Tag: action
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The anime-fication of Attack on Titan
Read More →: The anime-fication of Attack on TitanThis season, I’ve found myself in the fun position of having two of my favourite manga series adapted into anime. We already know how things went with Flowers of Evil, but there’s still the case of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) to consider. Produced at Wit Studio and directed by Tetsurō Araki (of Death Note…
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The shrinking of Attack on Titan
Read More →: The shrinking of Attack on TitanBack in 2011, I wrote two posts about the manga series Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) and since then, it’s only grown in popularity, and in addition to a live-action movie, now has an anime series starting in April, too. I can’t wait to see how it turns out, but in the meantime, I…
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Survive, you shit!
Read More →: Survive, you shit!There’s no denying that I adore survivalist fiction. For example, I love Romero’s zombie films because they are all about surviving (and inevitably failing in) an impossible situation: a world overrun with violent madness. In terms of anime, I’ve often talked up Blue Gender, but there’s also Gantz, Infinite Ryvius and Highschool of the Dead:…
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A journey into Fate/stay night begins
Read More →: A journey into Fate/stay night beginsUntil Fate/Zero appeared, I’d never planned on watching Fate/stay night. At the time of its airing back in 2006, it’d always seemed a tad too pandering for my tastes. I knew nothing about it and was happy to keep it that way, but then, last year, I tried watching Fate/Zero and realised that I wanted…
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A missed opportunity: Jormungand
Read More →: A missed opportunity: JormungandI really wanted to like Jormungand. It’s a series about illegal arms dealers and child soldiers, which is not exactly typical fare for anime and sounds interesting. Comparisons to 2006’s fantastic Black Lagoon abound, then, but after 3 episodes, I’m giving up. I realised I had to stop half-way through episode 3, when child soldier…
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We offer up our heart's blood: Courage and spirit in Shingeki no Kyojin
Read More →: We offer up our heart's blood: Courage and spirit in Shingeki no KyojinSince writing my first post on the manga series Shingeki no Kyojin (the official English title is apparently Attack on Titan,) it’s been licensed for an English-language release by Kodansha USA, whilst a Japanese live-action movie has also been announced for 2013. With the inevitably small film-budget it’ll receive, I’m not convinced it’ll look good…
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The eyes of a wolf: Ben-To's awesome
Read More →: The eyes of a wolf: Ben-To's awesomeThere’s a few different tactics one can employ when approaching a new season of anime. You can either jump straight in during the first week or wait a while longer for the dust to settle; neither choice is perfect, but for this season at least, I decided to wait for 3 episodes to be released…
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Good morning, angels.
Read More →: Good morning, angels.In honor of Aniplex’s recent announcement of a new Read or Die (“ROD”) Blu-Ray box set I thought it was high time to review the television series. The box set itself deserves a mention, all 26 episodes of the Read or Die TV, the 3 part OVA and a booklet, all supposedly identical to the…
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Childhood's end: Naruto and Pain
Read More →: Childhood's end: Naruto and PainTo compare Naruto now to the naive kid he was when this series began tells us of how much he’s grown since. He’s now the person he always dreamed of becoming, and it’s a joy to behold.
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This is the Naruto I remember
Read More →: This is the Naruto I rememberThere were times when I considered dropping Naruto.
