Best anime openings for Christmas insanity (part two)

After the Black Friday madness, it's time to continue with my list of the top 26 opening sequences for anime shows. Moving onward to number 20...

20. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, first season
This opening looks more like one of those 70s romance shows, like "That Girl" or "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The characters dress up with considerable class. Even the juxtaposition of the drawings make them look like high-end individuals. It's still a classic for me.

No moe show has stirred as much controversy as the second season of Haruhi. This show isn't an ordinary experiment in shoujo anime anymore. It is guaranteed to test your toleration for anime boredom.

Yet, this is also why it's one of the more important shows of the decade. There's no other show that will amuse you and disgust you as much as Haruhi. If you're into camera tricks and classy cinematography, get season one for $35. Season two is also available at a more expensive $49.

19. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross
Not too many of the old mecha show openings lasted the test of time. However, almost every old anime fan remembers this grand opening for "Macross."

This is another one of those really corny intros where the singer has to sing the name of the show. The epic scale of the orchestra and the electric guitars makes the show much larger than life. The hero of the series, Rick Hunter, also looks incredibly cool as the star pilot of the series.

Most of the DVDs are still available on amazon.com. You have to make sure to buy only the grey copies with the words "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross," though. This was one of the shows that was first released with a terrible English dub and none of the original Japanese audio, so make sure you find the proper version.

18. Death Note, second opening
People don't usually hear about death metal bands in Japan, so this was an excellent intro that showed off the random, schizophrenic sound of Japanese metal. It also included some of the edgiest visuals for an anime opening.

It doesn't make much sense, but it truly captures the dangerous atmosphere of "Death Note."

In case anyone is wondering, Funimation recently released the Death Note episodes in two box sets. Each part is available for only $28.

17. Hidamari Sketch x365
I didn't even consider putting "Hidamari Sketch" into the list until I saw the second opening. The show easily trumps Haruhi and "Lucky Star" with a cheery, hyper intro that captures everything that makes it so special.

This intro included everything. The characters show off their name stamped on their faces and arms. We get to see all the characters, from the weird principal to the caterpillar mascot. Panels from the comic are even flashing by at high speeds.

Sure, this intro copies the flying character sequence from Azumanga Daioh. Twice. Yet, no one can argue about how the animators neatly synchronized all the letters, numbers and character motions to match the fast music.

Seasons one and two are available on amazon.com for $36 each.


16. Xam'd - "Shut Up and Explode"
Xam'd is one of those shows that you have to watch, just because it looks cool and surreal. This opening happens to have the hardest-hitting post-punk song I've ever heard in an anime.

There's plenty of things that just look great. The giant Xam'd monsters that are destroying buildings. The unique motions of the characters to the hip music. The person who probably lured people in the most is the girl who looks like a cross between Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa. Come on, you have to watch a show just because this girl's image was inspired by two of the best Hayao Miyazaki films of all time.

Xam'd is available in two box sets. The first box is available for $37.

In another week, we'll look at numbers 15-11 on the list.

Images courtesy of photobucket.com.

DVD Review - Sadistic murders and "Dani California"

Live action adaptations of anime don't always work very well. However, the first "Death Note" movie is a chilling thriller with serial murders, demons and investigative mind games.

The movie starts straight out with a series of news reports on numerous criminals, all killed by a heart attack. All the deaths are tied to a college student named Light Yagami, who writes names in his "Death Note" book to kill them.

Director Shusuke Kaneko takes the story a step further with a scene in which Light met one of these suspected serial killers face-to-face. After the yakuza (Japanese gangster) member almost stabs Yagami on the spot, Light leaves the bar in the pouring rain. He's clearly frustrated that this murderer was set free.

Light's life takes a turn when the black "Death Note" book falls to the ground. Thinking this book is a joke, he writes the name of a serial killer whose face was on television. The next day, he opens the newspaper to find that this criminal is dead.

After killing the yakuza guy he met last night with his new book, Light runs into Ryuk, a demonic spirit who dropped the "Death Note" from the sky. Ryuk says the book is all his and that if Light doesn't want it, Ryuk will just erase his memory of the book and find another owner.

Eventually, Light proclaims himself a god of justice by killing unprosecuted suspects. He adopts on the Internet persona name "Kira." For all you English nuts, it's supposed to stand for killer. Get it? Kira is a killer?

Anyhow, most of the movie is based on the first few chapters of "Death Note." Soon, Light's father and a mysterious man named L lead a group of investigators to track Light down.

The second half of the film takes a dark turn as more people start to track down Light. Without saying too much about the ending, this movie shows off Light's lack of remorse for anyone. He's willing to risk everything to protect his precious book, even if he kills the person he loves the most.

The Japanese actors handle their roles with expertise in this new film. Tatsuya Fujiwara sounds every bit as cold and calculating as Light Yagami. During the scenes where he is eating potato chips and studying, no one would never suspect that Light is watching a hidden television for people to kill.

More than anything, this first film proves that Light is a true bastard who is more interested in killing off all criminals for his own idealized vision of Japan. Thankfully, Light hasn't killed the main protagonists yet, so there's enough room for director Kaneko to wrap this story up in the next film or two.

There are just a few problems with this movie. First, the ending credits features the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, "Dani California." There's no reason why a California song is in a film set in Japan, aside from the edgy, funky guitars in the song and the lyrics about "resting in peace." It sounds completely out of place.

Second, the demon Ryuk looks like a cheap computer-generated cartoon. The animators produced enough fine detail in his costume to make him appear half decent, but he still moves around like a puppet from the "Jason and the Argonauts" movie.

These are just minor, silly setbacks to a down-to-earth adaptation of a heartless story. The "Death Note" movie is a true descent into hell, because this time Light is an actual person, watching everyone for a chance to murder them.

Better yet, this movie includes some of the funniest English dubs. If you like your "Death Note" movie raw and intense, watch the original Japanese voice track. However, if you want to hear Japanese college students with valley girl-style accents and criminals who shout, "Son of a bitch!" and "Stop f***ing with me!", feel free to watch the English dubs.

My favorite dub joke is one uttered by the English voice actor for the criminal Takuo Shabuimoto, who says, "It's coming back. How it feels when the knife cuts deep into the flesh. And when it finally sinks right into the heart, 'Eeeeeeeeee! YAAAAAH! What am I doing here in this place? I don't remember!"

Image courtesy of l00klikeme.wordpress.com

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