30 Second Anime Review

[Y]

The purpose of this thread is to get exposure for a series, or write a flaming diatribe against one with a short, summarized review of it. I figure this could be a good repository of forum opinions on anime series, since I don't want to dig through 800 pages of spoiler filled series threads to see if it's worth watching.

1) No spoilers. Anything you find out within the first twenty minutes isn't a spoiler.
2) Don't write too much or too little. A paragraph is fine. Don't write two sentences, don't write a page, and you'll be fine.
3) I suppose doing popular series' is inevitable but try not to do reviews of Naruto or Bleach or stuff that people have obviously heard 10,000 opinions on unless you have something fresh to say. However, I do recommend reviewing critically acclaimed pieces that still don't get enough love here (since that's what I'll be doing, of course).

Here's mine.

Series:

The Melody Of Oblivion: The War of the 20th Century is over, and we lost. Now the Melos Warriors strive to defeat a hierarchy of Monsters who control the world. Wonderfully put together, this has some of the most unique artistic values of anything within the last five years. The extremely bright and bizarre character designs clash with the horrifying (subtly) background work and the extremely dark tone that runs through the whole series. It's emotional and extremely well written, and has a dose of the action for all of you who can't watch a series unless something explodes. It also features some of the best and most varied music in an anime, ranging from classical pieces to electronica. Absolutely fantastic on all fronts.

Film:

Voices Of A Distant Star: I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot of this movie because it's better if you go into it knowing nothing. Makoto Shinkai directed, storyboarded, and animated the ENTIRE short film (around thirty minutes) himself over the course of eight months in his spare time. He is a damned genius. The film itself is an incredibly beautiful piece of art and a moving drama with an intelligent sci-fi flair, and Shinkai is the best up-and-coming creator in the industry.

Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis: He's the master of Japanese animation and its founder, and this movie does a stunning tribute to his work. It hearkens back to old-school Disneyesque designs, but please don't let that put you off and just watch the movie. Absolutely beautiful visuals and a great score, and one of the greatest ending sequences in an anime. It's simple without being childish, and smart without being heavy-handed. Great stuff.

[Crows_Kill]

Akira- Anime classic- watching this can be the equivelant of a pixie stick- damn tasty and enoyable, but once the sweetness weres off, you want more flavor. Best animation and music in anime- ever. Story can be confusing and you dont really like any of the characters, but if you can get past the flaws, enjoy the show and try your best to wrap your head around the metaphysical stuff later.

Ghost In The Shell 1/2- same as above. Oshii (the director) reallt really really wants to be Otomo. Great stuff, but not for the attention span impared.

Patlabor movies- 1/2/3- Oshii again, but his best work IMHO. Not the mecha fests you might ne expecting, especially parts 2/3- more sci fi detective stories, but with some mechs thrown in. Not for the ADD crowd, but damn good stories here.

Ninja Scroll- Who has not seen this? Ok, you 3 who raised your hands, go to blockbuster ot hollywood video and rent this, now. Ok- back? Next.

Evangelion- Gainax's ego fest and mech mind fuck expiriment. Save yourself some time- go watch the last 2 episodes first- it ok, aside from some minor story spoilers that you really wont understand unless you watch the whole series anyway, if you cant understand or enjoy the last 2, don;t watch the rest. The first parts of the series are awesome,with some great giant bio-mecha fights, but you will get your hopes up for an actual ending that makes sense THAT YOU WILL NOT GET. Unless you are a psych major or have read any one of a dozen eva faqs on the net, you will be dissapointed.

Most Gundam series- Lots of prety mechs, lots of political/social grandstanding that you really dont care about, plot twists that anoy and alienate, and characters you wish would crawl into the barrel of their own hyper-mega launcher to be blasted in to atoms. Aside from that, some great shows here. I love gundam- just not a fan of all the series.

Bets of- IMHO:

Gundam- the original one year war- either the series or the readers digest version movies. Where it all started (unless you count the original sci fi novel seried the anime was based on). Believe it or not, it was seen as being very realistic for its time. Compared to voltron and getter robo, it was the saving private ryan of mecha shows. Aside from a main hero you wish would grow his own pair and/or eat the barrel of his beam rifle, has some great characters- char is one of the best anime villians ever, and has been cloned so many times in later gundam shows its getting to be embarasing.