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Naruto & child soldiers / The thrilling tragedy of Kakashi Gaiden
Read More →: Naruto & child soldiers / The thrilling tragedy of Kakashi GaidenDoes Masashi Kishimoto think about how children are depicted in Naruto? Ninja are tools of war, after all, and Konoha trains its children to become ninja; isn’t that wrong? On a base, moral level? Of course, Naruto is intended as entertainment and, as such, there’s a certain amount of distance one feels between it and…
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Why didn’t you shoot? I meant to. – Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Read More →: Why didn’t you shoot? I meant to. – Jin-Roh: The Wolf BrigadeThe thing is like a wolf. The thing is a wolf. Thus, it is a thing to be banished. I’ve been an anime fan for a long time. At 22, the portion of my life in which I’ve been a fan is already half of that; and the period of time in which I’d been…
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Horrible fun / Exhuming Ga-Rei -Zero-
Read More →: Horrible fun / Exhuming Ga-Rei -Zero-If just because there’s something exciting about proving yourself wrong every now and then, I’m trying to watch a bunch of recent series that I’ve snubbed or otherwise ignored in past. This all started when, on a whim, I began watching the kendo anime Bamboo Blade and felt stupid for ignoring it for so long.…
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Japanese apology? Maybe next year…
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/ AnimeRead More →: Japanese apology? Maybe next year…Senkou no Night Raid is at a glance a show with great potential, beginning with its unique setting: Shanghai, 1931. Japanese occupied China showcases the height of Japan’s imperialist power and ambition. However, the show cries out for an in-depth commentary on Japan as an imperialist power. Such a narrative would provide a window into…
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The tide of violence
Read More →: The tide of violenceI’ve read only 26 chapters of Vinland Saga so far but its quality is such that I have to admit it’s already one of my favourites. Thorfinn is the main character, an Icelandic warrior joined with a band of Viking mercenaries sailing the seas of Europe and sacking the villages and cities of Norman France…
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See You Chinese Electric Batman
Read More →: See You Chinese Electric BatmanIt’s interesting how Darker than Black never explained what has ‘sealed’ the Earth’s sky, caused Hell and Heaven’s Gate to appear and triggered the world’s first generation of contractors; and quite frankly, if it turns out to be aliens from the Moon, I’d rather not know, but my point is, ambiguity is exciting, and yet…
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Trying to get back into anime movies / Sword of the Stranger
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Read More →: Trying to get back into anime movies / Sword of the StrangerWriting this now is probably a bit old hat, but I finally got around to watching Sword of the Stranger at the weekend! Why the delay? I’ve developed a strained relationship with anime movies; having become so used to watching anime in the 20-min TV format, the mere suggestion of watching anything even slightly longer…
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Bee Train's bullet ballet Phantom is really good
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/ AnimeRead More →: Bee Train's bullet ballet Phantom is really goodBee Train doesn’t exactly have the best of reputations, be it their bias for girls with guns or their notoriously poor production values, fact is their work polarises opinion and attracts its fair share of detractors. I’ve seen neither Noir nor Madlax, was horrified by the low budget vibe I got from Blade of the…
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Soul and style: Toradora and Michiko e Hatchin
Read More →: Soul and style: Toradora and Michiko e HatchinIt’s the eve of the latest spring season, but I’m still playing catch up with a lot of last year’s finest. Last week it was Xam’d, and this week it’s Michiko e Hatchin and Toradora. I’m only too aware that the anime community is driven by an insatiable desire for ‘newness’, and I’m really excited…
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Free skies, and endless land
Read More →: Free skies, and endless landThe problem with writing an anime blog for any length of time is that I’m prone to repeating myself. I’ve had this ache to write about something, anything, over the last month or so, but there are only so many times I can say “this is good, that is bad” without feeling as though I’m…
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Until I kill you, I'll even eat mud to survive! Hokuto no Ken
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Until I kill you, I'll even eat mud to survive! Hokuto no KenWhen I finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes late last year, I felt like I’d had my fill of sprawling eighties anime series for a fair old time to come, but fate, it seems, has long been conspiring against me. My destiny had seven scars on his chest. A mere swipe of his hand…
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When eternal love goes wrong [Kurozuka]
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/ ReviewsRead More →: When eternal love goes wrong [Kurozuka]I had high hopes for Kurozuka, because it is a genre of anime I tend to enjoy, that being stylish, far-fetched, visually-intoxicating science fiction. It is a beautifully drawn journey, in-which 1,000 years of vampiric romance sweeps across the Heian period of Japan to the bombing of Japanese cities during World War 2 to a…
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Casshern Sins: You looked as if you were dancing
Read More →: Casshern Sins: You looked as if you were dancingIt’s hard to explain how I feel about Casshern Sins. It’s way beyond anything else I’ve seen this year. More than just another good anime series, more than just entertainment, I find it is engaging, evocative and inspiring, perched somewhere in-between the surreal, fable-like quality of Kino’s Journey and the philosophical melancholy of Mushishi. After…
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I'll ruin you because I love you
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/ ReviewsRead More →: I'll ruin you because I love youEpisode four of Casshern Sins; an animated, beautiful contradiction. Perfectly flawed, just the way I like it.
