DVD Review: Lively dragons ruined by confusing story

The first part of "Dragonaut" falls apart with an overload of substories, main characters and lots of explosions.

To be fair, "Dragonaut" has a very simple plot which can be summarized in a single paragraph. Pluto's moon is sending dragons to destroy our planet. Our only hope is the Dragonauts, who pilot dragons born on the Earth.

Within this story is a whole slew of subplots. The main story focuses on Jin, a teenage boy who survived a horrible shuttle crash with an asteroid object. Two years later, he runs away from home and almost dies. He gets saved by Toa, a pink-haired girl who can transform into a dragon.

Many groups, including the ISDA and the Guillard New Emirates, want to capture Toa. Thus, Toa tries to keep Jin away from her, so he doesn't know about her destructive past. Of course, Jin can't let that happen, because he's in love with her.

Thus, the story should have played out in a basic fashion. However, the massive number of characters and subplots pile up to make one of the most complicated stories ever heard in an anime.

For starters, the ISDA owns a bunch of dragons. However, these dragons can transform into an anthropomorphic human form, with a special character name. Oh, and there's some special dragons known as the originals, who crash-landed on the Earth to do something with dragon eggs.

By the time a new species of neo-original dragons arrive on Earth, you won't even want to bother trying to understand it all. Nearly every character finds a way to double-cross their friend, forcing the anime to enter a mega apocalyptic sequence with explosions, evil factions, vengeful dragons and a whole slew of arch-rivals who want to ruin the world.


The series had immense potential. It started with a bunch of flashy, aerial fist-fights, transforming dragons and a love story. The girls looked unbelievably sexy, with ridiculously big breasts and curvaceous bodies. The main characters even had a clean look, wearing surfer-style clothes.

However, this is ultimately all that the series has. Part one of "Dragonaut" starts off as a fresh, exciting action series, but it winds down into an extremely convoluted plot that only truly dedicated fans would figure out. "Dragonauts" disappoints everyone with a lame script and a storyline with too many snags.

Image courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

There will be blood. Buckets of it.

I was going to finish up with Dragonaut, but then I remembered that I haven't finished watching "Baccano!" yet. The box set of "Baccano!" will be released on Dec. 30, in time for the post-New Year's sales.

The series is an incredible one, based around the conversations in-between fighting fatal battles with knives, guns and explosives. If my final article doesn't slow down my schedule, I should finish watching the anime sometime tomorrow.

So look forward to a review of one of the bloodiest series ever made.

Missing the Daily 49er

Well, it looks like I'm finished with the Daily 49er. I already miss working with everyone.

I'm probably going to update this blog more often, now that I have more free time. Breaking up with one of my favorite papers in the world is hard to do. I've labored with countless numbers of great people on the Daily 49er staff.

I love putting stories on paper. Electronic journalism just isn't as rewarding as the effort put into publishing literature in print. There's so much to enjoy about producing these pieces of precious paper every day.

Anyhow, I wish my staff members the best of luck as I venture into the real world. Geez, reality bites.

Anime preview: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya

 




The last episodes of the second season of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" mix mischief, emotional angst and science fiction in a fascinating story.

Despite the general disgust of the "Endless Eight" story arc, the last part, "The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya," is well worth a second look. Although fans hated this series after "Endless Eight," they definitely have to stick around to watch Haruhi produce a student film with the S.O.S. Brigade.

The story is simple. Haruhi Suzumiya wants to do something with the club for the school's cultural fair. For whatever reason, she decides she will hold a film screening for a movie.

And of course, Kyon and the other group members have to participate in it. They don't have much of a choice, considering that the fate of the world depends on Haruhi's satisfaction.

This film, of course, is a direct reference to the student film spoof in episode 0 of the first season. This was a cheap, but laugh-out-loud funny movie with Asahina as a battle waitress.

Now, some people might think the film process might be boring. However, Haruhi makes things especially interesting, because anything she wishes has the possibility of coming true. She is a god, after all.

As we saw in the "Endless Eight" saga, Haruhi has the power to change all possible laws of time and space, rendering her as more powerful than even Lain Iwakura from Serial Experiments Lain.

Unlike Lain, Haruhi has no idea she has these powers, making the anime even more chaotic. Haruhi manages to talk store owners into giving her props and film equipment. She even manages to find a colored contact lens for Asahina to wear.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of this series after the "Endless Eight," no one can deny that "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" is the most unpredictable anime series ever made. It has the tendency to switch from a comedy to a dark drama instantly. The characters are constantly on the edge, especially in this story arc. Everyone is literally hoping that no one dies because of Haruhi's imagination.

At the same time, the story carries a deep, religious theme. In the 13th episode, Kyon and Haruhi go completely emotional, arguing over how they should film the movie. However, he knows that the film is much more productive than anything that the guys at school are doing. It's a touching love story with a god, even if it is very unconventional.

The second season is definitely a must-have series. Despite how much people hate "Endless Eight," this series is a serious reflection on the otaku culture of Japan as well as the fate of a post-war world. It is extremely volatile, because Haruhi is such an unpredictable character who has the potential to explode with anger and destroy the entire fabric of the the universe.

At the same time, it is a comedy. It will probably be one of the most infamous comedies ever created. With the grand implementation of special effects, science fiction and emotional angst, there's no telling where this anime will go.

Images courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.com

DVD Review: Gondolas and love for the city

I love "Aria," and even after 37 episodes I really want to see more.

The second half of season two is surprisingly charming, with a smorgasboard of touching scenes and reunions.

Aria's 37 episodes of over 15 hours of relaxing gondola drama and comedy might seem a little long-winded. However, the series mixes things up with some big tearjerkers. The first tearjerker takes place in the 15th and 16th episodes in a long farewall story arc to Akari's gondola.

The memories are priceless. The flashback clips in these episodes include precious moments of Akari when she first starts paddling backwards on her gondola. Among the memories is the first time the gondoleer passes her first exam on a course.

As the series moves on, it becomes more and more difficult to pick a favorite character, because each one has a special moment in part two. Aika has an especially emotional moment when she finds the hairstyle she likes, rather than copying Alicia all the time. Her best moment takes place when she takes the time to visit her boyfriend, Edward, just to see if he likes her hair.

Unlike season one, there are moments of compelling suspense. Episode 20 takes Akari on a journey to transport a ghost, who is rumored to have "spirited away" anyone who takes her to San Marco Island on a gondola. This is an episode based almost entirely on visuals and moods, but the ending is a touching tribute to "My Neighbor Totoro."

Even though the theme of spreading happiness is repeated throughout the series, "Aria" never gets old. Somehow, director Junichi Sato finds ways of showing messages of thankfulness without getting too overbearing. Unlike Ghost in the Shell or Fullmetal Alchemist, "Aria" focuses on the beauty of a city. Everything, from the urban legends to the warm parties, is a portrayal of childlike playfulness.

Even the joke episodes are completely over-the-top with humorous twists. Akari talks with her cat, President Aria about alternate universes and says that maybe if he slips in the little space between th,e stairs, he'll enter an world with different types of characters. The curious president decides to slip through the stairs, but the new world is a lot more frightening than anyone might expect.

The series ends with a Redentore festival in the fall, to celebrate the passing of the old season and the start of the new. However, the series doesn't end with the classic new year's day celebration. Instead, Episode 37 focuses on Alicia, Akari's mysterious mentor. When Akari asks Alicia what kind of person she wanted to be when she was a child. Oddly enough, Alicia starts rolling a snowball without answering Akari. Other people soon start helping the two women roll the snowball to make a humongous snowman.

Alicia's response at the end of the episode is a lovely conclusion that sums up the entire message of "Aria" in a few simple words. Even if "Aria" is still a big fluffy collection of sweet, cotton candy stories, it is a wonderful series nonetheless.

On Haruhi

I'm still fascinated by the whole Haruhi fiasco. Sure, it was eight episodes of madness, but it was also an unusual experiment that hasn't been tried in anime before. After all, almost no anime director would dare to string together eight episodes of nearly the same thing.

Most hardcore fans, especially Americans, hated the Endless Eight with a passion. However, I think it was also a test to force the otaku community to analyze their own reasons for watching anime for hours on end.

In the Answerman column of the Anime News Network, Adam Bruck gave some intriguing comments on the Haruhi Endless Eight.

