30 Second Anime Review

[Y]

The purpose of this thread is to get exposure for a series, or write a flaming diatribe against one with a short, summarized review of it. I figure this could be a good repository of forum opinions on anime series, since I don't want to dig through 800 pages of spoiler filled series threads to see if it's worth watching.

1) No spoilers. Anything you find out within the first twenty minutes isn't a spoiler.
2) Don't write too much or too little. A paragraph is fine. Don't write two sentences, don't write a page, and you'll be fine.
3) I suppose doing popular series' is inevitable but try not to do reviews of Naruto or Bleach or stuff that people have obviously heard 10,000 opinions on unless you have something fresh to say. However, I do recommend reviewing critically acclaimed pieces that still don't get enough love here (since that's what I'll be doing, of course).

Here's mine.

Series:

The Melody Of Oblivion: The War of the 20th Century is over, and we lost. Now the Melos Warriors strive to defeat a hierarchy of Monsters who control the world. Wonderfully put together, this has some of the most unique artistic values of anything within the last five years. The extremely bright and bizarre character designs clash with the horrifying (subtly) background work and the extremely dark tone that runs through the whole series. It's emotional and extremely well written, and has a dose of the action for all of you who can't watch a series unless something explodes. It also features some of the best and most varied music in an anime, ranging from classical pieces to electronica. Absolutely fantastic on all fronts.

Film:

Voices Of A Distant Star: I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot of this movie because it's better if you go into it knowing nothing. Makoto Shinkai directed, storyboarded, and animated the ENTIRE short film (around thirty minutes) himself over the course of eight months in his spare time. He is a damned genius. The film itself is an incredibly beautiful piece of art and a moving drama with an intelligent sci-fi flair, and Shinkai is the best up-and-coming creator in the industry.

Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis: He's the master of Japanese animation and its founder, and this movie does a stunning tribute to his work. It hearkens back to old-school Disneyesque designs, but please don't let that put you off and just watch the movie. Absolutely beautiful visuals and a great score, and one of the greatest ending sequences in an anime. It's simple without being childish, and smart without being heavy-handed. Great stuff.
(http://www.rolleyes.net/)

[Crows_Kill]

Akira- Anime classic- watching this can be the equivelant of a pixie stick- damn tasty and enoyable, but once the sweetness weres off, you want more flavor. Best animation and music in anime- ever. Story can be confusing and you dont really like any of the characters, but if you can get past the flaws, enjoy the show and try your best to wrap your head around the metaphysical stuff later.

Ghost In The Shell 1/2- same as above. Oshii (the director) reallt really really wants to be Otomo. Great stuff, but not for the attention span impared.

Patlabor movies- 1/2/3- Oshii again, but his best work IMHO. Not the mecha fests you might ne expecting, especially parts 2/3- more sci fi detective stories, but with some mechs thrown in. Not for the ADD crowd, but damn good stories here.

Ninja Scroll- Who has not seen this? Ok, you 3 who raised your hands, go to blockbuster ot hollywood video and rent this, now. Ok- back? Next.

Evangelion- Gainax's ego fest and mech mind fuck expiriment. Save yourself some time- go watch the last 2 episodes first- it ok, aside from some minor story spoilers that you really wont understand unless you watch the whole series anyway, if you cant understand or enjoy the last 2, don;t watch the rest. The first parts of the series are awesome,with some great giant bio-mecha fights, but you will get your hopes up for an actual ending that makes sense THAT YOU WILL NOT GET. Unless you are a psych major or have read any one of a dozen eva faqs on the net, you will be dissapointed.

Most Gundam series- Lots of prety mechs, lots of political/social grandstanding that you really dont care about, plot twists that anoy and alienate, and characters you wish would crawl into the barrel of their own hyper-mega launcher to be blasted in to atoms. Aside from that, some great shows here. I love gundam- just not a fan of all the series.

Bets of- IMHO:

Gundam- the original one year war- either the series or the readers digest version movies. Where it all started (unless you count the original sci fi novel seried the anime was based on). Believe it or not, it was seen as being very realistic for its time. Compared to voltron and getter robo, it was the saving private ryan of mecha shows. Aside from a main hero you wish would grow his own pair and/or eat the barrel of his beam rifle, has some great characters- char is one of the best anime villians ever, and has been cloned so many times in later gundam shows its getting to be embarasing.

Gundam 0080 War in the pocket- semi-pretensious parable on the evils of war- live we need to be tild this. Has great animation and some great fights. Worth it just for the mecha, but the sroty is ok too- one of the series I wish they had returned to in order to see where the characters ended up after this story ends.

Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory- Re-hashing and retelling of the one year war w.its own twists, but with 1/3 less anoying charcters. The theme music here srtarted my j-pop collection. Some of the best mecha designs in the gundam universes.

Gundam Z/ZZ- Ok, but both were made strictly to cash in on the gundam cash cow of the 80's. Z has great mecha designs, but the story and characters are anoying as all hell. Only reason to watch it is Char- "hiding" in a secret identity. Right. ZZ sucked, only existed to sell toys and models, most of the mecha designs are attrocious, seems like they souldnt decide between extremely blocky or extremely organic, and the plot read like dbz with bean cannons. My beam gun is bigger than your beam gun, but hah! I had a hidden super armor upgrade that cost $10 billion stuffed in my back pocket! Huzzah!

Chars counter attack- In my opinion, skip z/zz and go straight to this. Feels just like the original series, which it is, but it tried to sum up the whole universal century plot line- it fails, but it tries. Uber-leet mecha though. The Sazabi is my anime-mecha misteress.

G Gundam- Dont bother- sucks.

Gundam wing- G-Gundam +rehashing of one year war +politics that would make henry kissinger cry. Nice mecha, auper annoying characters (exceot for the death scyth guy,they would all be better off actually using that self destruct with them staying inside once and for all). Only reason to watch is for the breif glimpses of the talgeese 1/3, otherwise you can pass on it withouy losing any sleep.

v gundam, gundam x- pretty much like gundam wing, slightly different stories and mecha, each has nice designs, but over all its like deciding between a vanilla chocolate or twist ice crean cone- its all too sweet and bad for you.

08th ms team- pretty good, better than most- on par with 0083, if not better. same anti war sentiment as 0080, but doesnt beat you over the head with it. great designs and memorable mecha. very goos action too. skip the last episode unless you have a soft side, or really like being depresses.

gundam seed/destiny- updated re-hashing of the one year war, w/gundam wing like flavor of the week gundam varieties. Actually, one of the best gundam series- has actual logical story progression and does not rely on oure technobable for most of its sci-fi- some one actually hired a real writer for onse. good job.

Turn A Gundam- what if miazaki and gainax got togetherm had a labotomy, got stoned, and produced a gundam show, but with an american doing most of the mecha designs, the story on prozac, and set in the 1800's. Thats turn a gundam. Enjoyable if you have an open mind, but not for the die hard gundam emcha junkie.

Sorry for the gundam fest, just typing what came to mind.

[basey44]

hey crows in ur response to evangelion, i would suggest people who watched the series either replace the last 2 episodes with the movie End of Evangelion, which is also a major mind fuck but its got some awesome action packed sequences, or watch EoE in addition to the original ending, they are alternate endings so really the more evangelion you see the better
if you cant tell evangelion is my fav anime and is the only one i actually own (well partially own, im halfway through buying the platinum edition)

hope i didnt spoil or nothing i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif

also the original tv ending was thrown together rather cheaply as the show had no money left to make a proper ending, which is why they later made a movie. to end it properly, or a least to stop the death threats they were getting for making an ending people didnt like i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif

[Souryusen]

Iria: Zeiram the Animation: This series is good fun. It's about a bounty hunter apprentice named Iria who goes on a mission to save some colonists on a ship with her BH brother. The mission goes terribly wrong when it turns out the colony ship was just a front to transport a genetically engineered terror named Zeiram. Iria spends all 6 eps of this delightful romp battling Zeiram with all manner of interesting weapons and neat tactics. It's got action, gadgets, neat vehicles, interesting locations, tits, big guns and a fella by the name of "Bob." Definitely check it out.

[Crows_Kill]

Hey Y, ever considerd suicide? I'll send you instructions if you need them.

Post constructavly or get a life.
I know I spell like a dyslexic polish retard raised by wolves. I learned to cope with it- so can you.

On to more:

Ranma 1/2: All series- great maniacle fun- cross gender/species morphing kungfu fighters. Its like every fetish rolled in to one and sugar coated. enjoy.

Full metal alchemist- migth have dropped of the radar of some as the series is finised and the movie is not out yet- great stuff, intelligent and entertaining.

rahxephon- evangelion set to classical music. No penguins though.

lodoss wars (ova series) D&D anime. Swords, sorcery and elves with big, er, ears. Kicked off the fantasy anime explosion of the 90's and now. Dont expect a great story, there isnt one, or non-cookie cutter characters. There are some good plot twists, but average story over all. Great action though, once you get past the whole shwing/shwing/scream sword fights.

And some obscure favorites if you can find them:

Armor Hunter Mellowlink- Votoms spin off about an infantry grunt framed for the death of his squad who hunts down and kills the 12 members of the court martial court that convicted him. Beserk like main character before beserk was created- one of the few humans ive seen who could realisticly (at least somewhat) take on a mecha inhand to hand combat and win. Hard to find, but worhtthe 12 epsisodes if you can get it. Mine was a fan sub I got from a friend in japan in the early 90's

Legend of the galactic heroes- great space opera with huge space battles. Not exaclty 100% realistic, but pays attention to more physics thn 99.9% of the anime's out there. The politics and philosophy of the story cna get tiresome, but at least the story make a little sense. Not for teh ADD crowd either.

Riding Bean- Gunsmith cats beta version. Original story of the bulet proof undercover detective and hisrun in with raly vincent. ols school all the way, and is a one shot ova. but is very entertaining none the less.

Legend of the mystical ninja- aka: the legend of kamui movie- movie version of the seminal ninja manga. Watch this. You cna see the originsd of shows liek ninja scroll, naruto, and even kenshin in this movie. Long movie, like 3 1/2 hours and it adds some very unlikely cameo appreances.

Thats it for now.

[Board of Command]

Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien: This is about a tragic love triangle between a guy and his two female friends, who happen to be best friends. The main guy gets in a happy-happy relationship with one of them, until something tragic happens and all of their lives are changed forever. The meat of this series is about how each of them deals with that tragedy. Sounds pretty corny, right? This isn't really a spoiler. I'll admit that the first 2 episodes are gay as hell, like those silly teenage romance animes, but at the end of episode 2 is where the real story begins. The first 2 episodes only serve as the prologue to introduce the main characters. Be prepared for a drastic change in atmosphere and character at the end of episode 2, so don't give up after the first episode due to its extreme crappiness. This is definitely the most realistic series I've ever watched with the exception of episodes 1+2. The characters have realistic jobs, realistic personalities, the setting is every bit realistic, and most of all, the characters live in realistic apartment complexes instead of those wooden houses with sliding doors. The biggest strength of this series is its characters because their realistic actions really pull you into the world of KGNE.

