Anime Reviews

[Mister K]

Do you like Rahxephon?

[Isao Kronos (BANNED)]

Haven't seen it, but if it ever gets aired on a channel I get or I ever get a job, I might see it. I've heard decent things about it from #/m/.

[necromaniac]

Urrg, Rahxephon: The immobilized super robot.
Neither a fan of it's animation nor story but I agree with it's fans that it's more than just an eve clone, even though it touches on similar themes.

[Revolver Ocelot]

I'd say it goes WAY beyond touching on similar themes. Some of the similarities between Eva and Rahxephon are just uncanny. Some of the characters are carbon copies with toned down faults and personalities. The problem is that despite both stories being pretty convoluted messes, at least Eva has kick ass mecha battles, whilst the high point in RahXephon is the whipping out of a bow and arrow on one occasion. Mostly the mechs just sing at eachother, which is pretty silly.

Now if you want something with the same idea as RahXephon, but done right, watch Fafner. Out of all the animes that ever aped Eva, Fafner did it the best.

But if you do decide to watch RahXephon, I'd suggest you skip the series and watch Pluralitas Concentio. Does everything the series does while dropping about 10 hours of inanity. A much better and more clear ending, too.

[jameseightbitstar]

revolverocelot said:

I don't understand how anyone can hate on Evangelion.

Then you have a lot to learn, my son.

It might not be the greatest anime ever, but it's sure as hell is entertaining and the brutal fights are classic. It's just one of those FFVII-type deals where people hate it to sound cool against the masses that are fanatic over it.

That may be true for some bashers, but I can see many reasons people would hate such a popular series. Perhaps it was so hyped up that their expectations were too high and thus they were disappointed (it happens). Perhaps people resent the overall impact it had on anime, the rise it gave to various "me too!" shows (I can relate to this one personally). Or perhaps they just saw it and weren't impressed with it.

Having seen Evangelion, I personally didn't see much impressive with it. Then again, I saw it years after-the-fact, not when it was new, so that probably colored my perception a bit. I do think Squaresoft's version was better though.

[Revolver Ocelot]

Oh, I totally understand that point of view. But, all those reasons listed above do not constitute hate. There's a big difference between disappointment, lack of being impressed, and hating something. Hate usually involves some kind of bias.

[Mister K]

I like both Eva and Rah. The outcome of the episode where Ayato and Hiroko ran away together and spent time with each other is good. The ending of it made me cry!

Pluralitas Concentio is a really good movie too despite the fact all the secondary chracters that is not Ayato and Haruka get little to no development. I like how the director expanded on Ayato and Haruka's romance than the TV series.

[hashin]

Ill try this guren langan whatever. Didnt know it was made by the flcl guys! Hand drawn!

[jameseightbitstar]

Is it just me or did a whole page of this topic disappear? Yesterday there were five pages... I remember because revolver had responded to one of my posts... but now there is only four? WTF???

[Revolver Ocelot]

hashin said:

Ill try this guren langan whatever. Didnt know it was made by the flcl guys! Hand drawn!

Damn right you'll try it. EVERYONE who hasn't seen it should watch it. If you can watch the whole series and not like it, and explain why you don't like it, I'll pay you $10 via paypal.

[hashin]

Heh, watched the first episode. So far so good.

[Revolver Ocelot]

Gunparade March

Studio: J.C. Staff

Director: Katsushi Sakurabi
Writer: Junichi Shintaku & Seishi Minakami
Producer: Akiko Tanaka
Composer: Kenji Kawai
Designer: Yasuhiro Irie (characters) & Kazunori Iwakura (mecha)

Released: February 6th, 2003
Genre: Drama, Mecha, Romance, Slice-of-Life
Format: Continuous TV Series
Runtime: 12 episodes, 25 minutes each (300 minutes)
US License: Anime Works/d-rights



I would be lying if I said I was not terribly disappointed with Gunparade March for the wrong reasons. Honestly, the show is not particularly bad. In fact, it is somewhat decent and probably worth watching, for some. However, it is guilty of a terrible crime: false advertising. You see, any media, ads, or propaganda for Gunparade March always seem to exploit the giant military robots that inhabit the show and the game it was based on.



Gunparade March takes place in, as many animes do, a future setting where the earth has been ravaged by the repeated barrages of an invading alien race. In order to defend the earth, a military force is created that can combat the aliens using highly advanced robots who strategically manipulate the positions of the alien combatants so that the real super weapon, the PBE (a massive, pulse-emitting bomb), can be fired at the leader of the alien unit.



