Originally posted on the Anime Guidepost blog, January 30th, 2008.
WOW!
I haven't updated in forever!! Time to start over. I'm just going to
start blitzing through a ton of stuff and try to not have massive
reviews but rather focus on shorter and more to the point blurbs.
Hopefully, this will make up for not being consistent. I'll try to do
better.
If
you want to know my opinion of Anime Banzai 2007, I was disappointed.
It was small and none of the major liscencing companies had booths or
anything. It kinda sucked. And don't even get me started on the cosplay
battle thingy. That was bad. Then again, I was only there for about 4
hours. I need to get my own car.
For
those who wish to know, I'm currently in the middle of Magic Knight
Rayearth, Azumanga Daioh, School Rumble, and Escaflowne. Expect reviews
for them shortly. Now, onto the mayhem!
Origin ~Spirits of the Past~
Animation: *****
Story: **
Music: ***
Overall: ***
When I saw trailers for this, I have to admit I was impressed. The animation looked good. And so I thought I'd check it out.
And
let me tell you, the Animation really was sweet. Seeing Agito tearing
through everything was pretty darn cool. Everything else in the show is
straight eye candy, proof that Gonzo really is one of the best studios
out there.
As
for everything else, however, things become lackluster. While it was a
very interesting world, I couldn't help but think that I'd seen this
before. And then I realized that I had. The plot is very similar to that
of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and that kind of disappointed me. When
the ending came, I thought that Shunack's death was a little dumb. The
whole thing seemed barely held together and had an envirormentalist
shtick thrown on top of it all, making it feel like a bit of a waste of
time. IU also had a hard time with the characters and I didn't really
care what happened to them in the end. It's a shame to see such great
animation on such a let-down of a story.
The
music seemed alright: the theme song was kind of catchy and helped set
the tone of this green apocalyptic world. And Funimation's dub is spot
on as usual.
I think it's worth seeing once, just to watch the animation, but there really isn't much else here that holds water.
Shaman King (64 Episodes)
Animation: ***
Story: ****
Music: ****
Overall: ****
As I had said last August,
I was in the middle of this series and since then I had finished it.
While there were some differences in story from the manga, it was still a
lot of fun to watch. The animation was pretty standard for a Shonen
Jump title, but it was story and the characters that had me hooked. I
also liked a lot of the music. While it has the happy, Pop-style hits
for the themes, the soundtrack also has some gems.
If
there is one thing that I didn't like about the series, it would have
to be the ending that isn't an ending. While I do understand that they
needed make a new ending because they had caught up with the manga
(which is also unfinished), it was a huge let down to see that
everything was simply put on hold for a while instead of having anything
of a decent ending.
In
any case, I think the whole series is worth checking out. If you like
straight forward action with goofy characters and situations, you can't
go wrong with this. I think it faithfully brings out all of the elements
from the original comic. I just wish Funimation would finish releasing
the uncut english version.
Kino's Journey (13 Episodes)Animation: ****
Story: ****
Music: ***
Overall: ***
I
had a friend who recommend this to me as something really out there,
something that makes you think. When I finally got around to watching
it, it definitely left an impact.
To
begin, the world really is fascinating and the animation does it
justice. While it's not really an action series, they still do some
really neat stuff. Every land Kino enters, there's a story involved with
the local citizens and they're pretty fascinating.
However,
it is those stories that really get under your skin. Many times, Kino
runs into one kind of utopia or another that's completely jacked up. In
one world, two warring nations decide to stop warring and release their
aggressive tendencies upon a third, backward nation that really can't
defend itself. And the last episode really drove me crazy. Here, there's
a group of people who think it is their heritage to stay in a certain
place despite the impending doom. To me, their heritage is being able to
move on and survive at all costs. There really is a lot of social
commentary in this show and it really forces you to ponder what you've
seen.
When
I was watching this, I had a hard time with Kino's non-involving
personality. She just wanted to observe and then drive away with no
attachments, and that kind of irked me, too. I ended up making a
comparison to Jing: King of Bandits. You have hero that wanders at
random from place to place, but Jing is the complete opposite, getting
completely involved with the local circumstances to the point that
sometimes he's three times over his head. I guess I prefer heroes and
not observers. Then again, Jing is an action series and Kino is not.
Kino is contemplative and asks for criticism, in a sense.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (14 Episodes)Animation: *****
Story: ****
Music: ***
Overall: ***
The
new cult classic. Haruhi was hyped as the new weird thing since FLCL,
at least that's how I felt the fandom came across to me. So, in the past
months, I checked the whole thing out.
At
first, I was hooked. There was a really weird plot that started with
this girl and grew to time travellers, espers, and aliens. I figured
this was going to be pretty cool and the animation was really good, too.
However, as I kept watching, I slowly realized that I was watching a
sitcom. I really bizarre and freaked out sitcom, but a sitcom
nevertheless. The whole concept of trying to keep things the way they
are was the real kicker for me.
The music was alright and while the whole dance sequence is now immensely popular, I couldn't see it as more than nifty.
All
in all, it's a comedy with some really awesome animation and twisted
premise. I do think it is worth seeing, mostly for Kyon's commentary on
everything, because it really is a crack up, but it just doesn't hook
with me as awesome.
Negmia! (26 Episodes)Animation: ***
Story: **
Music: **
Overall: **
Another
slightly bizarre comedy from the sick mind of Ken Akamatsu, Negima!, as
far as I'm concerned, fails to satisfy in a lot of ways. While
Funimation should be credited for trying to do a show with such a
massive cast, they really couldn't help the story.
The
manga itself is awkward, thanks to Akamatsu prolific use of fan
service, but the anime somehow makes it seem even more awkward. To the
credit of the comic, it really does pick up on the action and tells some
pretty intense tales, the anime fails completely in this category. The
whole Kyoto arc was slaughtered and my knowledge of the manga was the
only thing that helped me get through it with any sanity. While the
final arc to round out the series was a great attempt, it was a stupid
idea in the end. But trying to make Negima into anime must have been a
challenge in and of itself.
In
any case, I would recommend staying away from this one. There are far
better romantic comedies or action series that you could watch.
Trigun (26 episodes)Animation: ****
Story: ****
Music: ****
Overall: ****
Trigun
is an anime classic for American fandom. When I watched it through for
my first time I actually had a hard time with it because I was familiar
with the manga and found all of the differences. However, after a second
time through, I was able to better appreciate it as its own story.
What
can be said that already hasn't been said already. The story is a lot
of fun and then it gets really intense in such a good way. The music is
spot on for a sci-fi western and Madhouse really makes a show with the
animation. The gun play is great, the characters are instantly memorable
(I love Legato's entrance!), and everything is just spot on.
I
recommend this to anyone. I know that it is now quite a bit dated, but
quality is quality and Trigun really sets quite a standard to follow.
Now I just need to watch Trinity Blood.
Well,
that should be good for now. I think from now on, I'm going to try and
tackle quite a list and do it regularly. I doubt each will be this big,
but I'm going to try make it interesting every week. That is, if college
will let me breathe. It's been very intense lately. Nevertheless,
I'm going to keep charging on, watching more and more anime and letting
you people know about it. If you have anything to say, please leave
comments. I'd like to know what you think of my reviews.
Also, I anticipate a site re-design soon. I'm tired of this starter template that I have.
No comments:
Post a Comment