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: Growing up with Friends, Food and Art

"Hidamari Sketch" is a warm, fuzzy slice-of-life that will get any fan interested in art and friendship.

Don't let the cute intro fool you--"Hidamari Sketch" is one of the best slice-of-life series with moe characters. Although the first season is only 14 episodes long, it sucks you into the everyday life of four of the kindest girls you'll ever want to live with for the rest of your life.

Unlike other moe shows, this series is more like a chronicle of an entire school year from January to December. It takes you right into a special art high school, where the four girls are learning how to perfect their craft. The girls, Yuno, Miyako, Hiro and Sae, have known each other for half a year.

Right from the start, this story strays dramatically from the typical formula of uber-cute moe. Rather than focus on the characters' adorable love for guitars or anime, the characters actually spend time talking together. They talk about a wide range of topics, such as the romance novel that Sae is usually writing.

Each character has unique traits that actually complements their friendships and their art skills. For instance, Miyako overeats and tends to joke around too often. Although she often goofs around by drawing anime-style characters, she has a knack for capturing her best friend's unusual facial expressions in a drawing.

You'll even notice how all the characters' art skills improve. Anime fans will love watching Yuno as she learns to harness her artistic talent to create beautiful, life-like drawings. They'll even enjoy all the subtle moments when Yuno sits in the bathtub, reflecting on everything happened during the day.

Yuno even learns to appreciate all her friends' humorous habits and customs. At one point, she has to borrow Miyako's "horror" alarm clock. The alarm is literally a goofy voice recording of a woman who is screaming at the top of her lungs.

Even though "Hidamari Sketch" isn't the most dramatic or most well-drawn, it has a simple visual touch that looks amazing on screen. Many of the anime textures include actual photographs. For instance, the escalator in a shopping area includes actual photographs which might have been manipulated through 3D animation magic.

Every backdrop is like a work of art. The stairs turn into abstract horizontal lines moving up or down the screen. The textures are sometimes shaded with dot patterns, rather than in different gradients. The anime even includes a photograph of the actual sculpture of Brutus, pasted into the high school classroom setting.

These are just a few of the many reasons why "Hidamari Sketch" is a huge hit in Japan. The show ran for two seasons and it is about to start its third. It's one of the only moe shows where the girls actually act like mature grown-ups. Although "K-On!" is receiving all the buzz this year for its exciting rock music, no one should ever overlook the wonderful "Hidamari Sketch."

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Streaming video review - Avant-garde moe for the artist's soul

If you like watching four really cute art student girls on abstract art backgrounds, you're in for a treat.

The Anime Network's newest slice-of-life series, "Hidamari Sketch" turns the anime format into modern art by integrating actual photographs and various forms of modern artwork.

At first glance, this series looks like a low-quality rehash of "Honey and Clover," a similar show which centers on the romantic lives of everyday art students. "Hidamari Sketch" takes a much simpler approach by analyzing the visual talent of young female art students in their day-to-day lives.

There is visual beauty in every part of this anime. The director of the show did an extraordinary job, by pasting actual photographs into the environment of "Hidamari Sketch" to portray the actual surface textures of wood and paint. There's even a couple polka dot textures in the pop art style.

The nameplate of the girls' apartment was created by actual painters. The main character uses tourist photographs, pop logos and anime-styled "postcards" in her photo collage. The crowds of people in the summer festival are abstractly represented by simple peg-like sticks.

Although the anime director's "art exhibition" approach tends to get a little redundant, no one can deny that this show looks remarkable. The anime has many wonderful sections where each art girl get to discuss her own approach to her work.

The jokes and the dialogue is geared mostly toward young girls, so hardcore anime nuts might pass on watching "Hidamari Sketch." However, the director of "Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei" did a incredible job in giving this moe series much more pizazz than I expected. Take the time to at least watch a few episodes, because the visual style of this series is very unique.