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A tribute to Soul Eater 18
Read More →: A tribute to Soul Eater 18It’s been a long time since my last foray into Soul Eater. Too long, really. And it’s easy to forget just how fun it is, how exciting, how damn awesome. I mean, there are certain things that will always stick out, launch it above other series, and these two episodes were no different. Consider the…
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One Piece and why a man is only as good as his word
Read More →: One Piece and why a man is only as good as his wordBrook: “He may think that we’ve betrayed him, but if he’s waiting even now, how miserable must he be? […] I can’t help but think that he’s believed in us all this time.“ Luffy: “Your nakama may be dead, but from now on I’m your rival!“ I love One Piece. I love how it can…
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Batman: Gotham Knight isn't as good as The Animatrix
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Batman: Gotham Knight isn't as good as The AnimatrixDesigned to replicate the success of 2003’s The Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight is another anime anthology riding on the crest of a trendy movie franchise that seems destined, by virtue of Hollywood’s dollar, to be seen by many more people than your average Planetes or Gungrave. Like it or not, it’s exactly this kind of…
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I'm one of his twenty faces too
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/ ReviewsRead More →: I'm one of his twenty faces tooWhen its first episode finished, I suspect a lot of people probably dropped their interest in The Daughter of Twenty Faces (a.k.a Nijuu Mensou no Musume) right there and then. Going off of first impressions, it’s not flashy at all. The colour palette is subdued, there’s no sensational fan-service and no eccentric personality winking at…
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Ok! Let's do this in a cool way! Soul Eater!
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Ok! Let's do this in a cool way! Soul Eater!There is no denying it; for Soul Eater and me, it was love at first sight. Bursting with an adorable “look-at-me” style and eccentric attitude, it’s probably the coolest looking anime I’ve clapped eyes on since Gurren Lagann. 6 episodes in and every single one of them has been weird and wonderful, just one surreal…
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Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie – A thoroughly unpretentious lesson in arse-kicking
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie – A thoroughly unpretentious lesson in arse-kickingSometimes it’s hard to look at movies objectionably; I grew up in the 90s and during this exciting decade, Street Fighter II was the ultimate beat ’em up arcade game. Not only was it fun to play, it was a great source of competition too; anyone who put their money into the arcade version was…
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Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – "Listen to me, you fucking furry"
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Read More →: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – "Listen to me, you fucking furry"This episode confirms it; Gurren Lagan is made of all kinds of awesome. The first 10 minutes… I’ve been sitting here for 20 and I still can’t articulate everything that’s so good about it. I’m talking about the knife fight. The way the characters move, the way they talk, the art, the fluidity of animation,…
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Hokuto no Ken: The Legend of Raoh – Demonic fist of the devil
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Hokuto no Ken: The Legend of Raoh – Demonic fist of the devilAlong with Ninja Scroll, I grew up watching the Fist of the North Star movie. I was attracted by the unapologetic gore but this was no mere action flick – set in a post apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear holocaust, I felt in awe of the endlessly barren landscapes, the grandiose struggle for power between…
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D.Gray-man – 12 – Limitless sacrifice?
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/ ReviewsRead More →: D.Gray-man – 12 – Limitless sacrifice?Like most of its Shonen Jump brethren, D.Gray-man is weakly balanced on a thin line between generic and fun. Just this evening I’ve caught up to episode 12 and feel torn by the somewhat superficial character development. Moody bishonen Kanda is a good example of how utterly archetypal some of these characters are – to…
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One Piece – Winning without even throwing a punch
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/ ReviewsRead More →: One Piece – Winning without even throwing a punchIt’s funny how we spend hours upon hours watching anime, often only for but a few short minutes of absolute pay off. I watch One Piece for these transcendental moments; don’t get me wrong, it’s a consistently fun show but every so often, it raises itself to a rare point of pure emotional resonance with…
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D.Gray-man – 2 – The end of the world is nigh
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/ ReviewsRead More →: D.Gray-man – 2 – The end of the world is nighEpisode two is our first proper introduction to the spiritual world of D.Gray-man and clear references are drawn from Christian religion (“Noah’s ark”) to better illustrate the show’s strong supernatural themes with an interesting theological substance. To believe in exorcists, ghosts and demons, the obvious truth is that one must then also believe in god.…
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Black Lagoon – 13 – People call it spinal reflex
