Christmas shopping guide

Lots of anime DVDs have been released this year, but how do you separate the anime gems from the anime crap? Never fear, for Jonathan Oyama is here to help. Here's some of my personal recommendations for the anime fans for 2008.


Best all-around:
Code Geass

Any giant robot fan will love "Code Geass," the anime which combines the intense action of robot anime with the sinister anti-hero, Lelouch Lamperouge. The series features a compelling plot, in which Lelouch wants to demolish the nation of Brittanica. He wants to put Japan back into power, with himself as the new monarch. And he's bound to cause trouble with his eye, which he can use to control people at will. The series is intriguing, heart-wrenching and bound to stir plenty of controversy for its anti-imperialist message, but it's probably the best anime to be released this year.

For anime movie fans:
5 Centimeters Per Second

While this was one of the only anime films released this year, it is one of the best anime films ever made by Makoto Shinkai. The warm colorful backgrounds are some of the most beautiful ones that I've ever seen in a movie, and they accentuate the soft, gentle tone of this anime about lost love. And although the ending is bound to make some anime fans upset, they cannot deny that the love stories expressed in this anime are some of the most wonderful ones in anime history.
Don't even bother with the live-action Death Note film--"5 Centimeters Per Second" is one of those films that will be remembered for years to come.






















For action anime fans:
Gurren Lagann

Gurren Lagann may have the wackiest art style and the most straightforward plot, but it has some of the coolest robot battles that I've ever seen. The two main characters, Simon and Kamina, are two guys stuck in an underground town, who rise to the surface after discovering a buried robot. Now, with the help of a sniper, Yoko, Simon and Kamina are taking down the evil Gunmen robots to free the world from control of the Spirals. There may be some crude humor, but no one can deny how cool these robot battles are.

For shojo anime fans:
Ouran High School Host Club

Unfortunately, not much shojo anime was released this year. However, Ouran High School Host Club is an absolute gem of a romance. The main character, Haruhi, is probably the coolest anime girl, who can dress up as a guy too. Her guy friends in the Ouran Host Club are just as memorable, with members such as the passionate, overprotective leader Tamaki, the money-grubbing vice president Kyoya, the gay(?) Hitatchiin twins, the cute Honey-senpai and the quiet Takashi Mori.
Sure, it's not the most serious shojo anime I've ever seen, but it is the funniest.






















For horror lovers:
When They Cry

Nothing's scarier than the town of Hinamizawa, where "When They Cry" takes place. One girl is a mental headcase who turns insane, another girl tries to kill her sister, and another girl is suffering from physical abuse. With such a crazy, disturbed cast, no wonder someone always dies in the Watanagushi festival in Hinamizawa every year. Don't worry--one of the girls is trying to stop the killings, but it might be a little difficult to change the fate of a town which may go through a fatal genocide very soon.

For box set lovers:
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

This series literally blew me away in 2007 with its hilarious cast. Haruhi is the bossy teenage girl, completely oblivious to the fact that her mood swings affect the fate of the entire world. Her club, the S.O.S. brigade does everything it can to find extraterrestrial life and have fun with them. Although it has only 12 episodes, the entire series is a blast from start to finish. And now you can get all four DVDs in one box set for only $45.

The bang for your buck award:
Gurren Lagann Part One

This series is a sweet deal. This pack contains the first two Gurren Lagann volumes, which contain 15 episodes of one of the coolest action anime in one box for only $36. There's plenty of other packs with great deals, but I have to give kudos to Bandai for packing the first half of the series in this value set. And anyone who wants the end of the series can just save up another $36 for the second half.

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DVD Review: Ouran romance picks up with Tamaki

It's not typical for a girl to be the center of attention with a bunch of guys in a romantic comedy without sparks flying. Thankfully, "Ouran High School Host Club" manages to make the girl the most likable ordinary girl I've ever seen in an anime.

As the female protagonist in "Ouran," Haruhi is the coolest ordinary girl, who helps all her guys out in unexpected ways in volume two.

The second DVD of "Ouran High School Host Club" picks up where the series left off, in the beach trip which followed their trip to the tropical resort. As usual, the men are entertaining the women. However, something changes the entire tone of the series in episode nine.

Two men try to sexually assault the Host Club's girls. Haruhi tries to stand up to them, but she gets thrown into the ocean. Thankfully, Tamaki saves her from drowning.

Still Tamaki is clearly worried about Haruhi's safety and argues that she shouldn't have stood up. He wants her to act more like a woman, but Haruhi is refuses, leading to an awkward dinner scene. Eventually, Haruhi starts to acknowledge that she really is a shy girl who could use her guy friends. And sure enough, Haruhi admits that she does have feelings for Tamaki.

