Anime Review!, post your anime film reviews here ^_^

Nice Anime Review Grabe! Naaddict ako sa anime na 'to Para nga siyang Furuba, pero sa tingin ko mas kwela 'to. Ang cute din ng mga characters Sana lang ipalabas din siya sa local TV

MJ's Quickie Reviews
On: Massugu ni Ikou

This is just waaaaaaaaay too cute Dog lovers unite! This is the anime for you If you ever wondered what your beloved mooches were thinking, this show may give you a good insight while giving you a good laugh.

Mamatarou is an orange mutt that is frisky, enjoys long walks and loves his master . Along with his neighborhood friends (yes, dogs have their society thing going on apparently ) they tell the story of the simple joys of freshly dug earth during warm summer afternoons, running after butterflies and the importance of brushing doggie teeth. I think at the very least this show will get an "awww" out of anyone

The light and funny storytelling combined with a refreshing point-of-view spells a good series. Although I'm not so sure if the plot will be strong enough to hold up for a long series, i think the novelty of Massugu wont get old right away and will easily build a following. Plus the informative tid bits would make PAWS and PETA proud.

There are tons of doggie POVs that I cant wait to see. This is already a classic in my book

Utawarerumono

somehow, ero-ge to anime transitions are turning out pretty good these days.. more so(sad to say) than manga to anime transitions.. why is that? i have to wonder..

Utawarerumono, is an ero-ge(Hgame) turned anime.. even so, much like shuffle and some others, the quality of the anime is very good. what makes an anime good? for me, first and foremost the animation quality has to be good. the fluid frames/rates, the visuals, proper cut scenes(good direction/presentation of a scene), proper use of cg and effects and blending, art consistency etc.. , .. story is probably tertiary as an anime can be good even with a simple, basic non intricate story(of course having a good story is a major +point^^ but were talking about anime here and not manga or a novel so its as good as far as the eyecandy is concerned), my secondary requirement are the characters, their design, appeal, and the seiyuu chosen for them(do they properly portray the character effectively?).

now then, this anime passes most of my requirements, the animation of ep1 sure is slightlty superior than the preceding episodes(as expected) but id like to say that overall its been pretty consistent thus far..

the charcters are of the fantasy genre, a mysterious masked man finds himself awakening in a small village with no recollection of his past(generic i know but hell yeah it works! -is the most surprising thing for me i guess..probably the default setting from the game), the people in the village look like half-animals.. well they have the unusual ears and tail at least.

so far i feel like getting pulled into the story. it really is interesting, i sorta like these massive war stuffs once in awhile..the story is bound to be an epic i suppose, starting from a small village and to what i can see would be a ripple effect of events that would probably go on to some major stuff that would effect their whole land or country.. probably a war is lurking in the horizon.. and well have to see how these villagers deal with the situations they'll be put in..

while this maybe one of the generic fantasy types, i cant really place this among other already known groups of fantasy anime out there, and i can say it can stand out on its own without the scrutiny of being labeled a rehash of some old fantasy anime like loddoss war or other, but most probably it maybe just because a NEW good long fantasy series hasnt been done in quite some time, most new ones are just short oavs, (like tales of phantasia) ,well anyways, im anxious to see how things develop further on..

WitchBladE


based on the popular comic book witchblade, the anime take on the series was a little more than your typical differences in the art style and presentation. fro one our heroin seems to be a vuloptious busty young mom..

definitely far off from the original desgins, witchblade the anime does have its merits. animationwise the quality is really good, storywise i still dont have any idea if it'll be good or bad.. the character desgins sure would raise an eyebrow or two.. when the woman uses the witchblade, instead of being adorned wth the typical medieval armor, she gets into a kinda transformation sequence(possibly the anime cliche) but unlike the sailormoon magical girl acts.. its more like the 'guyver' treatment..

when fully transformed her hair changes color and so does her eyes, she is then shown the transformed bearer of the wichblade and seems to inhibit a different persona who lusts for battle.. so far it really looks like a 'female guyver' show in terms of the action..

this 'gal-ver' however looks uber sexy with the scantily armor which covers a minority of her body when transformed. its amazing how the clothes seem to disappear when shes transformed and how it manages to reappear when she reverts back to normal.

so far the series seems interesting enuff, its got some good action, quality animation and an average story but i guess its really too soon to judge the plot based on a few episodes.. the character designs (specifically te heroins) raised a lot of reactions from witchblade fanatics.. but its still 'witchblade' and its an anime rendition of it so whats not to like? besides, its definitely above 'average' in terms of production quality and its from studio GONZO!!!

MJ's Quickie Reviews
On: Kamisama Kazoku

A gem in a sea of new releases, Kamisama Kazoku is quickly rising up my faves list. Simple, sweet and with a refreshing art style, its a new perspective of what being the son of The most poweful is.