***A MUST SEE***

[Board of Command]

<u>Gungrave</u>
Not sure how popular this series really is, but I found it amazing. Basically a wonderful story about two best friends and how one of them gets corrupted by ambition/need for power. Although the two friends are totally the opposite of each other (one never talks, other talks nonstop, etc...), they were both orphans and became friends at their orphanage when they were about 7 years old. They live in a city that's virtually run by the local mafia. The two friends Brandon and Harry form a small gang of 5 after they grow up. The true starting point of the story is when Brandon and Harry meet one of the top members of the mafia after a fight with an opposing gang.

The story starts near the end of the timeline, and the structure is very similar to Tenjou Tenge if you've seen that. You get a glimpse of the outcome of Brandon and Harry, then it goes into a flashback for a big half of the series. Unlike Tenjou Tenge, it only has that one flashback, so after the flashback it smoothly continues from the beginning. I found this structure very effective for this series since the point of the story is about how and why it turned out the way it did, which needed a long flashback to explain. Nearing the end it gets a little...freaky (you'll see what I mean if you watch it), but I guess that's just to further demonstrate the corruption of the characters. The action scenes are pretty good, but I still think it was the story and strong characters that makes this a great show for me.

[Hakeem_21]

Gungrave was so good but it became shit in the last 8-10 eps.


Do you want to actually do what the thread asks? This is your 3rd reply, that has not done what the topic asked. Post a review. I have deleted all other useless posts, cause I feel this thread has potential. I will continue to monitor this thread, until told otherwise by an admin. Post something useful, that goes for everyone.

GotWoot Moderator.

[Crows_Kill]

Short and sweet today:

Ebichu- the housekeeping hamster- adult, very ecchi, but funny as all hell. 18+ only...not at &amp;a fest as the art sucks.

Yukikaze- semi yaoi alternate universe sci-fi flick- great aircraft action, buetiful cg, plot confusing and random. Worth it just for the action though.

Macross Zero- what if miazaki made a mecha flick? This would probably be it. Gorgeous animation and phenominal action scenes- especialy for mecha and macross otakus. Plot above avergae for anime, but still very anime clichied.

[Board of Command]

Voices of a Distant Star: No review can ever express what this 25 minute OVA brings to the table, so I'll just give a brief summary of the plot. The plot is about a middle school guy and girl keeping a <u>DISTANT</u> relationship alive through cellphone text messaging. Why text messaging? Because the girl gets selected for a space expedition team, and the only way to contact the guy is through text messaging. Sounds pretty unrealistic since we all know that cellphones can't reach that far. Screw reality!!! Lots of people would claim Saikano to be the saddest anime ever. Well, this, to me, felt like all of the emotions of Saikano packed into 1 episode, and it revolves around the same "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER?!?!" feeling. For 3 months I've been searching for an anime that I'd like more than Elfen Lied, until I stumbled across this little gem yesterday. Screw Kenshin Reminiscence, Gungrave, KGNE, and Elfen Lied, this is my #1 all the way.

and PS: this entire anime was done my one man on his computer with a bit of assistance from his fiancee (at the time), but it's hard to believe since the artwork is so fucking amazing. I'm shocked that this isn't as popular as it should be. Imo definitely better than Kenshin Reminiscence, which holds # 1 in most review sites.

[Crows_Kill]

Noir- chicks with guns, and the occasional knife. Great action, good if confusing story.

Vandread- for those who like a little fan service with their mecha. Not much plot, but more jiggles and cg mecha action for your buck.

Gunbuster (original) great seminal anime classis- must watch for all anime fans. gainax at its best.

PS:

Yes, y, Im, still posting in your thread. You might not like my reviews, but I like your idea for the mini reviews for the quick glance. I'll post as long as I think I have something to say. Cope.

[Y]

Fuck off.

I sent Crows_Kill a PM telling him to fucking STOP posting things that violate the rules of the thread. I did this to keep from shitting up my OWN THREAD by having to tell shitty posters such as Crows_kill not to post dumbass two line reviews. He keeps doing so. So here's the public request!

Dear Crows_Kill: Put some GOD DAMNED EFFORT INTO YOUR POSTS.

Fuck.

[Board of Command]

Elfen Lied: Nudity and gore backing up an *amazing* story and music. Nuff said.

[Y]

You did that just to piss me off didn't you.

[Board of Command]

No, not really. That's all I can say for Elfen Lied.

[Y]

Rule 2. Please, if you don't want to follow them make a different post.

[Bishounen]

Alright. This is a decent thread... let's see if I can help out.


Ranma 1/2: A classic tale... boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl get married and live happily ever after.... not. In this particular story, the boy would be Ranma Saotome, the only son of martial artist Genma Saotome, and heir to the Saotome School of No-Holds-Barred Grappling (or anything-goes-school-of-martial-arts... whatever). Ranma has been promised to Akane Tendo, third daughter of martial artist Soun Tendo, who runs the Tendo training hall. The two fathers, who trained together under a single master, dream of their children marrying and carrying on a family tradition of the Martial Arts styles they've brought them up in. However, as the story unfolds, you will find that certain characters have in one way or another taken a dip in one of many cursed springs, which cause them to assume the form of whatever had drowned in each spring last, when doused with cold water. Hot water reverses the curse, but only until the next cold shower. What follows is a story loaded with basic slapstick humor as you watch people try and hide their various curses from others for whatever reason may plague them, with a couple of heartfelt moments in between. The series had several seasons, and at least until the later ones, for good reason. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot.

Golden Boy: Study, study, study, study, study! No anime series, or miniseries, as the case may be, has ever made me laugh as hard as this one. The all-too-short six episode series of Golden Boy follows the adventures of Kintaro Oe, a young man who travels throughout Japan on his bicycle, seeking new eployment experiences to add to his knowledge. Whether it's working as a cleaning boy in a high-tech computer software firm, opposing slick business sharks while working in a humble noodle shop, or even becoming a jack-of-all-trades in an animation studio, somehow, his interests always get tangled up in the interest of at least one woman who he either works for or with, and typically he isn't one for separating business and pleasure. The comedy is base, and usually perverse, but I would recommend this one to most anime fans at least once.

Dragon Pink: Meh. I think a few console gamers got a bit TOO bored and wrote this one out. This small series is an attempt to tell the stories of four heroes in a RPG style video game. There's Santa, the leader: A basic warrior type who makes most of the decisions for the party. He's a pervert and a glutton, but has fair skills with a sword. Then there's Bobo: A barbarian warrior whose personality is largely unseen, but he's the muscle behind the party. Next is Pierce, a female wizard who, while somewhat low in level, still commands her share of power from her spells. When her power runs low, she requires protein to restore it, which of course allows for some of the more gratuitous scenes. And finally, there's Pink: A voluptous female neko-jin who is owned by Santa. Pink is continuously put in perilous situations due to Santa's avarice/gluttony/incompetence/insert random vice as necessary, and most of the party's adventures circle mainly around rescuing Pink from whatever circumstance she ends up in as a result. The humor, what there is of it, is a bit forced, IMHO, and definitely doesn't help what there is of a plot much. I'd recommend this one only if you're into getting off while watching hentai flicks. And even then, it's a stretch.

[Crows_Kill]

For the sake of brevity. for once, I wont debate the purpose or meaning of the op's posts- I do not think anything I posted would be considered a spoiler, unless you allready knew what i was talking about, in which case It IS NOT A SPOILER.

And in case you missed it y, I was complimenting you on your choice of an interesting topic and supporting it by posting in the thread and keeping it alive. If people liking your ideas offends you, I'm sorry. Yes I did get your pm and chose mostly to ignore it.

On to more-

Phantom Quest Corp- very short ova series about ghost hunting dectives, worth it for the last last ep w/kick ass rotoscoped kung fu fighting animation. kind a cross between master of moaquiton and yyh.

Anything with "gal force" in the title- same human vs:bio-borg and/or male vs female stroy re-told in various flavors. Nothing new here, but is one of the staples from te artnic studios from the 80's and 90's.

Outlanders- classic manabe manga turned in to a so-so anime conversion in the mid 80's worth it or the manga fans just to see their favorite characters animated, but it butchers the manga like 99% of of oher conversions. Its earth vs the alien invaders, with a few interesting plot twists and reversals thrown in to mix it up.

[Y]

Did I say you posted spoilers? You posted two line reviews, and reviewed lots of popular series while presenting nothing new about it. Those are the rules you broke, dipshit. You aren't "keeping this post alive" when you haven't posted anything that fits the outline I put up in any of your posts.

If the complaining and borderline flaming keeps up between a certain few in this thread, it will be locked.

GotWoot Moderator.

[KitKat]

Perhaps I shall contribute to this thread. Although I have never reviewed an anime before, and I've only been watching anime for less than a year, so don't take my opinions too seriously i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif

Ok, I started a thread for this movie a while ago, but it got lost into the abyss because no one had seen it. Therefore, here is my review:
Tokyo Godfathers: Although this is set at Christmas time, it's not your stereotypical Christmas movie. It's about three people living on the streets of Tokyo who discover an abandoned baby. Through a strange series of events, each of the main characters is brought face-to-face with their past in some way and must confront some of the things they'd thought they'd left behind when they went to live on the street. There are some strange twists which keep the story from being predictable. Overall, this movie is just a lot of fun. It has its serious moments, but they serve as a nice balance for a lot of the hilarity. There is also violence and action for those of you who can't watch movies without it. Also, the artwork is very nice. So, go watch this movie. KitKat gives it two thumbs up.

[Mae]

I've been meaning to check Tokyo Godfaters out. For my contribution:

Perfect Blue: This is a suspense/horror movie about an idol singer who decides to leave her innocent image behind and get a more "adult" look in order to further her career. Some members of her fan base are not too happy about this and creepiness ensues. I'd recommend it.

Gunparade March: This is a nice older mecha anime about (surprise) a bunch of kids fighting against an alien invasion with giant robots. The premise is not at all original but I actually liked this series. The characters aren't terribly unique but they're likable enough, the fight scenes are decent, and although they never really resolve a lot of the larger story elements the ending at least makes sense. I found this series short and enjoyable, and if it's not particularly outstanding it's at least worth picking up.