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 13 – People call it spinal reflexMadhouse Studios have an exceptional talent for adapting manga – BECK, Monster and now Black Lagoon, they clearly devote a lot of careful thought to developing a specific style for their works; almost inevitably, they craft absolutely unique anime. I feel safe in saying that Black Lagoon’s flair for attention grabbing will never fade, such…
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Pumpkin Scissors – 1 – Faith in humanity after all
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Pumpkin Scissors – 1 – Faith in humanity after allI’m getting worried about the fall anime season; there is too much to watch. Putting aside the immediate favourites like Death Note and Black Lagoon (these two are unmissable in my eyes) the likes of Pumpkin Scissors and D.Gray-man have proved just as fun and action packed, so where does one (desperately trying to be…
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D.Gray-man – 1 – Completely coherent and mysteriously atmospheric
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/ ReviewsRead More →: D.Gray-man – 1 – Completely coherent and mysteriously atmosphericAnyone remember Pierrot Le Fou from Cowboy Bebop? How can we forget that floating fat man, screaming with insane laughter as he tears his way through the landscape. I know D.Gray-man may not have the kung-fu style of Spike Spiegel, but “The Earl of Millennium” looks just like Pierrot Le Fou, and also happens to…
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Naruto – 201 – Weapons of mass destruction
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 201 – Weapons of mass destructionIt’s those damn terrorists again! As we’re all aware, the war on terror knows no bounds, and now, not even our anime is safe! The beloved hidden village of the leaf (known to gurning locals as Konoha) has become the target of crafty suicide bombers – who could have suspected berserk eagles with explosives strapped…
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Hunter X Hunter – First Impressions
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Hunter X Hunter – First ImpressionsI make no secret of my affection for Shounen Jump anime, from Dragonball Z to Rurouni Kenshin, by way of Naruto and One Piece, it’s a genre – incredibly formulaic though it is – that I drag myself back to again and again, pumped and ready for another sweaty training montage and trash talking decidedly…
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Naruto – 200 – Filling time with ninja
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Naruto – 200 – Filling time with ninjaIt has been a while since I last caught up with Naruto – still its a series I treasure deep within my heart, but these ever enduring “filler dark ages” are even dwindling the concrete enthusiasm I once felt for master Rock Lee and his “spring time of youth”. True to Naruto’s emphasis on fighting…
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Black Lagoon – 12 – BOOOOOM! HEAD SHOT!
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 12 – BOOOOOM! HEAD SHOT!So that’s it then, no more Black Lagoon for (at a guess) a couple of years. I really loved watching this series; after a hard day at work, when it’s a tough ask to even keep your eyes open let alone watch and read anime, Black Lagoon shone like a bloodied beacon of hope. I…
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Black Lagoon – 11 – The prelude to carnage
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 11 – The prelude to carnageAfter the previous couple of unrelenting maid bashing episodes, the eleventh instalment of Black Lagoon was always going to seem a tad watered down in comparison. And so it proves- the penultimate “Lock’n Load Revolution” has more talking than shooting, and is almost entirely aimed at building up an initially convoluted race between an ambitious…
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Black Lagoon – 10 – The unstoppable chambermaid
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Black Lagoon – 10 – The unstoppable chambermaidThere are many ways to settle a score and none better than an old fashioned dust up; I think this qualifies as the first time I’ve ever seen two women literally beat the shit out of each other with their bare knuckles. None of this pulling hair and scratching with their nails nonsense; if Black…
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The Alabasta Arc of One Piece
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/ ReviewsRead More →: The Alabasta Arc of One PieceThe Alabasta Arc of One Piece sees this fine series at the top of its game, juggling dynamic character drama, explosive political upheaval and some eccentric body twisting action. Despite falling into a few classic Shounen Jump cliches (not least of all a super villain in Crocodile who unwittingly reveals his devious plans to his…
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Coyote Ragtime Show: Superficial entertainment primed for mass consumption
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Coyote Ragtime Show: Superficial entertainment primed for mass consumptionCoyote Ragtime Show is everything I expected it to be. This first episode is generic, “cute” and painfully uninspiring. I’m sick of seeing cute girls dressed up in colourful, frilly dresses jumping around wielding impossible strength. It’s so formulaic, cold and calculated; you can imagine the money men sitting around in their leather boardrooms, smoking…
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Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal – Jaded no more
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal – Jaded no moreI was suffering from anime burnout earlier this evening and rather than try to watch something new (and inevitably hate it with this jaded perspective), I decided I’d dip back into my ever-growing DVD collection, pull out a classic I knew I’d love and rediscover my passion for anime. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is…