- Last Online56 minutes ago
- GenderMale
- BirthdayMay 29, 1985
- Location65fcfe9daeb116c9024a708574d82353
- JoinedSep 22, 2008
Also Available at
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May 15, 2020
1 of 1 episodes seen
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Dragon Ball Super: Broly's existence in the Dragon Ball franchise is to make the popular anime exclusive character from the 90s Dragon Ball Z movies into a canon character for the franchise. Surprisingly, this movie does a pretty solid job of integrating him into the series canon and changing up his character backstory and personality greatly from the 90s movie. Rather than being a one-note villain who is bloodthirsty and single-mindedly obsessed with killing Goku, Broly's character is given a good deal more fleshing out throughout this movie's run to make him into a more sympathetic character.
For this movie, Broly is a victim of abuse
from his father, Paraguas, who is exploiting his son's abnormal power to attempt revenge on Vegeta's father for declaring Broly an outcast from other Saiyans. An effective way the film shows a comparison in the parent-child relationship of other Saiyan families is using the first half-hour of the film to show how Goku and Vegeta's parents shown care for their child's well-beings compared to Paraguas neglecting Broly's feelings for his own self-interest. While this does recap some of the events depicting the hostile relations between Frieza and the Saiyans explored from the Frieza saga in Dragon Ball Z, it still serves as a solid exploration in the differences that Goku and Vegeta's parents had caring for them compared to Paraguas with Broly.
With Broly's upbringing, he's also depicted to have a gentler personality with his friending of two of Frieza's henchmen and still caring for his father in spite of being naive to his father's regard for him as a tool of revenge. This makes his fight with Goku and Vegeta in the second half of the film a unique one for the Dragon Ball franchise in that Broly isn't a heartless villain who is willingly trying to destroy all around him, as his lack of experience with learning to control his powers gradually makes him into a mindless berserker and unwilling victim as he is further manipulated and driven to tap further into his abilities by both Paraguas and Frieza, in the latter's latest scheme to get Earth's Dragon Balls. Goku gradually becomes aware of this problem as his fight with Broly progresses and this dimension helps add a tragic element to the fight unlike past encounters he has with past enemy threats.
Better still, the movie keeps its focus mainly on Broly's developments and doesn't deviate from this exploration for the most part throughout the film. While there are cameos from some other notable Dragon Ball characters, Dragon Ball: Broly doesn't waste too much time to shift focus on them and the film largely maintains focus on Goku, Vegeta, Broly, and Frieza throughout its run. Probably the only major gripes I would have with the movie is its rather awkward blend of CG and 2D animation that were prior issues with Battle of Gods and Resurrection F and the film seeming to leave things open with its plot for possible future entries in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Otherwise, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is easily the best movie within the Dragon Ball franchise to date thanks to its solid addition of Broly's character to the series canon that adds some fresh possibilities to the franchise's typical storytelling with Broly's origins and the unique dilemma it gave Goku and Vegeta in this film. A definite recommendation if you've been a long-time fan of the Dragon Ball franchise.
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May 9, 2020
1 of 1 episodes seen
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
3 |
| Story |
3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
Demon City Shinjuku is a horror-action anime that focuses on the district of Shinjuku falling prey to demons, with the villainous Levih Rah having made a contract with them for ultimate power and to open up a gateway from hell to allow the demons to take over Earth. A young ninpo master named Kyouya Izayoi, whose father was slain by Levih years earlier, is given the task of stopping Levih’s plans, under motivation from the pleas of the young daughter of the world’s president, Sayaka Rama.
As far as plot and characters go with Demon City Shinjuku, they’re as paper-thin and cliched as you can get
for an anime. Whatever there is for plot exists to press the characters forward with going through more of Shinjuku as Kyouya slays more demons while going through the district to locate Levih’s whereabouts, with the pacing for the film going by fairly quickly. The characters in the OVA aren’t much better off as they are completely defined by whatever two-dimensional character types they personify with Kyouya the unwilling chosen one, Sayaka the naive and kind damsel in distress, and Levih the power-hungry and merciless villain. In essence, nothing with this film’s story and characters strongly stick out enough for you to give a hoot over what’s going on.
