I am kinda a fan of xxxHolic. I enjoyed both of the seasons and I think Doumeki is hot. But that is out of topic.
xxxHolic Shumuki is the OVA which was released in winter 2008 and consists of 2 episodes.
The story pretty much is basically a short continuation from the second season. Watanuki has to repay the price to those people who have saved him back then: Himawari - the promised of true smile, Doumeki - trust and gratitude and then there was Syaoran.
This is Syaoran. Honestly, I can't remember if I have seen him in xxxHolic before...
Then Haruka-san requested that Watanuki helped him out with 5 things since he wanted to thank him, and so together with Doumeki, he completed those tasks. At the end of the tasks, Watanuki met Sakura-chan, Syaoran's girlfriend.
Watanuki comforting Sakura-chan
Apparently Watanuki and Syaoran are alike.
Eh?!!! I just realized that Syaoran and Sakura are from Tsubasa Chronicles. Could this really be? No wonder Sakura seemed so familiar... Crossover FTW? Because Syaoran did say that Watanuki is his other self. WTF I'm confused!
Then Watanuki got back from dreamland, he met Yuuko and promised to fulfill her wish. Looks like we might have a third season coming? Yay!!
After I read Glo's comment on his top ten worst anime characters, I begin to see Watanuki in different light. I have always like him and still does I guess but I can see that he can really be annoying at times too, which was why he got a spot on Glo's list. To be fair though he was made/designed to be the comic relief of this show. There are no changes on other characters as well. Doumeki and Yuuko are still the same quirky and eccentric.
The same can be said about the voice actors and the art/animation. No changes from the two seasons which provide consistency and in my book consistency is good. The OP song was pretty chillaxing and catchy while the ED was more melodious.
If you want to watch this OVA, I suggest that you watch the two seasons first otherwise you'll be thoroughly out of the loops.
Art 7/10 Story 6/10 Sound 8/10 Characters 8/10 Enjoyment 7/10 Overall 7/10
Look, I'm not a Mahjong fan. Actually I don't even know how the fuck you play it. Not even after watching Akagi. They don't explain shit, so what kept me watching this show? The suspense and the main character. Akagi offers nothing special. Decent art, good but non memorable sound effects and soundtrack, a somehow passable plot. But boy did they do great on the suspense and the main hero.
It all starts with one 13-year-old, Akagi, walking one night into a Mahjong bar. He offers a man to take his place at the table in order to win the debt that man already accumulated. Although not familiar with the rules and playing for the first time in his life Akagi wins, thus the legend begins. What follows next are a couple of matches, a total of 4-5 throughout the series. Each time there is something special about the game, and each time Akagi must use his mind games to win and destroy the enemy.
The art is kind of good. Not bad, not extraordinary. They really didn't have anything to draw, as the whole action happens at the Mahjong tables. I can't comment on how well they drew the tiles or the table, so I'm going to stop here.
The characters development is weak. Extremely weak. No side plots, no background story, nothing. We don't see any action outside the bars. Nothing about the characters themselves. Just plain Mahjong. There is really no point in watching this show if you don't like board games. It's like One Outs (I think the same Madhouse department created both), but this time it's Mahjong and not baseball. Or if we put it chronologically, first they did Akagi, and then decided to do the same thing but with baseball. If you enjoyed One Outs, you should give Akagi a chance, as the suspense and the mind games are kind of similar although One Outs offers a little more consistency and plot development, but if you are looking for something ore than that, look elsewhere.
Art 7.5/10 Sound 8/10 Storyline 8/10 Characters 8.5/10 Overall 8/10
Whoa, it has been a long time since I update this region. No, I didn't mean my region. Sheesh!
I just wanna share this with you peeps about Ghost Hound.
If you love Jigoku Shoujo, you gonna love this one too. Personally I think it was better, in term of its art however to be fair they do have rather different story lines.
