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Plot: The little story between Shuu Tsukiyama and Chie Hori turned out to be more captivating than I could have imagined! I confess I loved the development of their relationship! At the same time, the events that took place at the hospital proved so appalling to me that I experienced a drastic disruption in my enjoyment of the anime. Is not that I don't understand the purpose and role of those events, but it was just too much for me 😅! They were not only too graphic, but even the idea itself was horrifying 😖.

Characters: I was definitely impressed by Chie Hori! She really surprised ... me until the very end. The window moment was epic! It was actually what helped me understand her personality which brought me to a blocking contradiction as I experienced both shock and admiration toward her haha! Additionally, her interactions with Tsukiyama were so intriguing!! At the opposite side were the nurse and her old patient. In my perception, both went from disturbing to disgusting, although I must confess that at one point I actually felt agonizing pity for the old man.

Art: Nothing special in particular, except for the sinister scenes from the hospital. I guess the vivid remembrance I was left with should qualify them for a great art since they definitely had the power to shaken me emotionally.

Sound: I honestly don't remember anything about the sound hahaha. It probably did a fair job since I have no memory of being bothered by it, but this only means it was average in my opinion.

Story: It felt nice to be given some background for new characters—like Kishou Arima who was introduced only at the end of the Tokyo Ghoul Root A series—through an OVA. You don't get the characters' full story though, and the plot itself remains mostly a plain police-detective story. To end in a positive tone though, I would say that it had some well crafted elements of surprise with respect to the development of certain events.

Characters: None of the characters impressed me! Both Taishi Fura and Arima seemed really promising, but I was not given enough background for either of them, nor has the plot ... helped in this direction. In consequence, I lost interest. Some aspects about their pasts were hinted at, but in the end no much connection could be made with their present lives. Arima's motives remained a complete mystery too. Uruka Minami was also disappointing. Her motivation seemed exaggerated. However, she presented an interesting perspective about humans—a good subject for contemplation, in my opinion.

Art: I'd say both graphics and animation have a similar quality to the series'. Fura's friends being attacked at the beginning of the OVA, in particular, left a powerful impression on me! It was engaging!

Sound: I found the soundtrack decent. When I say decent, I mean that it didn't impress me in particular, but it did a good job creating the proper atmosphere and accentuating the impact of certain scenes.

Story: Hearing about Tokyo Ghoul prior to actually watching it, I imagined a trivial conflict among humans and some sort of monsters. I was surprised to discover that it was much more than that! It's true, there is a conflict between humans and "ghouls"—creatures who eat human flesh. We could even draw a parallel between ghouls and vampires if we didn't have a fundamental difference: as far as we know vampires feed on blood, not necessarily human blood though. Ghouls, on the other hand, cannot survive without human flesh. And that's where Tokyo Ghoul starts being interesting: a vampire can refrain from drinking human blood, ... if they want to, because they can replace it with the blood of other living creatures; a ghoul cannot replace the human flesh! Consequently, can we still label ghouls as vile creatures, when eating humans is their only way to survive? Don't ghouls have the same right to live as human beings do? This would be a first debate that may turn out quite challenging, especially since the author presented the two races in such a manner that you cannot easily say that ghouls are completely wicked, nor that humans are as innocent and good-natured as one may think. In fact, the drama is so well built that it makes it impossible to take a final decision about who is right and who is wrong, if you are fairly honest with yourself. The second aspect that particularly impressed me was how the inner conflict was illustrated, especially in the main character's case. I'll be honest: I don't think I've seen a better representation of it in any other anime (even movie) from up until now. The only reason I haven't given the story a 10/10 is some imbalance in its evolution. More than half of the series, things progress very slowly, becoming very accelerated toward the final. As a result, some aspects remain unclear, with a sore feeling of being left hanging.

Characters: I loved the main character Ken Kaneki, especially the way he confronted himself and the changes in his life! However, I was a bit disappointed in his sudden transformation at the series' end. What bothered me was not that I considered the abruptness exaggerated or impossible, but in this particular case, it caused me a feeling of confusion about the character. Another interesting character—whose development was flawless according to my personal standards—was Kaneki's friend Hideyoshi Nagachika. It's true that Hide is not a central character, but this makes me appreciate the author's talent even more; I don't find it easy to make an auxiliary character interesting. Unfortunately, I must confess the rest of the characters didn't impress me that much; on the contrary, I felt a little bit bothered by the ridiculously exaggerated traits of some of the characters: Rize Kamishiro, "The Gourmet", Jason, Suzuya Juuzo, etc.

