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December 27th, 2010 BiggityB

Anime Salvation Anime and Manga Reviews

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Finn’s Anime Review: Axis Powers Hetalia – Paint it, White

January 19th, 2012 FinntheFrisian
Producers: Studio Deen, FUNimation Entertainment
Genres: Comedy, Historical, Parody
Duration: 1 hr. 20 min.
Aired: 2010
Rating: PG-13 – Teens 13 or older
 Faceless fiends are unleashing monochrome mayhem throughout the world. All our hopes rest on the delightfully inept shoulders of Hidekazu Himaruya’s colorfully stereotypical national personifications. America’s righteous alien buddy Tony tells him that the army of pudding like invaders are Pictonians from planet Picto. It will be a wonder if the major nations can stop quarreling among themselves long enough to come up with a plan to stop the alien menace. Along with usual cast of characters from the series this film features the anime debut of the character Iceland.

 It was very hard for me to imagine how a series of 5 minute long webisodes can be made into an 80 minute long feature. They managed to make it work by peppering the film with gags recycled from the show. Everything is divided by the all too familiar Hetalia eyecatch. This fragmentation is a positive method of presentation in my opinion. It works to maintain the flavor and quick pace of Hetalia to which I have grown accustom. On the other hand, I found the scenes of Switzerland and Liechtenstein peacefully idling away safely within Switzerland’s permanent neutrality field to be quite boring. Aside from that it was a rather enjoyable little movie that any fan of the series should watch.

The DVD comes with a number of extras including the usual theatrical trailer, and additional trailers for amazingly awesome anime brought to you by our friends at FUNimation. There is also a couple versions of the bon dance song you find at the end of the movie. After you watch the movie you can watch the CAPSLOCK commentary. After all nothing is  better than watching an anime recorded while a bunch of the voice actors watch the anime and talk over it the entire time. Then you can take a look at The Hidden History Hidden Within Hetalia. It is a collection of detailed clarifications of the numerous historical references. You can also watch the outtake reel. It’s actually pretty funny to hear the VAs flubbing their lines and goofing around. One of the more unique extras is the Opening Day Stage Greetings in which director Bob Shirohata and several members of the Japanese cast talk on stage before the movie premiere.

Blue Drop Review by Miki

January 12th, 2012 Miki

Blue Drop

By miki

The storyline starts in 1999, with Mari Wakatake transferring to a girl’s dormitory school called Kaihō Academy. Mari’s grandmother is ill and is sending her to boarding school to make friends so she will not be left alone if something should happen. Mari’s background hides a traumatic past: five years before her arrival at Kaihō, all the inhabitants of the island where she lived died in one night. Mari was the only survivor, but lost all her memories prior that point.  She has lived with her grandmother and homeschooled until now.  This is a dramatic change and one she resents at first but later she comes to understand the value of friendship.

At the academy Mari meets Hagino Senkōji, the school idol and class rep. Although Hagino is introduced as a calm and collected person, when she touches Mari’s hand she panics and attempts to strangle her. From then on, Mari is torn between anger and attraction towards Hagino, who pretends as if nothing has had happened.  They have a lot of animosity between them at least for a while until they become roommates.  The story focuses on the relationship between Mari and Hagino; as Mari begins to come out of her shell, Hagino, who has been living a double life, gradually begins to have doubts about her mission. While the invasion and war draw closer unnoticed, they begin to understand each other.  There is a kind of forbidden love here that’s mostly hinted at.  The dynamics between these two flow like lava and water.  We see them come together and flit away like butterflies in a mating dance.  It is beautiful and sometimes infuriating.

