Year: 2006
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Anime Bloggers Need Excitement
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Read More →: Anime Bloggers Need ExcitementThe relevance (or rather, lack there of) of contemporary anime blogs has again been brought into question, this time at the core of the blogsphere itself; blogsuki. The central theme of the discussion is an unstoppable slew of generic episode summaries, the problem being that these dozens of posts all essentially describe the same things;…
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A new beginning
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Read More →: A new beginningCelebrating the fact BATESZI has been online for nearly three months now, I decided to move the blog over to my own web-space and basically give the whole site a bit of a touch up. Visually, not much has changed but behind the scenes is a totally different matter; I’ve basically coded my own blogging…
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Tokko – 2 – Guns forever
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Tokko – 2 – Guns foreverIn many ways, TOKKO is the worst anime series I’ve seen for a while now; the animation (if we can call it that) is cheap and tacky and the characters are about as cookie cutter as they come, but it’s violent, has demons and pulls no punches when the time is nigh to combine the…
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Kiba – 5 – Swings & Swords
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kiba – 5 – Swings & SwordsAt a time when Kiba was in real danger of drowning in the true depths of unsalvageable mediocrity, an episode like this comes along and suggests that the story may well have some mileage after all. Tellingly this was an episode free of Zed; rather the story follows his bespecled old buddy Noa who also…
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Studio BONES' Jyu-Oh-Sei: First impressions
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Studio BONES' Jyu-Oh-Sei: First impressionsOf all the new anime debuting this season, the one I was most anticipating was always Jyu-Oh-Sei. I’m basically a massive fan of Studio BONES, and despite a few less than stellar exceptions (Ouran, Kenran); I’m worryingly in love everything they churn out. I could cite Full Metal Alchemist or Wolf’s Rain as my favourite…
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Ergo Proxy – 7 – All is full of love
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ergo Proxy – 7 – All is full of loveFinally friends, this is the episode where we get some answers. Real’s life is saved by Daedalus. Once recovered they chat about everything, and to my absolute glee, light is shed on the mysteries of Romdeau, Proxy and even the outside world. About a quarter of this episode is also devoted to Vincent’s flight to…
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Kiba – 4 – It sucks… but that's cool, because I like it!
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kiba – 4 – It sucks… but that's cool, because I like it!So today I had to choose one of three episodes to watch. I could have gone with Studio BONES’ latest masterpiece Jyo-Oh-Sei, the utterly artistic new arc of Ayakashi or be content with the generic shounen delights of Kiba. If you’re reading this, you already know which episode I plumped for! I feel so dirty.…
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NANA – 3 – Broken Social Scene
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/ ReviewsRead More →: NANA – 3 – Broken Social SceneNana K is living an easy life as a student until her three closest friends decide that they are going to go to study art in Tokyo. It would be harsh to say Nana is untalented, but she isn’t good enough for university yet; and so she faces a future without her friends, on her…
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Ergo Proxy – 6 – Learning about death
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ergo Proxy – 6 – Learning about deathI’ll warn you now this entry contains (literally) life-and-death spoilers, so if you haven’t seen episode 6 of Ergo Proxy yet you may want to look away. Hude and Queen get it in the neck this time, though it didn’t leave me with much of an emotional impact. Perhaps it’s because I expect everyone in…
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Can an opening theme resurrect a series?
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Read More →: Can an opening theme resurrect a series?Is an opening theme enough to reignite interest in a series? I guess it is for me because I’ve just seen the third opening sequence for mediocre vampire slasher Blood+ and suddenly I’ve been persuaded to give this show another chance. First time around I discovered Blood+ was terribly predictable, but if Production I.G devote…
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Skewed tastes of the otaku
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Read More →: Skewed tastes of the otakuWith blogger hubs like Blogsuki and the AnimeAntenna cropping up, now is as good a time as ever to gauge how the tastes of the hardcore anime fan often differ from that of the general anime buying public. According to the stats provided by Blogsuki, the most popular shows currently being blogged are Mai Otome,…
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Tokko – 1 – Horror, gore and siscon (in that order, repeat)
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Tokko – 1 – Horror, gore and siscon (in that order, repeat)I’m a horror fan, have been all my life and aside from the claret soaked GANTZ, I’ve seen nothing lately that’s been up to quenching my thirst for such sheer bloody antics. That is until I saw the first episode of TOKKO. Before launching into horror fan hyperbole, I’ll state right now that TOKKO isn’t…
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Memoirs of a Shounen Jump fan – Dragonball Z
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Memoirs of a Shounen Jump fan – Dragonball ZDespite being both loved and loathed by an ever collecting legion of frothing fans, the various anime derived from Japan’s own Shounen Jump are undeniably the flag bearers of anime to our mainstream generation. As much as I like to think of myself as a serious anime fan, I must now confess that I happen…
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One Piece – Adventure of a lifetime!
