Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

I guess it’s time to write about another anime that’s neither a ,,must see” nor a ,,throw it in the toilet where it belongs with its brothers”. Majin Tantei is such one anime series. It tried to bring something new and entertaining to the infinite table of anime… but does it have the potential to grab a piece of the cake, or will it be put in a baby chair?

The plot follows Neuro, a demon that has consumed all the mysteries of Hell and now came to the human world to find and consume ,,The ultimate mystery”. So, as not to make his presence noticed, he teams up with Yako Katsuragi, a girl who understands the human psychology, is able to quickly adapt to a situation and remain calm and has an eating disorder since she has a constant voracious appetite. The reason she agrees to help Neuro is that she wants him to solve the mystery behind her father’s mysterious murder. You’d do well to remember this, because it plays a much important role later on. At first the plot seems like it doesn’t have any consistency and everything happens at random. But here comes Sai, a sadistic and very powerful kid who can morph himself. Thanks to him there is a more important plot going on, but it only comes 2 times during and the last 4 episodes. Most of the series is based on solving different mysteries from random people, which help Yako evolve her detective skills. These mysteries, while entertaining, are sometimes dumb. Not only the culprit is revealed to you before he is revealed to our heroes, but their reasons are always so FUCKING STUPID. It’s like ,,I killed him because he said my food doesn’t have a heart” or ,,I killed them because I wanted to model their hair with their blood” or ,,I killed because I had a boner” etc. It’s like ,,Can it get more retarded than this?”. Yeah it can… how about having these guys transform into mutants at the end. One transforms into Violence Jack, another into a cat, one transforms into a… a… pterodactyl or something like that, and one reminded me of Power Rangers. Yeah… ,,It’s morphing time”. His furniture combines with him and he looks like that guy in cardboard boxes that supposedly is a robot. You know, that robot which is made out of different cars, and a mysterious room appears out of nowhere and they all Houdini themselves inside that room and… well whatever, this is getting out of hand. The bottom line is that it gets too dumb and unexplainable to just let it go unnoticed.

But the fuck up that keeps this from being something truly memorable is the ending. As mentioned before, 2 important factors for the great plot is Sai and the murder of Yako’s father. Turns out that it was Sai who killed him, but you find that out much earlier than the ending. It’s the reason that you want to know. So after Neuro defeats him, Sai, thanks to a delicate condition, is about to lose his memory. So Yako asks him ,,Why you did it” and he’s like ,,I remember… I killed him” and you’re like ,,WOW… Thanks for the confirmation, but I want to know WHY”. And now 3 possible scenarios… either they (the producers) were lazy, either they didn’t know what to say, either they were being plain fucking dicks, cause all Sai says is ,,I can’t remember…”. What he actually says is ,,GO figure out yourselves you dumb shits”. How cheap is this, to rely on amnesia to cover up your fuck up... I know that the manga explains this, so the question arises… Where they so stupid or lazy as to not take this one little thing from the manga? Or were they trying so hard to be assholes that they just had to do this? I don’t know, but it doesn’t end here. Later, Yako says she will protect Sai. They give little hints about this, and I have a theory, but can’t she say it herself as to confirm it, dumb shit-eating bitch. When asked why she says ,,Sai is…” and then she’s brain dead. After a while she reboots and she’s like ,,What was I saying?”. Can’t it get cheaper? And of course she miserably fails in her pathetic attempt to protect Sai. She leaves an amnesiac guy all alone for a long time, with the window of the 1st floor open, in a South American country. So he runs away, and she immediately gives up on searching him and returns in Japan. But I have to say… for an amnesiac guy, he sure knows his way around the world, cause we see a brief scene with him back in Japan. He got from South America to Japan while having amnesia… I have to be really naïve and forgiving to accept that as a fact. The ending sucks sooo hard that few things can make up for it.

Well at least it has a good presentation. The graphics – perfect. They may not make you touch the screen, but are certainly a feast for the eyes. Smooth and sharp, character models are well defined, and the detail on Neuro is impressive. If he is more human or demon, he has a lot of detail and color, especially when he’s using his 666 tools of Hell, which not only are beautiful to look at, but are also original. Voice work is believable, sound effects are realistic, and it has a good musical score.

For what it’s worth, Majin Tantei is somewhat entertaining, has good action, and the mysteries are somewhat interesting to figure out, although you will be asking yourself most of the time ,,how” and not ,,why”. It’s not one of the worst anime I’ve seen but it’s certainly frustrating. And it’s amazing that this is a Madhouse production. Compared to Paranoia Agent, another one of their works, this one fairs a little better, but… at least that one had some mystery. They fucked up with that at the end pretty bad, but at least it was a mystery. Here not only is this NOT a mystery, it also doesn’t explain some essential stuff.

In the end, Majin Tantei isn’t one to sit in a baby chair, but his share of the cake is baby-small.