"While the 7-week and counting repetition of Endless Eight is not good in any sense of the word, the fact that Kadokawa and/or Kyoani went this direction at all and the overwhelmingly negative public response make the situation very interesting.
Haruhi, of course, was a mega-hit that reached sales numbers and fandom seen only by shonen and giant robot anime. The fanbase was full of very obsessed people who helped the series sell a million CDs and DVDs and tons of character goods. It's incredible that a company would willingly destroy such a franchise. From a business standpoint, Endless Eight seems like exactly the wrong thing to do; from a fan's standpoint, it's depressing to see the continuation of an amazing first season turn out like this.
However, the fan reaction provides an interesting social experiment - what happens when you severely piss off a group of obsessed, introverted, hardcore Otaku who basically live for this stuff? (I know most Haruhi fans aren't like that, but the most vocal ones are.)"

Like many fans of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," I have trouble deciding whether to like it or hate it. However, I really respect Kyoto Animation's stance. It's really hard to release eight episodes of endless repetition, but the series has gone far in yanking people out of their comfort zones. Unfortunately, if I say that I love it, I'm certain that some people will inevitably troll me for my views.

I'm thankful that very few people comment on this blog, for my sake.

Image courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

Anime preview: The Endless Eight!

I figure I have to write about this sometime. I don't want to, but I will.

The second season of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" rolls to a repetitive, but intriguing start with a series of eight episodes of nearly the same scenes.

For anyone unacquainted with this series, the first season started an anime craze. It's a simple love story between high school students Kyon and Haruhi Suzumiya. Suzumiya, fascinated with beings from outer space, starts a club known as the S.O.S. Brigade. The mission of the club is to search for psychics, time travelers and aliens. Ironically, the club has attract an odd trio of students: a psychic named Itsuki Koizumi, a time traveler girl named Mikuru Asahina and an invincible alien named Yuki Nagato.

They all stick around to please Haruhi, who happens to be a god. The fate of the entire world rests on Haruhi's well-being. Kyon's destiny is to make sure she is always happy, so that the world doesn't self-destruct.

Season two actually starts fine in episode one with the "Bamboo Rhapsody" story. Mikuru engages in a stellar time travel episode, in which Kyon and Mikuru jump back three years in the past to help Haruhi make some mysterious chalk drawings on the ground. The episode is an intriguing head-trip which leaves Kyon wondering whether he actually inspired Haruhi's fascination with aliens, psychics and time travelers.

Then the series take a serious downer. Sort of. Episodes 2 through 9 focus on the "Endless Eight" story arc. This is an adaptation of a two-chapter story in the manga, in which all the characters are trapped in an endless summer vacation, which takes place between August 17 and August 30. This is due in part because Haruhi doesn't want the summer to ever end.

The characters soon discover that time keeps shifting back two weeks from the end of August 30, because something in the time continuum is missing. Mikuru is the only one who knows exactly what is wrong, but she can't give away anything, because it's classified information.

This is actually a cool mind-trip, if it only went on for two or so episodes. However, Endless Eight plods on through a draining saga of eight episodes of nearly the same events. This is definitely the story arc that will test the patience of the most devoted anime lovers, who would rather watch something different in every new episode.

One could possibly say that the producers of the series wanted introverted anime addicts to analyze themselves and find some sort of deeper meaning throughout their own lives. However, it's more likely that this story arc resulted from difficult infighting within the Kyoto Animation studio over the direction of the series. The first season's director, Yamamoto Yutaka, said he only wanted "Endless Eight" to run for two episodes and apologized to the fans of the series. Then Kyoto Animation fired back with a statement saying that they have disowned Yutaka.

Regardless of whether anyone hates or loves the "Endless Eight," the entire arc is a horrific experience within itself. The obon festival's music is an eerie, soft flute tune that looms over the series like a scary dream. Even the voice actors give some shocking variations in their performance, especially in the last episode of the Endless Eight. Asahina is hardly understandable as she bawls her eyes out reciting each line. It's clear that Asahina, Koizumi and Nagato are emotionally exasperated from the entire experience.

Watchers will be forever divided over whether the story is a representation of the emptiness of the kawaii culture of anime or a total mess caused by company in-fighting. The bigger question is whether it will forever be remembered as a mind-tripping masterpiece or the biggest waste of time in anime history. I'm leaning toward the latter, but only time will tell whether it will be known as an experimental classic, as "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was.

No matter what anyone thinks of it, though, it is certainly a nerve-wracking experience which will test the patience of everyone who watches it if it ever is released in America. And that's a big "if."

Click here to see how much the Kyoto Animation studio hated the Endless Eight.

Image courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

Funimation video quality outdated

Okay, I'd have to say that free Funimation videos are great. However, they can't seriously consider taking over the anime world if their video quality is this choppy.

I mean, I love watching "Galaxy Express 999" on the Internet. It's one of the rarest series to find in the U.S. and now it's free to watch. However, the video on funimation.com is so choppy that it's inexcusable.

Blech. Fix your video Funimation. I really want to watch more, but you're letting me down. Maybe I'm better off using a LAN cable instead of wireless.

YouTube review: Galaxy Express 999

The odds are pretty high that very few people have heard of "Galaxy Express 999," considered by some anime directors as a masterpiece.

"Galaxy Express 999" is a campy but exciting classic with a colorful cast of characters and space-traveling trains.

The plotline alone is a big ball of cheese. In the setting of this series, the wealthiest humans are able to convert their bodies into cyborg parts, so that they'll never have to eat again. Of course, this leaves the poor humans down in the slums to starve. A rumor spread through the impoverished community that the legendary Galaxy Express 999 train line will take people to a planet where they can turn their body into a cyborg.

Episode one opens with Tetsuro and his mother looking for the Megalopolis station with the Galaxy Express line in a blizzard. Things quickly turn tragic when a cyborg gang kills his mother to post on a wall as a trophy. Tetsuro collapses in the freezing cold, but is thankfully saved by a blonde-haired woman named Martel.

She offers him an unlimited ride pass on the Galaxy Express 999, as long as he takes her with him. Thus begins a long story of revenge and liberation.

Admittedly, the character designs and technology is even goofier than the gadgets found in The Jetsons. Mars looks more like the wild wild west. A space cowboy named "Geronomo" makes a cameo. However, the campiness is exactly what makes "Galaxy Express 999" one of the coolest anime series ever made. The opening sequence of trains in space and Japanese enka singing only escalates the funky 70s feel to a level that is indescribably sexy.

There's even more to it than campiness though. This is one of the series which inspired series such as "Fullmetal Alchemist" with its portrayal of cyborgs. Certainly the visual theme is nothing new, but the second episode alone has enough drama and violence to make someone think twice about outfitting bodies with automail.

Hands down, "Galaxy Express 999" is a classic treat for anyone who loves anime with cyborgs and corny futuristic designs. Watch it for free at funimation.com.

Image courtesy of dereklieu.wordpress.com

Long time no see

Sorry if I'm a little late posting. For a few weeks I was working on a difficult Halloween story, some CD reviews and a couple other things.

I'm getting caught up on my anime watching. Stay tuned for an review of season two of "Aria" sometime this weekend.

Now after that, I have a few options. I could either watch the emo ninjas in "Nabari," or the shapely women of "Dragonauts." Some of the characters have quite an exaggerated body figure.

Feel free to watch the series online.

Image courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

YouTube review: Fullmetal Awesome

Okay, I really have to confess that I almost passed over "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood." Anime News Network gave it a pretty hard review, for the simpler animation style and some goofy, super-deformed drawings.

However, Brotherhood is a big improvement over the original for its excellent story and pacing.

For anyone who doesn't know the plot of the series by now, the series follows Edward and Alphonse Elric in their quest to find the philosopher's stone. Alphonse lost his entire body and Ed lost an arm and a leg in exchange for attempting to ressurect their dead mother. Al and Ed are now hoping to find the stone to regenerate their bodies/body parts again.

I'm already salivating over the new version's change from pop culture phenomenon to an dramatic tale of redemption. Rather than focus on intense orchestral music and extremely fancy fight sequences, the director gave most of his attention to the pacing of the action and the acting tone of the characters.

The result is a true masterpiece: exactly what the original intended to be.

