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University life is all about experimenting.

Nothing seems to capture almost every aspect of the term more than the anime Moyashimon. In this charmingly quirky, extremely intriguing and highly enjoyable short series, the very nature of experiments is examined.

In what must be the strangest case of superpowers, a young man named Tadayasu is born with the ability to see microbes. These microbes though are not those ugly and potentially nausea-inducing growths that you see on microfiche slides. They are personified in Tadayasu's eyes as cute little things that can talk and interact with him. His gift is more of a curse like any unwanted power, but it serves him well when he starts his life off in an agricultural university.

What makes Moyashimon such an enjoyable anime is that it is both educational and enjoyable. While most of the plot is driven around these adorable and troublesome microbes, it never gets to the point where the viewer is left scratching their heads trying to understand what is happening, or worse, getting lost with all the technical terms. The anime is extremely well-written, engaging various aspects of "experimenting"; in the scientific sense (as many scenes feature fascinating moments where tests are conducted to show the power of microbes), in the university life sense (as there are equally many scenes that remind us that these people are indeed young men and women, and the order of the day is cramming, chilling, drinking and trying to score), and in the life at large sense (as the anime also takes time to examine really finding yourself).

As aforementioned, the microbes are given a cuter design than one would expect them to be given. Each looks unique, and eventually, it becomes very easy to visually identify them. Moyashimon's art for the backgrounds and the human characters though are extremely average. The high points are the microbes' designs and their movement. The 3D animation utilised for them is extremely fluid, and they move rather naturally.

This anime is given a good score. The background music is an interesting mix, sometimes incorporating traditional instruments to create a more rustic feel. It really invokes the slow and tranquil nature of the agricultural university. The voice actors do spectacular jobs, and again, the microbes and their high--pitched or chibified voices steal the show again with their entertaining, playful dialogue.

It is no surprise that the microbes really function as characters themselves. This anime is both about them and Tadayasu. The microbes are cheerful and have a sense of humour. They are pretty single-minded and goal-oriented, and it is fascinating to watch them swirling around, their major ambitions being to multiply and ferment. Tadayasu is a fellow who is a very well developed character. He is an average guy, despite his amazing ability. And it is his normalcy, his unimportance and his ineffectiveness that makes him a deeper character. He lives constantly with the notion "Do they want me for me, or for my ability?" in the back of his head. His first friends seem to be the microbes. The supporting cast is eccentric and very likeable. Their simple or even grand ambitions will get you caught up and strung along in watching them pursue it.

The important thing about Moyashimon is that even though it is an anime about science, it is also an anime about these young adults. And their university life is full and fascinating. More than just technical terms and these quirky microbes, the confusing, fun, and strange world of adulthood for young people is given to us.

Moyashimon manages to be a perfect blend; it has both "nerdy" humour and even "frat boy" comedy mixed together seamlessly with intelligent and informative discourse about science and agriculture. It even manages to be emotionally heavy at moments, bringing to light certain issues that would affect a young person, such as forging their own identity in spite of the identity given to them by others, and finding friends that truly want you for who you are and not what you can do.

It is also pretty touching (and the most important aspect of Moyashimon) how Tadayasu relates to the microbes and how they care for him. His relationship with them is estranged; he sees them as an annoyance, a detriment sometimes, but he has grown so used to them that they have become more like friends than anything. It is almost quite like watching the old farmer Hoggett and Babe the pig.

That'll do, microbes. That'll do. read more

It is not every day a fourteen-year-old girl gets the boot out of her house and is told to make it on her own and see the world. And it is not every day that you see that very girl simply dust herself off and actually go to do that very thing.

Hatenkou Yuugi is an anime quite like many others yet it still manages to be so terrifically unique and unusual. The paradox lies in that many of the parts are the same, but their piecing together is something unlikely and hardly ever seen before. The effect is much like making something with building blocks; we know exactly what parts exist, but it is what is done with those blocks and how they are put together that lets it be potentially anything. And that is what Hatenkou Yuugi is like--it is something with great potential that is not what we expect it to be despite all the familiar parts.

The anime is fairly episodic, launching into arcs eventually coming towards its end. There is one general story, however, this is placed on the back-burner for all the individual stories that take place within the larger plot. One marvellous element of Hatenkou Yuugi is its ability to balance a sad story with comedy, and its ability to turn a sweet story into something horribly grotesque. In fact, the arcs progressively get more brutal and shocking, and the stories become deeper, richer and more emotionally involving.

