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Oct 28, 2022
C Danchi (Anime) add
Mixed Feelings
It isn't uncommon for around Halloween time to have a taste for horror anime. Even more so a preference for something short and sweet that one can enjoy casually or just binge in a day. "House Complex C" offers that appeal, however, it fails in so many other aspects it's difficult to recommend.

To be fair, I was immediately drawn into this story because I saw early on it's Lovecraftian overtones. For those unfamiliar, H.P. Lovecraft was an American author famous for "cosmic horror". His credits include the creation of Cthulu and the Necronomicon. "Housing Complex C" touches on many themes he is famous for, but ...
Aug 20, 2022
Mixed Feelings
It is safe to say that after many, many attempts over the years, someone making an adaptation of a video game for the purpose of TV or film is going to be perceived, at best, with a sense of high scrutiny. Such was my reaction when I saw Crunchyroll and Adult Swim had teamed up to create "Shenmue the Animation", based on Sega's open-world fighting game franchise that is more notable for it's long-hiatus between Vol's 2 & 3. As a younger man, I played some of the Shenmue games on the Dreamcast and enjoyed the beat 'em up aspect and the freedom of a ...
Apr 7, 2020
Mixed Feelings
"Opposites attract". It is a cliche, a tired one at that, but nevertheless it works. The cliched premise of having a secret identity is also tried and true. Anime is not immune to this either, as it seems all plots must take place in a high school. Throw in the stereotypical "Tsundere" type leading lady and you have the basic elements of "Kaichou wa Maid-sama!" aka "Maid Sama!" a mediocre, predictable, but also enjoyable manga adapted into anime by the respected J.C. Staff studio.

Our plot centers around Misaki Ayuzawa, a strong willed young lady who has gotten herself elected the first female class president in ...
Apr 3, 2020
I don't think we appreciate just how helpless children are in this world. They are the future, but are often handed a world that is less than what it once was when the last generation got it. The new perspective and ideas they bring are often met with disdain and resistance. The world fights to protect the status quo. In "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans" Season 2, the children of Tekkadan learn that lesson the hard way. What follows is an exciting and emotionally gripping 25 episodes of a group that fights to keep what they won in Season 1, but all the time events ...
Mar 16, 2020
The Moe genre is something that has really gotten about every treatment under the sun. It's not a genre I'm particularly fond of because it's just too cutesy, sickly sweet, and all rather pointless. However, I am a big Second World War buff. So, here I go with "Girls & Panzer". An adorable original production from Actas, who are best known for, well, "Girls & Panzer". I have to admit I was skeptical going into this series as it involves the usual bunch of high school girls who look like they're 8 years old forming up a band of misfits into a club where they ...
May 16, 2019
Another day, another review of an Anime that has been reviewed to death. What can I say about "Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2" that hasn't been said already? It's been lauded as an all-time great. It's been criticized as an inferior sequel to it's preceding season. It's even been trashed as an overrated mech mash. But, do you want to know what I think? Well, you're reading my review, so I bloody well hope so. It's another classic case of setting the bar so high at the intermission that it becomes impossible to conclude satisfactorily. They flew too close to the sun. And the ...
Mar 14, 2019
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so the saying goes. It certainly holds true with "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn", the next installment of the main timeline of the Gundam franchise, taking place a couple years after the events of "Char's Counterattack", this OVA attempts to bring new life into a tried and tested, yet repetitive, franchise. In that, it succeeds in some areas while falling into the traps of the past.

U.C. 0096, things have settled down for the most part in space after the defeat of Char's Neo Zeon. But, naturally there are still forces waiting for the opportunity to ...
Feb 13, 2019
Mixed Feelings
One of the most difficult things involving Anime is what to show someone who hasn't seen one before. Many suggestions come to mind, but most of those are probably dozens upon dozens of episodes long and most people don't have that kind of time and the shows themselves are usually genre specific. So, what can you show someone that more or less covers all the bases of Anime but is short enough to watch in one sitting? I submit "Fight!! Iczer-1"

Based off the manga "Golden Warrior Iczer-One" and brought to us by the studio AIC, known perhaps best for "Tenchi Muyou", this 3 act OVA ...
Feb 5, 2019
Youjuu Toshi (Anime) add
The refined product of art and storytelling that Anime has become today makes one often forget it's humble beginnings. Wasn't too long ago that Anime was known for highly sexualized ultra-violent pieces. It was a nice break from the typical Disney stuff and the campy TV shows of the time. This wasn't your Dad's Anime either like "Speed Racer", this was hardcore stuff for those with an appetite for edgy. In that sense, Studio Madhouse's "Wicked City" can be seen as something of a cult classic, something that the inspired others to create. Todd McFarlane credits it with helping inspire him to create "Spawn". With ...
Feb 1, 2019
I believe it is universally accepted that the key to great comedy is men in drag. "Tootsie", "Some Like It Hot", and many other examples have all proven (though not without exception) that putting a man in women's clothing is almost certain to obtain a ripping good laugh. But in the modern era, we can take things a bit further. What if we had men forced to become women and hide that fact while performing? Well, that's what we got in the definitely NSFW "Back Street Girls: Gokudolls" made by J.C. Staff and brought to you by the fine folks at Netflix.

The simple version of ...