Anime Reviews

• Akira - 3.5 stars
  I didn’t find this anime classic to be quite as good as it’s made out to be. Tetsuo is a confused young man who is heavily involved with a biker gang in the streets of Neo-Tokyo. During a fight with a rival gang, Tetsuo nearly runs over a strange boy with his bike, and is thrown from it before it explodes. It turns out that this particular boy is the guinea pig of a secret government operation to harness the mental powers of extremely gifted children. Tetsuo acquires these same powers somehow in the accident, and his newfound abilities combined with his violent nature lead to utter disaster as he searches for the mysterious individual known as Akira. I know there’s a lot of rave and whatnot about Akira, and considering the fact that it was released in 1988, I can understand that this would be an astonishing achievement in animation for that time period. Even by today’s standards, the animation quality is still very good. I didn’t like how in the story they sort of disregard sound logic sometimes just to keep the story moving forward. Take for instance the scene where Tetsuo nearly hits the kid with his bike. How in the world were the kids’ powers transferred over to Tetsuo in an explosion? There’s just too many instances like that where the logistics are torn. Overlooking this, it is a very entertaining film which I would recommend seeing at least once. In my humble opinion, Grave of the Fireflies is a much, much better film (which was released in the same year) and hasn’t received nearly the same amount of hype as Akira. But to be fair, I understand that this film was adapted from many volumes of manga, and it’s very possible that bits and pieces of the original story had to be cut out for the film. I own the special edition of this, which includes a separate DVD with more extra’s than anyone needs about this film. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.
• Bastard!!
  Coming Soon!
• Cowboy Bebop - 5 stars
  If there is one anime series that is sure to please everyone, it is Cowboy Bebop. It’s basically a combination of James Bond, the Wild West, and Star Wars. Cowboy Bebop is a genre all it’s own. The main character is Spike Spiegal, a slick bounty hunter who loves to act first, and think later. He owns a small ship, the Swordfish II, which is carried onboard the Bebop. His partner is Jet, an ex-police officer turned bounty hunter who owns the ship Bebop, which is where the two reside. They basically decide where they go by leads on bounty heads. However, the plot thickens as they acquire the company of the beautiful Faye Valentine, a woman with an attitude; the extremely gifted Ed, a goofy child prodigy (who is actually a girl, lol); and a data dog Ein. Throughout the series, the character’s pasts catch up to them, and each has his/her own issues to sort out. This series really has a terrific ending, and probably one of my favorite villains. It follows the “monster of the week” deal, which basically means each episode has it’s own sub-story and climax (much like Sailor Moon does) which normally I don’t go for. Generally speaking, I don’t like series like this because I feel in doing it this way they sacrifice good plot for frequent and poorly done battle scenes (i.e. Inuyasha …blah). However this is not the case at all with Cowboy Bebop. It really is done extremely well, and actually each episode has some symbolism relating to society or other aspects of our world. If someone asked me what was the best series to get him or her hooked on anime, I would tell them Cowboy Bebop. It appeals to everyone, and you can be sure that if you don’t like Cowboy Bebop, you won’t like anime at all. I give it a 5 out of 5. You can buy this as a box set that runs for about $200 (Woa!) or just buy the individual discs (that’s what I did) which adds up to about $180 all in all. If I’m not mistaken, I think the box set includes the soundtrack, so that’s something to consider when buying Cowboy Bebop.
• Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
  Coming Soon!
• El Hazard: The Magnificent World
  Coming Soon!
• FLCL
  Coming Soon!
• Ghost in the Shell
  Coming Soon!
• Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
  Coming Soon!