Graphics/Animation: Generally, I was satisfied with both animation and graphics. Some elements that I particularly liked were: Kaneki's mask which illustrated so well the divergence from his inner self; the way how the reactions of two very different characters, also making part of opposite factions, were presented in parallel. Not only that the scenes were so smoothly intertwined that it made you think the two characters were in the same stage setting, but this combination was so expressive in showing that both factions were undeniably right!

Soundtrack: I've heard that the soundtrack of this anime was highly appreciated by a lot of people. It is for this reason that I find it rather difficult to confess I didn't like it one bit! The music didn't only induce a depressive mood, but on some occasions it sounded like it had a broken rhythm, which irritated me. I have the habit of faithfully watching the openings and endings; this time was painful 😂! I would have rated it worse than 6/10, but I had to admit that the soundtrack illustrated so well the drama and tension of the movie, making me feel so vividly the atmosphere of the story! It's certainly not bad music; my dislike is only due to personal tastes.

The series impressed me in a way I wouldn't have imagined, at the same time giving me the chance to familiarize with Osamu Tezuka's work, to whom I feel deeply grateful, for the essential contribution he has made to the development of manga and anime as we know them today.

Story:
Tales of the old Japan alternate with tales of a far future, all of them following human destiny, whether they focus on the lives of particular individuals, the stories of specific communities, or humankind as a whole. I find brilliant this technique of alternating the past with future, because it illustrates both the wholeness ... of human history and its recurrence. Also, the topics approached in each story are an occasion to reflect about the fact that we, humans, are driven by illusions that we cannot escape from, generation after generation, risking to overlook what's really important and thus, missing the opportunity to bring a salutary change in us. What I find a bit lacking at the anime is the connection between the stories. The Hi no Tori manga, on which this series is based, contains 12 stories which are far better connected. Presenting only 5 of the stories in the anime, while also eliminating some of the details, the unity weakens. Although the characters, especially the Phoenix Bird, have a big contribution to building a bridge between the stories, they still feel rather independent than parts of a whole.

Characters:
The characters are very representative. Not only that they reflect the human nature so accurately, as being full of flaws, capricious and impassioned, or, on the contrary, prone to self sacrifice and mercy; but we will often notice that some characters from the future's stories have a high resemblance or a similar position with characters from the past tales, thus enabling us to better grasp the previously mentioned common element. The Phoenix Bird has the greatest contribution to this aspect, because in addition to appearing in all the stories, it fulfills two important roles to help understanding the anime's overall message:
1) Immortal creature, it highlights the passing of time;
2) Achieving a role of both witness and guide, through its interactions with other characters, it helps emphasize the ardent topics presented in the anime.
Yet, if I should mention a shortfall of the characters, I would say they are not so engaging emotionally. Despite showing well defined personalities and expressing intense feelings, the characters are less appealing than the themes and ideas presented.

Graphics/Animation:
I particularly liked the diversity of the characters' design as you could easily tell, from only the way they were drawn, what kind of personalities they had. The beauty and charm of some of the heroines became so obvious through the shape, seize and glowing of their eyes. I couldn't take my eyes off them! The animation is also good, describing so well the moments of tension, the action or the emotion. I particularly liked the scene where the quiet night sea gradually became lit up by the torches of the fleet that was approaching; I was also impressed with the illustration of a swirling vortex connecting two different worlds.

Soundtrack:
The traditional Chinese music elements were very suitable for the general context and tone. Also the series' music highlighted pretty well the drama and pain presented in some of the scenes, thus amplifying their emotional impact.

I doubt that I would have discovered this cute series myself, so I'm grateful to the friend that told me about it. At first I didn't believe it would engage me, but what do you know?! Sometimes animated kids stories can be just as good for grown-ups too :)))

Although it's that kind of series where each episode has its own story, there's also unity throughout the anime and a common idea: passing from an episode to another, a new character is introduced every time, until we get to know all of them. Also, the first and last episode have an introduction and a conclusion. The ... incredibly short episodes of only 3 minutes each as well as the presence of a storyteller speaking rarely and slowly make it easy to guess this anime is addressed to younger kids. Most probably from 6 or even 4 years old some people could get bored as the plots are pretty plain. Still, it can be really fun for some of the teens and even grown-ups, perhaps especially due to its modest plots which can be relaxing, but also because of its cheerful tone. Moreover the absurd or hilarious events are simply unplugging you from your ordinary mindset, not to say that some of the jokes are unexpectedly good!