It is about three different kids who have suffered from different traumatic events; Makoto, Tarou and Masayuki. Because of that, they are now have the ability to traverse the “unseen world”. You might want to forgive the slow-paced few minutes of the first episode. Once the plots start to unravel though, it would not stop till the climax. The anime tells the story of trauma,mental disorders, possession, out-of-body experiences, the afterlife, etc. The people deal with all these circumstances differently based on what they believed in which allows us to see a few different point of views, either scientifically or spiritually. There will be question marks hanging above your head on several occasions, especially with the terminology shit but don't fret. It will becomes perfectly clear once explained. Just make sure you pay close attention to the details.
The characters are nicely designed, well rounded and will fascinate you with their vivid personalities. Everyone will find a bit of himself in some of them. Personally, I am a fan of Makoto but found myself more like Masayuki.
Oh here comes the best part.
Prepare to be creeped out because you definitely will. The appearance of the ghosts are so random, they'll fucking give you goosebumps. I watched the anime with the lights on. Even when I'm done with the episodes, I'm too scared to turned off the light. It just gave me the feeling like the ghosts were just waiting to pounce. That's how fucking downright creepy they are. The great sound effects do not help one bit either. It will certainly turns you into a paranoid for a 'lil while especially if the tune got stuck in your head, like it did with me.
So yeah, like I said, this anime is made of awesomesauce. Nothing is overdone and everything flows perfectly.
This anime is for people who loves and are very appreciative of horror, mystery and psychological series because if you are not you might think of it as a waste of time. It's your lost, dumbass.
Also as a reminder, this anime is definitely not for the weak-hearted.
WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED??? I just finished watching Perfect Blue and I feel raped. I am not kidding. This was not a mind-f*ck, this was a mind-rape. My brain is feeling like a dirty whore that just took it in every hole. Let's just agree that Perfect Blue was made in 1997, in an era where the total mind-f*ck was limited to painfully obvious plot twists and very lame narratives that think they're the shit, like Pokémon and Sailor Moon. The movie is a creation of the dude that a couple of years later created Paprika and Paranoia Agent. So there is really no place left for comparison. Perfect Blue blends elements of the psychological thriller, the horror movies, the adult film with some rape scenes and other dramatic themes so that in the end, it seems to play out as a head-on collision of each genre. The main character of the film is some kind of pop idol Mima Kirigoe, who chooses to end her career as a singer and opts for a career change, thus becoming an actress. This sudden change upsets her fans, and pretty soon those around her start receiving threatening letters and such, and some are even later horribly murdered. And if that is not enough to make things interesting, Mimi seems to be losing her grip on reality, a slip into insanity brought on by her new found actress role on a brutally violent television series. So let me explain that a little bit clearly, so that you could understand, literally understand, how fucked up it is. She is playing the role of a woman that has mental problems confusing the reality with the dream and that is killing people in her life. At the same time, Mimi has the same problem, and starts confusing reality with her dreams and the role she is playing. So she is a crazy woman killing people playing the role of a crazy woman killing people. And the movie doesn't fuck around with letting you know when it's reality and when it's a scene from the movie. Figure it out yourself. Another thing that the movie just drops in the scenario is a copy of Mimi, like a ghost of the past, following her around. So she seems to have two different stalkers, one real and one phantasmal. The first is the typical obsessed fan. The second is her alter-ego who claims to be the true Mimi and it's all really only the beginning of forces that are ultimately out to claim her sanity. The ending, although providing a twist is actually more welcomed for providing the fucking end of everything. I was more happy that it finally ended than that the ***** was the true killer. (Yeah, I am not telling you). Perfect Blue does contain some of the obligatory fashion elements of most anime, not limited to extreme violence and graphic sexuality. The film's narrative works because of its "movie within a movie" theme, a setup that's been done to death in most live-action cinema. Overall it was a good movie, nothing spectacular, but actually worthy to be watched at least once by every anime fan out there. So if you do have a "Watch before I tragically die"-List please do add Perfect Blue to that list. Right between Pokémon and Sailor Moon, 'cause I know you want to see them. I can feel it. Graphics 9/10 Sound 7/10 Storyline 7/10 Characters 7/10 Overall 7.5/10
After the release of the review for the first season, I know it took me a while to write the second, but here it is: the AnimeNerdz official Code Geass Lelouch Of The Rebellion R2 review. There is no doubt that Code Geass is one of the best anime series ever. With millions of fans and 2 season to entertain them, Code Geass took the "anti-hero" style to another level. What is so amazing about Code Geass that makes it one of the best series out there? The twists in the plot. They started in the first season, and the second season just exploded in twists. It was great, but at some point it was getting old and very confusing. For me, that was the only problem I had with the second season. The twists were very confusing, and there were moments when I just didn't know what to believe. And the way the characters develop throughout the plot and their importance is also something R2 lacks despite of an excellent first season.Another thing that i Hated about Code Geass R2 were the meaningless mecha battles. At some point they were shadowing the strategical mind games that Code Geass was so loved for. The sounds are great, with thrilling soundtracks every second of the action. What I didn't enjoy was the animation. Yes, the character designs and backgrounds are bright and colorful but they were slacking of at the end of the season, in my opinion. The last 5 episodes were horrible when it came to animation level.
