Well, at my new job, things are going slow. The training is boring and I'm not looking forward to when we start working (I don't know why I picked swing shift!). And when school starts, things are only gonna get crazier. I say all of this to let you know how long its gonna take to postpone the making of the videos. I'll still be able to post reviews on the things I've seen, but the videos are gonna have to wait for a while, when I have a lot more time on my hands.
But enough about me, its time to start talking anime!
RG Veda (2 Episodes)
Animation: ***
Story: ***
Music: ***
Overall: **
RG Veda was the original manga that put CLAMP on the map, the same way Dr. Slump did it for Akira Toriyama before he did Dragonball. When you look at the manga, you can see the essential precursurs for the sweeping, epic art that fills the more successful Magic Knight Rayearth and X/1999 (wish they'd finish that!).
The story of RG Veda is a good, fantasy adventure. The current emperor, Taishakuten, is scum, having killed the peaceful emperor, Ashura, himself to start his own kingdom. His best general, Yasha, hears about a prophecy concerning the end of the tyranny and a forgotten child. Yasha goes and finds this child Ashura, starting a massive chain reaction of events. Soon, other heroes get involved with the quest to defeat the emperor, and they learn more and more about this child, who is a direct decendant of the late peaceful emperor I mentioned earlier. However, they starting to get scared as Ashura grows creepier and more violent.
And that's about as far as I am in the manga. Tokyopop is releasing the last one later this year. I won't say much more about the story, the spoilers are pretty big.
So why am I focusing so much on the manga when this is a review of the anime? RG Veda comes to us as two mere OVAs, both smack in the middle of the story. In order to really understand what's going on, you have to have read the manga. They really don't bother explaining much of anything.
The two episodes are interesting. The first is a retelling of one of the adventures from the manga, and it is pretty neat. The second episode has its own story, set at the end of their adventure, but not really based on the manga, and it doesn't really offer much more to the basic plot. It seems like the writers decided to speculate some of the ending bits as if the manga wasn't quite finished yet. And its apparent because when you get to that part of the manga, things are very different.
I gave most of everything three stars because it was all pretty good. The animation is good, making great use of the prevelant magic and fighting. The story is well done, too, feeling like they literally ripped it from the pages of the manga. You forget, in the middle of the deep epic, that CLAMP was in charge, and they can get kinda silly! And that makes it fun.
The music is particularly interesting. Nick Wood (definetly not Japanese) gives us a synthesizer heavy soundtrack that's just bizarre enough to make you keep listening, but it never really stands out. 3 stars for strangeness, but not much more.
However, the hurdle of not understanding the episodes without having read the manga forces me to give this an overall of two stars. It sees this was geared more toward the fans the comic already had as opposed to introducing a new series to the whole audience.
So basically, if you're a fan of CLAMP and have read the manga already, such as me, then check it out. But otherwise, you'll most likely be lost, having better spent your time on other shows.
And that's that. I don't know when I'll post next, but I'll get to it as soon as I can. Please let me know what you think! POST COMMENTS!
Showing posts with label manga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manga. Show all posts
7.10.2007
4.06.2007
Dang! Manga only: Kare Kano and Rizelmine.
Not that there's anything wrong with manga, I just wish I could've gotten to some more anime this week. Oh well. College is really beating me down.
In any case, the two series I'm going to tackle now are both unique and bizzare. Again, remember that I only give one score for manga. First off:
Rizelmine (1 Graphic Novel)
Score: ***
Rizelmine is done by Yukiru Sugisaki, well known for D. N. Angel (which she hasn't finished yet!). The story is very familiar: Iwaki Tomonori is a 15-year-old boy who likes older women, but instead gets a girl who seems younger than him dropped in his lap. She is made of nanotechnology and her creators are trying to give her the full human experience, including being married. So, at once, it is declared that this nano-girl, Rizel, is married to Iwaki, much to his dismay.
From there, many of the basic story elements that permeate the genre occur. There are rivals for Rizel (though she is truly devoted) and other nanotech girls show up for various reasons all the while Iwaki is just trying to get away, only to discover that she's met this Rizel girl once before!
So why give it three stars? Because it covers ALL of this in one book. It goes by fast, yet covers all of the bases necessary. Being familiar with the genre, this is kind of a crack up because it is so extreme and insane, almost a parody of stuff like Oh! My Goddess, Steel Angel Kurumi, and Mahoromatic. You get the entire story in a nutshell, and that is what makes it nice.
Kare Kano (21 Graphic Novels)
Score: ***
Kare Kano is a more familiar title to the manga/anime community, but I just barely finished it. As I may have said, I have a thing for shojo manga, mostly because they're so funny! Kare Kano is brilliant in this sense. The comedy just keeps flying!
