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Apr 15, 2013
My heart really goes out to classic anime featuring ghosts and demons, it really does. Ushio to tora when i first saw it kinda looked kinda dumb to me based on Toras design but when i actually took the time to watch the first episode i was surprised how much i enjoyed the series. This anime is mostly a goof spirit fighting anime that was pretty common at the time when it was made but it felt more original as it did not go for really overdone tropes.
The story is pretty straightforward it doesn't get very deep or complicated, its very episodic and is mostly
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about your enjoyment instead of anything deep. That being said i found pretty much every episode enjoyable and had a good time with the series as a whole. I like the character interactions and the different situations they got put in where they would have to develope more of a love hate partnership. I do wonder if it woulda held up past 10 episodes though or if i would have grown bored eventually.
As far as characters the only two worth mentioning are ushio and tora obviously. Ushio a fun character cause is really quite strict and simple, he doesn't trust tora but he has to rely on him to protect everyone in town from demons and vengeful spirits. On the other side of that tora is a petty and rotten beast who often remarks about how he wants to kill or devour people. The characters really mix like oil and water for the most part but as the show progresses they start to work together in more of a dysfunctional partnership instead of two people at each others throats.
As far as Art goes the show had some pretty good monster designs and had a lot more detail than i see in most modern anime. Aside from the highschool kids everything looked pretty unique. The backgrounds and scenery were also detailed and really conveyed the atmosphere of certain scenes. The Audio was not incredible but it was good for the most part and the voice acting was both comical and serious at times which is a good. I find it particularly rare that a voice actor has the ability or versatility to convey comedy and seriousness and make it feel convincing enough.
I enjoyed this short series a lot and i think most people would get some enjoyment of it especially if they liked old spirit hunter animes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 15, 2013
This was a pretty Bad Ova Overall. its looks and sounds fine on paper it even sounds interesting. Unfortunately translating this to a Ova was not a good thing. Reading the Synopsis you can clearly see where the draw for most people would be in that its based on many video game references but they are pretty poor and not well referenced. This Ova had some interesting ideas but they failed to make it into anything noteworthy and the product suffers even more because of it.
The Greatest Flaw of this anime is the characters cause you just cant grow to like them at all. Theres
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is nearly no character development in this Ova so you don't grow attached to anybody or particularly care when somebody dies. It tries to emphasise emotion in a few very well made scenarios but because you have no prior connection to any of the characters it falls on a flat note. Another major problems is all the characters seem very hollow and cliche, nobody feels like a original character except maybe tegilof but he is off putting for other reasons.The third offense to this already mundane and sad roster of characters is the fan service, which in most every other scenario i am ok with but the way they do it is so off putting and out of place that i can't help but want it to go away. I really could go on and on about how i do not care for this underdeveloped band of cliches but i don't see the point of beating that dead horse.
The sound and visual quality of this anime is actually rather on par with anything else of average quality. Though the problem with being average is that it doesn't stand out in anyway, it really lacks its own character. That being said there are parts of animation and character design i did and did not like. I did like how some if only a handful of characters had a symbol as to what game they represent in the form of a necklace or earring in some cases, i wish they had done more of that though. I found it almost impossible to figure out who half the people in the show were supposed to represent in the game universe as they looked pretty much like random characters from any anime, some were also really odd references that i have to admit i had never heard of though. Another thing that i found lacking is all the settings seemed really bland and simple. The three major settings i can clearly remember were forest,training hall and dungeon and they all look exactly as what you'd expect when somebody says those titles. The artists played it really safe and didn't put all that much effort into making a really interesting visual experience.
The Story's main problem is despite it possibly being tolerable it is done poorly. It starts without a prologue at a scene where you have to question why it starts that way. It stems from the problem you don't care about there characters so all the meaning in this scene is empty and pointless, they should have used a prologue to that scene. The biggest problem facing this short series is the fact that it is a short series, three 20 minute episodes don't take you very far. I actually would have liked to see the characters go off into the different kingdoms and face off against Marcus(Mario). The pacing just could not be done right for this series so they tried to emphasis emotional scenes hence why they start and end with one. It just did not work out though with the lack of character development.
Being a really big classic game fan and a even bigger fan of anime i kinda hoped this fusion would turn out at least alright. My hopes were dashed though and i ended up having a really boring and uneventful time. I did not really enjoy it and some people may but it feels more like a time waster, just something to watch when you got nothing else too. So ultimately this gets a 3 and i feel i might be a little generous with that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 24, 2013
Berserk is one of my all time favorite series in anime or manga but i so far am generally displeased with the movies. The characters and Story are the same but its the way its all presented to me that really brings down the quality of the series. So though i may praise characters and story it lacks in other ways.
