Tapir12's Anime Reviews

[JustAName]

Cowboy Bebop = pure win, I was going to watch Ouran High with my wife, but she left for college before I got the chance, and I've watched a bunch of crappy stuff because it was hilarious (Karin, Disgaea, etc.).

[Wraith]

Anime Guy Goes On A Date

[The Jester]

That is... equaly terrifying and hilarious. The girl took it rather well, untill the end. I'da thought he'd have lost her somewhere about the middle. D:

[Wraith]

Female Ninja Magic not actually anime, but reminds me of it.

[gcninja]

that was actually on RWJ today, I LOLd

[Murakami]

Cowboy Bebop was awesome indeed. Samurai Champloo was good too!

[Tapir12]

I don't think I've ever met anyone, certainly not an anime fan, who didn't like Cowboy Bebop. It's one of my favourites as well.

As diverse as anime can be, it does definitely have some stylistic similarities across the board that some people might not like. One thing that sometime bother me is the over use of, how can I say it, human sounds that are not words, like screaming, panting, gasping, sighing, etc.

With anime, my approach is the same as with Hollywood movies. Most of is is pretty average or even horrible, but if you do your research you can find those gems that make it worthwhile.

For the record, in case anyone is interested, my top three series would be Monster, Juuni Kokki (The Twelve Kingdoms) and Haibane Renmei.

P.S. More reviews coming soon.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I'd be interested in seeing a review of Saikano, aka Saishuu Heiki Kanojo, aka "She, The Ultimate Weapon", aka "The anime that made me want to kill myself before episode 9"

And yes, I remember all those names offhand. I have no idea why, since the only other verbose Japanese anime name I remember offhand is Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Because it sounds cooler to me than "When Cicadas Cry")

[Wraith]

Cowboy Bebop was awesome indeed. Samurai Champloo was good too!

This. Samurai Champloo was not as good as Bebop (although really, that's not taking anything away from it, I can't really think of an animated series that WAS), but it was still awesome.

Well, I'll ad a qualifier. The first couple episodes were awesome, then the middle was mediocre (not bad, not good, just meh), and then it got great again towards the end.

Mugan was totally feudal-age Spike.

[ThrashJazzAssassin]

A-HA!

Samurai Champloo!

While I was in South Africa in April I got into a conversation about anime around a fire with a couple of random guys from somewhere in central Europe and one of them recommended a series to me, but I was too drunk to remember the name afterwards. At last, the mystery is solved!

[Bananafish]

[Whitmore]

LOL.

[Philip]

Well. Anime, huh? Hm.

I am only watching Anime since 2005, I guess, and it immediately fascinated me. I am a little bit over-dramatic myself, so maybe that's why. I really love foreign cultures and Japan is so weird and stupid, you just gotta love it.

But for all my love, I have to say that there are a lot of bad series out there and people should pay more attention to the little gems out there. "Terra e" or "Toward the Terra" really is one of these jewels and it's oldschool looks are certainly a negative factor for many people. It wasn't for me though and I got something different, something very good.
Thanks for that review! I will take a look at Fantastic Children.

I have to disappoint in terms of Fairy Tail though. I read the Manga, it's a fun and wild ride, but the Anime just couldn't live up to my expectations. The animation just isn't working for me.
The same goes for Highschool of the Dead, which just ended in an Ecchi/PERVERT festival. Sorry, but I cannot support that. It's really bad. Really bad. Then again, it failed my expectations horribly. If you want something wacky and stupid, watch it. I am not judging you for that mindset.

I would be interested in your opinion on "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", which pretty much redefined 'epic' for me. You may not want to use that word lightly after this 110 episode OVA. It is old though and the animation might be a turnoff, but it's still great. It hasn't lost it's charm in recent years.

[sdhonda]

I gotta say, check out Scrapped Princess. This series is far too overlooked for what it is worth. Great story, great characters, great world, great magitek system, and yet very few people have seen this show.

[Tapir12]

Bokurano - 6.5/10

A group of kids at a summer camp are invited to participate in a game. They must battle 15 enemies by piloting a giant robot. Sound awesome, until it turns out the battles are a little more real than they anticipated.

This series is an excellent example of a great premise wasted (see also Wolf’s Rain, Eden of the East). What we have here is a mecha anime that is not about the fighting, but the pilots. Where this should have been a psychological study of how the different children would react in this predicament, the writers decided to try and make the story bigger by throwing in government intrigue, the military, crazy computer science and even a dash of Yakuza. While the first half of the series does focus on our group of kids, the second half loses that charm and frustrates the watcher. While one episode had me in tears, another had me pulling my hair out.

The animation is, overall, below average, with very obvious CG robots. The music is fairly average, though the opening theme is very good and fits the series perfectly.

This was a series with a lot of potential. It has darker themes and real moral dilemmas that the kids have to face. I just wish it were the series it could have been.


Note: The series is based on a manga that was only half complete at the time the anime was made (in 2007). Based on what I have read online, the manga is much closer to what I wanted from this story. I'm planning on reading the manga as well and I can do a comparison later.

[JustAName]

I think I've heard about this manga... a friend was telling me I'd like it. I'd forgotten about it 'til now.

[Tapir12]

As far as which series I will do reviews for, it's pretty much whatever I happen to be watching or have watched recently. I already have a hit list of series I want to check out.

Unfortunately I haven't seen Saikano or Legend of the Galactic Heroes, though I have been hearing a lot of good things about the latter. It might be a bit long for me right now, but I'll keep it in mind.