Generator Gawl: This is an action anime about a group of time travelers who go to the past to prevent some terrible future from coming about. They go undercover at a local high school (real unique here) and fight monsters that are sent from the future to prevent thier mission from succeeding. There is a twist ending that I didn't really care for, but the rest of the series was ok. Decent action. I found some of the characters annoying, but I liked Gawl, so it evened out. I rented this a couple of years ago from a local video store and I thought it was worth the money.

Edit: Oh yeah, I have some more reviews in my blog too, but I won't waste space copying them.

[Death BOO Z]

well, here are my 2 cents on some not so known (yet no completly anonnmious) animes.

Kazemakaze Tsukikage Ran- a samurai lady runs into a chinese matrial artist, and for the next 13 eps they pretend to be funny with thier shitty drinking and eating habbits and after that they go a beat some evil\mafia\not nice guys to pulp without killing them ... it's a basic 'watch one ep, you watched them all' anime, the only half decent part is the fights, and they get old after the seconed episode, i would have even spoilered you about the anime, but i can't even do that, since the only plot movement occured in the last episode and nothing happend with it. No reason to put yourself through this torture,,, just move on to the next one on the list.

Dokkioda - A parody on 'idiot turns super hero' animes, or at least it tries to be: a robot girl came to earth and granted the idiot a suit which makes him a super hero, and he has to fight the super villians to prove his suit is supreme over the other super hero, problem is, that the company who employes them stuck them all at the same appartment building... dokkioda introduced a fairly decent cast of charecters (main idiot, little robot girl, cool hot neighbor super female hero, a mad scientist and an BDSM maniac) but fell too much into sad dramatic moments, i guess that some people might like this more than I did, but i don't really think anyone could really call this anime anything else than a 'pass the time activity'.

Rumic Theather - a rumiko takahashi (ranma 1/2, Inu yasah and the rest) collection of shorties, each episode has a diffrent story with diffrent charecters, it's mainly a look on the japanese society, once you get used to the style you'll really like it.
Mermaid's Forest (Rumic theather S2) - another rumiko takahashi work, this time she leaves the usual comedy\romance genre and goes to thirller\horror type of anime. the anime focues on yute, your usual immortal guy who dies 3 times each episode, and the newly immortal girl mana. in the 13 eps of the anime the story revolves in two forms, the first is yute's flashbacks from old days (the guy has been living for the past 500 years, so he's got some flashbacks to tell) and the second is the real time adventures of him and mana. both the parts are basically stories about other people who ate\tried eating\had a friend who ate the mermaid's flesh to gain immortality. the anime is quite good, and unlike most takahashi works, it has a good insight into the darker actions of the human race.

2 x 2 Shinobuden - it's a ninja anime! just not like naruto. the main charecters are Shinobu, a female ninja in trainning, Keade, her 'normal' female friend who is "more than a friend and less than a lover", and onsokumaru, the yellow ball of pervertedness... the three, along with the other ninjas in the clan (who all look the same and are called Sasuke) go through fan-serviced episodes which include almost every aspect of anime (hot springs, X-mas party, mushroom hunts, culture festival, annoying little girls) and makes sure to bash it to death with PG17 rated fan-service... the plot is kinda missing, and even though the anime actually makes fun of that, it still seems abit uncomplete to me... anyway, if you're up for fan-service, this is the anime for you.

Final approach - The typical 'girl falls in love with a girl and suddenly the rest of the world's female population followes' anime, this time the girl is a super rich girl who can do anything and has everything, and the boy is a orphen living alone with his sister and happens to have many female close friends and a wonderfully happy life. the show tries to switch between comedy, romance and angst, and since the anime ends pretty fast (13 eps of 10 mintues) they manage to pull it off without turnning the 'Haven't I seen this a million times before?' alarm on too many times... it's nice if you're in for a shortened version of a comedy romance anime, if not, try something else.

Cinderalla Boy: Ranma (a lupin the 3rd type of guy) and Reilla (rich blond snubby large breasted chick) are private detectives (does this sound like 'moonlight' american crap to anyone else?) and during one of their works, they fall into a tragic car accident and are suddenly sharing a body, which transforms every 24 hours (sunday it's Ranma's body and mind, and monday's it's Reilla's turn), so they have to found out what happened while taking on other jobs using the insuffisent menpower... if the story and name reminds you of Ranma 1/2, I have to warn that the two main charecters in this anime also don't interact with each other, which leaves us with a fairly intertainning (at least until the end) dull anime, get it the story intrigues you, but even if you decide to skip it, you won't miss anything.


and now, for the one positive anime review...

Narutaru (shadow Star): many people have called this anime a 'pokemon wannabe', i think each one and one of them should be punched in the guts twice, once for spreading shit about an anime without watching it, and once for not watching this anime. the story revolves around Shina, a 12 years old girl who lives with her father, during the summer vaction at her grandparents house, she find a cute starlike thing, which she immidiatly names 'Hoshimaru' (starson, in shitty english adaption), and apparently, Houshimaru has some realtionship to cretures called 'dragons' and other than looking extremly cute, it can fly and act as a medium as well. problem starts when we meet other 'dragon-holders', which most of them don't refer to their dragons as pets, and instead, they use them as machines to get thier not-so-holy objectives...usually, people at this point ot the review will think "so the girl has to stop them using her dragon, so it's basically pokemon", but that can't be further than the truth, Each one of the dragon users has a life story worth an anime of his own, and together they compose one of the best human 'villians' imaginable. the most amazing part of the anime, in my opinion, is how subtile the change is, at the first episode, you think it's a light hearted anime about cute creeters, but in the last episode, you suddenly scream in terror at the screen and pray that what you know is coming isn't coming...

[Munsu]

Project ARMS

This is what is shown currently on my sig and avatar. My favorite series up to the episode I've seen. Dark anime about a guy that as a kid got his arm destroyed and got it replaced with some revolutionary weapon which years later the organization that implanted the arm came to hunt him down, putting the lives of his girlfriend and family in jeopardy

http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=126847 = First Season... it will be a while before someone decides to release the second season

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/7767/projectarms1xy.jpg


Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu


This is simply an insane comedy series. If you want random comedy, this is what you are really looking for. Come into the world of Hale and Guu (who we don't what planet she's from since she is simply incredibly insane) and laugh your ass off.

http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=10227 = Series
http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=30 = Deluxe
http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=127758 = Final

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/6237/junglewa8cg.jpg



Texhnolyze

This is a niche futuristic anime full of wierd scenes in a wierd world. Pretty violent and dramatic. You can also say it's somewhat slow paced, but it's interesting. This is certainly not for everyone, but people looking for something different, you should give this a try.

http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=11885 = Fansub by Wizzu


http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/4973/texhnolyze8yi.jpg




Major

Recently watched the first series of this, and was impressed to see such a well made baseball anime. It was fun and it had alot of dramatic scenes, some that you wouldn't even think would show in a sports anime. Second series should come out this fall.

http://mjn.edwardk.info/
http://a.scarywater.net/f-b/


http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/4721/major2zw.jpg




Blue Gender

One of the first mecha shows I watched, so I figured I mentioned it. It's about a guy that was put to sleep by freezing when he found out he had a terminal disease. Years later he wakes up to find himself being attacked by some strange aliens, and saved by a squadron of wierd mechas. This is a very violent and bloody show, full of deaths, so be prepared for it.


http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=103 = Series
http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=128196 = Movie


http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/4610/bluegender5xj.jpg




I think I mentioned a good couple of shows here, give them a try for now till I decide to recommend a couple more...

[Foomanchew24]

Two anime that are very similar in ways.

Hikaru no go: THis anime is about a boy who throug the help of a ghost learns to play the game of go. This may not sound all that interesting but it is truly an amazing anime as you get involved with the main character and the relationships he has with others. Its all about wanting to be the best developing friendships and dealing with the ups and downs of compitition. If you like a good story you will like this one.

Cooking Master Boy: This is a chinese anime that was very enjoyable to watch. It is all about this boy who sets out to be the best chef in china. There is alot of comedy in this anime and if you like cooking you wil enjoy it when they talk about how they made this dish or that dish. Also this anime will make you hungry for chineses food so beware.

Sorry if i butchered the review for these anime, but they are both very enjoyable and Hikaru no Go es an amazing story, go watch them now.

[Y]

Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho:

aka "The Place Promised In Our Early Days", which is the official English title, or a more literal translation, "Beyond The Clouds, The Promised Place"

In the time since this thread began, Makoto Shinkai released his first feature film. It's an absolutely stunning work of art - working with an animation team obviously improves his work dramatically, and his style and directoral flair are as strong as ever. This movie is worth watching for his ridiculously beautiful background work alone. Plotwise, note that if you're expecting a movie with action like Hoshi no Koe you're going to be let down. This movie is a romantic coming of age drama with a sci-fi touch. His pacing is slower in a full film as opposed to a short. Overall, the movie is a wonderful sophomore effort that deserves a viewing from anyone who enjoys film as art.

[Munsu]

Two series I forgot to mention that I really want to recommend

City Hunter

Besides being a great anime, I'm really recommending this to you guys because there is a new anime coming out this fall, Angel Heart, that is the sequel to this series. It's about Saeba Ryo, better known as City Hunter; the best sweeper in the world. Plus he carries the biggest gun around, a .357 Magnum. Great comedy and action. And you'll learn what "mokkori" means because Saeba Ryo is the biggest and horniest womanizer out there...

http://static.thepiratebay.org...E_.3344838.TPB.torrent (http://static.thepiratebay.org/downloadtorrent/3344838.torrent/City_Hunter__ANIME_.3344838.TPB.torrent) = Everything City Hunter... all series and movies

Tracker 2 (http://static.thepiratebay.org/downloadtorrent/3345569.torrent/City_Hunter_[Anime_Complete_Credit_to_KuRRi_hongfire].3345569.TPB.torrent) = same


http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4779/cityhunter0ok.jpg




Monster

This is really the best series out there, best one I've seen in recent memory. Great characters and you get to know them all very well... their tendencies, pet peeves, psycological problems, etc... Great drama and plot. Kenzo Tenma is a Japanese neuro surgeon in the best hospital in Germany, he is also know as the best. One day he had to choose between saving the life of a kid or a goverment official. Against orders, he chose the kid... a decision he'll regret for the rest of his life because in reality.... You'll have to watch to find out because I don't want to spoil... If you haven't watched this I don't know what you've been doing with your free time.

http://tracker.danomac.org/a-kraze/ = All released subs

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/261/monster5ns.jpg

[Munsu]

Seeing as none of you have anything to recommend to keep this thread alive, I'm forced to write another review:


Fantastic Children

This is one of the best plot oriented series I've seen. Character design is old school (reminds me of Detective Conan), but if you bear with it for a couple of episodes, you'll see that this series is nothing less than fantastic. Story is full of mystery and plot twists. Some action here and there, and some sci-fi for you sci-fi nuts.