Perhaps the greatest downside to the anime is the plot. The plotting is not nearly as good as the stories themselves. In fact, the anime launches immediately into the story and it barely makes any sense, and we ride along with it. Sometimes the pacing itself needs work, however, these flaws are minor compared to the overall effect of Hatenkou Yuugi's storyline. The comedy, the drama, the quirkiness and strangeness all contribute to make a fascinating story in the end.

Despite all the goodness of that aspect of the anime, the production values seem to suffer the anime the most. The art seems rather hurried and there is a lack of detail for most of the settings. Even the character designs are a bit too much, and a bit too generic. There is a dull overtone for the artwork and the animation is not the best. There are a lot of shortcuts and cost-cutting measures taken. Which is such a shame, since this anime (under more adventurous, vivid or creative direction) could have been a visual feast, considering all the magic and the rustic towns present.

The sound also is not a memorable aspect of this anime. In fact, it sounds downright dated and the techno riffs are a bit cheesy. What this anime needed is not a score that sounds like it was recycled from an episode of Captain Planet, but it needed a whimsical score, one that captured the eerie and magical folksiness of the stories being told.

Unquestionably, one of the best things about Hatenkou Yuugi is the character interactions. The characters themselves are little more than special, but their relationships with one another are so odd, so strong, and so interesting that it truly is fascinating to watch the trio together. The offer and acceptance of the dialogue between the characters is absolutely marvellous as well, and this is one of the few anime in existence that actually does not have the characters interact with one another simply to facilitate action; they interact with one another because they are comrades and companions. There is the feeling that they are together not for the convenience of the story, but because they WANT to be around one another.

Individually, the most outstanding character is Rahzel. She is a confident girl, self-assured and has a good sense of humour. Despite her age, she is actually quite competent without seeming too professional or uptight. What makes her likeable is her ability to hold her own in any situation. She is the type of person who would break her own bones if they were getting in her way. Alzeid seems to be the typical dark and mysterious fellow, but he shows so many moments of sincerity and humanity that it seems too unfair to just label him as cold and aloof. Baroqueheat is meant to be the charmer of the anime, and he certainly flirts a lot and provides the most comic relief, but he is actually the most enigmatic and questionable character of them all.

Hatenkou Yuugi is indubitably a good anime. What is also undeniable is that it is heavily flawed in various aspects. Its sharp dialogue, quirky character dynamics and unusual stories that are unfolded are satisfactory and quite enjoyable. It even plays with some elements of the classic fantasy and horror genres. For instance, in one of the earliest episodes, a ghost tries to divulge her tragic tale to Rahzel and Alzeid and they pretty much ignore her and tell her to finish up her sob story quickly. The anime is filled with this goofball humour amidst the action and seriousness, and it is this that makes this anime worth the watch.

The greatest downfall is the abrupt ending. The series concludes with a cliffhanger, and not in the way that horror movies do, with the "dun dun DUN!" in the background and all that. No, it simply ends at a point after introducing an element which the producers should not have even bothered with if they were not going to animate it.

Hatenkou Yuugi makes itself into something that we do not expect out of old parts that we know too well. It is like watching a cocoon wondering whether you will get a moth or a butterfly.

It simply is a surprise what eventually hatches and takes flight. read more

"I am a doggy poo."'

Sometimes we all feel this way. Doggy Poo is a stop motion anime that chronicles the life story of the brave, lonely little piece of excrement who feels as though his existence is nothing because he is just doggy poo.

Doggy Poo covers the touching, poignant tale about this forgotten piece of poo that is dropped like a load on the side of the street by a dog that does not think twice of him. The little baby-like poop meets several other people--things, rather--that show him that despite the seeming pointlessness of life, there is use for everyone. This stop motion film is a moving counterargument for the theory of existentialism as told through the eyes of poop.

The anime is done with stop motion animation and it looks very beautiful. The quiet rural village in which the story takes place is rather lovely, and given the most amount of detail. The motion is generally smooth, choppy in a few places though. The characters are a mixed bag, as the doggy poo is the cutest piece of shit you will ever lay eyes on, while his friend (the manure) looks like a pimply overweight vagrant and the chicken looks like something that came right out of hell.

Doggy Poo has an overly sentimental score, filled with self-depreciating, sombre piano pieces. Since this is like a Dickens morality tale (just with more crap in it than usual), the music exemplifies all the bold emotions and melancholy of the anime.

Doggy Poo has a small cast of characters, and central to all the action is the doggy poo itself. Left alone and alienated, called "disgusting" and useless by those around him, doggy poo is a lonely and frightened child. He lives facing the harsh realities of accepting that he is just poo. And he's not just any kind of poo--he's the WORST kind of poo, according to another pile of crap next to him.

