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How long is it? 145 episodes. What’s it about? American Football. All of it? Yes.

Eyeshield 21 is definite hardcore sports anime. Heck, its even sponsored by the Japanese NFL and received backing in the United States as a football series on a sports channel. And now,…don’t get turned off. Because if you do, you’re missing out on one of the most entertaining series people disregard just because of its non-traditional anime content.

Review:

Please, please, don’t dump this series just because its football. I cannot but regret that I did put off watching this and suffered my way through crap series like Blade of the Immortal. My 2 cents on why you should watch (if you don’t want to slog your way through the rest of this):
• Typical plot (yet this works perfectly fine for this series), interspersed with drama, comedy, and laugh your head off antics of its marvelous characters.
• Marvelous characters (I said it but I will say it again), You will love the characters of Eyeshield, because even Sena isn’t as annoying as it seems. And…Hiruma will send you to hell if you don’t watch this.
Now that you’re here:

Characters: To put it simply, there is nothing bland about Eyeshield’s cast. From Sena’s traditional shonen perserverance, to Hiruma’s demonic avarice (and he will become your favorite as well), Eyeshield 21 does a masterful job of designing to characters to both appeal to viewers and to transition their interactions with each other smoothly. The rivalry between Sena and Shin is also nonclichedly carried out, and all the supporting characters get their own backstory as well. To tell the truth, I don’t even think that the supporting characters were even ‘technically 2nd tier’. You cannot but feel for the other characters such as the quarterback of the Zokugaku Chameleons whose delinquent team cannot hold themselves together. And so yes, the characters of Eyeshield are not just comedic, but serious, dramatic, and all the time flawed in some way or another. There’s not fun in watching perfect characters now is there?

Plot: Well, its straightforward enough: team has a dream, team wants to go to Christmas Bowl, team must defeat rival teams, team must work together, team must train, then team must win. But this is all you need to watch Eyeshield. It’s 145 episodes does more than enough to advance the adrenaline pumping scenes of the matches. Between moments of drama and football action is raucous comedy which borderlines on the absurd (cough Hiruma gun toting blackmailer), yet makes it more funny all the same. Now come to think of it, you don’t watch a sports series too much for the plot as more for the character development and anime action.

Sound and Graphics: Nothing too shabby here. The BGMs were great, the Ops and EDs were equally great. Eyeshield does a decent job of fitting its sound to its action scenes. The animation is more than adequate for the heart pumping football action scenes. Of course its NOT realistic. Who would want to watch realistic football for 145 episodes? Nah, this is where you see special moves like those in DBZ like Sena’s Devil Bat Ghost, Kid’s Rapid Fire Throw. (No fantastical equipment, mind but enough specialty to make you want to continue watching.) That said, animation is definitely decent for this series.

Entertainment/Replay Value : This is something I wouldn’t mind watching more than once. The one bone I have to pick with the series is its sometimes slightly traditional fillers, which it has to have in its 145 episodes. But even with that, Eyeshield 21 is hilarious, action packed, and a touchdown for us viewers.

Poptart’s Rating: 9.4/10 read more

OK, I’ll admit I’ve looked at this series for quite some time before actually picking it up. The reason being I didn’t feel quite comfortable with the apparent darkness the pictures of it seemed. Also the plot didn’t seem to interest me, as it appeared at first glance by wiki to be a bit bland. Then something changed, I prodded myself to go try it. And then,…I became trapped in the dark and phantastical post-apocalyptic world of Ergo Proxy, where anything might happen. And you could not trust anyone, anywhere.

-Animation-

Ergo Proxy has some of the best animation that I’ve seen in an anime. It sets the tone right away in the beginning for being dark and absolutely suspenseful. From the very first beginning where you are immediately shown an apparent medical containment lab where a “monster” is being restrained. However, it awakens. This sort of beginning sort of reminded me of Elfen Lied, however for those of you who have seen Elfen Lied, there is not quite near the amount of gore in Ergo Proxy. The animators did a splendid job of controlling the lighting; it was absolutely perfect when it switches between the sorrowful, painful, post-apocalyptic backgrounds of the “outside world” and the somehow even more sinister “ecological domes” in which most of the populace resides. There is very little frame reuse, no repeated mecha equipment cut scenes; this anime is meant to be dramatic and dark, and its animation does its purpose amazingly.

