Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

So, Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto… couldn’t they have picked a longer and harder to pronounce title. I mean it’s not the longest, I’ve seen longer (this ,,I’ve seen longer” talk sounds like I’m gay), but the ideal title is one that you can pronounce 5 times. Try saying Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 5 times. Well anyway, this is one of the requests we got for the ,,Do you know crappy-shit-ass anime” post, but unfortunately I can’t classify this one as such. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s no masterpiece and it has some critical flaws, but it’s not retarded and I found myself enjoying it, although that started happening after the 6th episode, but we’ll get to that.
The story is about a guy named Youjiro Akidzuki and his destiny. He is an Eternal Assassin and an excellent samurai, and he must find and seal (or destroy) The Head of The Lord. No, not Jesus Christ. The Lord is some guy from China that was killed 2004 years ago and his head haunted and brought chaos, war and death to the land until he was sealed and brought to Japan. So of course now he was unsealed, and he starts spreading chaos. Akidzuki meets a traveling actor troupe that he kind of befriends. I’m not going to start naming them, it was hard enough to memorize them, but they play an important part in the story, especially the girl they call Chief. The story seems simplistic and boring at first, but that’s only for the first 6 or 7 episodes. These are the episodes that start the story. Here you have to struggle memorizing each character, understanding them and their purposes, and figuring out Akidzuki and the Lord’s Head, which is hard considering they don’t talk a lot about that. But if you get past these episodes the story starts accelerating and different twists and turns appear, which aren’t the most genius things, but are unexpected and work out well. Also, what I can promise you is action. The anime delivers good fight scenes, and there is one that I particularly like and that is Akidzuki’s fight with a guy wielding 2 pistols like a cowboy.
What I’d like to address is the ridiculous amount of characters. I mean the troupe alone makes up a quarter of the cast that is presented in the first 2 or 3 episodes, and that list grows every episode. Some of them die, but there is always someone to take his place. While I always welcome big and diverse character casts, here they went a bit overboard because it gets confusing and the fact that you have to memorize their names and background doesn’t help at all. Plus there are a lot of historical figures that play important parts in the story so it gets even more confusing. Reading about it you probably are thinking ,,Oh, he’s just exaggerating” but believe me, if you watch it, then you are gonna see a lot of screens that have names on it. Not like in the subs, but next to a characters face like saying ,,This is him”. And since I’m talking about history know that this is the second fuck up. As the name implies the action takes place in the Bakumatsu era. When is that? ,,Well go figure out yourselves” is what the anime implies. I mean it doesn’t give you a specific number. It’s confusing enough as it is, why not give me a historical time I don’t know about. And how could I? I never learned that at school and I’m sure neither have you. But you quickly see two guys with pistols fighting samurai so… I guess they present different visual clues and auditory facts that obviously hint you to the year 1856 or so. I’m guessing it’s the time that Japan got out of its political seclusion (yeah I know a little history). But… I welcome the fact that they try and mix history with entertainment, but… why in the love of fuck are they presenting me a FUCKING THESIS. I mean the narrator (yeah we have one of those) almost constantly presents you different historical facts that don’t influence the story and you don’t need. I mean it gets annoying, and it just takes up time. It’s confusing enough as it is, and plus if you’re gonna talk about some historical stuff, then present it to the end, don’t just go ,Because of this event, shit happened” cause I’ve no idea what the event consists of. Also there are a lot of historical characters, which is bad, but I think they did a good job with those. The fictional character are uninspired and it seems like the were copied from other anime and only had their shape and personal background changed, but they act and have the same personality as other characters from other anime. I mean this guy Akidzuki is a painfully obvious copy of Himura Kenshin from the OVA Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen also known as Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal. Watch Bakumatsu and Samurai X in parallel and you’ll be convinced. The only difference between them is their appearance and the fact that Akidzuki’s eyes glow a lot like he’s about to go Super Sayan. But the historical characters are better. It’s like… you know they are copies, but they are supposed to be copies, and excellent copies they are. I read about many of these characters on Wiki and was astound of how well they represented these characters. I saw some pictures and they even look the same (the real and the copy). It’s like they made ,,copy paste” from history directly into the anime. There are a lot of useless characters as well. But they try and make every one important. For example there was a messenger who averted a battle thanks to his speed and the message he delivered. But after a couple of episodes, when I forgot about him, they show a scene after a battle and some guy looks for his friend. Turns out his friend was the messenger, and he died in battle and the narrator suddenly comes in and starts talking about this guy saying ,,This guy, who did this, and thanks to that this did or didn’t happen, died like this on this day”. But even worse is when he (narrator) talks about certain characters that haven’t but WILL die. It’s like ,,This guy, know as this, who did this, and thanks to that this happened, will die like this after this much time”. It’s like they are spoiling. You don’t see that happen, but you know it, so it’s something like spoiling. And does this sound like fun, hearing the narrator talk a lot about shit you don’t care ?(unless you’re Japanese, which I apologize for saying such things) It’s like they wanted to include different stuff just to make the series longer.
The presentation is good. Although the characters have copied personalities, their models look good and rich in color and detail. Background is a bit fucked up, but only in night scenes, and those are few and usually have a lot of action going on, so you don’t pay much attention, but it’s like the background has one color scheme and that is a darkish blue. It’s monotonous, but I say again, you don’t pay much attention to it because of the action. The sound department didn’t slack of as well. They deliver believable voice acting, realistic sound effects and nice music, particularly the opening.
In conclusion this one has a lot of flaws but if you get past the first 6 episodes and accept the history lessons, you get a nice and fun experience that you might enjoy. Let’s put it this way… Although I don’t recommend it as a ,,must see", I’m not against you downloading it and giving it a try.