All the AMVs on Code Geass on youtube are just horrible...they are all based on the mecha side of the series, which is not what made it incredible..so I had to go with this one... WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
After the release of the final 2 episodes, I decided to finally watch this anticipated Madhouse production. It was incredible. Although highly underrated, because of the baseball amount in the series, One Outs is a fantastic production, offering the fans everything they ever wished for in an anime: strong characters, cool graphics, amazing plot and great sound. One Outs tells us the story of Tokuchi Toua, an amazing pitcher and a gambler. He has an incredible talent in manipulating people and uses his skill to crush his opponents. He joins the team that finished last in the Japanese baseball league, because of a bet he lost with the captain of that team. He then helps the team to overcome their problems and become one of the contenders for the championship. Although it offers a great plot with some amazing twists, what One Outs actually lacks is a great ending. It leaves you wanting for more, being already trapped in Tokuchi's mind games. I couldn't believe that the 25th episode was the ending. The way it ended you would really think the series will go for minimum 10 more episodes, or at least a second season. But no, that's it. The characters, as I already said are great. The way they all participate in the plot, leaving no questions unanswered. The whole point of the series is that, Tokuchi, being a gambler, signs a secret contract with the owner of the team. He will be paid 4000$ for every out he makes, but will have to pay the owner 40000$ for every point he gives away. The owner agrees, but later, after seeing Tokuchi's mindgames, he tries to destroy Tokuchi. The music and the sounds are awesome. It is the regular stadium sound, because the series has NO moments outside the stadium, except for some dialogues and meetings the owner participates in. The graphics are also beautiful. The players and the game moments are all nicely animated. I practically didn't find any flaws. Overall it was a great anime, and although not everyone is a sports fan, I truly recommend this anime to any person that loves mind games, the thrill of a good anime that leaves you guessing what will happen next.
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
Since I didn’t do the review of a shitty anime for some time ( Pokemon doesn’t count because there I talked about some weird fucked up parts, yet the anime is a cult classic ), this time I’ll talk about one which is one of the most disturbing anime I’ve seen in my life. This is one you probably haven’t heard of yet, but you haven’t missed much, cause this isn’t a masterpiece. Actually I’m wrong, this thing should have an award of it’s own. THE GORIEST ANIME EVER. Why ? We’ll get to that. First of all let’s talk about the plot. The plot on anime-planet is this…
,,For Kouta and Yuka, finding the bloody naked young girl on the beach would change their lives forever, for better or for worse. Unable to speak or function as a normal human being, she is named Nyuu by the duo, and taken into their home in an effort to save her. But what neither teenager knows is that this innocent young girl is actually a killing machine -- an experiment gone terribly wrong -- and it is only a matter of time before the murderer in her awakens again...”. (Source: anime-planet.com)
Now to correct some mistakes. First of all, this girl is not an experiment, but an evolution. And it is not a matter of time before the murderer in her awakens, because it awakens every episode ( although for brief moments ). The title ,,Elfen Lied” didn’t say much at first, only after a little research did I find out it’s meaning. In German, this is translated as ,,Elven song”. Why elven ? Well because the murderous bitch has cat-like ears growing on her head. Ok… but then why elven, elves don’t have such ears. Well I guess ,,Cat song” or ,, Hauskatze Lied” ( that’s cat in German ) sound’s fucked up, so just leave it elfen. And why is it a Lied ? Well because it has a lot of fucked up romance in it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that romance is