I don't always like romantic comedies, because they're a little more conservative in tone. The female characters are a little excessively subservient to their boyfriends, to the point where I wish they would look for more fishies in the sea. But "Ouran High School Host Club" succeeds with a different message--that it's okay to be an ordinary girl. And even though the upper-class guys of Ouran Host Club are rich ladykillers, it helps to have an ordinary girl to distract them from their lavish lifestyle.

And there are lots of hilarious jokes about the rich folk. As in episode one, the Ouran Host Club is still extremely fascinated with the taste of powdered coffee. The Loubella Girls Academy also comes in a great episode, in which they try to attract Haruhi into their club with their hilarious dancing sequences and flashing neon signs. They also pull off some hilarious yuri (female homosexual love) sequences, in which one of them sports a fake moustache.

"Ouran High School Host Club" may be a ridiculous romantic comedy, but it surprised me with an ordinary female character supported by her rich boyfriends. Even though I still have a few misgivings about Haruhi's flat chest, she's definitely one of the best anime characters of recent years, making this one of the best anime romantic comedies of all time.

By the way, there's a great extra on this DVD. Funimation managed to squeeze in the English voice actors' outtakes in recording for Ouran High School Host Club. These are hilarious outtakes for every episode on this DVD.

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DVD Review - Romancing at Ouran High School

I shouldn't like "Ouran High School Host Club" that much. I doesn't have a serious overarching plot, and it is almost too whimsical for its own good. However, those are the same reasons why I like Ouran so much.

The anime features so many silly parodies of male love and bisexual gender-bending anime, making it one of my absolute favorites.

The plot is very simple. Haruhi Fujioka, a poor student at the rich upper-class Ouran High School, is really anti-social. One day, he wanders aimlessly into Music Room B-3, home of the Ouran High School Host Club. In this club, the male members entertain female guests with all the romantic flirting and tea they could possibly get.

How does Haruhi get into this club? Well, on his first meeting with them, he just happens to accidentally break an expensive vase which costs 50,000 yen, or about $500. To pay back his debts, he has to become a member and entertain the female guests.

It doesn't seem like much of a concept at first, until we learn that each member has his own method of flirtation. Tamaki Suou, the president of the club, is the most attractive and passionate of the members. Kyoya, the vice president, is the cool and collected businessman of the club, always finding merchandise to sell to the female guests. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin are the two twins who attract women through their yaoi (male homosexual) romantic relationship with each other. Mitsukani Haninozuka, or Honey-senpai, is the cute boy who attracts them with...um...his cuteness. And Takashi Morinozuka always tags along with Honey as the quiet but protective cousin of Honey.

But Haruhi is pretty much the star of the show. He is labelled the natural rookie, for his androgynous gender attributes. Actually, Haruhi is not exactly a male, as revealed in episode one. However, she can dress up as a male and possess the best qualities of male and female characters. Haruhi is the one who helps her fellow members out the most, whenever they're feeling down. She's also the most emotionally sensitive member, she can tell the difference between the Hitachiin twins and she has a love for tuna.

Perhaps this is the least serious shojo anime I have ever seen, but because of this, "Ouran High School Host Club" is one of the best. Even when the plot is serious, Haruhi and the gang are so fun. In episode four, the Hitachiin twins argue against each other, over which one is the better one. Whenever they fight, they throw nearly everything in the room at each other in a comical sequence, even throwing Honey-senpai and Takashi across the room.

This series also has a laugh-out-loud episode, in which Haruhi has to go through a physical examination at the high school. Tamaki is most concerned, because if the school finds out Haruhi is a girl, then she cannot remain in the club. He's a little protective of her, and evens goes to such great lengths as to disguise himself as Haruhi for the exam.

This is the most fun I've had watching an anime in a while. It's great to watch an anime which doesn't involve serious social issues and violent battles. Who knows--it might be the best of the year.

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Things are getting a little too bloody here...

I'd have to say--whenever I watch "Hellsing Ultimate," all sanity goes out the door. It's probably the bloodiest anime I've ever seen.

With all that said though, I wanted to watch some lighter anime with less killing. That's why I'm happy to announce that I have received the first disc of Ouran High School Host Club, the ultimate feel-good shojo anime. I will probably review the first disc pretty soon.

I'm also thinking about looking for Kashimari, a series in which a guy is captured by aliens and returned to the Earth as...a girl. Other candidates for reviews include "One Piece" and "Code Geass," which is still really popular. Oh yeah, there's also "Darker than Black."

Hopefully things won't get too flowery before I watch the fourth volume of "Hellsing Ultimate."