p.s. Although i found the full version of this song on YouTube, it contains a lot of spoilers for those that might be interested in checking this one out, so i put the short version, but know that the full versionn rocks.

Karas

The story takes place in Tokyo, a city populated by both humans and by ghostly beings. All of them exist in both dimensions, seen and unseen: spirits, demons etc. And the point is that there must be a guy that should maintain some kind of balance between humans and those Harry Potter fans. So that guy is called Karas, some kind of raven guardian of the city. Every city has one. A Karas is created by a female called Yurine. She is some kind of spirit of the city. Every city has a Yurine, and she gives the power of the Karas to some human being. Without her he cannot transform. What we have is another Karas names Eko, actually a former Karas, who attempts to seize power and bring order to the streets through force. So Karas has to battle this Eko dude and save his city. If you see the OVA as 6 episode-pack then you will have no problem in understanding the plot, as the episode succeed one another. However if you download/buy Karas as the 2 movie-set it may be confusing because you don't know which one goes first. There is the first one called The Prophecy, and another one called The Revelation, and those two are considered the released English edition. So make sure you watch them in the correct order, because the story is hard to understand on its own so you really don't want to complicate things with Karas. Karas is great. Confusing, yes. Might give you headache, yes. Might give you a boner from the awesome 2d/3d visuals, yes. You will really need to watch this OVA more than once if you want to truly understand what is going on. So don't be frustrated if by the end of the 2nd movie you don't realize who the fuck is that guy, and what is he doing there. I won't spoil the plot this time, because I really want you to watch this anime. As I have already said the graphics are gorgeous, but also the sound does stand out. It seems they didn't miss anything. The only thing that really pissed me off was, as I already said, the plot. How the main character gets to become Karas. And while you're watching that, you have to understand Eko's plan. Eko and his followers live in the material realm in human form, but to continue doing so they must feed on the fluids of human bodies. Their periodic feasts result in massacres that leave only a single traumatized survivor. And there is a second plot within the main plot that focuses on the human victims that occurred during those feasts. At the end you will find out that someone within the police forces was actually a monster, but again, I am not spoiling who that is, or what role does he play in the final battle between the two Karas warriors. There is nothing much to say about the characters either. We have Eko and his army on one side, on the other side we have Karas and a cool-looking dude with guns, that wants to save his brother from Eko's lair and helps Karas. The dude was some kind of soldier in Eko's army I think. So again, it is really confusing. But you won't mind watching it again just because of all the cool CGI and fight sequences. I promise it makes more sense the second time around.

Graphics 10/10
Sound 9/10
Storyline 7/10
Characters 8/10
Overall 8.5/10

Blood The Last Vampire The Movie

The movie is coming up in theaters...so, the true question on every fan's mind is: will it be good, or just another piece of shit? Well, the trailer looks promising, but hey, all trailer look promising, it's why they are created in the first place..to get you in the seat to watch their shit...I really can't say if the movie will be good or not..all we have to do is head for the theaters and hope for the best