Honestly, I love both bananas and cats, but not even for a second have I ever thought about combining them :)). A most uncommon species of cats in banana skins who keep their existence secret from the people, the characters are captivating in terms of both cuteness and very well defined unique traits. Frankly, since the beginning of this series I couldn't help associating the image of these adorable kittens popping up from a banana suit with a Spanish fairy tail where a prince was peeling off oranges from where real girls emerged. But even more fascinating is that the banana kittens can also hide back in their banana suit as if it were a zipper bag :)). Although they are certainly an unusual breed, we should not be fooled; the banana cats act very much like ordinary cats! What I particularly loved about them was how they were always up to something exactly like young cats jumping on the curtain gallery or even in the middle of the table plates; but just as much I adored their irresistible innocence.

Slow paced motions, simple forms, pale colors and thick lines, all confirm this series is suitable for small ages, but it can be incredibly soothing for the grown-up minds tormented by the everyday stress.

The soundtrack does a decent job, I can't say it got my attention in a particular way; there would be an exception, though: the ending. I loved that song! It felt like summer holidays, completely changing my mood!

As I have seen the Afro Samurai series first, I can easily see that Afro Samurai the Movie is not only an adaptation of the series, it is in fact pretty much the same thing. If you take away the openings and endings you no longer have any difference between them 😊.

But all in all, I see some good points in watching the movie instead of the series. To begin with, for someone who does not like interruption, you can see the whole story without having to change from one episode to another. It also helps you dive better in the atmosphere, building ... stronger impressions.

Afro Samurai’s resolve to avenge his father’s death is continually challenged in his heart while pondering over what happened in his life, good and bad. And this, combined with the tragedy of the characters affected by his decisions, gave me a long-lasting feeling of emotional languor and sadness, which I haven’t experienced during the series. However, it was a meaningful sensation as I felt it conveyed better the message of the story.

I saw Afro Samurai: Resurrection twice. After seeing it for the first time, it convinced me to watch the Afro Samurai series and the movie with the same name. Then, I re-watched it for a complete view of the story. I found its graphics impressive and better than the series’ or the first movie’s. But I thought the sequel’s story was not as appealing as the original one.

Afro Samurai embarks on a new mission. This time he has to recover his father’s stolen head and to punish those who have profaned his grave. However, stealing the head of Afro Samurai’s father is an act of ... vengeance. The main idea seems to highlight the circularity of vengeance: Afro has avenged his father’s death, but in the course, he harmed other people. Now these people are seeking revenge, and so on. But what bothers me is that I find the plot somehow overplayed. The avengers could have just attacked Afro Samurai to kill him. Instead, they challenge him. It seemed to me like trying a remake of the series.

Some of the characters are the same, which is explainable. But where we have new characters, part of them mirrors characters from the series, who no longer appear in this movie. For instance, Shichigoro reminds me somehow of the Sword Master, Afro’s childhood mentor. And little Sio is a perfect twin of little Otsuru. Surprisingly, I find that Shichigoro’s point of view is better defined and his presence more appealing than the Sword Master’s. But when it comes to the main antagonist, I think that Sio’s twisted mind and hatred are annoyingly overemphasized and her character is somewhat artificial. Her past story with Afro and Jinno, doesn’t fit in naturally if you compare it to Afro’s past presented in the series. I also couldn’t help but notice that Ninja Ninja, who was killed in the series, re-appears as if nothing ever happened. But I will not insist on this point because I always felt that Ninja Ninja was not quite a regular human being.

The animation and graphics got my attention because, while peculiar, they illustrate so well the message conveyed in the story. The background colors, mostly dark and grey, but also violet or black and red, evoke the end of the world or even hell, while the ugliness of the characters emphasize the decadence of the people. The hair of Afro and Ninja, Ninja; the contrasts between a colorful, bright nature and the grayish, dark people; and the blood with different textures, varying from spray to thick and slimy, all these elements create a strong impression. But what I loved most were those black figures fighting on a white background gradually buried in abundant red stains. They almost seemed like Chinese symbols soaked in red paint – an image both violent and artistic.

The soundtrack is very well tuned with the story and the characters: the rhythmed music suits perfectly the appearances of Afro or Ninja Ninja, and also the fighting scenes. And the sad melodies, inserted now and then, emphasize the tragedy of the characters.

Perhaps I felt more inspired by the Afro Samurai series than by its sequel, in terms of plot. However, Afro Samurai: Resurrection, in addition to the amazing animation and graphics has also made me dream about a new possibility – forgiveness instead of vengeance.

I started with [i]Afro Samurai: Resurrection[/i], at the cinema. I think that was the first time when I saw a sequel before the original movie. It was also the only time when it was my initiative to do such a thing. I was impressed, not with the story and characters as I usually do, but with the graphics and animation! Well, that was a first 😊. While leaving the cinema, I remembered there was a series, [i]Afro Samurai[/i], that I have kept avoiding because it was not my style. Now, all of a sudden it became a must see!

