30 Second Anime Review

[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. 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


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, AniDB. Boxtorrents torrent link (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.



The name is actually Di Gi Charat - Winter Garden, and this is supposedly a spinoff of Di Gi Charat Nyo (TV), 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
ANN entry
Official site
DL: Episode 1, Episode 2 - 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



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, ANN, Official.

Download: Scarywater (A-Flux, the subber), Boxtorrents.

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



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, ANN, Official, Boxtorrents

[Death BOO Z]

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

anime OVA: Gestalt

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]

(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 ANN