Hagino is actually the commander of an alien battleship called Blue, which is the vanguard of the invasion to Earth. The incident on the island where Mari lived occurred when the crew of the ship and the island’s inhabitants killed each other. Blue was seriously damaged and hidden, and Hagino blended into human society and continued her reconnaissance.  Until her head commander doubting her loyalty orders Blue destroyed.  Hagino refuses to lay down arms and is called a traitor so they can destroy evidence. The battle begins.  The space aspect is stimulating and invigorating to a shojo anime.  It creates a flavor of motion that rolls like the sea.  It also brings an action of violence that keeps viewers riveted.  Overall I watched this whole series in one day I just didn’t want to stop.

 

Aquarian Age Review

December 24th, 2011 Miki

Aquarian Age Review

As far as the history of humanity is concerned, there has always been war. Conflicts overt and covert, known and secret, battles fought that would influence the histories of future generations. Across centuries, three secret but powerful organizations have fought for control, even as mere mortal forces struggled with their own petty wars and attempts at grandeur. These three forces have worked to shape mankind’s destiny with their powers of magery, savagery, and mysticism…all the while keeping away from the eyes of those they control.

Each force was a counterbalance to the other. Arayashiki represented the mysticism of the Eastern world. WIZ-DOM subsisted on the magicks of the Western world. Finally there were the inhuman Darklore, from which tales of were-beasts and changelings abound, and The EGO’s psionics. Each faction, however, sought also to duel with the others for control and power. Using both their abilities, and their influence over those they controlled, these forces caused many of the great battles humanity knows as part of its bloodstained history.

The story centers on high school student and band vocalist Kamikurata Kyouta, and how he stumbles on a secret war being waged by mysterious girls with otherworldly powers. Kyouta later forms a band named T.L. Signal with his friends Kojima Junichi, and Hirota Shingo. Kyouta’s band works for a company named CosmoPop. Junichi plays the keyboard, and Shingo is the guitarist of the band. Things grow even more complicated when he discovers his girlfriend Sannou Yoriko might be the key to it.  He sees girls in space suits dueling during his performances and later we find he is causing their powers to awaken because he’s a mindbreaker.

The year 2000 AD, the opening of the 21st Century. The Age of Aquarius which astrologers had long since foretold had finally arrived. Some believe it to be an age of peace, a new world order. Others proclaim it as the coming of the biblical end times. Whatever truth it would be, the Aquarian Age is the age of great changes, during which the shape of humankind would never be the same. From this generation emerged a new breed of human, one with the ability to influence objects and other people with the mere power of their minds. Calling themselves E.G.O., this group of psionics claimed to represent the new evolution in humankind, a new faction that challenged the existing triumvirate for the power to shape destiny.

Another group also emerged; Individuals who have the gift to both empower and control members of the other factions, and using them to fight their battles. This unaligned group’s members gained control of agents from the previous groups, just as those factions once did mortal men. These were the Mindbreakers, who were loyal to no one but themselves, and served their own personal agendas.

In the midst of this new turmoil was thrown a new and unqualified faction. From the heavens came an alien force of great power, their apparent goal to destroy the human species. Despite this, these aliens have not openly attacked, alternating between study of the four factions and the Mindbreakers, and actively participating in the battles. This mysterious force with no clear goals or purpose was dubbed Eraser by the other factions due to their terrifying power.

This series is intriguing although somewhat confusing at first.  I enjoyed the colors and the flying.  The music is real nice as well.  I recommend this series its short and sweet and a enjoyable watch.   Yoriko and Kyouta are our two main characters but there are other interesting and lively character my favorite Kanae Morino is a darklore kitty controlled by Keiji Abuto a mindbreaker.   There is Asumi who works with Kyouta and creates a scandal.  Misato is Kyouta’s manager at Cosmopop and Rumiko Sakamoto Yori’s childhood friend and proxy leader for the Arayashiki.