Although, at first sight you would find ... the plot quite shallow (a man seeking revenge), I think that there is more to this anime than just an endless slaughter. It has a more profound side, a meditation on the yearn for power and the desire for vengeance. Together with the amazingly violent battles, which are so popular with the audience, you can also find this other side, where the characters, especially the main character, are deep in thought, even going into introspection. And if by comparison to the fights, the meditation moments seem rather tranquil, I’m not so sure about that. I felt they were some sort of duel-like inner conflicts, keeping me in suspense about whether the character would change his mind.

I would go even farther! Suppose that the countless attacks that Afro Samurai, the main character, confronts with, would be an allegory of the inner battles from the human heart (passions, ambitions, desires, etc.). Or, suppose that bringing together landscapes of different places of the world (American western or Japanese doujo) and elements of different times (cowboy, samurai, cyborg, etc.) could show that, no matter the place or time, people stay the same, with the same challenges, fighting the same battles, again and again.

Maybe at first glance it would appear that, while the attention is centered on Afro Samurai, the rest of the characters are only gravitating around him. It would be a mistake, though, to underestimate their significance. Let’s take the case of the cyborg, for instance; I cannot help but see how its patched body, part human, part robot, expresses so convincing a disfigurement, not only of the body, but of the soul also (torn apart between blind hatred - the destructive side, the robot - and pain, longing - the human side). And there is so much more to the bear head of the fighter Kuma than it actually seems. Let’s not forget about Ninja Ninja. Completely indifferent to this world and its story, he is, at the same time, inseparable from Afro Samurai and also his opposite in almost every respect. It makes you wonder…

I must confess that I have a soft spot for Ninja Ninja (:P) because he has such a charming invigorating presence, together with little Otsuru (one of the children Afro Samurai grew up with) being the only characters that managed to loosen me up a bit, in the context of such a decadent, gloomy world; with vicious, perverted, desperate or even savage people.

The visual impact of a world enslaved to the evil is very well built up: the characters, rather ugly but not all the same, depending on the inner state of each of them, with opposite extremes (little Otsuru is so cute that you’d say she was imported from a different anime, while Justice is so hideous that you’d say he is a devil brought directly from [i]The Exorcist[/i]) blend so well in this dry and dark environment (sometimes it reminds me of the death gods’ world from [i]Death Note[/i]) occasionally illustrated in red and black.

There is so much more to tell about the animation and graphics, but I will mention only the two aspects that impressed me most:
- Passing from a concrete, almost organic image to an abstract image with simple colors and powerful contrasts (red and black for instance) is like a switch from one dimension to another, with the two images completing one another in what should be a single idea. We have the blood, slippery, slimy, plain red in one image and glowing red in the other, floating as there would be no gravity, with candle-flame-like drops.
- The hair of Afro Samurai and Ninja Ninja seems to defy the law of gravity, and the way it waves make it look like clouds, smoke, cotton candy? 😊…it’s amazing how such a little detail made me dream far away from the story…

The rhythmed music, especially in the presence of Afro Samurai or Ninja Ninja, stressed so well the moments and also the style of the characters! Brilliant! At the same time the gloomier music, a little bit disturbing, amplified the effect of the more dramatic scenes. It gave me the chills.

At the end of the series I was rather sour and with a heavy heart, but at the same time I had that unique feeling of a qualitative experience, like when you eat a very fine dark chocolate and, despite its bitterness, you cannot help yourself to acknowledge and enjoy the sophistication of its texture and flavor, incomparable to those of the ordinary chocolate.

I rather tend to consider Infinite Burst movie not related to the series’ main story, as the characters- friends or foes- join their forces in order to protect the Burst Link world from an imminent new danger , while the purpose of the series is to get to the 10th level of Burst Link fighting the top level players (the 9th level kings). However, a big chunk of the movie covers the series recap. Well, that’s understandable, I thought to myself: while it’s difficult to develop the movie’s story without giving a background of the characters, their relations, ... and their world (especially as Infinite Burst it’s a lot about teamwork, alliances and Burst Link fights), it’s also not easy to summarize 24 episodes.

And things just can’t go smoothly, can they? With all the time given, the recap it’s more useful to those that have seen the series and that can fill up certain things cut out from the recap. For the rest it can be confusing. And because of the recap there is less available time for the movie’s story, which is why you may get the strange feeling that you have just joined a race ride and you can barely understand what’s happening around you because of the speed. Luckily the main idea of the movie is not that hard to get.