• Neon Genesis Evangelion - 5 stars
  Definitely my second favorite series behind Tenchi Muyo!. The main character is Shinji Ikari, the son of NERV commander Gendo Ikari. In the year 2040, the Angels caused Second Impact, which occurred around the area of Antarctica, wiping out half of the population of the Earth. Mankind has retreated into armored cities to salvage what is left of the human race. One of these cities is Tokyo-3, where the headquarters of NERV, a secret organization with the burden of protecting mankind and preventing Third Impact, resides. Fifteen years after Second Impact, the Angels have returned, and Gendo summons Shinji to pilot Evangelion Unit-01. The Evangelions are basically giant robots that are the last hope for the salvation of mankind against the onslaught of the Angels, mysterious (and equally giant) creatures that wish to annihilate mankind. Along with Rei Ayanami in EVA Unit-00 and Asuka Langley in EVA Unit-02, Shinji must defeat the Angles to save mankind and prevent the Third Impact. I’m not even going to attempt to go into the details of this series, because frankly I really don’t understand much of it. Neon Genesis Evangelion is immensely complicated, and to be honest I don’t think it’s possible to grasp all of the aspects of it by just watching it once, or probably even twice for that matter. Despite the confusion, NGE delivers tremendous insights into human behavior and psyche, and truly questions what it is to be human. As you might have guessed from the title, this series is littered with Biblical references and parallels, and it would probably be easier for someone who is familiar with the Bible to understand it. Unlike your typical anime, NGE focuses mainly on its themes and messages rather than combat. There really is mixed reviews of NGE; some people (like myself) absolutely love it, while other’s really don’t care for it at all. If you are sort of philosophical minded and don’t mind an extremely deep and thought provoking anime, definitely go for it, because there really is no other series that delivers it to this magnitude . If you tend to lean towards the lighter, goofier side of anime, steer clear, because I guarantee you the ending will leave you with more questions than answers. This series has practically a cult following online, and there are plenty of sites, message boards, and NGE Otaku’s that I’m sure have answers to any questions you can come up with. The NGE box set runs for about $145, a truly sound investment for any anime collection. I give it a confused, but utterly fascinated 5 out of 5.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
  Coming Soon!
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
  Coming Soon!
• Grave of the Fireflies - 5 stars
  This is definitely my favorite anime movie. It’s an extremely powerful anti-war film taking place during the closing days of World War II. Driven from their home and separated from their mother, Seito and Setsuko are two children who must fend for themselves in war-ravaged Japan. After learning of their mother’s death, the two go to live with their very inhospitable and cruel aunt. They soon leave their aunt and live alone in an abandoned bomb shelter. The situation becomes even more tragic when they learn that the naval ship their father was on has been sunk. This movie has the most powerful images of the effects of war I have seen in any anime or live action film for that matter. I believe the director of this film lost a sister to malnutrition during WWII, and I think this experience is what helped him to shape such a wonderful film. Although from a Japanese perspective, it really doesn’t blame the US or it’s allies during the war for Japan’s hardships. It was made in 1988, so due to the age of the film the artwork or animation quality isn’t up to par with today’s standards, but believe me this does not inhibit the film’s impact whatsoever. I give it a firm 5 out of 5. Most definitely a classic that any anime fan should have in his/her collection. Recently released was a special edition of Grave of the Fireflies, which I do not own so I don’t know how much extra stuff is on the DVD, but the one I have cost about $25 in the store, and I bet it wouldn’t be a problem to find it cheaper online if you looked hard enough.
• Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - 4.5 stars
  This movie is relatively close to Evangelion in the themes that it discusses. It puts forth a “what if” scenario, leaving Japan with many totalitarian policies following it’s defeat in WWII. Basically, Japan is economically and politically devastated after the loss, and the government forces strict policies on the people that will ensure economic growth. The result is mass unemployment, homelessness and public unrest, and many anti-government groups form, the most powerful of which is known as the Sect. To choke out these rebellions, the Japanese government forms the Capital Police, a highly armed and mobile militia. Constable Kazuke Fuse is a member of the Capital Police, and main character of the story. He is put on trial and “re-trained” as a soldier when he fails to shoot a “red-riding hood,” an adolescent girl who delivers bombs to terrorists for the Sect. This entire movie is a metaphorical representation of the fairy tale “Red-Riding Hood,” however it has craftily manipulated the fairy tale to suit its own twist of history. I have watched this movie three times since I bought it, and I still don’t completely understand the plot. It is chock full of lies, deceits, and double agents. There are also many agencies and such that you must remember who is in them, and their political relation to one another. Despite the film’s perplexity, it has a very powerful message at the end that is very clear even without full knowledge of the plot. The artwork isn’t in your typical anime style, rather it appears closer to actual people than anime, but still harbors a certain anime touch. Animation quality is good also. One thing that I find astounding about Jin-Roh is the designs for the Capital Police uniform and equipment. Although fictional, it still has the same aura of what a WWII getup could have looked like. As far as swearing and sexual situations go, this film is cleaner than bottled water, but an odd contrast to this is that it’s extremely violent. There are very graphic images of people being shot and a very disturbing scene where a girl is ripped apart and eaten by wolves. I am aware of a special edition of this movie that was released a while ago, but unfortunately I don’t own a copy of that so I don’t know what kind of extra’s are on it. I own the regular version, which runs for about $30. Extra features on this include a few trailers, and that’s about it. I give it a 4.5 out of 5.