Finn’s Manga Review: Mika ni Harassment

December 22nd, 2011 FinntheFrisian

Story & Art: Suihei, Kiki

Status: Finished with 5 chapters

Published:  2005

Serialization: Shounen Gangan

Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Magic

Mika ni Harassment

Finn here. I have returned after tirelessly struggling to free myself from beneath a mountain of manga. Oh, the things I have seen in the depths of Japanese subculture will shock and amaze you; or maybe not. At any rate, I bring with me a little insight into the sometimes wonderful world of all things manga. Today’s selection is a little manga from our perverted friends at Square Enix entitled Mika ni Harassment. The hapless heroine of this story is an average high school girl named Mika who just happens to have a mad scientist for an elder sister. After getting fed up with her childhood friend’s lust filled gazes Mika uses a mirror made by her sister to create a world where boys have no ecchi thoughts. Contrary to what Mika intended her new world is one in which all females go about mostly nude as they no longer need modesty. It is now girls who wear shirts and panties that are considered to be sexual deviants. Fortunately for Mika the magic mirror is fueled by the embarassment of shy young girls. After some all too predictable ecchi mishaps Mika gets enough juice in the mirror to return things the way they were, but much to her dismay she forgets that she is still dressed indecently. Put some damn clothes on, Mika. The next couple chapters are little improved by the addition of a spoiled child genius, and a super intelligent canine. Mika is forced to wear a collar, drink milk from a bowl, and sniff a crotch. Later she becomes mentally deficient, wears a diaper, and simulates breast feeding on the aforementioned child genius. Yikes. Additionally there are two one shots released in the tankobon with Mika ni Harassment. One of them is a gender bender. The other is a story about a mahou shoujo and a telepathic boy.

Art: 3/5

Those who don’t like ecchi manga should stay far away from this one. If you do like that stuff you could probably do a lot better reading something from Kawashita Mizuki instead. Yeah, there is a whole crap load of fan service, but the quality is average at best.

Story: 1/5

I won’t bother trying to analyze all the many flaws in the plot of this manga. Let’s just say that the story itself exists for the sole purpose of developing ecchi situations, and highlighting a variety of fetishes. Unfortunately the intended comedic value is overshadowed by the sexual content. It comes off as more than a little disturbing and wrong. The mangaka must have some kind of grudge against his own bland main character to put her through all that humiliation. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this manga is that despite all the overtly erotic material it was originally published in the same magazine that ran Full Metal Alchemist  and Soul Eater.

Mika ni Harassment

 

Elfen Lied Review by Miki

December 2nd, 2011 Miki

Elfen Lied Review by Miki

Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied takes place in Kamakura, Japan, focusing on a new strain of the human race, Diclonius, similar to human beings but different at the genetic level and notable due to physical abnormalities, particularly a pair of short horn-like protrusions that look kind of like white cat ears. One such Diclonius, Lucy, is the main character of the series: Initially held in a facility built for experimentation, Kanagawa Prefecture, she manages to escape and wreak havoc, but is injured in the process, an event which causes her to develop a split personality disorder, child-like personality known as Nyu.

Lucy is found by two locals, Kohta, who studies at the local university, and his cousin Yuka. They take her in, along with two other girls Nana and Mayu.  They create a family and don’t judge the girls based on their horns like other humans do.  They become involved with the numerous, often brutal, attempts to recapture Lucy and Nana by a Special Assault Team and another Diclonius, who shift from oblivious to murderous frequently.  This is somewhat gorey and has lots of violence but you feel for the Diclonius children.

Kohta can’t remember his past but recognizes he feels something for Nyu.   Through flash backs and little snippets we see him at the zoo when he is a kid with a horned girl.  He also goes to a carnival with Yuka and Lucy, the horned girl, gets angry and changes for the worse.  Now in the present her mind has split cause Lucy can’t justify being with Kohta unless she forgets everything.  So when ever Lucy comes into contact with Kohta she changes into Nyu.  This is a grim anime and has some sad results but it is well worth the watch.    It was dazzling splashed with crimson blood and full of vibrating raw emotions.  This was a beautiful in a psychotic euphoric display of living.