Gundam 0080 War in the pocket- semi-pretensious parable on the evils of war- live we need to be tild this. Has great animation and some great fights. Worth it just for the mecha, but the sroty is ok too- one of the series I wish they had returned to in order to see where the characters ended up after this story ends.

Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory- Re-hashing and retelling of the one year war w.its own twists, but with 1/3 less anoying charcters. The theme music here srtarted my j-pop collection. Some of the best mecha designs in the gundam universes.

Gundam Z/ZZ- Ok, but both were made strictly to cash in on the gundam cash cow of the 80's. Z has great mecha designs, but the story and characters are anoying as all hell. Only reason to watch it is Char- "hiding" in a secret identity. Right. ZZ sucked, only existed to sell toys and models, most of the mecha designs are attrocious, seems like they souldnt decide between extremely blocky or extremely organic, and the plot read like dbz with bean cannons. My beam gun is bigger than your beam gun, but hah! I had a hidden super armor upgrade that cost $10 billion stuffed in my back pocket! Huzzah!

Chars counter attack- In my opinion, skip z/zz and go straight to this. Feels just like the original series, which it is, but it tried to sum up the whole universal century plot line- it fails, but it tries. Uber-leet mecha though. The Sazabi is my anime-mecha misteress.

G Gundam- Dont bother- sucks.

Gundam wing- G-Gundam +rehashing of one year war +politics that would make henry kissinger cry. Nice mecha, auper annoying characters (exceot for the death scyth guy,they would all be better off actually using that self destruct with them staying inside once and for all). Only reason to watch is for the breif glimpses of the talgeese 1/3, otherwise you can pass on it withouy losing any sleep.

v gundam, gundam x- pretty much like gundam wing, slightly different stories and mecha, each has nice designs, but over all its like deciding between a vanilla chocolate or twist ice crean cone- its all too sweet and bad for you.

08th ms team- pretty good, better than most- on par with 0083, if not better. same anti war sentiment as 0080, but doesnt beat you over the head with it. great designs and memorable mecha. very goos action too. skip the last episode unless you have a soft side, or really like being depresses.

gundam seed/destiny- updated re-hashing of the one year war, w/gundam wing like flavor of the week gundam varieties. Actually, one of the best gundam series- has actual logical story progression and does not rely on oure technobable for most of its sci-fi- some one actually hired a real writer for onse. good job.

Turn A Gundam- what if miazaki and gainax got togetherm had a labotomy, got stoned, and produced a gundam show, but with an american doing most of the mecha designs, the story on prozac, and set in the 1800's. Thats turn a gundam. Enjoyable if you have an open mind, but not for the die hard gundam emcha junkie.

Sorry for the gundam fest, just typing what came to mind.

[basey44]

hey crows in ur response to evangelion, i would suggest people who watched the series either replace the last 2 episodes with the movie End of Evangelion, which is also a major mind fuck but its got some awesome action packed sequences, or watch EoE in addition to the original ending, they are alternate endings so really the more evangelion you see the better
if you cant tell evangelion is my fav anime and is the only one i actually own (well partially own, im halfway through buying the platinum edition)

hope i didnt spoil or nothing [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

also the original tv ending was thrown together rather cheaply as the show had no money left to make a proper ending, which is why they later made a movie. to end it properly, or a least to stop the death threats they were getting for making an ending people didnt like [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[Souryusen]

Iria: Zeiram the Animation: This series is good fun. It's about a bounty hunter apprentice named Iria who goes on a mission to save some colonists on a ship with her BH brother. The mission goes terribly wrong when it turns out the colony ship was just a front to transport a genetically engineered terror named Zeiram. Iria spends all 6 eps of this delightful romp battling Zeiram with all manner of interesting weapons and neat tactics. It's got action, gadgets, neat vehicles, interesting locations, tits, big guns and a fella by the name of "Bob." Definitely check it out.

