Category: Anime Reviews

When I first started out writing reviews, I reckoned it would be best for shows with a sequel to wait until I got the chance to watch everything of the sequel, before writing the review of the entire series. Then, Red Garden came along. Along with its sequel Dead Girls, which seems to have gone up into smoke. At this point, I honestly doubt whether I can still write an accurate review of that series that ended nine freaking months ago. Hence my decision to just write a review after the end of every series, regardless of whether or not they’ve got a sequel coming somewhere. Anyway, onto the review. I’m not sure about others, but my favourite type of comedy is the witty one. The kind you see in Blackadder, Monty Python and Stephen Fry for example. That’s also the reason why I’m a large fan of the British humour. In any case, it’s a shame that there aren’t many anime like this, though Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei turned out to be one of them. It’s Akiyuki Shinbo’s new show, and really, it’s probably his best series yet. Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei has really been one of the smartest comedy-anime I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t take anything for granted, and takes its comedy further than most other anime. It’s one of the few series that actually builds up its jokes. It’s quite formulaic, it starts with one concept, introduces it, and then makes it increasingly more ridiculous. And yet, it works, and the final episode showed no signs that the creators were running out of inspiration. I’ve also never seen a comedy-anime that addresses so many taboos as this one. There are indeed a lot of stereotypes in this series, but each and every one of them is made to look ridiculous. To make things even better, it also takes the Mick out of the anime-series that try to divert from stereotypes by adding the most obvious personality-trait to said stereotype. The series is also not afraid to keep carrying its jokes further and further. This might lead to repetition in most other shows, but Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei uses this excellently to flesh out its jokes further. The main character also fits this series perfectly. He’s basically a teacher with an incredibly pessimistic outlook on life, and he’s seen committing numerous suicide-attempts throughout the series. The graphics for this series are also absolutely gorgeous, both the character-designs and the background-art. Like expected from Shinbo, his unique sense of direction also adds an extra spark to this series. If you’re into comedies, then I see no reason not to recommend this series. The only bad thing I have to say is that it tends to delve into useless fanservice at times. Especially episode five was bad in this, and all it does is distract from the jokes. Apart from that, though, we’ve got ourselves a gem here. The characters are smart and complement each other perfectly. There’s always at least one character that has critique on a certain scene. Now let’s hope that the second season, which should air in less than two weeks, will remain with the same freshness.]]>

If you’re looking for a short action-anime, then Karas is the way to go. Consisting out of six OVA-episodes, the purpose of this series is to deliver lots of action, stunning production-values and an engaging story. And I must say that it did pretty well. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s excellent for a quick watch. The graphics and music are absolutely stunning. Both the computer-generated 3D-images and especially the traditional drawings are beautiful, rich and detailed. My only complaint is that at times, the two don’t blend in together. The music consists out of lots of violins and cellos, creating an epic atmosphere for this series to work with. But yeah, the plot is just decent. Thankfully, it’s much more detailed than with a show like Afro Samurai, but it’s still not one of the selling points of this series. The setting is quite original, though the plot itself is just enough to keep the action going without feeling annoying. The final episode also is exactly what you’d imagine: an incredibly blown-up fight between the main protagonist and antagonist. While there are a few interesting twists and turns, the lack of time and the other priorities of this series prevent it from becoming really interesting. More time could have been used to flesh out the story a bit much, but instead the creators decided to show more action. Luckily, the characters do a bit better. While they aren’t the best or truly original, the creators do manage to develop them and flesh them out. This prevents Karas to become “just another action-flick”. Obviously, the characters aren’t that deep, but they’re deep enough to make you care about them, and they’re the real reason why the action remains enjoyable through the three hours length of this OVA. The only exception to this is the major bad guy, he really was in need of more depth. One thing that should be noted before watching this is that this isn’t such a good movie to show to your little brother or sister. There are quite a few bloody scenes. Obviously, if you like a quiet pacing, this isn’t an anime for you, but if you’re into action, are easily bored or just a fan of great graphics, then Karas is quite a good recommendation.]]>