The only highlight for Demon City Shinjuku is its animation. Sporting nicely drawn and well-designed character designs and scenery, human characters are drawn quite believably in proportions and the designs of demons look horrific in how they are drawn. The frequent action scenes seen throughout the OVA are nicely animated with fluid movement depicted throughout its length, with the highlight being the opening scene depicting the fight between Levih Rah and Kyouya’s father.
Visuals aside though, Demon City Shinjuku doesn’t have much else that gives it rewatchability with how forgettable its premise and characters are. You’d be better off trying to track down other horror titles of the era like Vampire Princess Miyu or Lily C.A.T. that offer more to explore with their premises.
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May 9, 2020
4 of 4 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Vampire Princess Miyu follows a Japanese vampire girl named Miyu and her Shinma companion Larva who are tasked with banishing stray Shinma, a race of god-demons that manipulate and consume human souls. This OVA adaptation of the manga series explores some of Miyu’s cases in hunting down Shinma and her origins, while being observed by a Japanese spiritualist named Himiko Se.
Like many OVA titles of its era, this adaptation of Vampire Princess Miyu mainly exists to give fans a sampling of what its manga source material is like and have them buy the manga to see more of Miyu’s exploits beyond the anime. As an
introduction to Miyu’s premise, this OVA does a solid job exploring our female lead’s exploits and origins within its 4-episode runtime. The first two episodes serve to explore Miyu’s encounters with enemy Shinma, while the later two explore elements of her character that include her bond with Larva and her past before hunting enemy Shinma. The series carries a haunting and bittersweet tone throughout its run to show how dark Miyu’s world is when dealing with her duties and those who become involved with the world of the Shinma, allowing the series to carry an effective sense of horror as it explores more of Miyu’s world. The animation does an effective job at conveying Miyu’s setting and characters with nice animated details and muted colors to compliment the anime’s tone. Backgrounds are a bit on the sketchy side, but the OVA does an effective job at depicting its occasional bits of action that demonstrate Miyu’s power and the dark nature of the Shinma she confronts.
The OVA does have its faults. Himiko’s character contributes little to the series as she mainly exists as a human observer of Miyu’s actions, is exclusive only to this OVA from what I gather as she never appears in the 1990s TV anime adaptation that later came out, and can be a bit grating with her protests at challenging Miyu. Plus as this series mainly exists to promote its manga source material, the storytelling within Vampire Princess Miyu is largely self-contained in each of its episodes and doesn’t give viewers much to go back to, which could limit its rewatchability with some fans wanting a longer series run given Miyu’s premise.
Still if you are a fan of old-school anime and craving horror with your viewing, Vampire Princess Miyu offers solid horror and storytelling with dabbling into Miyu’s exploits dealing with enemy Shinma and her origin story.
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May 5, 2020
6 of 6 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Diebuster serves as a sequel to Gainax’s classic mecha series, Gunbuster, that is set thousands of years following the events of Gunbuster. Focused on a seemingly clutzy teenage girl named Nono, she aspires to become a space pilot and comes to idolize Lal’C Mellk Mal, a girl around Nono’s age who is the pilot of the Buster Machine mecha known as Dix-Neuf. Lal’C is part of the Fraternity, a group of teen mecha pilots called Topless who each have their own Buster Machines used to combat a mysterious space monster threatening humanity’s expansion into space. As Nono interacts with Lal’C and the Fraternity, she comes
to realize some truths about herself that make her realize she isn’t an ordinary girl.
Suppose one thing I should get out of the way with covering Diebuster is the many nods it makes to Gunbuster. Without spoiling too much of Diebuster’s developments, Nono and Lal’C’s characters and their relationship parallel those of Noriko and Kazumi from the original series, while also sporting the same type of mecha to combat the alien threats that threaten Earth. Both titles also carry similar themes and storytelling elements involving coming-of-age and sacrifice in regards to the main conflict of their respective titles.
