I shall put this blog to some good use. Here for the masses is a review of all the shows I come across in the world of Anime. Some of them I’ve already seen but aren’t fresh so it’ll take some time before they appear here.
I rate my anime shows by the following categories:
Story, Emotional Draw, Characters, and Creativity
Now Story and emotional draw are the most important and thus get twice the value of the others. I shall give an overall score, or medium, of each show.
What shows will I watch? Fortunately for Anime, it happens to breakup into various categories which appear on the cover of the manga or the DVD.
Thus I can avoid any mushy or pathetic story like Maburaho from now on. (I shall not give a review on the show)
What’s my guidelines of the shows I’ll watch? Two stipulations:
1) Must have a proper sense of justice. This I refer solely to the moral aspect of it. If the main character is a homosexual or if he or she engages in some activity which, being an abomination, is hailed as the only and right way than I reject this said story. Fortunately, I can avoid most of this purely by the categories. Since most of these offenders would be Hentai I can easily avoid them.
2) Whatever of the body is shown, so long as it is not done for the direct purpose of sexual gratification (Hentai or commonly referred to porn in the US, fits in this category), than “I have no beef with the show”. Of course certain shows I’ll separate since not all souls have my tolerance.
So let’s begin, shall we?
__________________ Code Geass____________________
Plot Summary: The Empire of Britannia has invaded Japan using giant robot weapons called Nightmare Frames. Japan is now referred to as Area 11, and its people the 11′s. A Britannian who was living in Japan at the time, Lelouch, vowed to his Japanese friend Suzaku that he’d destroy Britannia. Years later, Lelouch is in high school, but regularly skips out of school to go play chess and gamble on himself. One day, he stumbles on terrorists 11′s who’ve stolen a military secret and is caught by a member of the Britannian task force sent after them, who is Suzaku. As the rest of the squad arrives, Suzaku is shot for disobeying orders, while the military secret, a young girl, gives Lelouch the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order. While Suzaku is secretly made the pilot of Britannia’s brand new prototype Nightmare, Lancelot, Lelouch becomes the masked Zero to lead the rebellion to destroy Britannia once and for all.
Code Geass R2
Plot Summary: It’s been one year since the failure of the Black Rebellion and the supposed death of Zero. Britannia has assigned Area 11 a “correctional education” status, where Elevens are made an example of by brute force, to try to prevent any future uprisings and suppress rebellious thoughts. Lelouch, was kept alive and returns to school unaware he’s going to bring out the mysterious woman known as C.C., who reveals to him his forgotten purpose and his “true” self. Destroying his assailants and declaring himself Zero once again, Lelouch sets out to finish what he started.
STORY 4.9
A well done story all the way. Even the ending had plenty to offer. The story progressed perhaps a little fast but makes up for by its sheer immensity.
EMOTIONAL DRAW 4.9
Well done! With the events that occurred it kept pulling you in. Definitely one of those shows you just can’t put down. When they needed you to be sad you were very sad. Whatever emotion they wanted you to feel they did am excellent job giving ample time and the music with it was great. Even the romantic twist was well done and very satisfying.
CHARACTERS 4.9
Lelouch: 4.9
was a well designed strategist who surprises you no matter how sure you are of the story. His character is well designed and believable.
Suzako: 4.8
is a man who feels very strong to ending the need of death. Most to his chagrin he is pulled against his will to end the life of the innocent and those he might call friends.
C2: 5.0
If there was ever a perfect thing as not giving you someone’s real name this was it. She is a immortal witch who sees the world with a cold reality, though not without compassion. Destined to cause all around her to disappear or become mad she has forced herself against letting emotions come of her. At least, this is what she’s trying to do.
Colin is a patriot and the leading member of the Black Knights. She is personally involved with Zero and has a rough time dealing with the case of Geass being used and is struggling to understand herself and what she wants from those she though were her friends. Her first few episodes were not the most greatest but quickly forgotten and beyond all expectations.
CREATIVITY 4.8
Very creative indeed! With all the twists the personal and things were always unique and fresh. I never felt like anything looked cheesy, even the uniforms people wore were gorgeous(for the girls) or awesome (for the men). The scenery was well done too and gave it a realistic feeling.
OVERALL SCORE 4.88
(think it deserves a better rating? Tell me your opinion!
_______________Samurai Champloo________________
STORY – 3.5
Not exactly the best story line, and at times cheesy, though it was executed well. One good thing is the story had a good ending, hence the rating.
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 4.3
Fairly good at this. The characters were innocent or likable enough to get drawn in very quickly. Even though some may have done wrong things, very wisely they delayed seeing this until you already were rooting for them. Especially the ending! Made you want to shout or something.
