With the confirmation of the second season in our pocket (see here), I guess it is really time to review the first season of Darker Than Black. It has been almost 2 years since I've seen Darker Than Black, so today i tried to catch up by watching 4 random episodes in order to be able to review the series.
Some titles are misleading, as such is 'Darker than Black'; though the series is graphic throughout, the story is considerably less 'dark' than many other of anime. I cannot really 'genre' it either; there are elements of the supernatural which are used so for 'Darker than Black' to feel very much like a superhero story. It features superpowered people who are real people, their powers come at a real price and not a token moral price as is used in children's comics. The show also has such stereotypical characters, but I can say that these characters do the subject matter justice. The subject matter in question is thoughtful and it fuels very interesting conflicts.
The story unfolds gradually with us getting to know more of the main character's back story from episode to episode. The powers are interesting as is the background of fear and manipulation and the fact that it finishes is one series rather than dragging on to squeeze extra money out of the idea is appealing. The plot is intelligent with no bad or annoying episodes and the ending is surprising and consistent, there is a small bit of comic relief but this is a dark story.
I hadn't watched this anime in years but I can really say that this one dragged me in from the first episode and I didn't regret it.
Art 9/10 Sound 8.5/10 Storyline 8.5/10 Characters 8.5/10 Overall 8.5/10
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
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.
So, as promised, this time I will talk about Dragon Ball GT. While there isn’t much to say, because it is not the same caliber as DBZ, it still is an entertaining experience. The plot is that ten years after Bu's defeat and Emperor Pilaf has gathered the dragon balls and promptly turns Goku back into a child-like form; and with the help of Trunk and Pan, the now inexperienced and young Goku must search for the dragon balls in order to help him return to his old self. However, retrieving the scattered dragon balls will be difficult, as Earth will be destroyed if they are not brought back to it within a year. In addition, they have been used one too many times, and evil dragons have since been released. In the midst of this chaos, Goku and the gang must face their strongest enemies yet: Professor My and Doctor Gero, who are building a copy of C17, and hordes of foes that were previously sent to Hell by Goku himself... First of all let’s start with the reasons why it is NOT as good as DBZ. My first complaint is described in the plot. The developers turned Goku into a KID. Why ? I’m not interested in that. I already saw Goku as a kid in the very first Dragon Ball. I don’t want to see that again. Fortunately, the cast from DBZ is still here ( I’m talking about Vegeta, Gohan, Goten etc. ), but again, as the plot describes, for a good part of the show you only get to see mini Goku, his granddaughter Pan and a teenager Trunks. The others are still here but you only get to see them involved in the plot in the first 2 episodes and somewhere after the middle. But when they get involved you’re in for some good action. Also, I like how the heroes turned out after ten years. Gohan is an adult, a scholar and a family man, Goten is a teenager Don Juan, Vegeta is also a family man and has a daughter, and Trunks is a young CEO of Capsule Corp. But they’re calm and peaceful lives are interrupted by the evil Baby ( what a fucked up name ) who bends them to his will, and conquers the Earth. Only Goku is left to stop him. That’s where they make up for the fact they turned Goku into a kid. He gets to transform into SUPER SAYAN 4 ( SS4 ). That is awesome. Another complaint is that the villain cast isn’t as big as in DBZ ( also counting the movies ) but it’s still satisfying. Also there is a new addition to heroes cast, and that is Uub ( very hard to pronounce ), Bu’s good reincarnation. You get to see him at the end of DBZ but he doesn’t contribute to the plot very much, and is still untrained. This time you see him powerful, and he even merges with Majin Bu to transform into Majin Uub, and gets to fight Baby Vegeta ( that’s Baby merged into Vegeta, and not actually a baby Vegeta ). While he isn’t very memorable, he still is a nice addition, and you won’t regret his presence. Graphics are good, even for 1996. Images are sharp, smooth and detailed, and character models are stunning. Sound effects are Ok, and the voice work is done by the same people who did it for DBZ ( yes I watched the English dub ). So there is not much else to talk about. Most what I had to say about the series, I already said in my DBZ review which started this marathon ( yes my next review is about the very first Dragon Ball ). But to finish this I’d like to say that GT can’t really hold a candle to DBZ, but it’s still worth the fun.