The story is crazy enough: Yukino Miyazawa works as hard as she can to be the best in school, to be the top, the most popular, the smartest. However, its all a facade. Enter Souichiro Arima, a handsome, popular, intelligent guy. When he beats her in testing, she is distraught and endevours to bring him down. But then, he finds out that she is just acting, and thus begins one of the crazy romances ever. This romantic comedy follows them through many of their trials and how sticking together usually helps them overcome.
Of course, there are side characters, and sometimes I felt the story dwelt on them a lot more than I thought was necessary, but these side trips weren't boring. Just long. Because of that, it goes all over the place, hitting quite a number of genres at once.
Overall, it makes for a great romantic comedy that does drag a little. However, as you really get to know the characters, and as things get hairier, you get sucked in what's going on, especially at the end with all the Arima family. It's a good series and should be looked by anyone who is into zany, high school romances.
Well, that's all I could muster up this time. I hope it isn't too bad. Next time, I'll definetly have more anime to review. I've just been rewatching Gundam Wing (one of my favorites) and I think I'll get to The Place Promised In Our Early Days, so look forward to those for next week.
In any case, the two series I'm going to tackle now are both unique and bizzare. Again, remember that I only give one score for manga. First off:
Rizelmine (1 Graphic Novel)
Score: ***
Rizelmine is done by Yukiru Sugisaki, well known for D. N. Angel (which she hasn't finished yet!). The story is very familiar: Iwaki Tomonori is a 15-year-old boy who likes older women, but instead gets a girl who seems younger than him dropped in his lap. She is made of nanotechnology and her creators are trying to give her the full human experience, including being married. So, at once, it is declared that this nano-girl, Rizel, is married to Iwaki, much to his dismay.
From there, many of the basic story elements that permeate the genre occur. There are rivals for Rizel (though she is truly devoted) and other nanotech girls show up for various reasons all the while Iwaki is just trying to get away, only to discover that she's met this Rizel girl once before!
So why give it three stars? Because it covers ALL of this in one book. It goes by fast, yet covers all of the bases necessary. Being familiar with the genre, this is kind of a crack up because it is so extreme and insane, almost a parody of stuff like Oh! My Goddess, Steel Angel Kurumi, and Mahoromatic. You get the entire story in a nutshell, and that is what makes it nice.
Kare Kano (21 Graphic Novels)
Score: ***
Kare Kano is a more familiar title to the manga/anime community, but I just barely finished it. As I may have said, I have a thing for shojo manga, mostly because they're so funny! Kare Kano is brilliant in this sense. The comedy just keeps flying!
The story is crazy enough: Yukino Miyazawa works as hard as she can to be the best in school, to be the top, the most popular, the smartest. However, its all a facade. Enter Souichiro Arima, a handsome, popular, intelligent guy. When he beats her in testing, she is distraught and endevours to bring him down. But then, he finds out that she is just acting, and thus begins one of the crazy romances ever. This romantic comedy follows them through many of their trials and how sticking together usually helps them overcome.
Of course, there are side characters, and sometimes I felt the story dwelt on them a lot more than I thought was necessary, but these side trips weren't boring. Just long. Because of that, it goes all over the place, hitting quite a number of genres at once.
Overall, it makes for a great romantic comedy that does drag a little. However, as you really get to know the characters, and as things get hairier, you get sucked in what's going on, especially at the end with all the Arima family. It's a good series and should be looked by anyone who is into zany, high school romances.
Well, that's all I could muster up this time. I hope it isn't too bad. Next time, I'll definetly have more anime to review. I've just been rewatching Gundam Wing (one of my favorites) and I think I'll get to The Place Promised In Our Early Days, so look forward to those for next week.
3.06.2007
Back again! Inuyasha Movie 2 and R.O.D. : Read Or Die Manga
Hello again. Over the weekend I was able to watch some stuff and I guess I'll end up reviewing some things I didn't plan on reviewing, but here goes.
First of all:
Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass
Animation: ****
Music: ***
Story: *
Overall: **
Oy. I mean, I've seen a fair share of Inuyasha, so I know what I'm getting into. I guess I should have figured the plot would be redundant, but still, there were some things where I was just like, "What?"
The premise is pretty simple. After killing Naraku, a new evil takes his place to through the world into darkness. This demoness, Kaguya, enlists the help of Kagura and Nanna to break her out of the mirror she's imprisoned in. After that, because Inuyasha and friends are so much trouble, Kaguya takes Kagome in an effort to fight Inuyasha. She offers him his wish of becoming a full-demon, but, as anyone would know, Inuyasha just wants Kagome back.
