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4.0

kon

K-On! (Season 1)

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Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: April 2nd, 2009

Episode Length/Run-time: 14 episodes

Summary:

Yui Hirasawa is a high school freshman and she needs a club to join.  She discovers a club on the brink of extinction, the light music club.  Yui joins the current members of the club Ritsu and Mio and later, Tsumugi and Azusa, as they save the club and become best friends.

Review:

K-On is a “moe” anime.  There really isn’t much to it.  Five girls get together after school and eat cake and have tea and occasionally, practice rock music.  That’s about all there is to it.  Like most “moe” shows, this one wastes many of its episodes on mindless content that is meant to serve one purpose, being cute.  These episodes include school festivals, trips to the beach, and endless sessions of cake eating.  So at this point you might wonder, “how does this show get a 4/5?” The show does have some good things going for it that make it likely, one of the best, if not the best “moe” show out there.

The show, aesthetically is very pleasing.  First off, the music in the show is fantastic.  Making it’s way to the top of Japanese pop charts, the opening and ending themes, “Cagayake! Girls” and “Don’t say “Lazy”, make the music very special.  This not only because the songs are good but because the themes are performd by the seiyuu actresses themselves; Aki Toyosaki with Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Satou, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu.  In addition to the music, the visuals are excellent as well.  I think it’s a shame however that good production values get wasted on watching “moe” girls tripping all over themselves.

It was also nice watching the girls working towards their live performances together, something that is sorely lacking in the second season.  As a musician, it was also quite interesting watching Yui trying to learn the guitar.   So in the end, this is a pretty nice show that really does what it’s intended to do very well.  In terms of a “moe” show it’s much more tolerable than most and because the characters are enjoyable and the music is great, it’s generally a show that can be recommended to most audiences.

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vampirehunterdbloodlust

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

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Alternate Titles:  None

Original Japanese Release Date: 2000

Episode Length/Run-time: 102 Minutes

Summary:

The Half-Human Half-Vampire Vampire Hunter who goes simply by ‘D’ is continuing his quest to fight against the vampire nobility that rules over a far-future post-apocalyptic world.  Because of his reputation he is called upon by the Elbourne family to rescue their daughter, Charlotte, from the clutches of Meier Link.  But D is not the only one on the hunt, and seperating Charlotte from her new love may prove more difficult than D originally expected.

Review:

A long awaited follow-up to the classic movie Vampire Hunter D, Bloodlust is a worthwhile addition to the family.

The Vampire Hunter D series is based on a series of novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, this particular movie is based off the third book. Acclaimed artist Yoshitaka Amano’s wisdom is drawn from yet again to bring the pages of the novel to life on the screen and his dark style creates artistic poetry on the screen.  Angular features, dark odd creatures, and towering spires adorn the movie in a distinct style that one has to see to believe.

Unlike the first movie the storytelling in Bloodlust does become slightly muddled.  Which is not helped by the somewhat confusing and uncertain dialogue.  The finale of the movie is also somewhat of a letdown, ruining the otherwise perfect pacing the film had all the way through.

Despite that the film has all the surprises, twists, action and pleasant oddities as the first film.  It remains a worthwhile watch to be enjoyed more by adults than kids.  This film, while not perfect, stands as a strong follow-up to a classic and should be on any anime fan’s must-watch list.

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