CHARACTERS – 4.8
Mugen: 4.9
A brash vagabond from the Ryukyu Islands, Mugen is a wanderer with a wildly unconventional fighting style that fuses elements of breakdancing. He wears metal-soled geta and carries a Japanese sword on his back (although, historically, the Tokugawa government prohibited unauthorized men from carrying daishō (traditional samurai arms) or any of its components). In Japanese, the word “Mugen” means “infinity” (literally, “without limit” or “limitless”).
Jin: 4.5
Jin is a mild-mannered ronin who carries himself in the conventionally stoic manner of a samurai of the Tokugawa era. Using his waist-strung daishō, he fights in the traditional kenjutsu style of a samurai trained in a prominent, sanctioned dojo. Jin wears glasses, an available but uncommon accessory in Edo era Japan Spectacles—called “Dutch glass merchandise” (“Oranda gyoku shinajina” in Japanese) at the time—were imported from Holland early in the Tokugawa period and became more widely available as the 17th century progressed. In Japanese the word “Jin” means “benevolence” or “compassion.”
Fuu: 5.0
A feisty young girl of approximately 15 years of age, Fuu recruits Mugen and Jin to help her find a sparsely-described man she calls “the samurai who smells of sunflowers.” A flying squirrel named “Momo” (meaning “peach” in Japanese and also short for “momonga,” meaning “flying squirrel”) accompanies her along the way, inhabiting her kimono and frequently leaping out to her rescue when she encounters trouble.
Well done character. You like her as much as Mugen.
CREATIVITY 4.4
Pretty good. Kept it fresh from episode to episode fairly well as a good story should. Also the historIcal nature of the story was pretty cool and made history sound fun.
OVERALL SCORE – 4.25
(think it should be better? Tell me why!)
___________________Death Note_____________________
STORY – 4.9
Story was well thought out. It was very intense at times and always had you on the move. The story goes as follows:
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 4.9
Definitely good. It was exciting always and the emotions which the author intended were had very precisely.
CHARACTERS – 4.76
Light Yagami – 5.0
Imaginative as always. He is made as a college kid, who gets his hands on a Death Note which turns him into a monster. Notably is anyone can be a Keira, because Keira is a false justice. What Light thought to be justice was judgment before proof, coldness without emotions. People were born and quickly separated themselves into good or evil and that was that.
Misa Amane – 4.4
She is the innocent side of Light who obtained another notebook. Her extreme devotion to Light causes her to do whatever he says. She is flippant on most things beyond this and is rather foolish. Who’d suspect her?
She did get annoying at times so this explains the grade.
L – 5.0
The main antagonist to Light, though Light could be called that. He is uncannily shrewd and has a whole order to replace his brilliance. Ironically, the one thing which destroys him is his initial acceptance of Light as a friend. Still, his fast thinking always puts him right on Lights heels.
Near – 4.8
The one who replaces L, had a ‘classmate’ who used emotion while he was calm. Very shrewd he seeks to quickly end it with Light, who he is most sure is Keira. By putting aside his pride, he uses his classmate to his last advantage. Near is definitely the next L.
Mellow – 4.6
Mellow is Near’s classmate. He let’s his emotion get the best at times and seeks to find Keira before Near can. Yet, when emotion, and pride as a gentlemen get in the way, it becomes the downfall. There is a time to our aside niceties. The trick is knowing when.
Now his character was abandoned shortly after until the end and you must hypothesize what your emotion is in his death. Oops.
Kiyomi Takada – 4.8
She is a reporter whom Light knew in college. The other side of Misa, she is devoted to him because of his cause. This is the difference between them. This brings up two statements:
One, although she may seem as the worse of the two, being for his killing of all deemed evil, yet this can be ones salvation if that one is proven a fake.
Two, Yet being devoted to a person can allow for a way of escape. Misa, upon the death of the person can live anew, being unrestrained from the belief, which ultimately belongs to no one person.
Pretty much, be careful your devotion to something isn’t blind or one of infatuation. This can be the death of you.
Teru Mikami – 4.7
He is a minion Keira blesses with a Notebook. He is the worse side of Keira in his devotion to justice causes him to be rash. He is the one to be most pitied since beyond Keira he has nothing to live for.
CREATIVITY – 4.8
Well imagined. From the death notes to shinigamis were soundly done. The story flowed nicely and of the anime series covered so far this looked the most like real life, so kudos for the artwork.
OVERALL SCORE – 4.84
__________________TRIGUN_______________________
STORY – 4.2
The story is well done. The characters are consistent and are quickly likable. Each person feeds with the other great.
The ending was a little shoddy but that was because of the film editors apparent rush to finish the show. Otherwise the rest was very enjoyable. The episodes felt fresh and kept me glued to see what was next.