First of all, the animation was good, as one would expect from a movie. They really went all out and had some pretty awesome stuff. And, as always, the music was very stirring and enjoyable. I've always liked what this composer has done for the series.
But, the whole story seemed off. Here comes the spoilers. I should have figured Naraku would have stayed dead, but man! coming from Kohaku's back? That, to me, seemed a little out there, even for the series. There was no reason why. It just seemed a dumb way to bring Naraku back into the story, especially at the climax like that. It was a serious let down for me.
This is majorly why I gave the show 2 stars. While the animimation and music were fine, the story tanked and didn't really amount to anything. Even the whole "This is the only time they kiss" bit wasn't as great as I thought it would be. So, overall, I sort of felt that I didn't need to see this movie. The first one was better, in my consideration, but the whole Inuyasha series I tend to watch with my tongue in my cheek.
Now, on to the other thing I did over the weekend. As I have stated before, I will review manga. However, I failed to mention how I rate them. Instead of breaking it down, like I do with the anime, I just give one score from 1 to 5 stars (*). The numbers' meaning is unchanged.
R.O.D. Read Or Die (the manga)
Score: ***
I understand this to be an interesting and unusual anime series, but I figured I'd give the manga a shot first. While I did expect it to be weird, it was a little weirder than I had first thought.
It begins with a society that goes out of its way to protect books and their authors. This Library of England has enlisted the help of a woman named Yomiko Readman. Her code name is Paper, entirely because of her ability to manipulate paper into whatever she needs. In fact, she's the best at it in the world. This series covers two of her missions.
I'm rating the series as all four graphic novels. It was short, but it was still a lot, especially as things get tense at the end.
The first mission is Yomiko protecting what turns out to be her favorite author from another fan with more malicious intent. The action is face paced and definetly quirky as Yomiko's cheerfulness is never unhinged. This really makes the battles very entertaining. Ultimately, she must overcome the various traps and villians set before her in her unusual way.
The second mission is a little more intense. Yomiko is sent to find an underground library for a private school with some severe teaching methods and rules. She finds herself fighting students with unusual powers of her own. However, her mission gets complicated when her dead boyfriend sends her a letter to go for a different reason. Driven by this, she becomes conflicted between following the mission and seeking for her old lover. What is the true intentions of the Library of England? There are a lot of mysteries and back-stories uncovered in this story that covers the latter three graphic novels.
While I can't say to you "Read or Die," this series was fun to read. With lot's of quirky battles and some intense situations, it's easy to see how this could become a cult hit. It definetly is a step above most other stories, but it is short and leaves you with a feeling of a roller coaster ride that stops before it should. Maybe I need to watch the anime.
Well, I'm glad I was able to get this off. I don't know how much more I'll watch and/or read this week. I'm kind of buried with homework. However, I should update by next week with the third Inuyasha movie. I hope it's better than this second one. I may also have reviews of Elfen Lied and Soul Hunter. It depends how things go from here until next Wednesday.
Until then, thank you for reading and check back again.
First of all:
Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass
Animation: ****
Music: ***
Story: *
Overall: **
Oy. I mean, I've seen a fair share of Inuyasha, so I know what I'm getting into. I guess I should have figured the plot would be redundant, but still, there were some things where I was just like, "What?"
The premise is pretty simple. After killing Naraku, a new evil takes his place to through the world into darkness. This demoness, Kaguya, enlists the help of Kagura and Nanna to break her out of the mirror she's imprisoned in. After that, because Inuyasha and friends are so much trouble, Kaguya takes Kagome in an effort to fight Inuyasha. She offers him his wish of becoming a full-demon, but, as anyone would know, Inuyasha just wants Kagome back.
First of all, the animation was good, as one would expect from a movie. They really went all out and had some pretty awesome stuff. And, as always, the music was very stirring and enjoyable. I've always liked what this composer has done for the series.
But, the whole story seemed off. Here comes the spoilers. I should have figured Naraku would have stayed dead, but man! coming from Kohaku's back? That, to me, seemed a little out there, even for the series. There was no reason why. It just seemed a dumb way to bring Naraku back into the story, especially at the climax like that. It was a serious let down for me.
This is majorly why I gave the show 2 stars. While the animimation and music were fine, the story tanked and didn't really amount to anything. Even the whole "This is the only time they kiss" bit wasn't as great as I thought it would be. So, overall, I sort of felt that I didn't need to see this movie. The first one was better, in my consideration, but the whole Inuyasha series I tend to watch with my tongue in my cheek.
Now, on to the other thing I did over the weekend. As I have stated before, I will review manga. However, I failed to mention how I rate them. Instead of breaking it down, like I do with the anime, I just give one score from 1 to 5 stars (*). The numbers' meaning is unchanged.
