Tag: horror
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Noi Problem: The Awesomely Weird Characters of Dorohedoro
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Read More →: Noi Problem: The Awesomely Weird Characters of DorohedoroLooking like a cross between professional wrestlers and the Cenobites of Hellraiser, the characters of Dorohedoro are awesomely weird. Weird because it’s like watching Pinhead and Freddy Krueger sit down for a cup of tea in-between murdering a bunch of people and stuffing their bloody remains in a bin bag, and awesome because, well, what…
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Dorohedoro episode 1 anime review
Read More →: Dorohedoro episode 1 anime reviewQ Hayashida’s bewildering horror manga is finally animated! Dorohedoro is a dismal, filthy anime that’s teeming with cheerful monsters and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
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The swirling nothingness: Shuzo Oshimi’s vampire manga Happiness
Read More →: The swirling nothingness: Shuzo Oshimi’s vampire manga HappinessShuzo Oshimi’s Happiness is a beautiful clusterfuck that I can’t get enough of, but let’s get one thing clear: there’s absolutely nothing happy about Happiness. It all begins when high-schooler Okazaki is bitten by the vampire Nora. She grants him two choices: either live like her, or die. Really, he has no choice.
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A game of faces: The Promised Neverland episode 1
Read More →: A game of faces: The Promised Neverland episode 1There are some early visual cues that all is not right for the orphans in The Promised Neverland.
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Dororo episode 1 is superb
Read More →: Dororo episode 1 is superbThis is what I needed. Dororo episode 1 is a visual treat, with its Mushishi esque painterly backgrounds and moody period setting.
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Anxious and otherworldly: Boogiepop and Others first impressions
Read More →: Anxious and otherworldly: Boogiepop and Others first impressionsMy gut feeling is that Boogiepop and Others won’t be a crowd-pleaser.
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Unspeakably beautiful: Devilman anime review
Read More →: Unspeakably beautiful: Devilman anime reviewA belated new year’s resolution for me is to publish more posts this year than last, but rather than try to come up with a bunch of boring editorials, I went through MyAnimeList and picked out twelve anime that I want to try and write about, bringing me first to Devilman (both The Birth (1987)…
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Ghosts in their own ghost stories: Shokuzai
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Read More →: Ghosts in their own ghost stories: Shokuzai“If it cannot break out of its shell, the chick will die without ever being born. We are the chick-The world is our egg. If we don’t crack the world’s shell, we will die without ever truly being born. Smash the world’s shell. FOR THE REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD!” –Revolutionary Girl Utena Shokuzai (Penance) is…
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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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Broken Apple: Shin Sekai Yori
Read More →: Broken Apple: Shin Sekai YoriMany of us are optimists and like to think there’s an innate sense of goodness within us all, but given a God’s power, how would we react? Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) answers that question within its first 3 minutes: upon the discovery of psychokinesis, civilisation regresses into a thousand year-long dark age,…
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Liking Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse? See also…
Read More →: Liking Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse? See also…Earth’s invaded, humanity’s out-matched and Japan’s moe legions are our first line of defence. Would you feel confident?
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The girl who became a zombie
Read More →: The girl who became a zombieI’m utterly torn by Sankarea. It has beautiful art direction and some fascinating ideas, but it’s also about as exploitative as anime gets. There’s just so much to like about it though, starting with the girl who became a zombie. Of course, to become a zombie, one must first die. Sanka commits suicide because her…
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Because you need a little violence in your life: Dr. Mohiro Kitoh's fabulous depression
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Read More →: Because you need a little violence in your life: Dr. Mohiro Kitoh's fabulous depressionOne thing we may deduce about author Mohiro Kitoh from Bokurano and Narutaru is that he probably had a few bad experiences growing up. It’s otherwise very difficult to understand why his stories about children are quite so fucked-up. Case in post, Narutaru, of which I just finished watching the anime adaptation.
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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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Blood-C: one long descent into chaos
Read More →: Blood-C: one long descent into chaosSeries like Blood-C catch my eye. At some point during its airing, I got the impression it was bad: the weekly reviews at Sea Slugs and Moe Sucks say as much and more, but since finishing, I’ve also read takes at chaostangent and S01E01 that say the opposite. Having now seen it for myself over…
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Eaten by giants!!
Read More →: Eaten by giants!!I started reading Shingeki no Kyojin because ‘giants attacking mankind’s last city’ sounded really cool.
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Feel like being scared?
Read More →: Feel like being scared?I’ve been going through a lull in blogging lately. Although I’ve been trying hard (and succeeding, surprisingly!) to keep up with a certain trio of currently airing series, I’ve also been feeling quite passive, too. Even still, the desire to trudge on with this whole writing thing has never left me, so, thank you if…
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Can anime do horror?
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Read More →: Can anime do horror?Truly good horror anime is hard to find. Anime tends to use many elements of horror, but it rarely adds up to something that’s scary.