The characters all function like moral characters; they do not have deep personalities but their exteriors are meant to represent different sects of society. The abandoned pile droppings who is a child lost in the world, the soil that feels guilt from never fulfilling his duties because of his own selfishness, the wandering leaf who does not have a home and goes wherever the wind takes her (as she is never able to settle down)... all these characters serve a purpose. Also, they each contribute in some way to prove to doggy poo that he is not a worthless piece of shit.

"I am glad to give up myself if I can be useful for something." is this cute, persevering little thing's final cry to the world. This stop motion anime in the end is one that deals with mortality and fatalistic outlooks on existence all through the eyes of poop.

Doggy Poo is a bit corny, just like any poo. It is in this childish outlook and sappy presentation that it gets a strong message that you really have to dig deep in your heart and bowels to understand.

After all, we are not JUST doggy poo.

We are all worth something to this world. No matter who laughs at us, shuns us or neglects us. Somebody out there loves us and needs us. We are not worthless and we all are beautiful creatures. And it is with pride, not regret and sorrow that we acknowledge ourselves.

We ARE doggy poo. read more

Sometimes death is not the end. There is no salvation, no peace, and no rest. Instead, what you get is a big black ball in the middle of an empty apartment room making a mockery out of your death and playing with your life.

This is the essence of Gantz. It is a giant game of Simon Says where Simon is cruel and heartless, and he does not "say" what he wants you do to--he demands that you do it.

Immediately, Gantz is the type of anime that will turn a viewer off or completely absorb and fascinate them. It follows Kurono Kei, a young teenage slacker who seems to go through the motions of going to school, perving out and getting cut no slack when being made fun of in front of his peers. All that changes when, in the series first shocking moment of grotesque violence, he is chosen by the entity known as "Gantz" to play a game. An unfair and brutal game, where he has to fight for his life.

Gantz throws away concepts of heaven and hell and delves right into the absurd, abnormal and alien. It is filled with gore, violence, sex and brutality, and is not the type of anime for the weak-stomached or impatient. It is undoubtedly one of the most frustrating series to watch because of the pacing of some of the scenes. There is one particular moment where another character is bleeding to death, and instead of going and doing something, everyone tries to pass the responsibility of saving that person to someone else.

Gantz is unpleasant to watch because it shows humanity as something inhumane; what does it say about human beings when all they can think about is themselves and their own selfish endeavours even when someone else desperately needs their help? It simply says the truth.

The art tends to border on a more realistic side, with clearly defined facial structures for the characters and detailed city backgrounds where most of the story takes place. The one unreal aspect of the anime are the proportions of the girls. This anime is ecchi, and to fit with that, the girls are lusciously designed; extremely well-endowed and curvy, with adult feminine qualities to them. They are made the butt of several perverted fantasies, and some of the more memorable moments of good animation in this series are not the fight scenes, but the sex scenes. That being said, the fight scenes are not bad at all, and the camera zooms around the skies and the streets like a vulture watching these people. The close-ups are all well-timed and the general direction of the scenes are done extremely well. The enemies designs are a mixed bag; some look downright silly, intentional, of course, many are hideous and others are even a bit beautiful.

Gantz's focus on the sound aspect is mostly on dialogue. Several minutes can pass within an episode with no background music used at all. The point of this is to focus on what is actually being said. In a bright room stuck with only random people you do not know and a giant ball-like thing in the centre, what else is there but the sound of awkward silences and your own chatter? The anime has a weird OP theme song, but it is highly fun and strangely suitable, and the sombre ED theme song fits with the overall mood.

This anime has a cast of characters that you will love or hate, but mostly they are not likeable because they are so real. Kei is the voice inside of all of us. He is that bit of us that thinks, "I don't wanna help that bum--he stinks.", "Her knockers are huge, can I squeeze them?" and "Screw you all, who is looking out for ME!?" Every guilty, immoral, and selfish thought that we know is buried deep in us is articulated by Kei. He changes throughout the course of the series, though we learn that this is not so much a change as he is becoming who he is truly. Katou is the voice of reason and the symbol of that which is good in human beings. While he comes off as the goody two-shoes, he absolutely is not. He is capable of destroying people, but he chooses not to. And it is this that makes him the moral being in contrast to what Kei personifies.

In fact, the minute we start getting annoyed with Katou and start wishing that he would be more like Kei is the minute that Gantz catches us--we have, just by rooting for the crueller character, affirmed our own flaws as human beings. Katou is the good guy in all of us. And Gantz uses him to show us just how much we intrinsically hate that guy, because he is useless, self-righteous and never gets anything done. We are all Kei. He is the Mr. Hyde, that potential in all of us, even if on the exterior we live only like a good, sincere Dr. Jekyll.

