Menu

C

cobra the animation

Cobra the Animation

/ , , , , / , , , , , / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: Cobra the Animation: Rokunin no Yuushi

Original Japanese Release Date: January 2nd, 2010

Episode Length/Run-time: 13 Episodes

Summary:

Legendary space pirate Cobra, the man with the psychogun on his left arm, decides he wants to quit the life of pirating and so he erases his memories and changes his identity in an attemt to live a normal life.  This unfortunately doesn’t work out for him as the life of a pirate finds him again.

Review:

The latest installment of the classic Space Adventure Cobra anime series is here and its manlier than ever.  Cobra is so manly that he could teach James Bond a thing or two about seducing women.  Even the theme song to the series discusses how he can have any woman and about how “his cigar is his disguise”.  It’s true, Cobra will never not have a cigar in mouth or hand in this show.  Oh yea, his cigar is manly too.  It can be used as a bomb.  Cobra is so manly he smokes explosives.

The series is broken down into a series of short stories which lends to the show a sense of variety but it also creates a series in which no one plotline is particularly engrossing.  Just as one may get good, it’s over.  Also, the first of the stoies was probably the best.  Not to worry, all of them have a hot blonde girl in them, and yes, Cobra nails them all.  He’s just that good.  He swoons them all with his suave and his witty lines.   For example, after healing very quickly from bullet wounds (like Wolverine almost) the doctor asks him, “how do you heal so fast”? Cobra responds, “I eat my wheaties every morning.”   In the end, all you need to know about the plot is that Cobra is a badass, and he uses his psycho gun to whoop some butt.  I shouldn’t overstate the quality of the action though as the action scenes really aren’t anything too impressive.

Aesthetically the series is pretty good, but its not great.  The overall appearance of the characters is good, especially the women because they are H-O-T.  Nothing like blondes with long hair to spice things up.  However, the music is very average.  Even the opening theme, which is very amusing is not all that great.

All in all, Cobra the Animation is something that you might want to see just to experience the personality of Cobra.  Watch 3 or 4 episodes, just enough to finish the first arc (which as mentioned, is the best) and then move on.  Cobra is cool, but the shows not great.

[starrater]

cross game

Cross Game

/ , , , , / / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: クロスゲーム

Original Japanese Release Date: April 5th, 2009

Episode Length/Run-time: 52 Episodes

Summary:

This is the story of baseball pitching prodigy Kou Kitamura and his friendship with a girl named Wakaba Tsukishima who has a dream that he will go to the Koshien tournament.  Wakaba is part of a family with four girls who are very close friends with Kou’s family.  Kou and Wakaba’s sister Aoba work together to help to help see to it that Wakaba’s dream comes true.

Review:

This is a truly wonderful series, rivaled in the baseball sports genre by only Major.  However, while Major focuses very much on the sport, Cross Game is has an even balance of the relationships between the characters and the awesome baseball action.  I must say that this show might have the best first episode in the history of anime. I actually cried after the first episode.  There aren’t many, or any, anime that can command such a grip over the viewer in just 20 minutes.  Truly remarkable.  For the record, Chiaki cried too so I’m not the only one.

Cross Game does a great job of fleshing out the personalities of the characters.  The dynamic between Kou and the Tsukishima sisters is really a pleasure to watch, especially the growing love between Aoba and Kou.  Still, you see Kou’s loyalty to his childhood love Wakaba through the rituals her performs and the memories that he has of her.  She remains a continuing symbol throughout the entirety of the show.

The baseball aspect of the show is also quite similar to Major in a lot of ways.  Major certainly is still the king of flashiness but Cross Game shares its pacing.  You’d never see Major spend more than two episodes max on a baseball game and usually it would be contained within a single episode.  This is in contrast to Big Windup which will spend an excessive seven or eight episodes on a match.

I also really enjoyed the art, animation and character designs of the show.  The character designs are some of my favorite in a long time.  The animation was very nice, the art was consistent and interesting.

Really, overall, Cross game isn’t a series that a sports fan can miss.  You’d be foolish.  Add this to the triumvirate of great sports anime along with Hajime no Ippo and Major.