DVD Review - No Turning Back from this Bloodbath

In case you haven’t read my previous posts about “Hellsing Ultimate,” here’s a simple warning. If you’re the type of person who would faint at the sight of blood, definitely do not watch this series.

Now then, let’s move on.

“Hellsing Ultimate” continues its goofy plot with a storyline where the Catholics are creating violent forces to help the Nazis.

Yes, it is admittedly a silly plot, when you actually think about it. I’m guessing that the Catholics supported the Nazis for money, to pay for retirement plans for their vampire-hunting paladins.

After a heated discussion with a papal official which almost ended in a bloodbath, Integra von Hellsing discovers that the Millenials are the Nazis, who escaped to Germany after World War II. They’ve apparently got plenty of violent ghouls ready to kill people around the world

Thankfully, the Hellsing organization recruited Wild Goose, a band of the best mercenaries around. They needed them after that bloodbath in the previous episode. Alucard was given a pretty simple mission in Brazil—search and destroy.

There’s really not much to this series—it’s a big, wild bloodbath. At least for part of the episode. At the end of the episode, Alucard drinks the blood of the assassin hired to kill him. Through the blood, he discovers that the Nazis want to engage the world in a never-ending war. And Alucard's even more determined to kill the Nazis.

But even if this is a bloodbath, “Hellsing Ultimate” has the strongest anti-war visuals ever. Blood gushes over in an ugly mess. Bodies are left as empty skeletons. Bodies are torn apart. Nothing is glamorized.

And war is ugly, but then again, nobody should even be fighting Alucard, the ultimate soldier, in the first place. All armed forces undergo the risk of their lives if they ever face him. Alucard is an invincible bloodthirsty monster. He wants to exterminate the Nazis, even if humans get in his way.

Admittedly, “Hellsing Ultimate” is almost way too nihilistic for its own good. But that’s the point—-the violence is splattered in a grotesque mess that no one wants to see. Alucard would almost be a complete anti-hero, if Integra didn't give him the guidance to take down the Nazis.

And even though Seras, the former policegirl turned vampire, doesn’t like blood, she still joins Alucard in his killing spree. After all, she has been sexually mistreated in awful ways, especially in the beginning of the series. Perhaps she wants her revenge against the masculine forces that hurt her.

Sure, “Hellsing Ultimate” is a revenge anime with the most sinister hero in anime history, but the characters are taking their sweet revenge against the violent masculine power of the Nazis. Despite how absolutely mindless this anime is, “Hellsing Ultimate” is a grotesquely beautiful romp to destroy all the extreme hatred and violence in the world. Just keep in mind that the Catholics are not really secretly supporting the Nazis as they are in this DVD. Believe me--they’re not.

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DVD Review: Claymore tops the best anime list

Claymore is one of the best anime of 2008, if not the best.

Not very many action anime are as complex as "Claymore." The female warriors are extraordinarily strong, but are emotionally fragile. This is one of the few series in which the gender roles in an anime are reversed, where the main female heroine is strong, but represses intense emotional anguish.

The plot is simple. Yoma are violent monsters who terrorize towns and cities in the world. The only way in which humans have dealt with these monsters is through the Claymore warriors, hired superhuman warriors who are half-Yoma, half-human.

Raki, a human boy, takes interest in the first Claymore who comes into his town. Her name is Clare, and at first she remains cold and unemotional. But Raki tells her that he wants her to kill the Yoma who murdered his parents.

While Clare says that she doesn't care for his revenge plot, Raki is saved by Clare when his older brother reveals himself as a Yoma. Clare slices the Yoma in half. However, because Raki had lived with a Yoma, the villagers exile him. They are frightened that he could turn into a Yoma.

Raki passes out in a desert, but is saved by Clare. Raki befriends Clare and travels with her, learning more and more about Clare's life as a Claymore.

The Claymores undergo some heart-wrenching moments. In episode two, Clare's best friend Teresa sends her a black card, indicating that she is about to turn into a full Yoma. Whenever a Claymore is sent a black card, it is a request indicating that they want their best friend to kill them, so that they won't terrorize other humans as a Yoma. Although they follow their chivalry code loyally, they clearly have a difficult time controlling themselves.

It's almost unbelievable how much the Claymores repress their emotions, even in near-death situations. Even though Clare is extremely powerful, if she harnesses too much of her Yoma power, she suffers the potential to lose control and kill other people. Thankfully, Raki is her best friend, and acts as her emotional support, even after devastating battles. Clare's emotional journey makes for one of the best stories I've ever seen in an action anime.

Very few anime are as excellent as "Claymore." This is definitely one of the best anime of 2008 so far. It's hard to find more drama and more emotion than this anime series.

Image courtesy of boontan.net