The results of these Gunbuster nods do have their pros and cons throughout Diebuster. On the one hand, the character dynamics with Nono and Lal’C play out differently from Noriko and Kazumi’s to give the former’s relationship some more uniqueness and create some differing developments with their characters. Plus, there’s a good deal of spectacle in seeing the mecha action as Buster Machines to combat the alien enemy with the fights being nicely animated and having a good deal of visual detail depicted. Nono’s character serves as a fun homage of sorts to old-school mecha anime in Diebuster’s second half when she takes on a more active role to combat the aliens.
Spectacle aside though, Diebuster does have some major issues when it comes to areas of its storytelling. It attempts to have a larger scale to its plot compared to Gunbuster, though this falls flat in a number of areas. The series attempts to dabble into developments befalling a couple of Lal’C’s fellow Topless, but their developments aren’t as engaging to see develop compared to Lal’C and Nono. There are a decent number of plot elements that Diebuster doesn’t dabble too deeply into such as Nono’s origins before being found and why humanity seems prejudiced against the Topless. The second half of the series also becomes a bit hard to follow with the scientific jargon discussed with the alien threat and the rather ambiguous fate of one major character when the conflict is resolved. In short, Diebuster’s storytelling didn’t feel as cohesive compared to Gunbuster as it seemed to be doing a bit too much at a number of points within its 6-episode runtime.
If you can look past Diebuster’s storytelling issues, it still retains the over-the-top spectacle of mecha action and charming character chemistry of its two female leads found from Gunbuster. Mecha fans just wanting to see this for the action spectacle and Gainax’s signature fan service should still get a treat out of Diebuster in spite of its faults.
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Apr 28, 2020
40 of 40 episodes seen
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0
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
An entry in the "super robot" genre of mecha anime, Voltes V focuses on five talented youths specially trained to pilot five combat vehicles that form the mecha Voltes V in order to combat the alien Boazan Empire who plan to take over Earth. Each episode of the series features the pilots of Voltes V taking on a different Beast Warrior created by the Boazans in "monster of the day" formatted plots to attempt destroying Voltes. Throughout the conflict, the three Go brothers who pilot parts of Voltes V try to locate the whereabouts of their missing father, Kentaro, responsible for creating the mecha.
Before I
dabble into my thoughts on Voltes V, I do have to comment on a certain aspect of the show's appeal in that this series is apparently quite popular in the Philippines, strong enough where a live-action adaptation of the series is currently in development for the country's viewers. There is history to this within the country as during the 1970s when Voltes and other Japanese mecha titles were airing in the Philippines, the country's then authoritarian President, Ferdinand Marcos, had banned a number of anime titles, including Voltes V, from airing due to supposed concerns about their "excessive violence." However, there was speculation at the time Marcos banned Voltes V due to the anime's plot having underlying themes of revolution and rebellion. By 1986, opposition to Marcos' rule from the People Power Revolution led to Voltes becoming a popular mascot of the revolters and following Marcos being overthrown, Voltes became a national symbol of rebellion against the Marcos regime and has been a fixture of Filipino culture ever since. This is certainly an interesting historical development for an anime within another country's culture.
As far as the quality of Voltes V goes, I guess I'll at least offer up my positives of the series first as it does have some story elements to it that stick out from many "super robot" anime made during its time period. First, the series wasn't afraid to kill off major characters at points throughout its run. Characters that the Voltes team are close are killed at points throughout its run and this lends it some decent drama that help raise the stakes of humanity's conflict with the Boazan. Second, the series explores themes such as prejudice and revolution that get dabbled into as more about Boazan society is revealed throughout the show's run. Third, there is a major plot twist revealed about the upbringing of some major characters within Voltes V that does make sense when considering the technology of the Voltes being quite advanced compared to much of what Earth has to offer to oppose the Boazan threat.
Praises aside, Voltes V is still largely a product of its time as it sticks firmly to many of the typical cliches of the "super robot" genre common during its era. It dabbles quite heavily into "monster of the day" episodic plots throughout much of its run which can limit its appeal to those not fans of the plot formula and its characters largely stick with whatever archetypes they are defined by without having much dimension to their personalities. The plot has its sloppy moments with certain events that transpire during its run and things usually feel a bit too convenient with how the Voltes V team are able to overcome a "monster of the day" that is seemingly overcoming them. The animation is also quite dated with rough detailing of its mecha and character designs, as well as liberal use of animation shortcuts being employed.