The morals were good and even though Vash had to kill his bro, it was to stop the evil. Nowhere do you see Vash enjoy it.
The romance was predictable but surprisingly well done.
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 4.1
Very well done at the end. You feel for the character adequately in the closing episodes. The last episode didn’t start well since Vash and his bro was rushed but it ended just right. I’d watch it again.
CHARACTERS 4.5
(Graded in two ways: The characters balance/reasonable personality and the acting. Bad overall acting will result in a 15% minus on the grade)
Vash _4.9
Vash is a character you can really like. He is the worst womanizer and its done in a way so you can excuse his nicely. Very witty. Vash
Meryl Stryfe _5.0
One of the Insurance girls she is a very solid lead.
Molly Thompson _3.7
The other insurance girl, she is big and does the hard work although has a very soft heart. Plus she’s pretty brave. Not surprisingly she was the least worked on and that she slept with one of the side characters was a negative on her score sheet.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood _4.7
A “priest” who’s been trying to get away from his past life of killing. Though one off the Gun Hoe dudes, he recants his past life.
Knives and the Bad guys _4.0
knives, like Cash is immortal and has called demons to help him. The bad guys were kind of cheesy, so they get a kick at the score.
CREATIVITY – 4.6
Fairly creative. The scenery was pretty too, (usually a mark of a well done show) and the story flowed nicely with each episode being inviting. I liked Cash being the worst ‘womanizer’ alive. Those scenes were done so well!
OVERALL SCORE – 4.35
____________________Flame of Recca________________
Plot:
Flame of Recca follows the story of a teenage boy named Recca Hanabishi, who is interested in ninja and claims to be one himself. He often gets into fights because he made it publicly known that the person who manages to defeat him will earn his services as a loyal ninja. Despite this, he eventually pledges his loyalty and services as a ninja to Yanagi Sakoshita, a girl with the innate ability to heal any wound/injury, because of her kindess and compassion. Recca soon discovers that he possesses the innate ability to control/manipulate flames, and eventually learns that he is actually the son of the sixth generation leader of the Hokage, a ninja clan that was wiped out by Oda Nobunaga in 1576, roughly 400 years before the series’ present day.
The Hokage ninjas wielded mystical objects called madōgu, which are referred to as “psychic devices” or “elemental weapons” in the English versions of the series. Madōgu grant their users special abilities, such as allowing their users to manipulate certain elements (as in the case of the Fūjin, which allows its wielder to manipulate the element of wind) and enhancing their user’s strength/skills (as in the case of the Dosei no Wa, which increases its user’s physical strength and the Idaten, which increases its user’s running speed). Oda Nobunaga had invaded the Hokage in 1576 for the purpose of acquiring these weapons, and the series’ main antagonist, Kōran Mori, is searching for a madōgu that will grant him eternal life. Recca and his friends become entangled in Mori’s quest for eternal life as he initially attempts to kidnap Yanagi, believing that her healing powers will help him achieve immortality…
Story – 3.7
Story wasn’t half bad. The first third of the series was cheesy and way too predictable. Add the cheesy acting and the dumb lines it made a pretty sorry story. Yet as the story progressed, you can tell the writer got more confident and became a story to love.. I liked that the ending left much room to explore in your own which I thought was a nice touch. (hence the jump to 3.7)
Emotional Draw – 3.0
Not very good until the last quarter. Part of that could be the bad acting and the other because the lines were either amazingly cheesy or someone gasps, as of of shock, went after any important remark. (I did want to feel) All in all it did recover most of its dignity at the end.
(Note: seeing as this is a comedy, I added an extra 5 points to the grading system)
Humor – 3.4
The humor was so cheesy it was funny. There were quick a few moments which were genuinely LoL funny. to put it best, the humor matched the acting very well.
Characters – 3.25 (minus 15% for bad acting)
4.1 girl
3.0 big guy
3.9 bro
4.3 main
Creativity – 4.8
Very creative. I liked what they did with the hukakage and with the Dragons especially. The different fighters variety made it very enjoyable and kept your interest.
Overall grade – 3.55
Some how I feel this rating is two high. Think I’m wrong? Tell me why…
_______________Ninja Scrolls________________
Fourteen years after defeating the immortal warrior Himuro Genma and thwarting the Shogun of the Dark’s evil plans, Kibagami Jubei continues to roam all over Japan as a masterless swordsman. During his journey, he meets Shigure, a priestess who has never seen the world outside her village. But when a group of demons destroys the village and kills everyone, Jubei becomes a prime target after acquiring the Dragon Jewel – a stone with an unknown origin. Meanwhile, Shigure – along with the monk Dakuan and a young thief named Tsubute – travels to the village of Yagyu. And with two demon clans now hunting down Shigure, Dakuan must once again aquire Jubei to protect the Princess of Light.