Decendents of Darkness

November 30th, 2011 Miki

Decendents of Darkness Review by Miki

descendants-of-darkness

Asato Tsuzuki is a ‘Guardian of Death’ for over 70 years. He has the power to call upon twelve shikigami, mythical creatures that aid him in battle. The manga portrays Tsuzuki’s relationship with the shikigami in much more detail. Tsuzuki is the senior partner of the Second Division, which watches over the region of Kyūshū.  There are 4 arcs in the series the first is Nagasaki file, The Devil’s Trill, King of Swords, and finally The Kyoto file.

The story begins when Chief Konoe, the boss, and the other supporting characters begin talking about murders happening in Nagasaki. The victims all have bite marks and a shortage of blood, which leads to the case being dubbed “The Vampire Case”.

After some food troubles, Tsuzuki travels to Nagasaki with Gushoshin, a flying creature/helper who can speak, and together they do a bit of investigating. The rule is that Guardians of Death are supposed to work in pairs, and until Tsuzuki meets up with his new partner, he needs someone to watch his back.

While exploring Nagasaki, Tsuzuki hears a scream and has a literal run-in with a strange woman, who leaves blood on his collar. Coming to the conclusion that this is a sign that the woman might be a vampire, Tsuzuki tries to follow her, coming into a church called Oura Cathedral. The church scene is the first encounter between Tsuzuki and the antagonist of the story, Muraki.

Doctor Kazutaka Muraki is painted as a pure figure in his first scene, with much religious and color symbolism. He meets Tsuzuki with tears in his eyes, and Tsuzuki, a bit thrown off by this, manages only to ask if Muraki has seen a woman go by. Tsuzuki leaves when Muraki says no one has been in the church.

From there, Tsuzuki continues through Nagasaki, into the area of the city known as Glover Garden, where he is held at gunpoint from behind and told not to move. His attacker tells him to turn around, and when he does, he discovers a young man glaring at him. Tsuzuki calls him a kid and is nearly shot, saved only by his helper, Gushoshin. From there, Tsuzuki learns that the boy is Hisoka Kurosaki, his new partner, and the rest of the story is heavily based on character development and the relationships between characters.

Later in the Nagasaki Arc (the first of four arcs), Hisoka gets kidnapped by Muraki, and the truth about his death is revealed to him. Tsuzuki rescues him after his “date” with Muraki, and the entire series begins following the relationship between these three characters, supported and embellished by the rest of the cast. Later in the series, Hisoka decides he wants to capture a shikigami for himself, creatures that live in the imaginary world that help Guardian of Death in battle.

The City of Nagasaki is shown throughout the series. Many tourist sites such as The Peace Memorial, Glover Garden, and Oura Cathedral are shown.

The devils Trill is my favorite arc it starts with Hijiri Minase having a cornea implant.  Then he starts having weird dreams and hating himself he goes to thank the daughter of the man whose eye he now has but she is a little girl named Kazusa Otonashi.  This makes him feel guilty and lets the devil in.  The guardians of death find that Hijiri has a contract with the devil in his implanted eye.  Like Kazusa’s father Hijiri also plays the violin and after promising to play for Kazusa they try to destoy the devil but complications happen.

King of swords takes place on a ship with Asato, Hisoka and the doctor Muraki all on board but people keep disappearing and now murders are taking place.   The killer is leaving love letters to Tsubaki-Hime the daughter of the ship owner who has a bad heart.  Things start heating up as the murders increase and even the doctor is killed?

In the Kyoto file Dr. Muraki is visiting his mentor Dr. Satomi and bringing hair samples trying to clone body parts.  Unfortunately things don’t go so well and murders again pop up and Dr. Satomi is uncomfortable with the idea so things go awry.

This is an interesting series but can be kind of slow in spots.  I really enjoyed watching it and each arc had some enticingly special moments.  There is a little hint of yowie but its never expounded on.