In order to form these military teams, a draft is made. And of course, like so many other mecha shows, the candidates for the pilots are exclusively pubescents. I have always wondered why the leaders of military organizations in anime shows always seem to think that the best way to save the world is to give a team of insecure, hormonal, angst-ridden and impulsive teens extremely dangerous and expensive robots, but I guess that sort of thinking is the reason I am not an anime director.



But none of this general plot outlining really matters. It is all discarded fairly soon. The truth is.. Gunparade March is a slice-of-life high school drama using its mecha roots to draw in viewers who would otherwise ignore it. The giant robots so heavily featured in trailers and on the boxes of the DVDs? They have almost nothing to do with the show and only appear very briefly in a few episodes. The genre confusion does not end at the surface, either. The first few episodes are fairly action-packed, and in traditional action-mecha style, forgo backstory and character development in lieu of explosions and alien guts. But a few episodes in, the jig is up. No more action. The focus is shifted entirely to the young draftees, their comedic antics and their romantic plights.



It is not the fact that Gunparade March is really a slice-of-life which bothers me. I like a good slice-of-life now and then. But what Gunparade March is selling is not what I was buying, and even what it offers once bought is not particularly noteworthy. In the attempt to balance war and high school drama, both elements are left to wade in mediocrity due to being only half realized. Had it been a full on mecha show, it would have had great potential. Had it been a full on slice-of-life, it would have also had great potential. But instead, Gunparade March masquerades as one thing and then betrays its viewers by changing into something else. Intrigued by the first few episodes and hoping to learn more about the alien race or why they are attacking? Too bad. That whole sub-plot is completely abandoned. Interested in the outcome of the war? Still, too bad. In fact, Gunparade March delves so deeply into romantic escapades and half-hearted comedy that you almost forget there ever was a war to begin with, at least, until some random battle breaks out and you say to yourself, “Oh yeah. There is a war going on here, huh?”



It would not be so bad if what Gunparade March offered as a slice-of-life was good enough to make up for its deception, but it really is not. The biggest problem is that the show focuses almost entirely on the timid goof Atsushi Hayami and the frigid, honor-obsessed Mai Shibamura. These are the two destined love birds of the show, but frankly, they are also the least interesting and most archetypal characters. Not only that, but they have absolutely no chemistry and virtually no reason to have affection for one another outside of being teenagers and really wanting to fuck something. On the flip side, some of the peripheral characters seem fairly interesting, but because of the centricity on Atsushi and Mai, these characters get shafted and we hardly even so much as scratch the surface of what lies beneath their intriguing exteriors.



The one area where Gunparade March[/i] goes beyond mediocre is in its presentation. The animation is smooth and fairly impressive all around. The character designs, while not vibrant or original in any way, are easy on the eyes. The music, though not particularly memorable, fits the tone of the show. The voice acting is a mixed bag. The Japanese work is not going to leave you awestruck with any of the performances, but it also will not grate your ears or make you cringe. The English voice acting, on the other hand, is absolutely horrendous.



In the end, Gunparade March does not really do anything particularly well. It has a severe case of identity disorder and its outer layers are more than a little deceptive. But, for all its problems, it is at least somewhat balanced. It does not come highly recommended by me, but at least I can recommend it equally to both fans of mecha and slice-of-life, which is not something that happens very often. Plus it is not entirely without its charm. There are some nice moments here and there.

- Shalashashka

Story: C
Animation: A
Design: B
Music: C
Direction: D
Overall: C
Sub or Dub: For the love of god, SUB!!

OP: “Door of Truth” by Yoko Ishida
Pretty typical, upbeat J-pop stuff.. nothing noteworthy. C-

ED: “Yami o Koete” by Masumi Harada
Much like the intro, it is pretty typical stuff. A fittingly slower song. C+

Interested in this anime? Buy it here!

[Revolver Ocelot]

Hellsing

Studio: Gonzo

Director: Umanosuke Iida & Yasunori Urata
Writer: Chiaki J. Konaka
Producer: Daisuke Kawakami
Composer: Kouji Ishii
Designer: Toshiharo Urata (characters) & Yoshitaka Kohno (mecha)

Released: October 10th, 2001
Genre: Action, Gunslinging, Horror
Format: Continuous TV Series
Runtime: 13 episodes, 25 minutes each (325 minutes)
US License: Geneon



People have a deep-rooted fascination with vampires, and there are many forms of entertainment available for those who fall into this category. Anime is no exception, and throughout the years, titles such as Vampire Hunter D[/i], Vampire Princess Miyu[/i], Master of Mosquiton[/i], Blood[/i], and most recently, Trinity Blood[/i], have given fans of this pseudo-genre plenty to sink their teeth into. However, few of these have been more talked about than Hellsing[/i], which is held in very high regard by vampire obsessors and casual anime fans alike.