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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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The harsh beauty of Tsutomu Nihei's Biomega
Read More →: The harsh beauty of Tsutomu Nihei's BiomegaHappy new year, everyone! Time sure flies and it’s now looking likely that this blog will live to see it’s fourth anniversary on the 4th of March, which is just… surreal! This time of year also provides me with the rare opportunity to immerse in some new worlds of fiction. Last year I fell under…
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When all that's left is dust
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Read More →: When all that's left is dustWhen I think about Boogiepop Phantom, I’m also reminded of other recent Madhouse anime, like Shigurui and Casshern Sins. Each has a strange aesthetic; seductive yet tinged by an under-lying sense of sadness and desolation. It would be easy to categorise them as dark and depressing, but they are more complex than that. It’s not…
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Why Boogiepop? You wouldn't willingly escape into a nightmare, right?
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Why Boogiepop? You wouldn't willingly escape into a nightmare, right?The coolest thing about Boogiepop Phantom is that it’s just really messed up. Too often in anime are teenagers romanticised. Everything’s so sweet, so melodramatic; no permanent damage. It’s just easier to watch something like Toradora, where everyone’s so cheerful, ready to communicate and fix their problems.
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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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Devilishly delicious horror: Devilman manga review
Read More →: Devilishly delicious horror: Devilman manga reviewMy damned savoir and his demented smile lurked forth from the shadows. His name was none other than Go Nagai and his bloody offering was Devilman. And it was perfect. Perfectly and utterly disturbing.
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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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Actually, Blassreiter is quite good
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Actually, Blassreiter is quite goodWhen Blassreiter started airing in April, I suppose I wasn’t the only one to ignore it, but why is that? Wait, isn’t it obvious? Just two damn words are all it takes. Studio Gonzo. In recent years, despite the odd exception, their name has become synonymous with bland, conventional, boring anime. Hence, somewhat unfairly, I…
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When bunny boilers attack
Read More →: When bunny boilers attackAhh, my saviour is the weekend! I know my last post wasn’t exactly beaming with enthusiasm for all things animated, but with two more weeks under my belt, the gloom has lifted and I’m now tucking into tasty helpings of spring stuff on an almost daily basis. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of new series I’m…
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Basking in the inferno of Cloverfield, remembering Blue Gender
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Basking in the inferno of Cloverfield, remembering Blue GenderHead-spinning, stomach-turning and mind-racing are a few of the adjectives I’d choose to describe how I felt when I stumbled out of the cinema last night, having just suffered through Cloverfield. To say I’d been looking forward to this film would be an understatement, and even though I’d only discovered its baffling trailer in early…
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Spiralling into insanity, looking at Junji Ito’s horror manga Uzumaki
Read More →: Spiralling into insanity, looking at Junji Ito’s horror manga UzumakiI’ve been reading a lot of manga lately. In the past, I’d go through brief fits of reading the stuff, but it always felt temporary, like a fling while my romance with anime hit the buffers. This time, it’s totally different; I’m ready to devour as much as I can find. By and large, anime…
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Creepy horror manga? The Enigma of Amigara Fault is the answer
Read More →: Creepy horror manga? The Enigma of Amigara Fault is the answerHalloween is fast approaching and it’s time to indulge in some frightful Japanese horror. Sadly, it’s not a genre that translates well to anime and manga, but having recently discovered the abnormal works of manga-ka Junji Ito, there may well be hope for us yet. This time I’m talking about the claustrophobic “Enigma of Amigara…
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The hyperbole of Mononoke
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/ ReviewsRead More →: The hyperbole of MononokeHaving been seduced by its eccentric visual style and the positive word-of-mouth, this past weekend was spent haplessly indulging in seven episodes of Mononoke’s surreal feast. To you, I present these humble findings. Mononoke is good.
