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barefoot gen

Barefoot Gen

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Alternate Titles: Hidashi no Gen

Original Japanese Release Date: 1983

Episode Length/Run-time: 83 minutes

Summary:

Gen lives with his mother, father, and little brother in Hiroshima 1945 =.  It has been 3 years since the conflict with the U.S. began and the trials of the war have begun to take their toll on the country of Japan.  Despite the scarcity of food and other necessities they work to make their lives happy and the best they can.  However on the 6th of August 1945 everything changes with the dropping of the first atomic bomb in human history.  Gen’s fight for survival begins in the tattered remains of what once was his normalcy.

Review:

Barefoot Gen began as a 10 volume manga running from 1983-1984.  It was later produced into a feature film in 1983 with a sequel in 1986.  There have also been a number of novels and live action movies and TV series paired with the series.

I think what makes this movie so impacting is it’s creator: Nakazawa.  Nakazawa is a survivor of the atomic bombing himself and produced this manga to tell his story and the story of all those who lost their lives and who had to live through the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  Knowing this the anime becomes all the more impacting.  However, also knowing this you have to understand that the anime is being told from the experiences of a survivor who made it through but this is going to add a spin to his story.

The story doesn’t really begin until the bombing.  While it starts the day before this acts as a set-up for everything which is to come.  When the bombing happens gen is separated from his family and what ensues is a grotesque and historically accurate series of images.  People’s flesh melt off, their eyes boil and pool from their eyes, their clothing burns away in an instant.  Those that do survive are left as wandering corpses desperately thirsty for water and aid.  The scenery changes in an instant to a hellish landscape where everything is destroyed.  Gen navigates through this back to his family only to see his house ablaze.  Only his mother escapes and they watch in horror as his little brother and father burn to death before their eyes.  They attempt to sleep, but cannot rest, haunted by the screams of the injured throughout the city.

Gen’s mother, pregnant, gives birth to a baby girl prematurely.  Since no midwife or doctor can be found Gen must attempt to aid in the delivery of the baby.  The baby is delivered and now Gen must look after himself and his mother and newborn sister as the patriarch of the family.

This movie is one heartbreak after another.  Just when things seem to be going good they crush you again.  The overall hopelessness hangs over the viewer and character like a dense haze that cannot be lifted.  What likely makes it even more unbearable is the fact that it is historically accurate on many levels.

That is not to say though the movie is perfect.  Sometimes it does seem sensationalized.  This anime is never uttered because of the fact that it just doesn’t stand up in production to other WWII anime such as grave of the fireflies and took significantly longer to see a DVD release.  The music is lacking and the animation shows its age clearly.

That being said the content and commentary alone is enough to put it on anyone’s must-watch list.  The overall message, despite the sorrow, is one of the perseverance and strength of the human spirit.  Leaving the viewer on a hopeful note compared to other films and works.  This sometimes is criticized for seeming unrealistic but in my opinion it is a powerful message to a good movie.

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kimi ni todoke 2

Kimi Ni Todoke 2

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Alternate Titles: Reaching Out to You

Original Japanese Release Date: 2011

Episode Length/Run-time: 12

Summary:

Kimi ni Todoke 2 is a continuation of the original Kimi ni Todoke series.  It follows Sawako, meaning “happy child” who is nicknamed “Sadako” from the ring due to her extreme lack of social ability and a number of misunderstandings.  Her two friends, Chizu and Yano, after bringing her out and helping her become accepted by the class in the first season see to it to help the delicate and budding romance between her and the most popular boy in class Kazehaya.  However, will Sawako be able to overcome her insecurities and will the interference of others like the lovely Kurumi or the playboy Kento get in the way?

Review:

May I please take a moment to express, as a girl, how much I LOVE this series.  It’s now 36 episodes long in total, counting both the first and second seasons, but the second season is a convenient 12 episodes.  Anything longer than that would’ve been excessive and have gotten into the way.  The series is produced and completed by the same people as the first with Studio Production I.G. at the helm it follows the 13 book manga that started in 2005 and is still ongoing.  There is also a light novel series which started in 2007.

Now I feel I must preface this review by saying that some of it will be spoilers from the first season just because it is a direct continuation, so if you’re planning on watching the show I leave you with a strong recommendation and telling you to stop here.

So in the first season it was well established that Sawako and Kazehaya had feelings for each other.  They were both generally in love but both too quiet about it to make it obvious.  Or, when one of them did say something it was misunderstood by the other.  Sawako being the main culprit.  This season opens with Valentines day, and the painful experience of Sawako not being able to give chocolates to Kazehaya because they meant far too much.  Thanks Kurumi, yes, she’s back.