-Story-

Caveat emptor. Let me warn you first. Ergo Proxy isn’t meant to be seen as a side show. It’s not meant to be watched when you need to lighten up. It’s story is dark and convoluted and it’ll take those brain cells of ours to puzzle it out, even after the directors puts almost all the pieces in place. The story begins in a futuristic domed city called Romdo, built to protect its citizens after a global ecological disaster. In this utopia, humans and androids (AutoReivs) coexist with each other peacefully under a total management system. A series of murders committed by berserk robots (infected with the Cogito virus which enables them to have a conscious mind) starts to jeopardize the delicate balance of the social order. Behind the scenes, the government is conducting secret experiments on a mysterious humanoid lifeform called Proxy, which is believed to hold the key to the survival of mankind or maybe its destruction.

Re-l Mayer is assigned to investigate some of the murders with her AutoReiv partner Iggy. She encounters a Cogito-infected AutoReiv and a fast and flexible monster. She later learns that the monster was a Proxy, the mysterious humanoid lifeform only the top bureaucratic officials even know the existence of. Here is where an immigrant by the name of Vincent Law is introduced. Having mysterious connections to the Proxies, Vincent is on the run from authorities after failing his citizen test. After being hunted down, Vincent leaves Romdo, and Re-l tags along to discover the truth behind the Proxies and the domes.

This series has a nicely developed fully fleshed out plot, not too fast, nor too slow, but the major dialogues are important to understanding the story as it goes on.

-Music and Sound-

The in-series music is good enough for this type of series, but nothing really sticks out that much, unlike Heroic Age and series it. But since this series focuses mainly on a story and characters, it doesn’t really matter really. However, the OP threw me off guard, it suited the series in a weird ironic dark way. The song is performed by a Japanese, however, he speaks fluent English. See for yourself and you’ll know what I mean.

-Characters-

This is the gluing point of the series. In addition to its complex plot, its characters suit the series extremely well. All the characters develop emotionally through the course of the series and since this isn’t technically an action series, Ergo Proxy focuses on the psychological mentality of its protagonists. The main character, Re-I Mayer is an enigma. Her personality and demeanor suggests of a haughty princess, but she is acutely observational and analytical and amazingly intriguing. Introduced as a selfish character in the beginning with little regard to other beings including her own autoreiv Iggy and her later partner Vincent, Re-I Mayer (Lil) poses a curious change as the series goes on. Vincent too, introduced, as a bit timid and cowardly in the beginning changes into a true man as Ergo Proxy goes on.

Not just them, but the other characters, the Proxies, the Security Bureau’s chief, the different autoreivs, and the host of other characters, mainly supporting, are painstakingly portrayed and realistically displayed. Plainly put, it’s a series that will draw you in with its characters and plot alike.

-Enjoyment-

Well, can’t really say much about it. I can’t say I was left happy by it. But I can say I enjoyed it. It’s not something I would like to rewatch, however, and most likely it’ll stay on my list as one of the most brooding series ever created. read more

This series may not be appropriate for everyone. It doesn’t contain the most gore, nor the most violence in a story, nor the most amount of dialogue. However, the convolution and supernatural aspects of this series are bound to confuse some people, but if you’re like me, you’ll find it enjoyable.

Story (or otherwise the convoluted background you need to understand)

Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo and altered the sky and decimated the landscape. The heavenly bodies disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people who possess various special abilities emerged. Kept secret from the knowledge of the masses, these individuals, known as Contractors, are able to murder in cold blood. Various nations around the world use Contractors as spies and agents, often resulting in violent battles for information. Each fake star has a corresponding contractor, and they vibrate when their contractor’s power is being used. As such, contractors are usually identified by their star’s Messier catalogue number. However, their abilities are gained at the edge of their humanity. They lack human emotions, especially aversion to killing. Contractors usually work for one of various rival Syndicates as spies and assassins, although the ultimate purpose of the Syndicates is initially unknown. (wikipedia) This is basically the background you need to start out with to understand the premise of Darker than BLACK. The series opens with the protagonist, Hei an elite contractor with the Messier code BK-201 and the plot begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding the abnormalities of Hei and his search for his sister Pai, that then pulls in the past that seems to be horrifying and bleak.

Art

Great animation is what I’ll say for this series. It’s good for the series, perhaps not the best, but still really entertaining. I’ll say its very good for its genre and you’ll find it satisfying to watch. The action scenes are fluidly animated and overall animation is not bad at all. The setting painted by the colors are right for the mood, dark at times, contrasting with the aptly placed humor at others. You wont find a problem with this series in terms of art, though I have to say some scenes maybe one or two seemed like it was cheaply done….