Claymore

I haven’t posted a review in a while, and I’m sure you’re all waiting for a crappy-ass anime review, but it will have to wait cause the crappy ones are sometimes those you probably haven’t heard of, so at first I figured to write some reviews on some popular anime, or at least those you have heard of. So, I present to you…. Claymore. Claymore is a nice, medieval setting action that keeps your heart pumping and your blood flowing. It is entertaining, and always leaves you begging for more ( if you’re a fan of such things of course ). The story focuses on the adventures of a young Claymore named Clare. whose own parents were murdered by Yoma at a young age. On an assignment in a remote town, Clare meets a young boy named Raki whose parents were murdered by a Yoma. Raki took an interest in Clare and was the only one in town who was not afraid to talk to her. Clare eventually killed the Yoma plaguing the town, who was disguised as Raki’s own brother. The townspeople feared Raki would turn into a Yoma and banished him to the wilderness. Although unusual for a Claymore, Clare sympathized with Raki and allowed him to travel with her. While Clare fights the yoma plaguing the land, can Raki help her in her struggle to retain her humanity? Well… yes, of course he can, otherwise he would have no purpose and this would be a really short anime. In time, these two get close to each other ( to the point she does a French kiss with him ), and they’re relationship plays a good role in the plot.
The opening is a nice song, and it shows a good character rooster. Some of the characters shown in the opening have much less appearances than others, but they all play an important role in the plot. And that is what is important. Sometimes in the opening they show you a cast with many characters that are just there. I mean they don’t play an important role, they are just… there. This is not a bad thing, but sometimes it gets confusing when you see so many characters, but most of them don’t do Jack Shit for the plot ( e.g. Paranoia Agent ).
What I like most about this anime is that it really nail the mood and feel of a medieval world. The characters are all dressed appropriately, and are designed and drawn appropriately. I mean in most anime, when the action takes place, like let’s say 19th century Europe ( D.Gray-man ), you don't get that feel because sometimes they use modern things like robots, computers and roller-skates,and most places feel like they are in the same country, I mean you don’t get the feeling that this is Great Britain, this is Spain and this is Germany, instead you get the feeling that it is the same country. Even worse is when in the same anime, they travel around the world, and the cities and it’s populace all look and feel the same, for example in D.Gray-man they went from Europe to some Otoman city, and if it weren’t for a mosque, I would have thought they never left Europe, cause there was no costume or skin color distinction. In most anime you see the same thing, and the only countries you see CLEARLY the distinctions is Japan ( of course ) and China ( I don’t know why ). It’s like ALL those who are NOT Japanese or Chinese are European. But in Claymore you don’t get the same feeling, even though the anime takes place in the same country, there are some episodes that take place in a different Nordic country, and it sure feels like it. Plus you always get the feel that this is a medieval setting, I mean you don’t see any anachronistic events or objects, and like I said, every character, every peasant, soldier or priest look and feel like they are from a medieval setting. There is only one character that wears sunglasses and kind of looks like Fredy Kruger, but that is the only anachronistic thing you’ll see.
Also there is a lot of sex-appeal in this anime. Remember, the only characters capable of fighting yoma are Claymores witch are exclusively women ( kind of feminist, but why not ). And all the women here are beautiful. They aren’t big breasted but are slender and have angelic faces ( when they don’t unleash they’re power that is ). They all look like the ideal woman by medieval standards. Also you get the desperate feeling that all that stands between you and a gruesome death at the hands of a yoma are the Claymores. Yet they are feared by society. If any of you read the polish stories of Gerard the Witcher or played the game The Witcher, than know it’s the same thing here. Only differences is that in the Withcer, the monster hunters are exclusively male and there are a variety of monsters that can also be defeated by human warriors, while in Claymore the monster hunters are women, there is no variety, just yoma, but they yoma can only be killed by Claymores. So every time you see a Claymore die, or turn into an Awakened ( a very powerful yoma ) the feeling of despair grows because they are limited in numbers, and it is even worse when some of the stronger Claymores die, cause the are a lot of yoma. So the anime really nails this desperate mood of medieval times when the world is plagued by darkness and the only ones who can stop it are half yoma themselves.
Like I said before, the characters are important, but there isn’t much variety, cause the only non-Claymore character that plays and important part is Raki, a human. But even though most of the cast are Claymores, every Claymore has here own personality. One is a calm leader, another is a hot-tempered warrior, another is a sadist, and so on. There are no two of a kind here. Although in term of design, some may look the same, and it can get a bit confusing at first. My favorite character is Raki, cause even though he can’t fight the yoma, he plays an important part in Clare’s life, and helps keep her humanity. So he has more of a support role in the series, but the fact that even if he is so fragile, he always tries to help Clare, even to the point of sword-fighting with another Claymore ( the sadist one ), and that’s what makes him so important. Later he trains with the sword so that he can fight alongside Clare, and not be a burden.
Animation-wise, Claymore has some nice visuals. Character design gives the feel that they are in a medieval setting, and the Claymore designs are all beautiful, background is sharp and detailed and feels interactive, and the color tone is more dark and gray so that it gives you a desperate mood. Sound effects are nice, realistic, and voice-work is good… no complaints here.
Overall this is one medieval action you don’t want to miss, cause it has nice visuals, realistic setting, and some hot action.