[Crows_Kill]

Hey Y, ever considerd suicide? I'll send you instructions if you need them.

Post constructavly or get a life.
I know I spell like a dyslexic polish retard raised by wolves. I learned to cope with it- so can you.

On to more:

Ranma 1/2: All series- great maniacle fun- cross gender/species morphing kungfu fighters. Its like every fetish rolled in to one and sugar coated. enjoy.

Full metal alchemist- migth have dropped of the radar of some as the series is finised and the movie is not out yet- great stuff, intelligent and entertaining.

rahxephon- evangelion set to classical music. No penguins though.

lodoss wars (ova series) D&D anime. Swords, sorcery and elves with big, er, ears. Kicked off the fantasy anime explosion of the 90's and now. Dont expect a great story, there isnt one, or non-cookie cutter characters. There are some good plot twists, but average story over all. Great action though, once you get past the whole shwing/shwing/scream sword fights.

And some obscure favorites if you can find them:

Armor Hunter Mellowlink- Votoms spin off about an infantry grunt framed for the death of his squad who hunts down and kills the 12 members of the court martial court that convicted him. Beserk like main character before beserk was created- one of the few humans ive seen who could realisticly (at least somewhat) take on a mecha inhand to hand combat and win. Hard to find, but worhtthe 12 epsisodes if you can get it. Mine was a fan sub I got from a friend in japan in the early 90's

Legend of the galactic heroes- great space opera with huge space battles. Not exaclty 100% realistic, but pays attention to more physics thn 99.9% of the anime's out there. The politics and philosophy of the story cna get tiresome, but at least the story make a little sense. Not for teh ADD crowd either.

Riding Bean- Gunsmith cats beta version. Original story of the bulet proof undercover detective and hisrun in with raly vincent. ols school all the way, and is a one shot ova. but is very entertaining none the less.

Legend of the mystical ninja- aka: the legend of kamui movie- movie version of the seminal ninja manga. Watch this. You cna see the originsd of shows liek ninja scroll, naruto, and even kenshin in this movie. Long movie, like 3 1/2 hours and it adds some very unlikely cameo appreances.

Thats it for now.

[Board of Command]

Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien: This is about a tragic love triangle between a guy and his two female friends, who happen to be best friends. The main guy gets in a happy-happy relationship with one of them, until something tragic happens and all of their lives are changed forever. The meat of this series is about how each of them deals with that tragedy. Sounds pretty corny, right? This isn't really a spoiler. I'll admit that the first 2 episodes are gay as hell, like those silly teenage romance animes, but at the end of episode 2 is where the real story begins. The first 2 episodes only serve as the prologue to introduce the main characters. Be prepared for a drastic change in atmosphere and character at the end of episode 2, so don't give up after the first episode due to its extreme crappiness. This is definitely the most realistic series I've ever watched with the exception of episodes 1+2. The characters have realistic jobs, realistic personalities, the setting is every bit realistic, and most of all, the characters live in realistic apartment complexes instead of those wooden houses with sliding doors. The biggest strength of this series is its characters because their realistic actions really pull you into the world of KGNE.

***A MUST SEE***

[Board of Command]

<u>Gungrave</u>
Not sure how popular this series really is, but I found it amazing. Basically a wonderful story about two best friends and how one of them gets corrupted by ambition/need for power. Although the two friends are totally the opposite of each other (one never talks, other talks nonstop, etc...), they were both orphans and became friends at their orphanage when they were about 7 years old. They live in a city that's virtually run by the local mafia. The two friends Brandon and Harry form a small gang of 5 after they grow up. The true starting point of the story is when Brandon and Harry meet one of the top members of the mafia after a fight with an opposing gang.

The story starts near the end of the timeline, and the structure is very similar to Tenjou Tenge if you've seen that. You get a glimpse of the outcome of Brandon and Harry, then it goes into a flashback for a big half of the series. Unlike Tenjou Tenge, it only has that one flashback, so after the flashback it smoothly continues from the beginning. I found this structure very effective for this series since the point of the story is about how and why it turned out the way it did, which needed a long flashback to explain. Nearing the end it gets a little...freaky (you'll see what I mean if you watch it), but I guess that's just to further demonstrate the corruption of the characters. The action scenes are pretty good, but I still think it was the story and strong characters that makes this a great show for me.