The third main character is Kishimoto, and she seems nothing more than a fanservice prop, and that is pretty much what she is, really. The difference is that Kishimoto, outside of her figure, is not exactly the type of girl that would appeal to any "normal" fetishes. She is depressed, she is suicidal, she has deep emotional and mental issues. Not exactly the typical heroine. The rest of the cast is pretty mish-mash as the background characters constantly change. Despite some of their brief appearances, the supporting cast is an eclectic bunch, featuring any and everybody, from yakuza to pretty boys, salarymen, psychopaths, grannies and even dogs.

Enjoying this anime, as aforementioned, is a challenge. Most of the time you will be wishing that some characters drop dead and they won't, and when they do, you want them to come back. Eventually, you even start cheering for the "villains" of society, simply because they are the heroes of this game that Gantz is making them play. It is a odd and unusual anime, quite unlike anything ever made before, clearly highlighting the flaws of the human condition.

Gantz, while it is crude, crass and grotesque, highlights clearly the basest of human desires, thoughts and actions. This anime says what we want to say, it thinks what we all secretly think, and it does the things we all want to do. It is a fine piece of absurdist literature simply animated. read more

"Good wives, good mothers." and "Revere the masculine, despise the feminine." were ideals perpetuated by the governing bodies of Japan demanding obedience from the country's women as far back as the Meiji and Tokugawa eras.

In all of this ancient land's history, however, it is in the 20th century that the issues of gender equality became modernised and took greater strides. The Taishou era in particular was period where women, influenced by Western cultures, became more liberated and actually attempted to veer away from the standard domesticated expectations that were placed on them by society.

It is at the beginning of this era in which Taishou Yakyuu Musume is set.

The influence of the West and America in particular are important themes within this anime. So too is gender in relation to the expected roles of men and women. But do not assume that this series is a political or fist-pounding affair. More than that, it is a show about young girls growing up in a period of change. And even more than that, it is an anime about baseball, about loving the sport and living it, and observing the true meaning and importance of sports in character building.

We follow Koume, who is a nice and somewhat ineffectual girl who gets strung along in her classmate's drive to put a chauvinist fiancé in his place. Out of that almost silly and childish goal comes a story that is laden with the issues that girls had to face during a period in time where they had set roles to fulfil. Despite the proactive stance that this anime takes on female empowerment and liberation, it never gets heavy-handed or overly unpleasant, which makes it a rather interesting thing to watch. More than the politics or sociology, this is an anime about baseball and about these girls.

What results from the girls trying to become adequate baseball players is the insight into the feminism of the Taishou era. Yet, this does not get in the way of the immediate story being told. The anime's storytelling is actually quite clever in this respect, as it maintains its plot of the girls playing baseball and dealing with little bumps along the way, but the undercurrent of the positive role of strong girls in society is ever-present.

And how ironic that an anime like this would have such adorable art. Taishou Yakyuu Musume uses a soft-palette and the characters are all pretty with healthy blushes. Yet the girls are never made into moe blobs nor are they the "dumb and cute" stereotypes. This anime is soft and gentle in appearance; it treats a heavy subject matter like gender equality in a manner that makes it non-threatening.

The music is actually light and suits the atmosphere of the anime quite well. Even Koume's little musical interlude in the first episode suits the mood of the era quite well, as the type of song she sings was a popular song type of the Taishou period. The OP and ED songs are acceptably decent. "Romantic Strike!" is a cute, fun, energetic song and sets the mood of the anime. It is a funny, amusing and entertaining anime more than anything, and the music creates the mood for that.

The cast consists of generally likeable girls of various "types". There is a cocky rich girl, the resident tomboys, the old-fashioned girls, the super-geeky girl and the like. More than anything, the characters on their own are not exactly exceptional, but together, they make a great team. Their positions on the field fit perfectly with their skills and personality. Seeing them cooperate and work together is quite an enjoyable experience.

The best thing about Taishou Yakyuu Musume is that it presents true girl power and none of that "grrl" power nonsense with all the spice, sparkles and sass. It is a pleasant, very fun and ostensibly, extremely adorable anime. The sports aspect is a generally good touch, and the games, while not the greatest moments in sports anime's history, are riveting in their own way.

It is never unrealistic in what it presents. The girls do not suddenly grab trousers and put them on or start kicking aside their arranged marriages or burning their bras or anything like that. They do not take their bats and come out swinging, knocking their obstacles out of the park. No, they show us a different kind of feminine strength. They progress as much as they possibly can and that in itself is a great stride. One does not have to open ones mouth to make a statement.