Hellsing[/i], based on the famous manga by Kouta Hirano, is the story of the titular military organization which dabbles in the underworld, the crimes of the supernatural, and the secret wars fought in the shadows between man and monster. This organization has several rather colorful characters in its employ, such as the ancient vampire Alucard, bad-ass butler Walter C. Dornez, and Integra Hellsing herself. But sadly, Hellsing[/i] is not about any of these fascinating characters. It is about a girl named Seras Victoria, and therein lies the show’s biggest flaw.



Seras is a member of a military squad that is deployed to investigate a town overrun with ghouls. During the investigation, she is captured by a demonic priest and mortally wounded in a duel between said priest and the Hellsing Organization’s MVP, Alucard. Alucard, feeling some semblance of compassion for the poor young girl, decides to save her by offering his immortal blood, thereby turning Seras into a vampire herself. As a vampire, her only option for employment now is working for the Hellsing Organization.



The characters whom receive top billing in the show and often decorate the box art for the DVDs take a back seat to the “development” of Seras and her slow acceptance of her new self. That would be all good and swell had Seras been an interesting character. But sadly, she is your fairly typical anime heroine with no dynamic qualities to set her apart from the countless ones who came before and after her other than her vampiric powers. Where we could be learning about Alucard’s past, watching how the young Integra struggles under the pressure of keeping up the organization, or enjoying more depth to the rivalry between the Hellsing Organization and the Vatican, we instead are forced to waste so much time watching Seras go through an almost pubescent phase of self acceptance, leading us to watch the same scenes of her hesitating to drink blood over and over again.



Fortunately, the show breaks away from this boring subplot constantly and provides us with plenty of action. Hellsing[/i] boasts some of the finest gunfights and gore-fests you will ever see, and the scant parts of the show where we actually see Alucard, Walter and Integra in action are almost worth trudging through the tedium of watching Seras. Almost. The problem is, I cannot really be invested too much in these scenes because there is nothing at stake. Alucard is immortal, and even if something were capable of destroying him, we never really learn enough about him to care. His purpose is to look cool, act cool, and give Seras random bits of fortune-cookie advice. Even less can be said of Integra, who aside from a few flashbacks here and there, we also hardly know anything about by series end. It is quite tragic, as these characters seem to be just brimming over with fascinating backstory that is never revealed, in all making Hellsing[/i] feel incomplete and half-hearted.



Hellsing[/i]’s visual presentation shares much in common with its story, as it is a mixture of both the impressive and the utterly mediocre. It is clear that Alucard, Walter, Integra and the fight scenes they partake in were given top priority in the animation department, because the rest of the show really gets shafted. The artwork is pretty bland and often inconsistent and the animation is decent at best. The show looks pretty in still imagery, but once in motion, it starts to slip. The only thing particularly impressive is the use of shading and color to give the show a very fitting macabre, which captures the essence of the manga perfectly.



One area where Hellsing[/i] absolutely excels is in its music and sound. The show has a very cool jazziness to it, with lots of great bass work and heavy percussion to carry along the action scenes. The opening and ending songs are quite memorable and set the tone for the show. They are just what you expect to hear when you see Alucard walk into a scene with his flashy red zoot suit. Speaking of Alucard, he is played to perfection by voice acting megastar, George Nakata, who gives what is quite possibly his finest performance. The Japanese voice cast does an all around great job, but the same cannot be said of the English voiceover, which is full of hammy and very unnatural fake accents.



In the end, I have to say that Hellsing[/i], with its mix of bland and boring with small bits of greatness, is passable at best. It was a frustrating show for me to watch, because every moment I saw glimmers of great potential that were totally squandered. While by no means worthless, and entertaining enough to warrant a watching thanks to its action scenes, it is very disappointing.

- Shalashashka

Story: D
Animation: C
Design: A
Music: A
Direction: B
Overall: C+
Sub or Dub: Definitely Sub

OP: “A World Without Logos” by Yasushi Ishii
Jazzy, bass line, beat-heavy, awesome. A-

ED: “Shine” by Mr. Big
Hey! Eric Martin! Weird placement, but a solid rock song. B-

Interested in this anime? Buy it here!

[Isao Kronos (BANNED)]

[Vendaval Este]

lol wut?