While having some story elements that stick out from other mecha titles of its era and having its historical significance in Filipino culture, I was largely feeling indifferent to Voltes V as a viewer of it throughout its run as many of its storytelling cliches were typical of other titles of its ilk and much of them haven't really aged well thus it could have limited appeal to modern audiences. Your mileage may vary with reception to this series depending on your interests dabbling into old-school mecha anime.
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Apr 4, 2020
34 of 34 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Space Warrior Baldios was a 1980s entry in the "super robot" mecha genre focused on the settlers of the ravaged planet S-1, who choose to invade and attempt to conquer Earth as their new home world following a military coup organized by the military fanatic Zeo Gattler. One of the S-1 residents, Marin Reigan, is opposed to Gattler's plans following his father's murder during the coup and allies with the human members of the military organization Blue Fixer to combat them. Using the technology of his spaceship, Blue Fixer are able to use it to form the mecha Baldios to combat the threat from Gattler
and his regime.
Much like several of famous Gundam director Yoshiyuki Tomino's mecha titles of the time period, Baldios carries a somber and bleak tone in focusing on the conflict between S-1 and Blue Fixer over the Earth's fate. There is a good deal of destruction and a high kill count that unfolds throughout the anime's run to show how conflicts such as war can lead to pointless death and destruction of all that we would care for. This is best reflected in Gattler's regime, as his single-minded desire to conquer Earth at any cost prevents him from realizing that he is leading Earth down the same path of destruction that led his home world of S-1 to the state that it was left in. As the series progresses, attacks from S-1 grow more merciless and causes friction internally within the military's ranks as the war between S-1 and Earth drags out. While the regime is mostly depicted as ruthless in their goals, some characters in their ranks are depicted in a more sympathetic light. This is most notably depicted with Gattler's second-in-command, Aphrodia, who is shown to gradually become more conflicted in her thoughts of Marin and her loyalty toward Gattler as episodes in the series progress.
Outside of the anime's focus on the conflict between S-1 and Earth, Baldios also devotes time to exploring the personal lives of several of its major characters and how each are affected by the ongoing conflict. The various members of Blue Fixer have varying circumstances within their personal lives which affects them and that specific episodes within the series are devoted to exploring, particularly when an S-1 attack affects an element to said character's personal life. Marin also gets focus at a number of points in Baldios as he deals with prejudice from humanity at first for assuming he's a spy for S-1 and the hard decisions he is forced to make to ensure Earth's prosperity against his own race. For an early 80s mecha anime ran in a somewhat episodic format, Baldios is surprisingly solid with exploring how each of its characters are impacted by the conflict between S-1 and Earth.
Praises aside, Baldios isn't without its issues. Due to the series being abruptly cancelled due to low TV ratings during its original airing, Baldios does lack a conclusive ending as it ends during a rather major point in the anime's ongoing conflict. While there was a compilation movie for Baldios that later came out to provide a proper conclusion to the series, said conclusion did alter some plot elements from the TV anime that affect its consistency with some plot details.
The presentation for the series hasn't aged too well as the animation is rather rough to look at compared to modern titles and there are a good deal of animation shortcuts employed throughout its run. Plus, the anime's soundtrack is rather underwhelming at a number of points with properly conveying mood during key scenes. There are a couple lyrical tracks that do well at conveying a melancholic mood with Baldios' developments, but the frequency of their use does get repetitive over time.
The final issue stems from the titular mecha of the series. While many mech titles of the era prominently featured their mecha as a vital part of their premises, the presence of the Baldios mecha felt largely unnecessary throughout the show's run as any conflict it gets used in largely plays second fiddle to the anime's focus on exploring its characters and how Earth is affected by S-1's attacks. Some episodes of the series don't even feature Baldios, as the series is instead focused on exploring a plot element occurring with the conflict or the show's characters.
These hiccups aside, Baldios is a solid entry in the mecha genre for its time period that depicts the brutality of war and how those involved in the war between S-1 and Earth are affected by the increased brutality of the conflict. If you're a fan of old-school mecha titles, I'd at least recommend checking out the series at least once.