What would you do if you were the son of Kamisama? Wouldnt that be the best setup, getting all of your hearts little wishes? Samatarou thinks otherwise. His is the most disfunctional and meddling family of gods and goddesses there is. Growing up in a family that gave him everything (and believe me, if you had the power of gods, you can get everything) has given Samatarou little chance to achieve things on his own. So when a beautiful girl transfers into his class, he decides to make her his girlfriend... entirely on his own and without any powers.

Kamisama Kazoku's nice art was what got me interested, then the story and the characters (particularly Tenko) got me hooked. What can i say, im a sucker for hopeless romantic comedy titles Although alot may think the outcome is obvious, I'd like to see how that outcome happens; im here for the trip Besides, the chibi-god modes of the characters are trully adorable, and the character of Tenko makes you wish you had an angel over your shoulder who cared as much as she did. A good title to consider.

Title: Shingetsutan Tsukihime (Lunar Legend Moon Princess)
Studio: JC Staff
Released: 2004
no of Eps: 12 (13 for DVD)



Tohno Shiki is an ordinary highschool guy who leads a quet life. He moves back to their ancestral home after the death of his father upon the request of this sister, Akiha. The two are looked after by twin maids, Hisui and Kohaku. All seems go on peacefully, until the day Shiki kills a girl who was just passing by. The promptly faints after killing her and wakes up back in his room. He was pretty sure he had just killed someone but can't find any trace of blood in his clothing. Undaunted, he goes to school the next day and when he passed the park late in the afternoon he was stupefied. The girl he had just killed was there, waiting for him...


Enough of that.


I first saw this shaw on Animax, I think August last year. I've never really watched any vampire stuff before so I thought this might be a good start. And yes it truly was. Although it was very much shorter than what I expected it to be. (I was looking for something like 25 eps or more)


Profiles



Arcueid Brunestud - Primordial Princess (Shinsoh Hime). Self appointed hunter and executioner of Roa, who "ruined" her life over 800 years ago.

Tohno Shiki - Ordinary highschool guy who's received the power of seeing life-lines after he was killed and revived by the the real Tohno Shiki, who was then posessed by Roa. (The Eye Of Immediate Death)

Roa - Snake Of Agasha. Jumps from one body to another in hopes of receiving immortality. Deceived Arc to make her drink a cup of blood and lost her innocence in the process.

Ciel - Sent by the Church to eliminate Roa. She was also one of Roa's former hosts and vows to kill him and all other non-humans in her way.

Tohno Akiha - Shiki's sister and present head of the Tohno family. She inherited all of the Tohno's vampiric powers which she struggles to control.

Hisui/ Kohaku - Twin servants who work at the Tohno household. They help to control Akiha's powers and stop her from running amuck when she's reached her limit.

Nero - Blood thirsty Lycanthrope who appears early in the story. He slaughters a hundred people at the Century Hotel. Arc and Shiki make short work of him afterwards.

Arihiko - Shiki's closest friend who constantly covers him up from his sister when he's out at night.

Yumizuka - Another one of Shiki's friends who apparently likes him.



Story : 9.5/10
It was nice but there were some gaping holes in most of the character's profiles. Like why was the Nanaya (Shiki's real clan) slaughtered by Tohno Makihisa and left the boy alive. Arcueid's death seemed quite shocking and added tension
to the final encounter between the 2 Shikis.

Graphics : 8/10
Well designed and I must say is a very typical work of JC Staff. But there weren't very much details in the designs. I must add though that all the girls on this show were quite hot, esp Arc and Akiha. (hehe)

Sounds: 10/10
Fits the story really well. The piano and violin solos, the battle themes all flow well with the story. The sad scenes seem more sad by the wailing sound of the violin.

Repeatability : 7/10
I've never gotten tired of watching this, even after getting a DVD and watching it again and again. But it seems that what works on me may not work on other people.




(1st time ko lang po mag-review hehe so i chose something short)

IIRC it was explained in the anime. it's because he had the same name as Akiha's brother.
unexplained was that he thought that the Tohnos might need him, since the Tohno blood is starting to get out of control.

hi guys,i really love your reviews.

i got a *few* anime to watch based on your reviews

well heres my list:


wolfs rain (not on your reviews though)
jigoku shoujo
samurai deeper kyo
Harukanaru Toki no Nakade
my hime/ otome
Ah! My Goddess (TV) + OVA + minigodes
Mahoraba
ROZEN MAIDEn
Trinity Blood
Read or Die TV + OVA
Blood: the Last Vampire
BLood +
MUSHISHI
EUREKA SEVEN
Binchou-tan
Kyo no Go no Ni
Black Lagoon
Massugu ni Ikou
WitchBladE
Kamisama Kazoku

hohohoho (dont mind me). dang, i hope there are some good seeders for these anime. T___T

@ alte_the_rat

that only explains why he was adopted coz they have the same first name, but why was he the only survivor of a massacre? that particular episode showed him waking up in the middle of the night and going to this tree, where there was a slain woman (maybe his mother)... is there a manga version of tsukihime? i know that there was a PSone game for it a few years ago but there were no copies here

there is a manga version. it's also licensed. i found volume one at comic quest last year. priced at 650 pesos.

there isn't a tsukihime ps game. the fighting game sequel(Melty Blood: Act Cadenza) will be ported in the ps2 though. One of the characters was the one who killed the Nanayas.