The best improvement takes place in episode three, Ed and Al's trip to Liore to find clues to the philosopher's stone. Instead, the brothers discover a fraudulent priest, Cornello, who uses a stone ring to revive the dead with alchemy. Ed and Al head to the temple to ask the priest how to use the stone.

Director Seiji Mizushima does a fantastic job. He never overextends the emotional outrage of the character. In fact, their tone of voice is compassionate and respectful.

The best example is a conversation between Ed and Rose, a believe in the religion of the sun god, Leto. Rose clearly states her religious beliefs in defiance to Ed's atheist beliefs. Thankfully, even Ed is willing to confess that he wishes to ask for forgiveness for his and his brother's sins.

The actors pull off an incredible job. They never overextend their emotional dialogue. Anyone would be shocked at how Father Cornello tears apart Rose's emotions, by asking her to shoot her newfound friends.

It's a polarizing scene of disgust towards villains who go to extreme ends to eradicate their enemies. This powerful episode took a second version to get the drama right on target, but it sold me over with its heroic characters.

This is just the beginning. The storyline can only get better from here. Stay tuned for more updates to "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood," also known as Fullmetal Awesome.

The series is available to watch on YouTube.

Image courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

A Second Look - Intro

I've decided to add a new category of stories to my blog: A Second Look. Sometimes I gloss over all the details of a series and I forget to make any thoughtful analysis of it. This is usually because I haven't finished it yet.

So in these situations, it's a good idea to take another look into this series, to clearly pick apart what makes each one unique in its message.

Probably the first one I'll take a second look at is "Fullmetal Alchemist." I've paid almost too much attention to the epic story, intense action and trendy punk rock opening and ending songs. Admittedly, the series almost feels like a power-pop entity within itself. However, I'll try to pay attention more to how the series uses the transformation of the body to explicitly show various forms of corruption and heartlessness.

It sounded weird at first. However, after a couple minutes pondering the series' arguments against "get-rich quickly" schemes and whatnot, I think I was actually getting somewhere.

Ha, imagine me trying to actually understand a cool phenomenon of transforming metal bodies and gothic homunculi. Hahaha. I'm such a geek...

Re-release madness: Paradise Kiss

One of the series I really missed out on reviewing last year was "Paradise Kiss." The series was picked up and re-released by Funimation.

"Paradise Kiss" portrays the excitement and danger of the fashion industry in Japan with striking, and sometimes depressing, realism.

It begins with a spiky-haired rock band guy catching a glimpse of Yukari, a beautiful high school girl. Scared off by his "pick-up lines," the girl runs into a transvestite and faints. Next thing she knows, she wakes up to find herself in Paradise Kiss, the bar turned into a fashion studio. The employees include the transvestite, the punk rocker, a cute pink-haired girl and a tall, gray-haired man named George.

They are all interested in keeping Yukari around to model their new clothing brand, ParaKiss. However, Yukari is more interested in George, the elusive ladie's man who wants to keep Yukari around for more than just modeling. Her best friend in school, Hiroyuki Tokumori, soon worries about her absence from school. Only time will tell when Yukari truly finds her own sense of happiness.

This romance story is clearly intended for more mature audiences. Right from the bat in episode two, viewers will catch a glimpse of a hot make-out session between two employees at the fashion studio. This is just a foreshadowing of some of the steamier moments to come in the series.

"Paradise Kiss" isn't just about sex. It encompasses a tedious romantic entanglement in Yukari's life, in probably one of her most stressful moments in the school year. George is clearly using the schoolgirl, but at the same time, he opens up a new world of possibilities for Yukari. Although the manga tends to portray him more as a jerk, the anime is more even-handed in its portrayal of this handsome prince with an obsession for young romance.

The complexity of romance in "Paradise Kiss" is what makes it unforgettable. Sure, there are moments when the characters are obnoxious. However, all these unique voice actors give complicated performances, making "Paradise Kiss" one of the best anime I've ever seen. The two lead characters especially expose the unnerving possessiveness of rich men in Japan, while at the same time revealing the seductiveness of the Japanese fashion world.

Some critics are bound to disagree with me. Yet, the unsettling drama portrayed in "Paradise Kiss" is a powerful glimpse of all the problems and new possibilities of a post-modern Japan.

Image courtesy of funimation.com

DVD Review: More relaxing in Neo-Venezia

It's especially hard to keep up the momentum for "Aria," an incredibly relaxing series with serene imagery and comforting character.

However, even "Aria" has some really unusual characters in Neo-Venezia to add some variety in season two.

The first part of season two brings back all the classic characters of "Aria" for a reunion at the Carnivale. All Akari's buddies from season one, including little Ai, return to Aria to see the mysterious Casanova.

This sets up Akari and Ai's new Totoro impersonation. The humongous, masked Casanova invites Akari and Ai to join in his dance. There's nothing cuter than watching Akari and Ai sing "Zutto, zutto, zutton, pon!" while they are following the Casanova, who may be related to Cait Sith, king of the cats.

There's plenty of new characters who arrive. Probably the best new addition, however, is the gnome Edward, who is also Aika's love interest. Their new romance is one of the most touching parts of season two. There's something charming when Aika says that Edward is so unfairly nice. She tries to look away, but the chemistry they have together is irresistable. Aika even comes up with a line to say to him whenever he gives weird elderly statements to Aika aloud.

The characters also take up more difficult changes to their attitudes in this series. Alice has a dramatic episode in which she turns down a warm invitation to have dinner with the other Pairs (gondola navigators) in her company, Orange Planet. She has a nervous fear that her coworkers are jealous of her and hate her. Thankfully, her teacher, Athena, is willing to help her open up.

Admittedly, the series makes me fall asleep, but not because it is boring. In fact, the beautiful images of water and the complex characters are just captivating. However, I often wondered just how long the anime director could keep this series of pure bliss intact. "Aria" ran for 39 episodes. It's difficult to keep the tone consistent, yet allow room for the characters to evolve.

However, there's plenty of things for the characters to say, because they always discover new things that are unique in Neo-Venezia. Whether they encounter the ruins of a neverending cat city, a bakery which serves bread made from buckwheat noodles, or a children's puppeteer, there's always something new in the city to find.

Most of all, Akari is friendlier than ever. The bubbly characters never lose their charm. I'm already itching to watch the second part of season two.

Image courtesy of aria.rightstuf.com

Re-release madness - Rumbling Hearts

I noticed that I still didn't finish "Rumbling Hearts," so I figured I'd watch all the episodes.

"Rumbling Hearts" is a lousy, sexist romance anime, with women who are so dependent on their men and sex that it's just disgusting.

The plot revolves around Takayuki Narumi, some bumbling teenage guy who is a friend of Mitsuki Hayase, the top swimmer at the high school. One of Mitsuki's girl friends, Haruka Suzumiya, has a crush on Narumi, so Mitsuki hooks the two together. They become close friends, and they even have sex together. However, the love story ends tragically with a fatal car crash putting Haruka in a coma.

The second half of the story takes place three years later. Within this time period, Narumi has a romance with Mitsuki, who is now part of an insurance company. However, everything seems to change when Haruka finally wakes up from her coma.

Overall, the storyline is passable. However, "Rumbling Hearts" suffers from overplaying the drama. Mitsuki is a jerk, who really doesn't care much for her former friend who almost died in a car accident. In fact, Mitsuki spends half of the series worrying that Narumi will not love her anymore. She's so obsessed that she tries her best to keep Narumi's attention off of Haruka.

This story boils down to the voice actors and the story, which is extremely overrated on the Anime News Network and animenfo.com Web sites. Eventually, this anime revolves completely around Narumi's love relationships will all three girls in the story: even Haruka's sister. With so many girlfriends around, people will wonder why on Earth Narumi would want to focus on the selfish Mitsuki, who obsesses all the time about whether Narumi loves her.

Narumi claims that he doesn't want anyone to get hurt, but what he's really saying is that he wants to make sure Mitsuki doesn't kill herself looking for someone else to love her. The screenwriter is so self-centered in restraining Mitsuki to an overdependent relationship with Narumi. Honestly, women in Japan will never want to be this constrained to the servitude of other men.

In fact, the only likable character in this series is Haruka. Yet, even she keeps longing for a sexual relationship with Narumi after she awakens from her coma. Haruka is supposed to be the strong, independent girl who learns to fight to recover, but even she is restricted to relying on Narumi for all her support. Narumi is not trustable either: he always seems to be lying about his own relationship status constantly.