fucked up, and I welcome it in any anime. I’m just saying that the romance IN THIS anime is fucked up. The opening theme is some king of Latin song with piano music, and I read that a lied is usually arranged for a single singer and piano. So they got that right, but the video is fucked up. The paintings style is disturbing, it’s like something you show to a insanity ward patient. Also, even though the music is an actual lied, it’s boring, and it tells better than words how boring this thing is. Just listen to it. This opening wraps the whole thing up. Also the opening gives a good example of how much nudity is contained in this anime. At some point I forgot I’m watching an anime and thought this is a hentai, which would actually be more fun and interesting than this. Also it has A LOT OF GORE. Never in my life have I seen so much blood on the screen and limbs flying which is good is small doses, but they just went way, way too far. Like showing a 6 year old girl cut in half, then her father has his head cut off , all the while the girls brother is watching this. I mean the movie Hostel is a four year old girl licking a lollipop compared to this. It is one of the most notorious anime in the U.S. for it’s graphic violence and nudity. And no amount of editing can tone it down, cause otherwise you have to cut out half of the anime, and that kind of defeats the purpose of making and selling it. I said that they have to cut out half, which contains the violence, if they want to edit it, but want to know what the other half is ? BOREDOM. Plain and simple boredom. When limbs stop flying and blood stop flowing, you see some of the most boring scenes ever, that have no purpose. For example there is a scene of a girl, which later plays a more important part in the episode, walking her dog on a street for like MINUTES. It’s like ,,Yeah you want some action, you want some action, yeah … Well FUCK YOU”. Why ? Why did they put that ? I just want to see her role in this episode, nothing more. Also there are a lot of scenes, which are present only in hentai. Scenes like incest and pedophilia. Scenes like two cousins making out doing French kisses, or a stepfather forcing his stepdaughter to strip in front of him. That’s sick. ,,Hey kids, here are some life lessons, so that you will grow up into good healthy child molesters and cousin-fuckers”. Plus, even if there is all that bloody violence going on, it gets boring. I mean it’s fun to watch that same character butcher a lot of security guards at first, but that butchering stuff gets a little old, especially since it’s the same character that butchers the fuck out of everyone. It’s like she’s unbeatable, nobody can stop her, and since she is the main character, there is no fun watching her cause she doesn’t build any tension. It’s like you know she’s gonna have no problems with this so you might as well just skip the scene. There are some good battle scenes, but they are few. What this anime needed is less dog walking, more monster fighting. Because the only real fun I had is when killer-bitches like the main character fight each other, cause they all have the same powers. Also the ending a bit sucks. It shows Kouta making out with Nyuu’s true identity, which killed Kouta’s little sister and father right before his eyes. AND HE KNOWS THAT. Which brings the question. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ? The bitch killed your family. Don’t you have any feelings about that ? Or do you just want to fuck this girl so much ? Well… I don’t want to waste my time figuring this shit out. Other aspect are done nicely. The sound and voice-work fell realistic, the character cast is nice and diverse, everyone acts and feels like how he should. But I have a little issue with the graphics. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice, but the character drawings feel a bit childish, like they were meant for a more peaceful anime. I mean they should have been a bit more serious to go along well with all the violence going on. This anime was a bestseller in the U.S. And maybe rightfully so. Remember, I’m just talking about my issues with it. If you are a fan of gore and mindless massacre, then this one is for you. Otherwise, just look the otherway.