Burst Angel Review by Miki

November 29th, 2011 Miki

Burst Angel Review by Miki

Burst_Angel_(Bakuretsu_Tenshi),_Anime

This anime is a good gun shooting, mecha chasing, and action packed sensation for the blood thirsty youth of today.  In the near future, due to an unusual rise in criminal activity, it has become legal to possess firearms in Japan so lawful citizens can protect themselves. At the same time, the government established the Recently Armed Police of Tokyo, whose methods are exterminating criminals rather than arresting them.

Burst Angel focuses on the group as they investigate a series of mutated human monsters with glowing brains that cause various amounts of mayhem in Tokyo. Our heroin Jo finds she is related to these glowing brain things and has to settle with her past.

Jo is a white haired mercenary who can accomplish the impossible while saving Meg, her sidekick and best friend, repeatedly.  They are the muscle of the team while Amy is the brains.  She may be a kid but she can hack anything and even gets sucked into cyber space.  She is the attitude of the group and terrorizes Kyohei,the cook.  Sei is the leader who put the group together and gets their assignments from Bailan.  She is also the granddaughter of the leader of the Chinese syndicate of Bailin.  The ages range from 11 to 19 and we see some great dynamics. We then have the cook in some ways he is very much the center of trouble.  Kyohei is kind of like their slave and also the comic relief.

Burst_Angel_Bakuretsu_Tenshi

The story opens with Kyohei Tachibana, a student at a culinary arts school with dreams of someday becoming a pastry chef, motorcycling down an inner city street and becoming caught up in a shoot-out between a mysterious Jo and a psycho gangster. Kyohei escapes unharmed and ends up working as a cook for Jo, Meg, Amy, and Sei in an effort to gather up enough money to travel to France.  He never realized how much these 4 would change his life but now they are all joined by friendship.

Tears to Tiara

November 13th, 2011 Miki

Tears to Tiara by Miki

tears to tiara anime

The story is set in a world based on British, Celtic & Roman mythology during the dark ages.  This series is very pagan and shows the path of king Arthor and the Gaels who follow him.  With the help from the Demon King Arawn, who has been resurrected since his death a millennium ago by Drwc, a priest from the Divine Empire.  Both Arthor and his sister Riannon are decedents of the Elf king Pwyll and leaders of the Gael tribe.  Drwc intends to use Riannon as a sacrifice and gains her true name by threatening children he then awakens Arawn but things don’t go as planned.  Riannon gives herself completely to Arawn saying she will love him always and he frees her.  He then becomes her husband and the chieftain of their clan.  We set out on a journey to find a land of peace but we must fight against The 12 White Spirits and their constant search for purity.  They wish to enslave humanity but Myrddin gives fire to a small human girl and grants her language through his son who raises her.

Warning there is religious undertones and may offend watchers remember this is a fictional story of mythology.  I have always enjoyed the old Gaelic fables and myths but their stories aren’t told from that of our point of view.  Together with Arthur and Ogam, a wizard, Arwan leads the tribe along with a group of warriors who follows them against the Empire who plans to destroy all those who oppose them.  They fight a couple of the empires dogs but end up befriending one as well.  Octavia is an empyreal warrior who comes to see the Gaels side and realize they aren’t much different.  We also meet other friends Morgaan a loud mouth drunk, Taliesin a minstrel, Rathy a mine elf, Epona a merchant elf, Limwris and Ermin house elves, and Llyr a selkie.     The main enemies are Gaius and Lydia who lead empyreal troops and then Lector one of the white spirits.  We also meet through flashbacks Pwyll the Elf king and Primula the first human.  I really liked this series and plan to buy it but like  I said before it has undertones that others with a more closed mind may take offense too.  So even though I believe it’s a great piece of work I know this could be controversy and cannot recommend it for everyone.

Rideback review —Miki

November 8th, 2011 Miki

Rideback (ライドバック)  Review by miki

Possible Spoiler at end.

 

At first I thought oh great another mecha anime, but this one took me by surprise. It was a decent anime and the art style even though simple was well done.