There's very little to appreciate about "Rumbling Hearts," which is based on an equally disgusting dating game. In fact, there should be no reason for it to gain so much popularity in America. However, the male audience of anime fans undoubtedly love this infantile orgy of adolescent sex and romantic overdependence. Honestly, they should know better than to watch this series, which is filled with a bunch of jerks fighting for selfish romance.

Image courtesy of funimation.com

Movie review: Eureka Seven movie soars to imaginative heights

The new "Eureka Seven" movie is filled with baffling transformations and provocative twists, but the ending is breathtaking.

For anyone who hasn't seen the series, the plot of "Eureka Seven" centers around two teenagers, Renton and Eureka, who team up with the rebel group Gekkostate to save the world from being destroyed. The movie, however, places these characters in an alternate universe, with most of them having completely different attitudes.

The film opens with the military capturing Eureka, an innocent alien girl and childhood friend of Renton. Fortunately, the military left Renton's cute larvae animal, Nirvash. The animal grows into a humongous robot, which Renton uses to fight as a corporal in the military. However, when Renton discovers Eureka in a gigantic alien Eizo, he discovers a boatload of military conspiracies.

Although it's a little difficult to follow all the plotlines in the film, "Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers" will definitely confound longtime fans of the original series. All the characters from the original series are so different in the film, thanks to some particularly shocking plot twists. For starters, all the old members of Gekkostate are actually 17-year-olds in the bodies of rapidly aging adults.

This is the most stunning transformation in the movie, turning the laidback Gekkostate members from laid-back surfers in the TV series to angry adults who want to stop all time permanantly with the help of Renton and Eureka.

People may have a tough time imagining the Gekkostate leader, Holland, as a snotty, bratty villain. However, considering how often he beat up Renton in the TV series, this change is completely understandable.

There are plenty of awkward dubs. Some parents may cringe when the teenage Eureka asks Renton if they could sleep together, just as they did when they were kids. Some of the script lines are just as strange. No one would even expect the world of Neverland to get mentioned in a film that has more to do with flashy visuals and science mumbo-jumbo.

Despite the oddity of the entire film, it all makes sense somehow. Renton and Eureka learn to love each other, no matter who tries to join them in their sadistic, violent plots. Best of all, Eureka learns to let go of her selfish attitude in order to help Renton live. "Eureka Seven" is a masterpiece in demonstrating how cooperative love can look so damned beautiful on the big screen.

Best of all, Johnny Yong Bosch gives possibly his best voice acting performance as Renton. Fans have sometimes cringed during the first few episodes of the English dub of "Eureka Seven," when he spoke in a horrible, over-feminine voice with no aggression. In "Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers," Bosch projects all his dramatic lines with breathtaking power and emotion.

The ending, to say the least, is a visual feast for the eyes. It's a heartwarming love tale, about a renewal of love over the reign of destruction and chaos. True, "Ponyo" was more refined than "Eureka Seven." However, no relationship is more compassionate than the one between Renton and Eureka.

Image courtesy of eurekasevenmovie.bandai-ent.com

DVD Review: Geass and the apocalypse

"Code Geass: Part Three" is a brutally violent masterpiece, examining the brutality of Lelouch's demonic powers.

In episodes 18-21, the series turns into a strange beast in a league of its own--a harem romance anime.

That's right. Just when "Code Geass" couldn't get even more zany, director Goro Taniguchi decided to add in situations in which all of the Brittanians and (Japanese) Eleven soldiers came together for the student festival.

Admittedly, the series almost gets too carried away with all the relationships between characters. For starters, Lelouch had a deeply romantic relationship with his sister Princess Euphemia of the Brittanians in episode 19. One of the Black Knights, Ohgi, has a relationship with a Brittanian soldier, Villeta Nu. Suzaku also has some feelings for the female hotshot of the Black Knights, Kallen Kouzaki. Lastly, Shirley's regaining her memory of her previous crush on LeLouch.

Without revealing too much about the ending, Euphemia first declares that Brittanians shall treat the Japanese as equals. LeLouch in his Zero costume meets with Euphemia and gets very close to using his Geass power, until Milly reveals that she is resigning from her position as princess. She wants to live with LeLouch and his little sister, Nunnally, again. But LeLouch's Geass power is much stronger than even he realizes, and the massacre after he takes control is the final straw, leading to a murderous scene.

It's fitting that C.C. is the angel of death, to say the least. C.C.'s bond with LeLouch is a proper one, because of the pain she felt as a witch in the past. And the final battles in Code Geass are stunningly beautiful and epic. Even though the animators tend to repeat the same animation, the drama plays out marvelously. "Code Geass" is a guilty pleasure anime, fulfilling every anime fans' desire for the destruction of a country symbolizing Western European culture.

"Code Geass" is probably one of the most emotional breathtaking series, throwing violent and romance together in some hodgepodge mix that is surprisingly incredible. It shouldn't work this well, but the voice actors pull off stunning performances and the visuals are amazing. Any anime fan should look into watching this series as an alternative to Fullmetal Alchemist.

This is only season one. Be sure to catch Code Geass: R2 (season two) on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block at 2 a.m., starting on November 8.

Image courtesy of bandai-ent.com

DVD Review: Geass faces inevitable tragedy

I never thought "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" could beat out other mech series in drama. Up until the end of part one, we had no doubt that Lelouche Lamperouge was an ambitious genius hell-bent on annihilating the Brittanican army.

But with part two of season one, "Code Geass" turns into an epic of heartbreaking tragedy.

In fact, I can't even mention what happens in the first disc, because it's that shocking and devastating. Let's just say that something horrible happens to Milly Ashford and Lelouch is left with a huge amount of guilt.

Despite all the tearjerking drama in the series, Lelouch is very compassionate. Although he still cannot fight in a Nightmare robot for the life of him, he has quite a few caring lady friends who help him out in this volume. The green-haired C.C. is the most loyal of them all, helping him in numerous ways.

For example, in episode 10, C.C. uses her body to shock a robot with the pilot's old heartbreaking memories, so that Lelouch can escape. Lelouch refuses to let her stand in one place, especially when Brittania Nightmares are headed their way. But when Lelouch puts his hand on her shoulders, he sees visions of C.C.'s own forlorn life, in which she was tortured in numerous ways. And for the first time, we witness romantic feelings between C.C. and Lelouch.

Anime fans will love this section of the series, revealing more emotional parts of the lives of Lelouch, C.C. and Milly. Somebody was bound to get their feelings hurt in this anime. We're also left wondering who C.C. really is.

Probably the real kicker in part two, however, is Lelouch's new rival, Mao. He has a Geass power that enables him to read the minds of other people. As one may imagine, the mind games between the two lead to some insane battles, and even a ridiculous episode where Mao returns in bandages.

Sure, it's hard to take "Code Geass" too seriously. After watching three episodes with Mao wielding extremely dangerous weapons, I couldn't help but laugh at all the crazy nonsensical violence. However, the drama in the series is very smartly played. And although most of the real emotional intensity comes from the shocking revelations in the series, the Japanese voice actors never overdo their parts.

So far, "Code Geass" is one of the best anime series this year. It's no surprise that "Anime Insider" named it the best of 2008. The emotional voice acting and complex plotline make it unforgettable.

Image courtesy of bandai-ent.com

Film Review - Ponyo is one of Miyazaki's best

"Ponyo" is by far the best anime film of 2009, with incredibly creative hand-drawn animation and visuals.

The latest anime film from Hayao Miyazaki focuses on a little goldfish with a human face, named Ponyo. It begins with Ponyo sneaking her way through a submarine window. A boy named Sosuke finds the little fish and decides to keep it as a pet.

Sosuke has no idea that Ponyo is more than just an ordinary goldfish. She has a human face, and she even speaks Sosuke's named aloud. Ponyo is the daughter of an underwater magician named Fujimoto, who says that the natural order of the ocean will become out of balance if Ponyo lives in the human world.

The film gradually grows more wildly creative. Miyazaki's use of hand-drawn animation is perfect for the character of Ponyo, whose actual body undertakes some magnificent metamorphosis from a simple red goldfish.