Samurai Champloo

This has to be one of the BEST samurai anime ever. It’s not the best because it brings many insights on samurais or anything, it’s the best because it is very entertaining. Samurai Champloo is all about style, with dj-style scratching scene changes, hip-hop-inspired soundtrack and eclectic character design. The story is about three people traveling together through edo-era Japan, finding battle and comedy wherever they stop. Those three are: Mugen who has a fighting style which is a funky meld of capoeira and limb-cutting, Jin who is all steel and old-school samurai style, and a girl named Fuu. What binds them together is the desire to test each other's abilities, and a promise to the girl: to find the samurai that smells of sunflowers, who plays a pivotal role in her past. What I like about this one is how well it mixes historical Edo period with modern styles and references. The show relies on factual events of Edo-era Japan, such as the Shimabara Rebellion ( persecution of Japanese Christians ) and Dutch exclusivity in an era where edict restricted Japanese foreign relations. Incorporated within this are signature elements of modernity, especially hip hop culture, such as rapping, graffiti, bandits behaving like "gangstas", and much of Mugen's character design, including a fighting style influenced by breakdancing. Samurai Champloo's musical score predominantly features hip hop beats, which are obviously not in accordance with the timeline. But there are other things not in accordance with the timeline for example baseball and the United States.
The opening, even though features a rap beat, faces the same problem as Gankutsuou… it’s boring. All the action, fighting and violence yet the opening is something so dull and lifeless ( shit-puking-sound is how I would describe it ). But again the ending makes up for it. So does the rest of the musical score. And since I am talking about sound, know that the sound effects, although don’t sound very realistic sometimes, do the job right, and voice-work ( the English dub ) is done with the same care and professionalism as DBZ. 
What I guarantee is that you will lack… boredom. You will NEVER HAVE A DULL MOMENT ( which is actually a good thing ). There is always a good fight to watch in every episode. The fights may not seem too realistic, but they get the job done. And remember this anime is not about much historical accuracy as it is about senseless fights and limbs getting cut samurai style. There is also very little to no drama, which means there is no consistency in the plot ( or very little ) but that is Ok, cause again this anime is not about much story or meaning, just mind-numbing fun. Also what I would like to address is the amount of dumb moments you will meet. But that is good. Yeah I know that when I usually say this I mean it in a bad way, but this time is good. This time, these moments are MEANT to be retarded, not like the moments which I complain about, cause they usually mean to be dramatic or smart-funny. But here it is because they are meant to be retarded that they are so funny. Trying to explain it would be like this…. Imagine that your friend comes up and gives you a nice package and tells you that inside is a beautiful and expensive gift. You open it, expecting something nice, but all you see to your horror is a big piece of horse shit. Now you feel more disappointed because you friend promised you something else. Now imagine that same friend comes up with another package, and tells you from the start that inside is a piece of shit. You open it, you see the piece of shit and you are pleased because you received what you were promised. Maybe that’s a bit exaggerated, but you get the picture. The most retarded episode is one in which our heroes play baseball with the U.S. Navy. You can clearly see the anachronistic facts in here: 1)Baseball wasn’t invented yet; 2)U.S.A. didn’t even exist at that point in history. It is retarded, sure, but it’s entertaining because of this. 
The graphics are good to, but sometimes just don’t feel realistic, like that girl Fuu getting obese after a meal, but quickly loses that weight, or the physique of certain characters ( e.g. a Dutch emissary ). But again, they are so unrealistic because that’s how they should be for the sake of the comedy. That’s what this anime is about, fighting and comedy, fighting and comedy. Sometimes though you get the feeling that they overdid it ( the comedy ). I mean it works out fine here, but sometimes it gets so stupid that’s it’s just… stupid. Also it has it’s moments of drama ( e.g. Jin falls in love with a woman who became a whore because of here debts ), and sometimes it’s good but otherwise they just don’t feel really needed.
Overall, Samurai Champloo is a fun experience, and it if you want some hot samurai action than this is the one I recommend.