First of all, I want to explain why I put 2 amv’s : 1) They show what’s best in the Z series and it’s movies; 2) You see moments from the beginning of the series, the middle and the end so you can see the evolvement of the anime ( graphically, and not only ); 3) It shows a complete cast of all the Dragon Ball Z characters, both from the series and the movies. It also shows moments from the GT series, but I will talk about them next time.
When I was deciding what anime to review next, I discussed with Animenerdz if we should do something with Dragon Ball. At first, he wasn’t sure if it was worth it, but I think it is. After all, it has it’s own movie ( even if it sucks balls, should I say Dragon ballz ? ). Plus, if you ask someone what was the first anime he saw, or what anime he grew up with, the answer will most likely be Dragon Ball Z. It has a certain nostalgia factor and is a prized memory for many. Looking at it now, it is a bit retarded, but still satisfying and entertaining. The idea of it isn’t very original, it feels more like a superhero cartoon, but remember, those were the early ’90, in the western countries we knew only Superman as the ultimate super-powered being, and the east had nothing to offer as cool as he was. But here comes Goku, the guy who, I believe, in a fight will rip Superman’s asshole inside out. He is THE ULTIMATE embodiment of POWER and JUSTICE. He was so cool, western countries translated the series in every language they can, and his popularity grew. The plot is that five years have passed since Goku and his friends defeated Piccolo Jr. and restored peace to the planet. Gohan - Goku's son - and a variety of good, bad, and morally ambiguous characters are back, and perpetually not ready for action! Aliens, androids, and magicians all hatch evil plots to destroy the world and it's up to Goku to save the Earth once more - that is, once he and his comrades train plentifully in preparation. Enemies will become friends and power levels will rise to unimaginable levels, but even with the help of the legendary Dragon Balls and Shen Long will it be enough to save Earth from ultimate destruction? Why I chose this series to review before the other two, is that I believe it is the BEST. How many games have been made based on the Z series ? Hundreds. And how many based on the others ? None. Well there is one GT game, but few people knew about it, and I’m sure it sucked. The Z series show us a more mature Goku on his path of becoming the strongest warrior in the universe. At the beginning you see him rather weak, but at the end he is UNBEATABLE ! Also, you see a great addition to the show, and that is Gohan, Goku’s son. Here you see him evolve from a baby, into a powerful adult. Also, towards the middle you see another son, Goten. Another newcomer, which I like, is Vegeta and his son, Trunks. At the beginning, Vegeta is Goku’s rival, but at the end he is his most trusted friend and ally. Plus there is a variety of villains, which are very powerful, are hell-bent on destroying the Earth, and killing Goku, and they offer awesome and epic battles. So you see why I like this anime so much. Other aspects, like graphics, depend on the year. Remember that the series started of in 1989. The graphics then were goofy looking, but as the series progressed, so did the graphics. They improved substantially at the middle of the series, and are actually eye pleasing at the end. From the middle to the end they are beautiful. Sharp and smooth, bodies are more realistic, muscular and defined and the visual effects are nice. The sound evolved the same as graphics, so there is not much to say. I never heard the Japanese version, but the English dub is well done. Each voice is in accordance with the character it accompanies. The action is kick-ass. There isn’t much drama. Just mind-numbing, senseless fighting for which the series is so acclaimed. And the is also a nice dose of comedy. There is never one moment when you’re feeling dull. My only complaint is that each and every battle goes on for like 10 or 12 episodes. But that’s Ok. It just leaves you wanting to see the next episode even more. So yeah it is pretty old and kind of dumb, but even now it’s good and fun to watch. It’s not a favorite but I think that every anime fan has seen or has to see it at least a couple of episodes. It is definitely worth watching.