• Ninja Scroll - 2.5 stars
  Set in feudal Japan, this movie follows Jubei, a wandering ronin (for those who don’t know, a ronin is a samurai without a master) who has to settle the score with an old adversary of his, Gemma. Accompanied by Kagero, a venomous female ninja, and Dakuwan, an old man who is a spy for the Tokugawa Shogun, they must defeat the eight devils of Kimone and stop Gemma from stealing a ship full of gold bars, which he will use to topple the Tokugawa Shogun. Well, one thing is for sure: if you are looking for gratuitous animated nudity, sex and violence, look no further. There are enough dismembered limbs and spurting blood to make Edgar Allen Poe nauseous. There is one rape scene that I guess is relatively important to the plot, but could have been done without; and another sex scene that serves absolutely no purpose in the story at all. But hey, contemporary Hollywood is no different, so what am I harping about? The fight scenes are very good, and I must admit some of the Kimone devils are rather original. My favorite scene in the movie is Jubei’s fight with Ututsu Mujuru, a blind samurai, who is one of the eight devils of Kimone. Hey, this blind guy is no pushover, I’ll tell you that much. The other seven devils consist of Tessai, a very large man who can change his skin into stone; Benisato, who can control snakes; Mushizo, who controls a swarm of bees; Zakuro, who can turn bodies into walking zombie-bombs; Shijima, who can move in and out of shadows; Yurimaru, who uses electrical string; and Gemma, who has mastered the technique of reincarnation and re-attaching his dismembered body parts. This movie relies solely on its battle sequences, and any attempts at drama fall completely flat. But truthfully, the fight scenes are what make this movie worth watching, and are also what gave the film its reputation today. No thought-provoking intuitions; no symbolic images; and no character development whatsoever (in short, a feudal Dragonball Z…). Character designs are mediocre, as well as the animation quality and other artwork. This is also an anime classic, but by no means one that every anime fan must see. Without the good fight scenes, I’d give it a 2, but because of them I’m bumping it up to a more than generous 2.5 out of 5.
• Noir
  Coming Soon!
• Record of Lodoss War - 3.5 stars
  This series follows six heroes on their quest to save the island of Lodoss. There’s Parn, the main character and young warrior who has difficulty handling his father’s sword and armor. Deedlit, a high priestess elf; Slayn, a sorcerer; Ghim, a dwarf who is a mighty warrior with his axe; Woodchuck, a thief; and Etoh, a priest of Phalis. Basically it’s your standard fantasy story (which was heavily inspired by the Lord of the Rings novels by J. R. R. Tolkien, and by Dungeons and Dragons) with no aspects that are original enough to mention, however I felt it was very well done. It has fantastic opening and closing themes. Also, one of the main strong points of Record of Lodoss War is it’s absolutely fantastic character and dragon designs; however this series uses painfully obvious budget-cutting techniques that really take away from their impact. Too often there are reused battle sequences and animation stills. Bottom line is if this series had had a larger budget, it would have been phenomenal. Although relatively unoriginal, the story itself is very enjoyable, and really not as predictable as you might think. Especially around the middle of the series, it takes numerous twists that I really didn’t expect. Now all of the characters mentioned above have their own reasons for going on their quest, and all of these sub-plots work themselves nicely back into the main story. One of the best sub-plots is the relationship between Parn and Deedlit, which I thought they should have gotten deeper into considering the importance of this sub-plot at the end of the series. Basically any fantasy fan (like myself) will love this, however if you are not originally a fan of fantasy, I don’t expect this will convert you. In my honest opinion, it is definitely worth the $60, considering 13 episode series can run for twice that much sometimes. It does start out kind of slow, but trust me the more episodes you watch the better it gets. If anything, get this for the beautiful artwork and character designs. Concerning extra’s on the DVD’s, there’s not much except for an impressive image gallery. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.