The true spotlight of the film is on director Hayao Miyazaki's visuals. Miyazaki has always been known for creating a wonderful variety of characters, from the chaotic demons in "Princess Mononoke" to the cute creatures of "My Neighbor Totoro." However, Ponyo may trump them all as being the cutest, but possibly the most powerful of all the characters. Ponyo has the ability to shift the oceans and cause floods and tsunamis.

In fact, her loving relationship with Sosuke is the only thing that keeps her powers in check. Although the romance between the two is kept to a minimum, Ponyo's voice is adorably cute. To the very end of the film, the beauty of "Ponyo" lies in the power of love to withhold the Earth's obliteration.

Director Miyazaki has created another masterpiece which ranks among his best. His palette of colors is filled with beautiful blues, greens and purples. His drawings are pushed to the limit, with smoothly animated creatures and humans. He even squeezed in a lovable song at the end all about Ponyo.

The English voice actors also hold the film together marvelously. There are a few lines that don't translate too well, some of which involve an innocent conversation about a mother's milk in the second half of the film. But for most of the film, the voice actors' lines don't sound awkward at all. Even Frankie Jonas is believable as the simple boy, Sosuke.

Hands down, "Ponyo" is one of Miyazaki's best films ever made. Don't be surprised if "Ponyo" wins an Academy Award for best animated film.

Images courtesy of wdsfilmpr.com

Looking back: Blood+

I'm getting pissed at Sony's strategy for selling "Blood+". Sony's release of part one of the series is premature. Their box set, priced at a whopping $90-$100, is $40 more expensive than all four of the single DVDs.

That, and that "Blood: The Last Vampire" movie looked disappointing.

With all that said though, part two of the series is (finally) coming out in October 2009. The big question is whether people will actually buy it, knowing that the big box is a complete rip-off.

Despite all these problems, and the terrible scheduling of the TV broadcast, I'm looking forward to watching the end of "Blood+". It was the big series that quenched my thirst for bloody, but beautiful action anime. And Saya is still the coolest female vampire hunter in anime history.

Look forward to seeing a review of part two of "Code Geass." The series is reaching its dramatic peak. Sorry if I couldn't finish a review sooner--I had to wait a long time for the DVDs to arrive, due to high demand for the series.

DVD Review: The Claymore Battle Royale

From the first volume, "Claymore" hit the ground running with intense monster battles. Volume two heats up with flashy superhuman Dragonball Z-style sword battles.

Episode 6 opens with Claire actually speaking out her heart to Teresa, pleading to stay with her. There's even a scene where Claire strips off her clothes to show that Teresa means everything as her only mother. It's a saddening sight to watch Teresa leave Claire for her Claymore duties. However, when a band of thieves burns the town down, Teresa has no choice but to kill them.

A Claymore isn't allowed to kill humans, though. However, Teresa refuses to die this easily, slaying the Claymores who planned to execute her. But her Claymore buddies don't plan on letting her leave. The organization sends four of the top-ranked Claymores to fight her, leading to some ferocious, incredibly fast battles.

It's an understatement to say that "Claymore" is one of the craziest action anime series ever made. Each of the Claymores has a unique special power, and some of the Claymore powers are visual astounding. For example, Irene's quick sword technique cuts so quickly that no one can even see her arms. She can move her arms faster than the speed of light. This leads to an amazing sequence in which Teresa arm is speedily blocking Irene's sword slashes at the speed of a Dragonball Z fight.

The fight turns to a fatal end in episode 8, with one of the Claymores, Priscilla, growing amazingly powerful as she slowly uses more and more of her Yoma powers. Many Claymores die in this volume, leaving the remaining survivor devastated. This tearjerking episode will tear viewers' hearts out with emotion.

Volume two sets the tone for Claymore as a godlike superhuman action anime. Although it is limited in its rather formulaic Dragonball Z-style plot, the true draw of the series is the visuals. The dark colors and fierce fighting make for one of the most sinister, violent anime ever seen. However, this is a wonderful anime for its expression of raw female power.

To say the least, the battles are stunning. There's nothing more astounding than watching Claymore jump to incredible heights, swinging their swords in a rapid-fire machine gun fashion and healing their wounds extremely quickly. Like any typical action series, it tends to rely too much on the same formulaic tearjerking action sequence, with one character dying off and another seeking revenge.

However, this series is even more earth-shattering for its horrific displays of violence, with characters getting their limbs and their heads chopped off. This series is definitely not for kids--the violence is very intense. However, it's a beautiful series which shows the power of women, even when one of them is getting attacked by disturbing tentacle monsters in episode 10.

Although I had my misgivings for the series when it began, "Claymore" is a definite keeper for anime fans. However, be prepared to get shocked with this second DVD.

Image courtesy of amazon.com and their wallpaper downloads.

Moving at the speed of...a turtle

Sorry about the delay in posting reviews. I had to cut out lots of time this week studying for a crucial midterm in my Roman History class. Things are looking up. I will soon be a CSULB alum, if I keep performing well on my tests.

Anyhow, look forward to reading a review of "Claymore" in the near future. Unfortunately, Bamboo Dong's Shelf Life blog stated that "Claymore" ends abruptly, with very little thought in the storyline. This is just too bad, because the series looks absolutely incredible.

Peace out. And, uh, keep the peace.

DVD Review: Killing people while eating potato chips

I've held back on reviewing "Deathnote" for about a year, because all the characters look so stereotypically emo. L looks especially goth and emo, and I really hate the entire goth community for being so emotionally pissed off.

Now then, where was I? Oh yes, the review.

Anyhow, "Deathnote" is an excellent shonen anime, with a gripping plot about a boy who can kill people by writing their name in a notebook. This review covers volumes 1-3.

This boy, Light Yagami, was a goody two-shoes law student, until a shinigami spirit drops a "Deathnote" book. If anyone writes a person's name in the book, the person with that name will die of a heart attack.

Light thinks this is a joke at first, but he soon discovers the ruthless power of the book. He starts killing prisoners left and right, hell bent on removing all the evil people from the Earth to create an ideal world. Light pronounces himself to the world as a god, simply known as Kira.

Fortunately, the Tokyo police have implemented every effort they could to defeat Kira. They hire L, the most famous detective in the world, who has never lost a case. L is so elusive that hardly anyone knows his real name. Thus, Light and L engage in a battle of wits, each hoping to outsmart the other to reveal his true identity.

This is one of the more violent anime series. Just from what I've seen in the first three volumes. Numerous people die of heart attacks or gunshots in the series. Although there isn't anything that resembles the grotesque gore in "Fullmetal Alchemist," this series features so much killing that one has to wonder whether Light has even a shred of humanity in him.

Thankfully, the series isn't completely composed of gloom and doom. Light has an especially humorous photo-opportunity moments, in which he epicly pronounces in the middle of one of his killing sprees that he's going to take a potato chip and eat it. And for some reason, Light's shinigami friend Ryuk, who gave him the Death Note, spends most of his time eating up apples. L and Light even engage in a tennis match, in which each characters is plotting their next move while they are playing their game.

While the series gets really overdramatic and over-the-top, "Death Note" is intriguing for the deep mind games which the heroes and villains play against each other. For example, L spends plenty of time predicting how Light will react, so that he can calculate the odds that Light really is the mysterious Kira. L even uses Light's deducing skills to his advantage, so that he can brainstorm what to do next.

And even if the characters yakkity-yak a little too long while standing still, they are very smart at predicting each other's next move.

Although "Death Note" is an overdramatic action anime, the characters still manage to pull off brilliant voice acting. Shonen anime fans may want to pick up "Death Note" just to see how cerebral the series gets.

Images courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.net

The most depressingly beautiful airplane anime

Director Mamoru Oshii has pushed the envelope once again with his newest film, "The Sky Crawlers."

The movie is a complex, but stunning film about teenagers trapped in a world of aerial combat.

The movie opens up at a snail's pace, with isolated, depressed male pilots known as Kildren, with no other amusement other than eating at the meat pie diner and having sex in the mansion with other women.

In their planes, they fight enemy planes from a country known only as the Loutan. However, most of their existence is a boring world, in which they never grow old. All they know is that they are children, who could never possibly gain access into the adult world. The only threat to their existence is the unknown airplane above the clouds, known only as “The Teacher.”