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/ ReviewsRead More →: One Piece – Adventure of a lifetime!One Piece is a brilliant series. I’ve slowly come to realize this over the last few months and indeed, it’s my find of 2006. Void of the macho posturing that dogs it’s Shounen Jump brethren and brimming with such vibrant, colorful adventure- it’s a tragedy to see how it’s being handled outside of Japan by…
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NANA – 2 – Make up the breakdown
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/ ReviewsRead More →: NANA – 2 – Make up the breakdownAn episode I enjoyed much more than the first, NANA episode 2 is a much needed dramatic and character-driven piece. I remarked after the first episode that Nana K is a ditz, implying that basically she is a superficial person with her head in clouds, in love with the idea of being in love. With…
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NANA – 1 – Sisters are doing it for themselves
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/ ReviewsRead More →: NANA – 1 – Sisters are doing it for themselvesSetting the scene Nana has plans to move to Tokyo and live near her boyfriend. On the train journey there, she bumps into another woman called Nana; who also happens to be 20 and is planning to live in Tokyo too. Their fashions and personalities strike such a strong contrast, like night and day; Nana…
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Paranoia Agent – Happy Family Planning censored in the UK
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Read More →: Paranoia Agent – Happy Family Planning censored in the UKFor those who aren’t aware, I’m based in the UK. Being an anime fan in England isn’t so bad, though like every country, we have to put up with the occasional scandal; and this week one such scandal has been making waves in our anime community. Basically, the BBFC have decided to censor a section…
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Why am I running an anime blog?
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Read More →: Why am I running an anime blog?This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, and with the recent commentary posted over at “a fairy tale…”, I guess it’s time for me to revaluate the real reason why this place exists. I’ve long admired anime blogs from afar, enjoyed reading their quick-fire reviews of my favourite shows and always…
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Fan service to the detriment of quality
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Read More →: Fan service to the detriment of qualityI tend to avoid anime with an over-emphasis on fan service, I construe it as a weakness in story telling; a cynical way of appealling to a base number of fan-boys/girls. In other words, I hate being pandered to- and so inevitably, I’ve ended up missing out on some of the most otaku series of…
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Pale Cocoon: Apathetic sci-fi short
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Pale Cocoon: Apathetic sci-fi shortDescribed in some parts as a spiritual follow-up to the much lauded sci-fi short Voices of a Distant Star, Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s Pale Cocoon is another 22 minute OVA that attempts to express a wistful charm by means of an isolated space setting. The story is that (for some undefined reason) mankind has migrated to the…
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Studio 4C's Comedy – Medieval fable set in Ireland
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Studio 4C's Comedy – Medieval fable set in IrelandStory so far Set during Ireland’s War of Independence, a young Irish lass, besieged by the merciless English soldiers, seeks the help of a legendary swordsman who is rumoured to have supernatural powers. My impressions Studio 4C’s Comedy is a gripping 10 minute OAV from Kazuto Nakazawa; the main creative force behind Kill Bill’s ultra-violent…
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Kiba – 1 through 3 – Cliche shounen strikes again
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kiba – 1 through 3 – Cliche shounen strikes againStating my desire for yet more shounen escapades, today I took in the first three episodes of Kiba. Mediocre is the word that immediately comes to mind; neither bad nor outstanding, Kiba is a by the books fantasy adventure story packing just enough intrigue to maintain my interest from episode to episode. Disappointingly (especially considering…
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Ergo Proxy – 5 – Revolution is in the air
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ergo Proxy – 5 – Revolution is in the airWe’ve had to sit through five episodes, but it’s only now starting to feel like Ergo Proxy is settling down into a proper flow of story-telling and I’m enjoying it a lot more; on a level beyond what previously amounted to a purely superficial attraction. I suspect I preferred this episode to it’s predecessors because…
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Early impressions of Ergo Proxy