This is licensed by ADV, so I suggest you guys get it before it becomes impossible...

http://tracker.mahou.org/
#mae @ irc.rizon.net for bots

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3228/fantasticchildren1oo.jpg


Edit: It would be nice if you guys pm me when you get one of these series, and tell me if you liked it or not so I don't feel I'm wasting my time doing this shit...

[Ryllharu]

I ended up with a little more of a summary in a few of the reviews, but there aren't any real spoilers, and they are somewhat necessary to get my point across. Most of them are either obvious from pictures I could have posted, or are only in the first eps. Apologies in advance if anyone feels they are a bit too spoilerish.

<u>Kanon</u>: A romance done in the animation style of AIR, based off a dating game. Yuuichi Aizawa is returning to the town where he spent a fair amount of time as a child, but he barely remembers any of it. Living with his aunt and cousin because his parents have gone overseas, he is eventually forced to deal with a lot of events that happened when he was younger. More of a supernatural romance anime, a good series to watch if you enjoyed KGNE or AIR. It's roots as a dating sim are pretty clear, but the main plotline doesn't dissappoint.

<u>Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha</u>: One may think, going into this series that it is just another cookie cutter magical girl anime, transform, find thing, do no harm, repeat. Thankfully, Nanoha doesn't follow this pattern. The series starts off a little slow, with Nanoha gaining her powers from a jewel called Raging Heart given to her by a talking ferret. The standard hunt for scattered items that briefly follows isn't really important to the series overall, so I'll just skip over it. Nanoha finds herself in competition with Fate, another magical girl from another dimension. Nanoha's goal changes to befriending and understanding Fate, and the series changes more to Nanoha dealing with hiding her problems and powers from her friends and trying to learn more about Fate. A good change from the cookie cutter mahou shoujo formula and it revived my faith in the subgenre. The sequel to the series will be released sometime this fall.

<u>Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai</u>: A series from GAINAX about a year ago. Two girls fall from a comet in the sky, Hikari and Akari. Takeru Takemoto finds Hikari and the two are immediately attacked by a monster. Through Hikari's powers, Takeru transforms and more or less destroys the monster. If you've seen Mahoromatic, you've seen this. I'm not kidding, the cast is exactly the same with the exception of one or two additions. Less action than one would suspect from the first eps, and not nearly as funny as Mahoro. The series is thankfully short, and has a similarly disatisfying ending. If you really liked Mahoromatic, then I'd recommend this one, otherwise, wait until you're really bored. If you haven't seen Mahoro, watch that instead.

<u>Aishiteruze Baby</u>: A very satisfying slice of life series where a 5 year old girl is thrust onto a high school boy who had little to worry about other than attracting girls. He is forced to take care of her, and their two lives, and many of the people around them as well, change for the better as a result. There really isn't that much else to say about it. The series tends to give people a warm a fuzzy feeling inside. It definitely appears to be a shoujo/drama series (and it is), but unless you only like shonen, you'll probably enjoy this series.

These are all complete unlicensed series. I may add some ongoing series later on.

[Deblas]

My turn.

Witch hunter Robin- Story about a secret organization that hunts loose witches and Its new addition to the witch hunter crew, a 15 year old girl named Robin but what's different from her and her fellow hunters is that she herself has learned witchcraft. The series is kinda slow and it's very dark with practically no humor or emotions. If you're in to the supernatural then you'll like this series.

Wolf's Rain- A pretty weird anime about..you guessed it..wolves. The story takes place in the future where wolves are believed to be extinct but what humans don't know is that wolves are living amongst them in disguise. This is because in order to surive, the wolves have bewitched the humans so instead of seeing a wolf, the humans see just another normal human amongst them. The main character is a white wolf called Kiba who is on a journey to find a place called The Paradise.

One Piece- My new obssession and definetly a MUST SEE. A pirate series that is anything but the typical shiver me timbers, walk the plank, stereotype that we have of pirates. Created by Eiichiro Oda this anime takes place 20 years after the execution of the Pirate King Gold Roger. This pirate had everything in the palm of his hand and before they executed him his final words where that he left everything he owned in that place. After his execution the signal of the Pirate Age began as hoardes of pirates searched for his legendary treasure called One Piece (hence the name of the series) in the most dangerous sea in the world called the Grand Line and take the title of Pirate King. The main character of this series is a young newbie pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who is determined to go to the Grand Line and find One Piece and become the next Pirate King. This anime has everything from extreme humor, graphic violence and outstanding fight sequences. This anime also contains from little to no romance at all. Just very deep friendship. Also, some people feel that the first 10 episodes are kinda slow but after that it's awesome. So don't get discouraged if you feel the same way.

One Piece has been licensed by 4kids and has been butchered beyond belief. So don't judge the series from them. Download and watch the subs.

[Mut]

Originally posted by: Deblas
My turn.

Witch hunter Robin- Story about a secret organization that hunts loose witches and Its new addition to the witch hunter crew, a 15 year old girl named Robin but what's different from her and her fellow hunters is that she herself has learned witchcraft. The series is kinda slow and it's very dark with practically no humor or emotions. If you're in to the supernatural then you'll like this series.

Wolf's Rain- A pretty weird anime about..you guessed it..wolves. The story takes place in the future where wolves are believed to be extinct but what humans don't know is that wolves are living amongst them in disguise. This is because in order to surive, the wolves have bewitched the humans so instead of seeing a wolf, the humans see just another normal human amongst them. The main character is a white wolf called Kiba who is on a journey to find a place called The Paradise.

One Piece- My new obssession and definetly a MUST SEE. A pirate series that is anything but the typical shiver me timbers, walk the plank, stereotype that we have of pirates. Created by Eiichiro Oda this anime takes place 20 years after the execution of the Pirate King Gold Roger. This pirate had everything in the palm of his hand and before they executed him his final words where that he left everything he owned in that place. After his execution the signal of the Pirate Age began as hoardes of pirates searched for his legendary treasure called One Piece (hence the name of the series) in the most dangerous sea in the world called the Grand Line and take the title of Pirate King. The main character of this series is a young newbie pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who is determined to go to the Grand Line and find One Piece and become the next Pirate King. This anime has everything from extreme humor, graphic violence and outstanding fight sequences. This anime also contains from little to no romance at all. Just very deep friendship. Also, some people feel that the first 10 episodes are kinda slow but after that it's awesome. So don't get discouraged if you feel the same way.

One Piece has been licensed by 4kids and has been butchered beyond belief. So don't judge the series from them. Download and watch the subs.
[19:59] &lt;Y&gt; the main rules of that thread are not to review popular series unless you have something new
[19:59] &lt;Y&gt; so deblas reviews 3 shows that aired on TV a lot, including the incredibly famous One Piece, and says nothing useful

[Deblas]

Sadly OP has very low ratings in the U.S. Its definetly not getting much love.i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif Thanks for sharing that Mut. I didn't know I was so popular over at Irc.

Allright. Anime series that many people don't know about or are not getting much love. No problem.

Gakuen Alice- Not a hardcore violent anime. More like a cute, fluffy, chibi kind of anime. Not much to the plot either. Its about a very persistent 8 year old girl who finds out that her best friend is leaving her town to go to a new school. Naturally she didn't take the news so lightly and being as persistent as she is, she went and followed her friend to her new school and ended up being admitted in it. What she finds out is that her new school is not any ordinary private school but a school for gifted children with strange powers they call Alices. Think of it as a fluffy and cute X-Men. If you like little kids getting beat in a comedic way. You'll like this series.

Vandread-Crows_Kill did a sentence of this anime but its not as nearly enough. The plot takes place in the future where Men and Woman live in different planets calling one another aliens and having no recollection of once living together and somehow managing to make their own babies between two males and two females. But its all about to change when a worker who makes vanguards(military's mobile suit) decided he wanted to escape his life and to do that he made a bet and planned to get a vanguard for himself. As fate would have it, as he was completing his bet, a ship attacked and he wound up as a prisoner in a ship full of women. Comedy ensures as both genders try to make the best of the situation. I doesn't compare to the Gundam series but overall It's a good series if your a sci-fi fan. A plus is that the fighting sequences that take place in space are all in CGI.

[Ryllharu]

Originally posted by: Deblas
Gakuen Alice- Not a hardcore violent anime. More like a cute, fluffy, chibi kind of anime. Not much to the plot either. Its about a very persistent 8 year old girl who finds out that her best friend is leaving her town to go to a new school. Naturally she didn't take the news so lightly and being as persistent as she is, she went and followed her friend to her new school and ended up being admitted in it. What she finds out is that her new school is not any ordinary private school but a school for gifted children with strange powers they call Alices. Think of it as a fluffy and cute X-Men. If you like little kids getting beat in a comedic way. You'll like this series.

You've already taken quite a beating in this thread and in IRC about this thread, but there's a reason a lot of the series reviewed are complete or close to. Gakuen Alice has been getting progressively darker, and you missed all of that in your review. Gakuen Alice is more similar to Narutaru than a fluffly light-hearted anime (Not anywhere close to that extreme, but watchers of GA know what I mean). There are a lot of underlying things going on in the series now that are certainly not light and fluffy. But watching the main character get physically abused in every eps is funny.

[FelixZeroAlastor]

Chrono Crusade: In the early 1920s New York City has developed massive demon problem. With demon worshiping on the rise and evil spreading there seems to be no hope in sight. Enter the Magdalene Order. Chrono and Rossette, two members of the Order's professional exorcist squad, are here to cleanse and and rid New York City of its demon problems. Chrono and Rossette are on a seach for their brother Joshua. Joshua is an apostle who was taken by a demon named Aion. At first glance this seems like your typical we kill demons and save the world animes, but fortunately it isn't. It goes much deeper than that. The show keeps with the action a drama very well making sure that there isn't too much of either. It's a show that I reccomend to all ages 13+.

[Shippou-sama]

Sorry if any of these are wrong or over-done, or popular, or whatever, but I think these are lesser-known, but quality.

Azumanga Daioh: This is a quirky little anime about a group of schoolgirls, in what can best be described as an anime version of a sketch comedy show. From curing the hiccups to removable pig-tails, the show is filled with adorable antics. Be warned, though, people unused to watching this style might just explode from the cuteness. xP

Ruin Explorers: Fantasy RPG consisting of only the most akward and useless heroes available. A cat-girl druid, a bishie prince, tomboy fighter-mage, "legendary" swordsman, love-starved sorceress, and a scamming "merchant" join forces to find the ultimate power to defeat an evil wizard.