The series goes on and Sawako continues to become more accepted by the school on the whole, to the point that she even has another suitor.  But instead of dragging out twisted love triangles to the point of disgust the series takes a realistic approach (I feel) to how the characters interact with each other.  Kazehaya is not pleased of course in the situation and acts how a normal boy would.  Sawako does continue to eff things up though which is borderline annoying.  But as more people in the show begin to see what’s going on between them their assistance helps Sawako and Kazehaya realize the misunderstanding s that have been happening between them.

Is it too late at that point to salvage their budding love?  I’m not going to tell you! Watch the series.  But what I will say from start to finish, first OR second season this series won’t let you down.  The 12 episode length is perfect for the second season, and I almost think they could’ve condensed the whole show down to 24.  The shorter length really forces them to focus on the core of what’s going on and that alone makes it a nose above the first season.  Plus, how they wrap everything up with a neat little bow and just enough to make the fans happy on top of that was a nice touch.

This show really is worth your while if you’re a fan of the slice-of-life comedic romance.  Highly recommended and worth the investment of your time.

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kodocha

Kodocha

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Alternate Titles: Child’s Toy

Original Japanese Release Date: 1996

Episode Length/Run-time: 102 (however the 56 released in English were reviewed)

Summary:

Sana Kurata is a elementary school student who also happens to be a childhood actress.  She lives in a large house with her award winning author mother and her manager Rei.  The story follows Sana through her life and showcases the social and professional pressures she has to undertake, and the hits just keep on coming.

Review:

This is primarily a comedy and a drama in relatively equal portions.  It would be a stretch to call this a slice of life despite the pacing and framework.  The fourth wall in this show might as well be a screen door for all the shouting at me the show mascot did during this show.  One thing I enjoyed, instead of the irritating episode preview footage slapped at the end, they actually left it as part of the episode.  Example, one episode shows in the last 20 seconds, a person in a dark room developing pictures of our plucky protagonist and saying that he was going to show everyone “The Real Sana.”  The next episode of course goes through this storyline.  I found myself going through episodes far beyond my normal session count because I wanted to see the episode more than I ever would have with a crappy episode teaser.  Another thing that really made this show interesting to me was the seamless transition between the comedy and the drama.  The comedy itself is slapstick in the extreme and the art is very busy on screen.  All in all, it’s an epileptic nightmare.  The drama on the other hand is quite cutting and I often felt like I should go have a harsh talk with the writers for picking on this sweet girl so much.
This is a show from the 90’s and I get the distinct impression this show is meant for a general audience.  As harsh as the drama can be, the comedy offsets it to keep it just above bearable for those terrified of conflict.  The art does look pretty dated but it’s still holds up for it’s time and there’s plenty of enjoyment that can be had for those who keep an open mind.
The plot is pretty straight forward and most story arcs don’t go past two episodes.  The drama for the most part falls into after school special territory with a few notable exceptions which could be chalked up to a culture clash thing.  Some story lines that fall into this category are the fact that at the beginning of the show Sana refers to her twenties something manager as her boyfriend and shares a bed with him nightly.  Did I mention she’s in the fifth grade?  You also find out that the manager is a bum Sana literally picked up off the street.  Another example is that the family at one point goes broke and the bank repossesses everything with no notice right before the family sits down to breakfast leaving them homeless immediately.
This show is now available in a box set from Funimation for the first time since it’s first disc by disc release were it didn’t do very well.  51 episodes are available for purchase and in English dub out of the 102 that were made and released in Japan.  The show itself is rather episodic and doesn’t leave on a cliffhanger if you are wondering.
I give this show 4 rubber mallets out of 5.  For those who are adventuresome and willing to keep an open mind you won’t be disappointed.  If you are new to anime or prefer a particular genre, you might want to give this a pass or just take a look at the first couple episodes to see if it’s your cup of tea.

[kodocha]

Reviewed by Chris from the 2lazy2bOtaku

gundam wing

Gundam Wing

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Alternate Titles: New Mobile Report Gundam Wing, Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W (新機動戦記ガンダムＷ)

Original Japanese Release Date: 1995

Episode Length/Run-time: 49 Episodes

Summary:

In a time far in the future in the year “After Colony 195” humans have removed their ties to the earth and taken to the stars to colonize the galaxy.  These colonies answer to the United Earth Sphere Alliance, which oppresses the colonies sovereignty with military power.  Despite the colonies efforts for a peaceful resolution the tides change resulting in five scientists to train five boys to be pilots of five mecha known as Mobile Suit Gundams.  They are sent to earth from the five colonies to fight against the Organization of Zodiac (OZ), the strong arm of the United Earth Sphere Alliance.  Their presence changes the tides of the war but will it be enough to change it’s outcome?