Perhaps it’s a somewhat excessive visual representation of the life of Japanese otaku, young men who trap themselves in their home, fearful of the criticism from the adults in the faceless corporate world. The characters have the most depressing and nonchalant dialogue ever heard in an anime. However, director Mamoru Oshii makes it all work.

The film is a deadpan “Catch-22”-styled story, in which the main character, Yuichi, is trying to figure out exactly who he is. He's only heard rumors that his love interest, Suito Kusanagi, shot her previous boyfriend in the head. Although Yuichi has hardly any memory of his past, he offers his girlfriend a new hope for change in their depressing life as Kildren.

Admittedly, the aerial dogfight in the end of the film is an impossibly excessive and violent end. However, given that the concept of the film is out of this world in the first place, it all works beautifully. Although some anime fans might find the film boring at first, “The Sky Crawlers” has plenty of earth-shaking emotional sequences, in which Kusanagi desperately plays with a gun in her hand on a particularly depressing night out.

This is one of the best anime films I have ever seen, filled with some spectacular dogfights with surreal imagery. But although there is plenty of action, the dogfights pale in comparison to the heartbreaking emotions throughout the film. While American audiences may be easily turned off, this is a true masterpiece by Mamoru Oshii.

Image courtesy of larcho.files.wordpress.com

Advertising time

I've held back on this newest change to my anime blog for a long time, but now that I graduated, I could use some money. Thus, I added advertising to my blog.

I was afraid that the ads would dominate my page, but thankfully blogspot has been friendly enough to post only reasonably-sized ads.

Anyhow, as the Violent Femmes once sang, you gotta "ad" it up. Get it? Ad?

Oh, that's such a bad pun...

DVD Review: Lucky Star Comes to an End

After the disappointing fifth volume in "Lucky Star," I really hoped for a good wrap-up for this series. After all, "Lucky Star" is one of the most educational series about Japan for Americans.

And thankfully, "Lucky Star" wraps up with far more exciting end-of-high school activities in episodes 21-23 and a stylish cheerleading routine in episode 24.

Considering that "Lucky Star" was more of a mix-up of jokes compared to Azumanga Daioh, volume six is much more neatly organized from episode 21 to 24. There's still the same mixed bag of anime jokes with some dramatic side stories, but each episode has a unique theme to it in volume six.

In episode 21, Kuroi-sensei announces that her senior class will be taking a field trip to Kyoto. The episode opens with a fascinating look at the Buddhist temples. In the middle of the trip, Kagami receives a letter from a boy to meet at a bus stop in the middle of the night. It's an emotional, but surprisingly realistic side story for the series. And thankfully, Konata makes sure to cheer up Kagami from her melancholy mood.

However, the series also features a touching spiritual reunion with Konata's mother. Or rather, the ghost of Konata's mother. Konata (with an "o") actually spends some special time talking with her father about her mother, who died a few years after Konata was born. And then the ghost of Konata's mother appears in the room. Even though Konata cannot see her, this is a very heartwarming episode where her mother checks up on how her daughter is doing.

Some of the best jokes of "Lucky Star" take place in episode 23. Konata, the most observant high schooler, actually catches on to the secrets of her little cousin's friends. It's a little too embarassing for the cute cousin, Yutaka, to read the explicit manga drawn by her friends, or to hear from Konata that Minami secretly hopes to grow bigger breasts. But thankfully, Yutaka doesn't seem to mind, and they actually become far better friends thanks to Konata.

The humorous "Lucky Channel" segment of the series also takes a dark turn when Minoru Shiraishi arrives on the set with his body scratched up and his clothes tattered. Turns out he was getting water from Mount Fuji for the selfish host Akira Kogami. From then on, Minoru Shiraishi yells that he's so tired of working with Akira, picks a violent fight with her and rips apart the "Lucky Channel" set in his rage.

Now that's edgy stuff that we will never see in the "Animaniacs" show. But it's probably the funniest turn for "Lucky Channel," in which the audience is left wondering whether Minoru and Akira will even have a job when the series is over.

However, probably the best episode is episode 24, also known as the infamous episode with the full cheerleading routine of the "Lucky Star" girls. Sure, it's really just an excuse for cosplay fangirls to perform the same dance routine at anime conventions. But it looks great, and it sounds oh so irresistably nonsensical. And surprisingly, the serious, studious Kagami is really hyped about the cheerleading dance.

It's a tearful but wonderful farewell to one of the best slice-of-life anime series I have ever seen. Certainly it's a little more based on down-to-earth everyday life than most anime, but this is exactly what makes "Lucky Star" so special. It's a simple anime about schoolgirls who love talking about anime and manga, without magical powers or flashy special effects.

It still doesn't beat out the cute everyday humor of "Azumanga Daioh," but volume six of "Lucky Star" is a definite must-buy, with some of the most heartfelt moments of the series.

Image courtesy of kurogane.animeblogger.net

Anime at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In case anyone hasn't heard, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is showing off an art exhibition called "ANIME! High Art - Pop Culture."

This is one of the big exhibits to check out in Beverly Hills. It features plenty of the original frames of cel animation from some of the best anime, from Studio Ghibli films to "Sailor Moon" to "Akira" to "Ghost in the Shell." And there's also some saucy erotic anime in a special area closed off with a pink curtain for anyone who loves fan service.

Unfortunately, I can't show very many pictures from the exhibition, because the museum doesn't allow anyone to take them. However, these cel frames are truly a sight to see.

DVD Classics: Packed with Fullmetal Goodness

One might wonder why I haven't seen all of "Fullmetal Alchemist" yet, since it's the number one anime on almost every fanatic's list. Well, it is long, and I had a really tough time trying to follow the series on television.

But I can safely say that "Fullmetal Alchemist" is one of the best anime series ever made, with adrenaline-packed war and grotesque alchemist conspiracies.

This isn't just any war anime though. This series packs in compelling moments of friendship and heartbreak. To give an example, the first few scenes of "Fullmetal Alchemist" literally show two brothers attempting to reincarnate their only parent, their mother, with alchemy. In the process, Ed's arm and leg gets reduced into a bloody stump. As for Al, his body disappears, leaving a bloody pair of clothes. And their mom now looks just plain gross.

Although this series is not for the faint of heart, there is a heartwarming tale in all this gory madness. The Ed and Al Elric brothers are seeking to gain their bodies back through alchemy, hoping to repent for their sins in defying the laws of alchemy to revive their mother. In particular, they seek to find the Philosopher's Stone to revive themselves.

Throughout their journey, they discover much more dark, confounding truths about the origins of the Philosopher's Stone. They also discover homunculi, dark spiritual figures who are also seeking to manipulate Ed and Al for their own purposes. They also discover the true injustices of genocide, especially the nearly complete eradication of the fiction Middle Eastern country of Ishbal.

And honestly, it's too hard to summarize this entire series in one review. However, this is a crucial series which exemplifies all the worst aspects of war through the escalation of heavy-duty weaponry. With the massive numbers of people sacrificed in this series, it's hard to even find a definite truth to war.

And the female characters really take center stage in offering relief, no matter how difficult the cost. Winry Rockbell and Sheska are some of the most bubbly characters, but they are also the forlorn victims of war. Their friends are caught in violent warfare, and they are some of the only people who can offer shelter for them.

It's a delicate balancing act, with moments of humor, action, heartbreak, tragedy and love. And somehow, this series handles it all masterfully. There's no other series like "Fullmetal Alchemist."

Image courtesy of sake0winter.blogspot.com

DVD Classics: Ghost in the Shell boots up for a 2nd Gig

"Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig" is long overdue for a re-release, but thankfully Bandai has set up an Anime Classics release of the entire box set in September.

GitS: SAC 2nd Gig is the excellent second season of the GitS: SAC, with a compelling political plot on terrorism and the oppression of refugees.

Although GitS: SAC has always been known for complicated dialogue and complex idological conversation, 2nd Gig makes for a far more dramatic season. The new enemy faction in this season, the Individual Eleven, attacks the Japanese embassy in the first episode of 2nd Gig and holds the emissaries there hostage. Although Section 9 returns to save the day, the Prime Minister reinstates them in a haphazard fashion, ordering them to save the hostages in only 15 minutes.

This is a much more violent and intense season, focusing more on the plight of Japanese refugees, impoverished in the aftermath of two more World Wars. The devastation of these military attacks has left some cities of Kyushu nearly devastated.