Character

Alright, we’re down to the most redeeming aspect of this series. *Takes a deep breath*. For a sci-fi series that I’ve seen, this has some of the best character development you’ll ever see; each character really except for some has an incredibly detailed and intriguing back story that doesn’t detract at all from the overall enjoyment of the main plot. Taking into consideration the mood of the series, the backstories of often grim, realistic, and oftentimes tragic. I’ll say this; lots of people die. The protagonist, Hei, or his alter persona (the alias he uses when not on missions) Li Shengshun is a fascinating case of character study. Very little is revealed about him in the beginning and you begin to wonder if he’s just another one of those silent dominating protagonists. Then very soon, you’re brought into his alias, the gentle, clumsy Chinese transfer student Li Shengshun who has an enormous appetite yet is still thin. Character interaction for the most part aren’t as illuminating or enjoyable as series like Spice and Wolf, where the essence of it is the dialogue, but what makes Darker than BLACK an unique series is each character’s backstory. From Hei’s troubled past and the mysteries surrounding his sister and his lover in the South American disaster, to Yin’s equally bleak past, to Huang’s unbelievably bitter past history; each backstory has relevance to the main plot and provides considerable food for thought on their actions.

Enjoyment

How do I put this. At first I put this on hold due to the beginning not quite drawing me in. However after a while I returned, and quickly became fascinated by its intriguing storyline. Darker than BLACk is a plot driven series, so much, that I didn’t really care about anything else when I watched it. So will you, when you see it, of the betrayal, irony, friendship, love, and political machinations. Such is the value of Darker than BLACK.

I give it a 9/10. read more

Tytania (Overall 8.5/10)

This is a series that surprised me. For one of Fall’s numerous additions into the anime genre, many were of sub par quality like Blade of the Immortal (and that’s not to say they aren’t enjoyable to watch…just not your best anime to watch if you can watch others), however, Tytania was a surprise to me. For one, I didn’t check out this series until like now, because it doesn’t receive a universal good rating from all of its viewers. Let me tell you why, its one of those slow plot, politically driven series that uses a decent amount of action but not in any abundance to satisfy the average shonen fan. Ok…now for the important things.

Story: 9/10 (excellent)

After venturing into outer space, humanity has built many planetary cities. Most of these cities were affiliated to the Interstellar Federation, and it became the biggest force in the galaxy. Therefore, people believed that the Age of the Federation would last long. However, the situation changes when a clan called "Tytania" secedes from the Federation and receives the title of Lord from the Emperor of Vardhana. Tytania obtains a victory over the Federation, and they assert that the Empire cannot exist without them. Tytania puts most of the Federal Territories under its control, and they hold hegemony in the galaxy. Meanwhile, a war begins between Euria and Tytania over their respective rights and interest. From that moment on, the galaxy enters into a tempestuous period. (Wikipedia).
The Tytania family is essentially an autocratic, despotic group of powerful nobles all of the same blood that controls nearly every other aspect of the galaxy. The emperor is a mere puppet and it isn’t until a surprise defeat by Fan Hyulic does the action really start happening… centering around the noble’s aim to preserve power and Hyulic’s flight from them.

Character: 9/10 (excellent)

The characters in this complex power struggle are pretty unique and perhaps one of the strongest parts of this series. The majority of the series center around the character of Fan Hyulic and the Tytania family, with the former being your laid back, funny, and lazy ordinary guy who possesses a keen wit and shrewdness. Not surprisingly, Fan Hyulic is voiced by the same voice actor who voices Komui Lee in D. Gray-man. The Tytania family revolves around the power ambitions of each of the four dukes who vie for power among themselves and outside. The interactions between all of them, as well as the numerous support characters present hints of romance, (just hints so far mind you), taut political intrigue, and a rooting for your favorite character.

Animation: 7/10 (decent)

For a series that came out in the Fall of 2008, it doesn’t employ the best animation. Instead it seems to use a style similar to Victorian Romance Emma, or Romeo and Juliet, and essentially, old style drawings. The space battles do see bits of CG, and the characters are decently well animated. One thing for sure, everyone looks a little on the shoujo side, with huge irises… is that a obsession I wonder?

Sound: 8/10 (Great)

Sound is pretty unique, the OP is a operatic like theme which suits the haughty nobility of the Tytania family, as Fan Hyulic doesn’t even appear here. The ED is rock which suits Fan’s rebel role in the story. Overall nothing to laud at, nothing to denounce about, Tytania’s soundtrack is very decent.

Enjoyment: 9/10 (excellent)

Of course not everyone would agree with me here, for personally, my type to watch are these slightly slow moving, puzzle putting together political strivings of each character. It makes for an intellectual watch  But looking for a quick action sci fi fix would not satisfy you here. Think Gundam Wing… without the gundams.
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