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Mar 30, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Dorohedoro is set in a post-apocalyptic world that consists of two dimensions: a dismal city called Hole that is home to humans and an alternate world that is home to Sorcerers who have the ability to create magic through manifesting "smoke" and are contracted with demons. Within Hole, a mysterious man with the head of a lizard named Caiman has no memory of who he is and a mysterious figure is within his stomach. Seeking aid from a young woman named Nikaido, the two hunt down Sorcerers who enter Hole to find the one who transformed his head and discover more about his lost past.
Dorohedoro
offers up some pretty engaging exploration of its world and characters relating to the societies of both Hole and the world of Sorcerers within the series. There is clear conflict between the realms as Sorcerers often sneak into Hole to make its residents into guinea pigs to test their magic on and doctors exist to try repairing whatever abnormalities Sorcerers inflict onto humans with their magic. Conflict is also commonplace in the Sorcerer world as it runs on a hierarchical system based on the proficiency of the Sorcerer's magic and has caused internal conflict within the realm. There is also a good amount of exploration that goes into exploring how the Sorcerers are able to conjure up their magic and the ties they have to demons These elements help add some engaging layers to the conflicts that take place throughout Dorohedoro's run, as well as dabbling more into how the magic used by Sorcerers works specifically.
The characters for the series also make for more of the entertaining elements of Dorohedoro. In spite of the mentioned conflicts, the series carries a rather light-hearted and easygoing tone in depicting interactions between characters, even involving those within the different realms. There is a good deal of moral ambiguity with many of the characters seen throughout the series, as all have their good and bad traits that can make the audience care for them in spite of all the chaos they stir up and there is enough time to flesh out the backgrounds of a number of the major characters in Dorohedoro. The only shortcoming in this area is that Caiman's character is still largely a mystery and the conflict between factions is still largely unresolved. While the manga source material for the series is complete, it's unclear as of this review whether or not there will be more seasons to further explore the plot of Dorohedoro.
One other thing I should warn folks about Dorohedoro is that it's quite graphic in terms of violent content. Characters are shown to be slain or mutilated in various messy ways throughout the series in spite of the light-hearted and comical mood that the series often comes off with. While the more violent nature is a good fit for Dorohedoro given the gritty and chaotic world it explores, I would still not recommend any younger or more content-sensitive audiences look into this series.
In terms of presentation, Dorohedoro makes use of a 3DCG animation style in rendering its characters and settings. While implementations of this technology have been hit-and-miss in quality with TV anime over the past several years, the animation works quite well with Dorohedoro as character designs and scenery are nicely rendered and character movement is convincingly fluid throughout the show's run, most notably during action scenes and scenes depicting Sorcerers using their magic. The CG is quite noticeable if you pay attention to details with the rendering that may seem a little off and can take getting used to viewing for those not accustomed to it.
Overall, I was quite entertained with Dorohedoro throughout its 12-episode run as it offered a fun and gritty time exploring the chaotic and dark world offered up with the residents of Hole and the Sorcerer World. Those who've enjoyed gritty and mature action titles like Black Lagoon and Baccano! should give this series a shot if you've yet to see it.
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Mar 22, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
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3
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken was a unique little gem of the Winter 2020 anime season focusing on a trio of oddball high school girls who team up to form their own anime club, while maneuvering around students and school faculty to realize visions for their works. The fun of the series comes from the chemistry between our three female leads within Eizouken. Kanamori typically serves as "straight man" to be realistic in the club's efforts and usually snaps Asakusa and Mizusaki back to reality when they get too immersed into envisioning their ideas. The imaginative spots with Asakusa also serve as the creative highlight
of the series as they offer a fun and immersive experience for getting into her head with sorting out elements of any animated work she wants to put together.
Outside of this, the series also does a believable job with depicting the challenges that the trio get into with creating their works that helps add a bit more dimension to Eizouken. Elements of the creative and collaborative process with putting together an anime short film are believably depicted with Asakusa and Mizusaki starting off rough with developing their works in a believable time frame for upcoming events. Collaboration with other clubs leads to additional complications as Asakusa has to learn to collaborate with others she's not comfortable being around and there is usually miscommunication between the Eizouken Club and other clubs involving elements of animated projects they are putting together.