The art is one of the biggest sufferings for the movie,instead of traditional anime they use a incredible amounts of CGI and 3d models. Other than looking like a poorly rendered video game with clunky models and primitive move cycles the show doesn't feel like
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berserk at all. They took away all the grit and grime of the original, everything's clean and polished with flat smooth images and CG. They kept the blood but that doesn't keep the show true to itself enough, there was a whole level of earthy natural colors and textures that went along with berserk that made it DARK. The worst part is this animation style looks pretty bad with any series but on berserk it feels so unnatural and gross. The one good thing about the art is the backgrounds that don't fit the characters in anyway, the background quality is extremely high but the characters are just CG body's with animated heads, it clashes horribly.
The story in the movies is so compressed and it just speeds along important events as if they had nearly no impact on the story. You kinda get lost with whats happening just cause it feels too fast paced to have happened in the span of a minute. Though with any movie a series has to be really streamlined and quick this just is not a series to be shortened. Part of the charm of berserk is the steady pace and the building of characters and plot.
The characters of berserk have always been great to a series fan but anyone who has not been part of the series so far will probably find the characters very shallow in this interpretation. The movie moves to fast to really showcase a characters personality too well and it down right makes some look irrational and paranoid. Movies should really make you understand your characters a great deal but this one just kinda leaves them out in this odd dead zone of personality.
The one good thing about the show is the sound, all the effects work correctly and the voices are perfect. Its too bad the rest of the movie makes that amount to nothing in the big picture. Even the score and music is perfectly suited for the situations happening but it still does not redeem this.
I used to enjoy Berserk A LOT but this is a boring and unexciting mess of style blending. They should have kept this animated traditionally with all the effort of keeping the show feeling dark and dirty without the clean pressed smoothness that comes with computer generated characters. The presentation of this movie is awful, i know it was trying to be different but they just shouldn't have bothered. Berserk is great in the traditional medium and would have looked even greater if they had kept everything up to par with the backgrounds and made it feel more natural looking. Watching the clumsy CG models just doesn't give the excitement you want in a battlefield it distracts you from whats happening cause you sit there and question why they made them move like robots with wobbly joints.
Overall i consider the Berserk Movie Set a flop, it feels bad to watch it. It makes me as a fan just regret watching it. It lacks all the charm the actual series had or even the manga. It just feels clean and polished like they had never looked at the manga before. I cant say this movie wouldnt entertain people but as a fan i just feel let down. I cant say i look forward to the next movie but i hope after another decade they revisit the idea of a better movie.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 23, 2013
It's been some time since i watched school days but i can remember it pretty clearly. I remember it being two things Boring and Surprising. That sounds impossible but they do it, you watch about 20 minutes of the show and then out of nowhere a surprise you had not seen coming the entire episode happens.
As far as story goes this show is a really sleazy slice of life. At first you think its gonna be a really sweet kinda romance anime but after the first episode your left with a slightly unsettling scene. This becomes the basic framework of the show, as it
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progressively gets worse till you hate the main character. Though the last 5 minutes of the show is a shock the like 20 minutes before it, is boring. It is very slice of life with the characters having a lot of emotional issues with one another. I found this incredibly boring since it felt like the characters were stupid for the sake of being stupid.
I already mentioned the characters a bit so this wont be too long. The characters are dumb to the point of angering the viewer. They do things you think common sense would stop in a second of thinking. The rest of the show is basically them crying for making bad decisions over and over the sleazy main character to emphasize what a victim everyone else is. No character is really all that likable in this series but you just cant help but watch them mess up there lives more. The main character really pushes the envelope of hated characters though as i think everyone can relate people like him in real life make anybody really mad. You don't normally see such a realistic villain in any kind of show, they always exaggerate them to the point it seems unreal but makoto feels like there is probably people like him. He does suffer from the anime cliche of being as boring as a dish rag though and not many slice of life males can escape that.
The art and sound of this anime are industry standards, nothing dazzles or brings any worthwhile mention to me. Some scenes can be really good artistically but not for the quality of the image or the sound but because they have a artistic meaning or value. That's really all there is to say about sound and art on this shows behalf.
I did not particularly enjoy School Days, i liken it to a car wreck. You see it happen and you cant look away. You see something horrible and your eyes become fixed on it. Though this is much less tragic than a car accident you just wanna see more of these peoples misery and lack of common sense. Till you reach the ultimate conclusion of this show that leaves you in awe as you could not have seen it coming.