• Ruin Explorers - 2.5 stars
  A nice, short, light-hearted fantasy. The story focuses around Ihrie and Fam, two ill fortuned treasure seekers who, due to a number of unusual coincidences, get sucked into a quest to retrieve three royal artifacts that are keys to the mysterious Ultimate Power (is that the most original name you’ve ever heard or what?). This is mainly due to Fam’s infatuation with Prince Lyle, a man who has been stripped of his kingdom by a power-hungry bishop. Other heroes’ join their quest with the hopes of retrieving the Ultimate Power, including Rasha, a sorcerer, Miguel, a hotshot sword fighter, Galuff, a greedy merchant, and his dog Gil. Together, the band of hero’s set out to retrieve the three artifacts and help Lyle to reclaim his kingdom. As you can see, not the most original story ever conceived in the anime scene, and definitely not the longest at an abnormally short four episodes. But damn, the artwork was just too attractive for me to pass up. The artwork and animation quality really is extremely good. Great character designs, (except for Ihrie, I swear if she didn’t have breasts and a high voice I would have watched the entire series thinking she was a guy...), good battles and especially good spell sequences. It also has a terrific ending theme that’s definitely up there on my ending themes list. But, you really have to be a sucker for the “cutesy” factor of anime to get the full effect out of this. It’s really odd in that there is an extremely unnecessary, yet brief nude scene at the very beginning, but the dialogue seems to be for the younger teenage audience. There are some rather hilarious scenes in there (again, assuming you go for the cutesy factor), most notably a catfight between Fam and Rasha to impress Lyle with their culinary… um… expertise (I guess that’s the right word, lol). The English voice actors for Fam and Ihrie have extremely high pitched voices, which can get a little annoying after a while. The touchy scenes can also get kind of cheesy at times, but that practically comes standard with any cutesy anime. If anything, I recommend it because the artwork and animation quality really are fantastic, and also because you can find it really cheap. All four episodes are on one disc, which runs for around $25 to $30 in a store, but it is so easy to find it cheaper than dirt online. I bought mine brand new for $13 from an independent seller on Amazon.com, and that included shipping. I give it a 2.5 out of 5.
• Rurouni Kenshin OVA - 5 stars
  Also known as Samurai X, Rurouni Kenshin OVA is a superbly done samurai anime. When henchmen in feudal Japan kill Kenshin’s family, he is taken in by the master swordsman Hito, and finely crafted into a near flawless samurai. He now works for a rebel faction against the Tokugawa Shogunate as an assassin, and excels greatly at his trade. Kenshin’s skills earn him a top spot on the Tokugawa hit list, which leads him to retreat into hiding until his services are called upon again. Kenshin poses as a farmer in a distant village, taking the beautiful Tomoe to act as his wife, a woman who has been dragged into the conflict when she is the only witness to one of Kenshin’s assassinations. Living a simple life shows Kenshin a peace that he had never before known, and his years in hiding quickly take a toll on his skills as a samurai. His past comes hurtling back at him as he is forced to confront his misdeeds during his time as an assassin. Although this series is much too short at 4 episodes, it’s a truly phenomenal piece of work. Beautiful artwork, a wonderful story, and a bitter conflict make Rurouni Kenshin one of the best OVA’s around. The wonderful thing about it is that the conflict is just as much psychological as it is physical for Kenshin. There are also tons of wonderful ironies that litter Rurouni Kenshin, specifically involving Tomoe, all of which fit nicely together in an overwhelmingly dramatic climax. It’s pretty somber in the sex department, but there is plenty of graphic violence, so this probably isn’t for you if you’re a little squeamish. It’s also a little pricey, considering that someone had the bright idea to stick only 2 episodes on a DVD. The first DVD is entitled “Trust” and the second “Betrayal.” Depending on where you buy these two, together they can run for a thieving $60! It probably wouldn’t be a problem to find them a bit cheaper online, but you should be prepared to cough up the cash if you really want this one. Personally, I think it was damn well worth it. I give it an enthusiastic 5 out of 5.
• Serial Experiments Lain - 5 stars
  Serial Experiments Lain is absolutely brilliant. Lain is a rather lonely girl in junior high school. After one of her classmates commits suicide, Lain and the other students begin receiving strange e-mails from this girl who is supposedly dead. This occurrence begins a technological odyssey for Lain; in which she uncovers bitter secrets concerning the line between the real world and the world of the “wired,” a futuristic version of the internet. I realize that’s a pretty vague description, but trust me, there’s much, much more to it than that, and I really can’t get into anything else and avoid spoilers. However, be forewarned that Serial Experiments Lain has an extremely complicated plot, which is absolutely boiling over with indiscrete themes and symbolism; and requires the viewer to put much more concentration and thought into what is going on than most anime. You have to pay attention to every little detail, and every little scene for it to make any sense at all in the end. Because of this, Lain is certainly not for everyone. Action hungry anime fans (*cough* DBZ fans… *cough*) should steer clear of this one, because I guarantee you will hate it. With that said, let me share what I really enjoyed about Lain. For starters, I love thought provoking anime, and this is right up that alley. It also has a rather different animation style, which made the entire series seem to be in a dream like state. Not to mention the ending is absolutely phenomenal. BOA serves up a wonderful theme song that is definitely one of, if not my favorite anime them song I’ve ever heard. I purchased the box set from Amazon for about $110 including shipping, but I’m almost positive you could find it cheaper online somewhere. Aren’t too many extras to speak of, but that’s really not a big deal… I give it a strong 5 out of 5.