Samurai Deeper Kyo: Interesting historical fiction based four years after the battle of Sekigahara. Trouble arises for a simple medicine man, Kyoshiro Mibu, when it becomes apparent that his greatest rival, "Demon Eyes" Kyo, has taken over his body. Now the two must survive the Kenyo (essentially demons/monsters) that hunt Kyo while sharing a body. Can they get by in this new era, and unravel the secrets to their past?

[Board of Command]

Originally posted by: Y
Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho:

aka "The Place Promised In Our Early Days", which is the official English title, or a more literal translation, "Beyond The Clouds, The Promised Place"

In the time since this thread began, Makoto Shinkai released his first feature film. It's an absolutely stunning work of art - working with an animation team obviously improves his work dramatically, and his style and directoral flair are as strong as ever. This movie is worth watching for his ridiculously beautiful background work alone. Plotwise, note that if you're expecting a movie with action like Hoshi no Koe you're going to be let down. This movie is a romantic coming of age drama with a sci-fi touch. His pacing is slower in a full film as opposed to a short. Overall, the movie is a wonderful sophomore effort that deserves a viewing from anyone who enjoys film as art.
I'll briefly say what this is about. It's about the promise of 3 best friends (2 guys 1 girl) from a small village when they were little. The girl has some "problem" that's somehow related to this mysterious "tower" in the city. As the 3 friends grow up and go their separate ways, they still remember that promise.

The story might be hard to understand at first, but you'll get the general idea after the first viewing. It's one of those kinds of movies.

[MrTicTac]

One Piece: fawking funny as hell shit... review over...

[Cyan]

Rahxephon - Neon Genesis Evangelion, but done so that it's interesting. =P

Gilgamesh - love the ending, fantastic story - animation a little 'different' but it grows on you.

12 Kingdoms - Deep engaging story - good character development. Fantasy environment with complex undertones.

Generator Gawl - Probably one of the best "cool" anime I've seen. Up there with trigun kinda... The only anime where I REALLY cared about characters.

Orochuban Ebichu (houskeeping hamster) - full of dirty humour, and just plain damn funny. About a guy and his relationship - centers on sex, comedy, and cheating - and a hamster. "green didlo"

Blue Submarine - Best non-repetative story (no one who's constatly whining to make people stop fighting) I have every seen. You care about characters, you get drawn in - just plain fantastic.

[Ryllharu]

Originally posted by: Y
2) Don't write too much or too little. A paragraph is fine. Don't write two sentences, don't write a page, and you'll be fine.


Please, pay attention to this rule. It kinda defeats the purpose of this thread making partial sentence reviews. There are like 800 recommendation threads formatted like that.

[Xinxang]

[First pleas forgive my so baaaaad english ^^]

Hi,
Very nice topic
I'd like to review my favorite anime (maybe the best of all the time for me) :

Hikaru No Go (75 ep +1 Movie) : Based on the Go game. This is the story of Hikaru, a boy who meet Sai a ghost who is the best go player of all the time. Sai will play Go through Hikaru's body. I don't want to say more on the plot but it's a must see. Deep characters, excellent story, amazing music. But the most amazing thing is that all the Go references are true. When you see a kung-fu movie you see people flying or do amazing tricks but it's not real. Here all the tricks are done only with black and white stones and you say "i can do it too". If you don't know this fabulous game and you like the asian culture (i think you do...) watch it (don't worry the games rules are very well explained and you follow Hikaru's initiation) and you'll only think of playing Go all the day ^^.

[Mae]

Sick of all those Naruto fillers? Bleach not enough to fill the void? Want to watch a good shounen anime? Well, if you enjoyed Naruto then I have some recs for you!

Shaman King : This series follows the adventures of a laid back Japanese student named Asakura Yoh in his quest to become the Shaman King. As a shaman Yoh has the ability to summon spirits of the dead to fight for him. He forms a partnership with one particular spirit and then enters the world-wide competition to become King, which is mainly a series of fights to determine which shaman is the strongest. There's plenty of action and adventure in this one as Yoh meets new friends, new enemies, and of course enemies that become friends. I found it a fairly typical action series, but entertaining enough. There are 64 episodes, and yes, it is complete. An edited version of the series was partially aired on American television.

Hunter X Hunter: Another shounen series about a young boy named Gon who is on a quest to become a hunter and find his missing father, one of the most famous hunters of all. This series has a fantasy world setting with plenty of exotic and dangerous locations. Hunters are powerful and honored professionals that dedicate their lives to hunting down rare or exotic people or items (anything from criminals to gems to rare foods). To become a hunter Gon has to pass a insanely difficult test of strength, endurance, and intelligence. Along the way he makes friends and enemies, and of course has plenty of adventures. Now, Hunter X Hunter is NOT complete, but it has a 62 episode TV series and 3 OVA's (First Hunter X Hunter OVA, 8 episodes; then HunterX Hunter: Greed Island: 8 episodes; and lastly Hunter X Hunter: Greed Island Final, 14 episodes). But I'd still reccomend it to someone looking for a good action series. It's definately entertaining, and what has been released covers some complete story arcs. The manga is ongoing in Japan.

[Munsu]

Key the Metal Idol

This is a really wierd one. Lots of gore, and a fairly good story to back it up. It's about this robot named Key, whose master just died, possibly murdered. One thing she learned from him was that she had to make 30,000 friends in order to become human. In the meantime, an organization is after her because she can possibly be the most powerful weapon out there. If you want a serious anime, with a decent plot that makes you think, and some gore... This is the way to go.


Key the Metal Idol by a4e (http://www.anime-4ever.org/torrents/torrents.php?torrent=[a4e]Key_The_Metal_Idol_01-15.torrent)


http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/4474/key13cg.gif

[Naroku]

Susuka- This series is awesome beyond belief. It focuses around a freshman by the name of Akitsuki who comes to Tokyo from his home in Hiro Shima. He comes to live in a bath house that would usually have all girls. But don't be fooled it's not a Love Hina rip-off, it's better! Akitsuki develops a crush on a girl named Asahina Suzuka. And it is just this GREAT drama with excellent romance and can be very funny at times. Definitely go see it now! you will fall in love with it!

http://a.scarywater.net/lunar/

[KaosSinner]

Full Metal Alchemist: Anime based on alchemy, a scientific process by which even lead can be transformed into gold. The two main characters Edward and Alfonse are brothers living in a peaceful town. Their childhood is as normal as any other till one day their mother dies. Unable to bear this fact They try experimenting with human alchemy, the only forbiden alchemy, and end up losing parts of themselves. To reverse their actions they go on a journey to discover the misteries of alchemy and to search for the only object that can help them... An entriguing story full of fun, tenderness, action, sadness and tragedy, a mixture of life itself.

[redemption2]

Hunter x Hunter: A shounen Anime and one of the unlicensed gems, even though the manga is being translated in the US. As the protagonist, a preteen by the name of Gon, searches for his father, of the most famous "Hunters" in the world, he meets and joins up with three good friends with their own quirks and secrets. As he struggles to become a Hunter and deal with the Hunter's world, he meets many challenges and a villain named Hisoka, who's true power may never be known. The sejyuu were very well casted, even though most of them are female for the male parts, and the storyline grips you without choking you. Not too fast paced, but not too slow either. The music helps out a lot for the feeling in the story. The animation quality improves with each OVA, and even though the story isn't complete it is still worthwhile to watch. Also try to watch the fansubbed musicals, they may have been low budget but they're still funny.

Last Exile: What can I say? Gonzo Digimation's 10th aniversary series, and they went all out on the graphics, making a seamless visual masterpiece in both two and three dimensions. Take WWI weaponry, chivalry, and antigravity, set to liquify, and pour into an hourglass, and that's what you get for the world of Last Exile. The Vanship Pilot Claus and his navigator and childhood friend Lavi make a living delivering messages to people all across the world, until they come across a mysterious and adorable little girl named Alvis.... Though the story revolves around Claus and Lavi, there are plenty of other side characters and miniature stories inside. The music is also very good, and gives a Celtic feel even though some of it is electronic. Quite honestly, this is a must see for anyone, and a must have for true fans of anime. Though some things are left unexplained it leaves you feeling fascinated in this alternate world.

Xenosaga: The Animation: For those that have never played the game you will be thoroughly confused, as this goes too fast and is full of plot holes. Based on the PS2 game, Xenosaga 1, it was basically made for the animation, and to rehash what happened in the first episode of the game for the release of the second, and also to introduce the new character models for the artists that took over when the original team walked off the job. The CG animation is pure beauty that reminds me a lot of the graphics engine for Firefly. The music doesn't help the situations at all, and I was honestly bored with it after 6 episodes, but I kept going just for the animation. That alone is worth it.

[Munsu]

Kurau Phantom Memory

Now this is an awesome series, it's on my top 5 all time. It is close to being my favorite all time. It's about a little girl that gets into an accident with her dad's experiment. The accident caused a new type of energy, which is an entity also, to take over her body and memories, and at the same time gains supernatural powers. As the new energy takes over her body, her consciousness goes into a deep sleep. Ten years later, she's living as an agent, and it is now when a powerful organization goes after her. This series is full of great action, awesome music, and great drama.

I recommend downloading the Sora version, but it's practically impossible to find unless you use emule, here's a link for AnimeYuki's version, though Sora's version was much better.

http://isohunt.com/download.php?mode=bt&amp;id=4184380

http://forums.gotwoot.net/mess...1017&amp;enterthread=y (http://forums.gotwoot.net/messageview.cfm?catid=5&amp;threadid=11017) = Discussion Thread

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/6628/ac256m13vd.jpg

[Munsu]

Legend of Galactic Heroes

This is the longest running OVA out there. Around 10 years in the making, 110 episodes released. It's a sci-fi series like the likes of Crest of the Stars. Main plot of the series is two differrent powers controling two sides of the Universe. One follows a democratic rule, while the other is an Empire. Both sides have their heroes, both of whom you will sympathyze and like. Sometimes you don't even know who to root for. Lots of strategic warfare, politics, conspiracies, murders, battles, betrayals, and a bit of romance if you can call it that. It's an amazing story, I doubt you'll regret it. You'll basically see everything here, even gore when you don't expect it, it really comes out of nowhere. Anyways, for more info on this series you should read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...of_the_Galactic_Heroes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Galactic_Heroes)

http://a.scarywater.net/ca/ &lt;--- To download the series, up to episode 58 released.

http://forums.gotwoot.net/mess...5494&amp;enterthread=y (http://forums.gotwoot.net/messageview.cfm?catid=5&amp;threadid=15494&amp;enterthread =y) = Discussion Thread

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1337/glh021el.jpghttp://img509.imageshack.us/img509/8908/ghl82sb.jpg

[masamuneehs]

Originally posted by: Budweineken
Legend of Galactic Heroes

Yes, the Legend!