Overall the show is very bland and boring but it keeps people interested with tidbits of surprising turn in plot. I can only say the people who made this anime knew how to keep your attention on progression and how to neglect the other 20 minutes of uninteresting melodramatics. Looking back though and really glaring at it i cant say it was a particularly good show but it mesmerized me years ago when my brain was softer and squishier i suppose.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Feb 16, 2013
Ranma is probably the anime that got me completely hooked on all anime. It was not the first i had ever seen but it was in the first 10 at least. When i saw the very first episode of this show i immediately sat down and watched the entire series from beginning to end over the span of a month. This is truly my all time favorite anime and this is my review of it.
The story of Ranma is not a very deep or complex one, it doesn't even have a conclusion. Ranma is majorly episodic and has very few two part episodes. Ranma
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has constant conflicts in his life between rivals,love interests and his own personal goal of removing his curse.This premise sets of the show for hours upon hours of laughter and excitement with lots of surprising moments. The show is simple and sweet which is all a romance comedy action anime like Ranma should be. Being set in the 80s the show tends to have lots of wacky and silly humor poring out of it which can be unappreciated by some people. I love anime of this generation cause of its boldness and just ability to be unpredictable cause it was the start of the industry's explosive growth.
As far as characters go Ranma is riddled with bizarre characters that never cease to amaze me. The supporting cast is full of original and funny characters that almost make it feel like some kinda odd themed game show at times. The show used to catch me off guard by throwing in standard character types but with a wacky twist or just by making them goofier than they were ever meant to be. One of the best things about Ranma is all the characters are really original and don't feel like rip offs from another show. They also did not hold back on the soft color pallet full of primary colors. It can be really hard to talk about Ranma characters since they are very 1 dimensional but they are all fairly memorable and even the show acknowledges this at times with some of the gags. The only characters that are every really expanded upon deeply or at any length are Ranma and Akane and it usually is about there subtle and tsundere emotional connection.Even if it lacks a lot of character development i grew to love all the characters a lot.
There is at least a dozen frequent minor characters that are all noteworthy and important to the series but my personal favorite has always been Shampoo. Shampoo is the Chinese amazon with the unrelenting love for the main character that drives her to try wacky and mystical love schemes a like. She was also my favorite character visually cause it always just felt like she was special, when you saw the way she was drawn in the first season it was obvious she was not just my favorite. Compared to most other character she stands out quite a bit with her blue hair and Chinese clothing.
When i watch anime from the 80s time period i'm always given a warm fuzzy feeling from the way everything looks but Ranma used to give me this really vibrant feel of joy when i watched it. I was always enchanted by the backgrounds even if some were recycled too often, it always just seem to set me in the right mood for the show and i could forgive it easily. I was also very glad to see the usage of color was so utilized as compared to other shows of the time. A lot of shows got away with just changing characters hairstyles and wearing school uniforms but in Ranma most characters get quite a few different uniforms that really show off the colors of the rainbow. Another great thing i liked about the show is that only a few characters had strange hair colors, with the exception of Ranma and Shampoo everyone has natural hair colors like black or brown. I like that the show used the color of there surroundings to emphasize the characters more than eye catching neon hair colors.
Audio wise Ranma has a lot of standard sound effects from that period of anime but its soundtrack was pretty catchy. I remember season ones soundtrack being so charming and cute that i listened to it more than a few dozen times. As for voice acting, i enjoyed it pretty thoroughly. I have seen both Ranma in English and Japanese and i can say that both are pretty fair to amazing in voice talent. I did however resent the change in voice for Ranma in the English version as it was somewhat drastic. All in all the audio is very good though i feel it was strongest in season one.
Overall i enjoy Ranma more than anything i have ever seen before which is saying a lot about it. I love to laugh, i love bright and warm shows and I like too see things that i haven't before. Ranma offered me a lot of new things and if you have seen tons of anime and then watch it you may not see the originality as much as i do but it is there. I still wish a studio would remake or continue from where the first one left off even if they gotta recast the voice actors and add actual plot. I cant help but gush about how happy it makes me to watch this show. Season one was definitely the best season overall before they did the changes for big time production but the rest of it is great too.
Ranma 1/2 is Outstanding to me and i think people can still get lots of entertainment and enjoyment from this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 13, 2013
This season seemed to lack a lot of luster for me till i saw the picture for this anime that stirred my curiosity. After watching the first half of this anime i already know where it intends to go and i can see the increase and quality every episode.