• Tenchi Muyo! - 5 stars
  I really cannot put into words how much I adore Tenchi Muyo! It is my favorite series, and probably always will be. Tenchi Masaki is the main character of this comedy/action/drama anime whose hilarious troubles start when he unintentionally releases a demon from a cave near his grandfather’s shrine. Turns out that it really isn’t a demon at all; its Ryoko, a beautiful space pirate with miraculous powers who was sealed in the cave 700 years ago for her invasion of Jurai, a far away planet. With the appearance of Ryoko, many other girls show up at Tenchi’s house from the outer reaches of the universe, including Ayeka, the princess of Jurai; Sasami, Ayeka’s younger sister; Washu, the scientific genius, and Mihoshi, a ditzy Galaxy Police officer. I have nothing but praise for this series, I honestly love every aspect of it; but to me the most attractive thing about Tenchi Muyo! is how attached you become to the characters. There are two main villains in the series, Kagato and Dr. Clay, both of which threaten to disrupt life at the Masaki household due to a troubled past with one or more of the girls; and because of the attachment you acquire for the characters, the drama of the battles is exemplified to staggering degrees. Also, one of the best things about this series is how Ryoko and Ayeka are constantly fighting over Tenchi, who is always shy and uncomfortable around the girls. Absolutely beautiful artwork, wonderfully original story, and the most hilarious motley crew I have yet to encounter in any other anime series led me to give this a 5 out of 5. I'd give it more stars if I could, but sadly my scale only goes up to 5. It really is that good. And it gets better; Masaki Kajishima, the creator of Tenchi Muyo!, has announced his plans to create a 3rd OVA (Tenchi Muyo! thus far consists of OVA 1 and OVA 2) which should begin production early in 2003. OVA 3 will continue the unfinished Tenchi Muyo! series and answer a lot of questions. There has even been talk about an OVA 4 or 5, but only OVA 3 has been confirmed so far. So go buy it before OVA 3 comes out! The box set includes episodes 1-13, and also the Tenchi Encyclopedia, which has a massive amount of info on the series. If buying this brand new, it can run for a hefty $108 (used to be $120, so feel lucky!), but trust me it is worth every penny. Usually it isn’t too hard to find a new one on ebay or other places on the net for less than $108 (I actually got mine brand new for $80 from an independent seller at Amazon.com). Basically, no anime collection is complete without Tenchi Muyo!.
• Tenchi Muyo in Love!
  Coming Soon!
• Tenchi the Movie 2: Daughter of Darkness
  Coming Soon!
• Tenchi Forever
  Coming Soon!
• Trigun
  Coming Soon!
• X: The Movie - 1.5 stars
  This is what happens when you take a relatively good concept, and combine it with the worst script imaginable. Kamui is the main character, and for reasons unbeknownst to the audience, can decide the fate of the world. The Dragons of Heaven are a group of super-powered individuals bent on stopping the other group of super-powered individuals, the Dragons of Earth, from destroying the human race. Kamui must decide which side he will fight with, while his best friend from childhood, Fuuma, is destined to be his arch - enemy and pick the opposite side from Kamui. The fight scenes are supposed to be mesmerizing, and they’re not; the plot is supposed to be thought provoking, and it isn’t. The main problem with this movie is that practically the entire thing is spent in these “visions” of different scenarios that could happen should Kamui choose one side or the other. None of these visions, mind you, has a speck of significance to the plot, and frankly, didn’t really matter at all. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the most unbelievably predictable ending comes along. They might as well just have handed you a copy of the script before you saw the movie; really, it’s that bad. In all honesty, there are only two things that I can think of that I enjoyed about this movie (not counting when it was over): 1) The very cool sword designs, and 2) The artwork and animation quality, although I did think they over did the size of the eyes a little bit, even by anime standards. Now it’s only fair to inform you that this movie was based off of a manga that was 8 volumes long, and it’s very possible that a lot got left out of the movie. Either way, X: the movie is one to miss… I give it a 1.5 out of 5 stars for Kamui and Fuuma’s cool swords…