In my opinion there was a slight improvement in the characters’ relations by comparison with the series. For one thing their roles were better defined, which I find very important in a story where the main subject is something beyond the characters’ daily life. The team work is very nicely built up. The fights are intense and we also get to see in action all the kings (a thing that some of us have longed for during the series). However, I still find the couples unconvincing.

When I ended the series, it appeared to me that the black king’s team was barely shaping up. During Infinite Burst, after the recap, I had this feeling that a long time had passed (maybe years?) from the end of the series until the moment of Infinite Burst. The characters were so familiar with each other, even characters that I had no idea who they were (not in the series). It can be confusing, like having missed something, but this didn’t really mind me. I could imagine that the period of recruiting and bonding of the team was skipped and we got directly to the final result. What really bothered me was that cram of female characters. I felt this imbalance rather annoying.

Even though I was satisfied with the series animation, Infinite Burst’s animation was even better. I felt as if I was finally getting the ultimate satisfaction of a fighting game movie. The graphics were slightly improved too, I could tell. And so many Burst Linkers, some of them top level, showing so many different abilities, some of them quite astonishing (Sky Laker and Ardor Maiden were quite the surprise!)?! God that was a treat!

I can’t tell much about the soundtrack, though. As I usually do, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but I’m sure it had its contribution at trapping my mind into the spin of the story and making me feel part of an intense action movie (especially in the second part).

Overall, there’s something that I find quite interesting about the way Infinite Burst action was built: you start with one of the key characters of the movie’s story, but at low pace, then you go roughly through the series’ story where you can feel a rather higher pace which is mostly the effect of passing somewhat abruptly from one event to the other, from one character to the other (sort of a bumpy road, I’d say 😊) just to get back to the movie’s story at a fast pace and jammed with new characters. These changes of scenery, story, pace and characters in this exact order (which I described above) can really pump you up with adrenaline giving you that nice taste of what “accelerated world” experience might possibly feel like. I may be wrong, but I just can’t help seeing it that way too :D.

When I started watching this anime I had completely forgotten why I had chosen it in the first place. But reading the summary of the series, I decided that my choice had to be explained by the idea of a virtual world (I have an interest in the idea of virtual worlds ever since I was a kid).

In Accel World the virtual world has layers; it reminds me somehow of a matryoshka doll system: we have Burst Link (a fighting game) of course, which is accessible only with a special invitation and which also proves ... to be much more than just a game, but before Burst Link there is this virtual space (cyber space) where anyone can connect through a gadget (neuro linker). It’s kind of an evolved internet, only that it’s more like a virtual reality.

A competition with a mysterious price, which engages all the expectations specific to this anime genre (like Shaman King, Yu Yu Hakusho or Dragon ball) and a main character “chosen” for a mission that he and only he seems to be able to fulfill convinced me from the first episodes that this series was promising.

But the plot proved a little too vast and complex to be covered in only 24 episodes. Putting aside my own frustrations related to the episodes (quite enough) dedicated more to the daily life and drama of the characters than to the Burst Link world and putting aside the vexation I felt when the fight at the end of the series covered more episodes than necessary (especially in a short series), it appears that the purpose of the series was to give you a flavor of the Burst Link adventure rather than to actually consume it.

Showing fairly difficult personalities (sometimes they really tested my patience), the characters succeed, however, to quickly swoop you into their passions’ swirl. As for the funny moments, which are most welcome, they are certainly there. It bothered me a little, though, a certain lack of smoothness in the characters’ relations. It’s kind of difficult to point it out, but I could say that certain gestures, attitudes or reactions seemed rather unnatural or overreacted. The couples, for instance, even during some affectionate scenes, could not convince me that they really had a love story going on.

For my own tastes, beginning with the energy of the fight scenes and ending with the precision of the most subtle gestures, the animation is definitely good. The graphics, cute characters with big bright eyes, brings delight to anyone who likes this anime style (like myself 😊). Moreover, I found it quite cute how their skin glow made characters look like china dolls. Although the main character looks quite a bit different from the rest of the characters, I think it’s a brilliant way to show just how unique he is.

Normally I don’t pay attention to the soundtrack when I watch a movie and Accel World is no exception. From my point of view, as long as I can dive into the moment just as if I’d escape from reality, the soundtrack is great. Still, I have to confess that I was quite excited with the openings and endings (so energizing!), especially the openings.

I was certainly not impressed, but Accel World has its golden points: the story is interesting, the evolution of the characters and their ability to overcome themselves give you satisfaction, the fights are exciting and, last but not least, even though you wouldn’t think of, it can really surprise you.