The Characters of this anime are all uniquely set in there role and Given names to reflect that. (Eg. Knight,Hero,Mage) I enjoy this method of naming cause it makes everyone really easy to remember and there role apparent from the start. It does away with a lot of formality by establishing the characters early. Then the show
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continues to pepper in details and history's of the characters without having to take up large gaps of time in flash backs. All the characters seem to fit and act correctly in the settings and keep me personally very entertained.
The two Main characters are both transparent in there intentions and honest in expression. They convey feelings and thoughts to the viewer well with imagery and just body language alone. The Demon King/Crimson Scholar is by far the most showcased and deep character of the series with many ideologies and a innocent quality that does not leave you frustrated with the character. She maintains a well balanced innocence and maturity that keeps her from getting too preachy or too cold which makes you feel invested in her character more and more. The hero himself is not as much yet and you only are set up for more thing as the series progresses.
Visually the anime is fantastic with nice rural and cityscapes. I also like how the demon realm is kept realistic and not fantastical which makes the settings more engrossing. Every character is well made and clearly a individual with nobody looking recycled or reused for lack of inspiration. Everything looks vibrant and really alive in the color tones and the general lighting of scenes. I wish more anime did what this one did when trying to portray a world instead of recycled walk cycle backgrounds.
Sound quality is fine for this anime, the one thing id like to praise is the voice acting. There is not a single intolerable voice in this anime. Everyone sounds good and not abrasive or out of place. Even the little girl character who's supposed to be cute and adorable doesn't sound too over the top.
The story of this anime is where it shines brightest, after this first episode you realize this anime does not waste your time with unnecessary back story or plot it cuts out all the generic fat and gets down to business. It gives a clear and precise objective and establishes the main characters well and then it peppers in the details about them organically episode to episode so you actually get to know the character instead of entire episodes dedicated to back story. This also creates interest in many minor and major characters cause your shown bits and pieces of them and you start eagerly wanting more.
The story is actually pretty intelligent it uses fantasy elements in a almost realistic world only to enhance the story. It uses these enhancements well too considering how much of the show is based on the politics,economics and public perception on war. Though it uses really mature plot points like that it isn't above normal understanding, the show keeps it easily understandable for anyone. The show often surprises me with just how unexpected and original it can be with the progression and i am eager to see more of this series every week.
I enjoy this anime thoroughly and while it may not be a masterpiece it surely is worth a watch if you want to see something new and intelligent instead of rehashed and recycled plots. It is a pity that it will only be 12 episodes long and i hope they develop a second season with just a strong a value as the first.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 9, 2012
Edens Bowy was one of those anime i glanced at and thought it would be rather dry and sad in comparison to other anime of its time, i was wrong. I found great enjoyment when watching this anime, it seemed a lot more mature than it looked and used a lot of themes that a mature audience may appreciate more.
Visually Edens Bowy is great in most aspects, i think they made the female lead very badly with her gigantic elf ears and pulled back hair. It makes her look more like a alien than anything else. I consider this a major problem since its hard
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to for me to see past her design even her colors kinda throw me off cause it goes /brown/off pink/puke green as you scan down her body. She reminds me of a really distance cousin of one of the girls from Oh My Goddess with her forehead symbols and such.The main lead resembles quite a few male leads from the early 90s to 80s with his red hair, blue clothes and largely over sized sword.
I felt some of the best art was in the villains and landscapes/city's. I think the Gods themselves set themselves a huge distance away from anything else in the show visually and i liked that cause it gave them a very strong presence and serious tension when they appear. I also liked the backgrounds and general artistry of the the upper city, it reminds me a lot of a lot of other great anime of that time who used themes like past advanced civilizations and future technology existing in a small segment of the world.
The characters of Edens Bowy feel very right for the plot in most instances, i feel like the main characters could have been a little older to make the show look a little more serious though. I also acknowledge the theme of using young characters is because they want to create a greater feeling of helplessness and fighting against fate and such. Having children face God,Creation and Existence itself is a heavy theme and tossed in with romance you can see them struggle harder and harder for a more triumphant outcome.
Ultimately i think Edens Bowy is something i have truly and honestly enjoyed in its entirety. With a few improvements it could have been a highly acclaimed classic. I feel like if you have a interest in classic anime you should really give this a watch since it is a very forgotten yet enjoyable title. I can also see where other people would be critical of this anime but i think if you give it a honest chance you will walk away enjoying it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 9, 2012
Fire tripper is a interesting little OVA and while watching it i couldn't help but think it was the first draft of Inu Yasha or it borrowed heavily from it for inspiration. Of course it is made by Rumiko Takashi the maker of Inu Yasha so it is not a far stretch to believe she borrowed elements as she has done in the past and currently does.
