Forum: Anime, Manga and Video Game Reviews

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...

First of all, I find the name of this movie to be rather confusing. It is Blame!, with the exclamation mark. Who is to blame? Maybe the title makes more sense in Japanese? Whatever. It makes no difference. In the dark and dismal distant future, mankind is in trouble. Once they controlled...

In the future, today, the world will be divided between normal humans and psychicers. Both are badly in need of a comprehensive story line. Psychic Force is an OVA based on a video game. I thought it might be an OVA of a larger series, but I could not find a reference to any series by that...

The year is 1944, and the world is at war. No, it is not World War II, as this is an alternate Earth. The war is against an invasion of hostile aliens called the Neuroids. But the 501st Joint Fighter Force, aka the Strike Witches, a group of teenage girls with magical powers, stand ready to put...

Winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject, The House of Small Cubes is a bittersweet film which certainly does not look like an anime. The artistic style is totally different, suggesting maybe another age. But that is probably the effect director Kunio Kato was after. In an...

Some time back, I wrote a review of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and the three succeeding movies. I called it “Magical Girls on acid,” but I meant it in a complementary way. Starting off with a light hearted premise of young girls saving the world, it was a series which got dark pretty quick. ...

Once upon a time, there was this average teenage Japanese schoolboy named Rito and his little sister Mikan, who lived with their parents. Until one day the parents went to run an errand or something and were not seen for another 20 years. No one noticed. I told you they were average. So now...

The first thing I should say about Voltron: Legendary Defender is that it is not from Japan. It is produced by DreamWorks exclusively for Netflix. The production team sounds all American, though the animation and art are done in South Korea. Or at least I assume it to be South Korea. Those are...

:cool:**Please remove if not allowed**:cool: Here's a summary or intro to the series with very few spoilers as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTh0YIUxys

:cool:**Please remove if not allowed**:cool: Here's a summary or intro to the series with very few spoilers as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTh0YIUxys

Rin Tsuchimi is a nice guy because he is an orphan. Or is he an orphan because he is a nice guy? Anyway, we all know in anime the two are connected. So welcome to the cliché filled world of Shuffle! And what is it with all those anime titles which have exclamation marks in them? So Rin is...

In the distant future, Earth is a burned out husk. The survivors of the human race face extinction at the hands of invading aliens. Only a teenage mecha pilot named Yuugo Hachiken can save them. No, that’s not right. Yuugo Hachiken is a half-vampire, half-werewolf who uses his power to save...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03x0bU2w9HI So I just got done watching the first episode of the anime Lucky Star. I was looking for something cute, similar to Nichijou, and simple. While Lucky Star might not be everyone's cup of tea, I enjoyed the first episode do to how simplistic everything...

Care for a fish-out-of-water story? Well, here is a series where that is not quite a metaphor. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet starts off in space. Ledo is a teenage mecha pilot trained to be a soldier in the war to save humanity from the Hadeauze. But when a battle goes wrong, Ledo is...

As I understand it, Princess Resurrection is a popular anime. I am not sure why. Of the four discs, I got through disc three and saw no reason to continue to the final disc. More on why later. The premise: Hiro is a school boy who moves to a new town to be with his older sister who is a...

This review may be viewed in video format, with some notable inclusions, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrwyLdGb7-g Claymore belongs to a small group of media that is enjoyable to audience members who want to put a lot of thought into the implications of the story, and also to audience...

Alibaba, Aladdin, and Morgiana are at it again. Taking refuge under King Sinbad, our trio is ready for more adventures. But this time they must go their separate ways to fulfill their destinies. Magi: The Kingdom of Magic is the sequel to Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. This time young Aladdin...

In a fantasy world of horror, two tribes vie for superiority. One, the Ceveans, under the guidance of a legendary priestess, build a robotic ship called the Ark. The other, the Storrions, capture the Ark and enslave or banish all Ceveans. But our story skips over all that and begins elsewhere. ...

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A teenaged boy finds himself in a mecha fighting machine, and learns he can control it. What? You want me to stop? But wait! This one is different. This mecha is made to fight underwater, meaning it is perfect for the oceans of Mars. I bet you didn’t...

I have made a video delving into the religious symbolism in the cult-classic anime film Angel's Egg and its supposed relevance to Mamoru Oshii's spiritual journey during the early 80s. Mamoru Oshii is the same man who directed Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor the Movie. I also made a simplified...

This will only be a half-review, since I only watched half of Samurai Deeper Kyo. Frankly, I am surprised I got that far. First the premise. Demon Eyes Kyo has been imprisoned within the body of an itinerant healer, but now he has broken out and taken over that body. He is searching for his...