There are more than enough anime-series with high-school antics. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about university-antics series. I could be mistaken, but 2007 only featured two of them: Nodame Cantabile, which aired earlier this year, and Moyashimon. Incidentally, both were noitaminA-series. Basically, Moyashimon takes place on an agricultural university. The selling-point is the strange ability of the main character, though: the ability to see bacteria, depicted as cute stuffed-toy-like creatures. The great thing is that Moyashimon would have been an excellent series, even without the germs. It’s got enough material to remain fresh for eleven episodes, and some of the best jokes of the series don’t involve any germs at all. The major good point for this series is the script: the dialogue has been cleverly written to not only teach a few things about germs, but also showcase some hilarious situations in which the characters end up in. If it wasn’t for Suteki Tantei Labyrinth, I’d label Moyashimon as the most eccentric series of the year, but unlike with Labyrinth, I mean this in a good way. As this series takes place in college, it also means that the characters are refreshingly different from the high-school-kids, and they’ve all gone out of their puberty. The result is that the series doesn’t seem to care about stereotypes beyond the main character, and all but him are immediately fresh and different from usual. I especially liked the antics of the two upperclassmen that Sawaki, the main character, befriends. There’s a bit too much useless fanservice here and there, but that’s just a very minor problem. The major problem with this series is that it could have been more. Some scenes drag on a bit too much, and it really feels like the cartoony germs had much more potential than what they showed in the series. The final episodes are also not something to look forward to, as they suddenly introduce a dramatic element that gets nowhere, resolves nothing and has a rather bad conclusion. The scriptwriters of this series are really talented, and I wish they’d have more opportunities to show it. Still, what they do manage to show here is excellent. Moyashimon is a short, well-scripted and imaginative comedy about campus-life at an agricultural college, with perhaps a few humps and bumps along the way. It’s a shame that there doesn’t seem to be a noitaminA-show scheduled for the Winter-Season, because this timeslot always offers refreshingly different and yet excellent series.]]>

Ah, my exams are finally over and what better way to start the Christmas Holiday than with the conclusion of Neon Genesis Evangelion? ^^; Those who watched the original series probably already know that it went way over-budget, resulting in the two infamous final episodes, which caused a public outrage. In response, Gainax came with two movies: Death and Rebirth and the End of Evangelion. I myself saw the original Evangelion a few years ago, but I never had the chance to watch these movies until now. It’s no news that Evangelion has turned into a cash-cow. Therefore, it isn’t such a big surprise to me that Death and Rebirth wasn’t really meant to be a movie. Its only role is to fix a few mistakes of the final episodes of the series, and put the chess-pieces in the right place for the End of Evangelion. A TV-special, like with Code Geass, would have been enough. Because of this, the creators had to fill up time for the rest of the movie. The result? A giant recap-sequence that takes up around two-thirds of the entire airtime. While I admit that it was nice to see the characters back and all, I can’t really imagine how this is better than any recap-episode to someone who just saw the series, where the sequences are still fresh on his or her mind. The only new thing in this part is some added classical music, a very few new frames where characters are playing various instruments and a bit of angsty dialogue. The latter is the only positive thing I can say about the glorified-recap-episode part. Luckily, there is enough new content once the recap is done, and it becomes clear that Gainax is going for the shock-value. Still, it works, and I can say that I’m eager to see what’s in store for the End of Evangelion, so at least the movie served its purpose. The massive slaughter that went on in the process may have been a bit too much, though, and I’m also a bit disappointed how we never saw any of the intentions of the bad guys, and why they chose such a bloody method to get their way. I hope that the End of Evangelion will clear this up, but this really should have been the purpose of Death and Rebirth. Obviously, if you haven’t seen the series, then don’t even bother to try and watch this one. Even with the recap, it’s way too confusing, and you need the knowledge of the first 24 episodes. And obviously, making this one into a movie was a bit too much. Still, it does serve as a nice build-up, but on its own, it’s nothing special.]]>