R.O.D. Read Or Die (the manga)
Score: ***
I understand this to be an interesting and unusual anime series, but I figured I'd give the manga a shot first. While I did expect it to be weird, it was a little weirder than I had first thought.
It begins with a society that goes out of its way to protect books and their authors. This Library of England has enlisted the help of a woman named Yomiko Readman. Her code name is Paper, entirely because of her ability to manipulate paper into whatever she needs. In fact, she's the best at it in the world. This series covers two of her missions.
I'm rating the series as all four graphic novels. It was short, but it was still a lot, especially as things get tense at the end.
The first mission is Yomiko protecting what turns out to be her favorite author from another fan with more malicious intent. The action is face paced and definetly quirky as Yomiko's cheerfulness is never unhinged. This really makes the battles very entertaining. Ultimately, she must overcome the various traps and villians set before her in her unusual way.
The second mission is a little more intense. Yomiko is sent to find an underground library for a private school with some severe teaching methods and rules. She finds herself fighting students with unusual powers of her own. However, her mission gets complicated when her dead boyfriend sends her a letter to go for a different reason. Driven by this, she becomes conflicted between following the mission and seeking for her old lover. What is the true intentions of the Library of England? There are a lot of mysteries and back-stories uncovered in this story that covers the latter three graphic novels.
While I can't say to you "Read or Die," this series was fun to read. With lot's of quirky battles and some intense situations, it's easy to see how this could become a cult hit. It definetly is a step above most other stories, but it is short and leaves you with a feeling of a roller coaster ride that stops before it should. Maybe I need to watch the anime.
Well, I'm glad I was able to get this off. I don't know how much more I'll watch and/or read this week. I'm kind of buried with homework. However, I should update by next week with the third Inuyasha movie. I hope it's better than this second one. I may also have reviews of Elfen Lied and Soul Hunter. It depends how things go from here until next Wednesday.
Until then, thank you for reading and check back again.
3.01.2007
WELCOME!
Welcome to Josh Waters Anime Guidepost. The ultimate reasons for this blog is to have a space to rant about anime and/or manga as well as give reviews online. It'll be good experience for me.
Anywho, I hope to update about once a week, usually talking about one show or another, often rating it on my personal system I've created. I hope that my remarks will help you get an idea of what's out there to watch and what isn't worth watching.
But to begin today, I'd just like to introduce myself a little and give an idea of what I do like. My name IS Josh Waters. I'm from Logan, Utah, USA, and I am currently a student at Utah State University with no major. (Technically, I'm computer science, but that'll change soon.) Of anime, I tend to like action and mecha series, though there are a few others that do crop up as favorites. Recently, my friend has got me watching Elfen Lied, a truly bizzare and intense series, so when I finish that, I'll review it for you guys. Some of my favorites, just so you know, are Bleach, Gundam Wing, Fullmetal Alchemist, and I'm way excited for Death Note.
As for manga, I'll read just about anything, but some of my favorites are Azumanga Daioh, Angelic Layer (anything by CLAMP, really), Rurouni Kenshin, and Oh! My Goddess.
In any case, I'll try to update again this week because this really isn't a review, just an introduction. And if there is a series you would like me to review, just email me! bj_waters@hotmail.com I'll try to watch/read it (if I can find the time) and review for you. In the meantime, try to be patient. This semester has been stressful and I also have a part-time job. But I think this will be an enjoyable experience for all of us. Okay?
Anywho, I hope to update about once a week, usually talking about one show or another, often rating it on my personal system I've created. I hope that my remarks will help you get an idea of what's out there to watch and what isn't worth watching.
But to begin today, I'd just like to introduce myself a little and give an idea of what I do like. My name IS Josh Waters. I'm from Logan, Utah, USA, and I am currently a student at Utah State University with no major. (Technically, I'm computer science, but that'll change soon.) Of anime, I tend to like action and mecha series, though there are a few others that do crop up as favorites. Recently, my friend has got me watching Elfen Lied, a truly bizzare and intense series, so when I finish that, I'll review it for you guys. Some of my favorites, just so you know, are Bleach, Gundam Wing, Fullmetal Alchemist, and I'm way excited for Death Note.
As for manga, I'll read just about anything, but some of my favorites are Azumanga Daioh, Angelic Layer (anything by CLAMP, really), Rurouni Kenshin, and Oh! My Goddess.
In any case, I'll try to update again this week because this really isn't a review, just an introduction. And if there is a series you would like me to review, just email me! bj_waters@hotmail.com I'll try to watch/read it (if I can find the time) and review for you. In the meantime, try to be patient. This semester has been stressful and I also have a part-time job. But I think this will be an enjoyable experience for all of us. Okay?
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