Death Note

I really didn't want to write this review at the beginning, but I guess you cannot have an anime reviews blog if you don't review the greatest anime of all time, Death Note. TO be honest (Pokémon doesn't count) Death Note was the first anime series I have ever seen. There I was, in my bedroom, watching every episode on my computer and just being shocked that there is something so incredible as Death Note. I really didn't want to start watching anime, considering it childish, but after I saw the level of suspense, mystery and the psychological thrill Death Note offers, I jumped into the world of anime. It was the greatest anime of all time, in my humble opinion. At its core, Death Note is actually an anime that captivates you with a story fashioned around logic, trust, and betrayal. It is filled with deep characters and with intensity, it grips you from start to finish with amazing vice. The plot is mainly the story of Yagami Light, a teenager who is plain bored and hates al the criminals in the world. Purely by accident (we later found out that the note was dropped intentionally by it's owner), he stumbles upon a book called a Death Note, which allows its author to kill any person of his or her choosing by merely writing their name inside, given that they know the person's name and face. Although at first, Light didn't believe in the power of the note, he then starts his journey as the ruler of the world, the justice. Due to the nature of Death Note's story, however, it's incredibly difficult to present an accurate, detailed reflection of the plot without giving important details away. If I say anything, I might spoil it for you, and I really don't want to da that. For a series built so strongly around logic, this is definitely strength rather than a weakness. You'll find yourself gripped from the first minute until the last, carried on by numerous twists and turns that keep the story both fresh and intriguing with each installment. And what can I say about the graphics? Death Note looks amazing. It really does. If you don't believe me, just watch the AMV I prepared for you on the bottom of the post. The sound was ok, with some flaws when it came to the opening and the closing themes, which didn't actually feel like they were supposed to be there. Commenting on the characters is hard because Death Note continually builds upon itself the story progresses. Though I didn't particularly care for some of the development of a few side characters, every person to appear throughout the series has a distinct purpose. The number of characters is kept to a virtual minimum, and those who serve little purpose only appear for as long as they are needed. (and then they die)

To conclude, I was incredibly impressed with Death Note. Although, like any other anime, it does have its flaws, as a whole they are minor. Of course there are a few ups on downs (like the episodes after someone's death) throughout the course of the thirty-seven episodes, but the vast majority of time is spent very wisely. To its fortune, the series is constructed in such a way that it has a nearly universal sense of appeal, and as such should not be passed up. Most definitely an once-in-a-lifetime experience, so make sure to check it out if you have not done so already.

I know you like wallpapers, so I uploaded my Death Note Wallpapers Collection...so enjoy almost 200 original Death Note wallpapers...download here

Spiral

Two years ago the brilliant detective Narumi Kiyotaka disappeared, leaving behind his wife and younger brother with only a vague message concerning solving the mystery of the so-called Blade Children. After being falsely being accused of an attempted murder, Kiyotaka's brilliant younger brother, Ayumu, finds himself drawn into investigating the cursed Blade Children and their connection with his missing brother.



I’m gonna start this review by stating that Spiral was the BY FAR the biggest "fuck you" I have ever seen in my entire life. The champion of “this-is-the-worse-ending-ever”, Spiral offers both suspense and thrill along the story but ends with despair and disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great anime, fun to watch with nice graphics and sound effects and spectacular twists but the plot is just horrible. It’s about a genius teenager Ayumu Narumi, whose brother, another genius fucknut detective, left Ayumu, his girlfriend/future-wife and police and disappeared without a trace. Ayumu's only clue as to his brother's whereabouts is the phrase "Blade Children," the only words Ayumu could make out in Kiyotaka's final phone call. Now this dude is getting involved in some kind of crime cases and he solves them without problems, getting more and more attention from the Blade Children. These Blade Children are the central mystery of the anime, known only as cursed children that few know about and are being pursued by so-called Hunters. Why? Fuck off. Who? Fuck off. When? Fuck off. The anime doesn’t fuck around with explaining shit to you. If you wanna watch this show, you better be fucking patient and just shut the fuck up.

Wiki extract
“As Ayumu investigates them, he meets Blade Children Kousuke Asazuki, Rio Takeuchi, Eyes Rutherford, Ryoko Takamachi, and Kanone Hilbert, and is tested in various ways by them. Those who meet him eventually conclude some more reluctantly than others that Ayumu does have what it takes to "save" the Blade Children, as they say Kiyotaka claims.”

Let me translate that for you. THEY, these special motherfuckers try to kill HIM, their only hope for survival. I am not kidding. These tests almost kill him every time, but he still succeeds to pass them without problems. Now some more info about this piece of shit. The sounds were awesome. It really makes a difference when you have shitty music and a thrilling anime, but they did a great job choosing the soundtrack. The graphics are not bad, no complaints there. Spiral really had lots of potential, and could have made it to the top if it wasn’t for the fucked up plot. The thing that I don’t understand is that the manga actually explained everything and you can read it online, the story, the plot, everything. But the creators of the anime just gathered there around a table and said, “you know what, I just realized we don’t need a fucking plot..let’s just make a cool anime with lots of suspense and exciting moments but ruin it at the end so that they will remember it forever.” Well, I did. It sucked so much I’ll have nightmares about it the rest of my life. Overall it was a decent anime, but again the ending making it the worst experience you can get from an anime. If you really don't care about the plot, and are out there watching pointlessly anime, then this is the shit for you.

Graphics 8/10
Sound 9/10
Storyline 4/10
Characters 8/10
Overall 6.5/10