[Hakeem_21]

Gungrave was so good but it became shit in the last 8-10 eps.


Do you want to actually do what the thread asks? This is your 3rd reply, that has not done what the topic asked. Post a review. I have deleted all other useless posts, cause I feel this thread has potential. I will continue to monitor this thread, until told otherwise by an admin. Post something useful, that goes for everyone.

GotWoot Moderator.

[Crows_Kill]

Short and sweet today:

Ebichu- the housekeeping hamster- adult, very ecchi, but funny as all hell. 18+ only...not at &amp;a fest as the art sucks.

Yukikaze- semi yaoi alternate universe sci-fi flick- great aircraft action, buetiful cg, plot confusing and random. Worth it just for the action though.

Macross Zero- what if miazaki made a mecha flick? This would probably be it. Gorgeous animation and phenominal action scenes- especialy for mecha and macross otakus. Plot above avergae for anime, but still very anime clichied.

[Board of Command]

Voices of a Distant Star: No review can ever express what this 25 minute OVA brings to the table, so I'll just give a brief summary of the plot. The plot is about a middle school guy and girl keeping a <u>DISTANT</u> relationship alive through cellphone text messaging. Why text messaging? Because the girl gets selected for a space expedition team, and the only way to contact the guy is through text messaging. Sounds pretty unrealistic since we all know that cellphones can't reach that far. Screw reality!!! Lots of people would claim Saikano to be the saddest anime ever. Well, this, to me, felt like all of the emotions of Saikano packed into 1 episode, and it revolves around the same "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER?!?!" feeling. For 3 months I've been searching for an anime that I'd like more than Elfen Lied, until I stumbled across this little gem yesterday. Screw Kenshin Reminiscence, Gungrave, KGNE, and Elfen Lied, this is my #1 all the way.

and PS: this entire anime was done my one man on his computer with a bit of assistance from his fiancee (at the time), but it's hard to believe since the artwork is so fucking amazing. I'm shocked that this isn't as popular as it should be. Imo definitely better than Kenshin Reminiscence, which holds # 1 in most review sites.

[silverlegend]

]The story of Ragnarok the Animation entails the adventures of Yuufa, an Acolyte, and Roan, a swordsman, as they set out across the Rune-Midgard Kingdom. Having emotionally recovered from the death of her older brother Keogh during a crucial mission in Glast Heim, Yuufa and Roan set out on a new journey that will open them up to many mysteries and even more dangerous situations. Along the way, they are joined by a merchant named Maaya, the magician Takius, the hunter Judia, and their old companion, the assassin Iruga. Iruga was Keogh's childhood friend, and had saved from Yuufa and Roan from the terrible dangers of Glast Heim.

As the story unravels, the personalities of each character developes to a point where you are able to learn more about their lives, personal strengths and weaknesses. You get the chance to learn about each character individually, and how they become who they are today. Also, you start to get involved in a bigger mystery, as the conditions of the Rune-Midgard Kingdom suddenly take a turn for the worst, and an unexpected figure makes his appearance among the most devious of enemies. As the world begins to become wrapped up in a struggle between good and evil, Yuufa and Roan soon find themselves in the midst of the chaos.

Will the heroes be able to overcome their own weaknesses in time to save the world from a terrible fate? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.



please help me to find and watch online all the episodes of ragnarok the animation, it is an anime which i am starting to love!!!
but anyway, u should try it too!!! i found some ep in youtube, just put ragnarok the animation episodes in the searching space, or go to oocanada's profile....
thanks a lot!

