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major ball of friendship

Major: Ball of Friendship

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Alternate Titles: メジャー 友情の一球

Original Japanese Release Date: December 13th, 2008

Episode Length/Run-time: 104 Minutes

Summary:

Goro Shigeno returns home after his first season of playing baseball in Japan and he reminisces about a baseball tournament that he participated in when he was a child.
Review:

This movie is set late in the Major series.  Goro is reminiscing about how he played in a baseball tournament which was the site of a critical point in Goro’s life, where he pushes himself to the point of sustaining a critical baseball injury.  Just like most of the Major series, this one is filled with sports action that is totally engrossing.  There is just something about how Major presents its action that makes it a great watch.

The movie is fairly simple. It’s simply the course of a baseball game but because the viewer knows that Goro is going to push himself to injury, and because he’s pushing himself, it creates a lot of dramatic tension.  Therefore, for viewers who have been following the series especially, this one is going to be a tense ride.  Even if you haven’t been following the series however, it still ought to be a pretty good movie.

As is usually the case with Major, the music, animation and character art are all quite good.  It was interesting to see the more modern animation applied to the younger character designs in the series.　　People who like the more shounen style of art will probably appreciate the art that there is to be seen in the Major movie and the series in general.

I suppose I marked this movie so far down from the series because the movie doesn’t do a good job of standing on its own.  You really need to see the series to get the full effect of the movie.  It’s a good movie that I enjoyed but from a critical point of view, I need to make note of that.  There just isn’t much to it but the movie does a good job of highlighting what is probably the more trialsome period  of Goro’s life as well as one of the more memorable scenes in the Major universe.

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mezzo forte DSA

Mezzo Forte DSA

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Alternate Titles: Mezzo Danger Service Agency

Original Japanese Release Date: January 4th, 2004

Episode Length/Run-time: 13

Summary:

Mikura, Kurokawa, and Harada are members of an organization known as the Danger Service Agency.  An agency that will take on any task, no matter how dangerous, so long as it pays!  However, they are about to stumble upon something that may be more than they can handle.
Review:

This is an interesting anime.  First of all, Mezzo Forte, the anime upon which Mezzo: DSA was based is a really hot hentai.  One of the best out there.  Even still, if you can look past the fact that we have already seen the totally hot Mikura getting gang banged, I think we’ll get along just fine.

This is a series that has amazing action and as such the animation is pretty good.  Only Mikura can end up destroying an entire building with only a handgun. It’s just awesome.  That being said, did I say that she is really hot?  Just don’t Google her unless you want to see fat cosplayers and a bunch of porn.  That being said Mikura is quite awesome and the other characters are pretty good as well.  You have the ex-cop Kurokawa who is kind of a a father figure to Mikura, except he bangs her in the OVA, and then the tech geek Harada.

This is a pretty decent show if you you’re looking for a couple cute girls and some really awesome action.  Just remember that this is a show based after a hentai and therefore, you won’t get that much depth out of it.  In fact, I recommend you just go watch Mezzo Forte, the hentai OVA.  It has sex and even better action than DSA.  Enjoy.

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my neighbors the yamadas

My Neighbors the Yamadas

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Alternate Titles:Houhokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん)

Original Japanese Release Date: 1999

Episode Length/Run-time: 104 minutes

Summary:

The movie tells the story of the real life interactions of the Yamada family in short arcs throughout the film.  They are real life situations from a wife not knowing what to cook for dinner, to children having problems with how “boring” their parents are.  A slice of life with morals and a character-driven story.

Review:

When this film originally opened in Japan it opened on 245 screens and had a production budget of ¥2,360,000,000.  The film was produced by Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli based of the yonkoma manga Nono-chan by Hisaichi Ishii.  It is the only Studio Ghibli film not presented in the traditional Ghibli style but a delicate and storybook-like animation of watercolor and ink.  The animation was the first completely-digital productions from Studio Ghibli and remains a prime example of what digital animation can do for the hand-drawn charm and feel.

The music in this series is delicate and appropriate, getting boisterous and energetic during peak scenes such as forgetting your child in a mall and rushing back.  It flows like the animation and complements the storytelling perfectly.

The storytelling is beautiful, if there was ever a perfect slice of life, this was it.  The family is funny and real, a little bit of every person’s family life in each of the members.  The message is as simplistic and beautiful as the style.  Love your family and treasure them, because in this day in age it’s all too easy to fall apart.

I don’t want to ruin any of this movie because it’s so beautiful that I hope everyone can watch it.  If you’re unsure watch the first 30, no just 12 minutes and you will see everything I mean and more.

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mitsudomoe

Mitsudomoe

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Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: 2010

Episode Length/Run-time: 13

Summary:

There is one thing that no teacher in Japan ever wants, and that is to be the homeroom elementary teacher of the dreaded Marui triplets: Futaba, Mitsuba, and Hitoha.  Futaba is the youngest, a tomboy, stronger than most grown men, clueless and obsessed with boobs.  Mitsuba the middle child is quiet but filled with quirks such as her obsession with the Gachi Rangers (kind of like power rangers), or the fact that she reads porn all the time and can be more fearsome than the other two when provoked.  Hitoha is the eldest and is the self proclaimed queen of the world, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to see this come to pass.  Satoshi Yabe, a newly hired teacher has his hands full with these three as crazy happenings follow.