Review:

To review this without sounding like a raging fangirl will be hard.  Be impartial Chiaki, Be impartial. You see, this was really the first mecha series I have ever sat down and watched.  It ran on Toonami Midnight Run from 199-2003, if you don’t know what Toonami midnight run is then don’t say so because it’ll make me just feel old!

Gundam Wing, I feel, is the “Gundam for the masses” type of anime.  Not to imply that the other gundam series are bad or that people in general can’t be into them however this series is lighter on the sci-fi and mech (I feel) than any other Gundam series before.  Where most of the Gundam series are part of a greater, overarching, sci-fi star epic Gundam Wing has little to do with this.  Now, some accuse it of being simply a pretty boy show, which I will argue against as well.  I find it more of an interesting hybrid.

I don’t find it anymore of a “pretty boy” show than any of the Gundam series that have came since, when animation qualities allowed for more of a “pretty” look.  I think what most people are really hitting at is that it seems like in this Gundam series there is more of an emphasis on relationships than other Gundam series, at least from what I have seen.  Most Gundams are very pure to the mech/war/sci-fi tones to them.  Sure there may be a love interest here, or there, but for the most part the series stays focused.  In Gundam Wing they tried to add a lot more depth to the characters but they did it in the wrong way.  They added ridiculous back stories and personality flaws that really takes it up to a ridiculous degree at times.  Of the five Gundam pilots there is one sane one, Duo Maxwell, and I am NOT just saying that as a fangirl.  Think about it, Duo is the only one when crazy s**t is going down who says “WTF?”  (Take the scene where he saves Relena from Heero killing her and Relena scolds him for it!) Quatre’s mother still tucks him into bed at night I’m sure, because he’s incapable of doing hardly anything on his own.  Wufei redefines egotistical and sexist, even among the worst of anime characters.  Trowa takes “the strong silent type” to a whole new level, we were lucky if we heard one word from him an episode.  And Heero Yuy is damn near psychotic, the “shoot first ask questions later” type to the extreme.  And I get it, they each had something in their past to make them this way, but the over-the-top realization of their character flaws ends up hurting the series more than adding another dimension to it.

The only character that may be more over-the-top crazy than the main cast is Relena Peacecraft, Heero’s supposed “love interest” (that is if he really does have feelings, I’ve got my bet on Relena telling him he loves her and she being such a crazy B**ch that he is too afraid to say no).  Seriously, this chick takes the CAKE when it comes to anime characters you just want to die.  And Heero ALMOST kills her.. stupid Duo…

Now, at this point, you’re likely thinking “Dang Chiaki, back off.”  But I liked this anime, I really did.  Sure the characters of the main cast were slightly off the wall but the villains more than made up for it.  Lady Une is like the definition of villian, calm, cool, collected but will still kick some major ass.  And if you like her you’ll love Treize, he is the perfect ringleader, convicted in his ideals to almost a slightly creepy cold level.  Not to mention Zechs, (Gundam Wing’s incarnation of Char, if you don’t know who that is you have some Gundam universe catching up to do) he’s the incarnation of brains and beauty.  Now, if that Noin Chick would just step off….

Gundam Wing has fantastic animation, and great music.  And the world is set up wonderfully.  If you ignore the over-the-top-ness at times of the characters you’ll see the deep and engaging plot of desperation and desire for freedom.  On a Gundam scale, this series is definitely not the best one if you’re counting what is “true” to the Gundam ideals.  However, that doesn’t mean this series is bad by any stretch.  And I think it’s a great gateway drug into the Gundam universe for someone who may think that they don’t like mecha.

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durarara

Durarara!!

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Alternate Titles: DRRR!! デュラララ!! (Japanese)

Original Japanese Release Date: 2010-01-07

Episode Length/Run-time: 25 Episodes (and 1 OVA)

Summary:

From the makers who brought you Baccano! comes another twisting tale of life, love, heartache and insanity. Ryuugamine Mikado finally get the opportunity to move to the big city, his best friend Masaomi Kida there waiting for him. It’s his chance to finally get some excitement and meaning into his life. And mostly insanity. Another anime based around six degrees of separation, Durarara!! follows the lives of various people in the town of Ikebukuro and how their stories overlap, intertwine, and change one another’s.