Mimi Wo Sumaseba
Directed by: Yoshifumi Kondo
Screenplay by: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by: Studio Ghilbi
Based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi

Summary
Shizuki Tsukishima would much rather read books than study, much to her parents' dismay. She's too busy translating a song for her friends, reading as many books as she can, as well as being annoyed with a boy who thinks her writing is silly.

While riding the train one day, she notices that there is a cat traveling there too. Out of curiosity, she decides to follow it and comes across an antiques shop full of interesting things. One such thing that caught her eye was a statue of a cat in a suit and top hat. She also meets the kind and elderly owner of the shop --- and once again runs into that annoying boy (which she seems to have a habit of meeting in the most curious times and places.

She's also curious about the name that keeps appearing on the books she's borrowed: Seiji Amasawa. Who is this boy who reads the same books as she? Is he handsome? Is he kind? Will she like him? Will he like her?
summary by me, with references to www.nausicaa.net

Trademark Studio Ghilbi
Released in Japan in 1995, the animation Mimi Wo Sumasaba (translated as Whisper of the Heart, or If You Listen Closely , in English) is trademark Studio Ghilbi. Well known for lush and detailed backgrounds, expressive faces and sharp, memorable characters, Mimi Wo Sumaseba is no exception, and can definitely stand up against any animation done. Mimi spins a tale of youth and innocence, of dreams and simple desires, of young children who can be mature at their young age.

Oddly enough, Miyazaki didn't direct Mimi. Rather, it marked the directorial debut of Yoshifumi Kondo, who unfortunately passed away in 1998. The movie was well accepted by the public (what Miyazaki movie hasn't been?), and brought about a spin off anime of one of the characters in the story, The Cat Baron, whose story was also a manga by Mimi author, Aoi Hiiragi.

There are also a lot of references to other of Studio Ghilbi works in the movie. I noticed that the clock in the antiques shop has the words "Porco Rosso" on it. I was also informed that the town where shop is located is also the setting for one of Miyazaki's stories, "Pom Poco". And of course, there's Muta, the cat Shizuku followed, and the Baron, stars of the animation "The Cat Returns".

Comparisons to the manga (Spoilers ahead)
The anime has a slightly more serious tome to it than the manga. The team of Studio Ghilbi expanded the story to include Shizuki's journey in discovering what it is she wants to do in life, as opposed to the manga where her goal is to find out who is the guy in all the library cards. In the movie, Shizuki is troubled that, unlike Seiji, she doesn't seem to have any ambition. She feverishly tries to write a story that's burning in her head, and asks Seiji's grandfather to be the first one to read it.

Miyazaki's screenplay removed some characters from the manga, namely Seiji's older brother Koji, therefore removing the relationship he and Shizuku's older sister had. The characters in the manga were also younger than their movie counterparts, and there was an easier relationship between the Tsukishima sisters. Miyazaki also changed Seiji's passion from painting to violin making, and the feelings the two characters had for each other was much more intense in the anime version. However, despite this changes, the charm of Hiiragi's manga isn't diminished. Shizuku may be a bit distracted, but her heart in the right place.

I definitely enjoyed Mimi wo Sumaseba. Studio Ghilbi was able to retain the feeling of whimsy Hiiragi's manga has, but still being able to tackle issues such as finding oneself, without having to sound preachy. It's a pretty lengthy movie, but well worth the time you'll spend watching it. It's a love story, comedy, adventure and a little bit of mystery all jumbled up to make a very entertaining movie. At the end of the movie, there is the definite feeling that they will live happily ever after. A must for any Miyazaki fan, or anyone who wants a feel good movie.

@ alte the rat

i think there was a psone game, my sister found it on an old copy of electronic gamer, i forgot what year and month. and she also recognized some of the ending pics/ credits from the DVD which she claims were from the game

650 bucks? so is it long? i'll go poke around later on for that, all i've got is the DVD...

there isn't, i tell you.

if there was i'd have searched for the iso a long time ago.

@alte the rat

if there isnt an iso for it, it doesnt mean it doesnt exists, right? my friend is currently searching for Kango Shicyauzo 3 for an ISO and unfortunately, no one seeds it~ just a thought

@everyone

what anime's good to review? i dunno where to start with my current lists XD *points at a long paper listed with animes watched*

i dont really know i haven't seen the game myself but i suppose there has been.. i don't really know for sure

@ mitsune
i have no idea my friend... i suppose you just pick one and type away!