Review:

The summary above is really all the plot Mitsudomoe has.  There’s a full cast of main and sub characters that come in and out of the story as the humor requires them.  But the only other semblance of a story is the passing of time through the series.  This show is based entirely on the characters and the funny situations they get into.

That being said, it does it wonderfully.

Every episode had me rolling in side-splitting laughter.  It was the dubbed Shin Chan in Japanese.  These young girls talking about boobs, nipples and more was just too funny.  But they don’t rely too much on the crass humor.  When they do they find a new fresh take.  Or find a new slapstick hyjink to put the characters through.  I kept expecting it to get tired and old, but they kept making me laugh from start to finish.

The animation is child-like and simple, fitting the show.  Flashy things aren’t really needed here.

The main criticism is that it’s not going to change your life. There’s no story and there’s no developed plot.  But what this anime does it does WELL.  And it’s one I highly recommend for anyone looking for a good laugh.  The other plus is each episode is broken into about 3, 7 minute segments, so you can devote as much or as little time as you want to it.

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major

Major

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Alternate Titles: メジャー

Original Japanese Release Date: November 13th, 2004

Episode Length/Run-time: 154 episodes

Summary:

This it the story of Japanese child Goro Shigeno and his dreams of enter into the Major Leagues of American baseball. He wishes to take after his father who was killed by a pitch to the head from rival player Joe Gibson. A amazingly talented pitcher himself, Goro is driven by his desire to make his way to the major leagues to challenge Joe Gibson himself.

Review:

Major is a journey.  A journey following the life of Goro Shigeno.  For you see, the show stars with Goro in elementary school and doesn’t conclude until he reaches the major leagues.  This is one of the special characteristics of Major because over the shows multi-year run, the viewer was given the opportunity to grow with the characters in the story. Not only Goro, but several of his childhood friends stick around and remain important characters through the shows conclusion.

Goro himself is a deceivingly well developed character. The development of characters in sports anime can sometimes be a bit shallow, however Goro has his motivation for playing baseball set at an early age.   What started as a child wanting to be just like his father, becomes a need to challenge the man responsible for his fathers accidental death.  It is this drive, that leads to his competitive fury and eventual injury of his throwing shoulder.  This just allows us to see Goro’s determination.  Even after fully developing into his teen years, Goro ends up completely relearning how to throw with his non-dominant arm.  Quite a feat for anybody, I can’t even write my name with my non-dominant hand.

Finally, unlike real life baseball, the actual baseball in the series is exciting and fast paced.  There are some very dramatic moments that make for some great entertainment.  These scenes are supported by excellent music and what ends up being gradually improving animation.  In my view, the animation continued to improve as the show’s popularity caught fire in Japan.  The series was often present on the weekly top 10 ratings charts for Japanese television.

If Hajime no Ippo is the king of sports anime, Major is perhaps the queen.  This is certainly the most popular baseball anime out there, and for good reason.  A show not to be missed by sports fans.

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monster

Monster

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Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: April 6th, 2004

Episode Length/Run-time: 74

Summary:

Dr. Kenzou Tenma, one of world’s most skilled surgeons works for a very prestigious hospital in Germany.  Fed up with hosptial politics, Dr. Tenma chooses to save the life of a young boy who was shot in the head over saving the mayor.  Shortly afterward his life goes to hell as his rank in the hosptial is reduced and his soon to be wife leaves him for another man.  Following this, the hospital director and several other doctors are suddenly found dead, catapalting Tenma to his highest rank in the hospital yet.  Having gained the most from their deaths, he is under the scrutiny by police as they investigate the murders.  Little did Tenma know that saving that little boys life will turn his own upside down as he seeks to get to the bottom of the murders and take down the monster that he himself helped to create.

Review:

Where to even start with this anime review.  Monster, already one of the worlds best manga, has been made into an anime.  This anime is very much driven by it’s story.  The plotline is massive and just to give an example has 100+ characters that appear throughout the shows three seasons.

If you were to try to get your dad hooked on anime, this would be the series with which to do it.  This of course is for a couple different reasosn.  First, the way that the characters are drawn seem very mature.  The facial features of each character are quite unique and you’ll see a variety of different bone structures, nose sizes, mouths, etc…  Also, the coloration is done in a way that makes the show seem like its aimed more towards an adult audience.  Darker colors and an overall lack of shoujo/shounen influence are evidence of this.  This show isn’t intended for children, thus the shows dark subject matter.  It is this audience and subject matter that would make this show, in my opinion, would make a fantastic television series on ABC or any of our other prime time television stations.  It’s just that good.

The plotline of this anime will lead you into such a gripping web that you’ll be hooked for the first few episodes.  Watching Tenma try to unravel the mystery that brings him to several different European countries and leads him to uncover some secrets that were not meant to be discovered.  The air of suspense hangs over this show like a cloud  and is a definate consistency throughout which can make things very tense at moments, creating an “edge of your seat” type of experience.

The characters in this show are great as well.  Though too many in number to discuss here, Dr. Tenma sees several transformations as a character throughout the show.  He goes from a surgeon, saving lives and protecting life, to going out on his own to receive military training and learn how to use a gun so that he can pursue the monster that he has helped create.  Even still, despite this, Tenma continues to cherish life as he carries a bag of medical suppliers with him through a great deal of the storys progression.  This is just one example of the virtues that Tenma carries as a character.

Enjoy this one, the story may drag a bit towards its middle but overall this anime and manga will stand for decades as an unforgettable classic that though geared certainly towards more mature audiences, is one of anime’s best.

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