Ah, 30 seconds. Go!

This show is really cool. The number one aspect I like the best about this show is that the writing is INCREDIBLE! I find that all the characters (despite being animatedly a little too similairly) have vastly different personalities and this shows in their manner of speaking and the things they talk about.

The way this show treats the subject of war and humanity makes Gundam look light and goofy (especially the more recent ones). This show carefully explores all aspects of war: politics, strategy, position, morale, deciept, alliances, spying.

You might be turned off by the 1st episode (I was) and I really didn't start getting attached to this show until around episode 8, but like Bud said above THIS SHOW IS OVER 100 EPISODES LONG! It really heats up around 16 and up.

EDIT: Some really kick ass characters. Oberstein's eyes will rule you! (if they dont run out of batteries...)

[yallo]

Paranoia Agent

The story is set in modern day Tokyo. On the surface, this is a mystery story revolving around the identity of a mysterious attacker called the Shounen Bat, who goes around attacking people with a baseball bat. Two detectives set out to solve the biazzare cases and the story takes the most unexpected twist from there. An extremely deep and twisted anime that will leave you going "What the---" after you've finished all 13 episodes of it. I watched the version subbed by Anime-Kraze and at the end of the last episode, they left this message: "Please take care of what remains of your sanity." Guess this is a good indication of what you'll be getting yourself into if you ever try this anime. *grinz* Highly recommended.

http://static.flickr.com/38/84839998_7e12790033_o.jpg

[Psyke]

Sounds interesting. I remember watching the first episode quite some time back, but never really did got to follow it up. I'm gonna go download it now i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif

Edit: I've just finished watching the entire series. I thought the first 2 episodes were brilliant, and instantly got me hooked. However, the series seemed to go downhill from there on. I didn't like the fantasy aspects of the show, and would have preferred it if more emphasis was put on the psychological dealings of Shonen Bat. Still a interesting show, nevertheless.

[badass]

Boogiepop Phantom (12 episodes)

One of the most innovative and thought-provoking animes out there. However, this show isn't for everyone. It's dark, fucked up, and extremely complex. The external plot of the story is about the unusal events ocurring in a Japanese city: a mysterious light shooting into the sky, suicides, brutal serial killings, and disappearances said to be caused by the "Angel of Death," Boogiepop. Boogiepop Phantom is a profound anime, but it'll require extra effort for you to really understand it.

Boogiepop Phantom by Vision-Anime (http://tracker.stfu.ca/torrents/%5bV-A%5d_BoogiePop.torrent)

http://store.animeinternational.com/images/dvds/rsdvd2023.jpg



Now and Then, Here and There (13 episodes)

Don't let the first episode fool you; this isn't fun and kiddie. It's dark, grim, and often depressing. Unlike most serious sci-fi anime though, the plot is straightforward and easy to understand. It follows a naively innocent boy who gets teleported to another world while trying to rescue a mysterious girl. He soon finds out just how hellish the world he ends up in really is. What makes the series stand out is that it doesn't hesitate to display the hellishness. If you can handle that, the simple yet compelling storyline makes it easy for anyone to enjoy this show.

Now and Then, Here and There by KickAssAnime (http://kaa.animeconnection.net/torrentpage/torrents/[KAA]_Now_and_Then_Here_and_There.01-13.DVD.torrent)

http://www.world-art.ru/animation/img/1000/651/1.jpg

[TruthofMistake]

hmm great thread idea im dling 4 seasons of shows due to recomendations in this thread =P. Now, on to my small contribution.

Mahoromatic: Awsome anime. It has an interesting and moving plot that always made me want to watch more. Its about a military robot in the form of a women who leaves service to enjoy her last days as shes going to run out of juice soon. She decides to take up residence with a young boy and some pretty funny scenes ensue. For genre its a romantic comedy with some action thrown in as well. It has interesting, if not original, characters and in my opinion as i stated before a great anime. The only real thing i disliked about it was that at the very end of each episode they had a countdown to when she shut down which was a bit of a downer to me.

[masamuneehs]

Kyou Kara Maou

Bishounen lovers eat your heart out! This is the story of Yuuri, an ordingary boy who loves baseball and often gets babied by his mom. One day he finds himself in a strange world where it is revealed to him that he is to be the next Maou, a king of demons. Yuuri has four assistants who all serve him and hope to mould him into a good ruler.

Obviously this is a pretty re-hashed concept, but what makes KKM entertaining is that rather than dancing around the implied yaoi/shounen-ai concept it takes it by the throat. KKM is full of homosexual innuendo. But don't think for a second that this is some sappy romance. On the contrary, KKM pokes fun at itself, at all yaoi-catering anime, by not trying to cover any of the cliches it uses (even exaggerating them) and making fun of both stock bishounen characters and the fangirls that obsess over them.

That being said, this show is very light on action and the concept gets a little played out after awhile. Serious parts of the show often fall flat on their faces and the characters stick to their exaggerated personas too much (IMO). That being said, the second season has been much better so far.

edit - the second season is actually very good. the plot gets much more suspenseful and there's some simply awesome scenes in there. still lots of comedy though

It's good for a laugh, but understandably doesn't suit everyone's taste. However this is a must see for any one-time (or current) yaoi/yuri fan out there.

Masa's Score:
Concept: 8/10
Execution: 4/10
Animation: 7.5/10 (sometimes incredible, other times noticeably mediocre. Bonus for excellent character design and vibrant colors)
Music: 2/10 (suckage)
Story: 4/10
Humor: 9/10

Overall: 6/10
Recommended sub: AonE (w/Anime Kraze) !

http://images-jp.amazon.com/images/P/B0009RB7ME.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Munsu]

Capeta

I highly recommend it to fans of Major and Initial D. It's a racing anime that starts in the young days of Capeta, a boy raised by a single dad, as he starts to get submerged in the world of car racing. Currently Capeta is racing in go-karts, but hopefully by the end of the series he would've grown up and be racing in F1, at least the op hints the he will. The atmosphere is very similar to that of Major, though no major tragedy has happened so far. There are lots of introspection, which I usually like in anime, it gives characters more dimensions.

Releases:
http://a.scarywater.net/ae/ = 1-6 by Anime-Empire
http://www.anime-empire.net/bt = The rest by Anime-Empire

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/5006/vol018sx3mr.jpg

[Kraco]

Neo Ranga

Three orphaned Japanese sisters, two school girls and one doing odd jobs to sustain them, follow their long lost brother's letter to a tropical southern island. And find themselves declared the kings of that island nation, as successors to their brother. Not much impressed by it, they return to Japan, Tokyo. But soon the enigmatic god of the island follows them to Japan: A hulking, sentient, nearly invincible robot like being. Although the god, Neo Ranga, seems to be a servant to the new kings, there is something more to the being than that.

Not really an action series, although it does contain plenty of that as well, Neo Ranga more concentrates on how hard it is to own a giant robot in a suburban area, and how differently people and nations might treat you as a consequence. And what kind of responsibility it brings to you if you have an ultimate weapon at your disposal. And does the weapon really want to be a weapon, in the end. Well, add to that consipiracies, sinister plots and ancient enmities of devastating scale, and you have Neo Ranga.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9485/neoranga7ao.jpg

48 episodes, but each only half length (15 mins). Nice graphics, if a bit old school ( this is a Studio Pierrot show, btw). Not available at Boxtorrents, so check isohunt (http://isohunt.com/torrents.php?ihq=neo+ranga&ext=&op=and&iht=-1) for example.

[silverlegend]

]The story of Ragnarok the Animation entails the adventures of Yuufa, an Acolyte, and Roan, a swordsman, as they set out across the Rune-Midgard Kingdom. Having emotionally recovered from the death of her older brother Keogh during a crucial mission in Glast Heim, Yuufa and Roan set out on a new journey that will open them up to many mysteries and even more dangerous situations. Along the way, they are joined by a merchant named Maaya, the magician Takius, the hunter Judia, and their old companion, the assassin Iruga. Iruga was Keogh's childhood friend, and had saved from Yuufa and Roan from the terrible dangers of Glast Heim.

As the story unravels, the personalities of each character developes to a point where you are able to learn more about their lives, personal strengths and weaknesses. You get the chance to learn about each character individually, and how they become who they are today. Also, you start to get involved in a bigger mystery, as the conditions of the Rune-Midgard Kingdom suddenly take a turn for the worst, and an unexpected figure makes his appearance among the most devious of enemies. As the world begins to become wrapped up in a struggle between good and evil, Yuufa and Roan soon find themselves in the midst of the chaos.

Will the heroes be able to overcome their own weaknesses in time to save the world from a terrible fate? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.



please help me to find and watch online all the episodes of ragnarok the animation, it is an anime which i am starting to love!!!:D
but anyway, u should try it too!!! i found some ep in youtube, just put ragnarok the animation episodes in the searching space, or go to oocanada's profile....
thanks a lot!

http://pds.egloos.com/pds/1/200501/07/57/a0011457_1644535.jpg

[Death BOO Z]

I'm going to put my 30 seconds on an anime called Shuffle.
it's a romance comedy anime from the hermen genre (one lame guy that all the hot chicks like for an unknown reason), so you basically know what to expect.
the main dude is Rin, who, as usual in this genre, has no special attribuities whatsoever, beside the mystry attribute of being 'Kind', go figure. the girls around him are the girl he lives with, Keade, who takes care of him and whatever he needs. a demon girl called Nerine and a heaven girl called Sia, both of which have met him eight years ago and have been hot for him ever since.
there are a couple more girls around, but I'll leave them out for now.

the main problem of the show is that it has a really, really slow start, up until the middle (episode 12 or so, out of 24) nothing basically happens. and what's worse - not one of the girls seems to care about the other suitors (basically, everybody's good good friends with everyone else- BORING!), in other words, no conflict or a driving force.
it changes once we reach the 2nd half, each girl is revealed to have some dark past. While most of what we see was done before, it's never bad to see a pretty girl go nuts, isn't it? beside, one of the charecters drops a knife vertically and almost kills another charecter, which is a scene that must be watched, over and over again!

in the end, Shuffle manages to be dark enough to be fun for adult viewers that don't like hermen animes, and has lots of pretty anime girls for those who do.
sure, it's no elfen lied, but how many animes are? give shuffle a try, and enjoy the nastiness of jealousy and disturbed females. it's allways fun.


Fansubbed by froth-bite. 24 eps, 2004.