This time I decided to torture myself some more with shitty anime. Today’s masterpiece is Paranoia Agent. Unlike s-CRY-ed ( which, I think, I will never stop making references to it ), I watched this one to the end. I realize that I should have dropped this anal waste after the 7th episode, but I wanted to give it a chance. Why ? Well I will tell you all about it. If you read the information given on anime-planet you might think it is original. DON’T GET SUCKERED IN. For starters, let’s talk about the plot. At first it seems like a mystery, a little kid with a baseball cap, roller skates, and a golden, bent bat hits people in the head, and runs away. It’s a chaotic pattern, but to policemen try to find a connection. As the series progress, this fucker actually kills people, so yeah, it has a lot of violence. But lets talk about the other tags. It is a thriller until the 7th episode, then it becomes a mindf*ck, but only because it doesn’t make any sense. Now what’s the most important part of a mystery, thriller, psychological anime ? TO MAKE SOME SENSE AT SOME POINT IN THE SERIES, OR AT LEAST AT THE ENDING. But first thing is first. The opening. While the theme is really nice, the video already shows how much illogic the series will contain. I mean what other opening have you seen a guy laughing in the air, among the clouds, with his head upside down ? They just show a cast of the characters with some fucked up background, like the top of mount Fuji or Nagasaki when the atomic bomb blows. It throws away all logic. The cast is diverse, but you don’t see many of them often, and most don’t have any connection between them. Each represents a social issue, so I guess that’s one of the few reasons why I gave it a two star rating ( see my anime-planet list ). So yeah, it talks about social problems, but those are more like sub plots, and we don’t want them. We want to know all about the main mystery, the little slugger. Well the anime says ,,Fuck you! Just watch all the shit you have met or will meet in your lives.” And if I already talk about the characters, let’s talk about the graphics. While the background is done right, with details, sharpness, full color and all, the character animation SUCKS. It’s a certain style, which may be good for some, or at least unimportant, for me it’s just DISGUSTING. The more slender or average shaped people are Ok, but the fat characters, or old are just fucked up. It’s hard to explain it, but trust me, when I say it’s REALLY fucked up, then you know it’s crap. Also there some close up views that you just want to skip. Sound effects and voice work are good. They’re not top grade, but they sound realistic, and that’s enough for me. So I guess that’s also a plus for the two star rating. But now let’s go in depth on why I hate it so much. First of all, for the first 5 or 6 episodes, you might think that there is a logic that you will discover later on. But that is just like thinking that your shit is made of gold. In episode 7, everything just goes ape shit. The idea is that they captured little slugger, and put him in jail. But when the two policemen go there, they find him dead. The fucked up part... HE WAS KILLED BY HIMSELF!!!! Not suicide! Literally, a second him was standing on his feet next to his dead body. Is he a clone ? Is this Star Wars ? So when the police try to capture the second one, he disappears through a wall. At that point, I should have dropped watching the series. But some kind of hope kept me going. Beyond this there are a lot of mind numbing, retarded moments. But not like a small sequence. No. ENTIRE EPISODES ARE RETARDED, AND DON’T PROGRESS THE PLOT. For example, there is an episode about three people ( a teenager, a 8 year old girl and an old man ) who met on the internet, and try, the entire episode to kill themselves. When they realize they can’t do it they go to a hotel depressed. There they see the little slugger kill a random guy nobody gives a shit about, and they beg him to kill them, but he runs away. Then they decide NOT to kill themselves, and go to a bar and eat. Fucking genius. Or how about an episode, where the slugger transforms into a monster, but can’t kill a woman because she tells him that she is happy that her life is full of shit ( or something like that ). So, whatever, I can go on and on with this. The main idea is that you see all these sub plots that don’t progress the main story, and don’t forget…. THE SERIES HAS ONLY 13 EPISODES. The last part I want to comment on is the ending. It says that the little slugger appeared in this world when a little girl lied about her being hit in the head by the little slugger, because she didn’t want to tell her parent’s that her lack of attention at one moment led to the dog’s demise ( got hit by a car, the poor little dumb shit ). So when the girl ( now grown up ) makes peace with the past, the little slugger disappears. WOW. They were on drugs when they thought this shit up. FOR REAL. He was created by a little girl ? What is she, a super mental powered freak ? She can create the things she sees in her mind? What ever, if I want I can talk for days on this mess. Bottom line… Stay away! Stay away as fucking possible! Spare yourselves. Spare yourselves from this waste of time. I sacrificed myself for you, and even bothered writing a review about it to spare you the trouble of watching it. And those who watch till the end, without asking for mental counseling, should receive a reward. PARANOIA AGENT… YOU SUCK.
This is Syaoran. Honestly, I can't remember if I have seen him in xxxHolic before...
Watanuki comforting Sakura-chan