The story is all within this one episode and it feels very fast paced. In the amount of time used it actually creates a fairly interesting plot with a good ending with a rather enjoyable surprise. I think they
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did good with the story over all and maybe had the ova been 30 minutes longer or two episodes they may have been able to resolve any pacing issues.It feels like a short story in that you understand everything cause its laid out openly but its short,sweet and to the point.
The characters are hard to identify with or grow attached to in such a short amount of time but that does not mean they are bad characters. Revolving around only the two main characters you do get a decent understanding of there feelings even if you don't have enough time and content to attach yourself to them personally. The characters do whats intend effectively and you can appreciate the simplicity of it all.
The Art and Audio are very early 80s and make me personally feel nostalgic of a lot of Rumic Works. I have no complaints about either department as they both look and sound perfectly fine for the time it was made and the budget and length of the project itself. I actually like the male leads character design and his color pallet. The main leads both resemble characters from Inu Yasha a great deal.
Overall i really enjoyed this Ova in particular over the other Rumic Ovas, it was just enjoyable. I felt interested the whole time and i wanted to see the conclusion as it built. Being a big fan of older anime i recommend this to anyone who likes classic. Modern anime viewers may not enjoy it as much cause of its age.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 6, 2012
I like medabots a lot, it was a fun concept. Robots with interchangeable parts you win off people. I had so many questions about this show when i was younger, like why anyone would let there kids gamble with expensive robot parts they payed for or they'd let kids play with robots that have live ammunition. As a adult all i could think about is how much gang warfare musta advanced.
Anyway onto the review, medabots was a show designed to move merchandise but it kept a actual plot which was nice and it wasn't silly like shoot beads or spinning tops that suddenly got faster.
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It was like robots shooting missiles and bullets while kids gamble. This gave it more of a pokemon quality where battles were fun to watch and it even shocked you with letting the hero lose now and again! It really is like pokemon tho with its silly gag gang enemy who gets sent off into the sunset nearly every episode and normally the defeat of a new friend/rival. It eventually grows a real plot and you get to watch them take down a whole organization and a mad scientist so unlike pokemon you get a pay off for watching.
The art and sound are always pretty fun and enjoyable even if nothing is spectacular. Its a pretty standard style anime that's really just cool cause of all the robot fighting! I do like that robots all look different and have good color schemes.
Characters, well you got a very standard set of characters. Unlikely hero, his sorta girl friend, his unjustifiably angry rival with a inferiority complex. A fun addition is a gang of kids who like to bully the main character and help him once and awhile. Then you got the adult gang who always get defeated by a group of 10 year olds for some reason. I don't particularly have a favorite character or even a noteworthy comment about any of them, they are just a standard set of characters.
I really enjoy watching this show cause its just fun to watch,Robots battling isn't that what its all about? so if you like shows like pokemon but aren't pokemon and eventually have a logical and satisfying conclusion, Watch medabots.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 5, 2012
Colorful was a very interesting movie. The plot was highly original but it was transparent to see where it was gonna end up. This doesn't take away from the over all experience that is this movie tho.
The art for colorful is a pretty detailed and kinda bland looking but that's cause its supposed to be realistic. It is also that way so we can kinda immerse ourselves in the character more emotionally. I dont feel like the art was outstanding or a masterpiece but its realism is perfect for the atmosphere and subject matter.
The sounds of this movie are alright, i don't really have much
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of a opinion of it. i think it did really well of accenting the atmosphere so much i hardly noticed it, in and of itself. Which is not a bad thing, it means it became part of a greater experience which is a lot better than had i just sat there admiring the music over the rest of the scene. With a movie like this your trying to create a very emotional experience that needs a certain amount of immersion that the music needs to help convey.
The characters were very deep in emotion. The characters kinda come off as boring people but that's the way there meant to be. They all give off this kinda hopeless and dark feeling. I like how every character has there own relationship built with the main character that gets explored and developed upon threw the whole movie and nobody really feels like there just there for the sake of being there.
I enjoy this movie cause it makes me feel, it makes me think and it just gives me a atmosphere i can become part of. Everything in this movie just creates such relatable and immersible emotional scenes, i just couldn't appreciate the that enough. I do wish there had been more of a mystery to how it would end but i can say i'm satisfied with this movie and glad i sat down to watch it. I think if you ever have feelings of powerlessness or just a general depression you can relate to this movie on a personal level that will give you a really good feeling in the end.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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