STORY – 2.9
Not the greatest story in the world. It did get better but the ending wasn’t very good. There were things about Shigure that were left unsaid, making you frustrated. I didn’t mind too much the very end, where she doesn’t get to see Jubei again.
Also, of your going to have ecchi in the anime, at least defend the decision by a quality show.
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 3.7
Not too good. It had some moments but combined with the lack of enough emotions in the anime and the prolonged scenes made it forgetable. Still the ending wasn’t so bad.
CHARACTERS – 4.48
Jubei – 4.8
Not bad. He was the most consistent of the characters. You really got into him, which felt was losst at the end, but hey, that’s just my opinion.
Shigure – 4.3
She is the light maiden whom everyone is chasing. I could do with a little more emotion but she was fine.
Dakuan – 4.7
Well done little priest. Ugly but had very good humor. He calls for Jubei’s assistance once again to save the light Maiden.
Tsubute – 4.1
Decent. He’s the their who accompanies the othrs always trying to get his hands on the magical ston Shigure possesses.
CREATIVITY 3.5
Decent at best. There were nice parts of the story and the unique occurrences and weapons made it so you didn’t stay bored. The ecchi wasn’t done well and seemed rather out of character, or at least super disturbing. Which could be what they wanted so I didn’t cut the score that much.
OVERALL SCORE – 3.53
(think it should be better? Tell me why!)
_______________Samurai Champloo________________
STORY – 1.2
Here is one of the stupidest stories you can come across. If this story doesn’t fry your brain by watching you can be sure your IQ is room tempature. Add the idea the Heroine (can she really be called that?) gets her power from her Lucky Kitty swim trunks (well panties) and you have a really rediculous story.
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 2.0
There’s emotion draws? At least if you count laughing I guess. Only reason I didn’t give it a 1 would be some of the jokes were truly funny.
CHARACTERS – 2.95
Kampachee – 3.0
Such a terrible guy. And he has cockroach genes in him to!
- 2.9
This heroine is trying to rid of all the teachers who enter the school. Her victory is supposed to be good? not a good character with weak acting when the actual drama arose.
CREATIVITY 1.0
You can hardly find it here. I mean come on! Super trunks? Whose stupid idea was that? ‘nough said.
OVERALL SCORE – 2.12
___________________Comic Party___________________
Summary: Kazuki, a Japanese high school student, is dragged into the world of fan comics along with his friend Mizuki by the scheming Taishi. Taishi soon convinces Kazuki to draw his own fan comic, but Mizuki, who hates the large crowds and long lines of comic book conventions, fiercely opposes the idea. As Kazuki’s obsession with finishing his comic in time for the next convention threatens his schoolwork and his relationships, he becomes estranged from Mizuki
STORY – 4.1
Here’s a show that is a must watch for anime enthusiasts and those who don’t know much about it.
The show takes you through what it takes to begin a career in drawing Manga and does so in such a fun way.
Each of the characters fit their voices nicely and you never felt bored. The moral of the story was maintained as was the necessity of education, something any parent would like.
Only thing that didn’t make much sense was the ending. What degrees were they wanting and how would they earn the kind of money they needed for the future together?
EMOTIONAL DRAW – 3.8
Very nice and the music for the most part matched with what was happening. Also, the second half of the show clearly was better in this department.
Each of the characters you didn’t take long to like.
CHARACTERS – 3.88
Kazuki – 3.7
is a high schooler who gets into the world y hi log of drawing l, actually Taishi schemed this. Sadly, trying to finish before the deadline for the Comic Party threatens his school and his relationship. Solid character.
Mizuki – 3.9
Kazuki’s best friend, she rates the smelly busy life that is the Comic Party and opposes what Kazuki is doing feircely when he’s obsprbed in the other world. She is a loyal friend and males a really cute couple with Kazuki! Also, she has the dust faces of hopelessness!
Yue – 3.5
A fan art who Kazuki met at his first visit to Comic Party, she is a very likable person who helps him out at to understand how mangas work. Nice character. Though the voice could be better.
Taishi – 4.4
Without the doubt the most fun of the characters. Ever scheming to get Kazuki on the top in manga, he implants memories, can hid anywhere and in anything and generally talks out loud to himself about Kazuki. Funny guy.
CREATIVITY – 4.5
Like what they did with the manga and the drawing complimented the characters well. Never seemed bored and were always waiting to see what the next drawing or costume was put on. Kudos to the team.
OVERALL SCORE – 4.03
(think it should be better? Tell me why! And I’d really like to hear it for this one)