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Demonic rumbles as claymores get squished in episode 21
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Demonic rumbles as claymores get squished in episode 21I’m really digging Claymore at the moment and each episode is ending on the kind of gut-wrenching cliff hanger that so tempts me to gorge on manga spoilers. Episode 21 is no different; Ligardes is one of the coolest awakened beings yet — his intimidating part-lion transformation perfectly emphasizes his quite unfathomable strength and speed;…
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The end of Death Note: a poison, creating wicked hearts
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/ ReviewsRead More →: The end of Death Note: a poison, creating wicked heartsDeath Note is a “… poison, creating wicked hearts”, said the concerned prudes at Chinese schools after some ‘corrupted’ kids were discovered to be using their home-made murder pages to curse fellow students. This was back in 2005; the first time I’d heard of the now famous Death Note. Since then, I’ve always been interested…
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Claymore – Searching for humanity in a violent world
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Claymore – Searching for humanity in a violent worldI’m really enjoying watching Claymore at the moment (as of episode 4), yet oddly, I’m finding it hard to pin down exactly what I like about it. It’s probably the setting; I just really like the European medieval period — a time when any person; strong in arm and sword in hand, could conquer and…
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Death Note – 15 – It's been all sorts of fun, L
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Death Note – 15 – It's been all sorts of fun, LIt’s around about now that we realise Death Note is becoming more than a very good anime series. It’s becoming one of those “OMFG-WTF-CLIFFHANGER!?!” types. I can feel the hysteria surging within me. 15 episodes in and the twists and turns of the story are still as unpredictable as ever. Watching it makes me a…
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Berserk – 3 – The Hawk that soars ever higher
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Berserk – 3 – The Hawk that soars ever higherThe moustache twiddling decadence caused by extended aristocracy is an issue central to the narrative of Berserk. Regardless of social standing, we all like to dream that we are destined for greatness, to achieve something worthwhile. Aristocracy exists to elongate wealth and protect respect no matter what the cost, and that often includes suppressing the…
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Red Garden – Only in death do they find true happiness
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Red Garden – Only in death do they find true happinessI’ve been an advocate of Red Garden since the first episode, but until this past weekend I hadn’t seen beyond episode three. Red Garden isn’t easy to watch – if the characters aren’t paralysing my brain with screaming, tearful grief, they start singing instead. I like that the show is trying something different with the…
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Berserk – 2 – Sparks fly as the wheels of fate spin
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Berserk – 2 – Sparks fly as the wheels of fate spinEpisode two introduces us to the important characters that make up the “Band Of The Hawk” – in other words, the personalities that dominate the rest of Berserk. The dark-skinned Casca is an exceptionally talented swordsman who just so happens to be a woman. That she commands so much respect amongst her comrades suggests that…
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Berserk – 1 – An introduction to obsession
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Berserk – 1 – An introduction to obsessionI’m just going to come right out and say it — Berserk is my favourite anime of all time. I became an anime fan because of Naruto, but Berserk and its alluring quantities of bloody violence, epic action and tragic friendship immediately captured my heart and held onto it ever since. I still remember having…
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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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Again the fate of the world is in the hands of 14 kids (Bokurano)
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Again the fate of the world is in the hands of 14 kids (Bokurano)Its been a while readers, 7 days to be precise, and as we all know, 7 days on internet may as well be a lifetime. I won’t labor you with the details, but suffice to say that this gradual slow down in blogging is sadly down to cliche reasons; I have found a new job…
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Reflecting on Kemonozume – Too cool for otaku
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Reflecting on Kemonozume – Too cool for otakuIt’s fair to say that the creative staff “working on” (more like playing with) Kemonozume must have had so much fun, from flying heads and sexed up monkeys to a perverted old man shoving a pair of severed female arms down his skanky speedos – this is a show that clearly had no pretension of…
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Kemonozume – 10 – Sex-starved monkeys and eating fish with giant detectives
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kemonozume – 10 – Sex-starved monkeys and eating fish with giant detectivesSince we’re now hitting the final couple of episodes, Kemonozume is building up to an action packed climax. The villain, or “big boss”, has turned out to be the fat Ohba – I liken his bizarre appearance to that of a clown, and deep down, we’re all scared of clowns – their smiley made-up faces…
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Red Garden – 3 – Theatrical heart break
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Red Garden – 3 – Theatrical heart breakEpisode 3 of Red Garden is the best yet; the viewer leaves this instalment drenched in suspense, mystery and blood, and all the while we’re slowly beginning to understand what’s happened to the girls – or rather, how they died! There are still big question marks hanging over why they were all together on *that*…
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Kemonozume – 9 – Old habits die hard
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kemonozume – 9 – Old habits die hardStill on the run from the Kifuuken, we join the love birds Yuka and Toshihiko aimlessly wandering down vast and empty roads when they are offered a lift by an old married couple. Their journey (squeezed inside a white van) is a chance for them to reflect on their young relationship, inspired by the beautiful…
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Kemonozume – 8 – Hard violence, hard sex, hard feelings
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Kemonozume – 8 – Hard violence, hard sex, hard feelingsAt the beginning of this episode a boy student is excitedly kissing his innocent girlfriend for the first time. They hold each other in an emotional embrace, it is a pivotal moment in their lives, “Ah the day has finally come, Takako-Chan’s warm, soft, slippery thing is in my mouth…”. But the boy gets too…
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Red Garden – 2 – Expensive shirts and werewolves
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/ ReviewsRead More →: Red Garden – 2 – Expensive shirts and werewolvesI do love mysterious horror stories, especially when the viewer is as much at a loss as to what is going on as the characters themselves. The supernatural Red Garden is growing with this creeping intrigue, it’s bizarre and confusing and a lot of my interest is now centred on eventually finding answers. In some…