Out of these attacks, an independent militarist group of terrorists, named the Individual Eleven, have manipulated information networks within the government. They have managed to use Section 9 as a tool for their own purposes, even going so far as to transport illegal weaponry, such as nuclear fuel rods. They've already attempted to assassinate the new Prime Minister. At this rate, terrorism in Japan can only get worse.

Although GitS 2nd Gig almost gets a little too wrapped up in conspiracies and meandering plotlines, the second season is far better than the first. Certainly, we're not used to seeing Section 9 fail in their missions. As saddening and infuriating as it gets, anime fans will deeply sympathize more with this group as they try desperately to do the right thing, while the Individual Eleven finds more and more ways to cover their tracks. Despite what other people might think, there's nothing more beautiful than watching Section 9 fight military battles in an already devastated landscape, with sunken buildings and crumbling freeways. The music is incredibly chaotic, with fantastically dissonant string sections, all arranged by the female superstar composer Yoko Kanno.

Best of all, there's far more momentum in this second season. The first season had more of a fake egotistical coolness in all of Section 9's operations, especially in the stand-alone episodes. However, this season is filled with some of the most creative plotlines and twists. Episode two literally takes place in the mind of a military veteran, who confuses the audience with his own bizarre fantasies of killing his employers. Episode seven and eight are mind-bending episodes of Section 9's attempt to capture Kazundo Gouda, the shrewd head of the Cabinet Intelligence Service who always manages to stay one step ahead of them by dispersing misleading information to cover up his tracks.

Anyone who ever doubted that "Stand Alone Complex" would end up too complicated for its own good will be proved wrong with "GitS SAC: 2nd Gig." This is another must-have series, available in September.

Image courtesy of espvisuals.blogspot.com

Lazy-ing around

I haven't written a blog entry in a while, because I'm basking in my glorious graduation celebrations. Don't worry--I'm still continuing the anime blog.

Look forward to future reviews of all the classic anime I missed out on. Like "Fullmetal Alchemist," "Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig" and whatnot. Who knows, maybe I'll actually finish "Bleach" if I'm lucky.

DVD Review: Do you feel lucky...star? (part 5)

Up until now, I couldn't stop watching "Lucky Star." Sure, the jokes were childish conversations about video games and J-pop culture, but I loved it.

However, volume 5 is one of the more lackluster volumes in the Lucky Star series. The jokes aren't as funny, and the dialogue is almost too cumbersome at times.

There are some humorous moments, though. Episode 17 of this series takes us in the final year activities. All the students have to give their preferred majors after high school, but Konata still wants to become a brigade leader. It's a reference to "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya." Good grief.

I was glad that this episode also featured a dramatic part, in which the smart Kagami gets a little steamed at her older sister for bossing her around. Thankfully, her sister gave her credit for all the work she did, purchasing groceries at the end of the day. Certainly it's not the most dramatic thing I've seen in a series, but it really changes up the typical Lucky Star formula.

While parts of episode 18 are somewhat hit-and-miss, Lucky Star has a ball in episode 19 with making all the Gundam references they can possibly make, blurring and censoring all the names and images of the series. In fact, even Konata and her dad's eyes are covered with a black box, presumably because they look like Gundam robot eyes?

Every once in a while, Lucky Star has some zany, ridiculous computer-generated sequence. In episode 19, Yutaka's manga-writing friend, Hiyori Tamura, goes through an intense slow-motion tripping sequence in the school hallway, twisting onto her back just so she can save her drawing hand. Now THAT'S how an anime company uses computer animation!

However, the most memorable part of this DVD is in episode 19, when Tamura and her friends walk by someone cosplaying as Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Tamura can't help but take as many camera photos as she can, and send her photos over the phone. After all, this is THE Edward Elric we're talking about.

However, those are the best parts. Many of the other jokes are not that funny at all, involving cute everyday jokes that just didn't crack up my funny bone. The jokes in episode 20 about mosquito bites were so, so repetitive and boring. Thankfully, Tamura cranked out all the jokes she possibly could in episode 19. She's easily the most exciting character, who loves manga and takes every single effort to fantasize people as her favorite anime characters.

If only all the other characters tried to do this. I wasn't impressed with episode 20 at all. Hopefully something more interesting happens in the final volume, but I'm not betting all my money on it.

Image courtesy of robololi.wordpress.com

DVD Classic: Gekigangar-3! I mean, Nadesico!

"Martian Successor Nadesico" could be called the Japanese version of "Star Trek," only with more laughs, more energy and cheesy jokes about retro robot anime.

Nadesico is partly a parody of Space Battleship Yamato, which involved the characters fighting in outer space against aliens known as the Gamila. In Nadesico, we have the same theme of people fighting against aliens, known as the Jovian Lizards. However, it's also more about a fictional anime show within this series as well.

Nadesico's plot centers around Akito Tenkawa, a boy who lived on Mars until the Jovian lizards attacked their colonies on Mars. His parents died, and he also lost a friend of his, named Ai.

But somehow, Tenkawa managed to escape. He lives on the Earth as a former robot Aestivalis pilot, but he doesn't want to fight anymore. He wants to be a cook! However, he's such a loser that he cries about his past even when he's cooking. Things change when he runs into Yurika Misumaru, his childhood friend. Apparently Yurika is the new temporary Nadesico captain, and Akito rushes over to help her fight the Jovian lizards.

Sometimes the plot just borders on ridiculous. After the liftoff of the Nadesico, Yurika's father tries to capture the Nadesico back, so that it can fight in the Earth's army. As nonsensical as it sounds, though, Yurika decides to head to Mars anyway, for the sake of her friend, Akito.

Yurika hardly even remembers Akito anyway--her only memory is her picture frame of him in a bulky suitcase. But anime fans can't help but love how bubbly Yurika is, even when she's totally clueless.

But Yurika is one of the most lovable anime heroines. Even though Akito doesn't want to be around her, he falls in love. Inevitably, it turns into a big romantic comedy. Yurika gets into some heated competition over Akito with Megumi Reinard, a former voice actress and communications officer. Yurika and Megumi has some laugh-out-loud momentts arguing in front of Akito in his robot, while Akito just watches their breasts in front of him.

There's so many different genres in this anime that it almost fails to conclude itself. Thankfully, director Dai Sato holds the series together with a cheesy retro robot series called "Gekigangar-3." Akito watched every episode with his buddy on the Nadesico, Gai Daigoji, before he was killed. Eventually, this silly anime-within-an-anime turns into a universal phenomenon, an anime which all the nations, including the Jovian lizards, love with all of their heart. Even the ship Nadesico holds an entire series screeening of "Gekigangar-3."

It's a very good thing that this series never takes itself too seriously. Even when the scientific time-travel and space travel concepts shot over my head, there were always funny "Gekigangar-3" jokes, as well as plenty of hectic jokes in which multiple characters argue over the love of Akito.

And yes, the ending might not tie together the entire series. Still, this anime is about growing up and respecting everyone's own views of an anime. After all, the Jovian lizards saw "Gekigangar-3" as a tale in which the evil empire always conquers the minorities. However, Akito and Yurika know that what really matters in anime is the passion of the characters, not just simplistic anime endings.

But "Martian Successor Nadesico" is truly a romantic comedy at heart. In fact, the humorous ending in which Akito is chasing after Yurika is probably the funniest use of teleportation ever. There's plenty of random jokes, but this is exactly what makes Nadesico a classic anime.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

DVD Review - Feeling a little Lucky...Star (part four)

Lucky Star is culminating into a comedy masterpiece, with the over-the-top store employees and Minoru Shiraishi's goofy ending songs.

I'm sure everyone already knows I've said that this series is okay and not the greatest I've ever seen. Yet, the art sequences and characters have some pretty funny sequences after a small lull in excitement on the third DVD.

For example, episode 13 is a humorous Valentine's Day episode. Konata and Tsukasa pull off some really clever dating game jokes, in which Konata fantasizes an entire scene in which Kagami runs off to give giri (obligation) chocolate to a guy she likes. She says, "Excuse me for the chocolate having a distorted shape," and the guy says in a romantic, handsome voice, "Silly girl, what's more important than shape is the fact that you gave it to me." Of course, this is all before we realize that it's all a scene in Konata's imagination.

