan (I've really been enjoying that 70s anime style lately)! This set has some really amazing episodes, with quite a bit more character development for everyone, but I'm mostly excited about all the great mecha monsters that the Science Ninja Team has to defeat. There's a fantastic flying squid with tentacles that detach and fly on their own, and a really neat mantis rocket with giant scythe arms, too. My favorite has got to be the mecha giraffes that shoot missiles out of their neck - Galactor sure knows how to build terrifying weapons! The weirdest episode of the bunch takes place in "Ameris" (which I guess is the name for America in the Gatchaman universe), where Mount Rushmore features three presidents' faces, plus Jesus! If that's not unusual enough, Galactor makes a magma robot (since I guess Mount Rushmore is a volcano) out of the Jesus face, so cities are being terrorized by a giant molten |