What the girls of Taishou Yakyuu Musume do is not kick over the bucket of water. They simply drop their pebble inside. It is the rippling that is created then which really matters afterwards. read more

It is an age-old adage, good advice and a cliché to say "Never judge a book by its cover." However, this concept cannot be more appropriate to associate with an anime such as Witchblade.

Immediately, what we would expect is an anime about large-breasted, scantily-clad women engaging in violent acts with one another with healthy dollops of fanservice, an overbearing or non-existent plot, and characters who are only meant to be exploited. Wrong, wrong, wrong one shall be if one is to pass this judgement on Witchblade.

It is an unfair assessment of Witchblade to assume that it is simply fanservice fodder. The service is undeniable and ever-present, yes. The battles are frequent and it is easy to assume this is a mindless action anime. But to regard this anime as such is to execute the prisoner without hearing his plea.

What we have here is a well-conceived story delivered with seeming mediocrity. What we have are wonderful and interesting characters who are confined by the will of the writers. What we have is an anime almost smothered by its exterior, making the underlying elements of it hard to notice if we do not examine it carefully.

The story seems particularly basic and generic. Big organisations, secret government activity, conspiracies, and the regular "Joe" getting caught up in it. But that is what is perpetuated by a general story outline as to what Witchblade is about. What is anime TRULY covers is a tale of a single mother who will stop at nothing to provide, protect and care for her daughter. And it is THIS story that makes Witchblade excellent.

The production values for this anime are better than average. The art is vibrant and the designs and setting are well drawn. The one downside though is the sometimes sloppy appearance of some of the character designs. While some characters are given classy or unique designs, others are a bit over the top. The one noticeable thing is the sex appeal of the Witches. Their designs are built around strong, full-bodied and well-endowed females. But it also has cute designs as well, considering Rihoko, who is utterly adorable.

Witchblade's music is generally good, suiting the atmosphere of the anime. Some pieces are downright melancholy, including the track that is used for the "preview" at the end of each episode. In an interesting twist, dialogue and music are used rather than images to present these previews that are not exactly previews. They are moments, if you may, of Rihoko and Masane reading aloud letters they've written (and probably never were able to send) to one another interchangeably for each episode. These scenes are driven completely by the sound and the seiyuu, and they work incredibly well. The emotional impact of these few minutes do more than some anime need an entire episode to create. Also, for fans of voice actresses, the anime features Noto Mamiko doing what is a role that is so uncharacteristic of what she is used to, but pulling it off amazingly well. Notably, she also performs one of the ED themes for the series, and it is a soft, pretty song with just a lilt of sadness in it that seems to go perfectly with Witchblade.

The highpoint of this anime is of course the characters. They facilitate the action and basically create the story around themselves. The protagonist Masane is going down in anime history as being a badass, loving single mother. She is an upfront and honest person, on the ditsy and careless side, but it is her charisma, and her friendly and fun attitude that allows Masane to win you over (she is more than just her impressive breasts or her powers). Rihoko is probably the most important character of the series, linking together every major group that is presented in various ways. She is a child, but unlike other children in anime, she is presented rather realistically. She is extremely responsible and very competent, yes, but she has that childish naivete, trust in people and fascination with the world within her that any young person would have.

The relationship between mother and daughter is in itself a great reason to watch this anime. They love one another so thoroughly, so earnestly, and so overwhelmingly that is it truly beautiful to consider that an anime such as Witchblade is even capable of presenting something like this so well. The supporting cast are made up of the likeable and eccentric boarders of the hotel in which Masane and Rihoko stay, Masane's strict but kind boss and an enigmatic scientist who knows more than she lets on, and several other baddies. Their relationship with Masane and Rihoko are all extremely interesting and provide most of the entertainment or intrigue for the anime.

The one downside again is that perhaps they would have all done so much better in the hands of different writers or a different studio. However, the "ifs" are not to be considered, since there is no helping it. And what Witchblade is then left to do is help itself. Which it does, and does spectacularly. The concluding episodes of this anime are utterly riveting and are enough to leave you in tears, moved by what you see and experience. The themes that were being built throughout the series come to fruition and are examined and revealed. The story that it sets out to tell is told, but another, stronger, and more important story is also given to us.

What we have here is not a tale that is revolved around throwing a mother and child into a messy underworld of the supernatural, but it is a tale built around the love of a family. For that alone, this anime is worth watching.

As Witchblade shows us, family can come in different forms. "Blood is thicker than water" is a proverb thrown away by this anime. A family is not only biological--it is deeper than that and can be made anywhere once there are people there to love one another. The family structures that are created are enough to touch even a hardened or sceptical viewer. It is hard not to end up being emotionally affected by some the things that are shown, and for that, this anime accomplishes something. It does not grow a heart. It shows you that it had a heart all along. We just had to look under its skin.