So this is my first review on this blog, and many of you might ask yourselves ''Why such a random anime ? Why not something from his favorites ? ". Well the answer is that i dropped it after the FIRST EPISODE. I know what some of you might be thinking ''Oh, well if he didn't watched it, then he can't make a good review", but let me tell you, that it's SO not worth my time and effort to watch an episode of this COLLOSAL piece of shit, let alone the full season. For starters let me ask you this: how many times have you seen badass characters that have special powers which reach into space ? I mean that was something of the `90 but this was 2001. I mean it was getting old way too fast after Dragonball Z ( the part with the powers ). I mean there was no real originality. Sure they get different names and stuff, but still it is a copy of Dragonball and that's OK for the `90 but by 2001 people want to see something original. So it gets that distinct "Been there, done that" feeling. Actually the main character looks very familiar. Where have i seen him before ? Oh yeah... Yu Yu Hakusho! The main character from both anime's are THE SAME. Both have great powers that progress through-out the series, both become powerful at the end, both have a strong nemesis, both are badass, both have the wish to fight greater and stronger opponents ( like in Dragonball ? ), and they both practically LOOK the SAME. The title doesn't make sense at all. s-CRY-ed? It doesn't say anything. Usually it's the name of the main character, or like in mecha anime, the name of the main mecha model, or ANYTHING that is related to the series AND the meaning of the title is given in the first episode. Well not in s-CRY-ed. It says ''Fuck that shit, we will call it something indefinable". Well i cried. I cried at the fact that i had to wait for this fucking "masterpiece" to download and waisted my time. Another aspect is the opening theme song. It doesn't fit well ( not that anything does ). I mean the plot is about a fictional Japan with Si-Fi elements, and strong, super powered people that fight to the death. Why would you put a SALSA ( or rumba, or tango or whatever kind of spanish like melody ) as the OPENING THEME ? It gives me an image of all the main characters dancing in a line. Also, it starts like a riddle. Some girl says that she had a dream, and it shows a vertigo scene like some alien got drunk as shit and spins around in space. It makes no sense. The anime has a lot of characters, but they are uninspired. I already talked about the main character, whose name is Kazuma, but there is also this 8 year old girl, which treats the main character as shit, his friend which rips him off to do hard jobs for small price, a bitch which caresses old men instead of doing her job ( she's the blue hair girl from the opening theme ) and i found that part just plain weird, and there is also the protagonist's nemesis, a guy with green hair which looks all cool and serious and at first kicks the shit out of the main character. There are also many other secondary characters, that act as villains or people that need to be saved, but again, they are really weird. In the first episode Kazuma fights another superpowered guy name Big which leads a group called Lardus. LARDus. What kind of fucked up name is that ? LARDus. It's like a joke, but a really bad one. And guess what, the leader of the group is Big and he is really fat. Thats one messed up villain. There are many other moments in the episode ( and i guess in the entire series ) that are really retarded. Like there is one part in which he pays an old man to go through a tunnel which leads God knows where ( maybe a bar or a whorehouse ) and he meets a little kid he sees first time in his life, asks about his father, asks if the kid likes his father, says its good that the kid likes his father and then goes away. OK... Imagine if i come up to you and ask you some fucked up questions and then walk away without any explanation. You will think i'm a fucknut. Also it has many childish moments, for example when Kazuma tries to convince his friend to be paid 2000 and not 30, God knows what, and they settle this with rock, paper, scissors ( yeah like real MEN ). So as you can see it's real mind numbing and boring. Other aspects, like graphics, SUCK. They suck balls. I allready talked about the music, how it doesn't fit. The sound effects are so Dragonball ( although i imagine that most anime sound effects are like that ), but this is 2001. Couldn't they get better sounding effects? Graphics are dull. Some character models aren't defined enough, while others don't define their personality. Cowboy Bebop, which was made in 1998, is better looking than this piece of shit. It isn't even sharp enough. Instead it looks something from early '90. Actually, if i make something in paint, and then put it in GIF animation, it will look better than this. Overall it is something slightly below average, with predictable plot, uninspiring characters, dull graphics, music that doesn't fit the scene and ''Been there, done that" powers and battles. I don't want to impose my opinion on you, and maybe some of you who read this article will find the anime in a better light than me, but let me tell you, those who will find the patience to watch it, should get a medal.