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Early impressions of Ergo ProxyAs a means of grasping the story of Ergo Proxy, I decided to hold off on watching the first four episodes and marathoned my way through them earlier today; in terms of understanding the plot, I can’t say this approach ended up benefiting me. Ergo Proxy has a very fractured narrative flow, there are no…
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Yokohama Shopping Trip – 2
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Yokohama Shopping Trip – 2Despite clearly being the better of the original two Yokohama Shopping Trip OVAs, episode two serves up an unsettling mood of desolation and loneliness. During a five minute period in which Alpha simply brews a cup of coffee, there is no music, no dialogue, only the sounds of a creeky old house to keep her…
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Yokohama Shopping Trip – 1
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Yokohama Shopping Trip – 1My fascination with the weird, coupled with an obtuse interest in searching out the obscure has led me down the path of downloading the kind of anime people forgot about many moons ago- and so here I am to introduce you to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou; talked up a wandering traveller anime in the spirit of…
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Mushishi – 20
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 20Looking back on Mushishi, I suspect that this episode (episode 20) will rank as one of my favourites. Every episode has had that unique air of mystisism; a beautiful sense of magic that I have come to love, but still, rarely have a felt so attached to the characters as I did in this episode.…
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Mushishi – 19
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 19Despite displaying none of the euphoric highs and gut wrenching lows of previous episodes, Mushishi 19 was an uplifting way to while away 23 minutes. The concept here is really quite profound- consider that without someone to love you, you disappear. Fuki, the lead character of this story, gets “infected” by a Mushi that will…
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One Piece – My Love Lorn Introduction
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/ ReviewsRead More →: One Piece – My Love Lorn IntroductionWhen it comes to swash-buckling Shounen Jump fun, the winky smiley face of One Piece stands proud. It took me a while to catch onto this show- I only started watching in January 2006, but spurred on by what has to be the most unique character designs I’ve come across in a mainstream anime series,…
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Mushishi – 18
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 18This episode is imediately notable for a distinct change of direction. Mushishi usually begins with Ginko wandering about beautiful landscapes, finding his next job and meeting new people, here the first 13 minutes are told as a flashback, in which tragedy inevitably occurs. The latter half of the episode is all about finding true emotional…
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Mushishi – 17
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 17Again dealing with the pain felt at the loss of a loved one, episode 17 at least concludes with a ray of hope after 20-odd minutes of forecasted gloom. I’m not saying it’s bad that Mushishi sometimes portrays hopeless situations, it’s just nice when someone’s dreams are fulfilled and we leave the show in an…
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Mushishi – 16
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 16There is no skirting around the fact that episode 16 of Mushishi is a thoroughly depressing affair. Every day a woman loses fragments of her memory, whether it be the definition of a sneeze or the identity of her sister, it’s a mysterious problem that only someone like Ginko can solve. There are some things…
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Mushishi – 15
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 15Having suffered through some heavy tragedy in the last few episodes of Mushishi, it was nice to see the show returning to it’s well established style of surreal, metaphorical story telling this time around. Here we meet a chirpy young boy who like Ginko can not only see Mushi but takes an active interest in…
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Mushishi – 14
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 14It seems almost ridiculous to say, but every episode of Mushishi I see is my new favourite episode. Number 14 is an outstanding piece of story telling, possibly the most heart breaking yet and still, an ultimately uplifting and optimistic masterpiece. Shades of green fill the screen as Ginko stumbles about a forrest. He bumps…
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Mushishi – 13
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 13As the is the norm for Mushishi, I left episode 13 with a mixture of emotion and intrigue. The two lead characters for this week are obviously in love but one of histories worst traditions, that of arranged marriages, again causes the kind of intense termoil that can only result in tragedy. These kinds of…