Despite being shackled by its exterior, Witchblade manages to break each of its constraints. In the end, what is freed is a powerful, moving and truly touching anime; an anime about loving your child enough to give them your everything, even if it means destroying yourself, and about loving your parent enough to let them do that. read more

If Winter Sonata Episode 0 precedes or summarises what is to be expected in the full length TV series, then I'd sooner recommend you turn on your TV and watch some infomercials instead, because what we have here is singly one of the most unspectacular romantic drama anime ever conceived.

In an exceedingly frustrating manner, Winter Sonata slowly doles out the story of two lovers who are separated for what one can only assume is their own idiotic and emotionally immature logic. "Separated from one another" makes it sound more romantic than it actually is, so let us use another phrase to describe what actually happens; the guy picks up and leaves, and the girl just stays there and cries on-and-off again. This anime is a magnificent failure of a romance, too self-absorbed with its story and plotting that it neglects the most important thing in a love story: the love.

The grand mistake Winter Sonata makes from the get-go is trying to make us sympathise with a story of this man and woman and their broken relationship when we can hardly care about their relationship in the first place because its depth is never established. How should we, as viewers, even begin to feel any emotions over this man and this woman's separation when we are not even allowed to see what they mean to one another? The flashbacks hardly aid in painting a picture. All they accomplish is letting us know that, "Okay, they are childhood friends." But that's about it. Them being apart means very little to the audience, because there is no weight behind the relationship. There is no passion, there is no aching love--the loss that they feel has no effect whatsoever.

Other than emotionally bland, this anime is also rather annoying. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING reminds the characters of each other. They cannot even walk five feet forward without stopping to go wide-eyed and gasp from the assault of a "precious memory" that is suddenly triggered in their minds.

Despite its painfully plain story, the anime at least looks very good. Winter Sonata is rather lovely as still art. However, the characters stick out like sore thumbs and their cruder designs cause the overall effect of the gorgeous background art to be diminished. There really are some truly beautiful scenes in this anime, of the countryside and of cityscapes, but again, it only works when the camera slowly pans across these settings. The character art pulls it down in the end.

Winter Sonata is afflicted with an equally schizophrenic soundtrack. There are some moments when the score is absolutely stunning, laden with thoughtfully dramatic, inwardly thrilling and poignant piano pieces. Yet in other parts, it just sounds like it sampled BGM from corny soap operas from the 90s. There is primarily Korean dialogue with a few actual American voice actors. The Korean voice actors are acceptable, but the amateurism of the American actors might make you wish the English was Engrish instead.

What makes a good romance? Is it the romance itself or the ones who facilitate the romance, that is, the characters? Since Winter Sonata does not have a stunning love story to tell in the first place, the job immediately falls on the characters to drive the tale. And drive it they do, much in the way that you inch your grocery cart along the line by the check-out counter with the new girl who does not know how to use the register.

The protagonist is a seemingly normal guy whose most outstanding feature is that terrible dye job he has on his head. He loves, LOVES taking long walks and waxing poetic over every little thing. It gets to the point where you just want to punch his eyes in so he can never see another sunset again and then spend the next ten minutes gaping at it and getting ready to pen some Byronic poetry in his head. The girl is a non-entity. Really, she does absolutely nothing and has no personality at all. The characters in their flashbacks are not any better than their future selves, but they certainly are a little more interesting.

Winter Sonata is just an overly sentimental, bordering downright sappy failure of a romance anime. This being the Episode 0, the series possibly leaves room for development, but the crux of the matter is: do we care enough to find out? I certainly do not. If this is meant to be a taste, it truly is a poor offering to anyone hungry for a decent romance. This anime is just uneventful and pretentiously pensive. It goes nowhere slow.

This anime is a fine example of perfectly good sunsets being ruined by the people who are watching them. read more

Forrest Gump's mama always said that life is like a box of chocolates--you never know what you're gonna get.

FLCL shows us that growing up is not like a box of chocolates. It presents us with inevitability and knowing exactly what you are going to get. This is an anime about picking between Choice A and... Choice A. The message it delivers is that it is not the choice that matters. It is not even the end that matters, since the end is unavoidable.

What matters is the person making the decision, and how they determine how the outcome will affect them. It is not where but how the individual ends up that is ultimately the most important thing. FLCL is The Catcher in the Rye if it ever was animated and had a rocking soundtrack, robots and people duking it out with one another.

This anime gives us a tale of rebellious yet helpless people from various walks of life. It depicts their struggle against the constraints put on them by society and even by themselves. Mostly we follow Naota, an adolescent boy who has things suddenly become very tough for him.