[Ryllharu]

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/6734/a60310thumbnail90gs2.jpg

Hyper Police: This series was a real surprise for me. It's a world where humans have become an endangered species after the World of Monsters and the human world became intermingled. The main character is a catgirl with [insert cliche random powerful ability] who is a bounty hunter. I'll get right to it, this series is full of cliches. But what makes it stand out is that despite all the cliches, it manages to be entirely original. They change the order of where cliches appear in the story. The "I've lost the will to fight" cliche appears within the first 6 eps, instead of towards the end of the series. Huge sweeping changes happen quite often to the characters in the series, their demeanor, their role in the series, and the circumstances they live in. There is also a hidden maturity to the series. The city is filled with people who are mostly half of some animal or another, and there is an entire eps where the entire city is in heat.

A series that uses every cliche in the book, but manages to completely defy convention.

25 eps total.

[TruthofMistake]

Aoki Desetsu Shoot!: This is an anime following the Kakegawa High School soccer team. Kakegawa High's team is brand new being formed only a year before the three main characters show up at the school. It was formed when a soccer prodigy named Kubo started to attend their school wanting to build a team of his own. Despite how new they are there's a lot of talent on the team. I personally love this anime. It deals with the characters making tough choices and getting through hard times. Because it's an older show the animation isn't the best so if your in it for the eyecandy this is probably not the show for you. The characters aren't all that original either but they fill their rolls well enough that you don't really notice.

Legend of Condor Hero: Well, I'v been preaching about this show for a long time, and for good reason. Although it is fairly new (made within the last 5 or so years I think) the drawing style doesn't really show it. The draw is the plot. It's an action/romance following a rebellious boy and the current master of the Old Tomb school of Kung Fu. The would be couple faces numerous challenges throughout the series. It's pretty orginal as a whole, at least I haven't seen anything like it, and remains in my top 10 favorite anime series of all time.

[David75]

Ayakashi:Japanese Classic Horror Show.
This anime started this year, is to date a collection of 11 episodes, split in three different stories animated from Kabukis.

The first story is about Oiwa, a young bride that is abondonned by Iemon after he became a ronin in every possible meaning of it. We witness the transition of Oiwa from a bride to a devil spirit and the curses accompanying her.

I have to say this first story let me mixed feelings. I liked the artwork very much, all about the atmosphere too, the edo era life and so on. Something interresting: With each ep, some subbers make a pdf to explain parts of the story and history, so that we are not completly lost.
I liked some of the tricks and the particularly malicious end (I mean the very end) that can potentialy make you unconfortable :D
I disliked the slowlyness of the story at some points, and sometimes some caricatures of people... but I can't be more precise.

Second story:
It's about forgotten Gods that feed on humans to remain alive (pretty much in the same fashion as the Wraiths in Stargate Atlantis :D ).
A young maried Falconer will share buds love with the Forgotten God Master who happens to be quite beautifil in her own way, although she looks different. The story is about their impossible love and consequences they'll have to face.

I liked the artwork very much too. Although in some scenes I felt it was not as good as in other, particularly proportions and so on. Probably because it's a multiple hands work.
The story is well paced, it's very interresting to switch from very peaceful sceneries and scenes, to a lot more violent ones. The best of the 3 stories, eventhough its scenario is a bit too simple.

Third Story:
I was particularly bored watching that one, didn't like the artwork too... It's not that bad, just not my thing. I won't try to sum up the plot, as I may spoil the whole story.

Overall: It's a nice way of spending a good time.

PS:
The opening theme is particular, at first it's very agressive and anachronical I could write...
but in the end, you can bear it and even enjoy it. Why is that? because it matches the clip very well, the artworkd is sometimes magnificient in these 3 openings, matching the 3 stories. My advice would be to try it, and then switch off sound... just to be sure you won't miss the artwork in the openings. The ending song is more peaceful, something you'll listen with pleasure.
PS2:Sorry for the long review, but it was a 3 in one. Hope it was "readable" and you'll enjoy this anime at least as much as I did... Hope you were not disgusted from watching it because of my poor skills at english :D

[Death BOO Z]

Kagihim Eykuu Alice Rondo (13 eps, Froth-bite subs).

tags: magic girls, transforming girls, alice stories, brother complex.

the story is about a boy named Arthur (Aruto) who has a strange fetish with alice (in wonderlan, in the land of mirrors) stories. one night he sees a girl jumping between rooftops with a bunny suit and he followes her, and finds out that she fights other transforming girls to take away their 'stories', parts of memories said to create the final alice story. they join together to complete the quest and read the book.

In between, we have the annoying little sister with the brother complex, the annoying girl with the shota complex, the annoying smart older girl, and lots of annoying people in the middle. basically, it's really annoying.

Personally, I'm not too excited about this anime, it's got nothing new to show, it's not done in any special way and the charecters are total overuse, it's got "Rozen Maiden" wrriten all over it, just without the funny parts, or the intersting parts. Also, there's far too much pesudo-plot in the series, and even the music, which is usually a strong point in those kinds of anime, is suprisingly weak...

and on a special note, be it good or bad in your opinion, they show the girls gainning bigger breasts when they transform into thier combat modes..

Numberic score: 60 - you aren't missing anything, but you won't suffer misreably.

[Zati]

Just finished watching Hikaru No Go, and this is one of my fav series now. I been watching this since back then, but stopped for a long time because too much animes and tv shows to watch. I finally finished it, and it's one of the great sports/game kind of series I've seen, if you can put it in the genre of sports. I think a lot of other people agree this is a good old series, but didn't have the best ending. The game of Go is really great, and this anime got me interested in it. Watching Hikaru grow up was great, him meeting new people, how he got better and better, and how Sai was always there helping and teaching him. Shindou, Touya , Sai, all great characters! Let me play Sai!

Great anime! Try a few episodes and see.

[Sapphire]

I'm loving Kyou Kara Maoh.. The first episodes were hilarious. That's what got me hooked. *ahemaccidentalproposalahem* But towards season one I kept thinking.. THIS IS JUST LIKE YU GI OH OR POKEMON.. AHHHHH!! But the series quickly redeems itself during season two. The fight scenes are good.. but they aren't edge-of-my-seat-hardcore-awesome.. sadly. They're pretty mangaish--choppy frames and what not. They don't spend too time making money shots, but that's understandable because it's a long running series. On ANN it says it's for teens, but it seems like a show more oriented for younger people. I wonder if that one character is really going to marry his fiance? XDD


Mushishi
This anime has a very melancholy and bittersweet tone to it. Some of the episodes are real tearjerkers. It's very realistic and easy to comprehend. (The first episode for me was like, "WHOA WHAT?! -- I believe I ignorantly said that it is more down trodden than Fruits Basket and more confusing than Lain..) It's been so long since I got my hands on a good "non-ninjaish" podering, thinking anime). There are heavy themes of death, but also life, in this anime. I hope they do another season or 5.

The characters have very realistic temperments. You don't really see any characters who are overly flamboyant or have that "I'm going to save the world! Believe it!" kind of attitude. They are just normal people who live normal lives just like us. Ginko reminded me of Kakashi because of his laid back dispositoin. (And more obvious physical characteristics.)

I can't say that I have a favorite or least favorite episode. I think they're all amazing. If someone were to draw a picture of a main character from episode, let's say, 7, I probably wouldn't be able to identify him. I can recall their stories well, but I couldn't name all of them by their faces or clothing like I could a few other anime. The characters in this anime are slightly similar in looks, but when you look at their history, themeselves, they are quite unique. I guess kind of what an outsider would say when coming to a foreign country,

This is the type of anime where nothing and no one is truly evil. We are all just creatures who live our own way, and survive in which way we can. I think I hated the Mushi for the first 15 episodes or so until I realized this myself.

The animation and soundtrack are beautiful. Every time I hear the ending theme I could swear it's a little bit different. Hell, maybe it is. If you haven't seen this anime, go get it while Anbu is still distributing it! I'm rather surprised that they decided to finish this anime, but I can definately see why. This anime is amazing. A must see for any avid anime watcher.

[Kraco]

During my eternal search for quality vampire shows, I happened to come upon a title called Comedy by Studio 4°C (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_4%C2%B0C). I'm not terribly familiar with this studio, and The Animatrix might be the only title from them I've seen before. But they have a long list of produced stuff.

Studio 4°C - Comedy
http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/Studio4cComedy.jpg

Comedy is a short, 10 minutes film located in old Ireland. It tells about a little girl who wants to hire a legendary but ominous and strange swordsman to defend her village against invading English cavalry.

The art style is quite stylized in the flat style the wikipedia article describes Studio 4°C works to follow. However, considering the duration of no more than 10 minutes, and the fact the style is only of high contrast and often of few shades, yet still rich in details when needed, it's not something that would distract at all. So, I'm not talking about the kind of stylization you find (and like or hate) in shows like Gankutsuou. Furthermore, the darkness of the settings is nicely enhanced by the flat, high contrast style.

Overall this short film works excellently. The story is told perfectly in 10 minutes without too little or too much details. The background music is Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria", and works like it was composed just for this film (Schubert was a great anime music composer of the early 19th Century). The sum of the story, design, music, visual arts and action works exquisitely.

Highly recommended. Oh, and the name isn't just random.

ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3554), AniDB (http://anidb.info/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1054). Boxtorrents torrent link (http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=127201) (contains a couple of other Studio 4°C productions as well, but they aren't nearly as good as Comedy).

[Kraco]

While I always hope almost all the shows I watch to have romance in them, I have watched few actual romance series. Notable exceptions are Karekano, Bokura Ga Ita, KGNE, REC, and maybe one or two I can't now remember. I decided to grow the list with one little ova, Winter Garden.

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/wintergarden.jpg

The name is actually Di Gi Charat - Winter Garden, and this is supposedly a spinoff of Di Gi Charat Nyo (TV) (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2545), which I find hard to believe, even though I haven't even seen the original series (nor will see from what it looks like).

Winter Garden tells about Dejiko (in the screenshot) who lives with her younger sister. She works at a cafe / baker's shop, while her sister Puchiko (same voice actor as Aruruu, btw) still goes to school. One Christmas, when walking home from the shop, she stops by at a park, and a fateful encounter takes place.

This is a nice 2 episodes story. Very coherent and focused due to the limited length, yet it still manages to contain most of the elements present in longer series, even if they are necessarily somewhat simplified, and the whole plot is quite predictable. Yet the atmosphere is nice, and what is important for me, there are no ugly things in this story.

AniDB entry (http://anidb.info/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4797)
ANN entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2545)
Official site (http://www.broccoli.co.jp/dejiko/anime.html)
DL: Episode 1 (http://a.scarywater.net/doremi/%5BDoremi-Spork%5D%20Di%20Gi%20Charat%20-%20Winter%20Garden%2001%5BD41595C1%5D.avi.torrent) , Episode 2 (http://a.scarywater.net/doremi/%5BDoremi-Spork%5D%20Di%20Gi%20Charat%20-%20Winter%20Garden%2002%5BD60F2AD2%5D.avi.torrent) - Doremi-Spork.