A particular element to the series that may be divisive for some anime fans is Eizouken's animation style. Normal scenes with the characters are depicted to be pretty simple in detail and animation being nothing too out of the ordinary. However during Asakusa's daydreaming, the series gets quite experimental with its animation as it depicts different animation styles that are deceptively more elaborate and fluid with their details and movements compared to the mundane scenes within the series. Also, the characters are drawn with a variety of looks and facial expressions that make them look more diverse and not simply having the same type of facial design with different colors for eye and hair color. For example, compare Mizusaki looking more conventionally beautiful in appearance compared to the plain appearances of Asakusa and Kanamori to catch my drift.
If you're a fan of anime creation and have interest in titles that dabble into such realms, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken is a fun comedy anime to get in to thanks to the chemistry with its three lead characters, Asakusa's imaginative daydreams, and the believable developments the series gets into with the trio trying to create animated projects. I'd at least implore fans of this realm to check out the series at least once.
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Feb 16, 2020
24 of 24 episodes seen
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Gankutsuou is a loose anime adaptation of the classic French novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas. Set in the far future, the series focuses on a young French aristocrat named Albert de Morcerf who befriends a mysterious self-made nobleman called the Count of Monte Cristo, and acquaints him with members of Paris’ high society. Unbeknownst to Albert though, the Count has ulterior motives for wanting to befriend the young man that stem from wrongdoings and corruption committed against him years earlier by three influential aristocrats that Albert is close to.
Before I dabble into this review, I do want to concede that
I have yet to read the original source material of this series thus I don’t have intimate details on what’s been changed or removed in adapting the Count of Monte Cristo. At least from what I gather, it seems that the plot of the novel was streamlined to a good degree so it could better fit into the anime’s 24-episode runtime and the anime is more focused on Albert’s perspective of the events that transpire while the novel was more focused on the Count’s point-of-view. In spite of the changes, I’d at least say Gankutsuou stands on its own merits as an adaptation and that it is at least accessible to anyone lacking knowledge on the novel.
That matter aside, Gankutsuou mainly dabbles into Albert’s character during his interactions with the Count. His character is clearly shown to undergo a good deal of development throughout the show’s run as he is at first naive to signs of the Count’s ambiguous moral nature while befriending him. As Albert starts to learn more about the Count’s machinations though, the boy finds himself wondering what is the truth concerning his aristocratic life and how true to his feelings should he be in defiance of the Count’s manipulations. I’ve heard of some not being a fan of Albert’s character due to his naive nature from earlier episodes. But I’d argue this is a flaw to his character due to his youth and aristocratic upbringing that he finds himself having to grow from as he learns more about the Count’s past.
The Count is another character worth mentioning due to the complexity of his character explored throughout Gankutsuou. He is depicted to have an otherworldly feeling to his character shown from his unique physical features and morally ambiguous nature in his interactions with other characters. There is a clear difference in how he conducts conversation with Albert, his servants, and those among Paris’ elite to show how he regards each of them. All this helps add layers to the Count’s character as the series gradually drops hints of his past connections to the mentioned aristocrats and shows some of the inner conflict he goes through with going through with his plans and gradually coming to care for Albert.
Outside of the two lead characters, Gankutsuou also offers a solid amount of exploration on a number of other major characters throughout its run. Some characters throughout the series close to Albert find themselves either victim to the Count’s plans in some form or are attempting to learn more about the history of the Count’s true identity and the mentioned aristocrats. Plus, some have their roles with shaping the developments of Albert and the Count with the inner conflicts both face throughout the series. Said characters lack the heavy focus and complexity found with Albert and the Count, but a number of them are still affected by their developments throughout Gankutsuou’s run.
Outside of characters, the story of Gankutsuou is one focused on revenge and the pitfalls of obtaining power and wealth. The revenge element is mainly explored through the Count’s character. While he has justifiable reasons at wanting to go after the three aristocrats in question, his plans have the consequence of affecting members of the aristocrats’ families who are innocent of any wrongdoings and he does gradually become conflicted with whether or not to advance with his plans as he befriends Albert and becoming consumed by his feelings of vengeance on those who wronged him in the past.