[starrater]

chocolate undergound

Chocolate Underground

/ , , / , , , , , / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: チョコレート・アンダーグラウンド

Original Japanese Release Date: June 12th, 2008

Episode Length/Run-time: 13 episodes (3 minutes each)

Summary:

It’s the Fahrenheit 451 of anime!  The “Good For You” political party has outlawed chocolate and all other foods that are bad for you!  That won’t stop Smudger and Huntley from eating it though!

Review:

I give this anime props for its originality.  You won’t find another anime about chocolate being outlawed and people forming underground groups to not only create the sweet stuff but also to simply eat it.  All in all, the general populace is depressed (clearly chocolate is the answer to fighting depression) and in the end, the children cause a rebellion against the government.   That being said, the story is pretty much the one of the only good things about this anime and even then it is marred with problems.  Namely, the ending is god awful.  One of the worst examples of Dues Ex Machina you’ll find in anime wraps this one up with as much cheese as a bag of Cheese-its.  It was pretty obvious that the creators had no idea how to wrap it up under their limited time constraints.

This shows downfall into mediocrity comes from its format; 13, 3 minute ONA episodes.  In this format, the span of the series’s content is little more than a single regular length anime episode.  This is far too short a time to really develop any kind of cohesive story.  The characters get no development either.  How could they?  There’s no time!

So let’s recap.  Original concept that gets killed off by the short episodes and an ending that’s fit only for the mindless and a lack of character development that could choke a moose.  Ultimately, I gave this a 3/5 because I found its originality refreshing.  If you take this away…it might as well be a hentai, underage kids or not.

[starrater]

chuuzumou

Chuuzumou

/ , , , , / , , , , / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail

Original Japanese Release Date: 2010

Episode Length/Run-time: 13 Minutes

Summary:

The mice are out on the town and it’s time for a sumo match to determine the men among mice!  The local elderly couple enjoys spending their nights watching the mouse sumo matches.  So much so in fact that they want to help out the local team!

Review:

There are a total of 5 Studio Ghibli museum films that can be seen during various times of the year, for a full schedule of showings CLICK HERE.

This is a charming anime that I had the pleasure of seeing while I was visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum in Japan.  It’s only a 13 minute animated movie but it has all the charms of a full length Miyazaki film.  It’s definately a movie intended for children, as most of the things in the museum are, but this movie will appeal to all audiences.  I find it just amazing however that even in a 13 minute short film that is merely intended for a museum, you see Miyazaki quality all through it.  Trademark excellent animation and storytelling shines throughout. I also found it amazing how well relatable this elderly couple in this movie is.  They are a very cute pair that pass their time in peace.  The movie also has VERY limited Japanese, so even the most novice Japanese speaker or even if you just know “arigatou”, you will be able to follow the story.

If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Japan and see the Ghibli Museum, I hope for your sake that they are showing this film because it is a very memorable and adorable piece. Just remember to get your museum tickets from a travel agency before you leave for Japan because foreigners cannot but the tickets at the actual museum.

[starrater]

banner of the stars

Crest/Banner of the Stars

/ , , , , , , / , , , , , / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: Seikai no Monshou/Senki

Crest of the Stars

Banner of the Stars

Original Japanese Release Date: January 2nd, 1999

Episode Length/Run-time: 38 (including 2 episode OVA)

Summary:

This is the story of Jinto, a young prince who lives on an Earthlike planet.  His planet was conquered by the Abh Empire, a massive kingdom that spans thousands of planets.  After Jinto’s father surrenders the planet peacefully in exchange for political gain, Jinto is made a prince of the Abh Empire and is shipped off to an Abh academy.   He later joins the Abh space force where he meets the Abh princess Lafiel.  This is the story of Jinto and Lafiel and their lives in the Abh empire’s space fleet.

Review:

Welcome to one of the most epic space opera’s in all of anime.  The high points of this anime are many and the shortcomings few.  From the unique presentation of the space battles, to the wonderfully believeable relationships, to the wonderful music, Crest and Banner of the Stars is a treat guaranteed to deliver.