In the future, an organization called the GGP has taken control of the world. Rin Ogata was a promising up-and-coming ballet dancer, but suffered a serious injury while dancing and decided to quit. Years later in college, she comes across a club building and soon finds herself intrigued by a transforming motorcycle- robotic vehicle called a “Rideback”. She soon finds that her unique ballet skills with balance and finesse make her a natural born rider on a Rideback. Which she controls, not a system like most riders use.  I’m not a huge mecha fan and usually get bored.  Due to all the machine fighting but with this the mecha it’s a cross between a motorbike and robot so yes it was good and I ate through these episodes.

Opening with ballet and then changing into bike like robots why wouldn’t I love that.  Rin makes her rideback dance it’s beautifully stimulating.  She rides Fuego who has very little balance adjustment so she’s actually driving and it has bonded with her something rare with the ridebacks.   She is even thought to be a terrorist when trying to rescue her friend Shōko Uemura.  Tenshiro Okakura is the leader of the rideback club and after the fiasco decides to dismantle Fuego.  This made me upset cause not only has the character bonded with Fuego but I as the watcher have too.  Tamayo Kataoko challenges Rin to a race multiple times and is never satisfied with the outcomes.  She can tell Rin has talent but worries it’s only with the one machine.  Once Rin realizes the light she sees when riding fuego is like her stage she welcomes the dance and takes out her enemies but not without some great loses and new friends along the way.

Rin gets lumped in with the terrorists but we find as time goes on GGP is more a terror enforcing group and they confiscate all ridebacks and rule the streets with martial law and an Iron fist.  BMA is the terrorist group but they really want to free Japan from life without choice and vengeance on a betrayer of a military faction.  It gets very topsy turvy and who’s the good guy gets blurred. Overall this is a very good anime with a well done mix of gearheads and grace.

Dance in the Vampire Bund Review

November 5th, 2011 Miki

Dance in the Vampire Bund Review

 

By Miki

The series opens with whether vampires are real or fiction. Then Mina Tepeş, princess-ruler of all vampires, and her “protector,” Akira are reunited during an assassination attempt. The world is then confronted with the reality of vampires.  Like other vampires, Mina has been in hiding with her people for many years.  Seeking to end centuries of isolation, Mina gains permission to create a special district for vampires, The Bund off the coast of Japan by paying off the national debt of the Japanese government. Mina then reveals her desire for both races to live together. She even created the school for her people with the hope that vampire and human children will be able to coexist. Tensions, however, run high as fearful humans and extremist vampire factions begin to interfere with Mina’s wish for peace with the human world.

This series was enthralling once I started it I couldn’t wait to finish it.  The princess is calculatingly young, and piercingly cold.   She wants so badly to live as if she were a human but realizes after much turmoil that can never be.  She is steadfast and true fighting her battles with cunning and fierce defiance to all her enemies. It’s sad to see her try so hard but constantly being railroaded by those who should be her supporters.

The extremist tend to come from the other royals.  The royal families are controlled by 3 clans: Rozenmann, Ivanovic, and Li.  They plan to wed Mina and make her birth their children, so they can take over the throne thru her.  Vampire society is Matriarchal, but she holds them off by saying she has yet to mature enough to have children. So they then put her through a test to show she must still answer to them even if she is ruler.  There is a group called Telemear that is also trying to ruin the princess’s plans by turning humans into vampires.  Luckily at this time there is a vaccine for the vampire virus, because all it takes to turn is being bitten.  This is a turning point and one of the reasons the vampire society revealed itself to humans hoping to decrease fear and mass panic.

Akira is a member of the Earth Clan, a werewolf family who protect the Tepes.  His father is Wolfgang Regendorf the leader of the Earth clan and the Beowulf group.  There is also a werecat Mei Ren who tends to mirror Akira’s position.  We find the narrator is also Yuki Saegusa and Akira’s x-girlfriend.  This is an entertaining kaleidoscope of politics and racial prejudices.

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