[Death BOO Z]

I'm going to put my 30 seconds on an anime called Shuffle.
it's a romance comedy anime from the hermen genre (one lame guy that all the hot chicks like for an unknown reason), so you basically know what to expect.
the main dude is Rin, who, as usual in this genre, has no special attribuities whatsoever, beside the mystry attribute of being 'Kind', go figure. the girls around him are the girl he lives with, Keade, who takes care of him and whatever he needs. a demon girl called Nerine and a heaven girl called Sia, both of which have met him eight years ago and have been hot for him ever since.
there are a couple more girls around, but I'll leave them out for now.

the main problem of the show is that it has a really, really slow start, up until the middle (episode 12 or so, out of 24) nothing basically happens. and what's worse - not one of the girls seems to care about the other suitors (basically, everybody's good good friends with everyone else- BORING!), in other words, no conflict or a driving force.
it changes once we reach the 2nd half, each girl is revealed to have some dark past. While most of what we see was done before, it's never bad to see a pretty girl go nuts, isn't it? beside, one of the charecters drops a knife vertically and almost kills another charecter, which is a scene that must be watched, over and over again!

in the end, Shuffle manages to be dark enough to be fun for adult viewers that don't like hermen animes, and has lots of pretty anime girls for those who do.
sure, it's no elfen lied, but how many animes are? give shuffle a try, and enjoy the nastiness of jealousy and disturbed females. it's allways fun.


Fansubbed by froth-bite. 24 eps, 2004.

[Ryllharu]

Hyper Police: This series was a real surprise for me. It's a world where humans have become an endangered species after the World of Monsters and the human world became intermingled. The main character is a catgirl with [insert cliche random powerful ability] who is a bounty hunter. I'll get right to it, this series is full of cliches. But what makes it stand out is that despite all the cliches, it manages to be entirely original. They change the order of where cliches appear in the story. The "I've lost the will to fight" cliche appears within the first 6 eps, instead of towards the end of the series. Huge sweeping changes happen quite often to the characters in the series, their demeanor, their role in the series, and the circumstances they live in. There is also a hidden maturity to the series. The city is filled with people who are mostly half of some animal or another, and there is an entire eps where the entire city is in heat.

A series that uses every cliche in the book, but manages to completely defy convention.

25 eps total.

[TruthofMistake]

Aoki Desetsu Shoot!: This is an anime following the Kakegawa High School soccer team. Kakegawa High's team is brand new being formed only a year before the three main characters show up at the school. It was formed when a soccer prodigy named Kubo started to attend their school wanting to build a team of his own. Despite how new they are there's a lot of talent on the team. I personally love this anime. It deals with the characters making tough choices and getting through hard times. Because it's an older show the animation isn't the best so if your in it for the eyecandy this is probably not the show for you. The characters aren't all that original either but they fill their rolls well enough that you don't really notice.

Legend of Condor Hero: Well, I'v been preaching about this show for a long time, and for good reason. Although it is fairly new (made within the last 5 or so years I think) the drawing style doesn't really show it. The draw is the plot. It's an action/romance following a rebellious boy and the current master of the Old Tomb school of Kung Fu. The would be couple faces numerous challenges throughout the series. It's pretty orginal as a whole, at least I haven't seen anything like it, and remains in my top 10 favorite anime series of all time.

[Crows_Kill]

Noir- chicks with guns, and the occasional knife. Great action, good if confusing story.

Vandread- for those who like a little fan service with their mecha. Not much plot, but more jiggles and cg mecha action for your buck.

Gunbuster (original) great seminal anime classis- must watch for all anime fans. gainax at its best.

PS:

Yes, y, Im, still posting in your thread. You might not like my reviews, but I like your idea for the mini reviews for the quick glance. I'll post as long as I think I have something to say. Cope.

[Y]

Fuck off.

I sent Crows_Kill a PM telling him to fucking STOP posting things that violate the rules of the thread. I did this to keep from shitting up my OWN THREAD by having to tell shitty posters such as Crows_kill not to post dumbass two line reviews. He keeps doing so. So here's the public request!

Dear Crows_Kill: Put some GOD DAMNED EFFORT INTO YOUR POSTS.

Fuck.

[Board of Command]

Elfen Lied: Nudity and gore backing up an *amazing* story and music. Nuff said.

[Y]

You did that just to piss me off didn't you.

[Board of Command]

No, not really. That's all I can say for Elfen Lied.

[Y]

Rule 2. Please, if you don't want to follow them make a different post.