Category: Reviews
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Mushishi – 21 – Animalistic tragedy
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Mushishi – 21 – Animalistic tragedySince the last few episodes of Mushishi left us in upbeat and melancholy moods, this was a timely reminder as to just how heartless a series it can be. I don’t mean heartless in a sadistic sense, rather how a mushi can cause such great tragedy to a couple of people who are quite clearly…
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The Third – 1 to 3 – Far-reaching Fantasy
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/ ReviewsRead More →: The Third – 1 to 3 – Far-reaching FantasyI’m not usually one to bother with such knowingly cute anime, but for whatever reason, I today found myself taking in the first three episodes of The Third. Of course, it turned out to be (much) better than expected. In a world torn apart by war, our saviour would appear to be a talented young…
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Ergo Proxy – 9 & 10 – Behemoth of confusion
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ergo Proxy – 9 & 10 – Behemoth of confusionScience fiction and confusion often go hand in hand, but Ergo Proxy is close to reaching the kinds of befuddling heights scaled only by behemoths like Mamoru Oshii. The dialogue, the action and even the damn visuals are so frustratingly cryptic and symbolic that only vaguely am I able to follow what is going on…
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Naruto – 187 – Taste the Flower Ninpo
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 187 – Taste the Flower NinpoThe problem with these Naruto fillers is that while they are not particularly good, they are not particularly bad either – they are just by-the-books action adventure. Over this past year Studio Pierrot have become the masters of just filling 22 minutes with the most inoffensive, straight forward ninja action you are ever likely to…
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Angel Cop – Repulsive, Uncomfortable, Anti-Semitic
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Angel Cop – Repulsive, Uncomfortable, Anti-SemiticGrowing up as an impressionable teenager in the mid-90s meant that my first taste of anime came through Manga Entertainment’s infamous VHS releases; sex, violence and science fiction were the orders of the day and as cheap and nasty as this kind of anime often was, I must admit I still think back on that…
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Tobira O Akete (Open the Door)
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Tobira O Akete (Open the Door)Being a big fan of the works of Koji Morimoto (Memories: Magnetic Rose, Animatrix: Beyond), I was quite pleased when I managed to track down one of his lesser known shorts – Tobira O Akete (Open the Door). Imagine a decidedly more colourful version of British animation classic The Snowman; a young girl is swept…
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One Piece – Episodes 78 through 91 – The Chopper Arc
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/ ReviewsRead More →: One Piece – Episodes 78 through 91 – The Chopper ArcMuch like a snowball rolling down a mountain, my outright love of One Piece is now out of control, ready to smash anything that dares stand in its way. I’d seen images of Chopper before this arc, but never did I expect his history to be so frightfully tear jerking, so utterly heart breaking and…
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Naruto – 186 – The episode where Shino laughs
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 186 – The episode where Shino laughsThis episode makes a mockery of everything Naruto stands for and as a hardcore fan, there is a guilty voice saying I should be completely offended by it, but honestly, this episode was so off the wall and slapstick funny that I could not help but love every minute of it. The premise is brilliant.…
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Jyu-Oh-Sei – 5 through 6 – Lost Love
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Jyu-Oh-Sei – 5 through 6 – Lost LoveTo my frank and utter bemusement, we are now over half way through the 11 episodes of Jyu-Oh-Sei and although a part of me is glad to see every episode crammed full with so much story and character development, I can’t help but lament a narrative which is clearly moving a bit too fast for…
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Naruto – 185 – Grotesque Pet
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 185 – Grotesque PetAnd so begins another 23 minutes of pure time filling anime, Naruto-style. But despite it’s stupid premise, episode 185 wasn’t too bad; at least it was funny. These one-shot episodes are surely more suited to absurd comedy than say last week’s rushed mess of unoriginal drama. I’m sure we all have a mild fear of…
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Black Lagoon – 4 – Neo Nazis
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 4 – Neo NazisThe beauty of Black Lagoon is that it knows exactly what it is; pure action, and then forcing the volume way past maximum. If last time flying submarines weren’t enough for you, how do Neo-Nazi’s sound? The Black Lagoon is after a precious Nazi painting (commissioned by none other than the Fuhrer himself, Hitler) that…
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Kiba – 7 – Hollow Defeat
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kiba – 7 – Hollow DefeatAs insane as it may sound, the last two episodes of Kiba were actually quite good! If you then stop to consider that they also didn’t feature its main character, there is something undoubtedly wrong. To keep me interested, a show has to have an interesting, involving and immersive story; Kiba doesn’t have that. Likeable…
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Tokko – 3 – When Phantoms from Hades attack!
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Tokko – 3 – When Phantoms from Hades attack!The mysteries behind Tokko are slowly starting to unravel amidst yet more greasy siscon innuendo and extreme blood letting. As blunt as Tokko often is, it makes a refreshing change to watch such a traditional horror show for once. It is said that the monsters (or as they will now be known; phantoms) have “literally…
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Jyu-Oh-Sei – 3 through 4 – Nature bites back
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Jyu-Oh-Sei – 3 through 4 – Nature bites backAgain I get my hit of Jyu-Oh-Sei in double dosage, and again I’m left feeling completely intoxicated by it. It’s the story that I love; so thick with detail, almost every scene contributes something new or shocking, continuously building on the already heavy narrative with yet more helpings of tribal politics, social commentary and romantic…
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Naruto – 184 – Ad nauseam
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 184 – Ad nauseamThe filler wasn’t supposed to go on for this long. A black hole of 48 straight episodes, 18 hours of pure nothingness; it would be funny if I didn’t love Naruto as much as I do, but as it stands this is a damn travesty. And the frightening thing is, an end to this utter…
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Kiba – 6 – The price of freedom
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kiba – 6 – The price of freedomIt’s easy to take kids anime for granted, but compared with Western cartoons aimed at the same young viewers, the difference in conviction and themes is exceptional. Through out episode 6 of Kiba, several (old and young) characters die. It’s not gory, but the intent to kill is clear from the outset. There are no…
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Ergo Proxy – 8 – Larger than life
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ergo Proxy – 8 – Larger than lifeI read a few weeks ago that somewhere along the line, Ergo Proxy gets a bit like X-Men; mutants against mutants and all that. I guess episode 8 is where it started. This episode was just weird. The people Vincent meets, the way the monstrous finale plays out- it was just utterly inexplicable in places.…
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Black Lagoon – 1 through 3 – Adrenaline Rush
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 1 through 3 – Adrenaline RushIt took me a few weeks to catch onto Black Lagoon, but now I’m fully convinced of its (loud) qualities. I had avoided it up until this weekend because the reviews I’d read gave the impression that it was another typical girls with guns anime. I was wrong and it’s much more than that. I’m…
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My long winded countdown of the top 8 spring anime
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/ ReviewsRead More →: My long winded countdown of the top 8 spring animeIt’s been a while since I’ve watched so much anime. This spring season is quite remarkable in that not only is there an unprecedented number of new series, but also because a lot of them are actually quite good. And I’m not a fan of harem, loli or whatever other genre is “hip” right now.…
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Kogepan – Living the life of a burnt piece of bread
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kogepan – Living the life of a burnt piece of breadJust when you think you’ve seen it all, a show like Kogepan comes along. This short series follows the everyday adventures of the titular Kogepan, a burnt piece bread that no one wants to buy. Try as he might to be sold, he’s destined to live out his life unwanted, unsold, uneaten. Each episode of…
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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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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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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…