This ia a very character driven anime.  Much of the show is spent seeing inside the minds of the characters.  Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars both do this in diferent ways.  Crest of the Stars focuses more on the drama aspect of the story as the relationship between Lafiel and Jinto is nurtured.  Banner of the Stars shifts the focus more to the action side of things, as the war between the United Mankind and the Abh Empire heats up.  In this setting you’ll see the pressure that is placed on the characters to succeed in their military roles, as thousands of lives depend on their success.  Later in Banner of the Stars II the show creates a wonderful balance of action and drama as Jinto is thrust into a volatile situation and leads Lafiel to fear for his safety.

The action of the space battles is incredibly unique.  Each and every military move is thought out and well strategized and the viewer gets to experience the strategic meetings that take place behind the scenes.  Also, the battles take place in a series of “space time bubbles” in which the ships exist.  When two ship’s bubbles merge, the battle begins.  It adds a exciting element of suspense when the bubbles show up on radar and that characters wait in anticipation until the merger, because until that happens the contents of the space bubble are unknown.  Could be explosive mines, could be a battleship, could be nothing as well!  That’s part the fun.

The drawbacks behind the show are few but they are present.  First, the Crest of the Stars series has a few recap sections that are largely unneeded for a series that is only 13 episodes in length.  Also, as all of the shows time is spent with the Abh Empire, the United Mankind remains completely faceless, even in the battle sequences, to the degree that we, the viewer, don’t even know what they look like.

Despite these two drawbacks, Crest/Banner of the Stars is a show that should not be missed by anybody. It has enough variety satisfy all viewers; action, drama, sci-fi, politics, romance.  Just make sure to watch out for “Abh Hell” when you’re watching.  You wouldn’t want to end up there.  🙂

[starrater]

chis sweet home

Chi’s Sweet Home

/ , , / / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: (none)

Original Japanese Release Date: #

Episode Length/Run-time: 104 (3-minute episodes)

Summary:

Chi, a cute and lovable kitten is one day separated from her mother.  Feeling hopeless after her attempts to be rejoined with her family fail she is discovered by a young boy named Youhei of the Yamada family.  Despite living in an apartment which doesn’t allow pets the family decides to take Chi in and help her find a more permanent home.  Hilarity ensues as Chi grows and lives with the family as the ultimately face the final decision of what to do with her, or their home.

Review:

Chi’s sweet home from a technical standpoint of animation, music, plot and characters offers, well little to nothing.  At best the characters are extraordinarily lovable however one-dimensional they all really are.  This is the primary reason why the score is so low.

But lets face it, who is watching this anime for the plot?  No one! And if you are I recommend you stop.  This anime is cute out the wazoo. It’ll make you giggle, laugh and it’ll steal your heart.  Chi’s lovable and earnest antics will win over almost anyone’s heart (even the most devout dog lover’s).

The anime is shown from primarily her perspective.  So while you understand why, for example, the family has to hide Chi you also see that she has no idea what’s going on.  As a result it gives you a clever insight into a cat’s mind when they see a piece of string, or an interesting thing outside of the window.

Overall this anime is one that makes me smile.  While it may be a 2.5 critically, from sheer enjoyment I’d give it a 5/5

cencoroll

Cencoroll

/ , , , / , , , , , / 0 Comments

Alternate Titles: (none)

Original Japanese Release Date: 2009

Episode Length/Run-time: 30 minutes

Summary:

One day Yuki, a curious high school student sees eyes staring at her from a nearby bike!  As she investigates the bike transforms into a relatively large, strange-looking creature.  The creature has been raised and owned by her friend Tetsu.  As she began to investigate the creature another creature appears being controlled by an unknown boy.  Battles begin to break out between them.  And what link does this have with the mysterious giant monster at the top of a nearby building?

Review:

Cencoroll is about your standard anime.  Relatively normal style and music. The monsters are a creative concept and style, I’ve never really seen anything like them before.  That being said things aren’t really flushed out.  The story seems creative but when you’re dealing with subject matter like mysterious monsters and human “pilots” of them you can’t just give it 30 minutes and expect people to follow.  At the end you’re still left questioning and going “can I please have some more?”

But, that being said, for 30 minutes it’s a fairly simple and worthwhile anime for just 30 minutes of your time.  Just don’t expect anything astounding to happen during those 30 minutes that will touch your soul or change your life.

[starrater]