Gonzo… on one hand they search the borders of anime and storytelling, and work with greatly original premises… … and on the other hand, we have this; generic premises that only stand out in their mediocrity. While others may have loved it, all I saw was a dull, predictable story and annoying characters. For this series, the people from Gonzo decided to bring their own version of the classic by Shakespeare, but this series might also just as well be called “Pete X Catherine”, because the only similarities are the names of the characters. Oh, and the Capulets and the Montagues are still mortal enemies. This is another anime that suffers from the “bad main-character-syndrome”, as I’d like to call it. Both Romeo and Juliet are incredibly whiny teenagers who prevent the storyline from progressing smoothly, and instead they force the series to delve in cheesy and naive morals. Their relationship starts out nicely, but once they’re in love, their relationship starts behaving like that of a bad soap-opera, with excessive amounts of “I love you but I can’t stay with you”. Predictably, the ending for the series is a horrible one, where characters have convenient increases of powers for the sake of storytelling, complete with some screwed-up physics. In terms of storytelling, this series also leaves much to be desired. It took me twenty-four freaking episodes to realize that the characters are supposed to be living on an island, floating in the sky. If that wasn’t bad enough, the characters themselves didn’t even know this. I mean, why was there nobody who would have thought at one point: “gee, I hate it here; why don’t I just travel to a very distant place and see what happens?” It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve said this before; the best people from Gonzo were definitely working on Bokura no during the spring-season. The writers failed completely to make me care about the characters and setting, due to poor writing. These guys need to learn that lots of angst and drama don’t necessarily make a great anime; well fleshed-out characters are much more important.]]>

There aren’t many movies that are based on series, which fit into the continuity and end up contributing to them, but I’ve finally found one: Kino no Tabi – Life goes on. It’s basically a glorified episode, clocking in at a mere thirty minutes, and it tells the story of how Kino matured from an insecure little girl to the Kino we’ve come to love in the series. It’s definitely good to see more of this series, though there are a few problems. I hate to admit it, but it’s clear that this movie was made in a hurry: it lacks the fine-polish that you usually see in the dialogue, it’s a bit too straightforward at times, and the animation is actually worse than it was in the series; something that doesn’t happen often. If the creators just took more time to fix all these, and increase the depth of the storyline, this could have been an excellent movie. Right now, it’s just an okay episode. This is probably my shortest review in like, ever; but apart from what I mentioned above, there’s nothing much to be said. Fans of the series should definitely check out the movie, but the only purpose of the movie is to give Kino some valuable background. Still, I’m looking forward to the next Kino no Tabi, which premiered in April and should arrive in a few months to the English-speaking community. The creators must have seen that this movie could have been better, so I’m anticipating to see how they’ve learned from this small gem.]]>

Visions of Escaflowne is one of my favourite series ever. I watched it even before starting this blog (hence the lack of a review for it), and after a decent first half, the second half of the series stole my heart. I’ve never really had the chance to watch the movie, though, but now I’ve finally managed to check it out. Like expected, the creators got a bit too ambitions, and the movie doesn’t live up to the series. Transferring a series that takes up twenty-six episodes into a ninety-minute movie has never been easy, seeing as how a lot of scenes have to be cut. One of the few anime who did it right was Utena: the first half of the movie was basically a crude summary of the series, after which the second half embarked on a totally original and crazy idea, and while it still wasn’t as good as the series itself, it worked. The key was how the Utena-movie stayed so wonderfully away from the mainstream. You guessed it, Escaflowne the Movie goes way too far into the direction of mainstream, and screws up. Both the story and characters have turned into mere clichés, and the creators basically dropped all of the traits that made them interesting in the series. Folken has been promoted to the main bad guy, the old man is nowhere to be found, and neither is the machine that foresees destiny. Van has also turned into an overpowered action-hero, and Hitomi has turned even more annoying than she was in the series. The little bit of character-development that survived the transition doesn’t make any sense at all. One moment, Hitomi and Van are incredibly cold to each other, and the next moment they’re hopelessly in love without any reason whatsoever. The movie at least tries to include some substance by asking some philosophical questions. The unfortunate thing is, however, that it refuses to answer them, and when things get too difficult, it just quickly changes the subject. Whenever Van is against a tough opponent that he doesn’t want to kill, a third guy conveniently shows up and stabs the guy, so that Van doesn’t have to worry about him. Still, despite this I enjoyed a Girl in Gaea. The plot and characters may be dull, but the screenplay is terrific. This has been the first time where I’ve been amazed by the action-scenes of an anime, despite a weak story. Even for a movie, the animation stands out, and while the story itself has its problem, the storytelling is quite decent, and keeps the movie from dragging on and getting boring. And let’s not forget that Yoko Kanno composed the music for this one. This isn’t really a movie that you need to have seen, though, as it ruins a lot of things that made the series great. If you’ve seen the series, then you might want to check this one out if you’re a real fan. If you’ve not seen the series, then this is a decent action-movie with a rather dull plot. If you’ve seen the movie, but haven’t seen the series, then watch the series NOW!!!]]>