You think you're worried about zits? Try being Naota, with a gigantic phallus of a bump sticking out of your forehead. Try dealing with a loudmouth, psychopathic alien, fighting robots, a lecherous father, a girl in school who hates you and likes you at the same time, the aloof, forgotten girlfriend of your brother and the incompetent though annoying military. Being a teenager is as topsy turvy and full of commotion, and what this OAV does is replicate all the feelings one can experience at this fragile time in your life.

What we have here is an explosion of teenage angst captured in animation. All that boiling and often misdirected anger at yourself and at the world is shown in this anime. The hyperbolised effects of puberty and the importance of rock music, lust, jealousy, attraction and confusion are all examined, are all thrust into your face and bombard your senses.

And "bombarding your senses" is an understatement. It will ram itself right into your vision. FLCL is visually a stunning piece of art, utilising various styles (such as manga cut-outs) and thematic symbols to express itself. A guitar and a bat are two recurring props of the anime; one, the age old symbol of rebellion and coolness, the other, just a stick you can turn into a weapon and start smashing things. It is colourful and beautiful in an almost hideous way sometimes. It has presented some of the most cinematic moments in anime, utilising bullet-time and points-of-view in ways that have never been done before. One of the most poignant scenes in the anime is one of the simplest--having the characters look through a half-full water gun at the sky above them. It is a child's toy, but it has the likeness of an adult's weapon, and it reflects the plasticky outlook that we have in our youth.

FLCL's background music and soundtrack is one of the most recognisable and influential. The theme song "Ride on Shooting Star" probably captures the essence of the entire anime, from the sporadic but melodic guitar, to the erratic, heavy drums, and finally to the unconventional and raw vocals. It is driven by indie rock music that accentuate the scenes. It is almost as though we put on the headphones of the characters' favourite music as we watch this OAV.

This is a loud, noisy, confusing, mishmash visual mess of anime, and by God, it works.

FLCL has a very quirky cast of characters. Naota, the lead, is just so incredibly easy to relate to and pitiable. He's the sort of guy who'd ask for a sweet drink, get a sour one, and drink it even though he does not want it. Naota's growth does not revolve around trying to speak against the choices he has to make. His growth is seen when he acknowledges that the choices in his life are just all the same. In the end, he learns to take the things in life he has no control over and just deal with them without fussing too much. It is a sour lesson that he learns, and one he comes to accept. He matures when he changes himself, not the world around him.

The supporting cast of characters is intriguing. How fitting that one of the heroes of this anime is a robot with a giant TV as its head. And Haruko is one of the most insane personalities ever conceived, but her presence is atomic. Most of the character interactions are unconventional, uncomfortable, and brutally honest or brutally deceitful. Things never play out the way you expect them to between them. The entire cast is so heavily flawed and complex, yet these characters are still fascinating and fun to watch. Even the Godot of the series, Naota's brother, shows his own cruelty and selfishness without ever once showing his face for the duration of the series.

This little OAV ends up being one gigantic metaphor for coming of age in a society where life goes on as it always has gone on. Even if we fight against it, guns blazing, guitars screeching, bats swinging, heads pounding and with everything erupting and exploding around us... it really does not matter in the end to the wider world. Life is not affected. It is us who end up being affected. That is what is significant. Not so much what we do that affects others, but mostly what we do that affects ourselves.

In this anime, life is not so much random chocolates as it is a can of sour soda that we open up and guzzle down.

We know it is sour. But we will drink it anyway. read more

Gauche is not a prodigy. He is not gifted. He does not have things easy. He is just a cellist that tries his hardest.

Gauche the Cellist is folksy, quirky anime about a young man, his cello, and a little portion of his life. He lives dilapidated but habitable cottage out in the outskirts of town. The little orchestra he plays in usually takes cheap jobs at silent movie theatres. Gauche's life is incredibly simple, and nothing extraordinary happens, yet this film manages to capture the audience into this world of a man making music.

If anything, the story ends up being more touching as it shows us a young man who does not have the natural talent to become a great musician, but aspires and works hard to become better at playing an instrument he loves.

The anime is not generically slice of life, as the trips into the fantasy realm throws off realism. There are talking animals for one, and each little creature Gauche encounters teaches him a little something new about playing. Whether this is actually happening or is part of his imagination, Gauche undoubtedly learns from his mistakes and becomes better.

Despite being quite an old anime, Gauche the Cellist looks absolutely lovely. It depicts a quiet, rustic town and the beautiful, rural countryside itself. The charcoal-like shading effects of the background art are simply outstanding. The animation is also very fluid and although the character design has the trademark "Ghibli-ness" in them (that is, they are rather very simple), they serve their purpose. The way a character looks is always secondary in their productions as opposed to what the characters do and say, which is given more prevalence.