Review:

This anime was incredibly well done, which is no surprise coming from the same great minds who put together Baccano!, and is probably one of the most character driven anime I’ve come across. While the plot is occasionally thin, the major devices and twists and subplots not really coming forth until closer to the end, the characters keep the entertainment up and the progress going. It becomes a melee of storylines and ideas and themes that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with each other, but then come together in a brilliant and fulfilling way. And each member of the cast, at that, is both well thought out and likeable, making it no wonder so many have come to love this anime and cosplay it’s ridiculous and wonderful characters. Like Baccano!, it has a way with relationships that is unbeatable.

True once again to its sister anime, the animation style in DRRR!! is fitting and well drawn, the style suiting the semi-realism of the show itself, while the music, though built more around electronic and synthed musicality, does the exact same thing. It has done the exact same thing as Baccano! while maintaining an originality and creative difference that is all that Durarara!! has to offer.

While there were still many questions that went unanswered, the ending was most certainly fulfilling, taking the most pressing questions and offering answer enough to satisfy without being cliché. The winding down of the chaos, leaving only the ties that bind each character together. Rather than continue the story, the OVA and episode 25 were a refreshing bit of filler, in which this anime had very, very little, leaving the mostly complete but still applaud worthy ending intact. It’s the few important questions left unanswered that gives this a 4/5, but if a second season should take place, it’s easy to say that Durarara!! could sneak back up to a 5/5 with no problem at all.

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beckmongolianchopsquad

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

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Alternate Titles: ベック (Japanese)

Original Japanese Release Date: 2004-10-06

Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes

Summary:

Tanaka Yukio is your average 14 year old boy, and he knows it. Everything about his life is average from school to home and back, and it’s because of this that he begins to yearn for something more, a purpose and dream to follow. That’s when he meets Ryuusuke, and all at once his life starts to change. He starts learning how to play guitar, winds up in Ryuusuke’s band, learns what it means to strive for something, desire it more than anything else in the world. And that’s not even counting what Ryuusuke’s sister Maho brings to the table.

Review:

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad is a masterpiece, hands down. Not only does it take something as simple and powerful as music and break it down in a way that’s almost commendable, but it follows the journey of someone everyone can relate to, a normal, everyday someone experiencing that power for the first time. Music can be a difficult thing to express well in anime, easily brushed off on the one hand or taken too seriously and leaving the viewer feeling intimidated on the other. BECK manages to show the passion in both musician and music while still staying connected to the very real, very present theme that it takes more than just that passion to make it big. It takes hard work and more than your fair share of failures. The characters all learn it in their own way, and grow from it in a way that’s very genuine and awe inspiring to behold. And while the animation style is a little old looking and can be hard to get used to at first, it is easily ignored for that very reason. The characters make themselves real, unusual animation style or not; you love them because of who they are, not the way they’re drawn.

But, as expected, the beauty is in the music, both audibly and visually, the melody and rhythms getting under your skin while each note or guitar riff is intricately drawn out well enough that it looks almost like you’re really watching it being played. Whether you’re subbed or dubbed, the music is bad ass and powerful, pumped full of a certain rock and roll something that makes you want to listen to it all on repeat for days. And even after, it lingers. Though, for reference, if you ARE watching it subbed, much of the music is in Engrish, so be prepared. And the dub for BECK is fantastically done, but it’s only fair to mention that much of what makes this anime great is lost in communication. Which is ironic considering that one of the main themes of BECK is just that: miscommunication/language barriers and how music can overcome it.

This anime is one of the best, possibly THE best in my opinion. Or at the very least, my favorite. It handles delicate teenage issues with a realistically harsh care while still managing to make what could have been a very dry slice of life continuously enthralling, inspiring, and amusing. The characters become friends you can learn from and relate to, while the situations become ones you root for and cry for. All and all, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad is worth no less than a 5/5.

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11 eyes

11eyes

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Alternate Titles: イレブンアイズ (Japanese)

Original Japanese Release Date: 2009-10-06

Episode Length/Run-time: 12 Episodes

Summary:

One day, shortly after losing his sister to suicide, Satsuki Kakera finds himself transported into a terrifying and unnatural world later called the “Red Night.” Together with his friend Minase Yuka, they find others from their high school and vow to discover the secret of the Red Night and why they were forced into it. Magical powers, dark secrets and reluctant heroes are revealed in their desperate journey for escape.