[Mae]

Di Gi Charat (original series)

I thought I'd review this briefly since Kraco mentioned it. I haven't seen the new series, but it sounds completely different from the original wacky comedy. The original is centered around two characters (Puchiko and Dejiko) that started out mascots for a gaming store and due to their popularity ended up stars of their own series.

In the show the two are aliens that crash on earth and end up working for the gaming store. It's doesn't have a lot of plot but mainly has the two of them blowing up fanboys with their eye beams, fighting giant monsters, going on picnics, feuding with a wannabe idol (Rabi en Rose), etc. Very silly, often somewhat bizarre, kind of like Excel in a way with its fandom in jokes. It's been about 5 years since I've seen it, but I remember liking it at the time. Something to watch if you want something random, weird, and not at all serious.


Black Blood Brothers [some mild spoilers]

For a vampire anime, you might want to try this series. It's about a conflict between two groups of vampires. The first are "Black Blood" vamps that are an old, powerful group divided into "families" that are based on members originating from one single powerful vampire. They prefer to live quietly and don't have to kill humans when they bite them. They only make new vampires if the human drinks vampire blood. The second are Kowloon children, descended from a new type of vampire that changes anyone they bite (even other vampires) into crazed monsters which in turn infect everyone THEY bite.

The series is set in a modern city that is a sanctuary for Black Blood vampires. Jirou, a vampire famous from the fight with the first outbreak of Kowloon children, travels to the city with his younger brother, gets into trouble, and ends up dealing with a new outbreak. Much ass-kicking ensues. This series is short (12 eps) and seems to cover the first part of a larger story (it's based off a book) but where it ends makes sense, and it's enjoyable enough just for what it is. I hope there's a sequel.

[infidel]

The Vision of Escaflowne (WARNING: Contains some mild spoilers.)

The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode series, focusing on the adventures of Hitomi Kanzaki on the world of Gaea. I was first turned onto the series after posting in the recommendation thread here on Gotwoot. Through the first half of the series I was impressed with how seamlessly the genres melded; the genres included many different fantasy elements from several cultures and the classic Mecha Sci-Fi genre. But as the series grew on I became weary of the constant plot twists, and the many sub-plots...one including a love triangle of Soap Opera proportions.

Though the series may not be everyone's cup of tea, it does have its pros. It is not a straight out Mecha anime and not one of the fantasy genre that is so far out there. I would only recommend this anime to those who do not mind thinking back on previous episodes and connecting them to future ones.

Major pro of the series: Seamlessly introduces mythology from various cultures, as well as futuristic sci-fi themes.

Major con of the series: During the second half of the series, it takes a turn for the worst. Constant plot twists and a sub plot involving predetermined fate may be confusing for the viewer.

[infidel]

Eureka seveN (WARNING: Contains some mild spoilers.)

Eureka seveN is an anime series spanning fifty episodes. It follows the adventures of Renton Thurston, the son of military hero Adrock Thurston. Renton's life changes drastically when Eureka a strange girl, who is later revealed to be a Coralian, and her Nirvash typeZERO crash into Renton's room. After which he joined the renegade group Gekkostate led by his idol, Holland Novak.

The spoilers were unnecessary

However, Eureka seveN does have some benefits to the series. The character depth is amazingly deep...you grow actual feelings towards each character. Also, the voice infliction is amazing - not flat at all. Too bad they couldn't wrap up all the character sub-plots before they ended the series.

I recommend this series for any of those who like to make connections to everything, and come to their own conclusions. Those who have a short attention span stay away.

[Kraco]

Ichigeki Sacchuu!! HoiHoi-san

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/hoihoisan.jpg

In a not so distant future insects have become increasingly resistant to all manner of insecticides. The Japanese, surprise surprise, choose to fight against the pests with robots. Hoi Hoi-san is a minuscule autonomous robot fully equiped to carry out this ruthless, nocturnal mission with unerring efficiency.

This one ep ova tells about one Hoi Hoi-san, her owner, a salesgirl in a shop selling Hoi Hoi-sans plus her friend, and last but not least about Combat-san, Hoi Hoi-san's eternal competitor.

The length of the ova is only about 11 minutes, but it uses that limited time exquisitely. The plot is a slice-of-life style, which undoubtly contributes to the balanced, unhurried feeling the anime gave. Technical aspects were fine, no complaints whatsoever. I can heartily recommend this anime.

AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=2177), ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4507), Official (http://www.mediaworks.co.jp/d_original/hoihoisan/index.php).

Download: Scarywater (A-Flux, the subber) (http://a.scarywater.net/a-flux/%5BA-Flux%5D_Hoi_Hoi-san_OVA_%5B339B779A%5D.avi.torrent), Boxtorrents (http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=127725).

Notes:
Hoi Hoi-san is voice acted by Rie Kugimiya (Shana, Louise Zero, Alphonse Elric).
Combat-san is voice acted by Rie Tanaka (Chii).

[Kraco]

Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu - Magic-Girl Squad - Alice

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/mahoushoujotai.jpg

Traditionally I've had a cautious attitude towards series that have the "mahou shoujo" in their title, notable exceptions being shows like Nanoha. However, if you jump a few posts up in this thread, you'll see my short review of Comedy by Studio 4°C. When Bud suggested me this series, I was as cautious as ever but the fact Studio 4°C is behind this won me over, so impressed I was with Comedy.

"Alice believes in magic. With all her heart, she believes that magic is possible and that it can be used for good deeds and fun games. But suddenly, she finds herself transported into another world, ruled by a mysterious elite of witches - and these witches don't seem to be in it for the fun. They're hard at work capturing sprites, the native magical beings of the world, and forcing them into slavery. Once Alice realizes that her new surroundings aren't just a dream, she sets out to change things." -ANN

The ANN description is so good I'll just be lazy and copy it here. It also sums up the very core of this series: "If you have a heart that believes, anybody can use magic", like Alice says several times during the show. And "magic is meant to make people happy". I can hardly say that attitude is alien to the genre. What makes this show different is the setting: An alien world Studio 4°C has brought to life in a rather remarkable manner. It really feels like you are watching a traditional fairy tail when looking at the graphics.

I won't claim the main character's happy attitude didn't make me pissed off at various points of the show. That always happens when you watch the bad guys kick the good guys' asses yet the heroes refuse to kick back because "magic is not meant for hurting people" (though it seems to work remarkably well in that role...). Fortunately not everybody in the show was so black and white and unlike in great many shows that attitude ended up having some significance in this one, beyond the opinions of the hero.

All in all it was quite enjoyable and worth watching for the Studio 4°C style alone. The story wasn't anything to tell your drinking buddies about, but it flowed well enough, and the character's kept their consistency from the beginning till the end.

AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1607), ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2342), Official (http://www.tweeny-witches.com/), Boxtorrents (http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php/129297/Mahou_Shoujo_Tai_Arusu_(Tweeny_Witches)_Widescreen _DVD_(v2).html)

[Death BOO Z]

Bad reviews always bring the best (wrost) out of any critic.

anime OVA: Gestalt (http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php/127986/Gestalt_a4e.html)



Plot outline: Olivier, a young priest in a powerful church, has heard rumors that a god who will grant any wish lives on a distant island called `G`- a place no one`s traveled to and come back alive! Along with Ohri, a mysterious, mute girl, Olivier fearlessly sets out his journey. But there`s more than meets the eye when they come up against Suzu, the Dark Elf, Olivier`s former ally! See sparks fly when Ohri`s true nature is revealed and the voyage to `G` gets more than dangerous than our heroes bargained for!

Guy meets girl, girl immediatly falls for him, guy goes to town, town is run by an evil being.
Guy is stupid, so he tries to get himself killed in every possible way. Girl has to save guy by using magical powers.

animation: nothing fancy, it's old so it looks that way, but it's not bad, just run of the mill fantasy story.
sound: Jap audio seems to be alright, but keep away from the english dub, it's subpar, even in dubbing standarts.
plot: it's an ova, so we're probably missing the entire thing. it's just a teaser to get someone to buy the manga, but even so, i'm not impressed.

it's the same loddos war you've seen a billion times, elfs (remember kids, dark elves are bad!), dragons, summonning magic (and alot more magic, that needs a chant to a higher being to operate, and stall time), bad fights, reused cells. sometimes it's funny in a dragonhalf way (though, not nearly as good as dragon half), most of the time it's just medicore.

you know from the first moment who's evil, who's nice, who's hiding his power, and who's a zombie in disguise. you know, and you don't care since it's that obvious.
main hero is usless, the girl is crazy in love, the pretty boy bishonen is also strong, the beautifull older mature woman is bad (and get's to be called a hag), and everybody who looks like cannon folder, is cannon folder.

if it was longer than two OVA's i wouldn't have bothered, but becuase it's so short, it's fine to waste 50 mintues on it, just to see that cliche' will remain cliche', and get a good perspective of how much better series we get now.

and in the words of the anime itself (not really, just the pompus style of magic): "I call upon thee, the mighty lord of grades, who is most benevolent and ask thy, to grant upon this ova the mark of truth, which reflects the light of the blessed moon. TWOOO out of FIVE!"

not something that will make you completly suffer, but nothing siginificant.

[Ryllharu]

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1916/1564ww1.jpg(Image courtesy of AniDB)
Kaleido Star:
51 Episodes, Gonzo

It's a little hard to describe what genre this series would really fall in. The plot is fairly shonen in formula, but the series would certainly appeal to younger viewers and the female fan.

The series follows Sora Naegino (Ryou Hirohashi: ARIA, Clannad, Bamboo Blade) as she strives to become a member of Kaleido Stage, an American version of Cirque de Solei with a theater in a generically-named west coast city. Sora has many antagonists in the series, from the current star of the show, Layla Hamilton (Sayaka Ohara: Code Geass, xxxHolic, ARIA) who is disgusted with Sora's initially sloppy abilities and others who misinterpret Sora's intentions for arrogance. A theme that repeats in the second half as well. Sora rises through the ranks to become a star in her own right, and she is plagued by a self-described Spirit of the Stage who claims she is on the way to qualify for a Great Legendary Maneuver.

This series is definitely light fare, but you get exactly what you expect out of it. A fun, entertaining series. A few of the side characters are beyond obnoxious, truly arrogant creatures, but with a series like this, you can always been sure they will have their own turnaround. Some of the over the top circus moves are fun to watch, but one thing I was glad to see was how the series incorporates the real dangers performers like these are around. Deaths are mentioned in the series, injuries are frequent, and the brutal training and performing the cast goes through always leaves them completely exhausted.

AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=635) ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1805)