In contradiction to most other anime-fans (at least, that’s what I suspect), I’m not necessarily a Japanophile, and I don’t really regard the Japanese culture as the “best culture ever”; it’s just that these guys are so damn good at storytelling. That’s why I love it when an anime takes place in a country other than Japan. Because of this, I love the fact that for this movie, Hayao took up his roots of when he was still working for Nippon Animation, and combined this with his love for airplanes and his huge imagination. The result is a beautiful depiction of southern Italy around the ages of World War One, and possibly the most unique out of all Ghibli-movies and it’s got a combination of drama and comedy that puts My Neighbour the Yamadas and Pom Poko to shame. While the amount of details that went into this movie isn’t as impressive as, say, My Neibour Totoro or Kiki’s Delivery-service, it makes up for this with some addictive storytelling and some awesome side-characters. You just can’t help but love the pirates and their antics. Also, for once I’m glad that the main character doesn’t ruin the movie. Porco himself may not be the best character of the bunch, but yet he’s fresh and original, and a major leap away from the usual protagonists you see in anime, being a war veteran that turned into a pig and all. The real problem with Porco Rosso is that it’s got a few clichés here and there, though, that serve to keep the movie on track. A notable exception, however, is the ending. With my reviews of the Ghibli-movies, I’ve often paid little to no attention to the production-values. Heck they’re awesome, what else did you expect? Still, I do want to mention that Porco Rosso has probably the best soundtrack of all Ghibli-movies. Like no other in Hisaishi Joe’s repertoire, it sets the mood for the Italian setting perfectly. As I’ve now seen all of the major Ghibli-movies, I just don’t think I can really label one as the best of the bunch. My Neighbour Totoro was really nostalgic, Kiki’s Delivery-Service and Spirited Away were wonderful tales of growing up, and The Cat Returns and Porco Rosso combined great, intriguing and very different stories with a quirky nature and excellent characterizations. All I can say is that these five stood out for me as the most memorable, and they should be a definite recommendation to any anime-fan.]]>

Most of Ghibli’s works are for all ages, but there’s always one demographic that stands out for each movie, often related to the ages of the protagonists: Kiki’s Delivery-Service, for example, is for middle-schoolers, Princess Mononoke and Ocean Waves are for high-schoolers, while Only Yesterday is for the adults. My Neighbour Totoro completes this picture by being aimed at little children, and really, it’s one of Ghibli’s finest productions. Even if you’re not a chid of ten years old, you’ll love the nostalgic feeling that this movie creates. A lot of screen-time is spent on the two main characters (two sisters of about four and ten years old), just playing with each other and having fun, just like all children are supposed to. A major theme also is children’s fantasies, and I’m sure that everyone would have loved to meet the strange creatures portrayed in this movie when they were young. The reason why I like My Neighbour Totoro so much is that out of all the Ghibli-movies I’ve seen, this one’s the most perfectly paced so far. Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s delivery-service and Nausicaa, for example, were great in their own ways, but their climaxes were rushed; Takahata’s movies went on for too long and Spirited Away’s second half didn’t live up to the first one, but not with My Neighbour Totoro! The first half of the movie builds the characters and setting up perfectly, and once we got to know them, the second half kicks in and the fun begins as Totoro himself comes in action. The climax itself doesn’t feel forced at all, and yet I couldn’t help but shed a tear at what happened, and the movie ends at just the right time. But yeah, My Neighbour Totoro shares the same flaw as Kiki’s Delivery-service: the pacing may feel perfect, but I feel that there’s so much more potential left in the concept. It’s a shame that only a movie of an hour and a half could be made out of it, and this movie could have easily been extended to a 13-episode television-series, there are so many characters that could have been fleshed out and delved into. But then again, one of the charms of this movie is how it’s so simple, yet effective. Obviously, if you expected an action-movie like Mononoke or Laputa then you should stay away from this movie. My Neighbour Totoro feels much more like the non-Miyazaki-movies of Studio Ghibli, but with a perfect integration between the realistic and the fantasy-elements. As usual, the graphics and music are excellent, but you wouldn’t expect any different from a Hayao Miyazaki-movie. Anyway, with this, I’ve seen nearly all of the major Ghibli’s movies. There’s only one of them left, and I’ve got some high expectations of it.]]>