Review:

This anime left quite a bit to be desired, the plot development starting off slowly only to grow slightly before slamming to a sudden and, like I said, underdeveloped end. Back stories found little opportunity to be revealed, and when they were, it felt forced or rushed, all attempts at characterization belittled in the effort. The characters themselves, outside of that, are average at best, from the squeaky voiced, first sort-of and then completely annoying moe love interest, the boy who tries too hard to be the hero and is completely oblivious to the love interest’s plight, and the girl with all the power but the inability to love… until HE comes along, to the badass rule breaking hot guy and the girl who switches personalities every time she takes off her glasses. Verbatum. And that was just the protagonists.

The animation style is decent, standard for its genre, and the fight scenes, as few as there turned out to be, weren’t poorly done, but in the overall scheme of things, it did little to help its score. While on the other hand, the music was apparently mediocre enough that it was forgettable. Nothing much can be said about 11 Eyes outside of the fact that it held some interest. I didn’t find myself waiting for it every week, but when it came down to it, I wasn’t bored or dying to claw my eyes out, just wishing for a little more of this or a whole lot more than that. As for the ending, like the rest of the anime, it left more to be desired than I’d hoped. But it WAS an ending, unlike some anime are cursed with, so for that at least, I applaud it, letting it slip into the 2.5/5 range.

psychic detective yakumo

Psychic Detective Yakumo

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Alternate Titles: Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

 

Original Japanese Release Date: October 3rd, 2010

Episode Length/Run-time: 13

Summary:
A high school student Yakumo has one special skill.  He has the ability to see the spirits of the dead.  Yakumo works with a female companion Haruka and police detective Gotou to solve crimes that are influenced by the supernatural.  Little does Yakumo know that a certain case will force him to confont his past.

Review:

Psychic Detective Yakumo suffers from the same syndrome that many newer anime have.  It takes too damn long to get started.  This series actually has a reasonably good story but many probably won’t get to see it.  Many viewers will give up on the series before the 8th episode.  That’s right, it takes about 7 or 8 episodes to really get around to what this series it about.  Oh, and by the way, the show is only 13 episodes long.  The first set of episodes are spent on one or two shot story arcs that really have no baring on the overall story.

The characters in the show are pretty much unenjoyable.  The only player that gets any kind of focus is Yakumo, which is generally fine because the show revolves around him, but it would have been nice to learn a bit more about the rest of the cast.  The show itself only has a handful of characters so there would have been enough time to flesh out the backstories a little better.  Gotou gets literaly no backstory to speak of and Haruka’s is minimal as well.

The storyline of the series overall is good ones it gets going.  It moves fast and is engaging.  It’s a supernatural crime drama that has a good balance of suspense and action. I would also suggest that viewers skip halfway through the show to make their viewing experience a little better.  However, you’ll need those first few episodes to get familiarized with the characters and the to learn about Yakumo’s powers, etc… Still, even so, the this series doesn’t even do a very good job of doing that.

All in all, you can probably skip this one if there are other anime available for you to watch.  If you crave supernatural stories, go watch Ghost Hunt or something.

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utawarerumono

Utawarerumono

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Alternate Titles: The One Being Sung

Original Japanese Release Date: 2006

Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes

Summary:

Eruruu finds an injured man in the forest near her village.  She brings him back and her grandmother,  the local healer, nurses him back to health.  He has no memories of his past and is given the name Hakuoro.  He is kind spirited and helps those in need and saves the village from a wrathful deity.  Upon which he is appointed the village leader and despite his peaceful wishes fate has a different plan for him.

Review:

If this anime was 13 episodes and they just cut it off halfway through it likely would’ve gotten a much better score.

In many ways this anime is basically a harem, but since the majority of the characters admire (I think) more than love Hakuoro it makes the harem more bearable.  The only (obvious) character who is in love with him is Eruruu and honestly their relationship is quite cute.

The anime has a fantasy flare, somewhere between olden Europe and Japan.  There are catgirls, wing girls, twins, wolf type girls, something for everyone.  The story is simple but nicely executed in a way that is enjoyable for most viewers.  It covers the basics: humor, action, romance, light-hearted fluff.  But it doesn’t go too far into any one of those.

The problem comes in the form of the last 6 episodes.  Halfway through you’re kind of wondering where the series is going, and just when you think you’ve figured it out… BAM! You’re slapped upside the face, dunked in water, and hung up to dry and just when you think you’ve figured out what they’re doing, they decide to blindfold you, drag you behind a car, drop you somewhere, naked, and end the series.  That’s the ending to Utawarerumono and that’s the main thing that brings it down.

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