I did watch most of Scrapped Princess several years ago and, honestly, I never finished it. Just didn't quite grab me I guess.

[Tapir12]

Seirei no Moribito - 8.5/10

Seirei no Moribito tells the story of Balsa, a legendary spear-wielder, who is charged with protecting the life of a young prince who has been possessed by a spirit.

This series is amongst my personal favourites. It takes place in a historical/fantasy world with different countries, cultures and customs. The characters are likeable and interesting, with several (including Balsa and Tanda) reversing typical gender stereotypes. The story features no villain, only a problem that needs to be solved. One that will require brains, not only brawn.

Despite some extremely well choreographed action scenes, this is a drama series. If you come looking for an action-fantasy you will be disappointed. The story does falter a bit in the middle, with a few episodes not directly related to the main storyline and one episode that just plain doesn’t make sense. Most of these are still enjoyable, however, and the series soon picks up again and leads to a fantastic conclusion.

The animation is this series is top notch and the soundtrack is amongst the best I have ever seen in anime. The voice actors (Japanese) are very good and Chagum, the young prince, never gets annoying like some child characters. This is a series with a solid story, great characters and excellent production values.



P.S. As much as I love Seirei no Moribito, as far as fantasy dramas go, Juuni Kokki (The Twelve Kingdoms) still stands as my personal favourite.

[falconknight06]

You should watch the English Dub of Ghost stories. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I heard that the English voice actors were allowed to say whatever they wanted as long as it fit the scene. It is freaking hilarious.

[gcninja]

ZOMG! So (this is me bragging if you dont like it read past this) I got to meet Mary Elizabeth mcglynn! she does the voice of motoko kusanagi and some people from P4! It was awesome! got her to sign a plushie tachikoma for me and I got to meet Colleen Clinkenbeard who does Rose and Riza from FMA! got her to sign my badge and pictures with both! Shes 30but so cute. I got Mary to say "Get to choppa in kusanagis voice a few times (have the mp3 if you want an upload)

OK! So after the con, it got me revitalized to watch more anime, I need to see K-ON and durarara, currently durarara is on its way and K-ON is next
For ones i have seen;
Ouran High School host club, in short, its a shoujo.
In long, its a shoujooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
But its good! dude or girl alike, you will like at least one character from here. Whether its Honey-sempai, more, tamaki, or haruhi you will see one and fall in love with them (not like that you sicko). it has an ok story and its the usual thing of each character developing but its how its played out. Not to mention haruhi being the poor(est) one there and them trying out her lifestyle and being surprised at how it is.
Its a show you have to watch to understand, but two or three episodes in, you will connect with one character and keep following it. Its on youtube for free so go watch it! NOW
In all honesty, its good, but predictable in some stances, but what anime isnt nowadays? All in all, an 8 outta 10
Enjoy

[Tapir12]

I'm planning on reading the manga as well and I can do a comparison later.

So I finished reading the Bokurano manga a little while ago and, as I suspected, it was much better than the anime. They had a lot of the same plot elements, but the manga introduced them better and kept the focus on the kids, which is what the anime drifted away from. The manga is also a lot more creative with regards to the enemies and how they must be defeated. The battles are much more difficult and more to do with intelligence than brute strength. If this story sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend the manga over the anime. Though the anime did introduce a few elements that were nice touches, they ultimately lost site of what the story was really about until the very end.

Bokurano Manga = 8/10

***********

I would be interested in your opinion on "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", which pretty much redefined 'epic' for me.

I have been seriously looking into this series as it seems to have a lot of elements that I like. Quick question though - have you seen just the OVA or the movies as well? If so, would you recommend watching the movies first, since they take place before the OVA series?

[Mad Madam Mimm]

*noob pokes her head 'round the door*
....

...

Hey.

I am anime noob. But lately, I have fallen in love with Gakuen Alice. I started watching the series on youtube, but they took it down before I could watch all of them. So now I'm reading the manga, and aside from the poor translations here and there*, I love it. The artwork is beautiful, and the story keeps going.

For anyone who doesn't know, Gakuen Alice ("Alice Academy") is set in a world where people who are super-naturally skilled in a specific area or act are described as having "Alices", a kind of super-power. Mikan and Hotaru, ten year old girls who are best friends, are separated when Hotaru is forced into joining the Academy. Mikan, who lives with her grandfather in a small village, is heartbroken at losing Hotaru, so runs away to find her. When she reaches the Academy, she ends up enrolling, through chance and on the suspiscion of one of teh teachers that she may have a very rare Alice. The story follows Mikan's attempts to make the school her home, make friends and ultimately just survive in the bizarre, heirarchical school, where there seems to be a much larger secret at hand.

I love it. Most of the main characters are between ten and thirteen years old, so the confusion of prepuberty does play a large part in the drama, but I don't mind it so much. It's very girly, but... yeah. I love it anyway.

*As I understand it, the manga went from Japanese to Chinese to English or something along those lines, meaning that it's correct, but doesn't flow very well. Lots of stuff like "you fellows who are which we look for". Sounds a bit archaic.

[gcninja]

you should try reading shugo chara, its another good one. if you enjoy that one, you will like this one. Just go into B&N and grab it off the shelf, give it a quick read through.

[Mad Madam Mimm]

"Shugo Chara"
*commits to memory*

I thank you, sah.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Now if only England had a Barnes & Noble...