The power and wealth angle plays out with the three aristocrats that the Count is conspiring against. Limiting spoilers, two of the three are depicted to be irredeemable characters who are fanatically devoted to maintaining their power and wealth by any means, even at the expense of their family relationships. This results in the audience not feeling any sympathy for them when they eventually get their comeuppance. The last aristocrat is depicted in a more sympathetic light with how he treats his family and why he chose to go through with his acts, even coming to regret what he has done in later episodes as he realizes how far gone he becomes when his corruption becomes exposed.
As far as presentation goes, Gankutsuou is a unique beast as far as anime goes. Visually, the series employs a 2D-cel animation style with designing its scenery and characters, yet chooses to get quite elaborate with it. Scenery is quite detailed and elaborate with depicting its settings, most notably the secret underground apartment and spaceship owned by the Count that are quite spectacular to see in their splendor. My thoughts on character designs are a bit more mixed as character hair and clothing is often depicted with a texture-like pattern that remains stationary, even when characters are moving around.
Overall, Gankutsuou offers up a strong story with its focus on the Count’s plans for revenge and exploring how those caught in them are negatively affected, making for a rather unique adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ classic revenge novel with the sci-fi elements implemented into the series. The visual presentation is likely to be divisive among fans though due to how strongly it sticks out throughout the series, as I’ve heard of some dropping the series due to it. But if you don’t mind the aesthetics, you are likely to be entertained and engrossed into this unique take on the Count of Monte Cristo.
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Feb 6, 2020
13 of 13 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Spice and Wolf is a fantasy-adventure series focused on a traveling merchant named Kraft Lawrence who encounters a wolf harvest deity named Holo who wishes to travel back to her homeland of Yoitsu, as the town she maintained a harvest with for centuries is no longer dependent on her. Lawrence allows Holo to travel with him back to Yoitsu, while she uses her wisdom to help Lawrence in his merchant dealings.
While Spice and Wolf is set in a medieval historical setting with mention of deities worshiped and the Church a powerful influential presence within its world, it differentiates itself from many anime titles in
that it doesn’t focus on magic and swordsplay. Rather, it dabbles more into the economics, trade, and peddling that comes from Lawrence’s profession as a merchant. The series does go into detail at points on how the economic market for particular currencies and products are within the different locales that Holo and Lawrence visit, as the latter makes use of his knowledge on these areas to attempt trades, sales, or purchases of particular items or currencies. While Holo lacks experience on economics, her centuries of understanding human behavior and nature allows her to assist Lawrence in his dealings to better his profits and prevent other merchants from trying to deceive him. The series does play up its focus on medieval economics pretty straight, lacking anything over-the-top to try making it more engaging to a wider audience. This does allow it to offer a unique take on exploring an element to life in medieval society that is often unexplored, though may be an acquired taste to some anime fans.
What is perhaps the more entertaining element to Spice and Wolf though is the chemistry between Holo and Lawrence. The two often exchange witty banter between one another, with Lawrence usually being unprepared for how Holo will tease her. At the same time though, both value each other’s company as they travel throughout the series. The series also shows both of them to have a good deal of dimension to their characters with Lawrence being crafty yet awkward around cute girls and Holo having strong and vulnerable elements to her character shown in her interactions with Lawrence.
If there is a flaw to the series, it would be that Holo and Lawrence’s journey and relationship remains unresolved by the end of Spice and Wolf. While there was a second season of the series that furthered their journey, it still remained inconclusive at the end of its run. If you are looking for more development and the conclusion of Holo and Lawrence’s journey, you’d be better off trying to track down either the light novel or manga adaptations of the series.
Still if you are looking for a unique take on medieval-fantasy series, Spice and Wolf is entertaining enough where I’d at least recommend watching it at least once. With its focus on medieval economics and the fun chemistry between Holo and Lawrence, there’s enough engaging elements to the series to hook you into following the journey of the show’s main duo.
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