But there is not too much to be said in this anime. Given more priority than the dialogue is the music. Complementing the gentle art style are moving, gorgeous orchestral compositions, stunning cello solos, and vibrant, lively, powerful, intoxicating background music. Gauche the Cellist has a magnificent classical score, and it envelops the anime like a warm blanket.

Also warming is Gauche himself, the young cellist who works hard and feels a lot for what he does. However, he seems to lack the professionalism and passion that is required when making music. His dedication and will is strong, but his practising is futile until he realises he needs to love wholly, entirely, fully what he is doing. He comes to understand that music is something he must make, not simply reproduce.

The rest of the cast consists of little woodland creatures that seemed to have been Bambi rejects. The human supporting characters of any importance are Gauche's maestro (a short and short-tempered little man) and female violist who appears to be subtly interested in Gauche himself. These characters, while harmless and satisfactory in their purposes, are left rather flat.

Gauche the Cellist is just as any Ghibli production: pleasant, quirky and undoubtedly charming. While this may be no epic fantasy or moving slice of life anime, Gauche this anime works on the level of its simplicity. It just gives us Gauche in pursuit of his dreams. Which we learn, is not something he can ultimately grasp. Since there are no boundaries to Gauche's dream. To fulfil his goal is to pursue it.

There is no real limit to improving ourselves, is there? read more

You will get your very own moment of truth in watching this movie: it is nothing like what the previews or video that came before it seemed to promise.

In regards to the music video, First Squad teased the audience into waiting and expecting a fleshed out movie about renegade youth fighting against the great army in Russia. What we get is a tale of ghosts fighting ghosts during World War II. Young Nadya can foresee events to come, and she sees that a demon army from the dead will come and destroy the Russian faction out on the battlefront.

The story becomes downright confusing and convoluted in attempting to piece together a legend, actual historical fact, the characters' motivations and fantastical elements of the anime. What exactly is it trying to say? We go through motions that are never really explained to us. Yet, so much of the anime is spent explaining things that need not have even been touched upon. More so, why is this story nothing like what the music video promoted?

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is an interesting blend of realism and fantasy. It takes the factual documentary portion and slips it in between the animated portions which play out like a supernatural fiction. An interesting concept indeed, but it is not executed well. In fact, considering that these moments are meant to provide explanation to the historical, psychological and supernatural elements of the anime, it comes across as more of a distraction than anything else.

Which is a shame, since this anime has near perfect animation and art backing it. First Squad looks spectacular. The icy white snowfields of Russia, the dank and dreary towns, the smoking battlefields and the colourful carnivals all create a magnificent atmosphere for this anime, replicating both the dilapidation and folksiness of Russia during the war. The character design border more to the realistic side rather than trying to be pretty or cute. First Squad's 3D art is seamless and extremely detailed. The animation is absolutely spectacular, though sometimes it seems as though the animators attempted to be frugal by cutting the fights in half and slipping in the live action segments.

The sound of the anime is also very good. The first noticeable aspect of it is that it does not come with Japanese audio. In fact, the entire anime is in Russian. The voice acting seems to be decent, though having no personal experience with the inflection and nuances of the language, it is hard to discern whether the voice actors did great jobs or were mediocre. The score is suitable and attempts to sample the rich style of music that comes out of Eurasia.

First Squad's characters are mostly stagnant and unimpressive. They do rather impressive things, such as train hop, cut people's heads off, blow things to bits and have some good fight scenes, but they all severely lack personality and chemistry. An important plot of the anime relies on Nadya's connection with her group of friends to be carried out. However, other than with one person, Nadya has zero chemistry with them. In fact, it's like watching five strangers with one another who work together to fight. They attempt to give them some backstory, but only Nadya comes out as the most developed character, and she still is not even that. The movie introduces so many characters yet it does nearly nothing with them.

If you are expecting a more detailed version of the music video, be warned, this is not it. Well, it is, but it is truly unsatisfying and not what you would expect. The fact that it is about World War II even takes away something from this anime, as it grounds it in reality that it quite unnecessary. It would have been fine being a fantasy/action/war anime set in an alternate historical setting of Russia in the 1940s. But the insertion of the documentary commentary disallows us in seeing it as such, and instead, makes the fantasy elements rather irksome than enjoyable.

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is possibly one of the biggest disappointments in terms of the build up surrounding it. But that is not to say a disappointment is entirely bad. It did not rise to the expectations of excellency that surrounded it. It did not be all that it could have been. It instead drips in mediocrity that it does not deserve.

Stick with the music video. At least you can use your imagination and think up a better continuation of it for yourself. read more