Episode 14 introduce's Konata's little cousin, Yutaka Kotabayakawa. Yutaka is the tiny, shy new high schooler who just moved into Konata's home. She's very cute and she often gets more than a little creeped out by Konata's father, who leaves the bathroom door open when he's on the john. Yutaka also gets more than a little embarassed of her police officer cousin, Yui, who tells Yutaka that now that she's graduated, she should go out for a drinking party.

Just so you know, Japanese people really aren't like Konata's family. Still, this show is really, really funny.

This show also has plenty of fun April Fool's jokes. In episode 15, Konata tells Kagami that she's already finished with her homework, before saying, "April Fool's!" Really, Konata should just do her homework...

In episode 16, Konata's friends visit her working her part-time cosplay job at a maid cafe. Konata practically becomes their "servant" for a day and does a stunningly accurate impersonation of the grumpy Haruhi Suzumiya. It's especially fun to watch Konata's snobby impersonation and Kagami's strict attitude butt heads against each other. However, there's nothing more enjoyable than Konata's impersonation of the famous Haruhi Suzumiya ending credits dance. Talk about epic.

Meanwhile, Akira is getting very, very moody and mean in these recent episodes. It's still funny, although it has a dark satirical edge criticizing the honor system of film production in Japan. Akira especially goes postal when she's only given one short line in her script for the Lucky Channel segment. Thankfully, the producer gives Akira a special karaoke part in the next episode to cheer her up. Unfortunately, she only sings at a deserted karaoke room with no one except Minoru Shiraishi and a waiter serving drinks.

Boy, it's hard out there for a Japanese actress. Thankfully, the cast still has tons of fun shooting the live action ending clips for the show. Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi includes some of the fun video clips in which they run around Hokkaido with Super Soakers. They also film swordfights and wedding scenes...hm...

Lucky Star makes for a great anime-style sitcom show. Certainly, it's a little more grounded in the real world than Haruhi is, but it has plenty of great jokes involving Yu-Gi-Oh and countless other dating sims. It gets better and better as the series moves on, and volume four had the greatest variety of parodies, everyday jokes and cosplay dancing.

Image courtesy of moggling.com

Internship???

I might get an internship at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. I'm really nervous now.

Time to hope for the best. It's crunch time!

Lucky Star features high school girls?

I have to make a long time correction. "Lucky Star" is set in the high school Ryoo with the four girls in high school. I kept thinking that it was set in elementary school, because the characters were drawn in a miniature style.

Anyhoo...

DVD Review - Catch Me Lucky Stars (part 3)

Disc three of Lucky Star doesn't have as many clever anime references, but it features some more in-depth looks into Kagami's home, as well as a special Comiket episode.

Certainly "Lucky Star" isn't the most exciting anime. Most of the episodes focus on the everyday lives of four high school kids who love Japanese anime and video games, with Konata as the leader of the girls.

But it is very funny. Just to get a sense of the humor in this disc, episode 9 focuses on the kids studying for a test. Konata typically goes back to her MMORPG in the middle of studying. She meets her teacher online on the same game, telling her to stop playing and study. Good grief, doesn't her teacher have anything better to do?

This disc is more notable for the part in episode 10 where Tsukasa and Kagami visit Konata's house. Konata's father is a writer who loves young girls, but for quite different reasons than what one might thing (yeah, he's not quite a pedophile). Even though Konata's mother died, Konata shows her friends a picture of her mother, who looks almost like young Konata! How could this be...?

So that's why Konata's father gets so inspired to write whenever he hangs around little girls. How weird...

Meanwhile, in the episode 11, Kagami gives her father some Christmas presents. Then Kagami's cousin, Yui comes in after spending a night on the town, drinking. Why is she drunk driving, even though she's a cop? And Yui's husband called her on her cell, so Yui's ready to drive back to her home. Oh dear...

The best episodes in this DVD, episode 12, is definitely worth watching. Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa had to Comiket. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, all the big manga and doujinshi artist arrive at the Ariake convention center to sell all their manga to fans. Manga fans flood inside the subway cars to head to Comiket. And of course, Konata gives Tsukasa and Kagami a floor plan and maps out the tables they have to visit on the map. She's sure an expert when it comes to anime and manga conventions. Of course, Tsukasa and Kagami get more than a little lost in their epic journey through the convention floor.

Konata's choices range from weird to bizarre. For example, Konata designates Kagami to a strange booth selling a hentai (pornographic) manga with men and chains. Kagami's freaked out at first, but she can't stop reading it! Boy, young girls and their manga these days...

The Lucky Channel segment at the end of the episodes isn't nearly as funny as it used to be, since we already know what to expect from the sultry Akira and her quirky co-host Minoru Shiraishi. However, Akira does manage to get into background in episode 12...as a cardboard cut-out.

I'm surprised at how much life Lucky Star still has, even though the anime really doesn't have much substance compared to other slice-of-life anime.

And The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi extras are excellent in volume 3. The big spotlight of his film trip in Kyushu included a film clip in which Minoru is chasing desperately after his bus while two actresses talked about the food they ate.

I honestly have no idea how the group's film clips are going to come together on the last episodes of Lucky Star, but so far, their film shoot has been really funny. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

DVD Review - Bloody murder in Baccano!

When I started "Baccano!", I said it was very confusing for an anime. However, as each consecutive DVD reveals the plot, I can't help but think that this series is amazing.

Though it's one of the goriest anime I've ever seen, volume two of "Baccano!" is a brilliant time warp, filled with brutal mob wars linked to a scientific experiment gone mad.

By time warp, I mean that "Baccano!" has jumped around in time in the 1930s setting. Some parts take place on a train, some parts take place in New York and some parts take place in the 1770s.

You heard me--episode seven takes place where the story began, in 1771, on an old European ship. With the help of the alchemist Maiza Aviro, a group of people attains immortality through a special elixir.

With these powers are many life-threatening risks. Each new immortal person has the ability to suck out a person's body and knowledge into his/her body by placing a hand on the person's forehead.

These are shocking new revelations that put the entire storyline of "Baccano!" into perspective. Thus, many of the main characters have the ability of rebuilding their body parts even if they die. We already know that Maiza Aviro in the 1930s is now a member of the Camorra mafia. And Firo somehow attains the same abilities as Maiza. Oh, and Szilard is an old evil crony who just sucks in all the people into his body for himself. And he wants to sell elixirs for immortality. What a punk.

It's almost too difficult to figure out which character is most significant, since each one has different philosophical standards in their use of immortality. However, probably the most significant ones are Firo, Szilard and Maiza. However, this series, like the American TV series "Lost," features s so many excellent side characters as well.

One of these characters, Jacuzzi Splot (how the hell did he ever get that name?), is a crybaby who has probably killed too many people in his lifetime. Fortunately, he still manages to muster up the courage in the train to confront Ladd Russo, the grade A sadist who killed some of his gang members.

Oddly enough, though, Russo is more interested in the conductor who was savagely murdered, so Russo and Splot's fight will have to wait. Meanwhile, some creepy monster, called the Rail Tracer, is absorbing countless immortal people inside the train.

As one can see, each episode is a tough-to-follow string of situations. While this is confusing, the anime still holds down the fort with some of the most unforgettable characters. Comedians, such as Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent, pop in and out dressing up as zany Indians and cowboys. They may have a grudge against the mafia--they've already stolen most of the Gandor inheritance. Then again, they're too happy-go-lucky to really care about who they steal from.

And it's hard not to love them--they just want to perform good deeds to make up for their sins. They cheer up young Eve Geonard in 1931, who misses her swindling big brother, Dallas. Isaac and Miria also crack some funny jokes to cheer up Jacuzzi on the train in 1932, before they get ready to bust the heads of the train murderers.

At the same time, the immortal characters make for brutal mafia members. They're not just powerful--they just cannot believe in any religion at all. Dallas shouts at his poor, innocent sister whenever she prays to God. Perhaps they're really afraid that God won't forgive them for their mischievous life throughout 200 or so years of living.

This is a multi-faceted storyline with so much sheer complexity that it's brilliant. It's a must-have anime for any action fan. Although the scene where a demon chops Szilard's head in half is brutal, the regeneration scenes immediately after the murder makes for fascinating eye candy. Who ever knew that chopping off a limb and regenerating it would be so damn cool?

Image of Jacuzzi and Nice courtesy of funimation.com