Forum: Anime, Manga and Video Game Reviews

I was going to go out to a movie tonight, but I wasn’t feeling that well. So instead I stayed home and watched this DVD just received from Netflix. King of Thorn finds the world in a precarious state. People keep dying of an epidemic which turns them to dust. A Russian oligarch heading a...

This is an analysis that explores the characterization of Tomie and attempts to piece together a narrative from the perspective of Tomie. I reference and talk about many chapters from the manga series, so if your trying to avoid spoilers, you may wanna hold off on watching this.

Cremora is a small, picturesque European kingdom with an old world flavor, but still firmly 21st Century. This would make Cremora the perfect spot for a family vacation – if it wasn’t for all that blood. But such is such in the world of B: The Beginning. There’s a serial killer on the loose...

One planet. Two worlds, at least. Opposite gravity. I guess this could be all the ingredients for a madcap comedy. Instead it is a youthful adventure titled Patema Inverted. Looking it up after watching, it seems this is the second of two anime films about Patema and her adventures. Not...

The war for the Greater Grail is coming to an end. And so we are set for season two of Fate/Apocrypha. If you missed my write-up on season one, check below. Shirou, a priest, is supposed to be one of two Rulers in the game, making sure the rules are followed. But instead he has his own plans....

I got through season one of a series whose level of intensity has left me uninterested in watching season two. So much for Negima!?: Magister Negi Magi. And what’s with all the punctuation in the title? So here’s the premise. Not the plot, just the premise. Negi is a 10-year-old boy who...

Whenever I think of Japanese cinema, two names come to mind. The first is Akira Kurosawa, and the second is Godzilla. The work of Kurosawa has already been adapted to the world of anime – more or less. I refer to the series Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. It’s about time Godzilla had his chance. ...

Type: TV series, Manga Genre: Ninja Plot synopsis: Naruto Uzumaki, a 12 year old boy wants to become a ninja, but not just a ninja, the best in his town. Since he was little he was disrespected against everyone and had no parents. Everyone hated Naruto because he had a monster, a nine tailed...

Well, my high school was never like this. At Hyakkao Private Academy, children of the most elite families and the leaders of tomorrow learn their lessons and study hard. But when classes are over for the day, it is all gambling. Overseen by a dictatorial student council, those who lose become...

Who is The Irresponsible Captain Tylor? Good question. After watching this nine chapter OVA, I have no idea. Tylor is laid back and lets practically nothing phase him. But I seem to have missed the irresponsible part. You almost miss Tylor, who really does not much of anything except for the...

Is a man any less of a man if he cries? What about if he is half-demon and can tear other demons to shreds? Well, there you have it – Devilman Crybaby. This is actually a remake of an earlier series. Akira is a wimpy kid who cries a lot; not so much for himself, but for others. He is a real...

Forget Man versus Machine. This is Man as Machine. Sort of. Id-0 is a sci-fi anime adventure directed by Gero Taniguchi, best known for Code Geass. Expect a complex plot, unexpected twists, and a bit of philosophy on what makes one human. There are two important things to remember about...

Centered on the futuristic space war between the Covenant and humanity, or actually based on a video game, HALO Legends is actually seven separate anime films directed by various anime directors. So there really is not a single look for this film. Each segment has its own style and feel. Each...

I just finished re-watching Lain, aka Serial Experiments Lain, for the fourth or fifth time. Each time I realize something I did not catch the previous times. This is not really a review. I just wanted to go over a few things I just picked up. This time I realized that when we first see Lain...

Here’s a delightful little anime for kids, all about a funny little Tiger and his best friend – a rabbit named Bunny. Naw. I’m just sh-tting ya. Actually, Tiger and Bunny is an action-comedy series with just the right amount of darkness along the edges, and quite a bit of suspense and second...

Avenger is not some Marvel comic production. Nor does it have anything to do with a certain classic British TV series. Rather this story is placed in the far future, with the remnants of the human race dying out on Mars. Children are no longer being born, so they are replaced by androids called...

This could be the future of anime -- no longer just simply Japanese animation, but rather a distinct genre of its own, if it isn’t such already, with an international influence. Created by Ezra Koenig, Neo Yokio is co-directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (HunterXHunter, Le Chevalier D’Eon, and others). ...

No real story here. Miss Hokusai is a slice of life movie, which shows slices of a life while not concentrating on any one plot. The film is inspired by the life of the famous Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, but centers on his daughter O-Ei. O-Ei has an uneasy relationship with her father,...

Just when you thought you were safe, the Holy Grail Wars have started up again. This time it’s a fight for the Greater Grail. Fate/Apocrypha brings you all the action. You Fate fans are in for a treat. Those not familiar with the series, you can still follow the story, though I suggest you...

The first and last time I watched Princess Mononoke was during its original theatrical release. Re-watching was long overdue, and for some reason I appreciate it more now than when I first saw it. The film is writer/director Hayao Miyazaki’s analogy on the relationship between man and nature, and...

Hi Guys I am new to anime and I want to ask you what anime should I start with but I dont want animea like Dragon Ball Z,Naruto,Pokemon

So this past weekend saw the end of the run of One Punch Man on Cartoon Network’s late night Toonami. For those who missed it, is it worth catching? I would say so. This is a pretty good dumb, but fun spoof on the superhero sub-genre, which takes everything from that sub-genre and turns it on...

With a name like 5 Centimeters per Second, what do you expect? First of all, after spending my life within the American system of measurement, I have to ask what is a centimeter? Suffice it to say that the title references the speed at which a cherry blossom petal falls from a tree. This short...

Here is an anime about two adorable little girls who are well-behaved, respectful, always willing to help around the house, and who love school. Yes, this is science fiction. The central character in Figure 17 is 10-year-old Tsubasa, who is taken by her widowed father from their home in Tokyo...

I just finished re-watching Durarara. I probably should have re-watched it several months back before I watched DurararaX2. Now I will have to re-watch X2, but I don’t mind. I don’t have the time now to do a full review. Maybe later I will add some thoughts. All I will say here is that I now...

After discovering the works of Junji Ito last year, I fell into a spiral of his works as I tried consuming as much as I could. While doing so, I came across Tomie, Junji Ito's first published manga. Now that I've read Tomie, I spent the past few weeks working on an analysis for the book and it's...

Here is a tale of the old west. The American old west. As seen by Japanese anime producers and writers. Early Reins is the story of a group of young women who protect a train from an army of thieves. OK. The old west in a very basic anime cliche. There is a story, but it suffers with...

Who are you? Are you real? Is anything real? Can we make an anime series out of this? Yes, and we can call it Zegapain. Kyo is the captain of his high school swim team – and its only member. Suddenly, lured by his forgotten love, from another life apparently, Shizuro, Kyo also becomes a...

Supposedly Castlevania is based on a video game. But don’t let that dissuade you. From what I could gather, this is a joint production of American and South Korean studios, with the animation and artwork by a Korean artistic staff. So while not Japanese, this is Japanese-influenced Korean anime...